Duo yawned behind his hand, lifting up his binder filled with sheets of homework and assignments to hide his expression. The instructor was late; something that wasn't appreciated concerning the students, but apparently the really good instructors were above the law here. His eyes darted around the classroom; 'quantum equations' was one of the very few classes he shared with Heero. He certainly wanted to have a follow-up to their steaming kisses from yesterday; not too mention that his dreams had been filled completely by the grade A student and pilot in training and his beautiful blue eyes. If he really allowed himself to daydream about it, Duo could still taste his lips...
"At ease, students," a deep, familiar voice boomed through the room and a wave of excitement spread through the students; it was no one but Zechs Marquise himself! Duo, and the rest of the students, sat immediately upright, face neutral. Was the Lightning Count going to announce who he had chosen, who would be privileged to train under him?
"At ease," the man repeated, eyes scanning the room, his own look veiled by the large silver mask. "As you're all aware, the semester is closing to an end rapidly. You've taken the mid-semester exams, you're working on assignments that span the rest of the following weeks, and you're preparing for the final oral exams and tests that will determine whether you're allowed to return at the Academy next semester or not."
He looked somewhat content, Duo thought, as the man continued to scan the classroom. Scratch that... he looks more like a wolf about to devour some hapless prey.
"All and all, I'm pretty satisfied with your results so far," he continued. "This draft of students is rather promising, and I'm convinced that some of you will make it to the end."
No one heaved a sigh of relief, as Marquise had said "some of you", not "all of you". Nothing was certain at the Academy; no matter how promising you were: if you failed to comply with a rule you were expelled -- no exceptions. Duo's eyes flickered over to Heero, who sat as straight as a ruler.
"If I call your name, you have to leave the class and assemble at room YH-67," Marquise said, brusquely. "Yuy."
Heero immediately rose from his chair, saluting for the Lightning Count, before stepping away from his desk and leaving the room. With his name called, the rest of the students exchanged panicked glares; even Duo felt the pit of his stomach knot together. Why was Heero's name called out? Marquise had failed to mention why they had to assemble -- was this a drill, were they going to be expelled? Why would he call the best student at the whole fucking Academy?
Two other names were called, and Duo noticed his fingers curling. He never was one to be kept waiting; if there was bad news, he rather preferred to be confronted with it immediately than to sit through another minute of uncertainty.
"I'll call out the last one," Marquise finally stated. "Those whose name hasn't been called are to remain in this class and resume their lesson."
People were shuffling with their feet a little, restless by the increasing tension. The Lightning Count gave the students one other look over before announcing the last name.
"Maxwell," rang out through the class and Duo stiffened for a mere second, before forcing himself to get up, raising his hand as well in a military salute. He left the class, looking for YH-67; he vaguely recalled it to be one of the larger conference rooms. What was going on?
When he arrived at the designated room, he saw to his relief not only Heero, but also Trowa, Quatre and Wufei there, along with several others -- counting himself, their number came to a mere sixteen. There was simply no way that Marquise would expel them all -- after all, Duo knew that the others were the top of their respective classes. Shifting closer to Heero, he was about to ask him if he knew what was going on, when the door was slammed shut and Marquise strutted through the room, followed by Lucrezia Noin.
"Welcome," he said, his voice void of any familiarity. "I'll get right down to business."
There was a silence in the room, as he swept his gaze again over the students present, before finally showing a small smile.
"Each one of you has been selected as the best and finest of your class, based on your performance at several levels: psychological and physical, not only taking your grades into account, but also your participation in extra curricular activities and your involvement with the Academy in general. You're the top sixteen of this year's draft -- however, much can change, still, and disappointments are easier to cause than to forget."
He pointed at Noin, who was holding thin, dark brown files. "Officer Noin will help me with this next part of your training, which will involve an important part of your career, no matter which discipline you'll be taking or studying. After all the simulations and theory it's about time you brought your knowledge into practice."
A wave of excitement rippled through the students; Heero even seemed to tense up more, an eager look on his face. This could mean nothing else but that the time had finally arrived to start training with real machines, real mobile suits, and not to act out simulations and scripted battles.
