Battlestar Andromeda Part 2
The next morning saw a flurry of activity aboard the Andromeda. Even when the Andromeda was "moored"* in Earth space there was always something that needed to be done to keep the ship in ready condition. However, when a mission was called the activity would increase by double. Given the nature of this mission, along with the amount of time they would be away, and the activity was increased by triple.
As Duo walked along the hallway on his way from a meeting with his officers he felt his chest swell with pride at how well his crew worked together. Very few problems arose that he would have to personally deal with, his officers being the best of the best at their jobs. The biggest credit had to go to his Lt. Commander Dorothy Catalonia; she was born and raised in a military family, and if you looked past the sarcasm, you found a self assured, confident woman who ran the command deck with expertise.
Looking at his watch, Duo picked up his pace, the shuttle would be landing in twenty minutes and he wanted to be at the landing tube well before hand. As he continued to walk down the hallway, he nodded his head in greeting to his crew as they walked by. Finally coming up on the landing tube, Duo looked down at his watch to see that he still had ten minutes before the shuttle arrived. He looked over at the landing control unit and saw that Dorothy was there already talking to Lt. Schbeiker, Chief Engineering Officer. Dorothy looked up at him and nodded, letting him know that everything was as it should be. Nodding back, his mind went back to his ship, his lady love. 'My only love now.' he thought to himself.
The Andromeda was the largest of all the battlestar's in the space military fleet. 500 yards long, 300 yards wide and 4" stories high, it was a virtual floating city. The top two levels were all military- housing the command deck, ready room, simulator rooms, and of course all of the personnel quarters. The bottom two levels housed all the amenities to make a long term mission more comfortable. A large commissary, four large dining halls, movie theater, and night club took care of all shopping, dining and leisure needs. There were even two barber shops and beauty salons to see to personal needs. To keep in shape, there were two full gyms and four full basketball courts. All of these areas were staffed by contractual civilians who paid through the space military. All of these areas were managed expertly by the wonderful Lady Une. She ran the civilian areas with an iron fist and Duo had never had to deal with any problems from that area. Many times Duo felt the ship could run without him even here, though to hear it from his staff, this ship had never ran so well.
Duo was so lost in his thoughts that he barely heard the voice of the shuttle pilot requesting permission to land. Taking a deep breath and straightening his dark blue uniform jacket, he walked forward to await the shuttle. The landing tube was really two areas, one where the shuttles and fighters landed on and then once gravity was stabilized a short walkway would bring the people to the second area. He felt a slight itch at the back of his neck, like a forewarning, and wondered what it was that had set it off. Many times in the past, it was this same itch that had saved his hide while at the orphanage.
Feeling a presence behind him, he knew that it was Dorothy preparing to meet their quests. He turned his head to greet her when he heard the slight hum of the automatic door open. Turning his head back around he felt the blood drain from his face as he came face to face with the one person from his past that he thought to never see again. The Ambassador was none other than Heero Yuy. The only man he had ever loved.
Heero found himself frozen in place at the sight of Duo standing there with his commanders' uniform on. "Duo." he said softly, not sure if he had been heard. Behind him he heard his assistant Relena Darlian.
"Heero, why have you stopped? Is something wrong?" Stepping around Heero she stopped just as suddenly as she saw who was standing there. "Oh." Narrowing her eyes, she wrapped her arms around Heero's in a manner seemed natural, like she belonged at his side, making her statement clear without words.
Dorothy watched the proceedings with a curious eye. She saw Duo stiffen and a cold look settle in his eyes in reaction to the unspoken declaration. Clearly he knew the two people standing before them, but in what way? She had never in the two years that she had served under Commander Maxwell seen him look like this. When the tension in the room had risen to almost unbearable levels, she took action, nudging her commander forward slightly. Watching him move slowly towards the two people in front of her, she made a note to herself to find out what the story was.
Duo took a deep breath and slowly walked forward. "Ambassador, welcome aboard the Andromeda." His voice remained steady, while his insides were quaking. Wanting to get this over with so that he could escape he continued, "Your quarters have been made ready for you and your staff. If you have any questions or concerns please, do not hesitate to ask any of my officers. They will be more than happy to see to your needs." Turning his head to Dorothy he said, "Lt. Commander Catalonia, if you would see our quest to their quarters."
