Quaranteam Down Under: Part 1

Aussie soldier learns what it means to Quaranteam.

Based on a post by SilverRyden, in 15 parts. Listen to the Podcast at Explicit Novels.

This is a spinoff of CorruptingPower's Quaranteam Universe. Reading his outstanding work and the spinoffs by others within the community finally managed to break through my writer's block, and so, here we are. Though set in the main universe, things might seem a little upside-down or out of the ordinary, as the 'realities' of Australia, yet untold, come to light. Thanks to Agathon, Birches, Otterly and Corrupting for the advice and keen eyes. Check out their work, QT and otherwise. This work is written with the consent of CorruptingPower.

This book was based on the book, ‘Alternating Uncertainties’

Chapter 1

Melbourne South-East Suburbs, Victoria, October 21, 2020, 08:30 AM

The ringing of his phone brought Ty out of his focus but did nothing to improve his mood. Sure, it was already his third time reading this book, but what else could he do with so much spare time? Over the course of the last ten months, the only times his phone had gone off was to inform him of the passing of friends; victims of the pandemic. No, a phone call had long since become the harbinger of another friend's fate. He pushed the empty coffee mug aside as he closed his steel gray eyes and stretched his large frame across the desk, letting the cool wood play across his forehead.

DuoHalo. The pandemic that had swept the entire world from the start of the year and had left mountains of corpses in its wake. Tens, no, hundreds of millions dead; men more so than women. For every two women that succumbed, eight men perished. Numbers like never before, all over the globe, at least from what news was going around.

At least for Major Tiberius Marshall, Australian Armed Forces SASR (ret.), the lockdowns had hit after his physical therapy had concluded, so he didn't have to risk venturing out beyond his local neighborhood to get some exercise or air. Not that his 'neighborhood' actually had that many neighbors left in it. All gone. Dead. He'd watched from the safety of his window as the hazmat-equipped paramedics loaded literal dump trucks with bodies. A sight he'd never forget, no matter how much he wanted to. A sight almost more traumatizing than the battlefields and blood he'd waded through on duty.

Absently, he brushed his free hand across his left thigh, ignoring the twinge of the muscles. An accident during an op had brought his career to an early end, and maneuvering from a politically connected colleague had seen him get a discharge instead of a sidestep into a staff role. Not that Tiberius minded that part. He had taken to teaching between ops even before his accident and could pivot now into full time teaching, though recently his work had been through remote classrooms. In the end, he hadn't really left the military circle, thanks to friends looking out for him. It had even allowed him to maintain his security clearance.

He sighed, knowing that he'd best stop delaying the inevitable. He flipped his book shut and answered the call without looking at the display.

"Hello? This is Tiberius."

"Hello Major. This is Captain Grace Lawry, USAF. Remember me?"

Sitting bolt upright, Ty certainly had no difficulties in remembering the svelte Captain. Though when they'd last met, she'd been a Lieutenant. A complete hellcat, even now, he could picture her in his mind's eye. Tall and slim at 5'7", with her long oak-brown hair always pulled back into either a ponytail or a bun and an easy smile on her face belying her fiercely capable nature. She had acted as an assistant to him during a secondment to the USAF, one of his earlier ventures into training others in SERE (Survival, Evasion, Resistance and Escape) tactics. Though the doctrine used by the SAS was different to that used by the RAAF or even the USAF, the powers that be seemed to prefer his version, and he wasn't about to complain.

"Grace! How the hell are ya? I haven't heard from you since; shit, it's been nearly a full year now hasn't it? Congratulations on the promotion, I hope."

"Thank you, and it has Ty, though I expect you understand why. The last ten months have been;”

Ty snorted and ran a hand through his short black hair, knowing full well that words didn't do the situation justice.

"Fuckin' chaos? Yeah, you're not wrong. This bullshit with COVID, right before some ass-wipe drops this bastard DuoHalo on the world. The death tolls alone; I hesitate to ask; your people come through okay?"

She sighed, a heavy sound and Tiberius knew what was coming would not be pleasant.

"Mostly. My nephew, Jason, he didn't make it. He was in the Kill Zone."

The 'Kill Zone'. Whichever soulless bastard had deigned to call it that had got it right, though. Anyone, male or female, from ages 12-18 who got DuoHalo, died. It wasn't a possibility. It was a guarantee.

An outside observer could visibly see the burly 6'4" man deflate like a popped balloon. He'd met Grace's sister Temperance and nephew Jason at a small gathering before he'd finished that assignment. He'd really liked the kid. Smart and assertive, but kind. He was showing all the signs of a good leader and a capable young man. He'd forgotten that Jason would be turning 15. Now the poor boy had become just another statistic and his family would grieve for something they had no hope of changing.

"Oh fuck. I'm so sorry Grace. How's Temperance holding up? And Martin?"

"It's okay. From what we know now, it was inevitable. Jason was right in the middle of the range. As for Tempe, she's slowly recovering. Martin has been her rock and we're all thankful for it."

"Everything I saw of Martin inspires me to agree. He's good people. Still, losing family hurts." Ty thought about his own family. Parents passed away long ago, and his brother called so infrequently it may as well not happen. "I haven't heard from Damo in months, but the big wigs haven't come knocking to tell me he's dead, so I assume he's just laying low and can't be arsed calling. But putting that aside, the way you addressed me tells me that this wasn't intended to be a social call. What's up?"

"A couple of things Ty. Are you aware that the US has developed a vaccine for DuoHalo?"

Tiberius nearly dropped the phone in shock. A vaccine, after ten goddamned months. He briefly wondered how many of his people were even left to save, but every life mattered, and now there was hope. Australia had been devastated, beyond the scope of just about any other country on the planet, save maybe Russia or China, but nobody knew the real numbers there. Or if they did, they weren't telling anyone else.

"No! Holy shit! Is it viable? Mass production? What are we looking at for a distribution timetable?"

"Viable? Yes. Mass producible? Yes. Our timetable; we planned to open international negotiations tomorrow, to be honest. We started baseline discussions back in July, but there were still some things to iron out. In all fairness, there are still some finicky bits to it, but it works. I wanted to check in with you and see if you'd be our point of contact for rollout within Australia? Our higher-ups like you, and we'll ensure you're one of the first to get it, after whatever your bureaucracy decides during our negotiations." Grace paused, and her tone became just a tiny bit more hesitant. "Just be aware that there are some conditions and some; things, you'll need to understand that are absolutely essential to your continued protection. That'll be explained later. However, that brings me to the second thing, and that could be a hitch in the works."

"Making me your contact is no drama. Just make sure you pass that tidbit on through command and I recommend you do the negotiating through the Army. Parliament is on permanent hiatus, mostly due to everybody being fucking dead. But telling me there's a hitch: that does not sound good. I don't like hitches, especially not put like that. Lay it on me."

Grace hesitated only a moment before plowing ahead. "So, earlier today, our time, one of the project leads on our vaccine program, Dr. Phil Marcos, was attacked. Drone payload and a two man strike team. Whether the objective was snatch or kill remains unknown, since the attempt was thwarted."

The implications of that clicked instantly and Tiberius felt his spine grow cold. "Oh balls, you think we're involved."

"Do the names Kerry Butler or Paul Isaacs mean anything to you?"

