Chapters 29-35 Outlines (subject to change)

If this is at all inconsistent, it is because I had to rework the plot points again to make up for removing/changing a character’s integration into the story, and to help try and buy some time for other things to happen.

Chapter 29: Festering Wounds

MANTICORE, Seattle

602 goes into the early stages of heat and is trying to fight off a much larger, muscled male transgenic hell bent on procreating. Max steps in, unaware of the effect heat has on the males, and in doing so, puts her life in danger. None of the other males step forward to help her and are quickly sequestered by their C.O. Alec, having recently been in this situation, is not up for a repeat performance, but when 600’s attack turns potentially deadly, he joins the fight. Together, Max and Alec subdue 600 and whisk a touchy and tetchy 602 into solitary.

The females in their unit have a newfound respect for Max, but Alec rips her a new one for coming between a male Transgen and his potential mate, something that could have gotten her killed. The two turn to blows themselves, the remainder of their unit watching with great amusement and keen interest as the two duel themselves onto the ground and find themselves wrapped around each other, breaking apart only when a snarky comment by a spectator – either, “Anyone got popcorn?” or “This sure as heck beats TV. ”

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MANTICORE – Offsite, Seattle

Jondy is supposedly ready to be deployed as an undercover agent. White sends her back to Renfro at Manticore. Jondy, however, is not conditioned at all, thanks to Lydecker’s foresight. Renfro visits Jondy and after she plays stupid, pretending to be a perfect soldier, Renfro tells her she will be assigned to a new unit and to wait in the atrium for her new C.O. to collect her.

in the meantime, jondy is ‘intergrated’ into manticore and placed in brin’s unit in a remote facility (not knowing how close she is to tinga – on the other side of the compound.)

“You’ve been assigned to D Block. It’s a good group, you’ll like it there.”

“What’s that,” pointing at heavily gated, securely fenced in building at opposite end of quad.

“Oh, that’s SICU, intensive medical,” the soldier dismissed. He had been given explicit instructions to keep knowledge of the breeding pair housed in the building from the new inductee at all costs.

Jondy followed in subdued silence, unaware that her sister was a few hundred feet away.

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MANTICORE, Seattle

Biggs and Dillon (511 and 325), returning from a short-term away mission, overhear a conversation that sends them running to their commanding officer. Gossip may be scant and far between but when it surfaced, the squads were a pack of yentas. And what better gossip, than recaptured 09ers?

Renfro, sitting on her guilded throne deep within the concrete walls of Castle Manticore often ignored the soldiers in her care and at her command, dismissing them as subservient and at her mercy. Her superiority complex often left her “sloppy”/lax and the Transgenics were wont to overheard a tasty morsel every now and again.

Apparently, X5-452’s blood work didn’t return the desired results and they would have to keep searching. On a positive note, their ‘newest asset’ was the only X5 able to pass on her genetic attributes to her offspring. Said offspring had been monitored but managed to slip through their fingers – possibly with assistance from the other rogues – but no matter, she was ready and being prepared for breeding; Slavitz’s unit would suppy a donor.

Alec, 511 and 325 understand this meens enforced intimacy and take measures to provide all male X5s in Slavitz’s unit with contraceptives. The plan falls through when a newly resinstated, and completely reprogrammed 664 refuses to take part in ‘traitorous activity’ and threatens to report them if they follow through with the plot to oppose Manticore’s objectives.

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Lydecker calls Max into his office to let her know about the newest development (as far as he knows, that is) – Jondy is at Manticore. Max flips a lid but Lydecker assures her that he did everything in his power to help keep Jondy from turning and that when they go in to rescue Tinga, they will extract Jondy, too.

Unbeknownst to either Max or Lydecker, Renfro has taken 664 from Slavitz’s unit is briefing him on his newest mission.

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Chapter 30: Quarter

SEATTLE – CALE RESIDENCE – Place was under watch while tracking Max, so it stands to reason it’s still having periodic checks (past the two weeks after her capture) to check for any further rogue transgenic activity at the same location.

Krit, out on an errand, notices a team checking out the area and lures them away from the apartment and alerts big brother zack to the dangers. On his way back, he sees Asha meeting with a man in a seedy bar, he hears the name Otto and files it away for future reference.

Zack wants to cut out and leave max to her own devices – they’ll continue to search but any possible ties to her could compromise them all and he doesn’t want to risk everyone else but Logan insists on leaving the connection to Max open, even if he has to relocate undergroundin Seattle. Asha is NOT happy with the newest developments, claiming that she had been his girlfriend years before he ever met Max, and the girl was more trouble than she as worth – how could he risk everything for a friendship less than a couple weeks old?

Logan’s going on instinct and he knows Max is good people. On top of that, Berrisford was a friend (of the family? or a contact?) and the very idea of what Manticore is doing to innocent children rubs him the wrong way. As such, Logan gives Asha a choice: stay or leave. She leaves. Zack tells Krit to set up surveillance on Asha as she might try for petty revenge. Logan thinks he’s being paranoid until Krit mentions that he’d seen Asha talking to this ‘Otto’ person.

