Hi, all! Well, here it is, part ten! 39 episodes to go! I can still use all the help I can get! If there are any suggestions you might have, please e-mail me at cyclone2996@hotmail.com This one goes to my friend, Traci. I hope this cheers you up! Thanks SO much for all of our help with the saga! I really appreciate it! Have fun! Love, SkyLark
DISCLAIMERS: None of these characters are mine, except for Kumi, Sette and others who you'll know when you see them.
Gundam Wing: The Second Chapter
Episode 10: Scorched Remains
by SkyLark
with help from Traci 14
Narrator: The news of Colony L2's destruction had not reached many. The Earth and the hundreds of Colonies that weren't within a ten-mile radius of L2 would never hear of this since there was a communication barrier since the beginning of the war. The Preventers' Lieutenant Keiser had been working on a solution to this problem for weeks but with little or no success. However, Lady Une was determined to see the plan completed before OZ got the chance to strike yet again. It was three months into the war and the Gundam pilots and Preventers were only on the receiving end of every hit. It was now an understatement to say that time was of the essence.
* * * * * *
Kumi Yuy and Sette Devion walked into Lieutenant Keiser's office. Neither bothered to salute and the young man didn't make any effort to rise from his behind his desk. The hooded, silver-haired pilot stepped before him and threw the file of reports she carried. "Here's all the information you need on the Holocaust. You can be sure that OZ has more and will use them again soon," she informed him. Keiser took the reports and looked through them. He looked to the pictures of the device and the devastation that little sphere could cause. Pictures of deteriorating people were also along with the reports. The man lowered the papers and covered his face with his hands. "How did you come in contact with these things in the first place?" he asked through his fingers.
Sette stepped forward and answered, "We came across them during the second war, what you tend to call the Mariemaya Incident. As that went on, we were battling rebels in the furthest regions of space that were manufacturing weapons of war. The Holocaust was their prize accomplishment." Kumi nodded and continued, "We killed all those who created the device, but they did get to use three of them. The ones that remained were destroyed." Keiser questioned, "Then how the hell did OZ get their hands on this thing?" Sette shook her head, "The thing with the Holocaust that was used on L2 is that it worked a hell of a lot faster than the ones that the rebels created. Someone working with OZ not only managed to figure out how to build the device, but how to enhance the molecular structure of it. There are too many possibilities that would explain how they did this. The only thing to know is that they have this thing and they will use it again."
Kumi explained, "We never brought it up because we truly believed that there was no way anyone could create a Holocaust again. What happened on L2 never should have and we are to blame for not mentioning this weapon sooner...However, that was another war we fought...Our war, the Colony's War." Sette concluded, "You have to understand, It isn't anything we wanted to remember...I-It was a bad call on our part." Keiser nodded, "Well, I hate the thought of working with you kids, but Lady Une has left me no choice. I only have a day-and-a-half to meet her deadline and I need all the information that I can get on that Holocaust. Are there any other weapons I should know about?" Kumi shook her head, "No. You have all the information we gathered years ago. Other than that, we're going into this war just as blindfolded as the next pilot."
Keiser nodded and waved them off, "You better get to your friends. It's going to be past your bedtimes before too long." The eyes of the pilots narrowed at the Lieutenant who returned to the paperwork. The pilots left the room. Down the hall, the tomboy lowered her head, "I still feel guilty...Like we're responsible for all of those people that died on L2." "You think too much, Sette," her friend replied in her usual monotone, soldier voice. "OZ is responsible for those deaths. We didn't know they would be able to create that machine." Sette sighed and stopped to look to her comrade. The 'Perfect Soldier' stopped and looked to her, the side of her face coming out from behind the hood.
The princess whispered sadly, "Kumi, H-How many people do you think we've killed in our short lives? Hundreds? Thousands?" There was a pause. Kumi removed her hood slowly. She closed her eyes for a moment and shook her head to simply reply, "You think too much." With that, she turned her head to leave her comrade with her thoughts. "I can't help but think about that," the tomboy sighed deeply to herself. "Then again," she thought aloud, "I did choose this life other than the one on the thrown." Sette looked to the ring that her father had given her the day she chose to be the Gundam pilot for Unit 07. The blue gem shimmered with the same brightness of her usually cheerful eyes. She sighed again and walked off to follow Kumi, who was out of her sight by now.
* * * * * *
Catherine was in the gym working out. She was now on the balance beam, flipping and spinning to try and focus without thinking about the war. This was what she loved doing best, it made everything else go away. Her hair was pulled back and she wore her deep green stretch outfit as she did a difficult routine. She began to stumble and struggled to keep her balance. Delapan growled to herself once she was stable again. "Come on, stay together," she told herself as she made her way to an end of the beam and prepared another difficult combination. On the third flip, her hand slipped and she crashed to the ground with a soft cry of pain.
The young pilot gripped her ankle and rubbed it. "Are you alright?" a male voice came from nowhere. Startled, Catherine got to her feet and looked around, preparing herself for a struggle as she raised her fists. She was, after all, an expert at karate and self-defense as well as a talented gymnast. She spun to see a Preventer laughing not far from her. He had short, blonde hair and brown eyes as well as a good build and height. His voice was think and a bit deep, but soothing all the same. When he walked to the pilot, who was still in her defense stance, it was clear that he stood a few inches than the one known as Delapan. He smiled and shook his head, "I'm not here to start trouble with you. I just wanted to see if you were alright." Catherine sighed and lowered her hands.
The redhead nodded, "I'm fine. Thanks." The Preventer looked almost relieved at this and said kindly, "You looked great up there. I'd been watching for a while now." Catherine almost blushed as she gasped, "Y-You were watching?" The young man shrugged, "Kind of hard to keep my eyes off of you. I was coming here to workout myself and got distracted by that routine of yours." Catherine grinned, "Well, that wasn't my best of performances. I have a lot on my mind and it's hard to focus." The other nodded, "I could tell your heart wasn't completely into it. Is everything alright? I know it's hard to keep a level head in a war like this." Delapan lowered her head as she closed her eyes an sighed deeply, "Tell me about it."
The young man straightened and smiled as he offered his hand, "Well, my name is Derek." The young pilot took his hand in hers and smiled, "I'm Catherine." In a courtly manner, Derek kissed the back of her hand. Now Catherine did blush. The handsome man winked, "Nice to meet you, Catherine. It's not often I get to meet a lovely young woman like yourself." The redhead chuckled, "You're not bad looking yourself-" she stopped and gasped when she realized that she said that out loud. Derek laughed, "Thank you for the compliment...I'm heading over to the cafe for dinner if you wouldn't mind joining me." Catherine smiled and nodded, "I'd like that." Derek offered his arm, which the Gundam pilot accepted with a bright smile as the pair walked off together.
* * * * * *
At dinner, the pilots were sitting together as they took to their meals. Heero and Duo already had their dinner and had left not long before this time. They were just starting to catch up in the sleep that had been lost after the destruction of L2 and were returning to their usual natures, much to their friends' relief. They all understood that what happened to the Colony would never fully heal for either of them, but they were moving on. The couple excused themselves to return to catching up on the sleep they were deprived of. The remainder of their band was still in the cafeteria.
Catherine walked to them with Derek. She smiled, "Everyone, this is Derek Anderson." The Preventer smiled and waved to the pilots, who returned the gesture in one way or another. Quatre moved down a bit with a smile to allow the pair to sit. Sette was beside the Arabian, smiling to herself, "Aw, Monkey Girl has a friend." Quatre gently nudged her in the arm and looked to her. The tomboy shrugged and mouthed, "What?" The blonde smiled and shook his head before returning to his meal.
Kumi looked to the young man and asked, "How long have you been a Preventer?" Derek answered, "Three years now." The silver-haired girl nodded and turned her head to look forward again. Trowa looked to his sister and saw that she was happy with her new company. He smiled to himself and remained his usual, quiet self throughout the dinner. Wufei leaned back and sighed, "So when is this so-called plan supposed to be finished?" Sette answered, "From what Kumi and I heard earlier, the plan is to be finished in a day now." Relena sighed in relief, "Thank God for that. If OZ gets another hit on us like the last, we may never be able to win this war." Dorothy nodded, "They have too much of an advantage now we the Holocaust."
Derek raised his head a bit and inquired, "Well, how long have all of you been Preventers?" Catherine smiled, "Oh, I never told you, we're the pilots of the Gundam suits." Derek's brown sphere's widened as he whispered, "You...All of you are the Gundam pilots?" Quatre replied with a grin, "I forgot we never introduced ourselves. But, yes, we're the Gundam pilots." Derek laughed, "This is amazing! I knew that the pilots of those suits were my age, but I never thought that I would ever get the honor to meet them!" Quarte gave a warm smile and introduced, "I'm Quatre Rabarba Winner, this is Sette Devion..." the princess smiled and waved. "That's Wufei Chang..." the Chinese pilot gave a nod. "There's Trowa Barton and Kumi Yuy...this is Relena Weatherall and Dorothy Catalonia. Heero Yuy and Duo Maxwell excused themselves a little while ago." The young man smiled warmly to all of them, "This really is an honor." Looking to Catherine, he stated, "Now I understand why it was so hard for you to focus back there in the gym." the young woman nodded.
Derek smiled, "Well, any friends of yours are friends of mine." Catherine chuckled, "Well, with the exception of Sette, they're all my friends." "WHAT!?! I heard that, Big Top!" The tomboy took a handful of food from her plate and tossed it at the redhead. Catherine ducked just in time, but the food hit a tall, built Preventer in the back as he walked past the table. "OH CRAP!" the tomboy cried as she ducked under the table quickly. Her friends, with the exception of Kumi, found it hard to keep from laughing as the Preventer looked in rage as he spun, yelling, "WHO THE HELL DID THAT!?!" He looked directly at the table where the Gundam pilots were sitting. They all went right to acting as though they didn't see anything.
