WARNING: The below chapter is rated M, for language and references to battle and injuries. A/N: This chapter has a lot of details, so pay attention! :-)

Location: Green Defense Main Command Center, Quantico, 41 days ABG, Earth year 2035, May, 25th, 3:11 pm:

Leaning forward Commander Atkinson eyed the two young Marines in front of him, "Well, that is quite a story, gentlemen, but one I am already familiar with."

Both Roy and Speed looked to their Commander in surprise, "Sir?" they both questioned.

"We lost contact with the outer defenses, and have been working on getting the lines of communication back up and running. We believe the droids have a mobile jammer that is moving with their forces. We have been able to reach some of the outer command posts, and we've recalled as many men as possible. Hence the reason we have so many here."

Both Marines looked defeated; they'd been through a lot for nothing.

Noticing, the Commander sighed, "I really do appreciate your efforts lads, a very admirable job. You've done the Marine Corps proud."

They both straightened at hearing this. Speed still had one question to ask.

"Sir, what about the Commandos, how are you going to deal with them?"

Atkinson smiled and sat back in his chair, 'these boys sure don't let details slip.'

"Good question. The BX's as they are also called, are just as you describe; incredibly dangerous and ruthless killing machines, but they'll have a hard time getting past our minefields. I highly doubt they can detect non-metal mines. Hell, if it wasn't for the fact that we placed them, I don't think we'd be able to find them. Now, if you'll excuse me Marines, I have an army to lead."

Both Marines saluted before swiveling on their heels and exiting the Command tent; unaware that another Marine, a Colonel, had overheard most of the conversation. She approached them outside the tent.

"I'm impressed Marines. You boys sure have been through a lot. I see no good reason why that shouldn't continue," she smiled slightly holding out a data pad.

Handing it to Roy she continued, "I need you to get this to a secure bunker below the GARD hanger; I've already loaded the coordinates into your HUD's. This tablet contains coded transmissions from the enemy, ones that not even our new friends in the Republic can decipher. I cannot stress the importance of this mission, understood?"

"Yes, sir!" once again they both saluted before turning and walking off to find a Humvee.

As they went, Speed turned on a private comm channel with Roy.

"Did she say the Republic?"

"Yeah, not the first time today we've heard that. Damon mentioned other clones in the Hangar. Clones who he said brought these droids here," Roy replied.

Speed considered the information. Roy had told him about his childhood, growing up watching movies and role-playing 'army games.' He was well aware of what that referred to. He just couldn't get his head around the fact that possibly, just possibly, it could have come true.

"Honestly Roy I don't know what to think, these droids are identical to the movies, so it goes to reason there's a clone army and Republic out there too."

Roy shook his head, "Ehh, a Clone Army? I'll believe it when I see it," he gave a knowing glance through his visor to his friend, the irony of talking to a clone soldier not lost on him.

"We know the droids are real," Roy continued pulling a piece of gum out of his utility belt and offering a piece to Speed, "and the fact they mimic the movies could be a coincidence, but… look, I don't know. It's a little far-fetched, don't you think?"

Speed didn't reply, lost in thought and happily chewing the gum his friend had given him.

After walking through an obstacle course of Marines and tanks, Roy suddenly spoke up, "Hay, you remember Rick; when you were first assigned to our regiment?"

Speed smiled, "Yeah, wasn't he the one who freaked out in the mess when they told him they used GMO veggies in the salads?"

"Yep, he's the one. Remember when he found out you were a clone?"

Speed laughed, "Yep, boy, you remember the face he gave me… the rest of the guys were just laughing their asses off; of course he didn't think it was funny at all. But he did tear down the anti-GMO posters from his bunk pretty fast."

"Heh, yeah, he did…" Roy confirmed; remembering how he'd forced the other Marine to take down the posters, unbeknownst to C-16. He didn't want the clone to feel unwanted. Maybe at the time he felt sorry for him.

"You know, I can't shake this feeling that we're becoming the messenger boys for the entire Marine Base. What do you think?"

Roy held back a chuckle at the sarcastic comment and nudged Speed in the side before they both filed into a Humvee.

