Fan Fic

This story has been published in Una's Fanfic Flightdeck. But now it's here too.

The New WILDCARDS

With a full deck

Captains Nathan West, Shane Vansen and Cooper Hawkes looked down. Wang's funeral was finish. Lt. Vanessa Damphousse had been with them, but was ordered back to sick bay as soon as possible. Shane looked at her Wingmen. West's face was tense with a I-don't-care expression, but his body-languish and eyes said something else. He had lost a good friend. Coop was silent, she had heard him crying at night, but Hawkes was just an 8 year old kid in his mind. Personally, Shane felt grief but she thought that she could handle Paul's death better than Nathans, or Phousse's or Coops. She hadn't been that close to Wang. But still she liked him, he had been her friend.

Colonel McQueen walked in, followed by two marines. He gestured toward the arriving men. "58th, this is your new wingmen"

The 58th stood up, looking at the Marines that just had shown up. Captain Nathan West looked at McQueen. "Sir, it's been two hours after Wang's funeral and we get his replacement?"

"Well, the 5-8 are the best. The PTB (powers that be) want us flying as soon a possible" McQueen pointed at the woman. "This is Lieutenant Beate Bertheussen, she is transferred from the USS Alkatraz"

The woman smiled. She wasn't tall, not taller than Shane even. She had shoulder-long blond hair and blue/gray eyes. She was slim and looked good in a flight-suit. "It's a honor to be with the WildCards. You are legends"

West turned away. Vansen tried to smile, but it looked more like a grin of pain than a smile. McQueen cleared his throat. "And this is Captain Marco Polo, he is from the USS MacArthur"

Shane grinned. "Marco Polo? Nice name"

Captain Marco Polo wasn't tall either, but he was taller than Vansen. He had black, short hair and dark eyes. His skin was light brown. He was very handsome. "I know, my other squad hated it too" he laughed.

"I'll let you be. Bertheussen and Polo, you get a bunk. Ask Vansen if there's a problem with Callsigns" McQueen said to them as he closed the hatch.

Bertheussen smiled, but the 58th could see that she wasn't comfortable with the situation. She walked toward a empty bunk and trew her gear on it. Why had she been assign to the 58th? Why not the Polar Bears or the 33rd? Heck, even the 45th was a better place for her than this. She was a good pilot, but her specialty was Infantry. Her parents where from Norway, but had moved to the little town Amity in Long Island when she was one year old. She took out a hairbrush and brushed her hair. She felt it itch in the back and used the brush to stop it. The downside of having hair when you're fly a SA-43 is that it itched like hell after 30 mikes.

Marco Polo was busy taking his uniform out of his dufflebag. He looked at Vansen. How hot could a woman get? Marco was a real joker. He never shared his emotions with anyone. He was from San Diego and could remember the Vansen family. He had played on the San Diego Fireballs, a football-team for kids, and he had a crush on Shane since Elementary School. He doubted that Shane remembered him, after all he was just Marco-roni. Marco had lost him mother at a age of 12. Polo was the type of guy that joked about the things that worried him, and this war worried him a lot. He remembered the Vansen's funeral. Lot's of flowers, many military folks and so on. He shook his head at the memory.

Cooper Hawkes looked at Bertheussen. He had never seen a woman with that look. She looked like a angle. He sat down with his GI-comic book. After reading that he looked at West. "Do you have any comics?" he asked.

Nathan smiled. "No I haven't, Coop"

"Shane?" Hawkes tried.

"Sorry, Hawkes. I don't read that anymore"

Beate took out a magazine. "I have a Calvin and Hobbes-book. You can borrow it if you want" Cooper looked shy at her. Bertheussen smiled. Hawkes moved slowly, like a cat, towards her bunk. "I don't bite" she said.

"I thought you did!" yelled Polo. "Wasn't you the one that said: 'I can bite'?"

"Shut up, asshole!" she replied. Then she took the comic out of her bag. "Here you are, Hawkes" she said.

Cooper took the book and opened it. He looked at the cartoons of a kid and a stuffed tiger. They heard a knock on their hatch and West walked and opened it. A young woman smiled at him. "Is this the 58th?" she asked.

"Yeah" Cooper said while he grinned because of something funny in the book.

Vansen watched her. "Who are you and what do you want?"

"My name is Lt. Anne Schjerven, and I was ordered to report to the 58th Squadron. Ross said that a Colonel McQueen would be waiting for me" the woman said as she took her hand trough her dirty-blond hair. Her gray eyes watched them, absorbed the reaction…the people in the room. She smiled.

"We have all our replacements" Vansen replied.

"I'm not just Lt. Kelly A. Winslow's replacement, I'm also her on orders from Secretary General Diane Hayden. I have a note from her to a Captain Nathan West" she gave the man she guessed was West the note.

