DISCLAIMER: None of the Gundam Wing characters are mine, other than Kumi Yuy and Sette Devion.
Gundam Wing: The Second Chapter
Episode 38: Lady Une's Discovery
by SkyLark
supported and helped by Snodin, Traci, Sam, Beekay, Silver Star, GREETER 600, Ruby, Mylia, Stormy, Naz, Akuma, my family at 1x2x1 and all readers of this fic
An OZ shuttle landed a half-mile from one of the largest bases of the OZ organization in the Colonies. Walking out into the breezy air, Lady Une's red hair was blowing behind her. Another uniformed soldier approached her with a smile and firm handshake. "Welcome to Colony W71, Captain Dryson."
The spy smiled as she adjusted her glasses and nodded, "Thank you, Commander Thomas. I expect that everything is going according to plan here." The Commander nodded back, "You won't find anything wrong at this site. I will show you to your living quarters before your tour of the facilities." The 'Captain' replied, "Very well." The two soldiers walked to one of the many headquarters of the organization.
An hour later, after the living arrangements had been observed, the tour of the large plant had begun. Ladu Une walked with Thomas through the facility. Since it was believed that she was a supervisor for OZ, it was not viewed as strange by any of that soldiers that the young woman had a notepad during the demonstration. The Preventer made sure to take everything down that she could, writing quickly on several occasions before proceeding to the next room.
As the tour was coming to a close, Thomas led the 'Captain' to the door that they had yet to enter. The door was ten sheets of metal thick, tall and wide with a extensive lock system at its right. The OZ soldier punched in the number code. He didn't realize that the young woman with him was watching intently, taking down the code obscurely on her pad. Once that was finished, he swiped his card into the thin scanner that unlocked the bolts. He took the heavy door by the steel rod handle and pulled it open.
Entering the room, Lady Une saw the busy control room of the headquarters. Soldiers worked efficiently and quickly through their daily routines of updating their reports and files in the system. Dryson watched carefully as she took in the surroundings, knowing exactly where she needed to go to complete her mission. Thomas smiled as he stretched his arms wide and said, "And this, of course, is one of the three main hearts that keep OZ the strong force that it is."
Dryson smiled and nodded, "This is quite impressive, Commander. You have done an excellent job in running this base." The smug man chuckled deeply, "Well, I have been a loyal follower to this organization since I was young. Still, we also have W71 to thank. They have been allied with OZ since the Eve Wars, only acting as a friend to the Gundams for our benefit." He went on to growl, "Of course, their position has been revealed now that the transcript with that information had been translated by those damn pilots."
The Commander sneered and shook his head, "Of well. It doesn't matter whether they know the colonies that are allied with us or not. And they're sadly mistaken if they think that we don't have any other tricks up our sleeves." He turned back to the Captain and informed her, "Now that you have seen everything, what you do from this point on is up to you. If there is anything that you should need help in, feel free to let me know."
Lady Une nodded, "I appreciate that. For now, I will be happy looking over the progression in this room for a while. The protection of this information is vital to assuring our victory in this war. I want to see that there is nothing that would allow the information here to fall into the wrong hands." Tomas stated. "I understand, Captain. Stay as long as you wish." The Preventer gave one last nod and walked through the control room.
* * * * * *
Seven young pilots made their way from the hanger after their recent visit from Pulsar. Relena needed to remain there in order to find the rest she needed from the stress that she suffered from the responsibilities of being a Gundam pilot. The others knew that it was for the best, though none of them were happy that she was no longer with them. Most of the band fell onto the couches in the living room, still physically and emotionally drained from everything that had happened.
Wufei looked from the window of the room to see past the front porch as he said quietly, "And the Earth continues to turn without knowing a damn thing about this war." Delapan chuckled bitterly from her spot on the couch, "That's something else, isn't it?" Sette was lying on the floor as she shook her head, "Never ceases to amaze me that the people here can wipe their hands of this war as easily as they have." Trowa shrugged, "It won't be that way for much longer. They can't keep something like this from their hands forever."
Duo shrugged, "They've been doing a hell of a job in seeing that doesn't happen, but you're right, Trowa." Quatre was sitting beside Sette when he suddenly asked, "Was there anything mentioned as to when Lady Une would be returning from the base that she snuck into?" Kumi shook her head and deadpanned, "Not yet. She'll contact us as soon as she manages to find everything that she can about OZ and their methods."
Delapan shuddered and sat up as she questioned in concern, "What if she finds out that they have more things working in their favor than we realize?" Wufei walked back to his comrades and sighed deeply, "We'll deal with it, somehow, as always. But you know that we're not going to like everything that Lady Une reports back." Trowa stated as he sat beside his sister, "Personally, I don't care what happens, as long as she gets back safe. She's taking an awful risk going on her own the way she did." Sette chuckled deeply, looking up to the tall pilot over her, "If anyone can handle a job like this, she's the one. Believe me, we'll be hearing from her soon."
* * * * * *
Heero was being led from his daily dose of torture, covered in cuts and scars that were bleeding all around, Still, he walked on his own power, head hung as far as it could fall with his eyes shut. Four armed guards walked with him, two in front and two behind, to see that he never tried anything. They all felt as though they were unneeded, since the Wing pilot never so much as spoke up to them. The 'Perfect Soldier' would simply comply and follow their orders. It was extremely unnerving.
As they walked down the narrow and dark halls of the prison, the guards in the front turned back to look to Heero, to see if there was any change in his demeanor. Seeing that there was none, they turned heir heads to look ahead again. Finally, they reached the pilot's cell. The first soldier punched in the code of the door. As he did this, his comrade beside him turned back to see the captive. He sneered at the pendant that hung around the pilot's neck and said deeply, "I wonder..."
The young man's hand reached out for the crucifix and was just about to wrap around the pendant when the head of the prisoner snapped up before any of the guards could blink. Heero's Prussian eyes glared intensely at the soldier, who froze out of shock and fear. He pulled his hand back quickly, before anything could be done to him.
That same guard back up a few paused, still under the icy stare from the captive. His comrades laughed at his situation, silently thankful that they weren't in his shoes. Still glaring to the guard, Heero's right hand reached up and protectively held the pendant, sticking it under what remained of his blue shirt. The startled soldier turned away and looked to the cell in order to avoid those eyes.
Once the door opened, one of the guards behind the Wing pilot forced him inside with a swift strike with the back of his gun. Not even a grunt of pain left the Japanese pilot from the painful hit or the hard fall that he suffered when landing forcefully on his right side. The guards looked one last time to their prisoner before closing the cell door.
