Gundam Wing: War in A.C. 200
a Gundam Wing Fanfiction
by Torankusu Senshi
Chapter 1: An Era of Prosperity
Space was endless. The infinite expanse of stars and black void went farther than the mind could comprehend. It was impossible to even dream of that entire All, it was just too large. The possibilities and destinies that were held therein of all the stars, suns, nebulae, and systems was infinite. Trying to think about it may be impossible, but it sure was fun. Duo Maxwell, ex-pilot of Gundam Deathscythe, and hero of the Eve and Marameiya Wars, lay lazily atop the deck of the ship he and Howard scavenged from, looking up into the night sky. He was stretched atop a hammock, his hands folded behind his head. The night air was chilly, even in May, the reason probably was the air of the Pacific Ocean southeast was not very hot. Duo didn't mind it much, his usual priestly garments were just fine.
He was the picture of contentment where he was. Though he was now 20 years old, and full grown, his face and demeanor maintained the youthful and joyful look they had during his life as the God of Death. Just being able to lie down on a ship meant for nothing more than scavenging, and enjoy the view of stars not covered in bloodshed, had Duo in a good mood. Had, in fact, for the past 4 years, at the conclusion of that Marameiya business. Humming, to himself, it was onlly natural that most anything would surprise him at this perfect moment.
Which is why he fell out of his hammock when a cold appendage latched onto his shoulder.
He practically leaped up from the cold deck, his face the portrait of rage, ready to take on his attacker with his righteous fury. 4 years retired or no, he would show this opponent better than to surprise the God of Death with such a sneaky, underhanded attack.
And he came face to mirthful face with old man Howard. The old captain of the battleship Peacemillion was laughing merrily, his frail looking body shaking. He held a towel in one hand, using it to dry his other boney arm. He gazed at Duo, obviously highly amused, through those sunglasses he always wore, even in the nighttime.
"How's it going, Duo?"
Duo could only snarl in response, his fists clenched and his face a blood red. Howard laughed again. Duo spoke up in low, threatening tones:
"Just because you're old and I'm retired doesn't mean I won't hurt you, old man."
Howard finished using the towel, and promptly tossed it into Duo's grimacing expression. One would think Duo would have better reflexes, but the veteran warrior simply stood there as the towel hit him, sticking to his face a single moment before falling all the way down, draping down his body, leaving a water trail. As the towel slid from his face, the expression he had promised nothing but pure murder.
Unfortunately for Duo's victim, a young crewman on the ship had witnessed the entire scene. Upon the aforementioned towel escapade, he broke out into gales of laughter. The dripping wet pilot, ever so slowly, turned his head to look at the younger crewman. The poor man did not notice, however, continuing to laugh. And then Duo struck.
With a bloodthristy war cry, he leaped from his deck, his limbs outstretched as if he meant to pounce. The crewman caught the movement and ducked just in time, no one who shipped with Howard and Duo had slow reflexes or was dim-witted. Duo landed on the deck a little after the man, spun around, and the chase was on.
Howard shook his head, watching as Duo chased the mortified shipman all around the deck of the ship. He put one hand to the side of his mouth, calling out:
"Whenever you two are done with your squabbling, get below beck and get some sleep! We have more wrecks to take care of tomorrow!"
The weathered old sailor then left the prey and predator to their own devices, making his way over to the stern of the deck. He gazed out over the ocean, the stars and moon casting the entire thing in an eerie silver light. One of the most beautiful things he had ever seen. He couldn't remember having been more at peace, his biggest worry getting Duo and his unruly shipmen to obey curfew.
He hoped things would stay like this._____________________________________________________________________________________
Relena Peacecraft, Vice Minister of foriegn affairs of the Earth Sphere United Nation, stood before the governing body of the Earth Sphere at her speaker's podium. They were at the Grand Hall, in the capitol of the Sphere, located in Brussels. The same place, where four years before, the Marameiya War had come to a final conclusion, and the peace of the world had been secured. Relena, now at the age of 20, the former Queen of the World, had taken upon herself the duties of insuring the reality of total pacifism to the Earth and to the Colonies. Even though she was now the maintainer of a Republic, she still somehow maintained that regal air about her, even in the modest badge outfit she wore. The years that had gone by had only taken away the childishness from her, and she now had that regal air, plus a degree of maturity that surpassed even what she had had at the tender age of 15.
The body before her rarely met in the whole like this, it usually let Relena travel between colonies, and vid-conferences hold their diplomacy together. But this was the 3rd Annual Earth Sphere United Nation Diplomatic Summit, and as a result the Grand Hall currently held about 700 men and women, all representatives of their respective provinces. The purpose of the Summit this year was to gather to discuss the issues of territorial borders. Most debates usually were, only a few provinces were happy with the land they had been granted during the Great Unification's re-bordering of A.C. 197. The President had already gave his closing speech and departed, and now it was Relena's turn.
Relena spoke her voice aloud, the commanding and royal tone silencing all the representatives, as the voice of the former Queen was well respected.
"My fellow diplomats, before we close this annual Summit, I would like to make my closing address."
The gathered governing body of the Earth Sphere United Nation was respectfully quiet.
