Disclaimer: I do not own Gundam Wing, nor do I own the characters. I have borrowed them here for some fun and creativity, and this is not for profit. I do, however, own the plot mentioned here, and any instances that you may find similar to real life events are purely a coincidence. All of the characters depicted in this story are adults.
Rating: NC-17
Pairings: eventual 1x2x1, established 3x4x5
Notes: Beta-ed by Clare, also known as FancyFigures. This was written for the Moments of Rapture 2007 Contest.
Warnings: Lemons, angst, threesomes

Iia Disera
by Zazu

He tried to recall the proper procedures of evacuation.

Was it his imagination, or was each breath harder to take?

Evacuation. That was his priority.

Where the hell did one evacuate to on a spaceship that sounded like it was about to explode? Especially when it was a launched spaceship ten days from its departure point of Earth and another twenty-eight days away from its destination point of Star X296?

He couldn't get his door to open. Gripping the handle, he banged on the door. "Anyone there?" he cried over the alarm, or tried to. There was no answer. The alarms rang in his ears and he was startled to find that he was suddenly floating; the gravity mechanism must have died.

How did one evacuate from one's bunkroom on a spaceship when the door was jammed? He managed to get to the closet to pull his suit out. He was trained to do that; to put the suit on quickly, even in null gravity.

Having pulled on the helmet and zipped up his suit, he kicked off from ceiling and cursed as he knocked into other floating things, things he couldn't be bothered with at the moment. Grabbing the side of his bunk, he levered himself over the width of the bed so he could see out of the window.

A burst of something red and orange startled him into kicking back away from the window. Something had just exploded. Why wasn't the entire ship gone yet? If he was going to die, he'd like it to happen in a moment, not when he had to stare the painful death in the face, unsure of how it would hit him, or from which side it would hit him.

He tried to calm himself. His door suddenly vibrated with a bang and behind it he heard a cry of 'get back!'. Heeding that order from whoever it was, he moved away and gripped the side of the desk on the far end of the room. Bright red lines appeared on the door and created a square, which was then easily removed by the person on the other end.

"Mr. Yuy!"

Heero Yuy pushed on the desk so he could get to the door, hitting the speaker on his helmet to communicate. "Thank you, Captain!"

"Captain never leaves his crew!" The man pulled his own helmet on and clicked to the internal transmission.

"Where is Louis?" Heero called over the alarm calls that penetrated their helmets.

"Escape pod; he left!"

Escape pod? Oh no. That must have been what had exploded outside his window; a spaceship as small as theirs couldn't stay intact if there were an explosion on any end of it!

"Get in!" The man shoved Heero into the escape pod, pushing him into the vertical holding and strapping him in firmly. "Tell me you know how to work this thing!"

"I do but --"

"Go!" Heero found the door shut, the window at the door letting him see the other man keying the door shut so the pod would take off.

He looked around himself, realizing that he was in the single pod. There was supposed to be a double pod too...oh no.

"Captain!" Heero yelled. "Captain!" His hands worked to undo the buckles.

"A captain will always go down with his ship!" The captain saluted, and the connection was cut as the escape pod was ejected from the ship. Heero felt g-forces press against him and squeezed his eyes shut, concentrating on overcoming those forces. Feeling the pod slow after the initial launch, he tried again to wrestle himself from the straps protecting him. Succeeding, he grabbed the hand strap by the door so he could see out of the small window once more. He had barely laid his eyes on the spaceship he had been ejected from when the white craft exploded in a bright ball of light. Heero's small pod rocked with the explosion, jerking Heero against the door, and then back. A sharp pain could be felt at his wrist, and then he knew no more.

Chapter One

The first thought was that his head hurt. The next was that his wrist hurt.

He panicked for a moment when he opened his eyes and saw nothing. Then, his pupils dilated slightly and he realized he was in some bed, and there was a small light above his head to the left, a reading light of sorts turned away and shaded by a dark cover.

Heero shifted. Where was he? Concentrating hard, he could hear the hum of some engine; he knew he was on a spacecraft of sorts. But the hum was quiet, so quiet that he had to strain to hear it.

There was a knock on the door, or what he assumed was a door. It opened with a faint hiss and a person was silhouetted at the door.

"You're awake," a male voice stated.

Heero nodded and swallowed before pushing himself up so he was sitting. In moments the other person had crossed the room to help him up.

"Thank you," Heero rasped before a water bulb was pressed into his hands. As he slowly drank from it, the male reached over him to the light, fiddling with it for a moment before removing the dark cover; now Heero saw that it was a dark jacket. The dim light let him see better as the male straightened once more.

"How are you feeling?"

"Where am I?" Heero countered the question with one of his own.

"Your escape pod entered my radar and I pulled you in. You've been out for a long time. How are you feeling?"

"My head hurts, and my wrist," Heero answered. "Thank you for saving me."

"No need. The name is Duo, by the way. Duo Maxwell."

"Heero Yuy," Heero said. "Can you turn up the lights a little more, it's still hard to see." It really was hard to see more than a shadow of Duo, even if Heero was grateful that he was given the chance to slowly adjust to the light.

Duo turned the light up a little more. "I'll get you something for the pain, okay?"

"Thank you," Heero said again. Duo left the room, leaving Heero the chance to look around. It was definitely an interesting craft he was in. The walls seemed to be metal. There was really nothing else in the room but another door, other than the one Duo had entered and left through, and the bed. The bed itself was odd. The blanket was very warm, but very light. It was smooth and comfortable, almost like a mix of fleece and silk. It was fairly large for a spacecraft, almost the size of a double bed. Reaching up, Heero rubbed at his face, then looked at his hurting right wrist. Lifting it against the light, he tried to examine the bandage wrapped around it; it felt like gauze, but was almost transparent. It looked like a glove too, unlike gauze wrapped around a wound. Then, he noticed that he couldn't feel the heat from the light. The bulb was round, but when he touched it, the surface was cool.

"Here."

Heero jerked around; he hadn't heard Duo enter.

"Sorry." Duo produced a small vial of clear liquid. "Drink that."

"What is it?"

"Something for the pain."

Heero frowned at the vial.

"If I wanted to hurt you, I wouldn't have saved you," Duo said with a roll of his eyes.

"How do I drink it without getting it everywhere?"

Duo blinked, then pointed at the cover. "The cover will melt from the amylase on your tongue. Then you can drink it." Duo popped off the cap protecting the cover. Heero complied with the instructions; sure enough the press of his tongue against the vial was rewarded with the flow of cool liquid. Moments after he had swallowed it, he could feel as if the cool flow had gone into his stomach and evaporated. Instantly, the pain in his head and wrist were dulled.

"Where are you from? Where were you headed?"

"From? Earth. America. I was going to Star X296."

"America." Duo scratched his nose for a moment. "Star X296," he added softly.

"How about you?" Heero asked. "Where are you headed? And where from?"

Duo regarded Heero, then offered a smile. "I travel," he answered. "No particular starting point, or destination."

Heero nodded, feeling sleepy. "The medicine...causes drowsiness?"

Duo nodded. "For some time. When you wake, you will feel better." He reached over to help Heero lie down again before pulling the soft covers up once more.

"Thank you again," Heero murmured quietly.

"You're welcome."

Heero found himself looking into amethyst eyes for a moment before he drifted off to sleep.

Duo stepped into the control center of his craft and sat down in the captain's seat. Reaching forward, he keyed in a sequence and made himself comfortable as the screen in front of him flickered, changing from a window overlooking the endless black of space to a map. The door opened again, but he didn't look away from the screen.

"How is he?"

"Sleeping off the medicine."

"Is he better?"

"What is America?" he asked idly, searching the map with a frown. "You know, don't you, Quatre?"

"America?" Quatre moved forward to stand next to Duo. Silence lasted several seconds before Quatre made a sound of recognition. "That would be something on Hydro."

"Hydro?" Duo cast a glance to his blond companion. "Where?"

"That one." Quatre pointed to the top left of the map. "System zoom to quadrant two." The map vanished, bringing the top left square to a bigger, more detailed image. "The place with lots of water and land. Water...grows there. Some of the land is lost."

"You mean ice melts, not water grows," Duo said absently. "So what is America?"

"Some land there, presumably." Quatre furrowed his eyebrows. "So they are advanced enough to leave Hydro."

"If he isn't lying about being from there."

"Why would he need to?" Quatre blinked. "We don't seem very different. He has no reason, given the short time he spent with you, to believe you are not one of Hydro."

"What is Star X296?" Duo asked, studying the images on the screen.

"Unknown."

"Aren't you all knowing?" Duo muttered.

Quatre tsked. "I may be programmed with complete knowledge of our kind but I don't know all of the information of other species." He rubbed his nose thoughtfully. "It would be interesting to learn from him. You utilized the language deciphering system so you could understand each other?"

Duo chuckled. "First time for everything. Didn't think I'd be picking up anything else that could speak."

"But you are able to understand him now."

"And he can understand me. The system works remarkably well; as soon as I speak the mic automatically translates to something he understands. When he speaks, the feedback is easy to understand." Duo fixed the button by his collar and tapped the earpiece hidden by his hair as he spoke.

"So what will you do?"

Duo looked up at Quatre. "Keep him."

Heero stirred and came awake. It took a moment to recognize his surroundings, and another few moments to recall what had happened.

"You're awake."

He looked over and blinked at the blond man by his bed. "Who --"

Quatre offered him a water bulb. "My name is Quatre. I'm one of the systems on Leo."

"Leo?"

"The name of this craft," Quatre clarified. "How do you feel, Heero?"

"How do you know my name?"

"Duo mentioned it. Are you feeling better?"

"Somewhat." Heero sat up and lifted his hand. "What is this? I have never seen this sort of brace or bandage."

"It is a bandage, you have nothing to worry about." Quatre smiled.

Heero furrowed his eyebrows. "Where is Leo headed? Duo said he was traveling with no destination. Will he be able to get clearance to land in America sometime soon?"

Quatre tilted his head. "You'll have to ask him. He's the captain. I'm just system."

"You're system? You mean you're an engineer on the craft?" Heero tried to clarify.

Quatre shook his head with a smile. "No. I'm a system on Leo. I'm the database. The knowledge on Leo."

"So you're the systems tech?" Heero frowned.

Quatre chuckled. "No. I am the system."

"You're a system." Heero mulled over the statement then nodded. "You're a robot."

Quatre frowned. "Robots don't have minds. I'm a system with a mind."

"Artificial intelligence?"

"Is that an insult? My intelligence came from programming but my ability to retain knowledge is certainly not...artificial."

Heero shook his head. "That's not what I meant. I wasn't aware that anyone was able to program such a technologically advanced...system." Heero didn't want to offend Quatre.

"You don't know Duo," Quatre said in way of explanation. "Come, he is in the control center. Can you walk?"

"I think so." Heero shifted slowly and was surprised that he couldn't feel his head hurting. "May I use the bathroom first?"

"Of course." Quatre led Heero to the bathroom and waited for him to relieve himself and wash up a little. Heero looked about himself, trying to figure out what he was supposed to do with the various machines in the room. The one closest to the door looked like a sink with a black screen above it at about eye level. The next one looked like a urinal. The last one had a robotic arm over it. Across from this wall was something more familiar; a bath of sorts with a lot of nozzles and robotic arms. Heero walked to the urinal-like machine then relieved himself. He jumped when a bodiless voice thanked him and reminded him to wash his hands. Going to the sink, he stuck his hands under the faucet and waited. Nothing happened.

"How do I wash when --" Water flowed once he said the word 'wash', allowing Heero to figure out that somewhere, perhaps the black screen was a microphone of sorts. Exiting, he found Quatre waiting outside, and the blond led him to the control center, keying in a sequence to enter.

"Are you feeling better, Heero?" Duo asked without turning from the screen he was staring at.

"Much. The medicine worked wonders. What was it?"

"Pain reliever."

"Liquid ibuprofen?"

"Ibuprofen?" Duo asked under his breath. "Have a seat. Welcome aboard Leo." Heero sat down.

"I haven't thanked you for saving me," Heero said. "Thank you."

"Actually, we almost killed you." Duo turned to Heero at last. "We weren't expecting to run into anything. We almost hit you, and Leo would have broken you if it had been a direct collision."

"How big is Leo?"

Duo keyed up an external plan of the craft, and pulled up an image of Heero's escape pod, fitting the both to a certain scale. Heero blinked to see that Leo was almost ten times the size of his pod. He swallowed at the nearness of his death.

"Where were you headed?" Duo pulled up the map he had again. "From...America to Star X296. How far is that?"

"About thirty-eight days by regulated speed." Heero answered.

Duo glanced at Quatre, who shrugged. "Can you point that out on the map?" Duo asked.

Heero turned to the map, then frowned. "I've never seen a map like this." He studied it carefully. "Where did you get something like this?"

"I made it myself." Duo replied.

"Duo can make many things." Quatre added.

"Thank you, Quatre."

Quatre smiled. "Maybe you should point out to Heero where we are?"

"That would be helpful." Heero nodded gratefully at Quatre before turning his attention to Duo.

"You started off here at America." Duo keyed in something and was able to use an on-screen pointer to show Heero where he was making reference to. "We found you here." He pointed to an empty spot. "You've been sleeping for a long time. We're here now, just past Zelus." He pointed to another dot which, on the map, appeared to be much further to the lower right of Earth.

