Episode 33: First Contact
In a matter of mere seconds, the balance of power in the galaxy shifted. The mysterious Xerobim were repulsed, and now it the chance had come for the forces of Earth and Eden to prepare for its offensive.
If war was like a symphony, then this particular opus was entering its final stanza; a fact not lost to anyone with a mind towards the art of combat. Whether it boded the destruction of two races, or the final defeat of the race that held sentinel over the galaxy was all that was left to be determined…
Offices of the Advisor, New Richmond…
"Do I have to tell you that I don't think your plan is going to work?" Talor said.
Aelan shrugged, then replied, "Now… how did that little lecture of yours go? If you think you're beaten before you've begun than you've already lost?"
Talor chuckled, then said, "Yeah… that's about the gist of it." He glanced at his son more carefully, then commented, "Here you are… playing advisor even at this point. Why are you still doing all this paperwork?"
"Because it has to be presented before the Congressional Body tomorrow." Aelan then glared back at his father, and replied, "There is definitely going to be a tomorrow."
Talor wasn't sure if his son was merely posturing, or if he really meant it. Even attempted queries into Aelan's mind revealed nothing, the Advisor of North Am keeping his personal thoughts closely guarded.
With a deep sigh, Talor said, "Frankly, I'm worried. Do you honestly think that the Xerobim are going to fall for your little ruse? We may not be as intelligent as an Edenite, but we aren't stupid."
"Which is why the simplicity of the plan is going to be effective. They will no doubt be expecting some clever, complex scheme. They will be totally unprepared for something so absolutely mind-numbingly elementary." Aelan then smiled slightly, commenting, "You aren't having second thoughts are you?"
Talor jerked in surprise, and hastily said, "NO! Not… at… all…" Without any further comment, Talor slid out of Aelan's office, and almost ran right into Kiron.
The Edenite's eyes narrowed, and without waiting for Talor to say anything, stated, "Aelan seems to have this uncanny ability to make even the most improbable things happen. It is a special skill that this entire North Am unit seems to have in abundance." Kiron then strode into the office, but not without adding, "Remember that."
For several minutes, Talor stood just beyond the entry to Aelan's office, the reception area completely empty save the secretary near the elevator entrance. As he slowly made his way off the top floor, he whispered to himself, "I just can't be so sure…"
Kiron looked back at Talor as the Xerobim walked away, and off the top floor of the Advisor Offices. Kiron then addressed Aelan, simply saying, "I don't think that Talor is going to be able to do what we need him to do."
Aelan then stared back, his orange eyes gleaming with confidence; "I wouldn't worry about it, Kiron. My father will do what is necessary, I can trust him with that."
The following day…
Talor knew that he just couldn't win in this scenario. No matter how he played his cards, he was going to lose something important. The only thing he could do was to take this course of action, and hope his son didn't do anything foolish.
As the Serenity exited the fold, the sheer size of the Xerobim Capital Worldship immediately filled the Edenite warship's viewscreen. Immediately, the Conclave on board opened communication.
We have been expecting you Talor. Proceed forward, we will take you onboard shortly. Let us make a quick scan of your vessel, then we will let you in.
"Very well." Talor replied, then relayed the orders to the Edenite at the helm. As his vessel approached the defensive grids, they peeled away just slightly to allow the Serenity to enter. The two vessels continued to approach further, then the Serenity was finally pulled into the worldship's docking bay.
It took no more than a minute for two large Xerobim guards to appear on the bridge. The Edenite captain gasped as he got his first real look at a Xerobim in their normal form, and it was nothing like he had expected.
If a chameleon stood over two and a half meters tall, and walked on its hind legs, then you'd have a pretty good idea as to the appearance of a Xerobim. They were actually quite plain, and rather featureless, with only slightly differing hues to their skin serving to distinguish one guard from the other.
Talor then began to change, seconds later taking on a form very similar to the guards, and without any undue delay, left the bridge under escort. When the three Xerobim had exited the Serenity, the Captain turned to his security officer, and asked, "Did they detect our special cargo?"
"If they did, they are not showing any indications of it." Was the reply, "After the first scan before we entered their defensive grids, there has been no sign of further attempts at detection."
"Good. Just remember… if this doesn't work out the way Talor wants it to, we are to take matters into our own hands."
You have finally come to face your mistakes, Talor.
"What you have called mistakes, I call opportunities. You don't know the races that you are trying to destroy. I do."
