New
Arrivals
Author-Suzie
Titles
A New Constellation
by Suzie
Summary: An AU sending Jim and Blair on their first trip into space. Modified version of story published in Sentinel in Space.
Disclaimer: Some of the characters in this story belong to the Pet Fly Productions as part of the television show The Sentinel. I do not claim these characters as my own.
A pointless AU sending Jim and Blair on their first trip into space. I've been told that I'm a bit spacey, but I know nothing about space travel. I've also been accused of being rather starry eyed, but I know little about constellations. It's all just make believe for the fun of it.
Note: The constellations mentioned are real, but I don't know where in the sky they are. Well, they're all real except for one. <G>
Thank you, as always, goes to my Beta Beast, Jen. This is all your fault! Thank you!
Star-light, star-bright
First star I've seen tonight;
I wish I may, I wish I might
Get the wish I wish tonight.
Six months after the accidental *outing* of his Sentinel abilities, Jim Ellison and his Guide, Blair Sandburg, were approached by the United States Air Force. A program was being developed to study the Sentinel and Guide in hopes that their abilities could be used for search and rescue missions where all other means had been exhausted.
"We'll be trained for all kinds of different rescue operations," Blair said, as he, Jim, and Simon discussed the offer in the Captain's office. "Earthquakes, tornadoes... any kind of disaster... natural or man made. Jim will be able to find survivors by using his senses. He should be able to pick up sounds and smells that even the specially trained dogs can't. There's a possibility that we'll be used to locate hostages or prisoners, like when we went to Peru after you and Darryl. NASA is even going to train us so we can go into space if necessary."
"It's an excellent opportunity, Simon," Jim stated, stopping Blair's rambling. "The program is being developed around my senses. The studies will determine some of what we'll be doing, but Blair and I will have a certain amount of input into what missions we take."
"This will put Jim in a totally controlled atmosphere that I could never offer him. Who knows how this can help us to develop and control his senses," Blair said excitedly.
Captain Banks was not only their boss on the Cascade Police Force, but also a good friend who had known the truth about Jim's senses from the start.
"I don't like it," Simon said with a frown. "I don't like the fact that what you'll be doing will more than likely put you both in more dangerous situations than you've ever gotten yourselves into here in Cascade."
"We've spent time discussing this and we think we can handle it," Jim said. "I wouldn't have agreed to it if it weren't for the training we'll be receiving."
Simon nodded, then sighed, "I'm still not comfortable with it, but I think it's a good opportunity for both of you to develop a greater hold on this Sentinel thing." He looked at both of the men sitting before him. "That's not to say that you haven't learned to control it, but if this can further that control, I'm all for it."
"We'll need to take a leave of absence in the beginning. The studies and training will be in Florida and will last for about six months," Blair said. "Then, when there's a mission, it will be hard to say how long we'll be gone."
"We need a... cover. Any ideas?" Jim said.
Simon, Jim, and Blair fell silent as they tried to think. Jim and Blair would only be involved in the search and rescue program as needed and wanted their jobs in Cascade to come back to. They also didn't need or want this new program to connect them with Sentinel abilities. They media was finally losing interest in them and Jim and Blair didn't want it to start up again.
Simon stared at the mound of paperwork on his desk. One form caught his eye and a slow grin spread suspiciously across the Captain's face.
"Simon?" Jim questioned. "What are you thinking?"
Simon pointed to the form on his desk. "Jenkins just left for his Navel Reserves duty."
Jim looked at the Captain as if he'd sprouted another head.
Blair caught on immediately. "The Reserves! It's perfect, Jim! Of course it would be the Air Force Reserves for us, but it's perfect!"
Jim smiled. "It could work."
"Damn straight, it could work," Simon said. "There will be a minimum of explanations needed. It'll keep your senses a secret here, clear it through the department, and you'll get paid while you're gone."
**********
So Jim and Blair made the arrangements and flew to Cape Canaveral and the Space Center to begin months of extensive military and space training, as well as technical and book learning. It was a change and a challenge for both men.
