The Gardener
By: Lone Ronin
Summary: He had heard the doctrines on the radio and posters everywhere, "Whoever helps an enemy of the Reich shall be executed". Yet he bravely sheltered them where the Nazis least expected.
Disclaimer: Started doing this for Remembrance Day, but I will write the rest, eventually. For the record, I have a Japanese friend whose grandparents were interred and many other people I know lost ancestors or had stories of how their ancestors escaped Europe or sheltered people from the Nazis. I myself didn't lose any relatives that I know of; most of my family left various parts of China, or were from the Islands. I've read numerous stories about WWII and shake my head at all the whining and bellyaching I hear from everyone these days as we ignore the very real threats that everyone seems to be sticking their heads in the sand to avoid. I hope people realize that such a conflict can always occur again if we become careless and freedom can be lost. As a very, very, wise man once said: Least we Forget.
Author's notes: 13x4, First time I've ever tried an 'alternate pairing'. 13x4 is about as alternate as they get. Rated R for many, many reasons as will soon be evident (lots of gore, angst, blah, blah, blah)
Prologue: Concealment
I stand before you in this summer of 1943 as a liar, a thief and a fraud. To the Nazis of this complex, I am Thomas Moremer, loyal German citizen, gardener and servant to Major Treize Kushrenada. But I am really Quatre Raberba Winner, a 14 year old Polish boy, Jewish rebel, holder of forged identity documents and one who is sheltering enemies of the Reich. In short, a U-Boat; a U-Boat can hide its true nature under the water without a trace.
I've buried my pre-war life back in Kozolowa Gora and maybe I'll live to reclaim it someday. But as this bloody war progresses, each day that hope fades just a little more; at the very least, I will have defied the conquerors of my homeland in some small ways. The soldiers have just finished their party, now is my chance. I know they won't miss any of the leftover food, so I tuck what I can into a box I've brought with me. They have much, but I know some who have few.
Thankfully, they pay me no more attention then a chair or cup. It's not like I haven't done this before. But when you're a U-Boat, you live with a constant tension, always watching over your shoulder, not knowing if at any moment, a soldier will grab you and haul you off to the Gestapo, or worse. But I wasn't worried about being caught with food. I was far more worried about who I had hidden in the Major's office.
I glance out of the corner of my eye and see Alex, a young SS trooper, watching me carefully and making no effort to hide it. Is he upset about me taking the food, or simply curious? Or does he know more about me then he's letting on? Maybe I didn't cover the vent properly, maybe one of them made a sound, maybe he was just passing by the study and saw a figure behind the grate, maybe.
I pretend not to see him and finish filling the box. I have apples, bread, cheese, even part of a cake; precious treasures in these times. I hurry to the Major's office to make sure he hasn't found my secret that's far worse then taking any amount of food. I had stowed away my friends, Trowa, Duo, Heero and Wufei; a gypsy, the son of an American journalist, the nephew of a Japanese spy and a foreign student in the last place that anyone would have ever looked: the private study of a high-ranking Nazi officer.
I walk down the hall to the officers' quarters. I seemed to have lost him, until I stepped over the threshold and heard a cough behind me. I turned to face Alex. Most others at this point would have simply been relieved to see the soldier's gun still in the holster, but I had fared better then most. Besides, I was tiny for my age; he could have broken me in two if he had wanted.
"W-what are you doing here?" I stammered.
"I have full authority to patrol this compound. What are you doing here?" he replied.
"I'm Thomas Moremer, Herr Kushrenada's groundskeeper and I was just about to have lunch and then clean the Major's office."
"Oh, very well." he answered and left, disinterested. I quickly locked the door and tried to slow my racing heart. I waited and listened for a few moments to see if Alex would come back. Then I hurried and opened the grate to pass the food to the others, who gratefully wolfed down the food.
"You need to be more careful. It's too dangerous for you to hide us here, Quatre." said Trowa.
"Don't worry, I'll come back and get you when the SS are gone."
"Cheer up. I managed to pick up from my radio some Allied broadcasts this morning that the Nazis are having trouble with the Soviets."
Duo was always the optimist.
"How does that help us here in Ternopol? If they become more nervous, their eyes and trigger fingers will be that much more alert; bombs and bullets don't discriminate."
Wufei was quite right about that. Alex and the other soldiers were keeping a careful lookout for anything suspicious.
I put back the grate and as I began to clean the study, I overheard Alex discussing the latest message from the front lines with a commander, Zechs. Duo's broadcast was confirmed as I listened to Zechs ordering the subordinate not to discuss the information with the other soldiers.
"I'm afraid this news may slow down our work here, Sir."
"Nonsense, just a few more months and Poland will be completely free of Jews."
I was barely 14, a mere child, but I wasn't naïve. I hated the Nazis for taking over my country, angry at the suffering they had caused. I had come this far, every moment that I remained alive, I defied them and kept Poland from being 'Jew free'. Even though sheltering four others was a mere drop in the ocean, I had vowed to do everything I could. But how would I sneak my friends out of Major Treize's study, and where could I hide them?
