Episode 26: Rendezvous in Deep Space
If one strains one's ear closely, the opening sound of the trumpets of war can be heard. Two forces begin to put their feelers out, gauging the potential power of the enemy. It is a time of trepidation, as the fates of two civilizations teeter perilously on the outcome of crucial upcoming events.
It is the actions of a certain few that could avert, or accelerate, a bloody conflict unseen in this galaxy for over 300,000 years…
"It just doesn't make any sense." Kiron commented, after Aelan had informed him of all that had recently transpired. "Why would Eden be attacking the relay points? They have no reason to make such an aggressive act."
"At least no reason that we are aware of." Aelan replied, "For all we know, the situation on Eden is drastically different than what it was even one year ago."
"Are you sure sending the Elite Unit is wise?"
"That… was Lucrezia's decision. She merely wants to observe what exactly is going on. Right now, the Edenites aren't striking anything significant. If we can figure out why, perhaps we can solve this problem BEFORE it becomes one."
There was a knock on the office's main door, and Relena stepped inside sheepishly, "I'm not bothering anything, am I?"
"Of course not." Kiron answered before Aelan could even open his mouth, "Aelan and I were merely repeating back and forth that we don't have the slightest idea what is going on out there."
"Well, Kiron, I just wanted to know if you finished your full analysis yet." Relena asked.
Kiron sighed in exasperation, "Relena, I've told you FIVE times now. Nothing has changed from the first to the fifth. I have analyzed EVERY segment of your genetic code. There are NO flaws that would cause you to miscarriage."
Aelan looked warily at Kiron then Relena before finally stating, "I take it you've had this discussion many times."
Relena sighed, and replied, "Yes… we have, but I'm still worried. Have you ever been a father, Aelan?"
The Advisor shook his head, "Sadly, Yeara died before we were able to attain such a family."
"How about you, Kiron?"
The medical technician also shook his head. "I spent half my life on alien worlds. I didn't have time to even BEGIN such a level of commitment."
"Then none of you know what it is I feel. I watched Heero leave such an hour ago. What if something happens out there? All that I will have is… my baby. I don't want to lose my child too. I'd have nothing."
"There is precious little chance that anything will…" Kiron began.
"That's a load of shit!" Relena shouted, causing Aelan to jump in surprise. "Heero told me about those suits that Eden has! It would take something inhuman to be able to defeat those things without outside assistance."
Relena's comments clicked Aelan's memory back to Calnus and the monster he piloted called Juggernaut. That man WAS inhuman, and it took an equally inhuman effort on Aelan's part to stop him. An effort only made possible by making a deal with the devil, so to speak. A devil called the Eternal System.
'Fortunately, the Eternal System is held in check.' Aelan thought to himself, toning out the entire conversation between Kiron and Relena. 'The only suit that utilizes the Eternal System is Commadore…' All of a sudden, Aelan's face went ashen.
Relena and Kiron were totally taken aback when Aelan suddenly jumped out of his seat, and rushed out of his office at top speed. They saw him quickly leave the top floor of the offices to parts unknown.
"What do you suppose has gotten into him?" Relena asked softly.
Kiron huffed, and answered, "I sometimes wonder if AELAN knows what's going on in his own head at times."
Deep Space, around Fold Relay unit 23-04…
"All right, we are going to fan out into separate groups, and patrol this area." Noin ordered, "Hilde, Miliardo and Trowa are with me. Heero will lead group B with Duo, Wufei, and Quatre. Any questions?"
Miliardo was about to make a comment, but he noticed that Noin had seemed to fall into a sour mood ever since they had departed for the fold that brought them here, so he wisely decided to say nothing.
The next word he heard was Heero's, "All right, we will head to vector 3375, and meet back here in an hour. Is that acceptable, Admiral?"
"It's fine." Noin nearly spat, "Move out." As she watched the four suits leave, Noin wiped her forehead. She had figured that Aelan was going to join them. His abilities (and hardware) would have been quite useful. As it stood, she wasn't sure what they would do if they did somehow encounter the Edenite force that was blowing relays away like clay pigeons at a skeet shoot.
"Should we begin our patrol, Admiral?" Miliardo asked. Leave it to the elder Peacecraft to keep totally cool when things were uncertain. Noin nodded, and replied, "Yes… let's go."
As Noin had expected, the patrol started off uneventfully, with only the darkness of space to keep the unit company. Even the life giving Sun was just a speck in the abyss. "How far away from Earth are we?" She asked breathlessly, in awe at the cold, lifeless void all around her.
"We are 3.5 light years from Earth." Trowa commented, "As a matter of fact, we are closer to Proxima Centauri then we are our own solar system."
Hilde then cut in with dire news. "I just detected seventeen Durium based objects appear from a quantum fold. At their current course, they will hit… Relay Point 23-04!"
"How long would it take us to get there?" Noin demanded. The target and sensor data could only mean one thing. The Edenites were on the prowl again.
"At top speed… 35 minutes. Judging from their current velocity, we'd arrive moments before they did."
"Wait a minute… we were ordered to merely observe." Miliardo objected. He knew exactly what Noin was planning.
"Are you questioning my orders, MISTER Peacecraft?" Noin snapped. "Hilde, transfer those coordinates to Heero's group, and have them meet us at the intercept point. Now… MOVE IT!"
