OCS: From Heaven unto the Earth, part 2 [K+]
Fandom:
Captain Scarlet and the Mysterons
Title:
From Heaven unto the Earth, part 2
Author:
lt_indigo
Pairing(s):
Scarlet/Rhapsody (background)
Warning(s):
child in peril
Part 1
Scarlet was glad of his accelerated stamina after a week of following a suddenly hyperactive seven-year-old around Central Park Zoo, the American Museum of Natural History and the Empire State Building. On the very last day, he took her back to the hotel's rooftop, from where they had observed the city on the first night.
Rose tried to lean closer to the edge, wriggling out of her father's arms.
"Hey," Scarlet said, laughing, "you'll fall off if you go any further."
She slipped back and sighed happily. "I like New York," she stated.
"I like it too, but we're going to Granny and Grandpa's tomorrow," Scarlet reminded her gently as he set her back on the ground. The moment he released her, Rose stiffened and her face darkened.
"They're here," she said, barely above a whisper.
"Who's here, sweetheart?" he asked.
"Them," she said, her eyes wild with fright.
It was at that point that he started to feel a little nauseous, and he realised exactly who Rose meant - the Mysterons. Bastards. He couldn't even have a normal holiday with his daughter without them causing trouble. More worryingly, Scarlet didn't have a clue whether they were after him, or her.
"Okay," he said, taking her hand and trying to keep his voice calm, "let's get out of here and call Spectrum."
He walked quickly to the elevator and pressed the call button. He tried not to groan as his Mysteron-induced sickness increased in intensity as the lift car made its inexorable journey upwards. He looked at the stairs. They were the only escape, but Scarlet knew that Rose would never be able to run down them fast enough to escape anyone, let alone a Mysteron agent. He scooped her up in his arms and headed for the stairwell, relieved to find his symptoms lessening slightly as he moved away from the lift. Rose didn't make a sound, but Scarlet could see the fright in her eyes. His daughter knew, or at least had some inkling, of the reason that her holidays to the surface were limited even more than her parents' shore leave allowed for. It was still feared that the Mysterons were interested in her because of her heritage.
carlet pushed open the door to the stairwell, but halted as Rose shook her head.
"Not that way," she told him. "He's coming that way."
Scarlet frowned and back-peddled to the lift. Perhaps he had been wrong about the agent coming that way, and he was starting to trust her instincts about the Mysterons more than his own. She had sensed the agent before he had, and his sixth sense was, after all, far from perfect.
"Rosie, are you sure?" he asked as his nausea became worse again.
The little girl's eyes flickered between the stairs and the elevator. "Oh, Daddy, I don't know," she moaned. "I'm scared."
He kissed the top of her head gently. "It's okay, sweetheart, I won't let them hurt you."
As the lift approached the roof level, Scarlet recalled a pile of old crates piled against the back of the lift shaft. Quickly, he secreted Rose behind them.
"Stay here, sweetheart," he said. "Don't come out, no matter what."
Rose nodded, her eyes huge and bright with tears. He hated to leave her, but there was no way that Scarlet would let a Mysteron find him here, right in front of his daughter's hiding place. Instead, he stationed himself right in front of the elevator doors, wishing that he was armed with something other than his radio.
The radio! He could at least alert Spectrum to the danger. He pulled the pen-like device from his pocket. His heart plummeted when he saw that it was off. The battery had gone flat, although he was certain that he had charged it just before leaving Cloudbase. Yes, he had used it to speak to Rhapsody in the evenings, but not that much, surely? Could it be faulty? Or, even, a Mysteron-induced fault? That seemed the likeliest explanation.
On the edge of his hearing there was the distinct sound of a helicopter. Surely it was too much to hope that it would be Spectrum, coming to his rescue?
"Looks like you guys were right," Ochre said urgently as he and Blue screeched to a halt in front of the hotel. "That was Black who just went in there. And Helicopter B30 is reporting sighting a man on the roof matching Scarlet's description."
