|
"Alternative Directions: Options "Written By: Karina Disclaimer: I don't own Gundam Wing or the lovely
boys and their girls in the series. Wish I did. Please don't sue me.
I haven't even got a brass razoo to give you. Rating: Deffinately PG in Australia, at the moment,
but probably safer to say R for later chapters. Not sure about international
ratings Warnings: It will be 6x2, even though it does
not start out that way. After all, Zechs and Duo never met in Gundam
Wing and only spoke briefly over a com line in Endless Waltz. I've
tried to keep them in character as I saw them in the series. A bit
of language creeping in under stressful conditions. Pairings: eventual 6x2, past 2xH, 2+H,6x9, 1+R
Summary: Directions is set post Endless Waltz
and roughly 2 years have passed. Zechs and Noin are on Mars and Duo,
after spending some time with Hilde in a relationship leaves L2 to
join Preventers. Hilde was not happy about his decision. I guess enough
said. Here t'is, and I hope you like it. This is also AU for the standard
setting, as well as the series and Endless Waltz. Spoilers: Gundam Wing Series and Endless Waltz Many thanks to Dulin for volunteering to beta this. //... // thoughts
"Alternative Directions: Options" Chapter 173 Mars Colony Base Dome 2nd March AC 198 Time: 03:59 [approx Sanc time 01:50] Polnar “Try to understand. He’s Gifted, Chris.” Haydon’s voice was low, barely above a whisper but it carried and in the tone was a clear caution. Of all the things his partner might have said nothing was more guaranteed to make him sit up and take notice. //Gifted? Merquise?! Raydon never so much as intimated Merquise might be one of the Gifted when he offered me this assignment. Christ, it would explain why Raydon’s gone to so much trouble to keep him safe once he was located. Gifted… But how? In which field does his talent lie and how might it help or hinder us to get him out of here? // He generally considered himself to be a practical sort and while it was the last thing he had expected to be told he was not inclined to dwell over the implications. Raydon seemed to have more than one reason for wanting Merquise on Station One and his job was to ensure the man arrived hale and healthy. “If not for the visions we would not have made it this far with the amount of Sleepers running loose in the base.” Giles was watching him intently, and he could see his partner was practically willing him to say the right thing. “They are out of control, Chris and it has been all we can do, even with the aid of his visions to keep one step ahead of the game.” //Visions? A clairvoyant, then. Clairvoyants are always in demand but untrained he would generally be erratic in his episodes of Sight and probably inaccurate in his readings of what he does see. It obviously has a bearing on his reaction to me wanting to go for the twins, so what did he see and how has he interpreted it, I wonder? Damn, this is not a good time to find out he’s not just an overly protective father and may actually have a reason for being stubborn. I don’t have long and nowhere near enough time to satisfy myself of the interpretation of the vision witnessed. Seeing something and getting the interpretation wrong can cause a real balls up.// Haydon shifting on the bed reminded him of where they were and his gaze moved to the door remembering it had only been a few seconds since Barker had left the room. He did not particularly relish the thought of having to explain to the Preventer Agent about the seriousness he was giving to talk of visions. He certainly was not intending to explain about the Stations and the Gifted individuals who resided there, a welcomed and rather pampered part of the community. He had more than enough things to think about without imagining the look on Barker’s face and knowing he was being considered for a one way trip to the loony bin. A light touch to his arm snapped his attention back to the bed. Merquise was resting back against the pillows, blue eyes dark and brooding and Giles had leaned across the blonde to grasp his arm and bring his attention back. His partner’s eyes begged caution, flicking to Merquise briefly before returning to him and he could read the warning well enough. Giles wanted the man to remain quiet and was asking his help in keeping him controlled. //That’s worrying. Giles trained under the Training Masters and with the other Gifted on Station. I know he also took advanced lessons with a few of the Masters and from what was said at the time it made me wonder if they were not considering training him to become a Training Master eventually. I don’t think they have one with exactly his talent at the moment. He clearly doesn’t want me to pull on Merquise’s leash. Is it the man’s physical condition worrying him or is it something else? Something more ominous to do with his Gift?