RAINBOW CONNECTION
by Newly Human
Synopsis: What's gotten into Syl? X5-494 goes on the hunt for the rogue X5. Friendship, intrigue, action, and most importantly… hope.
Timeline: The following takes place in between seasons 1 and 2.
Disclaimer: Dark Angel the series and all it's characters belong to Fox, Cameron/Eglee Productions and other respective owners. I don't mean to infringe so please don't sue. Kaia Kilbourne and the plot are mine.
Authors Note: I'm trying not to let anyone down, as far as where the story is headed, but please don't hate me if you get disappointed. As Joss Whedon once said, "give them what they need, not what they want." -- Newly Human
CHAPTER 11
Chasing Tails
"Did you see that?" Richie asked, still staring at the monitor. It had been blank since the blonde intruder pulled the cameras power chords, but Richie couldn't pull his eyes away from the screen.
"Of course I saw it, you idiot!" Pete had jumped up and was now scrambling around looking for the radio. He found it and let out a cry of joy before pushing the transmit button.
"This is Security Control B. Science detail, come in." He let go of the button to open the channel for a second.
A voice came back from the other end. "Science Facility Patrol, reporting."
"Report to…" He clicked his fingers at Richie impatiently, getting him to look up what room the doctor had been in.
Richie quickly checked the monitor number with the list in front of him. "Dr. Howard. Corridor 24, room 16."
"Report to 24-16. We have an intruder. Just took down one of our doctors. Looks like an X5 rogue, so proceed with caution. Assume armed. Confirm." Pete waited to see if they had heard him correctly.
"Affirmative. Armed X5 intruder in 24-16. We're on route. Over and out."
Pete sat down in a heap and sighed heavily. He threw the radio back onto the desk and glanced over at Richie.
"Not three nights in a row, huh?" Pete scoffed, mocking what Richie had said earlier. "They wouldn't dare, huh?"
Richie just sat there, looking stunned.
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X5-494 attached his radio back onto his belt and started marching briskly down the corridor, heading towards 24-16. As he got nearer several other X5's emerged from other halls and joined him. 494 specialised in covert ops and assassinations, but after everything he had been through this babysitting of empty labs was just what he needed. It was their first night on patrol detail and he hadn't expected any action. In fact, he was hoping that he wouldn't have to do anything beside check a few IDs. Security Control had said that the trespasser was an X5 rogue. One of those that had escaped in 2009 he assumed. They had gotten out, now they want to break back in? He smirked to himself. Don't tell me they actually missed this place…
When the half dozen X5's turned the final corner they slowed down, pulling out their guns quietly. X5-494 looked back at the rest of the group. He had the highest rank present so it was his place to take command. He signalled for one to go ahead and scan the laboratory that they would have to pass through in order to get to the office. The X5 took one second to glance inside the room before nodding to 494 that it was all clear. 494 signalled for the rest of the group to follow him as he entered the lab. One by one they all filed in wordlessly behind him.
Inside the science lab it was almost pitch black. Thanks to the feline DNA Manticore had put in them, their eyes adjusted immediately and they could see through the darkness as if it were day. Silently they spread out and floated down the aisles of benches towards the office in the back. When they reached the door 494 stopped to listen for any signs of life. There were no sounds coming from the office, but it wouldn't be hard for the X5 rogue to be quiet and 494 knew that. He signalled to the others for a count of three. Three… Two… One!
They burst into the room brandishing their guns. Within a few seconds they had every inch of the space covered, even under the desk.
No one was there.
494 sighed wearily. He pulled his radio from its place to speak to Security Control. Now he'd have to go chasing someone.
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Richie watched Pete pacing nervously, as they waited for word from the X5 team. Renfro was going to have both their heads if something else went wrong tonight and they both knew it.
Suddenly, the radio started to crackle, indicating that a transmission was coming through. Pete jumped to grab it off the table before Richie could reach it.
"X5-494 reporting from room 24-16. No intruder found." The team leader announced. "Should I proceed with a sweep?"
"What?" Pete spoke before he could stop himself. How could they have missed her? Then he remembered the doctor. "What's Dr Howard's status? Is she dead?"
"Dr Howard is absent also, sir." 494 responded.
Now he was really confused. He looked over at the monitor corresponding to Dr. Howard's office, but it was blank; the camera was still cut off from its power.
"Pete?" Richie suddenly spoke up, his eyes fixed on one of the other screens.
Pete leaned in to see what he was looking at. It was another office similar to Dr. Howard's. In it stood 494 and the rest of the X5 team.