As Cygnus took off at a full burn, there was a momentary lapse before the other three suits fell into pursuit. Miliardo then communicated Trowa, commenting, "What is the deal here? What is Noin trying to do?"
As typical for Trowa, he replied in a blunt, but truthful fashion. "Trying to get us killed…"
If the Edenites had detected the suits from the North Am Elite Unit, they didn't show it. Even as the large Edenite strike force came into visual range, there had still been no contact made by either side.
Miliardo looked on with trepidation. He didn't doubt that the suits he and his allies were using matched up suit for suit with the oncoming force, it was merely a case of numbers that concerned him. Seventeen to four was not good odds, not if you were the four, that is.
Finally, Noin broke the silence. "This is Chief Admiral Noin of the North Am Elite Unit. Explain yourselves this instant."
Seconds passed without a reply, and the Edenite suits kept getting closer. Finally, a transmission from the Edenites was made, a war cry of sorts, "FOR TALOR!"
From there, it all went to hell. Beam fire from the Edenites caused the four North Am suits to scatter, then Noin replied, "I'm going to intercept. The three of you, make damn sure they don't destroy the relay point!"
"WAIT NOIN!" Miliardo shouted, but was obviously ignored as Noin once again went full thrust, this time right into the mass of Edenite suits. "DAMN IT ALL!" He shouted again, then said, "Hilde, Trowa, stay frosty. Hopefully, I can keep Noin from killing herself."
Heavyarms and Phantom remained in position, as the Tallgeese IV followed Cygnus into the fray. Noin noticed Miliardo joining the melee, as she commented between blasts from her matter cannon, "I thought I told you to stay there!"
"So demote me." Miliardo shot back, dodging the sudden attention from three Edenite suits. Time seemed to drag on forever, and the pair was slowly overwhelmed. Even the addition of Trowa and Hilde to the mix didn't help matters much.
However, even as three of the North Am suits slowly lost their ability to continue, Noin and Cygnus seemed to have just as much spunk as they had at the beginning of the fight, continuing the battle with relentless vigor, despite what must be considerable damage.
"Damn…" Miliardo gaped, "It's like she can't quit."
One of the Edenite suits currently at the position quickly made a move for the relay point. Cygnus attempted to follow, but it had taken quite a beating, and was simply unable to manage full speed.
Miliardo watched hopelessly
Miliardo then turned to Hilde, "Where is Heero's team?"
"Still seven minutes away…" She moaned.
The Edenite suit quickly entered a range which would easily eliminate the relay unit. The suit armed its neutron blaster, and prepared to fire, when a ripple in space occurred between the suit and its target. Suddenly, the Edenite suit was staring down the business end of a pair of matter cannons.
Miliardo breathed a sigh of relief as Commadore Eternal turned the enemy unit into a wisp of vapor. From there, it disappeared into its own fold, reappearing right in the middle of the remaining Edenite units.
Within seconds, the Edenite strike force had joined its comrade in the ultraviolet spectrum. From there, he turned his attention to Cygnus. "Lucrezia… how are you feeling?"
There was a brief moment of silence before Noin answered, "Disappointed that I couldn't handle them myself."
It was then Aelan's turn to be silent. "I see… I don't understand it. Based on everything I know about this, you should be a raving lunatic right now."
"What on Earth are you getting at?" Miliardo demanded.
Aelan replied sheepishly, "Well… remember when I took Cygnus anticipating a battle with Ventrali?"
"Yeah…" Noin and Miliardo replied simultaneously.
"Well… I forgot to switch the system discs after I was done." Aelan continued, somewhat embarrassed, "Cygnus is still using the Eternal System."
"Are you certain?" Noin hissed, calling up Cygnus's diagnostic logs on her main display panel. From what she had seen the Eternal technology do to Calnus and Aelan, there was no way that she was under that same influence.
However, the display didn't lie…
System Diagnostic Complete. Currently operating under Eternal System: Version 1.01
"How on Earth? I know that I was a little out of control, but…" Noin gasped.
"I don't know… after seeing what you did in that recent battle, it makes a lot of sense now." Miliardo retorted.
"This is quite peculiar." Aelan muttered thoughtfully, "Now why would the Eternal System drive me to the point of insanity the first time, yet have barely any adverse effects on you? This is something to definitely look into."
Hilde then interrupted again. "This is all good and nice, but my sensors have picked up on another unit appearing through a fold. It's an Edenite warship!"
Aelan quickly detected the warship soon after, and turned in the direction in which it was approaching. As the gigantic golden battleship entered visual range, it still didn't appear to make any visible action for attack or defense.
However, it did open a communication channel. Aelan stared in disbelief at the image that filled his viewscreen. "Father…"
Talor Marcus looked down slightly, his orange eyes brimming with emotion. "Yes, my son. Send your friends home, and come aboard. You and I have to talk."
"Yes… I think we do." Aelan replied, then communicated the rest of the North Am Elite Unit. "Inform Heero's team to return to base. When that is done, return to base yourselves. I will join you shortly."
"What is going on?" Noin asked.
"It appears that I need to have a father-son discussion."
Next time…
Talor tells his story by telling a past one, the advent of the New Age of Eden. At the end, Aelan discovers deep revelations involving his own mixed heritage. Aelan is then faced with a choice that could cause him to lose either way.
Coming in Episode 27: Rise of a New Age