allies...one in particular...
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A.C. 196
The troop lay scattered over a small clearing high in the mountainous forests of the former German republic. Some idly lay around, others spoke in hushed whispers; still others remaining alert to their surroundings worked on cleaning their guns. They had just been in battle with a fragment of the Alliance and were expecting a retaliation strike.
A small group remained seperated from the soldiers. The apparent leader sat in conversation with his lieutenants as to the best course of action to take. One man and a boy sat further on, eyes on the portable radar scope.
"Anything yet Chad?" The commander's german accent rumbled through the deceivingly still air.
The other sat upright and shook his head, sighing. "Nothing, Commander Heinz."
"As I said, Commander, we should continue to rest. The radar will alert us to the presence of any enemy in time to prepare an attack or retreat." The earnest voice of the first lieutenant came through.
As the other men in conference nodded assent, Chad stood up, dumbfounded.
"What! Have you become so lax? When is the time that they have not paid back blow for blow, or tried? While we have time, we need to retreat or dig in!"
The first lieutenant became irrate at that stament and stood as well, walking until he was face to face with the 'unruly' second lieutenant. His face began to grow red, his eyes narrowing to slits.
"The men need to rest while they have time; we've been pushing hard!"
Chad stood unmoved. "They can rest in SAFETY in the underground bunker. Out here is too open to provide any but a false sense of safety."
The two held their ground and continued to argue. It might have come to blows had not a quiet voice stopped them.
"We have radar signatures coming south and east."
The commander snapped to his feet. "Summon the men, prepare to march or defend, in worst case! The enemy has found us!"
Chad moved over to help his cousin pack up the equipment. "Good job Trev." The boy silently acknowledged him and continued packing. A slight smile graced his face for a moment. Then a frown returned.
"They will be here before we can get across the valley."
Chad nodded. The leo mobile suits that the Alliance used would be hard to evade without adequate time. They would be force to fight for this retreat. He checked his gun and hoisted the equipment onto his back.
"Too bad we couldn't have brought our leos." The suits that had been stolen, scavenged, and - very rarely - captured were in need of repairs.
"No parts, no fuel, no suits."
They watched as the column of men began the long trek down the side of the mountain. The commander stopped by them as came up.
"Boy, go out and create a diversion."
Trev nodded and strapped on a backpack containing extra explosives, grenades, flares, and smoke bombs. Chad put his hand on his shoulder. "Remember what we taught you, and, come back."
He watched his cousin start out before sending the commander a murderous glare and hurrying down the trail.
* * * * * * * *
Heero walked into the library, a bag over his shoulder. He chose a computer in a vacant corner and claimed it. Removing schoolbooks from his bag, he looked a student intent on finishing whatever assignment the teacher had decided to torture the class with. He was however, not doing any school project, he was working yet again to hack into the computers on the small OZ facility outside of town.
He'd had no luck yet; first level security, but that was all. They seemed to have thrown in a twist this time, and he hadn't quite figured out what the change was from the norm. He typed again and again, looking for a weakness to exploit. Damn those security experts getting wise. It looked like another day was about to be wasted. All this to obtain the layout of security within the confines of a small base. Of course, he'd normally be able to crack this by now, but all his previous codes hadn't worked here; proof that they had changed security systems.
A movement out of the corner of his eye drew his attention; a female OZ officer entered the room and scanned it, seemingly looking for something. Keeping an eye on her, Heero closed the connection to the network and pulled up several files involving complex math problems. The officer began walking towards him. He was intent on his "schoolwork". She walked over and peered at his screen.
TJ sighed as she saw the files on the screen. Either this kid is really smart, or the right one got away. It didn't help things any to be chosen for this task. Stifling a groan, she turned back to the task at hand - she still had to talk to this kid.
"Has anyone else been on this computer today?"
He glared at her suspicously. "I don't know, I don't keep track of it."
Bowing her head, she looked at the floor. "Please come with me."
Heero quickly ran over his options; he could kill her, but that would have OZ on his tail and they would probably tighten security at the base. He could make a break for it, but same scenario. If she didn't shoot him, she'd call for backup, and he might still end up in an OZ cell. He'd just have to play along, and if the situation got too bad, then try to escape.
Shrugging, but still glaring, "Alright."
* * * * * * * *
Smoke. Noise. Fire. Confusion. He ran, focusing on one thought - escape. If only...His thoughts were cut off when he stepped on a loose rock. The men in the Leo's were confused by a sttrange rumbling sound. Persuing the remnants of the rebel strike force down the mountain, they didn't notice the ground shaking beneath them till it was too late. The rockslide tore through their ranks, burying several suits.
The remaining suits manuevered gingerly through the loose pile of rocks and did their best to save their comrades. They managed to rescue most of the pilots and headed further into the valley to set up camp. No one was around when the boy half buried under debris awoke.
That had been three weeks before; now Trev was looking at the small OZ outpost with narrowed eyes. The rockslide had been an accident and had allowed the remains of the troop to get away, but his cousin and several other men had been captured. He was going to get them out - if he - no! He could and he would get them out.
Sighing, his features relaxed, and he put away a pair of binoculars. Tonight or tomorrow he would make his move. He just needed a little more information, maybe he could hack into the base files and get some answers. He knew where he could find a free computer. Pulling himself off of the ground, Trev picked up his pack and headed for town.
* * * * * * * *
Heero glared at the chair in front of him. Not that the chair had anything to do with anything; he just needed a focus point. He'd toured the facilities with TJ as she insisted that he address her, and he was glad for that, but she'd been keeping too much of an eye on him all day. Annoying.
He'd found out about the network quirks through discreet questions to the tech that were working on it during his "tour." A simple idea really, an operating system platform that sent a remote user on an endless loop. It was enough to keep hackers engaged on trying to break a system that wasn't any use; other than the fact that it reported computer addresses and snagged an endless supply of computer hacks for OZ.
Heero pushed off of the desk and wandered aimlessly, hands in pockets, through the room. TJ sure had it nice in the way of private quarters; but then, what OZ officer didn't? He stopped in front of his duffle. A small flash of light caught his attention, and he turned his head slightly to focus. Ah, a camera set to photograph the contents of his bag. Oh well, might as well play along. He pulled out his schoolbooks and pretended to be busily engaged in their mysteries.
* * * * * * * *
TJ sighed and rubbed her forehead with one hand. All he'd done was stand or sit and look at his textbooks. Nothing incriminating, nothing to prove that he was any sort of computer hacker. She stood and turned off the monitor. The other two officers in charge of screening did likewise. As if by consensus, they nodded to her and left the room. The door shut and left her in the semi-darkness.
There are times that I hate this job! The silence gave no answers to the questions that swirled through her head. He's got to be the one! No one else was in the computer room that I saw; but nothing he said proved that he could. He's too good. Her head fell forward in defeat.
She was not left to the soothing silence for long
however. Her radio crackled to life, the voice of her superior coming through.
Wonderful. Someone's hacking in again. Straightening up, she left the room,
heading for the outside world.
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