Date: Fri, 17 Apr 1998 08:59:28 -0500 (CDT) From: Silvia Casale Subject: Just Revenge: Part 1 Sender: owner-tales@mcfeeley.cc.utexas.edu X-Sender: silvia.casale@pop-3.ukonline.co.uk To: tales Reply-to: tales@mcfeeley.cc.utexas.edu X-Mailer: Windows Eudora Light Version 1.5.4 (16) Copyright Sabrina helayna Ardeloes Part 1 He took a deep breath as he approached the bridge. Yesterday Hudson had told him that he had tried to get him sent to prison for twenty years. Today, Hudson would start exacting what he thought was justice. Lucas didn't doubt that for one moment. He straightened up and walked calmly onto the bridge, relieving the man who had been working at his station. He concentrated on the console, returning Tony's reassuring smile. Ten minutes passed and his eyes flickered briefly over to Hudson. Maybe he had been wrong, maybe this would work out fine. " Mr Wolenczak," Hudson said, turning round to him. " Sir?" " When was our last overhaul of the sensors and main computers?" " A month ago, Sir," he replied neutrally. " I think it's time to repeat the exercise." " Yes, Sir." He got up to leave. " After hours, that is. I need my crew on the bridge," Hudson said, turning back to the main screen. " Yes, Sir," he returned with no inflection in his voice, sitting again and putting back on his headset, concentrating on the station. His friends looked around at him and each other, but his face was passive and they shrugged. This wasn't like him. Hudson raised his eyebrows briefly. He had expected, even wanted, a fight over this. He had never thought Lucas would just accept it. Wolenczak wasn't one to let people come down hard on him without fighting it, or at least getting angry. He glanced around the bridge. For once, even Lucas' eyes didn't express what he must be feeling, surely. He looked like he had been expecting it and was just dispirited, rather than angry. The shift passed quietly and the new shift came on, taking over the various stations. Ford waited until the others were gone and then crossed to Hudson. " Commander?" he asked, staring at the screen. "You thought that was too harsh," he stated blandly. " Unnecessary," he replied. Hudson turned to him with surprise. " There was a verdict. He got his punishment. You can't keep adding to it. You're hardly an impartial judge on this... Sir." " Wolenczak is my junior officer. He disobeyed my orders, held a weapon on me. If I don't teach him some discipline, how can I possibly hope to control him or my crew? Once he learns not to disobey my orders, then the situation will be resolved." " Lucas would disobey that order no matter what you did or do now. It was not a choice that he would, or could, make differently," Ford insisted. " Then, I'd also better teach him how to act without letting his emotions get in the way," Hudson replied calmly, but his eyes were growing angry. " With all due respect Sir, that's what makes his skills so important here, his emotion. None of us want to see anything change that," he said almost menacingly. Hudson looked across at him, his face unpleasant. " He's an officer, not a child that you can all go around protecting, Commander. You'd better all get out of the habit, pretty quickly. I don't like my officers playing favourites." " How about pet hates, Captain." He sighed. " That was out of line, Sir. But I don't agree with the way you are handling this," he said strongly. " Thank you, Commander, your opinion has been noted," he answered dismissively and Ford left. Ford picked up a tray and crossed to where Lucas was sitting, in the mess hall, stirring the food about his plate, absently. "Hey," he said, cheerfully sitting. " You in today, Lucas?" " Huh? Sorry, Commander. I was just..." He sighed. " I'd better go and start looking over the sensors." Ford caught his arm to stop him. " Just hang in there, OK?" Lucas nodded miserably. " For how long?" " As long as it takes," Ford replied, trying to sound consoling. Lucas sat down again. " You really think he's going to forgive and forget? Commander, he's going to hold this over my head forever." He looked away and sighed. " But I don't regret what I did." He looked at Ford, waiting for his reaction, needing approval and understanding. " I know," his friend said quietly. Lucas nodded and got up again, leaving. Loni smiled at him as she came and sat down, with Brody, opposite Ford. " Well?" " I tried to talk to Hudson, but..." " He wouldn't listen," Brody finished for him. Ford pointed a finger. " Got it in one. There wasn't anything I was going to say that would do anything but make it worse: just get him more angry." " How's Lucas?" Loni asked concerned. " Well, he's not exactly happy about it, but he knows he did the right thing. He just has to stick it out, until Hudson calms down." " If," Brody put in angrily. " I thought that CO's weren't supposed to play God. I though one verdict was enough. It's not like he did anything terrible," he argued. " He disobeyed his CO's order. Yes, the circumstances make it more than understandable, but it doesn't make it right- especially not to Hudson. He likes complete control, authority. This is a dent, not only to his ego, but to the way he thinks people see him, especially the crew. He thinks he needs to prove that people can't get away with disobeying him." " But isn't this slightly over the top?" " Yes, but there's nothing we can do about it, except try and help Lucas, while he weathers it. Sooner or later even Hudson will get fed up of it," he said dubiously. " Where have you been?" Tony called, as Lucas pushed the door to their quarters open, tiredly, and walked around stretching his cramped limbs. " Running diagnostics on the sensors, overhauling them, changing circuits:what I've been doing for the last three days." " How come it's taking so long?" " Because I have to do it by myself, no help." " He say that?" " No, but I'm not going give him an excuse to give me more work," Lucas replied grimly. " I think I'm just going to throttle him and get it over with." He sighed, pulling himself up onto his bunk and flopping back exhausted. " Wake me up in four hours, OK?" Tony got up and came and stood beside him as he closed his eyes. " Luke, you haven't slept enough in days. If you don't get some rest, you're going to fall asleep on the bridge or make a real mistake and then Hudson really will kill you." " Yeah, make it three hours- and don't forget," he muttered., rolling over. Tony sighed worriedly, setting the alarm. He was angry, for his friend's sake. Why couldn't Hudson understand what, to all of them, was a simple choice: one that they all wished they would make in a similar situation. Although he respected his captain greatly, right now, he was not only disappointed in his actions, but in what they said about what he considered important. " Sir, I overhauled the sensors and ran a full diagnostic, replacing all the circuits that were weak or old," Lucas reported, staring past Hudson at the wall. " Very good, Mr Wolenczak. I'd like you to run a diagnostic on the main computers and do a viral sweep of the mainframe." " Yes, Sir," was the short reply, before he turned and walked off the bridge. Hudson shifted uneasily, for a moment, under the angry looks of the crew and then stood straight again, looking back at them, challenging them to annoy him or disagree. They bent back over their work and the bridge was silent, anger hanging heavily in the recycled air. Three AM. He pushed his hair back, rubbing a hand across his eyes and then focusing on his screen again, restarting the sweep and watching as the data scrolled past his eyes. He had never been so tired in his whole life. For the last three weeks, Hudson had found one thing after another for him to do and it had meant that he had been working a minimum of eighteen hours a day. When he fell onto his bunk, he was no longer a ware of dreaming, only the alarm waking him again, much too soon, and staggering off to work. Between working, and trying to get any sleep, there never seemed to be time for meals either, which he knew didn't help. This was absolute hell. Tony, Ford, Brody... everyone had been really nice about it. Well, Darwin got cross that he didn't come and play or look after him, but after a while he could see how unhappy Lucas was and then he understood. Everyone was encouraging him, almost like they were rooting for him in a contest. It wasn't a contest for him. He just knew that, if he gave Hudson any excuse, he would have him transferred. That was what Hudson wanted. He was just waiting for him to be too tired and make a mistake or answer back, when he gave him another monstrous task to do, but he wasn't going to. Nothing was going to get him off this ship, even if it meant simply taking all the shit that Hudson could deal out, without saying a word, or expressing his anger. Tonight he was angry, but that was mostly exhausted irritability. Most of the time he was just sad and depressed that everything was such a mess. God did he want to sleep. He leant forward against the monitor for a moment, enjoying the cold against his skin. He didn't know how much more of this he could cope with, without blowing up or, worse, bursting into tears. He had made a choice and now he had to live with it, but this was really too much. Hudson wasn't just punishing him, to him it was a contest, but it wasn't one that Lucas could simply let him win. It wasn't a matter of pride or respect, it was simply a matter of this being where his friends and everything he cared about was. " Lucas?" a concerned voice cut through his hazy mind and he sat back, pushing the hair out of his face and rubbing his bloodshot eyes. " Hi, Commander," he forced a slight smile. " I'm nearly finished." " Then it can wait till tomorrow," Ford said, sitting beside him. Lucas shook his head. " That's an order, Wolenczak," Ford said firmly. "But..." " Lucas go to bed and get some sleep before you collapse. You look half dead as it is," Ford told him with concern and affection. " Hudson won't say a thing. If he does, tell him I gave you an order." " I don't want you to start getting into trouble..." " Just do it, OK? I'm not going to leave until you do, so just make me happy." He got up, tired and stiff. " Thanks, Commander." " Sleep well," Ford called after him. " Luke, that you?" Tony asked sleepily, as he stumbled in. " Yeah, sorry." " S'fine. I've got the alarm on for our shift." " Uhuh, great," Lucas mumbled, falling on to his bunk and, almost instantly, into sleep. " Hey, Lucas, time to get up." He groaned and rolled over, sitting up blearily and falling onto the floor. Tony helped him up and he rubbed a hand across his eyes, trying to clear his head. " Man, you look like you need about another year of sleep." " Huh? Yeah. I should have taken the twenty years hard labour in the military prison," he groaned, straightening the uniform he had been too tired to take off the night before. " It ain't so great, Kid," Tony said, his voice quiet. " I'm sorry, I didn't mean..." " Don't worry about it. You're too asleep for me to take any notice of what you're saying. Now come on and let's go get some food." " I'm not hungry." " Yeah? Well, you should be and you're gonna eat anyway. You'll need it, if you're not going to fall asleep on the bridge," he said determinedly and Lucas followed him out of the door and down to the mess, eating very slowly, as if even that was too much of an effort, leaning on one elbow, his eyes nearly closed. Finally, he fetched three cups of strong black coffee, wincing as he swallowed them quickly in succession and then looked around, blinking. " Oh, good move, genius," Tony said sarcastically. " Hey, I'm awake," Lucas pointed out. " Yeah, but if lack of sleep doesn't kill you, the coffee in this place will." " Better that than Hudson kill me," Lucas argued. Tony could only shrug. " Someone should do something," Loni said, looking over at the pair, as they hurried off. " He's going to get sick or something." " Hudson's just trying to find an excuse and he's going to force Lucas to give him one." " Look, he hasn't said one thing, or given him anything to work with, so far. Sooner or later, Hudson's just got to give up," Brody argued. " Or they'll just kill each other, not giving in. Maybe Lucas should just give him a reason and let him win," Loni said tiredly. " Maybe Hudson just feels he needs to show everyone he's in control." " Yes, maybe. But then there's what Hudson would do about the 'excuse'. It'll just happen again. He's just got ride it out." Ford sighed. " There's nothing I can say. He's the CO." " And if Lucas gets sick or something?" " Hudson won't let that happen. He'd just wait a few days. You know, I really think that he's getting pleasure out of this- well, a mixture of anger at not succeeding and pleasure in a challenge." " He thinks this is some sort of sport?" Tim asked horrified. Ford shook his head. " He's just really angry and... well, he's exacting what he thinks is a just punishment." " Yeah, what he thinks." " We may not agree, but so far he hasn't done anything that we could complain about, with anything to back it up- and he won't listen to advice." " So what you're saying is, we have to wait until Hudson really steps over the line, before we do anything." " He won't do that. Eventually, he'll get over it. He just really doesn't like people disobeying him." " Why are you all so calm about this. Aren't you worried?" Timasked. " Yes, Tim, we're worried, OK? But that isn't gong to help. Right now we just have to sit and wait for it to blow over." " Well, I don't think much of that strategy," Tim replied angrily, getting up and leaving. " I thought the UEO was supposed to be civilised and kind to it's military." Ford looked around into Kimura's challenging eyes. " Captain Hudson is trying to show that disobedience and mutiny are not to be encouraged," Ford replied stiffly. " It seems more like Chaodi diplomacy style, than something that's going to be constructive," she answered and walked off to her station. Even she thought this was wrong, but there simply wasn't anything he could do. Hudson had not stepped over any legal line, so all Ford could do was advise, and he had tried that- too many times, already. He was already pushing his luck. He looked around as Lucas came onto the bridge and saluted, formally. " I finished the sweep of the computers. All computer systems and redundant systems have been checked. All problems and circuit failures have been fixed," he said, without emotion in his voice or face, standing straight, though that was hard work when he was this tired. " That's all, Mr Wolenczak. You're dismissed," Hudson replied finally, looking at him for a while, first, and then turning back to the main screen. Lucas blinked for a moment and then turned to go, stopping for a moment. " Thank you, Sir," he said quietly before he watched off the bridge. Hudson stood very still for a few moments, thinking and then snapping back to the present. Lucas practically stumbled down the corridor. Sleep, for ten hours, before his next shift. He only just remembered to set the alarm, before he fell on his bunk, fully dressed, not bothering with the covers. Copyright Sabrina Helayna Ardeloes 1997 Date: Thu, 23 Apr 1998 07:30:44 -0500 (CDT) From: Silvia Casale Subject: Just Revenge: Part 10 Sender: owner-tales@mcfeeley.cc.utexas.edu X-Sender: silvia.casale@pop-3.ukonline.co.uk To: tales Reply-to: tales@mcfeeley.cc.utexas.edu X-Mailer: Windows Eudora Light Version 1.5.4 (16) Copyright Sabrina Helayna Ardeloes 1997 Part 10 Perry looked up, as he walked in, standing in the doorway, watching her check the monitor for the vital signs. " No change, Captain," she said, not turning. Finally she got up and crossed to him. " Is there something I can do for you?" he shook his head. " I just want to stay," he said quietly. She nodded. " I'll be in a and out, or the other staff, but... but I don't think I was wrong before. I just can't tell how long it will be. No one wants to die alone, though. I don't think he'll regain consciousness, but