Silent Requiem, a fanfic by Nightmaresama, chapter 15

The hangar doors on the twenty-third MS catapult on the lower level of the space fortress A Baoa Qu slid open and the air that had been locked inside was sucked out in a whirlwind. As the wind howled around him, Anavel Gato could hardly help thinking that this may very well be the final mission of the war for independence.

Everything hinged on this one operation. Several days before, the Zeonic Solar Ray destroyed two-thirds of the Federation's cosmo-arma. If they could hold off the remaining forces here, they might be able to force peace talks from the Feddies.

The fact of the matter was, though, that even one third of their original battle strength, the Feds still outnumbered them. No matter what, this was going to be an intense battle--far more so, even, than Solomon.

Weighing the odds thusly, made Gato recall a conversation he had had the day before, when he, Kelley, and Naomi had just arrived at the fortress. The other two had walked right in and found some of the temporary officers quarters, but Gato had been pulled aside. He hadn't known why at the time, but in retrospect, it all seemed so clear: Fleet Commander Aguille Delaz had asked to speak with him, almost as soon as he had disembarked the shuttle.

Gato had been wary, at first, not knowing exactly how to handle his tough-looking superior officer. Yet Delaz had turned out to be a big fan of his and repeatedly commended him for his patriotism and courage at Solomon and thereafter. He also had had distressing news to share with him.

"What? You mean to say that we are going to lose the battle tomorrow?" Gato had asked.

"But why? How?" His faith in the cause had been shaken ever since Cirrus had been killed, but it still remained. If one of the Fleet commanders didn't think that they could win the battle, he sure as hell wanted to know why.

And Delaz had been pleased to share this information with him. "There is unrest among the sovereignty. Some of the other Fleet Commanders foolishly believe that our new Commander-in-Chief, had a hand in orchestrating his father's demise. His own sister, our Rear Admiral, believes the lies of the traitors."

"I believe that if things begin deteriorating on the battlefield tomorrow because of this tension, that I intend to pull back my fleet and continue the fight another day."

"Not flee, Major, but make sure that we are able to fight again another day. If all of us die out there in defense of this fortress tomorrow, then the Feddies will have secured a total victory over us. If some of us escape the blood-bath, we can go on hurting them until we have a chance to revive the war in earnest. Do you not see my point?"

"I see, sir, but as for my agreeing with it…" he had paused a few moments before continuing, "I will take it into consideration."

A smile had formed under Delaz's moustache. "That is very good, major, very good indeed. I knew you would see the problem for what it was. You are a true soldier, just like myself, and as such, we have a view of the battlefield unobstructed by politics and intrigue. Bear in mind, if at any point you are unable to return to your ship to resupply, you are welcome to use any and all resources in my battleship, the Gawden."

"Yes," he said tersely. "Remember, though, Naomi, we are not to engage in battle save to defend the mobile armour. At 1430 however, two more platoons will be arriving to relieve us. Also, if at any time, either of you are in need of repairs or resupply, and are unable to return to the ship, the battleship Gawden has opened their hangar for us."

"Everyone sit tight, for, now, though. We still have another twenty minutes before we launch."

Heero Yuy sat staring at the floor in the cubical that was his cell. The bare light bulb glowed steadily as it had for the past five days--at least he thought it had been five days.

Total sensory depravation was a classic method of interrogation. It was one of the first things he had learned about during his own stint at Intel. Of course, learning about it and experiencing it first hand were two totally different things. Having not seen anything but the white walls, the white ceiling, the white (except for the large orange bloodstain) floor, and having heard nothing but the ringing in his ears, since he'd been thrown into this Godforsaken box, was almost enough to make him anticipate Alice's visits.

However, in between torture sessions, the silence had afforded him a great deal of time to think. He thought about Cirrus, about Gato, about the rest of his team; he did think about Alice, occasionally (though more often than he would have liked). He thought about the war and its purpose, about what it meant to be a soldier, about what it meant to be a captive. He thought about his days with the Federation and about how rotten and corrupt it had been, about his fellow spies, about that day in the factory.

