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Pale light filtered into the sterile tent via its fabric outer layer. A particular bright beam wormed through a tie hole in a corner and brushed over Adrian's eyes, teasing him awake. He fluttered his eyes a bit until he could make out the rest of the dimly lit room. The husky checked his watch carefully, not wanting to disturb Carbon so early in the morning.

"Glad we don't have missions until midday." Adri looked over the girl he was snuggling, her usual lit borders now just clear, fleshy filaments. "So you shut off when you're asleep? Guess that makes sense."

"Oh, you're actually up? I was wondering why the lights were off." Johnny swished his tail behind him as he closed the tent's exterior door. Then he spun about and noticed the additional fur in Carbon's bed. "Oh. Well I take it you two... fixed his problem."

"Y-Yeah... ~Her~ problem."

"'Her', huh?" The red fox huffed a breath of air and turned around again to allow Adrian some margin of privacy. "I'd leave you alone, but there's... questions. Did you just turn off those lights?"

"No, they were out all night." The husky tried to rouse his sleeping friend but couldn't get a response. "You came to wake her up? Seems like a heavy enough sleeper."

"Morning blood test. She's usually up in a snap." Johnny peeked back over for a moment and pressed another question. "Wait, no lamps ~and~ no blankets? Please tell me I'm wrong."

"Huh? Well it wasn't too shoddy a night so..." Suddenly Carbon reached an arm behind her and pulled Adri close, his own arm wrapping around her waist. The act might have been cute if the little otter wasn't shaking herself to death. "Gods, she's having a fit. This normal, Doc?"

"Fuck." Johnny gave up on politeness and rushed to the two, clicking on all the lights until the otter was lit brighter than daylight. "She needs to stay warmer than us or she'll go into a coma. It's some sort of hibernation or something, but it's serious if she's not prepared for it."

Adrian grabbed a blanket that they'd pushed to the floor and threw it over the both of them, squinting as he examined the strange material from which it was made. "Woah... Why are her blankets clear? What is this stuff?"

"Mylar fabric. Carbon needs more than just the heat of these lights." Johnny sighed in relief as Carbon's trim slowly built up a dull glow of cyan. "She needs light to metabolize energy. Think photosynthesis."

"Like a plant. Yeah, the lass was saying something along those lines last night. I should have listened."

"Yeah... Well she's looking alright. If it got any colder last night she'd be in trouble though." The fox sat in a nearby seat and grabbed a notebook to log the incident. "Just remember she's more sensitive to some things than us. Her fur alone won't keep her warm enough like you, snow pup."

"I'll admit I am used to the cold. My bad, mate." Adrian reached for his pants and pulled them beneath the translucent sheets to try getting dressed. "So you're cool with this? It was just sex. She was hurting pretty bad and I just can't leave a bird like that."

"I'm okay with it, but I'm still concerned. Considering her chest's smaller I'd say you did the trick..." Johnny checked between Carbon's legs and lightly grimaced at the mess. "That means you did it right, without protection. So what do we do if she gets pregnant?"

"She said it was okay. Besides, she's turning back into a man isn't she?" Carbon stirred again, this time her eyes fluttering open. "Mornin', lass. Sorry about the rough night."

"Hmm?" Carbon clamped down on the blanket and sealed it tight to her body. "Wow, it's cold. Is it supposed to be like this in Vietnam?"

"Gets close to freezing some years." Evelyn appeared on the floor with her legs crossed over each other, though she was quite see-through where she normally appeared quite tangible. "Thankfully that's not this year, but it'll still get dangerous for us."

"Oh, well that's good to know when I'm ~already~ cold." The otter looked behind herself when Adri loudly worked his belt into place. "Oh, you stayed the whole night? Thanks, Adrian." She pressed back and greedily forced the husky to spoon again. "It's nice to have another warm body in bed."

"Well I care enough not to worry what the other men will ask. No worries, mate."

"Ahem. Blood test, Carbon." Johnny stood and rummaged in a portable cabinet, producing some required supplies. "Then you need to recharge the air supplies on the chopper. We're taking off early to pick up some guys, apparently."

"Aww. I wanted a slow morning." The otter mix threw out her arm, but immediately sealed the gaps around it to keep her warmth inside the blanket. "I guess duty calls. Can we take it easy until it warms up a bit though?"

"Until ~you~ warm up, and then you dress warmly. You lost a lot of core heat last night. A few minutes in the lights should do that some good." The fox brought over a needle and phial, then worked it quickly into the otter's arm until Liquid cyan flowed out. "So Adrian here says you're safe from pregnancy. Anything I should know about? Reason for worry?"