// He considered the big man for a long moment, taking stock of the visible physical injuries, the heavy bandaging around his shoulder and chest, the bruises and scrapes visible and deemed not worthy of bandages. Taken into consideration with his partner’s obvious physical difficulties the pair had not been idle. His partner’s discomfort and the way he hunched over suggested Giles needed medical attention and he wondered if, in that confrontation with Simpson, Merquise had sustained further injuries. Neither man had had a medic do more than ask if they were alright and they would have waved off that offer of assistance in favour of the more seriously injured ESUN agent. There was something in Merquise’s stance he recognized, something about the slump of the broad shoulders and the way his head was now inclined to permit that wild cascade of hair to hide his face. It was the look of the man more than his partner’s warning that convinced him he needed to tread a careful line. He recalled Merquise saying something about a dislocated shoulder but that was not what gave him pause. The medic would have picked up on such an injury immediately. Having once had a dislocated shoulder himself he knew there was no braving the pain without giving away the absolute agony to anyone watching. Merquise did not betray that kind of pain and while he looked uncomfortable there was something else that disturbed Polnar. The incline of the blonde head and the hiding behind long bangs, the almost felt desire to crawl into a dark safe place where no one could notice him… That stance Polnar knew. He had witnessed it amid the Gifted in the past and most frequently he had witnessed it amid the newly-recognized individuals who came to Station One and were informed they were not as they had previously thought, insane. He could not mistake the distinctive slump and tendency to want to escape notice. Merquise was reacting in the classic fashion of an individual who was waiting to be laughed at or stared at and fully expecting a FREAK sign to be hung over his head. //Shit. How the hell do we make him comfortable with something he’s not experienced before from the look of him? Scratch that, he’s tense as a drum and ready to lash out, so he’s waiting for me to look at him as though he’s a nutcase and ready to be locked away. After witnessing what he did to Simpson in this condition I don’t want him lashing out at me and Giles obviously wants him calm. God, I hate having to watch the new Gifted on Station work through that reaction. Giles will have to handle him, though. He’s got more experience and understanding of the Gifted than I do and he’s not up to physically running loose in the base and neither is Merquise. Okay, I’ll do the leg work, that’s not a problem, but I’d better set him at ease before I go. I don’t know how much Giles has told him about the Gifted or if he knew anything about them when he was previously on Station One. Shit, there’s a lot of stuff I don’t know and Raydon is going to have to listen to me gripe about it when we make it back// His partner’s fingers squeezed his wrist once again in silent warning and Giles eyes were serious, flicking from the silent blonde to Polnar and back to Zechs. Giles was waiting to know if he had gotten the message across to him to be careful how he reacted in Merquise’s presence and probably praying he did not blow it. His partner looked close to collapse and did not need additional aggravation or tension to add to his load. Polnar was only too aware there was no rest for any of them as yet. “After the last few hours I can confirm to the Training Masters Zechs has a clairvoyant ability. He may also be one of the rarer multi-talented Gifted, but that can be explored at a later date when we have more time and opportunity to pursue the exact nature of his Gift. It’s his visions pertaining to the current predicament that are of concern to us now. It’s a bit of a grey area but there is reason to be cautious as you go for the twins.” Giles released his partner and focused his attention on the big man in the bed. He was hunched over slightly, clearly uncomfortable and trying his best to ignore his condition in favour of smoothing this meeting between his charge and his partner. “Zechs, Chris has worked with the Gifted before. On Station One he was trained to work in conjunction with us in a number of capacities. He’ll listen if and when you need him to.” Giles met Polnar’s gaze and shrugged slightly, a bare lifting of his shoulders. “When we reach Station One we will need to see him directly to the Training Masters care.” Polnar’s attention was mainly focused on Merquise who, he knew, would be expecting him to pull away or more probably expected him to go so far as to laugh in his face. Merquise would be inclined to avoid looking at him as he would most likely be expecting the classic ’Freak’ look he had witnessed before from what were supposed to be old and dear friends. Some people simply could not accept there were other ways to look at the world surrounding them. To be certain he could not think of this man as just another member of the Gifted. Of all of the outcomes possible as a result of this mission to Mars he might have expected, learning that Milliardo Peacecraft, Zechs Merquise, was a Gifted was not one of them. It instantly brought a number of questions to mind that had nothing to do with the current situation but begged to be asked and answered concerning the past. He could almost hear the thoughts of his partner urging him to say something; something reassuring and very far from laughing at the absurdity of this talk of visions. The disbelief and expectation to be assured the discussion was a joke was a reaction all too common but never to be found amongst those who had spent an appreciable length