But most of all he thought about Rei. Had it not been for her…he had difficulty picturing where he would be at this point. Meeting her had turned his life around, he thought, for the better. Better her than vindictive and spiteful Alice, who could not see--who would not see--the terrible things that the government she so zealously served was doing. And to think he had almost agreed to spend the rest of his life with her!

When he did think of Alice now, there was no trace of the love he once felt for her. Only a deep abiding hatred remained. She may as well have killed Rei herself, for all he cared. He was going to get her for that, one of these days.

That, unfortunately, would prove easier said than done; in addition to having his hands cuffed behind him, he had had his upper torso chained to the metal chair he sat in. His feet were chained too, and both chains were bound by a padlock.

No, he would not be able to break free using only brute strength--he would have to use his wits, and some of the tricks he'd picked up while under the tutelage of Intel's finest, Alice Miller herself.

As he sat pondering, the door hissed open. The first few times it happened, he had jerked with a start; now he sort of expected it at anytime, and so, did not even flinch.

In walked Alice Miller, her face a porcelain mask of calculating beauty, her body a model of cold temptation. She put a hand on her hip, and glanced at her watch.

"Okay then," she took his sardonic remark in stride and kept going, "Listen, I've blocked all the monitoring devices to this room, so I can talk freely with you now. Last time, you and I had a little discussion about Rei and the V-project, do you remember that?"

He glowered silently. He didn't remember, and that was the insidious part about the drug. It had been pretty damn clever of her to pump it in through the air vents, rather than risk it in the coffee mug as was standard operating procedure.

"You don't?" she asked sweetly, not visibly put off in the least by his defiance. "Oh well, that's okay. I learned all I could have ever wanted to know."

"Shut the hell up, you slut!" he exploded in a fit of rage. "Don't pretend like you could ever understand true love. You have to have emotions first! Besides which, I don't care if you pumped a thousand cubic metres of that gas in here, I would never tell you anything about Ayanami!"

"Is that so, you back-stabbing bastard? Clearly, you don't remember any of our little heart-to-heart at all then. I'll have you know that I got a hell of a lot more out of you than you could ever imagine! If you don't believe me, I've got it all on tape!"

She laughed him off, "Yeah, you'd like to think that, wouldn't you? It's just too bad that the little bitch had to go and die on Solomon. I would've loved to put a bullet right between her eyes myself!"

After almost a week of sensory depravation, Heero's head was pounding from all the shouting, and his face was flushed. He felt as if the room was spinning. "I…" he started.

"Don't try that shit with me, Heero," she sneered. "I'm not so gullible as that."

He struggled to keep his eyes focused, but he knew it was a losing battle. The pain from his broken ribs tore through him like a heated dagger, and he winced again.

"Fuck!" he gasped. Seconds later he felt himself retch with dry heaves; had they fed him better he knew he would have surely vomited.

Alice gave him a quizzical look, debating whether or not this display was genuine. The Intel officer part of her screamed that it was an elaborate rouse, but the other part, the part of her that was a woman who still harboured feelings for the pitiable wreck before her…

"Hey," she said, poking him gently on the shoulder, "That's enough of that. I'm not going to fall for it. Just tell me what I need to know and I'll see about getting you a doctor."

Heero regained enough control over his failing body to shake his head defiantly. "What more do you want out of me?" he wheezed. "You've already got more than enough to see me put before a firing squad, if what you said earlier was true."

Inside, Alice breathed a sigh of relief. It didn't look like he was going to pass out. "Information," she said, steeling her voice, "about where your Zeek cohorts are planning on creating their next defensive line."

`Her gun is holstered on her left hip,' he noted silently, `and the keys to the handcuffs are near her right. Adrenaline began to course through his veins, revitalizing him. He was going to need all the strength he could muster to pull this off.

"Well?" she asked, "would you like to talk or not? If you don't, let me know now so I can start making arrangements for your execution."

