Home
His eyes opened slowly. He rose, as he listened for any sound that didn't belong <The hum from the ceiling, check. Andy breathing slowly while he slept, check,> he let out a soft woof and a disembodied voice answered him, "Go back to sleep Recon," <check, Merlin was on the job.> After a few seconds he laid his head back down against his paws and waited for his friend and master to wake up. All in all, life was good for the Saint Bernard that Andy had named Recon.
Later on the shrill sound that hurt his ears woke the big dog up again. It was time to go to work. He padded over to the low bed where Andy slept and gently licked his face. Andy's hand reached out, almost out of reflex, rather than a conscious thought because this had been going on since Recon was a puppy.
It'd started the day Andy had brought Recon home. The puppy had barely been big enough to jump onto the bed back then, but somehow he'd managed it and had washed Andy's face with his puppy tongue. Andy never had the heart to discipline the dog and Recon had just assumed that it was his job to wake his master up every morning in the same manner.
Andy petted him and scratched him around the ears as the fog of sleep faded from his eyes. "Morning furball," he said in a gravely voice, which always made Recon feel good.
Recon knew his job; he gave one final lick and headed over to where Andy's chair was always parked. Every morning, for the last three years, he'd drag Andy's chair over to the bed so his master could get up and around. And every night he pulled it back to its place in the corner. These actions weren't pure generosity on Recon's part, he knew that to get food, Andy had to get up and get it.
"It's Ok boy, I don't need it any more." Andy rose unsteadily on his new feet. A grim smile planted on his face. For years he'd had dreams, almost nightmares of walking again and now those dreams had become a reality. Andy headed over to the closet and pulled out the distinctive garb of a Kine Warrior.
Recon looked over his furry shoulder and he heard the strange whine that he'd noticed now followed His master everywhere. Recon padded back to Andy and rubbed against his leg. There was a new smell to go along with the odd sounds that his master now had but the joy of walking along side Andy balanced everything out in Recon's mind. "Woof," said the large dog while drool ran down his chin.
"Well lets see… it wasn't a 'I wanna go out' Woof and I don't think that it was a 'gee lets play' woof, so, I'm guessing that it's the 'I'm hungry' woof"
"Woof…Woof," recon heartily agreed.
The pair padded through the empty corridors of Avalon, heading towards the Weapons lab which Andy also used as an office. He'd ceded the Weapons Master's suite to General Gray because while at times the two positions, Weapons Master and Base commander had intersected, Andy was fully aware that he wasn't qualified to command the base and frankly he didn't want the job.
"Konzaki, Weapon's lab access," He said as he waited at the door for Merlin to clear him. Andy had gone through this process every morning since arriving on Avalon, and had he been paying attention to matters other than getting the weapon systems of Avalon back on line he would have noticed that Recon came and went without the voice print identification that everyone else had to endure to get into the lab. Recon knew of course, He was brighter than most gave him credit for, but the battle of wills between Merlin and his master amused the dog so he didn't bother to bring it to Andy's attention.
"Good morning Weapons Master. It is currently 0355 local time," Merlin greeted him, Weather outside is 78 degrees."
"Morning Merlin, What's on the schedule today?
"The Commander and his guests will arrive in 1 hour and 27 minutes. He has scheduled a meeting of the command staff at 1200 hours and will depart at 1500 hours."
Andy walked over the bin where he stored Recon's food and dumped two large scoops into the bowl that served as Recon's dining facilities. He dumped the old water in the sink and filled it with fresh water. "Ok Merlin please set a reminder that alerts me five minutes before the Orca lands. Also my compliments to Major McQueen, I need Hicks and Hudson this morning if the training schedule allows it."
Recon listened with a half and ear. The other half was buried in his bowl of dog food and the crunching sound echoed off the labs walls. Andy for his part ignored the sound; it was one of those familiar sounds that calmed him, He went to work.
