Since I haven't done that yet, now's the time to thank bjlu0900 for all his dedication. Life without a beta-reader would be possible, but pointless. So thanks, my friend, for putting up with me.
Chapter 6
It's over when I say it's over!
As Paula and Sirella emerged from the wreckage of the Hyperion, they both looked up and inhaled the cold and clean air. Well, at least Paula did. Sirella, without having any mouth, just enjoyed the sunlight. Or would have enjoyed the sunlight.
"Man, it's already night? Phew, crazy how fast time flies if you're having fun." the young woman mused.
"Your definition of "fun" never ceases to amaze me, Paula." the Protoss muttered and stared up at the sky. "Darn it. It's already night? Uh, never thought I would miss Sternenheim's never-ending days."
"Huh, I wonder where everyone went." Paula mumbled and looked around. "We didn't see anyone down there. Did they already head back to the camp?"
"Can't you tell?" Sirella wondered.
"Sure, but where's the fun in that?"
"Ugh..."
The two had no problems finding their way back to the base camp. And when they got there...
"What the...?" Paula mused as she watched how the research team was busy packing things into crates. Some of them were sitting around a campfire, looking really exhausted. "What's going on here?" The whole sight looked weird. It was as if they were packing their stuff. Which couldn't be right, since they just got here!
"Looks as if they were packing." Sirella mused.
"Yeah, well, thank you for stating the obvious." Paula replied and walked over to the next student. "Hey! Mind telling me what's going on? Why are you packing?" The student, a young woman with blonde hair, looked up at Paula with tired eyes.
"Oh, hey. Haven't you heard? We are done here." she said with a defeated tone in her voice.
"Done here?" Paula stuttered. "What are you talking about?"
"Go ask the Professor. I just want to get off this darn dustball." the student sighed in defeat and turned around in order to finish her task.
"This is not how things were supposed to go!" Paula snarled and looked around. She couldn't see the Professor anywhere. And neither could she spot the Marshal. Which was probably for the best. Still, there had to be someone around who knew more than "I just want to get out of here!" And so Paula slumped through the base camp and asked everyone where to find either Professor Allagan...
...or Marshal Bowski.
"I think they went back to the city." one student mused.
"What? Why the hell would they do that?"
"Well, the Marshal wanted to head to the spaceport in order to find out when the next flight to Korhal would be. And I think Professor Allagan just wanted to personally thank the Magistrate for her help. We are supposed to pack our stuff and be ready for them to pick us up once they are back and-
"WHAT THE ACTUAL HELL?!" Paula interrupted the student. "There's a battlecruiser out there! An actual battlecruiser! Almost perfectly preserved! And you want to get lost?!"
"I'm not thrilled about it either." the student sighed. "But the Professor told us that the University only financed this research trip in order to find the Rebel Heart, not the Super Proton or whatever this thing is called."
"Hyperion." Paula replied. "The name of the vessel is "Hyperion". Though I have to admit; Super Proton is kinda funny."
"Well, whatever. The Professor wanted to contact the University and ask for permission to study the wreckage. But the Marshal talked to him for hours, convincing him that there was probably no point in doing that and that we should get back home." When Paula heard that, she gritted her teeth and clenched her hands into fists. Man, Bowski really wanted to get them off his planet!
"Is that so?" she growled. "Well, ain't that peachy? I thought that guy was just playing hard to get, but now I think he actually wants to get rid of us."
"I think he only wants to get rid of you, Paula." Sirella mused, which earned her a stern look from her friend. The young woman then shook her head and looked around.
"Unbelievable, Sirella." she muttered after a while. "This could be the biggest historical discovery of the last, well...ever! And they decide to ditch it because "it ain't the Rebel Heart". Buhu. This is a goddamn joke!"
"You are just angry because you haven't found anything good down there yet." her friend replied. "If you had, then you would have dropped these people like a hot potato."
"While there might be some truth involved in that statement..." Paula muttered. "...it's not nice to say something like that."
"And you're frustrated because the Marshal saw right through you and doesn't put up with your antics." the Protoss continued.
"Thanks, Sirella, I get it."
"And the fact that no one asks you for your opinion annoys you as well."
"Yes! Thanks! I get it now. You don't have to analyze me! I got plenty of folk back home who do that. As far as I'm concerned, I'm the only real expert on this kind of stuff on this world anyway!" Paula complained.
