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Chapter Three

The hours after the meteor struck had been a blur, three of the four transports they had were fried. One, a large cargo rhino Alicia had stowed deep in a cave system, in case they were raided by the Phoenix, had survived and never had she been more thankful.

Yet they had run into trouble before they were loaded up; Phoenix soldiers were circling. For a time they would be able to out run them, but in the jungle speed would not be their friend. And in the jungle they had the Phoenix on their tail by the second night; circling on a pair of motorcycles. Given that they were riding double and triple she figured they only had the two; probably stored the same way she had stored the rhino.

Between tracking their tail and listening to the scientists complain about being crammed in like sardines she had to make a choice. She didn't bother pointing out that the other option was walking home as it was an option she was considering. When their route brought them to a trail cut for outpost nine Alicia calculated their lead and ordered a stop; gathering her soldiers.

"Drive straight to the colony, you should be able to make it within twenty four hours." As she spoke she assembled the antique rifle her grandfather had carried during the water wars. Well maintained and fully operational it was a weapon that had seen a lot of combat; one she knew well. "Tell the Commander we had a tail, keep everyone within the fence and the gate down. We don't give them hostages."

"Ma'am what about you?"

"I've a score to settle and they won't take me." At least not alive she thought darkly. "Don't worry about me."

None looked happy but they knew better than to argue. Alicia watched them leave with her jaw clenched to hide her emotions. She missed Nathaniel and was fully aware the pressure he would be under. Her absence when that transport arrived would be hard. The fact she was likely going to be two days getting back hurt like a knife. She wanted nothing more than to curl up with him; reassure herself that the man wanted her in his arms; as his wife.

To focus on the task at hand she had to shut it down, sliding silently away as the transport rumbled on. Invisible in the jungle she climbed a tall tree and made herself comfortable, stretched out on a strong branch. It didn't take long to hear the whine of the motorcycles and soon she had the enemy in her scope; two bikes and six soldiers. She would do away with some before they even got off the bikes.

Alicia tensed as the bikes came into range. It was time, they paused to study the tracks where the transport had stopped and she took two out clean; the other scattered like rats. With a snarl she slide down the tree, getting cornered was not an option; nor was letting them escape. And they wouldn't be eager to give up their transports, so they would hide and she would dig them out. This was not new and they were not going around her, she would not bring an enemy to the gates of their home.

…

He sighed as Reilly apologized for not being able to catch Boxer, he was not looking forward to explaining that to Alicia. It was one of the smallest problems he had, yet it bothered him even as he told the soldier not to worry about it.

With everything happening in the colony one little acrotholus had to fall low on the list. However it was his wife's pet and with that piece of her gone too he felt her absence in everything. They shared a home but also the job, so many responsibilities within the colony where he could not escape missing her; or distract himself with anything. He didn't want to stare at her empty desk in the command center but he had to work. And he couldn't stop remembering how many months it had taken for her to be comfortable in here again. Feeling like a small child he wanted his wife back; and he wanted her now.

It would be at least another day before they could prepare for the badlands and another after that to get under way. And he had no way to know where she was or if she was dealing with the Phoenix.

In Terra Nova the military and the people had shifted. People looked out for each other, valued their friends and neighbors; cherished their families. It was a place for real living, values from a forgotten times forged anew. He valued it as his second chance, the second chance at life and with a woman he should never have had the chance to love. That shifted things with him.

Alicia knew how to survive, and how to fight. She was strong and capable and fierce. While he knew all of that he couldn't put it away. Alicia 'Wash' Taylor was his wife, his world. She had stood by him on the worst days of his life and pulled through the most dangerous beside him.

Shifting he couldn't be still, couldn't play the waiting game; the security team were going to be as happy as he was when she got back. Stepping out onto the balcony he called the unit due for physical training today and gave orders for foot patrols; two clicks from the gate. To their credit none let their lack of excitement show.