The soldier growled deeply as he turned back and walked away. Sette peeked up from the table and whispered, "Is the coast clear?" Everyone at the table, with the exception of Kumi again, burst into laughter. Quatre nodded through his laughs and the princess climbed back into her chair slowly, smiling. Kumi shook her head, "Nice shot, baka." Sette shrugged, "How was I supposed to know that Mr. Happy would be walking by at the same time I was trying to get Red over there?" Her friend shook her head and sighed as she took her tray and walked from the table.
"That really was a nice shot," Relena chuckled to the princess. Sette smiled, "I had that planned the whole time." Wufei rolled his eyes and replied, "Yea. That's why you flew under the table the way you did." Sette pointed at him and answered, "Strategic planning, Wolf Man...That's all that was." The Chinese pilot ignored this, not caring to discuss the matter further. Dorothy folded her arms together and went back to an earlier topic. She began, "At least we know that we'll be making the next move soon in this fight." Trowa replied, "I have a feeling we have Lady Une to thank for that." Sette nodded, "You're right about that. She stuck it to the man." Relena smiled and closed her eyes, "I wish I could have been there to see the look on Keiser's face when she put him in his place." Quatre laughed, "That makes two of us." The others agreed as they all nodded. Trowa took his glass of soda. Holding it up, he smiled, "To Lady Une." His comrades took their glasses and raised them, cheering, "To Lady Une!" They clicked their glasses together.
Their silver-haired friend smiled to herself as she heard the cheer from the tables where her comrade sat. Walking out of the cafeteria, Kumi was greeted by Lady Une herself. The 'Perfect Soldier' grinned, "You were just given a toast." Une smiled and chuckled, "The other Gundam pilots?" The pilot nodded, "Thank you for getting though to Keiser. We really can't afford to wait any longer." The young woman nodded, "I couldn't agree more. I was just coming to inform you and the other pilots that there will be a meeting tomorrow at noon on what strategy we will be using. Everyone will be attending." Kumi gave sigh of relief and replied, "Good. I'll go tell Heero and Duo." Une responded, "Thank you. I'll see you at noon if I don't see you before then." With that, they parted.
* * * * * *
Kumi made it to Heero and Duo's room. She knocked gently and waited to see if she could hear anything. After a pause, the door was slowly opened by a remote from inside. Peeking in, Kumi froze at the sight before her eyes. Heero was passed out in Duo's arms, his own arms wrapped around he American, his head over where the braided pilot's heart was beating strongly. They were both in boxers and tank tops as they lied in the bed together. Through his tank top, Heero's tattoo was visible as his back faced up to the ceiling. Duo smiled and placed a finger over his mouth in a gentle shushing gesture. Kumi never saw Heero so peaceful in her life. The small smile on his face in his sleep made her forget why she came to the room for a brief moment. Duo only broke his embrace to pat a spot on the mattress next to him, while sitting up a bit. The pilot in his arms moved only bit to wrap his arms tighter around his koi as he slept. Kumi broke out of her daze and walked in quietly, closing the door behind her.
Duo smiled to her as she sat beside him. Kumi whispered, "I'm sorry." Duo chuckled softly and shook his head and whispered back, "It's alright." Looking to his lover, he ran a hand through the Wing pilot's hair gently a few times as he whispered, "He's sleeping soundly now." Kumi looked to her cousin and his peaceful face again. A small smile fell across her own face as she saw how happy he was. The smile on her was only there for a moment before the soldier in her kicked in again. She cleared her throat gently and explained quietly, "Keiser's plan is finished." Duo's eyes widened as he gasped quietly, "You're serious?" Kumi nodded, "There's going to be a meeting about it tomorrow at noon. It'll be in the lecture room since everyone is going to attend." The American sighed in relief and closed his eyes, "Thank God." Just then, he chuckled in a much deeper voice than usual, "The God of Death will strike again." Kumi gave a nod and looked back to her cousin.
"H-How are the two of you? I never knew when it was right to ask after..." she stopped and lowered her head. There was almost what seemed like concern in her voice. Duo smiled and whispered, "Better now, thank you." His face turned to the pilot sleeping in his embrace. "As long as Heero's with me, everything's better." Kumi's eyes widened for a second at this answer. Her face fell a bit into sadness as she said quietly, "Duo, I-" she stopped a moment, questioning whether or not she should tell her comrade what she was about to say. Duo turned to her with an innocent look of concern. He nodded, "What's up?" Kumi finally answered, "I have a feeling we're going to be separated for a while... Weeks ...More than likely months." Duo closed his eyes and took a deep, painful breath before nodding sadly, slowly. He sighed and opened his eyes, looking to the ceiling. "Stay with Heero as long as you can...Stay as close to him as you can," Kumi told him. Her cousin's lover turned to her. "There's way of telling how long we'll be fighting alone," she finally concluded. Duo took her hand and squeezed it, "Thank you," he whispered. His friend nodded and rose to her feet.
Kumi couldn't help but look to her sleeping cousin again. Heero just looked to be at such peace. It was nothing she ever thought she would see in him. Catching her breath, she whispered, "Duo..." The braided pilot looked up to her. The silver-haired pilot looked to Heero then back to the American. She lowered her head and said in such a small voice that Duo almost didn't catch it, "Thank you." With that, she quickly, but quietly left the room. Duo blinked at his friend's departure. After a brief moment, he smiled warmly and looked to Heero. He traced his koi's lips gently with his index finger. He kissed the Wing pilot's forehead gently. With that, he lowered them gently to lie flat on the bed again. Heero mumbled something gently in his sleep as they settled again. All his lover could make out was, "Aishiteru, Duo." His partner smiled and whispered "I love you, too, Heero." Duo closed his eyes and joined his lover in a world where there were no wars, no death, no pain...just eachother and the love that would never break between them. It was where they always wanted to stay, ever though it was only a dream.
* * * * * *
At noon the next day, the lecture room was jam-packed as every seat in the 500-seat room was taken and others were forced to stand. The Gundam pilots sat in the center of the audience. The audience seats working into a wide circle and below them, the center of the room, there was the stage and monitor that they would be looking to for their reports. Everyone carried a notebook and pencil as they sat awaiting their missions and orders. Finally, the lights dimmed in for the audience and brightened on the stage. A large cheer and applause erupted the crowd of anxious warriors. Lieutenant Keiser and Lady Une walked onto the stage and soon the crowd fell silent.
Sette sighed as she fell back into her chair. She said quietly, "I have a bad feeling that this is going to be long." Duo smiled and said as if speaking to a child, "Awwww. Here, have a mint." With that, he handed her a hard candy mint from a bag of them that he had on his lap. As he stretched over to hand it to her. Sette was about to put the mint in his mouth but Duo stopped her as he shook his head, "Oh. Wait a sec before you do that." "Huh?" the tomboy asked as she didn't know what her friend was getting at. Duo smiled, "Trust me." "What are you doing, baka?" Wufei asked with a hint of warning on his voice. Duo looked past the princess to see the Chinese pilot and smiled innocently, "Nothing..." He held the bag out to him and asked with a huge smile and nod, "Mint?" Wufei and shook his head, "No thanks." Duo shrugged, "Okay."
Finally, Keiser began to speak, "Alright. In 48-hours, we will be making the next move in this fight." The participants screamed, clapped, cheered and whistled loudly as a standing ovation took place. Lady Une smiled while the Lieutenant shook his head and raised a hand to stop the commotion. "Kill joy," Sette sighed as she and the others all returned to their seats. Quatre chuckled. The Lieutenant went off on a long speech. He went off for ten minutes but never actually mentioned what that strategy was. "Boooooring," the tomboy yawned as she lifted her arms over her head and stretched.
Duo smiled evilly as he leaned forward. Holding a handful of mints in his left hand, he fired one mint at a time at the stage. Heero and the other pilots all looked to him with wide eyes. The American didn't care, he went on throwing one mint at a time at the Lieutenant. Wufei shook his head , "Maxwell, you are evil." Duo smiled and nodded vibrantly in response before he went to throwing. Heero tried to act like nothing was going on, even though he was sitting right beside the braided pilot. Sette whispered to the American, "Duo, got enough for the rest of us?" Duo took his backpack and opened it. Bags and bags of mints poured onto the floor. He took an armful and stretched to give them to her. The tomboy's face lit up like a kid on Christmas morning as she took the bags. Duo whispered with a wide grin, "Take some and pass them down. There's plenty for everyone."
Sette did just that. Before long, all but three of the Gundam pilots had a bag of mints and was shooting them to the stage. Nobody was making their target as unfortunate Preventers in the seats near the stage were getting hit by the candy. But they weren't complaining since it was something to snack on. Heero, Kumi and Wufei were the only pilots not firing mints. Eventually, Wufei growled and took a bag of mints from the princess. "You're all terrible aimers," he whispered harshly as he hurled a mint at the stage. Heero began to quietly laugh as he sunk in his chair. He smiled, crossed his arms and shook his head, "I never met any of you in my life." Duo stuck his tongue out and bit it in effort not to laugh out loud. Unable to see into the crowd, Keiser couldn't see that all of this was going on, so he went on with his long-winded speech.
Finally, Keiser announced, "As you look to the monitors, you will fine a chart revealing the solar system and where the Colonies all fall within it." The pilots flinging mints stopped and sighed with relief as they got out their notepads. "It about time," Dorothy said to herself. Relena and Brian were close enough to hear and nodded in agreement. Keiser began, "We have found that there are seven Colonies spread throughout the galaxy that are the centers of channeling communications to the hundreds of other Colonies in space. It is key for us to secure these Colonies and relay a signal through them to break this wall of silence between all of them and ourselves."