Talor was trying one last time to make his point clear, although he was quite certain that there would be no swaying the Conclave's decision.
We have taken your observations into account. The risks of the continued existence of Eden and Earth are too great.
"The risks are great, yes. But so are the potential awards. We realized the potential of Eden eons ago. Just because they are not directly under our control does not mean that they will immediately revert to a warlike race. All the ties that bound them to that destiny have been severed."
Talor, we have had this discussion. We have seen several galaxies ripped apart by the ravages of war. Finally, we have something that we can call home once again. After ages of nomadic wandering, we have again found a cause. Nothing can get in the way of that cause.
"And they won't! Why can't you see that! Besides, this is as much, if not more, of a home to them as it is to us. Where did we get the right to determine what race holds the right to live?"
Any race that does not respect the right to a peaceful world has forfeited that right. It is then ours to take.
Talor dipped his head dejectedly. He could take this circular argument over and over again, with no results. The Conclave had made their decision, as did the people of Earth and Eden. Now all that was left was to let them finish.
Now tell us what the plans of Earth are.
"Why tell you when they intend to show you?" Talor said, "Son, I have not been able to dissuade them. It's up to you now."
Son, I have not been able to dissuade them. It's up to you now.
Aelan's eyes jolted to full alertness, and he shouted into the Comm, "NOW! Move out! Hit them hard and fast, let's try to do this as quickly as possible!"
The cargo hatch of the Serenity suddenly blew open, and from out of the hold spilled out the suits of the North Am Elite Unit…
Emergency! We have intruders… nine Earth mobile suits… designations match those from Earth's North Am Elite Unit!
How could they have gotten on the worldship? Our scan showed nothing!
Begin countermeasures… try mental manipulation.
"It won't work." Talor commented, "They are using the very technology you fear the most."
Talor's right! Attempts to take control of the pilots have failed. Defensive grid generators 7, 8, and 9 have been destroyed… weapons arrays on the 5th and 6th region have gone off-line. Main power in regions 1 through 7 has failed.
We have discovered how they got through… there are remnants of a fold generated into the Serenity's cargo bay as they were passing through our defensive grid.
"One of the pilots referred to it as a 'Trojan Horse, North Am Style.' I can only assume it has some historical reference." Talor mused.
You will die for this treason, Talor!
"That I will, and so will you."
How dare…
One of the suits has found our location! It's the Commadore Eternal! They've found us!
For the first time, Talor gazed at the main viewscreen. Sure enough, Aelan's golden suit was just before the domed hall of the Conclave, matter cannons charged to obliterate the leadership of the Xerobim.
"Now… this will all be concluded." Talor said, "Let it be known that it was you that pushed them to this extreme."
I do not understand… Commadore Eternal is powering down its weapons systems… it is opening a communication channel…
Proceed.
Aelan's face suddenly appeared on the viewscreen, and his voice projected through the entire hall. Even Talor was not expecting this. Aelan had a look of success on his face, as if he had planned this all along.
"Do I have your attention now?" Aelan asked, "If so, I think we have some things to discuss. I do believe that a much more peaceful solution can be reached, don't you think?"
A week later, New Richmond…
Noin wanted to be happy. Earth had been spared, and it didn't even take the destruction of the Xerobim to do it. After Aelan's stand down, the Xerobim had amazed her by how willing they actually were to co-exist in a peaceful manner. They just needed to be convinced that they should listen.
However, she couldn't be happy. There was still one weight on her soul, and it was a heavy one. She had been able to put it off due to her duty, but now that the threat had passed, there was no more refuge, no more places to hide…
"Noin."
The voice caused her heart to jump into her throat. "Miliardo…"
"I meant what I said. I don't deserve you."
"Don't say that." Noin replied.
"It's true. I left because I didn't want you to think that you needed me. I knew that you could be a great woman, but you let your feelings for me hold you back."
"That's not at all…"
"You think I don't KNOW what you did when we were in the academy? I KNOW you intentionally held back. And it has been that way ever since. You have always played second to me, always holding back for my sake."
Noin finally turned to face him, and was astonished to see what was before her. The confident, powerful man that she had fallen for was suddenly vulnerable, very human. He was on the verge of tears as he said, "I wanted you to realize that… it's why I left you. I wanted you to realize that you didn't need me. You've done that. You're an Admiral now… you have the accolades of the entire Earth, your name is spoken in the ranks of the Xerobim and Eden, and it is spoken with pride. People are proud to say they know you, and even more proud to call you a friend."
