Calabrian System, Pirate Satellite

"What the hell!" Duo shoved the plate in his hands aside and walked to the door of their cell. "Hey! Do you call this crap food? I want some meat!"

Heero stared down at the plate. Something moved and his own gut wrenched, but he was so hungry he would eat anything at this point. Their guards wouldn't bother responding to Duo; they had become very good at ignoring him, and they didn't understand their language anyway.

A moan caught his attention, and he looked toward the corner where Trowa was laying on his back. Heero guessed they had been in this cell for at least two days, and Trowa hadn't regained consciousness. Occasionally he muttered a word or two, but he was all but gone. This primitive satellite was unlikely to have the help he needed, nor were the pirates inclined to give it even if they did.

The choice to follow Trowa had been taken away by the worm hole when it sucked Deathscythe and Wing into its vortex, and Heero didn't know if Relena, piloting the transport, or Trynity who was with her, decided to follow. Most likely it would have been Trynity hoping to save Duo. Relena was unlikely to care what happened to him. The energy surge in the wormhole fried the systems of their crafts just as it had the Calabrian ship that brought Apolo and Arora to their system, and they were left adrift in unfamiliar space. The pirates seemed to be waiting for anything to pass through, so they were quickly captured. The gundams had been put on the transport, and all were taken to this heavily fortified satellite station. Heero guessed that Trynity and Relena had some value as females because they had been quickly separated soon after their arrival. The only man who attempted communication with them was a white-haired brute that Heero guessed was the leader, but since neither Heero nor Duo understood a word of Calabrian, it ended with their incarceration in this dingy cell with the barest of necessities.

Duo came to sit on the woven mat beside Heero. "Are you going to eat that?"

"Be my guest." Heero shoved the plate at him.

Duo picked up one of the wriggling creatures. "I saw one of those guys eat it. Can't be too bad." He held it up. "Sorry, little guy. I don't have much choice in the matter. Either I eat you, or my stomach eats me."

Heero winced as Duo popped it into his mouth. Duo swallowed quickly then reached for more.

"Not chewing," remarked Heero. "A good option."

Duo chuckled. "I think I'll let my stomach do the work."

Although he thought he would be sick, Heero followed his example, and soon enough his hunger was satisfied. Although the Calabrian cuisine wouldn't be his first choice on any menu, it hadn't tasted as bad as he expected. Once his hunger was abated, his next immediate concern was Trowa's rapidly diminishing health.

Duo seemed to be reading his mind. "We can't help him this time."

Heero watched as Trowa moved restlessly mumbling. "Shamara! Shamara!"

A guard stopped by the cell. He said something, and Heero understood the word "Calabrian," before the man spit and walked away. The man had understood whatever Trowa was saying and obviously didn't like what he heard.

"We need to help him."

"How? They don't even speak our language!" Duo walked back to the metal bars. "Hey, morons! Does not even one of you understand us?"

A door scraped, and footsteps approached. "I heard you! Now shut up before you wake the guards! They are an unpleasant bunch before the second sunrise."

A man stopped before the door, and he and Duo stared at each other for a moment before the man burst into laughter. "Duo Maxwell!"

Heero stood as Duo scratched his head. "Do I know you?"

"Probably not! I was with the sweepers when you stowed away with us a good number of years back. You were just a smart-mouthed kid then."

How had he changed, wondered Heero, but he asked, "Are you one of us?"

The man looked at him. "Didn't I just tell you that? I was sent by the chief to see what I could find out about you. I didn't actually think I would know one of you."

"I remember you now!" Duo laughed as he slapped his own head with the palm of his hand. "You used to work with Howard."

"We parted ways when he went off to join that squabble on Earth between OZ and the Federation. I went to work for the Barton Foundation, and then I ended up here after delivering a shipment of gundanium to L10. Got off course a little and ended up in the wormhole." He looked at Heero. "The name is Newton. Most people just call me Newt."

Trowa muttered.

Newt raised a brow. "How did you pick up a Calabrian? Is he a leftover from their little foray into your system? Chief had a good laugh about how they came back like puppies with tails between their legs, and we had a dandy time chasing the scum back to their planet." Newt spit and pulled a knife from his belt. "I'll take care of that one before he wakes up."

Duo put up his hands. "Hey, the guy's our friend!"

