(March 12, 2015) This chapter has been officially re-written.

I own Rebecca

Chapter 2

The light faded and the humming was replaced with a sound she barely remembered from her childhood. The chattering and whistling of birds and the rustlings of a forest filled her ears, green surrounded her and continued to stretch on, far above her head and around her.

Rebecca had only taken three steps before the fresh air registered in her damaged lungs. Sharp pains racked her chest and she fell to her knees gasping for air. A medic quickly appeared by her side and dragged her out of the way of the portal's exit just as the next person walked through. Propped up against a large tree trunk, Rebecca clung to the oxygen mask the medic had given her. Slowly, each breath became just a little easier to bear. When she was strong enough to stand again, the medic left her with the little oxygen mask. Rebecca kept it nearby, but found breathing without it wasn't so bad. Her lungs still ached and stung a little with each breath, but it was more bearable than usual.

She fell in with the marines, who stared at her in concern and surprise. Wondering how she could have been cleared for a mission of this importance. Rebecca had the same question. To distract herself, she looked around at her surroundings. She took in each tree towering above her, the scraggly bushes covering their bases, and the flowers of all sorts of sizes and colors. She brushed her fingers against the strange leaves of a nearby branch, savoring the earthy feel. This world was exciting and new and Rebecca felt some hope from seeing it.

By now all of the members of the pilgrimage had passed through the portal and the security from Terra Nova was rounding everyone up, taking head counts and preparing for the rest of their journey. The marines were given the order to ready their weapons and Rebecca pulled her rifle down from the sling on her shoulder, thumbing the safety as she went, the weapon powered up with a faint hum. Then her unit spread out among the perimeter of civilians with the Terra Nova security and they started the long trek to Terra Nova.

The hike was accompanied by never-ending lush green plants, trees, grass, dirt, glimpses of blue sky, in short, it was breathtaking. As the trail became more strenuous a slight wheeze crept into Rebecca's breathing. She was starting to feel fatigued, a common problem with her issue, but she snuck a few quick breaths from the oxygen mask and it seemed to stay the issue. As the path leveled out, they reached a massive clearing, and on the far side of it lay their destination, Terra Nova.

It stretched out with massive walls. Rebecca had been briefed on the structure and layout of Terra Nova, but it was so much more impressive when seen with her own eyes.

The gate was open, waiting for their arrival. People were led inside and eventually the whole crowd was herded into the large open area just within the gate. A large wooden building loomed over them, the door above the balcony swung open and the infamous Commander Taylor walked out.

He was in his late fifties with gray hair, and a full gray beard. He wore all black combat fatigues and black boots. He was heavily muscled for his age, and wore a stern face that held an air of authority clear for all to see. Any man could easily be intimidated by him. Commander Taylor stood with both arms resting on the railing and welcomed the third pilgrimage to Terra Nova, our fresh start.

As he finished his welcome Commander Taylor turned and walked back into the building. Rebecca and the marines walked up to the building, which turned out to be Taylor's office. He sat behind a table that was held up by a massive dinosaur skull. He was leaning back in his chair, as if he was waiting for something to happen. He looked at each person in front of him but his gaze lingered on Rebecca. She held his stare trying to hide the mix of emotions running through her mind, intimidation, admiration, and curiosity. Luckily she didn't have to wait long, seconds later Rebecca heard two people enter the room behind her.

Commander Taylor stood up gestured behind them. The two people who had just entered walked around them and stood next to Taylor. They each wore a set of light armor and had guns holstered in their belts. Rebecca looked at their faces and her blood turned to ice. She knew exactly who that woman was, and she began to suspect her true purpose at Terra Nova. Taylor derailed her train of thought by introducing the man as Guzman, "the head of security here at Terra Nova and my trusted advisor." He was tall, well built, and he had dark hair and an intense gaze. Rebecca leveled a cool look at the woman next to him and saw that she was staring intently at her. The woman had long black hair that was tied up, and was tall and slender, but still sturdily built.

