Questioning Leadership

by Seven


Disclaimer:  Earth: Final Conflict and its characters are copyrighted by Tribune Entertainment Company.  All rights reserved.



Note from Author:   Takes place not too long after "Volunteers".



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The Resistance was tired. Wounded, exhausted people were lying around Augur's place, their faces smeared with dirt, grease, blood. Liam wiped the sweat and blood from his forehead and uttered a curse that he had once heard Augur use.

Seven hours of skulking near the Taelon weapons facility. Five minutes to enter the complex. Three minutes to get out while the squad was leveled by the Volunteers.

Liam felt ill as he remembered the spray of fire as Lincoln and Aspen went down first, looking more startled than in pain. He had stared at them, astonished, as the Volunteers appeared from every nook and cranny in the building. The Resistance squad had barely had time to open the doors before more of them were gunned down.

Liam knew it wasn't right, but he felt slightly better knowing that Augur and Julia were all right. Julia was limping toward him from the makeshift medical ward established in Augur's spacious bathroom. She had taken a bullet to the leg during their escape, but had run on it all the same. She was sobbing and screaming with agony when they had gotten safely away.

She dropped beside Liam, her thin ashen face framed by her mussed hair. "How you doing?" she asked.

Liam slapped a hand over his eyes. "Horrible."

"Why's that?" Julia shifted and winced at a sting in her leg.

Liam moved over a little for her. "Julia, I don't know if I can do this."

"What? Why not?"

Liam sighed and fell sideways onto the sofa cushion. "Several reasons. One, do you remember Amanda?"

Julia snorted. "Our first meeting was a little hard to forget. What about her?"

"I was just devastated when she died. I shouldn't have been," Liam said heavily. "What do you mean, you shouldn't have been?" Julia asked. "Liam, please cut to the chase."

"I'm getting there. I should have been more disconnected, but I had difficulty just walking away from that room after she died. You'd be dead if I hadn't."

"Exactly," Julia said, putting her hand on Liam's shoulder. "You DID walk away from that room, and that's why you can be a good leader. The raid today was a failure because... well, because it was. It wasn't anything you did, okay?"

Liam nodded. Julia gave his hand a squeeze and limped off towards her cell.