Part III: Lazarus

Romgar Military Research Base

Ten Years After E-Day

"Maria, please. Don't go out today. Bennie and Sylvia aren't out there, baby. They're gone. I know folks think they see people they've lost, but it's all imagination. I promise. I'll be back as soon as I can."

Dominic Santiago to his wife, Maria Santiago, shortly after the firing of the Hammer of Dawn

Cold. He was so cold. And numb.

He could feel himself floating above it all, like the soft place people came to rest between dreaming and waking. Evidently dying was like falling asleep – slowly, and then all at once.

Dying. Was he dying? He wasn't sure. If he was, then he didn't mind it all so much. Except the cold. A large part of him wanted to nestle deeper into the dark, to let it envelope him in a warm embrace. It would be a blessing, somewhat, to not have to fight anymore. To finally be able to truly rest.

A small part of him, however, pushed back against the encumbering darkness pressing in around him. He couldn't die. Not yet. He still had things to do. He couldn't bring any of them to mind, of course, but that didn't mean they weren't there. But that small part of him could only fight so hard for so long. He could feel it shrinking, dwindling away into nothing.

Through the darkness there came a sound. A chorus of them, actually, but they were far away. The noise called to him through a long tunnel, or maybe from underwater. It was dissonant, dissident. Some of the sounds he recognized; they were the symphony of his life. Gunfire. Chopper blades. The nightmarish growl of Grubs on the battlefield. The noise made him shy even further into the black. He was so tired of war. So tired of fighting…

But there was another sound. The only voice that had the power to bring him back from the brink. It was a cry, no…a plea. He could hear her screaming his name, calling for him to stay. Stay for just a little while longer…

Bri, the small part of him thought, just before the darkness won and he was finally pulled under completely.

The next time he awoke it was quiet. It wasn't the silence, or the heat, or the smell of rotting fish that pulled him into consciousness – it was the searing pain that raced up and down his left arm. It felt like he had laid it down in a bed of burning coals. He tried to pull it back, to tuck it safely against his chest, but nothing happened. He groaned as the pain intensified, like his arm was slowly being skinned.

"Aye, yo!" an unfamiliar voice called out. "The tri-pod woke up!"

Ace finally opened his eyes and stared at the canvas underbelly of a tent. He was on some sort of cot with his armor and boots absent. When he looked down, he realized that wasn't the only thing he was missing.

His arm was gone.

His left arm stopped just above the elbow joint. The stump was wrapped in clean bandages, tinged red at the very end. If it's gone…then why does it hurt so much? he wondered.

The tent flap opened, sending a blinding flash of mid-day sunlight washing through the room. He winced as he attempted to sit up. Once his feet were on the ground, he spotted his armor sitting in a pile next to the cot.

A man entered the tent, sucking in a deep breath through his teeth. "Sheesh, son. We had men out there betting their last swallow of whiskey on whether or not you'd wake up. I won't tell you what the going odds were, but just know you disappointed a bunch of people out there just by opening your eyes."

Ace glanced once to the pile of his armor, mentally clocked that his sidearm was still holstered in his bdu, then back to the man. He had black hair that fell almost to his shoulders, a deep tan, and an amused smirk. The clothes he wore were clean but sun-faded. "Where am I?" Ace asked, wincing as another spasm of phantom pain ripped through his nonexistent fist.

"Right where the COG left you, cher," the man answered in a thick accent. "They probably bet that you were dead, too."

Ace remembered the smoldering campfire he had found near the base. These people must have been the Stranded that were left behind on the island after the Hammer of Dawn strikes. "The grubs?" he grunted.

"We handled them. They're big, mean, fuckers, ain't they? We don't get that many out this far."

"I've got to get back to the COG," Ace said. He gritted his teeth and tried to stand, but the world swam around him and he fell back onto the cot. The man stepped forward to steady him by placing a hand on his shoulder.

"Woah, steady!" he said, like he was calming a spooked horse. "There ain't no COG out there to get back to. We kept an eye out – six, seven days – and that Raven ain't come back."

No, Ace thought defiantly. The COG wouldn't leave him out here. Bri wouldn't leave him. He squared his jaw resolutely and pushed himself to his feet. When the world started rolling, he closed his eyes and fought off the vertigo until it finally relented. The man stepped back as Ace stepped over to his armor and searched one-handedly through the pockets. When he found his radio, he pressed it into his ear and clicked the transmit button. "Control, this is Private Martinez. Come in." There was dead air on the other end of the line. "Control, KRZ, anyone – come back. This is Private Ace Martinez, requesting evac."

A hollow feeling filled his chest when only static answered his request. The man clicked his teeth sympathetically. "Sorry son – Ace, was it? See, out here the COG don't care 'bout us no more. And now…you're one of us."

Ace's eyes narrowed. "And who exactly are you?"

The man smiled, revealing one gold tooth. "The name's Darrel Jacques. Welcome to the Free Trade Commission."


I sat on the deck of the wheelhouse, staring at the man before me as if he would disappear if I blinked. Mataki had bandaged the wound on the back of his head but he still hadn't awakened. The Falconer wasn't equipped for handling medical emergencies, so instead of a med-bay he was propped up on a stack of lifejackets. They had changed him into dry clothes; an old navy uniform. During quieter times I could hear his breath whistling in and out of his chest.

Bernie had her hand pressed against the side of his neck. "Good, strong pulse," she said, louder than necessary so I'd be sure to hear her. "Man's a fighter."

