Maria took us to a little shed on the other side of the house where one of those ancient computers stood. Apparently, the tape was in the form of a circular disk that could be played on it.

Monica had to stay outside, headphones with music on her ears so she couldn't hear what we were saying inside. It was what's best for her. I had a feeling the tape wouldn't have the most fun information on it and she was too young to hear the death and destruction.

Talos and his minion had also followed us. Why, I had no idea. They already knew what was on it. Maybe they just wanted to see our reaction to it.

Talos handed Maria the disk when she walked in, shushing Monica who was complaining she had to stay outside and couldn't listen along with us.

Fury had made himself comfortable in the chair behind the desk and Carol leaned against a doorframe, trying to hide the fact that she was very nervous. I could see her hands shaking from where I stood next to her, a few feet away to give her some space.

The tension in the room was very thick and everybody waited with suspense at what the computer would bring us.

It took a very long time to load, the loading bar filling slowly, like he knew how badly we wanted to hear it and protested against the pressure. 'What's happening?', Carol asked, not knowing why it took so long.

'It's loading.' Fury was still sippin' on some iced tea he had from before. Talos' minion shook his head in disbelief at the speed of the tech.

Suddenly, the bar was filled and a loud voice came out of the speakers, filling everyone's ears. 'Punch in the coordinates. Five two two nine, negative forty-seven, eight point seven six eight, zero point two'. Carol's eyes went wide when she recognized the voice and her body stiffened. She was sucked back in the memory, her eyes far away.

'Copy that. Where are we going Doc?' It was Carol's voice, without doubt. I would recognize that voice anywhere, even over the technology that rustled and creaked.

'My laboratory.' The other voice belonging to Lawson answered her question.

Carol's reaction came in the form of a confused question. 'Your laboratory? What do you mean?'

But Lawson didn't answer her question, because something else had grabbed her attention and it sounded bad. 'Oh no.'

'Is that... Wait, what is that? It's not showing up on my radar.' Carol's voice didn't sound panicky, it was just very confused and I could only imagine what she had seen out there.

But Lawson was panicking, almost yelling at Carol to shake them off and get away. 'Go Carol. Fly!'

I know she didn't have to say that twice. She was stubborn, but knew when something was wrong. 'That's no MIG, Lawson. Who the hell are they?' A little panic could be heard in her voice now, but it changed quickly after the other woman told her they were bad guys and she had to fly faster. She didn't have to say it twice, because Carol's determined voice sounded again. This time without any doubt.'Yes, ma'am.'

Shots could be heard and the outside noise picked up, letting us know that she did indeed speed up. 'What do they want?', Carol yelled over the commotion.

'Me. My work. I never should have brought you along.' Lawson sounded sorry about bringing Carol along on this flight, putting her life in danger. No, letting her put her life in danger. The conversation with Maria from before had told me that Carol wanted to fly the plane. She had chosen this and now had to live with the consequences.

Carol didn't have time to answer Lawson, because shots kept coming through the speakers and I knew they hadn't shaken off whoever was after them. 'Here come some G's' She was really trying to shake them off, but it didn't seem to have any effect so she took to offence. 'They're firing backwards. Hold on!'

My heart sunk when a big explosion could be heard and I could hear the rattling of the plane through the crappy speakers. The other ship had shot her down. Now she did panic. 'Bail out! Bail out! Bail out! Stay with me Lawson!' That was typical her, always thinking about others first.

I flinched when a loud bang told me they had crashed into land. Even though the woman on the tape was standing right next to me, alive and well, it didn't make it any less painful to listen to. Judging by the sound of the impact, it was a miracle she survived that.

After a torturous ten seconds that felt like a lifetime, everything went quiet again and the only audible thing was two heavy sets of breathing, indicating they were both very much still alive.

A third voice suddenly joined in, very concerned. 'Danvers, do you copy?' My eyes shot to Maria for a second, who had a sad look in her eyes. She had lost everything that day too, not only Carol.

'Yeah, I copy. We hit ground.' Carol sounded a little beaten, but her voice was still strong. Whatever had happened to her that day, it wasn't because of the plane crash.

'Can anyone hear me?' The radio probably broke during the fall, because Maria didn't seem to hear Carol, making her anxious.

'Yeah. I copy! Doc?' Her voice was a little farther away now, like she had turned around or climbed out to see how the Doctor was doing. After a little pause came another sentence, spoken with disbelief. 'Your blood... it's blue.' So it was true. Lawson was Kree. What Yon told us wasn't a lie. At least that part wasn't, we'll have to see about the other parts.

