Chapter One The Real Mission

Calindra looked at the other Gundams that were following her. Not bad.
But not a match for her beautiful Deathschythe Wing. It was a
graceful combination of the Deathscythe and Wing Gundams. The two main
weapons were the thermal scythe and the wings. She had
been breathless when she realized what the wings did. They released
thousands of sharp, explosive tipped feathers that could cut
through any metal. Beautiful. She was fairly certain her enthusiasm for
the Gundam came from both of her fathers.

"Two minutes until entry into the atmosphere."

"Acknowledged," she said and heard the other four pilots echo her
words.
She had never met them, not really anyway, but they had to
be good if they were able to pilot the new generation of Gundams. The
newtypes were easily seen in her monitors. The new Sandrock
type now had thermal scimitars that could function underwater and acted
like boomerangs when thrown, while the Heavyarms model
was now equipped with a thermal sword, dagger, and a special payload of
missiles. Then there was the Shenlong. It had a new Dragon
attack. The flame-thrower could produce a controllable stream of flame
that supposedly resembled a dragon. In addition, the "fangs"
on the flame-thrower could grip an enemy, melt the contact points, and
send that fire dragon into a mech itself. She didn’t understand
the physics of it, but it should be an impressive attack. The other
surprises had been listed as "CLASSIFIED." The pilots were
supposed to be equal to the machines. Well, she would find out when she
finally met them. This was after all their first mission
together and what a mission.

Each family had been called and sent the best they had. Except hers of
course. No one could find her fathers and it had been pure luck
that she had heard of the Gundams. Luck and hours on the net looking
for
them. It had been worth it though. She had out scored all
the other pilots and been awarded her Gundam. And a mission.

Two weeks ago the colony below them had declared that they were
independent and wanted 900 million dollars or they would release a
deadly virus on all the other worlds. To prove they could do it, they
unleashed the virus on a new, small colony two days later. There
were no survivors. She still saw red when she thought about.

Fortunately the Gundam project had been resurrected about a year before
and the Gundams had been finished as they were being
moved for the mission. The pilots were to destroy the rebels, the base,
and, if they couldn’t find anyone who knew of a cure, get all the
data about the plague. Not really in that order, but whatever. As long
as she got to blow things up, she was happy. An insane grin
split her face and her hands played with her long chestnut colored
braid. This was gonna be fun.

Her thoughts were interrupted as the Gundam began to enter the
atmosphere. Deathwing (her name for the Gundam) began to pull its
legs up it chest and wrap them with its arms. Kind of like a cannonball
position for diving. This would create a heat shield and keep her
from being baked like a cake. Behind her the other Gundams began the
same procedure and the official time for radio silence started.

Deathwing had just entered normal atmosphere when alarms went off all
over the cockpit. Calindra looked around frantically.
Everything was shutting down. From main power to life support, almost
nothing would be working inside two minutes. The only
things left would be short distance communications and half power for
the thrusters.

"What the hell!" She checked the computer and saw the shut downs were
due to a massive overheat.

Frantically Calindra tried to find the source of the overheat. There
wasn’t one. That meant only one thing. She broke radio silence and
contacted the other Gundams. "Please be in time."

"Pull out. We’ve been sabotaged. When you enter the atmosphere your
systems will shut down. Get out now!" Their answers were all
the same. She hadn’t been in time.

"Too late. Systems already locked up."

"Negative. System failure in progress."

"Damn it. Those dishonorable cowards."

"I shall seek justice for this."

‘Justice,’ she thought incredulously. They were going to be pancakes
and
she was worried about justice? Unless. It might work.
Maybe. Calculations flew through her head. Yes. Calindra called the
others.

"Thrusters are at half power, but if we can change course by at least
10
degrees we have a chance at a water landing. It’ll hurt, but we
might live." And then I am going to kill the person who dared to mess
with my Deathwing. Correction, slowly and painfully kill.

The change of course seemed to take forever. Seconds became minutes and
they all knew there would be no second chances. Finally
they broke through the clouds and saw the ocean below them.