Heero wiped the blood from his cut mouth with the back of his hand as he managed to get himself in a sitting position, resting his back against the wall. He sighed deeply and threw his head back with his eyes closed. His right hand wrapped firmly around the cold cross that continued to fall over the middle of his chest as his gaze returned to it. "Not much longer, now, koibito," Heero whispered to the pendant with a faint smile of relief. He stretched out along the floor and rested his head, falling asleep the moment his eyes closed.
* * * * * *
Later that week, it was long after lights out had been called in the headquarters on W71. In her room, Lady Une was pulling up her black stretch pants as the last piece of her all-black outfit. Sitting at the end of her bed, she quickly placed her black running boots on. Lacing them tightly, she turned to face the notepad that was filled with everything she had gathered during her stay at the headquarters. The Preventer then pulled her red hair up in a ponytail and disposed of her glasses as she threw them in her back pack.
Thanks to all of the tours and interviews over the headquarters, Lady Une now knew the site like the back of her hand as she made her way through the dark halls silently. Since the Preventer knew where the guards of the night watch were stationed, she knew what areas to avoid. She had already managed to hack into the surveillance system to make it seem as through nothing had changed in any of the rooms or halls, playing an old tape over an over in the security room. She then slipped silently into the room of one of the soldiers there.
Commander Thomas stirred a bit when he head the door to his room close. He instantly sat up in his bed, looking to see the same young woman that he knew as Captain Dreyson standing a few feet away from him. His brown eyes widened as far as they could as he realized too late who the intruder really was. He just managed to hiss, "You're-" before a bullet ripped through his head. Thanks to the silencer of the pistol, no sound came from the weapon when the trigger was pulled. The Commander's body fell back in a bloody heap onto the mattress as Lady Une quickly went to his desk. She retrieved the man's card for the security system and left the room as soon as it was in her possession.
Lady Une punched the code to the control room and swiped the card belonging to Thomas. The heavy bolts were undone as they clicked from their locks. Pulling on the large steel handle, she entered the room and locked the door behind her. Running to the first computer, the Preventer removed a handful of disks from her backpack and placed them in the machine.
Uploading all of the saved information from the main data base, the head of the Preventers typed as fast as her hands allowed over the keys. Her eyes quickly scanned all of the information before saving it on the disks that she brought with her, placing a new one in the computer when the information filled the disk that she had inside.
After when only felt like a couple minutes, Lady Une paused very briefly to look to the clock. 12:43 am. She had actually been working for fifteen minutes. Trying not to think about this, she focused back on the computer and brought out all of the buried files that had been so carefully locked beyond the sight of anyone outside of OZ. A bit of sweat was beginning to roll from her forehead as she knew that it would only be a matter of time before someone would realize that something was wrong.
Just as she thought of this, the sound of sirens rang through and the red lights turned on everywhere in the base. The young woman gasped loudly at the initial shock as her eyes widened, breaking her focus. A soldier's voice announced over the PA system as he shouted, "All soldiers search the facility. Commander Thomas has been murdered." Lady Une growled deeply to herself as she turned back to the screen, "Damn it! I'm not finished yet!"
Checking to see how much time she needed to save the last files, he screen read 5 minutes and 32 seconds. Lady Une pressed a detonator that she brought with her. An explosion rang out in the wing furthest from the control room. Instantly, almost every guard ran in that direction, screaming and searching fr the enemy within their facility. This would buy the Preventer the time that she needed to get the last file.
Once the countdown was over, Lady Une pressed a second detonator that caused the destruction of a wing further down from the first explosion. Breathing a deep sigh of relief, she removed the final disk and shut the computer down, making it seem as through nothing had happened. Putting the disks into her back pack and quickly closing it, she ran out of the control room.
With the confusion and chaos that was taking place throughout the headquarters, it was not much of a challenge for Lady Une to slip through the halls on her way to one of the hangers of the base. Part of what would guarantee her escape was that she would leave from a hanger beyond the second wing that she devastated.
Reaching that part of the facility, she watched as a large number of soldiers battled the flames and smoke to save what they could and prevent its spread. Too wrapped in doing this, and not believing that anyone was crazy enough to try to pass the flames, no one saw the black-clad pilot making her way beyond all of them, out of the room that they fought to save.
Breathing through a hand cloth that she had in her pocket, Lady Une made her way through the dying flames that were her last barrier to freedom. What was unknown to her was that there was a pair of eyes that just happened to catch her by a soldier who left the burning room to retrieve another hose. The man that saw her removed a gun and silently followed, not stopping to call for backup.
Finally, the Preventer made her way into the hanger, closing the door behind her and blocking out the screams and shouts of the soldiers outside of the room. Lady Une fell back until she was resting against the door, trying to catch her breath as she panted with closed eyes and head thrown back. Once she managed to catch her breath, she chuckled deeply and wiped the sweat from her forehead.
Lady Une walked forward to some of the suits that had been resting there. She failed to catch the hanger door open and close behind her. Looking to the Space Virgo that she planned to take, the Preventer froze with eyes wide and jaw a bit slack as she heard the safety of a pistol clip off a foot behind her. She remained frozen, paralyzed. "Drop the bag and kick it back to me," the man behind her ordered.
Closing her eyes slowly and lowering her head, Lady Une removed the backpack and lowered it onto the ground beside her. Once she did this, she gave a swift back kick that caused the bag to land at the feet of her captor. "Put your hands in the air," came the next command. Lady Une complied, slowly lifting her hands until they were positioned beside her head. Then, the deep voice ordered her, "Turn around, nice and slow." Hesitating an agonizing moment, she turned slowly around to see the man that caught her.
"You!?!" Lady Une gasped with a look of shock as she faced the young man that aimed his weapon at her. Derek Anderson was just as shocked as the Preventer, gun still aimed at her head. The two spies were frozen as they stared to each other in wonder and amazement. "Derek..." "...Lady Une." They never broke their gazed from each other, not knowing what to make of the situation. It was obvious that the young woman was not going to be leaving the base.
Just then, Derek's brown eyes narrowed and he kicked the backpack to the Preventer. "Hide," he told her. Before she could process this, Ladu Une heard the door of the hanger opening again. Instantly, she grabbed the backpack and threw it hugged it against her chest as she hid behind the mobile suits.
A number of soldiers made their way into the hanger as they looked to their comrade. "What happened!?! Did you find the intruder!?!" the first young soldier that reached him asked. Derek shook his head and replaced his gun, "No. False alarm." At this, he and the other soldiers quickly left the room.
