Chapter III: The Start of an Adventure

It had been a long night for Miriallia. She was both excited and nervous for what lied ahead. She knew this was going to be an adventure of a lifetime. It would be dangerous but every bit worth it. Then there was Dearka. She couldn't quite peg where she stood with the young coordinator. At some points he seemed cold, distant and even angry towards her. But other times… he seemed almost sweet. She began to wonder which Dearka would she be travelling with. The guy who yelled at her yesterday or the guy who apologized for everything he ever put her through when the war ended.

She walked onto the military base and was greeted by Frederic. "Ah Miss Haww! Glad you could finally make it."

"Am I late?" She asked worried.

"No not at all you're right on time." He wave his hand towards himself notifying her to follow him. "Derrick arrived about an hour ago. He been preparing for the trip and doing some last minute training at with some of the soldiers."

"Training?" She asked.

"Yes. He wanted to make sure he was ready."

Mir looked across the room. She could see Dearka sparing with an EAF soldier. She felt butterflies watching him move, it made her feel special knowing he was training to better defend her. To protect her. She couldn't help but blush thinking about this. "Dea-rick" She yelled stumbling to get his alias correct. He looked over towards her narrowly dodging a punch from his sparring partner. He excused himself from the young soldier and walked over towards her. "Uhh… I'm sorry about that… I didn't mean to distract you." she said as she tucked her hair behind her ear.

"No… it ok. It's good to have distractions while training. In a real fight you never know what can happen" He replied kindly as he scratched the back of his head nervously. He smiled a small smile towards her, and she did the same. They kept staring at each other until Frederic cleared his throat to pull them out of their daze.

"There is a few things we need to discuss before the two off you leave." He said. They both nodded to let him know they were listening. "The first thing is that I need to inform you that although L'Aventure et Vie Magazine understands that we cannot prevent a relationship from forming between the two of you, we cannot approve of it. You're both still minors after all despite your military records. But we know we will not be able to stop it should it happen. That is why we would like you both to try and keep yourself from… indulging in certain activities." He said trying not to be too obvious about what he was trying to say. "I know you too are just teenagers and your hormones are going haywire b-"

"Listen" Dearka interrupted. "We get it. We may be young but that doesn't mean we aren't professionals. And trust me I can keep myself completely under control in that department. I'm no stranger to the 'activities' you want us to avoid and trust me the only time I plan on touching her body is if I'm protecting it. I'm her bodyguard, that's it. It's what my contract says, and I intend to follow that. Besides judging by the look of her I'm sure Miss Haww has no experience in that area. And I highly doubt she has any intentions to give it up in a tent in the woods with a guy she just met."

Miriallia didn't know whether to be offended by his speech or glad he shut up Frederic. She started to wonder what Dearka's true feelings were towards her. Was she just the girl who used to bring him food in his cell? Or was she something more? "Sorry Mr Eastman. I didn't mean to question your professionalism. It is just something I am required to inform you of. I have the utmost faith that the relationship between the two of you will remain as is."

"Thank you" Dearka replied.

"Now for more pleasent business" He said in a chipper voice. "In the next few weeks Miriallia we will require you to submit a small bio on yourself as well as a self portrait. The picture doesn't need to be taken by you, only of you. As for your bio you can talk about your military involvement in vage details. It's best you don't mention your military affiliations. We don't want the wrong person to read it and see you as someone they should do harm to"

"Sir?" Miriallia said confused.

"The ARCHANGEL was responsible for the war ending. That is a great thing. However not everyone is happy with how it all ended. Radicals on both sides still exist. Take the PLANTs for example. We just finished a story on the radicals who were within the council itself. It's been months since the war ended and they are still going through trials. The latest trial was that of Tad Elsman"

"Elsman?" Miriallia said quickly.

"Do you know him?" Frederic asked curious.

"No… but did he have any children?" Miriallia asked. She didn't know anything about Dearka's family. She was always curious why Dearka had chosen to travel the World instead of going back to them. Maybe this was her chance, after all he could stop her. He was Derrick Eastman now, it would seem odd if he stopped her. Although that didn't stop him from shooting darts at her with his eyes.

"Yes a son. Why?"

"Just curious I guess. I find it interesting to learn about the PLANTs and the people there" She lied. "Do you know anything about the son?"

