That horrible, heart-stopping moment – as Saber's Lapis Crystal had broken in half, just before shattering into innumerable, glittering pieces in just the same way that Slade's had done, all those months ago when Gunnar had attacked the pair of them on the Space Ring – was all but imprinted in her mind as Star saw the broken, dull-colored shards scattered over Slade's left arm and Saber's right.
"Damn, I wondered when something like that might happen," Ringo muttered, crouching down between the pair of them and beginning to meticulously scoop up the crystal shards from the snow.
"What do you mean, Ringo?" Maggie asked, giving Ringo a look as she crouched just beside Saber, rolling him onto his back so she could gather him up in her arms more easily.
"When Slade's magic crystal ended up getting broken by that Spectrum Disruptor that Gunnar had set up, I was happy to hear that Saber's hadn't been. You know, at first," Ringo said, narrowing his eyes as he continued gathering up the shards of Saber's Lapis Crystal. "But, then I started actually thinking about what'd happened. I never really managed to come to any conclusions solid enough to feel like I could share them," he said, picking up one of the larger shards of Saber's crystal and staring thoughtfully at it for a long moment. "But, something like this was always at the back of my mind when I watched them go out, I gotta admit."
"Here," O'Roarke said, handing over a small container; she'd seen the man leaving, but hadn't thought of what he might have been leaving for.
As Ringo thanked O'Roarke for his help, and Maggie gathered Saber up in her arms, Star made her own way over to Slade. Crouching down beside him, Star sighed; it seemed like fate just couldn't stop hurting him, sometimes. Touching his face, Star shivered when she felt the unnatural, feverish heat.
Even for a Teknoman, that kind of thing couldn't be healthy.
101001000100
When the rest of the Space Knights had brought those lads back into the Green Earth and gotten them settled into the pair of medical beds that'd been stored within the transport's modest sized infirmary for just these kinds of occasions, O'Roarke had made his way to the cockpit and begun configuring the Green Earth to run underwater. It was plain enough to see that, considering the sheer amount of Spider-crabs that had been drawn to this desolate place by the activities of nearly every one of their lads on the front line, the Green Earth and her precious cargo wouldn't be safe until they were as far away from this place as they could possibly manage.
That in mind, it was no kind of surprise that, once Slade and Saber had been properly settled in the infirmary, Ringo and Balzac went right back out to guard their evacuation; he'd have been honestly shocked if those lads had done anything less.
000100100101
As she finished wiping away the sweat that had collected on Slade's forehead, Star looked over at Saber. It was clear that he wasn't doing any better than Slade, and with his fair skin, he actually looked a bit worse. Sighing, unable to help the wish that none of what had happened just a few hours ago had ever occurred, Star made her way over to Saber, dipped her washcloth in the cool water she'd placed close to hand while Ringo and Balzac had been getting the twins settled into the medical bed, and began to gently clean the sweat from his face, as well.
She could hear the subtle and not-so-subtle sounds of combat going on outside the thick hull of the Green Earth, and as she continued to try her best to keep both of the twins as well as she could manage in their current situation, Star could only hope that both Slade and Saber would be able to get the rest that they clearly needed. Sighing softly as Slade turned his head as though he was trying to look at something on his right, even though his eyes were still firmly closed, Star couldn't help the slight thrill she felt when Slade's eyes opened.
Yes, she knew that he and Saber both needed all the sleep they could get, but seeing Slade's green eyes – even if they were glassy and unfocused from his fever – did make her feel a bit better; Star hated herself a little for that, but she couldn't truly deny the fact, either.
"Welcome back," she said, not wanting to worry Slade, but also knowing that he probably wasn't going to be able to stay conscious for very long; no matter what either of them might have wanted.
"The expedition…" Slade muttered, sounding like it was a struggle for him to even get the words out.
"Everything's fine," she said, smiling in what she hoped was a reassuring manner. "We all made it through okay. Go back to sleep."
As Slade's eyes slipped closed once again, Star caught sight of the flickering outline of his teknocrystal just between his eyes, the same way she'd seen every time Slade had contacted his brother with the telepathy that the Radam had forced on both of them. She wondered, for a moment, if it was entirely healthy for Slade to be using any of the powers that the Radam had forced on him.
Still, it wasn't as though she could have stopped him, even if he had been coherent enough to understand what she was saying.
"I hope we get there soon," Tina said, and Star gently wrapped her arms around the young girl's shoulders as Tina leaned against her.
"I know," she said, reaching down to hold Tina's hand as the pair of them stood at the foot of Slade and Saber's bed. "Me, too."
101010111001
Once the pair of them had managed to clear out the remaining Spider-crabs that'd been chasing them, Ringo sighed as he settled down next to Balzac. He was starting to miss those kids of theirs for more than just sentimental reasons, and even knowing just how much it'd cost the both of them just to carry on with the job they'd been all but begged to do by pretty much everyone who'd still been left in the world didn't quite keep him from wishing that the Wonder Twins could have been back on their feet again.
Not that he'd ever actually say it, of course; those boys had done more than their fair share when it came to keeping the Earth and everyone who still lived on her safe and sound.
"I've never seen so many Spider-crabs," he groused, wondering idly if one of the other Teknomen had been directing them; given the fact that all of them could sense each other no matter where they went, that was an uncomfortably real possibility.
