Mount Kadar

Present Day

Whatever mistakes had been made in the past, whatever sins he had committed, whatever the Locust were or wanted, the choice was stark now; save Ephyra at a terrible price, or lose the whole world.

It was actually a very easy decision in the end.

-Chairman Prescott's inner thoughts the night before issuing the advance warning of the detonation of the Hammer of Dawn.

The temperature dropped exponentially as we headed north up the mountain. I could feel it fall even through the Centaur's thick walls. Every couple thousand yards or so was another guard station. Each time I left the safety of the Centaur to convene with them, and let them know what we were doing and why there was a tank heading up the mountain.

Marcus slowed the tank. "Looks like another station," he said, then shot a look at me over the seat. I sighed, grabbing hold of the top hatch.

"I'm on it," I grumbled, hauling myself out of the tank. I climbed down the side of the Centaur, taking a second to let Sam out the back. She jumped gracefully out of the stifling rear cabin, shaking herself briskly. Her ears picked up, already used to this routine.

I headed up the road, although the term 'road' was a bit optimistic. It was little more than a footpath, kept clear by the guards who walked up to the stations day in and day out. The river gurgled a few yards to my left, bringing melted snow down the mountain and to the camp. The forest was curiously quiet, notably missing the now-familiar bird calls and sounds of life unseen. Still, I couldn't blame all the animals for leaving. It was downright freezing out here, evidenced by the few drifts of snow that scuttled and danced their way across my path.

"Hold up!" a man called out to me. I halted in my tracks, holding a hand up above my head. "Who are you?"

"It's Bri!" I called back. "Dix should have let you know we were on our way?"

He waved me forward, and I jogged the few meters to their station. The guard who called out to me wasn't someone I knew personally, but I had seen him around the camp. "You got the gears?" he asked, watching me with piercing eyes.

Fighting the urge to squirm under his intense gaze, I leveled my chin and squared my shoulders. "Yeah. We're just passing up to the mountain."

He shrugged, dropping his gaze and reaching for his canteen. "Be careful up there, yeah?" he said. "This is our last guard checkpoint. Up on Mount Kadar…things happen. Bad things. Understand, yeah?"

"I got it," I told him, holding my lancer with one hand so I could stuff the other deep in my pockets. Note to self; get some freaking gloves, I thought erratically.

He gave me a slow nod, watching me with those piercing eyes. He waved for the Centaur to come through, and Marcus stepped on the accelerator. He kept a slow, steady pace, trying not to make anyone anxious. "Thanks for the warning," I said to the guard. Marcus pulled up beside me. I let Sam in the back, before climbing back on top of the tank and dropping through the open hatch. I waved once to the guards before ducking into the dark confines of the rear seat.

Marcus continued up the bumpy trail, the tank giving a quick jerk every now and then. I settled back into my place beside Baird, who was wearing his I'm-going-to-figure-this-out-if-it-kills-me look, and fiddling with something mechanical. "What's that?" I asked him.

He gave it a few more angry tugs before giving an exasperated sight and tucking it back into his pack. "It's for Jack," he said simply.

My eyebrows knitted together. "Who's Jack?" Was Baird actually doing something nice for someone? Instead of answering, Baird leaned around me, and knocked on a hidden compartment that I hadn't seen before. It was cleverly hidden, built into the walls of the Centaur. "Come on out, Jack," he called.

"What are you-" I started to say, figuring he was pulling my leg. I stopped talking when the compartment door flew open, revealing a little mechanical box. Not a box…I realized as the four little lights on its head started to glow The contraption unraveled itself, unfolding into a head, two mechanical arms with metal claws for hands, and a blank screen. Sam gave an alarmed bark as the thing floated out of the compartment and hovered over the back seat. She scrambled to the back of the tank, pressing against the rear hatch with her fur bristling slightly.

"Shit…" I breathed, awestruck as the thing beeped in a cheerful tone, probably happy to be out of the stuffy compartment. "What is it?" I asked Baird.

