He was about to stand up when the woman above him swung her legs over the edge of her rack and slipped down to the floor. Chambers opened the hatch and slipped outside.

The young IV didn't know what to do. McQueen had not given him explicit orders to keep an eye on her and yet he felt as if he should follow her. He stood up and noticed that Nathan had left his bunk as well.

"I heard her crying," Nathan said apologetically and shrugged his shoulders. "I guess we should follow her.

Cooper nodded and both Marines went outside. On the corridor there was no trace of Chambers and the men split up. Nathan heading for the tavern whereas Cooper headed for the flightdeck.

Only the occasional emergency light was giving off a yellowish glow and was leading him the way. When he approached the flightdeck Cooper saw that someone was sitting in the shadows of the hatch and when he came nearer he saw it was Chambers.

"Hi," he said as he squatted down beside her.

"Hello," Chambers answered and wiped her eyes awkwardly.

"I think I'm a bit nervous about the patrol flight tomorrow. It's childish I know, but this THING ..." she pointed towards the cockpit to emphasise her words. "...gives me the creeps!"

"The LIDAR needs a lil' get used to it but everything else is history ..." Cooper replied and lent back against the metal wall. He didn't know why she had lied him, even he could see her pudgy face.

"I, uh, I heard you crying ... and I kinda thought you might need someone to talk ..." he said and watched her.

Megan lowered her lids and blushed.

"I'm sorry," she said. "I didn't want to wake you ..."

"You didn't. I kinda thought that Shane was having one of her nightmares again ... Do you have bad dreams?" he inquired shyly.

Meg nodded to that and gnawed at her lower lip.

Everytime she closed her eyes she was caught in those dreadful days again when she and her old squadron had fought for their lives.

"In my dreams I see my old squad-mates again," she suddenly blurted out and she inhaled deeply. "I keep thinking that if I had been a better CO they would still be alive..."

She swallowed hard but try as she might she couldn't suppress her tears any longer. She rubbed at the tears angrily which ran down her cheeks and for a moment Cooper was confused. He knew that the NBs offered comfort in those situations but he didn't know what to do. Awkwardly, he put an arm around her shoulders and as soon as he had made physical contact, Megan turned in his arm and buried her face against his chest.

Cooper stiffened for a moment in confusion but then he hugged her to himself and petted her shyly on her shoulder and cheek.

It felt good to hold her in his arms and that turned him into more confusion. It felt right, as if she had been born to fit snugly in his arms and for a moment he had to steady his breathing.

Cooper held her until her sobs died down and even after she had sat up again, he was reluctant to let go of her.

"You alright?" he asked hoarsely and searched her face.

"Ta, I'm fine," Megan answered and avoided his eyes. She felt embarrassed that he had witnessed her tears. But she had enjoyed his comfort and compassion but it had made her vulnerable.

"Thank you again, Lieutenant Cooper Hawkes of the USMC!" Meg tried to tease and grinned at him but her smile faltered as he saw the frown on his face.

"What's wrong?" she asked.

"Why are you doing this?" Cooper asked in confusion. "One minute you, uh, cry your heart out and the next you're teasing ...?"

Megan sat up and knitted her knuckles together nervously. How should she make him understand that she felt embarrassed? She had lost part of her family and she knew that In-Vitroes could not could not relate to family and bonds of friendship so easily.

"If people think that they have made themselves vulnerable they tend to make fun of it, especially if they lose their grab on reality in the arms of a perfect stranger," she started to explain. "So people make fun of those things so that it will not seem so important. It's like having a noose around your neck, if you think that people can hurt you ..."

Cooper squeezed his eyes shut and nodded. He knew from own experience how it felt to be vulnerable.

"I guess I know what you mean," he whispered. "I ... uh, I had a noose around my neck once ..." Cooper murmured and when he saw the appalled look on her face, he withdrew his arm and straightened himself.

"What happened?" Meg asked with honest interest.

"I ... uh ... these guys wanna see me swing ..." he stammered, feeling his face growing hot all of a sudden when she put her hand on his arm.

Man, what was wrong with him? He was used to the occasional pet from his friends, even from 'Phousse and Shane. But when he had held her in his arms other emotions had flooded his mind and now, as she touched him, he felt nervous all of a sudden.