Eve stood up as Carbon shot her a certain ponderous look, the phantom more confidently solid than before as she answered the unasked question. "I can change your body chemistry pretty much at will, as long as I'm not occupied anyway. I just made you incompatible with Adrian's chemistry where it mattered. Nothing permanent."

Carbon shook his head. "No, it's just Eve. She's looking out for me. Something about chemistry..."

"I believe you. Just be safe if something like this ever happens again. Okay?"

"Aye, mate." Adri finally managed to break free and stood up, fumbling with his shirt. "I'm not trying to do bad by either of you. Carbon needed help and that's all it was. However now I need to get back to the barracks. Better to change clothes and swap out my film from yesterday before we set off again, yeah?"

"Do what you need to do. We've got a busy morning too." Johnny labeled the tube of blood and set it in a tray. "Just don't be late. It's a long flight apparently. Ran out of large transport choppers and it's a deep action team or something like that."

"And..." Carbon stood herself up, the blanket following to the new position. Then she quickly pecked a kiss on the side of Adrian's muzzle and sat down, wrapping herself tightly. "Well, thanks. You're a real friend, Adri."

"Uh, think nothing of it. What're mates for?" Adri backed away until he touched the clear seal wall, repositioning to find the door panel. "I'll see you later."

"And I'll let you take that mask off. That's got to be getting irritating." Johnny stepped out with Adri and sealed the door, then flipped a heavy switch on a nearby control box. "You still know the drill, right? Red light means you're safe, green is for us?"

"Yes, and last week, and the week before that. You know I always remember everything. Eve's a good note taker." The inner chamber started to hiss loudly, then after half a minute it settled down to a light hum and the control box flipped red. "Good. Give me a few minutes and I'll start working on the helicopter."

Johnny reached for a stack of paper and went to work on the previous day's log. "Mission details are in those files I left on the table. Just be ready when they say, and top off your air packs."

Carbon waved to Adrian as he walked out of the tent, then flopped onto her back and tore off her gas mask. "Already the toughest part of the day."

"Carbon..." Eve slipped into bed next to her, stroking her hair lovingly. "It was just one night. Don't get too attached... or you might be disappointed."

"I don't think I can help it." Carbon turned around to face the flower girl, nipping her nose with a playful bite. "I think I love him."

A single claw lazily flicked the click switch under Carbon's helmet as she heaved a sigh of boredom. "Hello? Anyone out there?" When no response came back the otter hybrid reached for her radio controls tied to her arm and changed the frequency channel. "Cheat, you listening?"

"Aye, sir. We get word from our pickup?"

"Nope. I was about to ask you the same question." Carbon went to check the time but Evelyn conveniently overlaid it over her vision before she could even lower her eyes. "It's been about an hour. Considering we flew three to get here though, I think we'd better give these guys a few extra minutes. Better spool up the engines in fifteen. Sound good?"

"Roger, will-co. Liftoff in fifteen, sir."

Carbon flicked off her radio switch and checked her air system. "Hitting halfway on this new pack. It's convenient and portable, but we really need to find a better compromise on time."

"Hey, it's the best I could do without a proper set of tools. Next time you find an electronics store let me know." Johnny sat up from the tree he'd been resting against. "The idea to use limestone to make your CO2 was far fetched anyway. I'm surprised it's working at all. We can work on it though if a mechanized unit moves through base or something. They've got what I need."

"Bit of a repairman, yeah mate? Oh, hold that." Adrian brought up Maxie and snapped a photo of the fox. "Thanks. Just won't mention you're on our team and we've got some good 'helping the local doctors' pieces we could do."

"Well leave out anything about Carbon and that's fine." Johnny leaned back against his tree and chuckled softly when he heard the camera click again. "One's not enough?"

"Better to take a few. Might have shook the lens on one, so you never--"

"Watch out!" Carbon leaped from her position and tackled Adri to the ground, a fine mist of light blue trailing behind them. "Ah, fuck!"

"Bloody..." Adri rolled over and stared at the otter, pondering her actions until he noticed the girl was in pain. "What's wrong? Carbon?"

Johnny shuffled across the ground and checked a patch of drooling cyan running down Carbon's back. "She's been shot. Grazed her side, but still..."

Evelyn crouched down in front of Carbon with a grimace. "I'll keep it from hurting if you want, but I'll be less useful to you. Just make sure to get it fixed up soon."

"I'm fine. Keep an eye out; that one was just a stray." The flower girl nodded and kept her senses primed, looking for subtle details Carbon would miss alone. 'I think our guys are coming, with company not far behind."