"Ker and Paul are Damo's squad mates. Operators. Fuck. My. Life. Grace, I need to make some calls. This can't be a sanctioned op. That means they've either been given some unsanctioned orders by someone jumping the gun, or they've gone rogue. Both options are bad news. That said, my bets are on unsanctioned."

"You're certain?"

Unconsciously, Tiberius' hand slammed onto the table, anger coming through clearly in his next words.

"Certain? Fuck no. You know full well that there's no accounting for stupid leadership. You had a fucking brain-dead carrot in office until his own stupid claimed him. Likewise, we had a completely useless fuck-knuckle as our Prime Moron until he went the way of the dodo himself. Him and that fucking Binchicken bitch. Her refusal to lock Sydney down for a full fucking week after people started dropping dead may have destroyed this country. But I digress. Something this monumentally stupid, against an ally? Not bloody likely. Nobody smart enough to still be alive and high enough ranked to actually order something like that would. It'd be political suicide."

"What are the odds this is black bag beyond your clearance?"

"Sure, it's possible. I can't imagine why they'd do it though. I don't claim to have complete knowledge of our black ops shit or anything, but nothing about this makes sense." Ty scratched at his beard, knowing that he couldn't solve this without external help. "Hold on, you said discussions about the vaccine started back in July; did they just go quiet or have you been feeding us info?"

"I think we asked the countries we spoke to, to hold on until we had everything ready, why?"

"Because if there was no communication for some time, it's entirely possible that some mid-level officer panicked that we'd been forgotten and decided to get creative. Despite our best efforts, even our chain of command is a little disrupted, so I'll try to let you know what I learn as soon as I can. I'm certain Baz, sorry, Brigadier Davis will have a better idea and he needs to know about the vaccine as soon as possible, so he can let the bigger wigs know."

"Okay Ty. I can have someone get in contact with official channels, but we'd prefer to go through the military for distribution. That's how we've been handling it. And whoever contacts your people will insist we go through you. Your name still holds tremendous goodwill with us."

"That's good to know. You take care, Grace. I'll be in touch ASAP."

"I'll get the ball rolling over here. You do your part."

"Sure thing. We'll catch up in person once this shitstorm blows over, yeah?"

"Count on it. Though, it'll just be drinks between friends this time. I've got a partner."

"No worries. I can always use more friends. Is it getting serious?"

"Huh? Oh, right. You'll understand soon Ty. Welcome to the New World."

Slapping the phone back onto the table, Tiberius sighed, head thudding back onto the desk. This, this was worse than learning someone was dead. If Damian was actually involved in this circus, what would that mean for him? Death? Charges of treason? War crimes? Did Tiberius' clearance even cover the kind of op that this would fall under?

"This day went from bad to good to utterly fucked in less than five minutes. How the hell do I call Baz and ask that?" His muffled voice carried clear notes of his distress, not that anyone was around to hear it.

As it turned out, the decision was made for him as his phone began to ring again. Tiberius just stared at the caller ID, Barry Davis, Brigadier Barry Davis. Baz. Taking a deep breath, he picked up the phone.

"Speak of the devil and he rings ya on the phone. What's up Baz?"

"Prep for exfil Ty. Someone's done fucked us good. You been in touch with Damian at all?"

"Nice to hear from you too, mate. And nah, not for months. You know the bastard doesn't call me unless he has to. And you haven't told me he's dead, so does this have something to do with why the USAF called me earlier?"

"They did? Well fuck. Most likely Ty. Fucking hell, they fucking called you before us? Alright. Fine. Whatever. Helo is inbound. ETA twenty. I need you here."

"Yeah, alright. I'll put something clean on. The other thing, Baz. Grace was pretty fucking concerned. Did we really ..”

"This line is insecure Ty. We'll talk about it on base."

"Jesus fucking wept Baz! You do realize I've already fucking talked about it on this line. Just fucking minutes ago mate. It's a bit too fucking late to worry about secure, but fine. Let me give you the short version. US. Vaccine. Negotiations. Us. Well, me. But the point stands. The rest we'll discuss in person, like you wanted."

"You're sure? Oh crikey. Sophie has just handed me a report confirming that. Ok mate, effective immediately, you are reinstated to active duty, and I'm promoting you. You're on my staff now. Welcome back, Lieutenant Colonel." Baz paused, considering something. "I'll have Sophie file the paperwork now. It'll be sorted by the time you get here. Think you can still fit your Service Dress?"

Tiberius started at that. Something didn't add up. "File the paperwork? What? She has to do it all first, right? It'll take weeks before it's all sorted."

"Don't be stupid. The paperwork has been ready since January. Nobody with a brain actually wanted you gone, so nobody actually filed your discharge paperwork. We've basically been treating the whole thing like you've been on a long-ass sickie, so the only thing we need to file is a return to service form. So, your uniform?"

Tiberius laughed, though there was little actual humor in it, if anything, he'd become even more fit than he'd been while active. Most likely something to do with the lack of paperwork and extra time to work out, he mused.

"They'll fit, Baz. Wait, it's 'sir' now you've gone and dragged me back in, Brigadier Davis."

"You fuck right off cunt. You don't call me that until you're here and in uniform. And if you call me that off base I'll gut ya."

This time Ty did laugh, and it felt good. Barry was one of his closest friends and was known to be a bit of a bleeding heart, so Tiberius had been utterly terrified that he'd pull some nonsense to help a stranger and catch the plague. So far, he'd been smart about it. Or lucky. Or both. "It's all good Baz, I haven't changed shape. Not really. Who else is on base?"

"One hundred and twenty-five personnel are on base right now. That said, among our male officers, only Major Connors. Captain Whittaker, Captain Thomson, Captain Brown and Colonel Anderson are actually still alive. And myself, naturally."

Tiberius spat, the disgust evident in his tone. "Six. When there were originally twenty. And really? Major Connors? Just my fucking luck that that fucking knob survived. I suppose he got promoted in the wake of me getting the supposed boot?"

"Right in one, mate. I'd say he's as useless as tits on a bull, but oath, he's worse. Mummy's little princeling. Spoiled fucking wanker. He's going to ask to get the negotiation bit, you know."

"Fuck him. They've specifically asked for me. Especially after last time."

"Too right. Anyway, forget about that for now. Just get cleaned up before the bird arrives. Cover up. If we go through all this fucking trouble, just to lose you to Duo;”

"Right, right. I'll go get sorted. See you in a bit, mate."

Hanging up again, Tiberius stood and stretched, feeling like he'd aged ten years over the past ten minutes. Barely past noon and the sheer rollercoaster of emotions had taken its toll on him. He grabbed a notepad and pen, scrawled a quick note and stuck it to his front door, telling whoever was coming to get him to just let themselves in if he didn't answer. There was coffee on the counter and mugs above the machine. They'd manage. Immediately after, he sent Grace a text, asking if she could forward any documentation regarding the vaccine and threw himself into the bathroom.

While Tiberius habitually kept himself groomed, it was still worth the time to clean up, at least a little. Propriety. That's what he told himself, and not that he was looking forward to seeing several people in person, even if he couldn't actually come into contact with them. Not yet, anyway. As he trimmed his beard, he glanced down at himself in the mirror. Mixed features, strong jaw, distinctly European eyes, courtesy of his great-grandmother's Italian heritage. Muscular, but not grotesquely so. Quite a bit above average for a man in his 30s. A nice tan, courtesy of the Australian sun, interspaced by paler skin stretched across various scars. He had earned each and every one and was proud of them. Each one had a story, and he knew what he was fighting for when he earned them.

