I do not own AW, but i do own all the OCs (and i must say, the OCs rock!)

Book 1: Hurricane of Turmoil

CHAP 1

Maverick rolled out of bed, careful not to wake Lash. He pulled on his red long sleeve and black leather vest with the broken buttons; and tightened his belt around his black jeans. He ran a hand thru his platinum hair. He left the tent, and walked to the mess hall. He stopped as some of the men looked at him and smirked. "What are you looking at soldier?" he asked the nearest one.

"Nothing sir, just wondering what you did last night in Commander Lash's tent."

"You wanna know what happened?"

"Are you serious, commander?"

"Sure!" he grabbed the soldier by the neck and knocked his feet out from under him. He put his trusty Uzi's barrel into the soldier's mouth and emptied his clip. The soldier's friends watched in horror, making a mental note to stay on the new CO's good side. The bullet-ridden body fell to the ground, bleeding everywhere.

"I know there's nothing like the smell of blood in the morning, baby." Lash appeared behind Maverick, "but did you have to kill him?" she pecked him on the cheek.

Maverick turned to face Lash, "he deserved it."

"Yes, but it's not like you to kill your own men before 9:30." She looked right into his deep blue eyes

"But its 9:29…" he grinned at her.

"You're hopeless… Besides, I have to check the newest Intel on the Silver Hurricane resistance cell" She smirked and turned to walk away.

He gave her a quick pinch as she walked out of the Mess. She turned and winked as she reached the door.

"Damn, sir. You are the luckiest man here." One of the other soldiers said from across the hall. A single bullet hit directly between his eyes.

"9:30!!"

CHAP 2

Maverick left the camp, and made sure nobody followed him. He walked about a mile off, until he was sure he was clear of the transmission monitoring from the base.

He pulled out a small radio, "Silver Command, come in, this is Raphael."

"This is Silver Command, Commander Jido here," Maverick's twin appeared on the small video screen. "So, Raphael, are you that new 'Maverick' CO for Black Hole?"

"Yeah, that's the name I'm using. Nothing important to report."

"Bullshit! We know all about you and that Lash character! Spill it bro!"

"Hey, watch it, I used an entire clip in a soldier who asked me the same question, and he was more polite…"

They both burst out laughing. "Alright, Raph…your orders are to report in with something important next time."

"Hey! Don't forget, Silver Hurricane is MY army, not yours. We will free the people of Black Hole from the evil hold of its commanders; even Lash if the need be…"

"Alright, I know that. I'm just messing with you. Good hunting." The feed cut.

"…even Lash if the need be…" the words he spoke echoed in his head; something about them stung, and it stung deep. "Am I… in love with her…" he thought.

"Commander Maverick! Come in!"

"Yes soldier, what is it?"

"General Hawke is calling all the CO's together. He says it's Priority One."

"10-4. I'll be there in about ten minutes. Over and out!"

He took off at a sprint.

CHAP 3

Maverick came flying into the camp. He jumped into the driver's seat of the jeep Lash was waiting in and floored it.

"You're late baby." Lash teased him.

"Sorry, just surveying the terrain."

"You mean going on a nature hike," she giggled

"Yeah, something like that."

"Oh, you…you dork!"

Maverick reached over and began to tickle her ribs, "dork am I?"

"Hey!" she talked between giggles, "NO FAIR! I can't tickle the driver!"

The drive continued like this for about half an hour. They did apply more of a professional façade as they approached the HQ. They stopped at the gate and checked in with the guard; who directed them to the meeting hall.

They walked in, everyone was already there. Hawke looked at them, "we expected you 20 minutes ago. Did the two of you stop enjoy the scenery or something?"

"Sorry sir!" they both said and snapped to attention in tandem.

"Very well, we'll speak later."

"Sir, isn't the Bolt Guard coming?" Maverick looked around, surprised that only Flak, Hawke, and Adder were the only others there. "I thought this meeting was for ALL COs."

"All of the important ones…" Adder said, "…so why is the new kid here?"

"Watch you mouth serpent!" Maverick glared, "or I'm gonna have fire roasted snake for dinner."

"Is that a challenge whelp?" Adder's eyes narrowed and he walked right up to Maverick.

"Do you wanna test it?" Maverick began to reach for his Uzi he kept hidden under his vest.

"THAT'S ENOUGH!" Hawke slammed his fist on the table. "Or I will be forced to separate you physically!"

Maverick and Adder continued glaring at each other, but moved back to their spots on opposite sides of the table.

"Now everyone be seated." Hawke began, "now, as we all know, the Silver Hurricane is a resistance cell formed within our own capitol. They claim to have three COs but, so far only two of them have taken to the battlefield. The third is known to be the founder, and overall commander of the whole resistance. All the info we have on these guys are in the folders in front of you. The names are, in order of command: Raphael, his brother Jido, and Beki."

At the mention of the last CO, Lash flinched. Maverick knew that Beki was Lash's older sister who had been disowned. Beki never went deeper into the reasons of said outcasting, and Maverick never would give himself away to Lash by mentioning the sister she 'never had'.

"We have a clear picture of the military power of the resistance. And it is a serious threat, if only because of the way these freedom fighters can infect those around them with hopes and dreams of a 'brighter future'."

Maverick knew that the soldiers in the resistance were better trained than even Kanbei's men. He knew that Beki and Jido could handle any attack. The one worry he had, was would he be ordered to fight them.

"Flak and Adder, I want you to handle the defensive, we have Intel that they are going to attack soon," Hawke ordered

Maverick checked his watch, 10:45. "In fifteen minutes, actually," he thought to himself.

