Coalition Base

Stepping off the shuttle, Trynity was greeted by guards who escorted her to Colonel Nelson's office. The man stood as she entered. He was obviously eager to hear that she had shot Commander Noin, so he was going to be furious when he discovered her failure. Trynity had enough time to think about the entire debacle. She had been almost hysterical for much of the return trip and thought she was going to completely crack sitting next to an old woman who droned on and on about her three dogs, one of which she had hidden in her carry-on basket and who whined incessantly. Trynity almost put a gun to the dog's head to shut it up.

That distraction actually took her mind off her dilemma for a while, and when she thought about it later, she began to consider her options more rationally. At some point during the trip, Trynity realized that Nelson could ill-afford to alienate her now. She had been foolish to blindly follow his order in the first place. There was no reason now why Noin should be killed. Little of the Cinq Kingdom power remained after the battle four days ago. What strategic reason necessited her death? None.

"Lieutenant, I trust your mission was a success," said Nelson as he came around his desk.

Trynity straightened as she faced him. "I am afraid I was unable to carry out your dirty little task."

"What?!" Nelson's face reddened and he looked ready to pop. Trynity thought it quite amusing, but she didn't think she should laugh.

But she could enjoy pouring salt on the wound. "Well, I had some trouble. To begin with, not only was Miliardo Peacecraft not interested in looking down my blouse, he was downright suspicious." Trynity realized that her acting abilities were far from perfect, so she recognized the face that the prince didn't believe a single word she said from the start. He must have already guessed who she was before her return. So the pretty boy wasn't as dumb as Nelson thought. "And Commander Noin wasn't standing in his shadow, colonel. She was right beside him."

"She was in the open? Why didn't you just shoot her?"

Trynity could see that Nelson was working himself into a rage. She shrugged. This could get more interesting. "My chances for escape were slim. So I decided to wait until everyone was sleeping."

Nelson stared at her intently. "So what prevented you from blasting the bitch?"

From his reaction, and from the few words Noin had to say about him, Trynity guessed they had once had a relationship that ended badly. "I was about to do it, but imagine my surprise when I found myself face to face with Miliardo Peacecraft."

"What???" Nelson was visibly shocked. "Zechs Merquise was…was…"

Trynity frowned. "Yes. Quite inconvenient. I didn't realize that they slept together. You could have given me some warning what to expect. As far as I knew, she was his commander and nothing more. I wonder if the Cinq Kingdom Assembly knows."

Nelson was speechless. He stared at her dumbly for several moments, and just when she began to feel uncomfortable, he swore, then shouted. "Why didn't you just kill them both?"

"You told me to kill Noin. Next time don't be so specific."

"You…you…" The buzzer to his telecom sounded, and the voice of his aide from the outer office interrupted him.

"Colonel Nelson, there is a priority call for you."

"I am busy!"

"It is Commander Noin of the Cinq Kingdom."

Nelson stomped to his telecom, then put the call on the overhead screen behind his desk. Trynity thought him rather foolish as he ran his hands through his hair, smoothed his mustache and straightened his coat before she appeared on the screen. Did he hope to impress her with his good looks?

"Lucrezia, you are looking good for someone who has been dead…"

"Cut the bullshit, Nelson!"

He sniffed and tugged the edge of his uniform. "There is no need to be uncivil."

"No? You attempt to kill me not once, not twice, but three times, and I have no reason to be uncivil? You attack the Cinq Kingdom with its own troops and you see no reason for me to be uncivil?" Commander Noin was furious. Trynity was enjoying the hell she was giving the traitor.

Nelson smiled at her. "The Cinq Kingdom as it was, is no longer. I have the power now, Lucrezia. The Peacecraft era has come to an end." He leaned closer to the screen. "I would be willing to take you as a commanding officer, my dear. Surrender your troops and we can avoid further bloodshed. Give me Zechs Merquise, and I will give you anything you desire."

Noin leaned close to her screen. "The only thing I am going to give you Lionel Nelson is a bullet in the place of my choosing. Don't bother sending another assassin. We will be meeting in battle before he or she can reach the Cinq Kingdom."

"Are you sure you won't reconsider? We would be so good together, Lucrezia, like we used to."

The screen went blank.

