Title: Illusions
By LongTimeFan
Rating: Older teens (for some language and situations)
Disclaimer: The following is a work of fan fiction based on the television series, Captain Power and the Soldiers of the Future. It is in no way intended to infringe on the copyrights of Landmark Entertainment Corporation or anyone else who may have legal rights to the characters and settings. I don't own the characters. Only using them for a short time and will return them in relatively the same shape as when borrowed. As always, any errors or inconsistencies are of my doing.
Author Note: Blame this one on Windjammer! The following is based on the unaired episode, The Room, she introduced me to. It proposes a possible scenario of how the episode might have played out. I also realized as I was finishing it that it could also be seen as laying some groundwork for events in the episode Flame Street if it had happened as I proposed.
I tried to stay within first season cannon for the characters. Of course, there is always a little personal interpretation of how they might react to the situation that invariably slips in. There is no overt PP ship in this one, although it could be inferred if you so wish. All this said, enjoy.
~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~
"No word yet?" Major Matt "Hawk" Masterson queried, a worried frown crossing his features.
"Nothing," Corporal Jennifer "Pilot" Chase reported, scanning the frequencies of the radio once again. Turning tense eyes up to the older man standing beside her, she asked, "Should we get closer?"
Pausing a moment, Hawk finally shook his head. "Scout and Tank will let us know if we're needed."
Scanning the spectrum two more times and not finding any hint of a message, the former Dread Youth let out a loud sigh. "I hate this," she muttered to herself, not caring if Hawk overheard her. Jon could be in trouble and they were just sitting here.
Captain Jonathon Power, leader of the team, was attempting to find out where the inhabitants of whole sectors were being taken. There had been several reports of a transport ship coming to pick up people, promising food and a place to live. Trouble was, no one was sure who was running this little plane to paradise. Likewise, none of the people who ever left were ever heard from again.
Fearing the worst, Power and his team had tried unsuccessfully to discover who was behind it all. Having failed, Jon selected himself to go in disguised as a local. The plan was to be picked up with the others and then contact the team for extraction. That way, if it really was a flight to a safe home, they could make contact with the organizers and have an alternative to the Passages for survivors.
If it wasn't then they would make sure it was closed down for good.
Two days into the mission, things appeared to have gone sour. Power had missed the two previous scheduled check-ins. Lieutenant Michael "Tank" Ellis and Sergeant Robert "Scout" Baker had left two hours ago to check up on the Captain. Now, they were overdue for a scheduled radio call.
"Ha…," Pilot began again, only to be cut off by a radio call over the speakers.
"Scout to jumpship."
Pouncing on the controls, Pilot snapped, "Jumpship here. Did you find him?"
"Negative," Scout said. "No one is left in the area."
"Damn," Hawk muttered, laying a hand on Jennifer's shoulder to keep her calm.
"It gets worse," Scout continued. "We ran into a squad of troopers. They showed up and ransacked the place. We overheard one of them reporting to Dread that they couldn't find the Power Suit."
Sharing an alarmed look with Pilot, Hawk darted across the ship to the cupboards holding their personal effects. Yanking open the one Power used, an explicative slipped from Matt's mouth. "He didn't wear it," Matt reported, showing Jon's Power Suit to Jennifer, his expression grim.
They had discussed whether Jon should wear his suit or not. Jon had questioned if it would give him away, while Matt had pressed the fact that he may need the advantage it gave him if he was discovered. Masterson had thought he had won the argument.
It seems he was wrong.
"Any idea where they took him?" Hawk asked.
"No, but Tank diverted them and I put a tracker on their transport. If we get real lucky, they'll head to the same place. If not, then we can at least access their computer network to find out where he is."
"Good work. How soon 'til you can get back here?"
"Took us a little longer to get away from them than we thought. But we're on our way now. We should be at the ship in ten minutes."
"Pilot, get the ship ready while I see if I can pick up the locator beacon," Matt said, sliding into the chair the young woman exited.
~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~
Crouched outside a Dread installation, the four resistance fighters discussed the best way in. "Once we get the door open, if you and Tank can keep them at bay, Pilot and I can access the control panel and find out what we need to know," Scout stated, watching the pattern of the troops' movements.
