A/N: Ok, one more installment of the "Bag 'Em" scenario…
The Identity of a Soldier
Chapter Six: Scatter and Go to Ground
Alec sat against a wall, bored. Well, he might as well have some fun if he was going to be stuck here for a while. So, he picked up an abandoned bag of popcorn and began chucking bits at the X7 who hadn't gone with the others. Something about the little schizo freaked him out. Something told him that the X7's always did. Alec wiped his tongue across his teeth, positioning his next shot. He let the kernel fly and beaned the miniature menace squarely on the end of his nose, but the strange boy didn't even blink at the impact. The next moment, Alec heard footsteps running outside. He got up to see what was going on.
Alec neared the door, but stopped when four of the kids he had met earlier came crashing in, out of breath.
"Sir, you were right." The blonde girl spoke, visibly paler than she had been only twenty minutes ago.
"They shot at us!" The oldest boy came in behind her. The boy knew he should have trusted his conscience earlier. The youngest boy and the red-haired girl followed him inside the barn. The girl with red hair directed the youngest member of the unit, looking behind her for their missing member.
Alec listened carefully. He thought he heard the sound of an engine approaching. "If you idiots let them follow you…"
They all watched the doorway in apprehension. Max came in, toting the injured X6. They all breathed a little easier, knowing it wasn't Manticore, but the next instant they were shoved into a field-op they hadn't been trained for. The limping X6, the apparent unit CO, had been shot in the leg. He stumbled as Max supported his weight, dragging him inside.
Max gave out orders, pulling the soldier to a nearby workbench. "Get me something to tie his leg off with." Alec undid his belt and handed it over. Still, mad at him for not standing with her in attempting to dissuade the unit's stubborn obedience to Command, she bit back. "I'll have to kick your ass later, 'cuz right now we don't have time."
Alec squinted an eye at her, unsure as to the cause of her hostile response. But he focused on the injured soldier. He quickly examined the leg. "The bullet went right through…We'll have to cauterize the wound." He pulled out a lighter, which he had found earlier in the barn, and a knife that he had with him when Max found him only a couple of days ago.
Max looked at him. Well, at least some of his training had survived whatever psychotic experiment Manticore had done on him.
The redhead was still looking for answers. She looked to Max who had returned with their injured unit member. "What happened?" She turned from Max to Alec. "Why were they shooting at us!"
The X6 on the table convulsed. Max didn't have time to answer questions yet, "He's going into shock. Get something to keep him warm."
"I think I'm gonna be sick." The blonde girl looked down at her CO's leg and backed away. She turned to get away from the sight, covering her mouth.
"I bet that one flunked field-med." Alec couldn't resist he had to poke fun at a soldier who had no stomach for the sight of blood. He looked intently at what he was doing. He ran the flame of the lighter over the knife blade, heat-sterilizing the tool they would use to cauterize the bleeding wound, sealing it off from infection. He offered the handle of the knife to Max, "go." Then he moved to hold the trembling X6 down.
"I'm not gonna lie to you, this is gonna hurt like hell." Max tried to comfort the X6, obviously in enough pain already. But it had to be done.
She looked back down at the leg. As Max brought the red-hot blade to the skin, a sizzling sound erupted from the point of contact, as well as the smell of burning flesh. Everyone around cringed at the sound, and smell.
Alec noticeably winced. A hazy recollection reminded him that he was all too familiar with this kind of thing. "Hang on, hang on. It's almost over." He patted the shoulder of the injured X6, still holding him down as he tried to sit up in order to clutch at the pain.
As Max finished cauterizing the wound on both sides of his leg, Alec continued to speak to the injured transgenic. "Okay, it's done." The teen continued to convulse, more from the pain now than from shock. He whimpered in agony. "Hey, hey. You're gonna be okay. Alright?" He looked up at Max
"Yeah." This was still new to Max, seeing Alec take such care of another. "So long as we get him and the rest of these kids out of here." They had come along way since she had found him, but there were still things that she doubted she would ever get used to. She hoped that he would continue to be this Alec when he finally remembered who he was, rather than the one she had met at Manticore.
"We? Maxie are you sure that's such a good idea? Given the state of things." He didn't think she had forgotten so easily that he had no memory, and therefore couldn't be of much use. Well, most of no memory. "This was your idea, remember?"
"Yeah, so adapt. Whether you want to be here or not, you are here. And you will help." Max mentally reminded herself that he still had a butt-whipping coming to him courtesy of her foot.
He shrugged and went off to annoy the X7 some more.
Max left the injured teen, who had resorted to whining like an injured animal, in the able care of his unit while she went looking for anything they could use to get away. She found a burlap tarp covering an old truck. The thing looked almost seventy years old, and she seriously doubted it would run, but it was a possibility. She pulled the tarp off of the truck and lifted the hood. Evaluating its interior, Max decided it was doable. It would just take a little work.
