Chapter 1

"Though force can protect in emergency, only justice, fairness, consideration and cooperation can finally lead men to the dawn of eternal peace." (Dwight David Eisenhower)

X5 – 494 still occasionally thought back to his mission with the team they called 'The Losers'. He wondered if any of them were still alive. They were good men, impressive too for a bunch of ordinaries. 494 appreciated the time he had with them, particularly given the nature of the unit he was with at the time. He was not always sure that he would have survived that particular tour of duty was it not for Clay's team.

He caught a TV report, while he was on a mission outside, which said they were all dead, traitors to the government, murderers of children in Bolivia. He didn't believe it, not in its entirety anyway. One thing he was sure of: there was no way Clay, or for that matter any of his team, would have been willing to sacrifice any children. If children died, 494 was certain that they would have been trying to get them out, that much he knew from the time they spent together. It only served to make him more dubious about whether they were dead at all.

Bizarrely, it was almost something he aspired to now, to find a 'team' like that. He didn't think it was possible at Manticore given the nature of the atmosphere there. The Pulse had only made things worse. Everything had gone backwards, he knew they were struggling to keep some of their training and security measures in place and for a time there were no re-indoctrination facilities left, all of them destroyed in the Pulse, along with the operatives who were undergoing re-indoctrination at the time. 494 had heard rumors on the ever virulent grapevine, that it wasn't just the Xs undergoing re-indoctrination that were taken out, but also some of the technicians and the supervising guards. It left Manticore with less personnel to rebuild the missing 'facilities'. Somehow, getting the Xs to build their own torture chambers hadn't quite worked, unsurprisingly.

Things had improved on a personal level since the Pulse. He was an operative again, not solo but paired and they seemed to be on a fairly equal footing. There was still an element of suspicion between them, 494 wasn't surprised by it, would be more worried if it weren't there. After all either one of them could be reporting back to Manticore on the other or maybe Manticore just wanted them both to think they were being watched to improve their performance . . . or maybe it was to ensure their loyalty.

Still he reflected it was a freedom he, for one, hadn't had in a long time, only remembered the vaguest hints of from before but he knew for sure that he didn't want to give it up again any time soon. Those in charge at Manticore had changed. Lydecker was out of favor although not yet completely out of the picture. 494 figured it wouldn't be long before someone decided they were all better off with Lydecker gone for good.

The woman in charge now, Renfro, was almost unbelievably more ruthless than Lydecker. 494 was sure she took a sadistic pleasure in watching mere ordinaries beat the Xs into submission. Her rules were clear though, like 1 + 1 = 2, do this and I'll reward you with this, do that and you'll be sorry they let you draw a breath. He may not have always liked what she gave him to do, but he could live with it. Smile and pretend that loyalty was an easy path to follow. But he knew they were all just biding their time now, waiting until the Xs could come out on top.

The explosions that wiped out Manticore's DNA database were . . . a shock. Seriously, none of them were expecting it; it was inot/i an inside job, that much was for sure.

X5-494 wasn't quite sure whether finding out that Manticore was not as impenetrable as he had sort of always believed was the biggest shock or whether finding out that there were some of the escapees involved in the explosions trumped that. He had always sort of believed that if Manticore was going to fall it would be from the inside. As for the unit who'd escaped, well no-one ever expected them to come back. There was the initial surprise that any of them were still alive even. 494 had seen enough of his own comrades die of non-mission related crises as all the screwing around with DNA that Manticore had done failed big time. It had always been a salutary lesson – stay on the current leadership's good side or when the fucked up DNA comes round to bite you in the ass, you won't be a priority. Rather you'll just make an interesting bug in a jar, and when you're dead they'll cut you up to see what went wrong and salvage any leftover parts as replacements for better operatives.

So the upside of the attack in theory was the sex – revise that - the 'Breeding Program'. But somehow it wasn't. 494 assumed that he was just like any other hot-blooded male; he liked sex. The hitch came with that little bit of . . . he didn't have a word for it, but what it boiled down to was he liked his partners willing and half the time they weren't, and that sucked.

He marched down the corridor behind the ordinary guards, heading for his latest bed-mate and hoping that this time she would be willing to just get on and do the necessities, because the alternative sucked big time.

Nothing like marching down bland, dank corridors to a cell that was used for solitary confinement of X5s who were showing bizarre side-effects in the past, to build up a sense of the romance in his opinion. Yeah, this was where, when resources were better, they would throw X5s for observation between bouts in Psy-Ops treatments, or as their DNA began to break down and they wanted to observe the process. It had been a halfway house on the way to the morgue, the science labs or the 'nomalies.

