Teaser The medal doors swung opened letting in the light from outside. The room was cold and had a damp feeling to it. It was also very dark. A man walked in and approached the table that was centered in the room. He was wearing a full dress United States Navy Uniform and was carrying a hat in his right hand. The hat read Navy SEALs. His steps echoed throughout the room. He stopped less than two feet from the table and stood at full attention. There were two officers sitting on the opposite side of the table. Both of them wearing Admiral ranks. One of the men looked up from a piece of paper he was holding and looked straight into the mans eyes. "You understand that this is just an informal inquiry into the events that happened on one August third, nineteen-hundred and ninety." The man continued to look ahead. "Yes sir I do." "Then be seated." The Admiral replied. "Please state your name and rank for the record." "My name is Captain Steven Gorman of the United States Navy SEALs." "Let the record show that Admiral Wright and Admiral Fillipone are the only other persons present in the room." Admiral Fillipone, who had been the person speaking, took off his glasses and rubbed his eyes. "You do of course realize that there are some" He paused trying to choose the right word. "Inconsistencies, with your report do you not Captain Gorman?" "Yes I do sir. And on my word as a United States officer I swear that everything happened exactly as it is written." The two Admirals looked at each other with a very uncomfortable look on his face. "I'm sorry Captain but do you honestly expect us to believe that..." Steven Gorman interrupted the Admiral with rage in his voice. "With all do respect Admiral I don't give a shit what you believe. I lost two men out there. You told us that there would be no resistance from any forces Iraqi or otherwise. Well you were wrong, SIR." Admiral Fillipone started to shout. "Captain I will not tolerate that kind of behavior. Is that understood?" "Yes Sir, but let me tell you this; if I have to look one more person in the eyes and tell them that their Husband, or Father, or Son died in a training accident there's gonna be hell to pay." Gorman started slapping his hands together in repetition to his words. "That man was my friend." "We've all lost friends in combat Captain." "Don't give me that melodramatic bullshit. That might work on a petty officer but not on me. Next time I'll let you go to my sister and tell her that her husband is dead but I can never tell her why. You do that sir and maybe, just maybe you'll understand." Admiral Wright interrupted the two. "Look this is getting us nowhere. Perhaps it would be best if Captain Gorman started over from the very beginning." Steven Gorman took a deep breath. Act 1 Laugher spread through the bridge of the Shadow Horseman as Michael Mirek finished telling his tale. "I'm serious guys. I didn't know it was her brother." Gorman was in a fit of laughter. Lapel bent over and grabbed his stomach, he almost couldn't catch his breath. Tarbis was seated in that back as usual and was as red as a Romulan could get. "It's not that funny." Mirek said with a somewhat pouty voice. Allenby took a breath, "It is from our end." They went around the room like this every time they were able to get a chance. Each of them telling stories about their lives before and after joining the Special Ops academy. It was times like this that made them feel more of a family rather than just a team. They all somehow managed to calm down from their hysterical fit when Allenby turned to Gorman. "Sir, I don't believe I have ever heard you talk about your family." Lapel turned to face his view screen. He knew that family matters was not something Gorman ever talked about. The room became uneasy. "Well there isn't much to tell actually." Gorman stared blankly out the window in front of the bridge. "All I have is April back on Earth but obviously I rarely ever see her." He paused. "Then of course there is my father." "Your father sir?" Allenby asked. Lapel shook his head slightly he was hoping that Allenby saw him and would catch his meaning. It took Gorman some time to answer. "My father was..., is pretty much like us. He was on an SO team for about ten years during the first Cardassian war. After he took a phaser blast point blank he was taken out of active service." Gorman continued somewhat sarcastically. "When Starfleet decided he was fit for duty they wanted to give him a Starship. Of course he refused. Instead he took on a the duty of Captaining a Science vessel." "Well that doesn't sound too bad." "No he loved it actually. I could never figure out why." Gorman waited a moment. He sighed heavily as if he was in the room alone. "He was one of the first ships sent into the Gamma Quadrant six years ago when they first discovered the worm hole. I received a communiqué