I could feel the sergeant watching me for some kind of reaction, but I was paralyzed. Too many emotions to name washed over me, so I simply blanked it all. I gorged myself with the pain, overloaded myself with all of it until it ceased to have meaning. Bernie stepped back and I could feel her sizing me up. "You good?" she asked. "Cause we've got a situation outside."

I nodded once. She hesitated for a second, as if she didn't quite believe me, but then exited the wheelhouse. Everyone else was still out on the deck. I could hear the murmurs of shocked conversation come swirling in with the wind as the door opened and then closed. Once it shut, the room fell silent.

I remained in the corner for a long moment, watching his chest rise and fall with every breath. Gathering my courage, I got to my feet and slowly crossed the room to where Ace was laying. I stood a few feet away and looked him over.

It was him. Older, bearded, missing his left arm, but…him. Just to be sure I brushed away the water-logged locks of hair against his neck, and looked for the small, strawberry shaped birthmark just behind his left ear. I quickly withdrew my hand as if he had burned me.

His face looked almost peaceful, as if he were merely asleep instead of unconscious and fighting for his life. "You…you bastard," I hissed at him. "This whole time? This whole fucking time?!"

I snatched my rifle up from the wheelhouse floor and strode out onto the deck, letting the door slam shut behind me. Everyone aboard the ship – minus the essential navy men down below deck – were standing around, watching the sea.

"I don't fucking believe it," I heard someone say.

One of the crewmen used a camera to snap a picture off the starboard. "This is a joke, right?"

I pushed through the crowd until I reached the railing. Baird and Marcus stood to my right. Baird was chuckling to himself. "I'm glad you find it so fucking funny," Marcus snapped at him. "We just made a bunch of new enemies."

I stared out over the water, trying to make sense of the 'situation' Bernie had referenced. Clement had since surfaced. I recognized the distinctive black sonar dome. A few of its crew had opened the top hatch and were atop the front fin, standing around gawking like everyone else on the Falconer.

Because there was a second submarine that had surfaced as well. Unlike the Clément's silver paint, this one was matte black. She was smaller, with smooth bows. Like a dark bullet floating in the waves.

"Who are they?" I asked.

"Gorasnaya," Marcus answered. "Last of the friggin' UIR."

I turned and blinked. "Who?" I asked again.

"What, did you sleep through your history classes?" Baird said. "Union of Independent Republics. The COG had been at war with them for what, eighty-odd years before E-day?"

"I know who the fucking UIR is," I snapped at Baird. My patience was nonexistent at this point. "Who the fuck is 'Gorasnaya'?"

"Tiny little, lunatic republic that had refused to accept the cease-fire," Marcus explained. "It's a frigging Indie." He shook his head slightly, sounding as surprised as anyone else aboard. "Fifteen years after the armistice and they show up now?"

"So, they're the ones who fired the torpedo?"

"Looks like it."

I watched the tiny black sub with slightly more interest. I could hear Michaelson communicating with the black sub, but I wasn't wearing my comm and couldn't eavesdrop. "Man, don't they know that they don't exist anymore?" Cole asked.

"Seems to be a day for resurrections," I muttered.

"By the way," Baird lowered his voice and addressed me. "I step below deck for one minute and you decide to go fishing?" I could hear the disapproval in his tone.

"I don't want to talk about it." I stepped away from the railing. The problem with being on board a ship was there was no where to run. I could feel the instinct racing through my muscles, telling me to get away as soon as possible. I knew I was heading for a breakdown. I only hoped I could keep it locked together until we were on shore.

Michaelson had seemed to decide against restarting the pendulum wars. He invited the sub – named the Zephyr – to follow us back to Vectes, so he could drop the whole mess into Prescott's lap. It was a strange flotilla: Falconer trailed by the small gunboat we had collected, then followed by the two subs.

I walked the length of the deck twice, periodically scanning the horizon for any more nightmares approaching. I could see Dom speaking to Marcus, but I purposefully avoided meeting his eye. I knew he'd have questions that I just couldn't answer. Not until I got some answers of my own.

Only the arrival of another independent nation-state kept the attention off of me and Ace. Unwillingly I stopped on one of my patrols around the boat and peered inside the wheelhouse. Through the window I could see the crew busy at work, but also Ace still slumped in the corner. It was still a shock to my system every time I looked at him. I watched him for a long while, but when someone caught me looking, I kept walking.

As I rounded a corner, Dom was waiting for me. I tried to brush past him, but he fell into step beside me. He followed as closely as Sam on a heel command. He didn't say a word, but we probably looked ridiculous, walking a patrol on a boat in the middle of nowhere. Sighing, I drew to a stop along a semi-secluded section of the stern.

"How are you doing?" he finally asked.

I gripped the railing, hoping he didn't see the trembling of my hands. "…I don't really know how to answer that, yet."

"Any shortness of breath? Difficulty breathing? Coughing?"

Ah. So, he meant physically. "Well, I'm not drowning. So that's an approvement."

"Secondary drowning," he said. "When we land, we'll get you checked out by Hayman."

I stared into the churning waters kicked up by the outboard motors. I waited for Dom to leave, but he leaned his elbows on the rail and sighed. "You know," he said conversationally. "I feel like a broken record sometimes, but if you want to talk-"

"How did you feel?" I asked him suddenly. "When I told you who I was? When you found out that I was…alive?"

He sighed, and wouldn't meet my eye. "…The truth?" he asked after a moment.

"Of course."

"You scared the shit outta me." He gave me a look. "All I could think of was everything you'd gone through when I wasn't around to protect you. Just…regrets."

"Were you…" I swallowed hard. "Angry? That I never found you?"

