The Mayfly of Space

By Seraphilim

Copyright Note: I don't own Gundam yadda yadda... OK, on with the story!

Chapter 4 - To the Star of Blue Water

U.C. 0083

Rise of Titans

Luna Two

A favorable sight greeted Alex as he entered the lounge. Cima, Zennon, and several of his fellow marines all sat at a table near the door, seemingly having a good time. As he neared, Alex noted what exactly they were doing.

Getting drunk.

"Hey Alex! Good of ya to join us!"

Alex rubbed a hand over his temples. That voice belonged to Rick, a fellow squad-mate who was a little too attached to his drink. The man was leaning back in his seat, raising his glass of lager in a mock salute to his commanding officer.

Looking around the table, Alex noted that the only available seat was to the right of Cima, on the edge seat. She glanced up at him as he sat down, then turned back to the drink in front of her as he accepted a pro-offered drink from one of the other marines.

As he took a sip of the liquor, Alex eyed Cima from the corner of his vision.

She was staring down at a near-empty glass; the pink flush in her cheeks a testament to the fact that it wasn't her first drink. She wore a mellow expression on her face, which Alex realized was pretty rare to see on her.

"Was he right...? Am I really just a mayfly...?"

'May... fly?' thought Alex as he blinked in surprise at the near mumbling coming from Cima. 'Mayfly? Where did that come from? Who's "he?"'

Alex put down his glass as he asked in Japanese, "Are you alright? Miss Cima."

She looked up at him with an expression he'd never seen before on her face. Exactly three seconds passed before he realized what it was. Sorrow.

"Alex... What am I? Bad? Evil? Am I an evil person?"

Alex replied carefully, confused as to why she was asking him this.

"No, you're not. You're a good person. You're not bad or evil."

He noticed that the light seemed to reflect in her eyes much more now, as if she was... crying?

'The alcohol must be affecting her more than I thought... How much did she drink?' he wondered curiously.

She squeezed her eyes shut for a moment, before she opened them to look at him.

"No, you're wrong... That time... The Mist Operation..." She looked back down; as if she was afraid to say anymore for fear of letting the tears flow freely.

Alex narrowed his eyes. The Mist Operation. That was the Zeon codename for the G3 gassing incident from the OYW. 'So that's what this is all about.' He thought as he reached and grasped her shoulders, turning her back towards him so he could look directly into her forest-green eyes.

"Cima, stop this! It was not your fault!"

He noted as he spoke that the exuberant activities of the other marines seemed to have ceased.

"You must stop blaming yourself! You didn't know, I didn't know, none of us knew the truth!"

"But..."

"Cima." The way he said her name, using no honorific like he always did usually, and with a powerful feel behind, made Cima trail off with her protest.

"Would you have pulled the trigger if you knew we were carrying G3?"

"N...no."

Alex looked over at Rick, Zennon, and all of the other marines seated at the table.

"Rick, would you have pulled the trigger?"

Despite his drunken state, Rick understood full well the seriousness of the situation.

"No Sir."

"Captain, would you?"

Zennon shook his head.

"Never."

"Anyone?"

The other marines, as Alex looked to each one, shook their heads. Alex turned back to Cima, and saw in her eyes and face that she was still fighting the truth. Alex pulled her towards him, bringing his face so close to hers that he could taste her soft breath. It smelled more of sweet wine than the hard liquor they had been drinking.

"Cima. You are not a bad person."

With that said, Alex leaned in and locked his lips with hers. Cima's eyes widened in surprise, but she closed her eyes and returned the kiss.

As their lip-lock went on longer, Alex expected the other marines to cheer, make catcalls, or do something celebratory, but it was completely silent. The usually raucous marines gave a silent cheer as they observed the interplay between Alex and Cima. Zennon grinned. 'Took them three years, but it finally happened.'

Finally, Alex broke the kiss with the older woman, and silently he almost regretted that he did. Cima opened her eyes and smiled, even though her eyes were still red.

"Thank you, Alex..."

"Just remember what I said."

Cima nodded. Alex returned the smile as was about to speak again when he heard someone snicker.

