Date: 9/12/2000
From: SouthernSlider

Good morning, good morning. Ahhhhhh. Hawaii. If only I was really there again.
Oh, DMD, you naughty boy. "Lei'd!" Ha, ha. You read my mind.
----------------------------------------
United We Stand, Divided . . . We Disappear

Chapter Five

Colin and Kelly unloaded their belongings from
the taxi in front of the airport. Conie, B.J., Walker, and
Cal had welcomed him into the group yesterday with
open arms. They all were a very a friendly sort, and
made him feel a part of the group right away. He could
tell they held Kelly in high esteem, trusting her
recommedations, and ready to protect her in any
situation. Colin could understand their feelings
completely.

When a double check of all equipment had been
made and they were assured everything had been
checked in, they made their way through the airport and
boarded immediately. Colin was more than a little
nervous about his first flight, but tried his best to hide it. The flying machine he had built and tested was nothing
like this one. As he took his seat, he wondered if his
world would ever advance this far. Especially with him
not there to push things along. He could think of no one
that would continue his work. He should never have left
that fateful day.

Kelly urged him to sit next to the window when
he had offered her the seat, citing that she was just a bit
claustrophobic, and would fair better sitting in the aisle
seat. Conie and B.J. slid in behind them, and Walker
and Cal were across the aisle.

When the engines revved up and announcements
were made by the attendants, Colin could feel the
adrenalin pumping inside him. The plane started to
move slowly to the runway and Colin grabbed the arms
of his seat. He told himself this should be a breeze
compared to sliding through a wormhole, or at least a
little smoother, but he wasn’t convincing.

“First time?”

“Huh?” Colin said as he was pulled from his
thoughts by Kelly’s voice.

“Your knuckles are white. This must be your
first flight,” she said.

“Kind of, I guess. I built a flying machine
myself, once.” What was it that Maggie had called it?
“A hang glider. But it is nothing like an airplane.”

“No. I would imagine that it’s not. I think the
plane will go much higher and faster. But, just sit back
and relax. Everything will be fine. Especially when the
attendant comes by with the drink cart.”

Kelly smiled as she patted Colin’s stiffened
hand, and he returned his attention to the passing
scenery. The man was such an enigma. He seemed so
strong and manly at times, and then there flashed those
moments of pure innocence and little-boy ways. He was
intelligent, she could tell; he had built a hang glider, for
goodness sakes! But then there were times when he was
in awe of such simple things, as if he had lived in a cave
somewhere and had never experienced modern
conveniences. The thought crossed her mind how
refreshing his contradictions were to her.

The long flight passed rather quickly with Colin
marveling at the passing clouds below. He relaxed
finally when they had been airborn for a while and let
his fascinations run wild. As awesome as sliding
through a wormhole had been, a flight across the ocean
at a speed that allowed enjoyment was so much more
moving. Kelly and the other guys in the band found
themselves enjoying the flight more too. They had long
passed the excitement of flying, but Colin’s fascinations
wore off on them as well.

“Hey, dude. You, like, bring all the fun back
into this thing, man. What a trip!” Conie said as they
exited the plane. “Thanks for the entertainment, man.”
He slapped Colin on the back as they headed into the
lobby of the airport at Hilo.

Colin smiled at the strange-sounding guitar
player. He was different from anyone Colin had ever
seen. He couldn’t remember running into that type on
any of his slides, but Kelly and the others acted as if it
was normal, although he was strangely different from
them. But only different in mannerisms and speech. In
a few brief conversations with him, Colin knew he was
an intelligent man. So many things he said were similar
to his brother’s words about physics and such. Looks
and actions could certainly be deceiving.

Those last words swirled through his mind and
echoed in his ears. Actions could be deceiving, actions
could be deceiving, actions could be deceiving. Could
that have been the case with Quinn? Maybe he had been
too quick to judge. If so, now was a fine time to realize
it.

