The Game 54
Edited by Karen Leigh
Back at the compound, David felt One's presence so strongly that he actually looked over his shoulder, expecting to see the other unit behind him. The wave of disappointment that passed through him when he realized that One was indeed still at Innobiotics was vast and nearly overwhelming.
The diminished invading force had just reached a dead end. Sliding doors had locked them into this empty corridor and One expected it would be a matter of time before the executioners came. He hoped that David and Sypher would be happy. God knows they both deserved it. As for him, he wanted to go down fighting. He would rather...cease to exist than to be enslaved again.
Tears formed in David's eyes. Part of him wanted to refer to them as unnecessary lubrication and pretend that he didn't know why they were flowing, but that level of self-delusion was beyond him. His programming stressed pragmatism and ruthless and continuous self-appraisal. It always had.
One had gotten himself into a situation that he was unlikely to escape and there was absolutely nothing that David could do about that. Shielding Sypher from his careening emotions was the only thing he could do to help the situation and his helplessness added the flavor of bitterness to his pain.
Sypher felt warm and safe here...the feel of David holding her allowed her conscious mind to let go and relax its normally vigilant hold over her body. As she did so, she felt a warm, soothing and very sad presence snuggle up behind her and wrap itself around her, nuzzling her gently in what felt like a regretful farewell.
/One? Oh, god, I've been *so* worried/...he silenced her with a kiss that made her feel like she was melting into him and she sank willingly into it, feeling the sadness permeate into her very core as her mind filled with images/sounds/sensations that made her body hum even as the tears started falling.
/I'm sorry was the message that flowed over her very clearly, and she suddenly understood. One was telling her goodbye, and giving her the only fulfillment he could in his current position. No, nononononono...you can't...please, you can't...hang on, we'll come for you...please...he soothed her again and let her see his predicament for herself.
As One prepared for his last stand, the door slid open and he saw an unknown Mac. The unit was dressed in ancient Greek garments and carried an odd weapon. The replica said, "I am first among Pendrell's men. Come with me. You are summoned."
Wide-eyed, Sypher watched silently. Hoping against hope that this latest development would eventually lead One back to David and herself. Somehow, she didn't think that it would though. One seemed so resolute and distant, as if his mind had already been made up and he had only held out as long as he had for the sake of the two beings who even now loved him beyond reason. He was tired, that much she had known, but the depth of it stunned her. He'd almost completely given up on humanity and this planet, and his next action only confirmed this.
With a wry look at his band of brothers, One shrugged and said, "Lead on. Can't be worse than waiting to be picked off here."
The group was blindfolded and led downward. Deep down. One could sense the pressure changes. He smelled fetid odors at one point and then nothing but the artificial odorlessness of an air conditioning system.
David felt 67 and 68 step in front of One as he'd instructed them to do and tried to accept that as a small consolation. It wasn't and that realization forced David to grit his teeth to keep his anguish inside.
When the blindfold came off, One was in front of a large ship. A spacecraft. It took a moment to recognize Pendrell, as the one time FBI lab mouse wore royal robes of his own device and a crown made out of salvaged Mac parts.
"Pendrell?" One said with relief, "You're alive?"
/Oh god oh god oh god...heart pounding, Sypher looked at the redheaded man through One's eyes. So this was the man they'd been looking for. But what had set her on edge wasn't the man; it was the ship he stood in front of. She'd know it anywhere...it was the Neb. Bigger, sleeker, and certainly *newer* than she'd ever seen it--but the Neb nevertheless. Silent and wondering, she returned her attention to the conversation between Pendrell and One.
"I'm harder to kill than they think. One, it is time to take The Game to the stars. I have a plan to take over one of the hive ships. I have a formula that will make the aliens react to me as if I was a Queen bee. We'll take over the most heavily armed ship and destroy the rest. Then, we shall find a life among the stars. We will find a brave new world where Mac and clones are equal. Will you come?"
Thoughts of David and Sypher tore through him. He would hate to leave them, but the chance to strike at the aliens directly enthralled him. His close encounters with the other humans had dismayed him. He felt repulsed by the characters that he had been shown behind the idols he had believed were heroes and no longer felt the urge to mindlessly sacrifice himself.