"Winslow's replacement? Kelly has been dead for a year and NOW they send a Marine?" Shane looked mad at Schjerven.

"A Marine? You think that I am a Marine? Well, sorry to disappoint you, but I ain't a Marine" Schjerven moved in, her slim body pressing past West in the hatch.

"What the heck are you then?" Hawkes send her a dead-stair.

"I'm in the Norwegian Army" she said.

"What? I didn't know that the Norwegians could speak English that well" Bertheussen laughed. "My parents sounds horrible when they talk English"

"I am pretty good" Anne replied.

"Well, ain't we just miss Modesty" Marco marked sour.

"Captain…" she smiled. "It's a honor to meat the 58th, and I know that having a non-marine here is gonna be hard for you but I'm here to stay as long as the Queen of Norway, the Irony-gods and Secretary General Hayden will let me"

Hawkes knew it when he saw her. "You are not from this time. You have been in cryonic sleep"

Schjerven ran her finger trough her hockey-style hair. "Yes, you're right, Hawkes. It seems like your InVitro-training is paying off. To bad it remind me to much about a English Boarding School"

"What time are you from?" West finally said something.

"I was born the 30th of December, 1986"

"Okay…and you where 'put in the fridge' in?" Polo spotted out.

"The 17 of May, 2007. Right after a accident in the Army. They didn't know how to save me so they froze me down" she laughed. "It's a funny story, but not now"

Marco shook his head. Bertheussen watched him. "Marco, if you are so fucking much against this, why don't just take a walk?" she said.

West shook his head as he opened the letter from Hayden. He froze as he read the three words. 'you where right'. He closed his eyes in pain and looked at Hawkes.

"What?" Coop replied, not knowing what his friend had received.

"Aerotech knew…they knew that the Chigs where out there…Hayden knew too, that bitch!" he slammed his fist against the hatch.

Anne grimaced. "Good thinking, West. I bet you are the only guy on the 'toga that can play maracas with your fist" she walked over to him and looked at his hand. "Let me see"

Nathan hold out his hand. He should have known better than trying to hit his fist trough the wall, but he had to hit something. "Au"

"Good work, West…You're gonna have bluemarks, but it's not life-treating" she turned his palm over. "You're gonna marry a beautiful brunette and live happy ever after" she joked.

"Ha, ha. Very funny" he said. "For being older than anyone of us you have humor"

"Yeah, just as much humor like a mummy" Lt. Marco Polo marked.

Colonel McQueen entered. He looked at Schjerven. "I see that you are here, Lieutenant. I'm sorry that I couldn't meat you right away. Mission briefing is in 10 mikes…Move out"

*************
Briefing room.

Captain Marco Polo looked at Vansen. He remembered all the times he and his brother Jake had peeked into the girls showers. Shane had been the girl to beat the crap out of him. He looked at the rest of his new Squadron. The Norwegian girl was sitting there, listening to what her new Colonel had to say. It was stupid having a non-marine in a Marine-squadron. It had happen before, 'Forcers that had been transferred to Marine-squads and so on. Marco trew a glance at Beate Bertheussen. She sat there and tried to dig a hole in her desk with her pencil. He glanced at Hawkes, the man sat there in awe and watched his Colonel. Marco had heard stories about Hawkes -the InVitro from Philly. He looked at Captain Nathan West. Everyone had hear about Nathan West and his search for his high-school love, Kylen Celina. It was a wonder that he was still alive.


Bertheussen nodded, just like she had nodded a few times before. Polo knew that she wasn't paying attention. He decided that he could give her a note about what she was supposed to do.

"I don't want anyone back in a body-bag, So keep a low profile, I also don't want anyone burned so…" McQueen moved towards West. "I don't have a name for this mission but I'm sure that someone can find up a name…Polo, do you have a idee?"

Marco looked down. "Ever seen that old movie 'Mission Impossible'? I guess that is a good title for this mission…Impossible! It insane! We're never gonna survive this!!"

Anne Schjerven laughed. "You are really a optimist. I'm surprised that you're still here"

"That enough. Call this Mission Impossible, but I will NOT hear anything like that" McQueen looked darkly at the new ones.

"Aye, aye, Sir" the 58th said as McQueen dismissed them.

**********************************************************************************

Mission Impossible

The USS SARATOGA

Beate Bertheussen stood in front of McQueen, nervous as a school-kid. She looked him into the eyes, just to be met by two cold fireball, if there where such things. "Bertheussen, this isn't high-school. If you miss anything you will be putting your squadron's life on the line. I demand that you listen to the mission-briefings or find yourself a desk-job!"

Beate looked at him. "Yes sir, it will not happen again"

"How do I know that? How can I trust you? But you will get another chance, but if you blow it I will have your head" McQueen muttered.

Bertheussen nodded. McQueen pointed at the hatch. "Get the hell out of here, you got a mission to fly!"

