Coalition Base
By the clock on the telecom, Duo knew he had slept almost an entire day and a half. Although still very groggy, he dragged himself off to the shower where he blasted himself with hot water that quickly ran cold. Ah, the comforts of being an officer in the Coalition! The duffel bag he usually kept in his gundam for emergencies was on the floor beside the bed, so Duo had clean clothing to replace the crusty, bloody clothing he had been wearing since leaving Earth three days ago. He lifted the shirt to see the hole from the bullet, and after digging out the necklace he had salvaged from the sand, he balled up the clothing and shot it at a wastebasket in the corner.
As he combed through his hair, he walked to the telcom, and activating it, found that he could only communicate with the guards outside his door.
"What do you want?" asked the one who answered his call.
Duo grinned. "Good morning to you, too!"
"It is three in the morning!" he grumbled.
"Sorry to wake you!" Duo snickered.
"I wasn't sleeping. I am on duty."
"Whatever! Can I contact Lieutenant Stryfe?" Duo watched as th guard consulted with his part.
When he turned back, he had an unpleasant grin. "I doubt Captain Nelson wants to be disturbed at this time of the night." Their point was taken, their suggestive little laughter quite unnecessary.
Duo managed to grin although he was seething with anger. "She told me that I could go anywhere I wanted as long you your friendly guys gave me an escort."
They consulted again, then reluctantly confirmed that he was free to leave. So after Duo finished braiding his hair, he buzzed the door and they escorted him to Trynity's room as per his request. Her quarters were in another corridor that wasn't too far from his own. Duo guessed that Nelson was nearby. He wouldn't believe Trynity was sleeping with Nelson unless he saw it for himself.
She did not answer her door, even after he had buzzed several times. The guard gave him a told-you-so look. Duo reasoned that she was in a laboratory somewhere. That was always the first place, beside the beach, where he would look for her at Seaside. They lead him to the laboratory, but when they walked through the quiet, eerie hanger, Duo stopped to look at Deathscythe. Although the cockpit door was hanging open, it didn't seem to be disturbed in any way. Turning, he saw the Shadowhawk and noticed that there was light coming from inside the cockpit and he could see men working. The other gundams stood dark and silent as if waiting patiently to be called back to duty.
Shrugging, he walked through the hanger and the guard took an elevator up. The laboratory was quiet, but he saw one lone light and an orange head bent down staring at a computer screen. He knew she wouldn't be with Nelson!
He smiled at the guards, then sauntered towards the desk. "Hey, babe, the night is still young. Why don't you log off the computer, come back to my room and log on to me."
Duo immediately regretted his words when he realized there were gray strands in the red hair, and the face that turned to him was not young and pretty. Nor was it female. He took a step back.
The man raised his brow. "She was right. You are an idiot." He turned back to the screen.
Duo scratched his head. "Ah…I…I…" Crap! Apologizing to Trynity's father seemed somehow more moronic than what he had said.
Dr. Stryfe waved him quiet as he stared at the screen. Duo took a step closer, expecting to see physics gibberish, but he recognized something far different. "Hey, if you move him through that door to the left, you will find a buster rifle in the treasure chest. You need it to blast the pixies in the next room or you'll spend hours trying to get them all with your saber."
He turned to give him a long, assessing look, then said, "I don't need your help." But he followed Duo's advice then said, "Pull up a chair, kid."
"I'm not a kid," he grumbled as he pulled a stool over to watch the action on the screen. He held out his hand. "I am Duo Maxwell."
"Yes, I know. The fearsome god of death." Dr. Stryfe chuckled as he took his hand, his eyes on his face. "Got a few bruises there, kid. Did my little girl do that to you? She can take care of herself."
Duo remained silent for a moment watching Dr. Stryfe's elf blast away pixies, then said, "So, where is she?" Her father surely knew.
He shrugged. "She takes care of herself, as I just said. I don't know where she is. I haven't seen her in two days." He spun on his chair to look at him, his arms folded over his chest. "I had assumed she was with you."