Think of her as a friend! Yeah, think of her just another one like Shane and 'Phousse. Even better think of her as McQueen's niece!

Cooper clenched his teeth. It was no good!

"I'm sorry, Coop," he heard her say and when he turned his head to face her again, he could see real concern in her eyes. "Being a child of an In-Vitro you think you get used to the humiliation but it always shocks me again and again," she shrugged her shoulders and when she returned her gaze to the young Marines' face she was surprised to see so much raw emotion in his eyes. Over the years she had seen that same look over and over again in the eyes of her father, and sometimes even in McQueen's. The same anger, rage and hurt had also been found in the faces of the young pilots of the seven-two.

She closed her eyes for a moment and tried to push back the memories of her old squad.

When would the hurt stop? she asked herself. When would she be able to forget the frightened look of James Woolfe, hanging on to her for dear life, as he bled to death on moon 3446-Delta, better known as Acheron?

"So much hurt," she whispered as she looked up at him again. She reached out and traced his jaw with her fingers, a gesture harking back to that fateful week on the god-forsaken moon.

Cooper closed his eyes and swallowed hard.

Think of McQueen yelling at ya! he reminded himself but to no good use. Chambers' butterfly touches on his skin made him feel edgy and nervous.

Not that he was as innocent as some people wanted to believe. He knew the basics of sex pretty well, being accurate about rating the nervousness he felt for what it was: basic sexual need! But he had escaped from the gestation facility before he gotta know anything about the love stuff and that didn't help a lot tonight.

Megan sensed his inner struggles but she was oblivious to the fact that she was the cause of it. Being the child of an In-Vitro she had come to know the hatred of natural born humans against In-Vitroes first hand.

"I wish there would be a cure to take away the pain and the humiliation," she said and as she realised what she was doing, caressing a man she had only known for two days, she pulled her hand away.

Hawkes acted purely on instinct then.

To hell with his stupid resistance to withstand this woman any longer. He bent forward and put his lips on her mouth.

Cooper was surprised that she didn't pull away from him immediately. He had been kissing a lot of women over the few years he'd been alive, or trying to kiss anyway. Even Shane had been one of his victims once. But it never had felt this good, this special.

At first Meg was scared about this sudden change of things but after a while she yielded to the hard crush of his mouth by softening her own lips, opening them as an invitation. Cooper soon found out that it even felt better if he took his time. Instead of thrusting his tongue into her mouth, he started dipping into the warm hollow with the tip of his tongue, teasing and tasting her.

And man, she tasted good! Better than anything he had ever known. He liked that! He liked that a lot!

Hawkes pushed forward slightly and put his arms around her shoulders tentatively.

He wanted to taste more of her! Wanted to ... SHIT! He was doing it again. Will you ever learn, you stupid tank?!

He pulled away from her and then he realised that he had held his breath. He forced great gulps of air into his starved lungs and sat back on his heels. Megan had slumped against the wall and tried to steady her racing heartbeat.

Lord, she thought. What was she doing? One moment she was thinking about her old squad and the next she was almost having a little tumble with the Lieutenant.

She should reprimand him, she knew that, but try as she might she couldn't come up with one good reason why she should be angry with Hawkes. In fact she had enjoyed his kisses more than she was ready to admit. For the first time in many months she felt alive again and she cherished this feeling.

For a long time they were silent but when Cooper looked up, noticing Meg's bruised lips, he knew he had hurt her.

Stupid, bloody tank! He could count himself lucky if she didn't report him to McQueen!

"I'm sorry," he whispered hoarsely. "I kinda got carried away ..." he knew it sounded like a lame excuse and he braced himself for the bragging which was about to rain down on him. The last time he had done this little stunt, Shane had almost flagged him.

"No harm done," Meg said shakily and stood up. Cooper looked at her bewildered, then shook his head.

"What do ya mean?"

"I mean, Coop," she said, squatting down in front of him. "Don't apologise for something we both enjoyed and needed!" As she raised to her feet she extended her hand and pulled Cooper to his feet.

"But next time you better ask first before you kiss a woman ..."

Both pilots didn't notice the Marine hiding quickly into the shadows of the flightdeck hatch as they went down the corridor.

Nathan closed his eyes for a moment. He hadn't wanted to eavesdrop, he had just happened to pass by, searching both Cooper and Chambers.

