Part 14 - Incorrect parameters detected

"What does it mean?" Wufei asked.

"Zero works with neuronal connection. It modifies brain patterns."

"What?" Iria choked out.

"It modifies the decision process. I don't know exactly how, since everything was destroyed, but the machine trains the brain to new patterns of decision. Someone who used the Zero system to its fullest could grasp the concept very easily and be able to use it… even without the system's assistance."

"What you are saying is that this machine modified Quatre's brain so that his decision process would be… would be what exactly?" Iria asked, confused.

"I don't know. The finality of the system has never been clear. But I know that at my level, I have experienced some reorganization. But Quatre… Quatre mastered the system. Which means…"

There was a short silence.

"… which means that he didn't need it anymore. He was stronger than the system, strong enough to make the right decisions without the computer's help. He was more efficient, and the system could not overrule him at all. It had become obsolete, because Quatre performed better than it."

"But he knew that, didn't he?" Duo asked. "I mean, he disconnected the thing from Sandrock himself, and he never used it again, to my knowledge."

"He knew it," Trowa confirmed. "He told me that he had understood how it worked, and that humanity was better off without the system."

"But if he knew how much the system had affected him, why didn't it show?" Iria asked confused.

"Because Zero is a program," Heero answered. "And whatever the interface, a program needs to be activated in order to function. Quatre knew it perfectly well, and he knew that he would never consciously rely on those new brain patterns."

Trowa was feeling a little calmer, but only a little. Quatre had never really been able to say what Zero had changed in him, and hearing Heero explain everything in that calm, clinical way was strangely soothing. Heero turned to Trowa and Wufei.

"We talked about it a little," he said. "He wanted to know if the program had affected me too, and to what extent."

"If I sum everything up," Wufei said, "both you and Quatre had some decisional brain patterns affected by the system, but since you had decided not to use them, those patterns were inactive."

Heero nodded.

"It's just… It sounds surreal to talk about this that way," Iria said. "It's like you both are machines or something."

"It's because we are not machines that we can control this easily. Zero cannot overrule a conscious decision. It acts on the subconscious. That's why the visions were very disturbing, and why he had so much trouble the first time he piloted it. That's also why he knew what he was doing when he activated it the last time he used it."

"Like you didn't rub his nose in it for that one," Duo said sarcastically.

"I gave him a choice," Heero answered steadily.

His gaze was unwavering, and Duo knew that Heero would never regret making the decision to install Zero in Sandrock. Quatre would never have made the decision, and they would have lost, ultimately. But now, it seemed Quatre was paying a heavier price than they had forethought.

"He didn't really have a fuckin' choice!" Duo snapped angrily.

"Yes, he did," Wufei shot back.

"He did it for us! Because we were bloody idiots who couldn't even fight together properly!"

"This is no one's fault, Duo," Iria interrupted severely. "There's no one to blame here, and certainly not you. None of you", she added before he could protest. "What is important is that both Heero and Quatre could block the decisional brain patterns induced by Zero at will. So for him to react that way and activate them without thinking, something bad must have happened."

Duo was still slightly trembling, and he jumped when Heero's hand touched his shoulder. The Japanese jerked his hand back quickly, but Duo caught it and pulled Heero into his arms.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean it, it's just…"

"I know," Heero simply said.

"I know it's not your fault."

"It's okay…"

"No, it's not. I just… I feel helpless. I didn't even realize what it must have been for you two to be in that much contact with that thing, I was just glad that I wasn't the one to have to do it."

Sally clapped her hands to gain everyone's attention.

"Let's focus, boys!" she said severely. "From what Heero said, Zero cannot be the direct cause of what happened, but whatever happened weakened Quatre to the point that he could neither control his empathy nor the special decision patterns. This leads me to the conclusion that the program was activated every time Quatre felt threatened or felt someone around him threatened. I…" she hesitated. "God, I hate talking like that! I hate to think of his brain as a hard disk. This is just so fucked up!"

