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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 99 Mars Colony Base Dome Time: 23: 30 [ 21:20 Approx Sanc time] Giles //Nearly there. We have to be nearly there. God, I hurt and I am fed up to the teeth with this darkness and not being able to stand up.// Hand and arm forward on the left side, right knee moving in sync to take him closer to the exit. Right hand and arm and left leg forward next. Ignore the pain of protesting muscles and screaming ribs. Ignore the soft grunts that came with each movement that put pressure on his ribs. At least now it was not the belly crawl and reach and pull. He was lucky that the crawling now was on hands and knees. At least for him. He could hear the soft metallic scrape of the oxygen tank behind him, a reminder that they needed to get out of the vents. After examining Noin during their brief rest on entering this vent system they had decided it would be prudent to keep her on the oxygen as it seemed to stabilize her condition. The drawback was that Zechs still had to contend with pushing a tank before him as he dragged himself painfully through the ducts. The blonde was silent behind him, his attention exclusively focused on making his abused body move. While settling Noin onto the blonde's back and tying her down securely he had had the opportunity to give the man a quick once over and while torch light was not conducive to giving a fair assessment of the injuries the man carried Giles did not like what he saw. //He is hurting far worse than he is letting on. There must be some pretty raw wounds under those rags he is now wearing and it does not help that I had to tie her so tight. We can not afford to have her move, though. He's a mess. That episode at the first access hatch has stripped him of a fair bit of skin and his clothes are caked in blood. What is worrying is that it has not seemed to dry. He's still bleeding and while he does not seem to be bleeding badly he is at least bleeding continually and that has to weaken him. I may have a fight on my hands when we reach the shuttle, but I will get him into the decontamination shower as soon as I can and do what I can to clean him up. Hopefully he won't fight me on it. Who knows what nasties he could be picking up with open wounds?// He winced at a particularly sharp twinge from his ribs, swallowed the grunt and chose to ignore it. There was nothing that he could do about it now and if Zechs was right then the next access cover they came to would open into the upper superstructure of the Shuttle bay and it was their ticket out of the vents. Personally he would be only too glad to see it. He never wanted to see another air vent again. Panting softly, trying to breathe shallowly to ease some of the pain he peered ahead, into the darkness and frowned. Was that …? He smothered the torch by pressing it to his right arm for a moment, mindful that he had to keep moving. He was uncertain if Zechs could stop and start too often and a slow grin twisted his lips into a lop sided smile. “Light ahead.” his voice came out as a husky whisper, his throat parched and aching for liquid. He had a water bottle on him with a few mouthfuls remaining in it but that would have to wait until they were out of the vents and that looked to be very soon now. Turning off the torch he found himself grinning like an idiot at that small ruby red glow ahead of him and with a sigh of relief he returned to pulling himself forward once again. A grunt from the darkness behind him was his only answer, the only reaction to the good news and he was surprised the blonde spared enough energy to offer that acknowledgement. He could crawl on all fours now, the larger vent giving him the much welcomed change of position and saving his abused front from further damage. While he could move with greater ease Zechs still had to pull himself along on his belly. With Noin piggy backed as she was for him to raise to hands and knees meant that he would be dragging her against the ceiling of the vent, so they were still slowed to the snails pace required for him to pull his doubled weight and manhandle the oxygen tank. Through out their sojourn in the duct system he had needed to be careful not to out strip the blondes movement rate and leave him alone in the dark. It should not have surprised him, he mused, to learn that Zechs had a problem with dark enclosed spaces and he had worried more with each passing minute that the man might lose his hard fought for control, but he was gradually learning that Zechs had an iron control of himself. /Not that he would agree, of course. Damn that tower episode. He still blames himself for my broken ribs, but that was purely my fault. I did not know him nor trust him enough to keep faith with him. It was my mistake that I panicked and rushed him and what resulted was my fault, not his. Past history now, though, except for the fact that Zechs thinks he failed to keep control and trusts himself less. There is nothing that I can do to change what happened nor to convince him that the error was mine. He'd only say he should not have reacted violently.