Authors note: I am a Gossard and Dizzy fan. So if any one has a problem with that, they can take a long walk of a short pier, or just not read this story!
Rico and Gossard stood in General Redwing's office anxiously waiting for her to come in.
Gossard shifted uneasily. "You have any idea why the general wants to talk to us. Especially me?"
He shrugged, "How should I know?" The door slid open with a hiss causing the two soldiers to snap to attention.
Redwing walked into the room shortly followed by a female trooper that didn't look familiar to either of them.
"Lt. Rico and Cpl. Gossard reporting as ordered ma'am." Rico and Gossard saluted the General as she stood before them.
She saluted back and took a seat behind her desk. "At ease men. Lt., Cpl. I want you to meet Pvt. Electra Doe, she's being assigned to your squad."
Electra stepped forward and saluted, "Sir."
Rico nodded, "At ease Pvt."
Standing down Electra relaxed a bit, 'This can't be the famous Lt. Rico, can it? He seems so unsure of himself,' she thought looking him over.
"The Pvt. wishes to be a weapons and explosives specialist, she'll be working and learning directly under you Cpl. Gossard."
He blinked in surprise and apprehension. He had never taught anyone after the battle on Pluto, that whole thing haunted him to this day.
Redwing continued, "Cpl. if you are not up to the task, simply say so and I will have Pvt. Doe assigned to someone else."
"I don't have a problem with it ma'am, it's just I'm a bit surprised that out of all the others you'd assign her to me."
"You're the best, and I believe that you can train her to be the best as well."
Electra looked at Gossard, 'Surprised yes, I can feel that, but why is he so nervous and scared. He's the best from what Vicky told me.' Redwing's voice cut through Electra'a revere snapping her back to reality.
"Dismissed."
They all saluted and walked out of the room, as they walked to the barracks Rico started asking Electra a few questions.
"So, where ya from?"
"Wolf Creek, Washington Sir."
"I'm from around there." Gossard responded.
"What made you want to be a trooper?"
Electra shrugged, "I wanted to do something with my life, and this seemed to be my calling."
They came to a set of doors and walked in; Electra tried to quell the nervousness that was starting to rise in her with little success.
"Hey, you're back," a chipper voice called out. "What did Redwing have to….. Who's she?"
"Roughnecks, I want you all to meet our newest recruit Electra Doe." A group started to from around them and Rico introduced them all. "Doe, this is Sgt. Charlie Zim," The large man nodded and looked her over.
'He seems okay, a bit apprehensive about me, but okay.'
Rico continued down the line "Pvt. Robert Higgins." Higgins smiled and shook hands with her.
'This guy seems nice, debating on something. Maybe whether he should say hi to me. Well I decide it for him'
"Hey.""Uh, ummm…hi," Higgins stuttered.
"He's a reporter, you have my permission to break his camera if he sticks that thing in your face." Gossard joked.
Electra rolled her eyes and smiled a bit, "You got it Sir."
"Cpl. Doc LeCroix, our medic."
'Friendly.'
"Pvt. T'Phai."
'He feels alone, probably because he's the only one here. I know how that feels'
Electra thought as she shook hands with the skinny."Pvt. Carl Jenkins." Electra looked at Jenkins, while the rest of the trooper's auras were soft white in color, Jenkins' was a bright blue telling her that he was psychic.
"Please don't tell them about me, let me do it on my own,"
she thought. Electra then felt a gentle nudge against her mental shields."Don't worry,"
he was calm but somewhat troubled, "I won't tell them, I'll leave that up for you to do.""Thank you friend,"
she replied with her thoughts."And last but certainly not least, Doe meet Pvt. Dizzy Flores." A warm feeling came up on her at the mention of the trooper's name. It was coming from Gossard, and the feeling was mutual from Flores for him. Electra smiled at the other female trooper who seemed a bit more interested in Gossard at the time, but the gesture was returned.
'Hmmm, looks like we have a perfect couple here. I wonder if they know how much they like one another?'
"Hey what about me?" A voice piped up.
Rico looked over at one of the bunks and laughed, "Oh yeah I almost forgot about him, meet Pvt. Max Brutto."
"The only qualified coffee runner in the squad," Gossard added.
Everyone in the room had a good laugh at that, except Max. Electra shook off the feelings of anger and resentment she felt coming from the young trooper, but she also felt pressure, the pressure one has when trying to live up to someone else's expectations.
Suddenly sirens went off causing everyone to stop laughing and put on a serious expression. Rico ran over to a console on the far side of the room and after hitting a few keys on the console a 3D diagram of a mountain range came up on the screen. They all gathered around him, anxious for the orders that were to come.
"A large number of Warrior bugs have been spotted heading north on the Colorado Rocky Mountains. They seem to be going after a fort on the far side of the range. We've been called in to take care of the infestation. C'mon apes, we've got a job to do."
Everyone at once seemed to yell, "HO!" Electra couldn't help but to get lost in the feeling of excitement that was coming from the group as they all rushed to get ready. Once every trooper was in their powersuit they rushed to the transport bay, where their troop carrier awaited. As they loaded up Zim pulled Rico off to the side.
"Rico, with all due respect do you think it's wise to throw Pvt. Doe into a full battle situation on the first day? She seems to be a bit wet behind the ears."
"She can handle it, I just have this feeling about her." Rico replied as he loaded onto the carrier.
"You haven't even had the time to read her profile yet Sir, how can you be sure that this felling of her is justified?"
"I'll read that when we get back, but right now I could care less about some stupid profile. She's a trooper, she'll be able to handle it."
"I just hope you're right about that." Zim mumbled as he took his seat on the transport, on his right was Higgins who looked a bit preoccupied as he looked at the new member of the Roughnecks.
"Keep your mind on the mission Higgins, I don't want to die today because you're watching Pvt. Doe instead of our backs."
"Wha…who said I was watching her… I-I wasn't watching her." Higgins looked at the floor to hide the sudden flush of color to his face.
"Right Higgins, and I'm the tooth fairy."
Electra listened to them talk. There were some definite disadvantages to having enhanced senses. Namely hearing things she wasn't meant to, like just then. 'He was looking at me?' Using her empathic powers she felt how nervous Higgins was, with a lot of other feelings mixed in making it hard to tell them apart. 'Why would he have been looking at me?'
Rico stood up causing all attention to focus on him. "We're just entering the drop zone, so get ready." There was a rustle as they got their jump-packs on, as soon as everyone was ready Rico hit a button on the side of the craft opening the back door. As their time came each roughneck jumped out of the back of the craft.
"I guess this wouldn't be a good time to mention if you're scared of heights," Electra laughed as she stood next to Higgins waiting for their turn to jump.
"WHAT!?" Before she had a chance to answer Electra grabbed his hand and jumped out, pulling him along with her. As they fell towards the ground their packs fired up slowing their fall. When they all had touched down Rico split them into two groups.
"Dizzy, T'Phai, Doc, Higgins, with me. Everyone else go with Zim, we'll see about teaching these bugs a lesson."
