Their ship touched down not a moment too soon. They were close to losing her. They headed down the hall towards their sick bay as quickly as they could. They ran tests, took vitals and began cleaning her wounds.

"Scout, how bad is she?" Asked the captain.

Scout looked up from running the scanner.

"She has five broken ribs and several bruses." "She has taken several punches to her head, but, no brain damage that I can see." "Her left leg has a large gash on it, I think her right ankle may be broken and there are gashes on her back from the whip that I need to get a look at." "I also need to see if she has any internal injuries, but, I kind of think that she might not like us taking off her clothes.”

The captain looked up from cleaning off her face.

"Place a blanket over her and Hawk and I will do it." "You guys can wait outside.”

Scout grabbed a blanket and placed it over her. He left a change of clothes and then he and Tank went to wait outside.

Hawk and Jonathan stood there looking at her. Neither wanted to do it, but they knew the dirty clothing had to be removed. They needed to find out if she had any internal injuries. As quickly as they could, and with the blanket over her they removed her clothing and then put the clean clothes on her. As they were dressing her, Hawk noticed several track like marks on her arms as well as the gashes on her back from the whip.

"Jon, I think you should see this."

Hawk gently rolled her left arm towards Jonathan. The captain took her arm in his hands only to see several track marks up and down her arms. He placed her arm down and carefully picked up her right arm turning it over as well. The same type of marks were on the other side of her arm as well.

"What did they do to her Matt?" "What kind of drugs did they give her and what were they for?"

"I have no clue, Jon." "They are probably some kind of tranquilizer to keep her from running off again." "Jon, there is something else!" "That was not the first time they used the whip on her." "Poor kid, they beat the life out of her all because she tried to run away." "Look ... behind her ear, there is a marking ... it looks like a tracking number." "It is kind of small ... the numbers are 32-9M4."

Jon moved her ear forward while staring at the small numbers. He looked confused and wondered what it was. Then the captain looked at the lashes on her back. She had at least twenty or more. Some were old; others were open and infected. He shook his head.

"And they say I am the animal!" "We should get her shirt on and run more tests." "Go get Tank and Scout." "I want a sample of her blood." "I want Mentor to find out what types of drugs are in her system and I want to know how old she is."

"You got it!" "Tank ... Scout, get in here”, Hawk called out.

The two entered the room and looked down at her.

"Anything I should know about?" Scout asked as he came back over to the bedside with his scanner in his hand.

"She has track marks up and down both of her arms and this is not the first time she has been whiped." "Some of the lashes on her back look infected." "See what you can do about the lashes while Hawk and I find out what they have given her." "She also has some type of numbers behind her left ear."

"Hawk, lets get that blood sample."

Hawk, kindly as he could, withdrew her blood and joined Jonathan at a small computer like station. The captain placed the blood sample into the computers system and called the computer to life.

"Mentor, I need your help ... I need you to find out what type of narcotics are in this girl's system." "If there are any long term effects or any withdrawl symptoms she is going to have." "Also, I would like to know how old she is." "She has a number tattoo behind her left ear ... tell me what 32-9M4 means."

There was a moment of silence. Then a voice answered back. It was Mentor, the base computer.

"She is 19 years of age captain." "Would you like her date of birth?"

"No, not at this time." "What about the narcotics?"

"She has one type of narcotic in her system." "It is an older drug that was used before the wars." "It is a tranquilizer called Thorazine or Chlorpomazine." "It was usually used for treating psychosis or to sedate a person." "Some side effects are anemia, dizziness, dry mouth, and the jitters." "There are many other side effects to this drug, but I believe these would be the most likely to effect her." "I do not believe that the side effects of the drug she was given will be severe."

"She may have a slight reaction to the Thorazine left in her system, but, I can create something to counteract it." "The numbers are a date Captain; the date would be 32-9 Mark4, but, I do not know what the date means." "I will search my files for the date ... will their be anything else Captain?"

The whole room was silent. Not one person moved. No one said anything. They all stood looking at the young girl lying on the bed in front of them. No one knew what to say, but, they all were thinking the same thing. How could anyone be so cruel as to hurt a person in the way that she had been hurt? The silence was finally broken, as Jonathan lifted his head and slowly walked towards the bed.

