Operation: Hurricane

Chapter Six

"You people were being pretty ambitious with this project…" Sally Po-Chang spoke more to herself than her new… partner, for lack of a better term. She dropped the clipboard she had been reading from onto her desk, rubbing her eyes. She glanced over her shoulder after tossing her braid over it. She was sure he heard the remark, though; he turned away from the computer he had been working on to look through the window into Trinity's room beside them. She immediately regretted the harsh tone she had apparently put into it. She forced her voice to remain a bit calmer. "Doctor Lange?"

He seemed to wave off the inquiry as he turned back to the computer. "You remember the war, Doctor Po. I'm sure you remember the lengths people went through to for protection for their families…" He didn't elaborate on it, leaving it at that, he didn't have to. "You said her device was damaged during a self-detonation six years ago," it wasn't really meant as a change of subject, but Sally was grateful to accept it as such. "Any damage would have caused it to reset, going back to its original programming, which is why the command program wouldn't be able to reconnect to it. We… sort of designed it that way so whoever was running the show couldn't terminate the devices with a command if something went wrong… 01, 02, and 03 were just designations given by the command program to the devices in her and her counterparts…" He finally allowed a glance in her direction. "I assume the other girls are…"

He didn't say any further, but she knew his inquiry. "Preventers Lightning and Thunder are nearby." She had to be careful how she referred to the others. She wasn't sure if Lange knew who they were or not, after all, it seemed he was more than surprised to find out that Tempest was the mother of his son's best friend. "But the attack didn't affect them as greatly. It was singling Tempest out. Is there another way of connecting to a specific device?"

He nodded. "If Barton has the original serial numbers for each device, which I've no doubt he does. He confiscated any and all documentation we had on it. He was targeting her, specifically. He could do the same to Lightning and Thunder, if he wants to. And, as you've seen, even the inhibitors can't stop him... Why was she on them, anyway? That combination of drugs causes heavy emotional distress. That's what caused 03 the initial meltdown that damaged her and 02's devices."

Sally raised a questioning brow. "Emotional meltdown? Both Lowe's reports and the ones Tempest stole from Barton six years ago showed it was a training accident…"

Caleb leaned back in his chair, heaving a very heavy sigh. "We… made a lot of mistakes with the project… When we noticed 03 showing some of the same symptoms of fighting the device that two of the failures had… the only way we could think to save her, was to try to limit the connection she had to the device. She had a meltdown during the training exercise while connected to 02 and the computer they were working with at the time. The computer was fried and they were left in bad shape. We wrote it off as a training accident so Barton and Lowe wouldn't know we were involved… If your two Preventers hadn't shown when they did, they would have been executed just like the others… I'm… surprised they survived anyway."

"They were trained to survive…" Sally muttered, but it wasn't lost on Caleb.

"So I gathered… Lowe seemed proud of them, especially 01. He once called her his greatest creation…" He shook his head. "Barton was particularly fond of her as well… He said the other two were expendable, but we had to take care of 01…" His next thought was silent, but Sally was pretty sure she could read it in his face. That's because he was fucking her…

She said nothing for a minute. She ran a hand over her head, pulling her thoughts together. "Back to the devices… You said each device had its own serial number. There's nothing listed in the reports that we have. Would it be printed on the device itself? And, if so, would it be visible on an x-ray?"

"You DO know how small those damned things are, right?" He ignored the glare she shot his way and just nodded. "Yes, they should be on the device… if you can get a picture enlarged enough and clear enough to read them…" He leaned forward in his chair, briefly glancing at Trinity in the other room, seeming in thought for a moment. "…and… the radiation might just be enough to reset her device again… It'll break whatever connection he has on her at the moment, not to say he won't re-establish it, but it'll give her some relief for a little while…"

"How long that 'little while' would depend on how fast he catches on to the fact that the connection's been broken… right?" A brow rose as she watched him, nodding along.

"Long enough for us to reprogram her device's serial number… that is IF you've got the original program that Lowe designed… He wouldn't have given that to Barton…"

"I'll have to get Une's permission… to carry it out and to give you access to that information…" She glanced through the window with a small smile. It was the first flicker of hope they'd had in days. "Though with the life of one of her best agents on the line, I've no doubt she'll give it." She reached for the receiver on the intercom.

"I have one more question, real quick…," he started while looking back to Trinity and Sally paused with her hand on the receiver. "During the last evaluation I made on 01, before everything went to hell and back with their escape…" He looked back to her. "She was pregnant… The child survived?"

