Okay, it took me a little bit more than a week, in exchange the update is a little bit longer.

452max: Yep, Max calling out for Alec was a little bit…mean? Well, I said it at the beginning of the story, it’s gonna be M/A and although I’m really taking it slow in that particular direction I’m getting there. Slowly, I know. Thanks again for the review and here you go!

cappsy: Thanks to you, too. I just found another site with ‘Murphy’s law of war’ so expect to get the one or the other quote from there in the near future *gg* Logan’s not gonna play a big part in the discussion between the transgenics but as always he has been organizing some things. And he will continue to play a role in the events that are about to happen, you’ll see. Kyla will get to respect him more but I can see you were a little bit surprised she made the call herself.

nattylovesu: ah, you know me, sometimes I don’t even know myself where my characters are going. I will try to get the ‘09ers and Logan and the others some lines in the following chapters, but if you have any suggestions, as always: tell me. Thanks to you, too!

coree: Welcome on board! Glad you like the story so far. Well, if there are things you don’t understand don’t hesitate to ask me, but of course if you read the first story as well I would feel flattered, too *gg*

Almost an hour later four dark figures left the cargo bay unnoticed by the Tacoma airport security and slipped away into the relative darkness of the night. Ares took point, Max and Kyla, who supported her sibling as good as she could, were in the middle and Kara was the last of their small group. They intended to quickly bring some distance between themselves and the hangars and then make it to the northern end of runway five where they hoped Logan Cale was already waiting for them. But as always no plan of battle ever survives initial contact.

Just when they were about to round the corner of another hangar Ares stopped and raised his fist, causing the others to come to a halt as well. A few signs were exchanged and Kyla was not pleased at all when she saw Ares signing ‘enemy’ and ‘hide’ to them. She helped Max to sit down and lean against the steel wall of the hangar and told Kara to stay with her older twin, then she went over to where Ares was still peeking around the corner.

“What’s going on?” she whispered.

“Trouble” he answered just as quietly. “See for yourself!”

He moved and slowly she pried around the corner as well and she immediately understood what he meant; there, just exactly where they needed to go through if they wanted to make it to the end of the runway, were three humvees parked around a small Learjet and at least two dozen men and women in dark green uniforms running to and fro. With a low growl emerging from her throat Kyla pulled back. Without a word the two of them made it back to where Max and Kara where waiting for them.

“What’s going on?” Max asked tiredly. The milk really had helped; she didn’t have any seizures anymore and the pain was gone but she was still miserable and she knew very soon, when the effects of the milk would wear off, she’d better have some tryptophan nearby or the only thing able to save her would be a fully equipped operating room.

“Recon marines!” Kyla snarled impatiently. “They’re blocking our way of escape.”

“They know we’re here?” Max exclaimed and tried to get up but Ares just put a hand on her shoulder and forced her to stay down. That he managed to do so without really using any strength was proof enough for all of them that Max was still a long way from being fit for duty again.

“Easy” the Delta soldier tried to reassure her. “It doesn’t look like they’re here because of us.”

“Then why are they?”

“No idea, but there still in our way. We need to find a different escape route. You and Kara stay get inside that hangar!” Kyla ordered “while I and Ares do some scouting. Kara, if anybody comes near Max, I need you to protect her.”

“Understood” the girl nodded seriously, clearly aware of the situation but Max shook her head.

“I don’t need any protection.”

“Stop arguing with me, Max, you can barely stand on your own feet” Kyla cut her off. “Kara, can you get her inside?”

“Yes.”

“Then do it. If we’re not back in ten minutes, try to get out on your own, understood?”

“Understood!”

With a last nod and a warning glance towards Max Kyla and Ares disappeared into the opposite direction. Kara helped Max stand up and supported her as they made their way into the hangar. Max tried her best not to lean too much on the young girl although being an X7 Kara would actually even have been strong enough to carry her if necessary. Once inside they went to the darkest corner far enough from the entrance and sat down in the shadows.

“How are you?” Kara wanted to know and checked Max pulse and body temperature. It wasn’t good, but better than half an hour ago.

“I’m not gonna die on you, kid” was the calm reply and Kara gave her older sister a mean look.

“Don’t you start calling me that, too! It’s enough Kyla can’t stop it.

“It’s just her way of showing you that she cares about you” Max explained. “Don’t take it too seriously.”

Kara was about to answer when she heard steps outside and seconds later a tall figure slipped into the huge hangar. She narrowed her eyes and her enhanced eyesight let her recognize a marine standard uniform, complete with a 9mm gun in a belt holster. Both transgenics froze and watched the marine out of the shadows they were hiding in.

‘Come on!’ Kara thought angrily. ‘Can’t you cut us some slack?’

She carefully sniffed. It was a man, perhaps twenty-five years old. She could see he was well-trained and as a marine he was certainly trained in hand-to-hand combat and surely knew how to use that gun of his. But as long as they remained quiet the chance he’d spot them was close to zero.

The man lit himself a cigarette and started walking around the empty hangar aimlessly, unaware of the two pairs of eyes watching his every movement. Kara barely could contain herself from snorting in disdain. This man was supposed to be a soldier just like she was and yet here he was, smoking while he had a job to do. Of course he would have to slip away from his unit and into an empty hangar; pathetic!

Slowly but surely the marine came closer but Kara was still quite sure he hadn’t spotted them. His hands were not on his weapon and he looked relaxed. She was confident he would leave again as soon as he would have finished his smoke. Suddenly Max stirred and Kara turned towards her alerted. The two transgenics looked at each other and Kara could see in her twin’s eyes the effects of the milk were already wearing off, much earlier than they had thought. Max was in pain again; she already began trembling, sweat started to appear on her forehead, her jaw was clenched but she didn’t make a noise, well aware of how difficult things would become if the soldier would notice them.

