Episode 6: Tales of Paradise
In the year After Colony 199, humanity started to begin another chapter in their existence. The development of technology that would allow humans to totally break the bonds of the Earth was supposed to be the first step in a new era.
However, it became apparent that someone did not want this era to arrive. As the year After Colony 200 approaches, an alarming unrest is beginning to show itself, and it bodes ill for the precarious peace brought about by the Earth Sphere United Nation…
"This is an outrage! How dare you blame us for this act of violence?" The Advisor to Eurasia screamed out in disbelief, "Wasn't that pilot from North Am with the foreign minister? If there should be a suspect, it should be North Am!"
The leader of the congressional body for North Am was equally adamant as to his innocence. "All the evidence suggests that the pilot in question was just as much a victim as the foreign minister. Do not use us as a patsy for your acts of aggression!"
"What about the South Pacific? They were never happy with Minister Peacecraft's ideals of pacifism."
This brought upon a slew of protests from the gathered diplomats of the South Pacific. "The Asian region has a larger military presence than anyone. They would have the most to gain from a total collapse of the Earth Sphere!"
The Asian advisor was quick to point out, "We seem to be forgetting that it was a North Am pilot who was seen with the foreign minister last, and it was Advisor Aelan and another of his pilots who was the first on the scene."
Soon, the same question started to form on the lips of the emergency assembly, "Where is Advisor Aelan?"
The leader of North Am's Congressional Body was quick to rise to his defense. "We have appointed him to lead an investigation into this matter personally. If North Am was involved somehow, he'll find it…"
North Am; Offices of the Advisor…
The Advisor in question was doing anything but investigating. He already knew who was responsible for the assassination. He just didn't want to believe that everything had gone so terribly wrong.
Noin was with him, trying to be strong, but found it impossible. Over time, she had begun to respect Heero, and she had liked Relena almost since they had met. Now, they were both gone… in a matter of seconds.
Aelan's terminal started to beep, and the advisor sighed, looking over at her
"Admiral, can you leave me be for a few moments? It looks like the Congressional Body's checking in."
Noin nodded, and she tried to smile as she left, but it was an obvious fasod. She closed the door behind her, and Aelan lethargically plugged in his special keyboard…
- I must say… I am impressed. The Tenant Council had shown concern that you were growing too attached to these humans. They were worried that this mission was too tough for a first-timer. I told them not to worry, that you were totally dedicated to our mission. I admire you for taking matters into your own hands.
Aelan began to think of a reply, but decided that he wasn't in the mood, and simply turned off the terminal, throwing the keyboard off to the side of the office, with his head sinking back down onto his desk.
Noin silently strode away from Aelan's office. 'How could this happen? Why did it happen? Right now, the leaders of our world are probably blaming each other, ready to bring on Armageddon over this.'
"Noin!" Duo hissed urgently as he took up pace behind her. She turned her head slightly, but didn't stop walking to her office. "I've got to talk to you. It's very important."
Duo's manner quickly grabbed the attention of the other Gundam pilots, who then formed a small ring around Duo.
"What do you want, Duo? Nobody's really in the mood for your antics right now."
"There's something rotten here, people." Duo began. He pulled out the memo that called out the order for Relena's death. "See this date? This is supposedly when the order to kill Relena was made. Now everything about this document is in perfect working order, except for the date."
"What are you getting at, Duo?" Trowa hissed, the first words he had spoken all day. He had been even more withdrawn than usual, if that was even possible.
"The Congressional Body wasn't even in session when this order was supposedly made." Duo finished.
"If they weren't in session, who made the order?" Quatre asked.
"I think Aelan did it." Duo whispered, "I think he's in on this whole North Am deal. I think he wants to take control as much as the Congressional Body does, and he's using us to do it."
Wufei nodded, "It does seem logical."
Noin shook her head. "He's just as devastated as everyone, there are some things you just can't act out. Besides don't you think that he would know when the Congressional Body is in session?"
Trowa nodded in agreement, "That IS quite an oversight. Why would Aelan make a mistake so obvious after being able to hide his plans for so long?"
At that moment, a flat, familiar voice interrupted, "Because he wanted us to find out."
The group turned around to see Heero and Relena standing side by side, looking slightly disheveled from what must have been quite a trip.
"HEERO!" Duo shouted in glee, flinging himself around the Wing Zero pilot, "I knew you couldn't go through with it!"
Grimacing, Heero peeled Duo off him, and continued, "It is evident that Aelan is taking orders from someone other than the Congressional Body, orders that he is becoming increasingly unwilling to carry out."
"Who would be giving orders to Aelan?" Noin asked.
Heero pointed at the door to Aelan's office, and replied, "That's what we are going to discover."
The assembled group filtered into Aelan's office, one by one. At first he looked merely curious, but once Heero and Relena entered, the relief was incredibly obvious, the sorrow almost appearing to melt off his face.
