“Russian carrier, eight o’clock low. Been there for a good three kilometers.”

It was a beautiful day, no turbulence, and the members of EXO-K had no problems maintaining formation. When Sehun’s voice crackled through the shared airwave, Chanyeol thumbed his mic on.

“Should I take it out, Suho?” he asked. “Computer says we’re far enough from land to avoid any damage to the coast.”

After a moment, EXO-K’s team leader replied, “No, we’ll send a message to them first. Hold on.”

Chanyeol leaned back in his seat, letting Phoenix pilot itself for a while. It was a routine patrol, and the Russians would likely be scared off by the prospect of a joint SM attack if they didn’t apologize and immediately hightail it back to their own airspace at Suho’s first message.

“I’m sending the message now. Chanyeol and Kai detach from formation and prepare to engage target at my signal.”

Chanyeol cracked his knuckles and switched the autopilot off, gripping the controls in gloved hands. Kai went up, Chanyeol went down, and they both swung around to face the carrier. Within a few moments, the carrier sent out a series of flashes Chanyeol had memorized long ago as message acknowledged  and turned to retreat.

“The sight of a good retreating tail end never fails to go to my head,” Kai commented wryly, pulling himself back into the triangle of mobile suits.

…

When Baekhyun finally clambered out of Sunburst after the patrol the team’s hangar was swarming with mechanics and technicians, examining every piece of the mechs they were charged with keeping in pristine condition. He smiled at one he recognized as he navigated the machinery on the floor toward the showers.

Sehun was already undressing when Baekhyun arrived, along with a few pilots from Super Junior.

“How was your mission, hyung?” he asked Ryeowook as he stowed his helmet in his locker and began to peel off his navy blue flight suit. Underneath he was covered in a thin sheen of sweat, because despite Sunburst’s temperature control mechanisms, nothing could match the force of the sun so far up into the atmosphere.

“Good,” Ryeowook replied, wrapping a towel around his waist. “We ran into some Japanese that said they just finished working with Lay and Tao from EXO-M escorting a diplomatic plane across hostile airspace.”

“Everything’s fine, then?” Baekhyun asked, grabbing his basket of shower items out from his locker.

“Yup. I’ll see you around then, Baekhyun.” Ryeowook waved as he left the locker room with his other members.

“Sure,” Baekhyun replied. “Toss me a towel, Sehunnie.”

A towel came whipping out of nowhere and hit him hard on the back of his head. Affronted, Baekhyun turned to see a scowling Sehun. Baekhyun rolled his eyes and said:

“Sorry, Sehun.”

“That’s better, hyung,” the younger boy replied, smiling brightly. “Ready?”

“Yeah,” Baekhyun muttered in reply, picking up the towel from the bench.

…

After showering, Baekhyun decided to go to sleep, but Sehun spotted f(x) passing by and decided to join them on their way to the cafeteria.

“Hi, Sehun,” Luna greeted as he settled into step next to them. Sehun smiled back and listened to their conversation about the upgrades to Girls Generation’s mechs, which were supposed to be ready any day.

When they reached the cafeteria, Sehun waved good-bye and jogged over to where the rest of the members were standing in line, already showered and changed into casual clothes.

“Where’s Baekhyun?” Chanyeol asked as he piled his plate with vegetables.

“He was too tired and went to bed,” Sehun answered, slipping in between him and Kai. “What’s today’s special?”

“Bibimbap,” Suho said as he accepted some from a server behind the counter.

“Again?” complained D.O. from the back. “I swear, one day - “

“Yeah, yeah, yeah, you’ll show us some real food. I got it,” Kai interrupted, making doe eyes at the server for an extra portion of meat.

“Stop doing that,” Sehun said, poking Kai in the back. “Even Luhan hyung can barely pull that off without looking like an idiot.”

“Even?” Kai asked, pouting. Sehun stuck his tongue out at him and smiled his best smile at the woman working the bubble tea stand.

“Are you sure you should be drinking so much bubble tea, young man?” she asked as she gave him two cups full. “I’ve heard a lot about this fancy diet you pilots are supposed to keep to.”

“Don’t worry about that,” Sehun laughed, “I have a good metabolism.”

“A little bit too good, in my opinion,” D.O. said, pinching Sehun’s arm. “You’re all skin and bones.”

“Hyung is just jealous,” Sehun teased as they sat down.

“You wish,” D.O. said, digging into his bibimbap with fervor.