For whatever reason the marine suddenly stopped and looked towards them. Kara knew neither she nor Max had made a sound and with his ordinary eyesight the man couldn’t see them but something made him suspicious; perhaps it was just that infamous sixth sense. Whatever it was he slowly approached their position. The X7 could feel Max reaching for the gun under her jacket and she shook her head at the older transgenic; if the rest of the marines outside heard the gunshot they would never make it off the airfield. Max shot her an incredulous look and Kara nodded with her lips firmly pressed together and Max finally nodded herself but did not release the grip on her weapon.

The marine dropped his cigarette and took a flashlight from his belt, pointed it at the darkness where the two transgenics were hiding and switched it on. Blinded they raised their hands to protect their eyes.

“What the hell are you two doing here?” he asked. When they didn’t answer he came even closer. “Hey, I asked you a question!”

He suddenly focused on Max whose shivering form and pale and sweat-covered face were clear signs she was not well. His face changed from alerted and suspicious to surprised and concerned.

“Hey, are you okay? You don’t have to be afraid, girls, I’m a marine. I will not hurt you, I’m trying to help you. What’s wrong?” He attentively eyed Max and frowned when he saw in what kind of state she was. Mentally Kara noted that he was perhaps not so bad. “Are you sick?”

He reached out and put his hand under Max’s chin and forced her to look at him. She jerked back and tried to get out of his grasp. He let her have her will although it was clear he could have forced her.

“Don’t…touch!” Max hissed, trying to sound menacing but her constant trembling made that effort useless.

“Easy there. Did you take something? Pills or the like?” Max didn’t answer as the seizures became stronger and she needed every ounce of her strength not to scream. The marine shook his head and sighed. “Come on, I’m gonna get you out of here.”

When he reached out Kara decided it was enough. She shot forward and slapped his hands aside forcefully.

“She said don’t touch her!” the girl hissed warningly and the man actually backed off a little bit.

“Well, okay, you don’t want help, I get it, but I can see you need it. I’m gonna get a medic, he can help you.” He stood up and turned towards the hangar’s exit.

“We don’t need a medic!” Kara objected.

“Oh yes, you do!” he forcefully corrected her. “Perhaps you don’t know it, girl, but your friend is seriously ill and she needs medical attention. I’ll be back in a few seconds, just stay here!”

He approached the exit again and Kara, having run out of options, got up and charged after him before Max could hold her back. He heard her and turned around again just to be kicked in the stomach and sent to the floor. He clearly was in pain as he looked up at the young girl with wide eyes but nevertheless he reacted very quickly, dropping the flashlight and reaching for his gun. Without hesitation the young X7 charged again and kicked the gun out of his hands. Before he really knew what was happening she bend down almost faster than his eyes could follow her and her fist connected with his face, rendering him immediately unconscious. For a brief moment she regretted her actions; the man was not her enemy, he had wanted to help them but she needed time to get out of there. She grabbed the soldier’s flashlight and weapon and went back to Max.

“That was…” Max began with her teeth gritted but Kara didn’t let her finish.

“Don’t even start. Come on, get up! We need to disappear!” Without waiting for an answer and ignoring Max’s moans of pain, Kara grabbed her by the arm and forcefully half yanked, half helped her to her feet. She felt guilty for causing Max more pain but she also knew they didn’t have much time until the marine would wake up again so she couldn’t afford being too careful. “Come on, let’s go!”

Just when they were about to reach the exit another figure appeared from outside and Kara readied herself for another fight but relaxed when she recognized Kyla. The X5 frowned when she saw the X7 and her sister but her eyes quickly found the unmoving body of the marine behind them.

“We were discovered” Kara informed her briefly but Kyla just nodded. “He’s unconscious. For now.”

“I see. Come on, we found a way!”

Neither of them could have known at that moment that this little fight would trigger a whole sequence of events.

Outside Ares was already waiting for them. He and Kyla took Max’s weight from Kara’s shoulders, took her between themselves and together they made their way to the airport’s perimeter fence as fast as they could. When they were approaching the northern end of the runway Kara could see the silhouettes of two cars and at least four people in the darkness, all but one of them armed. Together the older transgenics jumped over the fence, holding Max all the while, and landed safely on the other side although Max stumbled and would have fallen if not for the help of her companions. Kara jumped as well but narrowly missed the barbed wire on top of the fence; the strength to do the infamously high jumps was something transgenics developed rather late in their lives and she was just beginning to build up the necessary muscles. Nevertheless she did it and landed gracefully on her feet in the short and wet grass.

When they came closer the four dark silhouettes moved towards them and she could make out two men and two women, three of them most certainly X5s.

“Identify yourself!” one of the men said warningly, gun at the ready.

“X5-301” Kyla responded. “We have to move.”

One of them, the one Kara judged to be an ordinary, switched on a flashlight and once again she was temporarily blinded. They were quickly eyed by the waiting group and a man about Max’s age with blond hair and a rather grim face swore under his breath when he saw in what state she was.

“What the hell did you do to her?” he snarled angrily and pointed at Max who was still shivering and looking worse than only minutes before.

“Let me guess” Ares said tensely to Kyla without taking his eyes of the man. “That’s Zack, right?”

“Yeah, that’s X5-599 in all his glory” the female X5 answered with grim sarcasm before she turned towards Zack. “We didn’t do anything to her! She has the shakes. Do you have the tryptophan with you?”

Zack didn’t answer but instead one of the women stepped forward with a small bottle in her hands. She opened it and offered three small white pills to Max who took them and smiled briefly when she recognized the woman.