Max readied his weapon. "They've messed with the wrong species!"
"Keep that trigger finger of yours in check Pvt." Zim hissed causing the trooper to shoulder the rifle.
"We'll meet back here in 20. Let's go." They all nodded and set off in two different directions. As Zim's team made their way, they couldn't shake the eerie feeling that they were being watched. Electra tried to calm the fear that was seeping into her mind.
Max stopped and looked around, "Well isn't this where Intel said the bugs where?"
"Yeah, this is the place," Gossard answered. "But where are they? Infrared shows nothing; there are no tracks either. Maybe Intel was wrong."
Zim turned to Jenkins, "What about you? Are you getting anything?"
"No, I don't feel anything and that scares me." His voice was shaky telling them just how frightened he was.
Electra took her off her helmet and took a deep breath of the cool air. The stench of the bugs was heavy there, but where were they? She slowly took down one of her shields. Things were a bit deeper but she still couldn't feel the bugs, another shield went down, still noting.
"Don't."
Carl's voice spoke; "If you take down another shield you may not be able to handle it all.""But I have to find these bugs. Don't worry I know what I'm doing."
Closing her eyes Electra began taking down her one of her strongest shields.Max looked over at her and raised an eyebrow. "What the heck is she doing?"
"She's looking for bugs." Carl responded.
"Are you meaning to tell me she's a psychic." Zim snarled, that's just what he needed now, another Intel baby.
Electra spoke up, "I'm not a psychic, I'm empathic, I can feel the bugs emotions."
"Bugs don't have emotions," Gossard replied.
"That is true, so what I feel for is the dark, the emptiness, the blood lust." She staggered back and her eyes went wide. "The- they're all around us, we're completely surrounded."
"WHAT!" Suddenly the ground began to shake and groan. The earth spilt open and warrior bugs began to pour out of the fissures. The soldiers drew their weapons and began firing at the bugs.
"Gossard, radio Rico and tell him we need back up." Zim barked as he used a grenade to dispense of a small number of attacking warriors.
"Already ahead of ya Sarge, Rico and the rest of the squad should be here in…" Gossard never finished his sentence because it was then that a warrior bug came up from behind knocking the marauder face down allowing him to become totally defenseless. The bugs took advantage of their shock, grabbed their weapons, and herded them into a group.
"Why aren't they attacking?" Max whispered watching the bugs every move. Suddenly Gossard was thrown into the group, torn from his marauder. His back was ripped up pretty badly but at least he was alive. They circled the troopers hissing and crying in gross delight.
"They're saving us for something." Carl whispered back, "What it is I don't know."
Zim pulled out the knife in his pack; "I don't know about the rest of you apes, but I'm not going down without a fight."
The rest nodded doing the same. Electra could feel the regret from everyone, regret for never saying the words that needed to be said, never doing something they wanted.
"We're not dead yet." She closed her eyes again and began concentrating on bringing her last shields down.
"What's she doing now!" Max felt a sudden surge of energy causing the hair on the back of his neck to stand on end.
"Saving us." Came Carl's soft reply.
Electra raised her hands to the sky, slowly white and red light began to form around them. She opened her eyes, which were glowing white-hot.
"I suggest we find cover," advised Carl shaking his head as if to clear it. Electra had to be crazy to do what she was; releasing this amount power could very well kill her.
Gossard propped himself up. "Why?"
Before Carl had a chance to answer one of the warrior bugs launched itself at Electra. Everyone watched shocked as the bug was flung back, hitting the ground smoking and motionless. It had been turned into a crispy critter by a bolt of lighting. The remaining bugs cried out and attacked her with a vengeance, but each one like the first, fell. Be it by a ball of fire or bolt of lighting.
Pain raced through her head, she couldn't keep this up much longer. 'But I've got too, just until the Lt. gets here.' Never before had Electra let down all of her shields and used her powers to this extent. It was getting hard to concentrate now, the pain became harder to deal with as every second passed. 'Lt. where are you?' Out of corner of her eye she saw the rest of the squad was coming, and none to soon. Her mind and body gave out, the last thing she saw before she loss consciousness was a bug jumping at her but being taken out by a single shot.
Carl scrambled to his feet, catching her as she fell backwards. "Rest now, you've done well."
Rico walked up to Zim. "Could you explain to me what just happened here?"
"The warrior bugs hid themselves and ambushed us Sir."
The young Lt. shook his head, "I mean how did Privet Doe put on the light show that I just saw?"
"I wouldn't be able tell you Sir, but Jenkins might be able to shed a little more light on the subject."
Meanwhile Doc was assessing Electra's condition. "Pulse rate 22 beats a minute, breathing…what I can detect is ragged at best. Rico, we've got to get her back to the base STAT."
"I have radioed ahead, the transport is on its way," T'Phai spoke.
"What's wrong with her Doc?"
The medic sighed, "Can't say. But whatever did happen to her it's bad enough that I'm not sure she'll make it till the transport gets here."
Rico nodded, "Do what you can for her."
"You got it." After stabilizing her to the best of his ability Doc left Electra with Carl and went to check up on Gossard.
Higgins crouched down next to Carl, "Is she…gonna be okay?"
"It's to early to tell."
Gossard hissed, as Doc rubbed antiseptic on one of several long gashes that were on his back. A result of being torn from the marauder by the warrior bug. "I can patch these up till the transport gets here, but you're gonna need a least 6 hours in the tank."
"That's just what I need." Gossard mumbled through clenched teeth. "How's Doe doing?"
"It doesn't look good for her, I did the best I could to stabilize her, but she may not make it."
Gossard felt his heart stop at those words, his mouth went dry. This couldn't be happening, not again. Was he to loose her like he did Mark?
"Goss? Gossard? Hey Jeff? You there?" Dizzy asked waving her hand in front of Gossard's face. "Hey what's with you?"
Gossard blinked away his shock and looked at Dizzy. "You say something?"
"I was asking if you were okay, you looked kinda zoned out back there."
He closed his eyes against the images that threatened to break forth from the back of his mind. "Yeah, I'm okay. Just worrying about Doe."
Dizzy nodded, "Yeah I heard. She'll be fine, I've got a 6th sense for this sorta thing."
"I hope you're right about that."
The transport landed a few minutes latter. A medical team loaded Electra onto a stretcher and then onto the transport. The trip back was silent, it continued as they all watched her wheeled out and taken to the medical ward. They all followed her, only stopping when one of the doctors told them they couldn't go any further. There they waited for news, any news about her condision.
"So SICON gave us another freak to deal with. Well that's just great, like we don't have enough problems to worry about." Max growled resting against the wall.
"Shut your mouth Pvt.!" Zim scolded.
Carl narrowed his eyes at Max; "She's like this because she saved our lives. I think you need to show her a little respect because of that."
Max grumbled and rested back against the wall. "She's still a freak."
Higgins spoke up, "No she's not."
