Disclaimer: I own Gundam Wing. Come on you lawyers! Sue me!
Zechs was completely enraged. What the hell was Noin thinking of?! What Alex had done was unforgivable and Noin was to blame for it. If she had trained the soldiers properly this wouldn't have happened. Being a good soldier isn't just about fighting skills. As a soldier you have to be honourable. You have to have values. Noin obviously didn't pay enough attention to that. Zechs was on his way to Noin. This couldn't wait till the morning. He had to talk about it straight away.
Noin was asleep when the accident happened. She didn't know what went on just a few hours ago. She was just sleeping in her cabin. There was a sound somewhere in the room and she woke up. She opened her eyes but the light hurt in her eyes. Someone had switched the lamp on. As soon as her eyes got used to the light, she looked up to see who came in the room. First she only saw a shadow but the dark shape soon changed into a person.
"Zechs, is that you?"
"Yes it is. We need to talk."
"Do you know what time it is? It's 4 AM. What are you doing here?"
"Do you remember Alex?"
"Yes of course, he's one of my best soldiers."
"Was one of your best. Not anymore, I killed him."
Noin was speechless. She couldn't quite understand what Zechs meant. He couldn't be serious about killing him. She got up a little and looked in Zechs' eyes. He meant what he said. Alex did die because of him. Noin knew Zechs through and through. He sat down on the bed but Noin saw that he was angry about something.
"Zechs, what's wrong. You look angry, what happened?"
"I'm not angry, I'm just disappointed. I thought you were a good lieutenant."
"Are you questioning my abilities as a lieutenant? I hope you have a good reason for that."
"I went on a mission with some of your soldiers with Alex as a captain. He's a disgrace."
"You.. You really killed him! I thought you meant you lost him in a fight. You actually killed one of my men. You murdered him!"
"I did. I'm not ashamed at all. Listen Noin. He is the one who's a murderer. I did what I had to do. He killed all the people on a base. They had already surrendered. He was laughing while he did it."
"Oh my god. He didn't."
"Being a soldier isn't just about technique."
"Is that an accusation?"
"You should focus on attitude as well as on fighting skills!"
"And you think I don't do that? You seriously believe that I only focus on fighting and piloting? I always tell my students that they have to behave as honourable soldiers."
"Do you really stress it? Do you really learn them how to be honourable?"
"All soldiers have to be honourable. If a soldier isn't then it's not my fault. It's the soldier's fault then. A soldier is responsible for his own actions. I'm not responsible for what Alex and his companions did! If they lost their mind.."
"You could have avoided it. They would never have executed those men if you told them time and time again that they had to be honourable."
"Don't talk to me about honour! What right did you have to take Alex' life? I'm not justifying what he did but you have no right to take his life without a proper trial. You don't even outrank me!"
"No one knows I killed him. You're not going to tell anyone."
"I have to! I have to report. I don't want to do this but you don't leave me any choice."
"I'm telling you, you won't tell anyone."
"Is that your definition of honour?"
"What would you have done in my situation?"
"I can't tell. You know that's impossible."
"Then don't judge!"
"You still have no right to call me a bad lieutenant. As I said, a soldier is responsible for his actions. I didn't order him to kill those men. I'm not guilty, I didn't kill those men. If a 17 year old kid kills someone do you blame the parents? I taught them how to fight, how to use their power and strength. I can only hope that they don't abuse it. Are you implying that this wouldn't have happened if you taught them?"
Zechs didn't sit on the bed anymore. He now stood beside the bed and looked down on Noin.
"I do teach them how to control their power. They're just kids, they don't know what to do with the power they have. They never piloted a mobile suit before. The guys have a device that can wipe out entire cities. They can kill thousands of people by just pushing a button. They can't handle the power if you don't train them properly."
"My pilots aren't megalomaniacs! Are your pilots perfect?"
Noin stepped out the bed and stood close to Zechs. She was a little smaller than he was but she wasn't intimidated by him. The fact that she was only wearing a t-shirt didn't bother her. She was furious. No one was allowed to doubt her abilities. She looked Zechs in the eyes but he wasn't impressed by her speech.
