Disclaimer: The TV show Dark Angel, all of the characters that appeared on it (Max, Zack, Alec, etc.), and everything else that has to do with the show belong to their respective owners, not to me. No money is being made off of this fic. I only own the original characters (Wayne/X5-369, etc.).

Notes: I got this idea in my head last night. This fic is pretty much a prequel to my fic "Together" and it's gonna mostly be about a few of the original characters in that fic, as well as some of the other members of Max and Zack's family (original characters and established ones) and Alec, and their lives right before, including, and right after Max and Zack and their family escape Manticore in 2009. They'll be in this fic as well (though they won't be the absolute focus of it). And I will be referring to the transgenics that were already named in "Together" (like Becky and Jeff) by their designations in this fic, as this takes place years before they named themselves/were named. This fic will be told from first-person P.O.V. Enjoy!

X6-405's P.O.V.

Colonel Lydecker is not happy. I don't know if I should be happy that it's mostly Unit 3 that he's upset with and not us or if I should feel sorry for Unit 3 because he is angry at them. I think I feel both things.

"…explain these results? Ten out of the thirteen members of Unit 1 evaded all sixteen members of Unit 3. When we ran this exercise yesterday afternoon, only five members of Unit 3 evaded Unit 1. These are unacceptable numbers. Unit 1, you are dismissed for the day and are to return to your barracks. You will be debriefed on this exercise tomorrow morning. Unit 3, you will remain here and we will go over detail by detail your lack of success. Unit 1, dismissed."

"Sir, yes, sir!" we all yelled. We saluted him and then I turned and waited for the rest of my unit to fall into line and then I started to lead them back to our barracks.

"That was easiest escape and evade we've ever done," 773 said.

"That wasn't easy," 662 said. "I got caught! I failed the mission."

"But you're little," I said. "Don't worry. 058 and 887 also didn't complete the exercise."

"029 completed it and she's as little as I am," 662 said. "Does that mean that I'm not as good of a soldier as 029?"

"No, it doesn't mean that at all," I told her. "You're just as good a soldier as 029 is."

"029 got lucky," 115 said. "I saw it happen. 804 and 299 were moving in on her and 804 was going to make the 'kill,' but they got distracted when they saw 405 in the distance heading to the rendezvous point and they wanted to go for her and when they realized that 029 was getting away, it was too late for them to get her."

"I got away on my own," 029 insisted.

"You did," I said. "You did really well in the exercise."

"How much trouble do you think Unit 3 is going to be in for failing the escape and evade exercises?" 570 asked. "The colonel looked like he was really mad. Do you think he's going to throw all of them into solitary confinement?"

"No," I said. "He wouldn't do that just for not all of them performing up to his expectations on an exercise."

"Do you think they can really have an entire unit, even one of the smaller ones like us, in solitary at the same time?" 956 asked. "Is it big enough for ten or eleven or twelve or thirteen or twenty soldiers to be there at the same time? Has an entire unit ever been there at the same time before? I don't think one has? Has one?"

"Calm down, 956," I said. He really needs to not talk so much and not talk as fast as he does. I should be happy that he doesn't talk like that when we're in drills or in class or on training exercises. He is always so…this one word that I heard Commander Benson use when he was talking to Colonel Lydecker and he didn't realize that we were listening to him. I think it started with an e. Whatever it was, 956 shouldn't be so excitable…oh, that was the word that I was thinking of. "I think I heard that one of the X3 units was all put into solitary one time. I don't know if it really happened, though."

"It did," 367 said.

"It really did?" I said.

"Yeah," 367 said. "Remember the day last month when they pulled me out of that tactics class because they needed to do some blood tests? When the nurse was finished, the guard that took me to the infirmary told me that since it was so close to lunchtime, I could just go straight to the cafeteria. I got on the line for food and behind me I heard these X5s, it was 537 and 210 from Unit 2, talking about it. X3 Unit 1 went on a mission, a real mission, and they missed their target and Colonel Lydecker was so mad because it was a really important mission and he had them not only go into solitary for a month but before that...he had them all go to Psy Ops for a week!"

"Psy Ops is scary," 691 said.

"I don't believe you," 773 said. I hope they don't start an argument here in the middle of the hall. The guards might hear them and think that they're going to cause trouble for everybody and take them away to be punished, like they did with 284 and 269 from Unit 8 that one time.

"Okay," 367 said. "X5 Unit 2 is across the hall. You can ask 537 or 210 yourself."

I turned and saw them on the other side of the hall. I guess they were going back to their own barracks. A few of the girls in their unit giggled when they saw 773 blush and 144. 570, and 392 laugh at 773 as well. I glanced over and saw 599 try to calm his unit down and he looked at me sympathetically before he and his unit turned to go down another hallway. I knew I should do the same thing.

"Be quiet," I said. We reached our barracks and went inside and sat down on our bunks. "It's been a long day. We should get ready for lights out soon. 887, please try not to talk after lights out again. I don't care what kind of funny faces 570 and 773 make to you when the guards aren't at the door."

"But they were really funny. I couldn't help it," 887 said.

"887, what if it was Colonel Lydecker that had been standing outside of our door instead of just regular guards?" I pointed out to him.

"Yes, ma'am," 887 said. "I'm sorry, ma'am."

"It's okay," I said. I smiled. "Last one into the showers gets to clean the boots in the morning!" We all laughed and ran for the showers.

TBC