…

Suho frowned, brow wrinkling with concentration as he listened to the technician’s explanation of Acqua’s new defense system. EXO would be reuniting in space the next week, and their mobile suits were being fitted with the latest tech for the occasion.

“Now,” the technician was saying, “the liquid layer should hold up in space, but in case the lack of air disrupts the lipid coating, you should shut the system off immediately and tell whoever’s up there to try adding - “

“Sorry, sir, but command needs to see Suho,” interrupted a voice at Suho’s elbow. Relieved, he thanked the technician and followed the girl who had delivered the message.

“I’ll upload all of this onto Acqua’s database, okay Suho?” the technician called at their backs. Suho waved.

“Do you know what this is for?” he asked as they walked down the hall.

“I believe it’s something to do with your upcoming trip to space,” she said, checking her clipboard. “Briefing and such.”

What fun, Suho thought to himself.

When he reached the conference room, the other members were already seated, half hanging off the seats as if they couldn’t stand to be completely at rest. Suho slid into a seat next to Baekhyun and looked around. After a few moments, their commander, a middle-aged man with pronounced jowls, looked up from the folder he was studying.

“Ah, Suho,” he said, “you’ve arrived. Then we can begin the mission brief. Kai, please turn off the light.”

Once Kai had returned to his seat, the commander pressed a button under the table and the center of the round table was illuminated by a digital representation of the asteroid SM kept its center of space operations on.

“As you can see, Asteroid F12 has moved closer to Asteroid P92 since last year, causing the highlighted section of airspace to become disputed. With the German chancellor up for re-election this year, the Germans will be especially aggressive in international court to claim it all as theirs, which will inevitably not happen. We’re placing regular patrols until the issue blows over, but the real problem is the fighting between the Americans and the Russians, which could spill over into our territory. Again, you’ll be on patrol until we can be sure that the worst is over. If the blasts get too close to the colonies on Theta we might be forced to intervene. Any questions?”

“What other teams are patrolling?” D.O. asked.

“Just EXO. Our other teams are busy containing the fighting in Tibet and Burma, among other places.”

“And what other UNPC bases are nearby?”

“The nearest bases are YG’s and Cube’s, but only Cube has a team stationed in space. They can reach P92 in about an hour.”

“I like the sound of that,” Suho heard Sehun whisper to Kai, voice dripping with sarcasm.

…

When Kai watched Black Hole get loaded onto the carrier, twenty-foot long legs covered with a heavy tarp, he felt a tickling in the center of his back like a bead of sweat he couldn’t reach to wipe. He would leave the next day on a passenger flight for some unknown logistics reasons, and he hated it because it meant that he would be further from his mech, unable to take care of it.

“There’s no need to worry, corporal,” a worker overlooking the loading reassured him. “Gentlest handling until she reaches the base and is back in your hands.”

Kai nodded and continued to watch. When D.O. walked into the hangar he walked over to Kai and asked:

“Did they start loading Earthquake yet?”

“Not yet, but she should be next.”

D.O. nodded and leaned over the bar of the walkway to gaze at his mobile suit lying on the ground below. Kai knew he had a slight case of OCD that flared up at certain times, especially when it concerned his food or his stuff.

“Watch the paint job!” he hollered at the team attaching crane lifts to Earthquake so it could be moved onto the loading deck

Kai rolled his eyes.

“What do you think of this mission?” Kai asked, running a hand through his dark hair.

“I hate space, but at least it’s a joint mission. I think getting to work with the others makes up for the food and the lack of gravity.”

“But haven’t you ever wanted to be an astronaut when you were younger?”

“And why should I care about that now?” D.O. quirked a brow at Kai before turning back to watching the loading process.

“I don’t know,” Kai muttered under his breath. “Why should I care about the dreams of my childhood?”

…

D.O. hated space for more than the usual suspects - the food, the weightlessness, the strange effects on his body. No, he hated how empty it was. Without the subtleties of air resistance, the pull of gravity, the delicate chemical balance of Earth, other pilots excelled, once they had gotten past the initial discomfort. Not D.O, for he was the type that thrived on the internalization of the environment and the other small considerations and calculations necessary on Earth. He remembered what others forgot, and by the time they remembered, he was bearing down with a beam saber, delivering the killing strike. Without the little things, he was just an ordinary pilot.

The night was black and damp outside the car window, which D.O. leaned against in spite of the chill that ran through his chest at the contact.