"Thank you, Mentor!" "Please start working on creating something to counteract the drug that's left in her system and see if you can figure out what that date is for." "Lets finish here guys." "She will be coming around soon and I think all of us in the room will make her a little nervous.”

He sighed to himself and looked down at the floor. He felt sorry for the young girl. She had grown up in a world were she was taught to hate. The only people in that world she could trust had now turned on her and tried to kill her. Trying to get her trust was going to be hard. How would he or anybody else on the team be able to help her? Could they be able to teach her how to get in touch with her human side? He sighed again, turned around and went back to work with the others.

As quickly as they could, they finished caring for her. They treated her wounds. Washed and combed her hair and cleaned her up the best they could. Within the hour they had finished. Mentor had created a new drug to counteract the one she had left in her system, but had not yet found what the date meant.

They all stepped outside.

"Tank ... Scout, thank you for all your help." "Now, go get some sleep." "You too, Matt." "I will stay with her and if she wakes up, I will come and get you, Matt."

The rest of the team nodded and turned to go get some much needed rest. They headed down the hall and just before they turned the corner, Hawk turned around and looked back at Jonathan who was looking in through the door of the sick bay.

"You did the right thing, Jon." "We are the only hope she has got right now." "Your father would have done the same thing."

"I know, Matt." "I just hope we can help her." "After all she has been through, it's not going to be an easy thing." "Go get some sleep!" "Good night, Matt."

"Good night Jon."

Matt turned the corner and disappeared down the hall, leaving a young Jonathan Power stunned. He had never seen anything like what they had done to her. He stood there in silence wondering, if this is what they do to their own, what would they ever do if they caught one of us? He stepped back into the room and shut the door. He turned down the lights and laid down on the bed next to hers and closed his eyes.
 

45-6 mark 21
4am

A slight moan escaped her lips as she slowly began to wake out of her sleep. Hearing her, Jon rolled over looking towards her. Slowly she opened her eyes, trying to adjust to her surroundings. Jon sat up, trying to shake off the sleeping feeling. He pulled himself out of bed and stood still in the shadows. She slowly sat up and gasped in pain as she leaned forward gripping her side. Jonathan slowly moved towards her. He reached out trying to stop her from falling to the floor. He caught her in time just as she came off the bed. She gasped and tried to move away from him, but the pain was too much for her. As his arms closed around her, she felt a strange feeling she had never felt before. He picked her up and placed her back in bed and then took a step back trying to give her a little room.

"Good morning Jennifer." "You ok?" "Do you know where you are and who I am?" "Do you remember what happened?"

She just stared at him. She had a look of confusion in her eyes.

"Why am I here?" "Are you going to hurt me?"

"You are here because there was no other place I could take you to help you." "I would like to help you and I am guessing that you do not want to go back to Dread, right?" "So, I will help you, if you want my help, and no one here is going to hurt you."

"I do know who you are, and I do know where I am at." She replied to him.

She still had the same look on her face. She was also trying to hide the amount of pain she was in. Every few seconds she would bite her bottom lip, as the pain swelled up inside of her.

She hid her emotions very well. Jonathan guessed this was due to years of life in the Dread Youth. Raised with very little contact with the outside world and raised with little or almost no contact with humans. Their world was a bitter one. He also knew that any contact was against the rules. And the only time someone reached out to touch her was to hit her.

She sat there for a while looking at him and wondering to herself. He seemed like a caring person. How could he be the animal they said he was? He had not hurt her. He and his men had cleaned and dressed all her wounds. And even put clean clothing on her, though she wondered how or who had done that.

Then, for the moment, she let herself get lost in human emotions. She looked at him again and smiled on the inside. He was like no boy [man] she had ever seen. He was tall and extremely good-looking. His eyes were simple but in them she saw something she had never seen before. She did not know what it was, but it seemed to put her almost at ease. For a brief second she looked him in the eyes and almost lost herself. Quickly she shook her head and swallowed hard. Emotions were not allowed. Before she had time to catch herself she was talking out loud. "Emotions make one weak." "Feelings are wrong."

