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March 25,'81 Shared Dream Sequence How I got to this point, I do not know. Pretending to be like one of the others, I use my skills to open several lockers within the room and stuff a medium large Duffle Bag with various items within. I also stuff the pockets of my green jumpsuit with smaller items, and check my gun and magazines of ammo- an American Colt .45 auto. Finally, I secure the bindings of the space suit I had aquired, checking on the status of the environemental controls on the small carrying case. I loop my arm on-through the chin of the helmet and start walking out the room, and down several long hallways. Several messages are passed through my head set, most of them public messages as to the status of the complex, and countdown. Somewhere along the hallway, I bump into another who is dressed simillar to me and visibly carrying the same items as I- A duffle bag and a helmet looped through her arm. "You ready, Guitch...", she says. "Yes, lets to, Debb.", I tell her. We make out of the building to an awaiting low-powered transport vehicle, which we board. though I am in th driver's seat, the vehicle is driving itself upon an etched path on the pavement, which seems to go to several girder-steel beam towers just several miles away. The closer we get to the towers, the more details can be seem, though for some of the path, an airplane runaway runs parallel to us, with a couple of aircraft beinging maintianed by a crew at the far end, closest to the towers. These planes look very much like the SR-71's that I knew about many years ago, with just minor designs changes to the exterior, but who knows what was 'under the hood.' Suddenly, the alarms go off and several vehicles start to follow us at high speed to catch up to us on the path. Another mile left to go, one can see what seems to be that of a wing of large aircraft sticking out from the side of one of the towers, the name "Challenger" written on it. A tower in front of it blocks the view of the rest of it, but it is definately one of the shuttles on the launch pad. I stomp on the accellerator, which only makes the vehicle lurch forward on its demand for increased speed, but it was not by much. Behind us, military personel get into their pursuit vehicles and give chase, though they have a long way to catch up to us. But their speed would bring them closer than I would want them to appear. Once at the end of the runway, Deb and I jump out of the vehicle, letting it crash onto the maintenece vehicles of the crew. Pulling out my gun, I let loose a couple of rounds, being careful not to hit anyone or anything. The crew runs for their lives to take shelter. "Get into the shuttle, I'll meet with you up there!", I yell to Deb as she starts to run to the launch tower. I watch her go up 3/4 of the way up the launch tower via its elevator before I climb into the seat of the SR-71-looking planes closest to me. Once in its seat, I start its engine preignition sequence and start it down the runway. The sound of brakes can be heard as I rolled down the tarmac. Then it became silent as the canopy enclosed the plane. Looking down the runway, I push the throttle controls to full and roared down the runway. Soon I was airborne, but with several chase planes after me. Serveral warnings were sent to me through the radio to land or to be shot down, to which my answer to them was to try. I pulled up on the stick and pointed the nose of the plane skyward and just held on for hope. The chase planes gave up when I pasted their maximum ceiling. The Challenger was launched shortly afterwards, its passengers and cargo's destination - Space Station #5. I think to myself of hope that Deb has made it to the shuttle and has yet to be found out. It would very bad if she had to shoot everyone on the shuttle and fly it herself. The silent roar of the engines vibrating the rest of the plane becomes still as my plane break through the athmosphere and into space. Without air, the engine shut down. The Shuttle is about a 1/4 arc behind me in its orbit insertion, but with engines roaring in the silence of space. Its space doors open and the space arm reaches over to the plane as they slowly approach. I open the canopy as the space arm grabs the plane by the fusalage and draws it closer to it. I climb out and crawl to the arm and then down it into the shuttle's exposed cargo bay. Once in the cargo bay, I make my way to the airlock. I was surprised to find it ready for me to step in. Closing the door behind me, the door seals itself and air starts to pressurize the chamber. After several passing minutes, the main door opens to the shuttle's interior. I step through and is welcomed with a big hug. "Glad you made it." Deb says as she holds me in her arms. I reach up and unlatch the helmet, removing it. "Damn, we'll never be able to do that again.", I started to say, "Uhm, where is the rest of the crew?", I ask. "Well, I