Part 7, Our Boys are Back

Round Robin: SECOND SEASON Part 7

Our Boys are Back! by Amy Anderzak

___<Aanderzak@aol.com>

Paul Wang contemplated one thing and one thing only. Where did the damn Silicates get the disk of the funeral? Paul knew that Commodore Ross wouldn't want to be on board the Saratoga if that idea was even mentioned to Boss Ross.

"Then there must be some explanation," he thought. I have to figure this out. What if West and Hawkes are in danger. Do they know that the Silicates have a disk? Of course not, the Silicates are still alive! Hawkes would have seen to it that they know longer were able to "Take a Chance." Wang smiled at that thought.

Then, from behind him, came that all too-familiar voice, "Hello Wang Paul. I have another surprise for you." As Elroy-L came alongside him, Wang saw the mischievous grin on Elroy-L's face. He pulled at the straps that held him down.

Then he saw it. "NO!"

* * * * *

"Sir, I've got them where we want them," Fairbanks reported to Dembecki.

"Good work, Fairbanks. We'll strike as soon as we get Hawkes and West alone. We can't let the rest of the squadron get suspicious. I know Pearson would try and get in my way if she knew what was going on. I have a suspicion that Saunders is on to us too," warned Dembecki.

"Sir, yes, sir. I agree. I think that the squadron is starting to side with Hawkes and West. Especially after that "freak" accident," said Fairbanks in a tone that Dembecki knew all-too-well. Dembecki knew from the tone in her voice that she would gladly take out the entire squadron if necessary. He hoped he wouldn't have to resort to that.

"Then we have to get this over with. Alert the Chig squadron and tell them to be ready to move on my order," advised Dembecki.

"Already done, sir. Chig squadron standing by, awaiting you orders."

* * * * *

"Hey man, what are you talking about?" asked Cooper, eyeing his friend suspiciously.

"Vansen and Damphousse are here, on this planet," West informed him.

"How do you know they are here?" inquired Hawkes.

" I saw them." West insisted. This was not the time for his friends endless questions. Cooper bolted upright. "Where? Why didn't I see them." asked Cooper. His childish and innocent face clearly showed his confusion, as if it couldn't be heard in his voice.

" Coop, you remember when Phousse was having those visions. When she saved all of our lives because she trusted in something she saw...," his voice trailed off as he recalled that memory, "...something she couldn't describe,but something she knew she saw."

"Yeah. We wouldn't be here now if it wasn't for that. We would never have been together after that. Or..," Hawkes stopped as he was interrupted by West.

"..We could of ended up like we are now. Only two of us left standing while the others just exist in our memories," West finished.

"West, do you ever feel like it was our fault that we are the only ones left. Like maybe we could of somehow saved them," Hawkes could feel the pain he felt inside come out as he spoke.

"Every day. I can't help thinking that if Kylen hadn't been there, maybe Shane would've let me save her and Vanessa. Instead she sacrificed her own life for Vanessa, someone she loves like one of

her own sisters, and for Kylen, someone she never knew, but she knew I loved Kylen. We can't feel guilty. It will just compromise us, and it could cause us to succumb to whatever Fairbanks and Dembecki are planning for us. We all could be blamed in a way. We could all rightfully feel guilty. Shane died because she didn't want Phousse to die all alone. Wang died protecting us and the P.O.W.'s. Even Boss Ross could be blamed. The admiral had personallygrounded us for compromising "Operation Round Hammer". We weren't supposed to be flying at all. If we hadn't been sent out, we might be all here now. But what is there to say that we wouldn't have all been killed in a later mission?," West realized he was starting to talk like Colonel McQueen.

"If it wasn't for those Chig bast...." started Cooper.

"Coop, we can't think about that right now. I think Vansen and Damphousse are alive and I think they are here. We have to find them."

"But how, if we disappear Fairbanks will be on to us."

"That's why I am going by myself."

Wait a damn minute. You're not going by yourself. You don't know what is out there."

"If I disappear, they'll be suspicious but not as suspicious as they would be if we both disappeared."

A voice came from alongside the two men. "And I won't let you go without me." Hawkes and West breathed a sigh of relief. It was Saunders.

"Saunders, you didn't even know Vansen or Damphousse. Why would you want to help us? When we get back to the Saratoga, if we get back, we will probably be court martialed, stripped of our ranks, and be dishonorably discharged. That's probably the least amount of punishment, and that's contingent on help form Commodore Ross and Colonel McQueen." warned West.

"I remember the words that McQueen had told me when I saw him and I have finally found out the answer."

" I have finally been able to answer the question Who Am I' as McQueen did," Saunders thought. I know Who I Am now."

" I just know what I have to do. I know I have to help you. I have to help you save the 58th, to help you bring home the "Wildcards." There's no stopping me West, I am coming along and so is Hawkes." said Saunders with a challenging look in his eyes. He knew what he had to do and he wasn't going to let West screw it up for him. He could take care of Fairbanks if he had to.

"All right. We have to move quickly though. God knows what will happen if Fairbanks finds out we're not here. Hawkes, grab your M-590 and your K-bar and make sure the area is secure. Saunders, you and I will grab the rest of the equipment. We'll meet outside in 10 mikes. Let's do it!" ordered West with a hint of excitement in his voice.

