Written for Jonesy on , for the Great 08 Fic Exchange.

Flag Wars

Buffer pointed at Bomber and RO, standing side by side. "Your job," he began, then paused, and they could almost see him rolling his next words around his head, choosing them carefully. "It's your job to get Team Zulu's attention away from the boss and I when we go after the flag."

"We're bait, aren't we," Bomber said flatly, crossing her arms over her chest.

Buffer cleared his throat slightly. "Well, you're a diversion. I wouldn't say 'bait', exactly."

"They're bait, Buff, admit it," Mike said, grinning.

A moment later Buffer nodded. "Alright, the two of you are bait. And you damn well better be good bait."

RO pointed at Rhino, who was leaning against the RHIB. "Can he and I swap?"

"No."

He scowled. "What's he doing, anyway?"

"Rhino is guarding our flag," Mike answered, nodding appreciatively at the sailor. The flag in question was a green piece of fabric attached to a two metre pole, and was standing proudly in the middle of the beach.

"Why are we doing this again?"

Mike and Buffer shared a glance. "Ostensibly as a training drill. Get everyone running around, exercising, and practising their team communication skills. Also, to win. We want to win."

"Sounds good. How long till we start?" Bomber asked.

"About ten minutes," Buffer checked, glancing at his watch. "Remember. Non-violent. If you get tagged, you're enemy property until a team member releases you. All tags are to be radioed in to Charge. The only time you cannot be tagged is when you're in home territory. For us, that's this stretch of beach."

The sailors nodded their understanding, and Buffer continued. "Now, Team Zulu is being led by the X and the Nav. They'll be thinking up a cunning strategy as we speak, so keep an eye out."

"You each have a flare with you," Mike added. "If you get into serious trouble or need to stop the game for some reason, fire it. If you see a flare fired, you radio in to me, and the game is suspended until you are informed otherwise."

"To win –" Buffer seamlessly took over the instructions from Mike. "– you need to get your opponents' flag, and your own team's flag, into your home territory, side by side. So even if they get hold of our flag, the game isn't over. We can still get it back. And that applies vice-versa, so watch your backs."

"The playing field is large, but does not cover the entirety of this island," Mike continued. They had had a thorough debriefing about game-play, teams, and rules yesterday, but the officers had thought it best to run through everything again. "There are markers in place for your safety. If you run through them, it's an automatic disqualification."

"Ready?" The four other members of Team Tango made various noises of assent. Mike gave his mind a moment's pause, to consider all aspects of their plan. The only problem was that the X was a fierce competitor, and he knew first-hand that maintaining concentration around her would be difficult. Mind on the job, he told himself.

Turning to Buffer, he nodded. "Let's go get that flag."

***

"Fill us in on the plan, any time you're ready," ET muttered, his only response a glare from the two plotting officers.

"Alright, here's my suggestion," Kate said eventually. "We've got ten minutes before this game starts, so listen up."

She quickly drew a sketch of the beach in the dirt. "Enemy lines. Their flag can be anywhere in this area –" she traced an outline with her stick. "We'll leave two team members here to guard our flag. Swain and Spider. Us three –" She indicated herself, Nav, and ET. "Are going after the CO's flag. We'll be in and out before they even know we've spotted them."

For a moment, the group considered the plan. The boys exchanged a glance, and nodded. Nav, however, continued to stare critically at the drawing.

"I have a better idea," she spoke up a moment later.

***

"I mean, why us? We have to go hiking all over some island just so Buffer can steal a flag... how is this a training exercise, anyway? I seriously doubt we'll ever have to steal a flag from an illegal fishing vessel –"

"RO, give it a rest!" Bomber snapped. "Have to keep quiet, the cover's too thick here to see if anyone is nearby."

"What exactly are we supposed to do again?"

"You heard Buff. We're bait."

"How do we act like bait? Stand on a hill and yell, 'Hey, leave your flag unguarded and chase us!'?"

"That might just work," Bomber murmured, crouching down and peering through a layer of leaves.

"What? No, it wouldn't..."

"Look who's guarding their flag."

