HOME | DD

Description
Angelina Monty dumped jug upon jug of gasoline onto to the two floor home that she grew up in. She grabbed the last one gallon canister and dumped it onto the porch, making a trail down to the sidewalk. Nobody was around, thankfully, most of the town abandoned minus several outstanding families that had stayed in the area in houses much bigger than hers. Houses much better protected by G.L.E.E. officials and specially trained Ranger's meant to protect these special individuals. Her parent's hadn't been one of these special individuals. That was why her parents were dead, and those jerks, those "special individuals" were still alive. She kissed the match and said an old prayer she'd heard when she was young, a prayer to a God she never believed in. She hit the match and watched as it left her fingers, setting fire to her past. She turned and walked away, nothing good could come from watching the ghosts of the Monty house burn. If she had anything to do about it she would get revenge for what had happened, and it would be sweet.

--

She spent the next three years formulating her plan as she worked her way through the academy. She told herself she could do this. She would work her way through the ranks, become a Commander. That is what she would do. She would infiltrate the Galactic League of Extraterrestrial Exploration headquarters. Then she would complete the last phase of her plan. It was the G.L.E.E. officials that had killed her mother and father, extending protection to certain people and not to everyone. If they had protected her parents the day they died she wouldn't have to do this. Her parents had worked most of their lives for the G.L.E.E. and they had been overlooked and denied the protection they had deserved. That lack of protection, that horrible oversight, was the cause of her parents deaths and she had the perfect plan.

--

Lina threw herself down into the mud, body bouncing slightly as she hit the floor, then scrambled under the razor wire, body becoming as flat as her human body could get. She pulled herself through the mud using her elbows and knees the best she could. She was still ahead of everyone else in the course. She slid out from under the wire and jumped up as fast as she could, running at full speed towards the rock wall, constructed to look exactly like a wall of rocks, except the rocks moved every few minutes so one would never have the same climb twice. She grabbed a rock and propelled herself up the wall. She flung her leg over the top and climbed town the first forty feet before dropping the last ten feet to the floor, knee's carefully bent. She hit the door with a slight thud then ran to the next obstacle.

Commander Henderson watched her move with her cold determination and fire. She was doing this for a reason. She was fighting a battle within herself and he didn't know what it was. Didn't know what it was that drives her but her drive made her better than all the other cadet's he had ever trained. He didn't know what she was doing out here, honestly. She'd spent the last three years training at the academy. This was graduation day, there was no reason for her to her to be out here. She should be inside, in a dress, dancing with some asshole ensign. She'd had plenty of people hitting on her over the years to have at least a few dance offers. Instead the steadfast female ensign was outside in the pouring rain wearing camouflage fatigues and running the obstacle course again and again, each time her speed getting ever so slightly faster. "Monty!" He called and she spun dropping into a defensive position.

"Yes Commander?" she called over the rain and he beckoned her over. She brushed her short hair back behind her ear and moved over to him at a swift jog.

"What are you doing?" he asked and she brushed some mud from her cheek.

"Working out, Sir." she said firmly.

"Go to the party. I expect you there in an hour. Dismissed." he said firmly then walked off. She swore and shook her head, heading back to her room. She showered quickly and grabbed a dress, one her roommate told her she could borrow for the dance tonight. She blow dried her hair then slipped into the small form fitting green gown with sequin, embroidered detail with an open back and a sheer, sequin panel that showed flashes of her sides. She wondered idly where her roommate had gotten the dress but it didn't really matter, the cheerful girl had scores of clothing that Lina had no idea where she kept them. Something for everyone. She was a little annoyed that the dress fit. She'd rather not go. She threw on a pair of peek toed hidden platform pumps that matched the dress and glanced at the clock. She slid some fire engine red lipstick across her lips before heading out.

She stood rather annoyed, lightly tanned arms crossed over her not so prominent chest. The newly christened Ensign Howard stepped up and crossed his arms over his chest. "You should dance." He said and smiled. "You look great Linie."

