The Quarry

[Rage Menelas]

[font=Lucida Sans Unicode]“What are you doing...?” Charlie was quite beside himself with anger. This was an emotion that Ryan was surprised to see displayed in the master. He didn't know the guy was capable of losing his cool. “Did you identify that ship before you opened fire?”

“No but... he... was shooting at me...!”

Charlie strode purposefully up to the bridge console and scanned the instruments there. “Good... he's alive.” He turned to Ryan, still obviously upset. “I instructed you differently... Always identify a contact before you shoot... always... even apparently hostile ones. Now I must go aboard that stricken vessel and retrieve the pilot.”

“Okay... alright... but... what the hell...? Why are you so mad at me? He fired at me first! I saved our ass...!”

“It was a game, Ryan... a very stupid, very deadly game... unfortunately I could never quite make him understand how very stupid and very deadly a game it was... As you are well aware, my Terran apprentices only follow my instructions to the extent that they wish to...”

“Your Terran apprentices...?”

“Quang Liu is in that ship. He was my second apprentice. Now maintain course and speed here while I go and get him.”

“Uh... alright... sorry...”

Charlie shot him a parting look of sad disapproval, turned and left. Ryan breathed in a ragged breath. So far, in acting on his own, he was 'O' for two... not very respectable stats...