"Lady Une and myself have agreed that seven Gundam pilots will go off to fight alone in securing each of these Colonies. As they do this, we- the Preventers -will go on fighting OZ as they retaliate against the smaller Colonies near us. As for the Earth, we are still developing a method that we will be able to regain contact with the people there. Unfortunately, this is a bit more difficult than first expected." Relena's eyes widened at this news. She lowered her head sadly. Her husband squeezed her hand for support. Looking to Brian, the queen was welcomed with a warm smile. Relena returned the smile and squeezed his hand.
Keiser continued, "The Colonies that we are calling the 'Magnificent Seven' stretch across the solar system from near the Earth to around Pluto. Therefore, it will take months before we can completely establish our channel that will spread throughout the Colonies." He gritted his teeth before continuing, "Lady Une and I are certain that our Gundam pilots will be able to accomplish their missions. I will now give the names of those Colonies in no particular order." The Gundam pilots continued to write as the Lieutenant went down the list. "N68...L4...H7..." Quatre and Sette's eyes widened at the sound of her Colony's names. They looked to eachother with shock for a moment before returning to their notes.
"O75...B21-" Duo shot his hand in the air and waved it vibrantly as he cheered loudly, "BINGO!!!" As he did this, he held up his notepad in his free hand, as if it was a bingo card. Everyone in the lecture hall fell into laughter. Keiser, of course, didn't respond to this as he growled. Though he couldn't see who said that, he knew who it was. "Little bastard," he hissed to himself. Lady Une laughed from where she was sitting. "I can see we have the old Duo back," she smiled to herself. The Gundam pilots and the Preventers went on laughing and the Lieutenant cleared his throat.
The laughter died and the everyone went back to their notes. Keiser went on, "M29...and V82...Now, which Gundam pilots will go to which Colony will be determined immediately after this meeting. As we all know there-" Keiser's words were cut off by the sound of a huge metal door crashing against the wall as someone ran in. Everyone looked up to see a young Preventer who had stayed in the communication room. Crying out into his headset, he announced, "OZ IS GOING TO USE ANOTHER HOLOCAUST ON COLONY D26! WE JUST RECIEVED A SIGNAL FROM THE COLONY!" "WHAT!?! Duo shouted as he and Heero jumped to their feet, quickly followed by their comrades. Everyone got to their feet and started talking loudly amongst themselves. Sette shouted, "They're using ANOTHER Holocaust!?!" "D26 is a good forty-five-minute flight from here, even with the new thrusters that are in our Gundams," Wufei recalled as he looked to his friends.
Lady Une ran to the podium and ordered, "All Preventers go to your stations on stand-by. Lieutenant Keiser and myself will be giving orders as to how we will handle OZ." Everyone filed out and the Gundam pilots ran to the stage. There, Lady Une told them, "We don't have a lot of time. Fly off to D26. I'm sending two fleets with you for support." The pilots understood and ran for their suits.
Not long after the suits left Peace Million, Lady Une and Keiser made it to the communication center. Just then, every screen went black. The image of the young man in charge of OZ appeared on every monitor in Peace Million and in the Gundam suits. He was smiling and in a uniform similar to that which Treis Khushrenada had worn. Lady Une's eyes widened at the sight of the young man. "Oh God," she whispered breathlessly as she shook her head. The Gundam pilots and Preventers alike looked to the young man in shock as he began, "Allow me to introduce myself. My name is Quinze Khushrenada." "Did he just say Khushrenada!?!" Dorothy shouted in her cockpit. The young man continued, "I am the brother of Treis Khushrenada. And I am the only person who can communicate to everyone in the galaxy and the Earth."
As he spoke, Quinze was on every television, radio, monitor and form of communication to exist. People stopped everything that they were doing to listen to the new leader of OZ. "As you all know, this war is more than a personal one. It is also strategic in the power to be gained. I am more than certain that before long, all of you will fall before me. And there's nothing that can be done to stop it. There are still millions of you who still believe in the Preventers and even more so, the Gundam pilots. However, let me show all of you a sample of what I have to offer." The image on the screens switched to that of a visual of Colony D26. Just as what happened on L2, all of the civilians were captured and gather into a large circle in a field just beyond the town.
"God, not again," Quatre whispered gravely. Duo clenched his teeth and squeezed his hands into tight fists, "Bastards," he hissed. Quinze sneered as he appeared on the screen again, "For the millions of you who missed the beautiful destruction of L2, this will make up for that." The American saw red as he growled. "WE HAVE TO DO SOMETHING!" Relena cried frantically. "We're doing all we can, Zes," Kumi said sternly. "Stay focused on what we have to do." The queen sighed deeply in frustration as she lowered her head. "I just feel so helpless," she whispered sadly. Sette chimed in, "It's alright, Zes. Just hang in there." Dorothy closed her eyes and growled, "I can't believe they're doing this again just two days after using that weapon on L2." Trowa nodded, "It's like Quinze said, this is as much a personal war as a strategic one for power...In these wars, any means are used for victory."
Quinze continued, "What you will witness in one hour will be the total devastation of this civilization." The people of Earth and the Colonies shouted and cried as they stayed glued to the screens. "...That is," the young man smiled, "Unless your dear Gundam pilots get here in time to stop us." Heero's eyes narrowed as he growled, "Why do I have a bad feeling about this?" "I have the same feeling," his cousin replied. Heero nodded. If Kumi had a bad feeling as well, something was definitely up. "Damn it," the Wing pilot snapped. "There really isn't anything we can do for those people right now." "Maybe not," the Arabian announced. "As long as we keep up this pace, we'll make it to D26 in a half-hour," Quatre informed them. "I still think Quinze has something else in mind," Heero whispered deeply.
"So this will be a treat for all of you, my wonderful friends," Quinze smiled. "You can see your saviors in action." "I know those pilots will get to them in time," a young man shouted as he and countless others watched in the streets of another colony. There was a sound and gesture of agreement from everyone present. The new leader of OZ continued, "If they fail, you'll know that your hopes in them truly were as wasted as I have always known they were." The pilots were becoming enraged at the man's harsh words as they flew on as fast as they could. For now, I'll leave you the images of your fellow human men and women of D26. We'll let their faces burn in your memories as we wait and see if those pilots really are the saviors you claim them to be."
For a half-hour, the Gundams pierced the skies of space. Every pilot turned the screen with the prisoners off, unable to watch their fear any longer. They didn't need to have them on their visuals. The images of those poor people that had been captured were etched in their minds as they tried to stay as calm as possible. With their angel wings, Wing Zero and Excalibur were the fastest of the group. It was not long when they saw the first glimpse of the distant, threatened colony. "THERE IT IS!" Heero announced as he and his comrades sped up to reach the Colony. The pilots went off with force as they reached the field where the citizens were being held.
Fighting with everything that they had, they tore through the swarms of Leos, Virgos, Aires, and Taurus suits. The people that had been captured cheered and watched as their saviors had arrived to save all of them. It was almost another half-hour before all of the OZ soldiers retreated. The Gundam pilots all fell back in their seats, sweating, panting and exhausted from the struggle. There were just so many of those OZ soldiers and there was nothing to keep them from coming it seemed. When they finally cut their numbers considerably, their enemies raced off.
Sette wiped her brow and sighed deeply, "Thank you, God." Kumi gave a small smile, "Mission complete." Heero nodded, "Situation stable...Is everyone alright?" All of the pilots gave some kind of affirmative to the question. Heero smiled and leaned back a bit. Just then, he switched on all of his monitors again. "N-NANI!?!" he cried. On his monitor, the visual of the people captured outside of the city was still there. "How the hell-" the Wing pilot gasped. Kumi asked, "What's wrong, Heero?" "No," the Japanese pilot whispered gravely. "TURN YOUR MONITORS BACK ON NOW!" he cried. Terrified, his friends did just that. "WHAT!?!" Kumi shrieked as she looked to the screen.
Quinze's appeared on the screen again as he chuckled, "Only ten minutes to go and still no Gundams to save the people of D26." "WE JUST SAVED ALL OF THEM! WHAT IS THIS!?!" Wufei hollered. Kumi paled as she lowered her head and sighed deeply, quietly, "It was a diversion." "WHAT ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT!?!" Sette cried. "We just got all of the people of D26 out of OZ'S hands," Quatre intervened. Kumi shook her head, "He used the reaL D26 as a decoy. The people of Earth and the other colonies are being led to believe they're watching D26, since they have no way of knowing the truth. OZ has the only way to communicate to all of them." Heero turned pale as well as he whispered, "And now they'll all think that we deserted them." Kumi gave a light nod. The pilots took to the air quickly.
There was a long, paralyzing silence as they looked to the people who were doomed. Relena felt tears in her eyes as she brought a hand to the screen. "How are we going to reach them in time?" she whispered hoarsely. "We can't," Kumi's voice replied. "Are you getting all of this, Lady Une," Quatre called over the communicator. On Peace Million, the young woman nodded and lowered her head in sorrow, "Yes. We have just received word from another Preventer ship that a silver sphere was heading to Colony F32...Twenty minutes from where you are now." "FUCK!" Duo screamed as he threw his fists into the controls and doubled over in rage. "T-This can't be happening," Dorothy gasped as she fell into her seat, shaking.
"LET'S GO!" Heero ordered loudly as Wing Zero went off, it's large wings pushing to go faster. His comrades were right behind him as they zoomed off. They watched in terror as the people of F32 watched the Holocaust shoot towards them. This time, none of the pilots could turn their monitors off. The three newest pilots were struggling with this the most as they felt tears in their eyes. There was no way they would reach the colony in time.