For Blair, the book studying was nirvana. He had a natural love of learning. He whole-heartedly immersing himself in the books, not coming up for hours at a time. It returned to him something that he'd thought lost. The space and military training, along with the rules and regulations were a drastic change from his normal day to day life and unconventional upbringing. But, like everything else in his life, he jumped in with both feet and eventually grew accustomed to the new routine.
For Jim, the military aspect was a return to a time in his past with both good and bad memories. To a time before everything went wrong. But, although Jim was no academic slouch, school had never been one of his favorite things. He liked it, but as more a means to an end then anything else.
The Reserves theme was a basic smokescreen on both sides for the safety of the Sentinel and Guide. All the paperwork said that Jim and Blair were in the Air Force Reserves, but their duties were strictly with NASA and the program they were developing and training for. In the written part of the agreement that both Jim and Blair had to sign, Jim insisted on adding one thing to the terminology of the signed documents. He would retain his former rank of Captain and Blair would be given the rank of 2nd Lieutenant.
Blair argued that he didn't need a *rank*, that he wasn't actually joining the Air Force or the Reserves... "...and why can't I be a *Captain* like you, Jim?"
Jim chuckled, "I'm not joining the Air Force either, but I was a Captain when I was in the Rangers. If I were to rejoin the Army, I would retain that rank. You, on the other hand, are being given an *honorary* rank to keep with the Reserves theme. 2nd Lieutenant is below me in rank, but high enough to gain respect of the people around you. Besides, if you were actually joining the Reserves, your master's degree alone would garner you that rank. No one will hassle you."
After the details were pounded out and the documents were signed, lunch was served in the room next to the boardroom they'd been in. Tension slacked and Blair was kidding Jim about wearing uniforms and marching in formation.
"I'm a Captain, kid," Jim smirked. "I give the orders... I don't carry them out."
Blair frowned in mock consternation and shook his fork at the bigger man. "If you think I'm going to start saluting and calling you *sir*, you've got another think coming!"
"No, that's all right. You can call me Captain Ellison."
Blair sputtered and groused, but both he and Jim were soon laughing. Everyone around them continued to be amazed at the two men's closeness and Jim's protectiveness of his companion.
Slowly both men became comfortable in their new lives, helping each other over the rough spots, and the day arrived that they were ready for their first mission.
That first call to service came in the middle of the night. A groggy Guide took the call and was instantly awake to take the information they needed. The Sentinel was down the stairs in moments after a quick listen to the voices on the phone.
A spacecraft on a mission to install a replacement satellite had been disabled after being hit by a meteor. With communications knocked out, and life support and other mandatory systems running off of the ship's auxiliary power supply, the ship drifting aimlessly in space with no engines. With no means to keep the ship on course, they were literally lost in space.
With no way to contact the damaged spacecraft, or to even know if the occupants were still alive, NASA decided it was time to see if the Sentinel and his Guide could perform as well as they hoped.
**********
"Be careful and God's speed," was all Simon said when Jim called to tell him that they were leaving.
A private jet was waiting for Jim and Blair at the Cascade airport. They were taken straight to the launch site upon their arrival at Cape Canaveral and prepared for their first mission... and their first flight into space.
The launch went smoothly. Blair managed to keep in touch with Jim to anchor the Sentinel against zone-out. Jim had all his dials set to zero against the noise and pressure on his senses until his Guide signaled him that he could dial up to normal levels.
**********
The ship was safely beyond the earth's atmosphere when Blair gave Jim the thumbs up signal. The first thing that Jim heard after adjusting his senses was Blair's voice calling for help.
Blair had unfastened his safety harness and immediately floated up to the ceiling of the spacecraft. "Oh, man! Jiiim, get me down!" he cried, his arms flailing helplessly.
Jim chuckled as he released his harness and moved carefully to wrap his feet around the arm of his seat to anchor himself. Once he was sure he wouldn't join his partner on the ceiling, he effortlessly floated free of his seat and reached out for Blair with both hands. "I told you to hang on, Chief." He snagged Blair by the back of the belt and then wrapped his arms around the younger man's waist, before pulling them both back into their seats
"I was trying to, but I couldn't move fast enough to get a hold of anything. All I want to do is go look out a window," Blair pouted. He wrapped his fingers around the arms of his seat with a white-knuckle grip.
