Derrick slammed home a fresh magazine and paused to take in the view of the tower twenty meters from its base. It looked the same as it had the first time. Gently curving sides, faded blue-white exterior, even the soldiers guarding the entrance had been in the same exact positions. The only thing that was truly different about the place was Derrick himself. He had blown past every obstacle like a juggernaut. There had been several short, post-Acceleration episodes that had only made Derrick more formidable. He had made better time this go-round and the transport helicopter was a few minutes from arriving by his estimates.

Derrick hunkered down in the cover of a large boulder and the towers base. He listened to the radio transmissions and gave a mirthless chuckle at Romeo-115's bullshit. Then something unexpected came over the radio.

"Delta Two to Romeo-One-One-Five. We're almost at the elevator. Sir! It looks like a goddamned warzone down there!"

"Settle down, Delta Two! It must be Cole. There's no direct access from the base to the elevator anymore. Not even Cole can jump that high. Keep focused. You are authorized to neutralize the target but do not damage that disk. You got that? Over."

"Loud and clear, sir!"

Derrick chewed on a ration bar as he watched transport 'chopper circle around the tower looking for a place to land. He calmly got to his feet when it disappeared from sight and made his way along the wall to the wide T'lan airlock. He passed through the blue-white energy barrier, once again noting the matrix that was plainly visible to him now, and stepped onto the translucent bridge. With measure steps he walked towards the two walls that raised the elevator base above the towers. The bright white hue of them seemed much more vivid than they had before.

Derrick stopped at the bottom of the first six meter high wall and calmly waited. When Stefania's voice came to him he sprang upwards.

"You will guarantee my safety, yes?"

Derrick landed in a crouch on top of the three meter wide ledge below the next wall.

"What are you doing?"

"Walk over there, to the edge," that prick, Delta Two, ordered her.

"What are you going to do?" Stefania sounded so afraid, it tore Derrick's heart out all over again. "I gave you the disk, didn't I?" She turned to face the empty air of the drop. "No! Stop!"

Someone began to push her just like before.

"Please..." Stefania looked down and right into Derrick's eyes.

"Jump," he silently mouthed and held out his arms.

Stefania gave a small smile and jumped of her own volition. Derrick caught her as though they'd rehearsed it a million times and immediately pushed her into a corner.

"Keep your head down. I'll come back in a second."

"Okay, Derrick."

Derrick winked at her, took several deep breaths, and kicked himself into overdrive. He leaped up onto the main platform, flipped over the heads of two of the soldiers, and landed in front of a third. It was a second lieutenant and Derrick straight palmed him in the chest. The man hurtled through the air though he seemed to float at the speed that Derrick was moving. Derrick snatched the disk the man had in hand before turning to the other two. They were only half-turned and Derrick went to the one on his left. He gripped the helmet and twisted it completely around. A sidekick sent the solder beside him into a pylon that the supports had turned into.

Time sped up again and a human 'Beat, two of them actually, approached from behind him. Derrick sprinted to the curve in the elevator base and met them with a sustained burst of SMG fire. He made sure they were all out of the fight before circling to the other side where the transport chopper had found an extension of the base to land. Derrick charged a pulse-sphere and held it up as he approached the 'chopper. He could feel the pilot's 'Beat growing frantic the closer he got.

"Open the door," Derrick ordered and the pilot pressed a button that popped up the pilot's emergency door.

Derrick reached in and hauled him out as the pulse-sphere dissipated. He bound the pilot's hands with a pair of plastic restraints before dragging him back to where Stefania was waiting. Derrick hopped down, scooped the beautiful woman up, and jumped back up. When he set her down she was very reluctant to let go.

"Derrick! Thank you! Thank you!" Stefania practically sobbed her relief. "You saved my life. I was so foolish... thinking only of myself."

"Well, there's a lot of that going around," Derrick said as he gently pried her arms from their stranglehold around his neck.