"Calabrians are friend to no one. Listen to him! Even half-dead he's saying the imperial Calabrian battle chant that gets them riled up. Must be one of those bastard imperial guards, and I don't mind telling you, even without our technology, they're not a group you want to tangle with. I tried to shoot one with my gun once, but he deflected every shot with his sword. Best we just cut his throat while he's unconscious."

"Listen," said Heero, somewhat disgusted by Newt's cowardice. "I assure you that he is harmless. He didn't come to our system with that fleet, and he's been with us a few years."

"Yeah," said Duo. "Those Calabrians used some kind of mind trick to make him believe he was one of them."

"Calabrians don't have that ability. Must have been one of those Guerani scum."

"Are there any people in this system you don't consider scum?" asked Heero with his brow raised.

"The Bayman people are greedy scum, but scum just the same."

"Can we talk to your chief?" Heero didn't want to offend the only man who could probably help them, but he was becoming annoyed.

"Chief is busy. Got the whole satellite to attend to. Doesn't have time to worry about prisoners."

"Hey, where are our women?" asked Duo.

"Those two females? Chief has them squirreled away. One of them yours, Maxwell? Which one? That feisty blond or the fiery red-head."

"I'm claiming the feisty blond," said Heero. He could well imagine what kind of impression Relena and her runaway mouth were making even if she couldn't be understood.

Duo chuckled. "I guess I'm left with the fireball. Are they all right?"

Newt laughed. "The Chief doesn't hurt females." He winked.

Duo grabbed the bars. "If he so much as breathes on her, I'll cut off his…"

"Please tell your chief that our friend is in desperate need of help. He's dying."

Newt shuffled away after promising to see what he could do. Heero wasn't sure if the man would actually do so, and when Duo told him that Newt was a mercenary who did as he pleased, Heero didn't think they would get any help from him. Heero was worried about Relena as he thought of the brute that had shoved them into the cell, the one to whom the men seemed to defer. He was obviously the chief of the pirates. A man like him would chew her up without spitting out her bones. Duo couldn't seem to think of anything but Trynity. He was making himself sick with worry although he seemed to forget she was a gundam pilot who could certainly take care of herself. Heero had to believe that Trynity would protect Relena as long as they were still together.

Newt didn't return until the following day. Several burly men accompanied him as he unlocked their cell. "Chief will see you." He motioned to one of his men, who lifted Trowa and heaved him over his shoulder like a sack of grain. Trowa didn't notice.

After walking down several corridors, they left the prison and Heero was amazed to see that an artificial landscape had been created, much along the lines of the colonies. The air was warm, and a glance at the sky revealed the presence of two suns. As they made their way through crowded, narrow street, Heero noted that the pirates were obviously poor people who had very little in the way of technology. Their crafts barely seemed capable of remaining in space although they didn't have much trouble capturing the powerless gundams. When they were led through an open market, Heero was startled to see what appeared to be a slave auction taking place. Men were bidding on a woman who was cringing as they shouted out comments that sounded crude even to him. Was that the fate in store for Relena and Trynity? People of all colors and modes of dress mingled in the market, most ignoring the auction as if it were an everyday occurrence. Obviously the dregs of every society in the sector populated the satellite.

The market behind them, they walked through winding streets until they came to a large, ornate building Heero would describe as a sultan's palace. The pirate chief had gotten very wealthy on the spoils of his trade and wasn't afraid to show it. In the airy courtyard a fountain sprayed water, and entering the palace, he noted that despite the filth in the market, the tiles on the floor were immaculate. Passing through several archways, they soon came to a garden area. Hearing a flute, Heero turned to see a woman playing a melody. Just beyond her stood the white-haired brute they had become acquainted with earlier. His dark eyes were suspicious as the stared at them, his arms crossed over his chest.

The man carrying Trowa unceremoniously dumped him on a stone bench after a nod from the apparent chief.

Heero looked at Newt. "Tell him that our friend needs assistance. He has been using a drug that has poisoned his brain. Before we could treat him, he went through the worm hole."

Newt didn't make any move to speak to the white-haired pirate, and the woman continued to play the flute oblivious to their plight. Just when Heero thought his patience would snap, he heard Trowa moan. "Shamara."

The woman set aside the flute and glanced curiously at Trowa as if he were some type of animal. The man behind her did not move. They were inhuman, uncaring. Heero wondered if he grabbed the woman as a hostage if the pirate would help them, but he suspected that would just get him killed.