By: Lone Ronin
Summary: He had heard the doctrines on the radio and posters everywhere, "Whoever helps an enemy of the Reich shall be executed". Yet he bravely sheltered them where the Nazis least expected.
Disclaimer: Started doing this for Remembrance Day, but I will write the rest, eventually. For the record, I have a Japanese friend whose grandparents were interred and many other people I know lost ancestors or had stories of how their ancestors escaped Europe or sheltered people from the Nazis. I myself didn't lose any relatives that I know of; most of my family left various parts of China, or were from the Islands. I've read numerous stories about WWII and shake my head at all the whining and bellyaching I hear from everyone these days as we ignore the very real threats that everyone seems to be sticking their heads in the sand to avoid. I hope people realize that such a conflict can always occur again if we become careless and freedom can be lost. As a very, very, wise man once said: Least we Forget.
Author's notes: 13x4, First time I've ever tried an 'alternate pairing'. 13x4 is about as alternate as they get. Rated R for many, many reasons as will soon be evident (lots of gore, angst, blah, blah, blah)
Prologue: Concealment
I stand before you in this summer of 1943 as a liar, a thief and a fraud. To the Nazis of this complex, I am Thomas Moremer, loyal German citizen, gardener and servant to Major Treize Kushrenada. But I am really Quatre Raberba Winner, a 14 year old Polish boy, Jewish rebel, holder of forged identity documents and one who is sheltering enemies of the Reich. In short, a U-Boat; a U-Boat can hide its true nature under the water without a trace.
I've buried my pre-war life back in Kozolowa Gora and maybe I'll live to reclaim it someday. But as this bloody war progresses, each day that hope fades just a little more; at the very least, I will have defied the conquerors of my homeland in some small ways. The soldiers have just finished their party, now is my chance. I know they won't miss any of the leftover food, so I tuck what I can into a box I've brought with me. They have much, but I know some who have few.
Thankfully, they pay me no more attention then a chair or cup. It's not like I haven't done this before. But when you're a U-Boat, you live with a constant tension, always watching over your shoulder, not knowing if at any moment, a soldier will grab you and haul you off to the Gestapo, or worse. But I wasn't worried about being caught with food. I was far more worried about who I had hidden in the Major's office.
I glance out of the corner of my eye and see Alex, a young SS trooper, watching me carefully and making no effort to hide it. Is he upset about me taking the food, or simply curious? Or does he know more about me then he's letting on? Maybe I didn't cover the vent properly, maybe one of them made a sound, maybe he was just passing by the study and saw a figure behind the grate, maybe.
I pretend not to see him and finish filling the box. I have apples, bread, cheese, even part of a cake; precious treasures in these times. I hurry to the Major's office to make sure he hasn't found my secret that's far worse then taking any amount of food. I had stowed away my friends, Trowa, Duo, Heero and Wufei; a gypsy, the son of an American journalist, the nephew of a Japanese spy and a foreign student in the last place that anyone would have ever looked: the private study of a high-ranking Nazi officer.
I walk down the hall to the officers' quarters. I seemed to have lost him, until I stepped over the threshold and heard a cough behind me. I turned to face Alex. Most others at this point would have simply been relieved to see the soldier's gun still in the holster, but I had fared better then most. Besides, I was tiny for my age; he could have broken me in two if he had wanted.
"W-what are you doing here?" I stammered.
"I have full authority to patrol this compound. What are you doing here?" he replied.
"I'm Thomas Moremer, Herr Kushrenada's groundskeeper and I was just about to have lunch and then clean the Major's office."
"Oh, very well." he answered and left, disinterested. I quickly locked the door and tried to slow my racing heart. I waited and listened for a few moments to see if Alex would come back. Then I hurried and opened the grate to pass the food to the others, who gratefully wolfed down the food.
"You need to be more careful. It's too dangerous for you to hide us here, Quatre." said Trowa.
"Don't worry, I'll come back and get you when the SS are gone."
"Cheer up. I managed to pick up from my radio some Allied broadcasts this morning that the Nazis are having trouble with the Soviets."
Duo was always the optimist.
"How does that help us here in Ternopol? If they become more nervous, their eyes and trigger fingers will be that much more alert; bombs and bullets don't discriminate."
Wufei was quite right about that. Alex and the other soldiers were keeping a careful lookout for anything suspicious.
I put back the grate and as I began to clean the study, I overheard Alex discussing the latest message from the front lines with a commander, Zechs. Duo's broadcast was confirmed as I listened to Zechs ordering the subordinate not to discuss the information with the other soldiers.
"I'm afraid this news may slow down our work here, Sir."
"Nonsense, just a few more months and Poland will be completely free of Jews."
I was barely 14, a mere child, but I wasn't naïve. I hated the Nazis for taking over my country, angry at the suffering they had caused. I had come this far, every moment that I remained alive, I defied them and kept Poland from being 'Jew free'. Even though sheltering four others was a mere drop in the ocean, I had vowed to do everything I could. But how would I sneak my friends out of Major Treize's study, and where could I hide them?