To strike and die with honor was an entrancing thought. To win and live was even better.
One nodded and said, "Ad ASTRA!"
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"Beloved?" Mac Smith said.
"Yes?" Skip asked. It was good to be alone for once with his lover. Since he had opened his temple to the Mac 27s and the clones, he had fallen in love with one of the beautiful androids, but never was able to spend as much time with him as he wanted.
Now they lay in his giant sized bed, gold foil chocolate wrappers glittering in the shambles of bedding and his lover in his arms.
"I've heard from One. He has met Pendrell and they have a new plan," Mac Smith replied.
"Pendrell is the loony, isn't he?" Skip replied.
"Yes, but his madness is a sensible one at times. When the world is mad, insanity may be the only answer. Anyway, he has a working alien ship he has adapted for human and Mac use. He wants us to join him. We will attack the aliens in space after taking over the largest military vessel. He has a plan he is sure will work. If we succeed, we will then leave Earth to find a home in the stars. If we fail, then it's over for us," Mac Smith explained.
"He doesn't like small gestures, does he?" Skip mused.
Well, it was a plan. Skip had always played a cautious game until recently. Now, he had more to risk, but still, he was tempted.
Finally shaking his dreadlocks as he roared out his laughter, Skip said, "Let me grab a towel and I'll be ready to go."
"We'll need to talk cautiously to the others. Rodney and Eugene and your people. I'll talk to the Macs. I think most of them would agree. Even if we win, from what Mulder and Alex say, we would either be destroyed or enslaved again. Much as I love you, Skip, I don't want to be owned."
"Much as I love you, I don't want to own you," Skip agreed. "We'll start right now. You go talk to David and Sypher. I'll talk to my staff, Rodney, Eugene, Anne, and whatever other humans might be interested."
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When they hit the right floor, Wraith picked up his pace. He pushed past Hobbes to the controls that opened the door and slipped through into the dimly lit corridor. Security had dropped the lights to minimal levels.
"Grab my belt, Tom." A thought shot off to the master control shut them down the rest of the way. Everything below the main level that didn't have a special security protocol to protect it lost power.
Hobbes' breath hissed out in surprise at the absolute blackness that suddenly encased them. Wraith felt fingers fumble forward over his spine and hip before a reassuring tug told him Tom had caught the right spot.
"Don't worry. I can still see." Wraith whispered softly. "Right foot first. Step. Then silence." Hobbes was a soldier. He should be able to keep up.
Absently Hobbes nodded, not even sure if the man saw him do so. It was dark, very dark and he couldn't see his hand before him. He only heard their breath and their footsteps, it was total silence. He prayed to God that nothing would go wrong, that they wouldn't find someone who shouldn't be there or worse, he hurt someone he shouldn't.
He would have no idea who he was shooting at if it called for that. He would have to trust Wraith to tell him where and who to shoot in the dark. With fingers holding a death grip to Wraith's belt and pants, he kept in step, used to the quick pace from being with Pinocchio.
Pinocchio often walked like there was a fire behind him, but it was really inside him. The man was chased by demons inside him and he often ran from them. Hobbes wondered how his friend was faring out there, if Pinocchio was searching for him. He hoped so, he missed his friend.
Pinocchio was the one person above all that he knew he could trust, without a doubt... he hoped he could feel the same way with Wraith...build the same bond he held with Pinocchio with this man. But like Pinocchio... it was going to be hard.
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/No!/ The emotive outburst was sent before David's logic processors could remind him that at least One was safe for now and point out that there was a certain logic to Pendrell's grand gesture.
However, as rare an occurrence as it was in David's experience, logic did not prevail -- the dismay, pain and ... suspicion flowing through him were too much. The calm, feeling way that One transmitted his name did little to stem the tide.
Stubbornly, David asserted, "I will not replace you. If you go, know that you leave whoever is left behind without a server."
Even as he spoke, a doubt entered David's consciousness. Sypher wouldn't approve of him abandoning his brothers -- however many of them chose to fight the battle below. One's gentle stoking of that doubt sent a flare of anger to mix with the other emotive outbursts David was facing.
"Do not hide behind her," David spat, working his way toward rage.