Noin stepped forward, files still resting on her arm. "I'll be giving you your mission orders. You'll be teaming up with someone else, also designated by me. Solo missions are for second and third years only. These missions are to be taken very seriously, as the execution thereof will consist two third of your final grade, determining whether you'll continue your training at the Academy or not. This isn't a drill, but not a 'real' mission either -- it's a special assignment to finish your first year here. Failure to comply with the mission, its specs or execution, will result into an automatic expel. The people involved in the mission you're about to receive are unaware, so any consequence is for yourself to face if you botch it, and will also result in an automatic expel. This is about working together on a mission, how you handle yourself and your teammate in a straining situation."
You could hear a pin drop in the room, and every student was standing upright, hands beside their bodies, each and every thought focusing on the mission and who they were going to be teamed up with.
Noin picked up the first of the files, slender fingers brushing the surface of the paper. "You can approach your instructor or even me for help, but keep in mind that these missions have to be executed as independent as possible -- with other words, with every time you ask me or another instructor for help, some points will be deducted. Don't come complain to me if you can't get along with the partner you've been teamed up with. Don't come complain to me if you think you're not going to make it, if something's bothering you or if anything of this makes you feel uncomfortable. The door of the Academy is always open for those who want to leave, and if you want to forfeit your chance to a glorious career, it's your choice. In wartime, you'll have to work with whatever crosses your path, and you'll have to form alliances with people you don't like or won't ever like. This is all about flexibility, your training, how you cope, how you handle. Don't disappoint us."
She started handing over the files, each and every cadet mumbling a stunned "Thank you" when accepting it. Her face softened a little, and a small smile even graced her lips as she continued: "If you have attended all your classes, if you trained well and paid attention to everything that has been taught here, you all should be able to accomplish your mission. We are very curious and looking forward to see how you're doing. Remember, after this the real training in the battlefield awaits, and you'll receive that either from me or from Zechs." She nodded at the masked man, who simply nodded back.
"Let me add," He suddenly took over, "that discussion of these missions is prohibited, unless with your teammate, of course. We will find out if someone blabbed, so be cautious. It's no use staying at a military Academy if you can't keep your mouth shut about mission details. Dismissed."
After a firm salute, the cadets left the conference room, files clutched to their chest. The most of them had already peeked at the top sheet which indicated the pairings. Some cadets were already searching each other out -- Duo saw Quatre walking next to Trowa. Quatre always walked beside Trowa -- to his amusement --, but from the look on Quatre's face, this time it was different. It was the mission; they must've been teamed up.
Duo flicked open his file and peeked at the top sheet as well. Yuy, H. For a second, he wasn't sure if he should jump in the air for joy or cower into a corner. They had kissed. There was something... 'more' brewing between them. They were cadets on the most prestigious military Academy of all Earth and the colonies. Duo didn't want to give that up... he had a promise to fulfill. He looked to the side; straight into Heero's eyes -- was he thinking the same? Would he kill that had started to bloom, or would he deny there was something to begin with?
"We're teamed up," he mouthed, and watched Heero mouth a number back to him -- the number of an empty dorm room.
The large hallways of the Academy were more silent, with this semester and the first year running to its end; the building would probably be crowded again with the next draft. Commercials and campaigns to attract new sign-ups and recruits were running all over the place; if you made a friend or family member enlist, you could even earn a free afternoon. It was much easier to find a room to discuss or to retreat to now that more than half of the dorms were empty. Duo found the dorm Heero had mentioned quickly, not surprised the other was already waiting for him, paper file on his lap.
"Here I am," Duo announced lamely, as Heero got up from the stripped bunk and walked over to him, and he wondered for a brief moment if he was going to be kissed -- but Heero took out a wedge and secured the door so no one could bother them.
"Did you already read over the mission specs?"
He swallowed another disappointment. What did he expect anyway? He had to ask himself anyway if whatever he was feeling for Heero wasn't simply lust, instead of love. They were in training to be soldiers, they were already soldiers, and at the moment war would break out every bond of friendship would cease to exist. There would be only enemies or allies, no love or bonds. Heero had been the one to valiantly preach that everyone was a liability, that no one could come close, that no...
"Yes or no?"
"No! And if you think you can use me for a simple mind-fuck, you're wrong!" Duo blurted out. The other's expression would've been funny in any other circumstance but this one. It was a mixture of shock, amazement, surprise and just plain... baffled.
"What are you talking about?"
"The kiss," Duo said. "When you kissed me in the dressing room... remember?"
