AN- I thought of a what if scenario with alternate gundam pilots. I decided to scrap it, seeing as I gave myself a headache trying to work out how these characters would interact. However, I wanted to show these pilots. In the end, I came up with several versions of Sita- AKA Relena Peacecraft. I'll probably write a drabble for each version- eventually. This first drabble has hints of all the different Sitas, and will act as back story for any future elaborations- even those set in different fan'verses.
Disclaimer- I own nothing recognisable relating to Gundam Wing. I'm going to claim Sita Maxwell though, despite her canon identity. (Mine, mine MINE! Hey, what's with those lawsuits?)
Sita- Six (Swahili)
Once upon a time, there was a King. The king was a kind man, who loved his wife, his children and his kingdom. However, the king lived in a dangerous world, and he wanted the downtrodden people of the outlying lands to be treated equal to those who lived in his own kingdom. He worked with his good friend Heero Yuy to try and accomplish his goal.
The two men were making progress in their goal, but others weren't happy about this. They benefited from the way things were, and were willing to do anything to stop change.
They attacked the King's castle, and by the end of the day both the King and his queen were dad, along with many of their trusted servants and friends. The young prince survived the attack, and promptly vanished into the system; hidden from all those who might wish Prince Milliardo Peacecraft harm.
No one ever found the Princess. Some say, that the Princess, whose mother was rumoured to have power beyond any normal human, inherited her mother's power and spirited herself away in the confusion. Those people are denounced as fools and heretics. Her grave is next to her parent's, and for all intents and purposes, Relena Peacecraft is dead.
The man who took her saw no reason to bring undue attention to the baby girl in his care. Instead, he gave the newly-orphaned girl a new name, and a new identity as his daughter.
In another story, her rescuer would have been a local politician, loyal to both her father and the ideals he supported. Here, Relena Peacecraft became Sita, daughter of Howard, one of the six designers of Tallgeese, and one of the six scientists funded by the Barton Foundation to design the ultimate war machines- The Gundams.
Growing up, Sita travelled both the world and the colonies with her father, becoming a regular sight on Sweeper Vessels. When she was discovered to be a Newtype, and a powerful Newtype at that, she began her training to be a pilot for the sixth Gundam- one Howard affectionately called Tallgeese Two. He ceased to be her father, and became her handler. Mister E.
Her training included relatively minor genetic modifications, both to aid her in her future task and to distance her from the Sanc Kingdom Monarchy. Her hair, which would have traditionally have been worn long to signify her family's devotion to peace and freedom, was now too tough to cut without difficulty, and would serve as a decent back up weapon. Howard tried not to think of how the late King and Queen would have reacted to their daughter's hair being considered a weapon.
Upon meeting an L2 street-rat named Duo, Sita took to braiding her hair, albeit in a simple plait as opposed to the French braid Maxwell favoured. They were trained separately, but Sita chose the surname Maxwell as an alias a few months after their meeting. Howard tried not to laugh too hard when one of his Sweeper's questioned the young grease-monkey about a non-existent crush on the Maxwell boy. He failed upon seeing Sita's expression when the subject of marriage came up.
Sita Maxwell grew up to be Zero-Six, pilot of one of the greatest war machines ever built, codenamed Skybranta. An efficient mechanic and combatant, her true talent was in biochemistry, making her both an excellent medic, and amusingly enough, an excellent infiltrator. It was but the work of a moment to adjust her shampoo to make her hair darker or lighter, and make up was readily available as an additional aid.
Her skin wasn't quite tough enough to stop bullets, but she could take a harder beating than most people and walk away with far fewer injuries. Her hair served as a chokehold, allowing her to strangle an enemy soldier when needed, with no evidence left behind.
Sita Maxwell mostly ignored the revelation that she was a potential heir to the Sanc Kingdom, except for the part she had an older brother on the other side of the battlefield. And for the part where she had to threaten to choke Duo with her hair to get a minute's peace about her 'unladylike' behaviour. After all, it was a given that there were No lady's present on the Sweeper Ship. And despite her interest in biology, Sita was most definitely a Sweeper through and through.
The fact that Duo was also, technically, a Sweeper, was the only thing saving the so-called Shinigami from itching powder in his pullover.