Battlestar Andromeda Part 5
Space shuttle Orion
Private runway
Planet Aloria
Duo stood in the cabin of the shuttle and looked out the window at the planet Aloria. It was smaller than the planet earth but had many geographical similarities, with its vast oceans, land masses, atmosphere and mountain range. It was these mountains that Duo stood staring at; reminding him of the mountains he would spend hours looking at outside of their apartment in Sank. Giving a slight shake of his head he redirected his thoughts to the current mission at hand.
He had not expected to have to go planet side when they arrived to their first destination but a communiqué from Space Command had ordered him to accompany the liaison, to act as military attaché, during the treaty talks. So here he was, dressed in his military dress uniform, waiting for all of the pomp and circumstance to begin so that they could finally depart from the shuttle. However, Duo could not get rid of the itch in the back of his neck that had started as soon as they had touched down on the private airstrip near the King's palace. He would have been happier if they could have met the king inside the palace but he had not been in charge of the security or planning. So instead they were meeting the King for the first time on the airstrip, that while it had open areas it also had many places for a sniper to hide.
Pulling his braid forward he started playing with the end, as the itch started getting progressively worse. 'Well.' he thought, 'I may not be able to change how we meet the King but I can make sure that everyone is on alert.' With that in mind he turned to Zechs and called him over.
"Yes Commander?" Zechs asked as he stopped in front of Duo.
"Captain Merquise, I want all of the pilots on high alert. Have them scan the perimeter with all priority on the King of Aloria and Ambassador Yuy. Any thing out of the ordinary, stun first but if it is perceived as a threat, shoot to kill. My orders."
"Yes Commander, right away." Zechs replied, turning to communicate with his pilots waiting outside of the shuttle.
Duo took a deep breath and once again looked out the shuttle window. He could now see a car pull up to the greeting area that had been set up. Still rubbing his fingers on the end of his braid, he watched as three people stepped out of the car. The first one was slightly older, but tall and well built. The second gentleman was taller than the first, but younger with dark hair and a thin gold crown that circled his head. 'This must be the King.' thought Duo. He knew the King was a young man who had only been on the throne for two years, since his father had died a mysterious illness. The third gentleman was slightly shorter than the King and wore a thinner crown around his head. This was the King's consort, Duo recalled from the information that he read about this planet. Duo frowned as he noted that there were no other people surrounding the King. Obviously the King thought himself to be safe here on his own property.
"What's wrong?" Duo jumped at the sound of Heero's voice next to him.
Duo whipped around to see Heero standing next to him. "What do you mean?" he asked.
"You're playing with the end of your braid. The only time you do that is if you are nervous about something." replied Heero.
Before Duo could reply, Noin walked over to Heero and said, "Ambassador, the king has arrived and all is ready for us to depart."
Heero turned to look at Noin and replied, "Thank you Noin." He heard Duo move away from him and mentally sighed. Duo had gone out of his way these past two days to avoid him, however, once this trip was finished he was going to make sure that Duo made time for him. He wanted to find out what it was that caused Duo to leave and damn it he was going to get his answers. Walking towards the door he grabbed his briefcase and made one last tug on his Ambassadors sash. The shuttle door was already open and he gave a nod to Relena to precede him and Duo down the stairs. As he walked down the steps to the tarmac he looked over the King and his consort. Both were wearing the robes the denoted their royal status, however, the gentleman in the back was wearing a suit which told Heero that he was part of the King's royal guard. Now he understood why Duo had placed his pilots on high alert. He, himself was unhappy with the lack of more security. Once in front of the king he felt Noin's presence directly behind and to the left of him. He gave a barely noticed nod to Relena to proceed with the introductions.
Relena gave a deep, graceful curtsey to the King before turning slightly towards Heero. "Your highness may I present Earth's Ambassador to the United World Council Heero Yuy." After Heero gave a deep bow she then said, "And Duo Maxwell, Commander of the UWC Battlestar Andromeda."
Zechs watched from his position at his commander's right side as Duo gave a deep bow also. Suddenly out of the corner of his eye he saw as the sunlight flashed on a piece of metal from one of the small buildings along the side of the tarmac. His mind suddenly flashed back to five years ago to the image of another King and without any conscious thought dove towards the King and his consort yelling, "Everyone get down!" Just as he pushed the two men down the sound of a laser gun went off, and he felt a searing pain in his arm.
