:: Tales Of The Resistance ::Part Twenty Three A AJ stood at the door of the vacation home and watched Mac and Monica Reyes roar away on her snowmobile. Off to the side, men were barreling out of the house they had nicknamed ‘the boys’ home. "There aren’t as many there today as there were yesterday, damn it." Fielding sighed. "We’re going to have to get them back from Allenberry." "I should go with them." AJ growled. "No, Admiral. I have another idea for you, if you don’t mind." Fielding jerked his head back to the house. "Come on. We’ll go over something that just occurred to me last night when I was doing my rounds up here." AJ followed him into the house. Toblin had already returned to the control room. Scully had called over to the house serving as their ‘tox lab’ and told Osgood to pack everything up. "Get those computers downstairs along with the equipment…Yes, I know we just set it up, take it back down." She ran down to the control room to prepare for the coming attack, assured that her mother and Harriet would bring William down. He would be close by when the attack came. When they entered the room, the scene wasn’t quite military, but almost. Fiona Morris was bustling about, bullying the three people sitting at the console. "Make sure that we monitor every damn channel we can. See if they are still jamming the D.C. area. We need intel people." Bud Roberts stood off to the side, watching her for a moment, shaking his head in wonder, then went to his own station to begin coordinating the various channels around the base. Samantha Fielding was showing a soldier how to do what she had been doing. They would need all the medical personnel they had and with the exception of any medics that had found their way here, all they had were Dr. Kennedy, his daughter, Anne, Dana Scully and Samantha Fielding. Scully ran up to him. "Admiral. You need to do something about Rabb. He’s been through hell, but damn it, Mulder went through the same thing. He can be a real baby when he’s sick, but he never reacted this way. Please. We need Rabb and we will need the room." She hurried off to meet Harriet and her son. Sweeping him up into her arms, she advised, "Harriet, put them in three rooms for now. Pull out the cots and just put the mattresses down, we may need empty rooms anyway for supplies so cover the floors. Harriet just nodded and she and Tommy Fielding started to rearrange the rooms. AJ saw Bob Fielding walk over to Danny Williams and pull him off to a corner. He didn’t envy the General his chore. He didn’t want to face Rabb but given the option, he knew he had the easier task. Taking a deep breath, he approached the door that Scully had indicated. Knocking once, he didn’t wait for an answer but pushed it open. The room was already crowded with Rabb sitting on one cot facing Smith and Renee who were sharing the opposite bed. Renee looked up and when she saw who it was, quickly rose. "Oh AJ. We didn’t know you had arrived." AJ hugged her tightly and looked over her shoulder at Rabb who just sat there staring at him with dull, uncaring eyes. "Leave us alone for a minute, darlin’." "Please, AJ. Do something." Renee whispered before walking out into the controlled chaos. "Well, Mr. Smith?" AJ growled. He didn’t like the alien. Didn’t want him in the room but accepted the fact that he had saved Webb, Ling and others who he didn’t even know about. Smith stood and faced him. "I want to take my time, Admiral. It is a tricky thing playing in a person’s mind. It isn’t like mending tissue and muscle." "We’ve run out of time." AJ snapped. "You’ll excuse us…please." "Admiral, you just can’t…." Smith stopped. Let him try. Perhaps old training will reassert itself. "Very well, sir." He closed the door behind him. Renee paced and watched as more soldiers entered and left through the various doors. She saw Danny Williams standing next to General Fielding trying hard not to cry. "Bud?" She grabbed him as he tried to hurry by. "What’s happened?" Bud looked at her, then at the closed door and sighed. "Evidently, one of the bounty hunters got into the camp. We don’t know how, could have been anybody we guess, but he killed Mr. Williams and his wife and got into the control center, as Secretary Williams, and he made some calls. Gave people our location. We figure that they’ll be attacking any minute now and we want to be ready." "Oh God." She looked at the door her husband had been hidden behind ever since they brought him back. Mulder couldn’t get through to him. Smith seemed to be holding back but often his presence was the only thing that kept Harm calm. She rubbed her belly and started to return, but she couldn’t do it. Couldn’t face him right now. Instead, she turned and walked over to Fielding and Danny Williams. "Danny?" She took him into her arms and demanded he do the one thing she hadn’t allowed herself. "Oh baby, go ahead and cry." The boy, released from the need to appear grown up in front of the general and one of his parents' oldest friends, let the sobs come to the surface. Renee spared Fielding a brief look that said, ‘Go, I can handle this,’ before leading Danny into one of the vacated rooms. Fielding sighed gratefully and looked over at the sound of a door slamming. AJ looked angry and scared all at the same time. Fielding tried to head him off, but AJ reached Smith before anyone could stop him. "What the hell did that shit do to him?" AJ growled as he grabbed the alien by the collar. Fielding waited for the former SEAL to fly through the air, but Smith just met the anger with an almost resigned air. "I can’t explain it to you, Admiral Chegwidden." Smith replied softly. "AJ." Fielding gently pulled the irate man off of Smith. "Come on. We’ve got to protect our flank." "Jesus Christ, Bob! He just stared at me. Crying! Harmon Rabb, Jr. was crying, for God’s sake! I flat out ordered him to get a rifle and go to the front line and help protect his wife and unborn child and all he did was nod and then just sat there." "AJ, we can’t worry about one man now. We have to protect his wife and child for him. Come over here and look at this map on the wall." They had found a topographic map of the area in one of the drawers. "See this forested area here? This is how Skinner, Scully and Reyes found this in the first place. They got lost in the forest, but as you can see, we’re only about three miles from the highway. If they have our coordinates, then it would make sense for them to try and reach us that way." AJ studied the map. "We need to post about ten men, I think. Here, here and here." He indicated spots on the map. We should be able to hold them off. Have you reconnoitered the area?" Fielding looked confused for a moment. "No. I don’t know why, but we didn’t. We only found the map last night." "Huh?" AJ studied Bob Fielding. It didn’t make any sense. They had all these extra soldiers with nothing to do and they had never checked the forest. "Didn’t you even send people out to hunt for deer or rabbit?" "We had enough food, AJ. And it’s been snowing like a son of a bitch. Look we goofed, okay. But…" His voice trailed off and he just shrugged. "Go pick your men, get them in place. Make sure you take a walkie-talkie with you and then try and get a little shut eye." "Yeah, right." AJ stomped off through the room and up the corridor leading to the men’s dormitory. Smith watched him go. No one noticed the pain flicker across the alien’s face. He closed his eyes for a moment before opening them and going to the room where Renee had taken young Danny. He knocked and waited until the door opened. "Yes, Mr. Smith?" Renee glanced from Smith to Danny Williams. "Mrs. Rabb, I…I need you to come with me." "I need to stay with Danny." "Your husband needs you more, Mrs. Rabb. It’s important." Danny Williams sat up on the cot that he had laid down on. "Its okay, Renee. I want to be alone for a minute anyway, then I better go help Harriet." Renee sighed. "Okay, Danny, just take it easy. You hear me?" "Yes ma’am." She closed the door and glared at Smith. "What? Did AJ get through to him?" "No. I knew he wouldn’t. Rabb has allowed the loss to overwhelm him." He turned and walked back to the sickbay room where Rabb just sat. Renee shook her head and followed. Then what the hell did he want from her? She closed the door and fought the urge to run away. She had never been claustrophobic before she had entered this room two days ago. "Well, Mr. Smith? What do you want me say to him now?" Smith sat next to Rabb and looked at her. "Mrs. Rabb, I told Admiral Chegwidden that it was dangerous to play in the mind of a human. One runs the risk of changing the person on a fundamental level. However, there is little else I can do now." "What are you talking about doing?" Renee tried to catch her breath, but her heart was suddenly racing. "He is fixated on the loss of his union. He would have made a perfect symbiotic host. The oil would have joined with him, not just fed off of him. He would have made a perfect soldier for the Race. With the symbiont gone, all he can remember is his loss. I must remove the memory and replace it with something that he will consider more important." Renee stood over him. "Replace it with what? How will that change him?" Smith shook his head. "I don’t know. He already has a strong sense of duty. If I were to remove the memory of the joining, that might very well take precedence over everything." "Would that be so terrible?" "No, but it