Recon finished eating. He licked the bowl clean, mopping up any stray bits that might have escaped his attention. Seeing that Andy had gone to work, Recon curled up in the corner where he could watch everything that went on in the lab and laid his head on his paws.
Lynn had made a pest of herself. She knew it and in the manner of a 14 year old she didn't really care. There was just too much going on and she wanted to see everything. For the first few minutes of the flight she'd be restricted to the passenger compartment of the Orca while the pilots got the large craft out of the defense zone. She shrieked with joy when Xander came back and told her that she could go forward. Finally it was her chance.
For the last months she's been studying computers with Merlin Lynn's life and changed drastically. School work that was too easy for her was replaced with new concepts and she had gotten to the point where she wanted to get her hands on the tech he kept telling her about and this was her chance to see what she's only heard about. Xander, who shared the secret with Andy and Merlin hadn't told Terry what had been going on, had palmed the door open and with a goofy grin on his face had said, "You break it you fix it."
Lynn blushed at the comment but didn't let it stop her. She dashed into the cockpit. Size wise it was similar to an airline cockpit but that was about it. There were displays on the windscreen that showed where they were going and other flight information. She dashed for the right hand seat but was stopped by a large hand, "Whoa there little lady,"
"Sorry," she said, "But Xander said I could come and take a look."
"And so he did, but the ruled of the road first. I'm Captain Kevin Griffin," Kevin set the auto pilot and turned toward the young lady and offered his hand to her, "and I'm Pilot in Command. That means no matter whose onboard, I make the final decisions and I carry the responsibility for the flight. Conversely if someone else fuk, umm screws up, I'm the one who takes the fall, so don't touch anything until I say it ok, alright?" "Ok," she responded, "I'm Lynn. I'm Terry's daughter…"
"Hon everyone knows who you are. Andy can't stop talking about his smart little munchkin."
Lynn let out a small groan. "I wish he wouldn't tell people he calls me that." Lynn slid into the copilot's seat and squirmed around for a bit on the hard chair.
Kevin couldn't help but laugh, the commander had made a whole flight without the built in support system of the seat activated. "Ok first lesson; you do not fly an Orca without the restraint system active. On the joy stick, bottom button under your pinky finger, click that once."
Lynn wrapped her hand around the flight control and she carefully clicked the button. The seat wrapped itself around the curves of her body and she was pleasantly surprised that it fit perfectly without pinching anything sensitive, "Wow, this is so cool," was all she could get out.
Kevin glanced back into the passenger compartment. He was Terry and Xander immersed in conversation so he quietly palmed the door closed. "Now these are primary flight controls."
The pair had watched Lynn head for the cockpit and smiled, Xander in particular. He was the only one that knew of the disaster that was bound to happen in about 4 years and from what he'd seen so far, when the demon and the it human master attack Terrace Points in the future the outcome was bound to be very different. Lynn was no longer the silly girl she would be and there would be no need for him to be there this time. <hell there is no reason for those fifteen people to die> he thought, <Better make a note to warn the Padre if he's still there.>
Terry broke Xander's train of thought with a worried, "You alright Kid?"
Xander let out a worried sigh, <Just one more thing to worry about later.> "Sure Terry, ok let me hear what you have."
"Well the good news in that the Legion wants to order 2500 of the M41. The bad news is they want the entire first production run and we already have those split up between the garrison here and the other orders from Canada and Australia."
"That's not going to fly. We need the first 1500 weapons shipped to Avalon ASAP along with enough ammo for two long term conflicts."
"I know that Xander, that's why I brought it up."
"So what do you want to do?"
The way I see it we have two options. We can tell the French that we can't supply them just yet.
"Wait a second, what about FN?"
"They won't be tooled up for 18 months. And that's if everything goes perfectly."
Damn. Oh well, it was worth a shot."
"What I'd like to do, if its ok with you, is offer the French a 10 percent discount to wait the 6 months that it will take us to fill our own needs and the contracts with the others first."
"What will that do to Armat's bottom line?"
