It seemed almost an eternity. They'd not been allowed four days to themselves, with nothing at all required of them, since their Earthside leave. The strain that the last wo years had placed upon them, on their resolve to complete Command School and on their dreams for the future, was still alive in their memories, still a powerful reminder of how glorious and precious this time they had together was.

Soon . . . soon there would be no more strain. One last test, and that was the end of it all. They would have beaten Hale, by completing his course in spite of him and all his dirty tricks. They would have the training to survive in the world on their own, and to amass the wealth they would require if they were to someday buy a ship of their own. Just this last test, and then every day would be theirs and only theirs. The wonderful freedom they were being allowed these four days would last the rest of their lives.

They entered their tiny little room, activated the lock; it wouldn't keep out anyone that really wanted in, but it would make the intruder's entry much more noticeable. A year and a half sleeping in the same cell as Riya had not made Gabe in the least bit comfortable with sleeping easily accessible to danger. No more, though. From now on, they both sleep together, and dream without fear.

They were in each other's arms as soon as te room was secure, sharing a kiss more passionate than they'd been able to allow themselves in some time. The weariness had not gone; another full night's sleep would surely cure them, but for now, Hale's influence would not fade so easily. Nevertheless, they were both willing to see how far their meager energy reserves could take them.

They moved toward the bunks affixed to the wall; shelves, really, that reminded Gabe of the cots in the cell they'd shared in Juneau. There was hardly room for them both. Not that that really mattered to them; it only meant cuddling closer. When they lay down, however, a crackling sound interrupted the kiss, and their eyes opened and met.

Sol reached beneath her, and produced the op dossier from beneath her back. She sighed, softly, because they knew that this had to be taken care of first. They had no idea how much planning was necessary, or even possible, and could not allow themselves leisure until they at least had the basics pinned down.

They sat up, and Sol held the dossier in her hands, looking at it grimly. The CONFIDENTIAL stamp seemed very offensive. Gabe could not place why.

He smiled softly to Sol. "I don't think we're yet recuperated enough to have gotten far," he said, with a very faint grin. "Best to get this out of the way, and save desire for when we can keep up with it."

OP CODENAME: Crete
OP TARGET: "Razor" Interceptor Technical Schematics
CONTACT CODENAME: Icarus
INFILTRATION FORCE CODENAME: Daedelus (Team Beta)
TIME LIMIT: 72 hours
THEATER OF OPERATION: I.F. Central Command Post (All sectors)

IDENTITY DATA
AGENT NAME: Gabriel, Hunter
ALIAS NAME: Warren, Nicholas
ALIAS BIRTHDATE: March 09, 2152
ALIAS FAMILY DATA: James (father), Catherine (mother), David (brother)
ALIAS COMMAND SCHOOL AIT: Pilot

AGENT NAME: Solenis, Rebecca
ALIAS NAME: Harrison, Mellissa
ALIAS BIRTHDATE: September 20, 2153
ALIAS FAMILY DATA: Alan (father), Maria (mother), no siblings
ALIAS COMMAND SCHOOL AIT: Tactical

OP DATA
Aliases are being assigned temporarily to IFC as practical analysts for the prototype defense corvette Excalibur and the new "Razor" model interceptor. Both teams, Alpha and Beta, will view the current schematics and simulations, and act as consultants for the development teams, advising them on their practical feasibility. Team Alpha, posing as graduates of the Command and Technician AITs, will analyze and advise upon the design of the Excalibur, and Team Beta, as Pilot and Tactical graduates, will do the same for the "Razor" interceptor. The development teams for both projects expect to have four weeks to work with the analyst aliases, and will this spend most of the first few days walking the analysts through their current plans and concepts. Thus, agents should not be required to provide anything but preliminary analysis to the development teams within the 72-hour time limit. However, agents should be familiar with the included technical documents, in order to be appear knowledgeable to the scientists. Bear in mind: these projects are top secret. If any scientist suspects that an agent is anything but what he/she claims, they will alert security and the agent will be detained for questioning.

OBJECTIVES FOR TEAM BETA
1. Assume the provided identities and integrate into station society. Hide in plain sight.
2. Make contact with Icarus using the enclose procedures; she will provide your equipment and additional information.
3. Acquire a copy of the "Razor" interceptor schematics, and encode them using the encryption computer provided by Icarus.
4. Deliver the encoded file to Icarus.
5. Escape the station.

