Chapter VII: You Can't Hide Forever
*** Present Day - March 4th, 79 CE ***
Mir and Yzak made their way through the park. It was only a short walk from there to the council's building. Miriallia seemed lost in her thoughts. She was playing with her braid like she always did when something was bothering her. Yzak knew better than to ask her about her feelings. Most times it ended in them fighting and he needed to be on her good side tonight. But when he saw the sad expression on her face he couldn't help but ask.
"What's on your mind Haww"
"This could be it. If this mission is approved we could finally find the ones responsible for all the pain. For all the lives lost over the past five years. But… "
"But what?"
"It will never bring him back. Even if we've found the man who killed him, Dearka will always be gone. Ava will still only know her father as a picture on the wall and the perfect happy stories we tell her. She will never know him for all his flaws. He wasn't perfect. He could be arrogant and rude. Just a plain jerk... But he was also loving and kind." she said the last part with her voice quivering. Tears at the corners of her eyes.
"She's 4" Yzak said bluntly. "Even if he was still alive and around her she would never see him as a jerk or arrogant. She would just see her father… He would have been a great one"
Mir looked at him and smiled "I know, and so will you" she said kissing him on the cheek before walking into the large council building. He smiled and followed close behind. They waited in the grand hall outside the meeting room waiting to be call in. "Are you nervous?" She asked
"No" He replied quickly. "Because this time I know we've got them."
Soon they were called in. They stood in front of the large council. The same three councils they had stood in front of many times before since embarking on the important mission. But this time was different then all the last. Every other time they were reporting on their failures. It was a huge hit to their prides every single time. But this time they were laying out the battle plans for what they believed to be the last.
"Today you both have requested the presence of the full council to come before you" Cagalli Yula Attha-Zala stated. "Not only that but the presence of the top officers in all our ranks. Five years you have been assigned to Operation Freeing Humanity. And in that five years you've never made any requests to speak with us. It has always been us making the requests. So Governor-Commander Joule and Governor-Commander Haww please enlighten us on why you have requested a meeting today."
"It's been over five years… " Miriallia started "Since the day Captain Elsman and his team were attacked and killed. It wasn't until a year after that that BLUE COSMOS made another move. It's never been the same as the first time. ZAFT soldiers start to go missing. Not in a big group like the first time but one or two here and there. Then we received an anonymous tip from the same voice every time of where their bodies can be found. Some that we find at these places have been missing for days others for weeks all on the same islands."
"It quickly became apparent to us they were not killed on the islands we find them at. These islands are drop off points." Yzak stated. "We knew that somewhere out there there was a place that these men and women were being taken to be tourchered. We went through theory after theory. Researching for days and hours at a time trying to find some kind of connect that could bring us to the BLUE COSMOS base of operations"
"About a year ago I decided to work on a theory I thought of nearly four years ago. I came up with it while I was in the last hours of my pregnancy. Do to the stress and the chaos of that day the theory was quickly forgot. It was my belief back then, that the person responsible for all of this was someone living off the grid. Someone who was wealthy enough to fully fund the efforts of the organization. I had believed they got caught up in some illegal activity and drained their bank accounts and went into hiding to escape. Soon after they would have become the leader of BLUE COSMOS."
"That a wonderful theory but that is all it is Governor-Commander" said Nicolas. Mir shook her head. She clicked a button and up popped a picture of a man. He had droopy brown eyes that were like two drops of chocolate. His thick, straight, chestnut hair was short with no real style to it. He seemed tall and had a masculine build. His skin was cream-colored. His wardrobe was a completely black and gray color scheme. He seemed stern. Put perhaps what stood out most was a scar on his right hand. A scar in the shape of a crescent moon.
"Meet Donald Rowe" Miriallia said. "Five years ago he was a well known BLUE COSMOS supporter. He never participated in any protests or riots held by them but he had made public statements proving his support. On November 18th, 73 C.E. Donald vanished without a trace. All his bank accounts drained. As many of you know this was the day Former Chairman of the PLANTs Durandal had revealed to the world the manipulation that was LOGOS."
"It is our belief that this was also the day he put his plans of taking over BLE COSMOS into action." Yzak added. He could tell from all their faces they were all shocked and sceptical at the same time. "Donald Rowe was no stranger to public speaking or forms of leadership. He ran his company for years, holding several press conferences. We were able to get this recording from one of those conferences."
