Title: ESO
Author: bonnejeanne (bonnejeanne@yahoo.com) and vonceia (vonceia@yahoo.com)
Archive: GW Addiction http://www.oocities.org/fenris_wolf0/
Category: yaoi, AU? Epic Saga...
Rating: NC-17
Pairings: 1x2, 3x4, 5x?
Warnings: Yaoi. Old guys. Original characters. AU? You decide... OOC? Same.

E.S.O. - by bonnejeanne and vonceia -

Part Fifteen: Wufei's secret, Quatre's mission...

Once outside the periphery of Earth orbit, Howard moved over to the controls of the ship and pressed a button. "Now... lets see what this baby can do," he said.

The ship, wide, flat and tapered by design, seemed to shimmer and glow for a moment. Sally saw it as the Preventers long-range shuttle followed. "Hey... Noin... come look at this," she said urgently.

The ship in front of them seemed to sprout an extra piece - an extension that was flat and thin and angled perpendicular to the angle of the sun behind them. This "piece" shimmered, and Sally tried to get an energy reading. "It's a special kind of field generated by the ship," she said. "It's..."

"It's a solar wind sail," he said. "If it works correctly, it should trim almost a third off our time. It's not very good for short jumps but on the long hauls it should add quite a bit of speed."

Duo shook his head, wide-eyed. "That's amazing, Howard. You've topped yourself again."

Heero nodded. He checked the controls and mentally estimated their time of arrival. "That's good," he said, as his mind went over the preparations for the third time. Looking up, he was suddenly caught by Duo's profile and a strange thought occurred to him. 'He had that same expression in the cockpit before. Like he was sure everything would turn out okay.' Heero took a deep breath and reached out touching Duo at the small of his back. He felt solid and this time Heero did not think Duo was simply foolish, but perhaps there was something else he had that Heero had missed. Tempted to shake it off, Heero simply stood and enjoyed the view.

True to his word, Wufei found Zechs. "It looks like you are done with the... chores," he said, smiling slightly. "I guess we need to get this over with."

Zechs chuckled. "Okay, Wufei," he said. "What did you want to say?"

Wufei looked around. "Let's go where we can be private, please," he said, referring to the fact that anyone could walk up. He found a small cabin with acceleration couches. Lifting his head, he murmured, "The ship is picking up speed... I thought we were making best time already... interesting." He climbed into one of the couches for comfort's sake. If he were going to be fighting later, there was no reason to stress his body by fighting the ship's forward motion. "Sit please."

Zechs nodded in agreement to Wufei's assessment of the ship picking up speed. He did as asked and sat, wondering what exactly Wufei had to say that was so important. A number of things worked through his mind, but Zechs calmed himself for what ever it was.

Wufei positioned himself so he and Zechs were facing each other. "Normally..." he said, with a slightly sardonic look, "I would be pacing for this. Oh well. I need... I want to ask you something first. I know it's going to be rude, and I apologize in advance. Did you and Treize... did you ever have a.. a physical relationship with him?"

Zechs' eyes widened. 'Normally,' he thought, 'I would be falling off this couch right now, but...' Looking at Wufei steadily, he nodded. "Yes," he admitted and then felt the wash of anger mixed with shame, regret and a host of things roll over him. He looked down.

Wufei nodded. "I don't know why I thought so... but believe it or not, it makes this easier for me. No, I'll explain, I promise." his mouth curved slightly, another sardonic expression. "Promise... I'm breaking a promise by what I'm about to tell you. But I was thinking about why might happen if I don't come back. And that is why you can't join the battle, Zechs. Someone has to go back who knows this. There are only two of us now and we're going to be at risk." He took a deep breath. This was going to be so hard. "Zechs... I've had a secret for a long time. For a while, it was just a secret that I went to Earth, before the end of the war, and broke into the place where Treize was being confined before he retuned to power. We had a conversation about... matters personal. That isn't important except to try and explain why the next thing happened." He shifted slightly, then forced himself to be still. His eyes flickered away from Zechs' ice-blue ones and focused on nullspace.

