Series/Universe: Captain Power and the Soldiers of the Future
Disclaimers: M7 characters belong to Trilogy, et al. Jonathan Power, his team, Lord Dread, and all other Captain Power characters belong to Landmark Entertainment. Original characters are all mine ... don't mind if you borrow them, just ask first, give them back intact and give credit where credit is due.
Warnings: The usual ... violence, language, and references to ugliness. Oh yeah, and the original characters. Can't forget them.
Spoilers: both seasons of M7 and the one season of Captain Power and the Soldiers of the Future.
Chris Larabee never intended to return to the fight, after his wife and son were killed. Losing Sarah and Adam had, in the words of his oldest friend, burned half the soul out of him. The previous year, however, had changed that. He met Vin Tanner when they joined forces to save the life of Nathan Jackson, a healer in a small settlement. A local man was injured during a Dread attack, and though Nathan fought hard, the man finally died of his injuries. Nathan was almost killed by the man's neighbors. Chris and Vin had a few things to say about that.
At that time, Vin was twenty-four years old, fourteen years younger than Chris, but he seemed much older. Chris understood why now. While Vin was young in terms of physical years, he had seen and experienced things that no one ever should. At any age. They all knew that Vin had never known his father, and they learned while protecting Nettie Welles and her niece Casey from marauder Guy Royal, that Vin's mother died when he was five.
Julia Tanner was a technician at Babylon Five, and after her death, her son was turned out. Never mind that he was only five years old, never mind there was a war going on. Wasn't their problem. For a time, he was alone, until he was rescued by Athena Samuels and her team. The entire Resistance unit took care of Vin, but the little boy found a special place in Athena's heart. Chris grinned faintly when Josiah murmured Vin had a habit of doing that.
As he had told them, when he was ten, most of the team was killed, and Athena digitized. But here in their craft, he told a little more of that day ... including where he was at the time, when Athena was digitized. Chris cringed, thinking of that ten year old boy, hiding in the ventilation shafts of Volcania, watching while his surrogate mother was digitized. Thinking back over the last year, of the nights when Vin awakened from a nightmare, screaming, Chris wondered how many of those nightmares came from that memory.
As Vin rested his voice for a few moments, Chris recalled what he knew of digitization. Dread had come up with a way to store human consciousness in Overmind, his sentient supercomputer. In the twentieth and twenty-first centuries, it was called 'downloading' a person's consciousness. Chris remembered seeing an ancient television show called The X-Files, in which a young woman actually downloaded her mind and personality into a computer.
Digitization, however, was purely against the will of the person. Josiah once called it a mental rape. When you were inside the machine, inside Overmind, it knew everything you knew. As Athena Samuels had told Josiah (then working as a psych tech in the Passages), it knew every shame, every hate, every love, every memory. And it used those memories to torture the hapless individual. The current Mindsinger, Lydia, was working on a way to reverse the process without Dread's knowledge, using the Web, but it was a slow process.
Chris returned his attention to Vin's story. After the slaughter of Athena and her team, Vin was on his own again. He did what he had to, in order to stay alive, and Chris knew his friend did some ugly things to survive. By this time, he had the knowledge of a person twice his age, and because he was young and small, he was often underestimated. Three years ago, Chris would have laughed at the idea of a ten or eleven year old bounty hunter. Children of that age simply did not have that sort of knowledge or experience. He wasn't laughing any more.
When he was twelve years old, Vin ran afoul of a marauder named Eli Joe. The renegade murdered a young farmer in a nearby settlement, Jess Kincaid, and blamed Vin. The boy was on the run, when he met two Dread Youth refugees, both cadets. Mary Travis and her second in command Drina. Chris noticed that no last name was given for Drina, just that after a nasty firefight, Mary got separated from Vin and Drina. Until he and Chris had gone to Nathan's aid in the settlement called 'Four Corners,' Vin had believed Mary was dead.
For the next few months, Vin and Drina were on their own ... two twelve year olds struggling to survive in an increasingly violent world. The death of Jennifer Chase had shattered the Resistance for a time ... and then the true bloodshed began. Chris remembered the time well. He was twenty-six at the time, and trying to get information about his young surrogate sister, and Buck's own biological sister, Adriana. She was taken by the Dread Youth when she was just a child, and Chris had never given up on finding her again.
Almost six months to the day after Jennifer Chase's death, Vin and Drina were found by Jonathan Power and his team. In the months since the destruction of the Power Base, and the loss of the woman he loved, Power had found it more and more difficult to continue with the war, once the desire for vengeance had been exhausted. The two exhausted, hungry, dirty children whom he and his team found that day gave him a new purpose in life.
