Gundam Wing: War in A.C. 200
a Gundam Wing Fanfiction
by Torankusu Senshi
Chapter 3: The Cry That Shook the Heavens
Wufei Chang leaned against the back wall of the crowded Preventer Alert Room, his arms folded across his chest. He was pretty much out of sight, or as much out of sight as any well known Gundam pilot could get. The room was a bit less grandiose in design than the Earth Sphere United Nation War Room in Brussels, but that didn't make it any less effective. The briefing seats were crowded to capacity, and Agents could be seen standing all along the walls. He had never seen it this crowded, all in all, there must have been about 400 Preventers in the room. Zecchs, being the new Leader of the Agency, had taken his spot at the briefer's podium, the ever faithful Noin behind and to his left, at attention. Normally the stoic warrior would take some time to mentally insult Noin for her undevoted love in some way or another, but not at the moment. There was more pressing matters at hand.
Such as the one and a half million alien warships currently heading towards Outpost P-8824.
Wufei seriously doubted they had any plans of being content simply with that. One did not bring one and a half million ships simply to confront an outpost with a grand armamnent of one space Leo.
Then again, they were aliens, who knew?
If there was one thing the pilot of Nataku was sure of, it was that he was taking this a whole lot better than anyone else present. Veteran Agents, the ones who had participated in the main business of the Agency, terrorist takedowns, were shaking and nervous. The newer Agents couldn't even stand or sit sill, they were trembling. The trainees in the back.....Wufei didn't even bother thinking about them. They were weak, yet. And he could well understand their fear, even if he did not posess it himself. They were the only Army left in the entire Earth Sphere, and their number of mobile suits and pilots didn't even add up to the number of the enemy's battleships. It was ludicrous, in every sense of the word.
All the trainees seemed horrified, indeed. Except for one, that one in the corner with the blonde hair. He had no readable expression, other than resignation in his face. Wufei was good at reading people, he could only get that much out of the boy. It was as if he had......
Expected this to happen?
He pushed that thought out of the front of his head for the moment, but vowed to look into this young man later. As he had thought before, he had more pressing concerns. He turned his gaze back on the screen behind Zecchs, one a half million warships.
"Interesting" had been an understatement.
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Private Akira Tomino may think he was the greatest thing to happen to the Sol System since the advent of mobile suits. He may have thought that he was the best mobile suit pilot in the universe, despite the fact that he had only flown one beat up space Leo, and never engaged in actual combat, or simulated combat, or basically competed with anyone else. He may have been somewhat of a jerk with the women, and a real pisser with the men. In short, Akira Tomino was all these things, and a few less desirable attributes.
The one thing Akira Tomino was not, was a fool.
He knew WAY better than to challenge a million warships in his single, rusted space Leo. God only knew if even the damned rifle still worked, it ran on shells, not beams like the newer ones, and those shells had been sitting in the chamber, untouched, for roughly fifteen years. No, Akira Tomino was not a fool. At the first sight of the Alien Fleet before him, he did the only possible sensible thing he could do. He turned tail and ran.
The space Leo turned around as fast as it's motivators could carry it, and blazed back at the Forgotten Star in a hurry. Tomino shifted all the power to retros, and the Leo acheived high speed, the bolts and joints creaking with the stress like that it hadn't been put through in years. He neared base, and Liuetenant Jg. Ryan Simmons voice came in over the comm, sounded panicked.
"TOMINO! Get out there! Keep them away from the base!"
He reached a hand away from the mobile suit's controls just long enough to shut off the communications system. He didn't need any panicked geezers telling him what to do. He would keep his cool, like always.
That was when Akira Tomino suddenly realized he had nowhere to go. The Forgotten Star was right out here with those aliens. And the Earth Sphere........He mentally ran the calculations in his head. Though he had never been there, at the top speed of the Leo, asssuming it even had enough fuel to get that far, it would take approximately one month to get there. One month without food or supplies, he'd be dead long before he ever reached the sphere. Not to mention that fleet was likely to pass him before he ever got home. If he could consider someplace he had never been "home."
And then, his long term worries ended.
Forgotten Star had just been destroyed.
He hadn't seen the source of the beam, but he had seen it just fine. It cut through space like a lance of pure sunlight, and connected with the base before he even realized what was happening. The resulting Nova as the built in generator exploded was like a small star, the shards of Akira's Home cutting through space like so many pieces of debris.