"How long was I out for?"

"A long time."

"How many hours? Days?" Heero tried to get more clarification.

"How long is a day?" Duo asked Quatre. Quatre shrugged. "You don't know?"

"I told you not too long ago that I don't know all of the information of others that aren't our own," Quatre huffed. "You're forgetful. Fix that."

Duo snorted. "I can be forgetful. You are the one who can't."

"A day." Heero spoke up. "Twenty four hours. A cycle of the sun and moon?"

Duo blinked, then tilted his head. "Sun. The light of Hy-- America?"

"Yes." Heero nodded. "Have you been in space too long? Too long to remember what a day is?" It wasn't uncommon to lose track of a day in space, this Heero knew.

Duo frowned. "A light and a dark. Ah!" He snapped his fingers. "Rotation, Quatre! Okay. So you've been sleeping for...how long, Quatre?"

"Three rotations." Quatre supplied the answer easily. "Forgetful," he said again to Duo.

"Say that again and I'll tell Trowa to short-circuit you. Then you can tell me about being forgetful."

"Trowa short-circuits me at least twice a rotation," Quatre retorted.

"I'll tell Wufei you're leaving him out," Duo snickered.

"He participates, thank you for your concern," Quatre huffed. Duo opened his mouth to retort but was interrupted by a confused voice.

"Excuse me?"

The two turned back to Heero.

"There are more people on this ship? On Leo?" Heero asked.

"People," Duo mulled. "Hydrans?"

"Probably." Quatre nodded.

"Hydrans?" Heero wondered if he had hit his head too hard. Or maybe space travelers had their own language and he didn't understand it.

"You are the only Hydran here." Quatre informed him. "Including me, there are three systems on Leo. And there is Duo."

"Only Hydran?" Heero blinked. "Three systems. And Duo." He tried to sort out the terms.

"We are not from America." Duo clarified.

"No?" Heero asked. "What's your nationality?"

"You mean, what am I?" Duo asked in reply. Heero nodded and Duo smiled.

"I am a traveler from Adua. I'm Arian."

"Adua?" Heero began to wonder what he had gotten himself into. "Arian? I thought your name was Duo."

Duo directed Heero's attention back to the screen. "Adua." He pointed to a spot far away from the Earth he had pointed out earlier. "Arians from Adua can walk on two feet."

Heero blinked at that explanation and his eyes widened. "You're...an alien? Not from Earth?"

"Not alien. Arian." Duo corrected.

"In other words, we're not from your America. Not from your Earth." Quatre clarified. "We know your home as Hydro because of the water there. So we call you Hydran."

"I'm on an alien ship." Heero wondered again if he had hit his head too hard. Or maybe the people there were playing a joke on him.

"You're on an Arian's ship." Duo clarified with a frown. "Do you not listen well?"

"That can't be true!" Heero said loudly. "You look human! Are you playing a joke on me?"

"No." Duo shook his head. "Arian's don't lie. If we do, we lose hair." He pulled his braid from behind him, showing it off proudly. "This is my proof that I don't lie."

"You want me to believe that you're not a human." Heero wanted to laugh. "How did you gain access to a ship? You're obviously insane."

"Quatre, your language system is faulty." Duo muttered. "I don't understand completely."

"I'll work on it," Quatre scratched his head. "Heero's saying that we're...not lying, but believing something that isn't true."

"Ah." Duo nodded, turning back to Heero with understanding in his eyes. "You thought you're the only one able to walk on two legs."

"You look as human as I do!" Heero snapped. "Stop playing games. Get rid of this map and show me where we really are!"

"Games?" Duo asked. "But I'm not. We haven't started to play yet."

"This is absurd." Heero muttered. "You should have left me in my pod."

"What don't you get?" Duo was confused. "I'm an Arian from Adua. You're a Hydran from Hydro. So what if we both walk on two legs? Doesn't mean we are the same."

"You're saying that I'm on a spacecraft without any humans! No men, no women!"

"Hey!" Duo stood suddenly, eyes gleaming. "Take that back!"

"What?" Heero asked, surprised at the sudden change in tone. He was the one who should be angry at these games!

Duo was suddenly fumbling with the belt around his waist. Before Heero could speak, he had pulled his bottoms down, displaying his crown jewels to the room. "I am male!"

Heero stared. Duo looked every inch like a human, and yet, was denying that he was human. Why would someone do such a thing?

"Take a look at his eyes."

Heero's head whipped around to look towards the door where two more...two-leggers stood. The one with black hair spoke again, and Heero recognized the voice to know that this...Arian? System? Had spoken first. "His eyes are different from yours."

Heero turned back and instinctively tried to lean back to see Duo leaning extremely close to him. Duo seemed to be studying his eyes as much as Heero was studying Duo's. Heero suddenly remembered that his last thought before falling asleep was that he had been looking into odd, amethyst-colored eyes. The eyes seemed bluer now, but when Heero blinked, the amethyst was back. As he stared, Duo's eyes seemed to change color yet again, and they began to darken as Duo leaned closer. Heero tried to lean away, but he found himself unable to remove his eyes from Duo's. His head was now against the headrest; he couldn't go further.

"Duo!"

Duo pulled back with something akin to a growl; a completely inhuman sound. Quatre had stepped forward, his hand snatching something from Duo's collar while his other hand covered another something at his own collar. When he opened his mouth again, Heero stared at the two, realizing that the voices still sounded familiar, but the language was no longer something he could understand. Duo growled again, but the other two at the door had moved closer to Quatre. Duo gave each of them a stare, the growl quieter in his throat. Then, he spoke sharply and left the control center abruptly.

Quatre removed his own hand from his collar, startling Heero again when he spoke and Heero could suddenly understand again.

"Sorry about that. It's...an Arian thing," the blond said by way of explanation.

"How...?" Heero asked. "I couldn't understand then --"

"This." Quatre showed his other hand to Heero, letting him see the button-like device sitting on his palm. "A microphone. When we speak, you hear the language you understand. When you speak, we hear it back by this." He pointed to his ear where another black device could be seen.

"You're telling the truth, then?" Heero asked, bewildered. "You're another species?"

"Duo and you are two different species, you could say." The being with black hair spoke. "You may look similar but there are vast differences if you look carefully enough."

"This is Wufei. He's the server system; the mainframe of Leo. And that's Trowa." He gestured to the other being that had remained silent. "He is the engineering system. He knows anything and everything ongoing with Leo. He fixes Leo, changes Leo."

"You three aren't...human. Aren't Arian," Heero stated.

"We're system. Partially created by Duo."

"Duo's eyes." Heero turned his eyes to Wufei. "His eyes changed color. Quickly."

"That's the easiest way to identify an Arian," Wufei answered. "Their moods change fast. They cannot hide their personalities, cannot...deceive, like a human can." Heero bristled at that statement but Wufei went on. "For example, Arians are born with hair. Their hair does not grow back ones it falls out, but it will grow long, from the ends, not the head, like a human. If they lie, deceive, they lose their hair."

"So why did he have dark eyes?" Heero asked. "What mood was that?"

Wufei looked at Quatre, who sighed.

"It will be difficult to explain to you each of Duo's moods, his personality. You will learn, over time."

"Time?" Heero asked. "You're...not bringing me home?"

"This is your new home." Trowa spoke for the first time.

"You're keeping me captive?!" Heero exclaimed.

Wufei shook his head with a slight smile. "Stupid Hydran. You think your home, your 'Earth' as you call it, will allow an...alien ship to land, even with you on board?"

Chapter Two

Heero sat on his bed, cradling his injured wrist. Words flew over his mind. Arian. Hydro. Rotation. Adua.

You think your home, your 'Earth' as you call it, will allow an...alien ship to land, even with you on board?

Wufei's statement repeated itself over and over in his mind until he shook his head and blinked away the dizziness. What did they plan to do? Sure, they had saved him, and now, while he didn't exactly have a choice but to be captive, what was he to do? Be forced to join their ranks? What was their purpose on this craft, on Leo? What purpose did they have, or want, with him?

Heero thought back to roughly a week ago. The shuttle had launched towards Star X296, to let him continue his research there. He was a scientist, someone who was supposed to discover what Star X296 was like, to see if they could colonize the star if it could sustain life, assuming there was no life there.

He wasn't stupid to dispute the possibility of alien existence. But to have met these...Arians that were so much like himself, so much like humans...

And what of Duo? He'd dropped his pants to prove his manhood as if Heero had insulted him. Sure, he was male, but technically a male Arian, and not a man. So why did Duo act all offended?

And why had he suddenly been forced to storm off after exchanging words with Quatre?

Thinking of Quatre made Heero wonder about the blond system, and the other two systems, as they referred to themselves. Did that mean they were not Arian, not human, but some kind of man-made being? Quatre said he had been made by Duo. What in the world did that mean?

"Having a bit of trouble there?"

Heero looked up sharply to see Duo leaning against the doorframe. He hadn't heard the door hiss open this time around, but even last time it had been very faint. Heero narrowed his eyes as he studied Duo. The amethyst eyes were back; Heero decided to use that particular shade to judge it as Duo's 'normal mood'.

"Anything I can help you with?" Duo asked.

"What are you going to do with me?" Heero decided to be blunt and straight to the point.

Duo sauntered closer. "Nothing bad. It's simple. Leo is my home. There is no other home. You no longer have a way home. Leo has never made contact with Hydran ships. Unless you can find another place to land, or another way home, you have nowhere to go but here." Duo stumbled as he chuckled and at the closer distance, Heero saw that his eyes were a bit lighter than the shade he'd seen before he'd fallen asleep due to the medicine.

"What other ships or places are you in contact with?"

"Only a couple other places and ships that have lifeforms you would consider 'alien'." Duo sat down heavily on the bed. Heero moved a little further away and Duo chuckled. "I'm not going to eat you," he said.

"We are barely acquaintances."

"Even if you want to land somewhere, the next closest place to land is Chark. And that's fifty-six rotations away. Even if we landed there and you got off, you have no way to get back to Hydro."

"Not unless I land and do some work until I can afford my own ship before returning to Earth."

"Your ship would still be alien." Duo pointed out.

"But at least I won't be bringing aliens with me."

"That hurts," Duo said, leaning closer. "Why don't you like Leo?"

"I don't know Leo. I don't even know you, or your three systems, or any other beings you have here. My goal is to get home." "I can be a home. We can share Leo."

"Thanks, but I'd really rather be back planet-side." Heero studied Duo's eyes again, but the next moment, his eyelids had drooped and Duo had collapsed onto the bed. Heero reached out and shook the Arian. "Hello?"

Duo didn't budge, but he remained breathing, if breathing was what sustained an Arian's life.

"Are you hungry, Heero?" Heero looked up to see Quatre at the door. "Just leave him. Duo will be sleeping there for the next half of a rotation."

"What's wrong with him?" Heero asked. "Is that an Arian's sleeping cycle?"

"It is after certain events." Quatre answered. "Come on, come to the pantry. I can explain some more to you there."

Explanation would be good. Heero stood and followed the system.

"Where do I start?" Quatre muttered as he tossed Heero a water bulb and rummaged into a cupboard.

"Somewhere," Heero replied helpfully. "Just...start somewhere."

Quatre nodded. "Let's start with Arian food, then." He held up a small white block. "This is Arian food. Won't waste. White is high carbohydrates. Green is high fibre. Orange is high fat. For our diet, we usually each take one block of each and split it into three to last one rotation."

"Three meals."

"Right. You think what you want it to taste like, it will taste like it."

"How?"

"Arian taste buds are connected to the brain. They think a taste and get it. Does that make sense?"

Heero eyed the block. "So what would it taste like to me?"

Quatre blinked. "Try it." He offered the white block to Heero, then passed him a green one and an orange one. Heero opened the seal and touched the white block with a finger. It felt like a more or less solid marshmallow, soft, but not as light. He took a light nibble.

"It tastes like rice."

"Rice?" Quatre asked. "Nevermind. You won't be able to show me. So eat, and I will explain.

Heero took brief nibbles of the other two to find that the green tasted like vegetable paste and the orange like chicken. He tried to think of a taste as he took a second bite of the white block, but decided it didn't taste any different. Remembering Quatre's words, he separated the blocks into three and began his meal. It may be too much, or not enough for him, but in any case it gave him the chance to better distinguish likes and dislikes between himself and Duo.

"Arians often leave Adua trying to seek their own home and life. That is what Duo did. He lost his family to an accident and decided to leave and have his own life. His purpose is to travel. We return to Adua once every...maybe two thousand rotations only to replenish food stock."

"Does the craft, Leo I mean, not need fuel?" Heero asked.

"Fuel?"

"How does Leo stay moving?" Heero worded his question in simpler terms.

"Waste." Quatre answered. "Our wastes are turned into energy for Leo."

Heero decided that even if Quatre could explain exactly how that worked in technical terms, there were more important things to learn at the moment. "When was the last time you visited Adua?"

"Ninety-one rotations before we found you."

Ninety-one. That meant they had no intention of returning to Adua for a long time. Heero swallowed hard. "So how did you end up on Leo?"

"Duo created me." Quatre answered simply. "Well, he did to some extent. Another place far from Adua is my first home, Eikel. Known for the birth of empty shells."

"Empty shells?"