Vin said little of the day he met Jonathan Power, but Chris wasn't worried. His best friend wasn't a man who shared a great deal of details about his life. When he was ready, he would talk about it. Right now, he was only giving them the information they needed to know. They had already learned more about Vin in the last three hours than they had known in the previous year. And now, as they neared the rendezvous point, his voice became very soft.
"Mr. Larabee, I'm gettin' a signal from Gemini," Ezra observed. Chris looked away from Vin. Among the Resistance, 'Gemini' was Mary's code name, because of her startling resemblance to Jennifer Chase. Personally, Chris didn't see the resemblance. They were both blonde women who served in the Dread Youth, before finding out the truth, but they really didn't look that much alike. Ezra continued, "Mr. Tanner's confirmation is being matched. 'The storm approaches.' How did you come up with these fascinatin' messages?"
"Jon came up with 'em," was the simple reply. Chris looked back as Vin shrugged. Then a familiar, impish smile crossed his face as he added, "Reckon he woulda thought dressin' ya up in that purple dress was right funny." Ezra turned and glared at Vin, making the young man laugh softly. Chris just grinned, then caught sight of Buck. Chris felt his own smile fade. He would need to have a long talk with Buck when this was over.
The big man wouldn't be happy with Vin keeping this from them, but Chris understood Vin's rationale. He was a quiet man, not given to flash or drama, and he hadn't been comfortable, disclosing that part of his life. It was a painful period ... for everyone. And Vin was hardly more than a child, at least in years. Then Chris actually saw the look in Buck's eyes as he stared at Vin, and realized he was wrong.
Buck wasn't angry with Vin. He was hurting for their friend. But then, he would. Buck was a man who protected. And while he was far more easygoing than Chris, he would never tolerate women or children being hurt. The very idea of the Dread Youth was anathema to him, even before his then-eight year old sister was taken by the Dread Youth. Perhaps because his father, Avery Wilmington, had been one of Lyman Taggart's chief architects in the Bio-Dread Empire, before Buck killed him.
Wilmington Senior had suggested several concepts taken from the Nazi leader of the twentieth century, including his Hitler Youth, and the idea of a master race. Taggart had thought of the master race (human minds in undying metalloid bodies, as his Litany of Anti-Life went). But he hadn't considered a movement to indoctrinate children into this new order. Buck was to have been one of the first Dread Youth, but his mother had her own ideas. Avery Wilmington was not to be denied for long, and while he wasn't the first Dread supporter to offer up one of his children as a sacrifice, that sacrifice was made.
For the last seventeen years, ever since Adriana's abduction, Buck had never stopped trying to find her. Hoping that the eight years before her mother's death had left her enough memories to keep her human, instead of the flesh and blood machines so many of the Dread Youth became. Mary didn't have that advantage, but she was Dread Youth. She eventually found her way back ... why couldn't Adriana?
Buck said softly, "I'm so sorry ya had to go through all that, Vin. But I still don't understand why you didn't tell us. Didn't you think we'd understand?" The issue of trust wasn't being raised, and for that, Chris was grateful. The walls between Buck and Vin took a long time to come down, but come down they had, especially after Chris was rescued from the Dread prison camp, run by Overunit Quince and his mother.
"It just ain't somethin' I like to talk about, Bucklin. Ain't no reflection on y'all," Vin answered quietly. He sighed, then looked at the other men in the Larabee team. He said softly, "After 'bout six months, Drina and me, we moved on. Together. By this time, Aislinn had been born. Was time for us to move on. But we both promised Jon, that if he ever needed us, we would come. He tol' us, that if he ever needed us, it would be to help him protect his little girl. Aislinn means everythin' to him."
As Vin finished speaking, a silence fell in the ship, a silence that was broken when JD said softly, "We're approaching the meeting place, Chris. Ezra, can you confirm?" The communications specialist nodded, uncharacteristically quiet. Then again, he talked almost as much as Buck and JD, and those two were both silent as they listened to Vin's explanation of his early years. Perhaps it shouldn't have been so strange that even Ezra was strongly affected.
"Confirmed, Mr. Dunne, along with confirmation that the vessel already on the ground belongs to the Valkyries. I'm detecting five life forms within the vessel," Ezra answered. He paused, then muttered, "I still wish you had allowed me to abscond with those extras, Mr. Larabee, the last time we carried out a raid against that monstrosity." Chris just smiled, accustomed to the other man's complaints.