He couldn't even see the result of the Nova, only a blur of colors. It took him a moment to realize that the blur was his own tears welling up in his eyes and running down his cheeks, was the cause of it. That had been his home, all his life. His family, his friends, everyone he knew, everything he had ever believed would stay......gone, just like that. He brought up a sleeve cuff to wipe some tears from his face.
With an anguished cry, like that of a dying animal, Akira Tomino turned the space Leo around, and headed right for the alien fleet, his weapon blazing alive with cannonfire.
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One Hour Later
Relena Peacecraft stood, dressed in her full addresss/speech dress, make up being added modestly to her features, in a small ready room to the side of the Great Hall in the capitol, Brussels. The President of the Earth Sphere United Nation stood near the entrance, quietly watching her get prepared for her Nation address. After the transmissions from P-8824 ended, they had worked quickly. The Advising Council of the President had known that there was no possible way to hide 1,500,000 Alien warships heading right for them, so the need for a public address to try to prevent a state of panic had been recognized. The call to the press had been issued, and all that was left was to tell the people the current situation.
All that was left. She made it sound easy. She looked to the President, who seemed more grave than ever, and with good reason.
"Sir, are you sure you shouldn't be the one giving this address?"
He smiled warmly at her, that grandfatherly smile he was known for. Strange to see it in such an emotionally trying time.
"Relena, I may be the elected President, but the people look to you to maintain order. They identify with you, and you have the ability to stir or calm people's hearts. It would be a grave mistake not to have you do this."
Relena smiled back at him, despite herself. It was friends like these that were her support, all this time. The makeup was finished, and her attendants stepped back, each giving her their own words of support and encouragement. She walked to the entrance, and halted a moment. Beyond that door was the Great Hall speaker's platform.
The President put a hand on her shoulder, smiling gently. Relena nodded, she had to do this, she knew. With the grace that only a former Queen of the World could manage, opened the door, and strided confidently out onto the speaker's platform. A million flashes accompanied her arrival in the Hall, the small lights of hundreds of portable cameras tracing her every movement. She arrived at the podium, placing white gloved arms gently on it. The President stood beside and behind her, so as there was no question who would be speaking. Relena waited patiently until all the noise had died down, which actually took a while. This was the first Emergency Public Address in the history of the Earth Sphere United Nation. When the noise died down, she smiled thinly before looking directly into the eyes and cameras of as many people as possible.
"You have all been called here for a very important reason. An unprecendented event in all of human history has occured on this day. One that may very well change our future as a species."
The Vice Minister was once again forced to wait until the general murmur of noise calmed down.
"Approximately four hours ago, on the outskirts of the inner Sol System, near the asteroid belt and Earth Sphere United Nation Outpost P-8824, that outpost detected a ship. A ship not Earth in origin. An Alien vessel."
What had been a general murmur before this had just blown into a full fledged uproar. It took nearly five minutes for security to calm everyone down so she could continue.
"One hour ago, we received visual contact. We have confirmed approximately One Million, Five Hundred Alien vessels. They seem to be warlike in origin, though we cannot be sure at this time."
For a change, it was deadly quiet. For a sure thing, the number she had just recited was running back and forth through the minds of them all.
"At that point we lost contact with the Outpost. If you would turn your attention on the vid-screen, you will see the very recording that took place hours ago."
And so the recording of the massive Alien Fleet was played back. The Hall, nay, the entire Earth Sphere was silent at the majesty and terrifying magnificence of the sight before them. It seemed that for once, Humanity was united fully at something. Wonderment and terror at what they would now face.
And then, from one of the black spearhead ships, a beam of white annihilation leapt out, and static cut through the picture. And then, the final part, the worst part of the transmission by far, at least to Relena Peacecraft.
That scream, that almost inhuman sounding scream of anguish. Then, the screen went black. Again, the Hall and Humanity were silent, awaiting Relena's next words. They had little other choice.
"We have no idea of their current intentions, but the entire Preventer Agency has been put on a state of Red Alert. At the fleet's current speed, they will reach the Earth Sphere in approximately three weeks."
Still, that dead quiet, as if the entire press had just lost their voices. Relena would normally take satisfaction in the fact that she had managed to shut them up, but the matter at hand was beyond such trivial things.
"We will make more reports as information becomes available. Everyone, please, do not panic. Hold calm, and we shall previal in this trying times with our high ideals. Simply shooting at them will do no good, we have to genuiely try to establish communication. I wish the best of luck to you all."
