Chapter Seventeen: A Busy Day at the Office

"…and that's what happened," Max reported as he sat across from Signas, his right foot resting on his left knee. "In summary, Miss Pallette wanted to help Miss Layer learn more about Mister Zero so she had Axl override the lock so she could get in to gather information." He uncrossed his legs so he could lean forward to emphasize his next statement. "I'm compelled to reiterate that she had no intention of breaking protocol, Commander; she only wished to help a dear friend."

"Hm…" Signas mused, crossing his arms as he leaned back in his oversized desk chair. "Not to come across as condescending, but you are certain that you have left nothing out?"

"I'm positive," Max replied with a rueful smile as he raised a PADD and waved it. "Alia and I put all of our notes and observations together; we spent most of last night formatting them into this report."

"I appreciate it," Signas replied, then lifted a hand when Max tried to hand him the electronic notepad. "I have already committed your report to memory, but thank you."

Max chuckled wryly. "Yeah, I guess you would, huh? Sorry about that; force of habit from work."

"No offense taken," Signas replied easily. "Was there anything else?"

"Actually, there's one more thing," Max said, leaning back to tug on his shirt in an effort to straighten it. "I'm going to assume that you already know about this, but here goes: Miss Layer needs some time off to find herself."

"Ah, speaking of whom…" Signas suddenly leaned forward to press a button on his desk, opening the doors to his office; on the other side stood Layer, with a look of surprise and her hand extended toward the panel next to the office door. "Navigator, please come in; Mr. Hannity and I were just discussing your situation."

"Y-Yes, sir." Even though she had worked with her hyper-analytical commander for years, his ability to predict the actions of others still took her by surprise on occasion. "Thank you."

"Hello, Miss Layer," Max greeted as she claimed the seat next to him. "I didn't mean to talk about you behind your back or anything; I figured that since you and I have already talked about this, and since I was giving your commander my report that it'd be fine to bring up your leave request."

"I'm fine with it," she replied. "Thank you for thinking of me."

"Getting back to our prior topic," Signas said, drawing his guests' attention, "I am aware that Navigator Layer wishes to visit her place of manufacture, but your phrasing has me curious: What do you mean by 'find herself'?"

"This is more than just a crush on-" Max cut himself off while giving Layer an apologetic glance. "More than just about a relationship with a coworker," he amended. "She doesn't feel secure in who she is, so we're hoping that she can connect her past to her future, starting with this visit."

"I believe I understand," Signas replied, directing an understanding nod toward his subordinate. "In order to understand herself, she is going back to her place of origin and evaluating her life."

"Something like that," Max confirmed after receiving a nod from the violet-haired girl. "But I have to point out that even she doesn't know where her journey will take her. This is a journey of discovery, after all."

Signas considered the human's words before looking to his subordinate again. "Do you have anything to add, Navigator? Mr. Hannity has been speaking on your behalf; I assume that you are okay with that?"

"Yes, sir," Layer replied somewhat meekly. "I've…had a lot thrown at me lately, and he's helped me to understand it much better than I could have on my own." She blushed lightly. "In some ways, I think he understands me better than I do."

"Hey, don't sell yourself short," Max protested politely. "You've come a long ways already."

Layer's blush darkened. "Th-Thank you."

Signas briefly regarded the fidgeting girl before him. "I will approve your request, but scheduling your leave will have to wait until the end of the day as I anticipate at least one more visit before the day is over. Once that is complete, then I should be able to work out the logistics at that time. Will that be acceptable?"

Layer blinked in surprise at his words; Commander Signas generally didn't request approval from those who worked under him. "Of-…Of course, Commander; thank you."

"Then…" Signas started, rising to his feet, "…unless there are any questions, this meeting is adjourned." He nodded toward the lone human in the room. "Mr. Hannity, you have my gratitude for your efforts in this delicate matter, yours and those of your wife. If you are available this evening, I would like it if you could be present for my decision regarding the results of your report."

"Just name the time and I'll be here," Max promised, then gave him a lopsided grin. "I'll probably be here all day, anyway."

It actually took a moment for Signas to realize what he was talking about. "Ah, yes; I suppose you would. Well, have a pleasant day with your wife, then."