His features creased into a horrified expression. "No! No, of course not, baby girl." He ran a gloved hand over my damp hair. "I should have found you. I'll never forgive myself for that – Maria, she believed you were out there, somewhere. Said she had seen you out there." Suddenly he went pale. "Shit, Bennie. You don't think-"

I shook my head. That was one person from my past I knew would stay dead. "I watched him take a bullet on E-day. Straight through the chest. He's gone."

Dom's mouth tightened and I saw the tears well up in his eyes. He turned away from me, hiding his face, and coughed hoarsely. "Shit, I'm sorry," I reached for his shoulder. "I didn't mean to be so blunt."

He sniffed hard. "No, no…I'm okay. I didn't think he was…" he trailed off for a moment. "So…you ready to talk about the man we fished out of the water back there?"

My mouth twisted. "His name is-"

"Yeah, I caught his name. Who is he to you?"

I smiled, despite myself. "He's…well, I guess he's my Marcus."

Dom paused. "It's weird, but that actually makes sense."

"Ace…he looked after me. Kept me out of trouble. He had my back when it felt like no one else did."

"Then I'm glad you found him."

Am I? I wondered darkly.


It took a couple of hours of travel time before we arrived back at Vectes. I could see Baird looking my way every once in a while. It was obvious that there was a conversation he wanted to have with me, but with so many people on board the ship he couldn't risk it. Michaelson had radioed ahead and had a medical transport ready for Ace by the time we docked. He still hadn't awoken, and concern was slowly dominating the cocktail of emotions I was feeling. Luckily, I didn't have to ask permission to accompany him to the med bay; Dom still insisted that I got myself checked out as well. I allowed Dom to escort me off of the Falconer, taking the opportunity to slide past Baird. I still wasn't ready to talk to him.

I ended up in the back of the ambulance. Thankfully Ace took up the only stretcher, so I got to sit up under my own power. The medic focused his attention on Ace as I explained what had happened to him. As we headed up the hill towards Vectes, I kept finding myself glancing out the back window. The Zephyr was docked alongside the Clement in the bay, and a small crowd of people were gathering around. Foreign governments had been a rarity for the people of Pelruan, and now two had shown up in a matter of months.

The med-bay on base was the one section I hadn't explored too closely. The building was similar in architecture to the rest of the base. Vectus was a callback to a bygone era, built even before the Pendulum War began. Everything was made from dark, carved wood and greying paint. It was at staunch odds with the wan and harried medical personnel who worked there.

Ace was wheeled into a private room and I silently followed behind. "You want a bed?" one of the medics asked me, and I shook my head. I sank into an old leather chair in the corner while they got Ace hooked up to monitors and wires. A small, yellowed screen opposite me flared to life and started measuring his heartbeat in rhythmic, jagged lines.

Doctor Haymen entered the room mere seconds after the medics exited. She didn't even glance my way as she swept up to Ace's side and pressed a stethoscope into his chest. With her other hand she pressed her fingers against his neck and counted his pulse, as if she didn't trust the machinery at her side.

Before the door could swing shut, Colonel Hoffman entered. I jumped up and out of my chair when I saw him and snapped a salute. "Sir."

"Christ, at ease," he commanded me, motioning me back to my chair. "The hospital is one place you don't have to salute."

"Well, thank fuck for that," Hayman said in her trademarked, cigarette roughed voice. "Should I prop up the comatose ones? Bandage their hands to their foreheads?"

"That won't be necessary," Hoffman said, in a voice that said he recognized the sarcasm, but wouldn't stoop to her level.

"Sir, the UIR is back," I informed him. "Gorasnaya. They have a submarine."

"I'm well aware, private."

I paused. "Then why are you here?"

Hoffman's eyes flickered between me and Hayman. "They can wait," he finally said. "One of my men coming back from the dead? Well, that's got my full attention."

I tried to mask my surprise. I didn't think anything today would rank above the return of the UIR, but evidently Hoffman was a better commander than I had given him credit for. After all, it wasn't Prescott standing in this room.

Hoffman tapped a handheld tablet. "I've got his files. It's a bloody miracle, too. We leave half our civilization to drown in Jacinto, but the personnel records get saved." He read aloud from the file. "Private Ace Martinez, missing presumed KIA. Says here he's got family – a younger sister by the name 'Brianna Martinez'."

"Uh," I hedged awkwardly. "That's…not entirely correct."

"Is she dead?"

"No, no…not quite." I grimaced. "She's, well... she's me."

Hoffman glanced at the file and then back to me. "You're Brianna Martinez? I thought you were Sylvia Santiago?"

"I am. I mean, I was." I sighed. "I went by the name Brianna Martinez while living on base so I could get an id card. It was Brianna Thomas before that."

Hoffman took a second to digest that. "So…does he have any family we need to notify?"

"No, sir."

Hoffman went back to the file. "Killed in a training accident, 10 A.E."

I had been watching Haymen finish her examination, but my head snapped up at that. "It says what?!" I exclaimed, reaching forward and snatching the tablet from Hoffman. There it was, clearly listed under Cause of Death' – training accident. "Mother fucking Prescott," I seethed.

"What does Prescott have to do with this?" Hoffman asked, eyebrow raised.

I shook my head and passed back the tablet. "Ask him," was all I said.

Haymen was still at Ace's bedside, brow furrowed. She had her eyes narrowed and lips pressed into a thin line. "Hmm…" she breathed slowly. Then, she snatched Ace's right hand, held it directly above his face, and let it drop.

"Hey!" I snapped at her, just as Ace's hand landed around his neck, missing his face by centimeters.