Stefania laughed, "Yes, very true." She suddenly sobered and fixed Derrick with an intense gaze, "The soldiers were talking about you. You plan to stop Nexus?"

Derrick nodded, "Yes. If I can make it in time."

"I don't know who you think you are, but you're serious, aren't you!"

"Very."

"Come with me."

Stefania led Derrick over to where a small stand of equipment, with a laptop on top of it, and a power generator were situated against the elevator. It was right behind them so Derrick left the pilot where he was.

"This elevator leads deep in the silos," Stefania gestured to an opening that was blocked by a perforated wall of T'lan chitin. "I'll move this." Stefania typed commanded into the laptop, "I wish there was more I could do."

The chitin door slid down to reveal a circular lift in the center of the spire. Derrick looked up and noticed that the material of the elevator was noticeably different. It looked more artificial than the T'lan architecture he had come across before. There were also odd designs etched into the metal.

Derrick turned back to the Eastern European scientist, "I don't supposed you know how to pilot a helicopter?"

"No, I don't."

"Well," Derrick removed a sidearm and holster from a convenient corpse, "Do you know how to use one of these?"

Stefania nodded and took the gun, "I've had some training."

"Let me see you switch a clip," Derrick asked and nodded in satisfaction when she did so quite adroitly for a civilian. "Okay. Follow me."

Derrick dragged the pilot back to the side of the 'chopper and pulled the troop bay door open.

"I should have some friends coming back down in a while!" Derrick had to shout to be heard above the helicopters blades. "Watch him! You might need him to get out of here! Okay!"

Stefania nodded and Derrick tossed the man into the 'chopper with one arm. He bound the man at the ankles and went back around to the elevator door.

"Here," Derrick handed Stefania the disk, "Make sure Dr. Ogawa gets a copy."

Stefania nodded and he stepped onto the platform. Stefania made the door rise and stepped close to one of the crescent-shaped holes in the door.

"Derrick, I don''t want to say goodbye to you. I want you to become the first test subject for my research."

Derrick grinned, "Alright. I promise."

Stefania's blue eyes twinkled with delight, "I won't forget you said that. Good luck, Derrick."

"Thanks, Stefania. I'll see you later."

The lift began to rise and Stefania fell from view. The insides of the lift were a dazzling white with clusters fo shaped T'lan chitin.

"Gianni here. Cole, you listening?"

"I hear you, Gianni."

"The other units didn't get the disk. We've got some time to kill before that fuckin' nuke hits. So, let's stop the goddamned T'lan in the silos before that happens! We're going deep into the silo area. I expect to see you there soon!"

"Just save some for me!"

Gianni laughed and got off the line. The lift picked up speed but it still seemed to take forever to reach the top. His first indication was when the walls stopped going up forever. They ended at a tiny black point that grew larger every second. Then the lift began to slow and Derrick could make out the shape of the inside of a conical structure. He rose above the edge of the hole and found himself atop the central structure in the T'lan silo.

Thank you, Stefania. That cut the trip by half an hour at least!

Derrick got his bearings and jogged to the edge of the structure. The stand of damaged human equipment was there as well as its three guardians. The Stealth T'lan had yet to make an appearance, but he knew they would.

Derrick cracked his knuckles and jumped off the edge.

xXx

Derrick emerged from the T'lan rocket launch pad at a sprint. Memory carried him up and over the wings on his right. His first leap carried him over the first wing and gave him a glimpse of camouflaged figures firing ATL-cannons at Assault T'lan. The distinctive figure of Gianni was at the head of the formation.

Of course he is.

Derrick's second leap carried him only two meters from Gianni's left side. He fired a pulse–sphere at the nearest Assault T'lan without looking. If Gianni was surprised at Derrick's sudden appearance he didn't show it.

"Glad you could join this fucking cluster-fuck, Cole!" Gianni grinned, "Alright, maggots! Form up on Cole! Covering fire by flank only!"

