Author : Presser
Archive : www.angelfire.com/anime3/allkinds
Pairings : 1+2
Disclaimer : Gundam Wing characters aren't mine; Enya and Clannad's lyric isn't mine (and neither is the secret characterfrom another series mentioned near the end, who shall remain nameless for the time being -- heh)
Rating : PG-13 (mostly for a bit of language, mostly near the end)
Warnings : angst, yaoi
Spoilers: None, I think
Feedback : Yes, please, both praise and crits
------------------------------------------------------
* * *Hope is your survival
A captive path I lead* * *
PART 1------------------------------------------------
The starlight from M-4 was an order of magnitude beyond dazzling. Populated with numerous white dwarfs and lumbering red giants, light from M-4 spangled Tira as she sped through the ether, sleek, silent. Earth's nearest globular cluster talked to Tira, told her where she was. Sensors on her surface watched, gathered, measured, and analyzed. M-4 was in the heart of the Scorpion, hidden from Earth by thick-ribbed clouds of dark matter. Dark matter now pierced as Tira relentlessly pursued her quest. Not peace, but rather absence of thought reigned aboard the ship. Heero Yuy, Tira's sole passenger, lay dreamless in cryo, unappreciative of the beauty showered on him by M-4. In a room just off the bridge Heero lay in stasis. Soft blue light illuminated a central dais which framed a polished titanium capsule, suspended in mid-air by a null-grav field. The capsule was laced with organic webbing that gently held the pilot. A nutrient-rich protein bath swaddled him in sustenance; luxuriant enzyme mists pervaded the capsule, keeping watch over the array of leads that informed Tira of Heero's physical needs. A light frost adorned the pilot's eyelashes, his lips; his breath and pulse almost undetectable. Patient Tira, guarding Heero, watching the stars, waiting for the moment. Peaceful Heero, safeguarded from his own heart, trusting Tira to speed him to the resolution of his pain. For more than nine hundred years Tira had held her course, a servant to Heero. Captive to the laws of physics, Tira's form had patiently cut a smooth arc from Earth to the constellation Scorpio. The moment approached.
Tira turned with no trace of regret, turned from the beauty of M-4 and headed toward the Scorp's tail. Never would Heero know the beauty that Tira, unthinking, had casually rejected. Thirty more years, twenty more. Braking, slowing, adjusting, regulating, Tira carefully shed velocity, descending from one-third lightspeed. Ten more years, five, and three. Tira now hovered before her goal, Heero Yuy's goal.
The moment had arrived. Tira began the delicate operation of awakening Heero. One degree warmer, two, then three. Increase the oxy, blend in the nitro. Friendly microbes swarmed Heero's cool, quiet blood, prodding, reminding, encouraging. Vascular, nervous, endocrine, and more, Heero's internal systems began to stir. Another degree warmer, then two, then more. The frost on Heero's lips became the sheen of life. Pulse, breath, brain wave, all were gently quickened by Tira's patient ministrations. Somewhere within Tira contacts closed; ventilated warmth stirred. And Heero Yuy woke for the first time in a thousand years.
* * *No matter where you go, I will find you;
If it takes a long, long time.
No matter where you go,
I will find you, If it takes a thousand years.* * *
Heero stared in wonder through the portal in Tira's side. A blanket of stardust never before seen by human eyes shimmered silently. Quietly shivering, Heero pulled the blanket provided by Tira closer over his shoulders.
"Should I increase the temperature, Heero?" Tira's melodious voice came softly yet clearly, somewhere between male and female.
"I'm fine, Tira," Heero said.
"The rejuvenation systems have performed as expected, Heero. There was no damage to any of your internal systems as I awakened you."
"Thank you, Tira." As Heero spoke there was a tiredness in his voice, a longing that Tira was not capable of sensing. "Tira? How long now?"
"We should enter the Shaula system in 90 days, Heero." Tira had been programmed to speak in familiar terms to her charge, in the hopes that it would lessen the sense of aloneness that would naturally come on a journey so far from home. Heero appreciated the care and thoughtfulness of the engineers who had equipped Tira for him, though it did nothing to ease the burning in his heart.
"Why did you leave me, Duo?" Heero muttered to himself. "And where are you now? Have I even come the right way to find you?"
"Heero?" Tira gently asked. "I don't understand your request."
"Nothing, Tira," Heero said. "I'm just talking to myself."
Heero turned from the portal, gathering the blanket around him, and walked to the slab of metal jutting from the wall on the opposite side of the room. Tira had prepared bedding there, near a small table and chair. Heero eased himself onto the bed, then laid back, staring past the hull of the ship into the void beyond.
"Duo," Heero whispered, "Oh, Duo, where are you?"
---------------------------------------------------
At the end of the war, Heero had been confused. A soldier fought; a soldier protected. With the coming of the Great Peace, there was a place for neither in the new world he had helped to create. At least, not in Heero's eyes. Yes, the peace needed to be protected, but his skills as a soldier did not lend themselves to such a task.
So Heero had left, for a time, isolated himself in order to think, to sort out his feelings. He had operated out of a sense of mission for so long that he had ceased to recognize the part of him that needed, that wanted, that desired. And now that he was free to listen to his soul, he didn't understand the language it spoke. Desire? Need? What of these things did he truly know? Heero Yuy, the good soldier, wandered aimlessly in the back streets of New Delhi, Toronto, Milan. Money was not a problem, because he had earned a war hero's pension; understanding his heart was. He knew that Relena cared for him, and that, try as he might, he had never been able to kill her, even when it would have benefited his mission for the colonies.
But did he care for her? In the way that she seemed to feel for him? Duo Maxwell, Shinigami incarnate, the god of death. His closest friend, his partner, his... his what? Heero had pondered this for days on end. Did Duo know better than Heero himself what was in his heart? In the end, Heero knew what he had to do. He knew that he could run no longer from what life might hold for him. So at last he turned to the stars. He returned to the colonies, looking for Relena, and for Duo. He didn't know if Relena would understand what he had to say to her, but he knew he owed her a final conversation. And the pilot who had fought so valiantly beside him? Would Duo return his feelings? Heero didn't know, but he knew that he owed it to himself and to Duo to try. To try to reach out. to see what could happen between them. Arriving at colony L2 for the first time brought back memories, most of them unpleasant. The colonies were like and unlike each other, but they shared enough to remind Heero of his training on L1. Of his dehumanization, his transformation into a biologically-based fighting machine. L2's perfect weather, clockwork day and night, the carefully regenerated air - all of it added up to one word: control. The essence of who he was, the religion he had been taught to follow. But now, there were no controls. He had been released to be what he wanted. But what was that? How could he find out what he wanted? Wandering aimlessly had convinced him of only one thing: that he needed help to find out who he was. And the only one who could help him do that was Duo Maxwell.
PART 2------------------------------------------------
Duo was nowhere to be found. Heero tried public directories, then news archives, looking for pointers as to where Duo might be. Nothing. For the celebrated Shinigami to have vanished -- it didn't make any sense. The last news article he found that mentioned Duo simply stated the pilot's intention to take some time off out of the spotlight, to relax incognito. Finally Heero made the trip to The Centre, headquarters to every government agency and significant business on L2, and the location of the Gundam Memorial. He had been avoiding the Memorial, mostly because he knew visiting it would bring back painful memories of his part in the war. After a long struggle within, he found the strength to come. He hesitated on the polished marble steps, glancing back toward the towering buildings of The Centre, then looking within the low, sleek Memorial to the shadows embracing the first display. Heero counted it as significant that his heart would not let him rest until he had come even here.