"Yeah, okay," she said. "He's going to be fine."

"Radio when he wakes up," Hoffman said, turning and grabbing the door. "I want to talk with him."

"I hope you're speaking to Brianna here," Haymen called after him. "Or Sylvia, or Martinez, or whatever the fuck your name is."

"Just…Bri," I sighed.

"Sit down," she told me, pointing a finger at the chair I had been sitting in. "Don't think I forgot about you."

I mutely complied with Hayman's orders as she gave me an exam. Halfway through Dom entered the room. He gave me a nod and stood to the side as Hayman finished. He was carrying a large duffle bag that I instinctively knew carried all of my gear.

"Coughing, difficulty breathing, tightness in the chest, fatigue," she recited to me. "You experience any of the following give a shout. Or if soldier boy over there decides to wake up. You understand?"

Hayman hardly waited for me to nod my agreement before she was out the door, brushing past Dom as if he wasn't even there.

"Do me a favor," I said to Dom. "If I ever need the med bay again, just shoot me instead."

"You're not the first to have that opinion," he said. He stepped closer to the bed and examined Ace's sleeping frame. "Still hasn't woken up?"

"Not yet."

His attention fell back to me. "How are you?"

"Kinda sick of hearing that question, to be honest." I sank back in the leather chair. "I mean…is there a right answer to that?"

"The truth." Dom took the only other chair in the room and set the duffel bag down beside him. "That's usually a good place to start."

I found myself staring at Ace, counting the number of times his chest rose and fell. "I…" I stopped and swallowed hard before trying again. "I spent the last five years feeling guilty because I thought I had gotten him killed. Then I find out he's been alive on a tropical island this whole time." I scoffed. "You want to know what I felt when I realized it was him? I was angry. Angry that I had spent that much time mourning him." I laughed once without humor. "Does that make me a total asshole?"

"No," Dom said. "It makes you human."

I wrapped my arms around myself, although it was far from chilly in the hospital. Maybe it was to keep myself from falling apart completely. "We left him," I said in a voice that was scarcely above a whisper. The only other sound in the room was Ace's heart monitor, keeping a steady beat. "Left him for dead. How do I even…start…to ask for forgiveness?" This time when I looked at Dom, I could feel the fresh rim of tears in my eyes.

Dom reached across the gap and squeezed my knee. "If he's anything like what you've told me, you won't even have to ask."

My fists were still balled up and tucked under my arms, but my knee stopped bouncing at his touch. Dom was probably right, of course. If Ace was anything like he used to be, there would be no hard feelings. But five years was a long time. And there was a lot there to forgive.

I sniffed hard and gave him another humorless smile. "It's kinda fucked up, isn't it? I mean, you spent how much time looking for Maria? And I didn't even know I was supposed to be looking."

Dom leaned back in his chair. It was a long time before he answered me, and when he did his voice was hushed. "I'll never forgive myself for not finding Maria in time. I can't tell you how much I wished things had ended differently. But, remember…I hadn't been looking for you, either." He cleared his throat. "I feel guilty as hell about that, too. But you don't hold it against me, right?"

"Of course not."

"Then he's not going to hold it against you."

Things fell silent between us again. I could see Dom's eyes were now red-rimmed and shadowed. After a moment, I spoke again. "Dom?"

"Yeah?"

"I'm sure Maria doesn't hold it against you, either."

I could feel him looking at me as the seconds stretched into minutes. Dom's chin wrinkled and warbled as he fought back tears. "Thanks," he finally managed, in a voice that was rough-shod and gruff. I nodded once, but I knew we didn't have to talk about it anymore. Just like Ace and I once had, Dom and I were reaching the point where we simply understood each other without words. I knew he'd never forgive himself for Maria's death. But maybe he'd let me carry some of the burden.

The window above Ace's head slowly darkened as the sun finally set on this bizarre day. Dom and I had spent the last hour or so in comfortable quiet. Eventually he stretched and stood. "I'm going to grab some food at the mess," he said, his voice sounding far too loud after long stretches of quiet. "Want to come?"

I shook my head. "I need to be here when he wakes up."

"Want me to bring you something back?"

Again, I shook my head. "I'm, uh…I'm really not hungry."

I saw the look Dom gave me, but evidently he decided not to push it. "Radio if you change your mind," he said, motioning to the duffel at his feet. "Your comm is in the outer pocket."

"Okay, thanks." I stood and opened the door for Dom, waiting as he passed. At the last second, he turned and gathered me up into a hug.

"Everything is going to be okay," he murmured against my hair before letting me go. I gave him a small, unconvinced smile as he exited. I closed the heavy wooden door slowly, letting it sink back into its frame almost silently. For a second, I rested my forehead against it, taking a moment for the first time today to just breathe.

"Man, I thought that guy would never leave."

I spun on my heel, reaching instinctively for a sidearm I wasn't wearing. Ace was sitting up in bed, bright and alert, and facing me. I watched as he adjusted the blankets and pushed them to the side. "It's good to see you again, Bri," he said, and his voice was just how I remembered it – warm, deep, and familiar.

"How-how long have you been conscious?"

He shrugged. "I woke up while we were back on the ship. Decided to pretend to be unconscious until I figured out where I was – and who with." He craned his neck as he took in the infirmary. "Gotta say, I didn't expect to wake up back in the COG."

I didn't take my eyes off of him as I stalked closer. "How?" I demanded, not bothering to clarify what I meant.