Max smirked. "Look's like Paperboy's developed a backbone."
"I've developed more then that."
"What's your problem Paperboy? You this freak's boyfriend?"
"She not a freak!" Pulling back his fist Higgins slugged Max in the face, knocking him to the ground.
Max wiped away a small trickle of blood from the corner of his mouth. "Oh, you're gonna pay for that Higgins." Max got up ready to return the strike, but Higgins dove at him, knocking him back to the floor where they started an all out brawl, Zim and Rico pulled them apart.
"What has gotten into you?" Rico demanded pushing Higgins aside while Zim drilled out Max.
"I...I don't know, I've just had it up to my neck with him."
Rico half smiled, "We all have, but that doesn't give you the right to knock him one because he's being a brat. Is that understood?"
"Yeah." Just then the physician came out.
"How are things? Is she gonna be okay?" Rico asked.
The physician nodded, "We've stabilized her, but the next 24 hours are extremely critical." The physician then looked at Gossard. "Cpl. are you all right? You're looking a bit pale."
Doc answered for him. "No, he's not. He received a few injuries in the fight and he should be in the TeleRobotic Stasis tank."
The physician turned Gossard around and removed one of the patches causing him to grunt in pain.
"Hmm, Doc is right Cpl., these need to be treated right away."
"Can't you just stitch them up?"
The physician shook his head; "It's safer to use the tank, no chance for secondary infection to set in."
Gossard let out a groan of complaint; he hated being in those things. To him it was like being in a fish bowl, but he was too tired to argue and simply followed the physician to the tanks. He shuttered as he slipped into the cool fluid; this was going to be a long night.
"I'm going to give you something, it should help you sleep while the tank does its job."
"Sleep? Who said anything about sleeping during this?" His heart started going about a mile a minute. He didn't like the idea of being in one of these things, let alone sleeping in one.
"Don't worry Goss, I'm here."
Gossard looked down to see Dizzy standing by the tank, her hand pressed against the glass, their eyes locked. He put his hand against the glass mirroring hers. 'So close, but so far.' He thought smiling behind the oxygen mask.
Dizzy saw how the corners of his eyes crinkled the way he did when he smiled and smiled back. 'I wish I could tell you how I feel,' she thought, ' but everyone I love gets hurt.' She could see that the drugs were starting to take effect.
Gossard fought to keep awake; he wanted this moment to last forever, but his eyelids were heavy and hard to hold up.
"Go to sleep Jeff, I'll stay here." He nodded, closing his eyes Gossard drifted off to a peaceful sleep.
"Are you going to stay with him?"
Dizzy nodded, "Yeah, I'm staying with him. I promised I would."
The physician nodded, turning the lights out as he left. The only light in the room came from the ones at the top of the tank, casting a green glow to the room. Sitting down next to the tank, Dizzy rested her head against the glass and sighed. 'Don't worry, I'm right here. I won't go until you're out of there.' Closing her eyes Dizzy herself drifted off to sleep.
As Gossard floated there in the tank he dreamed of the perfect life. The war was over. He and Dizzy were husband an wife, living together on a house by the sea. Now and then they'd huddle together under a blanket and watch the sun begin to set, painting the sky a number of different colors. He also dreamt of a child, a son or daughter. With brown hair, blue eyes, and the very same 'I don't take no for an answer' look on their face as their mom. 'If only it could be real'.
When he woke the next morning Gossard saw Dizzy curled up next to the tank asleep. 'Did she stay there all night?' Tapping the side of the glass he roused Dizzy from her rest.
Yawning she stretched out and smiled up at him. "Hey, how are you feeling?"
"Better. You stay there all night?"
She nodded, "I said I was going to be here."
"Thanks Diz."
"Any time." They looked up at the physician as he walked into room.
"Good morning Cpl. How are you feeling?" He asked walking over to the tanks console and checking on Gossard's vital signs.
"Okay. So am I getting out of this thing?"
The physician nodded. "You're in perfect health Cpl. You can exit the tank and return to duty."
"That's just what I wanted to hear." Swimming to the top of the tank Gossard climbed out. 'Thank God I'm outa that thing.'
Dizzy handed him a towel, "Dry off, I…the squad doesn't need you to get sick. One Roughneck in med.-station is enough." He nodded and dried himself off. As they walked back to the barracks Gossard could have sworn he had head his younger sister Vicky. Looking around a corner he saw a familiar blond arguing with an officer from another squad.
"Is there a problem here?" He asked walking up to them.
Vicky turned around and faced her brother, "Yeah, I keep telling this guy I don't need any help. But he doesn't seem to want to listen."
Gossard raised an eyebrow to the recruit who just backed up and went on his way. "What are you doing here?" He asked hugging her.
She returned the hug, "I was called here because of Electra."
"Electra? How do you know her?"
"We're good friends, do you know where she is. I must have gone around this place 4 times already and I haven't found her."
"She's in the intensive care unit." Dizzy answered, "It's down the hall and through the doors at the very end."
Vicky nodded and started in the direction that Dizzy had indicated but stopped. "Do you want to join me?" They nodded and followed after her. They all took a sharp breath when they saw Electra lying on the hospital bed. Her skin was a ghostly white, with multiple wires running from her to different monitors. Carl was there, watching over her like a guardian angel. He looked up from his vigil and gave them a smile, but the smile didn't seem to reach his worried eyes.
"I'm glad to see you could come so soon."
Vicky sat down in the chair next to Electra's bed. "I came here on the first flight after I got your call. How is she?"
"Not good. I've never seen it this bad before."
Vicky nodded, "You said she ripped down all her shields, right?"
"Yeah, she was totally bare of every shield. She didn't even leave up a base shield."
Dizzy tugged at Gossard's arm, "C'mon, I think we should leave them alone." He nodded and left with her.
"They should've stayed, it might have helped." Carl looked back down at her. "Having more people here…because she's empathic, it may jump-start her shields and that would start her healing.
Vicky looked over at him, "Carl, I don't want you to do this if it risks your own health. I heard about what happened the first time you tried this."
"That was different, I was trying to read his mind. What I'm going to do now is connect with her subconscious. It's easier because she has some psychic powers."
She nodded, "Well lets get started then." Reaching over Vicky took Carl's hand in her right while taking Electra's in her left.
Closing his eyes Carl started to concentrate. He sifted through all the darkness trying to find the small light. Finally he found it, buried under the pain of the shattered mental shields. "Electra, it's Carl, can you hear me?"
"Carl?" Her voice was weak, barely audible.
"Yeah, who else would it be? I brought someone with me."
"Hey Electra."
"Vicky?"
Electra's voice got a bit louder. "What are you doing here?""Carl called me. You're in the hospital because of what you did."
Vicky explained."Is everyone okay?"
Electra's voice was at a normal level."Yeah, Gossard needed to spend the night tanked, but other then that everyone's fine."
Electra gave a mental sigh, "That's good. Oh I'm so tiered."