"Not even Relena knew where he was," Heero thought to himself, recalling the pain in the Vice Foreign Minister's eyes as he had rushed past her concern for him to ask if she knew how to find Duo. Sighing softly, Heero Yuy stepped into the Memorial, and was immediately bathed in a gentle blue light.
"Hearts of Space" music floated above his head as a trail of green luminescence materialized in front of his feet. Heero walked the fuzzy light path, and came to a halt when a deep, bass voice spoke commandingly: "Zero One!" The music shifted dramatically, and both blue and green lights vanished. Heero's eyes strained to adjust to total darkness. In the distance, he saw a holographic Earth appear in space, the familiar starfield slowly materializing around it.
"Too dim to make out much," Heero thought to himself. And then, like a rising double sun, a life-size, simulated Zero One descended from the top of the space before Heero. Heero's breath caught in his throat, and he stumbled backward against a padded wall. The bass voice began describing the Gundam and his own part in bringing about the Great Peace. Heero lurched to the side, and the display instantly darkened. The faint streak of green light appeared again to guide him to the next display. Heero ran, heedless of any obstacles that might lie in his path. The blue light rose, and a young girl in an attendant's uniform stepped forward, putting her hands out to grab Heero by the arms.
"It's alright, sir, a lot of people are disoriented by the new optics. They /are/ quite realistic, I know." Heero stared at her uncomprehendingly. "Would you like to sit down for a moment before continuing? I could get you something to drink, if you'd like."
"No, no, I'm fine," Heero said as he shook himself.
This girl couldn't possibly understand the effect seeing his own mobile suit again had had on him. "I just want to get to the archives, okay? Can you show me where the archives are?"
-------------------
Heero slid into the vidbooth, settled his head back into the padded headset, and snugged his fingers into the hand cradles. He turned back to the attendant -- the one who had kept him from hurting himself -- as she spoke. "It'll be just a moment, then the material you've selected will begin to display. You sure you're okay?"
"I'm fine now. Thanks for your help." The young girl closed the door of the booth and again Heero was swallowed by darkness. A stage appeared before Heero, richly decorated with a forest sim, as was the current rage on L2. As the focus drew Heero closer, he could see sunlight glinting off of rain-jeweled leaves, a lush canopy of interlacing branches shading six chairs covered in vines. The focus urged Heero's eyes across the stage to the interviewer's chair, smaller and lower than the ones reserved for the pilots. The precisely dressed woman sitting there smiled directly at Heero, and spoke.
"Welcome to the final interview with the Gundam pilots," she said smoothly. "Tonight the Gundam Pilots who saved the world --" Her face froze as Heero interrupted the holo. "I'm only interested in Duo Maxwell," he said. "Show me only whatever Duo said." The interviewer faded, replaced by a profile shot of the pilots. Duo Maxwell was closest to the focus, flanked by Trowa Barton, Quatre Winner, and Chang Wufei to his right. A vine-draped chair sat empty to Duo's left. Duo seemed to be laughing at a joke, but the picture was frozen and dimmed in muted colors. The vidbooth's computer spoke. "Can you specify the information you seek?"
"Just show me everything Duo Maxwell said, in context." The colors brightened, the scene came to life. Duo was laughing at a remark by Quatre. "Yeah, and that wasn't the only time we were in a pretty tight spot, Quatre!" The pilots froze and faded, came to life and spoke, Duo always at the center of focus. There was little basking in glory, only occasional laughter in the snippets Heero saw. Duo seemed cheerful, as always, but whenever someone else spoke, the light in his eyes seemed to quiet. Near the end of the interview, Duo paused to listen to a comment from the interlocutor. "But as Relena Peacecraft has said publicly, Mr. Maxwell, all of you are heroes in your own right."
"No, that's not true," Duo said, glancing around the stage. As he spoke each pilot in turn cast his eyes to the forested ground. "There is only /one/ Heero, and we all wish we knew where he is." Duo's eyes softened as he looked toward the empty chair, then he looked at the ground, as well.The interview faded, and Heero found himself in the vidbooth at the Gundam Memorial again.
--------------
Outside the memorial, the bustle of business at The Centre moved rapidly, unimpeded by the shock to Heero Yuy's emotions. Heero wandered to a small landscaped island of trees and shrubs sheltering a bench and sat without noticing his surroundings.
"Duo...you...you were concerned about me; you /all/ were." Heero's mind reeled as he tried to process the realization sweeping over him. He looked up and to his left; a burnished pewter plaque was held by a human-sized copy of Zero Two. Heero leaned over to read the inscription: Zero Two Deathscythe Duo Maxwell In gratitude Heero looked around and discovered that there were four more groves of greenery surrounding the Memorial, each with a similar shrine to one of the Gundam pilots.
--------------
Noise from the busiest public concourse at The Centre swirled around Heero as he closed the contact, breaking the connection on the public phone. Chang Wufei's face faded quickly. "So none of them know,"
Heero thought to himself. "Duo didn't confide in any of them about his plans." He stared absently at the phone's darkened screen, then noticed a woman waiting patiently behind him. "Sorry," he said, and moved into the open spaces between tall buildings. Heero looked up to see the artificial sunset glinting off high windows. "Where else can I go?" Heero thought. "Who else would know what happened to Duo?"
A soft chime stirred Heero from his thoughts. "It would be good for you to eat something, now, Heero."
As Tira's smooth, melodic voice flowed through the cabin, a soft light illuminated the table near the bed where Heero lay. A bowl of broth steamed there next to two porcelain cups, one containing water, the other, hot tea. Heero rose on one elbow, looked at the table, then sat up stiffly. He moved to the table with the blanket
Tira had provided for him draped over his shoulders and sat before the simple meal. "Eat slowly and regularly, Heero," Tira cautioned. "Your intestinal system has been inactive for hundreds of years." Heero picked up the spoon beside the broth, looked at it as though it were an unrecognizable tool, then dipped it into the broth, carefully bringing it to his lips. After a dozen sips of the watery soup, Heero lowered the spoon. He carefully picked up the cup of tea, sampling it.
"Hmmm," he said to himself. "Good." He picked up the spoon to resume eating but paused with the broth midway to his mouth. "I remember now," he said. "Dr. J."
PART 3------------------------------------------------
Heero had left The Centre in search of Dr. J, the scientist who had built his Gundam and trained him. "If anyone can help me, it will be Dr. J," Heero had thought to himself. But his visit with the man proved frustrating.
"All I can tell you, Heero," he said with sympathy in his voice, "is that Professor G was the last to see Duo. I'll be glad to ask him what he knows, if you'd like."
"Please." Heero hated asking for favors, especially from Dr. J, but he was driven. Having decided that he had to confront Duo with the feelings he had discovered in his wandering, the only thing that mattered to Heero now was finding his fellow pilot and telling him that he needed him. That he wanted him in his life. That...Dr. J turned from his computer screen and said, "Heero, G could only provide this one bit of information. I don't think you'll like hearing it.”
"What?" Heero turned to his mentor with searching eyes.
"G told me that Duo seemed lost when he last spoke with him," Dr. J said. "He was restless, unsettled about what to do with his life. He mentioned something about getting away, and --" A soft series of beeps caught J's attention. "Wait; here's something else from G." J scanned the data quickly, then turned to Heero. "G has turned up records of a young pilot matching Duo's description volunteering for a deep space mission called 'Eternity's Shore' under the name of Daniel Farcloud. I know about this project. 'Eternity's Shore' is a highly controversial attempt to evaluate whether long-term cryogenic freezing is a safe and feasible way to send pilots into deep space. It's been in the works for the past six years -- barely made it through the war without being discovered. Since we're still nowhere near even half lightspeed with our most advanced propulsion systems, it's only logical to consider such a thing. Apparently Duo decided to volunteer for the final phase of the project, and assumed a pseudonym to avoid publicity." Heero stared uncomprehendingly at Dr. J. "I'm sorry, Heero, but Professor G has no other information about the project."
