Gundam Wing: War in A.C. 200
a Gundam Wing Fanfiction
by Torankusu Senshi
Chapter 2: The Foreshadows of War
Out here, millions of miles away from the Earth, the Sun was only a little bigger than the rest of the stars in the sky. The asteroid belt in fact, was the largest visible body, indeed, it covered an immense portion of the blackness , the swirling and blazing rocks were a sight to see. All the way from the homeworld and it's sphere, out here, there was a single manned outpost, the farthest in the Sol System. This outpost was given little consideration, and had, in fact, been tossed from government to government without an afterthought, usually as a simple statistic, like a monetary transfer. It had been first Earth Sphere Alliance Sentry X-1347, then, as the Romefeller Foundation had taken control of it's properties, had been renamed to Romefeller Space Station R-7635. Now, under the leadership of the Earth Sphere United Nation, the newest name was United Alliance Outpost P-8824. More than likely the ones doing these transfers were computers or low level custodians, any properties outside the Sphere had a relatively low military and industrial value, outside of the Mobile Base heading to Mars to begin the terraforming project.
However, to the thirty men and women that had manned the station for 20 years, it was simply called the "Forgotten Star." The title certainly fit it well, it had once been a promising position to be in, when humankind had it's sights set on greater and greater heights. It was an unfortunate truth that the wars in the Sphere had limited the once great visions of the species, now it was simply concerned with keeping it's various parts and bodies peaceful and unbothered.
The command station of P-8824 was little more than a monitoring station, the "Commander" on shift would simply drink a mug of coffee and read whatever News-vids made their way out this far. The only thing he commanded was a single space Leo on patrol, an extremely old model, as no one had seen the need for a lone outpost to be armed in any way. The Leo was their only weapon, and had only been brought on the original expedition as an afterthought.
Liuetenant Jg. Ryan Simmons watched the vid-screen in front of him, boredly. For some demented reason, the only transmissions power enough to get this far out were re-runs of old soap operas. Simmons was a 43 year old man, and had been manning this station for the better part of his life. The boredom had ceased to get to him, anymore, he seemed as lifeless as this station. He wished he was down in the recreation area, the most crowded area of the base.
The vid screen to the left of Simmons beeped insistently. The Liuetenant Jg. grunted noncommitally, and turned to look at the source. Through the monitor he could see the pilot of the space Leo, Private Akira Tomino. Tomino was a strange one, and one of the "Star's Children." Several people, back in the olden days of the Star, had made couples, and even had children. Those children were now coming of age, and Private Akira was the eldest of them, and the only one qualified to fly a mobile suit.
"What do you want?" barked Simmons. Crappy soap opera re-runs or not, he wanted to get back to them.
The private's left lip curled up in a gesture of disdain for the older man. He shook his head, and jerked a thumb left, a move meant to instruct Simmons to glance at the radar. The old man mumbled something about
disrespect for one's elders before brushing the mug of coffee from the radar screen where it had sat.
On the radar screen, there was a blip that, if translated to scale, meant that there was an object heading towards them. An object roughly three miles in length, half a mile in diameter, and was moving towards them faster than any asteroid could manage. It was about one thousand miles away, and was cutting through the asteroid belt, heading straight for them. Simmons spit up his coffee all over the screen.
From inside his mobile suit, Tomino shook his head. The old never could keep their cool. It was a damn good thing he was here to be sure that things went smoothly.
"I'll check it out," he said simply.
And with that, the Leo held it's beam rifle in a ready mode, the back retros flared, and it took off towards the source of the mysterious blip.
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Marameiya Khushrenada sat by herself on a bench, her arms folded over her chest. She glared out in space in front of her, not at anything in particular, but rather at the entire scene that was somehow, unbelievably, taking place. Children were playing catch.
Not just that, but they were yelling and screaming and having a good time. Their parents sat on the set of benches opposite Marameiya, chatting away idly. It was a gruesomely happy scene. None of her relatives had ever done this for her. Instead of playing ball, she had played war. Instead of studying history, she had studied battle tactics and political weaknesses. To imagine such a simple life was simply beyond the eleven year old at this point in time. At that dark moment of her contemplation, a young boy came up to her, all smiles.
"Hi! You wanna play ball?"
Marameiya fixed a glare on him that would have melted the iron will of the best soldiers in the military. It was a useful trait, one she had learned well. To her chagrin, the boy simply shrugged and actually skipped away back towards a group of friends, kicking the ball as he went. Marameiya scowled unhappily, turning her head in the air with a huff.
A hand laid on her shoulder gently.
"Having any fun?"
