Near Research Station L10
After almost a week of being confined in his quarters, Trowa should have been ready to climb the walls, but he could bear any incarceration as long as he was with Arora. No more memories had come to him lately despite his closeness with her, and she did not use her powers to force him to remember. Trowa could not believe he would ever leave Arora behind, but he had absolutely no memory of what had happened the day he left Calabria with her sword. That part of his memory was a mystery, a big gaping hole in his life, and he knew that one memory was the key to unlocking all of his past.
As he watched her now, Arora sat on her mat on the floor, running a polishing cloth over her sword, humming a melody that was vaguely familiar to him. He watched her long strokes, the care she gave the blade, and he tried to remember again what had happened when he had left her, but his mind was a blank.
When he put his hand to his head, Arora looked at him. There seemed to be regret in her eyes, but she smiled. "Are you tired, my lord prince?"
Trowa returned her smile. "I was trying to remember."
She carefully set aside the sword and came to him. Taking his face between her hands, she titled it up to hers. "Do not try, my lord prince. What is in the past, is past. You seek something you will never find."
"I must find that answer." He looked into her soft brown eyes. "Why don't I have any more memories? I haven't had one since…since the day we left Earth."
Arora stroked his bottom lip with her thumbs. "Forget the past. It is meaningless."
"And my future? How can I have a future without knowing everything from my past?" He was surprised when a tear slid down her cheek. "Arora, why do you cry?"
"I don't want you to remember why you abandoned me," she said, her voice cracking. Then she squared her shoulders and moved away, taking up the sword again.
Trowa stared at the sword. "Where did you get that sword?"
She didn't answer, but she stopped polishing the gundanium blade. The sword was finely crafted, even finer than the sword he had given her.
"Arora, where did you get that sword?"
"Does it matter?"
Trowa moved to stand over her. He reached down to take her hands and pull her to her feet. "It matters to me."
"It shouldn't."
Before he could pursue the matter, the telecom buzzed and Heero's face appeared. Trowa hadn't spoken to him since the day he held a gun on him and outright accused him of causing the breach in the fuel tank. His friend's distrust hurt when Trowa had nothing to do with the sabotage, nor could he believe that Arora or Apolo could have done anything to help the Calabrians reach them. Prince Dilan had labeled them traitors, so why would they want to put themselves in his hands? They had planned to stay at L10 until an opportunity presented itself to attempt a return to the Calabrian system. Trowa had every intention of reclaiming his right as chosen heir to the Calabrian Empire.
"The Calabrians have contacted us. I'm sending you the message, then I want to know if you intend to fight with us or against us."
Trowa could not imagine himself fighting against his friends, his Earth family. "Play the message."
Arora came to stand beside him as the viewed the replay of Heero's communication with the Calabrians.
Lady Une's face appeared first. "Heero Yuy! How interesting that you should be in command of this so-called peaceful mission."
"This is a mission to L10 where scientists will be conducting experiments," responded Heero. "The Cinq Kingdom will shortly begin colonization of the station."
"Is Dr. Stryfe among them? And do I see that red-haired bitch Trynity Stryfe? What kind of experiments are they intending to run, that creator of the most dangerous gundam ever devised and the only person ruthless enough to pilot it?"
"Dr. Stryfe is a respected scientist," Heero reminded her. "He needs to continue his work on L10."
"He's not planning to build another gundam, is he?" Lady Une was obviously unhinged. Her eyes were bright and fanatic.
"Get to the point!" snapped Heero.
"My new friends would like you to surrender the Calabrians you are holding captive on your ship."
"I'm not detaining anyone. The Calabrians are here of their own will."
Lady Une was suddenly shoved aside. "Enough talk!" Trowa heard Arora gasp, and he stared at the face on the screen. Dilan. "I want my imperial guards returned to me as well as the princess, Ryana of Bayman. If you do not comply, we will attack."
"Do not underestimate them," warned Lady Une.
The communication ended.
Trowa turned to look at Arora. She was still staring at the blank screen. His eyes sought the sword, and he assumed that he knew where she had gotten it. "Dilan gave you that sword." She didn't look at him. Trowa took her chin in his hands and forced her to meet his eyes with her own. "Arora, tell me what happened after I left."
"I stayed with my father. Out of some sudden act of decency, he turned down another offer from Prince Dilan for me to join his household as his concubine. Lady Xuxa was furious and petitioned Zeno on behalf of her son, but the emperor chose to honor Trey's - your- decree that I should decide my future. Before I left to escort Ryana from Bayman, Emperor Zeno presented me with the sword."
