Chapter 20: Class Alpha

Enemy Base, Manticore

As morning approached, a series of footsteps were heard as soldiers came to get their prisoners. Relief spread throughout the group as the soldiers undid their restraints and sent them out – well, those that could walk. A TAC Leader waited for them outside. The soldiers lined up, standing at attention.

"As of now, your final exercise for the Skills Assessment Period is concluded. Your performance these past two and a half weeks have placed you in Class Alpha. Congratulations, soldiers. You are now one of Manticore's best units. You will report to the infirmary for treatment before returning to training. Class Alpha's training schedule will be delivered to your rooms tonight, but those of you immediately eligible for training are not required to report to class until two days later to give you adequate rest. You are dismissed."

"SIR, YES, SIR!" the soldiers yelled before giving a salute and heading back to base. All of them took their time, however, and those unable to walk were helped by their peers. So they were there for two weeks. It seemed like forever.

"Hell is finally over," Ammo declared as he limped back.

"Indeed it is," Cody exclaimed.

"I'm staying in the infirmary for as long as I can," Tri announced. "No way am I going back to training."

Gai laughed. "Good, at least I'll have company."

"Me three," Joy cried cheerfully.

"Aww, you're leaving me to go back to training by myself?" Dart exclaimed. He was probably one of the least injured.

"I'll be stuck in training, most likely," Fin reminded, coming up beside them.

Dart sighed. "Hey Ammo, can you break my arm? I don't want to go back to training so soon."

Ammo rolled his eyes. "Sorry, no can do. I'm out of arms," he grinned, indicating his broken arms.

Fin shook her head at their banter. "Shouldn't you be happy to be back in Class Alpha, Dart?"

Dart shrugged. "I guess. I mean, it means we're one of the best and all, but I'm not looking forward to meeting up with my old unit, in a sense," Dart mumbled. "We didn't all get along..."

The others nearby nodded in understanding. "I forgot about that," Tri stated. "I had some acquaintances in Unit 4 though. Didn't you have some people you got along with?"

Dart shook his head. "I generally kept to myself. I often got into fights with 343 and some of his friends. It always pissed off Alec."

Treading behind the crowd, Viper and Nic walked side by side.

"See, I told you it'd be over soon," Viper cheerfully told Nic, who simply looked dead.

"You said that everyday for the past two weeks," Nic mumbled.

"Cheer up, Nic. It's over now," Viper suggested.

Nic just shook his head and sighed. Viper frowned but said nothing more. Nic was certainly affected by the exercise. She could see it in his eyes.

Sector B Forest, Manticore

Kev and Max were told to remain behind for a debriefing. Both were confused, but remained behind nevertheless. As CO, generally only Max would remain behind for the debrief, if there was one. A few minutes later, after the rest of Unit 9 had left, Lydecker showed up.

"Congratulations," Lydecker began. "Unit 9 is now one of Manticore's best units, and they have you two to thank."

"Thank you, sir," the two X5s responded in unison.

"Since your unit has proven to be such a success, I have no choice but to start sending you out on missions." Lydecker watched the two carefully before continuing. He made no attempt to hide his hesitation in the decision. "Both of you will be undergoing solo operations training, to commence at 1900 for an hour until the course is complete. I would also like a list of any other members in your unit whom you think may be fit for solo missions."

He approached the two so that he was mere inches from their faces as he made his last statement. His voice was strong, yet not too loud. There was no threat in his tone, but the message was clear. "I'm glad you two have become such good friends. I'll be watching you."

It was then that both X5s knew that Lydecker knew their long-term goal, and for the first time since Max's return to Manticore, the fear she held for the man crept back. Of all the people that worked at Manticore, Lydecker knew her best. He would know how to keep her here, and now that he knew Kev might be in on it, the stakes rose.

Lydecker walked away, dismissing them as he did.

Max and Kev could only exchange glances, both knowing what the other was thinking. They didn't dare say anything until they were out of an earshot.