Curiosity piqued, RO kneeled beside her. Ahead of them was a grassy hill, surrounded on all sides by jungle. It was the perfect place to keep a flag, because no-one could sneak up on the person guarding it.

Unless that person was Spider.

"You really think they're that stupid? To leave Spider guarding the flag?" RO asked, frowning.

"How about we test that theory. In fact, stuff being bait... let's go get that flag," Bomber decided.

"Bomber, we're supposed to be –"

"You really think we'll get in trouble if we come back with the flag before they've even started towards it?"

She stood up, and began edging away from the limited cover. A second later, RO followed, and they began making their way up the hill on Spider's blind side. Halfway up, she felt someone tap her on the shoulder.

"Tag, you're it."

Bomber groaned, turning around to see a very smug X.

***

The rest of Team Tango heard the radio call. Bomber and RO, captured by Team Zulu.

"That leaves us two team members down," Mike said grimly. "What happened to the plan?"

"Bomber happened, if I had to guess," Buffer replied.

"Alright, new plan. Buff, you find Bomber and RO, and get them out. This isn't going to be as easy as we thought."

"You're going after the flag?" Buffer guessed.

"No, we tried that. This is a game of strategy, and the X is a strategist. Capture her – then capture the flag."

***

Kate carefully steered around a large tree, every sense on alert. Phase two of Nav's plan was a two pronged attack; not at the flag, but at any other team members they could find. Kate knew who was most likely to be skulking around this part of the terrain, and she had to admit, the idea of hunting for the CO was exciting.

She smiled slightly. He was after the flag. He'd never even think that she might be after him...

"Looking for someone?" asked a voice in her ear and, without pausing to think about it, she leapt away, out of his reach, before he could tag her. They were in neutral territory – either of them could be tagged by the other, and it depended solely upon whoever could say "tag" first after making contact. Instead of pausing to exchange taunts, Kate took off.

She had a plan, and its success relied on ET being in position. She knew that she wouldn't be able to outrun the CO, and at any second, her backup... would... appear...

Or not.

***

ET pulled himself behind a tree, watching as Buffer headed towards the designated "gaol". So intent was he in watching his prey, he didn't realise he had drifted away from his team-mate. Buffer cast a cautious glance around, and ET held his breath, flattening himself against the trunk. For a minute, there was silence, and ET peeked around – to see Buffer staring right at him.

With a curse, he used the tree as leverage and pushed off, running for Zulu territory, where he couldn't be tagged.

Buffer shook his head disparagingly, but didn't follow. He had his own mission.

***

Mike could see that he was steadily gaining on his quarry. After realising that her back up was AWOL, Kate had created a hasty Plan B. She aimed for thicker cover, which her slimmer form could weave through more easily, and it was just enough to keep her ahead in the chase.

But not for much longer. As she continued to run, the vegetation began to thin, and very soon she wouldn't be able to dodge around trees to escape from him. The ground to their right dropped away abruptly, and Kate took her chance.

Flinging herself sideways, she narrowly avoided Mike's outstretched hand. She only just managed to keep her feet on the steep hill, slipping wildly as she skidded down.

Realising his hand had met nothing but air, the CO turned, and quickly bounded after her. A red sash on the tree next to him stole his attention for a brief moment, but he was too caught up in the chase to stop.

***

Zulu's gaol was within their territory, meaning Buffer couldn't tag the guard before breaking his team-mates out. He'd have to get in, tag Bomber and RO, and get all three of them back to Tango ground without getting tagged in the process.

Finally, he found himself within eyesight of the clearing that Zulu were using as a gaol. He bit his lip, seeing Nav leaning against a tree, acting as a guard. That meant it would be hard to get close enough to tag his team-mates without being spotted, because the officer had been on watch more than enough times to know how to keep her wits about her.

Somehow, he needed to grab Bomber's attention. He could see her, her expression halfway between pouting and pissed off. Casting a quick glance around, he edged closer to the perimeter of the gaol. A twig lay harmlessly on the ground beneath him, and he carefully moved his foot to the right of it, treading on a leaf instead; which crinkled loudly in the silence.