The people on Earth and in the Colonies watched in disbelief and terror as the Holocaust was close to impact. "Where are the Gundam pilots!?!" a young woman on Earth cried. "They'll be there, they have to be," another voice replied loudly. Soon, everyone watching say their hopes die as the sphere crashed into the ground. Just as what happened to L2, everything living withered and fell apart in mere heartbeats. The OZ soldiers were protected again and left the sight as everything died around them. The people watching all around cried out, collapsed, and reacted to the sight before them. In a minute, everything that once lived on F32 perished.
There was a long silence as the images of the dead and deteriorating people were displayed. After what seemed like an eternity of looking to the gruesome images, Quinze Khushrenada appeared again. He was frowning and shaking his head. With sarcastic concern, he asked, "And where are the Gundam pilots? I don't see them anywhere...Do you?" He began to chuckle. This grew into a loud, maddened laughter. The pilots gripped their controls in hatred and rage as they went on listening and watching him. Just then, the screen went black.
* * * * * *
An hour later, the Gundam pilots were walking along F32. The chemicals of the plague were no longer effective. Catherine, Trowa, Quatre, Relena and Wufei looked to the pile of remains in the field of the people that had been killed. Catherine almost collapsed before long and Trowa caught her. His sister clung onto him, shaking. "I-I can't do this anymore," she whispered with wide, frightened eyes. She began to shake with sobs as huge tears rolled down her cheeks. "Please don't make me fight anymore," she pleaded to the tall pilot that held her. Trowa hugged her tightly, unable to find anything comforting to say at this time. He was still shaken up by the events that had unfolded, himself.
Relena and Quatre were sitting beside eachother, unable to feel their legs. "I never saw anything get this bad," the queen whispered hoarsely as she wiped a stray tear from her cheek. Wufei shook his head and growled, "OZ has yet to know what they're up against. We're not out of this fight yet." Quatre closed his eyes and lowered his head, "Let's just hope that there are still people left to save by the end of the war."
Not far from where they were, Duo, Sette, Heero and Dorothy all stood together. "God help all of us," Novem whispered. Sette shook her head, "It's going to take more than God to help us now." Heero had been standing behind his lover, his arms wrapped around Duo's waist as his hands met and rested in the front. He lied his head on the braided pilot's shoulder and sighed deeply. It was only a few months into the war and they already felt like they had been fighting it for years. They were 22 years old-going-on-60. They supported eachother to stay standing as they rested their foreheads against together and closed their eyes.
The four pilots turned as they heard footsteps approaching. Kumi walked to them with a grim look on her face. She raised her head to look at her cousin and said quietly, in monotone, "I have to talk to you." Heero nodded and reluctantly removed his hands from Duo. He stumbled, still too shaken from the day's events. The American caught him just in time. Heero held onto him tightly. His cousin lowered her head again and walked off towards the town, waiting for the Wing pilot to join her.
"Are you okay, koi?" Duo asked gently in Heero's ear with concern in his voice. Heero looked to him and nodded, "Hai...Gomen." Sette shrugged, "With the exception of Kumi, everyone's had a lot taken out of them. There's nothing to be sorry about." Duo gave a firm nod and assured his lover, "Sette's right. You haven't done anything wrong." The braided pilot kissed his cheek once his partner got back on his feet. "Arigato," he nodded to his lover and his friends. With that, he walked off to follow the pilot he always knew as his sister.
Kumi was waiting for Heero in the city not far from were the civilians were killed. She was sitting on a pile of rubble from a building that had been blown apart in order to heard the people together. She looked up when she heard the Wing pilot approaching her. She stood and asked quietly, "Are you alright?" Heero nodded, "Just taken back, that's all...What did you need to see me about?" Kumi sighed deeply. After a pause, she replied quietly, "Remember the term Scorched Earth?" Heero's eyes widened.
* * * * * *
The Gundam pilots were back together not long after the cousins went off to talk. After a long wait, the 'Perfect Soldiers' returned to them. They both looked at a loss as they turned to their comrades. Duo broke the silence as he asked quietly, "What's wrong?" His lover replied hesitantly, "We have to burn everything down in this colony." The eyes and mouths of the pilots shot wide as they gasped. Kumi explained, "This Colony is filled with Gundamimum. OZ will be back to collect everything that was left behind. They'll use the metal to make more suits like Gemini and Capricorn if we don't destroy it before they get here."
Wufei shook his head violently, "How can you stand there and act like this isn't right?" The silver-haired pilot said coldly, "Because it is right. If we leave the Gundamimum in tact, thousands more will die at the hands of OZ...We have no choice." The other pilots lowered their heads, walked away, did whatever they had to in order to get themselves back together. Heero sighed, "We're not destroying the colony all together...After the war, everything can be rebuilt and renewed again." He was still having a hard time with this decision, but it really was the only thing that they could do to keep OZ from getting any more Gundamimum. After a long pause, the pilots reluctantly agreed to the decision.
* * * * * *
That night, the Gundams were soaring through the Colony, spraying flames and blowing up every town. Nothing would remain standing by the time the morning came. On a mountain, the pilots watched as the flames engulfed everything below and around them. The heat traveled up to them as the wind picked up and made the flames grow higher every second. Before long, all they could see was fire. One-by-one, they began to turn and walk back to their suits, heavy-hearted and exhausted.
* * * * * *
As soon as the pilots returned to Peace Million, they stood together in the hanger in a tight group, talking amongst themselves. Sette smiled, rubber her hands together and announced over all of them, "Well, I'm scared shitless! How about the rest of you?" Everyone looked to her and she went on, "Drinks are on me tonight. Lord knows we might never get the chance the drink together again." With, that, she began to walk out of the hanger. Soon, they all agreed that they needed a few drinks and went off to join the princess. Catherine remained.
Later in the bar, the pilots sat together at a round table and discussed the Keiser's strategy. "Zes, Novem," Kumi began. The pilots looked to their trainer and nodded. The silver-haired woman sighed, "If neither of you and Delapan don't mind, I think it would be best that the rest of us are the ones sent to those Colonies. Even with our experience, this is going to be a challenge." Relena said quietly, "I'm perfectly fine with that idea. I wasn't looking forward to fighting alone." Dorothy nodded, "And Mr. Milliardo and Ms. Nion are going to have their baby before long. It would be nice for them to have familiar faces when the time comes." Heero replied, "Exactly. Thank you for understanding." Dorothy sighed, "I wasn't looking forward to fighting out there, alone, myself."
Just then, the sound of a massive explosion came from the hanger. The pilots immediately ran off with no time to react. When they ran into the hanger, a ring of smoke and fire was engulfing Slither. "WHAT THE-" Sette cried and she and the others watched as Preventers frantically went onto try and save the Gundam. "CATHERINE!?!" Trowa called out. The pilots watched as Catherine walked slowly to all of them. Her eyes were bloodshot and tears continued to fall down her cheeks. She glared at the others and said sternly, "If I had found enough explosives, I would have destroyed all of those damn suits...WE CAN'T WIN THIS WAR!" Her brother ran out and held her as she shook in his arms again.
Kumi walked up to the pair and looked down to Catherine. The redhead growled deeply to her, "Either find another pilot for Unit 08 or destroy it. I'll have no part of this war any longer." Kumi lowered her head and nodded, "Very well, Catherine." It was the first time the young woman ever called Trowa's sister by her real name. She left the two to be alone. Heero ordered one of the Preventers, "Have Unit 08 repaired as quickly as possible. We only need seven suits to fly off tomorrow so see that nothing happens to units 01, 02, 03, 04, 05, 07 or 10." The Preventer saluted and nodded before running off and aiding in extinguishing the flames. Kumi walked to him and sighed deeply, "We don't have time to train a new pilot. We'll have to wait until we come back. With Euphoria, Calvary and Rampage, the Preventers should be able to hold off any retaliation from the OZ towards the colonies near here." Her replied with his usual, "Hn."
Catherine passed out in her brother's arms. Trowa sighed deeply as he cradled her and walked to the others. Looking to his friends, he whispered in shame, "I-I'm sorry...I thought never thought that she could do anything like this." Quatre shook his head, "It's not your fault, Trowa. She just couldn't handle it." Sette added, "It happens. 08 will be fixed before long." The tall pilot gave a nod and left with his sister. When they were gone, Sette announced loudly, "Well, back to the bar! We've only been through three rounds and I feel myself sobering already. Let's go!" Her friends joined her as they returned to try and block out the pain and fear in them, even if it would only be for the night.
* * * * * *
Back on the OZ headquarter ship, Qunize Khushrenada was with his head soldiers as they celebrated their latest accomplishment. "How long do you think it'll take the people of the Earth and the Colonies to side with us now that they think the Gundam pilots are letting them down?" Abrasia asked as he took another sip of his wine. Quinze shrugged, "Not for a long time. Even with those images, they are stubborn. Still, what happened today is just one of many things to come that will make them all see there is nothing that can stop us." Stacy Stanton sneered and wrapped an arm around Carter. "We have Carter to thank for that," she chuckled. Quinze nodded, "Yes. I have all of you to thank. Your efforts and assistance in this will not go unrewarded after our victory." His soldiers smile at this.
Demetris went onto ask, "What is our next step, sir?" Quinze took his glass to his lips while stating simply, "We wait." His aids looked to him in shock. "We wait?" Azrael whispered in disbelief. Carter shook his head, "What good will waiting do? Those pilots are going to make the next move before long." Their leader smiled and closed his eyes as he said, "Exactly. We've taken the offensive long enough. So just relax a while. You'll all be fighting again before long. I can assure you that." His soldiers began to file out of the room, reassured by their leader's words. When he was alone, Quinze sneered after taking another sip of wine. "Let's see what those Gundam pilots have to offer."
