Disclaimer: I created a new type of mobile suit called the SS series, with Propylon being the very first of them. I also created the organization "NeOZ", in case I haven't mentioned it

Chapter 18

"Good work, cadets, you'll be fine pilots some day!" The instructor announced to all the men recruited for NeOZ as they trained in flight simulators.

"Sir, just curious, when do we get to train in actual mobile suits? It's been so long since a real one has been seen anywhere on the Earth or Colonies!" Sopher called out.

"A shipment is being sent in soon, you will all have the honor of piloting the first in the generation of warrior suits, Propylon SS." The instructor said with a great pride.

"SS, sir?"

"Space Suit, we're waging this war is space, cadet! This old world would fall apart if we stage the rebellion here!"

Propylon SS. . .I'm sure our superiors would love to here about this. . .Sopher thought, glancing at Iceman training just feet away. After their session, the two walked back to their quarters to make their hourly report.

"I can't wait to get this stupid peacetime over with, it's making me sick!" Iceman said, just as a cover.

"I know. . .maybe we'll get to 'accidentally' take out the queen. . ." Sopher said with a wink.

"God save the queen. . ." They walked into their room and closed the door, immediately switching on their transmitter. They heard a beep and began talking.

"When do you think that new model of suit will come in?" Sopher said, sitting down on his bed.

"Dunno, but it's got such a sweet name! Propylon SS. . .it's got a nice ring to it. . .and we get to fight in space!"

"Yeah. . .I wonder when the war is scheduled to start. . ."

"They never said, just said it was soon. . ."

"Oh well, guess we'll just have to wait." Sopher shut off the transmission and said, "Let's study our flight manuals a little before dinner!"

"Good work, guys. . ." Dextosterone said to himself, typing up a report before yawning and looking at the clock. A knock sounded on his door and he called out, "Come in!"

"Hey, Dex, we're gonna head down to dinner soon, you in?" Playa asked, poking his head in the door.

"Yeah sure, the guys just reported in." Dextosterone said, setting down his headset and scooting back his chair.

"I hope they've gotten far enough in, there's only 4 hours left."

"I know. . .they know. . .I'm sure they're getting closer to calling you guys in. Let's eat!" They headed downstairs and went into the cafeteria for dinner.

Heero cursed under his breath as he stared off into the distance.

"No luck finding Trowa, huh?" Rachel said, walking up to him. He turned and said, "I can't find a single trace of him anywhere. . ."

"Most likely cloaked his tracks so we couldn't follow him or stop him."

"Why, we have someone on the inside doing the work."

"Heero, it's the same as with Chang. . .you know he's dying every second he has to just wait for his loved ones to die, he can't handle it."

"Loved 'ones'?"

"Yes, Precious and Hope. . ."

"I thought she was just a baby sitter. . ." Heero cocked his eyebrow as he crossed his arms.

"Seriously, Heero. . .I thought you were smarter than that. . ." Rachel rolled her eyes as she walked off to find the others. She ran across Duo in the parlor poking at some food. He looked up when he heard her enter the room and mumbled a hello. As she sat next to him, she said, "Not hungry?" He shook his head and she said, "Are you worried about the others?"

"Sorta. . ." He said, setting the food on the coffee table and leaning back, resting his cheek on his hand as he sighed.

"Don't worry, we'll save them. . .this war is nothing."

"Nothing? How can you say that, Rachel! You don't seriously think it's just some ripple in a pond, just fades away as soon as it appears!"

"Duo. . ." She drew back a little, insulted by his sudden outburst. He relaxed and said, "I'm sorry, Rachel. . .It's just. . .I dread having to go back to war again. I hated it the first time, it took everything I loved away from me and. . .I don't want that risk again. . ."

"I know how you feel. . ." She said, wrapping her arms around his and leaning her head on his shoulder, saying, "We won't let it happen. . ."

"I hope not. . ." He said, staring up at the ceiling. As Rachel began to wonder what they were going to do to stop this from happening, Heero came into the room and said, "I'm contacting the dorks, we need to inform them of Trowa's disappearance."