Except one.

Stepping into the shower, Tiberius realized he'd still never shaken the suspicion that the shot that had crippled him had been purposeful friendly fire, but all of the after-action reports he'd seen carefully avoided the subject. Don't want to accidentally ruin careers with wild accusations, they said. Fucking politics. More like mummy didn't want her baby's name tarnished. Jaxson Connors was a snake, and his mother Wendy, a powerful MP, was an entirely different breed of pit viper. At least Jaxson was, for the most part, incompetent. Wendy Connors was smart and vicious. She wanted power, and she didn't care how. He'd have to make sure that Grace's people steamrolled right over any of her objections, or they'd gain traction and everybody still alive would suffer. After everything else, Tiberius was not ready to let Wendy Conners and her hellspawn son be the end of Australia and her people. Assuming she'd survived. He briefly wondered at the morality of hoping someone had actually succumbed to the plague, even if they were a power-hungry harpy.

With his ablutions out of the way, Tiberius donned his uniform, running his hands over the epaulets as he remembered Baz's words regarding his rank. If the Brigadier's words were serious, he'd be a Lieutenant Colonel the moment he stepped onto the base. As he grabbed a fresh mask and his shoulder bag, voices from down below made Tiberius smile. He knew those voices, and he spoke to them over the phone every so often, it was damned good to be able to see that they were safe.

"Well well, if this ain't a sight for sore eyes. Lottie, Lettie, it's great to see ya. I'd give ya a hug, but distancing and all that."

Two identical young women stood in his kitchen, each holding a steaming mug of coffee. Well, mostly identical. Captain Charlotte Valiant, or Lottie as she preferred, had her deep red hair pulled into a ponytail, while her twin, Captain Leticia Valiant, ‘Lettie’, had hers in a stylish bob. Standing at 5'5" on the dot, the graceful curves on their lithe frames were a treat Tiberius had struggled to keep his eyes (and hands) off of for years. Even without his personal attraction to them, Tiberius had to admit they looked positively stunning in uniform.

"Too right Ty. We didn't stay away from our best guy for 10 months to accidentally kill you now. Are you good to go? Brigadier Davis said to come get you, but he was kinda light on details except that we go fast. Oh, and a bunch of messages just came through on your iPad." Lottie called out and smiled as she rinsed out her mug.

"Yeah, I'm sorted. Just let me lock up. Can you get a couple travel mugs from that cupboard for the flight crew? Sure they'd appreciate a cuppa that isn't that shit they serve on base."

Lettie smiled, holding up two travel mugs.

"Only a pilot and co-pilot on this flight, so already got it sorted. What was with the stream of messages?"

Swiping through his inbox, he was gratified to see that Grace hadn't hesitated to give him what looked like an encyclopedia worth of data. He nodded and put it in his shoulder bag, along with the battered copy of the Blake Conrad novel he had put down earlier. 'The Trouble With Werebears' was certainly not Conrad's best work, but Tiberius was determined to like it. Third time's the charm, right? He'd most likely get through the whole series again before the next book was released anyway, but that was fine. It was something to do, and he very much enjoyed the rest of the works, even that sad spy thriller he couldn't bring himself to read again. He locked the door and moved to join the twins.

"I asked a contact in the States to send through some data;”

He looked at the twins, unsure of what exactly he could tell them as they boarded the Black Hawk awaiting them in the middle of the street. Another thing that would never have passed muster back in the day. Cutting off traffic in the middle of a suburban neighborhood to get a single person? Unheard of. Pity there really wasn't a neighborhood anymore.

"What do you guys know about why I'm being dragged in?"

"The Brigadier was being vague about it, but then we got messages while inbound. A vaccine? Is it real?"

Ty nodded, trying to smile behind his mask.

"Looks like it. What I've got now is a data dump. I don't know if it's everything. I rather doubt it, in fact. But the Americans want me to run point on the rollout, so I guess I have to know things about the vax and how it's gonna work."

A frown crossed his face as a new message popped up from Grace, telling him to not do anything else first, but read the email and fill out the questionnaire on the attached link.

"Oracle? An algorithm-based system designed to; you've got to be fucking joking."

He pulled his phone out and called the number Grace had reached him from. She answered immediately, clearly having anticipated the call.

"Is this for real, Grace? Does this, Oracle actually do what you're fucking telling me it does? And why is this even relevant to anything about the vax?"

"See, I told General Bonner that leading with Oracle would cause confusion since you weren't a part of the initial discussion group. Ok, my end of this is secured, so it should be fine. Long story short Ty; the vaccine? It works by pairing men and women. Sexually."

"Why? What benefit does that bring? Aside from potentially being a hidden, or not so hidden fantasy of men worldwide."

You could almost hear the smile on Grace's face as she responded.

"It's not so much about the benefits as it is about it being a necessity. You see, we cannot administer the vaccine directly into men. Well, not without killing the man. Instead, the woman is injected with the Quaranteam serum ..”

"The what?" Ty wasn't sure if it was disbelief of humor that colored his tone at that moment.

"That's what we're calling it. Don't ask me; I don't know who named it. That's just what we're calling it, okay? Just roll with it. So the process is something like this. Both men and women fill out the Oracle questionnaire, everybody gets run through and Oracle runs the numbers to see if you're a match. Anyway, after the numbers come back, the woman is given a choice of a list of partners. That's important Ty. She's given a choice."

"You don't have to tell me twice. Continue, please."

"Well, the woman is injected with the serum, and she is held for a few hours to ensure there's no adverse reaction. Afterwards, the woman is brought to her selected partner and well, sparks fly."

"What if there is no spark? This sounds like a fast track to a series of disastrous relationships."

"That's what Oracle is for, and so far it has done an absolutely remarkable job of being right. Well, that and the fact that the serum severely stokes the libido of the woman, so that short holding period makes for very eager partners. The caveat is that the woman is bound to the man. She can't look elsewhere for some strange, or it will end very badly for her. That said, the protection needs to be updated regularly or it will fade from the man's body, so nobody's going to go without. Look, most of that is in the paperwork I've forwarded and it's all very clear. What I wanted to stress to you was to do the Oracle questionnaire ASAP. Use the link I sent and be absolutely honest. About everything, Tiberius. That is vitally important. Honesty above all. Don't get embarrassed. Everybody answers the same questions, and that is how we make matches. You got it?"

"I can't help but feel you slipped one hell of a whopper in there, but sure Grace. What else can you tell me?"

"Right now, just get the Oracle part done. We need that sorted so we can get the ball rolling. We're sending similar links to every person on your base with similar instructions. Remember, honest answers. I'll stay on the line."

He heard the pings from the twins' own tablets, and he looked back down to his. Bringing up the link, Tiberius entered the password he'd been given and stared at the screen. To say that Tiberius was confused would have been an understatement. The first few questions alone would have given him pause before all this. Sexual orientation, age ranges of acceptable partners. They were asking him for details on what he found attractive. Then he got to the proclivities sections.

"Grace ..”

