A/N: This is a sort of alternate storyline that occurs right before the Earth Campaign in the cartoon. I'm a Carl lover and a Dizzy/Rico relationship lover, so if you're against any of this then don't read it! And since this is a fanfic, don't flame me for messing with the character's personalities or the storyline or the fact that I'm inserting a created character or two. If I DO receive any flames, I will send you a nice looooong reply, consisting mainly of laughter. Thank you and have a nice day ^_^

A/N #2: Please read and review! ^_^

General Disclaimer: I don't own the Roughnecks: Starship Troopers Chronicles nor do I lay any claim to their characters or ideas. If I owned them, don't you think I'd be making more cartoons with my stories... or better yet, more MONEY?! I am simply writing this for fun. The created characters are, of course, mine and are not to be used without my permission.

Mind Games

Day 30 of the Mars Campaign; Robert Higgins reporting for Razak's Roughnecks.

The Roughnecks have had a tough time during the course of the war. It was only recently that signs of hopelessness were beginning to set in. Carl Jenkins was gone; we all knew it and we had all tried to accept it. Most of us could. But not Johnny. He just couldn't accept the fact that his best friend had gotten fried by that Brain Bug on Hydora or that the final blow to his psyche was delivered by the Control Bug on Tophet. He had an even more difficult time dealing with the loss once the Skinnies' Colonel, T'phai, had been recruited to take Carl's place. I guess, in Rico's place, I'd feel the same way. Not only that, but after Johnny and T'phai had made their peace we lost T'phai to a bunch of Kamikaze Ripplers on another sweep of Hydora. Before that, we had almost lost Johnny and we thought we would lose Dizzy, too. Not too long after that, on Klendathu, Zander was killed saving us from the Impostor Bugs. Carl had come back to us by then, only to go into remission after the Queen escaped.

Now, we are orbiting the Red Planet, Mars. S.I.C.O.N. and Intel reported that the Queen Bug may be hiding somewhere on Mars and that it was our job to find her and destroy her. Easy task, right? Wrong.

Marlowe made a special request to S.I.C.O.N. for the Roughnecks to have an extra week to heal and prepare for battle while the other squads take turns searching the planet. Joy. We get razzed later for having extra R&R while they bust their butts on the Desert Planet. Great. What's even better-- and I mean this sarcastically in every sense of the term-- we have a shipload of injured troopers from the other squads in the cryo-chambers of the medlab as well as a comatose Carl lying in his own private room hooked up to all sorts of creepy machines staring up at the ceiling with the eyes of a dead man. Joy upon joys. Everyone here visits Carl at least once every day or so; we all miss him. All of us report on how creepy it feels in his room, as if he's inside their heads. I haven't seen him. I'm not ashamed to say that I'm scared. I'm scared. I'm very scared.

Carl's replacement is coming in today. A Pvt. Natasha Davis, I believe. Another psychic from Intel to replace the one we "broke". S.I.C.O.N. has a sick sense of humor.

******

"Hey, Paperboy," said Gossard as he met Higgins in the hallway outside of their "barracks". He had a huge grin plastered on his face. "Did you hear the good news?"

"Good news?" Higgins replied; "That's a change."

"Yeah, it is, but I swear this is something that'll perk up even the gloomiest of the squad." Higgins listened intently. "Carl's showing signs of life! He's responding to his environment."

"Really?!" The expression on Higgins' face was hilarious. Gossard bit his lip to keep from laughing. "Since when?"

"Since this morning! I went in to pay my visit and the nurse practically told me to take a hike, that 'Mr. Jenkins said he was too tired to see anyone today'. That's when I pushed past her and went to look for myself. Carl was sitting up in bed, complaining about the nurse being incompetent and that he wanted to leave." Gossard laughed finally. "That's a side of Carl I haven't seen in a long time."

Higgins smiled briefly, his face suddenly growing darker with thought. At length, he spoke, "Does Rico know yet? and Dizzy?"

"Not yet, kiddo. Last time I saw them, they were busy giving T'phai's replacement a hard time in the Mess."

