Transformations   von chelle76
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                          Kapitel 13: Calvary Command
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Transformations…
Chapter 13: Calvary Command


Saber sits up and looks around. A bit of light is making it's way into the room
from the tiny window above his bed illuminating the room just enough for him to
make out shapes. He looks around and sighs, looking at the clock. “1:30 AM.”
He groans and flops backwards onto his bed. After laying there a while he gives
up on getting more sleep and gets up and dresses, then quietly heads out of his
room, through the common area and towards the door.
“You're up really early.” A familiar voice states from the darkness.
Saber turns and sighs. “Look who's talking.” He replies back, a bit
agitated.
The figure stands up from his chair and walks towards Saber. “I couldn't
sleep. So I came out here.”
“I was going to go and ride. You want to join me?” Saber asks.
He nods. “If you don't mind, I'd like to.” 
Saber nods. “I'll take the Suit; you take your Lion, for now.” The figure
nods. “Perhaps once we're away from anything with people, I could let you try
the suit.” He adds with a smirk, “If you're up to it.” 
Lance smiles. “Let's go.”
They head out the door and a short time later, they arrive a good distance from
the base. They both land and meet on the ground. “You think you're ready for
this?” 
Lance nods.  “I've been dying to try it since you showed up with it.”
Saber laughs. “I'll warn you. It's rather complex, a bit different from your
Lion.”
Lance shrugs. “I'm sure if you can do it, I can.”
Saber smirks. “Just don't damage it, or yourself, okay?”
“Sure. Are you going up in the Lion?” Lance asks.
Saber nods. “I think I'd be safer in it than on the ground.”
“Funny.” Lance tosses him the key to Red Lion and heads to get into the
suit. “This should be easy.”
“So you know, I put it in training mode, so you don't accidentally blow
something up.” Saber says wryly.
“Thanks for the vote of confidence.” Lance retorts as he gets into the suit
and Saber climbs into Red Lion and they take to the air. Lance is quite unsteady
at first. “How the Hell did you make this look easy?” He says as he starts
hitting buttons, trying to get the suit to steady.
Saber laughs. “Not as easy as you thought, eh?” 
Lance continues messing with random buttons. Saber finally sighs and starts
walking him through how to steady the suit. “Take the main control stick and
pull back a bit, like you would with the Lion.” He does so. “Okay, now, just
hit the two buttons to the left, that should give you control using the
stick.” Lance follows the directions and the suit starts responding better.
“Good, now practice moving around until you get it.”
“How long did it take you to figure this out?” Lance asks. “There are so
many different buttons and modes that it makes my head spin.”
“A minute or two I think.” Saber replies honestly. “That includes
unlocking the training mode and reading the tutorials on the weapons and such as
well.”
“Huh?” Lance replies. “You unlocked it you mean, in a matter of
minutes?”
Saber shakes his head. “No, I unlocked and did the tutorials in a matter of
minutes.”
“Damn! No wonder you didn't have trouble with my Lion.” Lance replies.
They practice for a bit, and Lance becomes more steady and confident in the
suit. “Do you want to try and dodge a few attacks?” Saber asks.
“Aren't you afraid of damaging the suit?” Lance asks.
“Not really.” Saber replies.
“Sure. Bring it on.” Lance retorts confidently.
Saber smiles, “If you insist.” He fires the tail laser at Lance, hitting him
squarely in the chest, causing him to drop quickly, but he manages to right
himself before hitting the ground.
“Damn!” Lance swears under his breath.
“Try moving when I fire at you.” Saber says dryly.
“Gee, you think?” Lance replies sarcastically. They spar for a bit before
landing on the ground. Lance meets Saber in front of the suit. “I think for
now, I'll stick to the Lion. But you have to let me try that once in a while. I
might actually get better at it.”
Saber nods as he tosses him the key to Red Lion, “You'll get better. I don't
think you did too badly for not having a clue of how it works. I should have let
you read the tutorials first. But the others didn't have that luxury, so I
thought I'd put you to their level that way.”
