Gundam Wing Fan Fiction ❯ Ma Petite Mort ❯ Chapter 5

Ma Petite Mort / Naomi - part 5

This chapter is dedicated to Shunrai, who helped me translate the French words. Thank you so much! ^-^

O.O.O.O.O.O.O.O.O

Clouds drifted across the moon, tainting the pure white orb with stains of black. The wind raced across dark hills, laughing madly as it toyed with the helpless vegetation. Foliage covered the ground at the feet of bare trees, swirling with the wind. Naked branches knocked loudly against the dormitory's windows and rain poured in a consistent drizzle that tapped on rooftops and windows alike.

The moonlight filtered through the stream of water and illuminated the room with waves of faint light. Heero lay in bed, listening to the storm. His eyes were open, staring at the wall in front of him. The blanket was drawn as high as his neck, protecting him from the cold. His disheveled hair lay sprawled over the pillow in a dark brown mess, some bangs obscuring his eyes. He was tired, but he could not sleep. The room was too empty.

Duo wasn't back yet. He had been gone for quite a while, without mentioning where he was going. Heero was rather certain that the other pilot wasn't due on any mission that night. There was no reason for him to be out so late. It was unnerving, suspicious and... worrisome, although he would never admit to it.

The door creaked silently as it opened. Heero watched a rectangular of light form on the wall in front of him. Two silhouettes walked into the middle of the golden frame. One was Duo's, the other was a girl.

Heero tensed under the blanket but forced himself to relax. He closed his eyes, feinted sleep, and listened.

“Are you sure that this is all right?” The girl asked. He recognized her voice. Ashley Morganat, one of the prettier girls in class though not overly popular. At least that's what Duo had informed him at lunchtime that day, somehow thinking that he would care for such information. He didn't at the time, but now it seemed vital somehow. What was Duo doing with a girl in their room at this hour at night?

The answer was obvious, but Heero refused to acknowledge it.

“Yeah, sure it is.” Duo said casually, his voice barely above a whisper. “We won't wake him.”

It wasn't a lie. Duo never lied. He was an expert in manipulating the truth, though.

“What if we get caught?” The girl whispered again.

“Don't worry about it...” Duo whispered back, his voice taking a tone that Heero had never heard before. Low, husky, seductive. His skin crawled with Goosebumps, but he blamed it on the cold.

He opened half an eye and looked at their silhouette on the wall. Duo was kissing her now, their arms wrapped around one another. He closed his eyes and tried to ignore it, as he did with everything that had to do with Duo. This time, however, ignoring Duo was nearly impossible.

The room filled with silent panting as the door slid shut. Under the guise of darkness Heero opened his eyes again slowly. He could see nothing, just the wall, but he heard Duo's bed creak as they both settled down on it, panting.

“Duo...” The girl breathed, panting and then gasped. Heero felt something inside him twitch and closed his eyes again, tight, trying to be somewhere else, as far away as possible.

“Shhh...” Duo reminded her and then the bed creaked again. Sheets rustled. Clothes were tossed to the floor.

Heero listened. He didn't want to, but he listened. The bed creaked and Duo grunted, the girl moaned and gasped. The mantra repeated in a cycle, spinning wildly as a tornado. A creak, a grunt, a gasp and a moan. A thrust, a grunt, a gasp and a moan. The sounds smothered him, taunted him.

Duo was playing a malicious prank on him. He refused to feel any of the hurt and the betrayal that insisted on gripping his heart so painfully. He did not care. He did not care. Not for Duo. Not for anyone.

A hand touched him. Warm; gentle, with long, smooth fingers. It slid slowly under the blanket, gliding over his bare shoulder. He didn't recall falling asleep with his shirt off. The night was too cold, he was rather certain that he went to bed fully dressed.

There was a low moan, just above his ear. He shivered at the feeling of warm breath against the hollow of his neck.

The hand continued further, sliding down the scar across his upper arm and down to his chest. It caressed his muscled body, slowly, sensually. He shivered at the warmth radiating from the long, smooth fingers. He never imagined Duo's fingers to be so soft.

He gasped when they ran across the scar on his abdomen. A scar he had gotten in a battle that hasn't occurred yet. It made little sense, but he was too absorbed into the feeling of Duo against his skin to dwell into it.

Lips touched his jaw, soft, slick and somehow familiar. A tongue traced his jaw line, hot and wet. He had no way of telling, but he knew that they weren't Duo's.

