Road To Discovery (DA)
7 Feb 2010 19:15![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
skylar0graceTitle: Road To Discovery
Author: SkylarGrace.
Status: Multi-Chaptered.
Rating: PG-13.
Summary: Sometimes the thing you’re looking for is right in front of your face.
Spoilers: Set after Freak Nation so all of them
Disclaimer: Dark Angel and all related elements belong to Cameron Eglee Productions and FOX. No infringement intended.
Notes: Okay, so this is the first DA fic I worked on and is old in terms of my writing style. One day I'll get around to redoing it but until then, you can all check out what I was originally doing :)
“How are we on electricity?” Max asked, looking up from the papers on her desk.
“Well, Dix has got it restored to half the city but give him time and he can get the other half up,” Alec replied, sifting through the bundle of papers sitting on his lap.
“Alright, what about food supplies?”
Alec cringed. “They’re getting low. Really low.”
Max tilted her head to the side. “Your suppliers aren’t coming through?”
“Aww, come on Maxie, it’s been two months. Those that hadn’t seen the siege have definitely seen it now. They’ve seen the flag rising and read the news reports. They won’t work with me anymore.” Max sighed and put her head in her hands.
“How bad is it?” she asked. Alec sat up straighter.
“A couple of weeks, maybe three. Don’t worry too much, I have a couple of ideas. Give me ‘til tomorrow and I’ll update you then.” Alec stood up and Max looked up at him from her desk.
“I’ll go chase down my leads. Maybe you should get an hour of sleep. You look like crap,” he added with a smirk. Max glared as Alec left her office lightly chuckling.
Max sat at her desk for a moment longer, thinking about the past two months. After the flag rising, they had started running TC like an independent city. Mole called for a leader and, surprisingly, recommended Max. The city agreed on the condition that Alec was her 2IC. Mole stood in as a rep for the transhumans. The police presence, oddly enough, had reduced when it became apparent that they would not attack. There was a crowd of ordinaries outside the gates still, none daring to cross the invisible barrier, not only because of the fear of contamination but the sentries TC had placed just inside the gates. Rotated regularly, they helped keep trouble out and help refugees get in. For the past two months they had had a steady flow of refugees. Everyone had gotten together and helped repair buildings the best they could to make them habitable. One or two of the more unstable buildings had been torn down and the good materials used for repairs. All in all, they were surviving well.
Max hadn’t even realised she had fallen asleep until she was woken with a loud yelling.
“Alec!” Dix shouted. “Alec! Max is in trouble!”
Max stood up and went to her door, confused. She didn’t think she was in trouble but she was still a little groggy. She looked over to where Mole and Dix were standing in front of a monitor of the front gate.
“Why did she go outside the gates? She’s the one that needs to stay in here the most. Her face has been all over the news; they know her,” Mole complained. Max saw Alec blur to the screen. He took one look and sprung into action.
“That’s not Max, that’s Sam. Get a team prepped and ready. We’re going out there.” He picked up a shotgun from the table and turned towards Max’s office. Seeing her standing there, a smile lit his face.
“Let’s go get your sister!” he said, striding quickly toward her.
“How did you know it wasn’t me?” Max asked confused. Alec smirked.
“I’d know you anywhere Max,” he replied and turned around to the team that had assembled behind him.
“Alright. We’re going out to get Max’s sister, Sam. As usual, we don’t want any casualties. You all know your positions. Fall out.”
Max and Alec strode towards the front gate. Sam was surrounded by a group of angry ordinaries, all pointing weapons and shouting at her. Even from where Max was she could tell Sam was angry and very close to retaliating.
“Hey!” Max yelled drawing the attention of the crowd and making Sam pause. All eyes turned to her and to Alec who was standing just behind Max shotgun raised before they all turned quickly back to Sam.
“Hey!” Max yelled again. “Trust me, you won’t win this one. Let my sister go and you can all go back to protesting.”
“One of you is bad enough. Now we have to see two of you? I don’t think so,” yelled a man from the crowd, stepping menacingly toward Sam. Sam’s fists bunched even tighter.
“You have an extremely pissed transgenic who could take you all out without trying,” Max said. The man didn’t seem phased. “You have me standing not too far away, and I’m promising you that if she is harmed in any way, I’m coming down on you like a ton of bricks.” The man didn’t take his eyes off of Sam but scoffed in Max’s direction.
“You don’t scare me!” he said, almost laughing.
