Since we had not needed a brig when we had restored the abandoned space station into our base, the lab was the best substitute we had. It was also one of the only places we could really detain someone. Raasik punched in the code and the door slid open. We all made our way through the door. I placed my helmet on a table, and lethargically sat down on a stool while covertly watching Jakob and Mark with the prisoner.

"You need some medical attention, Array. You should get Jakob to look at it." Raasik advised me as he walked over to me with a medical kit in hand.

"He needs it more than me, Raasik." I nodded towards the ZAFT prisoner. "I can take care of myself. The wound isn't that deep."

"Stubborn girl. Very well. Jakob, you look after the prisoner's wounds, apparently Array is fine." He handed the medical kit to Jakob.

Jakob willingly accepted the medical kit from Raasik. Before choosing this life, he was in the process of getting his doctorate in medical sciences. He was a rational man, but also very kind-hearted and was charitable with his time and skills. He was a few years older than myself. His well-kept sandy blonde hair was a reflection of his orderly personality. According to Jakob, everything had its place.

I walked over to Jakob to grab a few supplies from all of the medical equipment and slowly made my way to a corner. My motions became very lethargic and delicate as any unnecessary movement made it more painful. Lifting up my shirt a little, I assessed the damage. The cut wasn't too deep, it was just quite long though — and very bloody. The more the adrenaline from the fight faded away, the more my wound on my side started to pulsate and hurt. I took some water and tried to wash it out. After I had applied some healing ointment and a large gauze pad, I realized that I didn't grab anything to keep it in place. Once again, I walked over to Jakob and grabbed medical tape to seal off the gauze. He eyed me suspiciously as I haphazardly set down the cleaning supplies I had taken from before. As I was ripping off the last piece of tape, I caught the eyes of the prisoner whose helmet was now discarded to the side. The prisoner grimaced in pain as Jakob probed around the gun wound.

Jakob noticed that I was looking at the prisoner curiously. "He should be fine. The shot he took to his arm is just a bad scratch. As for the wound in his side, luckily the bullet went through and didn't stay in his body. It doesn't look like there is any major internal damage. I will just need to stitch it up."

I nodded in approval. "Raasik and I will go talk to Captain G-" I stopped myself, "to the captain to get things figured out. When the others arrive just put the others prisoners in here as well, and put two people on to guard them. Make sure that you have at least one of their hands handcuffed to something."

"Got it."

"We have no control over what you do with prisoners, or even if you take prisoners but I hope this won't have any repercussions on our arrangements." Captain Gideon looked sternly at me through the monitor.

"I apologize, Captain, ahead of time, if this causes any complications for you or your crew. I honestly think this won't have any effect on the Sargon. We did our job of securing the area just like you needed. And now the Sargon can safely dock. The captives are being held in the lab. They won't even know you were here, or even exist."

"True." He sighed a little. "Then we will proceed to drop off the cargo as planned."

"We will have two of our suits to escort you upon arrival."

Raasik shut off the communication link. "I will get Tyren and Kadin to meet them."

"We should also send out four on patrol, just in case there are other ZAFT mobile suits around. Also we need to interrogate the soldiers to find out why they were out here. Nobody comes out here in this dead zone unless they have a good reason."

"You're right." Raasik nodded. "I will take care of that. You start getting everything ready for their arrival."

"Sounds good." I started to rub my temples. I finally realized the throbbing pain in my head.

"Did you get a concussion, Array?"

"Maybe. But I hadn't noticed it till now. It is nothing major though."

"You should have Jakob look at it."

"Sure." I said pretty casually.

"So that means no then."

I looked over at him guiltily giving him a fake smile to cover my crime. "I will try, if I have time."

The Sargon had arrived safely into the dock, and within hours, the ship had left again. Like a thief in the night, the Sargon had slipped away into deep space, its' mission unknown but to a select few. One of the ZAFT soldiers confessed pretty quickly, they were sent to investigate the location of an EA ship that was spotted in this area. They were to find out what it was doing out here but not to engage with it.

As I watched in the Controls Centre, the Sargon's dot on our radar screen disappeared off the edges.

Cara approached me while giving a small yawn. "So I am on watch then with you, Array?"

I gave her a small smile. "Yes. If you like, I will let you cheat and you can sleep through your whole shift."

"I will be fine. Just a little tired." She gave another yawn.

"Alright. Well, should we make our way to the lab then?"

"Sounds good."

As we walked over to the lab, Cara looked over at me to ask, "So are we going to just keep the prisoners in the lab the whole time?"

After a stifled laugh, I responded, "I would hope not. Raasik has actually asked some of the boys to restore the actual brig on this space station so we can transport them there."

"But what are we going to do with them, Array?"

"What do you mean?"

"Well, we can't keep them forever. Sooner or later something will have to be done with them."

I sighed. "You are right about that one, Cara. I am unsure of what to do. Raasik is already on my case about it. I feel responsible for putting extra pressure and strain on everyone else but I just haven't come up with a solution yet. These are human lives, Cara. Even if they are soldiers, they are still human."

Cara was quiet for a moment. "I appreciate that."

"Appreciate what?"

"That you are considering others. Not just us, but also people who could be considered the enemy. I think it is good that you protected them and saved their lives. Sometimes it isn't always just black or white."

I wasn't always like this though. "You know Cara, you are pretty wise for your age."

