Nova 7 - Sunset

by Phantom R.D.S. Foxx

OC focused story. The sequel to Nova 7 - By Bones And Patches. The team has officially been established and made complete with a fifth member. Question is, can this new team stick together as an enemy they thought destroyed crawls out into the light? Rated M for descriptive violence and heavy themes. Featuring Kip Starnova from Minty-Fivestar.

14. Episode 13: Lucky Us Part 2

Episode 13, Part 2

1 - Belly Of The Beast

- Deja-Vu

There is a pale blue light shining from just beyond the bend. But it is not the light at the end of this short, dusky and messy maintenance tunnel. It is probably another barely functioning light, broken and dangling somewhere. Despite it not being the exit, it's only the way forward. Going back is not possible, unless digging through the annihilated carcass of the elevator that fell dozens of floors down is one's idea of spending the rest of their day. A small incident with what could have been a failing brake line or a snapped wire. Who could have possibly known what kind of catastrophe his weight would cause?

His ears are still ringing. His hands and body are still shivering. The hairs on his body standing at attention, even those just under his nose. Teary eyes fixated forward, taking in the blue light. It makes the tunnel ahead feel as eerie as it feels inviting. Panicked breaths leave his open mouth, the cold air visible for a few seconds. They calm down when the ringing wears off and the eyes blink. The staring session is over as they dart wildly around but mainly down at his own body. A lot has been pierced, there is light visible bleeding but all limbs still attached. Dirty and ragged on top of that.
He looks back behind him, almost marveling at the amount of debris. He can see concrete, metal beams, the floor display of the elevator that surely has seen better days, some trash and colorfully enough an advertisement poster still in its eye-straining bright color pattern.
He turns back around to check on the rest of his attire. Outfit still on. Bulletproof vest still on. Both boots on. Gun... GUN! Where is his rifle? Oh... it is on the floor next to him. All still intact? MASS? BAM? Trigger? Stock? Duck beak? A quick inspection reveals that all is fine, if a bit scratched, having a missing magazine and with only two shots loaded. He puts it back on his back, where it is supposed to be.
How about the sidearm? Not much like the cowboys from the movies, strapped in a specialized plastic holster on his right hip is his revolver. The traditional cylinder was long before replaced with the improved slug-shaped battery. That they managed to squeeze 28 shots out of this… CID? Yes, that is still intact too. How about his radio? That thing took much of the blow if he has to go by the soft pain in his back. There is still a knob on his shoulder that is part of the radio set to tune it to the right frequency and another to turn it on. After twisting the other one a few times and hearing a distinct "click", the radio comes to live like a brewing kettle almost ready.

It all still works. He still works. He breathes out and feels the hairs on his body relax and the shaking fade. Static now fills his left ear. Not a fan of that style of music, he tunes it to the right frequency. Once there, he starts broadcasting.

"H-he..."

His voice has trouble getting started. His mouth and lips feel dry. He makes himself cough and rasps before he moistens up his lip and starts anew.

"Hey… f-f… anyone receiving me? I got uhm… a bit scrambled. And I have no clue where I am. It's almost like… I've been here before…? Damn… that thing coming down really got me boggled. Am-... urgh… am I even talking to anyone? Or am I reliving some kind of awful nightmare again?"

…

…

…

"Oh yeah, that knob doesn't work anymore. Yup, my mind has been scrambled. Properly!" he tells sternly to himself as he turns his CID back on.

The transparent screen turns on and everything else comes back to him. So he tries reaching out again. He hears echoes of familiar voices, answering and questioning in an unclear language through the fading static. Then he can make out something resembling a language he understands.

"I a- -ec—e y-u, Ser–a-t! -ol- f-r -ne m-m-nt; I -m a–empt–g to c-e-r up t-e -ign-l."

"... PAL?"

"... There, the signal is now strong. I am glad to hear your voice again, Sergeant. It seems you were knocked out for quite a while."

PAL sounds cheerful, genuinely happy that he is still alive. And so is he. Both that he is still standing and that PAL is there at the very least.

"Well… I'm here now. Uhm… bring me up to date I suppose."

"With pleasure, Sir. Meanwhile, I shall inform the others."

- One Left Standing

"He's alive!" Patches cries out, to the relief of Kip who was already with her underway to Point Alpha.

"Oh, thank the stars… that gave me such a heart attack. Can we contact him?"

"... No." Patches relays after confirmation from PAL that only he can speak to him.

"Only PAL can so far. Something must be wrong with his CID."

"At least he is alive."

Then Patches hears something more cheerful.

"But he can hear us! We just can't hear his reply.

She turns to her left where in the distance Calamity and Phantom are. Calamity is seated on a nearby metal box trying not to cry her eyes out as he tries his best to console her.

"Cal! Phantom!" she calls out before telling them the good news.

And very shortly after, Trevor can barely think with so many voices now talking all in unison to him. At the very least, he can understand that all of them are happy he is not dead.

"Please PAL… I love listening to them, but not all at the same time. Just… filter anything they have to say to me through you. But let them know I'm about this close to a very dangerous Aparoid that is hiding out in the nuclear core of this base." Trevor sighs, almost feeling guilty for being so crass towards the people that are genuinely glad he is still alive.

"I understand, Sir. I will transmit your wishes. … Done. The Aparoid is indeed holed up inside of the nuclear core. It is trying to manipulate the system. However, I am preventing this. And I must say, it is getting desperate."

"Good, keep annoying him then. Can you give him, like a shock or something?"

"If I could, I would have already fried him to a crisp."

"Shame. Was worth a shot, wasn't it?"

"You rarely miss, Sir."

"Thanks for the compliment. Now, lead me to this prick."

Using the minimap on his transparent screen, Trevor maneuvers through the tunnel ahead. Avoiding collapsed roof, broken floor boards and various other still operational and therefore sparking electrical apparatuses. That would be such a buzzkill; getting zapped to the death on the way to victory. At the very least, the worst you would hope for in a scenario like this, is to fall during the battle. Not on the way to the battle and then dying due to a hazard. While he does so, his ears are graced with what almost feel like final messages from his team. Recorded and played by PAL for his comfort.

"You better not be looking for an alternative 1 in there. But seriously… come back alive." is Patches' snarky but ever so sweet message.

"You got this, partner. I believe in you. Kill that nasty critter!" Kip's message roars boisterously.

"I love you, Trevor. Please come back to me. Or else I'll come get you and I'll haunt you." is Calamity's loving, playful yet serious message.

"Stay alive down there, buddy. We're on our way. Don't you dare die on me before I get there." Phantom's message states, with the usual covering up of his real feelings with feigned bravado.

He takes all these messages to heart and keeps them locked in there. He has to now; his heart has started beating faster as he can see the spherical latch blocking the ladder that leads down into that core. To that Aparoid.

"PAL. Whatever comes… I forgive you for your fake betrayal. … follow my every order to the letter from this point on. No buts, no discussions. Is that clear?"

"Crystal. Whatever comes: it was an honor serving you, Sergeant Trevor. I appreciate your trust in me. I will follow your order to the very letter." PAL swears.

"Good. Is the latch locked?"

"It has been unlocked already. Just turning the valve is needed."

No sooner said than done, Trevor has twisted the valve open and the hatch gives way like an opening door. He can look right into the core, which is currently closed by the protective shield. And above that, are the walkable catwalk with holes in the floor. In case one would be keen on looking down into irradiating death for fun.

"Right. Here we go." he says, talking only to himself to make sure he has the courage to get in.

With fresh reluctance, he puts his first step onto the ladder and climbs down. Making sure to close the latch behind him. If there are other ways out, then there is one less now. And if this is the only exit… then so be it. He descends further down and eventually reaches the upper walkway in the circular room. Everything around him, reminds him of a cheese grater or a colander. And on the lower walkway, he can see the Aparoid. The Miles thing, mutant or whatever it is. He spots another ladder leading downwards so while maintaining his cover, he takes it down so he stands on the same level as that insect. He takes in the surrounding area to see several sprinkler heads grace the ceiling and that the core has four more entrances around its circular shape. Potential escape routes? PAL must have already closed them.

He takes a deep breath, readies his almost empty sniper rifle and is now ready to confront the threat ahead of him.

"Hey ugly! Right behind you." Trevor taunts.

The Aparoid thing turns around. Revealing that, aside from the blown-out skull of Miles still being attached by just a shred of skin, blood vessels and nerves, nothing resembling a man is left intact. Just a swirling, almost alive collection of swarming creatures that have clumped together to form something resembling a statue that has come to life.

"Corporal Trevor." it says, its voice completely corrupted and devoid of any life.

It echoes inside Trevor's head but he keeps it cool.

"Actually, it's Sergeant now."

"Noted. Your upgrade will not save you."

"The least I could do is give it a try, nah?"

"Your efforts will be in vain. Why not surrender to the inevitable? Even Miles, in the end, saw reason."

Trevor takes another look at the hollowed out remains of Miles' head and doubts that very much.

"Your doubt means nothing. You have seen what I can resist. Your weapon… useless."

Trevor looks down at his rifle.

"Yeah, it's true. That, in the end, it did not kill you. But it looked like it hurt. A lot. And as long as it hurts, I will keep making holes into you. Until I kill every little critter you're composed of."
From the depths of its black hole for a soul, a laugh emerges that feels it would shake the very foundations of a planet like a world-ending earthquake if it were just a little bit more powerful.

"Very unlikely. You do not have enough ammunition for that. And even if you killed me, I will kill you and everyone else."

"No, you're right."

Almost compulsively, he checks the chamber one more time to see the two last rounds inside.

"I know about the bombs. But I have an ace up my sleeve."