“Well then, if you’re not scared of me, what about the army standing behind me?” The man turned to Max laughing until several sentries stepped out from their positions weapons raised. Seeing they were most certainly outnumbered, he slowly lowered his weapon.
“Good move!” Max replied smiling sarcastically. Once enough guns were lowered, Sam blurred to Max’s side.
Turning around and walking back into TC, Max and Sam strode purposefully inside, ignoring the crowd who had once again started shouting at the gates. After Max and Sam walked past him, Alec lowered his gun and signalled the rest to lower their weapons until only the sentries were left once again standing guard at the gate.
“So, what brings you to our neck of the woods?” Alec asked Sam as they walked in, a smirk planted on his face.
“You’re kidding right? My face got plastered all over the news, my family was hunted down. I couldn’t protect them anymore so I sent them somewhere safe and came down here. I need to help you sort out this mess ASAP so I can get back to my family. Trust me, I wouldn’t have come otherwise.”
“We’re doing the best we can,” Max said with an edge to her voice, turning to face Sam.
They had reached Command and a small crowd had gathered around them to see the new arrival that looked identical to their leader.
“Well maybe your best just isn’t good enough!” Sam spat back. Fire flared in both women’s eyes. Alec stepped between them, facing Max, one hand on her arm.
“Dante. Do you think you can find a place for Sam to stay?” Alec asked, never taking his eyes from Max. Max felt the heat in his eyes from his challenge to back down but the warmth from his hand calmed her. She glanced at Sam and saw Sam staring at her with an eyebrow raised.
“Sure. We have a few spare rooms. You can either take one of those or share with someone,” Dante replied.
“I’ll take a single for now.”
Sam stepped over to the transhuman who was a dark red from head to toe. He had two very small horns on his head and a few bone plates running down his back. He lasted well in hot climates and didn’t need much sleep. Despite his menacing appearance, he was a big softie like Joshua and Max had loved working with him. He had headed up the housing sector, keeping an eye on the residents and the viable buildings.
“I can show you now. Is that all you have?” he asked, gesturing to the backpack over her shoulder.
Sam nodded. With one last look at Max, she turned and followed Dante. The crowd silently dispersed, leaving their leaders to talk.
“Max, what was that?” Alec whispered calmly.
“We had a disagreement,” Max said dismissively, shaking his hand off of her arm before she turned away and walked into her office.
~
Alec sighed and returned to his own office, closing the door softly behind him. He paced momentarily before opening the door again and walking down the street to housing. Before he reached the first district, Alec ran into Dante.
“Hey Alec. I’m on my way back to command.”
“Yeah man, listen, where did you put Sam?”
Dante gave a small frown before replying with a smile again. “Over in the building on Peterson. 3E. I just got the building secure last week.” He wore a proud grin and Alec gave him a slap on the back.
“I’m sure you did an excellent job! Thanks man!”
Alec moved quickly and hoped Sam hadn’t left her apartment yet. Racing up the stairs three at a time, Alec found himself at the door to 3E. He knocked and waited. He couldn’t hear any movement inside and he was just about to knock again when the door flew open, a cautious Sam standing in the doorway.
“Hey, can we talk?” he asked, stepping into the apartment and not waiting for an answer.
Alec moved past her and stood in the living room. Her backpack was open on the table in the centre of the room, clothes spilled out and bed linen on top.
“Sure,” Sam replied sarcastically. She closed the door quietly and reached for an open packet of cigarettes on the kitchen counter. Lighting one, she watched Alec watching her.
“I don’t do booty calls,” she said. Alec frowned in confusion.
“What? What are you talking about?”
Sam shook her head. “I’m not Max. So whatever you have going on with her, you wont be getting from me.”
Alec looked genuinely confused. “Max is my CO.”
Sam raised an eyebrow. “Okay then. What do you want?” she asked.
Alec sighed. “I’m sorry about your family. But we’re doing the best we can in this situation and though you’re welcome to stay as long as you want, you’ll need to fight with us. We can’t have people working against us this time.”
“Why’re you taking orders from her?” Sam asked angrily. “She’s the one that left. Her and the other rugrats. You, better than most others, shouldn’t trust her. You were there; you know what Manticore did to us when they left.”
“Exactly!” Alec cut her off. “It’s what Manticore did to us, not them. It wasn’t their fault, they didn’t know.”
“Why are you defending her? Manticore put us through hell because they left. Tortured and brainwashed in an attempt to ‘simplify’ us. Don’t you remember that?”