When the hanger door closed again, Lady Une fell onto her knees, panting in relief again as she gathered her bearings. She then climbed into the cockpit of the Space Virgo. The moment she was strapped in and the hatch closed, the Preventer pressed the last detonator on her. The control room's wing went up in a series of explosions. The deafening sound was more than enough to cover the crash that she caused as her suit penetrated the doors of the hanger.
As she shot to the stars as fast as she could, Lady Une looked back to the headquarters from which she barely managed to escape with her life. Her hands wrapped tightly around the back pack that carried the vital information that she needed to get back to her fellow Preventers. With a relieved sigh, she whispered sincerely, "Thank you, Derek." She turned back to look to Space and instantly flew through the atmosphere of W17.
* * * * * *
Just a day-and-a-half later, Lady Une returned to Pulsar, instantly running to the control room with the disks that she used to store the information that she gathered from the OZ base. Her friends just caught her as she made her way there. They didn't bother braking her focus with 'hello's.' The pilot made her way to one of the computers and went to work right away, a look of determination never leaving her face. The Preventer would not leave this spot until she analyzed everything...
Several hours later, Lady Une was staring to the screen before her in shock, fear and amazement wrapped together. Turing back to her friends that never left their watch over her, she said gravely, "We have a lot that we need to discuss before I pass this information onto the Gundam pilots." Keiser, Noin, Miliardo, Sally and Marimaya were already beginning to dread learning what their comrade discovered in the OZ files. Still, they nodded and made their way from the control room.
Lady Une hid her face in her hands as she turned back to the computer screen. Propping her elbows on the desk and staying like that for a moment to take a deep breath, she lowered her hands slowly. She closed the information off of the computer and removed the disk. Looking to the thin plastic she whispered, "We have more than our work cut out for us."
* * * * * *
That same night, Wufei was working in the hanger when the main system blinked on. Lady Une's image appeared on the screen with a sober look on her face. The Chinese pilot's eyes widened as he smiled, "Welcome back, Lady Une. How are you?" A small, sincere smile came across the Preventer's face as she sighed deeply, "I'm alright, thank you, Wufei."
The young woman's original expression returned as she asked, "Could you call upon the others? It would be better that I share this information with all of you together." Wufei's smile vanished as he could see and tell that whatever needed to be discussed couldn't be good news. He rose and nodded, "Be right back."
It wasn't long before all of the pilots in the cabin were standing before the monitor. Everyone gave their 'hello's' and 'welcome home's,' which were accepted gratefully. The reunion was short-lived as the Preventer became serious again and informed them, "I am here to let all of you know what I managed to gather from one of the OZ headquarters." The pilots all prepared themselves as they listened intently.
Taking a deep breath, Lady Une began, "First off, OZ managed to create a laser three times the size and ten times as powerful as the Barge Cannon that they used in the Eve Wars." Kumi's eyes narrowed then closed as her hands became fists that pounded the control once. She hissed, "Then the base that I destroyed where we thought the laser was being created was a decoy."
The woman on the screen nodded, "They already competed the laser by the time we got wind of any rumors that it was being built. OZ will have to make the weapon known in their first attack with the laser before it can be found." The pilots were afraid of this, but there wasn't anything that could be done at this time. They took this information on their own terms, remaining silent, but with mixed expressions of concern, anger and fear.
Fooling his hands behind his head and taking a deep breath, Wufei asked in a deep sigh, "What else can you tell us?" Lady Une replied, "We know why Demetris is able to withstand any and all pain." The silver-haired pilot looked up to the screen with a hint of anticipation in her eyes. The red-haired Preventer stated, "He was implanted with a Gundamimum heart not long after he was assisted in his break out from prison."
Sette's eyes widened as she gasped, "They successfully implanted a Gundamimum heart!?!" All eyes fell on the ex-princess and she explained, "That's the damn closest thing to man-made immortality that anyone will get. The scientists on my colony were the first to try to create it, but none of their tests were successful and they discontinued their research." Lady Une nodded and said, "Two of those scientists were involved directly with Demetris's surgery. The whole thing was planned and overseen by Quinze Kushrenadah." Delapan crossed her arms and growled, "That explains why his loyalties are with him."
Quatre hesitated but questioned as he ran a hand through his blonde locks, "Anything else that you managed to find out?" Lady Une answered as she lowered her head, "We understand, now, where OZ is getting all of their soldiers...They now have the means necessary to clone."
Not one of the pilots was left without shocked look. Trowa whispered, "c-Clones?" The Preventer looked back up and stated, "They can clone their own men by the hundreds." Quatre lowered his own head as he whispered, "That's why they never feel the need to retreat...They can make as many soldiers as they want whenever they want."
Wufei then asked, "How were they able to pull human cloning off? No one was able to make a devise that could pull such a feat without there being some deficiency in the results. Their soldiers are as good, if not better, than their real soldiers. I can't tell the clones from the human pilots." The hesitant answer was, "One man was able to learn the means...Doctor J." Kumi's Prussian eyes widened as far as they could as a sharp and uncharacteristic gasp left her. She stepped back two paces from the screen as the color from her face disappeared. She whispered, "N-nani?..."
All of the pilots were taken back by the shocked state of their stoic comrade. Her lover quickly stood at her side with a protective arm around her shoulder. Trowa looked to her in concern as the silver-haired pilot's expression never changed. She began to shake a bit. Duo, who had remained quiet as he took everything in, shouted in blind rage, "THAT SON OF A BITCH IS DEAD! HOW THE FUCK DID HE GET TO SCREW US IN THIS WAR AFTER THE FACT!?!"
Lady Une frowned, "He was the only soul that managed to create a complete and perfect clone of a human being. The week before his death, out of revenge against Heero and Kumi, he had everything that he gathered in his tests sent to Quinze. At that time, Quinze was quietly beginning to rebuild the OZ organization. Doctor J used this as his best way to get back at them."
Kumi was finally able to breathe again, though she realized that she allowed her fear to get the best of her for a moment. Silently, she harshly cursed herself for allowing that to happen. Trowa gently rubbed her back for comfort, knowing that his lover was mad at herself through the expressionless mask. He removed his arm as he gazed back to the monitor.
Sette hoped against hope as she said, "Please tell me that you have something on the Gundam suits that OZ is using...Any weaknesses or anything that'll help us take them out without any problems." The Preventer shook her head sadly, "I'm sorry, Sette. But there was nothing in the database in regards to the suits."
