Bound tightly ...

[Shalin 0]

Shan sat inside the shuttle, every muscle tensed and wired. He didn't really need Command to order him to hold position; there was a squad of injured troopers heading his way who needed him to be there. He knew the drill - every good shuttle pilot did. Don't risk the transport; especially for a minority.

 

It was this same rule which prompted him to appropriate a shuttle in order to bring back Commander Wesley. Done his way the risk was minimal: one shuttle and one pilot. Bringing in the Washington's Crossing put everyone at risk, which was not his decision to make. This time it was different: there was no other shuttle, no other pilots, and no means to retrieve one errant marine without putting others at risk. The course of action was clear - stay on site and collect the team, then leave on schedule with whomever could make it back.

 

If only the errant marine wasn't Marcie.

 

It was just one of those things. Whenever Shan looked at Marcie he saw a marine, but she was his marine. Shan hated marines, but she was different. It was like someone who cared for a pit bull. Sure: the breed is aggressive, dangerous, and by all rights should be locked up or put down ... all of them but your pet Fluffy. Fluffy's different: she's cute, she's cuddly, and she's special - because she's yours.

 

To Command, Officer Granger was an expendable asset, just like the rest of the team. She was stripped of anything which spoke of who she was, and sent out with the understanding that there was a definite chance that she would be captured or killed. Officer Granger was expendable - they all were. They didn't feel what Shan felt; they couldn't.

 

Yet Shan sat and waited for the others to finally arrive. They had what they had come for, and the order from Command would arrive soon enough. Withdraw - leaving behind whoever couldn't make it to the shuttle in time. That was always the plan, and Shan would have to comply: the lives of everyone who did make it depended on him following orders. This time he couldn't disobey.

 

Sometimes things like this simply bothered him. This time it hurt.