"It won't be easy," Hawk murmured, assessing the firepower around them. Following the beacon Scout had planted on the bio-mechs transport, the team had arrived at a small installation 10 klicks from the encampment that Power had been taken from. Upon seeing it, they immediately determined the small building was a supply depot. There was little chance that Jon would be detained there. With that knowledge, they had turned their focus to accessing the facilities databanks.
"Piece of cake," Tank countered, "It'll be just like the last time. I'll take out all the tough ones and leave the easy ones for you."
Smiling at the large man and chuckling, Hawk sobered as he laid eyes on the blond woman standing tensely at his side. "You'll have to be quick. Tank and I won't be able to hold them for more than few minutes."
"Not a problem," Pilot said stoically. "Any time you're ready." She had no illusions as to what was happening to Power. The quicker they got to him, the better.
Receiving nods from Tank and Scout, Hawk ordered, "Let's do this."
Spreading out, the team descended onto the facility.
Clearing the mechanical soldiers from her path, Jennifer tried desperately to keep her mind focused on the task at hand. The trouble was that she knew too much of what could be happening to Jon. Even worse, a small part of her feared he was already dead. Reaching the doorway, she ducked to evade a bio-mech reaching for her. Coming up she buried her blaster into the trooper's gut and fired. Even before he had collapsed, she had grabbed the proton spanner on her leg and had begun to open the door. "Got it," she called, as the heavy metal doors slid open.
Shooting the troopers coming out of the facility, Pilot paused to allow Hawk and Tank to gain their positions next to the building. Once they were there, she and Scout darted inside.
Facing down three advancing troopers, Scout yelled, "I got 'em. Get the data!"
Shoving her weapon into its holster, Pilot keyed up the computer console. Scanning the menu, she quickly moved through the screens, scanning for any sign of Power's name. Spotting it, she accessed the file. Quickly determining it was the information they needed, she sent the file to a backup disk while once again accessing the mainframe. Triggering the file for the Dread installation they needed, she copied it to the disk. As soon as the drive indicated it was finished, she pulled the data disk and yelled to Scout. "Got it! Let's go!" before heading with him to the door.
Pausing as they reached the door, Scout yelled, "Hawk! Tank! Comin' out!" to warn them of their arrival. Stepping out, the pair joined the two older men in the firefight.
"They just keep coming!" Hawk bellowed, sending a small missile into a group of four as they appeared from the side.
"Time to take our leave," Tank added, focusing his shots on the straightest path between the team and the nearby sky bikes.
As Tank did that, Scout pulled his therm grenades and gave them a twist. "No sense leavin' this thing here," he offered, tossing the belt of explosive devices into the open door.
Following Hawk's lead, the three others retreated, each fighting as they moved. Reaching the safety of nearby boulders, Hawk crouched behind them. "Get to the bikes! I'll cover you!" he yelled over the blaster fire. The words had no sooner left his mouth when the facility exploded, driving them all to the ground.
Rising shakily, the team members stumbled back to safety.
~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~
Cueing up the schematics of the fortress holding Power, Jennifer stepped back from the console to allow the others to see it. "He'll be here," she said, pointing to a small room in the back of the facility.
"Interrogation room?" Scout asked, studying the pathways to the space she had indicated.
Grimacing, Pilot shook her head. "Not like you've seen before," she said. "It's worse."
Concerned by the pallor of Jennifer's features as she spoke, Matt, Rob, and Michael shared a worried look.
"How so?" Tank asked.
"In a normal interrogation room, Overunits conduct the sessions. Most of the time, they already know the information. They simply want to confirm some part of it or make a point to the locals. Even though they don't act like it to the prisoner, they have orders to keep the person alive so that they can be digitized and given to Overmind."
Disgust ran through the men listening. The last thing they would wish on anyone was that fate.
"If it's something really important or someone that had caused serious disruption in one of Dread's operations, they're taken there, to the room and a special interrogator is brought in." Jennifer swallowed hard, looking up at the ceiling to find the strength to say what she was about to reveal.
"In this room, the goal is to extract every piece of knowledge that person has by any means possible. The prisoner is kept alive as long it takes to get what they want even if it means bringing that person back to life several times." Chase shook her head trying to keep from throwing up. "The first thing they'll do is pump him full of truth serums, narcotics, and barbiturate cocktails and when he's so doped up that he has no idea where he is, they'll put him into virtual reality scenarios trying to get him to reveal what they want to know."