The tomboy chuckled bitterly and rubbed her temples, "So much for some good news." The blue-haired pilot looked to her comrades and asked, "Anyone want to start shooting shots? I have the sudden need to bet blitzed." Delapan chuckled deeply, "That's the smartest thing you've suggested yet. I'm in." Wufei raised his right hand, "Same here."
Kumi shook her head and sighed deeply, "Is there anything else that we need to know about, Lady Une? We need to talk about this as soon as we can." Their friend nodded, "I understand. And believe me, I know how all of you feel after hearing all of this. As much as I wish that I could make all of this better, I can't do that...And there is one more thing that I have to share with all of you." Getting themselves together as best they could, the pilots prepared for the last bit of news.
Focusing on Duo, Lady Une stated, "We know where Heero is." The pilots all gasped as their faces bore the shock they received. Duo almost fell back at this. His wide eyes locked onto the screen as he whispered, "W-where is he?" Kumi placed a hand on the shoulder of her concerned and braided partner.
Lady Une answered, "He was captured by OZ and we have the location of the ship that he is being held at. As far as we know, Heero's still alive there." Duo sighed deeply and a small whimper left him as he threw his head back, "Oh, thank God." Tears instantly filled his eyes and he looked back to the screen again. His hands covered his fact from the middle of is nose and down as he battled the overwhelming swirl of emotions in him.
"We attack tomorrow," Kumi stated as she looked to the other pilots. Lady Une warned, "He's being held at one of the stronghold ships of the organization. It's defenses are the best they have and we still don't have everything on it, even in the data that we now have. There are far too many risks involved in a blind attack. Before we jump into this, we need to study the ship with the information we have now so that we have an idea as to what we're dealing with."
Wufei shook his head and said with urgency, "We can't wait for that, it'll take days, weeks." Trowa added just the same, "Heero's been held there for months. How can we just sit back when we know where he is now!?!" The Preventer assured them, "I am just as anxious to bring him back safely than the rest of you-" "Then let us go to the ship and break him out of there," Sette interrupted, concern all over her voice and face.
Delapan nodded, "We can't get through this war without Heero. We'd be taking a bigger risk in not attempting an immediate attack that if we did." Duo wiped a few tears that made their way from his eyes and he looked to the Preventer with sadness as he pleaded quietly, "Please, Lady Une. Let us bring Heero home."
The young woman was fighting her own tears as she lowered her head, "I don't want to lose anymore of you. We have to take all the precautions that we must to protect all of you. You have to know that if I thought we could go right in and free Heero, I would be the first to call the assault." Looking to the pilots she knew as her children, she whispered through the wet trails that came from her eyes, "I just don't see this attack being successful unless we carefully plan this."
The pilots fell silent, each forgetting how much the Preventer loved all of them. They all felt guilty for doubting that she was not looking out for all of them, even if that doubt lasted for the briefest of moments. Kumi shook her head first and said quietly, "Gomen, Lady Une... I know that you're trying to do the right thing." Duo bit his lip and nodded, "We all know that...I'm sorry that I got you all worked up." Each of the pilots gave their own apology and Lady Une dried her eyes as she smiled warmly to whisper, "I know that you didn't mean to doubt me." She sighed, "This whole war has been taking more than its toll on all of us."
Wufei shrugged, "We won't be able to accomplish anything like this. We might as well call it a night...It's been a long day." There wasn't a soul present that couldn't have agreed more. One by one, the pilots all said their 'good night's' to their friend on the screen before shutting the system down and filing out of the hanger. It had been a long day...A long few months... And an unbearably long war for all of them.
* * * * * *
Duo awoke that a start as he shot up in his bed, gasping loudly. Sweat was soaking his body, making his tank and boxers cling to his skin as he panted with wide eyes. His hands shook as they came up to dry his face. Thankful that he left his hair in its braid, he managed to get himself to stand. He took his pillow and the green blanket from the bed and wrapped them right so that he could carry them more easily as he left the room.
Downstairs, Kumi was sleeping on the floor of the pitch dark living room. She had been working on the laptop and her blueprints late into the night, too late to risk waking Trowa from his slumber. She took the pillow and blanket from the closet and utilized them as she lied on the wooden ground.
There was a subtle creek from the doorway and the silver-haired pilot's eyes snapped open. In less time than it takes one to blink, she removed the gun from under her pillow, undid the safety and aimed it at the source of the small noise with her eyes narrowed in a death glare.
The pilot's Prussian eyes widened for a moment when they focused on the face of her braided partner. Duo didn't seem upset, even at the fact that he could see clearly down the barrel of the gun in Kumi's hand. He just stood before her, blanket and pilot still clutched against him. With her expressionless mask back and place and clicking the safety back on she asked quietly, "Duo?" The American nodded and whispered, "Yea... Gomen...I didn't mean to scare you."
Kumi nodded and placed the gun back from where it came. Looking back to the cousin's lover, she asked, "What's wrong?" The American said quietly as he lowered his head, "I... I couldn't sleep... There was this nightmare..." Looking sadly to the silver-haired pilot, he asked, "Mind if I sleep down here?" The 'Perfect Soldier' simply nodded once and patted the floor on her left side. Duo smiled a bit and took is sleeping gear as he set himself up in that spot.
Just as Duo was lying down, Trowa walked into the room, carrying a blanket and pillow of his own. He looked to his friends and asked Duo, "You couldn't sleep either?" The braided pilot just shook his head, "No. After everything that Lady Une had told us..." The tall pilot nodded, trying not to remember that just now. He requested the two of them, "Mind if I sleep down here, too?"
Kumi gave the smallest of smirks, still sitting up in her spot, and patted the floor on her right side. Her lover went to her side and got his pillow and blanket set up. In a few seconds, he was lying on his back, under the blanket and head secured on his pillow. Duo was now comfortable as he slept on his right side, still costumed to that position as he always would be.
Just as Kumi was finally about to lie back down, herself, when two more pilots entered with a pillow and blanket of their own. Sette and Quatre looked with wide eyes to the sight beside them. Duo and Trowa both laughed simultaneously, "Can't sleep?" The tomboy laughed and shook her head, "Not a damn wink." The Arabian asked, "Mind if we-" Trowa smiled as he motioned for them to make themselves comfortable beside him. Sette smiled and made her way next to him as Quatre rested on her free side.
