Early in the morning, when the sun was about to rise, Max boarded his single-passenger combat plane. He looked up at the sky for a quick moment and inhaled the crisp air that came from the ocean nearby. He could hear the waves push violently against the sharp grey rocks below the runway and the incessant bustling of the coconut trees as the wind shoved against them. While he sat down, he slipped on his communicator. He saw that the sun was cracking through the sky and pretty soon it'd be beating down on them like it had been for the past week. The humidity didn't help either.

Once he started up his plane, he gave a quick wave to the men on the runway. Soon, he sped off the runway and headed toward the bright sun. He looked back and saw three other Techno planes following him. He nodded as he then soared through the sky effortlessly.

After a few moments, he noticed what was below him. It wasn't the rural area that they expected to see throughout the island, it was actually very industrialized. "What the hell is this," he muttered over the communicator as he passed over an isolated cement tower.

Unexpectedly, he heard gun shots surrounding him and then he heard a loud clash of a plane against a building. He tried to avoid even more shots when suddenly he saw as one of his wings was shot off. The fire and ash from the shot surprised him and unexpectedly, another shot came to the plane's tail. Now he could feel his plane plummet down. "Mayday! Mayday!" he yelled as he saw the concrete and steel building approach his plane.

Suddenly, an earth shattering crash sound filled the air while flames engulfed the small plane with its pilot inside, unconscious. The flames then spread around and up the plane to where it reached its gas reserve. And then there was that final explosion, that sudden "BOOM!"

"No!" Byte yelled just as she woke herself up. She quickly sat up in the hospital bed, only to find a wide-eyed Java staring back. She breathed quickly and looked around some more.

"Nightmare?" Java asked while she still stared at the girl. Honestly, Noelle had given her a heart attack. She had been enjoying a nice chocolate bar and was about to take a bite out of the thing until she woke up. Now with the chocolate bar on the ground, she sighed as she was very disappointed.

"Yeah, I think so," she replied. "Is there any word out on the troops? Any casualties?"

"No, not that I've heard of. The boys have been enjoying themselves so far," Java shrugged nonchalantly

She gave a sigh of relief and lay back down in the hospital bed, just glistening a bit from that cold sweat. "Okay, good."

"You owe me a chocolate bar," Java then said.

"I want ice cream…but I'll get you that chocolate bar," she replied. She spotted a medic nearby and called the guy over. "Hi, can I get some ice cream and a chocolate bar?"

"Do I look like a run a drive-thru?" he asked rudely.

Java and Byte shot a look at the low-ranking medic. [i]"I got this one,"[/i] Java thought. She smirked for a moment before she spoke.

[i]"Uh-oh, the smirk! That's always a warning sign,"[/i] Byte thought.

Java stood up now and moved over to him. "Yeah actually with your position, you [i]would[/i] run a drive-thru. As a matter of fact, you ain't even a doctor. You're just an assistant," she inched closer to him like a lion about to devour its prey. "So get your ass on the job and assist in getting her some damn ice cream."

He gulped and nodded to her. "What kind of chocolate bar did she want?" he asked Byte.

"The caramel-y one with the peanuts in the middle," she replied quickly, for she slightly feared Java at the moment.

Within minutes, medic assistant went off to go search for the items. After about five minutes he had obtained a pint of rocky road ice cream and only a two inch, "fun-sized" chocolate bar for Java. He handed both of them to Byte then walked out of the room quickly.

"Oh what the hell? There are only two bites in here," Java muttered as she was handed the chocolate bar. She opened it and took a bite before she looked at Noelle, who was happily eating her ice cream. "You lucky little brat, better give me some," she joked while she ate the last half of her candy.

"I'll think about it," Byte replied with a spoonful of the creamy goodness already melting in her mouth.

"You'll think about it? Noelle, this is a whole gallon. Where's it all gonna go?" Java asked, very much curious as to how the kid would eat the whole thing. She herself could barely do a pint, but a whole gallon?