"Disappearance? Ah great, now everything's ruined!" Duo threw up his hands in exasperation.

"Calm down, we can handle this. . .at least we don't have to worry about the mobile suit."

"Mobile suit!" Duo stared at Heero and Rachel in confusion.

"Nevermind. I'll be right back." Heero left the room and Duo started hollering on about being left out of the loop. Entering his office, Heero dialed up the phone number given to him by Milliardo in order to contact the team.

They better be there. . .

"Hello, this is the Dex." Dextosterone said royally as he answered his cell phone.

Cut the act, we have an issue. Heero snapped at him.

"Yes?"

Mr. Barton has been working on a disappearing act recently and it worked. . .if you catch my drift.

"Was this his idea?"

All the way, most likely.

"Alright, we'll keep an eye out for him. Anything else, sir?"

No. Heero hung up and Dextosterone turned off his phone, looking up at Miguel and Playa who were glancing at him between bites.

"It seems our friends will be having a visitor. . .I need to go back to my room and make a 'call'." He got up and disposed of the rest of his dinner in the trash before setting up the dishes and heading back to the dorms. He walked into his room and sat in front of the computer, quickly typing up a message to send to their inside contacts.

Hopefully Sopher won't freak out when he gets this. . .Dextosterone thought as he clicked "send".

"Eep!" Sopher jump slightly as he felt the communication clip on his belt begin vibrating. He froze and paid close attention to the buzzes. They stopped and he settled back down into his seat as he thought, Trowa Barton might be here. . .well, that's helpful, good thing we know Morris code or this might have made things difficult! Woah, in coming! He grabbed the steering of the flight simulator and dodged some oncoming enemy fire, letting out a sigh as he aimed his gun and blew the opposing suits out of the sky. After training, he found Iceman and grabbed him, pulling him aside and whispering, "Time to end the games. . .come on." Iceman nodded and they slipped out of sight, quickly running back to their room to signal Dextosterone to send over the others. Hitting the com link, Sopher said, "Backup, now!" A confirmation beep returned and they pulled out their hidden weaponry.

"Come on, we have to make our way to the security room and take out the outside surveillance before the others get here." Sopher said, running to the door.

"Do you think we'll make it there? I don't like the looks of that second in command. . ." Iceman commented, tucking the gun away in the back of his pants as he joined Sopher by the door. He shrugged and put away his gun, quietly opening the door and peeking out into the hallway to find the coast clear. They took off down the hallway, avoiding being seen by any of the cameras as they made their way toward the center of the base. As they reached the security, they heard a hiss and Iceman turned to see the head scientist standing in the shadows.

"Where are you going? Shouldn't you be in training?" Mr. Hearn asked, cocking an eyebrow as he pulled his hands out of his pockets and crossed them over his chest.

"Uh. . .we're late for a meeting with the hands-on combat instructor, we've been picked for the ground troops!" Sopher said with a smile, starting to dash down the hall when Mr. Hearn called out, "That's nice. . .if there was such a thing." Sopher turned on his heels and pulled out the gun, saying, "Alright, so you caught us. . .don't think you'll get the chance to run and tattle."

"Why would I do such a thing? I don't even like that bratty commander. . .I want to help you."

"You think I'm gonna believe you?"

"Yes, since if you kill me or take me hostage, your friends down there will die."

"How so?"

"Well, I'm the only person capable of working the machine. . .you'd never figure out how to get them out of there alive. . ."

"Perhaps. . .then what, we're just suppose to let you go about your business like we never crossed paths?"

"No. . .like I said, I want to help you. Personally, I think this whole operation is B.S. and it's just a façade to cover up other intentions."

"Oh? Such as?"

"Did you meet our true commander?" Mr. Hearn raised his eyebrows and cocked his head to the side.

"Um. . .yeah. . .but he's-"

"Dead? Yeah, we kind of noticed. . .but someone made him that way. . .and that someone will be here any minute, if the commander gets her way."