The four uninjured younger X-series sat around. Without orders they seemed at a complete loss as to occupy themselves. Except the girl with red hair. She sat near an old radio, tools in hand, tinkering at its innards. Max smiled at the sight before her. This was her family, even Alec, who had taken up throwing popcorn at the X7 again.
"Alright people, fall in." Max stood facing the unit as they stumbled to form ranks, all except for Alec, the X7, and the injured X6. "There has been a change in your mission status: extreme and unforeseen…" She continued to evaluate their knowledge of procedure given the recent development. They were smart kids, they would be able to handle this.
"Yes, Ma'am!" They chorused to everything she said. Obstacle number one: blind obedience… Great, Max thought sardonically.
Alec couldn't take it anymore. He stood up and walked over to stand next to Max. "You have to stop thinking of yourselves as soldiers and start thinking of yourselves as people. Seriously, if you're out in the real world, how do you think people will react if they see a bunch of kids speaking like they're recruits at a military training school? It doesn't go very well with the locals, if you know what I mean."
"Yes, sir."
Max rolled her eyes in frustration. "See, that's what we're talking about right there." She gestured at them. "You don't need to respond like that."
"Second. You should call yourselves something other than a bunch of numbers." Alec needed them to understand that, at least. Max looked at him with new eyes. She was usually the one to suggest names to the transgenics she met. It gave her a good feeling knowing that Alec also believed in the value of a name.
"Like what?" The oldest of the unit spoke up. The idea of having a name was intriguing to him. But he had no idea what a name really was. Back at Manticore, they were soldiers, tools, representations of R&D. They weren't people at Manticore, they were lab experiments.
"You mouthing off to me?" Max got up in his face. Alec smiled, this was fun. He was seeing Max in a leadership position over a bunch of militaristic kids. She wanted to make sure that they all understood the importance of being more than a government owned and operated mercenary. "Because I have zero tolerance for that. Got it, zero!" Max thought for a moment. "And to commemorate the special occasion, that's going to be your name: Zero." A small smile tugged at the corners of Zero's usually straight mouth. He understood. And Max hoped that he would smile more. "Get out on sentry duty." She pointed toward the door.
Without a word, Zero reached for a gun he had behind him and walked in the direction she had pointed. He absently thought about how Max presented herself similarly to the X5-494 he had remembered from Manticore…strictly military, then on off-hours completely comfortable being an ordinary civilian human. It made him smile wholly knowing that he didn't have to be a soldier one hundred percent of the time anymore. Granted, he would always have to watch his tail. But for now, he was okay with just the fact that he was able to make up his own mind, trusting his instincts more than what some brass in his comfortable office commanded.
Max turned to Alec, silently asking him if he wanted a hand in dolling out the names. He shook his head satisfied to stand by and watch her in action. Max focused on the next in line, the redheaded girl had positioned herself next to Zero in ranks. "I saw you messing around with that radio earlier." Max gestured to the abandoned equipment.
"I excelled in diagnostics and repair. I was trying to fix it."
"Fixit…that'll be your name. And that's what I want you to do with that truck over there." The girl paused for a moment. Max leaned in and whispered "Fix it."
The girl brightened with understanding. "Oh, right." And she jogged off with more tools to evaluate the condition of the truck.
Max moved on to the next in the line-up, it was the blonde, female X6. "You're the girl who threw up." The girl looked a little scared. Either a what-is-she-going-to-have-me-do or a what-is-she-going-to-name-me look covered her face. Though it was probably both given the recent events.
"I got this, Max." Alec grinned and touched Max on the shoulder. He looked at the blonde girl. "We'll call her Ralph, in memoriam of her upchuck reflex." The poor girl was so ashamed that she hadn't been able to stomach the sight of blood that she looked at the hay and dirt covered floor of the barn rather than meet their eyes.
"No sweat, girl. I myself have been known to give a fabulous show of stomach pyrotechnics." Max tried to make her feel better. "Though, it is a boy's name."
She smiled, grateful for Max's admission. "That's okay. I like it."
"Ralph it is then," Max opened her arms as if in acceptance of the name. "Go check on Bullet," she said motioning over to where their missing member lay.
Ralph frowned, "Who's Bullet?"
Max smiled. "The kid that got shot."
"Oh." And she ran off to see to her CO.
Max watched her for a moment, recognizing something in the girl that reminded her of herself, before moving on to the next mini-mercenary. It was the youngest of the unit, only about ten or eleven years old. He held a brass bugle by his side akin to the way a child his age might cling to a stuffed toy. "That yours?" She asked the boy, gesturing to the metal device.
