His head felt like someone had been using it as a replacement drum in a rock band, but at least he was in a bed. That was nice. Opening his eyes slowly, Saber struggled to remember just what had been going on; the battle with Gunnar had to have been resolved in their favor, the fact that Slade had blown the evil Teknoman away with his most powerful weapon notwithstanding, he wouldn't have been waking up in bed if they'd been captured by the Radam.
In fact, if that had happened it was debatable whether he or Slade would have been waking up at all.
Oh crap, Slade!
"Commander, I think he's waking up," said a bright, colorful blur that sounded like Tina.
Opening his eyes fully, Saber found that the blur did indeed resolve into Tina.
"Welcome back, son," Commander Jamison said. "You and Slade did very well out there; I would like to thank you boys on behalf of the Space Knights, and the Earth."
"You're welcome, I guess," he said, not knowing quite what else to say.
(We've been invited to stay,) he heard Slade say, and turned to look his way.
(That's generous of them,) he said cautiously; he knew that neither of them were going to take the offer. It was just safer to have no ties, no weaknesses to be exploited; the only person he could ever really let himself care for was his brother. (When are you planning to leave?)
(After we get some food and supplies. We should at least be able to make it to some kind of a shelter before nightfall.) Sitting up on the bed, one knee tucked under his chin, Slade was the picture of watchful silence.
(What about rest? I'd kind of like to sleep in a real bed at least once before we start moving again.)
(These people… they seem to want us to protect them,) Slade said, his gaze discretely taking in the gathered Space Knights. (Though I guess I have to admit, a bed would be nice.)
(We could just stay for a day, then leave. It wouldn't be as easy as getting out now, I guess, but I think it could be worth it.)
1001001
He considered what Saber had just finished saying; the thought of a bed, not just a cot or a sleeping bag like they would find in one of the tent shelters that had sprung up all over the place, was tempting to him as well. But the thought of falling in with people like the Space Knights – people who had no idea what they were getting into when they chose to face the Radam, people who could very easily get close enough that their deaths would hurt him – wasn't one that he liked to entertain. Saber understood that; that was why he wasn't suggesting that they stay.
His brother just wanted a comfortable place to sleep. So did he, for that matter.
"Slade?" Commander Jamison's voice broke him from his thoughts. "I'm sorry to interrupt you, but I would like to know if you and your brother have come to a decision yet."
"I guess we can stay," he said, speaking more to Saber than to the Space Knights' leader.
(I see you're glad to have a nice, warm bed yourself,) his brother said, and there was a ghost of his usual teasing smile playing about his lips.
(I guess I am.)
"We'll have quarters set up for you, then," he said, nodding sharply as his eyes passed over them.
Slade returned the nod without words, more concerned about what else he might be asked to do now that he had agreed to stay. Even if it was only long enough to get food, supplies, and a warm place to sleep for the night. They didn't know that he and Saber didn't intend to stay; he could tell from the way they looked at them.
Even Ringo's annoyance was indicative of that; he obviously thought he was going to have to deal with them for the long haul. He'd probably be relived when they were gone, though.
"So, what do we do now?"
"We should see about getting some food," he said, turning to look at his brother again.
"That sounds good," Saber said, nodding as he levered himself out of bed. "Where do you think we should go?"
Just as he was about to say something, the alarms – annoying in their shrillness – started to go off again.
"Of all the times for them to start attacking again," Saber said, sounding more fed up than truly angry.
He knew how his brother was feeling; he'd been looking forward to getting a good meal, too.
"No rest for the wicked, eh?" Ringo needled, standing in front of them even as they climbed out of the bed and headed for the main room.
It was best to get the talking over with so they could deal with the Spider-crabs that Darkon had to be sending out again. That was the only reason either of them could find for the alarms going off so soon after they had returned.
All but leaping out of the beds they'd been placed in, both twins made for the Command Center's main room at high speed. Most of the other Space Knights had already gathered there, and of course Commander Jamison was there waiting for them.
"What's the situation, Commander?" Star asked.
Neither twin was quite ready to consider himself a part of this organization, not after what they had been through, but they would do everything they could to help. These people were still human, after all.
1001110
The pain… the pain had passed long ago, but this near-complete sensory depravation was almost worse. At least the pain could be fought, but there was nothing to fight in this situation.
He was blind; his eyes sealed shut by what felt like a thicker variant of the slime that was imprisoning him in this pod. No sounds from the outside – if there were any to be heard in the first place – could reach his liquid-filled ears, leaving him in a void of silence that the blindness made all the more unbearable. The only thing he was left with was his sense of touch; his nose was filled with the same type of fluid as his ears, and he wasn't about to open his mouth to try and taste it.
The feel of his heart beating steadily was the only sensation he was privy to; the fluid was at the same temperature as his body, to the point where it was easy to forget it was even there.
All of this would have been bad enough without the constant whispers in the back of his mind; the voices that kept trying to press him into accepting a name that wasn't his. The name of a weapon; of one of Radam's slave-warriors.
