"Colonel
Sumner," Sheppard started, "We Have to talk about Saotome!"
"What's
the problem marine?" The colonel replied warily.
"He and
his team went off mission, they could have blown he whole deal!"
Sheppard replied. "No offense but the guy is a problem."
"Have
you reviewed Alpha's mission logs?" Sumner asked.
"No,"
Sheppard admitted.
"Do it,
and then come back and report properly Marine," Sumner replied,
"Good to see though."
"What"
asked Sheppard.
"Not so
long ago you were the problem. Dismissed."
Sheppard
grumbled all the way to the debrief office, muttering to himself as he
went. Along the way he ran into Lieutenant Ford. "What's the
matter boss?" the younger man asked, falling into step.
"Tell me
the truth, was I ever a problem on missions?" Sheppard asked, with
special inflection on the word problem.
"Well
Sir, I mean, I don't want to say anything but.." Ford started
through a smile, " we did sorta have to watch you when we started.
Orders ain't exactly your strong point."
"You
too," Sheppard said "jeez a man can really tell who his friends
are."
"So
where you off to Sir?" Ford asked, trying to change the subject.
"Watch
Alpha's mission tapes, Sumner's orders."
"Mind if
I tag along Sir?" Ford enthused, "those guys are really meant to
be something"
"Tell me
about it," Sheppard said still grumpy, but he didn't stop the
Lieutenant.
Half an
hour later the two of them were sitting in the mostly dark briefing
room trying to digest what they had seen.
"How the
hell does he do that?" Sheppard said aloud.
"That's
fast!" Ford replied. "NO wonder they chose him to lead the Mars
mission! Whoooo."
"I mean
nobody can go that fast in a suit, and where the hell were the
orders?" Sheppard said "He gave like three orders the entire
mission, what sort of way to run things is that."
"Uh
shit-hot Sir?" Ford suggested. "No offence but if we were all
that good we wouldn't be worrying about their counter attack."
"You
don't know anything about that remember." Sheppard warned.
"Yes
Sir, don't know anything SIR!" Ford overcompensated.
"Where
are they now?" Sheppard said.
"Think
they are back in he Gym Sir." Ford replied. "You should see some
of the er…. I'm gonna go get somethin' to eat."
Sheppard stalked over to the gym, indeed inside were the remains of Alpha commando, defying orders and training again. They were in pt gear and running through a very advanced kata and showing real skill at its performance. This was no dance however, each move was clean, efficient and came to sudden halts where the imaginary opponents came to their own ends.
"Major
can I have a word with you?" Sheppard called out, slowly
registering the numerous scars that crossed the Alphas' bodies.
Ranma, when he walked over, was no different, a clean scarlet scar
could be seen running around his shoulder joint."What
can I do for you" Ranma asked, snatching a towel from the rack near
the door.
"I want
to talk about what you're doing here," Sheppard asked.
"Pull up
a pew," Ranma invited, sitting astride a bench. Sheppard pulled one
over and sat opposite. "Wait let me guess, you think I am here to
steal your team?"
"The
thought had crossed my mind. Its no secret that you were involved
with Captain Tendo or that you've got some friends in high places."
"My
involvement with Tendo-san really is not open for discussion right
now. As for friends in high places, I have a lot less than you think.
Jack has always been my first contact with the top brass, and that's
the way I like it." Ranma replied, towelling his neck and face.
"Jack
being General O'Neil right?" Sheppard checked.
"That's
the one." Ranma agreed, "Same one that convinced you to volunteer
for this jig." Sheppard nodded. "Look John," Ranma continued "I
really don't want your team. I am looking for a command but it
ain't yours."
"What
then?" Sheppard asked.
"I am
building Alpha back up. We still have enough surface interceptions
and combat seeps to do that we can be fully occupied top-side."
Ranma informed.
"So why
all the sub-aqua?" Sheppard asked
"In
case," Ranma supplied.
"What?"
Sheppard asked already realising that he wasn't going to like the
answer.
"In case
the deep sea teams ain't alive to do their job." Ranma said very
seriously.
"I egt the feeling I
ought to know something?" Sheppard asked.
"Maybe,
but this really ain't the place to talk about it." Ranma
supplied.
"Where?"
"Armoury
twenty three hundred." Ranma replied, while at the same time
drawing a torpedo on the bench, before standing back up and barking
out some more orders to his victims/ commandos.
That night
Sheppard left the welcoming arms of his second in command, Captain
Taylor, and started to dress.
"John?"
she asked, raising her olive coloured naked body up onto one elbow.
"Where are you going?"
"Shh,"
he replied, leaning over and kissing her, "secret stuff."
"Stop
right there marine," she ordered, "I'll put something on."
"Its
meant to be a secret!" John whispered back pushing her into the
bed. She grabbed his writ and twisted, looking him straight in the
eyes. "And I would be more than happy to have you along." He
finished.
The two of
them dressed in their overalls and crept through the base. After the
first corner Taylor took the lead, having already had to stop John
giving them away twice.
They
arrived at the Main Hangar's weapons locker within minutes of
leaving his room. Taylor quickly spotted that one of the bay crew was
chatting with the Alpha Gunnery Sergeant, and they just happened to
be near the small arms rack.
The two of
them waited their moment from behind a torpedo loading rack and then
quickly moved into the locker.
There was
nobody inside.
