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"Alternative Directions: Options "Written By: Karina Disclaimer: I don't own Gundam Wing or the lovely
boys and their girls in the series. Wish I did. Please don't sue me.
I haven't even got a brass razoo to give you. Rating: Deffinately PG in Australia, at the moment,
but probably safer to say R for later chapters. Not sure about international
ratings Warnings: It will be 6x2, even though it does
not start out that way. After all, Zechs and Duo never met in Gundam
Wing and only spoke briefly over a com line in Endless Waltz. I've
tried to keep them in character as I saw them in the series. A bit
of language creeping in under stressful conditions. Pairings: eventual 6x2, past 2xH, 2+H,6x9, 1+R
Summary: Directions is set post Endless Waltz
and roughly 2 years have passed. Zechs and Noin are on Mars and Duo,
after spending some time with Hilde in a relationship leaves L2 to
join Preventers. Hilde was not happy about his decision. I guess enough
said. Here t'is, and I hope you like it. This is also AU for the standard
setting, as well as the series and Endless Waltz. Spoilers: Gundam Wing Series and Endless Waltz Many thanks to Dulin for volunteering to beta this. //... // thoughts
"Alternative Directions: Options"
Chapter 106 Mars Colony Base Dome 2nd March AC 198 Time: 00: 15 [approx Sanc time 22:05] Giles He gave the medical readout one last searching glare, noting the smallest changes revealed and deciding that there had been some small improvement since they had brought Lucrezia Noin to the emergency medical shuttle. For all that he had loathed the crawl through dark ventilation ducts it had been worth the effort to bring Noin to this place to see that small improvement in her vital statistics. Soon they would have to get her to the hospital wing and to doctors who could do more for her than the med computer, but for now it looked like the immediate danger of her death seemed to be past. "I have the anti-virus software I have been working on in my locker. The program is completed and I believe that it should be powerful enough to make a difference, at least in an isolated system like the venting computers. I was working on fine tuning the program before giving it a try but I don't think it will need any modifications to help us out of this fix." "What I want to know is why you have been working on the program in the first place? Isn't that an odd thing for the Chief Engineer of a shuttle bay to be doing?" Giles queried. Hawass grinned a feral grin, his eyes narrowing with amusement. "I am making a point. It's a challenge I have with that bright young thing they assigned to my department off the last shuttle. Carmella Santino. Over a discussion we were having a month ago she said I was too old and dated in my thinking and that she could out program me any day of the week. I took exception to that so we made a wager. We each had to design a virus and a hunter killer program. When we had done the best that we could we were to rig a network system, totally isolated from the base computers I assure you, and pit our programs against each other. Hey, don't look at me like that. It's something to while away the hours on boring Martian nights when you haven't got something warm and cuddly to share your bed." From somewhere not too far behind him he heard the snort of amusement that let him now that Zechs Merquise had heard his comment and he grinned to himself. As amusing as it was now he had taken the girls comment as an insult at the time and he had found to his surprise that he had thoroughly enjoyed the challenge. It seemed that now he was to learn just how good his programming skills were. He wondered if Carmella had survived the horror of this day and if they would ever be able to pit their programs against each other. Giles snorted and motioned to the hatch, encouraging him to exit the shuttle. "I suppose it's true what they say about small things amusing small minds. Out with you. The man said we have limited time, so let's be about it." Hawass grunted his amusement and glanced at the silent blonde who was now standing in the doorway of the reception foyer waiting for them. He could feel those ice blue eyes watching him and was relieved that Merquise seemed to be smiling and for the moment relaxed. The man had looked far from relaxed when he had left the shuttle after a long, silent stare at Noin. He knew that it was not likely that Merquise would settle enough to be really approachable until the danger to the dome and its inhabitants was dealt with but in the short time that they had interacted he had found that the man was not so unapproachable as he had assumed he would be. He was, after all, born royalty and Hawass had always thought nobles to be cold and distant sods and certainly Zechs had seemed to maintain a certain distance from everyone at the base though that he admitted was likely a result of the terms of his imprisonment. He eyed the blonde quizzically, noting that the dark flight suit served to emphasize the pale cream gold skin that clearly showed the shading of bruises and abrasions despite the healthier colour that now had crept back into his face. Zechs seemed much better now than when he and Giles had arrived at the shuttle with Noin. The near