"Although we have our problems, as any government would, I am glad to see all of us being so cooperative and respectful towards the rights of human beings and other countries. I hope that every single province walks away from this Summit having known that they are doing the best they can for humankind. May we all continue on towards an era of peace and prosperity for our race."
The delegates stood from their seats, almost simultaneously, and began clapping. It was a sight to see, 700 different men and women, of different races and religions, cultures, all dressed differently, yet still applauding the beliefs and system inspired by this one twenty year old girl. Relena moved aside from the speaker's podium, and courtsied politely. The delegates still applauded as she began her way out from the Hall, to exit through the speaker's door.
That's when someone shouted, and the clapping stopped.
Relena turned, the surprise evident on her face. No one ever spoke out of turn, much less halted the Vice Minister from leaving the stage. The man who had spoke was near the very front of the delegation, and was dressed in the blue, simple jumpsuit with a robe that was popular among Colony delegates. The sash he wore across his waist, signified him as being the representative of the L1 Colony. Relena burrowed into her mind in an attempt to recall his name before she answered him.
Reeves, that was it. Marshall Reeves, delegate of the L1 Colony, and former member of the original resistance movement from which had sprung the White Fang. The man had been elected by a landslide, the L1 Colony's sympathies with former members of the White Fang was well known to all. On his face was a mask of calm nuetrality, the mask of a perfect politician, but the manner in which he had just shouted suggested otherwise.
Relena, her tone a somewhat flustered one, took a few steps closer to the edge of the speaker's platform before addressing the man.
"Yes, Delegate Reeves?"
The colonial representative actually seemed to sneer in response to her dignified tone. He also wasted no time on pleasantries. He was nothing if not brief and efficient, as the world was soon to find out. The man took a few steps to the front of the delegation, and Relena could now make out his features: Short, brown hair and eyed, and a face that posessed stern features, what would be expected of a veteran of the Eve wars. When he spoke, the man posessed something like a hidden sneer behind the words:
"Vice Minister Relena, is it not true that you are, in fact, using the Earth Sphere United Nation as a front to build another tyrannical Earth Sphere Alliance?"
The young woman was so shocked by these words, she did not even have a chance to calm down and collect her thoughts before the Delegate continued his attack.
"It's all obvious, that this democracy you are pretending to be so proud of; you're planning to lure us all into a false sense of security, and then you'll take over, using your 'Preventers.' It's the same thing that happened 25 years ago, with the assasination of Heero Yuy and the military buildup of the Earth Sphere Alliance!"
The delegate's face had actually turned a bright red color, those last few words had been screamed aloud, so hard that all 700 of the gathered delegation would have heard him. Relena, usually cool and collected, was still too much in a state of shock to come up with any coherent asnwer, but unfortunately, she tried, anyway:
"That's not true! The Preventers....", before she was interupted again by the offending delegate.
"Are your secret task force, your private military arm. Can you honestly trust anyone who would have bowed to the wishes of Duke Dermail back in Romefeller's days; and accept his petition to crown her Queen of the World? Was it or was it not, Relena Peacecraft, all done to set you up in a position of power?!"
Relena simply could not listen to these barbarous accusations anymore. She shook her head, violently, as if she could not possibly believe what she was being accused of. She had been the head of the total pacifist Sanq Kingdom, she had given her life over to world peace, in accordance with the wishes of her true and adopted fathers. She had been there when Milliardo had declared war on the Earth, trying to stop him. She had helped the people come to their senses during the chaos that was the Marameiya War. She hadn't done all that for selfish reasons.
Had she?
Had she done that simply because she wanted more people to be like her?
As the woman was visibly shaken, plagued with self-doubt as she had never been, her attacker sneered again. He shook his head with disgust, turning and walking off angrily, shoving roughly whomever got in his way. He left behind him a trail of murmurs and discontent.
The other delegates collected themselves, and began to file out in a somewhat more orderly fashion. All this left the stunned Relena by herself, on the speaker's platform, clutching her hands to her chest tightly.
It was so hard, running a democracy. There were always those that thought they could intervene in any way they wished, that they could instigate problems simply out of the lack of anything better to do. In such a government, they were commonplace. She would have to learn to deal with it. Sometimes, she wished for her old friends, the ones that had helped her through that catastrophic era years ago. Most of all, she wouldn't lie to herself, she wished for Heero. He would have known what to say, a few simple words would have turned this thing into something to hope for.
Where was Heero, anyway?
She shook her head, sighing. She was no lovestruck schoolgirl, anymore. She was the head of the Earth Sphere United Nation. Relena was beyond chasing after anyone like she had back then, no matter who he was. She was more dignified, nowadays, than she had been in the past. It didn't matter, in any case, her main concern right now would be to meet up with her Council and discuss a public reply to the Delegate's attack. She had a lot of work and thought, ahead of her.
Though none of that changed the fact that she still missed him.