"Are they?" Questioned a voice. The voice made her realize she was talking to herself.

Slowly, Jonathan took a step towards her. He leaned his head to the side and looked down at her.

"Emotions and feelings make you strong." "Not expressing one's feelings makes you weak." "You should try it some time, you may like it."

He reached towards her to place his hand on her, but all she did was pull away.

"Don’t touch me." She snapped.

She realized what she had done and made herself ready to receive a quick hit to the side of her head. She tensed up almost instinctively.

Seeing her reaction, he spoke to her in the kindest, most gental voice she had ever heard.

"I am not going to hurt you." "You did nothing wrong by asking me not to touch you." "I should not have tried to touch you with out asking you first." "I can also see that you’re in pain." "Would you like something for the pain?" "Would you like something to eat or drink?"

"You are not going to hit me for talking back to you?"

"No Jennifer, I am not going to hit you." "I will never hit you or hurt you."

She paused for a moment and then answered the questions he had asked. "May I have something to eat ?" "And, I AM in pain, could I have something for it?"

"Yes you may." "I will give you something for the pain, and then we will get you something to eat."

He walked over to a small box style cabinet. He reached inside and pulled out a syringe and then picked up a small cloth from a table. He then took out a vial of some type of liquid and walked over to her.

"Jennifer, I have to touch you in order to give this to you." "I will be quick about it, but it will hurt a little." "Is that ok with you?"

"Yes", came her only reply.

Carefully he reached out and gently took her arm. She turned her head away, trying not to look at him. Her body was tense and he could tell she was very nervous. As quickly as he could. He ran the wet cloth down her arm. And then he took the cap off the syringe and injected the medication into her arm. He then pulled the syringe away and took the cloth and placed it on the injection sight. He held his hand there for a few minutes and then sat back and looked at her.

As she looked up, he smiled and said, "See ... that wasn't so bad ... was it?" "I know it hurts a little."

"It was ok, I guess."

She looked back towards him. She never really said the words she wanted to. She did not know how. What she wanted to say was that it did not hurt at all and that the way he touched her was kind of nice. But once again, she pushed the feelings and words deep down inside her.

"Jennifer, are you ready for some food?" "I know I am hungry ... can you remember when your last meal was?"

"Yes, I am hungry." "I do not remember my last meal."

"Well, I am going to get us something to eat." "Do you think that you could stay here for me?" "I do not think you should try to stand on your own right now." "Your ankle is broken, and so are five of your ribs." "We gave you bone healing agents, but you need to stay in bed for a few days."

He smiled and winked at her.

"I’ll be right back." "You ever had oatmeal?"

"No, I have never had it before." She gave him a strange look while thinking to herself, 'what is oatmeal?'

"Ok, I’ll be a few minutes."

He smiled at her again as he walked out the door. He left the door open, she thought for sure he would lock it, but he did not, he just left it wide open. She looked out the door and could tell that she was somewhere underground. She now realized that they are a bit more advanced then she had been told.

She knew that he could not be far away. She could hear sounds of movement.

He gathered everything together and headed back. Making a slight detour, he paused outside the door to Hawk’s room and tapped the door with his foot. It took a few seconds but his life long old friend appeared smiling and remarked, "You made breakfast for me, Jon?" "How sweet."

Jonathan smiled and turned to go back to the sick bay.

"It's not for you." "Jennifer is awake and hungry." "Come and join us."

He found her lying down looking at the wall. He smiled at her as he sat the bowl of food down for her. "Ready to eat?" "My first officer, Hawk, will be down in a few minuets." "If you find that the both of us in the room makes you feel uncomfortable, just say so, and he will leave."

He helped her to sit up. Though she tried to refuse, he helped her any way. She picked up the bowl of food and stared at it. She had never had a hot meal before. She hoped the food tasted as good as it smelled. She was still taking in what he had said to her.

She looked up at him and asked, "You would ask him to leave if it made me feel strange?"

"Yes I would."

"I have never had a meal that was hot before." "I guess, thank you, is what I should say ... right?"

He smiled at her as he begins to eat.