Layer bowed and Max gave a two-finger salute before they made their way to the double doors leading to the Command Center. The doors opened and Max nearly ran into X, who was standing just outside with his navigator. "Oh! 'Scuse me."

"No, excuse me," X replied, stepping aside to let the human pass as Shortwave moved to let her fellow navigator exit. "Good to see you again, Mr. Hannity."

"Thanks," Max replied with a broad smile. "You, too."

As they watched Max and Layer head across the room to the lift, Shortwave leaned toward X and murmured, "Did you see the blush on her?"

X blinked at her question; he normally didn't pay attention to things such as his colleague's complexions. "Um, no. What about it?"

"I dunno," she replied with a shrug. "I've just never seen her like that before."

X opened his mouth to reply, only to be interrupted by their boss' voice: "Hunter Commander X, Navigator Shortwave: Please, come in and take seats." As they settled in, he reclaimed his seat and leaned forward to rest his elbows on his desk and his chin on clasped hands. "May I assume that that is about Light-hakase's request regarding finding his old lab?"

Hunter and navigator paused, then exchanged awkward smiles before X replied. "Yes, sir. I understand that we might have to wait for approval since we don't know how long this will take."

"We'd also need access to Dr. Cain's notes, sir," Shortwave added. "We know that the lab was in the former American Midwest, but if his notes contain anything that could help us narrow down his location…"

"I believe I understand," Signas intoned, straightening in his seat. "I will approve your leave, but I will need until the end of the day to work out the logistics."

"Understood, Commander," X replied as Shortwave studied their superior's expression.

"As far as Dr. Cain's notes…" He tapped a few buttons on his desk. "…you should have access to them from the terminal in your quarters, Navigator."

"Are you okay, sir?" Shortwave piped up. "You look like something's bothering you."

"Sh-Shortwave!" X hissed. "That's… We shouldn't ask him those kinds of questions!"

"No, it's quite all right," Signas said with a raised hand. "While it is true that I cannot discuss the specifics, I can say that I have much to think about right now, some of which is rather unsettling."

"I'm…so sorry," she replied while giving X a cautious glance. "I hope things get better for you soon."

"Thank you," the commander said while rising to his feet, his subordinates following suit. "They should be resolved by the end of the day, but I do thank you for your concern." He briefly regarded the pair. "If there is nothing else…?"

"When should we check back with you about this?" X asked.

"I plan on having a meeting this evening with everyone," Signas replied. "You two, as well as your fellow Hunters and Navigators along with the Hannitys."

X and Shortwave exchanged a glance. "We'll keep our evening free, then," Shortwave promised.

"Very good. Dismissed."

"You okay?"

Pallette gave her beau a reserved glance before returning her gaze to the ground before them as they headed along the hallway toward her quarters. "I'm…fine."

The young warrior studied his friend before straightening and linking his fingers behind his head. "Hey, you wanna go to one of the training rooms and work out? We've been dealing with a lot, and maybe we could-"

"Axl?" Even though she had spoken his name at a low volume, it was somehow enough to cause him to cut off his own statement. "Could we just…stream a movie and have popcorn? I don't want to be around other people right now."

Axl dropped his arms to study her again, this time with a worried expression. "Sure, we can 'flick it' if you want; Signas won't want us 'til tonight, right?"

"Yeah…"

Axl's brow furrowed at the change in her demeanor; she had always been so perky and cheerful that the rather abrupt change was definitely noticeable, though he didn't know what he could do about it…other than watch a movie with her. "Okay, movie and popcorn it is."

She smiled up at him, but along with the gratitude he noticed something else in her smile, something that looked like…pain.

"Maverick down," Zero announced through the comm. system in his usual no-nonsense tone.

"Acknowledged," Layer replied as she checked the battle results on her console. "See you when you return." After closing the channel, she heaved a sigh as she fell back in her chair; while she was happy that her relationship with the red-clad hunter hadn't changed much on the surface, she knew that she had much to do to regain his trust.

Trust…

A sudden inspiration had her bolting from her seat and running from the Launch Pad to her quarters; there was one simple thing she could do to hopefully regain some of his trust…

A few minutes later she stood before the teleport pad, anxiously bounding on the balls of her feet. When she realized that the motion was causing her ample bosom to bounce as well she quickly stilled herself.