"Yes, I do," Heero answered, lowering his voice. "I... I don't know..."
"Never mind," Duo sighed. "We'll be starting this mission on the wrong foot if we continue like this. Forget it ever happened, okay? I'm just a liability, and you were a... ehmm... a distraction. Nothing more, nothing less."
"Yes, the mission," the other was quick to answer, moving his head lower to stare at the file, not looking directly at Duo. He heaved another sigh. Quick and easy. It would've been too good to be true anyway.
"Do you mind me sitting next to you?"
"What? No, not at all."
"Thank you."
Duo plopped on the bed, ignoring that little voice in the back of his mind that told him that nothing really had changed. No matter how firmly he'd told Heero to 'forget it', Heero hadn't answered affirmatively to that. Just shut the fuck up.
They both opened their files at the same time and started reading the specs together.
"Holy fuck on a yankee doodle," Duo whistled. Heero's eyes grew substantially wider as well.
"They want us to steal data from Mobile Suits Chief Engineer Tubarov?"
"We're fucking fucked," was Duo's intelligent answer.
There wasn't that much time for the realization to sink in. The mission was bound to a time path, and failure to comply meant an automatic expel... something they both didn't want to risk, because they knew that even despite their high ranks and good grades, they could be expelled just like any other.
Heero turned away from Duo, leaning over the bare bed to pick up his laptop that lied next to him. "Tubarov... I don't even know where the man is."
"Wasn't he supposed to be visiting the Academy anyway for lectures on history and development of mobile suits through the last decades or something?"
He started tapping at the keyboard, pulling up windows and screens with schedules and information. A picture of Tubarov popped up and Duo grimaced.
"God, that guy is ugly."
"Primary base he works on is the Lunar Base. Chief Engineer, Head of Development, responsible for the designs of the Taurus, Aries, Leos..."
"The standard suits of the simulations."
"Exactly. The last news on the development front is that Tubarov is currently occupying himself with a model called 'Virgo'."
"Does the mission specify which model's data we have to steal?"
"Hmmm..." Heero peeked at the file. "Mobile Suit data, it says. It doesn't specify an exact model, so anything goes."
"Wait a minute... it'd be a piece of cake if Tubarov is coming here for a lecture. We'd only have to sneak into his room, crack the codes on his laptop and download the files. Hell, if he'd put some of his data on the network here, no matter how encrypted, you'd be able to pluck it off the network and decipher it."
"What do you mean?"
"Where's the challenge in that?"
Heero frowned. "The chief engineer is normally stationed at the Lunar Base. Even though we have a lot of leeway to perform these missions, I doubt they'd appreciate it if we'd hijack two mobile suits and take off to the moon. After all, only second and third years are allowed to fly real mobile suits."
"You know we can both pilot a Taurus. We aced every simulation; those suits have no secrets for us at all."
"It's too risky," Heero objected. "The staff wants to test us, not to get us in trouble on purpose -- and no matter if we can pilot the suit or not, using two mobile suits unauthorized will get us expelled."
Duo rubbed his chin pensively. "There must be another way. It's far too easy if Tubarov is coming here for some lecture and we only have to break into his room."
"I think it's pretty much risky for a first year cadet... after all, if Tubarov catches you, you're expelled. The objects of all these missions are unaware, and the variables are impressive -- we have to find out where he stays, how to get there, how to steal it from him.."
"I was cracking and hacking laptops when I was three," Duo boasted, though the stealing part wasn't that far behind the truth. "I can steal it under his very nose and make him believe that it was his entire fault to begin with."
Heero looked at him a little incredulously, before tugging his lips into the smallest of smiles. "I'd love to see that... Duo."
"Yeah," was all he could answer in return. Damnit, Yuy. Your smile can break down walls...and I... the laptop beeped.
"Tubarov's schedule," Heero murmured. "Apparently, he's to arrive here on the sixteenth."
"Final date of our mission is the seventeenth, 12:00 hours."
"That's going to be close."
"You'd have to hack the academy network, at least the secretary accounts, to find out what room they've assigned Tubarov and where he can stash his gear."
"That wouldn't be a problem. Let's see... he'll arrive late in the afternoon, and there's a special staff banquet with welcome speeches and the like."