__________________________________________________________________________________
The 230-story building of the L4 Colony was one of the most thriving business centers in the United Nation. It's outside was mostly windows, from afar, the sunlight reflecting off the glass seemed to make the place seem like nothing more than a giant lamp. It was real sunlight, too, on the side of the Colony that the shone sun on through domed-sheets meant to mimic the ozone layer. On the inside, the building was one of the most decorative in existence, each Hall costing literally thousands of dollars in rugs and paintings. The place was immaculate, as well, clean-up crews working at night to wash and dust every speck of dirt there was. The only place all these luxuries seemed absent, strangely enough, was the President's office on the 230th floor. It was a modest room, the only extravagant feature of it was the large, circular window, part of which came up onto the ceiling like a dome. It afforded the person lucky enough to see it a view of the most populated side of the colony, and the skies above, to watch for transports. It was there that the room's single occupant now gazed out, sitting in a small brown recliner.
Quatre Rababera Winner shook his head, trying to clear it, to concentrate on his work. He took a look down at the pile of papers in front of him. That stack alone would take hours to complete, and there were more on the way. Being the head of a multi-province corporation was a real letdown, sometimes. The hours were bad, and you were always working. Quatre had even dreamed of work the other night. Now that had been a real nightmare, and a signal to get out of this mess as soon as possible.
As they did entirely too often, his thoughts drifted back to his fellow Gundam pilots. They had certainly been through a lot, together. He always thought of, with a smile on his face, the battles they had helped each other through. Not the memory of the battles, themselves, but rather the memory of the teamwork and comeradeship they displayed was the source of his smile. He hadn't seen Heero since the conclusion of the Marameiya War. Wufei was too busy with his work as Preventer Agent Dragon to be cordial, he hadn't ever cared much for visits, anyway. Duo was somewhere on Earth, Quatre knew, but he was one tough sucker to track down, on his little scavenging ship. He hadn't even seen Trowa in months. He sure needed a vacation. Speaking of which.....
No, he shouldnt just drop everything to pay Trowa a visit, should he?
He got up from his chair to get his jacket.
_____________________________________________________________________________________
The machine of destruction known as Gundam Altron, or to it's pilot, Nataku, stumbled backwards, almost falling. The metallic shifts in it's motivators as it righted itself back into a defensive position could be heard throughout the large, domed area in which the combat was talking place. It stood tall in the gleaming spotlights, the Gundanium metal from which it was made gleaming in the light. The weapons on it bristled, it had been heavily modified in recent months. The customary laser trident was held in one hand, from the other a large dragon-like claw emitted, being held in a defensive position. No one in their right mind would challenge a machine of such destructive power.
The motivators located in the joints of Gundam Altron shifted, and the mobile suit's claw-arm slammed into place, aiming forward. Flames of hell spewed forth from the cannon violently, closing in on their intended target.
Mobile Suit Tallgeese III leaped into the air, the retros on it's giant metallic boots flaring. The beams of fire missed it, just barely. The titanium white and blue hand reached under the shield, and when it retreated, with it came a glowing laser saber, the hue pink. The retros flared yet again as the Tallgeese roared in at it's opponent, that very saber slicing in a huge downward arc down at the opponent.
Gundam Altron barely managed to bring up it's trident in respone, the blow blocked. Electricity filled the air when the sabers connected, as if they were alive. Altron took a giant step back, the ground being crushed beneath it. From it's shoulder a fang-like appendage appeared, and even more fire spewed forth into the Tallgeese. The other mobile suit, halted by this attack, dropped it's retros, hitting the floor violently in almost a human martial arts crouch. Bullets erupted from it's shoulder cannons, spraying forth point blank into the Gundam.
Watching this battle from an enclosed and secure tower almost a kilometer away, Lady Une and Lucrezia Noin exhanged glances. Wufei Chang and Zecchs Merquise were warriors, had been all their lives. They would do anything to get in a simple sparring session, even risk billions of dollars of equipment, all under the guise of a demonstration to the newer Agents.
As Tallgeese came up from it's crouch, slamming it's shoulder into Altron violently, Noin whispered left into Lady Une's ear.
"You think that Zecchs will win again, Lady?"
Lady Une, with that perpetual peaceful tone of voice and expression, answered back, without taking her eyes off the battle.
"Wufei's been practicing. Besides, it's not like Zecchs wins every time."
Altron, still spewing forth flames uselessly into Tallgeese's shield, struck a rapid left and right attack with the trident, on either side of it. Tallgeese countered one with the shield, the other with it's saber, and rammed itself into Altron again hard. The Gundam flew backwards, only at the last moment firing it's retros. Tallgeese was on the verge of getting up from the crouch it had yet again been forced into, when Altron descended upon it in a fury.
The two laser blades simmered and sizzled, the entire area awash in electricty. The mobile suits struck, blocked, and parried, never moving their motions for an instant. Most martial arts masters wished they had technique like that. The shifting of gears and motivators could be heard even this far away.
