All Standard Disclaimers Apply

Chapter 13

"A man who won't die for something is not fit to live."

I was drugged upon admittance to the base's medical wing, and I only know this because I was later told. In truth I had fallen asleep under the weight of warm blankets while I was being transferred to the Sick Bay. It was a deep and empty sleep, devoid of dreams and rest. I awoke as tired as when I had first fallen asleep. I was not alone in the small room they had secured me in. There was a guard present and he would answer none of my questions once I was able to voice them, but only summoned a nurse to wait upon my needs. No one spoke to me unless it pertained to my health and so I was forced to suffer the eternal company of a watchful guard while I waited for whatever new fate the Special's Forces had planned for me. I remembered well the words that loose-tongued orderly had whispered to me as we left the cell block. Their meaning was less certain.

It is hard to say how much time went by. There were no windows in the small room and no clock. The room was not like a cell, for it had a few amenities to it, such as a sink and bathroom (which was embarrassing at best with a guard forever watching me). Most of my time was spent lying in the small white bed, either sleeping or staring out into space, lost in thought. There was nothing else to do but wait. I regulated time by the breaks that the guard took and the visits from the nurse who took my stats. It was really the first time I had been in a hospital of this kind, and so I did not understand what was or was not a usual movement. It was always the same two people who I saw hour after hour while I waited in that room. No interrogators, no Alliance Officials, no Specials Officers, no OZ agents, just me and the beady-eyed guard.

I knew I would find out what was in store when the nurse finally came earlier than she should have (by this time I had been able to mentally time her movements) and gave me an injection. I began to feel heavy within seconds and knew it was sedation. They waited for the drug to take affect, the nurse and guard both standing by me until my eyelids dropped and I breathed through my mouth. They nodded to each other and departed, turning off the lights behind them. I pulled the bed cover up around myself a little, knowing I should stay awake so I could see what happened. A sudden thought arose that perhaps they might have given me a lethal injection. But it would be rather strange for them to leave the room if such were the case. They would more likely have stayed to confirm the death. I couldn't consider it any longer, sleep was on me.

He was in the room when I awoke. It was probably not long since I had fallen asleep. I had no way of telling time but it still felt as though I had been sleeping only a matter of minutes. The lights were back on, and Treize was sitting in the chair the guard had occupied for so long. He was again wearing that blue uniform that signified his status as an officer. It took me sometime to see him clearly, by the time I was sure it was him he had left the chair and was standing by the bed side.

"I think they gave you a little too much. It was only to keep you subdued" he informed me in that usual quiet voice.

"I have a weakness for sleep." I managed to say. The bed was warm and I still felt heavy, and somehow reassured by Treize's presence. Treize nodded at my statement, showing no expression. He turned for a moment and pulled the chair up to the cot, sat down, and braced his arms on her high booted legs. Then he remained silent, looking at the wall. There were many questions I could have put to him, but instead I waited for him to speak. He seemed to be thinking, mentally preparing something. So I showed some patience, but I was feeling sleepy again. The silence and his oddly comforting presence worked to lull me.

"I want you to do something for me" said Treize suddenly, his body unmoved. "I want you to think hard about what you want now"

A harder question he couldn't have asked. I had a thousand answers and yet none at all. He sensed my confusion and spoke again. "It is important for me to know what you desire at this stage of events. What you decide on will determine the outcome of many things. Think very carefully on it, Anne."

"You still call me that?" It was a small amusement now, recalling simpler and younger times. We had both aged lifetimes since he gave me that name, though it was but three years and as he spoke I began to see the boy that I had dallied with in Lyon had passed on into this enigmatic man.

"It is your name now." His words had finality to them. I looked hard at his face, his eyes which were still looking forward beyond me (how that soon became the standard for my time with him), his mouth set gently but indifferently. There were markings of experience that had not been present three years ago. His boyish youthfulness had been worn over with seriousness and conviction. Treize could still be called pretty, with smooth somewhat feminine features, but there was a definite masculine power accompanying them. Actually, it seemed that there was a power in every physical portion of him. It was startling when finally detected the command he had acquired in his person alone.