"Perhaps if you would ask like an expert, people would take you more seriously." Sirella suggested and the young woman stared at her friend with a blank expression on her face.
"Roughly 3.8 percent of my genome are Zerg, Sirella." Paula explained. "And right now, I feel the urge to let 'em loose."
"Also, you should work on your frustration-tolerance." the young Protoss explained. The student standing right next to them had overheard every word and just shook his head.
"Can you two be weird somewhere else? We need to get these things packed and-" Good thing that no one here would believe that with the Zerg-genes...
"Oh, nononono!" Paula chuckled. But it was not a friendly sound. "YOU!" she said and pointed with her finger at the student. "...will stop packing. YOU!" she then pointed her finger at another nearby researcher. "...will tell the others to keep on their underpants, 'cause we are going to stay!" And then Paula looked at her friend. "And YOU! You and I, we will have a little word with the Professor and the Marshal."
"How?" another student, a young man with the face of a child, asked. "They took the truck back to the city."
"Tsk, trucks." Paula snickered. "I don't need no stinkin' truck. Come on, Sirella. It's time to act like a responsible researcher!"
"By forcing people to stay against their will?" the young Protoss asked.
"Aw, quit yer' whining! Everyone! Hold your horses! Oh, and don't go into the wreckage as long as we are gone. And should you hear some weird noises, just run for your lives."
Bowski wasn't really into alcohol. Some of his colleagues were heavy drinkers. They liked to claim that they did it because they had a reputation to uphold. But honestly? The Marshal didn't believe a word of that. Drug-abuse was one of the bigger problems on Flemmington. And since this world was far off from most trade-routes, they usually liked to use drugs they could produce themselves. And what is it you can produce pretty much everywhere?
Exactly, booze.
The local drink was called "Mudshot". It was made out of a potato-like plant and kinda tasted like sour cream that had been parked in the sun for three weeks straight. And it wasn't that strong either. So not only did it taste like crap, but you also needed a lot of shots in order to be truly wasted. It made the fact that people actually managed to get drunk from this stuff even more impressive. Or pathetic. One of those two, Bowski couldn't really decide.
"Another one." the Marshal said and gave the barkeeper a nod. The woman looked at him and seemed to think about wherever she should give him another drink, but when she noticed that he wasn't really the kind of customer who could cause some trouble. The barkeeper refilled his glass and Bowski waited a moment before he downed it in one go. Some people claimed that you had to enjoy it by taking your time. But honestly, how can you enjoy something that is called "Mudshot"?
Besides, Bowski had no intention of getting drunk today. He just wanted to vent some steam. With any luck, Professor Allagan would probably talk to the Magistrate right now. Bowski had decided to stay away from that meeting. He didn't want to give Magistrate Swann the impression that he had influenced the Professor to end this research-trip. A part of him still felt guilty, but hey, that's what alcohol is there for, right? The sooner the eggheads were gone, the better. Then things would be nice and quiet again. Oh, sure, someone would probably come out here again to search the derelict. But by then Bowski would have found a way to find something to do on the other side of the planet.
Perhaps he should spend one or two more hours in this bar, and then try to contact the Professor. Since the Marshal had the keys to the truck, Allagan had nowhere to go. So there was another reason why not to get drunk, he still had to drive back in order to pick up the team. By now they should have packed most of the stuff. All he had to do know was to-
"Whoa! That's one hell of a bar! Reminds me of Joey Ray's on Mar Sara!" a female voice suddenly spoke up from right behind him and Bowski's eyes widened in surprise.
"No way..." he whispered and looked over his shoulder, just to be certain. However, when he saw no one (except for the usual depressing group of guests), he sighed in relief and-
"Boy, what is that?" Paula Kerrigan asked and Bowski's head jerked around, only to see how she had grabbed his drink and sniffed at it. Her expression escalated and she gagged.
"How...how the hell did you get here?!" the surprised Marshal barked.
"Through the door. Also, is this alcohol or biological waste?" the young woman asked.
"Both." the barkeeper declared with a smile on her face. "Want some?"
"Naaaa, I don't drink alcohol." Paula replied.
"Hehe..." the woman behind the bar chuckled. "...kinda weird to go into a bar then."
"Eh, I'm just here to ruin this guy's day. But hey, you got orange-juice?" Paula wanted to know.
