Part 3

Raoul Ponsonby had evaded the search party by a fraction of minutes. He had watched them reach his original hiding place that had, he thought, been the most secure position in the station. No one would think of anyone hiding there…he’d been wrong. Or, had his operation been compromised? He heard the activity on the hull and knew that soon they would take control of the station and his work would be done. Even if it had been claustrophobic for the past week, it was a profitable few months of work. He had been stored in suspended animation for much of the journey his unit had been activated remotely several days earlier. Then, he knew that the time for his work to begin had been initiated. It had been a piece of cake to deactivate and disable some of the computer’s main systems thereby allowing the next phase of the operation to commence. He hadn’t bargained on having to kill one of them. The general had indicated his people would enter the station, initiate the virus unknowingly into the computer and then his job would be to ensure that it was doing what it should. Once that was completed, the general would transfer him off the station in a much simpler operation than he had entered. There was, of course, the monetary issue. It was the only reason a mercenary such has he would voluntarily involve himself in such a deadly and traitorous activity. The money would allow him never to want for anything…until his greed overtook him again. Knowing his appetite for every luxury imaginable on the planet, he expected that it would be sooner rather than later in life.

Now he had to wait in as secure a place as possible for the outcome. According to the general, there was only one result and it had nothing to do with defeat. The task of persuading Major Tranter to leave the station voluntarily was, in his view, a little like asking if the Pope was Catholic. She would never leave; her type never knew when to quit. He was glad he’d been created into the Commerce classification. His taskmasters differed in that view when he developed less than honest tendencies. Fortunately, they didn’t consider him a danger until it was too late to capture him. For the last ten years, he'd been a scoundrel much like his counterparts in the Industrial sector. At the time, that hadn’t been his training for he was being taught to be the perfect commercial agent. In the end he found that to be a double-edged sword when he discovered his teachers were less than honest themselves.

He scanned the area with the miniature equipment given to him by the general himself and found no one around. Now would be as good a time as any to leave his current less than secure location. His destination would be the command centre since the general’s forces must have overrun the station by now. It had to have been a piece of cake with a non-military force onboard. Yep, a piece of cake for sure.

Opening the door to the outer corridor cautiously, he smiled at his luck. No one was around.

~ ~ ~

Ellerson, Greaves and Boyd rounded the corridor closest to the coordinates of the major’s last known position and saw another empty space. It was empty in the degree that no one was moving. Several bodies were scattered on the deck in a comatose state. Communicating with Sergeant Ellerson, who had the strongest telepathic connection, he reported their progress. Lewis issued the command to continue the search until they found the major.

Passing on the orders to the two other soldiers, Ellerson took lead position as they carefully kicked over the bodies of the soldiers in their sights. Concluding that they posed no threat, they continued and within a few minutes, they entered another corridor. Suddenly they pulled quickly back when they encountered a minimum of twenty armed soldiers packing the tight area. The soldiers had an emblem on their uniforms that they didn't recognize as any they had ever seen on Earth...a black wolf howling ferociously. Ellerson transmitted the description of the emblem and their location to Lewis immediately.

The unexpected telepathic reply from Lewis was to watch their backs and run silent no matter what. Within a few seconds, they knew the exact reason for the order. Several soldiers turned the corner and confronted them with weapons drawn. Immediately weapons fired rapidly sending the mean scrambling for the only cover afforded to them...the soldier’s bodies lying on the ground. Up until that point, the bodies were not dead but in a comatose state. In no time at all, at least five of the bodies were carcasses riddled with ammunition from what could only be called friendly fire. Greaves signalled for Boyd to cover him as he leapt up and fired a volley that took out two of the opposition. This barrage carried on for several minutes and the three soldiers appeared to be holding their own. Unfortunately, the steady stream of their fire power towards the enemy was rapidly depleting their supply of ammunition. Ellerson breathed deeply and thought, it's been a good battle while it lasted, before standing for the final time and levelling another round at the soldiers. He then slid back down on the floor as Greaves and then Boyd expended their final caches.

Inside each of their body armour was an explosive device that could only be triggered while wearing the item. Some called it the suicide vest while others considered it a final heroic stand to give their comrades extra time. In the end, however it was thought of; each soldier knew his or her duty. Ellerson, who had minor superiority over the others, gave them the sign that he would do his duty and allow them time to retreat. At this stage, it served no purpose for them all to expire since the major and her mission still had priority.

Greaves and Boyd, in silence as instructed by Lewis, used the bodies of the fallen to bolster their positions. Ellerson, with a deep breath, withdrew his bio-disk and threw it casually to Greaves. In a swift movement, the soldier caught the small object and slid it into his pocket watching as the troops from the end of the corridor began to advance cautiously. As they moved, Ellerson stood up and his body was immediately bombarded as shots riddled sending him to his knees. He turned his dying eyes to his comrades one last time before he placed a hand to his heart and triggered the device on his vest. The explosion that erupted caused the station to rock on its axis as the lights disappeared and the screams of soldiers caught in the immediate blast echoed around the acrid smoke ridden corridor. Taking advantage of the confusion, Greaves and Boyd took off down the corridor running as fast as possible towards the next directional change. Hopefully they would either find the major or divert the enemy enough to buy her more time.

~ ~ ~

Tranter’s eyes glazed slightly as she heard the firepower going on behind her. Her first thought had been to retrace her steps and join the battleground. However, one look at the exhausted and pale professor at her side momentarily dismissed that notion from her. She needed to get the woman to a place of safety. Right now, the only secure place she knew of for sure was safe was the mess hall were everyone else were residing. The only problem with that was it was completely opposite of where they were. In safer circumstances, they could have used the ship’s internal transport system, but with the station's computer control in the enemy’s hands that wasn’t a plausible possibility.

“I can’t go on Major, I’m sorry,” Alana wheezed out as she tried to catch her breath. The pace the soldier had set had been a shock to not only her legs, which hurt like hell, but also her respiratory system that seemed like it was on fire. The tables had turned in a matter of moments from her giving aid to be the one that required it.

Tranter glanced at the professor. Yes, she’d set a decent pace to secure their safety for the moment, but that didn’t explain the state of the woman at her side; she looked like death. She probably was in far worse condition than she had looked a few minutes earlier. Thankfully, her system had righted itself and now she was able to function once more at a hundred percent. The really strange and disconcerting issue was that neither she nor the professor had succumbed to the virus. That could mean only one thing - the bastards had flushed out the ventilation system as soon as they knew of the threat. “Okay Professor, can you give it one last push? When we turn down the next corridor we will reach engineering and we will be safe there.”

Alana turned misty grey eyes to the soldier and drew in a deep breath before she lifted her shoulders from a slumped position willing her legs to go for one more hurdle. Gratefully the major wasn’t in possession of all the facts about her or she would have known that the artificial limbs weren't a replacement for the real thing. In some ways the major's lack of that knowledge was a blessing yet in another a disappointment. She felt that the major took it upon herself to know as much as possible about the people she came into contact. She would have thought in her case, as they had a history, albeit a tenuous one, the major would have known. “Let’s go Major.”

Tranter gripped Alana's hand in what could only be described as a vice grip. This sent a pulsation of pain into her fingers that normally she would have said something about. But, at them moment, it would be pointless to do or say anything other than move as fast as possible towards safety.

As the door to engineering came into view, the station rocked sending both women reeling. Tranter hit the side of the corridor wall so hard she was certain that it had dislocated her shoulder; right now, it was incidental. Alana had the cushion, if you could call it that, of hitting the sinewy muscles of the major as they both landed on the deck. Alana was virtually atop of the major. Before she knew it, the major, with strength Al had never seen in a woman before, picked her up like a flyweight and righted them both in one fluid movement.

The corridor lights then dimmed several times flickering continuously. They were like a candle about to extinguish with a light breeze that never quite happens. “What’s happening?”

Tranter saw the door to engineering open and close in a continuous motion. There must have been a malfunction in the systems from the explosion. Out in space, no matter how sophisticated the equipment was, it still only required a rupturing of the hull to influence a series of disasters that would disable and possibly destroy the ship and all onboard.

Calculating the open and closing sequence, Tranter turned to the woman at her side. There was a fear in the eyes that caught hers, but something else was there too. In the eyes that held hers was a clear message… I trust you no matter how dangerous it is.  That message made Tranter realise that her kind really did have a place in this world.

“Ten, nine, eight, seven, six, five, four, three, two, one…”

Al listened and was about to ask why the woman was counting when she was propelled through the open door landing on her backside with a definite thud. Seconds later the major slid through the opening in a much more dignified way.

Spluttering she tried to speak only to fail due to fatigue and the pain in her legs. Finally, she managed to say, “What was that all about?”

Tranter did something totally out of character, she winked, or if it wasn’t a wink then the major had a tick in the eye. “There was no time to explain and there still isn’t, I need to secure the door if I can, you rest I’ll be back.”

The major then disappeared into a small office area leaving Alana with her mouth open. Deciding there was no point in debating the subject with herself, she took fatalistic stock of her own situation. Her legs were shot, she knew that and soon Major Tranter would too. Her lungs felt like they were being pricked by a thousand needles making her breathing painful if not worse than the shooting twinges that were hitting the nerves attached to the leg implants. The pain killers that Pat had given to her before leaving the base had dulled the sensation for a short time, but not enough to see her through whatever was the next phase of this particular adventure. Yet, here she was thinking that she might be of help. What kind of help could she be now? Her only purpose was a hindrance that had been clear in the features of the major a few minutes ago before the station had rocked. Now, here alone, sitting on the cold floor, she wondered about the jolt and its meaning to the station. It can’t be good in anyone’s book.

Pondering in a melancholy way her predicament she was surprised when dark shadow of a figure loomed in the flickering glow of the lighting. A feeling of terror erupted silently in her. Oh no, is this the end? Her mind screamed as her lungs refused to obey her brain and call for help from the major.

~ ~ ~

Lewis stared at the motley crew of massed figures assembled in the mess hall. Although massed was hardly the word as the number could be counted on one hand.

“Which one of you is Captain Erille?”

Doctor Mack Fulton puffed out his chest and stepped forward before the captain had a chance to answer. Her questioning gaze as to what he was up to went unanswered by the doctor. “And who are you?”

Sergeant David Lewis gazed at the man in frank assessment. Hmm, not a soldier. That was certain he didn’t have the bearing although he certainly seemed brave enough. He certainly isn't the reason the major is risking her life by disobeying her orders to leave the station, he thought. Motioning for Craig to watch his back, Lewis moved into the room and surveyed everyone there. Yep, a motley crew all right, who the hell had sanctioned this lot to take care of the weapons of mass destruction from Earth, is beyond me.