Her anxiety spiked, however briefly, as Zero materialized on the pad a few minutes later. "Hunter Commander Zero reporting back."

"Welcome back, Z-Zero," Layer greeted as he approached her; she then bowed deeply as she held her hands out toward him. Within her outstretched hands was…

"What's this?" Zero asked as he accepted the small memory chip.

When his navigator straightened, her face was flushed nearly molten. "This is…" She suddenly slapped her cheeks as she forced herself to stand ramrod straight, causing him to take a startled half-step back. "That is the memory card that was used to store the information from your terminal. I had no business having it, so I am giving it to you to do whatever you want with it."

Zero shifted his gaze from the card to study her briefly. "Did Mr. Hannity tell you to give this to me?"

A puzzled blink. "No, he never mentioned it; I thought of this on my own."

"Hm." Zero regarded his trembling navigator. "And you wanted all this just to…to learn about me?" he asked with an expression of uncertainty.

"Th-That's right," she replied while maintaining her posture, though her knees had started to tremble. "Oh, and I didn't copy any of that to my terminal. J-Just so you know."

Zero shifted his gaze back to the chip in his hand and sighed. After what seemed like an eternity he closed his fingers over the card and held it out toward her. "Hold onto this for me for now; I'll come get it when I'm ready."

"A-Are you sure?" she stammered even as her hands reached out on their own to receive the card. "I mean, I shouldn't have had it in the first-"

"I said 'hold onto this for me'," he said curtly as he took her hand to drop the card into it. "I'll get it from you when I'm ready; got it?"

She nodded wordlessly as she looked into his face; his expression wasn't angry or even stern, but something about it told her that everything would be fine. "O-Okay. I'll take good care of it for you; I promise."

Having given the card back to her, he stepped away and briefly studied her before giving a small nod and heading for the exit.

As Zero passed through the doors from the Launch Pad Layer's knees finally gave out, and she crumpled to the floor, trembling at the implications of his actions.

The blue-clad warrior and his redheaded navigator sat before the terminal in her quarters, poring over the volumes of notes left by the late archaeologist. Even though they didn't know when they'd be able to leave on their expedition, they still wanted to be ready when the time came. "Wow, Dr. Cain was really thorough, wasn't he?" Shortwave said with no small amount of admiration. "I don't think I could do anything like this."

"Me, neither," X agreed as he peered at the screen along with her. "I'm glad we don't have to be as good as him to do this."

Shortwave giggled her agreement as she continued to scan the documents with an analytical eye, looking for anything that could clue them in to the specific location of the lab of X's creator. While each of them had superior scanning capabilities that could cover kilometers of terrain at a time, they had to factor in that Dr. Light's lab had been buried for over a century in an area with a lot of land. "It's too bad his hologram couldn't tell us where it is."

"Yeah, and that's kinda strange…" X mused while absently stroking his chin with a thumb and forefinger. "I mean, why wouldn't he know where his old lab is?" He shrugged. "Maybe he lost track of it somehow?"

"I doubt that," she replied with a shake of her head, and he noticed a sweet yet too-brief fragrance that stimulated his olfactory sensors. "I know that I don't know him very well, but it seems like he's the type who would have you do something like this for your own good. Like he wants you to learn something from the…from the experience or something."

X blinked in surprise at his navigator's insight. "I could see that…"

"Ah!" she exclaimed, startling X as she pointed at a specific line. "Right there!" She then proceeded to rattle off a sequence of numbers that he recognized as a set of coordinates. "That's where the cave is that Dr. Cain entered and ended up finding Dr. Light's lab!"

"That's great!" he exclaimed with a fist-pump. "Great job, Shortwave! Thank-URK!"

His abrupt cry was due to Shortwave suddenly launching herself at him and wrapping her arms around his neck in a celebratory hug. "I'm so happy for you!" she cried as she held him tightly. "Now we can see where you were made! It'll be like you're going home!"

"Sh-Shortwave!" X exclaimed, unsure what to do about the unexpected display of affection, even though part of him really liked it for some reason. "P-Please let go!"

