Chapter 26
"Not bad, Tate. Not bad at all." Reilly nodded approvingly as her young recruit hit the target straight-on once more, sounding more like Wash than Skye cared to admit.
"See if you can do that a few more times."
Reilly walked further down the line of shooters, watching other soldiers shoot, and making a few of them nervous. They were outside the boundary fence doing the final training exercise, which happened to be in 3 parts - first aid training, gun handling, and finally, a wilderness protocol practice drill. Reilly had wanted to take them out overnight, but Jim had shut that idea down firmly. Even if it was still technically winter, the snow was gone and the air was already warming up. The predators would be stirring from their winter stupor and he didn't want to take any chances. Even when Reilly reasoned that they could sleep in a couple of large trees they had often used for training under Wash and Taylor, Jim hadn't budged.
Due to her time in the Infirmary, Skye had done fairly well at the first aid, and her commanding officer appeared to be happy with her shooting. Now there was just the drill, which Skye was almost looking forward to. This being the last training session before her trial time was up, it doubled as a bit of an evaluation. Skye shot the homemade target dead-on again. She'd enjoyed her time in security far more than she had expected to. She wanted to do well.
"Very good, Irving, but humility is also a virtue." Reilly's dry voice carried back to Skye from down the line. She grinned. Silas hadn't spoken to her recently, but he took every opportunity to try and be better than everyone else.
"Alright, guns away! Put them back in their holsters. You may need them for later." Reilly shot a mysterious smile at Dunham, who was supervising a few of the recruits at the other end of the line.
"Gather round!"
They gathered around Reilly in something that almost resembled a circle.
"ALRIGHT." Their commanding officer strolled around the inside of the circle, looking each of them in the eye as she went past. "This is your last training exercise for the winter. Some of you may go on to join the security team for further training. Some of you may decide to try other things. That is perfectly fine, but seeing as this is your last mission together, make it count." She glanced over at Dunham, who was gathering away all the targets. At his nod, she turned back to the group. "Somewhere in those trees .." She pointed to a nearby forest. ".. is a body." She paused for dramatic effect, and smiled when a couple of people gasped. "A test dummy." They gave each other sheepish grins.
"For our purposes, it is an injured civilian."
One of the recruits put his hand up.
"But why would a civilian be out here?"
"Good question. Sometimes deliveries have to be made, doctors have to be sent to outposts. Believe it or not, some young people like to put themselves in danger by braving the wilderness. They think it's exciting and it makes them feel adventurous." She glanced at an uncomfortable-looking Skye for a moment, before turning away and continuing. "Either way, it does happen, and the job falls to us to mount search-and-rescue operations."
"But why should we risk OUR lives to help idiots who put themselves in danger on purpose?!"
Skye bit her lip and looked at the ground as Reilly gave him a warning look.
"Because we're the security team and it's what we do. Do you have a problem with that?"
The young recruit shook his head respectfully.
"No, Ma'am."
"Good."
Reilly sighed a little as Dunham approached behind her.
"As I was saying, your job is to perform emergency first aid and retrieve the survivor, bringing him back here to safety. I'm letting you keep the sonics for now, because regardless of the fact that it's winter, there may still be dangerous animals about, so stay on your guard and look out for each other."
A couple of recruits looked around at each other anxiously again.
"I haven't heard any roars though, so I'm sure you'll be fine." Dunham added, taking compassion on the terrified-looking soldiers.
"You'll have to establish a search perimeter, and search each section of the grid, just like we practiced." Reilly continued. "There are no singular winners in this exercise." She shot a pointed look at Silas. "If one of you loses, you all lose. Do NOT lose your teammates."
She stared around at them seriously for a moment.
"Good luck. Head out."
The group broke and headed toward the forest. Skye found herself jogging beside Silas. He glanced at her with a smirk.
"Better be careful. Easy to get lost in these woods, and you know the slashers tend to pick off the smallest ones first. That'd be you." He added helpfully, making sure she fully comprehended him.
