-o-oOo-o-
It's a pleasure to meet you, Lady Une.
-o-oOo-o-
"You will report to me upon completion without delay."
"Yes, Sir."
"His Excellency's agreement with your comments has been duly noted. However, in the future I will expect a more appropriate acceptance of my commands regardless of your personal feelings, Lieutenant."
"Yes, Sir."
She turned towards the expansive image of His Excellency, Treize Khushrenada. "I will accept full responsibility for the oversight. It will not happen again." They were simply more words, not hollow, yet not whole. A stark contrast to Treize's words, who's every syllable tore like a jagged blade into her soul. Bow completed, she left the bridge, ignoring the soldiers she passed. She remained keenly aware of two pairs of eyes that followed her, though. One a commander's, the other a subordinate's.
The battle raged on in such devastating strokes that Colonel Anne Une's failure became little more than a footnote of a brief miscalculation. But it was her mistake. Once the cabin door latched behind her, the tears flowed. Fairness was never to be considered, but honor was. His eyes had said it between his words, "You failed. Your judgment is flawed, your honor nothing more than a lie." Fists punched to palms till her gloves were torn did nothing to ease the pain. She was certain a demotion would result from this. She closed her blurring eyes and unclasped the rankpin from her uniform where it surely no longer belonged. In her mind she heard the words, "Someday... you'll all see how foolish you were to underestimate me." So ethereal was the girl's voice in her mind that she could no longer believe it was hers just seven years before. She'd proven herself unworthy tonight. Disrobing was a mix of respectful care for the uniform she might never wear again, and of urgency to distance her self from the filth, the tension. Base issued bunks never relieved the stress of command much, but there was nothing else that night.
-o-oOo-o-
"I'll keep that in mind, Sir," was the best she could muster knowing such a close examination could turn her future to a new course in seconds. "And your orders, Sir?"
"You are of the finest the Academy has offered to Oz and the Specials. No one equaled you academically, in marksmanship, or in leadership. Unfortunately, not all soldiers of your caliber have maintained such strong emotional stability. And yet, of your graduating class, you haven't acquired the highest rank. Your close interaction with one of these higher ranks has led me to consider you the best option for providing a needed support to this soldier in this time of stress. The troops would be greatly demoralized if the structure and integrity of the upper ranks depleted."
"With all due respect, Zechs Merquies outscored me at graduation. I'm honored that you consider me capable of consoling him, but I don't believe I would be able to 'take him under my wing', Sir."
The curl of a smile seemed almost alien on a face so commanding. "Come now. I've observed your records for some time. I've seen your scores and watched practice sessions. Even though your enlisted M.O. was so deceptively mundane as communications, you were not brought into the Specials on a whim. You let him win. And letting a pitiable boy win a competition, one that the entire student body of the Academy was unable to match you on, I might add, compromised the judging process specifically in place to avoid such deceptions. How long did you think it would go unnoticed, either by him or by me? ..I've been close friends with Zechs since well before you met him. I've watched him very closely. I know things about him you could never imagine, Lieutenant."
"Yes, Sir." How did she even get into this conversation? This always happened with the Commander. His deft use of words was easily as notorious as his piloting skills. In the art to catching people off guard, this man was truly a master artisan. "So you wish me to ... show my support to the Count more assertively?"
The chuckle was so friendly, but the smile cooled. "Please don't jump to conclusions. I thought you learned from the object lesson tonight." A pause was not even necessary to cement her attention on his screen image. "What we've discussed about the Count remains true, but that is for another time. The soldier I want you to tend to has thus far meant more to Oz and the Specials than even the revered Lightning Count. I'm counting on you to care for Colonel Une."
"... Sir? I don't un-"
"And that is precisely why I want you to confront the Colonel about the matter now. You and those in her command are fortunately unaware of the extent of her condition, but that will not last long. The Colonel is beginning to show signs of split personality. As the second in command of her operation, you are the one I must place my trust in to support her and return her confidence before her instabilities force a repeat of tonight's loss."
"With all due respect, I believe she holds me in contempt, Sir, a great deal of it."
"You'll be amazed how quickly that can change with her."
