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
Noin-Une-Une. Nine-one-one, in German and French respectively, and the emergency code for the Valkyrie team when a member was down and seriously hurt. Nora swallowed hard. Either Adriana or Charlotte was hurt, and knowing her friends, it could go either way. She forced herself to focus on the transmissions she was receiving from Mindsinger and relaying them to Mary, even as she prepared to resume control of the Protos.
Mary had sent Nathan and Terry into the lower level of the ship to get it prepped, just in case Nathan didn't think their wounded friend could wait until they got back to the base. Scout was still at Adriana's station, while Hawk took over for Terry, and Captain Power comforted his obviously frightened daughter. There was nothing else for him to do at the moment. The flight and navigation, the communication and weapons were all under control.
There was a twenty minute period of radio silence, while the missing members returned to their Protos. It was twenty minutes of hell for the young pilot, as she found herself imagining all sorts of hellish scenarios, then Adriana said, her voice clear and strong, "This is Hecate. We are under way. Sprite, the controls of Protos two and three have been returned to you. I am flying Proto One, and Mindsinger is with me."
"Understood, we're receiving you five by five, Hecate. It's Croix who's hurt?" Nora asked, hearing Captain Power draw in his breath sharply when Adriana mentioned Mindsinger being with her. She also heard the Scoundrel tell Nathan and Terry (for some reason, it was hard for Nora to think of Nathan as being anything other than Nathan) that it was Charlotte who was hurt. She also heard both Nathan swearing and Terry's gasp.
"Confirmed. She was shot protecting me just as I came out of the web. Tell Vox that I've located both offspring," Adriana answered, her voice tight with suppressed rage. Both? Oh my God! Nora turned to look at Mary, to see if her commander was understanding the same thing she was. Mary mouthed 'Allison?' As if hearing the unspoken words, Adriana continued, "They're both alive, Sprite. Hecate, over and out."
"Well, it looks like we've found a use for her, aside from breaking hearts and using people. She's a bullet catcher," an unwelcome voice muttered from behind Nora. The pilot felt coldness rush through her. That ... did ... it! Nora spun around in her chair and catapulted out of it, lunging for JD Dunne. She would kill that sanctimonious little brat this time, so help her God she would! She didn't get far. Mary caught her in mid-lunge.
"Son ... I would suggest you shut your mouth. Right now, before Commander Travis lets Miss Nora go," the Preacher said in a gentle voice that warred with the anger in his eyes. Nora struggled, but Mary held tight, whispering for her to calm down, they would deal with him later. No, they wouldn't ... he had just gone too far, and she would kick his sorry ass clear into the next time zone.
"Come on, Josiah, don't act like you aren't glad she didn't get what was coming to her!" the brat practically whined as both Hawk and the Preacher pushed him into a sitting position. Captain Power was out of his seat, helping Mary to restrain Nora.
Her commander needed the extra bit of help, especially after that 'what was coming to her' crack. Captain Power whispered, "Nora, listen to me! I know you're angry with him, and I don't blame you! I felt the same way every time a Dread Overunit called Jennifer a 'traitor,' when they're the traitors to humanity. But listen ... listen! Your friend needs you right now! She needs you to be calm, and she needs you to fly her home safely."
Charlotte still needed her. She was in one of the Protos, and Tank was flying her back. Nora closed her eyes, all the fight going out of her body. Mary and the captain released her, though Mary kept a supportive arm around her waist. Nora whispered, "Just make sure that self- righteous little prick stays away from me. Because the next time he comes near me, or the next time he insults my friend ... any of my friends ... I will beat the shit out of him."
"Yeah ... and I'll help. Maybe we should do it anyhow, before he gets everyone killed with his attitude," Scout said from Adriana's station. Nora returned to her own station, trying to calm down. He wasn't worth it. She had to calm down and stay that way, for the sake of her friends. Charlotte was hurt, badly from the way Adriana was talking. She needed Nora to be thinking clearly and calmly.
"Excuse me? I thought you were his friend! You should hate her as much as I do. You're not a member of this team, you don't have to like her," Dunne mouthed off yet again. Nora would have taken another header out of her station to tackle the brat, if not for Jonathan Power's calming hand on her shoulder. It was that calming hand which allowed her to focus on her friends, instead of throttling the little twit.
"Excuse me???? Who in the hell do you think you are? Telling me who I should hate, and who I shouldn't? You listen to me, you sniveling little jackass ... she ain't an overunit who killed my family, and she's not one of those bastards who killed my little sister fifteen years ago, so there's no reason for me to hate her. Hell, I don't even hate Athena Samuels, and she tried to kill my captain ... my friend, my brother. Here's a little clue for you, boy, since you don't have the sense to buy one ... the world doesn't revolve around you and your petty jealousies," Scout retorted, glowering at the boy.
"And before you say we don't know about what happened when your team met up with Dickie O'Shea and Will Richmond ... don't. We do know. But we have a greater enemy than a young woman who made a mistake. You tell me ... between that young woman and Lord Dread, you tell me who is the greater threat. She made a mistake. We all do it. People make mistakes, hearts get broken ... it's part of life. It doesn't make that girl evil. It just makes her human," Hawk said quietly.
Nora glanced over at the boy out of the corner of her eye. He was staring at the Power Team, as if he had never seen them before. Mary said into the silence that followed, "I think it would be best, once we reach the base and while Nathan is taking care of Charlotte, for my team to meet in the control room. We need to get this sorted out. We are supposed to be working together, our three teams. Nora, please ... don't let him get to you. There is simply too much at stake for us to start fighting each other."
Nora closed her eyes and nodded. The three Protos were now approaching the Fury, and Nora issued the command which would put all three in the tractor beam. Behind her, she heard the Scoundrel chewing out the Kid. Again. Nora had to wonder how many times it would take before the Kid finally got it. He didn't like Charlotte or Adriana? Fine. But he damn well better be prepared for anything Nora dished out when he started shooting off his mouth.
As the 'tailgate,' as Terry called the back-hatch, closed, Mary moved swiftly to the lower level, Billy at her heels. Although he paused long enough to glower at the Kid. Jon Power said softly, "I can fly this ... you check on your friends." Nora gave him a thousand-watt smile, then followed her commander and honorary nephew down the stairs. By the time she caught up with Mary and Billy, Adriana, Lydia, the leader of the Seven, and the Sharpshooter were all out of their Protos, while Tank and Nathan were easing Charlotte out of hers. And she looked bad. She looked real bad.
Lydia broke away from the other three to throw her arms around Nora, an embrace returned in full. The two sisters followed the others as Tank carried Charlotte to the med-bay set up by Nathan and Terry. Adriana was saying quietly that the wound was to Charlotte's left side, and she did what she could to stop the bleeding. But the marauders were using old ammo, and the bullet was still inside. Nora didn't know much about old fashioned ammo, but she did know that didn't bode well for her friend. And, she realized with a sudden tightness in her chest ... it could even mean she would lose her friend. She could lose a member of her family today.
To be continued
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