"Thanks Howie." she smiled slightly. She'd made a promise to herself not to get attached to anyone, not with what she was planning, but Howard grew on her like he grew on everyone. "I borrowed a dress from Ginger." she laughed slightly. He grabbed the edge of her dress and lifted it slightly to look at her shoes.

"Very nice." he jeered and she laughed. "All right. Dance with me, my fair maiden."

"I don't dance." she said icily and he took her arm.

"You do tonight. For me you do." he said and practically dragged her out to the dance floor. He grabbed her waist like a nervous teenager dancing at prom and she dropped her hands onto his shoulders. They spun and stepped in a circle awkwardly for a few minutes before she felt a tap on her shoulder.

"May I?" Commander Henderson said and rose a brow. She looked at him for a moment in his tux and he gave an awkward lop sided grin.

"Yes you may." Howard said and pushed her at him, a knowing look on his face. Howard had a crush on the Commander and has since the moment he was assigned to Commander Henderson. But Howie saw things that others didn't. He saw the very careful way that Henderson looked at Angelina. He'd been working on getting these two together since then. To no avail of course. She staggered forward and Henderson grabbed her elbow, steadying her and keeping her up.

"I am going to kill you!" She mouth angrily at Howie as Commander Henderson put one hand on her waist and took her hand in the other. "This is ridiculous." She said as he spun her, a much better dancer then Howard. He spun her around the dance floor, her body automatically readjusting to his presence. She could dance just fine, having had gone to G.L.E.E. gala's since she was seven all the way up until her parents died when she was nineteen.

"I agree." He said blankly. "But I needed to talk to you. I have been reassigned to The Warrior. I need a crew and I was hoping you would like to take the assignment." he said and dipped her, hand pressing warmly into her side. He pulled her up and spun her in a circle, bringing her closer to him and dipping her again. When he brought her up she nodded.

"Of course Commander." she said, her plan moving forward nicely. She'd expected a few offers but she hadn't expected any from her Commander. She knew him so it would be much easier to get along with him. She smiled and vowed to enjoy the rest of the night.

--

"Happy birthday!" Howie said cheerfully and popped one of those confetti poppers over the sub-lieutenants head. "We have officially known each other for five years!"

"I met you when I was almost twenty." she said and shook her head.

"Yeah, now you re Twenty Five." he said, raising a brow at her.

"Oh." she said blankly. "So I am." she murmured. This month also marked her second year of being under Commander Henderson on The Warrior. She could practically taste the promotion on her lips. She took a bite of the cupcake Howie had somehow managed to procure for her. There was a knock on the door and Howie answered it as she picked up the small gift, something else she had no idea how he'd gotten and managed to wrap. She wanted to open it but he told her she had to wait until 3:47 in the morning, the moment she was born. This little party had started an hour ago at eleven at night the day before her birthday and had gone from there. To be honest she had no idea how he knew that either but he was a resourceful man.

"Ensign Howard? You are aware that it is against regulations to be caught in the opposite sex's room after ten o'clock right?"

"Yes Commander but...why are you here?" he asked and rose a brow, not mentioning the fact that he was, in fact, very gay.

"I got a complaint about the noise." he said and Howie rolled his eyes.

"It's not even that loud." Lina complained and rolled her eyes. It wasn't really all that loud at all.

"Sorry Ensign but you are going to have to leave." Howie groaned and grabbed his stuff before walking out. "All right."

"Yes Commander?" She asked a little annoyed. He pulled out a small wrapped box and tossed it at her. She looked down at it.

"Open it Sub-Lieutenant." he sighed and flashed a lop sided grin. She opened the box and froze before launching herself at him, a very old habit that she'd assumed she'd broken. She wrapped her arms around him for a moment. "I was going to tell you in the morning, Lieutenant." he said using her new title with a slight grin on his face.

He put his hand around her shoulder and dropped his head onto hers. She seemed to realize this and pulled back quickly. He took the gold leaf pin from the box and pinned it to the uniform he saw hanging in the closet. "There." he said and she smiled brightly.