When he had noticed them it had been too late to retreat silently and he had hid in the corners. Witnessing their romantic encounter had torn something apart in him, thinking of Kylen, and yet he had somehow felt relieved that Coop got a taste of love at last.

I just hope he doesn't screw it! Nathan thought but he couldn't laugh about the pun.

At 0600 hours sharp the following morning both squadrons met in the briefing room of the Saratoga. Cdr. Ross entered the room, carrying several holodisks with him and after he had told them about the patrol mission, he showed them their assigned OP area on the holoscreen. The squadrons gave a united moan when they saw that their patrol flight would lead them deep into enemy territory. After the briefing had ended, McQueen stepped in front of them, eyeing each pilot closely.

"O.k., listen up! I know that it is always hard to get acquainted with both new jets and wingmen but as attack jet pilots you know that you have to count on your comrades. Animosity and petty fights have to be left onboard here otherwise you and your friends will be dead within the hour!" He shot Urquhart a cold stare.

"So, if you want to behave like little kids remember that your ass and that of your wingman is at stake ..."

After McQueen had left the room, Mullen, Parsons and Firth came over to Chambers.

"Ma'am, do you have any more orders for us?" Firth inquired. The British pilots stood to attention in front of the young Flight Lieutenant and it was clear that from now on they would not doubt their senior officer's command any longer.

"Yes, Lieutenants," Chambers said somewhat bewildered. "Watch your six and good flight!"

Together with the Marines they left for the flight deck where the technicians were busy preparing the jets. After they had reassured themselves that the technicians had checked everything, they made their way to their quarters where they donned on their flight gear.

It always was an impressive sight when the Hammerheads left their lair. But when McQueen watched the departure of the two squadrons, he was enchanted by the sheer beauty of it, as if he saw such a departure for the very first time. Cdr. Ross who had stepped beside him, watched as the thrusters grew smaller and smaller before they vanished into space.

"They seem to form a gung-ho," he commented and McQueen nodded.

"You must be proud of Meg ..."

"Yes," McQueen replied. "And I'm proud of the Wild Cards ... They are the best!"

"Even better than the Angry Angels?" Ross asked, knowing that McQueen was once part of the famous elite squad.

"Yes, better than that!" the Colonel replied.

The two squadrons loosely formed an arrow formation as they headed for the patrol co-ordinates. Shane turned her head slowly after she had checked her HUD. The RAF pilots formed a perfect angle with the Wild Cards, her own and Meg Chambers' jet at the tip of the formation. They had reached the patrol co-ordinates near planet Crom, 650 megastatute-kilometres away from the Saratoga.

For the umpteenth time she wondered about the beauty and stillness of space as she admired the illuminated green side of the planet. Everything looked peaceful from up here and yet she knew from the briefing that the planet was in fact a Chig base. Shane sighed softly and directed her gaze to her HUD again.

"Storm Leader, Queen of Diamonds speaking, check your six, eight and ten. No bogeys so far..." Shane said over the intercom.

"Affirmative, Queen of Diamonds. Six, eight and ten all clear!" Meg replied when she noticed a strange signal on her LIDAR. "Wait a sec, I got some bogey on ten o'clock ..."

"Confirm," Firth replied. "A recon-vehicle... thirty-four degrees south!"

"I can't see him ..." Parsons cried into her com, sounding more excited than afraid. "LIDAR's blank ..."

"Wrong freq, Storm Two," Wang interrupted. "Switch to four-forty on the LIDAR!"

"Queen of Diamonds, Jack'o'Spades," Cooper said over the com. "Got another bandit on eight, seven, six ... they have locked on!"

"Confirmed, Jack of Spades," Shane answered. "Storm Leader, Storm Wing, assume diamond formation. Let's hack!"

She watched as the RAF pilots banked right then went into a full-throttle raise in perfect synchrony. She had to admit that these pilots were good. The young Marine checked her LIDAR again and noticed that fourteen Chig jets were quickly advancing towards them.

Meg watched as her wing followed her and once the NAV system indicated that she had reached the new angle, she cut speed by one quarter and levelled off to probe her HUD. The reason for this manoeuvre was to confuse the Alien crafts, while splitting up the two squadrons seemed an easy prey for the Aliens. Chambers and her wing should ambush the Chigs, trailing above while the Wild Cards baited them.