The cogs are turning in Zack’s head and he puts two and two together; Otto fits the description Zane gave him on the phone. Zack tells Logan in no uncertain terms that they are going to ground and that Logan is to cut all ties with Asha as she is in bed with the enemy, so to speak.

Logan is shocked, but can’t or won’t refute Zack’s logic and sense. Krit stays to help Logan pack up E.O. while Zack goes to find a suitable place to lay low.

“Tiffany” (12:50:59): Does Asha know Otto is a bad guy?
Saucylilvixen (12:51:20): i haven’t decided yet
Saucylilvixen (12:51:42): i think she was just looking for a way to cause trouble for logan – being the jilted ex girlfriend – not because she was jealous b/c lets face it max was missing so she doesn’t really care – maybe petty, but she’s a woman and its her prerogative to dislike someone who caused so much havoc in her relationship)

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Chapter 31: Midnight Shadows

So lydecker couldn’t wait for max and alec – who were out on joint-training program with the NY facility and won’t be back for six weeks – to contact EO because he learned that Jondy was being released to the special unit at another location with Brin and there was talk about another recaptured rogue.

Lydecker tells Logan of his desire to contact the other 09ers to warn them that Manticore is after them and to stay safe. He wants to know why the Assistant Director of Manticore would consider allowing them to stay free. He says he has his reasons and that he’s sure EO will examine all the facts and make an informed opinion and that he hopes he makes the right one.

Zack won’t hear of it, thinks its got to be a trap but in true Zack fashion won’t leave the information alone and checks it out. He finds that Lydecker is on the level, Jondy IS being held – showing outward signs of reform – working for Manticore as well as Brin. Tinga’s status is still unknown.

Zack agrees to meet with Lydecker through satvid and hear his story.

Zack doesn’t want to trust Lydecker but he’s not willing to leave Jondy in Manticore. He tells Deck they’ll execute a rescue but when they arrive, take Lydecker hostage and tie him up. Krit, Zack, Syl and Zane make up the team that go in for Jondy.

They manage to get Jondy out, but there are countermeasures and Brin is killed, something which Zack blames Lydecker for. Jondy stays his hand saying that it was Lydecker’s man who kept her sane on the inside and maybe he really is on the level. They agree to stay in touch using secure contact protocols and dead drops as and when new info comes to light.

Lydecker can’t confirm Tinga’s return to Manticore but speculates that she would be wherever it was Renfro was hiding her. Also, Jondy mentions that the facility she was in had a highly secured special unit that was inaccessible to all but the upper echelon of Manticore and special units. They assume she was there and Lydecker promises to look into it and let them know his finidings.

Deck heads back to Manticore with the good news of Jondy’s release but still worried about Tinga’s possible capture.

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Chapter 32: All Nightmare Long

Lydecker discovers that there *had* been a female held in the SICU at the offsite facility, but that the female soldier had been removed to another location at Renfro’s discretion. Upon questioning, Renfro denies all knowledge and tells lydecker to watch his step – that prying into affairs that are not his concern might give the committee reason to reconsider his position within manticore.

Lydecker relays the little info he has to Zack along with the locations of all other Manticore bases within the country in hopes that Zack might uncover something that he could not.

ALEC & MAX have grown to trust each other and work in perfect harmony together in the field. 452 was even recommended for short term ops under his command. She knew better than to attempt escape – she had to stay in constant contact with Lydecker to help Tinga, and possibly the others.

max, alec and team are sent out to extract a french scientist based in a remote siberian compound in the altay mountains

the group is cut off from communications in a storm, when max has a seizure which causes her group (connected by rope/gear) to follow behind her – dragged at breakneck speed downhill – into a crack/hole in the snowy mountainside. 855 (Quinn) and 572 (Axel) cut free just in time, but max, alec and the doctor go over the edde and are strapped on an ice shelf with no medical supplies. the doctore dies a couple of hours later.

855 and 572 head down the mountain to their base camp to get more supplies. In the meantime, Alec commits to memory everything the doctor tells him (before he expires from shock, cold and bloodloss) – the information manticore was after. alec tries to calm max who is still seizing, but can do nothing more than hold her. they talk to try and ignore the hopelessness of their surroundings and max’s waning strength.

when the others finally find them, they’re too far down to be reached with the equipment on hand. alec hoists max up to an upper level and almost makes it himself, but falls back, bounces and misses the previous shelf and manages to catch on to the edge of a second one farther down but breaks his leg in the process and is unable to raise himself back to the original position.

max is still weak and isn’t in any manner able to help him.

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Chapter 33: Broken, Beaten and Scarred

cue 572 (Axel) and 855 (Quinn) rescue scene here:

Alec has Max up to a higher ledge but fell back and broke his leg.

“Come on, 494, focus. Help me out here, buddy.”

“Get her out of here, I’ll be fine.”