"Yatta," she yelled into the comm. The other pilots seemed to echo her
relief, but it was all too short lived as a voice interrupted the
celebration.

"Congratulations children. That was very well done. Please shut down
your systems and prepare to be taken aboard."

The voice was very calm and assured. This was not a request; it was an
order. Calindra switched her monitors to an exterior view. Ice
gripped her. Below them, just south of where they would land, was an
entire fleet of ships. Most of them appeared to be outfitted with
salvage equipment.

"THIS WAS ALL A TRAP! YOU COWARDLY, LITTLE..." Calindra quickly went
through every foul word and phrase she had ever
known. It made the other pilots blush.

"Really child. Such language. You obviously don’t have the same
self-control your father had. I wonder if you are as perverted as he.
Now be smart like the other pilots and shut your systems down or you
might be seriously injured." The insult was dripped in a honey
tone, but it still drove her into a rage befitting her father. She went
absolutely still. Fires danced in her eyes.

"Omae O Korosu."

Calindra shut down power and switched to manual mode. The crew members
on the ship and even the other pilots looked on in awe as
the wings of the Gundam began to unfurl. They caught the wind and
slammed past the still falling Gundams and Deathwing settled
into a graceful glide.

Calindra was crushed against the harness and felt at least one rib
break. It would be worth it though. No one insulted her, her fathers,
and messed with HER Gundam and lived. She didn’t care who was on those
ships. They were going to learn what it meant to mess
with the daughter of Heero Yuy and Duo Maxwell.

Deathwing banked to the left and moved over the ships. In a feat that
seemed both impossible and beautiful, the wings moved as if
they were going to flap and fly the Gundam to safety. Amazement turned
to horror, however, as the wings moved downward and
released a barrage of missiles.

The ships tried evasive maneuvers, but it was far too late. Missile
after missile found a target even as the other four Gundams plunged
into the sea. The water blossomed into a dance of fire, death, and
destruction. Calindra had no time to enjoy it however; she had just
managed to retract the wings when she struck the water. It was like
crashing into a brick wall. As darkness took her mind, the fact that
several ships had escaped destruction nagged at her, but she was in too
much pain to grasp the thought and it seemed so far away.
Her last act was to activate a small square on the side of her chair.
Then there was nothing.





Chapter Two The Real Enemy

She was dreaming. She knew that. This dream was nothing new. It haunted
her every night. For two years it had been her one constant
companion. She was walking down a long hall when she heard the first
noise. A yell. Desperate and agony filled. "Heero, No!" In the
dream, she was running down the hall, but it just seemed to grow longer
the faster she ran. Just as she reached the door, she heard the
second sound. A soft gunshot. A silencer. It had always bothered her
that something so devastating could sound so quiet and gentle.
Then her hand was on the doorknob. She tried not to open the door. The
thing she saw on the other side was always the same and she
didn’t want to see it anymore. In her dream and in reality she
whimpered
as the door opened. So much blood. Duo’s blood. It was
everywhere. The room was bathed in it. Then the gun was in her hand.
The
target turned and she surrendered to the horror of the
dream as she put a bullet in his brain.

Calindra came awake all at once. Like her father Heero, she did not go
through the various stages of sleep. She was either asleep or
awake; there was no in-between. With cold detachment she surveyed the
room. No furniture. Padded walls. Hmm, interesting. They
must want them alive and unharmed. Maybe. Scattered about the room were
the other four Gundam pilots. All still unconscious. The
next step for her was to survey her own abilities.

Slowly she sat up and crossed her legs, took a deep breath, and sent
her
consciousness into herself. The two ribs that had broken
were almost healed. Good. Her shoulder was dislocated and that was
easily remedied. Everything else was functioning properly. Duo
and Heero had always had remarkable healing abilities and she had
inherited them in spades. There was even a slightly elevated
resistance to certain types of drugs. It was a handy talent to have.