Duo dropped down to the ground and then with a quick look to his left, he saw that Noin had Heero down on the ground to safety. Rolling to his feet he took off running, pulling his gun as he went, towards the building that the shot had come from. Using the car that the King had arrived in as a shield he took a look around to assess the situation. Zechs still had the King and his consort on the ground, using his body as a shield. He saw that the other pilots rush forward to surround those on the ground. Slowly rising to look over the top of the car he saw the glint of the gunman's weapon. Not wanting to give the gunman a chance to fire again, Duo raised his gun and shot towards the building. When no return fire was made he cautiously crept forward towards the building.
Once at the building he stood with his back against the wall and with gun ready quickly peeked into the broken window beside him. Inside the gunman lay on the floor, a single shot to the head told him that the man was dead. He turned back to see more of the King's guards race forward from a large military vehicle that had pulled up while he had been looking through the window. Lowering his gun, he started walking back towards the greeting area but was met halfway by the older gentleman that arrived with the King.
"Commander Maxwell." the gentleman said with a bow, "My name is Za-el, Captain of the Royal Guards. I am sorry that we had to meet under such circumstances."
Duo gave a bow back saying, "It is a pleasure to meet you Captain even under these conditions. I have just come from the building the shooter was in. Unfortunately, the shooter is dead. I took a couple of shots but it looks like he killed himself." He watched as the man started mumbling. After a few moments Za-el seemed to get a hold on his tirade allowing Duo to ask, "Was anyone hurt? Is the King safe?"
"The King is safe as well as his husband but I think the one who threw them down may have a slight injury to his arm. I haven't had a chance to check. Everyone else had reported no injuries." Just as Za-el finished one of the Andromeda's pilots came forward on a run. As he came closer Duo saw that it was Lt. Barton.
"Commander!" yelled Trowa, "We need your help."
Duo took off towards the group on a run, catching up with Trowa he asked, "What's the problem? I thought the Captain only sustained a flesh wound to the arm?"
"Yes Commander, his wound to the arm is minor but when we tried to get him to let go of the King and his husband the Captain started mumbling something about his father. The King's guards are trying to pull the Captain off but he just seems to hold on even tighter." Trowa said as he continued running next to his Commander.
"Damn!" exclaimed Duo. As he got closer he could see the guards trying to physically remove Zechs from the King and his husband. Turning to Za-el who was running on the other side of him he said, "Call your people off, I will take care of my Captain."
"Right away." Za-el said and soon was barking out orders in their native language. The guards stepped back and stood surrounding the entire group.
Duo pushed his way through the crowd and knelt down next to Zechs. He could hear the captain saying softly, "Please father, don't die. Please, I'm sorry, please don't die." Duo could see the tears running down Zechs face as he continued his mantra. Looking down he could see the King and his consort staying very still but trying to assure Zechs that they were alright.
"Captain Merquise, its Commander Maxwell you need to let the King go. The danger has passed, everything is under control." Duo watched as Zechs shook his head, still talking to himself. Duo tried again with more command in his voice, "Captain Merquise! Stand down, the situation is under control!"
In the distance Zechs heard someone call his name. 'No wait,' he thought, 'That's not my name. My name is Milliardo Peacecraft, my father is....no was, was the King of Sank. Oh, father I am so sorry I couldn't save you. Why did you have to die?' He mind replayed the scene over and over again. His father and he walking up the steps of the Sank Capitol building, making plans to spend their last night together before he left for flight school, his father telling him how proud he was of his son. Suddenly, a shot rang out and his father falling forward, Zechs rushing to grab him before he fell, blood everywhere. "Father, please hold on. Please don't die. Help will be here soon, please don't die." He continued to hold his father, not wanting to let go even when the paramedics came to help. Again he heard someone call the name Zechs. 'That's not my name! That's not.....' he thought as the pain in his arm became worse. He felt the darkness start to take over him and he could do nothing to stop it.
"Commander." Duo looked up to see Lt. Winner standing beside him. "Please let me try." Duo thought for a moment and then gave a nod, standing up and moving to the side.
Quatre knelt down and put his hand on Zechs shoulder. Leaning forward he spoke in a low voice, "Milliardo. Milliardo listen to me. They are not your father, you need to let them go. Please Milliardo, come back to us."
Zechs finally looked up to see Quatre kneeling beside him. 'Yes,' he thought, 'Quatre Winner, he knows my name. He knows who I am.' Slowly he loosened his hold around the men. Looking down he thought, 'He's right, they are not my father. My father is dead.' He looked up at Quatre, his vision slowly fading to black. "Quatre, he's dead. My father is dead." And then the darkness consumed him.
TBC...
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