TBC
DISCLAIMERS: None of these characters are mine, except for Kumi, Sette and others who you'll know when you see them.
Gundam Wing: The Second Chapter
Episode 10: Scorched Remains
by SkyLark
with help from Traci 14
Narrator: The news of Colony L2's destruction had not reached many. The Earth and the hundreds of Colonies that weren't within a ten-mile radius of L2 would never hear of this since there was a communication barrier since the beginning of the war. The Preventers' Lieutenant Keiser had been working on a solution to this problem for weeks but with little or no success. However, Lady Une was determined to see the plan completed before OZ got the chance to strike yet again. It was three months into the war and the Gundam pilots and Preventers were only on the receiving end of every hit. It was now an understatement to say that time was of the essence.
* * * * * *
Kumi Yuy and Sette Devion walked into Lieutenant Keiser's office. Neither bothered to salute and the young man didn't make any effort to rise from his behind his desk. The hooded, silver-haired pilot stepped before him and threw the file of reports she carried. "Here's all the information you need on the Holocaust. You can be sure that OZ has more and will use them again soon," she informed him. Keiser took the reports and looked through them. He looked to the pictures of the device and the devastation that little sphere could cause. Pictures of deteriorating people were also along with the reports. The man lowered the papers and covered his face with his hands. "How did you come in contact with these things in the first place?" he asked through his fingers.
Sette stepped forward and answered, "We came across them during the second war, what you tend to call the Mariemaya Incident. As that went on, we were battling rebels in the furthest regions of space that were manufacturing weapons of war. The Holocaust was their prize accomplishment." Kumi nodded and continued, "We killed all those who created the device, but they did get to use three of them. The ones that remained were destroyed." Keiser questioned, "Then how the hell did OZ get their hands on this thing?" Sette shook her head, "The thing with the Holocaust that was used on L2 is that it worked a hell of a lot faster than the ones that the rebels created. Someone working with OZ not only managed to figure out how to build the device, but how to enhance the molecular structure of it. There are too many possibilities that would explain how they did this. The only thing to know is that they have this thing and they will use it again."
Kumi explained, "We never brought it up because we truly believed that there was no way anyone could create a Holocaust again. What happened on L2 never should have and we are to blame for not mentioning this weapon sooner...However, that was another war we fought...Our war, the Colony's War." Sette concluded, "You have to understand, It isn't anything we wanted to remember...I-It was a bad call on our part." Keiser nodded, "Well, I hate the thought of working with you kids, but Lady Une has left me no choice. I only have a day-and-a-half to meet her deadline and I need all the information that I can get on that Holocaust. Are there any other weapons I should know about?" Kumi shook her head, "No. You have all the information we gathered years ago. Other than that, we're going into this war just as blindfolded as the next pilot."
Keiser nodded and waved them off, "You better get to your friends. It's going to be past your bedtimes before too long." The eyes of the pilots narrowed at the Lieutenant who returned to the paperwork. The pilots left the room. Down the hall, the tomboy lowered her head, "I still feel guilty...Like we're responsible for all of those people that died on L2." "You think too much, Sette," her friend replied in her usual monotone, soldier voice. "OZ is responsible for those deaths. We didn't know they would be able to create that machine." Sette sighed and stopped to look to her comrade. The 'Perfect Soldier' stopped and looked to her, the side of her face coming out from behind the hood.
The princess whispered sadly, "Kumi, H-How many people do you think we've killed in our short lives? Hundreds? Thousands?" There was a pause. Kumi removed her hood slowly. She closed her eyes for a moment and shook her head to simply reply, "You think too much." With that, she turned her head to leave her comrade with her thoughts. "I can't help but think about that," the tomboy sighed deeply to herself. "Then again," she thought aloud, "I did choose this life other than the one on the thrown." Sette looked to the ring that her father had given her the day she chose to be the Gundam pilot for Unit 07. The blue gem shimmered with the same brightness of her usually cheerful eyes. She sighed again and walked off to follow Kumi, who was out of her sight by now.
* * * * * *
Catherine was in the gym working out. She was now on the balance beam, flipping and spinning to try and focus without thinking about the war. This was what she loved doing best, it made everything else go away. Her hair was pulled back and she wore her deep green stretch outfit as she did a difficult routine. She began to stumble and struggled to keep her balance. Delapan growled to herself once she was stable again. "Come on, stay together," she told herself as she made her way to an end of the beam and prepared another difficult combination. On the third flip, her hand slipped and she crashed to the ground with a soft cry of pain.
The young pilot gripped her ankle and rubbed it. "Are you alright?" a male voice came from nowhere. Startled, Catherine got to her feet and looked around, preparing herself for a struggle as she raised her fists. She was, after all, an expert at karate and self-defense as well as a talented gymnast. She spun to see a Preventer laughing not far from her. He had short, blonde hair and brown eyes as well as a good build and height. His voice was think and a bit deep, but soothing all the same. When he walked to the pilot, who was still in her defense stance, it was clear that he stood a few inches than the one known as Delapan. He smiled and shook his head, "I'm not here to start trouble with you. I just wanted to see if you were alright." Catherine sighed and lowered her hands.
The redhead nodded, "I'm fine. Thanks." The Preventer looked almost relieved at this and said kindly, "You looked great up there. I'd been watching for a while now." Catherine almost blushed as she gasped, "Y-You were watching?" The young man shrugged, "Kind of hard to keep my eyes off of you. I was coming here to workout myself and got distracted by that routine of yours." Catherine grinned, "Well, that wasn't my best of performances. I have a lot on my mind and it's hard to focus." The other nodded, "I could tell your heart wasn't completely into it. Is everything alright? I know it's hard to keep a level head in a war like this." Delapan lowered her head as she closed her eyes an sighed deeply, "Tell me about it."
The young man straightened and smiled as he offered his hand, "Well, my name is Derek." The young pilot took his hand in hers and smiled, "I'm Catherine." In a courtly manner, Derek kissed the back of her hand. Now Catherine did blush. The handsome man winked, "Nice to meet you, Catherine. It's not often I get to meet a lovely young woman like yourself." The redhead chuckled, "You're not bad looking yourself-" she stopped and gasped when she realized that she said that out loud. Derek laughed, "Thank you for the compliment...I'm heading over to the cafe for dinner if you wouldn't mind joining me." Catherine smiled and nodded, "I'd like that." Derek offered his arm, which the Gundam pilot accepted with a bright smile as the pair walked off together.
* * * * * *
At dinner, the pilots were sitting together as they took to their meals. Heero and Duo already had their dinner and had left not long before this time. They were just starting to catch up in the sleep that had been lost after the destruction of L2 and were returning to their usual natures, much to their friends' relief. They all understood that what happened to the Colony would never fully heal for either of them, but they were moving on. The couple excused themselves to return to catching up on the sleep they were deprived of. The remainder of their band was still in the cafeteria.
Catherine walked to them with Derek. She smiled, "Everyone, this is Derek Anderson." The Preventer smiled and waved to the pilots, who returned the gesture in one way or another. Quatre moved down a bit with a smile to allow the pair to sit. Sette was beside the Arabian, smiling to herself, "Aw, Monkey Girl has a friend." Quatre gently nudged her in the arm and looked to her. The tomboy shrugged and mouthed, "What?" The blonde smiled and shook his head before returning to his meal.
Kumi looked to the young man and asked, "How long have you been a Preventer?" Derek answered, "Three years now." The silver-haired girl nodded and turned her head to look forward again. Trowa looked to his sister and saw that she was happy with her new company. He smiled to himself and remained his usual, quiet self throughout the dinner. Wufei leaned back and sighed, "So when is this so-called plan supposed to be finished?" Sette answered, "From what Kumi and I heard earlier, the plan is to be finished in a day now." Relena sighed in relief, "Thank God for that. If OZ gets another hit on us like the last, we may never be able to win this war." Dorothy nodded, "They have too much of an advantage now we the Holocaust."
Derek raised his head a bit and inquired, "Well, how long have all of you been Preventers?" Catherine smiled, "Oh, I never told you, we're the pilots of the Gundam suits." Derek's brown sphere's widened as he whispered, "You...All of you are the Gundam pilots?" Quatre replied with a grin, "I forgot we never introduced ourselves. But, yes, we're the Gundam pilots." Derek laughed, "This is amazing! I knew that the pilots of those suits were my age, but I never thought that I would ever get the honor to meet them!" Quarte gave a warm smile and introduced, "I'm Quatre Rabarba Winner, this is Sette Devion..." the princess smiled and waved. "That's Wufei Chang..." the Chinese pilot gave a nod. "There's Trowa Barton and Kumi Yuy...this is Relena Weatherall and Dorothy Catalonia. Heero Yuy and Duo Maxwell excused themselves a little while ago." The young man smiled warmly to all of them, "This really is an honor." Looking to Catherine, he stated, "Now I understand why it was so hard for you to focus back there in the gym." the young woman nodded.
Derek smiled, "Well, any friends of yours are friends of mine." Catherine chuckled, "Well, with the exception of Sette, they're all my friends." "WHAT!?! I heard that, Big Top!" The tomboy took a handful of food from her plate and tossed it at the redhead. Catherine ducked just in time, but the food hit a tall, built Preventer in the back as he walked past the table. "OH CRAP!" the tomboy cried as she ducked under the table quickly. Her friends, with the exception of Kumi, found it hard to keep from laughing as the Preventer looked in rage as he spun, yelling, "WHO THE HELL DID THAT!?!" He looked directly at the table where the Gundam pilots were sitting. They all went right to acting as though they didn't see anything.
