Gundam Wing Fan Fiction / Mobile Suit Gundam Fan Fiction / Gundam 08th MS Team Fan Fiction ❯ Silent Requiem ❯ Black Lotus rising ( Prologue )

(Disclaimer: I don't own Gundam or any of the other numerous anime series mentioned in this work—and there are a bunch! Gundam W, 08th MS, Evangelion, Gundam 0083, Bubblegum Crisis Tokyo 2040, Outlaw Star, even Tenchi Universe; anything and anyone is fair game. I'm just a really big fan of anime with a lot of free time on my hands to be working on this thing since late 2001! So please, don't sue me! This is one of the best things I've ever written—I think—and I hope that no nit-picky person tries to take it from me!)

 

Foreword

-------Begin Transmission-------

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.

The year is 0079 of the Universal Century calendar.

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…

 

Prologue:

Genesis of the Black Lotus

August 12, 0074 UC

 

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!

But first she had to be able to talk to the admissions officer.

"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.

He said something that sounded like "What?"

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 young woman's face brightened and she broke into a small fit of laughter.

"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!"

Vince sat silently for a moment, and then returned to his own Chinese food.

"She was a fucking looker though, eh?"

"Shut up, Brian,"

 

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!"

"No?"

"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─"

"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?"

Vince nodded, still smiling.

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?"

"Certainly," he obliged. "Around noon would be best."

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.

`But Beautiful?'

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.

Almost as much getting used to as her new last name.

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.

"Hey, gorgeous!" a voice called ahead of her, pulling her from her musings.

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…"

"You are incorrigible!"

"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."

"Brian!"

"What? O'Reilly is a common last name, so nobody'll be suspicious."

"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?"

"I do not know, Brian. I don't like it."

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

"Well…" She still looked doubtful.

"That's my Lotus Blossom; I knew you'd understand!" he pecked her on the cheek.

"But, Brian-kun, there is something you do not know…"

"What?" he looked puzzeled.

"The captain of this vessel is…"

"Vince?" Brian had looked up and over her shoulder to see his old roomie.

"Brian?"

"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 façade 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.

"Certainly, Brian," he said, finally. "I won't say a word."

"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, leave 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…

But did any of that make him happy?

Like hell it did.

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 he 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.

Ah, but fate is a harsh mistress.

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!

It was more than anyone could stand. Even the capitan of a warship.

"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?"

"Are you questioning my orders?" Vince asked hotly.

"By no means, sir," he shook his head. "I'll take care of it at once."

"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!"

"But sir, we have to wait until─"

"Fire now!" he roared.

"Sir."

"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, stunned into transfixed silence by the events that occurred just beyond the armourglass window. Friendly fire. Her husband had just been killed, not by an enemy attack, but by friendly fucking fire.

He was…he was gone.

"Brian," she whispered, tears flooding her eyes. "Brian…"

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

Vincent gripped the sides of his chair, his naturally ruddy face now thoroughly purpled with rage. "What in the name of God were you thinking you bastard?" he snarled through clenched teeth. "Main cannon, where in the hell were you shooting? Couldn't you see that the fighters hadn't got through yet? Christ!"

"But sir!" one of the ordinance officers cried. "You gave the order to fire too soon. We weren't—"

"You weren't ready? You have the audacity to use such a flimsy excuse as that? You weren't fucking ready?” The captain was on his feet shouting now. “What the fuck do you think this is? Do you think the Zeeks give a rat's ass about whether or not you're 'ready'? I trusted you to make a judgement call about that shot and because of your incompetence, Brian O'Reilly is dead. Dead, you fuck!"

"Sir," the officer in charge of the cannon spoke in a wavering voice, "I..."

“He was one of the best pilots in this vessel's contingency and you killed him! No, more even than that, he was my friend! How could you—”

A mega particle blast ripped across Yagami's bow causing the entire ship to shudder violently. Vince nearly stumbled, but through sheer force of will (and luck of the artificial gravity well on the bridge), he remained standing. He grabbed his cap, which had fallen off in the tumult and, smoothing back strands of his midnight black hair that had come loose from the band which he tied it back with, and with the finesse of a professional actor, allowed a glowering calmness to settle over his demeanour. He was quite pleased with the way he'd been able to fool the bridge crew—well, most of them anyway—into accepting his charade, but now it was time to return to the matter at hand: winning this battle.

"There will be time for your dishonourable discharge later, ordinace officer," he said darkly, sitting back in the command chair. Then, to his helmsman: "Full speed towards the colony. We must stop it at all costs."

