"Good morning Lieutenant Kizer," cheerfully started Corporal Gable, a young handsome clerk, informally.
"Morning Corporal. Any changes?" replied Katja in her usual morning routine as active warden, she had to check when prisoners were removed from their cells.
"Only at 0900. Lieutenant Barton removed Zero 1 from the cell under direct orders from Lady Une," answered Corporal Gable while flipping through his papers for a second check.
"And Zero 2 is doing better?" she asked absently.
"Yes, ma'am. Lieutenant Barton had to defend himself this morning because of him."
Fully hearing his response Katja looked up at him with her eyebrows raised in amusement. Gable gave a light chuckle and Katja masked it with a smirk of amusement. Then not being very amused at the thought of more injuries to treat, she sighed and broke the silence.
"Well I'll be about my rounds," she said as she took her papers and left.
Her first stop was the Gundam pilots' cell. Initially she was going to check his arm but now she might need to do more.
The door slid open with ease. The warm, nauseating smell of sweat from other cells rushed in behind her and mixed with the sterile smell of the pilot's cell.
Both of the shackled pilots were sitting in the middle of the dimly lit room. It looked as if she had interrupted a conversation.
She was alone and despite the shackles, an easy target for them.
As she got closer, Wufei stood and walked away. Duo just sat there watching her every move silently.
When she reached Duo she knelt to his level and reached to unlock his left arm from its cuff.
There was little blood on the sweat-dampened bandages and he wasn't injured from his encounter with Lieutenant Trowa Barton.
Duo cooperated and removed his shirt so she could check his other bandages.
"Well you're no worse for wear." She said while checking the wrap around his chest.
Duo who hadn't said anything the whole time, but kept watching her.
Finishing her work she put the cuff back on his wrist and got up and walked to the door.
"I know who you are," came a voice from behind.
Katja, who was just about to open the door, froze but didn't turn or respond.
Duo had silently gotten up and followed close behind her. Although she couldn't feel his touch she could sense his closeness, fighting a battle with her emotions she tried to ignore it.
"You're Katja Kizer, my friend from childhood. Who disappeared three years before the war," he paused for a moment silently pleading for some sort of answer.
"Why won't you help us?" he pleaded in a whisper.
Hearing the tenderness in his voice, Katja turned and looked up into his eyes.
"I'm helping you the best way I can," she said quietly. Then she put something in his breast pocket patted it and walked out.
When the door closed Duo hung his head with heartbreak.
She was my best friend for 2 years, then she disappeared. Now she reappears as my enemy.
As his shoulders folded in, following the arch started by his head, the object she put in his pocket jabbed him in the chest.
"What the heck?" he exclaimed as he began to struggle with his shirt pocket.
After a few seconds of struggling he pulled it out the handheld cauterizer and read the warning label.
This is a thermal beam cauterizer. When not used properly it could cause serious injury, possibly resulting in the amputation of a limb.
USE EXTREME CAUTION.
And signed at the bottom were the initials "G.A."
His head snapped up and he looked out the small square window in the door. Katja was standing outside looking in. She saw him and his confused look. She smiled at him and winked then walked away. For a split second he caught a glimpse of the Katja he was, and still is, very fond of.
He started to chuckle a little. Then Wufei interrupted.
"What's that?" called Wufei from the corner.
Duo walked over and tossed it in his lap and took a seat in front of him.
"A cauterizer?" he asked himself puzzled.
He read the label then got a mischievous twinkle in his eye, turned the beam on high and carefully applied it to the center link of his cuffs.
It went right through with no problem.
Wufei then took the cauterizer and applied it to Duo's cuffs.
With both of them free from their shackles, they eagerly tried the door, but it didn't work.
Discouraged Duo put the cauterizer in his pocket and plopped down on the floor and started to project the plans for their new Gundams on to the wall.
"Well I guess all we can do is sit here and wait." Said Duo as he gazed at the Gundams.