Yet there they were trying to create the future of Manticore. Sometimes 494 believed it would be better if by some fucked up co-incidence, they were all sterile and there could be no more like them. He for one wouldn't willingly procreate and subject a child to years of the treatment he had been living with for the whole of his life.

The guards in front of him came to a halt and he struggled to get his mind back in the game. What he was counting on now was things going smoothly for once and him actually being able to just do what he'd been told. He bit his lip as he waited for the door to be unlocked, met the guard's eye briefly, and realized what a mistake that had been as he recognized the man. He started to step forward only to feel himself grabbed by the ear. The willpower it took not to react was huge. "Come on, pretty boy," the guy sneered, "Show us what you've got!"

He almost stumbled, but managed to keep just enough of his footing to step calmly into the cell and wait for the door to slam shut and lock. He stood waiting, listening as footsteps receded down the corridor, still not looking back to verify that the one guard had remained behind to watch. It was a well-known fact among the X5s that this particular guy liked to watch, seemed to get more of a thrill when the girls put up a fight. He also knew the ideas for revenge that had been bandied around the barracks late in the night.

If Manticore ever actually fell completely, this guy wouldn't make it out alive. Too many X5s would be out for his blood. The only question in Alec's mind was how long would they draw out the torture before they killed him.

He took a step forward, still keeping his back to the door. He spoke quietly to the girl who sat on the cot, knees drawn up to her chest. He sniffed the air tentatively, although he knew already she wasn't in heat. Manticore didn't have time for that and they hadn't worked out how to up the frequency of their heats either. Strange how they'd spent years trying to work out how to curb that side of their nature; years trying both surgical and pharmaceutical ways to quell the blinding urge that the girls couldn't control and the guys couldn't resist.

Ironic that now they needed it most, the scientists seemed to have happened on the most effective means to control it, and despite having removed the drugs in question from their daily intake, its effects had not yet been reversed and so heat cycles were few and far between. "Hey," he said, waiting for a response, not moving in closer.

She looked up at him through her bangs. She didn't want to go through with it, but there was no real fight in her. Wouldn't make it any less like rape in his mind if he made her submit. "You know what they want us to do?" he said. She nodded but stayed exactly where she was knees drawn up.

"We've got two choices . . ." He saw the terrified swallow and the way her eyes squeezed shut. "I can do it, try to make it okay . . ." He didn't voice the second option, hoping she'd take the first. If he didn't say anything she might assume the second would be 'rape' but in his mind that wasn't the case. The second option would be him reporting to Renfro and take whatever punishment she might decide on for them.

It was true of most aspects of their life, that the downside was always that there was no actual choice involved. From 494's perspective, the girls were pretty enough and he didn't need a connection to fulfil his part of the deal and it was okay when they went along with it, even if he knew it was just because they were as frightened of the consequences as he was. It was the ones who fought him that made the whole thing so ridiculously sick and twisted. He had two choices: he could either overpower and force them, which he really didn't want to do, or he could call the guards and report his partner to Renfro. He went with the latter, every time without fail. It was the lesser of two evils, no matter what the consequences might be for the females. He never liked doing it, he would have kind of liked to have offered them the opportunity for a joint lie – say they'd copulated and then in a few weeks or whatever the scientists would have decided they were not a viable pair when there had been no conception, but he couldn't risk that. There were too many chances to be caught out: by the scientists, sold out by the female in question, by guards who had wandered along for a look-in to watch them perform like a sick sideshow. So he stuck with the reporting to Renfro, no matter how much of a bastard he felt afterwards and consoled himself with the fact that he was still better than the guys who chose the overpowering option and then bragged about it afterwards.

He looked at the girl again, she hadn't moved but he could see the way she was trembling. He moved forward slowly, trying to keep his movements as unthreatening as possible. He sat down at the opposite end of the bed, making no move to touch her. He spared a glance in the direction of the door and saw the sneer of the guard standing there. He glared back before turning his attention back to the girl beside him. He drew his legs up and crossed them, leaning back against the wall and waited.

There was a snort of disgust from the doorway, the sound of the metal hatch slamming up and footsteps stamping down the corridor. "The Watcher's gone," he said. "Not that it makes any real difference to the situation we're in."

She was actually crying now and he felt like a shit even though he'd done nothing wrong. He leant forward gently brushing the hair away from her face exposing bruises he'd never imagined were there. "Shit! I'm sorry," he said. "I'm – I'm not going to hurt you, I'm not going to do anything here, okay?" He leant back to give her more space.

