Maia and the Meteor
By Achiyo
achiyo_nitta@yahoo.ca
Disclaimer: I do not
Gundam Wing or any of its associated
characters.
Notes: More at the bottom.
A very big thank you to Divine
Selenity who beta-read this and did an awesome job w/ it.
Time frame: A.C. 195
Pre-operation Meteor
Trowa Barton
carried his niece on one hip as he talked
to the old doctor currently inhabiting one of the Barton hangars
on the colony. "You'd
better not have second thoughts old man,"
He said, an ominous note in his voice. Trowa did not want to
take any sort of chance in this project. His father invested too
much time, too much effort and above all too much money for
anything to go wrong.
"My thoughts
are entirely my own, young Barton," the Doctor
replied, not noting Trowa's tone. The Doctor glanced at Mariemaia.
"We'll talk again later."
Trowa turned and
left. Mariemaia buried her face into
his shoulder,absently sucking on her thumb. She was old enough
not too of course, but this was one of her baby habits, something
she never stopped doing.
Clinging to her uncle whenever he was
near, was another. He
shielded her from the world.
Once they were
outside Trowa's demeanor changed completely.
Gone was the cold-hearted, ambitious, young man who cared only for
himself and his fortunes.
In its place came the loving uncle whom
Mariemaia knew so well.
She didn't understand why he would always
become a totally different person when he went to see that strange
doctor - or whenever he was with her grandfather.
"Maia, don't
suck on your thumb. You'll get crooked
teeth,"
he said. Gently he
withdrew her thumb from her mouth. "You won't be
pretty with crooked teeth."
Mariemaia made a
face at him and stuck her thumb back
into her mouth with a smile.
Trowa smiled
back. "You'll look like Dekim if you keep
doing that."
At that Mariemaia
broke out in giggles, imagining her grumpy
old grandfather with his crooked teeth and squinty eyes. She never
wondered why Trowa never called his father anything but Dekim,
as if he was his equal.
Trowa put her
down and took her hand, starting to walk towards
the Barton Mansion.
"Uncle
Trowa, that old man scared me," she said, tugging on
his hand urgently. "I don't want to see him again."
"I'm sorry
Maia. I didn't want to take you there,
but it was
very important. I won't
ever make you go near that old man again,
I promise."
Mariemaia
squeezed his hand and when she felt him squeeze
back, she felt sure everything was fine. She knew that Trowa would
never leave her. He would
always be there for her to protect her -
like the times he was there for her mother. Mariemaia couldn't quite
picture Leia Barton.
However, she remember bright hair and laughter
especially when Trowa was around.
And deep gray eyes like smoldering
ashes buried within a thousand feet were a million untold
secrets.
Yes, Mariemaia definitely knew that her Uncle Trowa would always
be
there for her.
**** **** **** ****
That night, after
putting Mariemaia to bed and having told
her every fairy tale he could remember Leia telling him, Trowa
yawned
and made his way to his father's private study. He entered and
sat down on a leather arm-chair and propped his feet above the
fine
coffee table.
Dekim frowned
deeply at his son's imprudence. The boy
was
wild, having no respect for authority. Alas Dekim needed an heir
and the boy was it.
"How is the operation coming along?" he asked,
after a long silence and several puffs on his pipe.
"Its fine.
Nearly completed. You'll have to get
rid of all of
them after I leave. The
old man seems to have second thoughts about
this. The rest of the
hired help are all his people - most of them
anyway. Its hard to know
he is always firing some and getting more.
I get more employees resumes and such on my desk than I have room
for,"
he lazily replied.
"I
see." Dekim took another puff on the pipe. "And the girl?"
"What about
her?" Trowa's voice was measured.
Dekim smiled in
the shadows. //My son's weakness, a
little
child - his sister's bastard daughter. At least that's what everyone
else thought. Trowa far
too attached Leia in the first place.//
"What will you tell her?"
"That I am
leaving, and I will return." Trowa's voice regained
its cool, arrogant quality as with the doctor.
"Will you
return?" Dekim mockingly asked.
"She'll be hurt if
you don't."
Trowa glared at
his father. //How he hated the old man!//
"Mariemaia is strong, just like Leia, she will handle
it. As for me
Dekim, don't worry that I will get myself killed on Earth because
I
won't. And I will return."
They sat in
silence, each wrestling with their own thoughts
and problems. Neither
bothered to look towards the slightly cracked
doorway, and neither saw the red haired girl who only morning
considered herself protected.
Her world came crashing down.
Trowa
Barton was leaving her alone.
**** **** **** ****
A few days later,
while Mariemaia was playing by herself in
her room, a nurse sat by the door to keep an eye on her. Trowa
entered and dismissed the woman who looked all to glad to leave.
"Maia, I
have to go out. Dekim said he will stay
with you,"
He said.
"But, I
don't want to stay with him. He scares
me." She pouted
and held up her arms for him to pick her up. "Can I come with
you?
I won't get in the way."
Trowa sighed and
picked her up. "I can't win against you
Maia. You have to be quiet
okay?"
She nodded and he
picked her up. They left heading to the
hangar bay a few days ago.
Mariemaia could feel something
would happen today. She could only hope that it wasn't bad. And
she could only pray that Trowa wouldn't be leaving soon.
"Ah, Mr.
Barton, I suppose you'll want to see the progress
on the suit won't you?" the old doctor said as they entered
the bay.
