Project Boussh: Faceoff By Alison Sky Alison sat back, setting her teeth in place. /Working with Kirney? Why not just put me in an X-Wing and let the Imps shoot me down. At least then I will die quickly./ She kept her composure through the rest of the briefing, and then promptly started on her way towards Face at the dais. Kirney, she noted out of the corner of her eye, stormed out of the briefing room in the completely opposite direction. "Face, a moment?" Alison asked. "Not now," Face replied, making his way to chase after the angry female. "No, we need to talk." Alison grabbed his arm. "I can't be on the team with Kirney." "That's not my decision," Face stated, shrugging out of her grip. "You have a problem, take it to your group commander, not me." "But - " Face gave her a stare, then walked away, intent on catching up with Kirney before she got too far from the room. Alison watched him go, then heard someone clear their throat behind her. "You have something to ask?" Slowly, Alison turned to stare at the young man before her. Sci stood about three inches taller than her, and he stared down with his dark brown eyes. She knew that he was younger than her, that much was obvious from his face, but by how many years she couldn't determine. It irked her a bit that he was the leader at such a young age, but she tried hard to push that thought aside. "Yes," Alison stated. "I can't be in the slicer group you have me in. Can I go with Iella and Winter and you go with Morwen and Kirney?" Sci shook his head. "I have specific reasons for the way the groups are formed. Unless you give me a reason why you need this switch, I can't allow it." /A reason besides the fact that she's out to destroy my life?/ "It's personal." Sci crossed his arms. "I need something more than that." Alison shrugged. "I don't see why our positions aren't interchangeable." "Don't change the subject," Sci stated. "I know there is something going on between you and Kirney, so spit it out. Better to get it solved now than let it blow up during the mission." "Can't do that. But if you don't change it, things will probably blow up… most likely me." Sci looked down at Alison and sighed. He heard stories from Mike and Face about just how bad Alison's "blow ups" could be. "You're just going to have to deal, Alison. There is no time to discuss this as a committee." "I'm not here to discuss, Sci. I'm telling you." Alison tried to make herself taller. "Either you switch me or I'm not going." Wedge stood aside with Tycho, watching the scene in front of them. They had both wondered why Face had run off, and new gawked at the scene before them. "I'm going to stop this now," Wedge muttered. "That girl needs a peg or two taken off the top." Tycho grabbed Wedge's shoulder. "No, it's his officer, let him handle it." "Too bad they don't have ranks," Wedge said, shaking his head. "Why's that?" "Cause there are some people who you have to pull ranks on to get them to obey. And I have a strong feeling she's on of those people." Tycho nodded, and they continued to watch. In the palace hallways, Face worked on chasing Kirney down. He found her standing beside a large window, Myn and her talking quietly among themselves. "Kirney," Face called out, putting authority into it. Myn looked over her shoulder at Face and saw the intent on the Wraith Leader's set chin. He spoke a word to his wife, kissed her cheek and walked away in Face's direction. "I don't know what you did, but boy is she ticked off at you," Myn stated, squeezing Face's shoulder. He continued on and disappeared around the corner. Once he was gone, Face approached the redhead. "I'm guessing you're still having issues with Alison?" Kirney turned sharply, and Face took a step back at the look that she threw at him. If looks had been lasers… "I can't believe you," she growled. "After all you two have been through, I just can't believe you." "What are you talking about?" "Dia is injured, on the brink of death, and I find you snuggling up to that half-pint floozy of a Terran." Kirney spat her words out, her hands making fists. "How could you sink so low?" "You don't know what you're talking about," Face stated, crossing his arms over his chest. "I know what I saw," Kirney stated. "And what did you just happen to see?" "I saw you and her in one of the storerooms, your lips attached to each other like they were fused. And don't you /DARE/ lie to me, Loran." She spitted him with her icy glare, daring him to deny it. Sci glared down at Alison. "Are you giving me an ultimatum?" he asked slowly, trying to keep any form of anger out of his voice. "You can take it like that." "Or maybe I'll take it as insubordination." A momentary look of shock went through Alison's eyes, and Sci knew now which way to go. "We may not be a regulated military group here, Sky, but we do have a set line of leadership. And I believe I am at the top, so I am the one who makes the rules." "I don't recall us ever becoming a monarchy," Alison scowled. "But you do recall that I'm the one who is in charge of this mission, do you not." Alison set her jaw. "Yes," she all but spat at him. "And do you also recall that when Cracken handed control of the New Republic officers to the Terran, I was the one who was given the leader status?" "Yes." "And being the leader of a group requires that I'm the one who spends my time working on plans to make sure when the group goes into battle, that we come back, am I right?" "Yes, but-" "But nothing." Sci looked down into her eyes, giving her the offended officer look that he had seen Tycho and Wedge use a few times. "Now you have a choice. "Either grin and bear it, or you're going to have to talk it over with Kirney and come to a settlement." "And if I say no?" "I believe I hear that you enjoyed your time in Atner's dungeon layer? You'd stay there until we got back from our assault, then when Nick arrives with your 'bago, you can then return to the Spaceport." An afterthought went through his mind. "Of course, we would have to confiscate your sword. According to protocol, it's an acquired good of Terra Group, which you wouldn't belong to anymore either. "Now what is your choice?" "What you saw, first of all, is none of your business nor my place to explain," Face stated, giving her back one of his own glares. "Both Alison and I have been through a lot together these past few days, and we fell to each other for support. Things went a little too far, and we both realized that. "What you /saw/ was the two of us finally coming to realize the cost if we didn't start thinking about what we were doing." "It didn't seem that way. Did you think of Dia at all during that?" Scorn filled his voice. "If you must know, the reason I did what I did was because I saw so many similarities in Alison to Dia that I thought in my mind I was with Dia. "I needed someone, and I wanted Dia so much that I made Alison into Dia." Face set his jaw, and for a moment Kirney wished she could take back what she said. But then thoughts of Dia filled her mind. "Have you told her?" "Told who?" "Dia." Face shook his head slightly. "When she can remember everything, and be able to understand what I need to tell her, then I will. But not until then." "You had better," Kirney stated, her voice taking on a threatening tone. "Cause if you don't, I will." With that, Kirney stormed away, leaving Face alone. The Wraith leader watched her go, then closed his eyes and let out a stream of silent curses. Sometimes he really hated being a leader. "Your choice?" Sci asked Alison again, cocking his head to one side, waiting for the swordwoman's answer. "You don't leave me one," Alison growled. "I'll go along with your grouping, Sci, but I'm not going to be the one responsible if something happens." With that, she turned and walked away, and Sci could sense there was more of dread than anger in her step. "Of course she's not the one responsible," Sci said, more to himself that to anyone else. "I am." His head started to hurt as he thought about that. "We all are," Wedge stated, coming up beside him. Tycho flanked him. "That's the pain of being a leader." Sci shook his head, trying to clear it. "I think I was harder on her over this than I intended to be. I'm normally not that...mean. Distant. I felt like a power-mad ruler." Wedge nodded. "You did what you needed to do. I don't like it, either, but sometimes you need to assert your leadership. It's like when I dressed down Corran after that run at the Pig Trough." Sci nodded, remembering how the books had described the confrontation. "How do you handle officers like her?" Sci asked, motioning towards the door that Alison had exited from. Wedge sighed. "You really can't," he replied. "Eventually, they straighten themselves out. You just need to stay sane enough until that happens." "Sanity in Terra Group?" Sci said, a smirk coming to his lips. "That'll be a first."