"Couple more seconds, and we would've been history," Balzac said, sounding about as strained as Ringo felt.
"Yeah," he muttered, just as the inner door of the Green Earth hissed open.
Tina was framed in the light of the entrance, and she spoke almost before anyone present could ask the obvious question. "They were conscious for about a minute," she said, pausing for just a moment, seemingly to think about what it was that she'd just said. "Or, at least I think they both were, though Slade was the only one who actually said anything. I don't think they can use telepathy in their sleep, though," Tina continued, speaking at what felt like a mile a minute, before finally slowing down. "But, neither of them seem to be able to stay awake longer than a few minutes, at best."
O'Roarke sighed. "The quicker we can get to the Alaska base, the quicker we can take care of what ails those boys."
"You mean, they could cure them?" Tina asked, the hopeful tone of her voice nearly enough to make Ringo's heart twinge, just a bit.
"The Commander's on the job," O'Roarke said, and Ringo couldn't quite help the smirk that wanted to pull at his lips; he bit it back, of course, but knowing that Commander Jamison had managed to win over the loyalty of yet another person gave him a certain sense of vindication. "He was startin' some research when I left."
Commander, I hope you've got something, he mused, eyes narrowing in contemplation as he looked out into the water they'd taken shelter beneath. And, it wasn't even a very good shelter, considering that the Radam had clearly already bred enough of those swimming Spider-crabs of theirs to give both him and Balzac a run for their money. Still, at this point it was the best they could do.
It wasn't like the rest of the world was much better off, anyway.
0010100101000
Watching as Lance pulled a distinctly uncomfortable looking Rapier into his lap, wrapping his arms firmly around the younger Teknoman's chest and shoulders, Sword narrowed her eyes.
"I suppose he's going to be arriving later?"
"Sooner than later, I expect," she said, drawing a chuckle from her fellow Teknoman.
"Yes, our leader has always strived to be punctual," he said, tucking Rapier's head firmly under his chin, effectively trapping the youngest of their number within the circle of his arms. "Stop squirming," he admonished, barely glancing down at Rapier where he sat.
"So, you're really planning to do it," she said, opting to deal with more pressing matters before she addressed Rapier's clear discomfort with his present situation; Rapier would keep, but her beloved would want to know everything he could about what Lance intended to get himself into.
"Yes," Lance said, smiling reasonably as he leaned his chin against the top of Rapier's head. "Only a fool would call our leader weak, but we all know he's a sentimental sort," this was said with a glance down at the small form still firmly restrained within the circle of his arms, so Sword suspected that he was using the youngest of their number to prove some sort of a point, even if only to himself. "Therefore, I thought that I would do him the favor of killing the traitors for him."
"You really think it's going to be that simple, Lance?" she asked, not quite seeing just what it was that Lance was attempting to get at; what had driven him to speak up at this of all moments.
"It hardly seems complicated," her fellow Teknoman said, smiling calmly at her. "I'll track the pair of them down to wherever it is that they're currently hiding, and then I'll kill them. It'll save our leader the need to do something he clearly finds distasteful, and, who knows," he grinned, and Sword knew that she was at last hearing the true reason for her fellow Teknoman's current eagerness to put himself forward. "I just might get some recognition out of it, as well."
"So, you wouldn't be doing this only for Spear's sake," she said, knowing that Lance would have a great deal more difficultly denying her conclusions once she'd stated them out loud.
"Well, if Lord Darkon is willing to recognize my efforts on our leader's behalf, I don't suppose I'd truly be in any position to refuse, now would I?"
She sighed; truly, it seemed as though Lance was bound and determined to carry through with this foolishness of his.
111010010111
Once she'd settled herself back down at beside the bed that Slade and Saber had both shared for so long, Star sighed as she checked the readouts on the medical monitors again.
"There's no change," Tina muttered, sounding about as depressed as Star felt.
"So far, nothing's worked," she said, all of her observations thus far leading to one horrible, seemingly inescapable conclusion. "It doesn't seem to matter what we do, they just keep deteriorating, almost as though they don't want to live."
"They'll get better," Tina said, and while Star was grateful for the younger girl's optimism, she couldn't bring herself to discount the evidence that was right in front of her eyes.
And the evidence didn't give her much of a reason to hope, right now.
000100010101
Once the Green Earth had surfaced again, plowing through the wavelets on the sea rather than scudding along beneath them, Maggie tried to concentrate on getting them all – her fellow Space Knights, and O'Roarke's people both – to the Command Center in Alaska that O'Roarke had directed her to go to. Even without Slade and Saber's steadily declining health, they would have continued in that direction anyway, since it was where they were going to drop off the computer chip and check on the progress of the Blue Earth's repairs.
They just had another, more pressing matter to attend to, that was all.
"Sergeant O'Roarke, are you positive you can locate the base?" she asked, after having spend several, long minutes trying to do that very thing, and thus far found herself defeated by the unrelenting sameness of the terrain all around them.
"Nothin' to worry about," the soldier said. "Trust me."
"Well, if I wasn't worried before, I sure am now," she said, only half joking; the lives of two of her closest friends – well, a friend and a lover, now – depended on them all getting to the new Command Center as fast as they possible could.
"Ya don't doubt me, now?" O'Roarke asked, sounding like he was playing along, just for a moment, before becoming serious as he came up to the right-hand side of her chair. "See, look there: straight ahead."