Behind Lady Une and Noin, a group of maybe twenty students watched, mouths gaping. They had all seen mobile suit battles before, they had even seen holo-vids of the Old Wars, but neither of them had a clue that one could go be so violent, majestic, so pure, for lack of a better word. The battles they had seen had involved mostly Leo's and their space variations, many with Tauruses, and a few Virgos to show the ferocity of mobile dolls. But none here had ever seen a fight with a Gundam, and another Gundam-class mobile suit before. They moved like lighting, looked completely lethal, and were armed to the teeth. They were both equipped with the highly classified Zero system, something only the best Preventer pilots were allowed access to.It was also no small honor to be able to watch the now legendary warriors Zecchs Merquise and Wufei Chang, heroes, battle it out.
Tallgeese parried yet another strike as it's pilot's voice came in over the wide band transmission, being heard by both spectator and opponent alike.
"I thought you had that flame-thrower dismantled, Wufei?"
The only answer to the question that the pilot of Gundam Altron had came loud and clear, a double blast of flame's that barely missed the Tallgeese's head and sensor area. The voice of Zecchs chuckled as the mobile suit dodged to the side, it's blade flashing out in an attempt to dismantle the Gundam's arm.
The young Agents in training ooe'd and aaa'ed with each strike and counterstrike. One walked silently to Noin, till he was just behind her and to the left, shaking nervously.
"Miss Noin?"
Lucrezia Noin turned around to face the young boy before her, the sounds of the battle clinging in the background. Everyone present wore the modest Preventer uniform, a black jumpsuit with a single rank patch on the left breast. All except Lady Une, who always forewent that to wear her old red aristocratic outfit in an honor to the dead Treize Khushrenada. The boy was slim, blonde haired, and good looking, almost reminding Noin of a Gundam pilot. His name tag read "Slade" and nothing else. Now that was strange. But she turned her attention on the young man, smiling warmly at him. The Preventers were more like a family than a military agency.
"Yes, Trainee Slade?"
The boy ran a hair through his short and tousled blonde hair, smiling sheepishly. "I was wondering if I could get a chance to pilot one of those mobile suits, instead of the crappy Leo's you've been making us use."
Noin arched a brow in response. "Hang in there, soon you'll be able to pilot the Taurus, our best mobile suit."
The youth seemed to be bouncing up and down in his shoes with anticipation. "I know, and I really want to get behind the controls of one of those, but......the ones out there are better than anything we'll ever pilot, and..........I'd really, really like to!"
Noin smiled down at the youth, who must have been about 16, and laid a hand on his shoulder. "I'll tell you what, Slade. If you can convince Wufei or Zecchs to let you into the cockpit of one of their mobile suits, go right ahead."
With that, she turned around to continue watching the battle. Behind her, she heard several other students chuckling, and huffy footsteps shuffling away. She restrained a laugh. It seems they had heard how posessive the two warriors were about their machines.
Lady Une had remained quiet throughout the whole thing, and a thin smile blossomed on her lips at the end of it. These new warriors would have to learn how dangerous it was piloting a mobile suit. They would have to learn how not to let their egos and desires get in control of themselves, that was the kind of pilot that had existed during the Eve Wars. These kids would have to learn to protect, not to destroy, with any weapon they had handy.
She smiled as she took a backwards glance at them. All in due time. Today, they would have to learn in-battle tactics.
And, across the landscape a kilometer away, Gundam Altron and Mobile Suit Tallgeese III clashed again.
_____________________________________________________________________________________
The acrobat in the clown suit was giving one of the most impressive performances that any below had ever seen. With grace that seemed almost supernatural, he leaped from bar to bar, rope to rope. He had been doing this for a long time, almost twenty minutes, and the audience was still as stunned and silent, full of awe, as they had been when he began. And Trowa Barton hadn't even broken a sweat yet. As he went through a backwards somersault, he could swear he was...
Quatre? By the sidelines. He made a mental note to hurry this up to see his friend as soon as possible.
Little was Trowa aware of the man positioned on the highest set of seats in the big tent, a completely empty row. The man who currently held a sniper rifle in his hands, and, though his target was moving quickly, had a sure sight the whole time. The man with the sniper rifle waited until the clown's next big fall, then he aimed where it would fall.....
And he pulled the trigger.
_____________________________________________________________________________________
"Don's Cafe" was a small coffee shop up in the region of the Appalachian Mountains. It was at a high altitude, so the surrounding landscape was covered in snow. It was really a very small place, but nonetheless popular among tourists. However, in late May, the place was usually empty, the owner only kept it open out of fancy. However, even now, there was a single customer, who sat in the very corner of the small wooden place. He had kept his face down the entire time, letting brown shocks of hair cover his features. He drank from a steaming mug of hot coffee every once in a while, the only movement he had displayed in his entire stay.
Don, the man currently behind the counter and owner of this small mountainside restaurant, was busy wiping a dish with a wet towel, looking at the young man seated by the corner. Strange fellow, he was. He had walked in around two hours ago, got a coffee, and for all that time he had simply sat there. He couldn't help but wonder if the guy was more than a little crazy.
And then, without warning, the man got up and looked straight at Don. The owner would swear later, than those eyes were those of a veteran warrior, of someone formidable. And then, just as quietly as the man had come in, he walked towards the exit, his hands in his pockets. As he walked past the counter and out, the confused Don could swear the man had said something, in a voice as cold and deep as the snow currently surrounding them:
"Soon, they're coming."