“Almost there, kids,” the driver said as a farmhouse appeared in the beam of the headlights.

D.O. rolled his eyes and glanced over at Sehun and Kai, both fast asleep on each other’s shoulders. No doubt they would wake up quickly enough when they reached the launchpad where EXO-M was waiting with their mechs.

A few minutes passed, and the van stopped at a security check; the guard flashed a light over their faces and nodded, handing them a slip of paper to put on the dashboard. Not five minutes after that and they came upon a huge industrial complex that the driver wove through with ease, pausing every so often to glance at the illuminated street signs.

When they finally clambered out at a dome-shaped building surrounded by expensive-looking landscaping, D.O. felt his spine crack in several places. Everyone stifled yawns when their commander approached, nodding severely and claiming responsibility from their driver. They followed him into the building, through several more security checks and into the launch room.

“Hey!” Luhan shouted when they entered, standing up from his seat to give Sehun a hug.

“How have you been, hyung?” Sehun asked, grinning.

Suho exchanged greetings with Kris, EXO-M’s leader. A confusing mixture of Korean and Mandarin filled the room, and their mouths were still moving as they were ushered into the shuttle, buckled their seatbelts, and prepared to exit the earth’s atmosphere.

…

“Yeah, Ice got two new machine guns installed and an upgraded heat saber is waiting on P92,” Xiumin said to Baekhyun. “No effect on mobility either - they’re made of a special lightweight metal alloy.”

“That’s so not fair!” Baekhyun complained. “Sunburst hasn’t gotten new weapons in forever.”

“But you got that new shield mechanism,” Lay pointed out. “None of us have one of those.”

“What can you do with a shield?” Baekhyun replied sulkily, but Xiumin could tell he was pleased.

“What about you, D.O?” Xiumin asked. “I heard Earthquake is trying out a new propulsion system.”

“So they tell me,” D.O. said. “I haven’t been able to sense anything special, but the scientist that developed it says that it’s at its best after extended periods of time.”

“What’s the point, then?” Chen laughed. “They were better off saving their effort and keeping the old one.”

“You never know when something like that is going to come in handy,” D.O. replied defensively. “What upgrades did Lightning get anyway?”

“New beam cannon. Docking capabilities with Dragon.”

“Shouldn’t Lay or Luhan have gotten it?” Baekhyun asked. “They do have the heavy mechs, after all.”

“I got a bigger one,” the aforementioned grinned in unison. Sehun laughed and said something in Mandarin Xiumin didn’t catch, but it made Luhan let out a bark of laughter that startled Tao from his peaceful slumber at Xiumin’s side.

“Everyone get ready to escape Earth’s gravity,” Kris called from the front. There was a shuffling as seat belts were clicked into place and jackets shrugged on.

Clouds and streaks of color raced past the windows of the shuttle and everyone held on tight when a popping in their ears and a thunderous jolt signalled that they had broken through the atmosphere. Outside the cold bleakness of space greeted them and inside the churning in their stomachs let them know that, no matter what machine gun upgrades they might or might not have received, they were scared.

…

As they walked through the spartan hallways of the base after a day of briefing, Kris noted the rust around the edges of the metal wall panels and the echoing emptiness of the huge complex.

He had known SM’s history before he had applied to be transferred there. Back in the 2290’s, SM had been one of the first regiments of mecha corps of the United Nations Peacekeeping Corps, boasting teams like H.O.T, S.E.S, and Shinhwa. They were a central part of the UNPC throughout the first decade of the twenty-fourth century, replacing the retired or transferred teams with TVXQ, Super Junior, and SNSD, among others.

Then in 2009 three of the five members of TVXQ went rogue. They took $10 million worth of equipment and investment with them, wreaking financial havoc in the organization. What was worse though was the doubts the split spread throughout SM. All UNPC regiments were non-governmental organizations, and the rogue members faced no retaliation for what many claimed was a righteous revolt against twisted ideals and overwork. Gossipers cited accounts of death and devastation after a so-called “intervention” on SM’s part. It all begged the question What are we fighting for?.

EXO was SM’s first new team after the scandal had begun, and though Kris had always had a little bit of unease in his mind, he had resolved to stick it out, because SM was still the undisputed best regiment of the UNPC, and he was made of tougher stuff than his perfect complexion suggested.

