Chapter 21: The Wolf Meets The Law Tobias was awoken by Samantha nuzzling his neck. "Samantha," he groaned, stretching. "What are you up to?" She didn't respond. He chuckled and wrapped an arm around her shoulders. "Samantha?" "Hmm?" She looked up at him dreamily. Fallen memories of their home back at the base resurfaced. "Good morning Tobias." She snuggled up to his chest. "What are you up to beautiful?" "Just trying to make up for what I missed while I was out." Memories of her in the hospital bed flashed through his head. "Oh...all right." He held her close. "Is something wrong?" Isthus' face.... "I....I want to go talk to the base's commander." She picked up on what he wanted to do and latched onto him. "No." "What?!" "No. I will not let you. I know what you are going to ask. And I know what you want to do. I will not allow you to do that to yourself." She wrapped her arms tightly around him. "I want you to promise me you won't go after Isthus unless everybody is certain the plan will work." "I-" "Promise me." He smiled and took one of her hands. "Is that what you want?" She nodded. "Then how can I show you I will keep my promise?" She giggled. "I can think of something, but Kaitlyn would kill you if we did and she found out." He winced. "What's wrong?" "I hate to tell you this..." "No. Don't tell me she-" "Yes. I told her." "Was she angry?" "Not really. After Swift showed her what happened-" "How did Swift find out?" "She probed my mind. She promised me she'd keep it a secret." "Okay. So what happened?" "Swift showed her what happened and Kaitlyn wasn't angry. I was kinda wishing she was so that she would kill me and they could harvest whatever you needed out of me." She shook her head angrily. "Tobias, you are an idiot sometimes. I never want you to pull a stunt like that again!" "Calm down beautiful. I was only thinking of you." "We can heal ourselves! We don't need your help!" Her yell shook him. He let go of her and backed away. "I...I'm..." He couldn't get the rest of the words out. He just huddled on the other side of the bed. Samantha looked at him. She saw the remorse in his eyes and reached out to take his hand. He shrank away. She pulled her hand away and brought it up to her chest. "I..." "I'm sorry Tobias." She slid onto the opposite end of the bed. "I can't bear to think about not having you." "Now you know why I did what I did. I can't live without you. At least you would live to see tomorrow." "But I don't want to lose you." Her eyes teared up. He moved a little closer. "Don't cry." "Why shouldn't I?" "Because I should be the one with the tears." "Wha-? Why?" "I only want to protect you, my love. But everything seems to be going wrong." He rolled over, his back to her. "I don't know what to do." She set her hand on his back. "But why did you want to kill yours-?" "Do you know how long I cried? When I came to and saw you in the bed, with all the tubes and machines hooked up to you, I instantly broke down into tears. I thought you were going to die. I wanted to kill myself, take away my life, so you could take it from me and live." He choked back a sob. "You are my one reason for living. I would do anything so you could live comfy." She hesitated. It was just sinking in. He may have been their chosen one, their prophet. But he held someone just as high. She smiled, pulled herself closer, and hugged him. "I didn't know. I'm sorry for yelling." He didn't respond. "Tobias, can you forgive me?" "You are always forgiven for what you do." He didn't respond otherwise. "Are you okay?" He squeaked weakly. "Please. Tell me what's wrong." He shook his head. She rolled him onto his back and sat up. "Tobias..." He looked up at her with mournful eyes. "I will not get mad at whatever's wrong. I promise you." He sniffed. "I feel like I'm letting everybody down," he said softly. "Swift's scared of me, Crash and the boys are starting to lose faith in me, I blew our secret...." He shut his eyes. "Perhaps I should have stayed on Earth." "No, don't say that! You know that it's not true." "If I had never shown up, we wouldn't be here! You'd still be back at the base with Kaitlyn and Crash and the others. We wouldn't have to worry about the Raiders finding us. You would have met a guy nicer than me." She slapped him across the face. "I'm sorry Tobias. I couldn't hear that gibberish anymore." She kissed him. "I don't care what you think. None of the guys back home are like