However, it was Nathan who replied, "That woulda been nice, Ez, but Vin's safety was more important than some cool gadget that'll let ya spy on other members of the Resistance." Ezra started to answer indignantly, but Chris silenced both of them before they could get going. It was a bone of contention ... Ezra saw no problem with taking Dread technology. Nathan didn't have a problem with it, as long as it served an actual strategic purpose ... and didn't risk the life of someone he cared about.
And JD was starting the descent, which meant they all had to get buckled in and ready for landing. JD was a pretty good pilot, but his landings were still bumpy. He hadn't crashed their ship yet, hadn't caused any damage, but those landings still needed work. However, that didn't stop Ezra from throwing a glare over his shoulder at Nathan, and Chris shook his head. Any team who had a former member of the Bio-Dread Empire could expect this. He wondered how Mary, who was herself a former Dread Youth, handled it. Maybe he should ask her.
"One of these days, I swear I will kill one of these people," Charlotte Richmond seethed as she checked the bonds of an overunit who had ambushed the Valkyries as soon as they started their perimeter sweep. Her companion said nothing, and Charlotte glanced over at her friend, adding, "I'm sorry, Drina, I always forget that you and Mary used to be in the Dread Youth."
It was, in fact, a bone of contention within the Valkyries when Adriana joined the team earlier in the year. Until Mary had quietly but firmly reminded everyone in the team that she herself had been in the Dread Youth. In fact, Adriana had memories of a time when she wasn't in the Dread Youth, unlike Mary, who had spent her first fifteen years in that institution of child abuse. Further, Adriana escaped with Mary, and she had spent time with the Power Team. Even so, it took time for Terry to trust Adriana.
Especially since she never discussed what she had been doing from the time she left the Power Team, twelve years earlier, until the day she met up with Mary and Charlotte. Just got a pained look in her eyes, as if she didn't want to remember something, something which Nora had remarked on, as had Billy. And Mary let it slip that Adriana had seen Chris Larabee in one of the Dread prison camps. Which meant either she was among the raiders who hit the prison camps, to rescue people ... or one of the inmates.
Charlotte knew there was no chance Adriana had been one of the guards. As a traitor to the Bio-Dread Empire, she would have either been killed on sight by the Dreadheads, or captured and tortured. There was no way a Dread Youth who escaped would have been a guard at the prison camp. And based on what Adriana wouldn't say, Charlotte would have bet all the money she had that Adriana was an inmate there.
Something she told the others, during one of Terry's 'I don't trust her, she was Dread Youth' rants. However, looking back now, Charlotte realized that in the beginning, Terry didn't want to trust Adriana. She had escaped the very institution which had taken Terry's daughter. And since it wasn't acceptable for her to hate Mary, because Billy had escaped Olivia's fate, Terry transferred that hatred to Adriana.
The former Dread Youth said now, "Yeah, but I never got to the overunit stage. When Mary and I ran, back in '47, I knew I would end up dead before too much longer. It was getting harder and harder to keep quiet about my memories." Charlotte looked at her friend curiously, and Adriana explained as she kicked the ankles of one of the overunits, "I was eight years old when I was put into the Dread Youth. I had lived with my older brother, his mother, and mine before our father killed my mother."
Older brother? Charlotte didn't have a chance to ask, for Adriana continued, glaring at the overunit she had just kicked, "I found out shortly before I escaped that my brother was dead, killed by our father. Mary escaped because of Jennifer Chase's death. I escaped because the Bio-Dread Empire had killed two people I loved. I wasn't about to become another casualty. You remember that, Overunit Wilson? You remember showing me the vid of my brother's death? Hmmm? Bucklin was only twenty-three years old! Only two years younger than I am now!"
Bucklin? Same father, different mothers? Charlotte suddenly felt very, very dizzy as she realized she had always used the code names of the Magnificent Seven while talking with Adriana, even after she came to trust the second in command. But she knew the Scoundrel's real name was Buck Wilmington. She had heard Vin calling him 'Bucklin.' Oh dear Lord. Adriana had believed all this time that her brother was dead.
The only names, real names, which Adriana knew, were Chris Larabee's (and wasn't he gonna be happy to see Charlotte) and Vin Tanner. From what Mary had said, there was something of a history between Vin and Adriana. Which made Adriana's acceptance of Charlotte all the more surprising after Terry told her about Charlotte's interlude with Vin. By this time, Charlotte knew how protective Adriana was of those she cared about, and it was plain to the medic just how much Adriana cared for Vin.
But the second in command for the Valkyries said only that everyone was entitled to at least one screw-up in their life (and frankly, Charlotte wasn't sure if Adriana meant her particular screw up was being with Vin, or going back to Will when he returned from the dead. She knew her friends didn't like her husband, and the feeling was quite mutual). However ... if Charlotte ever hurt Vin again, Adriana would have to hurt her.