“EXO-M’s first patrol will leave at 0800 hours. EXO-K will remain on standby from then until their patrol at 1600 hours, and EXO-M will take the last patrol at 2400 hours,” a pimply female private informed them as she shut the door on their dorm.

“Better get some sleep,” Kris said as he claimed the top bunk nearest the bathroom by throwing his bag on it. “Looks like we’re back to 20-hour days.”

The other members grumbled and then quietly distributed the other bunks amongst themselves. Lay dropped his bag on the bunk underneath Kris’s, disappeared into the bathroom for a few minutes, and promptly slid into bed. When Kris had finished brushing his teeth and had climbed onto his bunk, he looked down to find Lay sound asleep, limbs splayed around him.

…

When the alarm clock blared an electronic tune the next morning at 0600 hours, Lay crawled out of bed and into his flight suit, choosing to forgo casual clothes for breakfast. The hallway outside the dorm was just as empty as it had been last night, but as he approached the hangars the passageways began to grow crowded with technicians and stand-by assistants.

Yawning, he grabbed a tray from the door and made a beeline for the hot food line, where servers were dispensing bowls of shredded beef and plates of fish. Then he gave himself a generous portion of Chinese porridge and topped it with lots of pickled radishes. He found a table near a window that looked out onto a training area and was polishing off his second bowl of porridge when Baekhyun and Kai approached with their own trays of food.

“How do you always get here so early?” Baekhyun complained, lifting a banana to his mouth.

“I’m not bothered with any of that bowing crap you Koreans insist on doing every time a stranger makes eye contact for too long.” Lay stuck his tongue out at them, eyeing a display of frosted donuts.

“Someone got up on the wrong side of the bed today,” Kai said, chewing.

“Don’t talk with your mouth full,” Lay frowned. “And there’s only one side I could’ve gotten up on - my bunk is next to the wall.”

“Exactly,” Lay thought he heard Baekhyun say.

“What?” he asked.

“What?” replied Baekhyun, a confused expression on his face.

“Never mind,” he said, waving Tao, Xiumin, and Suho over to their table.

“Where’s everyone else?” Suho asked when he got there. “It’s about time everyone got up.”

“It’s only seven,” Kai pointed out.

“That’s already late,” Suho replied, sitting. “We only have an hour to eat and get ready.”

Kai shrugged, swilling around the leaves at the bottom of his mug of tea.

…

When they were almost finished, Kris, Chen, D.O, and Chanyeol turned out to have been eating on the other side of the cafeteria. They started walking to their hangar, passing the empty hangars of the other teams on the way.

“Where’s Sehun and Luhan?” Chanyeol asked when he saw they weren’t with them.

“Maybe they ate already,” Xiumin suggested.

“I doubt it,” Baekhyun said. “Sehun looked really tired last night.”

“He also usually listens to Luhan, and Luhan’s usually pretty punctual,” Suho offered.

Tao examined his cuticles. He had seen Luhan and Sehun leaving the cafeteria while he was getting a second helping of fish, but he thought he’d be better off keeping that to himself.

When they reached the hangar, EXO-K peeled off into a standby room and EXO-M proceeded into the hangar, flanked on both sides by mission assistants.

The hangar had no artificial gravity, so when the door closed behind them they took turns pushing off from the platform in the general direction of their mechs. Tao rolled his eyes at Kris’s flashy somersault over Unicorn and slid into the cockpit of Time with no fanfare, glancing at the time.

7:47.

Some serious was about to go down if Luhan didn’t show up soon, because it took at least five minutes to transfer the mechs onto the launchpads. Then Tao spotted a familiar pale yellow flightsuit soaring past and into the cockpit of Telekinesis. His shoulders slumped in relief and he quickly buckled himself into the seat, starting the nuclear reactor that was Time’s main energy source.

Activating EXO-003 Time, a pleasant female voice announced. Transferring power to Huang Zitao.

Tao watched the surroundings on the cockpit’s main screen, watching the members get moved onto the launchpads one by one, starting with Kris.

When it was his turn, the engine was humming nicely, giving almost a sense of security as he turned to face the never-ending blackness of space.

EXO-003 Time ready for launch. Launching in 3....2...1...

A whine of machinery accompanied a sudden burst of energy that popped Tao’s ears, and then he was gliding into formation (middle back), unruffled.

Kris’s voice came from the shared airwave.

“Patrol route’s been programmed into your computers already, so just stay alert and try not to get too distracted by that Taemin helped you guys download.”

