Chapter XI: Desert Disaster

It was a strange feeling to know it would soon all be over. Their year together was nearly finished. Today they were heading to the last battlefield they would document. It was in the Sahara in northern Africa. They had landed at an Earth Alliance base and from there they would be driving into the desert to the different coordinates provided. They had scheduled a few weeks for this last part of the assignment. They didn't expect it to take the full amount of time but they wanted the remainder of the time to just enjoy being a regular couple.

They wanted time where she wasn't a girl with a camera glued to her face. Where he wasn't constantly holding a gun checking out every inch of a battlefield. To have a moment in their young relationship where they weren't surrounded by reminders of the death the war caused. Where they could be just teenagers, a boy and a girl who were dating. It didn't seem like too much to ask. Especially considering all the war took from them.

When they landed they officially handed back the SKYGRASPER they had both flown in for a year. It was the last time they would be in that thing. When they finished in the desert they would be flying out in an actual passenger jet. It really seemed like an end leaving it behind.

"Are you going to miss it?" Miriallia asked as they walked toward the garage where their jeep awaited.

"The SKYGRASPER?" He asked unsure.

"Yeah"

"No. It wasn't really my forte, I'm more of the mobile suit kind of guy."

"You haven't piloted one of those in over a year"

"I know. I still like it better. A mobile suit feels like an extension of your own body. It's almost like it's a part of you. But the SKYGRASPER, it feels just like any other vehicle. Something to get you from point A to point B."

"So you really aren't going to miss it"

"I'm not going to miss piloting it. But I am grateful for everything it brought me." He said looking down smiling at her.

"Here we are Derrick" The commander of the base said interrupting the couple from their chitchat. "It is fully fueled and ready to go" He informed them as he set the keys in Dearka's hand. "Just be careful out there. It may be a time of peace but the doesn't mean the desert is safe. Watch out for sandstorms, and most of all don't stay in the sun too long. Especially you Miss Haww. With your pale complexion too much sun exposure could be dangerous."

"I'll be sure to use lots of sunscreen" She said half joking. But the commander didn't seem impressed with her answer.

"This is not a joke Miss Haww. You should take this more seriously." He said in a stern tone.

"I'm sure she is sir" Dearka said politely as he turned to Mir. "We should get going, there is no wind right now. Best time to be traveling in the desert.

"Right." She said nodding. They both saluted the commander before getting into the jeep and driving off. Miriallia watched in the rearview mirror as the base disappeared in the distance. "This is really it. We're heading to the last locations."

"Yeah it's hard to believe"

"It's been an incredible year" She said closing her eyes thinking about the past few months. She opened them and looked forward, as if looking into the future. "So many battlefields, so much tragedy all captured on one little camera."

"The year was filled with more than pain I hope." he said smiling over at her.

"Of course" She said smiling ear to ear as she took hold of his free hand. "I was glad I had you with me. Even if it may have started out a bit rocky."

"So you nervous for after this? When we return to Orb"

"I should be asking you the same thing. You're going to be meeting my parents. Most guys would be at least a little nervous meeting their girlfriend's parents for the first time"

"Well technically it's not the first time. I did kind of meet them the day we returned to Orb from space. Not that there was introductions then, or that I even spoke with them. But still you're the one who should be nervous. You told them they were going to be meeting Derrick Eastman. You really going to keep the lie going?"

"You're not?" She asked confused.

"When we land in Orb Derrick Eastman will disappear forever. He was created for me to hide among naturals who would accept my help, but once I'm back in Orb I don't need to hide anymore."

"Yeah… I suppose you are right" They drove for a few hours deep into the desert. Everything seemed to looked the same. It started to worry Mir. "You sure you know where we are going?" She asked skeptical.

"According to the coordinates it should be just a bit further" he said with confidence. This confidence was wiped away and replaced by a protective anger when suddenly what seemed like a hoard of men came rushing around them with guns. Dearka stopped the vehicle immediately causing it to swivel.

