Pirates of the Sanq 8/10

[AngelOfDeath]

Did you ever start a project and think. . . this will be fun!, only to have it feel like pulling teeth every time you looked at it? That is this for me. But I swore I would finish this monster and so I will. Then I can go back to my oneshots as nature intended.

Unedited as ususal. Please forgive me. *___*

Disclaimer: (see previous chapters)


Chapter 8


There was silence aboard The Black Death as all eyes rested on the gun at Heero?s head. Nearby, the burning hulk of The Wing attempted to slip into the sea, but was managing to do so with little grace or efficiency. Few people cared about it anymore, as it had been the means to an end. The only one really in a position to mourn its loss was Hilde and she was, as a practical person would be, far more interested in how she could come out of this situation alive. There were always more ships, but you only had one chance at this life and she didn?t want to see it end. Staring at that boy with the gun to his head, she knew that his choice would determine their life or death as well. Sadly, she was sure that the only life he was thinking of was that of the blond girl staring at him as if he were a new Lazarus.

The standstill was broken eventually by Duo clearing his throat rather loudly. This, shocking Heero back into the present outside of Relena?s intensely relieved eyes, forced him into stating the only thing he really wanted out of this.

?She goes free.? He pointed over at Relena who suddenly tried to surge towards him but was restrained by the pirates near her.

Quatre smiled in that slightly awkward and disarming way he had when Relena first met him. ?Let?s not be too hasty now. Put the gun down and we?ll have a discussion like civilized people.?

?I?m not civilized and neither are you. Now let her go.?

The smile only wavered a little. ?What about reason? If we can?t be civilized then we can at least be reasonable, can we not??

?Relena goes free!?

Quatre waved his hand in a hurrying motion. ?Yes, we know that part, anything else??

Duo?s furtive but frantic motions finally caught Heero?s eye. Frankly, Heero was in no real position to be negotiating: he wanted to cough up the last of the water he had pretty much inhaled when he had jumped into the sea, his arms and legs were aching from the battle and from swimming so hard to get over to the ship, and he was pretty sure he was seeing spots. All in all, it was not an advantageous state of mind to be cutting any sort of deals. Maxwell, his retreating mind cued in, was a person he owed a big favor to. This translated itself rather roughly.

?And Maxwell and the crew are not to be harmed!? Everyone felt it was a nice gesture, even if it wasn?t enforceable to any great degree.

For a tense moment, Winner closed his eyes, but when he opened them again he seemed to have come to some sort of decision. ?Aye. I can abide by those terms, on my honor.?

There was no way Heero would take merely that. ?Swear on the ship.?

?I swear, on The Black Death herself, that your terms will be abided by.? The angelic smiled curled and distorted into the one Relena had grown more familiar with. She, instead, was examining her love closely as if he were going to evaporate at any second. It seemed to her like she had lost him once today only to be watching him walk away again, in the hands of these men who would no doubt kill him or imprison him, as her hopeful mind inserted as an option.

As soon as Heero sagged, weary and overdrawn from resources that had been thin for some time, the pirates swept forward and restrained him as well as disarming him. Relena, at the edge of his consciousness, cried out and his fist flailed on reflexively breaking noses and opening up lips, but soon enough he was overcome and bound securely.

Quatre relaxed, contemplating the golden bauble that had once again found its way into his possession. When Maxwell saw the men advance upon him as well, he didn?t fight. It was better to come out of this with as much energy as possible. If he knew Quatre, and he did, then all the captives upon this ship were in for a long hard time. Harm was such an ambiguous term. Yuy had been too careless.

?Set a course,? Quatre said, not taking his eyes away from the flashing medallion. He leaned over and spoke in low tones to the pirate who would navigate who, upon hearing the destination, laughed uproariously. The broad brim of the hat, which only partially protected Quatre?s face from the blazing sun, gave Maxwell a clear view of the lazy smile spread across his face. ?You and the lady are going to take a little island vacation.?

Duo, who had abandoned his easy smile long ago for something more neutral, didn?t give away even a flash of rage or recognition much to Quatre?s disappointment. In a sweep of coats, Quatre strode away to contemplate whatever it was he wished while leaving Duo and Relena to be tied up separately from the rest of the crew. She had gone somewhat limp, not resisting and just contemplative rather than glassy judging from the way her brows were knit.