"A playing card up your sleeve will not change this outcome. Furthermore, your ace is inside your armor. Incorrect, twice over."

Trevor almost feels like applauding the Aparoid for its stupidity and its non-capability to understand sayings. Even PAL was never that blind to it or took it so damn literally. Speaking of him…

"... my card is not a real card. But a machine. Like you. You might know him as the very machine that feigned being under your control. Only to then turn on you and lock you out of most of what you knew about me and my team."

Whatever functions for eyes on this creature, widen with shock.

"The Potential!"

"Yeah. Also known to us and himself, as PAL. He left your ass desolate and desperate. In search of bodies and other resources. And yes, he is an Aparoid. Sort of. But unlike when he was with you, he serves under me now. Willingly."

"Treason!" is all the monster can shout as he feels himself lose the connection he has with the bombs as PAL is actively interfering with it.

"And yet here we are. Despite your words, despite your warmongering and dirty tricks. It's you against me. And I know my weapons can't defeat you. Hence why: PAL! Open up the radiation shielding."

As he says that, using the C module, he makes sure to stipulate some extra points. Mainly to make it sound like he is opening up the radiation shielding but in fact only open it minimally so he does not die of radiation poisoning right away. And because PAL was told to follow his order to the letter, he does so.

The mechanisms of the shield start to spool up and indicate that they will slowly but surely open up. Which angers the Aparoid.

"Fool! You will die from the radiation too!"

Trevor lifts an eyebrow.

"As if I didn't know that." he fusses

"Your flesh will melt!"

"And so will yours. Maybe not your steel, but everything that keeps you alive and going… it will melt with me!" Trevor snarls at the end, infuriating the Aparoid even more.

It seems to flip everything single creature it is composed of over. Like a hamburger on a grill. As they show their armored backs, inside of their soft underbelly. It shines and looks as strong as steel. Perhaps it was a wrong choice of words on his part.

"Never rely on the flesh to do the steel's job." it states clearly, despite any kind of orifice now being closed.

Whereupon Trevor readies his rifle and looks through the scope. Putting the crosshair right on the creature's idea of a head.

"Well, this steel is in service of the flesh." is the last thing he says before hostilities break loose.

As Trevor gives the starting signal by pulling the trigger and splattering the Aparoid's head. Making it look like an egg thrown against the wall. Although it looks like a really good shot, he does not leave it up to chance. If he keeps it busy and keeps hitting, he can find a way to stop it from regenerating forever. After all, he has done this before.

He cycles the bolt while in the same fluid motion, he flips his sniper around to hold it like a two-handed sword. Although its purpose is more like a club. Taking advantage of the dazed and unbalanced state of the monster, Trevor charges forward and then smashes the butt of his rifle against the remains of the Aparoid's head.

The smack is hard enough to make the creature stagger and almost fall over. A second smack is enough to tip it over the edge. The blow is hard enough to completely break the stock in two. But Trevor does not care about the state of his weapon right now. It can be fixed. But this thing? It needs to die. Right here, right now.

The Aparoid now lays on its side but the fight has not been won. Its arm reshapes into a familiar looking spike and then it slashes towards Trevor. Who evades the cutting attempt by just a hair.

Then he uses the final bullet he had loaded into his rifle to fire straight into the swinging arm, disabling it for the moment. As the projectile leaves the barrel, so do a few of the essential internals of his rifle out of the now open end. Such as the recoil spring that would have normally been held in place by the stock. It zips past his head and he drops the remains of his sniper on to the floor.

He is one weapon down, but the Aparoid is already reforming from the damage inflicted. It is now or never. He draws his revolver and fires whatever the loaded slug in the cylinder has left into the creature. Seven shots in total ring out before it clicks. Two in its abdomen, two near where its heart could be, one more in the reforming head and one for each leg limb. It keeps the creature grounded and groaning in what seems like pain. It still lashes out with sharp and blunt tendrils sprouting from it back and other still intact limbs. But they are uncoordinated and rash. Easily avoided by Trevor or otherwise missing him entirely. It almost makes him feel like a superhero.

He cannot stay here forever; it is time to finish the job. He takes the flare gun from the broken stock on the floor and fires it straight into the stomach area of the Aparoid creature. Who, in the meantime, has been trying to get back up. The flare flickers and then burns a bright red as it starts searing its insides. It screams and squeals in a high-pitched, corrupted way. Stuttering or even emitting noises played in reserve.

Trevor then drops the empty flare gun on the floor, sniffs and aims his revolver at the Aparoid as it drops to its knees. With a lovely thumping sound, Trevor fires his second-to-last slug into the same crevice he carved with the flare. The two burning components do not mix well and cause an unexpected, chemical reaction. It starts glowing brighter and brighter, before it starts expanding. Like a science experiment going horribly wrong.

Then there is a blinding flash along with a loud crack similar to a lighting strike. Followed by a sudden shockwave which knocks Trevor off of his feet. He lands on his side somewhat controlled so he can look up. And see that the Aparoid did not fare very well at all.

It looks like a modern art masterpiece. Something Trevor does not understand very well but then again; it looks like a spastic idiot had a fit with a paintbrush. Random formless shapes, jagged edges, with more holes than a Swiss cheese and somehow, it is still moving. The job is not done yet.

Trevor gets up and takes out the last slug he has in his arsenal. He makes sure to load it into his revolver. Not to fire it, but to activate it. He approaches the nasty creature and as its head, along with its mouth orifice begins to reform, he sees his chance. With a fierce kick to the supposed jawline he starts. The hardened bugs that compose the jaw are crushed, broken or scattered. Then he bends over, holding the revolver by the barrel and he bludgeons the top half of the jaw until it too breaks apart.

His breath starts getting more labored as he feels that the heat is increasing. Could it be the nerves? The stress that rests on his shoulders? The fear he has of this thing? A combination of both perhaps. At least he knows one thing as he takes the slug out of his revolver and holds it in his already burned and scarred hand. All of his worries will soon be put to rest.

"Open up!" he shouts as he whacks it one more time.

By this point, the slug has already started to heat up. And with an open mouth now so violently shaped, he stuffs it in there. So that the superheated, corrosive goo may trickle downwards into the Aparoid and dissolve it from within.

"Ready to meet your brother, asshole? I killed him before too. Exactly like this. What every nasty bug like you deserves; the boot!"

Trevor lifts up his boot and a sense of calm and accomplishment washes over him. It will be over very soon. His enemy lies defeated below him, broken, beaten and already dissolving as purple liquid comes bubbling up from a choking throat. He could almost close his eyes and take in the moment as his knee reaches as far up as it will go. Time to literally drop the boot.

The sound of ripping skin then enters his ear. But his foot has not moved. And he has not inflicted any pain. But he feels it. A lot of it, in his lower left side. That calm is quickly replaced by adrenaline and light-headedness as the pain increases. It gets worse and worse. To the point where he has to open his eyes to see what is going on.

His face snaps to where it hurts. And he cannot believe what he is seeing. He gasps for air as he feels himself deflate and fall away when the realization hits; he has been stabbed. The bastard got him. That same spike he managed to avoid before is now jammed into his lower left side. It is in deep enough that he can no longer see where the blade starts, only the hilt.

With one pull, the spike is pulled right out. He stumbles back as he puts his hand on the stab wound that has been made into him. He feels his own warm blood spill out and coat his hand. And as he fails to find effective footing and slowly gets closer and closer to the ground, the Aparoid raises back up like nothing has happened.

The spike turns into a clawed hand. It reaches into the mouth and pulls the fiery slug out like it is nothing. Before tossing it away, extinguished. All that effort, for nothing.

"Foolish. You learned nothing. I did; from my "brother". But it was entirely expected. You put up a good fight. Hence why I did not kill you. No, I have a role for you."

It leans in closer as Trevor tries to crawl away, feeling like his whole body is on fire.

"Can you feel it? Coursing through your veins? That is me. That is us. The new us. The new… Aparoid."

Trevor can barely hear anything more until it all starts to sound like far away chatter and echoes. His vision blurs as he feels like his blood is boiling and his nerves are being played like a harp. Before he finally falls down on the floor, staring at the ceiling. With what feels like his last strength, he pulls on the Emergency Ejection protocol on his CID. Then he opens up his C module to public use; he has a feeling he will not need it much anymore.

PAL is the first to respond. Within a split-second. Considering the circumstances and because he can see exactly what happened, he skips the sympathy and goes straight to business.

"Should I engage the Field Promotion protocol, Sergeant?" he asks via text.

Trevor nods.

"Consider it done. We will save you." is PAL's last message before even that becomes background clutter to Trevor as he fades away in unconsciousness.

This leaves the inevitable task of telling the rest of the team about this to PAL. The only way of communication Trevor had. He starts off by alerting everyone by warning them of Trevor's problematic situation.

"Alert! Alert! Sergeant Trevor has been mortally wounded! Aparoid infection detected!" is the general message he has sent to all members.

All were underway to the core after linking up at Point Alpha, but this news stops them in their tracks. Patches however, gets another message which falls completely wrong with her.

"Field Order protocol engaged. Nova 7 requires a ranking leader to be effective in the field. Sergeant Trevor DeLange is no longer capable of fulfilling his duty. Therefore; congratulations, Corporal Ashley "Patches" Hare."

Corporal. Corporal… she can barely think well enough to comprehend this. Her whole body shivers and there is a massive lump in her throat. Her heart has skipped multiple beats already as she feels sick to her stomach. Emotions start to overwhelm her. With the winners being denial and anger.

"N… no… not like this!" she shouts after muttering it.

Her module starts to activate and she tells her present teammates that they better hold on to their socks.