"What do I think? We'll maybe we are, but we're still alive. That counts for something, doesn't it?"

They both took off their helmets before Roy started the armored vehicle up and began driving.

Speed sighed giving his friend a critical look, "I wasn't made to live forever, I was made for a very simple purpose, you know that," he sighed. Getting no response he looked out the window before continuing, "Don't you want to die for your country? I mean…"

"Look," Roy interrupted, rolling his eyes at his friend the best he could while driving. He stopped, took a breath and quickly glanced at his Marine buddy. Speed was looking contentedly out the window, clutching his MARS carbine and bumping along with the vehicle. Roy knew C-16 was bred and born for a specific purpose. He also knew they had all signed up for this gig, willing or not, knowing full well, that any day could be their last. The fact that Speed knew that and accepted it made it all the more poignant.

"Don't talk like that OK; we've been over this already. Just because some lab coat designed you to fight and die doesn't mean you have to. I… I would die for my country Speed, you know I would, but what we're doing now, will probably save a lot of lives, and besides you saw the video the Commander showed us, our command post didn't stand a chance, what use would we be now, if we were dead?"

Speed stayed silent his head now down in thought; it wasn't easy, being a clone in a world that didn't accept you for who you were. It wasn't like he had a choice, he wasn't given one, and part of him resented his country for it.

"And I care…."

Speed looked over to his friend, "What?"

"I uh, well, I care for, I mean about what, Oh shoot Speed. You're one of my only friends; I care about what happens to you."

An awkward silence ensued, broken only by the sound of the road they were on. They'd made it through most of the Town of Quantico, and were now traveling south towards the Hangar. Once they crossed over the High Speed railroad to the airfield, they'd be home free.

Finally, Speed cracked a small smile, "I care too… for you… and…well, being friends and all that."

Roy stifled back a laugh and flicked Speed in the shoulder. It was enough. They needed no words to say what they both knew. Actions spoke louder than words, especially in the military. The solidarity between the men sealed with their fate.

"Wait a sec…" a sudden thought had occurred to Speed, "Why are you driving again? You almost got us killed the last time! I said it was my turn."

This time Roy couldn't hold back his laughter, "Too bad, ya snooze ya loose, bud. Tell you what, when we get to the Hangar, you can press the down button on the elevator."

Speed, giving his friend an evil glare, turned and contented himself to looking at the fast retreating scenery of Quantico in the right side mirror.

As he watched to his astonishment, a massive explosion occurred, sending out a shock wave and miniature thermal heat blast which reached the moving vehicle within seconds shaking it violently. The sound temporarily deafened the two Marines whose helmets were off. Speed's eyes widened in horror, he quickly turned around in his seat to watch through the back window as the burning remnants of Green Defense rained down on the Town of Quantico.

With grave glances, they quickly placed their helmets back on. Without saying anything, Roy hit the accelerator and at full speed they approached the rail overpass. It seemed they were going to make it, but to their dismay, straight ahead in the sky to their south another group of bombers had the base set in their sights. Fast approaching at Mach, they let their payloads go before swerving to avoid desperate US Jetfighters.

The next ten seconds went by in slow motion as the bombs neared their target. They would destroy what was left of the base, including the part the two Marines found themselves in. Just as the Humvee reached the beginning of the bridge the high-speed bombs hit dirt.

The first impacted only twenty meters away from them. The Humvee was immediately blown up and forward through the air. It landed onto the top of the road overpass, it's momentum rolling it over and over, before finally tipping over the side of the bridge and falling nine meters to the tracks below. Even after falling, it made one last role, colliding into the east bridge abutment, drivers side first.

The vehicle finally stopped, rising dust the only thing moving. Then nothing, until a screech of metal heralded the impending collapse of the bridge.

#

Speed felt horrible, no part of his body wanted to cooperate, he felt hot and surprisingly cold at the same time. He quickly realized he couldn't hear anything. So, instead he decided to open his eyes. Bad idea, his visor was cracked in several areas causing it to flicker nauseously.

He quickly closed his eyes again, "HUD, auto cycle," he managed to say, hoping that function still worked. If it did, the system, in rebooting, would automatically realize it was compromised and shut down.