"...Yes, Sir," thankfully agreeing with an order didn't involve believing it would work.
-o-oOo-o-
Two knocks… a pause… two more. The sound of her sigh was muffled by the soft whirring of the door mechanism. Noin stepped inside, closing of the door behind her as much to keep others out as to keep herself in. She couldn't stop asking herself what kind of order this was, investigating and attempting to console a superior ranking officer who hates her guts.
A soldier's observance turned up little surprising about the Colonel. It was organized but not impossibly anal. Papers were stacked in slight disarray on the desk, clothing mostly hung and pressed, weapons properly laid and cleaned. Nothing was far from ready inspection, nothing except the uniform she'd worn last, and apparently discarded to a crumpled mess where it lay. Since the Colonel was obviously still sleeping, Noin was quiet in crouching and lifting the jacket. By its weight, it was obvious that the Colonel hadn't even removed her weapons. The events of the previous shift must have distraught her far more than Noin had imagined. She began to wonder if His Excellency was correct about her commanding officer's emotional health.
Quietly straightening the strewn apparel and hanging it, collecting the hidden pistols and blades and placing them on their proper spots with the rest, she reached for the rank pins only to find the highest missing. How odd that it would fall off by chance, a simple search around revealed it on the floor half under a boot. Having finished tidying up the room, Noin was unfortunately out of ideas for further procrastination. The only thing left was to wake the woman she was ordered to be here for. Sitting on the desk chair, Noin finally forced herself to tend to her task.
For the harshness and deadly precision Une was so reputed for, the way she slept made Noin unconsciously check the desk label to see if she was in the right room. On the bed, curled slightly fetal, was a version of Une that Noin could never have imaged existed. Long hair strewn about out of braid, glasses off, makeup a bit smeared on the pillow, issued tanktop and undergarments, blanket crumpled and wrapped in so many directions, every detail made sense. But there was something to her features that struck Noin as so inconceivably wrong that she wondered if the surrealism of His Excellency's message was, in fact, the start of some psychotic delusion.
Colonel Une was smiling.
Noin had seen her smile, it was directly related to victory in a sadistic way that most only witnessed before they died at her hands. But this was another smile. It was a pure, and dream-like, peaceful one, a sated, calming softness that changed her appearance entirely. The rhythmic breathing and delicate motion of her slumbering form seemed like a delicate, young girl's and all the less like a warrior's. Noin sighed while contemplating how to approach this.
"Colonel Une?" She hoped a soft tone would wake her without startling her. And sitting in a chair several feet away, she hoped any reactive vengeance could be avoided.
The subtle shift of the body and slightest nuzzle to the pillow were not much of a response.
"Colonel Une?... Sir?" She leaned in and projecting a bit more.
The only words were murmurs, but she was greeted by the slightest look of confusion.
Giving up on formal subtlety, Noin slid her chair closer to the bedside. Bracing herself and reaching gingerly to the slumbering woman's shoulder, her first impression was amazement at how soft the skin felt under her fingertips. Unquestionably, somewhere in this room, there were some expensive soaps and oils that were definitely not part of the commonly available supplies. Noin was expecting a tense jolt, a wavering wakefulness, a swift recognition, and then all hell would break loose.
But the first thing that happened was the slow opening of large beautiful eyes free of the glare of lenses disturbing their clarity.
"Colonel, forgive my intrusion."
"Colonel?... oh yes.." The smile faded as the eyes took in their surroundings, then settled back on Noin.
"Commander Khushrenada ordered me to speak with you"
"How sweet of him. Do remind me to thank him please, but I'm usually not tended to, even when I'm away from home." The voice was too soft and kind to ever be sarcastic, and was anything but what her guest in uniform had expected. "Is something wrong?" With another glance around, realization dawned on her. "Oh.. oh no. oh, please forgive me." She quickly sat up and gathered the sheets about her, opting for cautiousness rather than guessing if her attire was adequate for guests. "I must have dozed.. perhaps too long? I'm in an officer's quarters?"
Noin was quite incapable of hiding her discomfort and concern for the seemingly amnestic woman. "Colonel, do you feel well?" Noin took off a glove and gently rested a bare palm against Une's forehead, but failed to find fever.
