Title: Soldier's Daughter

Rating: PG

Warning: Very slight mention of yaoi, some violence

Spoilers: Gundam Wing

Disclaimers: I do NOT own Gundam Wing.

AN: I should mention that this story is AU. Though the only difference is that they didn't destroy the gundams at the end of "Endless Waltz."

Soldier's Daughter: Chapter Three

I sat back in my seat and crossed my arms. It had been about two hours since I left school and I was on a shuttle to Earth. To keep from being bothered by anyone, I closed my eyes and tried to fall asleep, but my mind was anything but tired. It kept going over what had happened in the last few hours.

Flashback

I kept thinking about Odin's expression as I walked. At first I couldn't think of why he had looked that way, but suddenly, it was as if a fog had lifted on my mind. My head jerked up as I realized that, even though he had always insisted on staying with me, I was hurting Odin by fighting rather than protecting him. All the friends that he'd had to leave behind because of me. The constant moves we've had because of me. It was entirely me fault. The revelation hit me hard. 'Well, not this time,' I decided. 'If I was hurting Odin by staying...'

"Then I'll protect him by leaving." I finished the thought out loud. Blinking, I looked around. While my mind wandered down its mental paths, my feet had carried me back to the house. Not to the front, but to the back gate. Quietly, I ghosted around to the patio door that let into the basement. I would have to be careful because Aunt Hilde was home and I didn't want anyone to stop me. Once inside and after listening for my aunt, I silently went to my room to pack.

I thought about where I could go. Staying on this colony wasn't an option; they could find me too easily. It was the same for the colonies that my other 'uncles' lived on. Then for some reason, my mind focused on Earth and on the place where I had lived the first ten years of my life. My mother's homeland; the Sank Kingdom. Even though my blood-relatives lived there, I somehow knew that it was where I should go. I also knew it would be easier to get around unnoticed on Earth.

As I packed my clothes into the duffel bag, I realized I had left my backpack at school. I was going to have to leave behind some things. I did pack up my laptop and its few bits of gear. I couldn't leave it behind. There was also something else I had to take with me. Going into one of my dresser drawers, I pulled out a crushed velvet box the size of my palm. Inside were Mom and Dad's wedding rings. Mom had left them to me when she died. I had never worn them before, but with sad thoughts of my parents, I put them on. There was one last thing I had to do before I left.

-Odin

I'm sorry for what I have made you go through. I have realized my mistakes and this is the best solution. I cannot change, so I will leave. Don't worry about me, little brother. I'm going home.

-Annel

I placed the note on the desk where my laptop had been. A part of me wanted to disappear without a trace, while another said it wasn't fair to Odin. Shouldering the duffel bag, I silently left. After walking a few blocks, I called a taxi to take me to the shuttle port.

End of Flashback

It had taken me a bare 15 minutes to by my ticket. No one seemed concerned that a 14-year-old girl, who should be in school, was buying a single, one-way ticket to Earth. In fact, people paid hardly any attention to me. I had the feeling it was all for the best. I was pulled from my thoughts when a gentle hand touched my shoulder. My body tensed as I opened my eyes and looked up at the flight attendant.

She smiled and said, "We're about to enter the atmosphere. You need to fasten your seat belt." I nodded and did as I was told. I felt the shuttle shudder and jerk as it hit the Earth's upper atmosphere. During the last moments of landing, I thought about my next plan of action. First I would go up to the old house and set up a place to live. I could stay there while I planned further. I knew the house stood unused since Mom's death. It had never been sold and a lot of the furniture and my parent's things were still there.

I left the shuttle port at a brisk pace after the shuttle landed. It was fairly warm for late fall, I didn't really need the light windbreaker I had on. My first stop was a grocery store for some food and other supplies. The house had its own well and an emergency generator, so I didn't worry about water or electricity. I took a cab from the store to the outskirts of the city and from there; I walked the last few blocks.

The trees were bare and the ground littered with their red, yellow, and gold leaves. Falls like this don't happen on the colonies. I had always loved the smell of fall. I paused, savoring it. There was something calming about it. Then, after hurrying, I quickly reached my old house.

Before going in, I went to the shed behind the house to turn on the generator and well pump. I noticed a small screen flash on after I started both. It read, "Solar batteries fully charged." This confused me. 'Solar batteries? What the hell?' I thought, but quickly decided not to push my luck by questioning their presence. 'That's why I didn't see any containers of gasoline for the generator. One less thing to worry about.' I had wondered where I was going to get extra gas for the stupid thing, if I chose to stay here a while.

