Ohio

13 - Tantalus

They'll ruin your reputation!

They'll label you a flirt!

The way they talk about you

They'll turn your name to dirt, oh!

-- The Jackson Five (The Love You Save)

=/\=

It was morning, normally the time for Rick to make a quick getaway. But the bed was comfortable, Windy was willing, and they were entangled together, a mass of arms and legs, a kind of eight-legged and two-headed life form. And so he stayed. And stayed.

=/\=

On the ISS Enterprise, Marisol and Carmen got to A deck, just in time to see a Crewman vanish into thin air, "What just happened?" asked Marisol, "They're not supposed to have intra-ship beaming."

"Come here," Carmen said, and they got behind some piping, "And keep your voice down."

Marisol nodded. Carmen continued, "They didn't have intra-ship beaming. You just saw the Tantalus Field in action."

"The what?" whispered Marisol.

"This is how Kirk keeps his power, on this particular side of the pond. The problem is no one's supposed to know about it, save for Kirk and his woman, Marlena Moreau."

"How bad is it?" asked Marisol.

"We should cut things short, so we don't fall victim."

There was a sound of a throat being cleared behind them. They turned. It was the first Crewman who'd tried to exploit them in exchange for information, "Lost?" he asked.

"We were just talking about makeup," Carmen said.

"And hairstyles," Marisol added.

"Kyle know you're here?"

"He's not our boss," Marisol said.

"I thought ...."

"He doesn't own us," Carmen said, "Now, why don't we do this? You go to the mess hall. See what's good there. Bring some of it back. We'll be waiting in your quarters."

"Uh, B deck, room 114. And, uh, whaddaya like?"

"Sweet things," Marisol said, "And things we can smear – on you, on ourselves, on each other, too."

"I'll, I'll see what I can find," he said and left, but not before groping each of them.

Marisol made a face and turned to Carmen, "How do you propose we make our departure?"

She looked around for a second, "Turbo lift. Let's go before Lover Boy starts to miss us," They got in. Carmen thought for a second, and then asked for Engineering. The lift began to descend. She engaged her implanted Communicator, "Levi?" she called, but there was no answer.

=/\=

Sheilagh was still wandering around the Kent State campus as groups began to coalesce. It was around noon, and leaflets were being handed out, saying that the rally was cancelled. But it obviously wasn't, as people chanted while waiting for the speakers to start. Someone rang the school's iron Victory Bell, it was almost like a call to arms, it seemed. The National Guard arrived, and ordered them to disperse. Then the Guard left, but they returned and used tear gas, and then fixed bayonets and herded the students up a little hill.

She saw the four women she'd met at the previous night's house party – Diane and Sherry, the African-American girls; Allison, a cheery brunette; and Chrissie, a sad-eyed brunette. They waved and she waved back. Her back was to a campus building. They were out in the open, on the little hill.