would very likely get him killed almost at once, particularly in the situation we are in. No, Mrs. Rabb I need to plant a moderating emotion." He gazed at her, trying to judge how she would take his words. Renee looked from her husband to the alien and sighed. "You mean like having him really love me, really NEED to be with me?" Smith’s raised eyebrow was almost reminiscent of that old television character that Rabb liked so much – Mr. Spock. "He never really has, you know. Oh, he likes me most of the time and he’s really happy about the baby. But he’s always been in love with Sarah MacKenzie." Smith rose and placed his hands on her shoulders. "No, Mrs. Rabb, he isn’t. That’s his problem. He knows he should love someone, but his fears and insecurity are too great to allow him to love, truly love, anyone. Losing his father and the girl named Diane only re-enforced his belief. He has deep affection for you and feels a responsibility, but he has experienced a true joining and losing that was the last straw. May I do this?" Renee didn’t know what to say. She stepped away from Smith and stood in front of the only man she had ever wanted to love her, even half as much as she loved him. Wasn’t this what she wanted? "He isn’t going to be all clingy is he?" she whispered. "Perhaps, at first. He won’t remember anything after waving goodbye to you just before we left for Mountain City. But don’t worry. His basic nature will get him into the fight. His, shall we say, enhanced regard for you will give him a boost in his need for self-preservation" She sighed. She knew she couldn’t hold him back. False memory or real, she knew the man she had married. And, duty to country and the Navy had been his only true love for as long as she had known him. "What do we do?" "Just sit there." He pointed to the bunk across from Rabb. He stood in front of the lawyer who hadn’t paid any attention to what was going on around him. "Rabb? Look at me." He placed his hands on either side of Rabb’s head and closed his eyes. :: :: ::
The parking lot was deadly quiet. Most of the men had no clue as to what had really taken place beyond the fact that one minute, five of their guys were being rousted from the diner and a few minutes later, green acid was seeping out of it. Some muttered that they had always known the bitch had been an alien. Webb pushed away from Frohike and stood staring at the door. "Step back, Webb." Skinner growled. "Why?" "Damn you, step back." Skinner yanked him away and nodded to Doggett who had taken a rifle from one of the soldiers. After shooting out two of the windows, they watched the acid rise toward the heavens. "We can’t just leave it like that. We have no idea how long it takes to dissipate and I don’t want someone walking in on it." Webb turned away. "Fine. Whatever. We better contact the base camp and give them the news." He glared at Mulder and asked bitterly. "Or do you doubt what you heard and what you’ve seen? Would you care to wait and see who’s lying there dead and whose lying there melted?" "Look Webb…" Mulder began, but didn’t finish. Like everything else in his life, this was such an unsatisfying ending. "Sergeant? You got anything yet?" he yelled at the communication vehicle. "Nothing, Mr. Mulder. I can’t get through to the base." "Son-of-a-bitch!" Skinner growled and stalked up to the radioman. Grown men had quaked at that look but the soldier just kept trying. "Sorry, sir. It’s all static. Like what we get when we're trying to break through the jamming around D.C." "Well that settles it." Skinner looked around. "What the hell are we going to do? Take them with us? The wounded and the children? We can’t leave them here." Doggett finally spoke up. "Why don’t we do this? The entrance off of Allenberry is far enough away. We can leave them and the supply trucks there with perhaps twenty men?" The rest of us can get closer. If we see nothing, we can give them the go ahead and enter the base. If not, we do what we can do." Captain Vega came up and joined the group. "How many men do you think they have?" Skinner ignored the question and paced. He kept looking back at the diner. Too many questions had been left unanswered. Why had she done what she had done? How had she known Grace was a bounty hunter? Why had she died paying back some unknown debt to Webb? What the hell had she been intimating? He and Marita? Never. Hell, since the damn hooker he could count on one hand the women he had had sex with. He would have remembered Marita. "Get everyone loaded up. Make sure all the wounded are in two trucks. Leave the children where they are." He looked at Julie Carstairs. "Ma’am, are you going to be okay with them?" "I’ve been with them ever since they were brought into the CDC. We’ll manage, together." She returned to the truck and let Vega help her up. Skinner saw the look that passed between them. "Captain Vega." "Sir?" "You’re in charge of the wounded and the children. Take twenty men with you. Frohike, you know where the Allenberry turn off is…" "Yeah I do, Skinman, but if you think I’m going with them, you’ve never been more wrong. I’m going to Clews Haven, so don’t try and stop me." Skinner’s eyes grew wide at the insolence but decided to let it pass. He looked around and pointed to one of his men. "You go with them. You got a radio?" "Yes, sir." The Ranger grimaced, but did as he was told and walked back with Vega. Skinner glared at Webb. "What have we got here?" Webb pointed to the last five trucks. "Those are all supplies from the hotel and stuff that Parker deemed important enough to bring from Benning. Those five trucks each hold twenty men with whatever gear they have." He sighed. "It was more crowded last night. The wounded are in those two trucks, Dr. Wahl is doing the best she can, but our medical supplies are down to nothing." Skinner pointed to the medic who had bandaged Webb’s arm. "Go with them, help Dr. Wahl, take whatever medical supplies we brought." He looked at the remaining soldiers standing around the trucks. "Men, I don’t know what we’re heading into. I don’t know if they’re aliens or human traitors or both, but we have one duty and only one. That is to save the last remnant of our society in this little part of the world. Mount up." :: :: ::
As soon as he entered the forest AJ felt disconcerted. He chalked it off to being fatigued to the point of sleepwalking, but AJ positioned his men at the spots he thought he had spotted on the map. He noticed the men were looking at each other oddly as if they, too, felt the strangeness. AJ shook his head to clear it but the forest seemed to shift and close in on them and suddenly, he had no idea where they were. One of the men stood up and looked around wildly. "We have to get out of here. Right now." He practically shouted. AJ didn’t have a clue about what was going on, but he got to the man and grabbed him by the shoulder. "We are exactly where we are supposed to be." He realized that was the truth. "I don’t know why I know this, but I do. Now, just stay here and wait." He glared at the men in his unit and prayed that the other two units were where they were supposed to be, too. He found a fallen log resting against a huge tree. Sitting on it, he prepared to wait. As his eyes closed, his last thoughts were of Sarah MacKenzie’s eyes smiling up at him. :: :: ::
Antonelli, MacKenzie and Reyes stood in the center of town. Mac spotted Galindez as he and Ling ran out of the house that Harm and Renee had shared with Francesca. Men came running up from everywhere to fall into a messy formation. Reyes kept looking at her watch, but Mac just shook her head. "He called and said he would be here in 10 minutes. It’s only 7 minutes 13 seconds and please, don’t ask me how I do it." They heard the trucks coming from the road behind the diner, the road that led to Allenberry. More men joined the formation and Mac knew that if they were attacked, the chances that half of them would still be alive when it was over were slim. Antonelli kept shouting that they should stand straight and wait. "You’re all military and as of right now you’re all Army, so get used to it. Mac lifted an eyebrow but didn’t bother to argue the point. She could see the Suburban make its way down the hill. Fielding jumped out of the truck and came to join them. He spared a moment for Mac. "Admiral Chegwidden has taken charge of our flank. He took ten men into the woods to hold off any foray from that direction." Mac looked confused. "Why didn’t we think of that before?" "Other things on our minds, Colonel." "Of course, sir." She was immediately mollified. "I’ve been in touch with the men at checkpoint A. Told them that ten more men were on their way." "Good. I think we should send men north with radios." Mac sighed and handed him the radio. "We can’t, sir. We can communicate with the control center by walkie-talkie but the hams are being jammed. We can’t get through to Skinner either. "Damn. Well, let’s get them situated, shall we?" :: :: ::