This was said so matter-of-factly, Charlotte knew she wasn't joking. Which made Charlotte wonder what she would do when Adriana found out that her older brother was very much alive, and a member of the Larabee Unit. As she had learned in the past, sometimes it was best if a friend was the one who gave ... well ... not necessarily bad news ... but definitely shocking news.
Which was why she said, "Adriana ... Buck's alive. I don't know what tape you saw, but I can tell you, Buck Wilmington is very much alive. He's a member of the Larabee Team." Adriana's entire body jerked, then she looked back at Charlotte. The medic continued, the words tumbling out of her mouth, "His code name is the Scoundrel. Your brother is alive, Adriana." The second in command looked at her, then looked at the overunit.
Her dark hazel eyes were burning with fury, fury which Charlotte had seen only once before ... and a fury which resulted in some very dead overunits. As Mary said at the time, Jonathan Power had promised never to take another human life. Mary and Adriana never made any such promise. And the medic would believe for the rest of her life that Adriana would have attacked Overunit Wilson, if Terry hadn't given the signal. The Larabee Team had arrived.
Adriana hissed, "You get to live a little longer, bitch. I have a reunion to attend right now." Overunit Wilson started to sputter, but Adriana stuffed her own kerchief into her mouth, and Charlotte grinned. Mary learned that particular trick before she left the Dread Youth, and she never hesitated to use it now against her former captors. It took very little time for the rest of the Valkyries to pick up on it.
"And if she doesn't kill you, I will. You two ready for this? We've been ambushed once, I want you two up in the hills until we're sure it's really the Larabee team," Mary said, entering the ship. Both the medic and the second in command nodded, and Mary paused, then said, "Are you two sure you're okay with this? I know it's been a while since you saw Chris or Vin, Drina, and this has to be bringing back memories."
"To say nothing of seeing her brother again," Charlotte interjected. Mary frowned, and Charlotte realized that Mary didn't know Buck Wilmington was Adriana's brother, either.
And it was Adriana who replied softly, "Buck Wilmington is my older brother, Mary. The Scoundrel." Mary's green eyes widened, then narrowed, and she turned a glare on the bound and gagged overunit which would have made Chris Larabee jealous. The second in command continued, "I never told you, because I didn't want to talk about the past. It hurt too much, because that bitch told me that my brother was dead."
Mary said in a low voice, "Then I'll help you kill her. Later. I need you two in the hills, now." Adriana and Charlotte both nodded, moving past the head of the Valkyries, but Charlotte winced as she heard a sound behind them, a gasp of pain. And it didn't come from Mary. The Valkyrie leader growled, "The only thing standing between me gutshooting you and leaving you to die in the desert is the fact that two little girls need our help. But if you push me, that's exactly what'll happen. So go right ahead. Push me. See what happens!"
"Git away from her ... now."
"Easy, son, no one's gonna hurt you."
"I ain't yer son, now git away from her, or I'll shoot ya where ya stand!"
Mary had chosen one helluva place to meet. Vin never fully understood the coordinates given, but he was a land tracker and a sharpshooter. He left the fancy talk to Ezra. But as soon as he stepped out of their ship, he knew. This was exactly where Vin and Drina had met Jonathan Power and his team, all those years ago. He heard his own twelve year old voice, demanding they move away from his companion ... heard Jonathan Power gently soothing him.
He took a deep, shuddering breath. So much had happened in the last several years. Being separated from Drina. Meeting up with Chris and the others. And the war continued to rage on. He wondered what would happen when they finally attained peace, when Dread was defeated. What happened next? War was all he had ever known ... how would he fit into this new society, the one which Josiah believed would take the place of the Bio-Dread Empire?
It was something he tried not to think about, but every time he thought about Jonathan Power, that went right out of the window. Because it was something Jon and Matt often discussed. Jon admitting he had no idea what he would do when the war was finally over. He had been fighting his entire life, had only the barest recollection of what peace felt like. What it felt like to get up in the morning without thinking about Dread and his father, about everything that had happened.
And now, since the Larabee Team was joining forces with the Valkyries, Vin couldn't stop thinking about it. Drina always had a better idea of what she would do when the war was over. She would be a historian ... would tell the story, so people never forgot what happened, and why it happened. She had the education, the storytelling ability to do it. Even Jon remarked on her ability to tell stories. Storytellers, he told her once, would always be necessary.