“Syl” she whispered a little bit surprised but nonetheless happy.

“Hey, little sister” the blonde ‘09er smiled.

Max looked around and saw that the other female was Tinga and her eyes lit up when they came to rest on Logan who was watching the whole scene silently, his worried eyes firmly on her. They were really here, her old unit was here, Logan had made it!

“Now” Kyla began again before the silence became too awkward. “I don’t want to disturb this highly emotional moment but I suggest we get the hell out of here before those marines back there start looking for whoever knocked out their comrade.”

“Marines?” Logan asked surprised. There had been no reports indicating that marines would be there.

“Long story” Kyla answered briefly. “And I will be happy to tell you once we’re at a safe distance. Zack gave her a grim look but nodded.

“You two and the kid go with Tinga and Syl!” he ordered looking at Ares and Kyla. “Max comes with me and Logan!”

“Not a chance!” Kyla growled. She was not about to let her sister out of her sight while she was in her current state. “I’m staying with Max!”

“No, you…”

“Zack!” Max interrupted them weakly. “It’s okay. Ares…take care of Kara!”

“I will” he assured her with a weird glance towards Zack. Somehow he already knew the male ‘09er would be trouble. “Let’s move out!”

Ares shared a last brief glance with Kyla before he and Kara walked towards Syl and Tinga and got into the car, an old SUV, while Kyla helped Max in Logan’s car and sat beside her in the backseat. Zack sat in the passenger seat and turned around so he could look at the two women. Kyla could see the distrust in his eyes which was clearly directed at her but also the brief and worried glances he gave Max. Without a word Logan started the car and they drove away from where they had been waiting for about thirty minutes, disappearing into the night, the second car which was driven by Syl right behind them.

“So” Logan began after a few minutes of silent driving. “What was that about marines back there?”

“There was about a platoon of them” Kyla explained, never looking away from Max tense face. She already started to look better, the tryptophan finally kicking in, but the shorthaired X5 knew it had been a close call this time. “They blocked our way of escape so Max and Kara were hiding in one of the hangars while Ares and I searched for another way out. Apparently one marine discovered them and Kara had to take him out.”

“The kid did that?” Logan sounded more than just a little bit surprised.

“I wouldn’t call her that if I were you” Kyla responded with a wry grin. “She doesn’t like it.”

“You do it…all the…time” Max reminded her and briefly opened her eyes to look at her.

“Look who’s talking again” the slightly older transgenic exclaimed without caring about if the two men could hear the relief in her voice. “Feeling better? And for the record: I’m just doing it because I like her!”

“I know you do. And yes, I feel…a little bit better. Hey, Logan, Zack!” Max smiled and even the usually so tense and grim Zack couldn’t suppress a smile anymore while Logan almost wanted to stop the car only so he could turn around himself. But he forced himself to continue driving and only made eye-contact with her over the driving mirror.

“Hey, Max” he said with a happy smile. “I’m glad you finally made it back! Is the tryptophan working already?”

“It is. I should be up and running again in no time.”

“Not so fast, sleeping beauty” Kyla corrected her softly. “You had us quite worried there so you will take it slow, understood.”

“Understood” Max agreed, still too tired for an argument. Right now she just felt happy they had made it back into the United States and she would see her old unit again. Perhaps even OC if she was still working for Eyes Only. She was about to ask Logan about her friend when he spoke into his small radio.

“Okay, everyone heads up, we’re approaching the first checkpoint!”

“Ready and good to go” Tinga’s voice came over the wireless. “Just make sure we hurry up, this guy is giving me the creeps and the girl isn’t any better!”

As if on cue Max and Kyla looked at each other and despite the seriousness of their situation snickered simultaneously. Yes, Ares could be kind of a creepy guy if he wanted to and they were sure Kara was doing her best to copy his behavior. Max was sure once they got to know them better the other ‘09ers would quickly accept her three companions but right now she could understand they looked at them with suspicion and maybe also incertitude. But there was still one problem left.

“How are you planning to get us past the sector checkpoints?” she wanted to know from Logan and she could see how he smiled that confident smile of his.

“A friend is doing us a favor” he explained. “He should be around here somewhere…right, there he is!”

Another car appeared out of the darkness and took point of their little convoy. Max narrowed her eyes; she knew that car. Only about a minute later they could see the checkpoint and Logan grabbed his radio again.

“Everything ready, Matt?” he wanted to know.

“Don’t worry, Logan, I’ve got it covered.” Matt Sung’s voice was just as confident and calm as she remembered it. “Just don’t forget to tell your friends not to do anything stupid.”

“Friends in the right places” Logan murmured more to himself than to the other passengers, then he slowed down as they arrived at the checkpoint and the officer in charge signaled them to stop. As the four sector police officers approached Sung’s car Max could feel Kyla tense up and she didn’t need to look at her sister to know her hand had slipped under her jacket and grabbed her gun. She shot her a warning look and slightly shook her head. Kyla nodded but did not loosen the grip on her gun.

“Good evening, officers” they could hear Sung’s voice. “Detective Matt Sung, I’m escorting the two vehicles behind me to sector eleven.”

“How many passengers?”

“I don’t know, I have only been told to get them there” the Asian cop replied with perfect mock annoyance. “Some kind of government thing going on here, nobody tells me anything, you know how it is.”

“Yes, I know all too well” the sector cop replied with understanding in his voice and a small smile. “Well, don’t take it personal if those dicks try to bug you, they don’t know what they’re talking about. Have a nice evening!”

“You too, officer, thanks.” The checkpoint opened and both Max and Kyla breathed a sigh of relief.

“That went well” Logan meant once they had passed their first obstacle. “One down, four more to go.”