Eve stood up and pointed to the north. "Incoming, a hundred meters out. By the shots fired... about twelve versus six, potentially more if there's injured."

Carbon cupped her wound with one paw and pulled out her pistol with the other. "Listen up, guys! Our package is coming in hot--real hot. Eyes and guns to the north and watch for friendly fire."

"Carbon, stay down." Johnny tugged on Carbon's fatigues to no avail. "We need to take care of that bleeding. Come back to the chopper and we'll--"

"We'll drop morale if I leave the battle, Johnny. I need everyone at their best or we might have more blood to worry about." The otter sighed as she checked for motion in the distance. "Go back and grab the med kit. I don't think we'll stay here long, so you can fix me up as we fly out. Good enough?"

The red fox shook his head in disbelief but agreed nonetheless. "If you don't have a bandage on that in ten minutes I'm hunting you down and forcing it. I ~do~ have medical override on my side."

Carbon nodded, then snapped her gaze to one of her squad mates as he fired off a volley of shots. "You too, Adrian. Get to safety. The numbers aren't on our side this time."

"No way, Carbon. I'm covering this." The husky stood up again and readied his camera, as well as making sure his sidearm was unbuttoned and live in his holster. "I can hold my own, and like you said we need the numbers."

"...Fine. Just stick close so I can watch you." Carbon checked with Eve, the girl nodding her head to a certain direction and highlighting a silhouette in green for her. "We've got injured. Crap." She clicked the switch on her mask briefly as she started ahead to meet the friendlies. "Cheat, we've got casualties coming in hot. Lower the rear door and stay ready to launch."

"Roger that. Should I reposition or hold tight?"

"Stay there. We'll hop in and gun it." Carbon raised her gun and fired a pair of shots at a red-outlined target courtesy of her symbiont, dropping him to his knees before he stormed the field medic. "Hey! I've got you. Get moving and I'll keep you covered."

A shutter click announced Adrian right behind Carbon before he offered to help. "Let me lend you a paw, mate. We've got transport this way."

"Aye, might kind of ya'." The medic pulled his patient up and offered Adrian one of his arms to assist. "He needs a flat, clean surface. Won't make it unless I clear his lungs."

"We'll figure it out in the air."

Carbon waited for Adri to start back for the chopper before she took the offensive. She rushed towards the rest of her squadron and found a dozen more outlines, each quickly being identified by their uniforms and outlined appropriately within seconds. She brought up her pistol and fired a few more rounds, dropping another enemy and clearing two friendlies' paths. A flurry of bullets spat to her left, claiming a hit on one of her men but barely missing herself.

"Eve, not just me. Point out when ~any~ of my men might get hit."

Evelyn nodded and ran off to the side so her visual image didn't obscure Carbon's sight. Another target lit up as two others fell, but this one seemed to want revenge for his friends. A trajectory for the enemy's weapon appeared, intersecting one of Carbon's squad mates. She raised her pistol again and aimed for a point Eve had selected, the next two shots barely missing before the third punched through the enemy's forehead. Another fur came into view that had similar intent as the last, but as Carbon attempted to fire the pistol stubbornly refused.

"You're out!" Evelyn shouted from nowhere.

"Tell me earlier next time! I need a--"

Just ahead of Carbon, a shotgun from the injured newcomer that Adri dragged away lit up in blue on the dirt. Carbon grabbed the weapon and checked over it cautiously, her nerves rattling as her mates ducked below a spray of bullets. Finally Eve caught on and overlaid a mental image of the working actions of a pump-action rifle, giving Carbon the wordless crash course she desperately needed. She pumped the forward grip and raised the barrel, then mercilessly unloaded a sabot of lead into the vengeful enemy. He dropped to the mud with a lifeless slump, one of the small pellets apparently having hit a critical organ.

As the seventh and last of the friendlies crossed the impromptu line of defense, Carbon re-cocked his borrowed rifle and followed the last. "That's it! Everyone retreat to the Chinook. Get to the chopper!"

The last of the pickups limped his way ahead and was quite grateful for some help as Carbon looped an arm around one of his. "Good on ya', mate. Appreciate the assist. About karked it without you lot."

"Don't mention it. Just keep moving."

Adrian rushed out the back of the Chinook and helped another soldier find a seat. "That all of 'em, Major?"

Carbon didn't even bother repeating herself and went straight for her microphone button as she helped the last men aboard. "We're clear, Cheat. Take her up, fast."

"Aye, sir."

Carbon slammed a button and the rear gate started closing. Just as her vision of the jungle became obscured a series of pings and clacks rang from outside, her timing impeccable. "Is everyone okay? Sound off, guys."