_______________________________________________________________________
a Gundam Wing Fanfiction
by Torankusu Senshi
Chapter 1: An Era of Prosperity
Space was endless. The infinite expanse of stars and black void went farther than the mind could comprehend. It was impossible to even dream of that entire All, it was just too large. The possibilities and destinies that were held therein of all the stars, suns, nebulae, and systems was infinite. Trying to think about it may be impossible, but it sure was fun. Duo Maxwell, ex-pilot of Gundam Deathscythe, and hero of the Eve and Marameiya Wars, lay lazily atop the deck of the ship he and Howard scavenged from, looking up into the night sky. He was stretched atop a hammock, his hands folded behind his head. The night air was chilly, even in May, the reason probably was the air of the Pacific Ocean southeast was not very hot. Duo didn't mind it much, his usual priestly garments were just fine.
He was the picture of contentment where he was. Though he was now 20 years old, and full grown, his face and demeanor maintained the youthful and joyful look they had during his life as the God of Death. Just being able to lie down on a ship meant for nothing more than scavenging, and enjoy the view of stars not covered in bloodshed, had Duo in a good mood. Had, in fact, for the past 4 years, at the conclusion of that Marameiya business. Humming, to himself, it was onlly natural that most anything would surprise him at this perfect moment.
Which is why he fell out of his hammock when a cold appendage latched onto his shoulder.
He practically leaped up from the cold deck, his face the portrait of rage, ready to take on his attacker with his righteous fury. 4 years retired or no, he would show this opponent better than to surprise the God of Death with such a sneaky, underhanded attack.
And he came face to mirthful face with old man Howard. The old captain of the battleship Peacemillion was laughing merrily, his frail looking body shaking. He held a towel in one hand, using it to dry his other boney arm. He gazed at Duo, obviously highly amused, through those sunglasses he always wore, even in the nighttime.
"How's it going, Duo?"
Duo could only snarl in response, his fists clenched and his face a blood red. Howard laughed again. Duo spoke up in low, threatening tones:
"Just because you're old and I'm retired doesn't mean I won't hurt you, old man."
Howard finished using the towel, and promptly tossed it into Duo's grimacing expression. One would think Duo would have better reflexes, but the veteran warrior simply stood there as the towel hit him, sticking to his face a single moment before falling all the way down, draping down his body, leaving a water trail. As the towel slid from his face, the expression he had promised nothing but pure murder.
Unfortunately for Duo's victim, a young crewman on the ship had witnessed the entire scene. Upon the aforementioned towel escapade, he broke out into gales of laughter. The dripping wet pilot, ever so slowly, turned his head to look at the younger crewman. The poor man did not notice, however, continuing to laugh. And then Duo struck.
With a bloodthristy war cry, he leaped from his deck, his limbs outstretched as if he meant to pounce. The crewman caught the movement and ducked just in time, no one who shipped with Howard and Duo had slow reflexes or was dim-witted. Duo landed on the deck a little after the man, spun around, and the chase was on.
Howard shook his head, watching as Duo chased the mortified shipman all around the deck of the ship. He put one hand to the side of his mouth, calling out:
"Whenever you two are done with your squabbling, get below beck and get some sleep! We have more wrecks to take care of tomorrow!"
The weathered old sailor then left the prey and predator to their own devices, making his way over to the stern of the deck. He gazed out over the ocean, the stars and moon casting the entire thing in an eerie silver light. One of the most beautiful things he had ever seen. He couldn't remember having been more at peace, his biggest worry getting Duo and his unruly shipmen to obey curfew.
He hoped things would stay like this._____________________________________________________________________________________
Relena Peacecraft, Vice Minister of foriegn affairs of the Earth Sphere United Nation, stood before the governing body of the Earth Sphere at her speaker's podium. They were at the Grand Hall, in the capitol of the Sphere, located in Brussels. The same place, where four years before, the Marameiya War had come to a final conclusion, and the peace of the world had been secured. Relena, now at the age of 20, the former Queen of the World, had taken upon herself the duties of insuring the reality of total pacifism to the Earth and to the Colonies. Even though she was now the maintainer of a Republic, she still somehow maintained that regal air about her, even in the modest badge outfit she wore. The years that had gone by had only taken away the childishness from her, and she now had that regal air, plus a degree of maturity that surpassed even what she had had at the tender age of 15.
The body before her rarely met in the whole like this, it usually let Relena travel between colonies, and vid-conferences hold their diplomacy together. But this was the 3rd Annual Earth Sphere United Nation Diplomatic Summit, and as a result the Grand Hall currently held about 700 men and women, all representatives of their respective provinces. The purpose of the Summit this year was to gather to discuss the issues of territorial borders. Most debates usually were, only a few provinces were happy with the land they had been granted during the Great Unification's re-bordering of A.C. 197. The President had already gave his closing speech and departed, and now it was Relena's turn.
Relena spoke her voice aloud, the commanding and royal tone silencing all the representatives, as the voice of the former Queen was well respected.
"My fellow diplomats, before we close this annual Summit, I would like to make my closing address."
The gathered governing body of the Earth Sphere United Nation was respectfully quiet.
