A.C 196
Christmas Eve
Soft gentle white snow slowly descended from the skies. It is a beautiful journey towards earth that is awed by those who take their time to observe this phenomenon. Despite the coldness of the flakes, the city remained active with life. People briskly walked on the streets, eager to get together with their families and friends. Noisy chattering filled the air along with the warm glow of decorative lights from buildings.
It was Christmas Eve. It is a time of festive celebration and heart-warming reunions with families. Christmas is the holiday that symbolized love and peace the most. Besides the spirit of giving, the atmosphere was thick with reminiscence and reflection. People always quietly think about what had occurred for the past year, whether they were good memories or bad. The end of the year is a sign for one to start reflecting of the year's progress.
Lady Une gently touched the glass of the window that lead the view of the city from her office. The cold emitted by the hard, clear substance gave her fingers a refreshing, cooling effect. The room was generally silent except for the soft chattering of people that came from the other side of the door.
One year has already past… Lady Une thought as she continued to stare into the twinkling lights of the night scenery. One year has already past ever since the Libra incident. Visions of memorable events flashed through her head.
Lady Une walked over to her desk and collapsed on her chair. She reached for a half empty glass of champagne. After bringing the rim to her lips, she gave out a small sad sigh.
"Treize-sama is dead and so are OZ and the Romafeller foundation. Along with them, the Gundams and their pilots have disappeared. Has peace finally come?" Lady Une thought as she leaned back and threw her head back. The fluorescent lights gave the ceiling a gentle glow. "Although the United Earth Nations follows Relena's philosophy of complete peace, they secretly finance a secret organization to prevent future wars from starting."
An impertinent smile worked its way on her lips. "For someone who was appointed through election, the president is smart."
A short series of knocks interrupted her thoughts. The door swung open with ease and a lady with short hair stepped in.
"If you don't show your face at least in the celebration, its going to reflect badly on the Preventers to the president," Noin nonchalantly reminded her colleague.
"You're right," Lady Une chuckled softly under her breath as she rose from her chair and headed for the door. Holding the door open with one hand, Lady Une turned to look out through the window for the last time.
"Goodbye…Treize-sama."
Operation comet
Chapter one
Ninmu Ryokai
John Smith was an ordinary man who was well in his fifties. Life had been extremely kind to people ever since the war was over. He no longer had a feeling of dread and fear as to what the next day might bring. Total peace and calm occupied his heart as he went to work everyday. The only thing that he was waiting for was his retirement. His daily routine consisted of going to work in a warehouse every morning at 7 o'clock sharp, and he would then close everything up in the evening. Nothing during that particular morning gave any indication that something would go wrong. Extremely wrong.
As John turned the knob of the door, he heard a faint click . . .
* * *
Hours later…
Authorities are still investigating the cause of the explosion that occurred in the Storage Facility no. 5 early this morning. The Storage Facility served as one of the main warehouses of the major shipping company, "FedEx" . . .and here's the head of the Criminal Investigation Agency, Lady Une . . .
A huge flock of reporters descended upon Lady Une as she exited the remains of dilapidated building. Lady Une gritted her teeth as she prepared herself to be barraged by several questions. Some regarding the situation while some were inquiries about Treize and OZ. She hated the latter ones the most.
"Lady Une, can you confirm that the explosion was a terrorist attack?"
"No comment." Lady Une coolly replied as several flashbulbs simultaneously went off, temporarily blinding her. Damn, I don't have time for this. Lady Une thought as she made a run for the awaiting limousine that was on standby.
She breathed a sigh of relief as she swiftly got into the vehicle. She was glad that there was a solid barrier that kept the hounds at bay. She could still hear the insistent knocking all over the car as it began to edge its way out of the facility. A small squeak that came from her left reminded her that she wasn't the only passenger in the car.
"I just want to let you know that when I signed up for this job, it didn't include being stampeded on by a pack of blood thirsty reporters," the harassed-looking woman commented as she fixed the remains of what seemed to be a French twist. "Madam, they grabbed me by the hair! That could have resulted into a permanent bald spot!" She wailed.
Lady Une chuckled softly and shook her head. "What will I do without you, Anna?" she said, her voice containing a hint of sarcasm.