"You are not thinking, Anne. Concentrate on the question, not on me." That surprised me. He wasn't even looking at me and yet he knew my mind. The way he said it was as smooth and quiet as all his other words, but I heeded them this time, feeling a little rushed. After several minutes he looked at me, perhaps out of impatience and I answered.

"I don't know. I don't want to think about desires if they will simply be denied."

"Denials will depend on the desires themselves. I am capable of accommodating many of them, but not all. If you wish to return to your command as First Lady of War and Countess of Mortain, I can grant that, in which case you must be executed for treason and inciting war against the Earth Sphere Alliance."

I swallowed visibly at his ominous words. With one option before me it was easier to make a decision. I at least knew I didn't want to die. But what other alternatives were possible? Again, he seemed to read my mind.

"For the moment, you are not First Lady of War. You are not Analicia Delizabane. You are just Anne and you have a choice to remain so."

'You know who that was? That was you.' The meaning of the orderly's words in the hall suddenly made sense to me. But I didn't quite believe it.

"That girl. . . The one they put in my cell?"  Treize might have been a high ranking officer. But how could he pull off something like what I now suspected? Treize explained in his customary bland tone.

"Officially speaking, Analicia Delizabane has already been dealt with. She was executed this morning before a firing squad with all necessary personnel in attendance. There was no contention over the execution. Our enemy is dead, which now leaves you, Anne, to decide your own fate."

"You killed someone in my place? Who was she?" I felt guilt rising in my throat over the whimpering girl who had born my name as she was shot to death.

"Someone who looked enough like you to convince those who needed convincing. She has served her purpose. Do not think of her any more. Think of your choice." He was a little more emphatic this time, yet still expressively calm. Again I thought of what I wanted and what he might be offering me. I answered with the only certainty I had.

"I want to live."

Treize seemed very satisfied with this answer. Perhaps he feared I had developed some sense of honor and would wish to die with my troops. But such would never be the case. Survival was what I knew and what I was best at.

"There is only one way you will be able to live now. I will allow your life to continue, but in return you must serve me." Treize left a great space of silence between these words and his next. "It is not only because I require something in return for saving your life here, but because you will need my protection from those who might know or learn your true identity, in which case you would also compromise me, and I will not tolerate that kind of endangerment."

"But, if I serve you, I will be in the lion's den. You would protect me by surrounding me with the enemy?" I asked.

"In a matter of weeks, my protection will be all that you need to be safe from those around you. No one will question you with my shadow covering you."

"What would be required of me?" I was still very unsure about this. How could I serve him? Would he expect me to be his secretary? Maid? Perhaps something more demeaning and inappropriate; I tensed at the thoughts.

"You have already shown you adeptness at military strategy. I will enlist you as my aide in the cabinet. That way I can keep you under close watch and also benefit from your abilities. You will join OZ and become a member of the Specials Forces."

You could have blown me over with a feather, joining up with the enemy.

"I don't know the first thing about your organization, Treize. How could I serve under one of its chief officers?"

"Not just one of its chief officers, its leader, Leader of the Specials and of OZ. And you will learn about our organization. I am sure you are a quick study, else how would you have risen to the rank of General so quickly?" Treize returned to staring past me.

"That was because of my name, Treize. Not because of my ability."

"If that were true, the Alliance would have picked you off and I would never have been called in to deal with your armies." His flattery had an edge to it.  I shook my head. It was a fluke. No person of my age should have been allowed to lead an army. I wasn't ready for it.

"It shouldn't have been."

"Lafayette was General at twenty. Joan of Arc led French armies against the English at seventeen. You are not as rare and inappropriate as you think." He answered my momentary lament. But now was certainly not the time to delve into the wisdom of giving such power to such youth.  I had to focus on the matter at hand. The whole proposition felt too heavy to consider in a single sitting and I asked if he would give me more time to think about it.

"You must decide now. I cannot hide you here much longer"

There wasn't enough time to make this kind of decision with any wisdom. I had no idea what kind of organization OZ was, only the bits and pieces that I had heard from Romafellar. Would I want to get involved in this? Who knew what they might make me do? Everything was so unclear. Perhaps I could agree and escape. No, Treize was a powerful man, he would easily find me and I knew if I didn't cooperate I would be dispatched to protect his interests. Yet why was he taking the risk in the first place? He wouldn't be compromised at all if he had just let me be executed. I was sure my abilities didn't outmatch other candidates for this job. Why did he want me?

