Chapter Three
Ivory woke up slowly, the images around her blurry. Quatre smiled above her. "Feel okay?" he asked. Ivory nodded a little and tried to sit up. She discovered her left arm was in a sling. Quatre helped her sit upraight and stuffed a pillow behind her back. Sitting up made her a little dizzy. Her shoulder ached a little. She reached to rub it, but Quatre pulled her hand away. "You have to let it heal. Touching it won't make it better." "What happened?" She thought back and remembered how she got there, who he was, and all. But what happened after the shower? And why did she hurt so much? "You were shot. Trowa says it was a girl in a Barton uniform. You've been asleep for two days, but you're healing okay. It will be another day before Sally lets you out." Ivory nodded. She was in her room, the one with no windows or escape route. Ivory felt trapped. All she wanted was to get out. But who was the girl that shot her? Did the Barton's send an assassin? Why? She felt extremely confused. She wasn't even sure why she was there to begin with. Did the Barton's think she was a traitor? At that moment, Lady Une walked in with a file, Ivory's most likely, and a clipboard. She asked Quatre to leave and sat in his chair. They stared at each other for a moment, sizing each other up. Une backed down first, turning back to the files she had on her lap. "Tell me about you," Une asked. "Everything you remember." Ivory stayed silent. She searched Une's face for any hints of what she expected. "Why?" Une stared back. "We have reason to believe you're a threat to the free world." "And telling anecdotes about my past is going to prove anything?" Ivory spat sarcastically. "What do you want? And why should I tell you?" Une tapped her pen. She pondered a moment, not sure what to say. She hesitated before she spoke. "We have the Halcyon under custody. The pilots are running checks and maintenance. We need to know if you'll pilot it." Ivory stared back. "So you destroy the Barton's, kidnap me, and expect me to work for you?" She was appalled. Surely the Preventers wouldn't be so stupid. "The Barton base was not targeted by us, but by the Barton colony base. They were after you." Ivory raised an eyebrow. "I don't believe you." "I didn't think you would." Une threw the folder into Ivory's lap. "Read that. I'll be back in a few hours."
-------
The pilots and Sally sat around a dimly lit table in comfortable silence. Wufei dealt cards and Duo took a sip of his beer. They stayed silent except for the snapping of cards and clinks of glass. Each took their hand in stride, taking note of each pilot's winnings and sleeves to make sure nobody cheated. Trowa gulped down a shot of tequila and tossed out some poker chips. Quatre folded but the rest tossed in chips too. Heero raised Trowa's proposition with five more chips and the four displayed their cards. Duo cheered as he raked in the chips while the others sneered at his luck. Sally finished the last of her beer and stood up to stretch. Une walked in and grabbed an iced tea from the refrigerator. The cap popped and she drank a good half bottle before she sat on the counter. Wufei continued to shuffle cards with an annoying snapping sound, but nobody seemed to care. Quatre turned to Une. "How is she?" Une looked up surprised. "Oh, she seems okay. She's reading the Barton file now. The room's locked from the outside, so you guys can go look if your curiosity leads you." Une finished the last of her iced tea. "I think she might be a little lonely and we have to make sure she doesn't escape the same way the Barton assassin did." "I welded the vent to the ceiling. There's no way she can get out," Trowa responded. "But I'll take first shift guard duty." The other pilots agreed and Wufei would relieve him around 3 AM. They dispersed quietly, heading to their respective rooms to get some shuteye not knowing what lay ahead.
-------
Ivory leafed through the heavy file, knowing this was the end of everything she ever worked for. It contained information on the Barton foundation and the space colony they currently occupied. Mixed in with descriptions and blueprints were pages about the foundation higher ups and biographies on major people to know. She got bored of the file and was about to put it away when a yellow post-it note poked through the side. Ivory turned to the indicated page and read:
Project Viper
Objective: To remove Barton land base 001 and overthrow
ideals of Barton foundation. To establish new order of Viper
and infiltrate world government.
At 1200 hours, Barton land base, located Tokyo Japan, to be
exploded from within. Using T57 bombs concealed in steel
briefcases, bombs will be detonated from colony X198...
She continued to leaf through the new information, taking in the idea that someone planned all this quite carefully. There was no indication of who headed the Viper project or what they planned to do now. Where did this information come from? And what did she have to do with the whole thing?