Ace rolled his shoulders and stretched. He swung his legs to the side of his gurney as he debated how to answer. "Some Stranded showed up after the Raven took off. They killed the grubs, then applied a tourniquet. Opal didn't make it – she was probably dead before you even left."

I swallowed hard. "I didn't…it wasn't my call to leave," I said. I hated the way my voice wavered on the edge of breaking. "Kim gave the order. I tried to…Oh, God…you were alive…" My eyes filled with tears. "Ace…I'm so sor-"

"If you apologize, I swear I'll start throwing punches," he threatened vaguely. "You didn't do anything wrong."

"We should have gone back. We never should have left. I should have-"

"Shoulda, woulda, coulda," he interrupted. "Lot of things could have gone better. None of it matters now." He held his good arm out to the side and cocked an eyebrow. "Well?" he asked. "We doing this?"

I hesitated one, maybe two seconds, before I flung myself against his chest and wrapped both of my arms as tightly as I could around him. He almost lost his balance as I tackled him into a hug, but he returned the embrace as fiercely as I did. His arm felt like an iron bar across my back. "Shit, I missed you, kid," he laughed.

I hid my face against his shoulder as I struggled to get the tears under control. "Not nearly as much as I missed you."

This was it. I was home. Delta had been a nice substitute, but I had only known them a matter of months. Ace…he had been my whole life. It was him – it really was. I had been holding myself back from believing it, simply because I knew that if I had let myself believe too early then it would crush me. If it turned out that I had been wrong. As if somehow, he wouldn't remember me, or if he had changed one way or another. Seeing Dom and Maria in the hollow had poisoned me against reunions. But this was real. It was him.

I leaned away and slugged him once in the shoulder. "How could you let me think you were dead?!" I hollered.

"Fuck, ow!" he grabbed his shoulder and leaned away, like he was ready to dodge the next one. "It's not like I could write a letter!" he snapped at me. "And remember all that wet stuff called 'sea'?"

I narrowed my eyes at him. "Don't ever do that to me again."

"Not planning on it!" he rubbed his shoulder with his good hand as he gave me a once over. I saw his eyes settle on the COG tags I wore around my neck, and he motioned towards them. "So…you became a Gear."

My hand wrapped protectively around the tags. "Something like that."

"What, you saw me die in battle and thought it looked like fun?"

I didn't laugh. "You know it's what I wanted."

"Sure," he said, settling back on the gurney. "So, what are you now? Lieutenant? Corporal? Do they have you doing Hoffman's job yet?"

I finally cracked a small smile as I joined him on the bed. "Well…it didn't go as smoothly as all that. I…well…I was Stranded for a couple of years."

I watched Ace's eyes widen, and then narrow. "How did that happen?"

I shrugged. Suddenly I felt like a little kid again, trying to explain myself to Ace after getting into a fight at school. "Remember those consequences you were always warning me about?" I hedged. "Turns out they're real." I fiddled with the chain that held my tags. "Once we got back to Ephyra Kim informed Prescott about everything that had happened on the mission. Everything – including me."

"And?" he prompted when I fell quiet.

"And Prescott slapped me with a birthing order."

"What?" he asked in a voice that was low and threatening. Ace rose to his feet, turning and facing the door as if he was going to hunt Prescott down then and there.

I pulled on his shoulder and brought him back to a sitting position. "It didn't happen, okay? Dizzy helped me get out of the city. Helped me find a camp. I didn't become a Gear until-" I gasped, realizing that I had almost forgotten the most important thing that had happened to me. "Ace! I found my father!"

Instead of looking shocked, or surprised, or even happy…another thundercloud crossed over his face. "Bane?" he hissed unpleasantly, starting to rise to his feet again.

"What? No!" I clarified. "Dominic Santiago! The guy I was talking to – he's, well…he's actually pretty great! You have to meet him!" I bounced off of the gurney and lunged for the duffel bag. I jerked on the zipper, and froze.

"What's wrong?" I heard him ask.

I swallowed hard as I stared into the bundle of cloth that contained my gear. But it wasn't just my gear – right on top was Ace's longshot, as dark and intimidating as the day he had shoved it into my chest and told me to run. I slowly traced the edges of the stock where he had carved two playing cards – aces – years ago. Forgetting about the radio, I plucked it from the pile and turned to face Ace.

"I guess…this belongs to you," I said quietly, holding it out to him like an offering.

The creases between his eyebrows faded and were replaced with surprise. He took it from me gently, laying it down across his knees and racking the bolt. "God damn," I heard him breathe. "I almost forgot about this gun." He gave it a thorough once over, finally tracing the pair of aces in much the same manner as I had. "You've kept it this whole time?"

I shrugged as I sat next to him. "It was the only thing of yours that I had left."

He gave a slow, solemn nod before picking it up and handing it back to me. "Here. It's as much yours as it ever was mine. Besides," he motioned to his left stump, "Not like I can make much use out of it."

I accepted the gun, then placed it butt-down between my boots. "Does it hurt much?" I finally asked him, not quite meeting his eyes.

He gripped his left stump with his right hand, massaging gently. "It used to," he admitted. "Not so much anymore."

Gently, I curled a hand around his left tricep. The skin was tanned and freckled, darker than I remembered. Tracing the length of the muscle, my fingers rested on the blunt end of the stump. The skin there was folded and rough, but healed completely. Melancholy settled around my shoulders as I outlined the evidence of everything he had lost.

Ace flexed his arm, drawing my attention away from his injury. "Hey," he said in a low voice. "It doesn't bother me. Really. I can't shoulder a rifle anymore, but I can bulls-eye a freckle at a hundred meters with a pistol now."

