A/N: I do not own the Biker Mice From Mars.
Rose is finally asleep in her crib. Carbine makes her way from the nursery back to the living room. I should probably clean up that glass before Chassis notices. That vase was a gift from his mother. Oops. Hope it wasn't a family heirloom. Everything in his parents' house seemed to belong to some generation before theirs. Most of it was ugly.
Carbine grew up dirt poor in the slums. Often she went to bed hungry because her mother couldn't afford food and was too proud to take any hand outs. Going into the military was a relief because it provided structure and food. Carbine had thrived. Not to mention she hoped to find her father, who was also in the military. It was still a dream or hers. A pipe dream. Many different platoons had gone missing or defected to the enemy. Some had defected from the Martian army and become the Freedom Fighters. That's what Carbine did at Throttle's urging. They had saved the planet from being stripped into nothing. Now the Martian Army and Freedom Fighters operated as one.
She opens the closet in the kitchen where she keeps her cleaning materials and takes out the broom and dust pan.
"What are you doing?" A sleepy voice asks. Carbine whirls around brandishing the broom like a weapon.
Chassis stands there wearing black boxers and a white t-shirt. He blinks owlishly in the bright kitchen light. "Rose is sleeping?"
Carbine nods. "Yeah, she's asleep."
"It's really early. Come to bed." He holds out his arms. "You need to sleep when she's sleeping otherwise you're going to get sick."
"I just need to do a few things. I'll be there in a few minutes." She smiles. "Promise."
Chassis leans down and kisses her forehead. He brushes a stray strand from her face. "You look worn out."
"I've been through a lot worse, trust me. Your mother doesn't know the half of it. You should go to bed. You have to go to work."
"You have ten minutes or I'll come find you." He squeezes her shoulder. "I love you."
"Love you too."
"Oh," He pokes his head around the door frame. "You heard from Throttle recently?"
"No," she lies. "Why?"
"Just figured that creep would be all around us like a fly on shit after the baby was born."
She frowns. "Why would he care? He's never around and he's on Earth most of the time anyway."
Chassis rubs the back of his neck. "Well, it's just that he didn't like the fact that we were together. I think he thought you guys were still together."
"I don't know. It doesn't really matter. He's…" she sighs. "He pisses me off. He can never make up his mind on whether he wants to stay or go. And those bros of his. They all need to be taken down a notch. They're too cocky for their own good. They saved Earth and kicked Limburger back to where he came from, but there will be others." She pushes past him and starts sweeping up the glass. "Watch your step."
"How did glass get all the way over there."
"I was carrying it to wash it because I didn't after I threw out the flowers, and I dropped it," she lies. "It slipped through my fingers."
"Are you alright?" Chassis asks. He rushes to examine her hands for any sign on injury.
"I'm fine, just tired." She smiles. "I know that was your mother's favorite vase."
"Nah. She would have never given her favorite vase to us. Its tucked away from anything that can ever touch it. Don't even worry about it." Chassis takes the broom and dustpan from her hands. "You go back to bed. I'll clean this mess up."
Carbine stands on her tippy toes and kisses his cheek. She can be happy with this, even though the sex was lackluster sometimes.
I never knew you to settle. Throttle's voice echoes through her head.
Of the two of us, who is the one that isn't going to bed alone? she thinks smugly. See, I don't need you. Before she goes into the room she shares with Chassis, she checks on Rose. Unlike me, I'm going to make sure Rose is going to have a good life. She's not going to have an absent father and she won't go to bed hungry.
Throttle can't guarantee either of those things and therefore is not the better choice as much as she wants him to be. His bros would never let him, and gods know that he chose them over her every single time. And Earth. That stupid third planet from the sun. Let them blow themselves up.
The next morning, Carbine decides to go to the chow hall for breakfast. There's new officers transferring in that she has yet to meet. Stoker ordered them. She doesn't trust his judgment. Ever since Limburger got a hold of him, he's been different. The people he chose could be spies.
"It's time for some new blood," he explained to her last time he visited. "We send some of our soldiers there and get a few new ones. They have new skills that we don't. It keeps them from getting bored."
"I worked hard to get this army where it is," Carbine growls. "I don't need you mucking it up."