...During the infiltration of the Barton estate to plant said
briefcases, two members of the Vipers, namely Ang Cho and Meike
Hines, will take Ivory Jung, pilot of the Halcyon under custody.
After confirmation of Jung's departure, the bombs will be
detonated. Cho and Hines will deliver Jung to Viper base to undergo
retraining. The Halcyon will be destroyed. After detonation, Vipers
will raid land base and shut down systems. No prisoners will be
taken...
Ivory's throat caught in her mouth. She was going through sensory overload. Her heart beat faster and Ivory could hear the blood rush through her ears. Her breaths became shorter and her entire body felt numb. As Trowa opened the door, Ivory blacked out and papers flew all over the room. She passed out, sheets of pale paper falling slowly from her fingers onto the cold floor.
-------
Sally ran her fingers over the numerous bandages that ran around Ivory's chest. In the moment, Ivory's old wound had reopened and tore. Her heart beat slowly and beads of sweat danced on her forehead. Trowa read over the papers that scattered the room and collected them. He didn't know what order they went in, but the least he could do is make a neat pile. He ignored the request to leave the room and sat at the back of the room watching Sally repair her bleeding chest. Sally continued to examine her entire body, every mark, every scar. She spent a lot of time going over a particular scar in Ivory's abdomen and a mark on her right arm. "What did you find?" Trowa broke the silence abruptly. Sally shook her head. "I think the Barton's operated on her, here," she pointed to her arm, "and here," motioning to her abdomen. "The scars are too perfect to be accidental and they're not too old. Maybe four, five years since it happened." "What do you think happened?" Trowa looked on as Sally pondered a moment and examined them again. "The arm is obvious. That's probably a tracking device or a code. Some kind of Barton identification. Real proof of who she is." Sally hesitated. "And..? The other scar?" Trowa lifted an eyebrow. Sally hesitated for a few more moments. "I think they disconnected her fallopian tubes." Sally didn't meet his eyes. She didn't say more. "So?" "So?! That means she can't ever have children! She's been robbed of a future family! Don't you think that's important?" "They probably did it so she wouldn't get pregnant if she was raped." Sally looked up furiously. She sputtered at Trowa enraged. "That's the lowest thing I've ever seen the Barton's do," she spat, and stormed out of the room.
Ivory woke up slowly, the images around her blurry. Quatre smiled above her. "Feel okay?" he asked. Ivory nodded a little and tried to sit up. She discovered her left arm was in a sling. Quatre helped her sit upraight and stuffed a pillow behind her back. Sitting up made her a little dizzy. Her shoulder ached a little. She reached to rub it, but Quatre pulled her hand away. "You have to let it heal. Touching it won't make it better." "What happened?" She thought back and remembered how she got there, who he was, and all. But what happened after the shower? And why did she hurt so much? "You were shot. Trowa says it was a girl in a Barton uniform. You've been asleep for two days, but you're healing okay. It will be another day before Sally lets you out." Ivory nodded. She was in her room, the one with no windows or escape route. Ivory felt trapped. All she wanted was to get out. But who was the girl that shot her? Did the Barton's send an assassin? Why? She felt extremely confused. She wasn't even sure why she was there to begin with. Did the Barton's think she was a traitor? At that moment, Lady Une walked in with a file, Ivory's most likely, and a clipboard. She asked Quatre to leave and sat in his chair. They stared at each other for a moment, sizing each other up. Une backed down first, turning back to the files she had on her lap. "Tell me about you," Une asked. "Everything you remember." Ivory stayed silent. She searched Une's face for any hints of what she expected. "Why?" Une stared back. "We have reason to believe you're a threat to the free world." "And telling anecdotes about my past is going to prove anything?" Ivory spat sarcastically. "What do you want? And why should I tell you?" Une tapped her pen. She pondered a moment, not sure what to say. She hesitated before she spoke. "We have the Halcyon under custody. The pilots are running checks and maintenance. We need to know if you'll pilot it." Ivory stared back. "So you destroy the Barton's, kidnap me, and expect me to work for you?" She was appalled. Surely the Preventers wouldn't be so stupid. "The Barton base was not targeted by us, but by the Barton colony base. They were after you." Ivory raised an eyebrow. "I don't believe you." "I didn't think you would." Une threw the folder into Ivory's lap. "Read that. I'll be back in a few hours."
