Marco Domici: Blood and Fear

"Who?" Tala said as the vehicle quick halted."What?"

Tala had been half asleep when someone nudged her that they were near a place that might have a good lunch. She wiped away a little bit of drool that had collected on her chin. Hopefully no one saw it. As she had started to look out the window Gabbie had barked an order and the vehicle immediately shunted power around front. It was from slowing down to dead stop fast enough for Tala to be thrown into the back of the drivers seat. Her nose caught on the headrest clip and she felt the skin tear slightly as she saw a few stars.

Guns, girls, and guys tumbled together as people cursed. Gabbie was already out the hatch and yelling at someone. Tala cursed for a second, and then fear started to take over. She half clawed her way towards the hatch to get away from the struggling bodies. But when she got to the hatch it felt bad; she could hear them yelling at each other.

For a moment she pulled back. Curses and anger inside, yelling and anger outside. Tears started to mix with the blood dripping down her face and on to her almost new uniform. She started to cry harder as the yells got louder. Half out of the portal, Tala looked down to find the ground. That's when she saw the blood stain mixing into the camoflage.

Marco had given her one of his uniforms. Of course, it didn't fit well, but it did fit. Now she'd have to explain why there was blood on it and why she remained in the vehicle when things were going on outside. Her mind pushed forwards and back at the same time the vehicle bucked once. From behind her the scramble of bodies twisted, someone screamed out, and a heavy boot crashed hard into her lower ribs.

Tala gasped in pain and felt the half meter drop to the ground. Her face slammed into the dirt and she tasted the gritty mix of blood and sandy loam. She pushed herself up and looked around.

"Max?" She said quietly. Of course, Gabbie was right near her, still yelling. At first she had thought they were under attack or something and that Gabbie was protecting them.

"Max is pointing his gun at Gabbie." She said to no one. "What's going on? Why are you both yelling?"

Tala caught movement to her left as she started to find her feet. There was Marco, moving forward, his weapon up. His hair has was messed up a little but he had gotten his cut too. Tala liked seeing him move in his armor. He couldn't dance worth a bogan but when he moved in his armor he looked like he belonged there. That was his dance.

"Hey!" She said, and spat out more blood and grit. "What's going on?"

She felt time slow down even as she tried to yell. Max's gun swiveled from Gabbie to Tala. Her heart stopped at the muzzle pointed directly at her. She didn't fear, just then. The world was over. She couldn't yell for some reason though, just stare as Max pointed the gun at her. She knew he was about to fire. She knew what would happen.

"Thank you Marco." She whispered.

There was a flash from the gun but Tala didn't feel anything. She heard a loud thump and realized her heart had just given a beat. The gun was still pointed at her and flashing, but Max seemed to stumble back. He stood, though, and started to move the gun again.

"No!" Tala screamed. Max was pointing at Marco! "No!" Tala felt the gravel shift under her. Another thump. Her heart started to complain about lack of oxygen but Tala ignored it. The ground shifted under her other foot as she realized she was running. Her boot caught solid rock just then and she saw Max getting closer. The boy was hurt bad but he was trying to kill Marco.

He brought the gun up and Tala reached out. She tried to claw herself closer and felt her collar bone shatter as it hit his hip. "No!" she screamed in frustration and pain. His knee caught her in the stomach as he slid backwards. Her weight drove his knee into her gut and she saw nothing but stars and pain. Yet she could feel him there, beneath her. She punched and it slid off, tearing skin off her knuckles. "No!" She punched again and felt the bite of gravel on her fist. She punched again and felt the soft flesh collapse under her. She punched again, and again.

She couldn't move. Something held her fist back.

"Tala!" someone yelled.

Why were they yelling, she was right here? Maye they can't see either. "Here." she whispered. She felt the gravel under her rump. Her stomach turned and she tried to roll over and vomit. She couldn't move, at first, and then she could. A few moments of dry heaves and her eyes cleared. "Patrick?"

He looked down at her. "Yeah, kid. What got into you?"

"What? What happened?" She felt the cloth on her nose. She tried to sit up but the pain slammed her down. "My shoulder."

