Lost Memories Chapter 11

January 3, CE 71

"Andy, I saw something very interesting just a couple minutes ago," Aisha explained coming into his office. If he was busy, Andy would have scolded her. Yet, he was not but he was very bored with the papers in front of him. Two months had past and nothing had really happened. The exploits of Commander Le Creuset had trickled down to the Saharan base which had angered and bored Waltfeld. To his standards Le Creuset was the worst commander that he had ever encountered.

"What did you see?" Andy asked curiously. He looked up to her seeing that she had delicately placed a hand on his desk.

"Guess who I saw comforting Amarante," Aisha dangled smiling at her lover. It perked his curiosity as she looked at him proudly.

"Maylam of course," Andy replied but was shocked to see Aisha shake her head. Now he was even more curious. Who could be comforting Amarante? Certainly it wasn't Aisha, himself or DaCosta. Unless DaCosta was shirking his duties…like THAT would ever happen.

"Kirkwood," Aisha replied with a smirk. She knew he would never think of him. She couldn't believe it either as her lover stared back at him.

"Kirkwood?" Andy asked. Well this through him for a loop. Everyone knew that Maylam liked Amarante but Kirkwood? Kirkwood had always stayed quiet about Amarante. Also, the never talked to each other and when they did it was friendly.

"Yeah Kirkwood, and Maylam was no where in sight," Aisha said in a soft voice. At times Aisha loved being a gossip especially to Andy. He hated gossip which was one reason to tease and annoy him. Yet, this gossip was different.

"Well this is an unexpected relationship," Andy chuckled.

"Oh Andy, they're not together yet," Aisha sighed playfully punching the man in the arms. He punched her back in a playful manner. She giggled gently before taking some of his papers and pushing them off his desk. He frowned slightly before getting a keen smile.

"I bet you 200 bucks that Kirkwood will ask her out before Maylam," Andy said playfully. He was being rather playful but he could warm up to the idea of getting money from Aisha…as a joke obviously.

"Fine…I'll bet you 250 that Maylam will ask her out before Kirkwood," Aisha teased. She knew that Maylam would ask her out first. Kirkwood was quiet and Maylam would cut to the chase.

"Why did you hit her?" Kirkwood asked his friend. Maylam was busy working on his BuCUE and really wasn't in the mood for questions. He was already in a bad mood from his argument with Amarante and that was the last thing he wanted to talk about.

"Quite honestly I don't really care," Maylam snapped. Kirkwood frowned trying to keep control of himself. His hand bawled into a fist causing him to sigh with frustration.

"Maylam…You just can't go around hitting on her," Kirkwood snapped his blood boiling in his veins. He knew this could be tense and Maylam was the better fighter so he wasn't going to throw any punches.

"Kirkwood we're in a gender neutral environment…who cares who hits who," Maylam argued. Kirkwood's temper kept rising…he didn't want to do anything to his friend.

"You made her cry!" Kirkwood barked raising the attention of other crew members. Many who had stopped working to watch the scene take place.

"It wasn't that hard," Maylam said in defense. He stopped working on the BuCUE and faced his friend. There was a border forming between each other. Kirkwood didn't want to lose his friend and he defiantly didn't want to lose it over a girl of all things!

"You sent her to the floor!" Kirkwood replied. The other worker began to whisper and gossip to each other. The air in the hangar stood still and it was almost entirely quiet.

"You know…I think you like her," Maylam said quietly. His voice was biting as he felt the ultimate betrayal from his most loyal friend. How could he do such a thing? They had known each other since middle school and they had enlisted together!

"I do love her…But…as long as she's happy. I'm happy. I don't even care who she's with. As long as I can see her smile and laugh," Kirkwood replied. The hangar slowly went back to work as the two friends stared at each other.

"Fine, you can't ask her out," Maylam said trying to rig the game in his favor. Kirkwood frowned shaking his head. Maylam had always been bossy and Kirkwood had always obeyed. This time he was going to stand up for himself.

"You hit her. Do you think I'm going to let that happen again? I'd risk my friendship with you to protect her," Kirkwood replied. Did he really mean that?

"Fine, let the best man win," Maylam grumbled before returning to his work. Kirkwood walked away having a bitter sweet feeling in his stomach.

"Ayame, what happened today with Maylam?" Commander Waltfeld asked. He had called her into his office, concerned that whatever happened it made her so upset that she cried. Amarante stood uncomfortably knowing that the eyes were still on her.

"Nothing real important sir," Amarante gulped. Her cheek was still slight red where he slapped her. She really just wanted to go back to work so she didn't have to go through this discussion.

"Then explain that red mark," Waltfeld replied staring into her eyes. She shifted uncomfortably knowing that her commander was watching her every move. Every fidget, every flinch, every facial expression was being watched by the Tiger.