No; my name is Conrad, I'm Conrad Carter! He screamed silently, defying the voice that was trying to tell him that he was Spear, and that Conrad Carter was dead. He was not going to give up his life to be a servant to the very things that had already killed most of his friends and utterly ripped apart his family!
Still, in the back of his mind – almost unheard over the whispering voice – was the nagging fear that he wouldn't be able to stand much more of this slow torture.
00100101
As they both helped to unload the boxes of supplies from the stack, carrying them into the Blue Earth's hold and stacking them there, Saber had to laugh to himself. Here they'd been all concerned about another Spider-crab attack, and the alarm had turned out to be the general-alert. That was funny, if only in the sense that they should have been more curious about why the Space Knights hadn't looked worried when they had come into the comm. room.
Still, it was useful to know the difference between the emergency-alert and the general-alert. That had to count for something, even in spite of the fact that they weren't going to be with the Space Knights long enough for it to matter; they'd already made plans to leave after this supply run was finished.
Once all of the crates and boxes had been stacked and secured in the hold, and after he and Slade had used the excuse of checking the bindings to get some time alone – Ringo might have been easy to hate, but Star was just as easy to like, and they couldn't afford to stay in one place long enough to bond with people – Saber followed his brother back to the cockpit. They'd only have to deal with these people for this one day; not long enough to form the kinds of bonds that would hurt to break.
That was a good thing; both of them agreed on that point.
Once the Blue Earth was back in the air, carrying the cargo that the Space Knights needed to continue their operations out in the Arizona desert, Slade found his attention captivated by the landscape passing by underneath the craft. He and Saber were going to have to cross that terrain when they inevitably left, so it was best to know what they were going to be dealing with beforehand.
"All right, kids," Ringo said, with the air of someone anticipating something fun. "Hold onto your lunch!"
Slade barely had time to wonder just what the man was going on about, before the force of sudden acceleration slammed him back into his seat. He heard Saber grunting behind him, and swearing fairly colorfully in the privacy of his own mind, before he made a point of reestablishing the mental walls he'd been working to construct. It was starting to look like the only way they would get any real privacy when they were in close proximity was to block out the thoughts that always seemed to want to slip into each other's minds.
He and Saber had both agreed to work on that while they were packing the crates into the Blue Earth's hold. It was the only way either of them were going to be able to avoid going crazy.
They soon arrived back at the Space Knights' command center. None the worse for wear despite what felt like Ringo's best efforts. Catching up with Saber while the two of them walked – along with Ringo and Star, but neither twin paid them much attention – he touched his brother's hand briefly as he passed. Of course, Saber wasn't going to let him go with just that.
Squeezing back as Saber held his hand, Slade was forced to let go as they descended the Blue Earth's boarding ramp. When they rejoined each other at the bottom of the ramp, Slade heard Star calling to him. Saber seemed to like her, insofar as either of them would allow themselves to like anyone, so he decided to be civil.
"Hey, we're going to go get some chow, either of you want to come?"
"I'm really not hungry, and besides Saber and I have a lot of stuff to do. Thanks anyway," it sounded good, at least he hoped so, and anyway the most important thing was that they get out of here before the Space Knights could try to recruit them.
"How about you, Saber?" Ringo asked, either not getting the point or thinking he could convince one of them to do what the other wouldn't.
"I'm not very hungry, either. Thanks, though."
"You sure? Ringo's buying!" Star called, probably thinking that would entice them when both twins had made it clear that neither of them wanted anything to eat.
Or anything more to do with them, but they seemed to be ignoring that, too.
"I already said we don't want any."
"Slade?" He turned at Jamison's voice, to see the man coming towards him with Tina alongside. "I was wondering if you or your brother would be willing to undergo a thorough MRI analysis."
"Why?" he asked, mildly curious but not wanting to be delayed if he could help it.
"Dr. Fraun says it could help us uncover the source of your power," Tina said, smiling and obviously enthusiastic about the idea for some reason.
"So what?"
"Well, if either of you knew the source of your powers, then you could give me some," she continued with a laugh and a wink.
Slade winced internally; it wasn't hard remembering just how they had gotten these powers. And how much he'd have been willing to give not to have gotten them in the first place. He knew his brother well enough to know that Saber agreed with him.
"Not to be too blunt about things, but if you knew anything about us, you wouldn't say stupid things like that," Saber said.
Turning to catch up with his brother, Slade decided to ignore anything else that any of the Space Knights tried to say to him. None of them knew anything about what either of them had gone through, so it was almost inevitable that they would poke at old wounds. He didn't have to like it, though; or even deal with it any longer, since both of them were going to be leaving soon.
"This isn't something I would be asking you if it wasn't important," he could hear Jamison saying. "But the Earth's continued survival might very well depend on what we can learn from the two of you. However, only one of you would be required to undergo the MRI scan. The other would be free to do what he wanted."
(What do you think, Slade? I know you said that you wanted to get out of here, but I'm in favor of anything that causes trouble for the Radam.)