"He always did love that view," Blue said. "Come on - there's no time to lose."
The elevator doors opened and Scarlet found himself face to face with an armed Mysteron agent. His heart sank as he recognised the hotel's bellboy. What was his name again, Tim? No, Tommy; always such an efficient, gentle young man who, as he recalled, was engaged to be married. Two more lives ruined by the Mysterons. Tommy advanced on Scarlet, who stepped back, deliberately away from Rose's hiding place before planting his feet firmly and standing his ground before the Mysteron agent. Tommy laughed coldly at his defiance and nausea swept over Scarlet again.
"Where's the girl, Scarlet?" the Mysteron asked, glancing around, but keeping the gun trained on Scarlet.
"What girl?" Scarlet asked, trying to sound genuinely confused.
"Don't play games with me, Earthman," the agent growled. "Or perhaps you want me to kill you in front of her?"
Scarlet, distracted, hadn't noticed the second Mysteron agent appear from the stairwell until he heard a voice behind him.
"Where is she, Scarlet?" the new man inquired coldly.
Scarlet froze, recognising the voice of this new agent instantly. A slow, cold, inhuman voice.
"Black," he said, barely above a whisper, turning to face his former colleague. "Do you really think I'd tell you?"
"Very well," Black said, "I shall find the child myself."
Scarlet swallowed and willed himself not to glance over towards Rose's hiding place. Black turned away, in precisely the right direction, and had barely taken a step before the Spectrum officer cried out: "No!"
Black turned his head to look at him. "So, she is here," he observed. "This would be much easier for everyone if you cooperated, Scarlet."
"Never."
"Very well." Black turned his back again, and Scarlet lunged at him. Tommy fired almost instantly, sending the Spectrum captain staggering backwards. Before he could fully comprehend what was happening, he tripped over the low wall surrounding the open roof of the hotel. He grabbed desperately for the edge, but to no avail.
Black felt a surge of triumph as he heard the child's muffled cry. Really, that had been too easy. He started towards her, but as he advanced, he began to feel disorientated, nauseous even. Perhaps this was what Scarlet felt in the presence of Mysterons; what the humans naïvely called his 'sixth sense'. How unpleasant. And how impressive for such a small child to cause the reaction in Black - the potential she had!
There, those crates - it was where he would have hidden her, if he were in Scarlet's shoes and, as he moved closer to that location, the disorientation and nausea grew worse. She was certainly hiding there. She could not be permitted to escape his clutches this time, no matter how badly she was affecting him. Spectrum agents were in the vicinity; he had to get her to safety, away from this place.
Rose watched in terror as Captain Black stalked towards her. He must have heard her, even though she'd tried to keep quiet when her daddy fell. She hadn't been able to help herself - they had hurt him very badly, this man and nice Tommy who gave her sweets when Daddy wasn't looking. But, Black looked sick, and he stumbled several times in the last few metres. He placed a hand onto a crate near her head and she scooted further back into the shadows, trying to keep as small as possible.
There were footsteps clattering up the distant stairs, a muffled curse that sounded like Uncle Rick. Spectrum was coming to rescue her: if only they could get there quicker.
"Rose?" Black said, his voice hoarse.
She cowered further back.
"Rose, I know you're scared," he said. "And you should be scared of me, but right now you need to trust me."
He sounded funny, not like he had earlier. And he didn't 'feel bad' now either. Maybe she could trust him, maybe… maybe he wasn't Captain Black at all, but the other man she was once told about. Maybe he was…
"Uncle Conrad?"
A bark of laughter forced its way from Black's lips before he could stop himself. He couldn't think of a nickname he deserved less but… to have called him that meant she understood, even though he didn't. Jeez.
Her head peeped out from the stack of crates and he crouched before her. She'd grown so much in the two years since he had last seen her - growing more and more like her mother every time. Tears streaked her face, although she wasn't crying at the moment. He brushed them away gently. Just then, there was a gunshot from near the stairs, and he was glad he was blocking her view, especially when he heard the distinctive whine of an electron rifle: no child needed to see that.