"Sure. With Vodka, Whiskey, Mudshot, Schnaps-"
"Just orange-juice. Plain, boring, ice-cold orange-juice." Paula ordered. "But you can put some milk in it. I feel adventurous." The barkeeper laughed and looked at Bowski.
"Your girlfriend?"
"God no. The bane of my existence!" Bowski shot back and stared at Paula, who looked around as if she was a three-year-old inside a candy-shop.
"So, this is what a bar looks from the inside. Huh. A lot cleaner than I thought it would be." the young woman mused.
"I take that as a compliment." the barkeeper muttered and turned away.
"Didn't you just compare it to another bar?" Bowski asked and regretted it immediately, knowing that if you start talking to Paula Kerrigan, she just won't shut up.
"Meh, I've never been there personally." she explained. "It was the favorite bar of my father. He told me so many stories about it that I probably could navigate in it with my eyes closed, not bumping into anything."
"Sounds like your father had a good time in that bar." Bowski mused.
"Not really." Paula admitted. "It was more like exile for him."
"So, you're from Mar Sara?" the Marshal asked after a while.
"Nope."
"Your father is."
"Nope. He was born on Shiloh."
"That's...quite a stretch from Mar Sara." Bowski muttered.
"Yeah, well, funny how life works." Paula admitted. There was another awkward moment of silence until...
"I don't want to sound like an ass..." the Marshal started.
"Usually when people say that, they totally do want to sound like asses." the young woman mused.
"...but how the hell did you manage to get to Russou City without a truck? And how did you find me?"
"Female intuition." was Paula's only answer. "And you're not nearly as sneaky as you would like to believe."
"Now who's sounding like an ass?" the Marshal shot back.
"Perhaps." Paula admitted. "But you know, talking like an ass and acting like an ass are two different things. And you, Marshal, are a big ass."
"Huh..." the man muttered and shook his head. Honestly? He wasn't even caring anymore. "...don't take it personally. I just don't like people."
"Well, I am people. Therefore, excuse me if I do take it personally." Paula replied.
"Suit yourself." he growled and downed another shot before ordering a refill. After a while, Paula sighed and looked at all the bottles of beverages lined up behind the bar.
"You know, I get that you didn't exactly volunteer for this..." she explained. "...but ruining this outfit just because you don't want to help us is just, well..."
"Low? Despicable? Unprofessional?" Bowski offered.
"Assholish." Paula declared.
"That's not a word."
"It should be."
"Thanks for telling me your opinion about my character. Anything else?" the Marshal asked. He didn't really care that Paula was mad at him. If everything would go well, then they would soon be someone else's problem.
"Yeah. I won't let you get away with it." she told him.
"Is that supposed to be a threat?"
"You bet your ass it is." Paula said when the barkeeper suddenly put a big glass right in front of Paula and poured in some orange juice.
"I like this girl already." the other woman declared. "Here, have some orange juice. And..." Then the barkeeper grabbed a box of milk and put it into the drink as well. "...some ice-cold milk." Bowski's eyes widened in shock when he saw that, but he was even more shocked when Paula beamed like a little girl, grabbed the glass and was about to drink it.
"You do know what will happen to your digestion-track if you drink that, right?" he asked and she flashed him a crazy smile.
"My mother's quarter Zerg, I can eat and drink anything!" And with that Paula downed the glass filled with ice-cold orange-juice and milk in one go. Both the barkeeper and Bowski watched in disbelief (and a bit of disgust) how the young woman downed it like a true champ.
"Well, I should have taken money for this." the woman behind the bar muttered. "Also, the toilets are that way. Just so you know." However, it seemed as Paula wouldn't need them. When she was done, she placed the glass on the bar and sighed.
"Ahhhhh...whew. Puts the ink in the pen, I tell you that!" she groaned. When the Marshal heard that, he couldn't help but shudder.
"You are the weirdest woman I've ever met, Kerrigan."
"Heh, you have seen nothing yet!" she replied.
"Well, I guess I will die never knowing the true you then. I would like to say it was nice meeting you, but, well..." Bowski muttered.
"Whoa. And they dare to say that I'm bad at flirting." Paula chuckled. "Don't worry, Dan. I can call you Dan, right?"
"No."
"Glad that we talked about it, Dan." Paula said and ignored him completely. "The thing is...this whole gig is kinda important to me." She then leaned back and looked around. "I searched a long time for this wreckage. And when I found it, it took me even longer to figure out a good plan to get here."
