A/N: In an answer to Katie's question, blame it on the stress! Besides, it's only a couple of hairs. Actually, I do know quite a few people who've gone gray early. Mostly it's just at the temples and such, though. I figured with such a high stress job, Dwayne's bound to get a least a few gray hairs. ;) Thanks for the kind responses from everyone! I hope I can manage to keep you entertained for at least a little while.



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Chapter 6: War and Peace



Sitting silently at her desk, Dr. Slate tinkered idly with a small motor. Her single desk lamp bathed the small corner of the room in a dreary yellow light. Quark Tower was mostly dark, the other employees having gone home. Rusty had powered down hours ago, but she couldn't quite convince herself that it was time to leave. Erica didn't feel much like going to sleep at the moment.

The motor in her hands whirred and clicked softly as she made several more fine adjustments. In truth, her mind wasn't really on the device she worked on. It was more an excuse to have something to do with her hands and to stay late.

//He'll be fine... Lieutenant Hunter always makes it through...//

Picking up a needle shaped tool, Dr. Slate carefully extended a fragile spring. She paused, listening carefully to the sound the motor was making, and then nodded in satisfaction. Setting it down on the desk, she watched the machine for a while.

//He'll be fine... He has to be fine...//

She let her thoughts drift to Dr. Poindexter and his grandson. None of the files she had seen indicated that the doctor had any children. She had been taken by surprised when he had revealed the truth to her. Evidently, Poindexter's brother had a daughter whom he was very fond of. When his brother and sister-in-law died in a plane crash, Poindexter had taken the girl in and adopted her.

It was a rather sad story. The doctor had lost his only brother and then later his niece and adopted daughter. No wonder he had been willing to try anything to save his grandson. There was something about Matthew, though, that just seemed... odd to her. Dr. Slate wasn't quite sure why she felt that way and wasn't willing to tell anyone until she figured it out.

With a sigh, Erica leaned back in her chair. She rolled her shoulders to stretch out a kink that had been building in her back. It had been a terribly long day...

//He'll be fine... Oh, please, let him be all right...//

Surrendering to the emotion that had been gnawing at her ever since the battle with Number Seven, Erica took off her glasses with a trembling hand. Tears threatened to spill down her face, and she quickly wiped them away.

Why was this man so important to her? She barely knew him. They were only friends! Ever since she had discovered the truth about Big Guy, Erica had found herself drawn more and more to the handsome Lieutenant. She had never imagined that a human was the one responsible for saving the Earth time and time again. He constantly put himself at risk but never received the recognition for his sacrifices.

//Please don't die...//

She sniffled and sought a tissue in her pockets. Finding none, she heaved another sigh and let her face rest in her hands.

Rusty had been unusually subdued when they returned from the hospital. He hadn't complained when she told him it was bed time. The diminutive robot had liked Dwayne right away. He appreciated the human's willingness to let him talk to Big Guy when ever he wanted. Dwayne didn't ever yell at or ignore Rusty. He always seemed to have time to at least talk for a few moments.

Erica had been surprised by the Lieutenant's kindness and patience. Most adults treated Rusty as they would a five year old. Admittedly, he frustrated and irritated her quite frequently too, but she tried very hard to be understanding. It wasn't easy, and she had been amazed by how easily Dwayne dealt with him.

//He's a good man...//

Neither she nor Dwayne had much time for personal lives. Perhaps that was why she felt such a strong connection to him... They weren't really all that different. While she devoted her life to science and making the world a better place through it, he had devoted his to the country and protecting all the lives in it. He was a very brave man...

It stuck her then, the thought that Dwayne might die for his country and yet only a handful of people would ever know the truth. //How could they let that happen?// To keep the secret to protect the pride of the military seemed like such a sin. Of course, she knew that keeping the information classified protected the pilot of Big Guy as well, but it didn't quite seem reason enough to her.

//What a terrible thing... The people he saved will never know...// Erica choked back a sob and laid her head down on her arm, crying silently into her sleeve.