Pulling herself out of the trance, Calindra scrutinized the other
pilots. In the week they had spent together on the cruiser heading for
the planet, she had never once spoken with them or their parents. Every
detail of what they looked like, how they behaved, what they
liked, and even their speech patterns were memorized, but Calindra
never
allowed them to speak with her. Observation was her way.
She was certain they had written it off to a natural dislike of
socializing; kind of like Heero. The real reason was different,
however.
The
mission was more important than the people. Calindra wasn’t sure she
could kill the other pilots if she liked them, so she gave them no
chance to become her friends.

She sighed. Why can’t things ever be easy? In one smooth motion she got
to her feet and went to check on the other pilots. Two were
children of Wufei and Sally Chang. The girl was the nearest one. Merian
Chang. Justice junky like her father, but with her mother’s
face. At 20 she already had more combat experience than Calindra, which
probably explained the short hair. It was cut short in a
pageboy style that was actually very flattering. Long hair could be a
problem in real combat. Too easy for someone to grab on to.
Calindra smiled gently and remembered all the times Duo had been
defeated because Heero used his braid against him. She’d learned
alot from watching them. The memory brought pain and the smile faded as
she turned her attention once more to the pilot. Merian was
breathing normally and didn’t seem to have any worse injuries than a
small cut above her right eye. She was pretty, but not as pretty
as her younger brother, Jeren Chang. He was beautiful and the second
nearest pilot.

Jeren looked alot like his father, but he had some of the gentleness of
his mother mixed in and it softened the harsh lines of his face.
His hair was long, black, silky and tied into a rather sever ponytail.
Calindra ran her hands through it gently. At 18 he still had not been
in any real combat and his face spoke readily of his innocence. God,
how
she wanted to protect him. Such innocence was rare and
precious.

Calindra pulled her hand away angrily. She couldn’t afford to have any
weaknesses. It was her weakness that had caused the
nightmare, had let it happen. Never again! Once she was satisfied that
he was alright she move on to the remaining pilots. Trey and
Dason Winner. Trowa had not wanted any of Quatre and his children to
use
the name Barton. She understood. Barton was a
dangerous name.

Trey was the older of the pair. 19 and only the middle child of the
many
children Trowa and Quatre had. 27 children in all. Duo had
once told her that Quatre had wanted a large family for Trowa’s sake.
They had certainly succeeded. Trey had Trowa’s brown hair, but
it was short and styled more like Merian’s. No out of control bangs
here. His eyes, when they were open, were the color of the sky.
Light blue and seemingly endless. One could easily get lost in them.
Calindra almost smiled. He was fine (in more ways than one) so
she moved on to the last pilot. The youngest of the group. Just barely
18. Yesterday had been his birthday. Damn, this was one hell of
a birthday present.



Dason Winner was almost a copy of his father Quatre. The main
difference
though was his eyes; they were an emerald green and very
innocent. Of all the people here, he alone had never had any combat
experience. It was his incredible reflexes, marksmanship, and
hand-eye coordination that had won him the Sandrock Gundam. Even her
scores were barely above his in those areas. Still, Dason had
not been raised as a fighter. Oh, he knew how to fight. Trowa and
Quatre
made sure all their children could defend themselves; he just
had never been forced to before. Dason had never faced, or probably
imagined, a situation like this. It worried her. What would he do
when the time came to kill someone? If it came to it, would she be able
to kill him? A large part of her doubted it and that bothered her.
The others weren’t innocent. They had all killed, but not Dason. ‘I
can’t afford to be distracted.’

Calindra slowly stood up. ‘Why do I feel so old,' she thought as she
made her way to the far corner of the room. From here she could
see the door and all the other pilots. It was the perfect place to
wait.
Two minutes later Calindra resembled a statute more than a living
human. She sat with her back firmly in the corner, legs crossed, arms
in
her lap, and as still as stone. Her chest didn’t even seem to
move, but she was aware, when five minutes later Merian awoke and went
over to her brother and shook him awake. She was aware
when Dason became conscious and almost panicked when he saw Trey. She
was aware of his fear. She was aware when Trey came
around and tried to comfort his little brother. She was aware. It was a
state of hyper-consciousness; she could feel the air move
around her, hear the others’ heartbeats, smell their fear. Long ago
this
had frightened her, but the talent grew and became an excellent
fighting aide. No one could sneak up on her when she used it, and it
increased her body’s natural healing abilities. Best of all, Calindra
didn’t have to be still to use it, but lack of movement did help.
Finally, she heard what she had been waiting for and opened her eyes.

