Duo woke slowly. It took him several minutes to realize that he had woken on his own, with no one thrashing in the grip of a nightmare, or trying to wake him from one. That alone was decidedly odd, and he lay with his eyes closed for a long moment savoring the feeling.
"I could get used to this," he murmured softly, curling closer to the warm body at his back.
"Good," Zechs whispered back, just as softly. After a moment, his arm tightened around Duo's waist and pulled him even closer. "I certainly intend to."
Finally opening his eyes, Duo grinned to himself, then squirmed around to face his partners. Dorothy was still asleep, her head resting in the curve of Zechs' right shoulder. Duo mirrored the position sleepily
"Yeah... well... don't expect to get the middle every single night." Duo poked him, then closed his eyes again.
"It was my idea."
"So?"
"If you two don't shut up, there isn't going to be a middle," Dorothy growled, dragging the blanket over her head. "Cause you'll both be sleeping on the couch."
"Sorry Doro," Zechs kissed the top of her head, then grinned as two blue eyes glared blearily up at him. "Go back to sleep."
"M'wake now... what time is it?" She shoved two shades of blond hair out of her face, then closed her eyes again.
"Don't know. Don't care." Duo shrugged, then reached out to tangle his fingers in the loose blond hair. "You guys are going to be Siamese twins soon."
"All the more reason to stay in bed for as long as possible," Zechs sighed. "I suppose now you're going to rub it in that you bothered to braid your mess of hair and we didn't."
"Would I do that?" Duo smirked at his companions.
"In a heartbeat," Dorothy sighed. "This is nice though."
"It is," Zechs murmured softly.
"Someone is getting spoiled." Duo raised up on one elbow and grinned down at the older man.
"You say that like it's a bad thing." Zechs tightened the arm he still had around Duo's waist, and pulled him down to his chest.
"No, not at all."
Trowa looked away from Heero's laptop with a sigh as Quatre and Heero began dividing the remaining passengers in the shuttle into two groups: those staying with the shuttle, and those who would be making the trek through the colony to the medical bay.
After spending most of the last hour memorizing schematics for the new colony, Trowa wasn't sure that having any of them leave the relative safety of the shuttle was a good plan. The colony itself, while finished enough to house nearly two hundred workers and craftsmen, was practically deserted otherwise. The only reason that the inauguration was taking place while it was still in the process of being built, was for the political and social impact that opening a new colony exactly one year after the end of the war would have on the citizens of the UESN.
The colony itself had only one functioning Hangar bay at the moment, and three quarters of the ring were still sealed and empty. The fourth quarter held the few buildings that had been erected in the ring, including a hotel where most of the Senators would have stayed.
The medical center, as well as the main living quarters for the construction crews, were located inside the core. Fortunately, the medical ward was close enough to the ring that the trip there would not be as arduous as what they'd already undertaken on the other colonies. It was the possibility, depending on what they found on the colony, of having to travel all the way to the control room that had him worried.
"Ok, we have fourteen injured seriously enough to need to go to the medical bay immediately." Heero glanced around the shuttle with a preoccupied frown. "The rest have only minor injuries. Until we have more information on what is waiting for us on the colony, they will stay here with the sweepers. Howard, you're in charge. I want this shuttle ready to leave again immediately."
"Understood." The older man sighed. "What about the Maganac shuttle?"
"They have fewer injured on board," Heero shrugged. "But there are only eight Maganacs, seven Preventers and three Sweepers on that shuttle, plus another seventeen colonists."
"I don't like this," Trowa muttered, glancing back down at the schematics. "We don't know what's waiting for us on that station."
Heero glanced at him questioningly.
Trowa shrugged. "I think we should look around first, before anyone else sets a foot on that deck. Howard and the sweepers can refuel and get the ships ready while we take a look around. Then, if everything checks out, we find vehicles to transport the injured and make our way to the Medical Center then."
"You think this is a trap?" Quatre frowned at the schematics.
"I don't know what to think...except that I don't think we should head straight for the medical center, especially not with a large number of injured." Trowa sighed, then turned the laptop around to face them. "Once we leave the Hangar Bay, we have to cross an open expanse of Quadrant One. There are minimal buildings or cover until we get here. It's another three kilometers to the entrance to the core and Medical. We'll be completely exposed when we cross the ring."
"If Ahmed's men can take them to the med center, we can look around. It would be more efficient to do both at the same time," Quatre mused, frowning at the schematics.
"And if there is a threat there, you'll be scattered," Howard shook his head. "It will take us an hour to refuel and another hour to do full checks on both ships. And if you four are going to be out there stirring up trouble, I'd just as soon the rest of the Maganacs and Preventers were here watching our backs while we do so."