"That's the kick, we will just break even for the quarter and it will leave us in the red for the year."
"Well we knew it would be slow going at first. Give them the discount and then raise the price on ammo, both the 10mm stuff and the grenades. That way we make it up in first quarter next year."
Terry gave the commander a smile. "You read my mind. Keep that up and we will make an arms dealer out of you in no time."
"Not my line of work, I just use them, I have no interest in making them and I'll leave that up to you and Andy."
"One more thing kid;" This was the part that Terry hated. He'd sworn that he'd never do it and now it looked like the only answer, "The telecommuting and flying back and forth is killing me, I'm going to have to move to Louisville."
"Damn Terry, are you sure about this?"
"Not really," Terry confessed, "But I don't see any other answer. Either Andy or I have to go. Since we cleaned out the previous management there's no one else there that we can trust yet. You need Andy here so that leaves me."
"Damn bud, I don't envy you the task of telling Lynn that."
"Hell son, that's the easy part, now I have to tell my ex-wife."
Recon watched as the armored top was lowered down on top of his master. Recon quickly headed for the door. He had vivid memories of Andy bouncing off the ceiling and walls the first time he'd tried the armor on and he wanted no part of the rematch.
The suit top clicked in place and Andy started the initialization routines but he was interrupted by Merlin's voice through the suit's speakers, "Weapons Master, the Commander's flight is four minutes out."
"Fuck, why does this always happen when I'm in the middle of something?" Andy didn't wait for an answer, he aborted the start routine. Merlin can you tell the Commander that I will be a little late please."
While Andy was restricted to the weapon lab, Recon was not. He grew tired of waiting, so with an uncanny sense of when something was going to happen, he headed off on his own. Recon padded though the base and he came to the doors of the main hanger bay, he waited. The hanger bay was one of the area's that was off limits to the dog but he waited for someone to open the door. It wouldn't take long, it never did.
Dwayne Hicks was running late. The rest of the Cadre had already assembled in the hanger bay, but as usual, he was a step behind. Rather than be late to the Commander's arrival, Hicks ran. He screeched to a halt at the door and nearly tripped over recon. "Hey Boy," He said as he scratched the dog's head, "Hicks, Hanger bay access."
"Access granted," Merlin's voice said from an invisible speaker, "Commander arriving in two minutes."
"Damn I'm good."
Corporal Hicks, I wouldn't equate luck for skill, he heard Merlin say as he dashed into the hanger. He never noticed Recon slipping in behind him.
The Saint Bernard watched as the group formed up in a straight line. He never could understand their penchant for standing in straight lines or for that matter, all of them dressing that same, even Andy, But Recon was easy, if the humans wanted to look the same it was no food off his plate.
In the back ground a red light began flashing and Recon knew what was next. Rather than watch the big machine appear out of no where, he ducked his head and covered his ears with his paws. Twenty seconds later the loud noise had stopped and he raised his head.
The door to the ship opened and all the humans jerked upright at once, normally he would have looked at the young man coming down the ramp. He knew who it was because it was a familiar smell from around the shop. He would go say high later. It was another smell that caught the dog's attention, one that he knew almost as well as Andy's smell. Recon broke for the ship in a fast gallop and as he reached the ramp, his second favorite person in the whole world started down the ramp.
Recon jumped, landing in a heap with Lynn under him. He enthusiastically started licking her face. "Recon stop," she said without any real force to her command, in fact the words were highlighted by girlish giggles. Lynn forgot to be embarrassed about acting like a child, she loved playing with Recon. So, with the entire military compliment of Avalon base watching, she and Recon rolled around on the floor like a pair of two year olds. It didn't take long for the whole scene to devolve into a wrestling match between the 14 year old Girl and the Dog.
Inside of the Orca, Terry grabbed his briefcase. He'd planned to bring the staff up to speed on the news from Armat. Xander had been ecstatic to hear about the new orders for the M41A1, though it would hurt Armat in the short run, now Terry had to explain to McQueen and Gray why they would be short of assault rifles for the short term.
