*Author's Note: Eventually this story will catch up with the Dark Angel timeline but, for now, everything is taking place prior to season two.
Chapter Two
"What do you have to say for yourself, 878?"
X5-878 cleared his throat, " Sir, the subject in pursuit was excessively fast and managed to conceal himself using his superior knowledge of the terrain, sir!
Lydecker narrowed his eyes.
"And what made his knowledge superior?"
"The individual has lived in this particular area for some time, sir. He knew about all the hiding places."
"The 'hiding places'?"
Cole nodded. "Yes, sir!"
Lydecker sighed and sat down behind his desk while his soldier continued to stand at attention. Cole was considered exceptional amongst the X5 series but it was his still too free line of thought that caused his flaws. At age twenty, X5-878 stood six feet tall with 175 pounds of pure muscle. His dark hair gleamed with red highlights in the light and dark-blue eyes shone with fierce intelligence against sun-darkened skin. Behind this handsome demeanor though was where his "flaw" could be found. Cole still, despite the years of re-indoctrination and training, maintained himself as an individual in his mind and it wasn't rare for that to be evident in his actions also. And indeed it was today. He wasn't even in Lydecker's line of command anymore, he was in Renfro's, but Cole was often sent to him to justify his actions. One's that Lydecker was supposed to be able to form an explanation of since he'd been X5-878's primary handler for many years previous.
"And who exactly were you commanded to apprehend, soldier?" Lydecker growled, his teeth already grinding in frustration.
"X5-210, sir."
"Would you be referring to the X5-210 whom you used to refer to as 'Zane'? One of the '09 escapees?"
"Yes, sir."
"And is this the first time you've been assigned to one of the '09 escapees and failed to complete your mission?"
"No, sir."
"Is there a reason for that?"
"Sir, when I was assigned to another escapee, my partner failed to inform me that she'd witnessed two X5's enters the parameters instead of one. I was ambushed, sir."
Lydecker slowly worked out his clenched jaw. He then stood back up and looked his soldier straight in the eyes.
"You're being given a much smaller objective while a further explanation of these events is investigated, 878. For your sake, there better be no problems. You're dismissed."
Cole didn't let out a short breath of relief until he reached his cell. He hadn't been lying entirely about the mission. No, in fact it was quite true that X5-210, Zane, did know the area better. What Cole had neglected to report was that he'd chosen to set out after him in a place that he'd yet to explore, therefore giving his "brother" the obvious advantage in the situation. Since Cole was confident that no information telling so could be obtained from anyone besides himself and Zane, he felt pretty good about the whole situation.
Cole settled himself back onto the cold, brick slab that had served him as a bed for the last ten years since the escape. Before that had occurred, different units were situated in rooms that contained enough beds for each X5 but, afterwards, the Manticore directors had decided that allowing the "soldiers" so much time together, apart from their training, was what had allowed them the chance to plan an escape in the first place.
Now the only time Cole or any of the other X series were able to converse was when they were away on missions. Even then, the majority was too mission-oriented to make small talk. Thus was the way of life at good old Manticore.
As X5-878 drifted slowly off into fitful slumber he found himself involuntarily thinking about the occurrences of the day. He had wished with all his heart that he could have told Zane who he was and left this hell-hole for good but he knew that doing so would, not only be putting himself in danger, but Zane also. Manticore put an extremely tight leash on their soldiers nowadays and no one knew better than Cole what the consequences were if the leash were stretched or pulled in the least.
Cole sighed and shifted onto his side. Like Max, he had some shark DNA making it nearly impossible to sleep unless he was in desperate need of it. And tonight he wasn't.
Then again, 878 had no idea that he would indeed need lots of rest for his next assignment. Contrary to Lydecker's beliefs, it wasn't going to be as uneventful of an operation as he believed.
Chapter Two
"What do you have to say for yourself, 878?"
X5-878 cleared his throat, " Sir, the subject in pursuit was excessively fast and managed to conceal himself using his superior knowledge of the terrain, sir!
Lydecker narrowed his eyes.
"And what made his knowledge superior?"
"The individual has lived in this particular area for some time, sir. He knew about all the hiding places."
"The 'hiding places'?"
Cole nodded. "Yes, sir!"
Lydecker sighed and sat down behind his desk while his soldier continued to stand at attention. Cole was considered exceptional amongst the X5 series but it was his still too free line of thought that caused his flaws. At age twenty, X5-878 stood six feet tall with 175 pounds of pure muscle. His dark hair gleamed with red highlights in the light and dark-blue eyes shone with fierce intelligence against sun-darkened skin. Behind this handsome demeanor though was where his "flaw" could be found. Cole still, despite the years of re-indoctrination and training, maintained himself as an individual in his mind and it wasn't rare for that to be evident in his actions also. And indeed it was today. He wasn't even in Lydecker's line of command anymore, he was in Renfro's, but Cole was often sent to him to justify his actions. One's that Lydecker was supposed to be able to form an explanation of since he'd been X5-878's primary handler for many years previous.
"And who exactly were you commanded to apprehend, soldier?" Lydecker growled, his teeth already grinding in frustration.
"X5-210, sir."
"Would you be referring to the X5-210 whom you used to refer to as 'Zane'? One of the '09 escapees?"
"Yes, sir."
"And is this the first time you've been assigned to one of the '09 escapees and failed to complete your mission?"
"No, sir."
"Is there a reason for that?"
"Sir, when I was assigned to another escapee, my partner failed to inform me that she'd witnessed two X5's enters the parameters instead of one. I was ambushed, sir."
Lydecker slowly worked out his clenched jaw. He then stood back up and looked his soldier straight in the eyes.
"You're being given a much smaller objective while a further explanation of these events is investigated, 878. For your sake, there better be no problems. You're dismissed."
Cole didn't let out a short breath of relief until he reached his cell. He hadn't been lying entirely about the mission. No, in fact it was quite true that X5-210, Zane, did know the area better. What Cole had neglected to report was that he'd chosen to set out after him in a place that he'd yet to explore, therefore giving his "brother" the obvious advantage in the situation. Since Cole was confident that no information telling so could be obtained from anyone besides himself and Zane, he felt pretty good about the whole situation.
Cole settled himself back onto the cold, brick slab that had served him as a bed for the last ten years since the escape. Before that had occurred, different units were situated in rooms that contained enough beds for each X5 but, afterwards, the Manticore directors had decided that allowing the "soldiers" so much time together, apart from their training, was what had allowed them the chance to plan an escape in the first place.
Now the only time Cole or any of the other X series were able to converse was when they were away on missions. Even then, the majority was too mission-oriented to make small talk. Thus was the way of life at good old Manticore.
As X5-878 drifted slowly off into fitful slumber he found himself involuntarily thinking about the occurrences of the day. He had wished with all his heart that he could have told Zane who he was and left this hell-hole for good but he knew that doing so would, not only be putting himself in danger, but Zane also. Manticore put an extremely tight leash on their soldiers nowadays and no one knew better than Cole what the consequences were if the leash were stretched or pulled in the least.
Cole sighed and shifted onto his side. Like Max, he had some shark DNA making it nearly impossible to sleep unless he was in desperate need of it. And tonight he wasn't.
Then again, 878 had no idea that he would indeed need lots of rest for his next assignment. Contrary to Lydecker's beliefs, it wasn't going to be as uneventful of an operation as he believed.