- Lessons Learned

He can feel a colossal darkness flattening him. Both in weight and size. He cannot move at all, not even a twitch in the finger. His muscles no longer respond to any of his impulses or commands. His eyes perceive nothing and he is unable to smell with, nor breath through his nose. He can only feel. Feeling the pounding of drums inside his head. It pounds in rhythm with the headache coming and going.

Everything feels so wrong. To the point where it does not even feel real anymore? Is this a nightmare? Something similar to when he was out of it on Macbeth? No… this is different. What happened before this? Perhaps he could trace it back to the source.

Then he can hear again. But somehow only inside in his own head. He can clearly hear the drums. But more strangely, he can hear whispers. Only a few to start off with, spouting nothing but nonsense. This amount grows very fast however and soon enough the whispers are numerous enough to drown out the drums to the background.

They speak in tongues and languages either made up or too ancient for him to recognize. Gradually however, he gains more understanding. Is it because the language is progressing to something more understandable?

The crushing blackness then starts to crack. He can see it; a crack forming like a window after being hit by a pebble. There is a light coming through it and his instinct is to reach for it. And it seems his arm finally listens. But then it stops; not because he lost control again, but because he himself stops it. Because the light shining through the crack is purple.

His arm starts to rise again but he fights against it. The struggle is not easy but he manages it. The cracks get bigger and bigger, letting more light through. Making the struggle even harder as now his other arm starts to reach for it as well. But he persists and keeps both of his arms down to the ground. He will resist. He is the master of his own body.

As soon as that realization hits, his eyes open. His vision is blurry but clears up quickly by unknown means. It was not because he blinked with his actual eyelid. It was something like it but… transparent? He tries to sit up right, which is possible but it hurts worse than the muscle ache the day after visiting the gym.

There he sees what put him into this condition; the stab wound into his lower left side as well as the stabber. It is simply observing him but Trevor cannot gauge what it is thinking about this.

"Impressive." it then speaks.

"You resisted. I wish you had not done that; it only makes it more painful for you."

From his bone dry lips, just one sentence comes forth.

"Why didn't you kill me?"

The Aparoid tilts its head in confusion before realizing that he must have scrambled Trevor's brains a little too hard.

"I cannot know what I have already killed. You must remain alive until the process is complete. You are a good soldier. Worthy enough to become a template for the resurrection of the Aparoid race."

Trevor's mind instantly rushes back to those terrible experiments down in those tunnels. Pumping barely alive Aparoid sludge into various types of bodies. It was testing the waters the whole time. Now it has found a good host.

"I will know everything about you, Sergeant Trevor. Your strengths and weaknesses. And I will learn from your mistakes when making my army." it explains.

"But… y-you'll die here… the radiation." Trevor struggles to say.

"I can measure the amount of radiation; it will take at least 1000 years for me to die from this amount of radiation. It seems our mutual friend does not serve you either."

Trevor knows this is nonsense, but he cannot help but feel very stupid. As he lies here, dying and unable to do anything as the virus starts to take hold of him. As the whispers start to return. Speaking a language he can understand. They start to taunt and torment him.

"Can you hear me, Sergeant Trevor? I am in your head. I can see you. The real you. And I will pull it out. Kicking and screaming or voluntarily… it is your choice." it offers.

Like he would even dare to think about the possibilities. So instead, he tells the Aparoid that if he is going to make a template of him, he better not forget about the mustache.

"It's… essential. It's the source of my true power." he chuckles before coughing up half a lung.

"Defiant to the last. Another trait I shall take with me. … if your concept of "hell" does exist, be sure to greet my "brother" for me. I would appreciate that."

An Aparoid that knows how to crack a joke. Who knew that was possible? It is almost like he absorbed Patches just before. Luckily he has not done that. She is safe, around here somewhere. PAL would have likely advised against going to save him and instead to cut their losses. That would make perfect sense. Exactly what he would expect an A.I. to do.

"You are not alone, Sergeant. We are here. To save you." communicates the sucker punch in text-form to his assumption.

The message is from PAL. And as the message continues on, Trevor learns that Patches did not flee. Instead, she managed to get over here and is standing behind one of those four doors he saw before. She is not alone either; she brought everyone. One for each other door. Even PAL himself is there in physical form, hovering behind Patches. And they are ready to strike and save him.

The Aparoid can feel something is off when Trevor resumes his chuckling. And when inquiring, he simply replies:

"You said I learned nothing… you're right. I didn't. But luckily… I got people who do. Nova 7!" he screams out.

The signal is given and all four doors open up right away. Patches and Kip are positioned to Trevor's direct left and right respectively, so they can see the Aparoid abomination right away. And neither of them waste any time as Kip fires her SAW rifle from the hip and Patches' CIW system allows the bunny to dump the entirety of her magazines into this creature.

It stumbles back in surprise before it is forced back by the firestorm. It desperately tries to protect itself with its arms and its strong skin, but it is too much even for it. PAL then joins the fray in a momentary pause of fire when Patches has to reload and Kip switches her weapon to belt-fed after the magazine has been depleted.

The metal around his eye folds away as both the three-barreled gun appear as well as dozens of blue tendrils surrounding it like waving seaweed as a primal sign of Aparoid dominance. His emote light projects nothing but a jet black color as the barrels reset. And once all three are topped up, do they open fire at the same time. As from his voice box, a piercing, bestial shriek emerges which sends shivers down Patches' spine.

Now the Aparoid loses all grip on the situation and loses its footing as their combined firepower strips away layers and layers of skin. Forcing more nasty bugs to replenish what is lost.

This shift in the balance of battle and regeneration, allows for the more melee-focused members of Nova 7 to come closer. Phantom, taking advantage of a now totally unprotected back, emerges from his invisibility with his knife already drawn. Seeing this, Patches, Kip and PAL hold their fire. He holds it like an icepick and stabs it right into the lower portion of the spine. Before he takes out his carbine, slides the knife out and then jams the short barrel into the same hole. And then he pulls the trigger. Filling the spinal column and the surrounding flesh with devastating lasers from his drum magazine. Very quickly, they tear through the upper half of the shoulders and head as the ceiling of the core room is soon covered in burn marks.

While the Aparoid screams in pain as it burns from within, Calamity comes out to deliver a mean left hook with her shield. Her bash is enough to deform the right side of the Aparoid's face completely. But she is not done yet; the moment Phantom's carbine clicks, she has already jammed the sharp edges of her muzzle brake into its stomach. Quickly, Phantom steps away while tearing the smoking barrel out of the mess he turned the spine into and Calamity pulls the trigger. Making a big hole into the stomach of the Aparoid. Its entire body rocks from the blast but she is not done yet. Using the hole she made, she sticks her shotgun through it and then pulls the second trigger to unleash a double-blast that rips open everything at the top that Phantom had already shredded.

"Cal! Out of the way!" Kip then calls out as she aims her own shotgun one-handed towards the freak.

The dog does as instructed and Kip pulls her secondary triggers. A mighty crack echoes through the room as both barrels blast a big load of laser buckshot towards the creature. Weakened, hollowed out and barely even standing properly, it is knocked over by the blast as it lands on its back.

"PAL, now!" Patches orders as she looks right at the sprinklers that are now right above the creature.

And PAL does not hesitate to activate them. Because these do not spray water at all; they spray a liquid form of an icing agent that can instantly prevent a nuclear meltdown should the core go critical. It is not advised to stand underneath one, unless you wish to be turned into a big block of ice.

Two of the closest ones activate and a sparkling white cloud of instantly smoking dry ice comes down and covers the entirety of the Aparoid. It squeals and withers in grandiose pain while Nova 7 watches it slowly freeze. Meanwhile, Calamity has already picked up Trevor from the floor and Kip is already looking at his wound with the intention of binding it at the very least. Like he did for her before.

"Heh… surrounded and… c-cared for b-by my favorite ladies…" Trevor jokes while slowly losing his grip on consciousness again.

The deed is almost done, so they can go. The sprinkles deactivate as PAL turns it off entirely.

"Burn, you filth." he states emotionless before deactivating his armament but not his tendrils.

He has a feeling he might still have use for them.

"Nova 7! We are leaving!" the fresh new Corporal Patches states as she points to the only door PAL left open.

With Trevor in hand, they leave the room as the ice that has encased the Aparoid starts to thaw. The door closes behind him and PAL deactivates the radiation shielding completely. That freak will cook and melt like Trevor said he would. Proving that PAL was indeed on the side of the flesh and not on the side of the last true Aparoid. Even with that knowledge in the back of its mind, it still tries to claw its way out. Below it, the metal shielding shifts and like a crack in the silver darkness… a green light emerges.

- Stomach Ache

"Keep moving!" Patches calls out as Nova 7 moves through the crumbling hallways of the bottom half of Sargasso Station.

PAL had already some moments ago confirmed the death of the Aparoid that they left to melt inside the nuclear core. Its screams could almost be heard at the Cornerian Cruiser group, it was that loud. The bombs, which were planted and still in connection to the Aparoid, have started to count down. Because of PAL's interference, he managed to make sure they were set to the longest time possible; four minutes.

Meanwhile, Calamity has been carrying her fiancée with her wherever she goes in a firefighter's carry. She tries to ignore his blood running down her back as she focuses on just getting out and getting him to some proper medical help.

Phantom is pretty much glued to her back, making sure to keep anyone feeling cowardly enough to attack them from the rear will meet a very unfortunate end.

Around her is PAL, who without Trevor's permission has attached himself to his CID. So he can monitor him more closely. And things are not very rosy; an Aparoid infection has been confirmed.