Marameiya didn't have to turn around, she knew hew it was behind her. She didn't feel like seeing the warm face of Dorothy Catalonia, the motherly smile on her features. Dorothy had taken care of her ever since her bid for power had come to an end, and she realized she was nothing more than a pawn of her relatives'. They lived together in Brussels, on the outskirts of the town in a modest apartment. Dorothy had thought that today would be a good day to bring young Marameiya to the park, so she could interact with children her age. Well Marameiya had some choice things to say about children her age.
"Eleven year olds are idiots."
Dorothy sat beside her, resting her hands on her knees. "You're eleven too, Mara."
Marameiya scowled again. She hated that nickname. It made her sound like she was a dim-witted child, like the rest of them.
"Don't call me that. I may be eleven, but I'm a whole lot smarter than they are."
"Not everyone is a child prodigy, Mara. Don't worry, we don't have to stay here if you don't want to. How about we go for a walk to get some ice cream, instead?"
Marameiya slowly turned to look at the almost glowing Dorothy. She had tried for four years, to give a home to the reluctant child. She knew that Dorothy had once been like her, her life battle after battle. It was the only reason that she had even agreed to stay with Dorothy, the thought of being with someone that actually understood her was at least tolerable, in a sense. Dorothy was even nice to her, something she was unaccustomed to.
Besides all that, and no matter how smart she was, she WAS still an eleven year old. She wanted ice cream.
Marameiya smiled at Dorothy. "Alright, but only if we go to the one downtown."
Dorothy nodded, standing up. Hand in hand, the pair walked away from the park.
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Liuetenant Lucrezia Noin's quarters at this time of night were dead quiet. It was a sparse room, the only furnishings the bed, vid-screen, and the computer. Clothes were strewn about the room, as if the occupant had never had much time to clean it. It was almost black, the only light came from the vid-screen, where the Liuetenant herself sat. She had peeled away the top of her jumpsuit, but left the pants and boots on. The only thing over her torso was a black tanktop, the kind most Preventers wore underneath the normal garb.
Noin was still awake, and on the vid-screen, at this time of night because something had caught her interest. Namely, the young man that seemed to have such a desire to pilot the mobile suits. That wasn't the reason, of course, most Preventer Agents his age had that same desire. But there was something about him......something she couldn't quite place her finger on.......that intrigued her. That, and of course, the lack of a last name, had Noin wondering.
The vid-screen bathed her and a part of the room behind her in a light almost too bright for the rest of the room. It rung again and again, that infuriating "Please Wait" logo on the monitor. Then, without warning, that message disappeared, and was replaced with the sleepy-yet-ever-alert face of Preventer Agent Sally Po.
Sally smiled groggily upon seeing Noin, saluting with a yawn.
"Hello, Miss Noin. If you were planning on calling me and hanging up as a prank, you failed miserably."
A smile tugged at the corner of Noin's mouth. She and the former Alliance officer turned terrorist had been through a lot, in the old days. "I always did have bad timing on that one, Sally. How are you?"
"Fine, Liuetenant, thanks for asking. But I seriously doubt that you called me at 3:30 because of some inane urge to see how I've been. How do you want my help?"
Noin laughed, not too loudly, she didn't want to offend Sally's sleepy ears.
"Well, I understand that you're in charge of recruiting new agents for the Preventers."
"That would be me."
"Well, then I'd like to ask you a question on one Trainee Slade. Who is he? I met him today during one of Zecchs' and Wufei's 'demonstrations'." By demonstrations, she of course meant mobile suit battles.
Sally looked thoughtful, and took a moment to answer. "Never heard of him."
Noin blinked in disbelief. "But aren't you the head of Recruit?"
"True, but I can hardly be expected to remember every Trainee that comes through here."
Noin smiled sheepishly. She hadn't thought of that. She really did need some rest, after all. "Sorry about that. But could you at least run a background check on him?"
"Sure, if it'll get me back to bed."
Noin shook her head. Sally was something, alright. "Alright, get back to your dreams. See you later."
"Take care of yourself." Covering another yawn, Sally reached out a hand, and the image went black.
Noin somehow managed to move her aching limbs enough to stand up, the chair being pushed behind her. She could worry about the strange Slade later. Right now, she was dead tired. She stumbled towards her bed, and was asleep before her head ever hit the pillow.
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Trowa had practiced the next flip for hours. It was the highlight of his performance, the big one. By manipulating his limbs and body weight, and somewhat thanks to his training as a Zero G Gundam pilot, the flip actually let the man change the very direction of his fall about 45 degrees, where he would fall to safety on a platform held at the right angle. It was dangerous, sure, and Trowa had intended on using it for the big performance on Earth, but something quickly changed his reservations about that. Something he wouldn't have noticed had he not took an extra moment to look at Quatre before somersaulting.
Namely, the sniper in the front row. Aiming right at him.