She started to eat the oatmeal and much to her surprise it tasted as good as it smelled. It was warm and filling. She ate the food not paying much attention to the world around her. When she had finished, she sat the bowl down and looked up. In front of her, standing next to Captain Power was an older man. He smiled at her.

"Are you full?" "Would you like more?" He smiled at her again as he spoke. "How are you feeling, Jennifer?"

"Ok, but I am a little tired".

She looked at them, trying to figure out why they were both there. Neither said anything more to her. They just stood there smiling. She knew they were not going to hurt her. For some reason that she could not figure out, she felt at ease and actually felt safe.

"May I go back to sleep?" She asked in a sleepy voice.

Jon helped her to lay herself back down. One look at her and he could tell that the medicine was working. He walked over to the side of the bedside table, picked up the bowl and turned to leave.

"Get some sleep." "We can talk more tomorrow." "There is no time limit on how long you can sleep around here." "Sleep as long as you like, ok?"

He smiled at her as they both began walking out of the room. Jon stopped just before the door and looked back. "I will not be far away." "If you need anything just call out."

He smiled at her once again and then turned out the lights and closed the door slightly behind him.

Jon and Hawk stood a few feet down the hallway, talking. "She seems very nice, Matt." "She is also incredibly intelligent, although she tries to hide it." "She does the same with her feelings." "She shuts them out."

"What did you expect, Jon?" "She knows nothing else." "She looks scared, but I can tell she is trying to hide it." "How else does she seem to be?"

"I do not know yet Matt." "I guess only time will tell." "I think, right now, we should try to get some sleep." "What do you think?"

"Sounds like a great idea." "You going to stay here or do you want to trade places?"

"No, I will stay here." "I told her that I would be nearby, and she seems to like me, I think." "I am hoping that I can gain her trust." "Maybe if she sees she can trust me, trusting the rest of us may be easier."

"It's your boyish good looks, Jon ... gets the girls every time." "And, it's your smile." "You got that 'you can trust me' smile from your dad."

“Good night Matt." As he turned, he began smiling.

"Good night Jon."

As the two parted ways, Jon stepped back through the door and layed down on the bed next to hers. He smiled to himself as he closed his eyes. 'My boyish good looks', he thought as he rolled over one last time and opened his eyes to look at her. As she had looked at him before, he was now looking at her. It had been a long time since he had looked at a woman. Even though she was a young girl, he just could not help feeling an attraction. Her hair and eyes are what took him away. Her eyes were like none he had ever seen, and when he did get a chance to look into them it was almost overwhelming. Her hair was slightly long and now that it had been washed and combed out, made her look older then she really was. He saw a woman trapped in the body of a young girl and he felt the amount of love and passion hidden inside her was like nothing he had ever seen. Then he shook his head and stopped himself. He was a soldier in the middle of a war and right now falling in love or having a romantic relationship was not going to happen. But at that last second before he fell back to sleep he thought that if by chance that he would, he hoped it would be with her. 'Hey, a guy can dream, right?' he thought, and after all, he was still a man.

Jennifer's recovery did not take as long as the team thought it would. Within a few days Jon had her up and moving about, although she needed help to get around. Since she did not like close contact, this was not very easy, but Jon always seamed to find a way around it. He always moved very slowly around her and whenever her reached out to her, he always asked first. And whenever he talked to her, he always spoke in a calm soft voice.

She took to Jon and Hawk right away. While they could both be in the same room with her, Jon was the only one of the four she would allow near her. Each day Hawk was able to get a little closer to reaching out to her, like Jon was able to, but it was going to take a little longer for Tank and Scout. They knew Tank’s size was what made her uncomfortable. Though he was a teddy bear at heart, he was the largest human she had ever seen. Scout's movements were too much for her. No matter how he tried, he just couldn't seem to move slowly enough to be around her. Quick movements startled her and often made her tense up.

Jon told her that where they were, had to be kept a secret. So she could not go outside until he knew for certain that he could trust her. Until that time came, he placed a small device on her ankle. He told her that if she tried to leave, it would shock her and knock her unconscious, before she could get to any of the outside doors. He also told her that there were places in the base she could not go yet, but in time, as he got to trust her, he would remove the ankle device and give her full access to the base.
 