He reached out with both hands that had been handcuffed to the sides of the chair and grabbed her wrists, gently pulling her close enough for him to kiss her.

Hesitant at first, Alice quickly surrendered to the pent up emotions that came flooding forth. She did not even notice when he released her wrists, and went roving to other parts of her person.

After a full five minutes, they broke off and she looked into his eyes. "I've got a proposition for you, if you're interested."

Her whole manner had changed. Where just a few minutes ago, she had engaged him in a shouting match, now she was talking softly too him, much the way she had when they were still… "Even though, you ran off with your little Zeon girlfriend all those months ago, I never blamed you for what you did." She actually started to blush a little. "I want you to know that never, since that day, have I ever stopped loving you."

"That's right, Heero." She turned her back to him and continued speaking over her shoulder, "I'll be willing to personally exonerate you for all your crimes…if you'll run away with me."

She was really being serious! Or so he thought…It could all just be an elaborate rouse, to get him in front of a firing squad.

"I'm so tired of this fighting, Heero!" she sighed as she paced back and forth in front of him. "I hate it so! All the death, all the pain…I just want to live a normal life, with you by my side! So, please, let's run away together! There's nothing holding us back! I'll go AWOL, and since, Ayanami is dead, you won't have to look back over your shoulder, either. We can both start over again…together."

Alice's eyes widened when she saw what he had done. Subconsciously, she glanced down at her hips and saw that the keys to the shackles were indeed missing, and so was her…

The next thing she knew, Heero's strong arm had encircled her neck in a sleeper hold, and she felt the cold metal tip of her Glock 36 pressing against her temple.

"Run away? With you?" he laughed cruelly in her ear. "Listen to yourself, Alice! You really have lost it! After all that you've done to me since I've been here, the torture, the sensory depravation, hitting me in the ribs and giving me no medical attention, not to mention your flaunting Rei's death in my face every time you've come in here," she winced every time he counted one off. "And now you want us to pretend that none of that happened? You want us to live some sort of fairy tale, 'happily ever after'? Sorry sweetie, but things don't work out that way on this side of an interrogation."

"Why?" she said, fighting to control the fear of death and the raw emotional pain of a second betrayal at his hands. Heero had never seen her look so distraught. "I was just doing what I was told! The stupid brass, they made me do this! Cameras everywhere, all the time, watching my every move! I had to make it look real! Plus, coming off the news that you had betrayed us--the Federation and me, personally--my emotions were so confused, I could hardly tell which way was up! I love you, Heero! Can't that be enough?"

He still couldn't tell if she was telling the truth, but if not, then she was a damn better actor than any at the movies. "I…I'm sorry, Alice. I never knew you felt that way. You were always, so composed, before, and now…I just don't know if I can trust you. I want to believe you, honest I do, but even if I did…words just can't erase what you've done."

He snorted. "How many times must I say that I am not like you? You never did understand." He shoved her to the ground and bolted towards the door, closing and locking it as he ran past.

"Hey!" Hilde shouted to an orderly who had just passed by her door, "what's our present location?"

The orderly paused and thought for a moment. "Last I heard, we were only about five thousand kilometres from the A Baoa Qu frontline. We're still moving a little closer, though, so we can help to get the wounded out if they --"

"I know why," she said, tersely. "I have one other question for you, though--and if you don't know, than it's okay--but do you know if the suit recovered after Solomon is still in the hangar? The Guncannon?"

Slightly miffed at being interrupted earlier, the orderly shrugged. "We picked up several damaged suits after Solomon, but dropped most of the off at Neo-Canton. There might still be or two left in the hangar, although I can't see why that would be of any importance to you. You still need to be getting bed rest."

"Whatever," Hilde retorted, and the orderly continued on with whatever it was that orderlies do.

'Dammit!' she thought to herself. 'How the hell are they going to force me to stay in this damn bed during what might well be the defining moment of this war! I can't let my friends go out there and face the jaws of death alone. Most of all, if Duo were to die while I was not by his side, I'd never be able to forgive myself! But how to get out? They've already said that they wont let me fight in my condition…perhaps…the only way to win now is to accept their offers to help'.