The soldier growled deeply as he turned back and walked away. Sette peeked up from the table and whispered, "Is the coast clear?" Everyone at the table, with the exception of Kumi again, burst into laughter. Quatre nodded through his laughs and the princess climbed back into her chair slowly, smiling. Kumi shook her head, "Nice shot, baka." Sette shrugged, "How was I supposed to know that Mr. Happy would be walking by at the same time I was trying to get Red over there?" Her friend shook her head and sighed as she took her tray and walked from the table.
"That really was a nice shot," Relena chuckled to the princess. Sette smiled, "I had that planned the whole time." Wufei rolled his eyes and replied, "Yea. That's why you flew under the table the way you did." Sette pointed at him and answered, "Strategic planning, Wolf Man...That's all that was." The Chinese pilot ignored this, not caring to discuss the matter further. Dorothy folded her arms together and went back to an earlier topic. She began, "At least we know that we'll be making the next move soon in this fight." Trowa replied, "I have a feeling we have Lady Une to thank for that." Sette nodded, "You're right about that. She stuck it to the man." Relena smiled and closed her eyes, "I wish I could have been there to see the look on Keiser's face when she put him in his place." Quatre laughed, "That makes two of us." The others agreed as they all nodded. Trowa took his glass of soda. Holding it up, he smiled, "To Lady Une." His comrades took their glasses and raised them, cheering, "To Lady Une!" They clicked their glasses together.
Their silver-haired friend smiled to herself as she heard the cheer from the tables where her comrade sat. Walking out of the cafeteria, Kumi was greeted by Lady Une herself. The 'Perfect Soldier' grinned, "You were just given a toast." Une smiled and chuckled, "The other Gundam pilots?" The pilot nodded, "Thank you for getting though to Keiser. We really can't afford to wait any longer." The young woman nodded, "I couldn't agree more. I was just coming to inform you and the other pilots that there will be a meeting tomorrow at noon on what strategy we will be using. Everyone will be attending." Kumi gave sigh of relief and replied, "Good. I'll go tell Heero and Duo." Une responded, "Thank you. I'll see you at noon if I don't see you before then." With that, they parted.
* * * * * *
Kumi made it to Heero and Duo's room. She knocked gently and waited to see if she could hear anything. After a pause, the door was slowly opened by a remote from inside. Peeking in, Kumi froze at the sight before her eyes. Heero was passed out in Duo's arms, his own arms wrapped around he American, his head over where the braided pilot's heart was beating strongly. They were both in boxers and tank tops as they lied in the bed together. Through his tank top, Heero's tattoo was visible as his back faced up to the ceiling. Duo smiled and placed a finger over his mouth in a gentle shushing gesture. Kumi never saw Heero so peaceful in her life. The small smile on his face in his sleep made her forget why she came to the room for a brief moment. Duo only broke his embrace to pat a spot on the mattress next to him, while sitting up a bit. The pilot in his arms moved only bit to wrap his arms tighter around his koi as he slept. Kumi broke out of her daze and walked in quietly, closing the door behind her.
Duo smiled to her as she sat beside him. Kumi whispered, "I'm sorry." Duo chuckled softly and shook his head and whispered back, "It's alright." Looking to his lover, he ran a hand through the Wing pilot's hair gently a few times as he whispered, "He's sleeping soundly now." Kumi looked to her cousin and his peaceful face again. A small smile fell across her own face as she saw how happy he was. The smile on her was only there for a moment before the soldier in her kicked in again. She cleared her throat gently and explained quietly, "Keiser's plan is finished." Duo's eyes widened as he gasped quietly, "You're serious?" Kumi nodded, "There's going to be a meeting about it tomorrow at noon. It'll be in the lecture room since everyone is going to attend." The American sighed in relief and closed his eyes, "Thank God." Just then, he chuckled in a much deeper voice than usual, "The God of Death will strike again." Kumi gave a nod and looked back to her cousin.
"H-How are the two of you? I never knew when it was right to ask after..." she stopped and lowered her head. There was almost what seemed like concern in her voice. Duo smiled and whispered, "Better now, thank you." His face turned to the pilot sleeping in his embrace. "As long as Heero's with me, everything's better." Kumi's eyes widened for a second at this answer. Her face fell a bit into sadness as she said quietly, "Duo, I-" she stopped a moment, questioning whether or not she should tell her comrade what she was about to say. Duo turned to her with an innocent look of concern. He nodded, "What's up?" Kumi finally answered, "I have a feeling we're going to be separated for a while... Weeks ...More than likely months." Duo closed his eyes and took a deep, painful breath before nodding sadly, slowly. He sighed and opened his eyes, looking to the ceiling. "Stay with Heero as long as you can...Stay as close to him as you can," Kumi told him. Her cousin's lover turned to her. "There's way of telling how long we'll be fighting alone," she finally concluded. Duo took her hand and squeezed it, "Thank you," he whispered. His friend nodded and rose to her feet.
Kumi couldn't help but look to her sleeping cousin again. Heero just looked to be at such peace. It was nothing she ever thought she would see in him. Catching her breath, she whispered, "Duo..." The braided pilot looked up to her. The silver-haired pilot looked to Heero then back to the American. She lowered her head and said in such a small voice that Duo almost didn't catch it, "Thank you." With that, she quickly, but quietly left the room. Duo blinked at his friend's departure. After a brief moment, he smiled warmly and looked to Heero. He traced his koi's lips gently with his index finger. He kissed the Wing pilot's forehead gently. With that, he lowered them gently to lie flat on the bed again. Heero mumbled something gently in his sleep as they settled again. All his lover could make out was, "Aishiteru, Duo." His partner smiled and whispered "I love you, too, Heero." Duo closed his eyes and joined his lover in a world where there were no wars, no death, no pain...just eachother and the love that would never break between them. It was where they always wanted to stay, ever though it was only a dream.
* * * * * *
At noon the next day, the lecture room was jam-packed as every seat in the 500-seat room was taken and others were forced to stand. The Gundam pilots sat in the center of the audience. The audience seats working into a wide circle and below them, the center of the room, there was the stage and monitor that they would be looking to for their reports. Everyone carried a notebook and pencil as they sat awaiting their missions and orders. Finally, the lights dimmed in for the audience and brightened on the stage. A large cheer and applause erupted the crowd of anxious warriors. Lieutenant Keiser and Lady Une walked onto the stage and soon the crowd fell silent.
Sette sighed as she fell back into her chair. She said quietly, "I have a bad feeling that this is going to be long." Duo smiled and said as if speaking to a child, "Awwww. Here, have a mint." With that, he handed her a hard candy mint from a bag of them that he had on his lap. As he stretched over to hand it to her. Sette was about to put the mint in his mouth but Duo stopped her as he shook his head, "Oh. Wait a sec before you do that." "Huh?" the tomboy asked as she didn't know what her friend was getting at. Duo smiled, "Trust me." "What are you doing, baka?" Wufei asked with a hint of warning on his voice. Duo looked past the princess to see the Chinese pilot and smiled innocently, "Nothing..." He held the bag out to him and asked with a huge smile and nod, "Mint?" Wufei and shook his head, "No thanks." Duo shrugged, "Okay."
Finally, Keiser began to speak, "Alright. In 48-hours, we will be making the next move in this fight." The participants screamed, clapped, cheered and whistled loudly as a standing ovation took place. Lady Une smiled while the Lieutenant shook his head and raised a hand to stop the commotion. "Kill joy," Sette sighed as she and the others all returned to their seats. Quatre chuckled. The Lieutenant went off on a long speech. He went off for ten minutes but never actually mentioned what that strategy was. "Boooooring," the tomboy yawned as she lifted her arms over her head and stretched.
Duo smiled evilly as he leaned forward. Holding a handful of mints in his left hand, he fired one mint at a time at the stage. Heero and the other pilots all looked to him with wide eyes. The American didn't care, he went on throwing one mint at a time at the Lieutenant. Wufei shook his head , "Maxwell, you are evil." Duo smiled and nodded vibrantly in response before he went to throwing. Heero tried to act like nothing was going on, even though he was sitting right beside the braided pilot. Sette whispered to the American, "Duo, got enough for the rest of us?" Duo took his backpack and opened it. Bags and bags of mints poured onto the floor. He took an armful and stretched to give them to her. The tomboy's face lit up like a kid on Christmas morning as she took the bags. Duo whispered with a wide grin, "Take some and pass them down. There's plenty for everyone."
Sette did just that. Before long, all but three of the Gundam pilots had a bag of mints and was shooting them to the stage. Nobody was making their target as unfortunate Preventers in the seats near the stage were getting hit by the candy. But they weren't complaining since it was something to snack on. Heero, Kumi and Wufei were the only pilots not firing mints. Eventually, Wufei growled and took a bag of mints from the princess. "You're all terrible aimers," he whispered harshly as he hurled a mint at the stage. Heero began to quietly laugh as he sunk in his chair. He smiled, crossed his arms and shook his head, "I never met any of you in my life." Duo stuck his tongue out and bit it in effort not to laugh out loud. Unable to see into the crowd, Keiser couldn't see that all of this was going on, so he went on with his long-winded speech.
Finally, Keiser announced, "As you look to the monitors, you will fine a chart revealing the solar system and where the Colonies all fall within it." The pilots flinging mints stopped and sighed with relief as they got out their notepads. "It about time," Dorothy said to herself. Relena and Brian were close enough to hear and nodded in agreement. Keiser began, "We have found that there are seven Colonies spread throughout the galaxy that are the centers of channeling communications to the hundreds of other Colonies in space. It is key for us to secure these Colonies and relay a signal through them to break this wall of silence between all of them and ourselves."