(So you're saying you think we should stay for this?)
(Yeah; just long enough for them to get some information. Who knows, they might even be able to make our lives a bit easier if we give them what they're looking for.)
(All right,) he said, seeing the logic of his brother's argument but wishing for a moment that he hadn't. (We'll stay long enough for them to find out what they want to know.)
Turning even as Saber did, Slade faced the Space Knights' commander. "All right, I'll go with you."
"Thank you, son," the man said, turning as both he and Saber fell into step behind him. "Which one of you would be willing to undergo the MRI?"
"I will," he said firmly, knowing that Saber would appreciate the gesture and also knowing that his brother wasn't one for lying still unless he had to.
Saber would probably fidget through the entire thing; his brother wasn't really the type to stay still for any length of time when he was bored. And something like an MRI scan wasn't really the kind of thing Saber would consider interesting enough to sit still for. Slade let Jamison lead him away, and saw Saber falling into step with them as the left; he'd suspected that his brother wasn't going to leave him to face something even as mundane as an MRI without some kind of moral support, but it was nice to have it confirmed.
1101010
The sensory-deprivation, as nice as it had been when compared to the pain he had been through while they were trying to make him into one of their warriors, was becoming almost the same kind of torture he'd been put through before. He hated the Radam; everything about them was sorrow and pain and rage, and all they left behind was devastation and slavery and misery. Conrad knew, beyond any possibility of doubt, that he had to hold on to that hatred. It was the only thing that kept him out of their hands.
Everything else was starting to slip away from him, even the memories of home that he had once treasured so much, and he was left with only feelings and impressions. He couldn't love something he was having trouble even remembering, but he could hate the Radam for what they were doing to him. He could hate them for the pain they had inflicted on him.
And he could certainly hate them for what they were trying to turn him into; that hatred was his lifeline, and he was going to cling to it for all he was worth. It was all he had left.
11100100
When Tina had asked for his teknocrystal, Saber had been reluctant at first. It was, after all, his only real means of defending himself from the Radam. Still, when she had told him that she needed it so she would have a second one to compare with Slade's, he had recalled his and handed it over. If Slade was willing to trust these people with his only real means of defense, than he couldn't really do anything less.
(How are you doing in there, Slade? They treating you well?)
(I'm fine,) his brother said. (The bed they have me on is actually pretty comfortable. I'll tell you when they're done, so we can leave.)
(Yeah. I'll be right with you when we do.)
(You always are.)
Smiling slightly at the warmth in his brother's silent voice, Saber leaned against the wall and waited for either Tina to come tell him that she was done with his crystal, or for Slade to say that he was done with his MRI. Whichever came first. He kind of wondered what these people would do once they were gone, how they would cope with the Radam once he and Slade had left.
It wasn't a fair situation to leave them in, but then fate wasn't particularly fair in the first place. It had certainly made that abundantly clear when… sternly, Saber reminded himself that he wasn't going to think about things that couldn't be helped. It was what he and Slade had both agreed on.
"Saber," the calm voice of Commander Jamison greeted him, as the man walked up to him.
Slade was beside him, and Saber's eyes focused instinctively on his brother. (Oh, so you're going to contact me when you're done, eh brother?)
(Believe it or not, I actually fell asleep.)
(Why does that not surprise me,) he sent back, resisting the urge to roll his eyes. "So, how did things go?" he asked.
"Not as well as I would have preferred, I'm disappointed to say," Jamison stated, sounding almost as neutral as he always did. "We do have a baseline reference now, so if you were to volunteer for the MRI yourself, I'm sure we'd have a better chance of understanding just what it is that we're fighting."
Saber cringed internally; the thought of lying still in a dark tunnel while his body was blasted with invisible rays wasn't really one that he liked to entertain. Conrad had always told him- but Conrad didn't exist anymore. He and Slade were on their own; but that still didn't mean that he had to put himself into uncomfortable situations just to spite a memory.
"I don't think Saber would be willing to put himself through that," Slade said, knowing just how much he wouldn't like that. "Still, you people are done with us, right? We can go?"
"You boys were free to leave anytime you liked," Jamison said calmly, and Saber started to wonder idly if anything at all could faze him. "I only hoped that through you, we could understand the evil that we are up against. But could you both look at one last thing before you leave?"
"Guess so," Slade answered, after looking to him for a second opinion; he'd shrugged in response. It wasn't like they really had any pressing engagements elsewhere. "Will it take long?"
"That depends on you two," Jamison said, turning and hitting a button on a keypad next to the door.
What they saw in the room beyond the door was something that neither twin had wanted to ever see again; even though they had both suspected that they would.
"Teknopods!"
"Excellent," Jamison said in response to the double-voiced shout. "You boys have lost most of your memories, but you both still recognize these monstrosities. Now, I think that you boys could very well be the key to unlocking the mystery of these things."
"How's that?" Saber asked, seeing that Slade was too busy glaring at the tanks filled with immature teknopods to notice that there was someone talking to him.