Rec Room, Manticore

About a week and a half later, after everyone was out of the infirmary, Unit 9 gathered in the rec room.

"Gee, I don't recall feeling this tired from a training in Class Alpha," Tri murmured.

"That's because you've been sitting in the infirmary for the past week," Dart muttered with a hint of jealousy.

Everyone laughed, except for Nic and Kev. Nic had been considerably silent these past few weeks, and everyone noticed it, but no one dared asked him about it. Every time they tried, he just walked away.

Viper eyed Nic, wondering if this time, things would be different, but shortly after the laughter ended, Nic stood up and excused himself from the group.

Just at that moment, Max entered the rec room with Alec. She had seen Nic leave before and knew he had changed since their exercise, but she was not about to let him miss this.

"Nic, where are you going?"

"Back to my cell," he answered dismissively. "I'm tired."

Max blocked the door, preventing him from leaving. "You're staying right here with your unit Nic. I've got something for all of you all."

Nic sighed and headed back to where the group was, sulking as he did. Max followed Nic, holding a bag of candy in one hand. Alec gave her a quick kiss on the cheek before heading off to find his own unit hanging around in the rec room. "I'll see you later," he whispered.

Unit 9 had gone silent as soon as Max entered, watching the exchange between their CO and Nic, as well as the bag of mysterious goods in her hand.

"Max, you finally decide to join us," Ammo declared. "And it's been...how many days?"

Max sent Ammo a death glare, which instantly had him regretting his words. He smiled sheepishly and turned away.

"Ignore Ammo," Joy said with a laugh. "We've all missed your visits, infrequent as they are."

Ever since Max and Alec officially declared their "relationship" status, Max had an excuse to hang out with her unit even less and less during their free hours. They already were in the same class, so it wasn't like they weren't nearly almost always together. She was initially upset with their reaction when she told them – many of them were wondering what took her so long, but now she came to laugh at the memory. They had taken a while.

Max just laughed politely. "Sorry guys, I'm afraid this won't exactly be a long visit either, but I have a treat for all of you. Since you all worked so hard to get to Class Alpha, I managed to get you all some sweet treats to reward you for your hard work," she explained as she started distributing the bags of candy.

With the exception of Kev, who seemed unsurprised by the event and simply smiled at the news, and Nic, who only looked up slightly in interest, Unit 9's eyes widened with joy and delight from the news as they looked at the candy she got for them.

"This is from the outside!" Tri exclaimed in surprise. "I saw this in the shops in my last mission, but I never had a chance to try it. How did you get it?"

"You went on a mission!" Dart exclaimed, still not believing his own statement.

"Where I got the treats is a secret, but I have my sources," she explained with a wink. "Just enjoy it."

They were clearly disappointed with the lack of details, but as soon as she left to go find Alec, they all started whispering amongst themselves about their theories.

Nic sighed and gave his bag to Viper before getting up to leave again. This time, Viper went after him.

"Nic, wait!"

Nic just kept walking, not wanting to talk to her, of all people.

"NIC!"

Viper finally caught up with him and stopped him in his tracks by slamming him into the wall. "Where the hell do you think you're going?" Viper asked him.

Nic didn't dare look at Viper's eyes and cursed himself for allowing him to be trapped by her. "I told you. Back to my cell. I'm tired."

"That's the lamest excuse I ever heard. Nic, what the hell has happened to you? Ever since that exercise...you've been different."

"Nothing. Just leave me alone," Nic said, trying to break free from her grip.

But Viper kept her hold, not allowing him to go. "Nic, why can't you tell me? I thought you liked me."

Nic was silent, debating his answer. "But you don't like me," he finally stated as he broke free from her grip and ran down the hall.

Viper stood there, shocked. Her face hardened as she chased after Nic yet again with an anger she didn't understand.

Back in the rec room, Kev watched as the unit discussed their theories. She already knew Dart's declaration was true, but their other theories were amusing just as well.

"She stole it from the guards' break room after hacking the security panel," Cody suggested.