“How were you able to unlock that system so quickly?” Lance asks impressed.

Saber shrugs. “I'm not really sure. I'm just sort of...lucky, I guess with
computers.” 
Lance nods; not sure he's getting the whole truth, but doesn't push it. “So,
why were you up so early?”
“I couldn't sleep.” Saber replies quietly.
Lance nods. “I'm not good at sleeping in strange places, especially sharing a
room with Hothead and Shorty. They both snore something fierce.”
Saber laughs. “I wish I had that as an excuse.” His smile quickly fades and
he gets quiet.
Lance notices and nods, “I can only imagine what it must be like.” He says
quietly. “I don't know how you manage to do as well as you do. I don't think I
could hold it together like you have.” 
“It's not easy.” Saber says quietly.
Lance nods. “Come on, let's get back. We've been gone a couple of hours. I
wonder if anyone has noticed our absence.”
“And if they have?” Saber asks as he heads to his suit and takes off. 
Lance gets into his Lion and takes off. “Then we tell them we went to a bar
and had a few drinks. I bet we get some looks then.”
Saber laughs. “Yeah I can imagine the looks now. We'd be under constant guard
after that.”
“Seriously, what should we tell them if anyone asks what we've been up to?”
Lance asks.
“The truth, we couldn't sleep, so we went out for a bit.” Saber replies as
he enters the hangar and sets down.
Lance nods as he sets down in the Red Lion. “I suppose no one will think
anything of it. Pretty much everyone knows you haven't slept much, and well, I
have a rep as doing what I want, not caring what others think.”
Saber chuckles. “And yet, you were picking on me?” He shakes his head
amused. They head back to the sleeping area, entering the common area quietly,
only to find Fala, Keith, and Commander Eagle sitting up waiting for them.
“Good morning.” Saber says as if nothing is amiss. 
“Been up long?” Keith asks sarcastically, looking towards Lance.
“You try sleeping with two loud snoring guys in the same room.” Lance
retorts, causing Keith to blush slightly.
“Saber, are you feeling any better than yesterday?” Commander Eagle asks.
“I got a couple of hours of sleep, Sir.” He replies not fully answering the
question.
Commander Eagle sighs, but doesn't press the matter. “Well, I came to let you
know that so far, we have not spotted any enemy ships in the area. I noticed
that you were out in your suit and then I spotted Red Lion, so I figured the two
of you had gone off.”
Saber nods. “I wanted more practice time in the suit. I figured I'd make use
of the time others were sleeping to practice, since I couldn't sleep.”
Fala looks at him sympathetically. “You really should try and sleep more. Not
sleeping can catch up to you.”
“I appreciate your concern, Your Highness. I am sleeping more than I was a few
months ago. I'm sure with time I'll be able to get more sleep.” Saber
replies.
Fala nods, “I hope so.” 
Slowly, everyone starts waking and joining them in the common area.  “Good
Morning, everyone,” April says as she comes into the common area. 
“Morning,” Several others reply in unison.
She looks around and spots her father, and goes over and sits beside him. “So,
any news we should know about?”
Commander Eagle shakes his head. “For once, I'm glad to have nothing to
report.” She nods in agreement. “Perhaps that will allow all of you time to
become more acclimated to your suits.”
April nods. “Yeah, I know that I can use some practice. I'm sure the guys can
use it too.” She sees Saber coming out of the kitchen area carrying a cup of
something. “How are you doing this morning, Saber?”
“I'm all right.” Saber replies, sipping his drink. “You?”
“I'm good. Did you manage to sleep at all? You look a bit tired still.” She
asks concerned.
“I slept. Not as much as I should, but that's almost a habit now.” He
replies quietly. He looks around the room, and walks over to Commander Eagle.
“I think since you said there is no sign of enemy activity, I'm going to try
and rest for a bit, if that is okay, Sir.”