"Hey, it's him!" one of the Marines shouted.

"Up and at 'em, Marines!"

There were only four of Gianni's Marines left but they formed up smartly as Derrick charged forward. He fired a succession of rapid-fire pulse-spheres to stun the half dozen Assault T'lan guarding the ramp. Gianni and his Marines finished them off with pinpoint cannon fire. Derrick and the Marines gained the top of the ramp and Gianni gestured for a pair of Marines to take each side. Assault T'lan were ejected from the peculiar T'lan cannon protrusions overlooking the sides of the ramp. They landed in groups of two in small clearings on either side of the ramp. Gianni switched out the ATL power packs while him men picked the T'lan off as they landed. Derrick only needed to lend a hand when someone ran out of battery packs and Gianni had to retrieve extra from a fallen comrade at the bottom of the ramp.

Then, as though someone had turned off a faucet, there were no more Assault T'lan.

"Sir!" one of Gianni's men covering the left flank called, "The countermeasures device is crawling with Bugs!"

"Shit!" Gianni shouted, "This day just keeps going from bad fuck to worse fuck to somebody get this bitch off of me! I've lost too many men today," Gianni's voice grew soft, "Cole, any idea how we can get 'em off with blowing up the device."

Derrick patted Gianni's shoulder, "Get behind cover."

Gianni nodded as though he knew Derrick would have an idea, "You heard 'em."

Derrick strolled up to the device and waited until the Bugs were almost on him before releasing a shockwave. The device barely rocked while the Bugs splattered messily all over it.

"Goddamn, Cole! You're way fucking better than bug spray! Now hit the switch before more T'lan fucks show up!"

The switch was huge, square, and blue-green. It wasn't hard to miss. Derrick hit the button and the earth shook like the device was a shot in its ass. Derrick watched as the T'lan rocket collapsed in on itself back into the launch pad.

"Whoa... holy shit!" Gianni whispered as they watched all the rockets in sight disappear into their launch pads.

The ground stilled only to resume quaking moments later. Before their eyes the T'lan rockets grew back in seconds. It was unbelievable.

"Awww, sheee-it! It's no good! They're growing back! We have to destroy Nexus, it's the only way! I'm-"

Gianni's tirade cut off and Derrick whirled around to find that Gianni had slumped to his knees. One of his men was pulling medical supplies from his sack. Gianni looked like he was bleeding from a cut on his upper thigh. The very same that had helped him before.

"Patch me up, Lian. We've got to stop Nexus," Gianni groaned, shifting so that he was sitting on his ass.

"No offense, sir," the medic said, "But we've all got injuries and you might need a fucking transfusion when we get out of here."

"Plus," a Marine standing guard chimed in, "We're low on battery packs."

"Shit. Cole, I'm sorry. I'm all messed up. We bought some time at least. You'll have to finish this. You have to destroy Nexus. The entrance is that way," Gianni pointed at the barrier opposite the ramp. "I hate to do this but you guys can have all the glory on this mission. You guys should be able to..." Gianni looked around in puzzlement for a second. "Cole? Where's your partner?"

Derrick clenched a fist that suddenly crackled to violet life, "She's been captured. Solus took her to Nexus."

"Ahhh... Well, then you'd better go save her! Leave no man or woman behind enemy lines."

"That was the plan," Derrick stood close to Gianni, "There's a scientist named Stefania Wojinski. I left her at the bottom of the elevator with a transport 'chopper and its pilot. Tell her you're my friends and she won't shoot. Matybe."

Gianni grinned, "Is she as hot as your partner?"

Derrick grinned, "Yup, but definitely not as fuckable."

Gianni barked laughter, "Well, go get your partner, Cole. And destroy that sonofbitch Nexus!"

