A/N: Alrightyyy, for those of you have been with this story for a while...WELCOME BACK TO THE BEGINNING! For the newbies, Hello and welcome to the only version of this story you will ever know. And that's a good thing, trust me. My 14 yr old writing was not the best, but now you get 18 yr old me's writing, which has (hopefully?) improved!

I do recommend coming back and re-reading these rewritten chapters if you've read them before, because 1. I'm focusing a lot more on Harley's characterisation so you'll get a better understanding on that, 2. The writing is better, yo, please just do it, and 3. I have made different decisions in the rewrite from the original, so you'll might get to like chapter 7 and be like "what the hell is going on, when did that happen." So, without further ado... happy reading!

11/2/18: Chapter Rewritten

'Before time began, there was the Cube. We know not where it comes from, only that it holds the power to create worlds and fill them... with life. That is how our race was born. For a time, we lived in harmony. But like all great power, some wanted it for good, others for evil. And so began the war. A war that ravaged our planet until it was consumed by death, and the Cube... was lost to the far reaches of space. We scattered across the galaxy, hoping to find it, and rebuild our home. Searching every star, every world. And just when all hope seemed lost, message of a new discovery drew us to an unknown planet called... Earth'

Chapter 1

Turning away from the small village her Spec-Ops team had been stationed at for the past three weeks, Master Sergeant, Harley Raine piled onto the V-22 Osprey behind her squad, glad to be leaving the sandbox that was Qatar's desert. She walked up the ramp and into the seating area, spying the seat her Captain had left for her. Harley sat down between him and Figueroa, stretching out and making herself comfortable for the long flight. Across from her Epps had plugged in his iPod and already had an earphone in, listening to what she knew would be smooth jazz. Donnelly had taken up seat next to him, rifling through his gear to find his own music, whilst Burke sat slumped over on Don's other side, already asleep. Harley smiled at that, the man could bloody well sleep anywhere. It was a talent that had her immensely jealous.

Sneakily pulling out a packet of gum, Lennox quickly popped a chewy in his mouth before offering her the packet, hidden under his hand, knowing that if the others knew he still had some left, there would be a war zone in the chopper. The corner of Harley's mouth quirked up as she slyly pulled a chewy from the packet, before conspicuously moving it to her mouth, giving her Captain a small nod.

The team settled in as the Osprey prepared for takeoff, and soon they were on their way back to the US SOCCENT Base they were staying at.

"Oh God, five months of this. I can't wait to get a little taste of home. A plate of mama's alligators étouffée!" Figueroa broke the silence with a cheeky grin.

"You've been talking about barbecued 'gators and crickets for the last two weeks. I'm never going to your mama's house, Fig. I promise." Robert 'Bobby' Epps said as he pointed a finger at his team mate. Almost in sync, the entire squad rolled their eyes. They had been subjected to the same argument three times in the past week alone and it was only getting worse. Harley could only shake her head in exasperation before letting it drop back against the wall of the Osprey with a dull thud. She closed her eyes as the voices of the men washed over her.

"But Bobby, Bobby—", Fig tried to protest before being cut off by Epps.

"Nah man, I'm never going to your mama's house."

"Bobby, 'gators are known to have the most succulent meat," Fig argued passionately.

"I understand." The heavy sarcasm was not lost on Fig, provoking him to start spitting Spanish insults at Epps. Mimicking Fig, Epps replied in mock-Spanish before telling him, once again, "English, please. English."

Lennox quickly cut in before Epps could say anything else. "I don't—I mean, how many times have we— we don't speak Spanish. I told you that."

At that, Harley huffed in amusement before muttering, "Speak for yourself, Captain." She opened her eyes and smirked at the man sitting next to her. Spanish was her second language and her team knew that, however they could never pass up the opportunity to rib Fig about it.

"Why you got to ruin it for me, man? That's my heritage." Fig whined, then reverted back to Spanish. Harley tried contain her laughter at Fig's choice of words but failed, alerting Epps to the fact that Fig was insulting him.

"Hey! Hey, what the hell is he saying?" Epps asked Harley before hearing 'madre' and turning to face Fig again, "Hey! You better not be bringing my mother into this, Fig. I swear to God, I'll kick your ass off this Osprey, don't think I won't!"

"Calmar, man. ¿Por qué tiene que ser tan enojado todo el tiempo?" Fig commented.

"Fig," Epps warned.

Fig looked around at the rest of his team mates, spluttering and waving his hands. "Why you always gotta be on my ass about it, man? Harley, come on. Back me up, chica," he pleaded.

Harley lifted an eyebrow, eyes twinkling with mischief. Bobby gave her a look, widening his eyes purposefully. She looked between the two men. Bobby daring her to go against him, and Fig with his puppy dog eyes on full display. Harley let out a dramatic sigh and turned to Bobby.

"Él tiene un punto. Spanish is a beautiful language, Bobby. Just learn to embrace it, mi amigo," Harley teased.

Fig let out a triumphant cry, ignoring the burning glare Bobby was sending him. "Exactamente, ¿ves? Usted debe escuchar a la señora, Bobby!"