Commander Eagle studies him for a moment and nods. “I think that's a good
idea. Try and rest while you can.”
Saber nods. “I have so much going through my head right now; it's hard to
concentrate so I thought resting might be a good idea, if I can get my mind to
shut down for a bit.” Saber turns and heads back to his quarters.

“Is he all right, Commander Eagle?” Fala asks concerned after Saber leaves.

Commander Eagle shakes his head, “I'm not entirely sure, Your Highness. I
think he will be, but I'm not sure how long that will take.”
“It's like he improves a little, and then relapses. He seems a bit more
withdrawn than he has been of late,” Fala says sounding concerned.
“He's just feeling overwhelmed. He's been through a lot, and then having to go
home for that ceremony, didn't seem to help matters.” The commander replies
before turning to speak to Colt, “I take it you left Robin and Josh at Saber's
Family Estate?” 
Colt nods, “Given the situation here, I think they are safer there.”
“I think that is a true statement. I am hoping we can put an end to this
quickly. We need to focus on rebuilding the base here, but all of you need to
practice adapting to the new Bismarck and how it works.” Commander Eagle
replies.
“It's a rather remarkable unit, Sir. But we do need to practice a bit. But, I
worry that if the enemy is watching us; couldn't they see the suits and gage the
weaknesses we have with them if we practice too much?” Colt asks.
Commander Eagle nods. “That is a possibility, Mr. Wilcox. But, it's a chance
where I think the benefits would outweigh the risks.”
“He's right Colt. We need the practice. We need to become as familiar with the
controls as we were in the other Bismarck unit.” April adds.
Fireball comes into the room and stands behind April, “She’s right, Colt.”
He looks around the room, “Where’s Saber?” 
“He went to rest. He’s been up quite a while, so when I told him there was
no sign of the enemy, he decided to try and rest for a while.” Commander Eagle
replies.
“Ah.” Fireball says, “That’ll make it a bit hard to practice the
combination phases.”
“I’m sure you can practice maneuvers and such without him.” Commander
Eagle says, “If he says he wants to rest, then we certainly should let
him.”
“Yeah, it’s not like he admits that he needs a break that often.” April
adds.
“Um, I could go up in his suit.” Lance suggests hesitantly. Everyone turns
and looks to him a bit shocked. “Well, he let me try it for a little this
morning.” He adds quickly.
April recovers from her shock, “That might not be a bad idea. It would give us
some practice. And Saber could still get a break.” She looks to Fireball.
“What do you think?”
He thinks for a few minutes before answering, “I think we should get Saber’s
permission before letting someone else into his suit. Even if you were in it
this morning, it would be better to have his permission first.”
Commander Eagle nods. “I’ll go and ask him.” He gets up and heads to
Saber’s room, knocking on the door.
Saber hears the knock and sighs. “Come in.” He responds irritably. 
Commander Eagle enters the room and closes the door behind him. He sees Saber
lying on his bed, not bothering to sit up. “Are you all right?”
“I was almost asleep.” He replies gruffly. He sighs and sits up once he
realizes who has entered his room. “What do you need, Sir?”
“Well, I was coming to see if you would allow Lance of the GoLion team to use
your suit, so the others could practice. He mentioned that he piloted the suit
some this morning while the two of you were…out.” He replies hesitantly.
Saber runs his hands across his face, trying to wake up a bit. “I don’t see
the harm in it. I let him this morning, in the training mode. That way, he
couldn’t blow something up by accident.” The Commander nods. “I suppose I
should go and set it for training mode. I don’t believe it is right now. I
think I just have it locked, so that no one else could activate it.” He sighs.
“Either way, I need to get up again.” He turns and gets up off the bed.
“Let’s go, Sir.” He heads towards the door, the Commander just ahead of
him.
“You can come back after they take off, Saber. I know you need to rest.”
Commander Eagle says as they head to the common room. 