Turning away from the others, Jennifer briefly closed her eyes. "They'll make his worse nightmares come true. He'll see every human being on the planet being digitized, the base blowing up, relive the death of his father and mother." Swallowing, she glanced back. "Dread will make sure he sees us die, over and over again also. And each time Jon will not be able to stop it unless he tells them what they want to know."
"Dear God," Matt whispered, knowing the psychological damage such an event could cause.
"The Captain is strong," Scout said, not sure if this trait was an asset or a detriment in this situation. "He'll fight them."
Nodding Jennifer agreed. Turning back to them, her eyes were haunted and flat. "Once they realize that he won't break in the virtual reality world, they'll begin to hurt him physically. They'll pump amphetamines into him until every nerve in his body is ready to explode. Then they'll start to run electrical currents through him or take a knife and…," Jennifer's voice broke causing her to stop. Wrapping her arms round herself as if to ward off a sudden cold, she whispered, "They'll make him want to die."
"We aren't going to let that happen," Matt assured her as much for his sake as for her's.
~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~
Biting on his lower lip to stop from screaming, Captain Jonathon Power tried unsuccessfully to block out the site of his friend and advisor Matt Masterson dying slowly before him. He kept trying to convince himself that it wasn't real; that Matt would never ask him to reveal the location of the base to save himself.
It was almost working.
"God, no," Jon whispered in anguish. "I'm sorry, Matt." A sob escaped from his lips as Matt sank to the ground and did not move.
Screaming in grief and anger, Jon strained against the restraints holding him. While he fought, he felt another needle enter his neck followed by a burning sting. As if on their own volition his muscles weakened and betrayed him in his fight against whatever was to come next. At the same time, the image of Corporal Jennifer Chase staggering towards him came into view. Her hands were trying desperately to hold in the blood that poured from the gaping wound in her chest.
Reaching out one bloody hand, Pilot gasped, "Jon, help me. We have to get to the base."
"No," Jon gasped, reaching for Jennifer. "You're going to be okay," he whispered, his hands cradling her broken and bloody body.
"Jon," she pleaded, holding out her crimson hand for him to see. "Help," she whispered painfully, the light in her eyes slowly fading.
Looking down at the woman in his arms, Jon shoved the corpse away and scrambled backwards as he realized that he was no longer holding Jennifer Chase. Instead, he stared into the lifeless eyes of his mother.
"It IS your fault, Jon," the venomous sound of his father's voice filed his ears. "You could of saved her and you didn't." Circling Jon, Stuart Power bellowed, "ALL YOU HAD TO DO WAS TELL HIM."
"No," Jon breathed, closing his eyes to escape the accusation in his mother's dead eyes. Swallowing, Jon felt the tears running down his face. "This isn't real. This isn't real," he began chanting to himself.
~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~
Falling in step with the passing bio-mechs, Baker risked a glance down to make sure his holofield was still in place. Assuring himself the holographic projection making himself appear to be a trooper was active, Robert moved up through machines attaching charges to the metal soldiers. When he finished, he trailed back until he could safely dart into the shadows.
"Get ready," Scout said, mentally counting off the time. When Hawk joined him, Scout nodded. "Fifteen minutes, max."
Hawk triggered his communications link. "Tank, go," he ordered, darting around the corner. As he did, a rocket screamed past him on its way to the entry of the installation. The impact and resulting explosion caused him to momentarily pause while the percussion of the blast defused into the air. When it did, he took off dodging the weapon fire that erupted all around him.
Reaching the half open door, Hawk darted inside. Behind him, Pilot slipped into the facility from the other side. Taking out the guards that met them, the pair paused to get their bearings, ignoring the sirens and dust whirling around them.
Looking at the scanner in her hand, Pilot pointed down a hallway. "This way," she snapped, starting to move down it at a trot. Beside her, Hawk kept pace.
"LOOK OUT!" Hawk shoved Pilot aside and absorbed the weapon energy spewed at them from a barely opened doorway. Reeling from it, he didn't have time to do anything but stagger before he heard Pilot's weapon discharging and a bio-mech's discordant sound as it deactivated.
"You okay?" Pilot asked Hawk, giving him a minute to catch his breath.
"Yeah," Matt breathed, shaking off the tingling effects of the blasters. "How much farther?"
"Fifty feet or so," she answered, moving further down the hallway. Stopping a short distance away in front of a door, she slipped the scanner back into her bag. "Through here." Jamming her spanner into the mechanism, Pilot triggered the door.
