(A/N) Hey guys, guess my resolve to get this chapter up on time kinds fell flat on its face, huh? Anyway, we're going to pretend that the delay never occurred, and that this is, in fact, going up on time, so well done me! Anyway, this is an Alaska chapter, but unfortunately Avalanche Wolf wasn't able to write this one, due to time constraints, so instead the task has fallen to the very capable Minaethiel to fill in for him. And hey, I know you'll all enjoy this, and you might just be seeing a lot more of Mina in Phase Two! *Hint hint* I guess I've delayed this one long enough, so I'm gonna let you all go and read this one now!

Enjoy!


Chapter Ninety-Eight – Evaluation

Agent Alaska

Written by Minaethiel


"Understanding is the first step to acceptance, and only with acceptance can there be recovery." – J.K. Rowling Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire


He could have saved her. Alaska knew that without Penn's interference, he could have taken down the Elite that had killed Moi. All he heard while sleeping was her final scream of agony. Dozens of others had died on the Mother of Invention that day. Their screams had permeated the air as well, both human and alien. However it was only hers that stood out to him the most, and it was Moi's that caused him the most guilt. Alaska couldn't help but feel betrayed by Penn and the other "firsts." All of the original group had been through a lot together, and though Alaska didn't consider them friends, he felt he could at least count on them to have his back. Clearly he had been wrong.

Sitting in the little cell he had called home for over a week or two, Alaska contemplated his visit with Florida, Massa, and Penn. His roommate had always been overly cheery in Alaska's opinion, but he supposed it had been at least a bit nice to have someone visit him besides all of the damn medics. Massa had done her best to be a kind of middle man he supposed. Without her... intervention he reluctantly had to admit he may have launched himself at Penn several times. The larger Freelancer just hadn't understood. In his own way he was trying to be helpful, Alaska supposed, but he obviously believed everyone else: Alaska was crazy. Moi had been imaginary.

He sure hadn't imagined seeing her blood on his hands.

All three, however, had tried to convince him to just do what the medics asked. Something was wrong; they wanted him fixed. There was absolutely nothing wrong with him, and Alaska had already resolved to kill the next doctor that came in to tell him that Moi had never existed. If he had access to the personnel files he could prove to everyone that Moi had indeed existed, but they barely trusted him as it was anyway.

At that moment, the door chose to open, and in strode the Director and his shadow, the Counselor. About four armed guards with standard equipment followed both men into the cell. Alaska could tell that the guards were tense, and he felt his eyes narrow in both curiosity and anger. Not once since their first encounter had the Director or Counselor chosen to visit and just give him some information. Instead he'd been stuck with medics who hadn't known anything about his "condition." Alaska had been itching to get back onto the field and kill something since he had woken up in the cell, which is where his curiosity began. Was the Director here to release him?

"Agent Alaska, how are you feeling today?"

The Counselor always had a habit of beating around the bush. Quite frankly, it pissed Alaska off that he just wasn't willing to out and say what he was actually thinking: are you less crazy today? However lashing out wasn't going to earn him a ticket out of jail.

"I'm fine, thank you Counselor. Just thinking about how Karma is going to deal her hand."

At this, the Director turned around to face him.

"Counselor, please. Agent Alaska, Pennsylvania reported that you were calling out to a 'Moi.' Care to explain who that is?"

An annoyed sigh escaped him; he had been through this several times already, and each time someone asked him about Moi, he turned the questions right back on his interrogators. However, he figured that trying to mislead the Director would only cause him to spend more time in here. That didn't stop Alaska from getting out a smart-ass reply.

"You should know; she was on your ship after all."

The Director's frown grew deeper, and his drawl grew more pronounced as he replied.

"Agent Alaska, I can assure you that I have records of everyone on this ship, and 'Moi' is not one of them."

"Then let me check your records myself; it's clear your personnel missed her or else I wouldn't be in here in the first place."

Alaska felt unfamiliar anger starting to boil again as now the head of the project dared to tell him that Moi had been nothing but an imaginary figment on the ship. For once he felt he had to fight to keep his anger under control, which was, needless to say, a foreign feeling since he was always in control. It seemed Moi's death had brought about a dangerous lapse in control; a weakness, and that was unacceptable. The Counselor distracted Alaska from his thoughts.

"Agent Alaska, the medical team reports that you haven't accepted any attempts to aide your current distress."

"Maybe because they don't make 'Time' in pill form?"

Another smart-ass remark, now as much to annoy the Counselor as it was to calm himself down. The Director sat down in the chair across from Alaska.

