Silent Requiem, a fanfic by Nightmaresama, prologue

It has been almost eleven months now since the war began, and since that time the Earth Sphere region has been radically reshaped.

More than two thirds of the human population is now housed in five-mile long cylindrical "space colonies". Each of the colonies is located around one of seven geosynchronous points called Sides. The colonists live in relative comfort and security as weather and lighting control devices were all installed in the colonies from the very beginnings of their construction. As the years dragged on, the colonists began to resent being under the Jurisdiction of Earth's ruling body, the militant and domineering Earth Federation. Last year, these grumblings of discontentment turned to outright vocal acts of sedition. The colonists of Side Three, the cluster of colonies behind the darker side of the moon proclaimed Independence from the Federation at the close of last year. This group of colonies came to be known as the Independent Duchy of Zeon, after their martyred leader.

The discovery of Minovsky Particles and the new aged physics their discovery has spawned have been the death sentence for conventional warfare. Radar has been muted, friction no longer a concrete variable, and dazzling yet lethal beam weaponry has become a reality. However, the most important aspect of this new aged science was the development of a compact fusion reactor that could power a totally unorthodox fighting machine: the massive, humanoid fighting machines known as mobile suits.

War rages on many different fronts, both On Planet and in space with both sides unleashing ever more devastating new weaponry. Federation soldiers in Southeast Asia fought valiantly to destroy an isolated Zeon research facility and the mammoth secret weapon therein. It was a costly campaign and cost the lives of some of the finest soldiers on both sides. Above the Arctic Circle, research is being conducted on a new Federation superweapon. The secrecy around this operation at the top of the world had come under scrutiny by Zeonic commando forces that are at present planning a raid. Even the continent of North America is being wracked by war as two fortified positions in the New England Front prepare to clash.

Conflict between the Federation and the Zeon has reached a boiling point. With both sides losing half their respective populations in only the first week of combat due to indiscriminate usage of nuclear and chemical weapons and other tactics of mass destruction, the conflict is also getting more desperate…

Cirrus Hikari stepped off the bus and shaded her eyes from the glare of the sun. She slung the bag with all of her personal possessions onto her narrow shoulder and followed the rest of soon-to-be cadets towards the admissions building.

She felt giddy inside and fought her hardest to keep from smiling and looking like a silly country girl. She was finally here! The Mao Tse'Tung Memorial Air Force Academy at Beijing, the current most prestigious facility of its kind in the entire Federation. With any luck, she'd be in the cockpit of jet core fighter by the end of the month, hopefully sooner!

"My…name…Hikari Cirrus-(no that's not it)-Cirrus Hikari!" Damn, this English was hard! And the stupid backwards placing of the names kept screwing her up too!

Cirrus had lived all of her life in Shanghai, but her familial origins stemmed from other parts of the world. Her father, a military man himself, was Japanese, while her mother was a French immigrant. She'd mastered both of those languages easily enough, as well as Mandarin and German, but this damn English that was so widely used totally escaped her!

She'd had to teach herself upon receiving word that she had been accepted into the Academy, but that had only been six months notice, and she'd had practically no help. Ancient textbooks she had bought at a pawnshop and several hand-me-down children's books had been the best that Cirrus had been able to come up with. Now she could say quite clearly, "the Cat in the Hat", but the odds of having a conversation about such at a military academy seemed astronomically small.

Still, she kept forcing herself to practice, "Hello…my…name…Hi-Cirrus Hikari."

"Nice to meet you Cirrus Hikari!" A voice cut into her thoughts and startled an embarrassed blush onto her pale cheeks.

She looked up and saw its owner, a tactless, but seemingly amiable upperclassman European (American?). "I'm Brian O'Reilly," he said, effecating a dashing smile.

Brian-san continued for several minutes speaking rapidly in the language she was just thinking about how much she loathed. She looked at him blankly for a moment and then did a motion she hoped looked like "slow down!"

He cocked his head to one side, not fully comprehending what was the problem. "Je ne parle English," she said in French. The word for English equivalent for parle totally escaped her or she would have tried it in that language.

Cirrus took a deep breath and repeated what she had just said in German. She had no time for this foolery: she had to get checked in and this O'Reilly person was keeping her.

Brian still had that puzzled look on his face, when another upperclassman came over and started speaking to him.

"She said she doesn't speak English, Brian," Vincent Langley told his friend. He then turned to the young lady that said friend was harrying. In the language she'd spoken last, he replied, "You'll have to excuse my friend, indiscreet and uncouth though he is. You know how Americans are. He came over here thinking with his wrong head."