"Down to my wonderfully empty stomach," she smiled. She didn't know how she was going to eat the whole thing either but all she knew was that she was hungry and she craved ice cream.

"Lard-ass," Java muttered under her breath, jokingly.

"I inherited [i]your[/i] ass, remember?" Byte replied with a grin.

Java frowned as she couldn't think of anything else to say. "Touché, dammit," she sighed. But before she could feel the small pang of disappointment, Noelle handed her the spoon. She smiled then glanced back at her, "Thanks, you're my favorite daughter."

Noelle rolled her eyes and chuckled. "It's surprising that you actually remembered that."

"Oh shut up about that," she replied, with her mouth half full of the ice cream.

"Alright, alright. I'll change the subject," she smirked, "So how about you and Jay?"

"What about us? Nothing's really happening. I mean…really…nothing's been happening. I'm beginning to think that this whole thing is just a fling. The guy barely has free time on his hands."

"Well, that's only because of the mission. But now that it's off the ground, he's probably not going to be as busy. Then maybe…you two can go out and do all that cute stuff."

Java smiled at both the thought and her daughter, "You really like him for me, don't you."

"Obviously…who else is that nice around here? He was with you when Noah wasn't there and he's one of the few guys who isn't morally corrupt like your husband," Noelle replied.

"Yeah, I suppose he is." She couldn't lie to herself. Jay was a rarity amongst all the men in the city. She'd never found someone so…right. Ram certainly could not compete, even with his terrorism that she somehow enjoyed.

At that moment, the blonde haired general walked by. He smiled slightly at the two as he quietly leaned against the doorframe.

"Speak of the devil," Noelle smirked before she gestured to Jay. She watched Java turn around and greet him. It was apparent that her mother's face seemed to light up when he walked in. Noelle was even surprised that Java hadn't blushed. Then again, Java was Java.

Jay walked into the room now and stood at the end of Byte's bed. "Are you okay? I heard you had a nasty spill during the game and…uh…Damien," he smiled. He knew that the lieutenant had a liking for the girl just by the way he always volunteered himself to help her out. He couldn't say he didn't approve of Damien but then again he always thought Max was a good choice as well.

Java grinned as well, "Yeah, Damien."

"Oh shut up, both of you," Byte scoffed.

"But I didn't say anything," Jay teased.

"It must mean Noelle's guilty of something," the girl's mother prodded.

Noelle shook her head defensively and then looked at the two of them, "I'm not guilty of anything. Why don't you two just get out of here…have some fun? That way you're not in my hair."

"Aw, she's bothered. I wonder why, Jay."

"Hm. Did you really pass out, Noelle, or did you just fake the whole damsel in distress thing?" Jay then asked while he laughed.

"Are you kidding me?" Byte said.

Java then sighed as she laughed. She nodded to Noelle and finally turned to Jay, "Alright, let's leave the diva alone."

"Okay, fine. Let's go out then," Jay then said.

She looked back at Noelle for a moment then back to Jay, unsure of whether or not to leave the girl by herself.

"Go on. I'll be fine," she said to Java.

"Are you sure?"

"Yes."

"Are you absolutely sure, Noelle?"

"Yes, now what did we just discuss?"

Java smiled and shook her head at her smart aleck daughter. "Okay then. I'll see you in a bit."

Noelle watched the lovely couple exit her room. She lay back in bed, just simply relaxed. Maybe she'd sleep or something, but all she knew is that she could relax somewhat easily here. There weren't Techno guards or any virts to bug her. Maybe the beeping of the machines near her was just a compromise.

After about two hours, Byte was free to go. She walked carefully back to the hotel with the picture of her sonogram in one hand while the other hand held a candy bar she'd asked for right before she left. Upon arrival, she quickly went into her room where she changed into a new uniform. While she carefully zipped up the uniform, she looked down at the ultrasound picture. A smile came to her face a moment before Mega walked into her room.