Anna pouted and indignantly replied, "You owe me big time! The only reason that I'm still here is because my prince charming hasn't come yet and swept me off my feet."
Lady Une patted Anna's head and said with saccharine sweetness, "oh he'll come for sure. . . "
Their friendly banter was quickly cut short when the sharp ringing of a phone cut through the air. Anna immediately rummaged through her bag and whipped out her hand phone.
"Ma'am, Ms. Relena wishes to speak to you."
Lady Une accepted the phone and brought it to her ear. "Ms. Relena, how may I help you?"
"I'm sorry, please wait a minute while I transfer your call to her," came a timid reply then followed by beeping sounds.
"Lady Une?" Relena's voice interrupted the monotonous beeps.
"Yes, its me, ma'am. What can I do for you?" Lady Une politely replied. Even though Relena is much younger than she was, she addressed her formally for her position is higher than hers.
"I heard about the incident on the news, is everything alright over there?"
Lady Une promptly gave a straightforward, summarized report over the details of the explosion. "There is no need for you to worry about this, I will settle this problem, everything is under control," she reassured, knowing that Relena has an extreme load of other matters to settle with.
"I see. I will leave everything to you then. Please keep me updated on the progress of the situation."
"Yes ma'am."
* * *
"Ms. Relena, please hurry up. You're due to come out in a few minutes." whispered a tall woman with flaming-red hair as she approached Relena. The two were standing behind the sideline curtains of a stage. The voice of a man, amplified by speakers, droned on in the background.
Relena hanged up and then passed the phone to her secretary. "Thank you Alice. Has everybody arrived already?" she asked as she quickly straightened her suit.
"Yes, and the meeting had already started. You better hurry and join in while they are still in the introductions."
As if on cue, they heard Relena's name being announced through the speakers that were hooked all over the huge conference room. Relena drew a quick breath and then calmly strolled onto the stage. Alice trailed behind her, carrying a laptop, which she uses to record notes during her employer's meetings.
* * *
Relena's determined face shone brightly on the screen of a laptop computer that was placed on a rickety table. Her firm voice was the only noise that disturbed the dead silence that engulfed the room. Flashing pictures shown on the screen, its blinking lights revealed the room's interior, which was well hidden in the shadows. It looked like a dilapidated, one room apartment. Debris cluttered all over the room, the only light bulb that hung on the ceiling was broken, the bed was nothing more but a torn mattress, it looked like as if no one has lived there for many years. A dark figure huddled on a broken swivel chair and continued to watch the screen, as if mesmerized by its light.
The soft glow of the screen reflected brightly against piercing cobalt blue eyes. The eyes kept staring unblinkingly into the monitor. They seem to give off a startling fluorescent glow on their own, as if they would light up even in the darkest of nights without the aid of an external light source.
"Perfect…" came out in a low, husky voice. A sly smile slowly worked its way on the person's mouth."
* * *
"Great speech Ms. Relena, everything was perfectly executed," Alice complimented Relena as she followed her out of the building.
"Thank you Alice. I'm going home now. Please send the revised notes on the meeting to me as soon as possible." Relena gave the last order for the day to her secretary as she stepped into her private limousine.
"Yes ma'am," the red head replied, giving a small respectful bow towards the car as it slowly made its way out of the driveway. When Relena said "as soon as possible", she knew that it meant to have everything done by the time she reaches home. She knew she had no time to waste upon finishing the report.
Alice quickly walked towards her own car and hurriedly drove towards her own apartment. She needed to get back as fast as possible so that she can swiftly finish the notes.
"Let's see," she said as she quickly imagined the distance between the conference to Relena's mansion and to her own apartment. "It takes me around 30 minutes to get back while Relena-san need about an hour… I have plenty of time to do everything!" she exclaimed and breathed out a quick sigh of relief.
Alice turned on the car radio and hummed along with it as she quietly drove home. Before she knew it, she was approaching the last turn to her apartment block. In one swift move, she parked her car in her usual spot. She gathered all her belongings and hurriedly made her way up the tall building.
