Disclaimer: I don't own Gundam Wing or any of the characters. Ashton is my OC.

Alrighty. I hope you enjoy this. It's a piece I started for a class but I liked how it turned out. :3

Staring through the safety of the thick glass shuttle window, Ashton gazed out at the unending abyss of space. Distant orbs glowed a fiery white and blue, flickering in the far off reaches of the endless black sky. It was the girls first time in a shuttle and her stomach knotted as it turned uneasily. As it was exciting and certainly amazing, she couldn't help but let the fear of war raise up within her. Though the shuttle's passengers had all been assured their safety on their passing to their destined colony, Ashton knew that in these times safety was just a false sense of security.

The war that raged in space was one started by the Earth forces known as Oz. The civilized colonies in space were known for their peace and tranquility but Earth's inhabitants were known to be greedy creatures for power. The organization that called itself Oz strived to arm the serene colonies, claiming that it was time for the colonies to become more advanced in their military divisions in order to better protect themselves. Anyone could tell from the start that Oz and the Earth forces only had one ambition and was only to enhance their own forces by forcing the citizens of space to conform to their armies with no real desire to protect the colonies.

Ashton frowned at her faint reflection in the clear glass. She disliked the fact that Earth wanted to control the colonies, disturbing their quiet and happy lives but the certain detail that Oz aimed to repress the colonies with their filthy, blood stained hands just sickened her. Oz wasn't fit to rule the colonies and the colonies had no need for weapons of mass destruction. They had no quarrels that required anything as rash as military weapons and they certainly didn't need to be introduced to it. Anyone who had knowledge of any past wars should be reluctant. Once you give people weapons they're known to begin more and more disputes for the chance to cure their of curiosity of the weapons abilities. Or maybe Ashton just felt more compelled then others to think so negatively of the military's actions due to her family connections.

Her reflection faded as the shuttle passed one of the many established colonies. She wrinkled her nose in disgust as she observed the immense, army green androids that hovered outside of the metal structure. The androids, known as mobile suits, were man piloted and to Ashton's knowledge she recognized that these particular mobile suits were known as Space Leos, a favorite of the Oz space force. She chanced that it was another one of their famous ambassadors visiting, bearing a 'shared vision of peace' in exchange for the colonies cooperation.

'Hoping to obtain peace by arming the people is kinda of ironic' Ashton mused listlessly, her eyes no longer focusing on anything of interest. 'It's like giving a kid a baseball bat in a glass house and telling them not to break anything... Of course people are going to fight..."

Having a fleet of mobile suits escort the ambassadors colony to colony was obvious proof that their message of peace wasn't well excepted by all the colony citizens. Most colonies allied with Oz after caving under the military's influence to comply to their standards out of the fear of being at the end of a loaded gun. Oz has many faces it liked to hide from the public. Many opposing groups that strived to strike against Oz's ideals were silenced, some being more lucky then others. But their was one distinct group that had Oz running about like a headless chicken. The crowd of five young men struck hope for the colonies. Their rebel against Oz was to fight power with power. Against an army of millions, the youth had their own eloquent mobile suits. The suits were classified as Gundams and they easily exceeded the average mobile suits capabilities. Each pilot's individual suit had special modifications to match it's pilot's special attributes. The information on Gundam pilots was limited and Ashton only knew what was rumored though she lusted to know more. The fact that those boys were capable of making a tremendous power like Oz squirm was really saying something. As Ashton saw it, these extremists were the colonies only hope of escaping Oz's grasp at this point. The colony leaders were either too easily persuaded, being simply manipulated or those opposed lacked the strength to resist Oz's authority.

Ashton was suddenly joined at the window by a small blonde boy, no more then the age of five. He allowed himself to elevate in space's weightlessness until he was at eye level with the window and with his small, dirty fingers he gripped the window's ledge to steady himself. His crystal blue eyes gazed out at the Space Leos longingly, his immature face taking on a strong, sorrowful expressive far beyond his age. As Ashton studied the boy's grave expression he never once glanced over at her. His eyes couldn't be torn from the mobile suits.