The hands became bolder, more demanding as they slid deeper under the blanket, pushing it away. He shivered from the sudden cold and heard a small chuckle.

“Sort de là et joue avec moi…” (= Come out and play with me...) A familiar voice droned seductively, as a hand slipped into his shorts. Laughing, Adele wrapped her fingers around his growing erection.

Heero opened his eyes and yanked her hand out of his shorts.

“What are you doing?!” He demanded with a glare.

Adele, who was sitting casually by his side, flipped her hair back and shrugged. “It looked like you were having a nice dream so I thought you probably miss me.” There was a nasty grin on her face.

“Don't assume too much.” Heero muttered and turned to face the wall.

“Oh, don't be like that. We didn't have sex all day yesterday and you were asleep the whole night. I was lonely...” She let her fingers wander over his left arm, across the long scar, following its path all the way down to his back. She leaned down and kissed the edge of the scar, just bellow his shoulder blade.

Heero pulled away and moved to the edge of the bed. “Stop it.”

Adele sighed. “I'm not going to beg you to fuck me.”

“Good.” Heero grunted and yanked the blanket up to cover his naked torso. “Because I'm not going to.”

“Why the heck not?!”

Heero didn't answer. He curled under the blanket and closed his eyes.

Adele growled angrily and jumped off the bed. She threw a pillow at him and cursed.

“I give you a warm bed to sleep in and in return you have to put out! That's the deal, asshole!”

Heero didn't even stir at the sound of allegation and disdain in her voice, which made her anger boil even more.

“Espèce de stupide gamin, pouri-gaté et déprimé!” ( = You stupid, spoiled, moody little brat!) She screamed poisonously, gathering a bunch of her clothes from the floor. “And to think I let you stay around for so long!” She raged on and then threw the clothes at him violently.

Some landed on his back, some on his head and face. He pulled them away slowly, tiredly. She was often like that when she didn't smoke pot or drank too much. Usually he'd agree to sleep with her and she calmed down. But not today.

“Ungrateful son-of-a-bitch!” She muttered and stormed around the apartment, picking up various liquor glasses that held a few more drops. She emptied them one by one as she fumed about his incompetence in bed and poor foreplay skills.

Heero stopped listening and simply lay on the bed, brooding. He heard her opening his duffle, brutally tearing the zipper open. She was surely after his money again; he was beyond caring what she did with it. There wasn't much left anyway.

“If you ain't gonna keep your end of the bargain then you better get the hell outta my place!” She barked and then slammed the door behind her.

Heero sighed and rolled over to lie on his back. They never made such a bargain, not in words, but now that she had mentioned it, he wondered which one of them was really the whore. He was willing to be with her as long as she helped him forget. She needed him to do the same for her. It was a fair exchange, but he couldn't do it anymore. The thought of lying in her bed for a second longer disgusted him.

He got out of bed and dressed in his cheap clothing. After a while of rummaging through his duffle he found some money and noted that he didn't have much left. With a few bills in his pocket he threw his old-man's jacket - the one Adele hated so much - over his shoulders and walked out of the apartment.

The morning light greeted him with a bright, warm, embrace. He squinted his eyes against the flood of light and stepped blindly into the street. A large interchange rose above the street only a few hundred meters from Adele's building. The heavy traffic filled the streets with pollution and noise. The apartment building was located in the slums, which were very close to the hectic city center. Modern skyscrapers elevated above smaller, older, buildings in sharp disparity of new and old. Blue skies stretched vibrantly over the city, marking the approach of summer.

It was a warm mid-spring morning and the streets bristled with activity. Men and women in flashy business suits hurried past one another on their way to work, a harsh look on their faces. Old women struggled with heavy grocery bags as children ran past them with school bags jumping up and down their backs. Shopkeepers opened their business for the day as buyers crowded around the doors in anticipation. Engines roared as vehicles drove down the cobblestone paths and into the modern asphalt roads, sparkling under the morning sun in a colorful morning traffic mosaic.

Swallowed by the morning haste, Heero walked with his hands shoved into his pockets, his hair obscuring his eyes. He scanned the crowds from behind the shelter of his bangs, looking longingly at the people as they rushed past him. He envied each and every one of them. As he looked at the tired, yet resolute look on the people's faces he felt miserable at his incompetence. The war was almost four months behind him and he had achieved nothing in that time. He wanted to stride down a street and know where he was heading. The people around him did not seem content with life, but they had no idea how lucky they were. How emptier their lives would be without work, without the constant struggle to get through another day. He wanted to be a part of their world; he wanted a life that was worth living.