Then I remembered his dream, that vision he had had when he overdosed. Treize had said I would be important in the future me meant to build. At the time I had written it off as insanity, but seeing him now made me think differently. He was indeed in a position to influence the future, and he had alluded to extending his position to encompass more power. But he would only be the leader of OZ and the Commander of the Specials Force. He was only a small portion of the greater Alliance. Was he still obedient to that dream he long ago had? Was that why he wanted me? Oh! Not enough time to decide anything. It had to come down to a choice, live or die. I always chose the same.

"I accept then. I will serve you if you will let me live." It sounded so much like slavery when I said it. And in a very real way, it was. Treize blinked once, his face unreadable, his mind unknowable.

"Then you must prepare for your first mission as an agent of OZ. If you succeed in this, I will know that you will keep your word and serve me well. My trust in you will hinge upon the completion of this task."

I nodded my understanding. He smiled slightly and rose from the chair, speaking again as he moved the chair back.

"You will need a new name. Anne will not do publicly, it's too familiar. Yet I do wish to pay respect to the title you earned in the war. First Lady, perhaps a variation . . . first . . . number one, one . . . Lady One . . . no, something more clever." He put his finger against his mouth, thinking and muttering possibilities.

"Lady Une." he finally declared. "Pronounce it phonetically instead of in French. Only you and I will understand its meaning and its honor." Then he bowed and left me to rest and to recuperate for my first mission.

I prepared hastily for what ever assignment awaited me. Primarily this meant recovering, and recovering meant staying still and obeying the dictates of my nurse. This went on for nearly three days until I was able to eat solid foods without throwing up, which was my initial reaction to eating the base spaghetti dinner. When I was deemed ready by both the nurse and myself, I was transferred to a secured area of the base in the dimmest part of the night and outfitted with a basic Special's uniform. It was a rather unimaginative black coat tailed suit with an ugly black cap. Some where laced with gold threading and embellishment's, not unlike our Isle uniforms, others were decorated with rusty red. The guard, the same who had kept the watch over me all this time, instructed me that I was to wear my hair back. I discreetly pulled it back into a tight braid. When I had finished and felt mentally prepared, I was brought to the place where Colonel Treize Khushrenada received visitors. He had an office deeper in the base under very heavy surveillance. Obviously his safety was a concern. The opulence of Manoir Cristal had some how followed him here and seeped into his surroundings. I noticed fine pictures decorating the corridor outside his office, which was actually two rooms, an outer and inner chamber. It seemed a little smug. I had never had any grand accommodations when I was a General, just a few extra comforts that I mostly rejected. Either Treize was a material egotist, or I was a foolish martyr. My more mature sensibility tells me now that it was a little of each.

I was led into the chamber, where guards stood outside holding M-16's.  They flanked either side of the slide doors, staring straight ahead and looking very serious. My guard led me to the door and spoke lowly to one guard who barred his way. After some short dialogue and a few glances at me, I heard one of them say "She is expected", at which point they allowed us to pass through. The interior was by all terms under construction. I was taken aback at how in the midst of war a man could find carpenters to remodel his office. But there they all were, with ladders and long planks of wood. The air smelled of fresh paint and plaster. We didn't stay long in this room since it was obviously not prepared to host Treize's visitors. We walked to a connecting doorway with a little foyer at which stood yet another guard. He informed us that the Colonel was already with someone and that we would have to wait. So we stood against the wall of foyer listening to the screeching of saws and the lapping of paintbrushes. It was a long time before the door to Treize's inner office opened. A number of high ranking officers came out. I looked at each one that passed, not really thinking that I should be averting my gaze and not attracting attention. None of them men was familiar, but as they all passed out I heard Treize's voice right by the door and saw him standing with one last member of the party. This man I recognized as Duke Dermail and I hastily looked away and tried to remain inconspicuous. It would be disastrous for me and for Treize as well if the Duke recognized me. It seemed to take forever for him to finally stop shaking hands with the Colonel and to depart the area. He did not spare me a glance. Treize watched as the Duke left and when the door to the out office finally closed, he motioned me inside.