And then, the questions fired. More than Relena could possibly answer, or even understand. But before she had the grievance of trying to, she felt that warmm, reassuring hand on her shoulder again. She looked behind her, and saw the President. His way of telling her to leave, that he would handle the rest of this. She took the gracious offer, and walked off the stage, towards the ready room. When she had reached it, she closed the door quickly in a vain attempt to drown out the horrible shouts and demands.
She had some thinking to do. Thinking about what her stand in all this should be, thinking about their next course of action, thinking about the Preventers and where to station them, she had so much to worry about, to adjust, in the three weeks she had to the aliens' arrival.
But first, impending decisions or no, Relena had to do something, now that she was out of the public eye.
She slid down against the door frame, till she was sitting on the floor, and cried.
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Duo slowly reached over, turning off the vid-screen before him, stunned. Out of all the possible ways that he had imagined war returning to the peaceful Earth Sphere, this had never entered his head. His veteran mind was too realistic, too weathered, and the thought of One and half Million ships was simply beyond his comprehension. Much less the fact that they had just destroyed an outpost for no apparent reason, which probably meant that they had not come with any good intentions.
He sat back down on his bed behind him, slowly. He was aboard his slightly cramped quarters in the scavenging ship. While not too comfortable, and about as big as a large closet, it was better he have his own room than have to cramp in with the others guys in the barracks.
One and a half million ships?
Duo's instinct told him to hop into Deathscythe, and take off for the nearest battlepoint, to stand his post and protect his race. But the Duo that had slowly evolved over the past four years was different. The old God of Death wanted nothing more than to sit peacefully on his scavenging ship, and wait for the end, or for the invasion to be one giant misunderstanding. He wanted to stay down here with Howard and the rest, and not have to worry about taking any more lives. He didn't want to have to worry about protecting Humanity, any longer. He was getting too old for this kind of thing, even at the young age of twenty.
And besides, he had self destruced his old pal, Deathscythe, four years ago. He didn't even have a mobile suit to pilot.
His eyes slowly went to the only other piece of furniture in the room besides the vid-screen and the bed. The shelf. And his gaze was drawn to one of the only things on it, a small data disk, with only one label one it......
Duo got up from his bed, cursing under his breath. He walked towards the hatch to get out of here, he needed fresh air.
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Quatre Rababera Winner sat quietly in his chair, the only one in the large white room. The only other person in the room was currently lying on the bed, and hooked up to all kinds of machines and medical apparatus. The only sound that pervaded the silence was a constant beeping, one that had been going on for hours. One that Quatre hoped would continue to go on beeping for a long time yet. He and Trowa were in the medical clinic aboard Colony X-18999, the home of the circus where Trowa had worked. It had been almost a day since Trowa had been shot, and he had been here most of the time. Catherine, Trowa' sister and partner in the circus, was downstairs getting herself and Quatre some food. Quatre had intended on staying here until Trowa had gotten better, and had assumed Catherine had done the same. The two were ill inclined to do much with one of their best friends injured, and facing death.
Then, while Catherine was downstairs, he had witnessed the press conference Relena had held. That was twenty minutes ago, and he was still speechless.
He understood the situation, and Humanity's crisis, probably better than most people did. He understood that the battles fought before had been nothing but a mere prelude, a footnote in history, to the real War. He was sure that War was coming, and that there was little he or anyone else could do to prevent it. He knew that, without heroes, without the Gundams, that the chances against the Species were even worse than the ones they know faced. There was only one thing that bothered Quatre, a realization.
He didn't care. None of that mattered. The only thing that mattered was that his friend, Trowa, be okay.
So Quatre sat by Trowa's bed, and did nothing. He would worry about all of the rest of it later. When Trowa pulled through. He would not fail his friend a second time.
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Liuetenant Noin had retreated behind the safety of the curtains a few moments ago. Zecchs had been going over primary ship assessments on the Alien's battle fleet, and she had felt the sickening urge to throw up. Most especially when he had come to the point in the briefing when he had reviewed the three mile long ship in the center of the cluster, the one that appeared to be the mothership/flagship, from the looks of things. It was the most deadly thing she had ever seen, Libra not excluded. She ran a trembling hand over her sweaty brow, wiping the moisture off of it.
It was going to be an awfully long three weeks. She didn't even want to think about what lay beyond that.
"Liuetenant?" came a whisper drom directly beside her.
She whirled, about to tell the person to buzz off and pay attention to the briefing, until she noticed that it was Sally Po.
"Sally? What are you doing here?" she voiced, in an equal whisper. Neither wanted to disturb Zecch's lecture.
"I figured that at a time like this, I should be done at Earth headquarters instead of parading around the colonies. But, I have something for you."
