Part 2: Tension Builds       The shuttle touched down in the Resolute's flight deck and immediately began to unload its passengers. Lt. Nara Burns stepped out into the busy cargo bay and sighed to herself, "Welcome home old girl". Clothed in her pink and green flight suit, Nara picked up her duffel bag and a box she had brought with her. She then proceeded to make her way to the Hanger Deck 5. She wasn't sure that's where they were, but hanger 5 had always been Able Squad's, why change it now? Stepping into the hanger, Nara immediately saw Torres, Bronski, and...Kaz. I wonder if Marsala is here she thought. Probably not, he is heavily involved in the Homeworld Congress these days. Besides, meeting him now could prove to be...awkward, to say the least. Oh well, might as well say hello. Nara made her way over to the poker table. Torres, upon seeing her said, "I knew an old war dog like yourself couldn't stay away for long". "That's funny, I was gonna say the same thing about you, how are you Torres?" said Nara. "Itching for a fight as always" said Bronski chiming in, "Nice to have ya back, Lieutenant." "Thanks Bronski, so what's your story, mister?" she said eying Kaz. "Not much to it really Lt. Burns. Captain Butler wanted to make me into a respectable officer and the aliens wanted to blow us away. Way I see it, I'm of more use here and Exofleet agrees." Kaz said with a satisfied smirk. "And once again you manage to escape the plague of responsibility" retorted Nara. "Ain't it funny how it all works out?" quipped Kaz. Nara shook her head in mock frustration and had a seat next to Torres. "Where's everyone else?" she asked. "J.T. is in a briefing, Marsala isn't here yet, and Weston is..." started Torres, but Nara interrupted. "How is Maggie? She didn't seem so well when I left the squad." Rita, Wolf, and Kaz, began to exchange glances that made Nara feel she had missed something. "What? What is it?" she inquired. Finally Bronski spoke up, "Well I guess you haven't heard, it did happen after you left the squad." "OK then, what is it? What did I miss?" demanded Nara. The answer came not from the three seated in front of her, but from behind. A familiar voice answered, "Well, in a word, me." And with that Alec DeLeon sat in the chair next to her. Nara, startled by her resurrected friend, jumped back a little with shock written all over her face. After a moment she found her voice, "But you...the moon...Typhonus...he..." "Killed me?" offered Alec, "Yes I know, I was there." "But how?" pleaded Nara. "Get comfortable Nara, its a long story." 20 minutes passed as Alec told his story. Halfway through Weston showed up and added little details to it here and there. When he had finally finished Nara spoke up. "Its amazing" She gently poked his shoulder with her index finger assuming that physical contact will somehow make him seem more real. After a moment Alec said, "Yes, I'm solid, now will you stop poking me? Its getting annoying." "Sorry" said Nara "Oh, I almost forgot, I brought you guys something from the farm." She began to open the box she had with her. "I figured you could use a change from the usual Exofleet slop so I brought these." Nara held up four small potted plants which she then placed on the table. Each plant had a number of small plum-sized fruits on it. "What is it?" asked Bronski poking at one of the plants experimentally. "They're Venetian Kumquats" answered Alec who reached out and plucked a fruit from the plant. He then bit into it and swallowed the piece he had chewed. "How is it?" inquired Bronski. "Great, nice and sweet too. Its funny, I thought Venetian Kumquats weren't in season now." noted Alec. "What can I say", offered Nara, "I've got a way with plants." * * *       Taqueza made his way from the command chamber to the his section's ready room. The hallways running lights flashed red, indicating an attack would be launched...soon.       Shanita paced around the ready room with her hands held behind her back. The rest of the group watched her for no other reason than they had nothing better to do. Shanita always did this before a battle, it was her way. Still some, like Jerico, did not get it and said, '(Sit down female, you are acting odd.)' Shanita stopped, eyed him viciously, and then continued. Kamilia leaned over to Jerico and said, '(I would be careful if I were you, that female is second in command of this section.)' '(She will not do anything, she knows I merely jest with her)' answered Jerico. '(Yes, well, I do not appreciate your humor so silence yourself or I will do it for you!)' Kamilia then turned from Jerico and addressed Shanita directly. '(Second, where is our Section Commander?)' she inquired. '(He is on his way, guardsman Kamilia. He will brief us on our mission and then we will depart.)' answered Shanita. '(He certainly takes his time)' muttered a younger Eltorian who was new to the section. '(Do you have problem with the Section Commander, Guardsman?)' inquired Shanita. To her surprise the guardsman