“Of course I remember that. I also remember being brought back to Psy-Op’s when Ben started killing people for round two. You wouldn’t know that,” he retorted angrily, “your twin didn’t go crazy!” Alec tried to calm himself. “I haven’t forgotten what they did to me, so doesn’t it tell you something that I am standing up with Max despite that?” Sam continued to glare. “She’s a good person. When she found out what she had left behind, she came back, even though she knew I was corralling her back there, and set everyone free, burning Manticore to the ground. We may not be in the best situation right now but she is trying to do what is right. For all of us.” Alec stared at her.
“What do you mean you were corralling her in? They sent you to find her?” Sam asked. Alec sat down in a chair at the table. Sam paused momentarily before sitting down herself opposite him.
“Kind of. They put a retrovirus in her system targeted at Logan’s DNA so they could kill Eyes Only. My mission was to help her escape and then bring her back to Manticore with the hope of a cure for Logan. It didn’t matter if he died; they just wanted him to stop broadcasting because he was getting too close. They had her in Psy-Op’s for a long time but she wouldn’t give up any information so they had to use her. She still has the virus, which is why she can’t touch Logan.”
“How did they recapture her?” Sam asked.
“She came back with a few of her brothers and sisters and blew up the DNA lab. But Max and her brother Zack got caught in the woods and she caught a bullet in the heart. Zack wouldn’t let her go though; he shot himself in the head so she could have his heart.”
Sam frowned. “But why would they think she would follow you and escape. She had to know it was a trap.”
Alec shook his head. “You don’t get it. She didn’t know what happened to us. Still doesn’t really know. I only told her we were in Psy-Op’s for six months. They had already paired us off as breeding partners, though she kicked my ass when I told her that.” Alec said smiling for the first time since he entered the apartment. Sam smirked and Alec turned to Sam with a serious look on his face.
“Listen. Get to know her first before you make any decisions but know you only have two options: you either fall in line and join us or you leave. If you leave Max will look out for you, that’s just who she is but let me know what you decide.” Alec stood up to go and Sam stubbed out her cigarette before turning to Alec.
“Why aren’t you leading anyway? From what I heard back at Manticore, it was what you were born to do.”
Alec shrugged. “Maybe so. But Max is better.”
Sam stared after him thoughtfully as he left the room and headed back to Command.
Author: SkylarGrace.
Status: Multi-Chaptered.
Rating: PG-13.
Summary: Sometimes the thing you’re looking for is right in front of your face.
Spoilers: Set after Freak Nation so all of them
Disclaimer: Dark Angel and all related elements belong to Cameron Eglee Productions and FOX. No infringement intended.
Notes: Okay, so this is the first DA fic I worked on and is old in terms of my writing style. One day I'll get around to redoing it but until then, you can all check out what I was originally doing :)
Chapter One
“How are we on electricity?” Max asked, looking up from the papers on her desk.
“Well, Dix has got it restored to half the city but give him time and he can get the other half up,” Alec replied, sifting through the bundle of papers sitting on his lap.
“Alright, what about food supplies?”
Alec cringed. “They’re getting low. Really low.”
Max tilted her head to the side. “Your suppliers aren’t coming through?”
“Aww, come on Maxie, it’s been two months. Those that hadn’t seen the siege have definitely seen it now. They’ve seen the flag rising and read the news reports. They won’t work with me anymore.” Max sighed and put her head in her hands.
“How bad is it?” she asked. Alec sat up straighter.
“A couple of weeks, maybe three. Don’t worry too much, I have a couple of ideas. Give me ‘til tomorrow and I’ll update you then.” Alec stood up and Max looked up at him from her desk.
“I’ll go chase down my leads. Maybe you should get an hour of sleep. You look like crap,” he added with a smirk. Max glared as Alec left her office lightly chuckling.
Max sat at her desk for a moment longer, thinking about the past two months. After the flag rising, they had started running TC like an independent city. Mole called for a leader and, surprisingly, recommended Max. The city agreed on the condition that Alec was her 2IC. Mole stood in as a rep for the transhumans. The police presence, oddly enough, had reduced when it became apparent that they would not attack. There was a crowd of ordinaries outside the gates still, none daring to cross the invisible barrier, not only because of the fear of contamination but the sentries TC had placed just inside the gates. Rotated regularly, they helped keep trouble out and help refugees get in. For the past two months they had had a steady flow of refugees. Everyone had gotten together and helped repair buildings the best they could to make them habitable. One or two of the more unstable buildings had been torn down and the good materials used for repairs. All in all, they were surviving well.