After a moment, she left her perch and walked to the bench. Heero heard her gasp softly as she reached out to put a trembling hand to Trowa's pale cheek. She said something to the chief, and Heero caught the name "Zeno." The chief growled and started to pull his sword, but she waved him still and he shoved it back in the sheath.

The beautiful woman of the chief left Trowa and came to Heero and Duo. "You bring us a Calabrian. Worse, a Calabrian who resembles that monster Zeno. Explain to me why I should help you."

"You speak our language!" exclaimed Duo with relief. "Hey, ask that ape man over there where our women are. I hope mine ain't getting mishandled, or I might have to kick some serious ass."

"Which one is yours?" she asked.

"The red-head," he proclaimed proudly.

"She's like a rattlesnake. She won't bring a profit. Men around here, Yorrik excluded don't like females like that. I'd have to pay someone to take her and she wouldn't last long."

"Hey, you're selling Miss Trynity Stryfe over my dead body!" Duo took a step toward her, but one of the men jerked him back.

The woman raised her brows. "Stryfe? Did you say Stryfe?"

"Do you know Ivan Stryfe?" Heero judged the woman to be just a few years younger than Stryfe although she did not show her age. There was no denying her beauty with long dark hair and green eyes; a man of any age would find her attractive.

Without answering him, she looked back over her shoulder and spoke to the man. After bowing to her, he walked out followed by the other men, including Newt, when she nodded to them.

Heero met her gaze when they had gone, his eyebrows raised.

"Are you surprised?" she asked as she tucked her small flute in the ornate belt of her pleated tunic. He noticed then that she was armed with a knife strapped to her thigh, which he could see through a slit in her garment when she moved. Heero had no doubt that she could be very dangerous.

"Surprised that a female might be the chief of these thugs?" Heero nodded. "Given what I have learned of people in this system, females are worth nothing. And that savage? Who is he?"

"Yorrik?" She laughed softly. "He is my companion for now." She turned her attention back to Trowa. "I have no medical knowledge. I am sorry that I cannot help you although you have yet to explain who he is."

"The compound to save him was on the transport," said Duo. "Trynity's been hanging around the infirmary at the colony, so I know she would know what to do. Maybe you could have her brought here?"

She ignored him. "They call me Maeryn. Tell me about your captive."

"He isn't our captive. He is our friend," Heero told her.

"I assumed you had taken him during the Calabrian attack and were chasing him to retrieve your stolen gundam." She looked down on Trowa. "He is a Calabrian."

"He isn't a Calabrian," insisted Duo, and he would have said more, but Heero put a hand on his arm to shut him up.

"And if he is a Calabrian?" asked Heero. "Would you deny us the chance to save his life?"

She glanced at him. "You don't understand the reputation – earned reputation – that the Calabrians have. They are bloodthirsty, primitive bastards. I would put the blade through his heart myself if I thought he was one of them."

"Good thing he isn't a Calabrian," commented Duo.

"You're lying," she accused. "He is the image of Emperor Zeno himself when he was young."

Heero sighed, then he admitted, "Zeno is his father."

She drew the blade she had been hiding. "Then I will enjoy sending pieces of him back to Calabria!"

Duo stared at Heero with surprise. "How can you say that? It isn't true! That is the story that Arora and Apolo told him to make him help them"

Maeryn looked from Trowa to them. "Arora and Apolo? Are you talking about the imperial guards of Prince Trey?"

Heero met her eyes, noting pain in hers when she said the name of the crowned prince. "This is Prince Trey."

"Impossible!" She quickly looked back at Trowa. "Prince Trey is dead! We were blamed for his death and hunted relentlessly by the Calabrians. Many good people lost their lives to that bastard Dax because of Trey's death, and if it were not for the aid we received from Bayman, they would have wiped us out. We had nothing to do with his death."

"Trey didn't die."

"Not you too, Heero!" Duo threw up his hands and sat down on the perch vacated by Maeryn. "All I want is to see that my woman is safe."

Maeryn knelt beside the bench and pushed back Trowa's hair. "Are you telling me that this is Trey?"

"He came through the wormhole to our solar system. When his craft crashed on a resource satellite near L3, he had no memory of his life until Arora and Apolo also slipped through the passage and came to our kingdom."

"They gave him back his memories," she murmured to her self as she ran her fingers along his face.

"All but the most important, which was how he ended up in space."

She sighed and looked at Heero. "Tell me, sir, if you know this man to be good and gentle or whether his nature is to maim and dominate like his father, Zeno the Butcher."