"Please call me Lady Une." She flinched at the touch. "Your hands are cold." She added, smiling at the apparently concerned soldier.
"Sorry, I.. I suppose I wanted to apologize making the incident look like a competition. I didn't mean to counter you directly when the others could see, but..."
"Thank you." She placed a hand to Noin's cheek to stroke it once. "I was so... driven, it hurt. You stopped me when I could not. I'm sorry I slapped you." Une closed her eyes and looked down sighing from an inner admonishment. "I'm so cruel sometimes."
Though taken aback, Noin steadily continued, "There's no need to apologize, Ma'am, I.. Ma'am, are you sure you're ok? I've never seen you act this way."
The somber look on Une's face was almost as surreal as the smile. "I'm sorry, truly. All this fighting and pointless violence has become more than I can handle, I suppose. ... You're.. Lieutenant Lucrezia Noin, yes?... I vaguely remember meeting you before now but... well, truthfully my mind is a bit foggy."
"Commander Khushrenada wanted me to .. talk with you. I'm honestly not sure what to say, Ma'am, this.. change in you is incredible. I'm not sure your subordinates could take it if they ever saw you like this."
Looking down at her attire and feeling very inappropriate, "I understand, this is most improper, will you help me dress? Tell me about these subordinates, I'm a servant of the counsels, I don't recall having underlings." Lightheartedly, she smiled. "I'm hardly one to lead, Officer Noin," said wistfully as she stood languidly. Her balance failed her, though, and she fell back to the mattress with a lightheadedness apparent in her eyes.
Noin stood and took her hand to help steady her, "It's troubling to see you like this, Ma'am."
The look of hurt was palpable, "But...but this is me... Why do eyes look upon me and only see weakness and servitude. Without weapons or violence, I, too, can fight, Ms.Officer. Is that was disdains you so?... I... Forgive me, I should have chosen my words more carefully. Of course a soldier would not approve of my standards, would they... well, there is no single thing as cherished in my heart as peace itself for us all.. what's so disturbing about someone believing in peace?" Her eyes deepened with a fire of passion to face the misinterpreted disappointment in her guest.
"This is troubling...", Noin sighed and stood to guide the disoriented headcase towards the closet. "You honestly only remember my name?"
"You do seem more familiar than just a face. Yes, I recall now, you're the King's love.", She nodded in resolution.
"Count.. He's a Count, not a King."
"Oh.. well either way, he's a lucky man. You're such a beautiful woman, and I love the haircut."
The random tides of discussion beached Noin again. She found herself stumbling over words and blushing slightly at the compliments. "Thank you, I.. His rank of Count is a Romafeller title, I mean he is a Count, but that's.. you.. really like my hair short? you don't think it's too manly a cut?"
Une smiled. "I doubt your 'Count' with his gorgeous blonde tresses would appreciate a compliment of 'Oh, your long hair is so adorably Girly!'" She giggled and opened the closet only to fall silent when faced by the wall of properly hung uniforms. "This isn't right, where are my dresses?.. Is this your room? I know I had more luggage than this... oh dear."
Noin's face ached from the multiple strain of keeping her mouth shut as her eyebrow raised. She shut her eyes and relaxed trying to keep her voice from showing her displeasure with playing along. "I'm sure whatever luggage you're .. um, missing will be brought in as soon as possible, in the mea-" She opened her eyes at the sense of movement only to see an Une's discarded tanktop fall on her face followed by a lilting giggle.
"Could you get this dreadful annoyance off my back please? I don't understand this latch mechanism," Une unabashedly admitted looking over her shoulder at Noin. She'd lifted her hands high drawing upward her river of hair to expose the soft-armor torso-guard clasped at her back.
While tossing the top aside, Noin's thoughts slipped. "How do you get through the morning?" Out of habitual aid, she deftly unlatched the officer issued soft-armor, and opened it to expose a strong bare back.
"I'm asking the same thing myself, I can barely breathe in this ridicules contraption, it's hardly even flattering. I thought corsets were left behind centuries ago." She shivered from the sudden crisp cold of the space station air and let her hair fall. She glanced down and smiled as Noin's hands reach about her waist undo the final clasps. "This is how I get through, someone dresses me, of course. It's one of the rare beauties of being an Ambassador." She gigged and rested a hand on Noin's.
