Hey! It's a twofer! I got in the writing mood and this is one of the few times I have to devote solely to this story. So I'm going to keep writing this for a long time tonight. May be up late due to the massive quantities of caffeine I have consumed today. One medium coffee, one Redbull, and a large latte with an extra shot of espresso. No I am not writing this in a starbucks. They frown on you bringing in desktops there. Anywho... Enjoy!

-Twiin-Vii2iion2

...

Dirk had been at the computer for hours. The clock on the wall said it was 3AM. He couldn't sleep. Not until he had the doors open..

"I know trying to convince you that you should sleep is useless but I'd be neglect as a boyfriend if I didn't at least try." Jake sighed as he slid into the chair next to Dirk. "But since I know it's useless, I brought you some coffee." He handed a steaming mug to Dirk who took it without looking away from the computer screen.

"I have the team selected. I'm taking the Johnson twins. Their explosives and heavy weapons skills will be invaluable, and I'm taking Mira. Her sharpshooter tests came back even better this quarter. With the four of us plus Dave, John, Jade, and The Troll, we should be able to hold out for a while."

Dirk nodded, not really listening.

"Listen Dirk," Jake shook his shoulder, jogging Dirk from his zone.

"Huh, what?"

"I know what you're doing... You do this every time you encounter something you don't want to think about." Jake sighed. "You're focusing too hard on the military stuff. You and I both Know what this mission is. Talk to me."

Dirk sighed and looked down. This is what always drove him crazy with Jake, he could make him think about the bad stuff, work through it. It's also what made Jake the best boyfriend Dirk could ever have.

"You know I don't want you going." His eyes showed his pleas, his glasses unable to cover them from the table.

"I know Dirk, but who else could lead this team. You'll need the best fighters there to make the window of opportunity as large as possible. " Jake's face showed his cards. He didn't want to go either, didn't want to put Dirk through the worry, but logic dictated that this was how it had to be.

"I know, but... I can't lose you Jake. I just... I've lost too many already..."

"We all have Dirk, but we have to go through with this. This is our biggest chance at striking back."

"But what if we fail?"

"Then we die, but we die fighting. If we do nothing we just delay that death." Jake sighed. 'We have to strike soon. They will notice the missing ship. It's only a matter of time until they find us. We need to strike while we can"

Dirk let out a sigh in defeat. He knew it was true. He knew they couldn't hide forever.

"I've distracted you enough. I'll let you get back to work." Jake stood and kissed Dirk's cheek. "Promise you'll sleep at least a little."

"I promise. I just... there has to be an end in sight. It's like there's a never ending line of firewalls." Dirk shook his head.

"If only there were a way to solve them all at once..." Jake turned to leave.

"Wait. What? Say that again." something clicked in Dirk's head.

"If only there were a way to solve them all at once?"

Dirk started rummaging through the pile of readouts from his attempts at cracking through. He began frantically reading.

"Of course!" He shouted, grinning.

"What?! What is it?!" Jake leaned on the back of the chair, peering over Dirk's shoulder.

"It isn't a line of never ending firewalls. Its a line of 15. Each time I solve one. It replaces it at the end of the sequence. I can't believe I missed that! The only way to solve it may be to attempt all at once!" Dirk began typing, entering in algorithms, setting up a program to solve the firewalls simultaneously, using his readouts to speed up the process. Within minutes, he'd set it up. "Here goes nothing." he executed the program and waited on baited breath. The program set out decoding all 15 firewalls at once. Dirk held his breath as it worked its way through them all. The readouts stopped and the screen went blank. It suddenly popped to life with just one question in all caps: OPEN DOOR? Dirk jumped up with a shout of triumph. He turned to Jake and kissed him hard on the lips.

"We did it!" he beamed. Jake just shook his head dumbfounded.

"That was..."

"Brilliant?"

"Hot..." Jake smiled at him. Dirk grinned back and kissed him again.

"You thinking what I'm thinking?" Dirk smiled slyly.

"The room is a long way away..."

"There's an empty bunk nearby." Dirk practically dragged Jake to the room. They had a couple hours before the others were up. More than enough time.