The sunlight entered
the room and awoke him from his slumber. Zechs Marquise rolled over and put his
arm around his beloved wife, Lucrezia Noin. He and Noin lived on the Mars
Colony. They were part of the Teraforming project and been there for about a
year when Noin found out was having a baby. Several weeks later tests showed he
was the father of identical twin girls. He felt himself just about to drift off
when the door of their room slid and a little body crept closer to the bed. When
he felt the movement of the bed Zechs opened his eyes and saw one of his
five-year old daughters. Amanda stared back at her father. She often came into
their room in the mornings. He didn't know why but since Noin was a heavy
sleeper Zechs was usually the only one awake to comfort the child.
When
Noin woke up she found Amanda next to her and her husband nowhere in the room.
Noin headed to the kitchen turned the coffee maker and overheard Zechs talking
to somebody.
"Yes, we'll be there in a couple of days" he said, Noin
couldn't see the person on the other side because the screen was being blocked
by Zechs. Before she could get any closer he cut the connection and sat back in
his chair.
"Who was that?" she asked as she sat in his
lap.
"Relena, the are holding a meeting of the gundam pilots and want me
to attend." Noin heard the click of the coffee maker and got of Zechs'
lap.
"When are you leaving and how long will you be gone?" she asked from
the kitchen. Zechs knew his wife too well to that she hated him going off a
mission with out her. So he pursued her into the kitchen placing his arms around
her waist and his head in the crook of her neck. He started to nibble on her
neck put she pulled away.
"What's wrong?"
"What's wrong? Your
leaving to see Relena to no doubt go on a mission of some kind and-" Zechs
placed a finger over his wife's lips silencing her.
"No, yes no doubt
there's a mission but I told Relena we would be there in a couple of days." Noin
felt embarrassed for talking to him like she did.
"Make breakfast and
I'll pack our things and load them on the ship, we can be a Earth by tomorrow
morning." She nodded and started to cook. At about eleven o'clock Amanda came in
the kitchen.
"Is daddy leaving?" she asked.
"Yes we all are going
to see you aunt Relena on Earth."
"Who's is Aunt Relena?"
"I'll
tell you later just dressed and wake Aries up."
In and hours time they
were all packed, loaded and ready to go. Zechs wrote a letter to their
commanding officer explaining them taking a leave of absence. Noin went through
the small three-room apartment where they had spent the last five years of their
lives. She saw Zechs staring out the only window in their room. He had always
loved to stand there and stare at the stars. She walked up to him and placed a
hand on his shoulder.
"Come on everything is ready." Zechs nodded
thoughtfully then walked towards the ship. The next morning they reached the
Earth a set down near the coordinates Hero had given them. The meeting was at
one o'clock in the afternoon so they could all sleep in. Aries woke up next
morning to find that both her parents were still asleep. She got herself dressed
and went into her sister's room.
"Amanda wake up we're here."
"So
mom and dad aren't up yet."
"Come on let's go explore."
"No I'm
still tired."
"Aright." And Aries left her sister's room and went over to
the hatch. She had watched her mother press the red button next to the door to
open and close it. So she tried it and the door opened and so did a ramp down to
the ground. The first thing she noticed was the fragrance of all the flowers and
plants. This being her first time on Earth Amanda jumped out of the ship
thinking that there was no gravity. Surprised by her inability to float Amanda
lost her footing and tumbling down the ramp way into a rose bush. Brushing
herself the little girl felt a stinging sensation in her hand. Thorns from the
bush had made their way into her hand and a little stream of blood coursed down
her palm. Amanda would have gone back inside the ship finished with her
adventures but the ramp had already closed. And her parents had never showed her
how to open it from the outside.
A plan formed in her mind to go get
someone to help her open the door. She looked down the driveway and saw a big
building. I’m sure that would be a good place to find someone to help me' she
thought as she skipped to it. Amanda entered the base unnoticed because of her
small stature. The halls were long and all looked the same. After taking a few
turns she was hopelessly lost. As a last ditch effort she called for her family.
But to no avail they didn't hear her.