But Vin? He didn't know if he would have a place in the postwar world. He was only twenty-five, and he felt like a damn anachronism. Chris said softly, "Where are they? The ship is here, but they aren't ... " Vin wasn't so sure of that. If he was in Mary's position, he would have two people in the hills and ridges surrounding the meeting place. There had been more and more cases of Dreadheads intercepting transmissions when Resistance cells met.
So, Mary would know this, and she would anticipate an ambush. Vin said softly, "Reckon it would be a good idea for me to check out them ridges, Chris. Mary mighta been expectin' an ambush, 'specially after what's been goin' on, these last few months." Chris thought about that and nodded, adding a warning with his eyes, All right. But be careful. You scared the hell out of me with that last raid. Don't do it again.
Vin just rolled his eyes, quit yer fussin, 'cowboy, I don't aim to make the same mistake twice. Chris nodded, then swatted the back of Vin's head for calling him 'cowboy.' Vin just offered his own lazy grin in response, then headed into the hills which surrounded their meeting place. Yup. This would make a real good place for an ambush. That was why he and Drina had chosen it all those years ago as a hiding place.
It didn't seem the least bit strange to him that he didn't know Drina's last name. He knew her real name was 'Adriana,' but he had always called her 'Drina.' Just seemed to suit her better somehow. And she had gone by just her first name for such a long time, maybe she forgot her last name. Dread Youth didn't generally use their last names until they were promoted to Youth Leaders. At which point, they were told what their last names were.
Or so Mary had told him, when she and Adriana first escaped. Adriana had little to say in those first few weeks after the escape. She just looked like she had a huge hole in her soul. Even after they were separated from Mary during a firefight, she didn't speak much. It wasn't until the Power Team found the two youngsters that she said more than 'yes' or 'no' when answering Vin's questions.
It didn't really bother Vin, because he talked little himself. He wasn't used to having someone to talk to, not after all the time he had spent on his own. And then came the day they encountered the Power Team. He had been away, foraging for food, since Drina had been ill. Vin had to choose between carrying the food back by himself, or carrying Adriana and the food when Adriana collapsed. He chose the first option, but decided to stay nearby in case she needed him.
So, when he heard an unfamiliar sound, it startled him. It took him another moment to realize she was screaming. He had never heard her scream before. And then he ran, as fast as he could back to their camp, heart pounding in terror.
She was being carried from their shelter by what seemed to be clinkers ... at least until she kicked her way out of their arms. She ended up on the ground, and Vin put himself between the men (whom, he saw now, were not clinkers). And when the one in gold (Captain Power) tried to gently move Vin to one side, out of the way ... well, Drina attacked. That was how she got her Resistance code name. Hellcat. That was what Jonathan Power had called her. A little hellcat.
"You leave him alone! I'll kill you! I'll kill all of you! screamed that twelve year old girl, before breaking down in Power's arms, sobbing helplessly. And she kept saying that, over and over again. I'll kill you ... I swear I'll kill every one of you. Power carried her to the ship, and Vin could only follow ... he had to protect her somehow, and he couldn't protect her unless he went with them.
That didn't mean he had to talk to any of them. He just kept vigil at Adriana's side, holding her hand tightly, reassuring her that he wouldn't leave her ... without ever saying a word. And she wouldn't let him go. Just whispered, "We stick together? Where you go, I go, and where I go, you go?" Yes. Yes, he would go wherever she did. And it was then that Vin learned why Adriana never spoke.
Right before she escaped from the Dread Youth, one of the overunits had shown her a vid of her older brother's death. She had been mourning her brother all this time. Even then, she didn't tell Vin what her last name was, but by that time, it no longer mattered. In the weeks since Mary's presumed death, Vin and Adriana had become each other's family. And they would always stand together.
"You've gotten soft, Tanner ... I can remember a time when no one could sneak up on you," a soft voice to Vin's left said. He reacted instinctively ... spinning toward the source of the voice, reaching automatically for the weapon which had to be there. As his hand closed over the blaster, his eyes met a familiar pair of hazel eyes. Adriana smiled at him, saying, "If I was an overunit, you'd be dead by now."
"If ya was an overunit, I woulda smelled ya a mile away," Vin retorted, easing the blaster down. He glared at her, adding, "What the hell's the big idea? Sneakin' up on a man like that, ya know better than that, Drina!" She just laughed at him, as she always had when he scolded her. Vin sighed, "Aw hell," then looped his arms around her waist in a fierce embrace. He whispered, "I missed ya, girl. Missed ya a lot. Ya okay?"
"I am now. Spent two years in a Dread prison camp, after we got split up. Finally escaped earlier this year, and met up with Mary. We have a lot to talk about, Kevin," Adriana answered. Yes ... they did.