His words caused her to realize what she had done and she quickly released him to settle back into her seat. "I…I'm sorry; I didn't mean to make you uncomfortable."

"I-I'm sorry," he said, her response not having registered yet. "I just…don't know what to do with stuff like that." The guilty expression he saw on her face as her words finally sunk in caused his own mood to sink a little. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to make you feel bad or anything; I'm just not used to that."

"It's okay," she murmured, casting her gaze to her lap. "I was just so happy that…I didn't think about what I was doing."

"Don't worry about it," he said in an attempt to be reassuring. "If it helps, I'm not mad or anything."

"Th-That's good."

They spent the next hour quietly – and awkwardly – discussing what provisions they would need for the journey so they could submit a request to their commander for approval.

Signas rested his elbows on the tabletop and his chin in his folded hands as he regarded those seated with him at the oversized table in the Command Level's conference room. Normally, he would have conversations sensitive in nature in his office, but the sheer number of individuals involved made that an impossibility.

To his left sat the Hannitys, with Max in the seat to his immediate left and his wife on his other side. While Max appeared calm, Alia seemed agitated, which made sense in light of one of the decisions that Signas would be announcing, specifically that of the disciplinary action against a dear friend of hers.

Beyond Alia sat Pallette, and from where he sat it appeared that the two were holding hands below the level of the tabletop as they quietly talked. Beyond Pallette sat Axl, who shifted uncomfortably in his seat as he looked around.

Zero sat at the other end of the table opposite Signas, leaning back in his seat with his arms crossed as he studied the others. To his left sat Layer, who frequently glanced furtively at him as she tried to not melt away under the heat of her furious blush.

Finally, X and Shortwave sat to Signas' right, across from the Hannitys. While X seemed at ease in the unfamiliar environment, Shortwave looked like she was about to throw up at the sight of all the high-ranking members present; she still hadn't adjusted to the idea of effectively being one of them.

"Thank you all for coming on such short notice," Signas announced as he straightened in his seat, signaling the beginning of the meeting. "As you all know, I have called all of you here to address several issues at once."

"We don't all know," Axl declared, and everyone looked to see him with his arms crossed and a mildly annoyed expression. "Pallette just told me that I needed to be here, but she didn't tell me why." He uncrossed his arms to shrug with his hands. "I dunno what this is about, but it seemed important to her so I just went along with it."

Signas flicked a glance at the navigator in question, but her gaze was firmly fixed on the tabletop. "I see. All I can say this point is that all will be made clear."

"If you say so, boss."

"Yes, well…" Signas allowed himself a moment to double-check his schedule in an effort to account for the hunter commander's lack of knowledge but concluded that it could stand as it was. "There are three items that I will be addressing this evening; Navigator Layer's request for leave, Hunter Commander X's and Navigator Shortwave's request for leave, and the disciplinary action to be taken against Navigator Pallette."

"The hell!?" All eyes ended up on Axl again, this time due to his outburst as he shot from his seat. "You're punishing her? What the hell for?"

"As I have indicated, the subject of her discipline will be third in our itinerary," Signas replied, unfazed by his subordinate's behavior. "In the meantime, please sit."

"Axl, please…" Pallette begged while gently tugging on his arm.

It didn't take much coaxing from the petite navigator to get Axl back into his seat, but he sat with arms crossed as he glared at his commander.

"Now to address the issue of Navigator Layer's leave…" Signas began. "Navigator Layer: You are hereby relieved of duty, immediately and indefinitely, until such time as you have completed your…." He glanced over at Max. "…your journey. Are there any questions?"

"N-No, sir," the violet-haired reploid replied, nearly in tears. "Thank you so much, sir."

Commander Signas allowed a small smile to tickle his lips. "I wish you well in your endeavor and look forward to what you discover."

"Th-Thank you, sir."

"Am I flying solo, then?" Zero asked, still reclined and with crossed arms.

"I will address that particular detail later, Hunter Commander," Signas promised. "Were I to address your concern now, it could end up causing confusion."

"Got it."