Thirty minutes later, Logan’s safe house

“Could you please stop it?” Zane snarled at his brother in an unusually annoyed tone. “You’re driving me crazy!”

“They should have arrived by now” Krit objected and, of course, didn’t stop pacing around and even the usually stoic Bling cast him an unnerved glance.

“Oh, so they’re late?” Zane’s voice was dripping with sarcasm. “Hm, let me see how many completely innocent and realistic reasons there could be for that. That’s Seattle we’re talking about, don’t get all nervous just because they’re five minutes late!”

“I know. I just can’t stop thinking about it. We should’ve gone with them; who knows what those other X5s are up to. I don’t like it!”

“Just shut it or this girl is gonna put you in a world of hurt, fool!” the only woman in the room snapped. Original Cindy turned away from the window and gave Krit a glare that would have made a lesser man shiver in fear. “I’m worried too, but my boo always knew what she was doing!”

“Sure” he agreed, “but that was before she got recaptured.”

Zane groaned and OC opened her mouth to snap at the transgenic again when Krit suddenly turned towards the window and signaled them to be quiet. After a moment of intense listening Zane heard it, too.

“They’re here” he told OC and a second later the four of them had left the room and were approaching the door. Just when they stepped outside into the cold night of Seattle three cars turned around the corner down the street and came closer until they came to a halt. Almost simultaneously doors were opened and only seconds later everybody had gotten out of their cars and approached the house. It was not a small one, but it was no mansion either. It was just one of the many two-level buildings with a balcony and a solid and rather big cellar like there were hundreds all around Seattle. Logan had decided hiding in the really bad parts of the city was not the best idea as Renfro would most certainly look for them there first. So he had rented this house which was not in the best parts of the city – like the Foggle Towers, for example – but the crime rate was pretty low and while there was not enough to get from the usual resident to make the police greedy. It had been a wise choice as until now they had not run into more than the usual trouble you had to expect if you lived in a city like Seattle after the Pulse. On the inside however with the help of his associates and friends Logan had been able not only to purchase some not-too-expensive but nevertheless rather comfortable furniture, he had also set up a computer network just as good as the one he’d had in his penthouse in the cellar. Sometimes it really was a good thing to be friends with some genetically enhanced super-soldiers, he thought with a grin.

Krit frowned when he saw how weakened Max seemed to be; she was walking on her own but he could clearly see the shakes had taken their toll on her and a female X5 he had never seen before – probably X5-301 – didn’t leave her side for a second and seemed to be ready to grab her at all times if she should lose her balance and fall. He also eyed the other two transgenics carefully although when his eyes came to rest on the small girl he couldn’t hide his surprise very well. What was Max’s clone doing here?

The small group entered the house again while Logan said his thanks to Matt who just nodded and said something with a glance towards Max which Krit could not understand but the look in the Asian detective’s eyes was friendly and although the male ‘09er still had a hard time admitting it perhaps not all cops were as bad as he had thought. Just when the last transgenic had entered the house Logan and Matt shook hands with the promise to get in touch again as soon as possible and then Matt drove away while Logan got into the house as well and closed the door.

“Max!” Original Cindy exclaimed as soon as they were in the living room again and had some space to move. Tonight she saw her friend for the first time since the fight between Wolf, Kyla and Max and she didn’t wait another second and stormed forward, embracing her boo in a tight hug. “You finally came home!”

“OC!” Max returned the embrace and she felt a great relief and joy having her friend with her again after so many months. “Oh, I missed you!”

“I missed you, too! Welcome home, boo!” OC chose to ignore Kyla for the moment although she had recognized her, of course, but she decided it would be best to wait for what was about to come. At least it seemed Max trusted the shorthaired X5.

For the next five minutes Max was busy greeting her siblings and Logan and Bling and OC. She was finally together with her old family again! She felt so happy to finally see them again she almost forgot what trouble they were actually in and she didn’t even seem to feel the aftereffects of the shakes anymore; it just didn’t matter right then. Syl and Tinga laughed happily, Krit’s grin was bigger than ever and even the calm Zane and the usually so stoic and even grim Zack were smiling broadly. Logan and Bling welcomed her with open arms and OC couldn’t stop hugging her. Ares saw how Kyla almost invisibly flinched every time one of those people – some of them she didn’t know and those she did had been considered hostile in the past – touched Max. Her lips were slightly parted, showing her teeth, and her eyes watched every movement. The Delta grinned inwardly at her barely suppressed need to protect a weakened member of her pack; that was what was going on after all although he wouldn’t speak it out loud. It had taken him and his fellow Deltas a lot of time to accept the fact that much of their behavior was feral and animalistic and he just thought it would be easier for the X-series if they found out and accepted it themselves. After everybody had calmed down a little bit they all turned towards Max’s three companions who were observing the whole scene silently and seemed to be waiting calmly for Max to make the next step.

“Well” Zane said after a few seconds looking directly at Kara who stared back stubbornly, “I can certainly remember that face. Why didn’t you tell us you were bringing your clone with you, Max? She’s an X7, isn’t she?”

“Yes, she is. It’s a long story, believe me, but don’t call her a clone, please. Her name is Kara” Max corrected him which earned her a thankful glance from her younger twin.

“Kara it is. Who are the rest of your friends?” Zane gave his little sister an inquiring glance and she nodded with a small smile, glad her brother tried to ease the tension that had suddenly built up in the room. She turned towards Kyla, who was standing behind Kara with a hand on the girl’s shoulder, first.

“That’s X5-301” Max introduced the black-haired woman. “But we all call her Kyla. She’s the 2IC of my unit.”

