~*~*~
There was an unofficial meeting between Romeo squad and Alpha team the morning after T'Alos and L'War's return to consciousness; it was almost as if they had all had the same idea at the same time. "We all agree that the being in question cannot remain on active duty despite what SICON believe," Orson surmised, mainly to see if there were any arguments to that, no one spoke.
L'War, who was present with T'Phai because she had agreed to offer T'Alos a home, stood and looked around the room of faces she knew because she had tried to kill them and cleared the nervous lump in her throat. "I think I have an idea;" She admitted softly, her voice altered disturbingly by the talk box. "The only way to stop your authorities from chasing him is if he is dead,"
"What you going to kill him now?" McKenzie sneered coldly; he had something funny against L'War, which no one else understood. L'War looked hurt and turned to T'Phai who offered a grin to her and nodded, things got better over time.
"I have warned you about that twice before Private; I do not want to have to tell you again. Am I making myself clear?"
"Sir, yes sir."
There was a silence as they all thought, then a soft unexpected voice piqued up from the very back darkened corner of the room. "I've not filled in any medical records for him since you all came back the first time," Ellen told them bluntly, "I got a little snowed under in paperwork, I could just say that it was a delayed reaction to the brain bugs death."
T'Phai looked to his friend with the biggest smile he could give, "It's going to have to be a precise plan doctor, I trust you have an idea," Razak said to her and Ellen smiled back in reply, her mouth closed loosely and her eyes locked with the LT's.
"You could say that I have a precise plan sir, yes."
~*~*~
Razak
Doctor Baxter's plan is incredibly complex for that of a doctor, she has taken into concern every possible error to her own logic; she's clearly thought on it for a long while. Any military mind would have been proud of her plan and if she'd been a trooper and had it not been secret against SICON she would have received a commendation for it. It is paramount to the plan that nothing can go badly wrong and that SICON never find out what we're doing or we're all in for a dishonourable discharge. I can see why T'Phai is such good friends with the doctor, she's got a surprisingly keen mind for someone who never fights.
~*~*~
Higgins
"So we came to the end of our second campaign on Tophet; we'd gone full circle with the Skinnie's, blown up a second brain bug and lost a valuable psychic and dear friend."
I couldn't help but give a smile at my final voiceover, my tones of sorrow as I announced T'Alos's 'death' made me chuckle now; I'd have made a great actor on Earth. My report was the final piece of the puzzle along with T'Alos's name change to T'Phau so that SICON couldn't trace him.
The funniest part of my report was the part when Ellen and I had had to get T'Alos to play dead for a few moments so I could give the report its full effect. Dizzy moved to my side and clapped her hand onto my back, since Romeo squad had moved out we had been allowed Dizzy back in with us.
"Nice report there Bobby, you must be dead proud of it."
"I just hope it works, it'd be a shame for Ellen's plan to fail now."
She looked at me out of the corner of her eyes, "You've got a little crush haven't you?" She asked, teasing me with her tone of voice. I didn't answer chewing thoughtfully on my upper lip; maybe I did have a crush on Ellen she was a very attractive person after all.
~*~*~
T'Phai
We left Tophet that afternoon, I had very little time to say my farewells to my family, but I was sure that there was a reason for that, I doubt I would be able to leave if I had not done so. I stood by one of the windows on the Valley Forge. In a funny way, that I was unused to I was dragged back to the time when I had first joined the Roughnecks and had passed most of the trip looking out at the stars and planets that I had no knowledge of before; that too has been the start of something that had altered my life.
Ellen came to my side, I was glad of her companionship, whereas when I had been alone, I now had her friendship. "Are you saying your goodbyes?" She asked me softly, her voice barely brushing my thoughts as I looked over the orange glow of my planet.
"I do not say goodbye," I admitted and turned to her with considerable difficulty. "I am coming back," She smiled slightly but looked sad. "Did you say the same when you left Earth?" She did not grin but she smiled in a sorry way, I knew her answer or I could assume at one close to it. She had done so too but there were times that everyone who does so, finds themselves wishing that they had.
