James Cameron and Charles Eglee own Dark Angel. My use is in no way meant to challenge their copyrights. This piece is not intended for any profit on the part of the writer, nor is it meant to detract from the commercial viability of the aforementioned (or any other) copyright. Any similarity to any events or persons, either real or fictional, is unintended.

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Author's Note: So it seems some people… not that I'm mentioning names, but this would be True Blue Healer :) … seem to want to know what pairing this story is gonna be.  Is it M/L, M/A, or even M/Z?  *sigh*  I can understand the curiosity, and let me tell you I'm certainly appreciative that anyone has taken enough of an interest in this story to even ask, so please bear with me in this rambling A/N to explain the method behind my madness.  This story is fairly heavily plot driven (meaning that the plot drives the characters' actions, and not vice versa), so that means character pairings are not my main concern here.  Each individual character is important, and that means each comes to the table with his/her own emotional baggage.  I'm not gonna write Max and Logan without keeping their issues in mind, but neither am I gonna focus on them finding a cure for the virus when there are far more pressing issues for them to deal with.  The same thing goes for every character – I plan on being as true to each and every one as I can, and if that means a pairing could/should develop, then I'll do it if it seems right.  If not, I won't.  So, in short, I didn't plan this story with any pairings in mind – I have a plot, and now with every chapter I write I see how the characters react.  And as for those reactions, I can't tell you what'll happen beyond Chapter 9, because thus far that's all I've seen (that is, written) up to, myself.  Hope that answers people's questions.  If not, feel free to email me (at obinorm@netscape.net ) with questions/suggestions… I'm always happy to discuss my stories with fans and critics alike.

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VII – Out of the Frying Pan

            "What if this doesn't work?" Ashley asked nervously in the old storeroom as she gathered herself to speak to the besieged transgenics.

            "It'll work," Max assured her.  It has to work, she added silently.  Max had experienced more than most people her age ever had, and she had made more than her share of reckless decisions.  Nothing even compared to this, though.  She was about to not only partake in, but also help orchestrate, a deception against her own people, transgenics that were inexperienced in the world and looked to her for guidance.  Like I'm anyone to follow, she thought sadly.  To the escapees from Manticore, however, she was the end-all, be-all of transgenic existence.

            It all made a strange sort of sense, though.  Max and her original group of escapees had been out in the world longer than any of the others, all of whom had spent a majority, if not the entirety, of their lives behind the walls of Manticore's Gillette facility.  She and the survivors of that original escape were the logical bridge between the transgenics and the outside world – they were the only people to experience several years of their lives in both environments.  That realization had initially caused Max some concern, as she had thought only she and Zack were present from the original group.  Then, like a divine angel that had been sent from on high at precisely the perfect moment, Syl had appeared inside the perimeter, only twenty minutes behind Zack.  She was an absolute godsend.

            She had immediately sought out Max, and was overjoyed to the point of tears when she saw Zack standing there, alive and well.  Three minutes was all it took to convince Syl to stay behind to advise Ashley and Joshua, to help them stall for time until Max and the others could get back.  Syl was always brilliantly analytical, Max remembered.  It took her three minutes to say 'yes,' but she had probably made up her mind long before that.

            "You got me and Joshua here to help you out whenever and however you need it," Syl assured Ashley.  "All we have to do is stick to the plan.  We do this, and Max takes out White.  Our people are safe, and the one threat to your family is removed for good."  Clever, Max noted approvingly as Syl spoke.  Reassuring her at the same time she reminds her what her stake is in this whole thing.  No greater motivator than enlightened self-interest… yeah, Ashley'll do just fine.

            "I'm right behind ya little fella," Joshua assured Max's stand-in.

            "What?" Ashley asked.

            "Little fella," Joshua repeated.  "It's what I call Max.  She calls me big fella."

            "Better make a note of that," Max put in.  "It's the kind of thing the others will notice."

            "Right," Ashley said absently, seeming to process that tidbit with all the other information she had gained about Max, all the endless minutiae that she needed to remember to successfully pull off this ruse.

            "It's time," Zack said, looking quickly at his watch.

            "Shouldn't we wait another minute or two to make sure everyone is here?" Ashley asked.  "We should make sure that everyone buys this."

            "We don't have time," Zack replied earnestly.  "Ten minutes, forty seconds and counting.  Set's gonna be causing a diversion, and we'll only have a window of a few seconds."

            "Okay then," Ashley said with a sigh.  "Here goes nothing."  She opened the door and walked out, Joshua, Logan, Alec, and Syl in tow.  A few old crates had been thrown together into a makeshift dais, allowing Ashley to see everyone, and more importantly, everyone to see her.  From where Max was spying through a peephole in the storeroom door, it seemed most everyone had come to hear what Max had to say.  Now she listened with as much rapt attention as everyone else.

            "Thanks guys," Ashley began.  "I know some of you were probably wary about getting together in one place like this… presents a bit of a target and all… so I'll be brief.  We stayed behind to make a statement, to hold the line and either find a place for ourselves or die trying.  For five days now we've been under siege, fighting against exhaustion, paranoia, and sometimes even each other.  I don't expect everyone to get along; after all, this is life, not a sitcom.  But I need everyone to at least be civil.  I need everyone to realize that your life may depend on the person standing next you.  We're soldiers, after all… let's not forget it.  And as we're soldiers, we need a plan."

            "We're gonna attack?" Mole asked, predictably being the first one to advocate violence.

            "No," Ashley replied.  "We're the best soldiers in the world, no doubt, but if we attacked that perimeter most of us would die.  And doing something like that would only justify the suspicion and paranoia of everyone in the world.  Some of us might get away safely, but they'd be killed as soon as they were ever found."