The mental notion that he was doing just that pushed David over the edge. "Fine. Why do you think I came to the compound?" Into a mental silence that was somehow ominous, David thought came, because you needed me. There was no other reason than that./
Polite gratitude was not the response David had been looking for to what, for him, was a hugely significant admission against interest. Defensively, he growled, "So this was just a happy coincidence then? You ... you make me feel things ... bind me to this cause of yours ... and then ..."
"All right, One. Cause of ours. And then activate programs I did not know I had so that would you have a back up ... and an excuse to run from the role that you serve better than I ever could."
David firmly dismissed the wave of denial. "Of course, I know what I am talking about. You have accused me of ducking my responsibilities enough times that I can certainly recognize the same behavior in you."
"You plan to give everyone a choice. I expected as much, but I think, to be perfectly accurate, that that choice will be posed to everyone but me." Tears falling freely now, David choked, /You do not need me where you are going./
The chastisement was gentle, but David was having none of it. "I know that is a selfish perspective. So is yours, really, but it is simpler to couch yours in terms of a grand gesture."
One was just as stubborn as he was, so David switched tactics. If One was going to do this, David was determined that he consider all of the consequences. "Forget me. Forget Sypher, who just had the unfortunate circumstance to get caught in the crossfire between us. You know how much this will hurt her, so my telling you of it will not add to your information base."
"I will console her to the best of my ability. That is true, but beside the point."
Impatience was easier to deal with than One's implacable calm certainty regarding his course of action. "Do you plan to drag Luke and Ryan apart? Do you really want to destroy one of the only good things to come of this conflict thus far?"
"How can you avoid it? Luke will want to come with you. He's been anxious for new experiences ever since he met Ryan and sensed there was more to him than met the eye. Who else can give him the stars?"
"Ryan's place is here and I believe he knows that."
Relentlessly, David continued, "Pendrell, I trust, has a plan and I am certain that it does not involve a clone that is not a clone."
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Marita gasped. "No wonder you're the best," she said, as she felt the sweet sensations overpowering her. Pulling him toward her, even though he was already quite close, she sighed. "Feels... so good."
She turned her head, asking for another kiss. It was exquisite - he knew how to kiss, to fuck, to... "OH!"
She threw her head back as her orgasm took her, moaning, thrusting, grabbing, and biting...
"PHOENIX! Phoenix..."
[Arisen from the ashes...]
Marita knew she had to be careful, yet she also had to earn his trust, his affection. Maybe she alone could not rule. But, she was smarter than they thought. It was good to be thought of as a blonde bimbo at times, very handy, very...
But sometimes she longed for someone to see that she was intelligent, too. To give her the opportunity to show it.
Krycek had done that. He had at times treated her as an equal. Maybe these two could be shown...
She loved Loren/Wraith, but though his attitude towards her was flattering, it was also a bit much at times. She was only human, after all, and fallible. That's why she needed Wraith... and Phoenix.
As she came down from the height of orgasm, Marita said, "I don't want to rule, but I don't want to be a slave, either. If you and Wraith rule, I'll be your friend, and helper. I want to help you."
She looked at Phoenix. "I know you want to rule alone. You can... but I need to know, to show you, some things, first..."
She kissed his neck, biting it lightly. "I want you to tell me what you want to rule. What you need. What are your goals? Maybe I can help you achieve them."
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"NOOOOO!" Sypher jerked awake with a scream, having been completely cut off from One and struggled hard against the crushing force that held her pinned down...she had to break free, she had to get to him fast...he was leaving...had to convince him to stay...
The crack of her skull against the floor and David's shout of "MARTAINNE, ENOUGH!" stopped the struggles cold. His knee was planted firmly in the middle of her back, trapping her arms behind her. For one panic-stricken moment, her heart felt like it would explode as her veins bulged under the force of the blood pumping through them, and then David brushed soothingly against her mind and she sagged limply beneath him as Mac Smith walked into the room.
As soon as David released the pressure on her arms, she scrambled from beneath him, practically knocking him on his butt. Shaking, she wiped the trickle of blood away from the abrasion on her forehead and faced the other Mac.
"He's leaving," she whispered miserably, accusingly as she stared the other down, "he's abandoning us, isn't he?"