"Spectrum is here, Rose," he said softly. "You have to go with them before my masters try to make me hurt you again. Do you understand?"
The little girl met his eyes and nodded. Hell, she really did: they were right about her - she comprehended so much now, when she was just a little kid. She was going to be magnificent one day, and he had to make sure that it was Spectrum that benefited from that. Even if she never reached her full potential with them, he couldn't let the Mysterons have her. Even if that would save his own life; he couldn't begin to imagine how much he was going to be punished for this 'transgression'.
Black stood and held out his hand. "Come on," he said.
Captain Blue turned as he heard his goddaughter call "Uncle Adam!" to see her walking towards him, clutching Captain Black's hand.
"Get away from her, Black!" he roared, raising his pistol. His heart leaped into his mouth, seeing Rose so close to Black. And she seemed fairly content to be with him, despite having had every single Spectrum agent explain, with photographs, that he was a very dangerous man and she should shout for help immediately if ever she saw him.
Black said something to Rose that neither Blue nor Ochre could make out, then he let go of Rose's hand. She hesitated, and at his reassuring nod, she ran to Blue. He picked her up immediately, breathing a sigh of relief that she was safe, knowing that Black was covered by Ochre.
Black walked forwards a few steps, then stopped. He held out his hands to show that he wasn't armed.
"Adam," he said. Blue blinked in surprise by Black's use of his first name, and his soft, strained voice. "Get her out of here. She's important to them."
Blue looked at the child in his arms, his best friend's little girl. How could she… Oh, no, it couldn't be…? Not her, surely?
Oblivious to Blue's inner turmoil, Rose kept her eyes firmly on Black, chewing on her bottom lip in a way that made Blue think she was concerned for him, rather than about him.
"Why should we trust you, Black?" Ochre snapped. "You've done nothing but deceive us since the war started."
"Please, just get her out of here," Black pleaded, sounding worse than before. "I don't know how long I'll be…"
Blue's epaulettes chose that moment to flash grey.
"Not a great time," he said as his mic dropped down. His eyes didn't leave Black.
"I've found Scarlet," Grey informed him.
Black looked ashamed. "I'm sorry," he said quietly. "Paul went over the edge."
"Was that Captain Black?" Grey asked, shocked.
Rose suddenly gasped in surprise and said: "Bye, Uncle Conrad."
A pained expression marred Black's features. "I hope I earn that name some day," he said as he vanished from sight.
"Dammit, yes, it was but he's gone now. You know what to do."
"SIG."
Rose squirmed awkwardly in Blue's arms and he set her down. She was getting big and heavy now, too heavy to hold for long. Immediately, she shot towards the stairs. The two captains exchanged confused glances before shouting "Scarlet!" simultaneously in realisation and setting off in pursuit.
Blue and Ochre, despite their obvious advantage over the child, did not catch up with Rose on the stairs, and emerged into the crowded lobby.
"D'you think she went back to her room?" Blue said softly, aware of the attention that his and Ochre's brightly coloured uniforms were drawing to them.
"Maybe," Ochre replied, casting an experienced eye over the crowd of conference-goers in the reception, who appeared to be milling about, chatting to each other.
He noticed a small figure emerging from the other stairwell, next to the hotel entrance, and bolt outside.
"There she is!" Blue called out to him. "She changed stairs to avoid us."
Too bloody clever, kid, Ochre thought as he pushed his way through the crowd after Blue.
They had to get to Rose before she found Scarlet: Ochre knew that Scarlet and Rhapsody were always very careful about what they allowed Rose to see concerning her father's abilities. As much of a joker as he was, Ochre, like most of the Cloudbase staff, thought the world of Rose, and was proud to be one of her 'uncles'. He didn't want her to see Scarlet dead any more than her parents did. He and the other Spectrum officers could comprehend the fact that it wasn't the end, but personally, Ochre didn't relish the idea of explaining it to the kid. Someone else could have that job, many years down the line, thanks very much. He might just take the job of explaining about wandering off, and 'stranger danger' to her though; something she had never had to worry about on Cloudbase. He'd seen far too many missing children cases over the years, and he was not about to let anyone add Rose Metcalfe to that list.
