Disclaimer- see Ch. 1

Warnings – shounen-ai, war themes, language, slightly OOCness, AU, movie quotes (yes I'm serious, that requires a warning…), Relena's not exactly a pacifist anymore. Anything in THESE talking on those walkie-talkie phones.

A/N:: As per Jess-eklom's review (my first one for this chapter, YAY jess-eklom) I have fixed the conversation with Sally and Wufei and Dorothy (essentially by eliminating it…) and I glanced over (skim-read) the chapter and I found the other bit, so that is all fixed.

Fight or Flight

Chapter Eleven – Stage One

o0o0o0o0o

Several hours later, after everyone at the base was settled for a final night's sleep before their missions, Sally had finally reached her destination. She stood on the top of the tallest hill, staring up at the three huge satellites framed in the dark light. The small storm had disappeared, leaving behind the larger storm clouds still brewing overhead, and they left little moonlight for her to see by. She grabbed a flashlight out of her pack, along with a small scanner and a notepad and walked the remaining few feet to her goal. She popped the rusted lock off the main panel and looked it over briefly. She grabbed two of the wires and plugged them into her scanner, hitting the power button and setting it on the screen. She dug through her pack for another moment, grabbing her laptop and a longer wire. She secured it to another port on the terminal and hit a button, then sat back. The scanner beeped first, letting her know it was done searching the systems. She picked it up and ran through some of the data, frowning at parts of it. After rereading it, she glanced at the laptop, scanning through parts of its information. Still looking unhappy, she walked over to the second satellite, breaking off the lock and opening it to stare at the wires critically.

"Fuck!"

She traced the main wire once more, then swore again. She didn't know enough about these systems to disable it effectively and subtly. She went back to her equipment, unhooking the scanner and packing the rest of her stuff as she waited for the laptop to finish. It finally beeped and she loaded it also, grabbing her pack and putting it on as she headed back to the waiting dirt bike. She paused once she had reached it, looking back at the satellites with a fierce glare.

All that work for fifteen minutes of studying the satellites, and now all this work to get back. As she sat on the bike and kicked it over, her thoughts changed gears. She started down the hill, praying that Heero would be able to help her with the satellites.

o0o0o0o0o

The morning sun broke over a small hill, struggling through the clouds overhead. Duo watched it rise as he packed the final provisions into the back of Heero's car. Heero was still upstairs, glued to a laptop which left him to make the final preparations for their little jaunt into the wilderness. Wufei and Trowa were having a quiet argument in the War Room about how many bombs Trowa got, and Relena and Dorothy were nearby, packing food and eavesdropping.

When Quatre walked out, dressed in full camouflage, Duo frowned and glanced around for some sort of reinforcement. Quatre, as always, noticed the look and fixed Duo with a piercing glare. "What?"

Duo tried to shrink back a slight bit. "We think you should stay here and command."

Quatre frowned and looked at Duo. "Why? I can be useful out there."

"I know, but you can't just jump into our plans. We've got everything detailed." Duo's voice was persuasive, and Quatre looked confused by the logic.

"Besides, we don't know when Sally will get back, and you should be here to get the information and send her out again." Quatre looked to Trowa, his eyebrows raised, and the green-eyed boy continued. "The satellites are important."

The blonde looked thoughtful, trying to find a flaw in their argument. Before he could formulate a suitable one, they all nodded and continued gathering their stuff. "We'll all be in contact."

Quatre bristled slightly and grabbed his phone, stalking off. "Fine. I'll be here, waiting!"

The blond fumed as he heard car doors slam and engines start.

"Get caught"…" compromised"… The blonde sighed. All that means is I'm here while they could get killed.

As the boys drove away, Duo grabbed his phone and looked up their emergency frequency.

That was good, Barton. I never even though about Sally

Trowa looked in his mirror at Duo, who was nodding in approval, and smiled. Thanks, Maxwell. I noticed Chang was so helpful in that argument

Trowa smiled at Wufei, who was driving Dorothy's red SUV to his right. Wufei glared back and grabbed his phone nearly shouting, Hey, I noticed that you guys had it under control and didn't want to push it. Besides Wufei looked back at Duo's car and then continued in a calmer voice. Yuy didn't say anything either…

Heero glared at the car ahead of him and grabbed the phone from Duo. I never say anything Chang. He would have been suspicious

Trowa's laugh rang out, causing everyone to smile. He's got a point, Wufei

Catherine and Relena began making faces at Dorothy, who was pantomiming shoving Wufei's phone down his throat.

They continued in a companionable silence for another hour before Duo grabbed his phone. Well, this is our exit. Later guys The car broke off from the group and turned left, beginning the long trek around the lake. The others said goodbye and traveled on. It wasn't long before Trowa flashed his headlights at Wufei.