white hair was neatly restrained by the elasticized band yet still flowed in a thick mass past the narrow waist and the man wore the flight suit as though he had been born in it. He was a pilot through and through and with him framed in the doorway to the foyer of the reception area to the sub base Merquise looked fresh and alert, but he had to wonder how much longer these men could hold together. He had seen the wounds that both carried on bodies that had already endured hours of strain and his own wound hurt like hell, but he admitted that they had too much to do to even consider pampering themselves. Giles pulled the hatch on the shuttle closed and entered the security code Zechs had passed to him prior to the blonde leaving the shuttle to check out the foyer. With the hatch now sealed Noin was safely locked within the shuttle, the med computers of the survival unit monitoring her condition and treating her as best their limited functions could provide. When this was all over they could return for her and have her taken to the medical wing where hopefully the doctors could do more for her than stand by and watch her deteriorate and die. He did not doubt that without professional care she would not last long. // I wonder how long she has? I don't dare speculate about it around Zechs, he's fragile enough as it is. Anyway, its time to get past it and concentrate on ending this business. Sorry Noin, I don't mean to be cold about it but we need to focus or we are all dead men. // "Lets go. The shuttle is locked down and that's about all we can do here for now." Giles ran across the bay to join Zechs by the reception room door, Hawass on his heels. "Time to move." the blonde motioned to the room behind him. "It's clear. The lock intercom is working and no sounds beyond the airlock entry suggest that we are clear to move. Chief, do you need anything from us before we go?" Hawass shook his head in a negative. "No, Sir. I have everything that I think I will need down here." "When we are clear of the airlock you will initiate a lockdown of the bay to keep the area secured. We will release the lockdown on our return. When you hear the computer acknowledge that the lockdown has been removed I advise you to make yourself scarce until you are assured of who it is who is entering the bay. It is more than possible that there are still Sleepers running loose out there and the ESUN Security agents are still in circulation. Both groups now want a total elimination of the terra formers. Do you know Simon Barker by sight?" "I know him." Hawass assured the blonde. "We play poker on Friday nights." "Well enough. He's more than capable of breaking the lockdown code so check who is entering before you assume they are hostile. I don't know who he will be bringing with him but there will be two of them. Be wary of whoever enters the shuttle bay if anyone enters before Giles and I return." "I'll be watching my back. I've already tried playing with the bastards on my own once and ended up under a pile of spare parts with a hole in my shoulder for my efforts. I want something a little less painful to result from this second chance at the mongrels. You two just watch your own backs." "Concentrate on getting the ventilation system in the upper dome working. Time is running out up there for anyone not in a localized contained section of the dome and I have no idea of how many people are at risk." "Go. I'll handle the ventilation system somehow." Giles entered the reception foyer first, glancing quickly around to ascertain that nothing had changed since his last visit here. The dead still lay in twisted agony where they had been cut down and the computer still registered a lockdown on the air lock to his check. He grunted softly in relief at this further proof that the shuttle bay was secure, nodded briefly to Zechs who joined him at the terminal before he made his way to the air lock doors. At the computer terminal on the reception desk Zechs' long slender fingers flew over the keyboard, inputting coded sequences. The computer's neutral tones broke the silence of the room a second after the send key was pushed. "Emergency Lockdown Release Code acknowledged. All airlock functions activated. Airlock is now operational and ready for use. Computer assessment is that airlock is empty. Awaiting additional instruction." ------------ Zechs Hawass was watching the blonde with slightly widened eyes. "How … how did you know that code? That's the master override code for every computer function on the base. You're not registered as a department head." Zechs flashed a grin and slightly lifted his right shoulder in a shrug, ice blue eyes shining with his amusement. "I know a lot that I am technically not supposed to know, Chief. I have no doubt you know more than you are supposed to know as well. These long cold Martian nights have their uses." "Yeah. Right." Hawass shook his head, the ghost of a smile curving his lips. "I have a good excuse for dabbling, but man what's yours? You had a warm body to snuggle up too. I know I'd have preferred snuggling to hacking into classified systems." Giles snorted softly from his station by the airlock controls as Zechs chuckled by way of answer and the Raider turned his attention to punching in the coded sequence for the