"My... my mommy told me that my daddy is going to protect as and make our home stronger..." The small boy's quiet voice quivered slightly as he looked away from the view momentarily as if to see if Ashton was listening. "She said that daddy was brave and that he was gonna be a hero in one of those things..." He pointed a small finger against the glass, gesturing towards the looming Space Leo as it slowly faded into the distance as the shuttle moved onward. His face again grew depressed and Ashton's heart ached for him. The war deprived so many people of loved ones and the ones most effected by the sudden void in their life were children. A hole is torn in their perfect world of wonders, forcing them to confront reality's ugly face at such a premature and tender age.

"I didn't want daddy to go but he left any way. We don't have a home any more because of those stupid things. Now my daddy doesn't have a home to make stronger and he can't come home because it isn't their any more." The boy paused for a moment, as a bewildered look came over his face, "What if he can't find me?" His face became damp with wet tears as they trickled down the slope of his red cheeks. His eyes peered up at Ashton, holding the fear of the forever emptiness of a father figure. Ashton pulled her body in front of the sniffling boy and gripped the ledge of the window to anchor herself.

"Hey now, don't cry." She smiled warmly, her honey eyes glowing softly as she swept away his salty tears with her finger. "Your daddy'll find you, daddy's are smart." She assured him giving her head a playful tap. Despite her confidence, Ashton found her mind scrambling desperately for the right words to comfort the distressed child.

"He will?" He whispered, his faced unsettled as it was a mix of hope and doubt, not knowing if the gentle face of the stranger could be lying to him or not. Her light and caring voice made him want to believe her but the loss of his home that his father left him to enforce obviously still tore at him, leaving him uncertain.

"Joel?"

Staring over the boy's head, Ashton noticed a long blonde hair woman approaching them from the far end of the hall way, her face looked flustered and her eyes stressed. Her eyes caught with Ashton's and then darted down to the blonde boy.

"Joel!"

The boy's head turned toward the voice behind him as the woman hurried over to him.

"Mommy!"

The boy wrapped his thin arms around his mother's waist and the mother's face was over come with a sudden relief. She smiled down at her child as she motherly roughed his thick golden hair before bringing her eyes up to meet Ashton's.

"I'm sorry, I hope he wasn't bothering you." She laughed lightly.

"No, no! He wasn't bothering me at all." Ashton assured her as she slipped down from of the window ledge and planted her feet on the floor.

"I thought I lost him. He has such a bad habit of wondering off on me." The woman continued to smile as she fondly stroked the boy's hair.

A low, hollow ding sounded over the intercom and echoed down the hallway.

"Attention passengers. We will be arriving at colony X188975 in the L2 area in approximately fifteen minutes. Please gather your belongings and wait for further announcements on exiting the shuttle."

As the echo faded down the hall way, the blonde women looked down at Joel.

"Hear that? We're almost at our new home. Lets hurry and get our bags, okay?"

"M'kay." The boy smiled up at his mother, taking her hand and holding it tightly.

Ashton watched as they made their way back down the hall in the same direction that the mother had came in, their conversation lingering faintly in the air. Joel snuck a peak back at Ashton and smiled lightly and gave her a small wave goodbye. Ashton chuckled to herself and waved back. He was an adorable child and she wished him the best of luck in seeing his father again soon though she knew there was a good chance his father would never return.

Turning herself around, she squinted to see the approaching colony. Her mouth became dry and she swallowed thickly. She was again greeted by the same nervous feeling as before. She uneasily detached her grip from the ledge and drifted down the hall way, slowly turning her back on the view of space.

She made her way back to her small cabin and quickly entered her room's code. The door slid open with the sound of rushing air and Ashton slipped inside and retrieved her luggage from underneath her metal bunk. Tossing her balky black suit case onto the mattress with a groan, she fell down beside it tiredly. She was relieved at the same time that she was nervous since the ride had taken so many hours to reach X188975 and now they were only a mere fifteen minutes away. Laying her back down against the lumpy mattress she sighed and lay in silence, waiting for the next announcement.

What did you think? I'd love to hear your thoughts — please review!