Chapter 13: A Joint Mission

"So sore." That was Patch Hikari's first thought as he woke up the next day. Yesterday, directly following school, Colonel Chaud called Patch in for some training that the leader told him that he needed. Patch thought that it was some netbattle training, but it was just the opposite. The Colonel told Patch that it was past time to start his physical training. A maverick hunter needs to be in top form because sometimes mavericks can take possession of mechanical devices. Therefore, a hunter needs to be ready to fight as much as his navi does.

Unfortunately, for Patch, this meant that he had to go through arduous training exercises in order to prepare him for anything. Yesterday, Patch spent 2 straight hours in training. Fortunately, that was not the extent of the training Colonel Chaud had in mind. Chaud also started teaching Patch how to use a gun. This was Patch's favorite part. Since Patch was still a kid, and he had yet to acquire a his official weapon's license, therefore he can't actually own a gun, but Chaud promised that it wouldn't be long before he could own one himself. Patch looked forward to that day. What the Colonel did do was instruct Patch in the basics of firearms operations. Basically, Chaud told Patch how a gun works. The last thing Patch did was some target shooting so the young hunter could get a feel for the weapon. It was fun, but hardly enough to take his mind off of his sore muscles. Unfortunately, the Colonel said that it would get harder. Patch was not looking forward to that.

It took Patch almost ten minutes to get out of bed that morning. When he finally did, X told him that he had a message from Chaud.

"What does he want now?" At this moment, Patch just wanted to get some breakfast and be lazy for the rest of the day. Unfortunately, Patch could not for two reasons. One, Chaud was probably calling him to either more training or an actual mission. Two, his mother was still unaware that he was a maverick hunter.

That thought brought his guilt to the foreground of his mind. Patch did not like having to keep this a secret from his mom, but his dad had told him not to tell her. That seemed strange to Patch; he would have thought that his dad would have told his mom about this the moment that he got involved with the hunters. Although, as far as Patch knew, Lan had just been doing research for them, not actually going on missions. This made it easier to conceal the truth from Mayl, but now Patch may have jeopardized the deception. It would be difficult to continue to keep this from her forever, and Patch didn't want to. But there was nothing to do about that now.

Reluctantly, Patch opened the message from his boss, and then let out a groan. There was a mission for Team Alpha One. Patch was to report to the base immediately. That also meant that there was no time for breakfast.

"This is going to be a bad day. I just know it." With that, Patch went to the bathroom to take a quick shower. "Maybe I can get something to eat on the way."

"Hey kid," Major Jack Parker greeted, "How's it going?" Jack met Patch in the entrance elevator. It seemed that he just got there also.

Right now, Jack was obviously feeling the opposite that Patch was. "Not so good."

A smirk appeared on Jack's face at Patch's reply. "Oh yeah, yesterday was your first day of physical training. How'd that go?"

Patch gave Jack a dirty look before responding sarcastically, "Swell."

At this answer, Jack laughed a little, then said, "Don't worry about it. It gets easier the more you do it. Eventually, you might want to train when you have nothing to do." This comment provoked another look from the young hunter. "Or . . . not. Well, everyone's different. Just forget it. It doesn't matter."

"So," Patch started, eager to get away from that topic as soon as possible, "Do you know what this mission is?"

"Not really. If Alia picks up any potential maverick activity, she tells the Colonel and the General first. They decide if we go on the mission. So, we won't ever know what the mission is until we get to the briefing room."

"Oh, all right."

After a couple seconds, the elevator arrived at its destination and the doors opened. When the two hunters walked out into the hallway, they saw Captain Mark Johnson enter the briefing room. Moments later, Jack and Patch did the same.

Inside the briefing room, not only were the rest of the team and the General there, but also another team. Two of them looked familiar to Patch, but he couldn't remember their names. One of them was obviously a navi in a copy bot. He was wearing red body armor with a black body suit underneath. On his head was a red helmet with sharp fins, but more interesting than that was the long blond hair that almost touched the ground.

The other was a man with tan skin and shoulder-length black hair that covered one of his eyes. He was clad in a tan camouflage style coat, black pants, and black combat boots. On his face was an expression of boredom; he has probably been fighting mavericks for so long that these briefings became monotonous.

One of the unfamiliar guys had dull, silver hair down to the bottom of his ear that was freshly combed back. His face was rounded and drew attention to his bright, green eyes. This man was just a bit shy of six feet, and had well toned muscles, as his arms and legs illustrated through the red sleeveless shirt and khaki shorts he wore.