Nelson shrugged and sighed. "What a woman! I should never have ended our affair. I just didn't think she wouldn't be there when I wanted her back, and she was far too demanding. Why would anybody want her? She was so stubborn. I just couldn't deal with a woman like that! Unfortunately, I will have to kill her now. I suppose I could wait a few weeks and she will drive Miliardo Peacecraft to kill her." He started laughing to himself. "I would love to see Zechs Merquise put his hands around her lovely slender throat and squeeze…"

The odd light that was in his eyes disgusted Trynity. "May I go?" His downward spiral into complete insanity was something she did not want to be a part of.

He snapped out of his little fantasy and turned his attention back to her. "Lieutenant, I am very disappointed in you."

"I will try to live with it."

Nelson's smile chilled her. "I did warn you, remember that."

"So then, are you going to kill us all?" she challenged him. "Which will you execute first? My father? His control of the cloaking net is invaluable to you. Duo Maxwell? He is the only gundam pilot who will fight for you. Lars? As of now, he is the only pilot capable of flying a gundam. Without the other pilots, you have only two gundams. There are two in the Cinq Kingdom, the Epyon and the Valkyrie, which will be piloted by two very skilled pilots. You can't afford to make me regret my failure."

"You have everything figured out," he remarked as he stroked his mustache.

"Everything." Trynity wasn't gong to back down. "You heard Noin. They are going to counterattack soon. You need all of us."

"I need the rest of the gundam pilots!" he shouted at her. "Talk to them!"

Trynity doubted it would do any good. She left Nelson's office feeling more confident. Although she wondered where Duo was, she went straight to her room. The shuttle trip had been exhausting, and she was emotionally drained. How foolish she had been to worry! Although there was still danger, Trynity knew she could manage it.

After taking a shower, she wrapped in a towel and sat on her bed to comb through her hair, and when she finished, she laid down to sleep. As she drifted off, she wondered if anyone had noticed she was gone.

Sometime in the middle of a pleasant dream involving Duo and a far different ending to the Stardust Ball, she felt something tickling her nose. She wiped with her and it stopped for a moment, then began again. Trynity turned on her side away from it and started to doze only to be tickled again on her bare shoulder. Annoyed, she slapped back, and her hand cam in contact with a thick braid of hair.

Trynity grabbed it and turned around to find herself in Duo's arms. "Miss Stryfe! What are you going to do with my hair?"

She smiled at him. "Mr. Maxwell, what would you like me to do with it?"

"I'm just going to have to trust you, Miss Stryfe."

"You might be making a mistake." Trynity pulled him to her with his braid. "You appear to be my prisoner.

"I like the sound of that!" He lowered his head to hers. Trynity closed her eyes as he kissed her. This was much better than her dream. But when she felt her towel slipping away, she pushed away his hands.

"Mr. Maxwell, just what do you think you are doing? She asked with her best impression of Mr. Himmler, headmaster of the Royal Academy.

Duo chuckled and tugged the towel. "You can't even begin to imagine." Despite her best efforts, the towel ended up across the room. "Now that's much better."

Trynity giggled. "Should I trust the god of death?"

"I don't think you have much choice." He kissed her again, and Trynity made no further protests. For awhile she gave no thought to their danger or what might happen tomorrow or the next day. She put herself completely in Duo's hands, just as she had on the beach. She had to live for now, to give and take as she wanted because they might not make it through the next battle, or the next.

Long after Duo dozed off, Trynity remained awake and watched him sleep. Duo Maxwell, the pilot of the Deathscythe gundam 02. She could have killed him that very first encounter when she had disabled the Epyon. She wanted to kill him at school. How could all those aggravating moment have led to this, lying content in his arms? Trynity just didn't understand why she felt this way about him. She had to trust him. She had given him everything.

Sighing and not wanting to be alone with her thoughts, she picked up his braid and began to tickle him, just as he did her when she had been sleeping.

One of his eyes popped open. "Is it morning?"

Trynity laughed softly. "I think it is late afternoon. I arrived this morning."

He propped himself on and elbow and reached out to dig his fingers in her hair. "Well, let's not get up until tomorrow morning."

She smiled and laid back. "There's too much to do." She turned her head to look at him. "You didn't ask where I was. Didn't you notice I was gone?"

"Not really."

Trynity felt disappointed. "How did you keep yourself busy?"

He chuckled. "I helped your father with a project. Kept us busy."

She frowned. "You helped him?"

"You might be surprised, Miss Stryfe."

"Nothing you do surprises me anymore." She kissed his lips, then his chin, then his neck before moving downward.

"You can be quite surprising," said Duo. He stopped her progress and brought her back up so that he could look in her eyes. "Did you kill Noin?"

Trynity could see that he was trying not to judge her, but she suspected that Miliardo Peacecraft was right about him. Duo's conscience couldn't accept her if she killed Noin. "I couldn't."

