Redemption

Chapter Thirteen

Hawkes and West almost stumbled over the discarded backpack lying in one of the corridors. Cooper quickly took a look at the items and when he noticed that the rucksack and the floor around it was covered in blood, he cursed loudly.

West looked up from the medikit and both men exchanged a long look.

"It doesn't have to mean anything, Coop," Nathan said softly, trying to reassure himself as much as Cooper. "Probably one of the POWs needed help ..."

"But why didn't she take the backpack with her then?" Hawkes snapped sharply and stood up. Squeezing his eyes shut for a moment, he tried to suppress the image which was rising in his mind.

He saw Meg bleeding to death in some remote corner of the bunker and try as he might he couldn't banish the image out of his mind. Why hadn't he ordered her to stay with Patterson? he asked himself over again. Why hadn't he just told her that he didn't want her to go after the silicates because he was scared for her? Suddenly it became clear to him that he might loose her, that he might never get a chance to tell her that he ... He shook his head and opened his eyes again.

How could he tell her that she was the only one besides the five-eight he would die for? That she was in fact the only one worth living for ...

Cooper glanced around and scanned the floor. A track of blood was leading away from the backpack and after he had shown it to Nathan, both men checked their rifles and followed it.

"We have to get out of here," the female AI said and bent over the small screen of the control panel. "I thought you said that four Marines wouldn't stand a chance against us and yet they have decimated all but two of us ..."

The person on the screen scowled at that and gave off a sigh.

"I told you to be prepared, Sandra-Z. Ever since we received the information that there was a black Op concerning the POWs I told you to be on guard! You should have known from your former encounters that those Marines are a cut above the others but no, you wanted to take a chance ..." the man cleared his throat. "But never mind that now. You have screwed up the mission, Sandra. My associates will not take that lightly on the account that your friends Elroy and Felicity promised to get rid of the Wild Cards once and for all ..."

"Ah, shut up," the silicate cut in. "The Chigs wanted to know what had happened to the hatch-master and we had to keep up the impression that the humans took him out instead of us. If the Chiggies ever grow suspicious we're all done for."

"That is your problem, not mine. Do you know how much time it cost us until we got the information about this Op? It is no easy task to kidnap a high-ranking officer and make him talk, especially if the officer in question is a tank," the man replied. "But we've taken care of that. Chambers is so high on the meanies that he won't even recognise his daughter and once we get rid of him, Fleet-Com will put the blame on him. Just make sure that you cover all traces relating to AeroTech when you move out ..." The screen went blank and Sandra straightened.

Back at their hide-out Shane had watched Megan ever since the name Chambers had come up in the conversation. She almost expected that Megan would do something foolhardy as barging into the room but the cold look on the young woman's face made her shiver to the bone.

"Meg," she whispered. "We don't know if he was talking of your father."

"Yeah, but there is no other IV called Chambers in the US Army," Megan replied and readied herself. "I'm going in and if it is the last thing I do in my life. Are you with me?"

Shane nodded slowly and clutched the K-bar hard.

Megan rolled across the floor, taking the room under fire, and Shane, awaiting the attack of the silicates as they tried to escape the trap, readied herself. But it never happened.

Meg had taken the two silicates out like a sniper, emptying the magazine of her handgun by doing so. The room grew quiet, only the occasional beep of the disabled silicates disturbing the silence. Cautiously, Shane stepped into the room, making sure that the AIs were completely wiped out. Vansen shook her head slowly and turned back where Megan still lay on the ground. The woman had put her head on her outstretched arm, her right hand still clutching the gun.

And she keeps telling me that she isn't a good shot, Shane thought and she was about to go over to her when suddenly someone jumped onto her back, taking her in a deadly chokehold. With a sudden jibe of the K-bar Shane managed to get herself released from the choke and when she turned she came face to face with Carlson.

"You killed them," the woman cried and threw herself onto Shane. Meg had rushed dodgily to her feet and tried to pull Carlson away but it was too late. Carlson fell onto Shane and both women crashed down onto the floor, almost taking Meg with them. The Lieutenant gave off an awful sound when she slumped against the young Marine.