"Yes. He was a ZAFT soldier. Story goes they had an explosive fight when his son decided to join the military. No one is fully sure what the fight entailed since it happened behind closed doors. All that is publicly known is his father didn't support the idea of him joining. Some speculated it was because the young man was leaving school to do so. Others believed it was because Tad didn't want his son to die in the battlefield. After his son graduated from the academy with top honors he and his father continued to have issues. It is said they never spoke again"

"What ever happened to his son?"

"He was killed… by the ARCHANGEL actually. A gruesome battle someone in the Pacific Ocean between Orb and Alaska." Frederic said sadly. "I'm not sure what he was piloting at the time, those details are unknown"

"What happened to Tad in the trial?" Dearka asked surprising Miriallia.

"He was deemed innocent of all crimes he was accused of and freed. Turned out although he is not a fan of naturals his was not a true radical. When Patrick Zala took control of the council all Clyne supporters were rounded up, many of them killed. Tad Elsman's wife was a mess after the passing of his son. The loss of a child for some is a lot to bare. He feared that if he stood against Zala he would face the same fate as Siegel Clyne himself. So for the protection of himself and his wife he followed the Chairman." Frederic explained.

"Sounds like he was a coward who chose to back down instead of fighting for what he believed in." Dearka scoffed.

"Derrick!" Miriallia said angry. "Obviously the man did what he had to to protect what family he thought he had left. He was hurting just as much as his wife I'm sure. He lost his son, he probably didn't have the will to fight."

"Don't pretend you know someone from a story a reporter from a distant land tell you" He snapped back. "There details of the guys life you'll never know from some article."

Frederic cleared his throat once again to get their attention. "My point is radicals still exist. And not just in the PLANTs either. Which is why you need to keep your time on the ARCHANGEL out of the lime light"

"What does my association with them even matter"

"Because for example let's say Tad Elsman wanted revenge on one of those responsible for his son's death. If we have it in writing you are one of them and provide them with a picture of you, it could quickly become dangerous. You don't want to make enemy out of an Elsman, they are very rich and powerful family. And they are just one of the many that could come after you"

"I… I guess you're right." It was strange to hear from someone else about Dearka's life. It made her sad to think that his parents may still think he was dead. Maybe Dearka was running away from more than just what he was back in Orb. Maybe he had been running for longer than she had been running from her grief.

"Then I guess it's time. Follow me and I will show you your mode of transportation" He said as he started to walk towards the hanger. "You said you've piloted before correct Mr Eastman."

"Yes. Although I mostly fought in hand to hand combat" He lied.

"Do you think you'll be able to handle flying that?" He asked as he pointed to the machine only about 10-15 feet from them.

Dearka looked ahead of him. Seeing the fighter jet he replied with confidence. "Yeah, I think I can handle that. How about you Miriallia? Do you think this will do?" Dearka asked looking over towards her. He felt instantly worried about her. She looked to be in shock. Her face was pale, almost like a ghost. She seemed to be having trouble breathing. Her bottom lip was even quivering slightly. He looked back at the plane they were to fly. It was then he realized why she was in such distress. It was a skygrasper, a blue and white one. Although this was a modified two passenger one it didn't matter. In her mind it was still the same. "Frederic, is it okay if we have a moment alone? We need to check the plane over to make sure it is adequate."

"Take all the time you need" He said.

"Thank you" Frederic nodded and left the room. Dearka looked back to Miriallia. She was still staring up at the fighter jet.

"Why does this stupid thing affect me so much?" She asked finally after staying silent for a few minutes. "I moved on from him. I have. So why does it hurt so much"

"Because it is impossible to move on completely from someone when they die" He replied. She looked up at him confused. "He was a huge part of your life. He was your boyfriend, your first I'm guessing. If you two had broke up then you could move on… eventually. But that's not how you lost him. Death… it's a whole different thing to deal with. You can't just box those feelings up and store them in a closet for when you're ready to face them. That's just running away. And aren't you the one who said that you can't run away forever" He said raising one eyebrow.

"What am I suppose to do then?" She begged trying not to cry.

"The way I see it you have two choices." He said calmly. "You can keep running and I'll tell Frederic that I'm incapable of fly this bucket of bolts. or…"

"Or what?"