Dason almost had a heart attack when that strange girl opened her eyes.
His brother and the other pilots were searching the walls for
signs of an air vent. They believed they could tear down the padding
and
use the vent to escape. Trey had put him in the corner down
from that girl, what was her name, Calindra? They were both facing the
door but Dason wasn’t even sure if Calindra was alive. Her
chest didn’t seem to move and she was so still. He was staring at her
intently when found himself looking into a pair of intense cobalt
eyes focused on him. It was like being examined inside and out; like
she
could see his soul. Dason gave a small gasp and she smiled at
him before turning her attention to the door. Not knowing what to make
of either the look in her eyes or the smile, Dason found himself
blushing and staring at the floor.

Trey heard his brother’s gasp and whirled around so violently that the
other two pilots immediately went into defensive positions.
They followed Trey’s gaze from his blushing little brother to the
silent
girl in the corner. All three relaxed when they realized there were
no enemies, just an anti-social, and now conscious, pilot.

"Hey lazy, how about helping us find away out of here," Merian said.
Her
tone spoke volumes of disgust for her fellow pilot. She had
absolutely no use for a teammate who, in her opinion, tried to run away
from reality and left her comrades alone. After all, why else
would that girl seek a trance if not to run away.

Jeren, however, wasn’t quite so harsh in his judgments.

"Maybe she’s hurt and is trying to ease the pain," he stated evenly. If
there was no blood, Merian didn’t consider it a real wound. It
was a completely unrealistic attitude, but that was his sister.
Unrealistic.

"Are you hu....," The words faded away as Jeren noticed that the girl
was ignoring them and staring at the door. Like she could make it
open just by staring at it. Both his mother and father had told him
stories about Heero Yuy and Duo Maxwell. Hell, even Trowa and
Quatre had regaled everyone with stories while they were on the
cruiser,
but nothing prepared him or the others for this girl. She
seemed so distant and intense. It was if she was focused on something
no
one else could see and so they were unimportant. Jeren
thought that had to be a very lonely way to live. His dad told him
Heero
was like that before Duo. The former pilots, however, had
been shocked to find the girl had grown to be so like Heero. Everyone
assumed that Duo would balance Heero. The silent, standoffish
girl worried all the older pilots. What had happened to make her like
this? Where were her parents? Calindra provided no answers.
Jeren was just turning to look at the door when the lock clicked. Trey,
Merian, and he went into defensive positions. Dason tried to get
further into the corner. Poor kid; he was scared to death. Calindra had
the most interesting reaction. She relaxed.

Seven men entered the room. Just like Calindra had heard. The first
three men were just guards, judging from their uniforms; Calindra
dismissed them. They quickly took up positions to cover the three
crouching pilots. The guns were unfamiliar, but then you don’t
have to know what it is that kills you, it just kills you. The next man
was definitely the one in charge. He looked about 24 or 25, wore a
tailor-made uniform, and carried himself with the air of a man who
expects to be obeyed. Sandy brown hair framed an aristocratic face
that spoke of cruelty and arrogance. Cold, blue eyes took in each of
the
pilots and their positions, calculating. Dason flinched when
the eyes hovered over him. The pilots immediate disliked him. He was
followed be three more guards. Everyone was covered by a gun.
This could be a problem.

"Trying to escape already children? You haven’t even heard our sales
pitch. It is entirely possible that you might want to come and
work for us." The voice was cultured, refined, and as cold as the
grave.
It was also the voice that had ordered them to shut down the
Gundams’ systems.

"I won’t work for you," Trey said simply.

"I would dishonor myself and my family if I worked for you," Jeren
added.

"Justice would not be served by working for such as you," Merian said
with considerable heat.

Dason shook his head. He was pinned by that man’s stare and was
becoming
more uncomfortable by the second.

Calindra just smirked.

The man didn’t seem surprised or impressed by the show of rebellion.

