DISCLAIMER: The Gundam Wing characters are not mine, with the exception of Sette Devion and Kumi Yuy.
Gundam Wing: The Second Chapter
Episode 28: Underneath the Virginian Snow
by SkyLark
with help from: Snodin, Vampira, Sam, Stormy, Beekay, Silver Star, GREETER 600, Ruby and everyone who has commented on this saga
The Gundam pilots were still making their way through the woods of Virginia almost a week since they left their first safe house. Luckily for them, the snow had stopped falling before now. However, there was still well over a foot on the ground. The snowmobiles and other vehicles that they had stolen from the bounty hunters were destroyed as they were no longer of use once their fuel ran out a day back. They were tired, hungry, and freezing. But, they all kept their pace up without complaining once. Together, they moved through the thick blanket of snow, climbing steep hills and trees all the while. It was mid-afternoon since they switched their times to sleep and their times to move.
Finally, there was a break in the forest, over one of the steep cliffs that they rose over. Looking down, they saw the roof of another cabin in the near distance. Trowa smiled and sighed deeply, "There it is," as the pilots looked to the small lodge. Relena smiled and asked quietly, "We really made it?" Kumi nodded, still expressionless, "Hai. That's where we'll be staying for the rest of our stay here." Relieved, the others ran down the other side of the cliff, careful not to fall as they shouted and cheered. They ran to the cabin with elated faces as they made their way to their now residence. It wasn't long before they reached the front, wooden porch of the cabin.
Kumi and Trowa remained where they were as they watched their comrades sprint ahead of them. Trowa chuckled deeply as he heard their echoed cheers and hollers. Looking to his partner, he asked as he extended his right hand, "Shall we?" The stoic pilot looked ahead and made her own way down the steep cliff without accepting his offer. The tall pilot smirked and shrugged before following her down.
The others were already inside the old, small lodge when they reached the front. Stepping inside, the pilots heard Sette's voice call from upstairs, "I GOT DIBS ON THE BATHTUB!" Delapan shouted from upstairs as well, "DON'T EVEN TRY IT, SETTE! THE FIRST BATH IS MINE!" Wufei was in the living room, shaking his head and sighing, "This is what happens when you live with girls." Zes and Novem chose to ignore their friend's remark and simply rolled their eyes as they sat on a couch.
Quatre was busy at the fireplace in the same room as he lit several logs that were already prepared for them when they arrived. When the fire started, he smiled brightly and held his hands before the flames. The Arabian closed his eyes and sighed in content. Relena and Dorothy jumped from the couch and sat on either side of the blonde pilot to enjoy some heat from the fire.
Trowa sat next to Wufei on the couch he was resting on. Kumi was searching the room as she ran a hand along the wooden walls and examined the floor. The Chinese pilot looked to her with curiosity and asked, "Everything alright." Not turning to her comrade, the silver-haired pilot continued her search and replied, "Hn...Noin said that there was something in this cabin that we should look for when we got here." Quatre turned to look to the other pilot and asked, "Did she say what we were to look for?" The 'Perfect Soldier' shook her head, "No," and continued to scan the room.
Entering the adjacent kitchen, Kumi found the door to the basement in the corner beside the gas stove. Opening that door, the pilot turned on the light switch inside the doorway and looked down the stairs. She reached the basement floor and her eyes widened. The basement was a hidden hanger. All of the Gundams were lying on their backs in secured their own 'beds.' There was a control panel with several computers and a main monitor that they could all lock onto. The area was base all its own, hidden under the snow-covered ground.
Walking to her Gundam, the first one that lied in the hanger, Kumi looked to the suit carefully. Excalibur was in top condition. The bright lights in the hanger made the metal glisten and shine. One hint of light danced off the right eye of the red pair that the suit's face offered, making it seem to wink at its pilot as she looked down to it. The 'Perfect Soldier' smirked and went to run back upstairs.
Kumi rejoined the others in the living room. Trowa looked to her and asked, "Did you find anything?" The silver-haired pilot nodded and her friends rose in anticipation. The stoic pilot heard arguing upstairs between the tomboy and Trowa's sister. Calling up to them, she told them, "Girls, there's something you need to see." Sette whined, "But, Kumi! I reek!" Delapan walked down the stairs first before the ex-princess listened to her friend. "Omae o koruso," Kumi threatened in a deep growl as she looked upstairs. Sette was on her way down the stair as she snorted, "Don't even act like I don't know what that means by now. You've threatened my life plenty of times."
When everyone was together, the silver-haired pilot led the way down the basement. When they entered the enormous hanger, all of their eyes widened and their jaws went slack at the amazing sight. Sette beamed and shouted, "MASE!" Braking off into a run, she climbed up the side of her Gundam and hugged a section of the sleeping suit's right arm tightly. She kissed the metal there and sighed in content to be reunited with Unit 07. Quatre ran to his own suit and sighed deeply as he smiled and looked down to his Gundam's face, "I've missed you, Sand Rock."
Delapan walked to Slither and smiled as she ran a hand along the green Gundamimum. Sette was watching as she stood on Mason, announcing, "Ladies and Gentlemen, for your viewing enjoyment...It's Delapan and her amazing Gundam, Slither!" Catherine glared to the tomboy, who smiled and waved back. Sette went on to sing the 'Ringling Brother's Circus' theme. Relena and Dorothy laughed along with Quatre and Trowa. Wufei looked to Kumi after rolling his eyes and shaking his head. He asked, "How have you put up with that girl for so long?" the silver-haired pilot deadpanned, "You learn to ignore her." Catherine was still getting reacquainted with her suit and she asked, "How did out suits get here?"
Kumi went to work at one of the computers in the beginning of the hanger to find the answer to that. The other pilots were looking to their own suits as they saw that they were in wonderful shape and just waiting for action. Trowa was on Heavy Arms, sitting in his cockpit and holding onto his controls, anticipation the time that he would get to pilot his Gundam again. Wufei was doing much of the same as he was in Nataku's cockpit. He smiled and closed his eyes in meditation, feeling right at home again.
Relena was lying on her back on Calvary's chest with her arms folded behind her head. Novem was lying on her suit on her own suit, just happy to be reunited with Rampage again. Kumi was still working on the computer and locked onto a message that was waiting in the bank of the system. She announced, "I think this will explain everything." The pilots all ran from their spots and stood huddled behind their comrade as she clicked onto the message.
Noin's image appeared on the screen as she smiled, "Hi, everyone. I'm glad that you reached your new safe house. I won't make this long, since I know that you all must be tired. This cabin was actually a hidden OZ base in the Eve Wars that had been left abandoned afterwards. As you can see, it's still in great condition and can still be utilized without anyone knowing that it exists. Milliardo, Sally, Lady Une, Marimaya and myself have sent your suits with the help of other Preventers and made sure that they were not in danger of being located before reaching the hanger.
"We also had this system linked to the control room of Pulsar, so we can contact each other regularly. Right now, do whatever you want and relax, since I know that the trip here couldn't have been an easy one. We miss all of you and love you. We'll talk soon." Fire's image then disappeared as the screen went black.
Wufei looked up to scan the hanger again as he said in awe, "I can't believe this place is in such good shape after seven years." Quatre nodded as he chuckled deeply, "It's amazing what technology's done over the years." Sette rubbed her hands together and announced, "Well, I don't know about the rest of you, but I'm getting my bath!" At this, she broke off into a run with Delapan right on her heels as she shouted, "No you don't!" The two pilots disappeared upstairs again as they shouted things back and forth in their race for the bathroom.
Turning her chair around to look at the other pilots, the 'Perfect Soldier' asked, "Who wants to go first in talking to the others on Pulsar?" Relena stepped forward and asked, "Is it alright if I talk to Brian?" The silver-haired pilot nodded and rose. Zes took to the seat and placed a headset on. Kumi taped some commands into the system and soon, there was a signal transfer.
Sally's image appeared on the screen and her face brightened as she smiled, "Zes!" The young queen smiled brightly in response, "Sally! How are you?" Water answered, "I'm good. Are all of you okay?" Wufei poked his head over Relena's shoulder as he smiled lovingly to the Preventer. He said gently, "Hey, Sal." Water's expression became even a look of great relief when she saw that her boyfriend was alright. "Wufei," she whispered in a sigh.
The Chinese pilot told her, "Patch into Nakatu's intercom. I'll be in the cockpit and we'll talk that way." Sally nodded, "Alright, hon." Looking back to Relena, she smiled, "Brian's right here." Wufei ran off to Nataku and Sally switched the signal to patch into the computer where Brian was so she could talk to Wufei and allow the married couple a moment to speak alone. Kumi waved off the other pilots to allow the couple their privacy as they went up the stairs. Brian Weatherall's image appeared and he looked to his wife and sighed in relief, "Relena. Thank God you're alright." The young pilot nodded, "How are you, love?" Brian replied, "I'm fine." With a wide smile, he said quietly, "I have some wonderful news to tell you..."
Almost an hour later, not long after Wufei and Sally had their conversation, both Sette and Delapan had taken their baths and were with the others in the living room where the fireplace was still glowing brightly. Catherine sat beside her brother and said, "This cabin alone is pretty small, but there are enough rooms for each of us to sleep alone." Sette nodded, "And I don't think we'll have to worry about anyone finding us here since we're so secluded in these woods."
