Max woke up from the tazer blast strapped down to a chair aware of Colonel Lydecker's presence somewhere behind her. Her bleary eyes focused in on sitting at a desk in front of her whom she'd never seen before. A woman who asked too many questions and made it obvious to Max that she believed the lies Zack had told her to be the truth. They all seemed to cling to the story to try and ease Max of some of her guilt; it was a useless pursuit. A senseless waist of time. Max didn't want to feel better about it; She'd killed her own brother with her bare hands! She didn't want it to be swept under some rug. She needed to find out why she had snapped and killed him so that she didn't hurt any of her other siblings. She was a trained killing machine with a defective trigger, she was meant to kill the enemy, not her family. This was the last thing she needed to happen and she explained this to the woman sitting before her.

"That's not what happened, soldier." The blond haired woman tried explaining it all again.

"She's delirious with guilt." Colonel Lydecker supplied Dr. Renfro with a viable excuse.

"I killed him!" Max insisted. "I let Ash die."

Dr. Renfro tried reasoning with her again, if she could pull off cracking and putting this X-5 back together she'd be sure to get that promotion she had been looking for since her horrible work with the X-2's. Colonel Lydecker had an all-together different agenda in mind. He wanted to break X-5542, he wanted to see her raw emotions, get her at her weakest moment. He needed to know if she could withstand the shocks that X-5599 could handle at her age. X-5656 had been their second choice for SIC, but she couldn't take the torture and when it came down to it you needed a strong command. X-5734 had been his original choice but they had found a defective gene in her and she was undergoing testing for it, she was malfunctioning. So X-5542 was the next choice she would be molded into the perfect soldier. X-5599's female counterpart.

It was dinnertime and everyone was extremely somber given Ash and Max's absences. They had already lost Jack and it just wasn't very good for moral to loose a fellow soldier. They feared loosing Maxie as well. They ate in silence in formal regulation style that was only reserved for when Colonel Lydecker was watching them, out of respect for their fallen comrade. Zack continued to reprimand Brin, it wasn't really her fault but Zack needed to take his aggression out on something. Brin had been a catalyst in the whole process and Max would still be with them now if it weren't for her stubbornness. Besides having Brin stand during the duration of their allotted mealtime, Zack ordered her to save half of her rations for Max when she returned. Zack did the same for her out of a sense of duty and knowing that she would need it to heal. Jondy took it upon herself to save half of her rations for her sister out of love without even consulting Zack.

Brin was hungry, stiff and angry she just knew that if the tables were turned Zack would not be reprimanding Max, or at least not come down so hard on her. Zack tried to come off as an impartial CO but the other knew he favored their youngest sister and brother. Most of the others did too. It made Brin angry the more and more she thought about it. Max was the baby; Brin deserved to be at Zack's side that was her place. If being CO was his birthright then SIC should have been her position. Max was Brin's enemy; Tinga was Brin's competition. At very least Max was her competition in everything. The others seemed to think little Maxie was special. She was in a way. She never slept. She was over emotional. She had more vices and faults then any of the others. She was a loose cannon. In Brin's eyes Max would never be fit to be SIC. Colonel Lydecker and Zack seemed to think differently. Brin hated Zack for being so hard on her right now. Her muscles ached and the rations in her fatigue pockets were making her leg itch.

Zack watched Brin standing at attention across the table from him, a stone hard glare in her eyes sullenly eating her rations. Resentment was something he saw flickering through her eyes and it hurt Zack. He didn't want to be the bad guy he just wanted to promote unity in the ranks. Zack might have been too hard on her and he didn't want to turn into the old man. He was eight years old with the mindset and eyes of a stern thirty-year-old or older soldier.

"At ease X-5734." Zack growled.

Brin decided to ignore the order, stay strong and take the punishment that was dealt to her. She didn't want to be weak like Max.

Zack stood up. "Sit down Brin."

Was this guilt? Zack had lost two good soldiers and Max was out of commission for now. He didn't want to loose Brin at the same time. Brin was loyalty personified and Zack didn't want her to turn against him. Brin sat down releasing an audible sigh, shook out her stiff limbs and cracked her neck. She offered Zack a curt nod and saluted him as a form of thanks. Zack returned the nod, he'd have to have a stern talk with her later.

Max became unruly she ripped free of the bonds that held her down to the chair and stalked around the woman's office. Colonel Lydecker watched the whole thing with a look of bemusement on his face his hand on the tazer at all times. Max even went so far as to overturn the woman's desk. Why wouldn't they help her? Why couldn't they acknowledge the fact that she'd snapped and killed her brother and maybe she wasn't really a perfect soldier? Why weren't they trying to help her see why she'd done it and trying to fix her? Did they want to see her kill again?

"I need to know what happened." Max broke the silence in the room.

"You tried to save Ash's life," The woman told her for the hundredth time. "You failed and your training will be intensified to insure this never happens again."

"You're lying to me." Max smelt fear on the woman and only pure enjoyment on Colonel Lydecker. "I don't want to kill again. Death is only acceptable for the enemy and my family is not the enemy."

Max heard Colonel Lydecker chortle behind her and she knew there was a smug smirk on the old man's face but she dared not turn to look at him.

"X-5542 you don't have a family. You have a regiment of comrades." The woman explained.

"I have a name and a family who I'm supposed to protect and be loyal to and fight side by side with not against!" Max had it. She broke down crying again and ripped all the books off of the near by bookshelf. "I failed everyone! I'm broken. FIX ME!" She started hitting the wall behind the bookcase.

Colonel Lydecker was on his feet in an instant trying to restrain Max. "Stand down, soldier."