"Although we have our problems, as any government would, I am glad to see all of us being so cooperative and respectful towards the rights of human beings and other countries. I hope that every single province walks away from this Summit having known that they are doing the best they can for humankind. May we all continue on towards an era of peace and prosperity for our race."
The delegates stood from their seats, almost simultaneously, and began clapping. It was a sight to see, 700 different men and women, of different races and religions, cultures, all dressed differently, yet still applauding the beliefs and system inspired by this one twenty year old girl. Relena moved aside from the speaker's podium, and courtsied politely. The delegates still applauded as she began her way out from the Hall, to exit through the speaker's door.
That's when someone shouted, and the clapping stopped.
Relena turned, the surprise evident on her face. No one ever spoke out of turn, much less halted the Vice Minister from leaving the stage. The man who had spoke was near the very front of the delegation, and was dressed in the blue, simple jumpsuit with a robe that was popular among Colony delegates. The sash he wore across his waist, signified him as being the representative of the L1 Colony. Relena burrowed into her mind in an attempt to recall his name before she answered him.
Reeves, that was it. Marshall Reeves, delegate of the L1 Colony, and former member of the original resistance movement from which had sprung the White Fang. The man had been elected by a landslide, the L1 Colony's sympathies with former members of the White Fang was well known to all. On his face was a mask of calm nuetrality, the mask of a perfect politician, but the manner in which he had just shouted suggested otherwise.
Relena, her tone a somewhat flustered one, took a few steps closer to the edge of the speaker's platform before addressing the man.
"Yes, Delegate Reeves?"
The colonial representative actually seemed to sneer in response to her dignified tone. He also wasted no time on pleasantries. He was nothing if not brief and efficient, as the world was soon to find out. The man took a few steps to the front of the delegation, and Relena could now make out his features: Short, brown hair and eyed, and a face that posessed stern features, what would be expected of a veteran of the Eve wars. When he spoke, the man posessed something like a hidden sneer behind the words:
"Vice Minister Relena, is it not true that you are, in fact, using the Earth Sphere United Nation as a front to build another tyrannical Earth Sphere Alliance?"
The young woman was so shocked by these words, she did not even have a chance to calm down and collect her thoughts before the Delegate continued his attack.
"It's all obvious, that this democracy you are pretending to be so proud of; you're planning to lure us all into a false sense of security, and then you'll take over, using your 'Preventers.' It's the same thing that happened 25 years ago, with the assasination of Heero Yuy and the military buildup of the Earth Sphere Alliance!"
The delegate's face had actually turned a bright red color, those last few words had been screamed aloud, so hard that all 700 of the gathered delegation would have heard him. Relena, usually cool and collected, was still too much in a state of shock to come up with any coherent asnwer, but unfortunately, she tried, anyway:
"That's not true! The Preventers....", before she was interupted again by the offending delegate.
"Are your secret task force, your private military arm. Can you honestly trust anyone who would have bowed to the wishes of Duke Dermail back in Romefeller's days; and accept his petition to crown her Queen of the World? Was it or was it not, Relena Peacecraft, all done to set you up in a position of power?!"
Relena simply could not listen to these barbarous accusations anymore. She shook her head, violently, as if she could not possibly believe what she was being accused of. She had been the head of the total pacifist Sanq Kingdom, she had given her life over to world peace, in accordance with the wishes of her true and adopted fathers. She had been there when Milliardo had declared war on the Earth, trying to stop him. She had helped the people come to their senses during the chaos that was the Marameiya War. She hadn't done all that for selfish reasons.
Had she?
Had she done that simply because she wanted more people to be like her?
As the woman was visibly shaken, plagued with self-doubt as she had never been, her attacker sneered again. He shook his head with disgust, turning and walking off angrily, shoving roughly whomever got in his way. He left behind him a trail of murmurs and discontent.
The other delegates collected themselves, and began to file out in a somewhat more orderly fashion. All this left the stunned Relena by herself, on the speaker's platform, clutching her hands to her chest tightly.
It was so hard, running a democracy. There were always those that thought they could intervene in any way they wished, that they could instigate problems simply out of the lack of anything better to do. In such a government, they were commonplace. She would have to learn to deal with it. Sometimes, she wished for her old friends, the ones that had helped her through that catastrophic era years ago. Most of all, she wouldn't lie to herself, she wished for Heero. He would have known what to say, a few simple words would have turned this thing into something to hope for.
Where was Heero, anyway?
She shook her head, sighing. She was no lovestruck schoolgirl, anymore. She was the head of the Earth Sphere United Nation. Relena was beyond chasing after anyone like she had back then, no matter who he was. She was more dignified, nowadays, than she had been in the past. It didn't matter, in any case, her main concern right now would be to meet up with her Council and discuss a public reply to the Delegate's attack. She had a lot of work and thought, ahead of her.
Though none of that changed the fact that she still missed him.