"Lash and Maverick, you two are on offense. Flush those Silver bastards out of their holes, and run them down. Dismissed!"

Everyone saluted, Adder and Flak left. "You wanted to speak with us sir?" Lash asked

"Yes, I've heard some rumors that your relationship has gone beyond what our regulations allow."

"Sir with all do respect, the regulations state that 'a soldier and their commanding officer are not allow to engage in any relationships, physical or otherwise'." Maverick perfectly quoted the rulebook. "Lash is no longer my CO. She is my superior officer, but not my commander."

"I see your point, but it also states that public displays of affection are forbidden, at least for COs. It is to ensure that the men keep a level of respect that you are their gods, love is a mortal sentiment."

"Sir, the men know we aren't gods, or in my case a goddess. But you have a valid point. If we don't flirt in front of the soldiers, our relationship is within the bounds of regulations, correct?"

"Yes Lash, you are correct."

"Was there anything else sir?"

"No, Maverick, you two are free to go. Good hunting."

"Thank you sir!" they both saluted Hawke and left.

CHAP 4

"You know Lash, that part about not flirting in front of the men," Maverick pointed out as they left HQ. "is gonna be a lot harder than it sounds."

"Oh, babe, you worry too much." Lash giggled, "think of it as a game."

"Sweetie, that may be your M O in every situation, but I'm not like that."

"I know babe, you're too uptight sometimes. You gotta loosen up, maybe some battle will…"

She was interrupted as the soldier on the other end of the radio yelled at them. It took a second before he talked slow enough to understand, "we're under attack by the Silver rebels! They came out of nowhere! They've already taken half the camp!"

The engine roared as Maverick floored the pedal. "I knew I would have to fight them as soon as I took this job," he thought. "And if I hold back, SHE will figure it out so fast I won't have time to think of an explanation. Sorry, Jido, Beki… we knew we'd have to fight… I hope you're ready for me."

There was smoke clearly visible a few miles down the road, the camp was on fire. They came up fast on the camp, and went straight thru to the side where the fight was. Maverick saw a troop of men in Silver Hurricane uniforms, and aimed straight for them. "Forgive me," he thought as the jeep plowed them down.

He grabbed his Uzi and jumped out; Lash followed suit and pulled out two Lugers from under her jacket. They ran up to a soldier, "where is the CP?" Lash yelled.

The man pointed at a tent about 200 yards away. And he turned back to face the oncoming enemy.

The two of them ran to the tent. "REPORT!" they both yelled at the same time.

A soldier had a map laid out on the table, "here's the known locations of the enemies." He circled them and labeled them according to units. "And here are our units." Circled and labeled those.

Maverick started, "well we obviously need to regroup and consolidate our fighting forces."

Lash continued, "Then we need to figure out where the main enemy force is."

Maverick, "then we need to inflict enough damage to have them hold back until we can get reinforcements."

"Hold back!? Don't you want to crush them?"

Maverick realized what had just happened and thought on his toes, "well, we don't want to lose too many units, and then they could kill us all."

"Hmmm…" Lash seemed to have trouble with the idea that Maverick was concerned for his men.

He realized what she was thinking, "it's not about the men, or even the honor of this army. I just don't want US to die."

Lash's face turned normal again, in fact she was smiling, "but, we do still get to kill people right?"

"You got it!" Maverick feigned excitement.

"Units regrouping Sirs!"

They both looked down at the map and studied the area. "Here!" they both pointed at a gully about a mile away.

"Put the tanks here." Lash marked a spot in the woods near the gully.

"And the artillery here," Maverick pointed at a ridge on the far side of the gully.

"NO! Put them here!" Lash stabbed the map with her pen.

"Why there? I see no strategic value there?"

"It makes more sense than where you want them!"

"No, if they are on that ridge, it serves 2 purposes; it draws attention away from the woods, and cuts off their supply line.

"Yeah, but leaves them totally open to attack."

"I thought you were our best strategist! DUH! That's the point! The enemy moves to attack them and the tanks run thru the weaker units and we pincer attack the stronger units sent to attack the artillery!"

"YOU ARE SO IGNORANT! YOU FREAKING IDIOT! I CAN'T BELIEVE I PUT YOU UP FOR COMMAND!"

"Um, Sirs?"

"WHAT!" they both looked like they were going to suck his veins dry if he said anything wrong.

"I honestly think that Maverick has a point."

"Oh! You're fucking dead!"

Lash moved to pistol whip him, but Maverick caught her in his arms and held her back. "I think you should leave, soldier. That goes for all of you, this could get violent. Wait outside."

"Yessir!" the soldiers ran out of the tent.

The two of them were alone, and Lash was flaming pissed. "Lash! Hey sweetie! HEY! LOOK AT ME!" he slapped her to bring her back to reality.

She gazed up at him, half ashamed, half angered. "Why did you have to show me up in front of the men like that?"

"I'm sorry sweetie, but I don't want to lose you. I want what's best for us. And the ridge is a better choice than in the middle of a field."

She kicked him in the shin but then just hugged him. She regained her composure and stepped to the opposite side of the map table. "You men can come back in!" she yelled.

They carried out the battle plan as Maverick had suggested, and the Silver rebels halted their advance when five of their MBTs were destroyed, and their mechanized infantry decimated. Later in the evening Flak's men began to arrive to help, and the Silver Hurricane forces were driven off.

CHAP 5

Despite the victory, Lash didn't talk to Maverick for the rest of the night; or the next day for that matter. She was in a depression that came out of nowhere, they had outwitted an enemy, and she would normally do something special, like steak and egg breakfast for the men; instead, she would just slump around the camp and barely eat.

