Dead Language
Bygoingdownhillagain
həˈloʊ ˈmaɪ ˈseksiː ˈbiːsts,ˈaɪ ˈhoʊp ˈsəm ˈwənˈgɪvzˈðɪs ˈmesɪdʒ tə, ˈkwiːn əv ˈpɪŋk ˈkɪŋdəm. ˈskwɑd ɪz ˈtræpt ət ˈbeɪs, ˈtɑrgət ˈhækt ˈsɪstəm ənd ˈfæʊnd ɑr loʊˈkeɪʃən. ˈplænɪŋ tə ˈmuːv ˈkɑrgoʊ tə ˈdʒərməniː. ˈkət (ð)əm ˈɔf ət məˈrɑkoʊ. ˈsend ˈəs koʊˈɔrdnəts ət ˈðɪs ˈpæθˌweɪ.ˈfləfiː
It took a lot for the Preventers Command Centre to fall silent. Actually there were only three incidents where the room became so quiet that even silence crashed into itself. The first was a biological attack on European state of Italy, the second was a failed attack on the ESUN Headquarters and the Vice-Foreign Minister's Office. In those earlier cases, the silence was usually ended by a curse, a shout command or, depending which former Gundam/OZ/White Fang member was in charge, an explosion. Sometimes it was all three.
Not this time; everyone in the room, including Sub-Commander Heero Yuy of Espionage and Counter-Intelligence, stared at the screen with its collection of pale florescent white scribbles in absolute but justifiable awe…and horror.
Naturally Maxwell was responsible.
"What the fuck is that, Yuy?!"
Heero just stared at the screen, his face completely devoid of emotion.
"Code."
"No shit. What does it say?"
Heero stared at it some more.
"I don't know. This is the first time Maxwell used something like this."
Heero refused to acknowledge the string of curses coming from his Commander. The man was not saying anything different from what he had screaming before. The whole operation was slipshod from the start and with each day that came the whole situation became increasingly ugly. Maxwell and his squad were supposed to enter into the Brazilian jungle, tag the base, insert a virus and withdraw before the Preventer drones came in to electronically shutdown the mercenaries' network systems. However, a tropical storm on the cusp of becoming a full blown hurricane and drawn out coup attempt in the capital resulted in the mercenaries stepping up their schedule and Maxwell with his team going AWOL.
Until now.
And here they were, standing in the Command Centre looking at the first possible indication that the men and women they sent in were alive. And no one had a clue what it said. Heero continued to stare blankly at the screen, the symbols staring back at him. Duo didn't just do things without thought. Even at his most desperate moment Duo knew that a message was useless if it couldn't be understood. He knew that this was solvable, but Heero had no idea how to solve it; something he had never had to deal with. For Duo not to leave any clue, even the most miniscule, meant one thing to Heero. It was something his mind and his heart didn't want to acknowledge.
"Yuy."
Heero turned to his boss.
"Has Maxwell ever talked about anything relating to codes, languages? Any new projects? Anything that will give us a clue about where his mind was when he wrote this?"
There was an instant of irritation at how the man described Duo's supposed absentmindedness. Heero was aware that everyone thought Duo was strange on good days, a nuisance on bad days and deadly when necessary. Some feared him, some wished him gone; but the end of the day Duo was very good at his job. Even his boss knew that, but as Heero looked into the old man's face, the question made sense. All of Preventers knew that the only person who would know what was going through Duo's mind was Heero.
Heero looked up at the code.
"Maxwell likes to follow procedure. He wouldn't reveal any new creations unless you or Lady Une passed it. I can check my personal system for his trial runs but…Maxwell would never send a message without a breaker."
The Commander closed his eyes, his thick thumb making a deep horizontal crease in the pleated shin of his forehead.
"Alright, Movalier, do a comparison scan for every known code ever used, both viable and obsolete."
"Already half way through the Database, sir. Got nothing so far."
"Different languages?"
"Currently Nordicstem variation. Seeing some similarities but no match, sir."
"Crap…um…okay listen everyone, …we have a situation … Captain Maxwell has sent a message…under what we assume is either duress or desperation. It is imperative that we crack this code. We don't have much time left. We know there is activity at the base now and that most probably means that they know we've sent people in. I need not remind you what they did the local army unit that went to investigate."
Silence reigned again; the video of the decapitated bodies of the soldiers lined up neatly along the highway, their heads later delivered in individual wooden boxes to their homes was enough to tease the dark memories.
"I'm giving everyone here two hours to solve this. After which …we will have no choice but to do Evasive Maneuvers."
There was a ripple of curses but the predominant sound was of the steady buzz of computers and mainframes all trying to find their missing soldiers.
Heero knew the moment Relena was in the room. She wasn't announced any more; that all ended with the attack on her office. Still it was become a bit disconcerting to find Relena in places one didn't expect her. In Heero's opinion, she was picking up too much from him.