Saber nods slightly, “I may try, Sir. I think I’m starting to feel the
effects of the lack of sleep lately. I don’t want it to affect my actions when
I’m needed.” The Commander nods. “I told you that I would tell you if I
started feeling like it was too much…I fear that I’m getting near that point
right now. Though I’m sure it’s just fatigue.”
The Commander nods, looking a bit concerned. “I’m glad you’re admitting
that you feel that way, Saber. I’ll do my best to make sure you get some
rest.” They come out to the common room and the others look up as they enter,
several notice how tired Saber looks, but don’t say anything.
Saber looks to Lance, “Come on. I’ll unlock the suit and set it in training
mode for you.” Lance nods and Saber smirks slightly, “This time, I’ll let
you access the tutorials too.” 
“Thanks.” Lance adds dryly, “How considerate of you, Captain.”
Saber turns and heads to the bunker. Going over to his suit, he climbs in and
unlocks it, setting it for the training mode. “There. I set it to allow access
to the tutorials and low-grade firing capability. Try not to damage it.” He
climbs out and turns to the Commander, “Anything else, Sir?” the fatigue
obvious in his voice.
Commander Eagle shakes his head. “Not for now, Captain. Go and get some
rest.” 
Saber nods and heads back towards the quarters, Commander Eagle watches him
closely. 
“He’s not well, Commander.” Fala states as she watches him leave.
“Something is really bothering him.” The Commander nods in agreement.
“Should someone go and try and talk to him?” She asks.
“I’m not sure. He may just be overwhelmed by all the new changes and his
personal situation. Maybe going home wasn’t in his best interest after all.”
Commander Eagle replies with a sigh. “I was hoping the ceremony and familiar
scenery would help with closure, but it seems that it may have had the opposite
effect.”
“I’m not sure it was going home that made him…relapse, Sir.” Fala says
as she turns back to where the Mobile Suits had been a few minutes before.
Commander Eagle looks to her with interest. “I think it had to do with
something on Orb, or perhaps specifically with his Mobile Suit. He actually
seemed okay when we were there, even after talking with his fiancé’s
Mother.” 
Commander Eagle looks over to her surprised. “He spoke with Sincia’s
mother?”
Fala nods. “Yes. She came over to him at the ceremony. She seemed glad to see
him. He seemed relieved of that, actually. They didn’t speak any more after
that, as far as I know of.”
Commander Eagle nods, processing the information. “So you seem confident that
it was something to do with Orb?”
Fala nods. “Or the Suit itself perhaps… He has seemed a bit more distant
since they got the suits.”
The Commander sighs. “It’s rather complicated, Your Highness.” 
She looks over with interest. “How so?”
Commander Eagle looks around and notices that the others are a good distance
away watching the Bismarck Team and Lance in the suits. “Well, Saber did
something remarkable when he got into the suit.” He pauses trying to figure
out what all to tell her. “He…was able to figure out the Operating System of
the Mobile Suit in a rather short period of time…to the point of unlocking it
and reading the tutorials.”
“So he’s good with computers.” She states as if it were obvious and not
out of the ordinary. “I don’t see what the big deal is. He seems to be
rather competent.”
“He shouldn’t have been able to access the tutorials, Your Highness. They
were purposely locked to keep the pilots out to test their initial abilities. It
also only took him a matter of minutes to read a day or more worth of
tutorials.” Commander Eagle replies quietly. Fala looks over a bit dumbfounded
and he continues. “He is evidently genetically enhanced, as most of the Orb
Military is. They call them ‘coordinators’. I think that is what is
bothering him more now than anything. He isn’t quite sure how to take that bit
of information.”
“So you think he is doubting his humanity?” She asks.
Commander Eagle shrugs. “That’s one way to look at it.” He sighs. “I’m
not entirely sure what is going through his head right now. He seems to have put
up a wall between us. It’s almost as if he resents knowing that he
was…enhanced. I thought that knowing would be helpful, that maybe he would
want to try and improve his skills more, instead it seems to have made him more
withdrawn.”