Dashing through it, they covered the room only to find it empty. "Damn it," Matt hissed.
"They were just here," Pilot protested spinning again to scan the room. Spotting a door on the other side of the room, she pointed at it. "They couldn't have gotten far."
"They've better not. We don't have much time before our decoys goes off," Hawk reminded her as they dashed out the door. Heading down a hallway, the pair had to slow to scan other hallways they intersected.
"Seven minutes," Pilot breathed, frustration evident in her voice. Coming around the corner, she caught sight of movement ahead as someone turned a corner. Grabbing Matt's arm to warn him, the pair slowed down and crept up to the corner.
Peeking around it, they could see two members of the Dread Youth dragging Jon down the hallway, as a third man dressed in black provided cover as they moved.
"Hold it right there," Hawk snapped coming into view. "I think you've got someone who doesn't belong with you."
Diverting his aim from Hawk to Jon, the man with the weapon, smiled coldly. "I think you will be the one to hold it."
Uneasily, Hawk held his ground. "Mister, you really don't want to piss me off anymore than you already have."
Refusing the rise to the bait, the dark clad man simply shook his head. "I know what you're thinking. You're betting you can shoot me before I shoot him. Tsk, tsk, Major," the inquisitor chided. "I can assure you that even if you do manage to wound me, the good Captain here will still be dead. And soon, your precious power base will belong to Lord Dread."
"You're bluffing," Matt jeered back. "If he'd told you what you wanted to know, he'd be dead already."
"You underestimate the breath and scope of what we want from him," Dread's man sneered back. "Your base is only one of the many things we will get."
"Not going to happen," Pilot snapped coldly, jabbing her weapon into the neck of the man in black. While Hawk had kept him diverted, Chase had darted back to a nearby corridor and worked her way in behind them.
"Ah, the disgraced prodigal daughter, Jennifer Chase," the inquisitor taunted, never wavering his gun away from Jon's head. "I was wondering if I'd get a chance to see you again."
"Drop the weapon, Tartarus," Chase ordered, pushing her gun tighter into his neck.
Hawk did not miss the fact that Jennifer had used the man's name. "You know him?"
"Certainly she does," Tartarus cooed, amused by the fact that Chase had hid her connection to him. "She gave me the perfect," Tartarus paused as if looking for the right word, "tool," he finally added grinning. "So tell me Youth Leader Chase, what images of you and Power will I find? Perhaps in a ménage à trois with the Major here?"
"So help me, Tartarus," Chase whispered heatedly. "I will blow your damn head off."
Pondering a moment, Tartarus smiled. "I almost believed you, you know that? But you see, your Captain here would be most upset with you if you violated his sacred vow," Tartarus mocked the words as he said them, "to protect all life. It's legendary. In fact all of you are quite legendary in your devotion to his misguided and ultimately fruitless effort."
"He makes exceptions," Matt said, his voice cold and hard. He wasn't sure who this man was, but he was sure that the world would be a better place without him. "Now let Power go and move away or you're a dead man."
For the first time, Hawk saw a flicker of hesitation in Tartarus's features. "Let's say for the sake of argument that I do what you ask. Then what?"
"Then we all live happily ever after," Masterson clipped sarcastically.
Amused, Tartarus chuckled. "I don't think so," he quipped, sobering.
The sound of explosions going off reached the people in the standoff. His gun did not waiver as Tartarus drawled, "Your doing I take it?"
"Time to go," Hawk said, his gaze settling on Pilot.
Pressing a nuero charge against Tartarus' neck, Pilot didn't wait for him for fall before she lunged for one of the Dread Youth. Slamming him against the wall, she pressed her gun to his throat. "What did Power tell him?" she snarled. When the young man did not answer, she pulled her gun away only long enough to snap a shot off at the second cadet, hitting him in the leg.
Over the sound of the injured man's screams, Pilot pressed the gun back into the cadet she was holding and snapped, "What did Power tell him?"
"Pilot!" Hawk roared, shocked by her actions.
"The next one goes into you," she growled, shoving one arm into the young man's throat while lowering the weapon to angle it to his leg.
"Nothing," the young man quivered. "He didn't tell him anything," he whimpered, shaking.
The sound of troopers coming nearer filtered down the hallway. "Pilot," Hawk barked again, both a warning for her to stop what she was doing and also telling her that time was running out.
