PART TWO

"Why don't we play some golf?"

"Nick, why do I get the feeling that your version of golf involves automatic weapons fire and throwing cars into guards armed to the teeth?"

"You still yell 'fore!'"

-- Marco, Guest star Hugh Jackman, "The Omega Team"

*****

Marco blinked. A simple motion of the eyelids, but something that he hadn't done for months. Trapped in his thoughts, reflection was something he relished, as his life as a celebrity allowed little room for slowing down.

It wasn't that he was caught in the fast lane - he knew the speed, and was easily capable of maintaining it, at a small price. Even so, he knew himself, and therefore didn't feel guilty for trying to forget the past and look to the future. Moving on was the first step to healing.

And hey, I came close to gettin' in good with Jeanne. I need to learn French.

*****

Jake Berenson blinked. A simple motion of the eyelids, but something that he hadn't done for months. Trapped in his thoughts, reflection was something he despised, as his life as a murderer gave him much room to remember the past.

It wasn't that he felt guilty for getting himself and his friends into the current situation - he knew the risks, and was easily capable of taking them in stride. Even so, he hated himself, hated what he had become, and therefore felt guilty for trying to forget the past and look to the future. The past wasn't through with him, and he had to deal with it.

It's time to quit whining, quit repenting, and start leading.

*****

Tobias blinked. A simple motion of the eyelids, but something that he hadn't done for months. He flapped wildly around, but was seemingly unable to free himself of the restraining force that kept him put. He looked wildly around. Faces all around. Rachel? No, not Rachel. Not here.

Tobias returned to the void, where Rachel was still alive and well, and where he could spend the rest of his life with her.

I love you, Rachel.

*****

Aximili-Esgarrouth-Isthill had been awake for hours, already. He wanted to shave his chest immediately. He was disgraced - complacentcy equated into sluggishness, and it was through his lethargy that he got careless and got his crew killed.

Disgrace was the worst possible emotion that he could ever have, and he wanted to just finish it all, now. He'd trade it all in - the fame, the promotions, the position - just to keep those he cared too little about alive.

It wasn't worth it, anymore.

Just someone kill me and end it.

*****

Santorelli blinked. A simple motion of the eyelids, but something that he hadn't done for months. Realizing that he was restrained, he was pissed. Santorelli didn't like being restrained. He wanted someone's ass on a platter. Maybe that Efflit sonuvabitch could help him entertain those thoughts.

His eyesight was blurry. He hadn't looked through them in a while, and nothing looked remotely familiar. He figured that he could just keep them open, and sooner or later they'll return to focus.

In the meantime, he resumed mentally stripping an M-16 with a Shredder attached.

Ooh, someone's going to get an asskicking.

*****

Jeanne blinked. A simple motion of the eyelids, but something that she hadn't done for months. Realizing that she was restrained, she decided to not fight. It was pointless, anyway.

Her eyesight was blurry, but it didn't really matter. She had a feeling that she didn't want to see whatever it was that was in front of her, anyway.

Au moins ce Marco ne me tracassera plus. Quoiqu'il ait été mignon...

*****

"Oh, the joys of technology."

Frost was about ready to hit Drake. So were Kerell and Tank and Daniel, the "civvie" they knocked out six weeks ago. But they also wanted to hit each other, and therefore, decided to hit no one, as it would start a riot. And Derek's arm had just barely healed.

"Fox..."

"What?"

You're drunk, aren't you? Kerell asked the question for Derek.

Fox thought for a moment, and then nodded. "Yeah... Pretty much."

Daniel got up from the table they found out in the vacuum of space among the rest of the wreckage that used to be the Michael, and placed his dish in the sink that he hooked up. Water purification systems were so advanced that the dirtied water became cleaner than the most clean water on Earth pre-Invasion. Tack on the buckets and buckets of it just floating in perfect spheres, and they had water to spare.

For two weeks straight, they collected scrap metal, equipment, weapons, parts of ships, actual ships, and built themselves a better ship. The work was slow, but when one was stuck in one single ship, which had only about five hundred square feet to walk around, there was little else one can do but work to expand.

And so they worked, creating the additions through the use of HEV suits out in the void, until completion, which would then be added onto the HTC. Seals and double-seals were made, and after two weeks of collecting, and four weeks of actual construction, the HTC was a dangerous vehicle. The Michael could not have been made better.

Thoughts of their once flagship prompted them to finish dinner and get back to work.