Noin was confused, but she didn't see that changing anytime soon, so she continued, having to remember how to undo a forward clasp while distracted. The distraction being Une's luxurious hair, which in the low G's fell in slow motion, tendril by tendril, stroking Noin's face as it returned to rest against Une's back. She hadn't thought of a reason why it shouldn't have, but she'd never expected Une's hair would be so soft and smell so much like fresh jasmine.
Once the chest-piece was dislodged, Une exhaled a sigh of relief and leaned back against Noin, drawing the hands together against her bare waist. "Thank you," Une watched the soft-armor floating slowly down in front of her. "Maybe it's for my own protection, but must I go through every moment of my life wrapped in artifacts of war?"
It made Noin envious that her fellow officer had managed to get soaps that would make her skin so soft, but on the other hand it might have just been Une. The warmth and slow steady breathing could hardly have been attributed to cosmetics, though. Noin could only remember one other person who ever felt so warm and alive in cold metallic space.
"This isn't the me that's meant to be here.. is it," Une softly said. It was more a statement than a question.
"I'm not entirely sure how to answer that, but I think you're understanding it as I do." For a moment, Noin imagined how different things would be here if only this caring affectionate Une were in control. She felt her other glove being pulled off and was about to draw back when Une's warm fingers entwined with hers, sealing the embrace.
"What's worth dying for, Lucrezia? I keep having this nightmare that I'm part of it all.. not as an Ambassador, but as a force.. a guiltless power commanding others to die in my place."
"You hold that kind of power, but you are responsible.. You do your duty responsibly. You've earned y-", she was gently halted by Une, who had released her hands and turned in place to place a finger over Noin's lips.
"Duty? Who could ever earn the responsibility of another's life?.. I haven't saved these soldiers, and not all of me wants to lead them." Une stared at Noin's collar, unable, at first, to meet the soldier's eyes. But in the end she did look up, and she saw sympathy there. Leaning forward, she slipped her hands around Noin's waist, untucked her shirt, and pressed her hands to the warm bare flesh just under Noin's armor. With a gentle tug, she brought Noin closer and settled her chin on the strong, needed shoulder.
Noin was unsure if the closeness was a fortunate growth of communication or an act unbeneficial to the cause. But elsewhere in her mind, she felt a deepening sorrow for this torn, confused side of Une. And despite all else, even through her chestplate and uniform, she felt the unhindered warmth of Une's naked chest pressed against hers, and it felt truly exquisite.
"You're very warm, Lady Une."
"You feel chilled to the bone, Lady Noin", she replied with a soft smile. Beneath her blouse, Une's hands worked at the soft-armor latches, having far more luck with them than when they'd been present so inaccessibly on her own back.
"Ma'am? What are you d-"
"I need to know, Lady Noin... I need to know that I'm not a seething poison... I need to have something I can remember and hold on to." With luck and eventual understanding, the last latch of Noin's plating came loose and the armor fell free from under Noin's uniformed shirt. Anne took hold of it and tossed it away with disgust, both at its form and at its purpose. "Please, Lieutenant, let me sate these needs... before I fall back into that horrid nightmare."
Noin exhaled a sigh. A frantic voice in her mind pleaded "This wasn't the plan!", only to be countered by a chorus that groaned "And the rest Was!" She realized that her blouse buttons were being undone and raised her hands to halt them, but only got as far as an unintentional brush against the obstacles of Une's chest.
Une seemed unbothered by the reflexive flinch of hands, her own attention steady on the removal of Noin's blouse. She smiled at the coursing blush that engulfed Noin's features. Meeting her gaze with a growing affection, she spread the blouse and clamped its sides in Noin's conveniently placed hands. With the hindrance of the uniform aside, Une leaned forward once more gently molding her bare flesh to Noin's. Spanning her hands over the broad chiseled back, she hugged her tightly to keep her close.