"Thank you Commander." she said pleased and he couldn't help himself. He wrapped his arms around her again one more time before leaving her to her thoughts. She blinked several times out of shock then dropped onto the bed.

--

"Lieutenant-Commander Monty!" Commander Henderson yelled and tossed a zapper at her. She caught it and spun, shooting the odd grey goop like native as it moved forward. Screams could be heard from all around as the grey monsters moved forward further. It had been a peaceful mission that somehow went very wrong. The goop like monsters were not the humanoid rulers of the planet that they had expected. The rulers of the planet had, without informing the G.L.E.E. probes about any of it, been fighting a war with these under dwellers. Monstrous creatures that couldn't survive in the sun. The planet only had two months of sun a year though. The Warrior had landed dead in the middle of a raid. The moment they landed the glops had disabled their steering, making it impossible to leave until the engine grew managed to fix them. The creatures had attacked quickly, despite their slow moving and apparent inability to communicate.

Their attack was messy and uncoordinated, leaving it easy to attack them but hard to take any of them down with their never ending onslaught and continuous movements. They had lost quite a few people. The commander told them to fall back into the purple mountain structures to the east and he'd quickly lost contact with most of them as the gamma radiation rose around them, coming from a source in the mountains. Lina shot several of the gloopy monsters before turning tail and running after her Commander. Sometimes you need to know when to retreat. A sudden noise sounded from the direction they were running in. Commander Henderson grabbed Lina's arm and yanked her into a cave, shooting at the loose rocks by the entrance. The rocks tumbled and collapsed the entrance. Lina starred into absolute darkness for a moment. "Are you fucking crazy, Commander?" She shouted and he slammed her up against the wall, covering her mouth with his hand firmly. He lowered his mouth to her ear.

"Shut up." he said quietly. "We need to get out of here quickly. Those things live in the caves but none of them are here for the assault I am hoping. We were surrounded; I did what I could to save our lives." He grabbed a light stick from his hip and cracked it to life. He lowered it down to her face and removed his hand.

"How did you even know this cave connected to others, it could be a dead end, it could be-mmf!" she was cut off by his lips pressing to hers firmly. Her protests died and, after a moment, she closed her eyes and kissed him back with an equal amount of enthusiasm. Her hands came up and twined in his hair as she pressed herself to him tightly. After a moment he pulled away.

"That was in case we don't make it out of here. I thought you should know." he said and she nodded. They pressed on into the cave. They were either getting hopelessly lost or going in the right direction but they pressed on anyways. Going deeper into the unknown. The further they went the colder it got. Merely five hours in and they both found themselves freezing, huddling together for any amount of warmth they could get. The only thing Lina could think of was that twenty seven was too young to die and she hadn't even completed her self-appointed mission. Anger was burning through her. "We should stop for the night." he said firmly and she nodded.

"Yes Commander."

"At this point I think you can call me Nick." he stated and she nodded. They found an alcove to hide in and curled around each other, using one another s body heat to themselves. They woke to the sound of zapper fire. Lina shot forward and out of the alcove, a look of relief flooding her features as she caught sight of the team. They lead them out of the caves, the exit a mere mile from where they were camped for the night. The ship was up and running when they got back and they took off into the dark unknown of space.

--

"Congratulations." The man at the podium stated and pinned the medal to her lapel. She shook hands with him and smiled to the crowd as then turned to her now former Commander Henderson. "It took you ten years," The General said but smiled, " And a lot of close calls but I am more than pleased to welcome Commander Monty to the ranks." The room clapped and Commander Henderson walked up to the podium.

"She has worked hard getting to where she is. Worked with a determination I haven t seen repeated until Commander Up sent me video logs of the young ensign, now Lieutenant, Taz Lopez." He glanced at the annoyed looking Lieutenant who was sitting next to the newly rehabilitated Commander Up. In a few years he was sure the twenty three year old would be a Commander herself. "I have personally watched her grow from an almost obsessive nineteen year old to a strong and beautiful twenty nine year old woman." the crowd grew a little uneasy at this, Up's eyes flashing inexplicably over to Taz who didn't seem to notice. "And now it is my pleasure to announce that she will be stationed at G.L.E.E. headquarters for the time being." he said cheerfully and she grinned. She pushed him slightly and smiled.

