Chapter Nine: Mission to Jupiter a Past Rehashed
~*~*~*~*~*~*~
"Where were you guys?" an angry ex colonel asked them.
"We're here now." Zechs muttered tersely. Noin placed Amanda on the floor then knelt down to her level.
"Now you be good for me and your dad alright and before you know it we'll be back ok. "She held back the tears hugging the precious child.
"Ok Zechs, Noin your prime objective is to take this disk and implant the virus it has on to the main computer on the Jupiter base. We don't know how well guarded it is so that is where you guys come in," Une pointed at Aries and the others. "You Sarah and the two guys are to make a distraction for Zechs and Noin to get to the main computer. Then this is where you come in Melanie," Une turned to Aries. "It will be your-"
"Excuse me I'm Sarah, She is Melanie." Aries gestured at Amanda.
"My mistake you two look so alike. As I was saying Melanie it will be your job once you Zechs and Noin have gotten to the main computer you will break into their system like you did with ours."
"You broke into hacked your way into their system?" Arron questioned his wife.
"Well I figured it would be the fastest way to reach you guys. But then it turned out to be a dud so I figured parking the ship in front of the doors ought to attract some attention." She smiled innocently while Zechs smirked and Noin tried hard not to laugh.
" That's very nice. Now can we concentrate? Once you are in their system that's when you implant the virus. Once it has been uploaded there is no stopping it and you will have 15 minutes to get out of the base and back to the ship." Amanda nodded. "Alright you leave now we have installed several turbo engines to your ship and you will reach Jupiter in about four hours. Good luck." The six nodded at each and to Une, stepping towards the ship Zechs and Noin waved goodbye to the girls.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Most of their time since take off had been wiled away in a silence that none seemed to want to break. Aries sat next to Erick, her head resting on his shoulder. Zechs and Noin just sat looking out the window.
"Forty-five minutes until we reach the base." Amanda informed the crew.
"Arron, Aries we'd better get the Gundams ready." Erick suggested and Arron followed the two to the cargo bay.
"So tell me Amanda, how did you learn to hack?" Zechs asked wondered why and how his descendant had acquired the talent.
"Ahh, I think I just picked things up here and there while growing up, Arron's dad was pretty good at it and I just learned by watching him until I was about twenty. Then when me and Arron got married and got our own place I began to try out what I had watched and somehow I just got good at it."
"Was your wedding nice?" Noin pitched into the conversation wondering what her daughters wedding would be like, she would want it to be extra special since she had never had a ceremony.
"It was good but I don't really have more then a few good memories from it." Amanda said trying to downplay the events
"Why not I mean surely the whole day and night must have been memorable you only get married once or so that's how it should be?" Noin feeling that there was a missing piece to the picture.
"Oh yeah the day and night was memorable, but not because I got married on that day." Amanda almost bitterly.
"What happened?"
~*~*~*~*~Flashback~*~*~*~*~
It had been a spectacular night; everything she had dreamed her wedding day would be like. Though she imagined it would take sometime to smooth thing over with Aries. Renting a room at a nearby hotel for two weeks was the only honeymoon the newlyweds could afford, parts to the time machine didn't come cheaply. Two weeks of just her and Arron she could hardly wait for it to begin.
"Want some wine?" Arron offered when they has settled into the room for the night.
"Yea, thanks." She sat with him on the couch sipping the wine nestled in her husband's arms. Placing the glasses on the table Arron looked deep in Amanda's eyes and leaned in to kiss her. Just as Amanda was beginning to forget about the time machine Aries and every other worry in her life fate seemed to deal the cards against thems the phone on the table rang.
"Let it ring." He volunteered and lean in a second time to claim her lips.
"Let's just see who it is. What if it is important?"
"How much can be more important then the first night on our honeymoon be?"
"A lot Arron, we're not the center of the universe, there are thing that are more important." She said leaning forward to pick up the small phone that had just rung for the fifth time.
"Hello?"
" Thank God Amanda you gotta help me." Erick's frantic voice blared thorough the phone.
"What happened?"
"It's Aries, I didn't see her at the reception so I went back to the house and I found her passed out on the couch."
"Oh god, what did she do?" Hearing this Arron put his ear close to the phone so he could hear.
"I think she tried again to take her own life again. There are loads of painkillers spread across the table a large bottle of wine that she was drinking that I just spilled on the floor."
"How much did she take?"
"I don't know she's awake here in my arms but she can't seem to do anything except mumble I didn't know what to do. Should I take her to the hospital?" Asked Erick not sure weather the hospital could do anything for her.
"Calm down, yes take her to the hospital and we'll be right there." Amanda ordered hanging up the phone.
"What did she do?" Arron inquired not hearing the first part of the conversation.
"Let's go."