"What's that?" he asked.

"A picture that the medics took."

"Of what? A lima bean?" he smirked jokingly then placed a hand on her shoulder. "Just joking, I know what it's a picture of."

She smiled once again before she took a seat on her bed. "So, is there any word out on the troops?"

Mega nodded as he sat next to her. "Yeah, they've all landed safely. No updates on any inhabitants on the island. Apparently though, the place they're looking at was once an army base. I don't know much about the place but they've said that it's a beautiful place and that it's warm. No wait, that's an understatement. It's actually kind of hot there."

"That's good to hear. But it sounds more like a vacation than a supposed base. If it was once an military base, then wouldn't they be busy at work?"

"Yeah," Mega paused, "but I don't want you worrying about that too much. I don't want you stressed out, alright? It's not good for you. Right now, I just want you to concentrate on you and the baby."

From afar, Ved heard the last bits of Mega's sentence through the slightly ajar door of Byte's room. He smirked as he soon figured out that the young commander was pregnant. "So she's expecting huh? I wonder what's gonna happen when Ram finds out. Obviously the girl's useless since she's got different priorities. Ram's not going like that very much," he chuckled to himself at the thought. "He already sent Max away because he thought Byte needed to focus more on her duties. Now with a baby in the picture, I bet she's going to be demoted. Haha, no I take that back. She's either gonna be relocated to a different sector or worse, let go. So with the girl out of the picture, who's going to take her place? And who's next in line if Ram falls ill? Me of course." Ved slowly walked away from the room with a slight smile on his face.

Down the hall, Java and Jay sat comfortably on Java's bed. During the time they spent together, they discussed everything and anything. They laughed and had a few moments themselves. It was now evident that the two enjoyed each other's company, even though they barely had the chance to see each other.

Jay smiled at Java as he lay on his side while she remained sitting Indian-style. "So tell me, how did Noelle get the name Byte?"

Java laughed then shook her head at the memory, remembering it like it was just the day before. "Alright, well let me tell you. Noelle…when she was younger, she was pushed around a lot, bullied, all those types of things because she was so little and so soft spoken. Surprising? Anyway, this incident happened when she was about nine, back when she first joined up with the Technos.

I saw Noelle one day and the girl was outside with the rain starting to sprinkle down. She just hugged her knees…just sat there while the other kids went out to play. Then this girl, Meredith, came up to her and started picking on her. Mind you, Meredith was about two years older than her and much bigger.

So here's this Meredith girl. She said to Noelle, 'Why don't you go inside, Orphan?' But Noelle tried to reason with her by saying, 'My name's not Orphan, it's Noelle.'

Big bad Meredith replied with, 'You're nothing but an orphan.' Then she picked Noelle up by the shirt and pinned her against the wall.

Little….and I mean little Noelle tried to explain to the girl that all of the kids were orphans and not just her because everyone had just lost their parents to the virus. By this time, I just wanted to watch to see what the damn kid would do. I knew she couldn't do that much, since there were guards standing nearby. Meredith then replied with, 'Not you. You haven't even met your parents. You're little Orphan Annie. Yeah that's right, Orphan Annie!' Okay I wanted to punch the kid but my hands were tied. I didn't want Noelle knowing that I was her mother just yet and by reacting, I think she would've thought something of it.

Anyway, Noelle started to cry and this girl just started poking at her some more. Meredith bent over now and said, 'What's the matter, Orphan? You crying? That's so virt.'

At this time, I had been called away but all I heard was that Noelle was so ticked off, so angry that she lunged at Meredith. She was small and much more agile, so she was able to get more punches and kicks in. She made me so proud. You know, she actually drew blood. That's when I knew she was truly my kid because I saw the family temper come out of her.