He sighed with relief. "I knew you wouldn't!"

"I didn't say that I wouldn't." she corrected him. "I said that I couldn't. I was caught and barely managed to escape."

"I prefer what I was thinking."

Trynity tried to push him away. "I can't change what I am."

"No, but you can change what you do." He pulled her against him and forced her head to his shoulder. "Be quiet and go to sleep. I haven't gotten a wink since I realized you were gone. I was worried sick something might happen to you or that you would kill Noin. She is my friend, Trynity."

"How will you feel when you must face your friend in battle?" she asked softly, fearing his answer. "The Cinq Kingdom is preparing an offensive."

"I will worry about that when the time comes. Now go to sleep." He closed his eyes.

Trynity smiled. "I'm not really sleepy." She began again what he had interrupted, kissing a trail downward, pausing to check to see that his flesh wound was healing nicely. Duo was pretending to sleep, but by the time she reached his navel, his eyes were on her.

"Miss Stryfe, you are a fast learner."

"I have a good teacher."

She would have continued, but the buzzer sounded.

"Who the hell is that?" muttered Duo, frustrated that her progress had been stalled.

"It must be Lars. He must have discovered that I am back."

"Ignore him. He'll go away." Duo clearly did not want her to stop, and she felt more than a little wicked continuing. But after a moment, the buzzer sounded again, this time a little more insistently.

Duo cursed as Trynity moved away. As she found a shirt on the floor to slip on, Duo pulled on his pants, and he suddenly had a gun in his hand.

"Where did you get that?" she demanded.

He didn't answer her question. "I think it's high time for Captain Nelson to meet the god of death!" Duo pulled back the clip to ready it for firing.

She was about to scold him when they were both startled by the voice on the other side of the door.

"Trynity, I know you are in there. If you don't open this door, I will be forced to hot-wire the lock like that young Maxwell…now what is this? Your lock is already…"

"Your father!" Duo dived beneath her bed with such haste she was surprised he hadn't accidentally discharged the gun. She was about to tell the fearsome god of death that he would better off hiding in the cramped closed when the door slid open.

Dr. Stryfe walked in. "Trynity, why didn't you answer the door? Did you know your lock has been tampered with?"

She went to greet him with a kiss although she was burning with intense embarrassment over what her father had interrupted. "I…I must have been sleeping pretty soundly."

"Indeed." He put his arms around her and hugged her tightly. "I know you must have had a harrowing experience these last few days. Nelson informed me of your failure."

"I do so enjoy hearing that word," she remarked.

"Failure is not always bad." Her father chuckled and went to sit on the edge of her bed. "I want to hear what happened."

Trynity pulled forward the only chair in her room and sat near him as she told him from start to finish what had occurred on Earth. At least she would be saved the trouble of repeating the story for Duo's benefit later. As Dr. Stryfe listened, he shifted several times on the bed as if he were uncomfortable.

"So," he concluded when she had finished, "Commander Noin is out for his blood now. We reviewed a transmission from Earth two days ago. Not only did Miliardo Peacecraft disband the National Assembly, he has declared independence from the World and Space Federation. Without the Federation's help, they will find it difficult if not impossible to defeat the Coalition."

"Then we are on the winning side," she commented.

He sighed. "Trynity, there is right and wrong. Have you not yet discovered which is which?"

"Father, haven't you heard that might is right?

He frowned and turned away to look at her bed. "How do you sleep on this thing?" He pounded on the visible lumps. Trynity cringed for Duo's sake. At least he kept his mouth shut.

She reached over to grab her father's hands. "I'm quite used to my mattress. In fact, if you keep that up, I will have to get used to it all over again."

Dr. Stryfe stood. "I doubt that will be too difficult for you." He kissed the top of her head. "Will I see you in the lab later, pumpkin?"

Trynity was reminded of something Duo had said earlier. "Father, you aren't working with that buffoon, Duo Maxwell, are you? What kind of project could you possibly share with him?"

"You aren't jealous, are you?" His shaggy brow was raised.

"Of Duo Maxwell?" Trynity laughed. "Don't' be ridiculous. I am just worried that the two of you will destroy the universe."

He chucked under her chin. "Don't worry, pumpkin. Our project is rather harmless." He put his hand on her shoulder, then plucked at the shirt she had put on. "This is a little big for you, isn't it?"

Trynity looked down and realized that she was wearing Duo's shirt. She felt her cheeks burning, but she managed to smile at him. "I like to wear big shirts to bed."