He scoffed indignantly, motioning for the mechanical bot to come closer, before placing the scrambled bit of metal and wires into its' back. "What does it look like?" he said sardonically. "He's a bot. Name's Jack."

'Jack' beeped again, this time turning his glowing lights to me. "H-hello…Jack?" I said a bit hesitantly, while Sam growled low in her throat. Jack beeped once more, this time in a more despondent tone, before folding himself back into his compartment, and letting the door slide shut behind him.

"He's...interesting," I hedged, not sure what kind of reaction he was looking for.

Baird scoffed, "He better be. He's the last one humanity's going to be able to make. After these grub bastards get through destroying the world, we won't have the shit needed to make a jack-in-the-box, let alone a working bot."

I nodded silently, turning away from him to stare out the window. It was a shame, everything humanity had lost. Our only source of new manufacturing was from the factories in Jacinto, which struggled to produce needed parts to keep what we had running. New materials, like guns or vehicles, were never heard of. In many ways, gears were as bad as Stranded, scavenging parts from broken equipment to keep everything they had in working order. If we somehow lost the factories in Jacinto, humanity would be in a rough couple of years, as all equipment would be lost, with no way to replenish them.

Mount Kadar was an old mining camp, and the worn and empty shells of old mining equipment stood like fallen combatants of a war long lost. They had been scavenged and re-scavenged for parts, and now were silent memorials to a forgotten time when machines battled the land, excavating the wants and needs of mankind from the bountiful feast nature provided.

Marcus slightly slowed before entering the abandoned mining tunnels; the only semblance of hesitation he would show for the feat we were going to undertake. He didn't stop, however, just clicked on the headlights. The dim rays of artificial light echoed back to us, reflecting off the stone walls of the dark and damp tunnels. The silence seemed amplified by our straining to hear the presence of another sentient being occupying the tunnel. No body said a word, barely daring to breathe in the still quiet. The rumble of the Centaur seemed out of place as it brought us farther and farther into the belly of the beast.

Despite the stillness of the tunnels, the headlights illuminated evidence of recent settlement here. The carcass of a fresh kill. The remnants of a camp fire; the black charred bones of life-giving heat left scattered on the ground. Scrapes in the soil; indicating a recent fight and evacuation. I read all the signs left behind, trying to figure out why the Locusts had settled here in the first place, and what made them leave. The ground was littered with spent shell cases, and I shivered as we passed a puddle of black, dried blood.

"What...happened here?" Dom asked, voice hushed. For a moment, no one answered him, as no one had an explanation. Even Baird was quiet, which was surprising. Not only did grub corpses litter the ground, so did a few human corpses. There were black marks along the wall, as if a series of explosions had gone off recently, but there wasn't the range of damage you'd expect from a grenade going off. Instead, the black marks of the explosions had bits of charred flesh in the middle, as if something made of flesh had detonated...

"As long as its not here now, I don't care what happened," Marcus said quietly, but I could hear the slight distraction in his voice, as if he was frantically trying to unravel the mystery placed before him. "Keep your eyes peeled for anything out of the ordinary."

We traveled on in silence, leaving behind the ghost-like battlefield. The hairs on the back of my neck were standing straight up, and I couldn't sit still. Now, more than ever, I wanted my boots on solid ground; to have the choice to run if need be. I shifted in my seat, and Baird gave me an annoyed look. I narrowed my eyes, and was about to issue a foul-mouthed retort, when Marcus slowed the Centaur.

"Look sharp," was all he said. That was all that needed to be said. Everyone snapped to attention, staring out the window with their hands clenched tight around their weapons. There, off in the distance, was the faint glowing of lights, bouncing and flickering off the stone walls. Every once in a while, a shadow would interrupt the lights. As we grew closer, there was a scurry of activity, and someone or something hurriedly kicked out one of the fires.

I was tense, waiting for the dull ting of bullets to hit the side of the Centaur. When none did, I forced myself to take a closer look. The shadows that danced along the sides of the tunnels looked oddly familiar… "Shit," I said, startling the four gears out of their battle mode. "They…They're human…"

At that, Marcus slammed on the brakes. "What are they doing down here?"