"The hell did you just say to her, Vince?" Brian demanded as the object of today's temptation walked off still giggling.

"The truth," his roommate said, shrugging as he started back to the table where the two of them had been eating lunch and watching the newbies rolling in.

"How was I s'posed to know she didn't speak English? She was when I walked over there at first." Brian sat back down and fumbled with his chopsticks as he tried to grab some Lo-mein. "Damn sticks," he grumbled, "how the hell does anyone put up with trying to eat with these things?"

"Stupid American," Vince sighed in his native Austrian-flavoured German. He returned to English, "You think that just because everyone speaks English where you come from that there shouldn't be anyone who can't,"

"Well, why the hell not?" he muttered, his pride wounded. "It is the official language of the Federation for Chrissakes," Brian stuffed a wad of noodles into his mouth, holding the chopsticks incorrectly.

"And you still don't know how to eat with those…and how long have we been in Beijing, now?"

"A year and a half you bastard, and you damn well know it," he said in between chews. "Why the hell are you riding me today, huh? I mean, damn, all I wanted was to go up and talk to the girl and here you are playing high and mighty with me!"

It was a full two weeks later before Cirrus ever met either of them again. She had just finished training on one of the obstacle courses, and was on her way back to the dorm, still in her sweaty training uniform when she ran into Vince, who was on his way to class.

She smiled when she saw him, recalling his face and joke, and waved him over. He obliged her and the two of them sat down on the steps to one of the facilities many buildings.

"I don't think we've been properly introduced yet," he spoke in German, hoping she would follow. She didn't look like any German he'd ever seen; not with that raven-black hair and slightly Asiatic eyes.

"Ja," she returned, to the same language to his relief. She spoke it with an odd accent though, as if she'd learned it from a textbook. "I am called Cirrus Hikari. And you are?"

"Vincent Langley, Cirrus. But I hope to be known to you simply as Vince." He stood and bowed slightly (she giggled at that), "And might I add that it is a pleasure to finally get to know you. You are a freshman, right?"

She nodded. "This is my first time out of Shanghai. It is a big city, but Beijing puts it to shame. I am just lucky I have not had to go off campus yet; I would get lost and probably never find my way back!"

"You've never seen the city proper?" he asked, appalled. "Cirrus, my God! You haven't lived until you've seen the nightlife in Beijing!"

"Most certainly not! Listen, my friend and I have 'leave' this weekend, you should talk to your dorm manager about getting it too, and maybe you can join us for a night out?"

"Your friend…" Cirrus wrinkled her nose. "The same one from that day at the admissions entrance? The one with his brains in his ass?"

"Yes, that's the one," Vince laughed, cutting her off. "Sometimes he's a bit of a womaniser, but on the whole, Brian's a pretty good guy."

"I will take your word for it," she said, dubiously. "He is an American, right?"

She wrinkled her nose. "I could tell. That is okay, though; I would really love to join you two. Shall I meet you again by the shaded outside cafeteria benches tomorrow if I can go?"

Cirrus nodded, and then smiled sheepishly. "I suppose I should get going. I just came from the obstacle course and I probably smell like a wet donkey."

"M'lady, if that's the case, then you're the most beautiful wet donkey I've yet had the pleasure of meeting."

It could have come off sounding really stupid-in fact, odds were it did-but Vince had only meant it as a joke anyway. Cirrus however, must have taken it a different way, for she flushed so deep a shade of embarrassed crimson, he feared she would pass out from anemia right before his eyes.

"D-danken," she finally managed. No guy had ever told her she was beautiful before, even in jest.

"No problem," he tried to laugh it off to show that it was a joke, but he doubted that it had worked. "See you tomorrow."

Beautiful? Cirrus Hikari O'Reilly thought as water from the overhead shower drizzled down the graceful curves of her flank. She remembered that day vividly, even though it was now almost five years past. They had indeed gone out that weekend, and painted the town red. She had never imagined how much fun just drinking and "hanging out" could be. They hadn't even laughed at her when she'd gone up to sing her favourite song on the Karaoke machine, even though it must have sounded truly Gawd-Awful.

She had a look about her face that was totally unique. Her father's Asiatic features dominated, obviously, yet they were nicely accented by her mother's European heritage. Cirrus' wan face was framed by silky long black hair, but her nose stuck out as being a distinctly Roman pince-nez. Her eyes were also lighter than they should have been-they were almost a hazel-green-and they always held the impression of being deep in thought, even when she laughed.