Once the kids were separated…or rather once they pried Noelle of Meredith, Noelle was taken to Siva for punishment. According to my sister, the kid just had a large scratch on her arm…nothing too bad. As she tried to clean it up, Noelle just said, 'I couldn't help it! She kept calling me names!' This is when I walked into the office after hearing that.

Siva then asked her, 'What did she call you?'

'Orphan Annie!' Noelle yelled. The girl was so angry at this point that she started tearing up again. I think she wanted to cry but she knew she'd be crying over nothing.

Okay, now my sister tried reasoning with her. It so didn't work. She said something like: 'You can't fight someone over that. You have to ignore the bad things people say about you. Be the bigger person, yada yada yada.'

I just rolled my eyes and asked the kid what happened that made her get the scratch on her arm. Noelle was hesitant to say but she eventually got it out.

'I hit her' she said.

'Alright, you hit her,' I repeated. But that wasn't the end of it.

Noelle then continued with, 'Before I bit her.'

I was so dumbfounded; I didn't even know what to say. I just looked at the girl curiously and just thought, 'Damn, she made Mike Tyson look like a weenie.' But anyway, Noelle bit someone on the arm in her first fight ever and won…and that's why I gave her the name: Byte. No, I just couldn't spell it with an 'I', we're Technos remember?" Java smirked and finally just gave a huge sigh. "That's my daughter for you."

Jay laughed at the story she'd just told him. He shook his head then laughed some more. "Part of me isn't surprised that she actually bit someone. She's a ruthless one, just like you."

"Yeah, I suppose," Java shrugged.

Jay inched closer to her then rested his hand near her thigh. "So tell me, what's this thing that's going on between us?"

"Your guess is as good as mine, Jay. I mean, we've known each other for a long time and I never imagined us…like this," she replied.

"But are you happy?" he asked bravely.

"Yeah, I am but-"

"But what? I'm happy and you're happy, we both feel the same way about each other. So why can't we just get it together? Why don't we get together?" he asked as he sat up. "I know Ram doesn't make you happy. But at least I can."

"You know it's more complicated than that, Jay. I can't just drop everything and be with you. I've got duties. I want to be with you, I do. But will everything work out? We always have to sneak around and we barely see each other as it is," Java sighed, becoming frustrated already.

"We don't know unless we try, Java," Jay said calmly.

In the front of the hotel, Byte was back on duty. Since she came back home, she'd been called out on "easier" jobs to relieve some of the stress. She sighed as one of the guards came to her and asked for her assistance. "There's someone here? Well that's what you're for, to attend to any guests."

"The man specifically asked for a higher ranking officer. You're the closest one we've got," he replied.

"Alright, fine," Byte said, unappeased. Finally, she walked down the steps with two guards behind her. She spotted the man and stood in front of him.

"Good day," the guest said. He was an older man and stood about six inches taller than the girl. He as built like an athlete, toned but not buff, slender but not scrawny. Tied around him head was a navy blue bandana while he wore black pants, a thick silver belt, and black and blue silk-screened shirt, and a black leather jacket. He looked at her now with slightly squinted grey eyes. He then ran his hand through his short brown hair and smiled uneasily. "I was just coming to visit Janelle," he said in his deep voice.

"Janelle?" she asked. Janelle, no one ever called Java that. Perhaps the guy was just asking for the wrong person or even a different person. "We don't have a Janelle here."

"Oh, right. I mean…I'm here to see Java," he muttered.

"Sure, I'll go get her," Byte replied. She pressed on her communicator and spoke briefly to Java, "There's someone here to see you…well I don't know he just asked for you," she said quietly into the device. Byte glanced back at the man and asked, "What business do you have with her?"

"I was sent over here by a former Techno….Siva. She said I'd be able to find Java and a girl named Noelle here," he explained with his hands behind his back.

She sighed and stepped in front of him, "Yeah? You still haven't answered my question, virt. What's your name anyway?"

The man glanced quickly at the ground then to her, "Look, my name's Noah. I'm sure that's enough explanation for the both of them."