Title: King's Opening

Rating: PG-13/R

Category: M/L, M/M, Ky/I

Disclaimer: I don't own Roswell and I never have. Don't sue me, I'm just a poor college student, you wouldn't get anything anyway.

Summary: Part One of the Battlefield Antar series. The group is summoned to Antar after a year roaming the US in their battered VW van.

Chapter 21 - So it Begins

The gang was gathered around the large table in their kitchen/dining room eating dinner. Max glanced around the table. Kyle and Isabel were holding an animated discussion across the table from where Max sat, their heads close together. Isabel's eyes were flashing merrily, and Kyle was grinning whenever he wasn't talking. Michael, Liz, and Maria were also conversing happily.

Max was amazed at the resilience of his friends. For two days they'd lived with the possibility of Max, Michael, and Kyle's abrupt departure from the compound hanging over their heads and yet here they were happily taking around the dinner table. Max smiled sadly, and sighed deeply. Liz noticed and turned from Maria and Michael to look at Max with concern.

"What's wrong, Max?"

Max shook his head slightly. Liz cocked her head to one side and gazed curiously into Max's eyes. Something was wrong, she could tell. He returned her gaze steadily, and suddenly it dawned on her.

"Oh, Max..." she said softly.

He nodded sadly, then cleared his throat. He had to get it over with, it might as well be now. Then at least they'd have the small comfort of dessert afterwards.

"Hey guys," he began, "I need to tell you something."

Michael, Maria, Kyle and Isabel looked to Max expectantly. He blinked slowly, then steeled himself to ruin the idyllic dinner scene.

"Michael, Kyle, and I need to leave in the morning." He said it quickly and clearly, like ripping off a Band-Aid really fast.

Michael's face closed off behind one of his stone walls and the sparkle faded from Maria's eyes. Kyle set his jaw and Isabel's eyes went wide.

"Oh God..." she said softly. Blindly Kyle reached for her hand under the table. She took it gratefully.

"I'm sorry it's so sudden," Max said to fill the silence.

"We knew it would be, Maxwell, don't apologize for it," Michael answered gruffly as he slung an arm over the back of Maria's chair. Max nodded.

"The three of us and Liam will each command a division of soldiers. We'll be going over the order of battle on the way to the field headquarters. Tomorrow morning we need to meet in the hangar at 0700 hours," he added, unconsciously slipping into military time. Michael and Kyle nodded.

The gang sat in silence for endless minutes, picking uncertainly at the last of their dinners. Then Isabel finally broke the silence by suggesting that they should have dessert before the men went to pack. At the gang's affirmative response, she got up and brought the chocolate pie and tobasco bottles sitting on the counter to the table.

Max sliced the pie and gave each person a piece, then passed the tobasco sauce around. Everyone but Maria doused the pie with it, and she shuddered delicately at the thought. Her reaction brought the first real smiles since Max's bombshell, and soon the gang was back to the happy conversations they had been having.

But now there was an undercurrent of sadness in every smile that didn't quite reach the eyes, every laugh that was not quite full.

Later that evening, Kyle was in his room packing a few changes of clothes into the pack Liam had provided for the battle. He'd just picked up a pair of socks when there was a soft knock on his door.

"Come in," he called out, stuffing the socks in his pack.

"Hey Kyle." Kyle smiled when he heard her voice and turned to face her.

"Hey Princess." His smile wavered as he looked at her and a concerned look crept up his face. "You okay, Princess?"

Isabel started to nod, but her eyes filled with tears and she was forced to shake her head. "I'm just so scared, Kyle." Her gaze dropped to the floor. "What if you or Max or Michael get hurt or…" she returned her pained gaze to Kyle's face. "Or what if one of you dies? I just couldn't take it, Kyle. Not after Alex and Grant and Jesse."

Kyle crossed the room and then pulled Isabel down to sit next to him on the bed. "First of all, I want you to remember that Jesse isn't dead. Shh," he added when Isabel looked about to interrupt. "He's not. And neither Alex nor Grant was your fault. No one blames you, Isabel." He brushed a strand of Isabel's hair behind her ear, his fingers lingering on her cheek for a split second longer than necessary.

"And furthermore, we all knew what we were getting into when we came here. You knew this would happen, Izzy."