"Ahh" Miriallia screamed from shock as the vehicle whipped around in the sand. A dust cloud hid the jeep for a few seconds before clearing. He looked over towards his girlfriend to see if she was ok. She seemed to be physically but she also seemed very scared.

"Get out of the vehicle NOW!" Shouted one of the men. He seemed to be the leader of the group. He was a tall older man with tanned skin. His hair was long and black pulled back in a ponytail. He wore dark green army pants with a black tank top. The two quickly listened and got out of the jeep. "Hands where I can see them"

Dearka and Miriallia obeyed again. She looked over towards her bodyguard. He had that face again. The one he had when he surrendered to the ARCHANGEL, the once he had before he rushed into the crowd and got himself shot. His face was filled with the anger and hate that scared her to see. She looked back at the men that were holding them at gunpoint, now more scared than before.

"What do you want with us?" Dearka demanded. "We are just two former soldiers, a couple of naturals here to do a job. My name is Derrick Eastman, and this is my colleague Miriallia Haww"

"Bullshit!" The man replied quickly. "You are no natural 'Derrick Eastman'. Give us a fake name all you want, it doesn't fool us. You are a coordinator" He spat.

Dearka's eyes narrowed, he could hear the disgust in the man's voice. This situation wasn't good. His right hand began to almost tremble in the air. He was fighting his soldier instincts. He wanted to grab his gun from his holster, but he knew he would only be putting his girlfriend in danger. "And this matters why?" he replied looking the man in the eyes.

"Do you know what ZAFT has done to us? Done to our people? During the war this area was occupied by them. Countless men lost. Do you really expect us to let some young man lying about himself to coming walking into our territory freely? I wouldn't be a very good leader if I did" He looked at his men and then nodded. "Arrest him"

Horrified Miriallia yelled panicked "Please no! We don't mean any harm! We are not enemies!" She was nudged aside as Dearka was forced to the ground gun to his back. They tied his arms behind him before pulling him up. "Stop! He hasn't done anything wrong!"

"That is for us to decide!" The man said hopping into their jeep. Miriallia looked like she was going to have a panic attack. "Come on girl, Miriallia was it?" He said kind and gently "We can't leave you alone in the desert. That would be just condemning you to death. Get in" he offered. Mir was reluctant. She didn't want to go with him, but then again she didn't want to be left behind. Especially since they had Dearka. She jumped in and they started to head for a new location.

The whole ride was spent in silence. Finally after what seem like hours, but was only about 30 minutes, they arrived at their location. Miriallia instantly recognized it. They were at the Desert Dawn base camp. The place the ARCHANGEL had landed after their battle with Dearka and his comrades. She finally felt a bit hopeful again. She just needed Sahib Ashman, the leader of the Desert Dawn, he could confirm her identity. Maybe then she could convince him to let Dearka go free.

When they parked the jeeps a young girl came to greet them. "Father!" She yelled. She looked similar to the man. She was average height with long black hair pulled back in a braid. Her skin was tanned and her eyes dark brown. "What is going on? Who are these people"

"That young man is a prisoner now. He has refused to give us his true identity. We'll put him in the sun-cell and see how long it takes him to confess. As for the girl she was accompanying him. I didn't think it fair to leave her all alone out there."

"Father how do you know he is lying"

"His eyes, those violet eyes of his, no natural could ever possess eyes like that" Hearing this Mir couldn't help but think of Kira and his violet eyes. Was she a fool for not realizing he was a coordinator or in truth did she know all along and just didn't want to admit it? She started to wish he was here. She couldn't help but think he would know what to do. She hadn't seen him in a year though. She had cut herself off from all her friends when she took this assignment. But maybe it wasn't about the assignment at all. After all she had kept in contact with her family, why couldn't she with her friends? Maybe the truth was she was running away from them. They reminded her of Tolle and all she lost in the time she was a soldier, it was a pain she couldn't bare back then.