// The light seeping into the duct was the red glow of the emergency lights, not the bright illumination that was normally found in the bay that he had been hoping to see, but it was something other than the darkness of the vents. As he came up to the grate he pressed his face eagerly to the grill, finding himself looking out over the shuttle bay as expected. The first thing that penetrated his relieved delight that they had finally arrived was the silence. There was no sounds of machinery. There were no voices, no joking or cursing as usually was found echoing throughout the shuttle bay. No ribald curses and raucous laughter or friendly shouted jibes. No clank of tools on metal or the rhythmic purr of machinery. It was eerily silent and he had a sinking feeling that the Sleepers mighty have struck here, too. He felt the oxygen tank impact on his feet, a slight pressure that quickly fell away. The sounds of movement behind him ceased and he knew that Zechs would take the chance to rest, hoping that they did not have to continue in these vents. He considered the somewhat ominous silence that almost hurt his ears and the implications for them. Silence, he decided, was not good. Not only did it suggest that people were dead here, it also meant that no matter how he tried to keep silent on the scaffolding he was going to make noise. The acoustics in the shuttle bay were guaranteed to ensure that anyone alive down there knew that someone was moving up in the heights of the bay. There would be no other sounds to cover his movement and that could lead to unwanted attention. One thing was for certain and that was that the blonde was not going to be up to fighting for his life without time to rest and recover some of his flagging strength. “There is no one in sight. How about you rest up near this grill and I do a quick reckie in the bay? It should not take me long to check out the bay and while I'm at it I can check that the emergency shuttle is unguarded. Maybe even power her up enough to run the life support capsule. That would save some time when we bring Noin down.” From the silence that answered him he decided the man must be mulling over the dangers of just one of them going out there alone, but if they both went and searched the bays they would have to find a place to leave Noin. He doubted that Zechs would be willing to leave her alone and unguarded even for a few minutes. Keeping her in the vent made sense and it would give Zechs a chance to rest and regain some strength. The day was not yet over. “Be careful.” the whisper was husky and grating. //So he's that tired? Shit. Not even a token argument. Right then, Giles old son, it's time to move and make this as quick as possible. I want that man in a decontamination shower a.s.a.p. so that I can see just how badly mauled he is. I hope he's right about having unusual resilience because we are far from being through this.// “Okay. It won't take me long to get the grill off and I'll replace it again in case someone is out there and should wander around up here. I doubt that it is necessary but just now I'm not feeling inclined to chance Murphy coming back for a return visit. I'll secure it with only two screws so it does not fall off and possibly call attention to you up here.” He fumbled for his tools searching for the appropriate screwdriver and began work unscrewing the grill, mindful to keep an ear tuned for anyone moving about in the shuttle bay or on the scaffolding that serviced the overhead doors. The smallest sounds would echo in the big bay and he would need to exercise every care to maintain his safety whilst he carried out this recon, but he was certain that he was up to the challenge despite sore ribs and his stiff body and he wanted a turn himself in that decontamination cubicle on the shuttle. He was not likely to give away this chance to treat wounds too long untreated by being careless. The last of the screws fell and he paused to listen intently, seeking any sign of movement in the area below. “Right. No one moving around below that I can see or hear. I'll check the dome from this upper scaffolding first, then make my way down to the floor and check the shuttles and offices and the store rooms. I'll try not to be too long, but don't panic if I seem to be gone a long time. I want to check out the store rooms and the lounge before I come back up and give you a hand.” “Go.” a husky croak issued from the darkness. He exited the vent, working his stiff body carefully and could not contain the sigh of relief when he lay on the scaffolding, free of the confines of the vent. The first thing he did was unhook the water bottle at his belt and greedily swallow a mouthful. The water, warmed by his body heat never the less tasted wonderfully refreshing, but he took only the one deep swallow before pushing himself up to his knees and pushing his head back into the vent. “Zechs. I'll leave the water bottle with you. It's about a quarter full. That should do you until I get back. Can you come up to the grate?” After a moment he heard the scrape of the oxygen tank and the sounds of the man moving. The tank came into view and he guided it past the vent and gently grasped the hand that held the tanks valve, letting Zechs know that he was there and then the hands pushed the tank past and he found himself staring into blue eyes. Glacial blue eyes that had a focused intensity that clearly showed him the strength of will it had taken to reach this point in the game. “Have a drink now, before I go. I'll be as quick as I can.” A grunt was all the man