"That'll probably take up to midnight," Duo mused, remembering the dinner at the first evening of the semester. Even Quatre, used to longwinded speeches at whatever business lunch or dinner, had complained about it. "All that time, his stuff is unguarded in his room."
"I doubt that the Chief Engineer would leave his equipment and luggage unguarded. There must be at least two guarding his room and everything within."
"Agreed. So, our whole plan of action depends on which room they assign to him..."
"If it's going to be one of the west wing's ones on the third floor, that's going to be tricky."
"I guess there's where the challenge comes into view?"
Heero laced his fingers together. "I take it lots of missions in wartime even leave less room to work with. This calls for our wit and flexibility, remember? Own initiative, working independently..."
"And being crafty," Duo said, pointing at a large picture of Tubarov, taken at a spaceport just after his arrival on another colony.
"Being crafty?"
"Exactly," he grinned. "See those two in the background? Yes, those two lackeys who carry his bags and his laptop?"
"Duo, the man comes here to..."
"Oh yes, he comes here. But what if we go to him first, steal whatever we need, and then travel back with him?"
Heero shook his head. "That's far too outrageous, Duo. A plan with holes and lots of risk, and you forget the simple fact that we need to go to the Lunar Base if we want to accompany him, and I doubt that was what the mission intended..."
"The mission specs never specify that we're not allowed to go see the man first. As long as we deliver the requested data before the deadline and Tubarov doesn't notice a thing, we're safe. We write up our mission report and we get graded -- and enroll in the next year, of course."
"We don't have much time."
"We have opportunities -- and if we don't have them, we create them. Com'on, Heero, we have to show what we're worth for. Now it's not the time to pussyfoot around anything."
"Pussyfoot?"
"Yeah, pussyfoot... like, being extra careful?"
"I see." He closed his laptop. "All right, we have to break up here. You have tactics class, and I have to be at the tracks in half an hour."
"All right. We talk about this after class... say, before dinner time?"
"All right," Heero repeated. "Before dinner time."
"Don't worry about it," Duo said before leaving, remembering at the last minute to remove the wedge before opening the door. The hallway was empty and he made a beeline for his locker, to grab his binder before hurrying to class.
"Don't worry about it?"
"About what, Duo Maxwell?" Heero said softly, putting the laptop next to him, sliding it into its protective hard case. Don't worry about the mission? No, he wasn't worried at all about the mission. They both were the top of their class, this mission shouldn't be too difficult to accomplish. I worry about you. He was relieved that Duo hadn't noticed that he knew the other's schedule on top off his head. He could have, however, smashed his head hard against the metal railings of the bunk bed because of him not saying outright what he'd wanted to say.
For lowering his eyes, for avoiding eye contact. He, Heero Yuy, with almost a patented glare of doom, had avoided to look into the other's eyes.
Every cell in his body had protested against Duo's too airily "Forget about it", and even though he lacked in the department of people's skills, Heero recognized disappointment and hurt when he heard it. Hadn't he seen through Duo before? Wasn't he as naked before him as Duo was to him? They didn't need to uphold any mask, image, or pretension for the other. As much as he was the perfect soldier and the top of his every class, he was himself, Heero Yuy, with all his faults and imperfections, to Duo Maxwell.
He thought he'd learned that lesson, but apparently not enough. What was it again? They were human... humans with all the faults humans made. He was perfect in soldier mode, and imperfect in human mode, and Duo seemed to accept his human side more and easier than any other side. He needed Duo; it was as simple as that. It wasn't only his almost uncontrollable urge to bury his hands in that mass of hair, to kiss him completely senseless and every deity in existence knew that he had come this close to throwing Duo on the bench in that dressing room and have his way with him, right there and then. It was about... life. He needed Duo to live. Why didn't he say that immediately when he came into this room? Heero gritted his teeth. This couldn't be love, this couldn't be care. It was nonsense, plain nonsense! It was his greatest fear -- Duo was his greatest fear that had come alive: liability. He buried his hands in his hair, not wanting to see through the jungle of stray thoughts and frazzled emotions that was battling in his mind.
As no one was allowed to discuss mission details, every topic of conversation at the dinner tables carefully avoided everything that had to do with 'mission' in the first place. The separation between those who had been selected for the missions and those who hadn't made the cut was even larger, as the two groups were pointedly sitting far away from each other. The non-mission group was dutifully sulking; they knew that active fieldwork wasn't meant for them.