"Maybe they didn't get the memo," Cole said, trying to be cheerful, even though we all saw past it. "You know the one, that says 'Grubs are underground, might not wanna be there?"

Ignoring the rest of them, I popped the top hatch and yanked myself out of the tank, mildly relieved to be free of its' stifling confines. I paused on the top of the tank, ready to drop back inside at the first crack of a gunshot. When nothing happened, I dropped the stone floor of the tunnel. "Holy hell," I heard Baird say as the rest of them got out of the tank. "Did she not get the memo that things found underground might be dangerous?"

I rolled my eyes, and adjusted my lancer, holding it pointed muzzle-down. I didn't care what anyone thought; grubs were the enemy, not humans. So Baird could piss and moan all he wanted about Stranded being worthless. They were still people, and that's what the world was going to need once we finally eradicated the locust, if we wanted to replace the billions of lives that had been lost. Humanity was on the verge of extinction, and we didn't need to be caught in a war with our own kind when we had monsters knocking on our doors.

"Hello?" I called out, interrupting the flurry of activity I could hear, although it was obvious they were trying to be as quiet as possible. I jumped over a small puddle as I moved forward; there was a motley amount of small streams running beneath our boots, and I could hear water crashing against something farther up the tunnel.

There was a small group of Stranded packing up what looked to be a thrown-together shanty camp. There were no set buildings, just random bed rolls spread out on the driest areas. They didn't look like people you'd see in the camp; they were skinnier, and paler, like they hadn't been outside in months. Their sickly pallor reminded me of the ghost-white skin of the Locust, and I shivered at the comparison.

There was an old man with a patched-together, black jacket who was packing everything he owned into a small, battered suitcase. He placed the last item in and shut it easily, which hinted that there wasn't much inside to begin with. He stood, giving me a curious glance. "Hey, hey you!" he called, "You come to get away from the Locust?"

"I…" I tried to say something, but I blanked. I felt, more than heard, Delta walk up behind me.

"What are you doing down here?" Marcus gruffed, with a bit of familiarity in his tone.

The old man caught sight of Marcus, and his lip curled in disgust. "Well," he said grandly, holding his arms out in a grand fashion, launching into his tale. "After you jackasses blew up my station and Franklin's outpost got overrun, the surface wasn't safe no more." I had no idea what he was talking about, but I'd bet it make one heck of a story.

Dom scoffed, coming up on Marcus' flank. "And…you guys thought down here was safe?" he said, condescension literally dripping off of each word.

The old man waved his arms in a 'no way' manner, before turning around and picking up his suitcase. "Nowhere is, son, not anymore!" He stooped, turning his back to the gears. "We were fine here for a few months, as long as you stayed away from the roads, and Nexus. But now they're comin' around where they didn't before! Kidnapping people, torturing them…"

"Nexus?" Marcus said, taking a step forward.

"Yeah, Nexus. You got wax in your ears?" the man quipped. "Nexus is where all the grubs come from."

As soon as he said 'Nexus', all four gears visibly brightened, as if happy to know they were on the right track. I, however, found what he said after to be more interesting.

"The grubs," I interrupted Marcus, who was as close to smiling as I had ever seen him. "They…they're taking prisoners? Human prisoners?"

The man paused in his efforts, giving me a slightly sad look. "Aye," he said. "They come in the middle of the night, going down tunnels we thought were safe. We're leaving now; it ain't worth it to spend another night here!"

I turned to face the others in this small pack of roaming Stranded. Their eyes were shadowed and pain-filled, and probably had seen the Locusts steal away their loved ones. That accounted for the battlefields we had seen on our way in. One woman shot me a hate-filled look, and I recoiled from her, wondering why she would hate me so suddenly and so completely. It took me a second, but I finally understood. I was with these gears, and that made me COG. That turned me into something despicable, something to be hated. I wanted to tell the woman that I was Stranded, just like her. That I knew the struggles of life on the 'outside', but I couldn't. How could I explain - here, now, to these people who had already suffered so much - that I understood their pain, especially while standing there with a lancer in my hands? I couldn't. Not without coming across as insincere.