The elevator car made a small ring, signaling that it has arrived at its destination. Automatically, Alice stepped out and turned to the right. She just had enough time to see the door of her apartment before it burst into flames with a large explosive force. She was thrown a great distance back, her body was enveloped with intense heat. The air was fast filling up with smoke.
Choking, Alice struggled with all her strength to get as far as she can away from the fire. After inhaling in too much smoke and ash, her body gave in and she lost consciousness.
* * *
"Who do you think did it?" a feminine voice spoke out.
"I'm still trying to figure out the relationship between the two incidents," replied a deep, masculine voice.
Slowly, with blinking eyes, the image of an unfamiliar, white ceiling came into view. Alice blinked even more as she tried to figure out what was happening in her surrounding. She turned her head towards the direction of the voices she heard, her head aching as she did so. Relena's golden brown tresses that hung at her back came into view. She was absorbed in a discussion with a young man who was about the same age as her. The young man had wild, dark brown hair and was clad in a denim jacket and jeans. She knew exactly who it was.
"And as I've told you before, you should've stayed in your mansion and under high security until I figure out what's going on, you shouldn't have come here! Something might happen to you if you're out in the open like this!"
"But Heero, my secretary got attacked! And I refuse to being cooped up in my house, I have to settle this problem!" Relena angrily retorted back.
"The doctor said that she only suffered minor injuries, she could resume her daily activities after a few days of rest," Heero spoke coldly.
"Please don't worry about me… Relena-san," Alice weakly spoke out, interrupting the heated conversation.
"Oh, Alice, you're awake. How do you feel?" Relena immediately diverted her attention to the weak patient.
"I'm fine, these are nothing compared to all the backbreaking work I will have to do when I get back," Alice gave a weak smile.
"I'm so sorry that you got caught up in all of these, I'm sure this happened to you because of me."
"The more reason that you must stay under close watch. Obviously, these people we are dealing with are not afraid to do whatever it takes to achieve their goal," Heero butted in. Relena's safety is the only thing that occupied his mind.
"Will you please stop that for one minute? You sound like an overprotective mother," Relena shot back, earning an icy glare followed by silence from the boy. After having a few seconds of glaring at each other, she turned her attention back to her secretary. "Alice, as it is my fault that your home got blown up, I insist that you stay temporarily at my mansion. It'll be much safer for you to stay over there too."
"Uh… thank you very much Ms. Relena," Alice softly spoke with great gratitude for Relena's kindness.
"Of course, I can't just ignore you, you've been with me ever since I became the Foreign Minister again." Relena gave a warm smile. She remembered when she first started office after the United Earth Nations was established, that was also when she first met Alice, who was the most efficient secretary and a kind friend that she could ever have.
As the two girls started reminiscing embarrassing blunders that they had made over the year, Heero silently walked out of the room.
Closing the door behind him, he noticed that there were three big, burly men in black suits standing in a standard formation outside the hospital room. He then walked towards the nearby window at the end of the corridor. Looking down, he found a few more men in similar clothing standing guard in front of the entrance. He had no doubt that there were probably a few more bodyguards inside the building. An invisible smile formed. He was at least satisfied for the minimum security imposed on Relena.
He backed up and slumped onto the wall. Staring at the floor, he started to think about the current situation.
That "Storage Facility" is an undercover warehouse that stored the weapons and machines of the Preventers. It is by no doubt meant to disrupt or stop the Preventers but what does that have with Relena? She doesn't have anything to do at all with that organization except talk to Lady Une about it. Other than that, she does nothing nor receive anything from the organization. Heero pondered over the facts of the situation. He knew that Relena has a very strong influence and most probably holds the key to the objective of the intruder, but he could not find a reason for the relationship of the two incidents. It was clear that they wear dealing with a cunning foe.
"Hey, whenever you need help, don't hesitate to ask somebody for it. Sheesh, you are always like this, trying to do everything on your own," a voice spoke out, interrupting Heero's thoughts.
Heero looked up to his side. A young man stood there, watching him with a big smile on his face. He waved his hand in familiarity towards Heero.
"Haven't seen you for a long time."
"Duo…" Heero spoke with a slight surprise in his voice.