She curled tighter into the corner and took a deep breath, finally lifting her head so he could see the full effect of the bruises, the split lip and the tears. "Whoever it was last time hurt you?" he said. "They put you back in here so quickly?"

"Wasn't like that," she said.

"You want to tell me?" he wasn't sure he wanted to hear, but at the same time, there was a morbid curiosity about hearing the worst of his kind.

"Last time was a while ago, but yeah, he hurt me. Didn't care at all. Didn't matter though, got me pregnant all the same."

"Shit! I'm sorry."

She shrugged, went on to describe how she'd lost the baby. He got back from a mission just days ago. He'd found out and gone looking for her. He'd found her the day before and beaten her into the state she was in now. All because he'd been promised some perks if she carried to term.

He shifted; let his feet drop to the floor, felt as she curled into his side as if recognizing that for once she was alongside someone who really wasn't going to hurt her. He laid his arm gently over her shoulder, let his hand rest in her hair and held her while she slept. "I've got your back," he murmured into her hair.

The guards came by to check on them a couple of hours later and he demanded to see Renfro. They looked uncertain, knew it wasn't the first time he'd made the same demand, but this time he was holding the female's hand as she stood shielded behind him.

They left him where he was. He guided her back to the bed and they sat and waited.

It was morning before the two of them were led together from the cell to Renfro's office. He stood to attention before her desk, still shielding his breeding partner as she stood as much to attention as she could.

"What is it this time, 494?" Renfro's voice was calculating. "You don't normally drag the unwilling ones with you . . . some new reason why you can't perform?"

"Saving your assets, ma'am," he snapped back. Her head tilted, eyebrow raised in question. "You required me to copulate with X5 -823, ma'am."

She nodded, fully aware of exactly which partners she had lined up for X5 – 494. She'd watched him closely, been aware of how many times he'd refused to copulate when the female was unwilling. What he didn't know, and she had no intention of sharing, was how many of the times he'd had a willing partner there had also been a conception. She was curious about this X5, he was . . . different than most of them. "How exactly are you doing that by not doing your job, 494? I assume that's what you're here to tell me . . ."

"Yes, ma'am. X5 – 823 was attacked and badly beaten yesterday. I didn't want to risk further damage to her, ma'am."

"823 . . ." She stood up and moved round her desk, headi ng for the female, circling her and regarding the obvious injuries. She reached out and lifted the female's chin with a finger. 494 hadn't been speaking amiss. If the rest of the female's body was in this state, she shouldn't have been in with an X5 male last night. In fact, it was probably good fortune that she had been placed with 494. "Do the injuries extend elsewhere, 823?"

"Yes, ma'am." Her voice was far quieter than Renfro usually expected from the X5s.

Renfro tapped a finger against her lip as she thought over the sight before her. She needed to follow this up with the guards and the medics; someone should have pulled the plug before she ended up damaged further. She was one of the few females who had actually conceived. They'd had hopes, combining her with 494 particularly that perhaps she would carry to term.

"You're dismissed, 823. Go see a medic, make sure everything is seen to." Renfro turned her back on the female, staring intently at 494. He hadn't moved, relaxed even a fraction. He was fascinating, so unlike the majority of the males they'd picked for the breeding programme. He was a strange one; so many little quirks that she couldn't quite put her finger on and now . . . she thought back to the file on her desk . . . now things could be even more interesting.

"Ma'am?" Her train of thought interrupted, Renfro turned impatiently back to the female who hadn't yet left. She frowned impatiently waiting for whatever else 823 was going to say. "Ma'am . . . when I . . . when I'm fit for duty again . . . p-please could it be with 494?"

That was unexpected. Renfro turned back to look at her. She took a step back and leant against her desk and she watched the female twitch nervously. In honesty, this female had had a hard time. She'd faced some of the most alpha males and she'd resisted every time. It said something about 494 that she was now asking for him. Most of the females who refused him came to regret it later when they found themselves paired with someone who didn't take no for an answer.

"We'll have to consider that later, he may not be available then," Renfro said curtly, after all there was no point in giving anything away. The female nodded and started to stand down ready to leave. "823 . . . before you go . . ." The movement stopped. "Who did the damage?"

She'd expected one of two results, the female would tell her or not as she saw fit. She wasn't going to chase the information, but if she had it, she might follow it up if it seemed worth it. It would all depend. As far as it went 823 was one of the more valuable females. The answer was quiet when it came, "X5 – 671, Ma'am."