Marcus ignored this. "Hey, old man," he called again. "Nexus. Can we get there from here?"

The man shrugged, and gestured out across a wide lake of black, churning water. The end of it could not be seen from where we stood, stretching out into oblivion. "Sure you can," he said, staring out across the water that had taken his friends and family, doing heaven-only-knows-what to them now. "It's just across the lake. Don't know what good it'll do ya, you ain't getting in unless you're a locust."

Dom and Marcus exchanged a look. The old man wandered off, propelled by the need to get out of there as soon as possible. Marcus gathered us all in for a meeting. "Alright," he said, every bit the grizzled sergeant you'd expect. "Dom and I will continue on foot towards Nexus. Cole, you and Baird take the Centaur and get these people to the surface."

"What?" Baird snapped, looking pissed. "Marcus, you can't be serious!"

"These people will die if we leave them here. You can come back down with the grid lifts, when we bring the fight to Nexus."

Baird still looked pissed. "But-"

"C'mon, baby!" Cole interrupted. "This is where he tells you he'll take it under advisement." Cole patted him reassuringly on the shoulder, leading him back to the Centaur like a reluctant horse.

Dom and Marcus convened to make more plans, not taking any notice of me. I headed over to where the old man was scrubbing out a campfire. He was banking the embers to be brought back to life at a later date, although there probably wouldn't be a later date. Humans were nostalgic like that. Even if all signs pointed to the obvious - that you could never go back to what essentially was your home - you still wanted to leave a bit of yourself behind, if for no other reason than to let the next unfortunate soul that this place had once been important to another person, treat it well.

He kept working, kneeling next to the fire. He caught sight of my boots, and I watched as his eyes slowly traveled upward, finally meeting my gaze. "What do you want?" he asked, but there was no malice in his tone.

Instead of keeping my stance, standing tall next to his stooped frame, I knelt so we were at eye level, on equal footing. I glanced quickly behind me to make sure nobody was listening in before I opened my mouth. "These people," I said, "The ones the grubs have been taking. Where do they go? I mean, what do they want with them?"

He slowed in his efforts, gently stirring the dying embers that had once burned bright and strong, able to bring life - and death - to those around it. "They came while we were sleeping," he said somberly. "Night, day, it makes no difference here. We first heard the shots, but they were far away. Maybe they had run into another pack of people living further up in the tunnels, I don't know. But what I do know is when they got here, they were in a hurry. The ones who had weapons fought, the ones who didn't ran," he shook his head sadly. "In the end, it didn't make a difference. The Grubs won. They always win."

"But...you said that they took prisoners," I said, with thinly veiled enthusiasm. "That means they're still there!" I motioned behind me, to where Delta was preparing to move out. "We're heading into Nexus! We can rescue them!"

He shook his head, giving me a thin smile. "Nay," he said quietly. "Tell me, you ever seen anyone who'd been taken prisoner by them grubs, before?" he waited until I shook my head in a negative response. "There's a reason for that. Them grubs have a thing called 'processing', and they do it to all prisoners."

My enthusiasm flickered and dimmed a bit. I hadn't heard if it, but judging by his tone it couldn't be good. "What's that?" I asked a bit hesitantly.

"Tis a terrible thing," he said gravelly. "Tis is a very terrible thing. They string you up through giant hooks in yous back, whip ya with metal chains with spikes. Some are dipped into vats of burning implosion, held there till their flesh melts off thems bones. Starvation, decapitation, feeding bits of ya to their blood mounts," he kicked dirt over the banked embers, sighing. "And that ain't the worst of it."

I felt the blood rush away from my face, leaving me cold and pale. I felt sick, trying to imagine the unimaginable, no doubts that everything he said was true, "What's the worst bit?" I asked in a small voice.

"They cut ya'," he said, tapping the dirty flesh under his left eye. "They've got a machine. It cuts into your brain. Erases your memories, your personality, makes you a mindless slave to the Locust. And there's not a thing you can do to prevent it."