Maverick got almost no sleep having to cover for her. His stress level made it a danger for a soldier to be within a grenade's throw of him, and he had a very good throwing arm. Every time he tried to talk to Lash, he got something thrown at him; with painful accuracy as he found out courtesy of a flying lamp.

Hawke was due to arrive in a week for a troop inspection. Everyone in the camp was aware of the mounting stress, especially Maverick. He knew that he had to get Lash back on her feet before then. He didn't want to think about what would happen if he didn't. There was no time to let her steam this one out; he knew what he had to do.

Maverick went to Lash's tent, and announced his presence. She yelled, "go away!" and something impacted the heavy canvas flap acting as a door. Maverick took a deep breath and walked in.

The tent was in an appalling condition, clothing everywhere, books and papers randomly scattered. Maverick quickly ducked his head to dodge a flying desk chair. And he brought his hand up to catch Lash's fist. He forced her back until she tripped over her bed. He held her down until she stopped struggling and relaxed. "So, what's this cop out about sweetie? I'm really worried, and believe it or not, so are the men."

Lash mumbled a string of barely audible words, and out of them "Beki" was the only one that Maverick could decipher. He had to tread very carefully here. He could not let Lash know he knew anything about Beki. "Beki... are you talking about the girl Silver Rebel CO?"

"Yes…" Lash was still barely talking out loud

"What about her? If it was her behind the attack… well, it's not the first time you nearly lost a battle."

Wrong way to say that… Maverick felt like a railroad spike was driven into his skull as Lash gave him a brutal headbutt. He felt a small amount of blood trickle down his face, and he knew his skull was cracked at the very least; but he always finishes what he starts. He had a harder time connecting words for a moment, but soon recovered.

"Okay, I didn't mean it like that… it's just, you're a CO in the most powerful army in the entirety of the planet, it took all the Allied Nations just to drive you out of their borders, and they've barely scrapped it out each time. So why does one near loss put you into a rut?"

Lash put her hand to Maverick's wound, and he winced away. She wrapped her arms around him. "She my sister!" she just screamed it out. Maverick noticed that it seemed like the whole camp went completely silent, including the wind which had until recently been whistling thru the trees. "Beki is my older sister. She betrayed the family when I was young. She killed my father who had been a great general in the Black Hole Army… because he oppressed the people of other countries, merely because they were in the way… because he issued a scorched earth policy every time a battle seemed out of his men's favor. He would demoralize the enemy by making them watch their homes burn; and even if it would give them the fighting spirit they would usually become reckless in their vengeance. I tried to use that tactic, but it always backfired."

"Your sister? Wait rewind, you are the younger daughter of the legendary General Sin Vice!?"

"Yes, but now you see why I never talk about my family."

"What about your mother?"

"I… I… I don't wanna talk about her." Lash was sobbing at this point.

"It's okay, sweetie… it's okay… I'm here for you…'

"Maverick! I love you! Don't betray me like my sister did!"

He held her close… "But, I've betrayed her from the start…" that thought ripped thru his mind over and over. "I'll never betray you," he told her; and added in his mind "again." And with that promise, he felt Raphael Silver die, and Maverick Brande become his true identity.

CHAP 6

Silver Command had been expecting a contact from Raphael for at least three hours and were beginning to wonder if he may have been killed in the attack. They were beginning to panic when finally, "Silver Command Come in!"

"Raphael! Thank God!" Beki answered, "So what's the news?"

"You killed your father didn't you?" Maverick was aiming to hurt.

The shot connected, "You bastard! How dare you talk about me like that… wait, did Lash?"

"Yes Beki Vice! Lash told me everything!"

"I… You… Lash… WHAT THE FUCK!"

"Oh and by the way, my name is Maverick Brande. Raphael Silver died shortly after I heard about your father."

"WAIT A MINUTE BRO!" Jido came out from further back in the room. "You are throwing away you're entire ideology because Beki erased an atrocity from the Tome of Time? That's not like you Raph!"

"That's a very good point Jido Silver! Your brother Raphael is not like that. But I am a completely different person. You can count Raphael as a battle fatality. Because I know what happens to a rebellion when the founder is a turncoat... on second thought, I just figured out how to end this pointless war; tell the rebellion, then less of you will die. I already know all of your hideouts, caches, and spies inside the army… I'll start with them, if you don't believe me, wait about a week." The transmission cut…

"Raphael! RAPHAEL! Come in! Please tell me you were kidding! WHO THE FUCK GAVE YOU PERMISSION TO TALK ABOUT MY FAMILY! WHY NOT TELL THEM ABOUT MY MOTHER TOO! RAPHAEL!!"

"Beki, he's gone." Jido was holding back tears. "He's Maverick Brande now. He's… he's our sworn enemy."

"HOW! How can you give up on him like that!" Beki was sobbing. "He must have been discovered, they, they forced him to do it! That must be it! They brainwashed him!"

"No, Beki, you know that twins can practically read each other's mind merely by looking in the other's eyes… he's gone."

"He was my fucking hero! YOU TRAITOR!!"

CHAP 7

Hawke announced he'd come almost three hours early, but Lash knew that he would, and the hardest part was trying to get Maverick out of bed before 7:45; and that was a chore. He used the excuse of his head hurting; likely true with a spider-crack break in his forehead, from Lash's headbutt. But she literally rolled him out of their bed as they now shared the tent, among other things.