“I’ll only ask politely once more, who is Erille?”

Sorrel Erille knew what Mack was doing and felt proud of him. However, at the same time, they didn’t have the luxury of such a chivalrous scenario. Her gut told her that these soldiers belonged to Major Tranter and if they didn’t Lake and Arkan would take them out. That was the plan anyway.

“I’m Erille, and you are?”

Lewis grinned. The ambiance about him gave him the demeanour that made people want to give him a cigar and pat him on the back. “Glad to see we aren’t beating about the bush, we haven’t time. I’m Sergeant Lewis, Major Tranter is my CO, and Private Craig here is part of my command as are nine others. Which one of you is Willard?”

Surprised, Captain Erille turned to stare in surprise at the technician. Lewis smiled, these normals can’t keep a straight face to save their lives; It wasn’t a wonder to him that he won at poker whenever he participated in a game back at base.

While Willard stepped forward, Lewis pulled at the stubble on his chin silently assessing the man. “I will need your services Willard if you are willing?”

Erille wondered what that meant. “Willard is under my command Sergeant. Whatever it is you want of him has to go through me first.”

The woman’s demanding stature would, in the right circumstances, be understandable, but right now they were at war or, as close as any of these civilians would ever encounter, and it was darn right annoying. “I need Willard’s telepathy capacity Captain, any objections?”

All eyes turned to the technician who shuffled a little at the stark comment. Few of the normals knew of the added abilities of the RAD programme and that included telepathy.

“Well send me to hell Willard, that’s why you could always win at those damn black jack sessions, you read our minds.” Chief Lake broke the tension that had begun to weave in the room.

“You have our cooperation Sergeant. How can the rest of us help?” Captain Erille, with a heavy sigh once again relinquished her position and accepted her rank as secondary to the military.

Lewis smiled. “Willard I need you to track down the major…the messages from me aren’t getting through. Will you do that immediately?”

Willard merely nodded his head and closed his eyes in concentration. He really didn’t need to close his eyes but the glares he was receiving, particularly from the chef, deemed it a wise move.

“Major Tranter gave us weapons to help, where do you want us?”

Lewis knew that Tranter wouldn’t have placed weapons in any of these people hands if they anything to do with the sabotage onboard. He, at least, considered that a step forward. Just as he was about to speak he felt a painful shocking resonation in his telepathic connection with his troops. He glanced quickly at Craig, who with eyes slightly glazed at the power of the emotion he’d felt, gave him a puzzled stare.

“Sergeant Lewis, I asked you what my crew can do to help.” Captain Erille was annoyed with the lack of attention to her question. Didn’t this soldier consider them a force that could help?

Shaking away the demoralizing connection Lewis gazed directly into the unwavering eyes of the station’s captain. “Captain, you and Craig remain here to defend this position. I want your navigator and all the others to leave with me...we have a command centre to retrieve.”

Erille was about to ask why she had to remain when the sergeant pre-empted her question. “If you’re wondering why you have to remain Captain, the answer is simple. You are the only one who has the command codes for manually destroying this tin bucket. Am I right?”

“Well, yes but I need my navigator’s code too, a failsafe.”

Lewis smiled wryly. “Ah, but of course you people and your fail-safes. Okay have the navigator tell you the code and then we’ll be on our way.”

Lewis then turned to Craig and explained what he wanted of the young private. “If we don’t take the command deck, initiate Operation Destruction and ignore any other order except the major’s. Is that clear Private?”

“Yes sir!” the solider replied with a salute. Lewis headed for the door as the whole station rocked. He felt his senses overwhelmed once more but this time in a completely different way. A black abyss enclosed him for a fraction of a second; he’d lost a man. With a slightly ashen complexion, he saluted Craig and gave the captain one last glance. As he headed out of the mess hall, the chief engineer was screaming at him that the station was in trouble and he needed to be in engineering immediately.

~ ~ ~

Tranter hadn’t done her homework, which was a foreign concept to her. Why was it that she hadn’t found out more about the professor? Did a part of her perhaps subscribe to the normal’s human emotion of privacy? Ridiculous of course, though it was disturbing her to have several of her normally honed supercharged senses breaking down. She could put those down generally to the experiment of this new mode of travel, but her lack of attention to detail regarding the professor, well that was something else altogether.

She knew, of course, that the professor was the top in her field and that her parents had begun the project inception some years before. Beyond that, she hadn’t deemed it necessary to waste time on trivial details. Looking back, she had two years to look into the background of the person who had, figuratively speaking, sent her to her death. It was one of the mysteries of her life; how things transpired and caught up with her. Besides, the chances that they would get out of this scrape unscathed were minimal. Although, there was always an element of surprise to any battle plan and she was a master tactician or so they informed her frequently enough; now was a time when she needed it most.

Pressing several of the control pads, Tranter glanced at the doorway and saw a shadow that shouldn’t be there. Damn it, her thoughts took flight as she had another unexpected experience, anxiety. Her eyes flew to the woman crouching on the floor beside the door pretty much where she’d been flung to the ground earlier. She silently wished the professor would move her ass out of there.

Running, with her weapons raised at the ready, towards the doorway she pushed the professor to one side. She heard, with horror, the slight body crack against the wall. That’s going to hurt! She aimed her laser weapon at the figure that ripped off his facemask to reveal a terrified Shibanion staring in trepidation.

“Shibanion, what the hell are you doing here you should be in the Mess,” Tranter gruffly voiced as she lowered her weapon fractionally.

Shibanion clamoured to gather his scattered wits as he faced the soldier. Swallowing the lump that threatened to choke him as he began to explain, “I felt the explosion Major, and I came to see if any of the overridden systems had been damaged...I see I was right.” He looked pointedly at the door that slid open and shut in cycles.

“See to it.” Tranter released her death grip on her weapon and bent to check on the unmoving figure slumped against the wall.

She felt for the professor's pulse that was barely there. She then wondered if her current condition was a direct result of the force of the push she'd inflicted on the woman or something more. Surveying the woman once more, she determined they needed the doctor immediately.

“Shibanion check the internal comm links, I need to contact the doctor.”

A few minutes later, with the professor cradled in her arms, Tranter tried the internal link…it failed. “Sorry Major, it was a long shot at best. The computer has deactivated all communications inside the ship.”

“Can you reactivate the security here?”

“Oh yes Major that will be a piece of cake. The chief and I worked on this system for some time to get it just how we wanted it,” Shibanion announced with pride.

For a few moments while watching the still almost lifeless expression on the professor’s face, Tranter had the strangest thought. Mouth to mouth resuscitation. She now felt a completely opposite reaction to her feelings of distaste when the captain had been in a similar predicament earlier. Now, she had a yearning to practice exactly that on the woman she held in her arms. This was in contrast to anything else she'd experienced before regarding the physical side of any relationship she had encountered. Then, much to her relief and at the same time regret, the professor came to.

"Where am I?" Alana was certain it must be in her bed at the base camp because it felt so comfortable and …right.

A strong hand wiped away a wisp of hair that crossed the professor’s forehead and a relieved sigh accompanied the voice that followed. “Hey there Professor, I thought you’d decided to leave me to do my own thing.”

Alana glanced up, her faculties finally righting or as much as they were going to she suspected. She knew her breathing was laboured and her lungs hurt like hell every time she sucked in a breath. Then, there was the pain she felt not only with her legs but now in her collarbone too, which could mean only one thing. She had either broken it when she’d been pushed aside, or it was badly bruised. Sometimes bruises were almost as painful as a break in the short term. “Me, leave, when we are entering the exciting stage, no way Major. Though I think you might have warned me to wear extra special padding where you’re concerned.”

Her eyes reflected a warmth Tranter hadn’t expected. She would have been livid with anyone for speaking to her, in such a manner for what she considered a correct action. “I’ll remember that for next time.”

For Al, Tranter’s inky depths held a promise and she’d hold the woman to that too if they ever got out of this predicament.  “What do we do now?” Al asked hoping that the major wasn’t going to insist on another break-necked speed trek through the ships’ corridors.

Tranter hadn’t broken away from the woman in her arms. Normally this close personal contact would have given her a deep sense of revulsion but not so at this moment. In fact, it felt so good to be touching the professor that she had a hard time releasing her. But, there was a battle to win and she would have to let her go if that was to happen. Carefully she placed the thin woman against the wall and gave her a small smile. “Shibanion is recreating the security field in this area and then he’ll work on the rest of the station, I’m going to find my people.”

The devoid of emotion the way the soldier spoke told Alana that there was no discussion on the matter. It was, after all, why she was here; to protect and she would with her life if necessary. The message she received clearly from the inky depths of the major’s eyes was that she would no longer be allowed to take a part in the action. For a moment while being held close to the sinewy body, she was sure they had connected in a way she never had with another in her lifetime. But, she was probably mistaken. She knew that if she survived, which wasn’t certain in her case anyway, the soldier wasn’t likely to remember her once this was all over. The major, on the other hand, would survive; she was like a cat with the luxury of several lives regardless of how she died. At this moment, Al was envious of the major’s ability to reincarnate although, on reflection, multiple lives weren’t for her. She would rather have one life and pack as much into it as possible. If she got out of this and Earth wasn’t in some madman’s hands she was going to take some well earned time off. She would spend it living and with a furtive look at the soldier…loving.

“You look far away Professor?”

With a light laugh, Alana nodded her head. “I was, a long way from here in another world really. What do you want me to do?”

“Rest until Shibanion creates a security field then I want you to contact your people and have them ready to get as many of the crew out of here alive if we are unsuccessful.”

“I’m not sure…”

A strong hand touched her cheek with a gentleness that she didn’t think the major had in her. Then the fingers trailed lightly to her lips to cut off her words. “I know you’ll do the best you can. Ensure you’re the first to leave as soon as Shibanion is ready. That’s an order Professor if you thought of doing otherwise.” Tranter was as serious about the order and hoped that the professor would heed her direction. The professor was the integral part of the project as well as its conscience. Who knew what might happen to them if someone else gained access to project.

“Actually I was but you caught me out. I’ll do as you say, on one condition.”

Al waited for the major to ask what that was. A cold, blank expression drew over her features as the soldier inclined her head for the professor to continue.

Holding out her hand Al spoke quietly but determinedly. “May I have your bio-disk Major? If physically you can’t make it out of here, I want to know that they can bring you back… Earth needs you.” The last words stuck in her throat as she pondered what she’d said realizing that she prevented herself from saying that she needed her. The soldier had barely acknowledged her emotive words and she realised how foolish her thoughts were. Tranter was everything they said of the RADICALS - they had no deep emotions. .

“Take this.” A disk was slipped into her hand. The major, with a last instruction to Shibanion, marched out of the relatively safe environment of the engineering area to god knows what.