"My name is Garret Crane. You may call me Sir. None of you will leave
here until you work for us. Don’t expect to be saved. The cruiser
is even now being taken over by our men. Your families will shortly be
joining you. This was very well thought out in advance. There
is nothing you can do. Accept it." Again a command, not a request.

In less than thirty seconds he had covered all the pertinate points and
confirmed that whole mission had been a trap. Clear, consise, to
the point. Calindra liked that. It made things easier. She was,
however,
bothered by the fact the Garret had never once taken his eyes
off Dason. A sudden smile spilt Garret’s face and his eyes took on a
predatory hunger. As Dason tried to back through the wall, Garret
walked over to him.

"What have we here," he whispered softly and struck with the speed of a
cobra, pulling the struggling Dason to him. "Very nice."

Trey, Jeren, and Merian watched helplessly. Each was covered by two
guns
and it wouldn’t help Dason if they got killed. All three
glared at Garret and Calindra. She alone was not being actively
watched.
Mostly because she had not moved once since the guards
entered the room. No one considered her a threat.

Someone was watching them on security cameras. Calindra was sure of it.
She was also just as sure that the person watching was in
charge of the base they were on, maybe the whole plot. He would not
want
the young pilot badly hurt. It stood to reason that he, or
she, would eventually step in before the boy was too badly damaged. The
question was, how long could Calindra wait?

Dason began trying to use all of his the self-defense lessons, but
Garret was too close, at least a foot taller, and out weighed him by a
good hundred pounds. In no time, Dason found his arms pinned behind him
and his body pressed up against Garret’s. He became
aware of a bulge pressed up against his thigh and shot a panicked look
at the other pilots. Calindra was pointedly ignoring him while
the others where held at bay by the threat of death. Dason was alone.

Garret kissed him and used his other hand to slip inside Darian’s
shirt.
Dason felt Garret’s tongue trying to get inside his mouth, but he
kept his jaw resolutely clenched. At least he did until Garret’s hand
found one of his nipples and began to massage it. Dason gasped
and Garret took complete advantage. It never even occurred to Dason to
try to bite Garret or slam his jaw shut. He was completely
unable to deal with the situation. Humiliation, fear, and shame burned
through him and made it impossible to think. Tears poured down
his face.

"Damn you, do something," Trey yelled in fury at Calindra. For the
first
time she looked at the boy. Slowly she unwound herself from
her sitting position and stood up. A seductive smile curled her lips.
The guards looked at her with more than a little apprehension.
They didn't want to risk leaving the other three open and they were
truly looking far more dangerous than the smiling female pilot, so
they waited to see what she had in mind.

Calindra moved with feline grace across the floor, a sexy wiggle
accompaning her steps. One of the pilots' parents might have
recognized it as the same wiggle Duo had used to attract Heero. She
reached Garret just as he released Dason's mouth. Garret wanted
to hear him beg, however, the sudden presence beside him tore his
attention from the young man. He looked at Calindra's face and
smiled. Dason's face was desperate.

"Can I play too?" she whispered huskily as she ran a hand through
Garret's hair and slipped the other one into his shirt.

"By all means."

Dason let go of what little hope he had held onto. Sobbing moans
escaped
his mouth as Garret began ravaging it again and slid his
hand slowly down Dason's chest seeking something lower.

"You bitch! I swear you'll pay for this," Trey screamed. He couldn't
stop this, but he would make sure they both paid later. Merian and
Jeren's eyes promised the same thing. Calindra only chuckled, got a
good
grip on Garret's hair, and slipped her other hand lower,
making sure to move faster than Garret. Her hand slipped past his belt
and found what she was looking for. Garret made gentle sounds
as she took him in her hand. What happened next was so fast and
unexpected that it took several seconds for anyone to fully
understand what was going on. Garret screamed as a hand that could bend
steel squeezed harshly. At the same time Calindra locked
her other hand on Garret’s hair, pulled his head back, swept the back
of
his knees with one leg, and swung him around to put him
between her and the guards. Dason was sent flying to hit the wall, but
he was free and relief flooded his face even as he took in the
sight before him.