seemed able to muster, whether he was on his last energy or merely conserving his resources it was impossible to say, but he took the water bottle and sipped, tilting his head back awkwardly as Noin's head nestled against the back of his neck. Giles reached past the blonde to locate her pulse while Zechs drank and after a few seconds grunted softly, leaning back to grasp the grate. “She seems okay for now. Her pulse is still steady and her temperature is a lot closer to normal than it was when we started out. Just take the chance to rest. I won't be gone too long.” He pushed the grill back over the vent access and considered the screw resting near his feet, finally shaking his head and deciding to trust that the cover would stay in place without needing to be screwed. If he left the grill off and someone should be walking around up here, unlikely as that was, he did not need to draw their attention to Zechs. The man in that vent was going to be practically helpless with Noin on his back and he was not inclined to have anyone so easily collect Zechs without a fight. The grill fitted fairly tight and he was thinking of the man's claustrophobia and the possibility that he might panic, a natural enough reaction if you were alone in the vent, in the dark and you had memories of a similar time best left forgotten. “I won't screw it. It should be on firmly enough not to fall. I won't be long.” He was as quiet as possible, but his boots, rubber soled as they were seemed to echo as they contacted the metallic scaffolding and he only hoped that it was his imagination that added amps to the speakers blasting his footsteps all over the shuttle bay. There was nothing he could do to muffle his steps and he tried to walk as softly as possible, placing his feet with care though the centre of the walk way seemed to offer just as much noise as either side of the metallic mesh. To his careful survey of the bay below he could see no movement and he heard no sounds other than his own harsh breathing and echoing steps. The silence of the bay reminded him of the oppressive silence in the Main Control Tower where only the dead had been found and with each step he was more convinced that he would be finding that same evidence of a cold blooded massacre here. As he made his way down from the scaffolding he noted that the elevator pads that lifted the shuttles out of the bay prior to take off were empty and from his raised position over the main bays he could see that maintenance bays one and two were empty. He knew that that morning the last of the large cargo shuttles generally stored in the largest two bays had been sent to the Alpha Dome and that shuttle two had been due to return to the base Dome more than an hour ago. He wondered if the shuttle would ever return to the Base Dome, if there would be any survivors to pilot the big ship to her designated berth but dismissed that thought as a waste of his precious time. The red emergency lights softened the harsh lines of functionality that was the shuttle bay. There was rarely anything beautiful about a shuttle bay, he reflected. It was all practical application and high technology with no mind paid to aesthetic beauty. Only a die hard shuttle tech and pilots without a love life could find anything beautiful in the bays, but he supposed that was only his opinion. Others would probably see it in an entirely different light. He paused to listen as he reached the bottom of the ladder linking the scaffolding to the bays concrete base and again there was only silence. He had half hoped that he might hear some suggestion of movement or perhaps voices. It was eerie in the bay as he was more convinced than ever that he was going to find another blood bath had taken place here. He sniffed the air, perhaps the aroma of freshly made coffee might suggest someone was alive down here, but other than the pungent odour that was a mix of fuel, grease and over heated metal that was peculiar to all shuttle bays, there was nothing to smell. Thankfully he could not detect the odour of burning circuits or smoke laden with the stench of burnt flesh. There was an airlock separating the shuttle bay from the bulk of the sub base for safety reasons and he doubted that the fire from the nearby elevator shaft would have contaminated the bay, but he needed to be sure. His first order of business was to check the shuttle bays themselves, a quick and easy task as it would be difficult to hide anyone or anything that did not belong in those open areas. He was gratified to find bay three occupied by the emergency shuttle but he refrained from approaching it beyond circling the craft once to check for anyone hiding behind its bulk. Until he had checked the rest of the bay he could pay no more attention to that vehicle though he did spare a moment to think longingly of the decontamination shower on board her. Conscious of the time this search was taking and of the man in the vent with an unconscious woman needing medical attention he moved on smartly to check out bay four and the small two-man shuttle that was stored there. After a moments deliberation with himself he thumbed the hatch and pushed himself into the shuttle, making his way quickly to the cockpit and frowning when his check revealed that the radio had been ripped out of the consol. A quick survey of the control panel revealed that the ignition relay for the engines had also been destroyed. //If they have done that with the emergency shuttle I'll be doing some swearing. I was hoping that I might be able to contact Chris and find out what is going on outside. Damn.