His instincts took over with speed unparalled in the minds of most human beings, and all thought in his head ceased. With speed that was almost a blur, Trowa spread his limbs, and performed the manuever that he had practiced. The crowd oo'ed and aaa'ed, that is, until the bullet whizzed by the spot where he had been, striking near Quatre, who had hit the ground in a crouch, also out of instinct. Instinct was an important factor for Gundam pilots, it was their lifeblood, and the only reason they had survived through all the battles their youths had put them through.
Trowa barely managed to right himself, impressive trick or no, it took nearly all of one's concentration to land after the manuever. Trowa plummeted downward, downward........
And then Trowa Barton collided with the floor. A fifty foot drop. His scream pierced through the silence that had overcome the arena, and then all hell broke loose. People shouted and ran for all the nearest exits. The circus folk, including one Catherine Bloom, were so caught up in the rush of people that they hadn't a chance to get through the sea of bodies to reach their injured comrade. Only Quatre Winner was by his side, trying to check for a pulse, anything to see that his friend was okay.
There it was. A pulse, faint, but it was there. However, it might not be much longer if nothing happened. If it had been anyone but Trowa.....
Quatre stole a glance to the top row from where the sniper had taken his shot. Nothing. Damn.
And before his concerns returned entirely the injured man's continued well being, he did something very unlike him.
It would be hell to the person that had shot Trowa.
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Wufei Chang leaped into the air, shouting a war cry from his native L5 colony as he went. He extended his right leg, thrusting forward with all his muscle strength. The man on the receiving end was caught off guard by the ferocity and speed of the blow, and was struck clear in the chest. He flew back into a wall, the metal resounding with a thud. As Wufei landed in his trademark tiger stance, the other men were on him like lighting, each yelling and shouting as they struck. Wufei danced between their blows, giving better than he got. No disabling blow got into the young warrrior's guard, while his tagrets were dropping like flies.
"Having fun, Wufei?"
Wufei dispatched of his last opponent with a chop to the throat, turning to face the Lightning Baron, Zecchs Merquise, Agent "Wind." He chuckled, throwing the other man a casual two fingered salute, as he bent to the floor to retrieve his towel. While he wiped the sweat off his face, the other men rose unsteadily from the deck. All present wore the jumpsuit that signified them as Preventers, and all were going to be sore and black and blue in the morning. The men drew straws every afternoon to see whom got the "privilege" of providing Wufei with competition; the ones who picked the short straws were that day's meat. All who had fought the day before were excused, fighting Wufei for any protracted period of time was considered suicide for one's well being.
Wufei gazed over at Zecchs across the room, which was completely empty save blue foor mats, it was meant for this kind of sparring.
"You may be better at Suits, Zecchs, but step into MY arena one day. Then we'll see who has the true skill."
Zecchs closed his eyes, shaking his head almost imperceptibly.
"So you've been telling me the past four years. Maybe soon I'll take you up on that challenge, kid."
Wufei grimaced, he hated it when Milliardo called him that. But before he could leap across the deck and show Zecchs who was the "kid" around here, another officer strode in between them. Liuetenant Noin, wearing that self-satisfied smile she that seemed to be stuck on her face nowadays. Always the interloper, if it wasn't for her, Zecchs would have caught the beating he had earned long ago.
"Now now, boys, don't make me have to break the two of you up again." She smiled mirthfully, and then slowly leaned back into Zecchs, her back resting against him suggestively. It was probably one of the only times that Wufei had ever seen Lightning Count blush. Noin had been getting a little more aggressive with her feelings towards Zecchs, and what may have been a serious friendship before, seemed to be growing into something far more deep. Too bad that the only person who couldn't see that was the object of Noin's affections himself.
Wufei shook his head. Zecchs should stick to mobile suits, women were not his forte.
But then again, since when had it been Wufei's, either?
The men, seeing the officers distracted, took this as their exit cue. Quietly, as no one wanted to catch the attentions of Wufei again, they all stumbled and limped out of the room. So it was left empty save for the three officers, two of which seemed to be in deep conversation. Wufei had seen them like this a few times before, nothing he could say would take their attention away from them. Fools. They should give it up and get married, already.
Wufei excused himself, none too politely, and strided from the room. He wiped his face over with the towel again, walking down the hall he knew almost from memory, know. When he removed the towel, he was forced to halt in his tracks, as three feet in front of him, stood a grim faced Lady Une.
Grim faced. Wufei hadn't known her too look like that, ever.......except maybe four years ago......
"What is it?" he asked, his voice almost a whisper.
"You have to see it for yourself. Head down to Control, I'm going to get Zecchs and Noin."
Wufei nodded, and dropped the towel where it was. He knew that this could mean nothing good, but in his soul, something seemed to awaken. The serious expression of Lady Une's could only mean one thing, that the Preventers were going to gave to go into battle. And that meant he, Wufei, would lead the charge in Nataku. Chang knew that battles were bad, but he could no more deny his true nature than he could the fact that his heart was beating with excitement, as it hadn't in a long time.