CONSTRAINTS
> The provided aliases are good for 72 hours only. After that time, a transmission will reach the station's security department claiming that the actual analysts have been found dead, and ordering security forces to apprehend the imposters.
> This op is strictly in character/stealth. No force allowed except by use of equipment provided my Icarus. Death or serious injury of any I.F. personnel will result in automatic failure.
> In order to be successful, agents must escape the station. Exfiltration can be arranged through Icarus, or agents can devise an alternative escape plan if they so choose.
> Icarus must remain operational. If she is arrested or killed by station security, the encrypted file will not be smuggled out and the op is failed.

CONCLUSION
Attached are documents describing contact means and schedules, standard security procedures, background information on the Excalibur and "Razor" projects, and useful data that graduates of the aforementioned AITs will be expected to know. Read them. Know them. When you arrive at the I.F. Central Command Center, you are your aliases. Slip up and you'll land yourself in an offworld maximum prison. Get to work.

“Hey Riya? What’s going to happen after we graduate? I mean, you’ll go to some post different from mine, no doubt. You’re a much better soldier and all. Just…I don’t know…I guess I’ll miss your quiet demeanor. I know, I know, I’m being stupid and sentimental, and I know how you hate that. Just wanted to tell you that before we get to IF Command.”

Six days until freedom.

She did not plan on remaining with the SOTF, nor the International Fleet. Despite the power granted her as being an Agent of Legion, she would not stay; there were greater things in the world to accomplish, better places in the world to be. She held no loyalty to the IF; it was just another organization, another ruler, another supplier of authority and money. Money. That was one reason Riya was going to defect, but not her sole motivation. No, the way she figured it was that in Legion, she could only kill who her superiors designated for her. As a mercenary, she could just kill anyone.

It was so much more entertaining that way.

Thoth's voice interrupted her daydreaming. "Hey Riya? What’s going to happen after we graduate? I mean, you’ll go to some post different from mine, no doubt. You’re a much better soldier and all. Just… I don’t know… I guess I’ll miss your quiet demeanor. I know, I know, I’m being stupid and sentimental, and I know how you hate that. Just wanted to tell you that before we get to IF Command."

Riya didn't respond, but Thoth's statement spurned another train of thought, and she lay back and contemplated. She'd never really considered that she and Thoth would be separated. No, that was a lie; she had considered it, but not for any length of time, because it didn't seem quite real. She had grown accustomed to having Thoth as a companion. It was the way of things, and no one, even Hale, had disturbed the comfortable alliance they had fallen into. It disturbed Riya to think that perhaps she might actually miss the other girl. She'd never imagined herself as anything but a lone wolf, but the thought of life without Thoth's constant babbling and incessant questioning and immaturity seemed almost... lonely.

Ridiculous. Why should I want something like that? She would only get in my way, anyway. It's not like she's really my friend. I'm sure if she knew what I've done, and what I intend to do, she'd just be another liability.

"Hand me the dossier, Thoth." Riya reached a hand over the side of the bunk, and there was a heavy pause before Thoth complied. With the packet in hand, Riya settled back into her pillow and began to shuffle through the documents. She was giving them a cursory once-over before an idea occurred to her, and her midnight eyes widened in excitement, then narrowed in anticipation. So perfect. She couldn't have asked for a better opportunity, and she smirked, restraining the delight in her voice as she began to read aloud in a cold monotone.

"Our operational codename is Delphi. Our infiltration force codename, as Team Alpha, is Noir. Our contact's codename is Thanatos, and our target is the technical schematics for the Excalibur corvette series prototype. You, Thoth, will be aliased as Mara Sullivan, with parents Christian and Linda, no siblings. Your graduated AIT is Command."

"Who're you going to be, Riya?"

"I will be aliased as Ami Fujino, with parents Kenshin and Hinoto, and sibling Arana. My AIT will have been Support, as a technician in the flight systems division. Now. As Noir, our mission is to make contact with Thanatos and to act as analysts for the development team of the Excalibur. We are required to infiltrate the system, obtain a copy of the technical schematics, encode this copy and deliver it directly to Thanatos, and then escape from the Command Post, all within a seventy-two hour timeframe."