Maxwell gave the crew a quick inspection as he was led in front of them. It seemed as if everyone was still there, pretty much. Light casualties were a mercy. Hilde didn?t say anything, but being restrained she couldn?t wipe away the tears shining in her eyes. Rather than let them fall in front of him, she looked to the sky and squinted when he passed. Duo smiled, that was Hilde all over, his brave pirate maid. When he saw Chang he gave a brief nod which the Chinese man returned. They would get out of this, but he wanted to make sure Chang knew that Duo was expecting him to take reigns when the inevitable happened. His eyebrow arched at finding Barton and Moony with fingers loosely intertwined as they stood next to one another, bound but not entirely apart. What sort of mischief had been happening on his crew? At least the good Captain was not dead. A dead naval officer just would have made this that much more complicated. It was good that he had decided to change out of that distinctive uniform. Probably was the only thing that had saved his life.

Once the guards near them looked to be in a state of general disinterest, Duo tried to talk a bit to Relena. He wasn?t sure how she was going to react to this new information, seeing as he had only really met her once before. This was as improbable a second meeting as the first had been, but fate worked in strange ways sometimes.

?Lady, I feel somewhat obligated to explain the severity of our immediate future. . .?

?I can face anything today. Don?t spare me.? There was a core of steel to her voice. It appeared Yuy?s ladybird had a backbone.

Duo worked at the ropes that chaffed his skin. It was a blessing they were loosening at all. The rush of blood to tingling hands was uncomfortable, but progress. ?In about two hours we will arrive, if I know Winner, at a very familiar island where they will drop us and leave with the rest of our party.?

From the corner of his eye, he saw Relena tighten her lips into a thin line. That particular expression was a favorite of Yuy?s as well. He wondered who had learned it from who. ?I see. And the rest of the crew and. . . and Heero??

?As for the crew, Winner will most likely throw them into the jails below and let them starve. Maybe he?ll give them the option of killing one another or defecting, but he won?t lay a finger on them. Not him or his damned crew. That much Yuy saw to.? Duo paused. ?As for Yuy himself. . .?

?Don?t say it. I changed my mind.? She interrupted the pirate and turned her face away. Duo sensed that she just didn?t want to hear any more talking. Fine by him, he had his own thinking to do, and about two hours to do it in.

*
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*

Heero had been brought on deck, struggling. Bruises were standing out on his skin, whether from being beaten below deck or from one of his many adventures in the past day or two, no one could have told but him. Relena stood, proud and beautiful even in her disheveled and slightly dirty state, facing the crews of both ships as she edged onto the plank. Past the ship, over a length of sparkling blue-green water was an island. Pristine and white, it seemed to be a paradise. Relena refused to face it yet, knowing she would have plenty of time to examine it soon enough.

?You said you would not harm her!? Heero had at least five men on him, all of them still having a bit of trouble keeping him down.

?And I am not. She?ll be far safer on that island than with us, mate. Though a mite bit more lonely.? Quatre gave a little laugh which some of his crew echoed.

Poised enough to swallow her fear, Relena tried to choke out some parting words to Heero. She had to tell him she loved him. She had to say something, before they were parted for who knew how long. The word forever tried to pry its way into the end of that thought, but she wouldn?t let it. That kind of thinking never got you places. But, before she could unclog her tightened throat to impart anything of worth, an impatient pirate joggled the board with an impatient grunt.

?Relena!? She heard Heero yell before she hit the water and her world became an enveloping cold. Water had gone up her nose, and her lungs were nearly out of air already. She struggled up, thrashing in panic. The pants she still wore were heavy and her arms tangled in the material of her shirt. The waters of the Sanq she had often swam in and loved were threatening to keep her.

On board the ship, Duo was walking up to the plank. He glanced down and noticed that Relena was not coming up. That was a bad sign. He needed to help her, most likely, but first he had to attend to some business.

?Last time you had the decency to leave me with my affects.?

?So I did.? Quatre mad a motion and a man came forward with a little pile of goods: hat, gun, and sword.

Duo took them and clutched them to his chest, hands still bound. ?Seeing as there are two of us, the correct thing to do would be to contribute another pistol.?

Heero continued to struggle and curse under his breath in the background as Quatre seemed to consider this request. ?Since you?re so concerned for the lady, why not play the gentleman and offer her the first shot. It would be interesting to know who she would pick.?