He walked around the other side of the bed and she held her breath. "Perhaps that shirt goes with this?" Bending over, he reached down and pulled up a braid. "What do you suppose is at the other end?"

Trynity bit her lip to keep from laughing as he pulled hard.

"Hey! What do you Stryfes have against my hair? Ow! Ow! Ow!"

Dr. Stryfe pulled him to his feet. Trynity couldn't tell what was going through his mind as he looked at Duo. "I'm not going to bother asking for an explanation," he finally said.

"Good," said Duo with a silly grin, "Because I didn't think you'd find me, so I don't have a good one ready."

To her surprise, her father chuckled and released him. "This reminds me of the time her mother and I decided to run a little late night experiement at the university laboratory and…" He frowned and look at Duo. "Forget that I mentioned it."

Duo seemed to sense a good story. The two were like peas in a pod, thought Trynity with amusement. "So what's the rest? Come on, Dr. Stryfe! How did your little experiment turn out? Was there an explosion?"

"Oh my yes! There were fireworks in the lab that night!" He snorted with laughter, and seeing that Trynity was frowning, he came to give her a hug. "And this is the result of our little experiment."

Duo blinked a few times as he looked at the smiling Dr. Stryfe, then as awareness of his meaning set in, the color slowly drained from his face.

Dr. Stryfe was still laughing as he walked out.

Before Duo could say anything - Trynity suspected that he was worrying about what her father had implied - her telecom buzzed. She turned around to answer it, and Lars' face appeared on the screen.

"You're back! I've been training new pilots on the Sagitariens and just returned."

"I got back this morning," she said.

"I missed you." Lars' expression was touching. Trynity felt guilty for spending the day in bed with Duo.

"Hey," said Duo loudly. "Can I have my shirt back?"

Lars' brows drew together. "Is Maxwell with you?"

Trynity smiled at him, and his expression relaxed. She wondered what it was about her smile that made men act so ridiculous. Oh well, she might as well use it to her advantage. "I will meet you later, Lars. We can talk then."

"In the training room?" he suggested eagerly.

"Of course! In about an hour." That would give her enough time to figure out how to let Lars down gently.

"I will count every second." The transmission ended.

"He probably can't count that high," scoffed Duo as he came up behind Trynity. His hands reached around to unzip his shirt.

When it dropped to the floor around her feet, he tried to touch her, but she danced away, then found her uniform lying on the floor. Quickly pulling it on, she finished by tucking a gun into the belt at her waist. Trynity didn't trust Colonel Nelson. She would use the gun to protect those she loved. Although disappointed that their afternoon together had come to an end, Duo wasted no time in getting dressed. As he was fussing with his hair, she returned to her telecom to review the messages she had received. There were so many from Lars that she decided to delete them. She noted one from Duo, then she noticed that she had received a message from Earth.

She played it and was surprised to see Hilde's face on the screen.

"Meet yo on the beach in three nights. I'll bring the blanket, and you bring the fireworks." Hilde winked. "As you usually do."

When it ended, Trynity froze the screen and stared at Hilde's face. There was silence in the room, and she knew that Duo had seen the message too. Trynity could not even breathe as something dark and uncontraollable started to creep up from deep within her. When it broke the surface, she turned slowly and looked at Duo.

Duo had seen this creature before. It was that beast that lived in every female born in the universe. For some reason, he hadn't expected it to be in Trynity, but he was facing it now. "Hey, it isn't what you think!" That was rather lame, but then, wasn't it the line a guy was supposed to use when confronted with the green-eyed monster. Were Trynity's eyes usually that green?

"You don't know what I am thinking!" She slammed down the view of the telecom and Duo thought it was rather amusing to see Hilde's face smashed on the table. It ceased to be funny when Trynity flung the remains of her telecom at his head.

Duo ducked it, and it shattered against the wall, the pieces raining over him. Duo knew he was in big trouble. "Listen to me, Trynity," he started, not exactly sure where he would go with it.

She picked up the chair. This wasn't going to be pleasant! That chair was made of metal! She could whack him with it forever and it wouldn't break. But Trynity chose to throw it, and he dived to the floor just in time to avoid it. Duo was remembering how she had thrown Wufei's triangle of death in Dr. Plume's class. She could kill him quite easily!

He started to crawl to the door. "Trynity, the least you could do is listen to me!"

"Listen to what? How did she know where to send her message? You must have contacted her!" The table overturned. Duo definitely feared for his life. He shouldn't have pulled this crap on her! He dared to peek around the room for possible projectiles and saw that there were no decorations, no statues, no pictures. She was out of ammo!

