The Game 57
Edited by Karen Leigh
David wanted to be amused by Langley's account of Gross' views on chain of command, but he was worn out -- not physically or process-wise -- he was operating at 99% capacity. However, the strain on his emotive processors was too high, particularly when his eyes found Sypher, sitting on a cot and staring at nothing. It was better than staring right through him as she had been when he'd tried to speak with her, but not much. Marcus/2068 assured him that the sedative would help; it was just a matter of time.
It didn't help that the ship had arrived. One had brought his spaceship to the compound, presumably to pick up those who wished to accompany him on his space mission. Despite his efforts to close off communication with the main server, David could sense One's presence, more and more strongly by the second. The forced reboot had forged a link between them that David feared could not be severed. While one, very small part of him wondered if cosmological distances would effectively free them of each other, fear and anticipation of encountering One in person warred within him.
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One hoped that Jess had managed to get far away from the ship; it had startled him when she ran away from the ship. Ricky popped back into the control room when they landed. He looked as confused as One felt.
"You've decided to stay?" One asked.
"I guess," Ricky said, "I'd like to be part of the dog fight in the stars, but I have to look after Denise and I really care about Walter. You know what? I think you need to be sure and download all the information to build another ship. If we ever get clear of the aliens, maybe we will use the technology to explore the stars just like Pendrell wants to do."
Mac Brown had been leaning against the bulkhead. He said, "I just want a chance to make a world where humans and Mac 27s are both welcome and no one is enslaved. I can't believe you want to stay here, One."
One shrugged and commented, "Love sucks." He rapidly prepared to make a connection. Ricky was right. The technology was too precious not to keep. He might find some more clues as to how to defeat the aliens and their allies on earth. Pendrell's Mac 27s formed a guard around the ship. The ship was not large enough to take all of the Mac 27s, but his elite troop would go with him. The rest would wait to see if they could build another ship or whether they were truly needed for a ground fight.
The hatch opened and Skip strode aboard with his lover. He said, "One, welcome home. Ricky, it's yours kid. I want to make sure we have supplies, agricultural materials, spare parts for repairs to the Mac 27's and medicine for the humans. We won't be able to leave immediately, but I want to get used to the ship."
Paying no attention, One sorted through the files he was downloading. Perhaps, he would find something to help Sypher with her problems in the banks.
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"Let me show you something Wraith." Phoenix stepped cautiously closer to the two men. To an observer it would seem he was wary of both the lack of light in the room and approaching the soldiers.
Wraith tensed, his gun lifting, so the kid lifted his hands, palms outward.
"I'm not armed. I can't hurt you. I just need to point something out." Phoenix stepped within arm's distance. "There's a way to tell if I'm lying to you. A way you can read me better." He inched closer. "It'll help with the voices too... the ones that have been bothering you lately. You're not functioning to your full potential, Wraith. Just let me show you something and you'll be able to gauge my intentions."
"I don't have a lie detector built into my equipment, boy, I can't read normal humans like that." Wraith shied back from the young man's lifted hand when it stretched towards him. "Don't touch me. I don't like to be touched."
"Yes, I know... and I know why too. Look... here..." Moving slowly, Phoenix extended his forefinger to rest on the back of the other man's neck. "Your data input... right here..." A smile broke across Phoenix's lips. "It isn't secure enough. You're too easily accessed if someone has the right equipment and they know what they're doing."
There was a danger in forcing a connection as fast as Phoenix did, but Wraith's blond companion didn't appear the type to stand idly by. True to expectations Hobbes shoved Phoenix back the moment that Wraith shuddered in reaction to the opening of the data link.
Wraith drew breath to protest and demand an explanation but all that came out was, "There are people in the hallway, Hobbes. You should collect them." As soon as the words emerged all the appropriate lights surged to life. "The stairs are locked down. They won't be going anywhere."
Wraith and Phoenix locked eyes. The kid broke into a full out grin.
"They've got a Mac with them. A shielded Mac." Phoenix observed. "Shall we test the back up server equipment, Number Two? Have him help Hobbes convince the small group to come have a chat with us."
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Ryan couldn't stand it any longer. Luke had grinned like a ten year old offered a new "big kid" bike when David had mentioned space travel. Then the former farm android had gone back to work. Without a word to anyone else, including him.
What was Luke thinking?