"Nah, Alec got it for her," Tri theorized. "He's always got these underground markets running with the guards."

"Maybe she found a way out and snuck it back in, like an underground tunnel," Gai tried. "Maybe she already has a escape tunnel out of here and has been using it to smuggle stuff in and out!"

"Yeah right," Joy said. "You might as well say aliens teleported in and out of here, giving her the candy. There's no way she'd be able to make a tunnel without Command finding out, is there?"

"She is Max, Joy. They've escaped once, and that was without a tunnel. Tunnels are more discrete," Gai argued.

"I'm telling you, she went on a mission!" Dart explained. "It makes the most sense. I mean, remember those three days she was gone? That's when she went on her mission, got the goods and came back as if nothing happened. She's had it all this time but was just waiting until after SAP to give it to us as a reward."

Everyone grew silent at that, realizing Dart had a point.

"But wouldn't she tell us?" Fin asked. "I mean, that's big, especially for someone with her...history."

"Yeah, I mean, why would she not want us to know?" Cody asked.

Kev decided now would be the time to stop the conversation. "You all are over thinking it. Who cares where she got the candy from? Just enjoy it," she suggested as she tossed a piece of candy in her mouth. She then left to go watch the stars in the gym.

The others looked at her in disbelief. As soon as she left, a new conversation started. "Did Kev just tell us we were over thinking it?" Ammo questioned, stunned.

"She knows something," Dart accused. "She's the last person to say anything about over thinking anything."

The others nodded in agreement. One of Kev's specialties was tactical analysis, after all. It was what she did – analyze and over analyze a situation until the best scenario came up.

"It's just Kev being Kev," Joy defended. "Haven't you noticed she occasionally does things to surprise us, probably for her own amusement?"

Gai laughed. "That's possible. Kev does like being unpredictable."

"Or maybe we were getting closer and closer to the truth?" Cody offered.

"You think she knows?" Tri wondered.

"She and Max are pretty close," Fin explained.

"That they are..." Gai agreed.

Unit 9 Barracks, Manticore

Viper finally caught up to Nic, but Nic had already shut the door to his cell and wouldn't move, making it nearly impossible to open.

"NIC!" Viper yelled, banging loudly on the door. "NIC!! OPEN THIS DOOR NOW!!"

"GO AWAY!!" Nic yelled back. "I DON'T WANT TO TALK!!"

"NIC, I'M NOT LEAVING UNTIL YOU OPEN THIS DAMN DOOR. OPEN UP."

Nic ignored her as he took a seat on the floor next to the door to prevent it from opening. It was at times like these that he wished Manticore allowed them their own locks rather than a systematic lock that was in place after lights out.

"NIC!!"

Viper sighed and stopped pounding on the door. "FINE. BE LIKE THAT. DON'T EXPECT TO HEAR FROM ME EVER AGAIN," Viper declared as she took a seat beside the door, hoping Nic would think she had left.

Minutes passed as both waited each other out. Nic didn't know whether or not Viper really left, but he didn't mind waiting it out. When he felt an adequate amount of time had passed without hearing any movement outside his door, he got up and prepared for his shower. It was almost lights out and he wanted to shower before sleeping. Just as he peeked the door open a crack, a hand shot out and grabbed him by the collar. Another hand opened the door wider and allowed Viper into his room.

"Damnit Viper. Can't you see I want to be left alone?" Nic whined. "And I need to shower. It's almost lights out."

"Every time you're alone all you do is mope. You need to stop moping Nic. The exercise is done. Get over it. Everyone has a fear of something, but it doesn't have to continue to haunt them the rest of their lives."

"It's not like that Viper. It's not that easy!" Nic argued, annoyed now. "I can't..."

"Yes, you can Nic. You're just not letting yourself let go."

"Viper...just stop, OK? It's not like it's your business anyway." Nic walked passed her to head towards the showers.

Viper stopped him once again, pulling him back into the cell. "That's where you're wrong soldier. It is my business because when you're acting like this, it's affecting our unit, and if a unit is going to perform at top peak, it needs all its members on board."

