Authors: Maria Hammarblad
Patricia fell with her captor, but bounced up just as quickly again, throwing herself into Travis's arms. He caught her and held her close, running his hand over her hair, saying softly, "It's okay, Sweetheart, you're safe."
She was shaking, and he wondered how this little person could have become so precious to him. How was he supposed to be able to give her up? Then, she yelped, "You almost shot me! I felt... I felt the heat of that thing!"
"No I didn't. Come on, let's get you back to the ship."
*****
Meanwhile, on the Redeemer, Isabela had spotted Travis's ship as it was landing. She cursed quietly, and focused a long-range camera on it. She had expected him to come running out of the ship, filled with purpose, trying to hunt down her husband, and she had informed the landing party that their old enemy had touched ground.
Bill radioed back, asking, "What's he doing," and she answered, surprised, "Nothing."
A while later, after watching for some time, she reported, "Eh, you're not going to believe this, but I think our friend is sight-seeing with that girl. I guess she survived."
That comment had resulted in a long silence from William, and then he asked, as if wanting to clarify a very difficult concept, "I'm sorry, there must be something wrong with my transmitter, I thought you said Travis is sight-seeing."
His wife answered slowly, "Yeah, that's what I said. He's strolling around with the girl, and if I didn't know better, I would swear they're going hand in hand looking at flowers."
Aaren had followed William to the surface, and now he cut in, saying harshly, "Isabela, whatever you're seeing up there, it's a trick. Travis does not care about girls, and he does not look at flowers. You're being preposterous. Now, we need to know what he's
really
doing."
She rolled her eyes, and grinned when she heard her husband tell Aaren to shut up. She reported with a lot of glee, "Oh, the situation is changing, they're kissing."
Aaren muttered, "Someone's kissing Travis? I think I'm gonna be sick."
Chapter Eleven
Travis carried his girl back to the ship. It didn't matter that she protested; nothing could have made him put her down. He hoped nothing more could happen to her if her feet didn't touch the ground. Once they reached the entrance she pleaded with him to come inside, and he sighed softly, brushing his fingers against her cheek. he seemed to have learned her lesson about exploring. "Don't worry about me, I'll be fine. There's something I've got to go take care of, I'll try to hurry, but it might be a few hours."
The look on her face all but broke his heart, and he was grateful she didn't insist. She just whispered "Be careful, okay. You have to come back to me."
He smiled, kissed her cheek, and replied confidently, "I will. You know, if you get worried, you can always use the radio on the bridge and talk to me."
She sighed and made a helpless gesture, "I'll get lost before I find the elevator."
Mockingly rolling his eyes, he pushed her towards the entrance. "No you won't. And if you do get lost, ask the computer, silly."
She had a point. She had been angry with him once and stormed off, and he knew she had wandered around the ship for hours before he came to get her. He couldn't remember what they'd been arguing over. It couldn't have been all
that
important.
*****
Travis really didn't want to leave, but this wasn't optional, so he waited until she was inside, and made sure the door was properly closed behind her before setting off in William's direction, on a different mission now than all the other times he'd done it.
He had a long way to go, and he jogged through the hot and dense forest, only throwing an occasional glance at his equipment. He had a well-developed sense of direction and didn't worry about getting lost. It didn't take him quite as long as he had expected, but over an hour passed before he jumped over a rocky edge and landed agilely outside the mouth of a cave.
As he squinted for a second, his eyes adjusted to the darkness, and he turned his radio off. He wasn't particularly proud of the plan he'd come up with, and he didn't want Patricia to accidentally overhear what he was about to do. He just couldn't think of anything better, and he knew he had to do
something
.
*****
Further into the cave, William was tracing an old carving with his fingers. It was interesting; not why they had come to the planet, but still interesting. He was so deep in admiration of the ancient handiwork that he wouldn't have heard Travis approach even if his old enemy had made a sound. He did hear the unmistakeable sound of an energy weapon powering up behind him.
Turning around slowly, he was certain his last minute had come. Aaren had been right and Isabela wrong, and he should have paid more attention to common sense. He didn't regret much and it was no better or worse of a day to die than any other, but he did wish he could have kissed his wife one more time. He forced a smile on his face and nodded a greeting, "Travis. You caught up with me at last."
The smile turned into surprise when his archenemy made a face and remarked, "Don't worry. I'm not here to shoot you."
Leaning against the cave wall behind him, William asked with a reluctant curiosity, "Really? You've sure fooled me during the last few years."
He wondered if he should say something about the surprising changes they'd seen in Travis's life, but he decided not to. Instead, he asked calmly, "So, what
are
you here for, Commander?"
"I need your help."
The matter-of-fact statement was the last thing William expected, and he fought not to show surprise. Raising an eyebrow, he urged his old enemy to go on, and Travis grimaced. The soft light in the cave hid all good sides of his face in darkness, and to William, his face looked horrendous. All that could be seen was scars appearing much redder and worse than usual, perfect white teeth, and glittering eyes. Travis's calm voice contrasted to the visual nightmare. "Do you remember a visit to S7355P3 a few months ago? You caused an accident with their local form of transportation."
William nodded calmly. "The girl in the vehicle, you picked her up, didn't you? Did you enjoy interrogating her? Did she scream? I hear you keep her around, but I can't figure out why." He paused and frowned, "You do realize she just happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time don't you, she's got nothing to do with anything."