"They're in the wrong room." Richie scoffed. "I thought they were supposed to be perfect. They can't read a room number?"
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Back in the office the X5's were still waiting for further orders.
"You're in the wrong room, 494." A guard spoke through the radio, a hint of annoyance in his voice. "That's Dr. Kennedy's office you're standing in."
494 wandered over to the door and nudged it open with his foot. There is no way he could have made a mistake like that. He read the number on the front of the door.
"Sir, we're in 24-16, as directed." He motioned for another X5 to tilt the security camera towards the door, so that the guards can see through the monitor.
The radio was silent for a while as the guards in the control room were trying to figure out what was going on. 494 rolled his eyes. These guys were useless.
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"How's it going?" Krit asked Logan, who was concentrating on his screen.
"I'm just about done…" Logan finished his typing and leaned back. "There. I've rerouted all the security feeds. They won't be able to tell which room is which." He turned to Krit. "The guards won't know what hit 'em."
"By the time they do, Syl will be out of there and Kaia will have her Nemacol." Krit breathed in relief.
Logan's sigh followed. "It's almost over."
Even though he was glad that soon they'd be able to leave Manticore and hopefully never look back, he was also somewhat disappointed. Concentrating on the task at hand was the only thing keeping his mind off something else.
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"You think they bought it?" Kaia asked, getting up from her slumped over position in the chair.
"Must have." Syl replied, checking the adjacent lab for any signs of the guards. "Otherwise they'd be here by now." Satisfied that no one was coming, she turned back to Kaia.
Kaia was just about to continue typing on the computer when she noticed Syl's far off look.
"Are you ok?" She asked. Syl had been late executing the fake attack designed to divert the patrol guards. Something had her distracted.
"Yeah I'm fine." Syl replied.
Kaia gave her a look letting Syl know she wasn't buying it. Syl sighed slightly and gave in.
"On my way over here I almost ran into one of the X5's." Syl explained, "He didn't see me, but I saw him. He looked exactly like X5-493… my brother Ben."
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X5-494 got tired of waiting for further instructions.
"392." He called for a nearby female X5.
"Sir?" She saluted.
"Yeah yeah, ease up." He waved for her to relax. "Take two others and head south down corridor 24. The rest of you…" He spoke up so that the whole room could hear. "Go north. The X5 rogue is still on the run somewhere. If we catch her maybe we can persuade our bosses to let us keep this cushiony patrol detail."
A few X5's raised their eyebrows at 494's use of slang, but they followed his orders nevertheless.
When the X5's had disappeared out the door 494 took one last look around the room. Nothing was out of place. Paperwork and reports lay in neat piles, pens and pencils in a little pink coffee mug that read Happy Valentines Day. Even the pile of holiday photos that were casually dropped on the desk looked orderly. Suddenly, 494 saw something that made him stop.
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"For a second I thought I was looking at Ben." Syl looked up at Kaia, who sat listening quietly. "But it couldn't have been him. We were told that he had died, not long ago. I know it had to have been his twin. Manticore always made us in sets of two. Still…" She didn't know how to explain it.
"You felt like you were seeing a ghost." Kaia filled in for her. Syl nodded.
"I wanted to talk to him, like it might get him back somehow." Syl whispered. "But I know I can't save Ben. Or Zack. Or Max."
Kaia understood what she was saying. Her brothers and sisters were dying all around her and she felt useless. It's no wonder she was so upset when Krit got injured yesterday. She didn't say anything to Syl, she didn't need to. Being a soldier sometimes meant not being able to have emotions. Syl just needed to let down her guard for a moment and get it off her chest.
After a short moment Syl composed herself and gave Kaia a grateful smile.
"Did you find your Nemacol?" Syl asked, getting back to the mission.
"Yeah." Kaia turned to the computer. "It's a just a few corridors down."
She got up from her seat and switched off the desk lamp. "I can get it no problem. You head to the rendezvous point. We don't know how much longer the guards will be confused. Not to mention the X5's."
Syl hesitated. "Are you sure you'll be ok?"
"Sure." Kaia answered. "I can just walk out of here. They still think I'm Dr. Howard."
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494 picked up a photo from the top of the pile. It was a bright white snowy scene. Standing in front of the camera were a man and a woman, smiling widely with their arms around each other. He spread the rest of the photos across the desk, glancing at each one. The second half of the photos was of a birthday party, but in almost every one there was the same dark haired woman.
The real Dr. Anne Marie Howard.
Author's Note: I hope you're all still enjoying the story. What do people think about the "bad guy" of the moment, X5-494 (aka Alec)?
© May 2004 NHmedia
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