Skye smiled up at him.
"You don't have to worry. Slashers mostly hunt at night, and besides .." She muttered more to herself than him. ".. I know these woods fairly well myself."
"Alright, form a line." Being the highest ranking officer in the group, Curran had taken charge. He had been required to take the rookie course again as part of his probation. When the group had formed a line, he continued with his instructions.
"Walk slowly forward. Keep an eye on the people on your left and right, so you don't lose anyone. If you see something, call stop."
"Wait, hold on a minute." This, of course, coming from Irving. "Why are you automatically the leader?"
Curran stared at him.
"I've done this before. Plenty of times, actually."
"Before you committed murder, you mean."
Silas' eyes flashed. Curran folded his arms.
"Fine. Who else wants to lead the team?"
Only one person put their hand up. A voice called out from the side.
"Oi, shut up, Silas! We're wasting time."
The hand dropped slowly. Curran smiled in annoyance at him.
"Shall we?"
They all continued on in silence. After a few minutes, a voice called out again.
"I've got it! Here!"
They all gathered around the large tree that the dummy was leaning against. It was a simple training device, made out of an old bag and some twine, but it worked. It looked as though Dunham had splashed some red paint on it for effect .. at least, Skye hoped it was red paint. Curran kneeled beside the dirty bag person.
"Looks like a head injury." He looked up. "Which one of you will tend to this injured person's wounds?"
After a moment of silence, a young man stepped forward.
"I will."
He pulled a bandage out of his pack and began carefully wrapping the dummy's head. Curran nodded his approval and stood up, addressing the others.
"While the medic is tending to the wounded, he's going to need protection. Why are you all watching him? You should be watching those bushes." He gestured to a clump of green a few metres away just as the wind rustled the leaves. "And the trees. And each other. You're no good to either of them if you can't protect them."
An outward-facing circle was formed around the "injured person" and the "medic".
As she stared around at the surrounding forest, Skye began to feel uneasy. Something was watching them. She listened closely as she studied the wall of foliage hedging off the small clearing. Nothing. Maybe she hadn't been out for so long, she was getting paranoid. Her focus returned to the group. Curran was instructing another recruit to take the dummy's legs so they could carry it to safety. Safety indeed. Something about this area was definitely not safe.
Just as the watched feeling returned, they heard a muffled scream from behind them. Skye hurriedly looked around to where the terrified girl was staring just in time to see a pair of cold, unblinking eyes and a long scaly snout fade back into the bushes. She attempted to slow her quickened breathing and turned to Curran.
"We have to move. Now."
Curran nodded.
"Everyone, sonics at the ready. We're moving out. Keep the two carrying the dummy in the middle."
As they walked cautiously away, Curran leaned closer to Skye and spoke in a low voice.
"Slasher?"
Still watching the trees for any sign of the creature, Skye replied.
"Not like any slasher I've ever seen."
Reilly shot Dunham a vaguely impressed look as her small clan of soldiers re-emerged from the forest.
"They're back early."
Thankful to be out in the open once more, the group relaxed a little as the dummy was laid gently down on the grass. Dunham examined the dummy and looked up at Reilly.
"Looks satisfactory to me."
The young medic beamed as Reilly patted him on the shoulder.
"Good work, crew. You should be proud of yourselves. It's been a pleasure training you. Now, what do you say we go home and have some lunch? You've earned it."
Reilly wasn't one to stand on ceremony.
As they began to walk back, Skye found Reilly on her right.
"You've done well, Tate. There's a spot on the security team for you if you want it."
Skye smiled at her.
"I think I might. But .." She frowned. ".. my mom. I'd have to move into the barracks, wouldn't I?"
Reilly shrugged.
"We're pretty flexible where that's concerned. A lot of the senior officers have families of their own - they don't live in the barracks. It's true, we prefer our younger members to, but so long as you make sure you're always where you're supposed to be on time, I don't think it'll be a problem."
