Second Chance

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CHAPTER 7

Crisis Point
Scott's emotions grow confused

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Being the newest nurse at the hospital, Marlene was assigned to the task that no one else wanted. She had to evaluate and, if possible, treat the Invid prisoners. The other nurses were extremely reticent to take care of the aliens. More than one had lost family members to their merciless destruction.

She arrived in the high security area and presented her clearance. As soon as she entered she felt the voices of the prisoners in her head. It was overwhelming. The guard that accompanied her noticed something was wrong and asked if she was all right. She quickly composed herself. How ironic it was when he expressed sympathy for her having to deal with "those monsters"! If he only knew he was talking to one of them.

The Invid felt she was one of them immediately. Fortunately, they quickly understood not to give her away. She played her nursing roll professionally while examining their wounds. Her voice would ask a question regarding their health, while her mind will inquire about their motives to stay on Earth.

She learnt that after being transmuted to the humanoid form, most Invid felt strangely captivated by humans and their emotions. The Regiss plan had partially backfired. A lot of Invid rejected the call to leave Earth hoping they could make a place for themselves on this planet. Marlene was hearing her own story. But then, they told her they had been wrong. They hoped no more for that dream to come true. Too much blood had been spilled; humans will never forgive. She could not accept that. If it was so, there was no future for her and Scott. They read her mind. She felt them pity her naivety.

Marlene felt a familiar presence nearby. She went towards it. The Invid was crouching in a corner. It was the girl she had seen at the city's hospital.

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Kelly walked towards the observation deck. Scott Bernard was there. She had to see him. Then and there, he would know how she felt and she would know if he felt the same way.

He paced back and forth. His thoughts and emotions were a mess lately. Close to the deck's railing he stopped, placed his hands on it and rested his weight on them. He fixed his sight beyond the horizon.

He had to admit Kelly Dawson was very attractive. He was human after all, and so was she. When they were at the briefing, he fought his yearning to watch her across the room.

He allowed himself to think of what would have been if he had approached Kelly on Mars. At that point, he was about to give up hope to see Marlene again. Feeling guilty, he quickly pushed away those thoughts.

He searched his mind and remembered Marlene in his arms. He was in love with her. He was sure of it. He had to be. With that he managed to block Kelly's image.

"There is nothing to feel guilty about," he told himself. Nothing happened between him and Kelly, nothing important at least. But still, his emotions would not settle down. He knew a conversation was pending between the Lieutenant and him, just not then. What could he say, anyway? He did not know what he was feeling.

"Captain Bernard," Kelly said, gently placing her hand on Scott's shoulder. His eyes went wide when he turned to face her. She could not have met him at a better time, or perhaps worse?

"Lieutenant Dawson..." he said and stammered when he found himself looking at her directly in the eye. "What... what brings you to the observation deck?"

"I was told you were here," she replied softly. Scott gulped. His confusion intensified.

"Can I help you with something?" he asked politely hiding his nervousness.

"This is it. Now or never!" she thought. "I need to talk to you, Captain..." she said and stammered. "I need to tell you..." Scott was sweating. "I wanted to do it on Mars... but I couldn't. I knew you were leaving." She looked down blushing. Scott could see it. She faced him. "I love you, Scott," she said lastly, sending his emotions haywire.

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Marlene ended her shift early. Her heart was heavy. She desperately needed to see Scott; she had a lot to tell him.

Her encounter with the prisoners shattered her faith in a peaceful Invid-Human coexistence. Would it be the same for her and Scott? Was their love not meant to be? She refused to believe so. There had to be a way and a place for them to be together.

She came off the base's shuttle in front of headquarters. She asked for Captain Bernard and was told he was at the observation deck. She knew the way.

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He froze. He blushed and babbled. "Lieutenant... Dawson... Kelly," he paused. "Okay, Bernard, stay cool," he thought. "I am flattered... uh..." He noticed her eyes were sparkling wet. He felt like a total idiot. "You are a beautiful... uh... soldier?" "Damn!" he scolded himself. He was a total mess with women.

"There... There's someone else in my life," he said finally and could not bring himself to look at her. He knew he was hurting Kelly but there was nothing he could do about it. He had fought too hard to gain Marlene's heart back.

"The nurse!" thought Kelly crushed and somewhat angry. "I'm too late." She gasped barely managing to keep her tears at bay. "I see," she said. Her strength was not going to last much longer. "I wish you and her are very happy together," she said. She started to leave and Scott was feeling like a criminal.

"Lieutenant, Kelly," he said. "I hope you find happiness too," he added. She nodded and approached the deck's door to exit. Right there, she came face to face with Marlene.

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"Damn her! Damn the stupid nurse!" Kelly thought as tears blurred her vision. No one could see her like this. She walked quickly down the hall and entered a restroom. She stood in front of the mirror and watched her tears flow. They were signs of weakness. She was not weak, yet her eyes would not stop shedding the salty drops. Then she heard the alarm go off.

"Emergency situation. All members of Viper squadron report to launch bay I 42. Viper squadron report to bay I 42," repeated a voice through the intercom. "Duty calls," she thought and sighed. She splashed her face with cold water and left for the assigned bay.

