Heavy Metal

A GW fanfic by: Raven and Kim

DISCLAIMER: We wish… Katarina, Cassandra and Tetsuya Camui belong to us, as well as the plot.

...

Chapter 1

AC 204

Preventer HQ

Earth

The main conference room was abuzz with chatter. It was full to its capacity, all the chairs around the table filled, and most of those present were forced to stand wherever there was room. Of the near sixty agents inside, only a select few seemed calm and collected, and they were all seated around the conference table. Heero Yuy, Quatre Winner, Duo Maxwell, Wufei Chang, Trowa Barton, Sally Po, Lucrezia Noin, Zechs Merquise and Howard filled these seats. Only one remained unoccupied at the moment. It was the chair at the head of the table that would undoubtedly be filled with Lady Une's presence any minute now.

The second the main door opened and Lady Une stepped into the room, everything got extremely quiet. No one moved, hardly dared to breathe because of the forlorn and serious look on her face.

"You're all here, good," She pushed her chair aside and dropped a small folder onto the marble table top. "As some of you have already been informed, at 0100 last night, our mainframe was hacked. Several top secret files were viewed and stolen, the most important being the original plans to the Tallgeese Gundam's computer system. We suspect the Orion group to be the perpetrators,"

There was a collective uproar from those in the room, but it quickly hushed again as Une stared at them all. This situation was definitely a serious one.

"I've been on the phone all night with the President and the Joint Chiefs. They have authorized us to take serious action."

"More like they ordered it," Duo muttered from his spot at the table. Une spared him only a brief scathing glance before turning her attention back to everyone else.

"I've called you all here because you are the utmost best at what you do. We're going to be rebuilding the Gundams,"

Another collective uproar, but this time it didn't get quiet again for some time. After only a few years of peace, allowing the Gundams to be rebuilt just seemed ridiculous. Even if this rebel group was stupid enough to start another war, they couldn't possibly have the resources necessary to come up with the kind of fire power that would require the aid of the Gundams.

"Please, pay attention!" Une suddenly called out, bringing the room back to a decent quiet. "The situation is going to get much worse and I need each and every one of you to listen and to understand your role in our plan to try and stop this war. All of your are mechanics, engineers and computer technicians, and all of you have flight experience in mobile suits. Get to know one another as you're going to be working closely together over the next few months," At this Lady Une stood up straight and sighed quietly. "Howard,"

Hearing his name, Howard turned his full attention onto Lady Une, knowing what was coming before it even happened.

"The files we have on the Tallgeese are very limited. Not everything about the original Gundam or its systems have been detailed. Can you explain this?"

"Eh, well, you see," Howard scratched his head nervously. "Everything in that file is everything I knew about the suit. I only came into the picture when construction started on it. I was pretty close to her original creator, but I never really asked about the specs of its control system. Even the Tallgeese III now in Preventer Wind's possession is merely a mocked copy. Aside from the original plans that had been in the computer database, what's in that file is all that I can give you," Howard lied as he shook his head and looked down at the table for a moment. "But even the file that was stolen won't be of much help to Orion. Without the complete detail of the main system, it really can't be duplicated. Of course, anyone with any know how on building mobile suits won't really need it. Not in this day and age,"

"Then we've already failed," Une fell into her chair and shook her head, looking distraught for the first time since coming into the room.

"Well, no ma'am, we haven't," Wufei announced suddenly. "There's one other person that has the original plans. The hard copy,"

"Wufei," Howard shot the man a stern look. "She won't go for it,"

"Who?" Une asked, staring between the two men.

"Well, you see…" Howard sighed in exasperation. "Tallgeese's original creator isn't exactly…well…"

"She's alive," Wufei muttered, not in the slightest bit hesitant to reveal as much. "In hiding, I'm sure,"

"She's not in hiding!" Howard snapped, rolling his eyes at Wufei's show of dramatics.

"She?" Zechs inquired, slightly surprised by this revelation. He'd always wondered why there was something oddly feminine about some of Tallgeese's attributes.

"I assume you know where she is?"