Calindra was mostly hidden behind a writhing, kneeling Garret. He was
desperately trying to get his hands on the woman behind him
and her hand off his privates and failing miserably at both. She had a
firm grasp on both his hair and his manhood. From the look on
his face, the latter grip was very painful.

"Go ahead and shoot," she said grimly to the guards," you’ll hit him
more than me. I guarantee it."

The guards stood unsure and waiting for someone to give them orders.
Calindra turned her attention back to Garret.

"I don’t like bullies," she hissed in his ear. "How does it feel to
have
someone hurt you? Hmmm?" To emphasize her point, she applied
more pressure and grinned at his answering scream of agony. "No? You
don’t like being hurt? Strange. Why would you assume others
would like it?" She squeezed again. His next scream was absorbed by the
padding on the walls.

"Enough." A new voice interrupted. "Let him go child."

Calindra looked up to find what she had been waiting for. Two men had
entered the room and been followed by a small army of men.
Despite the years they were still easily recognizable. At least to her,
the other pilots seemed at a loss. Made sense, these men were
supposed to be dead. Heero had never believed that though. Calindra
decided to clue the others in.

"Treize and Zechs. How nice to meet you. Nice eyebrows." The bland
statement brought several reactions.

The pilots all wore shocked expressions. Treize raised an eyebrow in
surprise. The guards almost fell over. Zechs smiled. "Just like her
fathers."

"It would be best if you let my solider go. I will not ask again,"
Treize spoke with a cultured voice laced with iron.

"Doesn’t anyone around here have any manners," Calindra responded with
a
smile. "Even I have better manners." A smirk appeared
on her face and she spoke as if instructing a child "What do we say?
What is the magic word? I’ll give you a clue: it starts with P."

Zech’s laughter erupted. "She certainly has Duo’s foolishness."

Treize was not amused however. "Child, I don’t think you have a firm
grasp of the situation. You and your fellow pilots are my
prisoners. Your parents have already been captured and will be brought
down tomorrow. There is no hope for rescue or escape. The
best you can hope for is a comfortable stay and the longer you persist
in this silly display of rebellion, the less likely that becomes. Am
I clear?"

"Oh very. Now let me make myself clear." The tone was no longer
playful;
it was harder than Gundanium and colder than space. Even
her eyes seemed frozen. "You don’t have my parents. We both know that
so
don’t sound so smug. I wasn’t the one who started this,
but if you think I won’t finish it, you never really knew my parents.
I’m willing to let this thing go, but I want something from both of
you in return."

This time both of Treize’s eyebrows went up and Zechs’ joined them. She
was making demands?

"Oh don’t worry, it’s not anything you can’t grant. Both Heero and Duo
thought you two were honorable men. If you gave your word,
you would keep it. This still true?"

Both men nodded grudgingly. Respect for this seeming girl was beginning
to show in their eyes. The other pilots and guards seemed
confused.

"O.K. I will give you back this man and not make him a eunuch if you
promise me that no one will touch Dason again. At least not in
that way. Promise me that and it’s over. If not, I’ll castrate this
bastard and we’ll see just how good your guards really are."

Everyone in the room knew she was making a promise, not a threat.
Garret
sent a pleading look at his commanders. Neither spared him
a look.

Calindra knew that she was asking alot. Rape was a great psychological
weapon and Dason would be the easiest to break, but Calindra
would kill him before she let anyone do that to him. Dason wouldn’t
recover from that kind of wound. He was too much like Quatre.
Sensitive in the extreme. It would destroy his mind and soul forever.
The death of innocence and light in his eyes would deeply hurt
Calindra and she’d had enough of pain in her life. Still, she hadn’t
excluded herself or the other pilots from that kind of abuse. Treize
would never have made such a promise. Although Lady Une would be in
charge of such a thing, Treize was the one who would give
the final order. Distasteful though it would be. He also wouldn’t
promise to not torture the pilots. Calindra had to be realistic. It
sounded like they wanted all the pilots to work for them. That could
only mean they planned to break them. It wouldn’t be pleasant.
She was pushing it to ask what she had.