After he was thoroughly awake, showered and dressed; she eased up on him since she expected another half hour before Hawke's arrival. He grumbled thru breakfast and told the cook to start brewing the 'good' coffee as he left the mess.

The two CO's and their sub commanders all stood at full attention as Hawke's jeep rolled into the camp. The usual greetings and what-not took place and they escorted the general into the mess hall which had in the past three minutes been military cleaned and transformed from a real-mess-of-a-mess-hall into an officers' luncheon room; with the soldiers filed into ranks and standing at full attention flagmen at either side of the formation.

Hawke moved straight to the flagman on the left. He grabbed the flagpole and raised the tip about half an inch. "Keep your nation's flag just barely above the CO's personal flag, not equal. Common mistake, but important."

"Yessir! Thank you general!"

Hawke turned and smiled at Lash, because she was the senior officer, these were her men, even those under Maverick's command. A small fact that made Maverick's blood boil; especially since that flagman was one of his. He also noticed the flagman holding his flag move to lower his flag; Maverick shot a venomous look and slowly shook his head.

Hawke watched this little wordless conversation with amusement. "Yes soldier, the flags should always be at heights according to chain of command."

The soldier nodded to Hawke and lowered the flag just slightly. He looked at Maverick, and knew from the look in his CO's eyes, that he would be eating his last meal while Hawke was still on base. And it would be a long and painful death.

Maverick's forehead kept throbbing, "I must have bumped it last night" he thought. He kept a straight face and even found a joke or two during the lunch. But it seemed to be getting worse.

Hawke and Lash both noticed he was in discomfort, but neither of them mentioned anything. They figured if he wanted to make a deal out of his pain, he would. They made their reports of the battle, both leaving out their little conflict. Hawke knew about this fight and Lash's behavior afterwards, from the paper reports made by Maverick and Lash's senior officers. He thought it was cute that they both would cover for her; cute but irritating.

After lunch, they walked around the camp and talked about the progress. Thirty spies were found and publicly executed, raids on hidden Silver bases, and the unveiling of several hidden weapon caches. Though he was pestered about it, Maverick would not reveal his source, all he'd say is he had an inside man, who was recently compromised, so he's laying low.

Maverick's forehead started pounding. It took him until now to realize he had forgotten to take the painkillers the doctor had prescribed. Lash could read his face, and realized that he missed his meds when she was rushing him to get ready in the morning. She felt guilty but hid it rather well.
Hawke noticed the subtle changes in the demeanors of his underlings. "Is something wrong? You seem a little distant Maverick."

"No it's nothing sir." He knew if Hawke found out about his broken forehead, the matter would become an outward issue; Maverick is a horrible liar about these sorts of things.

"No really, you look like you're in pain. Are you sure you are alright?"

"Does he know?" Lash thought nervously.

"I'm fine sir, I just stubbed my toe."

"Well if that's all. Shall we continue?"

"I don't see why not." Lash quickly changed the subject back to the evaluation.

It was another hour before Hawke decided he had seen enough of the camp; or more directly, toying with the tension of the COs. He loved to play with peoples' emotions and being in a military situation, it was rather unusual to have an opportunity such as these two had given him. He wondered if he could get them to snap, but he decided not to risk it because whether he caused Maverick or Lash to trip out, Maverick was likely to get violent. He knew that the bond between the two was very strong, even if the general in him disapproved; he looked upon these two almost like children, and he didn't want either of them to suffer distress at his hand. Hawke laughed at his own sentiments.

Lash and Maverick just kinda looked at each other and shrugged. They followed Hawke to his jeep and watched as he drove off. "He's certainly a bizarre one isn't he sweetie?" Maverick turned with a smile.

Lash could read the extreme pain all over his face. "Yeah babe, he is bizarre. But you should take those painkillers now. I don't wanna see you in any more pain."

Maverick wrapped his arms around her and pulled her close.

"Hey, not in front of the men!" she whispered sharply.

Maverick pecked her on the lips and walked off to their tent. Lash giggled and then followed after him.

CHAP 8

The shells were falling about a half-mile away, and you could hear the cries of the dying men. "Lash! We need to withdraw!"

"NO! I'm not going to lose against that Bitch of a sister!" the look in Lash's eyes scared Maverick.

The next shell hit just outside the CP, tearing the heavy canvas to shreds with the debris and shrapnel and the shock blowing everything around. Slightly dazed, Maverick stumbled up to his feet. He looked around; Lash's XO was on the ground behind him, dead. He saw Lash, the table had flipped and landed on her. He ran over and threw the table aside. Her left femur was sticking out of her leg, and a gash on her forehead; he checked her vitals.

"Thank god she's only unconscious." Maverick sighed. He heard footsteps, turning he drew his Uzi. The medic arrived with Maverick's XO.

The medic moved to check Lash's senior officer; "dead, I already checked him." Maverick said before the man had taken a second step. "Lash is beat up pretty bad."

"Let me take her," the medic set her on the most even ground he could find. The medic's face darkened as he checked her, "Maverick, Sir, I advise you to leave the tent now."

"I won't leave her!"

The medic turned and pointed a scalpel at him, "yes, you will… I'm using my medical status to give you an order."

Maverick's face went pale, and then crimson, but he said nothing. He ran from the tent, his XO followed. "Sir! Sir!"

"What is it Riley?"

"What are your orders?"

It just hit him that he was now the ranking officer. "Riley, give me your radio."

The senior officer handed it over.

"This is Maverick! Fall back! Repeat! ALL UNITS FALL BACK!"

"Sir are you certain?"

"Yes Riley, there's nothing we can do about that new type of artillery except get out of range."