Derrick slapped Gianni's shoulder gently before jogging past his subordinates and into the series of airlocks leading to Nexus' central dome. After the first two, Derrick started sprinting in his anxiety that Solus might kill Alex before he got there. He opened the last barrier via the node and stepped onto the first of the hovering platforms. He jumped towards the island with all his might.

Light. Like a feather.

Derrick floated down gently in the center of the island and bolted for Alex's cage. She was still alive and confined just like before. Derrick quickly unlocked the cage and she fell into his arms once again.

"Derrick... run," she groaned and tears clouded Derrick's vision briefly.

"It's alright," Derrick reassured her as Solus' 'Beat was suddenly just there, "I made a promise and I'm going to keep it." Derrick handed her several ration bars, "Eat, I'll be right back."

Derrick stood and turned to Solus. He began divesting himself of weapons as Solus spoke.

"Leave the female. Baggage."

Derrick removed his flak vest and his T-shirt this time. He looked down and frowned at the faint purple-white whorls on his left pectoral. Derrick shrugged and went forward with his hands relaxed at his sides. Solus waited with that irritating little smirk that Derrick loathed.

Time to wipe it off.

Derrick swung a lazy left hook and Solus caught it. The island capped with gas-liquid and Solus sneered.

"Are you-!"

Before Solus could finish, Derrick had grabbed his arm and used it to swung Solus around into the nearest prong. The impact left striations in the chin and Solus lost his grip as he slid to the ground. Derrick dropped to one knee and planted that knee right into Solus' face. Half of Solus' head was deep in the crust of the island and Derrick went to both knee. He palmed Solus' head and neck, raised his right leg, and drove it forward into Solus' temple. There was a wet crack and Solus went into convulsions.

Derrick stood, took several steps back, and knelt on both knees. He placed both hands on his thighs and composed himself physically, mentally, and spiritually.

There can be no thought, came a voice unbidden. Only reaction and action. His will against yours. Now fight, Derrick! Fight!

Solus rose up in an electrical corona and regarded Derrick.

"Not surprised, human. Know you my actions?" Solus patted his chest and shook his head, "It matters not. We make this round quick."

Derrick rose to his feet with his arms at his sides. Solus charged himself with the corona of energy and was suddenly a blur. Derrick took one, quick, deep breath and suddenly Solus was in front of him going for a spinning back kick. Derrick spun around the kick and raised his arm. With a loud cry, he delivered a hammerfist to Solus' exposed hamstring. There was a burst of violet light and Solus dropped like a ton of bricks. Derrick looked at the twisted mess he had made of Solus' leg and could only find one adequate response.

Derrick grinned.

"A first. Solus knocked to ground," Solus stood and Derrick watched as his knee reknit itself.

Solus came at Derrick with a flying knee that made the human backpedal because of the explosiveness of the move. Solus landed and twisted to throw a spinning sidekick that Derrick fell backwards into a roll to avoid. Solus turned the sidekick into a rolling aerial kick as though he were a Tae Kwon Do master. Derrick came out of his roll into a back handspring that he continued. When Derrick hit the wall he simply kept going up the vertical surface until he lost all momentum. Once that happened he was amazed to discover he was nearly four meters up the prong. Solus cocked his head, bent his knees, and sprang towards Derrick. Derrick pushed off the prong and rose meters higher into the air. Solus kicked off the spot that Derrick had left with such force that he left a meter wide impact crater. Derrick twisted in mid-air and rolled over the thrust kick Solus had been aiming for. Derrick threw an elbow down but somehow Solus got him in a shoulder-and-elbow grapple.

The two combatants were hurtling towards the ground from ten meters above the island and Solus felt like he weighed a ton. At three meters, more or less, Derrick twisted his legs like a corkscrew and managed to switch position with Solus. When they hit the ground the entire island shook. Derrick was gathering himself to get off of Solus' limp carcass when a piston hit him in the lower back. He flipped up, the world spinning crazily, and across the island to hit a prong face-first. Derrick dug himself a comfortable little hole with the impact and, when combined with the flash of white as well as the pain, had him thinking that he had blacked out for a moment.