"All we know is that these pods began raining down and taking root on Earth at the same time that you two arrived," Jamison said, laying his hand on the tank of pods. "We dug these up near the capital and brought them here to be analyzed. They are completely unlike any carbon-based plantlife we have ever seen. Although they haven't caused any problems, I'm afraid of what they might be capable of in the future. I'm asking you boys to please stay and help us uncover the mystery of these things, but you are free to go now if that's what you both want."
"What about our crystals?" Slade asked, wary as always.
"You're free to take them," he said, obviously speaking to both twins. "They are your property."
"Thanks," Slade said, seeming mollified for the moment. "We'll need them," he said, opening the glass container that held his and his brother's teknocrystals. "You see, Saber and I have a score to settle."
"So, I guess this is where we part ways," Saber said, catching his crystal as Slade tossed it to him. "Take care of yourselves," he said, as Slade came up beside him and bumped the back of his fingers; they would hold hands once they were out of the room, he knew; better not to reveal any weaknesses when they could avoid it.
"Maybe we'll see each other again some day," Slade said, his tone giving away just how unlikely he considered that scenario to be. "Take care, sir. I wish you and the Space Knights the best of luck."
"Slade? Is this a private battle, or can anyone fight?"
He and Slade both turned to look over their shoulders as Jamison said this. Neither of them quite knew what to think; they had never expected to be offered help so brazenly.
"Try not to let your anger cloud your judgment. You boys don't have to fight this menace all on your own; we could work together," he paused, even as he and Slade turned fully around to relieve the kinks in their necks before they could get really annoying. "You may have the power, but we have the technology and the equipment. We'd be a heck of a team," he said. "Almost unbeatable. Would you two be interested?"
"We'll think about it," Slade said, and Saber knew from his tone that he was being at least somewhat sincere.
He would probably think about it; for about half a minute, before he dismissed the idea as being too dangerous. Not only for these Space Knight people, but for them; it wasn't safe to have ties of friendship when you were fighting the Radam. Both of them had learned this the hard way, and both would remember the lesson.
When the door hissed closed behind them, leaving Jamison to do whatever it was he did during the day, he and Slade clasped hands and continued on their way. It would have been nice to have at least some kind of a home-base, even though they would never really have a home again; even he wasn't hardened enough not to be able to admit that. And he didn't think Slade was either.
Still, there was too much at stake for them to settle down somewhere; he wasn't stupid enough not to see that, either.
"So, how far do you think we are from an exit?" Saber asked idly.
"I guess we'll have to find out the long way," Slade muttered, clearly annoyed with their current predicament.
"Well, at least this way's better than asking people for help. I don't think they'd be happy to know that we're going to leave them for good."
"They'd try to stop us," Slade said flatly, as he continued moving closer to that large room at the end of the corridor.
It might have been an exit, or it might not have; either way they were going to find out soon.
0001001
Watching Star as she took down the last of her opponents for the day, Tina smiled as she heard the man throw in the proverbial towel. He'd managed to last one round longer than the others, so that was likely to be a point of pride for him, but after five rounds against Star, anyone could be forgiven for giving up. Tina certainly knew that she didn't have the skills to compete against Star in any kind of a combat situation.
"Wow, Star's timing was great today," she commented, smiling over at Ringo.
"Speaking of timing, hey boys!" Ringo called, as Tina saw that Slade and Saber were coming into the room with them.
"Aww, too bad you guys weren't here," she said, turning to face them. "You missed a great show. Star was terrific."
"Sorry we missed it," Slade said, and Tina chose to ignore the fact that he didn't sound all that sincere. "But Saber and I had to talk to Commander Jamison."
Saber, for his part, didn't seem interested in saying anything, and was in fact standing about a foot behind his brother.
"So, I take it you guys have decided to stick around for awhile," Ringo said, and Tina smiled.
"Of course!" she exclaimed happily. "They can't leave now; we're all just getting to know each other."
"Tina," Ringo said, sounding like he was trying to be reasonable. "They don't have to stay here if they don't want to."
"Well, I think it would be great if you two stuck around," Star said, and Tina smiled. "We could use some new blood around here."
She kind of wanted to stick her tongue out at Ringo, since now he was outvoted and she would get to hang out with a pair of real life superheroes, but since she'd been trying to take things a bit more seriously since the aliens had invaded, she didn't. Then, Slade spoke up again.
"Thank you," he said, and she wondered why he didn't sound very happy at all. "But, making us your friends isn't a very good idea. The people we get close to don't seem to live very long."
She couldn't understand why anyone would say something so… morbid, but Slade and Saber left before she could ask either of them what they had meant by that.
"What's with him?" was all she could say.
"Hey, who knows," Ringo said with the air of someone who didn't really care. "He's a strange one, that's for sure."
Yeah, strange, she mused. Strange, and a bit sad, or at least that was the feeling she had. Something told her that both of them were sad, but she didn't know what about; she didn't know if she would ever have the chance to find out, either.