"Don't panic. Those questions are so that we can match you with like-minded women. It's a mostly anonymous process. They answer very similar questions too, so you're not the only one."

"Grace, I work with these women. Won't this cause problems? Wait, when you said you have a partner now, you meant this? And that thing about being bound? Is that why this questionnaire is so; invasive? These bindings, are they permanent?"

"Yep. Besides, the process hasn't been disruptive for us. Not really, at any rate. Once people realize that this is the new dynamic and that anything personal just stays personal, things smooth out. But as I said, Oracle has been positively outstanding for this. We've got it worked out and have been testing since May."

"And how many hiccups have you had?"

"Almost none. The point is, Ty. It's not an ideal solution. But it works. Ty. Your base will be given first go at this. We've already got assets on the move. They'll be there by tomorrow, with a volume of the vaccine to administer to the Teams working with us."

"You expected I'd agree? Just like that?"

"As long as you hadn't died, yeah. You're too smart to let this go by. And since Australia has had decent luck with survival rates ..”

"We fucking what? Who the hell fed you that line of bollocks Grace? We've been fucking hammered out here."

"That's the intel we've been getting from the reports. 50% survival rate in men who contract. Hard quarantines that have done great work in keeping people safe."

"And you believed that? Someone's been feeding you folks a line of bullshit, and you've been eating it up. Wait one."

Tiberius looked up at the twins, who were staring at him, a mixture of horror and embarrassment on their faces. He asked them if either had recent numbers for casualties, and Lottie glanced down at her tablet before tapping a few times. Her expression flickered between sadness and anger as she turned it towards him.

"Grace? Death toll is around 17.5 million dead."

"That; oh my god. Australia's total population is only around 25 million isn't it?"

"It was. Now it's closer to 7.5 million. Our government, props to some states, tried. Northern Territory, Western Australia and Victoria? They shut down immediately. The Premiers figured out something was wrong and took the iron hand approach. The others, Queensland, Tasmania and South Aus. took it a little easier. Checkpoints, testing at the airport. Not enough, but a good start. Then there was that bitch in New South Wales I was raging about before. She tried to downplay it. Convinced people we had it under control. We fucking didn't. She had to drop dead on national TV before people got the message. By then, it was too late. As for ACT, well, Scummo was squawking about this and that and following instructions from the government. As if the moron had any suggestions aside from going on holiday whenever a crisis rocked up. Then the binchicken went to visit parliament. From what we understand, she managed to pass Duo onto just about every member, who brought it home and nearly decapitated our entire leadership. So no, Grace. Whoever has been sending you those reports has been doing the same thing to you that you've been doing to your people, and if that has been influencing your delay in contacting us about a possible vaccine, then it may have killed us."

There was silence on the line as this news was digested.

"I'll update HQ with this. Can you get someone to send us an accurate tally and update?"

"No worries, I'll get someone to sort it out. Can you tell me who signed off on those reports you were sent? And when the most recent one you got was?"

"Lieutenant General Douglas Walters. And the last one was just a week ago."

"That's impossible! Doug Walters has been dead since April. How did this get no oversight? No, scratch that. We've been focused on getting our heads on straight. Looking internally. Nobody at star rank is worried about other countries right now so why would they notice a single report going out automatically? No, if it isn't news about a solution they wouldn't give a fuck."

Tiberius glanced at the twins again, and saw that Lettie was speaking rapidly into her phone, while Lottie held her tablet out to her sister. Clearly they'd been listening and were taking the initiative.

"Ok, it looks like someone on my end is making pointed inquiries, but I think we have a lot to sort out here. You said you had assets inbound. How many doses? And what do you mean by 'teams'?"

"Ten thousand doses are in production for first wave inoculations. What we've sent with our advance team is enough for about five hundred women. Those are for the primary governmental body, the servicemen and women on your base, and their immediate families, like spouses. Instructions for how to set up and run the Oracle code generator are in one of the info dumps. Make sure that goes out today so we can have Oracle start running names. Teams are what we've taken to calling the new family units that are established by the pairing process. You and your partners ..”

Tiberius began to realize that he was making a habit of interrupting Grace, but he couldn't help it; the woman was throwing bombshell after bombshell at him and had no time or room to fucking breathe.

"Partners? Plural? As in more than one? Grace what the actual fuck? This on top of the 'bonding' thing?"

"Think about it, Ty. With the death rate for men being what it is, there are a lot more women than men now. On top of that, we've learned that sexual contact with a single partner doesn't convey enough antibodies regularly enough to give the man more than an approximately 60-70% resistance to DuoHalo. More partners increases that percentage, right up until around 99.7% at a dozen, where it starts to plateau."

"A dozen? You can't be serious right now."

"Deadly serious Ty. Isn't that what you men dream of? A harem of girls devoted to one man?"

"Fuck me dead, dreams are dreams because they're not fucking real! This; how does this work on any sort of scale? You know what, don't answer that. I'm sure I'm about to get a front row seat to this circus. Now, what is it that you haven't told me? The part about women not being able to get some from another guy?"

"It's in the paperwork. With pictures. I'm not saying it over a call, and you need to think about everything I've already dropped on you first. I'll see you tomorrow Ty."

"Wait, tomorrow? Wha..”

The line went dead, and Tiberius let his head roll back until it hit the helicopter's wall. Just how the fuck was he supposed to take this? Sexually transmitted vaccines? Harems of women for each man? Tiberius never took drugs, so he knew there was no possible way this was some sort of drug-induced delusion. But what if this was a bad fever dream? Had he caught DuoHalo and was he just laying somewhere, dying? No, that couldn't be right either. That headache pulsing right behind his left eye and threatening to turn into a migraine was a little too real and far too persistent to be anything but reality. He turned his attention back to the questionnaire, trying to tune out all of the revelations and their implications in favor of something a little more mindless. It wasn't working. Flashes of the twins' forms kept fluttering through his head, and his imagination was running wild. Thoughts of one of them; or both; partnered with him had him riled up and not a little hot and bothered, and feeling very guilty about it. They were his friends, and though he knew he had been crushing on them, he never imagined them reciprocating it.

"Ty, just; what was that all about? You seem really rattled." Lottie's voice cut through his thoughts.

"I've learned a bit about the vaccine, and I'm not entirely sure I like what I've heard. Oh it works, according to the Americans, but there are conditions and restrictions on those who take it. Some of it is literally bat-shit crazy, but Grace tells me there's no other choice."

If he'd thought to look up, instead of angrily ticking boxes on his tablet, he'd have seen the blush on Lottie's face as she asked.

"About partners? I mean, either of us would be fine to partner with you for this."

Tiberius flinched, more images flickering through his mind. He shook his head to clear it. "I don't think you quite understand what you're offering, girls. Men cannot directly receive the shot. Women can. This vaccine is sexually transmitted. Meaning that you'll have to have sex with whomever you're partnered with on the regular. On top of that, there's apparently some binding that occurs that means you can't partner with anyone else. Grace made it sound like it was a permanent thing. Which means that if you did do such a thing, you'd be completely stuck with me, forever. On top of that, men need to take on multiple partners because their protection is second-hand. Grace said around a dozen to get maximum protection, which I frankly think is absurd. That'd mean you'd be required to share your partner with up to 11 other women and this would become the new norm. So you need to think very carefully before you offer that, though I'm honored and frankly happy that you'd think so highly of me."