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Marlene's scent was still in the Captain's mind when his unit scrambled. When she came close to him at the observation deck, he just hugged her. There was so much to say, but the alert gave them no time. He kissed her and then had to leave.

The Vipers met at assigned bay. They hurried to put on their armors and proceed to sector A-4-52. According to an intelligence report, a group of Invid had massed in an abandoned warehouse. But that was not all; in that precise moment, an armed civilian group was headed towards the building. They wanted to take out the Invid on their own.

"And now I have to go get myself killed by a mob or by an Invid... what is worse?" thought James getting on his cyclone. "Damn!" he said reaching Kelly's side. "Hope you are happy now, Dawson!" he added madly. "Quit whining," she said and glared at him. He saw she had been crying. "What the hell happened?" he asked. There was no time to chat. The Captain gave the order and cyclones took off.

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"Humans are approaching," said a voice in his head. "They are armed," it added. The Invid's blue eyes sparkled with anger and anticipation.

"We wont disappoint them," he replied. All their minds felt his vengeful hail and prepared for battle.

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The Invid were holed in an abandoned warehouse. Armed to the teeth, a mob approached. Closing in, Captain Bernard and Lieutenant Commander Bryant observed the events. The warehouse had no back door.

"There is still time.... Come on, get out of there!" Scott hopped silently. But no Invid came out. The mob pressed on.

"Dawson, run a protoculture activity scan," ordered Alex Bryant.

"Nothing good can come out of this," said Alex to Scott seeing that the mob had reached the structure.

Kelly carried out her orders. "The scan shows four operational Invid mecha inside the building, sir," the Lieutenant informed.

"It is unbelievable! Where did the Invid hide those things for so long?" Scott let out. The mob had only basic weaponry. "I guess they are in for a surprise," he thought.

"We have to stop them, Captain," said Alex.

Scott's first instinct was to let the mob find what they had been after, but he could not do that. They would be slaughtered. He sighed. "Approach quietly," he told his men. "Get ready to intervene on my signal."

The mob tried to crash the warehouse's door. The reinforced metal sheet resisted their attempt. The Vipers took position right behind the angry humans.

"Put down your weapons and retreat!" the Captain ordered. "We will take control of the situation now," he added. The startled mob was not in the mood to comply.

"We've heard that one before. We know the military does nothing to these things!" shouted a man in the crowd. "We will take care of the Invid, now!" he added. "Death to the aliens!" yelled another one.

"You give me no choice," replied Scott and ordered the soldiers to subdue the rebels. The military held the upper hand. It was not long before they had the untrained crowd under control.

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"The second group of humans has taken control," reported one Invid. "Their leader is talking to us," she added. "He is offering protection if we do not resist."

"What? Miserable humans! They think we are going to surrender so easily?" another one said.

"Hmmm, this could be an opportunity. They could bring us where the rest of our kind remains," thought the leader.

"We are stronger, together," they all thought.

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Sweat began to cover the Captain's forehead. The mob was getting restless. He did not want to use force to enter the warehouse, but there had been no reply. Suddenly, the doors opened. A male showed up unarmed, ready to surrender. Then, all went wrong.

A man in the mob docked and grabbed a weapon that had been left on the ground. He wasted no time and fired, hitting the Invid full on the chest. The alien fell killed instantaneously.

"Damn it!" roared Scott as the Invid inside the warehouse fired back and hurried to close the doors.

"It is a trap!" thought the Invid leader. "Quick, close the doors!" he commanded.

Barely on time, two of Scott's units reached the closing doors and managed to keep them open. "Bryant, take half of the men and make sure the mob stays put," ordered the Captain. He took the rest of his team and went inside the warehouse. A shoot-out ensued.

The blasting cannon of an enforcer welcomed the Vipers into the warehouse. A cloud of dust and smoke rose, filling the place. Visibility was zero but blasts continued. The pilots inside the Invid mecha could target their enemy through the dust. One had Scott's cyclone locked in her aim. He could only see shadows through the dense air. She fired. It was too late when he saw he ray coming. He heard a scream. A soldier jumped onto him and they both took the scorching blast as they fell to the ground.

Scott regained consciousness feeling a nasty headache. Blurry yellow smudges quickly took the shape of flames. They engulfed everything around him. He tried to stand up, but could not. The soldier who saved him rested on the ground. Through the cracked helmet visor he recognized Kelly. He managed to see Bryant running towards them before he passed out.

Five minutes later, it was over. A third of the Invid group was dead the rest, in custody. Weston would be proud.

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The new unit had completely taken care of the situation. The operation required discretion and surgical precision; both attributes Captain Bernard mastered. Despite the shoot-out, General Weston was pleased with the results and did not skimp on the congratulations. He even visited Scott at the hospital to express his gratitude personally.

For the General, all was done without losing any life. He did not count non-human life, of course. He was more concerned about the mob filing lawsuits than the many Invid who died. No blame for it will ever reach the military. Who would complain about the slaying of some alien creatures?

Scott felt sick from the stomach and was at a loss of words. He endured Weston's ranting stoically. But now that it was over, he felt his emotions brewing inside him.

"Kelly," he thought. Having her to thank for his life.

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