Sure enough, there was indeed a far-off collection of buildings – long and low, designed to both withstand the pressure of the snow that would inevitably build up on top of them, and to appear as merely part of the landscape to anything that might have been passing by overhead – off in the distance, directly on the path that they were all currently traveling down.
"Oh," she said, relieved to know that Slade and Saber would soon be able to get the help they both needed to get better. "I never would've seen it, if I didn't know where to look."
There was a moment's pause, before the large, imposing bulk of the Green Earth was swallowed up by a hidden entrance to the new Command Center.
"Mind taking over for me?" she asked, already rising from her seat as she felt the lurch of the cruiser going down what felt like a fairly shallow incline.
"Not at all, lass," O'Roarke said, taking her place with the kind of smooth ease that Maggie found herself particularly grateful for, under the circumstances.
"Thanks," she said over her right shoulder, levering herself up and out of the driver's seat.
She'd be more than grateful, once Saber and Slade were in a real sickbay and she could finally be assured of some kind of answers about what was happening to them. Once she'd made the trip back to where Saber and Slade had been set down to rest, she wasn't remotely surprised to find Ringo, Star, and Tina in the room, too.
"So, we're finally there?" Star asked, looking up in relief as the door between them swished open.
"Yeah," she said, making her way over to the bed that had once held the slumbering forms of Saber and Slade.
Now, with Slade held between Star and Ringo, that just left her to gather Saber into her arms.
"Do you need any help?" Tina asked, speaking for the first time since Maggie had made her way into this room.
"Nah, I'm a mechanic," she said, grinning and winking down at the younger Space Knight where she stood. "I've handled heavier loads than this."
Crouching so that she could get Saber's full bodyweight underneath her, Maggie carefully lifted him up and out of the bed that he and Slade had been resting in together for what felt like such a long time. Following Ringo and Star as they made their way down and back out of the Green Earth, arriving in what looked so much like the motor pool of the old Arizona Command Center that Maggie felt a rush of déjà vu, she grinned all the wider as she saw the men waiting for them.
"Hey," she said, as Mac and Commander Jamison both turned to regard the six of them; though her own eyes were more settled on Mac, she had to admit. "I missed you."
"I missed ya, too, lass," the grizzled old mechanic – her grizzled old mechanic – said, a fair bit more of his Scottish brogue coming through with the strength of the emotion she could see in his eyes. "How are they doin'?"
"Well," she sighed, looking down at Saber's slumbering form as he continued dozing in her arms. "Neither of them seem to have improved at all."
Star and Ringo came out then, both of them supporting Slade as they made their way out of the Green Earth and into the Alaskan Command Center's motor pool at last. Then at last Tina, carrying the box full of the shards of what had once been Saber's Lapis Crystal, made her way hesitantly out of the transport.
110100100100
He'd previously taken the precaution of arranging for a medical team to be on standby, once he'd received confirmation that the Green Earth would be arriving shortly, but he hadn't been expecting Tina to hand him a container filled with the shards of what had clearly once been Saber's teknocrystal. True, it would make it all the simpler to convince Saber – if not both of the twins at once – to rest and allow the Space Knights as a whole to take over for them. And, while Slade would likely continue raising objections to that course of action, Jamison hoped that he would be able to convince Saber to cooperate, at the very least.
The pair of them did seem to take one another's advice to heart more quickly than anyone else's, which had both positive and negative consequences.
Still, as Jamison followed in the footsteps of the medical team tasked with transporting Slade and Saber to the medical wing, he hoped that the loss of Saber's teknocrystal – while it would clearly be a blow to them both – would provide at least something of an impetus for those young men to allow themselves to step back from the front-lines of battle before the pair of them ended up killing themselves. It was a slim hope, particularly considering what he and all the Space Knights knew concerning the character of those two young men who had been so quick to offer themselves in defense of the Earth and everyone who still lived on the planet.
When he and his Space Knights had made it to the observation room, having split off from the medical staff as they closed in on the room that had been prepared for Slade and Saber once those young men had been brought in from the Green Earth, Jamison took his place at the forefront of the group as his Space Knights all gathered around the observation window. As well as the microphone-and-speaker arrangement that would allow them to communicate with the twins once they had inevitably awakened.
Watching as the medical staff went to work, attempting to stabilize Slade and Saber's condition so that those two young men would be able to recover, Jamison narrowed his eyes. At least insofar as it was possible for them to recover, considering how much damage had already been done. Both by the actions of the Radam, and by the insistence of those two young men on putting themselves forward to face the brunt of their invasion.
And yes, it was rather obvious that the Radam had forced their hands more often than not, however anyone who had worked with the two of them for as long as he and his Space Knights had would be familiar with the self sacrificing tendencies that the both of them shared.
Looking down into the treatment room where Slade and Saber were convalescing, Jamison narrowed his eyes slightly as he began to spot the signs of their impending revival. While he had known that Teknomen seemed to recover more quickly from fatigue and various injuries than any human had been capable of, he'd thought that they would have shown some signs of the physical degeneration that they were both suffering from.
Still, seeing the pair of them slowly awakening was quite a different prospect from allowing those two young men to throw themselves wantonly into combat with the Radam, the way they would doubtless be wishing to do.