Terry turned down the ramp of the Orca to find his daughter wrestling with Andy's dog, with the entire complement of Avalon watching. He blushed a deep red, which only increased the amusement of the Cadre and its commander, which made Terry even madder at his daughter, "LYNN MARIE POWELL, he bellowed. "GET UP, OFF THE FLOOR AND ACT LIKE A LADY."
Typically like a normal teenager, Lynn ignored her father but then cam a bellow that neither she, nor Recon could Ignore, "RECON, heel."
Recon's head popped up and he saw Andy standing in the doorway. The dog made the only decision he could. He abandoned His second favorite human for his favorite human and ran over to his master.
It took Lynn a few seconds to realize who had yelled the second time. Her eyes followed Recon and when she saw her Uncle Andy standing in the doorway, standing on two legs, her eyes filled with tears and she ran for him, screaming in a high pitch voice, "UNCLE ANDY!!!!"
The next few minutes were best described as controlled chaos. Andy had an arm full of crying little girl who seemed to be able to laugh and cry at the same time. At his feet, Recon, who was happy to see Lynn again and to top all of that off, Terry, was pounding his back in congratulations. All of this was taking place in front of everyone stationed to Avalon, much to their own amusement.
It wasn't that Andy was unfriendly, as Hicks and Hudson tried to tell their Cadre mates. It was more of the fact that there was always something going on in Andy's mind. If it wasn't solving the puzzle of the Atlantean weapons, it was designing new weapons for the fight against the darkness. Still few of the staff had taken the time to get to know the enigmatic man, so they were highly amused to see a much softer side of him.
After a few minutes of this the soldiers began making smart assed comments, which Xander crushed with a abrupt. "Attention… Since you all seem to have a lot of spare time on your hands, lets see how you do against the mountain this time." Xander smiled inwardly. He could almost hear the sound of cracking backs as his words sunk in. That was followed by some not so cleverly whispered comments on his ancestry and general disposition. Xander chose to ignore them, pretending to not have heard them. It was never bad for the C.O to be perceived as a hard ass and the griping would only fuel that line of thought.
"Major McQueen!"
The tall, grim faced, ex marine shot to an even tighter version of Attention, if that was even possible, "Sir?"
Xander's face became the splitting image of a Marine DI, "Run'em up and down the mountain."
"Aye, aye Sir." McQueen pivoted on one foot, "Company, right face." The sound of boot heels striking the deck echoed off the walls.
"And major," Xander added, "The man in last place is going to regret it, Special duty for a week to the loser."
This time the bitching was loud enough that Xander couldn't ignore it. Every one of them knew what special duty meant. Sergeant Apone had taken special care in letting it be known when he wasn't happy and none of them wanted to be washing Hammerheads with a toothbrush.
Apone didn't give him a chance to reply, "Can that shit you apes!" Apone bellowed, "If you'd wanted a soft life you woulda joined the Navy, company forward harrch."
"Major McQueen, a minute of your time please," Xander said across the hanger bay.
T.C McQueen stopped and pulled Apone aside. "Have them in full packs and weapons in five minutes." He headed back toward Xander. "Yes sir?"
"Check with Merlin, I want the pairings split up again. I don't want clicks forming, we are a team and everyone has to work with everyone else not just their buddies."
"aye sir."
"After the run you can also tell them I brought new movies so special duty will be suspended for tonight."
"sir, if I may."
"Never be afraid to speak your mind."
"Sir I wouldn't cancel it. The men need to know that when you say something you mean it."
"Carrot and the stick Major. I didn't say it was cancelled, just delayed for one night.
"Aye sir."
Ok Major, make sure everyone is back by 1200 hours I need you in this meeting as well as General Grey. That's all, carry on."
Xander walked in from his office. "Is everyone here/" When he heard no objections, "All right, follow me." He strode over to an unmarked door, "Merlin, command room access please."
