Greetings, everyone. I am Asmus and I welcome you to the opening part of this new story. I really hope you will enjoy this story, though if you don't, well ... You can't please everyone.
Either way, some of you might consider this a rewrite of my previous story - Gundam Seed: Divided Loyalties. And that is correct. Kind of. While the original idea is still the same, this is pretty much a fresh start, since almost nothing of the main storyline was revealed back then. Yeah, so I advise you to forget everything you read in the previous story, since it has absolutely nothing to do with this one.
Now, this story is only the beginning. I am planning to do a whole trilogy, so that means we're in for a long and epic ride. I have some big things in mind. Things I have been waiting to realize for years. So expect this story to take its own path and not even remotely approach Destiny. Of course, there will be characters and other things that can be found in Destiny, but that is pretty much the limit to how much Destiny will influence my stories.
Okay, a few pointers before we start.
First of all, I am not a native English speaker. I am Latvian, which means English is my second language. Therefore, be aware that there will be some errors and mistakes. I will try my best to make as little errors as possible, but I cannot catch them all, so I would greatly appreciate if you helped me with that and informed if I am constantly repeating a mistake.
Also, do not hesitate to give an honest opinion. If you don't like something, please tell me, so that I can improve that particular aspect of my story. If you like something, please tell me, so I know what kind of things are appreciated.
Oh yes, another thing to keep in mind. Gundam is a war story, so this means there will be violence and swearing in this story, as well as somewhat strongly implied sex. Of course, considering what kind of stuff you can hear on the streets and see on TV, I doubt I will be able to surprise anyone. Yes, I will make sure to keep myself in check and not go overboard with all the juicy stuff. However, there will be times when I cannot promise I won't cross the boundary. In those times, I will make sure to notify you if the chapter in question is a bit higher on the rating scale.
Anyway, that is all for now. I think. Now, onto the first story of The Tainted Renaissance trilogy.
September 28th, Cosmic Era 71, space near L5, Yachin Due.
The dawn of the September 28th of Cosmic Era 71 was not a peaceful one. Even though it was the first day after more than a year of vicious fighting when members of ZAFT and OMNI Enforcer did not open fire at each other, peace was far from everyone's mind. Everyone was still concerned, worried or just plain nervous. Even the fact that peace talks were in the process of being set up, in order to build a lasting peace between Earth Alliance and PLANTs, was not enough to assure people. Hands remained near weapons, or buttons that would fire weapons, eyes remained cautious and kept searching for any threats, minds remained suspicious and wary of anything that could spell trouble. Nothing was left to chance and extensive precautions were taken almost constantly.
There was a good reason for all the tension, as barely a day ago weapons of mass destruction had been use on scale previously unseen before. In just one day, humanity had come to the very edge of oblivion and had nearly taken the last step that would have resulted in the destruction of human race as a whole. Never before, had the hate been so powerful and all-consuming that all thoughts of self-preservation had been swept aside, giving way to the desire to kill and destroy. Never before had humanity experienced such a close call. Pushed to the very brink of destruction by the actions of few, genocidal people, who had been, in turn, manipulated by one man's insane vision, the possibility of the dawn of the September 28th greeting a dead world had been very real indeed.
The only reason why it hadn't happened, despite the near certainty, was because not everyone had been consumed by the hate. Some people had decided to stand against the tide and do everything in their power to stop the destruction. People, who had managed to put aside their differences in order to work together. People, who had sacrificed so much in order to do what was right, what was necessary. People, who had shed blood, tears and sweat in order to ensure that humanity as a whole had a future other than one ruled by hate.
However, despite the selfless actions of the group of people, known as the Three Ships Alliance, peace was still a distant dream. People didn't change their minds over a single night. Not when they had been following one idea for a very long time. To make people realize the error of their ways and seek new paths towards the future was a long and arduous task. There were still plenty of people, calling out for violence and conflict, determined to root out those they saw as their enemies, whether it was caused by fear or genuine hate, was hard to tell. Either way, just because the actual war was over, it did not mean the conflict and distrust were gone. They were still there, burning under the surface of everyone's minds, and waiting.
