Mobile Suit Gundam Wing: Revolution

Book Three, Chapter Two

Noin grit her teeth, fighting back the urge to curse as the pilot floated in her Tallgeese, just out from where the transports for Earth's forces were assembling. Treize had stolen and seized much of the orbital lift capacity on Earth, using it to ferry his army of mobile suits to the waiting battlefield. The motley assemblage of ships looked chaotic, but she knew there was a underlying order as they dropped off suits and moved away.

'And I get to talk to him,' Noin thought grimly, 'yipee. Well, me and...'

The Gundam Wing jetted up beside her, even as a civilian type transport shuttle lagged close behind. A communication signal passed between them, then Juri Arisugawa's face appeared on a view screen in Noin's cockpit. "I'm going to hail them," she said seriously, "if they try something, please keep Releena safe."

"You sure?" Noin asked. "They might be less likely to shoot at me."

"We've arranged a temporary truce," Juri shrugged eloquently as the orange haired woman said, "I guess we'll just have to see if they honor it."

"Good luck," Noin wished her as the Gundam flew forward, "I'll keep Releena safe, no matter what it takes."

Juri handled the controls surely, her Gundam flying towards the Earth forces waiting in space. As she slowed to the predetermined spot she saw a mobile suit break from the pack, noting it was a modified Tallgeese type. They both slowed and stopped, floating not far apart as their respective systems requested communications.

"I'm Captain Manning," the redheaded woman said briskly, "are you Juri Arisugawa?"

"I am," Juri nodded. "I was under the impression we were going to talk to Treize?"

"I'm relaying to him now," Manning said, "as I assume you are to ambassador Peacecraft."

The image on the screen wavered, even as Juri patched in a connection to the shuttle with Releena in it. In moments the face of a handsome if aristocratic man appeared, even as Releena presumably appeared on his screens.

"Ambassador," Treize nodded slightly, "I did not expect the colonies to parlay like this. Are you here to sue for peace?"

"No," Releena shook her head, "but I think our entire conflict may have been... overshadowed. Are you aware of the current status of the Libra?"

Treize stiffened visibly, narrowing his eyes as he studied her. "You know it has been taken then," he said grimly.

"Yes, though we don't know by whom or why," Releena lied, having gotten a anonymous message stating who. Why Akio Ohtori had done it was harder to guess though. Juri had gotten quite a shock at hearing the name, too, something Releena intended to ask her about later.

"It was a old... associate of mine," Treize admitted, frowning slightly, "Akio Ohtori. He arranged to have his wife join my staff, but I've had her detained."

"What does he want?" Releena asked, studying Treize intently to try to catch him if he was lying to her.

"I don't know," Treize admitted, actually sounding frustrated. "He has always seemed content to be a power behind the throne, I never expected him to act so openly."

"I see," Relenna murmured, realizing he was as confused as they were. She took a breath, "Do you know why we asked to talk?"

"Alliance," Treize said flatly, looking rather displeased with the idea.

"Libra is quite possibly the most powerful space battleship ever built," Releena said patiently, "we can't stop it alone, especially since it also has Mobile Doll foundries aboard."

Treize looked even less happy as he muttered, "Clearly, OZ needs to improve it's security."

Juri sat back in her cockpit, hiding a smile. The colonies had a fairly good spy force, and to be honest it was hard to hide the building of a massive vessel like Libra. The only real challenge had been getting people into the construction crews working on the project. Quatre wouldn't tell her how he managed it, but she suspected it involved bribery somewhere...

"I won't press you into agreeing to a alliance now," Releena said, "but I think you will agree we can't stop it on our own."

"You could be right," Treize conceded, but he clearly wasn't happy about it. "I will contact you in twenty-four hours, I should be able to get my supporters to agree at that point."

"We've already struck a truce with Dorothy Catalonia, will that be a problem?" Releena asked.

Treize smiled humorlessly. "We had already considered her a renegade at this point," he said, "do as you wish with her, just watch your back."

"Understood," Releena agreed as the connection was cut and the mobile suits drifted apart.

"Well, well," Noin murmured, then blinked as a tight beam transmission hit her Tallgeese.

Treize's face appeared on Noin's viewscreen, his expression both sad and somewhat thoughtful. "Noin, I'm glad to see you're alive," he noted calmly.

"No thanks to Catalonia," Noin said dryly. She smiled faintly, "Miliardo says hi, by the way."

Treize flinched slightly, reminded of the friend who now fought on the other side. "Please, send him my greetings in return," he inclined his head slightly. Looking at her Treize said seriously, "We of OZ know about Catalonia's betrayal. You would be welcome back if you wish."