"I was in love with him for a while. Stupid... pathetic... but I was... even I was young, as little as a year or so ago. He fascinated me. I let it come between me and my duty only once. Then at the end, he... he used me to die." Wufei looked over at Zechs. "I suspect it's only because you wouldn't oblige him, and by the way I respected you for that, even over everything else that happened. There aren't many other people who could understand what... what I thought I understood about that. But he decided to die and used me, because I let him. I wasn't strong enough..." Wufei, looked away again, showing a deep, old pain, quickly covered.

"I couldn't let go. I stayed in space after the battle, to find his body. It took... a long time, but I did find it," Wufei said looking back at Zechs.

Zechs listened carefully to Wufei, his mind discarding what he suspected were endings to sentences. He felt old scars opening up in his soul and the words, 'Yes, I understand' repeating over and over as the young pilot spoke. Within all of this was born a new rage that Zechs Merquise/Milliardo Peacecraft never knew he would be capable of possessing. 'It is bad enough that he played his games on me and the rest of the troops, but we were adults and presumably we could handle it. Ha!' he thought, 'But to do this to a kid, this one especially...' Zechs thought and then sent another curse to the heavens to add to the many others he had sent for Treize Khushrenada.

At the end, when Zechs heard Wufei state that he had found Treize's body, all personal anger he had for Treize died. How could his own petty rage possibly stand up to the quiet, dignified, poignant suffering of the boy he saw before him?

Wufei hesitated. He saw the rage come and go, and suspected his next words would trigger something bigger. He sighed, rubbing his eyes. "I depleted my fuel and oxygen in the search. I thought it might be fitting if we were found together in Altlong... but what happened was much more bizarre. He... wasn't dead. I managed to revive him. And someone can looking for me," Wufei said, still surprised after all this time what anyone would have done so. "What I am trying to say, and badly, is the Treize Khushrenada is still alive."

Zechs frowned, closing his eyes at the details of Wufei's narrative. Hearing Wufei's declaration of what he thought would be fitting, Zechs felt his tired heart break once again. Listening to the end of Wufei had to say, brought Zechs' head up sharply. "What?!" he shouted as if the word came from the depths of his soul.

Wufei flinched only slightly, he'd been expecting a reaction. "I think you heard me," he said calmly. "The only reason I am telling you is that, if I die... I want someone to know... in case he decides his promise to me invalidates with my death."

This time Zechs barely heard Wufei's words as the implications of Treize being alive and walking around somewhere fell like stones. He shook his head and looked up at Wufei. "No," he said, very softly as he moved next to Wufei. Without consciously thinking about it, he embraced Wufei, pulling him against his chest. "My god," he said, softly. "I... I am so sorry, Wufei. Thank you for telling me."

Wufei was very startled at being embraced by Zechs. 'I rather expected him to kill me,' he thought.

"This is unexpected," he said, pulling back a little, looking at Zechs' face. "I don't understand. Did I not make myself clear? I am responsible for keeping Treize Khushrenada alive. I've tried to keep this act from having consequences... as best I could... but I've begun to realize it's an never-ending task, and I may be ending, so... I thought if anyone could deal with it, you could."

Zechs, still in shock, patted Wufei's back. "Yes," he said, answering Wufei. "You were right to do this and Wufei, don't blame yourself. You acted according to what you believed and felt. In a way, you have dispensed the ultimate justice to Treize Khushrenada... There is only one thing, though." he said, letting go of Wufei. "There is an evil god that hates me and watches over His former Excellency. Damn me, I knew that I was out here for a reason. " He paused, then looked down at Wufei. Suddenly everything fell into place and made sense as Zechs remembered the times when Wufei would go off by himself and a sadness so profound would cover his dark eyes that no one dared to question.

"You are hereby relieved of this duty for the rest of your life, Wufei. I can and will deal with it. Should you live through all of this, fine, go and enjoy your life for a change. If not, then know I will carry this. I have known Treize Khushrenda for a very long time. I know how he works. I know that you could not have resisted him if you tried."