"My pilots aren't perfect but they'll never kill people who already surrendered. Of course this was just one base and no one knows about the incident but one of these days something serious might happen."
"Like what? Like one of my greedy pilots trying to take over the world? Get real. What those guys did was wrong but it only shows that there was something wrong with them all along. They probably were emotionally instable before they got on the team."
"You should have picked that up."
"You're being unreasonable."
Suddenly Zechs grabbed Noin's wrists but didn't take his eyes of hers. He was too rough, he really hurt her but Noin didn't say a thing about it. Instead she used it to prove her point.
"You're a man. I'm a woman. I can't help it that women are physically not as strong as men are. You're using your strength as a man now. You know you're stronger. Isn't that abusing your power as well?"
"Are you comparing me to a soldier like Alex? We're not normal soldiers, you and me. We have a higher rank. Do you know why? Because we have responsibilities. We are responsible for our pilots. We have to train them so that they can fight in such a way that we can be proud of them, so that we can say without embarrassment 'we were the ones who trained them'. Noin, you and me, we have a gift. We have to pass that gift down to those pilots. We have to teach them everything. They have to learn how to pilot a mobile suit, they have to know how to act in emergency situations and they have to learn how to use their power. Those three factors are very important. The last one is just as important as the first one."
There was a silence for a moment. Zechs still held Noin's wrists.
"But Zechs."
Zechs didn't allow her to finish her sentence. He pulled her close to him and kissed her. Noin kissed him back for half a minute but pushed him away.
"Zechs.."
"We can't turn back time. It's happened. We won't talk about it anymore. Forget about it. I won't talk about the incident anymore. I thought you had to know about it."
"You did the right thing by coming to me. I won't report it. Don't worry about that. I promise you, it won't happen again. I know my pilots."
"Stop talking about it. It didn't happen."
Noin kissed him and took his helmet off. Zechs was not a soldier anymore. He changed in a normal man when he kissed her back. Milliardo Peacecraft was now standing in front of her.
Zechs was completely enraged. What the hell was Noin thinking of?! What Alex had done was unforgivable and Noin was to blame for it. If she had trained the soldiers properly this wouldn't have happened. Being a good soldier isn't just about fighting skills. As a soldier you have to be honourable. You have to have values. Noin obviously didn't pay enough attention to that. Zechs was on his way to Noin. This couldn't wait till the morning. He had to talk about it straight away.
Noin was asleep when the accident happened. She didn't know what went on just a few hours ago. She was just sleeping in her cabin. There was a sound somewhere in the room and she woke up. She opened her eyes but the light hurt in her eyes. Someone had switched the lamp on. As soon as her eyes got used to the light, she looked up to see who came in the room. First she only saw a shadow but the dark shape soon changed into a person.
"Zechs, is that you?"
"Yes it is. We need to talk."
"Do you know what time it is? It's 4 AM. What are you doing here?"
"Do you remember Alex?"
"Yes of course, he's one of my best soldiers."
"Was one of your best. Not anymore, I killed him."
Noin was speechless. She couldn't quite understand what Zechs meant. He couldn't be serious about killing him. She got up a little and looked in Zechs' eyes. He meant what he said. Alex did die because of him. Noin knew Zechs through and through. He sat down on the bed but Noin saw that he was angry about something.
"Zechs, what's wrong. You look angry, what happened?"
"I'm not angry, I'm just disappointed. I thought you were a good lieutenant."
"Are you questioning my abilities as a lieutenant? I hope you have a good reason for that."
"I went on a mission with some of your soldiers with Alex as a captain. He's a disgrace."
"You.. You really killed him! I thought you meant you lost him in a fight. You actually killed one of my men. You murdered him!"
"I did. I'm not ashamed at all. Listen Noin. He is the one who's a murderer. I did what I had to do. He killed all the people on a base. They had already surrendered. He was laughing while he did it."
"Oh my god. He didn't."
"Being a soldier isn't just about technique."