Not willing to banter any longer with the unreasonable current commander of The Black Death, Duo leapt into the water of the plank to find the now limp form of Relena suspended in water but slowly making her way upwards. The ropes he had loosened earlier came off easily and he kept a grip on the bundle in his arms as he did a rough backstroke towards shore while Relena coughed up water. Poor girl seemed to be swallowing half the sea whenever he was around her.

It didn?t take hardly any time at all to get to the island, and it was a mercy nothing tried to bite at them in the sea on the way over. Duo helped Relena to some shade while she recovered and watched his ship sail away, again. The murder in his glance lasted long enough for Relena to catch a glimpse and she recoiled from him before he noticed and schooled himself into a more reassuring appearance.

?That?s the second time I?ve watched that man sail away on my ship.? He wandered away from her to a grove not too far away where the palms made a pretty little triangle. There was the two grown together, that was the starting point. He patted their trunks fondly. The curious set of comparative measurements he was making eventually attracted the attention of Relena who, tired of watching the ship get smaller in the distance, picked her sodden self up and squelched on over.

She tried to divine what he was doing, but gave up after not too long and just asked. ?What in the world are you doing??

?You see, lady, the good imposter captain had the delightful idea to set me down, with you, upon the same godforsaken rock he set me down on last time.?

?Then you know how to get off of it. How did you escape last time??

Maxwell chuckled to himself and jumped up and down on a particularly springy piece of ground. He picked up a frond and dusted off the top until he was reasonably sure of the size of the opening. The handle was around here somewhere.

?Despite what people may think of me, I do not have magic powers, I am not in tune with any natural force except for the sea and sky when I?m lucky, and in the end my getting off of this island is more about my famed vacillating luck than anything else.? He finally found the ring that he was looking for and pulled hard, sending debris from the top sliding down. Cobwebs greeted him and he tried not to sigh in disappointment.

The curious blond girl looked past his shoulder into the murky darkness. Duo flipped the top over and went down the roughly hewn steps that creaked under his weight. All was not lost. Bottles glinted dully in the new light he had opened them to.

?Rum.? Duo answered the question that had remained unsaid by his fellow castaway.

?Rum??

?Rum. The rumrunners used this island as one of their stashes. I spent two days drinking their rather nasty tasting rotgut until they came to pick it up and I argued my way onto their ship for the promise of future goods and services, which I delivered.? He picked out some likely bottles and began to bring them up the steps. There was plenty here to keep a person, or a pair of people, in a stupor for a week or so. ?Looks like they won?t be visiting any time soon, lady. You can thank Barton and Kushrenada for that. Those two are the upright citizens who saw to the noble black market being nearly snuffed out these days.? He handed her a bottle which she looked at with a dubious and incredulous sneer.

Relena threw up her hands, and the bottle she carried sloshed, the rum glowing amber in the sunlight that filtered through the trees. ?That?s it! That's the secret, grand adventure of the infamous Duo Maxwell. He spent two days lying on a beach drinking rum!?

?Welcome to the Sanq, lady.? Duo replied sardonically. ?And that?s Captain Duo Maxwell, if you please.?

?Captain of what? The S.S. Hangover? I can?t believe this.?

Duo had had enough of this. This was probably just as bad, if not worse for him. ?Look, lady, you can either accept that this is the situation and help me build some shelter for the night, or you can continue standing there berating me for a problem I did not create. I?ll be over there drinking and trying not to let bugs eat me alive.? He stormed off, each hand grasping the stem of a bottle.

With a plop, Relena sat down on the ground and tried to pull herself together. It wouldn?t do to get mad at Duo again. It wasn?t that she was really that disappointed in him, it was more that she was upset at the world in general. It was unfair to be constantly brought together and torn apart from Heero. It was unfair that Barton and the crew who had come to rescue her were now going to face mental torture and days of imprisonment. It was unfair that she was facing probable death from starvation on this island. She had no survival skills. Hell, she could barely cook without burning herself rather badly. Everything had always been done for her and she had lived in comparative luxury up until just a little while ago. Now, she was stripped of everything except some clothes and her own pride.

At that point it didn?t matter anymore did it? She opened up the bottle and took a swig. It burned like nothing else she?d ever tasted. The few liqueurs she?d sampled after dinners had been sweet and hot, but this just scorched its way down your throat with no mercy. There was a pleasant feeling of warmth and peace that began to make its way through her body shortly after, however, and she took another drink. It burned less, as her throat was still raw from the first gulp, and now she was starting to feel positively relaxed.