Thoth made a quiet sound; whether of disbelief or excitement, Riya couldn't tell. And then she giggled, softly, and Riya hung over the edge of the bed to look down at her companion. Their eyes met, cold blue to light green, and for the first time, they smiled at one another. Albeit, it was a very tiny smile on Riya's part, but the effect was the same, and she gave a sigh of only half-feigned disappointment as she dropped the dossier onto Thoth.

"Our operational codename is Delphi. Our infiltration force codename, as Team Alpha, is Noir. Our contact's codename is Thanatos, and our target is the technical schematics for the Excalibur corvette series prototype. You, Thoth, will be aliased as Mara Sullivan, with parents Christian and Linda, no siblings. Your graduated AIT is Command."

Mara Sullivan? What a boring and unpleasant name.

Minerva filed all the information into her brain, making sure that she was now Mara, the daughter of Christian and Linda Sullivan. No mistakes would be made when she identified herself.

“Who’re you going to be, Riya?”

"I will be aliased as Ami Fujino, with parents Kenshin and Hinoto, and sibling Arana. My AIT will have been Support, as a technician in the flight systems division. Now. As Noir, our mission is to make contact with Thanatos and to act as analysts for the development team of the Excalibur. We are required to infiltrate the system, obtain a copy of the technical schematics, encode this copy and deliver it directly to Thanatos, and then escape from the Command Post, all within a seventy-two hour timeframe."

Minerva sighed slightly, then laughed at the mission. That was it? They had a whole seventy-two hours to complete that? With Riya and Minerva working together, they could do it in one day, no problem. Gabe and Sol, however, would have difficulties. Minerva silently thanked life everyday that she had made friends with Riya, instead of those two. She knew she would have never passed this far if Riya hadn’t been on her side.
Riya’s head appeared upside down over the middle of the beds, looking straight into her eyes. They were both contemplating about the mission and the future and together they smiled. A warm, friendly smile that Minerva wished would last forever. But it couldn’t of course, and Riya ended it by throwing the dossier in her lap.

"It states that we are not allowed to kill anyone. This mission promises to be dull, don't you agree?"

Minerva couldn’t help but smile again. She prided herself in the fact that she had helped bring out the humorous side of Riya. Of course, only in private.

"Already have, Thoth. No hope for us to murder now."

It wasn't necessarily her own words, but her daydreams, that set Riya to laughing. Such sweet irony. Hale, who through the course of their training in Scorpion, had shown such obvious dislike for Gabriel and Solenis. She wished she could see his face when she didn't appear for graduation. She wished she could see everyone's faces when they discovered she had turned their own final exam against them. No doubt they'd send someone after her. Riya didn't care. She would be filthy rich, and free to live and kill in her own happy, secure and murderous world, and it might actually be fun to be hunted. It wasn't as if she'd die, anyway.

Thoth didn't seem to take her seriously, and giggled again, innocently enough to broaden the smirk that was written across Riya's face. When she really thought about her intentions and plans, she had to admit to herself that she would miss this, in a very disturbing and distastefully human sort of way. Around Thoth, things were just... different. It wasn't that Riya ever regretted all she'd done; no, even Thoth's naivety couldn't bring some petty emotion like guilt from Riya. She'd long ago carved her own heart out and left it behind. But with Thoth... in a frightening manner, it did not bring regret, but it almost made her wish she hadn't surrendered to the cold.

To erase the thought she steadied her voice and spoke reproachfully to her companion.

Minerva smiled and lay back down on the bunk reaching a deep sleep before her head even hit the pillow. She dreamt of many things: The exam, Hale, penguins. And then she dreamt of Riya. Her white hair began to grow in the dream, until it covered the entire ground like a warm snow. And there were people standing in her hair, but they couldn’t deal with the shear brightness of it and they were swallowed up. Only Minerva was left standing. The hair had covered everything white, and Minerva looked around to find its origin, to find Riya. But she couldn’t find her. She wasn’t where she was supposed to be. Riya was supposed to be with Minerva, but she wasn’t. She had disappeared. Minerva became afraid and was frantically looking for Riya, running over the snowy white hair; running over the bodies of those she had swallowed up. Then without warning, the hair started to suck back up off the ground. Minerva tried to follow it, but it was too fast for her, and she lost the trail. All around her were the bodies, lifeless. And then one of the bodies moved, and another one, and they all stood back up. And they all walked over to Minerva, staring at her. It was too much for her to handle, and she broke down sobbing on the ground. She wished and prayed that Riya would come back, that she would return to help her. But she didn’t and all the people stooped over her, leering at her. Then two emerged from the crowd: Gabe and Sol. They walked over to her, looking down on her and whispered at the same time:

You are alone.