Treize looked startled when Noin burst into quiet laughter. "Sorry," she said, "but you have to be kidding. In OZ I had to constantly turn a blind eye to excesses of your soldiers, not to mention the murderers and betrayals. Joining the Colony forces was the smartest thing I've ever done."

"I understand," Treize sighed, "I wish you well then."

As the connection was cut Releena's face appeared, the young woman looking displeased. "Was that Treize? What did that smug snake want?"

"He offered my old job back," Noin shrugged, "I turned him down." Plaintively she added, "Can we please go home now? Hanging out here with all the Leos is making me nervous."

"I second that," Juri added warmly, "let's get the hell out of here."

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0

Quatre Winner waited nervously on the platform, though the slim blond boy managed to look cool and composed. The ships containing the survivors of Dorothy Catalonia's forces were set to arrive at the colony momentarily, and soon he would be reunited with his sister once more.

"This is a bad idea," Wu-Fei said flatly, the asian boy glaring around him angrilly.

Duo Maxwell shrugged eloquently as the brown haired boy noted, "Well, we couldn't just leave them floating in space or still in that colony they captured."

Wu-Fei shook his head, "But bringing them here to our base?"

"We've evacuated all civilians and non-essencial personnel," Hilde reported, the brown haired woman saluting Quatre briskly.

"So why are you still here?" Wu-Fei snarked.

Hilde just ignored him, though Duo calmly elbowed his buddy in the guts. As Wu-Fei gurgled Quatre nodded, "Thank you for your efforts. Do we have quarters ready for the OZ forces?"

"I was thinking the brig would work," Hilde said, deadpan.

Quatre sighed, "We are allies, at least temporarily, and we need to treat them with respect."

Due smiled wryly, "I respect them about as far as I can throw them."

Hilde pointedly ignored that too. "I was thinking of putting them in structures on the colony's inner surface," she offered seriously, "with a guard for their own security." Before Quatre could reflexedly protest that she continued, "With all due respect, sir, they NEED guards for their own safety. I can think of a dozen officers off the top of my head that would gladly kill Dorothy in her sleep."

"Only a dozen?" Due noted, "I could think of fifty easy. You're slacking."

"She's got a point," Wu-Fei noted reluctantly.

"All right, we'll guard them, but from a distance," Quatre decided reluctantly, even as the warnings for docking ships went off. "Looks like they're here," he noted needlessly.

"With your big sister too," Duo needled him with a slight smile. It was fun seeing Quatre so nervous, it happened so damn rarely.

"Yes," Quatre nodded, even as he considered how... complicated this situation was.

When Quatre first heard that Casval was working with OZ, he hadn't believed it. He ordered the initial reports re-confirmed, and when those came back positive he wondered if she was infiltrating OZ, somehow. But more and more data indicated she was a willing ally of Catalonia's faction, and all Quatre could do was wonder why?

As OZ troops disembarked from the transports Quatre watched Dorothy Catalonia watching over the wounded, the aristocratic blond looking actually concerned for her men. It was probably just a act, but it was a very good one. Then a slim blond woman in a flight suit emerged, looking around her then seeing the pilots standing not far away.

"That her?" Wu-Fei asked disapprovingly.

"It is," Quatre agreed even as Casval used the low gravity to launch herself at the platform. He stepped forward as she flew towards them, "Casval, it's good to... oof!"

The punch to the face was totally unexpected, and sent Quatre flying backward, blood streaming from his nose. "Quatre!" Hilde yelped, grabbing him even as Duo and Wu-Fei restrained the furious girl.

"You bastard!" Casval raged, clearly wanting to punch Quatre again.

"Yup, you can see the family resemblance immediately," Duo quipped.

"Ooh," Quatre felt his nose, which was bleeding freely down onto his white shirt. He wobbled a bit as he stood, but quickly waved Hilde away. "What's going on?" he demanded of his sister.

Casval shrugged off the two men's grip and stalked forward, glaring at Quatre. "Do you know what happened to father after you joined the resistance?" she demanded coldly. "The Earth Alliance and OZ ruined him, you selfish bastard!"

Quatre paled, even though he knew some of this already. "Father respected my decisio to join," he insisted, even as he tried to hold a cloth to his bleeding nose.

"That doesn't make it right, damn you," Casval turned and walked away, her back stiff with rage as she returned to the OZ forces.

"You okay?" Duo asked Quatre gently even as Hilde was urging him to go see a medic.

"I dunno," Quatre sighed, wondering if he had really made the right choices after all.

To be continued...