From this point, the story is going to be very AU. Up until this point, I was following along with the general events fairly closely. However, Baltimore is going to go quite differently, and then after that, the events will continue to be AU. Just a heads up! :)

Chapter 8: I Am The Fire

December 6th, 2013 - 20:55 (8:55 pm)

"I say again, this is Andrew Thorwald. I am requesting assistance, any assistance, from those in or around the area of Baltimore. Olympia is not safe! I have seen with my own eyes what goes on there. If you go to Olympia, you will be killed, and your body will be used to power the Avocet Base Power Plant. They are claiming that they have a 'cure' to help extend your life and fight the symptoms, but it's a lie! They are gathering the masses and slaughtering them like pigs to provide power for the elite few they have chosen to be truly safe! Again, I request assistance from anyone hearing this message. And, if you or your family are thinking about heading to Olympia, please stay away! Please!"

Tom stared in horror as the message began replaying over the FM radio. Rachel, beside him, was equally appalled, her hand covering her mouth as she gasped. Her eyes were moist with tears as she turned to face the Captain.

"Is it true?" she asked, and he pursed his lips.

"I don't know, but we have to find out," he admitted.

The communications officer who had intercepted the message spoke up. "We've heard several communications about Olympia; they have indeed claimed to have a cure. If they're actually using it to kill people..."

"They have to be stopped," Rachel said. "What kind of monsters would claim to be able to help, while killing people and using their bodies for power?"

She was sick to her stomach at the thought.

"How do we know this Andrew Thorwald is telling the truth, though?" the communications officer asked.

"We don't," Tom answered simply.

Rachel said, "We don't know for sure if he's telling the truth, but we do know that Olympia is lying. No one can have a cure, not without the primordial strain of the virus, and I am the only one on this planet who has it. So, at the very least, they are not what they claim to be."

Tom nodded grimly. "Agreed. Ensign Phillips, please try to make contact with Mr. Thorwald. If this is happening, we need to see if we can stop it."

"If they're manufacturing a fake cure," Rachel added, crossing her arms over her chest and biting her lip. "Or, more likely, a cocktail meant to kill quickly and silently so the bodies can be used for power, then they have a lab. They may have what I need to make more of the real cure. If ... If we send a team to investigate and stop them, I'd like to go along, see if I can find anything I can use to help mass produce the cure."

The last part of her sentence was said directly to the Captain.

Tom stiffened at the idea of Rachel leaving the ship again. The last time she had left had not gone well for her, and she was still suffering the consequences of that trip.

"Don't say no yet," Rachel implored him. "I know you don't like the idea of me leaving the ship. I don't like it either, but Tom, we have to. If we can get what I need to make more of the cure, we have the responsibility to do so. We don't have to stay long. I know it's not particularly safe on land, especially if what that man just said is true. We can gather what I need and come straight back. We can make a mobile lab aboard the Nathan James."

Tom was nodding along with her, his stomach churning at the idea of letting her walk into danger, but Goddamn it if she wasn't right.

Again.

"The ship is the safest place for you," he said, a lump in his throat. Damn it, this is exactly why you weren't supposed to get personally involved. This is why there were fraternization rules, and he and Rachel had basically thrown those out of the window a few hours ago.

"Yes, it is," Rachel agreed. "But I am one person. I cannot stay here on the ship, safe and secure, knowing that I could be doing something to save the hundreds of thousands of people who are still without hope. We have the cure, Tom. Our mission has changed. Instead of working on the cure, our job is now to disperse it. I cannot do that without supplies."

Tom closed his eyes and crossed his arms. With everything in him, he wanted to fight her, to throw her in a room and lock away the key. He did not want to let her out of his sight, or off of this ship, for even a second.

But he knew he had to.

Well, he realized, he had to do one of those things. He didn't have to let her out of his sight.

"You can go, but I'm going with you as a guard. Tex, Miller, and Green will all be coming with us, plus anyone else I deem necessary for your safety. You may only be one person, but you are important," he compromised.

"Others can make the cure," she argued. "I am no longer the only one that can save the world, Tom."

"I will not argue about this," he said firmly. He felt he was being more than generous allowing her to go with them; he would not be swayed on protecting her life with the best people they had. "Others can, Rachel. You did. The world cannot afford to lose you."

