Through Time, Darkly

[Pryce]

[color=#FFFF00]Main Hangar bay


"............itch!" Nickatelli finished, hand at the side of his face. The blow had nearly knocked him off his feet, and he struggled to shake off the stars that danced in front of his vision. He moved to retaliate, to hurt her, and break that arrogant self-rightous look off her face . That's when he noticed that the new guy, Robert something, had eased up behind Ellis, watching him over her shoulder. The two traded a look, and Nickatelli saw a coldness that unsettled him. He knew the scuffle was over.


"You stay the HELL away from me, you dangerous bastard!" Ellis shouted at him; "And stay away from Doyle!" What were you thinking?" The realization that she could have just been killed had dawned on her, combined with the way Nickatelli had acted, and she finally lost the layer of control she had constantly labored to retain. Her heart was racing, her breathing fast and shallow; her teeth were bared.


"How can I EVER trust you Elias? Why would you go so far to get someone hurt? I want you off this deck and I want you to stay off it!" She glanced briefly at Doyle, and then did a double-take as she realized he had walked back to his fighter He's leaving?! She looked back to Nickatelli and said; "This is not over." before turning to walk towards Doyle.


Nickatelli whispered; "No. It sure isn't."


As Denise got closer to Doyle, her mind continued to race, so many thoughts, directions, all at once. The way this had started, trying to figure Elias' motivation, trying to figure how to convince Doyle to stay, and how to proceed even if he did. Mostly, she fought to bring herself back under control. Deep breaths. Determine the question. Investigate. Hypothesize and construct an experiment to confirm it. Review.


She studied the man leaning on the fighter. This wasn't physics equations on a screen, or a wormhole study. This was a human being. Who, if his story was true, had experienced more pain and loss than most could imagine. But she had lost too. Not nearly so as he, but she could feel his loss as well as hers. He was a human being, and she had to help him. The science, the data, the glory that discoveries here could bring, must come after.

She reached him, and he was watching her intently. She found the calm again, and spoke quietly;

"All I can say Lieutenant, is that I'm sorry. I didn't want any of this to happen, but it has; and there's nothing I can do to take it back. Please believe me, that I want to help you. Please stay."

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