"Well this is an interesting sight," a familiar, deep voice said from the doorway. The pilots looked up to see Wufei and Delapan standing there. They walked to their comrades with their bedding. The Chinese pilot lied between Quatre and Catherine, Delapan rested between Wufei and Duo.
The pilots lied in a huddle, thankful that they weren't sleeping alone this night. Kumi was still sitting up, looked after everyone as they got themselves comfortable in their spots and closed their eyes. She chuckled deeply, just low enough that only she heard, as she shook her head.
The Japanese pilot lied on her own back now, looking to the ceiling for a moment before her eyes slid closed. Just then, Duo popped his head up and he chuckled, "Do y'all realize how close this is to an orgy right now!?!" Everyone shouted, "DUO!!!" and laughed loudly, hitting the braided pilot with their pillows. The American laughed as he dodged the feathery weapons, "Look! I'm not into that and never would be! I was just saying that because if someone we didn't know was to walk in here-" Again, the other pilots interrupted his observation as his friends all shouted in one voice, "GOOD NIGHT, DUO!"
Duo smiled as he lowered his head back down. As he closed his eyes, he whispered to himself, "That lightened the air enough for them to sleep." Kumi's eyes opened when she heard this. She turned to the braided pilot with a soft glance. "He goes out of his way to make the rest of us comfortable," she thought to herself. A small smile spread on her lips as she turned her gaze back to face her lover while there others slept peacefully.
Trowa's eyes opened, and he smiled warmly to the 'Perfect Soldier.' He leaned in and kissed her lips gently as he whispered, "Good night." The kiss was returned as his lover whispered back, "Good night." The European pilot closed his eyes again as a small, content sigh left him. His lover looked back up to he ceiling for a moment. The silver-haired pilot waited almost an hour before slipping from the living room to get some air.
* * * * * *
Outside, Kumi made her way off the porch as she headed out to where she and Duo would go to watch the stars. Once there, the stoic pilot lied on her back at the top of the hill that gave the best view of the stars. Tonight, there were only a few stars that were visible as the sky was slowly becoming covered with thick clouds, slowly devouring the bright sparkles of the dark blue sea above.
It had been a while since it had rained in this part of Virginia, so the change in weather would be welcomed. The 'Perfect Soldier' just focused on the stars that were in plain sight. She wouldn't remember how long she was watching them before her eyes closed as sleep claimed her...
When she 'woke,' Kumi found herself lying in a dark, metal hallway. Knowing instantly that she was dreaming, the pilot allowed her subconscious to lead her. Rising to her feet, she looked through the darkness to her surroundings. On her right and left as she walked, there were several metal doors, each locked tightly. It was obvious to her that she was in a prison somewhere. Walking down the hall, she eyed each of the doors carefully and checked to see if anything was open.
On her way down, Kumi heard several voices laughing. There were different ranges, male and female. Some of the things she made out were, "He's not as tough as we made him out to be." Another sarcastically remarked, "Some 'Perfect Soldier.'" "It won't be much longer now. He's spirit is practically dead." "It was dead when we found him." "He can't be the same pilot that helped end the last two wars." "That bastard won't be causing us anymore trouble now, that's for sure." Every line cut into Kumi's heart and she sighed deeply. Her eyes closed in anguish as she whispered sadly, "Heero."
It wasn't until she was almost at the dead end of the hall when Kumi noticed one door that budged a bit when her hand pressed against it. Her Prussian eyes widened a bit at this before they narrowed. She looked to see that she wasn't being watched or followed. Even in her dreams, she was not one to put aside the soldier within her. The silver-haired pilot slipped through the thin opening and closed the door behind her silently.
Inside, Kumi pressed her back against the closed door, waiting for her eyes to adjust to the pitch cell. It was by far the darkest room she had ever been in, dream or not. After a moment, she managed to make out the walls of the room. Looking from the top down, the Japanese pilot scanned everything. Finally, she stopped when her eyes found the room's occupant.
Their back was to her as they lied along the floor on their right side, their top and their pale blue jeans torn all around. The captive was muscular and yet very fragile in their appearance. The skin that was visible had been bruised and scarred terribly with little left untouched. Their dark, unruly hair was still wet after sweating badly through the beatings that the prisoner had faced. And there was a tattoo on the right shoulder blade. Still in tact, it was the image of a gold cross encased in a pair of white angel wings and wrapped by a pink rose who's bud fell in its center.
A sharp gasp left the visitor as her Prussian eyes widened instantly. "HEERO!" Kumi cried as she ran to the fallen form of her cousin. She rolled him onto his back and held him from the waist up, arms wrapped tightly around his upper body. Heero's head fell on her right shoulder, eyes closed and body limp. The Wing pilot's chest was rising and falling as testimony that he was still alive, much to the relief of the pilot holding him. He was soaked at the touch and his cousin called desperately, "Heero!?! Come on, wake up." She lied him on his back gently and ran a hand through his damp hair as she tried to revive him.
Biting her lip, Excalibur's pilot carefully began to study Heero's wounds as she whispered over and over, "Please be alright. Please be alright. God, please be alright." There were countless broken bones and Kumi didn't know where she should begin. Looking to the cuts and scars, she told her unconscious partner as she tried to assure herself more than him, "You've been though worse than this, ne, Heero...You'll be fine once we get you back-" Her words were cut short when a small, deep moan left the Wing pilot.
Kumi instantly looked back to her cousin's face and caressed his cheek. His eyes never opened, but it was clear that he was in excruciating pain. Before she could whisper his name, Heero whispered in a sad, broken voice, "Duo..." At this, he exhaled deeply and his body sagged as much as it could. His partner watched with wide eyes as a small whimper left her. Heero's chest never rose again. Kumi hands smacked over her mouth as she gasped loudly, eyes still wide as she looked to the fallen pilot's face. Her head shook slowly, then quickly as she whispered, "No."
The 'Perfect Soldier' had tears in her eyes and she lowered her hands and shouted, "HEERO!" She threw her arms down to rest on his shoulders as she shook him and shouted, "DON'T YOU DIE ON US LIKE THIS!!! YOU CAN'T!!!" Tears were pouring from her eyes as she bit back sobs that threatened to shake her whole being. Wrapping her arms around Heero's upper body again, she lifted him until he sat up at the waist as before. This time, she used her right hand to hold the back of her cousin's head to rest his face against her neck. Holding him like that, the silver-haired pilot whispered in his ear, "You can't die on us, Heero. We need you."