Treize stared into the eyes of this strange, but very familiar girl. So
much like Heero in her stubbornness. He remembered the cold look
in Heero’s eyes and saw it echoed in his daughter’s. She would do what
she said. No doubt about it. He and Zechs had never admitted
it, but they had admired the Gundam pilots. This trap displeased him.
It
was far too underhanded. They needed all the pilots, however,
and this was the best way to get them. It had even succeeded for the
most part. They had all the children and most of the parents.
Only Heero and Duo were missing. Calindra had the answer to that
mystery. He had to know.

With a gleam in his eyes, Treize made his decision.

Zechs watched the thoughts dance across Treize’s eyes. He was the only
one who could understand what Treize was thinking just by
watching. Treize could do the same to him; it made them the perfect
couple. He saw the decision that Treize made before he announced
it. Zechs wasn’t surprised. His lover never could resist a challenge
and
the girl presented one hell of a challenge. Zechs wondered if
Treize would try to seduce her. The thought made Zechs smile. As if
Treize could get past whatever made this girl so cold. He had
never been able to get past Wufei’s walls and this girl would be no
different. Treize was a genius, but he wasn’t very patient and
didn’t handle rejection very well. This would be interesting to say the
least.

Everyone held their breath as Treize opened his mouth and gave his
decision.

"Very well. I do not wish to harm any of you unduly anyway. I grant you
your request. Now, if you wouldn’t mind, I’d like my solider
released." Treize got through the whole statement without twitching a
single eyebrow or giving any clue to what would happen after
she let the officer go.

"I have your word?"

"Yes. Of course."

"Zechs?"

"Mine as well," he said with an elegant, little bow.

Calindra searched both faces and was apparently satisfied as she pushed
the captive solider away from her. With inhuman calm and
contempt, she wiped her hand on the back of the man who was struggling
to stand. Several guards rushed over and helped him from
the room. Treize’s guards took over their position of watching the
pilots. Dason took the opportunity to rush, heedless of the guards,
to his brother. Trey wrapped him in a fierce hug and tried to comfort
the sobbing young man. Calindra watched the two with a slight
smile on her face. There were times she wished she could be with her
family again. The happy moment was cut short by Treize’s voice.

"Now we need to get down to business." His face held an unreadable
expression as he approached Calindra. For her part, Calindra
stood silently, hands at her side and seemingly completely relaxed.
Whatever came next, she had gotten what she wanted and not
much else mattered. For now. Treize stopped less than a twelve inches
from the silent pilot. She tilted her head slightly as he was at
least a foot taller than her. On the other side of the room the rest of
the pilots tensed but were still aware that they were helpless. Zechs
just smiled.

"You have proven to be most troublesome. What should I do with you?" He
gently took her chin in his hand and forced her to look up
at him from an awkward position. Calindra didn’t move a single muscle.
"Tell me child, will you be more trouble than you are worth?
Should I end this now?"

With each sentence his face came closer to hers until his lips brushed
hers on the last word. She stared into his eyes. Defiance danced
in cold eyes and amusement in warm ones. Finally he settled his mouth
over hers and used the hand on her chin to force Calindra’s
jaws open. The pilots tensed, the guards tensed, even Zechs tensed in
anticipation of what this young woman would do, but she did
nothing. Even when Treize put his tongue in her mouth she didn’t move.
Calindra neither fought nor participated; it was like kissing a
statue.

Finally, Treize pulled back and looked at his captive. The lack of
expression and reaction intrigued him. Very interesting. Could she
really have that much control over herself? He stepped away from her
and
smiled. Oh yes, very interesting.

Once Treize had moved away Calindra did react. She calmly turned her
head to one side, spit quietly, and ran the back of her right hand
over her mouth. "What was that?"

"That was a kiss."

Now it was Calindra’s turn to raise an eyebrow. "A kiss? Hmph."