Things might just get interesting, soon enough.
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Relena Peacecraft had never, ever been in the emergency war room of the Earth Sphere United Nation. She had never even dreamed it would come into use. Opposing it's very existence, she had stated and believed that having a war room was simply a prelude to preparing for a war. However, her ideals could not stand up to the common sense of the more military minded Nation officials, so she had kept her peace and allowed the damned thing to be built. But she had never, ever expected to have to come down here, for any possible reason.
She should have known better.
And what a worse time, at that. Relena had finished preparing her speech for the attack on her ideals and purpose, and had been ready go online and recite it. The broadcast had already been prepared, and mere minutes were left until she was on the air, when an emergency envoy of the President had arrived, stating that Relena must go with him. When she resisted, he had told her just where they were going. That was enough, she knew that the President would not force her unwillingly into a room where bloodshed was a commodity, unless it was a total emergency.
She should probably begin worrying about the emergency. The War Room was impressive, with 40 foot high titantiun walls, monitors and computer stations extended all the way to the top, ladders and narrow staircases implanted in the walls allowing for access to the ones ones at greater heights. The main Control Board was manned by five technicians, and was so complicated, with so many glowing and switching lights, Relena did not even bother to try and make sense of it. Instead, she walked beside the President, who stood directly behind those technicians, and was watching the monitors. Monitors that, normally, would be tracking the activity of every nation and organization in the Earth Sphere. Right now, they were all focused on one thing: a space station.
The President spoke up, as if somehow he had detected her presence without hearing or seeing her.
"Have you eevr heard of Outpost P-8824, Relena?"
Relena couldn't say that she had, the name didn't ring a bell. "No, sir."
The President's voice was shaky, and devoid of most of it's emotion. Strange Relena knew, the man hadn't been elected for acting like a robot in times of crisis.
"I wouldn't think so. Well, it's a small station on the skirts of the Asteroid belt, the furthest thing we have out there."
"What does that have to do with anything?"
"Approximately three hours ago, the station detected a blip on long distance sensors. They reported it, and have been sending us reports by the minute."
Relena's eyes widened, she was no stupid girl. "Somethings.........out there?"
The President turned to look at her, and she could actually see his expression, one of horror and hopelessness. It froze her heart.
"About twenty minutes ago, the station reported that the blip has changed into MANY blips."
His emphasis on the word made her pause, but she could not help but ask, she was intrigued.
".......How many?"
At that point, a young brown haired man in a technician's uniform ran up to them. Sir! We have visual!"
The President turned away from Relena, and back to the main monitor, which covered an entire forty foot wall. "Put it on the screen."
Relena could hear the gasps, the collective intake of breath of an entire room. She turned to look at the monitor, to see for herself what could have everyone so worried......
and her frozen heart seemed to leap out of her throat. There, on the main screen, was something she never could have imagined. A sight that her mind could barely comprehend. An Armada.
The Fleet seemed to stretch across the stars, and block most of them out, the black hues of their ships seeming to mix with space perfectly, creating the illusion of a black void. Relena knew one thing immediately, that these were spacecraft. Spacecraft of a kind she had never seen before, and, judging by the gasps of everyone else, no one here had, either. She was also no fool on one other point of this endless legion of craft, they were all bristling with needlelike structures, small indentures in the sides, and glowing holes.
Laser cannons. Hangars. Windows.
"Oh god."
She didn't even know the voice had been hers until a few moments after she said it. The rest of the roomj was as quiet as Death, all watching the awesome spectacle before them. Then, the technician beside the President spoke up, in a small voice:
"One and a half million ships, sir."
Relena didn't doubt it at all. She could only stare at the screen, a mix of wonder, terror, and suspense filling her soul.
"Warships," somebody said.
She knew that was true, too.
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Only about a single kilometer from the glory of war arrayed before the Earth, Private Akira Tomino had a much better view than anyone. His voice caught in his throat, and he could only stare in shock.
And that's when he realized that he was in a single space Leo, heading directly for the fleet.
Maybe NOW he could lose his cool.
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Dorothy Catolonia and Marameiya Khushrenada sat on yet another bench, but this time, both had ice cream cones in their hands. Marameiya seemed happy enough, licking at her cone like any other normal eleven year old would. Dorothy was very happy, and nothing shook her, till she heard the ring of the Public Address system come on. She turned, and saw the huge Public-Vid monitor on the side of the building. On it, there was the face of a newsreporter. She could hear the shocked cries of a thousand people all around her, the P.A. hadn't been used since the Marameiya War. Contrary to what newsreporters should look like, this one seemed so terrified that for moments he simply stared at something offscreen. Dorothy looked to the floor as Marameiya watched intently.
"So it's begun, Mr. Treize."