__________________________________________________________________________________
The 230-story building of the L4 Colony was one of the most thriving business centers in the United Nation. It's outside was mostly windows, from afar, the sunlight reflecting off the glass seemed to make the place seem like nothing more than a giant lamp. It was real sunlight, too, on the side of the Colony that the shone sun on through domed-sheets meant to mimic the ozone layer. On the inside, the building was one of the most decorative in existence, each Hall costing literally thousands of dollars in rugs and paintings. The place was immaculate, as well, clean-up crews working at night to wash and dust every speck of dirt there was. The only place all these luxuries seemed absent, strangely enough, was the President's office on the 230th floor. It was a modest room, the only extravagant feature of it was the large, circular window, part of which came up onto the ceiling like a dome. It afforded the person lucky enough to see it a view of the most populated side of the colony, and the skies above, to watch for transports. It was there that the room's single occupant now gazed out, sitting in a small brown recliner.
Quatre Rababera Winner shook his head, trying to clear it, to concentrate on his work. He took a look down at the pile of papers in front of him. That stack alone would take hours to complete, and there were more on the way. Being the head of a multi-province corporation was a real letdown, sometimes. The hours were bad, and you were always working. Quatre had even dreamed of work the other night. Now that had been a real nightmare, and a signal to get out of this mess as soon as possible.
As they did entirely too often, his thoughts drifted back to his fellow Gundam pilots. They had certainly been through a lot, together. He always thought of, with a smile on his face, the battles they had helped each other through. Not the memory of the battles, themselves, but rather the memory of the teamwork and comeradeship they displayed was the source of his smile. He hadn't seen Heero since the conclusion of the Marameiya War. Wufei was too busy with his work as Preventer Agent Dragon to be cordial, he hadn't ever cared much for visits, anyway. Duo was somewhere on Earth, Quatre knew, but he was one tough sucker to track down, on his little scavenging ship. He hadn't even seen Trowa in months. He sure needed a vacation. Speaking of which.....
No, he shouldnt just drop everything to pay Trowa a visit, should he?
He got up from his chair to get his jacket.
_____________________________________________________________________________________
The machine of destruction known as Gundam Altron, or to it's pilot, Nataku, stumbled backwards, almost falling. The metallic shifts in it's motivators as it righted itself back into a defensive position could be heard throughout the large, domed area in which the combat was talking place. It stood tall in the gleaming spotlights, the Gundanium metal from which it was made gleaming in the light. The weapons on it bristled, it had been heavily modified in recent months. The customary laser trident was held in one hand, from the other a large dragon-like claw emitted, being held in a defensive position. No one in their right mind would challenge a machine of such destructive power.
The motivators located in the joints of Gundam Altron shifted, and the mobile suit's claw-arm slammed into place, aiming forward. Flames of hell spewed forth from the cannon violently, closing in on their intended target.
Mobile Suit Tallgeese III leaped into the air, the retros on it's giant metallic boots flaring. The beams of fire missed it, just barely. The titanium white and blue hand reached under the shield, and when it retreated, with it came a glowing laser saber, the hue pink. The retros flared yet again as the Tallgeese roared in at it's opponent, that very saber slicing in a huge downward arc down at the opponent.
Gundam Altron barely managed to bring up it's trident in respone, the blow blocked. Electricity filled the air when the sabers connected, as if they were alive. Altron took a giant step back, the ground being crushed beneath it. From it's shoulder a fang-like appendage appeared, and even more fire spewed forth into the Tallgeese. The other mobile suit, halted by this attack, dropped it's retros, hitting the floor violently in almost a human martial arts crouch. Bullets erupted from it's shoulder cannons, spraying forth point blank into the Gundam.
Watching this battle from an enclosed and secure tower almost a kilometer away, Lady Une and Lucrezia Noin exhanged glances. Wufei Chang and Zecchs Merquise were warriors, had been all their lives. They would do anything to get in a simple sparring session, even risk billions of dollars of equipment, all under the guise of a demonstration to the newer Agents.
As Tallgeese came up from it's crouch, slamming it's shoulder into Altron violently, Noin whispered left into Lady Une's ear.
"You think that Zecchs will win again, Lady?"
Lady Une, with that perpetual peaceful tone of voice and expression, answered back, without taking her eyes off the battle.
"Wufei's been practicing. Besides, it's not like Zecchs wins every time."
Altron, still spewing forth flames uselessly into Tallgeese's shield, struck a rapid left and right attack with the trident, on either side of it. Tallgeese countered one with the shield, the other with it's saber, and rammed itself into Altron again hard. The Gundam flew backwards, only at the last moment firing it's retros. Tallgeese was on the verge of getting up from the crouch it had yet again been forced into, when Altron descended upon it in a fury.
The two laser blades simmered and sizzled, the entire area awash in electricty. The mobile suits struck, blocked, and parried, never moving their motions for an instant. Most martial arts masters wished they had technique like that. The shifting of gears and motivators could be heard even this far away.
Behind Lady Une and Noin, a group of maybe twenty students watched, mouths gaping. They had all seen mobile suit battles before, they had even seen holo-vids of the Old Wars, but neither of them had a clue that one could go be so violent, majestic, so pure, for lack of a better word. The battles they had seen had involved mostly Leo's and their space variations, many with Tauruses, and a few Virgos to show the ferocity of mobile dolls. But none here had ever seen a fight with a Gundam, and another Gundam-class mobile suit before. They moved like lighting, looked completely lethal, and were armed to the teeth. They were both equipped with the highly classified Zero system, something only the best Preventer pilots were allowed access to.It was also no small honor to be able to watch the now legendary warriors Zecchs Merquise and Wufei Chang, heroes, battle it out.