"It's all right, you two," he heard Star say, her tone obviously pitched to be comforting. "You can relax; we're in Alaska, at the new base," she continued, and he watched as Slade and Saber both relaxed and let themselves lay back down in their respective beds; however, the sight of a distinct flicker on both of their foreheads gave the distinct impression that both Slade and Saber had a great deal more to say to one another than any of the Space Knights around them.
"What's going on?" Slade asked, eyes fixing on them for a long moment, before flickering back toward Saber. "Why are we here in sickbay?"
"Was O'Roarke right, you know, about what's happening to us?" Saber asked, sounding as though he would have much preferred that the man be wrong about such a thing.
"Yes, I'm afraid he was, Saber," he said, knowing that it would be far kinder to the young men before him if they knew what was happening to them in advance, rather than risking their lives in the way that they had clearly become accustomed to; the way that would inevitably prove fatal, considering their present conditions. "However, providing that neither of you transform into your respective Tekno-modes, you'll both be fine."
"That'll be much easier for you, Saber," Ringo said, sounding as though he was desperately attempting to lighten the present mood in their sickbay. "I mean, considering-"
"My crystal finally gave out, didn't it?" Saber asked, his voice flat but carrying an undertone of exhausted resignation that Jamison had never expected to hear from that young man in particular.
"I'm afraid so," he said, watching as Saber closed his eyes, and Slade reached over to clasp his younger twin's right hand in what was clearly intended to be a gesture of both support and solidarity. "However, as both of you are now medically grounded, it makes little difference."
"What do you mean?" Slade asked, his tone beginning to sound far sharper and more demanding than Jamison had heard it sound for some time.
"I'm sorry to have to be the one to tell you this, but if you and Saber continue transforming into your respective Tekno-modes, your tissues will slowly disintegrate and eventually you will both die. As long as neither of you transform, your bodies will heal. But, according to our medical staff, one more transformation might very well be the last thing either of you do. You see, the energies of the Tekno-transformation process create a systemic imbalance in the cells of living tissue. Eventually leading to complete cellular disintegration."
"Great," Saber said, barking a humorless laugh. "Just one more way for them to control us."
"Indeed," he said, knowing that such a thing was more than likely to be true; given the fact that the Radam had been the originators of the Tekno-transformation process, it seemed only natural that they would have a way to treat the cellular imbalance that was inevitably created when a Teknoman transformed. Or, perhaps it was an artifact of their incomplete transformations; there was little chance that he would ever have the chance to discover the truth through a comparative analysis, considering the current state of war.
And, given everything he'd seen and learned of the Radam, their colonialist ambitions would not have allowed for such an examination at all.
"You're sure about that?" Slade asked, and Jamison could detect more than a hint of desperation in his tone; truly, it fit with the character he'd demonstrated on more than one occasion.
"Every data-point our medical staff has managed to gather concerning you and Saber has led them to the same conclusion," he said, watching the clear expressions of resignation that spread across the faces of both twins as they lay back in their respective beds. "The truth is that if either of you undergo the energy-flux of another transformation, you most likely won't survive."
"Isn't there anything you can do about that?" Slade asked, the stubborn determination that seemed to define that young man coming right back to the fore once again. "Some kind of special shielding, or something? You know there isn't anyone else who can fight a Teknoman on any kind of even footing. I know Ringo told you about Rapier."
"He did," Jamison allowed; Ringo's report detailing his encounter with the youngest of the Radam's Teknomen had been both scathing and particularly thorough, emphasizing the brutality of the child that had once been Samuel Carter. "However, all of that is immaterial in light of the facts of yours and Saber's condition. I'm sorry, but it seems that we will simply have to find some way of combating the Radam's remaining Teknomen on our own."
Saber's bitterly amused chuckle echoed over the microphone, before Jamison could dismiss the remaining Space Knights from the observation room. "You do know that Spear's not going to give up on us so easily, right?" the young man scoffed. "If anything, this would just make him all the more determined, and he's walked through you guys before. You do know that, right?"
"Yes, Saber; I'm well aware of just what your brother would do if he were allowed to find out about your and Slade's present condition. However," he said, pinning the young man – just as self-sacrificing as Slade, in his own way – with a severe gaze, in order to let him know that insubordination wouldn't be tolerated on this particular subject. "Matters like that are no longer your concern."
101000010101
Once the last of their fellow Space Knights had left alongside the Commander, Slade blew out a long, harsh sigh. (This can't be the end,) he said, knowing that anyone who was still watching them on the monitors would know that he and Saber were talking, but at least wouldn't be able to tell what the topic of their present conversation actually was.
(I think it might be, for me at least,) Saber said, with a wry smile that looked just as bitter as Slade felt, at the moment. (You might still have a chance, though.)
(What makes you think you won't have a chance?) he asked.
(Come on, you really think any of the others would be willing to make something like Pegas for me, considering everything that's happening?)
Sighing again, this time at himself for having forgotten just what it was that Saber was going through, Slade closed his eyes for a moment, and then opened them, resolved to what he was going to do next. (Come on; it doesn't sound like there's anyone else in here with us.)
(You planning to take a tour of the new base?)
(Very funny, wiseass,) he deadpanned, though they both knew that he was grateful to his younger twin for at least trying to keep his spirits up. (There has to be something that can help us in here. Commander Jamison's spent so much time researching the Tekno-process, he's bound to have collected something that could help us get a handle on what's going on.)