494's gasp of shock was the biggest surprise, and Renfro found herself trying to picture the X5 in question and why he was significant to either of the X5s now before her. "Did he have a reason?" she asked, curiousity piqued. X5s rarely acted without some sort of provocation, but then the grudges they held and acted on would not necessarily be based on a recent occurrence. It was another one of those things that fascinated her about these creatures.

"The – the fetus was his." Renfro's eyes widened. She knew the X5 in question, he was a real animal. She'd seen the mission reports from when he was deployed, always high numbers of civilian casualities, missions were accomplished but without finesse. This was punishable though, this she wouldn't stand for. 823 was too valuable an asset, she had actually conceived. Renfro had hopes that with the right care, the mistakes of the previous pregnancy could be avoided. The drug cocktails had been changed again.

"494, escort 823 to the medical unit, make sure she arrives there safely. Then report back here, I have another assignment for you." As the two X5s left her office she picked up her phone and called the medical unit, giving strict instructions on how X5-823 was to be taken care of and demanding a report as to how she had passed the previous day's medical and been declared fit for copulation when she clearly was anything but fit for the duty. She had time to make a second call before 494 returned, this one demanding that X5-671 be taken to solitary confinement under restraint to be dealt with later. She'd look again at his file later, when she had more time on her hands and decide whether he was worth keeping. It was a mistake to tell him about the conception, but he'd not been as violent with 823 as he had with others and she'd hoped that perhaps he would be more like that in future, inflict less damage on his partners and increase the rate of conception.

There was a short sharp rap at the door and at her command, 494 entered and stood to attention in front of her desk. She walked round him, taking a long assessing look. He was attractive enough in her estimation, not as heavily built as some of the models; tall and lean. His genetics were nearer to the ideal than the majority; he'd suffered fewer side effects than most models, yet he'd also been re-indoctrinated following failed missions. Empathy appeared to be his principal weakness, it was where he had failed on the Berrisford mission, too soft to allow for civilian casualties; the same thing that kept him from copulating with unwilling partners. Outside in a normal human, it would have been an admirable trait. Now it was just a nuisance.

It was interesting as well that his predecessor, one of the escapees, had gone so completely rogue that he'd turned serial killer. Definitely an imbalance in some gene code or maybe it was something hormonal between the two of them, leaving one with too much and the other too little empathy. She could work with this though; it would serve her purpose for now.

"I have another task for you, 494."

"Yes, Ma'am." He didn't make eye contact, just stared straight ahead as he stood at attention.

"Stand at ease, soldier . . . and listen carefully. . ." she began.

494 hadn't been able to help but wonder why Renfro picked him for the subterfuge. X5-452. A captured escapee, supposedly the one most responsible for the attack. There was a part of him that wanted to make her suffer for what they had all had to suffer because of her unit escaping. Mind you, there was another part that wanted to ask what was so different about her unit that they ran and why didn't they get everyone else out sooner? There was a part of him that wanted to make her really understand how what they had experienced up until her unit ran was nothing – nothing compared to what had happened since. There was a part of him that wanted her to know what it had been like, what she had brought down upon them all, on the females like 823, but he wouldn't do it. He wouldn't do it because this time he'd been given an alternative; an authorized alternative, and there was part of him that hoped that she would escape and that she would come back again, and that next time . . . next time Manticore would fall and they could all be free.

He said nothing. He accepted Renfro's deal – sex with X5-452 if she agreed and he decided not to force her, or helping her to escape and elevation back to solo operative status with all the associated perks. He figured it was worth the gamble and Renfro already knew he wouldn't force her, because he will never forget how X5-671 would treat female civilians and captives, and he knew what had happened to X5-493 and he didn't want to ever risk himself crossing that line in case there was no way back.

As he helped her escape, he wondered if she had really thought about what she was doing. Freedom might be tempting but he found it hard to believe that she really thought it could be that easy to escape now, unless, as he already knew, Manticore wanted her to escape. He resigned himself to the thought that it was another sign of what came after she left the first time.

He reported to Renfro and was given his first solo mission outside: track 452, and bring her and Eyes Only back. He was given a head start for, while she was on foot, he had gotten transport and he knew roughly where she was heading. It didn't take long to find her and then it was just a matter of waiting long enough for her to have infected Eyes Only.

She was feisty and she fought dirtier than any other X5 he had ever met. For a moment, he was reminded of Clay's team : for all their training, they weren't above using less formal military training if it got them the advantage. They would use whatever they knew to their advantage. It was something that you didn't just pick up from the kind of training he had. It was something he still needed to learn, wondered if he would ever get the opportunity.