"Okay, just calm down. We'll go together," Jim told his partner, patting one tense shoulder. "Just go hand over hand. Don't let go with your right hand until you're holding something with your left."
Blair took a deep breath. "Okay."
Together, the two men slowly made their way across the cabin to the nearest window.
"WOW! Will you look at that?!" Blair grinned, mesmerized by his first look at space from their shuttlecraft. "Have you ever seen so many stars?"
"No, I can't say that I have," Jim replied quietly as he stared out at the twinkling orbs of light.
"How are you two doing?" a deep voice asked.
Jim turned to see Dr. Franks, the mission's med tech. "We're getting the hang of it," he smiled.
Blair turned and Jim had to grab him before he floated away. "Ooops!" He grabbed hold of Jim's arm. "Hi, Doc."
Dr. Franks chuckled at the two. "This is just the first day. Don't worry, you'll get used to it."
**********
Three days later, Blair was bouncing off the walls... literally. A combination of getting his *space legs* and boredom that was driving Jim crazy.
"Sandburg! Will you stop!" Jim bellowed when Blair floated by doing a backstroke. He grabbed an ankle and pulled Blair into the seat next to his own.
"I'm sorry, Jim," Blair sighed. "But there's not much for us to do up here. Everyone else on this cruise has a job to do from the start. We don't have anything to do until we get to the last known coordinates where that ship got hit... and I'm bored."
"I thought you were counting stars?"
"I kept losing my place," Blair sighed, letting himself float upward again.
"Whoa, there, buddy," Jim said, pulling the smaller man down again. "I have something for us to do."
Blair smiled enthusiastically, "What? What is it?"
"Come with me," Jim grinned, pushing himself up and headed out of the cabin.
"C'mon, Jim, tell me! Pleeeeease?"
Jim only chuckled as he led the way.
**********
Hours later...
"... and look, there's Camelopardalis," Blair pointed through the large windowed dome in the chart room.
"Looks like a giraffe, Chief," Jim said, cocking his head.
"That's because it is a giraffe, Jim," Blair smiled.
"Oh..." Jim pointed to another grouping of stars. "That looks like a bird."
Blair checked the chart on the table in front of him. "That would be Aquila, the eagle." He pointed to another group. "There's Hercules." After staring at it for several seconds, Blair said, "Kind of reminds me of you, big guy." After a moment, he sighed.
"What's wrong?" Jim asked gently.
"Nothing really. Just thinking about this one time when I was a kid and Naomi and I were living with this guy in Big Sky, Montana." Blair smiled at the memory. "He owned a ranch... raised horses. Mom and me would go out on this hill at night. There was nothing. No lights, no sound... just the dark. We'd lay on our backs and stare up at the stars. Man, *Big Sky* really fit out there. We'd find the Big Dipper, the Little Dipper, the North Star, and sometimes we could see Mars and Venus. Naomi would point out a few constellations and tell me about them. It was great." He turned to the big man next to him. "What about you, Jim? Did you ever stare up at the stars from the backyard or anything?"
"No, not when I was a kid," Jim answered quietly, almost sadly. "But I did when I was in Peru. When my senses were first coming on line and I really didn't even know it. I'd go out into the jungle sometimes at night and climb up into a tree and stare up through the canopy at the sky. I could see *everything* so clearly. It was so beautiful. The stars, planets, comets... heaven. I'd totally lose myself in the night sky and in the morning I'd wake up still in the tree, never realizing I'd even fallen asleep."
Both men fell silent then, lost in their own little parts of the universe.
A while later, the second in command, Lieutenant Rogers, appeared at the door. "Captain, are you ready to go to work? We're at the last known coordinates of the missing ship."
"Yeah, okay, we'll be right there," Jim said. "Let's get these charts put away, Chief."