"Who said anything about stirring up trouble?" Trowa hid his grin at Quatre's petulant frown.
"Hm. Four ex-Gundam pilots on a recon mission into possibly hostile territory? The only thing that could make trouble truly inevitable-"
"-is five ex-Gundam Pilots," Trowa finished for him. "Plus Melvin and his alcohol supply."
"Thank the gods for small miracles." Howard shook his head. "But I have a feeling that the four of you will be enough this time."
Heero scowled thoughtfully, and Trowa could read the conflict in his eyes. "We can't afford to take the time to search the entire colony first. While no one is in critical condition, there are several injured very seriously, including Ivanovich." He sighed. "The sooner we reach the medical center, the sooner we can get everyone back to the ship."
"Can we at least check out the hanger? Perhaps find transportation?"
Heero hesitated again, then nodded shortly. "Quatre, have Ahmed and his men get the injured ready to move as soon as we clear the hanger. Trowa, have Crowley and Hawes go with them. Lowell will stay here with Relena and the sweepers."
"Four minutes to dock." One of the sweepers currently serving as co-pilot leaned out of the cockpit. "I think you guys might want to come take a look at the hanger though."
Howard and Heero looked grimly at each other, and then both headed for the cockpit. As soon as he'd given his orders to Crowley, Trowa followed.
When he squeezed into the small space, it was to find the others staring at the vidscreen images of four ships docked in the small hangar. There was no sign of damage; from the lights along the active quadrant, power was still functioning within the colony. But nothing else was moving, no shuttles, no construction suits- nothing.
"Chang, did you try raising one of those ships?" Heero frowned.
"Yes." Wufei shook his head. "No one is responding."
"Take us into Bay 7." Howard pointed at an empty section of docking berths, separated from the other ships in the hanger by a stretch of empty docks. "Have Ahmed take Bay 8."
"Why those two?"
"They're close together, and nearer to the hangar entrance to the ring. It might save a little time on the trek- and I don't trust this. It's too damn quiet."
"Let's go," Heero growled. "Howard- take her in. Chang, we're heading into the hangar as soon as we hit dock."
"Suited?"
"I think so, at least until we have a better idea of what the situation is in there."
Wufei quickly changed places with Howard, leaving the final approach to the two Sweepers.
"Be careful in there," Howard threw them a last glance. "I still don't want to have to tell Duo you all got dead."
"Take care of this shuttle," Heero growled. "At the first sign of trouble-get Relena off this colony."
Howard just grunted at them, already engaged in lining up the shuttle with the bay. A task that was all the more difficult without docking assistance from the colony hangar crews.
The hanger was eerily deserted, a sharp contrast to the chaos and crowds in L2-v08997. Yet there was no sign of damage and all the lights were on, a fact that did not reassure any of them in the least. Trowa shivered as he followed Heero out of the docking tube and onto the deck. Behind them, Quatre muttered something in Arabic as the four gathered on the deserted deck. The blond studied the sensor in his hand grimly for a moment, then sighed.
"Air pressure is normal, and so is the oxygen level. The colony hasn't vented."
Heero frowned, then nodded sharply. "Quat, you and Chang check out the other ships. Trowa and I will find the dock offices. The lights are on, so computers should be operational. We meet at the ring entrance in fifteen minutes."
"Right." Quatre and Wufei headed to their left, towards the bays where the four ships were docked. Turning away from them, Trowa looked up at the large observation windows lining the inner walls of the hangar. The dock offices were one level up, among the windows that looked down over the expanse of bays.
"Ahmed, Crowley-get the injured ready to move, but I don't want anyone but Howard's team off that shuttle until we give the word."
/"Understood, Captain."/
Taking a deep breath, Trowa headed across the deck towards the far side of the cavernous space. The only sound he could hear was the soft thud of Heero's footsteps in his wake. They moved cautiously across the open deck, unable to tell if any observers stood behind the dark reflective glass above them. Behind them, two of the Sweepers in borrowed suits emerged cautiously from the shuttle and began to manually attach the fuel umbilical to the shuttle.
/"No bodies,"/ Wufei reported, as he reached the first of the docking tubes and peered up it warily, gun in hand. /"Hatches are open. Bay and Ship are both pressurized."/
"So where is everyone?" Trowa growled as he found the nondescript entrance to the stairwell leading to the offices. Pushing the door open warily, he craned his head cautiously to look up the stairs. Heero moved to peer over the railing of the lower staircase. The door closed behind them with a hollow thunk as Trowa stepped warily onto the first step.