"Bet I'm still the better shot," I said with a small grin.

Just then the door to the room opened again, and Haymen entered, her white doctor's coat billowing behind her. With it followed the heavy scent of cigarette smoke. Her eyes narrowed as she took in both of us sitting on the bed. "You were supposed to call when he woke up," she chided me.

"Sorry, doc," Ace said. "I distracted her."

"Uhh-huh. So, I see you've decided to quit pretending to be asleep."

Ace gave a small, abashed smirk. "You caught that, huh?"

"Next time you want to pull tricks in my med bay, I'll grab your balls and twist until you decide you wanna wake up. Understood?" As she spoke, she pulled out a small pen light and checked Ace's reflexes. "Any difficulty breathing?"

"No, ma'am."

Hayman stared at me with her gunmetal grey eyes. "And you?"

I shook my head. "Nope."

She motioned for Ace to bow his head, then started replacing the bandaging Bernie had applied earlier that day. "I'm keeping you here overnight. You might have been faking it before, but you've got a serious gash on the back of your head. You, on the other hand," she gave me a look to let me know she was talking to me, "You're out of here. Visiting hours are well past over. This ain't a bed and breakfast."

"But-" I started to protest.

"I know you're not about to argue with me," she snapped. "Weren't you supposed to radio Hoffman, too? Should I see if you're the one with the concussion?"

I glanced at Ace, and he nodded. "It's all right. Go get some sleep. I'll still be here in the morning."

I hesitated, almost like I didn't believe him. But another withering look from Haymen sent me scrambling to grab my duffel and head for the door. I paused in the doorway, holding both hands around the duffels' shoulder strap. "Breakfast tomorrow?" I offered in a small voice.

"You bet," Ace answered with a warm smile. I took one last, long look at him before finally walking away and allowing the door to shut behind me.

Once outside the med bay I took a deep breathe and tried to center myself. I still had a million emotions coursing through me, but for once they were mostly happy emotions. I dug through the pocket of my duffle and retrieved my comm, and smushed it into my ear as I walked towards barracks. "Control," I requested when the line clicked open.

"Control, receiving," Mathieson's voice came back.

"Santiago reporting that Private Martinez is awake and alert," I said. "Hoffman wanted an update."

"I'll pass the word on."

Most of the windows in the barracks were dark by the time I arrived. I could hear light snoring behind some of the doors as I walked to the room Dom and I shared. I twisted the key and opened the door slowly, finding the room inside dark. I gently closed the door and paused for a minute, allowing my eyes time to adjust.

From my bed to the left came a soft shifting sound as Sam jumped off of my bed. She came over and gave my boots a deep sniff. "Hey girl," I whispered, jostling her ears with a hearty scratch. Byrne had kept her for the day while Delta was at sea. Dom must had retrieved her for me.

Dom. I searched through the dark, and saw his dark figure making an outline on his bed. He was asleep, but I walked over and sat on the edge of his bed anyway. "Hey," I whispered, tapping him gently on the shoulder.

He awoke easily and instantly; he hadn't been asleep long, then. "What's wrong?" he asked, sitting up in bed. "Everything okay?"

"He woke up!" I gushed excitedly. My cheeks ached slightly with how wide I was grinning. "And it's him, Dad, it really is! He's the same guy I grew up with – same jokes, same everything. I can't believe it! We're having breakfast tomorrow – will you come with me? I want you to meet him. He's great, and I told him that I found you – well, I guess Marcus found me, but that doesn't matter. And I know he'll want to meet you – will you come? Please?"

Dom sat in the darkness with a half-amazed smile as I prattled on enthusiastically. "You called me dad," he pointed out once I paused for breath, his voice rough with amazement. "You've never done that before."

"Oh? Yeah…I guess I did. Is that okay?"

"Hell yeah it's okay!" he sat up and gathered me into a one-armed hug. "And I'd love to meet Ace. Of course, I'll go with you."


I did try to get some sleep, I really did. But I was simply too excited. I laid in my bed, planning all of the things I wanted to show Ace around the island. Part of me wanted to get up and walk back to the infirmary, but I knew Hayman would just kick me out again. I waited until the barest rays of sunlight came streaming in through the window before silently creeping out of bed and heading for the showers. I dressed in my full COG armor, and smoothed my hair into a perfect ponytail with the coconut oil Anya had gifted me. Gear boots made it hard to bounce along back to the room, but somehow, I managed it, bursting through the door in a whirlwind of excitement.

Dom was awake, gathering his toiletries to go take a shower. "Good, you're awake!" I said breathlessly as I entered. "I'm going to go grab Ace, and then you'll meet us at the mess hall?"

Dom chuckled at my excitement. "Give me five minutes and I'll go with you to the med bay."

I frowned slightly as he left the room. Five minutes seemed like forever. I made it approximately thirty seconds before I was bounding out the door, Sam hot on my heels. I justified it by telling myself that Sam needed to go outside, anyway. I rushed down the first flight of stairs, then paused, an idea forming in my mind. "C'mon Sam," I directed her, heading down the hallway. I paused at the right door, then lifted my fist and knocked five times.

It took longer than I expected for someone to answer the door. Maralin peered out between the door and the frame, blinking at the hallway light. The room was dark behind her, and I realized too late that they had been asleep. "Hey," I said in a soft, apologetic tone. "Sorry to wake you. Is Dizzy here?"

Maralin rubbed at the sleep in her eyes. "Dad? No…he didn't come home last night. He's probably POD somewhere."

"POD?"