Quatre stated, "I saw a lot of other ships along with out suits downstairs. We could use them to get supplies from Pulsar if we even need them." Wufei replied, "Sally was telling me that was way they were left here in the first place. This way, we can fly wherever we want since they're the kind of ships any civilian could have now." Novem smiled, "You have to hand it to Lady Une and the others...They don't leave anything overlooked."
Kumi was sitting by the window that was close to the front door. Looking outside, she thought aloud, "We'll need to have a lookout sit here at night to make sure that there aren't any surprises from those hunters." Trowa nodded, "I agree. We'll take turns every night. That'll make it easier for everyone." There weren't any complaints from the others as they all nodded and understood that it was the best thing to do. The thought of having another attack like the one that caused them to leave the first safe house was enough to make all of them shudder inwardly.
Relena made her way up from the basement with a look of shock on her face. Dorothy gasped and ran to her friend. "Miss Relena, are you alright?" she asked in concern. Zes smiled and nodded as she hugged her friend. Still in shock, she said quietly, "I'm going to be a mother." Novem's eyes widened as she gasped and shouted as she pulled back to look at Relena. She shouted in elation, "YOU'RE PREGNANT!" The other pilots all shouted and ran to the young queen as they cheered and hugged the mother-to-be with their own congratulations for her. Kumi made her way to them from the window. Being the last to greet the young pilot, she simply nodded with a small smile, "Congratulations." Relena hugged and thanked her.
Novem asked with wide eyes, "What are you going to do with Calvary? You can't pilot him when you're pregnant." Relena shrugged, "Why not? I think I'll be able to handle the job. I'm not about to let someone else pilot my Gundam for me." Sette chuckled, "You Peacecrafts are something else. I thought that I was stubborn." Kumi smirked to her, "Must run in the family." The tomboy eyed her friend with a sharp glared without the other pilots noticing or understanding what the silver-haired pilot meant. They were all too happy with the news that they received. Relena said, "Besides, this war won't last eight more months. Heero and Duo will be completing their missions soon and we can take OZ out from there."
Delapan's eyes widened, "Well, we don't know what's going to happen just yet. We'll have to be careful before getting hopes up so quickly." Quatre nodded, "She's right. I know that we're in great shape to getting through this fight quickly, but anything can happen...as much as I hate to imagine anything going wrong." The Arabian lowered his head and said quietly, "Let's just keep out fingers crossed for Heero and Duo. They have a lot of work ahead of them."
Wufei stated to Relena, "As long as you'll be alright in piloting your suit, we'll help and support you anyway that we can." The young queen smiled and nodded, "I'll be fine with all of you here. I couldn't think of any other pilots I'd rather fight with." Kumi gave a nod, "Then it's decided. You'll continue to pilot Unit 06, but if anything happens and you're not sure you can carry through your piloting, you'll let us know right away, ne?" Dorothy nodded and made the queen look right at her as she said sternly, "That's right. Then moment you don't feel right, you tell us immediately, Miss Relena. I don't want to see anything happen to you or the baby." Relena nodded to her dearest friend, "Of course." Novem nodded and said with a warm smile, "Good."
Kumi accepted this answer and made her way to the basement. "I'll be working in the hanger if any of you need me," she informed the others. Her friends all nodded and went to relaxing in the living room again. The silver-haired pilot walked downstairs and headed right for the computer system that was provided. Chiming into Pulsar's signal, she placed a headset on and began, "This is Pilot One Zero for Lady Une." The head of the Preventers appeared on the screen after a moment. Une smiled to the pilot, "Hello, Kumi. Is there something wrong." The stoic young woman replied, "I was wondering if you heard anything about Heero and Duo's missions...Are they close to completing them?"
Lady Une nodded, "I didn't want to worry you, so I decided not to say anything unless you asked." The pilot shook her head and said in her usual, monotone voice, "Don't worry about me." The young woman chuckled, "I figured you would say that." Lady Une began, "Heero and Duo have to complete their missions perfectly in sync with each other. If they don't, they won't be able to activate the hearts of the Colonies to channel the signal that they need to work into the system." The cobalt eyes of the Excalibur's pilot widened for a split moment before she thought aloud, "That's not going to be the easiest of tasks for them. And they only get one shot at it."
Lady Une smiled, "I know that they'll be successful in their missions." Kumi nodded, "I know they will, too." Something just seemed a little more dangerous about this mission, in the pilot's mind. Une informed the pilot, "I just received a message a few minutes ago that is addressed to Trowa. It's from Duo and marked 'Urgent'." Kumi raised a curious eyebrow then said, "I'll tell him about that right now."
The head of the Preventers remarked, "I'll patch it through to his system right away." The pilot nodded, "Thank you. I'll also be sending one of the pilots back to Pulsar in one of the ships here for supplies. Other than that, we'll be in contact when needed." The young woman smiled, "Very well. We'll talk again soon, then. Take care of yourselves out there." The 'Perfect Soldier' gave one last nod and the signal was turned off.
Kumi thought aloud to herself with narrowed eyes as she was deep in thought, "I had no idea that the last two missions were going to be such a challenge...Not that Heero and Duo won't be able to pull it off...And I wonder what Duo could possibly have sent to Trowa." Rising from her seat, the silver-haired pilot went off to inform her comrade that he was needed to intercept the urgent message.
* * * * * *
On the ship that they had been flying in for months now, Heero and Sera were in the hanger, looking after Wing Zero and the provisions that that Heero would be taking to Colony X63 with him. Checking off everything that they made a list of, they made sure not to forget anything. The young pilot looked to his suit carefully to see that everything was ready for the flight that was to come. His mother looked with a cautious watch over his other materials.
The laptop beeped and Commander Wilcox's image appeared on the screen. Sera looked to her good friend and she smiled warmly, "Hello, Justin." Wilcox smiled back the same, "Hello, Sera. I've been trying to get through for several hours now." Heero's ears picked this up instantly as he floated down to the laptop from where he was over the cockpit of his winged Gundam. Both he and Sera were right before the monitor now. Heero asked, "Are Kumi and the other pilots alright?" The Commander answered, "They're just fine, Heero." The Wing pilot sighed in relief to himself.
Looking to Sera, the commander asked, "Will you be returning to Pulsar when you and Heero split off?" Sera bit her lip, then shook her head, "No. I'll be flying back to our original base. You know me...I go wherever the stars guide me." Wilcox chuckled, "I wish you well, then, Sera. When this war is over, we'll try to catch up." Makato nodded. Saluting to Heero, he smiled, "God speed, Heero. Send Duo our best as well." Heero assured him with a warm smile, "I'll do that. Thank you for your help." The Commander nodded, "My pleasure." The screen went black.
With a deep sigh, Sera looked to her son and shrugged, "Well, everything that you need is here and ready to be go." Heero nodded, "Wing Zero's ready, as well. I'll just pack the last of the supplies." As the Gundam pilot placed the backpacks and duffle bags of equipment, food and other necessities, Sera wrote some notes on the blank back of the check-off list. When Heero was finished, she handed him the paper, explaining, "This tells you what to do in channeling the signal that Duo can be found on. It'll take at least two hours to get through." The Wing pilot nodded, "Thank you," and took the paper into his hand, folded it and placed into his right jean pocket.
Heero shrugged, "Then I guess this is good bye." Sera nodded with her forced smile, not saying anything, afraid that she would break into tears. The 'Perfect Soldier' smiled, "Take care of your son. I'm sure he misses you." Makato cleared her throat replied in a breathy whisper, "I've missed him." Heero extended his right hand to the Preventer and said sincerely, "Thank you for everything, Sera." His mother nodded and shook his hand firmly, "It's been a pleasure, Heero. Be careful out there." The Wing pilot replied, "Same to you."
The handshake was broken and Sera watched with a shattered heart as Heero floated up into the cockpit of Wing Zero. She backed up and placed the helmet to her spacesuit on. The Wing pilot was soon secured in his own spacesuit and harnessed into his seat. Makato was given the signal that the pilot was ready when he lifted the Gundam's right hand in a near wave. Pressing the release button of the hanger, Sera held onto a metal beam and the hatch of the ship's hanger opened. Wing Zero took off into the stars.
Sera closed the hanger doors and walked into the cockpit. When the cockpit's doors closed behind her, Sera removed her helmet, collapsing to her knees and doubled over as she was shaking with sobs. Tears were streaming down her face past her brown eyes. Her short, brown hair was falling in her face as she sat this way on the floor, too overcome by loss and pain to pay much mind to anything.
* * * * * *
It was not nightfall and Trowa was looking to the screen of one of the computers in the hanger to see what had been sent to him the moment Kumi told him about the urgent message. When he clicked onto the icon of the message, there was a recorded message from his braided comrade. Duo smiled and waved, "Hey, Tro-man! I was taking out one of the OZ bases I was sent to get rid of on the way to V10 when I found this OZ transcript...It's encrypted in some hidden OZ fashion that I couldn't even begin to decipher." He chuckled deeply, "I figured a clever guy like yourself would be able to translate it, since you've disguised as one of their own so many times."
The tall pilot smirked at this. Duo continued with a small, almost sad smile, "I miss all you guys. Give everyone a hug for me and Heero. I know he misses all of you, too. Wish us luck on completing these missions." With a salute, he winked, "Shinigami signing off." The message concluded and the image of the braided pilot disappeared. Trowa gave a small, sad smile and turned his focus on the transcript that had been sent with the message. The transcript was several pages long, and in a code that was difficult to read at first glance. Trowa pressed the print button and decided to look at the encrypted message that way.