She nodded miserably. "That doesn't mean I was ready for it."

"I know it doesn't. But you have to be strong, okay? Will you be strong for me?" he asked, framing her face with his hands.

"Okay," she said softly.

"Good girl." He pulled her into his arms and cradled her head on his shoulder. "It'll be okay, Princess. We'll come back to you, I promise."

She pulled back to look into his eyes. "You promise?"

"I promise." They stared into each other's eyes for a long minute. Isabel wondered wildly what would happen if she kissed him before he broke the odd moment by releasing her completely and crossing the room to retrieve another pair of socks to put in his pack.

In Max and Liz's room Liz was helping Max pack the last of his extra clothes into his pack.

"And one more pair of extremely sexy leather pants," she said, handing Max a pair of black pants. Max laughed softly.

"I'm glad you approve of the native dress on our new planet."

Liz eyed Max appreciatively. "Well, who wouldn't? Those leather pants that are tight in all the right places and those shirts..." she sighed theatrically.

"What about the shirts?"

"They're like those shirts the male figure skaters wear that ripple when they skate really fast, they're so sexy."

Max laughed and pulled Liz into his arms. "And you...look at you in that sexy dress."

Liz smiled. The typical Antarian lady wore simple empire-waisted sundresses with flowing skirts for everyday wear. They were quite comfortable, and Liz had already discovered how much Max liked how they looked on her. And on the floor after he'd taken them off of her, she thought.

"You all packed?" she asked silkily.

Max grinned rakishly at her. "Oh yeah, I'm all done packing."

"It's so early...what will you do with all this time before you need to sleep, I wonder?"

Max's grin widened. "I can think of a few things." He dipped his head and took Liz's mouth in a deep kiss.

"I bet you can," Liz murmured into Max's mouth. She made a contented humming sound as Max peeled the dress away from her body and covered her breasts with his hands.

"No fair," she murmured.

"What?"

"You have far to many clothes on. I'm at a disadvantage."

Max grinned again. "Well we can't have that, can we?"

"Nope," Liz said as she pulled Max's shirt over his head and reached for his pants. "It just wouldn't be fair."

Laughing, they fell into bed, forgetting for a moment that Max was going to war in the morning.

Next door, Michael watched Maria with a concerned look on his face. She was sitting in a corner, ostensibly reading a book. But she hadn't turned a page in fifteen minutes.

"Ria..." he said softly. She jumped slightly and looked up at Michael.

"What?"

"Are you sure you're okay?"

She nodded and smiled a tad to brightly. "Oh yeah, Spaceboy, I'm just fine."

He crossed the room to kneel down in front of her so that they were on eye level. "Really?"

Maria started to nod, but like Isabel before her tears filled her eyes and she couldn't pull it off. Michael reached up and brushed the tears from Maria's eyes.

"It'll be okay, Maria."

"How do you know, Michael? How can you possibly know that you aren't going to die in this battle? Or the next? Or the one after that?" A panicked look was creeping across Maria's face. "You're going off to war, Michael! Nothing is certain."

"No, Maria." Michael reached up and framed her face with his hands, his thumbs brushing gently at the tears streaming down her face. "You're wrong. I will always come back to you. Look at me," he ordered gently when she closed her eyes and shook her head. "Look at me Maria. Nothing will keep me from coming back to you. I promise." He tucked her hair behind her ears. "Okay?"

She nodded weakly.

"Okay."

Up one floor, Serena and Liam lay in their bed, entwined in each other's arms.

"I'll miss you, Liam."

Liam gently stroked Serena's back. "I'll miss you too, Rena."

"Be careful out there, and watch out for the others."

"I will, but they'll be fine."

"They don't know what they're doing..."

"They're pretty smart, Rena. If they don't already, they'll figure it out real fast."

Serena cuddled closer to her husband. "I know. I just worry."

"It'll be all right."

"You know Liz can see the future?" Serena asked sleepily.

"Yeah, so?"

"You must be right, because she wouldn't let Max go if it wouldn't."

Liam smiled. "Of course I'm right."

A/N - You guys give such good feedback! Mucho thankies, lol. Sorry Roswellgrrrl, but I'm gonna drag that Kyle/Isabel suspense out just a bit longer, lol. Hope you all enjoyed the chapter. ~~Liz