A hand grabbed his hair, "Your death was to be quick, human."

Solus pulled Derrick out of the depression and he hit the ground hard. Somehow, without even realizing how, Derrick spun on the ground to sweep Solus' legs forward. A clump of hair came loose but he ignored the new pain as it could barely compete with the throbbing in his face. Solus rolled forward and came up with his back to Derrick. When he turned there were two pulse-spheres in his hands. Derrick licked the blood from the corners of his mouth and grinned. Solus launched his left pulse-sphere and Derrick leaned his head to the side to let it harmlessly scream past him by centimeters. The next came toward his chest and a twist of the torso dodged that one.

"Is that all you've got," Derrick said, straightening and striding towards Solus, "Try again."

Solus fired two more pulse-spheres simultaneously this time. The first Derrick swayed around but the second, and Derrick had no idea what possessed him to even try something so stupid, he slapped into harmless motes of light.

"Try harder," Derrick egged Solus on as he stepped closer.

Solus lowered his arms and the pulse-sphere charge built for longer than normal. Derrick was three meters away when Solus raised his hands a steady fucking stream of pulse-sphere raced towards Derrick. Just like that Derrick was in overdrive and rolling beneath the barrage. Solus was still moving at half-speed and Derrick went for a rising uppercut. The blow snapped Solus' head back and he rose into the air. Derrick went with him and delivered a brutal forearm shot to Solus' temple. As Solus fell Derrick Focused and drove Solus into the ground with his boot.

Derrick's burst of superhuman speed ended and he slumped to one knee in exhaustion. Beside him, Solus stirred in the rubble of his small crater. Suddenly, in a shower of debris, Solus was free and pissed off. Derrick noted with satisfaction that Solus' chin was stained with whitish blood and it wasn't healing. Solus came at Derrick with a shoulder-tackle and caught Derrick as he was rising to his feet. They hurtled across the island and into the prong that Derrick had thrown Solus into. There was a titanic crack, Derrick couldn't tell if it was his back or the prong, and liquid warmth exploded from his mouth.

"Fuck you!" Derrick spat out with a considerable amount of blood and brought his left elbow down between Solus' shoulder blades.

Solus squeezed Derrick's waist, compressing his hips excruciatingly, and slammed Derrick into the prong. Derrick spread his legs to stead himself and speared his elbow into Solus' back with increasing ferocity. The violet traceries spread up his arm and brightened as he delivered strike after strike. His arm was a blur and left searing afterimages in its wake. Solus' knees buckled and Derrick pried his arms from around his waist. Solus straightened with blinding speed and slipped Derrick's chin with the back of his head. Stars burst before his eyes and even more blood flooded his mouth but he maintained his grip on Solus' arms. Derrick raised his left leg between them and thrust his boot into Solus' chest with all his remaining strength. Solus flipped backwards through the air and landed on his belly near the center of the island. Derrick turned to the prong and grinned at its destabilized base.

Derrick sprinted for the massive crater in the prong and gave it a running, spinning, reverse roundhouse kick. There was a flash of light and a ponderous groan from the prong. Derrick rolled away as the prong began to topple towards the center of the aisle. Solus had raised himself onto his hands and knees. He looked up at the sound of the cracking prong base before being crushed by its massive weight. Derrick spit out yet another clot of pale blood and rose to his feet. It felt like several of his ribs were broke and his face throbbed incessantly. Solus was buried under a ton of rubble so that made him feel better. He turned to look for Alex but the sound of rubble shifting brought him back to Solus' tomb.

Okay, maybe not a tomb.