Saber didn't seem to have any objections, so the pair of them climbed up and out of their respective beds. Nodding to his younger twin, once he was sure that there wasn't anyone else in the room with them, Slade took the lead as the pair of them made their way out of the medbay.
(You know, they probably had cameras on us when we were sleeping, back there,) Saber commented, as he continued searching for any signs of a laboratory or a storage room; somewhere that the Commander would have been keeping the samples that he, Star and Saber had helped the man to harvest, so long ago.
Long enough that it almost felt like a different lifetime, considering everything that had happened.
(Yeah, I know; probably means that the others are going to be coming to get us; still, we should at least have some time,) he said, flicking his eyes over the colorless walls and doors at regular intervals; looking for some sign that his and Saber's search wasn't going to end up being in vain. (This looks promising.)
However, the brief flash of something, that sense that he'd had so many times in the past – when Saber was close; when Spear was hunting them; when the remains of the Argos' crew had shown up to kill them; and when Shara had called out for help – let Slade know that he probably wasn't going to like whatever it was that he was going to end up finding in this place.
And yeah, the immature Spider-crabs neatly sealed in glass jars that crowded the shelves to either side of them were kind of unsettling considering everything he and Saber had been through, but that wasn't what Slade was sensing. He knew that Spider-crabs didn't really register to his senses – at least not any of those that the Radam had implanted in him rather than just improving – and this… He would have said it felt like another Teknoman, if he hadn't had Saber with him for so long to compare it to.
It felt weaker than any Teknoman he'd ever sensed, but Slade also had the creeping feeling that it – whatever it was – was somewhere close.
(I have a bad feeling about this.)
(Yeah,) he muttered, making his way over to the locked door that seemed to beckon to him; almost as though whatever was behind it wanted him to know it was there.
Pressing the panel that would open the laboratory door in front of them, Slade found himself confronted by the absolute last thing he'd ever wanted to see in one of the Space Knights' labs.
(What in the hell?!) he demanded, feeling his fists clench almost involuntarily, as he stared down the Primary Body – the Teknoman in the making – in forced-stasis within the spoor flower.
"Commander, I hope you have a very good explanation for this," Saber said, in his I'm-going-to-punch-you-if-you-don't voice, drawing Slade's attention to the fact that the pair of them weren't as alone as they had been when they'd found their way into this hellish place.
"Saber, he's only trying to help you two," Tina said, coming up between the pair of them and putting a hand on Saber's left arm and his right. "We all just want to help you!"
Of course, it seemed that even she wasn't aware of just what it was that the Commander was keeping from them this time, since when she caught sight of the Primary Body inside the spoor flower she gasped, and Saber ended up having to catch her as she fell backwards in shock.
"Yeah, that's what we were talking about," Saber said, his tone tight with the kind of controlled fury that would have had Slade grabbing the nearest person to demand some actual answers. "It's not that we mind the help, Slade and I just have a few issues about where it's coming from, you might say."
"Commander, maybe you'd better explain what's going on," Ringo said, as all of their fellow Space Knights – at least the ones who were actually present to see this – stared up at the horror that he and Saber had found.
And, even though it was still in induced stasis, Slade could almost swear that he could feel the mind of that slumbering Primary Body as it nudged at his own; Primary Bodies were instinctively subservient to Teknomen, and Slade wished with everything he was that he didn't know that.
"My God, there's a man in there!" Star exclaimed, clearly having what Slade couldn't bring himself to ignore.
"What have you been doing, Commander?" Slade couldn't quite keep himself from snarling.
"We need to know more about the spoor plants," the Commander said, his eerie calm hardly doing wonders for either Slade's nerves or his temper. "We believe this one is just about to bloom. That is the scientist who found it," the Commander continued, just before Slade could demand that the man get to the point, already.
"Is he dead?" Balzac asked, reminding Slade once again that none of his and Saber's fellow Space Knights could really know just what it was that they were dealing with.
"No," Saber said, and Slade could see his younger twin narrowing his eyes. "He's in stasis; I think the Radam do this to all of their Primary Bodies, at least during the early stages of an invasion," his younger twin continued, muttering in a way that suggested he wasn't aware that he hadn't actually stopped speaking out loud.
"That's as much as we were able to determine as well, Saber," the Commander said, and Slade narrowed his eyes as the man nodded. "Though, I'd little doubt that either of you would have been able to tell us more about this. You say this man is a Primary Body? Would you be willing to elaborate upon that?"
Saber sighed, and he heard his younger twin chuckle ruefully under his breath. "It's sort of an intermediate step, between being a human and becoming a Teknoman. Well," Saber continued, looking up at the blooming spoor flower in front of them. "Being anything and becoming a Teknoman, really."
"Wait, you mean there are alien Teknomen out there, too?" Ringo asked, looking surprised.
"That's not really important, right now," he said, before Ringo and Saber could go off on a tangent about how far the Radam Empire had actually spread. "Look, why don't we use the power of the teknopod to make Saber and me into complete Teknomen?"
"You don't mean that, do you Slade?" Star exclaimed, and he turned to her, gathering himself to make his case.
