Protector of Men Ch 83 – holy crap that's a lot of chapters.

Cover looked worried as Zandra pulled herself out of her chair. She looked to Kesia, who also seemed a little nervous.

"What happened?" she asked, now looking to Shade. Shade shrugged, and looked back to Cover. Trim was nowhere to be seen.

"Commander Teal contacted us while you were in," Cover told them, "We have to get back to Zion."

Both waited for more, but nothing came. Cover left for the cockpit, and Kesia soon followed with an apologetic smile before finally disappearing. Shade moved to follow, but Zandra stopped him.

"I don't think we wanna know."

She had the feeling that something had gone wrong. The war was starting. There was no other reason for it; the sentinels had attacked and it wasn't safe anymore. That had to be it. Shade instead followed Zandra down the hallway to their rooms, and sat as she did, next to her on the metal floor. They were quiet for a long time.

"Hey Zandra," Trim said, suddenly appearing from behind a corner of the hallway. He stopped short when he saw Shade, but recovered quickly. "Just wondering what was up."

"Nothing Trim," Zandra replied, "Come join us."

He backed off slowly and shook his head. "That's okay, off to do my work." He smiled weakly and was gone again.

"That was a little strange," Shade murmured, still staring at the place where Trim last was. Zandra nudged him hard.

"He's got some problems," she said. Shade scoffed.

"Well I, for one, would never refuse an offer from a lady such as yourself – to sit – no matter what problems I had."

Zandra laughed half-heartedly. "Well," she said, and let the conversation die.

Five times they had to stop and shut off the engines. There were sentinels manning almost every pipeway and even though they were constantly guided by Zion, the passage was treacherous. Cover was going through tunnels he had never heard of before, and it seemed like every 10 minutes Kesia called out a proximity warning.

"Captain," she called out, "Fifty thousand, sixty degrees."

Cover nodded and waved her away. He was tired: both physically and mentally. Perhaps a brief stay in Zion would be for the best, yet again.

Trim was with Zandra in the med bay. She was getting a short medical exam by a somewhat nervous Trim. His experience was brief, and her symptoms not only sudden, but unique: migraines that lasted only minutes, hot flashes and hallucinations of lights.

"It's getting worse again," she said, sitting down hard on the bench, "There it is."

Her arm was outstretched towards the wall, her hand open. She was breathing strong and her eyes were drooping.

"Zandra," Trim said alarmed, "What is it?"

She looked up, now equally as alarmed as he. "I can see it," she said, eyes wide, "They're there."

Cover came onto the PA. "Everyone quiet from now on." Trim put his hands up, trying to calm her, but she was unassailable.

"What's happening," she asked, "It's there!"

She pointed to the wall again, as if showing trim where to look. He glanced at the wall, but there was nothing.

"Zandra, we have to be quiet," he said, "The sentinels are around."

"Kesia, put our controls to forty percent," Cover ordered, quietly maneuvering the ship through the pipeways. Kesia did accordingly, and they continued to watch the scene in front of them. No movement so far. Shade waited in the gunners seat in another room – ready for the seemingly inevitable attack. It seemed to be quiet, but they didn't know what was happening in the med bay. All they knew was that Zandra was ill, and Trim was to attend to her.

Cover was glad that Trim had something to do… with him under the impression he was the medic, Cover didn't have to worry about the fact that Shade had just taken over his previous duties. Trim would be glad he was taking care of Zandra, and that was good for now. As long as she stayed ill, Trim would be in good spirits.

But something had caught the sentinel's attention. Whether it was the sound of the hovercraft, or the reverberation of the wind in the tunnels, it didn't matter. A warning light suddenly blinked in Libertas as it began its preliminary scan of the darkness ahead.

"They see us," Kesia said, looking to Cover. Her breathing became quick from the sudden change of situation. She watched him for a response, but he continued looking out towards the pipes.

"Power down," he told her, "We can't outrun them."

It seemed like he was devoid of hope, but it was realistic. They couldn't outrun them. But even then they wouldn't be quick enough. More warning lights came to life on Libertas' panel, and sirens now blasted through the ship as Kesia made her way to the fuse panel. One sentinel called to another, and the threat instantly multiplied. Shade soon realized what was happening and set up the controls for a battle, hunching down in his seat, triggers in hand. A quiet humming could be heard outside the ship. Cover stayed in the cockpit while Kesia was powering down below. The sound of warnings echoed through the halls, and everyone was getting ready for the attack. Except for Zandra and Trim, who were still having problems.

"No," she shouted at the wall, her arm still outstretched. Trim was having to restrain her from getting of the bench. Though she struggled against him, it was not to get out; it was more like she was reaching for something too far to grab hold of.

"Kesia, finish!" Cover shouted on the PA. The sentinel was coming closer – they'd only have a few moments before impact. Lights blacked out in Libertas; the power grid was slowly coming to a close. Cover had a hand on the EMP, ready to punch when the moment arrived. The humming was now a distant roar, and the sentinel could be seen outside the front windshield. Only seconds to spare. "Now!"

"No!" Zandra shouted again, seemingly delirious, "Stop!"

The sentinel fell only yards in front of the ship, seizing before falling to the ground in an inert heap. Zandra only stared at Trim, her arms hanging limp at her side. Trim looked at her incredulously.

"It's gone," she said, and sat on the bench again. Trim stopped her before she fell over. "Zandra," he called, slowly shaking her.

She came to gradually, but she was conscious.

The rest of their journey was just as treacherous, but much less eventful. Sentinels still guarded most of their pipeways, but they weren't detected again. Zandra spent the rest of their trip down in the breaker room, manning the power sources in case they had to power down quickly. She often stared at her hands in confusion… wondering… and still feeling that there was something that the others couldn't see. Trim and Shade sat in the gunners' seats, waiting for an opportunity to strike in case they were detected. Kesia and Cover were their drivers. Two days later they would be in Zion – exhausted and ready for a break. In a sense, that's what they would find, but they would discover more than that. There were many questions that had to be answered.

A/N – whooh. Sorry for the incredibly long wait. Choir has killed me. And then school did. But I got accepted to college, and that rocks majorly! Davidson, here I come!

Yeah, it's the #7 liberal arts school in the country.

Haha. Okay, I have to brag a little. Anyway, christmas break is up soon soon, so I'll be able to write MUCH more. Much more. Sorry again for the long wait! I am thus resurrected!