The look that passed between the twins would have raised the hairs on Tiberius' neck if he'd been watching, and now both sisters were staring at him with unabashed hunger in their expressions. They exchanged another look before going back to their own questionnaires, now eager to get them completed. Unbeknownst to Tiberius, the email that had gone out to the female members of the base had been slightly different to his own. Women got the option to choose someone to have their tests run against immediately.

"I see." Lottie's voice had an odd lilt to it that finally got Tiberius' attention. She glanced up at him and smiled from behind her mask as their eyes met.

"It might not be one of us partnered with you, then."

Tiberius nodded. They were his friends, but he hardly expected them to be into him beyond that. He understood, but he couldn't help the pang of regret at her words. At least, that was until Lettie dropped her own bombshell.

"It might, in fact, be both of us, big guy."
Chapter 2.

En-route to Victoria Barracks, Victoria, Australia, October 21, 2020, 9:30 AM

"It might, in fact, be both of us, big guy."

Lottie elbowed her sister playfully as she added, "There's no might, Lettie. We do, after all, love him."

Tiberius was certain his jaw was on the floor. Even from behind her mask, Tiberius could see the smile on her face and there was no mistaking the expressions in those emerald green eyes. Tiberius knew it well, because it was the same expression that he hid from them. Love.

To say that the Valiant siblings had been close to Tiberius since they were young would be an understatement. The sisters and Ty had attended the same school since primary, though they only really began interacting near the start of high school, when they were seated together for several classes. He found a strange sort of comfort when he was with the pair, and for the twins' part, they had immediately latched onto Tiberius like a pair of crimson-haired limpets. It wasn't long before they spent all their time outside of dates together, each seeking the others for support when they needed it.

He never pursued them romantically, mostly because at first, there was the fact that they had, at least at the time, been on a spree of dating women; experimenting and discovering their own sexuality, which had given Ty the very mistaken impression that he was of no interest to them. He was entirely fine with that. The twins were an invaluable source of insight into the female mind and fiercely protective of their friend. He'd avoided no small number of bad dates thanks to their keen eye for women. Lottie was always calm and analytical in her observations. Lettie let her emotions and attractions drive. Either way, they very rarely led him astray.

Yes, he'd occasionally wondered what it'd be like to date one, or both sisters, but it was only after an evening spent with both Lottie and Lettie crying in his arms that he learned that they in fact were happy to play for both teams. They had both been dating guys, brothers, in fact, at the time, ones who wouldn't stop asking for a foursome. They learned that the two assholes had taken videos and threatened to release them if the girls wouldn't comply. Tiberius had visited the 'brothers dim', as he called them, the next day. He still chuckled occasionally when he remembered the elder brother's reaction to seeing Ty at his door. The dismay on his face as Tiberius' fist closed the distance. The 'Oh, fuck', an instant before he crumpled to the ground in the face of the enraged hulk. The younger of the two folded and complied with Ty's 'requests' to delete the videos with only a little twisting of an arm. That the twisting may have resulted in a torsion fracture was something of an afterthought at the time.

It was a week later that the idiots returned to school, bruised and battered, one with a nose clearly broken and the other with an arm in a sling. The pair never approached the twins or Tiberius again and subsequent suitors were sufficiently warned not to poke the bear. He'd made zero mention of his involvement and so the twins hadn't realized he'd done anything at all until that moment. They loved him for it.

Once disabused of the notion that he was out of the picture, however, he had fallen for them both so thoroughly that he'd realized he'd never be able to pick one over the other. The risk of damage to their existing relationship had simply been too great, so he had maintained the status quo and let his feelings remain hidden.

The twins however, had known of his feelings almost as soon as he'd developed them. They had thrived on his friendship with them, adored him for his protectiveness of them, and so were almost wary when they realized the change had occurred. Needless to say, they were stunned when they realized that their friend had buried those feelings for the sake of that friendship, and that's when they started to really look at him. Reciprocating his love and affection was inevitable. They, like him, just had never figured out how to deal with the whole 'choosing' dilemma, but it seemed now that the obstacle had simply disappeared.

Tiberius, despite being a highly capable athlete, was never conceited about it and had friends in all of the school cliques. His ability to bring people from different worlds together was unparalleled, mostly because he somehow fit into all of those worlds. It was funny, sometimes, watching the hulking form of Ty and a couple of the other sports club members hunched over a table rolling dice for Dungeons and Dragons with a bunch of the school's computer geeks and even a couple of the goths and punk rockers. He made sure everyone would be laughing. He made sure everybody felt equal. He treated them that way unconsciously, and so they followed his lead and treated each other that way. The twins found out later that the legacy of his D and D club reduced the reported incidents of bullying in the school by something close to 80% even after they graduated.

It was actually Lettie that convinced the other two to join the army, at the twins' grandfather's funeral, in fact. Their grandfather had been military, and she loved his stories, the thrill and activity, and knew her sister would enjoy the analytical side of things while Ty would thrive in both. They tested for the SAS together and were assigned to the same unit, which Tiberius eventually led. They would have quit when Tiberius was injured, but the Brigadier had quietly informed them of the plan to keep him onboard, and so they stayed, taking their sidesteps into admin before Ty's own return.

Tiberius, staring at them, struggled to form words. "I never, That; You ..”

"We know, Ty." Lottie's voice was gentle, but firm. "We always knew, you big goof. You were never good at hiding it. We never told you because just like you, we never wanted you to have to choose between us. It looks like now we won't have that problem, and Lettie and I have always been good at sharing, so you'd best prepare yourself. We're going to insist, after all."

This was beyond unexpected, and his brain simply could not catch up after everything else that he'd been subjected to in such a short time. They had never led him to believe that they had anything but friendship on their minds for him. Both women were wicked smart and had no shortage of suitors lined up for either of them, so he was, if not content, resigned to step aside for their happiness.

"Give up, Tiberius. You know how stubborn we are. And face it, big guy. You're dying to get your hands on us. Now you can." He didn't need to look at her to see Lettie's smirk in his head. He could feel his face heating up and the wave of chagrin hit him at how easily they'd seen through him.

"I, " Any response Tiberius would have made was interrupted by his phone, playing a tone Tiberius had reserved for a very specific individual. Major General Ezekiel Becker. Another friendship born during a secondment, this time to the Sayeret Matkal in Israel. The older gentleman had been invaluable in bridging the gap between the two countries and had taken Tiberius under his wing during his time there. He glanced down at his phone, then back to the twins, who nodded at him, knowing that he wouldn't be able to give them anything like a coherent response right now anyway.

"Shalom, Major General Becker. It's been some time."

"Shalom Tiberius. It would appear you have forgotten my words to you from the last time we spoke?"

"No, Zeke, but it never hurts to start with some formality. How are you? Miriam and Talia doing well, I hope? Though given the timing, I doubt very much this is a social call. It must be what, 2 in the morning?"

"Indeed, my friend. However, there is time for a few pleasantries. I have been well, and Miriam too. Israel was not hit so hard as your homeland, I think. As for Talia, well, I rather think you will be better suited to telling me how she is after tomorrow. She's on her way there as we speak. She was assisting the Americans with a joint project when DuoHalo struck. She stayed to help, and not hours ago, I was informed that she insisted on joining the team heading out towards you. But how about you? How is Damian these days? If that boy has kept to form, he has not been in touch, am I correct?"