"But what if they come after us?"

"From what we've seen, the weapon needs to be disassembled before it can be moved. We can have plenty of warning before they can fire again… besides, I've got a plan."

Later that night, after it got dark, Maverick went to check on Lash, who still hadn't woken up. The camp surgeon told him that she had internal bleeding, but that was under control. After he was sure that she wasn't going die while he was gone, Maverick gave her a kiss on the forehead and left.

He met with Riley and two members of the Covert Ops Elites known as Unit Firestorm. "Alright, everyone's here. Do I need to go over the plan again?"

Everyone shook their head.

"Good, move out."

They ran silently out of the camp, and into the night.

After running for about an hour, they got to the top of a hill about a mile from the enemy CP, and stopped.

Riley put down his pack, and opened it, revealing a disassembled Sniper rifle. He began to put the pieces together at an amazing pace.

"Alright, synchronize watches to 23:00… 3, 2, 1, now." Maverick told them. "Alright at 23:12 and thirteen seconds, Riley will show us why he got the nickname 'silent lightning'. We have to be down there and on the inside of the fences by then. The plan is for you two to sabotage the new weapons and recon anything you can. I'll go for their CO. We have at the very most until 23:15 before they notice the guards didn't report in. you guys have a vehicle ready by then. Move out!"

They reached the fence with five minutes to spare. They had to be careful because of the patrolling guards. They got the fence cut, and barely got through as it hit 23:11. Now they would wait one minute. They pulled out their field knifes. As soon as it was time, they split up.

Riley's main job was to cover Maverick as he moved towards the CO's tent. So if anyone was coming out of their tent for any reason, Riley was to give them a nice clean hole between the eyes.

Maverick ran swiftly and silently between the tents. He knew exactly how these camps were set up, so he moved straight for the CO's tent. He got there and took a deep breath and moved silently through the canvas-flap doors.

"Is someone there?" it was Beki's voice.

He moved silently behind her, he was going to enjoy this. He followed her over to her desk lamp. She reached for the lamp, and he reached for the chloroform soaked cloth he had. The light clicked on, and her head snapped around to find Maverick's face not a few inches from hers. She went to scream, but the cloth covered her mouth as she inhaled. She was out before she finished breathing.

Maverick smiled, he always liked scaring people, but usually in a fun way. He hoisted Beki onto his back, and tied her arms and legs so she wouldn't bounce around as he ran. He poked his head out of the door to make sure nobody was there. A guard was making his way thru and spotted him. Before the guard could react, his brains lightly splattered the tent behind him, courtesy of a .50 caliber sniper round.

Maverick heard a commotion over where they cut the fence, so he ran full-tilt for the motor pool. He saw the two Unit Firestorm guys in a jeep down the way. He ran straight for the jeep and jumped in. he struggled to untie Beki from him. He threw her into the seat next to him.

They tore out of the base and off into the dark hills. The only stop they made was to pick up Riley. Then they drove off back to base, with a prized prisoner.

CHAP 9

"Wake up Beki," a familiar voice from the past hit the ears of the semiconscious woman.

"What… where?"

"Beki of Silver Hurricane, you are now a prisoner of my lovely lady. And wouldn't you know it, its Lash's birthday." Maverick jibed

"Yes babe and she's the perfect gift. Thank you."

"Lash… Lash? My sister?" Beki was still hazy

"Yes, big sister, it's been a long time."

"Why don't you explain what's about to happen."

Beki began to come around. She began to try to get up, and soon realized she was strapped to a table. She looked around and saw that there were wires sticking out of various places in her body. "What's going on?"

"Well, sister, my boyfriend here is a master of torture. He has recently, with my help, found all of the points of the body most sensitive to pain, as well as the parts of the brain that are responsible for all negative emotions. As you noticed, you have wires in your body; you also have many sticking into parts of your head. When I turn this dial, all the wires will stimulate the pain points as well as the emotion centers."

"Essentially, you will tell us anything to make it stop. No matter what training you received against torture, they never imagined this. Would you like to turn it on?"

Lash turned it on to the first level. A quiet hum filled the air. A second later, Beki began to twitch. "Feel like talking?" Lash asked, knowing the answer.

"Is that the best you got?" Beki said thru gritted teeth.

Lash giggled, "Oh goodie, more fun!" she turned the dial to the second setting.

A small yelp escaped Beki's mouth. Lash turned it up to the third setting, and Beki began to whimper. Lash's giggling stopped, and something in her eyes changed.

Lash cranked it straight to the fifth setting. Beki broke into a full scream. All of a sudden, the machine cut out. And Lash moved to release the restraints from her now unconscious sister.

"Lash? What are you doing?"

"Despite how much I hate her… I can't stand this being done to my sister, regardless who does it, or why it's done. She's my big sister."

"But she killed your father."

"That's why I cranked it at the end. But even that just made it worse."

"I see… so you're going to let her go?"

Lash began pulling out all the wires, "I guess so, it's the only way to repay her for this."

"I don't think General Hawke will agree. But, I support whatever you decide. Especially since it's your birthday."

Lash gave a half chuckle. And she turned to a soldier nearby, "bring me a jeep."

"But…"

"Just do it," Maverick seconded the order.

The jeep pulled up moments later and Maverick helped Lash put Beki in the back seat. "Are you sure about this?"

"No. but I must do it anyways."

"Alright. I believe in you. I'll be waiting."

Lash smiled at Maverick and started the jeep. She drove off into the sunset.

"Women, I guess I'll never understand them."