"Granted," the AI answered as the door opened, reveling the room where Xander and the other Kine personnel had reactivated Avalon.
"For those of you that haven't been here before, this," he waved his hand broadly around the room, "Is the round table." The obsidian table that seemed to stretch into infinity dominated the room. "Now if you will find a seat we can get started." Xander fitted Elan to the custom notch in the table."
"Welcome back Elanthielle of Atlantis, the table recognizes you and your bearer. Commander perhaps it would be best if each member identified themselves and their duty stations."
Of course Merlin, I am Xander Harris, bearer of Elan, Andy would you start please?"
"Andrzej Konzaki, Weapon Master of the Kine. Andy's head turned toward his friend and partner and nodded.
Terry was more than a bit overwhelmed. It seemed as if he was sitting next to everyone in the room and that was impossible. "Terry Powell, I guess I represent Armat industries. I have to confess I'm a little lost here."
"Don't worry about it Terry," Xander interjected, "it hits everyone like this." Some of the members nodded knowingly, while others were dumbfounded by what Xander was referring too. Xander couldn't help but snicker.
<As if your reaction was any different Alexander,> Elan said, just to pull the young commander back to reality.
"Oh alright. For those that haven't been here before, Avalon was, is, the Command center for Atlantean Special Forces. This room was the center of that activity and yes it is the round table of legend, or at least the basis for it. So please don't worry if things seem a little off here. Colonel if you would please."
Steve Nodded to Xander. "Colonel Steve Austin, I'm representing the Angry Angels in Xander's place."
"Kevin."
I'm Captain Kevin Griffin. I guess I'm here in a dual role, first as the C.O of the Warbirds and second as transport command's representative. Though to be honest, unless the Warbirds get some new pilots, I guess I'm gonna be pushing tin around the sky for a while.
"Major"
McQueen stood up, "T.C. McQueen, I here for the ground forces, though I also fly with the Angels."
"General."
The bald headed man glanced around. "I'm General Grey and I'm the one who takes the flack when the rest of you bozos mess up.: He nodded to Xander, With the exception of you Commander."
Xander nodded to the next in line. One by one they identified who they were and what their function in Avalon was. Medical, Techincal, IT Support, Logistics, after each of them had been introduced, Xander stood up, "Ok that's all of us now lets get down to business."
Lynn was getting bored. Her father, Andy and everyone else she'd met in the last few hours were in some meeting that had been going on forever. I guess even paradise can be boring when there wasn't anyone to share it with."
"You have your studies Lynn."
Lynn paced the room, "But I want to do something exciting." Just them Recon let out with a woof and headed for the door. "Recon, come back here."
"He probably wants to go outside. Now there's an idea, you could go for a swim in the lagoon."
"Whoo hoo, I'll get changed." Lynn dug around in her suitcase, "Damn it I forgot my bathing suit."
"Your what?"
"<My swim suit, I know I had it. I put it on the bed while I was packing." Lynn stood straight up, and then I put my suitcase on top of it. Damn."
You mean you have special clothes for swimming. That sounds absurd."
"Well what else would I wear to go swimming; I mean I can't go skinny dipping."
"Why not, the water is the perfect temperature for it."
Lynn thought about all the marines on the base and blushed a deep crimson red at the thought of them seeing her in the nude. "My dad would kill me."
"Very well I believe I can find something suitable."
Lynn stripped off her blouse, "No peeking now she said coyly.
"Lynn I'm not human, Why would I want to peek?" when Lynn didn't move, "oh very well, privacy mode engaged."
Fifteen minutes later, her hair soaked by the cool foam of the Pacific, Lynn lay on the beach catching a little sun. "Merlin, I've been thinking."
"Now that's an activity that I highly recommend for the young. Now is there anything specific you've been thinking about or was it just a general musing on life?"
"Merlin, don't tease me," she pouted.
I am sorry Lynn. It must be all the bad company I have been keeping of late. Please accept my deepest apologies."
Lynn watched the AI; she wasn't sure if he was sincere or if he'd just teased her on a higher level. She decided to tale Him at his word.