Al clutched the tiny object in her hand. To her it was like holding the life of another in her hands and she’d protect it with her life. Oh yes I will, she thought as her hand moved to her chest where she cradled the object to her heart. Then she looked down at the name on the disk. She opened her mouth in dismay and ultimately in understanding; the major valued the life of another soldier over her own. In bold type one word was etched there…Arkan. Damn why didn’t I check before she left!

~ ~ ~

“Sir, we have reports that an explosion has occurred which has made the station unstable, shall we bring our men out?”

Commander Cransky glared at his second in command who had asked the foolish question. Everyone was expendable; he knew that first hand from the general. His superior had made no bones about the matter if he failed that was the end of his career or ambition. “No! Have we taken the command centre?”

“About to enter that area now . Lieutenant Franks advised that they have encountered heavily armed forces onboard. He has suffered a third casualty count but is progressing as ordered.”

Cransky frowned. The station had been manned by civilian personnel except for the security officer who wouldn’t have been able to inflict that kind of damage. Tranter, damn her to hell, she wasn’t going to be coming out of this smelling of roses if he had his way. “I’m going over there. Have Franks relay all further communication to my comm. link.

“Sir is it wise; we haven’t secured the station yet…” The look he was given silenced the officer immediately as he patched into the boarding party and issued the instructions as his commander left the bridge. He then muttered under his breath, wise ass is going to get him self killed.

Cransky headed towards the loading area where a small team was waiting for his arrival. It had been planned that he would enter Anvil Four once the station was secured. However, in light that there was an outside threat onboard the craft made that impossible if he went by the time frame the general had stipulated. There was now only one thing to do...kill Tranter himself with the added bonus of destroying her bio-disk to prevent her sorry ass from turning up again.

Five minutes later, he was heading towards the disabled station. As they closed in on the nearest entry port to the command centre, Cransky saw a huge hole in the side of the hull. The station was precariously functioning as Anvil two’s computer constantly modulated the gyro’s preventing it falling out of its orbit. Considering the damage, he doubted that the station was anything but crippled until extensive maintenance could be carried out by technicians other than those on the station. This made the situation a very different ball game. The original plan had been to take Anvil Four to a secret orbital destination out of range of the authority’s highest specification radar equipment and then use the fear of the weaponry aboard to topple the current leaders of Earth. Then the General would take over as Supreme Commander and install his faithful followers in key positions. The plan was a simple one and convinced Cransky once again that the normal human race wasn’t strong enough to rule the planet. No, it needed someone of superior intellect and courage to do what the general was doing and though he wasn’t one of them, he was as close as it came. The father of the RADICAL programme in its infancy he had been the caretaker of the programme and ensured that it didn’t fall away like the fads of earlier generations. At one point, the venture was considered for banning as the normals called it nothing more than an anti-social experiment. The general had battled hard to prevent it and succeeded.

“Sir, we have an incoming transmission from Lieutenant Franks.”

“Patch to my personal console.” Cransky decoded the incoming transmission smiling as he heard the message. Franks had taken the command deck, now all that was left was to rid the station of any insurgency. His people had been hand-picked by the general there would be no problem with that...none at all.

~ ~ ~

“Willard have you contacted the major yet?” Lewis sharply asked the man who had been concentrating on making a telepathic connection with her. He had no luck so far, which was a little strange as the major had been receptive to him hours before.

“I’m sorry Sergeant, either something is interfering with the communication process onboard or, she’s injured and unable to ….”

“Not a chance Willard, the major will…”

“The major will what Sergeant?” A familiar voice asked the sergeant who with his back turned began to smile. His lips stretched as far as possible without ripping his face apart as he heard the voice of the major.

Spinning around he saluted his superior, his smile slowly retreating, so much so Major Tranter gave him a mock cold expression. “Is something funny going on around here Lewis?”

“No Ma’am, I was just using Willard’s extraordinary ability to help us with our mission.” His smile finally retreated to the background; the relief of seeing her lifted a heavy weight off his shoulders. Though how they had missed the telepathy link being so close to her puzzled him a little, but not enough to take his mind off his duty however.

“How many are in the team?”

The words were spoken rapidly ignoring the man’s irrelevant explanation. “Nine, we have recorded three casualties all fatal. Greaves, Boyd and Markham are about to take the command centre. Craig is with the captain in the mess area ready to self-destruct the station on our command. Solomon and Tretcher are eliminating anyone else they find securing each section as they go.”

Tranter looked at the group assembled. Chef Reagon, Navigator Stephens, Willard and the doctor. Where are Arkan and Lake ? “Where are the chief engineer and the security officer?”

Lewis gave the major a rapid response. “When the station had the explosion disruption the chief requested that he go and check out engineering. I sent Arkan with him for protection.”

“Good call. Arkan is capable and she’ll do what has to be done. Willard I want you to contact Arkan telepathically and give her this instruction….” Moments later, they were on their way to the command centre. As they cautiously surveyed the area before them, the sound of gunfire greeted them.

Fortunately, their contingent had arrived prior to them and taken the brunt of the firepower from the opposition. Markham sustained a serious head injury with Greaves and Boyd covering his body to prevent any further damage.

At the sight of the reinforcements, especially with the major leading the party, the faces of the soldiers brightened significantly. Now they would win. A slight nod from the officer had the two capable soldiers remain where they were. A telepathic message from Lewis ordered them to retrieve Markham ’s bio-disk and join the others. Without question, they did as ordered and left their fallen comrade to his own fate.

“I’m not going to be in the frontline, that’s what you lot were born for,” the irritating voice of Chef Reagon announced pointedly as he was pushed forward ahead of the doctor and the navigator.

Tranter glanced his way for a second then personally stepped forward and brutally pushed the man hard against the steel wall away from the others. His cry of pain made the major smile slightly; she hated cowards. Her eyes then travelled towards the other civilians who they remained where they were seemingly unable to decide what to do. “Doc, I need you to check on my soldier. I can’t offer you any protection…we need all the firepower we can muster to take the command section.”

Mack Fulton smiled wryly. “No need to worry about that small thing, looking after the sick and wounded IS my job regardless of the conditions.” The words clearly exaggerated for the benefit of the chef, who had the shame to look away.

“I’ll cover the doc’s back if you can spare me,” Navigator Stephens piped up. One way or the other he was in the thick of things although he wasn’t that good with a gun. His odds of getting out of this alive would be better with the RAD’s. They had the experience. However, the doc would be defenceless if he was tending the injuries of the downed soldier, at least he might be of some help.

“No, Stephens we need you with us. Once we take the bridge I want you to make sure that we close down as much as possible of the computer’s control by any means possible.” Tranter felt that they were wasting time talking. It was one of the reasons she hated working with the normals ...they talked around a problem instead of getting on with eradicating it.

“Sorry Doc,” Stephens shrugged his shoulders as the doctor inclined his head in appreciation of the offer. Picking up his medical kit without another word, he slipped across the recess to the prone man who wasn’t moving as blood oozed profusely from the wound on his head.

“Okay, let’s go. Willard you stay at the back with Stephens, we’ll protect you both as much as possible, keep alert. Sergeant, blow that door to kingdom come.”

Lewis and another member of the team placed strategic explosive devices on the control panel of the door and rigged it to blow within seconds of them moving away.

The door exploded into several large pieces that imploded into the command deck thereby ensuring that any soldiers were close to the door on the other side they would be the first casualties. The black as soot smoke gave them the cover of darkness to enter the area but they would have only one shot at getting inside without being blown off the face of the station.

Panicked voices were heard, as well as coughing as the smoke filled the area. Tranter, with a feral expression, motioned for them to enter as they all moved forward to face whatever was in there to greet them.

Minutes later, having eliminated any offensive action from the confused opposition, the smoke began to clear slightly and Tranter surveyed the area. What she hadn’t expected was a weak voice from the forward bridge. The small area had an expansive view where the captain of the station usually watched what was happening in space. Lewis climbed through the debris and was the first to inspect the particles of the captain’s chair. It had flown across the room and crushed whoever had been unfortunate enough to be sitting in it at the time.

“You’ll want to see this Major,” Lewis called out as he stared at the face of the enemy pinned by several enormous shards of steel.

Tranter glancing around the area to ensure that all was as she expected. She motioned the stressed, but otherwise unharmed Anvil Four crew to do what they could to disconnect the computer’s control. They immediately sprang into action, as it was better than looking at the carnage around them, which was making them squeamish.

She then proceeded towards Lewis and seconds later glanced at the features of the person pinned under the rubble. “Why hello, you must be Cransky, this is a surprise." Her eyes evaluated his uniform and gauged his rank it could only be Cransky. "Have you gotten soft forgetting the first rule of a commander...not to risk themselves unless absolutely necessary or if the risk is minimal.” A groan and defiant glare from the man’s pain-filled eyes had her smiling genuinely. “Are you pleased to see me Cransky?”

A choked response followed her taunting, “I’ll see you in hell first Tranter, you’ll not win this one, he has too many friends in high places.”

Raising her weapon, she wanted to shoot his head off. The veiled mention of the general who had set this up and killed some of her team in the process angered her. “I’ll win Cransky, I always win. Let’s face it, I’m like him and can even think like him if necessary. Sergeant we have the rest of the station to secure.” She turned away from the man who tried and failed to stop her.

The agony of the pain he felt with any movement was etched clearly on his face but seemingly had no effect on the major. “Aren’t you going to get me out of here, I’m dying?”

She spun around. Her stance was one of command and total control, the streaks made by the smoke and sweat in the heat of battle were visible as warrior markings. “Maybe, who cares? We have no use for you and I hate the formalities of taking prisoners.”

“No! I can make it worth your while Tranter, he’s expecting my communication, help me please!” The man knew he’d lost this battle and he wasn’t going to die, not yet anyway, he hadn’t even left his bio-disk onboard Anvil Two. He had been so confident that there wasn’t any direct threat to his life. Right now he needed medical help and the only person able to provide that was walking away to leave him to bleed to death.

Stiffening at the words, Tranter mused over the information. Perhaps he could be useful for a short time although she didn’t trust him. “Sergeant, get that man out of there and find the doc...only after he’s finished with my men first. And Cransky, if you do anything that endangers my people I’ll personally put a bullet in your brain and smash your bio-disk.”

Lewis nodded at the order and requested help as he watched Tranter move towards the navigator and station technician to check on their progress. Willard had already informed Craig that the command centre was theirs and the captain was now on her way there. “Let’s get this traitor out of here men…”

Rapid rounds of gunfire in the corridor had two of the soldiers along with the major leaving the bridge quickly to assess the situation.