"The next item on the agenda is the collective request for leave by Hunter Commander X and Navigator Shortwave," Signas continued. He then leveled his gaze at the pair. "Hunter Commander X, Navigator Shortwave: You two are hereby relieved of duty, immediately and indefinitely, until such time as you have completed your mission." Another small smile. "I also wish the two of you well in your endeavor."

"Thank you, Commander" the pair replied, and nearly in unison.

"The last item on the list…" Signas intoned, then sighed. "I regret that it has come to this, Navigator Pallette, but I must administer discipline for your actions regarding Hunter Commander Zero's quarters."

"The hell…!" Axl shot from his seat once again. "THE HELL?!" He jabbed a finger at his own chest. "Signas, I was the one who let her into Zero's quarters!"

"At her request," Signas pointed out.

"The point is that I was the one who let her in! If I hadn't done that, she wouldn't have been able to get into his quarters in the first place!"

"Axl, please…" Pallette pleaded, "…you're not helping…"

"Are you really okay with this, Pallette?" Axl said, looking down at his beloved. "It's my fault that you were even able to do that in the first place!"

"That is enough, Hunter Commander," Signas declared evenly. "Navigator Pallette: You are hereby sentenced to three days of solitary confinement. Please use this opportunity to-"

"NO!" In the blink of an eye, Axl had taken Pallette from her seat and placed her against the wall with him as a shield. In his hands he held his pistols. "THERE'S NO WAY IN HELL I'M LETTING YOU DO THIS TO HER!"

Signas actually flinched at the sight of his subordinate with weapons drawn. He then flinched again at the sight of Max's back before him; the human had somehow managed to vault onto the table and draw his own weapons, which he held crossed in front of him, clearly intending to protect the commander from the distraught hunter. Beyond him, Signas could see that X, Zero, and Layer had leaped from their seats with their weapons drawn and trained on their comrade. Being unarmed, Shortwave hid behind X while Alia had taken cover behind Signas to benefit from her husband's protection.

"Axl, STOP!" Pallette cried with her arms wrapped around his waist. "You're only making this worse!"

"I'm not letting them do this to you!" Axl yelled back. "Not when I could've stopped it!"

"Commander…" Max murmured over his shoulder. "This may not be the best time to ask, but could I speak with you in private? I have an idea that may help…if Axl could be calmed down, of course."

Signas gave a nod before rising to his feet as Max deactivated his blades. "X, Zero, Layer; lower your weapons." The hunter commanders and navigator each gave him a puzzled look but complied. "Axl, please holster your weapons; Mr. Hannity has asked to confer with me regarding your situation, and I have agreed. I now ask that you trust him, even if you do not trust me right now."

The young hunter commander looked warily from X to Zero to the others, his gaze finally settling on the human. After what seemed like an eternity, he roughly shoved his pistols into their holsters. "Fine; I'll behave."

"Thank you, Axl," Pallette said before gently taking him by the arm to lead him back to his seat. Once he was seated she began to speak tenderly to him in low tones as the others reclaimed their seats.

Satisfied that things were under control, Signas caught Max's attention and indicated the exit with his eyes. "We will be back shortly," he told the others as he led the human out the door. Once outside he said, "There is a smaller conference room further down; we can speak there."

"Sounds good," Max replied, sounding anxious; the near-altercation had shaken him up more than he realized.

Signas seemed to notice and looked down at him. "Will you be all right, Mr. Hannity?"

"I will be," Max replied. "Everything happened so fast that I think my emotions finally caught up."

"Well, if there's anything I can do to help…" Signas intentionally let the thought hang as the duo approached the door leading to the smaller conference room. Once they were settled in he said, "When you are ready, I would like to hear your thoughts regarding Nav-…regarding Pallette's situation."

Max blinked in surprise at what appeared to be an intentional omission; Signas nearly always referred to his subordinates by title first, so to hear him do otherwise… "I do have an idea, but I'd like to make sure I understand something first: What constitutes 'solitary confinement' here?"

"Solitary confinement refers to the temporary uploading of a reploid's program into a section of isolated memory," Signas explained. "It is normally used for incarcerating criminals, to prevent them from negatively influencing other reploids while also giving them time to reflect on their actions."

"So why did Axl react as…" Max looked up to find the right words, "…as strongly as he did? Three days of solitary doesn't seem excessive. Shoot, we humans have put our convicts in longer if necessary."