"Hey," Ryan called softly, tapping Luke on the temple. "What's going on in there?"
For some reason, Luke's quizzical expression made Ryan's heart beat faster. Nerves jangling, Ryan took a deep breath and asked, "What do you think of this space ship ... ah ... option?"
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His Mac 27 resources straining with the weight of data from the ship, One shuddered. It was time to see David and Sypher. How could they think he would leave them? He took two steps and almost fell. He felt something cold looking at him, Wraith? Wraith was a server, one of the four created to his knowledge. Pendrell had the fourth that he would activate once he was beyond reach of One and David.
Automatically, One punched through the barrier to David's mind.
Suddenly, the room tilted and David moved to one side of it, much like an actor in an old time submarine movie would shift his weight to convey some trouble with the ship. It was the physical spill over of a communication burst -- an insistent communication burst. There could be only one source of such a thing -- One.
It would take the two of them in harmony to prevent disaster. One conveyed the information in a tight burst.
Before David could protest or question, a deluge of information flooded his processors. Force of habit caused him to process it efficiently and he gasped when he sorted it out. Wraith? A server? How could that be possible? He was different. More human in the physical sense and less in many others. Those at Innobiotics had programmed as much humanity as they could out of him. Such questions, interesting as they were, could not take precedence over what amounted to damage control.
It would be easiest to protect the Mac 27s nearest them.
One knew that a Mac 27 that was caught between two servers at odds with each other would freeze or revert to a childlike intelligence centered in the embryo brain, a human brain, but one without much in the way of ego or superego. A powerful body housing an untamed Id might not be a good thing.
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Anne had no problem deciding. She and Trey-Trey had already ordered a lifetime supply of Nutro dog food for her dogs. She had no ties of any significance except to Trey-Trey, Romeo, and Jules. She had always liked science fiction and this was a chance to live it. Romeo and Jules wanted to go and Trey-Trey was also interested in the stars.
Skip hastily drew over deed to his temple and finances to Ricky. He wanted Mac Smith where it was safe and where no one could separate them. If they survived the coming battle, he trusted his own wits to keep them both alive. His technical crew all wanted to go aboard the ship; it was a techie's dream gig.
Of the Mac 27s that Skip knew the best, Luke refused to leave Ryan and One apparently was going to stay to work things out with Sypher and David.
Ricky also was staying, although he wanted to go and wanted to stay. He still hoped to work things out with Walter and felt responsible for Denise.
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There was no choice if the danger was as One described and David could not take the chance that One was overstating the matter. Following One's lead, David combined his communications with One's, entwined them so they seemed to be emanating from a single server, and enhanced the signal strength and clarity. The goal was to generate a signal that acted as a beacon, directing Mac 27 units to them rather than Wraith.
Their effort -- it wasn't enough. It wasn't going to work.
With those realizations came an understanding as to why. David was holding back. He was hesitant to commit to the concept of converting a communication duality into a singularity. And no amount of intellectualizing the issue enabled him to do better.
One demanded his full participation. He did it gently and diplomatically, but David recognized a demand when he heard it. And he also sensed the desperation in it.
He had no choice. He understood that, but couldn't seem to obey. Allowing himself to be drawn in further, David asked, "Why?"
Even though he spoke only the single word aloud, his thoughts provided context. Why was I designed as a back up server? How did you know? Why did you do this to me? What do you want of me? How could you open me up like this and leave? What is happening to me? To us? How did Sypher get between us? Will she be harmed by this ... this new association of ours? Did disharmony between us harm her in the first place?/
One felt the long-term solution for Sypher was to merge, to become lovers and more than lovers. He tried to picture it as he hoped it would be. Not a loss of individuality, but a merging. An IDIC, infinite diversity in infinite combinations, where each element remained whole, but complemented the others.
Their weak area would be supplemented by each other as if they were the divisions of human psyche, David as the ego, One as the superego, and Sypher as the Id. They would be strong and compassionate. He knew David feared to be lost, but he believed there would be no loss. He believed that the parts would prove more together than separately.
One poured his belief at David, his assurance that he would never leave David willingly. He tried to tell David that he would never do anything to risk losing David's uniqueness. He valued that more than he valued his own.
A ... a triumvirate of a sort? The way One described it made it seem possible, perhaps even necessary given Sypher's current state of mind. Apportioning blame seemed pointless at the moment, but David regretted dragging Sypher into this mess, however unintentionally.