"Heero, don't you ever pull a stunt like that again…" Aelan said softly.
"You're fortunate that I realized that the memo was a fake. I just might have gone through with it all had I thought it was real." Heero retorted. Relena made a concerned glare at Heero, but he didn't seem to notice.
"Yeah, what's the deal?" Duo demanded, "Why make up all of this? If the Congressional Body isn't in on it, who is?"
Aelan took a deep breath, then finally replied, "A lot of what I'm about to say might not make much sense. It might seem bizarre, and at first you might not believe it." He pointed over to the east wall, and asked, "Trowa, can you get that keyboard for me?"
Trowa complied, picking up the object. As he looked it over, his eyebrows furrowed, and he asked, "What on earth is on this thing? I've never seen characters like these…"
"That's the first thing that I want to explain." Aelan responded, taking the keyboard from Trowa, and plugging it into the terminal. "You should know that I am not human."
Aelan looked up after that profound statement. He had been expecting a momentary state of panic and disbelief. Instead, he noticed an eerie silence, and vacant stares.
"Come again?" Noin asked.
"I'm not human. I was not born on Earth, or on its colonies."
"I thought that was what he said." Duo commented, "I was thinking for a second that I was hearing things."
"Oddly enough, that already seems to explain a lot." Relena added.
Aelan decided to continue, and he tapped a few command functions on his keyboard. At that instant, his office seemed to transform into a serene grassy plain, with a city a few kilometers away on the horizon.
"This is my home. My kind calls it Zenala. The closest human translation is 'Eden', a perfect paradise. We are located near the center of the galaxy, in one of the oldest star systems. We are an incredibly advanced race, and our recorded history of the galaxy spans well over 300,000 of your earth years."
"Our society is governed by a select group of people from different fields, called tenants. Most of the tenants serve in the Tenant Council, while others, like me, reach out to other planets and races. Biologically, we are rather similar to humans, so it was very easy for me to blend into your society. For other races, cosmetic and even genetic alterations are necessary."
"Why exactly are you here?" Noin asked, "What mission are you here to perform?"
"I was here to observe the potential threat of Earth to Eden. Eden itself has no military capability. At the beginning of our recorded history was a bloody conflict that nearly destroyed our world. Since then, we abolished all weapons, and any type of violent action is punished severely."
Aelan paused for a moment, letting all that information set in. "However, such a pacifist ideal created an entirely new problem for us; now that we have solved our violence within, what about violence from outside? At the time, there were several other races who were rapidly gaining technical knowledge, many of them were quite militant in nature, and would not hesitate to put Eden under their iron fists."
"In response, we began this current project, a series of missions that continues on to this day. We observe any race that has begun to gain technological and military strength. If the Tenant Council rules that the race has become too dangerous, we… cause the race to destroy itself."
"Like is beginning to happen here." Noin added.
"Right." Aelan affirmed, "The key to Earth and humanity in this case was Fold Technology. Your race has amassed incredible military strength, unlike anything Eden has ever seen before, but you never had the means to apply that strength anywhere. You were limited to your own little corner of the galaxy, and that suited Eden fine."
"But once the Fold Technology became available, Eden decided to pull the plug on humanity." Heero finished.
"Right again. However, I must admit that I am greatly to blame for all of this. When my colleague and I were approaching Earth, our ship was damaged. We crashed in the Mexican highlands. The two of us were certain that your race couldn't utilize the wreckage, but we underestimated you. Once I learned that a Fold Generator was being built, I did what I could to stop it."
"So you DID sabotage the Fold Generator at L1!" Quatre exclaimed.
"Yes, that was me." Aelan admitted, "Since my field of practice before I became a Tenant was technological engineering, it wasn't hard for me to pull it off. I also tried to destroy the generator in Mexico, but I was informed that Noin and Quatre had discovered that I did the deed in L1, so I had to do a little spin control. I was hoping to get another shot at the generators before the Tenant Council made their decision, but I was too late."
"I knew that if the Fold Technology became active, that the Tenant Council was going to end it all. I didn't want humanity to pay for my mistake. After the decision came, I was hoping to convince humanity to disassemble them themselves. I planned to do that by making myself out to be some great hero by discovering Relena alive. Needless to say when I thought that Heero killed her, I suffered double the pain. First, I had thought that I had lost my last chance to save the people of Earth from my error, and I had lost someone I had come to respect."
Finally, Aelan stood straight up, and looked straight at Heero. "Now, I'm done. Heero, you have your reason. Take that pistol of yours that you have hidden somewhere, and kill me."
Trowa and Duo had forgotten the promise Aelan had made to Heero. The fact that Aelan hadn't spoke volumes as to his honesty.
Heero shook his head. "I can't do that."
Heero was full of surprises these last few days; now it was Aelan's turn to stare vacantly. "Pardon?"