answered quickly, '(Yes I do, second, I don't think he can be trusted.)' '(And why is that?)' Shanita demanded. '(They say he is faster, more agile, and stronger than any Eltorian. He is an expert pilot, soldier, and assassin. Some argue that he is the perfect weapon for any adversary.)' stated the Guardsman. '(That is all true,)' replied Shanita, '(but that is reason to respect him, not distrust him.)' '(They also say he is one of them, a human!)' retorted the Guardsman. '(He has a mixed ancestry, that is why he is called Taqueza, it means 'the half-breed'. But a warrior is made up of more than just his heritage,)' continued Shanita, '(Taqueza serves the High Council as you shall soon see.)' The Guardsman began to protest, but she cut him off saying, '(This dialogue has ended)'. As if on cue, the wall melted away forming a doorway for Taqueza to pass through. Upon entering the room all of its occupants rose, '(Be seated, Guardsmen)' he said and so they were. '(Alright, our mission is simple, we have located a small settlement not far from the rock formation the earthlings call Olympus Mons. Because the High Council has decreed we conquer this system, we are to deploy and eliminate this settlement because it may act as a base for a resistance group. The mission is as simple as it gets, eliminate anything moving. Questions? Good, prepare for departure.)' Taqueza then lead the group of 25 Eltorians out of the ready room and down a maze of corridors to a room that looked out into space. The members of his section began to put on what looked like backpacks but were really a masterpiece of Eltorian technology. Referred to simply as battle armor, the packs served to house a symbiotic organism that was part synthetic. On mental command from its user, it would deploy from its pack and cover it's host's body head to toe. It provided air to the host and protection in the form of synthetic armor plates on the torso, back, arms, legs, and head. If damaged, it could repair itself and its occupant, but only to a certain degree. The head piece had darkened eye ports and look somewhat bestial, spikes added to the body armor made its overall appearance look menacing. The suits also employed micronized components derived from the sphere technology. The suits weapons and propulsive units remained out of phase with the users reality, in their own pocket dimensions if you will. Upon mental command of the host, they tear into the user's reality and attach to the suit. With the section assembled and ready, he gave the command to armor up. The backpacks burst open and the symbiotes covered there hosts, oozing over every portion of their bodies. Taqueza's armor was black, marking him as a command element. Shanita's was also black. The rest sported the standard red armor. Taqueza 'called' for his weapons and with a flash of light enlarged boots appeared on his feet and a propulsive pack on his back. The boots were maneuvering jets for his feet and the propulsive pack consisted of a set of wings with the primary jets on top. The wings had an energy weapon at each tip and two bulbous structures that peaked out over his shoulders. These were analogous to the terrain racket launcher. On his forearms appeared his main canons. The one on the right arm was typically set to deliver a high number of plasma bursts in a short period of time. The one on the left arm was slower but the bursts it delivered were significantly more powerful than those from the right forearm cannon. With everyone properly outfitted, Taqueza gave the command, '(Move out!)'       The section moved gracefully through the atmosphere of Mars. '(1 restin to target)' announced Shanita. Taqueza focused on his armor, full power, 50% thrust, fully loaded. In comparison to a terran battle mecha, the pilot of a battle armor maintained a telepathic link with his symbiote. He was always aware of the status of his armor the way one was always aware how many toes he has got. Sensor readouts were displayed in the eye ports, suspended in a holofield. Taqueza's thoughts were interrupted when Shanita announced, '(Visual contact with target is confirmed)' '(Thank you second, stand by)' '(On your order, Section Commander)' replied Shanita. Taqueza observed the target. It was nothing more than a bunch of slapped together metal huts, sensor scans showed no technology of any kind. There were only life forms, 26 humans and 38 Neosapians. '(This mission is over, there is no threat here)' said Taqueza. '(But sir, we have orders to...)' '(I am well aware of the orders, second, all units return to base immediately)' ordered Taqueza. The section hesitated, hovering over the settlement. Its inhabitants had noticed and started to flee. Sensing their conflict Taqueza said, '(They are unarmed and defenseless, there is no honor to be won here.)' The guardsman from the ready room spoke up over the comline, '(Ours is not to question, but to act.)' He then proceeded to dive towards the settlement preparing to attack. Suddenly a burst of