Skye grinned, pushing away her uncertainty.
"Then .. count me in, I guess!"
"Great!"
Reilly accepted a couple of sonics, including Skye's, and handed them to Dunham to carry back. She then turned to Skye again, grinning.
"He likes to carry all the guns. Makes him feel tough."
Dunham made a choking sound and walked further on ahead, carrying his bruised dignity away with him. Curran appeared on Reilly's other side.
"By the way, Sergeant, something was watching us in the bushes back there."
Before he could go on, Reilly raised her eyebrows at him.
"You think you were being chased by monsters, Curran?"
He frowned.
"It was some sort of dinosaur that we didn't recognise. Skye saw it. I thought you better know."
He nodded to Skye, who confirmed his story. Reilly frowned thoughtfully.
"Well, I'll tell the troops to keep an eye out. Thanks."
The conversation quickly came to an end then and they walked along in silence, but Skye's feeling of unease began to return. As they reached the colony gate, she looked around at the field just in time to see a long tail vanishing into the trees.
"No, the SMALL CHIP." Malcolm ran his hand through his hair in frustration as Lucas frowned.
"But you said-"
"NO." Malcolm reached out to grab the dismantled device in Lucas' hands, but it was held out of his reach. Lucas scowled.
"I'll fix it."
Malcolm put his hands up and rolled his eyes, going back to his own project.
"Fine."
He had arrived that morning to see the little MRI device sitting on the table in perfect working order. Lucas had attempted a careless comment about how he guessed it wasn't really broken after all, but Malcolm had heard the hint of subdued pride in his voice. The researcher had sat down on the opposite couch and dumped an armload of broken or malfunctioning equipment on the table in between them. No mention had been made of Lucas' blatant refusal to help with the repairs the previous day, of which the young physicist was secretly grateful. Seeing Lucas' eyes light up like a child's when the box of devices was emptied out in front of him was all the confirmation Malcolm needed. They had each taken up an object and begun work on their respective projects without another word. Every now and then, Malcolm would offer a word of advice, which Lucas would begrudgingly acknowledge, but for the most part, he left his new apprentice to figure the repairs out on his own. Until now. Lucas evidently had no idea of the differences between Diochips and Nexis chips. HOW could such a brilliant scientist not know something so SIMPLE?! Malcolm bit his tongue as Lucas went to put in the chip upside down, and breathed a sigh of relief when he at last got it in the right way. Finally. As Lucas screwed the device's shell back on, Malcolm thankfully went back to his own device.
Unbeknownst to him, Lucas had felt every one of Malcolm's displeased looks, heard every frustrated sigh .. and he was taking notes. A few minutes later, he had picked up another object and was attempting to get the casing off. Malcolm glanced up a couple of times to see Lucas fiddling patiently with the casing, attempting to pull it off. After another 10 minutes, the casing was still intact, and Malcolm couldn't help himself. He looked over.
"Having some trouble?"
Lucas shook his head.
"I've got it."
"Those things can be tricky." Malcolm added helpfully. "Why don't I-"
"It's fine! I've got it."
Malcolm watched in mounting frustration as Lucas failed to get the case off once again.
"Huh."
Just then, a piece of metal on the casing caught his eye as it reflected the light. A screw. Lucas had missed a screw?! What kind of genius .. ?! He cleared his throat.
"Um. I think you might've missed a screw in there."
Lucas stared at him wide-eyed.
"Really?!"
He turned the case over for a few minutes, looking perplexed until Malcolm finally darted forward and put his finger on it.
"There! Aha .. it's there."
"Oh!" Lucas smiled at him. "So it is!"
As the casing finally came off, Malcolm took a deep breath and returned to his work. Unbelievable.
A few minutes later, Malcolm laid down his finished device and sighed, watching Lucas attempt to put a chip into a small slot in every way except the way it was supposed to go in. Lucas stifled a laugh as Malcolm ran his hand through his hair in agitation again.