Noin was not quick enough to apologize for hitting the precariously close breasts, but when the words had nearly formed, she found herself holding her own shirt open. Registering belatedly how backwards this was, she drew her arms in quickly only to encounter soft shoulders under cascades of hair. The act to guard her chest had inadvertently sealed another's against it. Breathless to counter, she found herself comparing this to her loving Count's embraces, and watching them fall short. So warm and honest and comforting, so pure the simple pleasure of being held, she could find nothing within her to stop her arms from encircling Une's body and returning the embrace.
"When the anger engulfs me, I see nothing but fire, but feel nothing but cold. I never feel the warmth of being held, or even touched. And even to see my beloved Treize's face smiling upon me, I yearn for his presence, yet all I see are footfalls of war connecting us together. I never found the strength to tear the horrid mask away and tell you from my heart how much your honor and dedication mean. It would so likely seem as competition, but in my heart it is a burning jealousy." Her voice had weakened to a shallow whisper, like a kiss of words, felt as much as heard.
"I never knew you respected me at all."
"I know." With a sigh, she rested her chin on Noin's shoulder, inhaling the scent of strong soldier's skin. Expecting nothing exotic, just the simplistic scent of the woman in her arms, she nearly missed the hint of something flowery in Noin's short, dark hair. "Essence of White Rose..." Her observation was greeted by redder-roselike blush.
"It's a perfume Ze-..." Her voice faltered with a sudden intake of breath that pressed her more closely to her embracer. Her chin came to rest on an inviting shoulder. Both the tension and the strength had been sapped dry by a pair of warm damp lips massaging its base. She concluded she had to free herself from the kiss, and inwardly groaned when she realized her body's response had been to tighten the embrace.
To Anne, the kiss had not been simply an urge, it was a need. The smell scent of a white roses was a gift from Mother Nature, a sign that there was yet the beauty of humanity within this soldier. But it seemed the kiss had discomforted, maybe it was too much. "I'm sorry, I.. couldn't resist." She relaxed her arms supposing the embrace would be broken and breathed her last of the heavenly scent of woman and rose. Beginning to turning away, she brushed her lips from the base of Noin's neck up the soft column till they formed an apologetic kiss on Noin's cheek. Guilt coursed through her as she savored yet another intimate act even in parting, but letting go of something so precious was simply too hard.
Despite Une's expectations, the strong embrace had not loosened, but rather tightened and been joined by trembling murmurs or request. To Noin, the stroke of lips against her neck was something far beyond a kiss, yet somehow rarer than any other caress. Une might as well have tried to quell an open flame by dowsing it with jet fuel.
Realizing the depth of this new acceptance, Une smiled and began again, only parting her lips against the shivering skin and gently touching the tip of her tongue as she went. When she reached Noin's ear, it seemed only right to draw her lips closed on the lobe. She didn't move a muscle otherwise, no other intention was worth risking this singular pleasure for.
Noin's chest heaved and her breathing was nothing more than a series of gasps. Since nothing about this side of Une had been mentioned, no course of action had been prohibited. A sluggish cog of logic stated that pulling away would not constitute 'support', and in the absence of command, a soldier must stick to his given mission. Once the slurred justification had rationalized the fears away, she fell freely into the maelstrom of sensations in the embrace. In her mind she heard herself asking, "Why hasn't Zechs tried this? How could a man master every weapon in the armory, yet fail to realize that there's more to intimacy than using just his own?" She sighed and shrugged back one arm and then the other, freeing them of her shirt while never fully letting the vixen go. Recapturing Une in her embrace, she smiled at the comforting warmth of the strong muscular sides against her bared arms. Drawn by an unspoken obligation, she nudged the layers of light floating hair over Une's shoulder and place her own tongue-parted kiss to her embracer's neck.
Une closed her eyes and drew in a deep ragged breath as Noin's willingness became clear. She hummed a near-purr and began massaging the chiseled lines of Noin's back while re-administering the now-shared necking kiss. As she felt Noin's back arch under her grasp, she found herself seeking more. Resettling a hands on the tight undercurve where hips joined powerful thighs, she felt the push of acknowledgement and gently squeezed in reply.