It was a good thing that Skinner was behind the wheel of one of the trucks. Had he commandeered the Jeep or even one of the Humvees, he would have outdistanced the rest of the convoy without even thinking about it. The truck was hindered by the slushy snow and the extra weight and would only get up to 45 MPH. Even at that speed, anyone who gave a shit was scared they were going to skid off the road. The rest did managed to keep up. Mulder and Frohike had jumped in to the shotgun positions in two of the trucks. Doggett had taken command of the Jeep and was directly behind Skinner’s truck. It was full of the ammunition and armament that General Parker had managed to acquire along the way from Benning to Atlanta. His concern for the two men in the truck before him was only slightly greater than his fear of what would happen to him if the damn thing did go off the road and explode. Skinner kept glancing away from the slush-covered road to glare at Webb. Skinner knew that Webb had used the need to ‘get any weapon that would work against the aliens’ as an excuse. He wondered what Webb was feeling now that they had confirmed who laid there dead and who had melted into a green puddle. Her hair had fanned out over her head and so they were spared the sight of her disfigurement. Webb kept rubbing a spot on his cheek where a stray wisp of acid had kissed him. He would have a scar from it. A scar to remind him of what she had done to him and for them. The fire extinguisher from the diner rested behind the front seat of the truck. Webb kept his gaze fixed out the passenger window. His anger had finally burned every other emotion from him. He had only one thing to do now. Sit here until they encountered the attacking force. He would kill as many of them as he could until hopefully, one of them killed him. He was too damn tired to go on and the training that had kept him alive in so many terrible situations was no match for what he had seen and done in the past ten days. "Webb?" There were so many things that Skinner needed to learn from the man sitting next to him. So many questions to ask but right now, in this truck heading back to God knew what, there was only one thing he needed to know – know for himself. "Webb?" He repeated, a little more forcefully, a little louder. Clayton Webb knew what he wanted from him. He had seen the look on Skinner’s face as they had stood there staring down at her body sprawled next to the green abomination. He casually wondered what he should tell him. Was it the truth? Had she ever lied to him? How would he ever know? Did he really care? "Damn you, Webb…" "What the hell do you want, Skinner? Frohike knows everything that I do about the aliens and how to kill them. Vega knows what Parker brought with him from Fort Benning. What can you want from me?" "What the hell did she mean back there?" Skinner grounded out, furious that Webb had made him ask. "Why the hell do you care what she said? Huh? You wouldn’t believe her if she told you to your face. Why would you believe my hearsay?" Webb finally turned away from the window, finally allowed his anger to seize him. Taking it out on Skinner made no sense, but then Skinner making him ride up front with him made no sense either. Skinner pulled off the side of the road. Dogget pulled up and leaned across his seat only to see Skinner climb down from the cab, dragging Webb out of the door with him. Quickly, Doggett got out and ran up to the two men. "For Christ sake, what the hell happened?" "Get in, John. Lead them up there. Wait for us at the Allenberry exit. Mr. Webb and I have things to discuss and I don’t want to risk the supplies in the back of the truck." "Would you two knock it off? We have bigger fish to fry right now. We can figure out if Webb fucked up bringing Marita with him or not, afterward." Doggett snarled. Skinner didn’t even bother to look away from Webb. "Go, John. We’ll follow you in a little bit." "Both of you?" Doggett asked conversationally. "Hopefully." Skinner spat out. Doggett gripped Skinner by the arm and forced him to meet his glare. In a low growl, Doggett pointed out, "You outweigh him by thirty pounds easy, Walter. You’ve got four inches on him. What are you going to do, beat him to a pulp because he pissed you off?" "Agent Doggett, get out of here. I can take care of myself." Webb sighed. He hadn’t even bothered to try and jerk away. "Goddamn school yard antics, if you ask me." Doggett muttered as he climbed into the truck. Skinner ignored the stares of the drivers of the other trucks, didn’t even register Frohike’s disgusted exclamation as the truck he was riding in passed them. When the last truck rolled away, Skinner threw Webb against the Jeep. "Now, Mr. Webb, I want to know exactly what that bitch said to you. Every damn word." "Including ‘oh yeah, just like that…." His head snapped back and he sat down hard on the running board of the vehicle. Blood gushed from his nose. "Terrific. What is it with bald men and my nose?" He patted his pockets, but it was Skinner who handed him a handkerchief. Stanching the blood as best he could, he glared up at Skinner. "You already suspect what she told me, don’t you? Tell me. How old is Dr. Scully’s kid?" Skinner growled low in his throat and started to reach for Webb, but found the spy standing, pointing a gun in his face. "The first one was free, Skinner. Felt kinda of good, actually. But no more. How old?" Skinner took a deep breath. "He’ll be one next week." A look of intense pain flickered across his face, the addendum ‘if he lives that long’ unspoken. "So tell me, can you remember where you were 19 months less one week ago?" "You’re insane. She’s insane. You don’t think I would remember bedding Dana Scully? You think she wouldn’t remember? The father of her child is a…" "You didn’t. You don’t remember going out to get drunk one night and completely blacking out?" Skinner began to pace. Webb put the gun back in his shoulder holster and leaned back against the truck, fingering his abused nose. The pain felt almost cleansing. He closed his eyes and did something he was exceptionally good at. He repeated Marita’s tirade word for word. Skinner spun around, but listened, not interrupting. When he was done, Webb opened the door to the Jeep and got in. Rolling down the window he sighed resignedly. "Does it really matter, Skinner? Let's go and catch up with them before we miss all the fun."
:: Part 23 B ::Taking a Stand They had taken up positions in the second floor over the café. John Byers clutched the walkie-talkie as he stared out the window. He had the best view of the county road leading into the town. The last of the leaves had been pulled from the trees by the high winds of two nights ago and he could almost see all the way to the schoolhouse – checkpoint one. Voices chattered over the radio between the farthest outpost and command central. Right now, all he could see was the gray-black mess of slush fleeing from the early afternoon sun. Perhaps they weren’t coming. He hoped not. He wanted to explore this new feeling that he had for Lora Tydal. Master Sergeant Lora Tydal who stole into his heart with the simple words. "Hi. I understand you can help me with the onboard computer on this damn Humvee." She was so tiny, only an inch taller than Scully, but thinner, not boyish but…words, even thoughts failed him when he watched her. She had taken up her post across the room. The heavy rifle at her shoulder looked like it weighed more than she did. But he knew her looks were deceiving, knew she was stronger than she should be. He had felt that strength the first time they had made love. The way she held him to her as he thrust into her. The way her legs locked at the small of his back, the way she had flipped him onto his back to ride out her orgasm. Had it really been just four days ago? He knew they made an odd pair. He, even in jeans and a pullover sweater, looked like he was wearing a suit. She, in her cammies, still looked like a nymph who should be running by a forest stream, not cursing like the Marine she was as she directed men, older, taller, larger than she, not to ‘fuck up her vehicles.’ He knew why he wanted to be with her. He had no clue what she saw in him, but when she looked over and saw him studying her, the smile on her face lit the room and warmed his heart. He pulled his gaze away from her, ignoring the snorts from the two soldiers also in position up here and looked again through the binoculars. Just then, the radio squawked. "Look alive people, we’ve got…." The transmission was broken as a hail of gunfire was heard just before the connection was cut. :: :: ::
Harmon Rabb woke with a jerk and looked around. He saw Renee sitting on a cot across from him, her elbows resting on her knees, her head buried in her hands. "Hey beautiful – where are we? What happened? Did I fall or something?" Renee steeled herself and looked up. He looked just like the old Harm. The lawyer who wanted nothing more than to fly F-14’s. "Hi. Yeah, you…you had me worried sick." "Oh baby, I’m so sorry." He was up instantly, kneeling before her. "So did they go without me?" "Yeah, they had to. You’ve been out for almost six days." "Six days! Jesus. You must really have been scared." He took her face in his hands and kissed her. Kissed her like he never had before and all she could do was concentrate on not crying. It wasn’t real. The Harmon Rabb she had fallen in love with had never worried about how she felt when he put himself into danger, not immediately anyway. She took a deep mental breath and allowed the sensation of his lips against hers to touch her. When they heard the pounding at the door, she was almost relieved. This was going to be harder than she thought. Harm stood up and went to open the door. "Bud! Hey, what’s up?" Roberts had been warned by both Smith and Renee that when Harm woke up he would appear to be fine, but Bud was to pass the word that no one mention what really happened to the Commander. Frankly, with all the shit that was going down, Bud wasn’t sure anyone would have the time or inclination to ask ‘so flyboy, what was it like to be one with the aliens?’ "We just got word. They’re here." Rabb’s eyes grew large. "Who’s here, Bud?" Bud looked at Renee and shrugged. The look said it all, ‘You’ll have to tell him, I don’t have time." "Come on Harm, I’ll fill you in as we go. I know you’re going to want to be in the thick of it." :: :: ::