from him a day after he had already left. It was the last time I ever heard from him." "Oh." Allenby said sympathetically. "I'm sorry sir, I wouldn't have brought it up if I had known.." "It's ok Tess. There is no way you could have known." Gorman hoped he had made her feel better, but they all knew the evening was ruined. Even though none of them had ever met Gorman's father they all felt sympathy for him. After all isn't that what a family is for. Gorman felt the air on the bridge grow stale and very cold. He stood up from his chair and walked off to his left. "I'll be in my ready room if anyone needs me." He entered his ready room and waited for the whoosh of the doors closing behind him. He stopped a moment to think about his father and then moved to the replicator. "Scotch on the rocks." He took the drink and sipped on it a little. "This damn synthaholic crap." He said in disgust. Next to the replicator there was a small drawer which he pulled out of the wall. Inside the drawer was real Scotch. None of that synthetic crap as Gorman liked to say. Before he could open a bottle he was startled by a voice coming from behind him. "Such a sad sad sob story." Gorman turned but didn't see anyone. He shook it off believing he only imagined it when his chair turned around to face him. Sitting in the chair was a man about the same height as Gorman with short dark hair and dressed in an Admirals uniform. The man continued in a child like voice. "My Daddy is missing. Oh want someone please help me find him. What a pitiful excuse for a human." "Just who the hell are you!" Gorman shouted. "Now now there's no need to shout. I'm not hard of hearing you know." "Answer my question. Gorman to Tarbis you are needed in my ready room and bring a phaser." "Oh now, there is no need for hostilities either. I come bringing you information." The man turned to look at the statue Gorman had on his desk. "The only easy day was yesterday. That is so true Captain." Allenby and Tarbis busted into the room each of them carrying a phaser. Allenby stopped in her tracts when she saw the man in the chair. She dropped her phaser, "Q!" *** Q turned to face the woman. "Do I know you from somewhere?" "I should say so." Allenby answered. "I served on the Enterprise." "Ah yes, Jean-Lucs' ship. Well since we are such old friends why don't you introduce me to your ship mates." "He is no friend of mine Captain." Gorman pace to the side of the desk. "So your this Q that I have heard so much about." "You heard about Mwa. I'm flattered." "Every Captain in Starfleet goes through several weeks of debriefing into your little play time escapades with the Enterprise." "Oh come now. I helped old Picard more then you will ever know." "Just what the hell are you doing here on my ship." Q bobbed his head from side to side. "Eh no not yet. That would be too easy." "Get on with it Q I don't have time to stand here arguing with the likes of you." Q stood up and realized he was shorter that Gorman. He cocked his head back as he was looking up at a tower. "That's where you're wrong Captain. Time is everything that you do have." Gorman knew that an argument was not going to get him anywhere so he decided to back off. "You said you had news for me." "That's right I do. Oh this is going to be so much fun." "Don't trust him Captain." Allenby said. Q shot her a glance and in a flash of light everyone except Gorman disappeared. "There that's better. Much more peaceful without the old woman around wouldn't you say?" "What did you do with them. Bring them back now!" Gorman stood just a few inches from Q's face. "Relax they're safe. I would never dream of harming a member of your little family here." Q smirked a little. "Which brings me to my point. I can tell you where your Father is." "What?" Gorman was no longer shouting. "What do you mean?" "Family is very important to you isn't it Captain?" "Family is everything to me." "Hmm, curious. You Humans place the value of your families over your own life. I have never understood that." "Damnit Q!" "Oh relax. If it is family you want then Family you shall have." Q started to pace. "No this is too easy. I have a better idea." Q and Gorman both disappeared. Act 2 It seemed as if no time had passed from the time Gorman left the ship to where he was standing now. He was startled to discover that he was alone. He looked around trying to in some way figure out where he was. The sky was black with no Moon in site. As he looked towards the horizon all he could see was sand for miles around. There were a few building here and there but nothing that struck his interest. He turned around only to find a vast ocean crashing down onto the sand in front of him. The water ran towards him and he moved back so as to not get his shoes covered in sand and water. Q's voice came from nowhere "What's the matter afraid of a little water." He