She ran a hand through her hair irritably and sighed explosively. Iria smiled at her.

"We have yet to understand what thing could have caused my brother's training to slip enough that his empathy would get out of control, thus enabling Zero to take over at some point. We all agree that his episodes seem to have been only temporary, which in itself is good. It means he still had the strength to try and defeat the program. But I have no idea of what could cause such a break in his training. He was in full control of his abilities! This is incomprehensible."

Wufei got up, his face set. Everyone knew that his next words would be spoken as head of the inquiry concerning the disappearance of Agent Winner.

"We cannot make any advances on that side before Quatre gets better. He is in no shape to give a testimony, and he needs rest and care. But we have other leads that we can follow in the meantime. Yuy, you told me you located the shuttle, right?"

"Affirmative," Heero said, tone blank, back in mission mode since it was far easier than the earlier mass of emotions swirling around the room and unsteadying everyone, including him. The mission he could handle a lot better, especially for Quatre's sake.

"Where is it?" Iria asked.

"I located the electronic marker inside of the shuttle and got the coordinates," Heero answered from memory. "The Winner database matched those coordinates with those of an abandoned mining satellite named XR-367F5. The satellite was in exploitation from AC 76 to AC 178. It was used to extract and process titanium to build colony walls. There were some major troubles in the processing factory when the Alliance tried to have it modified to process neo-titanium for the building of the new mobile suits. WEI threatened to close down the factory and send the workers to Alliance authorities to find them jobs if they were not left alone. The premises were sealed when it was deemed by experts that there were no more useful natural resources available on the satellite in November of AC 178. All workers were dispatched to other stations and most of the machinery recycled, leaving only minimum life support in case someone would end up stranded there. No more recorded activity in the database, and no liaison ever since the closing."

All business, Wufei turned to Iria.

"Can you add any details to that?"

"Not really," Iria answered, barely hiding a smile.

She had to admit it was funny to see Heero just blurting out the database scroll by heart, even if a bit frightening at the same time. She was really thinking of having a very serious conversation with all of them about a holiday as soon as Quatre would be better.

"I was working on a similar station when I met Quatre again during the war, but this one is far in the outer rim of the cluster. I suppose it was built in the same way, living quarters next to the factory, two shuttle ports, one for ore carriers and one for transport shuttles… the blueprints must be in the database, right?" she asked, turning to Heero.

"I printed them out," he confirmed with a nod.

"If the satellite was sealed, then I can't see what it could have been used again for. Of course, there aren't any sophisticated alarms since everything of value would have been dismantled and taken away, and the few alarms are set up to warn us about possible leaks of chemicals or anything that might be dangerous for someone who would happen to cross the satellite on their road. But this basically just remains a bit of floating rock onto which some livable installations were implanted, and then abandoned."

"Is there a possibility that someone could have used the current installations as a base without anyone here knowing?" Wufei asked seriously.

Iria hesitated, then nodded.

"If they have what it takes," she said.

"Which is?" Sally inquired.

"Well, after the workers were evacuated, I would think that all the life support systems were unplugged, and all energy sources removed from the premises. Someone wanting to use the satellite would have to bring in oxygen, energy to restart the systems, probably some good computer technicians to make sure the whole commanding interface runs smoothly… it would take a lot of effort, and a lot of money, and it's a wonder why anyone would…"

"But it could be done unnoticed," Duo pointed out.

"Yes," Iria admitted with a wince. "If someone managed to do all this, then they can cut ties at will with the main database without a problem, since the satellite is officially sealed. No one will look further, and really no one cares. Who would want to live on a piece of space junk anyway? It's just not worth the cost. But it is possible. If someone managed to restart the life support systems and the computer mainframe, they can do whatever they want, because, as I told you, the only supervision we do on those old satellites are for chemical leaks, since we sometimes use them for storage of dangerous or outdated materials. But I don't think it was the case with that one. It was not taken away from its stationing point around the cluster because it was quite far away from transport routes and didn't bother anyone."