CHAP 10

"Advance the tanks another two kilometers east!" Lash ordered, "Where the hell is Maverick?"

"He went out with his XO and those Firestorm guys again!" a soldier replied.

"Again?" Lash sighed, "It would be nice if he told me these things once in a while."

Maverick and his squad moved silently thru the forest. There was a large detachment of enemy MBTs nearby and they were going to take them out. Riley put up a hand, a few seconds later he pointed. There was the enemy formation, slowly plodding thru the forest, thinking that nobody had noticed they were even on the battlefield.

They set down their heavy equipment, and made sure they had their field knives in one hand and they had two grenades each. Maverick nodded and they took off towards the back of the formation.

They each got onto the back of a different tank. They looked at each other, and simultaneously four tank hatches opened, four grenades dropped, and the hatches were held closed again. As soon as the grenades went off, they disappeared into the forest.

The tank formation stopped and a few of the operators left the tank; they were all shot in the legs as they got out. This left the remaining tank operators in a state of disarray, debating whether or not to help their friends who were obviously bait. They decided to use the tanks to form a protective barrier around the injured men.

As soon as the hatches opened, the RPGs were fired from above the tanks; Maverick and Riley fired them from the tree branches. They leapt down with their field knives in hand and finished off the rest of the operators. They wiped the blood from their faces and turned to the Firestorm'ers; "Willie peters?" Maverick asked with a smile.

They left the tanks smoking and covered in WP. They ran into one of their infantry squadrons along the way. The battle was won and Maverick was in a good mood; Lash was another story entirely.

CHAP 11

Lash was livid; and Maverick had no warning. He walked into the CP and first thing he knew, he was on the floor with a burning slap-mark on his cheek.

"Where the hell have you been?" she was standing over him with her hands on her hips and a look that would send the devil running.

Maverick was still reeling from the smack and couldn't think of anything to say.

"I'll ask only one more time; where?"

"Riley, the Firestorm guys and I just won us the battle."

Lash started to tap her foot, showing that she was about to tear his head off.

"We went into the forest over the eastern hill. There were MBTs coming thru there. We blew them to hell."

Lash seemed to get angrier, if it were possible. She began to stutter as she spoke. "And you decided to go and play with your life without even a word to me! What if you had died! Besides, as your superior I have to know where you are at all times!"

"Do you really have to bring up that 'superior' bullshit?"

Lash knocked him back down as he was standing up. "DON'T YOU TALK TO ME LIKE THAT!"

Once again, Maverick was at a loss for words.

"I'm sitting here, scared out of my wits because I don't know where you are! How the hell am I supposed to command well when I'm stuck with an emotional problem like that?" Lash began to cry.

"Lash… sweetie… I…" Maverick had no clue what to say. He was genuinely knocked for a loop that Lash would act like this.

"SAY SOMETHING DAMMIT!"

"Sweetie… I am so sorry that I worried you like that. I will let you know the next time I get a crazy idea like that."

"Is that all you have to say?"

"What more is there to say?"

The absolute rage returned to her eyes and she gave him a full-force round kick to the chest. Maverick laid on the ground, dazed and gasping for breath, as Lash ran out of the CP sobbing.

CHAP 12

After the fiasco in the CP following the last battle, the doctor declared the new bone fusing surgery he had used on Lash's compound fracture a mere two weeks before as a complete success beyond his expectations. The ability to round kick someone was proof enough that Commander Lash's leg was healed. The same procedure was used on Maverick's 6 broken ribs from said kick.

Maverick trudged thru the camp, refusing to speak to Lash, who was in another depression. He would leave any room that she was in, and he would roll in their bed so that he would face the wall whenever she came in their tent, if he was even there to begin with.

The camp was a disaster as far as morale went; especially since the fatality rate of Maverick's "stress venting" was in the forties at the moment. But both COs were in a horrible rut. Riley was taking over the duties of Maverick, and some of Lash's, because her new XO was really green at the officer bit.

Lash went to Riley because she needed to get a hold of Maverick for something. She whispered something in the XO's ear. Riley stepped back and eyed her up. He then ran full-tilt to find his CO.

It took Riley twenty minutes to find Maverick, in the bar.

"Um, sir I don't think you can legally drink yet."

"The old bartender said the same thing to me."

"I'm almost afraid to ask, what happened to him?"

"What do you think?" Maverick stroked his Uzi sitting on the table.

"I had a hunch that was it."

"What do you want Riley, it's not like you to just come to chew the fat."

"Commander Lash has something important to tell you."

"Oh, so she's talking now?"

"Yes sir," Riley could tell something in Maverick's tone of voice wasn't right.

"Good for her…" he seemed to be thinking about something.

"Sir, she wishes to speak with you."

"Well I don't want to talk to her. She meant to hurt me this time, so I really don't wanna see that bitch."

"Sir, this may be something you want to hear."

"Oh, so now she tells you things before she talks to me?"

"Somehow I knew you would misconstrue the situation. Trust me, as a friend, Maverick talk to her. Now."

"That sounded like an order Riley."

"In all honesty, if I need to knock you out and strap you down to hear what she has to say, I will."

"Riley, that was either genuine kindness or pure evil… I'm not sure which, but it intrigues me, I'll see her. But if you're wrong about it, I'll need a new XO."

"Sir, I have no fear of you killing me after you hear this."

CHAP 13

Maverick knew exactly where to find Lash; he walked over to their tent. She was sitting on the bed. She had an apologetic smile on her face. She stood up and moved to hug him.

Maverick stepped away and pushed her back, "Riley said you had something important to tell me."