"Yes, for different purposes. So whatever knowledge was needed could be put into the shell to make them functional. Duo took me and made me his database. He added his own life into me to give me a mind, which is why I am like an Arian. The same with Trowa and Wufei."

"Duo added his own life to you?"

"Yes." Quatre nodded. "He inserted information to make me the database. Then he hooked us together and gave me a part of him." Quatre tapped his arm.

"You mean he gave you some of his blood. Or life force."

Quatre thought for a moment, then nodded. "You could say that."

"So that made you, Wufei and Trowa part Arian."

Quatre nodded again.

"Maybe you should tell him about the nature of an Arian." Wufei drawled from the door. "Or let him digest this information while you come with me."

"Wait, tell me about Arians in general, then," Heero pleaded. "You're a database, so you won't be biased, right? What makes an Arian?"

Quatre nodded and turned to Wufei. "Go find Trowa. I will finish here and find you later."

Wufei narrowed his eyes at Quatre and covered the black device on his collar so he could speak in their language. Quatre's mic, however, picked up the words, and for the first time Heero heard both the foreign language and the translated version.

"Iia disera saruow," Wufei said. At the same time, with a slight delay, Heero could hear the translation: I desire you.

Quatre and Wufei, too, heard the delayed translation and Quatre blushed and glared at Wufei, who chuckled and left.

"Sorry about that," Quatre muttered. "Where were we? Oh right, personalities of Arians." Quatre gave the topic some thought before looking over to Heero. "What do you want to know?"

"Habits. Lifestyle. History." Heero shifted a little uneasily. "Anything."

"You must inform me of Hydrans later on, when you are more rested," Quatre said. "It would be good information in my database."

Heero nodded; that seemed fair.

"Arians have existed for many, many rotations. But they are in a way cursed."

"Cursed?" Heero asked.

"There are things that Arians are forced to do. They cannot control it. Like the three-legs, or four-legs that cannot speak, cannot function in civilization."

"Like animal instinct."

"I don't understand," Quatre frowned.

"Okay. Just things that are natural to them, like...eating," Heero said. "But something different. Can you give me an example?"

"Like...eating. When they eat, they must always be served by someone else. Or else, they will continue to serve themselves. In the past, Arians who are alone too much have often eaten until they died."

"Why can't they control their own eating?" Heero frowned. It seemed stupid to eat themselves sick.

"Arians have trouble controlling their desires. So Arians do not live alone, or they will die."

"But you said Duo was alone before he found you on another planet."

"Duo was near death; he had been alone for so many rotations."

"So Arians are pigs," Heero stated.

"You don't have to be mean about it." Trowa muttered from the door. "Toss me a water bulb, Quatre?"

Quatre complied. "Technically, Heero should say that Arians have trouble controlling their desire to eat. But that's easily cured if someone else takes care of their food."

"I'll leave you with the Hydran." Trowa gave Quatre a small smile and left.

"What else...you know about the lies. Oh! Arians are proud of their accomplishments. That's part of the reason that Adua is so technologically advanced; everyone strives to do better, and whatever they do accomplish is considered a self-accomplishment for one, and a stepping stone for further accomplishments."

"In other words, having someone...upgrade your accomplishment isn't considered bad."

Quatre nodded. "They are also proud of their hair as a representation of their honesty. Don't touch Duo's hair if you value your life."

"Is that a threat?" Heero narrowed his eyes.

"Consider it a warning."

They lapsed into silence for a while before Heero spoke again. "What happened to Duo there, back in the control center? His eyes got really dark. And now, he's sleeping. You said he would sleep for half a day."

"Ah." Quatre nodded slowly. "Arians sleep a lot. Especially after certain activities that take a lot out of them."

"Like what?"

"Masturbation."

Heero stared at Quatre. "Excuse me?"

"Arians are attractive. If you ever have a chance to land on Adua, you will see that for yourself."

Heero conceded that Duo was, indeed, quite handsome. "And?"

"Much like their inability to control their food intake, they also have trouble controlling their physical attractions to other beings. As a result, Arians become intimate at an early age. If they do not have a partner, they will use masturbation to gain release in order to maintain control."

"Physical attractions?" Heero asked. "So what was that just then? The time of day for Duo to go..." He trailed off in thought. "You don't mean to say...Duo was physically attracted to me?"

Quatre nodded. "You are quite easy on the eyes," he remarked. "And after controlling himself via that sort of release, Duo needed sleep to regain strength."

"So you're telling me that a day in the life of an Arian is...to sleep a long time. Eat, but have someone else control how much they eat. Gain release in some way, which ends up with their need to sleep once more?"

Quatre smiled. "All of the events you mentioned are important in a day, but not everything."

"You must be tired," Wufei said from the doorway. Heero looked up; this time, Trowa and Wufei were at the pantry doors. "We've moved Duo back to his room. You can find your way back to yours, right?"

Heero nodded uncertainly. Wufei's eyes were dark to begin with, but now he noticed that Trowa's green eyes were also becoming quite dark. A quick glance at Quatre saw the aquamarine eyes darkened to almost navy. Just like Duo's had before Quatre had forced him to leave the control center...Heero suddenly stood, understanding what was going on.

"I'll be in my room. Thank you for the meal, Quatre, and the explanations."

Quatre had only opened his mouth to answer, but Heero had already left the pantry. The two systems by the door studied the third at the table.

Quatre smiled. "It seems like you two weren't satisfied alone," he said softly.

"Duo mentioned asking me to short circuit you," Trowa answered smoothly. "And you yourself stated that Wufei was always involve."

"You listened in?"

"Had to keep you safe, in case the Hydran tried anything." Wufei slid his hand around Trowa's waist. "I rather love your hair, Quatre, and Trowa's hair too. Don't lie to me. Involve me in some short circuiting...now."

Quatre moved closer to the other two systems, sliding his own arm around Wufei's waist. "My system...could use a reboot."

Heero lay down on the bed, pulling the comfortable blanket over his legs as he tried to digest the information Quatre had offered him. So Duo was a complete Arian, and had turned three empty shells into systems and part Arian. Arians left Adua to travel, and generally could not be left alone for a long period of time.

He tried to count the details of Arian personality that Quatre had mentioned. They liked to eat. Liked to sleep. Liked to create, and were proud of their achievements. Liked sex. Didn't lie. Had changing eye colors that would tell the others what they were thinking, what mood they were in. Dark, Heero now knew, meant lust.

Adua. Arians. He couldn't use these as reference; these were their own terms, just like how Heero called himself a human while the others had called him Hydran.

Mentally bringing up the maps he had seen so many times, he tried to figure out where exactly Adua was. Quatre mentioned they had been ninety-one rotations away from Adua when they found him, and Heero had been three days from Earth. That meant Adua was approximately ninety-four days away from Earth. But how could he judge that distance without knowing how fast Leo could travel in comparison to human spacecraft? Heero briefly considered that he'd physically feel a difference if the traveling speed was drastically different, but then he decided that may not be an accurate estimation. It seemed that Arians were capable of much more advanced technology, so much that Heero would not be surprised if they could not feel themselves travel at a high speed.

Still, he mentally tried to catalogue the items on the map based on what Duo had pointed to in the control center. But no matter what he tried to figure out, he couldn't seem to remember other stars or planets so far away. It could be that Earth did not even know of the existence of Adua.

And he still didn't know what to do. Maybe Adua was in a completely different galaxy. But then the other planets, or stars, other space civilizations may not welcome him either. Thus far, Duo and his crew had offered hospitality to him without even considering that Heero may possibly harm them all, even if he were in the minority at the moment.

He thought back to the descriptions Quatre had given him. Quatre had said they were cursed as Arians. The characteristics of their personalities certainly seemed flawed; gluttony, pride, lust. That was already three of the seven deadly sins! And sleeping for half of a rotation, that was twelve hours! Inability to control their eating or desires; would that be an inability to care for their own well being? Did that mean sloth was a part of their personality too?

The light above him still attracted him; he touched it again, reveling at the cold surface. He was suddenly reminded of comics, where a character's epiphany was illustrated as a light bulb being lit up.

His scientific mind took over. Arian's only measured time by rotations, which was roughly a day in human terms. Quatre hadn't exactly mentioned how long Arians had existed, but even if it had been a century or two, how had they survived when all they did was sin? Between overeating, sleeping too much and indulging in too much sex, how had they found time to create things to be proud of?

Quatre had not even finished giving a general overview of Arians. What if they were cursed, as Quatre said, with the other sins as well?

Chapter Three

Duo nuzzled his pillow before rolling onto his back with a sigh. He eased out of slumber and his stomach growled. Frowning a little, he decided he would sleep a little longer before he got out of bed to eat.

Never mind that he'd already decided that the last two times he'd woken briefly.

"Get up, lazy."

Duo didn't move.

"Aren't you hungry? It's time to eat."

Duo could feel himself dozing off a little more. A hand shook him by the shoulder and he wrinkled his nose for a moment as the almost-dozing feeling vanished to be replaced with irritation.

"Duo."

"I gave you two systems to play with for a reason," Duo grumbled. "Leave me alone."

"You've been sleeping for half a rotation already. Time to eat."

Duo's stomach growled again, a second vote to the statement. An amethyst eye cracked open and Duo looked up at Trowa.

"You're part Arian. Why don't you understand why I like to sleep?"

"Because I'm part system and I can rationalize that as much as we may like to sleep, it is necessary to get up. And don't you remember that we have a guest on board now? Surely you want to be a good host."

Duo sighed. "I'm Arian. He can and will learn to accept how we are. How I am." Still, he rubbed his eyes and slowly sat up. As sleep left his mind, he began to feel his hunger more fiercely. "Anyway, let's go eat."

"Go wash up first."

Duo wrinkled his nose. "What difference does it make? All I've done is sleep."

"Do you want to smell for our guest?"

Duo's eyes narrowed. "I'm --"

Trowa rolled his eyes. "Yes, we know you're Arian, you arrogant thing. Our guest may learn that this is your way but you should have the decency to try your best to put on a good impression."

"Impression shimpression," Duo sulked as he bee-lined for the washroom. As he vanished behind the door, Trowa smiled.

"You may not care now, Duo, but as long as Heero is here I think you'll begin to find that you care about his impression of you."

Heero looked up as the opening door revealed a smiling Quatre.

"Hello, Heero."

"Quatre," Heero answered with an incline of his head. He stood and approached the polite blonde, who remained standing outside the door.

"Have you been resting?" Quatre inquired politely.

"Yes, I have."

"It's time to eat. Are you hungry?"

"I am." Heero nodded. He felt frustrated that he couldn't tell the time here; his watch had been left back on the ship he'd fled from. Not to mention his clothes had also been left behind. Heero was sure that he was beginning to smell.

"I brought you some clothing," Quatre said as if reading Heero's mind. He offered a black stack of clothing to Heero. "There are two sets here. They wash very quickly so you don't need too many of them. I'm sorry we don't have Hydran clothing but I'm sure you will feel comfortable in them."

"Thank you, Quatre." Heero accepted the clothing. "I should change into them now."

"You have time to wash up too, if you want. Trowa went to wake Duo and it will take them a while to get to the pantry. You remember the way, don't you?" When Heero nodded, Quatre smiled again. "I'll see you there shortly, then."

"Thanks again," Heero answered. He would need to figure out how the doors operated. Was there a way to lock the doors, or was there no privacy on this craft? So far, all Heero had done was walk up to his door; it opened automatically.

Setting the clothing on the bed, he slipped into the adjoining bathroom to wash up. Since he had learned how the sink functioned, Heero took the risk of operating the shower in the same way.

"Shower," he said to the black panel close by. Nothing happened, and Heero sighed, moving to the sink where he knew how to get some water. "Wash." Water flowed immediately from the nozzle. Reaching in, he tested the temperature, then tried another command. "Hotter."

The water remained the same temperature. Trying various other commands that also failed, Heero sighed and stripped, opting to scoop water out to rub himself down; he wasn't crazy enough to just hop in. Spotting a towel close by on a rack of sorts, he used it to dry himself. With a sigh, Heero returned to the room and picked up the top item of the black stack Quatre had given him.

He wasn't sure why he expected the clothing to look different compared to what the other members of Leo wore; it was the same. It was a simple, sleeveless shirt with a round collar. Pulling his own clothing off, he tugged the shirt over his head, surprised at how easily it stretched and slipped on. Unlike spandex, which he often liked to wear, he didn't feel as if the material was tight against his skin; in fact, he could barely feel it even though the collar was snug around the base of his neck. The next piece he picked up was a long-sleeve polo shirt with a simple open v-neck and no buttons. It fit snugly over his body; Heero could not feel that he was wearing two shirts. Picking up the pants, he was glad that he was wearing briefs because the tight pants didn't look like they would accommodate boxers.

Reflecting back on Duo's stunt when he had pulled down his own pants led Heero to realizing that the Arian had not been wearing any underwear. Shaking his own head to clear that image, Heero pulled the pocket-less black pants on and buckled the connected belt. He noticed that the belt had several spots to hold items although he couldn't fathom what exactly an Arian would put on in those slots. Frowning down at his yellow sneakers, all that he had worn underneath the bulk of his spacesuit, Heero knew they clashed horribly but had no choice but to wear them.