you. I am happy you showed up and shared it with me. Enough said on the subject." She layed back down on him, resting her arm over his chest and a leg over his. "Now, say no more or else." There was a knock at the door. "Guys?" Kaitlyn called in. Tobias turned away. "Come in," Samantha called back. The door opened and Kaitlyn walked in, Swift close behind her. "Is everything all right? I heard somebody slap somebody else." "I slapped some sense into him." She pointed at the huddled mass in bed with her. "What's wrong with him?" Swift asked. "I don't know. He explained everything to me and, after I yelled at him, he kinda lost faith in everything." She rubbed his back. "Can you two help? I'm not sure if I can get him out of this." "I can try to look into his mind. Is that what you want me to do?" She nodded. "All right." She closed her eyes and concentrated. She struggled a little bit before throwing her head back. "Whoa..." "What's wrong?" "He's locked himself in good. He obviously wants nobody to know. He's...shut himself down to us." Samantha began to panic. "I'll knock him out of it," Kaitlyn said. She went over to the other side of the bed and sat down. "Tobias?" He looked up at her. "Yes?" "Are you okay?" "No." "Why not?" "That's my little secret." "I see. Who would you be willing to tell it to?" "Sven and only Sven." She grinned. "What luck. The base's commander is Sven's brother Lawrence." He sat up. "Really?" She nodded. "Then...I guess that I could talk to him." She hugged him. "Please. We don't want you like this." "I know. But..." "But what?" "I don't know..." He started to get up. "Lead the way." He followed Kaitlyn silently, Swift and Samantha right behind him. They were wondering what was wrong and hoped that Law would be able to shine some light onto the problem. "Samantha," Swift whispered to her. "Can I ask you a question?" "Sure. What is it?" "Would I be able to, ya know, penetrate your mind and see what has him so upset?" Samantha looked at the floor and sighed. "I'm sorry." "No. It's okay. Go ahead. Perhaps you should also see what he shouldn't." "Oh? And what's that?" "What I had to go through in the prison camp." She shook her head. "No. I refuse to look at those memories. I don't want to know what you went through." "You're afraid you'll be affected by them, don't you." "Quite." "It's okay. I understand. But please, learn them so you can one day show Tobias." She looked at the floor. "I will never be able to tell him myself." "I...I..." She nodded. "Okay." She put a hand on her shoulder. "Just let your mind go." She concentrated. They both stopped, which caught Tobias and Kaitlyn's attention. They both watched curiously as they stood there for a good five minutes. Suddenly, they stopped. Swift looked at Samantha, shut her eyes, and hugged her. "I'm so sorry." Samantha hugged back. "It'll be all right." Tobias quirked a brow. "What's wrong?" Swift looked at him and shook his head. "No. I will show you when this is all over." She went over to and hugged him. "I'm sorry. It has to be this way." "I understand." Kaitlyn was the first to enter. "Law, are you in?" The big, leather chair had it's back turned to her. "Yes," it said. "What do you need?" "Tobias is here to talk to you." It jerked. "It's about bloody time. Send him in." Kaitlyn nodded and motioned to Tobias, who promptly entered. "Tobias, I presume?" "Yes. I am assuming your name is Lawrence." The chair spun around. Sitting it in was a fox, about Sven's build, with similar fur markings. He wore an eye patch over his right eye and most of his right ear was torn off. Only jagged edges remained. "Please, call me Law." He stood. He was a little shorter than Sven. "I am Sven brother." "That's what I've been told." "Good. So we're on even ground then. Please, have a seat." Tobias did so. "So what do you wish to talk to me about?" "I feel like I'm to blame for my friend's position." Law raised a curious brow. "I feel it's my fault we're here. I feel it's my fault we did the forced labor thing for the Raiders." He leaned forward, taking his glasses off and resting his head on his hands. "I feel like I'm to blame for what happened to Samantha." He reached into a pocket and pulled out the smooth, black stone they had picked up in the mine. "I'm not sure what I should do anymore. I just want to quit." "I see." He pushed a button. "Perhaps you should talk to someone else." "Like who?" "Like me," Sven's