This tension that permeated throughout both Coordinators and Naturals, was twice as high among people near whatever had remained of ZAFT's fortress Yachin Due. Search and rescue operations, conducted by both sides, often resulted in ZAFT and OMNI Enforcer soldiers running into each other as they searched the battlefield for survivors. Though mercifully no shots were fired and both groups kept their distance from each other, the tension during such meetings was enough to be almost palpable. Everyone kept a close eye on those who had been their enemies just a day before and the suspense did not lift until they were well out of sight of each other.
Thankfully, the concern for survivors was more than enough to ensure that these brief meetings never escalated into something serious. There was simply no time for that. Every second spent on staring at the enemy was one more second any potential survivors had to wait for rescue. And when space was involved, even a second could mean the difference between life and death. Some of the survivors were lucky to be rescued before their air supply ran out. Others were not so lucky, resulting in more than one body floating lifelessly in space. These bodies would eventually be collected as well, so that they could receive proper burial, but for now the main concern of the rescue teams was for those who were still alive.
However, among the large number of rescue teams, there were some who had a different agenda. A single transport ship, not that different from those searching the battlefield, was moving from one location to another. Unlike other ships, this one did not move slowly and didn't even bother to check any of the warship wrecks it passed for survivors. Instead it moved quickly and determinedly, as if searching for something specific.
xxxxx
"Wow, I didn't know a man's spine could bend that way. Freaky." A young voice said over the comm channel, breaking up the silence that had reigned for several minutes, and forcing two people to frown in frustration and turn around in order to take a look at the third member of their group. "Guess you learn something every day."
"Alex, what the hell are you doing?!" A tense voice, belonging to another young man, hissed over the comms, forcing the person in question to stop his examination of the corpse and turn his dark green eyes towards one of the two people. "Stop that!"
"What does it look like? I am checking out whether or not this corpse might be of use to us. That's what we're here for, Ronald." The young man, who had just been addressed as Alex, said, while looking at the EVA suit wearing man who had just demanded an explanation. "To find suitable corpses for retrieval. Isn't that right, Amanda?" He said and glanced at the only female of their three person group.
The girl shook her head, the action impossible to see due to her EVA suit, and sighed over the comms. "Yes, that is correct, Alex. However, that does not mean we should me making jokes about it. This task is distasteful enough as it is. No reason to make it worse by cracking jokes. So I'm going to agree with Ronald. Enough with the jokes and just let's get this over with. We're on a schedule after all." She said and punctuated it by quickly moving towards the remains of what looked like a destroyed escape shuttle.
"Fine, fine. No jokes. Be super serious and boring." Alex groaned and triggered a short burst from his suit's thrust system in order to move away from the corpse and towards a destroyed Mobile Suit nearby. However, even before he reached it, Alex saw that there was no point in checking it out. The Mobile Suit, a ZAFT Ginn, had taken a beam blast right through the cockpit, which meant that nothing but ash remained of the pilot. "Fuck." He commented his bad luck.
Ronald glanced up from his data pad. "For the third time, Alex, don't bother checking the Mobile Suits. Considering the amount of firepower aimed at them, there is no way we will find an intact body. Stick to ship wrecks and shuttles."
"Well, we did found one guy, who was definitely a pilot and in good condition, so there is always the possibility." Alex radioed back, even as he pushed himself away from the wreck in order to move where Amanda was studying the destroyed escape shuttle some four hundred meters away. He did admit that Ronald was right. Checking Mobile Suits was a waste of time and effort. Mobile Suit pilots didn't leave intact bodies behind. They either survived or got blasted into so many pieces that finding them all was impossible. That pilot they had found earlier had actually been the only flight suit clad body they had found in their three hour search. All the other ones were wearing the emergency EVA suits of warship crews.
Using another burst of propellant to adjust his course, Alex quickly crossed the distance between him and the shuttle. From his calculations, the time was almost up. Most likely this shuttle would be their last stop before they were ordered to return. "Hey, Ronald, how far along are we anyway?" He contacted the person in charge of their group for details.
There was a slight pause as Ronald checked the details before replying. "So far, we have ten bodies, all in the requested condit… Oh, and I just received a message from Malcolm. He says it's time to wrap it up. Emily and Arthur reported an Alliance search party moving towards this area and he wants us to be gone by the time they arrive." Ronald passed over the contents of the message their leader had sent them. "I guess we're done then. Time to go."