Duo stood and turned to her. "Trynity, I can explain…Trynity! What are you doing with the gun?" Dumb question! A bullet whizzed past his ear. He scrambled to the door as she fired another.

"Is this how you treat women?" she demanded angrily. "Are you like a bee buzzing around in a garden?"

"Now that sounds like Quatre Raberba Winner," commented Duo.

A bullet buried into the wall nearby. "If you hadn't bailed on Mrs. Drivel's class that day, you would have heard that insipid line! Well, I don't care to be a rose or a lily in your garden, Duo Maxwell."

"I rather thought you were more like a thistle," he commented. A few more bullets decorated the wall behind him. What was he saying to her? He was blathering like an idiot! He was an idiot!

At least Duo was pretty sure that she wasn't going to kill him. But it didn't keep him from being scared witless.

"Get out!"

He turned to open the door, then looked back over his shoulder to see Trynity reloading the gun. "You aren't going to cry over this, are you?" Hilde always cried about such things. He didn't want to imagine Trynity crying over that message.

In answer, she aimed the gun and fired. He felt his braid jump as the bullet tore through it. Duo lunged into the hall and flattened himself against the wall to the side. When the door slid shut, he heaved a sigh of relief, then reached up to inspect his braid. Singed hair and few broken strands. No significant damage. "She's a damn good shot!" He noticed his ever-present guards staring at him with wide eyes. "Hey guys, what's up? Say, can you take me to that training room? I want to check it out?" As he followed them, he rubbed his hands together. "I'll meet you, too, in the training room, Lars Nelson. But I won't be counting the seconds." He tapped one of the guards on the shoulder. "Do you have a watch?"

The guards remained in the hall as Duo entered the training deck. By the time he had gotten there, his mind had conjured up images of a romantic getaway where Lars Nelson tried to work his charm on Trynity Stryfe. But reality was far removed from his ridiculous imagination. The training deck was a training facility. There were targets set up near the wall for archery, and a vast array of weapons mounted on the wall opposite the panoramic view of the dark side of the moon. The place gave Duo the creeps. What kind of lunk head tried to put moves on a girl in a place like this?

He stood before the weapons, seeing staffs, swords, pikes, and one that caught his eye. Duo chuckled as he lifted a scythe. So the god of death was expected! No doubt Lars had handled it in helping Trynity to train for the Shadowhawk's fight with the Deathscythe. They must have put in quite a few hours in this place.

As he wandered around, he wondered how long he would have to wait for the intended victim when he noticed a crate of ice. For injuries? Nelson was going to need it! But he noticed a can, and reaching in, he pulled out a beer.

His brows raised. "Is this part of training?" He doubted it. Without a second thought, he popped it open and downed it without pausing to take a breath, and then he crushed the can and tossed it behind him. Grabbing another one, he wandered to the viewing area and stared at the moon as he drank. He thought back to the first attack on the Deathscythe, and he almost choked on the beer as he realized Trynity must have been in the Sagitarien that had pestered Nelson in his Artemis. What she had done was so out of character that he just knew she must have been drinking. So that was what they did! Train a little, drink a little, and then… Is this where he had taught her to kiss?

Duo swung the scythe and imagined Nelson's head rolling.

But he went back to the crate and grabbed another can. It wasn't half-bad. At least he had something to do while he planned his attack. When should he do it? Where should he hide? He noticed another door, and checking it, found that it was a storage area. After taking another couple of cans, he decided to wait in there. Too bad he was going to make a bloody mess of the floor, but someone had to look out for Trynity Stryfe. Might as well be him. She was his, and he wasn't about to let Lars Nelson put his grubby hands on her.

He held the scythe as he waited and finished another beer. Where were they? Who were they? Oh, yeah, Trynity Stryfe and Lars Nelson. He had better stop drinking. His thoughts were becoming quite jumbled. But soon enough he was thirsty and he fell back on a box as he sipped another beer. He was tired. When he had heard Trynity was back, he should have just gone to sleep himself. No, he had to go see her, and she had to look so darn good lying there in a towel. Ever since the first moment he saw her at his feet at school, he couldn't think straight with her in a room. Single-handedly she had destroyed his school career. Well, maybe not, but how was he supposed to write an essay when she was so close by? What was that essay for featherhead? Oh yes, about a rose and a lily and a thistle. Wait! That wasn't it!