"What?"
"Remember how you wanted background info on Trainee Slade?"
Noin's interest was peaked. There was something about that kid.....
"Yeah, I remember. What have you got for me?"
"That's the thing Noin, nothing. By all records, he shouldn't even be in the Preventers." As Sally said this, her usual calm face radiated a bit of the confusion that Noin herself was feeling. Noin was silent as she mulled that over, but she barely had time before Sally continued:
"That's not all. I got a bit suspicious after the inital lack of findings, so I cut a bit deeper. Alliance and Romefeller birth records, Oz military files, White Fang potential recruit. Nada. So I went even more basic. Hospitals, birth certificates, any record at all that this boy exists. And I found nothing, Liuetenant. By all rights, he's a living ghost. I don't know what to make of it."
Noin was silent. She may have thought the boy was suspicious, but that was not exactly what she had expected to come out of this. Something more like strange family ties, like that Marameiya child. But this was getting weirder by the minute....Sally spoke up again.
"Anyway, I'm going to catch a few people, I have a few other things to take care of. Take care, and....wtach your back out there, Noin."
With that, the ex-terrorist that Romefeller had once feared so was gone, and left a curious Noin wondering about what this could all mean. Despite herself, despite the current situation of red alert, something about this entire boy somehow seemed plain WRONG.
She was so absorbed in her own thoughts and theories, that she didn't even notice when Zecchs adjourned the briefing. The flood of noise that was four hundred Preventers was completely missed by her ears, so into this she was. In fact, the only thing that shook her out of her reverie was the pale gaze and warm hand of Zecchs Merquise. She jumped, startled, and expected the man to take his hand off quickly, as he always did. However, this time, he let it linger there, and she found her own hand coming to rest on top of it.
As if she didn't have enough to worry about with Slade and the alien fleet, there was Zecchs, had always been Zecchs....
He smiled gently. "A little too much for you?"
She returned the smile, feeling herself relax under the warmth of his gaze. "Just thinking."
"So am I. Noin.......I......." Zecchs seemed to stumble for words, something quite unlike him. She was befuddled a moment, till she realized that Zecchs was trying to tell her something. Something very, very imporant. At that moment, her heart seemed to leap out of her chest.
He was going to say it. They would both say it. They would have their long talk, discuss the feelings for each other they had harbored, and barely understood all these past years. In the face of such an Enemy, it was hardly the time to keep things hidden....
She knew, though, that this was not the time. She did not want to have to worry about a new love between her and Zecchs to distract her from her current duties, as it surely would. Noin also had to admit to herself that this wasn't the way she wanted it: She didn't desire Zecchs to feel forced by circumstances to confront his feelings. All in due time, when time was right, when Fate had decided.
She squeezed his hand gently. "Not now, Zecchs."
He gazed at her a moment, that gaze that seemingly seemed to pierce into her very soul, that gaze that seemed to be able know her better than she knew herself. Then, the Lightning Baron nodded, smiling warmly again. That's when Noin thought this was over, for now. Until Zecchs pulled her into an embrace. Not a hug, but.......Oh god, she couldn't be thinking about this right now.
So, without any further thought, she let herself melt into his side, and embrace him back.
Time seemed to pass slowly, and it was impossible to tell how long the two of them stood there, locked together. Both were content, they could do little else. The lights dimmed, and yet they stood there, content in the knowledge that they had always been there for one another, that they were the only person who really understood the other one.
All in due time.
In the balcony overhead, Slade sneered.
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The annoucement that would change everything, for ever, had just disappeared. In it's stead the soap opera Hilde had been watching had returned.
She wasn't much interested in soap operas at the moment, anymore.
She could deal with this news. Hilde had never been self-serving, she wouldn't cry and mope about it, as she was sure a good percentage of humanity was going to do. Hilde was all for a purpose, and right now, she had found one again.
She knew a man, a man that wouldn't want to fight anymore. He had changed over the years, and she was afraid he would neglect his responsibilites. The God of Death would have to take up his old stead, like it or not. Hilde wished, she really did, that the both of them could simply live out their days in relative peace, but again, she wasn't one for moping. There was a job that needed doing, and she was going to do it.
Duo needed her.
She got up to get her jacket, and charter the next flight from the L2 Colony Cluster to Earth.
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And so, the playing field had been set. The battleground of Destiny was ready.
However, the players were not all there. There were far too many people, and some that should be heading for War were not. Destiny had many atcs left to play before the Final Act was ready.
