Eli hesitantly took a breath; when he didn't fall over dead, he took another, deeper, and held it a little longer. He stepped off the loading dock of his ship (which he often used in lieu of the entry hatch), carefully placing his feet on the weeded concrete of the landing area. With a low whistle, he looked around.

Rubble lay scattered on the ground like snowflakes after a winter gale. The few buildings that still stood were overgrown with vines and weeds, or were missing half the floors and walls. It had been a small town, Eli figured, and even though it hadn't been a target in the First War, the fallout would have encompassed nearly the entire globe.

He shook his head as he recalled stories his grandmother had told him of the First War. She had been born a year after the war had ended, on the Fourth Fleet searching out new planets for mankind to inhabit. The planets that they found would later form the FPG.

Forcing thoughts of the war from his mind, he started down the hill he had landed on, heading toward the ruined town. "Eli," Orion cautioned. "Scanners picking up a few lifesigns."

"Wild game?" Eli wondered aloud, idly pacing the narrow streets.

"Can't tell," Orion explained. "All I can see is that they're alive and moving toward you."

"I'll be careful," Eli assured the worried AI. "Just in case, though, keep the door open and be ready to take off at a moment's notice." He shook himself off and started for the tallest building that was still standing. It would be a good vantage point so he could see what Orion's scanners had detected. He just hoped that whatever it was wasn't smart enough to know he was there.

Nova team moved silently through the bombed-out city, each one with a high-tech scanner over his or her eye, wearing state-of-the-art field scouting armor, brandishing high-power assault rifles with overpowered scopes. THey were armed, they were dangerous, and they were scared out of their freaking minds.

It was Andre's first operation as a team leader. He was afraid that, despite what he had told his captain, he wouldn't be a fit leader. Reading between the lines, discerning the truth...just didn't seem like his style. It was Kelsey's first op, period. She still held the nervousness that she had carried with her all through training, despite her above-average scores on all tests. Cameron and Alexis had both seen action before, but neither truly had that much experience.

"Cam, Kelse," Andre whispered into his headset. "Got a bead on him. He's on top of this building." He used his neural linkup to send the building's coordinates to his team. "You guys stay here and keep your guns trained on him. Me and Alexis are gonna try to take him."

Cameron and Kelsey's acknowledgement lights blinked green on Andre's scanner. He and Alexis moved forward, crouching low, staying in the shadow. When they came to the busted double-doors, they paused to prepare themselves. Switching to a private frequency, ANdre blurted quietly, "Lexi, I'm scared."

The slender female stared. "What? Why? We both know you're a crack shot with that rifle."

Andre shook his head violently. "That's not why I'm scared. The captain...before he promoted me, he said something about seeing the truth of a situation. The only situation I can see is one in which I screw up."

Alexis cut off his next statement with a powerful, forceful slap to his face. "You're not gonna screw up. If you do, I'll make sure I kick your ass before you get demoted."

"Oh, shut up and go in already," said a third voice. "Oh shit. I shouldn't have said that."

Andre and Alexis gaped at one another, turned off their safeties, and went in. The game was on.

Eli stood in what used to be an office building, staring at the ruined landscape as the sun sanke beneath the horizon. It was a strange feeling, seeing such destruction and devastation illuminated to such beauty. With a sigh, he allowed himself to entertain thoughts of bringing a girl here one day, if he ever met the right one.

Or, for that matter, ever met anyone else ever again.

The fifth floor was the highest completely-intact floor of the building. Behind him, where the stairway exited into the floor, a small part of the sixth and seventh floors were still standing.

"ELI!" Orion shouted, breaking Eli's meditative state. "Big trouble headed your way! At least two soldiers, armed with rifles! Be ready!"

Eli fingered his pistol. Wrapping his hand around the ice-cold steel grip, placing his thumb on the hammer and forefinger on the trigger, he didn't feel any safer.

He heard footsteps coming up the stairs. Moments later, he heard two rifles cocked and a young male voice barked, "Turn around slowly and drop your weapon!"

Eli put his hands up in the air. "How about this: You tell me why you're pointing rifles at my back and I might comply."

"Sorry," the same male voice said forcefully. "By right of order from the FPG, you are under arrest. That's non-negotiable."

"Damn," Eli said reaching down to pull his pistol from its holster. "Negotiations are all I'm good at."

"Drop the weapon, Mister Thomas."

"No."

"I'm warning you, drop the gun."

"I don't think so."

The man fired, loosing a ball of electricity the size of a human eye. It struck Eli's hand -- the one clutching the pistol. Instantly, his hand went numb and started spazzing out. The gun went flying and landed under a table several yards away. Stun rounds, Eli thought, grinning. Excellent.