Wufei frowned, shaking his head. "That is not my intention, nor is it your right to do that," he said, a little stiffly. "Enjoy my life? I don't wish to be angry with you, Zechs, or anyone for that matter... but though I may have come far in a little while, I still resent being condescended to. Don't make the same mistake he did. I could have resisted if I'd tried. I chose not to. It was a bad choice. I've accepted that. There is nothing that has happened that I did not have my own share of bringing about. I... do not regret finding him," he said. "It wasn't a right death. And I... agree with you. This result has been harder than he could have dreamed. I made him promise me he would simply stay out of the affairs of Earth and the Colonies. He's kept that promise. My only fear is that his peculiar sense of honor may find a way to twist out of it."

Zechs looked into Wufei's eyes. "It's not his sense of honor that will twist. It is his mind that will guide his hand. I suspect that twelve months? of not being in the middle of things has brought about boredom. When he is bored, he will justify. Your promise held him for this long, but understand what it took me years to grasp. There was some advantage to him remaining under that promise or he would have slipped his bonds a long time ago. Frankly, I am wondering if he has not already begun.. It does not take much. Did you leave him in a remote place on a mountain and away from other people?"

Wufei frowned. "I am reminding myself this is not condescension," he said. Taking a breath, he glanced at Zechs, then away. "I've been... keeping him occupied. Enough, for the time being. That has just recently changed. I... if you believe it's important, I will resume," he said, trying not to think about what this would entail. His geas... his debt... "Do you really think any place would be remote enough? I did not, so I simply let him go where he wanted. There is no good strategy for outthinking that man, why try?"

Zechs shook his head, his eyes flaring at the mention of Wufei resuming whatever it was he was doing to distract Treize. "You are correct. Please forgive me. I am speaking through old rage and pain. I do not disregard anything you have said to me, in fact, I am grateful that you thought of me to tell in the first place." he said and then looked up at Wufei, unmasked and open. "You, all of you have taught me so many things about what I believed about myself and my life. Thank you. I... if you wish to know what I believe or what I have experienced with Treize, I will tell you. This is one of the last hidden things I know about myself, Wufei. All of it was not his fault or responsibility."

Wufei relaxed slightly. "Good..." he said. "And, I am sorry, also. I felt I could trust you with this... I knew it was wrong not to do something about it, but perhaps you can understand why it was hard to think of letting anyone else know... pride... my part in it... what I made myself into," Wufei sighed. "I have learned a lot myself in just a few days. I thought... I thought I was intrinsically flawed... but I've been told by the one who should know, that it isn't the case." Wufei sighed. "I made a lot of... bad decisions based on my belief. I don't want to be pathetic but... this past year has been difficult. And then Mariemaia..."

Zechs closed his eyes again. The thought of Mariemaia and the bunker brought fresh memories to him. The focus shifted from her to Lady Une and Zechs raked his hands through his hair. Une had been seeing to Treize's daughter, providing the child with a parental figure for nearly a year. He did not want to think of the sudden return of Treize might mean to the child now. "I know," he said softly.

"That's why I did what I did," Wufei said simply. "And I couldn't explain to anyone..."

Zechs nodded. "Did you think of telling her? She is Treize's daughter." he said.

Wufei shook his head. "No." Then, "I thought it would be better if she thought him dead. Better for her. I couldn't protect her from Barton, but I did keep Treize away from her."

"Yes," Zechs agreed. "It would be better for her, but the thought occurs to me that the universe is not such a big place. If this project fails, then it does not matter. If you are successful here, time goes on. With enough time, the possibility of their meeting will be greatly in favor. Barton will not be a problem."

Wufei put his head down, accepting the truth of what Zechs was saying. He looked up. "Then I will protect her," he said. "It's as good a purpose as any."

Zechs took a breath. Fortunately or unfortunately, he felt the years of experience catch up with him. He played what Wufei planned in his head. "It is." he said, fully understanding what kind of person Chang Wufei was. 'You would place yourself in front of the world if need be,' he thought and smiled. "You should try and rest, Wufei," he said. "When you return, we can talk again. I only ask that you allow me to assist you and not only posthumously."