voice responded. "Sven? Is that you?" Law turned his screen towards him. Sven's face lit up the otherwise dull screen. "What's wrong Tobias?" He sighed. "Everything." "How so?" "I feel responsible for this mess we've gotten ourselves into." He leaned forward and dropped his head. "I should have shot Isthus when we first met him. I should have thought of a better plan when we were slaves to them." He slammed the desk. "I should have protected Samantha!" "Calm down." "No! It's my fault we're all here! It's my fault everyone got hurt in whatever way they did. It's becasue of me!" "Tobias, listen to me. It's okay. Everything will be fine." He saw that Tobias was quaking with anger, fear, and disgust. "Please, for all our sakes, calm down." "I...I can't. The rage is...is too strong. I just wanna..." He slammed the desk with his fist. A hairline crack formed in it. "Solid oak," Law said, amazed at his strength. "Tobias, we can't afford to get another desk, or anything for that matter. Calm down now. You'll kill us all with your rage." He stopped instantly. "I...I don't want to do that." He took a deep breath. "Sven, I think we should send him on some sabatoge missions." "Yes. I agree totally. But make sure he doesn't get killed." "Okay." He looked at him. "Tobias, we are going to send you on sabotage missions against the Raider scum. I heard you have a transform chip." "That is true. And I will be willing to use it for these missions." "Good." "We will discuss what you are going to do for us. Law will call you in when your first mission is ready. Now, go back to Samantha. She needs you now more than ever." "Thank you sir." He got up. "I suppose I'll see you soon." "Of course." Tobias smiled and left. Not long after, Swift walked in. "Hello Swift," Law said. He noticed she had a pained looked on her face. "What's wrong?" "It's about Samantha. She let me probe her mind. And she showed me what happened to her in the prison camp." "And?" She hesitated. "Neither of you must tell Tobias until Isthus is dead, understand?" "Yes," Law replied. "Okay. Here's what happened...." **************************************************************************** Samantha had dragged Tobias back to their quarters and thrown him on the bed. She then pounced, straddled, and kissed him. He smiled and responded with a hug. "What's with the luvin' Sugah?" She giggled. "'I felt like it." She kissed him again. "You know, I wouldn't get too comfy." "Oh? Why?" "With our luck..." There was a knock at the door. "That should be..." He looked at the door. "Come in!" The door opened and Kaitlyn walked in. "What did I tell you?" Kaitlyn tensed up when she saw them. "What are you two doing?!" He pointed at Samantha. "It was her idea." She smiled and caught his gaze. "Yep. He's all mine." She looked at her. "You didn't do anything in the day I was out." "Nope. Didn't have the heart to." "Good." She hugged him tightly. "So what's up Kaity?" "You still haven't answered my question." "I wanted to get a little intimate with him. But it appears you stopped me." Kaitlyn laughed and walked over to the bed. "C'mon. This isn't the place to do that." She smiled at them. "And haven't I expressed my extreme dislike to the idea?" "Yes," Tobias said. "But you also said-" He purposely ended the sentence there. Samantha looked at Kaitlyn. "What did you also say?" "I...uh" "C'mon..." She smiled. "I also said that if he kept using protection, I wouldn't hurt him." She squeeled in delight. "Oh, thank you Kaity!" She leapt up and hugged her. "Thank you so much!" "But, since I doubt there's a condom in the base, you have to keep clean." Samantha pouted. "No, I will not go back on my word." She sighed and turned away. Kaitlyn smiled, grabbed her ear, and whispered many things into it. She giggled and nodded. "Take my advice Samantha. Do us all proud." "I will." She retook her place on top of Tobias. "What is she talkin' about?" "Well..." She drew things into his chest. He shook his head. "Hold that thought." He looked at Kaitlyn. "What do you have up your sleeve?" "Nothin'!" She gave him a toothy smile. "Riiight." He turned back to Samantha. "What does she have planned?" She whispered something into his ear. His eyes widened and he looked at her. "You said it yourself; there probably isn't a condom in this base." "Doesn't mean I won't look!" She winked playfully. "Oh brother! Seems like you're both in heat. That means I'll have