DISCLAIMER: Earth: Final Conflict and all of Earth: Final
characters in this story are property of Tribune Entertainment. No infringement
of rights is
intended. All SeaQuest DVS characters belong to Amblin Entertainment.
No infringement of rights is intended. Agent Sira Jayson is a creation
of my own.
Please do not use her without asking my permission first.
AUTHOR'S NOTE: This is an Earth: Final Conflict/SeaQuest DSV crossover
that takes place in the EFC universe about mid-second season. What happens
when a couple of SeaQuest DSV characters are dropped into the EFC universe?
Chaos, that is what! Words in ** are thoughts, words in < > are flashbacks
or
conversations in a person’s mind, and words in [ ] are dreams.
RATING: PG
DESTINY
By Agent Sandy
“So this is who I am,
And this is all I know,
And I must choose to live,
For all that I can give,
The spark that makes the power grow...
Fulfill your destiny...”
Celine Dion—Immortality
A pair of dark eyes narrowed and as their owner stared
over his sunglasses. *Aliens *, he thought with a shiver that had nothing
to do with the nippy
New York air. Aliens were the reason he was where he was and not in
his proper dimension, or even his proper time. Somewhere in the back of
his mind he
wondered what the version of himself would have been doing now in Miami—that
is if he would have wondered if he had not already found out that the 13
year
old he would have been in this time had died in a sailing accident
at age 10.
He thought it strange that the sea he loved had clamed
his life in this dimension. Then again, maybe it wasn’t strange, but some
kind of sick joke fate
had played on his other self. Of course, since he would never see
the Quest or her crew or his friends, again, maybe the joke was on him
and not his other self.
Miguel shook his head and redirected his attention to the
Taelon who was speaking at the podium. The Taelons were quite different
than the aliens that
he had known in his world, but then again he felt that the Taelons
had as much of an ulterior motive for humanity as the Hyperions had had
for the SeaQuest.
Miguel sighed and pulled his jacket tighter around himself.
He wondered why fate had decided to drop him here of all places. It was
almost as if
something was going to happen—something he was supposed to be a part
of—something he wanted no part of.
He pushed his sunglasses back up and started to turn to
walk away. He wanted no past of some fate destiny had planned for him.
Miguel had taken only
a few steps when someone moved to block his path. He looked at the
man with an annoyed look on his face.
“Is there something I can help you with?” Miguel asked.
“I think so, Chief Ortiz,” the man started.
Miguel looked over the top of his sunglasses at the man,
“Excuse me?”
The man smirked, “Senior Chief Petty Officer Miguel Ortiz,
that is you, correct?”
Miguel looked shocked a moment and then stated, “What makes
you think that is my name?”
“Because,” the dark haired man said smugly, “the only other
person who has your fingerprints was born on March 3rd 1992 and would be
13 if he were
still alive.”
Miguel sighed, “So I would have to be him. Care to explain
how you know my rank?”
The man shook his head,” I have my ways as do my bosses,
and they wish to speak to you.”
Miguel’s eyes narrowed, “Who are your bosses?”
The man looked hard at him, “Does that really matter?”
“Yes,” Miguel replied, “it does. I’d like to know who
you are too.”
“I am FBI Agent Ronald Sandoval. I am also in charge of
security for Zo’or, the head of the Taelon synod,” the dark haired man
stated. “He wants to
talk to you.”
Miguel looked around suddenly nervous, “And if I just decided
to walk away from you?”
Sandoval smiled slightly, “I wouldn’t recommend that, unless,
of course, you would like to cause a scene and let everyone know who you
are and where
you are from.”
Miguel swallowed. He knew he was being forced into a trap,
but he also had a feeling he was dead if he refused.
He looked at the FBI Agent and tried to put on his trademark
“no-worries” face, “All right, then lets go talk to your boss...”
Miguel watched the Taelon as hard as the Taelon was watching
him. Idly, at the back of his mind, the part of him that was still an
officer wondered if
he should salute him...her...whatever it, was as the FBI Agent had.
He decided against it, though. After all, a salute showed respect and
the evil feeling he got
from this being made him feel no respect for it.
Silently, Miguel sighed
in relief as the Taelon’s gaze moved from him to the FBI Agent who had
brought him there. He found it interesting that even
though Agent Sandoval seemed to be the Taelon's servant, there was
an obvious tension between the two if them. After a few moments, the Taelon
shifted his
attention back to him and finally spoke.
“I am pleased to see you chose to come here without putting
up a fight,” the Taelon stated.
Miguel glanced briefly at Sandoval and then returned his
eyes to the Taelon. Zo’or, he remember Sandoval saying its name was.
“It wasn’t like I had much of a choice,” he said in a flat
voice.
Zo’or smirked, “No, I needed to speak with you about your
‘home.’”
A sarcastic remark entered Miguel’s mind, but he fought
it back knowing that this was not the time or place to be “smart.”
“Why is my ‘home’ so important to you? How did you find
out that my ‘home’ is not this time or dimension?”
The Taelon’s eyes narrowed. He obviously did not like
to be questioned. Still, Miguel felt he had a right to know what was going
on before he answered
any questions.
The Taelon stared at him for a long moment and then nodded
toward Sandoval who left the room only to return a few minutes later followed
by a
woman...
Miguel’s face went pale when he saw who it was. For a
moment he couldn’t speak—couldn’t believe what he was seeing with his own
eyes...
‘Wendy?” He gasped finally.
She nodded and smiled slightly.
Miguel noticed that her smile didn't make it to her eyes and fought the
urge to shiver. Something was really wrong with
her.
“I wouldn’t say there was anything wrong with me. I have
only adapted to living in this time,” she laughed bitterly. “Of course,
I have been here for
almost 10 years now.”
“Ten years?” He said in a low voice. He had only been
there for one. It couldn’t be possible could it? He looked her over and
for the first time
noticed that she had a few gray hairs mixed in with hair that was normally
brown.
“From what I figure,” she answered, “somehow when the SeaQuest
was attacked we ended up being thrust through space and time. It wasn’t
a specific
thing obviously of else we would have ended up in the same time instead
of different ones.”
* Obviously, * he thought
to himself sarcastically. He was about to ask another question when he
felt a light presence touch his mind.
“Stop that!” He said angrily, “You have no right to read
my mind without my permission.”
Something that could only be called a smirk crossed Wendy’s
face, “Sorry, I didn’t realize that you are so ‘sensitive’ about psychic
abilities.”