~ ~ ~

Doctor Mack Fulton hadn’t noticed Reagon retreating down the corridor. He had been far too occupied tending his patient who had rallied somewhat. The soldier had opened pain-filled eyes and given him a trusting look, though his chances of survival with the injuries sustained appeared bleak, and that trust might well prove unjustifiable. What he hadn’t been prepared for was a figure lurking in the circulation vent of the corridor.

The saboteur Ponsonby watched the events taking place from his hideaway spot and knew that his original escape plan was now impossible. He’d seen Commander Cransky arrive and enter the area only moments before the enemy soldiers had arrived. The gunfire following that event had Ponsonby waiting a little while longer before he ventured out. Even if that idiot Cransky had thought it safe, he hadn’t, not yet anyway. What occurred left him in no doubt that his only possible exit was to take a hostage, and the medic looked as easy a target as anyone. The guy who had fled down the corridor moments earlier wasn’t worth following. RADICAL soldiers weren’t likely to trade for a coward no matter their rank or perceived importance in the scheme of things. It was like a code of honour with them.

Climbing out of his secure position, he flexed his supple double-jointed body to reshape it. Progressing silently, with his back to the wall, he crept up unawares on the two men in the corridor. The soldier wasn’t about to do any one any harm since he looked dead from Ponsonby’s vantage point. Aiming his weapon a scant breath away from the doctor’s temple, he spoke softly, “I’m taking you hostage medic. Get up and leave that bastard to die, a dead RADICAL is the only RADICAL in my book.”

Fulton , taken by surprise, rocked back on his haunches and stared at the intruder. Damn! He’d pushed his weapon aside to help the prone soldier and now they were defenceless. By god, he had a patient to help; no way was he going anywhere. “I’m not leaving with you, period!”

The gun hit his temple with a sharp crack that provoked a wince from the doctor at the headache type pain he’d received for his bravado stance. “I’m not here for the small talk or bedside manner, I’m here to survive. Either you come with me, or I’ll blow your brains out; make your choice.”

Glancing down at his patient, who appeared closer to entering the other life than remaining in this one, he noticed the soldier give him a strange look. Then, with a final spurt of extreme energy, the patient willed his dying body into action one more time. He pushed aside the astonished doctor casually as if he were of no importance. Then he levelled his weapon which was on automatic fire and shot Ponsonby into smithereens. The saboteur’s astonished expression disappearing as his blood, and body parts, covered every surface in the near vicinity including the shocked doctor.

Ponsonby, taken by surprise, had managed to trigger his own weapon in an automatic reaction. His life ebbing dramatically away as each shot displaced pieces of his body. His last thought was that he was being used for target practice.

The gunfire galvanised several figures within the command area. The first soldier into the corridor was fired upon and fatally wounded. Ponsonby’s slumping body fell to the ground and with it a change of direction of his weapon towards the entry of the soldiers. As silence echoed around the smoke filled corridor Tranter surveyed the damage. Her eyes scanned the area for any further enemy occupation, who might have thought it an ideal opportunity to enter the fray; they didn’t.

Glancing down at one of her fallen soldiers, Greaves, Tranter nodded to Boyd to take the soldier’s bio-disk. She then knelt down beside the remaining two prone figures of her team in the corridor. Markham was also dead. The doctor she found was in shock with bullet in the shoulder, but he was otherwise unharmed; he was a very lucky man.

“I guess you’re going to have to cure yourself Doc,” Tranter quipped quietly as her eyes completed her comprehensive scanning of the area. For a few split seconds, her thoughts then travelled to the professor and wondered if she had rallied enough to go back to earth. If she hadn’t they needed the doc in good order.

With a shaking voice, accompanied by a feeble laugh, the doctor looked down at the soldier who had saved his life. “I thought it was going to be the other way around.”

Unsure what the doctor was talking about, Tranter gave him a quizzical glance. Then Fulton elaborated silently by motioning to the dead soldier at his side. Nodding her head in understanding, Tranter for the first time, with a mark of respect for a fallen comrade, knelt close to the man. She gently closed his open eyes. Her whispered words were audible only to the doctor. “A hero in death deserves another chance to be free in the next life.”

“Where’s Reagon?” Tranter snarled his name as she realised he was missing from the scenario. It would have been easier for her had he fallen prey to the saboteur. He hadn’t, which meant she had to find him; he was a menace to everyone in his cowardly condition.

“I didn’t see him go. He must have travelled that way though because he didn’t pass me.” Fulton answered quickly as he scrambled in his medical bag for supplies to stop his own bleeding. As he did so the captain and private Craig joined them.

“Good to see you Captain. I believe you can be of great service at this moment; Doc Fulton needs your help. Craig you’re with me. Boyd, keep Lewis company and send Willard out to see me.”

Erille didn’t need to be told to help the doctor, as she quickly dropped to her knees to his aid. Her quiet words of concern caused Tranter to smile briefly as her thoughts mulled over the scene in front of her. Damn ‘Normals’. They are so wrapped up in their own emotions, not even a war around them prevented that taking precedence. It really is quite odd; thankfully, I’m not around them for any length of time.

Willard entered the corridor, “You wanted to see me Major?”

“Yes, Craig here is our best telepath onboard. Concentrate on his signal; we have to leave the area. I want a report every five minutes or when anything unusual happens, understand?”

“Yes Major.” Willard wondered what the woman meant by unusual. The whole situation since she’d arrived was unusual.

Tranter, with Craig striding confidently beside her, left the area following the path of Reagon.

~ ~ ~

“She said you had to leave. Now that the Chief and Arkan are here its safe for you to do so,” Shibanion reminded the professor. The woman was looking paler by the minute the sooner she was out of here the better.

“I know what she said Shibanion,” the professor replied in anguish.

“Then what’s the problem?” Turning to Arkan, in an exasperated voice he appealed to the soldier, “You tell her.” With the shake of his head he muttered, “The Major isn’t going to be happy.” Then he left the professor and Arkan alone.

“He’s right Professor the Major gave you an order. Knowing her reputation, she wouldn’t take it lightly if you disobeyed a directive.” Arkan watched the professor in concern, she looked ill. It could be the stress of the situation but she had an idea that this woman had a strong personality. In recent hours, she had proved that therefore stress was ruled out almost immediately.

“What’s she going to do put me in the brig?” Accepting seconds after her outburst that the soldier was right and her emotional outburst was unforgivable. Alana punched the communicator to Earth base on her wrist.

“Could be, you never know with that type.” Arkan smiled warmly. She’d seen the interaction between people before and a definite chemistry appeared to be happening between the professor and the major.

Alana felt so dreadful that it bordered on catatonic. It was as if she had drunk gallons of beer and had the worst hangover ever. Her body protested at every turn feeling less lucid than she usually did. Her priorities at this moment were to ensure the major was unharmed then proceed back to base. Hopefully Pat would be able to work out what was happening to her body.

A crackle of static along with Sam’s voice brought her back to reality. “Professor, are you ready to be uplifted?”

She was unsure, if it was her weakened senses or otherwise but Sam sounded worried, tense or something along those lines. “Yes, Sam, I’m ready to come home. Track my coordinates from here it isn’t safe to go back to the original transfer point.”

“Sure thing Professor. We’ve achieved everything else so far with the experiment this should be a piece of cake. I’ll reset the equipment. Thirty seconds to extraction.”

Al sighed heavily as she wondered if she should tell Arkan why she wanted to stay. “I just wanted to …” The remaining words disappeared, as Arkan looked at the empty space that the professor had once inhabited.

“I know.” Arkan’s softly spoken reply to the void made her smile at her own weakness. Arkan returned to her original purpose to check up on the engineers who were nearing a break through.

~ ~ ~

Captain Erille gave the doctor a concerned frown. “You could have been killed. What made you forget about your weapon?” After following his instructions on bandaging his arm, which fortunately for him the bullet had passed cleanly through the flesh, she had to concede he was a very fortunate man.

Mack Fulton wanted to be angry at the woman’s response. In fact, the words a typical woman’s reaction came to mind. However, today nothing had been typical; it had been totally out of any of their normal lifestyle experiences. “Well, you could just say you loved me, and I was trying to get out of a commitment, that might work.”

“Was that the reason?” the puzzled concerned tone had Mack rethinking. What he had thought a light reply to the tense situation apparently wasn’t taken that way. He did wonder if he was ready to go down that particular path with this woman or any woman.

“No, no of course it wasn’t.” He felt the tension building between them as he scratched the side of his neck in agitation. What should I say next?

“Does that mean you love me?”

For several seconds Mack wondered if he had been transported to another world. Sorrel had never mentioned love when they had been together. Nope, the good captain had kept her cards close to the chest.

“May I say that I have strong feelings for you…do you love me?” He quickly turned the question back to the captain. With his words came the feeling that his life was out of control; almost worse than being in the centre of a gun battle.

Captain Erille gave the words a once over as she did most things. The truth of the matter was that she’d never been in this kind of circumstance in her life. For god’s sake, what am I waiting for? Everyone knows men didn’t like to be the first to admit they love someone. It is up to me. Surprise of all surprises was she did love him and his injury had merely brought the matter to a head quicker than she expected.

Mack Fulton knew there was a battle going on inside the head of the woman he loved. Yep he loved her. As crazy as that sounded to him, the last hour in his life had made certain areas crystal clear and this was one of them. What the hell did it matter who was the first to say it…unless it wasn’t mutual.

“I love you,” they both replied at exactly the same moment.

~ ~ ~

Sam Ramsey had a green light from medical bay. Doctor Forsyth had confirmed that the professor had been extracted and indicated that the professor wasn’t in a fit state to report to the control room. After some time, she finally admitted that the professor’s status was critical and she had been confined bed.

Groaning at the news, Sam was unaware that the general had left his ivory tower. His arrival in the control area was a shock to him. “Have you extracted the Major, Ramsey?”

Swivelling in his chair, Sam glared at the man. What was it with these military guys? They had only one focus and it had nothing to do with everyday folk. “No General, as I said…”

With the flick of a hand, the general stopped the younger man’s irrelevant chatter. Presently, he was the only one able to use this technology, with any degree of competence. Otherwise, he would have had no compunction in shooting the cocky youngster and sending him to the morgue with Fever. He wanted Tranter clear of the situation. Cransky was a good soldier but he had none of Tranter’s tenacity. The major was going to be a good ally for his future dealings with the rest of the RADICALS in the present ranks. They respected her and would do what she ordered. He was going to make sure she did exactly what he ordered by reprogramming her, just the way he had the others. “I heard you talking with someone about a successful extraction. If it wasn’t Tranter who was it?”