door to release. Zechs joined him by the door and slipped around him and into the room beyond leaving Giles to wave a hand at the engineer as he followed. The entry lock to the airlock was simply a section of hallway that could be sealed with the heavy safety doors positioned at either end. The door on the airlock side of this section was somewhat thicker and painted gray instead of the usual tan that dominated the colour scheme of the base, denoting a blast door. Zechs was already at that door, running a careful eye over the seal and electronic lock, seeking some indication that tampering might have been employed as extra security and on finding none he punched in the opening sequence and waiting for the massive door to open. Giles moved to the opposite side of the door to Zechs, kneeling and waited for a count of five after the door had opened. No sound or movement suggested they had company and he ducked his head quickly around the door frame, scanning the air lock and signaled the all clear to Zechs then entering and moved to the controls on the far door. Zechs slipped into the small room that was the airlock proper, the last line of safety between any explosion and decompression of the sub base should any accident wreck the shuttle bay and operated the controls to shut the door and establish the safety lock. The system board to the side of the doors at either end of the room registered all systems green and Giles operated the exit door, waiting for the system to run its cycle of checks and balances and finally the door opened, giving them entry to the entry lock that separated them from the sub base. "Moment of truth time. We may have some problems here." Zechs murmured as he joined Giles by the exit door. "If the explosion collapsed the elevators and the subsequent fallout and debris has blocked the entry to the sub base we are going to have to find another way in to the base." Giles permitted himself the opportunity to lean his weight against the wall as he considered what might lie beyond the door. "There is a fair bit of room between the elevators and the main corridor. I'm hoping there is enough room to have taken the wreckage without blocking our way. There is really only one way to find out." The blonde considered the door for a moment and inclined his head slightly to the panel beside Giles. "Run a system check and diagnostic of the air beyond the door. If the fire is still burning the temperature would be elevated above the norm and the air will register pollutants. We may have more trouble than we expected." // That is something that we definitely do not need. However it is a possibility that we can not ignore. We have no idea what has been going on down here. If there is a God out there who still is inclined to listen, could you just keep your hand on my children? Let them be safe.// He could not bare to think what would happen if Simpson or worse still the Sleepers, had infiltrated the sub base and gone on a killing spree. The Sleepers seemed to have totally lost all control over themselves and he feared what they might have done to the innocents. His were not the only children in the sub base who could fall easy prey to the killers. He could not so much as trust that they were sane enough to heed their instructions to take the twins alive. "Sample retrieval and diagnostic cycle is running now." Giles confirmed. "I wonder who Barker has found to join him?" Zechs flashed a glance at his companion and shook his head slightly. "It was not safe to ask." "I know." Giles offered a diffident shrug. "I was just wondering if maybe Chris had not managed to get himself involved. It would be like him to wrangle his way into any infiltration party and he has the skills to be a help. He would be wanting to know what is going on in here and maybe he would have heard from Raydon by now." "You are close, this Chris and you?" "We met once or twice while we were on Station One before I was assigned to come to Mars. We had occasion to train together in the units Raydon was working with, teaming up the Gifted with agents and getting them to work together as a very effective unit. I like him. He's a good man. Ex Oz Specials, actually." He noted the interest in the blue eyes and watched as the cycle symbol on the wall console continued to flash. "Yes, he was one of your crowd during the war. A Leo Pilot. A little older than you, of course, but he's a good pilot. He trained at Lake Victoria Academy but it would have been a couple of years before you. I think he said he was training there around the same time as Treize Kushrenada was there. Raydon chose him to join me out here because he had a wide range of skills and he had little difficulty in working with the Gifted. He's not afraid of hard work and his broad range of skills was ideal for him being accepted by the working staff on Mars." "I will look forward to meeting him." Zechs murmured, squashing memories of Lake Victoria Academy and what seemed like far simpler and kinder days. This was not the time nor was it the place to reminisce about the past. The computer issued a soft beep and displayed a report on the small LCD screen and Giles scowled. "Well, it could have been a lot worse. It looks like we have some smoke pollution, but nothing dangerous from these readings." he