<USS Avalon> "My Heart Leads Me Astray" Pt. 5
- From: "Brad Ruder" <GroundZero@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- To: avalon@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
- Date: Fri, 26 Dec 2003 14:06:22 -0800
?My Heart Leads Me Astray? ? Part
Five
by Ensign Evan
BeneventeThe flight continued through the
stars, the shuttle passed as if the stars were nothing at all. The
two people in the cockpit were silent, Evan had come to realize what
he?d done, and realized that it wasn?t just him that he?d affected.
His mind wandered to those that he loved ? his family specifically.
What did they think of him? What kind of pain had he forced upon
them? Did they think less of him because he?d gone after his wife of
one day? Garen?s voice pierced through his thoughts and probed his
mind.
?We?re going to drop from warp, is that OK with you??
Garen said and smirked as if he needed to ask Evan
anyway.
?Sure, go ahead, you?re flying this
thing.?
?Are you sure? I thought you were!? He laughed and
dropped them to impulse; a giant planet loomed in front of the tiny
shuttle. It looked a lot like Earth, green and brown jumping off the
blue canvas that was the ocean. He zoomed into the atmosphere and
Evan checked the console, he half expected to be hailed. Federation
regulations require that contact is to be made before diving into
their atmosphere.
Garen noticed what Evan was doing and
started laughing, obvious aware of the situation, ?You have to
realize that you are no longer Federation. We don?t follow
?by-the-book? regulations. Get over it, and try to relax a little.
My squad should like you, you seem to be spunky and
peppy.?
The young ensign, no longer an ensign, looked at him
and smiled, not really sure how to react. Evan had completely
baffled himself with the resignation letter. He?d fought so hard and
so long to get to where he was. Evan had put so much blood, sweat,
and tears into fighting for good grades and he threw it away by
writing a resignation letter in five minutes. He stared out into the
sky now, as they had left space behind, and gazed out upon the ocean
as it rushed and splashed below their craft. Garen piloted it over
the land and the duo passed several canyons and valleys, all luscious
and green with growth and prosperity.
?Where is this place??
?A small uninhabited M-Class planet in Klingon Space, about
ten light-years from the Cardassian border. Prime for raids and
things of that sort.?
?Klingons? Do they care if you?re using
a planet that falls under the jurisdiction of their High Council??
Evan asked as he turned to face him.
Garen turned the end of
his lip up at Evan in a twisted smile, ?Are you always this
inquisitive??
?Are you always this evasive??
?You
first.?
?Most of the time.? Evan said as he returned to
tapping his console, monitoring the conditions outside, and the
status of everything else onboard. ?It?s just that this doesn?t
strike me as prime real estate.?
?It is, the Klingons tend
to stay away from this border, using only the sensors that were in
orbit. We have masked our signatures and they can?t detect us. We
have to be careful though when engaging Cardassian cruisers, if they
trip the sensors, we could be easily picked up by a passing Klingon
vessel.? Garen?s eyes darted the surface below for a split second,
but returned to the passenger.
Garen piloted over another body
of water and gracefully landed the shuttle on a pad that was
presumably saved for him. They both finished powering down the
systems. Evan saw many people gathering outside; they were all
staring at Garen and his new friend and some were running their hands
down the side of the shuttle. Evan had to admit that he was a little
on edge as this was rare behavior, for him anyway.
?Don?t you
want to meet your fans??
?Fans? I wasn?t aware that I had any
fans.?
?Sure, you helped destroy Cardassians, and you brought
all of them a Federation Shuttle. Two things that are a must for the
Maquis, and you just gave it to them. Lighten up; they?re only here
to congratulate you and to give you a welcoming party. Come, meet
the bunch of people who will adapt to be your brothers.? Garen said
as he disappeared from the shuttle and out into the throngs of those
huddling closely next to the craft.
At this point all Evan
could think about was the family that he?d left behind wondering
where he?d gone. Now Evan was supposed to meet those that would
replace them? Things were changing so fast, and the only thing that
the ex-Starfleet officer could think about clearly was getting
Michelle back into his arms as fast as possible.