I can't afford to lose you.

Perhaps sensing his unspoken words, she acquiesced, nodding her head once. "All right, then."

Tom stared at her for another few seconds, and then headed toward the door. He needed to talk to Mike and Russ, and then brief the crew. He cast one final glance back at Rachel, who offered him a small smile, and then walked out the door to talk to his people.

December 6th, 2013 - 21:40 (9:40 pm)

"First things first, we need to ascertain the legitimacy of these claims," Mike said.

Captain Chandler, Mike, and Master Chief Jeter - plus Danny and Rachel - were sitting together in the conference room, sipping coffee and talking about what they had been able to learn about the situation on land over the last hour.

"Comms were able to hail Mr. Thorwald on the radio. He has agreed to meet our recon team on shore and show them what is happening on land. We will send a 5 man team, scout the area, and report back before morning. We figure going at night will be our best bet. Under cover of darkness, our team can get the lay of the area and we can make a plan before dawn," Jeter reported, running his finger along the rim of his coffee cup. He shook his head in disgust. "If what he's saying is true..."

"If what he's saying is true, we are in debt to him," Tom cut in. "If we had managed to make contact with anyone at that facility, we might have been walking into a trap and been none the wiser. Reaching out to labs on land was our next step," he said, shaking his head.

Rachel looked over to him, wanting to reach out and take his hand into hers. She knew that he was worried - for his crew, for her, for everyone on land - including his family.

This nightmare was never going to end, it seemed. They had finally made a cure, and had reveled in their success for less than twenty four hours before the next problem arrived at their doorstep.

Tom continued, "Mr. Thorwald told us he's not alone. There's a group of them, living underground, that have been trying to fight back against the woman in charge. Apparently this has been going on for quite some time. I told him that he was to meet us alone tonight. We need to decide if we're going to trust him before we meet the rest of his crew."

"'We'?" Rachel asked, her eyes darting up to meet the Captain's.

"I'm going with the advance team," he admitted. "Green, Tex, Cruz, Martinez, and I will heading out tonight."

At Rachel's worried look, he continued. "No contact with anyone on land. We plan to confirm Thorwald's claims, build a working knowledge of the area, and report back to the ship by 0300 to come up with a plan of attack."

Rachel still felt uneasy, but after telling Tom that he couldn't protect her, and that he had to let her go on land when it was time, she couldn't very well ask him not to go. This, she supposed, was the result of letting yourself get close to someone whose job it was to constantly put themselves in danger.

Tom turned his attention back to the group. "We need to be ready to go by 2400. That gives you a little less than two hours to find and brief the team," he told Danny. "And I need to work on something to say to the crew. Though we probably won't communicate until morning, when we know more."

Danny nodded, and then, after asking permission to be dismissed, left the room to find the others that would be accompanying them to shore.

"Be careful," Mike warned, and then he, too, was gone. He was off to rest while Jeter headed to the bridge, not that he was sure he would be able to sleep with 5 of his men men on land all night.

Tom nodded; he would do his very best. Then he, too, stood, and turned to look at Rachel.

"Can we talk in my cabin?" he asked.

Rachel nodded, and then followed him into the p-ways and down the hall to the Captain's quarters. He opened the door and gestured her to enter before him. He hadn't even closed the door when she wrapped her arms around him, burying her face in his chest.

"Hey," he whispered, latching the door before returning her embrace. "It's gonna be OK, Rachel. We're going to be fine."

"I know," she sniffled. "I know you will. I just... I can't believe what they're doing. They're preying on the sick and the weak, culling them," she breathed in disbelief.

"Its horrible," he agreed, brushing his fingers through her hair and pressing his cheek to her head. "But we're going to stop it. We're going to save them; we're going to cure the sick and give anyone we find the vaccine. Because of what you did," he said, gently rocking her from side to side as he held her.

Rachel nodded, hiccuping to hold a sob in. She had been working so hard to create a cure, while these deplorable monsters had been purposely killing people to keep the lights on. She couldn't even imagine what kind of people could justify those actions.

"I'll work on making as much of the cure as I can," she said, pulling back slightly to look into his eyes. "We have about 50 doses left over from vaccinating the crew, but I'll need to secure them for transport. I bet by tomorrow morning I can have over a hundred. It probably won't be enough," she admitted. "But we'll do everything we can."