In his wandering he found himself walking down one of the main streets of central Brussels. There were large department stores, office buildings and cafés at each side of the road. Lush green trees decorated the pavements and a tram-rail cut between the two-lane road. The tram's bells rang before it rolled through the street and then disappeared behind a curve.

He stopped to look around as people continued to walk by him, muttering in annoyance for having to walk around a person standing in the middle of the street. Once again it seemed like he did not fit his surrounding. It was no big wonder either. His eyes were searching for a place to go while they knew exactly where they were headed. He was lost, they were not. It was hard to fit among such people. He felt much like in the day he was released from the hospital. For a split second he longed for the blissful ignorance of Adele's warmth, but he pushed the feeling away. It was a closing of a circle, one he did not wish to repeat. He longed for guidance, for a hint, a clue, a thrown bone, anything that would show him what he must do. He didn't want to go back to Adele.

A flash of light caught his eyes and he turned in its direction. It was a large neon sign on the other side of the road. The sign flashed in green and red lights, blinking and winking at his direction. At first he took it for a sleazy bar, perhaps because the red and green colors reminded him so much of Adele, but when he read the sign he couldn't help but smile.

* Hell's Pit Internet Café *

* Live music * Full bar * Coffee * E-mail * Magazines *

* Surf and Ye Shall Find *

 

It was late evening when Heero returned to Adele's place. He found her hunched in front of the small dinner table, wearing only a black bra and matching boxer shorts. Her shoulders were slumped in weariness and despair. The long spiky strands of her hair seemed to have stilled, lying in a defeated mass of red and green. Her head was bowed, some red/green bangs hiding her face. Her fingers were curled limply around a large bottle of Brandy. She did not move when he entered and continued to stare at the golden liquid in a deafly silence.

Heero stood and looked at her before slowly closing the door. There was a sense of forbiddance in the air that neither he nor she were the cause of. It was something that was bound to happen and they both knew it.

“You've been out for quite a while,” Adele murmured and brought the bottle up to her lips, taking a long sip. “Does that mean yer leaving?”

“Yes.” Heero replied quietly, still standing by the door. He needed to keep a safe distance from her in case she tried anything. There was no telling what she might do when she was bitterly drunk. She might try to seduce him again, which he wasn't strong enough to face yet, or she might lash at him with the bottle. He wasn't ready for that either. It was still too hard to bid both Adele and alcohol goodbye, but he had to. Otherwise, he would never be able to do that; he would be lost and addicted, just like her.

“So that's it,” she muttered tiredly, “just like that?”

“Did you expect differently?” He asked and took a small step forward. Adele took another long sip of Brandy and wiped her mouth. Her back was turned to him so he could not see her face, however the bitter tone of her voice painted a clear picture.

“No, of course not,” she whispered into the bottle and gulped another mouthful of liquor.

He looked at her smooth white back, bent over as though every will of life had been beaten out of it, and his eyes narrowed with sorrow. It was the first time he felt sorry for her.

“It was nice, though, wasn't it?” Adele suddenly muttered and slammed the bottle on the table.

“Yeah,” Heero nodded slowly, “For a while.”

She chuckled and her voice was laced with detest. She hated being reminded of her status, Heero knew. She hated to be reminded of anything at all. Adele was all about forgetfulness. He could not live like that anymore.

“So,” she turned to him with a fake, sleazy, smile, “Where ya headed to?”

He was silent before finally letting out a quiet answer. “The L2 cluster.”

“L2 huh?” she turned back to the table and reached for the Brandy, “I guess that L2 is the furthest place anyone can escape to, ain't it?” She mumbled sarcastically and took a long sip.

“I'm not running away, Adele.” Heero answered sternly and took the final steps towards the table. He glared harshly at both her and the Brandy. “Not anymore.”

“Right.” She snorted skeptically and drank some more. “Sans boisson et sexe? Que te restes t-il? De la misère?” (= No drinking and no sex? What do you have left then? Misery?) She turned to him and pinned his gaze with her own cold pair of blue eyes. “Are you going to be miserable for the rest of your life?”

“If that's what it takes.” He answered solemnly and took a seat in a chair across of hers. He returned her harsh gaze with his own, though his eyes shone in determination, unlike the dead, glazed over gleam in her eyes. “I don't really know yet.”