AJ woke with a start, grabbing the hand that touched his shoulder, glaring into the eyes of a very frightened young soldier. "S-s-sir, we think we hear something." Immediately, AJ stood, ignoring the aches and pains that tortured his muscles. Not saying a word, he listened carefully, knowing three pairs of eyes were riveted on him. The wind rustled in the pine branches, the smell of the snow didn’t quite cover the rotting vegetation that was autumn in the hills. The sounds of heavy footsteps and the muttered whispers of scared men were unnatural here. The ten men he had picked were seasoned veterans of various campaigns. Even the young kid who woke him had spent time in the Middle East. None of the Rangers or Commandos he had picked would be making that much noise. The vague unease that he felt when they entered the forest was still with him. He knew that if he left this spot they would become hopelessly lost. He signaled that they should quietly wait. They didn’t have to wait long. It was almost like the enemy had no clue. Ten men walked into the clearing that AJ and his men were hiding near. Ten men gratefully dropped their weapons as soon as they saw the four men step out from behind the trees. It suddenly occurred to AJ that he had his radio with him and he shook his head to try and clear it again, before whispering into the speaker. "Forest 2, this is Forest 1. Report." "Forest 1, this is Forest 2. Are you guys okay? What the hell is going on? You’re never going to believe this." "Forest 1, this is Forest 3. We have six guys that just walked up to us and surrendered. What the hell are we supposed to so with them?" AJ glared at the sergeant who led his men into the clearing. All ten men looked like they had seen Satan himself, or at least a horde of aliens. "Sergeant, who’s your commanding officer?" "Captain Emmett, sir, of the 354th. We were told there was a group of Iranian terrorists hold up down here, the ones that killed President Toblin. Captain Emmett sent us in this morning, said to walk straight through the forest until we came to their encampment, sir. We got so lost. Who are you, sir?" "AJ Chegwidden, Admiral, US Navy. And I’ve got news for you, Sergeant. President Toblin is very much alive. Haven’t you heard his broadcasts?" "Sir, we were stationed at Fort Lewis, but they brought us down to the Capital to protect President Winslow. We ain’t heard nothin’ from nobody except Captain Emmett. Then this mornin', they loaded us into trucks and brought us down here." "How many men?" AJ growled. "About two hundred I think, sir." AJ tuned the radio to the channel for the base and called. "Base, this is Forest 1." "AJ, where the hell have you been?" He heard Fielding roar. "We’ve been trying to reach you for five hours!" AJ looked in horror at his men and back at the radio. He suddenly realized how warm he was. He hadn’t been this warm since before the party. He looked down and saw his boots had sunk into mud, there was no snow anywhere that he could see. The unease was beginning to grow and he had to call upon every ounce of training and inner strength to keep it at bay. "Base. We have accepted the surrender of ten men. I believe that Forest 2 and 3 also have prisoners. One of the captives says that the attack force is 200 men." "Forest 1. That sounds about right, they’re attacking now. Are there anymore coming your way?" AJ lifted his gaze to the sergeant who shook his head "No" frantically. There was no reason why AJ should necessarily believe him, but he did. "I don’t think so, Base." There was silence for a moment, then Fielding came back on. "Very well. I’ll send a couple of guards to meet you, but I need you and your men back here and pronto, we’re going to need all the men we can get. Over and out." "Sir?" The sergeant pointed to the radio. "Was that General Fielding, sir?" "Why, Sergeant, you know the General?" "Yes, sir! I served under him for the last five years. We were told he was murdered in the coup." AJ studied the man before him. "How many others in the attacking force think the same thing you do, sergeant?" "Most everybody except the goddamn SEALs, sir." "Excuse me?" AJ felt like he had been kicked in the stomach. "The SEALs, sir. Only they aren’t like any SEAL I ever knew before. Mean bastards, always pushing the men to go first. There were riots in D.C. two, no three days ago. A bunch of people, mostly all hungry, tried to break into a grocery store that was being guarded by the SEALs and a bunch of young recruits not even done with their training at Quantico and the SEALs just left them outside while they hid inside the store." The man’s voice dropped to a whisper. "I’ve heard wild stories, Admiral." They had been walking as he talked and suddenly AJ spotted the compound through the trees. As they stepped out on the open area in front of the houses, the other two teams, each with grateful prisoners in tow, stepped out, too. They were met by a very anxious looking Bud Roberts and a small detail of men. "Sir, thank God you’re all right. We lost contact with you as soon as you entered the woods. They need you down at the village, sir. You and your men." AJ nodded and turned to watch the rest of the men herd their prisoners up the slope to the house. He had no idea what the hell they were going to do with them. Just then, Micah Toblin stepped outside and walked toward them. "Jesus Christ, it's him." One of the men shouted and AJ knew they had twenty-five more soldiers for the cause. :: :: ::
Skinner and Webb caught up with the convoy just as they were pulling off at Allenberry. As they were identifying themselves to the guards, their radios finally began to crackle with voices instead of static. "…there are at least thirty trucks. I cannot, repeat, cannot see inside the tr…" "Outpost one, this is base camp, come in. Do you read me?" Fiona Morris’ anxious voice called. Frohike ran up and started to grab the radio but Skinner glared him back. "She's fine. You know she’s down in the command center, now get back to your truck." He dialed what he prayed was still a secure channel. "Base camp, this is AD, come in base camp." "Sweet Jesus!" Bud Roberts’ calmer voice took over. "AD, this is base camp. Good to hear your voice." "Same here, base camp. From what we heard just now, our intel is already known." "We are under attack, AD. Are you in a position to assist?" "Roger. On our way, we will try and flank them." "ETA, AD?" The calm veneer cracked for a moment and they heard the panic in his voice. "Ten minutes, base." :: :: ::
Harm kept looking over at the Admiral. It was weird losing six days of your life. But, he felt good. Real good and a little worried. He hated to leave Renee; she looked so scared standing there in the control room. But, if the aliens were attacking, then he needed to do his duty and go and fight them. AJ kept his eyes on the road ahead. It was muddy now that the snow had been crunched to the point that it was melting more and more as each truck passed over it. Whatever that damn alien had done, worked. Here was the old Rabb, not that indecisive crying mess of a man he had yelled at this morning. All AJ knew was what Bud had frantically passed on to him. "Don’t say anything about what happened to him, sir. All he knows is that he fell and hit his head leaving the house six days ago. He doesn’t remember anything that happened at Mountain City." Just one more weird inexplicable thing to deal with – later. AJ let his mind play over the events of today. Something was wrong. Something had happened in the forest, but the memory of it was fading so fast that he couldn’t get a grasp on it. It was like a dream that, upon waking, slips away leaving only a vague feeling of unease. They finally made it down the steep hill into town, the vehicles already there, protecting troops from the incessant hail of bullets. It forced him to the left, across from the café and across from where he could see Fielding crouching. Mac’s hair flamed behind him. AJ was trying to find a reasonably safe place to inch the truck into when the windshield spidered. "Out!" He cried into the back of the truck. "Watch yourselves, find cover." They ran forward, trying to make what little cover there was as close to the fighting as they could get. He scanned the area and spotted the small neat house that seemed to have no one around it. A wave of unease washed over him. He shook his head and yelled back. "Jones! Take some men over there." He pointed to a stand of trees with a clear view of the street. They would be able to get their attackers in a cross-fire with the soldiers in the café across from them without exposing themselves too much. He started to point out another position to Rabb, but he saw that the former top gun was already running to one of the forward positions. Bullets kicked up mud and slush all around Rabb as he dove for cover next to Victor Galindez. Fury shook him and in that split second, as he followed Rabb’s progress, the bullet hit him square in the chest, ripping through tendon, shattering a rib, driving shards of bone into his heart and lung. As blood exploded outward, the force of the blast threw him against and through the rail of the house, across the porch and through the small nine- over-nine window. The last thing AJ Chegwidden heard was Mac’s anguished, "NOOOOOO!" :: :: ::