"No," Howard admitted, sighing heavily again. "But I know where she will be,"

"Then bring her in," Une stood up again, looking at the group still crowded into the room. "Howard, Wufei, Zechs and Trowa, I want you all to go and retrieve this woman and bring her back here. We need to get started immediately. The rest of you, please follow Quatre, Duo, Heero and Noin to the hangar bay. They will give you the details on where to begin. Dismissed,"

Howard leapt up and quickly followed Lady Une, Wufei hot on his heels. "Ma'am! I really must protest!"

Une spun around on her heel and stared at him. "Howard, we need her. She's the only one that can help us make sure we stand a chance,"

"You don't understand, Lady. I mean no offense. It's just that, well, she won't go for it."

"Why wouldn't she want to help save the lives of millions of people?"

"It's nothing to do with that, Ma'am, not at all. She just doesn't like the military! She got away from all of that after the Tallgeese was shot down in 194. And…other things," At this, Howard glanced at Wufei and met the man's unhappy sneer with resignation. Wufei blamed Cassandra for a lot of the things that had gone wrong in his life, most importantly, the death of his wife, Meiran. Treize was, ultimately, the one who had struck the killing blow, but it was Cassandra that had allowed Meiran to take the Tallgeese, even knowing it was not completed.

That wasn't the truth of it, of course. Cassandra had put up one hell of a fight to keep Meiran from taking the Tallgeese into battle, but in the end, Meiran had won.

Howard shook his head as Lady Une took in what he'd told her, but she looked no more reluctant to call the woman in than she had upon learning she was still alive.

"We need her here,"

"But she won't-"

"Find a way to persuade her," Une spun on her heel and was gone to her office in a flash.

Howard stood with Wufei in silent contemplation for a moment, terribly unsure of the entire situation. "She won't even listen to me if you're there,"

"Then I won't show myself until the last moment,"

"I suppose that will suffice. Ah, well, I suppose we should get ready. We've got a long drive ahead of us,"

...

Trowa climbed out of the truck and gazed around at the packed parking lot beyond where they had pulled up. Zechs and Wufei followed, Howard not far behind.

"Must be one hell of a concert. How are we supposed to find her?"

Howard chuckled. "I know exactly where she'll be. Follow me. And listen up! You all need to get somewhere and duck down. As long as she only sees me, she won't make a run for it. I don't want you two," (at this he pointed to Zechs and Trowa), "to try and grab her yet until I have her full and undivided attention. She's going to be extremely pissed, and let me tell you, she's quite the spitfire," Howard rubbed his arm. "And she gets feisty when she's riled. However, I don't think she'll put up too much of a physical fight, none at all if we play our cards right. And Wufei, I don't want you making an appearance until we get her alone in the room and have a chance to explain some things,"

"Whatever it takes," Wufei muttered as he moved back to the truck and moved it out of sight. Howard proceeded to lead Zechs and Trowa around the side of the concert venue where a lone car was parked beneath a tree. From what they could see of it, Zechs and Trowa gathered that it was a gray colored Mustang with what seemed to be the name of whatever band was playing inside of the venue written across the top of the windshield.

"Now we wait," Howard announced and Zechs and Trowa immediately found the perfect spots to keep themselves hidden while they waited for their prey.

...

Cassandra Matthews stepped out of the concert venue and into the cool night air, surrounded by fellow fans of her favorite band. She, like the rest of the crowd, was still pumped from the concert and so was extra energetic on her way back to her car. Her ears were still ringing from the loudness of the event, but her spirits were soaring. It was a good night, and as she headed for her car she was still singing the last song played and looking happier than Howard had seen her in a long time.

Cassandra jerked to a stop when she spotted him leaning casually against her car.

"Howard?" She asked cautiously, taking only one small step towards him. He looked relaxed enough, but she'd known him for as far back as she could remember and had spent so much time with him that it was becoming easier to tell when something was going on. "Why are you here? How did you find me?"

"Sweetheart, I've always had the means to find you. Considering what happened and the reason you left, I just chose to let you alone for a while," Howard sighed and pushed off the hood of her car. He closed the gap between them and wrapped her in a gentle hug.