Lawson didn't seem stressed about the fact that one of her students now knew she wasn't human. 'Yeah, but, uh...how's my hair?', she joked. 'Help me out, will ya?' The way she said it let me know she was in a lot of pain. It was strained and painful and the groans only confirmed it.

A heavy thud followed the groans. Lawson had probably fallen to the ground, unable to stand on her legs.' I have to destroy it before they get here.'

'What? Lawson?' Carol had no idea what she was talking about, that was very clear to me.

'You remember what I said about our work here? What it's for?', she tried to remind her.

'To end wars?', Carol said with a question, not knowing why this was important right now.

'Yeah. But the wars are bigger than you know. Damn it!', she know she wasn't going to make it and was running out of time, getting frustrated that she had to tell Carol like this and couldn't explain anything anymore. 'My name is not Lawson. My real name, is Mar-Vell and I come from a planet called Hala.' Maria's eyes turned to look at me for a second, like she was searching for confirmation, but I was too focused on the tape, the scene playing out in my head as I listened.

'I would say that you're delusional but we just got shot down by a spaceship and your blood is blue', came Carol's voice. Even in this situation, she couldn't help but crack a joke.

'Listen, I spent half my life fighting a shameful war.' A shameful war? A deep dread filled my stomach. She was talking about the war between the Kree and the Skrulls. But why was it a shameful war? Something was very wrong here. I had tried to push it away, but it was impossible now, hearing it from a Kree herself.

'Now skedaddle before you give me any more regrets. Just remember the coordinates, okay? You've got to save them without me.' Save them? Save who?

Carol didn't seem to know either. 'Save who? How?'

But Lawson didn't answer her. 'I've got to blow this engine before they find it.'

She could just finish her sentence before a gunshot made me jump. I had been fixated on the quiet conversation and the loud, sudden sound scared me. A long silence followed, Carol's heavy breathing the only thing in the otherwise quiet surroundings. I had no idea what was happening now, but when the next voice came through, I wished I had never found out.

'We have no interest in hurting you.'

My heart stopped when I recognized that sickening voice and a shocking inhale filled my lungs. I had always known Yon was an ass, but knowing he shot down one of his own and an innocent bystander just to get to an engine was even more than I thought he was capable off. My hands shook in anger and I had trouble staying upright.

Yon was right there. He had lied about knowing anything about Lawson, about Carol's life before Hala and it made me wonder what else he had lied about. It made me nauseous to even think about and bile was rising up in my throat. I had let him train Carol for four years. She was on his team for four years. I had put her in so much danger without even knowing. I hadn't done my job keeping the most important person in the galaxy safe. I had failed her again.

Tears formed in my eyes and I had trouble concentrating on the tape.

'No?! Because all the shooting kinda gave me the wrong impression!' Carol was very angry. She hated violence and war, like me, but somehow she always found herself in the middle of it.

Yon obviously didn't care about her emotional exclamation, ignoring her and coming straight to the point. 'The energy core, where is it?', he demanded in a calm voice.

'Pararescue's on the way. You have two minutes until you're surrounded.' It was clear she had no idea who she was dealing with and tried to scare him into walking away.

But he wasn't impressed.'Then I see no reason to prolong this conversation.' I could only imagine how he pulled his gun, ready to shoot her. An innocent bystander in all of this.

But Carol had other plans. Very stupid plans. 'No wait! You mean that energy core?' She yelled the first part to keep him from shooting her, but asked the second one with confidence. I had a feeling I knew what she was going to do, and with that question, she let me know she fully stood behind her choice.

Another gunshot followed and then... a huge blast. She had shot the engine to keep them from getting their hands on it. Giving her own life to save others she didn't even know, without a doubt. Trusting Lawson completely. If it was possible, I fell in love with her a little more right there.

Weird grumbling and sizzling noises followed the blast. The energy from the engine being blown out and absorbed by Carol's body. Then, it was just quiet. Too quiet. Only my own heartbeat reached my ears, pounding loudly in my chest.

'Commander, she's still moving. Permission to fire?' Minn-Erva. She knew too??

'Hold your fire.', Yon immediately said, seeing something that changed his mind about killing her. Sandy footsteps came closer on the beach, to Carol.

'There's nothing left. The core has been destroyed.' The blue woman stated loudly after inspecting the plane.

Yon's sly voice ended the recording, leaving us all with more questions than before and leaving me with a lot of regret and pain. 'She absorbed its power. She's coming with us.'

~~~~~~~~

Little shorter again, hope you don't mind.

It was hard writing this, because I couldn't describe what was happening, only what could be heard on the tape.

Thanks anyway!

(1945 words)