In the Mess Hall of the Valley Forge, Johnny Rico and Isabelle "Dizzy" Flores were in a heated argument with a young woman. She was dressed completely in black from neck to foot, save her uncovered right hand and the pale grey armband bearing the letters C.J.-- the mourning armband for the half-dead Carl Jenkins. The girl's pale face was a great contrast to her clothes and her eyes were circled by dark rings-- she looked like a walking corpse. Her eyes were dark brown and bloodshot from tears and sleep-deprivation. Her hair was cut short, similar to Dizzy's, and looked as if she had been pulling on it. She was a dreadful sight. She glared at Rico and Dizzy, tears streaming down her face. She had a mad look about her, an insanity that was consuming her and yet did not exist. She screamed at her future team mates with fury in her voice.

"You have no right to tell me I'm not good enough for this squad! You know nothing about me so don't pretend like you do! " Her body was quaking with anger. Her voice lowered to a tense whisper. "And you have no right to tell me Carl is dead. Not right at all." She paused briefly. "He isn't dead. I saw him last night. His heart is still beating." Her voice dropped to a barely audible whisper. "Still beating..."

Rico struggled to keep his emotions in check; he hated this girl for taking Carl's place. Just as he had hated T'phai. He clenched his fists and grit his teeth.

"Shut up. It's bad enough Carl is laying in a bed in the medlab, staring up at the ceiling like he's some damn vegetable, hooked up to more life-support machines than we can count just so he can BREATHE! We've suffered enough! Just leave us be and get the hell out of the Roughnecks. Preferably out of the M.I. completely!"

The girl narrowed her eyes and growled. She stared hard at Rico, her eyes burning into his. He could hear her screaming inside of his mind. She was inside his head. Rico's eyes shot open; she was a telepath. One of Intel's Special Ops. psychics.

"Woah woah! It is against the rules to get into people's heads!" He lunged forward to grab her arm; Dizzy held him back. She shook her head.

"Johnny, stop and think about it," she said. "You'd only end up getting canned. Besides, SHE isn't worth your trouble." The girl could tell Dizzy was obviously pissed.

The door to the Mess Hall slid open. Lt. Razak entered and the room grew instantly silent. He looked around him slowly, his gaze falling upon the trio in the center of the room. He let out a heaving sigh.

"I see that you've met your new team mate," he said slowly, a hint of irritation lacing his voice. "Get the rest of the squad together in the Rec Room for a proper introduction." He turned to leave and paused. "And Rico?"

"Yes, sir," he replied, standing at attention.

"Don't jump to unnecessary conclusions like you did with the last one." Rico knew he meant his hatred toward T'phai. "And make sure she gets to the Rec in one piece."

"Sir! Yes, sir!"

Razak glanced at the girl in black and nodded slowly; she nodded in response. A private agreement had been made. She turned to Rico, her cold expression softening to a smile. Rico took a step back.

******

Higgins and Gossard, having finished their training session, exchanged their bulky power suits for their more comfortable and casual gear and headed for the Mess Hall for some much desired nourishment. Halfway there, they ran into Rico and Dizzy, leading around a girl in black. Higgins stared at the newcomer for what seemed like hours (but in reality, it was more like five seconds). Rico and Dizzy were talking with Gossard about the meeting they would have in the Rec. Higgins didn't seem to hear them; he was studying the girl's face. She was staring past him, her dark eyes glued to the wall behind him. He made a note of every detail of her face from her pale complexion to the dark rings under her tired eyes. She seemed to be lost in her own world, running on autopilot like an automaton. Higgins shook his head when he felt the weight of Gossard's hand on his shoulder. Goss smiled.

"Don't stare too hard kiddo," he said jokingly. "I don't relish the thought of having to pop your eyeballs back into your empty skull."

The two of them watched as Rico and Dizzy left to find Doc and Brutto. Gossard was about to go with them when Higgins grabbed his arm. The younger trooper's eyes were wide and he was shaking slightly. Gossard looked at him with concern.

"Goss, look at her," he said quietly. "I mean, really look at her."

Gossard stared at the girl for a few seconds, making odd faces and squinting. "Aaaaannnd...what am I looking for?"

The girl turned to leave with Rico and Dizzy. "Look at her face," Higgins whispered urgently. "She has the same look in her eyes as Carl..."

The girl glanced at them as she passed. Gossard gasped; their eyes had met. She held him in a stare for a moment. Gossard let out a heavy breath when she turned away.

