Light chatter, that's all that was being said around the table. Duo was the main source of conversation, considering he does tend to run his mouth, especially when he gets nervous... I would quietly nod in agreement and understanding once in a while, but I wasn't particularly paying attention to him. My mind was wandering off to another topic.

Frankly, I used to be the type of perfect soldier to want to eliminate all obstacles. I learned the hard way that that is not the way to go about this kind of `business` us pilots find ourselves in. It eventually gets you into trouble, and I'm glad in the long run I didn't kill any of my present allies. Maybe I never intended to in the first place, considering I had a difficult time doing so. However, when it comes to this Firefight... I need to eliminate them in a fashion that doesn't affect the rest of this preventer team. I use the term eliminate loosely however, more like dealt with. Sometimes I catch myself using words I don't mean to... In the end, I'd rather been the one to kill my teammates then some low life of a rebel group. May sound harsh, but I mean this in the nicest way possible!

I shouldn't be concerning myself with matters such as that. Considering Jane seems to have some sort of inkling that some of us are not up to battle standard anymore. Whether or not I agree with that is irrelevant. I am not one to question Jane`s motives, but I don't believe any of these pilots have changed so drastically that they would be a disservice to her. I guess the meaning of `disservice` might be different in her mind.

The girls appeared from around the corner, looking a bit sullen as if they had been through the mission already. I heard Duo start to laugh.

"It looks like you guys had some sort of a confession by the looks on all your faces!" I watched as Duo's statement triggered an uneasy tension that rippled through them all like a wave. Julie laughed nervously.

"You know, girl talk!" was all she seemed to muster before taking her seat again. I glanced at the guy's side of the table.

"Well, let's get this over with." I state dryly and stand up. I watched Mayumi as she took a seat. I couldn't read her eyes as she stared back at me, trying to convey some sort of silent message. I think we might have a problem, by the sullen look on her face. We'll have to have a brief meeting before our departure. I walked out of the room as the others followed me into the laboratory. Wufei shuts the door, being the last one inside, and the 4 of them take a seat across from me.

When it comes to allies, I used to think I didn't need anyone... I never realize how much I didn't know until I met my fellow pilots. Everyone had a skill or a point of view that I never would have thought of. Once I realized that I began to secretly latch on to the knowledge my comrades bestowed. I guess I'm glad I never killed any of them. They were never my enemies to begin with. That being said, I guess I should be glad I didn't kill myself during the last war... but I've never given myself the chance to think about that.

I have this small lump in my throat from doing this. This all makes it seem like I don't trust my allies... my- my friends. If it were up to me, I would never make them have to prove that they were worth anything. They already did so and beyond to me by being my ally in the last war. I will never need my comrades to prove to me their worth. That would be irrelevant from now on. Anything in the future that comes our way, I have them on my side. This is all I need to know.

"Now..." I began as I cleared my throat, "I will be reading your brain waves, blood testing, and asking some questions about the last year. Simple, yes?" They all nodded in agreement, "If you would remove your chips and give them to me..." They did so promptly, no questions asked. Duo practically threw his at me to which I followed with a glare. He only grinned in his foolish sarcastic way that he does and I placed his chip in the computer.

"Now, what would exactly get us kicked out of the organization?" Duo laughed slightly, rocking back in his chair a little putting his hands behind his head. I glanced over at him to watch his movements. He didn't seem nervous surprisingly, only curious.

"Anything that I would deem a nuisance to a mission." I say and Duo laughs again.

"Heh, well that could anything... right?" I could feel him staring at me, but I chose to ignore him and focused my attention on the screen in front of me. Blood work seems okay... Brain waves? For Duo seem normal enough...

"Looks like you are fine physically." I turn my head to look at him and he's smiling his shining winning smile.

"Well Naturally!"

"Then... provide me with some details of the previous year." I demanded quite strongly. I don't want to give the impression that I particularly would rather not know too many details, however as Jane requests...

"Well..." Duo paused for a moment with his thoughts, "I was on L2 rebuilding the Maxwell Church, as you know, with Julie of course." He grinned at me for a moment. Clearly he doesn't think he's done, right?

"...and?" I question trying to make him talk more.

"I'm not sure what else you need to know, I spend all of my time helping with the rebuilding process, Quatre knows all about that. The rest of my time I spent with Julie, he, you know..." He had a huge grin on his face for a moment, clearly thinking about personal matters. I kept my gaze stern on him, trying to pry his head open with my eyes. I just need information, Duo. I know you can tell that by my staring-

"Yeah, yeah, Hiiro. I gotcha ya." He said in a bit of a mumble. I am glad I have an ability to not need conversation to convey what I need.

"Well?"

"There's not much else to say..." Duo said shrugging, he had a small glint in his eye. He's lying clearly. However, should I push on is the question. I watched Duo glanced at Quatre and then stretch his arms in the air.

"Been working with Quatre on the side, so... He's a good business man, I'm learning a lot actually." He smiled slightly then continued, "I just spent time getting my head straight, you know?"

"We all have..." Quatre chimed in softly, nodding. As I do agree with that statement, I decided not to acknowledge it as such. Duo sighed.

"It's been rough, that I wouldn't lie about. There are things that are unspeakable and there are things that we just will never mention again, right? Things tha- that we just..." Duo began to trail of and he closed his eyes. I know he couldn't continue what he was thinking in his head. It was enough as it is... he didn't need to say it. It is what it is after all. Words aren't really necessary, since we all have been through the same thing.

We are soldiers, in a war that was created when peace was a far away grasp, farther than the stars, and farther than our dreams were allowed to reach. Everything seemed impossible, yet we followed those orders... since that was all we had.

I think now, we have our own lives and our own minds to think with. It leaves everything to be more complicated this time around. It isn't because we are hesitating, no... that's not it at all. We just have tragedy in every area of our hearts now; without ever speaking of it ever existing. We know it's there and knowing that is enough... because that's how it has to be.

However, I fear that the zero system may have had a drastic effect on our mentality... At least this is what I believe the reasoning behind these background checks are. That system... brought out the worst in all of us... and it's still lingering within our minds. I'm sure Mayumi isn't aware of this fact either.