"The perfect place to hide something," Duo said with a dark smile. "Whatever you want, people, machinery, anything."

Iria's brow furrowed in worry.

"You are absolutely right, Duo. I think that, as new CEO of WEI, it is my duty to have someone check on all of those installations and make sure they are completely dismantled. After all, the walls can be used again in construction, and the life support systems could be donated to mechanic schools for teaching purposes. We'll just have to find a way to get rid of the dangerous chemicals stored on some of the premises and a good salvage company to take the installations apart," she ended with a smile.

"I'll give you Howard's business card," Duo retorted with a grin. "You settle everything with the old man, and he'll probably give you a good price. You're giving him work for at least ten years with this."

Wufei cleared his throat, bringing everyone's attention back on him.

"Good. Yuy, Maxwell, you find me that shuttle and investigate on the satellite. I'll make sure that a Preventer stealth shuttle is ready for you at the spaceport. When do you want to leave?"

"Just give us the time to jump into our gear and we're off, huh, Heero?"

"Hn," was Heero's only reply, but he nodded tersely to his 'boss'. Both Heero and Duo got up and made their way to the door, but Duo turned around at the last moment.

"What are you guys gonna do while we get all of the action and fun?"

"We are staying here," Wufei answered after a moment. "I will report to Une, and send the latest news to Agent Catalonia and Minister Darlian. You can contact us the normal way. We're staying with Quatre and keeping an eye on things."

"Why doesn't that surprise me coming from our Wu-bear?" Duo smirked teasingly. "I always knew you had a mother hen streak in you, man!" he added, zooming out of the room with all speed to avoid being killed by a furious and embarrassed to the point of turning beet red Chinese man.

Neither Iria nor Sally remained in the office for very long, first because they didn't want to embarrass Wufei any further and because it was clear that he and Trowa needed some time alone. They left quickly, as they both had things to do elsewhere.

Trowa didn't move from his place on the couch, hands still holding the now empty mug Wufei had given him. Wufei took a deep breath and approached his friend, kneeling in front of him and putting a hand on his shoulder.

"Go get some sleep."

Trowa shuddered and looked up, shaking his head, but Wufei refused to bend.

"No need to argue, Barton. You need rest. You've been on your feet for God knows how long, you just had a serious emotional shock, and we both know there's nothing we can do for the moment. Trying to get some sleep is the most reasonable thing for you."

"What about you?" Trowa protested.

"I happen not to have spent most of last night and of today in that room waiting for something to happen. It may not have been relaxing, but I had some sleep at least."

"I want to know if he's alright…" Trowa began, only to be cut off again.

"I will stay in his room."

Trowa blinked.

"What?"

Wufei smiled.

"I will stay in his room. As soon as you're tucked in, I'll just take a book or something and go sit with him so that he won't be alone if he wakes up."

Trowa swallowed.

"Wufei, you don't have to do this."

Wufei just looked at him, baring his soul as he looked directly into his best friend's eyes.

"I know I don't have to. I want to. I want to do this for both of you. He's sick, and you can't do him any good if you don't get at least a few hours of rest. You're going to pass out from exhaustion, and then I'm going to have to worry for both of you. I… Trowa, do you trust me to watch over him? I promise that if anything happens, I will come to get you."

It took a moment for Trowa to find his voice back. He had no idea what had happened to Wufei in the short time the Chinese had had to mull over the revelation that both he and Quatre were in love with him, but it was clear at least that his friend was trying, very hard, to come to terms with the idea. Not to mention that it would be downright cruel from Trowa to refuse Wufei's offer. He knew very well that Wufei had longed to do just that for Quatre, to care for him just the way Trowa did. He also knew that he didn't have a problem with it, that he would welcome this, that he was looking forward to seeing Quatre and Wufei interact together, and all of them finding a new balance in their life.

"I trust you, Wufei," he said very softly.

"Good. I'll walk you back to your room. Just take a shower and try to sleep. I'll go grab a book and settle just next door. If you need anything, you know where I'll be."