"I don't understand. . ." Sopher frowned.

"You will soon enough. . .for now, follow me and I'll take you to the security center safely." Mr. Hearn walked up to them and Sopher cocked the gun at him, saying, "Why should we trust you not to turn us in?"

"Because. . .I don't want to be here any more than you do. Are you coming or what?" He went on down the hallway and the others exchanged glances before following him. Mr. Hearn knocked on the security room door and it slid open.

"Professor Hearn!" The man in command saluted and the others stood with him. Quickly returning the favor with a lazy swipe of his forehead, Mr. Hearn said, "I came by with replacement men for your guards, Lieutenant Wasielewski, tell them to go get some rest."

"Thank you, sir, you're a lifesaver. Men, move out!" Lieutenant Wasielewski turned to the two men stationed at the security console and they saluted, leaving and letting Iceman and Sopher take their places.

This seems all too easy. . .what's this guy's angle? Sopher thought as he got accustomed to the controls.

"Lieutenant, go join your men in the mess hall, I know you haven't been on break in hours." Mr. Hearn said to the command officer.

"Sir!" He saluted and left the commanding to Mr. Hearn. Closing the door behind him, Mr. Hearn said, "There. . .do whatever it is you had in mind and get out of here."

"We can't leave, our mission isn't over until we have our objectives safe and sound." Sopher said as he began shutting down the systems.

"You're not serious, are you? Commander Sachs would never let you get out of here alive!" Mr. Hearn exclaimed.

"Who said anyone was gonna 'let' us leave? We're taking this place out before they can cause anymore damage, as per orders."

"You're insane, you have no idea what you're going up against. . ."

"Care to inform us, then?"

"Take my advice, save yourselves! Your friends are as good as dead, there's no way you can stop it from happening."

"Says you!" Iceman exclaimed, pushing back his chair and glaring down the short scientist.

"Iceman, chill out! We can't afford to lose our focus now. . .just get your job done and we'll move on to the next stage of the rescue mission."

"Iceman? Oh my-wait, you're them!" Mr. Hearn said, his eyes widening.

"Huh?" Iceman frowned, settling back into his chair.

"You're that bunch of idiots the Sanc Council sent after us! They didn't think you had even gotten here yet, how in the world-"

"IDIOTS! Why I oughta-" Iceman growled but Sopher grabbed his arm.

"They know about us?"

"Yeah. . .they had a little help."

"Who?"

"The only thing standing in your way of saving those people. . .trust me, you don't want to know. . .just go!"

"Shutup! We're not a bunch of pushovers like you might think! We don't go home until they say so. . .so. . .we're sticking it out until the very end!" Sopher said, getting fierce with his words.

"You have no idea what a mistake you're making staying here. . .don't you even care that you may die!" For a brief moment, Sopher didn't say anything, swallowing hard before muttering, "If this is how we must die, then I am glad it is such a noble cause. . ."

"There is nothing noble in throwing your lives away to save lost souls. . ." Mr. Hearn whispered, seeming to pity them for what he took to be stupidity.

"Aren't we all lost souls? What would we do if we turned away from this and only thought of ourselves? If we didn't risk it to save those people then. . .everyone suffers. . .we have to try. Besides, I know where I'm going if I die."

"Where you're. . .going? What, into a casket?"

"No. . .a much better place than this dump. . .Heaven."

"Heaven. . .I almost forgot about that place. . .living in this world makes you forget such things even exist. . .well, I suppose I can't stop you then. I have to get back to my post before they get suspicious. . .I wish you both Godspeed." With that, the scientist left the room quietly and made his way to the nearest elevator.

Heaven. . .could God still love me enough to let me in? After all the evil I've allowed to happen, helped to create. . .how could he? Of any place, God's the farthest from here, there's so much evil and sin he wouldn't want anything to do with it. He'd never notice if I died. . .I'd just fade into eternity with all the other lost souls of the ages. . .just fade away. . .

"Fade. . .away." Mr. Hearn whispered, leaning against the inside wall of the elevator, staring off into space.