Max hadn’t even realised she had fallen asleep until she was woken with a loud yelling.
“Alec!” Dix shouted. “Alec! Max is in trouble!”
Max stood up and went to her door, confused. She didn’t think she was in trouble but she was still a little groggy. She looked over to where Mole and Dix were standing in front of a monitor of the front gate.
“Why did she go outside the gates? She’s the one that needs to stay in here the most. Her face has been all over the news; they know her,” Mole complained. Max saw Alec blur to the screen. He took one look and sprung into action.
“That’s not Max, that’s Sam. Get a team prepped and ready. We’re going out there.” He picked up a shotgun from the table and turned towards Max’s office. Seeing her standing there, a smile lit his face.
“Let’s go get your sister!” he said, striding quickly toward her.
“How did you know it wasn’t me?” Max asked confused. Alec smirked.
“I’d know you anywhere Max,” he replied and turned around to the team that had assembled behind him.
“Alright. We’re going out to get Max’s sister, Sam. As usual, we don’t want any casualties. You all know your positions. Fall out.”
Max and Alec strode towards the front gate. Sam was surrounded by a group of angry ordinaries, all pointing weapons and shouting at her. Even from where Max was she could tell Sam was angry and very close to retaliating.
“Hey!” Max yelled drawing the attention of the crowd and making Sam pause. All eyes turned to her and to Alec who was standing just behind Max shotgun raised before they all turned quickly back to Sam.
“Hey!” Max yelled again. “Trust me, you won’t win this one. Let my sister go and you can all go back to protesting.”
“One of you is bad enough. Now we have to see two of you? I don’t think so,” yelled a man from the crowd, stepping menacingly toward Sam. Sam’s fists bunched even tighter.
“You have an extremely pissed transgenic who could take you all out without trying,” Max said. The man didn’t seem phased. “You have me standing not too far away, and I’m promising you that if she is harmed in any way, I’m coming down on you like a ton of bricks.” The man didn’t take his eyes off of Sam but scoffed in Max’s direction.
“You don’t scare me!” he said, almost laughing.
“Well then, if you’re not scared of me, what about the army standing behind me?” The man turned to Max laughing until several sentries stepped out from their positions weapons raised. Seeing they were most certainly outnumbered, he slowly lowered his weapon.
“Good move!” Max replied smiling sarcastically. Once enough guns were lowered, Sam blurred to Max’s side.
Turning around and walking back into TC, Max and Sam strode purposefully inside, ignoring the crowd who had once again started shouting at the gates. After Max and Sam walked past him, Alec lowered his gun and signalled the rest to lower their weapons until only the sentries were left once again standing guard at the gate.
“So, what brings you to our neck of the woods?” Alec asked Sam as they walked in, a smirk planted on his face.
“You’re kidding right? My face got plastered all over the news, my family was hunted down. I couldn’t protect them anymore so I sent them somewhere safe and came down here. I need to help you sort out this mess ASAP so I can get back to my family. Trust me, I wouldn’t have come otherwise.”
“We’re doing the best we can,” Max said with an edge to her voice, turning to face Sam.
They had reached Command and a small crowd had gathered around them to see the new arrival that looked identical to their leader.
“Well maybe your best just isn’t good enough!” Sam spat back. Fire flared in both women’s eyes. Alec stepped between them, facing Max, one hand on her arm.
“Dante. Do you think you can find a place for Sam to stay?” Alec asked, never taking his eyes from Max. Max felt the heat in his eyes from his challenge to back down but the warmth from his hand calmed her. She glanced at Sam and saw Sam staring at her with an eyebrow raised.
“Sure. We have a few spare rooms. You can either take one of those or share with someone,” Dante replied.
“I’ll take a single for now.”
Sam stepped over to the transhuman who was a dark red from head to toe. He had two very small horns on his head and a few bone plates running down his back. He lasted well in hot climates and didn’t need much sleep. Despite his menacing appearance, he was a big softie like Joshua and Max had loved working with him. He had headed up the housing sector, keeping an eye on the residents and the viable buildings.
“I can show you now. Is that all you have?” he asked, gesturing to the backpack over her shoulder.
Sam nodded. With one last look at Max, she turned and followed Dante. The crowd silently dispersed, leaving their leaders to talk.
“Max, what was that?” Alec whispered calmly.
“We had a disagreement,” Max said dismissively, shaking his hand off of her arm before she turned away and walked into her office.