"Jilla!" Patrick yelled. "Hang tight, Tala. Here, let me see." He opened the uniform top and saw the discoloration at her collar. Patrick cursed. "Here, let's see what we can do for the pain."

"Marco? Max was trying to shoot him." Tala said softly. Her vision cleared, for a moment, and then started to fuzz. "Is he okay?"

"Hey girl, you did great." Jilla said, holding Tala's head still. "That was some mean tackle there." A tear fell. "Yet, Marco's okay, thanks to you. He and dad are talking with Gabbie. It doesn't look good for Max."

"Oh...okay..." Tala said, and her head fell.

---

Tala moaned. The pain was back. Worse, she could feel the vibrations of the vehicle moving but it was totally dark, wherever she was. Her nose still had enough blood to prevent smelling anything.

She moaned, and a hand gently rested on her bare stomach. It felt warm, comforting. The hand was personal and intimate, yet not demanding. It gave her strength.

"Marco." She knew that hand. It had never touched her quite like that, but she knew the gentle caress it could give. She smiled, and the pain backed off.

"I'm here, Tala." Marco said. "How are you doing?"

"Good. No, it hurts. Really." She replied. "Where are we?"

"You and I are in the back of one of the carriers. We're cargo, kid. I think there's some bio-gizmos here that are probably worth more than we are. At least they work."

"What do you mean? What's going on?" Her right hand reached up and rested on top of his. "Sorry I got your uniform bloody. I'll get you another one."

"Don't worry about it, Tala." Marco said. "You did well back there. I wanted you to know that. Things might get a little difficult shortly, and...well...I wanted you to know I was proud of you."

"Are we in trouble?" She asked. "How long have I been out?" The rumbling seemed to have been a part of her dreams for hours now.

"No, you're not in trouble." He chuckled. "I might be about to lose my first command, but that's okay. I promised to rescue Mattias or die trying. We'll see how many folks want to stick around next time we stop."

"You've been out about an hour." He sighed. "I brought you out of consciousness for a couple reasons."

Tala squeezed his hand. "You're worried, Marco. I'm sorry. Did I do something wrong?"

"Tala...I..." Marco bent over slowly and kissed her bruised lips gently. "You are beautiful." He whispered.

"It's dark and I'm all busted up." She said. "When you see me in daylight you'll change your mind. Guys always do."

She felt the pain reach through his hand. "I'm sorry, Marco, I didn't mean it like that. Really!"

"Forgive me?" She asked quietly.

He reached over and gently brushed back one of her stray locks. "Forgiven, even though you did nothing wrong." His hand rested on her forehead. "No fever, and still a beautiful face. God is good."

Tala snorted. "That's your opinion. I finally get you alone, we have time to have some fun, and I'm too busted up to do anything but lay here."

"Ever my lot in life." Marco said, and then laughed. "Still, it was good to hear you snore. I'm now forewarned."

"Do not!" She turned her head away and felt the smallest of aches from her collar. "Patrick must be a good doctor! Feels like I'm already half fixed."

Again, the pain shot through to her. "Marco? I am alright, aren't I?"

"You're fine, Tala." He said. "But we do need to talk." His hand moved to her collarbone. "You had a broken bone right here, and a cracked lower rib to boot. Your nose was scraped up but somehow you avoided a concussion."

"Now both bones are mostly healed and your nose is as cute as ever. Do you have any idea why?" Marco said quietly.

"Patrick is a good doc.' Tala said. "And your med kits are pretty awesome too. Does anyone ever die where you come from?"

"Our medkits are good, but not that good, Tala. There's something else." He moved his hand gently across her stomach. "Besides enjoying it so much, do you know why my hand is on your stomach?"

"Well." She closed her eyes and enjoyed the feeling. "I'm kinda liking it and just happy with that."

He leaned over and kissed her belly. "I enjoy it too, but there's more. You're a self-healer."

Her mind had started to wander at the 'more' part, and then froze. "Who what?"

She felt his strength then. Belatedly she realized the warmth she felt was how hew felt about her. It cooled, slightly, and she felt his resolution.

"Your mind has abilities most of us don't, Tala. Your mind can, given contact time and need, heal itself by drawing energy from someone else."

