Murder In SpaceMurder In Space "Heero! Are you all right?" Quatre called as the metal door slid open to Heero's Gundam. The pilot was standing in front of his console, leaning on his chair for balance as he slowly twisted a small white knob beneath a computer screen. He glanced up as Quatre stepped in. Quatre swallowed hard as he saw his fellow gundam pilot. Heero's forehead had a nasty gash, and there were multiple bruises on his shoulders where the harness had caught him in a few of the more violent jerks. "I'm fine. A little dizzy maybe. My Gundam took a few direct hits. We need to try to repair it, but this planet is uninhabited. It's called Milantra. Almost all desert. We were lucky that we landed in something resembling an oasis." "How bad is the damage?" "Bad. I'm going to need new parts." "Maybe I could go over to the nearest colony and try to pick up some parts and bring them back here. Where is the nearest colony?" "The nearest I can find is L-15. Nearly an hour and half both ways, and this will probably require multiple trips, you know." "Right now I'm a little more concerned about your health then the Gundam. Let's go outside and make camp. It sounds like we'll be here a while. Where's your first aid kit?" Heero grabbed the white box and a gun as he stepped towards the door. As he did so, he lost his balance and fell hard. Quatre was at his side in an instant. "Lean on my shoulder and stop trying to be a hero you idiot! You're a human being and human beings have physical limits. You need to learn to respect those limits, or you'll get yourself killed. Now sit there, and rest!" Heero sat down, but it is doubtful that he rested. "Quatre!" Quatre dropped out of the Gundam like a stone. "What?" "Milantra is inhabited after all." "What are you talking about?" "Look!" Quatre looked where Heero was pointing and a girl emerged from the surrounding foliage. She was small, and not terribly pretty with short brown hair pushed back into a loose bun. She was wearing jeans and a jacket which seemed odd, because it was fairly warm on Milantra. She kept coming forward, though a bit slower now. "Aren't you two a little young to be Gundam pilots?" Heero grabbed his gun and pointed it at her. "How do you know who we are?" She never even looked at the gun. "Relax. I know there are execution orders out you, and I couldn't care less. I have no intention of turning either of you in, so you can just put that thing away." Heero lowered the gun, but didn't put it down. "I thought this planet was supposed to be uninhabited." "It is supposed to be. It just isn't. When there was a brief lull in the space wars, a lot of soldiers took the opportunity to leave. Most of them were sick of fighting, but many didn't have anywhere to go, and almost all had enemies. They needed a safe haven to go to. This is that haven. This entire planet is honeycombed with passage-ways and rooms where they live. My father started it, and ran it for years. My sister and I were trained in just about every mode and method of fighting with just about every weapon there is. We can beat everyone in there, except each other. You are both welcome to come below the surface. We can fix your Gundam. We have both talented mechanics who will help you (if you like), and plenty of parts. The soldiers often have battles, just for fun, and in some of the fights the suits get pretty beaten up. The only real rules are, don't kill your opponent, or damage him and/or his suit beyond repair. Want to come?" Quatre and Heero glanced at each other. "Sure," said Heero. "Thank you so much," Quatre echoed. "This way then. Let me warn you, it's something between a slide, a crazy roller-coster ride, and free-fall, but it's a lot of fun. Oh, my name is Kendra, by the way." As she spoke, she lifted part of the earth up to reveal a gaping hole in the ground. "I'll wait for you. Last one in replaces the lid," she called, and jumped into the pit. They heard her land below, and step a few paces to the side. Quatre followed, and Heero went in last. He replaced the lid and listened carefully. "Just walk along. It will get steeper and steeper, and narrower and narrower, until you can't stand up straight anymore. Lie down, and treat it like a slide. It's actually quite a lot of fun, but sort of scary too!" The change came faster then either had expected. They had scarcely gone twenty steps when they were forced to sit down. Quatre lay flat and felt himself being whizzed along at a terrific pace. Wind whistled over his face, and then he was just plain falling! It was terrifying and exciting at the same time. Then the wall was back, and it was once more just a steep slope. He saw sudden light up ahead, and the Kendra's body seemed to vanish. Then he was shot out of the tube onto a mat that was obviously there just for the purpose of catching people. He lay there motionless for a second, still recovering from the strange journey, when the girl pulled him quickly to his feet and out of the way as Heero was landing. He had kept his wits about him better, and did a