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There wasn't much left in the world that Major Matt "Hawk" Masterson hadn't seen. He'd been to every corner of the globe, some parts of it more times than he could count. Since the metal wars alone, he has scoured the North American continent, looking for signs of life in the rubble that had once been filled with lush land and vibrant cities.

There was even less that he had not felt in his time on the planet. He'd hated and adored; had been frustrated and amused; been weary and elated. He'd experienced love in all of its many facets as well as the overwhelming grief that came with losing that love. A thousand other emotions had poured through him over the years – glee, contentment, bitterness, envy and joy to name only a few. That's why he didn't think there was much left to feel that he hadn't already.

He found that he was wrong.

It wasn't until the moment that he heard Scout's warning being cut off by the explosion that he felt overwhelming fear. For a moment it paralyzed him. Frozen in space, he could hear the Captain's frantic calls for Pilot to report her condition. It was Tank however who answered.

"Pilot's down."

The words pierced Hawk's soul, galvanizing him to move. He had to get to both her and Jon. If she was dead, there was no way in heaven that Jonathon Power was going to walk away from the battle alive. He'd loose them both.

Hustling towards the site of the explosion, Hawk cursed again the fates that had led them to this moment. A communication, intercepted on a rarely used frequency, had told them about the facility they were trying to breach. The message had been clear. Stop whatever was happening here if they were to ever have a hope of stopping Dread.

Only now, it was becoming clear that it had all been a lie to draw them in; a trap. A desperate effort from a desperate man, bent on destroying what little beauty there was left in the world.

"We've got company," Scout's voice announced. "And a lot of them. Dread's got to be throwing everything he's got at us." The distant sounds of weapons firing told Hawk that Scout and Tank were already engaged in battle. A stream of blaster fire erupted at him at almost the same moment.

Returning fire, Hawk cursed at the tin cans that were slowing him down. The Captain's voice allowed him to take a breath of air. "I've got Pilot. Hawk and I will get her out. You and Scout get to the ship and prep it. We'll meet you there."

At least that meant she was alive.

"Captain, you've got a whole bunch of tin cans coming in on your six," Baker warned.

Angling down the hillside toward his downed comrades, Masterson could see the squads of biomechs coming at them. Scout had been right when he said that Dread was throwing everything he had at them. Pausing, Hawk fired two small missiles into the advancing force. If nothing else, it would disorientate them for a few seconds while he crossed the open area.

Sliding to a halt behind Pilot and Power, Hawk pumped shot after shot into the nearing troopers. "Gettin' a little crowded around here," he yelled over his shoulder. Staggering as several shots bounced off his suit, the older man could hear Tank's announcement that Blastarr was making is way to them also. The day just kept getting better and better.

Kneeling down on the opposite side of Jon, Hawk could hear Pilot tell him to get to safety. "Go," she moaned, closing her eyes. "Get out of here."

And leave her there? That was not going to happen. "You're coming with us," Hawk said, laying his hand on the young woman. Chancing a brief distraction, he took his eyes off of the troopers to assess the damage. From the amount of blood, she didn't look good.

Pilot's head lulled toward the new voice. "Hawk." she breathed.

"In the flesh," Matt teased lightly to cover up his concern. Raising his eyes to capture Jonathon's, he added quietly, "Tank and Scout said Blastarr's moving in quick."

After acknowledging the other two, Jon leaned over Pilot. "Jennifer, listen to me. We've got to go. Can you get up?"

If the Biodread caught them like this, none of them would stand a chance. As if to emphasize the point, numerous shots from Dread's forces began to hit the ground around them. Returning fire, Hawk shifted to provide Pilot with some cover. Without her suit, she was more vulnerable than either he or Power.

Hawk winced when he heard her cry out. Glancing back, he could tell that Jonathon was running his hand across her chest and ribs. Hawk didn't need to be a lip reader to know when Power found broken bones.

The force of a grenade going off nearby sent the older man to his knees. Struggling upward, he returned fire before leaping back to Jennifer's side. "We go now," he snapped at Power, helping to lift her to her feet. "You take her. I'll cover you."

Placing himself between the younger pair and the advancing troops, Hawk fired repeatedly at the enemy advancing quickly on them. The trouble was that there were too many of them and they had spread out, trying to surround them.

Bolts of energy bounced around the trio, many hitting Masterson dead center in the chest. He'd take every hit if he could if it meant that he could protect the other two. They were far more important. He'd lived his life already. They hadn't. And if one didn't make it, the other would not be long for this earth.

If that happened, the resistance was all but finished.

Besides, he wasn't sure he could make it through losing either of them. It had about destroyed him when they had lost Jennifer the first time. Not only did he have to deal with his own grief and anger, he had to find some way to keep Jon going. To do it again… it could mean the end for all of them.

Staggering again against the onslaught of weapon fire, he wondered how long they would be able to hold out. The sound of gunfire behind him told him that the troopers were trying to cut off their escape route and that Jonathon was doing his best to stop them.

"Warning. Power level at thirty percent and dropping. Recharge immediately."

Yeah, right. Glancing backwards, Matt could tell they were still several hundred yards from the ship. Too far.

Triggering his intercom he called out. "Tank, we need some help."

"I'm on my way."

"No time. Send a couple grenades our way. South, southeast," Hawk yelled, sending several shots into a squad that was sneaking up on the left side.

"Too dangerous. I can't see you."

"If you don't, we aren't going to make it there," Masterson snapped back, flinching from the sparks dancing off his armor. It wasn't going to take much more of this.