Wufei bowed his head formally. "I am honored," he said simply. Looking into Zech's eyes, he said. "I intended to ask you to share this secret with no one... but I am not going to do that. I will only ask that you remember that when you do share it, you are sharing my honor along with the knowledge."

"I, among all, understand the weight of your honor." Zechs replied. "I will not share what you have told me without a great deal of thought and care, Chang Wufei." Zech's bowed back.

Wufei smiled. "My honor is not such a weighty thing... not after all I've put it through... I just cling to it sometimes, whether it's right to do so or not." Sitting up, he placed his hands on the taller man's shoulders. "You offered me comfort, which surprised me. Now, I'll try and return it."

He embraced Zechs carefully, hugging him. Then he turned and kissed his cheek.

Wufei rose from the couch. "I have one more person I wish to speak to before we reach our destination. Thank you... Zechs..." he said.

"You are quite welcome, little brother," Zechs replied standing.

Wufei's eyes flashed at the 'little', then he smiled. "Niisan," he said, and left the room.

Zechs smiled, shaking his head. As Wufei left the room, he put his face in his hands and wondered if anyone would notice if he ejected himself into the vacuum of space. "Treize," he said aloud.

Wufei made his way through the ship until he found the lounge where Quatre and Trowa were resting. He stopped and tapped the doorframe lightly.

Quatre looked up, "Wufei! Come in."

He did so. "Quatre, excuse me, I just wanted to tell Trowa something... no, don't get up, stay."

"Yes, Wufei," Trowa said, sitting up.

Wufei thought about making this as short as possible. "Trowa... the thing you helped me with, a year ago - after the battle? I've told Zechs about it. In case."

Trowa looked into Wufei's eyes, remembering the incident and the promise that he made to Wufei. "Good move," he said. "Just in case..."

Wufei nodded. He turned to leave, then turned back. "What happened... with Mariemaia.... I'm sorry, Trowa. I never told you that."

Trowa stood and walked over. "That's all right, Wufei. I understood," he said, then looked over at Quatre. "I will be right back in a second. I need to tell him something, ok?" he said to the blond boy.

Quatre nodded.

Trowa pulled Wufei outside of the doorway and a little further so as not to be overheard. "I need your help." he said, Wufei quietly. "You reminded me of something. In case anything happens to me, and Quatre... slips... please say to him, 'crescent'. Oma thought it might help and we have nothing to lose by trying. He's been hypnotized."

Wufei's eyebrows shot up. Then he nodded. "A post-hypnotic suggestion? That was a good idea. All right, I have it, I'll remember," he said.

Trowa nodded. "And thank you Wufei. You helped Quatre before and I didn't get a chance to say thanks." he said.

Wufei shrugged. "I would do whatever I can. You were... too close," he said. Then he smiled. "I almost envy you having someone to be that way with, though I know you are probably cursing yourself for not being efficient. Quatre is... very important to me also. All of you are. I know it doesn't look that way." He inclined his head, and moved away.

"Yes it does," Trowa called after Wufei. "All you have to know is where to look."

Trowa then turned and went back inside. He walked over to Quatre and brushed the golden hair back away from Quatre's face. "I've been thinking," he said. "Things have been coming to me about all of us. There is something that is still between us I'd like to get straightened out."

Quatre smiled. "Best talk now," he said softly. "I'm getting... flashes. Closer we get... well, it's actually getting easier, I think, but if it's important, don't wait, okay?"

Trowa nodded and said, "I wanted to say that if you blamed yourself for what happened in space, my getting lost that time, don't. It was my choice, Quatre. I wanted to die because I couldn't think of a reason to live. I figured you still had your family, your business, your good heart, and that you could do anything with your life. A soldier is all I am. If I was no longer needed, then I no longer mattered that much. Thanks to you and Catherine, I've come to see that all life is precious and that includes mine." he said.

Quatre reached out and took Trowa's hand, squeezing it tightly. "Oh Trowa... why are you telling me this now?"

Trowa bent down and kissed Quatre deeply. "Because you need to know and because we will be working for the best outcome out there and nothing is certain and time is an illusion. Most importantly, though, is because I love you."