"Is that an accusation?"
"You should focus on attitude as well as on fighting skills!"
"And you think I don't do that? You seriously believe that I only focus on fighting and piloting? I always tell my students that they have to behave as honourable soldiers."
"Do you really stress it? Do you really learn them how to be honourable?"
"All soldiers have to be honourable. If a soldier isn't then it's not my fault. It's the soldier's fault then. A soldier is responsible for his own actions. I'm not responsible for what Alex and his companions did! If they lost their mind.."
"You could have avoided it. They would never have executed those men if you told them time and time again that they had to be honourable."
"Don't talk to me about honour! What right did you have to take Alex' life? I'm not justifying what he did but you have no right to take his life without a proper trial. You don't even outrank me!"
"No one knows I killed him. You're not going to tell anyone."
"I have to! I have to report. I don't want to do this but you don't leave me any choice."
"I'm telling you, you won't tell anyone."
"Is that your definition of honour?"
"What would you have done in my situation?"
"I can't tell. You know that's impossible."
"Then don't judge!"
"You still have no right to call me a bad lieutenant. As I said, a soldier is responsible for his actions. I didn't order him to kill those men. I'm not guilty, I didn't kill those men. If a 17 year old kid kills someone do you blame the parents? I taught them how to fight, how to use their power and strength. I can only hope that they don't abuse it. Are you implying that this wouldn't have happened if you taught them?"
Zechs didn't sit on the bed anymore. He now stood beside the bed and looked down on Noin.
"I do teach them how to control their power. They're just kids, they don't know what to do with the power they have. They never piloted a mobile suit before. The guys have a device that can wipe out entire cities. They can kill thousands of people by just pushing a button. They can't handle the power if you don't train them properly."
"My pilots aren't megalomaniacs! Are your pilots perfect?"
Noin stepped out the bed and stood close to Zechs. She was a little smaller than he was but she wasn't intimidated by him. The fact that she was only wearing a t-shirt didn't bother her. She was furious. No one was allowed to doubt her abilities. She looked Zechs in the eyes but he wasn't impressed by her speech.
"My pilots aren't perfect but they'll never kill people who already surrendered. Of course this was just one base and no one knows about the incident but one of these days something serious might happen."
"Like what? Like one of my greedy pilots trying to take over the world? Get real. What those guys did was wrong but it only shows that there was something wrong with them all along. They probably were emotionally instable before they got on the team."
"You should have picked that up."
"You're being unreasonable."
Suddenly Zechs grabbed Noin's wrists but didn't take his eyes of hers. He was too rough, he really hurt her but Noin didn't say a thing about it. Instead she used it to prove her point.
"You're a man. I'm a woman. I can't help it that women are physically not as strong as men are. You're using your strength as a man now. You know you're stronger. Isn't that abusing your power as well?"
"Are you comparing me to a soldier like Alex? We're not normal soldiers, you and me. We have a higher rank. Do you know why? Because we have responsibilities. We are responsible for our pilots. We have to train them so that they can fight in such a way that we can be proud of them, so that we can say without embarrassment 'we were the ones who trained them'. Noin, you and me, we have a gift. We have to pass that gift down to those pilots. We have to teach them everything. They have to learn how to pilot a mobile suit, they have to know how to act in emergency situations and they have to learn how to use their power. Those three factors are very important. The last one is just as important as the first one."
There was a silence for a moment. Zechs still held Noin's wrists.
"But Zechs."
Zechs didn't allow her to finish her sentence. He pulled her close to him and kissed her. Noin kissed him back for half a minute but pushed him away.
"Zechs.."
"We can't turn back time. It's happened. We won't talk about it anymore. Forget about it. I won't talk about the incident anymore. I thought you had to know about it."
"You did the right thing by coming to me. I won't report it. Don't worry about that. I promise you, it won't happen again. I know my pilots."
"Stop talking about it. It didn't happen."
Noin kissed him and took his helmet off. Zechs was not a soldier anymore. He changed in a normal man when he kissed her back. Milliardo Peacecraft was now standing in front of her.