Sam knew he’d been caught out. At this moment it would be useless to expect the general not to do further checking. With the professor, according to the base doctor, in no condition to be of help, he might as well be honest. “Professor Cameron was extracted she’s…”

The general didn’t wait for him to finish his sentence. He left the control room as quickly and silently as he’d entered; his destination unknown. Sam could make a pretty good guess as to where he was heading and he automatically punched in the communication band for the doctor. He might not be able to stop the general arriving, but at least the doctor would be warned.

After doing his duty, as best he could, he flipped on the screen to show the various personnel being monitored by the equipment. His state of mind was worried and frightened as he saw several of the monitors had stopped responding. With the little he knew it wasn’t an equipment malfunction, they were dead! Now, after the visit by the general, his concern escalated. Staring up at the glass wall that covered the office suite of the director, he decided to leave his position for a few moments and check if director Fever had left a number where he could be contacted. This wasn’t like the director to leave without saying something to someone. It certainly hadn’t been his intention when he’d left to confront the general, quite the opposite. Of that, Sam was certain.

~ ~ ~

Chef Reagon cowered in a corner of his kitchen. It was the only place he felt any measure of safety. Now, that everyone thought him as a coward, he knew it wasn’t likely that he would be allowed off the station alive regardless of who won. He wasn’t a soldier, never had been or any had inclination to be. He was a chef. He prepared meals for people and functions that was his claim to fame. He wasn’t cut out to be gung-ho; the nearest he’d ever been to that had been playing with toy soldiers as a kid. He’d soon grown out of that as well, preferring to play with his sister’s dolls dressing them up. If it hadn’t been for his colour blindness he’d have followed the real love of his life of fashion designing. However, with the deformity, as he termed it, he embarked on another creative form, cooking. He’d made a decent living out of the career too. Until the idiot he’d been living with had put rat droppings in the kitchen when they’d broken up. Unfortunately, a malicious person had already informed the authorities and his restaurant license had been revoked for five years. He’d taken the job here because it paid well and he would have enough to start up two restaurants once he’d completed the two and a half year term in space. Now, in the midst of another life crisis he’d run again. He’d scurried away from a deteriorating relationship, his career, and now he was running away from people who had been, if not exactly the most jovial, friendly to him in their own degrees…even the captain.

A noise in the corridor had him backing even further, if that were possible, under the shelving of the pantry area. He wouldn’t be able to see who entered the mess hall but he didn’t care as long as they didn’t see him. Listening intently, he heard the door slide open and two sets of heavy regimented military style footsteps enter the room. He held his breath hoping that they would speak. At least then, he would know who was in the area and be able to determine if he’d be shot on sight or given the opportunity to, recant his previous cowardly behaviour. If the captain was still running the show, he could show remorse for his actions. He was certain that major bitch wouldn’t allow him that luxury. The footsteps quickly circumnavigated the main area as he closed his eyes. Hoping, as he had done as a child when he’d been gripped in childish fear over something, that the object of his fear would simply disappear.

A few moments later, as the door slid open then slid shut he finally breathed out a heavy sigh after concentrating heavily on holding his breath. He fervently hoped that no one had heard him…

“Remaining a coward to the end Reagon.” Major Tranter shot her head under the bench. Staring at him, her ice filled eyes shattering his composure, as he began to sob out waving his arms around that he didn’t want to die.

With a final disparaging glance, she dragged the weakly protesting man out of his hiding place. Private Craig re-entered the area with a smile pinned on his face. “All clear Major. The others have reported minimal resistance to those forces left aboard and several ships are returning to Anvil Two with their tails between their legs.”

“Craig, I think you can take it from here. Have this…person, cook up something to eat for the men, they deserve it. Inform Willard I’m on my way back and have Lewis prepare Cransky.”

As she turned to leave, her thoughts travelled to the engineering section. For a split second, she had wanted to talk with the professor and advise her personally that the threat to the station was extinguished. She could go home proud of her actions. It was only a few precious moments as her thoughts gathered on the final hurdle, General H T McAndrew and his demise. He either would be put to death or be incarcerated; she knew which one she’d prefer to inflict on him. And, it didn’t have a long sentence attached to it.

~ ~ ~

“General, Professor Cameron isn’t in any fit state to have visitors, she’s barely lucid.” Doctor Patricia Forsyth barred the way to her patient’s bed. The general, with a menacing growl, pushed her roughly aside ignoring her cry of protest. The professor’s sickness had no relevance to him; all he wanted to know was how much she knew of what was happening on Anvil Four. Also, he needed to know exactly what Tranter knew and what she was doing about it.

Pulling the privacy panels aside, he stared down at the thin frail woman in the bed secretly admitting that she didn’t look well. However, it had little significance; she was the least important thing on his agenda right now. He was virtually ready to take over her project; a close friend of his from the early days of the terrorist’s wars in Europe had personally selected personnel who would take over with little formal training. After all a RAD scientist was far superior to a Normal one. It was all in the genes just like the military.

“Professor Cameron can you hear me?”

He stepped closer asking the question again, “I told you she wasn’t in any condition…”

“Shut up doctor! When I want your opinion I’ll ask, otherwise be quiet or better yet check on another patient.” The general’s hard stare had Patricia moving a discrete distance away, though not enough that she couldn’t be at Alana’s side if anything distressed her friend.

This time the general towered over the bed whispering into the professor’s ear, “Come now Professor I know you must be able to hear me. Just how is our mutual friend Tranter?”

The general was impressed. The woman moaned, barely opening her eyes as she gazed glassily at him, her mouth moving but the words were silent. He wasn’t sure if it was his bedside manner, or the mention of a certain party that had the required response, either way she was almost with him.

“I need your help Professor. The Major is in danger if she remains on the station; therefore, we require her immediate extraction. The boy you have working for you indicated that you are the only one who can do that.”

Alana had been disorientated since she had been transported back to the base. Unable to speak coherently, doubting anyone would believe her if she had spoken because it probably sounded more like a fictional tale. At the moment, she felt like she was in a dream. It had to be a dream; for so many terrible things were happening that there was no way could they be right. Could they? There was one good thing out of this terrible dream though, Major Tranter. Even if she was an obscure reincarnation of the woman who had died in her earlier experiments, she felt happier knowing that if things had been different they might not have been friends.

“Professor, come now, the major needs your help at this moment, not in several weeks time.”

Shifting slightly in the bed she realized that the weightlessness feeling must be because her artificial limbs had been removed. Thank god for that, they had been a trial and incredibly painful at the end. Weird how I can experience so much pain in a dream, hope I wake up soon.

“Administer something to make her lucid Doctor. She is the key to some of my people’s lives.”

Pat Forsyth glowered at the general. He might think he had absolute power; he didn’t here, only Fever could dispense that kind of order to her. Sam had indicated that Jim Fever wasn’t on the premises, which was odd. Fever might not be as totally blinkered as Alana might be to the project but he would never have abandoned her when she was part of the experiment. He cared for Alana a little bit more than he allowed himself because she certainly gave him no reason to think that she cared for him in any other way than as a close friend.

“I’ve already subjected her to various drugs to stabilise her condition. If I administer anything else who knows what might happen. I’m not prepared to take that chance.”

Her adamant position had General McAndrew fuming. With a blank expression on his features, he turned to face the woman who had angered him. Hissing between his smoke stained even teeth he said, “You will do as I say, or I’ll personally take charge of her welfare. Believe me she won’t survive my butchery after I receive the information I need.”

Pat knew he meant every word. It was the tone of his voice and the look in his eyes. An evil glinting that had nothing to do with being a soldier. It had all to do with the state of mind of a mad man. At this juncture she suspected that the general had toppled into that category with the things that were going on around them. Events becoming so dreadful and in secret she suspected Alana was in the thick of things. From her point of view, her friend wasn’t going to be a sacrificial lamb to this egotistical madman. No way was she going to let that happen. “I’ll give her something. Don’t expect too much, we still don’t know exactly what’s happened to her or what she’s suffering from. All we do know is that her nervous system is disintegrating and we can’t stop it.”

Pat injected Alana with the serum that would boost her immune system. Allowing her friend to wake her for a period, though what that time phase was would be anyone’s guess.

“Give her a minute.” Pat carefully stroked back the damp hair that flopped over Alana’s eyes. She smiled gently as her friend became more lucid then moved away to allow the general into her friend’s sight. She then saw the immediate defensive expression in her friend’s eyes as the general closed the small gap between them. He came as close to her as he could without touching her to whisper once again in her ear.

“I want Tranter out of Anvil Four now! Tell Ramsey how to do it.” There was no quiet irrelevant gesture of sympathy for her condition. He demanded action and didn’t care about pulling any punches.

Al gave him a careful glance as she answered, “Jim can do that you don’t need me.”

With a look that pierced Alana’s soul, he gave her a slow evil smile. “Sorry my dear the director is no longer able to help.”

Alana felt her stomach churn. The sickness she felt at his words left her in no doubt that Jim was injured or even worse dead. The general had him killed, but why? Why! “I won’t help you General, over my dead body.”

“Bravado my dear is of no consequence in this situation. From what your doctor implies you don’t have much longer to live anyway. There is however the small matter of preventing me from taking my temper out on innocent people. Young Mr. Ramsey for instance, or perhaps the good doctor here. Now what do you say?”

Had she any choice? He obviously didn’t know about Sergeant Lewis and the other members of the RAD team onboard the station or he would have said something. She could delay him for a time. Perhaps in that time Tranter would request exit. It was a long shot, one she was going to give the major. Maybe this was the final part she had to play.

“Are you going to allow that Professor? I’ll not wait any longer for your answer; it’s either yes or no.”

“Yes. At least, I’ll have to do the extraction myself. It would prove too difficult for Sam. I might forget to tell him everything and it could be fatal. Pat, please give me something to get out of here for a short time.”

Her eyes beseeched her friend to understand. In light of how the general described her condition she did not know if Pat would agree with her request or be in a position to do anything to help her.

Quietly her friend agreed. “I’ll do what I can Alana. With your determination you’ll be at your desk in half an hour.”

The general gave the two women a disparaging smile as he moved towards the exit. “Excellent I knew you would see sense. Half an hour and don’t make it a minute longer.” He left without another word.

“I don’t know what you think you’re doing Alana, this is crazy! You aren’t in any condition to help yourself. Never mind work out a complicated process. Surely he can’t make you?”

“He can Pat, and I think he’s done something awful to Jim…maybe even killed him. He just threatened you or Sam, or possibly both. He’s gone crazy, so crazy he’s putting the whole planet in jeopardy.”

The doctor’s raised eyebrows indicated her shock at the statement. “You can’t have heard him right Alana. Especially about Jim, it’s impossible! The general is one of the most influential people outside the World Council there is. Why would he do such a thing?”