The assembled ‘09ers nodded at Kyla, most of them with calm reticence all too visible in their eyes. She didn’t blame them; after all she had been part of something they had hated for over a decade. She just nodded back, her hand not moving from Kara’s shoulder.

“The other one is Ares, or Delta-26” Max explained and just as Kyla Ares nodded at the rest of the people in the room silently although his eyes were a little bit more friendly and there was a small smile tucking at his lips.

“Delta?” Tinga spoke up. “You’re not X-series.”

“I’m not Manticore” he informed her and grinned.

“But you’re transgenic, are you not?” Syl wanted to know and Ares just nodded. “Then who are you?”

“And who are you?” he retorted quickly with an arched eyebrow. Right then Syl couldn’t help but grin as well.

“You’re right, sorry” she laughed. Somehow this guy seemed to be alright. “I’m Syl, or X5-701. The exotic looking girl there is Tinga, X5-656, and the guy beside her is X5-205, Zane.”

Kyla looked at each of them briefly and she had a feeling Zane would be the most reasonable of them although the two females didn’t seem like too much trouble, either. The other two promised to be more difficult or at least it seemed to her like that at the moment.

“Now the grim looking guy over there is our old CO, X5-599 or Zack. Don’t worry about him too much, he just seems to have forgotten how to smile.” Syl ignored the nasty look Zack gave her for that comment and slung her arm around the young man who was standing right next to her. “And this is Krit, X5-471. Always talking, always worried, but the best friend you’ll ever find!”

“Syl!” he protested and mock tried to get out of her grasp. “You’re ruining my reputation!”

“What reputation?” the blond snorted before she returned her attention to the other occupants in the room. “Well, and I believe you already know Logan, OC and Bling.”

“We’ve run into each other before” Kyla confirmed with an almost mean grin and Bling could have sworn she briefly winked at him.

“I see” Syl agreed before she returned her attention back to Ares. “Well, you still haven’t answered my question.”

“I think it would be better if we sit down” the Delta soldier offered with a glance towards Max. “It’s gonna be a very long story.”

Max looked at him and rolled her eyes; they were transgenics, they could stand without moving a muscle for hours if they had to. It was obvious he just wanted to make her more comfortable but for once she didn’t complain. First of all because she knew OC, Logan and Bling would appreciate the possibility to relax for a few minutes and second – and she didn’t like that at all – because she silently had to admit that she too could need some relaxation. Tryptophan or not, she still wasn’t on top of her game again. So everybody took a seat, either on one of the two old couches Krit and Syl had gotten a hold of the week before or on a chair or even on the floor like Kara did, with her back against the wall, watching the older transgenics attentively. Her attention was mostly on the former ‘09ers; she too had been indoctrinated at Manticore to see them as traitors, rats and deserters, but the calm and almost relaxed way Kyla, Ares and most of all Max were talking to them had made it clear they were not the enemy, not right now at least. Sometimes she couldn’t help but wonder what else was wrong out here although she had been told at Manticore it was true.

“Okay”, Ares began after he had shared a glance with Kyla and they silently agreed it would be best if he started the talking. “I am – as you’ve recognized by now – a transgenic, but as I said I’m not Manticore. I’ve been born and raised in Switzerland as part of the SRTU, the Silent Response and Tactical Units of the Swiss Special Forces. Almost a year ago Kyla and her partner, X5-451, contacted us and together we attacked an enemy base in Italy. That’s when all the trouble really began.”

For the next ninety minutes they told their new allies everything they knew, everything that had happened since the first encounter with the Alliance in Joliet, the attack in Italy, the enhanced commandos, Renfro’s betrayal and unit two’s subsequent escape from Manticore. The missions in Marseille, the SRTU – at least as far as Ares could allow it – their attack near Strasbourg, the ambush and Wolf’s falsely assumed death up to the latest events which had led them back to Seattle.

“And that’s why we are here” Max finally finished. She was sitting on the couch between Kyla and Krit. Her old unit remained silent as did Logan, OC and Bling; all of them were thinking about what they had heard.

“What’s your plan?” Logan wanted to know.

“We need information about the base in Wyoming” Kyla explained. “If we want to get Wolf out of there we need to know what Renfro has changed while we were away. I’m sure she has changed the whole defensive perimeter. There’s only the three of us, so we won’t be able to do the necessary recon alone, not in a reasonable time. We need you to help us. Once we have the intel we need we’ll contact the rest of our unit. You won’t have to take part in any offensive action.”

“And why do you need to get him out? Why not just attack the facility?” Bling asked.

“After all this time he must have gained valuable information, information we need. Renfro is most surely a part of the Alliance, so yes, we could take her out but that would not inflict much damage on the organization itself. If we can get Wolf out of there we could possibly be able to gain an advantage big enough to destroy them once and for all. It’s a tactical option we can’t let pass.”

“And it’s also personal, isn’t it?” Tinga said with the hint of a smile. Kyla looked at her with slight shock in her eyes. Was she so easy to see through? Tinga’s smile only grew wider but it wasn’t amusement in her eyes, it was compassion. “Don’t worry, you’re hiding it pretty well. But I’m married and I’m a mother, I’ve learned to look at things in a way Manticore doesn’t teach you.”

After a brief moment of hesitation Kyla nodded silently and lowered her head, feeling strangely ashamed the ‘09er had so easily guessed her secret. Meanwhile Max eyed Tinga and wondered what else she did not know about her old unit. She also glanced at Original Cindy and caught her friend giving her an inquiring look. There would be much to talk about, she decided.

“That’s nothing to be ashamed of, Kyla” Syl suddenly spoke up when she saw how unsure the black-haired X5 had gotten. Subconsciously she snuggled up against Krit a little bit. “We understand.”