plasma flew across his path catching his shoulder, but causing no real damage, at least none that the suit wouldn't repair in moments. But the Guardsman had stopped. Taqueza hovered above him, his forearm cannon still smoking from the burst he fired. '(If you hurt even one of those beings Guardsman, I swear I will kill you myself! That goes for the rest of you as well! Now get back to base!)' There was no hesitation as they followed his order. * * *       J.T. walked back to hanger 5 with a lot on his mind. Chaos was missing, the aliens seemed to have halted their advance and he still had no answers as to why. Not to mention he had nothing to tell Able Squad when he got back. "Maybe I should just try to relax," J.T. thought. When he arrived at hanger 5, he found his squad clustered about the poker table. To his surprise, Nara Burns was with them. She sat next to DeLeon, gently poking him with her finger. J.T. chuckled, "Yes he's real alright." J.T. watched Nara's reaction for a while longer then headed over to the table just as Nara was unpacking what looked like potted plants. As he drew closer, he made out some of the conversation, "...weren't in season now." "What can I say," offered Nara, "I've got a way with plants." "I guess you do, Lieutenant" commented J.T., "got any for me?" "Of course." said Nara with a smile. She tossed him a fruit. "How was your briefing?" J.T. caught the fruit and looked at the floor with a solemn expression on his face, "Not good, Nara, nothing's changed since our last encounter at Mars. All we can do right now is get our forces ready and hope military intelligence comes up with something." "Sounds encouraging." said Nara dryly. Her expression softened as she asked "Um, J.T., do you have a minute?" "Several actually" replied J.T. "What's on your mind?" Nara got up and motioned J.T. to follow her. The rest of the squad went back to their conversations and fruit sampling. Nara stopped just out of earshot of the poker table and turned to face J.T. who was busy munching on his fruit. "Listen, I came back to the squad and I intend to stay with you guys for as long as it takes to win this war, but I need to take care of some... personal business first. There is no easy way to say it, but I'd like to request an indefinite leave of absence until I take care of this." J.T. was silent for a moment as he ate his fruit. He looked at Nara as if assessing her and then answered, "Now is not exactly the best time, Nara, could you be a bit more specific as to what this business is?" Nara touched her arm and looked at the floor as if searching for the right words there. Finally she picked up her head and answered, "I've been getting better, but worse, from the virus Ketzer injected me with." "Better but worse?" questioned J.T. "You know about the seizures already, they have been getting less frequent but more intense. I feel like whatever Ketzer has done to me is coming to a head." "I'm sorry Nara, but I can't give you that kind of leave on the basis of a feeling." "It's more than just a feeling, J.T." Nara interrupted, "I've..." Just then Bronski's voice bellowed across the hanger, "Hey Nara, got any more of this fruit, we're out!" Nara shot J.T. a glance and then walked over to the table. "Sorry Lieutenant, Bronski couldn't control himself" said Kaz. "Hey I wasn't the only one to have some" said Bronski offended. "No, you were just the one who had the most" added Rita. While they were arguing Nara put her hand over one of the plants and concentrated. Her hand and eyes began to glow green. By this time, the conversation had stopped and all eyes were on Nara and the plant as it began to sprout new fruit that matured in only a few seconds. Her demonstration complete, Nara turned to Bronski and said, "Try to make it last this time, OK?" "Yeah...sure" was all Bronski could manage. J.T. looked at her and spoke up, "About what we were speaking of, I'll see what I can do." "Thanks J.T., well I gotta go get settled, I'll see you later." and with that she made her way to her quarters. The rest of Able Squad spent several minutes in silence around the table. Finally, Alec broke the silence, "And here I thought I was the only one who had changed." * * *       Taqueza had not expected a warm welcome with the return of his section. Upon landing he was greeted by three rather large Eltorians. '(Elite Guardsmen)' mumbled Taqueza to himself as he landed. They were sent on only the most important missions, they were also known to take care of faulty officers. The largest of the three stepped forward and approached Taqueza, who still wore his battle armor. '(I am Rodar of The Elite, disengage your armor and come with us)' The other two then stepped forward to take him into custody. They had binders for his wrists and ankles. Part of Taqueza wanted to blast his way out of the situation, which he was fully capable of doing, but he knew he could do more if he just played along...for now. * * *       Rodar led Taqueza towards the aft of the ship, where