0100010
When he felt Saber squeeze his hand lightly, Slade almost smiled. Even if there were people out there who didn't understand why they did what they had to – people who wanted them to stay here in spite of all the danger that that presented to both sides – he still had his brother to stand by him. Slade didn't quite know what he'd be like if Saber hadn't… escaped from the transformation process when he did. He didn't know, and he honestly didn't want to know.
Saber was with him here, now, and he wasn't going to waste time thinking about how things might have gone otherwise.
When they reached somewhere that looked like a large hangar, the first thing that Slade noticed was the large, imposing bulk of the Blue Earth. Silently cursing his bad luck, and the generally confusing nature of the base, Slade sighed.
(Well, I guess this wasn't the right way to go,) he said.
(Well, it's not like we have any maps of this place or anything,) Saber said reasonably. (So it's pretty much expected that we'd get lost like this, especially with the way they completely forgot to provide any guides. Not very friendly to tourists, are they?) Saber chuckled mentally. (I mean, what would it cost them to put up one of those mall maps that says "you are here"?)
He chuckled softly. (I might be going out on a limb here, but I don't think tourism is a big issue for these guys.)
(Yeah, probably,) Saber conceded, still smirking a bit. (Still, that doesn't mean they can't be accommodating. I mean, not everyone can have a photographic memory.)
(I guess you're right,) he said, turning his attention outward to take in their surroundings again.
Now that he was really looking at the place, he found that it looked like some kind of huge, high-tech garage; only with space ships and some guy in a robot-suit working on them. He'd seen a few of those suits back- before, but that wasn't what he was concentrating on right now. What they really needed at the moment was an exit.
Just as he and Saber were turning to leave, though, the man who was working there – the same one who had attempted to crush the life out of him not two days ago – called out to them.
"Hey lads, what brings you two all the way down here?"
"Looking for a way out, in fact," Saber said, before Slade could think of anything to say. "You think you might be able to help us out?"
"I've been working here for more time than I care to recall right now," the large man said wryly, then he became serious. "Still, why are you lads looking for the exit so soon? I was told that the Commander himself offered you a place here."
Saber would have probably been able to fast-talk their way out of this, he was better with people than Slade was, but what Slade wanted more than anything was just to leave. Some things were best handled bluntly.
"We actually are looking for a way out," he said, folding his arms and glaring slightly at the man. He didn't know if this guy was going to try talking him and his brother out of leaving, the way the others seemed determined to do, but he wasn't going to stand for it. "Saber and I are going to be leaving after today, and I wanted to know the location of the main exit, so we wouldn't have to waste time looking for it tomorrow."
"That makes a certain amount of sense, I suppose," the man concluded gruffly. "Still, I don't understand; you lads have a terrific group of people welcoming you with open arms, and you don't even want to stay."
"Oh, the people are fine," Saber said, smiling slightly. "We've got nothing against the people here." (Except maybe Ringo,) he added silently, as Slade swallowed a laugh. "It's just… you wouldn't understand."
"You're right, I don't," the rotund man said, sounding concerned. Actually, genuinely concerned; it was surprising. "What's the worst thing that could happen if you two stay?"
"All of us might start caring about each other," he said flatly, leaning against the Blue Earth's extended landing gear.
"If you ask me, it sounds like a risk worth taking," the man said.
Slade folded his arms, annoyed at this – the latest in a long line of people who all wanted him and Saber to stay here and protect them.
(They don't know what they're asking us to do,) Saber said, squeezing his arm softly; Slade bit back a smile.
He didn't want to have to explain what he was feeling so pleased to someone who wasn't – and never would be, if he had any say in the matter – part of the small piece of family he was fighting to keep by his side. It wouldn't help anything, and it would likely only make leaving all the more complicated. It was just best not to bring things like that up in the first place.
"We should go," he said, and Saber nodded slightly as the two of them stepped away from the landing-gear and left the dry-dock behind.
(Well, that was a big bust. And not the good kind, either,) Saber said, folding his arms behind his head and stretching as he walked.
(Saber, you know when I told you I missed your subtle double entendres?)
(You never told me that, Slade,) Saber said, turning a slightly fish-eyed look on him.
(That's because I really don't,) he said, giving Saber a not-so-gentle, brotherly punch on the shoulder.
(You just have no appreciation of fine humor,) Saber said, punching him back.
(I like a good joke just as much as the next guy. You just never have one,) he returned.
Saber swatted him for that, but they were both smiling; both of them knew that neither of them meant anything by their little jibes. They would stay together through anything; not even all of the forces that the Radam could send against them would force them apart.
01001000
As they made their way through the base, searching for the exit in a place that had initially looked more promising than the one they'd been in when they'd inadvertently met that big guy working on the Blue Earth, both brothers looked up as a loudspeaker started blaring.
-"All Space Knight personnel, including Slade and Saber, report to the control room immediately,"- Jamison's voice blared out over the loudspeaker, calm as it always seemed to be.