"I have never known him to be anything but gentle."

"Then I shall save his life." She clapped her hands and a little boy appeared from behind a bush. After she rattled off an order in Calabrian, he scurried away. Shortly after, Trynity and Relena appeared flanked by some rather gruesome looking women.

Trynity and Duo came together almost immediately, hanging onto each other as if they were each other's lifelines. "Trynity! Are you all right? My God, I ate bugs!"

"You poor thing," she said dryly.

"They weren't half-bad! I think I could grow to like them."

Relena took a step toward Heero, then stopped and looked down. Heero didn't understand her irrational behavior in the least. His only conclusion was that she was ashamed by what they had done and regretted it. Her feelings for him hadn't been any deeper than those she felt for Sheraton, and his own heart sank. His feelings were unlikely to change.

"Are you all right, princess?" he asked, his tone formal.

"Princess?" Maeryn looked at Relena.

"She is the sister of Miliardo Peacecraft, the king of the Cinq Kingdom," Heero told her.

"You are a Peacecraft?" Maeryn smiled warmly at her. "The Peacecraft family funded the research which eventually brought me to this system through the wormhole."

"Did you know Virineia Sakarov?" asked Heero. He suspected that she did and wondered if she would be honest about it.

"Of course! She was one of the astronomers on the team, and I was her assistant. Our ship was caught in the wormhole and when we didn't have any power on this side, we couldn't prevent it from crashing on the second moon circling Calabria. Crowned Prince Zeno had been on the moon at the time, and he took Dr. Sakarov while the rest of us were divided amongst his friends or sold at auctions."

"Will you save him?" asked Heero.

"If you believe he is worth saving, then I shall." She looked at Trynity. "Miss Stryfe, your friend…" she looked at Heero. "Your name?"

"Heero Yuy."

"Like the pacifist." She commented before turning back to Trynity. "Heero Yuy tells me you have some knowledge that can save Trey."

"His name is Trowa," Heero told her.

Maeryn's green eyes were dark and menacing when they met his. "His name is Trey. He is the crowned prince of Calabria, and one day his sword will drink Zeno's blood to take his throne."

"Trey it is," he responded with a nod.

Trynity left with Maeryn, and Heero went to Relena. "Are you all right?"

"No! I'm trapped in some kind of pirate harem wondering what kind of cretin is going to buy me!" Relena wanted to kick Heero for asking such a stupid question. "I'm tired, and I'm hungry." She glanced at Duo. "Some of us won't stoop so low as to eat food that is crawling around."

"Suit yourself! I've grown quite fond of the little beasties."

She turned back to Heero. "I'm afraid!"

Heero reached out to her, but Relena took a step back. "You don't have to humor me!" His hand dropped to his side, and she regretted her harsh words. Heero was not responsible for her being in this predicament. She had chosen, against Trynity's orders, to follow them through the wormhole, so she had no one to blame but herself.

"I'm sorry you are involved in this," he said softly.

"You're not sorry!"

"You are such a bitch!"

"I can't stand the sight of you!"

"Do you think that stuff in that bowl is fruit?" wondered Duo aloud.

Relena caught sight of the bowl he referred to and hurried to it. It looked like fruit; it smelled like fruit. She picked one up, but a hand reached for it. "If you touch it, Maxwell, I will knock out your teeth and Trynity will have to chew your food for you."

Duo grabbed his own and tossed one of the dark green, oblong fruits to Heero. "Let's wait until the princess tastes it. If she doesn't drop dead, then we'll all eat."

"It's perfectly safe," said Maeryn as she returned carrying a basin. "I've ordered rooms prepared for you all. You do not need to worry about your females. Usually I allow female captives to choose mates, and if they choose not to, I allow them to be sold."

Duo laughed. "Relena doesn't have a mate. Maybe you should just go ahead and sell her."

Relena glared at Duo until Heero spoke. "She's my mate."

The fruit fell out of Duo's hand. "You have got to be kidding!"

Relena almost crushed the fruit in her hand. How could he say such a thing? The knowing look Duo gave her embarrassed her.

