Chapter 6: Assignments

'Attention. Team Z042, please report to the gathering hall immediately,' came the monotone voice of the base's PA announcer. Zero and Ciel both knew that the ID number called was that of Zero's team. But neither of them wanted to leave each other. They had spent the last half hour in the dining hall, simply talking, enjoying each others' company.1

  'I should go,' Zero said after a moment.2

  'Alright,' Ciel said, looking up into Zero's deep blue eyes. Zero kissed her quickly as they went their separate ways.3

*****4

  The gathering hall never ceased to amaze Zero every time he entered. A grand amphitheatre of sorts, it was only really used when Ciel found it necessary to address the entire S.A.D.S. organization. But that seldom happened, and the hall was more frequently used for teams to meet when no other room was available. Zero had come in through one of the top-level entrances, but quickly saw that everyone as assembled near the stage. He sighed and made his way down the stairs to the stage. He was greeted warmly by X. Protoman grinned slyly, as if he had a secret. Bass merely acknowledged his presence.5

  'Hey, Zero!' X said, sounding chipper.6

  7

  'Afternoon, X. So, do you have any battle damage from yesterday?'8

  'Nope, just a few close calls. I see you, however,' he pointed to the burn marks left on Zero's armor, 'didn't fare as well.'9

  'Ah!' Zero said, waving him off, 'Minor injuries. Just haven't found the time to clean the scorches off yet.'10

  'Thanks for coming, Zero. now that we're all here, I think we can begin,' Roll said from the stage, startling Zero. The acoustics of the amphitheatre caused her voice to travel to the highest seats before echoing back. Zero took a seat next to Protoman who, surprisingly, leaned in close and whispered something into Zero's ear.11

  'Y'know,' he said, making sure his voice didn't carry beyond the two of them, 'you should really make sure your radio is turned off when you don't want it on,' Zero gave him a confused look, 'It's just Ciel I fell in love with? That was brilliant.'12

  Zero punched him playfully on the arm, his face turning the same shade of red as his armor.13

  'Let me start by saying that Protoman has thoroughly scanned this whole hall, and pronounced it bug-free.'14

  'This is pathetic,' X moaned, 'What is this organization coming to? We're constantly in fear of being listened to!' No one spoke for a moment, but it was clear everyone shared his sentiments.15

  'I agree with you, X,' Zero began carefully, being very articulate, 'Something is definitely up with the board of directors right now. Ciel is working to get to the bottom of it, however. Things will be normal again soon, I assure you.'16

  'Thank you, Zero. Now, on to business. I've called you here to discuss matters surrounding our next assignment,' Roll was saying, 'We've already been briefed on the basics by Zero, and Protoman has informed us of further circumstances, including the bugging of the briefing room.17

  'I was assigned to double-check the security of the sign-in logs. I was able to break into the system and access the files after several attempts. But I set off more warnings and security alarms in the system that I knew existed. I don't believe that anyone could have accessed those files without our knowing,'18

  'So whoever bugged that room is on the inside,' Zero said, putting into words what everyone was already thinking.19

  'Thank you for that, Captain. I'm sure I never would've figured that out on my own,' Bass sneared, his voice dripping with sickening sarcasm.20

  'Bass, please,' X scolded, 'at least try to keep this civil.' Bass had a history of bucking respect for authority, and was often reprimanded for his sarcasm. Zero decided to let this one slide. Bass was nothing but obedient in combat, and sometimes his sarcasm gave Zero ideas for his missions.21

  'Have we gathered any other information, Roll?' Zero asked, pretending as though Bass had never spoken. It was no secret that Bass and Zero had their share of squabbles, mostly instigated when Bass refused to acknowledge Zero's authority as leader of the team. But so far, he had yet to carry these disagreements too far, and backed down when he needed to.22

  'Actually, yes. X has been analyzing the entire situation, and he's told me he has a few things he'd like to share.' X mounted the stage as Roll clambered down, taking a seat near Protoman.23

  'Alright, I'd like to focus now on the mission we completed yesterday. Now, our assignment, as you remember, was to retrieve enemy research files and destroy the assembly line, both of which we achieved. However, has anyone heard anything about what was on the hard drives we recovered?' Silence. 'I didn't think so. It is my belief that there was no weapons research on those files. You'll recall that there was only one production line, which was producing only technology the enemy's had for months. There MUST have been something else on those files. I think if we could arrange a way to analyze those drives, we'd be one step closer to figuring out what's going on.'24

  'Leave that to me,' Zero offered, 'that should be my responsibility as leader. Ciel surely has access to what we need, and can arrange a secure way to analyze the data.'25

  'Thank you, Zero.'26

  'What should the rest of us do in the meantime?' Protoman inquired.27

  'Proto, I want you to scan as many public gathering areas as you can, to get a full idea of where it's safe to talk. Don't worry about private quarters yet. X, I want you to take a fighter and do some reconnaissance within a five-mile radius of the base. I want you to be looking for Neo Arcadia sentinels, or anything else that looks suspicious.28

  'Roll, I'm assigning you to look into the bugs that are in the briefing room. I want to know if they transmit video as well as audio, if we can feed them loops, and if we can access the feeds. Bass, there's a meeting of the board of directors later on tonight. I want you to sit in on that. Tell them I've voiced a concern, but couldn't make it personally, so I sent you as my rep. I want you to report on EVERYTHING that goes on there. Record it if you can.'29

  'And my concern should be . . .?' Bass said, waiting for Zero to finish the sentence. His sarcastic tone had faded somewhat, or at least faded as much as it could with Bass. Zero found himself wondering why Bass wasn't objecting; normally he found things like this boring and pointless. Maybe he had finally come to realize this was bigger than their differences.30

  'BS something to get in. Tell them that . . . the PA system has been malfunctioning, and I'm worried it could compromise security if it were to fail during an emergency.'31

  'That's terrible,' Bass whined.32

  'I know. But it's the best we got,' Zero responded. 'Alright, team, we'll reconvene in my quarters at 10:00 PM tonight.33

  'And, remember, watch your backs. I hate to tell you this, especially in our own sanctuary, but things have changed. Watch what you say. You never know who might be listening.34

  'Dismissed, team.'35

*****36

  Zero returned to his room briefly, before remembering he had to talk to Ciel about the drives. He laid down on his bunk, and radioed Ciel's room.37

  'Ciel, it's Zero. You in your room?'38

  Silence for a moment, then her voice came through. 'Yes, I'm here. How did the meeting go?'39

  Zero filled her in on everything. 'And, Ciel, do you remember the hard drives we returned from the factory research computer?'40

  'Yes, I do. I believe they were put into the secure mission archives.'41

  'I need to see what was on those drives. X believes it wasn't weapons research, like we originally thought.'42

  'Hmm, that might be difficult, but I think I could retrieve them. Of course, I would have to get them alone, as you're not allowed in the archives.'43

  'Thank you, Ciel,' Zero said, amidst a stifled yawn.44

  'You need some rest! You've been a busy boy,' she teased.45

  'Yeah yeah yeah . . . Some shut-eye would be good, though. Even your strong warrior needs some rest occasionally,' he teased her back.46

  'I'll tell you what, big guy: I'll go retrieve those drives, and find a way for us to check them out, while you get some rest,' she offered.47

  'That sounds good,' he yawned again.48

  'Alright. I'll see you later,' and with that, she disconnected her radio with a click.49

  Zero lay on his cot for a moment, turning things over in his mind. What might he find on those drives? He couldn't wait to find out. 'Well, actually, I could,' he thought to himself. And with that, he slipped into blissful sleep.50