"Run too tight a ship and you're going to lose a few." Stoker shakes his head. "Would I ever steer you wrong after all these years?"
Reluctantly, she agreed that he could send anyone but the Biker Mice. Stoker gave her a bemused expression and then agreed to her terms. Actually, he could send anyone but Throttle. Vinnie and Modo? she could care less what happened to them. Throttle, she wants to keep an eye on. To make sure that he doesn't find anyone else.
She looks at herself in the mirror. I look frumpy. I need to start exercising again. Much to her dismay, her uniform doesn't quite fit yet. The pants barely button at the top and her shirt is too tight and showing too many of her curves for her liking. She switches it out with one of the ones she wore when she was pregnant. Is Chassis going to find me attractive again? She wonders.
With Rose fed and happily being held by her grandmother, Carbine leaves her living quarters for what feels like the first time in a long time. It feels strange to not have Rose with her. She wonders if she smells like spit up as Rose had decided to do that on her shirt before she left.
Karma, it's catching up with her. She climbs the stairs and makes her way to the Chow Hall. It's not too far from her quarters. There's a lot of people in there, the sound carries through the halls. Most of the time it's just the officers and those who are on base. The solders eat in another place. Maybe it's not that there's more people, maybe she's not used to to the noise.
She enters the chow hall. There are definitely more people here than usual. The normally empty long tables are filled with fresh recruits. Several officers sit at the tables at the head of the room. Stoker is around her somewhere. Modo is easy to spot. He's sitting in his usual place with Rimfire and his friends.
Vinnie is trying to charm the ladies with rides on his motorcycle. Throttle would often be with her, but… she looks around the room. There he is. He sits with Stoker and two female officers that she doesn't recognize. One talks animatedly with her hands. Judging by the stripes on her uniform she's fairly high ranking. Throttle has his head resting on one of his hand watching her with a smirk on his face.
Carbine hates that his glasses conceal his eyes and she can't tell what he's thinking. She resists the urge to storm over there and wipe the smirk off his face. How dare him if he think he can get away with flirting with one of her officers, she seethes.
The story the new officer is telling must be funny because the entire table bursts out in laughter. Carbine clenches his fist at her sides. Time to bust up this little party. She strides over to the table.
"The poor recruit had to bring this plant with him everywhere. When asked about it, he'd have to say. 'I have to carry this plant to make up for the oxygen that I'm wasting.' The best part was the PT, watching him run with his potted Pinkseed plant."
The table guffawed.
"You never did that, did you Astoria?" Stoker jokes.
"Carry around a Pink Seed plant and pretend it was my battle buddy?" She shakes her head. "No, but there was that time when my squad failed their barracks inspection, we all got to serenade and dance with brooms, mops and other cleaning supplies for a few hours. My voice was raw from singing love songs. I tell you, you haven't lived until you've done that. But the best one was the recruit with the sweet nuts. She was having trouble making her shot." Her eyes sparkle mischievously while telling the story. Her eyes are focused on Throttle. Throttle throws his back and laughs.
"You've found Turbine. Congratulations. Now where's the rest of his family? You can't just take a mouse away from family. Go find me his mother. So this continues until the recruit finds the sweet nut's cone's entire damn family."
Carbine clears her throat and everyone stops talking. The smile fades from Throttle's face. Astoria stands up and salutes Carbine, but she doesn't return it. She studies her. Astoria has long black hair pulled back into a smart side braid and tan fur, just like Throttle. She's pretty, and she's probably fairly intelligent if she's achieved the rank of a Captain. Unless she's slept her way to the top.
"I don't believe we've met."
Astoria salutes again. "Captain Astoria reporting for duty, ma'am!" Her voice echos in the dinning hall bringing the chaos to a halt.
"At ease," Carbine says, not bothering to disguise the disdain in her tone.
"I hear you just had a baby. Congrats on the little one." Astoria says."What's her name?"
"What. You want to come over and bake cookies? Don't act like we're friends."
"Carbine," Throttle says quietly.
She ignores him. "This is a military base. Our main objective is to keep Mars safe from all threats both alien and domestic."
"My apologizes." Astoria answers flatly.
Carbine whirls on Throttle. "That's General Carbine to you."
"Fine." Throttle spits back. "General Carbine. How about you show a little bit of respect for your colleagues. Who knows, you might need her help some day."