Whilst finishing off his task of taping off the area around Scarlet's broken body, at a sufficient distance that no one would be able to make out his features, Grey was distracted by his epaulettes flashing golden and his cap microphone dropping into place.
"Grey," panted Ochre's voice, "Rose has escaped. I reckon she's coming to find her dad."
"SIG," Grey replied calmly. "I'll keep an eye out for her." He attached the coloured tape to a bicycle rack on the wall of the hotel and scanned the perimeter of his fencing. A small but inevitable crowd of rubberneckers was gathering at one edge, trying to see what had happened. A few were pointing, not at the body, Grey noticed, but at a small girl who had ducked under his barrier and was running towards him. Grey raced to her in an attempt to catch the girl before she could reach Scarlet, but it was too late. Grey watched in horror as Rose knelt by her father's side and stroked his hair.
"Rosie?" Grey said gently, so as not to startle the child.
"Does Daddy always look like this when he dies?" she asked, her voice trembling slightly but otherwise calm.
Well, I'll be damned, thought Grey. She does know.
"No, Rose, not always," Grey told her, pulling her slightly away from Scarlet. Her hands and knees were slick with his blood. Grey pulled out his handkerchief and wiped at the girl's hands.
Ochre and Blue soon arrived and cleared the crowd with the assistance of Spectrum New York's ground forces. Grey gently picked up Rose and carried her to the SPV, leaving Blue and Ochre the distasteful task of picking up Scarlet's shattered body. It wasn't something that Grey had ever gotten used to, and he wondered how Blue coped with it on such a regular basis. Grey recalled being told once that Blue prayed every time Scarlet died. Grey wished that he had the faith to do that.
Finally, Blue and Ochre finished moving Scarlet to the other SPV and had arranged for the ground forces to deal with the dead Mysteron agent on the roof.
"Who gets to go with him?" Ochre asked bluntly, wiping his hands on his trousers and praying that Blue would take the body. However, he realised with a start that if that were to happen, he and Grey would have to cope with Rose in the other SPV; she would doubtlessly be full of questions. Neither was an appealing prospect.
"I'll stay with Paul," Blue said finally. "I'm more used to it than you. You go with Grey and Rose. He's got her settled for now. We'll meet up at the airport."
"Rhapsody's gonna kill us," Ochre moaned to Grey as they drove to the airport.
"We'll just explain it to her," Grey said calmly. "I'm sure she'll understand."
"Yeah, right," Ochre scoffed. "Rose wasn't supposed to know!"
"I did," Rose chimed in helpfully.
"What?!" Ochre was stunned, and turned to stare at the young girl. The SPV swerved, and he looked back to his monitor quickly.
"I always know when Daddy dies," she said, as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.
"Who told you, Rosie?" Grey asked, hugging the child on his lap tightly. "Is it your mommy, or someone else?"
Rose shook her head. "No, no one," she told him. "Mommy sometimes tells me that Daddy's been hurt, but I always already know."
"I'm sorry, Paul," Blue said to his insentient friend. "She saw you. Couldn't be helped - she pulled a fast one on us. She's getting more and more like you the older she gets, God help us all. She's taking it pretty well, all things considered, but perhaps it hasn't sunk in yet. Unless, of course, she knew; I wouldn't put that past her. She always seems to know whenever you're around. And them. You should have seen her with Black - all that work we did to get her to recognise him, and the first time she sees him, he's 'Uncle Conrad'. Typical, isn't it? I wonder why? I can't see them loosening their hold; not whilst he's on a mission."
He hesitated, gathering his thoughts.