"If I've said it once I've said it a thousand times. I'm willing to do anything to ensure that my company is at the top"
"We compared this with a sound clip from the video that disrupted Captain Elsman's funeral"
"It's too bad you won't live to see that day"
"The voices in these two sound clips sound nearly identical. But we don't expect you to take our word for it. We've run both them though the most sophisticated software to see if there was any possibility they were a match. And across the board on every aspect tested it was a match. Donald Rowe is the man who took the life of Captain Dearka Elsman and ordered the slaughter of countless other"
The room erupted in chatter and whispers. They were shocked. After five years there was a huge break in the investigation. They had a name and a face. Donald Rowe was undoubtable the new leader of BLUE COSMOS. But what did this all mean? "Having a name unfortunately doesn't mean much" Replied Chairwoman Lacus Clyne-Yamato. "We need more than that."
"Lucky for you we have more" Replied Miriallia. "Three years ago I began geographically scanning all the islands on Earth that matched the type the soldiers we being dropped at. It was my hope that one of these islands would reveal a hideout of some sort. Unfortunately this proved to be futile. We learned nothing new from scanning hundreds of islands. But when we start truly making headway on this latest theory I decided to take my geographical research in a new direct." She clicked a button and up popped a picture of a maison on a lone island in the middle of an ocean.
"You are looking at what we believe to be the hideout of BLUE COSMOS. We checked satellite records. Once a month a photo is taken of various parts of the Earth and cataloged for future reference. Five years ago, this maison didn't exist. We looked at the next years worth of records to find it being built. The next month after it's completion coordinators started to go missing again."
"I scanned the heat signals given off by the island. There is a large building below the surface. Big enough to build and maintain mobile suit, create and take care of extends as well as hold hostages. Currently there are twenty ZAFT soldiers missing. They are believed to have been taken by BLUE COSMOS. We believe with every fiber of our being that this is where they are. They are on this island waiting to be rescued. Please give us permission to take a large team and attack before we get another call.
"Please give us a few minutes to make a decision" Lacus stated before the three leaders stood up and left the room.
They both remain silent the whole drive home. They were both exhausted but happy. The meeting took forever to finish but that's what happens when you are putting together a team. It was the greatest team they could ever hope for. Even Kira Yamato and Athrun Zala were coming out of retirement to take on BLUE COSMOS. They were hopeful and nervous. There was no telling what could happen in the next few day. Tomorrow before noon they would be leaving, only to return when BLUE COSMOS was officially defeated.
They both walked up the large steps of the Governor's Mansion and headed in Yzak's said. They couldn't help but smile when they opened the door. There curled up in a blanket sleeping was little Ava. "Sorry Mir. She wouldn't go to sleep. She wanted to be here when the two of you got home" Shiho said whispering. She started to lean down to pick her up only to be stopped by her friend.
"I've got her. You should take it easy Shiho"
"I'm fine" She said "I'm only 7 months"
"But you look like a whale" Yzak said under his breath earning a disapproving glare from both women.
"So…" She said changing the subject "How did things go?"
"Maybe we should talk about this at Haww's. After Ava is safe in her bed." The two girls nodded. Mir took Ava up to her bed and tucked her in. She looked so sweet sleeping there. She could see more and more of Dearka in her everyday. Even her mannerisms reminded her of him. Lucky for her though Ava got her eyes. She didn't know if she would have the strength to look in his eyes again. She walked over to the door and looked back. Her daughter's room was filled with pictures of Dearka. Every time Yzak would show the girl a picture of her father she would claim it as her own. It made Mir happy to know that she loved her father.
Mir went downstairs and started a pot of tea. She walked out into the study and sat down with her young friends. "She still asleep" Yzak asked.
"Sleeping like a log." She replied.
"So the meeting" Shiho asked again.
"They took all evidence into consideration and decided… that they would be fools not to pursue this. We leave tomorrow morning"
"Yzak that incredible!" She exclaimed "Wait… why don't you two sound happy?"
"Because Shiho" Miriallia said "This could be a very dangerous mission. Not only are we going to be fighting mobile suits but we will be infiltrating the mansion itself at the same time. Once the fighting starts we are afraid if we don't get in there quick enough they may slaughter the hostages. We can't let that happen"
"Haww and I will be leading the troops into the mansion. While Yamato and Zala lead the troops outside. We'll be attacking inside and out."
"It's going to be dangerous isn't it. DAMMIT! Why now! Why couldn't this break come at a time when I could go with both of you! I… I wish I could help you two somehow."