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And so it had.
a Gundam Wing Fanfiction
by Torankusu Senshi
Chapter 2: The Foreshadows of War
Out here, millions of miles away from the Earth, the Sun was only a little bigger than the rest of the stars in the sky. The asteroid belt in fact, was the largest visible body, indeed, it covered an immense portion of the blackness , the swirling and blazing rocks were a sight to see. All the way from the homeworld and it's sphere, out here, there was a single manned outpost, the farthest in the Sol System. This outpost was given little consideration, and had, in fact, been tossed from government to government without an afterthought, usually as a simple statistic, like a monetary transfer. It had been first Earth Sphere Alliance Sentry X-1347, then, as the Romefeller Foundation had taken control of it's properties, had been renamed to Romefeller Space Station R-7635. Now, under the leadership of the Earth Sphere United Nation, the newest name was United Alliance Outpost P-8824. More than likely the ones doing these transfers were computers or low level custodians, any properties outside the Sphere had a relatively low military and industrial value, outside of the Mobile Base heading to Mars to begin the terraforming project.
However, to the thirty men and women that had manned the station for 20 years, it was simply called the "Forgotten Star." The title certainly fit it well, it had once been a promising position to be in, when humankind had it's sights set on greater and greater heights. It was an unfortunate truth that the wars in the Sphere had limited the once great visions of the species, now it was simply concerned with keeping it's various parts and bodies peaceful and unbothered.
The command station of P-8824 was little more than a monitoring station, the "Commander" on shift would simply drink a mug of coffee and read whatever News-vids made their way out this far. The only thing he commanded was a single space Leo on patrol, an extremely old model, as no one had seen the need for a lone outpost to be armed in any way. The Leo was their only weapon, and had only been brought on the original expedition as an afterthought.
Liuetenant Jg. Ryan Simmons watched the vid-screen in front of him, boredly. For some demented reason, the only transmissions power enough to get this far out were re-runs of old soap operas. Simmons was a 43 year old man, and had been manning this station for the better part of his life. The boredom had ceased to get to him, anymore, he seemed as lifeless as this station. He wished he was down in the recreation area, the most crowded area of the base.
The vid screen to the left of Simmons beeped insistently. The Liuetenant Jg. grunted noncommitally, and turned to look at the source. Through the monitor he could see the pilot of the space Leo, Private Akira Tomino. Tomino was a strange one, and one of the "Star's Children." Several people, back in the olden days of the Star, had made couples, and even had children. Those children were now coming of age, and Private Akira was the eldest of them, and the only one qualified to fly a mobile suit.
"What do you want?" barked Simmons. Crappy soap opera re-runs or not, he wanted to get back to them.
The private's left lip curled up in a gesture of disdain for the older man. He shook his head, and jerked a thumb left, a move meant to instruct Simmons to glance at the radar. The old man mumbled something about
disrespect for one's elders before brushing the mug of coffee from the radar screen where it had sat.
On the radar screen, there was a blip that, if translated to scale, meant that there was an object heading towards them. An object roughly three miles in length, half a mile in diameter, and was moving towards them faster than any asteroid could manage. It was about one thousand miles away, and was cutting through the asteroid belt, heading straight for them. Simmons spit up his coffee all over the screen.
From inside his mobile suit, Tomino shook his head. The old never could keep their cool. It was a damn good thing he was here to be sure that things went smoothly.
"I'll check it out," he said simply.
And with that, the Leo held it's beam rifle in a ready mode, the back retros flared, and it took off towards the source of the mysterious blip.
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Marameiya Khushrenada sat by herself on a bench, her arms folded over her chest. She glared out in space in front of her, not at anything in particular, but rather at the entire scene that was somehow, unbelievably, taking place. Children were playing catch.
Not just that, but they were yelling and screaming and having a good time. Their parents sat on the set of benches opposite Marameiya, chatting away idly. It was a gruesomely happy scene. None of her relatives had ever done this for her. Instead of playing ball, she had played war. Instead of studying history, she had studied battle tactics and political weaknesses. To imagine such a simple life was simply beyond the eleven year old at this point in time. At that dark moment of her contemplation, a young boy came up to her, all smiles.
"Hi! You wanna play ball?"
Marameiya fixed a glare on him that would have melted the iron will of the best soldiers in the military. It was a useful trait, one she had learned well. To her chagrin, the boy simply shrugged and actually skipped away back towards a group of friends, kicking the ball as he went. Marameiya scowled unhappily, turning her head in the air with a huff.
A hand laid on her shoulder gently.
"Having any fun?"