Utterly humiliated by the fact that she was going to eat crow and ask for help (but at the same time, very thankful that her doctor wasn't that bitch Michelle Bannock anymore), she paged her new doctor. He arrived in the room moments later, to find her already sitting up on the corner of the bed.

Alex was running down the halls of the Kaiser II in a mad rush to get to the MS bay, when he was suddenly stopped by Michelle. "Ah, hullo, Michelle," he tried, hurriedly. If he were late to the hangar, Karen would kill him before he even made it to the battlefield.

"It's okay, Michelle, I understand, and I'm sorry too. I shouldn't have said what I said to you, but I can't change the way I feel for Rachel. It wasn't my intent to cause you so much grief."

"No, it's not about that!" she cut him off in mid-sentence. "You see, after our spate the other day…I…I'm so sorry!"

"I…I sold you and the whole unit out to the enemy! I told them to take special care to take all of you out, because you all were going to plant nuclear charges all along the surface of the fortress! I'm so sorry!"

He stared at her for a full minute before he spoke next. "I see…so it wasn't enough to put my life at risk, but you endangered the lives of my teammates too? You placed the whole operation-no, not just the operation, but the whole cause that we've fought twelve months for-in jeopardy because of your reaction to a fight? And you think saying 'I'm sorry' will absolve all of that?"

He could feel the rage swelling in him. This was the ultimate act of betrayal. How could she sink so low? And, perhaps more importantly, how did she have contacts with the enemy? Had she been spying on them all along?

She grabbed the sleeve of his uniform and buried her face into his shoulder, sobbing. "I'm so sorry! I'd take it all back in an instant if I could."

At that moment, Duo, who had been hurrying by, stopped and saw the scene. "Alex, you self-serving bastard!" he shouted as he began walking over. "Why can't you leave the poor girl alone? All she wants is to be with you, would it kill you to just show her a little decency?"

"Then what the hell was it like? You know, I'm getting ready to sit in the cockpit of a very large, and potentially dangerous weapon. I won't go out there knowing that this conflict is more important to you than the one against the Zeon!"

"Sir, if you would just listen for a moment," and Alex recounted what Michelle had told him.

Duo looked at the pathetic wreckage of the young woman embracing his subordinate, bawling. Though Michelle was still crying, but somehow, he had difficulty feeling as much sympathy for her now as he had when he had first walked over. "Disgraceful," he spat.

"Sir, why don't you go on ahead to the hangar?" Alex offered, "I'll finish this matter off and you tell Karen and Kiyone to wait up for me."

"Whatever," Duo nodded, "but she will have to face a tribunal when the battle is over, you know that. There's nothing you, I, or anyone else short of our late Commander in Chief can do about it." He hurried off.

Alex kneeled and placed his hands on Michelle's quivering shoulders. Gently, he sat her up and looked in her brown eyes. She really was very pretty; he wondered why he hadn't seen that before.

"Okay, well, I want you to know something-maybe it'll make you feel better. I really enjoyed getting to know you on the Valkyrie. You are beautiful, composed, and an excellent doctor. I don't understand why you chose this route, why you would put my other teammates in danger, rather than try and talk it out with me, but I don't hate you for it.

"To be perfectly honest, I haven't heard from Rachel in a long time anyway. Maybe she's given up on me. Maybe it's a sign that I should give up on her. Maybe it's a sign that she really doesn't want a relationship on that level, and that we're only friends. I don't know. But if it's any consolation, I'm just as confused about this whole thing as you are. One thing I know for sure, though, is that I feel really bad about dragging you into my personal dilemma. I'm sorry I shouted at you, and I'm sorry if your feelings got hurt. I'm also sorry my friend was such a jerk to you, but we were both a little thrown by your actions.

"Now, I've got to get ready to go off and fight the bad guys and save the day. But until I get back, you've got to forget about me and focus on your work. We've both got jobs to do, right?"