"Maylam and I had a little fight," Amarante muttered. She knew that he would get it out of her eventually. He was her commander and it was becoming harder to hide things from him.

"Little?" Waltfeld asked trying to get more information out of her. He only wanted to know what happened so he could take the appropriate actions.

"We were fighting about the process of revenge," Amarante answered feeling tears come to her eyes. She turned her head away trying to show that she was a strong pilot. Only one person in her life had ever slapped her and that was her father. Amarante didn't like the feeling of being powerless and the memories that flooded back into her mind. She hated appearing weak in front of any man. It just reinforced that women were weak in the eyes of men.

"Hey come on now…Don't cry," Waltfeld cooed standing up to comfort the girl. He could understand why she was crying but if she was going to go back to work she had to look okay.

"I'm not crying…I just have something in my eyes," Amarante replied before rubbing her eyes. Waltfeld gave her a tight hug before sitting her down behind his desk. He had to cheer her up somehow.

"Want to help me make a fresh brew?" Waltfeld asked curiously. She only nodded yes trying to dry the tears in her eyes. She was curious in how to make coffee.

"I'm sorry. I'm a bad soldier," Amarante muttered. She was a weak and bad soldier. That's the reason why there were almost no females in the military. She hated this weakness…sometimes she wanted to die.

"You're not a bad soldier. Come on cheer up. Coffee is always better when you're cheerful," Waltfeld coaxed playfully placing an empty coffee mug on top of her head. She sniffed loudly before lying her head down on the desk in a small sob. The mug fell off her head and on to the desk.

"Sir…Why did Maylam hit me?" she asked her head still on the desk.

"You're really torn up on this aren't you?" Waltfeld asked placing his coffee making tools on his desk. She nodded before sitting up. From a near-by drawer Waltfeld took out a box of tissue. He tried to hand her one but she didn't take it. She laid her head back down wiping her eyes on her sleeve. With a loving grab he sat the young girl up wiping her eyes and nose.

"He didn't have to hit me!" Amarante said angrily.

"Look now I can't have you beat him up because he hit you. I'm not very sure why he hit you but I'll deal with it. Maylam wasn't right to hit you. I'll protect you okay?" Waltfeld said rubbing her back.

"Forever?" asked Amarante looking at him through blood shot eyes. The question shocked him, many times his soldiers had promised to protect him not vice versa.

"Forever…Even after my death," Waltfeld assured. Amarante's cheeks turned red as she kicked her feet silently. She placed a hand at her mouth and gulped quietly.

"Will you be my honorary dad?" Amarante asked sincerely. Her voice was soft and quiet. This question shocked him even more that he wasn't able to speak for several seconds. She muttered an apology trying to escape his chair.

"You're going to leave without my answer?" Waltfeld teased. He smiled at her lovingly, patting her cheek softly.

"Um," she muttered.

"Of course I'll be your honorary dad," Waltfeld chuckled. That made her smile which surprised him. "Come on let's make this coffee!" She learned a lot from what he told her about the beans and how to mix it just right. Also, how much of a certain bean to add to make sure it wasn't overpowering. DaCosta soon came into the room with a report. He covered his nose and mouth at the strong smell of the coffee.

"The report on the latest battle sir. Hello Amarante," DaCosta told them. He immediately sensed that there was something wrong with her. Her eyes were dull and dead unlike how lively they normally are. DaCosta also noticed her cheek but decided not to comment on it.

"Oh so I'm not special enough to get a greeting?" Waltfeld said in an accusing manner. He always enjoyed teasing the uptight man. DaCosta grimaced slightly as his commander gave him his eccentric smile.

"A-Ah…Hello sir," DaCosta replied.

"Hello DaCosta. How are you?" Amarante asked trying to act cheerful.

"I'm fine. The weather's quite nice don't you think?" DaCosta said making idle small talk.

"Yeah. But it's always so cold in the middle of the night. I wish everyday was clear and sunny like this," Amarante chuckled. She tried to smile and be welcoming but she knew he could sense that something was wrong.

"Unfortunately little Mare I have to get some other work done. If you'll excuse me sir," DaCosta informed with a salute. He did an about face before leaving the room.

"That reminds me "little Mare" can you tell me how you're related to Mu La Flaga," Waltfeld asked curiously. Her eyes lit up as she looked up at her commander.

"He's my cousin!" Amarante said cheerfully.

"Yeah but explain the family tree okay?" Waltfeld asked. (A/N: Forget chapter 3 or 4 I made a mistake on accident.)

"My great grandmother married into the Flaga family. Then had my grandmother went back to France and had my mother who married in France and inherited land. I guess after that my parents went into space got pregnant with my sister and my sister split with me," Amarante explained.

"Did you ever meet him?" Waltfeld asked. Amarante blushed at the thought before getting out of his chair to sit on the floor. He was going to protest but she wouldn't get off the floor.

