"Where there is no struggle, there is no strength"
---Oprah Winfrey
Yates sees an asymmetrical-being walk towards her, it emanates a blue smokey mist, with an aura of confidence. Yates is then suddenly assaulted with pure calm and serenity as the figure pushes her chin up, meeting the gaze of the stranger.
"Hi, Cap'n Yates," they say almost seductively, "do you like my place?"
Yates finally gets the chance to observe the rest of her surroundings. It attracts the eye with its modern-chic feel and royal blue accents.
She looks back at the figure, "Yuh," she says with grogginess. "It loo's li' tha' place I dreamed o' once- Speakin' of, who a'e you? 'nd how d'ya know ma' name?" Yates says, voice rising in volume, leaking suspicion. Yates begins to move to the defensive, sitting up and attempting to pull herself away from the figure's grasp.
"Now, now, Captain, no need for that nonsense. I'm not here to hurt you," they pause, "that's what your exes are for."
Yates tenses, pauses, freezes. The figure just smirks, losing its anonymity; Yates can now clearly see her face. "J- Judith!" she screams before losing coherency and eventually consciousness.
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BEEP! BEEP! BEEP! An alarm rocks the jet as Yates regains consciousness. Her ears ring in response to the abrupt outburst.
"Holy crap," she mutters under her breath, "what was that?" She pinches her wrist, making sure she's awake. With her newfound awareness, Yates fixes her posture and grabs onto the control wheel; taking control of the jet.
"Thank you, Lawrence Sperry, for helping me not die today," she says. The walkie-talkie's static then suddenly intensifies.
"Has anyone seen Officer Yates? I repeat, has anyone seen Operations Officer Yates? She last tuned in yesterday at 09:03, May 13th, of this year, 2022. Does anyone have a visual on her?-" sounds from the walkie-talkie. She picks the walkie-talkie up, not wanting to cause further trouble.
"Officer Yates here. Estoy bien! I mean, I'm good! A little cansado- er- tired and dazed, but good. I'm heading back to base at the moment, Lt Col. Percy," she replied hurriedly.
"Yates, Yates, you're good- that's good, really good. Any physical wounds? Keep us updated on your condition and location. We don't want a repeat of the Heisler Incident, now do we? Get back quickly, Yates! We need you. I need you!"
"Yess ma'am, no wounds- I promise! I'll be there in," she checks the map, "er- 30 minutes. Let's not talk about the Heisler Incident, okay?" she concludes, voice laced with melancholy.
The walkie-talkie's static settles down and Yates pushes the throttle forward. She slumps farther into her seat and her mind races. Heisler was where she lost her leg. Yates, while in her jet, crashed into a building. When she crashed, her left leg was pinned under a sign that read Heisler. The sign cut off her circulation, and she didn't inform her squadron of her condition. Eventually, she lost all circulation to her leg and it had to be amputated.
The loss of her leg still saddens her to this day, but she has bigger issues to worry about, for example, Judith.