She was also tall, which was a definitely beneficial European trait. She was head and shoulders above her father and stood almost 170cm. Her figure was to die for; even the Federation Military Uniform could not keep male eyes from roving her curves.

'In fact,' she thought, as she wrapped her hair in a towel, 'Vince had also been the first to point that out.'

Cirrus finished drying herself and pulled out a fresh uniform. After buttoning it she floated out into the corridor heading toward the mess hall. Zero-G did not particularly sit well with her, someone whom had lived her entire life on planet. To finally be aboard the EFF Yagami, one of the Federation's mighty Salamis-class cruisers, patrolling the Colonies; it was a real rush, and took some major getting used to.

When Brian O'Reilly had first popped the question to her, she hadn't wanted to. He said he loved her, but she was not quite so sure-sure she felt the same way, or sure that his feelings were truly genuine. At the time, she was still loosely involved with Vince, and hadn't wanted to give up on him. But Brian had been persistent, and Vince…

Sadly, Cirrus thought as she continueded her reminiscing, she and Vince had started moving further away from each other emotionally after those first two years. She had got the feeling that he didn't want to, but something was holding him back. Had he been a little more forward…dammit, she had loved him! She had wanted to be with him! But his shyness and reticence all too well mirrored her own, and they had both been too afraid to make the first move. Vince was a cavalier knight, and Cirrus was a chaste maiden; they fit so well together that it very literally was too good to be true. Theirs was the image of a plutonic, chivalrous relationship, but Brian, uncouth and uncultured American though he was, had been able to wedge himself in between them. His rashness, his sense of self-righteous superiority, his overt kindness and brazen advances-the very things that had irritated Cirrus about him when she first met him-turned out to be very endearing qualities as she got to know him. So much so, that they began to overshadow Vince's Old World grace and courtliness in her mind. It's true what they say: opposites do attract.

But, Brian was thousands of kilometres away now. After they graduated and finally took their vows, he had been assigned to a carrier stationed all the way out in Side Seven, protecting the newly constructed colony there. He sent letters every so often, but she still missed him dearly. There were strict rules about relationships between soldiers and one of the most paramount was that married couples were strictly forbade from serving on the same battleships or other space vessels.

As Cirrus looked up a broad smile spread over her lips and her face brightened. "Brian-kun!"

She rushed up to him and threw herself into his arms, kissing him fully on the lips. "What are you doing here? Why on the same ship as I, are you?"

His familiar dashing smile emerged to complement her own, as he ran his fingers through her long black hair. "Don't tell me you're still having trouble with English, hon?" he said in fluent Japanese, "Not after all those late night lessons?"

"Oh, you," she shoved off from him, making a face. Actually, she spoke better English than he did-than most native speakers did-but every so often she would make a mistake (a Freudian slip in this case). "You still have not answered why they let you here; are not married couples forbidden from being on the same battleships?"

He shrugged with feigned innocence. "Oh, there are ways around that nasty little rule…"

"Ooh, big word. You're so cute when you get mad." Another dirty look and he was talking. "Okay, okay, I've got a friend who owes me one at Dispatch, so I had him make a few changes to our records, and poof, we're just two people who coincidentally have the same last name."

"It is not that; you erased our proof of marriage! How could you?" she looked wounded.

"Ah, it's okay, hon; you and I still know it, and that's what counts," he held up his ring finger, "N'est pas?"

"Please? At least this way we can be together all the time." He put a hand on her shoulder.

"Hey buddy, how the hell are you?" Brian rushed over and slapped Vincent on his back.

"Fine, thank you," Vince said coolly as he removed Brian's hand. "May I ask why you are here? I am sure you know that married couples are not permitted to serve on the same ships?"

Brian looked about sheepishly. "Hey, listen, bud, I need you to do me a big favour."

Cirrus had floated over to listen to the conversation going on between her two friends.

"Go on," Vince's face remained hard, and Cirrus doubted that he would be willing to go through with it.

He had maintained this fasade of cool indifference to her ever since she'd started serving on the ship. The light had been all but sucked from his once charming features. Come to think of it, he actually had begun acting that way towards everyone nowadays. So bitter. So cold. So resentful.

"I managed to pull some strings and got it so that I could serve on this ship. Do you think you could keep this under wraps for a little bit?"

Vince stared at his former friend for a full minute. Something was taking place behind his glassy, silver eyes, something that Cirrus couldn't quite put a finger on, but she knew-she knew-it was about more than her husband's simple request. She had known him too long and too well to believe that.

"Aw, thanks man, I knew you'd come through for us," Brian hugged Vince, and slapped him on the shoulder again.

