This week we have an anonymous prompt: Pain

I'm still truing to fit lost into what I had started, but this one might work better...

No worries, Becky. Get to them as inspiration hits. There's no set order or time limit.

Thought I'd add some more to last week's tale: Princess twirled a strand of hair in an attempt not to doze off. Exactly why had she agreed to stand in for Kathy again? Sure, the girl needed to pick up her son at day care and Princess, bored out of her mind, needed the cash. There had been little to no Spectran activity of late and Jill's was still closed after that last health violation. But her friend's primary job was to monitor ham radio frequencies for signs of Spectran activity. It was a Federation job, all right, but at the very bottom in terms of excitement. As Princess listened to the banter between truckers, she wondered how Kathy managed not to pull out her hair sitting and listening to such drivel. Princess flipped rapidly back and forth between channels, catching snippets of chatter: "... hear about that tire fire over at ..." "... maybe she was askin' for it, that's all I'm sayin' ..." "... broke through the guardrail at the top of Lone Mountain ..." "... think he looks better without that beard ..." Princess felt a tug from her subconscious, and her eyes snapped open. Lone Mountain? Where had she heard that name before? Her memory drifted back to an afternoon spent with Jason and the hours they had spent talking there. It was one of the first times she had really opened up to him and one of the first times he had been there for her. She smiled at the recollection, at the closeness they had shared. Lone Mountain was one of Jason's favorite places, a destination he often sought when he was troubled. Thinking of this, she remembered how angry he had been at Mark that afternoon when he'd stormed out of the training room. Her stomach dropped and a weird sense of paranoia gripped her. Surely Jason had nothing to do with that broken guardrail. But still ... She depressed a button on her cosmic communicator and Mark answered almost instantly. "What's up, Princess?" "Have you heard anything from Jason?" She tried to keep the worry from her tone. Even through the tiny wristband, she could hear Mark's deep sigh. "No. I thought I had a ping from him about an hour ago but when I tried to call him back, he wouldn't answer." Or couldn't answer. Princess rubbed the goosebumps on her arms. "Mark, can you run a trace on the G-2?" She could hear the astonishment in Mark's voice when he replied. "Princess, he didn't go AWOL. I'm not going to spy on him." "Do you know where he was headed?" "No idea. Nor do I care. He'll come back when he's good and ready." But I can't! It was Jason's voice, frightened and desperate, deep within her mind. Panic gripped her. She rubbed her left arm subconsciously and tried to slow her breathing. Freaking out wouldn't convince the commander, but sincerity might. "Mark, I don't think he can. I think something's wrong with him." Mark's laugh was brittle. "What, like he's insubordinate?" "No. I think he's in pain. He might be injured." "How do you know that?" "I ... I can feel it." She heard the snicker. "You can't possibly be serious." "Do you know when I'm in pain?" There was protracted silence on the other end of the line. Finally, Mark spoke. "What do you want me to do?" "Run a trace on the G-2. Look, Mark, I know I'm probably over-reacting, but I'd feel better knowing where he is." Mark sighed again. "All right. But just this once." After he clicked off, Princess sat back in the chair, methodically rubbing the painful cramp in her left arm.

Julie -- I really liked the glimpse in the life of the other ranks, like the operator monitoring frequencies. It's something we rarely see in BOTP. Plus I can't wait to find out what will happen with Jason!

It's reassuring to know Jason will be getting the help he needs. Even if Mark doesn't take Princess's concern seriously, I'm sure she'll be searching for him herself once her shift is over!

This is definitely turning into a fic, Julie, to follow up on the Lone Mountain one.

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KT, I'm glad to see this story continuing. I hope Ken continues to improve.

Not out of the woods, yet? What did they find?

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Hmm is right. That's quite a coincidence, EW.

EW: This does not sound good at all.

KT - poor Ken! I hate to think of operations! At least he's got Jun to hold his hand!

EW - brilliant! I love the (triple) creative use of the prompt and look forward to news of the Kanatian invasion!

Julie ... you did an awesome job in using this prompt to continue your story! Thanks for that! I'm really enjoying it and wondering what will happen to Jason! KT ... I love reading/watching angst so, albeit my heart wishes Ken a full recovery as soon as possible, you're really getting me positively anxious to read more and see what's coming next! EW ... LOL ... my second name is Dolores (yes ... a common name in our country, especially in earlier times, meaning "pain" ... ironically something which I'm very familiar with!) so I might as well be a part of this scheme!! Thanks for making me chuckle! Such a great idea of yours to incorporate the prompt in such a way, playing a triple game, which could solve the dilemma!

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Wait a minute... how can she be so powerful as to send him flying? I'm sensing special training here... *cough*GalaxyGirl*cough*

Originally posted by Transmute Jun Wait a minute... how can she be so powerful as to send him flying? I'm sensing special training here... *cough*GalaxyGirl*cough*

Gee, TJ, I don't know how you could possibly see THAT!

Galaxy Girl? Now come on. Jason has such great luck with women....

Nice update Becky!

Oops ... it seems like Jason is still not in the clear, yet! That must hurt more than his chest!

jublke: Ah, so it is Jason ... was there a bit before this showing the fight, or is that just backstory at this point? (If there's a bit from earlier could you email it?) I can see how Mark would hesitate to track Jason down without good reason while they're fighting. If everything's okay it would just make things worse. KT: Eek, oh no, poor Ken ... EW: If my translation of country names is correct, you've had Canada invade the US? Heh heh. Becky: Yeah, either she's got one serious temper or she's more than she appears.

Jason definitely has his hands full with her.

Julie- very interesting! I want to know more about their connection! And will they get to Jason in time? KT- Awwww... She would totally stay by his side...hope he's going to be ok! EW-hope that Kanatian invasion mystery is solved soon! Becky- maybe he can claim the picture was Photoshopped? *grin*