"Thank you, Lieutenant Clarks, you may go. I will be quite fine with her. Wait for us outside, please" Treize ordered as we entered his already furnished inner office. It was much like his home in France, light and well decorated with the aristocratic flare. But there was more here, an official feeling, an underlying authority. This was not just the personal office of Treize Khushrenada, this was a stronghold of OZ. Clarks snapped into a crisp salute, turned in proper military fashion and marched out of the room like a toy soldier. I was left alone with the Colonel. He was calm as ever, motioning me to sit in the seat across from his desk even as his took his own behind it. He was looking me over, evaluating my appearance in the uniform.

"It won't quite do" he commented, still gazing at the trappings. "I still see too much of you. More needs to be hidden. But it can wait until after the success of your mission."

"What is my mission?" I asked gently. But no matter the softness of my tone, Treize's eyebrows pulled together in a frown.

"You do not speak until spoken to. I am the commanding officer here, not you. You do not address any superior in OZ unless they give you permission, is that understood?" Of course his voice never rose when he was irritated or angry, but he got his points across just fine without the use of volume. I retreated into myself a little as I nodded my understanding. But after a second I remembered myself and responded with a precise "Yes Sir!" 

"We are still cleaning up pockets of resistance through out Western Europe. The same night we took Wittenberge we also took a dozen or so other key targets in the Rhineland and beyond. France is now safely under Alliance protection again and Germany will be wrested from what is left of your divisions in a matter of days. Admittedly we did not know which base the Generals would be found in, but a lucky defector gave us warning. Now that we have you, the rest needs dealing with." Treize paused here and began writing on a piece of paper, seemingly to add to the tension. He always did have a hidden flare for the dramatic.

"You, my Lady, will take a division to our last major pocket of resistance and eliminate it. Here is your primary target." Treize handed me the piece of paper. I took it and read what he had penned down. My eyes drifted over the letters, once, twice, on the fifth time I finally looked back up at him, my jaw open. Could I really do this and if so how? He watched me impassively, but the hard glint in his eye told me that I would gain no quarter without this mission.

"The first lesson of OZ is this: failure means death. Either you complete this mission successfully or you will be removed from my protection" Treize reclined in his chair, watching me. I folded the secret on the paper up and held it in my lap, closing my eyes as I did so. That cold feeling had returned. The one from the cell and from the night I had been hurt in the Rose Garden.

"You will be leaving tonight. I suggest you prepare yourself, Lady Une" he held up his hand and signaled for me to go. I rose and remembering Clarks' performance before leaving, I snapped into a precise salute and left in the same fashion. There was barely a trace of a smile on Treize's lips before I turned my back on him. I felt like a damn monkey performing for a half amused audience and I would have been angry if I weren't so cold. Outside the office, Clarks escorted me to what were to become my quarters. They were simple rooms, quite standard for any officer; the difference between mine and others was the separation. The barracks were in an entirely different portion of the complex. The only other person who slept in this wing was Treize himself. Again he was keeping me close and under his shadow.

I took a shower as soon as I was left alone. That cold feeling had not left and now I very dirty. The hot water was comforting and I prolonged the shower as long as I could. When I came back out from the bathroom, my dinner sat next to my bed. I ate and was able to keep everything down. All my functions seemed to be running properly, and yet I was greatly distracted. My mission would be trying to say the least. The target would be heavily defended. But Treize had not been wrong in choosing me to deal with this last pocket of insurrection. The difficulty would be in overcoming my own horror at attacking my own. Yet as I considered the difficulty of becoming a traitor, I soon reconciled with it. Already I was a soldier of OZ and would have to play the part of traitor if I was to live. If my conscience fretted later I would find a way to silence it, or become deaf to its calling.

While I waited for the time of departure, I thought over my plan of attack. The target area was extremely familiar to me, and so the vulnerable spots were already well known. Several possible strategies came to mind, but for the primary target a little bit of creativity would have to be employed. Much would depend on how things unfolded upon engagement. Once near the target, elimination would be easy. Already it was working and I felt no pity for what I had to do. In light of all that had occurred; I nearly reveled in the thought of the execution.