It was a though Max didn't hear him. She kept lashing out harder and faster until her knuckles bled and the wall was littered with dozens of small holes. She turned on Colonel Lydecker then finally acknowledging his presence as he tried to stop her. He was no match for the young X-5's strength. All the while Renfro was watching this in fascination while trying to talk the soldier down.

"You let me kill him! You made me kill him!" Max lashed out at the older man bloodying his nose and splitting his lip, throwing any insult she could find at him, tears streaming down her face.

Colonel Lydecker grabbed her by one of her wrists and Max howled. The needle that pierced her skin seemed to have materialized out of thin air. Colonel Lydecker stepped back releasing his hold on her. Everything moved in slow motion for Max. She managed to land three more blows to Colonel Lydecker before she collapsed to her knees.

"Help." She pleaded her voice wispy and thin before the room cascaded into darkness.

Dr. Renfro finally moved to her feet from where she had been seated when the girl had overturned her desk. "You okay Deck?"

"Fine." He whipped some blood off his face but he was smiling. "She is a good soldier."

"I've never seen any of them go down that fast. What the hell did you give her?"

"Three hundred milligrams of Thorazine."

"Damn that's almost enough to take down a wild horse."

Colonel Lydecker simply nodded. "That's why it works. We just can't use it too often out of fear that they'll build up a tolerance to it."

"I'll get a team to prep her for the shock treatment."

"I want to be there." Colonel Lydecker insisted un-able to get the look that had been in Max's eyes the moment she'd fallen off of his own mind.

"Consider it done." The doctor walked out of the room leaving Lydecker alone to watch over the soldier until she was secured by the team.

Nineteen soldiers returned to the barracks after their showers. They sat in quiet reverence all too aware of the two empty beds in the room. Jack and Sam's cots had been removed shortly after they were terminated and it bothered them that Ash's cot still remained. Fallen soldiers were supposed to be forgotten. Zack glanced over at Jondy who occupied the cot next to him. Jondy was glairing at the stark white ceiling, stone still, arms crossed over her chest. She hadn't spoken a word since she'd made the accusations at Brin. Zack had transferred the rations they had for Max into his pillowcase before they had to report to the showers and trade in their fatigues for gowns. Now they were a hard lump under his peach fuzz covered head, a constant reminder of Max's absence. No one moved. No one talked. No one smiled.

Zack sat up his bare feet smacking against the cold hard floor, the sound almost deafening in the silence of the room. He stalked across the room and stood above Brin's bed.

"Explain yourself." He barked.

"I can't," Brin swallowed hard. "I have no explanation, sir. I was caught up in the thrill of the moment."

"Emotions." Zack shook his head and sighed, displaying a few of his own. "On your feet, soldier."

Brin jumped up off her bed and stood at attention ready for whatever task Zack had planned for her.

"Drop." Zack said simply. He set no limit, he set no time, Brin was just expected to follow the order. He wasn't even sure she deserved any more punishment and he knew he was coming down hard on her, but she'd broken the cardinal rule. Always protect the family above all else. That meant sometimes the needs of the younger ones just came before your own. Zack didn't know what else to do.

So Brin started doing pushups as Zack turned on his heals and walked over to Jondy's bed. Zack caught Zane's eye as he passed his cot and cold tell he felt the same way. Unsure if the punishment fit the crime but at the same time thinking he was being too hard.

"Jondy?" Zack asked softly as to not disturb the others who might have wanted to use these crucial seven hours for sleep.

No response. Not a twitch, not a blink, nothing. It was like she was hurt by Max's absence and felt her pain. The two were closer then any of the others with Krit coming in a close second. Zack sometimes envied the closeness they had. Sometimes it seemed they were twins even though the scientists had used different DNA. They were almost the same person. The two shared a bond that the rest weren't even sure where it came from. Neither of them ever slept unless they were drugged or sick, they just didn't need to. Maybe it was their late night talks, those seven hours they had where no one but the two of them existed. Or maybe it was something else all together that made them close. No matter what it was when one was hurting the other hurt and when they were separated for long periods of time they were miserable.

"Jondy?" Zack reached out and touched her shoulder and Jondy rolled out of range of his touch.

"You said she'd be okay. You promised big brother." Jondy's voice was small, hurt filled and angry.

Zack winched inwardly. "She will be. Max is tough."

"That's not it. . ." Jondy was crying silent tears running down her face, which the others were becoming painfully aware of. The salty smell permeated the air in the room. Jondy was like Max in almost every way except she wasn't as emotional as her sister, her crying came as quite a shock.

Zack realized it all very suddenly. He sat at the foot of her cot placing a reassuring hand on the small of her back. "Max is coming back Jondy."

"What if she doesn't? What if they take her down to the basement and give her to the nomies? What if she really does have something wrong with her Zack? We can't loose two siblings in three days. . ." She turned to Zack with a strong conviction in her wide eyes.

A thud drew everyone's attention to Brin's cot or rather next to it. The girl's arms had finally given out on her, the lactic acid build up was too much and she was tired. Her body was shot, worn out. In a very soft yet clear and agony filled voice she declared. "I'm sorry."

Zack was on his feet and at her side in a heart beat. He knew he was being too hard on her, but he also knew he had to make this a lesson none of the others would forget. No one should ever break the first law again. He told her that her apology was all that was necessary along with the insurance that she would not do it again. He helped her into her cot and ordered her to get some rest. Brin agreed and promptly her breathing evened out, this was one order she would have no problem following. Zack returned to Jondy's bed to find Krit, Syl and Ben with her. Zack new he had good sibling. The others gathered around as Ben began to concoct a tale about an X-4 who had escaped the clutches of the nomies. A gallant soldier who had won his freedom, it was a good tale and helped put everyone's mind at ease.