somersault when he landed so as to end up on his feet. The girl smiled. "Hello. How did you like the ride? Did Kendra warn you about it?" "What?" "Did Kendra warn you about it? The first time I went down that thing I screamed bloody murder the whole way! Then again I was only four and a half." "What do you mean? You warned us that it was a little frightening." Quatre heard laughter by his ear and turned. It was Kendra again! Was he seeing double or something? "Oh! I'm so sorry! I totally forgot to tell you that my sister is my twin! We're completely identical. This is Karie." Karie shook his hand. "Pleased to meet you." "Quatre. Quatre Winner. This is Heero Yui." She jerked slightly at the name. "Is that your real name?" "That's what everyone calls me." Heero replied. It wasn't a real answer, but Karie didn't press him. Instead she and Kendra turned and lead the pilots down a dizzying series of halls on doors to a gigantic room. "This is the stadium. Everyone here 'cept Kendra and me is a soldier. They get bored, and the like to challenge each other and us to duels." Kendra shook her head and smiled. "That's not true. They never challenge us, because we always win. I guess it's because we practically grew up inside of mobile suits. I could work those controls almost before I could walk." "Why do you fight?" Quatre asked. "For fun." Karie replied. "Fun?" "You're a bit too used to fighting for your life to notice how much fun it can be anymore I suppose. Don't you ever feel that incredible joy? When ever you perform a new move perfectly or hit your blaster, and get a direct hit?" "No, because when I hit what I'm aiming for, I know that I've just taken a life." "That'll do it. Around here, the blasters are set as high as they can go without actually doing any real damage. Fights here are games, Quatre. Kendra and I fight because we enjoy pitting our skills against each other. It's fun to show off our abilities to ourselves and each other, and anyone who might be watching. It's like playing chess or something. But we can beat all of the soldiers here, and we know each other's moves too well. The excitement is dying down. It would be nice to have someone else to fight. Of course, they would have to be really good. That's the whole fun of it." "Forget it." "Okay. No pressure." "Look, it's really nice of you to help us, but I really don't want to fight, even for fun, even knowing it's just a game." "All right. That's fine Quatre. I'm not about to drag you into the arena and make you! Like I said, it's a game. Neither you nor Heero have got to play it." Heero suddenly looked up. He and Kendra had been listening the whole time, but neither had said anything. "I wouldn't mind. It might be good practice." "Really? That would be great!" Kendra said. "Which one? We're pretty even." "First one then the other or both at once." Karie grinned. "Only if you have a death wish! If we go together, you have to have a partner, and we've beaten all of the soldiers here. Besides, it would need to be someone you can work with. Kendra and I can fight together like a unit." "Like one mind in two bodies," her sister interuppted. "That's sounds too gruesome, but you know what I mean. Just choose one at random, and there won't be any hard feelings from either of us." Quatre sighed. "You said there was no pressure." "There isn't, from us." "Okay, fine. Heero, what do you say we pulverize them?" For the first time that day (and the first time in Quatre's memory), Heero smiled broadly. He nodded. "When?" Quatre asked. "That depends on whether or not Heero wants to fight in his Gundam. We have extra suits but nothing on a Gundam's level." "I'll borrow one of your suits. Can Quatre and I practice a little with them? Then we can fight in about an hour. Right here, right?" "Right. See you in an hour." An hour later, the four of them assembled at the arena. There was actually quite an audience. News had gotten around that Kendra and Karie were going to personally fight two Gundam pilots! The word had spread like wildfire. The girls were lined up side by side at one end of the stadium. Heero and Quatre were at the other end. A bright green light flashed, and the mobile suits were activated. Heero made the first move. He fired one quick blast at the main engine, not really expecting in to hit home. Kendra dodged easily while Karie counterattacked with her laser sword. While Heero had been firing the shot, she had done a flip and was now falling out of the air towards Heero, laser sword at ready. Quatre fired and forced her to move off course to dodge the shot. Kendra fired at him, and the fight was on! The soldiers watching were amazed. The arena was full of the sound and light of flashing laser swords, firing beams, and the mobile suits as the ducked, dodged and flipped their way from danger to safety and back to danger. Both pairs were working together beautifully. Heero and Quatre came together back to back in the middle of the arena and whirled around to shoot at Kendra and Karie. Kendra dove in and distracted them long