“I need to buy some time for the major, she’s going to work this all out I know it. Sam was helping me earlier out by not telling the general the truth - he can process the extraction. I guess in our own ways we are all buying as much time for everyone as we can. Right now Anvil Four is in danger and that’s enough for even the most timid among us to help don’t you think.”

The mention of the station had Pat gasping. Her eyes blinked rapidly as it sank in that Alana actually believed all this stuff and wasn’t hallucinating with the cocktail of drugs she’d been given. It all made sense now. Her friend was right they all had to do their part and she was going to try, even if it meant that her friend’s life was put in danger. “This could kill you Alana. You know that, right. I don’t know what’s wrong with you.”

Alana squeezed the hand that touched her forearm. “I know. It will be worth it trust me.”

“I do trust you Alana. Drugs as powerful as these don’t discriminate against good or evil. They will kill anyone regardless, if too many are taken.”

“I guess I’m going to have to pray that I don’t need too many.”

Pat selected the drugs she was going to use. Her mind concentrated on her friend, praying that she wasn’t going to kill her.

~ ~ ~

“Ma’am, Anvil Two has released the computer control and is awaiting your instructions,” Navigator Stephens announced triumphantly.

“Excellent work Stephens. Captain I believe that’s your call now. I’ll be leaving my people onboard to help you. Sergeant Lewis will be taking command of Anvil Two until the World Council has despatched a replacement.” Tranter gave the captain a small smile. As she waited for Cransky to perform his party trick in contacting the general, she was informed that the remaining personnel onboard Anvil Two and surrendered. Additionally, the captain and Doctor Fulton had decided to make the repair time on Anvil Four a honeymoon. Guess it was as good a place as anywhere under the circumstances. To her mind she would have preferred something a little more private.

“Does the World Council know what’s happening here?” Erille asked, surprised at the comment. She had thought that perhaps the major intended to take command of both vessels until otherwise released of the burden. After all she had beaten back the marauders without getting into a sweat.

Tranter gave the captain a long hard look, “Yes, I sent a coded message which they probably received in the last few minutes. I’m travelling back to the project base now. The general and I have a rendezvous that requires my personal brand of attention. If you need anything, or have any trouble on either ship, Lewis will deal with it as well as I would. My people are at your direct command Captain. Although, if I were you I’d have Sergeant Lewis give the commands on your behalf when it comes down to military protocol on Anvil Two.”

Cransky had been good to his word and informed the general that all was well on Anvil Four and they had control. He also stated that Tranter was ready for extraction and had been segregated and knew little of what was going on. The performance had convinced the general or so it had appeared to the untrained ear. Tranter thought otherwise. He was far too willing to accede that she had not been in the thick of things. Being divorced from her goal something she would normally never allow, barring incapacity or death.

“I understand the chain of command Major. Thank you for your guidance. I’d also like to thank you for your help; things would have been so different if you hadn’t…”

“No need to say any more Captain. It’s my purpose to defend Earth and the people who live on the planet. I was only doing what I’ve been born to do. I wish you luck in your endeavours Captain and with the repairs to your station as well as a safe journey back with your crew.” Tranter sighed slightly saluting her men as she left the bridge. Walking towards the engineering area, she wanted to ensure that everything was as it should be. In particular, a certain professor had left the station and returned home.

Arkan was the first to greet her. Complete with a dramatic salute that made Tranter laugh silently. The soldier needed to take a refresher in that area of military discipline. Regardless, she was a damn fine soldier and she’d be proud to have her under her command if the need ever arose again. “Arkan, what’s the status?”

“Everything is under control Major. If you can call limping through space, control. Anvil Two is flanking us and that should help things along especially if any major functions deteriorate. The weapons area is secure and guarded. However, Chief Engineer Lake ’s in mourning for Myrtle. He thinks she’ll be scrapped. Guess he has a soft spot for the old tin can.” Arkan grinned as she mentioned Lake ’s concern for the station.

“Good.” Tranter scanned the area and saw Shibanion and Lake working feverishly inside the hollow of a corridor covered in cables.

Arkan saw the major taking in the number of people inside the engineering area. She had no doubt who her superior was really looking for. “Major, Professor Cameron left the station as instructed. Currently unconfirmed at this end although I believe she arrived back in one piece.”

Nodding her head Tranter stared out of the porthole. It gave her an infinitely small piece of space to view, its darkness transmuted by the debris of shards of the damage to the station that had been ejected into space.

Finally, she drew in a breath, filling out her chest, and bracing her broad shoulders as she turned to leave the area. “Excellent. Captain Erille is now in control again.” Tranter left the engineering sector without another word and headed for the area of the station where she had first entered it. What felt like days in reality had been only a few hours. Now, to take out the general! And, if it was the last thing she did in her lifespan she would be pleased with the conclusion of her mission and if necessary her life.

~ ~ ~

Sam had been shocked by the professor’s appearance. She looked haggard and totally not the woman he was used to working with as doctor Forsyth wheeled her into the control room. The doctor also looked drawn, except he suspected for different reasons. The general and two other soldiers accompanied them. What is going on here? It looked more like a prisoner situation than the professor arriving to do her routine work.

“Professor I…”

“I know Sam, have you contacted the major?” She settled at her normal console with her shaking hands a testimony that she wasn’t in control of her own body’s functionality. It was something that she hadn’t had time to understand or work out exactly what was happening to her. All she knew was that it was really quite scary.

Sam turned to monitor his console. Knowing that she wanted him to carry on as normal or as much as one could in the circumstances, “Yes, the major is at the original coordinates shall I begin the extraction countdown?”

The general heard the words that passed between the two colleagues realising that the boy had duped him. Ah well, he wouldn’t be around for much longer, therefore, his mischief making was now irrelevant. This knowledge was akin to his knowing in his gut that Tranter was up to something. No way would she have succumbed to anything Cransky had asked without his direct order or by dying first. It was of no significance now. He was now in absolute control or would be as soon as he had Tranter in custody. Soon everyone in the world would know about his secret mission and they couldn’t do a thing to stop him.

“I want Tranter here in this room now!” McAndrew growled menacingly. He’d had enough of the easy-going approach, now he wanted what was his, Tranter.

Sam looked to the professor for instruction. With a slightly shaky nod of her head, she indicated that they could begin the process. The project was stable and it would pretty much send and return people wherever they wanted. Just as her parents had predicted and had worked hard but failed to achieve.

“Do it Sam,” Al spoke quietly as she remained focused on the events around her rather than the worsening effect of the drugs on her body. This was causing her to want to throw up at any moment, which brought about the recall of a similar event with the major and her nausea on the station. Not only that, she was suffering with a kaleidoscope of colours threatening to make her unconscious. The thought of the major gave her renewed strength.

“Initiating extraction, ten, nine, eight, seven, six, five, four, three, two, one…extraction.”

Alana hit the button. If this didn’t work she didn’t want Sam to be the one who had made the final call. It had to be her and her alone.

In what seemed like eons to her, Alana saw the major appear. She looked as she’d done when Alana had left her. A few scorch marks on the face gave her a roguish appearance that definitely was not out of character. It looked good on her, real good, mixing well with her already bronzed skin tones.

Doctor Forsyth quickly sped over to the soldier to ensure she was as whole as she should be in the circumstances. Forsyth was thrown aside by the two soldiers who grasped the major’s remarkably unresisting body as the general stood menacingly before her.

“Ah I thought so, you know everything, or as much as you could glean from Cransky. He was only ever my second choice. You were always my first choice. Circumstances didn’t allow you to be prepared efficiently for that mission.”

Tranter gave the man she had respected a long time ago a long steady stare. He was, of course, now in her eyes only a normal man complete with a crazed superior look in his eyes telling her that he would never be the same again. He was better off dead. Knowing him, she was sure he might try this again in a different way. He still had some power left in certain secret factions that the World Council would find difficult to trace. An asylum would be too good for him in light of his misdeeds, way too good.

“I know enough General, as does the World Council. It is only a matter of time before they track you here and arrest you for treason.”

McAndrew stared at the woman who was biologically his daughter, enhanced it was true, nonetheless his daughter. She was everything he wasn’t. The soldier he had yearned to be himself and more. If he could make her see that to retire him had been grossly wrong on the part of the authorities perhaps she would side with him. Now was not the time to speak of such things. After a session with his people Tranter would be under his control again.

“Ah, the council will take time to deliberate over what action to take. And by then, I’ll be long gone to a place they can’t find me. I will have my revenge. And, when I’ve finished with you Major, you will be alongside me all the way.”

The look of distaste on Tranter’s face told everyone exactly what she thought of that scenario. Focusing her eyes on the two soldiers holding her prisoner, “Do you want to go down with the general for treason? Or, hasn’t he told you every detail.”

The general saw the tactic and it might have worked. It was a little like his tactic of explaining why he’d gone rogue to Tranter. He knew that only a medical enhancement change would accomplish that in the end. She had, after all, his grit and determination - it was all in the genes. “They only respond to me Major. Forget any psychological plea it won’t work on them. I programmed these two personally.”

Alana saw the fleeting look of disappointment on the major’s face knowing she had to make one last effort to help the soldier. There was no trusting the general. She didn’t want to think of the major being programmed into, what she could only call a zombie, at the ultimate behest of this man and his maniacal suggestions. No, that wasn’t going to happen to her major…and yes, Tranter was definitely her major.

“General, I can make you disappear just as we made the major reappear. As I haven’t your DNA recorded on file yet, do you know what that could do to you?” The words were uttered carefully. As Alana’s speech slowed significantly as she attempted to demand more of her body than it was prepared to give. Sam saw the look of sheer exhaustion on the professor’s face. He knew, without her words, exactly what she wanted to do and furiously punched in coordinates.

General McAndrew swiftly gave his attention to the two scientists. It became then a decision of whom he should target first. As he screamed at the two soldiers to let Tranter go and stop the two at the consoles. Obediently, the soldiers did as requested pushing both away from the computer consoles. As they released her Tranter deftly pulled out her gun. Without blinking, she shot the general in the heart twice ensuring he would never rise up and torment earth again.

The two soldiers swivelled to see the general slump to the floor. As they drew their weapons, Tranter dismissed them into the darkness much the same way as she did the general, spraying blood everywhere.

Pat Forsyth wasn’t sure which casualty she should look at first. It was like a blood bath in the control room. Then she focused immediately on the one person who she considered needed her services more, Alana Cameron. She was lying motionless on the ground where the soldier had thrown her fragile body.

Surveying the carnage all about her, Tranter acknowledged Sam’s nod of the head to indicate he was fine. Then like a cinema slow motion she captured the doctor positioned over the professor. With a feeling of doom crashing all around her she dropped to her knees beside the two of them.

