Standing there, he could see city lights. Bold they were, a triumph of modern civilization. They raced forward, bounding into his heart and held him there in awe. In he breathed, allowing the scent of the world to enter his lungs and then exhaled a long, comforting sigh.
His eyes held a certain scorn that only comes from years of scrutiny and pain. Their odd color gleamed and reflected the view in crimson pupils. The man with red eyes smirked deeply as his gaze fell to a much more interesting scene.
In front of the city was a supply base. Its lights were not as bright, but its importance made it the center of the man's attention. From his view point on the cliff above he could see the busy little base as it thrived with life. Men and women, soldiers alike, were busy importing and exporting goods that would ensure the up keeping of the regiments.
The man absorbed the action below and allowed his lips to move. This resulted in a tight smirk. His laugh was low and deep and his red eyes sparkled with intensity. He felt no pity and he would have no mercy. This was a key movement in his game and his defeat would be impossible.
He turned to the awaiting body that anxiously stood by his side.
"Do it," he said.
*****
"Do what?" Duo exclaimed as he looked at his fellow pilot in astonishment.
"Stand at that tree and put this apple on your head. I'm proving to Sally that my aim is still as accurate as it was two years ago." Wufei's black eyes were fixed in determination. The nearby doctor crossed her arms and smiled.
"Wufei, perhaps you should prove me wrong with a safer target, I don't want to spend my vacation trying to save Duo's life," she suggested, looking at a very nervous Duo. Hilde stood off to the side looking slightly worried.
"Yeah Wufei, I think that Sally's right," she said, shifting her gaze between the two pilots. "Besides the food's getting cold," she added, gesturing to the checkered table cloth laced with food. Wufei didn't even look her way.
"Yeah Wu-man, ya gotta listen to what the woman says. Ya know, I betcha money that Quatre would just love, love, LOVE to be your target, why don'tcha ask him?" Duo said looking around him vainly for signs of the kind hearted pilot. 'Oh great, he just HAD to show Dorothy the lake,' Duo thought. Wufei's eyes narrowed.
"Did you hear what I said?!" The Chinese pilot exclaimed. Duo jumped back a step. He was about to argue when he looked into Wufei's eyes. The Omae o Koruso look was too much like Heero's and Duo found himself in front of the tree and apple on head before he could think.
'Mental note,' he thought. 'Never go on a picnic with Wufei AGAIN.'
Wufei smiled knowingly and brought his gun up with a deadly steady hand. Duo gulped nervously and tried to prevent himself from trembling too much. Gundams and wars he could handle, but Wufei with a gun aimed directly inches above his head, that was different.
'Maybe I shouldn't have called him Wu-man so much or made fun of his justice and honor stuff. All he has to do is be a little off the mark and claim it was an accident, no prob there. Why did he have to get all William Tell on me!?'
Duo didn't have time for another thought. The gun cocked back with an easy clink and Wufei eased his finger on the trigger. Suddenly there was a loud bang that resulted from the firing of the weapon and Duo dropped to the ground. Hilde's eyes widened and she rushed forward with Sally at her heels.
"Duo!" She shook him and rolled him over. His eyes were wide open and there was something red on his forehead. Hilde gasped.
He blinked several times and soon a shaky hand moved up to wipe a bit of apple from his brow. He jumped up happily.
"I'm alive, I lived, you didn't kill me! Wow Wu-man, what a guy!" Duo bounded forward and before the Chinese pilot could react he was on the ground being suffocated by a ferocious hug.
"Maxwell, get off," he commanded barely able to breathe. Duo didn't stop, but instead tightened his embrace to where Wufei had to fight for air. "MAXWELL!!!!!!!"
Duo finally got the point and stood up, allowing Wufei a chance for oxygen. Sally laughed lightly. Hilde could only sigh in relief.
"Excuse me, Sally Po?"
"Yes?" Sally turned around to see a man that appeared to be in his twenties, dressed in a uniform distributed to soldiers of the Preventor's Alliance. "I'm Sally Po." He smiled.
"Are you in the presence of Duo Maxwell, Wufei Chang and Quatre Winner? Sally smiled and gestured to the two pilots. Wufei was still on the ground attempting to breathe and Duo, accompanied by Hilde, was inspecting the bullet hole that had implanted itself into the tree trunk and only inches from his head.
"That's Duo and Wufei, Quatre's not far off." The soldier nodded appearing relieved.