"Yes. Yes, I do," he said, wanting her to understand not only what he was doing, but why he and Saber were going to do it. "Star, it's the only chance any of us have."
"Not really," the Commander said, and he and Saber both turned to face the man, wondering what he was getting at. "In your current states of cellular degeneration, our research shows a possibility of success, but the odds of either of your survival are too small to make it worth the risk."
"Shouldn't that be our decision?" Saber asked, and Slade saw his younger twin folding his arms, the same, determined expression on his face that Slade had been wearing ever since the idea had occurred to him.
"That's right; it's still a possibility, isn't it?" he asked, narrowing his eyes.
"Yes," the Commander said, still sounding a bit dubious. "Using the plant as a power-source, we might be able to stimulate the evolution of your respective Tekno-powers. However," the Commander paused for a moment, then turned a serious, almost stern expression on the pair of them. "The process is dangerous. If you and Saber did go through a new transformation, the changes would be major."
"What do you mean?" Saber asked, cocking his head, though it'd almost looked like Star had wanted to ask a question of her own. "What kind of changes?"
"Short-term, this evolution would mean greater strength," the Commander said, though the look on his face suggested that he wasn't particularly pleased by the direction of their current conversation. "In essence, you would both become super-Teknomen."
"A super Teknoman?" he echoed, not having expected to hear anything like that. "What do you mean?"
"At present, thanks to your father, you and Saber are incomplete Teknomen," the Commander said, having turned to address not just him and Saber but all of the Space Knights who'd gathered in the laboratory with them. "He helped you both escape in time to avoid being brainwashed by the Tekno-system, so unlike Darkon's other Teknomen, you and Saber have both retained your humanity."
"Thanks, Commander. Now, would you mind telling us something we don't know?" Saber asked, his tone tolerantly sarcastic.
"There might very well be problems with the pair of you undergoing this new transformation, Saber," the Commander said, his tone as serious and implacable as Slade had ever heard it. "We don't know that this evolution would be good for either of you; much less the rest of us."
For a long moment, Slade wanted to demand what the Commander thought might happen, if he was afraid that the pair of them might turn on their fellow Space Knights; if he somehow thought that he and Saber could ever be compelled to abandon the only family they had left, and the only place they could really call home, anymore. Still, he knew that Saber would most likely smack him for being paranoid if he did something like that.
He'd probably be right to.
"What're you afraid of?" he asked instead.
The Commander looked like he might sigh, just for a moment, but composed himself as quickly as he ever did. "Even if you both lived through the transformation, neither of your bodies would be able to handle the stresses from the energies you'd be exposed to. In three to six months, you would both be gone."
He wasn't quite sure whose bitter chuckle was louder, but Saber was the one who spoke first.
"Well, six months sounds like a decent amount of time," his younger twin said, and Slade felt his heart contracting painfully in his chest. "We should at least be able to take out Darkon. You know, give the rest of you time to mop up the Radam's remaining forces."
"Even if you both survived the process, we can't be sure either of you would still be able to transform," the Commander said, his cool gaze settling on Saber for a long moment. "Particularly in light of your present situation, Saber."
"Yeah," his younger twin scoffed. "Dealing with that is going to be interesting."
"Indeed," the Commander said, the expression on his face as coolly calm as it ever was, but Slade thought he could see a bit of tension around the man's eyes. "Based on our experiments, the very best we can hope for is a probability of less than fifty percent. More likely, neither of you would make it past the pod."
"Terrific," Ringo drawled, with all the bitter sarcasm that Saber would have put into that same sentiment. "Any other good news you'd like to share with us?"
"No, that should just about cover it," the Commander said, not rising to the bait for a moment.
"You must have ice water running through your veins," Ringo snarled; Slade stifled a bitter laugh; really, what else was there to say?
"Stop it," Maggie snapped, sounding more than a bit on-edge; considering how she felt about Saber, Slade supposed it made sense. "Don't you think this is hurting him, too?"
"I thought I'd seen lowlifes before, but this guy's playing our boys like a string quartet," Ringo hissed, seeming to have to almost physically restrain himself from lashing out at the Commander with anything more than words. "He knows exactly what he's doing."
"Ringo, enough," Saber said, stepping over to gently clasp their fellow Space Knight's left shoulder.
"He's right," Maggie said, her left hand settling on Saber's hip; Slade tried not to smile. "The Commander ordered Pegas disabled, so Slade couldn't transform."
"That was nice of him," Saber said, turning to smile back at Maggie, before casting a glance the Commander's way. "Thanks."
The Commander nodded, before turning his own attention to Ringo. "Listen, Ringo: I'm responsible for the lives of all of those under my command. And, though sometimes casualties are unavoidable, if you think for one moment I would try to persuade these young men to do something I know would destroy them, you don't know me very well at all," the Commander said, his tone colder than Slade had ever heard it before.
The sound of the Commander's footsteps as they retreated from the room nearly had Slade turning to follow the man, but the feel of Star's arms wrapping around his waist drew him up short.
"Star," he began, though he wasn't quite sure what to say.
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"Slade, I know that we're facing a crisis, but don't you think that you and Saber have done enough?"
"It's not that, Star," Slade said, serious green eyes fixing on her for a long moment, before he returned his attention to the blooming spoor flower in front of them. "There's too many people counting on us; even if the Space Knights could make more Tekno-suits, they're only really suited to fighting Spider-crabs. You've seen that before, remember?"