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Jo sat out on the deserted flight deck, looking up at the vibrant moon and stars. The light they gave off was plenty to see by that night. It was quiet and she could hear the sound of the waves lapping at the hull. Somehow the serenity didn't seem appropriate...

"Mind some company?" Garth walked up next to her, hands in his pockets.

"Nah. It'd be nice. It's too quiet out here," patting the space next to her, Jo gave him a smile.

Sitting down, the tall man made himself comfortable, "Nice night, though."

"Yup."

"Should be good weather tomorrow too."

"Yeah... Heard it might rain the day after, though."

"Hmm... That'd be a shame..."

The pair lapsed into a comfortable silence, content with each others' company. Working so closely for such extended periods of time had taught the Pit Crew to enjoy being around other people. Despite the size of the air craft carrier, it was difficult not to be running into someone at every turn. Everybody eventually learned to deal with it.

"Hey," Mack sat down on the other side of Jo. He moved quietly for someone of his years and neither of the two younger crew members had heard him approach.

"Nice night, huh?" Jo said for lack of anything better.

"It's okay," Mack shrugged. He was much less vocal that usual.

"Hey, down be so down," Garth said, "We all know Dwayne's a tough guy. He'll pull through. It's not going to help if we give up on him now."

"I know," Jo looked down at her hands which lay in her lap, "It's not like he's never been hurt before." Mack was conspicuously silent.


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Dr. Slate paused near the front doors of Quark Tower. She had promised to bring Dr. Poindexter to see her lab. Matthew, happy to be reunited with his grandfather, had begged to come as well. It was hardly an inconvenience, so she had readily agreed. He followed several steps behind the two scientists remaining silent.

"So this is Quark's new building..." Dr. Poindexter looked up at the tall structure, "It's quite nice compared to the old one."

"I never saw the previous building," Erica commented as she pushed open the door. She waved to the security guard behind the desk who smiled back, "I heard it was destroyed in a fire."

"Well, you could say that," Poindexter said, walking beside her, "Though the fire was started by an alien who tore up an oil tanker and hurled it at the building."

Dr. Slate stared at him, "Really?"

"Oh yes," he nodded solemnly, "Unfortunately, our BGY-7 prototype was destroyed during the combat. It did defeat the alien, however."

"I hadn't heard about that. There doesn't seem to be much information available about the earlier BGY models..." Dr. Slate let the sentence drift off as she turned her head, noticing Dr. Donovan coming down another hallway. //Oh great... Just what I need.//

Noticing her distracted gaze, Dr. Poindexter frowned, "Is something wrong?"

"Uh... It might be..." She cringed inwardly when she saw Donovan turn in their direction. After all the stress of the past two days, the last thing she needed was for her employer to be pestering her about some inconsequential project.

"Jenny... Is that who I think it is?" Donovan could barely contain his glee.

"That's Poindexter, right?" the chimp commented, glancing at the human.

"It is! Imagine that... I wonder if he needs a job..." Hurrying to catch the pair of scientists, he called out, "Oh, Dr. Slate!"

Erica rolled her eyes and came to a halt, "Great, just great..."

"Dr. Poindexter!" Donovan took the older man's hand and shook it vigorously, "I can't tell you what an honor it is to meet you. I'm a big fan of your work."

"Er... Yes..." Poindexter looked sideways at Dr. Slate who seemed more than a little irritated.

Erica reluctantly introduced the two men, "Dr. Poindexter, this is Dr. Axel Donovan, the CEO of Quark Industries."

"So, tell me, are you working for anyone these days?" Donovan's beady eyes lit up with something akin to joy, but much closer to greed.

"No... No I'm not," Poindexter answered cautiously.

Smiling broadly, Donovan rubbed his hands together eagerly, "Perhaps you'd like a guided tour of Quark Tower. I'm sure you'd like to see our facilities..."

"Actually, Dr. Slate invited me to see her lab. It would be rude of me to keep her waiting, now wouldn't it?" clasping his hands behind his back, Dr. Poindexter favored the other man with a thin smile.