"We've been looking for you people everywhere. There is an urgent need for you at the main base. You've been summoned by Miss Relena Peacecraft and Zechs Marquise." Sally nodded. Wufei had finally recovered and was standing by her side, Duo on the other. The happy-go-lucky youth now had his arms crossed and his face and become suddenly serious. Hilde shadowed him, looking toward the Preventor soldier curiously.
"What happened?" Duo inquired. The young man shrugged.
"We don't know, they haven't told us. I only know that you are urgently needed," the soldier replied. Sally sighed.
"Well what a way to begin our 'vacation'," she said. The soldier turned to leave. The weary quartet took a moment to look at each other before they dispersed, one to get Quatre and the others to clean up their abandoned picnic.
*****
'This is no picnic," she thought. Sighing, she set her pen downed. She put her elbows on the desk before her and rubbed her temples. Relena was exhausted. After the base had exploded everything had gone awry. Carefully laid plans that had depended on such a small existence had been blown into sky high proportions. She wasn't sure if she even knew what to do.
"Miss Relena?" The blue haired lieutenant had just entered and was casting a warm, knowing smile down on the tired Vice Foreign Minister.
"Hello Noin, are they all here?" Relena inquired, standing up to greet her mentor. Noin nodded.
"Zechs has them in the committee hall, shall I escort you?" Relena smiled.
"Thank you Noin, I'd appreciate it." The honey haired girl walked forward and allowed the older woman to open the door for her.
The walk down the hall seemed to take longer than usual. Relena kept her eyes to the floor trying to blink them back to life whenever they started to close. Her eyelids were heavy and it seemed like it took all of her willpower to keep them open. However, the biggest weight was the one on her shoulders. The feeling that the whole world would suffer the consequence of each and every decision made by the young girl.
When they got to the door, Relena inhaled deeply. Standing up straight, chin held high, she nodded to Noin. The woman opened the door and Relena entered calmly, very aware that all eyes were now focused on her tired frame.
Each Gundam pilot looked up when the doors opened. There she stood, the very life-line of peace. Stoic and strong she held the weight of the entire planet and every last colony on her shoulders. Duo smiled at the sight of her.
"Relena! It's good to see you again girl! How are you?" He exclaimed, trying to greet her as warmly as he could due to the circumstances at hand. Relena turned her attention to the happy American and smiled.
"I'm fine Duo, how are you?"
"Can't complain! Ya know though, our vacation got cut all short cause of this darn meeting so.." His words were abruptly ended by a sharp stab to his ribs. Hilde gave him a silencing glare and then turned her attention to the girl that stood before them all.
Relena sat down at the head of the table and briefly scanned the occupants. Her brother was seated to her left, followed by Noin. Beside her was Duo and then Hilde. At the end sat Sally and Wufei. To the right were Quatre, Dorothy and Trowa. Relena directed her attention to the dark figure that was leaning against the wall, set aback from the rest. Heero stood, eyes calm, body placid. Relena sighed, they were all here. She cleared her throat slightly and took her seat at the head of the table. It was a position that she didn't relish but upheld all the same.
"I'm glad to see you're all here," she said. "Milliardo, could you please fill myself and the others in on what we know so far?" Zechs nodded and turned his attention to his audience.
"It was brought to our attention last night at around 23:00 hours the Ottoman Base in Turkey was completely destroyed. The job was done with some very impressive C4 explosives that were strategically placed throughout the base. We don't have amateurs on our hands. Whoever inflicted this was a professional. We also believe it was executed by a group rather than a singular person. Possibly a terrorist organization, but we don't know for sure," Zechs said.
"I hope it's only a terrorist group, if there is an uprising, we could have another war on our hands," Quatre said looking down at the polished table sadly.
"Let's not jump to conclusions just yet," Relena said. "For all we know, it could've been an inside job. We must have patience until we are aware of the complete results. How many casualties Milliardo?" She looked over to Zechs, mouth firm and he returned her gaze with a steady stare.
"327 casualties as of now. That amount was given to me with an accuracy percentage of 65%, so I'd say that all in all the total amount of casualties could be in the near 400's." He looked down at the table in silence and Relena stood. Everyone looked up quickly as she arose, holding her in their eyes. Relena sighed and the whole of her fatigue, for only a moment was blatantly obvious. Quatre found himself standing up as well, in hopes of helping her out, lest she faint from the weariness. Relena looked to him and smiled.