Damn, his can was empty! Although it took considerable effort, he staggered out to get another, then laughed when he realized there was only one left. Too bad, Nelson! Your plan is shot to hell!

Duo fell into the storage closet, the scythe landing over him. He sat up a moment to drink, then fell back, closing his eyes. Just what was Colonel Nelson trying to do, making the colony spin like this? Crap, that beer had a kick! He tried to struggle up and succeeded only in knocking a box of towels on his head. Duo snorted with laughter, then snapped his mouth shut. He could hear someone coming!

When Trynity entered the training room, Lars was already shooting at his target. He set aside his bow and came to greet her. When he lowered his head to kiss her, she turned her head aside so that he kissed her cheek.

Lars was disappointed, but he managed to smile. "I am glad you came."

She took off her jacket, set her gun aside, and picked up a staff. "I hope you are here to fight, Lars, because I am certainly in a mood to bash someone's head in."

He laughed and picked up his own staff. They took up positions opposite each other. "I hope I am not the cause."

"No. Not this time."

"Maxwell?" He attacked, and she held him off.

"I don't want to talk about it, Lars." She swung her staff, and he ducked. She almost lost her balance.

"What did I tell you about concentrating, Itsy Bitsy?"

"I don't really care for that nickname." She swung again, and he put up his staff to stop her, then turned and tried to hit her from the back, but she parried the blow.

"I brought beer."

"That's all I need," she grumbled. Maybe she should get drunk! Then she could forget about Duo and Hilde. If only Duo were in front of her now! She would take the staff and bash it over his head just like so, except he wouldn't be able to defend himself like Lars had just done.

Lars laughed as he shoved her back after her attack. "We don't really want to be doing this, do we?"

"Speak for yourself!" She swung at him high, then quickly swiped low, knocking his feet from under him.

Lars hit the mat flat on his back and grinned up at her. "I wonder where you learned that move, lieutenant."

Trynity smiled, then reached down to take his hand to pull him up. "I don't know, captain. I'd say I have surpassed my instructor. He has nothing left to teach me."

He had left his staff on the floor, and he now put his hands over hers where she gripped the staff and stepped close to her. "I could teach you a lot more, Trynity." He was lowering his head again. She briefly considered the possibility of paying Duo back for his betrayal by letting Lars kiss her. But she liked Lars. Trynity didn't want to use him.

"I'm sorry, Lars," she said as she moved her head back from his kiss.

He sighed and rested his forehead against hers. "That jerk Maxwell is under your skin, isn't he?"

She looked into his eyes. "I wish it were you, Lars."

"I wish it were me, too." He cupped her cheek in his hand. "I wasted my chance with you Trynity Stryfe, back on L10. I am sorry I treated you like I did."

Trynity smiled. "I am sorry you did too. If you hadn't been such a fool, I wouldn't find myself in love with an idiot."

He kissed her nose. "I will be there for you, Itsy Bitsy, when you need me. You can count on me."

"Hey! Get your hands off my thistle…thistle…what the hell…why is the room moving?"

Trynity spun quickly to see Duo, and she forgot she was holding the staff. She smacked Lars so hard that he fell back on the floor like a toppled tree. Duo was staggering toward her, a towel draped on his head, swinging the scythe.

"Duo, what are you doing?" she demanded.

"Beware the god of death! Crap! No one ever listens to me!" He tripped forward and Trynity had to swing her staff to defend against the scythe. It flew from Duo's hands, and fell harmlessly against the wall.

Trynity turned back. "Duo Maxwell, you jackass! Are you drunk?"

He was swaying as he stood before her. His eyes weren't focusing. "Trynity, this place is off balance! Let's get to our gundams and get the hell out of here before it crashes into the moon. Now, where is that jerk? Where did he go? Coward! There he is!" Duo lunged forward, tripped on the lower part of her staff and landed on the floor beside Lars.

She stared at them for a moment. Lars was unconscious, a bruise forming on his forehead, and Duo was so drunk he couldn't get up. With disgust, she tossed aside her staff and walked out. She had too much to do to baby-sit them. If they wanted to fight when they came to, she didn't care what the result was. A few bruises never hurt any guy. Lars could handle himself, and he was too smart to kill Duo. But she hoped Lars pounded him senseless. After reviewing his message to Earth, Trynity truly wanted to put a bullet in Duo Maxwell. What was he doing making plans to meet Hilde on her telecom? How did he think he was going to meet her? Did he think Nelson would trust him enough to allow him the freedom to come and go as he pleased?