sometimes people can sense things, even when they are in comas. I just wish there was something else I could do." She sighed and walked out. He pulled a chair over and sat down beside the bed. He was going to stay for however long it took. He had said he would. They had made a deal, he would stay and Lucas would obey his order. This was the only thing he could do in the way of an apology or gratitude. He stared down at him, watching the uneven rise and fall of his chest, his face deathly pale against the sheets, even his lips colourless, his eyes and cheeks bruised with pain and loss of blood. How dare he do this. He didn't want him to save his life, he had ordered him not to and he had disobeyed. He would much rather that Freeman had killed him, and Freeman knew that. How dare he make him feel so guilty. He had deserved to be disciplined for disobeying orders. He had simply being doing what he thought was right, as a CO, to protect him from himself. Hhe had to learn not to follow his emotions. If that had been the aim, he hadn't taught him anything. Lucas didn't have to do what he did. It wasn't duty or honour that made him do it. If Hudson had been in the same position, he doubted that he would have done the same, not after that way he had acted. He thought about Pamela Loper and VanOrden. How much of his actions had been following in his old CO's path? If he wasn't going to get away with disobeyed orders, then he wouldn't let anyone else do so. The UEO hadn't been lenient to him. He knew how hard he had made Lucas work, how upset he had been by the cold attitude, the unrelenting anger. If he hadn't been so proud and stubborn he would have realised how unfair he was being. It wasn't justice or trying to teach him anything, except that he couldn't cross Oliver Hudson without paying for it. How could he possibly have done what he had, while all that was still happening? He should have been on shore leave. He hadn't needed a driver; he had just used it as an excuse. And he had apologised, when all he did was stay loyal to people he cared about. He closed his eyes in pain, hearing the weak voice, again, as he had held him in the warehouse. He had never felt so ashamed, and disgusted with himself, in his life. He had never been so wrong. The thing that he had condemned in Lucas had saved his life, without a moments doubt or hesitation. Damn him for making me feel like this! I didn't want his loyalty; but he hadn't had a choice. The helplessness scared him almost as much as anything else. He had had to watch, just sit there and watch, not for lack of time, but simply because he couldn't move that extra few metres. Lucas should never have been there in the first place. He had been there because he had sent him. He would never have joined up, if he hadn't forced the boy into it. He might wear a uniform but he went around following his emotions and he was an 18 year old kid. He shook his head, that wasn't being fair to him. He had performed well and learnt quickly, but he would never have joined up if he, the great Captain Hudson, hadn't insisted on no civilians. He should have had Freeman arrested that time he had tried to kill him after the iceberg incident. This was his fault, it was his responsibility, one mistake after another. How could he act so badly? He knew he didn't deserve to be alive now and he wished he wasn't, that Lucas had never come and just stayed in the launch, or never been there at all. He sat back waiting, staring into the distance for a long time. Shouts and running footsteps interrupted him, drowning out the noise of the monitor. Perry rushed in with a crash team. " Charged," one of the nurses shouted. " Clear," Perry called, pressing down the pads against the boy's chest. The monitor continued to flat line. " Clear!" Nothing. " Recharge, Clear!" The line jumped and then fell again. " Come on," she whispered to the unconscious figure. " Clear!" A pulse faltered for a few moments and she closed her eyes. The others looked at her. " That was so close," one of them whispered. " Again!" she ordered. " Clear." The line jumped, waving irregularly and then the machine beeped on, very slowly, the peaks uneven and weak, but there. The nurses gave tired half sobs of relief and left with the equipment. Perry turned round to Hudson, folding her arms protectively in front of her. " Three times, Captain," she sighed. "He isn't going to make it, all we're doing is prolonging this, stretching out his pain." She looked away for a moment and then back, her eyes desperately sad. " Next time I think we just need to... accept." " And let him die?" " And leave him in peace. We can go on like this for days, but in the end he will die. This isn't necessary, it's only cruel." He nodded slowly, sighing unevenly and she left. He sat down again to wait, staring up at the ceiling. And he thought he'd been in pain this morning with Elaine! But there was no one he could go to to talk about how he felt, to comfort him. The crew would be furious, rightly so. How could he ever hope for them to listen to him or obey him? There was simply no one there who wasn't angry with him, except the boy that was dying before his eyes. He had never thought he would let himself go like this if one of his crew died, but then again, none of them had died saving his life, before. He had done his best to turn Lucas against him, but that didn't seem to have made a difference, and now he would lose that; everything that he must have felt to keep him standing there. He hadn't realised that part of the reason why he'd been so angry was because he had cared so much and was so hurt when Lucas disobeyed him. It hadn't just been professional, his actions certainly hadn't been. It had been personal. He had felt betrayed, but he hadn't been. Lucas had simply being staying loyal to someone else, when that was the more important factor. He didn't now how long he'd been sitting there. He didn't even notice his exhaustion, too busy on his misery and pain. Finally he reached over and picked up one of the cold hands. " I'm going to stay here until I know you're going to obey me," he whispered. " This is your last chance. I'm not going to let you give up on us." A few hours later, when he finally got off duty, Tony found himself drawn towards the medbay. As he walked in, looking around, he noticed the open door and stopped, seeing Hudson sitting quietly, holding a limp hand, watching the slight figure intently. For a moment he was furious. He had no right to be there, pretending he cared. This was his fault and it was too late for that now. But there was an energy in the air that didn't speak of any of that. Hudson blinked as the room seemed to blur. He must be starting to feel how tired he was. He felt something wet on his face, it must be the cut from the bullet graze. He reached his hand up idly, but it wasn't sticky with blood, just tears. He stared at his hand for a moment. It had been so long since he had allowed himself to cry about anything, even Elaine. He had wanted to but refused. Right now he didn't seem to have any choice about the matter and he didn't care. There wasn't anything left to be proud about. Tony watched him for a moment and then left, silently. Tim turned round to Ford. " It's secretary McGath again, demanding to speak with Captain Hudson, Sir." Ford sighed. " I'll go and find him," he replied reluctantly. " Tell him he'll have to wait." " Great," Tim muttered, reconnecting to give McGath the message, holding the headset far from his ear as he did so. " Captain," Ford called quietly from the door. Hudson didn't look around. " Secretary McGath is demanding to talk to you. I've been putting him off for hours, but he wants to know why we are here, why we left early and why we aren't where we said we would be, patrolling the border." " Commander, McGath will have to wait. I'm busy." " Captain, with all due respect, you're not the only one here who is grieving. Some of us have known Lucas for a lot longer and are much closer to him. I think the least you could do, is come and talk to McGath and explain what has happened, go to the bridge, reassure your crew. They are angry enough as it is. Sir, unless you come and talk you them, it isn't going to be much of a tour." " Commander, I have nothing to say to them, no excuse. I don't care what McGath says, he can wait. Surely you can handle things for a while." " Yes, Sir, I can, but that is your job.... with all due respect," he spat out. " I'm not so sure it's due anymore. What exactly can I say to the crew? They aren't going to listen, and I don't have anything to offer," Hudson replied calmly. " Now, I would prefer for us not to argue here, and, as I can't leave, this will have to wait." " Yes, Sir." Ford turned away furiously and then back again. " You were right before commander, and I should have listened," Hudson said. "I think you will do a much better job than I have." Ford sighed. " Everyone makes mistakes, Sir. You were just wrong about why Lucas did it." " I was wrong about taking my anger out on someone else and abusing my position of command. Just go and find Freeman. But when you do, make sure that you don't let me within a hundred metres of him," he added darkly. Dagwood crossed over to Tony on the bridge. " Tony, what's going on?" he asked worriedly. " Why is everyone sad or angry?" Tony looked away and then back at his friend. " It's just been a rough day. It'll be fine soon," he replied, as much to reassure himself as his friend. " Um... I don't understand. Why will it be OK soon, but not now?" " It just will, trust me on this one." " OK. I will go and feed Darwin. Do you think Lucas will be back later to play with him." Tony closed his eyes, leaning against the panel, thankful that he had turned away. " Not today, Dagwood," he said softly. The dagger placed a comforting hand on his head and smiled at him encouragingly. " Soon isn't long," he reminded him. " Thanks, Dagwood." He watched as his friend left and then turned back to the others, seeing the pain, he felt, in their faces, reflecting back at him. Tim sat by the moonpool, staring in. He didn't know what to feel, or what to believe. He stared at his cross, finding that he could draw no strength from it. Someone crossed the floor and stood beside him. He looked up as Kimura squatted down beside him, looking straight ahead at the water. " You people make no sense," she told him, frowning. " First I hear that the UEO is so good to it's people and then I see the way Hudson was acting and now... I don't understand. I respect it, but it doesn't make sense. Why would he do something like that for someone who was so unkind to him?" She was honestly confused. " Loyalty. Love. Things that Hudson doesn't have a clue about... or you." She stiffened and stood, walking out. She hadn't known what to say, but had gone simply to offer her presence as support. Boy, was that a mistake. It was justified, that remark, he told himself. It was! A week passed slowly. They gave up the search for Freeman. On the sixth day Perry came to see Ford. "I want you to do something about Hudson. He hasn't moved in five days. I don't think he's slept more than a few hours. He doesn't talk to anyone, he doesn't eat properly, when he does at all. Commander, how ever strongly you feel, I am worried, very worried. I think we're all surprised enough to know that this is a problem. The one thing he would never do is abandon his command, but right now he isn't sure what to do with it. Jonathan, I think you'd better find someone that he can talk to, some one he cares about." " You think I can find anyone who cares about him?" he asked bitterly. " You're anger is not going in the right direction, Commander. He behaved horribly, but he didn't do anything to deserve this. I think losing one member of the crew at a time should be enough." She left, leaving him drawing in a sharp breath. Damn, Hudson to hell. This was his problem and it was one thing he wasn't going to sort for him. They had docked to be able to continue the search and give the crew time to recover, largely, Ford thought, it was to give Hudson time to snap out of it. Otherwise this would be a huge embarrassment to the UEO. He sighed and went back to the bridge. Copyright Sabrina Helayna Ardeloes 1997 Date: Fri, 24 Apr 1998 03:22:22 -0500 (CDT) From: Silvia Casale Subject: Just Revenge: Part 11 Sender: owner-tales@mcfeeley.cc.utexas.edu X-Sender: silvia.casale@pop-3.ukonline.co.uk To: tales Reply-to: tales@mcfeeley.cc.utexas.edu X-Mailer: Windows Eudora Light Version 1.5.4 (16) Large part today and the rest tomorrow! Happy reading! ( I hope ) Copyright Sabrina Helayna Ardeloes 1997 It was very quiet again, everyone depressed and down cast. When the shift finished, Ford went back to his quarters and sat, unable to sleep or read or do anything constructive. The comms link beeped and he turned it on reluctantly. " Yes?" " Commander Ford, a message went through to the Captain's quarters, but he didn't answer. It re-routed back to us. It's Elaine Morse, Sir. She's asking to speak to him." " Tell her he's busy," Ford snapped bitterly. " No wait." He sighed. " We're going to be here for a while, looking for Freeman. The UEO is afraid for Deon, so they've ordered us to find him. Put her through to me." " Sir?" " Was that unclear, Lieutenant?" " Er... No, Sir. Yes, Sir," Tim said and transferred the link. Ford rubbed his eyes tiredly. At least he could act like a decent human being. " Constable Morse." " Commander. I was trying to speak to Oliver." " The Captain is busy at present..." " Then thank you anyway, com..." " But I think he would very much like to see you, talk to you. The only problem is that you will have to come here. He can't come to the phone at the moment." She stared at him, her face growing concerned. " Has something happened? Has he been hurt?" she asked finally, her eyes belying the calm tone. " He isn't exactly feeling himself, but he is all right." " Then what..." " One of the crew is dying." " What happened?" " Captain Hudson went to a meeting, but someone he had crossed found him on the way back. Wolenczak tired to rescue him..." " Wolenczak? But he's only a child!" " He saved Hudson's life, but the Captain isn't taking it too well. He won't leave medbay, until..." he swallowed hard, pushing away his emotions. " I think he needs to talk to someone, and no one on board can do that at the moment." Or will. Morse looked away for a moment, her jaw clenching. " Thank you, Commander, I think I will accept your invitation." Ford sighed. " If you report to the docking bay, I will tell my people to let you through and take you down to medbay." He cut the link and sat back, angry that his conscience had forced him into acting properly. There was a quiet knock on the door. Hudson turned wearily, wondering who it was that could be. Several of the crew had stopped by each day, but they had just stood silently in the doorway and then left again. " Elaine," he gasped, staring at her blankly. " It's nice that you're so glad to see me again, Oliver," she said quietly, then came across and took the chair next to him. " Commander Ford told me what happened, a little. I'm sorry," she told him sincerely. " But the Oliver Hudson I knew would never abandon his crew and command, especially not at a time like this." " I have a more important commitment, first," he said, his voice hard. " I was so unbelievably stupid," he admitted softly. " Somehow that is no great surprise," he turned to her, hurt, but she was smiling. " You were never very good at showing people you cared. Your best way of doing it, was fighting." She paused. " I'm sorry that this all happened because you came to see me." " This is not your fault. This is my fault and it would have happened sooner or later, the part with me at any rate. Lucas got involved because I was too busy being stubborn and angry." He sighed. " Elaine, how can I command after this? What sort of respect can I hope to keep, if I can't even respect myself? There isn't anything I can say; I can't even be