"And it is my pleasure to announce that, since out of rank relationships are banned both the Commander and I have been attempting to keep our relationship platonic." she said. The crowd got louder in their murmuring. "But now I am a Commander and we share ranks so..." she grabbed his jacket and pulled her lips to his in a loving display. They had spent the last two years keeping away from each other the best they could, only ending in late night liaisons and stolen kisses in darkened hallways.
Now they didn't have to hide it any more. She still had a little while to go with her plan but she'd let him soften her calloused heart. The crowd erupted in loud conversation as she pulled away. He blinked several times, a smile breaking across his face.

--

Lina crept out of the room sometime after midnight. She felt her heart breaking as she carried the bomb in a nondescript box toward a room near the center of the base. A room it had taken her nearly two years to gain access to. She punched in her code and smiled as she placed the box on the table next to the nitronium. A highly volatile explosive that the G.L.E.E. had been working with recently. She would set the bomb and close her eye's. Let it carry her and everyone else in headquarters to the next world. She would finally have her revenge, the revenge she'd worked so hard to achieve over the last ten years. But is it really what she wanted an more. She was in love.
She had rank, she could change things. She could bring up their biased in protection. She could help other's get the protection they are being denied like her parents had been. She knew all of this but she felt like she would be ruining everything she worked towards. She wrapped an arm around her stomach and let out a slight sob as the options overwhelmed her. She brushed her now long hair back and pressed her head to the table, accepting its cool embrace.

"You know they offered to promote me three times over the past ten years but I said no every time. For you." She heard Nick's voice and she spun, shock on her face.

"You didn't think I didn't know about your plan did you?" he said and he shook his head. "Ten years, I knew. I found out about it after your accident back in training camp. I read your diary to make sure you hadn't attempted suicide, falling from that high." he was referring to when she fell off the rock was in her second year.

"I have to do this." She said, hand moving carefully over to the inactive dirty bomb. "I spent twelve years planning this, Nick." she said pleadingly, begging for him to understand.

"Yeah but I spent twelve years falling in love with you and I know you better than you think I do." He said firmly and stepped closer, she flinched, tears starting to leak down her face. "You keep acting like you want revenge but you don't. You want justice. Justice for your parents." he said calmingly. He placed his hands on hers. "You want to feel like you accomplished something." he murmured and wiped a tear from her face. "This," he gestured to the table, "is not what you want."

"No." she sniffed and he kissed her lightly.

"No. Sweetheart." he said and slid the bomb away. "Marry me. Marry me and leave this behind. Leave the anger and the pain behind." he said and she looked at him. "I love you Angelina Monty. You know that."

"I love you too Nicholas Henderson." she said lightly and kissed him back. "Of course I'll marry you." she said firmly. She grabbed the wire cutters and cut a wire on the bomb before kissing him again, the dirty bomb forgotten completely.

--

Commander Up handed Nick the ring and Howie, Lina's only Brides Maid handed her his ring. She smiled and slipped the ring on as the vows were read. He lifted her veil and kissed her lightly. She practically leapt on him, kissing him with a heat she d never known. She touched her belly lightly. "One more thing." She said and turned to the small congregation. Friends and the few family member's she had left, a nervous smile on her lips. "I'm pregnant." She said and bit her lip. The small crowd seemed stunned into silence for a moment before they cheered out loud. He picked her up and spun her in a circle. It had taken four more years of her time but she proposed a protection contract to the G.L.E.E. officials and, after a little time deliberating and her pleading her case she had convinced them to extend their protection to the lesser science officer's like her parents had been. She kissed her groom as her two year old son toddled up, grabbing a hold of mommy's dress. Everything seemed right in the world in that one moment. Finally perfect.