Tiberius laughed, knowing how what the older man hadn't said was far more important than what he had.

"We'll come back around to why Talia's coming here in a moment. What do you know about Damo, Zeke? What's my little brother got himself into? More importantly, is the stupid bugger still alive?"

"Well, we have the answers to many of the questions you probably have right now. I cannot speak of them openly, but I will, however, say that Damian and the remainder of his unit are safe. I just wished for you to know that Talia has the documents pertinent to this discussion and will pass them to you when she arrives. As for why she is going to Australia? I thought that would be obvious with all of the information that has just been dropped into your lap, my friend. Quaranteam." Zeke's voice grew heavy with emotion, and Tiberius realized that the older man had dropped his military bearing. "I am not asking you for information or any insider knowledge. We will get that through official means anyway. What I want is for my only daughter to be with a man I respect and who I know will treat her well. I do not care about what the Americans' Oracle or whatever it is called has to say on the matter. She wants to be tested against you, and that is fine, but irrespective of the results, I would like for you to take her in, as a favor to me. Would you do this? The two of you have always gotten along, so perhaps it could be something more than friendship?"

Long gone was the measured tone of Major General Becker of the Israeli Army. In its place, the pleading tone of Ezekiel Becker, friend to Tiberius and father of one, was beyond mistaking. Tiberius felt the bottom go out of his stomach as he realized what this would mean.

"Zeke. Mate. You know I'd lay down my life for Tal. But do you know what exactly it is you're asking me? I mean, how much do you know about the vaccine and the effects? I can't just drop a unilateral 'yes' without you knowing that, among other things."

He sighed. "You mean the bonding? And the multiple partners? I have been informed of these things. I cannot in good conscience tell you not to take others. Just; do not neglect my Talia."

"Alright. Look, Zeke. I won't outright say no. I wouldn't do that to you. But I won't say yes either without first speaking to Talia herself. This whole business got dropped on my head not hours ago, and I have yet to come to terms with the situation, let alone the fucking implications of this serum, and I'll be damned if I simply go, 'yeah alright, I'll chain your daughter to me for life and damn the consequences if she didn't really want that'." Ty pinched the bridge of his nose, knowing that his headache was only going to get worse now. "It's not even noon and I've already been hit with more nuke-level shit than fucking Maralinga. It has done my head right the fuck in, Zeke. So, I need to think. I need to process all this. And I want you to get some rest. Call me again when you wake up and have a clear head. Let me know what Miriam thinks of all this too. I won't have her coming after me because she wasn't told. And please, respect that in the end, it'll be Tal's decision. And mine; I hope."

His phone buzzed and Tiberius sighed, pulling it away from his ear long enough to read the text.

Come tomorrow, you will be mine forever, Tiberius Marshall. Though I will share you because I must, never forget that you are mine, as I will be yours. -Talia.

A groan escaped his mouth. He'd known his fate was sealed the moment Talia got the idea in her head, but he had hoped that Zeke was exaggerating and that she just wanted to see him in person. There was a moment of silence on the other end of the line before the words came back, carrying more than a trace of amusement.

"Thank you, Tiberius. Though I have tremendous pride in everything my daughter has achieved, I will be honored to have you as a son as well."

"Hey now, don't go ringing wedding bells already."

"Do not bother denying it, son. You and I both know that when Talia or Miriam wants something, they get it. You may as well not fight it. We will speak soon."

"Goodnight, old friend, send Miriam my regards and please excuse my earlier language. It was improper of me."

"You have had much dropped upon you today. Think not of it."

The call ended; Tiberius turned his gaze back towards the twins who were watching him expectantly. In a moment of brilliance, or possibly a moment of abject stupidity, Tiberius would never really know, he chose to look back down at his tablet and start reading. The materials Grace had sent would take him hours to digest, if he could even bring himself to focus on them.

"Really? You're going to ignore us? After what we just said to you?" Lottie's exasperation was clear.

"I'm not ignoring you. I could never really ignore you. But I also need time, Lottie. Barely over an hour ago, I knew nothing of a vaccine for this mess. I knew nothing of how it functioned. I still don't. Not really. All I know is that it bonds people together permanently, and the three most important women in my life, women that I would die for, no questions asked, have just told me that they want to be bonded to me. All this time, I chose to remain your friend because I could never bring myself to hurt one or the other of you by choosing. How am I, as a man who until now understood cleanly that monogamous relationships were the absolute, supposed to react? How am I supposed to feel?"

"Most men would jump for joy-? Three? Who? Talia. You must mean Talia."

Tiberius nodded, rehashing his conversation with Zeke and the text from Talia herself. Though neither twin was particularly at odds with Talia, it was clear to Tiberius now that they saw her as a rival, and a front-runner with none of the pressure that a decision regarding them would require. Neither twin looked any too pleased by the situation, but they eventually realized that with what he had told them earlier, this was apparently going to be the new normal. Tiberius decided not to fight the situation and suggested that irrespective of his own concerns right now, they have a discussion amongst the three of them. As long as they all agreed on something, he'd abide. Having mollified the pair, or at least forestalled any further arguments on the subject, he forwarded some of the vaccine documentation to them, requesting that they start to get familiar, as he would request that they be added to his unit for the whole project, whether or not they ended up as partners on his 'Team'. He was going to need their help, and they were glad to offer it.

Tiberius' arrival at the base didn't have quite the fanfare it might have before the pandemic, but it was close, if lacking in the otherwise obligatory backslapping and hugs. He made his greetings, and then was about to requisition a conference room to continue digesting the new material when he spotted the unfriendly face. Jaxson Connors, though generally incompetent, had never lacked poise in the past. The man before him, however, looked as though he'd slept in his uniform. Twice. Without showering. His skin looked almost waxy, but he didn't look like he was ill. Just badly rumpled. He said nothing, but the glare on his face spoke volumes as he turned and stalked away. It was out of character for there to be no comment, but Tiberius didn't want to waste time or effort worrying about him. Baz said he'd stop by to check in with him, but if he did, Ty was too focused on the reading and the older man probably decided not to interrupt.

It was six hours later when Tiberius sent out a request for all available officers to join him. Baz followed up, turning the request into an order and mandating attendance. Ty was finishing up his notes when Sophie, Colonel Sophie Davis, Baz's wife, greeted him at the door to the conference room, smiling warmly as she handed him his new rank insignia. It was something that did not go unnoticed as others arrived. The realization that he was officially back, and being promoted as he should have been long before this brought about a new wave of cheering from almost the whole room. Almost, except for a small cadre of officers now tucked into one corner. Connors and his lot of sycophants. Aside from the man himself, they were all junior officers, Tiberius just ignored them, despite the glares burning their way into him. But he let his attention linger on Connors himself. He was still looking haggard, only now he also seemed; tense? Lettie had discovered that it was Jaxson Connors that was responsible for the outgoing reports, and they'd call him out on it here. As for the others, they didn't matter. Not really. Connors was the problem, even if his mother was a bigger problem.