Darting a glance down the hallway, Pilot stepped back. "Pick him up," she ordered, waving toward Power. When the cadet moved to do as ordered, she slammed her gun into the back of his head, knocking him out.
"We've gotta move," Hawk said, helping Pilot get Jon upright.
"Take him," Jennifer said, making sure Hawk had the Captain before she moved. When he nodded, Pilot moved over to Tartarus and began searching him. Pulling something from his arm, she looked toward Masterson. "Let's go."
Taking part of Power's weight, Pilot chanced a look at the Captain. His pale drawn features were streaked with dried blood and dirt. She didn't know whether it was a blessing or not that he was unaware of the events going on around him.
Flinching as a shot passed by her head, Hawk's answering shot renewed their sense of urgency to get out of the building. Pilot tried to remember the schematics she had pored over before the mission as she scanned the walls for some indication of where they were.
"Hawk, Pilot, what's your status?" The sound of the battle being waged outside filtered through with Scout's voice over their headsets. "We can't hold them much longer."
"Get going," Hawk ordered. "We'll meet you at the ship."
"There," Pilot gasped, nodding toward a door. Reaching it, she shifted her burden to Hawk before easing it open. "Clear," she said, stepping outside. From the sounds of the distant fighting, they were on the opposite side of the building from their teammates.
"It won't be quiet for long," Hawk observed, knowing it was just a matter of time before troops followed them out of the building.
"Take the Captain and get out of here," Pilot said, scanning the area. "I'll cover you."
"No way," Masterson countered, shifting Jon to get a better grip. "You'll never make it out."
"And if we stay together, no one's getting out. Get the Captain to safety. You can track my suit and pick me up later."
Lasers bouncing off of Pilot's suit settled the argument. Returning fire, she screamed, "GO!"
Grimacing, Hawk pulled Jon to the front of him, extending his wings. "I'll be back," he promised before taking off with Jon.
Standing her ground long enough to make sure Hawk was gone, Pilot scrambled backwards seeking cover. Sliding down behind a pile of rocks, she leaned her head back and swallowed, willing herself to calm down. To get out alive, she would need all the luck she could muster.
~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~
Barely keeping his feet as he landed, Matt struggled to keep himself and Jon from falling. "I'm gettin' too old for this," he grumbled, easing Jon to the ground. Kneeling down, he pulled his glove off. Releasing a breath he didn't know he had held, he laid his hand on Power's chest after feeling a strong pulse. "You keep it like that and we'll both be fine."
Moving over to the ship, he released the security system on the door. Stepping inside to ensure nothing had been breached, Matt hurried back to get Jon.
As he was lifting the injured man again, the sound of the sky bikes reached his ears. Grabbing his mask he triggered his radio. "Scout! Tank!" he called craning his neck to locate them. "Pilot's pinned down on the back side of the installation!"
"Roger," Tank replied. "We'll get her. How's the Captain?"
"Unconscious. They worked him over, that's for sure."
"Can you handle him by yourself Matt?" Ellis asked, hovering above the pair.
"I've got him. Get Jennifer out of there."
"We'll get her," Scout assured the older man, peeling away from the ship.
Nearing the installation, Robert called to Tank. "How's your supply?" Scout asked, knowing his own suit was getting low.
"It'll be enough," Tank answered, ignoring the warning voice in his helmet that power was at twenty five percent and dropping.
"How do you want to do this?" Baker asked.
"Hard and fast," Ellis replied, diving toward the building his weapons blasting.
~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~
A barrage of shots erupted above Jennifer. Chancing a quick glance, she saw two sky bikes sweeping in. The troopers that had surrounded her were quickly retreating or were falling under the assault.
They had come after her with a vengeance. Using every trick she knew, she had managed to not be captured and eliminate a significant number of bio-mechs. They still had her outnumbered. That was until the other two had arrived.
From the din, Chase vaguely heard Tartarus shouting orders. "She must not be allowed to escape." Momentarily she considered the idea of taking her chances against the troopers to kill the interrogator. He had caused so many people agony over the years.
The insistent warnings from her suit monitor persuaded her that Tartarus's death would have to wait for another day. Right now, she needed what little energy that remained in it to get out of there.
Rubbing the sweat from her eyes, Pilot waited as one of the bikes touched down nearby. A smile pulled on her lips as Baker yelled, "You call a cab, lady?" waiving for her to hurry.