Marameiya didn't have to turn around, she knew hew it was behind her. She didn't feel like seeing the warm face of Dorothy Catalonia, the motherly smile on her features. Dorothy had taken care of her ever since her bid for power had come to an end, and she realized she was nothing more than a pawn of her relatives'. They lived together in Brussels, on the outskirts of the town in a modest apartment. Dorothy had thought that today would be a good day to bring young Marameiya to the park, so she could interact with children her age. Well Marameiya had some choice things to say about children her age.
"Eleven year olds are idiots."
Dorothy sat beside her, resting her hands on her knees. "You're eleven too, Mara."
Marameiya scowled again. She hated that nickname. It made her sound like she was a dim-witted child, like the rest of them.
"Don't call me that. I may be eleven, but I'm a whole lot smarter than they are."
"Not everyone is a child prodigy, Mara. Don't worry, we don't have to stay here if you don't want to. How about we go for a walk to get some ice cream, instead?"
Marameiya slowly turned to look at the almost glowing Dorothy. She had tried for four years, to give a home to the reluctant child. She knew that Dorothy had once been like her, her life battle after battle. It was the only reason that she had even agreed to stay with Dorothy, the thought of being with someone that actually understood her was at least tolerable, in a sense. Dorothy was even nice to her, something she was unaccustomed to.
Besides all that, and no matter how smart she was, she WAS still an eleven year old. She wanted ice cream.
Marameiya smiled at Dorothy. "Alright, but only if we go to the one downtown."
Dorothy nodded, standing up. Hand in hand, the pair walked away from the park.
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Liuetenant Lucrezia Noin's quarters at this time of night were dead quiet. It was a sparse room, the only furnishings the bed, vid-screen, and the computer. Clothes were strewn about the room, as if the occupant had never had much time to clean it. It was almost black, the only light came from the vid-screen, where the Liuetenant herself sat. She had peeled away the top of her jumpsuit, but left the pants and boots on. The only thing over her torso was a black tanktop, the kind most Preventers wore underneath the normal garb.
Noin was still awake, and on the vid-screen, at this time of night because something had caught her interest. Namely, the young man that seemed to have such a desire to pilot the mobile suits. That wasn't the reason, of course, most Preventer Agents his age had that same desire. But there was something about him......something she couldn't quite place her finger on.......that intrigued her. That, and of course, the lack of a last name, had Noin wondering.
The vid-screen bathed her and a part of the room behind her in a light almost too bright for the rest of the room. It rung again and again, that infuriating "Please Wait" logo on the monitor. Then, without warning, that message disappeared, and was replaced with the sleepy-yet-ever-alert face of Preventer Agent Sally Po.
Sally smiled groggily upon seeing Noin, saluting with a yawn.
"Hello, Miss Noin. If you were planning on calling me and hanging up as a prank, you failed miserably."
A smile tugged at the corner of Noin's mouth. She and the former Alliance officer turned terrorist had been through a lot, in the old days. "I always did have bad timing on that one, Sally. How are you?"
"Fine, Liuetenant, thanks for asking. But I seriously doubt that you called me at 3:30 because of some inane urge to see how I've been. How do you want my help?"
Noin laughed, not too loudly, she didn't want to offend Sally's sleepy ears.
"Well, I understand that you're in charge of recruiting new agents for the Preventers."
"That would be me."
"Well, then I'd like to ask you a question on one Trainee Slade. Who is he? I met him today during one of Zecchs' and Wufei's 'demonstrations'." By demonstrations, she of course meant mobile suit battles.
Sally looked thoughtful, and took a moment to answer. "Never heard of him."
Noin blinked in disbelief. "But aren't you the head of Recruit?"
"True, but I can hardly be expected to remember every Trainee that comes through here."
Noin smiled sheepishly. She hadn't thought of that. She really did need some rest, after all. "Sorry about that. But could you at least run a background check on him?"
"Sure, if it'll get me back to bed."
Noin shook her head. Sally was something, alright. "Alright, get back to your dreams. See you later."
"Take care of yourself." Covering another yawn, Sally reached out a hand, and the image went black.
Noin somehow managed to move her aching limbs enough to stand up, the chair being pushed behind her. She could worry about the strange Slade later. Right now, she was dead tired. She stumbled towards her bed, and was asleep before her head ever hit the pillow.
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Trowa had practiced the next flip for hours. It was the highlight of his performance, the big one. By manipulating his limbs and body weight, and somewhat thanks to his training as a Zero G Gundam pilot, the flip actually let the man change the very direction of his fall about 45 degrees, where he would fall to safety on a platform held at the right angle. It was dangerous, sure, and Trowa had intended on using it for the big performance on Earth, but something quickly changed his reservations about that. Something he wouldn't have noticed had he not took an extra moment to look at Quatre before somersaulting.
Namely, the sniper in the front row. Aiming right at him.