But it would come, and at that time, Everything would be decided._________________________________________________________________________________
a Gundam Wing Fanfiction
by Torankusu Senshi
Chapter 3: The Cry That Shook the Heavens
Wufei Chang leaned against the back wall of the crowded Preventer Alert Room, his arms folded across his chest. He was pretty much out of sight, or as much out of sight as any well known Gundam pilot could get. The room was a bit less grandiose in design than the Earth Sphere United Nation War Room in Brussels, but that didn't make it any less effective. The briefing seats were crowded to capacity, and Agents could be seen standing all along the walls. He had never seen it this crowded, all in all, there must have been about 400 Preventers in the room. Zecchs, being the new Leader of the Agency, had taken his spot at the briefer's podium, the ever faithful Noin behind and to his left, at attention. Normally the stoic warrior would take some time to mentally insult Noin for her undevoted love in some way or another, but not at the moment. There was more pressing matters at hand.
Such as the one and a half million alien warships currently heading towards Outpost P-8824.
Wufei seriously doubted they had any plans of being content simply with that. One did not bring one and a half million ships simply to confront an outpost with a grand armamnent of one space Leo.
Then again, they were aliens, who knew?
If there was one thing the pilot of Nataku was sure of, it was that he was taking this a whole lot better than anyone else present. Veteran Agents, the ones who had participated in the main business of the Agency, terrorist takedowns, were shaking and nervous. The newer Agents couldn't even stand or sit sill, they were trembling. The trainees in the back.....Wufei didn't even bother thinking about them. They were weak, yet. And he could well understand their fear, even if he did not posess it himself. They were the only Army left in the entire Earth Sphere, and their number of mobile suits and pilots didn't even add up to the number of the enemy's battleships. It was ludicrous, in every sense of the word.
All the trainees seemed horrified, indeed. Except for one, that one in the corner with the blonde hair. He had no readable expression, other than resignation in his face. Wufei was good at reading people, he could only get that much out of the boy. It was as if he had......
Expected this to happen?
He pushed that thought out of the front of his head for the moment, but vowed to look into this young man later. As he had thought before, he had more pressing concerns. He turned his gaze back on the screen behind Zecchs, one a half million warships.
"Interesting" had been an understatement.
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Private Akira Tomino may think he was the greatest thing to happen to the Sol System since the advent of mobile suits. He may have thought that he was the best mobile suit pilot in the universe, despite the fact that he had only flown one beat up space Leo, and never engaged in actual combat, or simulated combat, or basically competed with anyone else. He may have been somewhat of a jerk with the women, and a real pisser with the men. In short, Akira Tomino was all these things, and a few less desirable attributes.
The one thing Akira Tomino was not, was a fool.
He knew WAY better than to challenge a million warships in his single, rusted space Leo. God only knew if even the damned rifle still worked, it ran on shells, not beams like the newer ones, and those shells had been sitting in the chamber, untouched, for roughly fifteen years. No, Akira Tomino was not a fool. At the first sight of the Alien Fleet before him, he did the only possible sensible thing he could do. He turned tail and ran.
The space Leo turned around as fast as it's motivators could carry it, and blazed back at the Forgotten Star in a hurry. Tomino shifted all the power to retros, and the Leo acheived high speed, the bolts and joints creaking with the stress like that it hadn't been put through in years. He neared base, and Liuetenant Jg. Ryan Simmons voice came in over the comm, sounded panicked.
"TOMINO! Get out there! Keep them away from the base!"
He reached a hand away from the mobile suit's controls just long enough to shut off the communications system. He didn't need any panicked geezers telling him what to do. He would keep his cool, like always.
That was when Akira Tomino suddenly realized he had nowhere to go. The Forgotten Star was right out here with those aliens. And the Earth Sphere........He mentally ran the calculations in his head. Though he had never been there, at the top speed of the Leo, asssuming it even had enough fuel to get that far, it would take approximately one month to get there. One month without food or supplies, he'd be dead long before he ever reached the sphere. Not to mention that fleet was likely to pass him before he ever got home. If he could consider someplace he had never been "home."
And then, his long term worries ended.
Forgotten Star had just been destroyed.
He hadn't seen the source of the beam, but he had seen it just fine. It cut through space like a lance of pure sunlight, and connected with the base before he even realized what was happening. The resulting Nova as the built in generator exploded was like a small star, the shards of Akira's Home cutting through space like so many pieces of debris.