Duo merely shrugged at Quatre's remark about the other group. "Fine, so they don't become active field agents or mobile suit pilots. There's plenty of work for engineers, mechanics, and mission planners. There's more work to be done behind the scenes than they think. It's not all Hallelujah and Heaven when you get to work in the field."
Trowa snickered a little, cutting his French beans into half. "For such a religious type, you certainly mock your own nest, Duo."
He made a dismissive gesture. "You don't know a thing about it, tall guy. Besides, if everyone kept taking himself so seriously it'd be a graveyard around here."
"Agreed," Quatre said, smiling a little. He glanced at the others, even at Wufei who was sulking to the extreme; the Chinese cadet not liking that he had to work together with another person. Duo didn't know the one Wufei was paired up, but pitied the guy -- not Wufei, but the other one. If he'd made it out alive without being sliced into two with a katana, Duo would recommend him for a medal.
Quatre turned his head back, the same smile still on his face. "Guys, I've been thinking about something. I'm sure we'll succeed accomplishing these missions, but even so, with all the possibilities this Academy has to offer, our paths are going to be different. Who knows what the future will bring and all that... it could be that we end up on totally different sides of the spectrum."
"Your point being?" Wufei muttered grumpily, still not too thrilled having to work together -- being forced to work together.
"I want us to stay in touch, no matter what," Quatre said, ignoring his grumpy undertone. "Because I have the feeling that the five of us.. the way we are, the way we have been around here, the way we're going to be.. is going to be pretty important. Even though we'll probably be separated, going into different directions... I want us to exchange ways of contact, secure contact -- that we can use to reach each other in any way possible, no matter what the circumstances."
"The five of us... going to be important?" Trowa frowned slightly, but not in a disapproving manner. The look on Heero's face was blank at best, and Duo looked from Quatre to Trowa and back again; it seemed that Trowa had already accepted Quatre's words as if there was no doubt about it they would end up to be pretty important to whatever the future might hold.
"You can mock me all you want," Quatre said, not directing his words at Trowa, but at Wufei and Heero. "I simply wish for us all to do this -- a simple gesture."
"Fine," Wufei grunted and Heero said the same, focusing his attention back to his food. Duo grinned a little. No matter how angelic Quatre looked, it was deceiving for his hard-to-talk-back-to character.
As everyone obeyed the rule not to discuss their mission details, Duo and Heero were unaware of the orders the others had received. Even though their dorm was one of the last in its original and full occupation, and they'd describe themselves as 'friends', they didn't have that much interaction as life at the Academy was hard and time-consuming enough. Trowa and Quatre spiraled towards each other just as Duo and Heero had done, and Wufei didn't mind being the outsider -- unbeknownst to him yet, he'd have a difficult time facing that working alone wasn't the solution to everything. Duo wasn't sure if Quatre was feeling more for Trowa or vice versa, just as he wasn't sure about Heero. While they worked hours together on mission details, optimizing and perfecting their plans, they never exchanged anything more personal, and Duo feared that he, after all, had to accept that Heero didn't return the feelings... and he certainly didn't accept being a quick lay, no matter what. The kiss was probably just to test him, how far he'd go... Duo wasn't mad about it, or disappointed. These kind of things happened, and he was proud that he hadn't allowed himself to be taken advantage of -- not that Heero seemed the abusing type to him. He tried to push every thought of the kiss and its implications to the back of his mind, but it was difficult with the center of his attention sitting right in front or next to him.
So far, they figured out that the next shipment from the Academy to the Lunar Base with snail mail, technical supplies and some other bulk goods, was to take place the fifteenth. It was a simple move to hack into the school's administrative system and change the names of cadets Mueller and Alex to Duo Maxwell and Heero Yuy. Shipments were always accompanied by two adults and two cadets; officially such a task was for elder students only, but they both were counting on hardly any objections. Anyone accompanying a shipment to the Lunar Base had been complaining about boredom -- and it was a public secret that first year students were often taking the place of their elders for just the right price. Still, it was a traditional procedure, in case someone would try to steal the goods or hijack the flight. While preparing for the upcoming flight, Duo took out his lock picks from the hidden compartment in his suitcase, looking at the tools of his trade. Even in this modern time filled with electronics, old-fashioned lock picks often came in handy, and he rolled them into a roll of film, wrapping a black bandana around the small package, as to prevent it from being picked up by the scanners at the spaceport.