Trowa stared at the sword his father had given her. Why? Why had Zeno given her a sword? Why had Zeno sided with Dax against the powerful Xuxa and his son? Why did Dax not force Arora to accept Dilan? Before he could question her any further, the telecom buzzed, and Trowa wasn't surprised that Heero was contacting him again.
"Have you made a decision?"
"I would never fight against you, Heero," Trowa told him.
"What about the Calabrians?"
Trowa looked at Arora before he turned to answer. "They will do as I tell them."
"The Calabrians are deploying the mobile suits. Meet us in the hanger."
When he flipped off the telecom, Arora said, "You are very sure of us, my lord prince."
Trowa looked at her, his brows raised. "Do you no longer accept my authority."
She sighed and took his hands. "I would do anything to protect you, Trey. Anything."
He drew her into his arms. "I would do anything to protect you."
On the bridge, Relena was wringing her hands as Heero entered some final data, then beckoned her forward.
"I am dead set against this, but Trynity assures me she has been spending all her off duty time training you to handle the navigation in case we are called out. Looks like today is the day."
Relena took a deep breath. She didn't want Heero to see how unsure she was of her own ability. "I wouldn't shame my teacher," she said aloud.
He vacated the seat, and she sat down. Relena had wanted to be useful, but she had never envisioned herself controlling the movements of any craft let alone a transport of this size. Relena had tried to drive Noin's sports car once and crumpled the back end when she backed it into the fountain in front of the palace. Miliardo had decreed afterwards that henceforth a driver would be at her disposal. What would he think to see her at the controls now?
Heero took a headset and placed it on her head, brushing back her hair. For a moment he stopped and their eyes met. She saw concern in his, but she smiled at him. "I will not disappoint Trynity," then she added, "or you."
Heero's lips twisted in a half-smile. "I have no expectations for you, Relena."
"Thanks for the confidence," she muttered as she adjusted the headset. "I'll try not to plow the transport into your little battle."
Heero chuckled and took her hands. "I guess I have to trust you."
Relena held her breath as his head moved closer to hers.
"Hey, you ready to go?" Duo chuckled from the doorway.
Dr. Stryfe, sitting nearby at another control panel, also chuckled.
How could Trynity stand them?
Much to her regret, Heero moved away. Without another word to her, he joined Duo and they disappeared into the elevator. Trynity was already in the hangar helping the Calabrians prepare for battle against their own people.
Relena turned her attention to the control panel. There were so many buttons and monitors! Trynity had gone over them again and again, had painstakingly explained the navigation system to Relena, and at first Relena had been so confused that she did not think she would ever remember anything. She had never been anything but a burden to Heero and her brother. Not this time! She would prove that she could be a useful member of this expedition. Now she knew exactly how to make the ship respond to any orders she would input.
"We'll hold her steady on a course for L10," Dr. Stryfe said.
She re-checked the course to be sure there was no deviation. "Are you worried about Trynity?"
Dr. Stryfe chuckled. "I can't worry about her. She is tough as nails. I've lived through her near death twice, so I suppose another time won't kill me."
Relena frowned at him. "How can you joke about it?"
His smile faded. "There is no other way for me to deal with it. I failed her and I know it, but there is no way to give back the years I took away. I am just glad that Duo is healing her heart."
"They love each other," commented Relena dreamily. If only…but then she couldn't think about Heero that way any more. He made it clear when he had found her on the ship that she was been delusional about their relationship, and she knew that he was right. Relena hadn't waited for Heero to return to his room that night. She had sought Trynity who had agreed to help her become useful, and despite his intention to talk to her, Heero hadn't done so. He seemed relieved that Trynity had taken her off his hands, and Relena hadn't been alone with him since.
She glanced at the screen now and watched as the Calabrian forces approached. There was a vanguard of mobile suits, some Sagitarien remnants of the Coalition forces, some Leos, some Taurus and Virgos. And there were dozens of smaller crafts that seemed to resemble birds of prey.
Suddenly Heero's face appeared on the screen. "Dr. Stryfe, run a scan on the Calabrian warbirds."
Relena watched Dr. Stryfe study his screen for several moments before he answered. "They have missiles and lasers that I can tell from my scan, but there are some trace elements which this scan cannot identify."
"Incoming!" Relena heard Duo say, then she saw Heero jerk, and her own heart leapt in her chest as she saw him grimace.
"Heero!" His name came to her lips without her being able to prevent it.
"Keep the ship headed to L10," he said through gritted teeth. "Do you hear me Relena?"