"Right," she said, recalling what Spear had done to Ringo, those few times their fellow Space Knight had been forced into combat with Slade and Saber's insane older brother; not to mention what Rapier had been able to do to both Ringo and Balzac, even when he was just trying to hold them off. "I suppose you really can't ignore something like that. Still, I- I wish-"
"Yeah," Slade said, nodding as he looked back at the blooming spoor flower in front of them. "So do I."
The four of them all stood there, for a long moment, together but still alone with their own thoughts. Really, Star would have liked nothing more than to be able to convince Slade – and even Saber – that his life was worth living, and ideally he should want to keep it for as long as he possibly could, but it seemed like that wasn't the issue they were facing. No, Slade and Saber just knew what kind of danger the Earth was facing, and didn't want to leave anyone on the planet to face it alone.
"Come on, maybe we could all get some fresh air," Maggie suggested, her right arm already wrapped around Saber's shoulders. "I hear the Aurora Borealis are beautiful, and I think we could all use the chance to get our minds off of things."
"All right, Maggie," Saber said, a knowing, tolerant smile on his face. "Lead the way."
As the four of them made their way out to the snowy hills that overlooked the expanse of the new Command Center they were currently staying at, with her and Maggie making a quick stop to pick up the kind of warmer clothing that Slade and Saber didn't need – she could tell by the look on both their faces that this kind of thing served as just one more reminder of what the Radam had done to them – Star found herself realizing that she already knew just how this conversation of theirs was going to play out. Yes, Slade and Saber might have been perfectly willing to humor them, but when it came to the question of just what the both of them were willing to do… Well, she'd worked with the both of them long enough to realize that there was no question, in the end.
"You're both going to go through with this, aren't you?" she asked, though she knew that the question was rhetorical at this point.
"We are," Slade said, and there wasn't really anything she could say, when confronted with the simple conviction in his tone; conviction that was reflected almost perfectly in his eyes,.
His hands were warm against hers, even through the material of the gloves she was wearing, and Star wrapped her arms around his shoulders as the four of them sat under the lights of the Aurora.
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The sound of the doors sliding open behind him drew Ringo's attention, and the quiet, steady resolve in the eyes of both of their boys when he saw their faces again told him exactly what was going to happen next.
"Commander, we've made our decision," Slade said, standing at the forefront of their little group as they made their way back inside. "Saber and I are going to undergo that second transformation you were talking about. So, let's get started, all right?"
"If that's honestly your decision," the Commander said, looking as though he wanted to sigh, but the persona he'd built up around himself was too strong to allow him to do something like that.
Star was the one who ended up sighing. "You know, I was actually starting to hope we could…"
Slade picked up where she trailed off. "Yeah," he said, wrapping his arms around her as she practically draped herself over him. "So was I."
Sighing as he watched his four friends – two of whom were basically preparing to kill themselves – as they said what could easily turn out to be their final goodbyes, Ringo made his way over to clap Slade and Saber on their shoulders, he smiled back as Saber smirked almost resignedly at him. Everyone here knew what the pair of them were going to be getting into, but no one could really avoid it.
The Radam were still here in force, and even if Spear seemed to be out of commission, that didn't mean that any of Darkon's other goons were going to have the same problem.
Chuckling softly as he watched Saber and Maggie practically wrap themselves around each other as they kissed, Ringo stood back as the pair of them split apart with nearly palpable reluctance.
The Commander nodded to the four of them, as he and Maggie made their way out of the Control Room. Saber sighed, once Maggie was far enough away not to be able to hear him, and he gave the kid a sidelong hug around the shoulders. There was so much riding on them, and Ringo could only hope that everything would go well with this latest stunt they were trying to pull. Not only for the sake of the Earth as a whole, but for the two crazy kids who were bound and determined to put their lives on the line for the sake of everyone on the planet.
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Standing in the machine shop, looking up at Maggie as she continued with her work, Hamilton Jamison could only hope that he'd done right by Slade and Saber, considering what he was allowing them to do. Yes, it could easily be said that he was doing right by the Earth and all of her people, considering what they were all currently facing, and a more callous man might have easily said that those young men would have thrown themselves into combat regardless; comforting themselves with the knowledge that there was nothing they could have done to stop those young men.
Still, such comforting lies were simply one more thing that Jamison made it a point to deny himself.
"Ready to go, Maggie?" he called up, knowing that the young woman he was speaking to had a rather more personal stake in the matter before them than he could ever truly have been said to have.
"Ready as I'll ever be, Commander," she said, sounding as though it was rather a struggle for her to maintain her composure; under the circumstances, he could more than sympathize.
However, the present moment was hardly one for sympathy.
"We'll be channeling the energies of the pod through the Teknobot's interlock chamber, as well as the one that you and Mac have constructed for Saber to use," he said, speaking aloud for both of their benefits; so that Maggie would understand just what it was that he was asking her to do, and so that he himself could gain a better handle upon their present situation. "As your teknocrystals grow and change, you yourselves should grow and change along with them. Evolving into something that we can only imagine. The entire process should take approximately three hours, from start to finish."
"Oi, you lads just think of this as one more battlefield that you're both going to walk away from, in the end," Miles O'Roarke said, clearly attempting to give comfort in his own way. "I'd be right there with ya, if I could."