This is where we head East. Good luck

Dorothy saluted them from the passenger seat and Wufei snorted. Luck is for the weak, Barton

Good hunting, then Trowa gave them a huge smile and even Wufei couldn't hold back his smile. He waved as Trowa, Catherine and Relena disappeared to his right. Dorothy and he continued north, driving toward the opposite end of the lake from Heero and Duo.

o0o0o0o0o

!!BEEP!!

The truck gave a hearty beep and Sally glanced down at the dashboard, startled out of her bored stupor. A small yellow light was flashing, one that resembled a gas pump.

"Fuck!" She looked around, trying to figure out where she was. The highway was deserted and dark, but she was nearing civilization. A sign flew by her on the right, La Grange, 2.3 miles, All Services. Perfect.

She pulled off and turned to the right, glancing at both gas stations. Pulling into the one with cheaper fuel, she parked the truck and shut it off before climbing out to inspect the pumps. They were still in good working condition, though not active, and the town appeared to be wholly intact. She walked into the small convenience store, grabbing her wallet out of a pocket as she hopped the counter. After pushing a few buttons on the register, it beeped and she swiped her credit card. After hitting several more buttons, she walked back out and proceeded to pump her gas. Once it had stopped, she put the nozzle back and headed back inside. She printed out two receipts, one for the absent clerk and one so Kushrenada could reimburse her, and then got back in the truck and hit the open highway once more

She had been on the road for almost an hour when she suddenly sat straight up. A car was coming her way. She hit the brakes, slowing drastically while the other car was hidden from sight. As she neared them, she recognized the headlights and a huge smile spread across her face.

Dorothy's SUV slowed as it passed Sally, and Dorothy waved. Sally waved back, smiling as she saw Wufei asleep in the passenger seat. Dorothy made a great show of checking a watch she wasn't wearing and being shocked at the time, then shrugged in apology and hit the gas. Sally waved once more as they passed, then hit the accelerator, once more flying back toward the base.

Two hours later, she pulled up in front of the main entrance to their hideout and the doors swung open. Quatre waved in greeting, motioning her in. She nodded her thanks and parked the truck. He had closed the doors and grabbed her a water bottle in the time it took her to grab her pack out of the back. He took a moment to admire the newly acquired dirt bike in the back and she smiled, asking him if he liked it. He smiled and nodded, waiting until she had deposited her things to talk business.

"Well, how are things?"

She shrugged. "Not too bad. I'm thinking we wait until the lightning hits, then hit the terminal with a shock. It should fry everything and it'll be impossible to tell the difference."

"I'm assuming they have something up there now to prevent lightning hitting it…"

"Yeah." Sally snorted derisively. "A lightning rod that grounds it."

Quatre raised his eyebrows at the antiquated method. "It's A.C. 198 and they're using twentieth century techniques?"

She nodded in amusement, continuing to talk as they headed into the War Room. "All I'll need is a taser or something of that sort for the main panel."

Quatre clasped his hands and looked heaven-ward. "Praise Allah, someone doesn't want to blow anything up."

Sally smiled, flopping into a chair and tugging her shoes off before looking at Quatre once more. "They all want to blow stuff up?"

Quatre nodded, rolling his eyes in exasperation. "Wufei and Dorothy want all the explosives, and Trowa looked like he wanted to murder them. Surprisingly, Duo and Heero are the only ones who don't want any." Quatre shrugged and turned back to Sally. "So, you're good right? You'll fry the main terminal and they'll be down?"

She looked hesitant and continued only at Quatre's stern look. "They have secure hardwire links between the bases. Short of digging up the wires and severing them manually, I don't have the skill to disable them through the terminal. Even if I fry the main panel, they'll still have emergency lines."

Quatre stared at her for a moment. "Heero."

She nodded ruefully. "Yeah, I'll need Heero."

"Shit." Quatre paced as Sally frowned, trying to recall the last time she'd heard the blonde swear. "He already left with Duo."

"I noticed."

"They're out of range by now. You'll have to go get him. He and Duo are at Lake Victoria." Quatre continued pacing, his brow furrowed in concentration. "I'll have to go tell Trowa to go to Duo."

Sally nodded in agreement, then yawned so widely her jaw cracked. Quatre looked her over and pointed upstairs. "Go sleep for a bit. I'll iron out the detail before we leave." She nodded once more, grabbing her jacket and heading outside. She took a quick bath in the nearby river and re-dressed quickly. Despite the fact that it was midday, she called out "Goodnight," as she walked upstairs. Quatre waved and she headed into an empty room and collapsed on the makeshift bed.

A/N:: Again, I would like to make sure… Is everyone following this somewhat easily? I want to make sure you can follow the things that are happening. And thanks so much again to Jess-eklom for making me that much more obsessive with my proofreading. It's good to have a little help.