Cold eyes scanned the room and settled on Jeren, who had become a
little
separated from the other pilots. Calindra’s entire manner
changed as she determinedly stalked towards the young man. One small
motion to from Treize had the guards preventing Merian from
coming to her brother’s aide. He was curious as to what Calindra
intended. Jeren for his part had backed into the wall with a small eep.
The last time he had seen the expression Calindra wore was when his
mother had gone after his father for calling her ‘woman’ again. It
was mixture of anger, determination, and something else that Jeren had
never been able to identify. Needless to say, he wanted no part
of anyone wearing that particular look. Calindra didn’t give him a
choice.

When she reached him, Calindra grasped the collar of his Preventer
uniform and pushed him hard against the wall. Jeren’s first instinct
was to fight, but one look at her face and he remembered all the
stories
he had been told about Heero and his famous temper. She
would probably kill him if he fought; better to just let her pound on
him. He would get hurt less that way. Jeren forced himself to relax.

Calindra felt the tension ease out of Jeren and waited for him to look
at her. When he finally did, she saw more than a little fear in his
eyes. Heero’s reputation preceded her. Everyone in the room was
watching
her little display; each person wondering what would
happen next and if Jeren would survive it. She sent one hand behind his
head and then settled her lips on his in an almost gentle
gesture. Jeren’s eyes went wide with shock; this was the last thing he
had expected to happen. Then she shocked Jeren even further
by grinding her hips into his. Her tongue played at the outside of his
mouth while her other hand began a gentle exploration of his
body.

Jeren looked into Calindra’s eyes and saw something there. It
frightened
him. Such loneliness, tenderness, and hunger. Jeren made up
his mind. He closed his eyes, opened his mouth, and gave himself
completely over to this passionate creature before him. The hand in
his hair caressed him; the other hand seemed to be trying to memorize
every part of his body, but damn it felt so good. Hips ground
against him and his body responded. As for the kiss, Jeren had never
realized kissing could be so erotic. Her tongue sparred with his
playfully, touching, tasting. He hadn't expected gentleness from her,
but she was.

Finally, she pulled away. They were both breathing a little hard. Jeren
realized he didn’t want the kiss to end. From the look in her eyes,
Calindra felt the same way.

She stepped away from the young man and he slid slowly down the wall.
No
one in his entire life had ever touched him like that. It left
him weak in the knees and terribly confused. Why had she done this?
What
was going on? Who was this woman? Where the hell had
she learned to do that?

Stunned expressions watched Calindra backed away from Jeren and turned
towards Treize. Her eyes hardened the closer she got until
finally she stood once more in front of him.

"That, my dear dictator, was a kiss." With that she stood, arms folded,
and defiant before him. Daring Treize to react. No one in the
room moved, afraid of disturbing the balance of this moment. Then
Treize
threw his head back and laughed. Whole-heartedly. It was a
loud boisterous sound, so out of place with its surroundings.

"Oh my dear child, you are a delight." He smiled down at her. "Now if
you don’t mind, could you tell me where your parents are or do I
have to force the answer from you?"

The question seemed to change Calindra’s entire body language. Every
muscle stiffened. She bowed her head so that her eyes were
hidden behind a curtain of chestnut bangs. Even her crossed arms became
tense. All the guards tensed in reaction. Was she going to
attack? Zechs prepared to intercept the young pilot. Treize just stood
there. In the end it was all unnecessarily. Calindra answered the
question. In a voice as dead and cold as space, the girl answered all
their questions.

"They’re dead."

"How do I know you’re telling the truth? This might be a trick to keep
them safe." Treize didn’t want to believe she was telling the
truth. He needed Heero and Duo.

All around the room, the statement began to sink in. The pilots just
stared, but Zechs bowed his head. He really had liked those two.

"How can you be so sure they are dead?" Treize pressed. He had to know.
"Convince me. Tell me how they died."

Calindra raised her head before replying and everyone in the room took
at least one step backward. The guards all raised their guns
toward the girl. Her eyes were dead. Not just empty, but devoid of any
warmth or light. It was as if she had looked too long into Hell
and it had looked back, claiming her soul. What she said, however,
destroyed any doubts. Her lips twisted into a smile that held
endless insanity and her voice was worse than before. It was the voice
of the damned. Harsh, hopeless, dead, but with an underlying
feel of madness.

"I killed them."