Adele sighed and looked away. She wrapped her palms around the cool Brandy bottle and stared at it quietly. Heero studied her, suddenly seeing her in a new, clearer light. She was not the strong person he had mistaken her for. She was weak, broken and defeated. Perhaps even beyond repair. All she had were the men who helped her put her mind at ease and the liquor that offered ignorance when it flowed through her veins.

Adele was misery; she was what people became when there was no other place for them to go, nothing more to aspire for. In a way, her fate was worse than death. He had been a fool to believe that little deaths she had offered were a blessing. They were the seeds she planted in him, the invitations to her own dark world. She had no ill intentions, he knew that, but all a dead person could spread was death, not love, no light, no hope. If he should stay and continue to die in her arms he will only end up in a Hell similar to hers.

That was unacceptable. If he was to die and spend his life in Hell, there was a different kind of death he wanted to find there. Whether that certain death would be gracious enough to meet him was yet to be known. But he will try. He had to, because seeking him, seeking death, was the only reason he could think of living. Ironic as it may be, Duo Maxwell - the self-proclaimed God of Death - was the only connection Heero had to the living.

He turned his gaze back to Adele's face, hidden somewhere behind a mass of red/green hair. She was still staring blankly at the bottle that was cupped in her hands. His eyes traveled down her hunched form, following the path of the scar that went from the left side of her bra-clad breasts, down to her lower belly.

He often wondered if the reason she never demanded that he wore a condom was because she no longer had a uterus. The scar cutting across her body suggested so. It was the center of her being and the center of her pain, both physically and spiritually. He never dared to ask, though, just like he didn't want to be asked about his own scars - the ones that went deep into his heart and soul.

“Are you going to keep living like this?” he asked carefully, even though he knew that it was useless.

“If anyone's willing to waste fifty dollars on damaged goods.” She gave him a twisted, spiteful smile. “I'm not going to change, Heero.”

“I know,” he said, sighing.

“And certainly not by you.” She added maliciously and picked up her bottle. “You were just a good fuck, that all.”

“So were you.” Heero retorted bitterly and watched her empty nearly half of what was left in the bottle with a single gulp.

“But it was getting old.” Adele added as she withdrew the bottle from her lips. “Va trouver quelqu'un de ton âge.” (=Go find someone your own age.)

Her words managed to raise a weak smile on his lips. “I'll try.”

She snorted and placed the bottle on the table. Her hands were shaking for she was so drunk. Heero watched her silently, noting the dark look in her eyes. Adele was doing her best to escape the events of that night. It was as if she was trying to forget every moment mere seconds after it past. It was his fault for causing her pain, but there was nothing he could do about it.

A bitter laughter tore out of her throat, laced with alcohol and contempt for life. She turned to him with a sarcastic smile.

“Maybe I'll make a habit outta picking stray kids from the streets, yanno?”

He offered a weak smile in return, if only to humor her. “And then sleep with them until they run out of money?”

She raised the bottle up in the air and grinned. “I'll drink to that!”

They fell silent again. Having nothing left to say, Heero bowed his head and stared at the tabletop. Adele busied herself with the alcohol until her hands shook so hard she could no longer handle the bottle.

“You won the damn bet, yanno.” She slurred drunkenly as she struggled to lift the bottle. “I guess you can rest assured that you won't become an alcoholic.”

Heero looked up at her, a pained look in his eyes. “It hasn't been a week yet.” He said sadly as he realized that she had lost all track of time. He hurt for her because he knew that when one lost track of time he only suffered more. A childhood spent in solitude and confinement had taught him that well. When people lost track of time they were held forever trapped in a single, torturous moment. A permanent Hell.

Adele's way of dealing with it was escape, a glimpse into the outside world when she let men enter her body. He, however, did not want to settle for fleeting moments. He wanted to break out of the cage he'd been forced to endure for so long.

“Really?” Adele cut into his thoughts with a puzzled expression, “not even a week?”

He shook his head. “No, it's only been two days.”

“Oh.” She let out quietly and turned to stare at the Brandy. “It doesn't matter, I know you'll win.” She mumbled sadly, her forlorn eyes gazing into the bottle. “Bastard.” She snapped and swooped the bottle off the table. Her movements were uncoordinated, hazed with alcohol, and she couldn't even aim the bottle to her lips anymore.