"Domo arigato, Vince-chan," Cirrus said with a slight bow. She then gave him a light kiss on his cheek.

The young couple then took off down the hall babbling animatedly, leaving Vince as he had felt every day for those last five years: Alone.

Vincent Langley sat in the darkness of his quarters. The Captain's Quarters; the nicest room aboard Yagami. A half-empty flask of "medicinal" whiskey sat before him on the coffee table.

One of the youngest captains in Federation history. Far more decorated than some twice his age: Courage Under Fire; the Iron Crux of the Federation; a Medal of Honour…

Cirrus Hikari, no, Cirrus O'Reilly, was the only thing that really made him happy, and she was the only thing beyond his reach.

Oh, he was certain that she had been in love with him for a little while; especially back on Earth. If only she hadn't been so impatient! So quick to jump into bed with Brian!

The first day it happened was permanently burned into his memory. That day at the bar when she chose to sit next to Brian over him. Moments later, mere moments!He was putting his hands on her thighs, or around her supple shoulders. The same thighs and shoulders Vince had thought his own not twenty-four hours prior!

After that, it was just a matter of time before they were going to movies and dinner alone, and "forgetting" to tell him. This led to that, and that led to this and within two years, they were tying the knot. Vince had barely been able to restrain himself from killing his "friend" when he had been asked to be the Best Man.

Yet, he continued his thoughts while knocking back another shot of whiskey, he had tried valiently to keep face throughout the entire humiliating ordeal. It was Cirrus' choice, after all; he could hardly force her to love him. That didn't make dealing with their overt flirting any easier to deal with, though, but no one could accuse him of not trying.

Vince had thought the problem would right itself once he had been given control of his first ship. He would be far away from both Brian and his "Lotus Blossom", and maybe, the routine of military service would get his mind off of the two of them for good.

Three weeks after gaining authority over the Salamis-class Battlecruiser, Yagami, Cirrus had been transferred to the ship's core-fighter detachment. He would be facing the forbidden fruit almost all the time now. And now, that two-timing, sonofabitch husband of her's was here too? And asking him for favours no less!

"I'll make him pay, the deceitful mother-fucker," Vince said aloud, the liquor slurring his speech only slightly. "By all that is Right and Holy, I swear I'll get him back for this…"

Red lights bathed the bridge in an eerie glow, giving everything a seemingly sinister appearance.

"Helmsman, bring us about. Full broadside barrage directed at those Musai cruisers!" Vince gave orders with hardly a second thought, though the situation was dire.

Carnage and Chaos reigned supreme all around Yagami. The Zeon had done the unthinkable: after a massive exchange of NBC weapons that had nearly annihilated the human population both on earth and in the colonies, a team of Zeon commandos had hijacked an entire colony and sent it on a collision course with Earth for the second time.

Yagami had been on the front in the fight against Operation British, the earlier drop operation, and her crew had fought valiantly though the Federation lost the day. The resulting impact of the colony had been enough to totally obliterate the city of Sydney, Australia and render it a gulf visible from space. The Federation had only been fortunate that the colony had not hit its true destination, the capital in Jabrow, South America.

However, those damned Zeeks were seeking to rectify their past error with a second colony drop. Fortunately, though, the Federation had been prepared for it this time, setting up a massive defensive line at the highest levels of the atmosphere. This time, things would be different.

"Or will they?" Vince brooded from his position in the aft section of the bridge, "as long as they have those new mobile suit things, who can tell?"

Mobile suits. The Zeon superweapons were massive, humanoid suits of armour that were incredibly mobile and devastatingly effective. Being the calculating tactician he was, Vince had thought the weapons ludicrous when he first faced them during Operation British. Why use such superfluous and frivolous designs as arms and legs on a conventional weapon?

Yet, in reality, these were likely to be the next generation of martial technology. In an era where the research in Minovsky Physics had rendered radar all but mute, size was hardly a factor. Likewise, in space where friction did not exist, there was no need to worry about factors such as drag and aerodynamics; the weapons could effectively look however the designers wanted and not be slowed at all.

And in response to these new aged terror weapons, the best the Federation could muster were squadrons of outdated core fighters.

Speaking of the fighters, and thus fighter pilots…"Have our fighters scrambled yet?" he asked one of the officers.

"Ah, units 05 and 09 have already scrambled and are in the fray, sir," the seaman reported. "Units 07 and 01 are on the catapult with 02 waiting."

"Excellent," she hadn't scrambled yet, "Send for Lieutenant O'Reilly. I have new orders for her."