Lennox shook his head and opened his mouth to argue, before thinking better of it. "Fine. Go with the Spanish. Whatever," he shook his head.

Harley laughed quietly at that, accepting the high five Fig offered her. As a comfortable silence filled the Osprey, the thudding of the blades the only sound between them, Harley leaned back against the seat, exhausted.

"Hey, you guys remember weekends? Huh? The Sox at Fenway," Donnelly grinned, "Cold hotdog and a flat beer."

"Perfect day." Epps added with a wistful smile.

Fig turned to Lennox, smiling softly, "What about you, Captain? You got a perfect day?"

Lennox let his head fall back against the seat before shaking it. "Nah," he sighed, "I just can't wait to hold my baby girl for the first time."

The team let out a collective 'Awww', smiling and laughing at their Captain's display of sappy sentiment.

Harley looked over to her Captain. "Who's a big softie?" she cooed, bumping his shoulder.

"He's adorable." Don agreed.

"That's too—" Epps was cut off by a smirking Lennox.

"Shut up." He warned playfully and the team laughed in good nature. It was the first time they had been able to relax in a while, being out in the field didn't leave a lot of room for jokes and teasing. It was a relieving thought, that they would soon be back on the base where they were safe and could afford to kick back for a bit.

Not long after, the pilots announced over the intercom that they would be landing soon, and the team began to strap themselves in for the descent.

Harley couldn't wait to lie down on her cot in the shared tent and actually get some proper sleep, with both eyes closed. As much as she lived for being in the field and in the middle of combat, nothing could beat the feeling of returning to base after a hard mission. The team could have time off to just be themselves and not the constantly alert soldiers they had to be in the field. Harley knew the others felt the same. For Lennox, it meant that he could go and talk to his wife, Sarah, and their newborn daughter, Annabelle, on the cams. Epps would either head straight to the courts or go with Fig to the Food Hall to see if they could wrangle anything out of the cooks before dinner, whilst Don would go back to his barracks and sleep until Harley would most likely have to grab him for dinner, lest he sleep through it. Burke, though, would hit the showers straight away, fighting the others over the amount of water they each got.

Needless to say, Harley was proud of how well she knew her team. She considered it important to get to know each of the people she was fighting alongside personally, especially as they had been together as a Squad for just a little over four years now. Her team was her family, and there was nothing she wouldn't do to protect them.

When the Osprey finally touched down on the Tarmac, the team unbuckled and grabbed their gear, walking over to the trucks waiting to take them back to their side of the base, which the soldiers had dubbed 'Tent City'. The trucks pulled up and the soldiers all disembarked, each splitting off and heading to their assigned shared tents. Harley walked beside Lennox as they entered their tent, nodding at the few passing soldiers who were on their way out.

Dropping her pack onto the floor next to her cot with a loud groan, Harley fell forward onto the mattress. "I missed you so much," she mumbled into the sheets.

Lennox looked on with a smile. "You want me to leave you two alone? Looks like you have some catching up to do," he teased as he put his pack down and took his jacket off.

Harley rolled onto her back and sat up with another groan. "At least I can afford to reunite with my bed. You, sir, have paperwork to do. I know that for a fact," she said.

Lennox sent her a lopsided grin. "That's only because nobody trusts you with paperwork anymore. Besides," he spread his arms playfully, "Why reunite with my bed when I could talk to my wife."

Harley smiled at the love struck look Lennox had now adopted. "You save me some cam time, you hear? I gotta see my favourite girls too," she said.

Lennox turned quickly and began walking towards the door. "Not if I get there first," he sang.

She shook her head as she watched her Captain practically skip out of the tent.

"Child," Harley muttered fondly.

After wiping her face down with a wet rag and changing into an old tank top, Harley began the trip over to the Comm-room, passing the courts on her way. As predicted, Epps was already there with a basketball in hand and smart mouthing to the other soldiers.

"Hey, I'm ready to do this. Hey, any of y'all grow some balls, come see me on the court, man," he taunted, egging on the men standing closest to the court. Like moths to a flame, the group of soldiers rose to the challenge and a small crowd formed around the court, eager for the entertainment they knew Epps' game would give them.

Harley saw an opening and darted into the game, stealing the ball from a surprised Epps. However, he was quick to recover, snapping his mouth shut and faking a left, then a right, trying to take the ball back. As she began to show off, spinning the ball on her finger like she knew Epps struggled to do, Epps leaped forward and smacked the ball from her hands.

"Hey, hey!" she accused as she ran after him.

Epps laughed at her annoyed expression, quickly dodging her grab for the ball. The corners of his mouth turned up as he made dead eye contact with her and began doing crossovers to rile her up.

"Watch this crossover, baby," he mocked, "Like Jordan in his prime, pushing through the front line!"

"He's all your's boys! Give him hell." Harley puffed, moving off the court and grabbing a towel to wipe the sweat off her brow.

"Not like you to give up so soon, Raine! What is it? You can't stand the heat?" Epps laughed after her retreating figure.