stared at the readings for a long moment and grunted, pleased with what he read. "It's a reducing count so the ventilation systems are clearing the smoke and any toxic fumes from the air ways. It might stink like hell but it won't knock us out." "Open her up, then. It's time to move." Zechs crouched low to the floor as the heavy door began to move and when there was sufficient space to permit him access he peered through the gap, seeking any sign of hostile parties. The hallway stretched before him, the acrid stench of chemical laced smoke flooded into the entry lock and Giles coughed, wafting the air in front of his face with a lazy flap of his hand. There was little visible haze from the fire, the ventilation system seemed to have successfully cleared out the smoke haze though it could do nothing to lessen the stench of fire damage. "Stinks alright." Giles muttered. "Clear." Business mode settled into place, both men sliding easily back into the mindset necessary to survival and the teamwork that had seen them escape the upper dome relatively unscathed. The emergency lights were active in the sub base, bathing everything in a red glow and the silence was profound, unnatural to the busy base and reminiscent of the upper base dome. Both men exchanged looks, afraid that death had been stalking the sub base in their absence and then slipped from the entry lock and ghosted toward the intersection ahead. Beyond the intersection that led deeper into the sub base they could see that the emergency blast doors had activated, sealing off the damaged elevator section from the remainder of the base. The walls near the door were scorched and scored from shrapnel that had resulted from the initial blast that had roared down the elevator shaft but the blast doors had activated, saving the sub base from any serious damage and sealing it off from the fire that had raged. There was evidence that the burning shrapnel and refuse of the explosion that had made it through the blast doors had been extinguished by the emergency response team though the area now was silent. Zechs found himself eyeing a piece of metal almost as long as his arm and as wide as his palm that was imbedded in the metal wall near the intersection and shuddered at the thought of the force of the explosion required to accomplish that feat. Whoever amid the sleepers had set the explosives, and his visions suggested one Shanna McIntyre to be the instigator, had been prone to overkill. For the blast to have caused so much damage so far from the immediate area of the elevators meant that either the killer had to be ill informed on the forces required to take out an elevator or the killer was one who got their sick kicks out of mayhem and destruction. It was without a doubt needless violence. Giles had moved a few steps ahead and now paused near the intersection, quickly ducking his head around the corner and ducking back just as quickly. He motioned the all clear as Zechs joined him and ran his eyes over the doors sealing the hallway ahead of them. "No sight of anyone. It's all quiet down there." A faint nod responded and Zechs knelt beside him, producing the dentists mirror from a pouch and slipping it around the corner just above floor level, using it to study the hallway thus revealed at more leisure. "Neat trick." Giles commented softly. "Whatever works." Zechs murmured, considering the vacant hallway leading deeper into the sub base. This was the main thoroughfare that linked the many sections of the sub base and it was unusual for it to be so empty. It was eerie just looking at the empty hallway and he fought down a shudder. "We go down to the communal lounge and from there we check out our options. If everyone is still at their emergency stations we should meet no one between here and the medical section, but we can not take it for granted that people will still be content to remain on station. The base has been under alert for a long time and no all clear has been given that I am aware of. By now they must be getting curious as they have had no real explanation that could possibly satisfy them. The explosion in the elevator shaft must have produced a reaction and it is certain that the emergency squad have responded." Giles glanced at the blast doors and the evidence of quickly extinguished fires in the hallway and nodded. With the explosion and subsequent activation of the blast doors it would have been obvious to all that there was a viable threat to the base. He only hoped that it was enough to keep people at their assigned stations, although the Sleepers had been making use of those assignments to take out the terra formers one group at a time with little in the way of resistance. That he knew of it had only been Zechs and himself and Ahmed Hawass who had actively retaliated against them. The emergency stations alert had proven to be a mixed blessing. "Do you have any idea how many personal should be in the medical section?" "There should be a full medical staff, less the two nurses that I entrusted the twins to." Zechs responded. Giles ran some quick calculations. "Six doctors, two specialist surgeons and what … seven or eight nurses?" "Something like that." Zechs agreed. "It sounds about right. I should think that Jenny Santos would be out of surgery