A knock at my door signaled the time had come. Time had meant nothing these past few hours. I straightened my jacket and departed with Clarks. He led me down a succession of corridors until we reached a twin set of bunkers. One of the bunkers was lit and crowded with men all preparing Aries for departure. The suits were ours, or at least they had been ours. Aries belonged to OZ now. Treize stood on the platform near the collection of suits and soldiers. He turned as I approached. My behavior toward him was as official as I could manage knowing little of OZ custom.

"Are you ready for this, my Lady" he asked quietly despite the din of preparation. The wind whipped at his clothes and cape. One hand lay on his hip as he watched the progress of his soldiers.

"Yes Sir" I answered.

"Have you a strategy in mind for this, Lieutenant Lady Une?" I supposed that was to be my rank for this mission.

"Several, Sir. Each one is dependent on circumstances that can't be known until we are engaged." I watched the troops begin to finish up with their tasks. The bright air field lights around the bunker was the only illumination we had against the night's cover.

"Is leaving your hair down part of those strategies?" he asked noting how it fell loosely down my back. Treize had a fixation with appearance and presentation, particularly mine.

"It is, Sir. My familiarity will be paramount in achieving the primary goal of this mission." The soldiers were lining up.

"You endanger me."

"Only to keep you safe" I retorted. If he wanted this mission completed, he would have to sacrifice some momentary security. The conversation ended as all the soldiers chosen for the mission now stood lined up before us. I stayed where I was as Treize embarked on an introduction of Lieutenant Lady Une and a word of good luck to the troops. He then left it to me to explain the mission to the troops. This felt much more natural. I was used to explaining strategy to entire divisions and I had no trouble with this group. They were all quite disciplined.

My explanation was brief. I gave a clipped account of the attack areas, possible lines of defense and main target area. In addition I informed them that I would be disembarking and personally accomplishing the mission once we secured the perimeter. Further questions could be answered as they arose. The squadron yelled their understanding with a resounding "Yes, Ma'am", followed by a brusque OZ salute. We suited up.

It would be two hours before we reached our target across the channel. My apprehension had fled long ago, replaced now by frantic strategizing. Much could go wrong for my small clutch of suits if the area was well defended. But I suspected that by this time the Isle forces were greatly diminished. My main purpose was to eliminate this last leader and then find a way out. It would be easy enough getting to the man, but escaping might be more difficult. I spend the two hours thinking and rethinking the many possibilities.

The sun was setting on Dover when we reached the white shores. Our radars showed a minimal amount of Mobile Suit activity in the area, but there was little to account for those not detected. My plan had to be finalized now. Within moments the battle would be engaged and we would meet the enemy, my father's men. I saw the manor house grow larger as we neared it and behind it, the military complex in which I had been raised.

I gave a fleeting thought to my Sensei Hirumatsu.

"Spare the house. Hit the larger portion of the complex where the bunkers are located. Concentrate fire power there until you are engaged. We need to keep as many suits from taking off as possible. Watch out for ground fire along the outer perimeter." I ordered over the Com Link as we passed over the cliff edge where I had once broken a glass ball in my hand.

We were not fired on at all of course. The suits were Isle suits and so no one suspected that we were Alliance Specials. On my orders, my squadron took up air positions around the perimeter and I landed. I made sure to take off the Specials' jacket first. Isle soldiers surrounded me as I disembarked from the Mobile Suit and flashed guns at me before they saw my face. They desisted instantly at my command.

"Lady Analicia! We thought you had been killed in action" One man spoke up, lowering his firearm.

"Obviously a mistake. I brought back as many as I could. They are taking up perimeter positions to protect us should the Alliance followed." I indicated the strategically dispersed squadron.

"Shall we prepare for battle, Lady?"

"No, let me speak with my father first. He will give orders of that nature. Take me to him." My heart picked up speed, fearing for a moment that he might not be here, that he might have run. But the soldiers assuaged my fear.

"Of course, Lady, Lord Delizabane will be most pleased to learn of your survival." He motioned toward the house. I followed him, touching the wrist of my sleeve for the Com Link I had hidden there. When the time was right, it would give my squadron their signal to attack. The other hand went down to my fully loaded pistol.