"Somehow I have my doubts." Bowski mused. "You're not the type of person who seems to make any plans. At all."
"Believe what you want." she shot back. "It doesn't change the facts." That's when Bowski decided to humor her.
"And the facts are?"
"That we're not done yet." Paula declared.
"You're not the one to decide that, Kerrigan." Bowski growled.
"You bet your butt I am." the young woman snickered. "Three." And when the Marshal heard that, he frowned.
"Three what?" he asked.
"Two." Paula continued.
"What? Is this a joke?"
"One." the young woman continued. And then-
Brrr! Brrr! Brrr!
"What the hell?" Bowski growled when he suddenly felt his communicator vibrating inside his pocket. He looked over at Paula, who had a smug grin on her face.
"Better pick it up, Dan. Might be someone important!" she teased him. Bowski didn't want to give Paula the satisfaction of checking his communicator. Unfortunately, it didn't stop, and so he pulled it out of his pocket. And when he looked at who was calling him, he actually knew that Paula had been right about one thing...
...this gig wasn't over yet.
"Marshal!" Magistrate Swann beamed when the grumpy man entered her office. "So good to see you! I have wonderful news for you!"
"You finally signed my discharge-papers?" Bowski muttered.
"What? No! Of course not! Why should I? You are my best marshal! The only one who found a historically important relic of an age gone by!" Swann declared, and suddenly all warning sirens went off inside Bowski's head.
"Say what?" he mumbled and looked at the two other people inside the Magistrate's office. It was the Professor and Sirella. Bowski had no idea what Sirella was thinking, since reading the features of a Protoss was a skill he hadn't mastered yet. As for the Professor...
"Mister Bowski, I have to apologize." the older man said while sporting an embarrassed smile on his face. "I really thought you just wanted to get rid of us as soon as possible. If had known that you just wanted to keep our hopes in check so we wouldn't be disappointed..." Oh, the Marshal so didn't like where this was going.
"Uh huh." Bowski muttered. "I don't know what you have heard, but I am-"
"Such a humble person that he would never admit it in front of others!" Paula cut him short when she walked into the Magistrate's office. Bowski looked over his shoulder, and if looks could kill, Paula would have turned into a heap of ash in an instant. Yet all she did was to give him a thumbs-up. It was pretty clear to him that this was some sort of pay-back. The young woman walked up to the Marshal and punched her elbow in his side. "Seriously, the Marshal is such an awesome guy! When he found out who had served on that ship, he kept it a secret and just told me about it in order to confirm it. You know, since he knows how capable and trustworthy I am!" She then pulled a small piece of metal from her pocket and showed it to Bowski. "I mean, I didn't know that you knew history so well! Don't get me wrong, I don't want to make it sound as if I think you're stupid or conceited or an arrogant ass that doesn't care about others..." Okay, now she was getting carried away. "...but you really know how to act like an utter piece of garbage! Seriously, everyone thought you were just interested in getting rid of us!" While Bowski still had no real idea what this was all about, he realized that he wouldn't get out of this thing with his dignity still intact.
"I have to admit, I too had the feeling that you were mostly interested in getting rid of us." Allagan agreed. "And I apologize for that."
Great.
Simply marvelous.
"I don't care what she told you..." Bowski growled and pointed with his thumb at Paula. "...but-"
"Oh, I told them everything!" Paula interrupted him again and leaned closer to him. "Everything!" Bowski frowned when suddenly her voice sounded strange, almost blurred. And had her eyes just glowed for the fraction for a second?
Gosh, he shouldn't have drunk those mudshots after all...
"Like that when he found out that Matt Horner served on board of the Hyperion, THE Matt Horner!" Paula said and held the name-tag up so Bowski could read the name stamped in it, Horner? Who the hell was that?
"Who-" Bowski started again, but he didn't get far.
"...doesn't know of Matt Horner! Exactly!" Paula continued. "The Marshall realized the importance of this discovery immediately! But he didn't want to cause anyone to get their hopes up just yet, so he had to be certain and sent me deeper into the derelict in order to make sure that it was the right Matt Horner we are talking about!" That's when Bowski's eyelid started to twitch and he looked at Paula in barely contained rage.
"You went deeper into the derelict?" he growled and she offered him the goofiest smile of all times.
"Just as you told me to, Dan."
He would shoot her. He would wait until no one would watch, and then he would just shoot her.