"Is there no way to reverse it?" I asked, my eyes wide. I've seen countless horrors of war; seen my fill and more of gore and terrible, terrible things. But this, this deliberate torture and elongating of pain, was something that caught me unawares. It would be so much more humane and moral to just shoot the poor bastards, not torture them and draw out their suffering. It was a horrible thing, just one more indecency in an immoral and desolate world.

Then again, whoever accused the Locust of being the beacon of honor and mercy?

"Nay," he said, slowly lowering his hand to his side. He picked up his suitcase, still staring somberly at the fire pit. "Not a way in the world. Once the locust get their filthy claws into ya', your as good as dead. Worse, even."

I watched in silence as he walked away, suitcase dangling limply from one hand. I stood there until Sam nudged my side to get me going. I walked up to Marcus, chin held high. He was near the Centaur, trying - and failing - to raise someone on the radio. He gave an exasperated grunt when he saw me, dropping his hand from his ear. "Damn tunnels," he groused, before looking at me. "What do you want?" He sounded vaguely annoyed, and I couldn't help but wonder if he was pissed at me.

"I want into Nexus," I informed him. Not giving home a choice in the matter, I said, "I'm coming with you."

I must have taken him by surprise, as he gave a short, terse sigh. His glacier -blue eyes appraised me, and I tried to look tough and intimidating. It didn't matter either way; I was coming along, with or without his 'approval'. I'd always lived my life free from interference from anyone, and I wasn't about to start heeding the will of some stodgy gear who thought he could boss me around.

"Is that so," he said, although I could tell it wasn't a question. "And what makes you think that?"

I motioned with my head to the few people still packing up their home. "The prisoners, they're still in Nexus. We can rescue them."

Whatever response he thought I was going to give - that wasn't it. He actually looked surprised for a second. Well, he kind of squinted, and looked like he wanted to raise an eyebrow, but I was learning that that passed for surprise with Marcus. He shifted his weight, the armor plates on his body rustling as he did so. "And how do I know you're not lying to us again?"

It was my turn to be surprised. "Lie?" I spat, stunned, and slightly pissed off. I didn't have time for lies; eventually you'd have to come out with the truth, and dealing with the aftermath just wasted time. Tell everything straight, and it led to a hell of a lot less complications. "When the hell did I lie to you?"

"You said your parents were dead," he began, giving me a cutting look with those damn eyes of his.

"They are!" I insisted, utterly bewildered. What was with him and his insistence on who my parents were?

He took a half step forward. If he was looking to intimidate me, he was doing fine. "Who's this 'Momma', then?"

It took me a second, but it finally clicked for me. Marcus had thought that Momma was my real mother. I felt the urge to facepalm, but also the urge to shoot him in his foot. What gave him the right to care, anyway? I hadn't even known these men for more than a week. It was critical that I remembered that.

"Momma from the camp?" I asked him, unnecessarily. Who else went by 'Momma'? "It's just a nickname. She's the caretaker of the camp. Everyone calls her Momma."

Again with the Marcus' trademark I'm-Surprised-But-I-Won't-Show-It look. "So, she's not your mother?" he asked, and I shook my head mutely. "And your parents are dead?"

I rolled my eyes. "Yes, my parents are dead! Not sure why you find that so fascinating…" In truth, I wasn't so sure. It wasn't until I had met Marcus, and his constant questioning about my parentage, that I had ever doubted this. I hadn't seen any of my family since E-day, and good riddance. If they were still alive, and had left me to suffer alone, they'd have some serious explaining to do. After all I had been through for not having a family, someone watching my back, it would be inexcusable for them to just abandon me. Some things couldn't be forgiven.

Marcus exhaled, exasperated. "Are you sure? There's absolutely no chance your family is still alive, somewhere? Your father?"

"Look," I snapped, fully pissed off. "Before E-day, my 'father' was a gear, and I never saw him again after the grubs emerged. So I'm assuming he's dead, along with my mother. If not, I don't want to know that bastard. If he's the sort to abandon his kids, I'll put a round in his skull myself. Understand?" I had spent years waiting, praying, hoping, that my 'father' would come rescue me, every time Bane was drunk and beating up on me. Nothing changed, no matter how hard I wished for it to.