"I'm not an idiot!" She refused to worry about Heero Yuy! But when the screen switched to the space view, she frantically searched for the form of the wing gundam. He shot through the defenses, slashing with his beam saber, then soared up away, and back again to obliterate the mobile suit forces.
The battle raged for hours. The gundams had little trouble with the mobile suit force gathered by Lady Une, but the Calabrian warbirds were quicker and unpredictable. While their weapon systems seemed to be no match for the gundams, they were shielded so well that they were impenetrable. Dr. Stryfe was on-line with his daughter's gundam collecting information and analyzing data to find a way to penetrate the shields, grumbling about his work being stolen in the Coalition lab. Relena wondered how long they could keep up the battle, just the four gundams and the two Cinq Kingdom Taurus suits piloted by Arora and Apolo. Relena was no expert, but she could see that the Calabrians were not fighting against the warbirds. Doubtless they knew the weakness of their planet's spacecraft, yet even though they did not fight against their own people, they did defend the Heavyarms gundam from any direct attacks.
Dr. Stryfe finally announced that he had broken the code of the shielding on the warbirds and transmitted that information to the gundams that used beams so that could adjust the frequency to penetrate the shields. There was only a few minutes delay before Relena watched the Deathscythe slice cleanly through one of the warbirds he previously could not penetrate. Soon the tide of the battle was turning and the warbirds began a retreat back to the battle cruisers. Heero also issued an order to return to the transport because their energy reserves were running low as well as their firepower.
Relena was thankful that the battle was over for now and that she hadn't been called on to make any maneuvers with the ship. Locking the ship on course, she made her way to the gundam hanger to see if there were any injuries that she could help with. At least she could put on a bandage! By the time she reached the bay, the doors were opening, so she stayed behind the protective observation glass where she watched the huge gundams enter one at a time. As they did so, she gathered up some medical supplies and waited until the hanger had been pressurized and sealed from space again.
The two Calabrians were unharmed although their mobile suits, not nearly as strong as the gundams, were all but destroyed, having taking many hits directed toward Heavyarms. Relena had wondered if they were in the way because Trowa's gundam hardly seemed involved in the fight. Trowa immediately went to his imperial guards after leaving his gundam while Duo and Trynity took care of each other's bumps and bruises. Relena bit her lip nervously as Heero came down the cable from the Wing Gundam. Seeing that he was bleeding from a gash to his forehead, she hurried to him, and although he tried to shake her off, she managed to shove him onto a stool to at least stop the bleeding.
"You don't have to fuss over me," he grunted ungraciously.
"I'm not fussing over you," she told him stiffly. "I'm taking care of your wound."
Trowa came to them. "I can't take Heavyarms out again until the armaments are reloaded. I have to run a diagnostic to find out why it's not responding to some of the commands."
"Your weapons are useless against their shields," said Heero. "If you had a beam saber we could calibrate it, but your firepower is blocked by their shields."
The door to the hanger slid open and Princess Ryana walked in. For once she looked serious, thought Trowa. Apolo and Arora moved toward the princess and Trowa noted that their hands were on their swords. Were they planning to slay her? Would anybody try to stop them if they did?
"I came as you commanded," sniffed the spoiled princess, looking at Apolo.
Behind Trowa, Heero left the stool to stand. Trowa walked toward Apolo to find out what he was planning, but the tip of a sword at his throat stopped him.
"Don't come any closer, Trowa Barton," said Arora. There was determination in her eyes as she held her sword before him.
"What are you doing, Arora?" Trowa looked past her to see that Apolo had taken Ryana's arm.
"We must return to our people," she told him, her sword not wavering.
Trowa looked past her to Apolo, who had trouble meeting his gaze, so he spoke to Arora again. "I thought we had agreed to wait on L10 for an opportunity to return to Calabria together."
Heero was suddenly beside him. "I don't think they intend to wait."
"Our lord prince is out there," stated Arora evenly, keeping her gaze locked to Trowa's.
"But…" Trowa started, only to be cut off by her brother.
"We are sorry," stated Apolo, pulling Ryana forward, "for all the trouble we have caused. We were in a strange place, Trowa Barton, and had no other way to protect ourselves."
Trowa didn't understand what they were talking about. He looked from Apolo back to Arora. "Are you leaving without me?"
"You belong here, Trowa Barton," she told him.
"Stop calling me that! Am I no longer your prince?" Trowa took a step, but the point of her sword pressed into his neck and pricked his skin. He felt blood trickling from the wound. He could not believe Arora would injure him!
"You never were," said Apolo softly.