bothered to try, I'm so tired. How could I be so stupid? How could I let this happen?" " Have you ever thought that it was the person who did the shooting was the one at fault, not you? Lucas made a choice and I think that choice says a lot about you. No one would do that, unless they really cared about you, especially after you acted like a jack ass. You acted badly, but not terribly," She told him firmly. " Now stop feeling sorry for yourself. It's easier to accept the blame, than to realise that you don't deserve it, sometimes, and what good is it going to do, if he saves your life, for you to ruin it. If you want to make amends, you should bloody well carry on with your duties and show his choice some respect." " This wasn't about what type of a person I am, it's about who he is." " But the fact that he cares is what's important. Now I think he, and your crew, deserve a lot more from you, right now. For god's sake Oliver, you're a mess. Go and get drunk and then start acting like an adult!" Hudson looked across at her and sighed. " So I'm wrong again?" " Yes. And I'm not going to let you sit here feeling more and more sorry for yourself." They were silent for a while. " Why did you come? I thought you didn't have anything you wanted to talk about." " I didn't have a choice," she told him angrily. " Ford forced you to?" he asked, opening his eyes wide. " No. You did," she replied angrily and waked out, returning quickly. " I don't want to care, but I do and that's why I came, now get up and get on with things!" she ordered him, her eyes furious and bright with angry tears for being forced into this confession. He blinked at the door, as she left, and sat thinking. At some point, he wasn't quite aware when the tiredness overcame his thoughts and he fell asleep. He woke to excited voices in the room and sat up terrified, looking across to where Dr Perry was watching the monitor, with a strange look on her face. He closed his eyes again, letting out a deep sigh, and she turned round to him. " Good morning, Captain," she said cheerfully. He opened his eyes, blinking at her. What was there that was good about it? He looked down at the boy, breathing slowly, but then he noticed it was more even and less painful. He looked across at her. " I don't quite believe it, but think he's going to be OK," she said softly. He blinked at her again, not believing it. 2 You said..." " I said that there were no certainties and he put up a hell of a fight." She looked across at the monitor. " His blood pressure and pulse started to rise again an hour ago. We thought... but they seem to be stabilising at more normal levels. I still can't promise anything, but... he's doing well." She shook her head. " We've been very lucky today." And then she left. A few moments later Ford came hurrying down. He heard Perry giving him news outside, his silence and then sigh of relief, as he hurried off to tell the others. Hudson sighed, sitting back, hopeful for the first time in over a week. If Lucas survived, he could make amends, or change, or do something. He wanted to be alone for this overwhelming joy and relief though he knew the whole ship would be celebrating, people laughing and crying with relief. But he had a deal to complete first, so he stayed, waiting. A pair of tired blue eyes opened slowly and Lucas sighed softly, smiling faintly. " Thank you for staying," he whispered weakly. " I'll stay longer," Hudson offered, gently pushing his hair off his face. " I'll be all right," the soft voice replied. " I'll see you later then." He stopped in the doorway as Perry came across to him. " He woke up," he told her, his eyes shining. " I'll be back soon. I'd better go and see what happened to my boat." Perry smiled at him. " Why don't you do that Captain." The team on the bridge turned around, their laughter falling silent as he walked in. " I see you heard," he said, smiling as well and then his face clouding. " I think I owe you all an explanation for my actions- for not being in charge, to keep things going. I'm sorry for this, but I had a deal I had to keep with Lucas, and it seems we both kept up our ends." He sighed for a moment. " He woke up briefly, so if you want to see him, he might be up again later; you'll havet o ask Dr. Perry." He waited for their reaction. Ford turned round to the crew members, reading their faces. " It's good to have you back, too, Sir," he said firmly. " Thank you Commander," Hudson replied, his voice grateful. " Now, what did I miss, before I have to go back to medbay?" Everyone finally started to settle down again. Hudson was amazed to find the crew, although somewhat awkward to begin with, treating him no differently, obeying his commands as usual. After Ford briefed him, he talked with McGath and they decided to give up the search for Freeman, then he returned to the bridge to give them their new orders. Most of the crew spent the next two days in and out of medbay, but Lucas slept on, quietly. He was sitting in his quarters listening to Beethoven, trying to sleep, when the comms link chirped. He reached over and turned it on. He wasn't going to sleep in any case. " Captain Hudson? Lucas is awake and he asked to see you," Dr Perry told him. " I'll be right there," he replied, getting up quickly and throwing on his uniform, buttoning it as he hurried down the corridors. " Good morning," he said, smiling as he slowed, coming across the room and sitting down. " How are you feeling?" " Better," Lucas replied softly, closing his eyes again. " Do you want me to leave?" Hudson asked. " No. I..." He sighed, tiredly frowning. " I think I owe you an apology," Hudson said finally, " and my deepest thanks. That was one hell of s brave but stupid thing you pulled back there!" He sighed, trying to stay calm. " Thank you," he amended. " Why?" Lucas blinked at him. " The same reason I disobeyed you on the Orpheus," he replied quietly. " I am sorry about that," Hudson said with difficulty. " I was very wrong." Lucas frowned again. " It thought... I disobeyed you again... and..." " You saved my life! For God's sake, Lucas, for a genius you can be very slow to grasp the obvious." " You're not angry?" Hudson looked at him, pained. " No," he replied quietly. " I'm not the one who should be." Lucas looked at him for a while and then closed his eyes again, still very pale, and drifted off into sleep. Hudson stayed with him for a while and then left. Hudson looked up, from the backed up papers work he was trying to sort through, on his desk, as the PAL chirped. " Sir?" It was O'Neil. " There's a local police Captain asking to talk to you." Hudson frowned, putting down his pen. " Put it through, Lieutenant." " Aye, Sir." A greying haired man, in a crumpled suit, looked out at him, from the vidlink. " I'm Captain Hudson, How can I help you?" he said politely. The man frowned at him. " Well, I think we can help you, actually." Hudson raised his eye brows. " One of your officers- your XO, I think- Ford, contacted my department about an escaped criminal, who tried to kill one of your crew." Hudson leaned forward, his face growing dark. " I think we may have found him." " Mason Freeman? Hudson asked, amazed. " You have him in custody?" " I guess you could say that." The man shifted uneasily. " The body is going to be pretty hard to identify, as he's been in the water for well over a week now. We found the body chained to an abandoned pier by the warehouses. Some kids saw it floated there, when they went down to the lot to play. We don't have the full pathology report yet, but it seems that he was strangled." " Over a week ago?" Hudson said distantly. The man nodded. " Well over, and these doctor types don't tell you that straight off, unless they are pretty damn sure, I can tell you. We're trying to get prints from the UEO files to make an ID." " I'd like a full copy of the report when it's in." " I'll have it sent over," the man replied and cut the link. Hudson sat staring at the wall. After a while there was a knock at the door. " Come in," he called absently. Ford walked in and over to the desk. " Sir, is something wrong?" he asked finally. " Mason Freeman," Hudson replied, frowning more deeply, " has been found strangled, his body tied under a pier by the warehouses." Ford opened his eyes in surprise. " It seems that he's been dead well over a week." It was Ford's turn to frown. " But we know he was alive ten days ago." " He must have been killed right after he left the warehouse," Hudson replied. Ford looked at him for a moment. " The police are doing an autopsy but they don't have a report yet. They will be sending a copy when it is done." Ford nodded and turned to go, then looked back. " Captain...." " No, Mr Ford. I don't know who killed him," he said, meaningfully. " If I had had the chance I probably would have, but I didn't have the time." Ford nodded, relived, though a lingering doubt still hung about the corners of his eyes, as he closed the door. The autopsy told them little more than they knew all ready and gave no clue as to who had killed him. The police found the launch underwater, flooded, and the file was closed with the report that he had been murdered by a person or persons, unknown, as he was trying to flee from the scene of his crime. No one was interested in keeping the case open. A crazy and cruel man had died in an equally crazy and cruel fashion, no one argued that he deserved it. No one cared to look for the killer. Whoever it was had done the world a favour. But the closure was a quiet, strange one. They had wanted revenge, a capture or a killing during a capture. It was bewildering that the man they had been looking for had been dead all the time, his bloated body floating in the water under the pier, killed so soon after he had left the warehouse. He might even have been dead before Brody and Tony docked at the other end of the lot. They simply didn't know. Copyright Sabrina Helayna Ardeloes 1997 Date: Sat, 25 Apr 1998 09:39:49 -0500 (CDT) From: Silvia Casale Subject: Just Revenge: Part 12 ( End ) Sender: owner-tales@mcfeeley.cc.utexas.edu X-Sender: silvia.casale@pop-3.ukonline.co.uk To: tales Reply-to: tales@mcfeeley.cc.utexas.edu X-Mailer: Windows Eudora Light Version 1.5.4 (16) Copyright by Sabrina Helayna Ardeloes 1997 Lucas spent most of the first week sleeping, progressing very slowly, but waking up a few times each day, glad to find someone waiting to talk to him until he drifted off into sleep again, everyone very gently with him and patient, even when he fell asleep mid sentence. That morning he had woken up feeling more cleared headed for the first time and lay staring up at the ceiling for a while. A few minutes later Dr Perry came in smiling. " Good morning, and how are we today?" " I'm not so tired." She nodded. " You're doing better. How's the breathing?" " OK, now, it's only when I'm not careful." " Well, then you'd better be careful a little while longer," she warned him. He sighed wearily. " I'm fed up of lying here. I've been sleeping for a week." " Two, but you were unconscious the first." " OK, two, and... How long is this going to take?" he asked impatiently. " As long as it does." She smiled at him encouragingly, patting his arm. " If you want to sit up for a bit, I think that would be a good idea." He nodded, moving to push himself up, but she pushed him back. " Slowly, and carefully, don't put and weight on your left arm or you'll feel it." He nodded again, as she helped him up slowly, rearranging the pillow so he could lie back again. He blew out a long breath at the ceiling. " It'll get better," she reassured him. " But you know, you're very lucky to be here at all. Just make sure you don't do anything stupid now, or you'll be stuck here a lot longer." " Can I have a computer or a book or something?" " No, but you can have a visitor," she replied, moving past Ford in the door. " So you're feeling better, toady?" " Yeah," Lucas replied tiredly. " I'm just bored." Ford grinned, " You're definitely feeling better." " I just wish I wasn't so tired." He sighed softly. And then looked across at Ford's anxious face. " I'm sorry, I'm just impatient." " So long as you don't push your self and get sick again." " I'll try not to." He grinned and closed his eyes again. " Commander?" " Yes, I'm still here." " Do you think... I mean...Never mind." " What is it?" " Nothing, I'm just tired," Lucas sighed and closed his eyes, falling asleep. Perry came in after a while and gently woke him. " Let's get you lying down again." He nodded sleepily at her and let her help him, lying back comfortably, his face peaceful, and immediately falling asleep again. Perry looked over at Ford. " He'll be OK. It will just take some time," she told him quietly. " We'll do better tomorrow." By the end of the week he was up to sitting up long enough for a game of poker, disgruntled at not being allowed to get up or read or have access to a computer, which he demanded daily, with growing strength. Four days later Perry checked his wound and agreed that it was healing well. " OK. Time to get up," she said, turning to Lucas. " Finally!" he sighed, pushing back the covers. She put a restraining hand on his shoulder. " Slowly, unless you want to be stuck here for another three weeks." He blinked at that and slowly shuffled to the edge of the bed, sitting. Hudson came and knocked on the door. " Getting up?" " For a little bit," Perry replied, motioning for him to come over and help them. " Up we get," She said, helping him with a hand under his elbow. Hudson helped him on the other side and he stood gingerly. " Feel strange?" " Yeah. I think I forgot I had legs." " OK, we're going to try a little walk." They lead him unsteadily to the door, then back and let him sit on the edge of the bed, slightly out of breath. She checked his pulse. " You did fine for now." He looked at her worriedly. " You're just not used to being up. If you're feeling OK again later, we'll have another go. You'll get back into things faster than you think, but you were pretty sick for a while," she reminded him. " I feel like I ran ten miles," he said, lying back and closing his eyes. " Only ten?" she grinned. " I'll come and check on you later, get some sleep now." >From then on, each day got a little better and finally, after five weeks, Perry agreed to let him go back to his own quarters, though she wouldn't allow him on duty. It still seemed to take more energy than he had to do anything, but slowly, he was able to do more and for longer, though he still found himself sleeping fourteen hours a day. It took a long time to get used to being up again for any number of hours together, but by the end of the next week Perry had given up trying to keep him away from the computers on the agreement that he would rest when he was tired, which he actually obeyed, though reluctantly, having little choice. Ss he got better, everyone relaxed around him, though they were still even more over protective than usual. Gradually being able to cut down the medication helped and, as it got less, he found he wasn't quite so tired, though he was bored and impatient about how long it took to even be able to do simple things for himself again. " I want to go back on duty. I'm going nuts, I've never been so bored in my whole life!" he said impatiently, as Perry checked him over. " It's been seven weeks!" She sighed, taking off the blood pressure cuff. " OK, but only half shifts- and if you feel tired, you leave right? Do we have a deal?" " Yeah," he replied, smiling delightedly, getting up. She pulled him back, carefully. " That was a yes, wasn't it?" He rolled his eyes, but she wouldn't let him go. " Yes, all right?" She nodded. " I'll let Captain Hudson know what you can and can't do," she told him dubiously. Ford patted his shoulder, as he walked onto the bridge, smiling, and took his station, putting on the headset. By the end of the shift he was exhausted but happy. It had been very depressing being stuck, not being able to do anything, for so long. Hudson stopped him as he walked off the bridge, chatting