Maeryn put her hand on her shoulder. "Men live by a far different code than on Earth or in the colonies. There is no such thing as an unattached female. There are only two types: breeders and whores. Imperial families do not even raise females but expose them at birth to become part of the sands, and the Wasteland families forced to keep females can do little to protect them when the imperials take them. Those that dishonor the house in which they find themselves are returned to the Wastelands to die a death so horrible that you cannot imagine. If you were to be sold on the market, I could not guarantee that it would not be an imperial that is purchasing you, either for his amusement or for the breeding a son. If you already have a mate, I can deny Korrik the opportunity to sell you. No matter who you are, you are nothing in their eyes. Is Heero Yuy your mate?"

Relena wanted to cry with shame. Part of her preferred the alternative, but then she remembered the pitiful wails of the women captured from Bayman transports who were lead off to the auction block. Relena didn't want to become one of them.

Taking a breath, she said, "Of course he is!"

Duo threw back his head in laughter, then went and slapped Heero on the back. "Good luck, buddy, and good riddance."

Trowa began to mutter his favorite word again.

Maeryn sighed and signaled to servants who came to carry him away. She then led them to quarters where Duo was reunited again with Trynity. When Relena was left alone with Heero in a spacious suite, she had nothing to say. Servants moved in and out bringing fresh food that was more palatable than what they had been given, and they left behind clean clothing. Relena busied herself with eating food that was actually cooked while Heero opened doors and looked out windows, probably planning the security of their room.

Their room! Relena wanted to scream in frustration. Glancing at the pillows that were cozily arranged on the floor, she could think of only one activity they would be doing there and it wasn't sleep. Why had she said that he was her mate? He didn't want her, and he was probably regretting his hasty announcement already. Now he was stuck with her.

"We seem to be safe," he remarked. "This door leads to a common bathing area we apparently share with Duo and Trynity."

"I'm all for a bath." Relena headed toward it, but Heero caught her arm. "They beat you to it. I wouldn't disturb them, if I were you."

She pulled her arm from him and walked away. "That's all they ever do!"

"I believe they are actually bathing and nothing more."

Relena felt her face turn red. "You make me feel foolish," she accused him. Spinning to look at him, she couldn't help but blurt, "You…you were watching me in the shower! How could you?!"

He shrugged. "I'm sure I'll get the opportunity to watch you bathe."

Relena gasped in outrage. "I will not enter that chamber with you!"

"Yes you will," he said smugly. "I'm tired of your childish behavior, Relena Peacecraft. I just might gladly auction you off myself if you don't treat me with a little more respect."

"Treat…treat you with respect?" Relena took a step toward him, her fists clenched. "What about me? You never respect me!" If she thought she could get away with it, she would punch him again!

"When should I have done that? When you were screeching my name and hanging around my neck like an ape-woman at school? When you were chasing after me on my missions as if I had all the time in the world to save you from your stupidity?" He seized her shoulders in his hands. "I have put up with nothing but crap from you. Now shut up." He bent and hefted her over his shoulder. "We're going to that comfortable looking spot on the floor, and I don't want to hear another word out of you, at least not one that I can understand."

Much later she was humming to herself as she relaxed in the warm water of the small pool. Heero was sleeping, so she thought she'd bathe. Conditions in the palace harem weren't much better than in the gundam hanger on the transport. She wanted to look her best when Heero awoke. At least this time he had the decency not to lie to her about his feelings. There was absolutely nothing wrong with spending the afternoon enjoying each other.

She heard the rattle of the beads covering the doorway to Trynity and Duo's apartment, so she sank further into the water until she realized it was Trynity. She would have greeted her, but Trynity walked unsteadily to a basin and proceeded to empty her stomach, then she trudged weakly to a bench near the small pool where she laid on her back and put her hand to her head and stared at the ceiling.

"Are you all right?" asked Relena when she saw a tear roll from the corner of Trynity's eye.

"I've never been happier in my life," said Trynity although her voice was cracking.

Relena left the pool, toweled herself off, and after slipping on a robe, went to Trynity. She knelt near the bench. "What is the matter? He didn't blame you for us being here did he? Because if he did…"

Trynity turned her head to look at her. "I'm pregnant," she whispered.

Relena gasped and sat back. "What did he say when you told him?" Relena would get Heero to pound Duo if he hurt Trynity.

"I can't tell him yet!" Trynity swung herself into sitting position on the bench. "I don't want to say anything until we get back to L10. Before we left he was insisting that I should take that fellowship, that maybe a little separation would be good for us." Trynity burst into tears and Relena gathered her into her arms to comfort her. "I don't want to be away from Duo! I don't care about that fellowship! I hate physics!"