"Wait...huh?" She realized then what his hand was doing. She quickly pulled it away and pushed him off. "It's hurting you, isn't it?"

"Not really." She felt his hand move back to her stomach. At first it was playful, tickling. Then it settled in and she felt his strength flowing into her again. "I'm feeling a little achy creaky, but I'm guessing that will pass. Nothing to worry about."

Tala realized what he had said. "Won't the government experiment on me, or something?" She said quietly. "Will the others be afraid of me?"

"Well, we're already dealing with the government issue, so I'd not let that one worry me. As to everyone else, that's one reason I'm here with you. It gives you time to heal, us time to talk, and you time to make some decisions."

"Isn't that one problem enough to deal with?" Tala said. She unconsciously drew more strength from him and then tried to stop herself.

"Not today. No rest for the wicked." Marco replied. "I shot Max. In my mind it was a clean call; he was pointing at weapon at one of my people."

"He is one of our people."

"Not if he's pointing a weapon at them, he isn't. Not only one of mine, but his superior officer. And a member of the same group."

"Oh." She said. "And now the group wants to leave because you shot one of them. That'll hurt the mission, won't it?"

"Probably, but they are still deciding." Marco chuckled. "I made it doubly difficult for them."

"You started talking?" She grinned.

His hand came up slightly and he flicked her belly. "That was mean." He laughed. "But true." His hand rested back down. "I explained what happened and told them to discuss it amongst themselves during the next leg of the trip. We will meet briefly at the next stop and talk then. Not a lot of spare time though, so the talking will have to be brief."

"So they might all leave." Tala said. "I was unsure about what was going on. What was everyone arguing about?"

"There was a Guide mission to do something, and they were in trouble. Max wanted to go help."

"That doesn't sound so bad."

"No, really, it's not." Marco said. "If he would have just told Gabbie that and left, it wold have been fine. It was pointing a gun at Gabbie that got him shot, not being a flake."

"Makes sense, I guess." She said. "Was there any other way?"

"None sprang to mind." Marco shrugged but maintained contact. "I did the best I could. Now everyone knows they are under a leader who is willing to shoot them if necessary. The Guide knows an off-worlder will shoot them if necessary."

"Wow...I thought getting a busted noes and a couple broken bones was bad!"

"Yeah, tell me about it." He said. "Anyway, you have to make that decision as well. At the next stop we'll see who is in and who wants out. I'm not going to bear a grudge but I will stay on task."

"Oh." She was quiet for a bit. "You said you made it doubly difficult. What was the double part?"

"Verner." Marco smiled. "I sent him, Jozu, our fastest speeder, and a couple others to rescue the Guide people Max was so upset about. His question was to fair to ask, and he was free to leave if he wanted. It's just the weapon pointing bit that got him in trouble."

"Is Max okay?" She blushed. "I seemed to remember punching him once or twice."

"More than that, kid!" Marco laughed. "I think you did more than my lacar did! With nothing but guts and a bloody shirt you charged an armed man and carried him almost three meters before crashing to the ground. You then proceeded to beat the ever loving snot out of him until Patrick pulled you off. Of course, you had a cracked rib and broken collar bone at the time but that didn't seem to slow you down."

"I did that?"

Marco nodded. "Yup. I think some of the unit are more scared of you beating them up than me shooting them! Which works for me, by the way."

They laughed for a bit and then were quiet.

"Marco?"

He tickled her stomach. "Still right here."

"I'm scared." Her hand found his again. "The government is after me, I'm some psio freak, and really, when it came down to it, I was so scared at the scene that I froze."

"I know." Marco said. "Tell you a secret, Tala. Because you're untrained in how to use your abilities, well, some stuff goes both ways." He lowered his voice. "I've probably seen things you might not have wanted to share. Sorry."

"Did you see..."

"Yeah." He leaned over and gently kissed her. "Tala, I saw a beautiful girl do her best to deal with a rough situation. If that's the worst you have in your past, hon, you're better than a lot of us. It's not the bad things we've done that define us. It's not our mistakes. It's not that we were scared, either."

"You fought for someone you cared about, Tala. That defines you. You did your absolute best against frightening odds. That defines you. You chose to stand up for what's right. That defines you."