"Okay, then, I'll see you when I return." He moved to leave, but she grabbed his hand and pulled him back. She then kissed him long and hard.

"I will," he nodded and saluted. "And don't worry about those bloody Zeeks that might be after us. If anyone can take them, the 107th can."

"Are you certain about this, commander Garahau?" Kosar asked the captain of the Lily Marlene.

"Yes, I am." Cima nodded as she tightened her helmet straps. "It may not be honourable, but after what those insolent fools did in the High Command, its about the best we can do."

"Just? Just would be having our home restored to us. Just would be having a bullet put between the eyes of every command official who thought that we were good enough to do the G3 attacks, but not good enough to be anything but reviled for it. That would be justice, helmsman." She sat in the cockpit of her personalised Gelgoog suit. "Prepare our forces, they know their directives. I'll go forth one last time to ask our Commander-in-Chief to see reason so that we do not have to go to this extreme."

"Don't ever say that to me again, helmsman," she said matter-of-factly as the hatch shut tight.

Squall glanced out the triple-reinforced windows of the EFS Azure Wind. 'There's just so much…nothingness out there!' he thought.

"This is gonna be so cool!" Gene was saying as he walked away from a conversation he'd just finished with Yu. "They worked their asses off trying to get those Destiny units repaired and overhauled last night, and now they should be ready for spaceflight!"

"Yeah, we were pretty lucky the maintenance crews worked so hard. Your unit and Commander Kajima's took a royal ass-pounding if I've ever seen one. It's just too bad that that fucker who did it to you all managed to get away."

"I don't know about that," Gene said thoughtfully. "That guy seemed hell-bent on killing the commander, like he had a vendetta against him or something. Folks like that don't just up and disappear with no good reason for not finishing the duel. He'll be back; you can bet your ass on it."

Leon looked thoughtful for a moment. "That's a good point, Gene; I'm surprised." Rather than wait for his companion to take offense, he moved on, "You've also got to take into account that this is the enemy's last line of defense. They'll be willing to throw everything they've got at us, no matter how expensive or new it may be."

"True," Gene nodded in assent, "true. I think the three of us could take him though. Damn Zeek prototype. I can't wait for you to have another rendezvous with my Gundam ya ass-wipe." He slammed his fist into his palm.

"Are you all ready for this?" Sanders asked as the MS of the 431st stepped out onto the catapult.

"I, dammit commander, this shit just doesn't feel right without Hilde," Trowa remarked. Then he checked himself, "Not that we don't enjoy working with you Amy; its just…well, you know how close teams become after a few missions together."

In the cockpit of her own GM, Amy nodded, still slightly jilted from yesterday. She put on a good facade though, "Yeah, I understand. I'm just thankful you all have been so patient with me. I know my MS skills still have a long way to go, but thanks to working with you all, I learned a lot very quickly. Now I think I can kick Zeon ass with the best of them!"

"So let me get this straight, Commander," Sam spoke up once they were done, "We are a part of the 'Sickle' task force? And our job is to attack the base from the front?"

"That's right, Sam. This mission, you all will remember, is called Operation Red Tide. It consists of two task forces: our own, the Sickle, which will perform the initial attack on the upper portion of the base, and the secondary strike force, the Hammer, which will attack from below about 300 seconds after.

"By splitting our forces, we've already done ourselves a slight disservice. Especially after that damn Zeek copy of the Solar Ray cut down a third of our fleet, we're shrinking the size of the remaining fleet further by breaking it in half. But we still outnumber the enemy.

That last statement was enough to put any dispute over tactics to rest all by itself. Still Trowa wanted to be sure he had a firm grip on every aspect of the assault. He'd had his Baptism of Fire in the art of Minovsky-era siege warfare on the "shores" of Solomon and now treated it with the respect it deserved.

"Are five minutes going to be enough time for us to have cleared a path for the 'Hammer,' sir?" he asked as he was running his pre-flight checklist.

His CO was a long time in answering. Trowa pegged that for a bad sign, but said nothing of it to Amy and Sam. "It…should be," he responded finally, "but you can never tell in operations like this. Be on your guard at all times and expect heavy fire."