"Yes Commander Maxwell." she replied.
All his life, Duo had lived by one motto, 'I run, I hide but I never tell a lie.' Casting a glance at Heero he decided now was the perfect time to use that motto, so with a final, "Ambassador." He turned and did what he did best. He ran.
Heero watched as Duo ran out of the room. His first reaction upon seeing Duo had to been to grab him and demand answers. However, when he saw the cold, hard look in Duo's eyes he knew that now was not the time to demand answers. First he would get settled into his quarters, then he would demand answers from Duo. After that, he would place a call to his father, and demand an explanation from him. Mission accepted.
Suddenly, he felt the weight of Relena's arms wrapped around him. He looked down, a frown forming on his face. 'When had she done that?' he wondered. His focus had been solely on Duo that he had not felt her grab his arm. Shaking her arms from his, he was interrupted from his thoughts by the Lt. Commander telling him to follow her to his quarters.
Duo did not stop running until he made it to his quarters. He was thankful that the hallway had been cleared and that none of his crew had seen him. Once safely behind the closed door, he felt his body start to shake and tears fall down his cheeks. Stumbling to the couch, he collapsed, allowing the tears to fall freely down his face. Three years and he still felt the pain. Memories of their time together fought to flood his mind but he pushed them away, not wanting to think of them right now.
He wondered how he was going to be able to complete this mission, knowing that Heero would only be a few doors away from him as that was where the quest quarters were. Taking a deep breath he resolved to keep himself as far from him as possible and if he did have to see Heero, well then, he would keep things on a professional level. Not liking the feel of his tears drying on his face, he stood up and walked to the door leading to his sleeping area. Unbuttoning his uniform jacket as he continued on, he went to into the small bathroom to splash cold water on his face. Feeling better, he looked into the mirror, straightening his shoulders he said to himself, "You can do this Duo, you can complete this mission, just keep it professional and all would be fine." Maybe if he said it long enough he might actually begin to believe it.
Walking back into his living/office area he went to the small bar area in the corner of the room and grabbed a bottle of water from the small refrigerator there. He had just taken a sip when he heard a knock on the door. Thinking it was Dorothy coming to report on the status of their guest he gave the command for the door to open. Just as he was about to give her a greeting he heard the deep baritone voice that he had only heard in his dreams behind him.
"Duo." said Heero.
Turning his head sharply, he saw Heero standing there, not in his dreams but in the flesh. Scowling, he looked back down at the bottle in his hands. "Ambassador Yuy, is there something I can help you with."
"So is that how it is Duo?" Heero asked.
Eyes blazing, Duo turned so quickly that his braid whipped around to land over his shoulder. "Yes, that is exactly how it is Ambassador Yuy. I don't know what strings you pulled to get my ship assigned to this mission but....." Before he could get any further Heero interrupted him.
"What strings I pulled? I assure you I had no idea that you were the commander of this ship. I was just as surprised as you were."
Duo gave a slight laugh saying, "Right Ambassador Yuy, like I really believe that. I know your father would never allow his son on any ship that he had not completely checked out. So trust me, he knew that I was on this ship."
"That may be true, but I only found out about this mission last night. The only discussion I had with my father was when he told me that I would be taking the shuttle this morning to the Andromeda. That is all."
Duo was silent for a moment, "Fine. If you will excuse me Ambassador Yuy, I have a ship to run. If you have any problems please let Lt. Commander Catalonia know and she will be able to help you."
Angrily Heero walked over to Duo, "Stop calling me that. Given our past..."
"Our past as you call it, is just that, in the past." Duo said, interrupting him. "Now if that is all Ambassador Yuy, I really must get see to my ship." Duo turned, walking towards his desk.
"Fine. Since you wish to be so formal I will do the same for you."
"Yes, that is what I wish."
"Then I will leave you to your duties Commander Maxwell-Yuy."
Duo came to an abrupt halt and without turning around said in a shaky voice, "Don't call me that. That is not my name anymore."
"Actually, yes it is."
Duo turned around, eyes glistening with unshed tears, shaking his head back and forth, "No, no it was all signed and done with."
"That is were you are wrong. I didn't sign anything. So that means that we are still legally married.....husband."
TBC...
* With a ship the size of the Andromeda, when they say it is moored it means that it floats in one spot above earth space.
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