The Sixth Line of Defense

by Shiva Winters

  * * *

  The plans had been made, the people involved had moved into position, and her family would soon be scattered all across the planet to confront the very real danger ahead of them and would face the possibility that some of them would not be coming back. Deep down where she could not let any of the others see she wanted very much to burst into the General's office and call the whole thing off, to blackmail the brass into signing over their souls into her keeping to insure they were simply not shoved back into Anslaw to be forgotten about for another half a century. She wanted to write the whole thing off as being a problem created by the ancestors of normals and to declare in loud booming voice that they were not involved before leading a mass defection of escapees from Digel base like a modern day Moses. Even though her first instinct was to help despite the fact that she had been in a jail cell at the time she had since come to very much regret even that tiny hint, she resented the fact that they were being sent in like the small body shields for real trained soldiers.

  "Nervous?" Gen. Vandemere asked as she appeared at bedroom door of the quarters Devin had been assigned. Shiva, of course, had been assigned her own room, but she never even bothered to try and find it, feeling all but certain that if she was alone in bed she would have nightmares if not about the accident in the lab than about what was too come.

  "And pissed.." Shiva admitted reluctantly wishing as she often did that she could actually get away with lying even once or twice in her life. But she knew that simply didn't have what it would take to practice such a thing and erase those clear tells that always gave her away.

  "At us?" She asked in return not for one minute doubting they were the target of that emotion. Shiva looked at the General's image reflected in the mirror even as she tightened the straps holding her weapons and supplies in place. She was forced to nod in return, not quite able to meet that cool calm gaze. "Tolli is a sweet little girl, she told me you didn't believe me when I told you that I was going to do everything I could help all of you when this is over." She admitted a touch guiltily to Shiva as she stepped further into the room.

  "Over.." Shiva snorted at that word but there was no real amusement in the sound. "Even if we all make it back from today, it isn't over and we both know it. There are Series 5 units spread over half of creation by now.. and for all we know someone out there is using them to clone themselves an army having bought all the information they would need to strip away those clones' humanity just like the military did to all the originals." Shiva more or less growled back at her. "Why even consider giving us even an ounce of freedom when the brass could just shove us back into the freezers, keep us in their back pockets, and string us along with false promises for another 50 years before we become an inconvenient truth once more." Shiva countered bitterly, very much tempted to follow her original line of thought once more.

  "I've come to respect Lt. Hornton a great deal since you showed up and I was given the first hard evidence of true disaster you were caught up in. Want to hear some of what he has told me?" Shiva wanted to shake her head, to peacefully bow out of the situation and go back to Vala and forget that she was the one who had started all of this. But before she could make that decision the General decided to continue without waiting for Shiva's hesitating answer. "That you might have done all that damage to protect your family, that you might have performed your little 'rogue action' to clear your name, but the reason you showed up here and turned yourself in.. was because deep down you still had a sense of duty and honor. If all you had wanted was to prove you weren't responsible for General Winter's death you would have broken into my office one night and left a note and your evidence before you went to steal a shuttle and quietly gotten off-world." Shiva wasn't sure how she could counter those words as the General slipped across the distance and slowly snaked her arms around Shiva to hug her back against the older woman. "He also told me that if we were going to deal with any of your siblings that we should not even consider lying to them, we might just get away with it around you, but the moment we opened our mouths the others would know if it was true or not."

  "Probably.." Shiva was forced to whisper back to her.

  "So.. I'm not going to lie to you.. even if I could get away with it. Yes, we are probably going to need the help that you and some of the others can provide, and yes, some of the brass are going to try to propose that all of you are too valuable a 'resource' not to keep within their total control. But do you want to know what I plan on telling all of them?" Shiva reluctantly nodded in return. "That the moment they try to make an end run around all of you, I will be making a phone call straight to you and will be telling you the truth and all the names of all the people who are trying to betray your family. I can only just imagine what some of them are going to think at the prospect of having you show up in their homes in the middle of the night. All of you deserve your freedom, and not just because of this, and not just because of what the last generation of military leaders did to you, and not even because that is the least you deserve."

  "Then why?" Shiva was forced to ask when the older woman fell silent and didn't seem ready to explain herself.

  "Because you are human.. no matter what else, or whatever you have burned into your DNA, all of you are human. Series 5 had that taken away from them, and the only way we can prevent another even worse disaster from happening in 50 or a 100 more years, is make damn sure no one ever forgets that." She whispered softly to Shiva rocking her just a little with the arms holding her close. "And all I need to do to prove that to the brass is to point to all of you and say, 'Look at them'. You are not here because we ordered it, you aren't here because you are trying to blackmail us into giving you the freedom you rightly deserve, and most of you aren't even here because out of some need for revenge. You are here because there is a problem, and you know without question that you were the only ones that could help save and preserve the lives of your fellow human beings."