**********
"Okay, Jim, just relax. Do the breathing," Blair said quietly.
The Sentinel did as his Guide instructed.
"Can you sense them?"
"Not yet." Jim was sitting in the chair normally reserved for the co-pilot on the ship. The forward view was the same as the pilot, Captain Harris, as the seats were side by side.
"Concentrate," Blair encouraged softly. "Expand your sight as far as it will go, but keep your hearing here on the ship. Let the sounds around you ground you, while you concentrate on sight. Don't try to hear the ship, Jim. Try to see it." Blair's hands moved firmly over Jim's shoulders. Never losing contact. As a Guide, he did his job well and kept his Sentinel anchored, never letting him zone.
"But I should be able to hear the auxiliary engines..."
"'In space, no one can hear you scream'."
Jim glanced at his partner with raised questioning eyebrows.
"Sound doesn't carry in the vacuum of space, Jim, remember."
"I know... I just can't believe you said that," Jim said and shook his head.
"Hey, man, I must have seen Alien a hundred times," Blair grinned. "Sigorney Weaver was HOT!"
Jim rolled his eyes, then turned back to the job at hand.
"You can use your hearing to enhance the range of sight, but your concentration won't be split between the two since your hearing will basically be useless, and used only to ground you here," Blair explained.
Jim did as Blair said without question as Captain Harris turned their ship in a slow tight circle. He felt secure knowing that his Guide would anchor him and keep him from going into a zone-out. After a minute of deep breathing and concentration, Jim said, "Got it, Chief. We need to move to port about fifteen degrees. The ship is about one hundred miles away."
"One hundred... Jim..." Blair gasped.
Jim smiled and looked up at his Guide, "There's nothing out there to block my senses. I don't have to waste energy filtering things out."
"Right," Blair nodded, filing information away in the back of his mind for later notation. His eyes took on a mischievous glint and the corners of his mouth turned up with calculated glee as his mind quickly devised hundreds of new tests.
Captain Harris turned their spacecraft in the direction the Sentinel indicated. "We'll be there in less than an hour."
Blair squinted out the window. "What do you see, Jim? I can't make out anything."
"A reflection of sunlight off the ship's heat shield tiles. It's not very strong at this distance, but it's definitely there."
"Cool!" Blair grinned, bouncing as he looked over at Captain Harris, who was reporting to NASA that they would be retrieving the missing ship and crew.
"Can we try to contact them?" Jim asked when the Captain had finished his call.
"Long range communications were knocked out," Captain Harris said. "But they may be able to hear us as we get closer, though it's hard to say if they'll be able to reply. Their power reserves are going to be pretty low."
Jim put on a headset and called the damaged shuttle, "Rover I, Rover I... this is Captain Ellison aboard the shuttle Pathfinder. Do you read me? Over."
They watched the receiver's dial for a sign that they had been heard. Nothing.
"Rover I, this is the space shuttle Pathfinder. Do you read? Over."
This time there was movement in the receiver's needle.
Jim pressed the headset against his ears, closed his eyes, and concentrated on hearing a voice or some sort of signal coming from the other ship.
After a minute, it was apparent to Blair that Jim was on the edge of zoning out. "Jim?" he called quietly, rubbing slow firm circles over his partner's back. "Jim, I know you can hear me? It's time to come back now. Follow my voice back, Jim."
Jim took a deep breath and blinked open his eyes. As he settled back into the seat, he said, "Roger that, Rover I. Your signal is weak, but readable. We'll see you in less than an hour. Pathfinder out." Jim pulled off the headset and laid it on the console in front of him, letting his head fall back against the high back of the seat.
"Are you okay, Jim?" Blair asked with concern.
Jim smiled slightly and looked up at his partner. "Yeah, Chief, I'm fine."
"I take it that they answered your transmission?" Captain Harris asked.
"Yes, they did," Jim replied. "Captain Carlson reports that there were no injuries in the collision. Their power is cutting in and out due to damage, and they've thinned out their oxygen to make it last. The Captain seemed to be quite happy to hear from us."