convinced them to take a ride on the emergency escape rail before the launch, with just seconds to spare.", she explains as she begins to help me take off the sapce suit. "You mean that you flew this thing yourself?", I asked, almost shouting. "Most of it is automated; and the simulator training was very accurate. It was actually quite simple.", she said. "Lets hope that the rest of the group has secured the space station.", I said. "We got another 45 minutes before radio contact with them.", she replies. "What about monitoring radio communications, and get a heads up on the situation?", I asked. "So far, its been quiet.", she answers. "Alright- since you're flying this thing, that makes you mission commander. Lets go back to the cokpit.", I said as I started to spacewalk through the shuttle. She takes my space suit and packs it into one of the larger drawers on the wall. Then she follows me to the cockpit area. I take the pilot seat on the left, where I prefer to be when I fly, since all controls will be to my right, but the flight control stick on my left. The flight commander seat is a mirror image of the pilot seat, with the controls on the left and the stick on the right. As I strap myself into the seat, Deebie gets into hers and straps herself in as I turn off the lights in my area to converse power and get a better view through the windshield. For a while we sit silently. "Guitch, can I ask a question?", Deb asked. "You know you can ask anything. What is it?", I replied. "Its a rather personal one...", she hesitantly asked. "Just say what on your mind...", I tell her. "Well... are you and Rachel seriously dating?", she asks. She caught me off guard with that one, forcing me to find an answer that can not be found but rather made up at he last second. "Uhm... why do you ask?", I ask. "Aren't you our god-father?", she asks in return. "A long time ago, I was because, well you know.", I tell her. "Refresh my memory for me then.", she says. "You girls needed protection, and somehow I provided that protection, so long ago...", I tried to explain. "But you're our godfather...", she stated. "OK, I was, maybe I still am...", I said. "Then why are you going out with Rachel, who I must add is one of your god-daughters.", she continued. "There is 30 some years of history between us- husbands, wives, relationships that for some reason would not last a life time or did for its short life. Not seeing you guys for so long took away some of what we once had.", I try to explain. "But...", Deb started to interupt. "No, Debbie. Look, for right or wrong, as much as I may have raise you up from little girls and rescued you from that hell and moved you both to Florida, it has been over 20 some years since I last saw you both. And with the hell I was going through when Cathy was killed, and whatever hell Rachel was going through in her life, it something that just happened between us. I just want you to understand that I married your sister because I love her and she loves me back, not for just some sexual fling or selfish wanting. I do care about her, as I care about you.", I tell her. "I understand that, but you, its like ewww... you married one of your (god)daugthers and you two was practicing on making babies. Its just sounds so... ewww...", Deb started to say. "As awful as it may sound, its not like that at all. I kept my end of my promise to the both of you, and I'm glad that you two have made it to adulthood, despite the problems you two had faced.", I started to explain. "Don't remind me.", Deb interrupts me. "Well, don't you think that if two people are in love that they should be married or otherwise share their lives together?", I ask. "Yeah, but its not that...", Deb started to say. "That what is it?", I ask further. "Please, don't take this the wrong way, but... I don't want to see her get hurt... again.", Deb says to me. I let out a sigh, and wonder for a moment before answering. "And I thought I had to worry about you...", I started to say. "Why you say that?", Deb interupts me. "Look, I know about how your marriaged ended before it could start. How your husband was kill in a car accident before the wedding, and you being pregnangt with his child, and you going crazy and needed to be put into a psych ward for a awhile. You have been through a lot...", I continued to say. "I been through a lot, but I'm tough, Rachel's not. She is still a little girl at times even though she over 30.", Deb says. "Don't you think I see that?", I asked. "I'm just making sure that you do.", Deb says. "I took my oath to 'love, honor and cherish', I'm not going back on those words on her, as I never has with Cathy.", I explained to her. "And what happened to Cathy?", Deb started to ask, "You two were inseparable." "She died...", I started to say, as the words echoed through the cabin of the shuttle. I wake up in breathing heavy and in a cold sweat. "No, it cant be...", I said to myself almost loudly. |