With a heavy sigh Heero reached a hand to help her. He steadied her wrist and served the bottle to her lips. After she drank he wiped her mouth and chin with his sleeve and placed the bottle aside. She gave him a sad, goofy, smile as her eyelids slowly slid shut.

Heero offered a weak smile in return while he held her hands in his. He studied her alcohol-flushed features for a moment or two and then caressed her cheek gently.

“Thank you.” He whispered, an honest look in his eyes.

“You're welcome, Monsieur Nobody.” She replied sweetly, though her voice was slurred. She released her hand from his and laid her head on the table, cradled in her arms.

“Try to keep quiet when you leave.” She mumbled sleepily, her eyes closed. “Don't wake me up... okay?”

“I won't.” He promised, knowing that he couldn't even if he tried.

He left a fifty-dollar bill on the table before he left, knowing that Adele would appreciate the joke. She was still snoring softly when he left, her red/green hair sprawled around her. For a moment he felt sorry for her again, but then discarded the feeling. She never asked for pity and he respected that. He decided to never feel sorry for her again. It was the least he could do.

With one last look at the woman who helped him find life in death, Heero threw his duffle over his shoulder and walked out of the apartment.

 

He spent all of his money on a fake passport and a shuttle ticket to colony L2-V08744. He boarded the shuttle anxious and penniless, devoid of anything but fear for the worse and hope for the better.

The flight was to be about 36 hours long (being that it was a commercial shuttle and not a Gundam...), which left him with too much time to stare out the window and think. He regretted taking a window seat. He hated space and the blackness it represented in his life. He watched his refection on the window as nagging thoughts ran berserk in his head. He was headed to see Duo, yet he still had no idea what he was going to say when he saw him.

A simple `hi' wouldn't do. Even an honest `I'm sorry' would be out of place. `Sorry for what?' is what Duo would ask him and Heero did not have the answer for that yet. All he had was a useless - `I'm sorry I didn't say it before', and that didn't answer the question now did it?

During his search for Duo at the Internet Café the name `Schbeiker' came up. The name had been familiar so Heero checked deeper into it. It was not hard to find, the advertisement was on the top of the list on every search engine.

`Schbeiker Salvage Yard: disassembling, dismantling, salvaging, sorting and handling of metals, old machinery and debris. Will make shipments to Earth and the 5 Lagrange Points. (L2- V08744) 21000-108 Ave SE, phone number: L2-V08744-395-998-1214.'

He knew the name Schbeiker. Hilde Schbeiker was close to Duo during the war, how close he never knew. He never bothered to ask. It was not that important. Or so it seemed. Now, it made him anxious.

He sighed and turned to study the blue sphere that glowed vibrantly in the distance.

Earth was beautiful from above as well as on the surface. It was the first time he stopped to appreciate the sight of it from space. In the past, it had been a target, a threat, and a goal. Now it radiated a kind of calm blue aura that enchanted him. After all it was partly thanks to him that Earth was still there. The feeling was powerful, but it was not what he wanted to achieve in his life. Adele made him realize that there was a different feeling his chest ached for. He had no need for the nameless power that made him feel like a hero. He needed something that would make him feel small, weak and vulnerable. Something that would make him unmistakably human. He won't be able to find that something on Earth.

Despite that Heero smiled at the blue planet. It was his farewell before he turned away and gazed forward, towards an uncertain future. L2-V08744 was T minus thirty hours away, and counting. He wished for the flight to be over already. Otherwise, he would go insane with all the thinking his mind was forcing him to do.

“Ladies and gentlemen,” a female voice spoke on the P.A. system, “this is Trisha Kelly, your lead flight attendant for this flight. We will be serving you a warm meal and beverages shortly. Please return to your seats and clear the aisles for the crew and carts. Thank you.”

Heero sighed and turned away from the window to look at the aisle. A stewardess pushed a food cart into the passageway and smiled at him when their eyes met. She was a young, dark skinned brunette whose tight uniforms complimented her lush feminine frame. For a moment his eyes lingered to her round thighs before they trailed up her skirt to look at the rest of her body. At last his gaze settled on her breasts as she bent over to pull a food tray out of the cart. Her white blouse stretched and pressed against her abundant chest, leaving little to the imagination.