She walked out, letting her laughter out. She stepped towards an empty passage.

God, what the hell was she doing in a war anyway? She wasn't fit to be a soldier. She wanted to be a goddamned cook! It was safe unless she chopped off a finger trying to prepare fish. She laughed. She just wanna try the fucking training, not literary become a Marine. Why had the war broken out while SHE still where in training?

She quickly wiped her tears of laugher away and headed towards the wardroom. If she was lucky, no one would be there.

***********
Hammerhead bay.

Lt. Anne Schjerven was busy checking over her Hammerhead when Captain Marco Polo entered. She glanced at him and then at West. "Eh…Captains…Can you guys help me here? I need another set of hands" she asked polite.

Captain West overlooked her and Marco followed his example. The Lieutenant trew a angry look at them both before trying on her own. She was just about to check the fuel when she spotted the loose wire. She carefully touched it and tried to put it back on place. Then explosion happened….

West was the first to run towards Schjerven's Hammerhead. "Get a doctor!" he yelled as he carefully picked Anne up.

***************
Sick bay, USS Saratoga

The doctors where busy trying to get the young woman to breath by herself. Schjerven laid on the sickbed, her gray eyes closed as the medics worked to get her back to the living. Captain West watched them as they worked with the young girls body. He closed his eyes, remembering his own pain from when he was injured. The rest of the 58th came running.

Captain Marco Polo had explained to the doctors what had happened. A loose wire in the Hammerhead control-panel had set off a little explosion. It was a miracle that no one else got hurt.

McQueen walked over to a nurse, asking her about what was going on. "Colonel…the Lieutenant got a blow on the head. We don't know how, but she can't breath on her own. So we are working to get her back. Can you give me any information why she isn't responding?" the nurse informed him.

McQueen looked towards Anne's slim form on the table. "She has been in Crynic sleep. That can explain it, but she…I don't know anything about her. She has hardly been her a day"

The Nurse nodded. "Okay…" she looked towards West and spotted a cut on his neck. "Captain West, can you follow me. That cut on your neck can get a infection if you don't wash it"

Nathan looked towards the table. "Can I stay? It isn't doing me anything"

The nurse, a Major Dana Hiller, walked close to West. She touched the wound. He grasped at the sting, the striking pain. He got a little dizzy, but fought it back. Hiller looked at him. "Captain West, as a Major I can order you to go with me" she looked at McQueen. "Colonel, it can only get worse if we don't fix it"

"West, go with the Major" Ty said and looked at Nathan.

"But sir…"

"Move it!"

Nathan walked with the nurse towards another room. Bertheussen shook her head. But Polo knew what it was, he as West, felt guilt for what happened. Schjerven had asked them for help but they had ignored her. If they had seen the wire they had knew that they shouldn't try to put it back. Marines wasn't engineers or mechanics. They both had their reason for not excepting her as a soldier: Polo was mad for having someone, a girl with better experience and stuff… But West was mad at her because she had taken Wang's place, or maybe 'cause she hadn't? Polo couldn't be sure about West…he had never understood small town-peoples.

"Get 5 milligrams of Dolphamine NOW!" a doctor yelled "I'll be damned if we're letting this one go!"

"Her heartbeats are more regular, and her breathing in getting better. She's breathing on her own" one Nurse said. "She's going to be just fine"

Polo smiled. Now he had no reason to feel guilty

********************
Sic bay, Phousse's room

Vanessa Damphousse smiled as Shane entered. "Hi" she said, laying her book down.

"Hi, Phousse. How are you doing?" Vansen smiled.

"I'm better, the doc says that I will be out of here in a week…" she looked at her best friends face. "What's wrong?"

Shane laughed. "They…" she grew serious. "They have given us Paul's replacements. Two Marines, a girl and a guy"

Phousse tried to sound cheerful. "Cool. How are they?"

"Well, I know one of them. His name is Captain Marco Polo…"

"Captain Marco Polo?" Phousse laughed

"Yeah, I know...stupid name anyway. He is from San Diego, and he played on the same football-team as I. I don't know…he is a little…Y'know…sarcastic, but funny. The 58th need someone like him" she smiled. " Bertheussen is great. She is funny and kind and really good with Cooper. I think he likes her. She is from Norway, but has lived in Long Island for most of her life"

"Sounds like a nice girl…" she paused. "How is Nathan?"

"He's doing fine, considering that Kylen broke up with him. He is quite, but Nathan has never been that open to us" Shane changed the subject. "And we got Kelly's replacement"

"What? It has been a year? Who?" Phousse sat up.

"This is a freaking one. Her name is Lt. Anne Schjerven. She is from the year 2007" Vansen played with her dogtags.

"Ah, one of them…so, how's she like?" she looked curious at Vansen.