A single tear rolled down his cheek, followed by another. Noin had never seen this before, and she nearly started to weep with him at the very sight. Miliardo managed to sob, "You have become what I knew you could… yet, now that you have realized that you don't need me, I've realized that it was the other way around. It wasn't that you needed me, it was that I needed you. I can't be complete without you… with you gone, I am nothing but a shell…"
Noin approached Miliardo, taking him a gentle embrace, and replied, "I never learned that… While you were gone, I just used my career as a crutch… something so that I didn't have to think about how empty I was… I was never complete either…"
Those words seemed to empower Miliardo, who now smiled, his lips taking on a bit of their old cockiness. "Do you possibly think that we can try this…" His words were silenced as Noin covered his lips with hers.
The last coherent thought that Miliardo had was that Noin INDEED learned something. She would never have been this bold before…
Lady Une looked out at the skyline of New Richmond from the balcony of Aelan's office. The Advisor in question stood next to her, his eyes staring out at the skyline as well, but he appeared to be looking at something far deeper.
"I'm amazed that you had planned not to destroy the Xerobim Conclave. That took incredible foresight and courage." Une commented.
"Actually… the plan HAD been to destroy them. I took the fold to the Serenity's cargo bay with the full intent of obliterating them from the face of the galaxy."
Une nearly dropped the glass of wine she was drinking; "If you had planned to destroy them… why didn't you?"
Aelan smirked, and rather embarrassed, admitted, "My father. I had expected him to be with the rest of the Conclave, and thought that I could destroy him with them… but when it came down to pulling the trigger, I just couldn't do it."
"You really care for him, don't you?"
"Yes, I do… He had given me so much. He had been willing to sacrifice himself for my sake. He had even turned against his own people for me. How could I possibly repay all that he had done for me by killing him?"
Une looked down at her glass, and said sheepishly, "The greatest courage is the one that recognizes how NOT to fight."
Aelan looked impressed, and asked, "Who said that?"
"Trieze, oddly enough." Une laughed, "Despite being a colonel of OZ, his greatest desire was to see a world of peace. As much as he would have loved to have solved the problems of Earth without fighting, he didn't think he had that courage. He had said so himself. It was why he felt he had to die."
"It's a shame I never got a chance to meet him personally." Aelan remarked.
"He would have liked you." Une commented, "You have helped make his dream a reality, beyond anything he could have expected."
Une rested her head on Aelan's shoulder, and said, "I KNOW he would have liked you."
The Advisor of North Am didn't comment, nor did he move away from the obvious statement Une was making. Maybe it was the changes that Heero had talked about, but Aelan was no longer afraid to face his fears. At some time in these last few months, the demons of his past had been laid to rest. He finally had a home and a future. Perhaps it was due time to make something of all that he had…
The sudden ringing of his Comm-unit disrupted his thoughts. As he turned on the small device, he heard Heero's voice, and if he wasn't mistaken, there was a hint of excitement behind the normally bland voice. "Relena's water broke… she's heading to the hospital now."
Une and Aelan shared in the excitement of the moment, and Aelan replied, "Lady Une and I are on our way."
Relena gave one last scream that could be heard out in the waiting room. The gathering waited anxiously for the news, and fortunately, Heero was not long with delivering it.
He entered the waiting room, with an uncharacteristic broad smile on his face. It was a testament to the anxiety of the people waiting for news that no one commented on what was obviously fodder for derision.
"I have a daughter… as healthy as I could expect, even for being a month or so early." Heero commented, then looked at Aelan, "Aelan, if you don't mind… Relena and I named her… Yeara."
The grin on the advisor's face clearly stated that he had no objections, and as Heero ushered for them to follow him to the delivery room, Aelan KNEW that he was exactly where he belonged…
THE END
Wow… finally done. I must say that this has gone far beyond ANYTHING I had anticipated, but all things must come to an end, and this story is no different. I will not take on a project like this any time soon, but I will admit that I enjoyed doing this immensely, and I wish to thank all who have given their praise, their comments, and even their criticism.
I would like to list everyone who had helped me, but I had lost the list of names that were on my mailing list, and it simply wouldn't be fair to mention some without mentioning them all. I hope they understand.
Anyway, I shall take a break from writing this sort of fiction, as I shall now be devoting my energy to works of my own creation, and stories of my own to relate. I do not know how long I will be, but I thank all that have read this for giving me the courage to write again.
With Thanks, And all God's Blessings
Thomas Knapp
"Chemiclord"