G1
The Story Begins — Original Pilot
By Marzena
Chapter 1: Escape
"You should drink this, Mr Gordon," the little Asian boy insisted, holding out a cup of steaming hot tea. "It will make you feel better."
Feel better? No, surely a cup of tea would not make him feel better. But his hands reached out anyway and took the cup from the little boy's hands, desperately clinging to it. The tea was still way too hot to drink it, but Flash Gordon didn't care. He wasn't thirsty at all. He was needed to hold on to something for a minute, even if it was just a stupid cup of tea.
"Thanks, but... I really need to go back. I..."
"What you need most right now is rest," Mandrake firmly stated, gently pushing the young boy aside and resting his hand on Flash's broad shoulders. "It's been a long and exhausting day and a long and exhausting travel. If you storm off anywhere like that, you most likely won't make it very far."
"Well, I'll have to!" Abruptly, Flash stood up, impatiently placing the cup of tea on the small table in front of the sofa he'd been lying on. "My wife and daughter are prisoners of this galaxy's greatest tyrant, Ming the Merciless. I will not leave them up there on Mongo any second longer than I absolutely have to!"
"Of course not, old friend." Mandrake wasn't trying to actively holding him back, but he was still blocking his way. "But you crashed your ship on my front lawn. Lothar is already on it, doing the necessary repairs. As soon as he's done with that, he and I will gladly accompany you to Mongo to rescue Dale and your daughter. But we need a ship for that, don't we?"
"We do," Flash slowly agreed, trying to think of other options. The monstrous headache, a result of the crash, and him having been unconscious for a while, had made this memory of the condition of the spaceship a bit hazy. But of course it would be damaged. But where to get another ship that fast? He was a space pilot and explorer, but he didn't work for the government, so getting them to do an official rescue mission to Mongo would probably take longer than having Lothar repair the ship. The officials probably wouldn't just storm off to Mongo at all but rather try to negotiate with Ming. And that wouldn't make things any better for Dale and Duffy!
"The repairs won't take that long," Mandrake assured him. "You know Lothar's an expert mechanic. If anyone can repair your ship in no time it's him."
"I really hope so, Mandrake. Ming would do anything to get back at me, and now, with Dale and Duffy in his hands, there's no way in knowing what he might do!"
There was a cry of distress from the little Asian boy. Both Flash and Mandrake had almost forgotten he was in the living room with them.
"No – he wouldn't, would he...!?" the little one cried out.
"Of course not, Kshin," Mandrake tried to calm the little one down. "Ming's just waiting for Flash to make his next move. He expects him to come back to Mongo to save Dale and young Daphne and when he does, he will have a trap ready. A trap which we will avoid falling into, of course."
That seemed to calm Kshin down, but not Flash. Nothing would calm him down until Dale and Duffy were both safely back on Earth. Ming hated Flash – he would do everything in his power to make things most unpleasant for Flash's wife and daughter.
Just hold on a little longer, you two, I'm coming to get you, he told them in his thoughts, picturing the last time he saw them, laser guns pointed at their heads and chains being put on their wrists and ankles. Dale had put on a good fight which had allowed him to escape. And he would have taken her and Duffy right with him if not just in that very minute, even more of Ming's troops had arrived.
"Have a rest, Flash", Mandrake quietly told him after sending Kshin out of the room for more tea, despite the fact that Flash hadn't even touched his cup yet. "You're going to need it."
"I can't have a rest now," he protested. "We need to make plans, we need to strategize, we need to..."
"Lothar can do wonders, my friend, but he's no magician. Excellent work takes time. So there's enough time for you to rest a bit and for us to talk plans and strategies in my office later. Ming's expecting you, Flash. So we have to find a way to work around that."
Indeed they had. With a sigh, Flash sat down on the sofa again, grabbing the cup of tea once more. At least now it wasn't so damn hot anymore.
"Now that's better." Mandrake nodded in approval.
Flash didn't answer. Closing his eyes, he took a large sip of tea but he barely tasted anything despite the fact that Kshin had accidentally poured way too much sugar into it. Instead, his thoughts were with both Dale and Duffy, and again he was talking to them in his head.
Don't worry. And don't do anything stupid. I'm coming for you as soon as I can, I promise. Nothing is going to happen to you.
Author's Note:
It took me a while to find a new name for Jedda Gordon. I was thinking Dale (since it's her mom's name) but I never liked the name, so from Dale I got to Daphne but somehow although the name seemed kinda right, it needed a nickname. Both LJ and Kit had nicknames as well. In the end, she turned out to be called Duffy which just happened without me giving it much thought. So there, meet Duffy Gordon.
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Chapters
Flash Gordon seeks to reach his wife and daughter, who are being held by Ming the Merciless.
A sulking Duffy endures the horrors of captivity.
The Gordons gather wth their new friends amid tragedy.
Flash and Duffy turn to each other.
Just as she's getting to know them, Duffy witnesses her friends being abducted.
A team is created.
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