// He left the last of the bays behind him and decided that the reception foyer was his next target. Listening at the closed door revealed only silence and when he dared to crack the door open only darkness and silent greeted him. Knowing that the moment he opened the door more than this the computer would activate the lights he drew a deep steadying breath and moved to the right of the door, pushing it open as he did so. He was not inclined to take either a bullet, stun charge or knife the second the door opened wide enough to present him as a target. The door swung open and hit the wall with a resounding blow that echoed throughout the shuttle bay and Giles winced, however no sound or hint of movement emerged from the now lighted room and taking a deep breath he ducked his head around the door and blanched. Another bloodbath. // Three … four … five. Only five? // He was a little disturbed at his coldly clinical assessment of the foyer, but there was no time now to lament the necessity to function. He would feel their deaths later, when there was time to lament the loss of people he had known and worked with. Some of them had been friends, most passing acquaintances. // There should be at least ten people down here in an emergency. So, what about the rest? Where are they? How many of them were Sleepers? I doubt there was anything subtle about the killings that took place down here. This looks as though the killer stood in the doorway and just raked the room with automatic fire. Nothing subtle about that. // Bodies strewn about the room, two by the main desk, one of them slumped over the desk, hand resting near the computer monitor station. Another body was sprawled in a pool of blood half way to the far exit to the air lock linking the shuttle bay with the sub base. The fourth and fifth bodies were slumped by the coffee station, shattered cups and cold coffee mixed with the dried blood. Taking a deep breath Giles entered the foyer. To his further investigation he learned that the airlock controls still worked and that the airlock had last been operated and sealed from the sub base side, no doubt by who ever had raked the foyer with automatic fire. So it was entirely feasible to believe that the Sleepers had abandoned the shuttle bay, though he would not for a moment work on the assumption that he was clear of interference. The manual controls were likewise spared any damage suggesting that the killer wanted to keep the equipment here in working order and that being the case he quite promptly established an emergency lock down of the airlock. Anyone on the base could initiate an emergency lockdown should the situation arise, a safety feature to preserve the integrity of the dome and the sub base, but only select individuals could remove them when the emergency was deemed over. Unless, of course, you could hack the codes which he could do though he would need time when it was time to leave the bays. To initiate the lock down he informed the computer that the outer bay doors to the surface were malfunctioning and while maintenance was performed on them the bay needed to be secured as a safety feature for the sub base. He had no idea what the men in the base dome had done to lock out the maintenance workers but it had to include the main bay doors and he grinned a feral grin as the computer accepted the excuse and locked the airlock doors until the all clear could be issued by authorized personal. “Emergency lock down has been activated. Be advised that the initial analysis on the shuttle bay doors suggest that the master hydraulic control has a fault. Please concentrate your efforts in this area. Further diagnostics of the system suggest that damage has been sustained to the secondary control systems. Alerts issued to the automatic alert system in the shuttle control tower have gone unanswered. Potential virus activity in the primary computer system is suspected to be at fault and this system is now under reduced activity to maintain integrity. Do you wish this system to re establish links to the primary base computers?” He stared at the blinking lights of the consul for a long moment, a frown creasing his brow. “No. Retain integrity program until further notice. Computer, who initiated the initial diagnostic request for the shuttle bay doors?” “Chief Engineer Ahmed Hawass issued the initial alert of a malfunction and ordered the diagnostic program to be initiated.” // Hawass? He twigged that something was going on? // “Maintain lockdown of the airlock systems and do not permit access to your system from the master computer system. There is confirmed virus activity in the systems of the base.” “Protection system Alpha has been initiated.” So the chief engineer whose body was not one of those in the foyer had been alerted that something was wrong. Was it possible for him to have escaped the killers net though? If he was alive and well and more importantly, running free, then he might be of use to them should they be able to locate him. That was assuming, of course, that the man was not a Sleeper agent and a part of this massacre, though Giles was inclined