The guards at the cell containing the other pilots saluted her. She gave them instructions, then went straight to a recreation lounge in the officer's wing. As she waited, she got herself a cup of hot chocolate then sat on a leather couch. She put up her feet and grabbed the telecom, which she used to access her own files.

The message Duo had sent to Hilde flashed on the screen. "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 now, but we'll all be there or I'm not the god of death! Just let me know when."

Before she could ponder it further, the door slid open and Trowa Barton walked in. He looked around the room, and then his gaze came to rest on her. She wanted to smile at him to make him feel at ease, but she couldn't bring herself to do it. She was far too distracted by Duo's betrayal. Instead she turned her attention back to the screen.

Trowa came to stand behind her. "I guess you want my answer."

She stared at the words, her anger building once again.

"I have given it a great deal of thought, Lieutenant Stryfe."

What did Duo mean by asking Hilde to bring Dot and the dolls?

"I am sure that Colonel Nelson will be greatly disappointed by my decision, but I feel that I must decline. I have several reasons which I will outline to you."

Dot was obviously Dorothy Catalonia. Trynity accessed a file on the obnoxious girl as Trowa droned on and on in minute detail about his reasons for not accepting Nelson's offer to become a traitor. She wished he would shut his mouth so she could concentrate.

Dorothy Catalonia, grand-daughter of Duke Dermail, had been involved in the White Fang insurrection with Miliardo Peacecraft.

"And so," concluded Trowa, "I regret that I cannot in good conscience take my gundam into battle against the Cinq Kingdom." He brushed back his bangs, and she saw that he looked at her with both eyes.

Trynity turned from the screen to give him her attention. She stared at him for a moment, then turned back to her screen without speaking. She read the message from Duo, then replayed Hilde's.

"Meet you on the beach in three nights. I'll bring the blanket and you bring the fireworks. You usually do."

Trowa made a noise, and she turned to look at him. "Do you think it's funny?"

He shook his head. "I…I'm sorry Duo is a jerk. But what did you expect? He has no loyalty, not even to us."

She frowned. "What do you think he wants Dorothy Catalonia to meet him for? And dolls? What dolls?"

Trowa threw up his hands. "Don't ask me to explain what those guys are up to. I never got involved." But his smirk told her that it was some sordid activity, and she became so angry she shouted for the guard to take him away. She might never see Trowa Barton again. The thought was oddly sad, but he had made his choice, and he had done so after great consideration. There was actually some depth to his character. Surprising.

Shrugging, she turned back to the message and was re-reading it when Heero Yuy was thrown into the room. Apparently he had given the guards a run when he attempted to escape. Trynity didn't really listen to their angry explanation as to why he was shackled at the wrists. She ordered them to unbind him, then turned back to her message.

"Aren't you afraid I will attack you, Lieutenant Stryfe?" he asked, his tone low.

Trynity couldn't believe that Duo met his girls on the beach. She had been on the beach enough times at night that she would have seen them. She also felt hurt thinking of him doing with Hilde what they had done.

"Lieutenant Stryfe?" Heero came closer.

Trynity looked at him. "I suppose you will refuse Colonel Nelson's offer also."

"I won't fight for a traitor."

"Fair enough." She accessed Hilde's file and found that she had piloted mobile suits for OZ. Strange! She had assumed the girls at school were brainless, spineless females only interested in roping a man.

"Meet you on the beach in three nights. I'll bring the blanket and you bring the fireworks. You usually do."

Did Duo resume his relationship with Hilde after she had left? Did she tenderly bid him farewell when he had gone on his mission? Was she piloting a mobile suit from the Cinq Kingdom during the attack? She must have known he was a gundam pilot all along! They all knew! Relena, Dorothy, Hilde. Trynity felt like a fool and more of an outsider than she already was! She balled her hands into fists as she thought of the day on the archery range when she had made a comment about the mobile suit base accident. They had known that Wufei had tangled with the Shadowhawk, and they had treated her like a nosy simpleton.

Suddenly a disk dropped on the table before her. She picked it up. The label read, Mission: Destroy Zorbon Empire. Trynity turned to look at Heero. The oaf actually carried his game with him!

"As long as I am going to die, I want one last request."

Trynity frowned. "Who said you would be getting a last request?"

He shrugged. "It is standard in such situations."

"You have made a faulty assumption about the Coalition." She flung the disk back at him. "I defeated you fair enough."

"That was before I knew you were a gundam pilot! Now we will play on equal terms."

As Trynity stared at Hilde's file, Heero rummaged through cabinets until he managed to find dusty visors to play the game. He began the disk and handed her the visor.