"Black said she was important to the Mysterons," he began hesitantly. "Maybe he was wrong, maybe he was lying, but what if he wasn't? Rose trusted him enough to take his hand, so maybe I should trust him about that. What if she is special? What if the threat was about her, not you? God, that's almost impossible to think about, isn't it? But, buddy, what if I'm right? 'A great weapon' she sure ain't - not right now, anyway… But maybe, one day… I can't think about that, either; it's just too horrible. That poor kid - she's never going to know a life outside of Spectrum now, is she? What's this; three? Four times they've tried to get her?
"As for you, it's not like you not to charge the battery in your communicator. Real useful that was, not being able to warn you that you were in danger. I suppose I'd better call them, let Dianne know you're both safe. She's going to kill me when we get back, isn't she? And I won't bounce back like you do."
With a reluctant sigh, he contacted Cloudbase and updated Colonel White as to the situation.
"Has Rose seen her father?" the Spectrum commander asked.
"Yes, sir," Blue said with a sigh. "She escaped our custody and went to find him. She seems to be okay; she's in the other SPV with Grey and Ochre at the moment."
"The child was bound to find out one day," White said. "She is quite mature enough to understand."
"I hope so, sir," Blue responded. "Sir?"
"What is it, Blue?"
"The threat, sir," Blue said cautiously. "I think it was about Rose, not Scarlet."
"Indeed?" White mused. "Are you certain?"
"No," Blue admitted, glancing over at the crumpled form of his friend before continuing: "but I think Scarlet was killed because he was in the way. The Mysterons didn't seem particularly interested in ensuring he wouldn't come back."
"That is most troubling," White said. "You and I will have to discuss this once you are back on Cloudbase."
"SIG, sir," Blue said with a heavy heart.
Less than fifteen minutes later, Blue had rendezvoused with the others at the New York base and transferred their two charges onto a prepared SPJ, ready for the return to Cloudbase. Grey volunteered to continue with his babysitting duties and, right that moment, Blue was more than happy to let him field the awkward questions that were bound to be flying around the cabin. He therefore volunteered himself as pilot, and Ochre agreed, only because of Blue's fearsome reputation as a back-seat pilot.
Rose's eyelids began to droop almost as soon as they were in the air, a fact that greatly pleased her two guardians. Once she was fully asleep, Ochre took the opportunity to check on Scarlet, who was travelling in a small side cabin, out of Rose's sight.
"How is he?" Grey asked softly.
"Still dead," Ochre replied in a grumbling tone as he re-entered the main cabin. "R&D should invent something to check this for us."
"Funny you should say that," Grey said. "Scarlet was telling Blue and me just before he left a few days ago that Doctor Fawn's suggested something similar, to measure his rate of recovery. I'm sure it wouldn't take much of a modification to alert us when he starts breathing."
"The sooner, the better," Ochre groused as he returned to his seat. "He's a real mess right now; it's making me kinda queasy just looking at him."
"Ochre!" Grey hissed, indicating to Rose.
"She's sound asleep," Ochre pointed out. "I wouldn't say something like that if she could hear me - what am I, insensitive?"
White had been expecting Rhapsody's visit. Her transit time from Angel One to the Control Room was impressively short on that occasion - an improvement of almost ten seconds on the previous best, set by Symphony when Captain Blue had been injured.
"Please, Colonel," the pilot begged as she screeched to a halt in front of his desk, "tell me what's happening?"
White pressed two buttons on his console, firstly causing a stool to rise from the floor and secondly dropping the privacy screen between them and Lieutenant Mauve. Rhapsody perched on the edge of the stool, her fingers not quite releasing their death-grip on her flight helmet.
Rose stirred in her seat and opened her eyes to stare straight at Grey, who was seated across from her. As he met her eyes, she smiled and nodded slightly, before falling asleep again, her head inclined just ever so slightly towards the compartment where Scarlet lay.
Frowning and unnerved by the sudden realisation that the child sat sleeping in the chair opposite was not entirely human, Grey called out to Ochre to check on Scarlet's status.
"Well, he was dead about a minute ago when I checked," Ochre responded, moving nevertheless. "Hey, wait, he's breathing now. How did you guess?"