Meg still had difficulties with the unfamiliar jet but she checked everything double to be on the safe side. She smirked when she noticed that she was looking for the com-button on the wrong side of her displays.

"Queen of Diamonds, Storm Leader speaking, have assumed twelve o'clock high," Chambers said over the intercom. "Don't think the bandits have picked up the ... bait..." the Flight Lieutenant dodged the oncoming attack jet.

"Copy, Storm Leader, YOU have baited them!" Shane announced over the com, her voice having a definite edge to it.

"Wild Cards confirm ... Let's light the pipes we're going in hot!" The Wild Cards made a dive into full-throttle, diving low beneath the Storm wing to the rear of the attacking Aliens.

"Hey, listen up, guys. Two points for every Chiggy," Damphousse announced as her HUD locked onto one of the Alien crafts and she switched on her weaponry.

"That's unfair, 'Phousse," Wang complained. "Then I've to buy Coop his drinks!"

Nathan watched his digital readouts and sighed through the intercom.

"C'mon," he groaned as he waited that the readouts of his weaponry gave him the armed and ready sign.

WEAPON SYSTEM: ARMED.

Cooper switched on the fourth button of his weaponry.

PROXIMITY GUNS: ARMED AND READY.

"I'm going in," he announced over the com and Wang confirmed.

"Right 'ho, Coop, I'm with ya!"

They maxed their thrusters and the Hammerheads rocked them both into their seats.

Suddenly, eager on their prey both squadrons turned around and ten Hammerheads were criss-crossing between the Alien jets.

After Nathan had jinxed and shot down an oncoming Alien jet he watched as Chambers was relentlessly tracking one craft. It seemed as if she was playing with the Chiggy fighter like a cat with a mouse. He shook his head in wonder when she finally locked onto the fighter and gave away to a volley of bursts and the fighter turned into a exploding orb of scorched metal and fire. It seemed as if she was oblivious to the fact that they were in the middle of a battle. Chambers had locked onto yet another Chig fighter when she suddenly heard the warning on her intercom.

"Storm Leader, watch your twelve, bandit's moving in ..." she heard Firth saying. "Can't get a lock on, Chambers, I might hit you!"

"Roger that, Storm Three," Shane said as she shot down an Alien craft. "Storm Leader, try to nose-dive it ..."

"Trying, Queen of Diamonds, but he's jamming my LIDAR;" Chambers replied. "I cannot shake him off ..."

"THERE..." Wang announced as laser fire blazed from his ship and struck one of Chambers tracers. "HOO-RAH!"

"You been taking lessons from Coop?" Vanessa asked as she herself shot down one.

"Pure luck, Wang! I never knew you'd do anything to avoid buying Coop a drink," Nathan cut in and looked for Coop's jet.

Cooper's Hammerhead sliced across the second jet at Chambers tail. He tried to pry him off Chambers but the Alien kept on following her.

Cooper's head jerked around as he tried to follow Meg's jet with his eyes. She made a steep rise to shake the Chiggy off, turning the craft to a full 360 degree circle. With her dare-devil manoeuvre she had jinxed the tracers and she now turned on them. He had seen that kind of manoeuvre before when they had almost been turned in by the gun-nests.

Boy, she's a hell of a pilot, he thought, echoing Wang's words back on Nox. And a hell of a woman, he added. Last night he had been unable to sleep after they had turned in. He had thought that she would yell at him for kissing her but she had remained calm, even telling him that she had enjoyed it. Why was it so difficult to understand the way of humans, he asked himself again for the thousands' time in his short six years of living.

"Wow! Good shot, Chambers!" Nathan was yelling over the com when she had shot down another Chig. "I think Hawkes has found his master at last! He'll probably dare you for a VR-shootout."

"Don't stake a bet on me, West," Chambers said. "I'm a fighter pilot not a Marine. The last time I had sniper training was in HIST!"

"You kiddin'?" Cooper growled over the com when he heard her cry out suddenly. Both, Wild Cards and the Storm Wing watched as Chambers' Hammerhead was hit by a blaze of laser fire.

"Shit, the Chigs got her," Vanessa cried.