Surprised Kyla looked at the blond woman and then at the rest of the ‘09ers. They all almost invisibly nodded and even in Zack’s eyes she could see a brief flicker of understanding before his expression became grim and hard again.

“How personal?” he wanted to know but his voice held less of the hard edge than usually.

“Enough to get him out on my own if I have to” was the short but determined answer.

“Let me get this straight” Zane spoke up again. “You want us to help you do the reconnaissance, gather the intel and then your unit and Lydecker will do the attack.”

“Right.”

“What makes you think they will come?” Krit asked. “You’re deserters.”

“Technically so are they” Max interjected. “They will come.”

“No offense, Max, but you said it yourself: You all agreed to remain a military unit, which means they will follow the rules of the military and stick to their chain of command.” It was Zack who said that, being the calculating CO again.

“No offense either, Zack” Max retorted, “but you’re talking about something you don’t have the first damned clue about! We’re not Manticore puppets, we’re a unit and we care about each other. You above all should know what I’m talking about!”

“I’m perfectly aware of what you’re talking about but you have to be aware of the possibility that they might not act like you expect them to; they’re Manticore.” He briefly looked at Kyla. “I’m already surprised she decided to defy her orders.”

Everybody tensed when they heard Kyla’s cold laugh following his statement. She looked at Zack and smiled but like so many times before Max could see it wasn’t a gesture of amusement but rather a way to hide her growing anger.

“So?” the shorthaired X5 asked him. “Does having grown up at Manticore mean that we’re all a bunch of genetically programmed and emotionless robots in your eyes?”

“I know your superiors; they will not allow it. They just can’t understand what the X5s in a unit can feel for each other, that we see each other as family” Zack tried to explain but for some reason that only seemed to anger Kyla even more.

“You ignorant…” she began and Max decided to step in.

“Kyla!” she reminded her sister. “Take it easy!”

“Oh, I’m taking it easy, don’t worry!” the black-haired X5 assured her before looking back at Zack who was watching her carefully just as did his siblings. “Listen, I don’t care what you’re thinking but if you ever again say out loud what you just did you and I are gonna have a very special talk, is that clear? You say you’re a family? Well, newsflash 599, I have a family, too, and right now you are messing with mine!”

“I’m not talking about your unit” Zack repeated again with growing frustration, “I’m talking about Lydecker!”

“I know!” Kyla yelled. “And I already understood that the first time, dammit!”

“What the hell are you…?” Zack began but trailed off when it dawned on him. Surprised and shocked he looked towards the rest of the ‘09ers and he could see the same disbelief in their eyes he was experiencing at the moment. Slowly he turned towards Kyla again. “Are you saying you’re considering Lydecker to be your…your father?”

The silence and the burning glare he received from her were more than enough to answer that question.

“Max?” Syl asked in a whispering tone. The two women shared a long glance and the question which was on the blonde’s mind didn’t need to be spoken out loudly; ‘you too?’

For what seemed to be an eternity Max held the eyes of the other ‘09ers until she barely visibly nodded and an almost painful yet silent groan went through the ranks of her old unit. Even Kyla looked at her with surprise clearly evident in her eyes. Now that was something not even she would have expected.

“Okay, somebody pinch me, please, I want to wake up from this nightmare” Krit said quietly after about a minute of shocked silence. “What happened to you, Max? What the hell did you do to my sister!?”

“We’ve been over that already, Krit” Max growled defiantly. “Nobody forced me, nobody brainwashed me. I’m here because I want to be!”

“Yeah, right!” Zack snorted. “Listen to yourself, Maxie!”

“Oh, shut it, will you!” Ares finally spoke up again, sounding more than just annoyed. “You’re behaving like bunch of little kids fighting over sweets. We’re not here to analyze who has suffered more in his childhood but to decide if, how and when we will take action. Even the ordinaries are behaving more rational than you are right now. No offense, by the way.”

“None taken” Logan seriously replied. He didn’t like the way this meeting was going on but as long as they remained peaceful – well, kind of, at least – he would let them talk. He had learned that you got more information from most transgenics if you did not interrupt them too often. But he desperately wanted to talk to Max as soon as this was over and he could tell OC and Bling felt just the same.

“After what I’ve just heard I’m pretty sure we’re not gonna do anything at all. Why should we do anything that involves Lydecker?” Zack assured Ares grimly. The Delta soldier looked at him as if he had just assured him the Easter bunny existed.

“Damned coward!” Kyla swore under her breath.

“Shut up, Kyla, right now!” Ares calmly ordered her. He shook his head and laughed with silent sarcasm before he turned towards Max while pointing at Zack. “Has he always been so dense or did that come later?”

“Do you have something to say?” the blonde ‘09er wanted to know.

“Hell yes, I do” the Swiss transgenic nodded with mock kindness. “One: This isn’t about whether you had a hard life back in Gilette a decade ago or not. It’s about an operative who’s being held by hostile forces, a fact which endangers his unit. Second: The hostile force behind this is the Alliance who has been hunting and trying to kill transgenics ever since we’ve discovered them. They are highly mobile, very well equipped and extremely dangerous, even to our kind. And I’m saying they’re hunting transgenics; not X-series, not Deltas, SRTU or ‘09ers but transgenics as a race. Who do you think they will come after they have dealt with us? Let me see who would be left. Right answer is: ‘09ers. You and everyone in your unit, Zack. Now maybe Kyla has to get used to you not liking Manticore or Colonel Lydecker very much but at the same time you most certainly have to accept that neither you nor any other ‘09er in this room except for Max have even the faintest idea of how Manticore has been after your escape or if – and if yes, how – the Colonel has changed. We’re not asking you to understand how we feel for our fellow soldiers and our superiors; we’re asking you to help us getting a recon mission done, nothing else! If you can’t do that; fine! Tell us and then get the hell out of our way! If you can; stop bitching and start being a productive part of the team!”