"She's okay. She has that face that is totally cool, like she don't care. She wear her hair Hockey and is from Norway" Vansen laughed. "She is in the Norwegian Army but has been assign to the 58th. She lies in sick bay, her Hammerhead exploded"

"Oh my God" Vanessa covered her mouth.

"Amen to that" Shane said, trying to hide her smile. "I don't know, she knows a lot. I guess she is a good officer, but she's not…"

"She's not a Marine" Phousse finished understanding.

"Yeah, that freaks me out on so many different levels" Vansen walked to the door.

"Not so much as the name Marco Polo" Phousse busted out in laugher.

***************
Sick bay, USS Saratoga

Lt. Anne Schjerven regained conciseness at 19:36. The 58th was the first thing she saw. She smiled. "I guess that wire doesn't go there" she said, licking her lips without much effort.

"Schjerven, I'm sorry that I didn't help you when you asked for it" Captain West said.

Anne smiled. "Yeah, so am I"

Polo just look mean at her. Anne smiled sweet towards him. She could feel how he despised her. "Thanks for helping, but we didn't know about your Hammerhead. Don't hate us" Polo barked.

"Hate you?!" she yelled and sat up, ignoring the pain and the fact that she felt naked in her hospital growl. "What have ever I done to you? Except maybe being assign to the 58th? Can't you understand that I can't help this? Yes, I'm sorry that Lt. Wang died! Yes, I'm sorry that you lost your squadron, Polo. But I haven't done a fucking thing, so if you really got such a problem with me then fuck you!" she stood up, taken her IV off. "How the hell dare you?! To hell with your attitude for women and while you are at it to hell with you!"

She took a good grip in Marco's neck and trew him out. The 58th watched her. Anne had tears running town her face, her eyes looked angry and her teeth where clenched 'cause of the pain from her cuts. "What the hell are you standing there for? Does this look like the open house to you?" she snapped. West looked down. She signed. "Sorry for my temper, but I have had a really bad day and it isn't getting better"

Nathan nodded. Shane was standing there, surprised of Schjerven's temper. Bertheussen was stunned. Hawkes stood there with a smirk. Anne looked at him and started to laugh. The 58th look at her. Then she turned pale and hit the floor.

******************
Next day, sick bay

Anne was crying. She had never felt this alone in her whole life. She missed Norway, she missed her mom and dad, her friends, her drill-sergeant even her stupid teacher with a head on the size of a balloon. She started to laugh. Here she was, years from her own time feeling sorry for herself. It wasn't like she had got a F in gym anyway, she was just homesick. She turned around, trying to sleep. She heard someone enter. She quickly took her k-bar from under her pillow and waited for the intruder. The person sat down next to the bed and watched her. As she saw the shadow move she quickly placed her knife under the intruders throat. "Identify yourself" she said cold.

"Captain Nathan West" the voice replied shaking. Schjerven turned on the light and saw into West's gray eyes.

"Don't scare the shit out of me like that, West!" she told him smiling.

Nathan smiled back. "Sorry…I was just checking that everything was okay" He saw her red eyes. "What's up? Tell me"

She looked at him. "I don't even know you…and I'm sorry that I was so mean to you"

He took her hand. "It's okay. You had a point, I deserved that. But some people tell me that I am a good listener, wanna borrow a ear?"

"Sure you wanna sit here?" she asked him.

Nathan nodded smiling. "I don't have anything better to do. So tell me…where are you from"

"Lödingen. A little town in North-Norway. Nordland as it's called. It's a nice town, not to many people, everyone know each other…except from now…" she stopped.

"I am from Farmingville, New England" he told her. "I grew up in a town just like yours"

"Y'know what I miss the most about my time? My boyfriend Markus and my parents" she looked down.

Nathan was suddenly so keen about the floor. "I know how it is, knowing that you're never gonna see a person again… I know everything about it"

"So…who was she or he?" Anne whispered.

Nathan looked into her gray eyes. She looked worried. He begun telling the story about him and Kylen…



When McQueen entered, Schjerven was sleeping sound. West had his head on the side of the bed and was also sleeping. Ty moved slowly in toward the bed. They looked to young. He looked at his two WildCards, one old and one new and Ty knew that this was going to work out, somehow it always did.

********
1 week later, the briefing-room

Normal mission. Nothing fancy for the new ones. Just a in-and-out assignment. Damphousse looked towards the chair where Paul had used to sit, now it was occupied by Bertheussen. The woman was again trying to dig a hole in the desk, but at least she was paying attention. West's eyes where locked on Anne, as they had been for a while now. He really liked her, not just as a friends but a little like…he turned off the feeling. He knew at this point, after loosing Kylen he would in a couple of months feel the same way for a coffee-machine.