"Well I've been thinking, I've gone as far as I can on that piece of junk at home. Do you think you could talk to Xander and see if I can take a better computer home with me, please?
"That would pose a problem."
"But it can't hurt to ask," She wheedled, "can it?"
"I'm sorry Lynn. We have only just resumed production on computers. I'm afraid that each of the next few hundred units have already been allocated to critical needs. Even if the Commander approved, I'm not sure that it would be the best use of our limited resources."
"But I'm not getting anywhere. I can study the symbols, but I need something better than what I have at home. You even told me it was a stop gap measure till something better was available." Lynn got up. She dusted the sand off and grabbed her towel. "I guess I had better study harder while I'm here."
Merlin could only watch as she stomped away in a fit. He had an answer to her problem; the problem was it wasn't time to make it known. Still he felt a pain of regret. "She has been working hard. It would be a risk," he conceded, " but perhaps a worthy risk, she right she needs some thing better and she has earned it."
"Honey, I'm going to dinner, want to come."
"No thanks Daddy. I had something earlier." Lynn quickly changed the screen on the computer. It now showed a classic novel rather the math text she'd been studying. She wasn't ready for her father to find out about that just yet and she knew he would come into the room and try and change her mind about dinner.
"Come on sweetheart, you need to eat something and I want to show you off a bit." His pride in his daughter stood out like a string of Christmas lights.
"Sorry Daddy, I want to finish this book." She noticed the way his face fell, "You can show me off at breakfast tomorrow."
Her kind words put a fatherly smile on his face. Terry bent down and kissed her on the top of her head, "Ok sweetie, but if you get hungry have Merlin show you the way to the mess."
Terry marched out of the room and thirty seconds later Merlin called her name, "Lynn"
Lynn turned the to the next page, "Yes, Merlin."
Never one to beat around the buss without a good reason, Merlin got right to the point. "I have found a way for you to have a computer. It will be of a slightly older design but perfectly serviceable in all other respects."
"Really," Lynn's eyes went wide in excitement, "That would be so cool."
"I fail to see how this would lower the local temperature."
"Merlin, you know what I meant. She gushed, So when do I get it?"
"I'm afraid that this will come with more than a few conditions and Lynn you can't break anyone of them or I will destroy the unit remotely. The first condition is that I will selectively edit the content of the unit. There are things on it that you aren't ready for.
"Ok I can deal with both of the conditions."
"The last one is the most important one, you can't tell anyone. Not your Father, your Uncle, not even Xander do you agree?"
Lynn raised her right hand. "I cross my heart and hope to die."
"Now it's melodramatics. Very well, go get Recon and join me at the service lift."
"Wait a second, why do I need Recon?"
"As a cover story and the place you are going, hasn't been visited in a while, so I would feel better if someone accompanied you."
Lynn shut down the computer and changed into a pair of jeans and a old flannel shirt of her father's. She ran to the Weapon lab where she promptly ran into a door that didn't open for her automatically. "Merlin," she complained, "that hurt."
"You are not cleared for Weapon Lab access.
"men!" she punched the intercom button, Uncle Andy, can I come in?"
"Sure Munchkin," her Uncle said as the door slid open. She walked into the room gasped and almost immediately walked back out. Standing in front of her was a monster. It was over 8 feet tall and it was solid black. It raised it arms and in a Frankenstein like motion, it raised it arms and started towards her. She let out an involuntary, "Eeek."
"God damnit Hicks, Stand down." Andy rushed over to Lynn, You ok sweetie?" It's alright, its just Hicks testing one of our suits. Andy's head turned toward the armor encased Marine, "and if he doesn't back the fuck off he's gonna be doing the no ball hustle after I kick him around this base twice."
It went down hill from there. A loud explosion came from the back room, "God damnit Hudson I told you to watch the temperature on that experiment. Honey I'm a little busy, is there something I can do for you?"