Just then, her sobs and labored breathing ended as her hand touched something warm that seeped through Heero's dark hair in the back of his head. Eyes wide and hesitant, Kumi slowly removed her hand from the warm spot. Extending her fingers as far as they could go, she looked turned her hand to examine the palm. Instantly, her breathing became quick and rasping as she gazed to it in shock and terror. Her entire palm and her fingers were covered in blood. Another whimper left her and her hand was shaking uncontrollably.
Looking to the floor beneath her, Kumi saw that she was kneeling in blood that coated the entire floor of the cell now. Heero's body remained on its back, lifeless as the silver-haired pilot stumbled to her feet. The blood on the floor spread and ran up all of the walls, soon reaching the ceiling and from there, falling like thick and heavy rain upon her. Kumi was being drenched by the blood as she struggled to scream through her heavy breathing. Finally, she took a deep, breath and screamed at the top of her lungs, "NNNOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!"
Kumi sat up instantly, screaming, "HEERO!" A crash of thunder echoed through the countryside. She was soaked from rain, not blood as she broke free from the horrendous nightmare. Her eyes still wide and breathing still heavy, Excalibur's pilot looked to her right palm, just catching the fade of red blood that was there in the vision. Her hand was then clean and wet only from water. She rolled to lie on her left side as she pulled her legs up to hug them against her chest. Shaking and still with a look of sheer terror on her face, Kumi remained panting and lying like that.
* * * * * *
Duo was the only pilot who woke not long after he fell asleep. Seeing that Kumi was no longer with the group, he sat up and looked around for a moment. Assuming that his stoic partner was in the hanger working again, the braided pilot rose and stretched. Needing some fresh air, he walked towards the door. The sound of thunder and rain registered as he made his way from the living room, not waking any of his sleeping friends.
Stepping onto the front porch, Duo took in a deep breath of the rain-scented air, eyes closed as he took it in. Releasing the breath slowly, he opened his eyes in time to see a lightning bolt brighten everything around. That brief instant he saw a figure walking from the woods in the direction of the cabin. Instantly, the American's eyes narrowed and he grabbed the shotgun that had been hidden behind the bench beside the front door.
The braided pilot ran ahead into the storm, clicked the barrel of the gun to arm it and aimed at the figure. Another bolt of lighting allowed him the clear view of the mysterious form. His narrowed, cobalt eyes widened and he lowered the gun as he called, "Kumi!?!" The 'Perfect Soldier' continued to walk towards him, as if she was in a daze.
Duo strapped the gun onto his back and ran to his partner. Stopping a foot before her, he sighed deeply, "Jesus, Kumi. You really know how to scare the shit out of someone-" He stopped as his eyes focused on the distraught look on the silver-haired pilot's drenched face. "It's Heero, isn't it?" Duo asked in a small, pained voice. Kumi simply replied in monotone, "We need to talk."
TBC
Gundam Wing: The Second Chapter
Episode 38: Lady Une's Discovery
by SkyLark
supported and helped by Snodin, Traci, Sam, Beekay, Silver Star, GREETER 600, Ruby, Mylia, Stormy, Naz, Akuma, my family at 1x2x1 and all readers of this fic
An OZ shuttle landed a half-mile from one of the largest bases of the OZ organization in the Colonies. Walking out into the breezy air, Lady Une's red hair was blowing behind her. Another uniformed soldier approached her with a smile and firm handshake. "Welcome to Colony W71, Captain Dryson."
The spy smiled as she adjusted her glasses and nodded, "Thank you, Commander Thomas. I expect that everything is going according to plan here." The Commander nodded back, "You won't find anything wrong at this site. I will show you to your living quarters before your tour of the facilities." The 'Captain' replied, "Very well." The two soldiers walked to one of the many headquarters of the organization.
An hour later, after the living arrangements had been observed, the tour of the large plant had begun. Ladu Une walked with Thomas through the facility. Since it was believed that she was a supervisor for OZ, it was not viewed as strange by any of that soldiers that the young woman had a notepad during the demonstration. The Preventer made sure to take everything down that she could, writing quickly on several occasions before proceeding to the next room.
As the tour was coming to a close, Thomas led the 'Captain' to the door that they had yet to enter. The door was ten sheets of metal thick, tall and wide with a extensive lock system at its right. The OZ soldier punched in the number code. He didn't realize that the young woman with him was watching intently, taking down the code obscurely on her pad. Once that was finished, he swiped his card into the thin scanner that unlocked the bolts. He took the heavy door by the steel rod handle and pulled it open.
Entering the room, Lady Une saw the busy control room of the headquarters. Soldiers worked efficiently and quickly through their daily routines of updating their reports and files in the system. Dryson watched carefully as she took in the surroundings, knowing exactly where she needed to go to complete her mission. Thomas smiled as he stretched his arms wide and said, "And this, of course, is one of the three main hearts that keep OZ the strong force that it is."
Dryson smiled and nodded, "This is quite impressive, Commander. You have done an excellent job in running this base." The smug man chuckled deeply, "Well, I have been a loyal follower to this organization since I was young. Still, we also have W71 to thank. They have been allied with OZ since the Eve Wars, only acting as a friend to the Gundams for our benefit." He went on to growl, "Of course, their position has been revealed now that the transcript with that information had been translated by those damn pilots."
The Commander sneered and shook his head, "Of well. It doesn't matter whether they know the colonies that are allied with us or not. And they're sadly mistaken if they think that we don't have any other tricks up our sleeves." He turned back to the Captain and informed her, "Now that you have seen everything, what you do from this point on is up to you. If there is anything that you should need help in, feel free to let me know."
Lady Une nodded, "I appreciate that. For now, I will be happy looking over the progression in this room for a while. The protection of this information is vital to assuring our victory in this war. I want to see that there is nothing that would allow the information here to fall into the wrong hands." Tomas stated. "I understand, Captain. Stay as long as you wish." The Preventer gave one last nod and walked through the control room.
* * * * * *
Seven young pilots made their way from the hanger after their recent visit from Pulsar. Relena needed to remain there in order to find the rest she needed from the stress that she suffered from the responsibilities of being a Gundam pilot. The others knew that it was for the best, though none of them were happy that she was no longer with them. Most of the band fell onto the couches in the living room, still physically and emotionally drained from everything that had happened.
Wufei looked from the window of the room to see past the front porch as he said quietly, "And the Earth continues to turn without knowing a damn thing about this war." Delapan chuckled bitterly from her spot on the couch, "That's something else, isn't it?" Sette was lying on the floor as she shook her head, "Never ceases to amaze me that the people here can wipe their hands of this war as easily as they have." Trowa shrugged, "It won't be that way for much longer. They can't keep something like this from their hands forever."