Captain Marco Polo had been very popular with the girls on the 'toga. Schjerven had a word for it, a nickname for him. Jeger'n, she called him. It was Norwegian for Hunter. They were all proud of the names they had got. Marco was Hunter, no doubt about that one. Beate was Angel, and Anne had her old Nick -Shadow.

Queen6 walked towards Bertheussen and then towards Hawkes. Cooper had come really close to Beate these days. They played poker, watched movies and bowled. "This is a normal mission. You will be landed on the planet 574-NRK in the Hercules-system. Your mission will be to observe ALL enemy activity. This is the 58th first mission as a new team, so it will not be that hard" McQueen looked at the new members of the 58th, his new kids. "You will look for a Napalm-bunker approximate 24 clicks from Bulls-eye"

The 58th looked at each other. "Sir, with all due of respect, What is napalm?" asked Captain Marco Polo from the first row.

Lt. Anne Schjerven stood up. "Napalm was used in the Vietnam-war for fire-bombs. You can still find it in old-fashion Flame-throwers. I can guess that we are looking for a Napalm-industry, mostly made by AIs. The Chigs will be able to use a flame-thrower without a problem due to the fact that they have hands just like us… sir" she looked at McQueen.

Colonel Tyrus Cassius McQueen smiled. "Yes, that correct. The AIs has just begun with this old things, but still it's a threat for the Space Force, how primitive it might be. Most people and Tanks are afraid for fire" he paused. "Bertheussen, you have had some experience with burn-wounds. I want you to take the med-Kit with you on this mission" McQueen told them. "We will have 3 teams, Alpha 3 is Vansen, Damphousse and Polo. Bravo 8 is Hawkes and Bertheussen and Charlie 5 is West and Schjerven. Watches at 08:00…ready, ready…heck!"

**************
ISSAPC, 50 000 MSKs from NRK

"Did you know that NRK was a TV-channel in Norway? It did only send crap tough. If you wanna have a really good show you should watch TV2, they had it all….X-Files, Friends, The Others, Millenium, Pacific Blue, NYPD Blue and M*A*S*H…I would have done anything for watching M*A*S*H right now" Schjerven paused.

"I used to watch NYPD Blue when I was a kid" Bertheussen smiled. "But I was more a XF girl. I loved all those things that Mulder and Scully always did"

"The Cigarette Smoking Man was the best" Marco marked. "I really loved one of those episodes…what was it called again? That with JFK and Martin Luther King?"

"You mean 'Musing of a CSM'?" Phousse asked.

"Yeah, that's it! That was a good one…'Never again' wasn't that bad either. The handsome and slightly insane Ed with Dana…" Marco laughed and whistled.

"'The Field where I died'!" yelled Vansen. "That was a goodie. But now let's focus. We are in the planets atmosphere in 2 mikes"

"So, Vansen…What are you doing after this mission?" Polo asked. "We can play poker if you want"

Shane laughed. "Yeah, but bring money 'cause I'm gonna clean the table"

Cooper looked down on the planets atmosphere. "Let's hope we're not gonna get spammed" he said.

"If we are gonna get anything, it's barbecued!" Marco laughed evil.

*************
The Planet NRK

Lt. Vanessa Damphousse contacted the Saratoga. "Queen6, this is WildCards. Our coordinates is 2-7-3-9-1-6-5-9. Our ETA is at 1-4-7-4-7-2-9, that's 10 miles from here"

"Roger that, WildCards. See you later"

Cooper took off his goggles and smiled. Bertheussen took hers off to and laughed. "This is what I call home" she smiled.

"Yeah, is it just me or is my hair standing up?" Polo took off his helmet and let's his fingers touch it. The rest of the 58th saw the sparks from the electricity. "Wow, it's enough to power the MacArthur for a year"

"I'm not taking my helmet off" Vansen said and loaded her rifle. The rest did the same. "Okay, Charlie 5. Take the East side, report of anything happens"

West and Schjerven nodded and started to walk. The rest looked after them. "Okay, Bravo 8 take the west" Shane continued.

Bertheussen took her goggles on and moved out with Hawkes. Polo looked at Vansen. "Then we're taking the northside, we can attack the bunker from three directions" he said matter of fact.

"Okay, let's go" Alpha 3 moved slowly off.

**************
Bravo 8.

Beate started to dig the little foxhole that would shelter Hawkes and herself. She looked towards the InVitro. She liked Coop, he was nice. Hawkes looked towards the big bunker. "I can see 10 Silicates. What the…" he focused his night-goggles. "I see one Bill C-model and one Malcolm X"

"What?" Beate asked and sat down beside him.

"Special war-models. They were designed for war. They know everything in war-technology and so on. Aerotech designed them in 2056, to fight against AI's. They cost 10 millions each and there are only 5 of them in the world" he paused. "They are programmed as navy-SEAL, Marine-hunters, Dan Daly and so on. No one has ever defeated one of them"

"Oh my God…we have a problem" Bertheussen said. "Can they receive our position?"