As he was heading upstairs with the report in his hands, Trowa was passed by a beaming Sette as she went running down to the hanger. The tall pilot chuckled, "Where are you heading?" Sette looked back to him as she answered with a bright smile, "Kumi's sending me on a mission. I'm going to Pulsar to get some supplies that'll get us through the next week or two. I'll only be away for a few hours."
Trowa smiled back and nodded, "Just be sure to get back soon. Heero and Duo will be completing their missions before another day passes, so we'll be able to watch on the system here...It'll be nice to watch it when we're all together." Sette nodded and sighed deeply in anticipation, "Aw, I wouldn't miss that for the anything." Waving to her friend, the tomboy called, "See ya!" Trowa waved back, "Have fun."
Sette ran to one of the personal ships and locked herself into the seat. Trowa turned back to help with the take off as he stood before the control panel of the hanger. Seeing that the tomboy was ready, he unlocked the hatch to the locked doors of the enormous room's ceiling. Outside, the ground that was not covered by trees split wide open. Sette watched as the metal ceiling parted into a clear straightway to the clear, star-filled night. With a huge smile, she chuckled, "Hot damn."
Pressing forward on her controls, the ex-princess shot off through the opening and out of the thick wood. Her ship shot off in a b-line right for the atmosphere. Trowa watched with a smile. Closing the hatch, everything was hidden by the frozen, snow-covered earth again. Shaking his head and chuckling deeply, the European pilot made his way back to the stairs. As he climbed back to the ground level of the safe house, he looked to the papers in his hands. "Let's see what I can gather from this," he said to himself.
* * * * * *
Heero had been waiting for the commands that he punched into his controls to connect with his lover's signal as he flew for X63. As he looked ahead to the main monitors before him, the small screen to his right was blinking. A small smile crossed his lips as he turned to the monitor. Duo's image appeared on the screen. The American beamed and he whispered in a sigh, "Heero." The Wing pilot replied the same, "Duo."
Duo was sitting on the bed in his apartment, looking to his laptop. Heero asked, "How was it working with one of the shipyards on V10?" The braided pilot shrugged, "Pretty good. It was nice to have something to do during my stay here." The wing pilot had a feeling that something was wrong and asked, "Is everything okay there?" Duo nodded, "Yea, from what I've gathered...All of the mobile suits that have been built at the shipyards are sent to bases in the area for the soldiers there to protect the colonies." Heero shrugged, "Standard procedures in a war like this."
The American sighed deeply with a frown, "Yea...I think I'm losing my mind, love, but I still have this bad feeling-" Heero's eyes widened when he heard this. He then leaned forward to looked closely to his partner, locking onto his eyes. He said sternly, "Duo, listen to me...If you have any bad feelings about this mission, get out of there, no matter how crazy you think you might be." Duo was shocked to hear his lover actually suggesting the possibility of aborting a mission.
The braided pilot licked his lips nervously as he took all of this in. He blinked and replied, "H-Heero, I can't believe you're actually suggesting abandoning a mission." The wing pilot shook his head, "I trust you with me life, koi. You should trust yourself now. If you have a bad feeling that something is wrong, get as far from V10 as you can and as quickly as possible...I'd rather have an aborted mission to worry about than let anything happen to you."
Duo was still taken back as he looked in awe to his lover. Heero lowered his head and pleaded silently with closed eyes, "Please, Duo. Promise me that you'll do what I ask. You're my main concern and always will be. No mission, or anything for that matter, will ever take your place...A-Ai shiteru." The last phrase was a breathy whisper. There was a pause of silence between the pilots.
"Ai shireru, Heero," Duo whispered. Looking up to the screen, the Wing pilot saw the sweet, loving smile on the American's face. Duo planted a kiss on the tip of his fingers and rested them on the screen. He whispered, but assured his partner, "I promise that I'll get out if I think that something's wrong, Heero." The Japanese pilot gave a small smile and kissed the tips of his fingers the same as he rested his hand over the image of his love's. "I'm holding you to that," he said quietly. Duo laughed. He smiled, "You know me...I might run and hide, but I never tell a lie." The light in the Wing pilot's eyes came back at this.
The pair lowered their hands and just looked to each other for a moment. "I can't wait to be with you again," Duo whispered. Heero whispered back, "Neither can I...Only a few hours now." The American smiled and nodded, too anxious for words right now. The Japanese sighed deeply, "I'll talk to you soon, hon." The braided pilot bit his lip and replied, "Yea...I-I love you, Heero." His partner answered, "I love you too, Duo...Just remember what you promised." Duo nodded, "I will. Talk to you soon." Heero nodded back, suddenly getting a sick feeling in his stomach. "Sweet dreams, koi," he finally whispered.
The connection was cut off and the 'Perfect Soldier' stared at the blank screen where his lover's image had been for a long, silent moment. Sitting back in his seat, Heero took a deep breath and said quietly to himself, "Why am I starting to have a bad feeling about this mission now?" The fact that Duo was the one saying that he thought something was strange didn't help. The American would never say anything like that prior to any of his other missions. Heero pulled the cross around his neck from it's hiding place under his spacesuit. Gripping onto the metal with his right hand, he closed his eyes to get some rest before arriving on X63.
* * * * * *
A few hours later, on Pulsar, the Preventers were on their toes as they worked in the control room, preparing for the completion of the last two missions. Lady Une and Lieutenant Keiser were in the back of the room to see that everything was working well. One of the young soldiers working at the computers there turned back to her commander and stated, "We should be able to get a visual of the two colonies before the Gundam pilots go to reach the colony hearts. Two Peventer crafts are close enough to shoot the images and transfer them here. It'll be difficult to get great shots until the signals are established, but it'll be something to help us have an idea as that what is happening there." Lady Une nodded, "Good. We'll be sure to send the same images to the hanger on Earth so the pilots can watch as well.
Keiser turned to the head of the Preventers and said quietly, "It's not too late to have two other Preventers take care of the missions for Heero and Duo." Lady Une shook her head, "I understand your concern, but I'm not going to do that." The Lieutenant sighed deeply and shook his head, "What ever you say." He went off to the front of the control. The young woman lowered her head and closed her eyes, trying not to let her nerves affect her. Something about Keiser's constant request to get the pilots out of there was unnerving.
Milliardo, Noin and Sally were all together near the front of the control room. Fire looked to her husband and said gently, "You've been edgy all day, love. Is anything wrong?" Wind shook his head, "I'm fine...I'll just feel better when all of this is finished." Sally nodded, "It won't be much longer now. By this time tomorrow, we'll be able to contact any and everyone in space."
Derek Anderson was sitting at one of the computers not far from where the trio was standing. He had a headset on and his hands were folded together as his elbows propped them up before his face. Listening to the others, he sighed deeply to himself. He heard Noin say to her friends, "Personally, I don't care whether or not Heero and Duo complete their missions, as long as they get back here safely." The eyes of the young man closed slowly as he lowered his hands. Removing his headset, Derek left the control room silently.
Entering his room, Derek sat at the edge of his bed and lowered his head into his hands. On the desk on the opposite side of his bed, his computer blinked on. The sound of the monitor kicking in caused Anderson's brown eyes to widen as his hands slowly fell onto his lap. Without turning his back to face the screen, he said quietly, "I thought that you got the point not to bother me." He did not expect to hear the deep voice that replied, "Oh, you didn't think that you were getting away out of this so easily did you?"
Derek froze again. Slowly turning back to face the screen, he saw he cross face of Quinze Khushrenadah. The OZ leader was shooting the spy with daggers through his glare. The blonde pilot's lips moved, but nothing came out. Quinze shook his head, "Aw, Derek. And you were doing so well, too."
Anderson finally found his voice and said quietly, "I can't help you. Everything that I've told you about the missions prior to now has been accurate, hasn't it?" The man on the screen nodded, "True, you did manage to tell us where we could expect to find the Gundam pilots when they left for their missions." The spy replied, "I told you everything that I was able to gather. The Preventers have been blocking any more information...If I found anything more, I would have contacted you."
Quinze sighed deeply and crossed his arms, "Don't lie to me, Derek. I know that you've been refusing to speak to us for the last few weeks." He smirked, "You're not getting a soft spot for those pilots and the Preventers are you?" The pause in the blonde's answer caused the OZ leader to shout in rage, "GODDAMN IT! YOU BETTER WAKE UP AND REALIZE WHAT A MISTAKE YOU'RE MAKING!" With several deep, quick breaths, Quinze composed himself again.
The OZ leader said as calmly as possible, in a low growl, "Which pilots is flying to V10?" Derek shook his head, "Your guess is as good as mine." The eyes of his commander widened at this remark. Finally, Quinze smirked, "Perhaps I should go ahead and use a Holocaust on T217. Your home colony would be the perfect target." Derek's eyes widened as he shouted, "Please don't do that, sir! The people there haven't done anything to harm you!" Quinze shrugged, "You're one of them, and you're challenging me. That's enough that they should all pay for your insolence."
Derek growled deeply and clenched his fists as he lowered his head. The OZ leader continued, "Tell me which pilot is flying to the colony and your own colony will be spared. I'll forget that any of this happened. We have a secret alliance with Colony V10 and cannot afford to miss the chance to take out one of the Gundam pilots. Now which pilot is it?" The question was all but shouted to the spy as Quinze glared to the young pilot. There was another pause and Derek had not so much as lifted his head.