to believe the Chief was too straightforward to be an agent. With entry to the shuttle bay now restricted he returned to the working section of the bay and made his way to the side door that led into the storage and supply rooms that serviced the shuttles needs. The bay remained eerily silent around him and on reaching the door he pushed it open, grunting at the pain that exertion caused his ribs. The door was half a meter thick solid reinforced steel, a blast door that protected the storerooms and their volatile contents in the event of an explosion in the bays. His first sight on opening the door was of two bodies sprawled in a pool of blood and he uttered a soft oath. Examining them revealed that both sported neat knife wounds in the back of the neck, a trade mark that screamed it was the Sleepers who had silenced the personal in the shuttle bay. “Damn. I hope we have taken out all of those sick bastards.” He identified both men as mechanics he was familiar with who specialized in shuttle engines and considered the knife wounds before moving on to the first of the storage rooms. Why knife wounds here, a certain sign of quick and silent kills when the foyer had been sprayed with automatic fire? Had this been the work of more than one agent? He located one more body, this one lay within the third spare parts storage facility and he was relieved to note that it was not the body of the Chief Engineer. The mechanic had once again been taken down with a knife and Giles could feel his back tensing, anticipating a silent and deadly blade. //That is almost the quota for the staff assigned here in an emergency situation. Three people missing by my count, one of them the Chief. I noticed that there was no security guard amongst the corpses. Of course, the Chief Engineer could be a Sleeper, though why he would initiate the diagnostic program if he had initiated the … // he froze. Was that … A sound? Something? //Mice? I think not. // The sound had been only a whisper in the heavy silence of the room. Nothing that he could clearly identify, just something out of place and he crouched behind a shelf, waiting with one hand resting on the grip of the gun. It was not repeated within the space of a count of sixty, but he was not about to bring Zechs and Noin out of the vents until he had made certain that there was no danger here to threaten them. He had heard something, he was certain and it had been suggestive of a whimper of pain. He considered the shadowed room, the lights were dim, a result of the emergency situation and the computer conserving power that might be needed elsewhere. He repeated his count, eyes narrowed as he considered what it would be best to do. At the very rear of the room there had been a mess of turned over shelves, their contents strewn about the room. It looked as though three or four of the metal shelving units had been overturned and he decided that he had best go and give that pile of debris a closer examination. Something rolled, a shifting of metal against metal from deep in the recesses of the storage room and Giles slipped into deeper shadow, wishing that the lights in here were not so bright and revealing though only seconds ago he had been thinking them a little too low for his liking. He now felt that he had a target painted on his back and he stood in open ground, easy to see while whoever was in this crowded storage room was safely hidden. It was all relative to whether you considered yourself the hunter or the prey. /I've been considering myself the prey for too long. I have to get this finished down here and bring down Zechs and Noin. We can't run any more. We have to finish this and to do that we have to become the hunters. // The sound was repeated, a low moan that reverberated with pain that sent a quiver of sympathy through Giles, reminding him of just how much he hurt. The moan was followed by a hissed curse and the clatter of falling metallic parts on the concrete floor. Surprised at the noise and silently cursing at the attention such noise could earn from unwanted parties Giles eased his way carefully through the shelving, peering ahead, seeking the source of the disturbance. “Fuck! I hurt. That slimy bastard is going to wish he had not missed. I'll rip him apart when I find him.” He resisted the urge to smile and sighed softly with relief. He knew that voice, the deep base rumble could only belong to one man, the missing Chief Engineer and Giles reflected that he did not appear to be in a very good mood, but he could also be the death of them both if he did not tone things down. Just what was he doing to make so much noise? Giles peered around a shelf unit and whistled softly at the sight that met his gaze. The chief had obviously not been able to move so much as a finger without spare parts clattering about the room in reaction. As he watched a shelving unit amidst that pile of shelves and mechanical parts was lifting. Slowly and steadily it was being raised and from beneath it a head and shoulders emerged. An entire shelving unit had been dumped on the man and as he pushed himself to his knees and more parts clattered clear of his bulk Giles could make out a dark crimson stain and a knife hilt protruding from his left shoulder. The Chief was sitting in the middle of a mound of parts, pushing the items away with rolling curses as more miscellaneous