appeared next to Gorman in a flash of light. Gorman was not in the best of moods. "Where the hell am I Q?" Q walked in a circle around Gorman. "Look around you Gorman. This is where it will happen." Gorman looked up towards the sky. "Where what will happen?" "Where you decide your fate. Where you decide the fate of your family." "What the hell are you talking about Q. WHERE AM I?" Gorman approached Q and stared him in the eyes. Q seemed intimidated although he didn't show it. "Earth. That's where you are." Q stepped back away from Gorman. "Shocking isn't it. Almost Ironic." "What do you mean?" "I mean look at you. You're just one huge Grunt. You spend your entire life protecting this planet from any type of force and it pays you back by deciding your fate for you." Gorman thought it better to cooperate if he was going to get anywhere. "I still don't understand." "Of course you don't. You're a simple minded human, but what you do want to know is what happened to your Father." "Yes." Gorman agreed. "Then the test will start here. As I said Captain, your fate will be decided here." Q raised his hand and prepared to vanish from sight when Gorman stopped him. "Wait Q I still don't understand why I'm here. Why you brought me to this point on Earth. Where is this." Q shook his head. "Relax I have taken care of everything. All you have to do is play along..... and survive. Oh and Captain, it's not the where you need to be concerned with Captain, it's the when" Q and Gorman both disappeared again. *** Gorman found himself standing outside a door marked briefing room. Men were moving through out the hall way all of them dressed in uniform. Gorman looked down to find himself wearing a Navy uniform with a patch on the side that read, US SEAL's. Gorman shook it off. "No it can't be." He thought. Why the hell would could Q have brought me here. Gorman noticed a young man running as fast as he could through the hallway directly towards Gorman. Gorman wasn't sure what to think when the young man stopped just a few inches in front of him. "Excuse me sir." The man was shaking and was very nervous. "I need to get in there." He motioned towards the door that Gorman was standing in front of. "Oh." Gorman said as he stood aside. The man bolted through door. Gorman peaked inside and saw several people sitting in the room. All of them watching the TV screen that was just a few inches below the ceiling. Gormans curiosity was peaked. He stepped inside. He saw at least a dozen men. all of them with their eyes glued on that screen. Gorman was quiet and watched what they were so interested in. There was a man on the screen that Gorman thought he recognized but he wasn't sure. Forty eight countries, with forces in the Gulf Area, have exhausted all reasonable efforts to reach a peaceful solution. We have no choice but to drive Saddam Hussein by force." Everyone in the room shifted in their chairs in an uneasy manner. Our goal is defined. Iraq must withdrawal from Kuwait completely immediately and without condition. People in the room exchanged glances. Gorman now knew where he was. The liberation of Kuwait has now entered it's final phase. I have therefore directed to use all forces available, including ground forces from Kuwait. The screen quickly turned off as several men walked through the door. "Attention on deck!" Someone Shouted. Everyone in the room jumped to their feet as a Navy Captain walked in accompanied by two Admirals. One of the Admirals was a taller that the other two. His bald dark head made him stand out from everyone in the room. Gorman almost lost his stomach when he saw that the other Admiral was Q. The men parted from their seats in order to give the officers room to approach the front of the room. The taller Admiral was the first to step up to the podium at the front of the room. He turned and face the crowd. "As you were." He paused for a moment giving everyone time to take their seats. "As I am sure you saw we will be going into Iraq. We all knew this day was coming and as United States Navy SEAL's you knew that you would be the first." The Admiral looked around the room proudly. He had nothing but respect in his voice. "For the mission specifics I am turning this briefing over to Captain Steven Gorman." Shawn Gormans grew larger than the room itself. He couldn't believe what he was seeing. On of his ancestors in the same room as him. "It can't be possible" He thought to himself. The Captain approached the podium and started to speak. "Here is our main objective." He waited as the lights were turned off and a screen dropped down from the ceiling. On the screen was an outline of the country of Iraq. Along with symbol representing the many countries that were stationed over there. "We will infiltrate the east seaboard of the Iraqi desert. From there we will proceed to detonate explosives throughout the