with Tim and Tony. " I need to talk with you in the wardroom for a moment." Lucas smiled at his friends, " I'll see you in the mess," he told them, following Hudson down the corridor and into the room, frowning worriedly as he sat down. Hudson paced uncomfortably. " I talked to secretary McGath. He only agreed on your punishment because I was pushing for more. I think you're actions... justify- merit- a reduction in that sentence." " Sir?" " You'll be promoted back to your former rank, as soon as the time stated is up and then promoted to whatever rank you would have reaced in the meantime." " I didn't do it to get promoted, Sir," Lucas said, angrily. " I know you didn't. You earned it and I think I was mistaken in the first place to condemn loyalty in my officers." He turned, looking at him nervously. " I don't think that's something I should be punishing you for ... especially when I've benefited so much from it. I don't think I fully understood why you did what you did then but I do now." " You don't have to..." " Yes, I do," Hudson replied firmly. " The demotion was my idea anyway," he admitted tiredly. " This isn't a reward for what you did, it's a correction of my mistake," he explained slowly. " Or won't you allow me to do that?" Lucas looked at him carefully for a while. " So long as that's the reason," he said doubtfully. " Thank you, Sir," he said, turning in the doorway. " You learnt how to obey my orders, which was the point of it all," Hudson added. " I'm very glad that you did." Lucas smiled at him and shut the door, sighing tiredly, but happy, feeling things resolved for the first time in a long time. Maybe it wasn't going to be such a bad tour after all. The End " Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends." Bible, John 15:13 Copyright by Sabrina Helayna Ardeloes 1997 Date: Fri, 17 Apr 1998 14:47:15 -0500 (CDT) From: Silvia Casale Subject: Just Revenge: Part 2 Sender: owner-tales@mcfeeley.cc.utexas.edu X-Sender: silvia.casale@pop-3.ukonline.co.uk To: tales@mcfeeley.cc.utexas.edu Reply-to: tales@mcfeeley.cc.utexas.edu X-Mailer: Windows Eudora Light Version 1.5.4 (16) there are twelve parts for the story but they get rapidly shorter... Copyright Sabrina Helayna Ardeloes 1997 Part 2 The next day, they would be docking in a small harbour for supplies and a day's leave, for the loading. Leave. He sighed happily at the thought. He'd managed to catch up on some sleep and now the thought of actually doing something, other than working and sleeping, was certainly appealing. They docked and their shift ended. Tony came up, as they walked off the bridge. " So what do you want to do on this tropical paradise?" he asked, thinking about the grim cold rain that usually fell here, all year, regardless of season. Lucas shrugged. " I though..." " Mr Wolenczak." Lucas stopped in his tracks and Tony patted his arm, as he walked back onto the bridge and across to Hudson. " Sir?" " I need to visit someone in a town further down the shore. I therefore need a pilot for the launch." Lucas swallowed, clenching his fists, momentarily, at his sides, and forcing his face and voice to remain calm. Just when he had though it was over! That's what made it worse. " I'll have the launch ready in half an hour, Sir," he replied perfectly calmly, his eyes staring daggers through the far wall. "That's all. I'll just need you to wait, by the launch, until my meeting ends," Hudson told him and then walked past him, off the bridge. Lucas waited until he was gone before he exited. Tony looked up as he poked his head around the door. " Have fun." He sighed. " I'll see you later." He shut the door before his friend could even offer commiserations and hurried down to the launch bay to check that the launch was fuelled, powered up and that everything detail was perfect, then he sat in the pilot's seat waiting. A long while later, Hudson walked in and shut the hatch, sitting down at the back. " When you're ready," he called and sat back, reading a book. Lucas flipped on the comms link. " Launch MR-5 requesting permission to launch." " Permission granted." He shut down the link and carefully piloted the craft out, following the directions, that Hudson had dropped on the co-pilot's seat before he went to he back of the launch. He steered carefully, making sure they were no sudden movements, but that they made good time: nothing that Hudson could use as an excuse. When was he going to give up, though? Lucas sighed, he would just have to wait and see. The problem was that he was starting to get really angry. For a while, he felt almost that he deserved it, but this was ridiculous. The journey was very quiet. Hudson didn't speak to him once and he spent his time concentrating on the route and piloting. Hudson glanced up every so often, but there was nothing he could complain about, Damn it! Well, he could be equally stubborn. No junior officer was going to act so audaciously and get away with it, standing there and assenting to his orders, carrying them out quickly and then reporting back, always staring blankly at the wall, in military stance, his voice neutral, so there was nothing he could use and all the time, he knew he was just laughing to himself and showing him up. no one made Oliver Hudson look like a fool or out of control of his officers, especially not twice in a row, whatever the reason. He was also angry in place of being nervous, which was something he would never admit to being. " Sir, we've arrived," Lucas announced from the front. Hudson nodded briefly to him. " seaQuest is leaving again at twenty one hundred hours. I'll be back by eighteen hundred, at the latest," he said shortly and opened the hatch, stepping out. " I would appreciate it if you could wait here for me, in case my meeting ends early," he added. " Yes, Sir." Lucas replied. Hudson left, closing the hatch. He got up, stretching, and went to the back of the launch, stretching out on a long bench. He had to report in once an hour, just to be safe and so he set his watch. Hudson wouldn't be back for at least three hours. It was only ten in the morning and he was going to be stuck here all day. He tried not to think about what else he might be doing, if he wasn't here, waiting around. That wasn't gong to help him to stay calm and not kill Hudson or just leave him here, which was a sorely tempting proposition at this point. It was going to be a long day. Outside the launch, it was a dull day, the grey skies threatening rain and the air was cold. He sighed, already depressed enough and walked up the docks, on one side the beginnings of the harbour and then marina, on the other empty, abandoned warehouses, awaiting demolition, but Oliver Hudson wasn't one to be afraid of anything or anyone, especially when he was walking around in broad daylight. He looked at his feet as he walked. He wasn't sure why he was doing this and was trying not to think about it, because he was afraid that if he did, he would realise what an incredibly stupid idea this was and turn right around and head back, as he knew he should. He barely noticed the narrow street he had turned into, the small squashed brick houses, grey with dirt and grim from an industrial age, the ragged bundle of clothes sitting on a doorstep, curled into itself. The streets grew wider and brighter, until they were filled with shoppers, walking and then stopping, idling in front of the glass-fronted stores, looking in at the bright, colourful displays, considering their wallets, the rent and their desires. He hardly noticed the crowd of people, stepping down on the street and walking along the road, ignoring angry drivers, to be out of the melee. If someone got in his way right now, he would probably punch them through one of the shop fronts. Not a good career move. He took out a much folded piece of paper, smoothing it out and checking the address. He had turned off the main thoroughfares and was in another quiet, medium sized street, with trees along the pavements. He knew it was the right address, without looking at the paper; he had memorised it days before. Suddenly he realised what he was about to do and nearly turned on his heels and fled, but Oliver Hudson didn't run away from anything and he didn't stop, when he wanted something, until he got it. He straightened up, smoothing down his uniform and striding purposefully up the steps and ringing the bell. The sound made him want to throw up as a wave of anxiety washed over him. The door opened and he forced a smile onto his face, finding it dropping quickly, when a sixty year old women squinted out t him and then stood impatiently with her arms folded. " Wha' d'yu want?" she demanded as unpleasantly as anyone possibly could. He wondered if he should be put off by such a display of displeasure, it was certainly a bad omen. He forced a fake smile back. " I'm looking for, Elaine Morse," he told her as politely as he could. " Why?" she asked, narrowing her eyes further at him. " I... um... I just would like to see her. I'm an... old friend," he lied finally. Well, it was almost true. She squinted at him some more and then turned into the house. " Elaine!" she bellowed and he had to paste the smile back on as she turned back to him, trying not to wince at the scream. " What is it?" a disembodied voice called and he heard the sound of someone running down the stairs. The woman stood to one side. " You know him? Says he's an old friend of yours." Elaine stared at him, her eyes opening wide with shock and then a blankness coming down over her face, but not before a look of anger flashed through her eyes. " Yes, I know him," she said icily. " Humph." The woman replied and withdrew with a last decidedly discouraging, menacing look at Hudson. " Military types," she muttered, as she walked off. Elaine turned back to him, folding her arms. " What do you want?" she asked coldly. He tried a smile. It didn't work. " Can I come in?" he asked. She leant against the door, waiting impatiently for his answer. " Well, I was just in the town and I thought I'd drop by and say hello," he said cheerfully, trying to pass it off lightly. " Hello," she said and started to close the door. He put his foot in it, cursing when she slammed it regardless. " Elaine!" " Get your foot out of my door, Oliver," she warned him, her eyes flashing angrily. " Not until we've had a chance to talk," he gasped. She looked at him steadily, seeing that he wasn't going to give up and then letting him open the door again. He leant against the doorframe, feeling his foot, through the boot. " I think you broke several of my toes," he complained, hurt. " Oh," she said mildly and then smiled at him quickly. He returned the smile sarcastically. " We've talked, Oliver. There's nothing more to say. You have the rest of your stuff back, so that's it. What else is it? You want to arrest me again or something?" " I just thought we could talk.." " About what, Oliver? The good old times, well, they're pretty damn old now, and they weren't that good." The light in his eyes faded into hurt and anger. " apparently I was wrong." They stared at each other for a while, her eyes meeting his hopeful and as close as he came to imploring, ones, with a cold, defiant anger. " Goodbye, Oliver," she said firmly and shut the door in his face. He sighed, staring at it for a moment and then hobbled down the steps, gradually walking more smoothly, as the blood started to flow again. He cursed as he walked, stopping when he got to a corner, looking around down the roads. Where would he go? He couldn't go back yet. For one, he was too angry and for another, it would look strange and his talk with Elaine had done enough damage to his pride and ego for one day. There was a bench on the far corner and he crossed to it, sitting forward with his hands clasped between his knees, staring at the ground and then sitting back, looking up, through the branches of the trees, overhead. He took a deep breath, letting it out slowly. For some reason he wasn't ready to go back yet, he was too upset. He hated to admit it, but it was true. He was deeply hurt, rejected and he should have known that this was how it would be. He had screwed up and it was his fault, she had every right to be angry. He wasn't good at showing that he cared about people and this time he couldn't put it right, not now. He was astonished at how deeply this affected him, as if he had lost something, but they had been apart for a year now, or more, he couldn't even remember, though, of course, he had been seeing a lot of her lately, though not in the best circumstances. He supposed that he had always thought that she would be waiting when he got his act together and decided to settle down, when he had finally achieved enough in life. That had never happened, and she wasn't going to just let him back into her life. She had given him a second chance, but she wasn't going to give him a third. And it was his fault, entirely his own fault, though they had both fought, he had been the one who had walked out, twice. Now that he really thought about it, there wasn't anyone else that cared or at least had cared about him, and no one he really cared for in return except, maybe, on the boat, but that was professional, nothing more. He had been a soldier too long to let it be anything else. He sighed and looked at his chrono. He had better get back, he had work to do and he wasn't going to let himself waste time, sitting here brooding, feeling sorry for himself. He got up, wandering slowly down the road, staring at the ground, still thinking. For a moment he considered just spending the day in the town. He sighed, well, he could find something else for Wolenczak to do, and the thought cheered him up out of his misery, somewhat. He stopped as the streets got crowded. He was too angry and frustrated for crowds of dallying shoppers, stopping suddenly in his path, and he crossed over the road quickly, walking down a side street until he came to the warehouses and from there he walked along the uneven, pot holed path, with the first houses on one side and the empty buildings on the other. Somehow they complimented his mood and he took a perverse pleasure in them and his misery. He paused for a moment, to straightened his uniform, and then walked o,n staring down at the cracked tarmac, sprouting strange weeds, rubbish, cigarettes and cans, along the gutter, blocking the drainage channels so that a pool of oily water flooded out across his path. He crossed over to pass it, staring down into the swirling colours on the surface. " Captain Hudson," a voice called cheerfully behind him; a man's voice, familiar and he started to turning, not afraid except for the briefest of seconds as he saw the flash of the weapon firing at him and that was all. Copyright Sabrina Helayna Ardeloes 1997 Date: Sat, 18 Apr 1998 09:49:17 -0500 (CDT) From: Silvia Casale Subject: Just Revenge: Part 3 Sender: owner-tales@mcfeeley.cc.utexas.edu X-Sender: silvia.casale@pop-3.ukonline.co.uk To: tales@mcfeeley.cc.utexas.edu Reply-to: tales@mcfeeley.cc.utexas.edu X-Mailer: Windows Eudora Light Version 1.5.4 (16) Copyright Sabrina Helayna Ardeloes 1997 Part 3 The first thing he was aware of, was a sharp pain in his head, ringing loudly through his ears. He lay still, waiting for the dizziness and nausea to wear off and then opened his eyes. He was lying on the floor, a dusty floor that stretched out in front of him into a huge room, completely empty. He tried to bring his hands to the front, to push himself up, but found that he couldn't. He pushed himself up awkwardly, looking around to see them handcuffed around a solid steel pipe, welded onto large joins on the wall. He pulled at them for a moment and then gave up, sitting with his back against the wall, while he summed up the situation. He had been walking back, by the warehouses. Someone had called his name and he had turned. He must have been stunned; the headache couldn't be anything else, and he didn't seem to be otherwise hurt. He looked around. It must be one of the warehouses: the windows cracked, most