Duo had a point, she should go apologize. They were both intelligent people, and they could figure something out. There were two of them, not just one on the island, after all, and she knew she would get out of this mess intact. Now, if she could just find where her legs had gone, then she would be in business.

*
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*

The fire was blazing cheerfully, hotly, and brightly with Duo and Relena leaping about in high spirits, singing to the winds. It should have been a frightening fire since it was leaping as high as a person, nearly all the driftwood consumed that they had found on the island, but neither of the people could see it as such. Making a shelter had seemed like a less exciting idea then building a fire once an inebriated Relena found a highly buzzed Duo. They decided without much delay that building a shelter did not sound like it constituted ?fun? and that ?fun? was something they both well deserved at this point. ?Fun? ended up being drinking in the sun while their clothes dried off and Duo teaching Relena all the dirty songs he could recall. She giggled about how Heero and her brother would be shocked if they knew what she was doing, but Maxwell said they would be doing the exact same thing if they were her. At the time, he believed it.

?You know, it feels like this is the first time I?ve really had the chance to be out on my own. Right now. And I?m glad you?re here with me, Captain Maxwell.?

?Call me Duo!? Said the pirate with a gallant sweep of his hat.

Relena adjusted her pants as if they were a skirt and took another sip of rum. ?I do say, that these pants are far more convenient than my skirts. I wonder if Milliardo would let me wear these instead sometimes. Lady Noin would back me up. I know she would.?

?It?s amazing times we?re living in, lady, you never know.?

?I insist that you call me Relena. It took Heero forever to call me Relena, you know.? The thought of her absent almost fianc? caused her pretty face to fall. ?Oh Heero. I couldn?t save you. . .?

Not wanting to see a pretty lady cry, Duo looked at the setting sun and got an idea. ?Help me gather some wood; we?re going to have a fire!?

?Fire?? Relena was slow to snap out of her sad reverie. ?How are we going to get it started??

?Just leave it to me. . .?

And amazingly enough, it had been a good idea. Duo had been steady enough to find some flint he had stuffed away in a pocket sewn into the lining of his clothes and get the fire going. Once it lit upon the dry wood, it got a life of its own. Darkness set in quickly, and their festivities grew more active in the cool. They danced around, and Relena taught Duo some of the jigs that she had learned in various classes she had attended over the years. They did jigs and fell down and laughed the night away.

At some point they reached the reflective drunk stage. Both of them had been weaving in and out of being drunk for most of the day. Relena had found a pool of clean looking water and they had taken their chances so as not to get too dehydrated, but there was almost a guarantee of a royal hangover later on. They lay down on the sand, limbs heavy, and Relena elaborated on what she had been talking about earlier.

?. . . I?ve always been under someone?s thumb. I mean, I went from my parents to my brother who is basically just another parent. . . and as soon as we came out here I had Heero. As much as I say I take care of him, he has always been looking out for me, protecting me. I know he has.?

Duo looked at her with compassion. ?You?ve got no freedom.?

?Exactly!? She sat up suddenly but found it too dizzying and dropped back onto her back. ?Not that I don?t love them, but I?m not some porcelain figure, some ideal. I hate being kept in ignorance about everything. I want to make my own decisions for myself.?

?You?ve been talking to Hilde, haven?t you??

?No, not really. I was talking to Lady Noin about this not too long ago.? Relena sighed. ?She?s just such a strong woman. I envy her sometimes. My brother better be ready for an atypical marriage. Somehow, I think he doesn?t know what he?s getting into.?

Duo, rather than being interested in the possible rocky future of the governor of the Sanq, was lost in his own mental maze. ?You know, freedom was all I ever wanted, myself. That?s why I took to sailing, why I had to be a Captain no matter how hard I had to work at it to get there.?

He saw Relena was a captive audience so he continued.

?That's what a ship is, you know. It's not just a keel and a hull and a deck and sails; That's what the ship needs. What The Black Death really is, to me, is freedom.?

There was a sniff near him.

?That?s just so beautiful, Duo.? She grasped his hand. ?This must have been terrible for you, being stuck on this island, again.?

?Oh, it?s. . .? Possibilities ran through his drunken mind. Possibilities that could get his bits and pieces pounded into the ground and then cut off by Yuy and Hilde both. Best to keep those thoughts to himself. He obviously wasn?t drunk enough. ?It?s not so bad.? His words slurred as he felt the irresistible and sudden pull of sleep. His already reclining form slumped into a resting state, hand going limp and releasing Relena?s.