Just as
Sheppard was about to say something the door opened and Ranma slipped
in. He looked at Taylor for a moment and seemed to come to a
decision. "You trust her I trust her," he said. Sheppard nodded.
"I am afraid things may be worse than I thought.""What do
you mean?" Taylor asked, "Is something going on?"
"Yeah?"
said John
"Yes
something is going on, something big." Ranma said quietly. "You
know that these aliens are from an older apttern than the ones we met
top-side." The other two nodded, "well their control mechanism is
older too." Now the pair looked puzzled. "Top-side the aliens
were all more or less run by the mother brain, a little corner of
their minds kept specially for her. Well this older lot don't have
that."
"That's
why they can keep going when all the others have stopped." Deduced
Sheppard. Ranma nodded.
"The
eggheads have called this new-old control 'molecular control' cuz
it works on a more chemical level. Most of their commanders are just
as psychically capable as their space cousins but they also can do
this other thing. Small boxes are inserted into their troops allowing
the control aliens to run the way they react to any given
stimulus-thing."
"All
very interesting but, dare I say it, not our problem." Said
Sheppard.
"That's
where you're wrong," Ranma disagreed, "Up on Cydonia the
eggheads have discovered some old files. Seems that this Molecular
control works pretty well by remote too, and they have been picking
up some stray signals."
"So?"
asked Sheppard
"So they
are already using this to control important people." Deduced
Taylor.
"I'm
afraid its worse than that, we are fairly sure that they have got to
at least one person in the X-Com command." Ranma informed them
"How is
it that you've heard all this?" asked Sheppard.
"What
you don't know you can't tell, sorry." Said Ranma.
"Who?"
said Taylor.
"I don't
know," replied Ranma regretfully.
"Perhaps
there is something you ought to know too." Said Taylor looking to
Sheppard. Major Sheppard nodded
"A
couple of weeks back we bust a base wide open. Thing was there were a
couple of Africans there, caught just a few days before. Thing was
they managed to see somethings while they were being questioned."
Sheppard said. "The Aliens had a big viewscreen. The prisoners saw
pictures from a vast complex, with rank after rank of sleep tubes
each one containing sleeping soldier forms. Even as they watched they
could see tubes draining and aliens arming."
"In
other words there is something else out there and its on its way."
Ranma reasoned. The other two nodded.
"We
passed the info up the line and are just waiting to hear back,"
Sheppard added.
"We may
have to be a little more um pro-active than that." Said Ranma.
"Are you
thinking of that brain you brought in?" Taylor asked. Ranma nodded.
"I'll
talk to Mackay," Sheppard stated, but looked to Ranma for approval.
He paused a moment and then nodded.
"We are
gonna need a psi," Ranma said. "Any ideas?" he asked.
"Me,"
said Taylor "I'm trained" she explained. "when?"
"No time
like the present, said Ranma, "I'll rally my team. You get your
man. RV at holding cell one."
Four
minutes later the three of them, plus a very out of sorts Dr. Mackay
were standing outside the Alien containment cell containing the
tentacled alien. The ensign unlocking the door did not seem very
happy about it but was doing what he was told. By the door Lieutenant
Porter was prepared to run interference, the gunny was one step
further along, watching the corridor outside.
"John
and I run the talking, you do the mind-fuck." Ranma said as the
ensign went back to his chair. The other two nodded. Then he turned
to Mackay, "you got theegg-head shit?"
"Egg-head
shit?" he asked, "do you have any idea how sophisticated-"
"No I
don't, and right now I really don't care," Ranma replied
forcefully, "just do your fucking job and we all may get away with
this."
They moved
into the room and started the interrogation, Sheppard trying to keep
it focused on him, Mackay giving the updates from the medical scanner
and Ranma applying 'focussed force.'" Together they managed to
make it realise what they were doing while not being able to focus on
resisting their efforts. It was not a pretty procedure, several times
the creature vomited up the contents of its innards. Taylor raided
its mind, tearing through it with as much mental violence as the
others were using physical. The interrogation went on for a long
time.
"Alpha
one, code red." Said Gunny over the coms.
"We have
to go now!" Ranma said, grabbing Mackay by the arm. Taylor held up
one hand.
"Shit."
Ranma swore, then into the coms, "Alpha Five stall," he ordered.
"Roger"
Laura replied. The team went back to their tasks with a real urgency.
"Got
it." Taylor said.
"Bombshell!"
Ranma ordered and everyone hustled out. He was the last to leave, but
stopped at the door. He turned to the ensign, "Sorry mate, but
you'll thank me later" then he clocked him, knocking the guy
flat.
Remarkably
everyone got clean away. They were all back in their quarters and no
alarm was raised. It seemed they had got away with it.
At
breakfast the next morning they pointedly didn't gather together,
leaving it for a more private time. Which is why when they came for
Ranma he was alone. He had just left the mess deck when two suited
marines stepped out and levelled rifles.
"Sir, we
have been ordered to take you into custody!" the one on the left
supplied.
"This is
not a good idea" said Ranma.
"Sir, we
have been authorised to use lethal force," explained the second, it
was clear from his voice that he would rather be anywhere but where
he was.
"What's
the charge?" Ranma asked.
"They
say you're under mental influence Sir. Please stand down." Ranma
raised his hands.
"Do I
get a phone call?" he asked.
"You
tell me who you want to call and I will make sure they get the
message said the second guard.
"Call
General O'Neil tell him the score. He'll do the rest."
"Yes
sir." The guard replied. Then they marched him to the brig.