Quatre smiled, still holding Trowa's hand. He pulled it close and kissed it reverently. "Thank you," he said softly.

His hand tightened it's grip ever so slightly and his eyes unfocused. "Huge... orange red... back beyond... crowded places... close... longing to return... to sea of stars..." he said softly, not appearing to know he was speaking.

Trowa listened carefully and remembered the words Quatre spoke. He stroked the pilot's brow and thought what his next move would be. "Rest," he said softly and stayed at Quatre's side.

"No..." Quatre said, focusing again. He blinked. "It's... it's getting clearer. The... big orange-red... Jupiter... Jupiter makes it uncomfortable, reminds of something... the... the sea of stars.... it's getting clearer... I need to go deeper," he said softly. "I'm not... afraid any more... I need to get more... to find out... before we fight... if it truly... means us harm..."

Trowa took a deep breath and held on to Quatre's hand securely. "Ok," he said, "I have you on this end."

Quatre nodded. "Record this... in case," he said clearly. Then he closed his eyes and began relaxing the barriers he'd been trying to keep around his thoughts. Sensations and impressions began to seep into his mind, presenting themselves as his own thoughts, his own emotions... this was what he had been resisting so hard. Taking several deep, slow breaths, Quatre accepted the strange mind that seemed to become his.

He was very still, eyes closed, but his lids moved, almost is if he were in deep REM sleep. His grip on Trowa's hand tightened, then relaxed, then tightened again. His pulse, which Trowa could feel through his palm, seemed to become irregular and he gasped slightly, then his pulse picked up, but the rhythm was faster than normal. His eyelids rose slightly.

Beneath them, Trowa could see that his pupils were widely dilated, making his eyes look very dark, and huge. He seemed to take in visual information without opening his lids further than a small amount. His eyes darted back and forth.

"Where... is... it..." his lips moved and barely a sound came out, but the timbre was different, somehow off. "What... place see..." A slight shudder ran through his body. Reaching up, Quatre's free hand place itself over his eyes, closing them. "No... what... why... are you... here?" he said softly, and this time, the voice, though strained and low, sounded like Quatre's.

"To cleanse... the weak... life..." his lips moved but it was the other voice speaking.

Trowa watched, listening closely even though he knew the recorder was picking up everything. It was hard to watch Quatre in distress, but Trowa placed those feelings aside. He lifted his chin as he heard Quatre's final words and felt a chill move down his spine.

"Trowa..." Quatre whispered, taking control of his voice again. "Help me... ask..."

Trowa nodded. "Have you done this before?" he asked, picking a question from the many that ran through his mind.

Quatre shuddered slightly. "Yes.... always..."

"Besides cleansing, what is the result? Does the life still exist?" he asked.

"Weak... life... ends..."

"What is weak?" Trowa asked.

Another shudder. "Life... which... ends...." Quatre's hand over his eyes moved and he seemed to be struggling, trying to sit up, and yet trying to stay.

'I think we have the answer,' Trowa thought watching Quatre struggle. "Crescent," he said simply and waited to see if it would work.

Quatre's eyes snapped open, his pupils fully dilated, and he flinched from the room light, throwing an arm over his face. Then he suddenly relaxed back into the chair.

"Allah..." he whispered. His hand gripped Trowa's tightly, and his breathing seemed to change, slowing.

After a moment he opened his eyes again. The pupils were still enlarged but more normal and shrinking as Trowa watched. Quatre took in deep breaths of air, and raised his free hand to wiped moisture from his forehead shakily.

"You all right?" Trowa asked.

Quatre seemed to take stock for a minute, then nodded. "That was... interesting," he said at last, then looked at Trowa and smiled slightly, for the understatement. Then his expression became serious. "Trowa... it came to destroy us."

Trowa nodded. "That's what I got too." Trowa said, then moved to the comm in the room. "Alfa and all pilots. I am sending the information we just received through Quatre's contact. These beings are here to quote 'cleanse the weak life', weak life defined as life that ends... This means us." He then sent the playback and went over to Quatre.

On the bridge, Duo whistled softly. "Well I guess that takes care of the ET scenario."