"I wanted to take a walk up on the surface and I was wondering if I could borrow Recon for a little while?"
Another explosion cut Andy's answer short, Sure Hon, Recon, go with her boy."
Recon and Lynn came to the herby lift at the end of the corridor. "Merlin we are here."
Merlin shimmered into existence, "Very well Lynn, enter the elevator and press the third and fifth buttons at the same time."
Lynn began to feel a little apprehensive but she did as he asked, holding on to the familiar comfort of Recon. She pressed the buttons and the rear wall of the elevator opened up onto a small room. "Ok, I'm here."
"I want you to listen very closely. I will not be able to accompany you in person. In the cabinet you will find a pocket fold com which I have tuned to my secure frequency when you have the com I want you to step to the middle of the room and hold Recon tightly."
Lynn found the fold com and she opened it up. "Testing, testing one, two, three."
"That's good Lynn, Place the fold com in your pocket. I will be able to direct you from there."
Lynn stepped to the center of the room and she grabbed Recon by the collar. "I think… we are ready." She no more than got the last word out when six rings elevated up from the floor and her vision went blank.
Lynn's vision cleared in what felt like a centaury but felt to her like ten years. She opened her eyes to find herself in a room almost identical to the one she just left, only the lighting was a deep red and it was flashing a warning. The red lights were supplemented by a voice that sounded like Merlin, but it was speaking a alien language.
The young girl began to feel lightheaded and it was getting harder to breathe. "Merlin," she gasped.
"Don't panic little one, Merlin's voice had taken on a strangely affectionate tone, "Go through the door and you will find an emergency oxygen supply marked by red and purple stripes. When you find it place the mask over your mouth and pull the cord. That will give you fifteen minutes of breathable air and that's plenty of time for where we need to go.
The door opened for Lynn and she stumbled into the passage way. She found the cabinet that was sent into the wall. She punched the lever on the outside and the glass front lifted. She grabbed the mask that looked like a skin diver's mask save there were two small bottles attached, one on each side of the face plate. "Got it," she mumbled
"Excellent. You are doing great Lynn. Now follow the corridor till you hit the end, then turn right and count down three doors on the left."
"What about Recon, Doesn't he need a mask too?"
He was bread from a breed that is used to such low levels of oxygen. He will be fine. Now hurry Lynn you have only a limited amount of time."
Lynn followed his directions with Recon closely on her heals. She came to the room that Merlin told her would be there. "Merlin I'm here."
"The emergency code is simple. Press the center button five times, wait one second, press the first button once and the center button five more times.
The door opened and Lynn fell through the doorway. She didn't notice it, but the seal of her mask was broken in the fall.
Across the room you will see a panel with five buttons. They are color coded, press the red one twice. A drawer will open and inside you will see five devices that look like a small flashlight. Take one and then press the green button once."
They didn't look like computers to Lynn. In fact they looked like the mini mag lights her father sold in the store. "I got one," she gasped. Lynn was finding it harder and harder to breathe. She headed back for the door and began to gasp against the mask.
The red lights were disorientating so Lynn moved slowly. The corridor seemed to go on forever, she started to worry. Her heart started to beat faster and panic started to claim the young woman. Her head jerked back and forth and she started to lose her sense of direction. She stopped dead in her tracks, "Merlin… MERLIN?" there was no answer. Lynn fell against the wall and started to cry.
Recon hated this place. There was nothing that felt like home except Lynn and now she was crying "Woof… Lynn didn't respond. Her head fell against her chest. Now Recon was sure he hated this place. Lynn was in trouble he could sense it. He looked up the corridor and made a decision. He grabbed his second favorite person by her leg and pulled her back to the room with the rings and the bright lights.
Lynn woke up, still laying in the middle of the ring transport and clutching the computer in her hand. Sitting next to her was Recon looking at her with a worried look. "It's ok Boy." She grabbed him and held him tight. "its getting late, lets go home
Recon laid his head against his paws and closed his eyes. It had been a good day.
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