"I didn't," Grey replied, dryly. "Rose did. I'm sure she did."
"What do you mean?" Ochre asked, coming into view. "How could she have known?"
"She woke up, just now, smiled and went back to sleep," Grey said. "It must have been that. How, I don't know: you'll have to ask Black next time you stop and have a chat."
"It wasn't like that," Ochre said sharply. "He was human. Looked like hell too."
"That was probably the best opportunity we've had in years to get rid of him."
Ochre's eyes blazed with anger. "Could you have done it in front of her?" he hissed at his comrade, indicating to the sleeping child. "Shot her 'Uncle Conrad'?"
"You're kidding?" Grey looked stunned, his accusative mood evaporating in light of this news.
"Wish I was," Ochre said, slumping back into his seat. "I heard her clear as day. Who the hell taught her that?"
"No idea," Grey said, "but I can't believe it would be any of us."
"Me neither, but she's picked it up from somewhere."
"Maybe Black himself?"
Ochre shook his head. "He seemed as surprised as we were; said he didn't deserve the name."
"Well, he's got that right. And I've noticed on the photos that he's been looking worse and worse for a while now."
"Maybe Scarlet and Blue have been right all along and he's still human," Ochre mused. "That would explain why he's aging when Scarlet isn't."
"Yeah, it would," Grey agreed. "I wonder if he knows what he's doing, then? At least Scarlet has the luxury of not remembering what they made him do, which was practically nothing compared to Black."
Ochre fell silent, deep in thought. Sure, he had never really liked Black, even back at the beginning of Spectrum, but no-one deserved that.
.oOo.
The plane was barely in the hangar when the hatch was released and Rhapsody threw herself into the cabin.
"Rosie!" she cried, hugging the little girl fiercely. "Are you all right?"
"Yes, Mommy," Rose said. "I was scared for a bit, but then Uncle Conrad saved me and it was okay again."
"Uncle… uncle…" Rhapsody stuttered, releasing Rose in shock. Ochre could see her mouthing the word 'Conrad', trying to understand what Rose had said. He wasn't sure that he understood, and he had been there.
"Captain Black was there," he offered. "He didn't seem to be under the Mysterons' control."
Rhapsody nodded wordlessly, eyes wide as she tried to assimilate the disjointed information she had received about the events on the roof of the hotel as well as what she was being told right now.
"He was fighting with them," Rose explained. "He was winning for a bit, too, but then they took him back." She frowned suddenly, the way Scarlet did when he didn't agree with an order. "They were going to hurt him. They didn't like that he helped me."
"I'm sure they didn't, my darling," Rhapsody said soothingly. "Now, you go back to our quarters with Captain Ochre whilst I talk to the others, okay? I'll be there as soon as I can."
"Okay," Rose agreed, slipping out of her seat and taking Ochre's hand. The look of relief on Ochre's face was unmistakable as he all but fled the scene.
"Paul's fine," Blue said to Rhapsody as he emerged from the cockpit and pointed the med-techs towards the back of the plane, where Scarlet and Grey were. He made sure that Ochre and Rose were out of earshot before continuing: "He's taken a fall and a bullet, but he regained vitals about half an hour ago. He'll be on his feet in no time." He stopped the moment he realised that his forced cheerfulness wasn't putting Rhapsody off in the slightest. He thought that she might actually be calm after hearing how she had spoken to Rose, but he'd been wrong. She was mad as hell; blue eyes blazing, fists clenched, the air practically crackling around her.
"I can't believe you let her see him like that!" Rhapsody screamed at him. "Hell, Adam, I thought you had more sense than that! You know how we feel about this!"
"I…" Blue started to reply. The med-techs scarpered as quickly as possible behind Rhapsody's back. Blue had never seen them get Scarlet out of a plane so quickly before.
"I can't believe that you let her out of your sight! You know what she's like - she'll go to any lengths to find her father and you let her go!"
"We…"
"She's only seven years old! She's not ready to face something like this!"