"Sahib is not going to like this. We are trying to find peace. Arresting a couple of travelers in the desert isn't going to accomplish that. What is he going to say when he gets back tomorrow?" Miriallia gut sank a little. Sahib was not there. It was mid-morning right now. Dearka would need to stay imprisoned for at least a day. She didn't like the sounds of that. She never wanted to see his face behind bars again. Not now… not now that she knew for sure she was in love with him.

"Evie, it is for the best. He will understand it is for the protection of the people." Convinced he was doing the right thing the man refused to listen to his daughter's advice. Which meant Miriallia had to watch as Dearka was dragged and thrown into a caged in area. It was away from the camps and any sand hills. With no possible shaded areas. They didn't call it a sun-cell for nothing. From sunrise to sunset it would be bathed in the hot sun, and it was there he boyfriend was thrown.

Miriallia refused to leave his side. She ran out and stood beside his cell. This surprised those in the camp. "Miriallia" Dearka said softly as he reached out and held her hand through the bars. "You need to get into the shade, you can't handle this much sun and heat"

"I'll be fine" She said trying to reassure him. "Besides I'm not leaving you here, not alone" She looked over, she could see many in the camp were watching them. They seemed to be whispering about them. She wondered what they were talking about, Dearka could tell she was thinking this.

"They are confused" He informed her.

"Confused? About what?" She asked looking him in the eyes.

"They are convinced I'm a coordinator. But they know you are a natural. Yet here you are holding my hand, refusing to leave my side. Affection between a natural and coordinator is virtually unheard of. So to see it before them it must be confusing"

"Let them be confused" She said angrily with a frown on her face, it quickly faded to a concerned one. "No matter how hot it gets, come hell or high water, I'm staying by your side Derrick" She decided to use his alise when addressing him. She didn't trust that they couldn't hear her. After all it was their cell.

He gently caressed her face his filled with concern too now, only his was for her. "All I want is you to be safe. But I know by now there is no point in arguing with you. Just promise me honey if the heat becomes too much you will find some shade, at least for a little while."

"I promise" she said nodding. She leaned forward and kiss him tenderly. It was almost a desperate kiss. Looking at him she couldn't help but think of him being a prisoner on the ARCHANGEL. Back in those days she was filled with sadness and anger. Now she was just angry. He didn't deserve to be in that cell. Being a coordinator was not reason enough to be imprisoned.

Hours passed as she waited outside his cell. Dearka laid in the middle staring up at the sky. He was lost in his own little world. The heat didn't seem to be bothering him. Miriallia figured it was something to do with his lineage combined with being a coordinator. He was barely breaking a sweat. She on the other hand was drenched in sweat. She couldn't even remember how many times she had reapplied her sunscreen at this point.

She looked over towards the people from the camp. They were sitting in the shade watching her as she paced back and forth. Some were sitting, others were leaning against large wooden crates, but they all seemed to have their arms folded in front of them. Mir shot a disapproving angry look in the direction of the man who brought them their. She didn't know his name, but she did know if she knew it it would be on her list of people she disliked.

As she looked at them she started to notice they were becoming blurry. Her head felt like is was throbbing. Her skin felt dry and free of sweat. She started to feel weak and nauseous. Her breathing was off and she began to stagger a bit. "De-De" She tried to call his name but she seemed to be confused and disoriented. She couldn't manage to even say his name. Luckily Dearka still heard her pleas for him. He sat up just in time to see her collapsed to the ground.

"Mir!" He yelled as he ran to the edge of the cage. The on lookers arms fell to their sides as they watched to events transpiring in front of them. They couldn't help but be surprised. Dearka reached out but she was to far away. Angry he stood up and began to yell at the people watching. "Help her!" He demanded. "She hasn't done anything wrong! Please! Don't let her die like this!" Seeing that they didn't budge he dropped to his knees. "Dammit!" He yelled in frustration before he started to frantically dig. If they weren't going to help her he was going to need to do it himself. Evie watched with the others. She was surprised. She could see just how genuine the young man's pain was. "She just an innocent girl!" he continued to yell. "She shouldn't be punished just because she cares for me!"