"I'm doing fine in training Viper. It's not like I'm going to let the team down. Just leave me alone, god!"

"Well I'm NOT!" Viper finally yelled. "I can't stand seeing you like this," she admitted, her voice strong with emotion. "And it's making me lose focus, OK?"

Nic looked at her this time, surprised. He didn't realize how much he had affected her. He thought she didn't care. In spite of the anger her features displayed, her eyes held a sadness he had not noticed in his depressed state.

"I'm sorry...I didn't mean to hurt you..." Nic said quietly. He had no idea what else to say and looked at the floor.

Viper's response was even more unexpected as she lifted his chin up and kissed him gently on the lips. Nic was surprised at first, but kissed her back within seconds. His shower was forgotten as the door closed to allow them some privacy.

Training Grounds, Manticore

"Seeing you were dying to get your unit back here, you must have missed Class Alpha," Alec began as he began a spar with Max. "It's because of me, isn't it?"

Max threw him down onto the mat and kicked him in the gut. "You wish, Alec. I wouldn't settle for any class less than Alpha, no matter what class you're in."

Alec grimaced at the thought of being in any class aside from Alpha. "You know, if we're going to be together, you really ought to treat me nicer," Alec replied as he tried a punch, but it was easily deflected.

Max smirked. "I'm not letting you win this match, if that's what you're getting at." Max jumped just in time to avoid a sweep kick. She then ducked as he tried to punch her. She rolled under his attack and landed behind him.

Alec moved just in time to avoid her grab. "Oh come on, Max. The trainer's seen me go down so many times recently. That look he's giving me is starting to bother me."

Max laughed. "So?"

Alec sighed in defeat. "You're cruel."

"You've got a big enough ego as it is. A few losses won't hurt," Max quipped.

Just then, Alec took her balance, causing Max to fall on her bottom. He grinned as he cheekily replied, "A few wins won't either."

Max glared as she kicked him in the shin hard before getting back up.

Alec gasped as he tried his best not to yell out from the unexpected blow to the shinbone. "Not...cool...Max. That's dirty," he bit out.

Max just smiled innocently. "What ever do you mean?" she asked, feigning ignorance.

Just then, the TAC Leader ordered them to line up. The field test for Unit 9 would begin to determine their standing within Class Alpha.

Sector C Forest, Manticore

After a few more days of training in Class Alpha, the day arrived where Unit 9's standing would be determined. Lydecker stood nearby as a TAC Leader explained the field exercise. Unit 6 had already defeated Unit 4 during SAP, so they currently held the first rank. Resultantly, it was decided that Unit 9 would go against Unit 4. In the meantime, Unit 6 ran through training exercises under the guidance of another TAC Leader while the other two units completed the exercises. There would be three exercises – best two out of three. Their first exercise was a simple hostage exercise very similar to their first exercise against the X6s. Kev volunteered to be the hostage this time, allowing Max to take the lead. After an intense battle, Unit 9 was declared the winner. They suffered more losses than in any other exercise they've ever been in, however. The second exercise was to capture the enemy base. The battle was long and hard, but once again, Unit 9 prevailed, again sustaining more casualties than they were accustomed to.

Unit 9 went on to face off with Unit 6, losing the first exercise but winning the second by a smidgeon. The last exercise would determine the top unit of Manticore, and it was no doubt an intense match.

"Max, you're going down," Alec whispered as they parted ways to take their place on separate sides of the field.

"We'll see about that," Max answered.

Max led her team away and they began sorting themselves out into their groups for their final exercise. "This is it everyone. We've already come so far, so all I can ask is that you all try your best. I'm really proud of my unit, no matter what the results are," Max declared.

Everyone cheered...even Kev. "Let's show them what we've got!" Dart yelled. They all dispersed into their assigned places and the exercise began.

It was one of their longest matches, and one-by-one, both sides lost their soldiers.

"Oh crap. Fall back and return fire!" Viper ordered to her group as five soldiers ambushed them.