Author's Note: The song which Adriana sings in this section is I Will Find You,' by Clannad, which appeared on the soundtrack to The Last of the Mohicans, as well as their album, Banba.
He hadn't changed a bit in the last few years. Still with brown hair falling to his shoulders, still with bright blue eyes that seemed to read your soul. There were a few lines around his mouth and eyes ... a little more sadness in those eyes, that hadn't been there the last time they saw each other. He said softly, "It's good to see ya, girl. Been too long." He looped his arm around her waist, his eyes scanning the horizon for possible danger.
Yes, still the same Vin Tanner. She replied, "Yeah, it has. I'm sorry I lost touch with you, but..." She shrugged, and her longtime friend just shrugged, as if to say, don't worry about it, ain't that important. Typical Vin. Of course it was important. Adriana continued, leaning into his embrace, "I don't know where to start. So many things have happened, since the last time we saw each other. I knew you were with the Larabee Team, Mary told me, at the same time she told you that I had joined up with her."
Vin nodded, his eyes flickering around, just as her own were. He stopped growing when he was twenty, and it occurred to Adriana that when they met, thirteen years earlier, he was shorter than she was. In her mind's eye, she still saw them both as twelve years olds. He was tall and strong, now, years older ... but he was still Vin Tanner, the boy who had been her lifeline in those early months after her brother's ... No. Her brother was alive. And if he was in the Larabee Team ... he was here, too.
Buck. Adriana whispered, "My brother. I wanna see my brother, Vin. I wanna see my brother." Vin frowned, and she realized for the first time that she never told him her last name. She didn't want to talk about it...the death of her brother was still too fresh, and she wanted no affiliation with the monster who put her in the Dread Youth. Adriana said very softly, "Vin. ..my last name is Wilmington. My name is Adriana Wilmington."
It took him just a few minutes to process this. His blue eyes widened, in that way she remembered, and he replied, "Wilmington? Bucklin is your brother?" She nodded, swallowing hard, and Vin repeated, "Bucklin ... you're his sister. The one he's looked for all these years ... the one who was put into the Dread Youth when...c'mon." With nothing more said, he grabbed her hand and they started down the ridge together.
Halfway down, Adriana saw a ghost talking to Charlotte. Her friend was smiling, a rarity these days. Adriana had never met Will Richmond, but given what she heard not just from Mary, but from Nora and Terry, she didn't really want to meet him either. Adriana turned her eyes away from Charlotte, and looked at the ghost. Had he gotten taller? She was only eight years old when she was taken from her family. Surely her brother wouldn't seem bigger now.
And yet ... he did. He seemed as strong and proud, larger than life, as he did when she was just a child. Charlotte stopped talking as Vin and Adriana approached, and Buck looked up at the same time. And for a long moment, the two siblings stared at each other. Why didn't he smile, why didn't he say something? Because he doesn't recognize you, dolt! Adriana swallowed hard...how did she tell him it was her? That...
It came to her, in the strangest way. When she first joined the team, the only person aside from Mary who didn't regard her with suspicion was Billy. And he would allow her to sing to him, if Mary was away on a mission. It was such a song which sprang to mind. A song which both Buck and Chris sang to her, when she had nightmares. She sang it now, her eyes remaining locked on her brother, "No matter where you go, I will find you. In a place with no frontiers. No matter where you go, I will find you ... if it takes a thousand years."
She got no further. Her throat closed up on her. And, it wasn't really necessary. There was a moment of stunned shock in her brother's dark blue eyes...and then, just a second after that, she was finally, after seventeen years, in her brother's arms. Buck locked both arms around her waist, lifting her up from the ground, and Adriana held on tight, burying her face against his neck. Buck whispered, his own voice thick with unshed tears, "DeeDee, oh God, DeeDee ... I never gave up on you, I swear I never gave up on you. I swear I didn't."
"I know you didn't ... they told me you were dead, Buck, they showed me a vid of you. With our father. Fighting. They showed me a vid of your death," Adriana whispered. His only answer was to tighten his arms around her waist. After a moment, he set her back on her feet, staring at her as if she was the ghost. Which, she supposed, she was. Buck cupped the sides of her face with his hands.
"I know you two haven't seen each other in a long time, but we really need to get back with the others," Charlotte interjected. Adriana blinked and looked at her friend, who looked around uneasily. The second in command for the Valkyries realized Charlotte was quite correct. They were out in the open, and the Dreadheads had a nasty habit of arriving at rendezvous points. Sure, they had snagged one team ... but what about the others? No, it was time to get out of here. Buck kept his arm around her waist, and Charlotte reached for the communicator at her hip, relaying, "Gemini, this is Croix. We're on our way down."