Lash looked like she had just been stabbed, "yes… I wanted to tell you something… about us."

"'Us'? In case you haven't noticed, at the moment there is no 'us', no 'you and me', nothing like that."

"Why do you have to be so cruel?"

"Why did you have to kick me? All I did was win a battle without your permission as my superior officer."

"Stop that! You're dwelling on an act caused by a lot of stress!"

"Is that an order?"

The voice Maverick used was so dark and cold it caused Lash to burst into tears.

"I think that we're done here." Maverick turned on his heel to walk out.

"I guess that proves what kind of father you are!" Lash screamed.

Maverick froze, and the entire camp was silent. "Father I am?" he turned slowly.

Lash saw the rage and darkness were gone from his eyes, and in their place she saw confusion and then, realization.

"Wait a minute! You mean?"

Lash just nodded.

Maverick's eyes softened and he looked at Lash once again with love in his eyes.

Lash merely smiled back at him.

"I'm still angry at you, but I think I may be able to forgive you now." Maverick hugged Lash tightly.

"I love you too babe."

CHAP 14

The next day the entire camp knew; but it seemed that nobody knew how to react. The soldiers seemed on edge, especially around Maverick; Maverick had shot soldiers for complementing him before, so they kinda left him to himself.

Lash however, wouldn't leave his side. He didn't mind that, but he did mind the fact that every soldier would be watching them as they'd go by.

He knew that it would be a very bad day when Hawke found out. He knew that Hawke disapproved of their relationship, and would like a reason to separate them. Something in Maverick told him that the pregnancy would cause huge trouble in some way. Little did he know what exactly that would entail.

Riley ran up to Maverick, a bit of panic in his eyes. "SIR! It's Commander Lash!"

Maverick followed Riley to the mess hall. And Lash was standing in the corner, pointing one of her Lugers at her head and one at the soldiers trying to approach her. She shot them if they came within two strides of her.

"LASH WHAT THE HELL?" Maverick shouted over all the noise. The room went silent and everyone froze, it seemed like hours before anyone had the courage to turn and look at him.

"I CAN'T DO IT! I'LL NEVER BE LIKE HER!" Lash screamed, tears cascading down her face.

"Like who?"

"I CAN'T DO THAT TO MY BABY!"

"Lash, you're not making sense! …DO WHAT TO OUR BABY?"

"I WON'T!"

Maverick moved across the entire room in the span of two seconds. A shot rang out, the echo continued. Maverick just stood there. A few seconds later, the smell of blood had permeated every inch of the room.

Lash fell to the ground, a bullet hole in her wrist. Maverick put the .22 back on his hip. He walked over and kicked her Lugers away. He knelt next to her and cradled her to his chest.

"I can't… I can't… I can't…"

"Lash… shhh…its okay… I'm here…"

"I'll never be like my mother…"

"What do you mean…?"

"I'll never try to kill my baby…"

CHAP 15

"So how bad is she?" Maverick was standing on the other side of the curtain from Lash's hospital bed.

"She lost a lot of blood… she'll pull through, but it's too early to tell everything that the bullet did. We do however know that she will never use that hand again; the bullet severed the tendon." The doctor looked at the chart.

"How about…"

"The baby?" it was obvious the doctor was expecting that question. "At the moment, the baby seems fine."

"At the moment?"

"Well, like I said, she lost a lot of blood. So it's possible that the baby…"

"What is your best guess?"

"I don't guess…" the doctor heard the safety on Maverick's .22 click. "But if I would have to…" he studied the charts closely, "they'll both be fine by the end of the weekend."

Maverick sat down in a chair and took off his vest and the chest holster with his Uzi. He leaned over and put his forehead in his hands. Sighing heavily, he leaned back in the chair and looked up at the ceiling.

After about a minute, he walked thru the curtain. Lash looked so peaceful in her anesthesia-induced sleep. Stopping to think; he walked back out and came back pulling the chair behind him. He sat down again and watched her sleep. He gingerly laid his head down on her chest, listening to her heart.

He placed a hand on her stomach and felt sadness slowly burn its way thru him. It was a strange sadness, unlike any he'd felt before. It came from his core, but it felt like it radiated from Lash as well. After several minutes, he began to see signs that she was waking up. "Lash?"

A tear rolled down her cheek, it was followed by another. "Maverick?"

"Shhh… I'm here… it's alright."

More tears came to her eyes, but she still wouldn't open them. "Forgive me."

"Don't worry about it."

She put her good hand over Maverick's and finally opened her eyes, the obvious question burning within them.

Maverick smiled weakly, "don't worry, just fine."

Lash smiled and faded back to sleep.

Maverick heard the last voice he wanted to hear outside the door… his mind screamed "General Hawke! Oh Shit!"

The door opened and Maverick could see the Generals silhouette through the curtain. "Well, well… this is a surprise…"

CHAP 16

"How did I know something like this would happen?" Hawke was obscenely cocky the way he said that.

"Get out, you aren't welcome here if you are gonna be like that." Maverick knew that Hawke could kill him as easily as he could kill the general. But that didn't dull his protective instincts as a lover, or a father.

Hawke chuckled as the young man moved between his general and his unconscious love. "Boy, you know that in this country, I am law. I'm not there to hurt you or Lash."

"You left out something very important!" Maverick clicked the safety on his .22.

"No, I didn't. The child has no place in the current situation. She is a high-ranking officer in the middle of a war. She cannot be pregnant at a time like this."

"Yes, she can… and she WILL." In a single motion, he chambered a round and brought his gun to the General's face.

