V.B. opened her eyes, and stared at the dark rocks around her. What happened? Where was she? Then it came back, and she sat up. She had to find Scooter, and she had to find him fast. Looking around she saw nobody near her, and so slid off the rock, touching the cold ground with her bare feet. Her torn suit was beside the rock, and she was wearing only her leather underwear, but she didnât notice. After being in the military for so long, she had become hardened to things like this. Many times youâd wake up in your underwear or completely naked; strip searches came with the job. She lifted up her suit and stared at the holes. It was still usable as clothing, but not as a spacesuit. Even the slightest tear could ruin a spacesuit, no matter how tight or baggy. She found her gun only a few feet away, and held it tightly, having no place to put it.
She heard footsteps, and on impulse trained her gun for the source of the sound. The boy smiled at her as he waved in a friendly manner. He was odd looking. He resembled Scooter, and Bob at the same time, but there was something about himâ¦
âAre you human?â Vee asked, keeping her gun on him.
âYes. I am Koblano.â He extended his hand, but Vee only stared at it.
âIs this the real Earth? Were we wrong?â
âWe?â Koblano looked down for a moment, and then looked back at her. âNo, you were right. This is the âfakeâ Earth. The one that Dalamar created.â
âGood. At least we know that Howdyâs where he should be.â
âCould you lower that gun?â Koblano asked, pointing.
âWhy?â
Koblano straightened his glasses. âWell, I donât like having guns put in my face. Besides, how am I supposed to give you these clothes if you wonât let me near you?â
Vee outstretched one arm, and snatched the bundle from Koblano, then pulled it back. She didnât realize how close he was to her. Koblano smiled at her and began to back away.
âYou can get dressed.â
She smirked. âYouâve already seen my underwear, so why leave as I dress?â
âBecause, Iâm going to go get Bandit. Listen, whoever you are, I want you to know that youâre the best thing that ever happened to us. Iâm not sure why, but I feel like youâre something special.â With that, he left.
Vee stared after him, and realized that he didnât know she was a Starfleet member. Despite the suit, he didnât know. She smiled and put on the gray tee shirt and blue jeans that he gave her, then took her own boots and slipped them on her feet. She also found her watch in the midst of her old clothing, and an extra pack of cigarettes. She lifted one up to her mouth and lit it, inhaling more than ever before. She needed it.
âSo, youâre awake.â Bandit said, smiling as he came into view.
Vee blew out a smoke ring.
âYouâre human too?â
Bandit nodded. âDo you remember anything, girl? Anything about how you fell through our roof?â
Vee nodded. âFor one, me and my friends were ambushed by a group of rebel scum that have possibly killed my friends already. As luck would have it, an earthquake started at the same time, and lucky me came crashing through.â He raised an eyebrow, like he didnât believe her story. But of course he wouldnât; he also didnât know she was a Starfleet pilot, for sure. After all, one human didnât it, so it was only likely that the other one didnât know either. Slaves were deprived of so many things. âAnd, by the way, my name is V.B., not âgirlâ.â
Bandit looked at her oddly. âV.B.?â
She looked at him coldly. âMy name is my name. I know it, and thatâs all the importance it has. Nobody else in the galaxy knows my name except for me, and I plan on leaving it that way.â
Bandit nodded. âFair enough. But how did you get here, may I ask?â
âI told you.â
âI mean, how did you get on this planet?â
She smirked. âBy a spacecraft, of course.â
Koblanoâs eyes lit up. âWhat kind? Can you take us to it? Maybe we could get off this planet!â
Vee shook her head. âNo, itâs most likely gone by now. Besides, Iâm not leaving this planet yet.â Not without Scooter.
Bandit looked at her. âCan you fire a weapon?â
âI have a gun.â
She held it up for him to see, and he smiled.
âDo you like fighting?â
âWho doesnât?â
Koblano raised his hand, and smiled sheepishly. Bandit turned around and whispered something to him. He nodded.
âV.B., would you come with us back to Earth?â
âWhy?â
âTo help free the slaves from Dalamar.â
Vee looked away to smile. As much as she wanted to find Scooter, if these guys had any shortcut to Dalamar, she would take it. Scooter would want her to kill Dal before he hurt any more people. She got out another cigarette, even though her first wasnât gone, and tucked the rest in her pocket. She changed her face to the aloof expression that had grown to become her, and then turned back around.
âSure.â
Koblano and Bandit smiled. Vee looked up at the hole in the roof, and thought of Scooter again. What was happening to him? Then she felt a shriek echo across the fabric of time, a shriek that tore through her heart and soul, and broke her mind apart. She could feel one of the three hearts connected being severed, and she trembled. It was Ryoko. Something was wrong with Ryoko. Bandit and Koblano noticed her digging her teeth into her cigarette, and watched as her body stiffened. Ryoko was trying to make her see. Trying to lead her to where he was. Both of their minds were combining in a way that Vee had never experienced before, and wasnât sure if she wanted to experience again.
She could see a man standing with a scalpel, and everything was so cold. She knew that this man was betraying something, but she didnât know what. He jammed the scalpel into the stomach of whoever she was inâ¦Ryokoâ¦and moved down until his blade touched the tip of Ryokoâs âunderwearâ. Purple blood poured out everywhere, and she heard someone screaming. Was it herself? Was it Ryoko? She couldnât tell. She was he, and he was she. They were one being. The man put something inside of Ryoko, a small metal boxâit was a very cold metalâand then grabbed a small device. A red beam went out of it and began to melt the skin together again. Somebody was screaming again.
ââ¦bombâ¦â
Vee realized what the box was, and this time she knew that she was the one screaming. The vision blurred and Vee found herself back in the cave with Koblano and Bandit, who were both looking at her with wide eyes. She gasped as the last of Ryoko left her, and the force of whatever it was knocked her to her knees. She watched as a small bit of her own blood dripping onto the ground.
âWhat happened? What was that?â Koblano asked.
Bandit smiled. âItâs something Iâve only heard of.â Bandit raised his voice, in case Vee couldnât hear him; but she did, and found it annoying. âWas it a Neilan?â
She nodded slowly. âWhat was that?â
Bandit smiled. âWhenever a Neilan faces something that will mean the death of him, usually those closest to him will also face it, no matter how far apart they are. I guess itâs something âpsychicâ. He telepathically connected to you during his fear and pain, and how it works, I donât know. But it does.â
âHow do you know that?â Vee asked, her voice weak.
âI, uhâ¦â Bandit stopped and looked down. It was the first time Koblano noticed that he had ever lost his composure. âHey, shouldnât we be going to Earth now?â
âLet me rest for a moment, willya? Iâve kinda just been ripped from my universe and thrown into his. It hurts.â
âYou only feel what he feels.â
She glared at him, and he looked away from her. Taking in deep breaths, she finally lifted herself onto her feet, and walked over to them.
âWell, boys, take me to your leader.â
âYou donât want to rest some more?â Koblano asked.
âNo, Iâm fine.â
She hoped she was right, because if she was going up against Dalamar, she needed to be fine. She needed to be better than fine; she needed to be perfect. If she were even the least bit slowed down in any way it wouldnât be good for her. After all, she was fighting against Dalamar. Though not necessarily tough, he was cruel and uncaring, and would blow himself up to get to her. But, if she died killing the cruelest creature in the world, then so be it. If she was going to die, it was meant to happen.
~~~~~
*edit*
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