"Oh! Oh, yes, of course!" always one to capitalize on any opportunity, Donovan grabbed Erica's arm, "I'm afraid I'll have to borrow the lovely Dr. Slate for just a moment, however..." Pulling her off to the side, he whispered conspiratorially, "Make sure you're nice to this guy... If he needs anything, give it to him, understand? Just think of what a coup it would be to get him to work for Quark!"

Dragging her arm out of his grasp, Dr. Slate glared at him, "He's here as a guest. I'm not going to proposition him to take a job at Quarks." //His wallet is the only he ever cares about.//

Donovan scowled, "Fine, but make sure you treat him well. This is an chance I don't want screwed up."

Dr. Slate gave him an icy stare as she adjusted her glasses. She didn't appreciate Donovan's heavy handed management. Turning away she walked back to Dr. Poindexter and Matthew, "Let's go... Sorry about all that."

Poindexter smiled genially, "Don't worry about it. It certainly wasn't any fault of yours."

"Dr. Slate! Dr. Poindexter!" Rusty called. He was standing in the doorway to Erica's lab, grinning ecstatically.

"Hello, Rusty," Poindexter patted the robot on the head, "It's good to see you again." He followed Rusty inside, pausing to inspect the interior, "They seem to keep you well equipped."

"Only grudgingly," Dr. Slate said, "Donovan likes to cut out any unnecessary expenses..."

"I'm surprised you've managed to accomplish so much with someone like him hanging over your shoulder," Poindexter commented, studying the neucleoproton generator with great interest.

"I consider myself lucky," Erica said with a small smile.

"Hey, Matthew, wanna play a game?" Rusty offered, hoping to make a new friend.

"No... not right now... But you can call me Matt if you'd like," the tall young man responded politely.

"Oh... okay," pleased with the concession, Rusty smiled.

"Amazing," Poindexter shook his head, "You've done something truly remarkable, Dr. Slate. I spent so much time fighting against the childish impulses of the emotion grid. It seems you've had far more success with the AI integration by just allowing it to be itself."

"Rusty's definitely one of a kind," she replied modestly, "I doubt I could have built him without your prior research into the field."

"Don't sell yourself short," he said, "Not many people could do what you have."

Unused to being complimented, Dr. Slate quickly changed the subject, "Can you tell me more about the implants you devised for humans? It seems like something that could potentially save a lot of lives."

Poindexter glanced at Matthew who was busy looking at some of the unfinished machines in the room, "Yes, it could. There are some draw backs, however. There's a high potential for rejection. It's not much different from transplant surgery. It takes a great deal of fine tuning to work around that. I don't think implants could ever really be standardized. It would require that they be constructed on an individual basis."

"I see..." Erica murmured.

"Unfortunately, custom designs would be expensive, prohibiting the general public from gaining access," he commented, "It's a pity..."

Dr. Slate watched Matthew moving about the room and decided that she needed to ask the question that had been plaguing her since she had first seen the young man, "Dr. Poindexter... were those external implants... necessary?"

"Pardon?" Poindexter blinked in surprised before he realized what she was asking, "Oh, no... Actually... I didn't do that..."

Her eyebrows rose in surprise, "Really? Who...?"

"The Legion," Matthew spoke without looking at the other two humans.

Frowning, Erica looked from Poindexter to Matthew and back, "Why would they do that? What did they hope to accomplish?"

"I'm not entirely sure," Poindexter admitted, "They don't seem to serve any logical function."

"Maybe we should remove them," Dr. Slate suggested. //Anything done by the Legion can't be good.//

"No. They don't bother me," Matthew responded, "They might actually be... useful at some point."

Dr. Slate frowned again. The young man's response troubled her, "Well, if you're sure..."

"Thank you for the offer. I'll keep it in mind," turning back to the neucleoproton generator, Matthew fell silent.

//Very strange...// Erica thought. Unable to find a reason to persist with the current topic, she faced Dr. Poindexter, "Why don't I show you the schematics I used to construct Rusty. I'd like to get your opinion on a few modifications I've been considering."

Poindexter grinned, "That'd be wonderful."



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