  "I suppose so.." Shiva murmured back to her feeling not at all generous enough to acknowledge those truths at that time.

  "Well you can suppose all you want, kiddo, but I know so, deep down in my depths of my soul." She swore softly back to her. "Now come, you've got a long trip ahead of you and all the other good little boys and girls are starting to gather." Not entirely ready to face the others, Shiva didn't really have the willpower left to argue with the General as the older woman turned her around and walked her out of the room.

  "We still have time to try and blackmail you.." Shiva commented to her as they moved through the quiet hallways towards the sound of a great many people gathering below in the gardened square at the heart of those buildings.

  "I suppose so but we both know most of you aren't ready to decide I am not worthy of the trust you have already shown." She commented back with a warm chuckle which is just the sort of truth Shiva really didn't want to think about right then. Down the stairs and outside their whole of their number was already awake and saying their temporary farewells as those that had the farthest to go were preparing to depart. Most of them just smiled at Shiva probably thinking she had stuff to do, or knowing she wouldn't want to say goodbye in case something bad did happen. The General at least seemed to understand this compulsion and silently escorted her through the crowds of her siblings and to the nine large hover transports that would carry them to their target. "Lt. Col. Riggs, this is Shiva, she is pretty much the big cheese when it comes to the more.. unorthodox units that are leading your mission." The General murmured as they approached a small group of armored figures dressed in black stealth gear, and the only ones not already loaded into their large trucks already. He saluted Shiva and almost of instinct she returned the gesture.

  "Ma'am, I and my men have been fully briefed on this mission, but I would like to request that some of our teams be allowed to accompany your teams inside of the facility. All of us would feel better knowing if we are about to be engaged
by the forces inside." He murmured to Shiva sounding very formal and perhaps using the kinds of tones that she wanted to hear the very least.

  "That's a very bad idea Colonel." Shiva murmured peering through the crowds of siblings to try and locate Ayla, who was essentially her second in command, only to find the older girl was already heading their way.

  "Ma'am.. no disrespect to you.." He countered quickly.

  "No, Colonel, no disrespect to you, but our role in this mission is to minimize casualties as much as possible, not to put even more people at risk." Shiva countered just as quickly. "I perhaps don't have to point out to you that most of the people over there are children. And while, we have been trained in the use of our.. special talents.. one adult in body armor will look pretty much the same as any other if this situation turns out the way we expect. I don't want to see your men dead because they did something stupid and got in the line of fire, nor do I want your people to put mine at risk because they think a few years and few stripes on their shoulders gives them the authority to counter our orders." Ayla arrived and touched Shiva's shoulder, no doubt reading the facts of the conversation thus far from her frustrated and leaking thoughts.

  "All the same, ma'am. I also don't want my people put at risk because they did not get the information that would put them on alert from an oncoming attack. Some of your people might not have the proper instinct to warn of body of attackers breaking for the perimeter in the heat of battle." That was an argument that Shiva couldn't quite come up with a counter for and she knew it, almost instantly giving a pleadingly look towards Ayla for some kind of help.

  "Lt. Col. Riggs." Ayla called right at her cue. "We understand your concerns, but if we agree to your request, you must promise that it is made clear to your people that they will be there only as observers, nothing else. They will not be authorized to engage unless one of our people or one of yours is in a situation where assistance is need to save lives." Ayla told him in no uncertain terms. "And that they will follow the orders of our teams no matter the source and regardless of rank, age, or experience. Some of us have abilities that are unable to discriminate between friend and foe and just as lethal to both."

  "That is more than acceptable, ma'am." He agreed quickly before Shiva could restate her objections. "I would make that absolutely clear to them."

  "Lt. Colonel, General." Ayla murmured respectfully as she took over guiding Shiva away from the gathering.

  "Ayla, Shiva.." The General murmured back to them with barely contained amusement in her voice.

  "Relax." Ayla whispered to Shiva as she was escorted away from the meeting. "We can handle them.."

  "If you say so." Shiva hissed back to her, still annoyed to simply accept what really couldn't be changed.

