Heero Yuy, L6, and the Second Suit Wars | ELLE
Just want to say a big thank you to those of you still following! =) We've past the half way point now and I hope to do the end justice... ha!
One thing I want to say as I've been asked this a bit is that I tend to think of our boys as the type to try to solve an issue on their own before turning to help, hence why they wouldn't immediately have gone to Preventer. Not to mention, look whose side Une was on during the war, right? I think that realistically there would be some trust issues there. Also, when Quatre experienced the assassination attempt by Sergio that caused these flashback issues in him, Sergio was right there to offer him assistance and help under the guise of friendship and he was pretty messed up and just accepted it out of fear. Remember, Quatre has some serious ZERO system issues and destroyed a colony using it. He'd want to do anything to avoid repeating that.
I have in the past considered doing a bit of a companion piece to this that would be short excerpts from the other pilot's perspectives at key points in the narrative as it is very frustrating to be locked into Heero's limited viewpoint... but we'll see! I suppose it depends on how much I miss writing this once it's done as I have a few other big arcs in the works... ;-P
PART THREE | Restitution of a Former Life
3.7 The Speech
I'm not sure we said more than ten words to each other on the trip despite how long a flight it was, so intense was our frustration and shame. But when we landed back on the freighter we were immediately bombarded by Duo's buddies dragging us into a conference room where Howard was waiting with a news clip recorded and pulled up on a large video screen.
"Since you're back so soon, I'm guessin' you saw 'bout Relena?" Howard asked by way of greeting.
"Saw she's been taken," Duo replied, crossing his arms over his chest when he stopped in front of the screen. "Don't know what that dick wants with her – I mean, she is the ESUN VP for Sanc now but there are certainly more prominent members that could have been abducted."
"Well, you don't have to worry – she's fine. More than fine, in fact," Howard explained, "she just gave a speech on the floor of Parliament about fifteen minutes ago."
"What?" My voice sounded strange even to me and Duo made a strangled sound.
Howard hit play and the anchor started talking as the clip rolled. "This just in – Relena Darlian Peacecraft has been found addressing the Halls of Parliament in Geneva only moments ago. This clip was picked up exclusively by ESNN feeds and is brought to you here first."
When the clip started rolling, you saw Relena approach the podium in the vast and empty room. It wasn't uncommon for politicians to make political statements at any time of day in Parliament as, with all rooms of high political significance, it was constantly monitored by television networks for anything worthy of note – usually involving spats between politicians that could show up on the nightly news. That's not even going into the fact that with time zones the way they are between Earth and the colonies, politics is a constant game, where getting the upper hand often involved speeches and announcements at unorthodox times.
I was still amazed Relena chose to employ that tactic as she faced the empty seats, her eyes directed forward, the camera cutting to a three-quarter view of her.
"My fellow citizens of the ESUN," she began, "you have been deceived. By me and politicians like me who have inadvertently hindered our evolutionary development by boxing us into regulations that negate our potential for true, absolute peace."
"Fuck," I heard Duo breath out next to me.
"The time for drastic change is upon us – a forward step towards a world where we can truly understand one another without the barriers of language, color, gender, and sex – a world where our children can be truly connected to one another, to experience true cooperation and understanding.
"At this moment, mobile suits will be landing in major cities across the ESUN. Please do not be alarmed and do not resist, they mean you no – hey!"
At this point, the camera panned out, security guards converging on her position, handcuffing her behind her back.
"They come in peace!" she cried out, eyes darting from camera to camera as she was being dragged forcibly off the podium, repeating that cry twice more before the room was empty and nothing was heard, the anchor reappearing on the screen. Howard moved to click to a presently running news channel.
"Is that even legal?" Duo demanded, eyes hard as they turned to me, then to Howard, looking for some kind of explanation. "Can they just detain her like that?"
But words were bypassed as our eyes were riveted to the screen once more, video feeds of various quality showing those same new type mobile suits landing across prominent cities across the ESUN, on Earth and in the colonies, in innumerable mass, disrupting city centers, people running in fear. It brought back a feeling in me that I didn't anticipate – anger, sure, but something more, something deeper. Disappointment – bottomless and piercing. Not even ten years later and already the same images of fear and violence? Perhaps they came in peace, perhaps Sergio truly meant well, truly believed the shit he said in that meeting – but people were simple and easily confused, easily scared, and tactics like this – a takeover by a force people had learned to fear ten years ago – was nothing but fear mongering, the intent to cause panic and compliance.
I felt my heartbeat quicken in my chest suddenly and saw with startling clarity the same scenes from the cockpit of Wing, saw as I mowed down brainwashed soldiers in inferior mobile suits, remembering declarations of how I would kill them all, how I'd fight through longer than anyone – remembered how I would go to any extreme to win. I felt a sense of panic I hadn't felt in years as memories of burning metal and seared flesh, blood and carnage, gun powder, explosives, every death on my hands ripping through my mind and I stumbled backward, unable to force my eyes from the screen, from my own destruction.
I heard my name but then it wasn't really my name, was it? It was just a vestige of a life I gave up a long time ago but here I was – faced with it once more. Heero Yuy. Never able to escape the shadow of a man who promoted peace as I tore it apart. The ends didn't justify the means – children as pilots, forced into actions beyond their scope of understanding, beyond their ability to be responsible for – it wasn't until now, as an adult, looking back, facing children in those suits that I grasped that level of manipulation intimately.
"Duo!" I gasped, visions of horror and destruction replaced by wide blue eyes, concern etched through them. For a moment they seemed like they were ten years ago, desperate and hurting and buoyed by an inner strength that forced him forward, a self-confidence I couldn't help but admire, a dedication to the inevitable – like a reflection of myself. As I blinked back to reality, I realized I was trembling and his arms were fisted in my jacket, holding me up.
