AN: Any name in italics I can't remember the designation to. Sorry bout that.

~~~

The Gillette Wyoming Manticore base had an overflowing sick bay for the first time in its seventeen year history.

The entire Alpha X-5 unit and Beta X-6 unit were stuffed into the small room.

281 had three broken ribs, a broken nose, his left arm was broken in two places and two broken fingers on his right hand. 599 had a fractured jaw, a broken wrist and seven broken ribs making it hard for him to breath without wheezing softly.

Both CO's wandered up and down the aisles of wounded soldiers, checking on them, despite their own injuries.

452 was sitting up in her bed, her sternum cracked and four broken ribs. Her lip was swollen, making her lisp as she whispered in hushed tones to Jhondi in the pallet to her left.

501 was lying in bed staring at the ceiling. 452 had broken her spinal cord just above her tailbone, rendering her a paraplegic until it healed in a few days. She had also broken her left ankle, her femur bone and a few toes but she couldn't feel the pain for her spine.

656 had been knocked unconscious by 739 hitting her at the base of her neck. 739 had then fallen unconscious from internal bleeding after her lungs were punctured by 4 broken ribs given to her by 656.

As 281 passed 739 and 599 watched 656 carefully, Lydecker walked into the room and surveyed the room. All the nurses waited until given the signal and then they exited the room.

"Congratulations Beta unit X-6." He began, looking at 281. "You are now the Alpha unit."

281 stood to attention and saluted Lydecker. He was thrilled that his unit had been placed as the Alpha unit but was unsure as to 583, the CO of the now Beta unit was going to take it.

"You all have two days for recovery. Then straight back into training. X-5 452 and X-6 501 have an extra day due to their more extensive injuries." Lydecker announced. He left the room feeling slightly annoyed. When he had returned to the sparring room with the Alpha and Delta X-6 unit, he had found the two units nearly killing each other. Although each series knew never to kill in sparring, had had neglected to inform the COs of the level of violence that was to be used. All 24 ended up in sick bay and the Board had nearly taken the X-5s and X-6s out of his command and given them to Renfro. He would never let that happen to his kids, and he hastened to point out to the Board that Renfro had expressed interest in the X-7s that were being born.

So fortunately for him, Renfro had been officially appointed head of the X-7s and Lydecker was issued a warning never to risk one of their lives again.

599 and 281 saluted again and then continued to stalk up and down the two aisles, glancing at each other and checking on their units.

~~~

"So, umm...what is it I'm doing anyways?" Psyche stood in the middle of Logan's computer room, hands on hips, right hip stuck out and lips pouting. Alec lounged in the lounge room (ooh, how original) adjacent to it, keeping an ear out for the conversation. Logan, sitting in his chair exchanged a look with Max who stood in the doorway, back to Alec.

"Psyche, you really," Max paused, drawing out the words, "Really want to bring Manticore down don't you?"

Psyche cocked her head to the slightly to the right with a look of confusion crossing her features. "Yeah, why wouldn't I?"

"What she means is..." Alec supplied, joining in the conversation to Max's disapproval. "Will you do anything?"

Psyche turned to him and threw him a sour look. Then she nodded softly in agreeance.

"Good." Logan replied, clicking around on his computer. Within seconds he had the Manticore mainframe online. Psyche peered over his shoulder and Max watched from the doorway. "I need you to infiltrate a Manticore base in Nevada."

"Ooh, Las Vegas. I am so there." Alec jumped up from the sofa and brushed past Max, totally missing the exasperated rolling of eyes that she performed.

"Sorry Alec, you and I are going to Nebraska." Max replied, getting a grin from Logan and Psyche. Alec turned to her and gave her a horrified look.

"Who said I was helping?"

"You were just ready to help Psyche." Max complained, her eyes darkening slightly.

"So? She is nicer than you are and I wanna go to Las Vegas. Definitely not Lincoln. Boring." He replied, looking menacingly at Max. She opened her mouth to protest but Psyche stepped in, shooting Max a 'let-me-deal-with-the-idiot' look. They both smiled and Max stepped back, letting Psyche deal with Alec.

"Aww, c'mon Alec." She placed a hand on his arm and smiled sweetly. "All I get to do is infiltrate a Manticore base to umm..."

She stopped and looked at Logan. He cleared his throat and glanced at his computer screen. "To steal some high profile files to prove Manticores existence and bring it all down."

"See there you go." She cheerily told him, smiling and patting his arm. "So boring, I'm going to...where in Nebraska?"

"Sutcliffe." Logan replied.

"Sutcliffe." Psyche told Alec. "Very boring. And you and Max get to go to...where in Nebraska?"

"Elsmere." Logan replied.

"You get to go all the way to Elsmere in Nebraska to...what?" She said, looking imploringly at Logan again for help.

"To get into a Manticore base where there maybe some X-9s being grown and/or born." He said again, watching the interaction between the two X-series closely.

"Yeah." Psyche said again. "You get to go all the way to Elsmere in Nebraska to rescue babies. I have to go all the way to Nevada...all alone..."

Max stopped her before she feigned fainting. "Hey, that's enough, that will just entice him more."

Alec looked from Psyche to Max with a surprised look on his face. For a seventeen year old, she really knew how to pull his strings. She intrigued him to no ends. That was unusual. No norm had succeeded. Yet here was a seventeen year old X-6 pushing every button he possessed. Controlling his expression, he frowned at them, then feigned indifference and went back to the couch.

"Hmm." Logan groaned. "C'mon you guys should leave within the day."

"Wait, I thought you were coming with." Max cried, looking confused.

"I can't Max." He smiled at her and then turned away. He really hated this virus. It kept him from the woman he loved. Just recently Max had turned twenty one and he couldn't even hug her to wish her happy birhday. She had to make do wih a cake.

"Okay." Max sighed. "You get us maps, sector passes and everything else that we will need and we," she pointed to Psyche and Alec, "will be back in two hours, k?"

"Okay." He replied, watching her leave the room. Psyche threw him a genuine smile and followed her out. Remembering Alec he swivelled in his chair to see Alec hadn't moved from the couch and was watching him. "Well?"

"Well what?" Alec replied, lifting his feet onto Logan's very expensive glass top coffee table. "I don't want to go."

"Look." Logan sighed. "You go, I give you the other vase."

Alec looked over to the vase on the table then back to Logan. It took less than a second to decide. "Deal."