"Have they found them?"
"No."
She sighed.
"They'll find him. Do you have any idea if he's safe?"
"He sent the message and the path he used is still viable. Therefore there is a seventy five percent chance he is still alive but captured. That or he and the entire squad are deceased and the Preventer communications are compromised."
Relena gave a small smile as she gently placed her hand on his. Even after all these years, he could feel the flutter in his heart when her skin met his. But he didn't jump at her touch.
"So you believe he's okay."
Heero glanced at her face, then returned to the screen.
"Yes."
He refused to acknowledge her answering smile.
"I take it there is a contingency plan if all else fails?"
"Yes."
"Good, let me know when you need my signature."
Relena turned to go. Suddenly she felt the pressure of calloused fingers wrapped firmly around her delicate wrist. Fighting to ignore the tingle along her skin, she looked back.
"Heero?"
There was silence.
"Thank you."
He never said what he was thanking her for, but Relena didn't really care. The fact that he could was enough for her.
"Your welcome. I'll leave you all to your work."
Relena turned to continue on her way out. As Heero watched, she carefully yet quickly made her way out of the room, occasionally glancing at a screen or scaring the living daylight out of a Preventer who up till that moment didn't even see her.
Heero knew that she had picked that up from him.
As he watched, Relena paused at the door, speaking quietly to the Commander, nodding her head at whatever request he was making. Heero saw when she raised her head, her eyes glancing at the large screen with the incomprehensible code.
He saw when she froze.
Heero was moving even before Relena began to drift toward the screen. He barely noticed when the Commander's voice dried up as he realized that the Vice-Foreign Minister was no longer listening to him. Two of the technicians were quicker to respond; they followed Relena as she slowly approached the screen.
She stared intently at the screen, the glare of the monitor seemingly inconsequential to her rapidly moving eyes. She looked surprise at first, but as Heero watched the muscles of her face relaxed and a small, bemused smile flitter across her lips.
"Ma'am?"
"The cargo is going to Germany."
Relena didn't speak loudly, but years if heading meetings ensured that her voice penetrated the hum of the room. It was the only way to explain the dead silence that permeated the room.
The Commander watched Relena carefully.
"Ma'am, right now we can't ascertain the location of the-"
"It is heading to Germany, but it will make a stop in Morocco. By the way Maxwell and his squad are still trapped in the base."
The Commander exchanged a confused glance with his technicians; his need to hurry the obviously mistaken Vice-Foreign Minister out of the room warring the ingrained respect for a woman who commanded an entire world at one time.
"Ma'am, if you could explain-"
"I'm surprised he remembered the conversation. But then again, Duo's mind always worked a little differently to everyone else's."
Now Heero was confused.
"Relena?"
"Oh, sorry Heero. It's just I'm marveling at Duo's imagination. I must say, he has earned his reputation. Such a shame he wouldn't be able to use this again. It will be compromised by now. Wouldn't it?"
Relena was met by retrained silence.
"Oh, um…I know this code. It's very easy if you know History…um according to Duo…mercenaries tapped into their communication lines and found them. They didn't have a choice but to hide in the base. But the cargo you all are looking for is heading to Germany… I think. What I want to know is why he persists in calling me the Queen of the Pink Kingdom?"
The commander's mouth began opening sporadically. What she said made sense, especially for the type of terrorist group they were dealing with.
Still…
"How the HELL do you know this?!"
Relena jumped at the Commander's voice blared over the heads of his officers. She stared for a moment in shock but, remembering the situation, she looked to the technicians.
"Sorry…uh…actually, it's simple really. This is English. Remember Heero? Duo and I were having this argument about the ESUN and communication practices. Remember he told me that technically we communicate in a dead language?"
Heero remembered that conversation which took place between two council meetings in a small conference room, yet he didn't see the connection. Luckily one of the technicians did.
"Wait a minute…do you mean?..."
Relena smiled as recognition bloomed on the young woman's face.
"Exactly."
As the rest of the room looked on, the young woman rushed to her screen and typed a series of commands in. The entire message was highlighted, and then bit-by-bit symbols became words.
Everyone stared at the message. The Vice-Foreign Minister was correct, almost word for word. Heero couldn't help but touch Relena's shoulder gently as his Boss began to yell commands to the soldiers. Relena jumped from the contact, but once she recognized his hand she settled into the slightly smug grin.
"Relena?"
"Mmmm?"
"Should I be concerned about what you and Duo do together?"
Relena's smile became brighter.
"That's for me to know and for you to ask Duo about, Yuy."
And with that she turned around and regally glided out of the room.
Heero watched her leave, his mind already formulating a program to camouflage a stop command, which would interrupt communication between the terrorists and their almost abandoned base. When this was over, he was definitely having a long talk with Duo and Relena.
They had the potential to be very dangerous.
AN: Anyone can tell me what the message actually says?