"Passed out drunk," Teresa filled in. She joined the space next to her sister, looking slightly more awake. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing's wrong," I reassured them. "Actually…I've got a surprise for you. Can you guys meet me at the mess hall in like…thirty minutes?" They shrugged and agreed. "Great. And if you find your dad somewhere, bring him along too."

I continued down to the first floor, and exploded out the main entrance and into the dew-soaked world. The streets were abandoned at this early hour. Sam squatted and did her business in the grass, then bounded after me as I jogged over to the med bay.

I left Sam outside on a 'stay' command, shuddering to think of the tongue-lashing Hayman would give me for bringing a dog into her shiny new med bay. The heavy oak doors shut quietly behind me, cutting off the sound of wind and birds rousing from their nests. I headed towards Ace's room on soft feet, reluctant to wake any sleeping wounded.

Ace's door was cracked slightly, with lamp light creeping out into the hallway. I paused when I heard voices having a muted conversation. I didn't mean to eavesdrop, but before I could shift away, or knock, I recognized Prescott's voice.

"I don't think I need to explain to you the importance of discretion," the Chairman said. "The mission remains classified."

"You mean the mission where you left me for dead?" I heard Ace answer. The timber of his voice raised the hair on the back of my neck. He was angry – no, he was furious. And, after all, why shouldn't he be? It was Prescott's mission that left him stranded, Prescott who had lied about how Ace had 'died', and Prescott who was here asking Ace to lie for him yet again. I felt my own anger at the Chairman stir to life, like embers in a day-old campfire.

Prescott paused long enough to be awkward. "The circumstances of your abandonment were unfortunate," he said in a slightly apologetic tone. "But I'm afraid I must insist upon you silence. The vow you swore while a Gear still binds, I'm afraid."

"I swore to lay down my life in defense of the COG," Ace answered in a voice as cold as ice. "I did that. You can take your vows and shove them."

I opened the door before Prescott had a chance to respond. His attention swung to me, and his affixed a pleasant expression on his face, but I saw the look he had worn when Ace dared to defy him. His eyes were like a shark – bloodless, and on the hunt. "Ahh, Miss Santiago," he said in a friendly voice, as if he weren't just having an unpleasant conversation. "I never congratulated you on becoming a Gear."

"It's Private Santiago," I corrected him coldly.

"Of course," he said an embarrassed tone as he made for the door. I sidestepped out of his way. "I'm afraid I have matters to attend to. Please, forgive me,"

Never, I thought.

Neither Ace or I spoke as the Chairman's footsteps faded into the distance. "Be careful," I finally said when we were alone. "Prescott is dangerous."

"I've faced an army of grubs," Ace said, tying up his boots with an interesting one-handed move. "You don't think I can handle one lousy bureaucrat?"

"What did he want?"

"He wanted to make sure I wasn't about to go spilling my guts about Romgar."

I watched as he pulled the sheets up the bed and gathered up his few possessions. "I guess the arrival of Gorasnaya has him on edge. Wants to make sure nothing else from the past is going to come back and bite him."

Ace froze, and gave me a searching look. "Gorasnaya is here?"

I nodded. "Yeah. You were asleep – or pretending to be. Their submarine followed us back to Vectes yesterday."

A storm cloud passed over Ace's face as he cursed. "Mother fuckers," he spat. "If the COG were smart, they'd drown the lot of them."

"You have something against Gorasnaya?"

He pointed to the back of his head. "Did you forget that they fired a torpedo at me yesterday? Killed a couple of my men?" He shook his head. "If you think Prescott is dangerous, then stay the hell away from any one speaking Indie. They'll shake your hand while sinking a blade in your back."

I made a mental note of Ace's warning as we exited the med bay. Instead of answering I whistled for Sam, who came lopping over with a slobbery grin. She sniffed Ace's boots interestedly.

"Who's this?"

"Ace, meet Sam," I introduced them. "After you left, I needed someone to watch my back."

"So you replaced me with a dog?" he held out his hand for Sam to sniff.

"She does have all of her limbs," I joked. "And, you know, hasn't pretended to be dead for the last five years."

"Oh, ouch."

"Sorry. Too soon?"

"Nah." Sam snubbed Ace's proffered hand and slung around to the far side of me. It was a cooler welcome than Sam usually gave new people. Maybe she didn't like the smell slightly clinical smell of the med bay that clung to Ace's new clothes. I made for the barracks, figuring Dom had to be finished showering by now. But as we headed down the street, Dom rounded the corner and headed in our direction.

A genuine smile crossed my face for the first time that morning. "Ace," I said as Dom caught up with us. "I want you to meet Dom Santiago. My father."

Dom held his right hand out for Ace to shake. "It's an honor," he said as a greeting. "She's told me a lot of good things."

Ace's expression darkened as he ignored Dom's hand. "So, you're the one who abandoned her? Left her for the grubs to get?"

"Ace!" I snapped in shock as Dom visibly recoiled. "What the fuck!?"

Dom looked as if he'd been struck. His hand dropped back to his side. "You're right," he said in a hollow voice. "I should have been there."

"Bullshit!" I seethed at them both. "Ace, no one 'abandoned' me!"

"I was told she was dead," Dom admitted somberly. "I looked for her – every day, even a body. They found the body of my son, and a girl who resembled Sylvia. I buried them both. I never thought, never considered –" Dom started getting choked up.

"Ace," my voice was sharp. "It's ancient history. It doesn't matter now." Ace's eyes were cold as they sized Dom up. "Come on," I said, grabbing Dom by the shoulder and steering him in the direction of the mess hall. "Time for breakfast."