by now and in the ICU unit … maybe in the recovery room and there would probably be one nurse assigned to be with her at all times. There should be another nurse in the nursery and maybe the mothers of the other two children as well. I think there was also a concussion case in for observation and two patients with broken bones." "That sounds about right." Giles was watching the blonde with a frown. "Jenny Santos is in surgery? What happened to her that would require surgery?" "She was hit with automatic fire when Noin took out two of the infiltration team." "Oh." Giles stared at the blonde who resolutely refused to meet his gaze, choosing instead to stare at the mirror reflecting the hallway. "Bad luck or …?" "It should never have happened." a sigh. // I should have knocked Noin out and tied her up in our bloody room. It was not necessary for so many people to be involved in this idiocy.// He could not deal with a post mortem of events just now and there was so much that needed to be done. Where was the use in pointing fingers and casting blame? It served no purpose. "Go." ----------- Giles Giles swallowed his curiosity and eased around the corner, moving quietly and quickly along the hallway, not pausing until he came to the door that led into the first of the accommodation sectors of the base. He pressed his ear to the closed door seeking any hint of movement though it was unlikely that he would hear anything through the blast door beyond this one that sealed accommodation sector A from the hub of the sub base and glanced at Zechs when he ghosted past, moving to the corner that opened out into the communal lounge. The base remained silent around them and with a distrustful glance at the door behind him he moved to back Zechs and guard his back as the man slipped around the corner. Zechs kept his back to the solid wall and paused to better survey the open area with its couches, potted plants and chairs. Nothing seemed to have changed since last he was here and he edged closer to the door that led into the dining hall. The sound of movement and the scuff of heavily booted feet was like a deluge of icy cold water hitting him and both men glared at the door only inches from them. The heavy scrape of steel toed boots and a sound that brought to mind a chair scraping over the floor seemed abnormally loud in the stillness that had surrounded them and after a moment a murmur of voices issued from the door. Giles strained to make out what was being said and failing to hear anything clearly he slipped around Zechs to the far side of the door, carefully opening it a crack and pressed his ear to the gap. He glanced at Zechs who moved past him to kneel behind a couch, taking guard position and permitting Giles to learn what he could. He dared not open the door any more than that fractional amount for fear of drawing attention to them but he considered this a necessary risk as they needed to know what was going on in there. "… know what exactly is going on. All of the readings on the emergency services computer indicate that the fire in the elevator well has been extinguished, but if you want proof we have to open the door and I personally am not of a mind to do that at this time. We are still working on re-establishing the security camera system, but at this stage I can not see us having much success. That bloody virus has thus far defeated our every attempt to kill it. What moron would feed a virus into our computer systems?" "A moron who obviously does not want us to track them." a mild, mid toned voice returned with not the faintest hint of amusement to lighten the comment. "Is our air supply at risk?" a third voice queried, deeper toned and slightly accented. "No. We are fortunate there that the virus is selective. While it has taken out all radio communications and the security systems including the cameras monitoring the upper base and sub base it has not as yet targeted our life support systems. The systems it has not targeted seem to include the security codes that operate the airlock systems to the shuttle bay though the explosion resulted in the blast doors activating and locking down the airlock to the shuttle bay. The blast doors activating when they did saved us from the lethal results of the poisonous fumes when the elevators exploded but I need an access code that will open the airlock to the shuttle bay so that we can try to access the computer systems in the supervisors office and regain some control of the base. My access code no longer works, which suggests that someone has changed all of the access codes. We are effectively isolated until we can regain control of the core computers. We need to get on top of this virus before it does penetrate our life support systems." "With the radio down we are limited in what we can do. We need to know what is happening in the upper dome but even the old intercom system seems to be down." Giles detected a growing panic in that last voice and pursed his lips slightly. He recognized one or two of the voices as belonging to men that he knew were a part of the emergency response team and he knew that none of them panicked easily, but this was a situation that few of them would have ever considered facing. "We need to maintain calm. To panic or to go off without planning our