"Maverick, this is why I disapproved of your relationship in the first place. I knew you would put her before your duties. Look, this war is almost over, you can have another child after that." He moved to push the gun away from his face, but Maverick didn't budge it.

"You can't always have your way General. Now, back down or I fire."

"No, Maverick, this is your last chance; Stand down or face the repercussions."

"Well, general, it seems we are at an impasse… goodbye."

"Maverick…" Lash weakly grabbed his free hand. "Don't, its ok…"

"THE HELL IT IS! I've known people that have tried their whole lives to get pregnant, and it never happened. We may never have another shot at this."

"Babe, if you don't back down, we will NEVER have another chance."

Maverick knew that, but he couldn't stand the thought of losing a child, even if it wasn't even born yet. He pulled back the slide and pulled the trigger, uncocking his weapon. "General, I won't shoot you, but you know you're on my Shit-list."

"Oh… scary." Hawke chuckled.

Maverick had it; he did a full wind-up, and unleashed a devastating Double Spinning Crescent Kick, striking the General's right jaw with both feet in turn. "No repercussions, you had that coming…SIR." He put so much emphasis on the last word that he bowed before the currently floored commander.

CHAP 17

Maverick wasn't technically punished, but he received a serious talking to from Hawke. He visited Lash afterwards, and she was once again depressed because she just got finished with the abortion procedure. But unlike the other depressions, she was more than willing to talk to Maverick.

"I feel empty now, I know I was only about 2 months along, but I could feel the life inside me…" She stopped talking and started sobbing.

Maverick pulled her to him and cradled her. He was screaming in anguish on the inside, but he was trying to act strong for her. He couldn't help but feel he failed the God-given duty of protecting his own child. "Shhh… it's like he said… we can try again after all of this is over."

Lash nodded against his arm but kept crying. She fell asleep crying after a few minutes.

The next morning, they left for their camp. The drive there was silent but for the sounds of the engines. They pulled up to the camp and saw that Riley was there waiting, and oddly enough he wasn't happy.

"Riley, good to see a friendly face… what's wrong?" Maverick hopped out of the driver's seat.

Riley held out a small sheet of paper, "orders have just come in sir… we're to invade Yellow Comet…"

Lash suddenly brightened up, "I can finally pay back that little bitch Sonja!"

"Not quite…" Riley said "Just Maverick, myself and our troops…"

"WHAT!" Maverick tore the sheet out of Riley's hands; he read it eight times before he said anything… "FUCK YOU GENERAL!"

Lash took the orders, "Maverick, due to your exceptional offensive abilities, you and those at your command are to assault and destroy the capitol of Yellow Comet. You are to Ship Out in five days, you will have a funding limit of 500,000 to create and maintain your invasion force, after that funding is up to you. Good hunting! –General Hawke…" Lash collapsed to her knees. "He's sending you against Yellow comet like that?" She began sobbing. "You won't even have anyone to double up with. It's hopeless…"

Nobody said anything, nobody did anything, the only sound was Lash's crying. "Riley?"

"Yessir?"

"How do you feel about a command?"

"Sir?"

CHAP 18

It was the largest force ever to exist with only 2 CO's. One crucial thing Hawke forgot was that Riley Syrus was the son of the man who owned of almost every production facility in Black Hole, the Multi-billionaire Joshua Syrus. A single phone call and the Syrus Inc. facilities all began working full tilt. Apparently Joshua wanted to give his son a fighting chance on a suicide mission.

Another key point was that Riley specialized in range and vision, to an even greater degree than Grit and Sonja, but everything else suffered greatly. But Maverick's offensive capabilities balanced that out, his mobility and raw power were insane, plus they were both really good strategists.

It was sunrise on the fifth day, and a full-scale invasion army was loaded onto a navy that had enough firepower to cook every fish in the ocean for miles with a single volley. The skies filled with the roar of about ten thousand aircraft engines.

The Grand Harbor was filled with families, lovers, and well-wishers. On the grandstand were all of the Black Hole CO's, including the Bolt Guard. The Commanders stood in dress uniform at full attention, they saluted as Maverick and Riley walked onto the stand. Maverick shook hands with each of them in turn, and he was halfway friends with a few of them:

"Flak, I promise to arm wrestle when we get back."

"Mr. Von Bolt, call me if you want ideas for some crazy experiments"

"Koal, don't have too much fun without me, ok?"

He got to Hawke, there was a wordless exchange between them; but their eyes screamed 'I will see you in Hell'.

Maverick reached Lash at the end, "fuck regulations!" he pulled her to him and in front of everyone, gave the most pure and passionate kiss he had ever given. They stood in each others arms for a minute. Slowly they let go, "I have to go Sweetie."

"I don't want you to! I don't think I'll ever see you again!"

Riley smiled and put an arm around Maverick, "don't worry Commander, if this punk gets into too much trouble, I'll be there to bale him out!"

Lash smiled weakly, "you know, two weeks ago, he would have killed you on the spot for saying that."

"Riley, no… I would have just kicked him around, anybody else though…"

"Maverick, it's time to go." Riley gave him a slight nudge.

Maverick gave Lash one last kiss. He slowly walked up the ramp to his Command Ship, the Retribution. He and Riley turned and looked across the sight before them; the people, the CO's, the city in the backdrop.

Maverick clapped a hand on his friend's shoulder, "take it all in, it may be the last time we ever see it."

"Mav?"

"What?"

"Do you think we can win?"

"We have to. I plan on marrying Lash; and a dead man can't propose to the woman he loves, now can he?"

"No, I suppose not." END