parts showered down around him. From the size of the mound surrounding him he had been buried beneath quite a mountain of bits and pieces, a fact that had obviously saved his life though it was likely he had not considered that a piece of good fortune at the time. From the glistening coating of blood darkening his arm though he had lost a lot of blood, yet Giles approached with caution, mindful that others depended on him and he could not afford to be taken down now of all times. “Chief?” he kept his voice at a low whisper, almost a hiss. Just loud enough to be heard by the groaning man. “Who the fuck …!” The big fist closed around a solid looking spare part and he grimaced as he half turned, seeking a target. “Ah, I know you. Giles?” His voice lowered in response to Giles low tones and the hushing gesture toward him. “Is that you?” “Yeah. Haydon Giles.” he identified himself clearly, unwilling to be mistaken for a hostile target. “You look like you spent a weekend in a bar, man.” “Get out of here and make yourself scarce. Find a hole and bury yourself deep in it. I don't know what is going on but those bastards have been killing my people.” “I know. I've had a few encounters with them myself in the last few hours. How long ago did you play tag with one and lose?” “Huh?” the big man slowly lowered his weapon of choice, running a hand over his face as he tried to make sense of what he had been told. “Ah, I get you. Sorry, I'm a bit woozy. Arm hurts like hell … Shit.” craning his neck he noted the knife that protruded from his shoulder. “Guess he didn't miss me.” Another slow and careful survey of the shelves around him and Giles left his shelter, crouching at the edge of the pile surrounding the Chief Engineer. “We don't have much time, but I can get you to the emergency shuttle and treat your shoulder. We have to be quick though as I have other people to bring to the shuttle for treatment. No, don't pull the knife just now. You may cause more damage if you do and you will certainly lose a lot more blood than you already have. We can remove the knife and better treat you when we reach the shuttle. When did you play with the bastards? How long ago did they hit the bays?” “Time? Ah, it was just after lunch? I think it was lunch. I'm a bit fuzzy.” “Okay, that was hours ago. Get yourself out of this pile while I check the last of the storage rooms. I'm hoping they are long gone, but I will not take it for granted that we are clear for the moment. I'll be back to get you and help you to the shuttle. When we get there and after I do something about your shoulder you can warm up the life support systems for me. We have a badly injured woman we need to take care of.” “We do?” The dark eyes looked dazed and Giles swore leaning in to slap the mans cheek lightly to draw his attention. “Get up on your feet and get to the door, Chief. I need to check the next room. Move.” He did not linger to check if his instructions would be carried out but ghosted quickly to the door and after checking the hall was clear he made his way to the last of the storage rooms. A quick check there revealed no bodies, living or dead and when he returned he found the chief leaning against a wall, head pressed into one hand but on hearing his return the man glanced up and he had a more alert look to him that encouraged Giles to think that the big man was not as far gone as he had feared. He had lain under that pile of parts and shelving for hours, losing blood, but the knife had served to slow the blood loss, though now that he was moving around the blood was oozing faster from that shoulder. “Did you say something about someone being hurt? A woman?” // Aware enough to remember our conversation? Good. That is better than I had dared to hope. // “Yes, I did. Now let's go. We have things to do.” ------------ Zechs He hurt. He hurt like hell, but it was a good hurt in that it served to keep him awake. He was bone-achingly tired and his eyes constantly wanted to close, to rest just for a few minutes, but the pain kept dragging him back out of that welcome but dangerous velvet darkness. He was afraid of the dark but that other darkness that threatened him was different, it was welcoming and it promised oblivion from the pain that haunted him. Because it promised so much he knew it was dangerous and so he welcomed the pain to keep it at bay. //He's been gone a long time. It probably is not as long as it seems though. It does seems like hours that I have been stuck here alone in the dark, but time is a funny thing.// He raised the water bottle to his lips and sipped, aching to drink his fill and not daring to take more than a few sips that soothed the pain is his throat. He was dehydrated, he knew that, but it could be remedied by a long drink when he was free of this horror that was a vent system. Why had he had the bright idea of escaping through that cramped dark maze? Why? They might have been able to leave by the main entrance. He never spared the time to check to see if the intruder in the tower was the return of Blue Squad. Or perhaps a Sleeper. // I can't go back and second guess myself now. Its too late. At the time it was the right decision to make. I think. Ah God, Noin, your so heavy. I'm sorry. I'm sorry for all of this. It's my fault. // He might have Noin strapped to his back but she was a dead weight that