"Sir!" Sam piped up. "Since we don't have a mid-range MS this time out, what are my orders?"

"Just stay in formation," came the prompt reply, "but keep an eye on Amy nonetheless. Not to slight the great Odessa Eagle, but just as a precaution. You're good Amy, but not this good, yet."

"I know!" she said in frustration only half-feigned, "another week and I would've completely mastered this thing!"

Silence reigned over the com system for several moments, until Trowa finally spoke up. "You all are being too fucking serious for God's sake! Come on, somebody tell a joke or something! I can't go out there like this!" He actually sounded worried.

"Well, yeah," he said, still sounding uncertain. "I-I get nervous about going out there. Not so much about the actual combat; all you have to do there is use your head and listen to orders, and you'll be okay. Plus, you're too busy worrying about shooting and not getting shot to have time to think about the fact that you might actually die out here.

"It's sitting on this damn catapult that gets to me. Nothing's certain at this point, and if it's too quiet, my mind starts to wander, you know? I start thinking shit like, 'is this going to be my last time out?' and 'am I going to fucking Buy It out there today?'. God, it rips me up inside!"

"That's why you would always mess around with Hilde before a mission, sir?" Sam asked.

Trowa thought about that for a moment, and then said, "Yeah, I guess so. Picking on her sort of got my mind off the impending sortie. Come on guys, let's liven up this com line a little, huh? For my sake, at least."

"Okay, Trowa, I've got a good one for you," Amy started. If they weren't going to acknowledge her as anything more than a substitute, she was going to have to make her presence felt forcefully. The best way to do that, she realized was by simply being herself; her wit was her greatest charm, why not make use of it now?

Trowa rubbed his chin as he thought about it. "I really don't know. War is really all I know; everybody in my family's been in the army at one point or another, except my sister Cathy. She's got a good thing going, with one of those travelling circus acts, down On Planet. Maybe I'll hook up with her once everything's all said and done."

"You're going to run away to the circus, sir?" Sam snickered. Amy and Sanders joined in not long after.

"Hey, shut up! You guys asked me and I fucking told you. Jesus, if I'd known I was going to be ridiculed for it, I'd 've kept my damn mouth shut." Trowa shouted defensively. His worries about the battle were dissolving subconsciously.

"What about you, Sam? Where're you headed once we beat these Zeeks?" Amy continued the game.

"M-me? I don't know either. I've always wanted to see the world, but I've already done most of that. My family's got a farm back in the North American prefecture; maybe I'll just head back there and live out the rest of my days."

"You're going to be a farmer?" Amy asked, slightly let down. "Booo! At least Trowa's was exciting."

"Oh yeah? Then what're you going to do, ma'am?" Sam was a little disheartened that she'd stepped all over his dream.

"You guys remember how after the First World War of the Last Era, airplanes were the big new thing? People used to fly around and do stunts for moneyâ"€I think they called themselves 'barn-stormers' or something like that. I think that that would be the coolest thing to do! Think about it! Wouldn't you pay to see someone do stunts in an airplane or something? I'm talking about really badass stunts too, and maybe even take you up for a ride."

"Why fighter planes though? Those things are all but obsolete now." Trowa remarked, taking a dark pleasure in stepping on Amy's plans.

"Yeah," Sam chimed in, "people would pay more to see stunts done in a Mobile Suit!"

"That's not the point!" Amy was irritated, "you don't do it just for the money! You do it because it's something you love to do and you want to share your passion with others."

"She's just 'plane' crazy, huh, sir?" Sam thought he had made a funny joke but everyone just groaned.

"Fuck you both then," Amy was still pissed that they'd ridiculed her, but at least she had started to connect with them.

Trowa wondered if they had actually crossed some line, but didn't ask. He did ask, "What about you Chief? What're you're plans? You gonna run off with Commander Joshua or something?"

"Fuck off, Barton." Sanders growled. "Now I know why Hilde got so pissed at you before Solomon."

