Stuck Between a Rock and a Hard Place

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"Come on Alex. We have to go." Jade coaxed gently as Evelina yanked at the waist band of her hotpants, knocking her off balance onto her butt. Jaxx discarded the Roo limb and came over.

"Like we gotta move most quickly Doc Jade." He said looming over them, one of his holo-whips brandished ready to use against the Roo. Jade placed a reasuring hand on Alex' shoulder.

"I'm trying." She spat, dark stormy eyes raging behind a calm face. Unable to belive that Jaxx would set off a bomb in the same room that someone was having so serious a breakdown.

"Just sedate him Doc and lets go." Evelina joined in, not understanding the world of horror that Solvay was in. His head was still in his hands, on his knees, quiet. Jade was knelt in front of him. Alex looked up briefly at the commotion as the three were talking and saw the holo-whip. She felt him tense beneath her hand.

"I would if I had any." She glowered again. She turned to Solvay, her eyes soft and calm. "Come on soldier. We have to evac this location, it's compromised. There is an explosive device about to go off." Falling abck on old training. She gently moved his hands away from his face, her body blocking the others from seeing the tears.

"'Ain't no soldier. It's Sargent Solvay to you McReady." He said getting up under Jade's guidence. They made it through the blast door just before it slammed shut.

Jade had seen soldiers go thorugh episodes of combat stress. A bit of R&R and they were usally back on their feet. This seemed more deep rooted, more Post Traumatic Stress Dissorder. She'd seen soldiers in Hymenopterra ships fall appart, both litterally and mentally. Coaxed men and women frightened beyond words back to reality, back to safety from the front lines. It was something that she'd not had to do for a while. Something she had done too often.

"Come on officer. Step up. We have to get out of here. We have one target left then we can re-group." Jade said, standing Alex up straight, saluting him. Hoping to apeal to the Alex that was rooted in the past at that point.

"Not without Jacob." His eyes met Jade's they were focused yet distant. As if he was seeing someone else in her place. Having another conversation in another time.

"We can re-group with him as well. He is a soldier just like you. Smart, fierce, well trained. Isn't your unit the best? Haven't you trained them well?"

"We'll show those mother fuckers." He growled. Going through the motions of checking his rifle and sidearm.

"Jees, Whats up with crazy?" Jamie asked, having not seem anything of this like before.

"He'll be alright. We just need to keep him focused on something for now. If he falls appart completely right now then I'm not sure I can do much to help." She made sure she was within reach of Alex at all times as he stalked forwards down the corridor.

"The power core should be close. We are nearly at our objective. Stay sharp." Alex whispered, making complicated military gestures.

"Urm... What's he doing? This is like totally no place for a disco party." Jaxx said, his voice echoing down the halls.

"Jarvis! Shut the smeg up unless you want to be skull fucked by one of these glitched ghosts." He squared up to the taller man.

"I'm Jaxx dude." Said Jaxx.

"This isn't a time to horse about shark-boy..." Alex barked. His truamatised mind colliding his two worlds. "Did you find Jacob yet?" He turned to Jade, his eyes filled with dispair.

"Not yet." She gestured for the others to go on. "Go on, get the generators. We'll catch up with you shortly." This final part was said to Jamie. The three moved forward at a rushed pace.

"I won't find him will I? I can't rescue him can I?" Alex said, his voice quavering. Jade saw his knees going again and slotted herself in under his arm arresting the fall.

"One step at a time." She soothed.

"I can't." Barely audiable, all his weight was on her. She shuffled, exhaused, hurt, battered, bare foot. Not at her best, she was begining to struggle with the shear size difference between them.

"You can. With me. One foot in front of the other..." She placed one foot forwards. "Like this."

"It's my fault." His weight shuffled, Jade noted that his foot had moved forwards. She looked up at him, wanting to take his hurt away. He was crying again. Her free hand went to his face, he flinched away from the touch. She wiped the tears away.

"It will be ok." She said with a sad smile.

"Liar." He whispered.

"You'll never know unless you walk forwards." She moved another foot so she was temporarilly uncomforatbly infront of him. He shuffled to keep level. They lapsed into silence, the slow shuffle becoming a walk. The monontonous task taking up Alex thoughts.

***

They reached the others as the blast doors closed and the deep bass rumble of an explosion reverberated through the floor. After the first ten seconds, and the rumble carried on the quintet began to wonder.

Then panic.

The deep bass grumple was rooted deep within the warren. The sound grew to that of a freight train or a large lorry driving past your window. The ground began to quiver, a shimmering movement that made you feel ill at ease.

"Not good... What did you do?" Jade asked, as Jamie, Jaxx and Evelina looked between each other nervously.

"Wasn't us! We jsut blew the p..." At that moment, the lights went out. "ower..." Jamie finished. Backup generators began to kick in slowly, emergancy lighting creating spookier shadows than before. Solvay tensed against Jade, silent and scared. The tremor grew in movement.

"I think, like, we should go. you know, the ground is shaking and that's not good." Jaxx said, making a move down the coridor. As they walked, the quiver became like walking down a shuttle craft gangway in high turbulence. The floor kept bucking and dissapearing under their feet.

It reached a creschendo as they were unable to stand on their feet anymore. There was a sound like splintering rock, earth and wood, the ceiling above them began to crack and splinter. The fabulous five managed to stumble and fall out of the path of the rockfall.

As the noise and movement quietened down, Jade becaame away that she was at the bottom of a pile of human deadweight.

"Get off me you lazy lot." She huffed, squirming against the pressure. Alex, who had squashed Jade in the fall was pinned by Jaxx. There was the sound like air escaping from a small space.

Thoomph.

Jade turned her head and crained against the crush to look for the sound. Shimmering into existance about ten feet away was a huge mechanoid. It bristled with agression, smelled of oil, blood and sawdust. It took a smooth heavy step forwards, swinging one arm up. One arm that was, except instead of a hand it was a tripple barreled gun that was whining up to speed. The second arm was tipped with a viscious looking toothed blade that even as she looked began to vibrate.

"Hit Mark Echo. Located five secondary targets. Primary target not located. Initiating extermination protocol Alpha: Scorched earth. Requesting backup."

Thoomph.

Behind the first a second shimmered into existance. Teleported in or something, Jade assumed.

"Hit Mark Theta. Assisting in extermination protocol Alpha." It too had a savage looking vibro-blade. It's second arm was capped with a single gun barrel. "Initiating plasma cannon." It monotoned.

"Guys, guys, GUYS!" Jade squealed, squirming more insistantly now to get out from under the man mountain.

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OOC - Ok, so cave-ins and Hit Marks. That what you were after Locke? ;)