Description
Angelina Monty dumped jug upon jug of gasoline onto to the two floor home that she grew up in. She grabbed the last one gallon canister and dumped it onto the porch, making a trail down to the sidewalk. Nobody was around, thankfully, most of the town abandoned minus several outstanding families that had stayed in the area in houses much bigger than hers. Houses much better protected by G.L.E.E. officials and specially trained Ranger's meant to protect these special individuals. Her parent's hadn't been one of these special individuals. That was why her parents were dead, and those jerks, those "special individuals" were still alive. She kissed the match and said an old prayer she'd heard when she was young, a prayer to a God she never believed in. She hit the match and watched as it left her fingers, setting fire to her past. She turned and walked away, nothing good could come from watching the ghosts of the Monty house burn. If she had anything to do about it she would get revenge for what had happened, and it would be sweet.

--

She spent the next three years formulating her plan as she worked her way through the academy. She told herself she could do this. She would work her way through the ranks, become a Commander. That is what she would do. She would infiltrate the Galactic League of Extraterrestrial Exploration headquarters. Then she would complete the last phase of her plan. It was the G.L.E.E. officials that had killed her mother and father, extending protection to certain people and not to everyone. If they had protected her parents the day they died she wouldn't have to do this. Her parents had worked most of their lives for the G.L.E.E. and they had been overlooked and denied the protection they had deserved. That lack of protection, that horrible oversight, was the cause of her parents deaths and she had the perfect plan.

--

Lina threw herself down into the mud, body bouncing slightly as she hit the floor, then scrambled under the razor wire, body becoming as flat as her human body could get. She pulled herself through the mud using her elbows and knees the best she could. She was still ahead of everyone else in the course. She slid out from under the wire and jumped up as fast as she could, running at full speed towards the rock wall, constructed to look exactly like a wall of rocks, except the rocks moved every few minutes so one would never have the same climb twice. She grabbed a rock and propelled herself up the wall. She flung her leg over the top and climbed town the first forty feet before dropping the last ten feet to the floor, knee's carefully bent. She hit the door with a slight thud then ran to the next obstacle.

Commander Henderson watched her move with her cold determination and fire. She was doing this for a reason. She was fighting a battle within herself and he didn't know what it was. Didn't know what it was that drives her but her drive made her better than all the other cadet's he had ever trained. He didn't know what she was doing out here, honestly. She'd spent the last three years training at the academy. This was graduation day, there was no reason for her to her to be out here. She should be inside, in a dress, dancing with some asshole ensign. She'd had plenty of people hitting on her over the years to have at least a few dance offers. Instead the steadfast female ensign was outside in the pouring rain wearing camouflage fatigues and running the obstacle course again and again, each time her speed getting ever so slightly faster. "Monty!" He called and she spun dropping into a defensive position.

"Yes Commander?" she called over the rain and he beckoned her over. She brushed her short hair back behind her ear and moved over to him at a swift jog.

"What are you doing?" he asked and she brushed some mud from her cheek.

"Working out, Sir." she said firmly.

"Go to the party. I expect you there in an hour. Dismissed." he said firmly then walked off. She swore and shook her head, heading back to her room. She showered quickly and grabbed a dress, one her roommate told her she could borrow for the dance tonight. She blow dried her hair then slipped into the small form fitting green gown with sequin, embroidered detail with an open back and a sheer, sequin panel that showed flashes of her sides. She wondered idly where her roommate had gotten the dress but it didn't really matter, the cheerful girl had scores of clothing that Lina had no idea where she kept them. Something for everyone. She was a little annoyed that the dress fit. She'd rather not go. She threw on a pair of peek toed hidden platform pumps that matched the dress and glanced at the clock. She slid some fire engine red lipstick across her lips before heading out.

She stood rather annoyed, lightly tanned arms crossed over her not so prominent chest. The newly christened Ensign Howard stepped up and crossed his arms over his chest. "You should dance." He said and smiled. "You look great Linie."