Ahead of her, is Kip making sure to double-check all the hallways they pass by. With her SAW rifle already reloaded and her fists just begging for a fool to try and attack them.

And leading the column is Patches who is there sporadically. Not because she is not there mentally or because she is in the process of fleeing, but because she is doing advance reconnaissance. Using her speed module to check everything ahead of them. Hence why Kip double-checks after her. It is very tiring to her, as evidenced by her labored breathing and panting the moment she comes back.

But what other choice does she have? She needs to keep her new team safe and get their old leader out of this collapsing hole as soon as possible. And they cannot do that if they are constantly held up by vengeful ape soldiers popping up out of nowhere. She does her best to keep them off her team but she is getting low on ammunition. Something she really does not like to admit.

"This is 7-2 to 7-0! Send immediate medevac! Sergeant Trevor has been wounded and he has been infected! The station is also experiencing a nuclear meltdown and various large bombs are less than four minutes away from blowing this place to smithereens!" Patches screams through her microphone.

The Major, the Lieutenant and Nelson have been watching the whole thing unfold. But they have not been sitting idly by; they have already sent Munt and his team back with Nova 7's ship to pick them up.

"They'll be with you soon." the Major states confidently, although there is a small tremble in his voice.

"Tell them to double-time it!" she answers without any regard for rank or status before she turns to PAL.

"How is he?"

"Aparoid infection in his blood has been confirmed. Infection rate has reached 21%." PAL reports after some quick analyzing.

"Can you do anything about it?"

"... I can. And I will. Corporal, Calamity, I apologize in advance in particular to you."

With that said, a certain discomfort is created. Until PAL extends that needle limb from the bottom of his casing again and jabs it right into Trevor's wound. Not to inflict more damage, but to get into his bloodstream.

"Correction; 23,21% infection rate." PAL then reports.

"Stabilizing… attempting to stabilize…"

Seeing this play out from the moment where she has enough time to look over her shoulder, Patches sees the exact thing play out as she did when she was with Phantom in those tunnels. That same discomfort and ignorance about that is going on creep underneath her skin but she chooses to ignore it.

Which is good in hindsight, because PAL confirms that he has managed to stabilize Trevor, stopping the infection rate at 25,73%. He does warn that this might be temporary as the virus is very adaptable and once the balance tips over 50% in favor of the infection… he is lost.

But Patches, much like everyone else around him, have confidence. Some genuinely while others are only so trusting because they have no other choice. Regardless of personal opinions, they are nearly out of the collapsing maze of hallways. They can almost see the proverbial light at the tunnel.

However, when Patches comes back from one of her superspeed recon missions, she has some bad news. Ahead is a crossroads of hallways. And they are coming from all directions ahead of them. They have no choice but to fight their way through. So she makes a plan: Phantom takes the left hallway and the long way around, Kip the road ahead to lock it down and Calamity will take the right side and block it off. She then turns to PAL, asking him if he could provide firing support. But he declines; should he activate any other subsystems, he will lose the ability to keep Trevor stable.

"Crap… okay. PAL, stick with Trevor. Cal, hand him over to me so you can take your position."

The dog looks a little concerned about this action.

"Come on; I carried you to the core without… too many issues. I can handle Trevor."

It is not that she does not trust the bunny, but simply because she is holding him now. And she might never do that again while he is alive. Reluctantly but understanding why, she transfers Trevor over to her and instructs her to be very careful with him. Patches nods; she will.

The three then proceed ahead to their positions while Patches follows behind. Falling behind a little bit due to the extra, somehow still sarcastic weight on her shoulders now.

"On… who's… whose shoulders am I on now?" Trevor dribbles just coherently enough to be understandable.

He tries to look around, only to see three familiar blobs resembling people running away ahead of him. Instinctively, he tries to reach out to them but everything feels like it is cooked spaghetti noodles.

"Hey… Patch… so I'm on your shoulders now… a-and Cal wasn't… j-jealous? I-interesting…"

"Shut up Trevor. T-try to save your strength." she snarls at him at first before calming herself down.

She can hear Trevor chuckling before coughing again. In the meantime, they have reached the area with the crossroads. She stops and puts Trevor on the ground on his side so that PAL can still function and do his job.

"Nova 7!" she calls out.

"They are coming. One last obstacle and then we are home free. Let's have our just revenge!"

Speaking of the devil, the scouted enemies come pouring through the hallways. Kip, already having her SAW rifle deployed on the bipod on the floor, lays it into them. Phantom goes invisible and cuts his way through the least amount of enemies coming from the left hallway. And he sees that the rest is clear. Following the hallway would lead him straight into the line of Kip's fire. Past that, is even the route that leads around to Calamity's recently set-up blockade.

Trevor witnesses this play out while Patches delegates the battle like a professional conductor. It is a pleasant surprise to see that she, his 1, is so capable. Even if his perception of events is not exactly clear, he can make out enough to see it all come together. Phantom, his old army buddy, spilling blood on the walls as he cuts throat after throat. Kip, his partner, in her own way, cutting down man after man from her accurate machine gun fire. And finally, Calamity, his fiancée, is cutting off the flow of fools with her mighty shield as one by one she blows them off of her with a shotgun blast. He feels proud seeing all of this. It gives him confidence for the future. All worries seem to leave his body now. Almost… like he could die happy now.

"H-ey PAL?" he suddenly asks with a smile on his face.

"I advise you to follow the Corporal's advice, Sir. Spare your strength."

But Trevor is nothing if not a little cheeky.

"Do… do the voices… ever stop?"

PAL is taken aback by the question. Visible by the shrinking of the red in his eye and the purple from his light. Before he understands what Trevor means. Even if it bothers him greatly, he is also glad that someone else now understands exactly what he has to go through.

"No, Sir. They never stop."

"... they better. They are fucking annoying…" Trevor coughs up.

"That they are, Sir. They surely are." PAL replies, amused.

Meanwhile, Phantom has managed to carve his way through his side. And has not been spotted by those that are hiding from Kip's fire. He makes sure to warn her that he is coming from her left. She acknowledges and shifts fire further to the right. And as she does, one of those ape soldiers sees this. Keen on taking advantage, he rounds the corner to open fire. Only for Phantom to grab him, pulling him right back and introducing him to the cold steel of his blade.

With his life terminated by something invisible, panic causes the others to flee. Not that they get much of a chance to, as the moment their backs are turned, they are peppered by Kip's SAW rifle firing what was left in her magazine. The moment her gun clicks, is when the last one drops.

She gives a thumbs up to Phantom so he can pass by and assist Calamity by getting all up in the rear of the remaining enemies. As he crosses over, she picks up her weapon and starts to reload it.

Now in the right hallway, Phantom finds that Calamity managed to hold back the enemy very well. They are hiding behind the wall, much like they were with Kip. So he decided to switch it up; he deactivates his camouflage and from the hip, held in his non-dominant hand, he fires off every round inside of his drum magazine to carve through all those who thought they were safe.

Seeing them drop like flies, Calamity sees her chance. She picks the shield up from the ground and charges into those that had previously rammed themselves into her. She did not fall, but they sure do. And as they end up on their back or behinds, she blasts them with her shotgun indiscriminately. One of them, who catches a blast straight to the chest, is launched and slams against the wall behind him. But he is still alive.

Phantom comes into the picture and nonverbally communicates if she wants it or he can have it. Calamity's answer is clear; this is her kill. He understands and steps back, letting her have it. One shotgun blast later and all three hallways have been cleared.

"All clear?" Patches calls out.

"Clear!" is the reply she gets from everyone.

"Munt, where are you?"

"We can already see the hangar but we cannot see you guys yet." he replies while looking out of the cockpit with Cherokee 3-0 still at the helm.

"Expect us soon then. Get our med-bay ready, we're gonna need it."

She turns to look at PAL and Trevor only to see things have regressed. The A.I. reports that this stabilization efforts are being circumvented by the adapting Aparoid virus. And the infection rate is rising again.

"Then we gotta hurry. Trevor, hang on." she says as she picks him up from the floor and then tells the rest of Nova 7 to leg it to the ship to meet Munt.

"Secure the landing site. I'll be behind you guys." she assures.

"Better not be far…" Calamity hopes before she runs ahead with the rest.

"Not planning to." she replies to herself as she gets to her feet with Trevor on her shoulders.

"PAL, please tell me you can do something in the meantime?"

"... I can. But I'm not sure if you'd approve."

"Would it stop you?"

"Not in this case. I can only measure it with the needle. If I want to defeat it, I must interact with it. Meaning that I have to introduce myself to the virus as a rival. Another Aparoid coming to claim the prize. It will be uncomfortable for me, but it is worth it."

"Then do it."

With permission given, PAL retracts the needle limb from Trevor's wound. And instead introduces his tendrils to the wound. Using the incision he made with the needle before, he spreads his own version of the Aparoid virus into Trevor. He winces in response but is otherwise not feeling any worse.

As his own blue variation courses through the veins, the infection rate measures a sudden peak. But PAL is already correcting it. After all; he is not in there to infect Trevor, but to kill the infection with his own. Very soon, the two contagions meet. And instantly clash. The violence inside makes his blood feel like it is boiling again.

"S-shee…sh… relax in there… Argh!"

"Apologies, Sir. But this is the only way. Corporal, keep going. We are almost there. Stabilizing… stabilizing… complete! Infection rate stopped at 31,64%. Internal integrity of this unit… stable but failing."

The slowly creeping, purple discoloration of his tendrils is a good indication that his efforts to save Trevor are not without any form of sacrifice. At least, his patient is grateful for his sacrifice. Using the C module to communicate so he can save his failing strength, Trevor thanks PAL for keeping him alive.

