0-0-0 SECTION 13 0-0-0
"No." Trowa shook his head firmly.
"But he's dangerous." Quatre insisted. "He's already hurt you and Duo both. He would have attacked me too if Duo's hadn't distracted him." He motioned to the deep scratches marking their braided companion's mid-drift. "We need to restrain him somehow where are those cuffs he told us about?"
"NO! No cuffs. If he had wanted to kill us we'd already be dead. He came to the camp because I asked him to." The telepath scowled, "You attacked him."
"We didn't!" Quatre insisted. "He told us to use the remotes if he threatened us!"
"You weren't shielding properly." Trowa clarified verbally, then continued using mind speech, **In his state Heero is likely as sensitive to your …psychic emissions as I am. And I assure you they DO hurt. If he wakes to find he has been trussed up like a Christmas turkey he will feel I've led him into a trap.** The telepath frowned, "I might not remember much about Owen but he trusted me and I will not betray his trust. He needs our support, now more than ever."
"Owen?" Duo caught the slip and repeated it.
"Oh One," Trowa enunciated more carefully this time.
"No I think you were correct the first time." Duo looked thoughtful "Those records we got from the lab referenced data recorded from Dætelus Prime, subject O1-LO. I think it meant Owen Lowe."
"Lowe, wasn't that the name of the assassin who…" Quatre began but Trowa cut him off before he could mention the murder of the original Heero Yuy.
"Lowe trained Heero. I learned that much about him during the war. The man cared for him…told him to always follow his emotions." Trowa explained.
"Did he train you too?" Duo asked, "Before the mercenaries?"
"I-I don't know, Trien is just a name paired with a few flashes of memory I got second hand from Heero. It seems likely. He and Solo trained together on occasion. They were both O1's of the same class. I was an O3…whatever that means. I got the impression I was more of an observer in most of their sessions."
"Where was I?" Duo frowned.
"I don't know." Trowa shook his head and lapsed into mind-speech again, **You were pretty young, it seemed like we only saw you in passing or heard about you from Solo. The doctors probably had you under observation while they waited for your abilities to manifest. Speaking of-** he switched back to speech, "Tell Quatre what you saw when you touched WuFei's sword."
Duo shivered at the mere mention of his latest vision and drew his knees up to his chest wrapping his arms around them. "You saw?" he asked, voice thick in his throat.
"Some." Trowa admitted, "Not enough."
Duo closed his eyes letting his mind recall those vivid images that made his blood run cold. "It was a trap from the beginning. WuFei and those with him went back to the lab. Their enemies were waiting. So much blood, I saw him gut one of his attackers with his bear hands…claws…but they kept coming. He nearly ripped one guy's arm off…with his teeth…fangs..." Duo was trembling visibly now overwrought with the power as he relived the vision.
"WuFei isn't fighting alone. You said as much. What can you tell us about those with him?" Quatre asked stretching out with his empathic sense, lending strength and encouragement through the link they shared.
"They are blurry, I can't focus on them." Duo shook his head, "It is Fei I'm worried about. He is hurt and in real danger of loosing himself. The man…Duke…he is gloating."
"If you can see him you can reach him, piggyback your abilities with mine. See if you can get peek at his thoughts." Trowa rested his hands on the braided boys shoulders the contact left a tingling sensation dancing between them then the telepath felt Duo's pre-cognitive abilities fall into sync with his own, he and Quatre worked together to amplify Duo's vision. "What are his plans? What does he want?" Trowa asked.
"He wants…He wants Heero or at least something from him." Duo frowned. "Duke knows what he is and thinks he has some means to subdue him, make him obey. I think he plans to use Fei as bait to lure Heero out of hiding." When Duo opened his eyes again they had and uncanny glow about them and a slow smile spread across his face, "But he thinks Heero is the sole survivor of the program. He thinks Heero is alone and vulnerable because of the peace, thinks he is without a support network. But Heero has us, and that will give us the advantage."
"Where are they? Can we go now?" Quatre asked eagerly.
"Not yet, I think they are in transit it to too hard to pinpoint their location. Something is in flux. I can't really tell when, or even if, what I'm seeing has happened." Duo shook his head, "But I think the possible futures will have coalesced by morning. We should learn something more by then."
Quatre cast a wary glance at the still sleeping Heero "Are you sure we're going to be safe until then?"
"I didn't foresee Ro trying to eat us." Duo shrugged offhandedly "So I'm going to trust Tro'll be able to reason with him when he wakes."
"So we aren't going to tie him?" Aqua eyes pleaded for the others to see reason. "We could zip him into a sleeping bag."
