Benevolent Hearts
By mistress amethyst une
Chapter 2
"Your first mission involves the shipwreck..." Une had said as Midii and Trowa were handed documents outlining their mission.
The ship was the S.S. Aquarius and the Preventer's means of travel. It delivered the Preventer's armaments and transported their guests. Midii was aboard the Aquarius as Une's guest but something went awry and the ship sank. The ship's cargo, a massive shipment of Polaris mini-mobile dolls, was feared to be lost.
The Polarises (PRV-01MD Polaris) were a state of the art innovation and the Preventer organization's new weapon. Approved by the Earth Sphere Unified Nations, it was miniscule compared to the old mobile dolls deployed during the war. Equipped with a cloaking device and standing at approximately four feet in height, it was the size of an average child, excellent for espionage and quelling small riots. Its main means of defense was the stun gun which was used to take down criminals and the like. The Preventer organization, ever since its creation in AC 196, was responsible for keeping the peace and eventually became Earth and the colonies' elite police force. Naturally, they were given a varied array of gadgets and gizmos to toy with but the Polarises were, by far, the most valuable equipment they possessed. To lose those mobile dolls would equal an insurmountable budget deficit which Une, the Preventer chief, might not be able to handle.
Riding a ferry out to sea, Midii felt much foreboding over visiting the shipwreck. Her anxiety was compounded by the fact that she was with her partner, a man she feared to be the Nanashi she loved yet betrayed. Sighing, she looked up to the sky and observed the cirrus clouds as they swirled and merged. Truly breathtaking was how the sunbeams danced upon the clouds as the Earth's lone daystar rose...
Sunbeams... It had been a sunny day when she committed that travesty and betrayed her beloved. It was all so clear...
"How much did you get?" he asked her, his voice quaking with rage.
She appeared sullen and fidgeted with the electronic device around her neck, "Enough so that my three little brothers and my sick father will be able to eat for a while."
"That thing around your neck is a transmitter, isn't it...?" he questioned with much resentment upon uncovering her betrayal, "The Federation could hear every move we made."
"That's right..." was her curt reply, "But you're still alive. You're the only one."He angrily yanked the crucifix from his neck and threw it asunder, "Because of this?"
"I'll tell you. That cross is also a transmitter."
Drawing a gun from the folds of his jacket, he aimed at her.
"Even you can get angry, hm? Nanashi..."
She paused and eyed the gun he had pointed at her.
"You once said that I was you. But really I'm completely different. I'm not happy like you," she remarked.
"You're saying, I'm happy?" replied the boy.
Taking off the gadget around her neck, she met his stare," You have freedom. You're lots happier than me."
"I like you," thought Midii to herself.
"You have nothing that can be taken away from you," she continued, "No name, no past, right now, not even companions."
"I have the name Midii Une. I have a sick father and three little brothers." She was choking back her tears now.
"I love you," persisted the thoughts in her head.
"Because of that, I had to become a spy and cause the deaths of lots of people." Teardrops now stained her cheeks.
"I can't even say "I love you" to the person I love! Do you understand why?!" she cried.
Her words were met with silence.
"Because I'm not empty like you! I have too much! Family! A home! The knowledge of what bad things I've done!"
"I wanted to always be with you..." insisted the thoughts in her mind.
"That's why I hate empty people like you!" she screamed.
"Always with you, who I love...!" continued her bemused psyche.
"Is that all you've got to say?" he finally spoke.
Midii was in shock.
"You're better off than me. You have somewhere to go home to. Goodbye, Midii."
She closed her eyes and awaited her death as he cocked the gun directed at her, "Goodbye, Nanashi..."
Two shots sounded and broke the eerie silence. Slowly, Midii opened her eyes to behold the cross and transmitter. Both lay smoldering on the ground and Nanashi had gone...
"We're here," remarked Trowa causing Midii to snap out of her reverie.
They were in the middle of the Pacific now and as they boarded a speedboat, Midii wondered...
