Part VII - Resurrection of a Vengeance



Une couldn't tell whether she bit back tears or curses. Curses for the rough hands pinning her face-down, arms behind her back. Tears for watching Treize kicked and shoved limply into the same submission. His captor backed away, seeing Treize's injuries rendered him practically immobile. Une struggled against the soldier standing over her, until the finality of a pair of handcuffs snapping on her wrists silenced her thrashing.

Through blurred vision she could tell they had been taken to the main deck. It flitted through her mind that maybe she wouldn't die here, in some dark cell or by execution, that maybe she would be let go, and Treize too. She could bargain with Aknon... Her thoughts hit a dead end: Even if they let her go, where did she have to run?

The very concept drained about half her strength in one shot. It didn't matter if she lived. There would be nowhere safe to go afterward. Rommefellar wouldn't want her, and that ruled out earth. The colonies were all Oz control, and she was a traitor to them now. It's just me... And Treize. Yet all she needed was a place where he could recuperate, away from all the conflict.

The far door hissed open and Aknon materialized, the soldier sent to get him at his side. He always walked with hands behind his back and his chest puffed out, a stance almost insulting to Une, his superior. Now, seeing his commanding officer prone at his feet, he flaunted it with even more exaggeration.

"Well, well, well," he said smugly. His steps in rhythm with his words, Aknon stepped heavily over Treize to stand before Lady Une. She stared at the tips of his boots, grimacing. "What have we here?" he continued in a throaty, acidic voice. "A commanding officer, and a confirmed enemy and prisoner?" He bent at the waist to peer arrogantly into her face. "You should know better, Colonel Une." Her title dripped with sarcasm.

"Shut up, Aknon," she hissed in a cracked voice. "Let us go, or kill us now." She let her head touch the floor, resting a screaming neck.

"Why, my dear Une," he said with even more sarcasm, "you really think I'd kill you, of all people? Give up the chance of a lifetime?"

"I fail to see what you are talking about." Une said through clenched teeth. She refused to waste any energy to look at him, instead focusing across the floor at Treize. Silently she watched him breathe, wordlessly urging each breath in and out, assuring herself of his continuing life.

"Don't you remember?" Aknon said, straightening again. "Then again, do the conquerors ever remember those trodden upon?" Some of the sarcasm left his voice, replaced by such venom that each word stung.

"You showed up on Nuova without a word, the ever-silent mourner of your poor, dead Treize. The soldiers flocked to you, such a high representative coming to work at such a small humble base. Obeying every command without question. Of course Treize Khushrenada's second in command was right. You may not remember Une, but someone did command those soldiers before you. They had their god. It was I. But the moment you arrived I was demoted. Taking orders instead of giving them." He knelt sharply near her face, and with one movement grabbed her chin roughly in his hand. He brought her face up to his and spoke through clenched teeth. "But that doesn't matter anymore, does it, my Colonel?" His smile and tone were saccharine. "I am your superior now."

If she hadn't been in such an uncomfortable position, Une would have laughed. Instead, a potent smirk made its way across her face, and slowly she opened her mouth to speak.

"Aknon," she said mockingly, "is that really what this is about?" She wrenched her chin from his grasp. "You would consider a demotion cause for revenge?" Aknon lurched himself back into a standing position, taken aback. "Then again, how could I possibly expect anything better from you?" Une found herself now to be the one speaking venom. "I arrived here on orders from my superiors to turn this derelict base into something actually useful to Oz." Her strength had returned to her, feeding from his absurdness, from her new hatred of him, from his petty scheme for revenge. Slowly she brought herself to her feet, her eyes never leaving his.

"The simple fact is, Aknon, that you made one too many mistakes. The way you commanded, the way you chose to battle, the way you trained your cadets... All wrong." Une began backing towards the door. She could tell by the look on Aknon's face that the soldiers behind her weren't making any move. "Too many simple, stupid mistakes." She stopped; seeing the two guards enter her peripheral vision. "And letting me live..." she clicked her teeth disapprovingly, "that was your biggest one."

Une threw all her weight to one side, slamming into the unsuspecting soldier. She twisted her cuffed wrists over her head, then swung them into the guard's stomach. As he fell, Une grabbed his handgun.

By the time he hit the floor, she had the barrel leveled at Aknon's head, her chest heaving with effort. The second guard was nowhere to be seen. Une's hands trembled on the trigger, but her whole body felt smooth as steel. Aknon's hand was inside his jacket, and she could see the outline of a pistol behind the fabric.

"Draw it," Une snapped, "and I'll blow your brain out from between your ears." He stopped. "Give me the key to these," she nodded towards her wrists. Without taking his eyes off her, Aknon slowly reached into a pocket, and drew out what Une recognized as a master key, a small bit of white plastic. He bent on one knee and slid the chip across the floor to her, remaining on his knees even as the skittering sound stopped.

A shot rang out, deafening in such a small room. Une didn't bother to watch him fall. She collapsed to her knees, and with no small amount of twisting and turning, began to free herself. The silence in the room was deathly, and it hurried her on while making her more nervous by the minute. Purposely she averted her gaze from Aknon's prostrate figure in front of her, telling her queasy stomach and her equally sickened conscience that it had been necessary, and it was over now.

As soon as Une's wrists were free, she dove for Treize, a sob escaping her lips. She opened his cuffs and threw them across the room, her eyes watering.

"Treize!" she whispered, desperate and tense. "Come on, we have to get out of here."