"Not with me!" he denied quickly. Stryfe already believed the worst of him. "Maybe she's with Nelson," he dared to suggest. He wasn't sure what her father knew about Trynity's personal life.
"He has been in here looking for her several times." Dr. Stryfe sighed and turned back to his computer. He closed his game and began to search through files. "I was quite sure….Well,, perhaps her telecom can give us some answers."
Duo felt relief that Trynity was not with Lars Nelson. Hilde's parting words came back to haunt him, and he couldn't help but wonder if Trynity had moved on. He forced himself from his pessimitic thoughts to watch strings of code roll past on the screen, then he noticed one that was repeated again and again. "What's that?"
Dr. Stryfe chuckled. "I doubt she wants you to see."
"Then I want to see."
"I like the way you think, kid." He accessed the file and Duo saw his own face on the screen. "Hey, you got me, I'm looking for Trynity."
"That's me," he said stupidly, somewhat dazed to realize she had been missing him as much as he had her.
Her father switched the screen back to his search. "Sometimes she surprises me."
"She's just full of surprises." Duo was thinking of how she had kissed him on the beach, how that had lead to other things, a lot of other things. He wanted to be with her now, just to hold her and assure her that things would work out.
Dr. Stryfe drummed his fingers on the table for a moment, then began to access other data. "Do you love my daughter?" he asked without turning around.
"Love? Hey, now that is a rather strong word…" The man turned around to look at him, his shaggy brows drawn together. Duo hung his head. "I know I'm not good enough for her."
"You mean not smart enough?" Dr. Stryfe sniffed. "Intelligence doesn't cut it in some situations." He reached out for a cup of coffee and accidentally bumped it. The liquid ran over the desk straight for the computer. "Oops!" Wires began to fizzle, and then there was a loud pop before the screen went dead.
Duo bit his lip to keep from laughing.
"Always wondered what would happen if I did that." Dr. Stryfe motioned to a warning label on the computer restricting liquids.
"Me too," confessed Duo.
Dr. Stryfe left his chair. "If you liked that, I have something else to show you."
They walked across the lab where there was equipment set up that Duo had not the least idea what it was used for. They stopped before a table where there were two electrodes facing each other. He switched them on and Duo watched as a bright light began to pulse between them. As Dr. Stryfe manipulated them, they began to form waves.
"What is it?" asked Duo as he watched with fascination.
"I haven't the slightest idea," he confessed. "This is a little something Trynity has been working on. Since she isn't around, I thought I would have a little fun with it."
"Good idea." Duo reached out to press the buttons Dr. Stryfe had used to make them change shapes. They grew brighter.
"I like that," said the scientist. He pushed Duo's hand out of the way. "Now, let's see what this baby is capable of!" The waves began twisting around each other. One of them became blue instead of bright white.
"Color!" Duo pushed more buttons, and soon a red stream of light appeared. He glanced at Dr. Stryfe. "What do you suppose happens if we combine them?"
The older man rubbed his chin, then said, "I imagine, purple."
"My thoughts exactly!" Duo pressed buttons until the two streams of light straightened, and then he moved them closer. When they touched, a crackling sound warned them to diver for cover, and as they hit the floor, the crackle became an explosion that sent bits of metal and glass hurtling in the air. An alarm began whining.
"Man, are we in trouble or what?" asked Duo as smoke began to fill the laboratory and he could hear men shouting and the sound of extinguishers.
Dr. Stryfe stood and brushed off his lab coat as if what had happened was an everyday occurrence. When no one reprimanded the, Duo realized that it probably wasn't anything new. "Come along, kid. Let's go somewhere quiet." He waved jauntily to the scowling, cursing technicians and called good morning to them before they left. The guards joined them in the elevator.
They went to Trynity's room where there was again no answer to the buzzer.
"Strange," commented Dr. Stryfe. He stared at the locked door in silence.