to hold onto my nads." "C'mon, it won't be that bad." "I would rather wait before we try something like that." "Why?" "Becuase..." He thought for a second. "All right, I think I've got it." "And that is?" Samantha asked. "When I come back from my first mission, I will comply. Understood?" Samantha hugged him. "I take it that's a yes." He looked at Kaitlyn. "What about you?" "Sounds fine. I'll just have to go find a rubber." "Go take care of that now. And make sure you get a lot of them." She blushed and nodded. He smirked. "Something wrong?" She nodded sheepishly. "Oh, did I embarrass you? Aw, poor Kaity-bear!" Samantha laughed and kissed him. "That's a hell of a lot better than you were before." **************************************************************************** Law had a look of pure fear on his face. Swift had just finished telling them what had happened to Samantha. Nobody liked it. "A-are we in trouble?" he asked. "Yes," Swift said softly, leaning back in the chair. "If this leaks to Tobias, there will be nothing that will stop him we would have to kill him. I know it." She held back her tears. "But if we do that, we'll all end up dead anyway," Sven said. "According to Vu's figures, if he dies, we've got a bomb capable of galaxy-wide destruction going off the second the energy returns to him." "So what should we do until then?" "Get Samantha cleaned. I just hope nothing's happened yet." "Understood." "I have to go talk to Larcris about getting everyone back here sooner than two weeks. Take care." The communication terminated. Law leaned back in his chair. Swift held herself and looked away. "What's wrong Swift?" "I'm afraid." "Why?" "Tobias is like my best friend. I don't want to see him hurt anymore than he already is." She choked on a sob. "He doesn't deserve this. I don't want it to be like this." She leaned into the chair and feel silent. Law got up, went over to her, and shook her gently. "What?! I'm not in the mood." "It'll be okay. Trust me." "How can you be sure?" "Because never in my life have I known Sven to screw his friends over. You will all be heading home soon." She nodded silently. "Go back to your quarters. Or even better, go find Tobias and hang out with him. Do your best to make him happy." She sniffed. He took a deep breath. "My father taught me something that might prove useful to you. He told me that when you find something that's broken, you should try to fix it." She looked up at him. "Do you understand?" She nodded. "Go fix it." She got up and looked at him. He smiled. She smirked and left. "Go young one. Fix it." **************************************************************************** There was a knock at the door. Kaitlyn, who was already up, answered it. "Yes? Oh, hey Swift. What's up?" Swift said nothing. "Wanna come in?" She nodded silently. Kaitlyn stepped out of the way, allowing Swift to pass by. Tobias instantly knew something was wrong. "What's on your mind?" She looked at him. "I wanted to check up on you....see how you were doing...." He looked at Samantha, who nodded and got off of him. He got up and approached her. "You sound more distant that usual. What's wrong?" "I...I can't say. It's too soon to be saying." "Is this one of those things that would set me off and end up tearing though the ground to get at Isthus?" She nodded sadly. "Then I want you to keep that locked away until we know it's needed. It could be useful." "Yes...I will do that." He hugged her. "I'm sorry." She was a little perplexed at his words. "What are you apologizing for?" "For yesterday, when you were probing my mind and saw my dark fantasy." "Oh...." "I'm sorry about that Swift." She smiled and squeezed back. "It's okay. I forgive you." He let go of her and they brushed themselves off. "So we're still friends?" "Yep. And my mind is still open to you. Understand?" She smiled and nodded. "Good." "Great. It was nice to see the good you again. I'll catch up to you guys later." **************************************************************************** She shut the door to her quarters and flung herself on the bed. What was happening to her? The teachers at the Psy Corps had taught her than any feelings would interfere with her talents. But she knew that was wrong. She was picking up things she hadn't before. She rolled onto her back and shut her eyes. She tried to picture the most pleasant place in the world. But even that was hard to do.