Dana had listened to the frantic reports, paced the small room, got in Bud’s way twice and snarled at Morris’ suggestion that she just light somewhere. "Base, this is Fielding! They’ve got some kind of body armor. At least some of them. "Shit! We can’t get any neck shots!" Toblin grabbed up the mic. "What about the fire extinguishers?" "Can’t get close enough, damn it! We’re killing troops, but the damn bounty hunters just keep coming. It’s taking all our firepower to just keep them from advancing." "How many?" "I don’t know. I think I’ve counted five, but I can’t tell. We’re losing too many men!" Dana couldn’t take it anymore. Kennedy had told her to stay down here to handle any operations while he was up top with Samantha and Anne, triaging in the little house like she had originally planned. The ‘lab tables’ that they had set up were being used as temporary exam tables. No one had arrived down here yet. She rushed into one of the rooms, pulled down a field bag and filled it with gauze, bandages, scalpels and morphine. "What are you doing, Dr. Scully?" Sylvie Toblin asked softly. "Going where I need to be." Dana ran out into the control room. She started to open the door where her son played with Harriet and her mother, but she stopped herself and ran up the passageway. Kennedy stood over the first three casualties. "Damn it. One out of three! What the hell happened? Don’t those damn medics know what to do?" Francesca Paretti looked at him. "Si, Doctor. They know, but the road is very hard to drive up. There are many potholes and I got stuck twice, but I made it up." Her voice was very sad. "Jesus Christ…" "I’m on it, Dr. Kennedy." She jumped behind the wheel of the pickup truck Francesca had used. She was very surprised to see Francesca climb in next to her. "I drove the best I could, Doctor. I just wanted to help." "I know you did, Miss Paretti. I just can’t sit still. You can drive them back up, all right." "Si. Yes." Dana tore down the hill, avoiding the potholes by driving up on the side of the road, coming dangerously close to the edge. She didn’t dare take her eyes off the road, but she could hear the younger woman’s frantic breathing. They parked near the bottom and Dana ordered her. "Slide over. As soon as we have more wounded, get them up top. Already several men were helping wounded colleagues up to the back of the truck. These were the ‘walking wounded’ – they could wait. A medic was patching them as best he could. She ran forward, looking for more critically wounded men lying in the mud. She cleared the truck just in time to see Chegwidden take the bullet and hear Mac’s scream. Ignoring the gunfire around her, she ran out into the open, up onto the porch and reached for the door. The thought that she shouldn’t be here flickered across her thoughts but she pushed hard against the door. Too hard. She had expected it to be locked and that adrenaline-boosted strength would be needed. It wasn’t. The door swung open and she fell forward into the room. Time stood still. :: :: ::
Renee was in the way. Or would have been if she moved from the corner where she watched the almost orchestrated chaos around her. They had finally begun to move the wounded into the ‘sickbay’ cubicles. She would have offered to help, but Sylvia Toblin was on the case and there was really nothing for her to do. Renee pushed away from where she was standing and after dancing out of the way of two soldiers rushing into the room, walked up the first corridor she reached. She had no idea which house it would lead to. She had only been here twice, once, during that first meeting and then, when they brought Harm up here. For two days she seldom left his side. She showered in the small head and donned whatever clothes appeared outside their door. She suspected that Harriet was keeping an eye out for her. Harriet was like that. Pushing open the door leading into the hallway, she nodded to the soldier standing there and walked through and found herself in a large country kitchen. A huge pot sat on the stovetop and various packages of meat, cans and even fresh produce, lay out in stalled preparation. Distractedly, Renee picked up the perishables and put them in the side-by-side refrigerator/freezer. The house was so quiet that she could hear the plip-plop of snow falling from the roof. She went to the front room and just stood, looking out onto the lawn. The snow had really taken a beating; everyone had been talking about the rapid melting as if it were of great import. She saw the tamped paths between each house, wet slushy footprints from the house next door to a clear place in the middle of the yard. A large notched stick sticking up in the ground. She wondered idly if they would flood and scanned further down the slope. That’s when she saw him – standing near the edge. His shoulders looked slumped as if he were staring down at his feet. She didn’t know why, but the stance scared her. Quickly, she ran to the door, found a hideous pair of rubber boots and pulled them on. Reaching for a coat, she opened the door and stepped out into the bright afternoon sunshine. The sun really just now hitting the house. She was surprised and pleased to feel how warm it was. She couldn’t run in the mess. Even with the melt off, there was at least 18 inches of the wet heavy stuff, but she went as fast as she could. When she reached him, she stayed back and called, "Mr. Smith? What are you doing out here? Come back inside." He ignored her and continued to stare out at the valley below. Renee took a tentative step toward him but he held out his hand. "Don’t. It’s not stable here." "Then why are you standing so close?" He ignored the question but turned to study her. "How do you stand it?" "Stand what?" "Being so alone. Dealing with such strange emotions." Renee shrugged. "I guess that’s why we fall in love. So we aren’t so alone." He looked incredulous. "But you are. I never understood how that must feel. But after accepting Rabb’s loss, I do understand. It will never work. We will never be able to take this planet. We can only destroy it. Destroy it out of a sense of wrath. We haven’t dealt with those emotions in a millennium. They don’t come to us easily. I heard the reports. I know from my comrades, they whisper the same things that Chegwidden saw. If we cannot successfully integrate the two species, then everything that we have done for over 150 years has been for naught." Renee was shocked. She hadn’t been privy to most of the communiqués but she had heard from Bud and Harriet, and even Mac had told her things. "But isn’t that a good thing? I mean for you? Didn’t you want the plan to fail?" He shrugged. "I never really thought that it would fail. I just had to help the survivors until the assimilation was complete. I never thought the Race would fail." With that, he smiled at her and stepped off the cliff. :: :: ::
Watching AJ die seared Mac’s soul; it killed her. She stood there and watched with clinical detachment as the battle played out around her. Men fell. Fell from bullets ripping through them. Fell from the green acid that wafted through the air, from the seemingly superficial wounds inflicted on the aliens. She saw some of the human attackers turn and flee in terror. Not caring, she raised her rifle. More fell. Fell from her gun and fell from fire behind them – Skinner? Skinner must be flanking because the soldiers suddenly turned and fled into the woods, and were cut down by men hidden there. Fielding and Skinner had planned well, but still, the aliens kept coming, bullets sparking off the now bared metal collars protecting their necks, some embedding in alien faces, some ricocheting into human foes. She heard Fielding’s shouted orders, saw Andy Kelly try to climb into his truck, only to be hurled back into the mud as a bullet shattered the window and entered his body. Rabb tried next. Rabb, who she was told no longer remembered his journey into hell, made it into the cab of the snowplow. She watched the flumes pour from the exhaust pipes as he gunned it forward, watched as Victor Galindez and another man picked up flame throwers and took up positions behind the blade. As the flames touched the aliens, their human visages finally fell away and they were faced with their true enemy, the bulletproof collars no longer protecting the thin alien necks. A chance. Years later, when his grandchildren could get him to talk about this day at all, the one story Bob Fielding would relate was how Colonel Sarah MacKenzie let out a banshee yell and, clutching her rifle, ran into the foray. "I tell you, Sammy, she was like a berserker leading a raid. She weaved and dodged, killing aliens left and right." Mac sprayed the bullets across the exposed gray neck, tearing the head from the body. At last the alien exploded, sending green acid up and out. She dropped and rolled out of harms way, stood up and looked for her next target. She registered the fact that someone else took out another alien across the way. She found her next target only a few yards away. He was just turning