threatened to push him through the vent and that thought frightened him. He knew that Noin was light and the weight he felt now just showed the level of his exhaustion. Lying here, in the dark with his nose pressed to that grill and with the wonderful red glow to remind him that he was not in the dark was doing nothing to encourage him to forget his agony. He could feel the pain more now than when Giles had left him and he knew that he needed that action of movement and tension to keep the pain blunted. //I can't take this much longer. // If Giles did not return soon he was in danger of losing that control over his body and the pain and exhaustion would smother him and he would sink into that beckoning oblivion. He could not allow it to happen. He must not permit himself to surrender now. He had plans to devise to take down the last of the agents running free in the base and in the doing he intended to gain what information he could from them and have it recorded to be used at some future time to their advantage. If they escaped from the Wellington that was surely out there, coming closer with every passing minute. He knew it was there with a cold certainty that allowed him no respite from the pain. That was good. If he thought of the Wellington he could push the pain away, so he needed to entertain himself with making plans for those agents still here, a means to counter the approaching ship and even entertain thoughts designed to get his adrenaline up again. Anything to fight off the lethargy. To begin with he could inventory exactly what equipment he would need to gain the information he wanted from Simpson. He had most of the equipment ready and hidden in the room best suited to his plan, but he needed to take out the tech specialist first. There was not too much on the technical side for him to do before the unit was in working condition, if he had not erred in the construction of it in the first place. Getting the parts for the projector had been the hardest part, but he had managed and without a test run he could not be certain that it would work, but he was fairly good with electronics and he was confident. All going well there should be sufficient time for him to test the equipment before he had to put his life and freedom on the line fronting Simpson. //Have to devise a means of taking the tech down. I would prefer not to have to kill him or even injure him. To my knowledge he's not killed anyone, merely fiddled the base computers and I would prefer to have live prisoners. They may be of use when the Wellington arrives. I have to devise something to hold the Wellington if not turn her from Mars. // He rubbed at his jaw, at the irritation caused by the mask he had worn in the vent and listened to the silence. No sounds from beyond the vent, nothing to suggest that Giles might be returning. With a sigh he rested his head on his arms. He had to be patient. What he thought was taking hours must only be minutes. He could measure time by his own breaths and the beating of his heart if he would just turn his mind to that and stop thinking about the darkness that surrounded him. He could hear his own breaths and use them to measure how well Noin was breathing by the sounds of her breathing, magnified by the oxygen mask … His eyes widened when he realized that he was actually listening to silence. Beyond his own breathing and the beating of his heart that seemed too loud to his hearing there was nothing. The sound of the oxygen cylinder as Noin breathed had stilled and he scrambled to pull the tank towards him and angle the gage towards the red light coming from the vent. He uttered a soft curse when he realized the gage read empty and with fingers that seemed to have no sensation or dexterity he managed to disconnect the hose from the tank. He could only hoped that Noin was still breathing and that the oxygen had not long ago run out. By twisting himself as much as he could he could just get a hand over his shoulder to lightly touch her forehead and she felt warm to his touch, though it did nothing to assure him that she still breathed. He wanted out of the vent and he wanted out now. He quivered in every muscle in his body as the unreasoning fear of the dark cramped vent reared within him. He told himself in brutal terms that he was a fool and this duct was so much larger than those he had already crawled through and Noin was safer in the vent than out there, in the shuttle bay where anyone could see them. He was safer in the ducts, hidden from all sight and he had to keep Noin safe. Here he was in an explosively dangerous situation and he was about to throw a temper tantrum like a deprived six year old all because a grown man was childishly afraid of the dark. The walls were closing in around him, squeezing in around him. Smothering him. The dark was solid, real, dangerous and he must not remain here. He was a fool. He was a wimp. It was not closing in around him. There were not flashes of light… no electricity arcing so close to him. He was not back in Epyon. It made no difference. He wanted out. Now. “Hey, man. Sorry I took so long, but the bay looks to be clear and the emergency shuttle is a go. The airlock into the base is locked … Zechs? You okay?” The fear shrivelled into a small whimper at that disgustingly cheerful voice.
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