Second Chance

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CHAPTER 10

Opening Act
Loyalties are shattered.

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Scott cursed as he thought of Marlene. He could not forget how she starred at him and Kelly wide-eyed from the frame of his door. Tears covered her shocked face. A moment of weakness and he had destroyed the one he loved the most.

After the fact, he scrambled to get his clothes back on and ran after her half dressed. He completely forgot about Kelly while ignoring the curious looks he got in the hallway.

From the start he knew it was a stupid move to chase after Marlene, but he did it anyway. He had to do something. He called her name, but she did not answer. When he finally reached her, he grabbed her by the arm to halt her escape. In turn, he received an unforgiving slap on the face.

They stood opposite to each other. She cried silently without looking at him. “Feel better now?” he asked regretting it instantly, but he had re-ignited her anger already. She closed her eyes to stop the tears. “I am sorry…” he started to say.

“Sera’s been captured,” she said freeing her arm from his hold and leaving him in the middle of the hallway, astonished. An Invid blast at that precise moment would have been a welcome relief. He hated himself.

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“What?” asked the blond woman taken by surprise.

“Exactly what I said, Rook. Sera's caught; the South-American getaway plan is over. Kaput!” answered the red-haired man.

“And Lancer wants us to steal a plane to smuggle Sera out of prison? He completely lost it!” she said bewildered.

“Yeap. And he wants us to help with the break in too,” he added.

“What does Scott say about all this?” she asked.

“Well… not much, really. Let’s just say him and the group are not in speaking terms right now,” Rand said.

“What the hell happened?” she asked frowning. Rand did not answer. “Let it out, Rand,” she menaced. He only sighed. “You aren’t gonna tell me, are you?” she poked him.

“I think we better hear the whole story when we get there,” he answered. They exchanged looks.

“We better get moving if we want to make it for the morning,” she declared.

“Still know how to ride a bike, darling?” he teased her.

“Better than you ever handled yours, dear,” Rook replied.

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Broken and lonely, she sobbed softly. She sat still on the same couch where she forgave him once. She set her puffy eyes on the sky behind the windows. The dusk tones made it peaceful but also cold; like his eyes. She took a deep breath and thought she had no more tears left inside, she had cried all night. But she was fooling herself; as soon as she remembered what happened, the warm streams flowed again.

She had found Scott with another woman. She wished she could hate him. Yet, she could not bring herself to hate; not him, not even her.

“No change?” asked Annie looking at Marlene from the hallway at Lancer’s home.

“She hasn’t moved,” answered Lunk.

“I think she’s not crying anymore,” whispered the girl. “What a bastard! I hate him!” she added upset. “I’m gonna cry now.”

“Just let me get my hands on him!” said Lunk enraged.

“Get in line,” let out the angry teenager.

Marlene’s world had crumbled down. In one second, Scott crushed her faith in human love. His actions showed they did not share the feeling as she had come to know and understand it. “Love's supposed to be loyal, isn’t it?” she wondered. Maybe he never really loved her. She was just an alien who reminded him of his dead fiancée. That other woman was, well, human. She could not beat that.

More than ever now, in her heart Marlene felt human, and it ached. Not like a mental sorrow; it physically hurt. But it had started fading away. Slowly, plain numbness poured in its place.

It did not matter anymore. The Regiss was coming to claim her children back away from Earth. Individual desires would be dashed and drowned inevitably into the collective will of the Invid. They would rise to join the queen mother and will never look back at this corrupt world. That was the Regiss’ condition to take them back. All her children or none, she had said.

“Oh, Lancer!” Marlene thought sadly. He went berserk when he learnt all that had happened. He would not accept loosing Sera. She thought of Scott. He too was lost to her now.

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Kelly did not linger in his quarters after he left. She wanted to explore his things and his space, but instead she dressed up and left. After what happened between them, she was unsure of what to think of him chasing behind the nurse. She stepped out and heard him calling the nurse’s name, “Marlene.” She followed them from a distance. She watched her planting an angry slap on his cheek. “How dares she!” she thought upset; but then, she noted that it only worked in her favor. Chances were that Marlene would never forgive him.

Kelly felt good. She had finally taken him. And by pure luck, swooshed away the whiny little nurse. However, her happiness was not complete, she noted bitterly that Scott harbored strong feelings for that red head. But still, Kelly cheered up. She would take care of making the Captain forget. She felt that she could do anything at that moment and she smiled.

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He stumbled to the ground after Lancer’s fist encountered his jaw. His lip bled profusely. Scott did not fight back aware of deserving it and of Lancer’s state of mind. Unusually for this occasion, Rand seemed calm and held the singer tightly before he could take another angry shot at the fallen soldier. The events had driven everyone over the edge.