of time on Station and associated with the Gifted. //He would be expecting me to react in one of three ways. Either a, laugh the whole thing off as a poorly timed joke or b, ignore what has just been revealed as the polite way of refusing to deal with it or c, make a joking comment or two to try to set him at ease. A setup for later ignoring the whole matter or proving to him he is a nutcase and needs psychiatric help. None of those reactions exactly fits with the situation we are currently in. Past experience working with the Gifted leads me to believe they appreciate honest reactions. No false levity, no ignoring the issue, no arguing about the absurdity of the paranormal. Well, fine, I can do that. I don’t have a problem working with the Gifted and I’ve had enough training to partner them on missions for Station and appreciate what a difference to a mission they can make. He’s a man of action, a professional soldier before he came here, so let’s start from there. Soldiers don’t like to be laughed at or taken for fools.// Giles was looking at him again and he supposed he had been silent too long. He could feel the faint constricting of his partner’s fingers encircling his wrist and the warning inherent in the grip. Giles, if not Merquise, would explode from the tension if he did not give some indication of how he was accepting this. He was not certain he had read Giles one hundred percent accurate. The warning might be centered round some other aspect of the situation but he was not inclined to ignore any warning, no matter how ambiguous. He would proceed with his eyes open and his every sense on alert. “Okay. That can help get our arses out of this mess intact.” //Let us see how he reacts to acceptance from a stranger and give him a bit of incentive to speak up.// He glanced from Giles to Zechs. “In light of the advantage clairvoyance gives us, any recommendations?” He could not mistake the startled surprise that lifted the man’s head and revealed what he could only describe as pained disbelief in the blue eyes. He suspected he might have gotten less of a reaction if he had hauled off and slapped the man in the face with his full strength. It was clear enough Zechs Merquise had not expected him to believe Giles and not only accept but ask if he had any recommendations in light of possible visions. //I’ve seen enough since going to Station One to know the Universe is a far bigger place than most suppose. Once you see the Gifted work and experience how their abilities can affect the world around you for the better you learn to open your mind.// The Training Masters had briefed him on how not to deal with the Gifted when he had been chosen to work in the intelligence department of Station One, as well as how to work with them to best effect. Nervous laughter all too easily changed into fear and horror or disgust and either reaction led to violence. If you were considered to be good enough to work with the Gifted off Station you were more thoroughly briefed on the reactions to psychics by the masses and the possible reaction of the psychic in turn to how they were viewed by the uninformed or misinformed. He was almost certain he understood why Giles had been handling Zechs so carefully through this meeting. First and foremost, for a man in his position was the need to remember only the Gifted really understood each other. He was on the outside looking in and he had been trained to do so carefully so as not to bruise oft times fragile psyches stressed and strained from abuse over the years. He did not need to handle Merquise, that need he would leave to Giles who knew the most about the Gifted and how to handle them. Giles would monitor Merquise and his initial reaction to being introduced to the new order that made Station One so special and his personal reactions must be positive and relatively neutral. Giles would handle any reaction from Merquise and all he was required to do was be attentive and positive in attitude. //A clairvoyant talent is always welcome on any of the stations. I wonder what his range and affinity is sensitive to? If he is one of the more specific visionaries, of course. He might be a lesser general talent though the way Giles is handling him I think he might have a stronger talent. Once he meets others with similar abilities he will understand he is not alone and he is not a freak. I’ve no doubt Merquise would find the Station very quickly would become home.// Giles had stated previously they owed their survival to reacting to instances of vision Zechs had experienced. The Training Masters would want to know every nuance of information possible on those visions. He would need to pay close attention to try to unravel whatever Merquise might have seen to aid in bringing the children safely back to the medical center. It would be a good opportunity for him to gage the clarity and potency of the talent. It was not beyond the realms of possibility he might find himself working on a team in the future that included the Prince of Sanc. //I have to wonder though, what the hell the man was doing a few years ago. If this talent is not something new what the hell was a clairvoyant trying to do threatening to destroy the Earth? Shit. I can’t ask him that, not now at least. Something tells me neither Merquise nor Giles would appreciate the question and we don’t have the time anyway. I’ll think about asking him when we are safely on a ship and Station-bound.