Miguel didn’t reply. The Wendy he knew would never had
used her abilities without a person’s permission. His feeling of wrongness
increased.
“Wendy, what is going on? You never forced you abilities
on any of us before,” he stated.
Wendy shrugged, “The Taelons
need information from you. You can give it to them or I can pull it from
you mind. It’s your choice.”
“‘Or you can pull it from
my mind?’ You sound like you work for them or something. What do I know
that is so important to them?” Miguel’s voice
was tinged with anger.
“She does,” Sandoval stated. “She was implanted a few
months ago. Psychics are a valuable ‘commodity’ to the Taelons.”
“‘Commodity?’” Miguel ran his hands through his dark hair
and then stated in a tense voice, ‘I can’t believe this is happening.”
“Denial is not like you Miguel. Perhaps you are still
suffering after effects of your transport here,” Wendy stated.
Miguel’s eyes narrowed and then angered as he felt Wendy
touch his mind again. Unconsciously, he threw a wall up against her probes.
Wendy’s eyes opened in surprise,
“How did you...? You aren’t...”
Miguel just fixed her with a stare and didn't answer.
When Tim first realized he was developing psychic abilities, he had come
to his best friend about it.
Over time they had realized that not only did Tim have psychic abilities,
but Miguel himself also had a psi talent. Of course, he wasn’t about to
let Wendy
know that even though it was likely that neither he nor she would ever
see the Tim O’Neill they knew again.
“Dr. Smith, is there a problem?” Zo’or asked.
Wendy looked from Miguel to Zo’or, “It seems that Mr. Ortiz
has developed a psi ability I was not aware of.”
“Is this going to be a problem?” The Taelon asked.
Miguel glared at them both as they continued to talk as
if he were not there.
“No,” Wendy stated. “He has no training. If he refuses
to cooperate, I can easily break through his shields.”
“Wendy! Did you forget I as standing right here? I thought
we were friends or at least colleagues,” Miguel said angrily.
Wendy looked at him a moment and Miguel got the feeling
she was looking straight through him; “The Taelons come first. After all,
the SeaQuest is
no longer our future. The Taelons are our future. You should feel
honored that they feel you so important.”
“Dios,” Miguel swore under his breath, “Wendy you sound
like you have been brain washed.”
Wendy shook her head, “No, Miguel, not at all. I have
been freed. I have been given a place in this world where I belong. They
can do that for you
too. They can help you if you only help them.”
“I don’t think I want their kind of help,” Miguel stated.
“ I take that as meaning you are not going to help us,”
Zo’or stated.
Miguel turned to the Taelon, “No way in he** am I going
to tell you anything!”
Zo’or fixed Miguel with a stare and then turned to Wendy,
“He is now your responsibly Doctor. Do not fail me.”
Miguel started to turn to Wendy, but before he could say
anything he felt her attack his mind. He tried to fight back with the
defenses that he and Tim
had figured out, but in the end he was no match for her training and
was soon forced unconscious.
After Miguel had collapsed to the floor, Wendy turned to
Sandoval, “Have someone take him to my examining room.” Sandoval nodded
and left the
room. Wendy then turned to Zo’or, “Don’t worry. I will get all the
information you require. Ortiz maybe stubborn, but he is no match for
me.”
Zo’or nodded, “You may do whatever you need to, to get
the information. He is of no use to us once we have gathered the information
we need.”
A cruel smirk crossed Wendy’s face, “Good, because when
I am done with him, he may not have much of a mind left...”
She watched as he threw his head back against the table
in pain. His whole body was tense with the effort he was putting into
blocking the probes Wendy
was throwing at him. Unfortunately, she knew—he probably knew as well—that
nothing he could do would keep her from taking the information she wanted
just as she had done over the last few days. Agent Sira Jayson had,
had the ‘privilege’ of watching Wendy work because she was eventually supposed
to learn to
do the same. Sira laughed. If only they knew.
* What would they do if they found out who I really was?
I only came here to learn to control my abilities more thoroughly—and to
keep them from
hunting me down and killing me. * Sira sighed. * Things have changed,
though. I never thought it would happen again, but it seems to have.
When I was
pulled here, I thought it was a quark of fate. Now I am no longer
alone. Having others around to understand is something I dreamed of happening,
but... *
Sira brought her head up as her thoughts were interrupted
by a cry of pain from the man in the examining room. Sira reached out
and touched the glass
that separated him from her. Of course, he could not see her through
it, as she could see him, but that didn't mean he couldn’t feel her.
Sira reached out and soothed his mind—a mind that had been
torn, twisted, and broken in order to get whatever it was he was supposed
to know out of
him. She wasn’t supposed to be doing this—helping him, but she knew
that she had enough skill that no one would know it was her unless she
let them know.
She may have come here for training, but that didn't mean she was completely
untrained. No one with a psi ability would have lasted a day in her world
if they
didn’t know how to hide themselves from others.
Wendy’s face wrinkled when she hit the wall that Sira had
erected around the man’s mind. Sira felt her trying and failing to find
the source of the new
protection. Finally, Wendy gave up and angrily left the room.
As soon as she was gone,
Sira watched the man go limp and almost immediately fall into an exhausted
sleep. She was about to sever the link between
their minds when he started to dream. The dream was centered around
the information Wendy had been trying so hard to pull from his mind—the
name of the
person who had taught him about his psi abilities. Sira realized bitterly
that not only was Wendy trying to pull the information the Taelons wanted
out of his
head, she was also fulfilling a private agenda.
Sira sighed. She knew it
was wrong to eavesdrop on his dream, but she also realized that she needed
the information if she was going to be able to get
him out of there. So, instead of severing the link as she had intended
to do, she let herself be pulled into his dream...
The pillow flew by his head,
and he laughed; “Now we all know why you work in Communications. You couldn’t
hit a barn if you were standing two
inches in front of it!”
The brown haired man who
had thrown the pillow at him narrowed his eyes behind his glasses, “Ortiz,
I think you should remember that I out rank you.
It would be a shame if I were forced to report your behavior to Captain
Bridger.”
A mock look of fear crossed
Miguel’s face, “Oh no! What am I going to do? Timmy’s pulling rank on
me.”
“Don’t call me...” O’Neill
was cut off as Miguel launched the pillow back at him and hit him directly
in the face.
“Hu? What’d you say Tim?
I couldn’t make out that last word through the mouthful of pillow you were
chewing on,” Miguel snickered.
Tim looked over the top
of his glasses at Miguel, “Are you through now?”