Almost yelling towards the end he gave every ‘09er in the room a hard glance and then stood up abruptly.

“Where are you going?” Kyla wanted to know, rather surprised by his long speech. She had never heard him say so much in a row.

“We” he answered forcefully looking at Max, Kara and Kyla, “are going to cool off. Let’s have them some privacy to discuss this. Come on!”

When Kyla didn’t move he sighed, clearly annoyed. “Kyla, I just flew over the damned ocean, had one of my companions suffering from the shakes, I’ve nearly run into a platoon of marines and I am in a city on US soil which is as close to hostile territory as it can get for me right now without setting foot on a Manticore facility. I’m cut off from my unit and from every sort of backup or communication with my superior officer. I haven’t eaten, I haven’t slept and shark DNA or not I definitively do not have the nerve to argue with you right now. Move!”

Surprisingly, after staring at him for another second, Kyla stood up and slowly the four transgenics left the room to go outside. Max was the last to leave the room and before she closed the door she shot her old siblings a last, almost pleading glance. Once outside on the balcony Ares breathed deeply before he lit himself a cigarette.

“Got one for me?” Kyla asked into the silence.

“I thought you only smoke after successful missions?” he asked her but nevertheless offered her one.

“That’s what I thought about you, too.”

He laughed. “The exception proves the rule.”

“Right” she agreed and inhaled. After that they all remained quiet for another minute, staring into the night. Max listened to the nocturnal sounds of the city, remembering all the times she had been speeding through the wet and dark streets on her bike – her baby.

“That was quite a speech” she finally said without looking away from the dark scenery before her.

“Yeah, sorry. I got a little bit carried away” he apologized. “Maybe my shark DNA is really reaching its limits.”

“I don’t think so” she grinned. “Zack has this effect on people but don’t worry about it; he’s one of the good guys, he just needs somebody giving him a piece of his mind from time to time.”

“So what do you think is gonna happen now?” Kara suddenly wanted to know. Unlike her usual vivid and sometimes a little bit quarrelsome self she had not said a single word ever since they had arrived. Watching all those X5s arguing with each other made her feel out of place and also nervous.

“Well, if we’re lucky they’re gonna team up with us and if we’re not so lucky they won’t.” Ares seemed to be intensely in thought for several seconds and Kyla could almost hear how he was going over several tactical scenarios in his head until he spoke up again. “What do you think Cale and the rest of your friends are gonna do, Max? They were awfully quiet.”

“Well, I suggest you don’t have a bunch of arguing transgenic super-soldiers in your living room every day” she replied with a faint smile. “I can’t say for sure but Logan was never one to back down, neither was Bling and OC once even managed to take out Wolf and put Kyla to flight.”

“She did?” Ares actually looked impressed and he gave Kyla a sly grin. “Now that’s a story I would like to hear!”

“Ugh, did you really have to tell him, Max!?” Kyla complained with mock annoyance and they all laughed quietly.

“At least they didn’t try to shoot us” Ares said with dry sarcasm. “They didn’t even take our weapons; could be a sign of trust. It’s a start.”

“But they’re still a little bit jumpy” Kly grinned. “Did you see how they always spread out in the room so they would have a clear line of fire if they needed it?”

“Nothing we wouldn’t do if we were in the same situation” Max stated matter-of-factly. She was not defending the other ‘09ers, but it was a fact and the others nodded in agreement. Kara however looked at her sister inquiringly.

“Are you saying they’re hostile?” she wanted to know.

“Not hostile” Ares answered for Max. “They’re just cautious. I would be too, if I were in their situation.”

“It’s gonna be a long night” Kyla sighed after a moment.

“Yeah” Max agreed. “But at least we made it here. It’s a start.”

After that they remained on that balcony for quite a long time, all of them lost in their own thoughts.

Meanwhile at the Tacome Airport

The black SUV came to a halt and Victoria was out of it before her partner had killed the engine. Marching towards the officer in charge she reached for her batch and held it under his nose.

“Special Agent, hm?” he muttered after seeing the golden emblem and eyed the brunette woman in the simple grey suit closely, a little bit too closely for her liking. She sighed and knew exactly what was going on in the jarhead’s head; too young and too pretty for this job. Such reactions didn’t even anger her anymore; she had gotten used to it already but it was still very annoying. “I’m Major Baxter.”

“What can you tell me, Major?” she asked, ignoring the man’s reaction to her appearance. They’d just finished a case in Seattle and she had really hoped she and her team would be on their way back to DC in a few hours but fate had decided they were needed a little longer where they were right now. This was definitely not her night, she thought grimly.

“One of the marines, Private first class Jenkins, was attacked in that hangar” he informed her, his whole attitude changing to professional at once and he pointed towards one of the large and dark buildings. “He claims to have slipped away for a smoke and found a young woman and a girl in there. The woman seemed to be in need of medical attention so he tried to get the medic in his unit. After this he claims that the girl had attacked him and knocked him out.”

‘Right!’ Victoria thought sarcastically. ‘A fully trained recon marine gets beaten up by a little girl. That’s lame, even for a jarhead!’

“I know what you’re thinking, but I have known this man for several years and except for him being a heavy smoker he’s a great marine” Baxter said.

“We’ll see about that” Vic muttered which earned her a warning glare from the marine. “Is anything missing?”

“Not as far as we can tell” he answered rather hesitantly. Vic smiled and shook her head.