Cara just looked up at me and gave a sincere smile.

As I had expected, Cara had fallen asleep. Her head was placed on my lap as I stroked her golden hair softly. If you studied her face closely you could see the small smile on her lips, even now she looked content. Even though it had been only a couple of months since I had met her, it seemed like I had known her for years. We rarely had in depth interactions with outsiders. I thought back to the first time I had met her.

"Array!" Raasik called out. "Our new recruit is here. Tyren and Kadin have just arrived."

I walked through the door to see a small girl nestled between Tyren and Kadin as they stood on each side of her. Her face looked terrified, and almost at the point of tears. At the sight of another female I could see her face soften for a fraction of a second.

"How about I take it from here. Thank you boys for picking her up." I sauntered between the two boys and gently pushed on the girl's backside so she would follow me. We walked through the entranceway, and the door closed behind us. I looked over at the small girl.

"So what is your name?"

"Cara."

"And how old are you, Cara?"

"11."

For a moment I was in shock but I tried to not let it show. "Well, I am Array. It is a pleasure to meet you, Cara. How was your trip here?"

She hesitated for a moment. "Good." Her voice cracked a little.

"Was it actually?"

The young girl burst into tears. I wrapped my arms around her, trying to comfort her. She wasn't that much shorter than me but it was the innocence that gave away her age. She hadn't been marred by the immorality of this world yet. After the sobs started to become sparse, I let go of her and looked into her clear blue eyes.

"You can always be honest with me Cara, okay? I understand what it is like to be the new person on board."

She gave me a small nod.

"Well, how about I give you a little tour. Then I will show you to your room. How does that sound?"

"Good." She said sheepishly.

"Okay." I smiled. "Let's begin. I will first say that you don't have to be afraid of Raasik, the big guy. He's actually a soft teddy-bear." I gave her a little wink.

For a brief moment I saw a minuscule smile break across her face.

"You should smile more often, Cara. It suits you."

I looked down once again at the girl settled into my lap. I delicately brushed a strand of hair that had fallen onto her face. Why did tragedy have to strike her? She didn't deserve it.

Cara's family had been attacked by a group of men who were under the banner of Blue Cosmos because her father was accused of helping Coordinators. She was sent to us through a friend of Raasik's. She wasn't actually a recruit, but rather, we were her safehouse. We were a group of renegades but it was safer than sending her to an orphanage where she could easily be found. The Blue Cosmos didn't relent till the job was done. Their job was to kill man, woman, and child of Cara's family. She was the only survivor.

I slowly lifted her head up and placed her against a chair as I got up from my spot. I stretched my legs and took a deep breath as I looked up and down the long hallway. The lights were dimmed in the hall to make it difficult to see the end of it unless you looked intently. It was a serene calm though, as the only sound was the dull hum of the space station running. Not a soul was stirring at this point of the night.

I punched in the code and the lab door slid open smoothly. I quietly stepped inside the room, letting the door glide closed behind me. My eyes adjusted to the very dimly lit room. It was completely silent within the room. All I could hear was the hum of the station and the sound of heavy breathing. As my eyes adjusted I could see the figures of people spread out across the floor. They all looked sound asleep. I walked among the almost lifeless bodies. Their souls were far from their bodies, discovering the land of their dreams. I noticed one of the blankets had fallen off one of the captives. Stooping down, I caught the corner of the blanket and gently pulled it up to cover him.

Just as I was making my way to the door, out of the corner of my eye, I noticed a slight movement. I instantly stopped in my tracks. Instantaneously, the adrenaline started rushing through my body. Slightly turning my head, I looked to see the source of movement.

It was the Red pilot. I could see his eyes glinting in the soft light from behind his muted green hair. They were gazing right at me. The pilot was sitting upright on the floor, leaning against the wall. As I assessed the situation I realized I was in no harm. My muscles relaxed a bit, and stood up a little taller. "Everything alright?"

"As well as being a prisoner on a space station can be." Hearing him speak took me aback for a second. There was an unexpected softness to his voice. After seeing him be such an aggressive and vicious adversary, I never expected such a gentle voice. The warmth drew me in and still more, I could tell there was an insightful mind behind that voice. In the small traces of light I could see a slight grin on his face but suddenly the smile disappeared and his face became grave. "Thank you." He was still serious but I could feel that warmth in his tone.

"For what?" I snapped back.

"For saving me. After what I had done to you, I didn't deserve that."

I didn't really know what to say in response so I just stood there in silence for a moment. I started to turn to walk towards the door.

"So why did you do it?"

Pausing, I thought for a moment considering my actions. Memories of when I received news of his death flashed through my mind. The paralyzing pain felt just as raw and unyielding as it did then. Sometimes, time doesn't heal wounds. Rather, they fester.

"There was a lot of factors to consider but," I turned towards him again, "People don't realize that we are playing with human lives when we are at war. It is more than a game." Without waiting for a response I spun on my heels and headed straight for the door. "Have a good night."

As I walked away, I went through the encounter again in my mind. He is just a boy. So young... and why would he thank me? That is not what soldiers do.

If you have found any spelling or grammatical errors in my writings so far let me know. I tried to look over it before I send it in but sometimes I miss them. I would also like to hear your feedback. Is it too slow paced? Does there need to be more character development? Let me know!