"C'mon Electra, you've got to fight it. You need to come back," Vicky spoke again.
She gave another sigh, "I don't know if I can do it. I've tried so many times."
"We're here now," Carl pointed out, "We can help you."
"I don't want to hurt you." Electra's voice was fading again.
"You won't, c'mon, fight it!"
Vicky's voice was demanding but soft."Fine, I'll try, if just to get you and Carl out of my head."
Carl could sense as Electra started concentrating, trying to pull herself out of the dark abyss. To him it was like trying to pull yourself out of mud. It held her fast, wanting to keep her. He reached out with his own psychic powers, giving her a helping hand. He could feel the tension building up; he'd never used his powers like this, for this long, and supporting another person. Suddenly a feeling of great release over took him; she had broken through her darkness and was back.
"Thanks Carl,"
Electra sounded tired and worn. It had taken all she had to get back, but it helped having Carl there. "You too Vicky.""Any time,"
Carl replied, "I've got to go. I'll see you when you're out of med. station."Carl felt a soft mental nudge. Opening his eyes he looked down at Electra, her color was back and there was slight smile to her lips. She was going to be okay, but it was going to be some time before she could return to the squad.
While all of this had been going on the rest of the squad was grabbing some much needed R&R.
Max looked at himself in the mirror; a nice bruise was forming on his face where Higgins had hit him. 'Paperboy is gonna pay for this.' Walking out of the bathroom he went to his bunk and rested down, 'Oh yeah, he's gonna pay.'
Higgins eyed Max from across the room. He could see the bruise forming on his struck side. That had been the first time in his life that Higgins had ever resorted to violence to another person, and he didn't like how it felt. 'I am so dead.'
T'Phai looked from Max to Higgins, then turned to Doc. "What was is it that Pvt. Brutto said, that caused Pvt. Higgins to react in such a unlikely manor?"
Doc looked up from the book he was reading. "Well T'Phai it would appear to me that Higgins has a crush on Doe."
"Crush?" This phrase was new to T'Phai, "What is a…crush?"
"I'm really not the one to ask, why don't you talk to Dizzy."
T'Phai nodded, "Thank you. I will."
Doc shook his head as he watched T'Phai walk out of the barracks in search of Dizzy. "He's got a lot to learn about how humans live," he mumbled turning back to his book.
T'Phai walked down to the mess hall where he saw Pvt. Flores, and Cpl. Gossard having breakfast and talking. Well it was Flores who was talking; Gossard just seemed to be listening.
"Pvt. Flores, I'm in need to inquire you about a new phrase."
"Sure T'Phai, what's this new phrase?"
"I need to know the meaning of a crush. Doc says Pvt. Higgins has one on Pvt. Doe and that when Pvt. Brutto rudely commented on her having psy-powers he reacted violently."
Dizzy blushed for a second. "Well…a crush is when someone likes someone else, but that other person doesn't know about it."
"Ah, I see."
"Any time pal. Now when Electra comes back you can't tell her about it."
Gossard's face darkened. "That's if she's able to come back."
"What does that mean?" Dizzy asked, "She's gonna be fine."
"You saw her Diz, does she look like she's gonna be fine? I'm no medic but last time I checked when you're put in ICU it's kind of a bad thing."
A light famine voice spoke up; "You shouldn't worry so much Jeff. It's gonna give you wrinkles." Everyone looked up to see Vicky and Carl standing there.
"Hey guys, take a seat." Dizzy said motioning to the seats next to her. Sitting down Vicky continued.
"Electra's gonna be fine. It may be a while before she's back with the squad fighting the good fight, but the important thing is she's gonna be okay."
"How long is a while?" T'Phai questioned.
Carl thought it over, "She'll be conscious by tomorrow, able to get around by Monday, and by the end of the week she should be able to go back to active duty. All in all about a week, give or take a day, but that's if she doesn't push herself, and knowing her, she'll push."
Dizzy whistled, "Whoa, that long. What did she do to herself?"
"Ripped down all her shields to be able to use both of her powers at once." Carl answered.
"Shields?" T'Phai repeated, "I saw no shields around Pvt. Doe."
"That's because she's empathic, and her shields are mental, not physical." Vicky saw that T'Phai was getting more confused as the conversation when on. "Empathic means she can sense other peoples feelings. So to prevent herself from getting overwhelmed she puts up a shield. It's something that dampens the emotions she feels when she's around a lot of people. The problem with that is these shields also dampen her powers."
"The fire and lighting," Gossard volunteered.
Vicky nodded, "She's has Pyro and Electroknesis."
"And that would mean what exactly?" Dizzy inquired.
"She has the power to start and control fires as well as creating strong electric currents." Dizzy nodded getting it.
"Vicky, could you answer me something?" Gossard began, "How'd you meet Electra?"
"That's easy." Vicky smiled, "We met one day, and from there things just sorta clicked. What? Now are you gonna start choosing who my friends are?"
Gossard stuck his hands up in mock surrender. "I was just wondering. Yesh Vicky, no need to get violent."
"What about you Carl?" Dizzy questioned.
"We went to the same school."
"Then why don't I or Rico know her, did you keep her a secret from us?" Dizzy asked a smirk to her face.
"Not that school, I met her one year at the Hawkens school."
Gossard nearly choked on his coffee; "You went to the Hawkens School?"
"I took summer sessions there for a few years and that's where I met her."
"What is this Hawkens school?" T'Phai asked.
"The Hawkens School is for people who have powers like Carl. There they can learn to use them and control them," Dizzy explained. "It's otherwise known as the Intel breading ground."
"Well, guys she's not just a student there." Vicky paused not knowing if she should go on, but thought it for the best. "She's one of the ten."
Dizzy and Gossard gave them blank looks of shock, T'Phai was more confused then ever.
"What are…the ten?"
"The ten," Vicky began, "Are the ones chosen by Mr. Hawkens himself. They're rumored to be so powerful that not even Intel wants them. They're given lifetime scholarships to the school and if they want, teaching positions when they get out."
"Then what the heck is she doing being an M.I.?" Dizzy questioned. "If Intel doesn't want her then why does the SCION?"
Carl stated, "Intel doesn't want her because she's not psychic, while SCION wants her because she has power."
"But still, what's a Hawkens School student doing here in the M.I.'s?" Gossard asked. "I thought they were all taught to be passivists."
"That's kinda my fault," Vicky admitted. "I brought her over to the house for a sleep over, and after she listened to mom and dad talk about you and the Roughnecks she wanted to become one. You should know that when she sets her mind to something she wants to do, noting can change it."
"Did you at lease try and talk her out of it?" Goassard questioned.
Vicky nodded, "So did Carl, but like I said, once she sets her mind to something she wants to do it's impossible to change it."
Dizzy laughed. "Sounds like you got the startings of a fan club there Goss."
For some reason Gossard just stood up and walked out of the mess hall without so much as a word.
"What did I say?" Dizzy was concerned, even though he hadn't said anything by the look on his face she could tell she had just hit a sensitive spot. She went to go after him, but Vicky stopped her.
