Through Time, Darkly

[Vogel]

Called off. Again?

No impacts, no broken bones, no bloody messes.

Shoot!

The order was not followed.

Stop!

The order was already in motion.

He couldnt tell if time was dilating around him, or if it was just his perception of it, not that he wasnt used to such nonsense. Tension where? Called off. Again.

Civilian safe.

Ellis safe.

Who?

Now its my turn, she said to him with a slight smile.

Ellis was a civilian? Unarmed, peaceful. Those are what make somebody a civilian?

He wanted to be a civilian.

He also wanted to throw up.

Doyle was suddenly short of breath and started panting. His brain felt as if it was two pounds lighter, bouncing about inside his skull. Surveying the room, his eyes rested upon the Minuteman fighter ten meters away, while everything else seemed to disappear.

Quietly, unsteadily, the ex-Lieutenant whod been through enough fights for one lifetime stumbled over his own two feet until hed crossed the ten meters and doubled over when he reached the fighters nose. Using what was left of his strength, he kept himself propped up on two hands, trying to catch his breath.

The fighter felt room temperature beneath his gloves. Benign. Waiting to be flown off into space yet again, to meet God knew what.

His thoughts collected themselves, and the urge to outright vomit began to subside.

He hardly registered the sound of the smack until after itd already occurred, and glanced over his shoulder. Even from this distance he saw the red swelling on the bodyguards face.

The bodyguard.

Shoot.

Serves him right that bastard son of a-