Heero prepared his laptop, checking up on all the ports and cables to make sure it was in perfect condition -- changing the battery for a full charged one and packing an extra just in case; this was serious business. The only thing that was 'missing' was that it wasn't war; but that could change any moment as the political scene was changing drastically, especially after Relena Peacecraft seeking out the publicity and declaring herself Queen of the World. For some reason, Marquise and Noin had been absent, leaving instructions for the other trainers and teachers should a student need their help. The world was changing, lives were changing, and he was worrying about a fictional mission. He narrowed his eyes, glaring at the laptop. Fictional or not, it was a mission and he was going to accomplish it. He had Doctor J. to thank for this special laptop, and the man hadn't prepared and trained him for nothing. War was inevitable; and he was the one going to make a difference. It wouldn't matter if the burden was on his shoulders alone. His choice. His decision. His emotion.
"Ready?"
He startled, almost throwing the laptop off his lap to scramble for a gun. Duo stood in the door opening, black cap on his head, withdrawing his eyes from sight.
"Sheesh Heero, that's the first time I'm able to startle you."
"Stop sneaking around," Heero snarled, but his voice missed any impact. He didn't like being surprised like this, but it had been his own fault. Daydreaming. Me.
"I'm the stealth expert around here, how can I not sneak?" Duo replied, and walked into the room. "We have to report in fifteen minutes for our guarding duty."
"You finished packing?"
"Yes, I'm all set, oh lord and master."
"Quit... ah, never mind." Heero shoved the laptop into its protective case and picked up the small bag. It wasn't really clear how soon they'd be returning to the Academy, as there wasn't a return flight planned on the same day. Heero had searched every agenda and schedule possible, and Duo hadn't seen the problem. Tubarov was leaving the sixteenth; even if that was the only flight back, there should be plenty of opportunity to catch it. His ears had itched at hearing Duo's light-hearted comment -- he rather planned the mission into every bloody detail, to the very second.
"All right, let's go," Heero said and flung the bag over his shoulder, his other hand gripping the laptop case hard, and his knuckles almost turning white. Duo nodded, picking up his own overnight bag and swaggering on his way out.
"Our flight is being announced," he said with a wide grin on his face. Heero heard the announcement via the intercom system as well. He wasn't nervous in the least; this was where he'd been training for.
"Right on time."
"Identification card ready?"
"Ready," he said. There was always plan B if they were denied access, but as Duo had predicted -- with more conviction than Heero had wanted to believe at first --, no one of the two adults glanced more than a few seconds at their identification cards, not mentioning anything about their status as first year cadets.
"Welcome aboard to an extremely dull flight," the taller one of the two said. "It's a late flight, and we'll be staying at the Lunar Base to return in the morning."
"Not together with Tubarov?" Duo asked, rather bluntly.
The shorter man barked a short laugh. "The Chief Engineer doesn't travel with us commoners, the lowlife scum of the Academy. You'll only get to catch a glimpse of him if you're a lieutenant-colonel or higher."
"Bastard," the taller man gritted between his teeth. "Space suits on, kiddies. You're familiar with the procedures, don't make me repeat myself."
"Yes sir," Heero and Duo echoed and quickly suited up, adjusting their helmets and gear. They'd be traveling with a freight ship of course; slower than a commercial flight, but the travel time was limited to four hours; technology had progressed rapidly the last decades. It would leave them some time to reflect on their mission plans and coming up with even more alternatives.
It didn't surprise Heero that Duo nodded off as soon as they cleared the launching platform, leaving Earth behind them. How he could fall asleep in that uncomfortable suit -- no matter how good the material looked on him -- was a mystery, but he decided to follow Duo's example -- a soldier should get rest at every opportunity available. There was nothing to do on this flight but to listen to the others gossip anyway; apparently this Alex and Mueller had accompanied supply flights like this one before and they weren't the easiest characters to deal with. It was pure gossip, nothing was any useful information and Heero slowly but surely dozed off as well, waking up every now and then to check up on his surroundings -- but after two hours, the two adults were either silent because they'd ran out of gossip or were simply napping too.
Chapter 2 | Chapter 4