"I wish I could see what I look like otherwise," Heero muttered. A panel to his left, right beside the bed, immediately reflected him. Heero blinked in shock, then reached out to touch the surface. It felt like steel to his fingers, yet the image was as clear as a mirror's reflection. Heero could see that he was dressed properly; nothing looked out of place. The v-neck of the polo showed the black shirt inside; he wondered what the purpose was for wearing two shirts. Now properly dressed, Heero folded his own clothes and left them on the floor as a reminder to himself that they had to be washed. The other set of clothes he put in a slot at the headboard of the bed. Then, he exited his room and made his way to the pantry.

"Greetings, Hydran." Wufei was already at the table, cutting up the colored blocks he'd set out.

"My name is Heero." Wufei inclined his head slightly to show he'd heard. "Would you mind telling me how the doors function? Is there no locking mechanism?"

"I can program your voice into the command box. The doors will lock on vocal command," Wufei answered. "But it can be over-ridden in emergencies."

"Understandable. And...is there a way to get hot water?"

Wufei chuckled. "It seems that in his haste to inform you of Arian ways, Quatre forgot about the basic fundamentals of how to live on Leo." As he listened to Wufei, Heero studied the tool that was being used. It was a simple rectangle with a slim handle on top. Wufei hadn't moved the tool like a human operated a knife. He simply set it on top and pushed down. Heero himself had to exert some force in order to break apart the food in his first taste-test, and he wondered why the tool worked so easily.

"Trowa and I tried to add the same program we have in the mic and earpiece we use to the bathroom. Maybe it doesn't work completely?"

"The sink works," Heero answered. "And the urinal...thanked me and reminded me to wash my hands."

"Ah." Wufei nodded. "If you'll explain a list of commands you could use, I think we can program those words into the system, which is easier than to teach the system your language. Trowa and I had been working on it when Quatre was talking to you before, but we were...distracted."

Heero nodded, then gave in to his curiosity. "How does that work?" He gestured to the tool Wufei was using.

"This is a scim, It's made to cut this food; the food reacts to the material of the scim and simply separates."

Heero nodded again, this time in wonder as to what sort of technology was available to the Arians, and to this side of the galaxy in general. Humans had thought it was an accomplishment to send a craft into space, but that seemed to be nothing in comparison to the technology that now surrounded him.

They lapsed into silence for several minutes before Quatre entered, followed shortly by Trowa and Duo. Heero discreetly studied the eye-color of each Arian and part Arian at the table; they seemed to be neutral. His gaze slid back to Duo, noting that the braided Arian seemed a little dazed and looked a bit sulky.

Duo had hardly looked at him upon entering the pantry and now Heero knew why; he'd barely figured out that Duo was sulking when the expression cleared, eyes almost lighting up as Wufei set a plate of food in front of Duo.

The different-colored blocks had been cut into three; the other two pieces put away for later consumption. Then, each remaining block had been cut into another three for what Heero assumed was for convenience. From the lack of cutlery around the table, Heero deduced that they would be eating with their hands.

"The clothing seems to suit you fine," Quatre commented.

Heero nodded. "It is comfortable. But am I imposing by borrowing someone else's clothing?" Heero asked as he studied Duo, who was completely engrossed in the task of eating.

"Your clothing belongs to Duo. Both sets," Quatre informed him. "But Duo has many because he is too lazy to wash and clean up. Lending you a couple would teach him to wash faster."

Duo looked up with a quick narrowing of his eyes before he finished off his food. Sitting back with a sigh, Duo eyed Heero's portion.

"Going to eat that, or no?" he asked, his eyes not wavering from the blocks Heero had yet to consume. When Heero hesitated in his answer, Duo reached out, only to receive a smack by Quatre and Trowa, who were sitting on either side of him. "Ow!"

"No more for you," Quatre scolded. "You know what happens if you eat too much."

"Why would he waste food --"

"Heero never said he wasn't going to eat it. You will finish it, won't you, Heero?" Quatre gave the Hydran beside himself a look and Heero nodded in answer.

"Fine." Duo grumbled, crossing his arms.

"Is there a way to tell time?" Heero asked.

"Time?" Wufei asked in question.

"Your rotations. Is there a way to tell when they start?"

"Ah." Wufei nodded and pulled an object from his belt. "Trowa, Quatre and I are programmed to automatically know via mental calculation. You can have this."

Heero accepted the item and studied it, eyebrows furrowing at the clear circle, within which a small black circle seemed to sit. "How...does it work?"

"The black circle indicates the rotation from light to dark," Trowa explained. "The portion of the circle you see indicates light is on it. If you can't see the black circle at all, it means the rotation is just beginning. The black will begin to appear from the left, and when the entire circle is revealed, as it is now, means that half of a rotation has passed. As the circle begins to disappear from the left again, it means the latter half of the rotation is passing, until you can't see the black circle anymore, which shows the end of one rotation and the beginning of the next."

Heero nodded in understanding, wondering how the item worked; it seemed preliminary though, compared to a watch, which was much more precise in terms of time.

"Generally, we try to eat when you see the left half of the circle, then the full circle, and then the right half, but as you can see, that doesn't always work out. Our bodies are not completely dependent on punctual intakes of foods, so if you're ever hungry or need to eat at a certain time when we're not available, feel free to do so. Oh, and the numbers at the bottom indicate the rotation we're at since we last left Adua. It is reset each time we leave Adua. But you will need to learn the Arian numbers to read it."

"It's not difficult," Duo answered. "I can show you later."

Heero nodded in appreciation. "Thank you." He slid the device into a slot on his right side. "What is it called?"

"Tior," Quatre answered. "It's an obsolete term for 'rotation'."

That seemed to end conversation and the rest of the eating was completed in silence.

Duo suddenly grinned. "I'll be in the back if you need me." With that, he got up and left the pantry.

"I wonder what he's planning now?" Quatre asked rhetorically.

"Does it matter?" Wufei replied. "He'll be doing something other than sleeping and releasing."

"You didn't have any protests against releasing half a rotation ago," Trowa commented dryly.

Wufei chuckled. "The chance for a system reboot was irresistible, and refreshing. For now though, I need to program Heero's bathroom to something he can use. And to program his voice into the system."

"Oh! I completely forgot about that."

"I'm going down to the main engine." Trowa got up. "Quatre? Where will you be?"

"In the control center." Quatre smiled. "I need to do a database sweep and re-catalogue. It will take me a good quarter of a rotation." He turned to Heero. "I need to do an information dump and reload every ninety to one hundred rotations. It means I'll be an empty shell for a bit, just in case you happen to walk in and I don't respond. My eyes go completely blank too."

"Thanks for the heads up," Heero replied. "I'll remember that."

Quatre turned to the other two systems, one sitting and one standing across from him. "And no sabotaging my shell before I'm done!" he warned them. "I mean it this time!"

"You said that the last couple of times too, but you don't protest when you come back," Wufei drawled.

"If you do, I'm not responsible for my actions after that!"

Trowa's eyes darkened, just slightly. "Revenge is sweet, isn't it?"

Quatre flushed slightly. "Don't start," he said. "I need to do this."

"Go ahead," Wufei said with a glance to Trowa. "We'll try to be...otherwise occupied."

Heero mentally shook his head; it was evident by the conversation of these part Arians how much being intimate was a barely controlled desire.

He tried not to imagine how Duo dealt with the primal urge.

"Ready, Heero?" Wufei asked. Heero realized that the other two systems had already left, and nodded his reply to Wufei.

"Let's go."

It took a short while for Wufei to program Heero's voice into the vocal command system along with basic commands for doors, emergencies and requests to locate someone else aboard Leo. The programming of the bathroom utilities took a little longer as Wufei learned the proper words and their meanings. Once completed, Heero thanked the mainframe system and asked if there was anything he could help out with.

"I wonder...are you familiar with systems and functions on Hydro?"

Heero nodded. "I am a scientist, but I also studied computers --"

"Computers?" Wufei interrupted curiously.

"That's what holds what we call an operating system, or what makes a system work. The...code behind how something works by command."

"Can you tell me more?" Wufei was interested in learning about another sort of system; he wanted to know if he could possibly incorporate the Hydran system into his own for higher efficiency. The two spent the next long while discussing Hydran systems, until Trowa appeared and asked for Wufei's assistance.

The darkened Emerald eyes informed Heero what sort of assistance Trowa needed from Wufei, and he didn't object when the other system excused himself politely. Pulling out the tior from his belt, Heero learned that almost a quarter of a rotation had passed. With a sigh, he picked up his dirty clothing and headed to the now-programmed bathroom; he may as well be productive and wash his clothing.

Quatre managed to finish his task and reboot his system, a process which ensured his files were updated and not corrupted in any way. As he came to, he realized there were hands in his hair. His tops had already been removed; there was something suckling gently on his left nipple. Quatre moaned.

"What did I say..." he trailed off as the hands slid from his hair down his sides and across his hip to cup his growing arousal. Last time, he'd decided to complete his task standing, since sitting had found him bound by the other two systems when he returned to his shell.

Next time...perhaps he'd stand against the wall so no one could get behind him.

Meanwhile, in the back of Leo, Duo typed at a code, frowning at variables that he erased and rewrote. The code continued to fail to work and in a fit of sudden rage, Duo stabbed a button, managing to delete the entire code. He growled in frustration and stood, stomping around the room until he finally slammed his fist against the wall. With a grunt of pain, he repeated the motion and kicked the wall.

He'd told the other's he'd be in the back, which meant he'd be creating something. Reminding himself of this, he sat down and restarted his project.

His pride would not let him rest, or leave the room, until he had something completed, even if he didn't mean for anyone to see his completed project.

Chapter Four

Heero wandered about the ship, having received permission from Wufei to explore the craft. He'd been on Leo for about five days already, and thus far only knew of his own room, the control center and the pantry. He'd spent the last couple of days sharing information about humans with Wufei in exchange for information about Arians, Leo and Leo's inhabitants.

Wufei had warned him that Leo was a two-level ship, but the lower level was just the engine room and cargo bay. As a result, only Trowa and Duo had access to the lower levels and Trowa alone was left with the task of moving food from the storage in the bay up to the pantry when the pantry cupboards began to empty. Wufei also informed him that two of the rooms would be locked against his command, and those were his, Trowa's and Quatre's bedrooms, although one was occupied more often than the other.

Heero didn't have to ask why.

As he wandered the corridor with the control center as his starting point, he noted the first door to his left being Duo's room, as Wufei had informed him. He didn't go inside; he wasn't about to invade anybody's privacy. The next door, situated a few steps down and to his right, was his own room. The pantry came up on the left side after he turned the corner. Instead of turning, Heero continued on forward. Two doors, directly across from each other, were closed and locked from his voice command. Heero determined that those rooms belonged to the three systems on board.

Dimly, he wondered why the three systems shared two rooms instead of each having their own. The next room he came to was yet another bedroom; this meant Leo could accommodate five beings, each to a room.

Then again, Heero figured that he probably wouldn't want to know that either.

Backtracking, Heero turned down the hall where the pantry was located; the first door to his left. To the right, he gave his voice command and discovered the room Wufei informed him was referred to as the recreational lounge. There were many things Heero couldn't identify, but he was sure that soon enough Quatre would show him what exactly was for recreational use within the lounge. Leaving it for the moment, he continued on and opened the next door. It was an empty, padded room with handles on the walls. It looked similar to a room he had been in for his anti-gravity training.

Anchoring himself by gripping the handle placed conveniently by the door, Heero stepped in and immediately felt himself float. Pulling himself back, he settled in the hallway on both feet once more, staring in amazement into the empty room. No one had told him that Arian technology allowed for single rooms to have zero gravity. On Earth, similar rooms existed based on certain controls. But Earth did not have rooms that could be isolated with a different level of gravity without completely enclosed barriers. It wasn't that Heero expected zero-g forces to float out into the hallway where he stood, but it boggled his mind that he could situate himself such that half of his body was under a normal level of gravity while the other was in zero gravity.

Closing the door, Heero continued onwards to find a supply closet just a few steps down the hall, followed by another door. He bypassed it for the moment, attracted by the very different design of the door right at the end of the hall. Trying his access code only to be denied, Heero realized that he was standing in front of the door that led downwards to the second level, which Wufei had warned he would not have access to. He was just stepping back when the door opened and he turned in surprise.

"Heero?" Trowa stepped through the doorway and the door slid shut behind him. "Did you need something?"

Heero shook his head. "I was just touring the craft. Wufei informed me that I would not have access to the doorway leading to the lower level, but I had been attracted by the odd design of the door."

Trowa nodded. "Seen anything interesting?" he asked.

Heero gestured absently over his shoulder to the anti-gravity room. "Arian technology continues to amaze me. How is it possible for a single room that isn't completely enclosed to have zero-gravity?"

Trowa led Heero back to the door and opened it. "See this?" He slid a finger along the side of the door, drawing Heero's attention to the thicker doorjamb. "There's a force field here that you step through. The anti-gravity controls are beyond this field, but it's just impossible to see."

"So something in this field repels the anti-gravity to keep it inside the room?"

Trowa nodded, and Heero slid his hand through the field and back towards himself, amazed that he could not even see a ripple; he'd half expected to see something reflect off of his skin.

"Anyway, I need to ask Wufei something; I need him to shut down one of the systems so I can touch it up. Have you seen Duo, by the way?"