Wufei got out first. He didn't see the smile appearing on Trowa's face, nor heard the whispered sentence.

"You'll be where you belong, Wufei. I know what I'm talking about. You'll never want to leave again."

Trowa began to follow Wufei, then stopped and frowned, suddenly recalling a bit of what Wufei had said.

'Worry for both of us?'

His smile grew bigger as he jogged along the corridor to catch up with his friend.

Carter looked around in hopes of finding his way back, but he had to admit it: he was lost. He had taken off after leaving the office, to let out some steam. He had not shown it, but he was really frustrated to be left aside on something that, from Dr. Winner and Dr. Po's reaction, seemed to be central in Quatre's illness. He could easily understand that none of the Gundam pilots were ready to trust him, at least until Quatre would start to get better. And if he was really honest with himself, they scared him a little. He was sure that if he had decided to argue and stay in the room, Maxwell would have bodily kicked him out and none of the others would have prevented him from doing so. Sally Po's warning was slowly seeping in.

He was fascinated by them, both as a doctor specialized in the troubles of the mind and as a human being. And he wasn't sure he wanted to explore that fascination too thoroughly, because he was almost certain that it would amount to doing exactly what Sally Po had said he should not do. She was absolutely right when she said that those boys didn't need his help in coping with any kind of mental wounds their scarred childhoods and the wars had given them. And he also admitted that trying to delve any deeper would not only be extremely rude and uncaring of him, but also that it would tag him as one of those people who would do anything to satisfy some misplaced curiosity, and he really couldn't imagine himself as someone like that. A lot of people were fascinated by the so-called Gundam Boys, the most enraged of fans even having created groups to try and find out who their heroes were. He did not wish to be associated with the raving lunatics who would do anything to invade those boys' privacy. He had to control himself enough, and to be acutely aware of the very tight limits the pilots raised around themselves, because any sign that he would try to get past those defenses without being asked to first could be very dangerous for him. On the other hand, he really didn't want to stop and think about the fact that whatever was related to Sally Po had a kind of special taste. Nope, he really didn't want to. He was here because he was a professional and because one of his patients needed help in a time of distress, nothing more. And if he kept telling himself that, he might even start to believe it.

Carter ran a hand through his hair and sighed. He had walked without looking where he was going, and since all of the halls and rooms were decorated in a similar way, he had completely lost track of where he was. To top it all, there wasn't a servant in sight, and most of the security seemed to be concentrated outside. Which meant he was basically on his own, lost in the maze of the Winner Mansion. He snorted at his own stupidity.

"Great! I just had to go blindly ruminating about how no one trusts me in here and what a poor, miserable, unloved guy I am! Now I'm bound to starve to death before meeting a friendly face ever again. Maybe I should just jump out of a window and find the main entrance again. That would be far easier!"

He opened a door at random and got the greatest shock of his life for the second time in less than twenty-four hours when he fell face to face with the barrel of a gun, behind which two cool blue eyes were staring at him.

Time seemed to slow down, seconds turning into centuries, as Carter stood, hypnotized by the blue gaze and by the nose of the weapon pointed straight at his forehead, far too close for him to dodge if the shooter decided to squeeze the trigger. He dimly became strangely aware of his surroundings. The walls painted a cream white, and the two huge windows in the background that let the now fading lights in the room, casting strange shadows everywhere; the racks of weapons, from antique Japanese sabers to things he had never seen before, hanging on most of the walls; a voice talking in the background, but the owner of the voice nowhere in sight at the moment.

Carter was no stranger to weapons. He had seen his fair share of them during the war, and before he had finally been hired by the very private Fatimah clinic, he had had to take the jobs that were offered to him, and that had been in the ER room of a war zone in his hometown of Neo-Chicago. But the gun that Heero Yuy was aiming at his head was nothing like he had seen before. Sleek, black with a blue tint, obviously made of another metal than the standard titanium now universally used to make hand weapons lighter. Yuy's hand was poised on the gun like drawing a weapon on people at unawares was something he did quite regularly.