“Is she going to be okay Doctor?”

Pat Forsyth looked up, tears glistening in her eyes. She then brokenly spoke to the concerned soldier, “I’m not sure, she’s lapsed into a coma. I need to get her to the medical centre stat!”

Tranter stared at the woman who she now saw didn’t have any legs, how the hell!

However, that was for another time to speculate now she had an idea. “Sam, configure the coordinates for the RADICAL base hospital. I’ll take the professor with me. You can follow Doctor and bring all you have with you on her condition.”

Pat wanted to dispute the order given by the major but she couldn’t. Perhaps their doctors could fathom what was wrong with her friend because she certainly hadn’t.

“I’ll collect my notes.”

With what seemed liked hours, but in retrospect was only a minute, Sam transported the major and the professor to the medical facility at RADICAL headquarters…

~ ~ ~

There were strained expressions on the faces of the medical staff that had been assigned to what they perceived as a novelty case. Although, the novelty soon wore off when they realized they were unable to stabilise the patient. For the moment, the woman, merely tagged as Jane Smith for the base records, diminished before their sight. Leaving them with little to do but monitor her situation and watch her die.

If that wasn’t unique enough for the day, one of their own sat by the bedside holding the patients frail, virtually lifeless hand in a much stronger grasp. Major Tranter had succumbed, it would appear, to that one critical emotion no one had expected of her. She had found compassion for this unknown woman. She had broken all protocol and demanded that her condition was treated without further delay or confirmation from command personnel.

To make the day even more momentous, rumours abounded the base that General McAndrew was dead. This was accompanied by a tale about a plot had been foiled to sabotage and overrun Anvil Four the main weapon station in space. Though details were sketchy, the finger pointed towards the major and the mystery woman being involved with the action.

The swing doors, unusual in the sophisticated set up of the medical area, opened. A woman they hadn’t seen before rushed towards them. Demanding that she see the new patient, Doctor Patricia Forsyth was in no mood to be stonewalled by military bureaucracy especially when her friend’s life was in danger. Doctor Ramon watched the woman converse with the administrator for a few moments prior to intervening.

“Doctor Forsyth?”

Pat, angry at the delay and upset at not knowing what was going on, looked at the man in annoyance. “Yes. Where is she and who the hell are you?”

Nodding his head, the man held out his hand for the folder she had in her hand. “Doctor Forsyth I’m in charge of the patient you are concerned about. May I have her notes please? It might give us new insight into her condition.”

There was no question about passing over the notes. As she did so, she wondered how he knew her name. She then realised that it had to have been either the major or a telepathic message that had informed him. She knew of some of the extra abilities afforded to the RAD’s but not all. That particular gift she felt had merits on some occasions like now.

“Have you been able to help Al…Professor Cameron?”

“Sadly we have not. She remains critical. Unless your data is of any conclusive help I do not foresee her making it through the next twenty-four hours.” As he saw the pain cross her features at the prognosis, he felt an element of empathy for her predicament. It was never good to lose a member of the team. Here at least, they had the opportunity to bring them back from the dead if decreed. Therefore, it never did have the same impact. “I’m sorry Doctor; I’ll take you to her.”

In a daze, Pat walked beside the doctor who was now handling Alana’s case. What had been the point in taking her away from the place she called home if they could do nothing for her? What had been the damn point, her heart screamed out silently. Through the glass window she saw her friend hooked up to so many monitors it was hard to see where she started and they ended. What are they doing to her?

“You will observe Doctor that our monitoring is …dare I say it, more advanced. We can pinpoint to a millisecond when a particular area of the body shuts down and likewise if it reactivates. For that, we needed more wires of course. Something medical science has yet to eliminate, though I know our scientists are trying.” As the words flowed from the man at her side, Pat could hear what she thought was pride in the accomplishment of his kind. Wasn’t that another no-no of the RAD’s or had they been duped for years into thinking that this enhanced human being was some kind of monster without feelings, akin to a robot.

Her eyes caught the other person in the room. She was amazed to find it was the major rather than a medical professional. “I didn’t think the major would still be here.”

Rubbing his whisker free chin, the doctor gave a thoughtful sigh, “oddly she refuses to leave at this time.”

Entering the sickroom slowly and quietly, Patricia watched the major hold her friend’s hand. It was an astonishing thing to see. From what she’d experienced of the major, there was no way on earth she would have thought the woman could be that tender in anyone’s lifetime. Alana must have had a profound effect on her.

"Major, how’s she doing?”

Tranter glanced up in surprise. Her normal sensitive hearing would have picked up even a tiny pin drop, although it would seem not at this moment. Another item for the med’s to check when she finally had the time to have her mission complete check-up.

“Doctor, she’s…dying.”

Pat wondered if actually saying those words had been as painful as hearing them because she saw the major flinch at the statement much as she would herself. Her career had taken her to high and lows in the medical profession and right now, this was the lowest ebb she had encountered. Can today become any worse? I certainly hope not.

“Do you mind if I sit with you? I guess my medical knowledge isn’t a patch on the people here though. They probably think I still work with a hacksaw. It was a good call of yours Major.” Smiling slightly as she tried, knowing she’d failed, to lighten the situation for a moment.

Tranter didn’t much like humour. It had no place in her hardened world, besides she rarely understood what the people were talking about. The situation, as she saw it, did not merit anyone smiling especially, not one who called themselves friends. “I need to go shortly for my debriefing, you arrived at the right time.”

Pat lost her composure at that moment as the tears dripped on her pale cheeks. “You call this the right moment?”

“Perhaps the words were slightly inaccurate. Professor Cameron, will, I’m sure, feel happier knowing you are here rather than a virtual stranger.”

About to respond to the bleak statement they were both shocked when a weak familiar voice spoke, “you are no stranger to me I need you to stay.”

Tranter sank down beside the prone woman again with a look of disbelief marring her features. She pushed back the stray locks that always managed to slip into the professor’s eyes. For some, she was sure, it would be quite endearing. To her, it was an unruly fraction requiring training. “I’ll stay as long as you need me.”

Intelligent eyes, dulled with the drugs, caught the major’s inky blue eyes in an unfathomable gaze. Then she slowly moved slightly in the bed to face her friend. “All this isn’t your fault Pat. You only did what I asked of you. It was the right thing to do.”

“The right thing to do Alana, would have been to keep you in sickbay and not allow that monster to manipulate me. If I had, you would never be in this position now.” Pat’s tears flowed freely and she didn’t care who saw. Bottom line, she blamed herself for the condition of her friend and she had to live with it for the rest of her life.

“He manipulated everyone Pat. Including the major here so you are in good company.” Alana heard, rather than saw, the change in stance of the major who virtually bristled at the comment. If it weren’t too painful to laugh, she would have done so. Right now, she felt the most lucid she had in hours. Perhaps things weren’t as dire as the faces on these two appeared. It didn’t matter though if she died, not now, it really didn’t matter because all her aspirations…save one had come true.

“I’ll leave you to talk with the major before she leaves. I’ll return Al with some good news.” Pat bent to kiss her friend’s cheek as she squeezed the frail hand that wasn’t in the vice grip of the major’s.

“I’ll be here Pat,” Alana tried to re-assure her friend as she watched her leave the room. Once she had, the room appeared slightly claustrophobic though it was a large area.

“How are you feeling?” Tranter’s words echoed on the beige tinted walls. In a daze, she could almost see the words being etched like graffiti on the surface.

Although the monitors, inches away, constantly blinked the temperature a cool strong hand settled gently on her forehead testing the warmth of her body. It was way too high for a normal. “I feel better, at least not really better but…”

“I understand. Preserve your strength talking saps it. Did you know that?”

Alana smiled weakly. So the major does have a sense of humour after all. Maybe she has a heart too…one that might love. Her mind was in chaos again as she vainly tried to shrug the mental picture away. It relented and refused to leave, causing her to feel that all her thoughts were a jumble making it difficult to think of a coherent sentence. Would it matter if I said something that the major might disapprove? After all, she wasn’t likely to survive since everyone looked at her as if she were dying, even the major.

“Are we all safe now Major, Earth and… everyone? What about Jim Fever?”

“As safe as anyone on this planet can be. You should be proud, without you Professor it wouldn’t be so. I don’t know about Fever at this time but I’ll enquire for you later.” Tranter spoke the words genuinely certain it was the truth. Deciding that now was not the time to discuss the situation regarding the director of the project. She didn’t have the answer anyway though she could guess his condition.

Alana spoke softly, “Major, may I ask you another question?”

“Yes.”

Alana was pleased there had been no hesitation. Though what came next might elicit a pause from the soldier. “If I told you that I thought I’d fallen for you what would you say. Would you mind?”

Tranter was staggered by the question and the reasoning behind it. Surely, the professor was hallucinating. She would mark it down as that thereby tolerating her behaviour. “I would say that you don’t know me well enough to have those feelings Professor.”

“You don’t really know me either though do you. Yet, at the same time, I doubt you would be here if you didn’t have some feelings for me. I know you won’t like it but I think I love you.” This time, Alana did take the bull by the horns instead of alluding to the emotion she had admitted to blandly.

Taken momentarily aback at the sincere words, Tranter scrambled around in her brain’s databank for help in this type of her situation…she didn’t have any. The professor obviously had some kind of deeper emotion for her for it was clear in the eyes that refused to turn away. Giving the professor a serious long stare, she saw the innocent truth of the statement in every feature of her broken body. It could never be forged. It was akin to the single key, which unlocked the doors to all the secret places in a person’s heart. “ Normal ’s express empathy with strangers and that’s all this is Professor. You and I have been through a difficult situation, life and ….well, let’s just say at the moment you are not yourself.”

“I know I’m dying Major it’s in everyone’s eyes even yours. I also know that if I don’t express the feeling I have had for you from the moment we met again I wouldn’t be honest with myself. It maybe amusing for you as I know you don’t feel anything for me…”

The heartfelt words crushed Tranter’s resolve. “Please, I want to say something. I know one certain thing out of this Professor, I do care about you in a way that I haven’t felt for anyone before. Not even those I command. I can’t call it love I have no reference to that emotion.”

Alana heard the sincerity in the words and her heart soared like an eagle climbing heights she hadn’t figured she ever would or had ever wanted to before. “Are you feeling sorry for me perhaps?”

This time tenderness flooded the single word reply,” no,” as her strong finger traced the thin almost translucent skin. Tranter realised that if this wasn’t a form of love she didn’t know what was since the emotional connection she had with this woman was profound and disturbing. Her blood, already heated at the thought of trying to solve the mystery of sharing a relationship with someone, threatened to boil over. A smouldering look danced in the eyes of the professor. Tranter wondered how the professor could be on the brink of death and yet, at the same time, have the essence of life sparking in her eyes.