She reached up and ran her fingers through his hair. "You called me hon."

"Yeah, well, don't add to your list of mistakes, kid."

She pulled him closer and whispered. "Why not?"

---

"I still don't know what she sees in him." Verner whispered to Johanna. He watched the HUD and called out hazards as Johanna flew nap-of-the-treetops at a blinding speed.

"Paul, tell them we're six mike out and closing like a bat out of purgatory." Johanna called back to the lone member of the Guide in the craft. Have them angle...whoa!" She dodged a large tree. "Head zero nine three, towards the creek. We will catch them there."

Johanna whispered back. "Me neither. He's just like every other dashing young off-worlder military hero that treats her like a special lady even though dad scowls a lot. No sense in it at all."

Verner scowled. "He might not be a hero. Those off-world news reports could have been faked."

"Yeah, but probably not those." She pointed to the console and continued to whisper. "Derek did some digging in their own computers. Someone forgot to clean all the old files out. Her boyfriend really is a hero. Fast burner, too. Promotions every year, leadership slot early on, and a bias for action."

"What about that other girl?" Verner whispered. "Why can't Jillia..."

"Changing times, my friend. Kids are different these days."

"Paul, we're on the river now. Everyone, hang on. Coming up to Petter's drop off spot. Everyone buckled up?" After the all clears were given Johanna braked hard and shot for a rocky outcropping that would give Petter the best shot.

"They're all kids, Verner." Johanna whispered as she spun the grav plates around. "Maybe they'll shack up for a while. Maybe they'll get to hate each other as soon as Mattias is home. Who knows?"

"Still, I.."

"You need to get out there and shoot something. Fast. We can play match-makers when you get back."

Petter, Bertil, and finally Verner jumped out of the craft. They quickly closed the hatch and were setting up a rough hide. Bertil cleared a shooting position while Verner cut branches and moved one big rock. Petter cradled Bertha and did a quick function check.

"Ready." Said Beritl. Petter nodded in thanks and he prepared his shooting position. Verner brought him logs as needed while Bertil commed back that they were in position.

The plan was simple. Johanna had mapped out the drone's path, She would fly over the crawler and Derek would jam the sensors long enough for the drone to slow down and rescan. That was Petter's window.

"A few of the other girls are looking at him too, you know." Bertil said to Verner.

"Hush." He just scowled.

"Just wanted you to know." Bertil chuckled. "Not sure how him shooting that boy will go with everyone, but I bet that Rasmus fellow can turn it in to a nice story."

"Hush." Petter said. "Range?"

"In view in thirty-seven seconds. Right over that big twin tree. Yep, that's it."

They saw the crawler splash into the river and start to cross. It waddled for a moment and the the air raft was on top of it.

"Target in sight." Petter called. "Range nine two eight and closing fast."

The drone fired at the crawler but missed by several meters. It passed overhead and all three men were stock still.

"Dang, their scramblers are messing up my scope." Petter spat. "Range is off and it won't focus."

"Petter, you're the one man who can out shoot me." Verner said quietly. "I know you can do this."

The drone came back slowly, scanning.

Petter fussed at the scope and then turned the electronics off. It was pure glass and Mountain Windage.

The drone hovered over the crawler for a moment and then passed by, it's weapons and sensors moving back and forth.

Petter slowed his breathing. Verner and Bertil were like stones.

The drone emitted a high pitched wail and spun in place. It was aimed at the crawler and the exhaust trails of multiple rockets spewed.

Petter was rocked back half a meter and then his body recovered back in position. He quickly cycled another round into the chamber.

The brass had landed in Bertil's lap, just like always.

"Whooowheeee!" Bertil cried out as the drone exploded.

"Down!" Verner yelled as a pair of now uncontrolled missiles headed straight for them. The impacted one after the other in the trees behind the men. Shrapnel and splinters flew in all directions as the fire balls almost reached back to their hide.

"Forest fire!" Verner spat. "Bad time for it."

"We won't be here to worry none." Petter said as he stood. He rolled his shoulder to get feeling back into it. "Tell them Guide boys to get whatever on that vehicle and let's get outta here." He Brushed off his jacket and pants. "Verner has to get back and scowl at that gyrene some more."