AN: Thank you so much to Krisdaughter of Athena, Estef1110, FearTheEngineer, SimplyAwesome and Juliet Knighly for their reviews! I know it can feel repetitive if you don't have something new to say about each chapter coming out, but I appreciate that you take the time to do it anyway, and it really means a lot to me that you guys keep encouraging me. This story now has more than 800 visitors and 2500 views, so thank you to the silent readers too! Here's the next chapter, I hope you'll enjoy it :)

Watching Paige as she tried to keep her promise was hilarious and frightening at the same time. More than once, she opened her mouth and barely managed to prevent herself from interrupting Beck. Her eyelids were twitching and her right hand was fidgeting against her thigh, while the left one remained closed into a fist. She looked like she was about to spontaneously derezz! I don't think I've ever seen her in such a state... Flynn help me, what am I doing? But to her credit, she did keep herself under control until the very end. When Beck was done explaining his plan, he braced himself for what was about to come. The silence lasted for a few seconds while Paige composed herself. Then she stated, very calmly:

"Not going to happen."

Could have gone worse, really. He was still in one piece, which was more than he had dared hoping for a moment earlier. So he decided to do what the Renegade did best: he pushed his luck.

"Why not, commander?

- Because I'm trying to protect him, you gridbug! What you're suggesting would have the exact opposite effect.

- Would it, really? I mean, consider this. Who could wish him harm in the current situation?

- For now, only Pavel. But when someone finds out that Beck is helping you…

- Well, someone did!

- Yes. But for some reason… nevermind, I meant someone else than me and you perfectly know it."

For some reason what, commander? It was a shame that she didn't finish her sentence, because Beck was pretty sure he would have found it very interesting. Maybe next time! For now, he had to focus on convincing Paige.

"Alright, Beck would be in trouble if the Occupation found out. But you did mention Pavel…

- He thinks he can use him as leverage against me. He already did, but I managed to get us both out of jail before things got any messier.

- My solution would solve the Occupation part of the equation and wouldn't make things worse regarding Pavel.

- Yes, it would! I didn't wait for your brilliant ideas, I'm already working on the issue. I broke up with Beck and I've been treating him poorly ever since. Pavel must have noticed, if he thinks I don't care about Beck he'll leave him alone."

Well it does explain a lot of things… he didn't like Pavel before, but learning that he was the reason behind Paige's coldness didn't really help his cause. Beck despised the slimy officer for strictly professional reasons, considering he was one of Tesler's minions and a general pain in the ass. But now, Beck deeply resented him on a very personal level. The next time he'd have to fight Pavel, he'd make it last a little longer than necessary. And maybe he could derezz him by accident? Yeah, and that wouldn't make you a hypocrite at all, after everything you've told Tron when he tried to take revenge on Dyson, right? But those matters could wait, at the present time changing Paige's mind was the priority. He took his most confident Renegade's tone.

"Pavel seems to be quite cunning. He will probably understand what you're trying to do, and that's only going to make Beck a more interesting target.

- I'll take the risk. Better have him wondering about a link between us than leaving him do doubt, as your suggestion would!

- You see, this is where you're wrong."

Paige cocked her eyebrow and put her hands on her hips.

"Oh I'm sorry, Renegade, please enlighten me!"

Flynn, she's beautiful when she's sarcastic. I mean, she's beautiful all the time, but look at that pose! Love wasn't really a thing on the Grid, but sometimes you felt kind of drawn toward another program. And "kind of drawn" didn't even begin to describe Beck's feelings where the commander was concerned. It was quite unfortunate that kicks, annoyed looks and snarky remarks appeared to be the more common reactions he was able to get from her! That's your chance to change that, right here and right now. Don't blow this up, mechanic.

"Well, for now, Pavel sees Beck as your friend. He can only use him as a way to hurt you.

- That's exactly what I'm trying to prevent.

- Right. But let's say we do it my way… suddenly, Beck is protected from him."

Paige snorted, but Beck could see that she had not thought of that. He pressed his advantage.

"More importantly, someone like Pavel is going to interpret this move as ambition on Beck's part. He'd stop to be a pawn and become a player. That is to say, a potential ally in your dear colleague's power plays. What does Pavel do to potential allies?

- Hmm… he acts all sweet with them.

- See what I mean?

- Until he betrays them, of course. But I get your point."

Beck could see that she really did. He had managed to get her seriously thinking. She threw him a calculating look through squinted eyes.

"I still think my current method is the best, though. If I manage to make Pavel think I don't care about Beck, he'll simply ignore him. Why would I give him a good reason to try to manipulate him instead?

- Because it would not require you to be a jerk to Beck."

And our local champion's disk catches commander Paige right in the chest! It looks like she underestimated her opponent. Argon's Renegade takes this round thanks to his masterful throw. That's what disk wars are about, programs! And please make more noise for our contenders, do you want people to think we're in Bismuth or what? Beck's inner commentator finished his tirade just in time for Paige's reluctant reply.

"Fine, point taken. Even if it's none of your concern.

- Maybe I care about Beck too."

You bet I do. None of my concern, eh? If she knew! But maybe it wasn't a good idea to think about that. A part of Beck knew that at some point, Paige was going to discover the truth. He didn't know how. He didn't know when. He was however absolutely certain that it would not be an enjoyable moment for him.

"Alright programs, we're done for today."