The other guy looked like he came from Sharo; his skin and hair was pale and he had grey eyes. He was wearing a grey trench coat with a white shirt and black pants and boots. Nothing about him suggested any hint of friendliness; he was all business.

There was also a woman there, obviously the team spotter because of of the headset she wore. She had long, golden blonde hair pulled into two ponytails, sky blue eyes, and a round face that made her look younger than she actually is. Patch noticed that, unlike most of the personnel on the base, she wore the olive green uniform that the technicians wore. This woman must be a member of the military and work on the base.

"Now that we're all here," Colonel Chaud started while looking at Patch and Jack, "Let's begin."

"Because this maverick reading indicates a particularly stronger maverick," General Tran started, "I've decided to send the two best teams, Alpha-One and Zed-0."

This news both excited and worried Patch. He was excited because he would work with another team. He had not had much experience with any other team besides Alpha-One. There was one time he met the members of team Rho-Seventeen. Even though it was only for a minute because he had caught them leaving for a mission while he was on his way back from his last mission. One of the members actually talked to him. He seemed nice enough, though Patch didn't know about the other three.

Patch was worried because the General thought that this mission would be impossible for one team. "What kind of maverick is this?" Patch thought. All the mavericks that he and X fought were extremely difficult to beat, even with the team. When Colonel Chaud told him about some of his past missions, including how hard they were to destroy, Patch began to wonder how he and X were able to beat that first maverick on their own. Patch knew that he and X were getting better, but he wondered if they were good enough to take on the tough ones. "Well, I guess I'll found out today," he thought.

"Your mission is at the new IFL Tower at the top of the Willshire Hills. The tower itself is nearing completion, but there have been several equipment and software malfunctions that have resulted in several deaths." The General reported this information like he was reading a boring book. This bothered Patch that the General could be so accustomed to death. The young hunter didn't say anything however.

"I've scanned the tower's network access and there is evidence that a maverick entered the tower's mainframe," Alia Parker reported, "But there was hardly any trace of residual virus activity. I'm not sure what this means. I can only assume that it is a powerful maverick, but there is no way to know what type it is until you get there."

"Understood," Colonel Chaud replied. The man in the coat, presumably the other team leader, nodded in acknowledgment.

"Very well," the General said after a moment, "If there is nothing else, get to it." Then he started to rise, but then someone spoke.

"Sir," started the pale haired guy, "Is it really necessary to bring the kid on this mission? If the maverick is powerful, then he will only get in the way."

The question, and the blunt statement, prompted an awkward silence, where the members of Alpha-1 looked to their leader to see his reaction while the other team, besides the pale haired man and the leader, wondering what was going to happen. Colonel Chaud looked to the General as if asking how candid he should be.

General Tran answered the Colonel, "Mr. Hikari has shown that he is quite capable. In fact, he and his navi are an invaluable asset to the Maverick Hunters." The General's answer didn't seem to satisfy the pale haired man, but he reseated himself anyway. "Now that that is settled, Teams Alpha-1 and Zed-0, get to it." He added a little more emphasis on the last part, as if saying, 'Stop wasting time'.

With that everyone rose from their seats and went to the door. On his way out, Patch and the pale haired man tried to go through the door at the same time, but the hunter didn't stop and Patch was shoved aside. His temper rising, the young hunter would not stay silent.

"Hey," he said a little louder than he wanted, "I know that you don't want me here, but you don't have to be mean to me."

"Just stay out of my way and you won't have to worry about me." He then continued walking.

Patch stood there, looking at the man, wondering why he bares such hostility towards the young hunter. It seemed to Patch that the pale haired man hatted him, but Patch couldn't think of a reason why. The young hunter had never seen him before today.

While Patch was in thought, the red hunter in the copy-bot approached him.

"He was like that with me when I joined the team. You just have to ignore his attitude."

"Thanks," Patch said. When he turned around to see who was talking to him, he was surprised that it was the navi.

"My name is Zero." The red hunter then offered the young hunter his hand, which was promptly shaken. "And you are Patch Hikari and X."

"So you know us then?"

"Of course." The hunters started walking to the equipment room where everyone else was headed. "The two of you are quite famous among the hunters. I myself heard about you two within an hour of being on the base."

"I never realized that we were that famous," X stated.

"It is understandable," Zero began, "Many of the hunters have been fighting the mavericks for years and have never accomplished anything. But then you two appear and manage something they have never done. You give them hope."