Quinze growled, "Fine. I'll send your best to T217 before-" "Duo Maxwell," Derek cut him off in a low whisper. The green eyes of the commander widened for a moment. He leaned forward and asked, "What was that, Derek?" Anderson looked up to the screen and answered clearly, "Duo Maxwell is the pilot that was sent to V10." Quinze's lips gave way to a sneer and he asked, "Now was that so hard, my friend?" Derek looked away from the screen and didn't answer.
"You know, I could hold this whole ordeal against you and simply go back on my word to protect your home," the OZ leader chuckled deeply. Derek looked back o him in fear. Quinze smirked, "But, I like you. Your help has allowed us to locate all the pilots up to now...I just hope for your sake that you're not lying to me about Maxwell." Anderson shook his had and replied, "It's not a lie, sir. He's the one you'll find on V10." The commander nodded, "I believe you...Just don't try and cross me again. I don't like it when people upset me." Derek sighed deeply to himself and nodded, "Yes, sir."
Derek lowered his head as his face paled. Quinze suggested, "You should get some sleep, Derek. You don't look so well." He chuckled, "Can't have one of my best spies getting sick on me at a time like this." The computer went black and the young pilot clenched his teeth as he growled deeply and shouted. Derek was beginning to sweat and felt like he would be throwing up at any second. Not prepared to get sick in his room, the blonde pilot quickly made his way into the adjoining bathroom.
* * * * * *
Foreign Minister Falseon was pacing in his office that night with a look of distress on his face. As he worked continued to pace, the screen on his laptop blinked on to reveal the image of Quinze. Their green eyes locked onto each other and the balding man all but growled, "It's about time." The OZ leader chuckled, "Easy, Michael. You're an old man now. So much stress on yourself can't be good for you." Falseon gave a deep, "Humph" that caused the young man to laugh. "I know that you're worried about this attack that's coming," Quinze stated.
"Well have you learned which pilot we're to expect? That 'reliable source' of yours hasn't been as reliable as we hoped he would be." The OZ commander nodded, "I've taken care of that. And yes, I know which pilot you can expect to find there." The Foreign Minster asked with wide eyes, "Who?" Quinze answered, "Duo Maxwell. I'm be sending the reports and images that I have of the pilot to you as we speak. You can expect him to make his move anywhere in the next few hours. I'll have an army of OZ soldiers sent to keep him busy while you carry out your part of the plan." The leader of V10 nodded, "I understand. Thank you for your help." Quinze chuckled deeply and shrugged, "We're in this together, remember...And just like I said, I don't want Mazwell killed. I want him captured and brought to me." Falseon nodded, "I understand."
The connection was cut and soon, the reports that the OZ leader had sent appeared on the screen. Looking through the files, Falseon found the mug-shot of the braided American that had been staying on his colony. Picking up his phone, the minister called one of his guards and said, "I have what we were looking for. See that what I am sending you gets passed to our men." He hung the phone up and clicked several commands into his laptop. With a hard stroke, Falseon hit the send button and the information was transferred. The old man sneered to the image of the Gundam pilot, "This is going to be fun."
* * * * * *
Quatre and Trowa were in the dining room, sitting at the oval table there. The tall pilot was carefully overlooking the pages that he had printed of the OZ transcript that Duo had sent to him. Trowa was making notes with a pencil, erasing and scribbling as he read the encrypted message. The Arabian asked, "How is it coming?"
Trowa shrugged, "Okay, I guess. OZ has been smart enough to change their format in these messages since the last time I spied on them." Quatre questioned, "Are you able to recognize anything in the transcript that might be able to help us?" His friend answered, "I'm coming up with bits and pieces right now. It'll take a few hours to get through the whole thing." Something struck a bad cord in the blonde pilot when he heard this. Trowa didn't like that it would take so long to decipher the message, himself.
Novem couldn't help but overhear the conversation before she entered the room. Looking to Trowa with her extended right hand, she asked, "Can I have a look at that?" Trowa nodded and handed her the papers. Dorothy eyes the papers and said aloud after a long pause, "Some of these codes are ancient Japanese words. I can't recognize them, myself other than by their appearance. If you could decipher them, that'll talk tare of at lease a third of the message." Quatre and Trowa looked to her in amazement. They quickly got to their feet and read over their friend's shoulders.
The Arabian smiled, "You're right, Novem. I didn't even notice that." Trowa replied in awe, "Neither did I." He nodded, "Thank you," as Dorothy handed him the papers again. The young woman smiled back and chuckled deeply, "You pick up a few things when you work for the King and Queen of the World's representatives." Trowa smiled, "Thanks, Novem! I'll work on looking up some of these words, then." At this, he ran to the kitchen to head down to the hanger. Looking to Quatre's continued look of amazement, Dorothy sighed deeply and shrugged, "And they say blonds don't know anything." Quatre laughed loudly with his friend.
* * * * * *
Sette was on Pulsar, raiding the refrigerator in one of the ship's many kitchens. Placing a good amount of food into the backpacks that she brought with her, the tomboy chuckled, "Kumi sent the right person for this job." Just then, the door to the kitchen opened and Milliardo entered. The ex-princess dropped the cans that she had taken from the refrigerator and gasped as she lost her grip on them. Looking up and blushing to her half-brother, Sette chuckled, "Butter fingers."
Milliardo chuckled and walked to the tomboy. Kneeling beside the younger pilot, he asked, "Do you think this will be enough for all of you for the next two weeks?" Sette shrugged, "I have a lot of other things that I gathered in Mason already. We should be okay." Milliardo aided the ex-princess in gathering the cans she dropped and placed them in her bags. Rising first, he offered the blur-haired pilot his hand and pulled her up. Sette smiled, "Thank you, Milliardo." He nodded, "Don't mention it." Handing the pilot her bags, he asked, "Will you be okay carrying all of this back to the hanger?" The tomboy answered, "Yea. I've handled a lot more than this at one shot plenty of times." She strapped two bags over either shoulder and smiled, "See. No problem."
The door to the kitchen opened again and Sally entered with three large medical kits. "This should be enough to last you until the next visit. Hopefully, you won't have to use any of it." Sette smiled and accepted the white kits. "Thanks, Sally," the tomboy said as she held the equipment against her chest. Millairdo chuckled, "Are you sure that you'll be okay carrying all that?" Sette saluted as she freed her right arm, "Yep. I'm good to go. Thank you for all your help." The pilot hugged her friends with her free arm before gripping the medical kits again and headed to the door.
Walking to the hanger alone, Sette was doing wine with her huge burden to carry. Though she was petite, she was always very strong and could handle herself well. The ex-princess was about to pass the last hall of room where some of the Preventers stayed when one of the door opened just ahead of her. Derek came flying from his room and ran right into Sette. The tomboy gasped loudly as she was knocked onto the floor along with the other young pilot. Somehow, the tomboy never dropped any of the things she had been carrying. She fell onto her right side and was looking to the stunned blonde not far from in front of her.
"Derek," she asked in shock. The Preventer was sweating badly and was wide-eyed as he gasped for breath. His brown eyes focused on the Gundam pilot and he gasped, "S-Sette!?!" The tomboy laughed, "Man, if you wanted a hug, all you had to do was ask." Anderson chuckled nervously as he helped Sette get to her feet. He wiped some of the sweat from his face and said sincerely, "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to run into you like that." The ex-princess smiled and shrugged, "Don't worry about it. I know it was an accident."
The blue-haired young woman looked to her friend's face better. Derek looked pale and was still sweating. "Jesus, Derek. What's wrong with you? You look like hell," she said in concern as she lowered the medical kits and moved to place a hand on the blonde's forehead to see if he was burning up. Anderson stepped back before she could touch him. He shook his head, "I've just been fighting something for a while now. I don't want you getting too close or you'll get sick, too."
Sette bent down to open one of the medical kits as Derek watched, uncertain as to what she was doing. The Gundam pilot took out a bottle of pills and took the Preventer's right hand. "Here, these will help," she told him as she shook a handful of small, dark green pills into her comrade's hand. Derek was taken by the act of kindness and looked to the ex-princess with almost saddened eyes. The tomboy told him, "They're the same things I take when I'm under the weather. I know that I'm going to sound like a mother, but you'll need plenty of rest and liquids. Before long, you'll be back to your good 'ol self again." The ex-princess placed the bottle back into the kit that it came from and took everything into her possession again.
Derek looked to the pills and said quietly, "Thank you." Sette nodded and winked, "Don't mention it. Can't have one of our good friends getting sick on us." Again, Derek's was at a loss of words right now. The tomboy waved when she freed her right hand, "See you later, pal. I don't want to miss watching the fireworks with the others when Heero and Duo complete their missions." Derek nodded, "Of course not." Sette went on to walk towards the hanger. Closing his fist over the pills, the Preventer closed his eyes and lowered his head in silent anguish.
The young man turned and called to the pilot's back, "Sette?" The tomboy turned back and nodded, "What's up?" Derek paused before giving a small, forced smile, "Tell Catherine that I say hello and I miss her." The ex-princess smiled and replied, "Well, for you, I'll be willing to deal with Big Top to tell her that." The Preventer smirked and nodded, "Thank you." Sette nodded back, "Sure thing." She turned back to make her way to the hanger and disappeared as she turned the corner.
Alone, Derek looked to the pills in his hand, still pale and now shaking a little. He dropped the tablets. Squatting, Anderson tried to get his thoughts together. With a pained whisper, he said gravely to himself, "God, what have I done."