"You are. You're going to take care of Ava for me. And my little nephew inside your round belly." Mir said with a smile. "Promise me you will look after her. I don't know how long this mission will take. But I promise when we return we will return with victory in hand."
"Just promise me one thing. That you both will come back alive"
"No" they both replied at the same time. Shiho looked devastated at their response.
"What do you mean no!"
"Dearka promised me he would come back. He didn't and it devastated me. I know he didn't mean to break that promise but it nearly destroyed me. We can't promise you something we can't guarantee. You know how dangerous this battle might be. We promise will we do our best to come back but that is all we can promise."
Shiho nodded her head. She knew they were both right but she didn't have to like it. Her husband and best friend were about to rush off in one of the most important battles of their lives. There was no guarantee they would return. It was heartbreaking but it was in truth the career she too had chosen once upon a time. And if it wasn't for the baby inside of her she would be rushing off by their sides.
The next morning came fast. Too fast for Shiho. She watched Mir and Ava talking happily back and forth. She was always amazed at how smart and articulate the small child was. In lots of ways she reminded her of the sarcastic coordinator who use to pester her. Trying to get her to tell him if she like Yzak as more than a commanding officer. If only he could see them now. Married for over four years and expecting their first child together. They had grown up so much from the people they were back then.
"Shiho can we talk?" He husband asked softly. She nodded and they headed out to the balcony for some privacy.
"If I don't come bac-"
"Don't say that!"
"Shiho please… just let me say this." She could tell he was serious "If I don't come back I want you to cry if that's what you feel you need. I don't want you to try and be strong. Let out your pain. Don't bottle it up like… like Haww did. She held it in for so long that when Ava came along she was such a wreck for weeks she could barely take care of her kid. I don't want my child to suffer because his father, someone he doesn't even know, caused his mother pain"
"You're going to come back I know you are. You wouldn't leave me alone, I know you won't"
"And Haww truly believed Dearka would never leave her like that. These people… after what they did to him there is no telling what is going to happen when we attack tomorrow morning. I could be one of the many lives lost in the chaos. If I could I would promise you in an instant that I would come back to you… but I can't. But I can promise you that I love you. And I will always love you until the day I die… and beyond." He said before leaning in and kissing her. They only broke the kiss when her sobbs became too much to do both. So instead he held her tight in his arms.
When she finally calmed down they walked back in the house. There they heard Miriallia explaining to Ava how she was going away on a long trip. "Mommy is going to help uncle Yzak find the bad people who took daddy away." She said smiling at the young girl.
"Are you gonna see daddy?" She asked confused.
"No… Ava. I'm never going to see daddy again. But that is ok. I promise I will make the bad people go away. And then there will be no more of this crazy trips away for a while… ok"
"Ok mommy" The two hugged tightly. Then Mir stood up and looked at her partner.
"It's time Yzak" She said in a serious tone.
"I know" He walked over and gave Ava a big hug "You take good care of Aunt Shiho for me while Mommy and I are gone ok Elsman" He said to the little girl.
"Yes Unkie!" She said trying to sault but failing at it. Ironically it was the same mocking sault her father used to give him. He couldn't help but smile every time she did it. He ruffled her hair under his hand before the two of them walked away. They exited the mansion and headed down to Yzak's car.
"You scared Haww"
"I've never been more confident in my life. This battle is going to change our lives forever. After this nothing will ever be the same again. We will put a stop to BLUE COSMOS. And if I have to I will kill Donald Rowe with my bare hands. He will pay for what he did to Dearka. That is a promise I will keep." He looked at her. He never had seen her so determined in his life. Part of him worried about her but the other part knew she was ready for this. She had become an above average marksman, she was well trained in self defense and she was a very quick thinker. He knew she was ready for anything. Or at least he hoped she was. "What about you? are you scared?"
"No. I know that I'm finally going to get the revenge I've been craving for five years. The man who killed my best friend is about to get the shock of a lifetime. He might hid behind his extends but the truth is those are his only supporters. A bunch of people forced into helping him. But that is his downfall. If we drag the battle out long enough they won't have time to recharge and we will have the uphand. BLUE COSMOS will finally fall. Operation Freeing Humanity will finally come to an end."
"Then let's go" she said. They pulled out of the driveway. Mir looked back and could see Ava waving to her in the window. She wanted to wave back but it was too hard. Mir truly believed Ava was right when she asked if her mother was going to see her daddy. Mir had this uncontrollable feeling that she was going to see Dearka. which could only mean one thing. Maybe she was destined to die in this battle and finally be reunited with the man she loved. Maybe.