The people
were nice, and clean for the most part. Getting use to the pungent
?musk? in the air wouldn?t be difficult; the only thing that Evan had
to avoid was breathing. Then again, who needs oxygen anyway? Evan
smiled, it was so overrated.
The Maquis wasted no time
throwing Evan into the fray. Several people, who were now in his
squad, had caught his attention quickly. They were all assigned to
the shuttle that had stolen from the USS Montana. Hayden Victero was
his tactical advisor, and Laura Gale was Evan?s science officer. For
the first time, Evan got to be in command, which didn?t seem to
bother people as much as he?d expected it too. Some of them had been
there for months, some even years, and Evan had been there ten
minutes and they had been assigned under him.
Laura was a cute
blond, hair down to her shoulders and past, and the most beautiful
green eyes that looked like green emeralds sparkling in the soft
white sands of Africa. She followed Evan off the shuttle after he
had told her specifically how to use the sensors and other systems;
Hayden had waved a farewell and retired to some square building that
the rest of the people had retired to. Evan?s first thought was to
sleep and think about the day?s lessons.
?Sir?? She said
respectively.
Evan turned and smiled at her, ?Sir? Were you
in Starfleet??
She shrugged and walked up to him, ?No, I just
knew that you were and that you might want that respect.?
?No,
call me Evan, please.?
?OK, Evan, what are you plans for later
this evening?? She twisted her hair up with her fingers and stared
at him, flashing a smile that could be seen on Earth, let alone
someone standing three feet in front of her.
?I plan on
sleeping, like most normal people, why??
?I was thinking that
you would want to join me for some drinks at the
Cantina.?
Evan looked around, confused, and then returned to
giving her the eyebrow, ?Cantina? You guys have a bar??
She
pointed to the steel building that many of the Maquis had entered in
the last couple of minutes after the briefing, ?That one. Most of the
people can fit, but if we have to sit two a seat I can always sit on
your lap.? She winked and she walked away, Evan?s eyes dropped to
her backside, bouncing as she walked. Evan had a desire to kiss her
on the lips, but he pulled himself from lust and continued towards
the soldier?s barracks. They weren?t kidding that he needed to relax
a bit.
***** ***** *****
At about
twenty-three hundred hours he awoke from his sleep and sat up on his
cot, only to hear bottles smashing and people laughing hysterically.
Evan pulled on his pants; the climate on the planet was hot, almost
as hot as the Amazon rain forest, but half the humidity. He stumbled
across the gravel path that headed towards the Cantina and entered.
Just as she had said, Laura was sitting on someone?s lap, as
there weren?t any seats left to sit down in. Evan turned to head
back the way he?d came when she leapt off the guy?s lap and headed
towards him. ?I have my own personal seat saved in the back, shall
we??
Evan gazed at her and didn?t say a word, he followed her
into the back and there was a single chair in a back room. She told
him to sit down and he did; Evan wasn?t quite aware of what was
actually happening, but he figured that he would just go with it and
see how it played out. She threw one leg over one side of his body,
and the leg?s pair on the other side.
Laura straddled him,
using his shoulders to steady herself. She pulled off the
Starfleet-issue undershirt, exposing Evan?s chest and his six-pack
muscles that were underneath ? Evan always kept himself physically
fit for this reason.
?Laura, what?? She silenced his voice as
she shoved his lips onto her own. She pushed his shirt completely off
my shoulders and onto the concrete floor below. She ran her hands
over his chest and Evan?s hands grabbed for her hips, slowly working
their way up and underneath her shirt. Laura pulled her mouth back
and went to unbuckle Evan?s pants. ?Laura, wait??
Evan
struggled to push her off himself. Laura backed up and closed the
door.
?What is it?? She stared at him with a half-innocent
look plastered on her face, her half-naked frame enticing him to take
her, but Evan resisted.