"Sir?" the officer looked totally perplexed. "Are you sure it's a good idea to send for her now?"

"Make it so." He sat back and smiled to himself. 'We must be careful lest the stary blood stain the delicate Lotus…'

Cirrus floated through the corridor, her mind racing. The thrill of combat! God, how she loved it!

Through the heady rush, however, she wondered why Vince had called for her. She had been making her way to her fighter when the announcement had been made, and she always liked to launch right after Brian. It was sort of reassuring knowing he was out there with her. Of course, she'd never be the soldier he was. No, his laid-back confidence far exceeded her hot-blooded rampages.

But that was the fundamental difference between their two personalities. It was also why she loved him.

What could these special orders be? And why did she need to be up at the bridge to receive them? Well, she couldn't really second-guess the judgement of the captain; it was her duty as a soldier to comply with his orders.

Still, she'd rather be out there, ripping up the void and slaying Zeeks with Brian by her side.

The doors to the bridge hissed open and Cirrus floated in. Immediately she was greeted by a cacophony of voices from all the differnent stations. The effect was staggering. She was used to hearing maybe one or two at a time over the radio of her fighter, but this…

"Lieutenant!" Vince's voice rang out over all the others, calling her to the captain's chair.

As she began towards his post, she caught sight of two of the fighters launching from the catapult out of the corner of her eye. She turned her head towards the sight when she saw that one of them was Brian's, its distinctive red-and-gold tailfin giving it away. They continued around and prepared to cross over the bridge…

'Now…' Vince thought. "All guns, full barrage on that Musai! We are going to take it down!"

"Vince, hold on a second, Brian is not-" Cirrus' voice came high and shrill, but it was already far too late.

Time seemed to slow to an infinitesimal crawl. The energy beams ripped forth from the mouths of the cannons and tore across the void towards the enemy cruiser. Brian, in the point position of the fighter wing, attempted to dodge the blasts, and seemed about to succed in its evasive action for a fraction of a second.

One blast hit the fighter. Then another…and another. The craft was completely destroyed as Cirrus watched in horror.

She stopped where she stood, transfixed by what had transpired just beyond the armourglass window. Her husband had just been killed, not by an enemy attack, but by friendly fucking fire.

"The cruiser has been destroyed sir," one of the officers said with what seemed to Cirrus as totally cold indifference.

"Excellent," Vince said, equally as cold. "Full speed towards the colony. We must stop it at all costs."

Had he just said that? Had he just knowingly killed the man who had once been his best friend? The man who had been his roommate all the way through college? Whose connections had helped see to it that he got the position he now had?

Vincent looked towards Cirrus, taking his eyes momentarily away from the battlefield. She had gone ghostly pale and was just staring out the window, into the void. Every few seconds or so, she would murmur Brian's name, as though she were in a trance.

"Captain sir," the first mate said tightly, "I believe you are acting totally irrationally today, sir."

"And I do not feel well about your orders today." His subordinate continued as though he had not spoken.

"You think I don't know that?" Vince exploded. "Do you, First Officer? You think I don't understand the importance of the lives being risked here on this godforsaken sector? Your insubordination is intolerable! Take the Bridge, now!"

'Bastard,' Vince thought as he walked over to Cirrus, 'probably a member of Brian's faction. I had not known his ties went so deep.'

Rage coursed through her veins, and she lashed out, grabbing him by the collar and whirled him around and slammed him against the armourglass window where she had just been.

"You!" tears stung her eyes, but she was sure he could see the boundless fury behind them. "You gave that order to fire!"

"Shut up!" she shouted, and slammed him into the window again. "Shut up you lying bastard! You knew he was there! You knew, and you gave the order anyway! But why, Vince? He was your friend too!"

"Cirrus, listen to reason!" Vince managed to wheeze out. The second blow had almost knocked the wind out of him.

Almost of their own volition, her hands released his collar and covered her face. She shuddered several times as sobs wracked her body.

Something died within her in those moments. Something she would never be able to reclaim for all the rest of her life.

"Escort Lieutenant O'Reilly back to her quarters, please," she heard Vince mutter to one of the bridge officers.

Seconds later, she felt strong hands pulling her back. Away from the Bridge, away from the window, and away from Vince, she went.

Prologue

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Chapter 7

Chapter 8

Chapter 9

Chapter 10

Chapter 11

Chapter 12

Chapter 13

Chapter 14

Chapter 15
Chapter 16

Chapter 17

Chapter 18

Chapter 19

Chapter 20

Chapter 21

Chapter 22

This fanfic is complete.

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Silent Requiem

Prologue