Introduction: 1
"Makar's Destiny"
This is Part 3 of the Makar Series: I do try to include internal summaries of what has gone before but if you read Part 1: "Makar's Confession" and Part 2: "Makar's Home" before reading this story you will have a fuller understanding of what is going on. Many thanks, to TCM the inestimable the Trench-coat man for acting as beta. GW belongs to Bandi ect… Standard disclaimers apply.
Introduction: 1
Journal: 8-Ø
What is destiny? I've seen it defined as a course of events which dictate what is to happen to a particular person or thing. Those using the term usually use it in association with words such as predetermined, inevitable and irresistible. To me destiny is the determining factors that limit or define an individual's potential or ability to succeed. I know there are those who see destiny as a law of nature. I suppose you could say once a person chooses to pursue their destiny, they tend to continue along that path unless acted upon by an outside force.
Since the days before the colonies came to be, people have pondered the imponderables of destiny. What truly makes us what we are today? Is it nature, chance, the divine or something else altogether? These days, there are few devote the time to such things. What sort of force can affect destiny? It is merely an academic exercise after all. Whatever they may be, forces of destiny are surely beyond the reach of mere mortals; which is, of course, as it should be.…
Except for one thing; I've done it. I know without a doubt exactly who and what shaped my destiny. I was trained to use the same techniques on others.
During the war it was my duty to coordinate the Special Forces instrumental in changing the shape of the world sphere. Specifically, the events that became known as the 1st Eves War left me world weary and often wracked with regret. In the peace that followed I was determined to be discreet, keep a low profile, and slip carefully into obscurity. But once one has been a controller of destiny…living quietly is not a simple matter. It is AC 197, The Gundams have been destroyed and I am needed once again. It appears not even a Makar can deny the call of destiny.
But I get ahead of myself. This tale ought to begin with the five former Gundam pilots and myself seated in the hall outside a nondescript courtroom. Everyone was pretending there was nothing special about this case. A large number of those inside were government officials or Preventers. Security was especially tight and the gatekeepers were not willing to let newcomers into the proceedings once it had started.
I had just cause to be here however; unfinished family business I could not ignore. The judge had been informed and now it was a waiting game. For all intent and purpose it was simple custody hearing to determine the legal guardian of an eight year old child. The hearing was private those, who had been permitted to witness the proceedings had been security cleared and sworn to secrecy.
I admit I was nervous. The boys found my pacing amusing. "You want to know what is going on in there don't you." Duo stated the obvious.
"Of course," I nearly bit his head off for it. I felt my nervousness was fully justified. It was true I was not who I appeared to be, but either way, being recognized was…undesirable at this time.
"It's nearly killing you," the braided youth laughed. "Do something about it."
"What?" I asked and Duo pointed nonchalantly to the canvas messenger bag sitting on the floor by Heero's feet. Heero shrugged and opened the bag's flap to reveal the matte black case of a very special piece of highly classified Makar hardware, my data pad.
"I-I can't…well I can, but I shouldn't." I faltered knowing what he was suggesting.
More than a few of the boys smiled. They saw the irony of my words. The Makar had given me the pad and charged me to use it to keep tabs on the five of them; I had done so both before and during the war. Because of their nature and training, all it took was a few keystrokes and their thoughts and minds were laid bear before me. After the war, I continued to keep tabs on them out of a sense of obligation. How could I not check to make sure my charges were all right? When they needed me, I was there.
But it had recently come to my attention there was someone in that courtroom that I should have been keeping tabs on as well. The remote link and a simple admin code would allow me to observe what was happening through their eyes. There was nothing preventing me from doing so except for the fact that I knew it was an invasion of privacy…and from what I knew of this particular individual, they would likely be very disturbed were they to know what I was doing.
The five former Gundam pilots should have been equally disturbed when they learned the roll I played, meddling with their minds as the Makar directed. But my investigation had confirmed they had been conditioned to accept those 'in authority' over them. Once they decided to place me in that position of trust, the compulsion to respect and obey was automatic.
If I had wanted them as my slaves I could have had them. I do not. Even so, severing that bond of dependence might well break them as well—I care about them too much to reject them. Whether its origin was genuine or engineered, the boy's regard had already come to be important to me and I wasn't about to throw it away—still my conscience troubled me. My Five had a choice and for whatever reason they chose to trust me; Messing about in the mind of a near stranger without their consent, seemed much worse.
"We all want to know what is going on in there." The usually silent Trowa admitted and my resistance caved in. I powered up the pad and set the program to search for all available connections. Before too long the six, now familiar, Icons representing the five boys and myself, flashed to life on the edge of the screen. Alongside them showed not one, but two new symbols. The identification windows came up 'records not found', but there was no doubt both represented individuals in the courtroom who had been left open to accept the mental manipulations of the Makar.
One of the two connections was basic, a bit undeveloped as mine had been when I first became aware of how little choice I had in the direction of my life. Even so, it was strong and easy to navigate. The individual it belonged to was not likely to be considered 'well adjusted' by the usual sense of the word, but the readings were all stable.
A quick glimpse at the other connection, though, made my blood run cold. The physical stats had likely, at one time, been exemplary but the subject was clearly underweight and stressed… the mental readings were far worse. I'd rarely seen such spectacular disarray. Even when 0-1 was little more than a barely constrained animal, his mind had been maintained with rigid order. This one had been subjected to neglect, trauma, or mishandling, I couldn't tell which, but it resulted in a mind misaligned, imbalanced and…fragile.
As aMakar I liked everything easy, predictable. There was nothing predictable about this mind. With time and careful managing I knew I could stabilize it, but that wasn't an option at present. Everyone in the courtroom was in for a shock. I couldn't predict how this particular individual would handle it—not well would be my guess. But what else could I do but sit back, observe, and let events unfold?