"Once or twice. I ran away to his apartment once because I couldn't stand my family…

Flashback

It was rainy day as Amarante raced up the steps of an apartment complex. She had gathered up enough money to get here and she was wet and cold. Just a day before she looked up her family tree at the library and found one near-by relative. She was about 11 or 12 at the time. She found the right apartment room before knocking on the door. A groggy man appeared with blonde hair and blue eyes. He was in a shirt and boxers proving how late it was.

"Hi," Amarante said softly.

"Look kid if this some type of practical joke. This isn't funny," the man replied.

"I'm your cousin. I even have the paper work to prove it," Amarante answered taking the papers out of the backpack she had before showing him. He took a good amount of time to look over the paper work to make sure it was real.

"Well I guess so…Everything looks alright. Come inside," the man grumbled tiredly.

"My name is Amarante…and you are my cousin Mu!" Amarante cheered softly.

"Amarante Takahashi? You're that girl that has been missing for the last three days. What exactly are you doing here and at this hour?" Mu demanded with a groan.

"I've runaway…I do not like my parent. I was wondering if I could stay with you for the night," Amarante answered. The water dripped onto the floor causing the man to raise an eyebrow. How long had this girl been out in the rain?

"Young lady…You can't do this. You have to go home your mother and father are probably worried sick," Mu explained in a commanding tone.

Amarante shook her head, "My mother is dead. My father doesn't care about me. Don't believe his tears." It was a weird assertion to come from such a small girl.

"Why would you say such a thing?" Mu demanded. He hated his father as well but he would never tell a perfect stranger that he didn't care about him. Even if he didn't.

"I've actually been gone for about a week," Amarante explained before letting out a sneeze. Mu thought over her predicament before creating a plan. She was cold and probably getting sick. He couldn't turn her away…there was a chance that the girl could have be actually kidnapped.

"I'm going to let you stay but you can only stay for a few days. My liberty is up in four days," Mu sighed.

"Liberty?" Amarante asked as Mu looked around for a towel to wrap her in. She began to follow him but he stopped her in her tracks.

"It's like your school breaks," Mu replied wrapping her in the towel before scratching his head. "I'm not very sure what you're going to wear."

"It's okay. I can sleep in these," Amarante replied. She had been sleeping in the clothes day in and day out even if it was uncomfortable.

"You can't sleep in wet clothes," Mu replied muttering a 'wait here.' He left her dripping girl in front of the door. He came back with a shirt for her to wear.

"That's your shirt," Amarante said refusing to put it on.

"Go into the bathroom and change. I'll dry your clothes so you can wear them tomorrow," Mu ordered. Amarante obliged with a small sigh.

"Do I have to go?" Amarante whined hugging on to her cousin's leg. He was wearing his O.M.N.I uniform because this was his last day. He had to report to his base before getting his new orders to go into space.

"Yes you do. I was nice enough to let you stay AND not to tell anyone. But, I can't let you leave without a gift," Mu said going down to her level. He held out a key to her causing her eyes to light up. For a few seconds she looked back and forth at his face and the key.

"Thank you!" Amarante replied.

"If you ever need a place to escape to then come here. I don't know if I'll be here but I'll try to get closer to your family so when I am home you can come and visit alright?" Mu reasoned. Amarante was only able to hug him. She was glad to have a cousin like him. She hoped this wasn't the last time she'd see him. It would be very saddening if she couldn't see him ever again.

End Flashback

"And that's how I met with Mu La Flaga," Amarante explained.

"That explains a lot. Now on to another pressing matter…What are your feelings about Kirkwood?" Waltfeld asked taking a drink of his coffee. Amarante instantly turned red and she shifted uncomfortably on the floor.

"He has nice eyes," Amarante muttered.

"He's quiet too…Well I got to get back to my work. Go take a break," Waltfeld ordered. Amarante stood up giving him a salute before leaving the room. She really did think that Kirkwood had nice looking eyes.

"He is very nice," Amarante whispered to herself. She shook the thoughts away heading down the hall.

"DaCosta," Waltfeld said over his com system. He knew that Amarante wasn't going to waltz back in and Aisha was probably waiting for the girl.

"Yes sir," DaCosta replied on the other end. Normally Waltfeld didn't call him at this time of the day. It must be some type of sortie…DaCosta thought with a groan.

"In the near future plan an overnight recon mission. Also I want you to stay here and take charge of things until I come back," Waltfeld ordered. DaCosta flinched, this was unlike him. DaCosta went on almost all of his sorties, except when he went in his customized BuCUE.

"Sir?" DaCosta asked. He thought he was joking so he wanted to confirm his order.

"You heard me," Waltfeld snapped. He flinched again knowing that he was truthful. His tone was too serious to be joking.

"Y-Yes sir," DaCosta answered. What is he planning? Commander, I wish I could understand you, DaCosta thought writing down his order.