Somewhere in the back of his head a consistent sound of panting echoed from a distant memory. It became louder the longer he looked at the woman, flooding him with memories of the night Duo had brought Ashley Morganat into their dorm room. He could hear Duo's every. Single. Breath. It flooded him. Suffocated him. There were flashes in his mind of flesh and skin. Hands moving slowly, sensually over legs and thighs. A head thrown back, hair against the pillow, a mouth open with a moan. Fingers roaming over heated skin. A taut, muscular, smooth chest. His hands touching, exploring, moving in, over and out. Caressing a body that was clearly male.

Heero opened his eyes and struggled to keep his face composed. Apparently he had caught the stewardess's eye and she smiled seductively at him, pushing her hair behind her ear. She was a gorgeous woman, but he was not interested in her as much as he thought he should. Like Adele, she was attractive, but her looks only registered as such. Nothing more.

He turned to look out the window and sighed. He was attracted to Duo... Since when?

“What would it be sir? Chicken or beef?” The flight attendant asked sweetly as she leaned towards him. He turned to her, his eyes once again traveling down to her lush round breasts.

He forced his eyes to dart back up to her face. “Beef.” He preferred beef to the stale taste of chicken. It was another thing Adele had taught him.

The dark-skinned stewardess handed him his food tray and he reached to take it, his mind elsewhere.

When did he start feeling that attraction? Was it back in that night when Duo brought Ashley into their room? True, he had thought about that night many times, but it was always vague, full of sounds instead of images. He never pictured himself running his hands over Duo's body. Not once. Why now? Was it because he had finally stopped avoiding the subject? Because he no longer feared the complications of such thoughts?

“Anything to drink?” The stewardess asked and Heero slowly turned to look at her.

“Apple juice.” He said without thinking, and suddenly halted and frowned. He liked apple juice. It went perfectly with the tortilla chips he liked, a combination of sweet and salty in his mouth. His face slowly paled as he came to a realization.

He knew his likes and dislikes. He had learned to listen to his body, to know his own wants and needs. Adele had been his guide, there was a certain easiness about her that allowed him to drop his guard and listen to himself instead of outside sources of potential danger.

Food and drinks might be a small start, as were the other small things he had learned about himself, but if he was to really get to know himself, his body was a good place to start. His sexual preferences were a part of that, a part that also connected his body to heart and soul.

It wasn't that he was thinking about Duo in a different way. His thoughts had the same meaning as before, only now he was finally able to recognize them for what they were. It wasn't so hard, once he let the barriers fall compeltely. It was a frightening fall, a long way down, so he chose to remain standing at the edge of the cliff, only looking down into the abyss. When he will finally meet with Duo, he would know if it was safe to jump down or not.

“There you are, sir. Enjoy your meal.” The pretty stewardess recited with a bright smile as she tucked a few more hairs behind her ears.

“Thank you.” Heero mumbled and turned to look out the window. He smiled at his refection, a knowing, relieved, smile. He was looking at his own face and for the first time, he knew who he was looking at.

 

He dozed off after lunch, leaning against the window with his mouth hanging open in sleep. It was a content slumber, warm and easy, despite his body being cramped in a small seat.

The Captain began speaking on the P.A system, which slowly poked at his awareness and pulled him away from sleep. Apparently the Captain thought that everyone would be thrilled to know that they were just flying past the L1 cluster and that the shuttle was now 125,000 miles away from Earth.

“...We still have another 125,000 miles before we reach the moon and then another 50,000 before we arrive at L2. I estimate we'll pass the lunar orbit in about ten more hours, and from then on it shouldn't take us more than four to five hours to reach the main L2 port.”

Heero sighed and shifted in his seat, trying to find a comfortable position so he could get some more sleep. The Captain was still talking, which made it impossible. What was it with commercial pilots and speaking on the P.A system? Did they really think that the people in the back cared how many miles-per-hour they were going? Was it really that important to tell the exact route he's going to pilot them through? No one cared as long as they ended up on L2, really.

“Since I'm sure that many of you are tired by now I'm going to dim the lights on the shuttle and wish you all a pleasant night. There's a nice action movie playing on channel 5, and if you still can't find a way to busy yourselves you're more than welcomed to pay my co-pilot and I visit, it's actually very boring back here.”

A few people coughed out a small laugh and Heero rolled his eyes. They should try to pay attention to the controls. That might keep them busy.

The main lights in the aisle dimmed and only a few weaker lights remained at the sides of the shuttle. It was hard for him to find a comfortable position and his entire body ached from being seated for over twelve hours. The shuttle was hot and stuffy, he longed for a breath of fresh air. It was crowded and there was a baby in the back of the shuttle who just wouldn't stop crying.