of the glass missing, a few old boxes leaning limply to one side, the only other objects apart from the walls. A small animal ran across the floor at the other end. It better not be a rat. He didn't like rats. He wasn't scared of them, but he disliked them intensely, their unpleasant eyes, their matted fur and raw looking tails. The thought was not pleasant, or in the least reassuring. Right now, he had to concentrate on why he was here, and more importantly, who had brought him here. He wasn't afraid, more angry, the disturbing events of the morning compounded by inconvenience and he was losing his patience. " Is there some one there?!" he shouted. " Who are you and why am I here? Do you have any idea..." A figure started laughing from the far end of the room and he turned as someone slowly walked through the door. He blinked for a moment. Now he was afraid, still angry, maybe more angry, but afraid as well. " Mason Freeman," he said finally. " Well, isn't this an unpleasant surprise." " You still have all your charm, Captain. Something I've missed over the last few months, but now," he shrugged, " we can catch up and spend a lot of time together." " Thanks for the offer, but I think I'd prefer to go and spend my time profitably- watching the pipes in the engine room." " So original, Captain. My my don't we have a talent with words and wit." " What do you want, Freeman?" he asked tiredly, his voice bored and impatient. " Oh, I have want I want, Captain," he said, bringing forward a chair, that he hadn't seen folded against the wall, and sitting, crossing his legs, leisurely. " I don't like being arrested, Captain. Prison food is not to my palate and the company is sadly deficient." " I'm sure the other inmates would fully agree." Freeman's unpleasant smile dropped for a moment and his eyes grew hard, narrowing. " I would recommend that you were more polite, Captain," he said mildly, his voice still pleasant and conversational. " That is a threat? Do you have any idea..." " I think I do, Captain. I'm just not sure that you do. You're hardly in a position to have any choice about it, anyway." " Take off these damn cuffs and I might just let you live." " That's very generous of you Captain, but I'm afraid that I'm not prepared to offer you the same courtesy." He got up, propping the chair back against the wall. " Until later, Captain." "Not late enough," Hudson spat after him. It wasn't the best thing to say, in fact, nothing of what he had said had been at all wise, but he had a sinking feeling that, at this point, it wouldn't matter anyway. Damn it! He wasn't going to get out of these cuffs and Freeman would have some sort of a plan, he ignored what it might be for the time. No one knew where he was; he hadn't told anyone, and they wouldn't even miss him until eighteen hundred hours. He had no idea what time it was, or how long he had been out, but, by the level of the light, and the slant of the shadows, it must be getting into the afternoon. Even when they did miss him, they wouldn't have a clue where to look. Whatever he was going to do, he had to do it by himself, but he didn't seem to have any ideas. He was fairly sure, from Freeman's last few comments, that he was going to kill him. The thought that worried him most, was how. Unless Freeman made some sort of stupid mistake, he wasn't going to get out of this one. He was a soldier, he was prepared to die, when the time came, but today it bothered him, because he knew that, if today was his last day, then there would be no one to miss him. He had just lost the last person who might have. The thought was surprisingly unpleasant. He had never thought he cared so much about being alone, but then again, he had always thought there would be time to change that. This wasn't even going to be a death that was a great sacrifice for Government and country. It was just going to be a simple, or not so simple, murder. The thought was insulting. If he was going to die, it could at least have been doing something heroic: fighting off the Macronesian, in a any one of dozens of situations, but no, it was going to be Mason Freeman in an abandoned warehouse. He didn't want Freeman to have the pleasure and he would fight him at whatever chance he got, and he would never let him beat his pride or dignity, but that wasn't much consolation. A breeze from the broken window stirred up a cloud of dust from the floor, circling and spiralling about and then falling down, still, blowing into his eyes, making them water and leaving him coughing. Time passed like an century, there was no hope of anything now. He simply had to wait for Freeman to return. It started to grow colder again, the clouds descending lower. He wished that Freeman would just return and get it over with, the endless waiting heightening the fear he was trying to deny, but which kept building with the suspense and tension. The shadows grew longer. Lucas looked at his watch. He had gone past angry a while ago: quarter of an hour ago. He hadn't been surprised that Hudson would stay out until the last minute, if only to keep him waiting, but he knew him better than to think he would be late. Now he was worried, and he knew that it was appropriate, but he was still nervous as he turned on the comms link to seaQuest. They would probably think he was just being a nervous idiot and worrying unnecessarily, the meeting could have gone on late, it was only fifteen minutes... but he wasn't going to leave it any later, in case. " Tim?" he asked anxiously. " Lucas? That you? Where are you? We're leaving in less than three hours and Ford is looking for Hudson...." " Tim, he hasn't come back. He said the latest he would be was six. It's six fifteen. Hudson would never be late." There was silence on the other end. " Tim?" " Give me a sec," his friend replied. He sat back, drumming his fingers impatiently on the console. " Lucas?" It was Ford's voice. " Commander, the Captain..." " Tim told me. Do you know where he was going?" " He just said it was to a meeting. He didn't say where or who it was with." Ford sighed. " Even Hudson might just be late, he is human you know." Even though I sometimes doubt it, he thought to himself. " Commander, I just don't think this is right..." " Give it another quarter hour, Lucas, and then get back to us." " I just sit here waiting?" he demanded. " Yes. It's not going to help the situation any if he comes back and you aren't there, he'll skin you alive. Just wait and be patient," he told him. Lucas shut off the link, pacing about the launch, checking the chrono every ten seconds or less. Something was wrong. He felt his heart sink as the second hand clicked up to the twelve and he turned on the PAL, exactly fifteen minutes later. " He's not here," he told them. Ford sighed worriedly. " We'll send another launch over and start checking with the UEO, police and hospitals. Just stay there in case he comes back." " Commander, I can't just sit here... Look, I'll go up to the end of the lane and see if I can get an idea which direction he went in..." " Lucas, stay at the launch." " Commander, I'll go crazy if I sit here and longer. I have to go and do something," he told him desperately. " OK. But don't go far, and don't be more than fifteen minutes. We won't be there much within an hour, but I want you to report in every quarter, OK?" " Yes. Thank you, Commander." " Just be careful. One missing person is enough." He nodded to Tim, who shut the link. Ford turned round to the bridge. "O'Neil I want you to check with UEO, the police and the hospitals. Captain Hudson is half an hour late to return to the launch. It could well be that his meeting went on late, but as we don't know where that is, we have no way of knowing," he told them helplessly. " Everyone else, continue with preparations to depart. Piccolo with Brody, take a launch and go look for them. We can get the co-ordinates from the launch. And take a med team- in case. They can wait at the launch while you go and look for Hudson, if he isn't back when you get there." Loni nodded typing on her console and then calling the co-ordinates out to Brody. " OK, we just stay calm about this and carry on. If Hudson comes back and finds us in an uproar, unprepared, there is going to be hell to pay." They nodded and set about their work, Tony and Brody hurrying off the bridge. Loni crossed over to him. " Hey," she smiled at him. " Everyone is allowed to be late once in their life." "Yeah," he replied distantly. Brody ran across the launch bay and shut the hatches, hurrying across to the pilot's seat, where Tony was powering up the engines. " We're clear for launch," he told him and Brody nodded. As soon as they were clear, he placed a weapon on the console in front of him. Tony turned to him worriedly. " We expecting trouble, Sir?" " No, we're just going to be prepared if we find it." Tony nodded. As much as he hadn't liked Hudson lately, they were all worried. Losing your CO wasn't a reassuring experience. Brody patted his arm and then went to the back of the launch to organise the other equipm ent they might need. Lucas walked, almost running, across the tarmac, cutting between the harbour and the warehouses, looking around, wishing that he would see his Captain walking towards him, yelling at him for not waiting in the launch. There was no one about, only a thin cat, stalking warily across the sea-front. He hurried up to the end of the lane and looked down in either direction, but there was no one there. He had no idea which way Hudson had gone, but it was a fair guess that the meeting would be in the town. He jogged up the lane, looking about, for something, anything, that could give him and idea as to which direction he had taken. He didn't know what he was excepting to find: footprints in the mud, arrows? He slowed, out of breath, looking around the street. Further along a dark shaped shifted on the steps, turning round, a grey, lined face looking at him with dark intense eyes. He walked up slowly and the figure looked at him almost fearfully, but he walked slowly, his hands in the open, by his sides, until he was a few metres away. "I'm sorry, I was wondering if you could tell me if you saw a man pass by here earlier, wearing a uniform like this. He's about my height, older..." he realised he had no idea how old Hudson was, it had never seemed of interest. The woman blinked at him for a moment. " He came by here in the morning," she said slowly between dark tinted teeth. " Did you see where he went?" " Up the street." He looked in the direction she indicated and then back to her, reaching into his pocket. " Thank you, really. I don't mean to insult you or anything, but can I...?" he trailed off uncomfortably. " No, I don't want money," she replied, squinting at him. " There's not many people would talk to someone sitting on a door step, let alone a soldier, let alone a young man. It's nice to be treated with respect." He stared at her helplessly, not sure what to say. " And I saw him a few hours after that, walking back. He was a few streets across by then, though, that was when I went to the fountain in the square," she explained. " He was heading back to the docks?" he asked eagerly. She nodded. " But he was further along. He would have ended up by the warehouses." She told him. He looked at her steadily for a moment and then smiled. " Thank you very much," he said and then ran off, to the end of the road and down the next one, heading for the warehouses. The woman looked after him and then stood, unsteadily, limping off slowly down the road, sitting again, every so often, in her slow progress. Copyright Sabrina Helayna Ardeloes 1997 Date: Sat, 18 Apr 1998 12:17:23 -0500 (CDT) From: Silvia Casale Subject: Just Revenge: Part 4 Sender: owner-tales@mcfeeley.cc.utexas.edu X-Sender: silvia.casale@pop-3.ukonline.co.uk To: tales Reply-to: tales@mcfeeley.cc.utexas.edu X-Mailer: Windows Eudora Light Version 1.5.4 (16) >From here on in the parts are much shorter... as you can see... Copyright Sabrina Helayna Ardeloes 1997 Part 4 As he ran, he took out his Pal, glancing down at his chrono. " It's Lucas..." " Where are you?" Ford asked angrily. " You're late!" " I went to see what I could find..." he said, between breaths, as he ran. " This woman saw him... earlier... said he was heading back to the docks a few hours ago and would be passing down a road, by the warehouses.... I'm just heading over there, to see if I can find out anything else. It's a pretty bad area, Sir. It could be a mugger, or simply an accident, with the roads like this." Ford glanced down at Tim, who was looking up at him worriedly. " Just be careful and report back in ten minutes, this time. Don't go far!" he commanded him worriedly. Lucas shut off the PAL, shoving it into his belt, so he could run better. He walked slowly down the lane, looking around the path, down the gaps between the warehouses. A slight rattle ahead, brought him up short and he hurried down, in between the buildings. A cat ran out, swerving away from him, squalling in panic. He sighed out a gasping breath and then started back to the main pathway, leaning against the corner between two buildings. That cat had really startled him. A movement further down the avenue, between the buildings, caught his eye, and he turned, gasping and then quietly ducking back, behind the wall, as soon as he was capable of reacting. He closed his eyes and then opened them, looking around the corner and then back again. The man strolling casually up the next lane, between the buildings, hadn't seen him. It took a while for his mind to clear enough from the shock, before he could think what it meant. Hudson had been coming past here and the man walking away... Freeman. It didn't take a genius to work out that the two were connected. And he hadn't failed to notice the weapon in the man's back jeans pocket, as he walked. He took a deep breath and then turned on the PAL. " Commander, this is Lucas. I think I know what might have happened. Freeman's here- on the docks, somewhere in the warehouses. He's armed. I won't be able to report back in for a while," he said briefly and then cut the link. " Lucas! Damn it. Lucas! Go back to the launch!" Tim looked up at him his face tense. " He turned off his PAL, Sir." " Damn it!" Ford hit his hand against the console, turning away angrily. " Tell Brody and Piccolo, warn them. At least they have weapons." Tim turned back speaking into his headset. " How could he be so stupid? He's going to get himself, both of them, killed out there. What does he think he's going to do?" he asked Loni, furiously. " I swear when they get back I'm going to..." he trailed off. " Send out another launch with more men and tell them to go armed," he ordered, then turned to. " Jonathan, I know how much you want to go, but you have to stay here. The crew is going to be panicking and the UEO... we're meant to be leaving soon. What's McGath going to say? He's not going to be content speaking to me," she argued, worriedly. Ford sighed. She was right. "How far away are Brody and Piccolo?" " At least 45 minutes." " Damn it. So much for teaching him to obey orders." he sighed and then turned round. " Cancel that order on the launche. Are we ready to leave?" Loni blinked at him in surprise. " Yes..." she said slowly and then looked at him hopefully and nodded. " Open a general channel. We're leaving," Ford ordered. " Now! Full speed to that location. They should be there almost behind Brody and Piccolo." The rest of the crew were already on board, the hatches sealed, the launch would be docking under water anyway, so they pulled away a few minutes later, and, as soon as they were out into open water, shot forward. Ford stared ahead, willing them closer. Loni looked up at him, as he leant back, below her station." Look, we don't know that Hudson and Freeman are connected or that they are, either of them, in any danger." Ford looked at her disbelievingly. " Well, there's a chance... OK, there's not much of an chance, but that doesn't mean that they won't be fine. Look, we've