45-6 Mark 28

It had been almost two weeks since the team had taken Jennifer in. Each day was something new for her and the team. Jon had given her access to Mentor. She spent countless hours with him. Asking questions, and reading from the thousands of books that she had access to in his files. She also discovered music. Mentor had all types from the 1940’s to a few years before the metal wars. She learned about the earth of the past. From long ago places and wars to the times of kings and queens. She was, for the first time, thinking for herself.

They had taken her out of the sick bay and taken her to the crew quarters. This morning she sat on the edge of her bunk looking at her feet. She was moving them back and forth when the chimes on the door rang. She turned around looking at the door. She still could not get over the fact that they always rang the chimes on the door. They never just walked in on her.

"Come in", Jennifer responded.

The doors opened and in stepped Jon.

"Good morning, Jennifer." "Want to get some breakfast with me?" "The guys are on a supply run and will be back later today."

"Ok."

She got up and turned around. Jon was smiling, as always. They walked together down to the galley and sat down to eat. Jon was always good for conversation even when she felt like not talking at all. He somehow found something to talk about and some way to get things out of her.

"I can say that this is the first time I have been alone with a beautiful young lady like yourself in a long time", he said with a bright smile on his face. "We do not get many female visitors."

He looked down at her as he sat the food down on the table. She gave a half smile but had a look of confusion on her face. She tilted her head to the side and looked up at him.

"You are saying that I am beautiful?"

"Yes, I gave you what is called a complement."

"Thank you", she replied, still with the same look on her face.

"Jennifer, may I ask you something?"

"Yes", she replied, while not too sure what was going to be asked of her.

"Do you have nightmares often?" "I have heard you cry out in your sleep the past few nights." "Would you like to go someplace quieter after we eat and talk about it?"

She paused and looked away at the wall. She bit the bottom of her lip, thinking of what to say.

Jon looked at her. She had been at the base for a little while now and she was still showing very little emotion. She was still pushing her feelings deep down. As she looked back at him, he could see tears in her eyes and could tell that she was on the verge of breaking down.

"I am sorry I woke you." "I do get them often." "You would sit and listen to my nightmares?" "Why?"

"Talking may help to ease them." "I get them sometimes, and when I do, I sit and talk to someone." "And the reason why, is because I care about you."

Those were the words that had needed to be said and by saying them, Jon Power had finally done what he had thought would not be done. She looked up at him with tears in her eyes. He got up slowly and took her hands.

"Jen, come with me."

She got up and for the first time did not pull away from him. She let him hold her hand. They went down several hallways to an old storage area. There were some old large packing crates in the corner. He walked over to them and pulled himself up onto them. He held his hand out to Jennifer. As she reached up, he pulled her up onto the crate with him. He reached up and placed his hands on her face. At first she almost pulled away, but stopped herself. As she sat there with him and they looked at each other, he smiled at her and began to speak.

"It’s ok to cry." "We all cry at some point in our lives." "You don't have to hold things inside ... not here." "There are four people who will listen to you anytime you ever need it." "We can start right here ... right now." "I will listen to you."

She looked at him and as she closed her eyes, she let it all go. She began to tell him about Sandtown. Watching everything unfold, she had seen people digitized before, but never slaughtered like the people of Sandtown were. She told the story of watching little children, who had done nothing, who were rounded up and digitized or killed. Nothing went like they said it was going to. She remembered all the blood she saw.

"Everywhere there was blood", she explained, "It was all over us". "They were just supposed to be taught a lesson", she cried.

She stopped and took a deep breath. She opened her eyes and looked at him. "I am so sorry ... I did not mean to kill anyone." "I did not know it was going to be that way."