Miguel sighed at the tone
of Tim’s voice and dropped down onto the couch where he had been sitting,
“I still don't see why this is so important. You’re
the one picking up on others’ thoughts, not me.”
Tim shook his head, “The
whole point is that you might start and if you do, you will need to know
what to do. I’m your friend, Mig. I’m just trying to
make it easier on you.”
“I know, I know. I guess
I just want to take the easy way out for once. Call me lazy, but sometimes
I wish things were a little less weird. I could do
without being possessed by ghosts if you know what I mean,” Miguel
stated.
Tim smiled, “I understand.
I could go without having my best friend try to cut me in half with a machete.”
Miguel laughed and shook
his head; “You got to admit though, once the ladies aboard realized I wasn’t
possessed anymore, they couldn’t wait to go on a
date with me.”
Tim rolled his eyes at Miguel
and then calmly stood up, walked over to him, and began to beat him with
the pillow...
Sira smiled as Miguel drifted
deeper into his dream. She carefully broke the link between them, as so
not to disturb him, and then left the observation
room. She had walked only a few feet from the room when her global
went off. She opened it and then smiled at the person on the other end.
“Hello Major Kincaid.”
“How are things going, Sira?”
Kincaid asked.
“Good,” Sira replied. “He
is holding out. Is everything almost ready?”
Liam nodded, “They will be ready shortly. Do what you
have to, to make sure the Taelons don't find out whatever it is they are
trying to get out of
him.”
“Will do, Major,” Sira replied and shut her global. For
a moment afterward, she shut her eyes. What she hadn’t told Liam, was
exactly how damaged
Miguel’s mind was. She had been so sure that her empathic healing
abilities would be able to bring him back around once they got him away
from the Taelons,
but what if she couldn’t? After all, she was only partially trained.
Her mind drifted back to his dream. She wouldn’t fail him—she couldn’t,
because if she did,
she would not only be failing him, she would be failing the man who
in her world had been her father—Miguel’s best friend—Timothy O’Neill...
When Miguel opened his eyes, he was confused. The place
he was in was unfamiliar to him and that didn’t bode well. It seemed that
every time that
Wendy had decided to alter her attack on his mind, he had woke up in
a different place.
*Well, woke up might be
the wrong term, * Miguel thought to himself as he looked around himself
at the rocky, smoke hazed landscape. * After all, I
haven’t been truly awake anywhere but in my mind since Wendy started
her attacks. * Miguel sighed as he walked toward a rock and then sat
down in front of
it. Once sitting, he put his head in his hands.
* I don’t know why I don’t
just give up, * Miguel thought and then laughed. * Yes I do. That old
Ortiz pride gets me in trouble all the time. Oh, I
wish... * He squeezed his eyes shut and swallowed the lump that suddenly
blocked his throat. * I wish Tim were here. He’d know what to do. He
always knew
how to get me out of the trouble I was so good at getting myself into.
*
“ You’re too hard on yourself,”
a soft voice said.
Miguel tensed up as he raised
his head, expecting Wendy to be starting some kind of attack. He was surprised
when he saw that the speaker was not
Wendy, but a younger woman with mousy brown hair. She was tall and
thin, with smoky gray eyes. For a moment, he thought he could see...
He laughed bitterly, “Funny Wendy, very funny. Create
a woman who looks like Tim and you think I will spill my guts to her?”
Miguel stood up
angrily. ‘Well you are wrong! I am not going to tell you anything!”
Sira’s face saddened. Wendy had hurt him even more than
she had guessed she had. But that didn’t matter. Now that the Resistance
had managed to get
him away from the Taelons, Sira had to get him to trust them. It was
the only way to stop what was happening.
Miguel turned to walk away
from her, even as his heart told him that something was different—that
he should stay, listen to her. He shook his head and
ignored his heart. After all, if Wendy could control everything else
about this place, perhaps she could control his feelings as well—couldn’t
she?
Sira watched him go. It
wasn’t like she couldn’t find him again, and he needed time. Perhaps if
she didn’t go after him, as Wendy would have, then he
would start to wonder and maybe to trust.
Sira left Miguel’s mind. When she opened her eyes in the
physical world, she realized that she was not alone. Liam was watching
her.
“Make any progress/” He asked.
Sira shook her head; “He’s scared Liam. Scared and alone.
I can’t push him or else he will shut down on us completely.”
Liam sighed, “I don't want
to seem pushy, but we need to know what is going on.”
Sira glared at him; “Don't you think I know that? But
it is going to take time. I could just pull the information form his mind
for you, but then I would
be as bad a Wendy wouldn’t I?”
“That’s not what I meant!” Liam stated. “You know how
important this is. You know what is resting on it.”
“No, I don’t! None of us do!” Sira sad angrily. “If
we did...”
Liam held up his hand, “Sira, I’m sorry. I know that this
is harder on you than the rest of us...”
“Yes, Liam it is,” Sira's
voice was suddenly tense with pain. “Don’t forget that. We may be able
to stop this and save your dimension, but those of us
who have been pulled here will never see our dimensions again no matter
what happens.”
“I know,” Liam stated softly and turned to leave.
Sira watched him walk out and then turned back to the still
form lying on the bed in front of her. After a moment, she leaned forward
and gently
brushed his dark, curly hair off his forehead.
“Help us, Mig,” She whispered. “Please, help us...”
Sira stood and watch him. If he was aware that she was
in his mind, he showed no sign of it. Instead he seemed to be reliving
parts of his memories.
This worried her slightly because it meant that he was hiding from
the present and what Wendy had done to him instead of facing it. She knew
that she should
call him back to the present, but she was also curious to see what
type of man he had been in his dimension. How much of the Miguel Ortiz
she had known was
in this version? If she could learn more about how much this man reflected
the one she knew, perhaps she could use that to help him face the present
again...
< Miami, Fl, 1999. New Year’s Eve. A 7-year-old Miguel
tagged along after his three older brothers to the New Year’s celebration.
The mood was
festive except for the four of them. Miguel knew that his brothers
resented having to babysit him on the turn of the Millennium. They would
have much
rather been free to do whatever they wanted—drink, party. Instead
they had to behave because the baby was with them.
“Miguel come on!” Michael reached back and grabbed Miguel’s
arm. “We have places to be and if you don’t keep up we are going to leave
you.”
“Why don't one of you just carry him?” Raul, his oldest
brother, asked. “He’s small enough.”