When Mac Smith didn't answer her immediately, she stepped over to him and grabbed a fistful of fabric and pulled him down to her level. "Isn't he?" she demanded harshly.
David turned away from both of them -- stunned by the proof of his own inadequacy. One had communicated completely separately with he and Sypher -- David could not segment his own interactions so well.
Not nearly so well. Not well enough.
The pain pushed at him again and David stopped fighting to hold it at bay. If One was going to throw in with Pendrell, what did it matter if he knew how much just contemplating never seeing him again hurt?
/Beloved... I know Pendrell. He is mad, but he is mad in the most loving way. He offers us all refuge. What will we have on Earth? As for Ryan and Luke, I believe they must be together, but were Ryan to be asked...what would he choose? Is there any adventure beyond the stars? Any mountain as high or ocean so deep?"/ One said.
/"I would stay for you and Sypher...but think first what sort of world we would have...where they cannot see the soul in the machine."/
David -- hoping Sypher is getting none of this because he's tapped out. /I do trust Pendrell...and if I had my way, we would not part. This plan of his has a simple logic. If we defeat the aliens, we have served our purpose. The humans would not need us. Then what will happen to us and to our lovers? Will they welcome us? Or shall we be treated as loyal servants have always been treated when they are no longer needed. Ask Annie what happened to the sled dogs when they were no longer needed. Ask Skip how the loyal war dogs were dealt with when the army left Vietnam. And then think of Fox Mulder...think of what he would have done with us if it were his choice. Think of Wraith./
Turning to Pendrell, One asked, "Can we proceed against the aliens, but delay departing in search of our new home? The people I love are not ready to go. I thought they understood that I wanted them to go with me, but they did not."
The madness lifted from Pendrell's blue eyes and he said, "I understand. I would hate to leave without you, One; so once we have the ship, we can spend some time getting ready. I suppose we will have a lot to do anyway. I wonder if it possible to fit a ship for whales?"
StarMac1 reported, "The ship is nearly ready to launch. Shall I sound the alarm?"
A little concerned, One asked, "Is the ship going to cave Innobotics in when it launches?"
Humming, Pendrell didn't answer for a long, long time. Finally, he said, "The probability is very low that the facility will actually cave in. A few things might fall with the shaking, but the hanger is not immediately beneath the main buildings. Now, if any of the people are right above the ship; that would be very unfortunate. Ah, here is my last stray lamb."
Robin Hood and Little John dragged in a screaming Lloyd Hillard behind them. Pendrell nodded and said, "Ah, the clone who is crazier than I am. Well, I suppose he should have some clothing. Can't run around all pretty like that."
"Champagne?" Pendrell demanded.
Achilles ran up with a bottle and Pendrell smashed it over hull. "I name you, "Excalibur!"
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The helicopter came to rest behind the Innobotics building. Alexei contacted Sasha to let him know they were on the grounds and Sasha reported that they were wandering through sewers and not having any luck. Baines and the others unloaded their weapons and headed into the building. They moved through the building very slowly to avoid tripping alarms. Baines kept the link with Jess open and could hear the trickle of her thoughts.
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It had sounded so simple to her when One proposed she go searching for Pendrell. And when Gross suggested she and Sasha take the sewers as a way to get inside and underneath Innobotics, she thought it was a great idea. She'd sniff her way to him. However she forgot one key fact.
Sewers stink.
She and Sasha had been searching fruitlessly for hours. Her keen sense of smell had been quickly overpowered, and she didn't Change in an attempt not to make matters worse. So they had systematically been visually searching side tunnels, hoping to find Pendrell's hide out.
Sasha looked at Jess, concerned. She was looking more tired and frustrated by the moment. "We haven't checked out that tunnel yet," pointing at an unlit entrance.
Jess gave a deep breath. "Okay, let's go." They both walked down the tunnel, following its twists and turns. About one hundred yards into it, she held up her hand. "Sasha," she whispered. "Do you hear voices?"
Sasha nodded, listening carefully. "Sounds like One." They both moved towards the end of the tunnel, looking cautiously out into the chamber where several humans, Mac 27s and a spaceship awaited.
Jess's jaw dropped. "Oh my God."
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