"Or you can stop pushing him out of your life. Like it or not he will always be part of it. You'll never forget him. There will be days that you see or hear something that reminds you of him. Right now it hurts like hell. It makes you think of all you lost. But someday those same things could make you smile because it reminds you of him. It could be his favorite song, an old picture or even… " He placed his hand on the skygrasper "...the machine he used to protect you. You can keep running from all of it. See the negatives in everythings. Or… you can embrace all that he was. You can see this skygrasper as the thing that became his tomb or see it as the weapon that made him a hero. It is your choice Miriallia Haww. Will you run? Or will you embrace all the pain and except all he died for?" She looked him in the eyes. She didn't know what to answer. Was she really still running from her feelings about Tolle's death.

"Sorry to interrupt" Frederic said as he walked back towards them. "But it is almost time for the two of you to go if you want to get to your first destination before nightfall" He explained. "So will the skygrasper be adequate?"

Dearka looked at Miriallia. She smiled at him. Looking into his deep amethyst eyes she knew the answer. "It's more than adequate. Thank you Frederic." There was something about Dearka that gave her the strength to face anything.

"Then I'll start packing it up" Dearka said as he grabbed her bags from her.

"That means it is time for us to part ways. We will keep in touch via video chat and emails." He reached in his pocket and handed Miriallia a device "Using this even in the most remote locations we will be able to contact you. Just plug it into your computer."

"Thank you"

"Just make sure you always answer. Mr Richard won't appreciate if you miss one. Plus we may start thinking the worst. You are going into possibly dangerous situations. Promise you will always answer. Even if you can only speak for a single minute… just answer the call"

"You're worried?" She said questioning him.

"Yes I suppose I am. I look at the two of you and all I see is two kids. You've been through so much in your young lives already. You should be living like regular teenager now not diving back into danger. I can only imagine what your parents are thinking right now."

Miriallia reached out and hugged the man. Although they only met the day before she had already formed a bond with him. "I promise we will always answer."

"Then Miriallia, Derrick… this is goodbye. I will see you both in one year's time when your assignment is complete."

Frederic left as Dearka finished packing all their things into the small plane. There was barely enough room but it would due. This wasn't suppose to be a luxury vacation. It was a job. They both went into the locker rooms and dressed themselves in flight suits. It was strange to wear the orange suit. Miriallia couldn't help but notice in the mirror how tightly it hugged all her curves. She never saw her body look so amazing.

She walked out into the hanger to see Dearka in his own suit. She could see every muscle on his body. It fit him exactly the way his ZAFT one did, but she never bothered to take notice back then. Now it was all she noticed. She also couldn't help but blush when he looked back at her. She knew he noticed it too. How much her body showed in that suit. He smiled at her. He always liked female soldiers, only because he got to see them in those suits. Of course right now he hated it… He hated it because he knew his eyes weren't the only ones on her. He couldn't help but feel protective of her. But that was the job he signed up for, to protect her from harm. Even if it was just a bunch of pervs on a military base.

"Sorry, did I take too long Derrick?" She asked seeing that he was looking at her funny.

"No…"

He grabbed the jacket he still had in his hands and draped it over her shoulders. She was going to question why he was covering her up but when she looked into his eyes she saw something she never thought she would. "Is he jealous?" She wondered to herself.

"But we should get going. It's a long ways to our first destination. I've charted it out. Although Alaska will be our first big battlefield to go to there are a few smaller ones we can stop at on the way. It should only add a few days onto the trip there, but I promise we'll make it up in the end"

"Whatever you think it best Mr Eastman. I trust you with my life and my well being."

"Let get going then."

He helped her up into the cockpit. He sat down and looked at the controls. He seemed to hesitate for a minute. "You okay up there?" She asked from the seat behind him.

"Yeah I'm fine. It's just a little harder than I thought to resist the urge to reprogram this thing." He looked back at her. "Old habits die hard." He joked before looking forward. "Also it my first time being in a mobile suit since the war. I've had horrible nightmares about piloting again ever since then. But like I told you. Sometimes you need to just face your fears"

"You're scared to pilot again?" She asked confused and worried about him.

"Not like the last time ended too well for me." He said referring to his near death experience in the final battle.

"Are you going to be okay?"

"Yeah Mir… because… I have you here" He said smiling at her. She smiled back. He pressed a few buttons and the screens began to light up.

"Derrick you are cleared to launch" said someone in the operations room.

He nodded and took hold of the controls. "Derrick Eastman, Skygrasper launching!"

They didn't know what the next few months had in store for them. They would be alone together for days on end. All they knew was their relationship was never going to be the same again.