Miguel glared at him. Raul knew how much he hated being
so small, but he picked on him anyway.
Miguel pulled his arm away from Michael and stopped walking,
“I can walk myself!”
“Then do it bro!” Luis gave him a push from behind to
start him walking again.
Miguel stumbled a few steps and then turned around and
pushed Luis back. Not that his 20 year old brother moved. He just glared
down at him.
“Just leave him, Lou!” Raul yelled back at them. “He’ll
follow just like he always does.”
“Are you coming?” Luis asked.
Miguel just stared at him and didn't reply.
Luis shrugged and started to walk away, “Suit yourself!”
Miguel shut his eyes a moment to hold back his tears.
He couldn’t help it that their parents wanted to spend the night alone.
It also wasn’t his fault
that he was so much younger than they were. Why couldn’t they leave
him alone?
Alone... Miguel’s eyes flew open and he looked around
for any sign of his brothers. Unfortunately, there was none. Fear filled
his heart, but he buried
it. Who cared if they had left him? He would go home—he could find
the way and once he got there he could tell mom and dad what had happened.
Miguel started toward home, but hadn’t gone far when a
man grabbed a hold of his arm. Miguel looked up at him in fear, but the
man only smiled at
him.
“What’s a little guy like you doing out here all alone?”
The man asked.
Miguel looked straight up at him and tried to look brave
even though he was really scared. Something about this man was wrong—he
could feel it.
“I’m going home. Will you let me go now? Please?” He
asked.
The man smiled again, a smile that never reached his eyes,
“Of course, youngin’.”
The man let him go and Miguel took off running down the
street. After a few blocks he stopped to catch his breath. As he stood
there, he wrapped his
arms around himself. He could still feel the man’s touch on his arm—could
still feel the evil that had surrounded him. After a minute, Miguel laughed
at
himself. What a chicken he was being. He looked down the street to
where his house was and smiled, then started to skip toward it. He never
made it home... >
Sira shut her eyes. She had hoped that this Miguel had
not had to go through this. Unfortunately, it looked like he had. After
being abandoned by his
brothers, her version of Miguel had started home only to be caught
and molested by a man—one who they never caught. As this Miguel’s memory
of that night
progressed, sadness filled her soul. A child should never have to
go through such things. The abuse this Miguel had suffered had actually
been worse than what
she knew her version had suffered. She pulled herself together and
forced herself to open her eyes only to see that the scene and memory had
changed...
< Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, 2012. Now 20 years old, Miguel
shyly looked over the building that would be his home for the next few
years. When he had
gotten the letter saying he’d been accepted, he was thrilled. Now
he wasn't so sure. So many strangers, no one he knew or trusted.
* Oh stop that Miguel! * He scolded himself. * When are
you going to learn to trust again? You can’t go through life second-guessing
everything. *
Miguel sighed and looked down at the paper in his hand.
* Room 325, bunkmate O’Neill, Timothy. I hope this guy knows when to leave
a guy alone...
* Miguel thought as he entered the building, checked in, and then walked
toward his room. When he got there he was happy to see that it was empty.
Unfortunately, it looked like O’Neill had already moved in, so Miguel
doubted he would be gone long. He sighed and started to unpack his stuff.
Once he was
done, he crashed into a chair and stared at his new roomie’s desk.
It was piled high with books and notebooks.
Miguel chuckled as he stood
up and walked to desk, * My roomie’s a librarian. I should have guessed.
Hey, what do we have here? The Legend of
Atlantis. Hmm, I don’t think I have read this one. I wonder where
he got it... * >
Sira laughed as she watched the scene unfold. While this
particular memory hadn’t been that much like what the Miguel form her dimension
had
experienced, she could guess what was going to happen next. Sure enough,
Tim walked in on Miguel reading his book and they had been friends ever
since. Even
though neither Tim would ever take credit for it, they had had a big
part in getting both versions of Miguel to come out of the shell he had
been in ever since
the attack.
As Sira watched, the memory suddenly shifted again, this
time to one she didn't recognize at all except for the setting...
< The SeaQuest, 2022. One week before the ship was
taken to Hyperion. Miguel sat at the edge of the moon pool and just stared
at the water as it
moved. For the past few nights he had been plagued by nightmares he
couldn’t remember and a growing feeling of dread that he couldn’t shake
no matter what
he did. Something big was going to happen and the results wouldn’t
be good. It frustrated him that he couldn’t either place the feelings
or make himself forget
them.
Miguel sighed and absentmindedly splashed his hand in the
water. He was surprised a few seconds later when Darwin swam up. Miguel
smiled at the
dolphin and reached for the control that let Darwin speak.
“Ortiz, sad.” The dolphin stated once Miguel had turned
to control on.
“Yeah, I guess I am,” Miguel replied.
“Why?” Darwin asked bobbing his head slightly.
Miguel shrugged his shoulders, “I’m not sure, buddy. I
just have a feeling something bad is going to happen.”
Darwin bobbed his head harder, “Feeling bad. Darwin have
too.”
Miguel gently stroked the top of the dolphin’s head to
calm him; “Can you describe it?”
Darwin seemed to shake his head, “No. Feeling vague.
Friends hurt, missing.”
Miguel sighed, “That doesn’t help cause it is the same
thing I am feeling.”
Darwin raised his head slightly and seemed to look Ortiz
in the eyes. For a moment, Miguel felt as if he was being pulled into
a different time, different
place. He was shook out of it when Darwin suddenly let out a loud
clicking sound and swam away. As he watched the dolphin go, Miguel fought
down the urge
to shiver... >
Sira did shiver as she felt his fear. How hard it must
have been for him to know something was going to happen and not be able
to do anything about it.
And then to end up in a strange world, alone, afraid—it had to have
almost destroyed him. Then on top of everything, to be betrayed by one
of his friends.
Sira wondered how he had survived at all.
“Probably the same way Wendy did,” a soft voice made Sira
turn around in surprise. “By hoping there was a way to go back, no matter
how impossible
it seemed.”
She looked at the shadowed form that was Miguel. How could
she tell him that there was no way? That technically, the dimensions they
had come
from no longer existed? He was still hurting from Wendy’s abuse—she
could tell that from the fact he would not appear in his true form to her
(the man she
was facing was not the Miguel who lay on the bed, but Miguel as he
had looked at age 20).
“But there is no way to go back is there?” Miguel stated
after the silence had become uncomfortable.
“No,” Sira whispered. “There is no way to go back.”