"Stay here I'll go and talk to him." Getting up she trailed after her brother. After a few minutes she found him outside. "I take it you haven't told them about Mark?"
"No, and I'm not going to. They'd never trust me if they knew about that." He rested against the wall and looked out into space.
"Why wouldn't they trust you?" She asked, "You didn't do anything wrong."
"If I didn't do anything wrong then why is Mark dead? I should've been the one to set the charge, not him."
Vicky shook her head, "Jeff you've got to dump this guilt thing. The Riders don't blame you, no one does."
"You weren't there Vicky, you didn't have to write that letter home telling Mr. and Mrs. Rider their son was dead."
"No, I didn't."
"So don't tell me how to feel about this!" He turned around and stormed back inside the base.
Rico stood before Redwing debriefing her on the confrontation from the day before, and a few other things.
"Why was I not informed about Pvt. Doe's abilities." Rico flipped through her file again, but still didn't find anything about creating fire and lighting.
"She didn't want you to know, her last squad didn't take to kindly to her after they learned she was empathic."
"Empathic. That means she can sense other peoples feelings, I don't think it causes the ability to fry a bug like extra crispy KFC."
Redwing pulled out a pen and a form from her desk, "Do you want me to have her reassigned? Other squads are in need of people."
"No. I'm just saying that next time could you give me a little warning about things like this."
Redwing nodded, "How's she doing?"
"I haven't heard anything from the doctors," he responded, "But from what Carl just told me, she'll be okay."
"That's good. Dismissed Lt." Rico saluted her and left the office, on his way to the barracks he ran into Gossard.
"Hey Goss."
"Oh, hey Rico," he replied in a low voice.
"Is something wrong, you don't seem like yourself."
He raised an eyebrow and continued walking, "I didn't know I acted a certain way."
"You know what I mean. So what's bugging you? No pun intended."
Gossard shrugged, "I don't know."
"Oh come on. You look like you just blew up your best friend." Gossard stopped dead in his tracks and glared at Rico.
"Rico, I respect you as the Lt. and as a friend, but for once just shut the hell up!" He stormed off leaving behind a very confused Rico. As he walked into the barracks all eyes turned to him.
"What's wrong with Gossard?" Doc questioned stepping up next to Rico.
"I don't know. I think I said something wrong."
Max snorted, "Well that's nothing new." Rico and the rest of the squad just glared at him. Max took the hint and went back to his bunk. The rest of the day went relatively slow. Some of the others tried to talk to Gossard about what was bothering him, but they all got the same response. "Nothing's wrong with me guys. I'm fine, really." None of them believed it though, especially Dizzy, who was determined to get him to tell her what, was wrong.
"Hey Gossard, you wanna, ummm…go outside and take a walk?" She asked sitting on his bunk.
"Actually I was going to sleep, God only knows when we'll be getting R&R again, and I want to make the best of it." He rolled over so his back was to Dizzy.
She pushed a bit more. "Oh c'mon. Just 15 minutes, please Gossard?"
He mumbled something under his breath. "Will it get you off my back so I can get some sleep?" Dizzy nodded and smiled. With a groan he got up and followed her outside. They walked together for some time, an uneasy silence between them. It was Dizzy who decided to break it.
"So, Goss. What's this thing that's bothering you, that you don't want to tell anyone about?"
He sighed and stopped, "Dizzy please. I've had enough of this from the rest of the squad. I don't need it from you too." He turned around to go back, but Dizzy stopped him.
"What is it that you don't want to tell us…tell me?"
"Something from the past, something I don't wanna remember. Can we just leave it at that?" He went to go, but again she stopped him.
"Jeff, please, tell me. Maybe I can help you."
Gossard gave her a questioning look, "What makes you think you can help me with this, and since when are you calling me Jeff?"
Dizzy took a deep breath, "Since…since I realized I care about you."
Gossard blinked at her. Had she really said what he had heard? She cared about him. "Dizzy…I"
She turned her back to him embarrassed, by what she had just told him. "I'm sorry, I never should've said that."
"Actually," he began, tuning her around so she was facing him. "I'm glad you said that. I…I care about you too Dizzy. I thought you knew that?"
She looked up at him. Was this really happening? Was he really telling her that he cared for her as much as she cared for him? "…" She was moved to total silence by his words.
Gossard wrapped his arms around her; "I always thought when I told you I liked you back on Zegema beach that was as far as things would go between us. Guess I was wrong." Dizzy returned the embrace; suddenly she felt something-warm brush against her cheek. Looking up she saw Gossard close his eyes against the tears that were threatening to come.
"What's wrong?"
"Just thinking."
"About what?"
"About all that's happened, about Mark."
"Who's Mark?" Taking her by the hand Gossard led Dizzy over to a small path of grass and sat down.
"Mark was my best friend."
"Was?"
He nodded, "He died back on Pluto," he paused before going on. "I guess I should start from the beginning so I don't confuse you." Dizzy nodded. "Mark and I grew up together, we were the best of friends, nothing could separate us. You name it we did it together, we even enlisted the same day, and by some twist of fate we were both assigned to the same boot camp. We figured they didn't want to break up such a great team, they even assigned us to the same squad." Dizzy opened her mouth to say something but he put a finger to her lips silencing her. "Let me finish, please. I've got to get this off my chest." She nodded allowing him to continue.
"We were assigned to Pluto and things went well for a while. Now our LT wanted me to teach another guy in the squad about explosives, so if something happened to me, someone else would be able to do a job. Well naturally I picked Mark. Then one day our squad was called in to destroy a bug hive. It took four hours just to secure the position, Mark was hurt in the fight, not that bad though and he volunteered to help me set the charge. On the way into the hive I slipped, fell and trashed the remote detonator switch. The only way to detonate the charge was to do it manually, Mark said he'd do it. I didn't want him to; I knew if he'd do that he'd die."
"He told me to go, he was wounded and would just slow me and the rest of the squad down. Then the idiot set the charge right in front of me, I didn't know what else to do so I got the rest of the squad and ran. We made it out just in the nick of time; the hive went up with every bug and Mark inside. I must have gone through that rubble looking for him for 6 hours, but all I ever found was his helmet, after that no one would trust me so I had myself reassigned, and was put in the Roughnecks."
Dizzy looked at him; tears were running down his face unchecked now. She wrapped her arms around him, letting him cry into her shoulder. There were no sobs, just tears. The tears that he had been keeping inside for so long.
"I let him die Dizzy." He whispered more tears falling, staining her shirt, "I let my best friend die." Dizzy didn't know what to say, she just rested her head against his. Slowly her tears fell, mixing with his. She was crying out of pain. Pain of seeing him like this, hearing what he'd gone through, as well as her own pain. They had both lost loved ones in this stupid war, when was it going to end? When would the pain end?
"Don't cry," he whispered brushing her tears away. "Angels don't cry."
"Angels?" she breathed.