building along this stretch of land." He was pointing towards the buildings that Gorman remembered from earlier. "Lights" Steven Gorman ordered. "Our objective is clear. We believe that by destroying these objectives the Iraqi government will assume that this is where the invasion will take place. They will divert their troops to our location and our ground forces will swing in from behind cutting them off and leaving them no room for escape." He paused for a moment as he looked around the room. "It is imperative that we accomplish this mission. The fate of thousands of lives rest in our hands." He started to shout. "DO YOU THINK YOU CAN HANDLE IT!" Everyone in the room jumped to their feet and in one loud shout they said. "WHOORAH!" Steven Gorman smiled. "I knew you could. Admiral Q will be handing out your new team assignments and your missions. I trust you will all come home safely. Good luck gentleman." At that, Gorman stepped down from the podium and left the room. Admiral Q stepped up to the booth. "Everyone take on of these." He laid a stack of papers on the desk. "They have your new assignments and teams posted. That is all." Everyone moved to the table to pick up a slip a paper. They said nothing to each other. They simple picked up a sheet and walked out of the room. Gorman watched as the taller Admiral left the room. Q stayed behind watching over the men. Gorman was the last person left in the room. He and Q were alone. Gorman walked up to him. "What the hell are do you think you are doing Q?" Q looked back to Gorman. "I am a ranking officer, I suggest you change your tone before I have you court-martialed." Gorman felt it best not to argue. He picked up a sheet of paper and looked at it. "I'm not even on here." He said. "Of course you are grunt. You just have a different name." "And what name might that be." Gorman was beginning to become aggravated. "Lieutenant Moore." Gorman cocked his head a little as Q continued. "What's the matter, you don't like the name I chose for you. Well too bad." Gorman looked down at the sheet again. "Of course I should have known." "And what might that be?" "I figured you'd pair me up with Steven Gorman. What a big surprise." "I told you that you have no idea what you are getting yourself into to." "What is the purpose of all this." "Lets just say I want to see how you interact with your family. It server my purpose more than you will know." Gorman sighed. "Very well, but this isn't over Q." Q disappeared, but Gorman could still hear his voice. "I wouldn't have it any other way Captain." Act 3 Before Gorman had even realized it he was on his way to Iraq. He sat with his three other teammates in the cargo hold of a large aircraft. The aircraft was shaking violently from the turbulence. Across from him sat Steven Gorman. Gorman couldn't help but star at Steven. He was dressed in a black and cache colored camouflaged suit. Along with a weapon that Gorman recognized as an M-16 riffle. Strapped to his back was a parachute along with diving equipment. Steven Gormans face was painted solid black. The rest of team were dressed exactly the same way. All of them sat quietly in their seats thinking their own little thoughts. Steven Gorman glanced back at Gorman and saw that he was staring. "Scared soldier?" Steven Gorman asked. Gorman snapped out of his trance. "No sir. I have grown use to this sort of thing." He laughed to himself at the irony. "Good. The last thing I need is a scared Seal on this mission." Steven Gorman glanced at the rest of his team. There was a shorter black male seated next to him. The man was running a very large blade back and forth across a rock. It seemed to relax him so Gorman said nothing. The other man was looking towards the back hatch as if fate ware going to meet him on the other side. Steven smiled. Gorman figured he knew the man. "Hey Joe, what's the matter there?" Joe Thurman looked back at Steven. "Nothing sir, I was just thinking about things." "You know, deep thought is something you have to get use to on these missions." Gorman sat listening to the conversation. He was impressed by the fact that his ancestor was so calm and relaxed. Joe continued. "Nancy and I are thinking of having a child." Steven eyes grew large. "That's wonderful." he paused for a minute. "Although I still don't like the idea of you sleeping with my sister." They both laughed. Gorman arched his eyebrow. There was a small sound as the intercom came on. "Captain Gorman, we have climbed to three thousand feet. We will be in position in ten seconds ready your crew." Steven Gorman jumped to his feet. Shawn Gorman almost did as well but he remembered he was not in charge here. "All right you heard the man. Strap yourselves in and prepare to jump." All of the men stood in a single line and headed towards the back of the plane. There were two lights on the control