"The honor is all mine, Sir. Now, allow me to return the favor."

He warns Patches of any feral or weird noises she might hear and that she should not be afraid of that as that will be him again. Like he did in the core room. And she seems to appreciate the warning.

What follows, is the equivalent of taking a deep breath and then screaming those filled-up lungs completely empty. A hellish screech emerges from PAL's voice box, like an Aparoid war cry. But it is not corrupted or glitched in any way. It sounds crystal clear.

The purple corruption is pushed back from his blue tendrils and the infection rate even goes down. Although this is a temporary measure, it is working well for morale. And before either of them know it, they have reached the hangar. The rest of Nova 7 and Munt are already waiting for them. So they rush for it as fast as possible. Meanwhile, PAL is rattling off the sadly rising infection rate. Out here in the field, there is little more he can do.

Calamity and Kip run up to meet her halfway with a stretcher they got from the med-bay from their ship. They help Trevor onto it and together they manage to get him in. Not a moment too soon, because the bombs are very close to detonation. Not to mention the nuclear core going critical as well.

Munt rallies them all to get in and he is the last one in. The door closes as the engines turn back on and the ship achieves liftoff. It turns around its own axle and once facing towards space, does Cherokee 3-0 punch it. The ship passes through and it is now getting safer and safer the further from the base they are.

Inside of the ship, Trevor is put on the bed and the automated diagnostic system scans for ailments right away.

"I know how to skip this." Phantom however states, not keen on that archaic technology wasting valuable time.

He pulls two cords from PAL's back. One of which is a plug, which he plugs straight into an electrical outlet. And the other he plugs right into the system. With the extra power to feed PAL, the infection rate slows down significantly and the system knows right away what they are dealing with. It advises right away to seek better medical attention.

"Like we didn't know that. Guys, no disrespect, but it might be better for us to let PAL do his thing here. There's nothing we can do right now except wait until we are back on the ship." Phantom then states.

It is harsh, but it is true. No one knows as much about Aparoids as PAL does. He knows them in and out. Literally. So the team leaves, even Calamity who was very tempted to stay in the room regardless. But with the combined help and slight pushing from both Patches and Kip, she comes along.

2 - Gone

- Blast Off

As Trevor is tended to by PAL, the rest of the team has needed to find something else to do. It will not take long before they are back in the cruiser but everything going on, time seems to have slowed down to a crawl.

Calamity is found at the back of the ship, staring outside towards the base they just left. It is getting smaller and smaller, but not any less visible thanks to the many explosions ripping through the exterior. As well as the pulsating green lights that make her think of a nightclub at full party capacity.

It is set to explode at any moment. At the very least, that will give her mind some peace and keep her thoughts away from Trevor.

"Sorry, can I join?" a sweet 'roo then asks, lightly startling Calamity before it sinks in that it is Kip who asked.

She takes a breath and then pats the seat next to her. Kip takes the invitation and sits down next to the dog. She can feel how tense she is, even without making any physical contact. All of the hairs standing at attention and subtle shivers running across her skin. Everything screams that she is holding herself strong. After all, how terrifying is a crying Boogeywoman?

So Kip does what feels right to her to do in this situation. She puts her arm around Calamity and scoots a little closer. The moment Calamity feels the arm around her, she leans in closer. And just lets the waterworks flow. Her paper thin disguise did not fool her friend at all. She does not have to be the big, bad Boogeywoman all the time. And even she is allowed to stress, fear and cry over the perilous state of her loved one.

Although it does not change Trevor's health, it does feel good to let it out. And to have someone to share that pain with. Because Kip is not faring too well either. Seeing her partner like that… it gnaws on her as well. She cannot keep it dry either.

At least they have one silver lining they can both share; that thing that hurt Trevor is somewhere inside of that base. Which is currently undergoing a significant deconstruction event by means of the bombs detonating, rupturing the hull and letting the vacuum of space inside. As well as whatever is still airtight, is now filling up with vast amounts of radiation that is powerful enough to melt flesh from bones. If it is not dead yet, it will be now.

The base finally reaches critical mass as the raging fires meet the growing overexposed nuclear core. One moment it is still there, the other it is replaced by a white ball before exploding completely. Sending debris all over the place but missing their ship completely. It is done; it is over. The Aparoid is dead. And Lylat is safe. All that rests now, is for all saviors to make it to tomorrow…

On the other end of the ship, Patches is with Munt backseating in the cockpit of the ship. In there, there is a stoney silence as well. Occasionally interrupted by something coming over the radio that sounds like complete gibberish.

Patches is staring ahead of her. Staring past everything and everyone. Her mind is completely blanked out. Not a single thought runs through her head at the moment. Subconsciously however, her true emotions are being shown. Her ears are all the way down, which is noticeable considering their normally large size. And there is fluid welling up in her eyes. Her fingers and nails have dug into the arm rests of the chair and everything about her is tense. If Munt did not see her breathing, he would think she would be nothing but a statue at this point.

He wants to start a conversation at the very least to break this icy atmosphere but then a loud explosion shocks everyone. It is not their ship, but instead the base blowing up completely. Once Patches realizes this, she pumps her fist in excitement. A small celebration for the cherry on top of their successful mission.

"You guys did well." Munt compliments, completely verbally sucker punching Patches.

"Whu… what did you say?"

"I said: you guys did well. In there. Well, what was there."

"Oh… yeah. I guess we did."

Munt can just about a smile appear on her face for a single moment before she returns to being somber again.

"I just hope Trevor makes it… kinda feels like it wasn't worth it, you know?"

"Yeah. I get that."

Patches looks up briefly, seeing that he really meant that. She is reminded that Munt already lost some people while helping them. She does not have long however, as Cherokee 3-0 now steers the ship to the designated hangar.

"This is Cherokee 3-0 to Hangar 25A. Designation; Thresher."

"Thresher?" Patches whispers to Munt.

"Oh yeah. We found your list for potential ship names. We liked this the best so we give it up now as a temporary designation. Feel free to change it later if you feel like."

But Patches is not planning to do that judging from her positive response to that name. In the meantime, Cherokee 3-0 continues.

"We bring Nova 7 back from their accomplished mission. Be advised; we have one man infected with the Aparoid virus. Are the medical teams already present?"

There is a moment of silence on the radio before an unusual individual takes the reins of the microphone.

"Cherokee 3-0, this is Admiral Sigismundo speaking."

The moment Munt hears this, he switches the system over to broadcast it throughout the ship.

"Hangar 25A is yours, however no support personnel will be present. All that will be awaiting you, is the medical team in grade 4 hazmat suits. Sergeant Trevor will be taken into their care while the rest of you will be taken into quarantine until we can be sure you are uninfected. To the members of Nova 7 and also to the 64th, I wish to convey my own and the entirety of the Cornerian Command's thanks for your service and accomplishments. You have saved Lylat for a whole lot of trouble. I hope to see you all alive and well soon after for that exact reason. Admiral Sigismundo out."

- Let Me Go

The news of having to be quarantined did not fall well. Not with Nova 7 and not with 64th. However, as if the Major could read the room telepathically, he makes sure to address this in a separate broadcast.

"I realize what you just heard, is not exactly what you had expected. It might even feel like a stab in the back. However, please comply. The quarantine will be very short as the test will take only a few minutes to process for all of you in total. If you aren't displaying any physical deformities or behavioral changes, then you'll be out before you know it." is the general message given to everyone.

A more personal message is sent afterwards to Patches herself. Emphasizing that it must be bittersweet to have her received a promotion in this manner. And that he hopes that Trevor will make it. In the meantime, she has to lead the team until then. And perhaps… make herself mentally ready to lead it in Trevor's absence.

That last word in particular makes her swallow hard and become itchy all over. She does not want to think about it so she will not. In the meantime, Cherokee 3-0 is steering the ship towards their designated hangar. It flies in through the blue protective screen, which turns red the moment the ship passes through completely.

The Admiral was not lying; the entire hangar has been evacuated. It is almost eerie in a way. So many ships left to their own devices. However, the moment to go in for a landing, is when the doors to the hangar open up. A medical team, clad from top to bottom in bulky gray-green hazmat suits come in. Along with a stretcher and other medical equipment. Seeing this in particular, Calamity gets a rather unfortunate flashback to a few months ago.

The ship docks properly and Cherokee 3-0 turns off its engines. In the meantime, the medical has managed to get onto the docking platform and remain at a suitable distance from the entrance of the ship. With a megaphone, they call forth orders to make sure that this procedure works without any hitches or problems.

First, everyone is not directly wounded or affected by the Aparoid, are to disembark and stay well away from the ship and personnel. Secondly, the medical personnel will enter the ship and retrieve the patient. Meaning Trevor. Thirdly, once the patient has been hauled away, each will be called forth to be taken into temporary quarantine. There is no need to agree; it will be enforced anyway.

Considering that some of the medical team are armed for that exact reason and not willing to cause any fuss, Nova 7, the 64th and Cherokee 3-0 decide to follow the protocol. The door opens and the stairs deploy down to the platform. One by one, each of the members pour out and take an appropriate distance away from the stairs. Exactly like instructed.

The situation is rather tense. Some of them have the urge to have their hands in the air while descending the stairs and looking at the faceless, gray-green horde that stand there like chess pieces. It is also emotional, in particular for Calamity considering this is the second time her lover is in mortal danger. Even worse now.

The medical team now enters the ship. The wheels on the stretcher are folded in and they ascend the stairs. After which, there is silence. A rather awkward one. Not even a cough is heard, which would have amplified a ton in this rather deserted hangar. Then the medical team comes out with a lot of commotion, along with some animalistic hissing coming from a rather unusual source.