With a heavy sigh Heero shoved his pillow between the back of his seat and the shuttle wall, hoping to pass the next 125,000 miles in sleep.

He was standing at the edge of a dream, Duo almost within reach, when his world jolted with a strident clatter. His cobalt eyes flew wide open and every muscle in his body tensed with the threat of danger.

The shuttle shook and people called out in surprise. Heero looked around to see what was wrong, but nothing seemed out of the ordinary. The threat was not onboard. When he looked back down at his seat he noted that he was gripping the armrest powerfully. He forced his fingers to relax.

Another jolt went through the shuttle and Heero's hand automatically gripped the armrest again. His fingers searched for buttons that weren't there, mistaking the armrest for the controls of a Gundam.

“Ladies and gentlemen this is Captain speaking.”

Silence fell as people listened, looking up at the speakers with pale faces.

“We seem to have run into a small debris field,” the Captain spoke slowly, reassuringly, “which is not uncommon so close to the moon's orbit.”

Heero's fingers tightened around the armrest again.

“We are attempting to perform some emergency maneuvers to clear the area. Rest assured that there is no immediate danger to the shuttle. We've been running into a lot of debris since the war ended and this craft is equipped with the means to counter it.”

A woman screamed when an over-head compartment opened and bags fell forcefully to the floor. A flight attendant ran to tend the panicked woman.

“Since the flight might get a bit rough I must ask you to return to your seats and fasten your seatbelts.” The Captain's voice was strained, whether from fear or effort it was hard to tell. Heero gripped the armrest tightly and prepared to get up.

“Sir, please sit down!” The dark-skinned stewardess called but Heero remained standing.

“Please make sure that your trays and seatbacks are in the upright positions,” the Captain's voice crackled through the speakers, “...and all carry-on items are properly secured.”

Another strong shudder and a few more compartments burst open, bags crashing to the floor. The baby in the back shrieked in terror and more children began to cry.

Heero stood and watched, adrenaline pumping in his veins. Old habits died hard and his body ached for action. There had to be something he could do!

“Sir! Please! I need you to sit down and fasten your seatbelt!” The stewardess screamed. The craft shuddered so strongly that the poor woman was sent crashing to the floor.

People panicked, gripping their seats tightly as the shuttle sought a way out of the metal graveyard.

Heero gawked at the debris with wide, unbelieving eyes. It was a dead battlefield, floating in space. He jumped back into his seat when a mobile doll neared the window, wringing a cry of terror from the passengers of the shuttle.

“FLIGHT CREW TO SECURED POSITIONS!” The Captain's voice burst from the speakers, no longer calm but anxious. The young stewardess scrambled to her feet and ran to the front of the aisle. Lights flickered on and off as she pulled on her seatbelt.

When the oxygen masks dropped down, people screamed in terror.

“Ladies and gentlemen please do not panic.” the Captain announced, “we are close to clearing the debris field. Simply put your masks on and remai--”

There was a loud collision sound followed by a rough series of tremors. The shuttle spun wildly, sending everything into the air. A man who in his panic did not fasten his seatbelt flew from his seat and crashed against the shuttle's wall.

Heero watched in horror as a large bloodstain formed on the wall. He reached shakily towards his oxygen mask, his features pale with disbelief. He could not believe that it was actually happening.

“SWITCHING TO EMERGENCY PROCEDURES!!!” the Captain shouted, “PROTOCOL FI---!!”

An explosion cut his words short and the lights went out with an electric sizzle.

In the dark, all Heero could hear was his own heavy breathing into the mask. The silence hung dreadfully in the air until few seconds later red emergency lights switched on. The aisles glowed in red and the passengers breathed in relief.

Their relief was short-lived as a loud, screeching sound of creaking metal echoed throughout the shuttle. The metal groaned, as if straining, slowly giving way to a great force.

Breathless, Heero listened, his eyes darting left to right, searching for a way out.

With a tortured squeal, the metal finally gave in. Heero's eyes locked ahead and widened.

The lights went out and in the darkness, people screamed.

O.O.O.O.O.O.O.O.O

To be continued...

O.O.O.O.O.O.O.O.O

According to the Colony's Lagrange Map (which can be found: http://hudini2.tripod.com/gwmap.jpg), all of the colonies are located in close proximity to the moon's orbit, except for L1, which is closer to Earth, and L2, which is further away from the moon, hence the furthest place away from anywhere.