"You had said that I could kill you if you didn't have the best interest of North Am and the Earth Sphere United Nation at heart. However, it appears that you have been trying as hard as you can to save us from ourselves."
Duo agreed, saying, "Besides, we need you to finish what you started. There's still a chance we can pull this out."
Quatre stepped in, "I agree. I can understand your desire to keep this secret. I don't think most of humanity would be willing to accept this. But without you, it's over."
Wufei nodded, adding, "To be willing to repair the mistakes you have made in the past is honorable, and to be willing to pay the ultimate consequence for those mistakes is even more so."
Noin finished, "I think what they're trying to say is 'We forgive you'."
Aelan was almost shocked, "How can you be so sure of me? This could all be another ruse."
Relena shook her head, "If your goal was to destroy us, then you've already done what you need to do. You could just leave now, and we'd take ourselves to the brink of extinction. If there is one thing that we don't need much help with, it's killing ourselves."
The holographic image of Eden dropped away, and Aelan nodded, "Very well. If that's what you want. First off, we need to relay the message that Relena is in perfectly good health. Why don't you all of you prepare to escort Relena back to New Port City, while I relay the news? Admiral, I might need you here to explain our Heero's BRAVE actions in saving Minister Peacecraft from certain death."
"Yes, Advisor." Noin replied as the team broke off to do their duties.
Aelan prepared to connect to the President's office, and he asked Noin, "Why do I feel that there is another reason that they've decided to trust me again?"
"They remember what it was like to defend their home by whatever means necessary. If I lived on a world like the one that I saw in that hologram, I'd probably be willing to obliterate anything that threatened it as well."
Relena's homecoming was a suprisingly quiet affair. She knew that even though the various regions of Earth now knew she was alive and well, there was still a lot of bad blood that must have surfaced in her absence.
However, there was one thing she needed to do first.
Relena stopped at Theresa's desk, and asked, "Get a hold of the Space Colony Advisor for me. I'll take it in my office."
"Certainly, Madame."
Once in her office, the face of Advisor Kiron was waiting for her on her terminal, "Let me offer my gladness upon learning that the rumors of your demise was greatly exaggerated."
"Shut up, Kiron. I know the whole deal, now." Relena snapped.
The Colony Advisor seemed confused for a minute, then he sighed, "I take it Aelan told you about me."
"No, he didn't. I think he intentionally kept your name out of the discussion. However, with all that has happened, it was only obvious that you were the 'colleague' he mentioned."
"Yes, I see that. I take it Aelan is still trying to salvage the situation here on Earth, despite the ruling I received. He has a lot more bravery than I do."
"You could say that." Relena replied, "On both counts."
"So, what do you want with me? To expose me?"
"What good would that do? I'm not totally convinced that you want to destroy us, either."
The Advisor smirked, and replied, "I've done what I'm doing here countless times. I never WANT to see a race destroy themselves, but I do what I am told."
"That's good, because I want you to help save us."
"What is it that you want me to do? If it's in my power and in the best interests for both of our races, I'll see what I can do."
"I want the means to talk with your Tenant Council."
Kiron balked for a moment, "That's… not the easiest thing you could have asked from me, but… I suppose I can do it. I will send you the spatial coordinates for Eden, and I will clear you to meet the Tenant Council. I just hope that they don't have my head for this."
"I wish to warn you however," Kiron noted as she was about to thank him, "The Tenant Council might not be the most receptive group. You might have to be patient with them."
"I've dealt with belligerent people before. I'm sure I can deal with belligerent aliens." Relena answered confidently.
"Remember, Minister Peacecraft, on Eden, YOU will be the alien." Kiron added, as he cut the communication.
Amore's Facility
"Are you sure this is where you need to go?" Amore asked as she watched Heero program the coordinates of her father's jump.
"The coordinates from which these were taken from came from Aelan's ship. It is only logical to assume that these are the coordinates to Eden."
"And what do you plan to do on Eden?" A voice asked sweetly.
The pair turned around, and Heero stated, "Relena. I suppose I want to see this world of total peace for myself."
"Well, then you might as well take me along. I have a meeting with their Tenant Council, and it makes no sense for us to make two different trips."
"How did you manage that? Did you pester Aelan for the opportunity?"
"No. I didn't want to make things more difficult for him. I pestered Kiron."
Amore then cut in, "Well, regardless of who is going where, I suggest you decide soon. I'm already powering up this beast, and from what I remember, it couldn't hold the wormhole together for very long."
Next Time…
Heero and Relena do indeed meet with the governing body of Eden, but with less than favorable results. Meanwhile, Kiron reveals his guilt in sending the two to Eden. As Heero and Relena find themselves trapped in a strange, underground world, Aelan begins planning a daring rescue.
Continued in Episode 7: Journey to Hell