Trevor is seen laying on the stretcher, doing as well as possible considering. But the medical team has some issues with his literal attaché; PAL. He refuses to let go until they are within throwing distance of the main medical bay. For the simple reason that he is currently the only reason why Trevor has not mutated into a horrible, disgusting Aparoid.

"Get that thing away from the patient!" shouts the same person who used the megaphone before, indicating that he is running the show.

That word is not appreciated and Phantom steps forward to defend his partner.

"Hey asshole!" he calls out before abruptly stopping the moment multiple charging handles on the rifles are cocked.

But two can play it at that game; he pulls his knife right away and dares them to find out what he can do with it. Then Patches puts her hand on his and slowly lowers it, defusing the situation on her side.

"Let's not complicate things even more. My name is Speci… damn."

She subconsciously refuses to call herself her new rank. It feels so wrong to say it. But she has to. The military is kind of a stickler about that sort of stuff.

"... I'm Corporal Ashley Hare. Current leader of Nova 7. That "thing" as you called it, is a member of our team. He is telling you the truth; he is keeping Sergeant Trevor alive."

"How can you be so sure?" the head doctor asks in return, suspicious.

It is received as another insult to PAL. So he makes sure that this arrogant windbag knows exactly how capable he is. The doctor then receives a new message on his heads-up display. The message is from an unknown source, but it opens itself on its own. The message contains a file, written by PAL himself. It is an overly detailed timeline. Depicting everything from the moment of Trevor's first infection, up to right now. Updating every second or so. The medical framework is laid out perfectly. Everything that PAL has done, administered or injected, explained to a T.

The doctor is taken aback, both by the size and detail of the file, but also because PAL was able to remotely access his heads-up display without any trouble. That second part he ignores so he can focus on the first part. For now. With a hand signal, he also tells his side to stand down.

"I see. Then you may come along… excuse me, PAL. Let us not waste anymore time; you may not be able to hold that stabilization for long."

"For as long as I have to." PAL replies.

"That is until we tell you to." the doctor states sternly.

"Move out!"

Calamity tries to reach for her fiancée so she can kiss him goodbye, but she is held back by Kip. Who knows that it would not be very wise. She knows how she feels, but this is not the way.

"It'll be fine, Cal. I'm sure of it."

Soon, Trevor is taken away and is led downstairs to the main floor of the hangar. Once there, the medical team picks up the pace so they can reach the medical bay as soon as possible. In the meantime, each of the Nova 7 members are called by their names. But first, they must be disarmed. However, they seem unwilling to do so. The head doctor, who stayed behind, asks Patches to resolve this situation. She turns towards "her" team.

"Gents! I know it's been tough and I know you have the feeling that your efforts are not appreciated. I know it, because I feel it too. But remember what the Major said and trust in our medical personnel. We'll see each other very soon. I assure you."

Her little speech has made the wanted impact. Although reluctant, all of them put their weapons away. Phantom's knife goes back into the sheath and everyone else holsters theirs. This is the extent they are willing to go. Patches does the same as she turns back to the doctor while additional medical personnel arrive behind him.

"This is as disarmed as you are going to get us, doc. You may take us into quarantine now." she relays as she folds her arms, while the rest of Nova 7 follows her example.

A sign of general distrust but also of compliance. With their arms folded, they will not reach for anything. The head doctor, understanding he has no other choice, calls forth the personnel to take each member in. Two of his, for one of them. Like this, everyone who was once inside of the Thresher, are picked away and taken to separate rooms to undergo the tests needed to find out and rule out that they are infected.

On the other side of the hangar, Trevor with PAL still attached to him, is getting closer to the medical bay. He thanks the A.I. for his loyalty and devotion to the team. And assures the machine that he is what he knows himself to be. He is not an Aparoid. Not like those nasty buys out there. Then he has a possibly final request; if he does not make it, guide Patches as best as possible.

"I will, Trevor. But please, try not to make me honor that request."

PAL can see Trevor smile one last time before he has to let go. He floats along for another while until he reaches the swing door leading to the medical bay. And there he stays. The doors open, allowing him one final look at Trevor before the doors close literally in his face. His light turns gray, with a purple ring around it as he hangs there for a moment. Then he turns around to see two hazmat soldiers. For him, it is also time to get into quarantine. The ring turns gray but the main light turns white. He then complies with them and leaves the entrance.

- Distractions

"I wish we were back on Corneria." sighs Nelson as he comes into the room, holding a tray with hot beverages from him, the Major and the Lieutenant.

"Something the matter?" the Lieutenant asks.

"They're all looking at me like I'm some kind of freak. I heard them chattering about how I dress. So what if I look like I'm dressed in my pajamas? Do they even know who they are talking to?!" he emphasizes indignantly.

"I bet they're just jealous, Nelson." the Major soothes.

Nelson knows this of course. He just had to let out all the negative energy so now he is fully zen again. Then he hands the Major his coffee and the Lieutenant his tea. Something the Lieutenant sniffs at once before promptly looking like he just ate something very bitter. He then throws the sad excuse for tea into a nearby potted plant. The Major, having anticipated this, hands his friend his coffee and then receives his very own from Nelson.

"Ugh… well thought of, Clef. How could anyone dare call that mud "tea"?" he asks astonished.

In the meantime, the Major has sipped the coffee. And although the heat is pleasant, the flavor is not.

"Just wait until you taste this garbage. One sip and I can already feel my stomach begging for mercy."

The Lieutenant takes the plunge given that he is thirsty and he is sadly not disappointed by the flavor; at the very least it tastes a little better than the gray mess that was the tea would have. So the both of them stick to their guns and attempt to swallow it as soon as possible. Meanwhile, Nelson has already taken his seat at the computer. Missing his turret seat very much, having to work with an archaic mouse and a standard office keyboard again.

However, for all those little niggles and annoyances, deep inside they are still worried about the state Nova 7 is in currently. Since they have been taken into quarantine, they have not heard anything about them. Even Nelson cannot find anything about them, despite him going through various systems that he should not have access to.

Then the door opens again and in comes the devil they were speaking of. The entirety of Nova 7, with the sad but obvious exception of Trevor. All of them looking roughed up and in need of a shower, but more importantly: they are uninfected.

"Ah, there you are." the Major remarks dryly but with a half-smile.

"You look like hammered shit."

"That's what Sargasso does to you, Sir." Patches replies before each of the members salutes.

And they receive a proper salute back. The moment the Major ends the salute, all tradition falls away and Patches instantly darts towards her big bird. Who just has enough time to put that cup of awful coffee away before he needs both hands to catch the bunny that has just jumped him. Overjoyed that she can see him again. And as the two lovers embrace, Nelson has already run up to Phantom in the meantime. Who, in contrast to the Lieutenant, had no time to prepare and was almost bowled over. Something PAL cannot help but find hilarious as he floats just behind and above it, like an amused observer.

Calamity watches this happen in slow-motion. With snapshots in particular taken of the happy couples. She smiles because of it, but on the inside she collapses into a crying mess. Once again, it is Kip who snaps her out of it. And she cannot be thankful enough for that. So the two share a little moment before the Major approaches them.

"Kip. Calamity. Considering the rest are busy being terminally lovey-dovey, let me be the first to congratulate you in person about your achievement. I hope that quarantine wasn't too uncomfortable?"

"No, not at all." Kip replies.

"Although I would've liked my guy to be a little more careful with that needle. Pretty sure that guy had something against me." Calamity groans.

"Good thing it wasn't anything more. Otherwise he'd have to explain to me what his reasonings were. And I'd accept nothing but a watertight case in that case. Can I get you anything to drink or eat? It's the very least I could do." he offers.

But both deny his offer. Instead, they ask him if they can stay here until Trevor's status becomes more clear. It takes the Major a second to comprehend as he was sure that they would have at least wanted some refreshments, but he guesses that the emotional weight of their friend's/fiancée's health weighs heavy on the stomach. He snaps his fingers at the Lieutenant to get his attention.

"Hey Damian, if you're quite done being suffocated by your girlfriend, how about you fetch our guests somewhere to sit until they hear the news?"

The Lieutenant groans before putting Patches down on the floor. Proclaiming that the Major is just jealous because Amelia is not here right now. The Major counters by saying that he should not be so selfish as there are other people in the room. Then he does the same for Nelson, telling him to let go of Phantom before he pops like a balloon. And reluctantly, with a ton of sassy pazazz, the shrew does so and assists the Lieutenant in getting some much needed behind-relief for the soldiers that came back from a difficult mission.

Once everything is set up and everyone has taken their seats, Nelson resumes his search for more information regarding Trevor. PAL volunteers himself to help. And although the shrew is at first hesitant and somewhat distant, he does allow it. Considering what he did to keep Trevor alive and guide Nova 7 through that hellhole of a base.

As the two techwizards do their sneaky hacking business, the Major wants to hear everything they know about that nasty bug they managed to eradicate from existence. And he asks them to spare him no details at all. Patches, currently laying horizontally over the chair and the Lieutenant's lap, starts with the moment they slammed themselves into the station.

The story shifts from funny moments, like Phantom describing how many cables PAL needed to hook himself into the multiple consoles, making him look like a fly caught in a big spider web, to serious and heroic moments like those weird floating but somehow still structurally sound floors connected with light bridges where Kip could let loose. But also to more emotional moments, like when Calamity and Phantom found themselves temporarily hiding inside a hidden bunker inside of a stand.

However, the big moment was of course when they heard the alert that Trevor had been injured badly. It took a lot out of them. But they gained a lot back when they managed to stomp that Aparoid. Filling it full of holes, blasting it apart and stabbing it in the back before finally freezing it and leaving it to melt inside of that nuclear reactor core. That was very cathartic and satisfying.

