<USS Banshee> Eye of the storm

"Eye of the Storm."
Lt. Sara Crusher

Lighting lit up the night sky as thunder roared and boomed so loudly that it 
shook the house, rain hit the windows in forceful droplets that ran down the 
glass in sheets, yet none of this was the reason why Sara couldn’t sleep. She 
had found it difficult to fall asleep since arriving in Kerry and not even 
spending hours at Sullivan’s dancing, drinking, and playing darts with Shamus 
and Brennan had helped. She was worn-out and wanted to sleep but she had 
become use to sharing her bed with Cyanah and found she didn’t like falling 
asleep alone. 

Sara carefully got out of bed so she wouldn’t wake Flynn, who had taken to 
sleeping on the floor next to her bed, and walked over to the window. She 
picked up the hand woven throw from the back of the rocker and wrapped up in 
it before sitting in the chair. She looked out the window and watched as the 
storm raged out side. With each flash of lighting the entire countryside lit 
up like it was midday and not midnight.  

Sara had been there for over a week and still hadn’t looked in the barn like 
Morri had told her to do because being scared of the truth had beaten out 
wanting to know what happened and Sara was starting to feel as if this whole 
thing would never be resolved. As she scanned the landscape her eyes focused 
on the small barn just as the sky lit up and the house rattled from a fierce 
clap of thunder, Sara sighed deeply as she continued to stare out into the 
storm. 

There was just so much going on in her life and she felt as if she had no 
control over any of it any more. Cyanah was back in Baltimore with Morri, a 
woman she was attached to and who was attached to her, alone, and Sara, 
although trying not let it show, was scared. The key to her past lie just 
beyond the doors of that barn but she hadn’t gone in side because she was 
scared. She was sick of being scared! She may not be able to control what was 
going on in Baltimore but she could control what was going on here. 

Sara bolted from the rocker and tossed the throw back over the back of it 
before heading down stairs. She remember which floor boards and which stairs 
squeaked from her past midnight raids on the cookie jar in the kitchen which 
made sneaking down stairs easy. The kitchen was dark and Sara very quietly 
grabbed what she needed, the key to the barn and a flash light. She walked 
out the back door and into the pouring rain; her feet and Flynn’s paws were 
coved in mud, and her night gown and hair were soaked and plastered to her 
body, but she didn't care. She had finally gotten the nerve up to look and 
she wasn’t about to let it go now because she was cold, wet, and muddy. She 
held the flash light under her arm as she fumbled with the key and pad lock 
as she try to get the lock off the door. Once she had it unlocked she tossed 
both to the soggy ground and began to push open the doors. 

The beam of light coming from the flash light gleamed and reflected off of 
something large and metal inside. Sara walked into the barn slowly and Flynn 
followed. She ran the beam of light along the surface of the large metal 
object but couldn’t tell what it was until another flash of lighting 
eliminated the entire inside of the barn. The inside of the barn wasn’t a 
barn, it was a make shift hanger and in the center of all the tools, 
equipment and parts was a velocity class racing craft. 

Sara skimmed the light along the wall until she found a light switch and then 
walked over and flipped it on. She turned and looked at the racer and stared 
at it for a long time. Then she walk over and started to run her hand down it’
s smooth lines. This had been the racer that Morri use to take her flying in, 
she had even started to teach Sara the fundamentals of being a pilot. Sara 
closed her eyes and she continued to walk around the racer; allowing her mind 
to relax and taking in the memory of how it felt to sit behind Morri as she 
flew it. Then she stopped. Her hand made contact with something different, 
the surface was no longer smooth and cool to the touch, it was rough and 
jagged. Sara opened her eyes and saw that part of the racer was coved in 
plasma burn marks and some of the body was twisted and missing. 

Another flash of bright fiery white/blue light filled the sky and the barn 
and Sara screamed. 

***
The sound of wild horses galloping down the stairs could be heard though out 
the house and then a loud thud. Kathryn and Rhi blinked and shook their 
heads. 

"I’m OK!" Shouted a small voice from the other room. Sara picked herself up 
off the floor and then stuck her tongue out at the stairs like it had been 
their fault that she had been running down them and missed the last two. Rhi 
was going to work on the racer today and Sara was going to get to help and 
then they were going to take it up and Sara was busting a gut to get out 
there already. 

"Trust your instincts me wee bairn. If ye feel somethin’ is not right or 
somethin’ bad is about to happen then be precocious." 

Rhi nodded but didn’t get to respond. 

"I’m ready! Lets go, Rhi!" Sara shouted as she bounded into the kitchen. 
"Come on come on come on!" 

Kathryn smiled softly and went back to preparing something that Sara thought 
smelling like medicine. Rhi turned around in her chair and looked at Sara 
with a look on her face that Sara didn’t like. Sara came to a skidding halt 
and then just stood there looking at them. 

"I don’t think we’re going to be going up today, Beanie. There’s a storm 
coming and it’s not safe." 

The look of disappointment flashed in Sara’s little green eyes. "But you’ve 
gone up in the rain before." 

"Not this time, Beanie. It’s not safe and I don’t want to take any chances. 
We’ll go up later this week I promise." 

Sara started to pout and was going to say something but got cut off. 

"If you give me a hard time about this we wouldn’t go at all." 

"Fine." Sara said in a huff as she flicked her foot in an attempt to kick at 
her disappointment. "May I at least go out and play with Flynn before the 
storm hits." She asked as she looked up at the two women. Rhi nodded her head 
and Sara and Flynn headed for the door. 