He gave a small nod. "I'm in the bugle corps."
"Bugler it is." Max watched this small boy, he reminded her so much of her brother Jack.
He didn't seem to have a reaction to his new name, he simply stood blinking, waiting for something. "What's my assignment?"
Max felt a twang in her heartstrings. So young, and already used to following orders like he was a slave. "Getting some sleep."
"But it's not lights-out yet." He frowned slightly.
She smiled kindly at his innocence. "That's okay." She rubbed the small stubble of hair that covered the top of his head, a military crew-cut. "C'mon. Let's go find you some place to bunk down." And she started leading him away from the main area of activity.
Alec stopped her with a word, "Hey, Max. What about him?" He gestured to the X7 by the window.
"Tie him up and leave him in a corner," she said drily. Max had no use for the bat-brained menace. He would probably have someway to disclose their location, he with his sonar communication skills. She wanted these kids to have a chance to get away from here before they had any zealous military idiots hunting them down.
Alec gave her a pleading look. He didn't want to have to be the one to do that, the thing scared him just by looking at him. But Max was so in-tune with taking care of the smallest X that she had given the job to him. He shuddered at the thought of having to touch the weird kid, but did as she said.
As darkness fell, each of the unit settled in for the night. Eventually Max traded shifts with Zero, telling him she would take up the watch and to get some sleep. He gladly came inside. After checking on each member of his unit, he plopped down in a chair in their midst. Even though he wasn't their CO, he was the oldest, and he considered himself to be their protector. Now that orders were out the window, as well as their designations, Zero wondered if age and experience would take the place for a leadership role in a family, in contrast to ability in a unit.
Max watched each of the kids sleep that night, trusting her genetically enhanced hearing to fore-warn her of any approaching dangers. Alec had curled up by the wall, close to the unit, but just far enough away to allow them an escape. If danger should come, he wanted to be the first in the line of fire, rather than risk the lives of those younger than he.
Max felt the corners of her mouth perk up. He was so different from who she had met at Manticore. On the outside, he wasn't totally egotistical. He even cared about others above himself. Max went to sit by him, careful not to wake him. He had precious few hours of sleep since she found him, and she didn't want to disturb the chance he had to catch up on the rest. She knew that he at least hadn't been granted the wonder of shark DNA, dispelling the need for sleep to only an hour or so each night, if even that.
She gave one final glance over each of the kids. They were her kids, and they would be fine so long as they stayed together. Glancing up, she noticed the X7 had moved back near the window. Alec had done a good job tying him up. He just forgot to secure his bindings to a stable object, keeping him from moving around. Max was glad she was still awake. She didn't trust the twitching kid, she never would. The X7's disturbed her to no end.
A/N: Well, there's that one…on to the next…this is fun to write… jumps up and down clapping hands "weee!"
Review Responses:
Angel Of Darkness231: Glad you agree! The problem with your method for me, though, is every time I go to write more, I'd end up using the time to fix/change earlier parts of the chapter or work on a story that isn't even up yet… I will make it one way or another. No worries!
calistra: Thanks!
suenooneus: I will keep writing as long as I can…even if I can't keep up with the updating, at least the story will progress. I hope to update as often as I can. And don't worry if your reviews aren't "comprehensive." The fact that it's there telling me that I'm doing a good job makes me happy. So, thanks for reviewing.
ontheDL: (ch1) I'm sorry your computer bombed, but I'm glad you were able to find the story again. I know what you mean: Vulnerable is HOTT! Weakness proves that guys are human. --Holds chin and thinks-- I wonder if it's a girl thing… (ch2) You picked out the parts that I loved too. I can't explain why, but I had an awesome time writing that chapter… (ch3) Oh, he will, he will. It's just going to take a bit to get all the way there… (ch4) Yup! Sexy beast! But at that point Max is still not so thrilled about having her "breeding partner" around. But she does change her mind… (ch5) Too right, dude. The best escaped in '09, you betcha! That's why they need Max to help them out of a jamb…
lakergirl08: Thanks. I do try… That's a funny way to put it, "the softer side of Alec." Sweet, I like it!
Lotamoxie: Thanks! Wow, I've never received a compliment quite like that…and that's saying something. Season 2 was pretty good in its own right, but WOW! I'm glad you think so, smiles sheepishly. Thanks, again!
Alana84: Thanks, glad you liked them…I'm almost done with this scene…oooooh! Hint: It gets really good!
J.D5: Isn't it great! They didn't in the series, but that's just one way I thought I would spice it up a bit. I'm not sure how far I'll end up taking this story. I might mention the runes, but that isn't the main storyline… My other fic will get more into it, as well as another one that I have planned.
lori89: Thanks! Please keep reading!
