"Gan!"
Vila pounded frantically on the door. The run had helped burn some of the panic-response adrenalin out of his system, but fear had a firm grip on him still. What if Gan had returned to the ship? Or even to the inn? What if.? "GAN "
A tousled-looking Gan pulled open the door, precipitating Vila into his arms. "Vila? What?"
The smaller man snagged a handful of his t-shirt and pulled, literally dragging him toward the door. "They've got them! We have to do something!"
"Vila!" Gan firmly shook the other, bringing a halt to the unintelligible babbling. Gan waited another moment as Vila sucked air into his tortured lungs before shaking him again, but more gently, "Now, Vila, Slowly, What happened?"
A final shuddering gasp as Vila found his voice, "Federation troopers at the inn. Blake, Avon and Jenna captured. We have to do something!"
Gan's eyes sharpened. Nowhere near as slow-thinking as the others considered him to be, his mind was already running through plans and options. "We have to return to the Liberator and arm ourselves. How many are there?"
"I don't know." Vila's breathing was rapidly returning to normal now that the responsibility for decision was removed. "I saw four or five. There's probably a lot more."
Gan picked up his teleport bracelet from a nearby table. "Liberator, this is Gan. Orac?"
"What do you want?"
The curt words sounded welcome to both men; they meant Liberator was still in orbit and undamaged, "Orac, teleport..."
Gan was interrupted by a sleepy voice at his elbow, "Olag? What is it?"
"Orac, stand by" Gan turned to the small, frightened form beside him. "Trouble, Shel. The Federation has got my friends. They may know about you and Lar."
"Oh no " Startled hands to mouth, Shel could only regard him in wide-eyed fear, "What can we do?"
Gan gave her a quick, reassuring squeeze, "Don't worry. Everything will be fine. Vila, get three more bracelets. We'll teleport Shel and Lar to safety. Then we'll find a way to get the others back."
The resolution in his voice was so strong that even Vila, who knew Gan better than anyone else, was taken aback. This was not the normally easy- going giant that he had known. This was a determined and dynamic man that seemed to inspire instant confidence. For the first time, Vila found himself relaxing - with Gan in control, rescue suddenly seemed quite possible,
***
Blake paced the cell with quick, restless strides. With an agility rare in so large a man, he had managed to work his tightly manacled hands over his legs, bringing them around in front of him. This gave him enough freedom of movement to examine the cell and door. Unfortunately, a magno-lock was far beyond the small amount of training that Vila had been able to impart to him, and he had to give up quickly on that route of escape.
Avon was more familiar with the electronics involved in the locking mechanism, but Avon was sitting down, leaning his head against the wall. It had been a long walk back to the ship, and he had made it that far only by dint of Blake's added support. Now, stamina sapped and head aching, he could only sit quietly, regathering his strength and fighting down the dizziness and nausea that plagued him. He sensed rather than saw Blake drop to one knee beside him, then felt Blake's hand on his shoulder. "How are you feeling?"
Stupid question. "About like you would expect me to feel." Then, gruffly, "What do you want?"
"There's a magno-lock on the door. I want you to take a look at it."
Avon cracked open one eye. "And what good is that going to do? In case you haven't noticed, my hands are bound behind me."
Blake went on patiently. "I have use of my hands. You may be able to talk me through the procedure. I've checked the room and we are not being monitored."
"Not monitored?" Jenna spoke up for the first time since they had been put into the cell. "Are you sure?"
The big man nodded. "This doesn't look like a conventional holding cell. I think this room was used for storage."
"Storage!" Avon exploded. "They shoved us in here like sacks of grain." He turned a vitriolic gaze on Blake. "Just wonderful, Blake. A vacation." He practically spat the word. "I should have known better than to trust one of your bright ideas." He trailed off, energy and fire fading simultaneously. Avon closed his eyes again, and leaned back. Although some part of him recognized the unfairness of his words, he made no effort to retrieve them. His head ached abominably and he was in no mood to be fair.
Blake withstood the diatribe with remarkable restraint for a man with so volatile a temper himself. He realized Avon was frustrated and in pain, and simply lashing out at any available target. Still, the words hurt. Reigning in his own temper, Blake returned through gritted teeth, "Are you well enough to look over the locking mechanism?"
This elicited another glare, but Avon began to struggle to his feet, a task made more difficult by his hands being tightly bound behind his back. Blake locked a strong hand around his arm and hauled him up, then released him immediately. A few minutes later found both men again dispiritedly sitting against the wall. "I can't do it, Blake," Avon said wearily. "Vila might be able to open it without a sonic lance, but I can't."
Blake absently patted him on the leg, earning him another glare, and a smirk from Jenna, He ignored them both, "It's all right, Avon, As long as Cally, Gan and Vila are free, we've still got a chance."
"An alien, a coward and a fool, ~ Avon said with a derisive snort, "That's not much of a chance,"
At Blake's disapproving look, Jenna spoke up, "He's right, Blake," she admitted reluctantly, hating to agree with Avon about anything. "We can't rely on any of that group to get us out of this. We have a better chance by relying on ourselves."
"I hope you're wrong, Jenna, Blake sighed, "because as it stands, we don't seem to have any chance at all without them."