"Yes we will," Tom agreed, brushing hair from her eyes. He wanted to lean forward and kiss her, but at this point, making the first move was still up to her and what she was comfortable with. "I'll go and check everything out tonight, and then tomorrow, we will stop whatever these people are doing."

"I want to send you with some of the cure," she said, wiping her eyes as she pulled herself from his arms. "In case you come across anyone who is sick. There's no guarantee that we would be able to find them in the morning, or that they would last that long. We have to save as many people as we can as soon as we can."

Tom contented himself with gently kissing her forehead. "Then get to it, Doc. Let's save some lives."

Rachel reached out and took his hand, squeezing it gently before moving toward the door.

"Come see me before you leave," she instructed him, and he nodded. "I'll be in the lab."

December 6th, 2013 - 23:30 (11:30 pm)

It was about thirty minutes before midnight when Tom finally walked into the lab to find Rachel hard at work. Since she was now vaccinated herself, she no longer had to wear her bio-hazard suit, and was too busy working on creating more doses of the cure to notice his entrance.

"Hey," he said gently from the doorway, not wanting to startle her. She looked up from her work when he spoke, and took in the sight of him. He was in full gear, ready to go, and her heart clenched painfully as she realized that this was it.

It was time.

"I was able to put together about 30 doses for you to take with you. I know you're not planning on running into anyone, but I would feel better if you had it if you needed it." She closed and latched the case she had been working on, and walked it over to him. "They're in here; they're the same ones we were giving the crew. You load it into the vaccine gun, and then basically point and shoot, right below the elbow. I know you know how to do that," she joked, and he smiled.

"Got it."

She helped him latch the case onto his equipment, making sure it was secure and not impeding his movements. She finished latching the case on, and then ran her hands down the front of his chest, sighing as she watched her fingers brush over his bullet proof vest. She knew that she was stalling, but she couldn't help it. She didn't want him to go.

"Rachel," he said, his voice soft in the way it was only when he spoke to her. "It's going to be fine. I'll be back in a few hours."

"I know," she agreed, nodding resolutely. "I know you will be. It's just... it's hard to let you go."

"Watching me walk away is part of this. Part of us, if there's going to be an 'us'," he said, rubbing her arm comfortingly. He wasn't sure now was the time, or if what he was saying was too much for her, but he found the words coming out anyway.

"I know that, and I do want there to be an 'us'. I want that very much. It's just hard."

"It's hard for me, too, to agree to let you go on shore after we scout the area. I'm terrified, but you were right earlier. This is the mission now. We have to do everything we can to save as many people as we can."

"You are a good man," Rachel said, and reached up to cup his cheek. She leaned up on tip-toe to close the distance between their faces and gently pressed her lips to his. "Please be safe, and come back to me," she whispered against his lips.

Tom kissed her back with more force than he had that morning, letting one arm wrap around her shoulders and hold her close to him while the other cupped the back of her head gently. He pressed their bodies together, chest to chest, taking comfort in her warmth. Several moments later, he pulled back from her slowly, his hand not leaving the back of her head.

"I will do everything within my power to come home," he promised. He had learned long ago that you couldn't promise that you'd always make it home, because despite everything, sometimes people simply didn't make it home.

Rachel nodded, and then forced herself to take a step away from him. She clasped her hands behind her back.

"Good luck, Captain."

Tom nodded, accepting her well wishes, and then turned around and left the lab.

December 7th, 2013 - 24:00 (Midnight)

Tom exited the R.H.I.B with great trepidation. He could see a figure in the distance (Thorwald, he assumed) and held his gun at the ready just in case. Danny, Tex, Cruz, and Martinez came onto shore behind him, and they fell into formation as they walked toward Thorwald. The man was older, his hair a mix of grey and brown. He was armed, cautious, as the 5 men approached him, but didn't falter when he stepped forward to introduce himself.

"Andrew Thorwald," he said, reaching out a hand to shake Tom's. "Thank you for answering my distress signal."

Tom nodded, and then said, "I'm Captain Tom Chandler, United Stated Navy. This is my team - Lt. Green, Lt. Cruz, Tex, and Lt. Martinez," he said, pointing to them in turn. "Before we go any further, we'd like to offer you the vaccine for the virus. Created by our scientist aboard the Nathan James."