A nod from Baz after everyone had settled in and Ty started his explanation of the vaccine and the Oracle system. It wasn't hard to notice that of everyone in the room, only Connors wasn't stunned by the revelations, and that was telling. Some of the info Grace had sent him indicated that they should already know this, and initially, Tiberius had put it down to information lost after the decimation of parliament. But now, it appeared more likely that the information had been suppressed by individuals looking to secure themselves advantage. It was just the kind of power play a certain Major's mother would make.

Connors himself was trying to look nonchalant, but something about the man wasn't quite right. More so than usual, at least by Tiberius' reckoning. It wasn't just his appearance. He hadn't interrupted even once. Not to make a sarcastic quip, not to tell Ty he was wrong, nothing. He looked; jittery, was the right word, Ty decided. He kept an eye on the man as he continued his explanation, and the odd feeling never went away, and neither did he interrupt, right up until Tiberius announced to the room that he was to lead the rollout process.

"From the documentation that we have received, the rollout process will be time and personnel intensive. We will need to establish Teams, as they're being called, in-house first, and then organize those teams into units. I know the Oracle questionnaire will be daunting, as its extremely personal, but a smart friend made a good point to me; only the people you're teamed up with will have any idea of what you put down on it, and they're of a like mind to you, so who's gonna judge? Secondly, a Team stays together and cannot be separated for great lengths of time. I have been requested by the USAF as the liaison for this, which means that while I will eventually be heading up a rollout Team, I will be coordinating our efforts until that time."

"Why would you get to do that? You haven't been a part of the military for over two years! Your clearances will have all lapsed! You can't just put on a couple of extra pips on your shoulder and pretend to have a promotion! I won't accept that!"

"Well, as it turns out, I was never discharged from the military, Major. I was instead put on extended medical leave while I recovered. The promotion was decided by Brigadier Davis, so you really have no say in it. As for my clearances, they were maintained since I was still teaching SERE training courses remotely."

"You can't have recovered enough to pass evaluations! That's impossible! That injury should have totally ended your career. Permanently!"

"In point of fact, I have not only passed equivalents for my fitness evals, I have exceeded the eval requirements to be fully reinstated within the SAS. I will obviously not be doing that at this time."

Jaxson's face was growing redder and redder with each passing moment, and clearly, he couldn't control himself anymore, because he exploded. "You were supposed to have been given the boot! Mummy promised me you were gone! I've been sending the reports to the Americans, I've been protecting us from invasion by them! So, I'm the one who's supposed to get promoted, not you! I was the one talking to them about the vaccine! This is unacceptable!"

The silence in the room was deafening, and Tiberius was completely gob smacked. Was this fully grown man throwing a tantrum? In front of all of his peers? And on top of that, outing himself in the process?

"So, Major Connors. Would you like to explain why you have been sending falsified reports to the US about our survival rates? Especially considering they were going out under Major General Walters' name? And explain what you mean by protecting us from invasion?"

Connors face was so red by this point that everyone in the room thought he might have an aneurysm. He got up from his seat violently and it crashed backwards into the wall. He began stomping his way towards the front of the room, shouting like a madman.

"I don't have to explain myself to you! My mother was always demanding explanations too! She was a world class bitch, and now that she's out of the way, I don't have to explain myself to anyone anymore! I did what was necessary to stop us from getting invaded by a foreign power! I even organized things to get us the vaccine early! It's not my fault those worthless assholes failed! I should be praised for trying, not accused of stupid things like false reporting. How is it that you get promoted for doing nothing! For once, I know you got it wrong, mummy. I should have shot him through the spine and not the leg. At least then I'd have been certain you were out!"

The entire room froze. Even Tiberius couldn't find words to express his shock. After all the reports and other rigmarole that had gone into obfuscating the issue in the first place, this idiot had come out and admitted it. But Tiberius had also alerted to something else in the man's words and behaviors. He was coming unglued.

In the silence, it was the Brigadier that found his voice first. "Major Connors, are you saying that you deliberately injured your fellow soldier during a critical operation? That you deliberately attacked him with the express intent of ending his career? And that you organized to abduct an individual from an ally? You had no authority for that!"

"Why wouldn't I? There was no other way to get him out of the way without killing him! He was an obstacle, and so I removed him! Only obviously it wasn't enough. Clearly not enough. And who cares about the scientists now? Only one was even with an ally. Now we're getting what we need! Isn't that what matters?"

Tiberius exchanged a glance with Baz before his gaze flicked up to the surveillance camera in the corner. They might be able to sort out the drama with the Americans sooner than they'd anticipated, but right now there were more pressing issues.

"It's a problem because you had no authority to order that action! How did you even send them orders they'd accept?"

"I used Doug Walters' name, of course. Those guys were still overseas. They had no idea he was actually dead. I had Damian's unit go after Adam McCallister. They tracked him to Russia, but they had no good way of getting to him. As for Kerry, the guy he was after had less security. It was a simple snatch and grab. It should have been ten minutes in and out."

"You can't be that stupid Connors. What did you think would happen if you tried to take one of the project leads for the vaccine effort? Do you think they'd just have him walking around unguarded? On top of that, you sent valuable assets against an ally. Even if it wasn't an ally, they had no support available if the op went tits-up. They could have ended up dead and they'd never know they were being misled. You would have started a gods-damned war!"

"Fucking get over it! They're just hunting dogs anyway. They do what they're told. But like the stupid mongrels they are, they fucked it up!" Spittle was flying from Connors mouth as he screamed, eyes wild with fury and; something else.

Tiberius bristled. One of those so-called 'mongrels' was his little brother, but he ignored the comment. "You think they wouldn't get as much intel on who made the attempt as possible? You've brought down a complete shitstorm on our heads, and nearly cost us access to the vaccine. You didn't have the authority; you abused the name of a ranking officer; a deceased ranking officer, in a time of crisis; and you may have very well fucked us completely. I can only assume Grace and some of the other American officers insisted to their brass that the op was unsanctioned, or I doubt I'd have received any info about their solution."

"Fuck off! It's always you! Why? Why you? You swinging that cock around? Making friends?" His gaze flickered off to one side for an instant. "Shut up! Shut up! I know!" Now, those eyes were even more bloodshot than an instant ago; framed in a face that was twisted in rage. Connors' breathing had become very erratic now. "You're wrong! I was doing it for the country! I should be a hero!"

As he continued to stomp towards Tiberius, he became certain. There were clear signs of a psychotic break in his movements and actions. This was a trained operative, but even the best can crack with the right stressor. Before the situation could devolve further, Ty tried to placate the man, but he wasn't about to call him crazy directly.

"Connors. You need to sit down. You might be having a panic attack. Take a deep breath and try to focus on something else."

"Don't you fucking tell me what to do! Nobody can tell me what to do anymore! I'm in charge!" His gaze flickered over to the side again. "Shut up mum! You went and got sick all by yourself, it's not my fault!" That same gaze, even more manic now, returned to focus on Tiberius. "And you, you just had to come back, didn't you? You just had to get in the fucking way!"

He was almost within a meter of Tiberius at this point and clearly not in his right mind. His hand reached into his uniform pocket, and Ty tensed. There was no way he could fit a gun in there, but that didn't preclude a folding knife or something equally deadly.

"Stay where you are, Major. That's an order. Do you understand me? That is an order!" Baz's shout, for his good intentions, may have been the final straw, because Jaxson Connors lunged.