"Can you tell me where the project headquarters is?" Heero asked.
---------------
"Tira, are my personal effects stored on board? Can you show them to me?" Heero waited as the ship that had carried him for almost a thousand years into deep space processed his request. The light over the table dimmed and a drawer smoothly slid from another wall as a new light sprang to half power over it. Heero walked to the drawer and found the clothes he had worn as he boarded Tira long ago vacuum-sealed in clear plastic.
The only other object in the drawer was a small box, also vacuum-sealed in plastic. Heero picked up the box, then sat on the floor, the blanket slipping from his shoulders but swaddling him as he sat.
"Tira? I need to open this box." A metallic glint in the soft blue light filling the room caught Heero's eye. A small pen-like object had issued from a panel in a wall and was floating toward him in the low-grav field Tira had maintained since awakening Heero. As the object came within reach, Heero plucked it out of the air. He saw that it was a sharp knife with a plastic safety cap. He pulled off the cap and touched the knife to the edge of the plastic wrapping surrounding the box. A faint hiss accompanied the equalizing of pressure as the box's protective coating opened. Heero tore the plastic enough to remove the box, then cast the wrapping aside.
He carefully placed the box in his lap, and then rested his hand on the lid. He closed his eyes and took a slow breath, then opened his eyes, and the box. Inside there were only two things: a wallet-sized snapshot of Duo and Heero together, made at an instant-photo booth they found at a boardwalk once. In the picture Heero grimaced with furrowed eyebrows as the camera captured Duo planting a sloppy kiss on his cheek, his arm around Heero's neck. Heero lifted the picture to his face and stared at it. The fingers of his other hand moved unconsciously to caress the side of Duo's face in the picture.
The other object was a well-worn piece of paper, its creases and folds indicating that it had been handled numerous times. Heero tenderly replaced the picture in the box and picked up the paper, unfolding it slowly. In the middle of the paper were two columns of text side by side, each boxed roughly in pencil. In the box to the left, these words:
* *Nachigochema Anetaha Anachemowagon* * *
Above this box, in Heero's hand, the phrase "this is Mohican." The word, "Mohican" was crossed out, and above it was written "Mahican?" It, too, was crossed through, and written above that word was "Algonkian?" [1] In the box to the right, a longer column of text:
* * *Hale wœ yu ga I sv Do na dio sv I Wi ja lo sv Ha le wœ yu Do na dlo sv* * *
Above this box, also in Heero's hand, was written, "Cherokee language." In various places around the boxes there were phone numbers, web addresses, and physical addresses. Some had names of people beside them, and many of them were scratched through in the same rough pencil that was used to box the columns of text. Heero stared at the paper for a long time before folding it along the ragged creases that divided the sheet into four equal quadrants. He put it back in the box next to the picture of him and Duo, then closed the lid. Heero closed his eyes, rested his hands on the box, and sighed. "Oh, Duo," he whispered to himself, "I hope I've come the right way."
PART 4-----------------------------------------------
* * *No matter where you go
I will find you
In a place with no frontiers
No matter where you go
I will find you
If it takes a thousand years* * *
Heero had left Dr. J to locate the project director for "Eternity's Shore," a bright young scientist named Goro Ijiri, hopeful that he could pry from him any information he had about Duo Maxwell. Heero's heart leapt with the thought that the project could easily still be incomplete. It had only been three months since the date of the interview he had seen at the Gundam Memorial.
It was quite possible that Duo had signed up for this crazy deep space mission but had not been cryoed yet. There would be prep, physical and mental, for such a massive undertaking. If he could find Dr. Ijiri, perhaps he could convince him to let him see Duo before he did anything rash. But the meeting he had with the Goro Ijiri was just as frustrating as the time he had spent with Dr. J, Relena, and his fellow pilots. At the end, the bright young scientist had scowled at Heero, standing to indicate that they had reached an impasse and that the meeting was over. In desperation Heero had stood, leaning over Dr. Ijiri's desk until he was almost nose to nose with him and said, "In spite of what you say, I know that Duo Maxwell volunteered for your project. If you won't give me any information about him, will you at least tell him something for me?" Before the exasperated Ijiri could answer, Heero spoke quickly and deliberately.
"Tell him that Heero Yuy wishes him well." Heero glared at the man, who's face sagged in shock. Heero turned to go, and felt a rough hand on his shoulder.
He shook it off, but froze as he heard Ijiri say, "Heero Yuy? Wait. You're the only one he left something for." Incredulous, Heero turned around slowly to face the director.
"What did you say?"
"Duo Maxwell," the Goro Ijiri began, hands slumped to his desk. "He gave us strict instructions that he didn't want anyone to know he was participating in this project. That's why he assumed the name Daniel Farcloud. That's why he told us he didn't want any compensation paid to his family, like the other volunteers. He was adamant that no one was to know who he was or what he was doing. Made us change our contract to accommodate him. The only one we'd do that for, too."
"Huh?" Heero whispered almost to himself.
"Wouldn't you?" Ijiri explained. "For a Gundam pilot? The only volunteers we get are outcasts, people who believe that society has given up on them, that there is no place for them in this world any longer. Half of them we reject immediately, just because they don't pass the initial testing. Another two thirds are eliminated before we ever get to the training phase. But when a Gundam pilot walks in and says he'd like to 'go somewhere for a very long time' with a smile on his face, you don't refuse; you're grateful. You do whatever you have to for someone like that." Stunned, Heero sat down again.
"So, you'll let me see him?"
"No, I'm afraid that's not possible," said Ijiri. "Duo Maxwell left two weeks ago after being cryogenically frozen, aboard an experimental starship bound for Jupiter. We'll use the gas giant's gravity well to boost his ship's speed on his journey to..." the director hesitated.
"Tell me!" Heero shouted, reaching to grab Ijiri's shirt collar. "Where is Duo going?"
PART 5-----------------------------------------------
"Please, let go of me, Mr. Yuy," Goro Ijiri said. "There's no need for this. The truth is that /no/ one knows where Duo Maxwell is going. Not even /he/ does." Heero released Dr. Ijiri's shirt and slumped back into his chair. "We've been very careful with our policies and procedures here at 'Eternity's Shore.' No one knows the destination of any of our volunteers, even though everyone they know will be dead long before they are awakened." Heero stared without saying a word; his mouth sagged open. "You see," the director explained, "We're studying the effects of /long-term/ cryogenic freezing on humans. We know that small animals can now be kept cryoed for decades and revived without harm. There are dogs living out their remaining lifespan while circling nearby stars. But we don't know what will happen when humans are revived after the number of years required by significantly long interstellar travel. Since propulsion science seems to have hit an upper limit, it looks like we'll never achieve even a meaningful fraction of lightspeed. So this is the only --"
Heero interrupted the man's monologue. "Please, tell me where Duo is." Goro Ijiri could see the pain in Heero's face, and his eyes softened in sympathy.
"I can see that Mr. Maxwell meant something to you, didn't he?" Heero simply gaped at the man. "Listen, I'm sorry, but as I said, /no/ one knows what destination was assigned to any of our volunteers. It's important to the experiment as well as to our volunteers that such information be kept from influencing the project results, so we had a computer randomly match destinations with subjects and then destroy the data. All of them are bound for Jupiter, where their starships are slung around the planet to boost them on their way. Even after they leave Jupiter space, it's impossible to determine which ship is carrying Maxwell, or which destination is his." Heero sat stunned, staring past Goro Ijiri, past his diploma-decorated wall, out into the reaches of space. "I'm sorry, Mr. Yuy, but --"
"How many?"
