Takes place right after Above The Quarry.

Above The Quarry

Kids Will Be Hunted

The insistent buzzing of his communicator finally pierced the deep slumber of Jim Shannon, "Shannon," his voice slurred as he tried to rouse from his sleep.

"Shannon," The gravelly voice of Commander Taylor cut into the dark room, "I need you at the clinic. Bring the doctor and your boy."

"Okay, what's up?" Shannon threw his legs off the bed and sat up.

"I'll show you when you get here, Taylor out."

Shannon shook Elizabeth's shoulder drawing a moan from her.

"We're needed," he grabbed his pants.

"I heard,"

"Josh, wake up," Shannon shook his son's shoulder.

"Go away," Josh had helped close the bar and had been sleeping for about an hour.

"Come on, Taylor needs us. Something you're involved in, again."

"I didn't do anything, I swear," Josh struggled off the bed.

Within minutes the Shannon's entered the brightly lit clinic. Their attention was drawn to Josh's new friend, Max. His dark body was bare except for a cloth covering his loins. Elizabeth Shannon immediately took charge, calling for information on his condition and checking the medical scanner herself. The scan that hovered above Max's body displaying a broken fibula just above his right ankle. The muscle damage over the break showed evidence Max had used his leg to take the blunt force of an altercation where his flesh lost the battle to something harder. There were burns here and there on his torso, small and round like something hot had been used to sear the flesh.

Taylor turned his attention to the Shannon men, "Do you know anything about what happened here, Josh?" Josh tore his gaze from the battered body to the commander. This version of Commander Taylor always scared him. Gone was the friendly, ready to smile leader. In his place was the warrior, a predator, coiled to strike. Behind him, a more casual stance of Lieutenant Washington, and two male soldiers standing off to the side out of the way of the medical staff and their commanding officers.

"Josh," his father prompted, "the Commander asked you a question."

"He was found at the edge of the woods. The guards saw something and took a rover to investigate," Taylor motioned to Max, "They found him crawling towards the compound. Unfortunately, he passed out before they could get anything out of him." Taylor spoke before Josh could formulate a reply.

"He must have been with Skye." Josh flashed a glance at the Commander and quickly looked away. He didn't want to be scrutinized by the commander like this.

"What'd Skye do this time?" Taylor had remembered seeing them together near the market earlier in what was now the previous day.

Josh decided if Skye had something to do with what happened to Max, he had better confess all he knew. If he was wrong the worse Skye would be was mad at him for breaking her confidence. He could see out of the corner of his eye, Lieutenant Washington give an order to one of the soldiers and he quickly left.

"Skye wanted to go OTG this afternoon and wanted me to ditch work and go with her," Josh hated being put in this situation.

"Where was she going?" The commander didn't sound mad, just an officer used to answers when he ask a question.

"She said she wanted to go to a cave. One you used to live in years ago," Josh needn't say anything else. He saw the Commander and Lieutenant share a look.

"Could have been Sixers," Washington offered the most obvious explanation to her commander.

"Could have been someone else also," was his private reply to her. Her nod of understanding ended their open discussion.

"Did you talk to Max yesterday?" Commander Taylor returned his attention to Josh, then back to Max as Josh shook his head in the negative.

Josh tried to remember his conversations yesterday regarding Skye.

"Hi Josh," Skye sat next to him on the shaded picnic table bench nestled under a large tree just off to the side of the market area. Her interest more than platonic in the way her eyes ran over him.

"Skye," was his only acknowledgement. Something about her bugged him, he just couldn't put it together in his head, which was in a constant duel with his hormones.

"You ready to go OTG again?"

"You have to be kidding. I just got done with my last grounding, and I don't have the money to move out yet. I do anything else right now and Dad may make the choice for me," Josh shook his head. He couldn't believe her.

"Oh come on. We're not going back to the still. Think of it as a field trip." The young men in the colony usually ended up doing what she wanted and nothing was off limits for her, "Don't tell anyone, but I want to go to the cave the first pilgrimage lived in."

"Why would you want to go to that place?" Josh couldn't remember the details, just Maddy rambling in the future, as she researched anything she could find about Terra Nova. He never planned on coming here and book learning wasn't high on his list either.

"Because I've never been, reason enough," she ran her hand seductively down his arm, "How could I convince you to come?" her silky suggestion letting him know exactly what she was willing to do.

Josh stood up faster than he intended, "Not this trip, Skye. I have to get to work," he headed in in the direction of the bar.

"Hey Josh," he looked back, "Don't tell anyone, okay?" was a plea that he couldn't decipher. Was she asking or threatening. He nodded without a word.

The only other conversation Josh could remember was after he entered the bar.

Josh bounced down the steps into the dim bar as Boylan called a warm greeting. Josh responded with a nod. Boylan's expertise at reading people told him that Josh was preoccupied.

Finally, after sweeping the floor, Josh approached Boylan, ready to talk. "Seems like if I go one way I get in trouble and if I go the opposite direction, the results will probably be the same."

Boylan, an expert interrogator found a challenge; find out what the boy was talking about. "Well it would depend on the situation. If it's minor, then I wouldn't worry, but," he paused for effect, "If someone gets hurt and it's found out you could have had it avoided, well, those latrines don't smell so good."

Josh sighed. "I told someone I wouldn't tell on them."

"I wouldn't consider telling me as someone," Boylan soothed Josh. He continued, "I hear all kinds of things tending bar. You don't see me spreading it all over town," his smile as sincere as he could make it.

"Don't tell anyone," Boylan mimicked the zipping of his lips. "Skye told me she was going to a cave. It was the one the first people here lived in."