prisoners were kept. Taqueza found it suspicious, but not so much because of where he was going. He disobeyed orders, he expected to go to there. What was unusual was that only Rodar accompanied him. '(Yes, it would be easy for you to escape)' stated Rodar, as if he read his mind. '(I almost wish you would try)' '(Why is that?)' prompted Taqueza. '(I am curious to see if you live up to your reputation Taqueza)' Rodar had said his name with particular distaste, intending it as an insult. Rodar obviously wanted a fight, and he looked like he could handle one too. Standing at seven feet tall, Rodar was excessively well built. Indeed, he looked more like he had been sculpted then grown. Rodar wore a plain grey uniform with a single rank insignia on the left shoulder, standard dress for The Elite. It was also standard that Elite Guardsmen were genetically manipulated to be stronger and more durable than all other Eltorians. Taqueza had heard of Rodar, he was The Elite's pride and joy. Stronger than the best of the best, he had never been defeated in battle. Bearing this in mind and unphased by the obvious attempt to goad him, Taqueza inquired further, '(Is there a particular reason you wish to test my abilities?)' Rodar stopped in the hall and stepped in front of Taqueza. Standing only 6 feet tall, Rodar seemed to dwarf him. '(You are a freak! A disgrace to the empire! The fact that you exist is a sacrilege to the bloodlines. Some even dare to consider you the best the Guardsmen have to offer.)' Rodar's voice was filled with obvious distaste for the thought. '(And that bother's you, does it not? The fact that an impure being like myself could be better than one born of a pure bloodline. Or is it something else? Perhaps you...fear me? Could it be that the mighty Rodar fears the unknown potential of a genetic accident like myself? Or maybe your jealous that I could attain a level of skill that you required genetic enhancements to attain?)' The fist was a blur, the impact on Taqueza's jaw had more substance, almost as much as the wall he crashed into. Looking up from the ground, Taqueza saw Rodar standing over him with his right hand raised. Taqueza slowly began to get up. He had never been hit that hard before, it didn't really hurt, his mouth had already healed. He just wanted to gauge Rodar's strength. However... Rodar leaned in, to help the supposedly battered Taqueza to his feet. Suddenly, while still on his knees, Taqueza arced his elbow back, catching Rodar's left knee. Then he quickly brought his forearms forward smashing the other knee. Now off balance, Taqueza easily hefted him over his head and flipped him flat onto his back on the floor. Seizing the opportunity, he put Rodar into a head lock, cutting off his air. Being flat on his back, Rodar could not get any leverage to free himself or even right himself. His arms failed about helplessly as he tried to batter his strangler into unconsciousness. If it were any normal Eltorian, it would have worked. However Taqueza merely shrugged off blow after blow. Just when it seemed he might actually kill Rodar, a plasma shot penetrated his shoulder. A warning shot, one intended to stop him would have penetrated his head. Taqueza looked up to see Shanita in her battle armor, the head piece was retracted and the flight boots and pack were disengaged. She said nothing, but her message was clear. Taqueza released Rodar who quickly got to his feet gasping for air. He made a motion to strike Taqueza but was stopped by a plasma bust across his path. '(Enough!)' shouted Shanita '(Elite, you are wanted in the command chamber.)' '(You forget your place, second!)' snarled Rodar. '(No, you forget yours)' said Shanita pointing her cannon at him '(The council demands your presence. It would be unwise to delay. I will escort the prisoner in your absence.)' '(Very well.)' replied Rodar. He straightened himself and went on his way. He flashed a glance at Taqueza that said, '(This is not finished)', before he left. Shanita helped Taqueza to his feet and noted his shoulder had already healed itself. '(Lets go, Section Commander.)' * * *       Unbelievable thought Kaz Takagi. He had faced certain death at the hands of the pirate clans, and then later the Neosapians, more times than he could count. And yet he was afraid to walk six feet. Kaz sat at the bar in the lounge of the Resolute II. Six feet away from him sat a lone female exotrooper reading a book while sipping a drink. She was about 5'11", with a slender body. Her silky red hair was kept in a braid that went down her back. She also had bright green eyes and wore a blue jumpsuit with a brown jacket. Kaz had determined all of this by stealing glances of her for the better half of the last hour. OK, its now or never, Kaz picked up his drink and walked over to her table. Each step made him feel he was getting closer to his impending doom. After what seemed like forever, he reached the table. "Um, Hi! Want some company?" The words sounded all wrong to Kaz. He