Vansen closed her eyes for a moment then she felt that the body was pulled off her. With a sucking sound the knife disengaged from the dead woman's body and Meg sat down beside her.

For long moments both women were silent when suddenly, they heard footsteps and West and Hawkes rounded the corner to the room.

Ever since they had found the discarded backpack and the rifle further down the corridor, Nathan had expected the worst. They had followed the blood on the floor to the guardroom and seeing both his friends covered in blood, his heartbeat quickened.

"Hey, what took you so long?" Megan asked in a shivering voice and looked up at the two Marines, clenching her teeth when pain shot through her body. "You told me you were right behind me ..."

West and Hawkes exchanged a look with each other.

This woman was crazy, here she was, bleeding all over the place and all she could do was teasing them, Nathan thought and he wanted to open his mouth when Cooper stepped forward and, despite his heartfelt relief, he pointed an accusing finger at Chambers.

"I told you to stay put, Meg, but no, the RAF Squadron Leader had to have it her own way! I should kill ya, you stupid tank-brat!"

"Don't bother, Mr. GI-Geequed, the Chigs almost did the job!" Megan snapped back.

"Now wait a minute, you two," Shane cut in but Nathan touched her arm and pulled her away.

"Leave them, Shane. They're like this during the whole Op ..."

"This is sick, Nate. She needs medical care and all they can do is yelling at each other ..." she broke off when Nathan turned her around to their two friends. The yelling had stopped and Cooper was squatting down in front of Meg and was holding her in his arms, then after a quick, almost embarrassed kiss, he helped her to her feet.

"You sure, you're alright?" he asked and Megan, despite her pain, was touched by the raw emotion in his voice. She put a hand on his shoulder and smiled dodgily.

"Yes," she whispered. "I'll be fine now!"

Shane grinned when she saw that and when she met Nathan's gaze she rolled her eyes towards the ceiling.

"Alright, end your skipchatter, we're moving out!" Vansen said.

McQueen and his team had made it to the ISSCV unharmed.

He checked his watch again and shook his head slightly. Only ten mikes left before their flight window would close. Once outside the bunker they had had no ways of communicating with Hawkes and West and the waiting made him nervous. He looked back into the shuttle through the open cockpit door and saw that the POWs were recovering. He had examined Damphousse and Wang earlier, cleaning and dressing their wounds with skin-gello. When Vanessa looked up she met McQueen's level gaze and came over to him.

"I'm a bit worried about Wang, Sir," she said slowly. "He's still disorientated and he can't remember everything that happened. From what he told me, he had been in the ISSCV shuttle when the Chig took him out. He had set the board gun on automatic and engaged the safety pod. I still can't believe that he made it out of there alive ... It's as if he has returned from the dead ..."

McQueen had listened to that and watched Wang who lay on a makeshift bunk, his eyes closed.

"Do you think he's a clone?" he queried and Vanessa's head snapped up.

"You mean like that Kylen-thing Nathan encountered on Kazbek, Sir?" she asked and when McQueen gave her a sharp nod, a shiver ran down her spine.

That couldn't be true! She knew Wang and she hadn't had noticed anything different about him when she had tended to his wounds but then again she had been intend on keeping her stomach and hands under control. Thinking of blood always made her nervous.

"He bleeds like any other human, I don't think that they can imitate that. As far as we know they hate blood because it reeks."

"We'll find out as soon as we get him to the infirmary back on the 'Toga," the Colonel replied and checked his watch again. Five minutes left before they had to lift off.

Getting back to the transporter was more difficult than they had thought. The bunker had been swarming with Chigs and more than once the Marines had to duck for cover and backtrack several times.

Megan hid behind Cooper's broad back, as they took cover in one of the in-numerous ventilation ducts. The blood loss had weakened her and she sleepily cuddled up against him and closed her eyes.

It was soothing to feel his body warmth against her cheek, she thought and tried to stay awake. Try as she might she couldn't stay mad at him, all his ranting during this Op had shown her that he cared for her.