"Dianne!" Grey shouted. Rhapsody was so shocked that the tirade of abuse she had been about to hurl at Blue never managed to make its way past her vocal cords.
"Now," Grey continued calmly, "if I might draw your attention to what Rose said about Black for a moment, you might be able to put some perspective on this."
Rhapsody frowned. "What has that got to do with anything?"
"Dianne, she just told you that Black was fighting the Mysterons off, then they took him back over. She knew that; no one told her. Hell, I didn't even know that until just now."
"Me neither," Blue added helpfully. "She also knew that they were about to teleport him away before they did it."
"And…" Grey picked up the thread, "she knew the moment that Paul regained his life-signs, even though they were at separate ends of the plane, separate cabins even. Dianne, Rose is not stupid, and she is very perceptive when it comes to the Mysterons and her father. She knows that he dies and comes back to life; she says she knew before this happened, and I believe her. Honey, she knows everything, and look at her: she's the same, happy little girl she always was."
Rhapsody started to tremble as tears welled up in her eyes. "Oh, God," she choked as Blue enveloped her in his arms. "She's just a little girl. She shouldn't have to deal with this."
Blue guided Rhapsody to a seat and held her as she sobbed into his shoulder.
Blue eventually palmed Rhapsody off on Symphony and set out for his meeting with Colonel White. These little meetings were cropping up more and more regularly these days and whilst he knew that it was good that the colonel trusted him, confided in him, Blue got the distinct impression that White was grooming him as a successor or, at the very least, an official second in command and he wasn't sure that he liked that. As flattering as White's faith in him was, the camaraderie between him and his fellow officers was certain to change if he suddenly outranked them.
White was standing in one of the observation tubes when Blue entered the Control Room.
"Ah, Captain Blue. How is Scarlet?" White asked as the younger man approached.
"Well on the way to recovery, sir," Blue informed him, stepping into the tube. "He should be up and about soon enough."
"And the rest of the family?"
Blue shrugged. "Rose seems to be okay and Rhapsody's shocked and still pretty upset about it, but you know her - she'll get over it. I left her with Symphony."
"Did you tell Rhapsody of your concerns?"
"No, I didn't want to scare her."
White nodded. "Quite right. There is no sense in alarming any of them without due cause. Tell me, Captain; what led you to your conclusion?"
Blue gazed out at the clouds, turned orange by the setting sun. "Believe it or not, sir, it was Captain Black. He was right there, as human as ever. He told us that she was important."
"In what way?"
Blue sighed. "I have no idea; he didn't get a chance to tell us more than that before they teleported him away."
"Do you know why Captain Black was himself?"
Blue hesitated.
"Captain?"
"I have a theory," Blue said softly. "It's pretty unbelievable, and if I'm right then I really don't like it, but…"
"You wonder whether it was young Rose's presence that was protecting him from Mysteron control?"
Blue stared at this commander, surprised that the same idea seemed to have occurred to him too. "You don't think it's crazy, then?"
"Not after all you've told me," White said. "It's an interesting, if disturbing, supposition. Not one that I would be keen to see tested in the near future, at least."
"No, sir," Blue agreed readily. "And that's something else - even if I'm wrong and this threat wasn't about her, even if Black was wrong and she isn't particularly important to the Mysterons, she is to us and the Mysterons can still use her against us. We're all far too close to that kid to ever let anything happen to her."
"Yes," White growled. "This is precisely the reason I did not want families on this base. If that girl had been anyone else's child…"
"I know, sir," Blue said. "But she isn't, and there's a good reason she lives here."
"A fact that has become all too evident," White said with a sigh. "Even if you are wrong, and I pray that you are, we cannot take the chance of sending her away."
Blue shook his head. "It's all she's talked about for about a month. I hope she understands."
"She will have to," White said. "However, the threat is passed for now…"
"Sir?"
"You know how the Mysterons work, Captain: they have failed this time and will no doubt turn their attention to something else. For the immediate future, whichever of them was the target is safe," White said with a sly smile. "And I see no reason to alarm Scarlet's parents by not having them turn up as scheduled, especially since Harmony and Melody are well again. What do you say?"