“How could you do that, Scott?” asked Rand perplexed.

“You told me you wouldn’t hurt her! Why? Damn it!” said the normally mild mannered Lancer out of himself.

Scott stood up slowly. “I'm sorry,” he said just to receive another blow. This time it came from Rook. “You ruin everything, Scott! How could you!” she reprimanded. Scott brought his hand to his aching jaw. He faced them once more.

“I can’t change what happened. I’ll take what I deserve, but in due time. Now, let me help you rescue Sera,” he said holding their irate gazes.

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It took a lot of convincing and physical restraint to get Lunk not to kill Scott and to accept his help to rescue Sera. It was mostly Rand who did the talking but doubts clouded everyone’s heads until Marlene herself intervened. She knew the rescue would be impossible without Scott’s military contacts at New Liberty.

“What happened was between Scott and me,” she said freezing everyone at the closed-doors meeting. “You mustn’t judge him for it,” she continued. “He has been your friend for longer than I have. More than a friend, he is part of your family. Don’t just forget that because of me,” she added.

“Don’t say that, Marlene. You are family as much as any of us,” said Rook. The rest agreed.

“If we want to rescue Sera, we must follow his lead. He needs our loyalty and trust. Please let him help, we need him… Lancer?” Marlene finished her plea looking at her sister’s husband for support.

He looked down for a few seconds. The men and women in the room felt small. That fragile woman that crossed their paths by chance years ago, had become an extraordinary being. “If she can take Scott’s help after what he did, why can’t we?” he thought.

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“You’re in,” Rand informed Scott, letting him into the apartment.

The moment of truth came for Marlene; she had to face him. After he stepped in, he hardly looked at her, although he was dying inside to hug her right there and beg for her forgiveness. He would not dare. She did not flinch in his presence but he saw the pain on her face during the brief glances he stole at her. It was worse than any punch inflicted by foes or even friends. The rest of ex-freedom fighters wore angry faces; Scott looked at Lunk -very angry faces.

“Marlene, you don’t have to do this,” said Lancer.

“Sera's my sister and those are my people. If there’s anything I can do to free them, I will,” she said. “It’s the only way to prevent more bloodshed… If we don’t succeed, the Regiss will destroy whatever stands on her way to claim us,” she said gloomily.

“We'll free your people on time,” answered Scott determined.

“And the Regiss won’t claim Sera or you! She can’t,” said Lancer gritting his teeth. Scott looked down in silence; his pain was like Lancer’s.

“We wont let her take you,” said Lunk placing his hand on Marlene’s shoulder.

“The dragon lady doesn’t have a chance against us,” joked Rand.

She smiled faintly, but felt pity for her friends; there was absolutely nothing they could do to prevent their departure. She did not insist, the events to come would say it all.

“There’s one more thing,” said Marlene. “The Invid don’t want to be freed.”

“What?” asked Scott stunned.

“They are counting on the Regiss to take revenge for them,” she replied plainly.

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She heard them louder. Invid were suffering at the hands of humans. “Brace yourselves petty little race!” she thought enraged with humanity. She had protected their planet from total destruction at their own fratricide hands, and this is how they repaid her! She felt the pain of her sons’ and daughters’ wounds and the burning of their hunger. She shared a mental communion with them.

“Revenge!” she heard them crying. Their hail inflamed her soul; the soul of all Invid. But, the Regiss had evolved and learnt.

Not all humans were corrupt creatures. She remembered those who came to her aid while she departed doomed Earth. Ariel, her biggest disappointment, led those imperfect creatures into the hive and they even dared speak to her. But in the end, those beings showed some worth. She could not forget. She would not destroy what did not block her way to claim what was hers: her children, all of them.

Her body transfigured, she became pure light and took off.

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Scott frantically worked on a plan. The feat had to be accomplished at just the right time. The Invid would be freed right after the Regiss entered the planet’s atmosphere. During the confusion, the team would pick up Sera and Marlene. Weston would be too busy dealing with the Regiss to bother trailing after a group of rebels. It sounded simple, but it was far from being easy to execute.

He took a break from the sketch he was working on. The rest had left him alone and were relaxing before the mission started; they were elsewhere in the apartment or outside. He lifted his head and discovered Marlene standing outside in the balcony. The breeze caressed her long hair. She stood still and pale, like a delicate statue. Her eyes were lost in the sky. She did not see him when he approached. He wanted to hold her so much. She was crying. He felt miserable for what he had done. The sight of her pain made him halt his course towards her. He turned back; he would make it up to her, if it were the last thing he ever did.

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