My real name is Lyra. My parents died when I was five years old. I don't really remember them, except as an idea. I know everyone has parents, but I couldn't tell you what their names were or what they looked like. I do remember that I watched while they were gunned down before my eyes, for the simple mistake of being in the wrong place at the wrong time. It was during the virus outbreak on L2 in 187 and I had fallen behind, looking at something in a store window. My mother shielded me with her body while my father shielded her. The men who shot them took my father's wallet, my mother's purse and both of their shoes and jackets. I'm sure they would have continued to loot my parents' bodies, except that they noticed me staring at them. I can't remember if I screamed, but I can remember the look in their eyes, the despiration and terror. I managed to escape into an alley and crawl through a hole in a fence that was too high for them to climb. That day I gained a new understanding about human nature. Only the strong survive and I was determined to be one of the strong.

I was found wandering through back alleys and disreputable slums by an old man who, in return for a bit of stale bread and a place to sleep, wanted me to pick pockets for him. He said arthritis prevented him from working and so in desperation he had taken to picking pockets, but his fingers weren't nimble enough and he had been caught and beaten. For almost a year I made my living picking pockets for the old man I had taken to calling "Grandpa" before I was finally caught by a man who decided to claim me as his kid. He was a down and out, disillusioned contractor whose only child had died of the viral outbreak the year before. He had worked for the government for years, but all of his hard work didn't earn him any help from the "higher-ups" when his kid began showing symptoms. He told me he no longer had any faith in the colonies and that he needed me in order to make the government pay for not stepping in to save his kid. He sold me to the Alliance government as a test subject for their latest military endeavor to create the newest weapon of psychological warfare. This latest project was called "Project Empath". I was only six.

"Get up," a harsh voice commanded. Lyra recognized her personal trainer, Geoffrey, and moved as quickly as her weary limbs could manage. It wasn't quick enough. He limped over to her and cracked his cane against the back of her head. She dropped to her knees as her vision blurred and darkened.

"Now get up. And next time, be quicker about it. Or it will be two bumps on your head," Geoffrey growled and stalked out of the cubby hole she'd been given for a room. There were no personal items in her room and the walls were plain white. There was just enough space for a bed and the tiny closet held three days worth of clothes. She put on her clothes and went to the mess hall for breakfast. It was the same as the day before and the day before that: cold cereal, burnt toast and strong black coffee. She finished in less than five minutes. It didn't do to linger over your food. After the third day, that lesson was well-learned.

My days all blended together in a haze of pain, hunger and sleep deprivation. I was later told that they were preparing me for the harshest conditions possible, but back then it just seemed like hell. Every year on my birthday I was allowed a day's respite from training and I got some decent food and a good night's sleep. At least I assumed it was my birthday. It was the only way I could tell how long I'd been there and how old I was. It had been five years since I'd been so callously sold to the United Earth Sphere Alliance's military training program. The Alliance knew their control and power with the colonies was wearing thin. My primary focus was as a tool of psychological warfare, but I was also trained in the more militant arts as well. I could sneak in and out of a building before anyone knew I was there. I was speed and shadow and the element of surprise. After the mental came the physical. I could hack into any computer given enough time. I could use a wide variety of weapons. I was, in fact, myself a weapon. I knew several forms of martial arts. I would never be large or strong enough to overwhelm a man, but I made up for in speed and precision what I lacked in strength. I could blend in with a crowd in any given situation; I could follow and take down any given target, whether on foot or in a vehicle; I could spot and take out or lose someone following me. What normal soldiers did well, I excelled at. I was trained to put on and take off masks. I could become anyone I needed to be. A seductress. A friend and confidante. But always a killer. I was taught to cause fear in my enemies and to use that fear to my advantage. People, I learned, were weak. Control what a man fears and you can control that man. My physical training was almost complete. I was now 11 and I was being sent to a group of scientists to begin the next stage in my training.

"Welcome to the Greene Mountain Laboratory and Testing Facility, Lyra."

Lyra was greeted by a tall blonde woman who identified herself as April. She was the head receptionist at Greene Mountain and she was all smiles and charm, but she had no discernable personality. Her light tan business suit was trim and professional and her makeup and nails were flawless. April offered her hand with a charming smile, but Lyra only stared at her in confusion. This was definitely not what she was used to. April let her hand hang for a moment before allowing it to drop.

"I'll take you to your new quarters so you can get settled in. Then I'll have someone show you around the grounds. In the morning you'll report to Lab Center A, room 15 in the main lab to begin your tests," April said pleasantly as she began walking. Lyra grabbed her only bag and followed silently behind her guide. The grounds were laid out very logically. The gate entered the grounds from the south. Directly ahead was a large building. It held offices, meeting rooms and everything else a business needed. To the left of the main building were the barracks for the students and test subjects, appropriately segregated of course. There were two cafeterias attached to the barracks; one for the students and one for the test subjects. To the right of the main building was the main lab. It was one long hallway with little groups of lab clusters, or "centers" as they were called, branching from the main hall. Lab Center A was at the top of the hallway and Lab Center J was at the very bottom. North of the main building were the scientist and teacher quarters. They had their own cafeteria, laundry, everything they might need. In the middle of the grounds was a small, formal garden by a pond with a large willow tree providing shade and several students sitting on benches with their heads together.