"Trowa? How are we going to arrive at the shipwreck, it's underwater and we don't have any scuba gear."
"We'll rendezvous with Preventers Ember and Flame. They're in charge of the Aurora."
"Aurora?"
"The mini-sub. Preventer Chief Une has a fondness for naming equipment."
"I see... So who are Ember and Flame?"
"You'll find out soon enough..."
In the distance a bright yellow mini-sub was rising from the ocean waters. As they neared, the sub's hatch opened and a boy of about 18 popped out. He was indigo-eyed, cheery and had a long braid of dark brown hair.
"Hey Zephyr!" he asked in a jolly tone, "Who's the girl?"
"Hello Duo..." was Trowa's dismal reply.
"Hey!" he rebuked with a laugh, "We're on assignment. I'm Flame, remember?"
"Whatever."
Trowa got out of the speedboat and shoved Duo to the side as he entered the sub.
"What's with him?" he asked as he turned to Midii.
Midii shrugged, "I'm new and I don't know him that well..."
"A newbie, eh? So what's your name?"
"Midii Une. I'm the Chief's cousin. My codename's Breeze..."
"Nice to meet you then," he said as he extended his hand to her to help her out of the boat, "You're not as grouchy as boss lady are you?"
"Boss lady?"
"It's what we preventers call your cousin behind her back. Anyway, are you?"
"Nope."
"Then welcome to the team," he smiled as he aided her in entering the hatch.
"Took you long enough..." said a female voice, "What were you doing up there? Flirting?"
"Maybe..." replied Duo teasingly.
"Duo!"
"Just kiddin' Hilde," he said with a snigger, "Geez, don't you trust me?"
"To be honest, no. Who's the new prev?"
Midii peered out from behind Duo and eyed the female preventer. She was called Hilde and had striking obsidian eyes and short raven hair. Her lips were turned up in a friendly smile.
"What's the matter?" asked Hilde, "Am I too intimidating?"
"Midii," she finally blurted, "My name's Midii Une and my codename's Breeze."
"Well then," replied Hilde, "I'm Hilde Schbeicher a.k.a. Ember. Welcome."
She offered Midii a handshake which the girl nervously accepted.
"Nice to meet you," was all she could say.
"Alright then," said Hilde, "Take a seat."
She motioned to the chair beside her and Midii obliged. Sitting down, Hilde pushed a few buttons and opened the view screen. Putting on a set of headphones and fiddling with the communication system's microphone, Hilde spoke.
"Cirrus this is Ember. Do you copy?"
"Cirrus here," crackled Une's voice as her fuzzy image appeared on the screen, "What is it?"
"We're at the shipwreck. How do we proceed?"
"Recover all the Polarises," she said, "Proceed with caution."
"Is that all ma'm?"
"Yes, over and out..."
The screen went blank before revealing the underwater landscape. It was a depressing sight. Pieces of the ship were strewn all over the ocean floor along with mobile doll parts.
"Une won't be happy about this," sighed Hilde as she searched for traces of intact Polarises.
"There was an explosion," said Trowa.
"Huh? What do you mean by that?" asked Hilde.
"If this had been an ordinary wreck, some mobile dolls would have survived. Look at the wreckage and you'll notice that Polaris parts have been flung everywhere. Only an explosion could have done that. Someone bombed the S.S. Aquarius..."
Silence pervaded the mini-sub. Somebody had intentionally sunk the Aquarius in order to cripple the Preventers. But who?
"How can that be?" blurted Duo, "The only survivor from the Aquarius disaster is Midii and she couldn't possibly have done it. Could she?"
Three pairs of piecing eyes landed on Midii with calculating stares. Was there a traitor in their midst?
To Be Continued
Ok, I finally finished Chapter 2. Hm... Did Midii sink the Aquarius? The answer may surprise you... Please read and review so I can have some inspiration to aid me in writing Chapter 3!