movements will likely result in more deaths. Yes, I said more deaths. Come on, after that explosion do you honestly think that people are not dying up there? I told you what Merquise told me and who else would have the know how and resources to lock us down here? I know you don't want to believe it, hell I don't want to believe it, but I'm not such a fool that I will bury my head in the sand and ignore what is going on around me." "Now just wait a minute, Joe. I can not believe that you actually trust Merquise. Come on the man tried to blow up the Earth. He's not sane." "Oh, for Christ's sake, Palmer, don't be a flaming idiot. Look around you. This is Mars. Mars, Man, not Earth. Until now the politics of Earth has meant precisely nothing to us so long as they kept the supplies coming. I'll be honest with you and tell you that I don't actually give a shit about who stands on the top of the dung heap and calls himself King, President or Chief Prick. What does concern me is Mars and the safety of the people that work here. Even you have to admit that since he came to Mars he has done nothing to warrant our distrust or suspicion. Give the guy a break. He defused the detonator, man. Had that gone off the enviro dome would have been breached and you know that anyone caught out in the open or in the warehouses would be dead." A snort responded. "We really only have his word for it that there were bombs at all." "Oh for the … Look, you idiot, I suppose this is play dough? Take a good look at it. This is high grade explosives, you moron. I took it myself from the freight elevators not twenty minutes ago. Oh, it's harmless enough without the detonator to trigger it, I made sure to dispose of that. While I removed this from the freight elevators I would not advise anyone to use the elevators. I have little doubt that there is a lot more of this shit there. I only removed this piece to demonstrate to you that there are people who are running around this base who do not exactly have our best interests at heart. If the elevator is used it will undoubtedly go up in just as spectacular a fashion as the others did." Giles strained to catch any sound from the room as a heavy silence fell. After a moment he heard a chair scrape and the sound of someone moving about. Holding his breath he debated the wisdom of staying to listen or easing the door closed and beating a hasty and careful retreat. "If the elevators are trapped and the access codes have been changed that means that we are completely isolated from the enviro dome. There is no other means of reaching the upper base with the blast doors sealing off the primary elevator shaft and the freight elevators now out of bounds." Rustle of clothing as someone moved and a thud that suggested someone had hit a table a hard blow in their frustration. "So what do we do about it? We have no proof who placed the explosives. Merquise could have placed it." //Does not sound as though there is much trust for Zechs amid this lot. I don't think I want him going in there or turning his back on any of them. We need to move on.// "I do not believe this." an exasperated sigh came clearly through the door. "Would you mind telling me just where Merquise would get this shit? I can assure you that we don't even use it here when we need to do blasting. This stuff is state of the art, newly arrived from Earth, Palmer. There is no way that Merquise could have gotten his hands on some of it let alone planted it. I already told you that I followed that ESUN Security agent." "I can't believe …" Giles slipped the door closed and gently released the handle, careful to make no sudden move or noise that would alert the group that they were not alone. Signaling for Zechs to move with him away from the door he eased his way through the furniture and on the far side of the lounge they crouched out of sight, making full use of the furnishings to obscure them from view. "Seems like some sort of emergency meeting going on." the Raider informed Zechs. "There are at least five people in there, but I think that there are more. I think it is the emergency services crew who responded to the blast in the elevator shaft and maybe a couple of the computer operators assigned down here in an emergency situation. I recognized Mighty Joe Lee's voice and Bryce Palmer too. They both are on the emergency response team." ----------- Zechs Zechs eyed the door and entertained the idea of approaching the men and women on the emergency response team for aid for all of about ten seconds. He was not inclined to trust any more than he had to when he had no accurate count of the Sleeper agents who had infiltrated the base. "We go on. Provided they stay in the dining hall and talk they should be safe enough." "Mighty Joe said something about having followed an ESUN Security Agent to the freight elevators. He took some plastic explosives from the freight elevators and advised no one use them. Said he did not doubt that there is more explosives set to go off if the elevators are used." Zechs considered Giles in silence for a long moment and eyed the dining room door for a longer time. If Mighty Joe had followed one or both of the agents that they knew were still loose in the base then had they been leaving the sub base or wandering around down here