Patch had never thought of it like that before. "I never realized that they thought of me as a hero."

"I noticed it," X remarked, "It's weird for me as well."

"Get used to it kid," Major Parker said suddenly as Patch, X, and Zero entered the equipment room.

Chaud approached Patch and handed him a vest and a radio headset. Patch noticed that Ms Parker and the other spotter did not have any equipment. Did that mean that they were not going? "Patch," the Colonel started, "The tower administrator knows about us, so there is no need to keep up your alias."

"Got it." Patch immediately put the vest and the headset on then started looking through the vest, making note of the few items in the front pockets.

After another minute, everyone was done and Colonel Chaud informed them that it was time to depart.

"Here I go," Patch thought as he followed his team. The young hunter was quite nervous. Would he be able to live up to the other hunter's expectations or will he let everyone down when they needed him? This would likely be his toughest mission yet. "I hope I'm ready."

"Hey Naomi" The girl looked up from the book she was reading at a library table to find that Jimmy and Ann had approached her. Jimmy was the one who addressed her. "We need to ask you something."

"Okay, about what?" Naomi had a feeling that she knew exactly what they wanted to ask. Ever since Patch and X deleted that maverick, the pair have become increasingly isolated from everyone, save for Naomi herself, although that was slowly changing. That incident also affected her in a similar way, though not nearly as bad as Patch.

"Well," Ann started, "Both you and Patch have seemed distant lately. Did something happen?"

'I knew it.' Naomi thought, 'But what should I tell them?' She didn't want to lie to them, but she couldn't tell them the truth either. Did she even want to tell them what really happened? How exactly would they take the news that a secret war was being fought and their side was losing? They would certainly react negatively, just like she had.

With a deep mental sigh, Naomi put on her normal smile and said, "Nothing happened." She decided to lie, both to honor the confidentiality agreement and for their protection.

"Naomi," Jimmy started, "You're a terrible liar. Tell us what's going on."

Her smile vanished. "I'm not lying." She had to suppress the tremble in her voice, but she was unsure if they heard it or not.

Ann moved closer to her friend's face to look her in the eye. "I've known you for a long time. I can tell when something is wrong, and something is very wrong." At that point, a few tears began to form in Naomi's eyes, but she kept them from falling.

"Tell us what's wrong," Jimmy urged, "We just want to help."

She wanted to confide in her friends, but she couldn't. She wanted to release her pent up emotions, but she couldn't. Now her hand was shaking and more tears were forming. The girl was about to lose all control of her body and openly cry, however, Electra was about to bail her operator out. Naomi's PET beeped.

"Uh Naomi," Electra started, "There's an e-mail I think you should look at." The emotionally distraught girl silently thanked her navi. "It's strange though," the navi whispered, "the e-mail is addressed to me, and it says some strange things."

Before she read the mail, Naomi tried to recover as mush of her composer and said, "I have to leave. I'll see you guys at school on Monday." Then she quickly gathered her stuff and left Jimmy and Ann with clueless expressions on their faces.

She felt bad for just leaving her friends in the middle, but she had no choice. They were confronting her about the one thing that she hasn't been able to talk about. She couldn't talk to her mother because she has been working really late with Lan and the other scientists, and she couldn't talk to Patch because she didn't want to worry him; he has enough to worry about without concerning himself with her feelings. She tried talking to Electra, but she never knew what to say. Basically, the Sparrow twins were about to release all the pressure that had been building up. Naomi knew that that would happen eventually, but she didn't want anyone to see it happen.

After a few minutes of running from the library, as she didn't want the twins to follow her, she finally started reading the mysterious e-mail.

'Ms Electra; You are much stronger than you appear to be. Given the right circumstances, you could become more powerful than your friend X. If you wish to discover your full potential, come to the Outer Net Area as soon as you are able. I will be waiting for you and you alone. Sincerely, S'

Naomi finished the e-mail just before she arrived at her house. "You're right, that was strange." Naomi remarked after entering her room. "So you think that we should go?"

"I'm not sure. I think, though, that he meant for it to be just me, and not you."

"I know, but I'm not letting you go there alone. This might be some maverick trap, and I don't want you to get caught unprepared."

"So, what's the plan?"

~~~~~~~~~~X

N.O.Ώ: Credit for the character Ryu Tomoja and his navi Dragoon, the silver haired and green eyed hunter of team Zed-0, goes to DarkVestroia 2. The navi will appear in the next chapter.