Ok, this is one of the longest chapters so far, so I hope you enjoy it. I would really love feedback on whether or not you think that I succeeded at keeping both Reaper and Sarge "in character". If there is anything they say or do that you think is OC please let me know. Also, feedback regarding military procedures (you'll see what I mean shortly) and/or jargonis alwaysgreatly appreciated! Thank you!

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"Counselor Swann," Dr. Betruger spoke politely, but moved with a deliberate slowness as he entered the security chamber from the Omega Labs, only barely bringing his hand up to greet the counselor, "My apologies for not being here to greet you, but I'm afraid time does tend to get away from me while I am working."

Counselor Swann, no stranger to power plays and politics, disregarded the doctor's belated greeting. He had the backing and authority of the UAC Board of Directors behind him. It was not a power he wielded carelessly, but when he did chose to use it, no person, regardless of his or her position, was safe from him. He would allow the doctor his petty discourtesies so long as the man agreed to the changes in procedure and reporting that the UAC Board had decided on. Dr. Betruger was undeniably a genius, but he would play by the Board's rules or we would be reduced to nothing more than a lab teacher at the UAC's university. While the UAC prided itself on exploiting its workers to their greatest potential, they also tolerated no disobedience to their directives.

"It is no matter Dr. Betruger," Swann replied, his deep husky voice honed over the years to be able to put even the most nervous individual at ease or reduce the most belligerent and aggressive to fear. The slight British accent it carried had been added by Swann when he was in his twenties. He had discovered that many people found the accent to be both refined and, for some reason, suggestive of intelligence. Always searching for the slightest edge in any situation Swann had moved to London for several years, both to study international business management, as well as, to acquire his new accent. Combined with deep green eyes, that many swore could see through both walls and men's skins, Swann had quickly risen to his current, influential, position with an ease that obscured his cunning. Everyone knew not to underestimate Counselor Swann, but, upon meeting him, very few heeded that advice.

"You did not need to bring any army with you." The doctor stated in a tone that bordered on hostility, his eyes darted between Sarge and his men. "I assure you the security at this lab is more than adequate, we take such matters very seriously here."

Swann immediately sensed the doctor's true fears. He wanted as few eyes as possible in his lab. The man was definitely hiding something, something very big. But there was no rush. Swann knew he would find out all he needed to know eventually. "My apologies doctor. No offense was intended. I'm afraid the Board has just been a little overly cautious since the recent trouble on Deimos. I have every faith that all security procedure are followed to the letter here."

Swann turned slightly away from Dr. Betruger and motioned to Sarge, "Lieutenant Palani…"

Grimm felt all of the blood rush from his head as his breath was stolen from his lungs. Jesus. Lieutenant. They had made him a fucking lieutenant….

It took every ounce of training and will power that Grimm had to control the flinch he felt run through him. One of Sarge's own punches could not have hit him harder. Would the abuse of this day never end?

The man once known as Sarge stepped forward, "Sir."

Though every ounce the soldier on the surface, inside he gloated. No matter how hard John Grimm had tried to hide it, in his eyes the shock and even horror had shown. Lieutenant Palani had looked forward to this moment for two weeks. Ever since he had been informed of the assignment. But never had he imagined the pleasure of grinding John Grimm into dust would be so intensely satisfying.

"Would you, and your men, kindly wait here while I meet with Dr. Betruger?" Swann asked in a tone that implied he would actually allow the Lieutenant to disagree with him.

Lieutenant Palani smiled a slight smile. " Of course sir. We'll wait as long as you need us to."

Grimm felt the knots in his stomach grow even tighter. He prepared himself for the inevitable confrontation.

There was an unnatural silence, even for a remote base on Mars, just after the security door closed behind Swann, Campbell and Dr. Betruger. Everyone in the room could feel the tension. The Lieutenant's men had never seen him like this before.

Slowly, like a predator who knows he has securely cornered his prey, Lt. Palani turned towards Grimm.

A smile twitched at the corner of his mouth, "Hello Corporal Grimm." He paused for a brief second, while he took two steps to the side – to put himself between Grimm and the only direct way out of the area. "Oh wait, it's Private Grimm now isn't it?"