Solus crawled from the rubble as though he were a pasty mole. Solus' skin, that was uncovered by T'lan chitin, was scratched and oozing blood but the tough sonofabitch rose unsteadily to his feet, stepped off the rubble, and dusted himself off. White blood streamed from his nose and one yet was nearly swollen shut but Solus put his hands up in a classic boxing stance as he came toward Derrick. Derrick took a deep breath, not a full one because of a sharp pain in his chest, and held his hands tight to his sides as he went forward. Bone-deep exhaustion, threatened to stop Derrick in his tracks but he kept going despite the knowledge that he couldn't risk using another T'langen power. It would kill him in his current state, he was certain of it.

Solus came at him with a left hook to the body. Derrick stepped back and then came forward with a jab to the face. Solus slipped underneath it and came up with an underhand jab to the abdomen. Derrick's feet left the ground for a moment and Solus threw a high kick. Derrick blocked it with both hands and lashed out with a reverse palm-slap to Solus' face. It was enough to stagger Solus so that Derrick could regain his wobbly footing. Solus leapt forward with a flying knee and Derrick leapt to meet him. Somehow Derrick got enough height to unleash a devastating thrust-kick that caught Solus flush in the nose. Solus' knee smashed into Derrick's hamstring as he flipped backwards from the hit and they both twirled through the air to hit the ground hard.

Derrick landed on his gut only a few meters from where Solus landed directly on his head. There was a sickening thud and blood started leaking from Solus' ears when he landed on his back. Solus head rolled so that his bright blue eyes were fixed on Derrick. Those eyes had lost eerie luminescence and suddenly Solus seemed much more human.

"Derrick..." even his voice had lost the artificial quality, "Remember... I am just... Nexus'... avatar."

Solus' eyes rolled white and the corona brightened to such intensity that Derrick had to squeeze his eyes shut. When he opened them Solus was gone.

I did it.

"Derrick?" Alex called from somewhere to his left.

"Here," Derrick said, slowly rousing himself up on his elbows.

Alex slid on her knees to his side and produced three ration bars. He ate them quickly and took several sips from his drinking straw. As soon as he put the flak jacket down Alex had her arms around his neck.

"I'm alive...," Alex whispered, her voice filled with wonder, "Why am I alive?"

Derrick pushed her back to look into her eyes, "I won't let you die. I made a promise. Remember?"

"Derrick, you..." Alex's voice hitched as she looked into his eyes, "You...! I was looking all over for you! We got split up on the way back, and now... I've finally found you."

Alex hugged Derrick gently, her head on his shoulder, and whispered, "Derrick, do you remember what you're here to do?"

"Well," Derrick chuckled, "The right thing to say would be that I came to destroy Nexus but that's really just secondary." Derrick pushed her back again, "I really came to save you."

Alex grinned, "I appreciate it, Derrick, believe me. But the world is at stake."

"I know. So, now that you're safe, I will destroy Nexus."

"That's right," Derrick rose to his feet and Alex followed, "As long as Nexus still exists, the world is screwed and our future belongs to the T'lan. From here on, history is in your hands. Don't let me down."

Derrick finished buckling his flak vest and took Alex's hands, "Our hands, partner."

Alex smiled, "Our hands. That lift should take us down."

Derrick turned to find that a wall of airlock energy barrier had close off the circular region in the center of the island.

"I'll go first," Derrick said, hopping a few time to get the feeling back in his legs.

Derrick entered the circular area and waited a few seconds. He turned back to Alex and gestured for her to join him. When Alex got within a meter of the barrier it shifted from blue-green to red. Alex hit it and let out a cry of outrage.

"I can't get through, Derrick!" Alex grimaced with frustration, "Until you come back, I'll look for a way up to the surface. So come back, okay? Promise?"

Derrick smiled and gave her a thumbs up, "Promise."

Derrick began to descend then and Alex pressed herself against the barrier.

"Thank you, Derrick! Thank you for saving me! See you soon!"

"I'll be back, Alex! I'm gonna want a kiss, too!"

"My pleasure, hotshot!"

Then Alex disappeared from view and Derrick was in another T'lan lift shaft.

Talk about incentive.