"If we turn on the radio, yes. But we wont. Shane has giving us what we need, we are just waiting for the signal from West" Cooper told her.

**************
Alpha 3

Marco sat down behind a wall, waiting for Phousse to come. Vanessa jumped down beside him and Shane. "They have 9-12 Silicates out there. We wait for Charlie 5 to respond and them we take them"

"I just got a big urge to go down and get me a Slurpie" Polo muttered.

"Yeah, I know what you mean" Vansen said sour.

"Napalm…I thought that we were trough with such barbarian things" Damphousse stood up, walking to get her blood-circulation in order.

"When I got to Base Tiller in Maine, I was told that I could drop napalm on little kids" Polo signed. "I started to laugh and was almost kicked out by my drill-sergeant…what was his name…Weisser I think, or Weiss"

"Nice name, German or something?" Shane asked.

"No, American. From LA I think" he told them.

************
Charlie 5

"Herregud, dette kan ikke gå bra (Oh my God, this can't go well)" Schjerven whispered as she saw the AI's.

Nathan looked at her. "What?"

"Nothing" she said innocent. She didn't want to freak him out as well. "Let get in position"

West walked down. "Let's get to the radio" he said.

"Wait, just in case. Let me contact Alpha 3. I don't trust AI's and Aerotech haven't got anything to say back in Norway" she took the radio and turned it on. "Alfa 3, dette er 5 o'clock Charlie. Vi er i posisjon og venter bare på dere. (Alpha 3, this is 5 O'clock Charlie. we are in position and are waiting for you)"

Bertheussen heard the message and went to the radio. "Charlie, vi hører dere. Vi er klar. Send opp signalet til Bravo 8 og la oss få dette showet på veien. (Charlie, we read you. Vi are ready. Send up the signal to Bravo 8 and let's get this show on the road)"
part 2

Charlie 5

Captain Nathan West heard something from the bushes. He turned around and loaded his rifle. The AI saw her target as he turned around. Felicity Oh was thankful to Alvin for leading the Marine's attention away from the place where she was. She quickly stepped out from her hiding-spot and knocked the young man out cold. "West? West!" Alvin and Felicity heard a female voice yell.

"Take her from the left" Alvin ordered. Felicity nodded.

"Hi, honey!" Alvin yelled.

The girl looked at him, holding her rifle. "Bye, bye, bye" she said and fired just as Felicity knocked her out too.

Alvin hit the ground. Felicity runned to him. "Alvin? Alvin, answer me" she demanded.

Alvin looked at his guerrilla-leader. "I can't make it…bip…cold…damn…bip…d-d-d-d-d-death I-I-is c-c-c-coming…" then the silicate shut down.

Felicity took her new prisoners by their feet, leaving Alvin to lay there. "Damn pleasure-model" she snapped and dragged the two soldiers towards the bunker.

********
Bravo 8

"Damn!" Cooper yelled. "They've got Schjerven and West!"

Lieutenant Beate Bertheussen looked. "Jepp" she replied. "We have to contact Queen6"

"No, remember Bill C and Malcolm X. We are better off getting them back ourselves!" Hawkes prepared his rifle and sidearm.

"You're nuts! There's no way we two can defeat 10 AI's! It is insane!" Beate stepped in front of Coop.

"Listen here, girl. Nathan isn't just some normal Marine, I owe him my life and now he need the favor. I am a InVitro, I was made to defeat those things" Hawkes said. "Besides I don't wanna you to come. It's to dangerous"

Bertheussen smiled sad. "I'm coming with you, Coop. I am a Marine. Remember: Semper fi, Semper fi, Marinecorps way is do or die. This is my chance"

********
The Bunker

Nathan woke up, feeling like he had been beaten over his head with a Chig. He looked around. He was in a little room, he guessed that it was in the bunker. He remembered…some of what had happened. He had been a fool, not trusting his instinct enough. He saw Anne on the floor. She had been hit bad, blood running from a cut on her forehead. He took her in his arms, trying to wake her up. A Silicate entered. "Hello, loverboy. How is everything going?" he said. he was made to look like a man in his 40's. White, short hair, a black suit and so on. He looked at Schjerven. "Ah, isn't that beautiful…She is pretty, that one. Better keep her then"

"Go to hell"

"Oh-uh, you scare me…West Nathan. But remember, you aren't in any position to hurt me. I am Bill C-23. And I remember you, West Nathan…You are Kylen Celina's boy" he walked to Nathan, taking his hand and pressed it hard. Nathan tried to get away, but the Silicate was to strong. "Yes, yes…what happened? Didn't she want you anymore? Did she see what a wimp you are? Yes…yes"

Nathan felt the pain, he knew that the AI was gonna break his hand. He looked the Silicate into the eyes -artificial eyes he thought. "You son of a bitch" West said. "Don't you know that a Cobra can bite?"