TBC
Gundam Wing: The Second Chapter
Episode 28: Underneath the Virginian Snow
by SkyLark
with help from: Snodin, Vampira, Sam, Stormy, Beekay, Silver Star, GREETER 600, Ruby and everyone who has commented on this saga
The Gundam pilots were still making their way through the woods of Virginia almost a week since they left their first safe house. Luckily for them, the snow had stopped falling before now. However, there was still well over a foot on the ground. The snowmobiles and other vehicles that they had stolen from the bounty hunters were destroyed as they were no longer of use once their fuel ran out a day back. They were tired, hungry, and freezing. But, they all kept their pace up without complaining once. Together, they moved through the thick blanket of snow, climbing steep hills and trees all the while. It was mid-afternoon since they switched their times to sleep and their times to move.
Finally, there was a break in the forest, over one of the steep cliffs that they rose over. Looking down, they saw the roof of another cabin in the near distance. Trowa smiled and sighed deeply, "There it is," as the pilots looked to the small lodge. Relena smiled and asked quietly, "We really made it?" Kumi nodded, still expressionless, "Hai. That's where we'll be staying for the rest of our stay here." Relieved, the others ran down the other side of the cliff, careful not to fall as they shouted and cheered. They ran to the cabin with elated faces as they made their way to their now residence. It wasn't long before they reached the front, wooden porch of the cabin.
Kumi and Trowa remained where they were as they watched their comrades sprint ahead of them. Trowa chuckled deeply as he heard their echoed cheers and hollers. Looking to his partner, he asked as he extended his right hand, "Shall we?" The stoic pilot looked ahead and made her own way down the steep cliff without accepting his offer. The tall pilot smirked and shrugged before following her down.
The others were already inside the old, small lodge when they reached the front. Stepping inside, the pilots heard Sette's voice call from upstairs, "I GOT DIBS ON THE BATHTUB!" Delapan shouted from upstairs as well, "DON'T EVEN TRY IT, SETTE! THE FIRST BATH IS MINE!" Wufei was in the living room, shaking his head and sighing, "This is what happens when you live with girls." Zes and Novem chose to ignore their friend's remark and simply rolled their eyes as they sat on a couch.
Quatre was busy at the fireplace in the same room as he lit several logs that were already prepared for them when they arrived. When the fire started, he smiled brightly and held his hands before the flames. The Arabian closed his eyes and sighed in content. Relena and Dorothy jumped from the couch and sat on either side of the blonde pilot to enjoy some heat from the fire.
Trowa sat next to Wufei on the couch he was resting on. Kumi was searching the room as she ran a hand along the wooden walls and examined the floor. The Chinese pilot looked to her with curiosity and asked, "Everything alright." Not turning to her comrade, the silver-haired pilot continued her search and replied, "Hn...Noin said that there was something in this cabin that we should look for when we got here." Quatre turned to look to the other pilot and asked, "Did she say what we were to look for?" The 'Perfect Soldier' shook her head, "No," and continued to scan the room.
Entering the adjacent kitchen, Kumi found the door to the basement in the corner beside the gas stove. Opening that door, the pilot turned on the light switch inside the doorway and looked down the stairs. She reached the basement floor and her eyes widened. The basement was a hidden hanger. All of the Gundams were lying on their backs in secured their own 'beds.' There was a control panel with several computers and a main monitor that they could all lock onto. The area was base all its own, hidden under the snow-covered ground.
Walking to her Gundam, the first one that lied in the hanger, Kumi looked to the suit carefully. Excalibur was in top condition. The bright lights in the hanger made the metal glisten and shine. One hint of light danced off the right eye of the red pair that the suit's face offered, making it seem to wink at its pilot as she looked down to it. The 'Perfect Soldier' smirked and went to run back upstairs.
Kumi rejoined the others in the living room. Trowa looked to her and asked, "Did you find anything?" The silver-haired pilot nodded and her friends rose in anticipation. The stoic pilot heard arguing upstairs between the tomboy and Trowa's sister. Calling up to them, she told them, "Girls, there's something you need to see." Sette whined, "But, Kumi! I reek!" Delapan walked down the stairs first before the ex-princess listened to her friend. "Omae o koruso," Kumi threatened in a deep growl as she looked upstairs. Sette was on her way down the stair as she snorted, "Don't even act like I don't know what that means by now. You've threatened my life plenty of times."
When everyone was together, the silver-haired pilot led the way down the basement. When they entered the enormous hanger, all of their eyes widened and their jaws went slack at the amazing sight. Sette beamed and shouted, "MASE!" Braking off into a run, she climbed up the side of her Gundam and hugged a section of the sleeping suit's right arm tightly. She kissed the metal there and sighed in content to be reunited with Unit 07. Quatre ran to his own suit and sighed deeply as he smiled and looked down to his Gundam's face, "I've missed you, Sand Rock."
Delapan walked to Slither and smiled as she ran a hand along the green Gundamimum. Sette was watching as she stood on Mason, announcing, "Ladies and Gentlemen, for your viewing enjoyment...It's Delapan and her amazing Gundam, Slither!" Catherine glared to the tomboy, who smiled and waved back. Sette went on to sing the 'Ringling Brother's Circus' theme. Relena and Dorothy laughed along with Quatre and Trowa. Wufei looked to Kumi after rolling his eyes and shaking his head. He asked, "How have you put up with that girl for so long?" the silver-haired pilot deadpanned, "You learn to ignore her." Catherine was still getting reacquainted with her suit and she asked, "How did out suits get here?"
Kumi went to work at one of the computers in the beginning of the hanger to find the answer to that. The other pilots were looking to their own suits as they saw that they were in wonderful shape and just waiting for action. Trowa was on Heavy Arms, sitting in his cockpit and holding onto his controls, anticipation the time that he would get to pilot his Gundam again. Wufei was doing much of the same as he was in Nataku's cockpit. He smiled and closed his eyes in meditation, feeling right at home again.
Relena was lying on her back on Calvary's chest with her arms folded behind her head. Novem was lying on her suit on her own suit, just happy to be reunited with Rampage again. Kumi was still working on the computer and locked onto a message that was waiting in the bank of the system. She announced, "I think this will explain everything." The pilots all ran from their spots and stood huddled behind their comrade as she clicked onto the message.
Noin's image appeared on the screen as she smiled, "Hi, everyone. I'm glad that you reached your new safe house. I won't make this long, since I know that you all must be tired. This cabin was actually a hidden OZ base in the Eve Wars that had been left abandoned afterwards. As you can see, it's still in great condition and can still be utilized without anyone knowing that it exists. Milliardo, Sally, Lady Une, Marimaya and myself have sent your suits with the help of other Preventers and made sure that they were not in danger of being located before reaching the hanger.
"We also had this system linked to the control room of Pulsar, so we can contact each other regularly. Right now, do whatever you want and relax, since I know that the trip here couldn't have been an easy one. We miss all of you and love you. We'll talk soon." Fire's image then disappeared as the screen went black.
Wufei looked up to scan the hanger again as he said in awe, "I can't believe this place is in such good shape after seven years." Quatre nodded as he chuckled deeply, "It's amazing what technology's done over the years." Sette rubbed her hands together and announced, "Well, I don't know about the rest of you, but I'm getting my bath!" At this, she broke off into a run with Delapan right on her heels as she shouted, "No you don't!" The two pilots disappeared upstairs again as they shouted things back and forth in their race for the bathroom.
Turning her chair around to look at the other pilots, the 'Perfect Soldier' asked, "Who wants to go first in talking to the others on Pulsar?" Relena stepped forward and asked, "Is it alright if I talk to Brian?" The silver-haired pilot nodded and rose. Zes took to the seat and placed a headset on. Kumi taped some commands into the system and soon, there was a signal transfer.
Sally's image appeared on the screen and her face brightened as she smiled, "Zes!" The young queen smiled brightly in response, "Sally! How are you?" Water answered, "I'm good. Are all of you okay?" Wufei poked his head over Relena's shoulder as he smiled lovingly to the Preventer. He said gently, "Hey, Sal." Water's expression became even a look of great relief when she saw that her boyfriend was alright. "Wufei," she whispered in a sigh.
The Chinese pilot told her, "Patch into Nakatu's intercom. I'll be in the cockpit and we'll talk that way." Sally nodded, "Alright, hon." Looking back to Relena, she smiled, "Brian's right here." Wufei ran off to Nataku and Sally switched the signal to patch into the computer where Brian was so she could talk to Wufei and allow the married couple a moment to speak alone. Kumi waved off the other pilots to allow the couple their privacy as they went up the stairs. Brian Weatherall's image appeared and he looked to his wife and sighed in relief, "Relena. Thank God you're alright." The young pilot nodded, "How are you, love?" Brian replied, "I'm fine." With a wide smile, he said quietly, "I have some wonderful news to tell you..."
Almost an hour later, not long after Wufei and Sally had their conversation, both Sette and Delapan had taken their baths and were with the others in the living room where the fireplace was still glowing brightly. Catherine sat beside her brother and said, "This cabin alone is pretty small, but there are enough rooms for each of us to sleep alone." Sette nodded, "And I don't think we'll have to worry about anyone finding us here since we're so secluded in these woods."