Before he could say anything she began telling him of how that was the end for her. She told of how she planned to run away. She knew she did not belong there but was so scared wondering where would she go. She had been raised to believe that humans were animals and would not accept her in their world. If they found out who she was and from were she came, they would kill her. Then she began the story of running away and getting caught. She wanted to die. She felt that she did not deserve to live after what she had done. Then came the worst part of the story. She began to tell of the horrors they had done to her for trying to run away. She was beaten for hours at a time while her lessons were screamed at her. She was made to listen to Lord Dread’s words over and over again. The Overunits would take turns hitting her around the room. Every time she fell to the floor she was kicked until she could get to her feet. They had whiped her over and over. Locked her in a hologram room and played mind games with her. They made it look like the humans were attacking her. They called her names, over and over. She told him that the beatings and such went on for four days and then she was placed on a ship. She thought she was going to be killed finally, but she had been sent to that colony and made to watch as the attacks began. All she could think of was Sandtown all over again.

Suddenly she stopped. She pulled away and began to sob. He reached down and pulled her up towards him. She opened her eyes and looked to see tears running down his face.

"You’re crying ... why?"

"Because no person should have to grow up like you have. No one should have been put through all the pain they have put you through." "I am crying because, even though it did not happen to me, it makes me feel sad to know you went through all that."

He reached out to her and pulled her into his arms. She started to shake and he knew that, at that point in time, no matter how she tried to get away, he was not going to let her. He wanted her to see that being held was a good thing and that it would make her feel better. He held on to her and in a few seconds she relaxed and began to sob uncontrollably. He just held her in his arms, rocking her back and forth. She cried for nearly two hours.

Suddenly she stopped. Jon looked down to see that she had fallen asleep in his arms. He gently sat back with his head against the wall holding her. He sat there for almost an hour holding her. Then, as gently and as slowly as he could, he lifted her up into his arms. Her eyes fluttered open as she looked up at him and then closed as she fell back to sleep. He walked down the halls and back to her room. He gently placed her in her bunk, placed a blanket over her and turned out the lights. As he left the room, he left the door open and sat down on the floor outside her room.

He sat there for a while and then got up and headed for the control room.

"Mentor ..."

"Yes captain."

"Were the cameras on in the old storage area?"

"Yes they were. Do you need to see the video?"

"No, not at this time." "Log it under Jennifer Chase’s personal file and log it as classified information, that only she, Hawk, and I have access to."

"As you wish captain." "Anything else?"

"No"

He sat down at the control center. Thinking about all he had heard and hoping that the emotional breakdown would help her. He was so into his thoughts that he never heard the rest of the team come into the control room looking for him. He jumped as the doors opened and they all walked in.

"You ok, Jon?" "You look like you were in deep thought ... something happening that we should know about?"

"I am ok." "I think I got through to Jennifer today." "She let go of all the bottled up feelings that she was holding on to and I found out what really happened at Sandtown and just what they did to her." The cameras were on in the old storage area where we were." "I will ask her tomorrow, and if it is ok with her, I would like each of you to see it."

They all looked at him and they all seemed to be thinking the same thing. If what she had said affected their fearless leader this much, they wondered if they really wanted to know at all.
 

45-6 Mark 29

The next day when she awoke, she found the door open. She was still in the same clothing as the day before and the most amazing thing was she had not remembered waking during the night. How long had she been asleep? She remembered the talk with Captain Power and telling him her story and how she had cried. He was right; letting it all go had felt better. Talking about her bad dreams had helped and his touching her, which did not hurt, actually it felt quite well.

She got up, closed the door, got dressed and then went out to see where everyone was. At first she found no one. Then she headed for the control room. As she walked in, she saw Scout sitting with a head set on, looking quite involved in his work. He looked up, smiled and waved for her to come in. She stepped into the room and sat down in the chair next to his.

"Good morning ... or should I say afternoon?" "How are you feeling?" "The others are out right now." "We've got something going on, but don't know what for sure right now." "You can stay and listen if you want."

She nodded her head and sat there listening. She looked at a book that was next to him. She saw that the book was not in English. It was an older book and the language on it looked strange to her.

"What type of book is that?" She pointed at the book while looking at Scout.

"It is Latin ... an old language used long ago." "The slave traders use it, so I was brushing up on it a little." "The Captain understands it." "It is a neat language to learn." "Would you like to learn it?" "I am sure that between myself and the Captain, we could teach you."

"I would like that, thank you." "What is going on, or can you not tell me?"