panel. One marked "GO" and the other marked "HOLD". They all watched those lights intensely. Shawn Gorman was the second person in line. In front of him was Joe. Gorman felted the plane begin to ascend upward at the same time the green light started to blink. The word "GO" was flashing. The back doors to the plane opened letting in a flood of cold air. None of them could see what lay before them. It was darker than Gorman ever thought possible. Steven Gorman was in the back of the line and shouted over the noise. "You know what you have to do. We have gone over this dozens of times. We are SEAL's!" Joe shouted. "WHOORAH" as he ran forward. He leaped out of the plane and Gorman followed. The opening before him grew larger and larger until there was nothing for Gorman to stand on. He jumped out of the plane and felt a rush of air like he had never imagined existed. His stomach remained somewhere on the plane. For close to ten seconds Gorman was falling. He turned his body to look upwards towards his comrades but could not see any of them. The goggles he was wearing were iced over and prevented him from seeing more than two feet in front of him. The air rushed by violently. Gorman counted to himself. He waited until he fell for forty-five seconds and then pulled the rope on the back of his parachute. Gormans body lunged forward in the straps.The volent shock threw him a little off guard, but he regained his composure. "Well at least he was falling more slowly now." He thought. The ice on his goggles had all but vanished and he could see everything around him. It was a spectacular site. The Ocean floor directly bellow him and the pitch black sky above. The stars were amazing. Gorman thought how he had been to almost every one of those stars. Out of the corner of his eye he caught site of his team mates. They were all falling just a slow as he was. Gorman positioned his parachute so that the wind sheers would take him closer to his team. As Gorman did so he heard a voice over the intercom system that was in his ear. "In ten second we drop. Remember to keep your tanks flowing. You don't want the carbon dioxide building up in your tube. If you pass out, you're dead. We don't have time to do a search and rescue." Gorman waited for what seemed like an eternity. He watched Steven Gorman reach up to his shoulder strapped and detach it. Gorman did the same. He was free falling again without the aid of a parachute to protect him He hit the water hard. He hadn't expected the landing to be so rough. He activated his tank after he put the nozzle into his mouth. Gorman breathed with ease although he felt like he was in a box. He glanced to his left and found that the rest of the team had caught up with him. Gorman joined them and they headed towards the shore. *** Steven Gorman held up his hand ordering the team to stop. All of them quit swimming and waited for their next order. Steven Gorman pointed to the man that was holding the knife back on the plane. He then pointed back to his eyes and then up towards the top of the water. The man knew the signal completely. The man turned horizontal in the water and let his buoyancy carry him up to the surface. Shawn Gorman watched everything take place. The man allowed only the top portion of his head to protrude above the water. Gorman could see that the man was looking around, obviously checking out the surface for hostiles. The man looked back down into the water towards the team and gave a "thumbs up". Steven Gorman kicked off his flippers and let his diving tank fall to the Ocean floor. The rest of them did the same. All of them pulled down their night vision goggles over their eyes and floated to the surface riffles in hand. Gorman was holding his breath as long as he could. When he reached the surface he gasped for air. Steven Gorman heard the noised and looked in Gormans direction. He shook his head as if to say, "I thought you could handle it." Gorman ignored the gesture. They swam towards land. *** Gorman was the first to walk out of the water and onto land. he moved slowly one step at a time. He glidded his riffle from side to side as he looked through his goggles. The green light was just something he would have to get use to. He looked back through his goggles as the rest of the team joined him from out of the water. Steven Gorman caught up with Gorman and put his hand up ordering him to stop. They made a circle around a map that Gorman dropped on the ground. Captain Gorman spoke through his intercom device. "This is our objective, here, and here." He was pointing to two buildings. "Lieutenant Moore and Lieutenant Thurman, head towards the alpha target. When you set the explosives head back to this point and await for my orders to EVAC." Both Gorman and Thurman nodded. "Ok, lets move out, try to avoid as much contact as you can. We don't want to tip anyone