“Someone should talk to him, Sir.” She looks up to the Commander who nods
slightly. “I’m just not sure who to recommend.”
Commander Eagle looks out towards where the others are. “I’m not sure
either. He won’t talk to me, so I’m not sure who to suggest. He seems to
have some rapport with Lance, though I don’t see him opening up about feelings
to him.”
Fala laughs. “No, most definitely not Lance, he couldn’t be serious if his
life depended on it.” She looks around to the others, thinking. “Maybe
April?” 
The Commander shakes his head. “He seems distant even from her right now.”
He sighs. “I briefly thought of Fireball, but thought better of it. Perhaps
you or Keith would have better luck?” 
Fala looks over surprised at the suggestion. “One of us, Sir?”
He nods. “He seems to respect both of you, and perhaps being close in age, he
wouldn’t feel strange talking to you.” He pauses then adds, “And you have
also both lost your families, something else you can relate to him with.”
Fala nods, considering the suggestion for a while before speaking again.
“I’ll try and talk to him first. Keith isn’t exactly the best person to go
to about feelings. He might do well, but I’m not sure even I could talk him
into trying to talk to Saber.” 
Commander Eagle nods. “I appreciate it, Your Highness.” He says quietly. 
They watch the others for a while and she turns to go inside. “I think I’ll
go on in. Maybe it will go better if no one else is around.” Commander Eagle
nods. “If they ask where I went, just tell them I’m checking on something
and I’ll be back soon.” He nods again and she goes back into the sleeping
area, entering through the sitting room. 

She heads to Saber’s door and knocks softly after hesitating for a moment.
After a long silence she goes to leave just as the door opens a bit. “Yes?”
Saber asks quietly.
Fala looks at him apologetically. “I woke you. I’m sorry. I will just come
back later.” She goes to leave.
“No. It’s fine. I’m up now.” He sighs and opens the door a bit more.
“Can I help you with something, Your Highness?”
She looks at him a moment, trying to figure out what to say, “Well, I wanted
to talk to you…without anyone else around.” She stammers out quietly, not
sure of what else to say.
He looks at her hesitantly. “All right. Um…give me a minute and I’ll be
out.” 
She nods. “I’ll be in the sitting area.” He nods and closes the door. She
goes and sits down on the couch to wait for him.
A few minutes later he comes out, looking a bit better than before. “So, what
do you need to talk about, Your Highness?” He says as he sits down across from
her.
She sighs, not sure what to say and looks around. “Well, it’s a bit of a
private matter…is there somewhere else we can go to that someone can’t just
walk in on our conversation?”
He studies her face for a moment, trying to figure out what she’s thinking,
then nods slightly and stands up, indicating for her to follow him. “Is
everyone still outside?” She nods as she stands up. “Then we can use the
Commander’s office. Let’s go there.” He leads them through a few hallways
and they enter the Commander’s office. He sits down in a chair and she sits
across from him on another chair. “So, what’s on your mind?” He asks as
casually as possible.
She looks down nervously trying to figure what to say, then looks up, meeting
his gaze as he watches her closely. “Well…” She sighs before continuing,
“Several of us have noticed that since you came back from Orb, you have been
more…withdrawn, even more tired than you had been. We are all worried about
you. No one else is brave enough to come out and ask you if you are okay, so I
am.” She states as she takes a deep breath, waiting for a reply.
