Day 79 – AC 186

Lucrezia Noin was wrong. She had been noticed.

Specials Commander Treize Kushrenada had been keeping his eye on her. Her scores during the placement testing three months prior to her arrival at the academy were outstanding and only one other cadet rivaled her: Zechs Merquise. So it was that Treize had a great interest in both cadets. He did not show it, of course, during any training sessions he had with them. He generally favored treating everyone the same, but these two were special. And now was the time he felt he could set them apart.

"Cadet Lucrezia Noin, please make your way to Commander Treize's office."

Noin was enjoying one of her favorite books, Le Petit Prince, while eating her lunch in the cafeteria when she was interrupted by one of the older cadets. She stared at him for a moment, trying to think of a good reason as to why the Commander had summoned her when the cadet turn and walked away. She stood up and gathered her things quickly as a bout of nervousness exploded within her.

Trying not to dwell on all the thoughts coursing through her mind, she made her way towards the Commander's office. As she approached, she noticed Zechs was waiting outside his door.

"Zechs, what's going on?" she inquired, hoping he would have some information to quell the nervousness that would not go away.

"I believe we are going into battle." Zechs' face was emotionless. For a moment she felt strangely calm. In fact, she almost laughed out loud. This could not possibly be true; they barely had experience with a real mobile suit. But before she could respond, the Commander's door opened and three older cadets walked out, chatting excitedly.

"Zechs Merquise, Lucrezia Noin… Please come in." A calm and friendly voice drifted from within. Noin took in a deep breath and followed Zechs into the office.

Treize Kushrenada looked very regal even just sitting at a desk. At fifteen years old, Treize was obviously quite accomplished being that he had been appointed as Commander of the Specials so young. He intimidated Noin. Zechs could care less.

As they entered his office, Treize eyed them carefully. "You two have been superior students since you started such a short time ago. I have been keeping my eye on you… And that is why I have summoned you here today. I have been given an assignment and I'm bringing you along with me to Mogadishu. I am testing your skills in real battle."

Zechs nodded curtly. While he had been waiting for this day, he did not think it would have come so soon. He shifted his eyes toward Noin. She tried her best to hide her feelings, but he could tell she was in shock.

"Cadet Merquise, you will lead the troops with me." Treize stared intently at Zechs as he said this. The boy who showed no emotion had a flicker of surprise in his eyes.

"Cadet Noin, you will provide backup with the three other cadets you saw leaving this office. I expect a quick and efficient victory. We will meet again tomorrow to go over the details. You are dismissed."

During their flight to Mogadishu, Zechs and Noin sat quietly next to each other while the three older cadets chatted about their upcoming mission, making grand claims about how many enemies they would destroy and how quickly they would do so. Because of that, Zechs was the only one that noticed Noin's annoying nervous tick. Her left leg would not stop shaking. Normally, Zechs would be able to ignore it, but Noin was making him nervous.

"Noin," he said quietly. She was sitting to his right; eyes focused on the floor in front of her, arms bracing herself at her sides. She didn't respond.

"Noin." This time he said it a little louder. She turned to look at him. "Noin you have to relax. Focus only on your objective." Her leg continued to shake. Without thinking, Zechs gently placed his right hand on top of her left. In that split second of contact, Noin felt a myriad of emotions and she took a sharp intake of breath. But suddenly they merged into a feeling of calmness that settled in her core. Her leg stopped shaking.

For Zechs, that momentary contact between them caused the opposite reaction. His calmness turned into something else that he did not understand. He felt as if his insides were tumbling around. Zechs quickly removed his hand from hers and crossed his arms. Whatever it was, he could not let it distract him. Clearly this was an important mission in more ways than one for both of them. They had to be perfect. Yes, they were trained. Yes, they were capable of a solid victory. They had proven that in their training, but it had been in simulators and their time spent in an actual mobile suit was limited. There was no perfect replacement of actual battle.

But first things first. He needed to focus on his next objective, which was to get the idiots across from him to stop talking.

"As I recall, Commander Treize is looking for a flawless victory with no casualties. It's pointless to daydream about how many enemies you will destroy. In fact, I highly doubt you will even encounter any. I plan on disabling them myself before you even have a chance."

That certainly quieted the trio but there were definitely daggers in their eyes. Before any of them could respond, Commander Treize's voice filled the plane.

"Cadets, prepare your mobile suits for battle."

The Battle of Mogadishu was over quickly. So quickly in fact, that neither Zechs nor Noin had time to truly understand what they had gone through until afterwards.

And their reactions were quite emotional.

Zechs and Treize stood next to each other on the ground in front of their mobile suits, quietly reflecting on the battle. It was Treize that spoke first.

"I'm impressed, Cadet Merquise. You fought as if you'd been doing this your whole life."

Zechs didn't respond at first. He was deeply conflicted. Part of him wondered if he did the right thing in joining the Specials. This was a thought he rarely questioned, but today was a different day. A day in which he made progress towards his ultimate goal, but somehow he was not satisfied.

"I guess this is what I'm meant to do." Zechs said this in response to Treize, but also to himself. He had to push away any doubts.

"Are you sure about that, Milliardo?"

A slow panic crept through his body. He had not been called by that name in four years. It was true that he had known Treize as a young child, before the fall of his homeland. Obviously it was useless to think he would not be recognized by someone. In fact, maybe he had hoped someone would know so he would not feel so alone. Maybe that was why he was drawn to Treize and the Specials…

"I do not forget a face. Please don't worry. It does not benefit me to reveal who you truly are." And with that, Treize ended the conversation. The rest of the cadets landed and exited their mobile suits.

But the panic Zechs felt did not yet go away. He focused on Noin as she walked towards them. She had tears in her eyes.

"Noin, are you okay?"

As Noin approached, the other cadets snickered behind her. In frustration, she wiped her tears away and replied firmly, "Yes, I'm fine. I just… I just hate war!"

During the battle, Noin felt nothing and focused on her objective like Zechs told her to. But after the fighting had ceased, all she felt was dismay. It was clear she had a talent for battle, but something inside of her was still conflicted.

As the sun set, they made their way back to the transport. During the short flight back to the Lake Victoria Base, no one spoke a word. Even for the three other cadets, the battle had taken a great toll on them. No one felt the need to boast anymore.