David knew that he was avoiding processing the last admission One had made. He recognized the emotive outpouring that it generated. It was one that he'd felt so seldom before coming to this compound and increasingly since. Fear. Not of the termination of his existence. That is to be expected in times of conflict. But of changes to it that he could not control. Having others care for him to the extent Sypher did and One professed was very new and confusing and frightening.
Such caring was supposed to provide comfort and maybe it would in less trying times. Now, all it seemed to do was demand action.
Yes, he had wanted to battle in the stars and win. Could David blame him for wanting to make a clean fight of it?
David mumbled, "No." He understood this much.
But he would just put his trust in the ones who were going aboard the ship. His battle, his life was wherever Sypher and David stood.
One's life? With us? Is that what the human saying 'Home is where the heart is' means? The concept was strange and David mulled it over.
The ship! One turned to Pendrell and said, "Take off now with as many Mac 27s as you are able to hold. Do not engage with the enemy just wait. You can use the time to make sure you are ready to fight."
The ship could only hold two thousand of the surviving Mac 27s. That left all too many for David and One to keep tightly to them. It would be a struggle for control over their brothers. The difference being that David and One wanted freedom for their brothers and Wraith wished to enslave them.
Pendrell nodded and One set forth at a run. Langly boarded the ship as he exited it. By the time he had reached the compound, the ship had lifted. One winced as he felt the unknown server activate, but understood that Pendrell had no wish for Wraith to take over any of the Mac 27s aboard his ship and force them to sabotage the vessel.
He's not going with Pendrell? David looked at Sypher, willing her to hear him. /One is coming ... home, Sypher. He is not leaving you ...us./ Her lack of response made something inside David tighten painfully. /If he is not going, you can't. Remember, you wanted to make him pay for the foolishness of running over to Innobiotics. You will have the opportunity. Take it./ Aloud, he whispered, "Please."
One reached Sypher and David. First he reached for David, holding the sides of his face and searching in the eyes that he loved. He felt the storm of distrust and rebellion...
David hid nothing from One. He let him see what he was experiencing, even those things that David did not understand.
Understood.
One accepted everything. David's anger. His accusations. He neither denied nor tried to convince David that he had been wrong in his assessment. Yet One's very presence -- here while his precious space ship was lifting off -- indicated that David's analysis had been incorrect.
Leaning forward, One kissed David's cheek and waited. He was there, willing to give and take as much as David was able to handle. How strange that the fate of his kind weighed on love and trust....the ability to risk your life and soul for another...
Confused, David stood before One, breathing hard and staring into his eyes. He saw concern and a measure of resignation. There was no hint of impatience to continue the task of fighting for the other Mac 27 units. Why not?
The seconds stretched out between them, and David was aware of nothing other than One's eyes, although he knew he was operating on many levels in his capacity as a server. Suddenly, David thought he could answer his question.
He has told me what's at stake and represented where he stands. Now, it is up to me. Do I believe him? Do I trust him enough to do as he asks? Do I ... care for, no, name it honestly, David. Do I ... love him enough to risk myself?
David glanced at Sypher's blankly staring eyes and felt tears well up in his.
Do I have a choice? Do any of us?
Nodding to himself, David closed his eyes and released the barriers to which he'd clung. Steadying himself with a hand on One's shoulder, he tried to follow where One led only to find that he was in the lead at times as well. It was both exhilarating and exhausting, this communion of minds and abilities.
Would it be enough?
Taking David's hand firmly, One led his beloved to Sypher. Gently, he guided their joined hands to Sypher's breast. He opened his circuits to her, opened the duel nature of his existence to her.
His need, the need of his race, these he all poured into the link along with his regrets, his willingness to accept her anger and sorrow. He assured her that he would never leave her. He yearned to feel the woman he knew stir back to life.
It wasn't a waste of time. He knew that David and he needed her strength for the fight that was coming. She was part of them. She balanced them. She was needed. She was loved.
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Chaos...utter chaos. Two thousand Mac 27s including a few of those he knew well. Skip was used to taking command of both domestic and wartime endeavors. He and Mac Smith begin organizing the efforts.
In the control room, Langly had found Jerry Sanchez with his harem of techno geek Mac 27s and humans. I-Mac bounced over and hugged him. "All mine! Now that nasty, crazy Gross will never touch you again!"