The house was no different, still dark, still overdone. Yet this time I noted that the terrible portrait of me which had been painted in Ireland was now hanging in the hall. I suppressed a cringe at the sight of it. Tumult rained over the house. There were people running all about and servants carrying bags of belongings, moving from room to room. This was definitely a packing effort. It seemed Lord Delizabane was evacuating, and running away. As we neared the office I could hear his raised voice and I swallowed. The moment of truth would soon be at hand. I stopped the soldier a few feet from the office and ordered him to return to his post. This was still my house and I didn't need to be led about. He saluted and vanished back down the hall.

I approached the room slowly. The door was open ajar, enough for ease dropping. How convenient. At the other end of the hall and around the corner were the sounds of soldiers, I thought it best to give them some place else to be. Moving against the wall, I activated the Com Link and spoke lowly into it.

"Move in"

The answering blast shook the house.

I slid behind the door as it flew open. Through the space between the wall and the door I could see my father's shocked face standing on the threshold. Holding my breath, I prayed that he wouldn't catch me hiding there.

"What the hell was that?" he called out and moved down the other end of the hallway, away from my hidden form. A soldier came around the corner and informed him of the attack.

"Well get out there and defend this base! Muster the squadrons and take out those damned suits! How did they get through the perimeter undetected?"  The officer answered that he didn't know and was sent scurrying off toward his duty by my father's wrathful yelling. Another face appeared on the threshold of the door to the office. My eyes widened as I marked the flashing red hair of my cousin Kateline. Merrick huffed as he went back in the office, not even bothering to close the door. I shifted my position to hear and see better inside the office.

"Find Mathius and take him to Oslo as we agreed. He is the only useful child I have. Damn daughters have caused our ruin. My son should have been born first and if anything happens to him, Kateline, it will be your life that pays the toll."

I seethed at seeing Kateline standing there alive. Had she run and saved her own skin when her base was attacked by the Specials? I wouldn't doubt it for a moment. And now she was going to be in charge of my brother. It made me sick to think of her near him. But I couldn't be concerned with it at the moment. My main objective came first. Kateline scowled but saluted. Another explosion rocked the building and the sound of battle could be heard outside. Kateline exited the office and ran down the hall, never seeing me. Now he was alone, but it wouldn't take long for others to come to inform him the status of the battle, or before he ran for his life. I moved in.

He was looking out the window, stretching the blinds to see what doom awaited him outside. I closed the doors tightly behind me and he jumped.

"Analicia!" I loved the shocked look on his face. I saluted him obediently.

"I escaped the Specials attack on Wittenburge, Sir. But I fear they have followed me here." I did not meet his eyes but gazed ahead as a submissive soldier should. Merrick fumed.

"You led them right to our front door? Idiot girl! First you lose the eastern front and now you drag your homeland down with you. Useless! You and your sister have always been useless."

"It is my regret to inform Your Lordship that Aria fell at the Battle of Wittenberge." I reported tonelessly. Merrick simply shook his head.

"Damned Alliance!" he cursed fluently.

"Does my Lord Father have orders for me?"

"I should have you shot for your utter inability to d-defend against the likes of the Alliance. Why d-didn't you send for the American Legion when you fell under attack?" I heard the stutter and met his eyes, they were jumping about and he was shaking his head strangely. I wondered briefly it if was fear and rage, or the disease. Whatever the cause, there was no pity for him.

"Our satellite was knocked out by the Specials. We lost all communication."

"Well such is not the case here. You make yourself useful, girl, and you tell them to get their asses here. Washington would not take any of my calls. But I know he has favored you for some time now. He will come at your call since he considers you the real Eldest Child. So you get on that phone and you make him come." He pointed harshly at the phone. I let his anger wash over me and warm me toward my purpose. I looked at the phone and still stood at attention.

"I cannot, My Lord"

He became all the more enraged but I felt safe in the knowledge that he was no longer master of my life. My new master would have far more power over me than this man ever did. "Disobedient cow! Useless, just like your mother! I should have had you poisoned alone with her! Then you wouldn't have had the chance to fail everyone!"

 The cold returned at his words regarding my mother. I looked at him and allowed that numbing cold to flow through my body. We stared at each other for too long.

"Obey your orders!" he said lowly, unaware of what was coming. I loved his obliviousness. He never would have guessed.