enough for Karie to get a shot that forced them to move from this strategic position. Even when all of the ammunition was gone, the fight went on. Kendra picked her sister up and swung her around like a club once or twice! Then all at once, before either pair had won, they ran out of fuel! "It's probably better this way," Quatre said. "Now we can all tell ourselves that we would have won." He climbed down from the suit. "What time is it?" Kendra stared at the clock unbelievingly. "It been close to six hours! Most fights don't last even one hour! You guys really are good." Karie landed next to her sister. "Duh, that's why their Gundam pilots. That must be really exciting. Life's pretty dull around here most of the time." "I guess it is exciting, if you like almost getting killed every other day." Quatre told her. Kendra glanced up uncertainly. "Better to get killed while you still know how to live, than to rot away doing nothing. We're buried alive down here." Karie turned back and glared at her sister. "Don't be so morbid Kendra! Life may be a little dull, but we're not buried alive!" Kendra sighed and stared up at Heero's almost completely repaired gundam. "I want to live my life, now, while I still can." She whirled around and faced the two pilots, a look of almost frightening intensity on her face. "I want to go to space with you!" Karie started to say something, but Heero interrupted. "Then come into space, but we're not going to be responsible for your safety. There are a lot a war zones out there, and it's easy to get killed. Quatre and I have enough to do without looking our for you!" Kendra tossed her hair back. "Is that an invitation?" Quatre clenched his fists and grabbed Karie's arm. "Don't!" he whispered fiercely, "Don't let her go! You're safe here, and you can live with all of the things that you've done. You haven't killed, or seen anyone be killed. Stay here and be safe!" Kendra turned to him. "But I don't want safety. I want freedom." Their eyes met, and it was Quatre who bowed his head. "If you must. Please, Karie, don't go with her." Karie sighed. "I can't let my sister go alone, Quatre. Like she said earlier, 'one mind in two bodies.' We need each other." Heero shrugged. "Let me give you some advice. Don't get too dependent on anyone, if you're going to space." His voice was harsh and rough. Quatre examined the floor with a look that indicated that the answers to all of his questions could be discovered on the smooth tiles that criss-crossed their world. Without raising his head, he said. "We leave tomorrow, at eight." It was 7:45. Heero and Kendra were on the planet's surface, waiting for the other two. Kendra showed him their Artemis suits. "You don't have a lot of fire power." Heero commented. "No. These were built for mobility more then anything else. The rocket boosters are bigger then most, you might notice. Having to big a blaster could inhibit movement." "So you can duck but not shoot." "Always so tactful and complimentary. Trust me, these could run circles around your gundam." "Until I blasted you," he replied. Kendra was saved from having to come up with a reply by the appearance of Quatre and Karie. There was a small elevator that went up to the surface. It could be taken down, but the 'slide tunnel' as it was called, was much faster, and a lot more fun, at least, Kendra and Karie though so. The elevator was necessary for going back up though. "About time you two go here!" Kendra called. "We're ten minutes early!" Karie protested. Kendra shrugged. "Ten minutes early, fifteen years late. I've wanted to go to space since before I even knew space existed!" She leapt into her Artemis and powered up. The others had barely followed her example when she blasted off the surface of Milantra. Kendra hadn't been exaggerating when she said that the Artemis suits could run rings around the gundams. Quatre and Heero, in their gundams, quickly ended up far behind the two girls. Suddenly, both girls stopped abruptly, and the gundam pilots were able to catch up. "Look!" Kendra cried. "What is it?" Quatre frowned "It can't be a colony, can it? It's to big to be anything else." "Smaller then any colony I've ever.Hey!" Heero interrupted himself and veered around for another look at the object he had just noticed going inside whatever the metal monstrosity was. "That thing is the same size as our gundams! Has OZ made an equivalent to them?" Heero swallowed hard. If OZ had done such a thing, the possible disasters didn't even bear thinking about. "There's only one of them. They can't have made many, even if they have managed to copy parts of the gundams. It's probably just some big new suit of theirs." "I want a closer look. There's another!" It was true. Heero raced towards the floating fortress with Quatre following at a more moderate pace. After a moment, Kendra and Karie came too. Suddenly, without any warning, dozens of mobile dolls came flying out of the fortress. "There too many!" Quatre gasped. "Heero! Let's back off!" "I'm not running away 'til I find out what's