"I had nothing to say goodbye to,"
"There was your mother,"
"You've never met my mum, she's an old battleaxe." Ellen said with a proper smile. "Neither of us would say goodbye and neither of us will ever do so." I placed a hand on her shoulder, "What?"
I shook my head, I did not have anything to say, and she looked to my face. "I'm not with you at the next base, I tried but I am going to Hydora, they're setting up a base there and they wanted me to be the first medic there for some bizarre reason."
Nothing was said for a very long time; I had never expected to be this upset about her telling me this; I looked to her and was not surprised that she was sobbing lightly. "Promise me you'll write," She said through her sniffs. I nodded in a slightly subdued way.
"Yes, will you do the same in return?"
"Duh," I held out my left hand and she grasped it in her own, a clear marker of friendship. "We don't say goodbye, right?"
"No we do not," I admitted, "Be safe Ellen; I will write you as often as I can." I released her hand at the same time as she did mine. She looked away, "Do you know where I am to be stationed?" She shook her head, "Then I will have to write first." She nodded slightly. You have to understand that I have never heard Ellen so quiet, when she spoke it was soft and quivery, lacking in the delight and friendship of her usual tones.
"You keep yourself safe to hey?" Ellen still had her back to him as she spoke. "I'll write to your kids too, if that's ok?"
"Why would it not be?"
She turned quickly and hugged me; I did nothing to stop her but hugged her back. "No goodbyes," She snapped as if reading my thoughts. "We said so; I ship out within the hour." I nodded, "I've still got to pack, I've never been one for organisation."
She started for the door and I called after her in my own language, a poem of sorts that is traditional on Tophet. 'Places change and switch, but friendships continue on and on, never switching or going wrong.' She turned back to me with a look of delight on her face.
"For a colonel you're a sloppy old bugger!"
She left then, thinking it was a good ending place but I realised that I could no more watch her go then allow her to have that last thing said to me and I followed her.
~*~*~
End
Well quite clearly it's not the end of everything but it is the very end of this one which is quite long enough for now!
There was an unofficial meeting between Romeo squad and Alpha team the morning after T'Alos and L'War's return to consciousness; it was almost as if they had all had the same idea at the same time. "We all agree that the being in question cannot remain on active duty despite what SICON believe," Orson surmised, mainly to see if there were any arguments to that, no one spoke.
L'War, who was present with T'Phai because she had agreed to offer T'Alos a home, stood and looked around the room of faces she knew because she had tried to kill them and cleared the nervous lump in her throat. "I think I have an idea;" She admitted softly, her voice altered disturbingly by the talk box. "The only way to stop your authorities from chasing him is if he is dead,"
"What you going to kill him now?" McKenzie sneered coldly; he had something funny against L'War, which no one else understood. L'War looked hurt and turned to T'Phai who offered a grin to her and nodded, things got better over time.
"I have warned you about that twice before Private; I do not want to have to tell you again. Am I making myself clear?"
"Sir, yes sir."
There was a silence as they all thought, then a soft unexpected voice piqued up from the very back darkened corner of the room. "I've not filled in any medical records for him since you all came back the first time," Ellen told them bluntly, "I got a little snowed under in paperwork, I could just say that it was a delayed reaction to the brain bugs death."
T'Phai looked to his friend with the biggest smile he could give, "It's going to have to be a precise plan doctor, I trust you have an idea," Razak said to her and Ellen smiled back in reply, her mouth closed loosely and her eyes locked with the LT's.
"You could say that I have a precise plan sir, yes."
~*~*~
Razak
Doctor Baxter's plan is incredibly complex for that of a doctor, she has taken into concern every possible error to her own logic; she's clearly thought on it for a long while. Any military mind would have been proud of her plan and if she'd been a trooper and had it not been secret against SICON she would have received a commendation for it. It is paramount to the plan that nothing can go badly wrong and that SICON never find out what we're doing or we're all in for a dishonourable discharge. I can see why T'Phai is such good friends with the doctor, she's got a surprisingly keen mind for someone who never fights.