Although she was startled by Trynity's outburst, Relena gently put her arms around Trynity's shoulders. "He couldn't stand to live without you. And when you tell him about the baby, he wouldn't dream of leaving you."

That had obviously been a mistake to say and Relena wished she could take those words back. "I won't tell him!" Trynity swiped away at her tears furiously. "And I don't want you to say anything. I'll tell him when we return to L10 after I make him understand that I don't want that fellowship."

There was no way she was going to change Trynity Stryfe's mind. "You guys weren't very careful," she commented with a frown.

Trynity frowned back at her. "Just how careful are you and Heero Yuy?"

Relena stared at her for a moment, then shot to her feet. "I'm sure…I'm sure…" Truth was, Relena hadn't even considered the consequences of being intimate with Heero. Well, she had that one night, but she had planned to go to his room and she was prepared, not be caught in her own bedroom, and once that happened, she hadn't given it a second thought. Relena was not experienced at all, but she knew that Heero didn't seem concerned about any consequences.

The look on her face gave Trynity something to laugh at, and suddenly Relena found herself laughing too.

"Aren't we a couple of idiots?" Trynity managed to laugh.

"Completely!" agreed Relena. She hugged Trynity, then said, "No matter what, we'll take care of each other. These gundam pilots are not very trustworthy."

When Trynity didn't say anything, Relena saw that her chin was quivering and that she was probably going to cry again, so she took her hands and squeezed them. "You and me, Trynity Stryfe. We can count on each other no matter what mess we get into."

"You help me; I help you," agreed Trynity after taking a deep, calming breath.

"This ain't good!" remarked Duo from the doorway, and Relena saw him shaking his head.

"Not in the least." Heero was standing in another doorway.

Relena and Trynity laughed.

He could hear a flute playing. Trowa wondered if he was dead, but a breeze flowed over him, and he could hear birds chirping as well as the flute. Although it hurt to do so, he opened his eyes and found himself staring up at the greenish-blue leaves of a tree. The music of the flute was comforting, and he wasn't unfamiliar with the melody. Trowa turned his head to see a woman with flowing black hair, dressed in unfamiliar clothing sitting nearby playing a small flute. He tried to speak, but his voice merely croaked.

She turned her head at the sound. The look she sent him bathed him in warmth, and he was sure he had died and that she was an angel. Tucking the flute in her belt, she came to his side, and she poured a liquid into a cup, which she held to his lips.

"Drink slowly," she warned him, speaking Calabrian.

He did as she ordered, then let out a breath and laid back. "Where am I?" The same language rolled easily off his tongue.

"This place is a refuge for the castoffs of the Calabrian system," she told him as she brushed back his hair. Her touch was soothing.

Trowa closed his eyes. "I should be dead; I wish I were dead."

"Don't wish that, Trey." She leaned forward and pressed her lips to his forehead.

Trowa closed his eyes and laughed weakly. "I'm not strong enough for that. Give me a few days, then we can have some fun."

She laughed softly. "Yorrik wouldn't like that."

Trowa opened his eyes and noticed that a stoic, muscle-bound man took a step toward them. He turned his head to look at the woman. "Who are you? Where am I?"

"I am Maeryn. These pirates follow my orders, and you are on my satellite colony. Your friends are safe and content here waiting for their crafts to be repaired. They sustained major damage coming through the wormhole. Many of the circuits need to be replaced and repaired, and much of that work may be beyond our capabilities. We may have to enlist the aid of our Bayman allies."

"My gundam…" he started, then couldn't finish as he remembered what he had done.

"One of the gundams is destroyed," she told him. "While my men were trying to tow it back to this place, it suddenly exploded when the power resumed. I lost some very good men in the explosion."

Trowa closed his eyes. "That was meant for me."

"I would rather it happened to them, than to you."

Trowa looked at her. "Why?"

"Isn't it obvious, Prince Trey? You are the heir to the emperor. He would pay dearly to have you returned." She moved away from him.

Propping himself up on his elbow, Trowa realized he was as weak as the day he awoke from his stupor on L10. But her words angered him. "I am not Prince Trey! Who has told you that lie?"

"Your friend, Heero Yuy." She issued an order to a servant to bring Heero there. "He will be happy that you are conscious again."

"How long have we been here?"

"Several days. You almost lost your life to that drug, Trey. Were it not for your friends, you would not be alive."

"Don't you think I knew that? I didn't care." Heero appeared following the servant. He was dressed in robes that resembled the clothing Apolo wore. "What have you told this woman?"

