Second Chance

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CHAPTER 5

Invid among us
Not all is peace and quiet on Earth

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From an observation deck at New Liberty base, dark coffee cup in hand, Scott looked at the airfield. The engines of several mecha roared filling the air; he looked in their direction, but looked through them. His mind and heart were elsewhere.

He missed Marlene enormously. He grew used to having her by his side all the time, even when the days they shared were so few. Their desire for each other, contained for so long, had been freed at last. It blazed intensely smoldering them both. Seeing her once a week, when lucky, was driving him insane.

Lancer and Rand had Sera and Rook by their sides while he stood there without Marlene. He envied them. "Damn, Bernard. You brought this upon yourself when you left her," he thought. He sort of missed the Invid war days, when he had her so close to him, especially that day in Denver.

A sigh escaped his mouth. He looked at his coffee, cold by now, and sipped from it. It tasted awful. Not all was bad, though. Marlene had given him a second chance. And most amazingly, she loved him too. His deep blue eyes sparkled at that thought.

His mind spiraled back to the last time he saw her. She had taken him sightseeing that day; they ended up sitting together on a huge rock, overlooking a crystalline pond.

They were kissing and caressing each other sensually. She broke the last kiss to breath softly and then looked into his eyes. "I'll miss you, Scott," she whispered sadly.

"I wont be far this time. I promise we will see each other often," he told her hiding his own sadness as best as he could. He felt her sighing quietly as he held her. "I'll miss you too Marlene, you can't imagine how much," he added. She buried her face in his chest. They stayed silent for a moment.

"There is a hospital at New Liberty base, Scott. I heard there are lots of candidates, but perhaps I could get a job there after I finish my internship."

His eyes lit up.

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"Captain Bernard?" General Weston's voice brought Scott back to reality. He saluted and the General saluted back. "At ease," he said.

It had been a short while that Scott started his assignment but Weston was attending a summit in the south lands and, for one reason or another, they hadn't met.

"I finally get a chance to meet you Captain, I have heard great things about you,"

"Thank you sir, but the stories are quite exaggerated," replied Scott uneasily as both military men started walking towards the hangars.

"Modesty is not necessary Bernard, your accomplishments speak for you." Scott felt even more uncomfortable. He hated the mistakenly-attributed credit that the Invid departure brought onto him. However, he had to play along, ultimately Weston was the person who could get Marlene a job at the base.

"Lieutenant Hastings informed me about the great progress you are making with your new squadron," continued the General.

"It's a good group, General. But, at this point in their training, holo-simulation practice is insufficient. This base needs more experienced pilots to team up with the new recruits," Scott responded.

"I have heard about your concerns Captain. We will get back to them in a minute. There are some other things we must talk about, first." Scott was intrigued. "I'll be frank with you, Bernard. You probably know we need to gain the trust of the civilian population before the discontent escalates into civil unrest. Our image must be restored. We need our soldiers to carry the image of the RDF as heroes for the masses, heroes like you, Captain."

Scott didn't like the tone in Weston's voice. "Trust is built with actions, not with some stupid hero show," he thought. "Heroes need enemies to fight against, sir, and there are no alien enemies left on Earth," he said with caution.

"Are you sure of that?" the General asked looking in Scott's eye.

Scott felt a chill traveling through his spine. He wondered if the General knew about the Invid that stayed on Earth. "What do you mean, General?" He inquired.

"Enemies always appear unexpectedly, Bernard, sometimes even from within," the General said with an unreadable expression on his face. "Be prepared," he added serious. Scott was baffled. "Anyway, Captain, about your concerns, I have good news for you. Colonel Jackson has agreed to send some of your old squadron members to join us for training exercises."

"Um... that is great news, General. Who's coming?" asked Scott

"Lieutenant Commander Bryant has selected two members of his team to accompany him on this project. I'll have my aide e-mail you with the details," the General declared.

The men arrived at the hangars and just before entering, the General stopped, turning towards Scott. "Bernard, I heard you had a personal request to make?"

Scott hesitated. The General puzzled him. Could he trust him? He was uncertain, yet he needed his help. So he started talking about a certain -almost graduated- nurse he knew.

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"Are you happy now, Dawson?" blurted Robert James in the middle of the briefing room. Kelly Dawson stood with a twisted smile on her face. "I hate Earth! Couldn't you be happy going to find Bernard by yourself? Why did you have to drag me along? Why the hell did you recommend me to Bryant?" he inquired recriminating her.

