OnexOne (Kate/Piers)

"Thank you for your selection. Please take your tray."

Kate Redfield sighed as she picked up the grey lunch tray from underneath the N.D.U. (nutrition dispenser unit). She eyed her chicken alfredo warily, knowing it was nothing more than a mega-nutrient compound created for the soldiers and their families simply disguised as something edible. She looked around the mostly empty dining hall and then selected a metal table in a corner at the back of the room. Plopping her tray down in front of her, she sat down on the bench and leaned her back against the wall.

"Now to wait-hopefully he'll remember." Kate was talking about her "boyfriend" (if he could really be called that), Piers Nivans. They had agreed to meet for a quiet dinner together-if she was lucky, he wouldn't get caught up at the shooting range again and would actually show up.

Piers was on his way to sit with his girlfriend. He was really excited to be with her and only her. He just hoped that Chris didn't interupt them in anyway. He hoped that she could still have the dinner they were planing to have.

He got his food and then began to walk over to the table that she was at. He sighed and sat next to her.

"Hey there you..."

"Hello, handsome." she smiled at him "Ah, I see you went with the spaghetti and meatballs-nothing is quite as good as they promise it will be, eh?"

She took a bite of her food and winced. "Yep. Still tastes like a bunch of ground-up vitamins. S'pose it'd kill them to add flavor."

He nodded and sighed, "I've been here for awhile and they still have it tasting aweful...still don't get it."

He looked at her still and just smiled. Despite all that happened...he was happy.

"Oh..." she sighed, smiling "I already know that. I don't mind that you don't say it much-people like us don't really waste time with 'I love you', do we? Nah, it's a passionate kiss before heading into the heat of battle sort of affair. That's us."

"I guess...but maybe one day we can...be a semi-normal couple in a sense....I just wish...hmm..."

He sighed and ate his food, just looking down at the plate.

"Not us, no. Never us." she smiled and leaned forward, gently kissing his cheek "That will never be us, no matter how far we get away from this place-if we ever do. We're just not like that. Not that we don't love each other, of course."

He looked at her and held her hand still, "Yeah...I know that...maybe a few smoopsy whoopsy...okay no...haha never again."

He laughed and just shook his head and ate his food, "That was bad...haha...but yes I do love you."

"I'd sooner die." she shook her head and smiled yet again, taking another bite of the unappetizing food.

"Say, I've been thinking. If we really were to leave this place-where do you wager we'd go?"

"You know...I was thinking about maybe going to..." he began but was interrupted by Chris.

"Oh Piers. Kate. I'm glad I caught you two." he looked at them and sat down at the table.

"Oh...uhm...good afternoon sir." Piers said, feeling his cheeks burn.

"Captain." Kate said with a nod, feeling slightly foolish for having to say it. All her life she had called this man 'dad' but she knew around here it had to be more formal than that. Around here, in the public eye, she wasn't really "special".

He laughed once and shook his head, "Now you know I don't care if you call me...dad."

Piers smiled and looked at Kate. He never quite understood why she had to...everyone had to know that this man was her father and not just her captain.

"Anyway...did you guys get the memo about the blood tests?" he asked.

Kate took a sip of her drink, her eyebrows raising as her father mentioned the blood tests. "No, you know they spring up med tests on us "normal" people so we don't have a chance to prepare. Not sure how I'm gonna dodge this one-they're going to eventually stop believing that I'm sick, right?"

Chris looked at her and sighed, "Well...I could say that you hate needles and all...maybe that would work. And I still wish you would, but it could lead to problems."

Piers looked at her and actually wondered why she was so against the blood tests. (she told him or no?)

(Yeah, Piers and Chris both know.)

"I've used that excuse already. But, they figure, I'm a soldier-tough enough to take a bullet, should be tough enough to take a needle. I've faked passing out twice..." she smirked "It's funny, they know I'm a super-soldier of sorts but no one's ever gotten close to figuring out my DNA."

She looked to Piers "You look confused. Let me explain why them getting those records would be a problem-see, they store everything about each and everyone of us in a database. Our names, the names of our relatives, any medical history...and, of course, blood types." she gestured with her hands as she spoke "Now, they keep those records locked up so tightly that it would take the most elite hacker to get into them. But what if you didn't need to hack into the records? What if everything was already present to you as soon as the records were collected?"

After a brief pause to see if she was making any sense to him at all, she continued "It's the people that draw the blood. They're not BSAA officials-they're outsourced from another company. The same company that, ten years ago, kidnapped me to try and perform further tests on my blood. If it hadn't been for the Captain-my...father, yeah-breaking in, rescuing me and erasing all their data I probably wouldn't be here today. Still, I think they know that I am here..."

Piers sighed and nodded, "I see how that makes sense...but still...why are you here if you are so worried about that? I mean...I'm glad you are here...because then I wouldn't have met you...I just don't want you to be so worried about this."

"She was so good...one of THE BEST soliders...she couldn't really refuse...she tried...but they kept asking her to become one...and she took it." Chris said.

Kate looked off to the side "I went to the training camp just like everyone else-I wanted to be picked because you and mom were part of the BSAA. I was lucky to be picked." but she knew that wasn't entirely true "And I don't want to quit because that's weak. And weakness doesn't run in my blood..."

"I know that, honey..." Chris said, "But if you are miserable then no one will blame you for leaving if you want to. Your mother and I are proud either way..."

Piers looked at her and smiled slightly, "You don't have to prove anything...we know that you are stronger than most people here...said it before..."

"I can't help but believe mom would be prouder if I stayed and fought-same way she did. I don't know." looking back to them, she laid her head on Piers' shoulder as though she didn't really care who saw.

"Do you mind changing the subject now? I'll figure something out."

Pier's held her hand and kissed her head quickly and looked at Chris. Chris sighed and nodded, just looking at her.

"I just want to say one more thing...she would want you to be happy..." he patted her arm and then looked at Piers.

"So...any plans tonight for you guys?"

"Oh, yeah-loads of them. There's so much to do on base." she laughed and shook her head "Probably just going to go back to our room and watched the hand-selected, BSAA approved television channels they provide us with. Same as every night, pretty much. What about you, dad?"

"Ah, I might do the same thing...like you said...there really isn't that much to do...but don't get carried away and go be...you know."

Chris was being a typical father and Piers looked at him, "No, sir...we won't..."

He might have been lying but no one would know really.

She blushed "Dad, I'm twenty-seven.  If I want to..." she paused, trying to think of how to say the word "if I want to otherwise occupy my free time with certain-um-activities, I believe that's at my discretion."

He shook his head and looked at her, "Just...be safe okay? Don't get pregnant and...I just don't want you to get in horrible trouble with anyone here..."

PIers looked at her and then at him. "Sir, we have not been doing such activities."

Piers just liked to the man and Chris looked at him, just eyeing him, seeing if he would fall.

One could only imagine the night they spent together. Though it was like so many nights before it, it was still individual in it's own way. Locked in a passionate embrace with Piers, the man she loved more than anything, Kate forgot everything just for a little while...

When she awoke the next morning, however, it hung over her like a cloud. The test. How was she going to manage to escape the test? There was a new system, or so she'd heard, but she wasn't sure how it worked or what it did-it was hard to escape from something you knew nothing about.