~
Alec sighed and returned to his own office, closing the door softly behind him. He paced momentarily before opening the door again and walking down the street to housing. Before he reached the first district, Alec ran into Dante.
“Hey Alec. I’m on my way back to command.”
“Yeah man, listen, where did you put Sam?”
Dante gave a small frown before replying with a smile again. “Over in the building on Peterson. 3E. I just got the building secure last week.” He wore a proud grin and Alec gave him a slap on the back.
“I’m sure you did an excellent job! Thanks man!”
Alec moved quickly and hoped Sam hadn’t left her apartment yet. Racing up the stairs three at a time, Alec found himself at the door to 3E. He knocked and waited. He couldn’t hear any movement inside and he was just about to knock again when the door flew open, a cautious Sam standing in the doorway.
“Hey, can we talk?” he asked, stepping into the apartment and not waiting for an answer.
Alec moved past her and stood in the living room. Her backpack was open on the table in the centre of the room, clothes spilled out and bed linen on top.
“Sure,” Sam replied sarcastically. She closed the door quietly and reached for an open packet of cigarettes on the kitchen counter. Lighting one, she watched Alec watching her.
“I don’t do booty calls,” she said. Alec frowned in confusion.
“What? What are you talking about?”
Sam shook her head. “I’m not Max. So whatever you have going on with her, you wont be getting from me.”
Alec looked genuinely confused. “Max is my CO.”
Sam raised an eyebrow. “Okay then. What do you want?” she asked.
Alec sighed. “I’m sorry about your family. But we’re doing the best we can in this situation and though you’re welcome to stay as long as you want, you’ll need to fight with us. We can’t have people working against us this time.”
“Why’re you taking orders from her?” Sam asked angrily. “She’s the one that left. Her and the other rugrats. You, better than most others, shouldn’t trust her. You were there; you know what Manticore did to us when they left.”
“Exactly!” Alec cut her off. “It’s what Manticore did to us, not them. It wasn’t their fault, they didn’t know.”
“Why are you defending her? Manticore put us through hell because they left. Tortured and brainwashed in an attempt to ‘simplify’ us. Don’t you remember that?”
“Of course I remember that. I also remember being brought back to Psy-Op’s when Ben started killing people for round two. You wouldn’t know that,” he retorted angrily, “your twin didn’t go crazy!” Alec tried to calm himself. “I haven’t forgotten what they did to me, so doesn’t it tell you something that I am standing up with Max despite that?” Sam continued to glare. “She’s a good person. When she found out what she had left behind, she came back, even though she knew I was corralling her back there, and set everyone free, burning Manticore to the ground. We may not be in the best situation right now but she is trying to do what is right. For all of us.” Alec stared at her.
“What do you mean you were corralling her in? They sent you to find her?” Sam asked. Alec sat down in a chair at the table. Sam paused momentarily before sitting down herself opposite him.
“Kind of. They put a retrovirus in her system targeted at Logan’s DNA so they could kill Eyes Only. My mission was to help her escape and then bring her back to Manticore with the hope of a cure for Logan. It didn’t matter if he died; they just wanted him to stop broadcasting because he was getting too close. They had her in Psy-Op’s for a long time but she wouldn’t give up any information so they had to use her. She still has the virus, which is why she can’t touch Logan.”
“How did they recapture her?” Sam asked.
“She came back with a few of her brothers and sisters and blew up the DNA lab. But Max and her brother Zack got caught in the woods and she caught a bullet in the heart. Zack wouldn’t let her go though; he shot himself in the head so she could have his heart.”
Sam frowned. “But why would they think she would follow you and escape. She had to know it was a trap.”
Alec shook his head. “You don’t get it. She didn’t know what happened to us. Still doesn’t really know. I only told her we were in Psy-Op’s for six months. They had already paired us off as breeding partners, though she kicked my ass when I told her that.” Alec said smiling for the first time since he entered the apartment. Sam smirked and Alec turned to Sam with a serious look on his face.
“Listen. Get to know her first before you make any decisions but know you only have two options: you either fall in line and join us or you leave. If you leave Max will look out for you, that’s just who she is but let me know what you decide.” Alec stood up to go and Sam stubbed out her cigarette before turning to Alec.
“Why aren’t you leading anyway? From what I heard back at Manticore, it was what you were born to do.”
Alec shrugged. “Maybe so. But Max is better.”
Sam stared after him thoughtfully as he left the room and headed back to Command.