"I got one of them!" Cody yelled as he went down.

"I'm down," Fin announced.

"I got another," Viper stated, but she too then fell. They managed to take down two of the five that ambushed them. At least it was better than none.

Moments later, Nic's group ambushed the three that eliminated Viper's group, taking them all out before they had a chance to return fire.

"That was nice," Nic commented as they continued onwards.

"They didn't even know what hit them," Dart grinned.

"Keep down your voices. You don't want to alert people of us," Joy warned.

The two rolled their eyes but became silent.

Max was moving stealthily along when a voice came out of nowhere. "I told you you were going down Max," Alec grinned as he eliminated Max.

Max glared at him but smiled when she watched him fall. Kev eliminated him. "You still sure about that?" she asked. She then directed her comment to Kev. "Great job, Kev."

Kev smiled slightly before moving on again, leaving the two "dead" in their place.

Dart's group managed to sneak up on four soldiers, eliminating all of them, but they lost Gai in the process. As they moved on, they regrouped with Nic's group. The five of them continued, not knowing the remaining soldiers of Unit 6 were hiding in the treetops watching them go.

As the group spread out to find the remaining members, simultaneous shots were fired.

"We're under attack!" Dart panicked.

"I'm hit!" Joy declared, followed by Nic.

"Shit! Where are they attacking from?! I'm down!" Ammo muttered in frustration.

It was then that Tri spotted soldiers in the treetops. "They're up in the trees!" she declared as she dodged several line of bullets, taking aim and firing at a solider that had targeted her.

She then scaled another nearby tree while dodging another set of bullets. The soldier should have expected her fast climb, since Tri did used to be in Class Alpha as well, but time makes the mind forget. Before the soldier registered Tri's presence, Tri had already eliminated her. Unfortunately for Tri, as she eliminated that soldier, another soldier in a tree across from her aimed and fired at her, taking her out of the match.

Dart rolled and took aim and one of the two remaining soldiers, noticing that the one he had chosen to eliminate was 343. He smiled slightly at that, but he knew he was out of luck when the last soldier from Unit 6 eliminated him.

The game was set, and Unit 6 was declared the winner. The two units congratulated each other for a good game. Both sides really had a challenge. Unit 6 could not deny that they were impressed with Unit 9's performance. The rumors were no joke – Unit 9 was really quite a unit.

Rec Room, Manticore

"I hope you all don't need any of this colorful paper," Nic declared as he carried a load of colorful paper out of the supply closet.

The others looked at him in surprise. Nic was talking...and pranking...again, no doubt. What happened?

"Oh don't give me that look, guys. I'll be nice to Max. After all, she did give us candy!" he reassured cheerfully.

"I'm glad you're back, Nic," Ammo grinned. "Because I can't wait to see Max kick your ass when this goes sideways."

"I still wish you the best of luck," Joy encouraged.

"Don't encourage him!" Tri chastised. "It'll just make things worse."

Nic frowned. "I'm getting her this time. You'll see," he muttered as he left the room to take the paper back to his cell.

As soon as he was out of an earshot, everyone looked at Viper, expecting an explanation.

"What are you guys looking at me for?" she asked.

"You were with him last. What happened?" Gai demanded. "I mean, we're all glad he's back, but he was so depressed. Surely that didn't happen on its own."

"I just talked to him, that's all," Viper explained vaguely, trying hard not to think about all the other things they did together.

"Just talked to him?" Dart questioned, not believing her.

"We already went through interrogation guys. No need to interrogate me," Viper reminded.

"We're just worried for Nic. We wanted to help him but didn't know how," Fin explained. "Perhaps next time we'll all be able to help him, if anything else goes wrong."

Viper blushed at that statement as she tried to find a way to explain it, but still vaguely, "Don't worry about Nic. He won't be depressed anymore," Viper promised.

Seeing her blush, the others exchanged glances. They didn't know what had transpired between the two, but they all had an idea that it would have been something only Viper could have done.