?I am a married man, and a son of a
bitch Cardassian has my wife. I won?t forget that until I find her,
and there is no chance that I can have anything with you knowing that
I have someone that I love more out there.? He fumbled with his
shirt, but he managed to button up his shirt, and buckled his pants
back up. Evan moved to the window and gazed out, watching the many
drunken Maquis walk back towards the soldier?s barracks, and for one
unfortunate soul, into a ditch.
Laura walked up behind him and
she put her arms around his waist and rested her head on his back.
?Don?t worry, we can find her. If you love her that much.?
With that, Evan pushed her arms down and turned around. ?Of
course I love her, I wouldn?t have married her otherwise. I will
find her, I have to.?
?She must have been a good
person.?
?She was,? he let out an angry scream, ?I mean she
is!?
?And an excellent lover.? She smiled as she pulled her
own top back on and opened the door to let the cold air in. ?Is
she??
His mind whirled and he thought for a second, ?Excuse
me??
?Is she a good lover?? Her words struck Evan like a
bunch of bricks.
He stumbled around his words again,
searching for something that would protect himself and get himself
out of the uncomfortable situation. ?I only had her. There was no
one else; I don?t have anyone to compare her to.? Obviously not the
best choice in words, but they had already come out before Evan had
thought about them.
Laura moved over and ran her hands over
his shirt. ?Don?t tell me that you haven?t had, like, ten lovers.
You have so much strength and good looks, I would assume that you
would?ve had people fawning all over you.? Her hands traveled down
and her hands massaged over his belly button, and then went farther
down.
Evan pushed her away and headed for the door. ?I
saved myself for marriage.?
?Well, now you?re married, lets
have some fun and you can tell me who?s better.?
?Are you
deaf? I'm married, I won?t give into someone quite yet.? He stormed
from the room and he heard Laura yell one last thing before Evan
exited the Cantina.
?YOU SAID YET!?
***** *****
*****
At drill the next morning, the overhung members
of the Maquis stumbled from their housing and made a circle. It was
more of an egg, but what would you expect from them after drinking
all night long. They assembled, nonetheless, and Garen stood in
front of them.
?What have I told you all time and time
again?!? He shouted as the crowd looked to him. ?Don?t drink with a
raid in the morning! You are borderline incompetent, besides myself,
and the newly acquired Mr. Evan Benevente.?
Evan thought to
himself about his last words.
Acquired? It sounded as if he
had traded for Evan?s services, or he had won the young ex-ensign at
a lucky game of poker, it was very odd indeed.
?You all call
yourselves Maquis? You aren?t worth the title!? Many of the group
turned around and began walking away, blatantly hurt by his last
remarks. ?Get your asses back here, NOW!? He shouted and they were
able to mingle back into line. One person stepped out into his line
of view and glared at him, it was Hayden Victero. Evan?s tactical
officer raised a phaser to the leader and smiled.
?I am sick
and tired of being treated like dirt, I have the right to do whatever
the hell I want. You told me that my wife was with a Gul Surak,
three months ago, and we keep searching for him and we don?t seem to
find him. Where is he Muln?? Hayden aimed the weapon at his head,
now several paces closer. ?Well???
Evan thought to himself,
Sound Familiar? What if Garen was lying to me about
Michelle?
Garen stepped down and walked towards Hayden and
smiled. ?I?m sorry Hayden, I got a communiqué this morning that your
wife has been executed for treason against the Cardassian Empire.?
Hayden?s eyes filled with tears and he dropped to his knees, sobbing
furiously. He dropped the phaser and Garen picked it up, putting it
in his pocket. ?I?m sorry Hayden, I really am.?
?Like hell
you are! I?m leaving this cursed rock. I have no reason to stay
here any longer, and I'm taking a shuttle or something and getting
the hell away from you.? Hayden rose to his feet and began walking
away from the crowd towards the landing platform. Garen put up a
hand as the people of the crowd began to murmur.
