Title: Soldier's Daughter

Rating: PG

Warning: Very slight mention of yaoi, some violence

Spoilers: Gundam Wing

Disclaimers: I can never claim to own Gundam Wing.

Soldier's Daughter: Chapter Six

Once the download was finished, I pocketed the disk and took back the semi-automatic from Odin's limp hands. I listened carefully for any sound outside the door.

"What's that you saved on there?" Odin asked.

"It's important. Don't worry about it." was all I answered him with. I tried to soften my words, but they still came out fairly harsh.

"But..."

Suddenly, there was a semi-muffled explosion somewhere in the base, ending any more talk. I realized our 'uncles' had some how found this place too. Hearing nothing else, I opened the door and we ran down the hall, trying to keep our footfalls from echoing. Odin followed right behind me quietly and with wide eyes. The smell of smoke grew thick in some places we passed through.

There were a few more times were we had to sidetrack or hide from soldiers running about. Some I spotted and many that my brother did. I really didn't want to fire the gun in my hands in front of him, and so far I hadn't had to. That luck, as most luck usually has a habit of doing, didn't last long.

As we reached a hanger, a number of explosions and sirens going off covered the sound of approaching men. The only warning we had was "STOP!"

I ran, pulling Odin with me further out into the hanger. Something, which could have been a bullet, whizzed by my ear. My brother hissed as we ducked behind some crates dotting the floor. Once out of range, I checked him over and discovered a small dart, like a tranquilizer, in his upper arm. He had been hit and immediately the dart had started to take affect.

"You've got to stay awake, Odin." I whispered frantically, trying to keep him awake by shaking his shoulders. "Fight it."

Odin struggled to do as I asked, fighting so hard to stay awake for me, but the drug was too strong. Soon he was unconscious beside me, behind the crate. More shots were fired at us by the soldiers in the hanger and darts, not bullets, started whizzing past us, embedding themselves in the wooden crates. They hit with sharp thunks.

'Damn sadistic bastards.' I cursed silently. 'Treating us like animals, using darts like that.'

Taking a risk at being hit, I returned their fire with more shots from my semi-automatic. I smirked as several men cursed when they realized I was shooting at them. Hearing orders to change weapons, I glanced around for an escape. There was door to the outside a long sprint from our crate. I would have to block their guns to even have a chance of getting though it. An idea came to me as I looked up at the many large fluorescent fixtures hanging above the soldiers.

I carefully took aim and fired at them. A few jerked and dropped a few inches, shrieking quietly as some of the supports broke. Ducking back behind the crate as the men fired at me, I checked on Odin. Still out. Another set of explosions rocked the base. It seemed that my 'uncles' were turning attention towards them instead of Odin and me.

I was focusing back on the lights when the Commander's voice called out, ordering his men to ceasefire. "I am surprised at you, Annel. Using yourself as a decoy. Very noble of you." I could easily imagine the smug look on his face. "Why don't we stop this nonsense before you get hurt?" There were sputters and murmurs from the soldiers that had been in the hanger.

Not trusting the man to keep his own from shooting me, I wiggled to the side of the crate. He didn't notice me peeking out from there while I took aim with a small, vindicated smile. Like I had promised to myself, the Commander wasn't going to be there in the morning.

'With him gone and once the base is destroyed maybe these soldiers will quit the idea of revolting.' I thought, as they started shooting at the crate that was hiding us. 'Then again, maybe not.'

I felt chunks of the crate break off from the constant bullets hitting it. Again I aimed at the large overhead lights to shoot them down. Before I could fire, though, another explosion rocked the hanger and sent the unbalanced fixtures crashing to the ground. Hot sparks flew everywhere. I knew that it wouldn't stop them for long so I arranged Odin piggyback and sprinted for the door, hitting the push-bar with my hip to open it.

Outside, mobile suits were fighting hard with the gundams. Many wrecks and remains of suits littered the area. Coughing slightly from the acrid taste of burning metal, I tried to stay fairly close to the building so not to be hit by shrapnel, but some Aries saw us and fired.

The ground shook as Uncle Trowa's Heavyarms suit landed in front of us; taking the impact of the laser shots.2 Another mobile suit not from the tape demolished the Aries at the same time. Then Uncle Trowa put down the metal 'hand' of his gundam.

"Climb on." he said through his radio.

I gently laid Odin there instead. "Get him out of here!" I shouted over the nearby explosions. Then I ran for the woods where Wing ZERO was hidden, again without explanation. I reached the road that lead away from the base and headed down it. Quickly, I finally got to where the soldier Leyon had found me.

Just passed that, I paused to get my second wind before pushing through the undergrowth. Within a moment I broke into the clearing ahead with my father's gundam. The sounds of the battle were increasing.