"My god..."

An hour later in the Rec Room, Razak watched patiently as his squad slowly made their way through the doors and lined up. None of them seemed particularly happy to be there, except maybe Higgins and Gossard. Razak looked to his left where the new girl was standing, her head bowed and her eyes to the floor; a sign of submission. He shook his head and sighed. This would not be easy. He cleared his throat loudly to get their attention.

"Well, apes," he barked, "it seems as if we have yet another addition to our squad..." He paused and looked at Rico with narrowed eyes. "To our family," he amended. "Allow me to introduce Pvt. Natasha Davis. I hope you will all welcome her into our family." He paused and gave them all a hard stare. "Treat her with the same courtesy and friendship you give toward one another. She is one of us now."

Everyone watched as Natasha walked down the line, shaking hands as she went. Higgins paused before he released her hand; it was cold, almost a dead sort of cold. He shivered as he let go. Gossard smiled cheerfully at her as he took her hand. She felt as if he would be one of the nicest in the squad; she smiled back at him. Doc gave her a strong, sure handshake and she grinned at him. Brutto's handshake was quick and his thoughts indicated he was eager to get back to bed; Natasha made a mental note that she shared his sentiments. Dizzy was reluctant to take her hand but, with notice of Razak still staring at them, she shook it anyway. Natasha smiled. She could win Dizzy over easily. Rico, however, refused point-blank to even look at her. She frowned at him and joined the ranks next to Higgins and Gossard.

Razak shook his head; overall, he was pleased with the turnout. Rico's cold reaction, however, left much to be desired. There would be trouble later on.

"Before you go back to your remaining two days of R&R, have some good news for you all." The Roughnecks shifted uneasily in ill anticipation. Razak's use of the term "good news" was normally reserved for more training, which meant less sleep before the next mission. "I was informed by two members of this squad that your former teammate, Pvt. Carl Jenkins, is showing signs of recovering." The Roughnecks exchanged shocked glances; everyone, particularly Rico, let out a loud cheer. Razak continued, "That was as of this morning." Silence fell. "As we all know, Carl has done a great deal for this squad. It was unfortunate to lose him after the incident with the Brain Bug on Tophet. Although he came back to us for a short time, his condition was less than stable. Carl has been in the custody of S.I.C.O.N. and Intel for the duration of the Mars Campaign." They looked at one another, apprehensive. Razak's voice lowered, "Who knows what those bastards at Intel did to him before they shipped him and his medical equipment to the Valley Forge. But that is behind us. I am pleased to inform you that, in spite of a minute loss of memory, Carl is back to his old self. In fact, he should be ready to return to the squad by the end of this week." A happy muttering of voices washed across them. "I say 'should be' because of the circumstances: he will be physically able to return to duty, however, mentally is unsure. The doctors say he is well enough to talk with visitors, but don't push him. He's been through enough already." They tensed. "Dismissed! Go pay your friend a visit."

Rico approached Razak as the others began to leave; they stopped once they heard him speak. "Lieutenant... How 'minute' is 'minute'?"

Razak sighed, "I don't know, Rico."

Rico nodded and headed for the doors; he pushed Natasha aside when she tried to pass him. She stared angrily at him as he disappeared down the hall. A nearby mirror cracked. She breathed in, air hissing past her clenched teeth, and ran out of the Rec Room after Rico. The mirror shattered. The others left soon after, taking no notice of the shards of glass on the floor. Razak looked at the empty spot where the mirror had been and shook his head solemnly. There would be trouble indeed.

******

A/N: Well, that's the first part to the story. Expect more. I hope it isn't too um... wordy, I guess? Is that the word I'm looking for? Oh well, be gentle, I'm new at this. This the first Roughnecks fic I've ever written and I've taken some liberties with the storyline. *shrugs* It's a fanfic, what did you expect? Some of the griping between Rico and Natasha may seem a bit pointless, but it is a neccessary evil, trust me. It's sort of like a foreshadowing event for her character. My boyfriend has read the rough-draft of this story and he said he doesn't really like Natasha; seven other friends of mine, however, DO like her. *shrugs* Of course, they have read more about her... Decide for yourselves in future chapters and tell me! See you next chapter!