"Yes sir." I drew my pistol and shot him once through the throat, fulfilling my objective. Merrick's eyes widened when he saw the gun and then grabbed his throat even as he fell backward from the shot. The noise of the gun was lost in the sounds of the battle outside. As he hit the ground, a nearby explosion caused the window to shatter. Glass flew in around us and the sounds of the battle became even louder. My father choked on the ground, not dying fast enough. My hatred diluted my blood and suffused me with ice. I came forward and stood over the writhing man whose eyes were still wide. His hands were covered in blood and still he was trying to hold his throat. I raised the pistol and fired three more shots into his chest until he was still and his eyes were blind to the world.

"NO!" Someone screamed behind me. Without any thought I turned around and fired toward the voice, hitting the man who now stood at the opened office doors through the abdomen. He fell back immediately to the floor in a heap, crying out in pain. The sounds of the battle were quieting. It must have been nearly over. I began walking toward the exit when I recognized the man on the ground. He held his bleeding mid section and was gazing up at me with pained tears on his face.

"Leecy . . ." the man rasped. It was Bram. He had no gun on him and was already shaking from the wound. My breath caught for half a second. I knelt down next to him and looked at the location of the wound for a few seconds.

"You have one hour, then you will go into shock. It will be peaceful then and not hard." I placed my hand on his brow for a moment as a few more tears fell from his struggling face. He seemed very old in that moment and the look in his eyes hurt me. I rose, turned, and left him there. As I passed down that hallway, I caught the disappearing figure of a little boy who had likely been witness to everything. Sighing and looking only forward, I pulled out the Com Link.

"What is our status?" I called on the Com Link as I approached the front door. The captain reported back quickly "We have secured the perimeter for the most part, Lieutenant Une. A few stray suits are still engaged on the south side, but your area is secure."

"Excellent, I will be returning shortly. The main objective is complete." I turned off the link and was about to open the front door. But I stopped and looked back toward the staircase. This would probably be the last time I would see this house. Without thinking I sprinted up the stairs and found my way to my mother's bedroom. Something in me felt that this was the place to have a last memorial now that she had been avenged at last.

I felt the cold melt from my body the moment I opened the door. Feeling rushed back into my heart and I sucked in a breath. The room was as immortal as it had always been, unchanged but for a few new layers of dust. I let my eyes sweep past everything that had been hers and then closed them. I was the only thing left that was truly hers.

"Sleep well, Victoria." I whispered into the quiet room.

I was about to leave when one small thing caught my eye on the table near the bed. They were my mother's glasses. I couldn't account for how they had come to be there. The last I remembered, they had been left in Ireland. I suspected one of the twins might have brought them back. But how they would know to put them here was beyond me. However, I didn't question my luck, but instead I picked up the delicately framed glasses and put them on. It felt natural and necessary.

As soon as I left the room the coldness returned and stayed with me as I left the tumultuous house and climbed back into my Aries. The squad captain informed me of our victory and awaited further orders.  I put him on hold and contacted Colonel Treize. His striking face appeared relaxed and calm on my screen.

"Lady, have you completed your mission?" I detected smugness in his question. He knew that had I failed I would not be contacting him now.

"The target has been eliminated and the area secured." I answered expressionlessly. Treize smiled.

"Those glasses suit you, Lady. The better to hide your eyes." I ignored his comment.

"Your orders?"

"You're Squad will be relieved in an hour's time. I have already dispatched an occupying force to take over operations. You will be returning to Potsdam. Tell me, did you find this mission difficult?" he asked. I answered almost immediately "No." and it was true. I felt as though I had been waiting to kill Merrick all my life.

"I see, well I will see you in a few hours. Then we must go to Africa. A friend of mine is graduating from Lake Victoria and I promised to be there. Farewell . . .   Lieutenant Colonel Une." Treize promoted me and severed the link.

I sat back and waited for the relief force to arrive, keeping my mind away from the past eighteen years.

A/N: This chapter is a little more than half the size of my normal chapters. But I felt the thread was self contained enough to stand on its own. Sadly my resolution to complete EC before the end of winter break fell by the wayside. I was continuously delayed by illness during my regular writing hours and rampant computer troubles. Now the semester is back on me and I am working my behind off trying to keep on top of things. We are over the hump though and have just a little more to go through with Anne and Treize before the present day can take center stage again. Thanks for tuning in.

~A.