"Lady Une and myself have agreed that seven Gundam pilots will go off to fight alone in securing each of these Colonies. As they do this, we- the Preventers -will go on fighting OZ as they retaliate against the smaller Colonies near us. As for the Earth, we are still developing a method that we will be able to regain contact with the people there. Unfortunately, this is a bit more difficult than first expected." Relena's eyes widened at this news. She lowered her head sadly. Her husband squeezed her hand for support. Looking to Brian, the queen was welcomed with a warm smile. Relena returned the smile and squeezed his hand.
Keiser continued, "The Colonies that we are calling the 'Magnificent Seven' stretch across the solar system from near the Earth to around Pluto. Therefore, it will take months before we can completely establish our channel that will spread throughout the Colonies." He gritted his teeth before continuing, "Lady Une and I are certain that our Gundam pilots will be able to accomplish their missions. I will now give the names of those Colonies in no particular order." The Gundam pilots continued to write as the Lieutenant went down the list. "N68...L4...H7..." Quatre and Sette's eyes widened at the sound of her Colony's names. They looked to eachother with shock for a moment before returning to their notes.
"O75...B21-" Duo shot his hand in the air and waved it vibrantly as he cheered loudly, "BINGO!!!" As he did this, he held up his notepad in his free hand, as if it was a bingo card. Everyone in the lecture hall fell into laughter. Keiser, of course, didn't respond to this as he growled. Though he couldn't see who said that, he knew who it was. "Little bastard," he hissed to himself. Lady Une laughed from where she was sitting. "I can see we have the old Duo back," she smiled to herself. The Gundam pilots and the Preventers went on laughing and the Lieutenant cleared his throat.
The laughter died and the everyone went back to their notes. Keiser went on, "M29...and V82...Now, which Gundam pilots will go to which Colony will be determined immediately after this meeting. As we all know there-" Keiser's words were cut off by the sound of a huge metal door crashing against the wall as someone ran in. Everyone looked up to see a young Preventer who had stayed in the communication room. Crying out into his headset, he announced, "OZ IS GOING TO USE ANOTHER HOLOCAUST ON COLONY D26! WE JUST RECIEVED A SIGNAL FROM THE COLONY!" "WHAT!?! Duo shouted as he and Heero jumped to their feet, quickly followed by their comrades. Everyone got to their feet and started talking loudly amongst themselves. Sette shouted, "They're using ANOTHER Holocaust!?!" "D26 is a good forty-five-minute flight from here, even with the new thrusters that are in our Gundams," Wufei recalled as he looked to his friends.
Lady Une ran to the podium and ordered, "All Preventers go to your stations on stand-by. Lieutenant Keiser and myself will be giving orders as to how we will handle OZ." Everyone filed out and the Gundam pilots ran to the stage. There, Lady Une told them, "We don't have a lot of time. Fly off to D26. I'm sending two fleets with you for support." The pilots understood and ran for their suits.
Not long after the suits left Peace Million, Lady Une and Keiser made it to the communication center. Just then, every screen went black. The image of the young man in charge of OZ appeared on every monitor in Peace Million and in the Gundam suits. He was smiling and in a uniform similar to that which Treis Khushrenada had worn. Lady Une's eyes widened at the sight of the young man. "Oh God," she whispered breathlessly as she shook her head. The Gundam pilots and Preventers alike looked to the young man in shock as he began, "Allow me to introduce myself. My name is Quinze Khushrenada." "Did he just say Khushrenada!?!" Dorothy shouted in her cockpit. The young man continued, "I am the brother of Treis Khushrenada. And I am the only person who can communicate to everyone in the galaxy and the Earth."
As he spoke, Quinze was on every television, radio, monitor and form of communication to exist. People stopped everything that they were doing to listen to the new leader of OZ. "As you all know, this war is more than a personal one. It is also strategic in the power to be gained. I am more than certain that before long, all of you will fall before me. And there's nothing that can be done to stop it. There are still millions of you who still believe in the Preventers and even more so, the Gundam pilots. However, let me show all of you a sample of what I have to offer." The image on the screens switched to that of a visual of Colony D26. Just as what happened on L2, all of the civilians were captured and gather into a large circle in a field just beyond the town.
"God, not again," Quatre whispered gravely. Duo clenched his teeth and squeezed his hands into tight fists, "Bastards," he hissed. Quinze sneered as he appeared on the screen again, "For the millions of you who missed the beautiful destruction of L2, this will make up for that." The American saw red as he growled. "WE HAVE TO DO SOMETHING!" Relena cried frantically. "We're doing all we can, Zes," Kumi said sternly. "Stay focused on what we have to do." The queen sighed deeply in frustration as she lowered her head. "I just feel so helpless," she whispered sadly. Sette chimed in, "It's alright, Zes. Just hang in there." Dorothy closed her eyes and growled, "I can't believe they're doing this again just two days after using that weapon on L2." Trowa nodded, "It's like Quinze said, this is as much a personal war as a strategic one for power...In these wars, any means are used for victory."
Quinze continued, "What you will witness in one hour will be the total devastation of this civilization." The people of Earth and the Colonies shouted and cried as they stayed glued to the screens. "...That is," the young man smiled, "Unless your dear Gundam pilots get here in time to stop us." Heero's eyes narrowed as he growled, "Why do I have a bad feeling about this?" "I have the same feeling," his cousin replied. Heero nodded. If Kumi had a bad feeling as well, something was definitely up. "Damn it," the Wing pilot snapped. "There really isn't anything we can do for those people right now." "Maybe not," the Arabian announced. "As long as we keep up this pace, we'll make it to D26 in a half-hour," Quatre informed them. "I still think Quinze has something else in mind," Heero whispered deeply.
"So this will be a treat for all of you, my wonderful friends," Quinze smiled. "You can see your saviors in action." "I know those pilots will get to them in time," a young man shouted as he and countless others watched in the streets of another colony. There was a sound and gesture of agreement from everyone present. The new leader of OZ continued, "If they fail, you'll know that your hopes in them truly were as wasted as I have always known they were." The pilots were becoming enraged at the man's harsh words as they flew on as fast as they could. For now, I'll leave you the images of your fellow human men and women of D26. We'll let their faces burn in your memories as we wait and see if those pilots really are the saviors you claim them to be."
For a half-hour, the Gundams pierced the skies of space. Every pilot turned the screen with the prisoners off, unable to watch their fear any longer. They didn't need to have them on their visuals. The images of those poor people that had been captured were etched in their minds as they tried to stay as calm as possible. With their angel wings, Wing Zero and Excalibur were the fastest of the group. It was not long when they saw the first glimpse of the distant, threatened colony. "THERE IT IS!" Heero announced as he and his comrades sped up to reach the Colony. The pilots went off with force as they reached the field where the citizens were being held.
Fighting with everything that they had, they tore through the swarms of Leos, Virgos, Aires, and Taurus suits. The people that had been captured cheered and watched as their saviors had arrived to save all of them. It was almost another half-hour before all of the OZ soldiers retreated. The Gundam pilots all fell back in their seats, sweating, panting and exhausted from the struggle. There were just so many of those OZ soldiers and there was nothing to keep them from coming it seemed. When they finally cut their numbers considerably, their enemies raced off.
Sette wiped her brow and sighed deeply, "Thank you, God." Kumi gave a small smile, "Mission complete." Heero nodded, "Situation stable...Is everyone alright?" All of the pilots gave some kind of affirmative to the question. Heero smiled and leaned back a bit. Just then, he switched on all of his monitors again. "N-NANI!?!" he cried. On his monitor, the visual of the people captured outside of the city was still there. "How the hell-" the Wing pilot gasped. Kumi asked, "What's wrong, Heero?" "No," the Japanese pilot whispered gravely. "TURN YOUR MONITORS BACK ON NOW!" he cried. Terrified, his friends did just that. "WHAT!?!" Kumi shrieked as she looked to the screen.
Quinze's appeared on the screen again as he chuckled, "Only ten minutes to go and still no Gundams to save the people of D26." "WE JUST SAVED ALL OF THEM! WHAT IS THIS!?!" Wufei hollered. Kumi paled as she lowered her head and sighed deeply, quietly, "It was a diversion." "WHAT ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT!?!" Sette cried. "We just got all of the people of D26 out of OZ'S hands," Quatre intervened. Kumi shook her head, "He used the reaL D26 as a decoy. The people of Earth and the other colonies are being led to believe they're watching D26, since they have no way of knowing the truth. OZ has the only way to communicate to all of them." Heero turned pale as well as he whispered, "And now they'll all think that we deserted them." Kumi gave a light nod. The pilots took to the air quickly.
There was a long, paralyzing silence as they looked to the people who were doomed. Relena felt tears in her eyes as she brought a hand to the screen. "How are we going to reach them in time?" she whispered hoarsely. "We can't," Kumi's voice replied. "Are you getting all of this, Lady Une," Quatre called over the communicator. On Peace Million, the young woman nodded and lowered her head in sorrow, "Yes. We have just received word from another Preventer ship that a silver sphere was heading to Colony F32...Twenty minutes from where you are now." "FUCK!" Duo screamed as he threw his fists into the controls and doubled over in rage. "T-This can't be happening," Dorothy gasped as she fell into her seat, shaking.
"LET'S GO!" Heero ordered loudly as Wing Zero went off, it's large wings pushing to go faster. His comrades were right behind him as they zoomed off. They watched in terror as the people of F32 watched the Holocaust shoot towards them. This time, none of the pilots could turn their monitors off. The three newest pilots were struggling with this the most as they felt tears in their eyes. There was no way they would reach the colony in time.