"Wait a second." Amanda spoke up. "Looks like I found another one. Let me see… Hmm, looks bad… multiple holes in the suit, severe burns and shrapnel wounds … plenty of blood as well … Not good. Probably too damaged." She muttered as the young woman examined the body she had found, floating amidst the remains of an escape shuttle. She twisted and poked the dead body, evaluating its condition in order to decide whether or not she should recover it.
A second later, she was joined by Alex, who, after sparing a single glance at the corpse, made an instant decision. "If the body's too messed up, leave it. We already have more than Ashley requested." He mentioned the name of the person who had made the ghoulish request to collect dead bodies from the battlefield. "One more won't change a thing."
Amanda's green eyes stared at the blood-stained visor of the corpse's suit, unable to see the face of the dead person she was holding in her arms, before shrugging her shoulders. "Might as well take it. Considering the nature of Ashley's experiments having one more test subject can't hurt. After all, she does screw up only slightly less than she achieves the results."
"Hey, don't talk about her like that! She's a brilliant person." Alex objected as he grabbed the dead body by one arm, while Amanda held onto the other one. "Look at what she did to me."
A small grin spread across Amanda's face as she glanced at Alex. "Like I said. She does screw things up from time to time. C'mon, let's not keep Ronald waiting." She said and fired off a few bursts of propellant, heading off towards where their comrade was waiting for them.
xxxxx
"Ah, our grave robbers have returned. Did you have a good time? Find anything?" A cheerful voice greeted Alex, Ronald and Amanda, as they left the airlock and entered the hangar of their ship. Though calling the converted cargo bay a Mobile Suit hangar was actually stretching it. Everything was kept to the most basic levels and there were absolutely none of the advanced facilities a Mobile Suit pilot would expect. Even the launching itself consisted of opening the cargo bay and letting the machines get outside on their own power.
However, all of this was expected, as the ship was nothing more than a modified cargo transport. Originally built to haul cargo from the Moon to PLANTs, the Marco Polo class transport ship, the Albatross, had been modified into an improvised reconnaissance ship with Mobile Suit capabilities. Very limited, as the ship could only hold two Mobile Suits, both of which were already inside. An Alliance Strike Dagger and a ZAFT Ginn were squeezed into the hangar, their giant forms leaving precious little free space around them.
Alex pulled off the helmet off his suit, as well as the protective balaclava that left only his face exposed, and glared at the girl, walking up towards them. Unlike Alex, Amanda and Ronald, who were clad in bulky EVA suits, the girl with the cheerful voice was wearing a green, standard issue ZAFT flight suit. Her helmet was off, revealing the smile, resting on her lips and a mischievous light in her orange eyes. Her eye colour, as well as the short, spiky white hair made it easy to realize she was a Coordinator. Unlike with Amanda, whose, wavy, shoulder length blond hair and green eyes made it hard for anyone to believe that the twenty year old girl was a Coordinator as well.
"Yeah, we found a bunch of corpses for Ashley's experiments." Alex replied and pointed his thumb over his shoulder where a group of science personnel, led by Ronald and Amanda, were busy loading the bodies into special containers, which would prevent the bodies from decomposing by freezing them. "And we also brought home a pair of nukes." He nodded towards a pair of missiles, which were in the process of being dismantled and packed up for transport. "Does that answer your question, Emily?"
"Nukes do. Bodies don't." A tall, black haired man said as he followed Emily towards where Alex was standing in the middle of the cargo bay-hangar. Like Emily, he was also clad in a ZAFT issue flight suit. "Not only will those nukes allow us to reverse engineer the Nuclear Jammer Canceller for our own purposes, the weapons themselves will be quite useful. Assuming a need for them arises. As for those things…" He said and looked at the bodies. "I fail to understand why we had to bother with them at all. Ashley might be a genius, but sometimes her ideas and projects just creep me out. I mean seriously, corpses? Why the hell would she need those?"
"Do you really want to know the answer to that question, Arthur? Especially when you know that Ashley's experiments are not for the faint of heart." A voice, belonging to a man in his early thirties, said from nearby. All three of them turned in the direction of the voice and saw Malcolm Ryis, the person in charge of their little operation, approaching them. Malcolm was a somewhat tall man, with short, cropped, black hair. His blue eyes, though cheerful, were also filled with hardness and experience. Something his body reflected to a certain degree, as he was walking with a slight, barely noticeable limp. His forearms were covered with several scars all the way up to his elbows, where they disappeared under the sleeves of his green jacket. A few more scars dotted his face, easy to see despite the short bear that covered his jaw.