“Major, we have arrived here within an hour, that’s much, much faster than we usually would just because somebody informs us that a marine has gotten his ass kicked. The director of the NCIS has already been informed about the special nature of the cargo you are here to protect and he’s told us as well. So why don’t we just stop playing dumb and start to work as a team?”

Baxter looked at her and mentally noted that maybe he had underestimated this particular NCIS agent. Finally he nodded. “My men are double-checking the whole cargo as we speak but as far as we can tell it’s still complete. From what we know, whoever has attacked Private Jenkins did not even come close to it.”

“Very well, Major” Vic nodded, glad he seemed to have decided that working together was the easier way for all of them. “We need to speak with Private Jenkins and we also need a detailed report about if the cargo has been touched or not. Don’t worry, it will be handled with the necessary precautions.”

“I will see what I can do, ma’am” Baxter nodded, now sounding like he actually started to respect her. “Private Jenkins is this over there.”

“Andy” she called for her partner. “Go with Major Baxter and get Private Jenkins. We probably have to borrow him for a few hours.”

“On it, boss” the blond agent nodded and followed Baxter to where a group of marines had been attentively watching them ever since they had arrived.

Victoria on the other hand took out her cell phone and dealt a number she knew by heart.

“What’s up?” an all too enthusiastic voice answered her after few seconds from the other end of the continent and Victoria frowned; that woman was just too happy for her own current mood.

“Well, it looks we have to stay here because some marine has smoked bad weed” she growled, slowly beginning to feel frustrated.

“And what leads you to this not really interesting and stereotypical theory?”

“Sorry, Abby, but that sounds even better than his own explanation; he claims that a small girl has knocked him out.”

“That sounds cool!”

“Yeah, right” Vic muttered. If you were the one who was probably close to a caffeine-overdose and not the one standing on an airfield it probably sounded cool. “Listen, Abbs, I don’t want to rush you, but do you have found something already?”

She had called the forensic specialist right after she had been informed by the director they had another case.

“I’ve started right after your call, sweetheart” was the cheerful answer, “There’s not much I can do until I get a clearance to use a military satellite from Tim but I’m looking for unusual electronic communication right now. The problem is that Tacoma is a big place with lots of radio traffic going on. Most of it is just communication from the tower and I also caught some of the marines’ chattering…”

“Abby!” Vic interrupted her with a growl. She knew exactly the older woman had found something or she wouldn’t be so talkative. “Just tell me what you’ve got!”

“Victoria Maria Gibbs!” came the unusual sharp reply. “Don’t you dare talking to me in that tone! I have worked with your father and your mother before you were even born so you better don’t even think about trying to intimidate me! Those two never succeeded so you will most certainly not succeed, either!”

“I’m sorry, Abbs” Victoria apologized and sighed. There really was no reason to snap at the other woman. “I’m just kind of stressed.”

“It’s okay” Abby replied, sounding more friendly again. “And by the way; there really is something strange.”

“What is it?”

“Now don’t get your hopes up already, it’s not much, just kind of weird. The communication satellite picked up a call from one of the airplanes which landed not long before your marine got spanked. As far as I can tell the call was made from a mobile phone and whoever did it wanted to speak to someone in Seattle.”

“So? Using mobile phones is only prohibited during the starting and landing sequence. What’s so special about it?”

“The call itself isn’t” Abby continued and sounded more excited by the second. “It’s the receiver. You see, I had no problem to identify the origin of the call; it was not encrypted or protected, not in the slightest way, but the receiver, now whoever that is knows what he is doing. That’s some heavy encryption and codification he or she is using. So far I haven’t even been able to identify his location.”

“Why would somebody only encrypt one end of a call?” Vic was seriously confused. “That makes no sense at all!”

“Not, it doesn’t. But one thing is for sure; this was neither the military nor somebody of air-traffic control. They all use encryption which is almost standard for somebody like me and whoever it is we’re talking about here is far from any standard I have ever seen.”

“What are you trying to tell me?”

“I’m trying to tell you to be careful. My gut tells me there’s more to this whole story than one beaten up marine.”

Vic thought about that for a few seconds and she didn’t like the different scenarios her mind came up with at all. Most of all not when she thought about what Director McGee had told her about the special cargo the marine recon unit was guarding.

“Thanks, Abby, keep me posted!”

“I will. Later.” The line went dead and Special Agent Victoria Gibbs stared into the dark night surrounding the Tacoma airfield with grim eyes. Somehow she suddenly felt like somebody was watching her right. Sure, it was just a phone call but Abby was one of the most experienced forensic analysts this country had to offer and if she thought something was not as it should be they were most likely in some kind of trouble.

‘This is more than a simple attack on a marine’ Victoria thought. ‘This is much more, I know it!’

Whether it was that infamous gut feeling her parents so often talked about or something else she didn’t know, but she knew they had to act much faster than they had thought until now.

“Major Baxter!” she yelled. “We need to talk! Now!”

Okay, first of all: If you think I made Zack look bad that’s exactly what I wanted to. I don’t like the guy as he was portrayed in the series, most of all not during his first appearances. I didn’t like him then as a person and sure as hell not as a military leader. That said I can also tell you now that I will make him look better during the next chapters. Or I will at least try *g*.

Then: I know neither OC, nor Bling or Logan have said much during this chapter, that will come during the next one. I mean, imagine the situation for example from OC’s point of view: There is a bunch of genetically enhanced soldiers in front of you arguing about how, why and when they’re gonna trigger off a small war. I believe even a woman as courageous as Original Cindy would remain quiet and observe the whole situation at first. And as I said, there will be more about Max’s ordinary friends in the next chapter and I will also try to get a little bit deeper into the stories of the ‘09ers.

Well, you know what to do, right? R&R, please (and no, not the military r&r, please! *g*)