"Negative, Ace of Hearts, that was one of us," Susan Parsons announced. "Urquhart's going mad ..."

"Storm One, report!" Shane demanded angrily but the intercom remained silent from Urquhart.

"You stupid son of a bitch," Firth hissed. "You get us all killed!"

"Shut up, Storm Three," Chambers' voice sounded strained over the intercom. "Watch your six!"

"Damage report, Storm Leader," Cooper identified breathlessly, he had dropped in behind Chambers, covering her tail soon after he had seen Meg's jet going off in a blaze. His heart still pounded heavily and he took in a deep breath to steady himself.

"HUD's gone and my propulsion is jammed!" Meg answered wearily. "Can't get enough power ..." She hit the digitals with her gloved fist but the readouts remained dead. She squeezed her eyes shut for a moment to chase away the dizziness and tried to restart her propulsions. The Hammerhead rocked forward and she braced herself for the familiar impact of the thrusters going off. Nothing happened, the databars telling her that the propulsions were malfunctioning.

Great, she thought and squinted her eyes against something running down her forehead and cheek. Through the reflection on the Plexiglas rebreather of her helmet she could see that the sticky, warm liquid was in fact her blood. She tried to focus her thoughts on what it meant but somehow she couldn't. Suddenly, laughter rose in her throat. She had seen it coming all along those passed three months and the realisation that she would join her dead crew-men at last made her light-headed.

Black circles appeared in front of her eyes and she tried to raise the others over her com. Ever so slowly she raised her hand to push the button but as she tried to reach out, black unconsciousness engulfed her and her head fell back against the Plexiglas pane of her canopy.

The other pilots could see that her Hammerhead was rocking to and fro and Wang squinted his eyes at the sight of the damaged Hammerhead.

"Stay clear, Storm Leader," Wang announced, knowing full well that without full energy on the propulsions she was not able to escape any Chigs.

The remaining Hammerheads turned on the Chigs and after some more mikes, they had shot most of them down and the others had retreated.

All the while Urquhart had stayed out of the fight, keeping clear. When Shane asked for the damage reports, he announced that his com had been jinxed but no-one believed him. As they got back into arrow formation, Nathan noticed that Chambers' jet trailed behind, buckling like a young filly.

"Storm Leader, King of Hearts here, do you need any help?" he inquired and he cut back his speed to go alongside her craft. He did not get any reply and when he turned towards her Hammerhead, he could see that her helmeted head had lolled back against the cockpit window.

"Storm Leader, confirm!" he demanded again but still there was no reply.

"Flight Lieutenant, do you copy?" Mullen asked, clearing his throat.

"Storm Leader, here Queen of Diamonds, report your status!" Shane asked, her voice full of concern. The pilots waited, straining their ears to receive any message from Chambers' intercom.

"Meg, do you hear me?" Hawkes inquired as he dropped his jet to the other side of her Hammerhead. "Get your ass over the com or I report to McQueen you've been taking a nap ..."

A groan was the only answer to his challenge and Wang who had tailed Meg's jet, cursed beneath his breath.

"Joker speaking, Chambers' got severe damage to the hood. Either her intercom is smashed or ..." his voice trailed away.

They all knew what this meant. If the hood of the cockpit was damaged she could be low on oxygen and unconscious. Vanessa who had stayed on Chambers' six and Cooper swapped places, rolling over each others hoods in perfect synchrony and Cooper set low above Chambers' Hammerhead.

"Does anyone know about the emergency procedures?" he inquired.

"Affirmative, Jack of Spades," Firth announced over the intercom. "We have to track her in. Parsons, can you find something Coop can lock on?"

"On the top laser guns," Parsons said. "But you'll probably ruin your lower lasers when you lock on. But there's no other way ..."

"Shane?" Cooper asked.

"Copy, Coop," she answered. "We'll back you up ..."

"Positive," Nathan and Wang announced in unison. Slowly, they edged their way towards the damaged Hammerhead, their wings almost touching the damaged jet. The Storm wing covered them, only Urquhart trailing behind.

Cooper slowly cut his speed and dropped towards Chambers. It was a dangerous task to lock onto her Hammerhead while the others were so close at hand and if he did not fly at a precise angle, he would risk not only Chambers' and his own life but also the ones of his squadron.