Her mind, sharp enough in intelligence though lacking in wisdom, looked at the dying fire and coughed as some smoke entered her field of vision and entered her lungs. Smoke. . . smoke signals. . . The sun shone on ideas in her mind and she tried to wake up Duo to tell him. He was not only unresponsive, he was snoring. Then again, she didn?t need to tell him. It would be a nice surprise for when he woke up. Next thing they knew, they would be sipping tea with her brother and off to rescue Heero! Much cheered, Relena picked up a burning branch and advanced on the unsuspecting foliage of the island.

*
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*

It began with a twitch. Duo had been used to waking up in uncomfortable positions and at all hours of the night or day when needed. He was a fairly light sleeper, but the drink had forced him to sleep longer and more deeply than he would have otherwise. When he did wake up, he almost thought that he had died and panicked. There was so much he had yet to do. . . he hadn?t drunk that much!. . . what would the girl do now. . .?

The crash of glass forced his nauseated and groggy body to leap up. The girl he had worried about just a second before was grimly throwing bottles of rum onto a raging fire and then moving a little ways only to do the same to another raging fire. The plurality confused him, but he focused in on the first coherent thought that could come out of his mouth.

?No! Not good! Stop! Desist! What are you doing? You've burned all the food, the shade, the RUM!?

Relena, hearing his yells, turned to him with red eyes. She didn?t look as if she had slept last night and the smoke and her efforts were telling on her drawn features. This little project of hers, burning the island, was taking everything out of her but she seemed quite determined.

?Yes, the rum is nearly gone.?

?Why? Why is the rum gone?? Duo couldn?t keep the whine out of his voice. Even if the thought of touching another drop of that stuff made him want to dry heave, it was still the principle of the thing.

The honorable Miss Peacecraft took a deep breath and gathered herself before answering. ?One, because it is a vile drink that turns even the most respectable men and women into wastrels. Two, that signal is over a thousand feet high. The entire royal navy is out looking for me; do you really think that there is even the slightest chance that they won't see it??

Grasping at straws, Duo tried to come up with some response to this logic. ?But why is the rum gone??

After facing one another down with similarly wrathful glances, they decided to spend some time apart to think about just exactly what this change in situation was bringing. Duo, no longer drunk and very aware that even if Relena managed to attract the attention of a ship, the odds were good he?d be swinging from the end of a rope by the end of the hour of their rescue. This was a bad situation, but then he?d faced worse. He looked down the barrel of his pistol and idly considered pulling the trigger. It would certainly make this cat and mouse game that death was playing with him a lot more simplified. Then again, he?s always known he would go down kicking and screaming. Now was not the time to give up.

He looked back at the burning island from the ridge he had sat down on, upwind from the blaze that popped and crackled. ?It must have been so terrible for you, Duo. . .? He mocked Relena?s dulcet tones in a screeching falsetto. He rubbed his hands over his face. ?Well, it bloody well is now.? He undid his braid, messy now, and did the best he could to straighten it out again. By the time he finished and looked up across the horizon, he couldn?t think of doing anything but letting out a small stream of curses. Those flags, that size, there was no mistaking the most powerful ship in the Sanq?s waters.

?There?ll be no living with her after this.? He got off his rock and wandered down to tell her of his discovery as he considered what his options were and how best he could keep his neck out of a noose.

*
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*

Milliardo and Lady Noin greeted her upon her arrival on the ship. Commander Kushrenada looked on from behind them, supervising Maxwell?s entry onto the ship. There was noise and confusion all over as smoke washed over the ship frequently while the winds changed. Lady Noin managed to shuffle Relena over to a cabin and once they were alone hugged her fiercely. Relena, grateful for the affection and comfort, was still only thinking of one thing.

?We have to save Heero! There isn?t a moment to lose!?

Noin, who had expected something more along the lines of ?Thank goodness, I was so scared? felt somewhat taken aback. She forced Relena to sit down as she pulled out the clean clothes that had been prepared for her after the rescue. Layers of frothy and impractical white were drawn out and Lucretia gave it a pinched look. Whoever had packed these clothes obviously did not know what would have been appropriate, but compared to what Relena was wearing now it would be a marked improvement.

?Relena, you?ll have to explain more than that. I think we need to hear what?s going on before we can make any kind of decision about. . .?