Saber closes his eyes and sighs then looks up at her meeting her gaze briefly
before looking away again. “I’m surprised it was you that came. I figured
April or Commander Eagle would corner me, I didn’t see it being you.” He
begins quietly. He looks back at her and her gaze softens a bit. “I don’t
know a definite answer to your question.” He pauses thinking, “Nothing I
say, would be the whole truth. I have so much going through my head right now
that I honestly don’t know what I am feeling.” He sighs. “I feel a lot of
things…anger, grief, confusion…so many different things. I am glad I am
alive, but at the same time I feel that I don’t deserve to be. That someone
else should have been given that chance.” He pauses, sighing to sort though
his thoughts before continuing, “I was doing better for awhile. I felt
like…okay, my parents are gone, Sincia’s gone…how can I honor their
memories? I can live. It seems simple enough. I start to feel better after the
Ceremony, then Calvary Command is attacked, the Bismarck is destroyed. We go to
Orb and we get the Suits.” He pauses, trying to compose his thoughts. “And
when I got in that suit…it was strange. Something in my mind changed. It was
like I suddenly could understand all of the computer stuff in front of me, and
suddenly I’m operating the suit without thinking. Next thing I know, Kira and
Athrun are saying I must be some kind of ‘coordinator’ or something and
basically freaking out, while I’m still trying to figure out how I knew what
to do. Then we come back and end up saving all of you, again, it was like I was
there, and I wasn’t. It’s like my mind over-takes the rest of me when I’m
in that suit. That starts to bother me.” He pauses, studying Fala’s face.
She gazes back, trying not to look shocked, but remains attentive, waiting for
him to continue. He sighs and continues, “Then Fireball mentions the whole
coordinator thing to Commander Eagle, who insists on some sort of blood test.
The test confirms that I am indeed one of those…coordinators.” A long
silence ensues. “I don’t like this not being in control…How do I explain
that to say…Commander Eagle? Or Fireball? Or April? I just don’t know what
to tell them. As for how I’m doing in regards to losing my family…I have
come to terms with it. I still want those responsible to pay for what they did,
but not just because of my family, but for all of those who lost loved ones. My
fight is with that witch Merla or whatever her name is. It is for all of those
lost, not just those that I lost. Every life has value to someone. Every time I
close my eyes, I see the day I lost my parent’s and Sincia. I hear our last
conversations, I see the chaos in the command center, I see Commander Eagle’s
face…I keep asking myself, what could I have done differently? Should I have
asked them to stay one more day…or something…but then I remember something
that Sincia once told me.” He pauses briefly. “That everyone is here for a
time. Sometimes it seems too short, but we have certain people to meet and
certain lessons to learn. Once those are done, we are taken, leaving those
behind who still have more to learn. So I am constantly trying to figure out
just what the Hell I am supposed to have learned from all of this.” His voice
breaks as he finishes, and he looks down to the floor.
Fala sits quietly for a while, studying his face and sighs. “So it’s not
just trouble sleeping that is bothering you?” He shakes his head slightly and
she goes over, kneeling beside him, and places a hand on his shoulder. “Saber,
I know this is all happening so fast right now. I know this seems overwhelming.
But…Sincia is right. There are lessons here, lessons for all of us. We have
all met one another for a reason.” She pauses thinking and he looks up from
the floor to meet her gaze. “Perhaps because we have met, we can improve the
lives of those we know now, the ones still alive. Perhaps we can prevent more
from needlessly dying. We have become technologically stronger. The Mobile Suits
are evidence of that. Just think, if those events hadn’t happened, we probably
wouldn’t have met. I for one am glad we have, I’m just sorry for the
circumstances under which we met. You are a strong person, Saber, but you have
to remember, you can’t take on everything by yourself. Believe me, I have
tried, and it doesn’t work.” He smiles weakly at her and she gets up,
returning to her chair. “I know that we will make the witch pay for the deaths
she has caused. I think we have now been given what we need to be better
equipped to end this fight. Not much can stop us, once we become familiar with
this new technology and as long as we remember that we can rely on each
other.”
Saber nods. “Thank you, Your Highness,” he says quietly and sighs. “I just
wish I could get a peaceful night’s sleep. But the images keep coming…they
won’t stop.” 