"Well, we are not sure." "There is a lot of Dread activity in an area where there is not usually much and the Captain and the others went to see what they could see ... and it is ok that you are here."

They sat there listening to the transmissions going back and forth. Dread's activity was picking up and the transmissions they were receiving did not seem to make any sense to Scout. The talk seemed mixed up and none of it made any sense. The team was having a hard time trying to figure out what was going on and where the location of all the activity actually was. Scout had a good idea where and sent the coordinates to them. Scout was in the middle of talking to the Captain, who so far had not being able to figure out just where the Dread forces were in the area, when suddenly a strange look came over Jennifer's face.

Jennifer cried out, "It’s a trap!" "Tell them to get out of there!"

"Are you sure?"

"Yes!" "They are flying into a trap ... and a big one at that!" "Tell them to get out of there now, those last transmissions were codes that I recognize."

"Scout to Captain" "It’s a trap, get the heck out of there!"

There was silence. Scout and Jennifer sat there and looked at each other as the time past by ... 15 seconds, 30, 45, 60 ... Then came a reply.

"Captain to Scout, we are clear." "Thanks for figuring it out." "Half of Dread's strikers were waiting for us over the ridge." "We are heading for home."

"You’re welcome Captain, but I didn't figure it out, a cute little bird told me."

"Power out."

Scout and Jennifer both sat back and looked at each other. He smiled at her, picked up the book and gave it to her.

"Quick lesson?" He asked her.

She opened the book and he pulled his chair closer to hers. To his surprise she did not try to move away. He told her to open the book to the back, that was the best place to start. As she turned the pages, he began the first of many lessons.
 

Aboard the Jumpship, Jon Power and Hawk stared at each other for a few seconds, each smiling at the other, both knowing that Jennifer had just saved their lives. Dread loved to set traps for the Power team and although he was quite good at it, Jon was better at figuring the traps out and always was a step ahead of Dread. With luck, Dread was able to get a few over on Jon now and then and today would have been one of those days if it had not been for a 19-year-old former Dread youth member sitting in the Power Base.

That afternoon Jon sat with Jennifer and together they watched the recording of the powerful testimony that she had given the day before, during her much needed emotional break down.

"Jennifer, I would like to show this to the others, if it is ok with you." "I want them to have a better understanding of what has happened to you." "Is that ok with you?"

She paused for a moment and then nodded.

"Do I have to stay, or can I go some place else?"

"You do not have to stay." "You can wait somewhere else if you like, but they will all want to see you, once they have seen it."

She nodded, got up and then left for the place she was at the day before with Jon.

"Captain to Hawk" "Can you, Tank and Scout please come to the control room?" "I have something you all need to see."

After a few minutes, the three entered the room. They came over to the control station and sat down. Jon was standing in front of Mentor with a serious look on his face.

"I have something I would like the three of you to see." "It is the video of yesterday, and I think that you may have a better understanding of Jennifer after seeing it." "I know that I do." "Mentor, please show video of Jennifer Chase, classified from old storage area.”

"Access request to classified information, please."

"Access, Captain Jonathan Power."

"Searching for file." "File found, starting video."

They each sat there with blank expressions on their faces. Not one knew what to say to the other, or what to say about what they were seeing and hearing. After the video had finished they all stood up and looked at Jon Power who was standing facing the wall. Jon sighed and turned around looking at each of his men.

"Everyone ok?" They all nodded and held the same sad expressions on their faces.

"Where is Jennifer now, Jon?" "I think we should all go and see her", Hawk said as he looked at the other two-team members.

"I know were she is, let’s go and see if she is ok."

They walked out the doors and down the halls to the old storage area. There on the floor was Jennifer. She had her knees up to her chest and she was crying. She heard them coming towards her. Jon knelt in front of her and placed his hand on the bottom of her chin. He slowly lifted her head up and then held out his hand for her to take.

She took his hand and as he helped her to her feet, she turned around to see the faces of three men who were all on the verge of crying. Jon placed his hands on her shoulders as the three men stepped towards her. She looked down at the ground and before she knew it, she was in a group hug. She layed her head on Hawk’s chest and once more started to cry. The four of them stayed there with her. No one said anything. Nothing needed to be said. The emotions in the room shared by all was all that was needed. It lasted for a few minutes and then she looked up at each of them, not knowing what to say. After a few seconds Hawk broke the silence.

