Disclaimer: The TV show Dark Angel, all of the characters that appeared on it (Max, Zack, Jondy, etc.), and everything else that has to do with the show belong to their respective owners, not to me. No money is being made off of this fic. I only own the original characters (Elle/X5-164, etc.).

Chapter 46: Jace (X5-798)

"Never forget how tensions run high in these kinds of situations," the trainer lectured. Yeah, I know that and so does everybody else here, including the idiots in the back that are badmouthing the trainer under their breath. "Any one of you might be sent out there if the situation heats up enough, so keep everything that I have said in mind." The bell rang and I held in a sigh of relief. "Okay, soldiers, dismissed."

I saluted the trainer and got out of the classroom as quickly as I could without looking too obvious. This guy bored the living daylights out of me and judging from the reactions of everybody who'd been getting the same lecture on current events that I'd been trying to stay awake through, they'd had trouble keeping their attention focused on the trainer as well. This guy could put the X7s to sleep in a heartbeat. He kind of reminds me of some of the trainers from back in Wyoming that didn't come over here when we did. I guess if you want to be a trainer here at Manticore, you must be either boring, sadistic, or both.

"Hey, there." I looked up and saw Max waving me over. Rena, Ben, and Krit were with her. "How did your lecture on what's happening in the outside world go?"

"To put it mildly, it was relaxing," I said. "How did it go over on the assault course?"

"Pretty good," Max said. She made a face. "I did have some trouble going from the barbed wire to the wood wall so Rena and Ben actually beat my time for the group we were in."

"What Maxie here forgot to mention was that Rena and I were the only people in our group to top her. She's being just a tad modest," Ben said. He looked smug. "Though I've got to admit, it sure is nice having the top time on a course."

"You only beat my time by two hundredths of a second," Rena said, though her eyes were sparkling. "I'll beat everybody next time out. I can guarantee that."

"I'll hold you to that," I remarked. "I'm scheduled to run that course tonight after dinner. I'm not sure who's going to be in my group, though." I shrugged. "It should be interesting."

Rena grinned. "Oh, it will definitely be interesting. Sasha told me earlier tonight that 908 is going to be running that course at the same time that you are. Don't forget to stay at least a good couple of yards away from the bitch and keep some kind of weapon handy at all times."

"Thanks for the advice," I said, snickering. We started to walk down the hallway. "I don't know what I would do without you."

"And I don't know what I'm going to do with those two morons," Max said, rolling her eyes. I looked over in the direction that she was peeking at and saw Parker and Kenny standing over by the wall just a few feet from the door to Director Renfro's office. They were pretending to be just chatting, but it was obvious to us that they were eavesdropping. Typical as hell of those guys. They sure loved to be nosy.

"Just do what you always do, Maxie," Krit said. "Give them a good smack upside the head and if that doesn't work, leave them alone in a room with Zack so that he can scare them out of their minds."

"Very funny," Max said. She frowned when Kenny and Parker suddenly froze and momentarily went pale and nervous before returning to their 'chat.' "What the hell is going on?" She moved in front of us, heading quickly to where those two guys were. "Hey, you guys. What's going on?"

"Not much," Kenny said. "I was just waiting to see if I could catch Sasha around and Parker was keeping me company."

"Uh-huh," Max said skeptically. "Whatever. What got you guys so spooked?"

"Spooked?" Parker said, trying to sound like he didn't have a clue what Max was talking about. He didn't do that great of a job. "I don't think that we were freaked about anything."

"Honest," Kenny added.

"Try telling that to somebody who doesn't know you," I said.

"Seriously, are you guys okay? What freaked you out?" Max asked.

"We'll tell you about it later," Parker said. He caught Max's raised eyebrow and smiled. "Really, we will. At least I will. I don't know about Bigfoot over there, but…" He pointed towards Kenny and we all laughed as Kenny mock glared at him. Parker and the other guys had been calling Kenny Bigfoot since before we had learned what Bigfoot actually or supposedly was in Culture class years ago because Kenny'd always had the largest feet in our family. Kenny's size 14 monsters certainly deserve the nickname now, if not back when we were little.

"Hey, does anybody have any toothpaste on them?" Kenny wondered. He smirked. "I'm going to need it for my toes so that I can brush Parker's teeth with them when I jam my foot up—"

"Lovely image," Krit said.

"Thank you," Kenny said.

"Keep it up. Maybe somebody up in the chain of command will decide that you have better futures as comedians than as soldiers," Rena said. "Or even better, maybe instead of sending one or two of us in to bomb some bad guys into pieces, they'll have you guys go in and do a comedy routine and kill them that way."

"You make me feel warm and fuzzy inside, Rena," Parker told her.

"Always a pleasure," Rena said.

"That reminds me, have any of you seen Brin around?" I asked. "I've been looking around for her since after breakfast."

Max's expression darkened. "I have. She was helping a trainer with a group of X9s over at the outdoor firing range right after breakfast and as the trainer was demonstrating a gun, it accidentally went off and hit Brin in the thigh. Did the man have enough common sense to let Brin go to the infirmary so she could get patched up? Nope. He insisted that she stay and help out for the entire length of time like she had been assigned. She was standing there bleeding like hell and in all kinds of pain for close to two hours before she could get treated." She sighed. "Zack told me what had happened and I was able to sneak in a quick visit with Brin over in the infirmary right before I headed out to the assault course."

"It's truly amazing how considerate they are around here," Kenny said. His eyes took on an odd look briefly before he put on a smile. "I say screw them." He caught Max's eyes and rolled his. "For the last time, Max, I'm fine and details will be coming later."

"Yeah, in about ten years," Ben quipped. He exchanged high fives with Krit and Parker and Kenny grinned.

"Technically, that is later," Kenny said proudly.

I shook my head. "I am so glad that I'm not in charge of you. Correct me if I'm wrong, Max, but do you ever feel more like a handler than a sister with these losers?"

"That's my world and Zack's too," Max agreed. "Take a look around and enjoy your stay."

"Wait a second," Rena said. She pointed at Kenny. "He has a girlfriend who has him so tightly by the balls that I'm surprised that they haven't lost circulation to the point of falling off yet. Where is my twin when you need her?"

"For the record, Sasha is not leading me around by the genitals," Kenny protested.

"He's right," Krit said. I saw the impish look and mentally prepared myself for the comment that was coming. "From how I've seen the two of them around each other, it goes both ways. She's got him by the good ol' boys and he's got her by—" He stopped and ducked, just missing the playful swing that Kenny had taken at him.

"Boys will be boys," Max observed.

"I guess growing up is optional when you have a Y chromosome," I remarked. I shrugged and continued on with my siblings.

TBC