Mariemaia hid her face from the old man.
She heard his
voice soften. "You've brought your niece again."
"Yes,"
Trowa replied.
Mariemaia
shivered as if she could feel a coat of ice creep
over Trowa as he adressed the man. The last time both men had spoken
the same had happened. She
blinked starlted. The only time his
demeanor wasn't cold waswhenever he addressed her and dimly she
remembered, her mother.
"Doctor, the
gattling gun is too heavy, we'll have to
compensate," a young man said, appearing at the doctor's side
holding
out a report.
"Very
well," the doctor glanced at the report.
The young man
nodded, Mariemaia searched in vain for his other
eye, but to no avail. She
could not find it beneath his long bangs.
She stopped staring at him, once she met his visible green
eye. It
was so cold and empty, like Trowa's. She buried her face in her
uncle's chest.
"I don't
believe it would be a good idea for Miss Barton to
go with us," the doctor said kindly. "Nanashi will
accompany her
back to the mansion."
Trowa glared at
him for a moment and decided he was right.
Trowa put Mariemaia down and smiled. "Don't worry Maia, I'll
be
back later."
Mariemaia walked
behind this Nanashi - No-name. "I'm Mariemaia,"
she said shyly.
Nanashi glanced
at her. "I don't have a name."
"That's too
bad." She paused, twisting back to
look at the
foreboding hangar bay. "What are they doing in there? Do you know?"
Nanashi looked
back too. "They are building a mobile suit,
for a war."
"But wars
are bad. People get hurt in wars. Dekim says
my mother was killed in a war." She hung her head, strands of
red
hair falling into her face. "Who would they fight
against?"
"Who ever is
willing to fight. Earth, I
guess." He started
to walk again. "I hear you will be important after the
fighting."
Mariemaia didn't
understand. "Will my Uncle Trowa fight also?
He won't be hurt will he?
Because he's the only family I have left."
"Then pray
you won't lose him." He left her
at the doorstep
of the mansion. Watching
him uncertainly, Mariemaia felt a dreaded
lump in the bottom of her stomach. A war was very bad.
**** **** **** ****
She never went
back to see the doctor, nor did her uncle,
to the best of her knowledge.
He took her places; - the movies,
the circus, the park on picnics and bought her ice creams. But
something was missing from his demeanor, Trowa was tense and his
smiles didn't reach his eyes.
//The war,//she
thought,//maybe he is scared about the war.//
**** **** **** ****
"Maia, I
have to go soon," He said one day
as they walked
through a park shaded from the artificial sunlight of the colony.
"Its only going to be for a little while. After I have completed
my mission then you can come to visit me on Earth."
"But why
can't you stay here? Why do you have to
go to
Earth?"
"Because of
Operation Meteor. A long time ago the
earth
did a very bad thing and now, we of the colonies are going to
teach them a lesson," he said, gripping her hand tighter than
before.
"Yes Uncle
Trowa," Mariemaia said. She wondered if he was
scared. She wondered if he would come back. Her mother didn't come
back from a war, but he said he would. She hoped so.
"You have to
be strong Mariemaia. Don't doubt
yourself
because you in the right, therefore you deserve to be the
victor,"
he said smiling at her.
Mariemaia was
confused. He never called her Mariemaia before.
She nodded. "I understand." Even though she didn't.
**** **** **** ****
A mobile suit pod
launched from the colony during the night
cycle. It created a momentary display of fireworks as it blasted
its way through the closed doors.
Mariemaia woke up
screaming. She rushed out into the dim
hallway. Dekim was at the end, on the telephone. She walked up
to him slowly, he was angry.
"-Trowa? I understand." He hung up and saw her.
"When is
Uncle Trowa coming back Dekim?" she asked. If
Trowa could call Dekim that then so could she.
"He'll never
come back. He is dead, assasinated by
that
damned doctor," Dekim Barton held out a hand to her.
"Your destiny
awaits Miss Mariemaia."
She took his hand
uncertainly. She was often
uncertain.
But, suddenly, she
realized it. Trowa was dead, just like
her mother -
dead in a war - and she was left all alone. She would be strong,
and
she would be the victor because if for notheing else, then for
him.
She wiped away the gathering tears viciously. "Yes Dekim, my
destiny."
**** **** **** ****
The boy who
called himself Nanashi floated with his space
pod. The computer blinked.
"Entering atmosphere in 20
minutes."
He floated to the
dark form of Gundam Heavyarms and opened the
hatch. After pulling
himself in, he turned on the controls, and one
by one screens lit up. As
he adjusted his helmet, he noticed from the
corner of his eye, a picture.
He picked it up. It was of the
little
girl, Mariemaia, and her mother.
The same one Trowa Barton had
shown him when he first came.
Barton must have dropped it when he
had inspected the gundam.
The girl said
Trowa Barton was the only family she had.
Now he was gone too. He
felt sympathy for the girl. She was so young
and already she felt the sorrow of war. He would bring peace for the
colonies, or he would die in his effort.
Operation Meteor
had begun.
Author's Notes: Well what
do you think? This was originally
written before I had seen Endless waltz so the everyone might be
out of character. I
finished it after watching EW 8 times in a
week. I was always curious
about how the real Trowa Barton and
Mariemaia related to each other, so this story is the product of
that. Comments, criticism,
suggestions, etc. are welcome.
You can contact me at:
achiyo_nitta@yahoo.ca