"Jennifer, we are all so sorry about everything you have had to go through." "Please know that each of us cares about you and we will help you in anyway we can."

She smiled at him and for the first time, she had a look of peace in her eyes. They all turned and left, heading for the galley to eat dinner. For the first time since she had come to the base, they all sat together and ate, like one big family.

The next two months flew by quickly. Jennifer quickly had grown used to the members of the team. She spent as much time with them as the war allowed. She learned all manner of things from each of them. Though the time spent with Jon was what she liked the best. She looked forward to each day’s activity.

She had become quite the learner. She spent hours with Mentor learning all she could. They had argument after argument on life and as always, he won. She would ask questions about love, compassion, romance, and more.

The team found they could learn from her as well. She spent hours with them sharing knowledge of Dread's active bases and more. She knew Volcania inside and out. She gave detailed maps of the fortress. She knew the ins and outs of every stronghold that Dread had, even the inside of Valencia which was one of the old youth camps still in use and though the Dread Youth did not now live there they spent a great deal of time there. It was also home to one of Dread's slave centers which Jon and the others had never been in as they had never been able to get past the security systems. She even told them of places inside they never knew existed. She knew about their security systems and weapons and she could fly their aircraft. She was extremely intelligent and remembered all she had heard and seen.

She was becoming human, more and more each day. She was learning so many different things from the members of the team. Scout would show her how to put things together and take them apart and he was still helping her learn Latin. She helped him build things and gave him a few ideas of her own.

Tank taught her about music. He helped her understand all types of music. He discovered she loved all kinds of music, though her favorites were love songs from the 1980’s and early 90’s along with a few others here and there. She also loved classical music.

Each member had a small music player that looked like an old time C.D. player, only smaller. It could fit in the palm of your hand. Scout had made them and Mentor and Tank programmed the music in them. They had given her one and she had found out that Jon like the same type of music that she did, right down to the same love songs.

Her time spent with Hawk, was spent studying about aircraft and training in the flight simulators. Hawk was quickly discovered that she could fix most aircraft almost as good as he could. He also spent time with her helping her to understand what the earth once was. The two would spend countless hours with Mentor, looking at pictures in his files of places that once existed. She learned of traditions that people once had, from Christmas to the fourth of July.

Time with Jon was what she loved most. There was something about being around him. Jon worked with her to sharpen her hand to hand combat skills. He also helped her with her Latin. He sat and read books with her, from C.S. Lewis classics to his favorites by William Shakespear. And he taught her about life. He was always trying to get her used to the touch of another person. He was also a great listener. She always had something to talk about and she found it simple to talk about most things with him. He also seemed to want to learn from her as well.

She helped them out around the base as much as she could. She helped fix things and even helped listen to Dread’s activity and helped them to interpret it.

Finally the time came for them to take her outside. She had been in the base and had not seen the light of day for quite a while. Though she never complained, they could all see in her eyes that she wanted to be outside.
 

45-8 Mark 29 : two months later

"Matt, tomorrow I am going to take Jennifer outside for a while." "I am going to take the X-T7 and go for a little ride." "I am thinking about the old flight school in San Juan." "It has been deserted for over two years now, and I think it would be a nice place to go."

"You sure, Jon?" "I know she needs to get out, but isn't that a little risky?"

"No, there has been no activity there for a while and I think she might like to see the water." "You and Scout can keep in eye on things and if anything looks like it's coming our way, we will leave."

The two men looked at each other and nodded. Though it may have not been the best idea, they knew that they could not keep her locked up forever. Jon smiled as he left Hawk in the control room and headed down the hall to get some much needed sleep. He paused by Jennifer's room. Her light was on. He pushed the door open slightly and looked inside. She was sound asleep. He turned out the light and left the door open a bit. Smiling, he went to get some much needed sleep. As he walked he thought to himself about tomorrow and her much needed day trip.
 

END OF PART TWO