Thorwald's eyes widened in shock. "You have a real vaccine?"

Tom nodded, and reached around to grab the case that Rachel had so carefully packed. He loaded a dose, and looked up to see if Thorwald would accept. He was understandably wary, based on what he had been fighting against for so many months.

"I would offer to test it on myself first to prove to you that we aren't here to harm you," Tom said. "But I've already received the vaccine."

Thorwald seemed nervous, but gathered himself and nodded, holding his arm out. If he wanted to present these people and their cure to his people, he had to set an example.

Tom walked forward, pressed the edge of the vaccine gun against the man's forearm, and depressed the trigger. Thorwald winced as the needle pierced his skin, and then rubbed his arm where it had gone in. As he contemplated what he had just done and risked, he let his eyes wander over the few soldiers gathered on the shore, and raised an eyebrow.

"You'll bring more men than this when it's time, right?" Andrew confirmed. "The Avocet operation is a big one. If we want to reach the ringleader, we're going to need one hell of a distraction or a lot of people."

Tom smiled, settling his hands on top of his gun, which was hanging from his shoulder. "Actually, we have an idea for that. The first thing we wanted you to show us was the power plant. We think if we can take out their power, that should serve as a big enough distraction to get your men and mine in to Avocet."

Thorwald mulled that over, and then nodded. "That's a good idea. We can sneak some of our men into the power plant on the trucks," he added, and Tom wanted to ask what he meant by 'the trucks', but he had a feeling he would be finding out soon enough.

Not only was he right, but he was repulsed at the reality that lay below them less than ten minutes later.

Thorwald had led them to a ridge on the edge of the compound that looked over the entire operation, the sports center that was drawing in people by the hundreds to the left, and the power plant operation to the right. Olympia was set up inside of a sports stadium, and the entrance doors were absolutely packed with people who were hoping to find the cure but would only find death.

"Holy shit," Danny muttered, staring through his binoculars as five trucks started out from Olympia to the power plant compound. They were full of bodies, all five of them; he felt sick to his stomach.

"Oh my God," Cruz agreed, taking the binoculars away from his eyes and grimacing. "This is horrifying."

"This has been going on for months," Thorwald explained grimly. "Hundreds every day. We estimate their death count is in the ten thousands."

Tom's stomach churned. The people that they were using to power their operation - they were someone's family, their sons and daughters, husbands and wives. Tens of thousands of people, murdered.

"We will stop this," he promised, peering through his binoculars again. He wanted to go now and warn the people who were just now walking into the stadium of Olympia, but he knew he couldn't. If he exposed them now, they would lose the element of surprise, and without the element of surprise, they didn't stand much of a chance of winning this fight. He took a deep breath, centering himself. "All right. Show us Avocet," he told Thorwald. "We need to come up with a plan."

"We might be a little bit ahead of you there," he said, gesturing them in the direction of where the operation lay. "We've scouted out the area and have determined an infiltration point. We're going to come up through the basement. Perks of living underground - we've mapped out the entire complex. I think, if we shut down the power plant, we can time our entrance to coincide with that. We're planning on blowing the floor of the basement and climbing up from the underground tunnels."

We might really be able to do this, Tom thought, running a hand through his hair as he regarded Thorwald.

"You're very organized," he commented, and then asked, "Military?"

Thorwald chuckled and shook his head. "No, Baltimore PD. Several of us on the force banded together when this all began. We run a tight ship, but it's kept us safe. Our camp hasn't been exposed to the virus. We've lost very few."

Tom admired the man, and was glad they had decided to chance meeting him. If his camp was as impressive as he had said - over 300 people - they were going to have to work on making more of the cure, and quickly. If they could vaccinate all of the people under Thorwald, they could help him establish some sort of leadership over this town.

They could even make it a home base for the Nathan James.

"You said you've already scouted Avocet?" Tom asked, and Thorwald nodded. "Any chance we can just work together off of the plans you've made? I'm sure yours are much more detailed than we would be able to come up with before we have to report back at 0300."

Thorwald nodded. "Yeah, man. We have copies, I can even send a set back with you. I can't believe we're finally doing this. We have been planning for months, but we simply didn't have enough people with combat experience."

Tom smiled. "We can help with that. We're going to take these bastards down."