Climbing on the bike behind him, Chase squeezed his arm. "What took you boys so long?
"Good to see you too," Robert answered, starting to lift off.
The bike had barely left the earth when a shot slammed into Pilot's side, knocking her off. The impact on the hard ground pushed the air from her lungs and made spots dance before her eyes. She was only vaguely aware of her suit warning of an imminent power disruption just before it failed. Shimmering back to cloth, she was left stunned and vulnerable.
An explicative spilled from Baker's lips as he realized what had happened. Spinning his head toward the threat, Scout threw round after round at the black clad figure approaching. "What the hell?" he muttered as the shots seemed to have no effect.
Struggling to shake off the fuzziness in her head, Jennifer tried to gain her feet. Pain seared up her leg when she tried to push herself upright. Making it only to one knee she saw the black figure boldly advancing and Scout's vain efforts. "He's a cyborg! Take the head shot!"
Baker's next shot was significantly higher. Another, much more powerful shot followed his.
"Rest in pieces," Tank snarled, hovering over the nearly decapitated form for a moment before refocusing his attention. "Pilot, can you make it?"
Grimacing, Pilot did not answer. Grabbing Scout's offered arm, she used it to leverage herself onto the bike. "Go!" she urged, wrapping her arms around him.
Dropping in behind Scout and Pilot, Tank threw a few more shots to discourage them from following as they flew away.
~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~
The hum of the machines in the room echoed off the walls. For the two men sitting in the small room at the Passages' medical facility, it was a mixed blessing. It gave them hope that the Captain would recover yet it was a painful reminder of how close they had come to losing him.
"Did Doc say how long they'd have him on dialysis?" Robert asked softly, he eyes following the blood as it moved from Jon's body into the machine and back.
Sighing, Matt shook his head. "It really depends on how long it takes for all the drugs to work out of his system." Laying a hand of Jon's arm, he patted it as if to comfort him. "And they won't remove the neuro-suppressor until he's off of it."
Knowing it was probably a good idea that the Captain did not regain consciousness while hooked up to a machine given what he had been through, Baker still wished that he could hear his voice. The one thing that the doctors could not tell them was how much permanent damage the drugs might have caused to Jon's brain or body. It was simply too soon to tell that.
Then there was the issue of his psychological status.
That could not be assessed until he was able to talk to them. Once they knew how well the Captain was going to pull through, then they'd know how well the team would be. It was still touch and go as far as that was concerned.
"Any word from Michael?" Matt asked, seeing the frown on Robert's face as he continued to watch the machine work.
Shaking his head, Baker looked over to Masterson. "Said she's still not talking and refuses to get her leg looked at. Just keeps working on that box. Any idea what it is?"
"Something she took off Tartarus," Matt said, frowning. Gaining his feet, he nodded to Scout. "You stay with the Captain. I'm going to knock some sense into her."
Stepping into the ship, Matt paused and watched Pilot. Sitting in Scout's seat, she had a variety of tools and computer parts strewn around her. From the amount of tension in her back, she was still keyed up.
Beside her, Ellis sat watching her. From the creases on the big man's face forehead, he was confused as to what Jennifer was attempting and worried about her well being.
"Did you leave any computers intact on the ship?" Matt asked, announcing his arrival.
Startled, Pilot jumped at the sound of Matt's voice. She had been so intent on her task and ignoring the screaming in her head, she had not heard his approach.
Stepping closer, Matt held out his hands in front of him to tell her to calm down. "There's no change," he assured her, catching the fear in her face as she turned.
When she turned back to her task without comment, Matt locked eyes with Michael. Tank's head shake told Matt he had no luck getting her to open up.
Sighing, Matt squared his shoulders and stepped behind Pilot. Turning her around to face him, he looked down at her. "Corporal Chase, what are you working on that is so important that you have refused medical treatment?" he barked in his command voice.
"It's the memory chip from Tartarus' bio-matrix," Pilot reported, her voice flat.
"And it will tell you?" Ellis asked softly, leaving the question incomplete.
Sighing, Chase glanced briefly at Tank before answering. "It will tell us what happened to the Captain."
Squatting down in front of Jennifer, Matt laid a hand on top of hers and waited until she looked at him. "You knew that bastard who tortured Jon," he stated, ignoring the surprise in Tank's face. "What's your connection with him?"