Sally's hand left the receiver and she leaned back in his chair, her eyes narrowing only briefly. "Yes… She did…" She heard another's voice in her mind, which hardly startled her these days, as the Stormer's relied so heavily on their mental ability. Barton is Nika's father…? She flinched a little, but he seemed to pay no mind, lost in his own thoughts. A little softer, Iz, please? The headache's bad enough…, she thought towards her as she received an apologetic nudge in return.

Kalli slammed a fist against the arm of the cockpit seat as yet another session was completed, her eyes hardening their gaze on her husband's. "Another flawless score… Why is this necessary?"

The low, cool tone of her voice was every indication that the simulations Trowa had programmed were doing nothing to ease the aggression continuing to build within her. He said nothing for a moment, attempting to avoid the gaze of the new soldier that had returned to Kalli's eyes. "Until the Lady and general authorize the reinstatement of the Storm, you are a civilian, not my superior. The gundam pilots have authority over the situation." He forced his emotions in check as he finally lifted his eyes to hers. This was the hardest thing he believed he'd ever had to do.

"How dare you speak to me that way?" Her eyes narrowed on him. She was NOT about to be treated like a subordinate by this sorry excuse for a soldier! Her mind reached out to seize his, emphasizing her superiority. "Do you honestly believe that you have ANY authority over ME? Active or not the Storm ALWAYS has authority…" As she mentally forced him to take a few steps back, she stood.

"Kalli…," he whispered, pleading, shaking as his muscles tried to fight her control. The pain behind his eyes was almost blinding as he tried to recover his soldier's instincts. He fought his lungs to cooperate in breathing, which she also seemed to have control over, then suddenly lightheadedness replaced the pain and he lost any hold he had on trying to recover himself. He barely heard the gunshot that resonated through the hanger, all he knew of was the sudden breath he gasped in as he felt her control over him lost. He fell to his knees, taking gasping breaths, at the same time she collapsed into him, his wide eyes looking up through sweat and tears.

"It's just a tranquilizer." Heero's voice was cool, but far from calm as he stood a few feet from them, lowering the gun in his trembling hand. Trinity would kill him for that, if Quatre didn't beat her to it, but he would have done the same to either of them if they were out of control. He closed his eyes a moment to regain his own senses before they opened again, shifting from her unconscious form to Trowa. "You alright?"

Trowa, very shakily, wrapped his arms around his wife, holding her as he nodded. Heero knew it was a lie. He didn't have to say a word. "What the hell is going on around here?" he whispered as Heero knelt beside him, placing his gun in its holster.

"I don't know," he answered as he carefully checked for Kalli's pulse. The tranquilizer he'd used was probably a little much for her bodyweight, but he couldn't take chances. "I know you tried to give her an outlet, but simulations are no replacement for actual battle." He reached into his pocket, removing his cell phone and flipped it open, dialing what had become a fairly familiar. "Sally, send a stretcher to the Gundam hanger for Lightning… Heavy tranq… We'll tell you about it when we get down there…" He flipped it shut before sliding it back into his pocket.

"What's happened to me, Heero? I'm not the soldier I should be…" Trowa avoided his gaze, his eyes remaining on Kalli as he loosened his hold on her to push the hair away from her sleeping face.

"None of us are, Trowa. It's been years since the last big threat, we've all grown soft." Heero raised a brow and attempted to pull Trowa's focus on him. He finally grabbed Trowa's chin, firmly, pulling his head up until their eyes met, his gaze hardened. "Trowa… It's a consequence of peace… None of us are the solid soldiers we were during the war… It's up to us to prevent soldiers like that from being required. Kalli's subconscious still doesn't understand that, her hatred is so strong." He shook his head.

"We would be called fools by our younger selves, Trowa, weak by our own standards. But even Wufei has changed his definitions of weakness and strength after marrying Sally and becoming a father." Again, he shook his head, releasing his hold on Trowa's chin. He sighed and his eyes softened.

"No, Trowa, we aren't the soldiers we were, but that doesn't mean it's who we SHOULD be… Back then we didn't have anything to lose... now we have everything to lose. At the same time…" He paused another moment. "At the same time... we can't be afraid to fight AGAINST that which we are afraid to lose."