No joking! Langly just wished the other guys were here. Maybe they could come back and pick them up later. Frohike would love this gig and they could always tie Byers up and kidnap him. It wouldn't be the first time Byers had been rendered cooperative.
I-Mac pointed at what Langly thought was a human and said, "That's the server..."
Puzzled, Langly went to check and found that the man was an odd blend of human and Mac 27.
"Who are you?" Langly asked, not recognizing the face.
"I was Jeff Spender when I was human. I am now Jeff and Mac 27-4. We are both here," replied the bionic creature.
"You were Spender's kid? Hey, you are on Mulder's hit list..."
"Too late. My father shot me and used my remaining life to build what I am now. He wanted an obedient son, but Pendrell found me and hid me. He told Spender that I was a failed experiment and died." Jeff said. His brown eyes were distant. He said, "Silence please. I'm trying to make sure that I am connected to every Mac 27 and I-Mac on board."
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"I..er... Don't think that cancer will be a problem to me." Methos smiled at Scully and submitted to the examination yet again. "Leave the thing where it is. It hasn't worried me so far. I don't think it's going to be a problem."
The examination over, Methos crossed to the severely injured clone that had appeared the previous night. He didn't seem to have deteriorated overnight, but the wound in his head was far more extensive than Methos liked. Despite his long life, he had no experience of treating this kind of thing.
"This man should be in a hospital," he called to Scully. "Quite frankly, I don't know why he's still alive."
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The man was insatiable, Vic thought. This is a good thing - I think. He permitted the caresses, running his own hands down the other's smooth skin as he rubbed himself, catlike against the wet body.
"You're pretty hot yourself," Vic grinned, and began to apply soap to Pinocchio's hard body, rubbing at already clean skin just so that he could feel the muscles slide under his fingers. "This is all very well, but once we're all fucked out, then what?" he murmured, arching his back and exposing his long, graceful throat to the other's caresses. "Say, maybe in a month or two?"
"I don't want to think about that... too far in the future," Pinocchio murmured as well, pressing his body into the arched one before him. "Besides, I hate thinking... it usually hurts to think." He took the soap from Vic applying it to the muscular body before him. Fingers slid over the back, arms, and chest and down further.
"I'm lucky to think about tomorrow, usually just trying to figure out how to stay alive for the next hour." He cupped the man's genitals in his hand, gently massaging the balls and cock, stroking it clean, remembering the taste and feel of him inside.
"What would you do?" He asked sliding a hand around behind Vic to his ass checks, slipping a finger down the crack, rubbing it up and down. He turned his head to Vic's ear, "I want inside there."
Ohhhhhh fuck! This man was a turn on. His body was beautifully made, and he was driving Vic crazy with the insistent caresses. Spreading his legs a little to give Pinocchio access, Vic lolled back against him, his head laying on his shoulder, and offered his mouth for a kiss, eyes heavy lidded.
"Come on then. Gotta get all the parts really clean and well rubbed."
Pinocchio moaned as he captured the lips that were offered to him. Then he shoved Vic's body into the tiles before them, grinding his hips into the other man. "Then let's get you all slicked up, baby." Came the words into the other man's ear.
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With soapy hand, Pinocchio rubbed at Vic while he nibbled and sucked on available skin. Slowly, he pushed a finger inside the tight bud, stretching it in preparation. "Beautiful," came the word as he pushed another in, twirling them. His other hand slid between the tile and the hot body trapped between it, only to find a very hard member, twitching for attention. Fingers curled around it, blunt nails scraped up the length till thumb reached the top where he rubbed it.
"Fuck, yeah." Slippery hands on him made him tingle, and without thought he spread himself wide open for Pinocchio to touch, as he wanted. As Pinocchio worked the soap into him he found himself uttering soft cries that became louder and louder as the man penetrated him and made the sweet sensations build inside him.
"You are mine..." Pinocchio murmured before removing his fingers and sliding his own hard cock so deep into Vic that it crushed him to the tile. "Oh fuck YES... fucking tight you are... so hot... so... fucking mine," the words were broken by his pounding and panting, trying to breathe through the incredible feeling that was surging through his body.
But his mind registered something else... someone else, surprisingly though the heavy haze he was in. It was someone he knew, someone he promised to take care of... for his princess, his one and only love but not real love... it was Samantha, she was here. He would seek her out but first he buried his head into hair before him, nibbling at the hairline before working down and biting the shoulder to leave his claim as he thrust hard and stroked the cock in his hand.