"I don't even sleep trapped inside a sleeping bag," Trowa pointed out leaning into the short blond and nearly pushing him down in the process. "If I knew you were going to be this uncomfortable I would have had preventer airlift one of the cages from the circus for you to sleep in."
"Me?" the blonde yelped indignantly.
"You are far too civilized Master Winner. Sure, you could lock up Heero. But that won't keep you safe from the rest of the wild." Bright Green eyes regarded him with a toothy smile. "Trust me."
Duo couldn't help but wonder of Trowa's canines had always been that pronounced or whether it was that furry tail had made that side of him more…prominent. "Um…Tro?" the braided one scuffed his feet a bit.
Green eyes made contact with his own, "Hmm?"
"You're with us right? Or are you countin' yourself among the rest o' the wild? Cos there is…you are…" he waved a hand at Trowa's tail flicking lazily back and forth at the back of his knees.
"I am as I've always been Duo." The telepath answered quietly. "The fact is just a bit more noticeable since I've stopped trying to hide it."
"Just checking," Duo nodded. Quatre still cast a wary eye at their unconscious comrade and went to see if his cappuccino maker was still functional. It was time to start thinking about dinner.
Somewhere, in the not so far distance, a wolf howled. Trowa could sense their hungry thoughts as well. They recognized Heero's scent as that of a dangerous predator. They found his kill, and were wondering if it was safe to scavenge from it. **The kill was made in your territory** Trowa directed his thoughts into the rapidly darkening wood, **Take what you need, but do not challenge us.**
0-0-0-0-0-0-0
The ball was long since over, Relena should have been sleeping. She should have fallen asleep hours ago but instead, she was sprawled out on the lacy coverlet of her canopied bed. Pagan had brought her warm milk with a touch of honey to calm her but it hadn't done any good. She sighed and turned over, for the fifth time in the past half hour. Cornflower blue eyes watched the hands on the clock in their inexorable journey past the ornamental gothic numerals. She could not get the disconcerting encounter out of her mind. She kept going over everything he had said, replaying his facial expressions gauging his manner of speech and movements.
It all came down to one point Relena mused; "why had Devet introduced himself as a Dermail? Une had said he had always gone by his mother's surname. If he had introduced himself as Lackland de Vier I wouldn't have gotten defensive. In fact I might have even been flattered by the attention." she shifted around in her bed and sat up. "The man didn't look like a villain. He probably could have even gotten away with calling me 'Queen.'" She shrugged admitting "It only annoys me when people can't seem to see I have my own dreams and ambitions which did not include wearing a crown. Monarchies are anachronistic in this day and age, and despite his roll in the war Milliardo is still the rightful heir," she flopped backward on the bed and pouted sullenly.
"Break free of the pull of the moon and take your rightful place in the heavens." What ever else, that man definitely had a way with words. A Kushrenada cousin…Once again she wondered if charisma might be genetic. Relena bit her lip thoughtfully, "What if my brother is the 'moon' he was referring to. That would seem to imply that Milliardo's kidnapping was nothing more than another ploy to get me to accept the crown. 'Doubtful' she sighed, 'It wouldn't explain why the man had been so agitated by Heero's absence…and he HAD been agitated, his body language said as much. What was the connection between Milliardo and Heero…aside from repeatedly attempting to kill one another of course; not a thing.'
"Well there was one thing." Relena sat up. "They both care about me," she whispered. Devet said something about 'exchanging one protector for another'. What if taking Zechs was a trap for Heero. But why?' she frowned How would taking Heero further Duke Dermail's plans? What plans? Treize had gone to great lengths to 'school her on the ways of Romefeller' during her previous stint as queen of the world and she had been honestly relieved when he finally gave up and became her replacement at the head of the United Earth Forces.
"Treize broke with Dermail because he supported mobile dolls. The Duke wanted to take the human element out of the fighting but the Gundam pilots has proved themselves superior to the dolls time and again. So what would be the next step…machines and humans…humans and machines…sometimes it seems Heero's about as machine like as a human can get. But he's gotten so much better since the war." Relena yawned. "Why am I torturing myself like this? Une's probably already figured everything out." she yawned again glancing at the clock It would be dawn in a few short hours. "Must sleep." She announced sliding under the covers snuggling into her pillows. This time she drifted off with no trouble at all.
0-0-0-0-0-0.
"The guards have been out of communication for six hours now? Why wasn't I notified immediately? Did I not make my self clear when I informed you this was of highest priority?" Director Une desperately wanted to backhand the hapless subordinate who brought her the news, but she was vividly aware that preventers didn't do things that way…and she knew why. But it didn't help matters. Her hands bunched into fists as she fought to control her temper. She took a deep breath in through her nose, held it for a count of five before exhaling slowly through her mouth.