Fala nods understanding. “Have you tried literally writing down every detail
onto paper?” He looks at her skeptically. “I’m serious. Have you tried
writing down every detail of that day and the days that followed? The smells,
the conversations, everything you can remember…What the weather was like, what
clothes everyone was wearing…your thoughts during various conversations you
had with people. Your thoughts as you hugged your mother…kissed your
fiancé…literally every little detail?”
Saber shakes his head. “No. I haven’t. I had not thought of that.”
“Try it then. Try literally writing out every little thing. Then read it. It
will affirm that you have done everything that you could have done and will help
you remember the good parts of that day. Then…shred it or better yet, burn the
papers.” He looks at her surprised. “It’s good therapy, actually. It’s
like you are finally releasing all of the emotions tied to those events. It’s
a visualization of those feelings being released. I have done it and it has
helped, maybe it would help you too,” she says, noticing he has relaxed a
little.
Saber studies her face for a minute and notices she’s completely serious.
“So you really think it could help the dreams stop?” he asks quietly. She
nods. “At this point it’s worth a try. I’ve tried everything else I could
think of.” He looks over and nods. “Thank you, Your Highness…for letting
me vent to you. I suppose I haven’t been the most friendly person lately.”
She smiles. “I think everyone understands. Everyone has been worried about
you. But no one was brave enough to corner you about it.”
He chuckles. “How’d they con you into it?”
“Commander Eagle asked me to. He thought about asking Lance or Keith, saying
that you had already seemed a bit distant to the others in your crew, including
him. So after thinking of how it could possibly go if he asked one of the guys,
I volunteered to come and talk to you. I figured that I can sort of understand
how you feel. I have lost my family too, even though I was very young when it
happened. I can still relate.”
Saber nods. “I think you were probably the better choice. You tend to be
better at expressing your thoughts, than say…Lance.”
Fala laughs. “Somehow, I just can’t see a serious conversation like we just
had going well with Lance…or any of the guys for that matter.”
Saber nods, smiling. “Yeah, I know what you mean. Lance is most assuredly not
serious, if he can help it.”
They both stand up and Fala smiles at him. “You seem to look a little better.
I’m glad of that, Saber.”
He nods. “I do feel a bit better. Thank you. If it’s fine with you, I think
I am going to go and eat something, and then try as you suggested.” She nods.
“Please let Commander Eagle know. I will be in my quarters if anyone needs
me.”
Fala nods. “I’ll let them know. If you ever need to talk and don’t want to
talk to your crew, you can talk to me any time. I will keep what is said between
us.” She turns to leave, Saber following behind her.
“Thank you. And I’ll remember your offer,” he replies as they continue
towards the sleeping quarters. She turns and waves, heading back to the hangar
area and Saber heads back into his quarters, stopping to fix something to eat.

Fala returns to the hangar just as the others are heading back. Commander Eagle
spots her and she nods, coming over to him. “Well?” He asks quietly. “How
did it go? You were gone quite a while.”
She nods. “I think it went well. He looked a lot better after we talked. I
gave him some suggestions to try and help his sleeping.” Commander Eagle nods,
waiting for her to continue. “As for what all was said, I promised to keep it
in confidence. Since what we discussed doesn’t pose a threat to anyone. I plan
on keeping that promise to him, Sir.”
Commander Eagle looks as if he wants to object, but stops himself and nods. “I
understand. Just promise that if he does say something that could cause harm to
himself or someone else you will speak up.”
Fala nods. “Of course.” A few minutes later, the crews come back to where
Commander Eagle and Fala are standing. “How did it go?” Fala asks.
Keith looks over at her confused. “Weren’t you watching?”
Fala shakes her head. “I had something else I was doing. I just got back.”
He looks confused for a moment, then shrugs. “I think it went well.” He
looks to Lance. “Although Saber might have to pry Lance from that suit now.”
He laughs as Lance glares in his direction.
“Ha ha really funny, Chief.” Lance retorts. “It’s not as easy as it
looks. I’m glad he allowed me the tutorials this time.”
