Mu La Flaga - The Hawk of Endymion

Archangel Infirmary

The captain lady smiled sadly on the screen. “You still remember the communication code for the bridge,” she said quietly.

“Huh?” I had no idea what she meant, but she cut off communication before I could ask her. I turned from the screen in confusion. Why does she seem so familiar? I know for a fact that I've never met her before. In the infirmary bed next to me, the blue-haired guy stops struggling to sit up and turns to face me.

“Thanks, Commander La Flaga,” he says gratefully.

“Not you too,” I groan. “The name's Neo Roanoke. Captain!” What is it with everyone on this ship? They're all crazy and they keep calling me by the wrong name. I guess I must remind them of someone. But why does this ship, these people, all seem so familiar? Especially that captain lady... Suddenly I'm struck with a memory so vivid that I could swear that it's my own.

I'm in a hangar, there's a plane. It's my plane, by the looks of it. I'm preparing it for take-off, and I'm in a big hurry. I'm panicked, and I'm worried, about what I'm not sure. I'm trying to persuade someone. I turn around, and it's the captain. Her dark brown eyes looking at me pleading. What we are arguing about, I don't know. I feel as if it's a movie that I began watching halfway through.

I see myself spread my hands in a gesture of exasperation. “But what if those guys somehow managed to get out in time?” I hear myself say desperately.

“Yes, I know,” the captain replies, looking away. “If I could, I'd be the first to go out looking for them, but given the present circumstances...” We continue to disagree, but I still have no idea what's going on.

All of a sudden she looks at me with tears in her eyes. “Commander, if we lost you as well, I don't...” she trails off and looks away, unable to finish her sentence. “Have faith in Orb, pray for Kira and Tolle, and stay here.” She says quietly.

I hear myself sigh, then I place my hand on her shoulder, and her eyes meet mine. “Understood.”

And then the memory is over, and I am back in the same infirmary bed. What the hell just happened? That wasn't my memory, and yet...that was me. It was my voice that came from my mouth. What the hell is happening to me? I'm not even a fighter plane pilot. I'm a mobile suit pilot. Am I going crazy? And that was that captain, the one with the brown eyes, and I was speaking to her as if I knew her. Is it possible to somehow see someone else's memories?

That Athrun kid left a few days later, only to return unconscious, and then leave again. I get the feeling that kid is quite used to waking up in a hospital bed. Although we never spoke to one another, I had gotten quite used to his company. I am all alone here now, and it feels strange. Apart from the guy who comes to deliver my meals and check my vital signs, I'm completely solitary. But what feels even stranger is not wearing my mask. I'm so unaccustomed to letting people see my face. When I was first given the mask by Gebrille, I was instructed to wear it at all times. I never understood the reason why, but I followed orders as any good captain should. Now I feel naked without it.

We are sitting around a campfire, surrounded by desert and rocks. The people around are clearly defined; half of them are dressed in the white, black and red uniform of the Earth Forces, I recognise some of them as the Archangel crew, and the other half are dressed in plain clothes, equipped for the desert weather. I have a cup of coffee in my hands, and I sit down on a rock next to someone.

It is the captain again, her brown eyes reflecting the light of the campfire. Someone else is there too, familiar although I've never seen her before. Short black hair and purple eyes, and something about the way she holds herself that makes her seem strong and disciplined.