I clambered in and fastened the harness. I wasted no time taking off and joining my 'uncles.' Flying over the fight, I saw that Heavyarms was gone. 'Good. Odin is safe.' I thought. The ZERO system was trying to start its traps again, but I ignored the bait. I threw myself in the battle, pushing all other thoughts aside.

Over the communicator, Uncle Wufei was ranting while destroying several suits with the dragon-arms of his gundam. Unnoticed, another was coming up behind him.

"Why would she have left? What could Annel be thinking?" was what he was saying.

"Saving your ass." I said as I sliced the mobile suit behind him. His suit whirled to face mine. I sensed that, if he could have, Uncle Wufei wanted to throttle me very much. Then without a word we rejoined the fray.

Several enemy suits brook off to attack me. Drawing the beam saber, I showed them how dangerous I, or rather, this suit could be. I realized, with that move, that they were trying to isolate me. I was the unknown in this. They probably knew the others' battle skills, but I was like my uncles' trump card.

As the battle wore on, the fiercer and more frantic the enemy suits fought. More and more was I thrown about in my restraints as laser fire hit Wing ZERO. I was also fighting another battle against the ZERO system. I finally had to let it guide my movements for the fight but I was struggling to keep a sense of awareness about it. It was wearing on me.

This fight lasted longer than the first one. As dusk fell, we were finishing off the last mobile suits. I shook my head to dispel the effects of adrenaline and the ZERO system.

"As I'm sure someone very witty once said, 'Let's blow this joint.'" Uncle Duo spoke humorlessly as the base erupted into a fireball. I paused a moment, watching the flames as the others took off. Setting Wing on autopilot, I followed.

I started feeling every bump and bruise I received as the pain-numbing powers of the adrenaline wore off. I had vaguely noticed during the battle that my left arm stopped working right. Now it started to throb, then burn, and finally, as I registered that it was broken, it sent fire-like arrows of pain through my arm. I bit my lip, drawing blood, to hold back a scream and tears of pain. That occupied all my attention. I tried to block it, but every time I moved it hurt.

I was sure my uncles had been trying to contact me. I had flicked off the radio so I wouldn't have to answer their questions. To be honest, I wasn't sure of any answers I'd give them. With my arm hurting as it was, I couldn't even think very straight. I barely realized we had gone to Uncle Milliardo's and Aunt Noin's. I landed Wing ZERO in the remaining alcove, with some difficultly one-handed.

Switching the hatch open, I struggled for a moment with my restraints. The jump from the cockpit to the catwalk jarred the bones of my arm and my vision blurred from the pain. I stood swaying for a moment before my legs decided to give out. With another jarring thump, I ended up sitting against the railings, holding my broken arm in an attempt to protect it. I regarded my arm for a moment, as if it didn't belong to me.

'It will need to be set.' a strangely unconcerned part of me thought.

Thrusting the hurt aside I started to pull at that arm. I closed my eyes to concentrate as sweat trickled into them. I hissed through my clenched teeth as I felt the bones move, but not snap into place. My head was swimming with pain as I tried to set it again. I felt someone's hands on the break when I tried a third time to set it.

The blood roared in my ears as the edges of my sight went black. I sat on the hard catwalk floor numbly until I registered the same someone bandaging my arm.

"Thought I'd keep up family tradition," Uncle Duo said as he used a wrench for the splint, "when I saw you trying to do that. Heero did almost the same thing after I met him. Only it was his leg that was broken." I winced as he tightened the bandage one last time before tying it off.

Then I found my voice to ask. "Odin?"

"He's all right. Still knocked out, but as far as we can tell all right. What about you? Are you still all in one piece, more or less?" he smiled, gesturing to my arm as he stood.

I nodded once because any other movements made my head spin. This time I didn't refuse Uncle Duo's helping hand as he pulled me to my feet with my good arm. I managed a few uncertain steps to follow him out of the hanger. But suddenly my head began to swim and the darkness pulling at the corners of my eyes seemed to win. The last thing I remembered was how the floor came up, none too kindly, to greet me.

AN: Yeah, yeah. I know I made Annel pull a 'Heero stunt' but I couldn't help it, really. This wasn't much longer than the last one and, oh my gosh, was that a semi-cliffie at the end. Well there's one more chapter to conclude this. It might be short, it might be long, I do not know. Je ne sais pas.

2Think of when Trowa saves Catherine in Episode 13: Catherine's Tears. You know. Where Catherine goes to talk to Trowa before he tries to self-detonate. Then some OZ suits shoot at her and he... well just like I said in the chapter. The part just before she slaps him. THAT part.

Ja ne

Rainlight