Unable to take it anymore Evie sprung into action. The guy was right, she was just an innocent girl. She grabbed the canteen of water off her belt and ran towards Mir. "Evie! What are you doing!" Her father demanded but she didn't reply. When she reached the young unconscious girl she dumped some water over her head before gently lifting her onto her lap. She then slowly poured the rest into her mouth. Dearka stopped digging and watched. He never felt so helpless in his life.

"Don't just stand there!" She yelled at some of the men. "We need to get her to a safe place, and she needs medical attention NOW!" She demanded. They all looked surprised at first but after receiving an approving nod from the girl's father they obeyed.

Dearka watched as they carried Mir out of his sights. He was worried beyond words, beyond comprehension. He had failed her and himself. He had given up everything once and vowed to protect her. It was before he was her boyfriend, and before he was even her bodyguard. It seemed so long ago. Standing on the mountainside in Orb. He watched the ARCHANGEL being attacked. They were sitting ducks, and Mir was with them. He vowed then and there he would always protect her, until his dying breath. But here she was being carried off, and he felt like he did nothing to save her.

It was now night fall. Most everyone was asleep other than a few watchmen. Evie walked around the camp almost studying the routes of the guards. Finally seeing an opening she headed for the sun-cell. There she found Dearka leaning against the bars looking up at the sky. Hearing her approach he glared at her silently for a moment before returning his gaze to the sky.

"Why didn't you escape? You could have if you wanted to so why?"

"Isn' it obvious?" He asked. "I'm not going anywhere without her, especially when she's sick"

"Who are you really?" She asked. "My father says you are lying about being a natural. I didn't believe him at first but… no natural has ever lasted this long in the sun-cell before."

"Why does it matter? Because of what happened in the war? If you people keep focusing on that peace will never last. If you hold onto the pain it will hold you back."

"I agree." Dearka was surprised at her answer. "My father doesn't' believe naturals and coordinators can live in harmony but… you and that girl, you two love each other. You're a coordinator and she a natural. But there is honest true love between the two of you."

Dearka stood up and looked at her. "This isn't a confession" He said. "But just between you and me, I am what he thinks I am. And Miriallia is a natural. I care about her more than anything. I would rather die than see any harm come to her. So promise me you will make sure she get the best care possible."

She reached down to her hollister and much to his surprise pulled out a key. "It must be killing you not to be able to see her right now. I can't take you too her, but you have to be willing to suffer any consequences. Sahib Ashman, he is the leader of the Desert Dawn. He is to return tomorrow morning. You can plead your case to him. But in the meantime, you should be by your girl's side"

"Thank you" He said with a faint smile on his face.

They moved throughout the camp, staying out of the sight of the watchmen. Before long they were in the medical tent Miriallia was in. She was sleeping peacefully. He quickly ran to her side. He placed one hand on hers and the other on her forehead as if her was checking her temperature. She had a fever. He was worried but he could tell she was better than before. They were well equipped to handle treating her.

He turned to thank Evie again but she was gone. Most likely so no one would know she helped him. Deciding to get some sleep he hopped on the other side of the bed and cuddled in next to his girlfriend. Even if she was already asleep he wanted her to feel safe. The night quickly passed as the slept. He had a surprisingly good sleep considering the day they had. Slowly he woke up to the sweet scent of Miriallia's hair. He blinked a few times till his vision came into focus and sat up.

He looked across the tent and was surprised to see a man sitting about five feet from the bed holding a gun towards him. Dearka didn't give him the satisfaction of reacting. He hadn't seen this man before. He was a bit larger the the first man he had met. He had a thick bushy beard and wore a bandana on his head. This must have been the Sahib Ashman Evie spoke of.

Looking away from the man Dearka reached his hand over and felt Mir's forehead. Much to his relief her fever seemed to have gone down quite a bit. He looked back up at the man. "Please thank your men for me." he received a confused look from the man for this comment. "I don't know what I would have done if I lost her. She's… my everything"

"Ahmed tells me he put you in the sun-cell. But here you are this morning. How did you get out? The hole you started to dig is unfinished, which means someone let you out. So who was it"

"Who cares right? After all the point is that I am out now."