"Thanks Howie." she smiled slightly. She'd made a promise to herself not to get attached to anyone, not with what she was planning, but Howard grew on her like he grew on everyone. "I borrowed a dress from Ginger." she laughed slightly. He grabbed the edge of her dress and lifted it slightly to look at her shoes.

"Very nice." he jeered and she laughed. "All right. Dance with me, my fair maiden."

"I don't dance." she said icily and he took her arm.

"You do tonight. For me you do." he said and practically dragged her out to the dance floor. He grabbed her waist like a nervous teenager dancing at prom and she dropped her hands onto his shoulders. They spun and stepped in a circle awkwardly for a few minutes before she felt a tap on her shoulder.

"May I?" Commander Henderson said and rose a brow. She looked at him for a moment in his tux and he gave an awkward lop sided grin.

"Yes you may." Howard said and pushed her at him, a knowing look on his face. Howard had a crush on the Commander and has since the moment he was assigned to Commander Henderson. But Howie saw things that others didn't. He saw the very careful way that Henderson looked at Angelina. He'd been working on getting these two together since then. To no avail of course. She staggered forward and Henderson grabbed her elbow, steadying her and keeping her up.

"I am going to kill you!" She mouth angrily at Howie as Commander Henderson put one hand on her waist and took her hand in the other. "This is ridiculous." She said as he spun her, a much better dancer then Howard. He spun her around the dance floor, her body automatically readjusting to his presence. She could dance just fine, having had gone to G.L.E.E. gala's since she was seven all the way up until her parents died when she was nineteen.

"I agree." He said blankly. "But I needed to talk to you. I have been reassigned to The Warrior. I need a crew and I was hoping you would like to take the assignment." he said and dipped her, hand pressing warmly into her side. He pulled her up and spun her in a circle, bringing her closer to him and dipping her again. When he brought her up she nodded.

"Of course Commander." she said, her plan moving forward nicely. She'd expected a few offers but she hadn't expected any from her Commander. She knew him so it would be much easier to get along with him. She smiled and vowed to enjoy the rest of the night.

--

"Happy birthday!" Howie said cheerfully and popped one of those confetti poppers over the sub-lieutenants head. "We have officially known each other for five years!"

"I met you when I was almost twenty." she said and shook her head.

"Yeah, now you re Twenty Five." he said, raising a brow at her.

"Oh." she said blankly. "So I am." she murmured. This month also marked her second year of being under Commander Henderson on The Warrior. She could practically taste the promotion on her lips. She took a bite of the cupcake Howie had somehow managed to procure for her. There was a knock on the door and Howie answered it as she picked up the small gift, something else she had no idea how he'd gotten and managed to wrap. She wanted to open it but he told her she had to wait until 3:47 in the morning, the moment she was born. This little party had started an hour ago at eleven at night the day before her birthday and had gone from there. To be honest she had no idea how he knew that either but he was a resourceful man.

"Ensign Howard? You are aware that it is against regulations to be caught in the opposite sex's room after ten o'clock right?"

"Yes Commander but...why are you here?" he asked and rose a brow, not mentioning the fact that he was, in fact, very gay.

"I got a complaint about the noise." he said and Howie rolled his eyes.

"It's not even that loud." Lina complained and rolled her eyes. It wasn't really all that loud at all.

"Sorry Ensign but you are going to have to leave." Howie groaned and grabbed his stuff before walking out. "All right."

"Yes Commander?" She asked a little annoyed. He pulled out a small wrapped box and tossed it at her. She looked down at it.

"Open it Sub-Lieutenant." he sighed and flashed a lop sided grin. She opened the box and froze before launching herself at him, a very old habit that she'd assumed she'd broken. She wrapped her arms around him for a moment. "I was going to tell you in the morning, Lieutenant." he said using her new title with a slight grin on his face.

He put his hand around her shoulder and dropped his head onto hers. She seemed to realize this and pulled back quickly. He took the gold leaf pin from the box and pinned it to the uniform he saw hanging in the closet. "There." he said and she smiled brightly.