"No." Heero shook his head. "But I didn't wander into anyone's rooms so he may be there. Come to think of it, I haven't seen him the past couple of day...rotations."

Trowa gave the statement some thought. "You're right. I'll check. Thanks." Trowa nodded briefly and continued on his way to the control center.

The door to the anti-gravity room slid shut and Heero turned to the last room he had yet to enter. The door opened on his command and he squinted into the semi-darkness. Stepping inside, he paused to let his eyes adjust to the lack of light as the door closed behind him.

A groan startled him and he stepped back, trying to find the source in the dim lighting. Another groan sounded suspiciously like Duo, along with a sharp intake of breath. Heero identified the sound as coming from around the left side of a gently whirring machine. He crept forward slowly.

"Duo?" He called out. "Are you all right?"

"Heero..."

Heero's eyes widened at the sound of his name and he stalked forward quickly, hoping to see Duo in case anything was wrong. That groan hadn't sounded very good.

"Duo?"

Heero rounded the corner and stood in shock. Of all the scenarios he had imagined of Duo having fallen, hurt himself, being sick or maybe just sleep-talking, he hadn't expected to see Duo sitting on a panel, naked from waist down and clutching another being to himself. The other being was still moving in the unmistakable act of intercourse; Heero couldn't see the face as it was hidden against Duo's neck and shoulder. Duo's braid was gripped firmly in one hand as the person pushed against Duo's body, hands gripping the Arian's hips. Heero tried to tear his eyes away from Duo's face as darkened eyes stared at him, only to find himself staring at Duo's hand as it pumped up and down his hard member.

Duo smiled in a feral way; he didn't seem embarrassed to have been caught in such a situation. "Harder," he moaned, wrapping his free arm around his partner's shoulders and pulling hard at him. "Harder...yes! Do that again!" He threw his head back with a moan although darkened eyes continued to stare at Heero.

Heero stammered his apology and left quickly, running into Quatre as the blond system exited the pantry.

"Heero?"

"I'll be in my room." Heero brushed past and made his way quickly into his room. The door closed and he leaned against it, eyes darting about the area as if he expected to see Duo there too. He didn't have to actually see the Arian, Heero realized as he closed his eyes, trying to will the heat in his cheeks to go away. The image was already burned behind his eyelids. Heero didn't want to, but he found his hands unbuckling his belt so he could slip his hand into his briefs to touch himself.

As he quietly brought himself to completion, aided by the mental images behind his eyelids, Heero told himself that he wasn't attracted to aliens or Arians, and had simply been attracted to the sight of intercourse as acted out by two-legged males.

It didn't matter that he preferred males to females; he was only aroused by what he'd seen and not because of whom he'd seen.

The strangled groan leaving his lips upon his completion didn't sound at all like Duo's name.

"Is there someone else on Leo?" Heero asked as he sat down for the evening meal.

Trowa, Quatre and Wufei glanced at each other. "If you're talking about Duo, he's passed out and wouldn't wake. We don't need to wait for him to eat; he'll eat in the next meal cycle," Quatre said.

Heero shook his head. "No one else? Just five of us?"

"Who else would there be?" Wufei asked.

"What's that room across from the anti-gravity room?" Heero answered Wufei with another question.

"It's the back room. That's where another series of computers are. Duo likes to use it as his lab of sorts to create new things. Programs, machines, all sorts of things. Why do you ask?" Trowa asked. "Did you see someone in there?"

Heero nodded.

"Duo often wears different gear in there to protect himself as he makes...whatever it is that he's made his new project," Quatre explained. "Perhaps you aren't familiar with the gear and thought it was someone else?" he hazarded a guess in answer to Heero's original question.

Heero shook his head. "There was someone else, although I couldn't see very clearly."

"Do you want to clearly state what it is, or who it is you thought you saw?" Wufei asked with a frown.

Heero flushed a little, cursing the feeling of heat in his own cheeks. "After I ran into you, Trowa, as you left the second level, I went to explore the last room, which was the back room. I...walked in on Duo...relieving himself."

"You identified Duo, so who's this other being you're talking about?" Trowa asked, seemingly unperturbed by such a thing as walking into such a private act.

"Someone was..." Heero swallowed, looking down at the table to avert his gaze from the six eyes directed at him. "Someone was taking Duo," he said quietly.

"Someone taking Duo?" Wufei asked after a moment. "Are you sure it wasn't the other way around?"

"What?" Heero asked, wondering if perhaps the intimate ways of Arians were different than that of humans, even though it looked exactly alike.

"Duo has one friend back on Adua. Adua technology allows for conferences even at this distance, and it's not impossible to send forth a hologram to do such a thing. She, Hilde that is, is known to make advances to Duo although Duo has always refused. Perhaps this time he broke --"

"No," Quatre stated firmly. "He would never give in to Hilde. He's too proud of his ability to wait for his other and he's sure Hilde isn't it."

"That, and he's too damn horny for --"

"Trowa! Not at the table!" Quatre cut him off.

"I wasn't aware that Duo had another being stashed around. Maybe he created another system?" Wufei guessed.

"Why don't we just ask when he wakes?" Trowa rolled his eyes. "No point in guessing."

It was a good enough answer for Heero; any more discussion and he'd probably never be able to look any of Leo's inhabitants in the eyes ever again.

Quatre sat across the small table from Heero, instructing the human in how to play the board game sitting on the table between them.

"Your pieces may only move one step, but in any direction, but if one piece is set in place and an opponents piece steps diagonal from it in the forward direction, you are forced to skip over them. Skipping over an opponent's piece will enable them to duplicate their piece so that one stays in place and another is placed either left or right of that first piece by the player's choice."

Heero nodded slowly at Quatre's demonstration, so Quatre continued on with his explanation.

"The piece that skips over the other is forced to return to the starting slot closest to the player. The goal is to move as many of your pieces across the board to the opposite slots until all pieces have crossed the board. The winner with the most pieces invading the opponents slots wins."

So concentrated was Heero in trying to understand the rules that he didn't notice Duo enter the recreational lounge and approach them until the Arian spoke.

"Quatre? Trowa's looking for you. He's in the control center."

"Oh? What for?" Quatre asked absently, studying the colorful pieces on the board, waiting for Heero to make a move. Heero kept his head down, not meeting Duo's eyes.

"I don't know. But he looked like he could use a reboot. He'd been downstairs for a long time."

Quatre nodded, his eyes darkening a few shades although it was hardly noticeable. "He was there all through the past sleeping portion of the rotation. Making some upgrades, he said."

"I can take over here if you want."

"Sure." Quatre stood. "Sorry, Heero. I need to check on Trowa. That system will run himself down if you don't check on him sometimes." He smiled apologetically and left the room.

"I'll be back in my room," Heero muttered, but Duo blocked his way.

"Let's finish the game, Heero."

"I'd rather not."

"Can I talk to you then?"

Heero knew it would be rude to refuse; Duo and his crew had saved him and he was living aboard Leo now; at least until he figured a way to get home. He remained in his seat, offering the lack of movement as his agreement to listen to Duo.

"Look, I wanted to apologize that you walked in on me last rotation."

Heero shook his head. "I should have knocked or something."

"You came around the corner pretty fast."

"I thought you were hurt or something."

"Arians don't get hurt easily."

"I wasn't aware."

They lapsed into silence for a bit before Duo spoke again.

"Maybe I should have been more discreet. It's a public room."

"It's my fault, really," Heero insisted, although he didn't want to prolong the topic. "I wasn't aware that I had entered the back room; I was merely touring the craft."

"It's a public room," Duo said again before he gestured at the board, asking silently for Heero to make his move. Heero moved his piece and waited. "I want to ask you something though," Duo said after a moment.

"What is it?"

"What did you think...of what you saw?"

"I thought I was fairly embarrassed," Heero answered honestly.

Duo leaned forward. "Do you like males, Heero?"

"That's private."

Duo chuckled. "But I already know the answer."

"You do?" Heero furrowed his eyebrows although he still didn't look up at Duo.

"Yea. You certainly didn't look disgusted. That could only mean that you were attracted. Maybe not to me, but at least to the act."

Heero didn't answer.

"I was half naked, Heero! That had to do something for you. I'm fairly fit for an Arian, you have to admit, despite my tendency to over-eat."

Again, Heero didn't answer.

"You rushed off pretty quickly, and admittedly the clothes you wear don't hide too much...luckily." Duo stretched his arms upwards and leaned back in his seat. "Perhaps I can activate those security cameras and see where you headed to when you ran out of the back room."

Heero looked up and glared. "What's your point, Duo?"

Duo's eyes had darkened slightly. "It's been a long time since I've interacted with anyone other than those three systems who are completely taken with each other. I'm curious as to whether or not I'm losing my...appeal."

"You're wondering if I'm attracted to you," Heero stated clearly.

"You could put it that way. Like I said, I'm fairly fit for an Arian, and Arians have a reputation of being lookers."

"Even if I were, Duo," Heero stood. "I've no interest in entering a relationship with someone I've just met. Not to mention someone who was clearly...taken by someone else."

"I can explain that --"

"I understand that Arians are prone to falling prey to their urges," Heero interrupted. "I guess Wufei didn't see fit to inform me that they have no qualms as to invading other's privacy via cameras, or being promiscuous. Excuse me." He walked towards the door, not liking the conversation that had just taken place. The door slid open and just as Heero stepped out, he heard Duo speak quietly.

"I'm all too aware of Arian faults, Heero, but I will not stand by while you place those other accusations on me and my kind."

The door closed behind Heero, separating him and Duo with a quiet hiss.

Chapter Five

Over the next few days Heero began to regret his mini-confrontation with Duo in the recreational lounge. It seemed that whenever he was not in his own room, Duo had managed to be in the same area.

Admittedly, he didn't mind that Duo joined his conversations with the three systems as they tried to learn more about the other...species? ethnicity? Heero wasn't really sure what term to use. In fact, Duo's input generally lightened up the conversation and oddly enough, Heero found himself better able to remember the little facts that Duo dropped along the way.

But Duo never failed to send certain looks his way; it was as if he was trying to ensure that Heero understood that there were not many bad traits about Arians aside from their lack of control when it came to certain urges.

As the first rotation passed into the second, Heero began to wonder why he hadn't seen signs of Duo retiring to sleep for his usual half of a rotation. In fact, he didn't know if Duo was sleeping at all, seeing as Heero himself only slept a few hours by his own measurement and Duo was always around before and after his retreating to his room. By the third and fourth rotations, Heero found himself studying the Arian, wondering if perhaps Arians didn't actually need to sleep.

Many times, Heero found himself left to his own devices when the systems retreated to do various errands around Leo, although just as many times he witnessed at least one of the systems' eyes change to a darker shade which inevitably meant he would not see any of the three for a long time.

Wufei had given Heero a pair of what looked like buttons and informed him that those could be attached to his shoes or heels before stepping into the anti-gravity room. There were handholds about the room, some of which were attached to a line to allow drifting, but should he ever get stuck drifting, he'd be able push away from the spot by tapping his heels gently together. The two buttons, set on the outside of each heel, would form a sort of field around the heel and act temporarily like a ledge, enabling the being wearing them to gain some momentum until they could propel off of a wall or to grab hold of a handle or line.

Now, Heero decided to try them out. He set them against his heel and entered the room with a push, content to drift from wall to wall for some time. The floor extended down to the lower level of Leo, Wufei had informed him, but the entrance was only available through the first level. Then, he attached a line to his belt and let himself drift before tapping his heels together to test the Arian technology. It didn't fail to amaze him that he gained enough momentum to push himself the couple of meters back to the wall. Then, Heero let himself relax, his body drifting out until he reached the end of the line. There was no up or down, left or right in anti-gravity, so Heero pretended he was lying down.

For the first time, he let himself really think about what sort of situation he really was in. Was there really no chance for him to ever return to Earth? He wondered if anyone had received the final mayday messages from his shuttle before the explosion. He was the sole survivor, and yet to all of the humans on Earth, he was dead. Wufei had been right the first day he had boarded Leo; Earth would never let an unknown ship land on Earth. No one would believe that he was alive even if he did manage to communicate with Earth.

Perhaps they would let Leo touch down on Earth once they were absolutely sure that Leo and its inhabitants meant no harm, and that no other extra-terrestrial forces were going to overtake the planet. Even then, Heero himself, along with Duo and the others, would end up captured and treated as lab rats.

Heero shuddered at the thought.

He thought about his home, the small apartment not too far from NASA. He'd spent most of his life in school and then further studies in NASA, doing training and tests to prepare him for the trip out to space. He'd been strictly disciplined all of his life by his mentor, Doctor J, who had taken him in as an orphan.

Heero hadn't minded the rigorous training he'd had to endure. Sure, it had been very difficult at a young age; Doctor J had never been lenient because of his age. As a result, Heero hadn't made many friends other than the people he had interacted with. Those people couldn't exactly be considered friends; Heero had heard rumours that Doctor J had warned several of the younger trainers and fellow trainees to stay away from Heero or suffer the consequences of distracting him. At the time, Heero hadn't minded; his single, focused goal was to get off the planet and put his training to use. On the way, he would put his studies to use and return to Earth with some decent research.

Heero snorted; so much for the decent research. He'd been able to research Arian life, but it was the sort of research that would most likely never reach Earth, not if he wanted to remain a free man.