going on here!" The fight was intense. Quatre couldn't spare a second to wonder what had happened to Kendra or Karie. He was hit! "Hang in there, Sandrock!" he called, "Don't give up yet!" Another blast drove the gundam to the edge. Quatre scanned the monitors quickly. It wasn't good. A voice came over his radio. "Surrender and discard your weapons! I repeat, surrender and discard your weapons immediately!" Quatre reached for the self-destruct button. If he was going to die, it would be on his terms! A sudden blast knocked life support system off-line, and Quatre sank into unconsciousness, still groping for the self-destruct. The gundam was brought into the floating fortress. A sharp slap (and the fact that there was oxygen around him) woke him fast enough. "What the. Who are you?" The officer raised his gun. "Get up!" Quatre stared for a moment, then released the shoulder harness and followed the officer out of his gundam. He stared in surprise at the sight that met his eyes. "Kendra! Heero! They got you too?" "Guess who else is here." Heero answered. The officer snapped "Join your friends! We'll deal with you all after we get your companion!" "Who else is here, Heero?" "Wufei and Duo." "What about Karie?" "She's still out there." "Alone?" "Obviously." The officer suddenly looked up. "Of course! Why didn't I think of it before! Get over here you!" He was looking straight at Quatre and Kendra. He leveled his gun with Kendra's head and spoke to Quatre. "Tell your friend that if they don't come back here, I'll blast her head inside out." Kendra took a step back. "Why you son of a-" "Stow it." The officer flipped a few switches and opened a channel to Karie's Artemis. Quatre took a deep breath. To comply went against everything in him, but to refues might cost Kenra his life. "Please forgive me," he thought, though to whom he was asking forgivness he wasn't sure. Karie? Himself? God? The world in general? The boy closed his eyes and called "Karie!" "Hey! Where are you guys?" "Inside this metallic tombstone." "You sound cheerful." Then the meaning struck her. "You've been captured?!" "All but you. They'd like you to join us." "Yeah, they're making that fairly clear!" "This guy says that if you don't come he'll shoot Kendra." She stared at him wordlessly, and for a moment she neglected to pay attention to the battle outside. She paid for it. He heard a scream, and the screen went blank. "Karie!" A static filled voice replied "I'm okay. They just hit my monitor. I can't see you, but I can still hear you. Tell them I'm coming in." Quatre slammed his fist down on the console. He whirled around to the officer. "I hope you're satisfied, you *+*!" Heero laughed slightly. "I didn't think you had it in you, Quatre." A light flashed to let everyone know that a ship was coming in the hanger. Karie's Artemis landed gracefully. The door slide open, and she emerged. "Hands up!" She obeyed him as she jumped out of the cockpit. "Hello everyone." Kendra moaned. "Karie! I'm so sorry. It's all my fault for dragging you along out here to space." "Kendra, I came because I wanted to. You are in no way responsible for-" "But I am responsible for what's happened! I have to set things right!" Karie had reached their group at the end of the room and tried to stop Kendra as she made a mad dash towards the Artemis suit Karie had just left. Who knows what she had planned to do once in the suit. The fire power was fairly limited, and Karie had used quite a lot up in the fight. No one will ever know, because before she reached it the officer shot her in the back, through the heart. The loud bang continued to echo around in the large room long after she had fallen. Karie ran towards her, but was held back by two of the guards who had arrived to escort their group down to their cell, where Duo and Wufei were already languishing. The girl seemed to go limp. "Kendra Kendra Kendra Kendra Kendra." she groaned. "She can't be dead!" Quatre put his arm around her in an effort to comfort her. She didn't react at all, which some how was crueler then if she had just pulled away. Quatre tried to think of something that would help her, and realized that there was nothing that could be said. "Here," one of the guards said. A door slid open and the three entered into the semi-darkness beyond. The door slid shut, and guards left them. Karie crumpled into a corner and buried her face in her hands. She cried silently, let the pain ebb and flow with in her. Someone shifted near the wall. "Who's there?" Heero demanded. Duo, followed shortly by Wufei, emerged from the shadows. "Hey bud. How ya doin'? Who's she and what's her problem?" Quatre answered. "Her name is Karie. She's the daughter of one of the soldiers who fought in the earlier space battles. Her sister was just murdered. Be a little kind." Wufei looked scornful. "The weak shouldn't fight." Karie raised her head, tear-filled eyes flashing angrily. "The foolish shouldn't scorn those who have been hurt." Wufei jerked slightly in surprise. "Did you just call me a fool?" "Only if