In Medvias Res 1: Blurry

[Hitomi Lei]

Chapter 1: Blurry


Everything?s so blurry
and everyone's so fake
everybody?s empty
and everything is so messed up
preoccupied without you
I cannot live at all
my whole world surrounds you
I stumble and I crawl
& you could be my someone
you can be my scene
you know that I?ll protect you
from all of the obscene
I wonder what your doing
imagine where you are
there's oceans in between us
but that?s not very far

(Chorus)
can you take it all away
can you take it all away
well you shoved it in my face
this pain you gave to me
can you take it all away
can you take it all away
well you shoved it in my face
this pain you gave to me

everyone is changing
there?s no one left that?s real
make up your own ending
and let me know just how you feel
cause I am lost without you
I cannot live at all
my whole world surrounds you
I stumble then I crawl
you could be my someone
you can be my scene
you know that I will save you
from all of the unclean
I wonder what your doing
I wonder where you are
there?s oceans in between us
but that?s not very far

(Chorus)

Can you take it all away
Can you take it all away
well you shoved it in my face
the pain you gave to me

Nobody told me what you thought
nobody told me what to say
everyone showed you where to turn
showed you when to run away
nobody showed you where to hide
nobody told you what to say
everyone showed you where to turn
showed you when to run away

(Chorus)

Can you take it all away
can you take it all away
can you take away the pain
the pain you gave to me
this pain you gave to me?.



August 1915


Arabian Desert, near Baghdad


Slowly, surely--Like the flight of locust that advances with destructive certainty- the noise distant at first, grew louder.
Kurdish peasants, who were taking advantage of a pause in the German bombardment to scrabble for water and bread, heard the muffled sound above the distant boom of British artillery. An old woman, swathed in tattered black rags heard the sound first. She stopped to listen as the wind blew clouds of dust up in the field pock marked by bombs dropped by the German Zeppelins. Resting a water jug on her hip she cocked her head with interest, her mind well aware of the danger these sounds could herald. One old, gnarled hand reached up to play with the blue worry beads around her neck before she hurried off across field toward her tent.
Within a nearby military compound close to Basra, several British soldiers came rushing from their tents, shouting orders and trying to find decent cover.
Nurse Relena Peacecraft had just departed the makeshift military hospital tent and was walking toward the kitchen for a much needed rest. This would be her first break since the moldy tasting coffee earlier this morning. It was now twilight, and Relena had heard the sounds of the Zeppelins more than a few times that day. In fact, over the last six months she had heard more than she cared to remember while serving in the Royal British Nursing Unit from Cairo. She continued on her way as if she was unaware of the sounds that announced impending doom.
The distant buzzing of the Zeppelins engine grew louder. Within a few moments the British ground soldiers met the oncoming ship with artillery fire. Machine-gun fire battered the on-coming night, while the smoky haze settled against the horizon like the pall of death.
Relena was numb to it all. ?If only it would rain a little in this God forsaken desert.? At least the rain would ease the pestering flies that never seemed to die. The heat was also more than she could bear. What little breeze there was only managed to stir up more dust to cover her once white nurse uniform. The air was heavy with the smell of death and decay that seemed to be the norm around army hospitals on the front lines.
Relena had almost made it to the kitchen when she noticed that the Zeppelins had made it past the front line artillery. She could see the strange craft now in the sky above Basra, approaching like a great angel of death. At the same time, an open-topped British military vehicle came tearing at break neck speed around the corner of the nearest hospital tent. Gunfire erupted again, but this time it was must closer.

?Get DOWN!? a British soldier yelled at Relena as he and another man tumbled out and scrambled beneath the vehicle.

?He said GET DOWN!? Another soldier shouter as he ran toward her. Relena looked around for cover frantically. The nearest safe place she could see were the Hospital Tents packed to over flow with the wonder and dying. Atop the tent, whipping in the wind, was the flag with the Red Cross. Relena knew that the canvas would be precious little shelter, but that wasn?t what kept her from running toward it. She turned back to the soldier in outrage.

?They can?t bomb a hospital!?