End of Chapter One
*co-written with sister yuffie*
Christmas Eve
Soft gentle white snow slowly descended from the skies. It is a beautiful journey towards earth that is awed by those who take their time to observe this phenomenon. Despite the coldness of the flakes, the city remained active with life. People briskly walked on the streets, eager to get together with their families and friends. Noisy chattering filled the air along with the warm glow of decorative lights from buildings.
It was Christmas Eve. It is a time of festive celebration and heart-warming reunions with families. Christmas is the holiday that symbolized love and peace the most. Besides the spirit of giving, the atmosphere was thick with reminiscence and reflection. People always quietly think about what had occurred for the past year, whether they were good memories or bad. The end of the year is a sign for one to start reflecting of the year's progress.
Lady Une gently touched the glass of the window that lead the view of the city from her office. The cold emitted by the hard, clear substance gave her fingers a refreshing, cooling effect. The room was generally silent except for the soft chattering of people that came from the other side of the door.
One year has already past… Lady Une thought as she continued to stare into the twinkling lights of the night scenery. One year has already past ever since the Libra incident. Visions of memorable events flashed through her head.
Lady Une walked over to her desk and collapsed on her chair. She reached for a half empty glass of champagne. After bringing the rim to her lips, she gave out a small sad sigh.
"Treize-sama is dead and so are OZ and the Romafeller foundation. Along with them, the Gundams and their pilots have disappeared. Has peace finally come?" Lady Une thought as she leaned back and threw her head back. The fluorescent lights gave the ceiling a gentle glow. "Although the United Earth Nations follows Relena's philosophy of complete peace, they secretly finance a secret organization to prevent future wars from starting."
An impertinent smile worked its way on her lips. "For someone who was appointed through election, the president is smart."
A short series of knocks interrupted her thoughts. The door swung open with ease and a lady with short hair stepped in.
"If you don't show your face at least in the celebration, its going to reflect badly on the Preventers to the president," Noin nonchalantly reminded her colleague.
"You're right," Lady Une chuckled softly under her breath as she rose from her chair and headed for the door. Holding the door open with one hand, Lady Une turned to look out through the window for the last time.
"Goodbye…Treize-sama."
Operation comet
Chapter one
Ninmu Ryokai
John Smith was an ordinary man who was well in his fifties. Life had been extremely kind to people ever since the war was over. He no longer had a feeling of dread and fear as to what the next day might bring. Total peace and calm occupied his heart as he went to work everyday. The only thing that he was waiting for was his retirement. His daily routine consisted of going to work in a warehouse every morning at 7 o'clock sharp, and he would then close everything up in the evening. Nothing during that particular morning gave any indication that something would go wrong. Extremely wrong.
As John turned the knob of the door, he heard a faint click . . .
* * *
Hours later…
Authorities are still investigating the cause of the explosion that occurred in the Storage Facility no. 5 early this morning. The Storage Facility served as one of the main warehouses of the major shipping company, "FedEx" . . .and here's the head of the Criminal Investigation Agency, Lady Une . . .
A huge flock of reporters descended upon Lady Une as she exited the remains of dilapidated building. Lady Une gritted her teeth as she prepared herself to be barraged by several questions. Some regarding the situation while some were inquiries about Treize and OZ. She hated the latter ones the most.
"Lady Une, can you confirm that the explosion was a terrorist attack?"
"No comment." Lady Une coolly replied as several flashbulbs simultaneously went off, temporarily blinding her. Damn, I don't have time for this. Lady Une thought as she made a run for the awaiting limousine that was on standby.
She breathed a sigh of relief as she swiftly got into the vehicle. She was glad that there was a solid barrier that kept the hounds at bay. She could still hear the insistent knocking all over the car as it began to edge its way out of the facility. A small squeak that came from her left reminded her that she wasn't the only passenger in the car.
"I just want to let you know that when I signed up for this job, it didn't include being stampeded on by a pack of blood thirsty reporters," the harassed-looking woman commented as she fixed the remains of what seemed to be a French twist. "Madam, they grabbed me by the hair! That could have resulted into a permanent bald spot!" She wailed.
Lady Une chuckled softly and shook her head. "What will I do without you, Anna?" she said, her voice containing a hint of sarcasm.