"Thank you Commander." she said pleased and he couldn't help himself. He wrapped his arms around her again one more time before leaving her to her thoughts. She blinked several times out of shock then dropped onto the bed.

--

"Lieutenant-Commander Monty!" Commander Henderson yelled and tossed a zapper at her. She caught it and spun, shooting the odd grey goop like native as it moved forward. Screams could be heard from all around as the grey monsters moved forward further. It had been a peaceful mission that somehow went very wrong. The goop like monsters were not the humanoid rulers of the planet that they had expected. The rulers of the planet had, without informing the G.L.E.E. probes about any of it, been fighting a war with these under dwellers. Monstrous creatures that couldn't survive in the sun. The planet only had two months of sun a year though. The Warrior had landed dead in the middle of a raid. The moment they landed the glops had disabled their steering, making it impossible to leave until the engine grew managed to fix them. The creatures had attacked quickly, despite their slow moving and apparent inability to communicate.

Their attack was messy and uncoordinated, leaving it easy to attack them but hard to take any of them down with their never ending onslaught and continuous movements. They had lost quite a few people. The commander told them to fall back into the purple mountain structures to the east and he'd quickly lost contact with most of them as the gamma radiation rose around them, coming from a source in the mountains. Lina shot several of the gloopy monsters before turning tail and running after her Commander. Sometimes you need to know when to retreat. A sudden noise sounded from the direction they were running in. Commander Henderson grabbed Lina's arm and yanked her into a cave, shooting at the loose rocks by the entrance. The rocks tumbled and collapsed the entrance. Lina starred into absolute darkness for a moment. "Are you fucking crazy, Commander?" She shouted and he slammed her up against the wall, covering her mouth with his hand firmly. He lowered his mouth to her ear.

"Shut up." he said quietly. "We need to get out of here quickly. Those things live in the caves but none of them are here for the assault I am hoping. We were surrounded; I did what I could to save our lives." He grabbed a light stick from his hip and cracked it to life. He lowered it down to her face and removed his hand.

"How did you even know this cave connected to others, it could be a dead end, it could be-mmf!" she was cut off by his lips pressing to hers firmly. Her protests died and, after a moment, she closed her eyes and kissed him back with an equal amount of enthusiasm. Her hands came up and twined in his hair as she pressed herself to him tightly. After a moment he pulled away.

"That was in case we don't make it out of here. I thought you should know." he said and she nodded. They pressed on into the cave. They were either getting hopelessly lost or going in the right direction but they pressed on anyways. Going deeper into the unknown. The further they went the colder it got. Merely five hours in and they both found themselves freezing, huddling together for any amount of warmth they could get. The only thing Lina could think of was that twenty seven was too young to die and she hadn't even completed her self-appointed mission. Anger was burning through her. "We should stop for the night." he said firmly and she nodded.

"Yes Commander."

"At this point I think you can call me Nick." he stated and she nodded. They found an alcove to hide in and curled around each other, using one another s body heat to themselves. They woke to the sound of zapper fire. Lina shot forward and out of the alcove, a look of relief flooding her features as she caught sight of the team. They lead them out of the caves, the exit a mere mile from where they were camped for the night. The ship was up and running when they got back and they took off into the dark unknown of space.

--

"Congratulations." The man at the podium stated and pinned the medal to her lapel. She shook hands with him and smiled to the crowd as then turned to her now former Commander Henderson. "It took you ten years," The General said but smiled, " And a lot of close calls but I am more than pleased to welcome Commander Monty to the ranks." The room clapped and Commander Henderson walked up to the podium.

"She has worked hard getting to where she is. Worked with a determination I haven t seen repeated until Commander Up sent me video logs of the young ensign, now Lieutenant, Taz Lopez." He glanced at the annoyed looking Lieutenant who was sitting next to the newly rehabilitated Commander Up. In a few years he was sure the twenty three year old would be a Commander herself. "I have personally watched her grow from an almost obsessive nineteen year old to a strong and beautiful twenty nine year old woman." the crowd grew a little uneasy at this, Up's eyes flashing inexplicably over to Taz who didn't seem to notice. "And now it is my pleasure to announce that she will be stationed at G.L.E.E. headquarters for the time being." he said cheerfully and she grinned. She pushed him slightly and smiled.