His instincts took over with speed unparalled in the minds of most human beings, and all thought in his head ceased. With speed that was almost a blur, Trowa spread his limbs, and performed the manuever that he had practiced. The crowd oo'ed and aaa'ed, that is, until the bullet whizzed by the spot where he had been, striking near Quatre, who had hit the ground in a crouch, also out of instinct. Instinct was an important factor for Gundam pilots, it was their lifeblood, and the only reason they had survived through all the battles their youths had put them through.
Trowa barely managed to right himself, impressive trick or no, it took nearly all of one's concentration to land after the manuever. Trowa plummeted downward, downward........
And then Trowa Barton collided with the floor. A fifty foot drop. His scream pierced through the silence that had overcome the arena, and then all hell broke loose. People shouted and ran for all the nearest exits. The circus folk, including one Catherine Bloom, were so caught up in the rush of people that they hadn't a chance to get through the sea of bodies to reach their injured comrade. Only Quatre Winner was by his side, trying to check for a pulse, anything to see that his friend was okay.
There it was. A pulse, faint, but it was there. However, it might not be much longer if nothing happened. If it had been anyone but Trowa.....
Quatre stole a glance to the top row from where the sniper had taken his shot. Nothing. Damn.
And before his concerns returned entirely the injured man's continued well being, he did something very unlike him.
It would be hell to the person that had shot Trowa.
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Wufei Chang leaped into the air, shouting a war cry from his native L5 colony as he went. He extended his right leg, thrusting forward with all his muscle strength. The man on the receiving end was caught off guard by the ferocity and speed of the blow, and was struck clear in the chest. He flew back into a wall, the metal resounding with a thud. As Wufei landed in his trademark tiger stance, the other men were on him like lighting, each yelling and shouting as they struck. Wufei danced between their blows, giving better than he got. No disabling blow got into the young warrrior's guard, while his tagrets were dropping like flies.
"Having fun, Wufei?"
Wufei dispatched of his last opponent with a chop to the throat, turning to face the Lightning Baron, Zecchs Merquise, Agent "Wind." He chuckled, throwing the other man a casual two fingered salute, as he bent to the floor to retrieve his towel. While he wiped the sweat off his face, the other men rose unsteadily from the deck. All present wore the jumpsuit that signified them as Preventers, and all were going to be sore and black and blue in the morning. The men drew straws every afternoon to see whom got the "privilege" of providing Wufei with competition; the ones who picked the short straws were that day's meat. All who had fought the day before were excused, fighting Wufei for any protracted period of time was considered suicide for one's well being.
Wufei gazed over at Zecchs across the room, which was completely empty save blue foor mats, it was meant for this kind of sparring.
"You may be better at Suits, Zecchs, but step into MY arena one day. Then we'll see who has the true skill."
Zecchs closed his eyes, shaking his head almost imperceptibly.
"So you've been telling me the past four years. Maybe soon I'll take you up on that challenge, kid."
Wufei grimaced, he hated it when Milliardo called him that. But before he could leap across the deck and show Zecchs who was the "kid" around here, another officer strode in between them. Liuetenant Noin, wearing that self-satisfied smile she that seemed to be stuck on her face nowadays. Always the interloper, if it wasn't for her, Zecchs would have caught the beating he had earned long ago.
"Now now, boys, don't make me have to break the two of you up again." She smiled mirthfully, and then slowly leaned back into Zecchs, her back resting against him suggestively. It was probably one of the only times that Wufei had ever seen Lightning Count blush. Noin had been getting a little more aggressive with her feelings towards Zecchs, and what may have been a serious friendship before, seemed to be growing into something far more deep. Too bad that the only person who couldn't see that was the object of Noin's affections himself.
Wufei shook his head. Zecchs should stick to mobile suits, women were not his forte.
But then again, since when had it been Wufei's, either?
The men, seeing the officers distracted, took this as their exit cue. Quietly, as no one wanted to catch the attentions of Wufei again, they all stumbled and limped out of the room. So it was left empty save for the three officers, two of which seemed to be in deep conversation. Wufei had seen them like this a few times before, nothing he could say would take their attention away from them. Fools. They should give it up and get married, already.
Wufei excused himself, none too politely, and strided from the room. He wiped his face over with the towel again, walking down the hall he knew almost from memory, know. When he removed the towel, he was forced to halt in his tracks, as three feet in front of him, stood a grim faced Lady Une.
Grim faced. Wufei hadn't known her too look like that, ever.......except maybe four years ago......
"What is it?" he asked, his voice almost a whisper.
"You have to see it for yourself. Head down to Control, I'm going to get Zecchs and Noin."
Wufei nodded, and dropped the towel where it was. He knew that this could mean nothing good, but in his soul, something seemed to awaken. The serious expression of Lady Une's could only mean one thing, that the Preventers were going to gave to go into battle. And that meant he, Wufei, would lead the charge in Nataku. Chang knew that battles were bad, but he could no more deny his true nature than he could the fact that his heart was beating with excitement, as it hadn't in a long time.