Connors' hand came out of his uniform and Tiberius realized in the fraction of a second he had that the situation might be worse than a knife. He was too close to dodge, so he grabbed for Connors' wrist, but the man's movements had become far too erratic. Ty missed, and the other officer barreled into his chest, plunging the syringe he'd pulled out into Tiberius' pectoral muscle before he could swing a fist up in reaction. That fist landed a blow on Connors' chin that had him staggering backwards before the second strike hit his temple, felling him. Ty grabbed at the syringe, dismayed to see that the plunger was nearly fully depressed, having deposited whatever was in it into his body. He had a sneaking suspicion, and the thought sent a chill down his spine.

"Leave him and get everyone out of this room! Now! Get a medical team suited up and here with an additional suit for me and Connors. Make sure they bring a biohazard container too! We need to know what was in that syringe. While that's happening, I will suit us up and take the two of us into the quarantine lab. No risks. Go!"

Tiberius whispered a prayer of thanks for military professionalism as everyone in the room sprang into action. He asked someone to bring him a set of cuffs, and one of the Military Police members in the room threw him his set, along with the key. He wasted no time cuffing Connors to the conference table, only pausing long enough to ensure the man was still breathing. Slumping into a chair, Ty pulled out his tablet and prayed that Grace and company weren't flying over a dead spot.

Grace's face appeared on the Tablet as the call connected. "Ty? We'll have to talk fast. We're not going to have a signal for long."

"Figured. Ok. Here's the long and short. I can confirm the attempted abduction was an unauthorized op. The officer responsible was using a deceased senior officer's name to send orders. In exposing him, he snapped, and I've been exposed to what I suspect is DuoHalo, but unsure as yet. Unknown if variant strain or otherwise. Going into quarantine as soon as bio suits arrive for me to get to the lab. We have the video footage of the event for your brass."

"Oh God. You might be infected? Understood." There was a sharp intake of breath and Grace paused, looking over at the source. "Ty, I should probably let you know. Major Talia Becker of the IDF is with us. She's uh; here for you."

"I was informed. Let Talia know what's happening. I'll have one of the Valiant sisters keep you updated if I can't. I have a bad feeling about this."

"DuoHalo doesn't kick in anything like that fast, Ty. You should have at least a week before you even see any symptoms, so you should be okay. Our ETA is around 10 hours. See you then."

Ty just stared at the blank tablet screen for a few minutes after the call ended. It was too much, too fast already, and now this. He hadn't collapsed immediately, so it wasn't a fast-acting toxin or something of that variety. If it was just a standard strain of DuoHalo, that would be annoying, but survivable, given the incubation time. But if Connors, damn him, had gotten his hands on one of the more dangerous variants, there was no telling.

That was the worst part; not knowing. Ty wanted to bury his face in his hands and scream. He was doing his best. There was so much information; so much to do. So much planning that needed done. Others would help, of course. He wasn't alone. He wasn't alone, but he was feeling overwhelmed.

It wasn't long before the medics arrived and they were escorted to the quarantine lab, with Connors ending up handcuffed to the bed. They did a blood draw on Ty and retreated, leaving him alone with the unconscious man. He wanted to pace the room, but knowing that would be of no help, he focused back on his tablet, trying not to let his frustration overcome him. There was no sense in wasting time, so he began planning the rollout effort. He let the hours flow over him and was trying not to let himself fall into the trap of panicking when it felt like his breathing was beginning to become labored when Lottie's voice came through the speaker overhead, clearly sounding flustered.

"Ty?"

"What's wrong Lottie?"

"Ty, we know what was in that syringe. It;”

"Out with it Charlotte. I'm not dead yet, so how bad could it be?"

"It was DuoHalo, Ty. But this; this is a man-made variant, and it's even more monstrous than the original. It has no incubation period, so it has almost no transmissibility. Symptoms will start to show up around four to six hours after exposure and the effects; accelerate; from there. 24 hours after exposure and organs are supposed to start failing;” The quiver in her voice strongly. "Ty, are you okay? The lab techs are saying you have to be feeling it by now."

This time, Ty was sure the bottom dropped out of his stomach. That tightness in his chest wasn't his imagination and he fought to keep the dismay from his expression.

"Fuck." He couldn't tell Lottie the truth. Despite her usual calm, she was the worrier of the sisters. "I'm OK, Lottie. Just take a deep breath. I'm gonna be okay, alright? Grace and her team are on their way. Look at me, Lottie." She met his gaze through the glass and Ty could see the tears in her eyes. "Lottie, babe, it hasn't started to hit me yet, so we're okay. You hear me? It's gonna be fine."

Lottie looked at him, and for once, she couldn't smile. This was the problem with being too close; the twins always knew when Ty was lying. She choked back a sob and nodded.

"Just a few more hours, Lots." Ty almost never called either twin by his personal pet name for them. At their age it felt almost too childish, but right now he needed her attention. "It's gonna be okay, darling. I promise I'll hit the alarm if things get bad, so I want you to go and stay beside Lets."

She nodded at him, no longer able to form words. She opened her mouth to speak, but Ty cut her off.

"Don't say it. It'll be fine. Go."

She turned and fled, and Ty slumped to the floor, head in his hands. His breathing wasn't too labored just yet, but now that he was conscious of it, the fear was beginning to set in. He wanted to scream, to yell, to get up and put a bullet between Connors' eyes for this, but none of those things would help him, and at this point, he doubted they'd even make him feel better emotionally. It was just too much.

"You're going to die, you son of a bitch. Nobody will be able to help you in time. I had that strain modified for this. You're a dead man, and then I'll make it all your fault." The voice was filled with scorn but was heavily slurred.

Tiberius didn't move from the spot, but he raised his head to meet Connors' gaze and couldn't stop his own vitriol. "So, the worthless mummy's boy is awake. I can't bring myself to treat you like a grown man after your previous display, so did the baby enjoy his nap? Shall we call mummy to come give you some milk?"

"Shut up! Don't talk about mummy! She's not here!"

"Oh, I know. You weren't quite as stupid when she was. Which is why you'd have known that I'm not going to die. The Americans have been on their way for over 10 hours already. Barely another half a day and I'll be clear of this virus, and you'll be subject to an inquiry and then tribunal. Your timeline was too long, you prick. Once again Connors, I win."

Jaxson flew into a rage and started screaming incoherently. Tiberius knew it was wrong of him to provoke the already unstable man. He'd worked it out by that point. Wendy Connors had clearly succumbed to DuoHalo or some other illness and the loss had sent her son over the edge. Though there had to be other stressors, those would likely come to light during the investigations. Ty knew he should feel bad about driving the man into his madness, but there was no sympathy in him. Connors' actions could have doomed them, and it was only luck that had said otherwise.

It wasn't even a minute before the medics re-entered the room frowning at Tiberius and sedating Connors before transporting him, bed and all, into a different room. Though they told Tiberius that it was probably better for him to be moved to a different lab too, he chose to stay. What was another couple of hours in the grand scheme of it all? He couldn't torment Connors anymore; there was no point. He simply had to wait until Grace arrived. He could do that just as well from here as anywhere else.

Though, it would have been nice if the coughing and bloody nose hadn't arrived first.

To be continued in part 2. Based on a post by SilverRyden, in 15 parts, for Literotica.