The announcement, and the request that didn't sound quite like any kind of request that Saber had heard so far, was repeated twice more, and he heard Slade sigh in what had to be profound annoyance.
"So?" he raised an eyebrow, knowing that his brother would understand what he was getting at.
"We might as well answer it," Slade said. "Who knows; maybe Jamison can tell us how to get out of this maze."
"All right then," he said, taking his brother's hand as they made their way back to the main control room.
He didn't know just what was going on, since neither the general-alert nor the emergency-alert had sounded before Jamison's little announcement, but he hoped that it would give them a chance to find an exit from this labyrinthine command center that the Space Knights had set up for themselves. He knew that Slade was hoping for the same; they were leaving today, no matter what else happened.
01000100
When the various Space Knights began to join them in the halls, all moving in the same direction, Slade couldn't help but wonder just what was going on. It wasn't the general-alert, and he couldn't help the feeling that he and Saber would have been the first to know if there had been another Radam attack, but something about this situation… he wasn't getting the feeling that this had anything to do with the Radam invasion, but he didn't get a good feeling about it, either.
Humans couldn't be as bad as the Radam, though; even Ringo at his worst couldn't manage that.
It was the one truth that he knew, the one thing that kept him going: even with all their faults, humans were worth fighting for. The Space Knights proved that, and even if he wasn't going to allow himself to get close to any of them, Slade would still do his best to protect all of them. He and Saber had both made that vow.
As they filed in through the door, side-by-side since these doors were wide enough to allow for that, Slade caught his first glimpse of the tableaux on the other side. It wasn't a promising one. There were several men with guns, standing in front of Jamison and obviously holding him back from doing anything.
There was also a bald man in the room who all the attention seemed to be focused on; Slade didn't like to think he was one to make snap-judgements, but the bald man looked like trouble.
"Ah, there they are!" the man exclaimed, sounding pleased, and smiling in a way that did nothing to put Slade at ease. "The two young men I've heard so much about: the Teknomen Slade and Saber!"
"Yeah, it's us," he said. "What's going on here, Commander?" he asked, wanting to keep as much professional distance as he could between himself and all of the military – or military-style – people in the room.
"It's really quite incredible," the bald man said, getting into his personal space, and then grabbing his chin to top it off! "Such power at such a young age."
"Hands off, jerk!" he snapped, slapping the bald man away from him with more force than was – perhaps – strictly necessary.
"Well now, a lot of fire. I like that." Judging by the look he gave Saber shortly after he said that, his brother had probably kicked the man's ankle; Slade would have thanked him, but there were clearly more important things at stake right now.
Neither of them could afford distractions.
"This gentleman is General Xercese Gault, of the Allied Earth Military," Jamison said. "To deal with the Space Ring emergency, he has come here demanding that I relinquish my control over you two, as well as the Space Knights in general, to the military."
"What're you talking about?" Ringo demanded. "On whose authority, Commander?"
Before any answer could be given, the large main screen activated, displaying a man that was so clearly a soldier, Slade knew before he spoke that he was working for Gault. "No change in trajectory, General. Troops, and all armored vehicles are in place, sir!"
"Excellent," Gault said, and Slade realized that he could very easily come to hate this man. "Remain on standby alert."
"So that's the story," Ringo said, sounding – if anything – mildly disgusted. "You're trying to force us into taking your orders!"
"Not you," Gault said smugly. "It's your Teknomen I want."
"They're not just some property that you can barter for!" Ringo snapped, and Slade was surprised to hear the man who seemed to hate them being so passionate in their defense; maybe he just hated the military more. "I say those boys are free to do what they want."
"Your opinion is of no consequence," Gault said, sounding even more smug than before.
Ringo stiffened slightly, and didn't say anything else.
"Listen, Slade," Jamison said, coming over to speak with him more personally. "You and your brother don't have to cooperate if you don't want to; the Space Knights will back you up no matter what."
"Thanks," he said, feeling warmed by the sentiment; even if they weren't going to be staying, it was still nice to know that there were people they could count on to support them. "But I think that they should be the ones to cooperate; with us. You see, if me and my brother don't go along with this plan of theirs, there's nothing they can do about it; they won't have the power to accomplish whatever mission they set out on. It's our way or no way."
"Basically, we don't take orders from anyone," Saber sneered at Gault. "And especially not from the military. Now order your troops to stand down, General," Saber said, his tone making the title sound like an insult. "And then apologize to Commander Jamison."
"Would you like me to silence him, General?" one of Gault's goons asked.
"Go right ahead," Saber taunted, smirking. "Just so you know, though: if you kill me, my brother's going to slaughter you all before you can blink."
That might have been an exaggeration on his brother's part, but they both knew that the sentiment behind it was true. He wasn't going to lose any more of his family. No matter what.
Gault snarled like a cornered tiger; a really ugly one. "I'm tired of this game. Fire!" he shouted, depressing what was obviously the transmitter button on his comm-link.