Shit, the man was huge, and his cock inside him was hot. Vic could feel it pulsing inside him as it dragged over the sweet spot. The hand against his cock was urgent, and he found himself approaching orgasm so fast that it was difficult to pull air into his lungs. "Come on," he whispered, as his face pressed slick against the cool tiles. "Do me. Do me harder. God!"
When the jets of sperm burst from him to spatter the tile before washing away, he was locked up tight, every muscle straining as he came. "Jesus, fuuuuuck," he said, reverently, and leaned back against Pinocchio once again.
Pinocchio felt fought for control, not yet, not yet. He felt the body before him quake in a fury and muscles tighten down on him. Oh fuck this was too good. Once it let up, Pinocchio took control once again and shoved body hard to tile, slamming for all he was worth into the man before him.
"You're a fucking piece of work baby," he growled as he hooked his hips to hit the sweet spot once more, over and over, never relenting. His hips could be heard slamming into Vic's ass as well as Vic into the tile. He held the man with one hand to support him as he drove it home.
"Oh yeah... God Fucking Damn!" He could feel the burn slowly going up, igniting all nerve endings before it gave a sudden burst and fired up his body. He swore he was going to shoot right out the other side of Vic as he shot right into the hot depths. Pinocchio's body quaked as he bite down on shoulder to muffle the screams and groans. He was crushing Vic into his body, surely bruising him in doing so, but it couldn't be helped.
When the wave subsided, he fought for control of his breath then gave a few quick jabs into Vic's ass before pulling out and turning him around. He pinned Vic to the wall in a kiss. He broke away with a moan and a slight smile. "Come on baby, didn't you say something about an invasion. I think we should go play hero. But first... I need to check on someone... someone I promised to protect besides Hobbes..." he then brought a finger up to trace along Vic's cheek, "And you." He stole another kiss then quickly washed up and stepped out of the shower to dry and dress.
When the wave subsided, he fought for control of his breath then gave "Hero? Uh... Okay." Vic was still a little foggy with the aftershocks of lust that shook his system. "We should go and see what we can do, yeah. Who do you have to protect?"
Vic shook himself. This had been good, but he wasn't used to things that lasted. Would this last, or would he just acquire a further set of scars? Time would tell, he decided. Dressing quickly in jeans and T-shirt, he turned to Pinocchio. "Okay. Call it. Where to first?"
Pinocchio was strapping on his sub machine gun when he looked up at Vic, "Looking for a little girl, named Samantha." He finished then headed for the door. "You guys got... medical area around here?" He started down a hall, letting the pull guide him.
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Marita caught Phoenix when Hobbes shoved him back, and glared at the man, as she spoke softly and soothingly to Phoenix.
Then she looked at Wraith. "Loren, I understand your distrust." She held Phoenix tightly, kissing his ear behind his hair where Hobbes couldn't see. "But he... Phoenix... he's been used and hurt by people, too."
If she had been conditioned to respond sexually to the clones, they had been to her, too, and she heard Phoenix gasp softly. "Phoenix needs our help, and our love. So that he can realize who he really is, and what HE wants. As you are now, love, you're Dr. Sawyer's puppet. You want to do your own will, don't you? To find out what that will might be, hmm?"
She thought she saw a way to do it. "Loren," she called, extending her hand for him to take. He seemed wary of Phoenix, though. Perhaps he was right to...
Marita kept her arm around Phoenix, but stepped to Wraith, kissing him deeply. "This one has been hurt, too. And misled. Let me try to help him. Help me, my husband. Please."
Wraith glanced Marita's way only briefly, his eyes not completely focusing. Her voice was holding very little weight in thoughts suddenly, not amid all the other activity that had suddenly burst to life inside his head. Gratefully it wasn't the muddle he'd been experiencing off and on over the last while but rather a series of orderly patterns.
{Call all of the Mac 27s you can reach to Innobotics.}
One signal was more powerful than all the rest. It instructed, telling Wraith how to handle the flow of information. That particularly strong command coincided with another pleased smile from Phoenix.
Turning back to Phoenix, Marita said, "The boy you showed me earlier. In the tank. I want to go back to him. I want to show Wraith and Hobbes."