"Allow me." Duo stepped forward, then flipped off the cover to the control panel. "This is a cinch! I did this plenty of times at Seaside."
Dr. Stryfe cleared his throat.
Duo looked at him and felt himself blush. "Well…not when she was in there. I mean…well…ah.."
Dr. Stryfe chuckled and put his hand on his shoulder. "Some things just can't be explained."
"Just what do you think you're doing?" demanded one of the stone-faced guards.
Dr. Stryfe frowned at him. "This is my daughter's room! If something has happened to her and you refuse to allow us to enter, I will certainly report your name…" he flipped at the man's ID badge, "corporal Welton."
Corporal Welton's face turned a shade paler. He clearly didn't know what to do, so after consulting with his subordinate, he chose to do nothing. They did remain standing in the hall grumbling when the door slid open and Duo and Dr. Stryfe stepped inside.
Trynity's quarters were neat, and there was no sign that she had been there during the night. Her uniform was folded neatly and lying on her bed. Duo walked into her bathroom and saw that there were no personal items, no toothbrush, no comb, nothing.
"She's gone somewhere," he stated as he returned to the outer room. Dr. Stryfe was already checking her telecom.
"I am surprised she didn't tell me she was going," remarked the older man.
Duo thought the same, but about himself. But she really had no reason to consult him on her activities.
"I don't see anything suspicious," commented Dr. Stryfe.
"Did she get any calls from Nelson?" asked Duo. They might be just one step behind her, and she could be cozy in bed with her trainer.
Dr. Stryfe keyed in the name. There were dozens of unanswered calls from Lars Nelson. Many dated back at least two weeks. Duo chuckled. Poor guy! He wasn't really having much luck with Miss Stryfe.
Dr. Stryfe also laughed. "He is a persistent young man. I am actually beginning to like him. Felt a little sorry for him at L10. He never could quite catch on to his training. Pretended not to notice my little girl following him like a puppy, but she was distracting him all the same. I was quite relieved to not have to crack him over the head with a wrench for taking advantage of her infatuation."
Duo didn't care to hear words of praise for Lars Nelson, first recipient of defensive move number one. He doubted Dr. Stryfe knew about that!
"I thought Trynity was starting to have deeper feelings for him."
Duo definitely didn't want to hear that.
"Are you getting jealous yet?" asked Dr. Stryfe with a chuckle.
Duo frowned at him.
Now Trynity's father laughed. "Well, anyway, Lars wasn't meant to pilot my gundam. Too bad." He sobered as he looked at Duo. "I want you to know that I did not build the Shadowhawk for Trynity. I haven't been a very good father to her, but I would never send her out in that monstrosity. I built it in my rage of revenge, not realizing until it was completed how destructive it was. I wanted it to destroy everything." Dr. Stryfe turned back to the screen. "Because of that gundam I lost everything: my ideals, my wife, and now my daughter. We would have been happier if you had destroyed the damn thing."
"With her in it?" Duo was shocked.
"Of course not! She would have escaped. I redesigned it to protect her at all costs once I realized that she would pilot it. There are certain features in the cockpit…" He stopped talking as he focused his attention on the screen. "She has a message from Colonel Nelson two nights ago."
"It must have been later in the evening," commented Duo. "She didn't say anything about it before she left me to sleep."
Dr. Stryfe accessed the call. "Lieutenant Stryfe, report to my office immediately." His tone was low and menacing. "There is a recurring problem that you need to take care of."
Duo shuddered. "Nice guy!"
Dr. Stryfe was frowning. "What does he mean by a 'recurring problem?'" He tried to access Nelson's files and found them locked. He sighed, cracked his knuckles and began the lengthy process of breaking through the security barriers of the system. Just as he grunted with success, the door slid open and they turned to see Lars Nelson.
"What are you doing in here?" he demanded as he reached back for his sword.
Dr. Stryfe made a sound of disgust. "Put that thing away. We are obviously unarmed. And don't you have a gun? What do you think you're going to do with a sword in this day and age anyway? You're going to get yourself shot some day."