While John Grimm may have found himself briefly off balance, he had not survived for so many years and so many missions just simply because he could pull a trigger quickly. A man also had to know how to read a situation and his enemy. Then take what he knew about that enemy and anticipate his actions. Sarge, or, rather, Lt. Palani now, wouldn't want to just kill him, not so much because of the witnesses who stood around them, but because he did not have a reason that he could use to justify his actions under the military code. No, this man would first toy with him, attempt to anger him, get him to make the first move. Then whatever happened he could explain away. Only if he were unable to provoke Grimm into taking the "first swing" would he try something else. If Grimm could just hold out long enough the newly promoted lieutenant would be forced to leave when Swann did. It was not Grimm's preferred method for handling the situation. It felt too much like hiding. But he knew that, under the circumstances, he was at a very serious disadvantage. He had to be careful. Other than Sam and maybe a few guys here at the base, no one would miss him or even care were anything to happen.

"Congratulations on your promotion, sir," Grimm ignored the dig at his demoted rank. He may have let the lieutenant get to him for an unfortunate moment, but that moment had passed and now he could feel the confidence and composure that years of hard training and even tougher assignments had developed within him. And damn it felt good. A rush that had an almost sexual edge to it coursed through him. After two long years, Reaper was back.

The lieutenant's eyes narrowed, sensing a change in the man standing in front of him, but not entirely sure what the change was. "That's what happens when a soldier follows orders private. When he follows them without fail, without thought and without question. A soldier can expect to be rewarded for his loyalty and sacrifice. But those men who would choose to defy orders, who openly engage in mutinous actions and even attempt such a cowardly act as to murder their superior officer to cover up their cowardice, should be shown no mercy. Such a man does not deserve to call himself a soldier. He is a mockery of all the things the Corps stands for. That he should still be allowed to wear the uniform of a Marine is an obscene insult. One that will not be tolerated for long."

Ryan Walsh and all of the Lieutenant's men held their collective breaths. Not one of them knew any of the history between these two men, but the charges that the lieutenant was indirectly throwing at Grimm were stunning. The men stood in complete silence, mouths agape, unable or unwilling to move. Each man sensing that the dynamics between these two men were as volatile as a grenade with the button half way pressed. Just one wrong move and a bad situation could become deadly.

However, Grimm was not so easily unnerved. He had held overloaded plasma rifles long beyond the moment when any sane man would drop it and run. He had stood fast against enemies that out-numbered, out-gunned and out-positioned him without flinching. He had even looked into the eyes of man as he had quite literally transformed into a demon. A few words, though they might sting a bit at his pride, would barely even touch the surface of his cool demeanor.

"And what about a soldier, a commanding officer let's say, who allows his emotions and ambition to blind him to the moral obligations that he holds to not only to the Corps, but the innocent civilians entrusted to his care?" Grimm tossed back casually, as if they were merely buddies throwing back a beer together, debating hypothetical situations. "And what if this same commanding officer took it upon himself to be judge, jury and executioner of one of his own men? A young man whose offense was only that he had the audacity to stand up for what was right in the face of a CO who was clearly losing his perspective of the situation at hand."

"Moral obligations?" Lt. Palani repeated, as if he had never heard the term before. "The only moral obligation a solider has, private, is to follow orders he is given, to the letter. And any solider who defies those orders and shows complete and utter contempt for his commanding officer will face charges for mutiny."

"And when he faces those charges, it will be in a military courtroom of course. Correct lieutenant?" Grimm asked with only the slightest edge to his voice.

Lt. Palani gritted his teeth, this wasn't going exactly as he had imagined it. He had thought the two years that John Grimm had spent in this place would have worn him down a bit. While he admired the man's resilience, he also hated him for it. He had expected, even perhaps hoped, to find a man who was a mere shell of his former self. He had wanted to find a man for whom there was no hope left. He did not want to find a completely broken man. For where would the sport be in that? But the man, no, the soldier, standing in front of him was almost the same exact John Grimm with whom he had gone to Olduvia. In fact the son of a bitch looked even harder and leaner than before.

He began to pace the room, " Of course the military courtroom is where most soldiers will, and should be, tried. According to the Corps code of justice. However," the lieutenant paused briefly to stop and drill Grimm with a glare, "in times of war, this may not always be possible. In the field, under certain circumstances, it may be necessary to try a soldier on charges immediately, particularly those of such a offensive nature as mutiny."