"Watch for traps," Heero said grimly. "Quatre, you picking up anything?"
/"No."/ There was a grim note to the blonde's voice. /"Nothing yet. I can't feel anyone."/
"Keep trying."
/"Yuy... the refueling pumps have been shut down. You guys are going to have to manually turn them back on if we're going to get these ships back off this dock."/ Howard's voice wafted over the com system.
"Understood." Heero met Trowa's eyes with a grimace that was visible through the helmet he wore. "Where are the controls?"
"Down two levels...beneath the hangar." Trowa stepped back down to the landing. "Looks like the upper level is yours. I'll get the fuel turned back on for Howard."
"Be careful."
"You too, Heero. I'll meet you upstairs or at the ring."
Trowa began a cautious descent into the lower levels of the hangar as Heero started up the staircase above him. While he was grateful that they didn't have to maneuver solely by wristlight, the absolute silence and stillness on the colony was making his skin crawl.
Even worse was the feeling of being completely alone. It hadn't been so bad while he could see the suited forms of his friends, but the feeling of isolation was nagging at him now, and he could feel the nightmarish images of floating alone in space building up behind his eyes. Forcing them back with a growl, he concentrated on his surroundings and the faintly muffled echo of Heero's footsteps in the stairwell above him.
/"Tro?"/ The concern in Heero's voice was obvious. /"What's wrong?"/
"I'm fine," he muttered through gritted teeth. "Just wishing Duo and his music collection were here right now. It's too damn quiet."
/"Yeah."/ There was a note of rueful surprise in Heero's voice. /"I'm beginning to understand his need for noise on occasion. Though he still takes it to extremes most of the time."/
"Sometimes." Trowa stopped outside the fire door at the bottom of the staircase and studied the locking mechanism briefly. "I'm at the entrance to the pump station. Howard... don't they normally keep these locked?"
/"Yeah. That's not an area you want just anyone wandering into anytime they feel like it. You'll have to hack into the control pad itself to bypass the locking mechanism."/
"No need." Trowa tightened gloved fingers around the comforting weight of his gun.
/"What?"/ Howard sounded uneasy. /"Why?"/
"Cause this one- is unlocked." Flattening to the wall as much as possible, he reached out to lay a gloved hand on the heavy door. "Heading in."
/"Understood. Stay in touch. And be careful,"/ Heero growled.
"Watch your own back, Heero." He rolled his eyes. Like he was going to get distracted here. The colony felt wrong-and he wanted nothing more than to head back to the shuttle. Turn the pumps on first, idiot, he told himself firmly, or there won't be any reason to go back to the shuttle.
Taking a moment to prepare himself, he cautiously pushed the door open and slipped quickly inside, gun swinging to cover the vast room. Though the lights were still on, there were fewer of them. Long shadows filled the far edges of the room and left pockets of darkness between the large fuel tanks. Forcing down his unease, he headed for the control console on the far wall.
Heero found himself oddly tempted to abandon his own mission as he listened to the fading sounds of Trowa's footsteps in the empty stairwell. Shaking his head with another grimace, he forced himself to start up the stairs toward the main dock offices.
He paused at the top of the stairs for a moment, before pushing open the door cautiously and emerging into a long hallway. To his right were several of the observation windows looking down over the hangar. He could see the two Sweepers working to connect the ship to the fuel pumps. At Ahmed's ship were two more suited figures working on the same task. Nothing else stirred in the empty hangar.
To his left, were a series of doors leading to the main docking hangar control rooms. He moved carefully to the first one and slipped inside. And found nothing. There were no bodies, no blood- no signs of struggle at all. But there were also no people, a direct violation of protocol with ships docked in the hangar.
/"Heero?"/
"It's clear," He muttered, frowning as he turned to study the room again. "Nobody home."
/"Watch yourself. Something is-not right here."/
He didn't bother to answer, just moved toward the main computer console. The computer was on; who ever had been using it last had not bothered to log out before abandoning his post either. A cup of coffee, long cold and with a skin growing over the top was on the desk in front of it, along with a half eaten bagel. The only thing in the entire office that looked out of place was a handheld datapad lying on the floor in front of the main window, mostly hidden behind the secondary tracking console. He picked it up, and the screen shifted quickly from standby mode to active to reveal a roster of ships that had been in the dock over the last two weeks.
Tucking the pad into his belt pouch, he turned back to the computer instead. The colony readouts were showing green across the board. Typing in commands was awkward in the suits heavy gloves, and he sighed as he began running systems checks.
TBC