Quatre stated, "I saw a lot of other ships along with out suits downstairs. We could use them to get supplies from Pulsar if we even need them." Wufei replied, "Sally was telling me that was way they were left here in the first place. This way, we can fly wherever we want since they're the kind of ships any civilian could have now." Novem smiled, "You have to hand it to Lady Une and the others...They don't leave anything overlooked."
Kumi was sitting by the window that was close to the front door. Looking outside, she thought aloud, "We'll need to have a lookout sit here at night to make sure that there aren't any surprises from those hunters." Trowa nodded, "I agree. We'll take turns every night. That'll make it easier for everyone." There weren't any complaints from the others as they all nodded and understood that it was the best thing to do. The thought of having another attack like the one that caused them to leave the first safe house was enough to make all of them shudder inwardly.
Relena made her way up from the basement with a look of shock on her face. Dorothy gasped and ran to her friend. "Miss Relena, are you alright?" she asked in concern. Zes smiled and nodded as she hugged her friend. Still in shock, she said quietly, "I'm going to be a mother." Novem's eyes widened as she gasped and shouted as she pulled back to look at Relena. She shouted in elation, "YOU'RE PREGNANT!" The other pilots all shouted and ran to the young queen as they cheered and hugged the mother-to-be with their own congratulations for her. Kumi made her way to them from the window. Being the last to greet the young pilot, she simply nodded with a small smile, "Congratulations." Relena hugged and thanked her.
Novem asked with wide eyes, "What are you going to do with Calvary? You can't pilot him when you're pregnant." Relena shrugged, "Why not? I think I'll be able to handle the job. I'm not about to let someone else pilot my Gundam for me." Sette chuckled, "You Peacecrafts are something else. I thought that I was stubborn." Kumi smirked to her, "Must run in the family." The tomboy eyed her friend with a sharp glared without the other pilots noticing or understanding what the silver-haired pilot meant. They were all too happy with the news that they received. Relena said, "Besides, this war won't last eight more months. Heero and Duo will be completing their missions soon and we can take OZ out from there."
Delapan's eyes widened, "Well, we don't know what's going to happen just yet. We'll have to be careful before getting hopes up so quickly." Quatre nodded, "She's right. I know that we're in great shape to getting through this fight quickly, but anything can happen...as much as I hate to imagine anything going wrong." The Arabian lowered his head and said quietly, "Let's just keep out fingers crossed for Heero and Duo. They have a lot of work ahead of them."
Wufei stated to Relena, "As long as you'll be alright in piloting your suit, we'll help and support you anyway that we can." The young queen smiled and nodded, "I'll be fine with all of you here. I couldn't think of any other pilots I'd rather fight with." Kumi gave a nod, "Then it's decided. You'll continue to pilot Unit 06, but if anything happens and you're not sure you can carry through your piloting, you'll let us know right away, ne?" Dorothy nodded and made the queen look right at her as she said sternly, "That's right. Then moment you don't feel right, you tell us immediately, Miss Relena. I don't want to see anything happen to you or the baby." Relena nodded to her dearest friend, "Of course." Novem nodded and said with a warm smile, "Good."
Kumi accepted this answer and made her way to the basement. "I'll be working in the hanger if any of you need me," she informed the others. Her friends all nodded and went to relaxing in the living room again. The silver-haired pilot walked downstairs and headed right for the computer system that was provided. Chiming into Pulsar's signal, she placed a headset on and began, "This is Pilot One Zero for Lady Une." The head of the Preventers appeared on the screen after a moment. Une smiled to the pilot, "Hello, Kumi. Is there something wrong." The stoic young woman replied, "I was wondering if you heard anything about Heero and Duo's missions...Are they close to completing them?"
Lady Une nodded, "I didn't want to worry you, so I decided not to say anything unless you asked." The pilot shook her head and said in her usual, monotone voice, "Don't worry about me." The young woman chuckled, "I figured you would say that." Lady Une began, "Heero and Duo have to complete their missions perfectly in sync with each other. If they don't, they won't be able to activate the hearts of the Colonies to channel the signal that they need to work into the system." The cobalt eyes of the Excalibur's pilot widened for a split moment before she thought aloud, "That's not going to be the easiest of tasks for them. And they only get one shot at it."
Lady Une smiled, "I know that they'll be successful in their missions." Kumi nodded, "I know they will, too." Something just seemed a little more dangerous about this mission, in the pilot's mind. Une informed the pilot, "I just received a message a few minutes ago that is addressed to Trowa. It's from Duo and marked 'Urgent'." Kumi raised a curious eyebrow then said, "I'll tell him about that right now."
The head of the Preventers remarked, "I'll patch it through to his system right away." The pilot nodded, "Thank you. I'll also be sending one of the pilots back to Pulsar in one of the ships here for supplies. Other than that, we'll be in contact when needed." The young woman smiled, "Very well. We'll talk again soon, then. Take care of yourselves out there." The 'Perfect Soldier' gave one last nod and the signal was turned off.
Kumi thought aloud to herself with narrowed eyes as she was deep in thought, "I had no idea that the last two missions were going to be such a challenge...Not that Heero and Duo won't be able to pull it off...And I wonder what Duo could possibly have sent to Trowa." Rising from her seat, the silver-haired pilot went off to inform her comrade that he was needed to intercept the urgent message.
* * * * * *
On the ship that they had been flying in for months now, Heero and Sera were in the hanger, looking after Wing Zero and the provisions that that Heero would be taking to Colony X63 with him. Checking off everything that they made a list of, they made sure not to forget anything. The young pilot looked to his suit carefully to see that everything was ready for the flight that was to come. His mother looked with a cautious watch over his other materials.
The laptop beeped and Commander Wilcox's image appeared on the screen. Sera looked to her good friend and she smiled warmly, "Hello, Justin." Wilcox smiled back the same, "Hello, Sera. I've been trying to get through for several hours now." Heero's ears picked this up instantly as he floated down to the laptop from where he was over the cockpit of his winged Gundam. Both he and Sera were right before the monitor now. Heero asked, "Are Kumi and the other pilots alright?" The Commander answered, "They're just fine, Heero." The Wing pilot sighed in relief to himself.
Looking to Sera, the commander asked, "Will you be returning to Pulsar when you and Heero split off?" Sera bit her lip, then shook her head, "No. I'll be flying back to our original base. You know me...I go wherever the stars guide me." Wilcox chuckled, "I wish you well, then, Sera. When this war is over, we'll try to catch up." Makato nodded. Saluting to Heero, he smiled, "God speed, Heero. Send Duo our best as well." Heero assured him with a warm smile, "I'll do that. Thank you for your help." The Commander nodded, "My pleasure." The screen went black.
With a deep sigh, Sera looked to her son and shrugged, "Well, everything that you need is here and ready to be go." Heero nodded, "Wing Zero's ready, as well. I'll just pack the last of the supplies." As the Gundam pilot placed the backpacks and duffle bags of equipment, food and other necessities, Sera wrote some notes on the blank back of the check-off list. When Heero was finished, she handed him the paper, explaining, "This tells you what to do in channeling the signal that Duo can be found on. It'll take at least two hours to get through." The Wing pilot nodded, "Thank you," and took the paper into his hand, folded it and placed into his right jean pocket.
Heero shrugged, "Then I guess this is good bye." Sera nodded with her forced smile, not saying anything, afraid that she would break into tears. The 'Perfect Soldier' smiled, "Take care of your son. I'm sure he misses you." Makato cleared her throat replied in a breathy whisper, "I've missed him." Heero extended his right hand to the Preventer and said sincerely, "Thank you for everything, Sera." His mother nodded and shook his hand firmly, "It's been a pleasure, Heero. Be careful out there." The Wing pilot replied, "Same to you."
The handshake was broken and Sera watched with a shattered heart as Heero floated up into the cockpit of Wing Zero. She backed up and placed the helmet to her spacesuit on. The Wing pilot was soon secured in his own spacesuit and harnessed into his seat. Makato was given the signal that the pilot was ready when he lifted the Gundam's right hand in a near wave. Pressing the release button of the hanger, Sera held onto a metal beam and the hatch of the ship's hanger opened. Wing Zero took off into the stars.
Sera closed the hanger doors and walked into the cockpit. When the cockpit's doors closed behind her, Sera removed her helmet, collapsing to her knees and doubled over as she was shaking with sobs. Tears were streaming down her face past her brown eyes. Her short, brown hair was falling in her face as she sat this way on the floor, too overcome by loss and pain to pay much mind to anything.
* * * * * *
It was not nightfall and Trowa was looking to the screen of one of the computers in the hanger to see what had been sent to him the moment Kumi told him about the urgent message. When he clicked onto the icon of the message, there was a recorded message from his braided comrade. Duo smiled and waved, "Hey, Tro-man! I was taking out one of the OZ bases I was sent to get rid of on the way to V10 when I found this OZ transcript...It's encrypted in some hidden OZ fashion that I couldn't even begin to decipher." He chuckled deeply, "I figured a clever guy like yourself would be able to translate it, since you've disguised as one of their own so many times."
The tall pilot smirked at this. Duo continued with a small, almost sad smile, "I miss all you guys. Give everyone a hug for me and Heero. I know he misses all of you, too. Wish us luck on completing these missions." With a salute, he winked, "Shinigami signing off." The message concluded and the image of the braided pilot disappeared. Trowa gave a small, sad smile and turned his focus on the transcript that had been sent with the message. The transcript was several pages long, and in a code that was difficult to read at first glance. Trowa pressed the print button and decided to look at the encrypted message that way.