At the hospital the doctors thought it best to pump her stomach, sedate her and wait and see. Two days later Aries woke to the most tremendous headache she had ever had in her life and Amanda berating her.
"What were you thinking, you could have killed yourself and you maybe have done permanent damage to your liver or your brain Aries I don't want anything to happen to you, you know that. Why this I thought we were over this."
"Amanda, that's enough." Erick said in dangerous protective tone that she had never heard before. "I think she has been through enough for now."
"Is there anything I can get you?" He stroked her hair out from over her eyes. "How about some water?" he asked when she didn't respond to his question. He turned around to retrieve a cup of water sitting on the table and carefully held her head and tipped the cup slowly. After Aries was released from the hospital Arron bought the remaining parts needed to finish to time machine and thought it would better if the leave Earth and work in space. From that night on Erick never left Aries' side not even at night. He said it didn't matter weather or not he slept in a bed or even in her bed as long as he was with her and had the chance to stop her before and if she tried suicide for a third time, not wanting the third time to be the charm.
~*~*~*~*~*~End Flashback~*~*~*~*~*
"After that we worked on the machine almost non stop determined to get back to you guys and stop your children from going through what we went through."
"You forgot the part where you didn't speak to me for a month, Erick was hard pressed to even let me go to the bathroom by myself and then you hacked into top secret databases containing plans for the time machine." Aries reminded her sister finishing reading her Gundam for use.
"How long had you-?"
"Since the part in the hospital." She responded to her sibling's unanswered question, which was followed by a tight embrace from her mother who but the sound of it was already sobbing.
"Honey you didn't have to try so hard to join your parents they gave you the chance to live. Why throw that away because you didn't like how they did it?"
"Because I should have died not Dad, he should have escaped with Amanda. It was my fault she was there."
"No sweetheart, you carried out the decision you thought was better. Your parents probably wouldn't have made it even if you weren't there." Aries brought her eyes level with her mothers and gave a halfhearted smile while she watched Amanda hug Zechs. The next few minutes escaped in a blur until Arron announced they had arrived at their destination.
"We're here, Amanda has made it so that the base thinks this is a simple supply ship when we dock Zechs, Noin Amanda and I will plant the virus. Erick you and Aries should stay here ready to fight if they find out that we are not a simple supply ship." Opening the hatch the four climbed out finding their way to the main computer room.
Blending in with another group of cargo haulers the quartet feinted a trip to the galley for refueling of their own but diverged when Amanda turned the opposite direction of the group.
"Do you know the way the main computer?" Zechs whispered to his daughter.
"Yes, this is the way my parents took when they were alive." Several lefts and rights later they came to the main computer room.
"It's locked."
"Of course, but no worries. " Amanda pulled a beeper shaped item out of her pocket and placed it on the lock. In just a few seconds the small device had the code to the door. In the room was the main computer taking up half the room in its enormity.
"I think this is the Main computer." Noin surmised.
"Yes it is, give me the disk and I we'll be in bussiness in no time." Amanda took the disk into her hands then inserted it into the disk slot. After twenty minutes Amanda had finally broken through the encryption codes and proceeded to upload the virus.
"Ok in just a few seconds we will be ready to rol-" The young woman stopped her sentence as a box appeared on the screen.
"Is that supposed to happen?" Zechs asked unsure.
"Uhh, no, it says that it can't upload content to the hard drive."
"Why not honey?" Arron asked
"I don't know it should accept the virus as a regular file."
"Well then lets just get back to the ship the others might be getting wary." As they turned towards the door when it opened of it's own accord.
~*~*~*~*~*~*
"They've been to long." Aries said getting up and pacing.
"There probably just were some little snags and they're just off schedule." Erick tried to ease his lover getting up and beginning to rub her shoulders.
"No, they've been in there too long." Her heart tightened at the prospect of something happening to her sister.
"Well fine we just wait twenty more minutes." Erick tried to reason with Aries.
"But if they're in there and they need our help?" Turning round she looked deep into her eyes
"Aries, they could just be behind schedule."
"Erick, I want to know where they are they might be in trouble and need our help." Raising her voice slightly
"Well then it seems that I have been overridden huh? Let's just go real quick to try and find them and come back alright Aries?"
"Do you know the way Aries?" Erick questioned.
"Of course I know the way this is the hallway that led up to the shattering of my family. Follow me." She answered in a tense and sarcastic tone that he didn't much care for. But this was no time he needed to find Amanda. Walking stealthily they were surprised that there was no one in the halls as they reached the housing room for the main computer.
"In here." The room was only lit by the bright glow of the computer screen, which displayed a blank prompt.
"Hmm I wonder what happened if they were able to deliver it." Aries asked out loud.
"If so shouldn't the disk be here?" Erick inquired.
"Is this what you are looking for?" A cold voice behind them drawled. In his hands he held the tiny piece of plastic and metal. The sound of the voice had made Aries jump and turn quick as lighting to the source.