Trowa took a step back from Arora's sword. "I don't understand."
"You should," Arora said, her voice even and unemotional. "I gave you enough memories so that you could understand."
"You…you gave me the memories?" Trowa's head began to ache, his stomach seemed to twist and his knees felt weak.
Arora squared her shoulders and stared at him. "When I touched you that day on the beach and discovered you had no past and no real name of your own, I realized I could give you my memories of Trey. I knew that you would protect us and help us return to Calabria."
Trowa shook his head. "No, it can't be true! Are you saying that I am not Trey?"
Her eyes shimmered with tears. "I wish that it were so, Trowa Barton. For a time I was with my beloved Trey again, but I can't alter the truth no matter how much I wish I could. Trey is dead. I cannot bring him back to me. We will never be together."
"I am Trey!" Trowa told her forcefully. He looked at Apolo. "Tell her! I command that you tell her the truth."
"She has spoken the truth, Trowa Barton. Like her, I allowed myself to regain what was lost with Trey's death." Apolo hung his head. "He was my friend, the brother of my heart, and I have felt so alone without him at my side."
"We are leaving," said Arora, still holding her sword ready, "unless you humans have an objection, in which case we will fight an die if need be. But once we take our ship and return to our people, our lord prince Dilan will cease the attack."
"Go!" ordered Heero, who was still beside Trowa.
They started to leave, but Arora turned to look back at Trowa one last time. "I am sorry, Tr…Trowa. You are a gentle and kind man and I regret what I have done to you." She paused to wipe a tear from her cheek. "I hope that one day you will forgive me."
Trowa turned his back. He couldn't watch them go. Even though he understood the sickening reality that he did not really know them, that they had used his lack of identity to their advantage, he felt as tied to them as Prince Trey must have felt. Numb and feeling detached from his surroundings, he did not protest when Trynity and Duo came to take either arm and move him out of the hangar so they could take off.
They all returned to the bridge where they watched the small Calabrian craft shoot out towards the largest of the battle cruisers. A half dozen warbirds came out to meet it, then escort it back to the main ship of the fleet without exchanging any fire. Trowa watched it as if it were a dream. It had to be a dream, he told himself. None of this was really happening. He was going to wake up and cuss because he hadn't written his composition for Mrs. Drivel's class because he had wasted the evening watching Heero play his video game. After taking a shower, he would head downstairs where Trynity and Duo would be arguing over a slice of toast. Catherine would be waiting for him at school.
Dr. Stryfe's voice shook him from his reverie. "There's an enormous source of energy from the Delta quadrant," he announced.
"Put it on the screen," ordered Heero.
Trowa stared at what appeared to be swirling gases, from which light of many colors shot out in different directions until converging around to a dark point which grew in size. Space danced before his eyes, turning, twisting until there was an explosion of light.
"The Calabrian fleet is moving toward it," said Trynity.
"Should we follow?" asked Relena.
Relena? Trowa turned his head to see Relena on the bridge, her hand hovering over the navigation systems. This wasn't a dream! It was a nightmare!
"No, hold a steady course to L10."
The scientific research colony was within viewing, the space anomaly directly beyond it with the Calabrians heading straight for it.
"I've never seen anything like it!" exclaimed Trynity. "Father, are you collecting data?"
"There is too much!" Dr. Stryfe was also excited. "I hope it doesn't overload the system."
"Is it a black hole?" asked Heero as one of the Calabrian ships was sucked inside. The others began to follow.
"More like a worm hole," answered Dr. Stryfe. "It is only a theory that there are imperfections in the space fabric, such as worm holes, that are like passages to other parts of the galaxy or universe. This one has always been here, but beyond the one attempt by the Sakarov expedition, it has not been studied, having been deemed to dangerous to approach. Because several other ships have been lost to it, this part of space has been avoided."
"Apparently the Calabrians aren't afraid," commented Trynity as the last ship disappeared.
"Maybe we should follow," suggested Duo.
"Let them go," said Heero.
"He's right," Trynity agreed. "There is no guarantee they will be headed back to their own system. They could be lost in another part of the galaxy, and we might be thrown to a different system altogether."
Trowa knew they would reach the Calabrian system. He felt it.
Heero came to him and put his hand on his shoulder. "We'll be at L10 in about an hour. You should get some rest."
"Is that an order?"
Heero raised a brow. "If you need me to order you, then so be it."