"Think of it as payback, for all the times you've bugged me and laughed on my account," replied Kelly. Robert brows connected on the middle of his forehead. She patted him on the back. "Come on James, the job comes with a promotion and, think about it, Earth is not so bad. You may even find yourself a nice girlfriend," she said grinning. He looked at her meaningfully.

"I knew there would be trouble when you decided to befriend Bryant," he said, "this is a bad idea. You hear me?"

"We'll see about that," she replied on her way out of the room.

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Marlene had just started her shift at the emergency section of the city's hospital when Dr. Brandon Smith walked towards her.

"Hello Marlene," he said warmly.

"Good afternoon Dr. Smith," she replied.

"Marlene, there is no need for you to call me doctor, Brandon is fine."

"Okay, Brandon," she replied, smiling lightly.

"Marlene, I heard you are leaving us for New Liberty hospital."

"That is true," she nodded and smiled at the thought of being close to Scott. Her excitement didn't pass unnoticed by Dr. Smith.

"I see you are looking forward to it. No use to ask if could change your mind and stay with us, uh… I guess?" he said.

"Thank you doctor," she replied, "but I must go."

"Are you sure that's what you want?" the doctor asked. Marlene nodded affirmatively. "I'm going to miss you," he said serious. Marlene blushed flattered, yet confused.

"I have the reports ready if you want to check them," she said. He took them.

They were looking at the reports when a distraught young woman helped a wounded man into the room. Suddenly everyone froze and stared at them.

"Somebody, helps us, please," begged the woman.

Marlene realized the man was bleeding from the side of his chest; his blood was green. Seconds passed and the man was about to collapse. Dr. Smith snapped out of his initial surprise and ordered two male nurses to take the wounded to the operation room.

"But that thing is bleeding green!" complained one of the nurses.

"Do as I said, there is no difference here," yelled Dr. Smith authoritatively. The nurses complied.

He would try to save him, but the odds weren't good. Marlene knew there was no one there with experience on Invid physiology, not even her. She was horrified. She felt the pain of one of her race piercing through her brain. The doors of the emergency operation room flung shut after the group passed.

She could still feel the Invid struggling with death but there was another feeling, less piercing but equally grief-stricken. Marlene's eyes wandered and locked on the young blond woman that brought the man in. She sobbed on a chair in the waiting room.

"She's Invid too," she thought.

The girl felt her presence and turned until their reddish eyes met. "Please save him," she begged with her thoughts. Marlene's eyes widened. She ran into the operation room.

"I'll do my best," Marlene thought hoping her words reached the girl.

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Lancer and Sera had just finished having diner. They were cleaning up while watching the news.

"In other news, an Invid in human form was discovered this afternoon at the city's hospital," said the anchor. Images of a green-bloodied bed covered the screen. Sera let out a gasp. Lancer came closer to her and listened. "The male Invid had been stabbed earlier near the hospital under unclear circumstances. His partner was in a state of shock and was taken by the authorities..." The anchor talked while images of a sobbing blond girl escorted by the military police were shown on the screen.

"Is she Invid too?" Lancer asked.

"I can't tell," answered Sera.

"I suspected more Invid rejected the Regiss call and stayed behind," Lancer said.

"The condition of the Invid is unknown at this time. Hospital officials have refused to comment." continued the anchor.

"Marlene is at the city's hospital's emergency room today," said Lancer worried.

"Oh, no!" responded Sera.

Meanwhile on the screen, "do you think this discovery proves that the Invid horde is still among us as it's been said, senator Goldman?"

"I believe so Michael, this is clear warning sign for humanity. When we least expect it these savage Invid will show their true nature and attempt to take our home away from us. We must never be taken by surprise again..."

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Marlene sat alone in a room at the hospital with her face buried in her hands. The young nurse hadn't had any time to react to all that happened. Two military policemen had taken the Invid's partner into custody while she was in the operating room. She couldn't do anything about it and all her questions remained unanswered. In that moment, the images of the dying Invid haunted her. She could still feel his pain. She had stayed with him until the end, sending him thoughts of encouragement and hope.

"It is useless, humans will always hate us. They will fight until they destroy us or we destroy them. You and the rest must return with our kind while you still can," he pleaded. She felt his life faltering despite the efforts of Dr. Smith.

"No, destruction is not the only way. Humans can learn to accept us." She thought of Scott. "Stay with us." she begged.

"Take care, and please look after..." his thoughts completely disappeared.

"It's over," Dr. Smith announced. "He's gone."

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