Chapter 2

Out of My Hands

The next morning, Hal was packed and ready to go. There were two vehicles that he and the Volm were taking, a small jeep and a large moving truck, the weapon was luckily smaller than the original, apparently the Volm didn't have the same resources that they did before. As Hal threw his bag in the jeep, a small person caught his eye. Matt was standing roughly ten feet away, watching him.

Hal smiled as he said, "Hey buddy. What's up?"

"Dad said you were going with Cochise. Why?" Matt responded, standing firmly in place. Hal was a little startled at the harshness of his little brother's voice. He looked away from the jeep and to Matt's face which had a somewhat poker faced expression, but Hal could see that Matt was confused and a little worried.

Hal closed the jeep door and went over to his brother bending to down to reach Matt's level, though he ended up actually looking up at Matt instead of straight at him. It was at times like this that Hal realized how fast Matt was growing up. Hal could barely lift him anymore, he was so big.

"Cochise and the Volm just need help transporting some stuff. That's all, okay? Besides, I won't be gone that long. It'll only take us about three days to get to Fayetteville. If anything, I'll probably beat you there, after all I'm not taking the entire 2nd Mass." Hal tried to reassure him. Matt nodded, but the worry never left his eyes. Hal stood up and wrapped his arms around the youngest Mason, who returned the hug.

"Everything's going to be fine, okay?" Hal whispered, giving a gentle kiss on the top of Matt's head. He could feel Matt nod against his chest, before he pulled away.

"Be careful." Hal nodded, agreeing to Matt's request and Matt left the same way he came.

"Really going to think you'll beat us there?" Hal almost jumped and then turned around when he heard Ben's voice behind him. Hal stared at his other younger brother who was now walking towards him.

"Cause from the transport that I see the Volm are taking, it looks pretty big. Could take a while to get to the rendezvous." Ben pointed out, stopping when he was a few feet in front of his older brother.

"Maybe, but I'm not the one taking what, 100, 200 people with them and at least 10 cars, 4 bikes, and a medical bus with them." Hal replied, smiling a little.

"Be safe, okay?" Ben asked, his carefree, joking voice becoming more serious.

"I will. You too." Hal answered, pulling Ben into a one-armed hug. Ben stiffened for a moment, and Hal was about to let go when he felt one of Ben's arms wrap around his waist, which cause Hal's smile to deepen. No matter what happened between them, Ben was still his little brother, and nothing would ever change that.

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It wasn't until just a couple of minutes before everyone was about to leave that Tom finally came over to the jeep that Hal was getting ready to enter. Hal and Cochise were to be in the jeep, Hal driving since Cochise still didn't know how to drive a human vehicle, while the other three Volm would ride with the transport truck, with Shak driving, who apparently had did learn how to drive.

"Hal, can we talk?" Tom asked. Hal nodded and together they walked little ways away from the jeep and all the other Volm and people who were still getting ready to move out.

"About yesterday-" Tom started but Hal cut him off saying, "Just forget about Dad, I was out of line."

"No, you weren't. Hal, it wasn't about whether or not you disobeyed me. You were right to. I just keep forgetting that you're not a little kid anymore." Hal, who had been looking down to avoid his father's gaze, finally looked up and saw nothing but sincerity in the older man's eyes.

"I need someone with the Volm to help transport it who wouldn't raise a lot of eyebrows. Cochise is pretty sure that the Espheni already know about its existence. If I were to send Ben, or Maggie, or Deni, they would attract the Overlord's attention making it a target. That is why we're taking different routes, if we are about to be attacked, we want it to be at the group, not the weapon. And I was going to have Tector go with you, he was all ready for it, but Anne said she didn't want him back on missions yet." Tom explained, hoping that Hal understood.

"Hey, if anyone can get this weapon to Fayetteville safely, it's you." Tom told him.

"I'll do my best. You just make sure you guys get to Fayetteville safely too." Hal replied. Tom nodded and pulled his son in for a hug, giving him a light pat on the back. As Tom pulled away, he said, "I love you," to which Hal gave a nod of acknowledgement, and walked back to the jeep.

As Hal opened the door to the jeep, he saw her, standing off to the side, watching him with a calculating expression, her beautiful, blonde hair hanging loose over her shoulders and her hands holding her the edges of her leather jacket. Hal lifted his hand and gave a small wave, which Maggie responded in kind. No words were spoken, no other gesture was made as Hal got into the jeep and shut the door. Cochise was sitting in the passenger seat waiting for him. Hal put the vehicle in drive, and the headed out of the camp.

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Two days had past since Hal and Cochise and the rest of the Volm had split from the 2nd Mass. Luckily, they were only a few more hours away from Fayetteville, and then they would head to Washington together.

"Can this contraption not go any faster?" Cochise asked. The Volm had been getting very uncomfortable with being squished in the jeep.

"Not unless you want to attract more attention." Hal answered.

"The longer we are out in the open, the odds of being discovered increase greatly. A vehicle unable to travel quietly and swiftly has almost no tactical advantage." Cochise informed the human sitting beside him.

"We'll get there when we get there. Now stop backseat driving." Hal told him, remembering all to well the conversations him and his brothers would have with their parents on the car trips they would have. Cochise stared for a moment, then looked around the jeep before stating, "But I am in the front seat."

Hal took a deep breath and started, "That's not what I-" Then a low whistle sound cut him off. Hal moved his foot from the gas pedal, to the brake and asked, "Did you hear that?"

Cochise didn't get a chance to respond when a large yellowish light came charging towards them. A loud explosion echoed in Hal's ears as the jeep went flying.

Author's Note – Thus ends chapter 2. I know I'm evil for leaving a cliff hanger, but chapter three should hopefully be up soon, depending on how my day goes. I know that what happened with Cochise in the vehicle with his whole 'I am in the front seat' did happen in the show, but with the way a I changed what happens for this story, that wouldn't have happened and I LOVE that scene so I put it in. I still own nothing though, unfortunately.