off that we're here." Gorman grabbed his gear and headed off to the left with Thurman. Act 4 Shawn Gorman leaned up against a building and slowly peaked around a corner. His black goggles blended in with his camouflaged face. He slowly brought his M-16 riffle out in front of him and waved his hand to Thurmman. Thurman, who was standing directly behind Gorman saw the sign and came around Gormans back. He ran as fast as he could across the spread of land and dove towards the ground. He slid a few feet ending up underneath another building that stood directly across from Gormans position. Gorman watched carefully down the alleyway that led back to the desert. It was the only way anyone would enter the corridor and could easily be shot down if and when he needed to do so. He whispered into his microphone that was only inches from his lips. "Times up Thurman, time to move on." Thruman's voice came back. "Almost got it sir. There, first explosive is in place." Thurman waited for Gorman to give him the all clear signal before he crawled out form under the building. He ran back over to Gorman and they moved on repeating everything they had just done. After close to an hour there had been no problems at all. They had placed over thirty C-4 plastic explosives throughout the building they were assigned to. Gorman started to place the last explosive in place. He attached the small C-4 unit to a support pylon that sat just outside the structure. He wrapped duct tape around it as Thruman stood watch. Gorman inserted the long tube light detonator into the plastic. "There, that's the last of them. Lets head back to the EVAC zone." Thurman stepped away from the building carefully. His adrenaline rushed through him has something moved in the shadows. He shook it off. He wasn't picking up anything in his goggles so he figured it was nothing. They continued to walk back to back crouching down as they went. Moving slowly so as to not draw attention. Again Thurman saw something move but this time it was between two buildings. As if something or someone was running by. Thurman cocked his head back to whisper to Gorman but Gorman interrupted him. "I know, I saw it too." Thurman wanted to be relieved by the fact that he wasn't going crazy but realized the trouble they were in. Again a shadow ran across the alley way and suddenly was out of site. Gorman brought his riffle up to his eye, aimed carefully and fired. The silent shot flew through the air and stopped abruptly. A small man dressed in black fell from out of the shadows and into plain view. He was already dead before he ever came into view. "Nice shot sir." Thruman said. "We're not out of here yet." Gorman was more correct than he knew. At the same moment the door above them came flying open as an Iraqi soldier ran out riffle in hand. The man opened fired on Gorman and Thurman. The loud machine gun would be heard for miles as it echoed in the silent desert. Thurman flipped over and rolled on the ground. The bullets threw sand up in all directions. Thurman was on his stomach and fired his weapon without hesitation. The Iraqi soldier flipped over the banister and fell to his death. Behind them was the dead end of the alley. There was only one way out and it was the hardest and longest stretch of land Gorman had ever seen. Gorman looked into Thurmans eyes and as if they could read each other minds took off at the same time towards the opening. Bullets were no coming from everywhere. Voices and sirens were wailing through the darkness. Several men came out of the door in front of them. Gorman and Thurman never broke a stride. They fired their weapons none stop mowing down the men before them. None of the men ever had time to get off a shot. On the second story above soldiers ran across the banister trying to take a position to fire. Gorman hauled ass trying not to think about the situation he was in. more bullets blew pieces of the building away. Wood chips slammed into Gormans face cutting him, but he knew he could not stop running. He jumped on his intercom. "Moore, to Captain Gorman. You have to blow this building now. We're pinned down in here." Steven Gormans voice came back. "Negatve, that is a negative on detonation. You get the hell out of there. All of these buildings must go up at once." Thurman voice interrupted both of them. It was difficult for Thurman to talk while he was running as fast as he was but managed to speak. "Steven, We're not going to make it. You have to blow this building now." There was a long pause. Shawn Gorman jumped over several bodies that lay on the ground and was still firing. Both of them were taking down solider after soldier. The delay in communications seemed like an eternity. For the first time in all of his life, Gorman was felt fear. "Very well...... You've got ten seconds. You better make it out Joe or I'll kick your