[A.N.] WARNING: do not read this chapter if reading about child abuse upsets you. This whole story is rated M for mature. If you would like to have a condensed copy of this chapter, send an email to me and Minx and we will send you one. Other than that, the usual disclaimer applies. WE DO NOT OWN GUNDAM WING OR ANY OF ITS CHARACTERS. That being said. Enjoy!

Two years later:

Serene could feel the searing heat radiating off the machine. She could smell the fumes and practically feel the suit coming alive as her nimble fingers programmed the coordinates and prepared for take-off. This was going to be easy. A simple infiltration mission with a side of sabotage; she lived for this purpose: soldier on the battlefield when her master calls for it and a political mind at other times. Yes, her training had been strange. At first she was only to be a soldier, or so she thought. However, over the last few years things had changed pace.

They began to school her in politics and social conducts. She was learning quite a great deal about what to look for in shady dealings and how to bluff without so much as a smidgen of anything showing up on a lie detector. This was, to say the least, not as entertaining as a battle but it was sometimes a welcome relief. Not that she enjoyed battles. Battles were things she participated in because her orders dictated her to do so. Politics, on the other hand, was a whole new form of battle.

In the battlefield of a politician, brain wins over brawn and the cleverest of all in the room will be the one that gains to upper hand. She had learned quite well how to do exactly that. Her physical and social conduct for such political dealings was nothing, if not, impressive. Master Dekim had made sure that she would be able to handle the most difficult of topics and circumstances should challenging ones arise. She didn't questions their motives in making her well-versed in such political dealings because it didn't matter, not really. Following orders is all that a soldier is good for and that was precisely what she planned on doing.

Dr. A sat in with her every other day and made sure she knew what exactly was going on in the political world and who the key players were. He showed her how to walk, talk, eat, sit and interact like a political figure. She knew her salad fork from her dinner fork and her soup spoon from her desert spoon. She knew that the napkin goes in the lap and the mouth should always be dabbed before and after one take a drink or a bite of food. She knew that her back must stay straight at all times and her elbows must never touch the table. She knew the proper bite sizes for the different kinds of meals and the specific ways certain fancy dishes should be eaten. Her posture was now perfect with a different kind of grace and poise that carried over but differed from her usual grace used on her missions.

He educated her on the weakest points of political structuring in hopes that she would be able to make seeing through those spots second nature. She smirked. They had no idea how dangerous they were making her. Something big was on the rise. There would soon be a large political statement, an upheaval of some kind although when or how this would transpire she had no clue. The only indication she had of such an event was the growing importance of her training as a Politian. She didn't really know their plans for her. Apparently they wanted to use her to impersonate someone, a long lost princess that could still be alive. She scoffed at the idea. What could they hope to accomplish with only one girl? She still did not question them, however. A soldier's place was to just do, not to question.

As she reached the base she landed the machine and activated the cloaking device. Sliding down from the cable she made one last check of her general position and sighed. Too easy. All these missions she was being sent on recently were child's play compared to what they could be. What she didn't understand was why were they giving her these easy missions? What was the point in not testing her limits? Was it really so dangerous that they needed to play it safe? They had been having sabotage both sides, attacking their own bases and framing their own men. She couldn't see the point to this. These questions also had to be shoved aside.

Her advance into the base had been simple. Avoiding their minimal amount of security cameras proved no challenge and neither did infiltrating the seemingly impenetrable wall of their fortress. Fortress was a term she would use lightly when describing the base. The perimeter had been guarded by perhaps two dozen mobile suits and one guard stationed on top of a tower at each corner of the base. Taking out the lookouts had been a cinch and she found herself quickly getting bored, not good when you need to stay alert.

Apparently the man in charge of running this base had secret blueprints to a new style of mobile suit based loosely on the construction of an older model she heard termed the TallGeese. From what she could see the suits in the hanger seemed normal standard issues Leos with Taurus and Virgos thrown in for good measure. Using a small camera she'd tucked away in her shirt she took pictures of the layout of the hanger. Over in the corner was her true objective. Covered by canvas was a large mass, metallic in make. Moving as close as she dared she slid through the shadows, the unsuspecting patrolmen walking right into her trap. She allowed herself a tiny smile. Finally, some interaction. Walking forward, she carefully climbed under the canvas to view the new suit. What she saw shocked her. The suit was far from complete but looked like a white demon. Cold green bullet-proof glass eyes glared at her, shining even in the dim lighting of the storage facility.

Master Dekim had said the scientists had been working on developing more suits of this style, although each was different in its make and model. Her mission was to check on the progress and sabotage the regular suits. Personally, she found that to be counterproductive but once more, it was not her place to question her orders. Taking all the pictures necessary she abandoned her spot by the new suit and began to tamper with the lesser models. Tampering with the basic mechanisms to hamper their operative capabilities took hardly any time at all and she found herself disappointed that the mission had been so brief. Sneaking back out as easily as she had snuck in, she made her way to the control room for the final portion of her mission.