Noin released her lips from Une's skin and closed her eyes as her body melted in gracious acceptance of the luxurious sensations. She lightly stroked her fingers up Une's back and wove them into the jasmine hair to massage the taut lines at the base of her skull. "You realize that door isn't locked. I'm not certain what the men's reactions would be to finding us like this, " she chuckling lightly, knowing inside herself that if she hadn't broken the silence then, she never would.
Une leaned back a little and looked down between them to see each exposed breast hiding its nipple against another. She returned a stoical gaze to Noin's, "I don't see a problem, technically we're decent." She barely finished before giggles overtook her, the poker face completely lost.
Noin couldn't keep her own laughter from bubbling up inside. "My report to His Excellency will probably read 'Lady Une proved quite incorrigible'."
Une giggled, but it faded. After a moment, her gaze had turned to one of sorrow. "But it's true. And, honestly, it doesn't matter. Soon, the other me will return, and I'll be trapped within myself once more. The horrid me, the angry me.. that is the one His Excellency's actions will affect. I... I only wish I could awaken peacefully, free of the wretched pain of knowing it's still inside me."
Noin's smile faded as well. "Forgive me, I.."
Une cut her off with a kiss, a bittersweet kiss of thanks, but also of hurt. "We can't control everything." With a glance to the clock on her desk, she added, "Bridge inspection is in 3 minutes." Begrudgingly, she lowered her arms from Noin's waist and stood back, gazing one last time over the visage of beauty before her.
Pained by the depth of sorrow in Une's eyes, Noin softly asked, "will you... remember this, Anne?"
The gaze that met hers was resigned and distant. "The stronger hold the keys, so the weaker can... can never be sure."
Noin closed the distance and placed a gentle kiss on her lips. "Then someday I'll find you again the way you are with me now." Despite her own uncertainty, she did her best to instill hope.
The smile did appear; hope was still there. "We must end the war, then there will be no purpose for the warrior to ever wake again."
The videocomm on her desk sprang to life showing an ever-composed Treize Khushrenada, "Colonel Une, we've just received word that on Colony X-1-9-noin-'n'une-'n'nude-n'ahn-n'wohn'n-woah."
Noin was turned away and hastily retrieved her shirt as Une put on her glasses and faced the screen at attention. "Understood, Sir. I'll be on bridge in 30 seconds," she responded brusquely and saluted smartly while Treize simultaneously saluted back, turned a darker burgundy than his curtains, and fumbled with the controls that eventually closed the connection.
Noin managed to have her shirt on and her back turned to Colonel Une by the time she was noticed heading for the door.
"Next time I expect you to knock before barging in on me, Lieutenant. Backing His Excellency against me might improve your rank, but until it does, you are Still my subordinate and do Not have the right to enter my room uninvited! Understood?" Keeping her back to the door she hoped the insipid lieutenant would be exiting, she pulled on her soft-armor and uniform while trying to recapture her bearings. It stood to reason that she'd been dressing when the lieutenant had interrupted, and it wouldn't do to let on that, in truth, she wasn't sure.
"Yes, Sir," Noin barked while facing the door, presumably to respect the Colonel's nakedness, but more practically to hide the fact that she was still buttoning her top. A split second later, she opened the door and was gone.
Once the door closed, Une desperately set about searching for her discarded rank pin. Precious seconds ticked by before she realized it was properly placed with the others on her desk. Distressed by the certainty that she'd left it elsewhere, she was slow to notice something else out of place. The absurdity of it mystified her, but it was lying on the floor near her bed, Noin's labeled undergarment soft-armor.
-o-oOo-o-
Noin deserved the next hot shower she took. She was beginning to understand why the regions of war were called "theaters" and their perils "drama". In her rushed debriefing with Treize, she outlined the two opposing personalities, but expressed her belief that the Colonel's competence as a commander was still intact, and that removing her from command would no doubt destabilize her further. Thankfully he'd kept his questions of methodology narrowed down to "Was this a normal interrogation for you?... "
She was still groaning over the awkwardness of it all when she stepped into the shower and opened the cubby inside.
Inside were two items she couldn't have put there herself...
A bottle of Jasmine scented conditioner, and single white rose.
-o-oOo-o-
-End-
-o-oOo-o-