April looks around. “Saber still not up?”
Commander Eagle shakes his head. “He’s asked us to let him rest unless we
need him today. I’m inclined to allow it. He’s been pushing himself too hard
lately.”
April looks worried. “That’s just not like him,” she mumbles to herself.
Fala comes over to her and whispers. “He’ll be fine, I think. He just needs
time to clear his head after…yesterday. He looked better after he and I talked
for a while.”
April looks over to her surprised, but nods. “He talked to you?”
“It took a bit of coaxing, but I got him to talk. I think he is just really
tired. He hasn’t slept more than an hour or two a night since his parents were
killed. You’d be tired too.” Fala says quietly. They all head back to the
living quarters and eat and talk for a while. 

Early evening, Commander Eagle knocks and then enters the living area where most
of the crew members are sitting talking amongst themselves. He scans the room,
everyone ceasing conversation and looking at him as he enters. “Good, most of
you are here. We have some information that a few enemy ships were spotted
getting closer to us again. At this point, we are not sure whether we are the
destination, or if they are trying to draw us out to see what our weapon
capability is. I would like opinions on how we should act.” He says as he
comes in and sits down.
“Let us go out in the Lions, Commander. We can do a recon trip and try to see
what they are up to. That way, we don’t show our hand and give them a chance
to fight the Mobile Suits unless they are needed.” Keith says.
“Why don’t you let me go out in my suit? It’s made for recon missions.
I’ve not had a chance to try out the stealth mode yet. This could be the
perfect time to do so, Sir.” Fireball states.
“I say we just go after them with everything we have and blow them out of the
sky.” Colt says standing up. “Why else would we have all this great
firepower for?”
“I’m with the Cowboy.” Hothead adds.
“Me too.” Shorty chimes in.
“I don’t think going out there with guns blaring is the best idea, even if
I’d like to see that witch dead myself.” Saber adds, leaning against the
wall at the back of the room. Everyone turns to look at him.
“How long have you been there?” April asks.
“Long enough to hear what’s going on,” he replies, looking around the
room. “Keith and Fireball both have valid points. As much as I’d love to see
that witch killed, going out full force isn’t the way to do it. I’m sure
this is more of a test than a real attack. They know we have better weapons, and
they want us to tip our hand, so that they can see just what we have. We can’t
fall for it or we’re as good as done for.” He pauses looking for objections,
when no one argues, he continues. “I think the best plan would be for Fireball
to try out his stealth mode, while Keith and the GoLion team make a
more…visible attempt at recon, acting as sort of a distraction. We need to
know how many ships, what kind they are, what their firepower is like, and how
many of those beastmen are on board the ships and their weapons, if possible.
Then, once we know, we can plan a surprise attack and catch them when they
don’t expect it. The more we know of them, the better we can find a weakness
to exploit to our advantage.”
Keith nods. “He’s right. They know what we are capable of, but they don’t
know for sure that the suits are even still here. For all they know, they came
in to help, then return to where they came from. So right now, we have the
advantage.” He looks to Fireball. “How soon could you be ready to leave?”
“Five minutes.” Fireball replies.
Keith nods. “Good. Let’s leave then.” He turns to the other GoLion crew
members. “You ready to head out?” They nod. “Let’s go.” They get up
and head for the Lions, Fireball behind them. Keith stops in the doorway and
turns to Commander Eagle. “We’ll contact you on the com in the Command
Center.” 
Commander Eagle nods and gets up, heading towards the door.
“Shall we join you in the Command Center, Sir?” Saber asks.
Commander Eagle stops and looks to Saber and nods. “I think that’s a good
idea.” He looks to April and Colt. “Are you coming as well?” They nod and
follow the Commander and Saber to the Command Center. 
April lags behind a bit to walk beside Saber. “Are you feeling any better?”
She asks quietly.
He nods slightly. “A bit. Thank you.” He replies quietly. They walk the rest
of the way in silence.

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