The younger girl seemed to be lit by internal fires Lady Noin simply could not get a grasp on. The urgency of her words were unmistakable, but the way she glanced around so wildly and fidgeted so frequently lent an air of insanity to her words and made Lucretia worried for more than just the absent and possibly endangered Heero. She led Relena over to the tub of water, cold but serviceable, and instructed her in her sternest voice that she was going to clean herself off and get dressed before she was going to be seriously listened to. Rather than argue, as Lady Noin expected from her charge, Relena simply and efficiently began to do as she was told. The fires still burned in her eyes, and while she undressed she began to recount calmly and chronologically everything she went through. The cold water shocked her body, but being clean became a desirable end in of itself and she continued her story punctuated with gasps against the cold.

By the time Relena had gotten out, dried off, and dressed, Lady Noin, who had been looking out of the window of the cabin most of this time, had seemed to come to some sort of a decision herself. She grabbed Relena and took her back to where Milliardo and Kushrenada were interrogating the hapless Maxwell. Duo, still in the midst of his hangover and looking pretty ragged, was still holding up with his usual aplomb.

?You can?t expect us to believe this sort of story. Unless you can come up with a better reason for why you were alone on an island with Miss Peacecraft, I?m afraid I?m going to let the governor have his way and hang??

?You?ll do no such thing!? Lady Noin interjected and placed both she and Relena squarely in front of the men.

Duo offered forth one of his most rakish grins. ?What a beautiful champion I have there. Please tell these men I am telling them the absolute truth. I?m dishonest, but I?m not mentally unstable.?

With no little consternation, Milliardo tried to draw Lucretia aside as she in turn tried to extract his hand from her arm. They had a few minutes of heated discussion punctuated by arm waving until Milliardo returned looking somewhat resigned. He took Kushrenada aside and they talked privately while Noin returned to Relena and Duo?s side.

?Thank you, sir, for saving our Relena?s life not once but twice. More if you count what happened with Heero if Relena is to be believed. It?s just as you said. You may be dishonest, but Relena has always been the soul of integrity and even if there are elements of her story I do not yet believe I do think that Yuy is in very real danger and needs our help.? Lady Noin patted the bound pirate on the shoulder.

?Aye. Don?t worry, my lady, I still have a card yet unplayed up my sleeve.? Duo added with a wink. He looked to Relena. ?Don?t frown so, Miss Peacecraft, it doesn?t become you. We?ll get him back.? They were empty words, but it felt to him as if not enough people had offered them to her recently.

When Milliardo and Kushrenda came back over they seemed far more grim. ?If we believe what you say, I don?t see why we have any incentive to put His Majesty?s troops in danger. Therefore. . .?

?Milliardo!? Relena looked like she was ready to attack her brother. Noin held her back with a firm grip on her elbow.

?And we are going to return back to give you a fair trail.?

?And then hang me.? Duo slipped in.

?And then ha?? Milliardo caught himself at the last moment. ?You will receive a fair trial, I swear it.?

The pirate captain nodded his head as if this was a satisfactory arrangement. ?What of Yuy??

Milliardo?s face darkened in regret and a touch of anger. ?He made his choice when he stole one of His Majesty?s ships and took up with pirates.?

?Hmmm.? Duo arched an eyebrow and looked Kushrenada in the face. ?I?m sure Barton would stand up for him. I mean, they?re captive with the rest of my crew on The Black Death after all.?

For a moment Milliardo lost color in his face. Kushrenada closed his eyes. The commander spoke. ?So Barton yet lives??

?Aye.?

Kushrenada, eyes sharp and high of humor, clapped his friend the governor on the back. ?Looks as if these pirates have taken a prisoner of war. It is my duty as his commanding officer, and as a concerned citizen that we at least try to get back the soon to be commander of the Sanq naval forces. Isn?t that right governor?? His friend gave a tight nod and then spun on a heel and left.

With a half smile, Lady Noin left Relena but not before giving her a hug. ?You see, Maxwell knows how to play his people right. I knew he had it in him. Don?t you worry. I?ll attend to your brother. He?s just angry right now, and has been, that Yuy did such a damn fool thing as to go after you like that before he could.?

?Thank you, Duo.? Relena offered him a hug, her last personal gesture before she had to return to the formal world she was born into, so very different from his privateer one.

?Think nothing of it, Relena. Though if you can get my head out of a noose sometime, I?d be much obliged.?