Duo shrugged, "They've been doing a hell of a job in seeing that doesn't happen, but you're right, Trowa." Quatre was sitting beside Sette when he suddenly asked, "Was there anything mentioned as to when Lady Une would be returning from the base that she snuck into?" Kumi shook her head and deadpanned, "Not yet. She'll contact us as soon as she manages to find everything that she can about OZ and their methods."
Delapan shuddered and sat up as she questioned in concern, "What if she finds out that they have more things working in their favor than we realize?" Wufei walked back to his comrades and sighed deeply, "We'll deal with it, somehow, as always. But you know that we're not going to like everything that Lady Une reports back." Trowa stated as he sat beside his sister, "Personally, I don't care what happens, as long as she gets back safe. She's taking an awful risk going on her own the way she did." Sette chuckled deeply, looking up to the tall pilot over her, "If anyone can handle a job like this, she's the one. Believe me, we'll be hearing from her soon."
* * * * * *
Heero was being led from his daily dose of torture, covered in cuts and scars that were bleeding all around, Still, he walked on his own power, head hung as far as it could fall with his eyes shut. Four armed guards walked with him, two in front and two behind, to see that he never tried anything. They all felt as though they were unneeded, since the Wing pilot never so much as spoke up to them. The 'Perfect Soldier' would simply comply and follow their orders. It was extremely unnerving.
As they walked down the narrow and dark halls of the prison, the guards in the front turned back to look to Heero, to see if there was any change in his demeanor. Seeing that there was none, they turned heir heads to look ahead again. Finally, they reached the pilot's cell. The first soldier punched in the code of the door. As he did this, his comrade beside him turned back to see the captive. He sneered at the pendant that hung around the pilot's neck and said deeply, "I wonder..."
The young man's hand reached out for the crucifix and was just about to wrap around the pendant when the head of the prisoner snapped up before any of the guards could blink. Heero's Prussian eyes glared intensely at the soldier, who froze out of shock and fear. He pulled his hand back quickly, before anything could be done to him.
That same guard back up a few paused, still under the icy stare from the captive. His comrades laughed at his situation, silently thankful that they weren't in his shoes. Still glaring to the guard, Heero's right hand reached up and protectively held the pendant, sticking it under what remained of his blue shirt. The startled soldier turned away and looked to the cell in order to avoid those eyes.
Once the door opened, one of the guards behind the Wing pilot forced him inside with a swift strike with the back of his gun. Not even a grunt of pain left the Japanese pilot from the painful hit or the hard fall that he suffered when landing forcefully on his right side. The guards looked one last time to their prisoner before closing the cell door.
Heero wiped the blood from his cut mouth with the back of his hand as he managed to get himself in a sitting position, resting his back against the wall. He sighed deeply and threw his head back with his eyes closed. His right hand wrapped firmly around the cold cross that continued to fall over the middle of his chest as his gaze returned to it. "Not much longer, now, koibito," Heero whispered to the pendant with a faint smile of relief. He stretched out along the floor and rested his head, falling asleep the moment his eyes closed.
* * * * * *
Later that week, it was long after lights out had been called in the headquarters on W71. In her room, Lady Une was pulling up her black stretch pants as the last piece of her all-black outfit. Sitting at the end of her bed, she quickly placed her black running boots on. Lacing them tightly, she turned to face the notepad that was filled with everything she had gathered during her stay at the headquarters. The Preventer then pulled her red hair up in a ponytail and disposed of her glasses as she threw them in her back pack.
Thanks to all of the tours and interviews over the headquarters, Lady Une now knew the site like the back of her hand as she made her way through the dark halls silently. Since the Preventer knew where the guards of the night watch were stationed, she knew what areas to avoid. She had already managed to hack into the surveillance system to make it seem as through nothing had changed in any of the rooms or halls, playing an old tape over an over in the security room. She then slipped silently into the room of one of the soldiers there.
Commander Thomas stirred a bit when he head the door to his room close. He instantly sat up in his bed, looking to see the same young woman that he knew as Captain Dreyson standing a few feet away from him. His brown eyes widened as far as they could as he realized too late who the intruder really was. He just managed to hiss, "You're-" before a bullet ripped through his head. Thanks to the silencer of the pistol, no sound came from the weapon when the trigger was pulled. The Commander's body fell back in a bloody heap onto the mattress as Lady Une quickly went to his desk. She retrieved the man's card for the security system and left the room as soon as it was in her possession.
Lady Une punched the code to the control room and swiped the card belonging to Thomas. The heavy bolts were undone as they clicked from their locks. Pulling on the large steel handle, she entered the room and locked the door behind her. Running to the first computer, the Preventer removed a handful of disks from her backpack and placed them in the machine.
Uploading all of the saved information from the main data base, the head of the Preventers typed as fast as her hands allowed over the keys. Her eyes quickly scanned all of the information before saving it on the disks that she brought with her, placing a new one in the computer when the information filled the disk that she had inside.
After when only felt like a couple minutes, Lady Une paused very briefly to look to the clock. 12:43 am. She had actually been working for fifteen minutes. Trying not to think about this, she focused back on the computer and brought out all of the buried files that had been so carefully locked beyond the sight of anyone outside of OZ. A bit of sweat was beginning to roll from her forehead as she knew that it would only be a matter of time before someone would realize that something was wrong.
Just as she thought of this, the sound of sirens rang through and the red lights turned on everywhere in the base. The young woman gasped loudly at the initial shock as her eyes widened, breaking her focus. A soldier's voice announced over the PA system as he shouted, "All soldiers search the facility. Commander Thomas has been murdered." Lady Une growled deeply to herself as she turned back to the screen, "Damn it! I'm not finished yet!"
Checking to see how much time she needed to save the last files, he screen read 5 minutes and 32 seconds. Lady Une pressed a detonator that she brought with her. An explosion rang out in the wing furthest from the control room. Instantly, almost every guard ran in that direction, screaming and searching fr the enemy within their facility. This would buy the Preventer the time that she needed to get the last file.
Once the countdown was over, Lady Une pressed a second detonator that caused the destruction of a wing further down from the first explosion. Breathing a deep sigh of relief, she removed the final disk and shut the computer down, making it seem as through nothing had happened. Putting the disks into her back pack and quickly closing it, she ran out of the control room.