// He noted his partner’s hand move to rest on Zechs’s arm and the reassuring squeeze of strong fingers. It was a calming touch and from the look of the man the former Lightning Count needed it. “We have a few problems with visions being used to assist in this case, Chris. Previously, the visions Zechs has experienced have been rather… well, they have been somewhat traumatic to say the least. We don’t have the time to go into details now as Barker will be back before we could even get started into the vagaries of vision. Zechs has an unusual aspect of the talent we are more familiar with.” Polnar considered his partner with an arched eyebrow. //An unusual aspect of clairvoyance? Interesting. If Giles is hesitant to even describe it then I would think Merquise’s Gift has to be something more than just unusual. Time is a problem and I don’t have enough of it as usual.// Merquise was watching him now with a shuttered look, having gotten over his initial surprise. The man had a disquieting stare and Polnar wondered how Giles had apparently forged a trust between them in the short time they had known each other. “What do I need to know to bring them safely here?” “That’s the problem.” Giles sighed and inclined his head toward the far side of the room. “Zechs, try to get some rest and I’ll fill in Chris on as much as I can. Where are the kids?” “You are sure about him?” “Yes. I’m sure. If anyone can get the kids safely to you it will be Chris.” A slow, deep breath and Polnar could see the internal struggle taking place. It was a struggle to move past Merquise’s own reluctance to allow others to take control. He had witnessed it before in the Gifted, especially in the clairvoyants, who seemed to have a harder time of admitting others were capable of acting on advice. Capable of carrying out missions affected by their vision. “There is nothing you can tell me that may affect the outcome of my searching for the children? No warning at all?” He would do what he could to give the man a reason to trust him but in the end the decision was up to Merquise. “There have been plenty of warnings in vision experienced over the last months. Pretty much everything Zechs has envisioned has happened as he expected it to. The problem we are now facing is something he did not see in vision. Us.” //Us? How can we be a problem?// He frowned, glancing between the two men and noting the tension in both step up a notch. Merquise was once more looking down at his hands, his face covered by hair, a convenient shield behind which he could hide. “How do you mean, us? We are a problem how?” “I see differing aspects of the one situation with results stemming from repercussion of actions taken during the event. In short, I see multiple versions of the one event.” He had not expected Zechs to elaborate on any aspect of his talent. It was more usual for the newly-recognized Gifted to tend toward avoiding discussing their abilities with anyone, including the Training Masters, for often months on end. Painstaking work was usually required to get them to take the first steps along the road to exploring their gifts. Merquise had never struck him as an open or trusting soul and given the past he could not blame the man for that distance. For someone with his past and given present circumstances, for him to begin talking about his Gift to a perfect stranger took more than a little courage. “You see one event but different versions of that event?” He almost expected the man to flinch away from him but Merquise did not so much as twitch at his question. “I see the one event but I see versions of that event dependent on the actions taken during the event by everyone involved.” Blue eyes flashed briefly up to Giles, an unconscious seeking for reassurance given the delicacy of the subject. //He’s definitely forged a bond with Giles. That’s good, though the Training Masters usually prefer the bond to be partnered with a talent of the same sphere.// Giles nodded briefly, an encouraging and approving action. Polnar was well aware Merquise was within his rights to withhold any information on his psychic talent. They were fortunate Merquise was a soldier and had been a commander of men. He would understand the need for accurate intelligence to assist in the mission and he was equating that military background into their current situation. “So you see more than one version of the event? You see two or three different versions?” Giles flashed him a look that clearly said not to push but it was too late, he had already asked the question and Merquise was considering him from under those conveniently long bangs. “If you walk through a door into a room full of four men and trip over your own feet this is one event. If you walk through a door and trip over your own feet and knock a vase from the table into a second man, that is the same event. If when you trip one of those men reaches out to steady you that is another. If a third man reaches to steady you and knocks the vase his interaction changes the event yet again. If one man reaches for you from the left and another from the right and a third laughs and distracts both men and you fall over your own feet and knock the vase over that is yet another, three variants, in truth. Personal interaction changes the outcome. The possible ways each man might react alter the outcome. One man might react in three or four different ways to a given circumstance, each way must be calculated and evaluated and noted. With five men in the room the possibilities are enormous for how the scenario might be best handled. That is what I see.” //Huh?