Heero laughed. Then another thought occurred to him and he laughed harder. "It also takes care of the weak and strong debate." he added.

Howard shook his head. "I always hoped they'd be nice friendly aliens," he said. "But I have to admit, the whole SETI thing did always kinda strike me like ringing the dinner bell in an unfriendly neighborhood."

Heero nodded. "I was just thinking about us," he said. "We're not exactly nice, friendly aliens ourselves," he added.

Howard nodded, and said, "That's true, but then again on the other hand, we aren't leaving our own neighborhood to look for someone to kill, either."

Duo snorted. "Yeah, we mostly prefer to kill each other."

"Yeah, but that's fair," Heero said. "They're coming in from the outside... and we don't have our pants on."

Duo laughed. "Well, they'll just find out that we're even more dangerous without our pants on!" he said, leering.

Howard laughed. "Oh no! I can vouch for you there, anyway Duo."

Duo stuck out his tongue at Howard.

Wufei, leaning in the door, said, "Good, that'll frighten them, Maxwell."

Alfa leaned around him, glanced around and said, "I'm going to check on Quatre. Where's the Peacecraft gotten to?"

"Right here, chief," Zechs said, "With my pants on."

"Good idea," Alfa said. "Late... but good. Contact your friends back there on our tail. Tell 'em we've confirmed hostiles, and they're to stay back - way back. I don't want to have to worry about 'em."

"Will do," Zechs said and went to contact Lady Une.

Alfa made her way to the lounge where Quatre and Trowa were. She came over to both of them. "You okay?" she asked Quatre gently.

He smiled slightly and nodded. "I'm... okay. I think I'm getting a handle on this. It's strange... and difficult, but it's getting controllable. Like the Zero system. I just have to not panic."

Alfa smiled. "You are very brave," she said softly, and brushed a lock of his hair back. Looking at Trowa, she said, "Is he telling the truth?"

Trowa looked at Alfa. "Yes and no. The possession is happening a bit better, he's not fighting as much. But, he needs assistance with the translation and the return. I've just about got it worked out though. Can we get him some tinted glasses? The light affects his eyes."

Quatre looked up indignantly as Trowa said yes and... no. "That's not fair," he said. "It was the first time I actually tried to do that... I'm sure it will get easier. And the light - I don't want the glasses. I didn't want it... to see..." he said, his voice dropping slightly, betraying his earlier confident tone.

"Oh, I see," Trowa said. "Ok, nix the glasses and yes, it was a good first time. But Quatre, how many times do want to be possessed by this thing?"

Quatre's eyebrows pulled together stubbornly. "I still don't have any real intelligence yet," he said. "I think I can find out more... maybe weaknesses... things we can use..."

"Ok, fine," Trowa said in agreement. "Just be careful. Recon can swing both ways." Then he shrugged. "I'm just guessing, though."

Quatre shook his head. "No you're not. This is your specialty... infiltration. I'll listen to you, if you agree to help me. But I think we have to try and get more. We still don't know how powerful it is. All we have are five Gundams... six, with Tallgeese. It's not much of a buffer between this thing and everything we want to protect."

"Good thinking," Trowa said. "I'll help any way I can, but you're point and will have to let me know when you've had enough of my advice. Is that fair?"

"It won't happen, but I agree to your request," Quatre said. "In my bag... I brought my old goggles. If we paint them out, I can pull them down if I think I need to block... someone else from seeing what I'm seeing. It's crude but I think it will work."

Trowa nodded, then looked to Alfa. "Is there anything you need specifically for us to find out, should the opportunity arise?" he asked.

Alfa shook her head. "Trowa, you are the experienced soldiers. I'm a good pilot but basically I'm a geek, if a bad-tempered one. Find out what you think we need to know to stop this thing. I wish I could tell you I've prepared for this, but the truth is, I've only done what I knew how to do, and I'm sure I left a lot of bases uncovered. I wish... someone else had been responsible for this, someone who could have done it better."

Trowa looked at Alfa directly. "But you are our leader, Alfa." he said. "And as a leader, you don't have to know the details, you just have to have the overall picture. I think you're doing great. I just wanted you to know what is being done so we can keep on track." he said.