got the better of Freeman four times. Why should now be any different?" He nodded at her, striding purposefully back to the centre of the bridge. " Thanks." He smiled at her. " You're welcome." " Freeman?" Brody gasped, looking over at Tony. " Yeah, we got it." He shut the link. " How much faster can we go?" " We're all ready at the maximum and much as I hate to say it, if we go any faster we could burn out the engines and that ain't gonna help anyone." Brody nodded, reaching over for the weapon he had placed on the console and changing the setting. " We watch our backs and we don't assume anything until we know," he said meaningfully. " Got it." Lucas looked around the corner as the figure retreated, hurrying down to the next corner and checking Freeman's direction. He was still heading away, towards the other end of the warehouse plot. Lucas ran between the building, trying not to think. He didn't know anything. He certainly didn't know that he had already killed Hudson. In fact, it looked more like he was returning with a bag, rather than walking away. He kept that thought uppermost, as he hurried on, checking to see where Freeman was. As he peered around the next corner he panicked, when the figure no longer there, then took a deep breath, running down a cross lane. He looked round the corner, trying not to gasp with relief as he saw Freeman walking across and in, through a broken door, hanging sideways on it's hinges, into the dark interior of a warehouse. He turned on the PAL again. " Commander?" There was only static. He tried again; " Tim are you there?" but there was nothing. He cursed, looking around. A few metres down, there was an open space, filled with junk, containers and electric storage units. Great, he wouldn't be able to get through without leaving, the electricity from the containers, and the substances themselves, would be interfering with the transmission. If he left and got back to late, he would never forgive himself, but if he didn't go and got caught as well, then they wouldn't be found soon enough, not in the huge area where he was almost lost already. He looked around desperately, trying to decide, when a shot rang out. He froze for a moment, his breathing stopping it seemed and then he ran quickly towards the doorway and into the building. There wasn't time, and there's was nothing to be lost, except for himself, now. Copyright Sabrina Helayna Ardeloes 1997 Date: Sun, 19 Apr 1998 08:48:57 -0500 (CDT) From: Silvia Casale Subject: Just Revenge: Part 5 Sender: owner-tales@mcfeeley.cc.utexas.edu X-Sender: silvia.casale@pop-3.ukonline.co.uk To: tales Reply-to: tales@mcfeeley.cc.utexas.edu X-Mailer: Windows Eudora Light Version 1.5.4 (16) For Diena ( thanks for the comments ) Copyright Sabrina Helayna Ardeloes 1997 Part 5 Hudson looked up, tensing, as he heard footsteps and, a few seconds later, Freeman strolled in, casually. "So nice of you to be so patient, Captain. I trust your wait was comfortable." " What do you want Freeman? You're not taking your time for no reason. If you just wanted to kill me, you would have done it already." " Indeed, Captain. You see I would like to know where I can find Larry Deon, first. I wish to tie up all my lose ends," he replied darkly. " And it's getting late, so I would prefer to be moving on." Hudson glared at him. " I'm sorry to keep you fro your other.... engagements. Maybe your psychiatrist?" " Captain, no one has missed you, or at least they don't know where you are, otherwise this place would be surrounded by now or crawling with UEO and police. I think, in your position, I would be more co-operative," Freeman advised him. " So I help you to kill me sooner. Thank you, no." He stared him full in the face, daring him, his eyes angry and hard. Freeman raised the gun at him. " You've told me you're going to kill me anyway, you really think I'm going to tell you first? I wouldn't give you the pleasure." " I'm sure you wouldn't Captain, not without a fight That's what will make this so interesting and enjoyable." He raised the gun further and started to tighten his finger. Hudson felt his muscles tense in reaction and instinctive fear, seeing a flash shoot from the gun. He was still staring at Freeman and Freeman was still staring at him. He felt something wet running down his cheek, and brushed it against his arm, leaving behind a small smear of blood and then turning back, trying to keep his hurried breaths silent and his eyes steady on Freeman's. " I'm a very good shot, Captain, as I think you can see. Do you know how painful it can be to die slowl,y from a gunshot wound? I assure you, it can be very, very painful. Death is one thing, death in agony is quite another." He waited for Hudson's reaction, sitting back and watching him. Hudson stared back at him, his breathing fast, trying to stay outwardly calm, though inwardly he was more scared than he had been in a long time and he wasn't afraid to admit it to himself, now. Freeman was past insane, that much was clear. His predicament was equally clear. It didn't look like the rest of his life would be very pleasant or very long. He just hoped he would die with honour. He squared his shoulders stubbornly against the wall and they locked eyes. His breaths came fast, though he tried to keep them quiet, as he slipped into the building, willing his eyes to adjust to the gloom, before he tripped over something. He felt his way along the wall until he could see the room more clearly, and then he stopped, listening, and after a moment he could hear voices from further inside the building. He slipped into the next room, looking round and then crossed it, finally going into a corridor, following the voices, as they grew nearer and then there was silence. He looked round another corner, staying back out of the light from a powerful torch, that Freeman had placed beside him, shining away from the windows, onto the wall. There wouldn't be anyone there to see it, anyway. Hudson was sitting against the wall, opposite Freeman, who was slouched in a chair, with his back to the door. He was alive. Lucas leant back against the wall, in the corridor, sighing with relief. He'd been so scared when he'd heard that shot. He closed his eyes. That was a warning, think! You have to think! He had no weapon, couldn't contact the other and, glancing down at his watch, it was still about twenty minutes before Tony and Brody even docked, let alone found them. " I'm waiting, Captain," Freeman said impatiently at the other end of the room. " I'm not going to make this easy for you." " And I will return the favour. I never expected you to do anything else. It would have made it a very boring and disappointing evening." He didn't have time to wait, but what was there he could do, unarmed and alone?. Think. You're meant to be a genius, so think. Come up with a wonderful plan, but he couldn't think of anything: a diversion, great, but what? He looked around, thinking back over what he had seen in the other rooms. Then he took his PAL out and turned it on. It wouldn't be any use to contact seaQuest or give them a location anymore, but he could program it to make a noise, which might just give him long enough... for something. First he had to get Freeman out of there. He hurried back to the doorway, prying the back of the PAL open and reconnecting the wires in the fading light, squinting down at his work, cursing under his breath as he connected a pair of wires and the electricity burnt his fingers. He looked around and then turned into the next room. He could turn the PAL on and then block the doorway back into the corridor. That way Freeman would have to find another entrance and it was only the first floor, so they could jump through a window if they had to. It wasn't original or brilliant, but it was simple and quick and all he could think of. He picked up a piece of ragged loose piping from the corner. He could jam it against the door, if he couldn't find anything else, and then took a deep breath and placed a stone over the button on the PAL and then ran into the next room, crouching down in the shadow of a broken door, and waiting. " This is getting decidedly...." Freeman trailed off, looking around. Hudson followed his glance listening. Someone was coming? It's probably nothing, don't get your hopes up, he told himself. A thin, shrill whistle cut insistently through the still, silent air, clearly something electrical, something close. " Excuse me a moment, Captain," Freeman said, getting up and walking out, looking around the corridor carefully, first, and then following the noise through the empty rooms. Lucas held his breath, as he passed, waiting for him to turn into another room and then ran silently towards the corridor. With there being a wall in the way, now, and the noise from the PAL, Freeman wouldn't hear him... he hoped. in the corridor he spotted another larger piece of piping, and picked it up, running into the room and closing the door as quickly and quietly as he could and then rammed the metal between two pipes on either side of the door, and turned into the room. Hudson blinked at him in amazement, not believing his eyes, as he saw the figure run into the room, bar the door and then hurry across to him. " Wolenczak, what the hell are you doing here! I thought I told you to stay at the launch." Lucas ignored him, dropping down next to him and looking at the cuffs, carefully pressing the metal against the pipes and levering with the section he had brought with him. " You were late," he panted, focusing on the cuffs. " So you disobeyed my orders... again?" He was furious. Lucas didn't have time to care how unreasonable he was being. " I thought you might need some help," he said, cursing as the pipe slipped without breaking through the metal and he tried again. " How did you..." " A woman in the street told me you would be walking by the warehouses and then I saw Freeman," he didn't need to explain further. " seaQuest knows we're here and there's a team on the way." " Then why didn't you wait?" Hudson demanded. Lucas didn't pause as he replied. " I heard a shot, I didn't think that there was time to waste. Come on!" he gasped, sitting back and then trying again, pressing down as hard as he could. Hudson looked round at the door. " It isn't going to help if Freeman finds us both here. Get out now," he ordered and then a shot rang out, then further three and finally a fourth. The beeping stopped. " That was an order!" he shouted, trying to pull away. " Damn you!" " He can't get back in through the door, or it'll take him a while," Lucas replied, pushing down on the pipe. The cuffs gave a little and he sat back, with relief, before pushing the pipe down again. " Almost there." They jumped as another four shots rang out, at the door, and then silence. The door moved silently as a weight was thrown against it and then nothing. " Get out!" Hudson whispered at him. " It's nearly..." he trailed off as Hudson froze and then turned slowly, his face going white. " Well, isn't this a nice reunion." Freeman smiled at him. Copyright Sabrina Helayna Ardeloes 1997 Date: Sun, 19 Apr 1998 14:42:59 -0500 (CDT) From: Silvia Casale Subject: Just Revenge: Part 6 Sender: owner-tales@mcfeeley.cc.utexas.edu X-Sender: silvia.casale@pop-3.ukonline.co.uk To: tales Reply-to: tales@mcfeeley.cc.utexas.edu X-Mailer: Windows Eudora Light Version 1.5.4 (16) Copyright Sabrina Helayna Ardeloes 1997 Part 6 " Well, isn't this a nice reunion." Freeman smiled at him. Lucas swallowed hard. " Put down the pipe, Wolenczak," he said, raising the gun. " Now." Lucas obeyed, there was nothing else he could do. Please God let Brody and Tony find them quickly. They wouldn't have arrived quite yet, so they wouldn't have heard the shots... How did Freeman get back in? He looked around and saw a black curtain flapping in the breeze, pinned over what must have been a old door, which had broken when people still cared. Think! He didn't know what he could do to now, except wait, staring into the gun. A thought of how it must feel to be shot, flashing through his mind. The impact, maybe no pain to begin with, a flash as it fired and then the noise... the noise. Freeman had fired a lot of times already and he hadn't seen a second clip in his pocket, next to the gun. He closed his eyes, trying to think back over what he had heard. One shot when he ran to the building, three and then one, for the PAL and another four at the door, before he found the curtain. He looked steadily at the gun now. Nine bullets gone, one to go, if he was right and he hadn't reloaded. It wouldn't matter anyway, if that were the case. He swallowed hard and then stood up, facing Freeman, returning his stare. " seaQuest knows we're here. A team's on its way now. I told them before I came in. If you give yourself up now, you might get some sort of lenience." Freeman's laugh grated on his ears. " Good try. But not good enough," he said raising the gun as Lucas took a step closer. " I'd stay where you are." " Or you'll shoot me?" Lucas asked. " You've only got one bullet left and I didn't see another clip anywhere. You really want to go out of here, unarmed, with UEO people looking for us?" Freeman's gaze flickered slightly and his eyes grew distant, as he thought. " Well, well, isn't this an interesting situation. But I don't believe the part about your friends. But it's a pity that I'll only be able to kill one of you. Unfortunately, though you are a serious annoyance, Wolenczak, you are not my first concern. I can deal with you another time. Get out of my way," he demanded. He didn't answer. " Ensign, Move!" Hudson shouted at him. " I'm giving you a direct order, so help me God if you disobey me this time!" Lucas blinked slightly, but didn't turn around, facing Freeman, who was looking at him with interest. He took a pace to the right and Lucas followed his movements, ignoring Hudson's protests as he pulled at the hand cuffs. " Damn it Wolenczak!" Freeman paused, his eyes narrowing. " Maybe this will be a better option after all. I think your Captain looks more bothered by this, than by the thought of his own death and, well, this was meant to be directed against him, so..." He raised the gun and then lowered it slightly. " Once more chance to leave." " Go!" Hudson shouted behind him. Lucas drew in a quavering breath and stood still. " Do you think I won't shoot? or has Osirus base or has it slipped you're memory? I assure you I will." " I know," Lucas replied softly, trying to keep his eyes steady. " I think it will be punishment enough for you to watch him die," Freeman said to Hudson and raised the gun again. " Any last words?" Lucas swallowed hard. Brody and Tony would arrive, something would happen: this was some sort of awful dream, as he slept in the launch, too tired from the work of the past few weeks. But nothing came to mind to say. It was only a dream, and he should come up with something noble, heroic, poetic and then wake up. In the end, it was what he always said, when he was too terrified to think, that came out. " Go to hell." " Almost certainly, if there is one. I doubt if you'll be able to find that out for me, though. But, I wouldn't say any part of death is so wonderful." Hudson stared between them, his voice, hoarse from shouting. This was not happening, it couldn't possibly be happening. He had pulled against the cuffs until his wrists bled, but they were still tight, despite the damage that Lucas had done to them with the pipe. He was powerless. He was too far from them and he couldn't get up to stop either of them. Freeman focused on the gun, sighting along it. There was a brief flash of light. Only a moment later, he heard the shot. For a moment everything seemed still, the noise ringing in his ears and then the shot propelled the boy back, spinning him slightly as he fell, awkwardly, and then lay still. Copyright Sabrina Helayna Ardeloes 1997 Date: Tue, 21 Apr 1998 15:45:09 -0500 (CDT) From: Silvia Casale Subject: Just Revenge: Part 7 Sender: owner-tales@mcfeeley.cc.utexas.edu X-Sender: silvia.casale@pop-3.ukonline.co.uk