"Just figured you weren't worth the effort!" she quipped over her shoulder. Harley walked down the dusty road to the communications room and ducked in through the open door, seeing Will already stationed at one of the camp's shared web-cams. Harley sneaked into the cam's frame as Sarah spoke.

"She doesn't know you yet, but she will," Sarah assured her husband. She saw Harley standing behind Will and gasped, "Oh, look who it is Anna! It's Aunty Harley, yes it is," she cooed to the baby, pointing at the camera. The baby gurgled with a smile and Harley felt her heart melt.

"Hey baby girl! Look at you, you've grown so much." Harley stepped up next to Will, both of them gazing at the screen in adoration. "Oh you are so gorgeous, I am going to absolutely steal you away." Her nose crinkled with her smile, eyes shinning with joy.

Sarah smiled warmly at her friend. "It's been so long since we've seen you," she gushed, "Will if you come home without her in tow, I'm divorcing you."

"Hey, that's favouritism," his brows drew together, "And I'm your husband, you're supposed to love me more!"

Harley winked at him, "What can I say? We just have a deeper bond."

Will looked between the two woman as a smile tugged at his lips. "You're both the worst," he turned to Sarah, "Trust me, we aren't going to have a problem bringing her home. I have a feeling I'm going to have to fight her to be the first through the front door."

"And you know it," Harley said, "I'll leave you two to it. See you soon, Sarah! Goodbye, my Pequeña Belleza," she cooed with a wave to Annabel. Hearing Sarah say goodbye, moving the little girls hand in a small wave back, Harley clapped Will on the shoulder before moving out of the tent and toward the Food Hall. Halfway there, the sound of soldiers shouting and moving around reached her. Harley scanned the area and spotted Epps.

"Hey!" she ran toward him, "What the hell is happening?"

"Apparently someones landing without authorisation and they aren't communicating with Colonel Sharp," Epps told her as they both began running toward the commotion. Soldiers around them started sending out orders as they surrounded the HH-53, aiming their weapons at it.

"To the right. Go to the right."

"Check fire!"

"Get the wheels."

"Hold your fire! Stand by to engage!"

The HH-53 started to power down, everyone preparing to shoot, when the aircraft started making mechanical whirring and grinding sounds. Harley covered her mouth in shock as the chopper started transforming before her very eyes.

"Holy fuck," she whispered, frozen, the sound becoming muffled beneath her hand. Epps grabbed her arm, pulling her back and the two soldier started sprinting, trying to find Lennox and their team. As they ran around the corner they saw Lennox stumbling out of the Comm-Room and looking around wildly.

"Lennox!" Harley shouted, matching Epps' speed. Lennox spun around to see them running at him.

"They bombed the antenna farm!" Epps pointed as he ran, "We're under attack!"

"We gotta go, now! Evacuate!" Harley added. The trio were quick to move, grabbing weapons from the nearest tent, before they were off running again. The ground shook violently with every blast from the robot, smoke filling the air as the base began to burn with the destruction.

Harley looked over to see Burke, Donnelly and Fig join them in the crowd of running soldiers. Turning her head to check on the enemy behind her, she noticed Mahfouz, the little boy their squad had practically adopted, stumbling along as soldiers rushed past him. Harley spun on her heel and darted through the crowd to reach him, ignoring the calls of Lennox and Don behind her. Reaching Mahfouz, she quickly grabbed his hand and tugged him in front of her, pushing him in the direction of the team.

The team ducked in between one of the rows of M-1 Tanks, diving for cover behind the machines as they pulled out their weapons. Harley moved Mahfouz to the underside of the tank beside them.

"Stay under here ok? Don't move until I say so!" she shouted over the noise, running a quick hand over the boys head as he nodded in fear. Harley looked up and watched from beside Lennox as Epps tried to reach them. Before he could make it to the tank, the robot cut him off and Epps skidded to the ground, furiously trying to avoid being stepped on by the large robot.

"No! Epps, move!" Harley shouted as she watched her team mate lay underneath the robot, looking up at it through a digital recorder. Suddenly, the robot transformed his chest into a gun.

"What the f—" Epps scrambled up off the floor and booked it towards them. The robot turned after him but before it had a chance to shoot, Fig shot it in the chest. The robot shook it off, the shot only pissing it off, and shot back at them. The shot narrowly missed Epps as he skidded under the M-1 the team were taking refuge beside.

Lennox quickly pulled him up by the back of his shirt, pushing him to his feet, "Epps, let's go!" Harley grabbed Mahfouz under the arms and threw him over her shoulder. Her muscles began to protest the farther they ran but Harley kept pushing, not putting the boy down until they had made it a safe distance away from the explosions ricocheting behind them.

Translations:

Calmar, man. ¿Por qué tiene que ser tan enojado todo el tiempo?
"Calm down, man. Why do you have to be so angry all the time?"

Él tiene un punto
"He has a point."

Exactamente, ¿ves? Usted debe escuchar a la señora, Bobby!
"Exactly, do you see? You must listen to the lady, Bobby!"

My Pequeña Belleza
"My Little Beauty"

Please excuse if any of the Spanish is wrong, translators can only do so much unfortunately!