With an exaggerated slow turn, he looked over the marines. It wasn't them, he could tell by their expressions. Looking behind him, he saw the source. A couple of black and red uniformed Federation soldiers. Titans. The leader, if the guy standing at the front of the group could be called that, was some fresh-cut kid probably straight out of the academy, was sneering and clapping slowly.

"Well, well, well. Who'd have thought spacenoid dogs could show such a touching display?"

He spat on the floor, as his sneer turned into a snarl.

"Why don't you take your slut and those pathetic boy scouts of yours and get the **** out of here, SPACENOID?"

Alex heard Cima slap her fan into her palm, hard, as he rose from his seat. Two marines joined and flanked him as he approached the Titans group.

"What's your name, kid?"

The young Titan glared daggers into Alex's skull, even though Alex hadn't said or done anything to antagonize him.

"1st Lt. Luke Sommers. What the **** is it to you, Zeek?"

Alex stopped three feet from the Titan. He gave a dark smile.

"Captain Alexander Gantz Krauser. Allow me to give you my personal greetings."

He extended a hand towards Luke, obviously for a handshake. Luke stared at it with a disgusted expression, like it was some hideous bug that needed to be squashed.

Then, his eyes widened in shock as the hand became a fist, and the fist soared up to connect with his chin. The blow knocked the boy up into the air and down amongst his comrades. One guy checked on the now unconscious Luke, while two of the others looked ready to tromp on Alex. The last Titans, a dark-haired, large man and a woman with long blonde hair tied in a braid, held those two back. When they had settled down a bit, the man came forward.

"Nice punch, Spacenoid. You'll have to excuse Luke; he's an idiot and a hothead who likes taking on things that can kick his ass. 1st Lt. Ryan Hughes."

The big guy offered his hand to Alex. Slowly, Alex took it in his and they shook hands. Ryan grinned.

"So, you guys are Zeon Marines, huh? I remember fighting some of your Gelgoog-Ms at A Baoa Qu when I was flying one of the new model GM Commands. Didn't get any of you though. I think it was an ace team, since they had Googs painted in gold and green instead of that usual green and gray. I nearly got killed by their leader!"

Alex widened his eyes at this, as Ryan chuckled at the memory. That had been his very own team.

"Well, you fought against me then, Lt."

Ryan almost dropped his mouth open in surprise. He gave a hearty laugh.

"Well, I'll be damned! So we all made it out of that hellhole! No hard feelings, eh, Captain?"

Alex gave a smile. He looked over his shoulder to see that the other marines had resumed their conversations and other activities.

"Not at all. Were you the guy that pulled that crazy zigzag-shooting stunt? That took me off a bit. Had to use my shield."

"Yep, that was Yours Truly. Figured that floating in one place while firing was an idiot's way to die. True, it wasn't really easy to hit a target when you're moving like I was, but it sure made it hard for them to hit me!"

Alex liked this guy. Not at all like that other Titan, Luke. Curious, he looked over at the rest of the Titans, and saw two of them propping Luke up, with his arms over their shoulders, and taking him from the lounge.

"Jeez, hope I didn't hit him too hard."

Ryan looked over as the two Titans left the room with Luke.

"Nah, I've hit him harder. Sure, we're the same rank, but I'm a guy who's been in the OYW. He's just a rookie out of the academy. I don't know how he got it in his head that all Spacenoids are complete dirt though. Only guys like Delaz or the Zabis need to be stopped. Hell, a good buddy of mine from the war was a Spacenoid."

He extended his hand for another handshake.

"Anyways, I've got stuff to do. I'll see you again, Captain?"

Alex shook Ryan's hand.

"Just call me Alex."

"Sure, Alex. Oh, good luck with the lady. Once you get someone, you want to make sure never to lose them."

With that, Ryan and the Titans woman left the lounge. Alex waited until they left before turning around and heading back to the table. Ryan's words left something in him. Yet, Alex couldn't place whether it was bad or good...

Four hours later, the Pegasus-II Altair, with Alex, Cima, and the Knights aboard, left Luna II. Destination: Earth.

End Chapter Four