Misadventure in the Wilderness

by Loui

Earth: Final Conflict is copyright © Tribune Entertainment and Roddenberry/Kirschner. No infringement of that copyright is intended by this story.
"Misadventure in the Wilderness" is copyright © Loui.

Major Liam Kincaid stood at the side of the path and watched as the group of weary Volunteers trudged past him. Sandoval, I swear I'm going to make you pay for this, he thought sourly. He'd been woken at four a.m. three days ago and summoned to the Washington Embassy only to be told that he no longer had his two days leave - oh, no - now he was a last minute replacement for the Companion Protector that was assigned to evaluate the new training regime that had been implemented for the Volunteers.

Having three days of 'fun' running around the wilderness watching the new Volunteers being put through survival training and assault courses had been riveting to say the least. He had yet to figure out how ten mile hikes on wilderness trails were going to be of any benefit for the Volunteers assigned to the mothership. Though, to be honest, he found being out in the field with the recruits to be infinitely better than mingling with the instructors - those people were obviously cranked out of a mould somewhere. No thoughts in their heads that deviated from the Taelon agenda, no sense of humour... their one redeeming feature was that they seemed to be genuinely determined to make the Volunteers 'be the best that they could be'; ancient cliché though that was.

He glanced at his watch and smiled, impressed in spite of himself. They were half an hour ahead of schedule. He caught Sergeant Bradley's eye and gave him a small nod, indicating his approval. Bradley stopped beside him and motioned the squad on. "There a good bunch of kids, Major."

"Yes, they are, Sergeant," said Liam, silently laughing at the irony of him considering anybody else to be a kid.

"I want you to know how much of a positive influence you've been on the recruits, sir. They really look up to you.

"You know, I really shouldn't be telling you this, but at least two of them have told me that they were inspired to join the Volunteers because of the news reports that they've seen of your actions over the last year and a half."

Bradley looked at the stunned expression on the face of the Companion Protector and had to fight to restrain his laughter. He'd heard that the major had no idea how popular he was, he hadn't really believed that the man could be that oblivious but apparently it was true.

He interrupted the major's stunned reverie, saying, "I better go make sure the children don't do anything stupid. The gorge is coming up and the trail gets a bit tricky..."

Liam barely acknowledged his departure; he was still trying to come to terms with what the sergeant had told him. The head of the Resistance is inspiring kids to join the Volunteers. Has the world gone completely insane?!

There was a faint cry from the path ahead and, a few seconds later; one of the recruits came rushing back to find him. "Sir! Sir... there's been an accident! It's Sergeant Bradley. You need to come... quickly!"

"Take a breath, McAuley... calm down..."

The recruit did as instructed, the calm voice of the Protector acting to ease his panic.

"Okay, lead the way and tell me what happened as we go..."

**

The sight that greeted the pair was one of quiet horror. One of the recruits had fallen over a tree root that had been hidden by a small outcropping of rocks and broken their leg when they landed. Liam winced feelingly; it looked like a bad break.

He was pleased to note that the recruits were following their training and that the medic kit was already out as the injury was tended. McAuley moved to help the rest of his squad as Liam pulled Bradley aside and they began discussing the quickest way to get the injured recruit back for medical attention.

"What do you suggest, Sergeant? You know the area..."

Bradley assessed the group with a frown on his face. "It's going to be getting dark soon, sir. We need to act fast or we'll be stuck out here all night.

"The way I see it we have two options. We wait here as we call for help from the base. There are currently no shuttles stationed there so they'd either have to call one in or send people in using all-terrain vehicles. Or..."

"Or, what, sergeant?" asked Liam, as he gazed in concern at the quickly setting sun.

"Or, we head for the Ranger station that's about a mile further down the trail."

Liam looked at the sergeant. "I'm sensing a 'but' here, Bradley."

"The quickest route involves an old footbridge, sir. It's sturdy but it's narrow. We'd have to cross in single file."

Liam considered the options for a moment before saying, "We'll head for the Ranger station. I'd rather that we got Pushkin in to some shelter before shock sets in. I'll call in to the base and tell them where we're heading. They can warn the Rangers that we're coming and make sure that help is already on the way to meet us.

"In the meantime, you get the recruits to arrange a make-shift litter so that we can drag Pushkin. I don't want him jostled any more than is absolutely necessary.

"You take point, I'll bring up the rear and we'll have the recruits take turns dragging the litter; if this doesn't instill a spirit of teamwork, nothing will."

Bradley grunted his agreement with that statement as the major dragged out his global to place the distress call.

The trek to the bridge went surprisingly well, Bradley headed over with all the recruits except for McAuley who was pulling the litter. The recruit was pale and noticeably shaking as he made his pain-staking way across the bridge pulling his injured teammate. Liam kept a close eye on him, he could tell that there was something wrong, he was ready when McAuley froze in the middle of the bridge, saying, "Major, I can't do this..."

Liam was a foot behind the litter, privately wishing that he were face to face with the recruit so that he could gage how scared he really was.

In a soft voice, he said, "McAuley, you're afraid of heights aren't you?"

At the recruit's slight nod, he sighed. "It's all right, McAuley, the bridge is safe. I wouldn't have allowed any of us to set foot on it if I had thought any differently. I'm right behind you, every step of the way, I promise.

"You're going to have to get past this. Now. We need to get Pushkin to some shelter while we wait for help. He's relying on you, he's trusting you... and so am I."

A shudder seemed to run through McAuley. He turned his head to send a frightened gaze back at the major. In a strangled whisper, he said, "You won't leave..."

Liam gave him a reassuring smile. "I won't leave you. I promise. Take it slow. One step at a time... that's right... good!"

Slowly, carefully, they made their way across. On the other side, Liam sent Bradley a wordless look. The sergeant looked at the pale and shaking form of McAuley and nodded his understanding. He motioned one of the other recruits to take their turn at the litter and headed off with the rest of the squad - leaving McAuley alone with the major.

The young recruit furiously wiped at the tears that were streaming down his cheeks as he whispered, "I'm sorry, sir."

Liam replied, just as softly, "There's no need, McAuley. You got past it. If you don't mind me asking, though, what caused the phobia?"

Tentatively at first, but then with greater strength, McAuley told the Protector about the time his apartment building went on fire. "I was seven years old, sir, and trapped on that balcony seven stories up before the fire service managed to get to me. I've been scared of heights ever since.

"God, I feel like such a washout," he said in a voice full of self-loathing.

He raised his gaze expecting to see condemnation in the major's eyes. What he saw was admiration and respect.

"McAuley, are you insane?! That was a truly courageous thing you did for your teammate considering the phobia you have."

Liam sighed at the doubting expression on the young man's face. He smiled suddenly and put a friendly arm around his shoulder as he steered them both along the path after the rest of the squad.

"McAuley, do you know what Mark Twain once said about courage?"

The recruit shook his head in confusion.

Liam said, "Courage is resistance to fear, mastery of fear - not absence of fear.

"That's what you showed... courage. You mastered your fear to help someone else."

Liam smiled as he felt the slump in McAuley's shoulders ease a little. Maybe he had a career as a den mother...


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Last modified August 5th, 2002.
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