"Excuse me?" the project director of "Eternity's Shore" said to Heero.
Heero looked away from Dr. Ijiri. "You said that Duo left something for me?"
"Oh, yes, he did. He was the only volunteer who seemed to care enough to leave anything behind for loved ones or friends. I'll ask for Maxwell's pouch to be brought to a consult room." Goro Ijiri turned to his computer and pressed a function key. His secretary's image appeared onscreen in an inset window.
"Dr. Ijiri?"
"Shiori, please locate the personal effects of Mr. Duo Maxwell, and have them brought to consult room," Ijiri scanned a list to the left of his secretary's image. "To consult room seven."
"Yes, sir, right away."
Consult room seven was intentionally bland. Gentle colors, nondescript abstract art, a simple table and chairs, all were balanced to create an environment that would not remind the occupants of the vitality of life on or near Earth. Heero was shown to the room by Goro Ijiri, who left Heero with a final word. "Mr. Yuy, I wish I could be of further help. Please, take my card. You can use it to contact me if there is anything else I might do for you." Heero took the translucent card, faintly bluish and blank except for a small silver disc in one corner. "I don't hand this card out very often, but I can see that you have good intentions in trying to contact Mr. Maxwell. Put your thumb over the silver disc, please, and press hard." Heero did as instructed. "From now on only you can use that card. It's been imprinted with your thumbprint. Put the card in any public phone's pay slot, with the disc facing out. Press your thumb on it again, and I'll be alerted to your contact. Our phone system here will locate the public phone you're at and I'll return your call."
"Thank you, Dr. Ijiri," Heero said, as Shiori, Dr. Ijiri's secretary, entered the consult room with the pouch containing Duo's things.
"I'll leave you alone to look through whatever Mr. Maxwell left for you, Mr. Yuy. You're free to take whatever is in the pouch, as it was intended for you. I wish you all the best." Ijiri left the consult room, leaving a distraught Heero along with -- what?
PART 6-----------------------------------------------
Heero sat in consult room seven for a full six minutes without moving, simply staring at the pouch on the table before him. Finally his hands moved, almost on their own, and the pouch was open. Inside was a plastic folder, in the folder a single piece of paper. In he middle of the paper were two columns of text side by side, floating in two-dimensional space. To the left were these words:
* * *Nachigochema Anetaha Anachemowagon* * *
To the right, a longer column of text:
* * *Hale wœ yu ga I sv Do na dio sv I Wi ja lo sv Ha le wœ yu Do na dlo sv* * *
Heero stared at the words, uncomprehending. "What does this mean, Duo?" He said to himself. "I can't read these words. I don't even know what language they're written in. Why would you leave this for me? And only for me? Were you -- are you -- trying to tell me something?" Each question that came to Heero gave birth to two more. "If you wanted to tell me something, why not in a language I can read? Did you mean to tell me goodbye? I don't even know how to begin to understand this." Heero left the consult room, and the offices of "Eternity's Shore." On the street, he carefully folded the paper in half, then in half again, putting it in his coat pocket.
He looked up to see L2's artificial sun glinting off the windows of a building's skyloft. Heero's lips pressed together, his eyes narrowed. "Not much time. I'll have to work fast," he whispered to himself. He turned and headed to back to The Centre.
* * *No matter where you go
I will find youIf it takes a long, long time
No matter where you go
I will find you
If it takes a thousand years* * *
Heero looked up from the carrel at the public library, rubbing his eyes. The clock on the wall read 20:14. Heero sighed, stretched, ran his hand through unruly bangs. The sheet Duo had left for Heero lay between Heero and the carrel's display, now covered in notes.In the middle of the paper the two columns of text were now boxed roughly in pencil. In the box to the left, the shorter text was labeled in Heero's hand with the phrase "this is Mohican." The word, "Mohican" was crossed out, and above it was written "mahican?" It, too, was crossed through, and written above that word was "Algonkian?" [1] In the box to the right, the longer column of text was labeled, "Cherokee language." In various places around the boxes there were phone numbers, web addresses, and physical addresses. Some had names of people beside them, and many of them were scratched through in the same rough pencil that was used to box the columns of text.
Heero stared at the paper for a long time before folding it and putting it back in his pocket. "Nothing," he muttered to himself.
There isn't anyone around who knows these languages anymore. He slumped to the desk, resting his head on his arms, and sighed again. Abruptly he sat up. "There's only one thing left," he said quietly. Heero Yuy stood and walked to the slidewalk that took him to the main level of the library, where he found a public phone. He took the translucent blue card Goro Ijiri had given him and pushed it into the phone's pay slot. The phone's screen came to life, a large question mark pulsing in vivid green in the center. Heero held silver disc at the edge of the card between his thumb and forefinger, and squeezed. After forty-five seconds, the question mark faded, replaced by the words "Incoming Call" pulsing in blue. The screen went dark, then was filled with light. Goro Ijiri looked out at Heero and said, "Mr. Yuy. What can I do for you?"
"Dr. Ijiri, I need to talk with you. When can we meet?"
PART 7------------------------------------------------
* * *No matter where you go
I will find you
In a place with no frontiers
No matter where you go
I will find you
If it takes a thousand years* * *
Heero turned back to the display as Tira spoke quickly. "There is no breathable atmosphere present. I urge you to reconsider this action, Heero." The display was filled with graphs and lists of data, 3-D representations of the landscape Tira was approaching under Heero's direct control. Heero touched a small image in the upper right of the screen, and a live video feed of the scene filled the display. Shards of ice and rock rose menacingly against a backdrop of distant nebular clusters and the harsh light of Shaula, a hot class B star in the tail of the constellation Scorpio. In the days since his awakening, Heero had spent time with Tira's knowledgebase, quizzing the ship on everything that there was to know about his destination. Heero knew that Shaula is over four times hotter than Earth's sun, radiating more than 35,000 times the energy of his home star. He knew that Shaula was in reality a double star system, two roughly similar hot stars orbiting each other every 5.9 standard Earth days. With a mass around eleven times that of the sun, if Shaula didn't eventually collapse into a rare, heavy white dwarf, it was likely to explode. What Heero didn't know was something no database could tell him: whether the starship from "Eternity's Shore" that Tira had detected on the frozen planet circling Shaula contained Duo Maxwell. A low chime sounded softly, stirring Heero from his mental inventory of facts.
"Have you located the ship, Tira?" The ship that had served Heero Yuy so well for over a thousand years spoke obediently.
"Yes, Heero. The companion ship from "Eternity's Shore" is near the south pole of the planet.”
"Take us down, Tira. As close to the other ship as you can get."
As Tira took nav control from Heero, he fell heavily back against his chair. He rehearsed yet again the conversation he had had with Goro Ijiri, project director of "Eternity's Shore."
--------------------------
"You want to what, Mr. Yuy? Volunteer? But I told you that I cannot guarantee that your destination...that...that you would even be selected..."
"Dr. Ijiri, I, too, am a Gundam pilot. Was. I piloted Gundam Wing: Zero One." Ijiri's face went slack on the phone screen in the public library on colony L2. He spoke in hushed tones.
"You're the missing pilot! The one who vanished at the end of the war."
"Will you take me? As a volunteer?"
--------------------------
The next several weeks were a blur as Heero was tested, prepped, and trained for his mission -- the last mission he would ever take. He moved through the steps smoothly, never failing, always exceeding expectations. When his training was complete, he met with Ijiri again to request that his starship be launched at the earliest possible time. Dr. Ijiri expressed his concern over Heero's eagerness to move so quickly, but the young pilot easily deflected it.
"You told me yourself the first time we met that most volunteers come to you because there is nothing left for them here. There is nothing left here for me, Dr. Ijiri. I'm ready to go." As Heero left his office, Goro Ijiri sighed to himself.