As he was heading upstairs with the report in his hands, Trowa was passed by a beaming Sette as she went running down to the hanger. The tall pilot chuckled, "Where are you heading?" Sette looked back to him as she answered with a bright smile, "Kumi's sending me on a mission. I'm going to Pulsar to get some supplies that'll get us through the next week or two. I'll only be away for a few hours."
Trowa smiled back and nodded, "Just be sure to get back soon. Heero and Duo will be completing their missions before another day passes, so we'll be able to watch on the system here...It'll be nice to watch it when we're all together." Sette nodded and sighed deeply in anticipation, "Aw, I wouldn't miss that for the anything." Waving to her friend, the tomboy called, "See ya!" Trowa waved back, "Have fun."
Sette ran to one of the personal ships and locked herself into the seat. Trowa turned back to help with the take off as he stood before the control panel of the hanger. Seeing that the tomboy was ready, he unlocked the hatch to the locked doors of the enormous room's ceiling. Outside, the ground that was not covered by trees split wide open. Sette watched as the metal ceiling parted into a clear straightway to the clear, star-filled night. With a huge smile, she chuckled, "Hot damn."
Pressing forward on her controls, the ex-princess shot off through the opening and out of the thick wood. Her ship shot off in a b-line right for the atmosphere. Trowa watched with a smile. Closing the hatch, everything was hidden by the frozen, snow-covered earth again. Shaking his head and chuckling deeply, the European pilot made his way back to the stairs. As he climbed back to the ground level of the safe house, he looked to the papers in his hands. "Let's see what I can gather from this," he said to himself.
* * * * * *
Heero had been waiting for the commands that he punched into his controls to connect with his lover's signal as he flew for X63. As he looked ahead to the main monitors before him, the small screen to his right was blinking. A small smile crossed his lips as he turned to the monitor. Duo's image appeared on the screen. The American beamed and he whispered in a sigh, "Heero." The Wing pilot replied the same, "Duo."
Duo was sitting on the bed in his apartment, looking to his laptop. Heero asked, "How was it working with one of the shipyards on V10?" The braided pilot shrugged, "Pretty good. It was nice to have something to do during my stay here." The wing pilot had a feeling that something was wrong and asked, "Is everything okay there?" Duo nodded, "Yea, from what I've gathered...All of the mobile suits that have been built at the shipyards are sent to bases in the area for the soldiers there to protect the colonies." Heero shrugged, "Standard procedures in a war like this."
The American sighed deeply with a frown, "Yea...I think I'm losing my mind, love, but I still have this bad feeling-" Heero's eyes widened when he heard this. He then leaned forward to looked closely to his partner, locking onto his eyes. He said sternly, "Duo, listen to me...If you have any bad feelings about this mission, get out of there, no matter how crazy you think you might be." Duo was shocked to hear his lover actually suggesting the possibility of aborting a mission.
The braided pilot licked his lips nervously as he took all of this in. He blinked and replied, "H-Heero, I can't believe you're actually suggesting abandoning a mission." The wing pilot shook his head, "I trust you with me life, koi. You should trust yourself now. If you have a bad feeling that something is wrong, get as far from V10 as you can and as quickly as possible...I'd rather have an aborted mission to worry about than let anything happen to you."
Duo was still taken back as he looked in awe to his lover. Heero lowered his head and pleaded silently with closed eyes, "Please, Duo. Promise me that you'll do what I ask. You're my main concern and always will be. No mission, or anything for that matter, will ever take your place...A-Ai shiteru." The last phrase was a breathy whisper. There was a pause of silence between the pilots.
"Ai shireru, Heero," Duo whispered. Looking up to the screen, the Wing pilot saw the sweet, loving smile on the American's face. Duo planted a kiss on the tip of his fingers and rested them on the screen. He whispered, but assured his partner, "I promise that I'll get out if I think that something's wrong, Heero." The Japanese pilot gave a small smile and kissed the tips of his fingers the same as he rested his hand over the image of his love's. "I'm holding you to that," he said quietly. Duo laughed. He smiled, "You know me...I might run and hide, but I never tell a lie." The light in the Wing pilot's eyes came back at this.
The pair lowered their hands and just looked to each other for a moment. "I can't wait to be with you again," Duo whispered. Heero whispered back, "Neither can I...Only a few hours now." The American smiled and nodded, too anxious for words right now. The Japanese sighed deeply, "I'll talk to you soon, hon." The braided pilot bit his lip and replied, "Yea...I-I love you, Heero." His partner answered, "I love you too, Duo...Just remember what you promised." Duo nodded, "I will. Talk to you soon." Heero nodded back, suddenly getting a sick feeling in his stomach. "Sweet dreams, koi," he finally whispered.
The connection was cut off and the 'Perfect Soldier' stared at the blank screen where his lover's image had been for a long, silent moment. Sitting back in his seat, Heero took a deep breath and said quietly to himself, "Why am I starting to have a bad feeling about this mission now?" The fact that Duo was the one saying that he thought something was strange didn't help. The American would never say anything like that prior to any of his other missions. Heero pulled the cross around his neck from it's hiding place under his spacesuit. Gripping onto the metal with his right hand, he closed his eyes to get some rest before arriving on X63.
* * * * * *
A few hours later, on Pulsar, the Preventers were on their toes as they worked in the control room, preparing for the completion of the last two missions. Lady Une and Lieutenant Keiser were in the back of the room to see that everything was working well. One of the young soldiers working at the computers there turned back to her commander and stated, "We should be able to get a visual of the two colonies before the Gundam pilots go to reach the colony hearts. Two Peventer crafts are close enough to shoot the images and transfer them here. It'll be difficult to get great shots until the signals are established, but it'll be something to help us have an idea as that what is happening there." Lady Une nodded, "Good. We'll be sure to send the same images to the hanger on Earth so the pilots can watch as well.
Keiser turned to the head of the Preventers and said quietly, "It's not too late to have two other Preventers take care of the missions for Heero and Duo." Lady Une shook her head, "I understand your concern, but I'm not going to do that." The Lieutenant sighed deeply and shook his head, "What ever you say." He went off to the front of the control. The young woman lowered her head and closed her eyes, trying not to let her nerves affect her. Something about Keiser's constant request to get the pilots out of there was unnerving.
Milliardo, Noin and Sally were all together near the front of the control room. Fire looked to her husband and said gently, "You've been edgy all day, love. Is anything wrong?" Wind shook his head, "I'm fine...I'll just feel better when all of this is finished." Sally nodded, "It won't be much longer now. By this time tomorrow, we'll be able to contact any and everyone in space."
Derek Anderson was sitting at one of the computers not far from where the trio was standing. He had a headset on and his hands were folded together as his elbows propped them up before his face. Listening to the others, he sighed deeply to himself. He heard Noin say to her friends, "Personally, I don't care whether or not Heero and Duo complete their missions, as long as they get back here safely." The eyes of the young man closed slowly as he lowered his hands. Removing his headset, Derek left the control room silently.
Entering his room, Derek sat at the edge of his bed and lowered his head into his hands. On the desk on the opposite side of his bed, his computer blinked on. The sound of the monitor kicking in caused Anderson's brown eyes to widen as his hands slowly fell onto his lap. Without turning his back to face the screen, he said quietly, "I thought that you got the point not to bother me." He did not expect to hear the deep voice that replied, "Oh, you didn't think that you were getting away out of this so easily did you?"
Derek froze again. Slowly turning back to face the screen, he saw he cross face of Quinze Khushrenadah. The OZ leader was shooting the spy with daggers through his glare. The blonde pilot's lips moved, but nothing came out. Quinze shook his head, "Aw, Derek. And you were doing so well, too."
Anderson finally found his voice and said quietly, "I can't help you. Everything that I've told you about the missions prior to now has been accurate, hasn't it?" The man on the screen nodded, "True, you did manage to tell us where we could expect to find the Gundam pilots when they left for their missions." The spy replied, "I told you everything that I was able to gather. The Preventers have been blocking any more information...If I found anything more, I would have contacted you."
Quinze sighed deeply and crossed his arms, "Don't lie to me, Derek. I know that you've been refusing to speak to us for the last few weeks." He smirked, "You're not getting a soft spot for those pilots and the Preventers are you?" The pause in the blonde's answer caused the OZ leader to shout in rage, "GODDAMN IT! YOU BETTER WAKE UP AND REALIZE WHAT A MISTAKE YOU'RE MAKING!" With several deep, quick breaths, Quinze composed himself again.
The OZ leader said as calmly as possible, in a low growl, "Which pilots is flying to V10?" Derek shook his head, "Your guess is as good as mine." The eyes of his commander widened at this remark. Finally, Quinze smirked, "Perhaps I should go ahead and use a Holocaust on T217. Your home colony would be the perfect target." Derek's eyes widened as he shouted, "Please don't do that, sir! The people there haven't done anything to harm you!" Quinze shrugged, "You're one of them, and you're challenging me. That's enough that they should all pay for your insolence."
Derek growled deeply and clenched his fists as he lowered his head. The OZ leader continued, "Tell me which pilot is flying to the colony and your own colony will be spared. I'll forget that any of this happened. We have a secret alliance with Colony V10 and cannot afford to miss the chance to take out one of the Gundam pilots. Now which pilot is it?" The question was all but shouted to the spy as Quinze glared to the young pilot. There was another pause and Derek had not so much as lifted his head.