The deed, it seemed, was done.

And yet…

His murderous scheming come to fruition, he mulled over what had actually transpired, giving his orders in an efficient, but detatched manner. 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?

The man who had stabbed him in the back and stolen his fucking girlfriend?

Vincent looked towards Cirrus, taking his eyes momentarily away from the battlefield. She had gone ghostly pale and was just staring out the window, a porcelain-white fist pressed to he quivering lips. Every few seconds or so, she would murmur Brian's name, as though she were in a trance.

"First mate, take the bridge," Vincent said suddenly.

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

"Take the bridge, number one," Vince repeated, a little more stringently.

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

"Take…the…bridge."

"In case you've forgotten, sir, our lives are at stake here too."

"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!"

"Sir." He clicked his heels and came to attention.

'Bastard,' Vince thought as he walked over to Cirrus, 'perhaps my skills as an actor were not quite as overpowering as I thought they were…'

 

Cirrus felt a hand on her shoulder, jolting her from her emotional shock.

"Are you okay?" Vince asked her.

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 certain that he could see the boundless fury behind them. "You gave that order to fire!"

"Cirrus, I—"

"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!"

She had heard the exchange between him and the ordinance officer. Heard it and seen it for the farce that it was. She knew him, Cirrus did, knew the way his mind worked; knew that he was not the type to let such `accidents' happen.

But what she couldn't figure out was why.

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

"No, I will not listen, you murderer! You killed him! You killed him!"

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

“Oh my fucking God!” she wailed, “You killed him!”

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

"God!" She sobbed "Why, God? Why?"

"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.

"This bloodshed is not over yet…"

And indeed, the battle of Loum raged on.

 

“Are you ready to act like a civilised human being now?”

Cirrus dried the tears from her reddened eyes and sniffed hard, huddled in a corner of her darkened quarters. She looked into the rectangle of light that was her doorway and saw Vincent Langely standing there, his face unreadable as a darkened silhouette.

She looked at him for what seemed like many moments, then rested her forehead on her knees, black tresses spilling about as to obscure her own face. Tears flooded her eyes again, and she did not answer his question.

The door hissed shut and she hoped that he had simply gone away, but those hopes were dashed with the sound of her mattress creaking as he sat down. The mattress she had shared with Brian, against regulations.

“I came here to offer what condolences I could.” His voice filled the whole room, crowding her, forcing her deeper into the corner. “I know how much Lieutenant O'Rei—Brian—meant to you.”

Silence from the corner.

“If it's any consolation, we won the day. The colony had largely disintegrated under heavy bombardment and what pieces that remained burned up in the atmosphere.”

Again, silence was the only reply he received. This time, he let it streach for a while.

Finally: “Do…do you still believe that I killed him?”

Cirrus stirred at that. Sniffling, she raised her head and looked at him, hazel eyes glassy and shimmering. Her face was puffy, and hanks of her hair clung to her cheeks and brow, matted by tears and sweat. “I don't know Vince.”

That was the truest response she could give. Despite the rage that she had let loose on the bridge, after having been sent back to her quarters and given hours to sleep and cry in solitude, she had lost herself in thought. The scene replayed itself over and over again in her mind. Had Vince really given the order before he was sure that Brian was clear? Or had it truly been a mistake on the part of an overeager ordinace officer? What really had happened? The maelstrom of possibilities, uncertainties, and pain was almost enough to set her to tears again.

Then he set a hand on her shoulder.

She winced, but looked up and held his gaze. There was warmth in those dark eyes. Warmth and concern. How long had it been since she had looked at him like this? Vincent, her first love, her knight in shining armour.

But that was done and over with now. Brian was her heart's champion, now, and all of Vince's subtle overtures were for naught. She loved Brian with all that she was, and all that she ever would be.

Then she saw the explosion again.

So horrible a blast could not ever have been seen by human eyes before. The mushroom clouds over Hiroshima and Nagasaki and the veritable fungal bloom that had preceeded the colony drops of the present war…they were all nothing next to the soul-shattering finality of that single flash that had vaporised her husband's fighter.

Vince…

Brian…

Cirrus felt her head throb and her heart wrench. She pulled back from the sympathetic hand, and put her head down again.

“I'm sorry, Vince,” her voice little more than a whisper. “I…you…I'm sorry.”

The mattress creaked again as he stood. “Take your time, Cirrus,” his voice trailed as his footsteps grew closer to the door, “With the war going as it is, hopefully, things will be over soon and we can worry about straightening this mess out.”

“Yes,” she said softly, “I hope we will.”