"Such single-mindedness and determination is rare. I hope Heero is able to find what he seeks." "Eternity's Shore" made final preparations after obtaining Heero's signature on the last set of waivers and forms. Ijiri personally oversaw the flight schedule, ensuring that delays were kept at a minimum. Heero Yuy went through the final checks on the day of his launch with quiet resolve.
"Heero, Earth and the colonies are losing a vital resource today." The scientist put his hand on Heero's shoulder as the technicians checked the organic webbing that was wrapped around Heero. He lay quietly in a polished titanium capsule, the hinged lid pulled back as final adjustments to the cryo system that would carry him into deep space were made. Heero's turned his eyes, full of heartache, to lock with Ijiri's.
"The only vitality I have, Dr. Ijiri, lies before me, at my destination." Ijiri sighed and withdrew his hand. A technician stood and informed the scientist that all was ready. Ijiri nodded, then took one step back from the capsule containing Heero. He said his final words to the young man as the air rushed from the chamber, chased away by a protein bath swaddling Heero in nutrients. A technician released the hold on an IV in the capsule, and fluids raced forward to quiet Heero's blood, calm his heart, still his mind. As the capsule was closed and locked down, Goro Ijiri whispered to the young man inside.
"Goodbye, Heero Yuy. I hope you find who you're looking for."
PART 8-----------------------------------------------
A map sprang to life in front of Heero's eyes, a point near the bottom of the globe illuminated in red. "The ship is here, Heero. Are you sure you want to land on this planet? I am obligated to --"
"Tira, land as close to the ship as possible." As Tira prepared for descent, Heero pushed away from the pilot's controls and stood unsteadily. His heart pulsed faster, stronger. "Let it be him," he prayed to any gods that might be listening as he plunged his face into his hands. "Please, let him be alright."
----------------
As Heero succumbed to the intricate process of cryogenic freezing, a technician turned to Goro Ijiri. "He doesn't know, does he, Dr. Ijiri? I mean, what you loaded --"
Ijiri cut the woman off. "Please, don't say another word. Never mention it again. It's better this way for everyone here."
Tira found the primary ship "Eternity's Shore" had sent to the Shaula star system cradled in a smooth, icy hollow at the edge of an escarpment. Heero judged it to have formed when a meteor slammed into an ice peak, scooping out the side of the mountain and forming the scarp. "Over two miles wide; must have been some meteor," Heero said to himself.
"Heero, there is no safe purchase on the terrain next to the ship. My analysis shows that the cavity's smooth surface likely formed when melted ice refroze after the impact of a large, massive object." Heero scanned the map of the area that Tira was constructing, noticing the scale and increasing detail as it was updated during descent.
"Here," Heero said, touching a place on the display near the edge of the escarpment. "The terrain here looks suitable for a landing."
"Heero, that site is adequate; but it is over 6,000 meters from the ship you wish to reach." Heero considered as Tira's descent continued.
"Are you saying that I would have problems reaching the other ship from that point?" "6,000 meters is near the upper limit of our EVA suit's propulsion system," Tira reported. "The EVA suit is designed for low gravity environments. The only use for the propulsion system on the surface of a planet of this size is to enhance the pilot's mobility. It is not strong enough to allow for flight."
"And the planet's gravity; how much?"
"Fully one-third greater than one standard earth gravity. You could reach the ship, perhaps, but would not have enough propellant to return." Heero stared at the map, furiously calculating. "Heero, we will need to commit to a landing site within the next three minutes, or pass over this part of the planet." Heero's eyes narrowed. He came to a decision.
"Tira, I want you to take control of the landing and set us down as close to the scarp as possible." Heero pushed against the padded edge of the control panel to slide himself to the opposite side of the pilot's compartment, where he pressed a small button under a darkened window. The window sprang to life, displaying a digital keypad.
"I'm entering my override code for clearance to disregard all but safety level one." Heero spoke quickly before Tira could pronounce the mandatory caution. "I realize what I'm doing, Tira. The mission demands this." Tira silently accepted Heero's code, and the keypad vanished from the display, replaced by the green pulsing words, "Code Accepted." Heero returned to his seat in the pilot's compartment and secured his helmet, then strapped himself in. "Nothing now but to watch and wait."
As Goro Ijiri watched his highest creation lift from the launch pad in a resplendent burst of incandescence, he spoke softly to himself, and to the ship proudly bearing Heero Yuy to the stars: "Take care of him, Tira, and don't forget what I gave you."
----------------
Heero's eyes opened of their own accord. He had passed out from the impact of landing on the icy planet circling Shaula some 300 light years from Earth. Before him on the display was a live picture of the planet's surface. Deep pools of ink were bordered by sharp-edged slabs of rock and ice. In the foreground was the escarpment that had been Tira's goal, the icy hollow holding the ship Heero sought just beyond. The light from Shaula was unmercifully bright, even at the distance of 17 Au's. [2] Heero groggily shook his head, then spoke into the intercom. "Tira, report."
"All systems are normative, Heero. We are 4,983 meters from the ship you seek."
4,983 meters. Heero quickly calculated the distance to fuel ratio. Even though Tira had landed over a thousand meters closer than Heero thought possible to the ship, there was still not enough propellant in his EVA suit to get him there and back, even discounting any unforeseen obstacles."Damn it," Heero said under his breath. "Damn it to hell."
Part 9------------------------------------------------
Heero stared blankly at the displays before him in the pilot's compartment aboard Tira. "To have come 300 light years and now to be stopped by a mere 5,000 meters..." Heero's voice, a hoarse whisper, trailed off as he bowed his head. Silence reigned for a minute, two, three. Heero raised his head slowly, a new determination in his eyes. All doubt gone, he spoke calmly to Tira. "Tira, I want to suit up for EVA. Make preparations."
"Heero, I am required to repeat my warning that --"
"I'm entering my override code now, Tira." Before Heero could reach the panel behind him, every light died. Heero sat in total darkness, not moving. Time stretched like elastic. "Tira? What happened?" Heero's question was met by silence. "Tira? Please, answer me. If you're trying to protect me, it won't work. I've decided to go EVA, and I will even if I have to --"
A single display in front of Heero glowed amber, pulsing in the darkness. Heero stared, captivated by the only visible object before him. For the first time in his thousand-year journey, Heero heard a third voice: not his, not Tira's, but the voice of Goro Ijiri.
"Heero, if you're hearing this, then it means that you've found the primary ship you were sent to back up. And that you've decided, even against Tira's advice and caution to attempt something of a rescue of the pilot aboard. As I record this, I stand between two choices. Or rather, newly on the far side of a decision that may well change my life, as well as yours. I told you that we had no way of knowing how volunteers and destinations correlated; that it was impossible to tell you to which star system Duo Maxwell was headed. I'm recording this to tell you that I haven't been entirely forthcoming with you. While it's true that we keep that information very secret, it isn't completely lost, merely hard to obtain. The channels I would have had to go through to properly obtain permission to gain access to this data would have occupied all my time for years to come. So in the end I did what I considered the moral thing to do, even though it meant circumventing regulations and a number of computer systems. Heero, I can confirm that you have been sent to the same destination as Duo Maxwell." Heero twitched in his chair, shocked by the revelation. "After seeing the pain that drove you to exceed our expectations day after day, I could do no less than give this gift to you: to ensure that you would follow the one you so desperately seek for. I have rarely seen such devotion in my life, Heero. I can only hope that, having found his ship, you will find Duo alive. May God's angels watch over you."
The amber screen faded to black. Displays, sensors, controls, lights, all returned to normal levels. Heero sat stunned, unable to fully process what he had heard. Had he just suffered a mental break with reality? Had he heard only what he wanted so desperately to hear?