"But should the soldier be judged by the same man making the charges?" Grimm challenged. He knew he was pushing his luck questioning an officer who outranked him so greatly, but it felt good to finally get to ask the questions he had for so long wanted answers to.

The lieutenant, who had stopped pacing to listen to him, started again. How the hell had he been put on the defensive like this? HE was the one who had come home in pieces! This bastard had come home with barely a scratch! "A commanding officer's primary responsibility is to ensure the successful completion of a mission. Anyone who stands in the way of this can, and should be, considered a threat and dealt with as such."

"I agree, a commanding officer's primary responsibility is to ensure the successful completion of a mission," Grimm nodded, knowing that he was walking out onto thin ice with this one, for more reasons than one. "But what about his responsibility to his men? What about not only his responsibility to ensure their safety and survival, but his responsibility to interpret their orders in such a way that he is not compromising their honor and integrity? Is there not a point at which this becomes an even greater concern?"

"Why don't you answer that one Reaper!" Lt. Palani turned on him, advanced towards him, "I entrusted you to lead one mission, just one lousy mission, and you come back with your tail between your legs, one of your men in a body bag and you in need of memory therapy! You took the wrong weapons, you allowed your men to be used a guinea pigs to test those new rifles and you made a seriously bad call in the field. You mis-read the situation and one of your men got his head literally blown off. Where was your concern then?"

This was what he had expected would be thrown back in his face. He had made a mistake not fighting the decision to make his team take experimental weapons into the field, into an environment they had never been tested in and, yes, he had mis-read the situation and a man who had been a friend was dead because of it. But he had done the best he could. Made the best decisions he could with the information he had. This was not a ghost that would haunt him any longer.

"You're right lieutenant," He met those eyes, that were so foreign and strange to him, without blinking, "I made a mistake. Just one. I should not have agreed to take those rifles into that jungle. But the call I made, once in the field, was based on the information I had. And yes, it turned out that the guerillas had no problem sacrificing a fifteen year old boy to get the jump on us, but I got all of my other men home. I take full responsibility for my decisions and actions. We completed our mission. Not one of my orders was questioned and not one innocent person was killed. Can you say the same?"

There was an audible gasp from one of the men in the room, but neither Lt. Palani nor Private Grimm heard it. As far as they were aware, they were alone in that room, everyone and everything else having faded into near nothingness.

Lt. Palani stepped forward, once again, towards Grimm. His finger unconsciously slipping onto the trigger of his weapon. No-one had ever dared to challenge him like this before. Most men were too smart or too scared to do so. And no-one would ever do it again.

"Hey grimy Grimm!" A voice called out as the doors from warehouse opened.

The man was greeted with raised weapons as the lieutenant's men were startled by the unexpected intrusion.

Buddy Sopper, a short, stocky, older Marine stood frozen to his spot. It could only have been fate that saved him from a heart-attack.

"Who are you?" Demanded one of the lieutenant's men.

"Uh," Buddy had to swallow several times before he could get any spit back into his mouth. "I, uh, I'm here for the shift change."

"Shouldn't there be two of you?" The same man shot back.

"Yea," Buddy replied faintly, his eyes still unable to look beyond the weapons that were trained on him. "Wilson will be along any sec. He had to take a leak."

There was a moment of silence and nobody moved. Nerves were still stretched tight and the two men at the heart of the situation were still faced off, neither wanting to be the first to look away.

"Uh, guys," Buddy was starting to see spots in front of his eyes, "Could you maybe lower your weapons? I can show you my id if you need it."

"You will regret that comment." Lt Palani spoke so that only Grimm could hear him. "You will regret a lot of things."

He then turned away, "Put your weapons down men. Private Grimm's security detail is now over. We wouldn't want to keep him from his paperwork now would we?"

Under ordinary circumstances his men would have laughed, but at the moment, none of them even felt like cracking a smile.

Silently Grimm left. Not bothering with the standard turnover routine, but if anyone noticed they weren't about to say anything.

As Grimm made his way back to his quarters, with Ryan trailing behind him, still reeling from what he had witnessed, he felt strangely good about what had just happened. Sure he would undoubtedly be reprimanded, possibly even docked some pay or leave time, and maybe even put on the graveyard shift again, but it had been worth it. For the first time in two years John "Reaper" Grimm felt alive again.