"And that's a 'yes', ladies and gentlemen," Trowa said, which earned another round of laughter.

"Okay, team, knock it off," Sanders was all business now. "We're right above the drop zone, so get prepared for the worst. Solomon is going to seem like a cakewalk next to this, so be prepared for the worst. Remember what you're fighting for, and be sure you follow my commands, and we should make it back in one piece. Now let's do this shit!"

The bay doors opened, and the catapult shot each of the GMs foreward into the void.

Federation ships began their advance on the Space Fortress A Baoa Qu. Indeed, this was to be the final battle.

Gato didn't particularly care for catapult launches. As the one at the base of A Baao Qu snapped him forward at a relative speed of 800 kilometres an hour, he stomach threatened to reject the meal he had forced down it earlier that day.

And then it was over. His suit floated in the vacuum for only a split second until he engaged his thrusters and flung himself into battle. Naomi and Kelley were right behind him as the first wave of Feddies crossed the outermost perimeter.

Machinegun fire from a nearby Zaku riddled the armour of a GM from another unit. The only thing Sam could do about it, though, was watch and be thankful that it wasn't him. The friendly exploded seconds later, but the offending Zeek didn't have long to revel in its victory; it stayed in one place one second too long and was sliced in half by Trowa before it even had a chance to see that he was there.

"Take that ya sonofabitch!" Sam's comrade shouted at the exploding carcass of the enemy.

"Trowa, Sam! Look lively you two! More are coming!" Their CO shouted at the two of them.

Sam quickly snapped back to the situation. His targeting systems gave him a good lock on an oncoming Rick Dom. He forced his GM into a dive, and then into a steep climb placing him directly behind the enemy. Two shots from his beam gun cut the enemy down swiftly.

Yet, as he was enjoying his first kill of the battle, his broadband radio crackled to life. It might have been a message from the Brass, changing their directives, but that seemed unlikely. The battle had just started, how could they be getting ready to change the objectives? Had something gone wrong?

All of this flashed through his mind in the split second between the initial static, and the start of the message. As soon as the speech began, the hairs on the back of his neck began to stand on end.

"Brave and loyal soldiers of the Independent Duchy of Zeon!" It was that Zeek bigshot, Ghirin Zabi. He had given a speech about a month ago, rallying the flagging faith in the Zeon cause. If that bastard could give a really morale-boosting speech now, then this battle was about to get a lot tougher.

"I want all of you to know that our action was overwhelmingly successful." He continued, presumably referring to the Zeon Solar Ray attack, "The searing, fiery light of Zeon Righteousness has left the enemy reeling. Half of the Federation fleet has been blown to hell and gone by our Solar Ray. This could be considered a fateful blow to the Federation; the pathetic remnants of their army are no match for the defenders of A Baoa Qu. This is the day of destiny for Zeon, the Chosen Nation! A brave new tomorrow awaits us, as we pave the way for a new mankind, and a world of peace and harmony under Zeon rule. What you have done is historical, and your grandchildren will venerate you for it.

"No, the war isn't over yet, but we know we've won, and we will punish the enemy! The future belongs to us, and we belong to the future! Sieg Zeon!"

"Damn! When you put it that way, maybe I'll fight for the fucking Independence of the Colonies, too!" Trowa remarked sarcastically as he fired at an approaching Zeek.

"Everybody says he's a good speaker," Amy agreed. "I didn't know they meant that good."

Machine gun fire stuttered behind her and she turned just in time to dodge a stream of shells from a Marine-type. She returned fire with her vulcans and small explosions danced across the shield it held up.

The Gelgoog, then drew its dual-pointed beam sabre, and twirled it before rushing her. Amy drew her own sword to prepare to try her best to ward off the melee attack she knew was coming. Having been trained in archaic core-fighters, she hated hand-to-hand combat, but if it was her life on the line, she figured she could make an exception.