Before Duo even reached the ground after exiting the shuttle, Izreina's arms were wrapped around his neck in a fierce hug. "I'm sorry for calling you back from your vacation, Bro." The muffled words hadn't even finished leaving her lips as she broke down in tears, burying even further into him as he wrapped one arm around her waist, the other holding on to his duffle bag until he could pull her away from the stairs so everyone else could get off.

A few steps to the side and Quatre took his bag, giving him a brief shake before that arm circled around her, holding her tightly. "S'okay, Rainy. You girls are a lot more important." He gave a concerned look to Quatre as a hand rubbed his sister's back while she sobbed into his shoulder, mentally relaying what had happened so far. He couldn't really make too much of the visions swarming around in his head, but it was VERY clear just how upset she was about the whole thing. "Two Stormers in the Med Center…man ain't this familiar…?" he whispered, shaking his head. "You been taking care of yourself, right?"

He gave his sister a brief glance, hoping to catch her eye, but she just continued to hide herself, trying to control her sobs. He didn't need a reminder of the closeness of her to her sisters-in-arms. When one Stormer fell, it wouldn't be long before the others did, as well. Now two were down, but Izreina had been holding herself together pretty well, he could tell. Duo was very appreciated to have Quatre for a brother-in-law. He didn't have to worry, Quatre would make sure his sister was well taken care of.

"She's been a trooper… Because of Jacob's connection to Trinity, she's done pretty well taking care of herself so that he can be taken care of." Quatre gave the twins a small smile, though concern filled his eyes, silently adding, I wish I could say the same for Kalli... He gave a quick look around the place, avoiding the gaze his wife now shot him, before turning back to Duo, a brow raised. "Hilde and DJ didn't come with you?"

DJ was the nickname used for Duo, junior. Just about everyone felt ill at ease calling Duo's son "junior", as if they needed a constant reminder that Duo's annoying personality was just as alive in his son, who HE called "Mini-me", which was even more disturbing to the others.

"Nah," he gave Izreina a nudge with his shoulder to get her to back off just a bit and kept one arm around her as he followed Quatre to the car. He didn't miss the glare she had sent her husband and a brow rose as he looked at her. He nodded when she silently informed him she'd tell him later. "She decided to stick around and wait for Lena, figured she could at least offer to help babysit Aaron during the conference… Wu-man's already said his security guys won't do it, they'll do their job, but they won't babysit… not after last time…"

Quatre did his best to hide the grin, knowing very well the 'last time' Duo was referring to. "Yes, Aaron is very much his father's son… I don't blame Wufei's team at all… I've never seen anyone disarm that many guards and disassemble their weapons so quickly… without anyone noticing… well… besides Heero…" He failed at hiding his amusement. Leave it to Heero's son to keep people on their toes. And leave it to Duo to be able to cheer anyone up, despite the circumstances. "How many did they end up having to replace?"

"Sixteen Preventer-issued firearms… Plus one of Wu's antiques…" Duo scratched his head for a moment while counting, giving Izreina a wide grin and a wink as he heard her try to stifle a chuckle. "Was a surprise to hear he took the assignment, but I guess he really didn't have a choice…"

If Relena had to trust anyone else than Heero to be in charge of her security, it was another gundam pilot, if not her brother. She most certainly wouldn't have asked Heero or Zechs to leave with Trinity in such critical condition. Quatre had triple trouble, between Izreina, Jacob, and Kalli. And the short story Duo had managed to interpret from Izreina's visions was that Trowa was in bad shape, as well. It seemed he'd need a really cool head to help everyone get through this; certainly his personality could do the job on its own, as long as he could keep that cool head.

"Are you certain Hilde's up to the task? I'm sure Wufei will enjoy having someone else keeping Aaron occupied, but…" Quatre raised a brow as he passed Duo's bag off to one of his assistants.

"What are you talking about? The kid loves his Aunt Hilde, and Hilde loves kids. There ain't one she's refused to babysit yet."

"Duo, dear…" Izreina didn't succeed in holding in the laugh, holding her sides as she laid her head on her brother's shoulder, walking alongside him, happy to be relieved of her worry, even if it's just for the moment. "It's a proven fact… that putting a Maxwell child and a Yuy child in the same room together for any length of time is highly inadvisable. Disarming guards and taking apart their weapons to the point they CAN'T be put back together is nothing compared to what those two can come up with to relieve boredom…"

"Aah, Hilde'll be fine… She ain't no pushover when it comes to Mini-me," he shook his head, giving them a very confident smile. "Aaron can't be too much more for her to handle, right?"