Lars tucked the sword out of sight, then scowled at Duo, but he asked. "Where is Trynity?"
So the traitor Nelson thought that she was with him? Maybe he wasn't so slow-witted. "We don't know where she is."
"Seems your brother wanted to speak to her." Dr. Stryfe replayed the transmission for Lars.
"She was escorted from the training deck to see him as I got there." From his expression, Duo could see that Lars hadn't been too happy to see her go. He must have had big plans to train. His own fingers closed into a fist. Some day, Nelson, you are going to meet the god of death, up close and personal!
Dr. Stryfe stroked his chin. "What recurring problem is he talking about?"
"How should I know? He doesn't confide in me. I feel as much a prisoner in this place as you are. My brother is missing more than just a few cards in his deck."
Duo almost laughed, then he remembered who was speaking. He looked over Dr. Stryfe's shoulder at the log history on Nelson's telecom, and he suddenly recognized a code that Nelson had repeatedly played. "Hey, do you see that?"
Dr. Stryfe started. "I do, indeed. Now why would that interest him?"
"What is it?" asked Lars, moving closer.
Dr. Stryfe played the transmission. Although Duo saw his face on the screen, it was another voice in the background that had been enhanced. "Duo! What are you doing? You just fried Dr. J's desk!"
There was a moment of silence.
Then Duo and Lars burst out at the same time.
"Noin!"
Lars looked at Duo. "She's alive?" He seemed relieved. Wasn't he part of this gang of thugs that wanted her dead?
Dr. Stryfe was searching the logs for further information.
"She's been in hiding," Duo told him. "Someone was trying to kill her."
Lars shifted uncomfortably under Duo's accusing scrutiny. "My brother," he confessed. "He believed it essential to remove her before attacking. Until recently, I believed what he told me."
Idiot, thought Duo.
Dr. Stryfe turned towards them. "Trynity left on a shuttle shortly after these files were last played."
"That bastard!" Lars strode to the door. "I will kill him myself!"
Duo followed him. "What's going on?"
Lars stopped to look at him. "He must have sent her back to Earth to finish the job."
Dr. Stryfe stood and looked at them. "Don't do anything rash, either of you. Especially you, Lars. Find out what you can."
Duo walked over to the telecom. Dr. Stryfe had conveniently disabled the protections on the system, so he leaned forward and quickly typed a message as Dr. Stryfe persuaded Lars to behave rationally, that it would do no one any good if he tangled with his demented brother now. Duo stood anxiously waiting at the screen for a return message that did not arrive until Dr. Stryfe came back across the room to him after Lars had gone.
Duo looked at Dr. Stryfe with a guilty grin. "I was just checking my messages back at Seaside."
He raised a brow then looked down at the screen. Duo followed his gaze.
"Meet you on the beach in three nights, sweetheart. I'll bring the blanket and you can bring the fireworks." Hilde winked at him and blew him a kiss. "You usually do."
The transmission ended.
Dr. Stryfe was glaring at him.
Duo grinned and shrugged. "She just doesn't know when to give up!"
**********
"Do you think we could get together soon? Bring Dot and the dolls, and we'll meet you down at the beach. The guys are a little tied up right now, but we'll all be there or I'm not the god of death! Just let me know when."
Noin looked at Miliardo, then spoke into a telephone. "I see it Hilde. Send a message back. Three days. We'll need at least that time." She sighed as Hilde began to babble hysterically about his danger, then Noin cut her off with a terse reminder. "Three days. That is the best we can do. Report to Dover for retraining. We need all the pilots we can find. Take Dorothy Catalonia with you." She hung up. "I would be surprised if she didn't screw this up."
"She won't do anything to endanger Duo," predicted Miliardo.
Noin took his hand. "I have to go to Dover."
He raised her hand to his lips. "I know."
They were prevented from kissing when Vice-Minister Une walked into the room. Noin felt great satisfaction at seeing the bruise on her cheek.