Lyra was shown to her room and found a new set of clothes on the freshly made bed. This room was a little larger than her previous room, but not by much. She noticed that Greene Mountain adhered to the "white wall standard" as well. A quick glance in the closet revealed several more sets of clothes folded neatly on shelves, enough to last for a week. Setting her bag on the bed, Lyra began changing into the white pants and shirt as April left. Not too long after she finished changing, there was a forceful knock on the door. She opened it to find a young man standing in the hall with his hand raised to knock again. His eyes were small and seemed hidden behind his rather thick glasses and lank sandy-blond hair. He had a distinct air of superiority and it was obvious that he thought more highly of himself than most of the people around him.

"I'm Brian. I'll be showing you around and making sure you stay out of trouble today," he said, imperiously. "Since I'm having to waste my day here instead of doing real work, you can make it up to me. When I call, you come. I don't care if you're sick and dying, if I need something you say 'yes, sir'."

"No."

"Excuse me? Listen here," Brian stepped into the room and tried to loom threateningly. Then he reeled backwards, his nose broken. Lyra stared at him coldly.

"You little bitch! You're going to regret that!" he yelled. His voice was slightly unintelligible due to his newly broken nose, but she got the message. She wasn't worried. What could he do to her? How difficult could he possibly make her life?

Twenty minutes later, Lyra found herself in the Dean's office. He was shouting and his face had turned the most interesting shade of puce. She could see the bright brass buttons on his blazer straining against his considerable bulk. She idly wondered if they would pop off. That might be amusing.

"THIS IS UNACCEPTABLE! You are here for less than an hour and already you are causing trouble! You are from now on restricted to your room. Do not let me hear of you anywhere except the lab or your room. Do you understand me? "

"I do, sir." It was useless to argue and there was no point in bringing up the fact that Brian had harassed her. She was a trained fighter. He was a student devoted to the sciences. Not only was it not a fair fight, but he out ranked her here. It was a strain not to roll her eyes, but she was too well trained for that.

The next morning, Lyra stopped at the cafeteria and got a bagel and some milk before heading to the lab to begin her tests where the scientists in charge informed her that she would be a new breed of soldier. Not only would she be able to fight in the traditional sense, but she would be able to conduct psychological warfare as well. She would be what they would call an "Empathic Soldier", able to pick up the emotions of other people and project the emotions she wanted them to feel. If everything went according to plan, people like her would be mass produced by Alliance scientists and sent to the colonies to assassinate opposition to Alliance rule and sway the colonists opinion of the Alliance government. It would take a year and a half of tests, drugs and injections for her to be "complete". Then she would be sent back to her teachers to finish her training and receive her first assignment.

During her time in the lab, she overheard one of the scientists telling a class of students to treat her kindly and with respect. They wanted her emotions to be "available" and "intact". It was several months later that she learned that her predecessor's emotions had been systematically and callously crushed. He had become a perfect killing machine, empty and soulless with no remorse or humanity. His first attempt to influence the emotions of others had shattered his mind and it had taken five men to subdue him and give him a lethal injection. She was too expensive a tool to be so carelessly mishandled. After that, the instructor moved on to less interesting topics and Lyra continued on her way to the lab. She had a lot to think on.

Lyra's training as an empathic soldier continued and she began to get the hang of picking up on the emotions of others. Once she could do that, it was easy enough to make others feel what she wanted them to feel. She could sense that the scientists and researchers were excited about her progress. She was excelling in their tests and was further along than any previous test subject. It wasn't long before she had to shield herself constantly to keep others from picking up on her emotions and to keep their emotions out of her head.

Eventually, Lyra once again found herself in the Dean's office. This time he was explaining that her time at Greene Mountain was almost over. The particulars of what he said were unimportant and Lyra didn't bother listening too closely, but she agreed when it seemed appropriate and gave the impression of listening intently. She was sent back to her room, where she spent some time considering what her next move should be. Finally she made up her mind.

The next day, as she stopped in the caffeteria for her breakfast of bagles and coffee, the news report on the television caught her attention. Five large, unidentified objects had crash-landed near Alliance bases across the world. Casualties were high and the death toll was still being counted. The government wasn't prepared to give a statement at this time, but the Channel 6 News Group would be sure to keep their viewers updated on the current situation.

Lyra didn't sleep that night. Instead she broke into one of the computer labs and hacked into the Alliance's training databank. She found her assignment and erased it. She then proceeded to erase all evidence that she had ever been at the Alliance training facility and Greene Mountain. She was going off the map. She no longer existed to them.

It was easy enough to sneak out of the Greene Mountain compound, especially since she didn't have anything personal to take with her. The tests were two months from being complete, but the scientists were only monitoring her now and instructing her on developing her new skills. She had the basics and the drive and determination to develop her new abilities further. The scientists at Greene Mountain were no longer necessary.

Before leaving, she hacked into the United Earth Sphere Bank and Trust and set up a false account, giving herself enough to live comfortably. She also got a ticket to space colony L1. She considered giving herself a new name. A girl named Charlie would stand out in a lot of places, but no one would ever connect her with what she had once been. Whatever she was to become, she would strike from the shadows. They would not find her again unless she wanted them to. When there is no safety to be found in the light, one must turn to the shadows for protection.

Disclaimer - I do not own Gundam Wing. This disclaimer applies to all chapters in this story. This is purely a work of fiction and I'm making no money from the writing of this fanfic.