Date: Thu, 15 Apr 1999 21:21:17 -0600 (MDT) From: "Katherine R. Freymuth" Subject: Vengeance - Chapter 13 Message-ID: Chapter 13 "Rise and shine, gentlemen! That's an order! You too, Stark! Carroll! Time's wasting!" Sam moaned as he opened his eyes to see Major Taylor approaching his bunk. At the same time, Dan Carroll was slipping out of the top bunk and landing in front of Sam's view of Genine. "Just because she pulled our asses out of the fire last night, doesn't mean she can't kick our asses now, Harry," Dan warned as he hurried to the foot of the bed. Sam slowly stood up, wincing at the twinge in his legs, and walked to his place in the line-up along the foots of the bunks. "Okay, gentlemen and ladies," Genine said as she strode between the lines of mercenaries. "This is the way it's going to be. Everyone is to be showered and dressed in one hour after which everyone will run the same drills we ran yesterday. The General was very displeased with them yesterday so we're going to do them better. Is that clear?" "Yes, ma'am!" everyone replied in unison. Genine nodded. "Good." She smiled. "We don't want to have to ruin our Thanksgiving holiday with repeating drills." "No, ma'am!" everyone said with a smile. All but Sam, that is. The idea of doing any drills right now was anathema to him. "Well, then, let's get to it," Genine ordered. Everyone went back to their bunks or to their foot lockers to retrieve their necessary change of clothes. Sam voted to sit on his bunk in order to rest aching legs and shoulders. "Hey, Harry. You okay?" Dan asked him with concern as he took out two sets of clothing from the foot locker and gave one set to Sam. "To tell you the truth, no," Sam replied. He exhaled. "I'd rather not talk about it right now." Dan nodded. "Okay. You rest. I'll let you know when your time at the showers comes." "Thanks," Sam answered as he began to lay down. "Stark," Genine's voice interrupted his descent. Sam forced himself to stand up. "There goes the idea of rest," Dan muttered to Sam before heading for the showers. "Yes, ma'am?" Sam said, trying his best to stand erect. "You and Carroll are on guard duty today," she ordered. "Try not to fall asleep this time." Sam saluted her. "Yes, ma'am." "Lucky break," a gravelly voice said from his right. "Genine's being kind to you. Gave you the easiest job." Sam looked at the Holographic Observer as Genine walked away. He frowned with concern at what he saw. Al obviously hadn't had much sleep since Sam last saw him. There was deep concern in the Admiral's eyes. "What's wrong?" Sam asked. Al hesitated. "We found out why you're here." Sam nodded. "And?" Al looked at Sam. "You're here to keep Genine from making the worse mistake of her life." "Marrying Burke," Sam surmised. Al looked at Sam incredulously. "How did you know?" "A supposition based on what you told me earlier." He looked at Al carefully. *There's more than concern in his eyes*, Sam realized. There was obviously also great sorrow. "What happened, Al?" Al took a slow breath. "Genine's body was found in a dumpster behind the hospital at which she was treated. She'd been abducted last night shortly after I left you." He paused and blinked a couple of times. He looked at Sam firmly. "She'd been tortured and then shot up." He rubbed his face with his right hand. "And I'd seen her only eight hours ago." He closed his eyes, not wanting Sam to know that he was on the verge of tears. Sam lowered his head sorrowfully. "You think Burke murdered her?" Al opened his eyes, lowering his lids hatefully. He slowly walked away from Sam. "I know he did. Torturing people is right up his alley." Sam closed his eyes. "I'm sorry, Al." Al sighed. "It's not your fault, Sam. But we can't let it happen to her again. No one deserves to die the way she did, not even Burke." Sam looked at Al with slight astonishment. "I'm surprised you're being so forgiving." Al laughed cynically. "I'm not. I want justice, not revenge. I want that bastard to pay for the fourteen lives he took, four of them with his own hands." He gazed firmly at Sam. "Fourteen people, Sam! Not just Genine. Bill Fairbanks. Ensign Hastings. Dan MacArthyr. Not to mention all the people he tried to kill -- people like Hamon." "Hamon?" Sam questioned, the name a little familiar to him. "The kid from your last leap," Al reminded. "The one