Miguel sighed and turned his back to her. After a few
moments she realized he was crying. Slowly she walked over to him and
touched his shoulder; “ I
know how you feel. It is what I felt when I realized I would never
be able to go home either.”
He looked at her, the surprise in his eyes being replaced
with a sudden understanding, “You were...”
Sira nodded, “I was pulled here too. My world was different
than this one. More similar to yours.” Sira suddenly smiled, “You know,
there is a reason I
look so familiar to you.”
For a moment, he just stared at her, “You are related to
Tim?”
Sira nodded, “You could say that. I am his daughter...”
“So, are you going to tell me about your dimension and
yourself or do I have to guess?” Miguel asked with a joking tone in his
voice.
Sira smiled. It was good to see that he was relaxing in
her presence. She had hoped that knowing she was his bestfriend’s daughter
would put him more
at ease—even if her father was an alternate version of his friend.
Apparently, though, that didn’t make much difference to Miguel. Not only
was his voice
more relaxed, but he was now speaking to her in his fully adult form.
Even the mindscape they were walking in—no longer shadowed and threatening—reflected
his new comfort level.
“Well,” Sira began, “my dimension is very much like yours
from what I can tell. The Miguel I knew grew up very much like you did.
My father also
grew up in a similar way to the way that the Tim you knew did. There
were some minor differences, but the real difference came after the first
SeaQuest was
destroyed. In your dimension, you and Tim signed back on when the
SeaQuest when she was rebuilt, right?”
Miguel nodded, “We never gave it a second thought.”
Sira stopped walking, “In my world you did. As a matter
of fact, you and Tim...my father, didn't go back. Instead you two ended
up working in UEO
headquarters until...”
“Until what?” Miguel asked when she paused.
She looked at the ground, “You and my father always had
a psychic link. I assume because you are a psychic now that you and he
did in your dimension
too. Anyway, after being off the SeaQuest for about six months, my
father’s abilities started to get stronger. Pretty soon, his abilities
and the link between you
two caught the attention of the people running the Psi Division of
the UEO, but there is something you have to understand about my dimension.
Everyone was
scared of people with psi abilities. Those with psi abilities did
their best to hide them because all too often the psi-talented that were
discovered disappeared or
ended up dead.”
“So what did they do?” Miguel asked.
“My father and your double went underground like a lot
of other psis did. My father met my mother there, and I was born there...”
her face suddenly
saddened. “Mom died there too.”
“Sira...” Miguel started.
She shook her head, “She died at birth... I never knew
her. It almost killed dad though. He never would have made it without
your double. They got
very close...”
Miguel looked up quickly, “You mean...”
Sira nodded, “Yeah, they raised me and kept each other
going. Then one day, about 20 years later, our headquarters was discovered.
Actually, now that
I think about it, someone must have given them the location, but that
doesn't matter. Everyone was...”
Miguel watched the tears enter her eyes, and he could guess
what she was going to say, “Everyone was killed.”
She nodded and swallowed, “Except me. The last thing I
remember is being locked in battle with another psi—I was losing. Just
when I thought it was
over, I saw a flash and woke up here.”
Miguel looked down at the ground for a moment in thought,
“It seems like we were all about to die when we were brought here.”
Sira nodded, “Yeah, I guess.”
Miguel looked up and gently
touched her arm when he saw how upset she was, “I’m sorry. I...”
Sira shook her head, “It doesn’t matter. Our dimensions
no longer exist for us.”
“But it still hurts,” Miguel stated.
“Yes,” Sira whispered. “It still hurts.”
Silence stretched between them. Miguel wanted to say something,
but he didn’t know what he could say to make her feel better. It was hard
enough for
him to accept what she had told him, let alone know what to say to
make her feel better. He watched her for a few moments, and was about
to try and say
something when she looked up and dried her eyes.
“Enough of this,” she said in a slightly shaky voice.
“We have more important things to figure out.”
Miguel smiled sadly, knowing that she would need a lot
of time to get over what had happened. * Heck, * he thought to himself,
* I am going to need
more time to get over everything. That is if we live though this.
*
Miguel sighed and then looked Sira in the eye, “What to
we need to do?”
Sira smiled suddenly, “Well, the first thing you need to
do is wake up. You think you can handle that now?”
Miguel laughed, “Yeah, I think I can do that.”
[ Miguel looked around at the hazy landscape. As he did,
fear rose in his throat and made it hard to breathe. For several long
moments, he thought that
some how Wendy had managed to slip passed the defenses that he and
Sira had set up in his mind. Then someone spoke to him.
“You have nothing to fear here my son. No one will hurt
you. This you know deep in your soul.”
Miguel spun around and, for a moment, just stared at the
glowing figure, then he smiled, “Dad.”
The figure held out his arms, “My son.”
For a moment they embraced, then the glowing figure motioned
to a bench, “Come and sit with me Mig’guel’len.”
They sat in silence for a few moments and then Miguel spoke,
“I, I thought I would never see you again. When the dreams stopped after
what
happened... I thought I had done something wrong.”
The glowing figure gently pulled Miguel’s head up so he
was looking at him, “What happened to you was not your fault. If I could
have stopped it I
would have. Unfortunately, I was forbidden to interfering with your
life after that. That is why your dreams stopped. The council thought
my visits may have
put you in danger.”
Miguel nodded, “Do you know why I am here? What is going
on?”
The glowing figure stood
and started to walk, motioning for Miguel to follow him, “Yes, I know.
All of the Kimera from your dimension—from any
dimension—know. It is something we set in motion to try and save as
many dimensions as we could.”
Miguel shook his head, “I don’t understand.”
His father turned to face him, “Long ago the Kimera, on
their journey to record the history of all species, came across one species
that was so
self-centered that we knew they would cause danger to all other species.
When we learned of their plans to wipe out all species not meeting their
approval not
only in our dimension, but all dimensions, we had to act. Of course,
our laws stated that we could not interfere, but we could not just stand
by and watch
countless versions of species destroyed, so we were forced to act.
As a result, the Kimera took their knowledge and reached out to any species
they felt had a
chance to defeat these villains. We came across only one race with
the potential to do that.”
“Humanity,” Miguel whispered.
His father nodded, “Yes, as a result, we contacted every
alternate version of the Kimera we could to warn them of the upcoming destruction
and what
they could do to possibly stop it. Then we focused on doing what we
could to protect our own dimension.”
“You came to Earth and breed with the human population,”
Miguel stated when his father paused.