toward her and she could see the pain in his face as he pulled frantically on the white hot metal resting against his chest. She blew its head off too, fell and rolled away from the green death. She was stopped in her progress and looked up into the fury of another alien staring down at her. Without any thought except she didn’t care, she raised her gun and fired into the face, only to have thousands of green ice crystals shower down on her. A hand reached down, pulled her up and quickly swatted any of the burning ice from her skin. "What the hell are you doing?" Clayton Webb asked casually. She jerked away from him, looking for another target. She saw some soldiers rounding up the remnants of the attack force. She readied her rifle, but Webb pulled it away from her. "Mac! Snap out of it. It’s over." "Go to hell, Webb. They killed AJ." Webb stared at her, the shock and pain etched on his face. "What? When? Where?" "Damn you, Webb! Just give me my…" "Stand down, Colonel." Fielding’s gruff voice cut through the deadly quiet. Mac stood there glaring at the two men. Skinner came running up to join them. "Great job. Damn, Mac you really…." His voice trailed off. Looking at Fielding he demanded, "What happened?" "Chegwidden caught one." A look of consternation clouded the chocolate features. "Somewhere over there." He waved behind them. "I have to see to the rest of the troops, excuse me." He wandered away, shaking his head. The white-hot anger cleared her head. "No. He died there." She snarled and pointed to the house. "I saw it. Saw Scully run in after him." "Scully! Scully ran into the house?" A look of sheer panic seized Skinner. Webb looked at him curiously and shrugged. "So what are we waiting for? Let’s go check the damn house." Skinner looked at Webb and then at Mac. He couldn’t bring himself to move forward at first, but the fact that Dana was in that house scared him more than he could describe. He watched Mac charge forward, Webb right behind her. "What’s going on?" Mulder touched his arm. "Dana’s inside." "Inside where?" "That…" The hold was broken. He didn’t know how, but suddenly he charged forward and up the steps. Mulder looked around and was surprised that everyone else was studiously ignoring the house. He walked up the porch and entered. He didn’t notice the two women who watched from different ends of the town. :: Part 24 ::The Truth is in Here He was awake. Two women hovered over him. One he knew. Clear blue eyes gravely met his. Her soft touch on his forehead was the only thing he could feel. Which, considering what the other woman was doing to him, was surprising to say the least. "It’s okay, AJ." Dana whispered. "I don’t know why, but it is okay." The older woman met his terrified eyes, her steely gray eyes should have been cold, but he felt the warmth in them, the faint humor. Gently, she pulled her hand out of his chest and held it out for Dana to examine. "See Dr. Scully, all the bone fragments in one pass." Scully examined the gloved hand, completely free of blood, the white fragments surrounding a dull gray blob. "What’s that?" The woman held her hand over a bowl and AJ heard plink, plink, plink and a loud thawank, as something heavy struck metal. She pulled off the glove, which looked like no glove that he had ever seen before. Bright blue and gel-like, it seemed to throb with light until she lay it on the table, then it turned a dull steel gray. The woman reached up and pulled down what appeared to be a round lamp and positioned it carefully over AJ’s chest. It glowed the same blue as the glove, but still he felt nothing. She picked up the pellet and walked to the head of the table and showed it to AJ. "A souvenir from an earlier war, Admiral? I would think once in a lifetime would be enough." He licked his lips, preparing for the hoarse pain, which never came. In a clear voice he explained. "They said it was better to leave it in; that the surgery could do more damage than just leaving it be." "Of course." The woman sighed. "Right now scientists are at least fifty years away from just being aware of the concept." She touched the glove and the lamp. "And, these are a good 150 years beyond that." She touched his chest and he heard Dana’s incredulous gasp. "Oh my God. Are you people like Jeremiah Smith?" "No, Dana. We are as human as you are. Just longer lived." AJ angled his head back trying to see the man who spoke. He thought he had heard the voice once, but he couldn’t be sure. Dana whispered. "Mr. Olsen? Why am I not surprised? This was all a set up then. Fielding was right. It is a plot. But you said you weren’t aliens." The café owner ignored her and walked into AJ’s line of sight. "Admiral. It was fortuitous that you fell into the house. Hannah cannot hope to save all the fallen, but she could not stand by and watch you die." He closed his eyes as if in thought. "AH. I see Mr. Skinner has broken through our mental barrier. I’m really not surprised that Colonel MacKenzie did. Her emotional upheaval at seeing you die, Admiral, would have erased the most stringent conditioning, let alone our normal mild broadcast. Mr. Mulder, having been through the same alien torture that Dr. Scully went through, also has a higher tolerance level. However, I wonder why Mr. Webb seems unaffected. It is not unheard of, but still." He shrugged gently and held out his hand to Chegwidden. "Shall we go meet with them. I supposed we must answer some questions." :: :: ::
Slogging through the mud and bloody mess that the center of town had been turned into, Melvin Frohike made his way to the bottom of the hill. A truck carrying wounded was just getting ready to leave. The back was full, so he jumped on the running board and held on for dear life. Slowly, they made their way up the hill and if it hadn’t been so damn muddy he would have jumped off and ran the rest of the way, but he waited. Waited and planned what he would say to her. When they reached ‘up top’ he unloaded the wounded. Carrying stretchers into the triage, he sat with the less seriously wounded until Samantha, Anna or one of the medics could patch the wounds. Dr. Kennedy was operating on the cases that he could. It all reminded Melvin of the MASH units thirty years ago in Nam. Finally, he gathered his courage and started to trudge down the passageway when a soft voice stopped him. "Welcome back, Mr. Frohike." He gulped. "Thank you, Mrs. Toblin. Ah…is everything okay down there?" "Everything is fine, Mr. Frohike." Sylvia Toblin cocked her head to one side, studying the little man. "Nice hat." She smiled. "If you would like, there is a bath down the hallway. Why don’t you go avail yourself of some nice hot water and let me see if I can round you up some cleaner clothes…perhaps a razor too." When it looked like he was going to protest, she held up her hand. "She’s fine, Mr. Frohike. And I suggest that she will be more amenable to what you have to say if she is not putting her hand over her nose." He sighed but walked down the hallway. This part of the house was surprisingly quiet, considering the amount of noise going on in the front room. He found the bathroom and pulled off his filthy clothes. Well, why wouldn’t they be filthy and disgusting? After what he had seen these past six days it wouldn’t surprise him if the smell became a permanent part of him. He couldn’t remember when a shower felt this good. The water cascaded off his back and through his wispy hair. He soaped himself all over and then all over again. Finally turning the water off he started to open the door to reach for a towel only to find one shoved into his hands. His eyes opened wide. She was standing there, shyly watching him. He gulped and slammed the shower door and leaned against the wall. He didn’t dare look out the steamed glass, but dried off quickly. Wrapping the towel around his waist, he took a deep breath and opened the door. Fiona leaned against the bathroom door, a tired nervous look on her face. "Sylvia asked me to bring this stuff up for you. There’s a razor and a toothbrush." "Thanks." The bathroom wasn’t very big and once he got out of the shower there would be little room for him to stand in front of the sink. "Uhm…you going to stand there?" He checked the knot of the towel at his stomach. "No, I guess I’ll go back," she whispered. "I’ll put the clothes in the bedroom down the hall. It’s getting pretty busy in the main room. I’ll close the pocket door and you can dress down there." "Sure. Uhm…thanks…uhm…you’re looking really good, F…Dr. Morris." He stuttered. "Thanks. You’ll look a lot better after a shave." She grinned and opened the door. "Bye." He stared at a haggard face with puffy eyes and sighed. ‘What could she ever want with me?’ He shaved and finding a pair of scissors in one of the vanity drawers tried to trim his hair. Checking his towel again, he peered out into the hallway. True to her word, the opening into the front room was sealed now, the sounds of the make shift operating room muffled and seemingly far away. He figured he would dress and go back and see if he could help. Walking to the first closed door he found, he pushed it open. His jaw dropped. ‘Okay, this is a dream. I fell asleep in the shower.’ "Close the door Melvin." Fiona smiled from where she was lying on the bed. The only thing she had on was the cowboy hat he had worn ever since he left Atlanta. :: :: ::