"You can be seated Quatre, I'm fine," she said. He looked at her for a minute, hesitantly, and then finally took his seat. "As of now, there is nothing that we can do," Relena began. "However, I would like to ask that all of you remain at the Preventor's Base until we have a clear target. I have a feeling that the antagonist's face will surface soon. There has to be a motive for such a massive infliction. Someone who would do something like that wants recognition. I have a feeling we have quite a few more fireworks in store for us. If anyone is to need me I'll be in my office. If you'll excuse me, I have a few more reports I need to review before a press conference I must attend." Relena felt the world around her spin and leaned forward lightly on the table. Noin stood up quickly, but Relena righted herself.
"Miss Relena?" Noin said worriedly. Relena looked up and smiled at her.
"I'm fine Noin, just fine." She addressed her audience. "I'm sorry I couldn't be more presentable to you all. If you'll excuse me."
She turned to leave and found herself being trailed by Noin who hovered near her shoulder. Together they left the conference room and the doors swished behind them as they exited. When they were out in the hall, Noin, after looking around for eavesdroppers, turned to Relena.
"Relena, what's wrong?" Noin inquired.
"I already told you, nothing!" Relena picked up her pace and walked as quickly as she could back to her office. Noin let her leave and stood by the doors to the conference room. She looked down sadly contemplating Relena's condition. She was still thinking when the door swung open to allow Zechs exit.
"Noin? What are you doing out here?" He said, walking up to his best friend.
"Worrying mostly," she replied, looking in the direction of Relena's office.
"Do you know what's wrong with her?" He asked, following her gaze.
"She's completely exhausted. Zechs, a girl her age shouldn't be deciding things that have to do with the planet and the colonies. She should be worrying as to whether or not some boy's going to call her tonight and what so and so thinks of her. She shouldn't be thinking about some Ottoman Base and its amount of casualties that she will probably be blamed for. Zechs she's still a girl!" The Lightning Count looked at her for a second and searched her concerned expression.
"Noin, you know as much as I do that she's more then just a girl. She's Vice Foreign Minister and it is her duty to make decisions that could drastically affect the world and the colonies. She will deal with this and learn to live with it," he replied. After some consideration, Noin looked at him.
"Yes Zechs I know she'll live with it, she'll always live with it. People die and she learns to deal. We ripped her out of that protective life she once knew and forced her to carry the world on her shoulders, and now that she does it so well we come to rely on her. She's going to break soon Zechs, and you know it as much as I. If you don't do something I will," Noin said sternly.
"Calm down Noin, I'm just as much concerned with my sister's health as you are, but right now there are more important matters at hand. You know that and so do I. If I have to forcefully make Relena take a break I will, but I promise you that she'll be fine. However, as of present we need to face the more pressing matters. I want you to contact Lady Une and see if she has any clue of who it is we're fighting. Then try to scan the tactics of the assault and compare them to precedent. I'll call you if I hear anything," Zechs said, ending their unofficial meeting. Noin started to leave but Zechs touched her shoulder lightly. She turned around. "Noin, don't worry about her. If something was truly wrong don't you think I would have done something about it sooner than now?" Noin smiled and nodded.
"I know Zechs.. it's just that sometimes I feel like I'm her mother…she's so much like you and…" Noin looked down and swiftly walked away. Zechs followed her with his eyes to the end of the hallway and then sighed. He turned in the opposite direction and exited as well. His thoughts resting between the Ottoman Base, Relena and Noin. Too many thoughts for one person, he thought.
***
Too many thoughts for one person, Heero thought. His mind visualized the features of a face he had nearly memorized. He had heard Noin and Zech's conversation thanks to Duo and his ability to eavesdrop from any location. Word for word he had heard the concerns of both Noin and Zechs and his mind rested on the honey haired girl who was holding her own rather well considering the circumstances. How odd that only a few years ago he had wanted to kill her so fiercely. He brushed his thoughts aside and searched for more important matters. The Ottoman Base, he thought. That was an odd one. True it had been a lush supply base for the Preventors and what they had lost with it was an un expendable resource. However, who could have possibly masterminded something that would destroy a base with the security they had harnessed in one night and with the amount of power it had taken to destroy it. He sighed and looked at the floor while he lost himself in a deep reverie of honey colored hair and C4 explosives.
Welpers that's chapter one, and more to come!!! Jzero is back baby and I've just got a TON of goodies up my sleeve on this one!! That is all!
~JZero www.topcities.com/anime/mai