Shattered Perceptions
Chapter Nineteen
by Tim Francovich
Lepton peered through the odd-looking medical tool. "Your left ear-drum has ruptured," he announced. "The right one will be all right."
"Swell," Boomer muttered, fingering her ear-lobe. "Got any more pain-killers?"
"Will this mean permanent hearing loss?" Sam asked.
Lepton shrugged. "Maybe. Maybe not," he observed morosely. "It'll take a better doctor than me to tell you."
"We need to take her back to Earth, Cable," Sam pleaded of their leader who was watching silently. Major Domo had taken them to a Cadre Alliance base far out in the wilderness.
Cable nodded. "I'll ask Domo's teleporter to send you two back," he said.
"Just them?" Warpath asked. "We're not going back?"
"Not yet," Cable answered. "I've neglected my promise to Shatterstar for too long." Cable turned and walked away.
"I'm so sorry, Tabitha," Siryn offered, touching her shoulder.
"Huh?"
Cable found the Rebel at the edge of the camp, looking up at the evening star that had just appeared on the horizon. He turned at Cable's approach. "How are the children?" he asked.
"Siryn is fine, just shaken up," Nathan answered. "Boomer needs medical help. I'm going to let her and Sam go back to Earth."
"And what of the rest of you?" As he spoke, Shatterstar and Windsong, cleaned up and bandaged, joined them. Cable turned to look at Star.
"Are you all right?"
"I will be fine, sir. What are your plans?"
"A long time ago," Cable began, "I promised you that X-Force would help you overthrow Mojo V and Spiral. I... deliberately forgot that promise. I apologize. But now I'm willing to fulfill that promise. We'll stay as long as it takes."
"No," the Rebel said quietly. The others turned to look at him. The sun was setting over his shoulder and the breeze danced in and around his white hair.
"What do you mean?" Cable asked, clearly taken aback.
The old man looked into Star's eyes and smiled. "Someday, Shatterstar will rule Mojoworld," he replied. "Everyone knows it and Mojo will do whatever it takes to stop it. But he will not prevail. Even Spiral knows this. You will rule our people, Star." He paused. "But not yet. You have learned much during your time on Earth, yet you are not quite ready."
"But..." Shatterstar began.
"Let me finish," the old man said, raising his hand to quiet Star's protest. "There are many more things you must learn on Earth before you return. And when you lead our people, you will teach them. After all, they do not know what it means to be free men. Without a leader who knows what freedom is, they would soon become as corrupt as the spineless ones have been. You, Star, will prevent that... someday. For now, you must return with your friends to Earth."
Star bowed his head. "I accept your decision," he said quietly and turned away. Windsong looked at the Rebel with a pained expression and followed Star as he trudged back into the camp.
"As odd as this may seem," Cable said after a few moments, "I understand what you've said."
The Rebel smiled. "I thought you might."
"How will you know when Star IS ready?"
The sun had dipped completely behind the horizon. The evening star was shining brightly. "I'll be keeping an eye out," the old man replied. Cable thought for a moment that the Rebel's eye had flashed as he said that. "I'll know."