But given the choice no-one was better acquainted of hitting a target first time around as himself. Except perhaps for Chambers.

He drew in his breath and for once he wished that the flightsuit he was wearing would not regulate his body temperature so easily. He felt the shudder of his jet as his lower lasergun scraped against the metal of Meg's hood, ever so slowly he felt for some nooks and when her laserguns caught with his own, he gave a sigh of relief.

Almost home, he thought as he slowly pulled up, firing his throttle and when he felt that he was locked to Chambers' jet, he pulled away from his squadron.

"HOO-RAH", the Marines shouted over their intercoms.

"Copy, Wild Cards, let's head home!" Cooper said and concentrated on the LIDAR.

The navigators on the Saratoga were surprised when they saw the double-decker Hammerheads on their NAVs. McQueen and Ross headed for the flight deck, checking their intercoms.

"Wild Cards, Queen Six, what happened?" McQueen inquired.

"Queen Six, here Wild Cards. Flight Lieutenant Chambers was hit by friendly fire during combat," Shane informed.

"Friendly fire?" McQueen asked hoarsely.

"Affirmative, Sir," she replied. McQueen and Ross exchanged a glance wit each other and the Commodore frowned.

"Sir, Flight Lieutenant Chambers is unconscious, can't raise her on the com. Request immediate medical care," Cooper announced.

"I'm dislodging now.", he put the propulsion into reverse and the second Hammerhead gently glided into the flight deck on its own.

As soon as the cockpits were disconnected from the jets and appeared in the pits, Cooper took off his helmet and switched off the digitals. His canopy slid back and he was out in a flash. Urquhart's cockpit had been raised in the row in front of him and before the pilot could leave the cockpit, Hawkes pulled him from it and punched him hard into his stomach.

<"You son of a bitch, you did that on purpose!" he shouted, landing one more blow.

"You bloody tanks!" Urquhart hissed, wiping off blood from his bleeding nose. "You're all the same. You should have been all killed before decanting ..."

Blinding rage swept over Cooper and he threw himself onto Urquhart. He wanted to kill this bastard real slow for what he had done to Chambers. Hawkes grabbed the pilot by his flightsuitcollar, unable to control the rage sweeping through his body, cutting off his mind.

"Bad choice for a man's last words, Urquhart. This tank's gonna kill ya!"

McQueen had rushed forward to Hawkes and Urquhart.

"Hawkes!" he shouted, yanking him off the RAF pilot.

"What's this all about?"

When Cooper stumbled a step backward, he felt a soothing hand on his arm and when he turned he saw Nathan standing behind him.

"Sir, Urquhart was the one who hit Chambers," Nathan replied and eight pilots nodded in unison.

"Sir, I saw that Urquhart engaged on purpose on the Flight Lieutenant's craft, Sir," Firth stated firmly. "The Flight Lieutenant was tailed by two Chigs and Wang shot one while we were prying the second off her back. She made a perfect clearing manoeuvre when suddenly Urquhart opened fire on her. There were no enemy jets in his field of vision ..."

"Sir, I can explain ..." Urquhart whined.

"EXPLAIN?" McQueen shouted. "There is nothing you can explain, Lieutenant! If it's true what your wingmen are telling, you have deliberately risked your CO's life ..."

"A tankbrat ..." Urquhart started but was stopped with a perfect blow on his jaw. Urquhart toppled over just as McQueen wiped off his hand on his flightsuit in disgust.

He nodded towards an MP guard and they took the young officer away. When he followed the gazes of the pilots, he saw that the medics were pulling Chambers from her cockpit. She was still unconscious and the medics took off her helmet and dropped it to the floor.

When McQueen came over, he could see the damage on the hood and canopy. The laser had not only hit the top half of the cockpit but the sides, too. There was also major damage to the inside of the cockpit and as he picked up Meg's helmet he noticed that it was scorched as well.

The remaining pilots stood silently as the medics wheeled the Flight Lieutenant quickly away and watched as McQueen followed them to the ER unit.

"McQueen will kill Urquhart if something happens to Chambers ..." Wang whispered.

"Not if Coop gets at him first," Nathan replied and nodded towards Hawkes who stared after the medics, his jaws firmly set.

Previous: Last Chapters

Back: Return to General Fiction