"I'm sorry, Howard," Cassandra murmured as she walked back to the car with him and leaned against the hood. "After the funeral…once it was all said and done, I had to get away for a while. I didn't mean to stay gone as long as I had, but even now, it's hard to face what happened,"

"So am I, kiddo. There's a lot I could have done to help you, but I thought you would need to be left alone for a while. You would have come back when you were ready. Unfortunately, I can't wait for that now," Howard shook his head, folding his arms over his chest. "I have a favor to ask of you,"

"What kind of favor?"

"A favor you're not going to like," Howard straightened up again and betrayed his comrades who were approaching, by looking in their direction. Cassandra glanced at them, recognizing the Preventer uniforms, and she sighed quietly.

"What's this about, Howard?"

"Let's move this discussion to a private area, shall we? Preventer has secured a conference room for us," Trowa offered as he studied Cassandra in detail. She looked familiar, but he couldn't figure out why.

"Must be one hell of a favor. This have anything to do with Orion?" Cassandra questioned as they entered a small conference room and closed the door. "Howard, I'm flattered you think I'd be of any help, but I told you a long time ago, I didn't want to be involved any more,"

"I know, sweetheart, but we need you on this one," Howard reached across the table and took her hands. "Don't be angry,"

The door opened and Wufei stepped inside, drawing Cassandra's attention from the man that had raised her as his own, and she felt her temper slipping the leash. She hadn't seen Wufei in seven years and she wasn't happy about seeing him now. Their eyes met and they stared at each other for a moment before Cassandra yanked her hands away from Howard and leapt out of her chair to pace.

"We need your help rebuilding the Gundams, Cassie. We've got one of the best mechanics on the job, but she can't handle it by herself," Howard insisted as she paced by him again, the look on her face indicating how angry she was getting. She and Wufei had never gotten along. He blamed her for the death of his young wife when she'd stolen the Tallgeese to defend her colony, even though Cassandra had done all she could to stop Meiran. And Wufei had destroyed a mobile suit seven years ago in the Mariemaya war that had belonged to the love of Cassandra's life. He knew Wufei hadn't known, hadn't harmed the man to settle a score with Cassandra, but she didn't know that and she believed he'd done it to get back at her.

Finally, her furious pacing was too much for him.

"Sit down!" Howard demanded loudly, making her stop. She flinched, recognizing that fatherly tone he used to always have with her. "Cassandra, you need to hear me out,"

"I told you a long time ago, Howard, I'm not designing any more weapons for you or anyone else!" She looked at Wufei. "I'm still coping with the ramifications of the last one."

"Really?" Wufei snarled and looked away. Cassandra's shoulders sagged. He still blamed her for Meiran's death. She hadn't pegged him for the type to a hold a grudge for so long, but she had a grudge she still held quite firmly against him as well.

"I don't need you to design anything for me, Cassie. Not this time,"

She sighed heavily. "No, Howard," She moved for the door and had just reached it when Wufei called her name out softly. "What?" She turned to look at him, wanting desperately to punch that smug look off of his face.

"It's the Tallgeese, Cassie," Howard said quietly.

Cassandra tensed as she looked at him. "What about her?"

Howard stood up and shook his head. "They stole her, Cassie. Her design, her systems. Orion has stolen her,"

Zechs watched as Cassandra's anger diminished over having been dragged into the room. She seemed to think it over for a moment before she refocused her attention on Howard again. That suit obviously meant a lot to her. Howard's wild card.

"Orion stole her?"

"Yes,"

"They stole her?"

"Not the suit itself. She's still in the hangar back on base, but they stole her original system plans," Howard repeated, glad he was getting through to her.

She sighed as she walked back toward him and fell into the empty chair across from him. She looked so upset. "What do you need?"

Howard and the rest of the group breathed a sigh of relief at this. "Does this mean you'll help?"

"For Tallgeese? Yes. Howard, I designed that Gundam to help keep the peace, not to destroy it, and she means a lot to me," Zechs stared at her, gaining a new respect for this woman. She was still a spitfire and he was sure they weren't going to get along very well, but he knew he'd have to suck it up and deal with her anyway. She was the Tallgeese's creator, meaning he was going to be working very closely with her when it came to his Tallgeese III.