// He could only blink at the man in puzzled surprise. He simply did not have time to examine all the possibilities Zechs suggested. Giles sighed and shrugged. “It is going to take some exploration before we fully understand the implications.” “I admit I have not heard of that particular way of looking at visions before and to say it puts a new light on clairvoyance is a bit of an understatement. The Training Masters are going to love working with you. They are always on the lookout for unique talents they have not encountered before and yours is obviously a variant on what is the accepted form of clairvoyance. Or should I say ‘has been’ the accepted form? They’ll need to know as much as you can tell them about it to best effect a program that will benefit you.” Giles flashed a grin at his partner that let him know he had said exactly the right thing before he turned his attention to Zechs. “You see? I told you Chris has worked with the Gifted before and he is neither afraid of us nor looks down on us as nutcases. He has received training to partner various types of talent in the field and we who are Gifted and have worked with him have learned to trust him. Zechs, you can trust him to find your children and bring them safely here.” Pulled back to the necessity of the moment Polnar straightened his shoulders and inclined his head to Merquise. “I may not be one of the Gifted but I know my job. I can’t tell if there will be trouble or not but I promise you on my life I will bring the twins back to the Medical Center.” “It may come to that.” The deep rumble seemed to vibrate through the air, sending a shiver up Polnar’s spine. “It was made clear to me when I accepted this mission there might be a price to be paid by accepting it. It’s what I do for Station and in particular, for Raydon. I’ll do everything in my power to keep the children safe.” “Accommodation section C, level three.” Blue eyes were suddenly shuttered and suggested to him Merquise was no longer entirely with them in the room. It was eerie and it was something he had witnessed before when working with the Gifted. “Section C, level three, room forty three. Section C, level four, room twelve.” Polnar nodded briefly committing the references to memory. He knew the accommodation sections and he would have no trouble finding the designated locations. “Section C, level three, room forty three and level four, room twelve.” Merquise seemed to deflate, leaning heavily against the pillows at his back and Giles stirred, gently squeezing his biceps. “Rest while I explain what I can to Chris before Barker arrives.” Intense blue eyes flickered up to glower at Giles with accusation in their depths and his partner shook his head at the look, dismissing the unspoken commentary. “You know I have to brief him and you have done what you can for the moment. It’s time you rested and gathered strength for what is yet to come. Trust me to brief him in the little time we have left.” The assurance did nothing to lower the level of intensity of the glare but Merquise remained silent as Giles took his partner’s arm and guided him to the far side of the examination room. They were no more than a half dozen strides from the bed and if Giles had something to say he did not want Merquise to hear he would have to be careful. // Now what have you got to say to me that is so urgent? You are not fooling him one bit, Haydon. He seems to be reading you fairly accurately and he’s only known you for a few hours. I know his reputation as a commander and how his men followed him with complete dedication. He needed to understand them to be that type of commander and he seems to have you pegged. There’s trust there but something else. He’s wary too, of course, all this talk of the Gifted has to have him on edge. You don’t just accept suddenly having a talent and there being a whole community out there accepting others like you. I have to wonder if you have used your gift on him to gain his cooperation.// Giles rested his back to the door and leaned heavily against its cool surface. He was hunched over again and he had not moved easily, every movement a testament to a hard day and harder night. //Interesting position you have chosen there. No one is going to be getting in here without us knowing they are there.