"Stay close to the house, Sara!" 

The skies over the farm were still clear and as Sara walked she kicked at 
pebbles. "It’s not fair. She promised, and look the storm is still out over 
the islands, it’ll be hours before it gets here." She vented to Flynn who 
just walked beside her and nudged her hand from time to time. "She’s treating 
me like a baby." 

"Because you are a baby." Shamus said as he dropped out of a near by tree. 

Sara jumped and Flynn bark. "I am not!" She shouted at him. "I’m twelve years 
old! That is not a baby!" Flynn huffed in agreement, or at least that’s what 
Sara thought he did. 

Shamus laughed as he took up a position on Sara’s other side. "Face it Sara, 
everyone sees you as a baby, I mean look at you! Your no bigger then you were 
when you were ten." 

"I am too!" She yelled as she slugged him in the arm. "I’ve grown!" 

"Not much." Shamus pointed out. "Anyway, you wanna go to the cliffs and throw 
rocks into foam?" 

Sara kicked a pebble and sent it flying across the field. "I can’t," She said 
in a low growl, "I have to stay close to the house because of the storm." 

Shamus shrugged his shoulders. "See.. A baby," he started, "Oh well, then how 
about we.." Shamus couldn’t finished his sentence since being knocked to the 
ground had knocked the breath out of him. 

"I am not a baby!" Sara shouted as she stood over him with her tiny hands on 
her hips. "And I’ll prove it!" Sara kicked the bottom of Shamus’ foot and 
then stomped off towards the barn. Flynn and Shamus where right on her heels. 


"What are you going to do?" Shamus asked when he finally caught up to her. 

Sara didn’t say a word she just kept walking towards the barn. She flung open 
the normally locked doors and then stood there for a moment and looked at the 
red and black racer in awe. Then she squared her shoulders and walked over to 
it. "Now help me up. I can’t reach the hatch release." 

"Sara! This is nuts! Rhi is going to kill you for this!" 

Sara looked around for something to climb up on. "I’m just going to start it 
up I’m not really going to take it out." Sara smiled when she found a foot 
ladder and very carefully leaned it against the side of the racer. She 
climbed up, opened the hatch, and climbed into the cockpit. She looked around 
at all the controls and then closed the hatch as she went though everything 
Rhi had taught her. 

She began the start up sequence and smiled to herself. The racer started up 
with a soft whirling noise and Shamus cheered. Sara smiled at him though the 
hatch glass and gave him the thumbs up. Shamus pointed to the open doors and 
nodded his head. Sara started to chew on her bottom lip. She had only wanted 
to turn it on she hadn’t planned on moving it but now Shamus was all but 
daring her to take it out of the barn. She looked at the controls, then 
looked at Shamus, then looked at the open doors. The sky had started to 
darken but though the shaded glass of the racer’s hatch cover Sara couldn’t 
tell this, and even if she could have she was to busy wondering what the 
chances were she’s get caught. Unless Rhi was in her room there would have 
been no way for her too see this far out, she could just pull it out though 
the doors and then back it up again, no one would ever know.. Sara put her 
tiny shacking hand on the stick and pressed the release button. She and the 
racer started to slowly roll out of the barn. 

Thunder storms had been known to roll in fast and with out warning from the 
islands and no one knew this better then Rhi. The skies had grown dark and 
the lighting had started to flash in the distance. She stood at the back door 
and shouted for Sara to come in but there was no reply. 

"Hey Sis, is it a good idea to leave your racer out in a storm when it has a 
plasma leak?" Brennan asked as he entered the kitchen. 

Rhi turn and snapped at her brother, "It’s not out. It’s in the barn." 

Brennan shook his head. "I was just up stairs, Rhi, the racer is out side of 
the barn." 

"I haven’t had it," Rhi paused as her stomach turned. "She wouldn’t." A 
flash of fear lit up Rhi’s grey eyes just as a flash of lighting lit up the 
sky behind her. Then there was an explosion. 

Sara got the racer all the way out and was even several kilometers away from 
the barn when a bolt of lighting hit the back of it. There was a loud boom 
and Sara screamed before being  thrown forward as the side of the racer went 
up in flames. She hit her head on control board and blacked out. 

When she came to Rhi was pulling her out of the cockpit while Brennan and 
Shamus tried to put out the fire. "Back off!" Rhi yelled. Brennan and Shamus 
backed away and join Kathryn at safe distance while Rhi carried Sara towards 
them. 

"It’s going to blow!" Brennan shouted. 

"Rhi! Get down!" Kathryn added. 

Rhi turned and looked at the racer and then lunged forward just as the second 
plasma tank  exploded. She covered Sara’s body with her own as burning pieces 
of metal and plasma rained down on them. 

Sara screamed and cried. "Rhi! Rhi!" 

***

Sara screamed as another clap of thunder shook the ground and a flash of 
lighting lit up the sky. She was crying uncontrollably and shacking so bad 
she could hardly stand.  She had caused those marks, it had been her who had 
twisted the metal, it had been her fault that Rhi had to pull her out of the 
racer which lead to Rhi using herself as a shield to keep her from getting 
hurt when the plasma tanks exploded. Sara started to back out of the barn but 
tripped over Flynn and landed in the mud out side the door where the accident 
had happened. Sara just sat there in the mud and the down pouring rain 
crying, shaking, and hyperventilating as she whispered, "It was my fault.. I’
m sorry."

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