"All I'll say is, I would've liked to have a recording of that thing meeting death. To be honest." Phantom plainly states.

Something which everyone in the room is in general agreement with. At that moment, PAL turns around and says that he might have some good news. Because since he was in control of most of the systems like the surveillance cameras, he did also manage to have several eyes inside of that room during that encounter.

"I must warn you; the footage gets fairly corrupted the more the core shield opens. However, I have been looking over the footage a few times already… you know, for personal reasons. And I must say, it is pretty good." PAL advertises it.

"Then what are you waiting for? Let's distract ourselves a bit longer then; stop the search for a bit and let's enjoy ourselves some good footage." the Major proclaims.

So PAL opens up a video tab and makes sure to put it on full screen. And the video starts playing from the moment the team has managed to freeze the creature in ice.

- Inevitable

"No way! I swear I could see it melt right there!" Kip exclaims.

"Nonsense! That is nothing but pixels there." Phantom retorts.

"Rewind it again then!"

"Again? Come on, just admit you were wrong."

"I wasn't wrong. Now, rewind and play it again!"

This interaction has been going on for a while now. After reviewing the footage multiple times, there are still some details that are debated furiously. In this case, it is an argument between Kip and Phantom, where she claims that she can see that purple bastard start to melt from the radiation. But Phantom counterclaims by saying it is nothing but the pixelation playing tricks on her eyes.

This is the latest in the decently long list of debates regarding the footage. What is shown, is just over two minutes long but it has been thoroughly picked apart by very film-critical vultures. Even the Major and the Lieutenant joined in at various occasions. It was really enjoyable to watch but that is not the issue. The issue is what people claim they saw in very pixelated or even corrupted footage.

Like a lot of friendly discussions, it has ended up as an agree to disagree situation. Because in the end, something that they all agree on, is that the bastard suffered properly before it finally died. Alone, half-frozen and screaming all the way through. The last true Aparoid is no more.

"Play it again?" Nelson suggests, really wishing he had a snack right now.

"Alright, one more time." the Major relents as he is holding the remote right now after taking it from underneath the bickering Phantom.

And everyone approved of that action as they all sat back into their seats to enjoy the spectacle. Despite having seen it already for like eight or nine times, it still brings them joy. Everyone has their favorite part. Patches' favorite for example, is the moment it reaches out an arm into the air. Like it was asking for some kind of divine intervention. Whereas Calamity's favorite moment is without a doubt the moment where it started screaming the moment it starts to steam from the heat of the radiation.

And then the footage ends the same way it did before. A shame, because Kip was again sure she saw it start to melt like warm cheese. Before Phantom can even try to disprove that, the door to their room opens. The light of the room is then flipped right back on, temporarily flashbanging everyone. When sight returns to them, they find the Admiral standing in the doorway with two guards with him. The Major responds by standing upright and saluting rather casually.

"Maybe knock, next time? We may not have our usual registration system, but it would be preferable to storming in here like you own the place."

The Admiral is rather intrigued by the Major's tone before he starts snickering.

"But I do own this place."

"You know what I mean." the Major says, half-smirking before letting him into the room.

Everyone else has stood up in the meantime and has gathered around the rotund Sigismundo. And once the door closes, he apologizes for blinding them momentarily. However, he has some good news that he could not wait to share. He instantly points out that it is not about Trevor. Not just yet.

"Although, that is a good idea. Go see if you have more news." he tells one of his guards, who obeys and leaves.

"No, instead I come with two things. The first, is to congratulate each and every single one of you. Your mission was an utter success! Sure, it was a shame that the station is now an irradiated waste but that Aparoid cock-sucker is dead. Of course, you were not alone in this. Some credit goes to my 64th Marines. I must say; they have learned from you. And I suspect, you may have learned some from them as well." he chuckles quietly, to which Nova 7 just goes along with it.

"Thought so. Now! On to the second point. Because of your close cooperation with my Marines, I thought it was only appropriate to offer you my hand. Not literally of course, but to integrate Nova 7 into the Fleet!" he proclaims proudly, pumping his meaty fist in the air at upper chest height.

"Think about it. It would make our cooperation even easier. Previously you only had to report to the President and to the General… from that point onwards also directly to me. It is a little bit of an administrative hubbub, I know. But imagine the advantages of it! Direct access to our fleet, whenever and wherever!"

While he is very enthusiastic and has already thought this is out in great detail, Nova 7's response is rather lukewarm. Either because this proposal came right out of the blue, or because some can already see how this will fall through very soon. Seeing this, the Admiral clears his throat to keep up appearances before turning to the Major.

"So Major, what do you think?"

"What I think? What I think, is that it's none of my business."

"... what?" the Admiral checks.

"As I said. They are my team. I do command them. But we work slightly differently. Unorthodox so to say. It's something I've learned to embrace. This team works best if they feel comfortable. If they are not comfortable, they will not perform like they did just now. So, I'd ask them if they agree. I'll go along."

The Admiral huffs as he now has to traverse the difficult path. So he turns back to Nova 7, who are now emboldened by their Major's words.

"Corporal… Ashley, was it? Yes. Given that you are now the uhm… squad leader? Yes, let's call it that. What do you think? Shall we shake hands on it?"

He extends his hand and gives off a forced smile. But Patches was not born yesterday. Despite her distaste for her new rank and role, she still takes the responsibility.

"Sorry to say, Admiral. But were you not one of the people who signed the order that all Militia were to be disarmed? Therefore, almost cutting our team in two? We expected that kind of thing from the General, given that he's just a temp falling in for an ailing Pepper. But not from you. Especially because you knew us a lot better."

"Ah… yes. Yes, I see." the Admiral mutters as he has already pulled his hand away.

"That… might indeed complicate things. Let it be known, that I was one of the first to rescind that order the moment I realized what it created. But… I suspect this has little effect on your decision. Is the whole team in agreement?" he checks, somewhat in vain.

The other three nod their heads.

"Alright then. A shame, but I understand. Well, just know that you may keep your ship. And that the 64th will always try to be available to support you should you need it. And know also that my offer will stand."

"That is very kind of you, Admiral. We'll keep it in the back of our heads." Patches says, meaning not a single word of that latter part.

"Good. Excellent. Then I shall take my leave. Corporal, Nova 7, Lieutenant, Major. Good day and best wishes regarding Sergeant Trevor."

Bitter but knowing it will not change, he turns around and lumbers towards the door to exit the room. By then, one of the guards he had sent out before has returned. He is panting, leaning with his hand against the doorpost like he just ran a marathon. And he comes bearing news regarding Trevor. Filling everyone with anticipation.

3 - We Lucky Few

- Innocence

It is dark. Black. Pitch black. He looks around but sees nothing but darkness. Then again, how would he know he is even looking around? Are his eyes even open? A sudden flash of white light lets him know none too subtly. And his ears are working too, as the flash went paired with… no gunshot?

Why does this feel familiar? And yet different? Because there is no red. No darkness anymore. Just that clear white that is now surrounding him. No smoke is coming from somewhere below. And no dim light shining from above to create a mysterious, foreboding atmosphere.

He does not feel anything. Not because nothing harmful happened, but in general. Something is coming towards him though. It looks very blurry from a distance however it comes closer rather quickly. And soon enough, he can make out what it is.

It is a loose cylinder of a revolver. That cylinder exactly. With the visible, empty chambers. Each of them has the same white clarity that is surrounding him. And then, they start spinning. First, very slowly, but soon enough fast enough that he is unable to make out any separate holes. Then, very similar to something from before, a movie starts playing. Accompanied with sound and everything.

It plays a clip show of all of the positive moments he has had from the start of his adventure all the way up until the last moment he was conscious. The moment where he and Kip first decided to team up. The first ray of sunshine since the absolute catastrophe that was his entrance to the Cornerian City battle scene. And all the adventures they went on from there as partners. Getting to the Military camp in the Center. Meeting the then still Captain and Sergeant-Major. The rest of his memories are ultimately a little bit vague regarding the details, because it had felt like ages since that moment happened.

The movie then skips straight to the moment he laid his eyes on Ashley. Soon to be known as Patches, after a little back and forth regarding nicknames. These memories are a lot more clear, like they only literally happened several months ago. That whole thing in the metro that kind of made them legends, the early start of Nova 7, meeting more friends, leaving that nightmare only to be dropped straight into another, saving his then-still girlfriend before finding each other much closer connected at the very end.

With an audible click, the movie skips again. To the start of Nova 7 as an entity. Meeting up with Phantom after so long. Getting to know PAL as well. And then putting those new recruits through training. Although even he himself could not escape the strict training plan he himself helped set up. Of course, the best part was overseeing it and afterwards celebrating when the recruits managed to beat the tests.

Watching it, makes him feel again. It is a warm, cuddly feeling that is brewing inside of him. Like that pot of hot, fresh tomato soup he was served when he was reunited with Calamity. That was perhaps the best thing he had ever eaten.

But why is he seeing this? What is this dream trying to tell him? Why is it not atrabilious like the other one? It is so… carefree. Hopeful even. All those faces. Ashley, Kip, Calamity, Phantom, PAL. How come he deserves them? What did he do to earn fabulous comrades like these?

As he wonders this, he notices that the spinning is slowing down. And as it does, the movie fades away. Once the cylinder stops spinning altogether, it shrinks to the size of an actual cylinder and then falls down into the void below him.

A voice then speaks to him. It is feminine but he does not recognize it. And he can see a bright light somewhere above him shine down. It goes from place to place like it is searching for something. Or checking for something? He can kind of make out what the voice is saying; something about "pupil responses"? What is she talking about? And why is that light so bright despite it now shining directly on him?