She moves inches from his face so that their muzzles almost touch. "Is that some sort of threat?"
"Nope. As a General I figured you knew better. But I've been getting a lot of things wrong about you recently." Throttle says.
Carbine grits her teeth together. There's nothing more she can say without making herself look worse. He just smirks at her. Doesn't help that he's Stoker's favorite. Even over her and she's blood.
"Who are you to tell me what to do? You don't even have rank." She wants to wound his pride just like he did it to her. Then she turns to her uncle. "Stoker, are there any updates?"
"The rocks seems to be multiplying. And it's quieter than a graveyard out there." Stoker answers. "We've been running scans and patrols. Nothing. Every thing is quiet. There's no sign of Plutarkians or anything."
"Report to me later. We'll discuss it in more detail." She says. Then she turns to Astoria. "Why did they send you here?"
"I'm to serve as your second in command. They thought—"
"They? Who is they?" She places her hands on her hips and glares at Astoria. "I don't need you."
"Carbine," Throttle begins. He tries to step in between the two of them.
"Stay out of this, you traitor." She snaps. "It was your idea, wasn't it?"
He sighs and hold up his hands. "No, it wasn't. Can you just be nice, for once? And no, it wasn't mine."
"It was mine," Stoker interrupts. He pushes his chair away from the table. "I thought you might need an extra set of hands with the baby and all. We're just trying to look out for you?"
"And you chose her?" She gestures to Astoria. "Of all the officers. A measly Captain. You couldn't get me another General or higher ranking officer?"
"Because she's the most qualified," Stoker answers. "I have her credentials in my office. If you want to see them later you can."
"I have experience leading and training troops in a variety areas. I received an award from the—"
"I don't care," Carbine snaps. "I don't need your help. I can lead the Freedom Fighters by myself with or without a baby. Nothing has changed on how things are run here. I call the shots here. Not you."
"Well, this has been fun." Throttle says standing and picking up his tray. "Astoria, it was good to talk to you again. Stoker. I'm sure I'll see you around the base."
Astoria checks her watch. "I should go. I have Sergeants that will be reporting to me in another half an our or so. It was good to talk to you again as well. Perhaps we'll be able to trade more stories later."
Trade stories. More like trade body fluids. Ugly whore.
She turns on her heel and stalks out of the Chow Hall. Tears threaten to pour down her cheeks, but she refuses to let them see her cry. Especially Astoria. She can't let that bitch know she's getting to her. Next order of business is sending that her back where she came from.
Someone grabs her shoulder and turns her around, caught off guard Carbine swings. Her fist is caught easily and pushed down. "What was that in there?" Stoker asks. "Didn't I teach you better than that?"
She wrenches her arm away. "I told you not to get anyone else. I can handle this."
"Yeah, that's was a good show of I can handle things." Stoker says sarcastically. "Basically airing you and Throttle's dirty laundry in front of the entire chain of command and new recruits because you can't stand the thought of him talking to another woman who isn't you."
"That's not true."
Stoker raises his eyebrows. "Really?"
"I don't need him." Carbine spins on her heel. "I want to see those credentials. If she has to be here, she has to be at least qualified for the job I give her."
"Your second in command."
"No." Carbine answers. "That's your job."
"Oh come on. You really expect me to believe that. You've been trying to get rid of me for how long?" Stoker answers. "Hell, you more or less gaslight Throttle about it trying to convince him that he was tainted. So congratulations. You got your wish, you don't have to answer to me any more."
"No."
"Now Captain Astoria has taken my place."
"I'm not giving that bitch any power." Carbine says. "You said so yourself that we cant trust the Martian government."
"Well, we couldn't." Stoker shrugs. "Hell, we might not even be able to, but things have more or less gotten better. Thanks to the Biker Mice we can start to rebuild. We have contact on another planet and the bastards who more or less screwed us over the first time are in prison or dead."
"Chassis's father is dead." Carbine answers. "Even though he cooperated with the investigation."
"It was suicide." Stoker agrees. "A very sad thing for everyone involved. But he dug his grave, pun not intended, and he got to lie in it." They walk down the hall to the command center. "Why do you feel so threatened by Astoria? Is it because she's pretty or is it because you don't want Throttle to be happy?"
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