"So you see, the Marshal is really sorry that he had to play a huge asshole..." Paula continued. "...but it was necessary. You see, if this thing had been a hoax or a different Matt Horner, then the research-team would have been exited for absolutely no reason at all. Isn't that truly thoughtful of him?" There was a long and awkward moment of silence. Paula grinned like an idiot at Bowski, who stared at her as if he was thinking about shooting her right here and now, not caring if someone would actually see it.
"Marshal, I have to admit..." Magistrate Swann then sighed. "...I so did not see that coming."
"Make that two of us." Bowski growled.
"I am impressed." his boss continued. "No, I am ecstatic! The other marshals have to hear about this. This is exactly what I have in mind when I ask you people to work with civilians. Thoughtful, helpful, reasonable. And not like all that bullshit where I hear complaints because one of my marshals is acting like a piece of utter garbage because he or she just want to be left alone. You, Marshal, have earned yourself a commendation!"
"Oh God no..." Bowski groaned. Commendation? That meant that they had to make this thing public! Worse, he had to keep up the lie so the Magistrate wouldn't roast him alive! That's when Paula leaned over to him.
"Burns good, doesn't it?" she whispered into his ear.
"I hate you." he whispered back.
"Awww, you know what a girl wants to hear."
"I must admit, Marshal..." Magistrate Swann then continued. "...I never thought that you were into history. I mean, I get it that this Matt Horner is very important. But I have to ask...who is he?" That's when every person in the room looked at Bowski. That's when he realized that he would probably lose his commendation a lot sooner than initially thought. And his job with it.
"Well, he was...uhm..." the Marshal started until suddenly the Professor interjected.
"Please, allow me!" the older man said. "I don't want to sound rude, Marshal. But Koprulean History is my specialty. May I?"
"By all means." Bowski muttered. "Knock yourself out." And with that, the Professor harrumphed and started to speak like only a professor could.
"Matt Horner, probably better known as Matthew Horner. We are talking about one of the greatest, if not the greatest military leaders of the Great War." Allagan explained. "We have a lot of information on him. But what's still lacking is what he did prior to the outbreak of the Great War. Unfortunately, his records aren't complete. It's funny, a few years ago I met a nice couple on Earth. The man was interested in Horner and who he had served under before he had joined the first Emperor, Valerian Mengsk. Official records say it was a man named Edmund Duke, but something about that conversation back then caused me to check those records again." The Professor shrugged his shoulders. "After studying all the primary and secondary materials I could get my hands on, I came to the realization that there is a lot that doesn't make any sense. We know almost everything about Horner. But only after the end of the Great War. Before that? Almost nothing."
"And you believe that this ship can give you answers to that?" Magistrate Swann asked.
"I hope so." Allagan mused. "I must admit that I thought we had failed when it turned out that this vessel wasn't the Rebel Heart. I don't want to sound arrogant, but I know the name and registration number of every battlecruiser that served in the Dominion before it was transformed into the Empire. And there is no vessel with the name Hyperion. So if this is truly a ship that Matt Horner served on, then we might find something truly spectacular down there."
"Oh, you have no idea!" Paula muttered and looked at Bowski once more.
"I think we should all thank the Marshal for his splendid work once more." she then teased him.
"Miss Kerrigan is right." Professor Allagan said, walked up to the other man and offered his hand to him, and Bowski was left with little choice but to shake it. "Thank you, Marshal! You saved this expedition."
"Yes, thank you Marshal." Magistrate Swann agreed. "You know, I am so glad that at least one of my marshals knows how to behave like a human being! From now on you will be my favorite marshal."
"Splendid." Bowski snarled. "I am ecstatic."
"Well then!" the Professor declared. "Let's get back to the dig-site! Let's uncover history!"
"You know..." Paula cooed as they were on their way back. "...you can always try to murder everyone and hide our bodies. And then you can claim that it was an unfortunate accident." She was sitting on the front passenger seat, right next to Bowski, who was trying his best to just focus on the road ahead of them. It was pitch-black and the headlight of the truck only illuminated everything right in front of them. The Marshal looked back, only to see that both Allagan and Sirella were sleeping. Well, the Professor was sleeping. Wherever Protoss actually needed sleep or not was something that Bowski couldn't really tell. Let's just say that Sirella had closed her eyes a while ago.