The soldier didn?t respond. The enemy craft was overhead now and the buzzing was deafening in Relena?s ears. Relena watched as though frozen in disbelief as the German bombardier leaned out of the open aircraft and hand dropped bombs onto the military and field targets. She watched one of the black objects fall toward the bakery next to her. A deafening explosion rent the air. Time seemed to slow down, in the same instant, debris flew in all directions, and the tent was engulfed in a billowing black haze. The soldier still running toward Relena was blown to pieces, a cry of sheer horror was caught in her throat as the force of the explosion hit her and flung Relena backwards. She landed hard and lay there, stunned, unable to move or think.
A wooden building exploded, adding more debris into the air. The ground convulsed as if it where alive and in pain. Leaping flames rampaged high against the darkening sky as though trying to reach heaven in diabolic rage.
The attack continued for several minutes. Vaguely Relena grew aware of a sound?something familiar?she closed her eyes in despair. The siren. It?s too-late warning was blaring, cutting through the chaos of the military encampment.
Relena lay there, her face turn toward the vast sky, the hot dust burning into her back and legs. The absence of human voices hung eerily in the field moments after the bombing, but other sounds filled the night, like running feet and the sizzle of wood burning.

?God?what?? Relena?s mind cried over and over, trying to grasp what had just happened. Images of the poor soldier whose remains lay scattered like broken glass on the ground to her right, filled her mind. She didn?t think she would ever forget that sight for the rest of her life.

?Miss?Miss, are you all right?? Relena blinked, suddenly aware ash was sprinkling her face. She felt an arm encircle her and gently lift her to a sitting position. She stared, wide eyed, forcing herself to focus on the face in front of her. A medic, young and scared looking, studied her, worry written in his brown eyes. Relena moistened her dry lips and forced words past her numb tongue.

?I?m?fine?

He looked doubtful, and she reached out to push her blonde hair from her face.

?Please,? she insisted, ?I?m all right. There are others that need your help.?

He glanced behind him, face grim and dirt streaked, then nodded.

?Okay, miss, if you say so. But you?d better sit here for a while until you get a bit steadier. Then---? he looked around them again, ?---Then you?d better head for your tent. This is no place for a woman right now.?
?It?s no place for anyone right now.? Relena thought sadly as the medic stood and moved away. Feeling suddenly bereft, quick tears burned in her throat, but she swallowed them down. She knew from personal experience that tears never helped anyone.
She squeezed her eyes shut, willing the sights and sounds of chaos to go away. In there place images flooded her mind. Rather than the god-forsaken, smoke filled sky above her; she saw the starry sky above a certain Arabian plain. She had been standing in the arms of Major Heero Yuy. She could almost feel the warm wind that had embraced them that night. The memory was so clear that Relena almost convinced herself that she was there. She could feel his determined yet tender grip on her arm. His riveting blue eyes had held hers for a moment, so full of promise for the future they would share?then he had dropped her arm and turned away. His words had rang loudly out over the plain even though they had been whispered, ?I?ll find you again, Relena.?

Relena wanted to close her mind to the memory, but she couldn?t. The remembrance was as relentless as the Zeppelin had been a mere moment before.

?Oh, Heero?why couldn?t you keep your promise?? she whispered brokenly, grieving for the love that had died in the months that had stretched on after that night without any form of contact between them.

She remembered how he had told her that working on her brother?s medical ship, sailing down the Nile, was where she should be. Heero had told her he wished for her to stay in Cairo where everything was pristine white?told her she wasn?t suited for life at the front lines.

She had showed him. That was half the reason she was here. When he hadn?t contacted her, Relena had set out to prove the arrogant Major wrong. The war to end all wars had rampaged across Europe and had arrived at her back door in Arabia. Relena desided that Milliardo and Lucrezdia could take care of the Peacemillion without her help, after all they were both capable people, and the front lines needed nurses with experience. That was how she found herself sitting here in the dirt with people dying all around her.

?Relena!?

At the sound of her name, Relena blinked out of the half stupor she had fallen into. It took her a minute to find her comrade-in-medical arms, Cathy Bloom, in the haze. Cathy knelt beside Relena, checking her out for any wounds.