The room shook and rumbled, and Saber moved closer to him so that they could each draw a little strength from the other's closeness.
"As you can see, I'm not bluffing!" As if any of them would have thought he was; as if any of them were that stupid. "Well, Jamison? Are you going to cooperate, or do I destroy the command center?" There was no response; he had to respect Jamison for not giving in to this General's strong-arm tactics. "Answer me!"
"This is insanity!" Jamison exclaimed at last. "You have no authority here; the military can't force Slade, or anyone else, to work for them."
Gault just scoffed in response. "We'll see about that! All units, begin Phase Four of the attack!"
Phase four seemed a lot like phase three, as far as Slade could tell. There was probably more to it than just what he was seeing, of course, but the rumbling didn't seem to be any worse, and no more than loose dust and other things of that ilk were falling from the ceiling.
(Talk about your sore losers,) Saber groused, and Slade had to bite back a chuckle.
(I know; some people just don't know when they're not wanted,) he said, for once having no double meaning to his words; the Space Knights were good people. All the more so, when compared to this jackass.
"Scrambled message coming in for the General," one of the comm. officers said, cutting into the tension that had been building up in the room.
"What do you mean, a scrambled message?" Gault asked. "From whom?"
"It's from the President, sir," she said. "It's coded 'Urgent'."
"Really? What could he want?"
"Your immediate resignation, I hope," Jamison said, and Slade heard Saber chuckling; he was even tempted to do so, himself.
Score another one for Jamison; if he'd been in a position to have human friends, than he would have been willing to call this man one of them. He wasn't, though; friends could be killed, and humans were all the more vulnerable. They weren't something he could afford the luxury of; Saber was the only one who wouldn't die for standing at his side.
"Gault, that Ring-section is still falling towards Earth!" the President – and wow, was that weird to think about; they were facing the President – berated. "Why hasn't it been destroyed yet?"
"Commander Jamison isn't cooperating!"
And boy, if that wasn't one of the most pathetic excuses he'd heard in his time.
"I was ordered at gunpoint to put Slade and his brother under Gault's command," Jamison said, almost fiercely, for all the calmness of his usual demeanor.
"Gault, you weren't ordered to kidnap those young men, just ask for their help." Slade found himself having to bite the inside of his cheek to keep himself from smirking at the blatant 'oh shit' look on the chubby, bald, jerk of a General's face; Saber, of course, was laughing himself sick over their link. "My apologies, Commander Jamison. Sometimes the good General," here, Slade couldn't quite hold back a snort; he made sure to be quiet. "can be a little overly-enthusiastic."
(There's the understatement of the decade,) Saber said; Slade silently agreed.
"We do, however, have an emergency situation that must be dealt with. My reports indicate less than six minutes until impact. Right, General?"
"How shall I proceed, Mr. President?"
"I assume Commander Jamison is capable of responding to the situation quite effectively on his own," the President said, by now sounding a bit fed up with Gault; Slade couldn't blame him: he'd just met the man a few minutes ago, and he'd be perfectly happy never to see his ugly face again. "I suggest you order your troops to stand-down, and let him do his job. Understood?"
The screen went white as the connection was terminated, and Slade felt the niggling sense of his brother trying to contact him.
(What would you call that look?) And here, Saber somehow managed to give him an image of Gault's face as he spoke into his comm. unit. (Just-swallowed-a-live-carp?)
(Sounds good to me,) he responded, amused.
"All troops, fall back, now," Gault said, with an expression on his face that suggested he'd swallowed something unpleasant; maybe even the aforementioned live carp.
Things looked to be getting serious now, though, so Slade put aside his earlier levity; he saw Saber standing straighter out of the corner of his left eye.
"Slade, Saber, as you're no doubt aware, Space Ring section XD-9 has broken free, and will collide with Earth unless you two can stop it."
"We'll do our best, Commander," he said, after exchanging a speaking glance with his brother. "All that anyone ever had to do was to just ask us."
"Yeah. If your people can get us up there, we'll make short work of that debris, but there's one condition."
"Everyone else stays out of the way," Slade said, before any of the Space Knights could start asking what their condition was. "No one comes into the firing-line but me and my brother. That way, if we fail, no one else gets hurt. Well, do we have a deal?"
Jamison nodded, clearly accepting even though he didn't state it outright. "All right, Space Knights. Take your positions and get the job done!"
0001001
Moving through the corridors at a brisk run, Saber kept his eyes peeled for an actual exit. He knew that Slade would be doing the same, since they were still going to be leaving this base soon. This was just an unexpected but necessary detour. They couldn't allow that debris to just crash into the Earth, not with what they both knew about physics; not and still call themselves human beings.
Once they had reached the Blue Earth's hangar again, Saber caught sight of Mac waving to him.
"I put in a new seat for you, lad," the large man said. "It's just behind and to the right of your brother's."
"Thanks," he called, on his way into the ship.