Tallgeese parried yet another strike as it's pilot's voice came in over the wide band transmission, being heard by both spectator and opponent alike.
"I thought you had that flame-thrower dismantled, Wufei?"
The only answer to the question that the pilot of Gundam Altron had came loud and clear, a double blast of flame's that barely missed the Tallgeese's head and sensor area. The voice of Zecchs chuckled as the mobile suit dodged to the side, it's blade flashing out in an attempt to dismantle the Gundam's arm.
The young Agents in training ooe'd and aaa'ed with each strike and counterstrike. One walked silently to Noin, till he was just behind her and to the left, shaking nervously.
"Miss Noin?"
Lucrezia Noin turned around to face the young boy before her, the sounds of the battle clinging in the background. Everyone present wore the modest Preventer uniform, a black jumpsuit with a single rank patch on the left breast. All except Lady Une, who always forewent that to wear her old red aristocratic outfit in an honor to the dead Treize Khushrenada. The boy was slim, blonde haired, and good looking, almost reminding Noin of a Gundam pilot. His name tag read "Slade" and nothing else. Now that was strange. But she turned her attention on the young man, smiling warmly at him. The Preventers were more like a family than a military agency.
"Yes, Trainee Slade?"
The boy ran a hair through his short and tousled blonde hair, smiling sheepishly. "I was wondering if I could get a chance to pilot one of those mobile suits, instead of the crappy Leo's you've been making us use."
Noin arched a brow in response. "Hang in there, soon you'll be able to pilot the Taurus, our best mobile suit."
The youth seemed to be bouncing up and down in his shoes with anticipation. "I know, and I really want to get behind the controls of one of those, but......the ones out there are better than anything we'll ever pilot, and..........I'd really, really like to!"
Noin smiled down at the youth, who must have been about 16, and laid a hand on his shoulder. "I'll tell you what, Slade. If you can convince Wufei or Zecchs to let you into the cockpit of one of their mobile suits, go right ahead."
With that, she turned around to continue watching the battle. Behind her, she heard several other students chuckling, and huffy footsteps shuffling away. She restrained a laugh. It seems they had heard how posessive the two warriors were about their machines.
Lady Une had remained quiet throughout the whole thing, and a thin smile blossomed on her lips at the end of it. These new warriors would have to learn how dangerous it was piloting a mobile suit. They would have to learn how not to let their egos and desires get in control of themselves, that was the kind of pilot that had existed during the Eve Wars. These kids would have to learn to protect, not to destroy, with any weapon they had handy.
She smiled as she took a backwards glance at them. All in due time. Today, they would have to learn in-battle tactics.
And, across the landscape a kilometer away, Gundam Altron and Mobile Suit Tallgeese III clashed again.
_____________________________________________________________________________________
The acrobat in the clown suit was giving one of the most impressive performances that any below had ever seen. With grace that seemed almost supernatural, he leaped from bar to bar, rope to rope. He had been doing this for a long time, almost twenty minutes, and the audience was still as stunned and silent, full of awe, as they had been when he began. And Trowa Barton hadn't even broken a sweat yet. As he went through a backwards somersault, he could swear he was...
Quatre? By the sidelines. He made a mental note to hurry this up to see his friend as soon as possible.
Little was Trowa aware of the man positioned on the highest set of seats in the big tent, a completely empty row. The man who currently held a sniper rifle in his hands, and, though his target was moving quickly, had a sure sight the whole time. The man with the sniper rifle waited until the clown's next big fall, then he aimed where it would fall.....
And he pulled the trigger.
_____________________________________________________________________________________
"Don's Cafe" was a small coffee shop up in the region of the Appalachian Mountains. It was at a high altitude, so the surrounding landscape was covered in snow. It was really a very small place, but nonetheless popular among tourists. However, in late May, the place was usually empty, the owner only kept it open out of fancy. However, even now, there was a single customer, who sat in the very corner of the small wooden place. He had kept his face down the entire time, letting brown shocks of hair cover his features. He drank from a steaming mug of hot coffee every once in a while, the only movement he had displayed in his entire stay.
Don, the man currently behind the counter and owner of this small mountainside restaurant, was busy wiping a dish with a wet towel, looking at the young man seated by the corner. Strange fellow, he was. He had walked in around two hours ago, got a coffee, and for all that time he had simply sat there. He couldn't help but wonder if the guy was more than a little crazy.
And then, without warning, the man got up and looked straight at Don. The owner would swear later, than those eyes were those of a veteran warrior, of someone formidable. And then, just as quietly as the man had come in, he walked towards the exit, his hands in his pockets. As he walked past the counter and out, the confused Don could swear the man had said something, in a voice as cold and deep as the snow currently surrounding them:
"Soon, they're coming."
_______________________________________________________________________