-------
The pilots and Sally sat around a dimly lit table in comfortable silence. Wufei dealt cards and Duo took a sip of his beer. They stayed silent except for the snapping of cards and clinks of glass. Each took their hand in stride, taking note of each pilot's winnings and sleeves to make sure nobody cheated. Trowa gulped down a shot of tequila and tossed out some poker chips. Quatre folded but the rest tossed in chips too. Heero raised Trowa's proposition with five more chips and the four displayed their cards. Duo cheered as he raked in the chips while the others sneered at his luck. Sally finished the last of her beer and stood up to stretch. Une walked in and grabbed an iced tea from the refrigerator. The cap popped and she drank a good half bottle before she sat on the counter. Wufei continued to shuffle cards with an annoying snapping sound, but nobody seemed to care. Quatre turned to Une. "How is she?" Une looked up surprised. "Oh, she seems okay. She's reading the Barton file now. The room's locked from the outside, so you guys can go look if your curiosity leads you." Une finished the last of her iced tea. "I think she might be a little lonely and we have to make sure she doesn't escape the same way the Barton assassin did." "I welded the vent to the ceiling. There's no way she can get out," Trowa responded. "But I'll take first shift guard duty." The other pilots agreed and Wufei would relieve him around 3 AM. They dispersed quietly, heading to their respective rooms to get some shuteye not knowing what lay ahead.
-------
Ivory leafed through the heavy file, knowing this was the end of everything she ever worked for. It contained information on the Barton foundation and the space colony they currently occupied. Mixed in with descriptions and blueprints were pages about the foundation higher ups and biographies on major people to know. She got bored of the file and was about to put it away when a yellow post-it note poked through the side. Ivory turned to the indicated page and read:
Project Viper
Objective: To remove Barton land base 001 and overthrow
ideals of Barton foundation. To establish new order of Viper
and infiltrate world government.
At 1200 hours, Barton land base, located Tokyo Japan, to be
exploded from within. Using T57 bombs concealed in steel
briefcases, bombs will be detonated from colony X198...
She continued to leaf through the new information, taking in the idea that someone planned all this quite carefully. There was no indication of who headed the Viper project or what they planned to do now. Where did this information come from? And what did she have to do with the whole thing?
...During the infiltration of the Barton estate to plant said
briefcases, two members of the Vipers, namely Ang Cho and Meike
Hines, will take Ivory Jung, pilot of the Halcyon under custody.
After confirmation of Jung's departure, the bombs will be
detonated. Cho and Hines will deliver Jung to Viper base to undergo
retraining. The Halcyon will be destroyed. After detonation, Vipers
will raid land base and shut down systems. No prisoners will be
taken...
Ivory's throat caught in her mouth. She was going through sensory overload. Her heart beat faster and Ivory could hear the blood rush through her ears. Her breaths became shorter and her entire body felt numb. As Trowa opened the door, Ivory blacked out and papers flew all over the room. She passed out, sheets of pale paper falling slowly from her fingers onto the cold floor.
-------
Sally ran her fingers over the numerous bandages that ran around Ivory's chest. In the moment, Ivory's old wound had reopened and tore. Her heart beat slowly and beads of sweat danced on her forehead. Trowa read over the papers that scattered the room and collected them. He didn't know what order they went in, but the least he could do is make a neat pile. He ignored the request to leave the room and sat at the back of the room watching Sally repair her bleeding chest. Sally continued to examine her entire body, every mark, every scar. She spent a lot of time going over a particular scar in Ivory's abdomen and a mark on her right arm. "What did you find?" Trowa broke the silence abruptly. Sally shook her head. "I think the Barton's operated on her, here," she pointed to her arm, "and here," motioning to her abdomen. "The scars are too perfect to be accidental and they're not too old. Maybe four, five years since it happened." "What do you think happened?" Trowa looked on as Sally pondered a moment and examined them again. "The arm is obvious. That's probably a tracking device or a code. Some kind of Barton identification. Real proof of who she is." Sally hesitated. "And..? The other scar?" Trowa lifted an eyebrow. Sally hesitated for a few more moments. "I think they disconnected her fallopian tubes." Sally didn't meet his eyes. She didn't say more. "So?" "So?! That means she can't ever have children! She's been robbed of a future family! Don't you think that's important?" "They probably did it so she wouldn't get pregnant if she was raped." Sally looked up furiously. She sputtered at Trowa enraged. "That's the lowest thing I've ever seen the Barton's do," she spat, and stormed out of the room.