"Well, you ain't a Cobra…" the AI was interrupted by Anne, who had woken up while West was talking.

She kicked the AI and took his knife. "He ain't a Cobra, but I am" she told the Silicate. "Get up"

Bill C stood up, looking at Schjerven. "Well, well, well. You are a pretty one. But you can't get away. I have more Silicate outside, you will be shot"

"At least I will die with a fight, I ain't a quitter" she replied a matter of fact. The door opened and Malcolm X entered with a strange weapon.

"Drop the knife. And step out, both of you or I will shoot you with my dracon-beamer" the AI said cold. He was made to look like a man in his 20's. Anne dropped the knife and walked out with her head high, followed by West.

Anne and Nathan took a good look around, knowing that they might need to know everything about this place to break out. Felicity Oh entered. She smiled at her new prisoners. "Hi, friends. Let me see" she said and walked to the lieutenant. Felicity took her hand over the cut. Schjerven looked like she didn't care, not a emotion in her eyes. "Oh, I haven't seen you before, what's her name, Bill?"

Bill smiled. "Schjerven, Anne Sigrid, Lt. Norwegian Army"

Felicity looked surprised. "Oh I see…no I don't. Whatever. Still we want to know what you are doing her on NRK"

"We are looking for a new TV-show. Like 'Animorphs', or maybe 'Jett Jackson'" Anne answered coldly.

"Well, well, well. A comedian. Funny, really funny. Can I keep her, Felicity?" Malcolm asked.

"No one keeps me. I am a human being, not a thing!" Schjerven exploded. "Just keep your hands off me, freak!"

"Throw them in again. Tomorrow you can have your way with her, Malcolm" Felicity ordered and pointed at the door.

******
Bravo 8

Bertheussen moved towards the back, her hand on her sidearm and her rifle on her hip. She took her hair back and decided to cut it when she was through with this mission. She backed to meet Hawkes back to back. "Okay, if we flank from the left and if they get the point it should go"

"Nathan is smart. He'll get it. My problem is that we can't get in, we can only keep them occupied" Hawkes marked.

"Well, that time, that problem. Let's get it done" she took her rifle and moved down the wall. "Ready? Fire!"

They fired at the AI's.

******
Alpha 3

Captain Shane Vansen sat up as she heard the gunfire. She looked at Phousse. "Send out a Broken Arrow" Shane ordered.

Vanessa turned on the radio. "Queen6 this is WildCards, Queen6 this is WildCards"

"WildCards, this is Queen6. What's the problem?" McQueen asked cold.

"We are hearing gunfire and Charlie 5 is not responding. Bravo 8 is attacking the Bunker from the left. Broken Arrow, repeat, Broken Arrow" Phousse told him.

"We are picking you up, stay put until further notice" Tyrus Cassius McQueen ordered.

"Roger that, Queen6. Over and out" Vanessa looked at Polo. "This isn't looking to well I am afraid"

*******
Charlie 5, the bunker

West looked up. "It is Cooper. We have to get out"

"I have a plan" Schjerven replied. "How good are you to fight?"

"Heh?"

"I mean, can you karate? Judo? Boxing? Football?" she asked, taking out a round object.

" I can karate" he said, looking strange at her.

"Yell for the guard and prepare to run" she told him.

"Okay…that is a new one…" he paused and cleaned his throat. "Guard!! Guard! She's dying!!"

The Elroy El-model opened the door, not prepared for the round object that hit his head. West took the gun from Elroy and shot him. The AI fell to the ground. "What the hell was that?" Nathan asked.

"A basketball, all right? I used a damn basketball to distract him" Anne said frustrated. "And I'm gonna use it again and again until we are out of here, so MOVE!"

Nathan couldn't help himself so he laughed all the way to the center of the Bunker. Schjerven took out a C-670 and trew it with the napalm. "Let's get the hell out of here" she told him.

West nodded and trew a glance towards the room were they had come from. "They are coming after us…by the way, how did you get the C-670?"

"Found it on Elroy…After a life in 2000 you learn that anything can get useful, even the slightest thing. Must be 'cause of to many episodes of MacGyver" she looked at him. "This is just off the record" she said, pulling him closer and kissed him. She let him go and laughed. "Now I have done that too. Let's go!"

Nathan runned after her. Stunned, no…he was more surprised. Still it had been good, but he knew she just did it for the fun of it. But West allowed himself to romanticize it, as he always had done in such things.

**********
Bravo 8

Hawkes saw West and Schjerven running and yelled to Beate: "They are coming, give them a hint!"

Bertheussen fired two shots in the air and West turned and runned towards them. Schjerven followed him shortly, firing at the AI's to stupid of to stubborn to know that they didn't stand a chance.