"True I suppose" He said. "So tell me who are you?"

"I'll tell you who I am but first you need to tell me who you are. Everyone here seems to be forgetting their manners. None of them have even offered to introduce themselves. Mother always said it was rude not to give your name"

"Yet you told my men your name was Derrick Eastman, a lie they tell me. Is this not against what your mother taught you?"

"She said give my name, she never said it had to be my real name"

"So you admit it's not your real name"

"Like I said you tell me your name and I'll tell you mine"

The man smirked. The boy was oddly calm for someone in his situation. "Name is Sahib Ashman, leader of the Desert Dawn"

Dearka slide off the bed and walked over to stand in front of the man. He tilted his head as if her was trying to gage the situation. Giving his real name was still a gamble, but it may have been one he needed to talk. He grabbed the chair next to Mir's bed and turned it to face Sahib. Sitting down he looked the man in the eye. "It's true my name, my real name, is Dearka Elsman. I'm a coordinator from the PLANTs"

"So what brings you to the desert?"

"This girl laying behind me she is a photographer. She works for a magazine 'L'aventure et Vie'. they hired me to be her bodyguard during her assignment."

"Her assignment?"

"She was contracted to document the battlefields from the war. That was almost a year ago. The desert is our last set of locations."

"Does she know about what you are?"

"She knew me before we started working together." The man looked intrigued. "Do you know about the ship the ARCHANGEL?"

Dearka could see the man was a little surprised. "The crew of the ARCHANGEL spent time here after descending to Earth during the war. They landed here due to a ZAFT crew attacking them. They change trajectories to save one of their pilots." he explained.

"Miriallia was one of the crew members on the ship back then. And I… was one of the ZAFT soldiers that caused them to go off course" He admitted. "But that was the past. When the siege on Orb happened I was a prisoner on their ship. Mir was the one who released me. During the battle I watched as the ARCHANGEL faced certain death. I decided then and there that I couldn't fight with ZAFT, not when it meant fighting against the ARCHANGEL. So I protected them. From that moment on I stayed by it's side until the war ended."

"What makes you think I'll believe your story?" He asked unsure of what Dearka was trying to accomplish.

"You don't have to. It is up to you. Believe me and let us go or consider me a treat to your people and take my life right now. But whatever you choose make sure it is the right choice for you and your people, because once your decision is made there is no going back."

Hearing a groan from behind him Dearka stood up and went to Mir's side. "Dearka?" she moaned as her eyes fluttered open. "Where are we?" She asked seeing him leaning over her.

"Morning. How are you feeling hun?" He asked feeling her forehead once more.

"Tired… a little dizzy"

"That's normal. I'm glad to see your awake." He leaned down and kissed her head before standing up and turning towards the man again.

Miriallia turned her head slowly, but seeing the man she shot up to a sitting position. Ignoring her spinning head she spoke. "Mr. Sahib Ashman!" She yelled surprised.

For the first time he got a good look at the girl. He recognized her. She was one of the pink uniform EAF soldiers that played with the children at the camp. "Tell me girl, who is this young man? I want the truth, tell me the truth and I will make sure you both go free."

"His name is Dearka Elsman. He was a soldier of ZAFT before become a trusted pilot of the Three Ships Alliance." She informed him. "But… if you don't believe me please contact Cagalli Yula Attha, or her bodyguard Kisaka. They can confirm this."

They were both surprised to see him place his gun into his holster and smile. "So you two went from being soldiers to a couple of kids running around the World taking pictures? Must be quite the adventure. I don't know about the other places you visited but the desert is not a place to take lightly. The people here have fought a long time for survival, they don't take kindly to strangers."

"You can say that again" Dearka said sarcastically.

"Give me the coordinates of your locations you need to cover. I will gather you a team to guide you. After the young lady is better of course"

"Thank you Sir. It means alot to us"