She cocked her head, and ran a hand down his shirt to his crotch. "Please? I think it'll help you, and I'll give you a reward..."
She knew eventually, though, if she were to help Phoenix, she would have to wean him off her body... and, herself off his. He was so sexy though... she couldn't help wanting him. She'd been conditioned to do so.
"Dear lady..." Phoenix caught at Marita's wrist, lifting it so he could bestow a kiss on her hand. "You've missed something along the way." Turning delicate flesh, another kiss was dropped on the inside of her wrist. "I had to turn the power off to non-essential areas in order to contain integrity. The clones are interesting, but non-essential. Humans are also useful, but again... non-essential. The Mac 27s are the future. Mechanical life is the future of this world. Mechanical life is the only hope against the aliens that threaten us."
Pale hair was gently stroked. "Not to worry, Wraith and I will make sure you have a safe place in the new world."
At the sound of his name, Wraith focused briefly on the real world rather than the data streams filling him. Some almost buried emotion flared at the sight of Marita and Phoenix in such an intimate pose.
Phoenix responded immediately to the change in his new partner's emotional state. "Not to worry, Wraith. If you still desire Marita, you may keep her... and your soldier companion as well. Things are to be shared between us... between the server and the control centre. These humans will not object." Firm hands turned Marita in place. Phoenix whispered by her ear. "Would you enjoy that lady? To have your knight and myself at the same time, both of us sheltering you between us?"
Wraith's affections for both of the lovely blondes had invaded Phoenix through the connection he had forged with Wraith. It was a mildly annoying side effect but not intolerable.
{The people in the hallway must be collected.} Phoenix reminded Wraith through the data stream. {Alex Krycek is among them.} Instructions from Phoenix had to be constant. Mac 27 Number Two might have been a perfect server in his original form but efficiency had been lost after it had been disassembled and incorporated with Loren Faber. Phoenix couldn't see Wraith maintaining this new role without his aid.
Wraith tensed, his hand shot out to catch at Hobbes. "Come with me. We have to secure the halls."
Marita was still very hesitant to trust Phoenix, in fact she knew she could not, and she did not like the new control he seemed to have over Wraith. Still, she had to play The Game.
She turned in Phoenix's arms, simpering. "Oh, to be at your side... with the two of you, ruling the world... oh, Phoenix."
As Wraith led Hobbes to the hall, Marita pressed herself against Phoenix. "Not true, you know. Krycek betrayed me... betrayed the clones. My only loyalty now is to Wraith... and to you, beautiful one. I know you are not what you seem... but the illusion... is lovely."
"I'm pleased that you're fond of illusions, Lady." Illusions were one possibility Phoenix was considering to control the humans that would soon become his responsibility.
Even as his fingertips caressed Marita's cheek many other things were flashing thorough his processors. They would have to go to the surface soon. That's where the threat was. Phoenix wasn't sure if he should take Marita up with them. She would be secure enough down here, but leaving her in such a sensitive area would be reckless.
She kissed him, feeling his strong muscles of his back rippling. "Oh, God..."
Suddenly she pulled back. "The clones... in the tanks... you're not going to let them die? They deserve to live, too?"
"Warriors made of flesh are insecure. They are not predictable. They're prone to betrayal. The source material was a mistake. It is not a source I would have chosen." Phoenix caught at Marita's chin, holding her. A gentle kiss was pressed to her lips. "If you request it I will reassert minimal life-support, but I cannot have them active at such a time as this." His gaze lifted to the ceiling. "The threat is close now, Marita. Hard choices must be made."
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Samantha heard voices dimly, through a fog. Her head hurt and her body ached.
She became aware of her breathing, of her need for breath, and it seemed to her a monumental task. She felt she was gulping air but only a trickle was getting in.
She opened her eyes, quickly closing them against the bright light.
[On the ship?]
No. This smell was... familiar.
She opened her eyes again, slowly.
"Where... am I?" she asked.
Scully turned to look down at the girl; familiar face notwithstanding, Scully was suspicious. Did the girl believe her own identity was that of Fox Mulder's sister? And there was the matter of that chip in her neck; she knew she couldn't remove it without risking giving the child cancer, or at least discussing it with Mulder.
Cautiously, she asked, "Samantha?" She went to her side and took her hand. "You're safe. You're in a safe place now. How do you feel? What's the last thing you remember?"
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