She swung the energy blade hard-so hard it seemed that she sent the enemy spiralling off without even putting up a fight. Yet, upon closer magnification, she noticed that the suit had already been cut in half. It exploded seconds later, but she was already looking up to see what had caused this bizarre turn of events. She saw her commander's GM kicking away the lower half of the enemy's body, sword drawn.

"No problem," he said, brusquely. Sanders then spoke to the entire team, "It would seem that they're all going to be much more zealous now. Everybody stay sharp and check your six constantly."

"Thank you," Hilde said as one of the technicians helped her down from the wrecked Guncannon.

"It's not a problem," he replied, "You'd better take it easy with that leg, though."

"I'm fine. I do need to speak with the captain of this vessel though. If you all are in need of a spare MS pilot, I'll be happy to volunteer."

"Whatever you say," he shrugged. We don't have any additional MS though. This vessel is part of a test of some classified new weaponry. Only the chosen pilots are allowed to handle 'em for security reasons."

She had not gone far when she ran into two of the ship's stationed pilots. One of them looked rather familiar to her.

"It's nice to meet you, Hilde." Yu said. He then turned to Leon. "We'd better get moving. The preliminary drops have already begun, and we need to be prepared to join the next wave."

"Right," Leon agreed. "You should see the captain, Hilde. I assume you're here because of a damaged suit; he should be able to get a tech crew working on it for you. See ya." He followed after Yu down towards the MS bay.

'What a coincidence meeting somebody else from New England.' Hilde thought as she continued her search for the bridge. 'I'll have to ask him if he's heard anything from Kiyo-chan recently. I remember him now, though; he was the one who got left behind trying to save that idiot Gene when his Gundam wrecked.'

Gene D'Ark was hastily fasting up his normal suit as he walked out of his quarters. If he was late getting to the docking bay, Yu was going to be really pissed off.

They and the mechanics had been working hard ever since they had boarded the Azure Wind trying to overhaul Unit 1 to have it ready for space combat. The two Gundams, which had been completed at a later date, were already outfitted for this environment, but the prototype GM, had only been suited for atmospheric battle.

After his talk with Squall during their earlier break, Gene had decided to take a quick rest before the actual battle began. He'd overslept, unfortunately and now his comrades would have to wait on him to begin the launch.

In an effort to run, he took great, bounding strides in the decreased gravity. Several crewmembers laughed at him as he passed but he paid them no mind.

He stopped to think. In the month that had passed, his hair had grown out at little, and he'd also been combating a beard (he still had a little stubble on his face even now; he hadn't shaved since the week before they'd left Earth). He also liked to think that he was a little more muscular than when he was in New England. Wandering in the wilderness of Canada and undergoing the training to pilot Blue would get anyone in a little bit better shape.

"'Stop whining, you're acting like a two-year old again for Chrissakes!'," he imitated the way she used to pick on him to see if it would help jog her memory.

It worked; Hilde's eyes grew very large as she stared at him in total incredulity. "Gene? Oh my God! Look at you! Wow! You're a regular hard-ass now! What are you doing here?"

He smiled. Her voice held none of the undisguised revulsion it used to every time she saw him. She'd actually gone so far as to complement him. "I'm stationed here."

"Hell yeah. I'll have you know that I'm officially an ace now. I took down six at California."

"No shit? Six?" it had taken her several weeks to ghost five and that was including the battle before they left for Luna II. Apparently he'd done it in a matter of days.

"Yep. It's been good seeing you, Hilde," Gene interrupted her thoughts, "but if you'll excuse me, I've got a Revolution to put down." He snapped on his helmet and started back down the hall again.

Hilde felt her face go red-hot as she turned to shout at him, "Gene D'Ark, I swear to God I'm going to fucking kill your goofy ass one of these days!"

Yet, even as she said it, she wondered how much she meant it. Obviously she wouldn't really kill him, but saying it to him now-it was more as if it was a conditioned response than what she actually felt…Damn him for growing up so much and becoming so hot!

Silent Requiem This fanfic is complete.

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Silent Requiem

Chapter 15: A Baoa Qu: Praeludium