"That boy needs all the allies he can get, stranger," said the old man.  Then he suddenly fell silent.  After a moment, a self-reprimanding "aw, shit" was uttered.<br/><br/>-----<br/><br/>Feldana nodded at Sherra, her bottom lip quivering with her shuddering breaths.  She shied away from Kitten until he put the warm cloth around her.  With a sniffle she looked up at him, hugging herself with the edges of the cloth in her hands.  "Thank you," she said.  "Mommy gives good humans a day off..."  At the mention of her mother, her tears flowed harder.  "Mommy's gonna be all right, isn't she?" she asked Sherra, her voice strained and her eyes pleading.<br/><br/>-----<br/><br/>First Sergeant Millhouse and the remnants of his platoon had been taking the S.E.M. members through a few of the richer, nicer neighborhoods, avoiding areas near the frontlines.  On occasion, the First Sergeant would glance over at Faust, keeping a watchful eye on him.  Then his eyes would alight on Emiko, and a slight grin would draw across his face despite his half-hearted attempts to stifle it.  The girl was attractive... and intriguing.  He decided to sidle over and make some conversation.<br/><br/>"We should be halfway there," he said.  "We're taking the long route."<br/><br/>-----<br/><br/>The medic with Heretic made quick work of taking a healthy sample of Heretic's blood.  He rubbed the needle-mark with a piece of gauze and placed a small bandage over it.  "Sorry, pal, I'm a medic.  It's my job to help people.  That includes friends of the Resistance."  He took the vial of blood out of the syringe and gave it to a passing soldier with orders to deliver it to the scientific advisor.<br/><br/>Lentan looked down at Baz as he was taken aside.  "I'll let..." he paused to remember the name, "...Chiro know that," he said.  "He's going to be closer to Alhanda's personal guard.  As much as I want to, I can't come with you on the mission.  My time to face Alhanda comes later, and I still have the war to run."  He put a hand on Baz's shoulder.  "Your agent will be rescued, though, even if I have to throw our whole armed forces at the Palace.  She deserves that much."<br/><br/>Halvorson, coming over with the medic named Brown, took the flare gun from Jania.  "Thanks, I hope we won't run into that much trouble, though."  He carefully tucked the flare gun into his belt, zipped his newly-acquired flak jacket on all the way, and lined up in front of the gazebo with a freshly-equipped O'Toole.<br/><br/>Lentan, hearing Chiro's requests, moves to the pile of equipment his car had unloaded and shuffles much of it aside, searching for something.  "I'm sure I told them to bring them..." he muttered.  Then he found it - a battered police riot shield.  "Aha!  Thought we had a few of these in here."  He held it out to Chiro.  "Bulletproof riot shields.  We've managed to snag a few.  It's got a strap you can use to sling it across your back, too.  Definitely useful."  Then he listened to the remarks about the hang-glider and smiled.  "I knew I was forgetting something.  My apologies.  I'm in a bit of a hurry."<br/><br/>With a nod from Lentan, one of his bodyguards took the hang glider to Arget, instructing him on how to fold it up, unfold it, and pilot it.  He explained that a man in his position had to learn all combat techniques - defending the Commander made it a necessity.<br/><br/>Approaching Chiro, Lentan took the sword the Slayers had given him from his belt.  He held the sheathed blade out.  "You have an additional objective.  Find a six-foot vixen named Mad in Alhanda's personal guard.  Her eyes are each of a different color.  Show this to her.  She is the Slayers' agent.  You must take her with you on your way out.  The Slayers feel she may be discovered sooner than I thought.  Do this after you've found the weapon.  When you get to the roof again, let her ride on your back while..." he realized he hadn't ever been told Arget's name,  "...while the foxboy uses the hang glider."<br/><br/>Private Janus had long since equipped himself and was sitting in a corner of the gazebo in silence.  When Lentan had ordered all who were ready to line up, he silently came over to Halvorson and O'Toole.  Halvorson looked at him and only nodded.  "Comin' with us, huh?" asked O'Toole.<br/><br/>Janus looked puzzled.  "I thought the Commander put me on the rescue mission."<br/><br/>"He did," said Halvorson.  "But are you sure you want to come?"<br/><br/>"I..." Janus stumbled.  "...why wouldn't I?"<br/><br/>O'Toole gestured with her shoulder at the site of Collins' grave.  Halvorson added, "Fenson's still recovering, too."<br/><br/>"Yeah, but..." Janus was confused and upset.  "What does that have to do with me?"<br/><br/>"I'd say a lot, Private," said Halvorson.  "Aside from me, you're the only member of my original squad left.  O'Toole lost all of hers.  If I don't come back from this, someone's got to take over my old squad."<br/><br/>"And if it's honesty you want," O'Toole took up, "I don't think you're in any sorta mental condition to do this."<br/><br/>The young face of Arnold Janus screwed up in a mix of frustration and disjointed aloneness.  "Then what the fuck am I going to do?!" he shouted.  "Sit back here and do nothing?!"<br/><br/>"Calm down, boy," Halvorson said firmly.  "I told Heretic to stay here 'cause he might lose it when we're trying to be quiet.  He can't help it.  Right now, you can't either."<br/><br/>Janus was incensed.  "What about you?!  Collins was your friend, too!!"<br/><br/>"That's right," Halvorson said.  "So's Fenson.  And so're you.  Collins is dead, though.  Fenson's out of the war.  And if you went with us on this mission, you'd be fixin' to get yourself killed mighty quick.  You think I want that?"<br/><br/>"If we're your friends, how come you ain't all tore up like me?!"<br/><br/>Halvorson sighed.  "I ain't some sorta robot, Janus," he said flatly.  "I'm glad Fenson's alive, and I'm sure<span style="font-style: italic">not</span>glad Collins is dead.  I'm just different from you.  You're young and you've got a lot to live for, fella.  If you haven't got it by now, I'm trying to make sure you live longer than I do."<br/><br/>Janus froze.  O'Toole stared at Halvorson.  "What are you saying?" she asked.<br/><br/>"All I'm saying is a lot of folks are going to die very soon," said Halvorson, glancing at her.  "I could be one of them.  So could you.  So could any of us... or all of us.  And I know I could handle that."  He looked hard at Janus.  "And I know<span style="font-style: italic">you</span>couldn't."  He sighed and looked at the ground, then back up at the young soldier.  "I want you to stay here.  You got me?"<br/><br/>Janus, his eyes rapidly filling, nodded and saluted Halvorson.  "Yes sir, Sarge...  er, Lieutenant."  With the slow gait of melancholy he withdrew and began removing his equipment.  His leaders watched him go.<br/><br/>O'Toole turned to Halvorson, her voice not mocking, just inquisitive.  "Why is he even here?" she asked him.<br/><br/>"He doesn't know anything else," said Halvorson.  "When he joined, he was mad and itchin' for a fight."  He looked at her.  "Now that he's had a few, he's realized that just being angry ain't everything.  You gotta be dead, too."<br/><br/>O'Toole brushed her red hair back and nodded.  "Right," she said quietly.  Then she noticed Arget (whom she still knew as Bane) nearby.  When the bodyguard was done showing him the hang-glider's functions, she approached the halfbreed, concern in her eyes, trying to see his face past the balaclava he wore.  Unsure of how to say what she wanted, she mumbled, "Hey."