"Heero," Tira said gently, "Dr. Ijiri told me to provide the following data to you only after his message was activated." Heero looked absently toward the central display.
"Yes?"
"Heero, I am equipped with more than one EVA suit. Dr. Ijiri hoped that you would succeed in finding Duo Maxwell's ship, and so in anticipation he outfitted me with more than the other ships sent out by 'Eternity's Shore.' There is more than enough life support for two pilots, should it be required to transport two from this destination. You'll find a copy of the true manifest on file now, next to the one you were shown during your training." Heero blinked, nodding his head weakly. "Heero, the cost to 'Eternity's Shore' as an organization and to Dr. Ijiri personally was great; but he deemed it a worthwhile investment, if you could one day return to earth with your fellow pilot."
Finally shaking free his astonishment, Heero pulled himself closer to the controls, to the central display. "Tira," Heero said reverently, "did Dr. Ijiri program you with guidelines for rescuing a...fellow pilot?"
"No, Heero. Dr. Ijiri realized that the odds of any possibilities he could imagine synchronizing with reality were virtually nonexistent. He felt it best to provide you with the materials you might need in the event that you located Maxwell's ship. You will have to formulate your own plan."
"Thank you, Tira." Heero sat quietly, his mind awed by the dance of possibilities and consequences. Finally he spoke. "You say there is more than one EVA suit. Both are equipped with equal amounts of propellant?"
"Yes, with a range of 6,000 meters."
"So there is enough in one suit to get me to Duo's ship, but not enough to get me back."
"Correct."
"And if I were to carry the second suit with me? Would that extra mass and weight keep me from reaching the ship?"
Tira answered without hesitation. "No, Heero, you would be able to reach the ship if you carried the second EVA suit."
"Prepare an EVA suit for me, Tira. I will take the second suit with me." Heero Yuy stood, his hands trembling faintly. He bowed his head and whispered a prayer: "Thank you, Dr. Ijiri."
PART 10-----------------------------------------------
* * *No matter where you go
I will find you* * *
"Not much farther."
Heero spoke to himself, his breathing labored, not caring that Tira could hear him. Sweat dripped from his face inside the EVA suit, though the temperature on the escarpment was hundreds of degrees below the freezing point of water. He had struggled over rough terrain for almost 5,000 meters carrying a second EVA suit strapped to his back that now weighed more than the one he wore. He winked his right eye, and a propellant gauge opened on his helmet's display. "Eighteen percent," Heero whispered hoarsely.
Another wink of his right eye, and the gauge closed. Heero heard the air filter cycle off. He stopped before a low rise strewn with rocks and ice pebbles, exhaling roughly. The landscape: harsh, bleak, and unforgiving. Ice and stone, black pools outlined by blinding shards of reflected light, the light from Shaula, a bright-hot marble in the ink above the horizon that rained down x and gamma rays. Heero studied the ridge before him, judging the best way to proceed, turning his head slowly from side to side to give Tira full access to the view before him. He winked twice with his left eye and a map appeared in the upper left corner of his helmet's display, outlining Tira's most recent changes to his course, his destination a green dot. Above the map in glowing blue: "483m." The compass in the display's right corner held steady at a setting of zero zero degrees. Tira's smooth voice: "Incorporating."
The map bloomed, growing in detail. A path up the ridge pulsed neon green. "You will have to clear some of the rubble before proceeding, Heero."
"Affirmative." Heero moved deliberately in the ice planet's gravity, fully one-third stronger than earth's standard one gee.
Without the EVA suit's propellant aiding his progress, he would have collapsed hours ago. With tired, steady hands, Heero rolled the larger rocks out of his path, concentrating on one at a time. Inching his way up the incline, Heero stooped to brush loose stones out of his way, then fell forward, the weight of two suits in the viscous gravity slamming his hands into the scabrous surface, jolting fatigued muscles.
"Heero?"
"I'm okay, Tira. I slipped."
"Once you clear the ridge, Heero, you will be past the uneven footing. The remaining distance between you and the ship is smooth."
"Thanks." Heero shuddered, then forced himself to move. "Almost...there,"
He coughed out. And then he cleared the top. Heero pulled himself up over a break in the ridge and attempted to stand, but immediately fell on his side on polished ice. He tried to stand but slipped again, sliding a dozen meters forward. Slowly, deliberately, Heero raised himself and the second suit to his knees. With both hands he pulled his right leg forward, then pressed hard on the top of his knee, shuddering again as he stood. Heero looked up, awestruck.
A massive wave of ice stood gleaming in Shaula's unrelenting radiation, the crest ten thousand meters above Heero's head. A basin turned on its side two miles across, scooped out by an unthinking meteor.
"It's all just physics," Heero said to no one.
"Heero? What do you mean?" Tira, watchful Tira, still tending her charge.
"It's just physics," Heero repeated. "Getting from here to there. Covering the remaining distance only requires physical effort with deliberate thought." Heero struggled to keep his emotions out of consciousness.
He tilted his chin forward, nudging the propellant control to accept voice activation. "Propellant, one-third power." Exhaust poured from the tanks on Heero's back, narrowly missing the second EVA suit strapped above them. Heero crouched and pushed off the ice, yelling as he left the surface: "Full power!" Heero soared but ten meters above the ice in the ponderous gravity, his forward progress just under fifty. After ten seconds, he yelled, "One-half power!"
Heero descended rapidly, crashing to the ice, unable to balance on the slippery surface. His momentum carried him another 30 meters down the slope toward the ship, sliding uncontrollably, hands vainly grasping at emptiness for purchase. "Cut power! Cut power!" Heero yelled. He came to a stop, trembling, sweat pouring down his face. He left-winked twice, looked at the map. "371m" glowed blue above an map empty save for the single green dot representing the ship.
Right-wink. "Twelve percent. I can only do that twice more." Heero surveyed the distance between him and the ship. Small irregularities in the ice looked deceptively easy to navigate, but the surface was like oil on glass. Trembling, Heero raised himself to his knees. He looked into the distance, where at last the ship was visible to the unaided eye. Taking a deep breath, He stood again, steeling himself for his next leap. He repeated his previous actions, yelling "One-third power!" to his suit, crouching, then vaulting forward again. Again he smashed into the ice after 11 torturous seconds.
Again he slid wildly across the ice. "286m" read the map. Heero leaped again. "217m." Exhausted, trembling, head throbbing, Heero laid on the ice. "What are those colors, Tira?"
"What colors, Heero? Are you having difficulty with your vision?"
"I see...colors floating on the map, but they keep shifting...hard to pinpoint...don't know what they represent."
"Heero, there are no shifting colors on the map I am displaying for you at present." Heero closed his eyes, then forced them open immediately. He tried to stand, making it to his knees. The second suit's mass pulled him off balance, and he fell backwards, skidding further down slope to the ship. Right-wink. The propellant gauge read three percent. Left-wink twice. "209m."
Heero strained against the mass strapped to his back, righting himself with great difficulty. Panting, sweating, exhausted. Weak, eyes blurring, legs burning. Heero looked up from a kneeling position.
"Where is the ship? I can't see the ship, Tira." The panic in his voice was answered by Tira's undisturbed calm.
"To your left 30 degrees, Heero. Your last fall --"
"I see it now, Tira. Thank you."
Heero turned his body toward the ship. Thinking now required more concentration. Heero reminded himself to concentrate. "What...I...need..." Heero faltered, tried to complete his thought. "What...I...need...is..."
Suddenly Heero's eyes opened wide in realization. Adrenaline, endorphins, glucose, all flowed from the meager store remaining to Heero. "Tira, can you control the suit on my back without a pilot?"