Anna pouted and indignantly replied, "You owe me big time! The only reason that I'm still here is because my prince charming hasn't come yet and swept me off my feet."
Lady Une patted Anna's head and said with saccharine sweetness, "oh he'll come for sure. . . "
Their friendly banter was quickly cut short when the sharp ringing of a phone cut through the air. Anna immediately rummaged through her bag and whipped out her hand phone.
"Ma'am, Ms. Relena wishes to speak to you."
Lady Une accepted the phone and brought it to her ear. "Ms. Relena, how may I help you?"
"I'm sorry, please wait a minute while I transfer your call to her," came a timid reply then followed by beeping sounds.
"Lady Une?" Relena's voice interrupted the monotonous beeps.
"Yes, its me, ma'am. What can I do for you?" Lady Une politely replied. Even though Relena is much younger than she was, she addressed her formally for her position is higher than hers.
"I heard about the incident on the news, is everything alright over there?"
Lady Une promptly gave a straightforward, summarized report over the details of the explosion. "There is no need for you to worry about this, I will settle this problem, everything is under control," she reassured, knowing that Relena has an extreme load of other matters to settle with.
"I see. I will leave everything to you then. Please keep me updated on the progress of the situation."
"Yes ma'am."
* * *
"Ms. Relena, please hurry up. You're due to come out in a few minutes." whispered a tall woman with flaming-red hair as she approached Relena. The two were standing behind the sideline curtains of a stage. The voice of a man, amplified by speakers, droned on in the background.
Relena hanged up and then passed the phone to her secretary. "Thank you Alice. Has everybody arrived already?" she asked as she quickly straightened her suit.
"Yes, and the meeting had already started. You better hurry and join in while they are still in the introductions."
As if on cue, they heard Relena's name being announced through the speakers that were hooked all over the huge conference room. Relena drew a quick breath and then calmly strolled onto the stage. Alice trailed behind her, carrying a laptop, which she uses to record notes during her employer's meetings.
* * *
Relena's determined face shone brightly on the screen of a laptop computer that was placed on a rickety table. Her firm voice was the only noise that disturbed the dead silence that engulfed the room. Flashing pictures shown on the screen, its blinking lights revealed the room's interior, which was well hidden in the shadows. It looked like a dilapidated, one room apartment. Debris cluttered all over the room, the only light bulb that hung on the ceiling was broken, the bed was nothing more but a torn mattress, it looked like as if no one has lived there for many years. A dark figure huddled on a broken swivel chair and continued to watch the screen, as if mesmerized by its light.
The soft glow of the screen reflected brightly against piercing cobalt blue eyes. The eyes kept staring unblinkingly into the monitor. They seem to give off a startling fluorescent glow on their own, as if they would light up even in the darkest of nights without the aid of an external light source.
"Perfect…" came out in a low, husky voice. A sly smile slowly worked its way on the person's mouth."
* * *
"Great speech Ms. Relena, everything was perfectly executed," Alice complimented Relena as she followed her out of the building.
"Thank you Alice. I'm going home now. Please send the revised notes on the meeting to me as soon as possible." Relena gave the last order for the day to her secretary as she stepped into her private limousine.
"Yes ma'am," the red head replied, giving a small respectful bow towards the car as it slowly made its way out of the driveway. When Relena said "as soon as possible", she knew that it meant to have everything done by the time she reaches home. She knew she had no time to waste upon finishing the report.
Alice quickly walked towards her own car and hurriedly drove towards her own apartment. She needed to get back as fast as possible so that she can swiftly finish the notes.
"Let's see," she said as she quickly imagined the distance between the conference to Relena's mansion and to her own apartment. "It takes me around 30 minutes to get back while Relena-san need about an hour… I have plenty of time to do everything!" she exclaimed and breathed out a quick sigh of relief.
Alice turned on the car radio and hummed along with it as she quietly drove home. Before she knew it, she was approaching the last turn to her apartment block. In one swift move, she parked her car in her usual spot. She gathered all her belongings and hurriedly made her way up the tall building.
