Well, it seems you're getting an update quicker than you (or I…) thought. I'm ill, which gives me a lot more time on my hands…

And if this seems totally ridiculous, it's because I'm watching Scrubs, 'kay?

The Orca Transport had left them somewhere in the vicinity of the mutant camp, but since the Forgotten didn't like to stay in one place, actually locating the camp was going to be difficult. However, Umagon's presence probably gave them an advantage, as any mutant scouts they came across would trust their presence.

Well, that was the theory anyway.

One of the infantrymen turned to McNeil. 'Orders, sir?'

McNeil glanced around the area. They were in what seemed to be a desert, and the few sandy cliffs around them shielded the location from any kind of inconspicuous ground assault. It was probably the best place they were going to find to set up camp. He turned and looked at the half-a-dozen squad of infantry.

'Gleaves, Shepherd, Curtis and Haworth, you stay here and secure the area. Take a look around the valley, but don't go too far. We'll camp here for now. Wyatt and Reyes, you're with me.'

Two men stepped forward and joined McNeil, and the other four proceeded to throw their bags to the ground and begin unpacking the two-man tents. McNeil turned to Umagon and nodded at her.

'You're with me too, Xena'.

McNeil was slightly shocked by her blank reaction, and made a mental note to explain 'Xena-Warrior Princess' to her at some point. Nevertheless, he led the way South, down the valley, and out into the open space of the desert.

The sun was literally scorching all four of them, as they continued their patrol of the area. It was around midday, and the weather was the hottest it could possibly be. All three men had stripped down to their t-shirts, and Umagon had taken off her armoured jacket and left herself in a tank top. Every one of them knew that removing their jackets was making them a lot more vulnerable than they would be otherwise, but it was either take that chance, or slow-roast.

McNeil and Umagon had walked ahead, about 50 metres in front of the two soldiers. He could hear Reyes and Wyatt laughing and talking behind them, and suddenly had an urge to strike up a conversation with Umagon, if only to break the tense silence around the pair of them. However, it was actually Umagon that spoke first.

'I believe…' she began, then looked up at him and faltered. 'Never mind.'

'No, go on.'

She blinked, then started again. 'I can see that this war troubles you, Mac.' He could tell by the way she said his name that she was still unfamiliar with using the nickname, but he found it comforting that she was treating him like a friend.

He tilted his head in thought, and then shrugged. 'Well, it's not my favourite pastime, but I guess I'm getting used to it.'

'But you would rather it wasn't happening?'

'I guess so.'

'I have been told by many of my people that talking about family and friends back home helps to ease the pain of war.'

McNeil could just about see where she was going with this. 'Where should I start?'

'It was only a suggestion. I didn't mean you have to…'

McNeil interrupted her. 'My parents split when I was eight years old. I never saw my father after that, but he apparently died in a plane crash a couple of years later. My mother was pretty happy about that. When I was very young, he used to treat our family like the most precious thing in the universe. But then, when I was six, my sister Rachael was born and things turned ugly. He started to treat Rachael and I we were special to him, but Mom became less and less important. Then my mom got pregnant again, this time with Jake, and Dad totally lost his mind.'

McNeil turned to see how Umagon was taking his story, but she seemed totally interested, so he continued.

'Dad started to hit Mom, but she was never a weak person. As soon as she realised that he wasn't going to go back to his old self, she threw him out. Jake never even knew his dad: my mom was only six months along when Dad left. Jake was a good kid…'

She laid a hand on his shoulder, and he turned to her. 'You don't have to talk about him, Mac. I know he was a good man, and a loyal soldier. He did not deserve to die.'

'No, he didn't. But the men that killed him do.'

'I know how that feels.'

He gave her a questioning look, and she explained.

'I know how it feels to lose loved ones by the hand of the Brotherhood. I never knew any of my real family, but Tratos has been the father figure in my life for as long as I can remember, and probably the only person I've ever known all of my life. Everyone I used to know is long gone.'

McNeil's reply didn't have time to escape. At that exact moment, there was a sound of an engine, and the four only just managed to throw themselves to the ground in time to avoid being torn apart by the gun mounted on a Nod attack buggy. Umagon was the first to recover, and she rolled over onto her stomach in the sand and fired repeatedly at the buggy. McNeil pushed himself into a crouch and joined her assault on the buggy. The other two soldiers were already firing their weapons, and the buggy was reduced to shredded scrap metal before it could turn and come at them again.

Umagon pushed herself slowly into a kneeling position. The buggy had come from a slope that they were facing. She couldn't see what was at the top of the slope, but she could hear the vague noises of shouting, and whirrings that only really belonged in a base.

They'd found it.

'Mac?' she muttered. 'The Brotherhood's base is at the top of that slope.'

She received a quiet grunt in response. Frowning slightly, she turned to see McNeil sprawled in the sand, with a bullet hole in the shoulder of his shirt. Quickly, she sprinted over to him and knelt at his side. Thankfully, the bullet had only hit his shoulder, but it was embedded tightly in his skin.

By this time, Reyes had noticed the lack of movement from his commanding officer.

'Is he okay, Ma'am?'

Being treated with a level of respect by a GDI soldier wasn't something she was used to, but she wasn't going to bother about that right now.

'He will be fine, as long as we get him back to camp quickly.'

Reyes took hold of McNeil's uninjured arm and pulled him up, draping McNeil's arm over his shoulder. Umagon gently took hold of his other arm and carefully helped him along the sand, with Reyes acting as a prop.

'Wyatt, cover us!' Reyes shouted to Wyatt, who took hold of his gun and ran behind the three figures, facing the Nod base in case of any other attacks.

McNeil mumbled something that was either 'I can walk, you know', or 'My auntie starred in a porno', but no-one was in a position to try and guess which.

Okay, that last sentence was a bit of a fail, but overall I'm pretty pleased with this :)

Tell me what you thinnkkkkk :D