Minerva let out a cry as she sat up in bed with a sudden start. She was dripping sweat and shaking, trying to get her mind back to reality. She jumped up from her bed and looked at the top bunk to see Riya, who had woken up when Minerva screamed. She breathed deeply, attempting to regain her composure.

“Sorry, Riya. I had a dream. A nightmare. You left me all alone. I was so scared. Had to make sure you were still here. Never mind, it’s stupid. Sorry I woke you up.”

Oh. Just a nightmare. Not a threat.

Her eyes fell closed as she lay back down again, and she was attempting to sleep once more, but something was bothering her. It had been nothing; just a nightmare. Thoth had had those before, back at Command School. She herself had them; albeit, very rarely, but they were nothing to be afraid of. Still. It wasn't necessarily that Thoth had a nightmare, but that she had a nightmare about her.

"You left me all alone. I was so scared."

It gave Riya a weird feeling, to hear that. She was about to leave Thoth for good, and it was only that the other girl didn't know that yet. She'd find out soon enough, when she awoke to find the plans stolen and Riya long gone. Why should it matter to Riya that she was leaving? She knew it shouldn't, but for some reason it did, and in her normal calculating fashion she tried to determine a solution to this rather irritating problem.

She couldn't take Thoth with her. That was simply out of the question. But... but perhaps she could leave the girl something. Ridiculous, her inner voice taunted. Why do you even care what she thinks?

Because I do.

If Riya had even known what guilt felt like, she would have been experiencing it now. Even so, her head began to ache, and she rolled over onto her stomach and dangled a hand over the edge of her bunk. Her eyes peered down, and she snapped her fingers to get Thoth's attention. When the girl glanced up, all that was visible was clouds of Riya's snowy hair, and her midnight gaze focused softly, with a hint of understanding somewhere in those dark depths.

"It's alright."

He scanned the page impassively, focused on it the way only Gabriel could be focused on something, and her irritation grew as a large portion of her mind argued vehemently that it made all the difference.

This prompted action, and she waited until he was three quarters of the way down the length of the page before she reached over and lifted the pile of papers that lay between them on the bunk and transferred them in a careful, neat pile to her lap. If Gabe noticed he made no sign. She glanced over the top sheet and then back to Gabe's face, gauging the time she had left before he finished the page. Not long; Gabe was a fast reader.

Moving the stack of papers to the bunk on her other side, she pushed them silently towards the edge with her foot and watched him intently as he finished the first page. She timed it perfectly, and he finished and handed it to her, turning to look for the next at precisely the moment the pile of papers landed with a satisfying crunch on the floor of the cell.

She was right; she had a habit of being right. This was their time. They had waited a year and a half for time alone together. Now it was Hale's turn. The documents would be there tomorrow morning.

Gabe turned so that he lay on his side facing Sol, and lifted his chin to nip gently at her lips. His eyes reopened, and he a soft smile pulled at his mouth. His weariness was fading, and the insistence of his desire growing, by the second. Gabe leaned closer for a deeper kiss, and Sol received him enthusiastically.

Their passion burned away fatigue; they needed rest, but this was more important. Free of Hale and his exhausting abuses, they now had the time and opportunity to be together, safe and secure and alone, as they'd not had for a long, long time. They could not allow Hale's IF-sanctioned torture program through its shadow over this. They owed it to themselves, but more than that, to each other.

They found that they had more energy in them than they had imagined, and when they settled in together again, snuggled against one another under the sheets and still leaving gentle kisses on each other's skin, they were not yet exhausted. They had four days; there was no need to rush. Tomorrow morning they could start their planning. For the rest of today, there would be no work. Only this warm and gentle closeness, and each other.

Gabe kissed the base of Sol's neck, her throat, the underside of her chin, and then her lips. His eyes were already closed. His head leaned against the pillow, and with Sol in his arms, her skin so very warm against his, Gabe drifted off into a light sleep.