"And it is my pleasure to announce that, since out of rank relationships are banned both the Commander and I have been attempting to keep our relationship platonic." she said. The crowd got louder in their murmuring. "But now I am a Commander and we share ranks so..." she grabbed his jacket and pulled her lips to his in a loving display. They had spent the last two years keeping away from each other the best they could, only ending in late night liaisons and stolen kisses in darkened hallways.
Now they didn't have to hide it any more. She still had a little while to go with her plan but she'd let him soften her calloused heart. The crowd erupted in loud conversation as she pulled away. He blinked several times, a smile breaking across his face.

--

Lina crept out of the room sometime after midnight. She felt her heart breaking as she carried the bomb in a nondescript box toward a room near the center of the base. A room it had taken her nearly two years to gain access to. She punched in her code and smiled as she placed the box on the table next to the nitronium. A highly volatile explosive that the G.L.E.E. had been working with recently. She would set the bomb and close her eye's. Let it carry her and everyone else in headquarters to the next world. She would finally have her revenge, the revenge she'd worked so hard to achieve over the last ten years. But is it really what she wanted an more. She was in love.
She had rank, she could change things. She could bring up their biased in protection. She could help other's get the protection they are being denied like her parents had been. She knew all of this but she felt like she would be ruining everything she worked towards. She wrapped an arm around her stomach and let out a slight sob as the options overwhelmed her. She brushed her now long hair back and pressed her head to the table, accepting its cool embrace.

"You know they offered to promote me three times over the past ten years but I said no every time. For you." She heard Nick's voice and she spun, shock on her face.

"You didn't think I didn't know about your plan did you?" he said and he shook his head. "Ten years, I knew. I found out about it after your accident back in training camp. I read your diary to make sure you hadn't attempted suicide, falling from that high." he was referring to when she fell off the rock was in her second year.

"I have to do this." She said, hand moving carefully over to the inactive dirty bomb. "I spent twelve years planning this, Nick." she said pleadingly, begging for him to understand.

"Yeah but I spent twelve years falling in love with you and I know you better than you think I do." He said firmly and stepped closer, she flinched, tears starting to leak down her face. "You keep acting like you want revenge but you don't. You want justice. Justice for your parents." he said calmingly. He placed his hands on hers. "You want to feel like you accomplished something." he murmured and wiped a tear from her face. "This," he gestured to the table, "is not what you want."

"No." she sniffed and he kissed her lightly.

"No. Sweetheart." he said and slid the bomb away. "Marry me. Marry me and leave this behind. Leave the anger and the pain behind." he said and she looked at him. "I love you Angelina Monty. You know that."

"I love you too Nicholas Henderson." she said lightly and kissed him back. "Of course I'll marry you." she said firmly. She grabbed the wire cutters and cut a wire on the bomb before kissing him again, the dirty bomb forgotten completely.

--

Commander Up handed Nick the ring and Howie, Lina's only Brides Maid handed her his ring. She smiled and slipped the ring on as the vows were read. He lifted her veil and kissed her lightly. She practically leapt on him, kissing him with a heat she d never known. She touched her belly lightly. "One more thing." She said and turned to the small congregation. Friends and the few family member's she had left, a nervous smile on her lips. "I'm pregnant." She said and bit her lip. The small crowd seemed stunned into silence for a moment before they cheered out loud. He picked her up and spun her in a circle. It had taken four more years of her time but she proposed a protection contract to the G.L.E.E. officials and, after a little time deliberating and her pleading her case she had convinced them to extend their protection to the lesser science officer's like her parents had been. She kissed her groom as her two year old son toddled up, grabbing a hold of mommy's dress. Everything seemed right in the world in that one moment. Finally perfect.