"We need you to restore her systems to their full potential," Howard began as he reclaimed his own seat, knowing what that would mean to her. "Preventer has been ordered to rebuild all five of the Gundams. Zechs here has the only fully functional Gundam still in existence. The Tallgeese III is currently our only defense, and I think we could tip the scales of this war back in our favor if she were at her full potential,"

"You're her pilot?" Cassandra asked as she stared over at Zechs.

"Yes, I am,"

"Huh," Cassandra turned back to Howard and rubbed the back of her neck. "I suppose the original designs and schematics of the Tallgeese will help with the construction of Gundams better equipped to deal with whatever the hell Orion is building, but her specific system will only help her. Are we having to start from scratch?"

"Yes. And, well, we're hoping you'll do your best on upgrading the Tallgeese III. Since the Tallgeese had been so badly damaged, everything had to be replaced. None of your original parts remained save for the engine. We were able to jerry-rig it into working at half capacity. But since you never told anyone how it really should have worked, the two models that followed it were just mockup copies. And your experience with the system could benefit Zechs here greatly,"

Cassandra glanced at Zechs again and sighed. "I have one condition,"

"I'm listening," Howard smiled softly at her.

"If I do this for you, if I help you to get this done and it stops the war, you have to promise me that you'll do everything in your power to find out what the hell happened to my family,"

Howard flinched a little. He had known it was coming and nodded faintly. Not much was known about Cassandra's past. Just that she was found wandering around when she was twelve. She had no memory of who she was or who her parents were, nor did she have any inclination as to how she'd wound up on Howard's doorstep. But the woman had a knack for engineering and mechanics and he'd put her to work straight away. When she'd come to him with the Tallgeese's design, he'd been absolutely overjoyed and had put it into play almost immediately. It was her greatest accomplishment and she cherished that Gundam above everything else because it had been a part of her. It was only natural that she react so violently over the fact that the rebel group had stolen her.

"I'll do everything that I can,"

She hesitated, then nodded at him, pulling a necklace out from behind her concert t-shirt. The charm dangling from the chain looked simple enough, but if you looked closely, you could clearly tell that it was a well disguised memory chip. She unclasped the chain and held it out to Howard, looking a little reluctant.

"It's all here, Howard,"

"You'll help us then?"

"Yeah," She whispered, sighing heavily. "I'll do what I can to help you, but I want full authority over Tallgeese. If they really want her to work the way she was designed to, I need to know that no one is going to interfere with my work."

"Believe me, you'll have it. Zechs will give you as much help as he can, and you know I'll be right there with you every step of the way. And since Zechs is Tallgeese's current pilot, it would be best if the two of you got to know one another. Why don't you two bring the Mustang back to base?"

Someone made a rude noise, but Howard wasn't sure if it was Zechs or Cassie, but either way, he knew those two were definitely going to be a good pair. A pain in the ass most days, but he was positive they would get along very well once the work got started. And once Zechs saw what the Tallgeese was really capable of, he would understand Cassandra's reluctance to help. They needed to be able to work together to make sure nothing could go wrong. It was the only logical solution. No one but Cassandra knew hardly anything about Tallgeese's complex system. Zechs was her pilot and would therefore need to know everything about it that could possibly help him control it better.

"Here, you hang on to this," Howard passed the necklace back into her hands. "No need to be givin' it to me. You're the one that's going to need it these next few months,"

"Let's get back to headquarters," Trowa said softly. "Une is calling a second meeting and she wants us all there. And she wants her in uniform," He indicated Cassandra who just smiled and shook her head.

"I hope this organization has enough money to pay for the hell I'm going to put them through," Cassandra rose and allowed Zechs to escort her back to her car. "I assume you're going to drive?"

"You assume correctly," Zechs said, catching her keys as she threw them at his head.

"Fine, but don't even think about touching the radio. My car, my music."

"Fine,"

"Oh yeah," Cassandra said as she watched Zechs climb into the driver's seat. "You owe me big time, Howard!"

...

End Chapter.