Opening his eyes, slowly this time, he was glad to see his HUD had cycled off, but the new view that came in and out of focus through his now clear visor, was like something from a horrid nightmare.

Somehow he had managed to stay buckled into his seat. The Humvee now lay on its driver's side, so Speed was stuck looking directly down upon his friend, Roy. He was barely illuminated with sunlight being filtered through the Humvee's severely cracked and dust-covered windshield.

Roy hadn't fared nearly as well as Speed. The left side of his helmet was partially crushed in; his visor wasn't in existence anymore, allowing blood to trickle out of the opening. Besides the fact that the Marine's body was twisted unnaturally in the middle, everything else seemed fine.

Speed's heart sank; there was no possible way his friend could have survived, not with such obvious fatal injuries.

"I'm so sorry," he whispered not hearing what he was saying, before continuing slowly choking on tears, "Roy, I… you can't be dead, this isn't fair… you can't… you can't do this to me! We're brothers, I… I love you…"

Speed watched as tears fell onto the inside of his visor. He realized he needed to get out of the Humvee. It wasn't safe, and there was nothing he could do for his friend, he was dead.

If Speed's eardrums hadn't been severely damaged by the bombs, he would have heard two things at that moment. One being the muffled sound of gun and blaster fire nearing, the other, the rasping sound of Roy's breath.

Speed looked up to the passenger side door; he would have to climb out to avoid falling down onto Roy's body.

Luckily the door wasn't jammed, however, he had to work against gravity and unbeknownst to him thanks to his adrenaline and shock two broken and one fractured rib as well as a partially dislocated collar-bone. Luckily, his armor and the Humvee's armor had kept him mostly injury free.

After a few attempts he was able to push the door open. With one hand he grabbed hold of the outside of the vehicle while he unbuckled himself with the other.

Speed clambered out of the Humvee. After adjusting to the sudden light, he was instantly taken back by what he saw. The bridge now lay in two big slabs on top of the tracks and the back of the Humvee. It unnerved him at how close they had come to being crushed.

He looked over the remains of the bridge and smoking Marine base. Farther down the tracks to the north he watched as tanks, Humvee's, and hundreds of men made a full retreat across the rails to the east where the airfield and Potomac River were. Red blaster fire chasing after them from the west.

'Well, at least some of the Marines at Green Defense made it,' he thought, 'Better get moving before the droids overrun this place.'

He was torn; continue on by himself or get his brother-in-arm's body out of the wreckage. Struggling with emotions he wasn't engineered to deal with Speed took another look at the twisted body inside the vehicle.

Something was wrong - something had changed but he couldn't quite put his finger on it.

As his brain tried to play 'connect the synapse' he was startled by two eyes snapping open and staring back up at him.

Speed was so stunned he nearly fell off the Humvee.

"Roy!," he screamed, his voice deaf to his own ears, "Roy, hang on buddy, I'll get you out."

He quickly looked at the position of the enemy. Satisfied they posed no immediate threat he swung his legs back around to climb in. That's when he smelt it, stopping his movement abruptly, the undeniable odor of diesel.

Looking along what remained of the bridge abutment he watched as a liquid seeped out of the crumpled wreck along the tracks.

Following its path he swallowed hard.

"Fuck," he mumbled as he watched it run and pool into a puddle just shy of a small fire, one he knew was gonna get a lot bigger really soon.

He clenched his jaw in frustration, as he did two sudden pops startled him. The following ringing was more annoying, he thought, than the deafness he'd had before.

Speed removed what remained of his helmet and together with his carbine, placed it on the side of the vehicle before clambering back in and carefully making his way down to his friend. To his surprise, after a closer look, the injuries he had previously thought fatal weren't. Roy's twisted looking back, to Speeds relief, was a trick of the eyes from the cracked visor in his helmet. Unfortunately, the bashed in helmet, and consequently skull hadn't been such a trick. He could now fully see the injury to the side of his brother's head.

"Hold still, I'll get you out of this, don't you worry," Speed managed, smiling at his friend who smiled weakly back. It wasn't like Roy could move anyway, his seat belt had him stuck in good and tight.