// “Chris, we have a few problems with the mission.” The whisper was faint and he had to listen hard to hear him. Clearly there was something Giles did not want Merquise made aware of and Polnar felt his insides clench, waiting to hear the worst. “Problem number one being we were not informed Zechs Merquise is one of the Gifted.” He returned, keeping his voice low. Giles waved his concern aside with a lift of his hand. “I don’t know if Raydon actually knows about Zechs being Gifted. You can be sure I will be taking the matter up with him when we get back, if we get back. That is not of concern now as we have more urgent matters to deal with. He’s told me bits and pieces of the various futures he has seen relating to what is happening here now and they are not at all pretty. We have a shit load of trouble coming our way. When you get back I’ll go into that more but for now you need to be aware he is on the edge.” Polnar arched an eyebrow and shrugged slightly, a bare twitch of his broad shoulders. “I can see he is strung out, Haydon, you don’t have to warn me about that. It’s pretty obvious.” Giles snorted softly, his gaze returned to the blonde and then flicked back to his partner. “You have no idea. It’s more than being on edge, Chris. We may have real trouble brewing with him and it has nothing to do with the shit going down here. He’s into breakout and he’s been pushing himself for hours. He’s about ready to go into overdrive and we can’t afford for him to lose it now. It is imperative I keep him calm and contained in a controlled environment for as long as possible. We can’t allow him to go into a vision sequence again. He knows it would be dangerous but he has no idea of the full consequences. I don’t have any idea just how bad it could be if he loses control and we have already had some very nasty experiences with his talent. We have to try to contain matters to keep his talent as low key as possible.” Breakout. For want of a better word the Gifted had been calling the awakening of full potential breakout, describing it as anything from liberating to shattering their very sensibilities. No one came from it unchanged and everyone described it in a different fashion, even those who shared the same type of talent. It appeared to be an extremely personal and far from painless experience according to those who had spoken to him of their individual experiences. Generally the pain was interpreted as physical though in truth it was anything but, though some Gifted did physically injure themselves during the process, more in protest or shock than as a result of the actual process. For that reason no Gifted on Station was unmonitored during the awakening period. “Damn.” He knew enough to know some talents were more dangerous during awakening than others though to his mind the kinetic talents were the most dangerous. Giles had told him once not to be stupid when he had made a comment to that effect. *“You can dodge what you see coming at you.”* Giles considered the telepaths and related talents the most dangerous in the awakening process. “I would have thought he’d be over that hurdle if he has been having visions.” Giles shook his head and rested his head back against the door with a dull thump. “Zechs has been experiencing visions for some years but I think we are dealing with some other aspect of talent awakening. It is probably a result of that bloody operating system he was exposed to during the war, the Epyon. There was something more than odd about the suit and I think the Training Masters will need to investigate the design and intentions behind the suit’s construction but we don’t have the time to speculate on Epyon now. He’s walking the tightrope and I can’t afford to have him upset any more than he is now.” “I’ll get the kids and bring them. That should relieve some of the tension from him and if you can get him to rest, even sleep, that should help.” “I don’t have the time to explain everything you need to know but you should at least be made aware that Noin is one of the Gifted.” He stared at his partner in blank-faced surprise and glanced over his shoulder at the blonde who appeared to have drifted off to sleep. “Lucrezia Noin is a Gifted? For the love of… Haydon, what else is there I should know?” He was not fooled for an instant. Short of knocking the man unconscious there was no way Merquise would relax enough to sleep until the base had been secured and some sort of order restored. Even finding and bringing the twins to the Medical Center would not relax the soldier in Merquise enough to give the man respite. Zechs Merquise was too much the professional to leave an operation halfway through. “Noin is one of the Gifted and the source of a massive part of the problem with him. While he’s teetering on the edge of crisis Noin has already lost it. I’m not sure what happened up in the dome but whatever it was it pushed her from latent potential to absolute crisis and just about killed her in the process. She’s a kinetic talent, there is no doubt about the source of her talent but I’ve never seen the kind of damage before done to the shuttle control room. She lost the plot big time and it is highly possible she may have burned herself out. For everyone’s safety I have to try to keep her sedated and I am going to have to have a word with the doctors here if it looks as though they will attempt to wake her. I can’t say with any degree of certainty if she is burned out or will recover with her mind and Gift intact. What I do know is she needs the Training Masters and the facilities on Station One to have a chance of recovering. That is, of course, if she survives the recovery process from the shock gun.” “Lucrezia Noin on Station One? We have to take her with us to Station One?” He stared at his partner in disbelief not even game to work the logistics of such a move. “We were scraping to make the escape plan workable to get Merquise off the damn planet and now you tell me we