The voice grew louder and Duo Maxwell suddenly appeared out of nowhere. Carter saw him from the corner of his eyes, but he was far too paralyzed to even try and move a finger. It unsettled him quite a bit when the young man, after taking a good look at the scene, suddenly burst out laughing.

"Heero, can't you pick another time to play with the doc? We're supposed to be gone already!"

Carter shivered. Heero raised an eyebrow, still staring at Carter. Apparently, that little signal was a whole question, and a question his partner understood, because Duo kept on chattering. But Carter couldn't help noticing that if the young man was walking closer to them, he was doing so deliberately slowly, and apparently taking care to put himself in Heero's line of vision while constantly reminding him of his presence with the sound of his voice.

"C'mon, Heero, put the gun away already! He's supposed to be on our side, y'know? Not that it'd prevent you from shooting him, heh, you almost did kill me after all and I was on your side, too, not to mention I shot you and I was on your side… well I didn't know it, but still… Anyway, he's here to help Cat, so it wouldn't look too good if you plastered his brain all over Cat's nice weapon bunker… Not to mention the kitty would make you clean and repaint the walls yourself, and he's a slave-driver, we all know it…"

At some point during that little speech, Heero suddenly pointed the gun upwards and clicked the safety back on, but he didn't move from his place and kept on glaring right at Carter, as if the doctor's very existence was an insult to the order of nature. Carter began to breathe more freely but very cautiously anyway. Duo sauntered to Heero, put a hand on his shoulder and murmured something in his ear that Carter didn't hear. All he knew was that it made Heero smirk, and that was definitely not a pleasant sight, especially not after having been held at gunpoint. Then, the blue gaze went blank as if the Japanese young man had somehow obliterated Carter's presence from his reality, unpleasantly reminding the young doctor of the look on Quatre's face during the last three weeks. Heero turned away, holstered his gun and went to a desk with an open laptop, typing a few commands and watching it shut down.

"Don't take it personally, Doc," Duo said with a wink, walking to one of the weapon racks that held strange knives and examining them. "Just a warning, though. Don't cross Heero when he's in mission mode, 'kay? The only people who tried are Gundam Pilots or dead."

"I'm… I'm sorry," Carter finally stammered out. "I got… well, it's stupid, but I got lost in the mansion and I had no idea where I was. I just opened the first door I found."

"And Heero gave you a heart attack. You get used to it, don't worry. Damn, where did Cat put my knives?"

'I hope I won't be around long enough to get used to it,' Carter thought, but he wisely kept that to himself.

He suddenly noticed the two young men's attire. Both were wearing very form-fitting black suits that were, if he was not mistaken, the latest thing in space suits: tight enough that it wasn't a pain in the ass to move in them or carry weapons around. But those ones definitely looked more refined and had a more crafted look to them than the ones that had been proudly shown on television not that long ago. The boots looked very light too, and the magnetic soles appeared to be state-of-the-art. He was not sure that the official spatial program had suits that good, and could only guess that those had probably been custom-made for their owners. Both Duo and Heero also wore ear pieces and throat microphones that made it far easier to communicate even between space suits. Heero was packed with firearms, two thigh holsters and two shoulder holsters strapped above his suit, and each holding a copy of the sleek black gun he had pulled on Carter earlier. The ease with which he was moving around, not making a sound even if he was carrying so much, just proved how used to the situation he was.

Duo was only carrying one gun in a waist holster, the caliber resting comfortably at the small of his back. He was now selecting some blades from the rack he had been standing in front of and testing their balance by making them spin. Carter almost jumped out of his skin when he did a final test by throwing a knife in Heero's direction. The Japanese teen didn't even move an inch, eyes still fixed on the laptop as the blade flew close enough to his face to cut a few strands of hair before embedding itself in the wall behind with a dull thud. Duo's face broke into a huge smile.

"Good! I see those were well taken care of, heh, Heero?"

