You laughed


like a fool as you turned away from the man. "Sorry 'bout that!"

"Yeah, I'll bet you're sorry," comes a gruff reply from behind you. You feel a huge hand on your shoulder, and are brusqely spun around to face its owner--a man you suddenly realize is about 6' 3" and built like a sherman tank.

You stammer bleakly, trying to apologize for your carelessness, to have nothing escape your mouth before a tremendous ham-like fist snaps your head sideways, connecting smartly with your left eye. A dazzling array of stars twinkles briefly before your eyes as you sink to your knees and collapse to the ground. You hear something about "Damn, now I gotta wash my hands before mess--got blood on my knuckles..." and then you fade from consciousness....


You gradually manage to will your eyes to open--well, one of them anyway. Your head thrumms away, grimly reminding you of your earlier encounter. You chide yourself mentally for being such a boorish, proud, fool. And you have a hugely swollen eye to testify to it.

A medic wanders over, noticing your open eye. "Ahh, awake are we? Well, I'm glad to see it. Not from around here, huh?"

As you shake your head dumbly, pain explodes from every joint in your neck informing you that this was not the wisest course of action. You grimace slightly, and the medic picks it up instantly.

"Pain, huh? Well, here's a couple tylenol, best I can do for you, I'm afraid. You made a big mistake out there today..."

"Like I needed you to tell me that," you think to yourself, smart enough not to say anything lest he not give you the pain killers.

"That guy you ran into happens to run all the tours, and I reckon' you didn't exactly make friends with him today. Well, I suggest you get yer little ass off the base before he finds you here. I'm not s'posed to treat any non-personnel. Just be glad I found you!"

You groan audibly, and make your way out the door after taking the capsules. You prod your cheek gingerly, grimace in pain, and show yourself out the door and off the base. No sense getting 2 black eyes in one day...


Back to Base Delta

Fleet Commander Samhain