Signas leaned forward to rest his elbows in the table and his chin on his folded hands. "The individual in solitary confinement cannot perceive the passage of time; that can be unsettling. Also, the individual's program is removed from his or her body completely so they are unable to act in any meaningful way. In short: they are cut off from everyone and everything."

"I see…" Max mused. "The way you describe it sounds a lot like sensory deprivation for humans."

"An apt comparison."

"Commander…" Max started with a thoughtful expression, "…would it be possible for this metaphorical prison to be modified to accommodate two reploids?"

"Douglas has been able to accomplish that before, yes," Signas replied easily. "Why do you ask?"

Max leaned forward with a smile as he began to speak.

Everyone looked up to the sound of the door opening and shot to their feet to salute as Signas entered the room. Behind him was Max, who quietly made his way over to his wife as the salutes were dropped and everyone took their seats again.

"After much deliberation, I have come to a decision," Signas announced to the group. "Navigator Pallette: My decision regarding your incarceration stands."

"But-"

"Please allow me to continue," Signas said with a hand raised to stop Axl's potential outburst. "For your failure to enforce Maverick Hunter Headquarter protocols I will also be placing you, Hunter Commander Axl, in solitary confinement…" He leaned forward to fix his gaze on the young hunter. "…along with Navigator Pallette."

Alia gasped and she looked to her husband, who gave her a smile and wink.

"So…you're putting us in the hoosegow…together?" Axl asked, having a hard time believing what he was hearing.

"You will both share a proverbial cell," Signas clarified. "It is my hope that you two will use this opportunity to reflect on your actions and come out of confinement as wiser individuals."

That was all it took for Pallette to burst into tears, and she quickly turned to throw her arms around her hunter. "I'm so sorry, Axl! I'm so sorry!"

For his part, all Axl could do was blink stupidly while his navigator hung off of him. "Yeah…me, too…"

"Your incarceration will begin at 0900 tomorrow morning," he told his subordinates. "I would like this put behind us as soon as possible." He regarded the rest of the group. "I understand that we will need to adjust our routines to account for these changes, however temporary, but I have faith in all of you that we can make this happen."

"So it looks like I'll be flying solo for a while," Zero remarked; since he didn't know how to react to the current situation, he simply chose to not react at all. "No navi, Commander?"

"That depends," Signas replied, then turned to the Hannitys. "Mrs. Hannity: If you are willing, I would be grateful if you would act as Hunter Commander Zero's navigator while Navigator Layer is on leave. If you are unable to do so for any reason, I myself will assume her responsibilities."

"S-Sir?"

Signas smiled at Layer's dumbfounded expression. "Call it what you will, but it is my duty – as well as my desire – to support all of you to the best of my ability. If it means that I take on a role non-typical to myself, then so be it."

Alia looked to her husband, who simply shrugged with an encouraging smile. "If Zero's…okay with working with me…"

"No problem here," the red-clad hunter replied. "Won't be the same, but nothing I can't handle."

"I appreciate your flexibility, Hunter Commander," Signas replied. "And yours as well, Mrs. Hannity. Can you start tomorrow?"

"I'll be there bright and early," Alia replied. "Um, sir."

"Then I look forward to working with you again," Signas intoned. He then briefly studied the group. "If there are no questions…?"

"Can-" Pallette started, but quickly silenced herself.

"What is it, Navigator?" Signas asked in a surprisingly gentle tone.

The petite blonde took a deep breath before speaking again. "Could everyone be there when we're…put in?"

Signas briefly mulled over her request. "I do not see why not. If everyone can be there they are more than welcome."

"I'll be there," Max immediately piped up with hand raised. "Weird as it probably sounds, I kinda feel responsible for all this, so…"

"Thank you, Mr. Hannity," Pallette replied, her voice barely above a whisper.

"Yeah…thanks," Axl half-echoed, still reeling somewhat from his boss' decision.

"If there is nothing else…?" Signas prompted. Seeing no further responses he announced, "Then this meeting is adjourned." He then smiled as the others left the room with promises to be at the incarceration. "Yes…" he murmured to himself. "They will be just fine."