Quinze growled, "Fine. I'll send your best to T217 before-" "Duo Maxwell," Derek cut him off in a low whisper. The green eyes of the commander widened for a moment. He leaned forward and asked, "What was that, Derek?" Anderson looked up to the screen and answered clearly, "Duo Maxwell is the pilot that was sent to V10." Quinze's lips gave way to a sneer and he asked, "Now was that so hard, my friend?" Derek looked away from the screen and didn't answer.
"You know, I could hold this whole ordeal against you and simply go back on my word to protect your home," the OZ leader chuckled deeply. Derek looked back o him in fear. Quinze smirked, "But, I like you. Your help has allowed us to locate all the pilots up to now...I just hope for your sake that you're not lying to me about Maxwell." Anderson shook his had and replied, "It's not a lie, sir. He's the one you'll find on V10." The commander nodded, "I believe you...Just don't try and cross me again. I don't like it when people upset me." Derek sighed deeply to himself and nodded, "Yes, sir."
Derek lowered his head as his face paled. Quinze suggested, "You should get some sleep, Derek. You don't look so well." He chuckled, "Can't have one of my best spies getting sick on me at a time like this." The computer went black and the young pilot clenched his teeth as he growled deeply and shouted. Derek was beginning to sweat and felt like he would be throwing up at any second. Not prepared to get sick in his room, the blonde pilot quickly made his way into the adjoining bathroom.
* * * * * *
Foreign Minister Falseon was pacing in his office that night with a look of distress on his face. As he worked continued to pace, the screen on his laptop blinked on to reveal the image of Quinze. Their green eyes locked onto each other and the balding man all but growled, "It's about time." The OZ leader chuckled, "Easy, Michael. You're an old man now. So much stress on yourself can't be good for you." Falseon gave a deep, "Humph" that caused the young man to laugh. "I know that you're worried about this attack that's coming," Quinze stated.
"Well have you learned which pilot we're to expect? That 'reliable source' of yours hasn't been as reliable as we hoped he would be." The OZ commander nodded, "I've taken care of that. And yes, I know which pilot you can expect to find there." The Foreign Minster asked with wide eyes, "Who?" Quinze answered, "Duo Maxwell. I'm be sending the reports and images that I have of the pilot to you as we speak. You can expect him to make his move anywhere in the next few hours. I'll have an army of OZ soldiers sent to keep him busy while you carry out your part of the plan." The leader of V10 nodded, "I understand. Thank you for your help." Quinze chuckled deeply and shrugged, "We're in this together, remember...And just like I said, I don't want Mazwell killed. I want him captured and brought to me." Falseon nodded, "I understand."
The connection was cut and soon, the reports that the OZ leader had sent appeared on the screen. Looking through the files, Falseon found the mug-shot of the braided American that had been staying on his colony. Picking up his phone, the minister called one of his guards and said, "I have what we were looking for. See that what I am sending you gets passed to our men." He hung the phone up and clicked several commands into his laptop. With a hard stroke, Falseon hit the send button and the information was transferred. The old man sneered to the image of the Gundam pilot, "This is going to be fun."
* * * * * *
Quatre and Trowa were in the dining room, sitting at the oval table there. The tall pilot was carefully overlooking the pages that he had printed of the OZ transcript that Duo had sent to him. Trowa was making notes with a pencil, erasing and scribbling as he read the encrypted message. The Arabian asked, "How is it coming?"
Trowa shrugged, "Okay, I guess. OZ has been smart enough to change their format in these messages since the last time I spied on them." Quatre questioned, "Are you able to recognize anything in the transcript that might be able to help us?" His friend answered, "I'm coming up with bits and pieces right now. It'll take a few hours to get through the whole thing." Something struck a bad cord in the blonde pilot when he heard this. Trowa didn't like that it would take so long to decipher the message, himself.
Novem couldn't help but overhear the conversation before she entered the room. Looking to Trowa with her extended right hand, she asked, "Can I have a look at that?" Trowa nodded and handed her the papers. Dorothy eyes the papers and said aloud after a long pause, "Some of these codes are ancient Japanese words. I can't recognize them, myself other than by their appearance. If you could decipher them, that'll talk tare of at lease a third of the message." Quatre and Trowa looked to her in amazement. They quickly got to their feet and read over their friend's shoulders.
The Arabian smiled, "You're right, Novem. I didn't even notice that." Trowa replied in awe, "Neither did I." He nodded, "Thank you," as Dorothy handed him the papers again. The young woman smiled back and chuckled deeply, "You pick up a few things when you work for the King and Queen of the World's representatives." Trowa smiled, "Thanks, Novem! I'll work on looking up some of these words, then." At this, he ran to the kitchen to head down to the hanger. Looking to Quatre's continued look of amazement, Dorothy sighed deeply and shrugged, "And they say blonds don't know anything." Quatre laughed loudly with his friend.
* * * * * *
Sette was on Pulsar, raiding the refrigerator in one of the ship's many kitchens. Placing a good amount of food into the backpacks that she brought with her, the tomboy chuckled, "Kumi sent the right person for this job." Just then, the door to the kitchen opened and Milliardo entered. The ex-princess dropped the cans that she had taken from the refrigerator and gasped as she lost her grip on them. Looking up and blushing to her half-brother, Sette chuckled, "Butter fingers."
Milliardo chuckled and walked to the tomboy. Kneeling beside the younger pilot, he asked, "Do you think this will be enough for all of you for the next two weeks?" Sette shrugged, "I have a lot of other things that I gathered in Mason already. We should be okay." Milliardo aided the ex-princess in gathering the cans she dropped and placed them in her bags. Rising first, he offered the blur-haired pilot his hand and pulled her up. Sette smiled, "Thank you, Milliardo." He nodded, "Don't mention it." Handing the pilot her bags, he asked, "Will you be okay carrying all of this back to the hanger?" The tomboy answered, "Yea. I've handled a lot more than this at one shot plenty of times." She strapped two bags over either shoulder and smiled, "See. No problem."
The door to the kitchen opened again and Sally entered with three large medical kits. "This should be enough to last you until the next visit. Hopefully, you won't have to use any of it." Sette smiled and accepted the white kits. "Thanks, Sally," the tomboy said as she held the equipment against her chest. Millairdo chuckled, "Are you sure that you'll be okay carrying all that?" Sette saluted as she freed her right arm, "Yep. I'm good to go. Thank you for all your help." The pilot hugged her friends with her free arm before gripping the medical kits again and headed to the door.
Walking to the hanger alone, Sette was doing wine with her huge burden to carry. Though she was petite, she was always very strong and could handle herself well. The ex-princess was about to pass the last hall of room where some of the Preventers stayed when one of the door opened just ahead of her. Derek came flying from his room and ran right into Sette. The tomboy gasped loudly as she was knocked onto the floor along with the other young pilot. Somehow, the tomboy never dropped any of the things she had been carrying. She fell onto her right side and was looking to the stunned blonde not far from in front of her.
"Derek," she asked in shock. The Preventer was sweating badly and was wide-eyed as he gasped for breath. His brown eyes focused on the Gundam pilot and he gasped, "S-Sette!?!" The tomboy laughed, "Man, if you wanted a hug, all you had to do was ask." Anderson chuckled nervously as he helped Sette get to her feet. He wiped some of the sweat from his face and said sincerely, "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to run into you like that." The ex-princess smiled and shrugged, "Don't worry about it. I know it was an accident."
The blue-haired young woman looked to her friend's face better. Derek looked pale and was still sweating. "Jesus, Derek. What's wrong with you? You look like hell," she said in concern as she lowered the medical kits and moved to place a hand on the blonde's forehead to see if he was burning up. Anderson stepped back before she could touch him. He shook his head, "I've just been fighting something for a while now. I don't want you getting too close or you'll get sick, too."
Sette bent down to open one of the medical kits as Derek watched, uncertain as to what she was doing. The Gundam pilot took out a bottle of pills and took the Preventer's right hand. "Here, these will help," she told him as she shook a handful of small, dark green pills into her comrade's hand. Derek was taken by the act of kindness and looked to the ex-princess with almost saddened eyes. The tomboy told him, "They're the same things I take when I'm under the weather. I know that I'm going to sound like a mother, but you'll need plenty of rest and liquids. Before long, you'll be back to your good 'ol self again." The ex-princess placed the bottle back into the kit that it came from and took everything into her possession again.
Derek looked to the pills and said quietly, "Thank you." Sette nodded and winked, "Don't mention it. Can't have one of our good friends getting sick on us." Again, Derek's was at a loss of words right now. The tomboy waved when she freed her right hand, "See you later, pal. I don't want to miss watching the fireworks with the others when Heero and Duo complete their missions." Derek nodded, "Of course not." Sette went on to walk towards the hanger. Closing his fist over the pills, the Preventer closed his eyes and lowered his head in silent anguish.
The young man turned and called to the pilot's back, "Sette?" The tomboy turned back and nodded, "What's up?" Derek paused before giving a small, forced smile, "Tell Catherine that I say hello and I miss her." The ex-princess smiled and replied, "Well, for you, I'll be willing to deal with Big Top to tell her that." The Preventer smirked and nodded, "Thank you." Sette nodded back, "Sure thing." She turned back to make her way to the hanger and disappeared as she turned the corner.
Alone, Derek looked to the pills in his hand, still pale and now shaking a little. He dropped the tablets. Squatting, Anderson tried to get his thoughts together. With a pained whisper, he said gravely to himself, "God, what have I done."
TBC