~*~*~
Higgins
"So we came to the end of our second campaign on Tophet; we'd gone full circle with the Skinnie's, blown up a second brain bug and lost a valuable psychic and dear friend."
I couldn't help but give a smile at my final voiceover, my tones of sorrow as I announced T'Alos's 'death' made me chuckle now; I'd have made a great actor on Earth. My report was the final piece of the puzzle along with T'Alos's name change to T'Phau so that SICON couldn't trace him.
The funniest part of my report was the part when Ellen and I had had to get T'Alos to play dead for a few moments so I could give the report its full effect. Dizzy moved to my side and clapped her hand onto my back, since Romeo squad had moved out we had been allowed Dizzy back in with us.
"Nice report there Bobby, you must be dead proud of it."
"I just hope it works, it'd be a shame for Ellen's plan to fail now."
She looked at me out of the corner of her eyes, "You've got a little crush haven't you?" She asked, teasing me with her tone of voice. I didn't answer chewing thoughtfully on my upper lip; maybe I did have a crush on Ellen she was a very attractive person after all.
~*~*~
T'Phai
We left Tophet that afternoon, I had very little time to say my farewells to my family, but I was sure that there was a reason for that, I doubt I would be able to leave if I had not done so. I stood by one of the windows on the Valley Forge. In a funny way, that I was unused to I was dragged back to the time when I had first joined the Roughnecks and had passed most of the trip looking out at the stars and planets that I had no knowledge of before; that too has been the start of something that had altered my life.
Ellen came to my side, I was glad of her companionship, whereas when I had been alone, I now had her friendship. "Are you saying your goodbyes?" She asked me softly, her voice barely brushing my thoughts as I looked over the orange glow of my planet.
"I do not say goodbye," I admitted and turned to her with considerable difficulty. "I am coming back," She smiled slightly but looked sad. "Did you say the same when you left Earth?" She did not grin but she smiled in a sorry way, I knew her answer or I could assume at one close to it. She had done so too but there were times that everyone who does so, finds themselves wishing that they had.
"I had nothing to say goodbye to,"
"There was your mother,"
"You've never met my mum, she's an old battleaxe." Ellen said with a proper smile. "Neither of us would say goodbye and neither of us will ever do so." I placed a hand on her shoulder, "What?"
I shook my head, I did not have anything to say, and she looked to my face. "I'm not with you at the next base, I tried but I am going to Hydora, they're setting up a base there and they wanted me to be the first medic there for some bizarre reason."
Nothing was said for a very long time; I had never expected to be this upset about her telling me this; I looked to her and was not surprised that she was sobbing lightly. "Promise me you'll write," She said through her sniffs. I nodded in a slightly subdued way.
"Yes, will you do the same in return?"
"Duh," I held out my left hand and she grasped it in her own, a clear marker of friendship. "We don't say goodbye, right?"
"No we do not," I admitted, "Be safe Ellen; I will write you as often as I can." I released her hand at the same time as she did mine. She looked away, "Do you know where I am to be stationed?" She shook her head, "Then I will have to write first." She nodded slightly. You have to understand that I have never heard Ellen so quiet, when she spoke it was soft and quivery, lacking in the delight and friendship of her usual tones.
"You keep yourself safe to hey?" Ellen still had her back to him as she spoke. "I'll write to your kids too, if that's ok?"
"Why would it not be?"
She turned quickly and hugged me; I did nothing to stop her but hugged her back. "No goodbyes," She snapped as if reading my thoughts. "We said so; I ship out within the hour." I nodded, "I've still got to pack, I've never been one for organisation."
She started for the door and I called after her in my own language, a poem of sorts that is traditional on Tophet. 'Places change and switch, but friendships continue on and on, never switching or going wrong.' She turned back to me with a look of delight on her face.
"For a colonel you're a sloppy old bugger!"
She left then, thinking it was a good ending place but I realised that I could no more watch her go then allow her to have that last thing said to me and I followed her.
~*~*~
End
Well quite clearly it's not the end of everything but it is the very end of this one which is quite long enough for now!