"Look, haven't you ever done a puzzle? How about-"
"No, it's fine. I've got it."
Lucas put a hand up to shush Malcolm and resumed his futile efforts. Malcolm was about to lose it when Lucas finally clicked the chip in.
"There!"
Lucas beamed at poor Malcolm as the latter attempted an encouraging smile.
"Well done."
The frazzled researcher stood up abruptly as Lucas reached for another device.
"I think we're done for the day!"
Lucas swallowed a hysterical laugh and stared seriously at Malcolm.
"Give me one more chance. Just one. I'll do better, I promise."
Malcolm sighed again and reluctantly sat down, taking up another project. He looked up in astonishment a few minutes later to see that Lucas had almost finished his third sonic jug. He shook his head and returned his gaze to his own device, narrowly missing Lucas' mischievous grin. Guess you never can tell about some people .. !
Monica tapped her chin thoughtfully as she watched Taylor. She had only sat down a moment ago, but he already looked angry. She decided to start with a simple question.
"Nathaniel .." She allowed herself to trail off, her question forgotten as he visibly tensed. "Does it make you uncomfortable when I call you by your first name?"
He didn't answer.
"What would you prefer I call you?"
"Commander Taylor is fine." This spoken gruffly and without even looking at her. Monica nodded slowly.
"Why do you prefer Commander?"
"It's my military title. I've been in the military most of my life. Why wouldn't I prefer it?"
"Does the use of your first name make you uncomfortable?"
"No. Why would it?"
He looked at her disdainfully and Monica smiled back.
"Do you want to know what I think, love?"
"Not really."
The counsellor continued anyway.
"I think the use of your first name makes you feel inferior. It's a reminder that you're no longer in authority. You no longer have control, of yourself or anyone else." She tilted her head with a smile. "Am I getting close?"
Nathaniel growled.
"If you're going to sit there and patronise me, you can GET OUT."
Monica smiled sadly at him.
"I'm not patronising you. Do you feel patronised?"
Nathaniel wanted to bite his own tongue off. He had caught himself in his own words. The woman was a snake.
"Do you feel like I'm mocking you? Like everyone else is mocking you?"
"We're done here."
Taylor stood up and faced the wall of the brig, turning his back on her. Monica sighed.
"Where do you think you're going to go, Commander? There's no way out of this cell except through me. You can either work with me, or I can leave you to your examination of that wall. I'm sure it's fascinating."
As she stood up to leave, a whirlwind suddenly descended on her and a strong hand was clasped around her neck. Taylor's glinting eyes appeared out of the darkness close to her face as she struggled to remove the vice constricting her breathing.
"Now who feels powerless?" He growled menacingly and released her. She dropped to the ground, shaking and gasping for air.
"You're signing .. your own .. life away." Monica stood up slowly, leaning against the pillar for support. "Don't you ever want to get out of here?"
"My life is over."
Monica watched him warily from a few feet away. He looked exhausted from his recent efforts. He continued speaking in a low voice.
"One of these days, I'll find a way to escape. I'll return to the wilderness where I belong and neither you or this traitorous colony will ever see my face again."
Monica took a step toward the defeated man and put a hand on his shoulder.
"This is your home. The people here care about you. They want you to get well."
He seemed to respond to her gentle manner and half-turned to face her.
"There's nothing wrong with me."
She looked into his eyes sympathetically.
"I want to help, but I can't help you if you don't tell me the truth, Nathaniel."
She immediately regretted her choice of words as the cold fury returned to his eyes and he pushed her hand away.
"I told you .. not to call me Nathaniel."