He feels compelled to look up, so he does. It surprises him that he can. But not as much as what he sees when he does look up. He can see two empty eyeholes, clearly separated by a nose bridge. And now the light shines right at him; it has found him. He feels attracted to it so he goes to it. The closer he gets to it, the more dim but also more realistic it becomes. And before he knows it, he can see something completely different.

He awakens, but not with a startle or a scream. Instead, he wakes up to a friendly face. The woman he heard talking from before? It must be; she is still holding that flashlight into his eyes. They snap towards her and it makes her recoil a little bit. But she quickly recovers and seems very pleased with this development.

"Ah. There we are. Welcome back to the world of the living, Sergeant Trevor." she greets gently.

- Ceremony In Bed

What a lovely face to see in a moment like this. A doctor smiling at you, regardless of gender, is something that carries a quality of its own. It means you are well. Especially when you are lying in what seems to be a hospital bed. Almost sat upright so they can assess you much easier. Then the doctor leaves the room but not before waking up someone who was already in the room but had nodded off.

He can barely move his head towards this person, his muscles ache so badly, but he manages it in the end. And as his eyes adjust, he can see that the person is waking up. But he recognizes her. After rubbing into her eyes and starting up as slowly as a dial-up modem, so does she.

"Hey…" Calamity greets him, still half asleep before it clicks who she is talking to.

"T-Trevor…? Trevor!? Oh my stars, you're awake!"

She nearly falls off the chair she dozed off in before she can stabilize herself and instantly grabs on to Trevor's hand.

"I… I was so worried! How are you feeling?"

Trevor groans in response but smiles back at her after.

"I've been… better. H-how do I look?"

"Vain as ever, huh?" she chuckles.

"Your mustache could use some work but as for the rest, you're looking mighty fine."

"I bloody knew it. What kind of hospital doesn't have a mustache clipping service?" he sarcastically whines.

"I know right? But I'm sure they'd mess yours up."

"Ehhh… good point."

He tightens his grip on her hand. It is a bit weak but considering he is not 100%, she understands why. She is already overjoyed that he is able to hold her hand like this. Sure, she held his many times already. But he never squeezed back. And she was afraid he might never ever do so again. When he sees that he is happy to see her again, it is the cherry on the pie.

However, she cannot in good conscience hog all of the attention for herself. Sure, just for a few more moments but she will have to call in the rest as well.

"Let me get the rest. They'd be really happy to see you up." she says with a small sigh now that she will have to share him.

"T-the rest…?"

"Yeah. You think I was alone here? Everyone is here for you."

She lets go of his hand and goes out of the door with a happy strut. Almost skipping for joy as she does. Which does not fail to lift Trevor's spirit even more. Barely a moment later, he can hear not one, not two, but about four sets of footsteps come running towards him. The first to enter is Patches, followed by Kip, Calamity, Phantom and last but not least PAL. The room suddenly feels a lot smaller but so much more convivial.

His partner and his 1 nearly crush him in between their hugging. But what self-respecting man would not want two fantastic ladies pressed against himself? Feeling like an absolute king, he manages to get his arms out and embraces the both. Before he gets any ideas or an even bigger ego, Calamity calls the two to calm down and let her man breathe easy.

"Awwww. Fine." Patches relents, as Kip does the same groaning.

"Why ruin such a beautiful moment?" Trevor asks with a grin.

"Be very careful with your words, Lazy bones. Or else I'll slap you right back into a coma." she threatens playfully.

Although he has a feeling that there was a core of truth in it.

"Wait… coma? How long was I out?"

"About three days." Phantom answers before checking with PAL, who has managed to record the exact amount of days, hours, minutes and even seconds.

"Three days, seven hours, 26 minutes and 51 seconds. Glad to see it was not a second more, Sir. Correction: Sergeant."

Hearing his rank makes him smile. It means that the Field Order protocol is no longer in effect. Then he turns his face towards Phantom and he beckons him to come closer. The white fox does so and grabs a hold of his hand and tells him that he is really happy that his friend is still alive and with him.

"What would you do without me, eh?" Trevor chuckles but then after coughing for a bit, corrects himself by stating that he is equally as happy to be alive.

"And I'm pretty sure that I'd be very confused on what to do without the final puzzle piece that made Nova 7 whole. You're a good man, Phantom. And an even better friend."

The white fox gets one hell of a lump in his throat and soon enough he too is embraced in a hug. Trevor does not leave the other one out of it and beckons PAL to join in too. Who does not hesitate at all. And strangely, Calamity allows this manwich to continue for longer than when he had something similar going on with Patches and Kip.

However, even that ends in the end. This time, because the big boys have entered the room. The Major and the Lieutenant. The latter of which has to duck underneath the top of the doorpost in order not to hit himself in the forehead.

"I see your team is very happy to see you're awake again." the Major states, smiling before he gets a small jab from the Lieutenant.

"So are we, is the underlying message our good Major is trying to convey." the Lieutenant corrects on his behalf.

"I was going to say that as well, Damian."

"Sure you were, Clef." he grins with his upper chest puffed up and with his hands behind his back.

"You're impossible, I swear. Anywho, Sergeant Trevor. I never got to congratulate you on a job well done. Lylat owes you and your team a debt it could never repay. A debt it will never repay because as far as anyone outside of the army is concerned, you don't really exist. That's the downside of being a White Out unit."

He then rummages in the pocket of his jacket and from it, he pulls out his phone and makes sure to have a declaration ready. It is nothing compared to a printed out version but the printer was not working at the moment so this will have to do.

"However, the brass has decided to reward you in some way. In their infinite wisdom, they found that it was ridiculous that a mere Sergeant is leading a White Out unit and not an officer. So they decided not to promote you to a Lieutenant, but instead to a Sergeant-at-Arms."

Trevor lies there, taking in the infinite wisdom as he is being told of it. He cannot believe it. Then again, how could he even begin to grasp at the words of the exalted geniuses at the CSP?

"So… I gained a ceremonial title, a little gold pin and maybe some matching cufflinks? What a deal." Trevor moans in both disbelief and knowing very well that is exactly something those pretentious bastards would pull.

"With compliments from the General himself." the Lieutenant wishes to iterate.

"Coming from the guy who nearly succeeded in making me kick out my partner and my fiancée… I believe that. Wholeheartedly! But hey; it's better than nothing. I could've been dead." he relativizes.

"That's the spirit, Sergeant. And speaking of ranks, we must clear up one thing inside of your team."

The Major then turns to Patches.

"Ashley. I will not call you by your current rank, as I know it's a sensitive topic. However, you have been field promoted and I have here your new rank insignia. To make it official."

The Major pulls the twin-chevron patch out of his other pocket and holds it out towards her with an open hand. The moment she sees it, a sense of dread overcomes her. Not because it scares her per sé, but because it brings up nothing but bad memories. Also, she does not feel ready whatsoever. Accepting this rank would put her on a higher level with more responsibility than she already has. And the thought of getting to that level so early already, it does not feel right.

"Sir… I'm honored. But with your permission, I'd like to be just a Specialist again. I'm not ready for this. I feel that there's too much I have to learn still, before I could be comfortable enough to have that role." she explains.

The Major is confused by it however. Because he saw first-hand and from witness reports from the rest of the team, how well she acted and led. Even under the extreme pressure of gunfire and literally having your then-former leader bleeding out on your shoulders. But he understands her wishes. His hand closes and he takes the insignia back.

"Consider it done, Specialist. Should you be ready for it, I will give it to you." the Major promises.

Something Patches appreciates.

"Welcome back, Specialist Hare." Trevor teasingly states.

"Still confident enough to stand next to me as my 1?"

"You mean as your second-in-command? I wouldn't trade it for all of the gold in Lylat."

"How about platina or diamonds?"

"Hmmm… maybe."

"I knew you were a sucker for the expensive shinies. I bet the Lieutenant is already regretting starting something with you."

"More than you know." the Lieutenant snaps out of nowhere but he cannot keep up appearances for long.

"Sorry Sergeant, I cannot lie to save my life."

A statement that makes the Major turn around and raise an eyebrow.

"It is true. That you cannot read me properly, is not my problem." he defends himself, while avoiding eye contact by lifting up his head.

Only to receive a light jab of the elbow into his stomach. And despite tensing his muscles, it still hurts enough to make him exhale.

"Do not act like you do not like me, Clef."

"Go to hell, Damian."

"Already there, Sir."

"Sure you are you big, feathery oaf. Back to the point; Sergeant. We're glad that you're alright. And still part of our big, dumb but otherwise fantastic team. Take all of the rest you need to recover, take some time off for a vacation or something and then get back at us. I have a feeling that the peace you fought to preserve, will not last."

"That's Lylat for ya." Trevor responds instantly.

"But I will follow that advice, Sir. I kinda have to; being confined to this bed. But with you guys around me, I'm sure I'll be up and about in no time."

"That's the spirit, Trevor!" the Lieutenant proclaims boisterously before the Major's wrist mounted communicator forms out of his watch.

"Ugh… it's the General. He wants an update on the Fortuna situation." he bemoans before excusing himself and the Lieutenant to the rest present; they have to take this and hope that they will not pull too many hairs out during the "meeting".

"If you find us looking like a hairless cat after this, know that we had to hold back quite a lot." the Major sighs before waving everyone goodbye.

But not before Patches manages to steal a kiss from her big lovey-dovey and making him promise not to pull any of his pretty blue feathers out. Once that is done, the two superiors leave the room, leaving Trevor with his team.

"So… what did I miss while I was out?"