“Yes, had it been our choice,
there would have been more than one child created, but we learned from
other versions of ourselves that perished that
more than one child acted like a magnet that pulled the Key person
to the dimension before the child was ready to defend itself. Extended
contact with another
Kimerian did the same thing,” his father stated.
“Which is why you left me,” Miguel whispered.
“Yes, and that is also why the true knowledge of who and
what you are was hidden from you. We had to do all we could to protect
our dimension. Do
you realize that there are only three dimensions left? Ours, the one
you currently are living in, and one other we have little knowledge of.
It seems though,
that all of the remaining Kimera children have been brought to the
dimension that you are currently inhabiting. We do not know why this is,”
his father stated.
Miguel looked shocked, “I’m not alone?”
His father’s face softened, “Of course you are not. You
already know of one person who is from another dimension besides your own.
I have a feeling
that she is the Kimera child from her dimension.”
“Sira,” Miguel whispered.
His father smiled, “Is that her name? It is a pretty name.”
Miguel nodded absentmindedly, “So what do I have to do?”
His father gently touched his son’s chest, “In here you
know what you must do. You know who the Key person is. You must destroy
that person before
they destroy this dimension and all hope that there is left for millions
of races.”
Miguel nodded, “I understand. Can you tell me who the
Kimera child is in this dimension?”
His father smiled, “You already know. You Kimera-brother
has been watching over you since you were taken by the Taelons.”
Miguel’s face looked surprised.
His father nodded, “Yes, you know. Are you surprised?”
Miguel thought for a minute and then shook his head, “
I should have guessed. I felt a connection every time I saw him and Sira
as well, now that I
think about it.”
His father nodded and then his face saddened.
“Father, what is it?” Miguel asked.
He gazed at his son a moment and then stated, “I must go
now.”
Miguel’s face saddened, “No... I has so much yet to tell
you...to ask...”
His father shook his head, “No, you have asked about all
I can tell you. I love you my son. Do not forget that.”
“I’m not going to see you again, am I?” Miguel asked.
His father’s head lowered and Miguel could see his distress
by the rapid changing of colors in his form.
“Ha’gel?” Miguel asked.
His father walked over to him and gently took his hands,
“It is too hard to communicate across dimensions like this. As much as
I hate the idea, there is
nothing I can do about it.”
Miguel nodded sadly, “I love you, father.”
“And I you, my son,” Ha’gel said softly. “Now I must go.
But before I go, I have a gift for you.”
Miguel looked at him about to ask what, when a glow drew
his eyes to their joined hands.
“What...” Miguel started to say, but was cut off as a sudden
jolt went through his body.
“I love you son,” Miguel heard his father repeat again,
and then everything went black... ]
Miguel shot upright in bed gasping for breath. He went
to bring his hands to his forehead to wipe away the sweat that was dripping
down his face, but
stopped when he saw that they were glowing faintly. The glow came
from a slight red mark on each of his palms that had not been there before
the dream.
* ...I have a gift for you... * His father’s words came
back to him as clear as when they had first been spoken, and Miguel smiled
slightly. He closed his
hands and the glow faded. After it had, he was about to lay down again
when he felt someone watching him. He rolled his eyes up not half surprised
to see Liam
standing in the doorway.
Their eyes met and the shock slowly vanished from Liam’s
face.
Miguel smiled, “I suppose we have a lot to talk about,
brother.”
Liam just nodded.
“Do you realize how crazy this sounds?” Liam asked Miguel
and Sira. “There is no way I would believe it if the proof wasn’t staring
me in the face.”
Miguel shrugged, “Don’t you think it is weird for us too?”
Sira smiled slightly, “It is weird for all of us. Right
now we have more important things to argue about. Like figuring out who
the Key person is so we
can stop the Hyperions’ plan.”
Liam nodded, “Just one question. Why didn’t you guys grow
up like I did, and what pulled you here?”
“That’s two,” Miguel laughed under his breath.
Liam tossed an annoyed look his way and then laughed, “So
sue me.”
“Well, all of the Kimera children were different. I guess
our fathers just did something so that we would grow up slower,” Sira stated
and then looked at
Liam. “As for the second question, I am afraid out of all of us, you
would be the one to know, so if you don't well then we are out of luck.”
Liam nodded and thought
for a moment, letting his thoughts be pulled inward as he searched for
any information that might have been connected what
his version of the Kimera knew about the Hyperions.
Sira watched him and worried. The various emotions that
crossed his face didn’t help her feel better. Finally, he came out of
it.
Well?” Sira asked.
Liam shrugged his shoulders, “I’m not sure, but I think
somehow my Kimera set it up so that when the Key person entered this dimension
all of the
surviving Kimera children would be drawn here to protect this dimension.”
“Nice of them to bring us to fight their battles and “forget”
our own,” Sira said with a sigh.
Liam nodded sadly, “Yes, I agree, but we can’t change it
now. We can only fight to see that their and your sacrifice wasn’t for
nothing.”
Sira sighed and looked over at Miguel who had gotten very
quite. She was worried when she saw his eyes were closed.
“Mig, are you okay?”
He slowly opened his eyes and looked at them, “You realize,
I know who the Key person is.”
Liam looked surprised, “You do? How?”
“Because,” Miguel said quietly, “Because she’s been watching
me ever since I got here”
Sira went pale for a moment, “Wendy.”
Liam stood up and began to walk to the other side of the
room, “Of course! It makes perfect sense. She…”
“No,” Miguel’s soft voice cut him off. “Not Wendy.”
Liam stopped mid-step and looked at him, “What?”
Sira stood up as Liam spoke and looked at Miguel, “Miguel,
what do you mean no? It all makes sense. She was trying to get information
out of you and
didn’t care if she killed you in the process.”
Miguel glared at Sira; “It’s not Wendy. It couldn’t be.
She was pulled here at the same moment as me. There is no way she could
have been the Key
person and pulled us here with her arrival if she was pulled here at
the same time as me. Don’t you see? She is only a pawn.”
Liam looked at Miguel a moment, deep in thought, “You’re
right. Da**, but that leaves us back at square one.”
“No,” Miguel said and looked at Sira who had taken several
steps away from them.
Liam looked from Miguel to Sira in shock, but said nothing
as Miguel stood up and walked toward her.
Sira became more pale, “Miguel, what are you… I can’t
be what you are thinking? I am a Kimera child, remember? I helped you…”
Miguel nodded, “Yes, a nice cover…very smart of the Hyperions
to think of it.”