True to their word, Maralin and Teresa were waiting for us in the mess hall. They looked confused as to why I had asked them to meet me there, until they caught sight of Ace. Their identical faces lighting up in unison was almost enough to make me forget Ace's rudeness to Dom. I watched as the girls tackled Ace into an embrace and excitedly chattered about.

"You okay?" I asked Dom in a quiet voice. "I'm sure Ace didn't mean it. He's…protective. That's all."

Dom tried for a smile, but fell short. "Nothing I haven't said to myself," he admitted. "Go grab a table. I'll get a tray."

We settled on an empty table near the rear of the hall. As we passed tables with early-bird Gears, I heard snippets of conversation, all centered around the arrival of Gorasnaya. I took a chair between Maralin and Ace, with Dom and Teresa on the other side. Dom delivered a tray piled high with bran muffins, and a pile of sweet, slightly plump berries that evidently only grew on the island.

Maralin grinned at Ace, almost too excited to eat. Her fingers methodically picked apart her muffin until it lay in crumbs on the table. "I just can't believe it! You're alive! How?"

Before Ace could answer I caught the door to the mess opening, and a familiar head of blonde hair entering. I half-stood out of my chair as I waved. "Hey, Baird!" I called across the room. He noticed me, then adjusted course to meet our table. "Baird, this is Ace," I introduced the two. They merely glanced at each other without saying a word.

"How?" Teresa repeated Maralin's question to Ace.

Ace glanced at me as he chewed an over-ripe berry. "Training exercise. Things went wrong, and, well... I ended up out here. Took me a while to find my way back."

"Yeah, that's believable," I heard Baird mutter as he plucked a muffin off of the tray and took a seat next to Dom. "So, how'd you end up paling around with Stranded?" he asked in a slightly louder voice.

Ace gave Baird a level stare. "Had to fall in with somebody. The FTC were the ones who found me."

"Right, sure. And exactly what 'training exercise' were you doing that left you a thousand kilometers from base?"

"That's classified."

Baird snorted in derision just as I opened my mouth to tell him to drop it. "Yeah? Well, pal, I've pissed off a lot of commanders in my day, and none of them ever left my ass for dead. So whatever you did to deserve that must have been epic."

"Ignore him," I said to Ace. "Baird's got some kind of condition where he likes to say really stupid shit just to see what will happen."

"No, it's a genuine question," Baird continued, purposefully ignoring the warning in my glare. "I want to know why Aces over here was playing puddle pirates while we were busy fighting the locust."

"You've got quite a mouth on you, pal," Ace said with a sour look.

"Yeah, most humans with a face do."

"Enough," I snapped, rising to my feet. I shot Baird a cold look. "Can I talk to you? Outside?"

Ace shook his head. "Bri, you don't have to-"

"Oh, yes I do," I snapped, striding away from the table. Baird rolled his eyes, but he got up and followed me out the mess hall doors and into the alleyway, where we had some privacy. "What the hell is your problem?" I hissed at him. "Are you trying to be a dick?"

"Usually, yeah."

"Well, knock it off!"

"I'm trying to get some answers!"

"Have you considered maybe it's none of your business?"

An odd expression crossed his face. If I didn't know better, I'd say that I had hurt his feelings. "Yeah, you're right. Forget it. I'm glad your boyfriend's back." He started to walk away, but I grabbed his arm.

"Is that what this is all about?" I asked him. "Are you jealous?"

Baird glanced down the alleyway and back before he answered. "I waited at the cabin last night for three hours," he said, pulling out of my grasp. "You never showed."

Suddenly, it hit me like a ton of bricks. The dinner Baird had planned for us. Cooking in the old abandoned hunting cabin. Our date. "Holy shit," I breathed, realizing I had completely forgotten all about it until this exact second. "Damon…I am so sorry!"

Some of the bravado seemed to melt out of him. "Look, I get it," he said. "If Cole died and then came back to life, it would send me spinning too."

"That doesn't make it okay." I felt the guilt come crashing in on waves. "I had been looking forward to it. I really was."

"Me too," he said, finally cracking a smirk. "I had some fish I was going to fry."

"Raincheck," I told him, this time slipping my hand into his. I gave his fingers an affectionate squeeze. "Tomorrow? I swear I won't forget this time."

He sighed dramatically. "I don't know…" he hedged with a theatrical heave of his shoulders. "I put a lot of effort into that dinner, only to be let down. What's in it for me?"

I checked both ends of the alleyway to make sure we were alone, before sliding up and giving him a long, slow, stirring kiss. We were both wearing full armor, so it was a little awkward, but that familiar burn heated the pit of my stomach and radiated outwards. When we finally separated, I could feel that burn lighting my cheeks aflame.

"That's good," Baird said with a smile. "Very good. Alright, yeah…dinner."

"I won't stand you up this time," I promised him, finally withdrawing my hand from his.

"You better not," he said. "My ego can only take so much rejection."

I gave him one quick peck before sighing. "I better go, before Ace comes out here after me."

Baird sighed again, and he shook his head. "Listen," he said in a low voice. "I'm real happy your prince charming has returned. But…remember that the Stranded aboard that boat tortured those men to death. And even if Boy Toy over there wasn't the one wielding the blade, he damn sure didn't put an end to it."

"What are you saying?" I asked him.

"I'm saying be careful. The people from your past have a way of not being who you remember."


Author's note: Lots of warnings in this chapter about potentially dangerous people. Things are starting to get dicey. But enough from me. I want to hear from you! We're so close to 300 reviews! I wrote a lot of words for you, leave a couple for me on your way out!