ass." Thurman dove to the ground to dodge more bullets. He turned and took out the three soldiers that were running behind them. He grabbed the microphone and pulled it closer to his mouth. "Catch ya on the flip side." He said. It was the last words he would ever speak. He jumped to his feet and with his next step he life would end. Gorman stopped in his tracks when he heard the explosion. He looked back to see Thurman flying through the air. He landed on his back just a few feet from Gorman. Gorman ran over to feel for a pulse. It was very faint. Gorman checked out the rest of Thurman and discovered what caused the explosion. Thurman was missing his legs. "A FUCKING MINE!" Gorman shouted. "Son of bitch. Of all the things that could take down a SEAL it had to be a mine." Gorman was sickened. He noticed that Thurman arms were still moving. Thurman struggled to speak but only blood came out of his mouth. Gorman knew what he had to do. He raised his riffle, and fired. Thurmans body went limp. Gorman felt a fit of rage fall over him. He took off down the alley shouting, "WHOOORAHH!". He fired bullet after bullet killing everything in his path. No one would survive his if they dared to step in front of him. He was only five feet from the opening when the building that surrounded him was incinerated. *** Steven Gorman sat crouched down behind a small mound of sand. Lieutenant Logan was perched up on top of the mound with his gun protruding over. Every few seconds he would fire a shot hoping to hit anything he could. Steven Gorman grabbed his ear piece and started to shout. "Lieutenant Moore. Come in." He turned to Logan. "Damn it why the hell doesn't he answer." Logan continued to fire. "Lieutenant Thurman. Answer me. Come in Damnit." "SIR!" Logan shouted. "We have to assume they are dead." "NO!" Gorman countered. "I won't leave any member of my team behind. Let alone my best friend." Logan lowered his voice to a sympathetic tone. "Captain, we must call for immediate EVAC. Our mission is accomplished. They are SEAL's. They knew what the risks were, it's time to leave." Steven Gorman sat to himself going over it in his mind. After a few moments he spoke into the communicator. "This Captain Steven Gorman. Commanding officer of SEAL Team Five requesting immediate EVAC at coordinates specified. Authorization Gorman-gamma-three-nine-charlie." He waited a few seconds until the reply came back. "That is a negative Captain Gorman, we have run into a little trouble on our own. We can not execute an EVAC until oh-one-thirty." Gorman started to shout. "Are you fucking insane. That's five hours. We won't last five minutes." "I am sorry sir, those are my orders. Rescue pod out." The receiver went dead. Gorman sank down the hill a foot or two. "Sir, what do we do now." Logan asked. Steven looked up to Logan with fire in his eyes. "We survive." *** Over the next two hours. Steven Gorman and Wayne Logan did exactly that. They survived. Gorman was on watch with his riffle poised and ready. He noticed he was down to his last clip but hoped it wouldn't come to that. He looked back at Logan with concern. Logan was either asleep or he passed out from all of the blood lossfrom the bullet he took. He ignored it and concentrated at the task at hand. >From the corner of his eye he saw a man crawling on his belly towards their position. He turned the riffle and had the man in his sites. As he started to pull the trigger he noticed something about the man. He squented his eyes to be sure. The man that was crawling his way was a SEAL. Shawn Gorman jumpped to his feet and managed to proceed at a slow run. He pulled himself up from the desert floor and took off towards the position of the bunker. Several shots echoed through the air as Steven Gorman provided cover fire for him. Gorman dove over he hill and landed almost on top of Logan. Logan jumped to his feet and then remembered where he was. he lowered himself back down out of the range of any bullets flying over head. "Lieutenant Moore. You're alive." Gorman shouted. Shawn Gorman had almost forgotten his new name. "Yes barely." Gormans uniform had all but been burned off. His chest was exposed as well as both of his legs. He had his right arm in a makeshift swing from what appeared to be part of his uniform. He had several cuts through out his body. "Where's Thurman?" Gorman asked. Shawn looked up at Steven. No words had to be exchanged, the look in Gormans eyes said it all. Steven closed his eyes and went back to the top of the hill. Shawn Gorman picked up Logans riffle and went a few yards to the right where he also positioned himself to provide cover fire. Gorman stretched out his arms and waited. *** Another hour went by. Gorman was beginning to feel the strain. He glanced over at his ancestor and noticed that he had fallen asleep. At least, he hopped, Steven was only asleep. Gorman