To: tales Reply-to: tales@mcfeeley.cc.utexas.edu X-Mailer: Windows Eudora Light Version 1.5.4 (16) OK, everyone. I'm doing today's notes because sabrina's feeling sick again, but of course, she wrote it. I managed to get her to come and watch while I edited, so here are the next two parts. Happy? We might get some more out later if she gets up again. I've edited it, i just need to check if she agrees. **************** This is especially for Chris and her niece with our love and best wishes that you feel better. We hope this cheers you up. **************** Copyright Sabrina Helayna Ardeloes 1997 Part 7 " Well, Captain, I would love to stay, but..." He couldn't believe the calm voice, continuing as if nothing had happened. " Oh, before I go." He threw a set of keys at Hudson's feet. " I want you to be able to watch him die at close range. Don't bother going for help, there won't be time. We're too far from a phone, and into the lot, for that." Then he turned and left. " Until next time, Captain." Hudson sat on the floor, disbelieving. Then he reached his hands across for the keys, pushing them at the lock, awkwardly, as he slid his hands down the pipe, to the floor. The key turned, finally, and he pulled the cuffs away and then pushed himself up, crossing to the fallen figure and kneeling down beside him. His eyes were closed, blood already welling up through his uniform on the left. He reached down and felt for a pulse, feeling it race underneath his fingers. " Oh, God," he whispered, sitting down beside him and lifting him gently, pushing down, hard, over the wound, trying to keep his head and upper body raised, to ease the painful breathing. " You stupid...Damn you for not obeying me!" Lucas took a gasping breath and his eyes opened, closing quickly in pain and panic. As it passed he opened them again. " Sorry," he whispered, wincing in pain from the single word. Hudson stared down at him in horror, feeling him jerk in his arms as another spasm of pain shot through him, leaving his coughing, which only made it worse, until he lay still, in his arms, breathing shallowly. " They'll be here, sooner, they'll find, us," he told him determinedly, reaching his foot over and kicking the torch, so that the light shone out at the windows. " Just hold on." Lucas gasped again in pain, and then struggled, not breathing for a moment, lying back panting in choking short gasps. " Damn it, Wolenczak! You will not die. Do you here me? You are not allowed to die. That is an order and, for once, you are going to obey me, or I swear to god, you'll get that full court-martial this time." He didn't realise how ridiculous it sounded. " Do you hear me?" A few seconds passed. " Yes, Sir," came a barely audible whisper, eventually. " Good. Now just stay still." For a while his breathing eased slightly and Hudson looked about helplessly. There was nothing he could use to stop the bleeding; he didn't think it would help anyway. " Where are they?" he muttered. A gasp of pain interrupted him and he looked down quickly, trying to hold him still. A sudden sharper pain shot through him and he gave a small strangled cry, then lay still. Hudson shifted his grasp, panicking, breathing out relived, as he felt the pulse fast under his fingers, but growing weaker. " You... should go," Lucas said eventually. " Sorry, no can do. Freeman is gone and Brody and Piccolo are on their way. You're stuck with me until then." There was a pause. " What the hell were you thinking?" he asked softly, mostly to himself. Lucas opened his eyes, blinking at him, unfocused. " Come on, stay awake," he pleaded, looking around. " They'll be here very soon." Lucas stared up at him, blinking slowly in between wincing with pain, his eyes growing gradually more distant. After a while his breathing slowed slightly and Hudson felt him relax in his arms. He blinked a few more times. " I think... you'd better... take back that order, Captain," he whispered very slowly. " No. If you die on me it's not going to be with my permission." Lucas shut his eyes for a moment and then opened them again, this time they were starting to glaze over, his breathing slowing further, getting shallower. " God damn you," he whispered, holding him tightly, pressing down on the blood soaked uniform. " The Orpheus... I'm sorry," he said between short breaths and then closed his eyes. He was apologising. He just got shot saving his life, and he was apologising? Hudson closed his eyes, tightening his grip, trying to ignore his own pain and concentrate on the boy. " Wolenczak?" He didn't reply. " Lucas, god damn it, don't do this! Come on!" He was so focused on the limp figure that he didn't hear the footsteps, until the curtain swung back and Brody and Piccolo looked in, covering the room as they assessed the situation and then ran across the open floor. " We need a med team," he shouted unnecessarily. Tony blinked in horror, as Brody pulled out his PAL. " We need a Med team here now. You can follow our signal to find us. Get an ambulance, anything, just get it here quickly!" he ordered. " We're almost there, we'll have another launch out to the docks in five," Ford replied. Brody knelt down opposite Tony, staring horror at the blood. " Well?" Hudson demanded desperately. " seaQuest is nearly here, they're sending out a launch. It'll dock in five. They know where we are, from our PAL signal. We've got a doctor at the launch; I'll go and get him." He looked around helplessly. " What can we do?" Hudson looked up at him wearily. " Nothing." He sighed. " Go down to the docks and bring him here as fast as you can." Brody nodded and ran out. Tony looked at the still figure for a while and then up at Hudson. " Is he... He isn't..." " He's alive," Hudson told him quietly. Tony nodded. " Lucas?" he called softly, but there was no response or acknowledgement. He got up pacing about, hugging his arms around himself. Where was Brody? What was taking him so long? Copyright Sabrina Helayna Ardeloes 1997 Date: Tue, 21 Apr 1998 17:01:18 -0500 (CDT) From: Silvia Casale Subject: Just Revenge: Part 8 Sender: owner-tales@mcfeeley.cc.utexas.edu X-Sender: silvia.casale@pop-3.ukonline.co.uk To: tales Reply-to: tales@mcfeeley.cc.utexas.edu X-Mailer: Windows Eudora Light Version 1.5.4 (16) Copyright Sabrina Helayna Ardeloes 1997 Part 8 Brody ran back towards the docks faster than he could ever remember going, but it still seemed to take forever. He pulled open the hatch and dropped down onto the floor. The doctors looked up in alarm. "We need your help, at the warehouses," he gasped, panting. The first doctor nodded, passing Brody a medkit box. " What sort of help?" " Gunshot." The two medical staff conferred for a moment and then nodded, the first nodded, picking up a second box and then he followed Brody back across the lot, in between the warehouses, trying to find a shorter route. Thankfully, what with the weight of the box, it's awkwardness and his shortage of breath, Brody found he had to concentrate on running, rather than what they might find when they got there. The doctor kept up pretty well, but then he had only had to run one way. Tony looked up with relief, as they ran in and put the boxes down on the floor. " seaQuest will arrive in a few minutes. We'll have him back to the docks by then," the doctor said, checking his pulse and then looking warily at the blood. " Then let's go!" Brody shouted impatiently. The doctor sighed, calmly, rolling up Lucas' sleeve and starting to attach an IV. " If we move him now, he'll bleed to death. It'll only take a few minutes," he said, attaching the tube to a bag of blood and then nodded. " OK. We have to do this quickly, but carefully." " OK, put him down on the floor," the doctor ordered, as they arrived back at the launch. Brody and Piccolo obeyed, standing back out of his way afterwards and then hurrying to the front. A few seconds later, the launch powered up and they moved away from the docks. " Get Doctor Perry to the docking bay, for when we arrive," he ordered. Brody flipped on the comms link, as Tony piloted the craft back towards the boat. " Commander, Brody. We need Dr. Perry in the docking bay, when we get there. Where are you?" " You're about two minutes away," the voice replied and then a pause. " What happened. Who..." Brody sighed. " Lucas got shot." There was a silence on the other end. " How serious?" " Bad," he replied, closing his eyes. " We found Captain Hudson and he's all right," he added, as an afterthought. " We'll be with you soon," he said and closed the link. On the bridge the team looked round at each and then they turned back to their stations, watching the launch as it drew closer. Loni wiped an impatient hand across her face. It was going to be all right; it had to be all right. Ford stared at the floor while Tim kept talking with the launch, relaying information to medbay. Copyright Sabrina Helayna Ardeloes 1997 Date: Wed, 22 Apr 1998 09:42:00 -0500 (CDT) From: Silvia Casale Subject: Just Revenge: Part 9 Sender: owner-tales@mcfeeley.cc.utexas.edu X-Sender: silvia.casale@pop-3.ukonline.co.uk To: tales Reply-to: tales@mcfeeley.cc.utexas.edu X-Mailer: Windows Eudora Light Version 1.5.4 (16) Copyright Sabrina Helayna Ardeloes 1997 Freeman swung his bag over his shoulder, walking away quickly, through the maze of warehouses, hurrying down towards the docks. Moored by a small, broken-down jetty, sinking into the water, he had a lunch waiting. He didn't notice the figure that slipped out of the shadows of the narrow street to follow him, silently blending into the dark shadows. He went down the steps and dropped lightly onto the jetty, opening the hatch and throwing the bag in, taking one last look around, and then hurried to where he had had to tie the launch to the pier, for lack of any docking collar or other means of securing it. A dark shape moved away from the wall, crossing towards him quickly, running silently and then looking down at him, as he bent over the knotted chain, dark hair falling down, as the figure watched him, twisting something in its hands and then dropping down behind him, pulling the wire taut across his neck and then back, letting the body fall back against her as he struggled, tearing at the wire and trying to reach round at his attacker, flailing wildly, choking and then lying still. For a while they sat there and then the figure reached a small, dirt caked hand around his throat and checked for a pulse. Finally the figure took the chain, that he had used to tie the launch, setting it on auto-pilot to the bottom, with the hatches still open. The chain was wound around the body and looped under the pier, the body dangling down into the dirty, oily water. The figure stood and looked out to sea, dropping a pile of rags, in the shadow of the nearest warehouse, then walking away. Hudson sat down, opposite the two doctors, as they set to work, unzipping the uniform jacket and sliding a dressing underneath, conferring quietly together. One of them stopped suddenly, pausing as he reached for something out of the box. " Defibs, now," he ordered sharply and the other man turned, quickly flipping switches on a box embedded into the corner of the medkit. " Charged," he replied, " Clear." " Again," the other shouted. " Clear." " Pulse. OK." The first one sighed, relieved. " OK." Hudson looked around. It was over before he had even been aware of it. He looked at them fearfully. " What's going on?" The two glanced between each other. " Cardiac arrest, but we've got a pulse. He's alive, Captain," the medic assured him, as his face drained of colour. Brody turned back. " We're docking!" he called, getting up and hurrying to open the hatches. As soon as they were open, Perry ran in, quickly confirming the situation with her staff from the launch. She gave Hudson a brief glance, seeing him all right, and then hurrying back to medbay, Hudson following close behind. " Captain, you need to wait outside," she told him, as they started to prep. for emergency surgery. " I promised that I would stay," he told her. She looked at him for a moment and then nodded. " But you stay back, out of my way, whatever happens." He nodded quickly, taking the mask she passed him, and following her in. Ford ran into the waiting area a few minutes later, looking between Brody and Tony. " He's alive. Hudson's in there," Brody told him finally. Ford nodded. " Go back to the bridge." They looked at him angrily. " Don't argue, just go. It'll take you mind off... this. I'll wait here and you'll know as soon as anyone does." The two nodded slowly and left. As they walked onto the bridge Loni ran over to them. " He's still alive," Brody told them helplessly, as they took their stations. " Jim!" Tim looked round at him. " How is he really?" " I don't know... not good," he replied despairingly. " But we just don't know, OK? I'm not a doctor." They turned back to their stations. " Where's Freeman," Tim asked suddenly. Brody and Tony shrugged. " He wasn't there when we arrived and we were kind of busy. I'll take out a team and look," Brody answered, beckoning Tony to follow him. As they hurried to the launch bay and readied their gear, then briefed the others as they piloted the craft towards the docks and then split up, into smaller units, to search different areas of the lot. Tony and Brody started off to the warehouse, where they had found Hudson and Lucas, looking around warily. Brody paused and reset his weapon. Tony nodded ,doing the same, looking into each others eyes, seeing the fury reflected there. He wasn't going to get away this time and he wasn't going to get away with it. Hudson stood back, against the wall, out of the way, watching the doctors as they moved around quickly, giving quick orders to each other. The cardiac monitor gave out a slow beep every second or so, marking his heart beat, the peaks in the lines with a small amplitude. After a while, one of the nurses fetched a new bag of blood and swapped over the IV, hanging it carefully. Perry glanced over at the screen, and pointed one of the others to watch it. " Blood pressure still dropping, pulse 49." " Keep watching it," Perry said quietly, focusing on what she was doing. " Still dropping," the nurse told her a few minutes later. " Damn, we can't give him another stimulant yet... Just watch it." " 45..." the nurse announced and shouted out quickly, " Doctor!" as the line flattened out, the machine droning a high pitched shriek. " Charge!" Perry shouted. " Clear. Again!" Three times. " Wait!" the nurse called and then sighed. " We've got a pulse. It's pretty irregular." She looked across at Perry anxiously. Perry frowned. " Give him another 10cc," she said finally and continued working. He didn't notice the time passing, only knew that it was a long, long time, standing silently, watching, more scared than he had ever been before, a dull ache tearing through his thoughts. He couldn't believe any of it. It wasn't real. It hadn't happened, but in front of him was the evidence that it had. He closed his eyes in pain, as they hurried about, the machine whining, and then opened them again. He was still alive. Finally Perry sighed, standing back and taking off her gloves. " Move him next door and keep an eye on his vital signs. Call me the minute his pulse drops or if breathing gets laboured." The nurse nodded and Perry tiredly motioned Hudson to follow her out. She stripped off her gloves and scrubs with distaste. " The shot lodged in the lung, very close to the heart cutting through the top of the aorta: a major artery. He lost a lot of blood and the damage was very severe, in any case. For the moment he's alive, beyond that, we'll just have to see," she told him slowly. " What are his chances." Perry didn't reply for a moment. " He's alive, now and there are no certainties..." " I don't care about certainties, I need an answer," he said desperately. She looked at him. " I don't think he's going to survive," she told him quietly. " We'll do everything we can, but we're not miracle workers, somethings we just can't repair." He stared