“I knew I shouldn’t have trusted that bastard,” Luhan muttered.

…

Luhan twiddled the controls idly. Six hours into the patrol, and nothing of any significance.

“I call the big one at two o’clock,” Lay yawned through the mike.

“I saw it first, though,” Tao complained half-heartedly. “Sure you don’t want to have a go, Kris?”

“No thank you, Tao.”

“Your loss,” Lay said as Unicorn picked up its sniper rifle and locked onto the piece of debris. “Which one should I use this time, Xiumin?”

“You used targeted and firing last time, right?” he asked. “Use locked and loaded this time.”

“Locked and loaded!” Lay shouted, and Luhan caught a sliver of light through the emptiness around them before the hunk of metal exploded, sending rubbish flying everywhere.

Shooting up space debris was fun and all for the first few hours, but after that Luhan just didn’t feel the sudden pressing need to waste his ammo and fuel anymore. He could only be glad that they would be relieved in a little bit. Patrols were tedious in themselves, but when SM was short-handed and hours were extended, they could be downright torture.

“Qing bai wo de ge, dai hui ni de jia,” he sang softly to himself, watching his screen. “Qing bai ni de wei xiao liu xia~”

“Luhan, is Telekinesis getting this?” Chen said suddenly. “Check your radar.”

Frowning, Luhan broke off and glanced at his radar screen.

“That kind of bulk could only be the Chinese,” he muttered, blood running cold. “But how are they moving so fast?”

“What’s going on here?” Kris interrupted. “Chinese mobile suits?”

There was silence as everyone examined the data Chen sent.

“There’s nothing in the mission about the Chinese!” Tao yelled. “They said watch out for the Russians, watch out for the Americans, keep an eye on the Germans! Nobody said anything about Chinese mobile suits!”

“That’s just how the cookie crumbles, Tao,” Lay said softly. “Kris, you’d better send to command for backup. And while you’re at it, see if you can get through to other UNPC bases in the area. Chen, it’s time to test out that new beam cannon of yours.”

…

The first suit appeared in Lightning’s long range camera fifteen minutes after, fifteen minutes before EXO-K could arrive, hoping for the best. An ugly thing of tan metal, it was followed by--at a rough estimate--thirty others, outnumbering EXO even at its greatest strength.

“Everyone says that each Super Junior suit is worth five Chinese,” Xiumin said. “We can take them.”

“We aren’t Super Junior, though,” Tao muttered.

The first shots came five minutes later, causing Ice’s armor to erupt in a shower of sparks. Tao, Kris, and Lay immediately fell into shooting formation, aiming for limbs and joints. Xiumin maintained a steady barrage while Luhan docked with Lay and Chen docked with Kris.

“Targeted and firing!” Lay hollered as his increased firepower disintegrated two mobile suits, scattering the rest. Kris’s shot followed suit, but the scattered suits were circling and his shot bypassed them. “Can’t you do any better than that, Kris?”

“You can be quiet, Lay,” Kris snapped, decapitating one suit and sending another reeling.

Another of Lay’s shots lit the area for a split second, illuminating the bright paint on their mobile suits and the debris beginning to accumulate. Tao managed to pick off a suit in its light before the Chinese drew too near and EXO-M scattered.

“Cover me, Lay,” Tao said, drawing away from the impending battle.

Lay took up a position near Tao, putting up his shield system and charging his enormous beam cannon. Luhan and Chen drew their beam sabers, joining Xiumin as Kris took cover behind the remnants of an old space pirate ship, occasionally shifting position to shoot at a slowing mobile suit.

Four Chinese suits immediately came up to engage them, and Luhan swirled, parrying left and ing right. Chen was locked in combat with a muddy green suit when a flash came from the corner of his eye and the enemy exploded from one of Kris’s shots. Another blade came close and Chen whirled just in time to block it from slashing a limb off. The ensuing battle had his fingers slipping on the controls and his back slick with sweat, until a beam saber through the gut ended his opponent.

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw another flash of red and sprang out of the way, but when he turned back, he saw only Earth shifting so that the white heat of the sun poured over its horizon, spilling light onto the battlefield.The others paused for a moment too, admiring the gilded quality the light gave their surroundings. The moon was on the opposite side of Earth from them, and they were afforded a perfect view of the swirling blues and whites that made up the only planet in the known universe capable of nurturing life. Then Chen blasted someone’s foot off with a few rounds of his machine gun.