"Sorry to interrupt your little tryst! But I think I am owed an explanation." She arched a brow as she looked at Noin.
"We are having an internal problem. It does not concern the World and Space Federation."
"Doesn't it?" She folded her arms and stared at Noin. "Do you have gundams?"
"Two," she stated. "They are essential to the protection of the Cinq Kingdom."
"Protection from whom?"
"The Coalition, of course."
"What happened to the other gundams?" She turned her attention to Miliardo. "Did you really think you could manipulate me? I should have you arrested for what you tried to do to me with your drugs and your doctors."
Noin drew the gun from her holster, checked to be sure it was loaded, then aimed it at the Vice-Minister. "Feel free to try, Lady Une," she said. "I will not hesitate to shoot you."
Miliardo chuckled as Lady Une gasped. "I suggested you return to your room, Vice-Minister."
"This is an outrage! When I get through with the two of you, the World and Space Federation's execution will seem like relief."
She spun and walked to the door.
"We are not following the dictates of the World and Space Federation any longer," stated Miliardo coolly. He walked over to the viewing screen and activated it.
Benton's face appeared, and Noin saw that he was reading his press release.
"…and because the World and Space Federation has ignored the please for assistance from the Cinq Kingdom in overcoming the rebellion of the renegade Colonel Lionel Nelson, Prince Miliardo Peacecraft has a special announcement."
The screen switched to the message Miliardo had recorded earlier in the day. Noin thought he looked very regal. Who could doubt he was meant to rule the Cinq Kingdom? "Many young men and women lost their lives in an attack by the Coalition forces lead by the traitor Lionel Nelson. But the World and Space Federation has refused to offer aid in any form to the Cinq Kingdom. In addition, members of the Cinq Kingdom Assembly who owe their allegiance first to the Federation have made an effort to stop our retaliation. Therefore, I hereby declare this session of the Cinq Kingdom Assembly to be closed and declare our independence from the World and Space Federation effective immediately. We cannot sit idly by as insurrection led by malcontents threatens the security and future of the kingdom. There is no peaceful solution. I will personally lead my troops into battle against the Coalition. I have faith that you will all pray for our victory, because it will also be a victory for the preservation of peace."
Miliardo shut off the screen.
Lady Une sneered. "Very moving, Zechs Merquise. Your don't really think the Federation will let you withdraw without a fight! When you return from dealing with your little internal problem, you will find the World and Space Federation forces awaiting you. I also have complete confidence that the old nobility of the kingdom will demand your abdication."
Noin raised her brows. "Is the Federation willing to take on the gundams?"
Vice Minister Une stalked out angrily.
"Would you like to shoot her now or later?" asked Miliardo with a lift to his brow.
Noin sighed and slipped the gun back into the holster. "I don't have enough time to take her out. I have to go. We'll leave that battle for another day."
He came to her and held her close. "We won't see each other again until it is time to go." He was stroking her hair as she rested her head against his chest. The steady beat of his heart against her cheek was reassuring.
Benton walked it. He wasn't surprised to see them holding each other. "The shuttle is here."
Reluctantly, Miliardo released her, and she followed Benton out without turning back to look at him. She tried to bite back tears, but they spilled over her lashes, so Benton handed her his handkerchief as they descended to the hanger.
"I didn't tell him that I love him," she sniffled.
"He knows," said Benton.
Noin looked at him. "He has never told me."
"He does love you. I am sure that he will tell you when the time is right. I'm also sure that you know it." Then Benton hugged her. "Dry your tears and put on your commander face. The troops at Dover base are expecting Commander Noin, not the weepy future Lucrezia Peacecraft."
Noin laughed as she dabbed away her tears. "That day will never come, Benton."
"Oh, I don't know about that." He winked at her as the door opened, and she was composed enough to issue stern orders to ready the remaining two gundams for space battle before getting on the transport that would take her across the sea to Dover to prepare her troops for the upcoming battle.