started thinking to himself, "What the hell did Q want from all of this." "What makes you think it was I that wanted anything?" Came the voice of Q. Without warning Q appeared next to Gorman crouched down in the sand. "What are you doing here?' Gorman asked. "Someone might see you." "Relax, looks like your comrades have taken all the fun they could stand." "FUN!" Gorman was disgusted by Q's choice of words. "You call this fun? People are dying out here Q. Doesn't mean anything?" "Not to me it doesn't." Q coldly stated. "You have alot of nerve Q." "That I do Captain." "Q I don't time to ammuse you. As you said, I am trying to survive." "Well then I'll leave you to your task." Q dissapeard. Gorman let out the breath he was holding. He buried his hand in the sand. The voice of Steven Gorman startled him, he thought it was Q playing another trick. "What the hell is going on here. Who was that man?" Gorman rolled over to see ancestor staring down on him. "Brace yourself, Captain. I have one hell of a story to tell you. Act 5 Steven Gorman shook his head after Shawn Gorman finished telling his tale. It took alot of convinceing for Steven to believe him. They argued for almost and hour about it. Steven Gorman finally gave because there was something in Shawns voice that told him he was telling the truth. Steven had always been able to read people in such a manner." "Well, I guess that explains why you were staring at me back on the plane." Steven said. Gorman smiled. "Yeah I suppose it does." "I just find this all so hard to believe." Steven through his hands in the air. "This Federation, Starfleets of ships." He shook his head. "And this Q. It all sounds so fake." "You're still not convinced are you captain?" At those words Q appeared. Steven raised his gun to fire but realized who that man was. Shawn Gorman was now back in his Starfleet uniform. "You humans think that just because you can't see something, that must mean it doesn't exist." Q said bluntly. "I assure you, it is all true." Shawn Gorman barely let Q finish his sentence. "What now Q? What did all of this have to do with my father." Q shook one finger back and forth in front of Gormans face. "This isn't about your father. This is about you and how you deal with family. Plane and simple." "And what did that prove!" Steven shouted. "I just now found out who he really is. Mean while my friend is dead I have another soldier wounded, and there are a few dozen dead people out there I the sand." "You stay out of this." Q said back. "Everything would have happened exactly like this wether I showd up or not. I didn't change a thing." Over the intercom a mans voice could be heard. "This is rescue pod one. Come in SEAL Team Five." Steven grabbed his head set. "This is SEAL Team Five, requesting immediate EVAC." "Understood. Head out to sea. Be prepared to rondevous at previous EVAC coordinates." Steven walked over and helped Logan to his feet. "So what now Captain Gorman?" "Yes Q what now? I can do nothing more here." "I guess this test is over." Q said with arrogance in his voice. He turned to Steven "Why don't you and your little friend there get back to where you belong." Shawn Gorman could tell that Steven did not want to leave. "What about you Shawn?" "I'll be all right Captain. Time to get your man out of here." Steven walked up and extended his hand. Shawn accepted it. "Good luck to you Shawn." Steven arched his brow. "Why do I have the feeling this isn't over with." Gorman smiled. "I assure you, it isn't." With those last words Steven and Logan ran towards the ocean. Shawn heard Steven saw something under his breath. " Catch you on the flip side.". *** Gorman found himself standing in his ready room back on the Shadow Horseman. His crew had also returned to their previous positions. He looked around for Q, who as it seems, never left the Captains chair. "So what did you think of our little excursion?" "Excursion? My God Q, you truly have no soul." "Of course I don't Captain. I'm omnipotent. A soul would be too easy." "So tell me Q, what did all this prove? What was the purpose of my test?" "You still don't get it do you Captain. What a pity? And I so hopped you were ready." "Ready for what?" "Well how about I have someone explain it for you. Would that help your simple little mind." "I'm tired of these games." "Well then lets end it right here. Captain Gorman, I'd like you to meet another Q." Another man flashed into the room. He was much taller than Q and had a hint of gray hair on his head. Gorman stumbled backwards at the site of the man. He fumbled with his words but remained speechless. Somehow with every ounce of strength he had left in him he managed to push one small word out of his mouth. "Dad?" To be concluded. January 98 I would love to hear your thoughts on this first and inaugural season. Comments are welcome at Think Tank!