"Stay there and do it. If we aren't there in three minutes, you and Scout take the ship and get out of here. That's an order," the Captain interjected, putting a stop to any further discussion on the matter.

Glancing over at him, Hawk could see that Jonathon was loosing ground as quickly as he was. He was literally holding Pilot up and trying to protect her while fighting off the troops. If they were really lucky, the grenades would buy them the time they needed. If not, well, there wasn't much left to do but take out as many as they could before they were captured or killed.

Hearing the whine of the incoming grenades, Hawk yelled "DOWN" before throwing himself to the ground. He barely got his face shielded before the impact of the first grenade. Almost immediately, a second more powerful blast erupted, causing a cascade effect of smaller explosions. The ground under Hawk shuddered and obliterated the sound of his suit warning him of complete system failure.

An eerie silence descended on the area. Hawk wasn't sure if it had really gotten quiet or if he had just lost his hearing from the proximity of the blasts. Slowly raising his head, he looked around.

Dead troopers littered the ground. Spinning around to sit upright, he searched frantically for some sight of the other two. A grin split his face as he saw Jonathon shifting his position to ease the pressure off of Jennifer's body where he had thrown himself. His suit had also deactivated, the blast drawing the last of its energy.

Scrambling over to them, Hawk looked anxiously at the pair. "Jon?"

"She's still with us," Power breathed, nodding at the older man.

Squeezing Power's shoulder, the Matt grinned in relief. "Let's get out of here before Blastarr gets here." Rising, he brought Jennifer up with him, again easing her against Jon. She was barely conscious, moving more on sheer instinct than anything else. Helping them both up the small hill that lead to the ship, Matt prayed to the heavens to give them just a little more time to escape.

Reaching the ship, Hawk stayed back to provide cover as Tank lifted Pilot into the hold. As she disappeared from view, Hawk could hear the tell-tale sounds of Blastarr's wheels grinding across the ground. Bloody hell. Scurrying up the stairs, Matt barely made it to the front when the first bolt of energy slammed into the ship, rocking it.

"Hang on," Matt threw over his shoulder, sliding into Pilot's seat. "It's gonna be a rough takeoff." Jabbing the buttons to fire up the engine, it had barely caught before he began the climb. Clearing ground, the shipped careened from another blast before he could send the thrusters to maximum power. "Come on, come on," Matt urged, trying to get the ship to respond faster than it was. It was only a matter of time before Blastarr's shots penetrated something vital.

Behind him, he could hear the Captain barking out orders to Tank to fire at the Biodread trying to bring them down. Hawk knew that he wanted nothing more than to be with Pilot, but Jonathon had a duty to make sure they all got out safely. Hell, it was his duty also.

Climbing out of Blastarr's range of fire, Matt began to take a breath. A short hop and they would be at the Passages and medical help. Reaching up to key in the coordinates for the gate jump, he was stopped by the ship shuddering and rolling forcefully.

"Soaron," Matt growled under his breath, knowing immediately what had happened. There was nothing else in the sky that had that kind of firepower to use against them. "We've got more company," he announced to the others.

His words brought Jonathon to his side. "We don't have time to mess with him," Power snapped. "See if you can shake him."

Making a sharp banking dive, Masterson watched the sensors to see if the Biodread was following. Seeing a tell tale blip on the screen, he made a sharp right turn into the sun, the ship whining from the stress of the sudden turn. Weapon fire hitting the hull told him that the mechanical bird had not been deterred.

"We don't have time for this," Jonathon barked. "Get ready," he said, before heading to the back of the ship. "Tank, sidewinders when Hawk brings us around. Try to blind him."

Knowing that Tank would be ready, Hawk brought the ship back in line with Soaron. Watching the sensors, Masterson registered the explosion and the sudden descent of the Biodread. Quickly triggering the transit gate, he flew the ship through it and headed for the Passages.

He had barely set the ship down before he heard the sound of the hatch opening and Tank carrying Pilot out, Jonathon with them. Shutting down the engines, he tried to tell himself that the shaking in his hand was vibration from the ship.

In reality, he knew it wasn't.

"Hawk?"

Matt clenched his fist at Scout's call to hide the tremors. "Just securing the ship. You go on. I'll be there in a minute," he called back, busying himself with various procedures until he heard Baker leave.

Holding his breath to make sure he was alone, Matt relaxed when he heard nothing more. A long breath escaped him as he laid his head back on the seat and closed his eyes.

There had been so much blood.

It wasn't like he hadn't seen it before. This time though it had been worse. This time it had been on a young woman who was like a daughter to him. A brave vibrant woman who had been through too much pain already. One who had already sacrificed herself twice to the mechanized nightmare that surrounded their existence: once as a Dread youth, then as digitized atoms suspended in the cold lifeless core of a biodread.

Now, she could be sacrificed again. Only this time, there would be no awakening, no reanimation. No salvation.

And, for what?

There were no humans saved, no setback to Dread's plan achieved. It had all been for nothing; just another one of Dread's futile attempts to eliminate the one real threat to his existence.

A wave of anger swept through Hawk, the force of it compelling him to slam his fist into the arm of the seat. "Damn you Limon Taggert," Hawk growled through clenched teeth. "You and every one of those tin cans you hold so dear."

A grim resolution settled into Matt's soul. There would be no escape for Dread if Jennifer died today. No amount of machines or weapons or technology would save him. Hawk promised himself that. With his last breath if necessary, he would destroy Lord Dread, make him pay for all the grief, damage and despair he had brought to the world.

He'd get revenge for her. He'd get revenge for all of them.

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