"Hn" was the only laconic answer he got. But Heero reached out, took the knife out of the wall and threw it back at Duo, who caught it effortlessly. At that point, Carter was quite ready to drop dead. Whatever those two were doing seemed like routine between them, but it scared the living daylights out of him. Duo didn't seem to notice the nice green color he had turned, or if he did he didn't comment on it. He chose a few other knives made of an unknown black metal, their handles apparently custom-made for his hands because they fitted right in. He put two of them in wrist sheaths, two other in thigh sheaths, and the other ones disappeared in various places of his gear without Carter really noticing where.

"Okay, I'm all set, Heero! Can we go now?"

"Everything clear," Heero answered. "Shuttle's waiting for us."

"A shuttle?" Carter blurted out before he could help himself, earning another glare from Heero. "Where are you going?"

Heero frowned and ignored him, but Duo slapped his forehead.

"Oh yeah, I forgot you weren't here when our Grumpy in Chief assigned us to that. Well, let's just say that Heero and I are trying to understand how Cat ended at your place, so we're going after the shuttle he took to leave L4-A001 three weeks ago."

"I see," Carter said, nodding.

"Yeah, right," Duo teased lightly. "You ain't seen nothing, Doc, and I think it would be good for your health if it stayed that way."

A tense silence fell in the room, until Duo turned to Heero.

"Would you mind getting the shuttle ready to go? I'll be there in a minute, just need a few words with the doc here."

Again, Heero smirked smugly, and nodded once before going out silently, his laptop securely tucked under his arm. Once he was gone, Duo turned to Carter again, all amusement gone from the too young eyes that had already seen far too much.

"You know, Doc, I'm sorry for biting your head off earlier. That was uncalled for. But… Well, I guess it's normal for you to be curious, or you wouldn't have chosen to become a doctor, I suppose. But you ask too many questions. You want answers we can't give, because it's too dangerous, not only for us, but for you as well. Which has the obvious drawback of making Heero nervous, and believe me he's tense enough that I don't need this on top. Not to mention you're kind of beginning to piss Wufei off, which has never proved to be a good thing for anyone except me. The last guys who did that are still trying to understand what happened to their limbs. Trowa wouldn't say anything, but if you push him too far, you won't even have time to say 'goodbye' before he's done with you. No, in fact you wouldn't have time to say 'g…' before it'd be over. And you definitely don't wanna meet me when I'm in a pissy mood."

"What are you getting at exactly?" Carter asked, puzzled.

"Just warning you, that's all. I know you're frustrated beyond belief and you think we're all hiding something… which is true, and we won't tell you what unless absolutely necessary. If we're lucky, you'll never need to know. I told you that already, but you didn't seem to listen properly."

Duo got closer, pinning Carter with an intense and serious gaze.

"You're here to help Cat, and I know Sally and Iria were relieved to see how well you had done with him when we found him. I know they trust you to take care of him as he recovers, because they both think you're a good doctor. I also know that it's not enough for me to trust you right away, far from it. Especially not if you start asking the wrong questions at the wrong time and to the wrong people. So stop sticking your nose where it doesn't belong or it could get ugly for everyone."

Carter straightened up. He was beginning to feel mad at everyone telling him to do his part and shut up. Asking questions was his job. You didn't cure mentally unstable people by pumping them full of drugs, but by talking. He was supposed to ask questions, especially since he had a feeling that what was hidden from him was essential for him to understand Quatre's present condition. But everyone seemed to believe he didn't need to know, and no one was letting him make that decision for himself. That's why Carter's voice was definitely cold and furious when he next spoke.

"Is that a threat, Mr. Maxwell?"

He immediately wished he hadn't asked. Duo smiled, a wolfish grin that few people had seen who were still alive to tell the tale. The young man made his way to the door, turning around just before going out, and shook his head, smile unwavering and a strange glitter in his eyes that seemed to promise lots of dark things.

"No, Doc. It's not a threat. It's a promise."