have to take a possibly volatile kinetic talent with us?” “Oh she’s volatile, alright. She is also comatose to my knowledge and we have to ensure she stays that way until we can make arrangements to contain her should she wake with her talent out of control.” Polnar blinked at his partner who simply watched him and waited. Raydon was going to be in for a rather unpleasant surprise, he mused. The man had definite intentions toward Merquise of a personal nature and he was not going to be thrilled to have Noin interfering with his courtship of the Prince of Sanc. All of that was in the future, of course and dependent on their safely departing Mars. “How the hell do you expect us to get a comatose patient out of here? Especially if she is in as sensitive a condition as you say.” Giles shrugged eloquently, his eyes serious as he watched his partner. It might have seemed amusing in any other situation but he knew there was nothing funny about this situation. Chris Polnar had not witnessed the havoc unleashed in the Shuttle Control Tower and when he had occasion to view the destruction he would better understand the seriousness of the situation. They simply dared not leave the woman on Mars for the safety of the colony. “Merquise, Noin and the twins all have to be escorted to Station One. Given their parentage I would say there is more than a good chance the twins are Gifted and their talents will manifest when they are older. It would be easier for them if they grow up in a society that acknowledges and accepts the psychically talented. We need to get them all out of here and into protective custody as soon as possible. Raydon will undoubtedly be sending us backup and we have proven before we can be inventive when the need presents itself.” “I like your confidence.” He ran a hand through his hair absently, hating the feel of the dried sweat plastering the hair to his skull. “How the hell could things go so wrong, Haydon?” “We’ll manage, Chris. We have to. Barker should return and be ready to send the team at any time so we need to be quick. From what I have learned from him thus far Merquise’s talent is very different to any other clairvoyant I’ve had occasion to speak to. Different and damnably accurate. He’s had months to work through the consequences of actions taken but in a way we have voided all of his projections and calculations. In not a single one of his visions have we, you and I, featured. That absence has already proven advantageous to a number of instances that took place up in the dome but it could also be to the detriment of something he had worked a solution to. You cannot predict the actions of a person if that person was overlooked or elsewhere.” “Yeah. It would be a little difficult.” “We are, in effect, random elements. My presence up in the dome once I joined up with him changed encounters in the dome to our advantage.” “Can you be sure about that? I mean if the situation was not foreseen…” At the look in his partner’s eyes Polnar snapped his mouth shut. “Sorry.” “It’s confusing, I know but yes, we can be certain in this instance my presence was a benefit. In one of his visions he went down and because I was there I managed to provide sufficient distraction to change the outcome. In this instance we can only hope you going with this team specifically to retrieve the twins will also be an advantage. When we were talking earlier he said you were not featured in any of his visions so watch your back. He can’t warn you about getting shot or, as would most probably be the case, knifed in the back, if he has not seen you. These killers could be the person standing behind you. We can’t really trust anyone other than ourselves.” He really wanted to be back in his rooms on Station One, safe and secure and not trapped on a barren rock with homicidal lunatics running loose killing everyone in sight. Wishful thinking was not going to be producing results and he was too much a professional to be seduced by indulging in such useless luxuries. The here and now was all he could afford to be concerned with. “Okay. I’ll locate the twins and when I return with them and get them settled in you and I are going to have to talk. Will you be okay to stand guard? You have looked better, my friend.” “I’ve certainly felt better too but we have no other options.” “You need those ribs checked out Giles.” “When you return will be soon enough. I won’t be leaving this room until you do. I’ll keep him occupied and try to get him to sleep but I have my doubts any of us will be sleeping for hours yet.” Polnar watched him shuffle back to the bed, noting every careful step and every flinch accompanying each movement. His partner, like too many of the Gifted, was a stubborn body at the best of times and right now Polnar found himself wishing Raydon could have justified the cost of keeping a half dozen agents on Mars instead of just two. Who did he trust on Mars? It was not a difficult question to answer. Himself and the man who looked as though a deep breath would send him to the floor in choking agony.
Karina Robertson 2006 Previous related chapters 165 & 172 ——————————————————————————————— I just wanted to take this opportunity to thank those of you who have read and reviewed Alternatives throughout the year. Your feedback has been much appreciated. Merry Christmas
|