Gossard nodded a sad smile to his face. "You're my angel Diz. Ever since I met you, my life's been different. It's like a part of me that's been missing has been found." Turning her chin up with his fingers he placed a soft kiss on her lips. Dizzy looked up at Gossard. This couldn't be happening, could it? Her head was spinning. All of this was happening way too fast for her.
"Do you think…we might be able to talk about all this latter?" There was a slight blush to her cheeks. She felt a bit embarrassed being out there. He nodded.
"Yeah, when we get the time." Standing up he helped her up as well. "We should get back."
"Yeah. This could be hard to explain if we're caught outside like this." They walked back to the barracks. Everyone else was asleep when they walked back in; taking a chance Gossard gave Dizzy a quick kiss on the cheek.
"Night Gossard," she whispered, crawling into her bunk.
"Night Angel." Dizzy felt a blush come to her cheeks. It felt strange having someone call her that, but somehow when he said it, it feelt right. Closing her eyes she drifted off to a peaceful sleep.
Electra slowly opened her eyes. Her head throbbed with pain. "I guess it's true what they say about every great party," she growled rubbing her sore eyes.
"Wha-what's that?"
She looked over at the guy who was sitting next to the bed. He was the one who had been 'looking' at her on the transport, but his name escaped her mind. "The hangover the day after is hell." He gave a small laugh, she smiled. "I'm really sorry, but what's your name again?"
"Robert Higgins."
Electra nodded, "The FedNet. reporter."
"Ugh…yeah. That's me." Electra looked him over; she hated these times after her blackouts. Her empathic powers were basically non-existent, and without being able to feel other people she felt so alone.
Sitting up Electra started rubbing her temples, trying to dull the pain in her head. "How long have I been out for?"
"Ah…about a day and a half. How are you…um how are you feeling?"
"Well, besides feeling like a buzz saw is running through my head, I feel pretty good. So how long do I have to stay here?"
Higgins shrugged, "I don't know. Til-till you're better I guess."
"Do you have a stuttering problem, or do you just have trouble talking to girls?" Her voice was light telling him she was joking, but there was still a blush to his face.
"I…I just find it hard to talk to people I don't know all that well."
"What happened while I was out?" She was slowly becoming aware of the pain in the rest of her body. 'Damn! I'm gonna be feelin' this for the next month.'
Higgins shrugged, "Not much, the day after you were hurt S.I.C.O.N. gave us 24 hours of R&R. That's the first full nights sleep I've had since this stupid war began."
"When does the squad go back to combat duty?"
The reporter consulted his watch, "In about 15 minutes."
She sighed, "I wish I could be with you guys."
"You just concentrate on getting better." She nodded and flashed him another smile as he left.
"Where were you Higgins?" Zim asked seeing the reporter walk into the barracks.
"I was…ummm. I was seeing how Electra was doing."
"Ah, aint that cute." Max mused smugly; "The Paperboy's found himself a girlfriend."
"Shut up Max, I don't see you checking on her to see how's she's feeling." Dizzy snapped, "I think it's nice what he did."
Rico walked into the barracks stopping the fight from going any further. "We're going to New York. The bugs have begun an all out attack on the city. We leave in 5." They all nodded and left for the transport.
Electra laid back down on her bed. There were a lot of transports leaving the base. There must be a battle going on somewhere. 'I should be with them.' She thought to herself. 'Not here in this stupid med. Station.' But she was there, recovering from what she'd done. Pain raced through her body again as she sat up. 'If I only hadn't panicked.' She looked up as the sent of cologne drifted past her nose. Looking over at the door, she frowned at who she saw.
"What do you want Derrick?" her voice was cold and uncaring. Without a word Derrick walked up to her and dropped a few papers into her lap.
"You're lucky the Headmaster has friends in the high brass of S.I.C.O.N." He coolly spoke. Electra looked over the papers and frowned even more.
"Why should I be glad? I don't want to get discharged for no reason."
"There is a reason, medical." He answered snidely.
She shook her head, "That's wrong, because I don't have any medical reasons for being discharged."
"Look at yourself!" He growled, "You could be back at the school learning how to use your powers, but no! You're in a base hospital because you insist on fighting in this stupid war."
"At least I'm doing something."
Derrick rolled his eyes, "Oh yes. You're doing 'your part' and when you're done you'll get your precious citizenship. If you leave now, you'll have your citizenship as well as your life."
"I'm not leaving!" Electra was on the verge of shouting, "Not in the middle of the war!"
"You're going against everything the Headmaster's taught us!"
"No! You are! The Headmaster taught us to listen to our hearts, to do what we know is right! And that is exactly what I am doing Derrick!" She ripped the papers in half and threw the pieces at his face. "So you can just go back to the school and tell the Headmaster that his attempts to get me out of the Infantry have failed yet again."
Derrick gave a discontented snort, "Fine! Have it your way Electra, but when you get yourself killed I won't be coming to the funeral." Turning on his heal he walked out of the room.
Electra felt the tears begin to well up in her eyes. She closed them against the onrush, pushing the pain back into self. Had her choice to join S.C.I.O.N been right? Or did she just do it to get away from the school, away from the pain of being an outcast among outcasts? She'd been sure of the answer then, but now she didn't know what to think. Electra sighed again, maybe she should just go back to the school, and play the part of one of the Headmaster's prize student's. But that wasn't her, that wasn't the way she did things. She wasn't a quitter and she sure as hell wasn't going to start now. She griped at the IV in her hand and yanked it out, suppressing a cry as pain raced up her arm. Electra grimaced as she watched blood begin to come out of the wound. She pinched the skin and waited for the bleeding to stop. Once that had happened she quickly got out of the hospital grab and into the uniform that someone had left on the chair. When she was dressed she slipped out of the room and tried not to be spotted.
Her legs burned as she walked, half of the time she found herself leaning against the wall for support. She was on the verge of collapsing by the time she'd reached the Roughnecks' barracks. On the way she'd heard where everyone had gone. New York, how well she knew that city. It had been a test for her, to see if her shields could hold up. She'd barley had come out alive. Her shields had broken only about 15 minutes after she'd entered the city. That had taught her how to strengthen them, it had been a hard lesson to learn, but it would last a lifetime.
She sat down on one of the bunks; she didn't care whose bunk it was at the time, she just wanted to rest. Pulling her legs up she sat cross-legged on the bunk, rested the palms of her hands on her keens and began concentrating. She imagined herself the way she was and started rebuilding her shields. She pictured them being made of downy feathers, soft but strong and protective. One by one they built up around her, ready to block the emotions for when her powers became active again.
The rest of the squad trudged back into the barracks, feeling like death warmed over, but happy to have come out of another battle with their lives. They were all a bit shocked to see Electra sitting Indian style on one of the bunks, seemingly in a trance. Rico went to wake her but Carl stopped him.
"Don't touch her, she's rebuilding her shields, if you break her concentration you could destroy them."
"What is she doing here anyway?" Rico questioned.