  "Hey.." Poe murmured as she appeared from seemingly nowhere to take Shiva's hand. The quiet little girl who almost never spoke was perhaps just the right distraction for Shiva, who smiled as she shifted to scoop her up. An empath on a unimagined scale, her ability made it very hard to deal with any large crowd of people even one made up of just her siblings, so when Poe choose to speak everyone was certain to listen. She was perhaps the last person anyone of them wanted to send into a battle situation where the emotions of the dying would be sure to reach her, but her ability would be ludicrously effective in panicking the official personnel of the base. Hopefully getting them out of combat and keeping them out of the line of fire so that the rest of them could concentrate on the Series 5 soldiers they were certain to encounter, those who had no fear that could be preyed upon. Less than a half hour later the crowds were dispersed as the other smaller teams either had to leave or would be leaving soon while the main bulk of their family would be moving off towards the furthest point from Digel base. The trucks were soon loaded up and ready to take to the sky on a straight line course to the south east. With fifty-one of them it was determined that they need at least two of the large trucks to move them and their supplies across hundreds of miles to the Series 5 storage facilities, but because there were more than enough nerves to go around it was quickly decided to pack all of them into one truck and their supplies into the other so that all of them could do what they could to keep everyone on an even keel.

  "Anyone need to use the potty?" Ayla asked as she and Shiva peered in through the back door of truck, this provided for a lot of stress relieving giggles even as three of the youngest hurried off to take care of that very thing. When they returned the trucks were quickly up into the air and on the move making best possible speed towards their destination. While it was easy to guess that the other trucks would have storage bins filled with extra ammo, explosives and the like, theirs had been filled with pillows and blankets. The sheer distance to be crossed had required them to depart first and in the still very early hours of the morning. Once they were in route their extra supplies were soon flooding the huge rear cabin as the internal lights were turned down and the mass of bodies became more obscured by warm and fluffy objects. Shiva settled in like most of them, but sleep would not come for her, feeling far too certain something was about to go terribly wrong or desperately wishing it had been safe enough for Rei and Vala to come down with the kids. She watched quietly as the twins curled around Poe and all of her siblings fell back to sleep by ones and twos. Soon enough it seemed that only she, Ayla, and their driver were the only ones awake in the entire truck.

  "I am going to head back and have a chat with the Lt. Colonel." Shiva whispered as she extracted herself from the tangle of warm fluffy forms around her.

  "Trust you to need to take a walk while on a moving vehicle and at 15,000 feet." Ayla teased back half way to sleep herself.

  "Yeah.. well, I'll keep people awake in my state." Shiva murmured back to her as she shifted towards the front of the truck and through the door that cut off the two cabins from each other.

  "We wouldn't care since its' you.." Gloria whispered, one the empaths she barely knew murmured to her in passing before letting her tired eyes drift closed. "But thanks for worrying about us." She added softly.

  "No matter what else, we are family." Shiva whispered back to her as she slipped into the driver's cabin. The Private put in charge of their truck looked up with perfectly clear state of stressed out tension bristling in his eyes. "All the little kiddies are asleep back there, give them a smooth ride." His nervous smile eased just a little of the tension in his shoulders. "And don't worry we are on your side." This was enough to make him take a deep breath and nod as he really started to relax. "Anyways, I am going to brief the Lt. Colonel on some things." His eyes snapped around as if to check that they were still indeed moving swiftly through the air. "Don't worry about me, if I fall I'll steal someone's car and catch up." He chuckled as if she was kidding and nodded as she pulled open the door and climbed out into the wind and up onto the roof of the truck, sliding the door closed in her wake.

  The first truck in the formation was carrying their supplies which left her with only one direction she needed to go to seek out her target, unslinging one of her tethers Shiva whipped it out to catch the roll cage of the third truck in the procession. When she let go of her telekinetic hold, the wind ripped her backwards and away from the trucks roof only to be pulled in by the tether to the roof of the truck behind them. Not entirely sure where to find the Lt. Colonel she swung inside the cabin and asked the stunned driver where she could find him, he stammered when he directed her to the sixth truck and Shiva was soon moving off before he could recover from his surprise. All of the drivers she passed were left in a similar stunned state, and soon enough she climbing in out of the cold brisk winds whipping around the exteriors of the vehicles.

  "At ease." Shiva called as she appeared in the rear of the truck and was almost greeted by a hail of gunfire. "All the other boys and girls are asleep you might as well do the same." She added as she moved past them.

  "She's right, I appreciate your readiness troops, but we are
hours away, might as well settle in and do what you can to stay fresh for what is to come." The Lt. Colonel agreed from the rear of the cabin. "Pass that along, Captain." Shiva moved to slip inside and only hesitated a little before sitting down on the Colonel's knee. "Couldn't sleep?" He asked with a far more gentle voice as he patted her back, she shook her head in return with a sigh.

  "I was going to see if you could direct me to the people you wanted to go in with us, so I could brief them on what they might expect." He was quick to express his appreciation and tell her that the eight people around him were the very same people. When Shiva pulled out her wrist computer he provided her with a flat panel version with a much larger screen that could be connected wirelessly as they all leaned in.