Buffer froze, looking straight ahead. Bomber had seen him. That was one problem solved.

Unfortunately, so had Nav.

***

Mike dived forward, grabbing his X around the waist, and their combined momentum caused both to fall. Kate's back hit the ground, and he landed above her, knocking the wind out of her. Without hesitating, she reached forward and wrapped her hands around the back of his head, pulling his mouth down to meet hers.

For a second, their lips merely touched, and a shocked Mike tried to work out what was going on. Then he figured it didn't really matter, and responded, reacquainting himself with a near-forgotten flavour he had been sure he would never taste again. One palm was flat against the rough ground, holding him up so that he didn't crush her lighter frame, and the other was lightly fingering her hairline.

Before he could deepen the contact she was pulling away, her already-empty lungs burning. Sucking in a breath, she stared up at him, and deep blue eyes stared back.

"Wow," he murmured.

She smirked, and pressed her lips against his ear. "Tagged."

"Nope," he replied smugly. "We're out of bounds, both disqualified."

She stared up at him, and was suddenly fully aware of just how close their bodies were. Fear flashed through her, and two opposing sides started their own battle within her. Professional versus Personal. As her lungs recovered from the impact, she shrugged slightly, the corners of her mouth lifting.

"Guess we shouldn't waste a good disqualification," she suggested, once again melding their mouths together.

***

"This way," Buff commanded, leaving Bomber no time to react. He grabbed her arm, and pulled the two of them sideways.

"Is there a plan here?"

"Oh, now she wants to follow the plan!" Buffer snorted. "It's called run for home base."

"Where's RO?"

"I think Nav already re-tagged him."

"We're not going back for him?"

"Nope. Now, save your breath and run."

A minute later, the pair of them burst onto the beach, lungs aching and hearts pounding. Ahead of them was the RHIB, Rhino, and their flag; Tango territory.

Nav came tearing out of the jungle behind them, and Buffer picked up the pace. Seeing the line drawn in the sand before them, he and Bomber hurled themselves over it, landing in a discordant mass of limbs. It was uncomfortable, but safe.

But Nav didn't seem to care that her prey were out of her reach. She kept right on running, straight at them. A second later, she ran past them… and was now a scarce few metres from the flag. Rhino had been leaning on the RHIB, studiously watching the flag, and now he jumped towards it, but fell short and hit dry sand – Nav had grabbed the prize and was already running for the trees again.

Rhino shot off after her.

"Buff? Come on!" Bomber called, taking the first few steps towards the jungle. Her chest was heaving, but she was still ready to go on.

Buffer felt a moment of pride, knowing that she was in his quarter, but quickly quashed the other feelings that rose up with it. He returned his mind to the task at hand. "Bomb, no. Rhino'll get her. You and I..." He paused, his deep brown eyes searching hers. "We're going after Zulu's flag."

***

ET glanced around nervously. He was pretty sure he'd lost Buffer. He was also quite sure he'd lost himself. Suddenly the bush in front of him exploded, and he staggered backwards as Nav jumped towards him.

"Nav!" he squeaked. She thrust something into his hands.

"That way. Run," she commanded, pointing behind him. He stared at the long metal pole. She rolled her eyes, and pushed him towards Zulu ground.

Finally getting the hint, ET took off.

***

Buffer swallowed. He could feel Bomber's heart beating rapidly at his side as the two of them quietly observed Zulu's flag.

"We need to draw them away," she murmured quietly, and he wondered if it was just him, or was it suddenly really hot?

The words were falling out his mouth before he had even registered thinking them. "Hey Bomb? Next time we got shore leave... you wanna meet up for a drink?"

He bit his tongue, wondering if the heat was starting to affect his brain. Nervously, he waited, expecting her to be confused, then... well, knowing Bomber, probably angry. He glanced sideways. She was looking at him, a little surprised, but smiling. Buffer swallowed.

"That'd be good," she agreed and, thankfully, the air that had mysteriously disappeared came back.

Wanting to have his sanity checked, Buffer was glad for the diversion which came only seconds later. ET burst into sight, running for the top of the hill – and he was holding their flag.