"Sir, why are you asking him when you should ask me?" Electra spoke slowly opening her eyes.
"Pvt. Doe, what are you doing here while you should be recuperating in med. station?" Rico asked using his best command voice.
Electra stood up, "Sir I was fine, there was no reason for me to taking up space where there is no need. Not when another trooper needs it more."
"Did you have the doctors check you over before you left?" He then asked.
"No," she answered, "I know my own body and when I can perform to the status of a trooper."
"Very well then, Pvt. Doe. I'll expect to see you with us next time we go into combat."
"Yes sir."
Carl followed her as she went back to her bunk; "You're pushing it Electra. You don't need to be psychic to tell you're not well yet."
"You're wrong Carl, I'm fine." She replied sitting down on her own bunk, " and stay out of my head!"
"Why? So I don't know how much you're hurting?"
"Carl, if you try to read my mind, I will program my shields to attack. And you know I will do that!"
"Fine!" He snapped back sitting down his own buck. He looked up to see the squad starring at him strangely. "What?" The rest just looked off and went around to getting their precious sack time.
It was late at night, everyone was sleeping, all but for one. Electra just couldn't seem to fall asleep. She looked around the barracks; everyone's aura gave the room a light glow. She smiled seeing two auras reaching out for one another across the room, blending together perfectly. There was no doubt in her mind whose they were.
'They're true soul mates.' Moving down into the bunk a bit more, Electra closed her eyes and slipped off to a half sleep state.
"Red alert Roughnecks!" Everyone woke with a start and a groan at the sound of Rico's voice. They all knew where this was going; quickly they got into their suits and readied to leave. Just as Electra pulled on her pack Rico stopped her.
"Not this time Doe."
"Sir?"
"I've talked with the doctors, you will not be on combat duty till you can pass a physical exam given to you." He stated.
"Sir, I'm fine, I can walk, hold a rifle, and shoot straight. I'm ready for combat duty." She replied glaring at the Lt.
"That is an order Pvt."
"Fine Sir." She growled, "Then what do you want me to do till I am able to return to duty?"
"That's my department," Gossard said placing a stack of about 20 books on her bunk. "I want you to memorize these books, cover to cover."
"Sir, what is the point of this?"
"My job is to teach you, and that is exactly what I am doing." He responded as the squad left. Electra began removing her suite, why hadn't he believed that she was ready for combat? He had told her he wanted to see her next time they went in. One name slipped into her mind. "Carl, you and I are gonna have a nice little talk when you get back." She hissed through the mental link she shared with him.
"About what? I didn't do anything." Carl said innocently.
"Damn it Carl! You told Lt. Rico I wasn't fit for combat duty! He was lying through his teeth about talking with the doctors."
"Maybe I did…and maybe I didn't, but you aren't fit for combat duty. Not for a few more days,"
He responded. "Look, I've got to have my mind on the battle up a head, there's a brain near this one.""Great!"
she spat, "One of the battles I wanna be a part of and I'm stuck here. Well just be careful, I want something left to chew out.""You've got it."
After that there was silence, Electra knew she wouldn't be able to talk to him again till they returned. Running a hand through her hair she looked down at the tun of books. "Might as well get started." Sitting back down she picked up one of the books and started. Most were about electrical systems and arming mechanisms. How to override systems that had been tampered with, standard knowledge for any tech. Grumbling she continued to read, it was past 3 o'clock when the squad came back, looking like the walking dead. And smelling of it to. As they went around, Higgins passed right out on his bunks, not bothering to remove his powersuite."You hungry Diz?" Gossard asked as he put his powersuit in his locker.
She gave him half a smile, "Are you asking me to breakfast? No wait…it's lunch isn't it…or would it be dinner?"
He shrugged in return, "I really don't care. As long as it has no more then 1 leg and it doesn't try to kill me, I'll eat it." Dizzy gave a soft laugh and left for the mess hall with Gossard, hand in hand. Everyone exchanged confused looks with each other.
"Correct me if I am wrong," T'Phai began, "But did I miss something?"
"I think we all missed something." Carl responded. "Then again, we all could have interpreted that in the wrong sense and what we're all implying is totally false."
"And that would mean, what exactly?" Max questioned rubbing his sore neck.
"What we just saw happen, meant noting between them."
"Right Carl," Doc started. "We'll just keep telling ourselves that."
Rico crashed down onto his buck. The fight had been tough, but when wasn't it? He looked over at a note left on his desk. It said that all officers were to meet at 1600. A new weapon was being added to the war and all squads were getting 2 assigned to them. This is not what he needed; he did not need 2 of his team pulled so they could learn how to work some new gadget, or even have another type of CHAS. He prayed it wasn't another one of those. A sudden knock at the door took him back to reality.
"Come in." Electra walked in and saluted him. "At ease. So, Pvt. Doe why are you here?"
"Sir, I feel that I am ready to take that physical exam to show that I am ready for combat duty."
He nodded, "Fine. I'll have you perform it as soon as I get the time. Till then you will be an orderly for General Redwing."
"My I have permission to speak freely Sir?"
"Go ahead."
"Not having me perform that exam now is just a waste of the taxpayer's money. I'm a trained solider, as well as a tech. It's cost them 1.5 million to train me…"
"Pvt. Doe, I will have you take the exam as soon as time allows. Till then you have your orders. Dismissed." Electra saluted him and walked out. Rico looked back at the note and sighed, 'Better start getting ready.' 1600 came all too soon and he rushed to the demo area. Once there he took his place among the other officers that were waiting.
"So, do you have any idea what they're giving us now?" Rico overheard one Lt. ask another.
"No." The other responded, "But the word around the base is that it's a third type of marauder." The first Lt. nodded his head. Just then General Redwing came out; all attention was given directly to her.
"I'm sure all of you know, why you're here. So I'll try and keep this short and to the point. As most of you have found out, the type 1 and type 2 Marauders have trouble getting around ally ways and other areas. That is why the tech boys have designed the newest addition to our arsenal. I give you the type 3 Marauder, also known as the Bike Marauder." What looked like a supped-up motorcycle was rolled out in front of them by a tech. "I'd like you all to meet Lt.-Col. Davison, the chief designer for the type 3. I now give him the floor."
"Thank you General Redwing. The Type 3 Marauder is outfitted with the latest technology. It has infrared, and tracking abilities. While it only has half the payload of the Type 1 and 2, the Type 3 can move faster, has more hot time, and greater field of vision. The controls for the weapons are located between the handlebars, while the trigger is located on the right handle bar. The weapons themselves are located towards the back end of the bike. They include firewall charges, mini-nuke rockets, and grenade launcher.
"The Type 3 is by no means a substitute for the Type 1 and 2. So you can tell your Marauder pilots their jobs are safe. It's is simply meant to be an aid, a 'little friend' of sorts. Well, now it's on to the downs of the Type 3. Due to its high weight, for a squad to get the full usefulness of the Type 3, the pilot needs to be light, and like any Marauder pilot; they need to have sharp reflexes and a level head. Two of the Type 3s will be assigned to each squad here. After the pilots have been chosen, 15 hours of training time will be required, but in a pinch anyone can learn how to work this since the controls are very much similar to that of the Type 1.