"This is Alicia Washington, my second in command. You will take orders from them without hesitation." Just from the sound of her name, Rebecca suppressed a pang of anger as she remembered what Alicia had done to her. This rush of energy made her exasperate her breathing just enough to make her emit a single cough, which earned her an intimidating glare from the commander. She involuntarily clenched her fists behind her back as Taylor continued,

"Guzman will show you to your quarters and we will talk later about your assigned duties. Dismissed." Taylor paused, glanced at Alicia, and said,

"Miles, you stay here." Rebecca obeyed and remained standing in her position, forcing the marines following Guzman to walk around her. Alicia wavered, took a step towards Rebecca and stopped. Rebecca didn't know what to do. She had never thought this day would come. She made no move towards Alicia out of sheer indecision, so she was forced to turn her complete attention to Taylor and ignore Alicia. Commander Taylor observed this exchange and finally broke the silence,

"Wash, will you wait outside? I need to talk to Miles by myself." Alicia looked over at him with a guarded glance and swiftly walked outside. Taylor turned to Rebecca,

"Do you know why you were brought to Terra Nova, Miles?"

"Not exactly, sir."

"Wash had it arranged that you would be sent here, shortly before she walked through the time portal herself. She won't tell me why, but I'm thinking you will." Taylor watched Rebecca, waiting for his answer. Rebecca could understand why Alicia didn't tell Taylor, but since she was here the truth was bound to come out.

"Alicia and I grew up together, sir."

"Are you expecting me to believe that's the only reason?"

"No sir. I expect it was because I was dying." The commander cocked his head as she continued, "I've had my lung issues for most of my life so Alicia would have known I was running out of time. The best and only known cure are certain components found only in fresh air, which could only be found here, in Terra Nova."

Taylor tilted his head away from Rebecca and smiled sarcastically at her dance around the real answer,

"I read that in your file. That is a good reason, but you are still not telling me why. I trust Wash, but I need to know if I can trust you."

"Alicia is my sister."

Taylor didn't look impressed,

"There is no record of that in either of your files."

"There wouldn't be. We erased the link before we joined the military. We had the same mother. When she died, it wasn't hard to alter the records."

"Now, why would you do that?"

"It's a long story, sir."

"I would like to hear it one day, Miles. Is that clear?"

"Yes sir."

"Good, now you will be assigned to Terra Nova transportation security. Since you have more experience than the rest of the marines you arrived with, you'll start higher up. You will be involved with missions outside of this compound. And due to your driving abilities, you will be in charge of transportation into the field. In the meantime, you will get more training in hand-to-hand combat. I want to see your potential. I need more good people working in higher places. You have the family ties. Now show me that I can trust you."

"Thank you, sir. I have nothing to hide, sir."

"That is good to hear, Miles. Now go rest up, you'll start training this afternoon."

Rebecca nodded and turned to walk out the door. As she passed a window, she saw Taylor in the glass's reflection, watching her walk out with a curious look on his face.

Rebecca was walking around trying to find someone to ask for directions to her quarters when someone grabbed her and started to pull her behind a building. She quickly turned, grabbed the arm that held hers, and swung her attacker into the side of the building with a muffled bang. It was Alicia, so she shoved her forearm underneath her sister's chin and said,

"What do you want from me Alicia? You got me here. If you're expecting a reconciliation, don't hold your breath." Rebecca lifted her arm just enough to let Alicia speak. She responded with a sigh,

"I brought you here to help you, not to make up. But I've never stopped being sorry, Becca. It's been 13 years." Alicia glanced up over Rebecca's shoulder, in the direction of Taylor's office and a look of faint embarrassment crossed her face.

"Did you tell him?" Alicia whispered.

"He asked, and I answered."

"Becca, can we just put everything behind us and start over? I want my sister back." Alicia said firmly. Rebecca responded simply by placing the pressure back onto her sister's throat to silence her. After a moment of contemplation, Rebecca let go of Alicia and backed away from her slowly.

"I'll give you this one more chance, only because I know bringing me here wasn't easy. Just don't screw everything up again."

Alicia started at her sister and eventually nodded. They stood there awkwardly for a moment. Rebecca knew this was the first step in fixing their relationship, and she still wasn't sure if she wanted to fix it yet. She just had to deal with Alicia's desperate attempts to feel whole until she made up her mind. Alicia showed Rebecca back out into the common area and down to the living areas in silence.

Commander Taylor stood on the balcony connected to his office, having just witnessed Alicia and Rebecca's interesting reunion. He smiled, shook his head, and walked back around and into his office and sat down behind his desk. He leaned back in the chair and folded his hands in silence, thinking. The officer he had requested walked inside and saluted Taylor. Taylor looked up at him and said,

"Cancel Rebecca Miles' firearms training for today and tell her to find me after lunch. She will be participating in a harder class this afternoon."

"Yes sir," and the officer rushed out of Taylor's office.

He leaned back in his chair again and said, mostly to himself, "I want to see how her hand-to-hand combat is."

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