"Get the flag!" Buffer hissed at Bomber, launching himself after ET. She was confused for a moment, before she realised Zulu's two flag-guards, Spider and Swain, were running down the hill to help ET. They would pass the flag along like a baton, meaning each of them would continue with fresh energy whereas Buffer would be steadily losing steam.

What they hadn't taken into account was Bomber, running behind them, aiming for the pole half-buried in the soft grass. Seeing her grab it and head for the beach, Buffer pushed himself harder, drawing closer to ET. Only a few metres apart, ET gripped the flag like a javelin, and threw it to Swain.

It would have worked. His aim was true and Swain was ready to catch-and-run. But halfway between them, Buffer launched himself forward, snagged it mid-air, and bolted for the beach. Surprised, ET and Swain paused, confused by the sudden absence of flag.

Then they sprinted after Buffer.

Spider watched his teammates, nervously fingering his pocket. Competitive spirit was telling him to join the chase, but he had his orders. He made his way back up the hill to wait.

***

Buffer felt his spirits lift. The pursuit had slowly fallen back, and he had caught up with Bomber. The two of them raced through the jungle, leaping over rocks, ducking under branches, sliding around trees, their instincts and reactions perfectly tuned.

Seeing a familiar-looking tree, Bomber veered left, and they ran into bright sunlight. The beach. Ahead of them was the RHIB and the line marking Tango Territory, and they stumbled wearily across it.

"We made it," Bomber panted, and Buffer nodded, giving her a thumbs up. He went for his radio.

***

"So, you saw me run across the boundary, and followed anyway?" Kate asked quizzically, taking Mike's hand as he helped her clamber up the hill, back towards the playing area.

"Well, by the time I realised, I had already gone over myself... and I figured I should check you hadn't fallen and hurt yourself or… something," he finished lamely.

"How chivalrous of you," she murmured. Noticing that they were now back where they were supposed to be, Kate surreptitiously fixed the angle of her shirt, and brushed some dirt out of her hair.

"As always," he said, an amused smirk pulling at his lips. She rolled her eyes, and he changed the topic. "I wonder how the game's going."

"Game?" Kate asked, then her eyes widened. "Oh right. We should probably radio in that we're out..."

"Yeah, that sounds like what we should do."

Neither moved. Mike's shirt was askew, and there were leaves stuck to it in places. Kate gently pulled each one off, receiving a raised eyebrow in response.

"Need to look presentable," she sniffed.

Just then, their radios crackled, and an excited voice came through.

"We have both flags in our possession on home ground. That is a win..."

***

Buffer stared at his radio.

"Repeat, that is a win to Team Zulu!"

Bomber's mouth dropped open at the words. She looked down at the flagpole in her hand, and realised that was all it was – a pole.

The brightly coloured cloth that had hung from one end at the beginning of the game was nowhere to be seen.

Knowing that the eyes of all competitors would be on the pole, the ingenious Nav had removed the actual flag from the pole before giving it to ET. The flag from her own side had been given to the one person she knew no-one would suspect of holding it – Spider. Thus, while the two teams fought over nothing more than a pair of useless metal pipes, Nav was casually strolling back to Zulu territory, where she united her flag with Spider's, winning the game.

"There'll be no working with her after this," Bomber groaned, the realisation that they'd been duped sinking in. "And you know what else? I couldn't even be bothered asking for a rematch."

"Neither," grunted Buffer, and the two sank down onto the sand. They'd been running back and forth between the two team grounds, and were both drenched in sweat. For now, there was nothing to do but lean against each other as they regained their breath.

***

"In summary, five key points. First, when your team comes up with a plan, you stick to it. Secondly, if you're working with a partner, for God's sake, work with them! Keep in contact, and keep in control. Third, keep an eye on your surroundings. If you're straying close to a no-go area, change direction. And, quite obviously, when you're fighting for a prize... make sure you get the prize."

Mike cast a quick glare at Buffer as he said this, who only sighed.

"What's number five?" Nav called, still grinning, elated by her success.

The captain took a deep breath. "Number five. Wherever you are, whatever you're playing, make sure you're on Nav's team."