"Shit 'Ro, you okay?" he asked cautiously as I fought to force my breathing to return to normal.
"Yeah, I – Duo?" His brows furrowed but his hands dropped as I regained composure. "You said you knew they were using child pilots. Why? Why when we can interface with HERA just as well?"
He took a step back and I could see his mind work as he considered the unexpected question. I felt my heart finally begin to slow, my nerves calm, and his eyes met mine.
"Jack said that children had to be recruited while their synapse development was still expanding so that it could be manipulated to work in tandem with the AI..." he mused, thumbing his chin. "But you're right – unless our training – ?"
"No," I murmured, sitting back against a table for stability as it started to make sense to me.
Lizzy could reach into my mind like that because she had full access to the system. We were only working with a limited version, a version that took into account our weaknesses, our lack of mental maturity, our inability to truly interface. That's why there was no cockpit information, no gears or shifters or levers or thrusters – that's why children could still control them with limited strength. They were completely integrated mentally into the system. Sergio wanted to make the human race into a true hive mind. Just like Quatre said: if we are truly interconnected, what is the necessity of a human body?
"We don't have access to the full functionality of HERA," I concluded, meeting Duo's curious eyes and he frowned. "When I interfaced with Lizzy, she could put her thoughts directly into my head. I couldn't do that with you. I could only feel you."
"Theoretical my ass," Duo muttered, fists clenching and unclenching, eyes lost in a memory.
Howard coughed as if alerting us to his presence. Though I hadn't forgotten about him being there, I continued to ignore him, throwing a glance at the screen as the anchor rambled on about cities being invaded, about uniformed troops being deployed to round up citizens. There was no reason being stated for these actions, but I had a guess, and it had to do with my brain reconstruction procedure for everyone too old to interface with the expanded HERA system.
And no one could fight back. There would be no defense. All weapons had been destroyed – except for those produced by Sergio, the three Gundams rebuilt by Quatre, and some barely salvageable old Leos and Tauruses maintained by small factions of fringe insurgents who never gave up the fight.
"We should try to get in touch with Wufei," I suggested, standing once more and Duo nodded. "He might still be able to get out of Lyon."
Howard threw Duo a cell phone and he began typing Wufei's number. "What are you thinking?"
"He gets Quatre's other suit."
Duo hesitated, looked up at me for a brief moment, and nodded once more before hitting send. He had to know Quatre was in no condition to pilot – if he would even give up the last Gundam to Wufei. It wasn't incredibly clear whether he supported Sergio or not, but I didn't have time to go back to L4 to figure that out. Wufei could handle Quatre if anyone could.
I came to stand behind Duo, staring at the screen as he redialed several times before Wufei finally picked up, screen dark but Duo had him on speaker.
"Who the fuck is this?" The anger and frustration in his voice hit me intimately, reminded me of that voice over cockpit comms at fifteen, all fire and passion and sense of duty. A dedication to the inevitable, binding us all together.
"Duo Maxwell speaking," Duo chimed back, a smirk crossing his face as the video switched on and Wufei's face was revealed to us. Despite the fury contorting it, he seemed relieved to see us.
"And Heero?" he asked, eyes briefly alighting on me. "Where have you been?"
"Oh, you know, just taking an exclusive tour of L6, lounging around Quat's on L4, piloting Gundams back to Earth, meeting megalomaniacs – the usual ex-terrorist shit." His voice glossed over his description of the past few weeks as confusion replaced Wufei's anger.
"What are you talking about?"
"You able to get out to L4 'Fei? Preventer clearance and all?"
"Fuck." He dropped the screen and muted his phone, interacting with someone off camera for a minute before coming back. "Maybe. I have connections but air traffic is basically shut down. I have to have a damn good reason to risk it. Une expected me in Paris an hour ago."
"Well buddy, this is way the fuck better than Paris."
Duo quickly filled him in on Quatre's partnership with Sergio, the HERA system, and the reconstructed Gundams, our meeting with Sergio. I found I didn't need to add anything to his summary.
"We're going back to L6," I stated matter-of-factly once he was done. "I intend to shut this down before it gets any more out of hand. We may need you."
Wufei was nodding as he walked, stopping suddenly, eyes pinning back to the screen and meeting mine. "I'll be there."
"Quatre is in no way stable," I added, feeling a sense of relief that we had his commitment. "He might not hand the suit over willingly."
"I think he will," Wufei stated mildly. "He drafted the legislation banning all forms of weaponry in the ESUN including mobile suit construction. He knows what is in that legislation. If he doesn't want to go to trial for crimes against humanity, he'll let me have it."
That was a sobering testament to Quatre's instability.
"Be careful," I warned him finally. "These are children we are dealing with and children much younger than we were."
"Understood." His voice was firm, his face serious. I knew he was already committed to the mission.
"And 'Fei," Duo added suddenly, voice tight with emotion – which surprised me. "The system, it's not so bad, just make sure to assert your control over it. I know you can do it, just don't let it go connecting you out to everything across the whole universe."
Though we didn't go into much detail about HERA due to the limited time frame we were working with, he nodded, and I knew him well enough to know that he would figure it out.
"Thank you," I said and his eyes glanced away at something happening off screen and back to me.
"See you in space," he answered confidently and the line disconnected.
Duo looked at me then and I think we both felt the weight of the moment. This wasn't about us anymore – hadn't been for a long time. But now – now we had to pick back up the pieces of who we were and hope they were enough to stop our past from becoming a bleak and hopeless future.