Meanwhile, Shiris had made her way to the final corridor before the Mess hall. Apparently, it was also where the guards slept, although no one was in their rooms because of the party. Security was on maximum.

She decided to use the next guard she found and, if necessary, duck into one of the rooms.

The first person she came across was a handsome boy about her age with short brown hair and long, spiky bangs. He was taller than she and had a lean, lithe build (in her opinion). Emerald eyes meet chocolate brown as she walked up to him.

"Hi!" she greeted, stopping him in the hallway.

"Hello," he replied, and gave a small smile.

"Um…I hate to bother you, but would you mind showing me the way to my room? I'm really new here, and I kinda lost my way." She gave an embarrassed laugh and shrugged.

The boy looked at her intently. "Actually, I'm new here too. Ill do my best, but I cant promise anything."

"Oh, okay…" she probably wouldn't get any information out of him, but now that he was walking with her, and he was cute…

"So, do you know what they do down here? I mean, besides having parties and stuff."

She began to get nervous when he looked at her even more intently. Was it something she said?

"No, do you? They must do something beside politics," he said suddenly.

/Hey, wait a minute, does he know something? No new guard would say that; he could loose his job/.

"No…" she replied warily. He must know something. "Have you met the minister?"

"No, have you?"

What was he, a mimic?

"Yes, only for a little bit."

"What did he say to you?"

Was he trying to pump her for information? Or was he an internal spy, set up to find people like her?

"Oh, nothing much. Oh, here's my room!" she exclaimed, picking one at random. She pressed the button next to the door and thanked God it wasn't locked.

"Would you like to come in?" she asked, smiling sweetly at him. It was time to get forceful.

He stared at her and she began to melt into his gaze. Why did she have to beat him up?

"Sure," he finally said, and walked in. Before the door was all the way shut he had her pinned up against the wall and held her by the throat.

"What do you know about the minister?" he demanded.

"What?" she wheezed, not expecting this. But she could definitely handle it…

She glared at him, then brought her arm up and over his, slammed it out of the way, and kicked him in the stomach.

She grabbed him and shoved him up against the wall, holding his throat and aiming her gun at him.

"What do you know about the minister? What is going on down here?" she hissed.

He said nothing.

"Tell me what I need to know, and you can go free," she muttered. " I don't want to shoot you." She really didn't.

Who did she think he was? The boy thought. And who was she? He had never seen anyone more beautiful in his life.

"No" he stated.

"Yes!"

"No…" he ducked and she shot the wall right where his head had been. He came up and punched her in the stomach. She doubled over and he grabbed her gun, immediately aiming it at her.

"You tell me what I need to know, and you can go free. I don't want to shoot you."

She was still bent over, but not because she was hurt. She was getting out her knife, which she had slipped into her skirt pocket.

"Big mistake…" she whispered, and spun to the side and behind him, holding the knife up to his throat.

"Now for the last time…what do you know about the minister and his activities? And what about the federation?"

He started.

"What makes you think I know anything about that?"

"Well, lets see. You weren't knocked out by my punches, you demanded information before I said anything, and you were very startled when I mentioned the word federation. So…" she pressed the knife down even harder. "Tell me what you know. Now."

He didn't know what to do. She was holding him at knifepoint, and for some strange reason, he was definitely noticing how close she was to him. She pretty much had him in a hug form behind, and it was very disconcerting.

On her part, he was making her very nervous as well. She actually wanted to get to know this guy, not kill him.

"Look, we obviously came here for the same thing," he ventured. When she said nothing, he continued. "It would be logical to work together. We could get the job done faster."

She considered it. She was still wary of him, but knew he was there for the same purpose she was. She let go and stepped back.

"Okay."

He rubbed his neck and turned around. She loved those eyes of his.

"My name is Trowa Barton. I work for the federation. Who are you?"

The federation. He worked for the federation. How could anyone like him work for the federation? Her eyes hardened, but she forced herself to remind herself that not everyone who worked for the federation was like her father. Heck, she didn't even know what the federation did.

"My name is Shiris"

"Do you have a last name?"

She hesitated. He would definitely recognize it.

"Nasko. Its Nasko."

He stepped back. " Nasko? As in-"

"Yes. The federation's Nasko."

"So you work for the federation too?" He sounded a little hopeful.

"No!" she exclaimed vehemently. "No! I work for the alliance!"

"Sorry, I didn't mean anything by it…" he apologized. So, she was the missing daughter. And she worked for the alliance. The alliance was his sworn enemy, and obviously the federation was her sworn enemy…in short, this sucks, he thought. We're not supposed to let each other go alive, but…

"So what do we do now?" Shiris asked when he didn't say anything. He glanced up at her. What he wanted to say was not appropriate. So, "I think we ought to leave. I have-"

"SHIRIS!!!!!!!!!"

"OUCH! JULIE, BE QUIET!!" Shiris shouted, holding her ears. Trowa stared at her. Was she a skitzo?

"Shiris, sorry, but it soooo great! I met this guy-"

"You WHAT?" Shiris was shocked. It couldn't be a coincidence…

"Yea! He's so cute, and so nice…his name is Duo, and-"

"Wait a minute."

"Who is that?" Trowa asked, walking over. He had used talkies like that before and realized what was going on.

"Oh, its-"

"Who's that with you?" Julie asked slyly. "Is that the guard you're supposed to be beating up? Or are you-"

"JULIE!"

Trowa was close enough to hear the conversation because Julie was talking so loud and Shiris was mortified.

"Shiris, you bad girl!"

Trowa smiled.

Shiris blushed.

"Julie, stop it. We have to regroup. Now. Where's Mayumi?"