Frozen Teardrop states that Treize wasn't an only child. Years ago, Callisto and I thought the same. This is my rather more recent take on the plot we hashed out. For those of you curious, Treize, drawn at age twelve/thirteen in FT looks very like someone else from the series. VERY like. I use that in Past Tense - I make no apologies for revisiting it here.
A Hammer To Fall is the only story I'm posting on here where I'm not significantly ahead of my posting. It will, eventually, tie together some other works I wrote years ago, A Word in Your Ear and A Breath of Fresh Air, and the not-yet-finished A Flight into Fantasy. I'm posting early in honour of 13/6/13!
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The courtroom was hushed, swept silent in anticipation. Dimly lit and kept cool, the bulk of the room was spectator seating, filled with news reporters and the general curious from the Earth Sphere's rich and influential.
The front of the court room, separated from the rest by solid wooden barriers and better lighting, held the groups with the most direct stake in the case being tried. ESUN officials made up one group, politician's current and former another. The shadowy khaki and black uniform of the Preventers marked out a third contingent, and it was this party that drew most of the media focus.
But the focus of this group was, to a one, solidly on the figure in the witness box.
Dressed in a high-collared dark blue tunic and white trousers, his crisp cravat folded neatly against his throat, ginger-brown hair neatly combed and pulled back, he was the biggest surprise of the investigatory hearings into the newly-dubbed Eve Wars so far.
By birth, he fit with the spectator's; by training with the politicians. If history had been different, he might well have been with the ESUN officials, and most had expected him to be a part of the Preventers in this new era.
It remained to be seen if any group would acknowledge him as one of their own when he was done with his testimony.
The head of the Jury Panel drew himself to his feet and approached the box.
"Could you state your name for the record, please?" he asked politely.
The man in the box smiled humourlessly. "Duo Maxwell," he replied easily. "But I suspect you want my birth name, don't you?" he asked in return.
The juror nodded his confirmation. Breath's caught and held across the room and three figures in Preventer uniform tensed visibly.
"My name," Duo said levelly, as though the information wouldn't shock the world, "is Dror Aaron Khushrenada. I am the son of General Eban Jacabe Khushrenada and Lady Anna Maxwell." He paused. "I am also the half-brother of Colonel Treize Tobias Khushrenada, former Oz commander.
The uproar startled even him.
"How could you!?"
The accusation, heated and bitter, came from Wufei as soon as Duo was excused from the stand, and by virtue of accosting Duo in the men's restroom as he stepped from a stall.
Duo swept his eyes over the oriental pilot, then stepped past him towards the sinks, reaching for the tap to wash his hands. "How could I what, Wufei?" he asked calmly.
"All of it!" Chang snarled. "How could you lie to us, spy on us, betray us! We trusted you!"
"You were one of us, Duo," Quatre added softly, from where he was standing by the mirror on the far wall. He was watching the other two men in reflection, not turning to face them directly. His blue eyes were liquid with sadness, a look Duo himself had once described as his 'kicked puppy' look.
"Am I not still?" Duo asked, drying his hands on a provided towel. "I don't see how any of this changes what I did. The only difference is my name."
"And your entire allegiance!" Chang hissed. "We thought you were working for us, not for the enemy!"
"Oz was your enemy, Wufei, not mine," Duo answered. "The Alliance was mine, right from the start, and then White Fang."
Wufei bristled. "No, I don't suppose Oz would have been yours. I suspect you'd have been quite thrilled to have your brother in charge!"
Duo lifted one steady eyebrow, a deliberate mimicry. "Yes, I suspect I would," he said quietly.
The door slammed as Wufei stormed out of the room, leaving Quatre and Duo alone.
"Well, Quat?" Duo asked softly. "Aren't you going to follow him?"
The blond pilot turned from the mirror slowly. "No, not yet. Duo…" he paused. "May I still call you that?" he asked.
Duo smiled. "Well, yeah. I'm Duo in either guise, unless you speak Hebrew. You'll never pronounce the difference!"
Quatre bowed his head politely. "Thank you. Duo, you understand why we're all so shocked?"
Duo nodded. "Of course. I wasn't expecting you to take it without fireworks, any of you."
Quatre nodded in return. "Well, then, if you could explain?" he asked. "None of us were expecting what you said in there. We none of us – not even me – ever thought…. Your brother?" he asked helplessly, making the repetition sum up all the questions he was wanting to ask in one go.
The frustrated, curious, demanding tone made Duo chuckle softly. "Yes," he said easily. "Half-brother, technically. Different mother. Not that we ever really noticed that." He looked steadily at his fellow pilot, watching as the expression made the blonde pale slowly as Quatre identified where he'd seen it before. "Get the others," he said after a moment. "Milliardo said he'd host anyone who needed answers this evening, and this is too long to tell over and over."
"I imagine so," Quatre agreed, then nodded. "Alright. Shall I meet you there?" he asked, and when Duo nodded yes, he turned on his heel and left the room.
Duo watched him go, then stared into the mirror silently. For all that he had been in the witness box all day for the Courts, this, then, was the only trial that mattered to him. This was where their reasoning, their intentions, their hopes and dreams, their lives would be judged by the only people worthy of doing so.
Duo could only hope that, after everything, they would not be found lacking at this last.