To be continued.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~
"Where were you guys?" an angry ex colonel asked them.
"We're here now." Zechs muttered tersely. Noin placed Amanda on the floor then knelt down to her level.
"Now you be good for me and your dad alright and before you know it we'll be back ok. "She held back the tears hugging the precious child.
"Ok Zechs, Noin your prime objective is to take this disk and implant the virus it has on to the main computer on the Jupiter base. We don't know how well guarded it is so that is where you guys come in," Une pointed at Aries and the others. "You Sarah and the two guys are to make a distraction for Zechs and Noin to get to the main computer. Then this is where you come in Melanie," Une turned to Aries. "It will be your-"
"Excuse me I'm Sarah, She is Melanie." Aries gestured at Amanda.
"My mistake you two look so alike. As I was saying Melanie it will be your job once you Zechs and Noin have gotten to the main computer you will break into their system like you did with ours."
"You broke into hacked your way into their system?" Arron questioned his wife.
"Well I figured it would be the fastest way to reach you guys. But then it turned out to be a dud so I figured parking the ship in front of the doors ought to attract some attention." She smiled innocently while Zechs smirked and Noin tried hard not to laugh.
" That's very nice. Now can we concentrate? Once you are in their system that's when you implant the virus. Once it has been uploaded there is no stopping it and you will have 15 minutes to get out of the base and back to the ship." Amanda nodded. "Alright you leave now we have installed several turbo engines to your ship and you will reach Jupiter in about four hours. Good luck." The six nodded at each and to Une, stepping towards the ship Zechs and Noin waved goodbye to the girls.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Most of their time since take off had been wiled away in a silence that none seemed to want to break. Aries sat next to Erick, her head resting on his shoulder. Zechs and Noin just sat looking out the window.
"Forty-five minutes until we reach the base." Amanda informed the crew.
"Arron, Aries we'd better get the Gundams ready." Erick suggested and Arron followed the two to the cargo bay.
"So tell me Amanda, how did you learn to hack?" Zechs asked wondered why and how his descendant had acquired the talent.
"Ahh, I think I just picked things up here and there while growing up, Arron's dad was pretty good at it and I just learned by watching him until I was about twenty. Then when me and Arron got married and got our own place I began to try out what I had watched and somehow I just got good at it."
"Was your wedding nice?" Noin pitched into the conversation wondering what her daughters wedding would be like, she would want it to be extra special since she had never had a ceremony.
"It was good but I don't really have more then a few good memories from it." Amanda said trying to downplay the events
"Why not I mean surely the whole day and night must have been memorable you only get married once or so that's how it should be?" Noin feeling that there was a missing piece to the picture.
"Oh yeah the day and night was memorable, but not because I got married on that day." Amanda almost bitterly.
"What happened?"
~*~*~*~*~Flashback~*~*~*~*~
It had been a spectacular night; everything she had dreamed her wedding day would be like. Though she imagined it would take sometime to smooth thing over with Aries. Renting a room at a nearby hotel for two weeks was the only honeymoon the newlyweds could afford, parts to the time machine didn't come cheaply. Two weeks of just her and Arron she could hardly wait for it to begin.
"Want some wine?" Arron offered when they has settled into the room for the night.
"Yea, thanks." She sat with him on the couch sipping the wine nestled in her husband's arms. Placing the glasses on the table Arron looked deep in Amanda's eyes and leaned in to kiss her. Just as Amanda was beginning to forget about the time machine Aries and every other worry in her life fate seemed to deal the cards against thems the phone on the table rang.
"Let it ring." He volunteered and lean in a second time to claim her lips.
"Let's just see who it is. What if it is important?"
"How much can be more important then the first night on our honeymoon be?"
"A lot Arron, we're not the center of the universe, there are thing that are more important." She said leaning forward to pick up the small phone that had just rung for the fifth time.
"Hello?"
" Thank God Amanda you gotta help me." Erick's frantic voice blared thorough the phone.
"What happened?"
"It's Aries, I didn't see her at the reception so I went back to the house and I found her passed out on the couch."
"Oh god, what did she do?" Hearing this Arron put his ear close to the phone so he could hear.
"I think she tried again to take her own life again. There are loads of painkillers spread across the table a large bottle of wine that she was drinking that I just spilled on the floor."
"How much did she take?"
"I don't know she's awake here in my arms but she can't seem to do anything except mumble I didn't know what to do. Should I take her to the hospital?" Asked Erick not sure weather the hospital could do anything for her.
"Calm down, yes take her to the hospital and we'll be right there." Amanda ordered hanging up the phone.
"What did she do?" Arron inquired not hearing the first part of the conversation.
"Let's go."
At the hospital the doctors thought it best to pump her stomach, sedate her and wait and see. Two days later Aries woke to the most tremendous headache she had ever had in her life and Amanda berating her.