Or as free as a man could be, stuck on this spacecraft.

"Having a hard time?"

Heero blinked his eyes open; he'd heard the door open but hadn't expected anyone to join him. Then again, he'd already made a note to himself that Duo continued to be in his presence almost all of the time.

"Why do you say that?" Heero asked in reply as Duo settled beside him and tucked his hands behind his head.

"You were frowning."

"I was thinking."

"Thinking and frowning."

Heero looked away and closed his eyes again.

"What were you thinking about? Home?"

Heero grunted a reply.

"Was that a yes or no?"

Heero sighed. "Yes. I was."

"Leo's your home now, Heero-man."

Heero looked over. "What'd you call me?"

"Heero-man. Been picking up the words from your home."

It gave Heero an odd sort of comfort although it sounded weird coming from Duo, someone who only managed to communicate through a mic and earpiece.

"What do Arians call themselves?"

"What do you mean?" Duo rolled onto his side, propping his head up on his hand as if he were lying in bed on his side.

"Arians call my home Hydro and as a result, the inhabitants are called Hydrans. We call ourselves humans, or people. You call yourself Arian, but how do you refer to other Arians?"

Duo blinked. "Just Arians. Why?"

Heero shrugged a little. "You...look like a human. It's hard to look at you and not think of you as a man, a someone, a he."

Duo's eyes narrowed. "I thought I had informed you that I am male?" Duo's hands drifted to his belt and Heero nodded quickly.

"I meant that as an example of my language."

Duo nodded, eyes still a little narrowed. "Teach me more, about your language."

"What do you want to learn?"

Duo removed his earpiece and mic, slipping them into a slot in his belt. Then, he pointed to his chest and tugged at his collar.

"Zir."

"Shirt," Heero answered. Then, he gestured to his pants. "Pants," he added.

Duo nodded. "Sipor. Riber." He pointed to the shoes he wore.

"Shoes," Heero replied.

They spent a long time trading words that neither could really remember until Wufei appeared and asked for Duo. Duo nodded and turned back to Heero as the door slid shut. He reached forward and set the tip of his finger at Heero's heart. Retracting his hand, he formed a fist and hid it behind his palm, moving it to imitate a heart. Pointing to Heero's heart again, Duo spoke.

"Shina."

"Heart," Heero answered. Then, Duo pulled on Heero's belt to drift them closer together. He pointed his finger against Heero's head.

"Miereh." With that, he detached the line at his own belt and tapped his heels together, pushing to flip himself over Heero with enough momentum to carry his body towards the wall. From there, Duo moved himself easily down to the door before he stepped through the force field into the corridor. Hands easily clipped the earpiece and mic back in place. "See you later, Heero." The door closed.

Heero wondered what the last word had meant. Head? Brain? Skin? Hair? Bangs?

He tried not to think about the touch of Duo's finger upon him.

"Have you noticed that Duo's always around?" Quatre asked as he played with a water bulb in the pantry. Trowa pulled Quatre's hand and the water bulb closer to himself so he could take a sip.

"I have noticed. I wonder why?"

"He hasn't really been sleeping, I don't think."

"How would you know?" Trowa raised an eyebrow. "Aren't Wufei and I wearing you out by the end of every rotation?"

"But --"

"We aren't?" Wufei raised an eyebrow, almost mirroring Trowa's expression as he walked in. "We need to rectify that, Trowa." Wufei sat himself down on the table by Trowa and slid his finger through Trowa's hair and touched the system's ear. Rubbing the lobe gently, Wufei's tongue flicked out to lick his lips.

"Perhaps I meant to say that I'm sure that I was the one wearing you both out," Quatre said, slipping a hand along Trowa's thigh before he stood and settled onto the table. He leaned down and let his lips touch Trowa's briefly; Trowa immediately took the invitation to deepen the kiss. Wufei's other hand drifted across Quatre's shoulder and played with the hair at the bottom of his scalp, causing the blond system to shiver deliciously.

"Let's take this back to our room." Wufei murmured. "I have no intention of sharing either of you with anyone else."

Too late for that, Heero though as he hurried past the open doorway towards his room. Perhaps he should travel with blinders on his eyes; it was the second time he had walked in on the three systems. Trowa had noticed that Heero had walked in on them in the recreational lounge once, although in Heero's defense he had simply been punctual to meet Quatre for a game or two.

Heero stumbled back as he turned the corner and promptly ran into someone. He instinctively gripped the other someone, just as he felt hands on his own biceps and he found himself staring into Duo's amethyst eyes. He swallowed, hoping that Duo hadn't noticed his slight hard-on from catching a glimpse of the intimate touches between the systems.

"Are you all right?" Duo asked.

Heero pulled back quickly. "Yes. Are you?"

"Yes --" Duo had barely spoken before Heero was walking around him, moving quickly towards his room. "Hey Heero!" The door slid open and Heero entered quickly before the door slid shut once again. Had he looked back, he would have noticed the dark purple in Duo's eyes.

Heero leaned against his door, his heart pounding.

It's from the surprise of running into Duo, he said to himself. Nothing else.

But the uncomfortable twitches at his groin made him groan and lie down on his bed.

"What the hell is wrong with me?" Heero asked quietly. Sure, he had touched himself before, but it had always been to relieve tension of sorts, as a natural bodily function. Little things like catching a glimpse of the touches between the systems had never aroused him.

There was too much sexual tension and innuendo on Leo, he decided as he gripped his blanket in fists. Especially among the systems, their urge to be intimate, caused by the uncontrolled lust in their blood, was definitely a primary trait within them. It was much more important to the systems, much harder to control, than the other urges such as to over eat or to sleep a lot.

But given his own history in that he had never engaged in masturbation frequently, Heero found himself unable to hold off. Even now, as he thought this through, his body betrayed him by rubbing against the bed, trying to gain friction.

Unbidden images of Duo filtered into his mind as he rolled over and touched himself.

Yet after he had achieved release, Heero forced himself to believe that he was lusting after Duo simply because Duo seemed to be the only unattached being on Leo; in his own morals Heero would never let himself lust after the systems who clearly seemed so besotted with each other.

Yes, it had to be because Duo was single. With the amount of sexual tension Heero felt from hearing the innuendo and seeing things that he didn't want to see, Heero was willing to think of being with anything with two-legs. He was simply lusting after Duo because he'd seen Duo in the intimate act and the memory of those visuals remained behind his eyelids.

Only lust.

Heero kept repeating that to himself as he fell asleep.

Duo returned to his own room after running into Heero. He'd intended to steal a snack of sorts from the pantry, but now he knew he wanted a different kind of snack.

Booting up the panel by his bed, Duo waited until a shadow flickered and became solid.

"Heero," he breathed, taking note of the slight smile on his lips. "Come, sit down."

Heero automatically sat down on the bed as Duo bade. Duo chuckled and touched Heero's cheek.

"You'd never really be this obedient, would you?"

Heero tilted his head to the side, leaning into Duo's hand.

"Lie down with me?" Duo asked as he stretched out on the bed, unbuckling his belt and pulling his pants slightly off of his hips. Heero lay down and Duo moved on top of the Hydran, burying his face against Heero's neck.

"Iiala aysuei," Duo murmured. "I'm sorry, Heero." He rubbed his groin against Heero's hip, seeking the friction that could relieve his tension. Hands touched him in return before they tugged insistently, removing his pants completely. The hands touched his thighs and spread his legs until Duo shifted again and togged a few buttons on the panel. Immediately, Heero was half naked under him. Duo moved and moaned quietly as he impaled himself upon the hardness at his hip. He kept his face at Heero's neck as he moved his own hips and slid his hand between the bodies to grab his own weeping hardness.

"Heero...!" Duo jerked himself harder, seeking the completion that was just out of reach. The hands clutched him and he gripped Heero's shoulder with one hand. "Mireh!" He cried as he found his release. "Mireh, Heero!"

Duo's body slumped as he caught his breath, and he nuzzled Heero's neck lightly before he rolled onto his side and looked at Heero again. The same smile graced the lips that Duo longed to kiss. He leaned forward, then pulled back, setting his fingers against the slightly smiling lips.

"You're nothing but a solid hologram," he whispered before sitting up, looking towards the direction where Heero's room was. "Iiala aysuei, Heero, but...it's the only way I can lust after you without letting you know." He looked down at the solid hologram again. "Mireh," he whispered. "But how I wish you were really Heero."

His body was acting under urges as they caught up with his sated body, and Duo's eyes glazed over slightly. He reached to the panel and entered a few commands. The hologram of Heero faded and another solidified, an exact replica of Duo himself.

"You all right?" the replica asked Duo as it got up and helped Duo under the covers.

Duo nodded. "You may have my memories but you are not the real me. You do not tell Heero things. You do not touch him. Yo--"

"Are not the real Duo. I only exist because you want Heero to learn more about you, even during the half of a rotation when you sleep."

"Good. We have an understanding."

"Mireh," the hologram mocked. "Don't worry, I do not have Arian urges like you do." With that, the hologram slipped out of Duo's room.

"Then perhaps you are the lucky one, hologram," Duo muttered before his body was over taken by his urges and he drifted to sleep.

Chapter Six

Heero called out the command to open the door when someone knocked on it. He didn't look up as the door opened and the guest walked in, so engrossed was he on the objects in front of him.

"Heero?"

Heero looked up. "Quatre?" Then he looked at the tior he'd set beside him, suddenly realizing he was late to meet the blond system in the recreational lounge. "I'm so sorry, Quatre! I lost track of time."

"It's all right. What are you doing?" Quatre knelt beside the bed. Heero was sitting cross-legged and fiddling with a panel of sorts. He tilted his head as he studied the item, showing almost boyish curiosity in his expression.

"It's one of the operational panels that Trowa had lying around. I'd been speaking to Wufei about human computer systems and he had been wondering if he could combine those with the systems already on Leo to make something different. Trowa gave me this panel and I've just been tinkering with it. I'm not overly familiar with the makings of any hardware, but I can fiddle around a bit with it in all of this spare time."

"Have you figured anything out?" Quatre asked. "What's this?"

"That's the motherboard here." Heero gestured to the panel's left side. "Generally in our systems there's a motherboard, and then a hard drive, something like that. It's the brain to the computer, you could say, although the actual operating system is loaded onto the hard drive."

"That's too complicated for me," Quatre admitted. "But are you getting anywhere?"

Heero produced a small object from his right side. "I have something salvaged from when I fled my spacecraft. It's almost like an external drive, but something more advanced than what the public has. On Earth I mean."

"Secret weapon?"

"In a sense." Heero nodded. "It's got some data programs and such on them, and was for my use when we got to StarX296 in order to process any research or discoveries. In the event that the computer I was to use didn't have the appropriate operating system, this little drive could be loaded into the computer. A partition would be created and the operating system would be loaded, so I'd be able to get some research data inside it."

"But don't operating systems and hardware have to be compatible?"

"I worked for people who had rather advanced technology, or as advanced as it gets on Earth. There was little chance that the hardware would be outdated; only the software, since the primary station we'd set up on X296 wouldn't have system upgrades readily accessible."

"Fair enough," Quatre nodded. "So you're saying that if you can get this hardware to work, and hooked up on a visual, then you could load your operating system onto it?"

Heero nodded. "Something like that, assuming it works and all. I hope it hadn't been damaged in any way, although it seems to be fine. That aside, if the hardware is compatible, I'd be able to load this entire drive onto a system I'm more familiar with." Heero turned the object about. "I had stored more than just the data programs and operating system on it."

"Like what?" Quatre asked, taking the object and turning it around, his mind automatically cataloging weight, size and texture of the object.

"My entire life."

Quatre looked up, then back down. In a way it made sense; if that and the set of clothes on his body had been all that Heero could save, and given that he'd probably never be able to return to Hydra, then that was, indeed, Heero's entire life.

"Your past life, Heero," Quatre murmured, handing the item back before he stood. "You've still got a present, new life for you to explore and live."

When Heero didn't answer, Quatre turned and left the room.

Heero spent the next two rotations in his room tinkering with the panel and his little drive, trying to attach the two together so that he would be able to load the contents through to the visual panel. For one thing, Heero knew that the USB port of his flash drive would not be able to connect to any of the ports on the motherboard.

Wufei came up with the appropriate remedy by offering several different wires. The system then carefully stripped the caps and casing from the wires, leaving the internal wire exposed for manipulation. Borrowing goes from Trowa to protect his hands, he set about trying to create a wire to link the two objects together.

Heero couldn't find words to express his gratitude when, upon booting up the system via the power for the seventh time, the screen flickered to life and displayed the welcoming screen from his drive.

The next matter of business was to find a hard drive to store the operating system from the drive. Wufei explained that Arian systems didn't use a hard drive. Still, the system produced one of the few spare memory chips that, Heero learned, were slotted into the base of a system's skull, allowing them to retain vast amounts of information.

Heero managed to get the memory chip to work by using the same method as Wufei in stripping internal wires and hooking the memory chip to his makeshift motherboard. Wufei watched as the Hydran hooked up the memory chip and hooked up a keying panel to the motherboard. The keyboard was different, but once Heero had learned the directional keys and the equivalent to the 'enter' and 'backspace' button on the panel, he found that he was able to begin the installation of his operating system onto his new computer.

Wufei watched, fascinated by the symbols that flashed across the screen. "Is that your language?"