The Pilots were the first stop in what was usually a long list of prisoners. But because of the pilots and scientists both being held in the same place, the usual prisoners had been shipped off to a penal colony, far way from Earth. The hallways of the Cell Block resembled a dormitory. One hallway on top of the other with cells on either side of the hall. And like a dormitory at any college, the Cell Block was extremely confusing. It had been nicknamed the maze by a lot of the guards. Three floors. No way out at the bottom and the only way was up. Through the heavily guarded floors, the soldier's barracks, then to docking port "D" that was mainly used for mobil dolls
The Lunar Base was where all prisoners who were condemned to space would be held until their transfer to the penal colony.
Katja had just finished consulting with the scientist, and was walking back to her office on the floor above the Cell Block when her radio came to life.
"Lieutenant Kizer!" It shouted.
"Yes Gable, what is it?" she replied quickly.
"Be advised! Chief Engineer Tuberoff has evacuated all the guards in the Cell Block. You're the only one down there." he paused, the panic obvious in his voice.
"…THEY'RE HERE! GET OUT OF THERE LIEUTENANT! IT'S A RE…!" his scream was followed by static.
Before she could reply, all the lights and air was shut off.
"What the hell?" thought Katja as she fumbled with her flashlight.
"Click," it came on and Katja started to walk a little faster. But instead of going up to the next floor she was going down, deeper into the Cell Block.
"Gable what going on?" she shouted into her radio as she began to run down the maze of hallways.
"Gable I need an answer!" she shouted again.
Just as she reached the bottom of second floor of the Cell Block she came to a screeching halt, retraced her tracks. And stopped at the doors of a small storeroom filled with O2 tanks and Lithium Breathers.*
"GABLE!" she shouted, a little winded from the run, while fumbling with her keys. There was no response. Katja ignored it and continued to search for the master key. When an unfamiliar voice came over the speaker.
"Oh, I do hope you will forgive me, Lieutenant Kizer, but… Gable is dead. And soon you, the scientists and the two pilots will be joining him," the voce was the unmistakable nasal whining of Chief Engineer Tuberoff.
"You conniving bastard! I'll get you for this!" she shouted back into the radio.
When she was finished all she heard was Tuberoff laughing. Spastically she threw the radio down the hall and it shattered into 100 pieces.
Then finally finding the right key she thrust it into the lock, unlocked the door and threw it open.
Becoming lightheaded from the high activity and lack of oxygen, she dove for a box of Lithium Breathers and shoved one over her face and took a deep breath. The light-headedness left her and she grabbed a few more breathers and ran to the scientists' cell, on the second floor.
They were barely awake when she got there. She took the breather from her face and gave it to Dr. J, Prof. G, and Instructor H to share. Then gave an extra one to the other two. She then directed them to interrogation room 12, the only room on the second floor left with air.
Gasping for air they all entered the room. And with out any words to them Katja pulled out the last breather and headed out again. This time to the pilots' cell. At the very end of the bottom floor.
She got about half way down the hall where they were housed, when the breather began to malfunction. She took one long draw of air from it then threw it away.
When she got to the door her lungs burned and ached for more air and the numbers on the keypad jumped around a little, but the code was entered in correctly. The door opened.
The lack of oxygen, finally overcame her and she lost consciousness and fell into the doorway, unintentionally blocking the door from automatically closing.
"And that is exactly why we shall be enemies," said Lady Une as she pressed the button to turn on the lights and air systems in the cells.
She turned to face Tuberoff. Strait and tall like a good soldier.
Bang!
Lady Une's knees loosen with shock, and she collapsed from a fatal bullet wound.
"Whussshhhh." The air came on.
Both boys inhaled suddenly.
Then they both looked to each other and smiled.
"Shall we escape?" asked Duo.
"After we pay them back, hah," answered Wufei.
They ran through the door not paying any notice to the reason it was open, to their Gundams and battled their way free from the Lunar Base.