?I?m sorry,
Hayden, that isn?t possible.? Garen lowered his hand and continued
his smirk ? an awkward _expression_ to use for informing a friend about
his spouse?s death, ?We don?t have anything to spare you; you?ll have
to wait until our raiding party comes back. Is that
OK??
Hayden turned, his eyes locked on Garen and walked up to
him. Hayden got right in Garen?s face and began yelling, pulling
people?s attention. ?You give me a shuttle now, or I will alert
every Klingon and Cardassian ship in this sector that you have set up
a base here.? People of the crowd began to talk louder, signs of
fear swept through the drunkards. Garen lowered his head, as in
defeat.
?Take it, you can take the Federation Shuttle, and
please don?t inform anyone that we are here.? Garen turned his back
to Hayden and walked towards the crowd.
Hayden, not giving a
yes or a no to the previous question, turned and walked towards the
shuttle pad. It was almost sad; really, to watch my new friend walk
away knowing only that his wife was dead. There was a calm that
descended amongst the throngs; it was almost surrealistic. That
feeling would soon be vaporized.
In a blur of motion, Garen
pulled the phaser out and fired, catching Hayden in the back. Hayden
stopped, stuttered, and fell silently to the ground in a heap. The
people of the crowd looked on and then went back to their housing
places ? apparently this was a common occurrence. Garen stood, a
look of hatred in his eyes, about twenty feet from the body and then
holstered the phaser.
?What the hell did you do that for?!?
Evan yelled as he grabbed Garen by the collar. Throwing him up
against a pillar that supported the shuttle bay, Evan gritted his
teeth. ?That innocent man was a good worker and an asset to this
group, why did you kill him??
?You don?t
understand??
Evan shoved him harder against the pillar,
?You?re damn right that I don?t. It takes a cold man to prompt
murder, you son of a bitch. You better start
explaining!?
?Evan, the Maquis are different from Starfleet.
Everything, every person that we meet or help or allow to be involved
with us is a security risk. We just can?t have them leave and let
them have the opportunity to inform people that we are hiding here.
It just won?t work, clearly you should be able to understand
this.?
Evan thought for a moment, wanting nothing more than to
remove the man?s head, but finally forced himself to relax and Evan
released his hold on him and let him walk freely around. ?You got to
have faith that their loyalty lies to you, unless you?re lying to
them as Hayden said??
?See, there is logic in my actions.
Don?t worry; I only did it as a last resort. We have been having
problems with him for sometime, he still sees haunting visions that
his wife is alive. She died shortly after he joined us, and that was
two months ago. He knew that she had died, he just chose not to
accept that fact. Trust me, I?m not a violent man.?
And he
seemed to be right, Evan understood where the logic in that came and
he wasn?t about to contest it. Three people came and scooped up
Hayden?s body and they dragged him off into the ammunitions
warehouse. ?Why are they taking him there??
Garen turned and
looked at Evan, sort of a sadness tainting his eyes, ?As a Maquis, we
have to use everything that we can to survive. They will take his
clothes and give them to someone else or use the fabric for
something. They will empty out his body, except for the bones, and
then they will cram all the plasma explosives that they can into his
body. When we invade the planet, we will beam his carcass into the
Main Headquarters and when he gets their attention, we will detonate
him and destroy the headquarters. It is??
?One last Maquis
mission.? Evan completed his sentence for him as Evan walked away
from him and away from the pillar. ?I want to contact my
family.?
Garen looked surprised and then gazed at him
compassionately. ?It has been three years since I have talked to any
of them. I want desperately to talk to them, but I won?t jeopardize
everyone else here. In three months you can contact them from any
Cardassian outpost that we conquer, that way it won?t give away our
position.?
Evan nodded, he slightly understood his position in
maintaining the security of his people, but it was still three
months. ?Understood. Shall we begin our mission??
?The
planet awaits us, can hear it calling?? Garen smiled as he put his
arm around Evan?s shoulders and they walked and talked back to the
shuttle pad.
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