"I'm sure he and his crew will be very grateful once they're safely on board the Pathfinder," Captain Harris smiled. "Good job, men."
"Thank you, sir," Blair said, feeling proud enough for both he and Jim. He reached down and prompted Jim out of the chair. "Come on, man, let's go take a break until we meet up with the other shuttle."
**********
Jim went into the Rover I as part of the rescue and retrireview team.
"I wish I could go with you, Jim," Blair said as he helped Jim into his suit.
"I know, but I feel better knowing you're here... safe," Jim said. "That was part of our agreement, remember?"
"Yeah, but..."
"No buts this time, Blair," Jim scolded quietly. "If there's an emergency during this operation, I do not want to have to worry about you. We'll be in constant radio contact."
Blair sighed and simply nodded. He knew that arguing was useless.
The team found Rover I's crew weakened, but in good enough condition to walk themselves through the airlock. The Pathfinder's team shut down what remained of Rover I's power in preparation to pull the damaged shuttle into the special cargo hold designed for this type of retrireview.
The retrireview of the damaged spacecraft went as planned. Rover I's crew was resting in the sick bay in satisfactory condition. There was some slight dehydration and minor oxygen depravation, but nothing that rest, liquids, and a normal air supply couldn't cure.
Everyone on board Pathfinder was congratulated on a job well done and notes were made towards improvements for the next mission. The debriefing when they returned to earth should prove interesting as Sentinel and Guide made their recommendations to the program.
**********
Relaxing, Jim and Blair sat in the chart room, again starring out at the stars.
"I'm glad the mission has been a success, Jim, but I'm more glad to be going home," Blair said. "Space is cool, but I really think I prefer seeing it from earth."
"Yeah," Jim agreed. "It's been interesting, but I'm in no hurry to do this again."
"Don't get me wrong... I don't think it's been all that bad. I mean... we learned that, without any obstacles, your senses seem to have an infinite range... and how many people do you know that get an opportunity to go into space as a part time job?"
Jim only chuckled and shook his head.
"Look, Jim! There's the constellation Lupus." Blair pointed to a grouping of stars.
"The wolf, huh?"
"Yeah, isn't it cool?"
Jim agreed and let the conversation lapse into silence.
They watched the constellation for several minutes before they noticed an odd movement in the air around Lupus.
"Ah... Jim, do you..." Blair began.
"I see it," Jim said quickly. "The stars around the wolf are... moving."
Starring intently at the phenomenon happening in front of their eyes, Jim and Blair watched as the stars formed another pattern next to the wolf.
"Jim... that looks like a..."
"Panther," Jim finished, his voice hushed with astonishment.
Indeed, the outline of a panther, sitting on its haunches, showed clearly next to the outline of the wolf. And as they watched, the Sentinel and his Guide saw the panther and wolf turn their heads to peer into one another's eyes.
"A new constellation?" Jim wondered aloud.
Blair smiled warmly at his friend, "*Our* constellation."
**********
Back on earth, the Sentinel and his Guide went back to their jobs. They would await the next call where their special services were again needed.
Jim and Blair's constellation remained very fresh in their minds as they returned to Cascade. They had said nothing about what they'd seen to anyone. It was *their* constellation and they weren't about to share it. There was an odd sort of comfort knowing that all they needed to do was look up and, through the wonders of the cosmos, see a reminder of their special bond each and every night in the sky. Every night, no matter what they were doing or where they were, no mater what the weather was, Sentinel and Guide would find a way to go outside and look up at the stars that formed their wolf/panther constellation. They knew where it was even through clouds and fog. Even if they couldn't see it with their eyes, they could feel it in their hearts.
Weeks passed into months and they fell back into their old routines without problem or discussion. Jim solved crimes with the Cascade PD with Blair at his side. He survived several of Blair's tests and complained throughout, but both he and Blair knew there would always be tests for a long-suffering Sentinel. Always something new to discover, always ways to improve.
"Practice makes perfect, Jim," Blair would tell his partner when the complaints would start.
And, of course, there would be more missions... But THAT is another story.
**********
~end~