            "Just like Biggs was," Alec interrupted, drawing nods of agreement from everyone that knew the dead X-5.

            "And maybe I'd be able to blend in and disappear like last time," Ashley continued.  "Maybe Alec could, too, and Syl here," she added, gesturing to the newly arrived X-5, making certain she got the big public introduction that the plan called for.  "But that would be selfish of me.  We can't all hide, right?  Joshua can't.  Mole can't.  Dix can't.  Hell, only a minority of us would ever even have a chance of blending in.  I'm not deserting any of you."

            "So then what's the plan?" Mole asked.

            "Two parts," Ashley stated evenly.  "First, we have to buy time.  We have to start talking with them out there, get some kind of dialogue going.  There are plenty of people out there that want to avoid a confrontation.  Some actually believe that we deserve some kind of equal treatment, or at least peace… but I guess most just figure we'd be too good at killing to justify some kind of an assault.  Either way, we have that working for us.  The longer we give them hope of a peaceful outcome, the longer we stay at the bargaining table, the longer we have to actually get our message out."

            "We can't get our message out," one of the X-6's complained.  They're jamming transmissions in here, and they've cut the phone lines."

            "Right, they have," Ashley agreed.  "That's why someone's got to get past the perimeter.  Someone's got to leave and spread the word that we're not a rabid pack of bogeymen.  We're just like them, just… different."

            Oh, that was great, Max thought with concern.  We're the same, only different?  I better remember to suggest they find a better slogan before they start the negotiations.

            "Logan is gonna go back out there," Ashley said.  "Alec's gonna get him past the perimeter, and he'll set up his old program.  Eyes Only has been a voice of truth and justice for years now… people will listen to him."

            "Not everyone will," Mole countered.  "Most will still want to kill us."

            "This is a touchy time politically," Ashley countered.  "The government is finally starting to reassert itself, and the last thing it needs is a massacre on its hands.  There'll be enough politicians that want to avoid bloodshed, but they need a basis for doing so.  Just like they can't have a massacre, they can't appear weak.  If some of the citizens start calling for a peaceful resolution, we have a chance.  I hate to say it, but you guys are all geniuses, so you probably already know – this very well may be our only chance.  If it comes to combat, well… we may never lose a battle, but there's no way in hell we can win the war."

            "Then we better not screw this up," someone yelled from the back.

            "That's right, we'd better not," Ashley agreed.  "We'll need to double the guard on the perimeter, but every single one of you has to make certain you do absolutely nothing to provoke aggression.  You don't fire a single shot… you don't even look at the ordinaries if you can avoid it.  Don't even fire if fired upon unless they actually start crossing the perimeter themselves.  You all know as well as I do that whether we start it or not, if anyone dies out there, we're gonna take the blame.

            "You all know Joshua, and Syl is an old friend that just showed up to help me out.  I'm gonna be spending most of my time trying to figure out things to say to the army's representatives out there, so if you have suggestions for me, give them to Syl and she'll pass them on.  If you need problems solved, go directly to Joshua, he'll help you out."  Okay, here comes the really dangerous part, Max thought worriedly.  "If you think you find any weaknesses in our defenses, well… report them to Mole."  Ashley then turned to face Mole directly, and Max noted that her clone did a wonderful job of looking sincere as she spoke.  "Sorry I didn't ask before I volunteered you, Mole.  You just seemed like the right man for the job.  If you don't want it-"

            "No, I do," Mole said immediately.

            "You know what the stakes are out there," Ashley said calmly, though she lent a brilliant undercurrent of earnest anxiety to her tone that seemed to play Mole's ego and intellect like a violin.

            "I know," Mole assured her.  "I won't screw up."  He then turned and glared from one transgenic to another.  "And I guarantee no one else is gonna screw up, either."

            Perfect, Max thought with a sigh.  Mole was the most likely one to mutiny, and empowering him, giving him important responsibilities, would go a long way toward keeping him satisfied and quiet for at least a few days.  Max just hoped that was all she'd need.

            "Then everyone get started with their jobs," Ashley instructed.  "We have lots to do, and not a whole hell of a lot of time to do it."

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            "5… 4… 3… 2… 1," Zack counted off to the ticking seconds on his watch.  As soon as he was done, a bright explosion lit up the sky inside the perimeter a hundred yards behind Max and her group.  As planned, none of the transgenics were in the area, and none opened fire on the National Guard, thinking they were under attack.  The plan was simple – divert the attention of those on the outside but make certain that there were no casualties on either side.

            Mission accomplished, Max thought with a grin.  She, Alec, and Zack were off like a shot, dashing toward the perimeter on the opposite side of the explosion with Logan not far behind.  Zack led the way, taking a running jump at the barbed wire fence the army had constructed, not even breaking stride as he cleared the ten-foot high obstacle with a few inches to spare.  Alec was right behind, and within seconds the two had disabled the three sentries in the area, leaving them all unconscious but otherwise unharmed.  With the way open, Max slowed and made certain Logan got over the fence safely, and then finally went over, herself.

            The next two minutes saw them alternately making mad dashes between shadows and standing as still as statues, fighting silently for every foot of territory they put behind them.  Time seemed to drag forever for Max as she struggled with her conscience, a voice in the back of her head screaming at her to turn around and take responsibility for her people.  She was past the point of no return, though, and knew it.  She needed to stifle her doubts, keep them bottled up until she came back to deal with this situation.  Just keep focused, she told herself over and over.  Keep your head in the game, Max.  This will all work out in the end… just as long as you don't screw up.

To be continued……………………………