He couldn't even see the result of the Nova, only a blur of colors. It took him a moment to realize that the blur was his own tears welling up in his eyes and running down his cheeks, was the cause of it. That had been his home, all his life. His family, his friends, everyone he knew, everything he had ever believed would stay......gone, just like that. He brought up a sleeve cuff to wipe some tears from his face.
With an anguished cry, like that of a dying animal, Akira Tomino turned the space Leo around, and headed right for the alien fleet, his weapon blazing alive with cannonfire.
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One Hour Later
Relena Peacecraft stood, dressed in her full addresss/speech dress, make up being added modestly to her features, in a small ready room to the side of the Great Hall in the capitol, Brussels. The President of the Earth Sphere United Nation stood near the entrance, quietly watching her get prepared for her Nation address. After the transmissions from P-8824 ended, they had worked quickly. The Advising Council of the President had known that there was no possible way to hide 1,500,000 Alien warships heading right for them, so the need for a public address to try to prevent a state of panic had been recognized. The call to the press had been issued, and all that was left was to tell the people the current situation.
All that was left. She made it sound easy. She looked to the President, who seemed more grave than ever, and with good reason.
"Sir, are you sure you shouldn't be the one giving this address?"
He smiled warmly at her, that grandfatherly smile he was known for. Strange to see it in such an emotionally trying time.
"Relena, I may be the elected President, but the people look to you to maintain order. They identify with you, and you have the ability to stir or calm people's hearts. It would be a grave mistake not to have you do this."
Relena smiled back at him, despite herself. It was friends like these that were her support, all this time. The makeup was finished, and her attendants stepped back, each giving her their own words of support and encouragement. She walked to the entrance, and halted a moment. Beyond that door was the Great Hall speaker's platform.
The President put a hand on her shoulder, smiling gently. Relena nodded, she had to do this, she knew. With the grace that only a former Queen of the World could manage, opened the door, and strided confidently out onto the speaker's platform. A million flashes accompanied her arrival in the Hall, the small lights of hundreds of portable cameras tracing her every movement. She arrived at the podium, placing white gloved arms gently on it. The President stood beside and behind her, so as there was no question who would be speaking. Relena waited patiently until all the noise had died down, which actually took a while. This was the first Emergency Public Address in the history of the Earth Sphere United Nation. When the noise died down, she smiled thinly before looking directly into the eyes and cameras of as many people as possible.
"You have all been called here for a very important reason. An unprecendented event in all of human history has occured on this day. One that may very well change our future as a species."
The Vice Minister was once again forced to wait until the general murmur of noise calmed down.
"Approximately four hours ago, on the outskirts of the inner Sol System, near the asteroid belt and Earth Sphere United Nation Outpost P-8824, that outpost detected a ship. A ship not Earth in origin. An Alien vessel."
What had been a general murmur before this had just blown into a full fledged uproar. It took nearly five minutes for security to calm everyone down so she could continue.
"One hour ago, we received visual contact. We have confirmed approximately One Million, Five Hundred Alien vessels. They seem to be warlike in origin, though we cannot be sure at this time."
For a change, it was deadly quiet. For a sure thing, the number she had just recited was running back and forth through the minds of them all.
"At that point we lost contact with the Outpost. If you would turn your attention on the vid-screen, you will see the very recording that took place hours ago."
And so the recording of the massive Alien Fleet was played back. The Hall, nay, the entire Earth Sphere was silent at the majesty and terrifying magnificence of the sight before them. It seemed that for once, Humanity was united fully at something. Wonderment and terror at what they would now face.
And then, from one of the black spearhead ships, a beam of white annihilation leapt out, and static cut through the picture. And then, the final part, the worst part of the transmission by far, at least to Relena Peacecraft.
That scream, that almost inhuman sounding scream of anguish. Then, the screen went black. Again, the Hall and Humanity were silent, awaiting Relena's next words. They had little other choice.
"We have no idea of their current intentions, but the entire Preventer Agency has been put on a state of Red Alert. At the fleet's current speed, they will reach the Earth Sphere in approximately three weeks."
Still, that dead quiet, as if the entire press had just lost their voices. Relena would normally take satisfaction in the fact that she had managed to shut them up, but the matter at hand was beyond such trivial things.
"We will make more reports as information becomes available. Everyone, please, do not panic. Hold calm, and we shall previal in this trying times with our high ideals. Simply shooting at them will do no good, we have to genuiely try to establish communication. I wish the best of luck to you all."
And then, the questions fired. More than Relena could possibly answer, or even understand. But before she had the grievance of trying to, she felt that warmm, reassuring hand on her shoulder again. She looked behind her, and saw the President. His way of telling her to leave, that he would handle the rest of this. She took the gracious offer, and walked off the stage, towards the ready room. When she had reached it, she closed the door quickly in a vain attempt to drown out the horrible shouts and demands.