The death and carnage around her made her sick but Francesca kept taking short breaths and helping where she could. She hadn’t stayed in the cab, like Dr. Scully had demanded, but got out and was dressing the wounds she could, holding and comforting the wounded when a medic had to prep him for the trip up the hill. One of the men eased her out of the way and took control of the truck. She didn’t mind. The noise was incredible, the gunfire, the shouts, the screams of death. It wasn’t until everything stopped that she realized how painful the sound had been. The absence seemed like a rebirth. She was stumbling through the mud looking for wounded when she saw him. Saw him help Sarah MacKenzie to her feet. Saw him point to the Rathbone house and shrug. Watched incredulously as he, Mac, Mulder and Skinner all walked into the house that she suddenly realized that everyone had ignored all these days they had crammed more and more people into the houses here and ‘up top’. She registered that Fielding just shook his head and walked away. She felt the urge to turn away too, but Webb was there. Webb had returned and instead of looking for her, he had followed Sarah MacKenzie somewhere he wasn’t supposed to be. ‘Why not?’ She asked herself as she cautiously approached the porch. It was odd that the house was so neat and untouched – it was directly in the line of fire from both sides. As she climbed the steps she fought the sense of dread that descended upon her. She tried to make herself open the door and follow him in, but that she couldn’t do. Instead she turned and sat down on the small rough-hewn bench that ran along the length of the wall. She had a panoramic view of the aftermath. General Fielding was shouting orders to all four corners of the small town. Victor Galindez and Susan Ling were embracing each other tightly against one wall of the café. John Doggett had Andy Kelly in his arms, carrying him to the next truck up the hill. Francesca felt a tinge of guilt that she wasn’t helping, but it looked like there were plenty of people doing what needed to be done. She watched Lora Tydal help John Byers down the outside steps of the café. Victor saw them and reluctantly released Susan so he could go and help. Lora collapsed, crying into Susan’s arms, but from what Francesca could see Byers would be fine. Guilt touched her again as she watched Father Harper walk among the dead and dying giving last rights. She tried to stand up to go help but lethargy gripped her and she found she couldn’t even bend her knees. Idly she wondered where her papa was. "Hello Francesca." A very kind voice stirred her. "Oh. Hello Monica. It is over, yes?" "I don’t know. For today, at least. What are you doing here, Francesca?" "Just sitting, waiting." "I see. Can I wait with you?" :: :: ::
"AJ?" Mac felt faint and only Webb’s strong arm around her shoulder kept her on her feet. "Mac, oh Jesus." AJ found he could walk toward her and even after all his body had suffered, he felt no pain. He reached her and pulled her from Webb into a tight embrace. Mac’s tears flowed freely. "I don’t understand. I saw you – I saw the bullet. Oh God, AJ, I saw you die." She wailed. AJ glared at the people around him, demanding an explanation. Skinner spotted Dana standing just behind AJ and pushed past the two lawyers and took her into his arms. He held her tightly and kissed the top of her head before growling at Olsen. "What’s this all about, Olsen?" Mulder looked around the neat little room. It was very plain, very empty. Four walls held nothing but windows covered with sheer curtains. The walls looked remarkably like gray metal. Reaching out, he touched one and felt the cold hard surface. "I’ll bite. After all the years on the X-Files, you’ve stumped me. What the hell is this place?" Olsen smiled. "Atlantis, Mr. Mulder. Or El Dorado, or Brigadoon if you prefer." He saw accepting wonder on the Agent’s face. But his rueful grin was melted by the icy glares from the two couples. Webb just looked around, his face completely blank. Olsen sighed. "Come. We will explain." He led them down a long corridor. Too long a corridor for the depth of the house. "You can’t feel it, be we are already below ground." "I don’t feel any slope." Webb insisted. "No, you don’t." Olsen agreed. They came to a blank wall and when Olsen walked right through it, Skinner balked. But Dana took him by the hand to lead him through the illusion. AJ and Mac followed, trailed by Webb who growled. "Mulder." "Oh yeah. This is too cool. How’d they do that?" Webb sighed, started to say something but clamped his mouth shut. They found themselves in a very comfortable room even though three walls seemed to dissolve into darkness. It was filled with overstuffed chairs, small tables, a rug on the floor and large glass lit cabinet against one wall. "Would you care for a drink?" Olsen offered. Behind one of the glass doors appeared to be a vast array of liquor. "What the hell is this place? And don’t bother with the mythical nonsense." Skinner snarled. "Mythical? Perhaps. Nonsense? We’ve watched over you for 10,000 years Mr. Skinner. Is that nonsense?" The gray-eyed woman joined them. AJ released Mac to step up to her. "You obviously saved my life – unless this is some Twilight Zone episode and we are all dead." "I loved that show." A squeaky voice chortled. "Mr. Goldman?" Mac gasped at the ‘midget’ who had decked her in the ‘boys home’ after she had broken up a fight caused by a disagreement over his card scam. The little man practically clamped his hands in glee but turned suddenly contrite. "I’m really sorry about your cheek, Sarah. Hannah, fix it." The gray-eyed woman sighed and stood up. "Very well, and Mr. Webb will be unable to breathe correctly if I don’t repair his nose." She disappeared through a door that they hadn’t noticed before, returning shortly with the glove that she had worn while she explored AJ’s chest cavity. Walking up to Mac first, she touched the bruised cut under her eye. When she pulled her hand away, Mac’s skin was clear and unblemished. Webb, who had helped himself to a healthy shot of Chivas, tried to jerk away from her but found he couldn’t move. Gently, she ran her fingers down his nose and the glove seemed to pulse, small lights sparkled from its depths. Then, she ran her hand over his head and rested it there for a moment. "The alien, Smith, did a good job, Mr. Webb, but I sense the presence of the cancer ready to return. Come with me, please." Webb, still clutching his drink followed her. Mac started to rise from the sofa she had settled into next to AJ, but he stopped her. "He’ll be fine, Mac." She touched his chest through the ruined fatigue jacket and shirt. "How?" "It’s easy to explain, Sarah, only you wouldn’t understand it. The glove enhances Hannah’s already remarkable skills. By ‘thinking’ – for want of a better term – Hannah repairs the damage, the glove is just a ‘tool’ if you will." Olsen settled into a deep overstuffed chair. "Mr. Skinner. Please, sit down. I’m sure that Dana is tired." "I’m fine." But Skinner could hear her exhaustion. He sat in another chair and pulled her into his lap. Instead of struggling, Dana curled up and laid her head on his shoulder. "Ah, I thought she would rest. She was only drained a little by the process." Hannah led a rather dazed Clayton Webb back into the room. Still clutching his glass, he moved to a straight back chair and sat next to Mulder. They watched as he suddenly shuddered awake again and greedily finished the drink. "Drained?" Skinner snarled, but Dana wrapped her arm around his neck. "I’m fine. It was incredibly remarkable." She smiled at AJ and he suddenly remembered. Remembered her coming up to him as he lay dying on the floor. She had touched him and he felt a spark pass between them. "That’s why you helped me." He whispered. "Something that Scully was doing…" Hannah shook her head. "I just used Dana to keep you alive until I could get there. I only used a little of her life force. Nothing that would hurt her, or the baby." "What!" Skinner and Scully cried in unison. "Oh dear. It’s too early for you to know on your own." Hannah sighed but then smiled at the incredulous looks. Returning her benign look to AJ and Sarah, she continued. "I knew that if you died there would be people that would break through our mind barriers to find you. We don’t know why Mr. Webb was unaffected." He looked at Hannah with a raised eyebrow, "The cancer?" Hannah just shrugged and shook her head slightly. Mulder finally spoke up. "What are you? Aliens? Robots? Gods?" He finished in a whisper. Olsen laughed. "Gods? As in ‘Our Father who art in the mountain?’ or…" He glanced at his diminutive companion, "… ‘Hail, Irving, full of mischief’…No Mr. Mulder, not Gods, or robots. Aliens? If by that, you mean beings that didn’t spring from the primordial muck as this planet was formed then yes, we are aliens. Just like you." He waited while AJ suddenly stood up, walked to the bar and poured three stiff shots of the scotch and carried them to Skinner and Mulder. "You want another, Webb?" Webb still appeared slightly dazed, but he shook his head. "No, I…later, maybe.". "Mac, honey. You want something?" "Just you to sit back down next to me." She still wasn’t sure she was awake or not. It certainly had a dream quality about it. When they were settled again, Olsen continued. "Like the Doridians, those you call the grays, we also colonized this planet, only we came later, much later." Our people, like the Doridians, have been in space for millenniums untold. But we found that our form, your form was best suited to planets you call Class "M" planets. Doridians like to play, letting their DNA combine with established species. Only our two species don’t mix well. They are finding that out." Skinner spoke up. "Smith said that they didn’t know who you were." "Smith was correct after a fashion. The commander of the colonizing ship above us now, the ship where you, Dana, and you, Fox, were taken wasn’t aware of our existence. However, we have been in contact with the Doridian home world." "Smith said they didn’t know their home world." Dana sat up, but Skinner still held her tight around the waist. Olsen snorted. "Nonsense. Of course, Mr. Smith was not the most stable of Doridians; evidently he was apt to go off half-cocked and was not prepared to accept the consequences of his actions. I’m afraid that he paid rather heavily for that failure." As he spoke, his gaze settled on Mulder. "Mr. Smith was full of guilt about things he had no control over. When he stepped outside the boundaries of his talents, he was ill equipped to handle Commander Rabb’s insecurities. Smith had no way of knowing that Rabb would have eventually snapped out of it, buried the memories of his loss with his other losses and gone on." Olsen sighed. "Now, Mrs. Rabb has to deal with emotions that she knows in her heart are not real." "So what the hell are you?" Mulder whined plaintively. Scully shot him an exasperated glance but Olsen laughed softly. "What term should I use, Fox? Watchers? Guardians?" "But you’ve been alive for 10,000 years?" "Good heavens no!" Three voices objected. "I said long-lived, Fox, not immortal. There have been Monitors on this planet since the first colonists arrived. Our kind was sent with them to help in times of crisis, but to avoid interfering with the natural progression and evolution. The colonists only brought enough technology to keep them alive until they could acclimate to this new world. None of that was industrial, only biological, which is why there is no record left of our landing. Monitors were and are trained to allow their brains to reach out and grow. Lord knows, we have enough time." "Don’t you get awfully inbred?" Dana asked curiously. "No. We seldom breed at all anymore. For nearly three thousand years Monitors have been chosen from the populace. Altering the basic genetic code to increase their life span is easily done. We do it not so much as an inducement, though of course it is one, but to allow full training to take place." He glanced at Irving. "It takes a very long time to weed out the natural, shall we say, enthusiasms of some of our novices. We pick our candidates carefully." "So you travel in space?" Mulder asked excitedly. Dana turned her attention from Skinner to stare at her former partner and dearest friend. "No, Fox." Olsen admonished gently. "Oh, a few have. But not often. No, we live to serve, to help. But, in oblique ways. Seldom in such overt ways as we have now." "Overt! Help!" Webb snarled and stood up. "You call this helping? How many millions of people have died? Could you have helped? You saved AJ’s life? Why aren’t you out there saving the poor sons-of-bitches that didn’t have the good fortune of crashing your damn party? Or did you save him to offer him a spot on the team?" He finished bitterly. "Webb!" Mac stood and went to him. "Clay?" He turned away from her and stalked to the liquor cabinet. "Go away, Mac. Maybe they will take you both." "Clayton." Hannah came to stand beside him. "Tell me something." "What?" He took a long drink of the scotch before meeting her gaze. "Do you want to forget? Like Commander Rabb? Forget all that you did out of kindness? Forget all the bravery and suffering and death that you witnessed? I can do it for you. But I don’t think that’s what you want. I’m not sure about Commander Rabb, but do you think, given the choice, he would have allowed Smith to remove his memories. Pain is what makes the pleasure so wonderful." "How the hell would you know?" He pointed at Olsen. "He said you didn’t breed." "He said we didn’t have children, Clayton." She arched an eyebrow at him and he saw the beautiful woman she had been at one time, shining out from the gray eyes that suddenly blazed with life. "As for pain? I would think you, of anyone in this room besides Walter, would understand the pain of having to stand and watch helplessly as people die." Webb closed his eyes at the memories of the past week. He felt her gentle touch. "So, would you have me remove those memories?" "No," he whispered. He opened his eyes to hers and asked. "Is there anything you can do for Rabb?" "I think poor Mr. Rabb has been toyed with enough, don’t you think? Besides, Mr. Smith may not have absorbed all the memories. Memories are a funny thing. He will need friends to be there for him. His wife will need to be strong." AJ leaned back into the sofa, resting his arm around Mac’s shoulder. "So? Is Webb right? Is that why you saved me?" Olsen shook his head. "No, Admiral. You are a brave man. You would die for God, Country and Colonel MacKenzie. But you are set in your ways. Very stubborn." Webb and Skinner snorted. Mac snuggled closer in his embrace. "You must understand. We choose carefully. Choose people that can blend into situations when they must go out into the world and join those that we help." "Spy on, you mean." Mulder insisted. "Not really. At least not from their stand point. Oh, we all go out and meddle occasionally." He smiled at Sarah. "Irving felt that you weren’t expanding fasting enough into the lovely little town we built for you. He decided to help you see the need." Irving smiled shyly at Mac but AJ’s glare kept him quiet. Olsen continued. "Others go out with specific missions based on our projections on how people will react. We also need detailed information about people who are working against the human race and our senses can only stretch so far. Mechanical devices are always faulty." He sighed. "Of course, humans, even with our advanced powers, even with our built-in safe guards, are still fragile." He saw Mulder’s startled look. "We ARE human, Mulder. We have advanced powers and we have remarkable healing abilities. Many a myth has grown around our interferences, I’m afraid. Fairies, ogres, vampires, even." He returned his explanation to the group, all of who, even Webb were leaning forward to catch his every word. "The agents we send go out on such long term missions go with their own memories blocked. Try as we might, when faced with atrocities, most of us would do the ‘human’ thing and try and interfere and often the effects of that are worse than the original. We use our agents as…" He seemed to fumble for a word. "…long-range satellites. We send our thoughts out to them, see the situation through their eyes, and make subliminal suggestions." His look of pain touched them all. When they return, if they return, they remember everything they did or didn’t do. It takes many years sometimes to come to terms with their own involvement when it has caused suffering to the very people they were sent out to protect." "Then why did you save my life?" AJ insisted. "Do you think that I lie, Admiral? I told you why? We are not monsters. Hannah was faced with the prospect of watching you die at her feet. And, Mr. Webb before you start again, we cannot save everyone. The process by which Hannah, and I to a certain extent, heals, is draining. And besides, it’s against our rules – our mandate." "You have a lot of rules?" Mulder whispered. "Oh lots and lots of rules, Fox. But you’ll get used to them." Olsen smiled knowingly. "Wait just a God damn minute!" Skinner lifted Dana to her feet. She rushed to Mulder and Skinner came to stand and glare down at Olsen. "You think you can just pick one of us." "No, Skinner." Mulder stood up and glanced between Scully and Skinner. The only two people left on earth he could call true friends. "He knows it’s what I want." "Oh God. Mulder!" Scully groaned. "I don’t think this is something you can leave when you get bored with it." "Bored! Scully, how can I get bored?" He gently put his hands on her shoulders. "Scully, don’t you see? I’ve got nothing here. They took everything away from me. Maybe it was for the best, I don’t know. But this is…this is good." "How the hell can you say that?" Scully stormed, tears in her eyes. She looked at Skinner pleading, ‘do something.’ "Why anyone of us?" Skinner turned his attention back to Olsen. "I don’t know anything about you of course, but none of you look particularly old." "Oh we aren’t, Mr. Skinner. I’m only 300 years old. Irving here is a baby, born just 150 years ago. Hannah is 400." He smiled fondly and whispered, "A very young 400 I might add. But we have lost three members – two were killed in the attacks, one to age." He sighed. We have to bring in our roving member because of it. Luckily, her mission is over, though I fear her readjustment period will be painful." "Why?" Dana came to stand next to Walter, worming her way under his arm. He rested his hand around her. "Because, we remember everything, Dana. Once the restrictions are lifted, we remember everything we did, everyone we loved, everyone we have to leave behind." The gentle voice behind them sighed. Skinner gripped Dana tightly and together they turned to face Monica Reyes. Tears were in her eyes as she stood there facing them. Home :: cross-overs Index :: e-mail |