"The only 'Moi' that we know of is this very ship, Agent. The Mother of Invention is the only thing we came up with that fit the name of your mystery woman. No crew member matched the description you gave us. When we inquired with your fellow agents about Moi, a few of them told us about you talking to nothing but empty air when you acknowledged her."

To this, Alaska had no reply. How could no one else see her? He had been able to feel her, hear her, even smell her. Yet no one else had? It didn't seem possible that someone who had been so real to him, so close, could be... well, nonexistent. However, a thought entered his head and his voice grew hard.

"Who exactly did you ask about Moi?"

"Agents Florida, Pennsylvania, and everyone else present in the hanger when the aliens attacked."

Much as Alaska hated to admit it, Florida was not the type to lie. He had too much honour, no matter how misplaced it was. So there was merit to what the Director was saying, though, again, Alaska hated to admit it. Was it truly possible that Moi had been nothing but a shadow of the ship? A humanoid manifestation of what he thought the ship would talk and look like? He narrowed his eyes in thought, and those looking at him would think his eyes were two blue chips of flint. A pleasant smile all of a sudden appeared on his face, and he met the Director's gaze squarely.

"I'm guessing this wasn't just a social call, Director. What can I do for you to get out of here and back into the field?"

The Counselor frowned at his sudden change of temperament and made a note in the data pad that the Freelancers could swear was glued to his hands. The Director had always been a stoic man, so Alaska was unsurprised to see little to no reaction at his sudden cooperation. Instead, the Director leaned forward and clasped his hands together on the table. A sign that someone was offering a deal if ever there was one.

"What I want from you, Agent Alaska, is to get over this 'Moi' character. She never existed anywhere but in your head, and is nothing but a distraction to you."

Though his pleasant expression never faded, Alaska couldn't help but lean forward.

"Tell me something, Director. Have you ever lost someone close to you? A friend, perhaps? Well imagine going through that, and then having someone tell you that they never existed. You can see why I just can't do that right away."

Alaska noticed a shift in the Director's expression. A barely suppressed hint of pain, which was quickly masked by a veil of hardness. Ah, so the Director DID know what Alaska was talking about. Alaska filed the information away for a later date, and could barely suppress the satisfaction fighting to make its way into this expression. The Director's hardened voice cut through the tension like a serrated knife.

"Agent, if you ever want to see the field again, you WILL understand that Moi never existed, and you will NOT allow her to interfere again with the defense of this ship or on any future missions. Do I make myself clear?"

Did he make himself clear? Moi was dead now. Nothing was going to bring her back. Even if she had been just a figment of his imagination, he couldn't just imagine her back. That would prove without a doubt that she wasn't real. Alaska wanted back into the field badly. The question for him was did he want out bad enough to just forget Moi? Yes. He did feel a stab of guilt for making the decision so quickly, but each day out of the field was making him ache to get back out there.

"Very well, Director. Moi never existed. Now if you could return my armour I can be set to deploy immediately and we can forget this delay, among other things, ever occurred."

The Director's stoic mask returned, much to Alaska's amusement. He'd remember the Director's momentary lapse of control.

"Your armour will be returned to you when we get to the training room. We have a new piece of equipment for you that you're going to test out."

Alaska felt his interest heighten slightly. A new tool for him, eh? The Director motioned to his entourage and immediately the guards ushered everyone out of the room. The damage done to the ship had long since been repaired. The only scars left were the mental and emotional ones on the crew, and perhaps a few physical scars as well. As it was, the band was quiet as they made their ways through the hall towards the training room. Alaska could confidently say that it was lunch time on the Mother of Invention. It was the only time of day where the halls were this quiet, and the amount of personnel so lessened.

The few people they did pass gave Alaska wary looks, and he smiled amiably to each and every one, knowing that it would unnerve them further. Upon arriving at the training room, Alaska noted the strange way it was set up. The pillars were up in various spots, forming small walls or house-like structures. Over the tops of the walls and structures were tarp-like coverings designed to obscure his vision. Whether there were things behind the walls, Alaska couldn't tell. The Director motioned to someone, and Alaska's armor was laid out for him.

"Get re-equipped, Agent, and I'll begin explaining to you your newest piece of equipment."

Alaska happily obliged, quickly strapping on each piece of armour.

"Your armour ability is being referred to as Short-Range Spectrum Vision. It will allow you to see the heat signatures of friends or foes through solid surfaces. The ability will NOT distinguish friend from foe; that will be up to you. This enhancement is specifically designed to help you gain information on enemy numbers in a small area without openly risking yourself."