She sensed the oncoming danger too late. As she attempted to take a step back, Taylor grabbed her and threw her into the brig wall with an angry yell. The scene that the guard ran in on a few seconds later made him pause in horror. Monica was lying still in the corner with Nathaniel towering over her. As he looked up to meet the former Commander's dangerous gaze, his heart dropped. Taylor's eyes shone like those of a madman. As his stomach clenched in cold fear, the young guard raised his sonic pistol and centred it on his childhood hero. They stood watching each other like two shadowy statues on either side of the dark room until Taylor broke the stalemate with a grim smile. A few seconds later, several brilliant blue flashes burst forth, temporarily illuminating the dim atmosphere of the brig.
Skye looked up as she exited the hall of the barracks. The atmosphere was darkening. They could be in for a storm soon. With a quick glance back into the crowded building where everyone else was finishing lunch, she headed toward the markets. Two weeks holiday. Two weeks to make a decision. As she wandered amongst the various market stalls, she looked around searchingly, unsure of what exactly it was that she was hoping to find. She glanced up at the sky again as a faint flash lit up the horizon. None of the market people seemed to care. Maybe the storm was going around them. Turning back to the stall, Skye picked up a small bracelet and studied it thoughtfully. She had a big decision to make. She realised that much. What she didn't realise was that she needed reassurance. A hand on her shoulder drew her out of her own thoughts. She turned to see Jim Shannon smiling down at her.
"Reilly tells me you aced your final training exercise. Congratulations!"
"Thanks."
As she smiled up at him, he studied her face.
"What's up, kiddo?"
Skye put down the bracelet and turned away from the stall to face him. She shrugged.
"Now I have to make a decision, I guess."
Jim frowned.
"Well, Sergeant Reilly seems to think you were born to be a part of her team." He laughed, leaving out the part about how Reilly considered Skye joining the security team as a foregone conclusion.
Skye grinned at him.
"She does, huh?"
"Yep!"
"It's just .." Skye shifted, and Jim began to walk away, gesturing for her to walk beside him. Skye followed. ".. it's a big commitment."
"And we know how you value your freedom." Jim gave her a knowing look, and Skye laughed in response.
".. yep."
"Look, whatever you decide, we think it's about time you had this back."
Skye watched Jim curiously as he unhooked a leather item from his belt and handed it to her. She accepted it in surprise.
"My sonic."
"You've earned it."
Skye strapped the holster to her waist and took her gun out, examining it carefully. After a few moments, she looked up at him.
"It looks almost new!"
"Well, we had to keep it in good condition. We knew its owner would want it back eventually."
As they kept walking, Skye returned it to the holster solemnly.
"I didn't think I deserved it back."
"Maybe you didn't."
Skye glanced up at him quickly, but he was smiling.
"At any rate, you did what you had to do, and you've redeemed yourself now."
"Redeemed myself .. right." Skye repeated. She suddenly frowned.
"Do you think there's a lot of trouble ahead?"
"Maybe." A distant crash of thunder made them both glance up. "Guess we can only wait and see, but that storm looks to be headed our way after all."
"Think it's a sign?"
Jim raised his eyebrows at her.
"Why, Skye, I didn't think you were the superstitious type."
She grinned back.
"I'm not."
"Ah." Jim nodded. "Still attempting to gather information, huh?"
When Skye didn't respond, Jim patted her shoulder.
"You've got a good head on your shoulders, kiddo. For what it's worth, I think if trouble does come, the colony could use someone like you to help protect it. Of course, it's completely up to you, but if you're still on the fence just because no one's told you how much good you can do in security .." He smiled. ".. consider yourself told."
Skye was silent for a moment, the smile slowly growing on her face. She grinned up at him.
"When can I start?"
"You sure?"
"I want to." Skye took a deep breath and nodded. "I'll join the security team."
Jim grinned.
"Reilly's getting your tags prepared as we speak."
Skye stared at him in surprise.
"How did you know?!"
"We hoped."
Skye shook her head in amused bewilderment as they turned around to face the market.
"And now .. you can help me." Jim frowned and watched the black clouds flash white for a moment. "These people need to get inside. Let's tell them to clear out."
Skye nodded.