"Perhaps they should have a discrete escort, just in case," Blue suggested, keeping his expression carefully neutral.
"Of course, Captain," White said. "Is there anyone in particular you had in mind?"
"Someone the elder Metcalfes are familiar with, obviously. Anyone else would arouse suspicion."
"Obviously." White's eyes were twinkling with amusement. "I suppose that you and your wife should begin packing immediately. The weather forecast is excellent for next week."
Blue snorted. "I know England too well, sir, and your definition of 'excellent' weather is different to mine - I'll be taking my sou'wester."
White chuckled as Blue left the Control Room.
.oOo.
Scarlet awoke in Sickbay to a crowd: sat in his usual spot by the bed was Blue and, beside him, in a second chair, sat Rhapsody Angel who was holding Rose tightly in her lap. All three were beaming at him.
"Daddy!" Rose cried joyfully, reaching out for him. He leaned over and, with Blue's assistance, he pulled her up onto the bed and hugged her tightly.
"The big secret's out," Blue said in response to Scarlet's questioning look. "Apparently, someone was keeping a secret of her own, too."
Scarlet's gaze turned to his daughter, who shrugged nonchalantly.
"You all think it's weird when I know things," she said in a soft voice, "so I didn't tell you."
Scarlet gave her another tight squeeze. "You can always tell us anything, my little Angel. Anything at all, even if it's weird."
Some time later, Colonel White appeared in the doorway.
"Am I interrupting?" he asked, seeing the four of them happily chatting about the zoo.
"No, sir," Blue said quickly, getting smoothly to his feet. "I need to be going anyway. Rose, why don't you come with me? I hear that Magenta is looking forward to a chess rematch."
Rose grinned. "Okay. I'm going to kick his fanny this time."
"Rose! What did I tell you about that word?" Rhapsody scolded.
"Not to use it in the UK," Rose said immediately as Blue helped her off the bed, grinning madly.
There was a short pause, then: "I suppose I did. Go on, and make sure you do beat him."
Blue shepherded Rose out of Sickbay.
Scarlet's eyes narrowed. "Why do I get the feeling that was set up?"
"To some extent, it was," White admitted as he took the newly vacated seat. "Captain Blue is well aware that there are certain things that need to be discussed."
"What do you mean, sir?" Rhapsody asked.
"Based on his interaction with Captain Black, Captain Blue has suggested that the latest Mysteron threat might have been directed at Rose," White said. "I see no reason to dismiss his concerns."
Scarlet's shoulders slumped. "He's right: they were after her. She was the only thing they were interested in. I was in their way."
"I hardly think I need to say this," White said bluntly, "but Rose cannot ever go to school."
"I know, sir," Scarlet replied. "It's just too much of a risk. We'll have to arrange a tutor for her; we can't keep relying on our friends and colleagues. Rose will be so disappointed."
"I suspect that she will understand, considering the events on the surface," White said.
"What do they know that we don't?" Rhapsody asked desperately. "Rose is harmless - she wouldn't hurt a fly. She's certainly not some kind of weapon, as that threat said. She can't be."
"We may never know," White said kindly. "The Mysterons are bound to know more about Rose than we do; including the potential she may or may not have. All we can do at the moment is to keep her safe. Now, about your furlough…"
He really is an old softie, Scarlet mused as he climbed aboard the SPJ the next morning along with Blue and Symphony, bound for Winchester. According to Colonel White, they were going as a guard, just to make sure that the Mysterons didn't try anything again, but Scarlet suspected that it was firstly for his and Rhapsody's peace of mind and secondly to give Blue and Symphony some time off without an official furlough.
Whatever White's reasons, Scarlet was determined that this week was going to be one to remember for his friends and family. As for him, he wasn't altogether convinced that the Mysterons would give up on Rose so readily; he would be on his guard the entire time, ready to defend his little girl, whatever the cost to him.