Each of Carbon's team started calling out by ranking order until eventually only Johnny was unaccounted. Carbon walked up front to check what was wrong when suddenly she was pinned against a wall by one of the newcomers. "The bloody hell're ~you~ doin' here?!"

"I don't... uh..."

The lynx lifted Carbon and slammed her to the deck, pinning her in place by her throat while his other arm held hers down. "Don't fuck with me!"

Adrian tried to get the soldier off the otter before any more harm was done but only managed to earn a debilitating punch to the gut. "Oi! Get off her!"

"'Her'?" The lynx knocked Carbon's mask to the side and ripped open the buttons of her shirt. "Well fuck me, they ~do~ come both ways. Too bad I'm fine with hitting a woman. Now tell me what you're doing here."

Carbon tried to slow her breathing to give her more time, but the soldier's paw went right back to her neck and panicked her. "J-Just... ca-calm..."

"He'll kill us at this rate." Evelyn calmly checked over the lynx for any information that might help. "Lieutenant Williams. Highest ranking, so he's in charge now. Australian emblems like the rest. Hmm... nothing..." Eve turned and pointed to Williams' abdomen. "I'd throw a knee into this spot, hard as you can. Act fast or I'll do it for you."

"Tell me your bloody plan, you monster!"

Carbon tried to struggle, but the lack of proper air was taking its toll on her ability to think. Just as promised, Eve took control and sent her knee into the Lieutenant's stomach. Then she used his momentum to lift his paw free of Carbon's throat, cranking it roughly until his arm nearly snapped. The two rolled over, and soon Williams laid face down with Carbon resting atop his crossed arms.

"Get off me, you freak!" The lynx heaved upward desperately, which in Carbon's weakened state only led to her flinging limply into Adrian's legs. "Not so tough now, are ya'?"

Adrian looked down at the gasping otter in his arms and growled at the Lieutenant. "Fuck off! You're killing her!"

"Good! She deserves it, the sodding Commie spy!"

Suddenly Johnny hopped up behind Williams and pricked the back of his neck with a needle, setting the lynx wobbling about. "Calm the fuck down, asshole." Once the fur lost his balance and was out of the way, Johnny produced another syringe and quickly administered it to Carbon. "That'll help, but she needs her air too..."

Adri grabbed the now-ripped feed hose to Carbon's mask and held it close to her nose, hoping even the diffused air would still do some good. "Please, lass. Please take good to it."

Williams hit the floor, slobbering over himself as he started losing consciousness. "She'll... kill us all..."

"The... hell I... will..."

"Oh, thank the bleedin' gods."

"Carbon? Don't move. Okay?" Johnny reached reached for the Chinook's built-in air system and held its mask over Carbon's muzzle. "I need to patch you up. That means I need to roll you over. Can you let me know if you understand what I'm going to do? Nod your head?"

Carbon weakly raised her paw up and held the mask in place herself. "Just... hurry up... before he wakes... wakes up again..."

"Okay. This'll hurt a little." The fox carefully did as he said, rolling Carbon off Adrian's lap and onto the floor. "Adrian, keep pressure on the wound with the base of your paw. I fell earlier and need to find the stuff I took out."

The wolf Carbon helped aboard broke his team's silence, offering most of the spilled med kit to Johnny. "This what you missing, Doc?"

"Uh... There was a needle and thread too. I need to stitch her up."

"No..." Carbon shook her head until Adrian forced her to stop. "Eve says... no stitches..."

"Really? Crap." Johnny looked through the rest of the med kit and produced a set of temporary adhesive stitches instead. "Only other thing I can do is basically tape it shut and bind that tightly. You can't move an inch once I've done that though."

The wolf knelt down next to Carbon and helped her hold the mask. "Any way I can help?"

"Keep an eye on that crazy bloke, for starters." Adrian uncovered the wound once Johnny came close and looked up at the soldier. "We don't need... uh... ~Mike~?"

The wolf looked up as well, a smile crossing his face as he recognized an old friend. "Adri? Right fucked findin' you here. The bloomin' hell made ~you~ join the military?"

"Long story, mate. Can we help my CO for now?"

"Your CO?" Mike looked down at the glowing hybrid, her color shifting slowly from light cyan to a deep indigo as the pain built. "Adri, mate... I hate to say it but... Your commander's probably a traitor."

Adrian helped Johnny work by holding his tools over the wound for easier access. "So why the flipping hell is everyone saying that shit? Carbon wouldn't hurt a soul unless they tried first."