Heero stopped by the padded lounge chair. "I'm sorry, Trowa. I told her what I believed to be true. She has confirmed it by testing your blood. You are half-Calabrian."

"That can't be true!" he shouted angrily. Trowa wanted to strike someone for all the pain he felt. "I am not Prince Trey! I couldn't be!"

Maeryn put a hand on his arm and he turned to look at her. "You are Trey."

He felt tears gather in his eyes, realizing that what she said was the truth. "Why? Why did she do that to me? I came to understand why she used Trowa Barton, but this, I cannot understand! She denied my existence! She denied my love for her! She left me behind!"

Maeryn gathered him close to her, and he had a vague feeling of familiarity as she stroked his hair. "She wanted to protect you, Trey. That was her sworn duty."

"I loved her!"

"You will always love her," she predicted. "Sometimes we can't help how our heart feels when common sense tells us that we should feel otherwise."

He shook his head and drew away. "I will make her pay for what she did to me! I will make Apolo pay, and I will destroy Dilan."

Trowa almost expected the woman to try to talk him out of his vengeance, but she nodded. "The land will run red with imperial blood." She put her hand on the hilt of a sword at her side, and Trowa recognized it instantly.

Arora's sword!

His sword!

She saw his startled gaze, and pulled the sword. "I know that this sword was presented to you at the occasion of your coronation as the chosen heir of Emperor Zeno when you were so young that you could not even hold it. It is formed of the rarest metal and encrusted with the most precious of gems. There is only one use for this blade and it is to take the life of Zeno." She turned the blade and he saw that it was marked as if used in an intense fight. "You have already used it, Trey, and yet you live, as does Zeno."

Trowa shook his head. "I…I didn't use it."

"You must have! There is only one sword stronger than this one, and only Zeno's sword could have made these marks."

"I don't remember." He reached out for it, but she shoved it back into the sheath at her side.

"You may have it back when you have regained your strength. My men found it on one of the ships we managed to capture from the fleet returning through the wormhole. Get some rest." She walked away with her silent companion following.

Trowa waited until she was gone before he turned to look at Heero who had remained silent during their exchange. "Did you know?"

"Know what? That you are Trey? I suspected…"

"You put me through hell!" Trowa wished he could hit Heero, but he was too weak.

"I didn't put you through it, Trey, you did. You doubted yourself. I had hoped Dr. Channing would help you realize who you were, but despite all her efforts, you resisted."

Trowa shook his head. "You're lying! She tried to make me…she…" Trowa realized now that the woman was trying to make him see his memories as the truth, and he had fought her every step of the way. He had lied about the memories she was drawing to the surface because he feared she would take them away.

"You had to discover it for yourself," explained Heero. "If we had told you, you would not have believed us."

Trowa clenched his fists at his side. "So much wasted time!"

Heero reached out to touch one of his hands. "I will do what I can to help you regain what you have lost. We all will."

"My gundam is gone," he said sadly. "I destroyed Heavyarms."

"You will never need your gundam again," remarked Heero. "It was time to let it go."

"Who else is here? Duo?"

"Relena and Trynity," he added.

Trowa sighed. "This is not a good place for them to be. Women are not respected here."

"So we've been told. Don't worry. They are safe with us."

They spoke for a few more minutes before Trowa felt tired. When Heero left him, Trowa closed his eyes and dozed in the sunshine from one of the Calabrian suns. Waking later, he found his thoughts turning to Arora. Despite his angry vows of vengeance to the pirate woman, Trowa knew that he couldn't harm Arora, nor would he punish Apolo. They did what they thought best for him and in retrospect, he realized that they were right. Dilan would have killed him as he was. Trowa would now have to train to use his sword again before he could consider returning to Calabria. Now he would have to defeat Dilan before he could earn the right to challenge Zeno. As for Arora, he had to accept the fact that she was lost to him. Many months had passed since she had returned to Calabria. He had dishonored her, and Trowa knew that Dax would not be merciful. By now she had become part of the sands of the Wasteland, as she had been born to be.

He realized that in order to return to Calabria, he couldn't afford to be soft anymore. The human, Trowa Barton, was gone.

Trey of Calabria had to remember who he was and for what he was born to do.

"Shamara," he said aloud, finding strength in the battle mantra of the imperial guard.

He looked up to see Maeryn watching him.

"Shamara," she repeated with a nod.