Nathaniel left them to gear up and went do another round of the work being done. In the past few days he had spent more time in Boylan's bar than he had since it was opened. The man gave him a dirty look as he leaned on the counter. "Got nothing better to do than hover Commander?"

"I need those chips Boylan, we need the infirmary in shape before I can leave for the badlands." He growled back, the man settled back in his seat, Josh Shannon did the opposite; huddling closer to the magnifying glass he used to work on his own chip.

"Commander we all want your wife back, she is so much more fun to deal with; easier on the eyes too. However, this can't go any faster and since you don't want to punch out new chips you will have to cope. Can I get you a drink?"

"I don't want a drink, and you know damn well why we are doing it this way; we've had two EMPs in less than a year. Want to tell me what we'll do if we run out of chips before we set up a way to manufacture them?"

"People will just have to learn to do without for a time." And Boylan, who he knew was fully capable of producing chips for his own use would flaunt that and make a killing on it if allowed. Nathaniel knew the bartender was skilled enough and crafty enough to find ways to keep his taps flowing even if the rest of the colony was doing without.

"That time may be coming sooner than we think." He muttered, turning to Josh Shannon. "How many chips have been repaired?"

"Um, three bio beds, some sort of machine they needed for synthesizing medications, two refrigeration units. And we have another medical one and a sonic cannon in progress now. Transports are next on the list." At least someone could give him a straight, if nervous answer.

"Good." He knew it was painstaking work, repairing them by hand; it took time. He understood that; but time was valuable.

Before he further irritated the bar tender and scared the kid he left the bar and rounded to the science division. Already frustrated he didn't think going a few rounds with Malcolm Wallace could ruin his mood. And the man needed to figure out a new way to shield them so that they weren't continually scrambling when an EMP struck.

Wallace was up for the game, and left Nathaniel shaking his head. The colony was without power, families were eating diner by chemical lighting, and their only heat source was open flames. Reilly had worked out a way to rig the solar panels to the water tanks and the old school design meant the colony did have warm water for showers. But little else, and their priority was not, and his would never be, the scores of lab equipment that Malcolm Wallace could not do without. Somehow he found medical equipment, weapons, perimeter mines and transportation more important. A small petty part of him wanted to add colonist comforts to that list; and after all that they would deal with the gizmos in Malcolm's lab.

Returning to the Command Center he leaned on the rail, watching the movement of the guards on the tower, restless without their usual gear. The flashes of movement of the team running perimeter patrols. It reassured him that they were doing everything they could. Movement farther out caught his attention, raising a scope he focused on it; a transport. One of theirs.

His heart climbed into his throat, one of four they had sent out and at that distance it would be at the gates in little more than an hour. Turning to the guard stationed on the stairs he gave an order. "O'Brian, report to the gate. We've got an inbound from the east."

He sent the young soldier running. He wanted it to be their team; his wife. But he only saw one transport and that could mean trouble. A little over an hour later the team from the badlands piled out of the transport; one person notably missing. His gut was clenched as the doors slammed and people returned to their families.

Reynolds stopped in front of him. "Sir, we were ordered to return to the colony."

The young man looked terrified and while he stood straight Nathaniel thought it would take little more than a nudge to topple him over. "Understood, why?"

"We had Phoenix soldiers on our tail. Wash remained to give us cover. Commander it was an order, she shouldn't be more than a day behind." Nathaniel ground his teeth and dismissed the man to the Shannon girl nearly bouncing a few feet away.

It still threw him hearing her called Wash but when she shared both rank and name with him it had become confusing for soldiers trying to report one's orders to the other. So her nick name stuck and since he had used it for years and liked it; most of the time. But he used it less and less, preferring her first.

An operational transport might change how they handled this. Nathaniel was tired of waiting, and if Alicia was a day away he would hope she was sticking to the trails; perhaps they could head out to find her. However if she was cutting cross country to the colony they had no hope.