Tira spoke with unruffled peace. "Only if the suit is active can I override a pilot's actions."
"That's not what I'm talking about, Tira. Can you fire the propulsion system of an empty EVA suit?"
With no hesitation Tira calmly said, "Yes, Heero, I can." Heero struggled to his feet, faced the ship, now only 200 meters distant, half of it immersed in an inky pool of darkness.
"Tira, I'm going to activate the remaining propellant I have in my suit. When I shout the word, 'Go,' I want you to fire the propulsion tanks on the empty suit I'm carrying at full power. Cut the power completely when I yell, 'Cut.' And don't caution me. I know it's dangerous, but I want you to do this anyway. Do you understand?"
Gently, serenely, Tira answered her charge. "Yes, Heero, I understand."
"Good. Let's do this." Heero took a deep breath and braced himself, crouching into position. He checked his chin-switch to make sure the suit would respond to his verbal command. He tensed, then spoke commandingly. "One-third power!" Heero counted to three, then leaped hard into the void above the ice. "Full power! Tira! Go!" The empty EVA suit's propulsion system fired violently, kicking the breath out of Heero. He shot forward, careening wildly. The last of his own suit's propellant emptied from the tank. Heero veered close to the ice, then away from it as he swung his arms in a desperate attempt to gain control over his vector. Heero spiraled upward sharply, 8, 12, 15 meters above the ice, then plunged downward. He arched his back in an attempt to break his dive toward the ice. "The ship! I can't see the ship!"
Heero kicked hopelessly into the vacuum. "Tira!" he screamed. "Cut! Cut! Cut the --"Heero slammed into the ice, gouging it. Ice shards leapt to his helmet. Heero bounced off of the slick surface, then fell again, his left shoulder taking the full force of the impact. He tumbled; end over end, then fell sprawling, skidding, and sliding. Heero's eyes fluttered, his consciousness dimmed. He forced his eyes open to concentrate, drew breath to scream, but Tira heard only one word through the wet whisper tangled in Heero's throat:
"Duo." Blackness.
PART 11-----------------------------------------------
Heero blinked. //Where am I?// Move. //Can't.// The weight on my back: why? //Move.// Heero's left arm throbbed with the effort. //Cold: why? //Dark: why? // Heero tried to raise his head, and the displays in his EVA suit dawned softly.
"Heero? Are you awake now?" Tira's soothing voice, patient.
"Tira? Where am I?"
"Seventeen meters from the ship. Your attempt to utilize both EVA suits to propel you to it was successful." Heero's head ached, his eyes wouldn't focus.
"How long was I out?"
"Almost two hours, Heero. Your suit is functioning normally, in spite of the blow to it when you hit the ice. You have a mild concussion, and are in need of medical care." Heero fought his way to his feet, moving slowly, deliberately. He turned to his right, centimeters at a time, until the ship came into view. Looking down, he tried to focus on the ice at his feet. Every muscle burned, ached, throbbed. He took a tentative step, then another. And another. 45 minutes later, Heero reached out to touch the smooth surface of the ship that had pulled him across 300 light years on a thousand year journey.
Heero whispered softly: "Duo." Tira spoke.
"Heero, look for a circular panel inset near the hatch. You will have to unbolt the panel's cover. There is a small disc in the pocket on the front of your right thigh. When you have the panel open, slot the disc and press the green button." Heero slowly inched his way along the hull, looking for the hatch.
"The ship doesn't look damaged, Tira. What can you tell me about it's condition?"
"No data is available, Heero, until I can communicate with the ship's mind. The disc you have will identify you as a friend and me grant access when it is slotted in the panel."
Heero reached the panel. He fumbled for a wrench in his toolkit, then unbolted the cover. Inside were two buttons and a slot. Heero found the disc in his thigh pocket and slotted it, then pushed the green button. Agonizing minutes slid by as Heero stood unmoving.
Pain arced through his legs, shoulder, head. And then the hatch opened. "Heero, step inside. The ship will receive you." Heero watched as the air hissed from the lock, the moisture in it immediately freezing, falling heavily to the ice. He grabbed the hand pulls and dragged himself into the airlock, the second suit still strapped to his back. The hatch door closed, the lock cycled shut. A new voice, very like Tira's, yet different, spoke inside Heero's helmet:
"Welcome, Heero Yuy. I am Spock."
-------------------
"Spock?" Heero said incredulously.
"As in the Vulcan from the ancient melodrama, /Star Trek?/"
"My pilot chose my name, as you did for your ship."
"Definitely Duo's ship," Heero thought to himself. "Spock? Can you tell me the condition of the pilot?"
"Duo is in stasis. The rejuvenation system was not activated, as per the pilot's request."
"But that's the whole point of this mission, to test whether humans can be cryoed and revived after such a long time."
"Duo Maxwell entered an override code negating my programming instructions two days before he was cryogenically frozen and sent here. I was given new instructions to keep this information from all technicians and personnel at 'Eternity's Shore,' shielding the new instructions with a copy of my original programming whenever queried."
Heero blinked twice. "Then why are you telling /me/ this?"
"Tira, your ship's mind, is now in constant communication with me." Spock's voice, though calm and steady like Tira's, was not soothing. This ship had not been in communication with its human occupant, had not developed the sense of language that Tira had through interaction with Heero. "Tira has transmitted the personal identification code of Goro Ijiri attached to a message that I am to give you the same level of access to information and command authority as he."
Heero lay still, processing what he was told. "Spock, I am ordering you to begin the rejuvenation process for Duo Maxwell immediately.”
Heero struggled out of the EVA suit that had brought him from Tira to Spock and Duo, leaving it strapped to the spare suit that he had carried on his back.
---------------
Heero sat before Duo's capsule, a porcelain cup of tea on the floor of the stasis room before him, his knees drawn up to his chest, his hands clasped around his ankles. He was dressed only in the thermal coating that Tira had sprayed over his body before donning the EVA suit: a semi-liquid webbing with the texture of dried gelatin that adhered to the inside of the suit in order to allow Tira to monitor Heero's vital signs.
After climbing out of the EVA, Heero had asked Spock to show him where Duo's capsule was. He had spoken only one more time since, and that was to ask Spock to alert him when Duo would be within an hour of awakening. As Tira with Heero, Spock oversaw the complex task of awakening a human body that had slept in a cryogenic dream for more than a thousand years. The process was slow, intricate, painstakingly laced with safeguards and redundancies. Throughout the fourteen hours required, Heero Yuy sat patiently, not moving to stretch, not closing his eyes, only shifting position to keep blood flowing to his extremities.
And then Spock's voice. "Heero, Duo will be conscious within the next 60 to 80 minutes. He will be disoriented at first. I caution you to be careful not to say or do anything that would cause a shock to his system."
Heero nodded silently, then stood painfully, taking time to let his body respond to the movement. He spoke to the ship's mind: "Spock, I need a favor."
PART 12------------------------------------------------------------
Duo's eyes fluttered. As the protein bath drained from his capsule, he breathed air for the first time in a thousand years. His first attempts to speak were futile as long dormant vocal chords were pressed to remember ancient ways. He opened his eyes, attempted to focus them. The first thing he saw was the lid of his capsule, open. Finally he was able to speak.
"Damn it! What's wrong now, Ijiri? I thought you had the bugs worked out of this...this fucking thing!" Duo's throat spasmed with the effort. He coughed up phlegm.
Spock's voice, flat, calm: "Dr. Ijiri is not present, Duo. You are at the midpoint of your journey."
"The /midpoint/? Then why the fuck did you revive me? I gave you orders! Overrides! You were supposed to see to it that I /never/ woke up!" Duo paused, his face flushed, his heart beating rapidly.