"Turn around, Thomas."

"Why?"

"So we can take you back to the ship and await further orders."

"Oooh, sorry. That's gonna conflict with other plans."

"No negotiations, Thomas."

"Not even one?"

"Not even one."

"Yeah? Then there's something you should know."

"What is it?"

Eli ran for the table, scooped up his dropped firearm in his left hand, and slid under the table, breaking the front two legs with a sweeping kick. With a grin, he called out over the upturned table, "I'm not quite entertaining notions of going peacefully!"

The two soldiers opened fire, the rounds barely scratching the polished surface of the overturned table. Eli sat with the wall shielding his front and the table at his back, willing feeling back into his hand. He was ambidextrous, so he could fire with his left hand if it was required, but with a numb right he would lack a steady aim. Unless he was at point-blank range, his chances of hitting his target were slim.

A moment or two later, the fire ceased. A female voice said, "We're not going to get very far with these things."

Eli came to his feet, wielding the brushed steel firearm in his left hand, his right hand hanging limply at his side. "Why the hell did you shoot at me!?"

The male soldier's eyes narrowed. "You were being uncooperative. It's our job."

"Forget about your job!" Eli was furious now. He had to concentrate to keep from foaming at the mouth. "Why am I under arrest!?"

"We were ordered to arrest you."

"Where di the order come from!? Why was it ordered!? Come on, tell me, damn it!"

Thinking quickly, Andre called out, "Classified information!"

"All right. Why're you using stun rounds?"

"My superiors want you alive."

"Any particular reason?"

"Can't get information from a corpse, Thomas."

Eli was piecing things together left and right. Either the guy was telling the truth, or he had as much idea as Eli to the reasons behind this incident. On the bright side, though, they wouldn't kill him. Stun rounds wouldn't feel like a gentle breeze, but as long as they didn't hit him in hte head or the heart, he'd stay awake.

"I've got one advantage over you," he said gently. "You've got me outnumbered and beat tactically...but I'm using live rounds."

"You're going to shoot us?"

"If I have to."

"It's a pistol."

Eli began edging toward the stairwell. "Yeah, well, I'm a crack shot."

"With a bum right hand?"

"I don't need it anyway."

"You're one cocky bastard."

"No need to insult my mother, pal." WIthout warning, Eli opened fire. The gun roared and bullets ripped through the air toward their target, the female soldier's shoulder. It connected with a sickening squelch.

Eli took advantage of the split-second headstart and made a run for it.

Andre heard the impact before he knew it was coming. Thomas leapt down the stairway as soon as the shot was off.

"Alexis!" Andre shouted, running to his friend's side as she hit the floor. "Lexi," he whispered, preparing a field dressing, "stay with me. Alexis!"

Alexis coughed. "Andre," she whispered, her eyes glazing over. "Forget about me. Go after him."

Andre applied pressure to the wound with a wrapped bandage. "I'm not going anywhere, damn it!"

She grabbed his ear and, pulling his head close to hers, shouted, "Get him, you idiot!" With her piece said, she passed out.

Andre got to his feet and spoke into his headset. "Cameron, Kelsey. Alexis is wounded; I need you to get up here to help her." He prepped his gun. "I'm going after Thomas."

It was night. Eli movied through the worn streets silently, trying to make his way to his ship. He didn't know if there were any other soldiers -- though he figured there were, but their numbers were a mystery to him. His highest priority at the moment was escape, but his mind kept drifting back to the events that had just transpired. He shot her.

In cold blood, he had shot her.

Despite being threatened with arrest and incarceration, it had never been his intent to harm anyone. It just was not part of his thought process. Guilt did not mix well with fear and worry. Get a grip, he told himself silently, leaning against a wall to catch his breath. You did what you had to. They'd have arrested you.

WIth new air in his lungs, Eli looked around. He recognized his immediate surroundings with a start; he was several blocks away from his ship! Barely restraining his excitement, he broke into a run. He had barely passed ten meters when, with his ship in his sight, a flash of light struck his left leg mid-stride and he tumbled to the ground in a chaotic jumble of limbs.

He used his arms to flip himself onto his back. Out of the shadows, into the floodlight thrown by the ship, stepped the male soldier from before. "My name is Seargent Andre Becker. You're under arrest by order of the FPG."

Eli said calmly, "Fine. Sorry about shooting your friend. I didn't mean to hit her; I meant to distract you."

"Of course you did." Andre stalked over to Eli, bent down to cuff him, and confiscated the gun.