Most of us were done quite some time ago, really… but Tron had not cared one bit. After the first simulation, he started a second one, then a third, then a fourth. Of course, they could have given up, but not even Hopper wanted to endure the old monitor's disapproving look. So they had kept trying and trying. The less talented recruits took some rest between each round, waiting for Mara, Bartik and a few others to either beat the simulation or be defeated. As the cycle progressed, the first case became rarer and rarer. Raw talent wasn't enough to endure the pace imposed on them. Tron had not been mean per se, his tone had remained calm and civil, he had kept encouraging those who failed and congratulating those who succeeded, yet he had not interrupted the flow of new exercises. Simulation after simulation, he had made them discover their limits, then he had taken them beyond. And it's only our first cycle here!

"I know it's been hard, I know you're tired. But we don't have much time, Clu's here already. We have to fight him while we can! However, I won't send you to your derezzolution. When you get out of this place, you'll be able to face most of what he's going to send against you. I'll deal with the rest."

The exhausted programs exchanged several smiles at those words. Whether you believed Clu's propaganda or not and called Tron the Traitor or the Protector of the Grid, there was no point denying he was a great fighter. The best, actually. So if he says he's going to make sure we can take care of ourselves… he probably means it.

"We'll keep training for a few cycles, then the quickest learners will come on a little field trip with me. We can't let the Occupation go unchecked in Argon now, can we?

- No!"

Their voices were firm and resolution was apparent on their faces. Training wasn't fun. Kicking a few guards' asses under Tron's supervision, on the other hand… no one wants to be left behind, everyone will train harder now. He sure knows how to get some lazy mechanics motivated!

"That's what I thought. Now go get some energy and a good rest. You're dismissed."

They got out of the simulation room, but Mara turned back right before passing the door. Tron hadn't move. He was staring at something the eyes couldn't see, his hands tightly closed into fists. The blue-haired program wondered what he was thinking, but she knew better than to ask him and simply left the room, leaving the monitor with his ghosts.

The cycle following her secret rendezvous with the Renegade, Paige had solicited a meeting with general Tesler to present the idea to him, without mentioning whom it came from, of course. A part of her had been hoping that he would shut it down.

"I think that's an excellent idea, commander!"

Oh great, really, that's just great. Thank you so much, Sir. Deep down, she realized that the Renegade's plan was actually quite sensible. It also presented the significant advantage of… how did he express that? Yeah, not requiring me to be a jerk to Beck, those were the words. But a part of her didn't want to take any risk and had thought that her commanding officer wouldn't agree to the suggestion. I should have known better. He's obviously fond of Beck. As much as the general could be fond of anyone, of course. Which wasn't a lot, admittedly, but still.

"It's going to send a great signal to the rest of the mechanics. To his former friends, too. And to the rest of the city, while we're at it! Able was well known and apparently quite liked, his successor probably benefits of at least a part of his influence. What a great move… congratulations for your initiative, commander, I'll let you tell him the good news.

- Right away, Sir."

Guess the dice are cast. Paige didn't exactly bolt out of the admiral ship. She needed time to think. When she got to the main hangar, instead of rezzing a lightjet, she drew her bike baton and took the long ramp, slaloming between the tanks. Since she had joined Tesler's troops, speed had been the only thing besides her monome to help her to calm down. Chute, bike, jet, it didn't matter, it only needed to go fast enough for her surroundings to get blurry around her. By the time she got to the garage, she had found a good way to break the news to Beck. The guards told her he was in his office, interviewing an applicant, which got her a little miffed. She didn't consider Beck as a lowly mechanic anymore, but a part of her still thought that she was superior to him, in a way. She was an Occupation commander, after all! Tesler's second or third in command, depending on the state of Pavel's schemes. Yet she had to wait for him. Alright, no big deal. I'll wait. I'm already waiting. Luckily, the interview ended after a few minutes only. Paige's impatience hadn't even grown to the point where she'd have started pacing in front of the door.

"Welcome in the team, I'll take you to the supply room and you'll… commander Paige? Is there a problem?

- No, not really. Finish… well, what you're doing. I'll wait inside."

She knew you weren't supposed to get into someone's office without an invitation, but she passed the door without even noticing Beck's amused smile. He joined her shortly after and closed the door behind them.

"What can I do for you? How did the meeting go?

- It went fine. We took a decision about you.

- About me? What was there to decide?

- Your participation to the rebellion, of course. It's going to stop.

- How is that anybody's business but mine?

- Come on, we've had this discussion already!"

Beck instantly froze at those words and Paige realized that her tongue had slipped.

"Sorry, I mean I've had this discussion with the Renegade. He pleaded your cause, using the same argument. I'm a little tired, so…"

That seemed to appease him. Yeah, I'd probably be startled too if someone told me we already discussed something I didn't remember. Memory bugs are frightening things.

"The fact is, we've reached an agreement.

- What kind of agreement would that be?

- Look, you're not going to like it, but we really thought it through. If, or rather when the Renegade gets caught, it's going to protect you. And you won't have to worry about Pavel either! I mean, he's probably going to try to drag you into his schemes, but be firm with him and you should be fine.

- Paige, what are you talking about?"

That's way harder than I thought. Beck didn't like the Occupation. For good reasons, considering a heavy sentry had derezzed his best friend on the very first cycle of their presence in Argon. She knew that. The Renegade probably did too. Yet none of them had stopped to think how wrong their plan was going to feel to the mechanic… until now. Guess we didn't actually thought this through, but it's too late now. She took a big breath.

"We're going to work together.

- Aren't we already?

- No, I mean… ok, long story short, you're lieutenant Beck, now. Welcome to the Occupation."