at her blankly. " I'm sorry," she said quietly and walked back to talk with her staff. Hudson stood quite still, when she had gone. He didn't notice Ford, watching the conversation from the other end of the room, worriedly, and then crossing over to him. Ford glanced down at his watch. It had been well over ten hours now, and he hadn't heard anything. He stared up at the ceiling. He should never have let Lucas leave the launch; if he hadn't, none of this would be happening. He wouldn't be sitting here, trying to swallow a knot in his throat, while he waited and waited. After about six hours everything had stopped making any sense, reality suspended in the shock of what had happened, what he knew of it. " Captain?" Hudson blinked and turned round, his eyes devoid of expression. " Commander," he replied slowly. " What happened out there, Sir?" Hudson sighed, staring past him into the distance. " Freeman?" " We have a team out looking," Ford replied, waiting for his answer. Eventually Hudson looked round at him. " Call a meeting in the wardroom and I will brief the bridge crew," he said slowly, walking towards the door. Ford caught his arm, stopping him. " Sir, with all due respect... I think you should change your uniform first... Sir. It might upset the crew," he said, as tactfully as he could. Hudson looked down at the blood drying onto his uniform, staining it rust coloured, stiffening the whole of the front. He blinked in horror and walked slowly out of the door and back to his quarters. He ran his hands under the tap, the hot water scalding him almost, but the blood didn't seem to want to come off fully. He scrubbed with a nail brush and soap for ten minutes, finally, turning off the taps, his hands tingling from the heat and dropped his uniform onto the floor, putting on a new, clean one. He left the discarded one where it was and turned to the door. He wasn't ready to lose a member of his crew, not so soon, not a child who had so much promise and so much to offer. He didn't want to have to face the crew with the news. He didn't want to face anyone. He went back to his desk and turned the comms link on, connecting to the wardroom. " Cancel that meeting, Mr Ford," he said briefly and then walked out back to medbay. The bridge was silent, people going about their duties or staring off into space, blankly. Tim looked around at Loni, trying to concentrate on her console. He hadn't been so scared in a long time. This could not possibly be happening. It must just be some sort of mistake. Ford had dismissed them from the wardroom and had headed off to find Hudson, his expression taut. As he walked down towards the medbay, he saw Hudson ahead of him and he hurried to catch up with him. " Captain, we need to know what's happening!" Hudson didn't look at him as he walked. " I don't have time for a briefing now, Commander," he excused. " I'll brief the others, but I need to know what happened. We need to know if he's going to be OK." Hudson still didn't look up. " I don't think it's necessary to discuss this now, Commander." " When would be a better time, Sir? Everyone is completely distraught. At least we could know the facts! It can't possibly be worse than not knowing." Hudson looked at him steadily for a moment, his eyes negating the last statement. " Sir, I have to know what happened. We can't possibly get Freeman unless we know. You're going to have to tell us soon, and it's not going to get any easier." " Very well, Commander," Hudson replied, walking into the medbay waiting area and sitting down in a corner. Ford sat on the next chair, balancing on it's edge." I went to see... a friend, but it turned out that she was busy, so I started back early. I thought I would walk through some of the smaller streets, as I had the time, which brought me out on the path along the warehouses. Freeman called my name and then stunned me before I had even realised who it was. When I woke up I was lying handcuffed to a pipe, bolted onto the wall, in an empty warehouse. Freeman came back in and we had a little talk and then he left. When he returned, he said he was going to kill me and asked where Deon was being kept, but we were interrupted by an noise and Freeman left to investigate. Lucas came in and tired to prise open the handcuffs with a piece of metal, but it didn't work. He thought he had more time, because he had jammed the door shut; he didn't realise there was a second one." He took a deep breath. " When Freeman came back in Lucas told him that he had only one bullet left, we had heard him firing while we were trying to get the cuffs off. Freeman told him to leave, but he refused. I ordered him out of the way and he disobeyed me, again. There wasn't anything I could do, the cuffs were still tight and the pipe wouldn't move. And then Freeman shot him. He threw the keys, to the handcuffs, at me and left. He said he wanted me to be able to watch him die, up close." He spoke it all completely without emotion. " Happy Commander?" Ford looked at him, horrified. " I tried to get him sent to prison for twenty years, I ordered him to do every time taking task I could think of. He didn't just jump in front of me, in a slit second; he stood there, moved when Freeman tried to move round him. He knew he was going to shot; Freeman told him he would. He gave him all the time in the world to get out of the way. He did it with plenty of time to think about it." He let out a long breath. Ford swallowed hard, aghast, not only at the cruelty and savagery of it, the bravery of the act, but at Hudson's blank response. He wasn't surprised at what Lucas had done, despite everything that had happened between them lately. No one who knew him would be. Didn't he feel anything about it? He pushed his anger aside for the moment. There was one more question. " What did Dr Perry say?" " He's going to die," Hudson replied and got up, walking further into the medbay and stopping to talk with Perry. Ford sat for a long time, trying to digest the information. What was it, that made this one person so invaluable to them all? Partly it was because he was young, he represented hope to them. Partly, they had seen him grow up, so felt a protective affection towards him; they had, after all, been his family for the past years. He was also a good friend, he tried hard, his skills were invaluable. He was also the one among them who was most honest about his emotions and thought. He didn't hide things. He had also just done something incredibly brave, for anyone, let alone someone his age. They felt that they had let him down, that somehow they should have protected him from this. They still regarded him as a kid they were all fond of, not simply as acrew member; well, he wasn't like the rest of them. He just simply wasn't a soldier. He could do the work, but he couldn't act calm, when he wasn't. He didn't try and pretend, when he was angry, or scared. They had never realised exactly how many scrapes he had got them out of, just the running of the day to day things. He had never realised how great an effect this would have on them all. He had no idea what to do or think. The others had to know. He closed his eyes and then pushed himself up, heading back to the bridge. Tony and Brody were back, standing despondently on the bridge, when he got there. " Nothing, Sir. He's gone," they told him dispiritedly, waiting for his news. It was silent for a long time. " Commander, is he going to be all right?" Tim asked finally. He looked round at them. " No. Dr Perry doesn't think he's going to make it." Their faces went white as they took in that it wasn't a joke or a mistake. " What happened?" Tony asked blankly. " Freeman was going to shoot Hudson, but he only had one bullet and Hudson was handcuffed to the wall. Lucas wouldn't let him. Freeman offered to let him go... But he choose to stay," he said with difficulty. " How could he do that after...?" Brody trailed off angrily. " Where the hell is Hudson anyway?" " Medbay." " Well, at least he got that bit right," Tim said bitterly. Ford took a calming breath. " He's still alive... He might... We have to find Freeman." The others nodded and set to work, scanning the area and sending out a fresh search team to ask if anyone had seen Freeman. Tony coughed uncomfortably, brushing a hand through his short hair. He wasn't going to lose another friend, a damn good friend. And there had been nothing that any of them could do, but sit and watch. This shouldn't be happening when he had done something noble and brave. But life wasn't fair or just. He was proud that his friend had done something so self sacrificing, but it also made him feel insecure. He would never be able to do that. He would want to, but he just didn't know if he could. And Lucas was just a kid, younger than he was. He hadn't even had a chance to live, yet, let alone die. He should never have joined up. Hudson. Even though he respected him and wanted his respect, right now, he hated him. This would never have happened, if he hadn't been such a stubborn minded idiot. He was just angry with everyone, he knew, but having a second target, within his reach, helped. He'd just better make sure he didn't start using it, to vent his anger. They would find Freeman and when they did.... He looked over at Loni, silently wiping a hand across her face as she typed on her console. Brody and Tim stared down, punching the keys violently. Tim couldn't believe it. After everything Hudson had done, Lucas had given his life for him? The man was a fool and Lucas was a stupid, caring kid, who was going to die for it. Hudson didn't deserve to live, he didn't deserve for Lucas to let him, at the cost of his own life. It wasn't fair, more than that, even. How could he ever listen to a CO who had been shown up so badly? He had been unkind and even cruel, but despite all that Lucas had remained loyal. Personally, he would have helped pull the trigger, he thought furiously. This was Hudson's fault. He probably didn't even care or notice. Knowing him, he would just shrug it off as something he would expect from his officers. Copyright Sabrina Helayna Ardeloes 1997 Date: Thu, 16 Apr 1998 15:00:03 -0500 (CDT) From: Silvia Casale Subject: Just Revenge: Prologue Sender: owner-tales@mcfeeley.cc.utexas.edu X-Sender: silvia.casale@pop-3.ukonline.co.uk To: tales@mcfeeley.cc.utexas.edu (tales) Reply-to: tales@mcfeeley.cc.utexas.edu X-Mailer: Windows Eudora Light Version 1.5.4 (16) Disclaimer: Seaquest and its characters are copyrighted and all copyrights and trademarks are acknowledged. This is fanfic only. This applies to this mail and all subsequent parts. Apart from the sequest stuff, this is copyright, Sabrina H. Ardeloes. I hope the person whose disclaimer this is doesn't mind if i nick the being, but i'm trying to send the story off tonight ( first parts ) after a frantic and I'm afraid not very comprehensive edit. This is my first EVER story and I hope you like it- all comments, etc. are very welcome. I'd really appreciate feedback as I'm not a writer and, well, I haven't done this before- I'm also new to the interent and mailing lists and basically everything. I'm really sorry, in advance, if i'm doing this all wrong or if people don't like it... whatever. This story is mine- Sabrina's, not Lx's, so don't blame it on her, I'm just sending it from her address, which is where any mail should go- silvia.casale@ukonline.co.uk Sorry if this is confusing. I'll try to get some more out tomorrow, but i've been sick so I couldn't edit it. Oh well, here goes.... I nearly forgot. This story is set post season three ( except, Brody isn't dead), right after the unfilmed script 'In Father's Footsteps', which I HATED, and felt there must be a response to. I found i really enjoyed writing though- helps understand what Lx is talking about a lot of the time- and so I'm doing some more, but this is piec number one. If you haven't read IFF and want to it's at: http://www.geocities.com/SoHo/8821/sqtext.txt Well, the prologue is kinda of the epliogue to that and the story makes no sense unless you've read the srcipt first, so... That was close! Actually, it was more than that. I didn't have a title until a few minutes ago! Anyway, much thanks to Lx and Mira for their work and support. This is for Kathy, for writing wonderful, inspiring stories. For all those who ELF... espcially Diena!!!! I hope you like it. Lx said you would so you wouldn't mind if I dedicated it to you-( I hope you don't ) - she suggested it actually, but only after I'd been going on about your web page for three days and she was truly sick of me hogging the computer. It's also to thank you for being so welcoming. Anyway.... PS Some of you might have seen this before but I wanted to send it out on this list too and Lex is taking a break from sending anything... so... I DEMAND comments... geez, ain't I polite... really how I got to be the english one I DON'T know... well enjoy... Copyright Sabrina Helayna Ardeloes 1997 Just Revenge Prologue Tony looked up as Lucas came in and sat silently, thoughtful. He sighed. " What happened?" he asked worriedly, trying not to sound impatient. Lucas shrugged. " I got demoted half a rank and removed from promotion for a year." Tony looked at him anxiously. " I don't mind- well, not much. I was very lucky." Tony sighed relieved. " Good... I'm sorry. I hope, I would have done what you did in the same position." Lucas looked up and smiled at him sadly. " Thanks. But that's not what Hudson thinks." He sighed and they were silent for a while. " I'm on duty now," Tony said, getting up. " Will you be all right?" he asked, concerned. " Yeah, thanks." His friend patted his shoulder, as he hurried off for his shift. Lucas sat staring at the wall. Life was going to be impossible. Hudson was furious and he wasn't going to forget about it. He also wouldn't let him get away with what he considered a 'not fitting' punishment. He sighed. He'd better get some sleep. He was sure he was going to need all his energy and patience for the weeks, or months, ahead. He was equally sure that, however bad it was, he wouldn't have made a different decision for anything in the world. It was simply something that he had had to do, end of story. Right or wrong, didn't really apply, where there was only one action he would even consider, but he believed that he had been right, anyway. He had been too afraid of how he would feel: the guilt and shame, if he had done nothing about the Orpheus. It was the right and only choice. This way, he could move on from that failed relationship, at least knowing there was nothing more he could have done and that, whatever had gone wrong, hadn't been on his side and could not reflect badly on him. He didn't feel a sharp pain of loss, only a dull ache, that was loss of hope of finding his father alive, or his mother changing. It was time to give up on that and move on. Really, they had died years before for him, anyway- even before his father dumped him on this boat that had become his home. However bad it was here, with Hudson, there were people who cared about him, and this was his home: the only place that had ever felt like a real home. He sat for a long time, slowly thanking back over his childhood. This was the last time he could allow himself to grieve, for a while. He wouldn't have the emotional strength for grief and Hudson's anger at the same time. The only thing that really bothered him was Hudson's reaction. He was someone whose respect Lucas wanted desperately. Now, it would only be anger and disappointment. Hudson wouldn't change his mind, now that he had made it up. Lucas had thought he would understand better, or at least care enough to try. He should never have hoped for that. It was clear, from the moment that Hudson basically told him he had to join up or leave, that this wasn't going to be a caring Captain, like Bridger; this was simply going to be a Captain. It was going to be a lonely and depressing time, but at least he had his other friends here, and that would get him through it. Copyright Sabrina Helayna Ardeloes 1997