The people on Earth and in the Colonies watched in disbelief and terror as the Holocaust was close to impact. "Where are the Gundam pilots!?!" a young woman on Earth cried. "They'll be there, they have to be," another voice replied loudly. Soon, everyone watching say their hopes die as the sphere crashed into the ground. Just as what happened to L2, everything living withered and fell apart in mere heartbeats. The OZ soldiers were protected again and left the sight as everything died around them. The people watching all around cried out, collapsed, and reacted to the sight before them. In a minute, everything that once lived on F32 perished.
There was a long silence as the images of the dead and deteriorating people were displayed. After what seemed like an eternity of looking to the gruesome images, Quinze Khushrenada appeared again. He was frowning and shaking his head. With sarcastic concern, he asked, "And where are the Gundam pilots? I don't see them anywhere...Do you?" He began to chuckle. This grew into a loud, maddened laughter. The pilots gripped their controls in hatred and rage as they went on listening and watching him. Just then, the screen went black.
* * * * * *
An hour later, the Gundam pilots were walking along F32. The chemicals of the plague were no longer effective. Catherine, Trowa, Quatre, Relena and Wufei looked to the pile of remains in the field of the people that had been killed. Catherine almost collapsed before long and Trowa caught her. His sister clung onto him, shaking. "I-I can't do this anymore," she whispered with wide, frightened eyes. She began to shake with sobs as huge tears rolled down her cheeks. "Please don't make me fight anymore," she pleaded to the tall pilot that held her. Trowa hugged her tightly, unable to find anything comforting to say at this time. He was still shaken up by the events that had unfolded, himself.
Relena and Quatre were sitting beside eachother, unable to feel their legs. "I never saw anything get this bad," the queen whispered hoarsely as she wiped a stray tear from her cheek. Wufei shook his head and growled, "OZ has yet to know what they're up against. We're not out of this fight yet." Quatre closed his eyes and lowered his head, "Let's just hope that there are still people left to save by the end of the war."
Not far from where they were, Duo, Sette, Heero and Dorothy all stood together. "God help all of us," Novem whispered. Sette shook her head, "It's going to take more than God to help us now." Heero had been standing behind his lover, his arms wrapped around Duo's waist as his hands met and rested in the front. He lied his head on the braided pilot's shoulder and sighed deeply. It was only a few months into the war and they already felt like they had been fighting it for years. They were 22 years old-going-on-60. They supported eachother to stay standing as they rested their foreheads against together and closed their eyes.
The four pilots turned as they heard footsteps approaching. Kumi walked to them with a grim look on her face. She raised her head to look at her cousin and said quietly, in monotone, "I have to talk to you." Heero nodded and reluctantly removed his hands from Duo. He stumbled, still too shaken from the day's events. The American caught him just in time. Heero held onto him tightly. His cousin lowered her head again and walked off towards the town, waiting for the Wing pilot to join her.
"Are you okay, koi?" Duo asked gently in Heero's ear with concern in his voice. Heero looked to him and nodded, "Hai...Gomen." Sette shrugged, "With the exception of Kumi, everyone's had a lot taken out of them. There's nothing to be sorry about." Duo gave a firm nod and assured his lover, "Sette's right. You haven't done anything wrong." The braided pilot kissed his cheek once his partner got back on his feet. "Arigato," he nodded to his lover and his friends. With that, he walked off to follow the pilot he always knew as his sister.
Kumi was waiting for Heero in the city not far from were the civilians were killed. She was sitting on a pile of rubble from a building that had been blown apart in order to heard the people together. She looked up when she heard the Wing pilot approaching her. She stood and asked quietly, "Are you alright?" Heero nodded, "Just taken back, that's all...What did you need to see me about?" Kumi sighed deeply. After a pause, she replied quietly, "Remember the term Scorched Earth?" Heero's eyes widened.
* * * * * *
The Gundam pilots were back together not long after the cousins went off to talk. After a long wait, the 'Perfect Soldiers' returned to them. They both looked at a loss as they turned to their comrades. Duo broke the silence as he asked quietly, "What's wrong?" His lover replied hesitantly, "We have to burn everything down in this colony." The eyes and mouths of the pilots shot wide as they gasped. Kumi explained, "This Colony is filled with Gundamimum. OZ will be back to collect everything that was left behind. They'll use the metal to make more suits like Gemini and Capricorn if we don't destroy it before they get here."
Wufei shook his head violently, "How can you stand there and act like this isn't right?" The silver-haired pilot said coldly, "Because it is right. If we leave the Gundamimum in tact, thousands more will die at the hands of OZ...We have no choice." The other pilots lowered their heads, walked away, did whatever they had to in order to get themselves back together. Heero sighed, "We're not destroying the colony all together...After the war, everything can be rebuilt and renewed again." He was still having a hard time with this decision, but it really was the only thing that they could do to keep OZ from getting any more Gundamimum. After a long pause, the pilots reluctantly agreed to the decision.
* * * * * *
That night, the Gundams were soaring through the Colony, spraying flames and blowing up every town. Nothing would remain standing by the time the morning came. On a mountain, the pilots watched as the flames engulfed everything below and around them. The heat traveled up to them as the wind picked up and made the flames grow higher every second. Before long, all they could see was fire. One-by-one, they began to turn and walk back to their suits, heavy-hearted and exhausted.
* * * * * *
As soon as the pilots returned to Peace Million, they stood together in the hanger in a tight group, talking amongst themselves. Sette smiled, rubber her hands together and announced over all of them, "Well, I'm scared shitless! How about the rest of you?" Everyone looked to her and she went on, "Drinks are on me tonight. Lord knows we might never get the chance the drink together again." With, that, she began to walk out of the hanger. Soon, they all agreed that they needed a few drinks and went off to join the princess. Catherine remained.
Later in the bar, the pilots sat together at a round table and discussed the Keiser's strategy. "Zes, Novem," Kumi began. The pilots looked to their trainer and nodded. The silver-haired woman sighed, "If neither of you and Delapan don't mind, I think it would be best that the rest of us are the ones sent to those Colonies. Even with our experience, this is going to be a challenge." Relena said quietly, "I'm perfectly fine with that idea. I wasn't looking forward to fighting alone." Dorothy nodded, "And Mr. Milliardo and Ms. Nion are going to have their baby before long. It would be nice for them to have familiar faces when the time comes." Heero replied, "Exactly. Thank you for understanding." Dorothy sighed, "I wasn't looking forward to fighting out there, alone, myself."
Just then, the sound of a massive explosion came from the hanger. The pilots immediately ran off with no time to react. When they ran into the hanger, a ring of smoke and fire was engulfing Slither. "WHAT THE-" Sette cried and she and the others watched as Preventers frantically went onto try and save the Gundam. "CATHERINE!?!" Trowa called out. The pilots watched as Catherine walked slowly to all of them. Her eyes were bloodshot and tears continued to fall down her cheeks. She glared at the others and said sternly, "If I had found enough explosives, I would have destroyed all of those damn suits...WE CAN'T WIN THIS WAR!" Her brother ran out and held her as she shook in his arms again.
Kumi walked up to the pair and looked down to Catherine. The redhead growled deeply to her, "Either find another pilot for Unit 08 or destroy it. I'll have no part of this war any longer." Kumi lowered her head and nodded, "Very well, Catherine." It was the first time the young woman ever called Trowa's sister by her real name. She left the two to be alone. Heero ordered one of the Preventers, "Have Unit 08 repaired as quickly as possible. We only need seven suits to fly off tomorrow so see that nothing happens to units 01, 02, 03, 04, 05, 07 or 10." The Preventer saluted and nodded before running off and aiding in extinguishing the flames. Kumi walked to him and sighed deeply, "We don't have time to train a new pilot. We'll have to wait until we come back. With Euphoria, Calvary and Rampage, the Preventers should be able to hold off any retaliation from the OZ towards the colonies near here." Her replied with his usual, "Hn."
Catherine passed out in her brother's arms. Trowa sighed deeply as he cradled her and walked to the others. Looking to his friends, he whispered in shame, "I-I'm sorry...I thought never thought that she could do anything like this." Quatre shook his head, "It's not your fault, Trowa. She just couldn't handle it." Sette added, "It happens. 08 will be fixed before long." The tall pilot gave a nod and left with his sister. When they were gone, Sette announced loudly, "Well, back to the bar! We've only been through three rounds and I feel myself sobering already. Let's go!" Her friends joined her as they returned to try and block out the pain and fear in them, even if it would only be for the night.
* * * * * *
Back on the OZ headquarter ship, Qunize Khushrenada was with his head soldiers as they celebrated their latest accomplishment. "How long do you think it'll take the people of the Earth and the Colonies to side with us now that they think the Gundam pilots are letting them down?" Abrasia asked as he took another sip of his wine. Quinze shrugged, "Not for a long time. Even with those images, they are stubborn. Still, what happened today is just one of many things to come that will make them all see there is nothing that can stop us." Stacy Stanton sneered and wrapped an arm around Carter. "We have Carter to thank for that," she chuckled. Quinze nodded, "Yes. I have all of you to thank. Your efforts and assistance in this will not go unrewarded after our victory." His soldiers smile at this.
Demetris went onto ask, "What is our next step, sir?" Quinze took his glass to his lips while stating simply, "We wait." His aids looked to him in shock. "We wait?" Azrael whispered in disbelief. Carter shook his head, "What good will waiting do? Those pilots are going to make the next move before long." Their leader smiled and closed his eyes as he said, "Exactly. We've taken the offensive long enough. So just relax a while. You'll all be fighting again before long. I can assure you that." His soldiers began to file out of the room, reassured by their leader's words. When he was alone, Quinze sneered after taking another sip of wine. "Let's see what those Gundam pilots have to offer."
TBC