"Yes. It's English."

"English," Wufei repeated. "You can read at a fast pace, this English?"

Heero chuckled and shook his head. "I've done this too many times; I don't bother to read it."

That made sense to Wufei, there were certain operations he could follow through without reading the prompts or warning screens. He watched as Heero became more and more anxious and determined that this operation system that Heero had informed him of must be close to completing installation. Although he was still curious, Wufei decided it was time to make himself scarce.

"I'll leave you to it, then," he said to Heero as he got up from the floor. They had been using Heero's bed as a table since the room itself lacked such furniture. Heero stood, torn between continuing with the rediscovery of his former life and asking Wufei to stay. He knew that Wufei was curious although the system was being extremely polite.

Wufei could see Heero's dilemma. "You can teach me about it once you've learned how to use the key panel. Besides, it's about time to give Quatre a quick short circuit." Even as he spoke, Wufei's eyes turned darker; it wasn't hard for him to distract his curious mind with a much baser urge.

Heero's cheeks flushed slightly. "Thank you, Wufei. I have no other words that can express my gratitude, but...thank you."

"You're welcome." Wufei nodded and took his leave. Heero watched as the door closed after the system just as his operating system finished installation. Out of habit, he switched on the wireless as he configured the operations, even though he knew he wouldn't get an Internet connection here, or would he? Heero chuckled and shook his own head; it would take him a long time to learn of the technology available on Leo. For now, he'd just settle for re-familiarizing himself with a makeshift, human computer.

Wufei made his way to the pantry, unsure of his own uncanny sense that directed him to his other systems. He found Trowa inside, leaning casually against the counter as he drank from a water bulb. With a low growl, Wufei crossed the pantry and pressed himself against the taller system. He swallowed the liquid that Trowa passed to him before he deepened the kiss, thrusting his tongue into Trowa's mouth to explore the familiar cavity.

Trowa's slid his hands up Wufei's sides and back down before sliding them around the back, boldly cupping Wufei's ass and pulling the system against his own body. His own legs automatically parted, letting himself shift to accommodate Wufei's shorter height so that their hips could grind together. Wufei broke the kiss and trailed his lips along Trowa's jaw and down his neck, suckling hard at the skin. His hands delved into Trowa's hair and gently massaged; Wufei knew that it was a sensitive area for Trowa. When he finally pulled back, he looked into Trowa's dark eyes and deliberately licked his own lips.

Wufei's tongue had barely finished its trail across the already kiss-swollen lips before Trowa pushed Wufei back and shoved him against the counter. He immediately pressed against Wufei's back, sliding his hand between Wufei's body and the counter so he could rub at Wufei's arousal. His lips returned the torture to Wufei's jaw and neck. Wufei's back arched as he pressed his hips towards Trowa's hand and leaned his head back into Trowa's touch. He growled when Trowa suddenly released him completely, and stumbled when Trowa grabbed his hand and pulled him out of the pantry. Wufei followed Trowa to the control panel.

Quatre looked up, pausing mid-sentence in his conversation with Duo as his lovers entered. Trowa crossed the room quickly, Wufei in tow, and he grabbed Quatre's collar as he swooped down and captured the surprised lips in a torrid kiss.

Duo watched the exchange, studying Quatre's surprised expression before light blue eyes became navy in several blinks and then Quatre was pulling back. His hands reached for the bottom of his long-sleeved polo and in a swift motion removed the garment, revealing pale, muscled arms and a hint of baby blond hair at the armpits. Duo raised an eyebrow as Quatre spared him a glance.

"Talk to you later, Duo," Quatre said before turning back to his lust-filled partners. "Want some? Come get it." With that, he darted out, leaving Trowa and Wufei to stall just a moment before giving chase.

Duo blinked after them before looking down along his body and shrugging.

"I'm glad I don't have their urges," he muttered before turning back to the computer.

Trowa caught Quatre's wrist as the sly blond called out the command to open the door to their room. He dragged Wufei in and yanked at Wufei's polo in a silent message for it to be removed. Then, he pulled off his own and tossed it aside before pulling Quatre close and kissing the blond once more.

Wufei spared a moment to pull aside the blanket and to switch the light above the bed to a dim setting before he returned to his lovers and chose his place behind Trowa, sliding both of his hands between his lovers so that he could unbuckle their belts. He mentally thanked whoever gave him that sort of dexterity before he worked to remove Trowa's bottoms down to his knees, letting the tall system kick them off after shoes had been toed off. He repeated the favour to Quatre before sliding his hands up Trowa's torso to remove the snug, sleeveless shirt, trailing his blunt nails up Trowa's sides and making him shiver and moan. In turn, Trowa did the same to Quatre before the two pressed close, groaning as weeping cocks met and slid together. Wufei stepped back to admire the view.

Both Trowa and Quatre quickly noticed the lack of Wufei's touch and they separated together and turned to find their missing lover. Grinning when they discovered him sitting on the bed and removing his own shoes, the two shared a glance and quickly approached the over-dressed system.

Wufei found himself pressed back against the bed, two hands working quickly to undo his belt and remove his bottoms while another two hands teased his torso by squeezing his ribs lightly and gripping his sides possessively. He managed to lift his body by the strength of his abs, allowing the hands at his torso to remove the last article of clothing from him. Then he jerked, falling back as lips pressed roughly against his in a commanding kiss at the same time someone swallowed his erection whole.

Quatre let his tongue play at the slit of Wufei's cock, his hands pressing down on Wufei's hips so the system could not thrust upwards. A hand slid into his hair; Quatre knew by touch that it was Wufei. It simply remained at his head, not forcing nor guiding, just touching. Quatre hummed and listened as Wufei cried out at the vibrations, legs opening further in a restless motion.

Trowa attacked Wufei's nipples, biting lightly and grazing his teeth over the dark, hardened nub before he licked it with several swipes. After repeating the favour to the other nipple, Trowa then let his teeth graze over ribs and onto Wufei's stomach. Muscles clenched deliciously at the touch and Wufei's hand found Trowa's neck, squeezing gently in time to Trowa's every inhalation as the system began to intoxicate himself with Wufei's scent. Drawn by the heady musk so close by, Trowa discreetly nudged Quatre.

Taking his cue, Quatre pulled away, listening momentarily as Wufei groaned his displeasure at the loss. The sound quickly turned to a gasp as Quatre and Trowa's lips met in a kiss with Wufei's cock in between. Tongues slid over the hard flesh before the two mouths moved down at the same time. Trowa let his mouth travel upwards again so that he could take Wufei into his mouth just as Quatre licked the twin sacs below.

Wufei lay, quivering at the touches that wreaked havoc over his senses but was not enough to bring him over the edge. He gripped the pillow above himself and arched his back again before he cried out, feeling Quatre gasp around his sacs.

Quatre was caught by surprise at the hand that suddenly gripped and pumped his weeping cock. Trowa wasn't teasing; he moved his hand quickly and skillfully with every intention of guiding Quatre quickly towards completion.

"Trowa...!" Quatre moaned. "No...no...not like this."

Trowa's other hand pumped over his own erection, smearing precum over the shaft. Upon hearing Quatre's voice, he released Wufei's cock and moved around Quatre, tugging the blonde's hips up slightly. Pale legs automatically moved to support himself and Quatre looked over his shoulder at Trowa, navy eyes shining with need and lust.

Wufei took the moment to study his lovers. In the dim lighting he could see sweat glistening across skin, chests heaving and eyes glittering. He savored the moment, filing it into his own mental database before his eyes made contact with Quatre's as the blond turned forward to look at him.

The hand that traced his spine made Quatre arch forward, his hips moving back instinctively as the hand then traced the cleft of his ass. He tensed, squeezing the muscles enticingly before a thumb passed over his opening. His jaw hung open as he felt his body open to Trowa's touch as Trowa let the pad of his thumb rest against the opening. He then pressed and pulled back, putting pressure against the opening and mimicking what was soon to happen. Quatre returned his lips to Wufei's erection, not wanting to leave their other lover out of the fun. After a few more teasing moments, Trowa let his hands rest on Quatre's hips before he leaned down and kissed Quatre's balls. The blond cried out around his mouthful, then cried out again as a tongue swiped over his opening, causing it to tense before relaxing and opening. Teasing lips nibbled up each of his vertebrae, and just as Quatre was about to scream in frustration, Trowa's hands squeezed his hips in a brief warning before the blunt head of his cock pressed against Quatre's relaxed opening and thrust in.

Quatre moaned around Wufei's erection as Trowa seated himself, his mind already whirling from the pleasurable entry. He mentally thanked Duo for the Arian blood that allowed his entrance to automatically relax under the stimulation of his lovers so that no other preparation was necessary. Then, he pushed Duo out of his mind and focused on the cock thrusting slightly into his mouth and the second one picking up a rhythm behind him.

So engrossed were they in their lovemaking that they did not hear the central alarm ring.

Chapter Seven

The hologram of Duo sat up after tinkering in boredom on a panel in the control center. Heero had, for the past couple of rotations, remained mostly in his room doing his own tinkering, and the hologram of Duo was becoming increasingly bored with his task. Once it was time to wake the real Arian up, the hologram immediately headed for the room to wake his creator.

"Hey, wake up," he said, nudging the sprawled form on the bed. "Half of a rotation has passed."

"Little longer," Duo muttered.

"No, get up. It's boring."

"Go find someone then," Duo grumbled, rolling onto his back and pulling the blankets over his head.

"Hey!" the hologram shook the Arian once more. "You lazy Arian!"

"You and I are the same, almost," Duo said before covering his ears.

The hologram's eyes narrowed and he smacked the Arian on the stomach, startling him awake.

"Hey!" Duo struggled for a moment with his blankets before emerging and sitting up with a glare, his eyes a light purple and flashing with anger. "What the hell is your problem?"

"What's the matter, Arian?" the hologram taunted. "Above keeping your word now? Half of a rotation is over, or are you just going to be a sloth and stay lazy?" the hologram leaned closer. "What's more important to you, the urge to be a sloth, or the urge to be proud? A proud Arian would keep his end of the bargain, no?"

Duo resisted the rising need to punch his clone.

"Or perhaps the urge to being lusty overtakes all of the other ones, as your systems clearly demonstrated?"

Duo snatched the hand that touched him intimately. He pushed the laughing hologram back before punching in the commands to the panel. The hologram faded from sight and Duo fell back onto his bed. Suddenly too angry to sleep anymore, he got up and began to pace.

Perhaps he should command the clone of himself to come back so he could beat the crap out of the hologram and relieve his anger. He clenched his fists and punched his pillow several times before kicking the wall.

Heero. Heero would calm him down because in front of Heero, Duo was too proud to fall prey to his anger. He would show the Hydran he had better control than that.

A quick stalk about the ship revealed that Heero was still in his own room and Duo would not invade the Hydran's privacy. Returning to his own room, he keyed in certain commands until the shadow solidified into Heero.

"Heero," Duo murmured, staring at the slightly smiling hologram as he forced himself to calm down. "You've been pretty busy in your own room, haven't you?" he asked although he didn't expect an answer. "When you solve whatever it is that you want to solve, maybe you'll share it with me?"

A sudden blare of an alarm had him jumping up and running for the control room. Duo shouted commands, turning the front panels into a one-sided viewing portal so he could scan the immediate area in front of Leo. Radar reports immediately filled the top center, informing Duo where the threat was.

Or threats.

Cursing, Duo raced out of the control center, only to run smack into Heero.

"Duo?" Heero shouted over the alarm in confusion.

"How familiar are you with the control center? Do you know any operations, anything?"

Heero shook his head. "I was only shown the basics; nothing really in depth --"

Duo shoved the Hydran towards the control center anyway. "Get in, sit down in a chair in the back and strap yourself down!"

"What --"

"Do it!" Duo shouted before racing down the corridor towards the system's rooms. Banging on the door, he shouted some more. "Get up, systems!"

When no one replied, he overrode the system and jumped into the room only to find it empty.

"Wrong room!" he snarled to himself before he crossed the hall to the other room and banged on it. "Wufei! Trowa! Quatre!" he overrode the code as well and entered the room.

Wufei alone, turned his head to Duo, hair in disarray, cheeks flushed, eyes darkened enough to tell Duo that they were too far-gone in their lust. Still, he had to try.

"Enemy attack, get up!"

Trowa paid no need as he picked up his pace, thrusting faster into Quatre. He pushed the blond down over Wufei, forcing him to release Wufei's cock from his mouth. Both systems made the sound of discontent before Trowa forced Quatre flat atop Wufei. Quatre's neglected erection slid against Wufei's, which was wet from Quatre's saliva, and the two moaned as they immediately tried to find some sort of rhythm to satisfy them both.

Duo could feel his blood race at the sight but he knew that he could not fall prey to lust at this time. Swinging his fist around, he shocked his body by slamming the fist against the wall.

"Enemy attack!" he snarled again. Still, the systems paid no attention. Duo knew he had no more time and he left them to finish their coupling, spending precious seconds in his own room to key up his own hologram clone.

"What do you want now?" the clone asked, then frowned at the blaring alarm. "What's going on?"

"Get into the control center. I need you to take over engine outlook and weapons. Now!"

The hologram followed Duo quickly back into the control center.