“Will you kiss me?”

Gulping down the nervous feeling, another type of emotion she was unfamiliar with, Tranter steadily looked deep into the eyes of the woman. Alana was offering her a place in the world that had nothing to do with the military. She was asking her to be like anyone else on the planet by offering her love. There was no demarcation point between them. They were just two people in this time, at this moment, with the chance to share something incredibly special.

Without words, the shaven head bent down and with lips that were as strong as the rest of her body captured the soft yet willing pair of the professor’s. The woman who offered her the chance to glimpse into a magical world that previously she’d only read about. The flame that engulfed them sent both women’s pulses racing towards a joining that made complete sense to the universe.

Knowing she was out of control but glorying in the emotional maelstrom, Tranter felt the professor suddenly go limp in her arms. Breaking the contact, she stared down at the ashen skin of the woman. She looked like she was sleeping peacefully with a wonderfully content expression on her features.

Unable to take in what was happening for those few seconds until her mind finally caught up with her heart. She was surprised when the door sprang open and several doctors, including Forsyth, rushed into the room. Alarms were loudly protesting in the room. However, Tranter hadn’t heard them. Why was that?

“We need the space Major,” Doctor Ramon insisted of the disorientated soldier as she backed away. Finally, as they worked on the lifeless form of the professor Tranter left the room to walk down the corridor. A piece of her that she had recently found died along with the person that might have actually loved her for who she was. And, maybe she might have loved her as well.

~ ~ ~

Epilogue

A year later…

General Sheryl Randolph approached the training session at the RADICAL base. She had taken up her post earlier than planned after the death of General McAndrew. The past few months had been fruitful, particularly in the process of integrating normal soldiers with RADICALS on missions. In fact, she had been impressed with several of her officers. In particular, colonel Tranter, who, had merited the huge accolade of being doubly promoted because of her bravery and loyalty a year earlier. Her skills in leadership surpassed anyone she had ever encountered in her career thus far. In truth, the colonel was her right hand. Her new posting given that morning would only enhance their working team. Stories abounded of the many exploits of the woman who was to many a legend. She herself had found the soldier, committed, resourceful and completely trustworthy, complimented by a compassionate disposition.

Things had changed dramatically on many fronts after the attempted control of Anvil Four by what was cautiously referred too as a destructive third party. So much so that the new technology developed by the Tempest team and headed by the deceased James Fever was now being used vigorously in more applications both military and commercial. Before long, the mode of transport once fashionable would be a thing of the past like the horse was replaced by the automobile.

Anvil Four was being decommissioned. The weapons of destruction were being dispersed to differing parts of the globe or to specially constructed stations in outer space. It would be hardly worth anyone trying to divert them for evil ever again. And if they did, she had teams specially trained for such an event.

A soldier saluted her and she returned his acknowledgement of her rank as he walked towards her.

“You gave the message to Colonel Tranter as instructed?”

“Yes Ma’am, as we speak she should be at the medical centre. Her final results are due so it is good timing.”

“Thank you Captain Lewis. Now how are the new recruits this morning?”

~ ~ ~

Doctor Patricia Forsyth smiled at the soldier who waited silently for the test results that had brought her here.

“Nice to see you again Colonel Tranter, I almost forgot your change in rank. I never had the chance to congratulate you I’m sure you were a popular choice for the merit.”

Tranter gazed at the woman who had been transferred to work at the base as an integration of the two types of medical personnel. Some would call say that the military and all other fractions had been infiltrated. According to most, she was working out far better than expected; her intelligence level was on a par that could be tolerated. What she lacked in superior intellect she more than made up for with her common ‘normal’ sense and compassionate nature. “Apparently my superiors think so. Thank you Doctor.”

There was, as always, no small talk with this particular soldier. Her thoughts turned to her old friend as she wondered how she had found a crack in the hard shell that surrounded this soldier because sure enough Alana had.

“Well, I guess you’re here for your results and I’m pleased to report that everything is now functioning at 100% of calibration. The residual effects of the virus that you came across on Anvil Four are now a thing of the past. Would you believe it was a microorganism that affects only a miniscule number of the population? You and …well, as I said, you have the all clear. I’ll send the report to your commanding officer.”

Pat watched the Colonel assimilate the information both knowing who else had been affected. The other party had not been as lucky as the colonel had been. A cure for the virus had taken several weeks and, had it not been for Tranter’s superior metabolism, she would have been a fatality also.

“Thank you Doctor is that all?”

With a slight smile, Pat waved the soldier away. A parting remark had her grinning mysteriously as she left. “May I suggest you drop by room three on your way out? You’ll find something of interest there.”

Tranter had made a decision regarding her emotional state on her return to earth after the anvil four mission. The effects of the virus on her system had broken down barriers that should never have been breached. Even though sometimes in the depths of a deep sleep she would wake with professor Cameron’s name on her lips and the touch of her soft pliable lips on hers. Tormenting her dreams, reminding her of what could never be, even though she had glimpsed it for a few short moments. How could she ever know if it had been the truth? They had both been suffering from the airborne virus. She had been the fortunate one to live the professor had not…

“Ah Colonel Tranter, there you are I’ve been waiting for you. Or, should I say she’s been waiting to see you. I will give you five minutes we need to do a final series of tests. Please go inside. ”

Puzzled, Tranter stared at the doctor who, smiled warmly at her. Ramon hadn’t indicated they had an appointment… “You did it? They agreed?”

“Oh yes indeed. I know you’ll be happy with the results, allow me. ” The doctor opened the door to room three. Tranter almost lost her balance as she stared at the seated figure in the room.

The person in the room turned sharply at the sound then gave the bemused soldier a welcoming bright smile. “Major Tranter at last…I am so glad to see you.”

Using all her powers of supreme control Tranter stepped forward. A wry smile tugged at her lips as she acknowledged that the woman was indeed alive. “I see that Professor Cameron. How are you feeling?”

Spinning around in the chair she stood up, “I’m wonderful. Your people are marvellous they’ve made special implants for my legs that you can’t tell them apart from the real thing. I call that a more than a fair-trade for being in a coma all those months. Have you time to tell me about what happened after I was knocked out by the general’s goons?”

“When did you wake…from the coma?” Tranter had to take a deep breath as she realised that the emotions she had put down to the virus where in fact real. It was a massive effort on her part not act upon them although she now knew there was no possibility of that not now.

“Oh, I’ve been awake for a week or two. They told me you were on a secret mission so I had to wait for your return before they let me out of here. I guess you owe me at least dinner for my patience Major, what do you say?”

A feeling of sorrow at the loss of something that had been so fragile was immediately replaced by one of happiness at the professor’s return. Someone, she hadn’t until this moment, realised she had tangibly missed so much. “The doctor needs to run your final tests he gave me a five minute window. How about I return tomorrow and we can talk about things?”

For a moment, there was sadness in the eyes of the woman staring at her then it cleared as a glow and a shimmering of mischief appeared. “Okay…that will make two dinners you owe me.”

Tranter smiled at the comment; yep it really was the professor in the flesh teasing her. “I guess we can table that as part of your after care.”

Alana grinned happily back at the solider. She knew deep down they had a connection; she had felt it from the moment they had met again at the project base. With the passing of the months as she laid in a coma, it had become tenuous much like a dream. However, the closeness she felt to the woman on immediate contact proved that her senses were correct and they had a bond.

“Professor, apart from going stir crazy how do you feel?”

“If you want the truth, I’m good but I have the strangest dreams,”

“Go on.” Tranter felt her heart about to burst waiting for the revelation of the kiss they shared even though she knew there was no possibility of that recollection.

“I can see what happened on the station and the events that led up to the soldier knocking me unconscious. Then I get the distinct feeling I died…you know really died. It was painful yet strangely happy. Anyway, it’s only a dream I’m here right.”

Tranter slowly blinked as she listened to the ramblings of the woman. She’d experienced it herself once…dying that was, and being brought back. “Yes Professor you are definitely here now. I’m sorry to cut this short but duty calls.”

“Will you promise to tell me everything that happened after I was knocked out Major?”

It was a plea from the heart for the gaps of the past months in her memory caused by the coma. What was that on the major’s shoulders do I see more braid on her uniform? She deserves it after all we went through on the space station. Alana felt that her world had finally righted itself now that she had seen the Major again. Pat had told her about Jim’s murder the day before and she had shed a few tears. They were not as many as she expected since deep down she had known his fate. Glancing down at her new legs, she pondered the thought of a vacation. Maybe now was the time to make up with her estranged brother. Who knew, if she was lucky, maybe the major might keep her company, she could dream anyway.

“Sure, I’ll be seeing you Professor.” Tranter left the room almost cannoning into doctor’s Ramon and Forsyth.

“What do you think? She’s doing remarkably well for a normal don’t you think so Colonel? When you have to consider that her bio-scan was taken under extreme trauma and then being reborn into a new more efficient body. It was a marvellous strategy of yours to bring her here before she became brain dead.”

The enthusiasm couldn’t be frowned upon it had been a miracle of a kind. The bio-scan had been taken immediately when the professor had arrived in the medical base and preserved until permission had been granted to use it. There had never been such an occasion to do so, it had always been a no go area. The powers that be had deemed the practice similar to playing god and it had been outlawed barring permission for specific groups of RAD’s. However, the world council, in light of the professor’s actions to save the planet, had deemed it a one-of very secret reason to allow the process. There had been no guarantees that it would work. It had, wonderfully well.

They could never tell the professor of course since she hadn’t approved such a medical practice. Tranter’s determination and lobbying of the council had made it happen. Forsyth had been sceptical; although she wanted her friend back, it had been a difficult choice to make. For, if the professor found out the chance was she would not trust Tranter or want Pat as a friend. Tranter had done what her biological father, the general, had done when orders were not clear. She had made the decision for everyone, including the professor. Though some might say she acted as if she were a manipulative god, for her there had been only one choice and one conclusion…the professor alive, clone or not.

“I think the Professor is exactly as she should be. I’ll be back tomorrow we have things to discuss.”

The statement seemed to echo down the corridor as the two doctors glanced at each other. Now what did that mean?

“You do?”

Tranter glared at the ‘normal’ doctor, “yes we do. The professor is critical to my new assignment. We are to work together controlling the professor’s project Tempest!”

With that, the soldier left the building to carry on her work.

Forsyth had a large grin on her face as she muttered to no one in particular, “Al you’ve got a second chance to get under the skin of a RADICAL. This is going to be fun to be around…maybe I’ll ask for a transfer back to the project.”

The End