“But I helped you…” she repeated weakly.
“Sure you did. And in doing that you gained access to
all of my memories including who I thought the other Kimera children were!”
Miguel’s voice
raised. “After all, the Key person cannot sense Kimera children. They
have to wait for the child to reveal itself. Working with us gave you
a chance to get us
all together and destroy us all at once as opposed to one at a time.”
Liam was now the pale one. He didn’t know who to believe,
“Sira?”
She looked at him, her face
desperate, “Liam, Wendy must have control of his mind again. Stop him
before he hurts me!”
Liam started to take a step toward Miguel, but then stopped,
as a cold shiver passed over him.
Liam looked at Sira, “No.”
Sira's eyes turned pleading,”
Liam. Please. He is nuts… Maybe, maybe he’s the Key person, and he is
trying to separate us. Please Kimera-Brother,
help me!”
Liam shook his head, “Something is wrong here. I don’t
know what it is, but I can feel it.”
“It’s her,” Miguel said lowly. “We all have a warning
built into our genes. Up until now, my mind has been too messed up to
recognize it, and you were
probably just ignoring it. A lot of our kind do, but we can’t now,
not when it is staring us in the face.”
Sira’s face suddenly hardened,
“You think you are so smart,” she hissed. “You won’t win. I will find
him, and kill him and then you will be next.”
Liam took a step toward her, “Why don’t we talk about this?
There has…”
“We have nothing to say to each other,” Sira spat at him.
“Be prepared Kimera children. The next time we meet, you will die.” There
was a sudden
flash and when Miguel and Liam could see again, Sira was gone.
Liam collapsed into a chair, “Oh he**. Now what do we
do?”
Miguel looked at him; “We
have to find the third Kimera child.”
“But how do we do that, and how do we know that we can
trust whoever it is? We trusted her, and it almost got us killed,” Liam
stated.
Miguel sat on the arm of another chair, “She was using
us, we can’t change that. Now we have to find him before she does.”
“And just were do we start genius? Since I take it you
know who this person is,” Liam asked.
Miguel nodded “Where else? His home town…”
“Sira?” Wendy called out to the empty air. She didn’t
understand why the girl wanted to meet here of all places, but she had
come. After all, Sira had
claimed that she knew where Miguel was and if she had any chance of
getting home, Wendy knew it lay in what Miguel knew.
Wendy sighed and rubbed her hands together to try and warm
them. She was about to call out to Sira again when a vice like pressure
clamped down
around her mind. She let out a cry and tired to fight it even as she
felt her body go numb and her knees give out.
She hit the pavement hard, the pressure increasing with
every second it lasted. Wendy knew that if she didn’t break the hold quickly,
her mind would be
collapse under the pressure and be destroyed. She fought with all
her strength and all her fear.
Sira watched, emotionless, as Wendy cried out once more
and then fell motionless on the pavement. After a few moments, she slowly
walked over to
the still form and kicked it with her foot. It was a shame to waste
a talent like hers, but she was of no more use to her. Seconds passed,
and Sira just watched as
the blood that seeped from Wendy’s ear collected beneath her head.
Then she turned and walked away knowing that even if the woman’s body was
found soon,
it wouldn’t really matter. After all, she was an implant and CVI breakdowns
were terrible and deadly things. No one would ever know that the CVI breakdown
had not caused her death…
Timothy O’Neill trudged up the sidewalk to his house swearing
in Arabic under his breath. He could handle the dreams he had been having
ever since he
had been dumped in this dimension a little over a year ago, but the
feeling of real danger that had been growing inside of him was making him
feel like he was
going crazy. Not to mention that the dreams had suddenly changed so
that they were no longer about his Miguel, but about another who he didn’t
know any
better than he knew anyone in this dimension.
Tim reached the door only to have it swing open before
he could touch it. He froze as a voice called out to him.
“Hello, Dad…”
Liam drove the car around the corner and tired to ignore
the nervous fidgeting coming from the man sitting next to him. Miguel
was anxiously looking
out the window for anything that would give him a clue to where the
third Kimera child, and alternate version of his best friend, was. He
knew he was in this
area—the link between them told him that.
Liam looked over at Miguel for a second and then looked
back at the street and slammed on the breaks just fast enough to avoid
hitting the form that
was blown by some type of blast right into their path.
Tim managed to keep his
head from hitting the pavement by some miracle, but he realized bitterly
that that didn’t matter since it looked like a car was
going to flatten him anyway. He shut his eyes, but reopened them as
the car screeched to a halt mere inches from him. Another curse slipped
from his lips, this
one in French, as he tried to get to his feet. A pair of strong arms
helped him to his feet, and he turned to thank the person only to again
freeze.
A mischievous grin crossed Miguel’s face, “Nice to see
you again too.”
Tim paled, “Mig?”
Liam walked up to the two of them and hissed, “Explain
later Ortiz! Unless you really want to just stand here and let Sira take
pop shots at us!”
Miguel looked over at the house and watched Sira slowly
walk out of it. The look on her face filled him with fear with its blankness.
He grabbed Tim’s
arm and drug him to the car.
Sira laughed as they drove away. Let them think they were
escaping, she knew she was only letting them go. It didn’t matter when
or where she took
them out. It didn’t matter at all. Let them think they were safe.
She knew otherwise…
Miguel laughed and ran his hands though his hair, “Geez,
what is this? Am I gay in all those alternate dimensions or what?”
Tim laughed lightly and smiled, “Well what you, I mean,
he told me was it was because if the attack. Actually, he said I was the
first and only person he
trusted at all. Of course, since he was blinded in the attack it would
have been harder for him to trust again than it would have been for you.”
Miguel nodded and accepted the drink that Liam handed him.
Liam then walked to the TV and turned it on. Miguel was about to ask Tim
another
question when Liam gasped.
Miguel turned to him and began to ask what was wrong, but
fell silent as the anchor answered his question for him.
“To recap,” the anchor stated, “The body of Companion Agent
Wendy Smith was found in an alley early this morning. It is not clear
what the Agent
was doing there. What is clear is that the cause of death seems to
be CVI failure. When asked about the safety of the CVI’s, Agent Sandoval
stated that they
were perfectly safe and said that they were looking into what caused
Agent Smith’s to kill her. More as it develops…”
Liam reached up to turn off the TV only to have Miguel
angrily flip the switch off with his psychic abilities before Liam got
to it.
“CVI failure my a**,” Miguel swore.
Liam nodded, “Sira.”