She had to smile at that.

Unconsciously, Cooper's arm slipped around Meg and after he had made sure that she was alright, he checked his watch.

"We have to get out of here," he told Nathan and Shane and both nodded.

Shane had grabbed one of the discarded AI weapons and had taken point. When West and Hawkes had turned up, she had felt relieved and she had almost wept. It had been so good to see them again and after they had told them that Damphousse and Wang were with McQueen, she indeed had started to cry. But right now, she tried to think hard about leaving the camp and get back to the transporter.

"Alright, listen up," she suddenly said and Nathan had to grin at that. After all she had been through, the torture, the pain, the uncertainty, she acted like a real pro.

"You said that the main corridors run at each side of the bunker. What if we find a vent duct which is connected to the outside? The Chigs will concentrate on the main entrances and we could sneak out of here without them knowing ..."

"Negative, Shane," Nathan said. "We don't know if the vents have any connection to the outside. What if we follow one of those ducts and it turns out to be a dead end? We can't grope through the bunker any longer ..." he nodded is head towards Chambers.

Cooper had noticed it and he tightened his grip on Meg's shoulders.

"She'll manage!" He said in a determined voice. "She just has to!"

Shane smiled at that and put a hand onto his shoulder.

"Yes, Coop. I didn't want to say that she ..." Is going to die, she wanted to say but she cut herself short. It was no good making all of them more scared than they actually were. It was a small miracle that Chambers had kept up with them as she had so far but she feared that Meg's time was running out.

"Hawkes, Vansen," Nathan suddenly hissed and the CO swung around. In front of their hide-out, a Chig was standing and was looking around.

Nathan and Hawkes crept forward slowly, avoiding all sounds. The Chig was unarmed and alone. Slowly, Cooper pulled the safety off his gun and edged closer. The Chig swung around and held his arms up as he saw Cooper and Nathan advancing from the duct. It gave off a series of sounds, then it ducked his head towards a sidedoor. Cooper hesitated for a moment. This whole situation was like a deja-vu. When he had been on a secret mission on the planet Tigris, he had encountered one of the Aliens but instead of killing one another, they had headed for two different directions.

"What does it want?" Nathan inquired breathlessly and aimed his rifle at the Chig. The Alien held up his hands, gesturing towards the door with the control panel and took a step towards it. Cooper stepped closer, his gun ready and the Chig stopped immediately.

Shane had come out of the ventilation duct with Megan close at her heels and when the Chig noticed them, it made the click-clicking sounds again, this time gesturing towards Megan. The Marines looked at Chambers but she shrugged her shoulders wearily.

"Don't look at me, I don't know what it wants!" she rasped, drawing in her breath in painful gasps. When the Alien heard her voice he clawed his hands and then his left side.

"It's the blood, isn't it?" Nathan asked and pointed towards Meg.

To his surprise the Chig nodded and pointed at Megan again.

The Chig moved closer to the door; acting as if he wasn't held at gun-point, the Alien punched the access code into the panel and the door opened noisily. Giving off clicking sounds again he waved the Marines to the door.

"I'll be damned," Shane whispered and the Marines exchanged a long look.

It could be a trap, they all knew that but try as they might they needed this free passage to get to the transporter in time.

"Go, I'll cover you!" Nathan said and held the Chig at gunpoint. Carefully, the Marines filed out of the side entrance, when Megan passed him, he reached out one of his claws and Cooper, who was carrying Patterson, stepped between them.

"Don't you dare, Chiggy-man," he hissed. The Chig shook his head, then held up his hands in a surrendering motion.

Nathan watched as his squadmates left the bunker. He didn't know what to do after he had made sure that they were safely outside. He should kill it but try as he might he could not kill this Chig in cold-blood. After a moment's consideration, Nathan swung his rifle and sent the Chig down to the floor. As quickly as he was able to he crashed through the swamps, stumbling over roots and rocks, following the rest of the five-eight towards the ISSCV.