The elevator car made a small ring, signaling that it has arrived at its destination. Automatically, Alice stepped out and turned to the right. She just had enough time to see the door of her apartment before it burst into flames with a large explosive force. She was thrown a great distance back, her body was enveloped with intense heat. The air was fast filling up with smoke.
Choking, Alice struggled with all her strength to get as far as she can away from the fire. After inhaling in too much smoke and ash, her body gave in and she lost consciousness.
* * *
"Who do you think did it?" a feminine voice spoke out.
"I'm still trying to figure out the relationship between the two incidents," replied a deep, masculine voice.
Slowly, with blinking eyes, the image of an unfamiliar, white ceiling came into view. Alice blinked even more as she tried to figure out what was happening in her surrounding. She turned her head towards the direction of the voices she heard, her head aching as she did so. Relena's golden brown tresses that hung at her back came into view. She was absorbed in a discussion with a young man who was about the same age as her. The young man had wild, dark brown hair and was clad in a denim jacket and jeans. She knew exactly who it was.
"And as I've told you before, you should've stayed in your mansion and under high security until I figure out what's going on, you shouldn't have come here! Something might happen to you if you're out in the open like this!"
"But Heero, my secretary got attacked! And I refuse to being cooped up in my house, I have to settle this problem!" Relena angrily retorted back.
"The doctor said that she only suffered minor injuries, she could resume her daily activities after a few days of rest," Heero spoke coldly.
"Please don't worry about me… Relena-san," Alice weakly spoke out, interrupting the heated conversation.
"Oh, Alice, you're awake. How do you feel?" Relena immediately diverted her attention to the weak patient.
"I'm fine, these are nothing compared to all the backbreaking work I will have to do when I get back," Alice gave a weak smile.
"I'm so sorry that you got caught up in all of these, I'm sure this happened to you because of me."
"The more reason that you must stay under close watch. Obviously, these people we are dealing with are not afraid to do whatever it takes to achieve their goal," Heero butted in. Relena's safety is the only thing that occupied his mind.
"Will you please stop that for one minute? You sound like an overprotective mother," Relena shot back, earning an icy glare followed by silence from the boy. After having a few seconds of glaring at each other, she turned her attention back to her secretary. "Alice, as it is my fault that your home got blown up, I insist that you stay temporarily at my mansion. It'll be much safer for you to stay over there too."
"Uh… thank you very much Ms. Relena," Alice softly spoke with great gratitude for Relena's kindness.
"Of course, I can't just ignore you, you've been with me ever since I became the Foreign Minister again." Relena gave a warm smile. She remembered when she first started office after the United Earth Nations was established, that was also when she first met Alice, who was the most efficient secretary and a kind friend that she could ever have.
As the two girls started reminiscing embarrassing blunders that they had made over the year, Heero silently walked out of the room.
Closing the door behind him, he noticed that there were three big, burly men in black suits standing in a standard formation outside the hospital room. He then walked towards the nearby window at the end of the corridor. Looking down, he found a few more men in similar clothing standing guard in front of the entrance. He had no doubt that there were probably a few more bodyguards inside the building. An invisible smile formed. He was at least satisfied for the minimum security imposed on Relena.
He backed up and slumped onto the wall. Staring at the floor, he started to think about the current situation.
That "Storage Facility" is an undercover warehouse that stored the weapons and machines of the Preventers. It is by no doubt meant to disrupt or stop the Preventers but what does that have with Relena? She doesn't have anything to do at all with that organization except talk to Lady Une about it. Other than that, she does nothing nor receive anything from the organization. Heero pondered over the facts of the situation. He knew that Relena has a very strong influence and most probably holds the key to the objective of the intruder, but he could not find a reason for the relationship of the two incidents. It was clear that they wear dealing with a cunning foe.
"Hey, whenever you need help, don't hesitate to ask somebody for it. Sheesh, you are always like this, trying to do everything on your own," a voice spoke out, interrupting Heero's thoughts.
Heero looked up to his side. A young man stood there, watching him with a big smile on his face. He waved his hand in familiarity towards Heero.
"Haven't seen you for a long time."
"Duo…" Heero spoke with a slight surprise in his voice.
End of Chapter One
*co-written with sister yuffie*