General Disclaimer: Even though it is my life's wish to own the Roughnecks, I will never own them and do not own them now. However, Sony and Foundation can give me Carl for Christmas! ^____^
M.I.A.
"Augh....my head." Rico groaned and sat up. He looked around; it was dark, save for the small light on his helmet which he switched on. In an attempt to cure his splitting headache, he laid back down and slept (or at least, tried to). An hour or so later, he was awakened by screeching. He sat up quickly and came face to face with a Warrior. "Whoa, shit!!"
The Bug opened its jaws wide and screamed in Rico's face. He felt for his gun. Nothing. He looked around him on the ground for it. Still nothing. All his weapons were gone. no Morita, no Shock-Stick, no knife, no grenades. Absolutely nothing. He stood up and began to back away; his retreat was ceased abruptly as he tripped over an unconscious Dizzy. His attention was immediately diverted from the Warrior to Dizzy. He checked her over for injuries, but he couldn't make any definite conclusions without Doc's help. He could see a small trickle of blood on her forehead.
"Dizz," he whispered. "Dizzy, are you okay? Wake up, Dizz." Rico gently shook her shoulder; she groaned but did not wake. Rico cursed. Not far from him, Doc and Higgins were stirring. He could hear Higgins groaning. "Hey, Bobby, are you okay?"
Higgins shook his head. "I'm not sure. I think so..." It was then he noticed the circle of Warriors and Workers around them. "Rico," he whispered, "what are they doing? Why aren't we dead yet?"
"They're saving us," said Doc quietly. Deep lines of thought crossed the medic's face. "They're saving us for the Brain..."
Rico looked at Doc and Higgins. They looked at the ground. Rico sighed heavily and cradled Dizzy, glad she was asleep.
*******
"Lt. Razak," said Gossard, "we should go this way." The Marauder pointed down a large tunnel heading west. "Rico just turned on his homing beacon. We should get a move on."
Razak nodded but did not move. They were already a good distance away from their entrance and the Bugs had concentrated on sealing the hole rather than following them. In a sense, he was relieved; however, the thought of finding Tasha dead on their return was making a sickening lump in his stomach. He most assuredly did not feel right with leaving her behind. Then, he reminded himself that she lied to them and put the squad in jeopardy; there were more lives at stake because of her actions.
"We take the path to Rico," he said calmly. "Davis knew the risks. She's on her own, for better or worse."
Gossard's eyes widened, "But, L.T., we can't just leave..*"
"Stow it, Gossard," barked Brutto. "The Lieutenant just gave us an order!"
"Sir. Yes, Sir," said Gossard as he checked his screen for the shortest possible route to Rico with the least amount of resistance. He wasn't exactly happy about leaving the young trooper to fend for herself. he sighed. "We go west for a quater-mile, then due north until we come to a large cavern where Rico is being held. Hold on...Three more beacons. The others are with him. I can't tell if they're injured, but they are alive."
Razak nodded and waved them on with his Morita. "Move out, Roughnecks."
Brutto and Gossard split positions. Gossard took the rear and Brutto took point; Razak walked between them.Before they even counted twenty paces, a group of Warriors charged throught the tunnel in front of them. Brutto plowed through them, using hand to hand combat with the Marauder rather than wasting ammunition. Gossard used grenads to close off the adjacent tunnels just as more Warriors were flooding in. They were crushed by the falling rocks and debris. Razak blasted a charging Warrior, hitting its nerve cluster and dropping it a foot from him. He couldn't help but smirk.
"It feels good to be alive!" shouted Brutto as he ripped the legs off of a Warrior that had climbed onto his Marauder. A Warrior skittered past Razak and Gossard and rammed into Brutto from behind, tipping the Marauder over onto its side. Then, three more Warriors rammed him again, pushing him onto his back and rendering him helpless. Razak drew one of the Warriors away and Gossard used his onborad chain guns to get rid of the others. Once the tunnel was cleared, Gossard helped Brutto to his feet.
"You alright, Sarge?"
Brutto sneered at him. "I'm fine," he said, "so worry about your own ass!"
"*zrt* Lt. Razak!"
Razak's jaw dropped. "Davis, what's your status?"
"Kamikazes *scree* too many *frzz* help *crkle* no ammo *frzzle* rescue ship *screeeee....*"
Radio static, then silence. Razak shook his head. "Looks like her first mission with us was her last. Let's go, Apes."
"Pathway is clear, sir." Brutto walked up behind Gossard. "All present and accounted for."
"All clean back here, sir," said Brutto. "I suggest we hurry before the Bugs decide Roughnecks are good for their diet."
"Agreed," said Razak. They trudged on. Razak's mind was troubled; he had left a trooper behind.
Now, she was dead.
*******
Tasha was breathing hard. A Warrior jumped out from the collection of Bug corpses and charged her; Tasha screeched loudly and grabbed its front legs. She ripped it legs out and jabbed them through the Bug's nerve cluster. Her entire body ached. She had no ammunition and no backup. No means of escape to a retrieval ship. She was on her own.
She checked again to see if any of the Roughnecks were nearby. The way was completely clear. A large sneering grin spread across her lips. She would take care of things her way.
Five Warriors were climbing over the hill of bodies toward her. She looked up at them, her dark brown eyes turning red. She hissed at the Bugs and they stopped dead in their tracks, staring at her. She screeched and they backed down. A satisfied chuckle came from deep within her throat.
"Good," she said. "You understand."
The five Warriors stared at her dumbly as she walked to the entrance to their tunnels. They made no move to staop her as she jumped down into the hole. It was as if they had been commanded to stay put.
Tasha began to walk down the tunnel, undisturbed by any Bugs that were patrolling the tunnels.
*******
Carl was trembling. He had killed insurmountable numbers of Bugs during the war, but he had never killed one of his own. He had never killed another human. The feeling of her death, the sight of her lifeless body on the floor at his feet, chilled him to the very marrow of his bones. He had never even wanted to hurt anyone like that before. Ever. His head ached. He was dizzy.
'My God,' he thought, 'what have they done to me?'
Several doctors flooded into the room, pushing past Carl as if he weren't even there. They picked up the nurse's body and took it away, ignoring the young, pale psychic as he stood there staring at them, his mouth gaping. He sneered at them and walked away; if they didn't notice he was there, they wouldn't notice he was gone. He walked past his med room; he hated the machines they had in there to monitor his progress. They unnerved him. He headed past the Mess Hall, past the Rec Room, and made his way to the barracks. He found his old bunk; his things were still there, just as he had left them.
Wait. Did he just remember that? He shook his head and sat down on the bunk, his head in his hands. He had gotten headaches before, but never this bad. It hurt to think.
"It was her fault," he whispered, trying to justify his actions. "She made me do it. I didn't want to...Her fault..."
Tears streamed down his face. He had always gotten headaches after using his powers. Why was this one so different? So much worse than the previous times? He tried to stand, but his dizziness increased and he collapsed onto his side on the floor next to his bunk. He slowly pulled himself up and laid down, his head buried in the pillow as if it would stop the pain. His thoughts were swimming in confusion and hurt, waves of pain crashing against his skull.
Carl Jenkins curled up tightly on his bunk, crying himself to sleep, all alone.
****
A/N: Woah! What's up with Tasha? Why won't anyone help my poor Carl? Are his memories coming back? What does Tasha have to do with his past? More questions and hopefully some answers next time, folks! Same Bat time, same Carl obsessed fic writer!! ^_^