***
Vila pounded frantically on the door. The run had helped burn some of the panic-response adrenalin out of his system, but fear had a firm grip on him still. What if Gan had returned to the ship? Or even to the inn? What if.? "GAN "
A tousled-looking Gan pulled open the door, precipitating Vila into his arms. "Vila? What?"
The smaller man snagged a handful of his t-shirt and pulled, literally dragging him toward the door. "They've got them! We have to do something!"
"Vila!" Gan firmly shook the other, bringing a halt to the unintelligible babbling. Gan waited another moment as Vila sucked air into his tortured lungs before shaking him again, but more gently, "Now, Vila, Slowly, What happened?"
A final shuddering gasp as Vila found his voice, "Federation troopers at the inn. Blake, Avon and Jenna captured. We have to do something!"
Gan's eyes sharpened. Nowhere near as slow-thinking as the others considered him to be, his mind was already running through plans and options. "We have to return to the Liberator and arm ourselves. How many are there?"
"I don't know." Vila's breathing was rapidly returning to normal now that the responsibility for decision was removed. "I saw four or five. There's probably a lot more."
Gan picked up his teleport bracelet from a nearby table. "Liberator, this is Gan. Orac?"
"What do you want?"
The curt words sounded welcome to both men; they meant Liberator was still in orbit and undamaged, "Orac, teleport..."
Gan was interrupted by a sleepy voice at his elbow, "Olag? What is it?"
"Orac, stand by" Gan turned to the small, frightened form beside him. "Trouble, Shel. The Federation has got my friends. They may know about you and Lar."
"Oh no " Startled hands to mouth, Shel could only regard him in wide-eyed fear, "What can we do?"
Gan gave her a quick, reassuring squeeze, "Don't worry. Everything will be fine. Vila, get three more bracelets. We'll teleport Shel and Lar to safety. Then we'll find a way to get the others back."
The resolution in his voice was so strong that even Vila, who knew Gan better than anyone else, was taken aback. This was not the normally easy- going giant that he had known. This was a determined and dynamic man that seemed to inspire instant confidence. For the first time, Vila found himself relaxing - with Gan in control, rescue suddenly seemed quite possible,
***
Blake paced the cell with quick, restless strides. With an agility rare in so large a man, he had managed to work his tightly manacled hands over his legs, bringing them around in front of him. This gave him enough freedom of movement to examine the cell and door. Unfortunately, a magno-lock was far beyond the small amount of training that Vila had been able to impart to him, and he had to give up quickly on that route of escape.
Avon was more familiar with the electronics involved in the locking mechanism, but Avon was sitting down, leaning his head against the wall. It had been a long walk back to the ship, and he had made it that far only by dint of Blake's added support. Now, stamina sapped and head aching, he could only sit quietly, regathering his strength and fighting down the dizziness and nausea that plagued him. He sensed rather than saw Blake drop to one knee beside him, then felt Blake's hand on his shoulder. "How are you feeling?"
Stupid question. "About like you would expect me to feel." Then, gruffly, "What do you want?"
"There's a magno-lock on the door. I want you to take a look at it."
Avon cracked open one eye. "And what good is that going to do? In case you haven't noticed, my hands are bound behind me."
Blake went on patiently. "I have use of my hands. You may be able to talk me through the procedure. I've checked the room and we are not being monitored."
"Not monitored?" Jenna spoke up for the first time since they had been put into the cell. "Are you sure?"
The big man nodded. "This doesn't look like a conventional holding cell. I think this room was used for storage."
"Storage!" Avon exploded. "They shoved us in here like sacks of grain." He turned a vitriolic gaze on Blake. "Just wonderful, Blake. A vacation." He practically spat the word. "I should have known better than to trust one of your bright ideas." He trailed off, energy and fire fading simultaneously. Avon closed his eyes again, and leaned back. Although some part of him recognized the unfairness of his words, he made no effort to retrieve them. His head ached abominably and he was in no mood to be fair.
Blake withstood the diatribe with remarkable restraint for a man with so volatile a temper himself. He realized Avon was frustrated and in pain, and simply lashing out at any available target. Still, the words hurt. Reigning in his own temper, Blake returned through gritted teeth, "Are you well enough to look over the locking mechanism?"
This elicited another glare, but Avon began to struggle to his feet, a task made more difficult by his hands being tightly bound behind his back. Blake locked a strong hand around his arm and hauled him up, then released him immediately. A few minutes later found both men again dispiritedly sitting against the wall. "I can't do it, Blake," Avon said wearily. "Vila might be able to open it without a sonic lance, but I can't."
Blake absently patted him on the leg, earning him another glare, and a smirk from Jenna, He ignored them both, "It's all right, Avon, As long as Cally, Gan and Vila are free, we've still got a chance."
"An alien, a coward and a fool, ~ Avon said with a derisive snort, "That's not much of a chance,"
At Blake's disapproving look, Jenna spoke up, "He's right, Blake," she admitted reluctantly, hating to agree with Avon about anything. "We can't rely on any of that group to get us out of this. We have a better chance by relying on ourselves."
"I hope you're wrong, Jenna, Blake sighed, "because as it stands, we don't seem to have any chance at all without them."
***