"I still don't get how you managed to get to the city without a vehicle." Bowski mumbled after a while. "Did you call someone to pick you up? Are there any more unpleasant surprises I have to worry about?"
"Plenty." Paula replied. "But if I would tell you, you wouldn't believe me anyway."
"It's probably only fair to warn you, Kerrigan." the Marshal muttered. "I have fantasies of violence when I think about you."
"Eh, I guess that's an occupational hazard if one carries the name Kerrigan. Trust me, you're not the first one to say that. Though most other folk who felt like you do was usually thinking about my mother." Paula just mused.
"What's that supposed to mean?"
"Nothin'."
"You are a weird woman." Bowski growled.
"And you are an asshole." Paula sighed.
"And you suck at compliments."
"You want a compliment?" the young woman asked. "Okay, here it comes. You are an asshole. But it isn't your nature. You just act that way because it served you well. You don't hate people, you just want to be left alone because you think that silence and solitude makes you happy."
"What's so bad about silence and solitude? Sounds pretty darn fine to me." the Marshal growled.
"Oh, you will find out soon enough, don't worry. I intend to scrub you so hard that the real you while come out." There was a long and awkward moment of silence and only when Bowski turned his head towards her, Paula realized that her statement could be understood in a very different way. "I... uhm...I mean..." she stuttered.
"I think I'll pass." the Marshal just replied. "You're not my type anyway."
"Ouch. Nuclear strike detected." Paula replied. "Relax, Marshal. This will be an adventure! Everyone loves adventures!"
"...I don't like adventures..." Sirella suddenly whined from behind, her eyes still firmly closed.
"Ignore my giant Protoss-friend, she's just sleeping and babbling nonsense while dreaming." Paula explained.
"...I'm not sleeping and I'm not babbling nonsense..."
Well, so much for that.
As they drove through the night, Paula looked out of the window and tried to make out some details. But all she could see was endless darkness beyond the headlights of the truck. And after a while...
"You know, my father used to be a marshal." Paula said.
"Please don't tell me that I remind you of him." Bowski begged.
"Naaa, you're completely different."
"Is that a good thing or a bad thing?"
"So-so I would say." the young woman mused.
"Where?" the Marshal asked after a while and Paula looked over to him and frowned.
"Huh?"
"Where was he marshal?" Bowski asked again.
"Oh! Mar Sara." Paula replied.
"Pffffff...yeah, right." the Marshal chuckled. "Mar Sara. That place is so rich, they don't need marshals."
"It was a long time ago." she replied. "A very long time ago."
"Uh huh..." And that was all Paula got as an answer. It was pretty obvious that Bowski wasn't in the mood to talk about anything. So she decided to give him some rest. Besides, the Marshal had to concentrate on the road ahead of them. Driving a truck through darkness was one thing. But soon they reached the end of the tarmac and had to use an old dirt road. And soon after that, they didn't even have that. Yet Bowski seemed to know where he had to go. His navigational skills were pretty good and Paula didn't have to correct him even once. From time to time the people in the back complained when they hit a rock or managed to find an especially deep bump, but that's just the way it is if you're driving through the wilderness.
"I wish this would be a hover-truck!" Sirella whined.
"Yes!" Professor Allagan, who had woken up thanks to all that shaking, agreed. "My stomach wishes that as well!"
"Quit your whining, you two!" Bowski barked. "We are almost there. It's not even daybreak. You can lay down and sleep for two hours before sunrise."
"Two hours?!" both Sirella and Allagan whined.
"Yeah, well..." Bowski growled, making sure that no one could hear him. "...just because I'm stuck with you, doesn't mean that I have to make it easy for you either." When the truck finally arrived at the base camp, they realized that they weren't the only ones still awake.
"Professor!" someone shouted when they climbed out of the truck and stretched their limbs. Especially Sirella, who looked as if she was in serious pain after sitting on a seat made for humans for several hours. "You are back! Thank goodness!"
"It's okay, everyone!" Allagan declared. "Good news! We won't leave. The Marshal over here actually saved this entire trip." Most students looked over at Bowski, who gritted his teeth in frustration.
"Awesome, isn't it?" he growled, his voice dripping with sarcasm. "I'm the hero of the day."
"So how about we all get some sleep and then we will-" the Professor continued until he was interrupted by one of his students.
"Professor! Janice is missing!" the young man said so loud that he was almost screaming. Suddenly everyone fell silent and only then the newcomers took their time to look at the students and researchers faces. And what they saw was real fear and anxiety.