"We only ever saw one other guy that could shine like this." Mike looked over to his squad as they silently did their own things, then slowly met Adrian's eyes. "He offered to talk. Then when he met our commander, he made some kind of flash and ripped Sarge's head clean off with his bare hands. Came after us next, and you saw what happened with that sodding mess."

"Well Carbon's not like that. She's barely seen the light of day let alone the world." Adri paused to shuffle his tools into one paw so he could grab some gauze with the other. "Trust me, she's not concerned with governments, short to treason either."

"Well I guess you're right, mate." Mike gave Carbon's neck a quick pet before he looped the mask's fastening straps behind her head. "She's not like the other one. At least she ~has fur~."

Carbon slowly opened her eyes, the floor below her lit up bright from her overhead lamps. "Ugh... What happened? Eve?"

There was a considerable delay before Evelyn appeared, her image blurred and very mechanically animated. "I don't... recall. Sorry, I'm a bit... overwhelmed right now."

"Oh. I've never seen you like this. If you need to rest or something..." Carbon turned her head to the side of her bed and found two canines chatting amongst themselves, which prompted a raise in Carbon's volume. "Adri? What are we doing in my tent?"

"Oh, Carbon! Good to see you up again, lass." The husky moved close to the partition wall and rested a paw on the plastic. "Take it easy, girl. Quite don't take well to morphine, do you? Johnny gave you a prick and you went out like a light."

"It did something to Eve. Next time warn us first." The Major groaned as she gave up on trying to flip onto her back, face-down being her most undesirable of sleeping positions but necessary due to her wound. "What about the men? The mission?"

"We got back and had to fix up a bad hit to the engines. We'll be down a day, so you'll get some bed time."

"What the fuck happened on that chopper? And who's this guy?"

"Aww. I thought you'd remember a handsome face like mine." The wolf moved up to the plastic wall as well and smiled through. "Corporal Mycroft Geoffreys. My friends call me Mike, if you're not the formal type... Major? Sorry, our ranks have a slight variance on the emblems from yours."

"Yeah, Major. And I remember you now. Pulled you back from the brink."

"Well Mike here's an old pal o' mine. We went to school together for a while." Adrian pulled his seat over and sat as close as he could to Carbon without breaking the air-tight barrier. "And that proper mad bloke that went after you is in the hospital tent. He's a tad loony from something that happened before we picked them up."

"Sad, it is. He was a good guy until he snapped. Good soldier too." Mike stood up straight and yanked out a cigarette, hinting to Adrian for approval before lighting it up. "Well he's probably not staying in the field after today. If that's what the commissioner decides, I'll be the next in charge. We took a... bad string of losses. Need to make it right for those lose, we do."

"Well after what you told me, you're damn straight. That's brutal."

Carbon carefully propped herself up on her elbows to more easily look over to the others, only then noticing the bandages covering her whole chest. "What happened? Why exactly were we called all the way out there, especially if you weren't American?"

"Well, Carbon... mate..." Adrian checked with Mycroft, who just shrugged as his only advice. "They think they found another guy like you, glow and all. Sorry to say, he wasn't friendly."

Evelyn snapped into action at the news. "More. Describe more."

"Eve needs more information, guys..."

Mike took a long drag of his cigarette as he recounted the scenario. "He was glowing alright, but a different color. Sort of a reddish orange. But here's the kicker--he didn't have fur. His skin was... well, sort of like a plant's. Rubbery, maybe? And he did a lot of damage for such a wee fellow. He had some kind of contraption on his arm and it just... Well, it wasn't good."

Eve appeared in front of the plastic wall and stared quire seriously at the wolf. "A real Yangurran. Here, on Earth no less." She spun to look at Carbon but only her upper torso made the change, her lower half severing to stay in place. "But why's he even here? And why would he do anything... negative...?"

"Eve? Rest first. We can--"

A flash of confusing images flushed over Carbon's vision, and in the process Evelyn's image corrupted completely until it crashed into nothingness. "No way. He's one of ~them~, isn't he?" The flower Girl's head alone reappeared where it resided previously, as if her personal image was only updating the moving components. "Carbon... I just remembered something. When I'm fully functional again, we'll need to talk. I need to think on this though, process it."

Carbon flopped down into her pillow again as a pang of pain shot across her side, the concerned hybrid barely able to hold her gaze upon the disembodied head. "Evelyn... what's got you spooked? You're never like this."

"It's hard to talk when I'm devoted to healing you. Need more time. I don't even understand it yet myself anyway, so I can't say for certain..." Eve dissolved what remained of her body and simply let her voice remain alone. "...but I think it's about your dad."