She had some thinking to do. Thinking about what her stand in all this should be, thinking about their next course of action, thinking about the Preventers and where to station them, she had so much to worry about, to adjust, in the three weeks she had to the aliens' arrival.
But first, impending decisions or no, Relena had to do something, now that she was out of the public eye.
She slid down against the door frame, till she was sitting on the floor, and cried.
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Duo slowly reached over, turning off the vid-screen before him, stunned. Out of all the possible ways that he had imagined war returning to the peaceful Earth Sphere, this had never entered his head. His veteran mind was too realistic, too weathered, and the thought of One and half Million ships was simply beyond his comprehension. Much less the fact that they had just destroyed an outpost for no apparent reason, which probably meant that they had not come with any good intentions.
He sat back down on his bed behind him, slowly. He was aboard his slightly cramped quarters in the scavenging ship. While not too comfortable, and about as big as a large closet, it was better he have his own room than have to cramp in with the others guys in the barracks.
One and a half million ships?
Duo's instinct told him to hop into Deathscythe, and take off for the nearest battlepoint, to stand his post and protect his race. But the Duo that had slowly evolved over the past four years was different. The old God of Death wanted nothing more than to sit peacefully on his scavenging ship, and wait for the end, or for the invasion to be one giant misunderstanding. He wanted to stay down here with Howard and the rest, and not have to worry about taking any more lives. He didn't want to have to worry about protecting Humanity, any longer. He was getting too old for this kind of thing, even at the young age of twenty.
And besides, he had self destruced his old pal, Deathscythe, four years ago. He didn't even have a mobile suit to pilot.
His eyes slowly went to the only other piece of furniture in the room besides the vid-screen and the bed. The shelf. And his gaze was drawn to one of the only things on it, a small data disk, with only one label one it......
Duo got up from his bed, cursing under his breath. He walked towards the hatch to get out of here, he needed fresh air.
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Quatre Rababera Winner sat quietly in his chair, the only one in the large white room. The only other person in the room was currently lying on the bed, and hooked up to all kinds of machines and medical apparatus. The only sound that pervaded the silence was a constant beeping, one that had been going on for hours. One that Quatre hoped would continue to go on beeping for a long time yet. He and Trowa were in the medical clinic aboard Colony X-18999, the home of the circus where Trowa had worked. It had been almost a day since Trowa had been shot, and he had been here most of the time. Catherine, Trowa' sister and partner in the circus, was downstairs getting herself and Quatre some food. Quatre had intended on staying here until Trowa had gotten better, and had assumed Catherine had done the same. The two were ill inclined to do much with one of their best friends injured, and facing death.
Then, while Catherine was downstairs, he had witnessed the press conference Relena had held. That was twenty minutes ago, and he was still speechless.
He understood the situation, and Humanity's crisis, probably better than most people did. He understood that the battles fought before had been nothing but a mere prelude, a footnote in history, to the real War. He was sure that War was coming, and that there was little he or anyone else could do to prevent it. He knew that, without heroes, without the Gundams, that the chances against the Species were even worse than the ones they know faced. There was only one thing that bothered Quatre, a realization.
He didn't care. None of that mattered. The only thing that mattered was that his friend, Trowa, be okay.
So Quatre sat by Trowa's bed, and did nothing. He would worry about all of the rest of it later. When Trowa pulled through. He would not fail his friend a second time.
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Liuetenant Noin had retreated behind the safety of the curtains a few moments ago. Zecchs had been going over primary ship assessments on the Alien's battle fleet, and she had felt the sickening urge to throw up. Most especially when he had come to the point in the briefing when he had reviewed the three mile long ship in the center of the cluster, the one that appeared to be the mothership/flagship, from the looks of things. It was the most deadly thing she had ever seen, Libra not excluded. She ran a trembling hand over her sweaty brow, wiping the moisture off of it.
It was going to be an awfully long three weeks. She didn't even want to think about what lay beyond that.
"Liuetenant?" came a whisper drom directly beside her.
She whirled, about to tell the person to buzz off and pay attention to the briefing, until she noticed that it was Sally Po.
"Sally? What are you doing here?" she voiced, in an equal whisper. Neither wanted to disturb Zecch's lecture.
"I figured that at a time like this, I should be done at Earth headquarters instead of parading around the colonies. But, I have something for you."
"What?"