Touching Trowa's cheek gently she said, "You've... all of you... already surpassed all my expectations." She turned. "I'll leave you in peace. If you need me call and I'll be here in 10 seconds." At the door, she turned back one time. "I... I always thought one of you would be the leader, you know... Heero, perhaps... I never expected..." she shrugged, and left.

Trowa smiled, watching Alfa leave. He then turned to Quatre. "Quatre, I need to ask you a few questions about your experience of the aliens. We might be able to do a little pre-battle foundation laying to help us when we finally meet."

Quatre nodded. "We have to work fast. At the rate the Manta is moving, we'll be at the Belt in less than three hours."

Trowa nodded mentally planning what could be accomplished in that time. "Ok. Tell me how this contact works, if you can. Do you go there, or do they come to you? What I'm looking for is the possibility of influencing them, like dropping leaflets into a battle zone before the battle so that the people can see the other side's point of view."

Quatre smiled slightly. "Well... they don't come... and I don't go... it's more like... I start having thoughts which are... different. Sometimes flashes of sensory information. It's all been pretty garbled, maybe even distorted by something, distance perhaps, because it was much clearer this last time. I think I started being able to sort impressions that almost matched with... well, like sight... maybe sound too, I'm not sure. And there are other things. It's just taking me time to put it together. It's like..." he takes a deep breath, "It's like I *am* the other, and maybe he - it is getting the same thing from me."

Trowa smiled slightly. "You spoke in his voice. I asked questions and you answered me," he said.

"I did?" Quatre blinked. "I remember asking a question... but it was hard to ask and listen to the answer... listen to myself... I think I lost it somewhere in there because something else was going on... there was a... an impression, like a visual image, of something immeasurably huge, and bright... blindingly bright, with an orange glare... it dominated everything... but I had the impression it was moving... it I was... I thought... I think maybe I was getting a visual from the ESO, passing Jupiter..."

"Yes, that is what you said... Jupiter. "Trowa replied. "Hn... If Jupiter is blindingly bright, then the sun will be more so."

Nodding rapidly, Quatre said, "I felt... homesick... or something like that... a yearning... to return to deep space... the sea of stars... where everything is quiet and still..."

"And not so bright." Trowa said, filing that away for future reference. "Damn!" he said. "I didn't ask about the light. Maybe, we do have some things that may turn to our advantage. Oh, well."

Quatre looked at Trowa seriously. "It knows... that it has to come closer to the sun to reach is destination - us. It's prepared to do that. I don't think just light will keep it away, but it might be something to keep in mind for a surprise move... might buy a few seconds if there's no other way. Might not."

Trowa looked up at Quatre. "Yes," he agreed. "I think one of the things that might be helpful for us to know is how have they prepared to come closer to the sun. If it is a function of their vessel, we might have a chance to sabotage that part and let the light do the rest. Of course, it's just speculation."

"That's all any of this is," Quatre said. "But it's all we've got. Did you have any other questions?"

"Well, we need to cover as many angles as we can think of. One is not going to do the trick. We've got the Gundams, the sun and we have you. Maybe the next time you go there, try to get as many impressions as you can. I will speak to the others, doing the same thing here. Specifics and design would help, but physiological make-up of the beings themselves would be of use too. We do need to talk to everyone about this as well. That'll generate more questions." Trowa said.

"Better make it quick. Want to call a meeting?" Quatre said.

"Sure," Trowa said and then stood. He accessed the comm again. "Will all pilots come to lounge B7 for a quick conference? Zechs, will you come as well." Trowa said and then went back to Quatre.

Quatre giggled softly. "Thanks for flying Trowa airlines," he said.

"Can I get you some peanuts or a soft drink, sir?" Trowa asked, bowing deeply.

Quatre sighed. "Can I just have the attendant?"

Without standing, Trowa lifted his head and leered at Quatre. "At your service, sir." he said.

Quatre fanned himself. "Work... must work. Aya!"

Next... The Belt.... really... at least we think....

Comments eagerly welcomed!

bonne & von

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