Disclaimer: I own nothing. Nothing! Well, I own Charlie, Cal, Jess and Lex, but only them.
THIS CHAPTER ISN'T VERY LIGHT AND FLUFFY TO BEWARE!
After dinner, sitting around the table had become the time to share stories. With the kids asleep, the adults could and often did talk the night away.
"Charlie?" Cal asked, his arm around River's waist. "Tell me about Lane. The first one I mean."
Charlie shivered involuntarily. "Well, to understand Lane, you have to understand Manticore." She choked.
Jayne pulled Charlie into his lap, wrapping his arms around her. Charlie smiled lovingly at him, then turned back to the crew.
"Manticore's mission was to create an army of super-soldiers for our country. We were supposed to be cold, having no emotional ties, besides loyalty, to anything or anyone."
"They obviously failed ya there." Kaylee piped up.
"Yes." Charlie smiled at her loved ones all around her. "But their training worked better on some of us than others."
"Lane." Cal murmured.
"Yes, Lane." Charlie's smiled turned sad. "lane and his twin Zach were our leaders, the best of the best. They may have been physically identical, both six foot four, blonde, handsome, heavily-muscled combat models, like Cal here. But in every other way, they were opposites."
The crew's gaze turned momentarily to Cal, then back to Charlie, perched on Jayne's lap.
"Zack loved his unit, considered them his family. At age ten Zack broke all but two of his unit mates, and himself, out of Manticore." Charlie grinned. "They escaped through a plate glass window, running barefoot through snow in hospital gowns at sub-zero temperatures, evading armed ordinary soldiers and attack dogs. Then they climbed over a ten foot chain link fence topped with razor wire."
"At age ten?" Inara gaped at the two transgenics.
"A few were ten, most were younger, about eight or nine." Charlie smiled sadly. "Let's just say that the Committee wasn't happy after the escape."
After a deep breath, she continued. "After the standard six months in Psy-Ops, Lane turned vicious, He took to violently beating those in his unit for the slightest offence."
"You were in his unit?" Mal asked, his eyes sympathetic.
"Yes." Charlie rubbed her chin absently. "I once backed up another unit commander in a joint mission, Alec was worried about collateral damage but Lane wasn't. He broke my jaw in three places, snapped two ribs and dislocated my shoulder. All for daring to suggest that Alec may have been right."
Jayne and Mal's faces both reflected their fury. Charlie kissed Jayne gently on his cheek. "Remember, it was a long time ago. I was thirteen."
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