you called me weak." "You are a woman. And you are crying. Of course you are weak." "You're a fool all right. Tears are not a sign of weakness, you idiot. They are the body's way of showing suffering. I'm in a lot of pain right now. I don't even need to answer that bit about being a woman. I am stronger then you in some ways, weaker in some ways, and equal in others. If you think otherwise, you're very stupid, very ignorant, or very narrow-minded. Your choice of which adjective to use." Wufei shrugged, 'hmph'ed and returned to the wall. Duo grinned. He sat down beside her and smiled. "I think I like you. I've never seen anyone talk to Wufei like that." She sighed. "I'll probably feel compelled to apologize to him later. When you first meet someone, you probably shouldn't start out by insulting him." "Or her. He started it." Wufei ignored them. "So what do we do now?" Heero demanded Karie rose. "That's easy. We sit here and rot or we try to escape." Wufei glared at her. "How would you propose we escape, woman?" She raised her eye-brows at the last word, but didn't react to it. "Well, I had a very foolish guard walking next to me on our way here." She reached into her pocket and pulled out a gun. "Pulled it right out of his holster." They stared at her. Even Wufei looked a little impressed. She shrugged. "I'm not letting Kendra's death be in vain. She wanted us to escape, so that's just what we're going to do." There were sudden footsteps along the hall and they could hear voices. "Are you sure you had it when you were escorting them?" "I had it as we went down the last corridor, but I can't find it now!" The two guards suddenly came into view. There were apparently looking for his gun, which he had somehow misplaced. Karie handed it to Heero silently. He pointed it at the guard she had stolen it from. "Looking for this? Put your hands on you head, now!" They obeyed. He looked at the first guard. "You unlock this door." His eyes moved to the second guard. "You stay there and don't move!" The door slid open silently. They five of them went out single file. Duo took the liberty of 'borrowing' the other guard's gun. "After all, you guys obviously can't take care of them!" "Now what?" Karie asked as they shut the door behind them. They began to walk quickly down the hall. "Now we go get our suits and high-tail it outa here." Duo said cheerfully. "There's only one guy there. Even without guns we could get through, though they'll make it a little easier." They were now in the room that attached to the hanger. The same officer was there talking to the monitor, saying something about having all but one of the pilots. He must have heard them come in, because he suddenly turned around and pulled a gun on them. "Drop it!" Heero snapped, as the five of them walked across the floor towards the one officer. He made as if to do so, then suddenly fired at them. Karie collapsed as Heero's gun rang out. The man was dead before he fell. Quatre grabbed Karie's hands. "Hold on! Don't die! Somebody do something!" Karie's stared at him without seeing his face. She was looking beyond. Suddenly she focused and grasped his hands. "Don't leave me!" She whispered. "I won't!" He promised. Wufei bit his lip, then knelt at her side. "You are not weak, you are strong," he muttered, then rose quickly and turned away, rubbing his eye rather suspiciously. Duo sighed and patted Wufei on the shoulder. "It hurts, doesn't it." Duo said. Wufei nodded, and there was nothing else Duo could think of to say. Heero stood alone, his fingers still gripping the gun that he had fired. He shrugged and put the gun into his pocket. It might come in handy some day. Karie's eyes had glazed over again. "There are so many stars in the universe. Why can't true peace be on one? But there is. I'm going there. To peace, eternal peace." "No! Karie!" Quatre shook his head. "Stay here!" "Kendra and I were like one mind in two bodies. I can't live anymore Quatre. I'm sorry. Good-bye." She was gone. Suddenly, the sound of footsteps was heard. Quatre remained kneeling beside her, until Heero dragged him to his feet. "Come on, or you'll be killed." Quatre allowed himself to be dragged into his gundam. He stared stupidly at the controls for a few seconds, his thoughts still with the girl who lay so still on the icy cold floor. A girl who had left her home for a friend and sister. A girl who would, and had, given up her own liberty and even life for her friend, and sister. A girl who's eyes would never open again. He stared out at the lifeless body and his own words echoed in his mind. 'You've never killed or seen anyone killed.' He sighed. She was so young, he was too, of course. In most people's eyes, he was still a child, but some are more grown-up at fifteen than others are at fifty. Karie had still been young. Too young to die. Almost unthinking, he started up the controls and took off. As they flew away from the fortress, he turned back and whispered, "Good-bye, Karie and Kendra. Rest in Peace. May you be happier in death then you were in life."