I shimmied open a hall window and climbed in after making sure no one would spot me. I felt odd walking through the silent house. All the furniture had dust covers, making the rooms look filled with short lumpy ghosts. I had many memories of this place. Happy ones from when both my parents were alive, sadder ones after Dad died. I reached the master bedroom and opened the door. Except for the coating of dust, the room looked as if Mom and Dad still slept here.

'Here is where I will sleep.' I decided. Because the room faced the back of the house, there was no chance anyone would see lights from a window. By now it was getting late, so I made myself a sandwich for dinner. I pulled the dusty sheet that was over the mirror of Mom's vanity and sat down at it. I examined my reflection for a moment. Then I gathered my hair back in one hand while the other reached for the scissors. One way to keep my 'uncles' from finding me would be to change my appearance. I had bought a box of hair dye as well, but that would have to wait for tomorrow. After finishing with my hair, I curled up on my parents' bed and fell asleep.

The next day passed. I wandered around the city after getting the last few things that I needed. With short reddish hair now, anyone who might recognize me wouldn't. It turned out that Uncle Milliardo was away at a conference in London, so the public tele-vid said. He had taken over as Vice Foreign Minister. At least this gave me the chance to organize myself before going off on my own. It was quite late by the time I returned to my home-for-now.

There were no MISSING PESON signs by the second day, which surprised me. Still I decided to stay out of sight. Having nothing better to do, although a day on the inter-net was a strong temptation, I decided to do some cleaning. I dusted off the dresser and vanity before starting on the large oak bookcase my dad had built a long time ago.

Carefully, out of respect for the many old hardcovers, I removed the books from the shelves. I lightly traced my finger in the layer of dust that had accumulated and then ran my finger over the edge of the shelf. Suddenly something jabbed my finger.

"Shit!" I jerked my hand away and, in reflex, put the injured finger into my mouth. Just as quickly, I took it out and examined it, muttering a few other choice words as well. I looked up to glare at the offending shelf and was astonished to see an opening in the wall beside the bookcase. I blinked and shook my head. I could have sworn there had been no opening there moments ago.

"Nani?" I was so surprised that I spoke in Japanese; something my father had taught me when I was younger. Even though it was second nature to me, I had pretty much stopped speaking it after he had died.

I eyed the doorway and wondered 'What is a secret door doing in here?' Not knowing what to expect, I cautiously approached the doorway and peered inside.

The room beyond it was about the size of a small walk-in closet. It had another door on the right and was lined with cabinets of some sort. I opened one to discover several racks, which, except for a small handgun and a few clips of ammunition, were empty.

With the dusting forgotten, I wondered what a gun was doing here. Picking it up and remembering an old file I had found on dad's laptop, I checked and made sure that the safety was on. Thinking it might come in handy; I chose to hang onto it. One never knew when something like this would be useful. Especially if I was planning to be on my own for some time.

Double-checking the safety, I shoved the barrel into the waistband of my jeans. I shivered as the cold metal pressed against the small of my back. I put the extra clips in my pockets; making a note to stash them in my duffel bag once I had finished looking around. I checked the other cupboards (empty) and then turned my attention to the second door. It was already open, much to my surprise. 'How the hell had it opened so silently?' I looked through the second opening and stepped through.

This room was slightly smaller than the one I was previously in, minus the cabinets. The door shut behind me and I could feel a claustrophobic kind of panic rise up inside of me. I turned around and felt the door to see if there was a catch that would make it open again. Then I noticed a series of buttons on a panel next to the door with the labels "H", "C" and "F".

"Must be an elevator," I said aloud, my panic receding. The "H" was lit, so I pressed the next one, "C", curious as to where it would take me. About a minute later the door opened to a catwalk that encircled a very large area, a hanger of some sort. It was dimly lit. The back wall was in shadows and the area seemed about the length of two or three football fields.

There were six large alcoves along the walls, three on each side. I could see that there were names lit up on the inner wall of each alcove. Leaning over the rail, I saw the bottom level, which was about three stories below the catwalk. As I glanced back at the elevator, I noticed that there were more doors on either side of it. Suddenly I realized that there was a fair sized complex under my house.

I started to walk down the catwalk. Reading each of the names as I passed the alcoves by. My voice echoed in the large space.

"Tallgeese III"

"Atlong"

"Deathscythe Hell"

"Sandrock"

"HeavyArms"

I paused at the last alcove, not able to make out the last name because it was not empty.

I stared at the large white, blue, and red machine that stood before me like a looming giant. I felt like its almost glowing green eyes were looking me over. Measuring my worth. I was feeling pretty insignificant, to say the least.

Faintly, I recalled from a history class the name of these kinds of machines. A mobile suit. From the same corner of my mind, questions started to bubble forth. Weren't all the mobile suits destroyed?

And why is one hidden under my family's home?

So Annel's questions will be answered in the next chapter.

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