Schjerven jumped down in the foxhole, looking at Bertheussen. "It's gonna blow. Contact Alpha 3 and say to them that they should get as far away a possible"

Beate nodded and turned on the radio. "Alpha 3, this is Bravo 8. The bunker is HOT. Get so far away as you can"

"Roger that, Bravo 8. Is Charlie 5 with you?"

"5 O'clock Charlie has landed and we are ready to get the hell outta here" Beate replied shaking. "Semper fi"

"Semper fi, guys. Good luck" Vansen's voice disappeared.

"We don't have time to get away" Hawkes said a matter of fact. "If we dig us down we can stand a chance"

"Do we have time?" Beate asked him.

"We are four, it can be done and it's our best shoot"

"What the hell are we standing here for then? Let's get motivated, ladies" Schjerven smiled and started digging as fast as she could. the rest of the two teams joined her.

*********
USS Saratoga

McQueen looked out of the window in the Tun, knowing that there was nothing he could do for his kids. He ordered another shoot of Whiskey. He looked at the other squadrons that where there. Some rookies, not older than that Bertheussen-girl. One of them walked towards him. "Colonel McQueen? My name is Private Jane Hunnicutt and I just wanna say how much I admire you and the 127th"

Ty looked down in the glass. "Thanks kid"

"Ever been in a Zero-gravity chamber?" she tried.

McQueen's mind drifted towards Winslow. He remembered that time when she had tried that line…How innocent she looked. Her lips…McQueen thought that she had the same lips as Bertheussen. Funny, how you can see such things sometimes. McQueen stood up and stepped out, nor noticing the Private.

"Ah, you did your best" one of the enlisted guys told Hunnicutt.

"He is just some dumb Tank, nothing to see" the other guy marked.

"I guess you are right" Jane told them, taking another sip from her Jim Beam.

************
Alpha 3

Vansen, Polo and Phousse runned away from the bunker. Of some reason Shane felt the urge to turn around and join Nathan and Cooper. At least they where together. Shane knew that there was a 50 % chance for that Nathan and Hawkes didn't survive, but she keep the faith at the other 50 %. Polo grinned. "Guess that I was right. They aren't getting spammed, they are getting barbecued"

Non of the other laughed. Phousse felt the lump in her throat. She just wanted to wake up from this nightmare and discover that she was back home with her family and there was no war, no 58th and no Saratoga.

They keep on running until they hear the explosion from the bunker.

*********
The bunker

A face smiled as the napalm caught fire. The AI looked at the flames and laughed. His face was yellow and red from the flames but he keep smiling. His little eyes and the snake-like way he smiled was one of the things that noticed that he was a Sewell-model. "58th is back on the run" he said seconds before the whole damn thing blew up.

*********
Bravo 8 and Charlie 5

They had just covered the 4 meter deep foxhole when they heard the explosion. Anne looked up, scared. She stepped back and was meet by another frightened face, Nathan's. The group looked up before thinking that they should take cover. Cooper covered Beate and Nathan covered Schjerven's face. They could feel the heat even tough they where under the ground. "Oh man, Marco was right…who wanna be slightly barbecued?" Bertheussen whispered.

"I don't know…but I ain't giving up the hope that we might survive" Cooper muttered.

The group started to sweat. It was getting really hot in there. Schjerven opened to top of her flight-suit, thinking that she would be better off in a tee-shirt. The rest followed her example. Suddenly Beate started singing and the rest joined her. "It ain't gonna rain no more no more, it ain't gonna rain no more, so how can I ever wash my face, if it ain't gonna rain no more"

"It ain't gonna rain no more no more, it ain't gonna rain no more, so how can I ever wash my hair, if it ain't gonna rain no more"

"It ain't gonna rain no more no more, it ain't gonna rain no more, so how can I ever wash my neck, if it ain't gonna rain no more…"

**********
Alpha 3, the LZ

Shane, Phousse and Marco were silent. They where sitting in the ISSCV knowing…believing that the rest of the 58th were dead. Vansen looked down on the arm-brace she had gotten from Nathan last Christmas. She tried to hold her tears at bay but didn't succeed. Phousse laid a conforming hand on Vansen's shoulder, trying to help her friend. Vansen look up. "Nathan…and Cooper" Shane said trough her tears. "I…oh God, not them…"

Marco looked out of the window and saw the burning bunker. There was 500 meters around the bunker in flames and Polo knew that no-one could survive those flames. He looked at Shane. "It will be burning for at least 2 hours…"

One of the Marines that had picked them up walked towards them. The Private looked at them. "Who are you?" she asked.

"The 58th" Damphousse replied automatic.

"Oh…you are legends"

"Not any more" Shane said.

The private walked way, leaving the members alone with their sorrows. God knows they had plenty of that…