?Thank goodness your okay Lena!? came the chirpy tone of her ever-happy friend. Even in the mist of danger and despair Cathy could pick up Relena?s spirits. Before Relena could respond, Cathy lifted her to her feet as if she were a child. Relena came to her feet and stood there swaying. For a moment it looked like Cathy wouldn?t be strong enough to hold them both up. Relena wanted to protest, but she found she couldn?t speak. The world was spinning out of control, taking Relena with it. Cathy struggled forward, half carrying Relena through the dirt, breathing in ragged gasps. Suddenly she halted and called out to a passing man.
?Ho, there! Captain Winner! Lend me a hand, sir, with Relena? She seems to have fainted.?



~*~*~*~*~*~

Captain Quatre Winner, head medical orderly in the nursing unit sent up from Cairo, gently laid Relena on the bunk in the large tent near the back of the main hospital. Quatre held his worry in check, fully aware of Nurse Cathy Bloom?s hawk-like eyes. Sometimes he felt like he himself were the patient under scrutiny when she was around. Nothing ever got by her notice. Like his reason for giving up his position at a Cairo hospital to trapes about after his child-hood friend in this hellhole. Simply put, he was in love with Relena Peacecraft. All the nurses had picked up on this fact in the six months they?d been stationed on the Arabian front. They had also picked up on the fact that Relena didn?t return his feelings at all?hence their sympathetic glances. But only Quatre knew why she didn?t return his feelings. The oh-so-very-absent Intelligence officer, Major Heero Yuy.

?Is it a concussion?? Cathy asked, pulling him from his thoughts. Quatre shook his head.

?Most likely it was just the shock hitting her. She?ll do well enough considering the poor Tommy was blown to bits.? He kept his tone professional, an effective cover, he hoped, as he bent over the bunk and checked Relena?s eyes. They seemed to dilate fine. He quickly looked away before he was temped to drown in her blue gaze. Instead he inspected her face carefully. If was streaked with dust and blood from the small cut above her eye. Quatre reached for a cloth and began to gently clean the cut. He?d learned early on that out here even small cuts could kill you. In her unconscious state, Relena winced as he daubed the injury. A moment later Quatre stood up straight and cleared his throat. He turned to Cathy to ask for a bandage but found that she wasn?t looking his way anymore. She was distracted by the sound of more wounded being carried into the hot, over crowded hospital tent. Their moaning almost drowned out the orders Dr.Po was screaming at the top of her lungs. Quatre and Cathy sprang to do the Doctor?s bidding with out thought.

?Winner, I could have you court marshaled for this! Where have you been? Don?t you know men are dying??

?Yes ma?am! Nurse Peacecraft was inj-?

?The Tommies come first! Do you understand?!? Steeling his emotions against the rebuke, Quatre felt his face grow hot and he clamped his jaw shut. He quickly took up position on the other side of the blue-eyed military doctor while the stretcher-bearers hauled even more wounded in around them. The only female Doctor on the front lines, Sally Po was a stern taskmaster. She jerked back the cover to check whether of not she could save the man on the table in front of them. Quatre tried his best not to flinch at the sight of the gaping hole in the soldier?s abdomen. He glanced at Cathy to see how she was holding up. She didn?t look away from the bloody mess at all. Quatre had to admire her for her courage. He wanted to look anywhere but at the patient, but he knew that to jerk away in horror would end his service here. Dr. Po was already looking for any opportunity to send him back to Cairo. She?d made it very clear that she didn?t like the reason he was hear.

?If you want to act like a love sick pup and follow a girl to war then fine. But don?t do it on my time. Lives could be lost if you don?t put your whole heart into this.? She had told him on more than one occasion. Quatre didn?t have the words to explain it to the Doctor, nor did he think Sally would understand. Not that she couldn?t, she just chose not too.
As Quatre stared at the soldier on the table he was unprepared for the wave of nausea that threatened to take him to his knees. ?God, if your up there, help me. Don?t let me dis-grace myself further.?


~*~*~*~*~*~


Hours later, Quatre at last took a break outdoors, hoping against hope that he could find a mug of coffee. He?d uttered a heart felt sigh when he could finally turn his duties over to the tall British girl, Flora and step out side. The dry wind was blowing in gusts, sending sand into every crack and crevice it could find. He even had it in his teeth.
Ahead, several soldiers were on guard. Quatre stood beneath the tent awning, listing to the canvas snapping. He walked over to a small sheltered campfire beside one of the newly constructed cook tents, where a huge blackened coffeepot sat full and steaming. As he glanced around for a mug he began to understand why the pot remained full. There were no mugs.