And, just as promised, there was a new chair; it was within arm's-reach of Slade, and bolted securely to the floor. This obviously wasn't some kind of a temp-job; it made him almost uneasy about the fact that it would only be used this once. Still, it wasn't like they were obligated to stay with these people just because they were nice.
If anything, that was all the more reason for them to leave quickly.
"Blue Earth to Space Knight command center," Ringo said, drawing Saber's attention back to the present. "All systems are go."
"I've engaged the new tracking system," Star informed them. "It should lead us right to it. There!"
The exclamation wasn't particularly necessary, but Saber could understand; it really was an awe-inspiring sight, that of the huge hunk of hollow metal beginning to burn as it fell faster and faster down the Earth's gravity-well. And a tragic one, too; for all the people that would die if it was allowed to complete its trip.
"Get us in close," Slade said, and Saber took a deep breath to begin his mental preparations.
The physical would be taken care of when he transformed, of course.
"We're going in, now," Ringo said, as he guided the Blue Earth closer to their destination. "Closing to one kilometer."
"Spider-crabs!" Star exclaimed.
"Figures," he muttered, as he and Slade both climbed up and out of their seats.
"Time to go to work," Slade said, and he had to smirk at his brother's bluntness. "Catch you later, guys."
They both made for the air lock, summoning their teknocrystals almost before the inner-door had sealed behind them.
"Tekno-power!" he shouted, even as he heard Slade echoing him in nearly the same instant.
The energy of the transformation filled him, nearly making Saber feel giddy from the sheer rush. The few senses that he could use in this kind of environment, and in this kind of armor – hearing, sight, and to a slightly lesser extent, touch – were enhanced even beyond the baseline enhancements that the Radam had originally granted him. When the transformation was complete, something he knew by the way the energies had stabilized, the second thing that Saber was aware of was the horde of Spider-crabs coming his way.
The first was, as always, the comforting presence of his brother.
0100010
Saber had already moved in front of him, and was making himself a lethal obstacle to any Spider-crab in his line of sight.
(Saber, if you give me enough time to get into position, I think I could wipe this whole thing out with one Tekno-bolt.)
(Yeah, I think you could,) his brother said, and Slade could tell that he was smiling. (I'll give you all the time you need. Just watch my back, brother.)
(You've always done the same for me,) he said warmly. (I'd be happy to return the favor.)
And so they continued to drive forward, spilling uncounted gallons of Spider-crab guts into interplanetary space, and splattering more than a few with their combined efforts; each working to move him into a position where he would be able to destroy this entire section of Space Ring debris with one shot. It would have to be one shot; he'd be too wiped out for another if this failed.
This one wouldn't fail, though; not with everything that was at stake.
Taking a deep, though admittedly unneeded, breath to steady himself, Slade began the charging process for his emitters. It would take some time to build up the energy he would need to get this done with one shot, but with Saber to keep the Spider-crabs off his back while he let his body siphon the energy it needed, from… wherever the hell those kinds of energy-levels could be drawn from, it wouldn't take nearly as long as it would if he were alone.
"Slade, there's only one minute left! You've got to hurry!"
"I'm just about there; just a few more seconds," he said, feeling the energies of his contained Tekno-bolt building almost to the point where he could no longer contain them. (Saber, move back, I've got this.)
(All right.)
"Stay back," he directed his admonition at the Blue Earth and her crew. "Don't follow us in."
He knew that Saber would want to stay with him, even if it wasn't particularly safe in the grand scheme of things, and there was no real point in trying to talk him out of it. They would always back the other up. It was just what they did.
"Slade, what do you two think you're doing?!" Star demanded.
(Damnit. I don't think they're going to listen to me,) he said, as he raised his pauldrons and revealed his energy-condensers. (Do you think you could take care of them?)
(Yeah,) Saber said, turning and jetting off that way. (Good luck with your end, brother mine.)
(Thanks,) he said, smiling.
Moving nearly into the mouth of the hollow hunk of space debris, Slade fired his Tekno-bolt deep into he heart of the section of hollow Space Ring debris. A line of brilliant, coruscating explosions rushed outward from the point of impact, and Slade found himself smiling. His smile became a wide grin when he saw the results of Saber's work: his brother had literally shoved the Blue Earth out of the path of the explosion that had just finished consuming the Space Ring debris.
Heading back for the air lock, Slade gave his brother a discreet, low-five as they caught up to each other and flew back side-by-side.
"Nice job, boys!" Ringo, of all people, congratulated them as they made their way into the air lock. "Mission accomplished. We're heading for home!"
(This isn't the end,) he said, the rush of battle having given way to the deep pessimism that had been ingrained in him by all that had happened ever since he and Saber had become what they were now.
(I know. It's not going to end until we end Darkon,) Saber said, sounding like he was starting to get tired; come to think of it, so was he. (Still, we did win this one. That's got to count for something.)
(You're right,) he said, nodding wearily. The last thing he saw, before he slumped to the floor in a dead faint, was Star making her way into the air lock.
At least he'd have a bed to sleep in after this ordeal.