Trowa left the bridge, knowing that they were all staring at his back. He felt empty, a feeling he was used to, but after all that he had shared with Arora this emptiness was too much to bear. When the elevator door closed, he pressed his cheek to the cold steel of the wall as it moved downwards. He closed his eyes and tried to recapture a memory of Prince Trey of Calabria, but he saw nothing. His mind was as blank as it was before they came into his life.
But now his heart was dead too.
************************
The door slid open and Arora stepped in with Apolo at her side escorting Princess Ryana.
"Sorry to keep you waiting." Dilan turned from studying the space on the screen behind him. His eyes went to Arora first, and she looked away. "My dear imperial guard, you have not changed in the least." He crossed the room to stand before her and she felt her flesh crawl.
"We have brought your bride, my lord prince," announced Apolo as he took a step forward.
Dilan reluctantly took his eyes from Arora and looked first at Apolo, then at Ryana who smiled at him and moved toward Dilan. She sunk low before him in a curtsey. "My lord, I am glad to finally be united with you."
He stared at her with obvious disinterest. "Tell me, Princess Ryana, did my imperial guards keep you safe?"
"Oh, yes, my lord! When Arora wasn't preoccupied with her human lover, she protected me well enough. And I certainly have no complaints about Apolo's skills." She smiled knowingly back at Apolo. "I hope that you will allow him to continue protecting me when we reach Calabria."
Dilan raised a brow and his gaze swept over both Arora and Apolo.
Arora didn't speak.
Apolo laughed nervously. "I assure you, my lord prince, that I did nothing but protect her from the men of Earth."
"As head of your house on that planet, perhaps you should have been protecting your sister instead." Dilan stared at Arora. "You now have a choice to make, Arora."
"I shall go on as I have," she stated boldly. "I will remain in the imperial guard of the emperor."
"I think not. We both know that because Trey gifted you with the power to choose your destiny, Dax and Zeno will not force you to do anything you do not wish. But I think you know you have no choice now. Either you agree to become my concubine or I will expose your disgrace. You will ruin the house of Dax."
"We don't care about Dax!" exclaimed Apolo, but Dilan cut off any more argument with a backhand to his face.
"Silence!" He stared at Apolo who lowered his eyes, but Arora saw his glare of hatred. "It occurs to me that you did not once swear me any oath."
Apolo reached up to wipe blood from the corner of his mouth. "Because I am sworn to Trey and will be so for the remainder of my days."
Dilan threw back his head in laughter. "My dear brother is dead! Will you continue to protect a dead man?"
Arora didn't let him answer. "I would rather be banished to the wasteland for what I have done, than to become your concubine!"
Dilan sucked in a breath and glared at her. "We shall see! When we return to Calabria, we will put the question to Dax. Perhaps he can persuade you to make the right choice."
Before she could retort, the door slid open. "My lord prince, there are pirate forces approaching. The lead ship was not able to restore power in time to escape and has been captured."
Dilan looked at Apolo and Arora. "You can prove your loyalty by taking out warbirds to defend your prince."
They walked out together leaving Ryana with Dilan. During the entire discussion, Ryana had stood silently assessing the situation. Arora wondered what she thought of Dilan's offer to her.
"Perhaps she will fascinate Prince Dilan," she thought aloud.
Apolo reached out to take her hand and turned it up to show the scar from her oath to Dilan. "He won't want her. He'll never want anyone but you, Arora. What are you going to do?"
"I have no choice," she said softly. "I cannot become his concubine."
"It might be easier that way," he remarked without conviction. "He seems to be willing to overlook what happened to you."
Arora stared straight ahead as they continued to walk. "I would rather live in the Wastelands."
"Even if you did survive the initial banishment, there are too many men out there who would use you in ways that would make you wish you were dead," predicted Apolo.
"After what I have done this day, I would deserve such a death."
Apolo didn't respond.
They stood silently, each with their own thoughts. Arora bit her bottom lip to keep the tears from flowing. She had betrayed the man who called himself Trowa Barton and used him as a tool. If he hated her, it would be so much easier for him to forget what they had shared. She would try to live with what she had done.
Her brother took her hand and squeezed it. "We had to do it, Arora."
"I know that, but it doesn't stop me from feeling dead inside."
Apolo took her other hand and she felt the warmth flowing from him. "Arora, do not speak like that. There is life inside you and you must always remember that what we did was right. There was no other way."
"I will never forget…" Arora couldn't finish because her throat tightened and tears threatened to escape over her lashes. She mustn't let Dilan's people see her weakness.
"We have to live in the present, Arora." He released her hands. "And in the present we will fight pirates."
"For Prince Dilan?"
Apolo smiled wryly. "For the Calabria that should have been Trey's."