?Yes, this has been my lucky day.?

Quatre was startled from his longing stair at the pot by a voice to his right.

?Allow me, sir.?

Quatre couldn?t see him well in the dim lantern light, but the soldier that stood before him had a certain familiar air to him. The wind tugged at the man?s long brown hair that hung in a braid down his side. He produced a tin cup from his backpack, poured the coffee, and then handed it to Quatre with a grin.

?Here you go Q-man.?

The voice jarred Quatre?s memory, and Quatre gave him a closer look. A memory from his childhood in British held India flashed before his eyes. Quatre had been a very lonely boy growing up with so many sisters. It didn?t help much that his father was a top official for the British East India Company. One day Quatre had ran away from his mother in the market place. There he had met a street urchin named Duo.

?Duo?? The Captain looked closer at the man in the fading light, ?Is it really you??

?In the flesh!? They young man doffed his hat to his old friend.

?But?what are you doing here? Why, the last time I saw you?you were going to Jerusalem?.? Quatre left his sentence hanging. The last he?d heard, Duo had been captured in Jerusalem as a spy. Duo?s face lost its happy glaze.

?Well, Q-man, that?s a story that can wait until I have a bigger audience. As for why I?m here.? Duo raised his arm to show off the Red Cross on his armband, ?I?m a Corporal in the 6th Camel Brigade.?

At Quatre?s puzzled look Duo went on to explain, ?I?m over a unit of the new ambulance camels.? His grin was wide as Quatre finally figured it out. The ?ambulance camels? consisted of two beast with a stretcher strung between them.

?Oh, yes. I had heard of that. Wasn?t that the brain child of a certain intelligence officer??

?Sure was. Major Heero Yuy. You have to have political connections old man.? Quatre almost cursed. That man was involved with everything. Duo noticed the expression on his old friends face but he desided not to pry.

?So, have you heard for Relena lately?? Duo asked.

Distracted by the news of the Major, Quatre was barley listening, ?Of course I have. I cleaned her cut a couple of hours ago.?

?What? She?s here!? Was she hurt?!? His shocked voice broke into Quatre?s thoughts.

?Yes, Relena?s here. I tried to talk her out of it but?? Quatre raised his hands in a hopeless gesture. Duo swore under his breath.

?I leave you two alone for just two years and you mange to end up in the most hopeless front line position possible!?

Quatre hung his head. Duo had saved hem from harm more than once in India. Duo just kept on ranting, ?I thought Heero said she?d be with Milliardo on the Peacemillion.?

?Well, she desided that Mill and Lu could---Wait did you say Heero? As in Major Heero Yuy?? Duo looked at his long time friend in puzzlement.

?Yeah, I met him in Jerusalem. Why?? Duo could since that something was really bothering the smaller man.

Quatre sighed.
?Nothing, it just seems that that man pops up every where I look.?

Duo scratched his head thoughtfully, ?Now that you mention it, his name does come up a lot, but enough about the Major, doesn?t Sir Peacecraft know his daughter is here??

?No, but he?ll be returning from Bombay to Cairo soon,? said Quatre. ?She want be here much longer I?d wager. Her father will want her out of here.?

Both Quatre and Duo knew Sir Benjamin Peacecraft well. He was a kind but gruff man who had treated Duo just the same as he had treated the son of the English governor of India. As children the three of them would gather around him after dinner to listen to his stories of adventure. Both men would rather die by sever torture before doing anything to displease him.

?When I first realized how hopeless this front was I went to the Major General. I asked him if he could transfer Relena to a safety zone like Alexandria or even Cairo.? Quatre shook his head and took a drink of his cooling coffee.

?His only answer was that she was a grown woman and could decide for herself.?

?Did he know what her father is a friend and adviser to Secretary of War Kitchern?? Duo wanted to know.

?I pointed that out, but all Major General Crawford did was laugh and say that Sir Peacecraft would be as proud as aces when he heard of his daughters bravery.? Quatre tossed the dregs of his now cold coffee into the fire. The flames sizzled and popped loudly in the desert night.