Boylan nodded, "Many fond memories of that place, no desire to go back though. Terra Nova's much homier," his smile was infectious. "She go alone, my boy?"

Josh shrugged, "I don't know, may have went with her roomies, or maybe they refused and that's why she asked me." He found talking to Boylan much easier than his dad. Here he wasn't going to be punished for speaking his mind. So with Boylan paying special attention to him, he asked, "Why does Commander Taylor let her get away with so much? She's always pushing the boundaries and he never seems to notice. You don't suppose…..Oh, never mind," a stray thought crossed Josh's mind and he was embarrassed to utter it.

"What don't I suppose?" Boylan used his soothing interrogator tone, prying without appearing to.

"You don't think her and the Commander, you know," he hoped Boylan could figure out what he was talking about.

Boylan's laugh indicated he caught Josh's train of thought. "I think he's a little too old for her. Besides, you know the Commander. Look at how he makes Reynolds treat your sister."

"Well then, why does he cut Skye so much slack?"

"She was just old enough to be on her own when her parents died. He took over as a surrogate, that's all." Boylan wasn't about to tell this kid all he knew about the Commander and a certain Lieutenant.

"That's where I'm confused, he expects Mark to act one way and let's Skye act anyway she wants." Josh didn't like the duel standard and was beginning to think the bartender had to be wrong about their relationship.

"Oh, I've seen her suck up to the Commander, then throw herself at his soldiers behind his back. Like I said, Taylor feels bad for her circumstances, nothing more." Customers started trickling in.

From the command center balcony overlooking the market and main gate, Commander Nathaniel Taylor leaned against the rails, his forearms bracing his upper body. He was taking a much needed break from putting together the eleventh pilgrimage. Each time a group came through the portal, it seemed larger than the last. More houses and everything to care for these folks was a daunting task. He had delegated all but the final decisions, like who was coming. He still controlled all military acquisitions. But now he was mentally on a break and his mind wandered to more pleasant pursuits. He let his mind wander until it settled on 'his Wash', like most off duty thoughts drifted. She was OTG for the day, with her newest soldiers on field training. He hadn't been with her lately, as they were both drawn in opposing directions after she returned to normal duties after injuring her ankle. He bound her to a desk for a week and now she was desperately training new soldiers for the upcoming standoff he felt in his gut was coming. If she weren't too tired after daily workouts, he would give her their special signal that he wanted to visit that night. For now a little daydreaming wouldn't hurt and he picked up where he left off a few weeks before in the communication room.

The years had passed so quickly, ten in a few days since her return to him. But now he moved on to more sensual thoughts, their hurried encounter in the women's locker room. He remembered afterwards apologizing for his lack of control and not waiting to see if she wanted to have a relationship with him before taking her on that bench. He had lost control and she had responded in kind, pulling him to herself, wrapping her legs around his buttocks as he plunged into her, his lips sucking on her neck, tongue licking her salty skin combined with her unique taste. He could still hear her moaning his given name like it was yesterday. He remembered kissing her after they both had used each other for gratification. He didn't want to stop, but here they were, naked in a public room. He knew that would get around fast if they were discovered. Funny, he didn't think about that a few minutes earlier. In fact he would have ordered everyone out.

"I better go shower," Nathanial sucked Alicia's lower lip between his teeth. Her answer was to insert her tongue into his mouth. He momentarily forgot what was so important.

"Alicia," Taylor pulled his head back keeping his hands firmly on her butt, fingers massaging lightly, "I…."

"You better get out of here. We'll talk outside," she reluctantly let him go and watched as he pulled his workout pants on scooping up everything else. They gazed at each other for a moment before he slipped out to his own side of the lockers to shower alone.

They met in the hallway, both fully dressed in uniforms. Taylor looked around seeing nobody about, continued, "I don't want this to be a 'one time' event, Wash. I didn't plan on this either, it just happened, but I'd be lying if I didn't say if felt real good."

"It takes two to make that happen, Nathaniel," he like the way she said his name. "I've been so lonely since Somalia. Everything was suddenly gone and I was lying in that hospital bed with strangers taking care of me. I tried to find out what happened back in Somalia, but nobody wanted to upset me. That was the hardest part, not knowing. I didn't know who lived or died. I finally had enough, checked out and left. Then I found out that you lived and Ayanni didn't. I was devastated for a long time that I got their too late." He remembered wanting to hold her, but for properties sake stood a respectful distance, letting her talk. "I went to California, spent most days sitting on an empty beach watching the putrid water destroy what's left of the beaches. I was able to find what happened in Somalia. It took time for me to want to come back, but in the end…being a soldier is all I know, or all I want." She smiled into his face, "I know what happened wasn't planned. Best welcome back present I could get. I hope you don't welcome all your female officer's back like that, Sir," she ended with a joke.

Taylor remembered closing the distance between them and was sure the security cameras caught him leaning in and saying something private, an inappropriate punch to his shoulder then dual laughs. Addison. He hadn't thought about her in so long. Carno got her about four months after the first waive came through. She was a major with his unit. She had broken her wrist in Somalia. He had softly suggested to Wash that maybe he should pay Addison a visit and gotten a punch. Wash, his best friend outside his wife and now with Ayanni gone, it had been almost normal to switch his lust to the next person he felt as strongly for. Ten years and he still had to watch himself that he didn't lose control and drag her off like he had in '39.

Josh Shannon jumping up caught Taylor's attention. He watched the boy exchange a few words with Skye then leave. Time to get back to work.