"Yes, sir."
As they walked along talking to the various people, a loud voice became clearer as it rose over the steady hum of the marketplace. They glanced around to see a tall girl in her late teens talking to a few other girls of similar ages. She wasn't very familiar to either Jim or Skye, but the latter thought they might've arrived on the same pilgrimage. She frowned, studying the group of girls as the original speaker kept talking.
"And they said she was going to visit him to get information out of him. K, but imagine .. going to get information out of Lucas and he's all sarcastic and stand-offish, but then .. he accidentally falls in love with you. Imagine being the beauty that tames .. the beast." The girl's friends started laughing and she joined in with them, laughing the loudest of all. One of her friends smacked her arm, feigning horror.
"Vicky!"
"I know!" Vicky put her face in her hands, still laughing. "I'm so bad!"
Jim could feel some of his brain cells melting and dripping out the back of his head. He glanced at Skye, who looked back at him with a mixture of amusement and annoyance. As Jim's dismayed face showed no signs of going anywhere, Skye began to laugh and tapped his arm.
"I'll go tell them. You keep going that way."
"You sure?" Jim looked like he was about to release her into the den of lions.
"Positive."
Skye grinned at Jim as he shrugged and began walking away.
"Okay."
Skye turned and walked towards the group of girls. As she approached, the group went dead silent and the girls watched her, glancing at each other with raised eyebrows. She cleared her throat.
"Time to move out. Take shelter. A storm's coming." Skye gestured to the rumbling clouds that were fast approaching.
The girls didn't appear to be concerned about the storm. One of them tilted her head.
"You're Skye, right?"
Skye nodded, well aware of the sort of stories they may have heard about her. Small colony. Big mouths.
"That's right."
Another girl stood up and studied Skye with a little smile.
"You go to see Taylor's son a lot, right? Lucas?"
Skye folded her arms.
"Yeah, I guess."
The standing girl raised her eyebrows as the others leaned forward.
"What's he like?"
Skye shifted.
"Look, we should really be getting under cover."
"Alright, alright." The girl waved her hand dismissively. "We will. I promise. Once you answer the question."
"What question?"
Skye's interrogator's smile grew knowingly.
"What is Lucas LIKE?"
Skye shrugged.
"He's .. smart."
".. smart." The girls glanced at each other. "Right."
"Now get inside. Quick!"
Skye darted off as the rain came, leaving the girls to hurriedly take shelter. In the confusion, none of them noticed the middle-aged man turn away with a thunderous expression that almost rivalled the storm. They hadn't even known he was there, or they might've wondered just how much of the conversation he had heard. Now he took a few determined steps forward, ignoring the heavy rain as he disappeared amongst the thinning crowd.
Skye joined Jim under a white shade cloth just before the next peal of thunder crashed down. He glanced at her.
"This isn't gonna hold the rain off for long. How'd it go?"
"Oh, fine. You know girls."
Jim gave her a comical look of confusion.
"Naturally."
Skye laughed as he pointed to an elderly couple struggling with their market equipment.
"Help them. I'll bring the Rover around to take them home. Hope you don't mind getting wet!"
Just as Skye reached the elderly couple, someone grabbed her arm and spun her around. She stared into the face of a terrified-looking young guard in surprise.
"Skye!" He grabbed her other arm and stared seriously into her face. "WHERE is Commander Shannon?!"
"Right there!" Skye pointed the soaking wet soldier in Jim's direction and he ran off in relief, throwing a word of thanks over his shoulder. She watched with a worried frown as he tore up to Jim, appearing to blurt out something alarming judging by the change in his commanding officer's expression. Jim glanced around, evidently looking for someone. As his eyes came to rest on Skye, he called her over.
"Skye! Get Elisabeth. Gareth and I will meet you at the brig. Hurry!"
As Jim and Gareth turned and hurried toward the bottom of the Command Centre, Skye fled off toward the Infirmary in the pouring rain.