wanted to turn around right away before he really embarrassed himself. Just then, she looked up at him and smiled, "Sure, have a seat." She closed the book she had been reading and placed it on the table beside her. "What are you reading there?" he asked. "Just a tech manual, you know, the usual stuff" she answered. OK, I've got my foot in the door, don't blow it, keep the conversation going. "I was just over at the bar there..." "Checking me out. Yes, I noticed." Her face was neutral as she spoke, indicating neither offense or approval. For a moment Kaz sat horrified, his clever ruse was not too clever after all. He opened his mouth to speak but stopped. Wait a minute, how could she notice that while she was reading, unless... "You noticed too, huh?" Her eyes widened ever so slightly, betraying her surprise. "Oh come on, I thought you'd be more original than that. I was reading." she said defensively. "A tech manual?" said Kaz skeptically. "Yes, a tech manual." she replied. "I see, and are all tech manuals titled The Art of Chess ?" Kaz said as he gently tapped his finger on the book at her side. The young woman smiled sheepishly and added,"You, uh, noticed that, huh?" "Yup" was all that Kaz said. His expression was blank, much like hers had been earlier. A moment of silence passed, then the young women spoke. "Ok, you got me! How about we make some introductions?" "Kaz Takagi" "Ellen Wright" They shook hands. "So Ellen, what brings you here?" asked Kaz drinking in her gaze. "I'm a Jumptrooper, I've been assigned to the new Charlie five squad under Captain Butler." she said. "Really, that squad has a lot of history attached to the name. Any doubts about measuring up to it?" asked Kaz. "A few, but I plan on doing the best that I can, and that's all I can really do, right?" Kaz nodded in approval. "So what did you do before the Jumptroops?" "I used to be part of Earth Resistance. When the war ended, I helped rebuild Chicago. Then this war broke out. I figured if I was gonna fight again I could use a change of scenery." Ellen explained. "So you an officer?" asked Kaz. Ellen chuckled, "No, just a Jumptrooper, at the bottom of the chain of command." "What about you?" she asked. "I'm not an officer either. I'm an exotrooper attached to Able Squad" explained Kaz. "Speaking of squads with history" Ellen added, "Any problems living up to that rep.?" Kaz eyed her, "None at all, I was with the squad since the beginning." Ellen's eyes widened, she had assumed he was new too. She was genuinely impressed. "You must have some stories to tell." "A few" answered Kaz. Ellen reached out and took hold of his hand, "I'd like to hear them." * * *       Taqueza sat in his cell with his legs crossed. His black command uniform had been taken from him and he was given an orange jumpsuit to wear, standard dress for a prisoner. He looked around him, his cell was not a cell in traditional terms. It was a well lit circular section of a larger room. A force field surrounding its perimeter acted as the cell's bars. The outer perimeter was kept dark so any number of guards or visitors could be present without the prisoner's knowledge. '(Speak, if you are going to)' he said to the darkness. '(How did you know I was here?)' Shanita asked. '(I heard you breathing.)' Taqueza replied. '(I thought you would want to know, I lead the section down to Mars again.)' '(And?)' prompted Taqueza. '(And they were already gone, they used the time you gave them to get away. So I ordered the buildings leveled to the ground and we returned to base.)' '(Do you know were they went?)' he asked. '(Shortly after the decimation of their settlement we intercepted a coded distress signal that was to be sent to earth.)' Shanita answered. '(Has it been decoded?)' '(Yes, the codes they use are easy to crack, they probably assume we can't even understand their language)' she said with a certain measure of pride. "But we can understand, can't we?" Taqueza's English was flawless. "Yes we can" added Shanita '(But...)' "Speak English please, you never know who is listening." Not that it really made much difference, most Eltorians knew English. They were required to learn it to come on this mission. They knew how to speak it because Taqueza and his parents could speak both. The Eltorian High Council made sure that knowledge was safely recorded, before his parents were executed. Taqueza had come to see the language as a way to remember part of his heritage, and so he spoke it whenever he could. "Very well, sir, we allowed the signal to reach its destination." continued Shanita. "In order to set a trap for the rescue team." added Taqueza. Shanita nodded in affirmation. "Thank you second, you may leave." Shanita started to leave but paused at the door, she turned to him "For what it is worth, sir. There was no honor in what we did today." And with that she left the room. Taqueza sat in silence for a short while, carefully considering his options. His decision made, he stood up. "I must act quickly." On to Part 3