"Remember how you wanted background info on Trainee Slade?"
Noin's interest was peaked. There was something about that kid.....
"Yeah, I remember. What have you got for me?"
"That's the thing Noin, nothing. By all records, he shouldn't even be in the Preventers." As Sally said this, her usual calm face radiated a bit of the confusion that Noin herself was feeling. Noin was silent as she mulled that over, but she barely had time before Sally continued:
"That's not all. I got a bit suspicious after the inital lack of findings, so I cut a bit deeper. Alliance and Romefeller birth records, Oz military files, White Fang potential recruit. Nada. So I went even more basic. Hospitals, birth certificates, any record at all that this boy exists. And I found nothing, Liuetenant. By all rights, he's a living ghost. I don't know what to make of it."
Noin was silent. She may have thought the boy was suspicious, but that was not exactly what she had expected to come out of this. Something more like strange family ties, like that Marameiya child. But this was getting weirder by the minute....Sally spoke up again.
"Anyway, I'm going to catch a few people, I have a few other things to take care of. Take care, and....wtach your back out there, Noin."
With that, the ex-terrorist that Romefeller had once feared so was gone, and left a curious Noin wondering about what this could all mean. Despite herself, despite the current situation of red alert, something about this entire boy somehow seemed plain WRONG.
She was so absorbed in her own thoughts and theories, that she didn't even notice when Zecchs adjourned the briefing. The flood of noise that was four hundred Preventers was completely missed by her ears, so into this she was. In fact, the only thing that shook her out of her reverie was the pale gaze and warm hand of Zecchs Merquise. She jumped, startled, and expected the man to take his hand off quickly, as he always did. However, this time, he let it linger there, and she found her own hand coming to rest on top of it.
As if she didn't have enough to worry about with Slade and the alien fleet, there was Zecchs, had always been Zecchs....
He smiled gently. "A little too much for you?"
She returned the smile, feeling herself relax under the warmth of his gaze. "Just thinking."
"So am I. Noin.......I......." Zecchs seemed to stumble for words, something quite unlike him. She was befuddled a moment, till she realized that Zecchs was trying to tell her something. Something very, very imporant. At that moment, her heart seemed to leap out of her chest.
He was going to say it. They would both say it. They would have their long talk, discuss the feelings for each other they had harbored, and barely understood all these past years. In the face of such an Enemy, it was hardly the time to keep things hidden....
She knew, though, that this was not the time. She did not want to have to worry about a new love between her and Zecchs to distract her from her current duties, as it surely would. Noin also had to admit to herself that this wasn't the way she wanted it: She didn't desire Zecchs to feel forced by circumstances to confront his feelings. All in due time, when time was right, when Fate had decided.
She squeezed his hand gently. "Not now, Zecchs."
He gazed at her a moment, that gaze that seemingly seemed to pierce into her very soul, that gaze that seemed to be able know her better than she knew herself. Then, the Lightning Baron nodded, smiling warmly again. That's when Noin thought this was over, for now. Until Zecchs pulled her into an embrace. Not a hug, but.......Oh god, she couldn't be thinking about this right now.
So, without any further thought, she let herself melt into his side, and embrace him back.
Time seemed to pass slowly, and it was impossible to tell how long the two of them stood there, locked together. Both were content, they could do little else. The lights dimmed, and yet they stood there, content in the knowledge that they had always been there for one another, that they were the only person who really understood the other one.
All in due time.
In the balcony overhead, Slade sneered.
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The annoucement that would change everything, for ever, had just disappeared. In it's stead the soap opera Hilde had been watching had returned.
She wasn't much interested in soap operas at the moment, anymore.
She could deal with this news. Hilde had never been self-serving, she wouldn't cry and mope about it, as she was sure a good percentage of humanity was going to do. Hilde was all for a purpose, and right now, she had found one again.
She knew a man, a man that wouldn't want to fight anymore. He had changed over the years, and she was afraid he would neglect his responsibilites. The God of Death would have to take up his old stead, like it or not. Hilde wished, she really did, that the both of them could simply live out their days in relative peace, but again, she wasn't one for moping. There was a job that needed doing, and she was going to do it.
Duo needed her.
She got up to get her jacket, and charter the next flight from the L2 Colony Cluster to Earth.
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And so, the playing field had been set. The battleground of Destiny was ready.
However, the players were not all there. There were far too many people, and some that should be heading for War were not. Destiny had many atcs left to play before the Final Act was ready.
But it would come, and at that time, Everything would be decided._________________________________________________________________________________