The mainframe computer system was in a room in the middle of the compound. Using the ducts and vents to her greatest advantage she quickly found herself in the desired location. The file she was to copy and download was labeled Operation Meteor. The room was empty, apparently the whole base seemed to think they were safe in this turbulent time. One thing her political lessons were teaching her was just how precarious the current civil state was. While there is no official war, skirmishes and heated political debates between the earth and the colonies were beginning to get worse. Master Dekim seemed to neither mind, nor truly care what direction those arguments took. As far as she could tell he wasn't really truly interested at all which made no sense. Why place such high importance on her political training if he had no intention of interfering in the current government? She sighed as the last piece of the file downloaded onto her drive. Tucking it safely away with the camera she made her exit. Dodging the enemy still proved no problem. She sighed as she reached her suit. Climbing back up almost artistically, she programmed the coordinates for her home base and then blasted off.

"It isn't that I am questioning your reasoning Dekim, but surely you can see why Beta is so confused with her missions. You aren't testing her. And the things you are sending her to retrieve you could easily get on your own. Why must you use her?" Dr. A rarely questioned Dekim for fear of his own life as well as for Beta's. Sometimes it scared him that he was the only thing standing between Beta and Dekim Barton's fist of cruelty.

"For the last time, doctor, you do not need to understand any more than she does. Everyone on this base is here to serve me and follow my orders. My reasons are my own and they will make sense in due time."

"But sir, you had her invade your own base, take pictures and data that you easily could have accessed without any difficulty whatsoever."

"The difficulty is not the issue either, doctor. I have plans that must be set in motion and These little useless missions as you call them are very key to my overall plan. Do not question me any further, understand?"

A found himself unable to speak. Attacking their own base, sabotaging their own suits, truly made no sense. Whatever this mad man had planned had to be far worse than he could imagine. He just hoped that when all was said and done that Beta would be safe. He owed that girl at least that much. Her life stolen from her, her destiny cruelly cast into a violent direction. It was obvious to A that the only pattern he would get from Dekim's moves would be unpredictable. This unpredictability could spell out trouble on a large scale.

He had to know. He had to know more about the operation meteor, the reason for beta's seemingly pointless mission. The new mobile suits he'd heard rumors about bothered him. Supposedly they were to be the ultimate fighting machines. The pilots chosen for the suits would have to be extraordinary. Was that his plan? Was Beta to be used as a pilot for the new death machines? He shuddered at the thought. Her skill and precision would make such a suit truly an unbeatable enemy. Fear gripped him. Sitting down at his computer he accessed the forbidden files. What he found shocked and terrified him

OPERATION METEOR:

Annihilation of resistance. Throw off the rotation of colony from its axis.

ESTIMATED TIME OF IMPACT TO EARTH:

3 days. Assume order in the chaos resulting. Gundams will police the movement eliminating any and all threats of resistance against Operation meteor.

ESTIMATED CASUALTIES: Millions

END RESULT: BARTON EMPIRE

A couldn't believe his eyes. Terror gripped his very core. Barton was twisted. Truly twisted. Sacrificing millions of lives needlessly just to assert his family as the rulers of the world. Did he truly not realize the larger repercussions of such an act? The vast impact on earth would change the climates and cause another ice age, not to mention throw earth's entire ecosystem out of wack. He couldn't let this happen. He had to get the word out. He had to inform the other doctors. Most of all, he had to get Beta out of this. He had to stop this somehow. His fingers practically flew across the keys as he accessed all the necessary files. He had to send them. J and the others would surely help him stop this madness. They just had to.

"Dr. A." The voice of the older scientist made him stop. "I understand your alarm at finding what you have but you must not do anything yet to counter Dekim's plans."

"You knew? How can you stand by and watch this mad man work when you know the end result will be so disastrous?" His words were spat out as accusingly as possible.

"You must be patient. You are young, and as such you have not realized what timing can do to even the best of circumstances."

"I will not sit by and watch while millions of people are slaughtered needlessly to satisfy the selfish desires of a psychopath. Maybe you can but I don't want that on my conscience."

"Who said we aren't going to stop him? These things take time. Think, my boy. What will happen to Beta and Delta if we try to stop Dekim now? If there was an immediate threat we would act. Give it a little more time. Dekim has a few more years before he will try implementing his ultimate plan. When the time comes, rest assured we will stop him." J's words did little to alleviate his fears but he let himself calm down. Perhaps J had a point.

"Very well. I'll wait. But if what he wants to happen comes to pass God himself will damn us to the darkest pits of hell."