"Copy that," came Mary's response. Buck mouthed 'Croix?' questioningly, and Adriana just drew him forward. She would tell him later, but right now, it was time for them to make tracks. Her own communicator crackled, and she removed her comm from the pouch. Mary said, "Ren, can you fly the Larabee ship to our hidey-hole?" Unspoken was the fact that the siblings would want time together. Mary didn't have to say a word.
Adriana double-clicked the 'talk' button, a private signal between the two women which meant 'yes.' Charlotte said in answer to the unspoken question in Buck's dark blue eyes, "Ren is short for Renegade, which is another code name for Adriana among the Resistance. Renegade Dread Youth. Cypher gave it to her ... no, not Colonel Six, the woman who replaced him after Colonel Six's death."
"And Croix is French for Cross ... Red Cross," Adriana added, explaining Charlotte's code name. Her friend nodded, and Adriana added, "You coming?" Charlotte nodded again, but her eyes drifted to Vin. Her expression was wistful ... and worried. Worried? Adriana remembered what Charlotte told her, about her time with Vin. It wasn't Vin who worried her ... it was Chris. Chris Larabee was very protective of what was his, and Vin obviously fell into that category.
Charlotte had hurt Vin, though it was never her intention or her desire. She also wasn't a fool, and knew that could cause problems with Larabee. No, Adriana thought determinedly, it won't. I won't let it. Because we've got bigger problems right now. She held her hand out to Charlotte, and the medic took it, thanking Adriana silently for the much-needed support. Adriana exchanged a look with Vin, who took position to Buck's left. They would talk soon, and that was a promise. But for now, the four simply descended down the slope to join the others.
'Renegade' was but one of the code names assigned to Adriana Wilmington. 'Hellcat' or 'Hecate' were two others. Because of her status as a former Dread Youth, and all it entailed, Mary never discouraged the multiple code names for her second in command. Yes, Mary had been Dread Youth, but the loss of Adriana Wilmington had been particularly devastating to the Bio-Dread Empire ... far more than Mary's defection.
Mary had known Adriana's last name for some time now, but she never equated her second in command with Buck's lost sister. In part, because she never heard the name of the lost child. And Buck never talked about his late and unlamented father. Of course, everything fit together now. It also explained why Adriana never changed her last name, despite her hatred for her father. The commander of the Valkyrie team turned to Nora, telling the young pilot, "Make sure the overunits are trussed up nice and tight, I don't want any surprises. Terry, back her up."
Terry nodded, an evil glint appearing in her eyes. Uh-oh. Mary learned to worry when she saw that expression in her friend's eyes. It usually meant trouble ... for an overunit. Terry threw her arm around Nora's shoulders and led her back into the ship. Mary turned to Chris, saying softly, "There's something you should know, Chris, before Vin and Buck get back. The full name of my second in command."
Chris Larabee frowned, and Mary continued, "She goes by a variety of code names, mainly to confuse the hell out of the Bio-Dread Empire ... Hellcat, Hecate, Renegade. Ren for short. But her real name is Adriana Wilmington. Buck's younger sister." It took Chris a moment to process what she just told him, then his green eyes widened in shock. Unbelievable. She could still surprise Chris Larabee on occasion.
"Why didn't you ever tell us?" Chris blurted out, ignoring the stares from the rest of his team, "You know we've been looking for her for almost twenty years, Mary!" Mary glared at him, but waited for him to run out of steam. She allowed her eyes to sweep across the wasteland, searching for any signs of the clinkers. She found none, but Mary did see Buck Wilmington descending with Charlotte, Vin, and with Buck's sister. Mary's second in command, her best friend ... the only other person who knew the true hell of the Dread Youth.
Nora had spent time in the Dread Youth, but she was taken from her family while hardly more than a toddler. She remembered nothing of her sister Lydia, and in fact, pulled a gun on her sister during the escape. Mary had remained in the Dread Youth, even after the first doubts began appearing. And Adriana had been put in the Dread Youth as an eight year old. She knew what it was like to be in that ... place ... and know something else existed. Maybe even something better.
Finally, Chris ran down, and Mary replied quietly, "I never told you, because I didn't know. Adriana had believed for all these years that her brother was dead, and so she never talked about him. Apparently, Overunit Wilson ... whom we captured today ... showed her a vid, of a fight between Buck and their father ... and in the vid, Buck died. She didn't know it was the other way around. Besides, you and Buck never told me the name of his sister ... I just found out today that Adriana was the missing child. And here they come now." That silenced him almost effectively as any kiss, though Mary still preferred the latter.