Pain flashed across Jennifer's face before she masked it. Swallowing, her eyes dropped to the tool in her hand as she spoke. "When I was in the Dread Youth, I was working on a program that would allow human memories and thought processes to be imprinted onto an artificially created neuro-network."
"Like an android?" Matt asked.
Shaking her head, Jennifer continued. "We weren't that far yet. I was working on just finding some way to interface the two. I used virtual reality on a subject to see how it reacted with the brain. I told him to fixate on memories of events so I could map the appropriate brain pathways."
Looking up, Pilot looked past Matt into the bay beyond the door. From the shadow in her eyes, she was far from the ship in her mind. "There was a power fluctuation when I was doing it. Something," she shrugged indicating a lack of explanation, "happened and the cadet who was helping me began screaming." Darting a quick look at the other two, she continued.
"It seems that the power surged, altered the memory. Instead of being on patrol, he was suddenly buried in a pile of bodies, struggling to survive." Shifting, Pilot pulled a hand free from Masterson's hold to rub her aching leg. "I stopped the experiment and immediately reported what had happened."
"The next day, I was called into my superior's office. It seemed," Jennifer's voice became bitter, "that Lord Dread was especially pleased with my work. He had sent a special envoy to review it."
"Tartarus," Matt guessed, putting the pieces together in his own mind.
Nodding, Jennifer looked to Matt with haunted eyes. "He made me show him exactly what had happened. He ordered a cadet to put on the VR glasses. At first, he couldn't get it to work. Then…." Swallowing, Jennifer's hands curled into fists. "I can still hear her screams," she whispered huskily. After a moment, she cleared her throat. "He just laughed and said that I had given him what he needed to be able to break Dread's toughest enemies."
"An inescapable hell," Tank said softly thinking of the meaning of the interrogator's name. In Greek mythology, Tartarus was a place that existed beneath hell. It was the ultimate of prisons.
"It wasn't long before I began to hear stories of how he'd refined his technique with it," she added heatedly. "Being more machine than human, he found a way to integrate it into his bio-matrix, allowing him to have direct access to everything the subject actively thought of. Eventually he also learned how to solicit memories. Then he became a master at altering them any way he wanted."
"And that box recorded what he saw?" Hawk asked referring to the item Pilot had taken from Tartarus.
"He liked to keep a record of his conquests," Jennifer breathed, hate for the man burning her soul. Fighting back the anger, she turned desperate eyes to Matt. "If I can access it, we'll know how bad it was for Jon."
Sighing, Hawk locked eyes with Tank, who had moved closer and was now standing with one hand on Jennifer's shoulder. Seeing agreement, Matt took the spanner from Jennifer's hand. "No," he said, shaking his head to reinforce it.
"But," Pilot objected reaching for the tool.
"You aren't responsible for what happened to the Captain," Tank chided, squeezing her shoulder.
"Tank's right," Matt stressed, tossing the multipurpose tool out of Jennifer's reach. "Seeing what Jon's been through won't change anything." Catching Jennifer's chin to force her to look at him to get his meaning, he added, "But it could do more damage."
Seeing objection mingled with despair reflected in her eyes, Matt reiterated softly, "No. Tartarus has caused all of us enough pain."
Picking up the slender black box on the console, Tank pulled off the wires Jennifer had attached to it before slipping it into his pocket. She would never see it again if he had anything to say about it.
~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~
Three days later….
Sounds and impressions came slowly to Jonathon Power as he struggled to fight his way through the fog that shrouded his mind. He felt disjointed, confused by the disconnection between what he was hearing and where he believed he should be.
Slowly he picked up and distinguished the sounds from each other: the rhythmic hum of machines; the rustle of fabric and creaking of a chair from someone shifting positions; a sigh; and, in the distance, low murmuring voices.
Memories slowly filtered into the sounds. He had been on a mission at a small settlement when troopers had arrived. Vividly he remembered the feeling of being tied to a chair and needles pricking his neck. The image of Tank laughing one moment and the sight of a saber slicing through his neck and his head falling to the ground the next caused his stomach to lurch. Fighting, he remembered shooting a bio-mech only to have it morph into Scout. An overwhelming guilt washed through him as he fought against whatever was holding him from reaching the friend he had just shot.