“Like hell you will. 855’s got 452. Now stop being stubborn and push your ass up, soldier!”

“Are you forgetting who’s in command here, 572?”

“You’re pulling rank at a time like this?!” He shakes his head. “Fine. Grab hold of the fucking rope – Sir!”

“Listen, 572. Get 452 our of here and make sure the Director gets that data chip. They are the objective, not me. I’m too heavy; you’re going to have to leave me.”

“Fuck you, 494. You don’t always have to be the fucking hero. You’re no use to us dead!”

Digs boots into the snow, secures his own line with the ice pick and leans over the chasm, dropping a safety line down to his commanding officer.

“Take the rope, dammit. You’re not dying out here in this godforsaken wasteland.”

Alec opens his mouth to protest but 572 beats him to it.

“If you don’t attach that line to your belt, I’m going to come down there and do it for you.”

“But then -”

“Exactly!”

572 finally pulls Alec to safety, – though in the process he is pulled down a ways and his chestslams into a pile of icey rocks – with a crack – and he holds on for dear life, keeps wheezing all the while alec is climbing out. axel collapses afterwards and requires the others’ help to carry him to the helipad at base camp. takes him weeks to recover from cracked ribs and ‘traumatised leg bones’. (or some other such dangerous injury – that axel was willing to risk to save his c.o.)

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upon their return to manticore, they are praised for keeping cool heads, getting the job done despite separation from the rest of the team and preservation fo the data, even if the doctor himself was dead.

lydecker is away on business and after a brief respite, max and co are sent on yet another mission, against the protestations of hannah, who believes max needed more time to recuperate.

A routine inspection of the barracks turns up the mini mic that alec had taken from max upon her initial capture. alec, having forgotten it completely, tenses when it is confiscatedand he sees Lydecker pocket the device and give him a sharp look.

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Chapter 34: Organized Danger

History chapter.

Vague references to the beginnings of Lydecker and Sandeman’s working relationship within Manticore, and Hannah’s addition to their little group. (Lydecker at his door declaring himself an ally on the inside. Hannah called upon to perform her duty to the Society and assist Dr. Sandeman by accepting a position within Manticore upon his recommendation. As a newly qualified doctor, she would have to work closely with others in the facility and labs and be able to assist him with the experiments.)

Flash forward to 1998: Sandeman and Hannah finally succeed with their latest experiment – injecting snake venom and other poisons directly into the surrogates’ wombs in increments, so they will build immunities.

Sandeman’s final test is performed on newborns, including X5-599 and X5-714: After further discussions with Society members and scholars, and after extensive research of ancient Minoan texts, Sandeman’s perfects his (previously only theorized) bio-agent which is then used on the infants with no ill effects.

Sandeman and Hannah, with the help of Lydecker and other members of The Society, destroy all remnants and documentation on the bio-agent. The X5 soldiers will be the only ones with the means (unknown to anyone but The Society) to create an antidote to the fallout of The Coming.

X5-493 and X5-494 born. Lydecker makes an odd request of Sandeman regarding the next batch of X5s; Sandeman refuses. Deck saves White against his better judgement and in thanks, Sandeman finally agrees to his appeal. (Deck’s wife DNA for max and krit)

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Chapter 35: Between Pleasure and Pain

MAX & ALEC are sent on an intelligence mission with their unit. (Cue scene on Czech bridge and confrontation between max and 810)

During this mission Max goes into heat and shares it with a fellow X5 (810) who gloats the following morning (insert morning after scene).

Alec finds her crying the morning after and comforts her. She admits to feeling dirty and cheap and, further strengthening their growing bond of kinship, Alec confesses his experience in the Jungle and his worries for other unit members.

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LYDECKER and Hannah meet in secret yet again to discuss ways to keep Max safe for the foreseeable future. A bit of info on the cult (Conclave, not Society) and their ultimate goals. May bring up discussion about Jondy having gone through supposed brainwashing to become White’s sleeper agent. Lydecker’s inside guy changed the trigger and ensures that she remained harmless. he thanks hannah for getting the intel and helping them to save jondy.

Hannah has not been able to uncover any other information about the missing technicians and doctors but promises to keep looking.

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When they return, Max seeks out 602 – which whom she’d established a tentative friendship – to discuss the mission, her heat encounter and to rant about Alec. 602 finds Max’s tirade very amusing and calls her on her feelings.

Alec overhears 602 teasing Max about her crush and learns that Max feels the same way he does. He, however, is unwilling to admit such feelings, not only because of fear of rejection, but because Manticore would slap him in Reindoc if they found out.

He wonders if they’ll ever get a chance to explore what could be.

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Across the country in a mostly deserted building, in a small, sparesly furnished room, a young woman lay strapped to a hospital bed, face pale and heart racing.

The only other occupant of the room stepped forward, a malicious smile curving her lips.

“Congratulations, 656. Fertilization was a success. You’re carrying the first of the next generation XY Manticore soldiers. What would your husband say?”