C-16, finding a good position in the cramped space, intently began working on the belt. Normally the locking mechanism would have capitulated, however it had predictably malfunctioned. Quickly glancing up, he noticed more blood dribbling from his friend's mouth.

'Not good' he thought.

"Everything's going to be fine, you hear me? I've almost got it," he stated annoyed the belts weren't giving way.

"Leave me," Roy managed weakly, as more blood escaped his lips.

Speed, surprised he could hear again so fast, gave a quick prayer to whoever had thought of helmet baffles, before laughing a little in reply.

"Nope, sorry bud not going to happen. You must be thinking of someone else, heh, perhaps Damon, but I'm not leaving you."

After everything they'd been through, there was no way he was about to leave his best friend to die alone. Ignoring the unmoving seatbelt he changed tactics and attempted to un-wedge Roy's feet from under the crumpled steering column.

Roy however, wasn't about to give up. He was beyond hope, he knew that, but Speed was still alive, and he'd like to keep him that way. Something didn't feel right in his head, and his thoughts weren't forming correctly. But he knew what he had to do, that was crystal clear to him.

"Speed, I'm dying… you can't do anything…. Go, save yourself!"

Speed continued to ignore Roy as he finished clearing his armored boots and turned his attention back to the unruly seatbelt.

"You know the truth? I… I never liked you."

That statement grabbed Speeds attention, "What?"

Roy attempted a sneer which came across as more of a grimace, before continuing, "Yeah C-16, the… guys, they… bet who should befriend the lab-experiment. I agree - d to," Roy paused, blood and mucus causing him to cough slightly, quickly gulping he continued, eyes still fixed on his friends face, "We were going to, betray your trust…. torture… kill you like the livestock you are… … but then, the invasion…."

"That's a lie!" Speed practically yelled, disbelief clear in his voice and tears starting to form in his eyes again, "You said you cared for me, that we're brothers!"

Inwardly Roy grimaced; he hated taking advantage of Speeds innocence and emotional instability. But this had to be done, "I lied… Do you…. think I care? Heh! No, you're… less than Human, C-16… Damon was right…."

Speed had heard enough, he was getting desperate, the urge to remove his friend from the Humvee replace by his need for the truth.

"We're brothers, right? We…"

"No! We..r..e… never brothers! Go, I'd like to die…. in peace…"

Roy was starting to lose conciseness, his words were starting to become jumbled, he was dying after all. He just hoped what he'd said was enough to get his friend to leave. It was his time to die for his country, but not Speeds, not yet.

"It's not true, you're… lying," C-16 whispered, desperately searching Roy's eyes looking for anything that would tell him it was a lie and nothing more. But, he didn't find anything of the sort; instead a look of utter conviction greeted him.

"No, Unit C-16, I'm not… go… I don't want you…. Please."

To Speed each word was like a dagger to the heart. This wasn't his friend in front of him, not anymore. He couldn't understand; what had he done? Why was Roy saying this? Then, a sudden thought occurred to him. Everything became clear as a newfound resolve overtook the clone.

Roy watched with dimming and hazy vision as Speed gave him a sadistic smile, one that actually frightened the dying Marine.

Speed reached to his side and unsheathed his combat knife. With its gleaming tip in front of Roy's face, he had to think quickly. Suddenly, the sound of combusting diesel outside made up his mind. With a quick slash, he made his decision.

A/N: Hey, I really hope you enjoyed this chapter, a cliffhanger I know, but that will be resolved next chapter. This was me playing plot catch up, I didn't want these two getting left behind.

Rex and the boys from the 501st will be making an appearance next. I say it's about time they make it down to Earth. Things will really pick up from there, but with shorter chapters, it may take a while so bear with me. Chapter 20 should be up this coming weekend.

Again this chapter was beta'd. I am incredibly appreciative of that person, so thanks for your continued support, help, ideas and changes.

Please… Please…. Please review, I really do love hearing from you, thoughts, opinions, likes and dislikes, all ears at my end. Thanks for your continued support, till the next chapter then.