Alaska cracked a grin as he slipped his helmet on over his head. It felt good to be back; really good. And on top of that, he got a new toy to use. He started for the door immediately, not bothering to stop and listen to what the parameters of the exercise were. He could easily figure out what had to be done without someone telling him how it worked. The training room still felt familiar, though he hadn't gotten to use it for a few weeks. Same everything really, even if the pillars were set up around, Alaska let a confident smirk cross his face. Let the comeback begin.

"Alaska, your helmet has been outfitted with a button on the right side of your helmet. Merely pressing it will activate your spectral vision capabilities. Hidden behind walls and 'buildings' in the training room will be dummies. Not every wall will have a dummy. They have been fitted to emit a heat signature, so your vision will pick them up. Merely tap the wall where you find a dummy. We'll perform the test five times, with different dummy placements each time. You will be removed from the training room when the dummies are moved."

Alaska nodded and placed his finger over the newest addition to his helmet.

"Engaging spectral vision in three... two... one."

Instantly, the world became one big grid-like pattern. His HUD scanned forward, and as Arizona walked forward, he found his first dummy. Tapping the wall, a green acknowledgement light winked by the observation room, and he moved on. With each new dummy, Alaska found himself growing more and more satisfied. Not even the Innies had technology to combat him seeing through walls.

With each test they threw at him, Alaska passed with flying colours, and he felt more smug with each passed test. He had seen the board; he knew that the Director had placed him below even the weakest members of the project. At first he had been angry, but after thinking about it, he realized what a great chance it would be to show the others that he had been in the top eight for a reason. Getting back up there was going to be no problem, especially with his new armour enhancement.

After the last test, the Director met Alaska as he was entering the observation deck.

"From the tests today it's been concluded that your ability should work just fine in the field. Tomorrow you will join the other agents as they are deployed. You are dismissed, Alaska."

"Thank you, Sir."

And he meant it too. He was finally going to get back into the field! Even better, he only had to wait a few more hours. The tests had taken longer than Alaska thought, and it was almost dinner time. Standing outside of the mess hall doors, Alaska knew the kind of waves his presence would create with Freelancers and ship personnel alike. The whispers of him being released had probably already started trickling down, but he wanted to see the reactions for himself.

Opening the doors, he strode in confidently, ignoring the food, and taking a seat right next to Florida. Conversation ceased almost as soon as they saw him, and Alaska removed his helmet to deliver a laid back smile to the assembled group. Oh they were shocked to see him. A few of them probably wished he had been kicked out of the project. Too bad for them; he was back and ready for a fight.

As expected, Florida was the first to speak up.

"Hey, Al, good to see you again; have you been doing ok? Must've been hard for a go-getter like yourself to have to sit out."

Alaska offered his roommate a pleasant smile.

"Actually it was quite refreshing. I have been trying to pen a manifesto for quite some time, but with all the distractions we tend to have, I barely got anything done. My time alone really helped the creative thought process."

The other Freelancers shot looks at each other that told Alaska all he needed to know. They still thought he was crazy. None of them had any idea why he had been released, let alone given his gear back. The conversations that had been going on didn't seem to start back up, and Alaska found the fact highly amusing.

One by one, the other Freelancers left for their rooms as the minutes wore on and dinners were finished. Alaska himself didn't leave until it was just Penn left. Freelancer's number two hadn't said a word since Alaska had entered the mess hall.

"So, guess you're back now."

Alaska turned back from leaving as Penn finally spoke up.

"Yeah. You scared, Penn?"

"Please. Hard to be scared of number sixteen."

Alaska scoffed.

"We both know I'm just going to get my place back after this mission tomorrow."

Without waiting for a reply, he returned to his own room. Florida was already long asleep, and from the lack of familiar mutterings from other rooms, Alaska could only assume everyone else was trying to sleep too. Grinning, Alaska replaced his helmet back on his head and activated this spectral vision. Heat signatures swamped his vision from the closer rooms, and he could identify each one.

Minnesota and California, Maine, and across the hallway was Massa and Virginia. Switching the enhancement off, he stowed his armour in his locker and took his place in his bed. Without a doubt it was more comfortable than his cell bed; probably because the cell one had been made of harder material. Whatever it was, Alaska had no problems falling asleep as he eagerly awaited his deployment, wishing fervently for the clocks to fast-forward and it to be morning already.