In another area of the rec room, Max and Alec were cuddled together on the couch watching another pre-Pulse movie.

"We totally don't do this enough," Alec whispered.

Max yawned and just pressed herself closer to Alec. "You're the one always wanting to practice sparring," Max teased. "Can't you just get used to me kicking your ass every now and then? It's not like I'm always winning."

"It's not that," Alec began, but he was lost for words. "I just...well, I just like sparring," he tried.

Max rolled her eyes. "You just want to reassure yourself you're not getting beaten by a girl, which you are, by the way."

Alec winced. "You just always have to be a bitch, don't you?"

Max punched him in the shoulder. "Be nice," Max said with a small grin.

"Oww. You're the one who needs to play nice," he muttered, rubbing his shoulder. "Now I'm going to have a bruise there."

"You're such a baby."

"Am not."

"Are too."

"Would you two lovebirds keep it down?" 511 muttered. "There's a movie going on here."

Alec just glared at his second in command. The other transgenics knew by now the rumors of 452 and 494 were true, but they didn't dare gossip about it anymore. Max and Alec were officially the top two commanders in Manticore, and both of them could kick ass if provoked. They were a deadly couple, and anyone crossing their path in the wrong way would remember not to do it again. As Max's reputation in Manticore spread, respect for her grew. She was still an escapee, but they now viewed her in a new light. She was a damn good soldier, even if she was a traitor, and anyone with enough sense knew that.

A familiar figure appeared at the door and scanned the room. His eyes lit up with interest as he watched the transgenics scattered around the rec room, especially when he found the two he was looking for.

"494...452, in my office, now," Lydecker ordered.

Max and Alec heard the colonel arrive, but they didn't really register his presence. The two exchanged glances and quickly left the room, wondering what the colonel wanted. They could only hope that it wasn't about their...affections for one another.

Lydecker had read about the rumors noted in Max's file by Renfro concerning her relationship with 494, but Renfro had indicated there was no evidence that anything was really going on between them, so he had dismissed it. After all, he hadn't suspected that Max would fall for a Manticore soldier...but who was he to judge? He withheld a smile as he led them back to his office. Max certainly knew how to pick. 494 was one of their finest soldiers, after all, and Max had become one of Manticore's best soldiers as well. They were a perfect match. But would their affections for one another affect their field performance?


A/N: Ok, I meant to publish this two days ago, on the 20th, as that was the same day I published the first chapter of this story a year ago, but the site decided to have problems at that exact time, so I couldn't publish it on that day, much to my disappointment. I guess we can always try but some things just aren't meant to be. This is the final chapter of this installment. Thank you all for joining me on this adventure with Max, Alec, and Unit 9. I hope you all have enjoyed this story and will return for the sequel.

Taking the advice of my beta, I will update this story when a sequel is published to inform all followers. Please add this to your story alerts if you have not done so already to receive an update on the sequel! I will also try my best to inform everyone through email or PM of the sequel if you requested it during your review of the last chapter.

A special thanks goes out to mars494 who has helped beta this story and provided useful feedback through this story's writing. I'd also like to thank all my readers and reviewers. Knowing that so many people have been reading this story has helped motivate me to continue this story, and I'm glad to have so many loyal readers.

As this is the last chapter, I ask that everyone please leave a review, even those who normally don't review. The last chapter deserves that much, doesn't it?

Well, regardless, I hope you enjoy the final chapter! Please leave a review! I'll always reply (as long as you are signed in)

P.S. Although I typically send my reviewers reply first before I update, this time I'll be updating first again, so if you're still waiting on a reply, it'll come! Just wait a bit more!

For my anonymous reviewers:

kerry: I am indeed quite pleased with the results of this story! Thanks for reading and reviewing! I hope you enjoyed this chapter!

black rose9: Thanks for reading and reviewing! I hope you enjoyed this chapter!

dobie1201: I'm glad you returned to read the new chapters and have enjoyed them. I hope you enjoyed this final chapter and will return to read the sequel! Thanks for reading and reviewing.