Spock said patiently, "Duo, be careful, please. Your internal systems are fragile at present. You must --"
"I must /nothing/!" Duo screamed. "Goddamn fucking computers are no better now than when I saw my first one as a kid!"
He strained against the organic webbing that bound him to the capsule.
"Duo," Spock said, "There is a reason for awakening you."
"Yeah? Well what the hell is it, Spock?"
"I'm releasing the organic webbing that holds you in place, Duo. But you must relax in order to be properly disengaged from the capsule. Then I will explain."
"/Then/ you'll explain?" Duo shrieked. "Just who the hell do you think you /are/? /I/ programmed you! /I/ wrote the virus that hacked into your puny brain, Spock, and /I/ am the one who overrode your...your..."
"Duo, the answer you seek is in the next room," Spock said, interrupting him. "I am incapable of bringing it to you. Please let me do the work of competing the rejuvenation, and then you will be given the data and everything you ask for."
"Even if I ask to /die/?" the young pilot spat. "Even if that's what I want: to /DIE/?" he repeated, mocking himself.
----------------
"Duo, I am now raising the bed of the capsule so that you will be able to step out of it. Your legs will be unsteady. Use the handrails on either side of the steps to aid you as you --"
"Shut the fuck UP, you idiot!" Without any hesitation Spock moved to his next instruction, speaking evenly, as though lecturing.
"Duo, you will be quite cold at first. There is a blanket on the table to your left which --"
"I don't /want/ any fucking blanket, asshole!"
"Duo, it is important for you to --"
"If you don't shut UP, you fucking excuse for a mind, I'm gonna go find your CPU and slowly tease it apart with tweezers! Or I'm gonna --"
Duo froze. The door to the stasis room opened, and there was a figure there, silhouetted against the harsh light from the bridge. A voice Duo never expected to hear ever again spoke. "Think you could cut Spock some slack, Duo?" Duo's mouth went slack, his eyes widened. Time seemed to run like cooling candle wax. The figure in the door did not move. Finally Duo spoke with subdued venom, spitting and hissing his words at Spock.
"What kind of sickness is /this/? Are you from /hell/, Spock? Did you wake me up to torment me?"
"Duo." That voice again. It was unmistakable. Yet it was unthinkable that it could be.... Duo would not let himself form the name mentally. His eyes grew cold, his face ashen. The voice again. "Duo, I came after you. I had to. You see, there was something I had to tell you before you left, but you were already gone, and --" Duo Maxwell collapsed to the floor, trembling violently. Heero Yuy ran to him, yelling his name. "Duo! Duo!" The young pilot was convulsing, shivering from the cold still coursing his bones and blood. He tried to speak, but could only utter word fragments.
"H-He-Heer -- He passed out in Heero's arms.
"Spock!" Heero yelled. "What do I do?"
"Cover him with the blanket, Heero. I have prepared an injection that will calm him, help him sleep."
"Will he be alright?"
"He is mentally distressed, Heero. Only time will reveal whether he will fully recover."
PART 13------------------------------------------------------------
Duo's eyes opened; he yawned. He was in bed, wrapped in blankets. Beside him sat Heero Yuy in a chair pulled close to the bed, still clothed only in the webby thermal coating for his EVA suit. Duo turned his head to see where he was, and locked eyes with Heero.
One minute, two. Neither boy moved. Each feared to breathe, could not look away. Heero spoke first, barely above a whisper. "Duo." A finger to the newly awakened pilot's lips. "I-I came for you." Heero paused, his heart thudding, searching Duo's eyes. Nothing there but wonder, and suspense. "I-"After the war, I-I was confused. I was told the missions were over, and it-it frightened me. All my life the mission was all, was everything. And suddenly there /were/ no missions. It was like my entire reason for being had been taken away from me, and I-I panicked. I ran." Heero lowered his eyes in shame, pulled his finger from Duo's lips, and rested his hand on the boy's chest. "For months I moved from city to city, hiding, living on the credits handed to me by the new government. I saw to it that no one would recognize me. I stole a laptop computer and hacked my files, destroyed every picture of me that ever existed, invented a new name every day. Sometimes I slept in alleys, sometimes in homes when I could find someone to take me in. One day in Paris I stood on a bridge, staring at sunlight glinting off the river, lost in my thoughts. A bird suddenly appeared over the water, diving to snag her dinner, I guess. But she missed whatever she was after. I watched as the bird flew back to shore and stood preening, then simply walked away, as though the failure to catch a fish meant nothing. I don't know why, but right then I knew. I knew I had one more mission to accept, and that was to find you, Duo, to find you and tell you that-that--" Heero's voice broke.
Duo gently took Heero's hand in his, eyes trembling, brimming."That I needed you, wanted you in my life again." Tears streamed down Heero's face. "Nothing else mattered to me then, Duo. All I knew was that I had to find you, to let you know I-I wanted us to-to be together. Forever."
Heero finished speaking, closed his eyes. Duo lay motionless, staring at Heero in disbelief. When he spoke his voice was hushed. "You-"Heero looked up immediately, locking eyes with Duo again. "You.../came/ for me? Followed me? Here?"
Heero barely nodded his head, whispered roughly. "Yes." Duo's hand tightened gently around Heero's. Tears spilled from his eyes.
"Heero!" Duo reached up with his other hand to draw Heero to him. Heero put his arm around Duo's shoulders and pulled him close, their clasped hands caught between their chests.
Their fingers untangled. Heero embraced Duo fully, hid his face in the crook of Duo's neck. Duo's hands went to Heero's head, touching, unbelieving. He put his hands on Heero's cheeks, gently lifted his face. Tears splashed hot, lips trembled. They kissed. Duo's hands were everywhere: Heero's hair, his face, his shoulders, arms. They pulled apart again, silently communicating soul to soul. They kissed again. And again. Finally the tsunami of passion subsided, but still they could not release each other. Tears turned to gentle smiles, to laughter, and back to tears. Duo pulled Heero into the bed with him, wrapped his arms around him. Trembling, Heero released the weight his soul had willingly acquired more than a thousand years ago.
-------------------
When Heero woke, he was in Duo's bed. He turned his head sharply, eyes wide, afraid that he would lose the dream again, the dream of how it would be when he found Duo at last. "I'm right here, Heero." Duo's hand reached out to touch Heero's chest. He sat on the edge of the bed. "I thought we might get that horrible gunk off of you, so that --"
Heero sat quickly and wrapped his arms around Duo, squeezing the breath out of him, forcing his face against Duo's chest. "It's okay, Heero, I'm here. Not going anywhere." With one hand he stroked Heero's hair tenderly. With the other he gently lifted Heero's face to his. They kissed.Heero spoke. "You-you believe me? Bu-but --"
"You almost died, Heero. You know that? Tira tells me that you wouldn't have lasted another hour outside. Your suit's radiation shield was almost completely eaten away."
"Tira?" Heero said in wonder. "How do you know --"
“You've been sleeping for some time now, Heero. Spock and Tira have told me what to do to help you begin to heal. Our ships have told me everything, Heero. Everything." Heero looked into Duo's eyes.
"Oh, Duo, I'm --"
Now it was Duo's finger on Heero's lips. "It's alright, Heero, it's okay. We have a lot to talk about, you and I. I suspect we'll die here -- don't know how we'd ever get back to earth now. But that isn't the important thing. Not now. All that matters is that you found me."They hugged tightly, kissed again.
"Yeah, that's right, Duo." Heero smiled tenderly. "I found you."
~ Owari ~
NOTES------------------------------------------------------------
[1] "Mahican" is the spelling preferred by the American Indian people popularly known as "Mohicans." "Algonkian" is the language group to which the Mahician tongue belongs.
[2] "AU" stands for "Astronomical Unit," the distance from Earth to its sun.