He walked up to them and, after placing his hands on his hips, watched the doctors give a quick examination to each corpse between sealing the containers. "Hell, the possible answer is enough to unnerve even me, and I've seen a lot of messed up things."
"What are you doing here, sir? Aren't you supposed to be reporting our status to Leon?" Arthur inquired with a slight frown.
Malcolm glanced at the young man and shook his head with a slight smile. "Drop the "sir" part, Arthur. We're not in the military anymore. Anyway, to answer your question, yes, I was going to report our findings, I just wanted to make sure myself. We won't be able to do something like this again. Not with Alliance and ZAFT teams combing the area. We were lucky enough already to find nukes that weren't armed and did not go off when the Peacemaker team was wiped out. In fact, I wouldn't be surprised if these two were the only ones."
"I understand, sir." Arthur nodded, ignoring the way Emily and Alex looked at him. "Therefore, I would like to report that we have successfully recovered two nuclear missiles, with their warheads intact. Also, we managed to find a total of eleven bodies. Their condition varies, but it is well within the requirements. You can be at ease, sir. Everything is under control."
"Glad to hear that." Malcolm sighed with a smile. Even though he was only twenty years old, Arthur Weiss was far more mature than that. Responsible, dedicated and disciplined, the former Alliance Mobile Suit pilot was a fine addition to his team, despite his preference for formality when dealing with Malcolm. "As soon as those guys are done with the bodies, we'll get out of here and head back to Earth."
"About time, I can't stand being in space. It always makes me feel nervous." Emily said in a voice filled with relief as she ran her hand through her hair and opened up the collar of her flight suit a second later. "Being on Earth is way much better. Don't have to worry about running out of air to breathe."
Alex, being in the process of removing his EVA suit right in the hangar, paused and glanced at her with an arched eyebrow. "Wait, wait, wait. You, a Coordinator, are afraid of being in space? What kind of nonsense is that? Aren't you guys supposed to eat, shit and piss life in space? I mean, look at Amanda and Ronald, they're both Coordinators and they're perfectly fine with the whole space thing." His confusion changed into a sheepish smile when Emily gave him a dark look. "Ah, okay. My bad."
"Is there a problem?" Ronald asked as he approached the group and noticed the glare Emily was giving Alex. He carried a small data pad in his hands, which he handed over to Malcolm. At the same time he sent a quick, reassuring smile at Emily who had been annoyed by Alex poking fun at her. His girlfriend returned the smile, but did not hesitate to resume glaring at Alex. Dismissing the two for a moment, Ronald turned his attention on Malcolm. "Okay, we're done with the initial check and all the bodies are in good condition. They are putting them in cryo chambers in order to prevent the bodies from decomposing. Should be over in a minute or so."
"Excellent. Very good." Malcolm ran his eyes over the data on the display and then checked his watch. "Very well done. So far we are ahead of schedule by quite a margin. You guys have done an excellent job. Despite how … ghoulish it was. Go get yourself some rest." He said and turned to leave. "Because our job has only just begun."
xxxxx
Several minutes later, Malcolm entered his quarters and, after making sure the door was locked, sat down at his desk, where his computer was located. While it was an ordinary computer, the fact that made it unusual was that it was hooked up to the Albatross's communications system, which, unlike the rest of the ship was brand new. In fact, it was more than just brand new; it featured cutting edge technology, allowing for extremely long range, secure communications, despite the interference from N-jammers.
The reason why an ancient ship had a futuristic communications system was that secrecy was important in this line of work. And when work included operating as far below the radar as possible, no amount of precaution was too much. Hell, considering the opposition, this was barely enough, because Malcolm's enemies were just as capable as he was. If not even more, considering the amount of setbacks he had experienced recently.
Putting the depressing thoughts aside for a moment, Malcolm quickly turned on the computer and started working on establishing a connection. He kept glancing at his watch from time to time, making sure he didn't waste a second. The communications channel he was trying to access was set to open only at a set time for a few seconds. If he didn't establish a connection during that window, the channel would close down and remain inaccessible until the next time, which was about three days later.
He wasn't worried, however, this wasn't the first time Malcolm was doing it, and he had made sure to be right on time. Therefore, he made a satisfied smirk when the system established a connection and, after making sure the channel was secure, put him through to the man he was supposed to report to.
