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                             THE MONSTER WITHIN
                                   Unknown
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   Timeline: SeaQuest 2032
   Author's E-Mail: <unlisted>
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The Monster Within

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
"Whoever fights monsters should see to it that in the process he does not
become a monster."
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~


Oliver Hudson opened his eyes slowly, trying to shut out the voices.

Another nightmare had visited him that night. Another in a long line that had
haunted him for over twenty years now. Nightmares of what he had done, what
he had been forced to do, as a soldier of UEO.

He loved his life, but when was it time to draw the line? When was it time to
admit he had been a part of killing too many people? When did the line
between justice and murder change? Was there even a line to begin with?

It was nights like this that thoughts like that flooded him. Was there no
such thing as justice? Was it made up to make soldiers feel better after
killing a human being that had been named the enemy?

It was nights like this that he wished he had resigned his commission ten
years ago. Why had he wanted the seaQuest so badly? So he could help kill
more people?

There was the rational side of him that reminded him he was protecting
civilians, that he wasn't a hired killer. But how many lives of soldiers were
worth those civilian lives? Some of those "innocents" had committed crimes,
yet they weren't the enemy. And there was the enemy--how many people over
there were truly innocents, yet could be killed for "justice"?

Oliver turned in bed, forcing the thoughts out of his mind. Forcing them to
battle in the back of his mind as he tried to sleep. Tomorrow he would once
again be a soldier. In the morning he would not question his orders. 

Not until the night. In the night the darkness blurred the definite lines of
the day, blurred the sense of right or wrong, justice or crime. But was the
day showing the truth or just blinding him from the answers?


-The End-
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- Author unknown