Things might just get interesting, soon enough.
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Relena Peacecraft had never, ever been in the emergency war room of the Earth Sphere United Nation. She had never even dreamed it would come into use. Opposing it's very existence, she had stated and believed that having a war room was simply a prelude to preparing for a war. However, her ideals could not stand up to the common sense of the more military minded Nation officials, so she had kept her peace and allowed the damned thing to be built. But she had never, ever expected to have to come down here, for any possible reason.
She should have known better.
And what a worse time, at that. Relena had finished preparing her speech for the attack on her ideals and purpose, and had been ready go online and recite it. The broadcast had already been prepared, and mere minutes were left until she was on the air, when an emergency envoy of the President had arrived, stating that Relena must go with him. When she resisted, he had told her just where they were going. That was enough, she knew that the President would not force her unwillingly into a room where bloodshed was a commodity, unless it was a total emergency.
She should probably begin worrying about the emergency. The War Room was impressive, with 40 foot high titantiun walls, monitors and computer stations extended all the way to the top, ladders and narrow staircases implanted in the walls allowing for access to the ones ones at greater heights. The main Control Board was manned by five technicians, and was so complicated, with so many glowing and switching lights, Relena did not even bother to try and make sense of it. Instead, she walked beside the President, who stood directly behind those technicians, and was watching the monitors. Monitors that, normally, would be tracking the activity of every nation and organization in the Earth Sphere. Right now, they were all focused on one thing: a space station.
The President spoke up, as if somehow he had detected her presence without hearing or seeing her.
"Have you eevr heard of Outpost P-8824, Relena?"
Relena couldn't say that she had, the name didn't ring a bell. "No, sir."
The President's voice was shaky, and devoid of most of it's emotion. Strange Relena knew, the man hadn't been elected for acting like a robot in times of crisis.
"I wouldn't think so. Well, it's a small station on the skirts of the Asteroid belt, the furthest thing we have out there."
"What does that have to do with anything?"
"Approximately three hours ago, the station detected a blip on long distance sensors. They reported it, and have been sending us reports by the minute."
Relena's eyes widened, she was no stupid girl. "Somethings.........out there?"
The President turned to look at her, and she could actually see his expression, one of horror and hopelessness. It froze her heart.
"About twenty minutes ago, the station reported that the blip has changed into MANY blips."
His emphasis on the word made her pause, but she could not help but ask, she was intrigued.
".......How many?"
At that point, a young brown haired man in a technician's uniform ran up to them. Sir! We have visual!"
The President turned away from Relena, and back to the main monitor, which covered an entire forty foot wall. "Put it on the screen."
Relena could hear the gasps, the collective intake of breath of an entire room. She turned to look at the monitor, to see for herself what could have everyone so worried......
and her frozen heart seemed to leap out of her throat. There, on the main screen, was something she never could have imagined. A sight that her mind could barely comprehend. An Armada.
The Fleet seemed to stretch across the stars, and block most of them out, the black hues of their ships seeming to mix with space perfectly, creating the illusion of a black void. Relena knew one thing immediately, that these were spacecraft. Spacecraft of a kind she had never seen before, and, judging by the gasps of everyone else, no one here had, either. She was also no fool on one other point of this endless legion of craft, they were all bristling with needlelike structures, small indentures in the sides, and glowing holes.
Laser cannons. Hangars. Windows.
"Oh god."
She didn't even know the voice had been hers until a few moments after she said it. The rest of the roomj was as quiet as Death, all watching the awesome spectacle before them. Then, the technician beside the President spoke up, in a small voice:
"One and a half million ships, sir."
Relena didn't doubt it at all. She could only stare at the screen, a mix of wonder, terror, and suspense filling her soul.
"Warships," somebody said.
She knew that was true, too.
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Only about a single kilometer from the glory of war arrayed before the Earth, Private Akira Tomino had a much better view than anyone. His voice caught in his throat, and he could only stare in shock.
And that's when he realized that he was in a single space Leo, heading directly for the fleet.
Maybe NOW he could lose his cool.
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Dorothy Catolonia and Marameiya Khushrenada sat on yet another bench, but this time, both had ice cream cones in their hands. Marameiya seemed happy enough, licking at her cone like any other normal eleven year old would. Dorothy was very happy, and nothing shook her, till she heard the ring of the Public Address system come on. She turned, and saw the huge Public-Vid monitor on the side of the building. On it, there was the face of a newsreporter. She could hear the shocked cries of a thousand people all around her, the P.A. hadn't been used since the Marameiya War. Contrary to what newsreporters should look like, this one seemed so terrified that for moments he simply stared at something offscreen. Dorothy looked to the floor as Marameiya watched intently.
"So it's begun, Mr. Treize."
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And so it had.