"This time we will both play at superior levels."

Trynity tossed aside the visor. "There is no need to play, Heero Yuy. The Zorbon knight defeated you, I met you in space with Shadowhawk. As a result you are here!"

"With the help of your friend, Captain Nelson," he sneered. "One on one, you have never defeated me."

She took the disk from the player and tossed it to him. "I believe I did defeat you."

Heero was very disappointed until he glanced at her screen. "Has Hilde been captured? Figures she would try to rescue Duo."

Trynity switched to her message. "So you think she will attempt to rescue him? Brave and stupid."

"Especially since he doesn't give a tinker's damn about her," laughed Heero.

Trynity turned to look at him. "Then why would he set up this little meeting with her?" She played the message Duo had sent.

Heero stared at it for a moment, looked at her blankly, then shrugged. "Who can tell? Maybe he changed his mind when he saw the alternative wasn't as good as he remembered." Trynity tried not to be hurt by his words. How could she have been so naïve with Duo? Easy. Trynity desperately wanted to cling to someone, to have someone care about her. Duo's acting was just so good!

Heero raised the disk. "This is your last chance, Lieutenant Stryfe."

Trynity sighed. "I am sorry, Heero Yuy, but the Zorbon Knight was victorious. Sometimes good does triumph over evil."

Heero walked to the door where he paused to look back at her. "Only in virtual games, Trynity Stryfe."

When he was gone, Trynity stared at the screen. She wished he hadn't said that! Between Duo and her father she was already becoming confused. She needed to stay focused on her mission. And she had only one, which was to keep her father safe. Governments changed heads frequently. The strong always triumphed. But Trynity had only one father, and she loved him dearly. For a moment she had allowed herself to include Duo in her life, but she had been foolish in believing he cared about her. So she had a remedial lesson in men: they still could not be trusted. Get that through your head, Miss Stryfe!

"Trynity!" Quatre rushed towards her after the guards left him at the door. He fell to his knees by the couch and grabbed her hands to kiss. "Trynity, you can save us!"

She pulled her hands away. "Why would I want to do that?" She pulled up Dorothy Catalonia's file again. There was something she was missing. Perhaps Quatre could shed some light. "Did you know that Dorothy sneaks around behind your back with Duo?"

His eyes became larger than they normally were. She showed him the message from Duo, and she noticed his face become bright pink with anger. "That…that witch!"

"What is this little activity with dolls?"

"Dolls? What dolls? Oh, those dolls! Well, she…" he bit his lip and suddenly became silent.

Trynity realized that he was hiding something. She reached out to take a handful of his shirt and jerked him forward so that she was nose to nose with him. "What dolls does she play with?"

Of all the depraved ideas that might have come to her mind, she hardly expected his answer. "The mobile dolls!" he squeaked, his voice so high a pitch it almost hurt her ears.

Trynity dropped him and he sagged to the couch. She spun to look at the screen. "Mobile dolls!"

"Meet you on the beach in three nights. I'll bring the blanket and you bring the fireworks."

"Don't bother sending another assassin." Noin had told Nelson. "We will be meeting in battle before he or she can reach Earth."

She had seemed so confident for the commander of an army doomed to defeat. Even inexperienced pilots in the gundams could cause considerable damage against what was left of the Cinq Kingdom forces. With a sinking feeling, Trynity realized Duo had not sent the message to Hilde at all, but to Commander Noin. He wasn't her ally. Duo was still her enemy.

Quatre was babbling. "I have money. I have more than enough money to make anyone happy! Tell Nelson I will pay him to let us live. But I just can't take my Sandrock against the Cinq Kingdom. I can't!"

Trynity looked at him. "Nelson doesn't want money. He wants revenge."

Quatre hung his head. "Revenge is not something that can be bought."

"Very astute, Mr. Winner." She shut off her computer. "You may return to your cell. Get some rest. I imagine you will be needing it before tomorrow."

"Is Duo all right?" he asked as he stood.

Trynity sighed. "For now."

She buzzed the guards at the cell. "Don't bother bringing Chang Wufei. I doubt his answer will be any different." The last thing she wanted to deal with now was Wufei.

She made her way to Nelson's office, and he was not pleased to hear that she had no success in talking them out of their suicidal heroism. She didn't listen to his plans to execute them the following day at midnight. Trynity knew it wouldn't happen.

She returned to her room, and as she lay on the bed hugging her pillow, she let her tears fall.

Trynity felt alone again.