"What were you thinking, you could have killed yourself and you maybe have done permanent damage to your liver or your brain Aries I don't want anything to happen to you, you know that. Why this I thought we were over this."
"Amanda, that's enough." Erick said in dangerous protective tone that she had never heard before. "I think she has been through enough for now."
"Is there anything I can get you?" He stroked her hair out from over her eyes. "How about some water?" he asked when she didn't respond to his question. He turned around to retrieve a cup of water sitting on the table and carefully held her head and tipped the cup slowly. After Aries was released from the hospital Arron bought the remaining parts needed to finish to time machine and thought it would better if the leave Earth and work in space. From that night on Erick never left Aries' side not even at night. He said it didn't matter weather or not he slept in a bed or even in her bed as long as he was with her and had the chance to stop her before and if she tried suicide for a third time, not wanting the third time to be the charm.
~*~*~*~*~*~End Flashback~*~*~*~*~*
"After that we worked on the machine almost non stop determined to get back to you guys and stop your children from going through what we went through."
"You forgot the part where you didn't speak to me for a month, Erick was hard pressed to even let me go to the bathroom by myself and then you hacked into top secret databases containing plans for the time machine." Aries reminded her sister finishing reading her Gundam for use.
"How long had you-?"
"Since the part in the hospital." She responded to her sibling's unanswered question, which was followed by a tight embrace from her mother who but the sound of it was already sobbing.
"Honey you didn't have to try so hard to join your parents they gave you the chance to live. Why throw that away because you didn't like how they did it?"
"Because I should have died not Dad, he should have escaped with Amanda. It was my fault she was there."
"No sweetheart, you carried out the decision you thought was better. Your parents probably wouldn't have made it even if you weren't there." Aries brought her eyes level with her mothers and gave a halfhearted smile while she watched Amanda hug Zechs. The next few minutes escaped in a blur until Arron announced they had arrived at their destination.
"We're here, Amanda has made it so that the base thinks this is a simple supply ship when we dock Zechs, Noin Amanda and I will plant the virus. Erick you and Aries should stay here ready to fight if they find out that we are not a simple supply ship." Opening the hatch the four climbed out finding their way to the main computer room.
Blending in with another group of cargo haulers the quartet feinted a trip to the galley for refueling of their own but diverged when Amanda turned the opposite direction of the group.
"Do you know the way the main computer?" Zechs whispered to his daughter.
"Yes, this is the way my parents took when they were alive." Several lefts and rights later they came to the main computer room.
"It's locked."
"Of course, but no worries. " Amanda pulled a beeper shaped item out of her pocket and placed it on the lock. In just a few seconds the small device had the code to the door. In the room was the main computer taking up half the room in its enormity.
"I think this is the Main computer." Noin surmised.
"Yes it is, give me the disk and I we'll be in bussiness in no time." Amanda took the disk into her hands then inserted it into the disk slot. After twenty minutes Amanda had finally broken through the encryption codes and proceeded to upload the virus.
"Ok in just a few seconds we will be ready to rol-" The young woman stopped her sentence as a box appeared on the screen.
"Is that supposed to happen?" Zechs asked unsure.
"Uhh, no, it says that it can't upload content to the hard drive."
"Why not honey?" Arron asked
"I don't know it should accept the virus as a regular file."
"Well then lets just get back to the ship the others might be getting wary." As they turned towards the door when it opened of it's own accord.
~*~*~*~*~*~*
"They've been to long." Aries said getting up and pacing.
"There probably just were some little snags and they're just off schedule." Erick tried to ease his lover getting up and beginning to rub her shoulders.
"No, they've been in there too long." Her heart tightened at the prospect of something happening to her sister.
"Well fine we just wait twenty more minutes." Erick tried to reason with Aries.
"But if they're in there and they need our help?" Turning round she looked deep into her eyes
"Aries, they could just be behind schedule."
"Erick, I want to know where they are they might be in trouble and need our help." Raising her voice slightly
"Well then it seems that I have been overridden huh? Let's just go real quick to try and find them and come back alright Aries?"
"Do you know the way Aries?" Erick questioned.
"Of course I know the way this is the hallway that led up to the shattering of my family. Follow me." She answered in a tense and sarcastic tone that he didn't much care for. But this was no time he needed to find Amanda. Walking stealthily they were surprised that there was no one in the halls as they reached the housing room for the main computer.
"In here." The room was only lit by the bright glow of the computer screen, which displayed a blank prompt.
"Hmm I wonder what happened if they were able to deliver it." Aries asked out loud.
"If so shouldn't the disk be here?" Erick inquired.
"Is this what you are looking for?" A cold voice behind them drawled. In his hands he held the tiny piece of plastic and metal. The sound of the voice had made Aries jump and turn quick as lighting to the source.
To be continued.