Title: Trojan

Genre: Action/Adventure

Spoilers: None really.

AU/Cannon: AU

Author: Seadragon

Dedicated to: The story I wrote, and lost in Europe.

Ship: Not telling!

Slash: None.

Summary: After a mission that claimed the lives of all her partners, Holly must face anger and hate at work. Tears fall in secret, where no one will see them. When the enemy from the first mission returns for revenge; no one believes her, to fight it; she'll need a little help.

- - - - -

Chapter 2: Unpleasant Memories

- - - - -

The doorknob rattled.

Holly was yanked out of her painful memories and thrown into the present. The door rattled again. She got up cautiously from her place on the floor, how she had gotten there was unknown at the time. She tried to dry her eyes on the sleeve of her uniform, but failed, because of the large cast on her right arm.

With a sigh, she stepped forward and put her hand on the doorknob. She wasn't exactly ready to see anyone else yet, she hadn't had much time to mope, but she didn't seem to have a choice. She turned the lock and opened the door, stepping to the side to allow it to swing open.

"Holly?"

Foaly looked at her tear-streaked face.

"Nice hiding spot, but Root and some other officers are coming to review some of the possible recruits, you might want to find a new one."

Holly offered him a thin smile. "I'll probably just go home."

"Sorry, they'll need you later. Apparently they have a new recruit they are worried about, and want you to help with the training."

"You mean Root wants me to, so that he can get me out of this place and away from all of this." Holly gestured all around her and Foaly grinned.

"That sounds about right. I guess you could always help me in the OPs booth until you're needed. I have a couple things that could be tested." Foaly said, offering her an easy way out.

"Great," Holly muttered. "I always wanted to be a guinea pig!"

"Good. Lets go."

Holly reluctantly followed Foaly out of the recruitment office and too the OPs booth. On the way there, she was treated to a description of some of the things he wanted to test. As far as she could tell, she was going to grow, have her body time stopped, and start to taste like oranges. But she thought she might be wrong about the last one.

At least she hoped she was.

After a while, she stopped listening and started staring critically at Foaly's latest edition to his wardrobe.

It was a neon green and purple checked shirt.

And it was ugly.

Now, ugly may have been a bit of an understatement, but Holly was a just trying to keep her mind off what the officers would try to do to her. She had no doubt in her mind that it would be unpleasant.

"So, Holly, what do you say?"

"Sorry, what?"

"About my newest invention!" Foaly pouted. "Weren't you listening?"

"Of course I was, it sounds great!" One way to keep a genius talking was to compliment them. Luckily for Holly though, they had finally reached OPs.

"Alright, first off, we are going to try my truth potion. I think it will work fine, but according to the council, everything has to be tested!" Holly sighed. Why ever had she agreed to be a guinea pig? Why?! They ought to lock her up with Koboi! Not a pleasant thought.

Though, anything would be better than here.

Away from the hate and anger, away from the tears and lies. Away from everything. Not for the first time, Holly found herself wishing she had gone down with the rest of them.

She was barely paying attention as Foaly poured her a cup of a vile looking purple concoction.

She looked at it with distaste.

"Uh, I think I hear Root calling…" She tried lamely.

"Nope!" Foaly said a little too cheerfully, "he said he would come get you personally when they needed you! Now drink!"

Holly sighed. She eyed it carefully, then downed the whole glass.

When Holly passed out on the floor, Foaly glanced at the beaker from which the liquid had come from. "Oops." He said quietly. On the beaker, clearly printed, in letters that even an idiot could read, the label said, 'Memory Potion'. "Sorry Holly."

- - - - -

"1…2…3…GO!" Holly shouted.

She and Trouble jumped from their hiding places, guns blazing.

Enemy after enemy fell, struck with an unforgiving Neutrino beam. Holly plugged away, running to Private Ryan who was being held up with a gun to his head.

She saw Trouble falter but didn't have time to react.

He was down seconds later, but Holly had long since lost all sense of rationality. She ran full out for Ryan, trying desperately to stop the inevitable bullet that would pound mercilessly into his skull unless she did something.

All around her, gunfights were continuing and she frequently had to jump over bodies and bullets, but she remained oblivious. There was one thing she had too do, and nothing was going to stop her from doing it.

She slipped in a pool of blood, and nearly went down, but was held up by some unknown strength. She could feel her lungs protesting, but she couldn't give up now. If she went down , they all went down, and the mission would have been a complete failure.

Someone had to get back to tell Commander Root what had happened. Just one.

Still oblivious to the world around her, she didn't see the man holding Private Ryan level his gun.

He shot, once, twice…

The bullets hit home, one shattering her right arm. She switched her gun to her left hand, and kept running. Blood poured freely from the wound, and pain threatened to overcome her.

She was almost there. She almost had him…

The sound of a bullet smashing into bone rang in her ears and she screamed.

"NO!"

Ryan dropped like a stone to the floor once the man let go of him. Holly felt the pain and anger from the last battle flood her mind, and she too fell to the floor, propelled by her own forward motion.

She felt her eyes close, and prayed…