"Understood," he said, his jaw clenched tight. He gave me one more searching look, before turning and calling for Baird. Baird had been supervising the loading of the camp's meager supplies onto the Centaur, tearing into some guy who had bumped the controls with his suitcase. Baird gave him one last disgusted look, before heeding Marcus' call. Cole shook his head at Baird's back, helping the man lift the suitcase into the Centaur's rear hatch.

"Something I can help you with?" Baird muttered to Marcus, every bit the sarcastic cynic I had met outside New Hope. Marcus ignored the attitude, though.

"Change of plans," he said quietly. "Bri's coming with us, into Nexus."

Baird snapped his gaze to me, looking blindsided. "You've got to be shitting me!" he exploded. "She's not ready for this! She hasn't had the training for this, she hasn't even shot that lancer in combat! And you're taking her into Nexus, and leaving us for baby-sitting?"

"Listen, asshole," I snapped at him, moving to stand between him and Marcus. I shoved him in the middle of his chest, but he didn't move, just glared down at me. "I could shoot circles around you, and you know it. I don't need you watching my back like my friggin' mother, understand? Now get you ugly-ass mug out of my face, or I'm going shove your gun so far up your ass you'll be tasting gunpowder." We glared at each other, neither of us backing down. Baird had already saved my ass one too many times, and I didn't want to get in the habit of someone playing white knight for me. It was best to close this off, whatever this was, before I got in way too deep.

"Fine," he spat. He pulled away first, heading back towards the Centaur. Over his shoulder, he called, "Never thought I'd be glad to go to a funeral, but in your case I'll make an exception."

I turned around, and Marcus was eyeing me warily. "What?" I snapped at him, already fed up with the drama of serving with an entire squad. I was pining for the days of it being just Sam and I against the world.

"Nothing," he said in that infuriatingly calm voice of his. "Don't be too hard on him, alright? May not seem like it, but that was him actually showing concern for somebody."

I rolled my eyes. "Whatever," I muttered, exhausted with the constant stream of back-talk. I watched Baird as he took a suitcase from a pregnant woman and shoved it on the top of the stack. It was for the best, I decided. Whatever he could turn out to be, at least for me, it would be one more complication that I didn't need - or want. And that was if I didn't end up shooting him first, which didn't seem that far-fetched.

It was then I realized I hadn't seen Dom in a while. Doing a quick scan of the tunnels, eyes straining against the absence of light, I spotted him talking to the old man in the black jacket. He was holding something up, and I'd bet my new lancer it was the picture of his wife. Without a word to Marcus, I headed in their direction. If nothing else, I could inform Dom that I would be coming with them into Nexus. I heard heavy footfalls behind me, and realized Marcus was following me.

"You recognize this woman?" Dom asked the old man. "Name's Maria." The man examined the photograph closely. I sighed, impatient, sure that there was no hope that he had ever seen her.

The man took the photo from Dom, holding it closer to his face. "Pretty young thing," he turned so his back was to the Centaur, the light shining on the picture. He was facing me, and I searched his face for any signs of recognition. "Hmm…something about her face does seem familiar…"

My eyebrows shot skyward. Did this man know Maria? Dom shifted his weight, stepping closer to the man. "Maybe she was with one of the other groups that came down before," the man continued. Nobody breathed, waiting to see if this was it; if Dom would finally get the love of his life back. "Yeah…" he breathed, comprehension dawning in his voice. "She was with Stu's group…but…" he trailed off.

"But what?" Dom asked desperately.

The old man's eyes were sad as they tore themselves off the picture, and up to Dom's hopeful face. "They were taken prisoner a week ago."

I think my mouth fell open, because I distinctly remember closing it. All the horror stories about 'processing' he had just told me, now he was saying that those things had happened to Maria? "Oh, no…" Dom breathed, eyes wide.