"Thank you for coming. Dismissed!"
Electra sat in the base library, she had finished the books that Cpl. Gossard had previously given her, and now he wanted her to read a few more. This was seriously starting to get on her already short nerves. Not to mention he'd given her a few sim. tests and she hadn't exactly done well.
"Hey." A voice spoke up besides her, "What are you doing?" Looking up she saw Carl standing over her.
"Reading. What else?"
Carl nodded, "So how'd the sim. tests go? Gossard didn't tell me, and I'm too tired to scan anyone's mind. So you tell me."
"Carl, have you ever heard of some disgruntled fleet Lt. cutting power to the stasis pods where all of the crew of a ship was stored and if you cut the wrong wire you'd kill everyone in the pods?"
"No, why?" He lied, knowing she couldn't tell the difference with him just yet.
"Because," she began, "That's the first test he gave me."
"How'd it go?"
"Let's just say this, we should now have about 5000 vegetableized troopers and fleet officers on our hands."
Carl grimaced, "How well did the second test go?"
"Better then the first." She answered, "The second test he gave me was to stop the countdown for a nuclear reactor before it reached meltdown. A nuclear reactor! Nuclear reactors haven't been used since the creation of cold fusion. We're lucky I had to study nuclear power back in tech basic, or we'd all be walking night lights."
"How much better did you do?"
"I stopped the countdown with 8 seconds left on the timer, he wants me to do better though." She replied looking back down at the books she had, "That's why I'm here reading. God what is with him?"
Carl shrugged. "I don't know."
Electra raised a cynical eyebrow. "You didn't scan him yet?"
"No, we do have laws against that sort of thing."
"Yeah, well he's too cautious, and that caution is gonna get him killed… and maybe even the squad."
"Can it Electra!" Carl snapped. "I can't even count how many times he's saved us. You have no right to judge him. You're just sore because you're not as good of a tech as you thought you were."
"That's not it at all!" Electra growled. "And do you really think I wanted to be a Roughneck? Do you think I wanted to enter into a group that is already set, and works as a unit? No! I never wanted to be a part of this team, but they stuck me here so I've gotta go along with it!"
"Then what is it?"
"Damned if I know. But something is up with him, and it's not just a power trip from having someone under him. This is deep scar to his heart."
"How can you tell?"
"Because, when I first met him, and the general told him that he'd been teaching me, he got so scared it was like a kerosene cat that just walked into hell."
Carl nodded, "If something like that was wrong wouldn't he have told us?"
"Who said he hasn't?" She gave Carl a smirk that said she knew more then what she was letting on.
"Okay spill."
"Spill what?" she innocently turned to her book.
"What do you know, that the rest of us don't?"
he asked through their link."Nothing too important, just something happened between him and a certain trooper that tied them together, on a soul level."
"Dizzy. I should've guessed. They did seem a bit closer the normal. Man, Rico is not going to be thrilled when he finds out."
"Who said the Lt. is gonna find out?"
She asked."He will, Rico has a knack for being at the wrong place at the wrong time."
Electra sighed and closed her book, "I don't know about you, but I'm hungry. Wanna join me in the mess hall?" Carl nodded, as they walked down to the mess, Rico caught up with them.
"Pvt. Doe, I'm glad I was able to catch you." He said as he tried to get his breath back. "Are you ready to take that exam now?"
Electra beamed, "Yes Sir!" She looked back at Carl, "Sorry buddy, but this comes before my stomach."
"You aren't getting rid of me that easily. I wanna see this, if it's okay with the Lt. first." He asked already knowing the answer.
"It's fine by me, but that is if Doe wants you there."
"Sure, it'll give you a witness." She said as they started walking down towards the gym. "So Lt. what do you want me to do to show you I'm ready for combat?"
"First, I wanna see how much stamina you got, one mile, that's once around the track just to see if you can make the time. He pulled out a stopwatch. "Then it'll be on the sim rooms in the VR center to test your reflexes."
Electra nodded. "Sir, if it's okay with you, I'd like to have Carl run with me. I find it better to a have a bit of competition."
"This is an exam, not a race. Sorry Doe, but Carl's gonna be on the sidelines for this one." Rico answered. With a shrug Electra walked up to the starting block. "On your mark…get set…GO!"
Electra broke out, running hard and fast. Her heart pounded in her chest, as her feet hit the track pain raced up her legs. Her lungs burned, she could see the Lt. and Carl up ahead and put on a last burst of speed.
Rico hit the timer of the stopwatch as Electra passed him. Looking at the time Rico blinked and passed it to Carl. "I didn't think that it was possible for anyone to be faster then Dizzy."
"She had a shot for going to the Olympics, but she decided to enlist." Responded Carl.
"How'd I do?" She asked peeking over Carl's shoulder. "Hmmm, that still doesn't beat my best time." Rico raised an eyebrow and looked over at Carl.
"Like I said, she could've gone to the Olympics." Electra gave him a playful jab in the arm.
"I'm not that good."
Carl grinned. "Did I bother to mention that modesty is one her strong suites." Electra rolled her eyes at his response.
"Now on to the VR center, right Sir?" She asked stretching out her back. Rico nodded the VR center training went as well as the running. Rico had her perform a few more tasks with Doc present and to give her a quick physical. Doc gave her a clean bill of health and said that she could go back to active duty.
"You up for that trip to the mess hall now?" Carl asked the tests over with. Electra gave a halfhearted nod and followed him there. After getting their meals, Electra simply picked at it.
"Hey, what's wrong?"
Carl asked through the link. She shrugged."I think I'm going have put in for another transfer."
Her voice was a whisper in his head. That made him a bit nervous. Her shields were too weak for him to try and scan her, so he'd have to do things the hard way."Why?"
"Because, the squad isn't going to be able to function properly with me here."
"And just how did you come to that?"
"My powers are coming back. When Doc was giving me the physical he was scared and it was directed at me. The Lt. was too, you're even scared of me."
Carl shot back at this."How'd you…I am not scared of you."
"You're a horrible liar, you know that right?"
Even though it had been meant as a joke her voice was still solemn. "You're scared of me because you know that no matter how many shields you put up or how hard you try and hide it. I will always know how you truly feel." Carl's face darkened at her words."I'm sorry Electra, but I wasn't myself when that happened."
"I know Carl. What they did to you caused you to forget about our link, and when you felt that stronger source of power you thought it was you, not me."
Carl placed his hand over hers and gave it a reassuring squeeze."Will you ever forgive me?" he whispered softly in his real voice. Electra gave him a smile.
"There's nothing to forgive you for." She sighed and pulled back from the table. "I'm gonna get back to the barracks." Getting up she started off a few seconds latter Carl caught up with her.