"Duo...what the hell?" Heero asked as two Duos raced in, dressed exactly the same except one had bleeding knuckles.

"Solid hologram with my memories," the Duo with the bleed knuckles said before seating himself in the captain's seat. "We're under attack," he informed Heero.

"Attack? By whom?"

Duo ignored him and spoke to his hologram. "I'm going to take over the autopilot and I want you to man the weapon controls."

"Where are the systems?" the hologram asked as he seated himself to the left.

"Too busy having sex!"

"At a time like this?" the hologram began to power up weapons and program them for easier access.

"They were much too far-gone to be helpful. I can only hope they were almost done and will get up quick enough to come help out. Then again, I can also hope that this attack won't last long!"

"Who's attacking us?" Heero asked again.

"Zepras, Heero, who's been at war with Arians for as long as history can remember. They want to make Arians their pleasure slaves."

"Just because Arians tend to fall prey to lust?"

"That's one thing. Because of this urge Arians have, they tend to like to explore ways to pleasure themselves and their other half. Or thirds, in some cases like my wayward systems. Now shut up, Hydran, I can't be distracted with lustful thoughts when we're about to meet a fleet!"

Heero shut up and simply watched.

"Incoming attack!"

Heero squeezed his eyes shut as a bright light came from the leftmost screens. When he opened his eyes again, he could see that both Duo and his clone had slipped on glasses.

"Take off your mic and earpiece!" Duo ordered his hologram before doing so.

Heero listened to the gibberish that was the Arian language, helpless to do anything but to sit and watch. He found himself wondering if he'd survive this attack; he wasn't an Arian and if they were captured, perhaps he'd be of no use to these Zepras. Besides, Heero felt that he'd already taken an extra ticket to life; with his old existence most likely deleted from the minds of humans on Earth, it wouldn't matter if he died here.

But as he looked at Duo and thought about Wufei, Trowa and Quatre, Heero found himself beginning to hope that nothing happened, that they would get out of this mess. What sort of life would they lead as pleasure slaves to another alien race?

Okay, that was perhaps a very stupid question; the point was that Heero suddenly hoped Duo and his hologram would be able to get away from these aliens.

In their room, Trowa found himself losing control quickly. He leaned down and kissed Quatre's shoulder before seeking Wufei's mouth, pumping his hips desperately, reaching for release that was close at hand.

The weight of the two bodies above him crushed Wufei in a familiar, comforting manner, not to mention added to the friction against his arousal with Quatre's hardness. With a groan and a flex of his fingers on the pillow he had been gripping, Wufei achieved his completion, squirting copious amounts of warm stickiness between his body and Quatre's. Quatre followed after a couple more thrusts, adding to the mess between their bodies. The spasms of Quatre's internal muscles were what Trowa needed to reach his own completion, and he grunted loudly, gasping his lovers' names among other incoherent words as he emptied himself into Quatre's greedy passage.

They collapsed together until their senses returned and Quatre was the first to notice the alarm.

"Alarm!" he suddenly cried, pushing upwards to remove Trowa from himself. He grimaced as he unstuck himself from Wufei.

Trowa jumped off of the bed, snatching up the towels they kept by the bed and tossing one to Quatre and Wufei each before rubbing himself down quickly. Then, he pulled his pants and shoes on before pulling the sleeveless shirt over his head, not caring about how messy his hair was. Quatre and Wufei followed suit before they raced for the control room.

They had to brace themselves against the right side of the corridor as Leo suddenly tilted left, and their hands instinctively grabbed for each other in hopes of anchoring the others or to tumble together. As soon as they were able to move, they continued quickly towards the control center.

Wufei immediately took the seat at the center a few steps below Duo, strapping himself in with a muttered apology.

"You're late, you three!" Duo snapped just as Quatre slid into his seat to Duo's left. Trowa took a seat by the panels on the right, opposite of Duo's hologram. "And you reek!"

"Envious that we reek the way we do, Duo?" Trowa asked as he took over the observations of Leo's physicals.

"I have control over the mainframe," Wufei said as he began to scan for an answer to why they had been discovered and attacked.

"I have control over weapons," Quatre added.

Those words also sounded like gibberish to Heero, who noticed that while the three systems still wore earpieces, they were all lacking the long-sleeved polo shirts to which their mics had been attached. Heero hazarded the guess that they had forgotten to remove the small earpieces while they had been intimate.

He quickly steered himself away from that line of thought; there were more pressing matters at hand, such as trying to figure out what was going on and whether he would die, or be captured, in the next moments of his life. Luckily, the hologram, having received reprieve from his tasks now that the systems had taken up their posts, came over to sit beside Heero, strapping himself in before clipping his earpiece and mic back into place.

"Wufei's going to try and find out what exactly gave away our position. Quatre's an excellent strategist and has a full section of his mental database which informs him of various attacks, maneuvers and historical cases. Trowa's taken over the observation of the ship in case of damage, and Duo is piloting.

"Thank you," Heero replied in relief. "How is it that we had no idea we'd be attacked, or could be attacked?"

"Leo has a fairly advanced cloaking system that Zepras have yet to decode or figure out. The last attack we had, according to Duo's memories, was well over a thousand rotations ago. That's what I'm made of, you know? Duo's memories."

"Duo's memories can make a...solid hologram?" Heero furrowed his eyebrows. It wouldn't surprise him, seeing as Arians were advanced enough to simply think of a taste and actually taste it.

"No," the hologram chuckled. "Duo created the solid holograms. Me, in particular, I was given his memories."

"What for?"

"Situations like these, I suppose." The hologram sidestepped the truth, but Heero hadn't been trained to be observant for nothing.

"Duo's been around all of the time, all through the rotations. Any chance that at some point or another I'd spent at least half of a rotation interacting with you?"

The hologram blinked. "Um..."

"So he's been using a hologram while he slept. Clever," Heero muttered. "And I wonder what for,"

Wufei suddenly spoke and the hologram immediately translated the message. "An unknown signal has penetrated our cloaking device! The Zepras must have caught on to it and followed the trail to us!"

"Why is there an unknown signal on Leo?" Duo glanced at Heero. "Don't tell me they can sense Hydran life force throat the cloaking device!"

"That can't be it," Quatre muttered. "Has to be something else. Have you made anything, Duo? Anything that needed a sort of sequence, something different that perhaps Wufei hadn't programmed into the mainframe?"

"No!" Duo let the ship drop, causing Heero's stomach to lurch. "I'm not that stupid!"

The hologram Duo snorted quietly at that comment after he had translated it.

"Can you trace it, Wufei?" Duo snapped. "Or do something? Program it in or cut it off?"

"Not yet. I can't even read it!" Wufei snapped. "I need more time!"

"We don't have time!" Duo snarled. "Think! What do we have that's new, other than my holograms?"

"My computer?" Heero asked.

The hologram blinked at Heero. "Computer?"

"My own system."

The hologram covered his mic and relayed the message to Duo. In the next second, Duo had unstrapped himself, passing the piloting controls to Trowa with a few short words and raced off.

Heero immediately followed, eyes widening in horror as Duo overrode the commands into his room and darted in. He arrived at the doorway in time to see Duo pick up the panels and study it as if trying to determine which part was not an Arian system.

"Hey!"

Duo whirled and shouted; Trowa had long since shut off the blaring alarm but something about the situation still called for shouting. Heero shook his head and held out his hand, eyes narrowed.

"I don't understand you, Duo, but give that back!"

Duo shook the item in his hand and pointed, still screaming. Heero made a frustrated leap at Duo in attempt to snatch his computer back, only to have Duo easily evade him. When Heero turned again, he watched as Duo picked up the small drive, amethyst eyes studying it for a moment before realizing that it wasn't an Arian object.

Heero made an angry sound as Duo simply pulled the object away from the main panel as if with no regard to damaging the wiring. He then tossed the main panel to Heero, forcing Heero to catch it as carefully as he could.

"No!" Heero shouted as Duo took the drive with two hands and made the motion to break it. He dropped the main panel onto his bed and leapt towards Duo, tackling the Arian, who fell with a grunt. Scrabbling with his hands to get Duo's, Heero stared at the drive that was now broken into two. "You fucking bastard!" Heero's punched Duo's jaw, splitting his lip. Before he could do any more, Duo had tossed him aside and slid the two broken pieces into a slot at his belt. Duo wiped the blood on his chin and stared down at Heero's furious face.

"Iiala aysuei," Duo said as he pulled out the mic, holding it up to his lips as Wufei suddenly shouted from the control center. Duo repeated himself, and this time, Heero could understand.

"I'm sorry," Duo said. "But my priority is to protect Leo and the others."

"That was my fucking life!" Heero shouted, but Duo didn't have his earpiece on. The Arian walked towards the door.

"Iiala aysuei, Heero," Duo said again. "You need to understand that I had no choice." With that, he walked away.

Heero slammed his fists on the floor of his room. "Fuck your priority!" he screamed. Spotting the main panel on his bed, he got up and reached for it, raising it above his head as if to fling it down and break it.

"Don't do that!" The panel was snatched from him, the owner of the hands immediately back away. "If Duo broke it, Duo can most likely fix it!"

"Get the fuck out," Heero snarled. "I don't want to see you!"

"Hey, I didn't break the thing! In any case, we're making a clean escape now, the Zepras can't track us so we should be safe in a short while."

Heero got up and shoved the hologram out into the corridor. The hologram would have fallen if Quatre hadn't been there to steady him.

"Heero, you have to understand --"

The door slid shut before Quatre could finish his plea.

Chapter Eight

Quatre knocked hesitantly at Heero's door. It was his third try in the last half of a rotation, but Quatre was willing to be persistent until he could see Heero and talk to the Hydran.

"Give it up," Duo said as he walked by. "The Hydran believes his life is more superior to ours."

The door slid open as he spoke, revealing Heero by the door.

"Or maybe the superior one will finally grace you with his presence," Duo added softly, his eyes a flashing challenge to Heero.

"Only you consider yourself superior to others, Arian," Heero snapped. "How may I help you, Quatre?" Heero knew without a doubt that Quatre had been the one to knock; with Duo's sarcastic words he was sure the pure Arian would not have bothered with such a task as checking on him.

"Heero, why don't you come to the pantry to get some food?"

Heero nodded. "I will, shortly."

"See? Too superior to eat with you or me," Duo said, examining his nails. The very next moment, he found himself slammed against the opposite corridor, glittering blue eyes glaring in anger at him.

"Let me get this straight, Arian," Heero hissed. "Number one, I do not consider my life superior to yours, or Quatre's, Trowa's or Wufei's. If you had been captured no good would have come to me either."

"Who knows how you Hydrans think?" Duo tried to shove Heero back but was unsuccessful. "Since you came aboard Leo you've wanted to get off. That may have been your perfect chance!"

"Given what your hologram told me about the Zepras, I highly doubt I wouldn't have been killed, or held captive along with you. Since you share the same memories as your hologram, added to the fact that you know them better than I do, I think even you could have arrived at the same conclusion that my boarding a Zepra ship would not be wise."

Duo remained silent, glaring back at Heero before the other spoke.

"Number two. Only you consider your life superior to others, at least to mine."

"I thought no such thing!" Duo snapped, enraged. "Prove it!"

"Our technology may be different, but there is at least one commonality. That is the on and off switch. You could have simply turned the computer off but you chose to tear the drive away from the main panel. And if that wasn't enough, you went on to break it."

"So maybe I over reacted with the drive," Duo answered. "Doesn't prove that I think I am superior to you!"

"My entire life prior to boarding Leo, all that I have left, was in there. Maybe you didn't know that, but if it hadn't been important I would not have tried to stop you from breaking it." Heero released Duo and stepped back. "Those were my memories, my past, all that I had left, and you destroyed it without a single regard." Heero turned away. "Quatre, I appreciate your coming to ask me to join you to dine. I will stop by the pantry at a later time."

Quatre and Duo both understood that Heero meant he wanted to eat alone or at least without Duo's presence. Before either could utter another word, Heero had returned to his room, the door hissing shut him.

"You're an idiot."

Duo snorted. "Says you." He switched the overhead light to a brighter setting as he studied the object and its pieces on the table. Looking up, he furrowed his eyebrows at Wufei. "Well? Are you going to help me?"

"You're an idiot."

"Do you need a reboot? I don't remember you ever having the broken record syndrome. Quatre had it once remember? He just kept repeating himself over and over. What did he say?"

"Harder, Trowa," Wufei swallowed, remembering that scene. "If you didn't have the complete reboot key we would never have told you. Anyway, you're still an idiot."

"You know." Duo turned, waving a long, screwdriver-like tool at Wufei as he pretended to think before speaking. "Technically, you can consider me your creator. Why must you hurt me so?"

Wufei rolled his eyes. "Even creators can be idiots."

"I was under the impression that you loved to get Quatre to teach you a lot of the information stored in his database. Perhaps I should tell him to teach you synonyms?"

"You prefer to be called stupid?" Wufei deadpanned.

"So are you going to tell me why you believe I'm an idiot? Wait. Let me guess. I created you."

Wufei sighed. "Did it ever occur to you that you could have asked Heero if it was possible to turn off his computer? Or at least the drive?" Wufei gestured to the broken bits on the table.

"Did it ever occur to you," Duo mocked, "that he had intended to send out a signal?"

"Let me refresh your memory. Heero is not familiar with any oth