Buck crowed, "Lookee who me and Vin found, pard! All this time, my baby sister was right under our noses!" Mary had to grin, not just at Buck's exuberance, but at her friend's big smile. She looked ... so happy. Mary's eyes met Charlotte's, and found the same amusement. Mary shifted her gaze from her medic to Chris Larabee, and noted the way his eyes softened, the same way they did when he looked at Billy.
Buck hugged his sister against his side, saying happily, "Look at her, Chris, she's all grown up!" Mary heard Chris mutter, 'well, duh' under his breath, but the smile never let his face or his eyes. He simply extended his hands to the young woman currently tucked against her brother's side. Buck released his grip, and Adriana walked forward until she was in the blond man's arms. Chris drew her in tight against his body, and Mary smiled at this unusual display of affection. Then again ... she was also his little sister.
Mary said softly, "Adriana will be accompanying you to our hideout. I know you have your own pilot, but she knows how to ... get around our shields." Like the original ... and subsequent ... Power Bases, the Valkyrie base had high security. That was Terry's hobby, when she wasn't working in communications ... seeing what new gizmos she could adapt from the Bio-Dread Empire, for the use of the Resistance.
"We'll meet up with you in about thirty minutes, Mary. I want to make sure we don't have any unwanted tagalongs," Adriana said softly, glancing over her shoulder briefly, and the Valkyrie commander nodded. Not just in confirmation, but in relief. She knew the revelation about her brother had thrown Adriana for a loop ... but now, it seemed, her second in command was thinking clearly again. The rest of the Larabee team closed around her, heading into their transport. Mary watched them, noticing with some trepidation the way JD was glaring at both Buck and Adriana. Uh-oh. That looked to get nasty.
"She'll be fine ... I don't think the Scoundrel will be letting her out of his sight any time soon. Or Commander Larabee, for that matter," Charlotte observed. Mary just nodded as she turned and headed back toward the Valkyrie shuttle. Her medic fell into step beside her, continuing, "Terry wanted to let you know that the overunits are locked down tighter than a drum ... she also said that you would understand the reference, even if Lydia and I didn't." Mary laughed softly as she and Charlotte made their way inside. A quick glance back toward Terry confirmed what Charlotte just told her.
"It's an old saying ... means, at least in this case, they aren't going anywhere. That was a favorite of Stephen's," the commander replied. Charlotte nodded her understanding, and Mary continued, "Are you all right? Was it hard seeing Vin?" Charlotte stopped and turned to face her. She wasn't ... upset. More like ... bemused. Perplexed. Maybe even a little confused. And no, they weren't all the same thing.
"He doesn't blame me, Mary ... he doesn't hate me. He has every reason in the world to hate me. But he doesn't," Charlotte answered slowly. She looked at Mary in the eye, saying softly, "I was prepared for almost everything else. But not ... that. Do you ... do you think, after everything that's happened between us ... that we could become friends?" Mary put her hand on her friend's shoulder as Nora scampered past them to her pilot's chair.
"I think, Charlotte, that the only person who really hates you for what happened between you and Vin ... is yourself. The question isn't, can you and Vin become friends, after everything that's happened. But, can you forgive yourself? Check over those overunits, make sure they're healthy enough to answer some questions ... it's time we got out of here," Mary told the medic. Charlotte nodded slowly and Mary moved to Nora's side.
The former Dread Youth was whistling under her breath, practically dancing in her seat. She was definitely excited about something, but Mary had no clue what that something might be. The girl smiled as Mary took up her position, saying, "It feels good to be doing something again, Mary." The commander returned the smile ... yes ... yes, it did feel good to be doing something again, to finally have a goal in mind.
Yes, they were all fighting to end Lord Dread's thirty year reign of terror. And yes, they took a step closer to it every day. But until this message, the Valkyries had been idle for nearly three weeks, and that felt wrong to everyone on the team. Charlotte, Terry, Nora, Adriana and Mary herself. While they enjoyed the respite at first, as it gave them a chance to catch up on repairs they needed to make on their ship, and allowed them all to spend more time with Billy, it was time to get back to work.
"Well, I have a feeling, Nora, that by threatening Captain Power's daughter, Dread just might have made his final mistake," Mary replied. It wasn't foresight, by any means. But Jonathan Power had lost so many people in his life. His father was killed in the same explosion which made Lyman Taggart Lord Dread. His mother died when he was still a child. Athena Samuels, Jennifer Chase. Every man had his limits ... every human ... and Mary suspected Lord Dread had tried Jonathan Power's patience for the last time.
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