"What?" Allagan gasped. "What do you mean?"
"Janice!" someone else said. "She was the last one on the bridge. Wanted to check on something. We waited for her but when she didn't show up, we went down there and found, well, nothing."
"Nothing?" Bowski asked. "Did you search the bridge? Maybe she got lost in one of the corridors."
"Maybe she got eaten by a space-monster!" Paula suggested.
"Not helpful, Kerrigan." the Marshal growled.
"We got back to the bridge, checked every corridor we could, but then..." another student declared until she fell silent. Bowski looked her straight into the eyes and frowned.
"Then what?"
"Some of us heard things." the first student muttered.
"Things? Like what?" the Marshal wanted to know.
"We don't know." a researcher said. "But it almost sounded like...whispers." There was a short moment of silence and then...
"Great." Bowski growled. "Could be tomb raiders. How the hell did they get out here so fast? Dammit." He turned away and stomped into the direction where the wreckage of the Hyperion was buried. "Everyone! Stay here!" he barked. "Professor, keep your people together. I will check it out."
"But...shouldn't you call for back-up?" Allagan whined.
"These are tomb raiders." the Marshal explained. "Not murderers. They are just here to make some profit. It's not the first time I dealt with people like that. Just stay here and wait." Everyone decided to do as they were told. Everyone...
...except for one certain individual.
"Uh! Tomb raiders! That totally sounds like the title of a movie. Or a game!" Paula mused as she followed the Marshal.
"Kerrigan, stay here!" he hissed at her, yet the young woman simply didn't seem to care.
"Come on, Dan, you need someone to watch your back!" she told him.
"I don't. And don't call me Dan."
"No can do, Dan." Paula replied. "Come on, let's save Janice from a space-monster! Also..." Suddenly she stopped and turned around. "Hey, Professor! Which one is Janice again? The blonde or the ginger?"
"The one without any hair!" Allagan shouted back.
"Huh...I thought that was a man." Paula mumbled, shrugged her shoulders and then decided to follow Bowski, who was less than thrilled. "Hey, Sirella! Are you coming?"
"No thanks! I had my fill of adventures for...years." was her friend's answer.
"Suit yourself!" Paula yelled. When she and Bowski were finally out of everyone's sight, the Marshal stopped and looked her straight into the eyes.
"Go back!" he ordered.
"Nope!" she shot back.
"I mean it. This could be dangerous. Tomb raiders aren't a threat unless you do something stupid. Janice probably walked into them when they thought that everyone was gone. I will talk to them."
"Sounds as if you have some experience with stuff like that." Paula cooed and suddenly her eyes widened in surprise. "Le Gasp!" she said. "You are working with them! And you told them about this place and you get a piece of the cake when they sell the artifacts! Oh, I saw that movie! It was awesome!"
"You should stop watch movies, Kerrigan."
"Call me Paula, Dan."
"No, I won't."
"Oh yes, you will. Eventually."
"For crying out loud, woman, go back!" Bowski hissed. "This could be-" But then he was cut short by Paula.
"You don't think that there are any tomb raiders, right?" she quipped. "Instead, you just told that story to scare the Professor and the others. You probably think that Janice just got lost or accidentally locked herself up in a room." There was an awkward moment of silence. And then...
"Are you psionically gifted?" Bowski growled when he looked her straight into the eyes. And that's when that goofy smile returned on Paula's face.
"Maybe." she giggled.
"Ugh..." the Marshal growled and turned away. As he stomped towards the excavation site, he shook his head and gritted his teeth. "Should have known it. Explains why you're so damn annoying."
"Naaa, the annoying-thing isn't because I have psionics." Paula explained. "The "always-right-part" is because I have psionics. Being annoying just runs in the family. Also, you want to have me along for this!"
"Oh really? And why's that?"
"Because, Dan, I can sense Janice. So, you can either use me like a tracker, or you can search the entire ship yourself. How does that sound?" Paula mused.
"A human can survive at least one day without water in these surroundings." Bowski replied. "I think that gives me plenty of time to find her on my own."
"Ha! You are such a bag of fun, Dan!"
"Stop calling me Dan!"
"Nope!"
That's when Dan Bowski realized that this woman would probably drive him insane sooner or later. Though, given the fact how fast this situation was evolving...
...probably a lot sooner than later.