"The captured ones," I interjected, voice loud to hide the fact I was shaking on the inside. "You said they took them towards Nexus, right? Where would they be?"

"They'd be at Nexus, right?" Marcus asked as he came up behind Dom, an unstoppable force ready to take on the Locust army to save his best friend's wife.

The old man looked between us, wisely choosing to answer Marcus' question first. "Probably," he said. "Or the work camps along the way."

"How do we find them?" Marcus asked.

He pointed out across the lake with one dirty hand. "When you get to the highway, near the dam, there's a path that'll take you there."

Dom carefully tucked the picture of Maria back into his chest plates, still looking thunderstruck. I'd seen that same look on people who had seen battles first-hand; the look that said something really bad had just happened, but their mind wasn't ready to absorb it yet. Whenever Dom imagined meeting his wife again, I doubt he thought it would mean rescuing her from a grub torture camp. "Thanks, old man," Dom said.

He shrugged, indifferent. "Don't know what good it does you," he said. "You ain't getting in there unless you're a locust."

He turned back towards the Centaur, ready to move out with the rest of the group. I jogged up to Cole. "Hey, Lil sis!" he called, meeting me half-way. "Baird says you're going to Nexus?"

"Yeah," I said, keeping it short. "Listen, Dom may have found Maria. There's a guy here who thinks he saw her with another group that was taken prisoner a week ago. If Dom does find her, he's going to be pretty distracted. I think Marcus could use some back up down there." It was just an excuse, though. I'd be going down into Nexus even if I hadn't promised Dom I'd help find his wife.

"Oh, shit…" Cole breathed, stunned. Reaching up to his ear, he pulled his com-link out. "Here," he said. "Sounds like some shit's about to go down. I'll be sticking to Baird's ass. You need anything, press this button here," he pointed to it, "And we'll both come running. That's a promise, baby." He fit the com-link in my ear, where it blocked off my hearing. He gave it a twist, and it seated more comfortably in my ear.

"Thanks," I said, feeling the comm hesitantly with my fingers. "I guess…"

He clapped me on the back, giving me a nod. He wished me good luck, then slammed shut the Centaur's rear hatch. The comm buzzed uncomfortably in my ear, bringing with it the sound of Delta's breathing. Baird walked past me to the Centaur, pausing when I called his name. "Listen," I said, swallowing my pride. "I'm sorry about what I said earlier. It was uncalled for."

He snorted, "Don't be. I don't care either way." Of course he didn't care. Why would I even let myself believe otherwise?

I cursed under my breath, then motioned to the mass of people ready to move out under Cole and Baird's protection. "These people, take them to the camp. Dix will take care of them; find them homes and food and whatnot. And tell Dix…" I hesitated, searching Baird's face. He stared at me hard, and I found the words I wanted to say. "Tell Dix that I'm sorry."

"What am I, your messenger?" he spat sourly, and turned away. I glared at his retreating form, turning to meet up with Dom and Marcus; fighting mad, and calling Baird some creative names in my mind. Put it behind you, and get your head in the game. Trying to move past the confusing anger, I clicked my fingers for Sam to follow me. I had thought about leaving her with Cole and Baird to take back to the surface, but figured she probably wouldn't listen to them.

"You ready?" Marcus asked me, standing next to the foot path that would lead us down to the lake, and into Nexus. And, if luck had anything to do with it, to Maria. Dom looked eager to be on his way, and kept shifting his weight back and forth as he stared out into the sea of darkness.

I answered Marcus' question with a simple nod. We started down the footpath, leaving behind the protection of the Centaur and the warmth of the smoldering camp fires.

There was no going back now.

Author's Note- Oh...things are getting interesting! (Well, hopefully, it has all been interesting, but...)

Huge thanks to rockforthecross74 for betaing this!

So, any ideas on what is waiting for them in Nexus? Besides Maria, obviously. Love to hear your thoughts on it! As always, reviewers get a preview of the next chapter, and my enternal gratitude! So what are you waiting for? Hit that beautiful review button underneath here and talk to me! GO! :D