They haven't made it, McQueen thought as he checked his watch again. If he didn't start the propulsions now, they would miss the flightwindow to the Saratoga.

The Colonel grabbed the helmet and was about to put it on when he heard Damphousse's cry.

"Sir, they're coming," she exclaimed breathlessly and opened the hatch.

He scrambled out of the cockpit and helped dragging the dead body of the pilot into the transporter. When Hawkes lifted Chambers into the shuttle, McQueen was shocked to see her more dead than alive. He was reluctant to leave her at first but then his sense of duty took over and he quickly returned into the cockpit-seat beside West.

As soon as they started the propulsion thrusters, the ISSCV was grazed by photon-blaster and gun-laser fire, but they got off the planet's surface without major damages.

Shane and Vanessa had grouped around Paul and Meg and they were conversing in hushed voices. Now, the aftershocks of their ordeal and their rescue had come back in a rush. Ever since they had reached the transporter, Cooper had kept to himself, watching his crew-mates. He was still coming to terms that they had made it, that they were re-united again. He had his family back!

He inhaled deeply and his eyes wandered from one of his friends to the other, making sure that this was real. When he caught sight of Chambers who was lying beside Paul on a makeshift bed, their eyes locked. For long moments they stared at each other before she turned her head away. Cooper shook his head.

Was she still mad at him? he asked himself. Man, he had wanted to believe her, he really wanted to. When he had seen her sitting on the ground, with the blood slowly seeping through the bandages, he had thought he would freak out. She was so small and yet she had kept going as if she was one of the Marines. The feelings he had for her confused him, he wanted to throttle her and at the same he wanted to protect her. He didn't know what those feelings meant but if it had anything to do with the love-stuff, he didn't understand how the NBs worked that whole thing out. He had to make a choice, he told himself silently and resolutely, he stood up.

When he reached his mates, Shane looked up at him and made room for him on the floor beside Megan. He slumped down beside her and Shane gave him a crooked smile. She petted his knee and turned towards 'Phousse.

"Let's see what Nathan and McQueen are doing," she said and both women stood up. After Vanessa had made sure that Paul was sleeping, she followed Vansen to the cockpit.

Megan had noticed Cooper coming over to her and she turned her head towards him.

"We made it," she said slowly and grinned at him.

Cooper nodded his head and looked shyly down on her.

"Yeah," he answered and a smile curved his lips. Megan reached out her hand and put it onto his.

"It seems as if I'm making a habit of almost getting myself killed and you sitting at my bed," she said. Both thought about the time when she had been hit by friendly fire during the UFEP and he had sat vigil over her. She smiled at that, even back then they had not been able to fight the inevitable.

"Coop?" she asked. "What I said back on Earth ... I didn't mean it, well I did at that time but not as it might have sounded ..."

Cooper shook his head at this.

"You were right, Meg," he said. "Uh, I behaved like a stupid tan..."

"Idiot!" she cut in. "People sometimes behave like idiots when they deal with love, Cooper!"

They exchanged a smile and Cooper bent down towards her.

If what she was saying was really true then he accepted this.

He knew he felt SOMETHING for her and if it was love ...

His lips met hers briefly, confirming his doubts and yet reassuring him nevertheless.

They had travelled for about thirty mikes when West noticed friendlies on the LIDAR, covering their tail and when he looked through the cockpit-window he could see the 'Toga on his four.

"Thank God for small favours," Nathan said beneath his breath and McQueen nodded. The com crackled into life and he switched it on.

"Five-Eight, you're looking good on my LIDAR," Ross said. "LZ on flightdeck four."

"Roger that, Queen Six out," McQueen replied with a grin and he stirred the ISSCV towards the designated landing co-ordinates.

When they boarded the flightbay, Ross already awaited them.

After he had made sure that all members of the Wild Cards were safely back on board he gave off a sigh of relief.

"Sir, the five-eight asks permission to come aboard, Sir," Vansen said and those of the 'Cards who weren't severely injured snapped to attention.

"Permission granted, Captain," he said and grinned. "Welcome home!"