The monitor flickered once, before placing Malcolm, face to face with his superior - Leon Degalo. An enigma made manifest. Leon's appearance was far from what Malcolm imagined a leader of a secret, clandestine organization should look like. Tall, distinguished looking man in his late twenties with piercing, forest green eyes that were full of energy and only increased the effect of the tiny, half smile that was almost constantly resting on his lips. Long, straight, midnight black hair were reaching down all the way to his shoulders, which only made the man look even more distinguished than he already was. In fact, Leon looked a lot more like a fashion model than anything else. A fashion model with frightening mind, wealth and influence. Malcolm reminded himself as he waited for Leon to make the first move.
He didn't have to wait for long, as Leon started speaking as soon as the connection was established and secured. "I see you have managed to deal with all the communication issues, Malcolm. Good. So, what do you have for me?"
Malcolm took a moment to re-check the data. "Both objectives have been accomplished. We managed to retrieve two nuclear missiles from the remains of the Peacemaker task force and we also recovered a total of eleven bodies for Ashley's experiments."
"Two nukes? Wow, I am impressed." Leon arched his eyebrows in surprise. "I thought we would be lucky if we managed to find one, but to actually come home with two of those things. I was right to send you. You have my gratitude, Malcolm. Oh, and Ashley will be grateful as well. Even though she never says so. Either way, I assume you are coming back. Correct?"
"Yes. We just set course for Earth and should be back soon. You can consider this phase of the plan complete." Malcolm said and smiled. Despite how intimidating Leon could be, Malcolm liked working for the guy. Leon always appreciated when people did a good job and always seemed to be in a good mood. Hell, even when people were unable to fulfil his demands, Leon did not raise much of a noise, as long as there was a good reason for the failure. He was understanding and that's what Malcolm liked about him. After all, no one could score a hundred percent success rate all the time, every time.
Leon leaned back in his chair and nodded. "Indeed. Once we reverse engineer the Neutron Jammer Canceller technology from those warheads, we will be able to move our operations to a more … active level."
"You're seriously going to do that? Going to war against the entire world?"
"No, not the entire world. I … We will be fighting against those who seek to create war. Anyone who wants peace and harmony is our friend and ally." Leon paused for a moment when he saw the look on Malcolm's face. "Yes, I know it sounds weird. Cliché even, but it has to be done if we want to avoid a war like this one."
"I don't think it will be a problem. Considering how close we got to a total destruction scenario, I bet people will think twice before waving weapons again. The whole thing with Genesis and nukes, it scared people." Malcolm also leaned back in his chair, though he did it because he was tired, not because he had a lot of things to think about. "I think it will be a long time before anyone tries something stupid."
Leon, however, shook his head in denial. "Unfortunately, I have to crush your hopes, Malcolm. You see, there is already a war in progress. With the death of Muruta Azrael, Blue Cosmos is in the middle of what you could call a civil war."
"Already?" Malcolm blinked in surprise. "Azrael's corpse is barely cold and they are already fighting for power?"
"Seems so. Azrael didn't have a … heir of the organization, just a lot of Lieutenants in various parts of the world. He was the only one holding all the reigns, thus with him gone, everyone wants a piece of the power pie." Leon's reply told Malcolm that he was extremely amused by this development. Then again, Malcolm couldn't help feel the same. Blue Cosmos was responsible for a lot of crap that had happened, therefore, the more of those bastards died in the power struggle, the happier everyone's lives would be. The world would be a lot better place without a bunch of genocidal scumbags killing innocent people.
"Well, that's good to hear." He said. "Though, since this is technically a war, I assume you'll want us to intervene and do something about it?"
Leon smiled and shook his head. "No. Let's see how this plays out before we go in. I want there to be one leader before we move in and decapitate the organization. This way we won't have to waste time running around, taking out every one of those wannabe leaders. Let them kill each other off first. Besides, we are still in the first stages of the plan, where secrecy is still important. We got to build up our strength before we start using it."
"So, we're still laying low for a while?"
"Yes, Malcolm, that is correct. We will lay low for some time and make sure we are ready." Leon said with a wide grin, and for the first time Malcolm realized that even though Leon was nice to be around, there was a dark side to him as well. "We lay low and then show everyone what Enclave is all about. The world is about to change and we will be the ones changing it."