"It- it- is the m-middle of the n-night…" the young woman stammered "We … we didn't think anything was wrong."
"You didn't think…that part is true enough." Anne growled through gritted teeth. "When I give orders to report at regular intervals, it is not a suggestion. I expect those orders to be followed to the letter. Now I find not only was the report protocol not followed but less than half the number I specified were actually posted to guard the facility. I am not pleased." She said voice cold as ice. "AND this log indicates that one of Agent Chang's accounts was activated from a terminal within the watch area. This information is VITAL! How was it overlooked? Of all the incompetent…" Une's voice failed her as she fought the urge to do something drastic.
"This isn't Oz," One of the com operators groused.
"Private Andrews," She had the man by the collar in an instant, her eyes boring into his own, "If this were OZ I could have you flogged for insubordination. As it is you are skating very close to a court-martial but at the moment I'm not feeling particularly charitable. So, you are going to be part of the detail I am taking back to the lab. I expect what we find isn't going to be pretty and I am going to be sure you remember those people's lives are on your head."
A several hour flight by Hilo brought Une's recon team to the underground lab complex. The ground was ruptured in several places where the upper floors had collapsed under and strength of the Gundam pilots' last strike. Even the ground appeared blackened, a scar in the surrounding forest.
The pilot received no radio response on making his approach to the landing pad and there was no one waiting to welcome them. It took almost 45 minutes of searching before they found what was left of the security detail. Stripped of their uniforms and slaughtered execution style. Une's teeth grounded together and her eyes blazed angrily. This wasn't supposed to happen, not to her agents…not to anyone. This was why Treize had sacrificed himself so people wouldn't let travesties like this happen! As it was, the only 'peace' she could offer the now bereft families, was the knowledge that their loved ones hadn't suffered… Beyond that she had to see those responsible were brought to justice…
"More bodies Commander…" one of her team responded snapping a crisp salute. She nodded and returned it, Corporal Allen had been OZ and in situations like this one, that level of…authority was something of a comfort.
The first thing she noticed upon being brought into the cavernous room was com operator Andrews hunched over a wastepaper basket violently emptying his stomach into it. The bodies strewn about were like the ones they had found upon their first inspection of the place only…only more brutally dispatched. The first looked as if something had torn its throat out. Several bodies nearby were missing limbs or eviscerated.
It was a gruesome sight. A few that sustained less serious injuries looked to have been shot in the head after the fact. However, not a one had been left unscathed, necks were snapped, lungs were punctured, and faces were ravaged. She felt her own gorge rise at the sight, and smell, of the carnage. She struggled to maintain a firm hold on her emotions. The question remained who could have done this? And the answer was one she feared to entertain.
"These aren't our men." Allen whispered from his place by her elbow. "The uniforms belonged to the team we found upstairs. I'm not suggesting anyone disserves to die like this…" he motioned expansively, "but they certainly weren't innocent in whatever this was…."
The man was interrupted by several of the other agents returning from scouting. Une suspected their task was in vein. Their quarry was already gone. There was nothing more to see. Une sighed. Then her sharp eyes caught the glimmer of white gold settled unobtrusively beside a stack of practice mats.
Her breath caught sharply in her throat, as she recognized the object a signet ring, crafted for the purpose of leaving an impression in hot wax. She knew only one person who possessed and used such an archaic tool and he was never without it.
Her finger traced the achingly familiar emblem carved into the blood red ruby: A griffin, a lions head bracketed by wings, a sword and a rose clutched in outstretched talons. On the inside of the metal band was an inscription almost worn smooth but still legible proving this was no forgery. "Ense et Aratro" the Latin axiom promising, "Service in war and in peace."
The lady marveled at the impossibility of the thing that rested so lightly in her palm. She knew it should have been irrevocably lost in the vastness of space along with the remains of its owner. "Treize." she whispered as she slipped the ring inside her breast pocket…where else should it be but resting over her heart?
Allen recalled her from her thoughts, "We've been all over the complex Commander, top to bottom. We've even gone over the sections damaged in the first attack. There is no sign of occupation. Sonar, infer-red, electro magnetic emissions all read negative…there is no one here but us." Corporal Allen confirmed. His eyes down cast "We're too late again." He admitted fists clenched in frustration.
Une understood the man's feelings, the bodies were barely cold. The medical examiner confirmed they had missed their quarry by a few scant hours.
"We'll find them yet." her voice was quiet. Her hand crept unbidden to clasp the fabric of her blouse and the ring concealed within. "The scions of Dermail are playing a dangerous game. If they refuse to meet us on the battle field we'll take the battle home to them."
"All right boy's we've seen all there is to see here, lets move out!" She shouted the iron in her voice making all the men snap to attention.