looking for something or someone else? He had assumed that Simpson and Frazier would be in the upper base by now but was his assumption incorrect? There was also the question of whether or not any of the agents he had incapacitated had been revived and might now be active to be considered. It was dangerous enough to be wandering around down here with the two ESUN agents let alone more of Blue Squad becoming active and then there was Sleepers. The only way of moving about unseen that he knew that might give them a good chance of not running into the men would be to resort once again to the ventilation ducts. The mere thought of the vent systems caused an icy chill to crawl through him and threatened to pitch him into unreasoning fear of enclosing metal and suffocating darkness and a cold that echoed still in his bones. He forced control knowing that he could not again enter into the ducts. It would be a long time, if ever, before he would be able to force himself into such dark and claustrophobic ways again. // I can't. I just can't. I might suggest it to Giles to keep him safe, but I will not again go into the vents. // "Med bay." he decided. "For now we keep to our planned route and we don't lower our guard." Giles nodded his agreement and chose not to comment on the entirety of the conversation he had listened to. He had no doubt that the blonde knew how many people saw him as an insane monster and he was not inclined to cause the man any more distress than he was already feeling by informing him of the full details of that overheard conversation. With a light touch to the broad shoulder he motioned Zechs ahead to the corner and popped his head above the couch to watch the door to the dining room. "Clear." he whispered. Zechs slipped to the corner and using again the dentist's mirror he checked the hallway beyond was clear before motioning for Giles to join him and eased himself around the corner. He paused briefly at the door to the kitchen and on hearing no noise from within the room he slipped past and moved on to the door sealing the connecting hallway that led into the medical wing. Across the hallway from the medical wing the blast doors leading into sections B and C living quarters were both sealed shut and he was thankful that no one had as yet released the all clear. With so much explosives still placed about the base it was too dangerous in his view to sound an all clear. While those blast doors remained sealed anyone in the living quarters should be safe from any damages done to the sub base that might breach the environmental seals. He knew that somewhere in the living quarters, whether it was in section A, B or C there were two nurses who had taken his children and in all honesty it seemed to be the safest place for them at this time. The hallway remained quiet and he knelt at the intersection with the medical bay. The blast door here was sealed and he hoped that it meant that the medical section was secure and had not been visited by massacre as had the upper dome. With limited resources the Sleepers and other ESUN agents could not possibly have visited every section of the base and he glanced at Giles who had remained near the communal lounge and who now offered a thumbs up as a signal that they were still secure. Standing up quickly he punched in the memorized master code and with a clunk the seal on the door released. // I had better check on the two men I left in the maintenance locker. Someone should have found the two women long before now and have moved them to another room where they could receive medical attention, but I have to find them to know that they are not going to feature in this.// As his hands touched the locking panel, fingers reaching for the manual release a shudder racked him, a tremor that started somewhere deep within him and against his hard fought for shields he felt the threatening surge of vision. Stifling the gasp that would have alerted Giles to a problem the man could not help him with at this time he released the manual lock on the door and forced the vision down. There simply was no time to entertain his so called Gift and he motioned Giles to join him as he pushed the door open enough to get the dental mirror through the gap. With the way clear he pushed the door wider and slipped into the medical wing, Giles close on his heels. "Tell me the code. I'll lock down the door." Giles offered. "ASMD 698254." He was already moving forward to the closest door, using the need for action to push the surges that were threatening to overwhelm him down. There was something wrong within the medical wing and it threatened to explode into vision that would end up getting them killed if he dared to open the floodgates. Room by room they would have to search the sector to be certain where the women had been placed and he would have to move those two men so that they could receive medical attention. If any or all of them were awake and active then he had additional problems to deal with. Perhaps that was what the would be visions warned of? //There is no time to investigate visions. Besides, it will take me out of the picture to go down into vision and I can't leave Giles alone now. If we want to survive we have to work together. //
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