Tim looked at them both, “You knew her?”
Miguel nodded, “She was accidentally pulled here when I
was.”
“I’m sorry,” Tim said softly.
Miguel nodded, “It’s okay. We can’t change it now. We
need to focus on stopping Sira.”
“And just how are we going to do that?” Liam asked. “After
all, each of us have trillions of lives depending on our survival.”
Tim sat his glass down and looked at both of them, “I think
that is where I come in…”
Miguel looked around the dark warily. He didn’t like being
a target, but it had to be done. It was the best, maybe only way, that
they would have a
chance of fighting Sira on their turf.
* Not that our turf is all that comforting. * He looked
around at the area in front of the empty warehouse. Crates, trucks, and
all kinds of other pieces
of rusted abandoned parts lay around. On one hand, it gave Tim and
Liam plenty of hiding places. On the other hand, it also gave plenty of
hiding spaces to
Sira.
Miguel double checked his
mental shields. He wasn’t about to end up the same way Wendy had. Just
as he finished the check, an unnatural wind whipped
through the area and sent the ends of his jacket flapping around him.
A dark chill ran down his spine as he turned to face the wind.
Sira started back at him with dead eyes.
Miguel swallowed and involuntarily
took a step back. Then, to cover his fear, he forced out a laugh, “I assume
a date is out of the question?”
Sira’s looked didn’t change as she took a step toward him,
“Sure we can have a date, but I am afraid you have a date with Death first.”
“Charmed, I’m sure,” he whispered under his breath. “I
don’t suppose Death is cute, is she?”
Sira smiled evilly, “How about you tell me when you meet
her?”
Miguel winced, “How about I take your word for it?”
The smile vanished from her face. Miguel waited for her
reply, but realized he was going to get none when he sensed her powers
reach out behind him.
He hit the pavement just fast enough to avoid being hit from behind
by some rusted piece of metal.
He scrambled to his feet and began to back away from her,
“Now that wasn’t nice. I thought we were ‘friends.’”
“Fight or talk, I doesn’t matter to me. You will die either
way Kimera child,” Sira said coldly.
‘Die, die, die. Is that all anyone talks about here?”
Miguel asked looking behind himself briefly to see that he was not going
to trip over anything. He
looked back in time to get hit in the face with a psychic blast that
sent him to the ground with his head spinning.
“Miguel!” He faintly heard Tim yell.
* Da**it he thought to himself
as he tried and failed to focus enough to psychically contact Tim and tell
him to stay hidden. He saw a shape move past
him toward Sira. It was only when he saw that shape frozen in a psychic
hold, that he was able to pull himself up.
Before he could do anything,
a laser blast hit Sira in the back knocking her and Tim to the ground.
Miguel pulled Tim toward himself and then set up a
psychic shield around the two of them. The one thing Tim had known
that he and Liam hadn’t, was that each of them had psychic powers focused
in one area.
Liam’s psychic powers were good for defense—creating shields etc.—his
powers were good for healing, and Tim’s forte was attacks—powerful attacks
meant to
destroy whatever they were focused at. They had hoped they would be
able to stop Sira with one of those blasts, but now that Tim was unconscious,
Miguel
didn’t know what they were going to do.
“In coming!” Miguel opened
the shield as Liam ducked into it. Liam dropped to his knees once inside
and fought for his breath. Then he turned to
Miguel, “How is he?”
Miguel shrugged, “Can’t
tell for sure. Holding this shield is all I can focus on now. You know
I’m not good at that.”
Liam nodded and took over
control of the shield, strengthening it, and just in time too. Sira unleashed
a blast against the shield that would have
collapsed it only moments before.
Miguel looked to make sure
Liam was handling the extra strain on the shield okay and then focused
his psychic abilities into the link that he and Tim
shared…
< Miguel looked around
at the swirling darkness that filled Tim’s mind. It didn’t bode well for
the condition of his mind. Could Sira have really hurt him
that badly in only a few seconds?
“Tim!” Miguel shouted out
as he gave up trying to find him visually. He strained to hear a response,
any response.
“Miguel over here,” a weak
voice replied just as Miguel got ready to call out again. Miguel cautiously
moved toward the voice and then froze when he
saw Tim. The man was barely holding onto the edge of what looked to
be a bottomless ravine. Miguel knew, though, that it was more than it
seemed. If Tim
were allowed to fall into the ravine, his mind would be destroyed,
and he would die.
Miguel knelt down and took
a hold of his friend’s hands, “The trouble you get yourself into.” He mumbled.
Tim glared at him, “Look
who’s talking! Just get me out of here. I’m sure Liam could use our help.”
Miguel nodded and began
to pull him up. Suddenly a grinding filled the air as the ravine started
to close—controlled by some outside force.
“Sira,” Miguel hissed as
he rearranged his grip on Tim’s arm and got ready to wrench his friend
out in one pull.
“This is going to hurt,” He warned Tim and then pulled
with all his strength—physical and psychic. The both went flying as a
result… >
Liam had been watching them with concern—not only for them,
but also for the fact he wasn’t going to be able to hold the shield against
Sira much
longer. He waited for them come out of it and in no way expecting
what happened.
Miguel wasn’t expecting it either, but the combination
of his physical and psychic pulling sent he and Tim back to the physical
plain, but also sent him
flying out of the safety of Liam’s shield to land at Sira’s feet.
Sira looked down at him as she pulled his head up to look
at her.
“Oh sh**,” he whispered knowing he didn’t have the strength
to protect himself from her.
“Sira!” An angry voice called out.
Sira looked up, but didn’t let go of Miguel, “Are you so
eager to die ‘Daddy?’”
Tim just stared at her. Miguel wished he could see what
was going on, but he could barely move. Suddenly a shield slammed down
around Miguel, and he
knew exactly what was going on. He felt the psychic attack that slammed
into Sira and torn her away from him. She went flying, but never hit the
pavement,
because there was nothing left of her to hit the pavement.
Miguel just stared at where Sira had been, his mind not
registering that it was all over—finally, they were safe.
Liam dissolved the shield
he had formed over Miguel, and walked over to help him up.
“You okay, Ortiz?” He asked.
Miguel nodded his head; “It’s over. We won.”
Tim hit him in the back, “Yeah, next time just try not
to be quite so eager to be the martyr okay?”
Miguel nodded, “So now what do we do?”
Liam looked the both of them in the eye and then laughed,
“Well, if you are so eager for more action, the Resistance could always
use your help...”