The sound of Jon thrashing about had Matt jumping to his feet. "Take it easy, Jon," he intoned evenly, pressing down on his shoulders to keep the struggling man in bed. "You're safe now."
Looking into the unfocused eyes of the younger man who was as much a son to him as his biological child had been, Matt swallowed hard at the terror and desolation he saw reflected there. "Jonathon," he called again, shaking him slightly. "You're safe. We're all safe."
Recognition and awareness came slowly to Jon's features. Sagging against the pillows, he grabbed Matt's arm in a vice like hold. "Dead," he breathed, closing his eyes, the struggle to regain composure evident on his face.
"No one's dead," Matt stressed, unsure who Jon was referring to, but knowing he needed to hear the message. "Did you hear me? No one is dead."
"No one?" Jon countered adamantly. "But I saw…"
"No one," Matt stated firmly, cutting him off. Prying Jon's hand from his arm and gripping it, he asked, "Does this feel like I'm dead?"
"Gawd," Jon shuddered as the image of Pilot's bloody hand reaching for him appeared unbidden into his mind. Trying to shake off the memory, Jon looked around the room for the first time. A frown crossed his face. "Passages?"
Hawk nodded, easing his grip, but not letting go. "Three days. You've had us a little worried."
"Three days?" Jon queried, trying to remember but being unsuccessful.
"The doctor's had you on a nuero-depressant," Matt explained. "You won't remember."
"Why?"
Easing himself back into the chair, Masterson watched Jonathon's face as he asked, "How much do you remember?"
"Bits and pieces. The transport taking the settlers was Dread's," Jon reported harshly, condemning the half man, half machine once known as Lyman Taggert again.
"We know," Matt acknowledged noncommittal. "What else?"
Scowling, Jonathon gazed unseeingly across the room. "An Overunit recognized me," he reported flatly. "We fought, but a bunch of clickers showed up," he finished shaking his head to indicate he had lost the battle.
"Then what?"
Struggling to remember, Jon flinched as the sound of his father's accusations trickled through his mind. Moving himself further into the bed, he avoided looking at Masterson. As the image of a man dressed in black taunting came to him, he blurted, "There was a… man."
"Dread sent him," Matt spat out. "He's dead."
Jon fell silent trying to sort through the images and feelings he was experiencing. After a few minutes, he asked, "How'd I get away?"
"We came and got you," the Major reported. "Had to take out a couple of Dread's bases and several battalions to do it, but we got you."
"Injuries?"
Matt shook his head. "Nothing major. Pilot got banged up some but another day or two, physically, she'll be fine."
"And mentally?" Jon queried, not missing the caveat in Matt's reply.
Mentally squirming under the scrutiny he was under, Matt tried to make light of the situation. "Pilot had had a run in with the interrogator before. It just brought up some stuff from her past." Seeing the Jon was not satisfied with the explanation, he added, "Seems there are still some things the kid hasn't told us about her time in the Dread Youth."
"Such as?"
Shaking his head, Matt stood. "Nothing that can't wait until you're better. You need to rest."
"I'm fine," Power countered, shoving the covers off to get up. "Give me a minute and I'll…."
"Whoa there," Matt halted the Captain's progress, clamping a hand on his shoulder. "Doctors say not yet. You need to be evaluated again in 24 hours to see if any of the damage those drugs did is going to be permanent." Stepping backward, Masterson purposely left off that the psych people wanted to see him also.
"But," Jon protested, feeling suddenly like he as a teenager in trouble for something he didn't do.
"No buts," Matt said firmly, pointing at him. "I'll get Tank to come sit on you if I have to." Seeing capitulation at the threat, Masterson relaxed. "Besides, the world has continued without Captain Power for almost a week now. I think we'll make for another day."
"So, I'm suppose to, what, sit here and twiddle my thumbs?"
"Oh, I bet they'll find something for you to do," Matt said lightly heading to the door. "I'll be sure to tell them you're awake."
Watching as the door closed behind Matt, Jon dropped his head back in frustration. The last thing he needed was time to think. Although there were large gaps in his memory of what had happened once he had been captured, what was there was brutal. He wasn't sure he wanted to remember any more of it.
Still, the mission had been a success. Dread's transport had been stopped. Jon took comfort in that fact. As for the rest, well, that something he would have to learn to live with.
Or at least pretend to. Only time would tell if he could do that.
The end
A/N: Remember, all writers need to know someone's reading. Please let me know what you think.