?Well, Q-man, as I see it, you?ve done all you can. I?ll try to pull some strings of my own tomorrow. With any luck I?ll be able to get her out of here soon.? Duo stood up from his seat by the fire and brushed off the sand the clung to his canvass pants.

?What do you mean, your connections Duo? I tried pulling all of mine as the son of the Governor of India but it was hopeless.?

?I told you, ?He answered good naturedly. ?I may be just a corporal, but I?ve friends you wouldn?t believe. All in powerful places?Cairo Intelligence, back home in British India, even a German Baroness now deigns to call me a friend in arms.? Duo flashed another smile.

?So you just leave getting you both out to me, I want you to keep her out of trouble until then though.? Duo patted the younger man on the shoulder as he walked away toward where the camels were kept. Duo stopped and turned around.

?Hey, I?d like to see Relena. I only have a few hours more off before my crew has to go back out.? Quatre shrugged.

?She?s off duty right now because of the injury she sustained during the Zeppelin raid.?

?You?re sure she?s okay?? came Duo?s low urgent voice.

?She?s in a bit of shock, mild concussion, a few rather nasty bruises. But it could have been much worse. There was a poor Tommie blown to bits right in front of her. Wasn?t enough of him to even scrape up into an envelope to send home of his mum.? He looked away, troubled. ?God knows the situation can always get worse, but I?m beginning to wonder how.?

Dou?s voice came to him calm and ominously quiet as he looked off toward the Mediterranean. ?The Huns have nothing on the Turks when it comes to making things worse.?

Quatre didn?t want to know how Dou knew that. He was just so sick and tired of butchery and he could do without the personal tail of torture that Duo?s words would reveal. In the months he?d been stationed here he?d seen so many good men hauled into the hospital tent limbless, blind, horribly scared both mentally and physically---and worse.

?When can I see Relena?? Duo gently asked again to remind his old friend what they had been discussing. Quatre watched to wind whip through the tent village for a moment, then he shook his head.

?She may not be up to a visit, but if she is I see no reason for you not to talk to her and catch up on the last two years. Go on, and bring her some tea. You?ll find the kitchen over there.? He waved vaguely toward the east end of the encampment. ?That is, if it?s still standing. For all I know that Zeppelin bomb might have blown it to smithereens too.?

Quatre noticed a familiar face walking past him and he waved, ?Hey, Catharine! Could you escort the corporal here to Nurse Peacecraft? Oh, and show him where he can make her some tea, if you will?? As Catharine walked across the sand toward them, Quatre looked at Duo. ?I?d better get back to the hospital tent. Doctor Po will need a break soon. We have 15 new patients to keep alive tonight.?

Duo left after that with Catharine cheerfully chattering to him, and Quatre went back into the hospital tent. He had only been there for an hour when he heard the news. It seemed that Major General Crawford would receive an important British military and civilian delegation from India, perhaps in the next few days, if their ship could sneak past a Turkish destroyer in the Persian Gulf.
Quatre was pretty sure he knew what brought the top brass to Basra to confer with the military here. As he scanned the hundreds of wounded he tried to fight back feelings of despair that tried to drown his heart. When it came to relieving the suffering of these men his heart was fully involved, but he cared little about fighting battles, and he knew even less about military tactics. Even so, it was as plain as the nose on his face to him that the British couldn?t hold this line much longer. If new troops didn?t arrive soon, those unfortunate enough to be around?including Relena, Catharine, and the other nurses---would be over run.



TBC?






Okay, I?ll admit it. This story is modeled after a book that is close to my heart. Now, I?m not going to copy it?just use it for some guidance and information on this time period.

This book is called Lion?s of the Desert by Linda Chaikin. I don?t own this book although I?ve read it about 20 times?I don?t own any of the Characters from Gundam Wing either. I think that just about covers it. Also the song Blurry isn?t mine?but I have forgotten who it really belongs too?so ya?know?tell me if you can?


Love Bunchies,

Hitomi Lei


P.S I posted an earlly version of this story on LRML a few weeks ago. I'm changed the first chapter a bit and given it a new name.*grin*