"Thanks," Saber said, a smile that held all of the gentleness that their present situation denied them on his face. "That means a lot."
"I'll try to increase the power as smoothly as I can, but it's still going to be pretty rough, all things considered," Maggie said, making her way over to where Slade and Saber were standing, and proceeding to drape her arms around Saber's waist.
He turned away slightly, giving the pair of them at least some modicum of the privacy that any young couple would have wanted; particularly during times like this.
"So, when do you guys think we'll be ready to start?" Slade asked, after a moment spent looking over at Saber and Maggie, an unreadable expression on his face.
"Slade," Star called, before he could say a single word.
Slade sighed, a shudder seeming to run the length of his body before he regained his composure. "Star, you know what we need to do. I promise I'll come back to you, but first I have to get this done."
"I know," Star said, making her own way over to Slade.
Jamison turned away as the pair of them leaned together, clearly taking what comfort they could from the other, and caught sight of Miles O'Roarke, smiling calmly. Nodding to the other man, knowing that the pair of them fully understood just what it was that they were asking of these young men, and hence just why it was that the pair of them would seek what comfort they could while they were able. He could only hope that it would prove to be enough to allow the both of them to carry on. That was all any of them could do, under these circumstances: they had to carry on.
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The returned sense of his body brought him little comfort, considering the painful knowledge that he carried; he knew the path that Ness and Cain had chosen to take, and more than that, Spear knew just what he was going to have to do to them.
(It is good to know that you fully understand your duties, Spear, but I notice that you still seem troubled.)
(Yes,) he answered, knowing that Lord Darkon would fully understand the reason for his remaining trepidation.
(I understand that this is a difficult matter for you in particular, considering your former position within your clan,) Lord Darkon said, and there was a certain conciliatory feeling transmitted along their mental link, there was also a sense of unyielding determination to it, as well. (However, I feel that it is long past time that we finished establishing our new colony.)
(Yes; I understand,) he said, feeling his hands almost instinctively clenching into fists as he bowed to Lord Darkon.
(Go, then; I will be relying upon your skills in this situation.)
(Yes, Lord Darkon,) he said, turning to depart from the room where he and his were most often briefed by their Warlord when he wished to send them out on their various missions.
Breathing deeply as he made his way out and away from Lord Darkon's vessel, Spear considered calling out to Sam for a moment. He knew that his little brother would naturally be worrying about him, considering everything that the pair of them had faced – everything that their family had lost, over the course of the battle that he and the forces of the Empire had engaged in against the defiant humans who continued to attempt to stand against them – and Spear had no desire to allow any of his remaining siblings to suffer.
At least, not when such a thing could be reasonably avoided.
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It felt like his head – no, his entire body – was buzzing with the anticipation of what was going to be happening soon. Then Slade realized that it wasn't just the anticipation of what was being set up that he was feeling, but the buzzing pressure of ever-building power thrumming through his body. He'd known, in general, what he was getting into when he'd ordered Pegas to open his interlock-chamber so that he could climb inside, but actually feeling the slow build of power within him was another thing entirely.
Slade found that he could only be grateful that this wasn't nearly as painful as the Radam's first efforts to transform him into one of their Teknomen.
(Saber, are you still with me?) he asked, shuddering briefly as he felt the increasing pressure of the Radam's power as it was channeled into him by Pegas and Maggie's efforts on the outside.
(Yeah, I'm here,) Saber said, sounding like he would have been smiling if the pair of them had been able to see each other; or maybe he was doing it anyway. (Feels really weird, huh?)
(Yeah, it does,) he said, feeling a brief smile on his face at the comforting presence of his twin.
As long as the pair of them were together, Slade felt like he could face anything.
(I feel like a human stress ball,) Saber groused good-naturedly.
(Better that than the alternative, I'm sure,) Slade tossed back, knowing that his younger twin was just trying to keep his spirits up, and so grateful to have him so close. (How long do you think it's been?)
(You're asking me?) Saber tossed out, sounding like he'd have been smirking if the pair of them had been facing each other.
Really, he was probably doing that anyway.
(Yeah, yeah, sue me.)
As the pressure of the Radam's power continued pressing in all around him, Slade couldn't help but wonder just how much time – out of the three hours that the Commander had said this whole process was actually going to take – had actually passed.
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Narrowing his eyes as he grinned fiercely down at the underground hole where those pitiful little human rats were hiding, Lance once again pulled on the connection that all Teknomen possessed to one another. There was no doubting it, not anymore; the traitors Slade and Saber were indeed attempting to hide in this place. You pathetic little worms. You really thought that you would be able to hide underground? From my senses?
Truly, when he'd told Sword that he would take up the onerous task of eliminating the traitors – and thus spare the sentimental heart of their leader from having to take up such a thing – Lance had hardly expected that the task would be so simple as this. Even the hordes of Spider-crabs that he'd brought with him were beginning to seem superfluous, under the circumstances.
How adorably futile, he mused, grinning hungrily down at the underground bunker he was facing; there would be nothing to stop him from breaking open that little rathole and killing each and every one of the little human rats inside. That the pair of you would ever think you could escape Lord Darkon's reach so easily. Fools! You won't take the redemption that Spear has been generous enough to offer you on so many occasions, so you'll simply have to die!