"I know she's innocent. She wouldn't hurt a fly, and on top of that she has the technical skills of a stuffed toy."
William found himself reluctantly interested. He heard honest affection in Travis's voice, but that couldn't be possible, could it? Surely, it had to be some form of elaborate ploy. Shrugging, he attempted to seem uninterested. "She survived the explosion, didn't she? I'm sorry about that. I try to avoid getting people hurt."
Travis didn't answer, and William's mind was churning. The tone of Travis's voice, memories of seeing him run right for the girl, ignoring Vasiliy and making an easy target of himself, Isabela's peculiar report earlier in the day, it all lead to one conclusion, but that would be more than bizarre; it would be impossible. Wouldn't it? He formed the words slowly, more of a question than a statement, "If I didn't know better, I would have said you care for her."
Shrugging, Travis answered simply, "I love her," and those words made William stare, flabbergasted, trying to find some sign the Alliance Commander was joking. "How's that even possible?"
*****
Travis watched the man in front of him and clenched his jaw. The hatred for William hadn't been his own, but traces of it still lingered. He had hunted the rebel leader for a very long time, and killing him might give a certain satisfaction. Just hearing the other man
talk
about Patricia made him itch to fire the gun. It would be counterproductive and ruin her only chance of escape, but it was still tempting.
Forcing himself to relax the finger around the trigger, he focused on William's words and found them amusing. It was a valid question, and one he tried not to think about. "That doesn't matter. Do you know what does matter? She's a nice person even by your standards, and in a way, you have a certain blame in her being out here."
William winced. Good people were so predictable. He had doubted his plan earlier, but being face to face with the rebel leader again made him feel confident the other man would help her -- he would feel guilty, and while that obligation might not be as strong as the ones implanted in his own mind and body, it would surely be enough.
The memory of lifting Patricia out of the burning car flashed through his mind, and thinking about her made his mouth twitch into a little smile. She would get to go home, and she would be alright. This adventure probably wouldn't end well for
him,
but that didn't matter. He had never been truly alive anyway, and he had passed his life expectancy a long time ago. Yes, as long as Patricia didn't know what he was planning, everything would work out fine.
She still had no clue to how he worked, and he intended to keep it that way. She could ask for anything that didn't impair her own safety, and he would agree; it was physically impossible to disobey. Just thinking of disobedience made his nerves send reports of agony to his brain. To him, it was normal. He had lived a life of obedience to the Alliance, and changing their strict codes for Patricia's innocence made him feel free.
*****
While William was experiencing one of the odder conversations of his life, Aaren stepped into the cave, looked at Travis, and started to fumble with his gun. William waved to him to stand down. He was much too fascinated with this to risk not hearing the end of it. Aaren growled, "You don't seriously believe him, do you?"
He pointed at Travis and almost spat out the words, "Do you realize who you're talking to? He has a weapon pointed at your chest. Must I remind you, no matter what romantic hallucinations your wife has been suffering, he does
not
feel."
Ripping his eyes away from Travis for a moment, William looked at his second in command and answered calmly, "You have a point, but so does he. It's my fault this girl had an accident in the first place. If Vasiliy hadn't plotted the wrong course I wouldn't have been there, and
he
wouldn't have been there, and she wouldn't be here now."
Returning his attention to Travis, he asked evenly, "What do you want?"
"It's very easy. I need you to meet up with me, overpower me, take the girl, and bring her home. If you do it, she'll be just one more nuisance Veronica won't bother with."
Tossing a memory module towards the others, Travis added, "I'm thinking this would be a good place."
William nodded; it made sense. If Travis let the girl go, everyone would wonder why, and the Alliance might spend decades trying to find her. If records showed him just losing her, she'd be one more uninteresting nuisance in the masses.
Meanwhile, Aaren was pacing around in the cave, grumbling, "Insane, they've all gone insane." He stopped and stared at the rebel leader, "You're not seriously considering this, are you? If you can't fathom this is a trap, I will take command of the ship."
William had almost forgotten about his computer expert. He said in a distracted voice, "Aaren, just for once, shut up." Taking a deep breath, he decided to plunge in and go with his gut feeling. "We'll do it, but not for you. It's for her."
Travis replied calmly, "I wouldn't have it any other way," and disappeared out of sight before the others had the time to do anything.
*****
Once outside, Travis headed back the way he came, wondering why he felt so low. He had gotten the answer he needed, and he should be glad. The separation was inevitable, he knew that, he'd known all along, so why was the thought of giving her up so hard to handle? Reminding himself he probably wouldn't live long enough to miss her anyway, he tried to shake it off, turned the radio back on, and called the ship. "I'm on my way back. How are you doing, Sweetie?"
There was a long pause before she answered, and he frowned. Then, her voice drifted over to him through the ether, sounding faint even on the less than perfect transmission. "I don't know. I've been better. How are you?"
He didn't stop to ask what might be wrong; he started running. Most people wouldn't be able to go very far or fast in the choking heat, but he had been taught long ago not to let little details like that bother him.
*****
Saying she had been better was an understatement. Patricia started to feel cold just after her lover left, before she reached the bridge even, and for a while she sat shivering in his chair, trying to tell herself she was fine. Self-suggestion worked for a few minutes, but she soon had to admit to herself she was running a fever. Her arms and legs ached, her heart was beating quickly, she started to cough when trying to take a deep breath, and on top of it all, her head was pounding.