* * * * *

Shane awoke to the dreaded thump of the cell door. She knew any second she would be dragged off to that bright room for another day of torture. Every morning they came for her. They performed many different forms of torture, both mental and physical. Everyday, they replayed, repeatedly, the dreadful recording of that horrible day when her parents were viciously massacred. This happened for what seemed like days. They finally dragged her back to her cell at night after she was confined in a dark room, which they did to make her intolerant to light. The pain that she felt when they dragged her into that bright room was virtually undescribable. She could only hope that Vanessa wasn't undergoing the same pain and torture that she was being submitted to.

The AI's started to come through the cell door. Vansen tensed up. She couldn't let them see that she was weakening.

The AI's came closer. Each infamous beep that they made grated at Shane's nerves

"Hello Lieutenant. Let us introduce ourselves."

Vansen gasped. Her eyes bulged as she caught a glimpse of the two AI's.

" I am Elroy-L and this is Felicity-OH."

Shane struggled against the grasp that the AI's had on her. She knew what Elroy-L had done to Wang. She knew that even Wang had cracked under the torture Elroy-L had produced. But her struggling was to no avail. She was too weak to fight for long.

Again she was dragged to that little room. This time though, they didn't redundantly playback the recording of her parents murder. As a matter of fact, they didn't even play the recording at all.

Instead, she was continuously probed by Elroy-L. She surprised both herself and the silicates in the way that she seperated her mind from her body to keep herself from going insane. This also kept her from giving out any vital information.

* * * * *

Damphousse sat in a corner of her dark room silently rocking back and forth. She hummed old Patsy Cline songs, and sometimes sang the lyrics if she could remember them, that she had heard Vansen play numerous times in Tun Tavern. She knew the AI's were watching her, studying her. She didn't know when they were doing this though, so she couldn't let her guard down.

She knew Shane could hear her, but the words Shane said were garbled. Shane had told her at one of their Chance meetings that she could hear everything that Vanessa said. Vanessa barely had enough time to tell Shane that she couldn't understand a word that she said, before the two friends were separated once again. She had finally figured out that this was another form of torture. Knowing that your friend, your comrade, was just beyond the wall, but you could neither interact nor communicate with that person.

Vanessa started to sing the lyrics to "Never No More"

"NEVER NO MORE

WILL I BE ALL ALONE

NEVER NO......."

She couldn't continue with the song. She wept softly as she recollected all of those memories that she shared with the 58th. All of those honorable memories, like the Battle of the Belt and their graduation. She remember some of the less honorable moments, like when the divulged information of Operation Round Hammer to the enemy. If they hadn't told the Chigs, then Colonel McQueen wouldn't have lost his leg and they wouldn't be in this hell. NO! She couldn't let herself think like this. That was what they wanted. That's why they isolated her.

"I'll be damned if I'm going to give those Chigs any more information," she thought as she wiped the salty tears from the brims of her eyes. She was beyond sad. She was downright mad.

She knew that they couldn't of stopped searching for them. She knew them to well to think that. And what about the Colonel...?

Thump She stopped herself. She quietly sat in the total desolation and darkness for a moment. Thump There it was again. Shane was back, but wait, there was a scuffle outside. Not ordinary noises, but noises she had never heard before. Then she heard it. It was Shane's voice, she knew that much. Shane was yelling something.

She couldn't make out the words. Damn. She couldn't see a thing. It was too dark. She strained to hear, but still, all she heard were garbled sounds. It was Shane's voice wasn't it? Was this one of the tricks the AI's were pulling on her? Was this somthing to try to break her? Were they doing to her what they did to Nathan? Were one ofthose spooge monsters made to look and sound like Shane? She knew they could do it. They'd done it before. There were so many questions and no answers. She didn' t know what to think now. Then she heard something else. A voice. A human voice. A MALE human voice! But she couldn't make out what he was saying either. She heard more scuffling and then she saw it. Elroy-L was at the door of her cell.

* * * * *

Vansen laid on her bed, exhausted from her last round of torture. She felt like the days stretched on. She still kept hope, as well as she could under the circumstances. She knew Damphousse was alive. Shane was responsible for Vanessa's life. She had to get them out of there. Then she heard the voice. She knew the voice. She couldn't see who or where for that matter, the voice was coming from.

"Shane. Shane are you in there," the voice repeated over and over again.

"Oh my God. It's Nathan!" she thought.

Again the voice called out for her. But hold on, it can't be him. Nathan's back on the Saratoga. Unless, did the Chigs get Nathan too? No they couldn't of gotten Nathan. He had just found Kylen. He wouldn't of let those damn Chigs take her from him again. By how did he get find her? Nathan stepped into the weak moonlight. Yes! It was him! Finally. She had never given up hope. NEVER He had found her and Vanessa.

Wait! What was that? She saw somthing move behind Nathan. Oh No!

"Nathan run!!," she screamed. "Get out of here. NO!"

******************************

End of Part 7

Amy Anderzak

Aanderzak@aol.com