whose neck was broken. Burke did it. I thought I recognized him and, the more I think about it, the more I'm sure it was him. And Ziggy concurs. She says that the only way Burke could have survived that explosion in the Accelerator Chamber is if he leaped. Which means he's the reason for the time fluctuation we were reading." Sam exhaled. "So, Burke's a leaper." Al shook his head. "No. We don't think so. At least, we don't think he's a continuous leaper like you. Ziggy says that his leap was probably a one time thing -- that he probably leaped into the past and didn't leap again. She thinks it's because of the conditions of his leap: he wasn't wearing a Fermisuit, Ziggy wasn't exactly up to par, and the Accelerator Chamber exploded. Not exactly ideal conditions." He didn't bother to mention that he himself had cause the explosion. Al looked around quickly, seeing some mercenaries dressing while other headed for the showers. "Sam, you'd better hit the showers. Looks like you're running out of time." As he said this, Dan Carroll came towards Sam. "Your turn, bud. Looks like we've got guard duty. Terrific," he muttered sarcastically. Sam smiled slightly to Dan before walking towards the showers. Al followed. "Don't worry, Sam," Al said as he walked. "Guard duty may not be the most exciting thing in the world but, right now, it's exactly what you need to rest yet exercise your muscles. Tomorrow, if you're still here, I doubt you'll be so lucky." Sam nodded to show he was listening as he stepped into a shower and turn on the faucet. "So, how do I keep Taylor from marrying Burke?" he asked quietly. Al hesitated. "Good question. She has to already have some feeling for him if she's going to be swayed by just a kiss. I guess you'll just have to emphasize his negative points to her - counteract the charm he's laying on her." Al looked at the handlink as he paced through the downspray of water. "You probably already started with that treatment Burke gave you." "You make it sound like part of a cure for a disease," Sam muttered. "Al, I'm not going through that again. Once was enough." Al nodded. "Once was too much," he corrected. "I know, Sam. I don't blame you." He exhaled. "Well, now you have something to remind Genine about. And that's precisely what you have to do, Sam. You have to keep her from falling in love with that bastard because, if you don't, he'll kill her for betraying him." Sam nodded with understanding. "You seem to know her pretty well. Any suggestions?" Al took a breath. "I only knew her for seven months. She kept pretty quiet about herself so I didn't really know her personally." He paused. "But she had a wonderful personality and was one hell of an officer." He shook his head. "My only suggestion is keep showing her that he'll crush anyone in his way, no matter who that person is." "And how do I do that?" Sam questioned as he finished his shower and wrapped a towel around his waist. He walked out of the shower room and to his bunk. He started dressing. Al exhaled. "Good question. On thing I did learn about Genine is that she is a very stubborn woman. I had to order her to get counseling from Beeks because she refused to go of her own volition, even though she admitted that she needed help. So, you can bet that you'll probably have a tough time with her." He paused. "But she does have an open mind. She'll listen to your point of view before she gets the physical proof she needs that Burke would even harm her if she got in his way." Sam frowned as he finished dressing. "Al, if what you're saying is true, Burke is going to have to hurt someone more than he hurt me - maybe even hurt Genine." Al nodded solemnly. "It could come to that but I hope not. On the other hand, it could be that her involvement with Burke made her stubborn and you might not have any trouble at all convincing her." "Come on, Harry!" Dan called to Sam from across the room. "Hurry up!" He motioned Sam to hurry over to him. Sam stood up and started walking quickly towards the door, where Dan was waiting. "Just start trying to convince Genine," Al said as Sam walked away. "I'm gonna go back and see if I can't get you anymore information on this." Using only his right hand, he put in the opening sequence for the Imaging Chamber door. He then exited and closed the door just as Sam was leaving the barracks.