Family
Reunion
Chapter 1.
Alec sighed frustrated as he made
his way to the headquarters of TC.
He was not looking forward to this conversation with Max. It had been 6 days since the inhabitants of TC had decided to make a stand.
In those three days chaos had reigned as the sector police and military had turned up to maintain a vigil.
Max had
been so busy trying to requisition supplies and help smuggle new
transgenics into TC that she hadn't noticed the mumblings.
Every
unit leader had already sought him out. As he was the highest ranking
officer back at Manticore it was him that they came to.
They needed structure and they didn't feel that Max, however capable, was able to deliver it.
Oh, they
all respected her, but they felt she just didn't have the training
necessary for when the time would come to fight, and they all agreed
unanimously that the time would come, and it would come
soon.
Walking into HQ, Alec waved distractedly to Mole and the
other transgenics in the room before walking purposely towards Max's
office.
"Alec", Joshua appeared in front of him blocking
him from Max's office, "I wouldn't go in there, Max and Logan,
fighting, lots of yelling, Max not so happy at the moment."
"That's
Ok big guy", Alec said thumping Joshua on the chest, "What I've
got to say is going to make her mad anyway"
Alec walked in
without knocking, noticing Max's barely contained anger at Logan,
which for some reason made him smile.
"You had no right
Logan, can't you see we're in the middle of a crisis here! I know
it might seem huge to you, but right now I have to take care of my
own!"
"Sorry, am I interrupting?" Alec inserted casually
as he leaned in the door frame smiling cockily.
"YES" Both
parties yelled.
"Well, sorry about that but I really have to
talk to Max, so Logan, buddy, whadaya say you give us a minute?"
Alec grin grew as he saw Logan colour with rage and splutter at his
arrogance. He never did understand what Max saw in him.
"I
think that's probably a good idea. I'll talk to you later Logan",
Max stated coldly sitting back down behind her desk.
Logan
looked from Max's hard set face and shot Alec a scathing look
before brushing past him elbowing him as he went, "Fine".
Alec
shut the door shaking him head and took a seat across from Max,
"Lovers spat?" he asked knowing full well he should keep his
mouth shut.
"Look Alec, I have zero tolerance for you're
mouthing off at the moment, so if you don't have anything useful,
you know where the door is!" Max raged shifting paperwork around
her desk with more force that absolutely necessary.
"Well"
Alec said "we need to talk about the troops. We have to put some
structure in around here Max. All the unit leaders have come to me
with concerns on this and I have to act now. They need a
leader."
That had Max's attention, her eyes snapped to him
and she stood up, "What the hell do you mean leader? Structure? You
want to recreate Manticore Alec? What the hell makes you think I
would ever put you in charge of something like that? You'd probably
just screw it up!"
Alec tried not to flinch at her words. He
knew in her eyes that he was a screw up, but as a soldier, he was the
best. But she had never taken the time to figure that out. Alec stood
up, his anger building at her defensive posture, hands on her hips
glaring at him.
"You don't have any authority here Max"
Alec yelled losing his temper "You haven't been at Manticore for
years, these people don't know you, they know me. I am the most
senior ranking officer here and they all want to know why I haven't
taken charge!" Alec saw her flinch and narrowly curbed his
frustration. She really had no idea.
"No one wants me here?"
Max's voice had lost all its anger and now sounded uncertain.
"No,
Max that's not what I'm saying, everyone here respects you, for
what you've done, but they need a Military Leader, they need to be
ready for this war, and I will do it, because I am the most qualified
for the job, that's all".
Alec didn't know what to do
with the little girl lost look on Max's face. Lout, bitchy, angry
Max he could deal with, but he felt at a total loss of how to react
to quiet Max.
"I-I had no idea Alec" Max whispered
brokenly, "I've been trying so hard just to keep everything
together, I'd never thought about what they wanted"
Alec's
gut clenched as he saw a single stray tear spill from her eye and
without thinking he gathered her to him, cradling the back of her
head.
"You're doing a great job Maxie, and I need you to
keep doing it. I just need to prepare everyone for the battle ahead,
because without a doubt Max, we will have to fight, and I don't
want to lose anymore". He was surprised to find his protective
instinct kicked in when he though about Max being in that fight. He
knew she could kick ass with the best of them, but she felt so
fragile in his arms.
Max broke away from Alec and he saw the
new determination in her eyes. "Ok, what do you need me to do to
make this happen?"
Alec mentally shook himself and gave Max
a list of weapons and supplies.
"I need you to get these for
me. The tunnels you've been using to smuggle new transgenic's in,
that's the only way. I'm calling a meeting in an hour, I'll
need you there".
Max nodded marvelling at her docile
behaviour as she took the piece of paper from him.
"I'll
get onto this straight away........boss?" Alec was happy to see the
mischievous look in her eyes as he walked out of her office. Maybe
this would work after all. He had an hour to organise all the units
and his mind was already kicking into soldier mode.