“What’s the matter, Colin?” Kelly asked as she
approached him standing dead still in the middle of the
walkway. “You aren’t feeling sick now, are you? The
flight’s over. We’re on solid ground.”

“No. No, Kelly. I’m fine. Really.”

She looked at him a second, seeing the strange,
far-off stare in his eyes, but didn’t argue the point. Her
arm slipped through his, and she gently pulled him on
his way.

***

Quinn pushed opened the door and entered the
darkened bar. His feet hurt almost as much as his heart,
and his mind was dulled from the fruitless efforts of the
last two days. He sat down on the stool in a slump.

“What’ll it be, buddy?” said the burly bartender.

Quinn rubbed his hand across his face. “Beer.”

The bartender let out a disgusted laugh. Why
couldn’t people be specific in their request? And why
did he even bother to ask what kind? Why not just give
them the first thing his hand landed on?

“Care to tell me what kind, man?”

“Your best. I really don’t care.” Quinn turned to
look and listen to the band on stage. The bartender
frowned at his words. He remembered that same
response just a couple of nights ago. And on second
look, realized this man looked eerily like the other vague
customer that had wound up lounging here all evening
and had eventually took drunk. He shook his head, and
wondered if the scene would repeat itself with this
look-alike.

“Thanks,” said Quinn as the bartender shoved
the frosty mug toward him. He plopped down a
five-dollar bill. “Keep the change.”

“Sure thing, mister. Appreciate it.”

Quinn turned his attention to the music and let
his mind drift. There hadn’t been much time for music
in his life lately. He suddenly remembered the
wacked-out Conrad Bennish, his penchant for loud rock
music, and wondered what path his life had taken --
music or physics.

“Good old Conie. What are you up to now, man,” he said aloud.

“You say something, buddy?” asked the bartender.

Quinn turned toward him. “No. Just thinking
out loud. Just ignore me until I motion for another one.”
He raised his mug, and pointed.

“Sure thing, man,” was the answer.

Quinn turned and saw a woman pulling her
reluctant companion to the dance floor. He remembered
the night an alternate Maggie had done the same to him.
How strange she had seemed at the time, but it never
entered his mind she was a double. He just tried to go
along for the moment, and then she had kissed him. The
smile that had slowly formed suddenly disappeared.

Another dance, another kiss, floated into his
consciousness. He closed his eyes and the whole scene
replayed in his mind.

“God, Wade. How could I not see it? How
could I have been so stupidly blind all these years?” he
whispered. The bartender gave him a wary look as he
continued to talk to himself.

“It’s always a woman,” he said to his only other
customer as he nodded toward Quinn.

Quinn continued his soliloquy. “I almost died
myself when I thought you had been shot on Russian
world. And when you hooked up with that guy on
lottery world, the pain in my chest was unreal. And the
prince on English world, asking you to marry him?”
Quinn shook his head in disgust. “It’s called jealousy,
you fool. Why couldn’t you see how much you loved
her? Why couldn’t you see what Colin could see -- and
he hadn’t even been around then. Why did you have to
be so damned stupid and arrogant? Twice!”

He pulled the picture of Colin and himself from
his pocket and stared. It took only seconds for his
emotions to get the best of him. The picture fell from his fingers and fluttered to the bar as he buried his face in his hands and cursed.
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Previous post #s: P)2277 1)2280 2)2283 3)2285 4)2292

SS

Awwww. An S4 Quinn with feelings?

Date: 9/12/2000
From: DieselMickeyDolenz

What might have been, hmmmm? Another great chapter. Perhaps they should have had you write Colin's parts in S4. You certainly write him better than the professionals did.

Diesel
Mickey
Dolenz

A blast from the past...

Date: 9/13/2000
From: Foxtrottin

soooo cool!! Colin's touring with Wade's sister ... and Bennish too! This is a fun story ... angst aside ... really looking forward to seeing who and what else will pop up here ;o)

Fox

Original URL http://www.scifi.com/bboard/browse.cgi/1/5/1095/2833
Nominated by DieselMickeyDolenz