With the confusion and chaos that was taking place throughout the headquarters, it was not much of a challenge for Lady Une to slip through the halls on her way to one of the hangers of the base. Part of what would guarantee her escape was that she would leave from a hanger beyond the second wing that she devastated.
Reaching that part of the facility, she watched as a large number of soldiers battled the flames and smoke to save what they could and prevent its spread. Too wrapped in doing this, and not believing that anyone was crazy enough to try to pass the flames, no one saw the black-clad pilot making her way beyond all of them, out of the room that they fought to save.
Breathing through a hand cloth that she had in her pocket, Lady Une made her way through the dying flames that were her last barrier to freedom. What was unknown to her was that there was a pair of eyes that just happened to catch her by a soldier who left the burning room to retrieve another hose. The man that saw her removed a gun and silently followed, not stopping to call for backup.
Finally, the Preventer made her way into the hanger, closing the door behind her and blocking out the screams and shouts of the soldiers outside of the room. Lady Une fell back until she was resting against the door, trying to catch her breath as she panted with closed eyes and head thrown back. Once she managed to catch her breath, she chuckled deeply and wiped the sweat from her forehead.
Lady Une walked forward to some of the suits that had been resting there. She failed to catch the hanger door open and close behind her. Looking to the Space Virgo that she planned to take, the Preventer froze with eyes wide and jaw a bit slack as she heard the safety of a pistol clip off a foot behind her. She remained frozen, paralyzed. "Drop the bag and kick it back to me," the man behind her ordered.
Closing her eyes slowly and lowering her head, Lady Une removed the backpack and lowered it onto the ground beside her. Once she did this, she gave a swift back kick that caused the bag to land at the feet of her captor. "Put your hands in the air," came the next command. Lady Une complied, slowly lifting her hands until they were positioned beside her head. Then, the deep voice ordered her, "Turn around, nice and slow." Hesitating an agonizing moment, she turned slowly around to see the man that caught her.
"You!?!" Lady Une gasped with a look of shock as she faced the young man that aimed his weapon at her. Derek Anderson was just as shocked as the Preventer, gun still aimed at her head. The two spies were frozen as they stared to each other in wonder and amazement. "Derek..." "...Lady Une." They never broke their gazed from each other, not knowing what to make of the situation. It was obvious that the young woman was not going to be leaving the base.
Just then, Derek's brown eyes narrowed and he kicked the backpack to the Preventer. "Hide," he told her. Before she could process this, Ladu Une heard the door of the hanger opening again. Instantly, she grabbed the backpack and threw it hugged it against her chest as she hid behind the mobile suits.
A number of soldiers made their way into the hanger as they looked to their comrade. "What happened!?! Did you find the intruder!?!" the first young soldier that reached him asked. Derek shook his head and replaced his gun, "No. False alarm." At this, he and the other soldiers quickly left the room.
When the hanger door closed again, Lady Une fell onto her knees, panting in relief again as she gathered her bearings. She then climbed into the cockpit of the Space Virgo. The moment she was strapped in and the hatch closed, the Preventer pressed the last detonator on her. The control room's wing went up in a series of explosions. The deafening sound was more than enough to cover the crash that she caused as her suit penetrated the doors of the hanger.
As she shot to the stars as fast as she could, Lady Une looked back to the headquarters from which she barely managed to escape with her life. Her hands wrapped tightly around the back pack that carried the vital information that she needed to get back to her fellow Preventers. With a relieved sigh, she whispered sincerely, "Thank you, Derek." She turned back to look to Space and instantly flew through the atmosphere of W17.
* * * * * *
Just a day-and-a-half later, Lady Une returned to Pulsar, instantly running to the control room with the disks that she used to store the information that she gathered from the OZ base. Her friends just caught her as she made her way there. They didn't bother braking her focus with 'hello's.' The pilot made her way to one of the computers and went to work right away, a look of determination never leaving her face. The Preventer would not leave this spot until she analyzed everything...
Several hours later, Lady Une was staring to the screen before her in shock, fear and amazement wrapped together. Turing back to her friends that never left their watch over her, she said gravely, "We have a lot that we need to discuss before I pass this information onto the Gundam pilots." Keiser, Noin, Miliardo, Sally and Marimaya were already beginning to dread learning what their comrade discovered in the OZ files. Still, they nodded and made their way from the control room.
Lady Une hid her face in her hands as she turned back to the computer screen. Propping her elbows on the desk and staying like that for a moment to take a deep breath, she lowered her hands slowly. She closed the information off of the computer and removed the disk. Looking to the thin plastic she whispered, "We have more than our work cut out for us."
* * * * * *
That same night, Wufei was working in the hanger when the main system blinked on. Lady Une's image appeared on the screen with a sober look on her face. The Chinese pilot's eyes widened as he smiled, "Welcome back, Lady Une. How are you?" A small, sincere smile came across the Preventer's face as she sighed deeply, "I'm alright, thank you, Wufei."
The young woman's original expression returned as she asked, "Could you call upon the others? It would be better that I share this information with all of you together." Wufei's smile vanished as he could see and tell that whatever needed to be discussed couldn't be good news. He rose and nodded, "Be right back."
It wasn't long before all of the pilots in the cabin were standing before the monitor. Everyone gave their 'hello's' and 'welcome home's,' which were accepted gratefully. The reunion was short-lived as the Preventer became serious again and informed them, "I am here to let all of you know what I managed to gather from one of the OZ headquarters." The pilots all prepared themselves as they listened intently.
Taking a deep breath, Lady Une began, "First off, OZ managed to create a laser three times the size and ten times as powerful as the Barge Cannon that they used in the Eve Wars." Kumi's eyes narrowed then closed as her hands became fists that pounded the control once. She hissed, "Then the base that I destroyed where we thought the laser was being created was a decoy."
The woman on the screen nodded, "They already competed the laser by the time we got wind of any rumors that it was being built. OZ will have to make the weapon known in their first attack with the laser before it can be found." The pilots were afraid of this, but there wasn't anything that could be done at this time. They took this information on their own terms, remaining silent, but with mixed expressions of concern, anger and fear.
Fooling his hands behind his head and taking a deep breath, Wufei asked in a deep sigh, "What else can you tell us?" Lady Une replied, "We know why Demetris is able to withstand any and all pain." The silver-haired pilot looked up to the screen with a hint of anticipation in her eyes. The red-haired Preventer stated, "He was implanted with a Gundamimum heart not long after he was assisted in his break out from prison."
Sette's eyes widened as she gasped, "They successfully implanted a Gundamimum heart!?!" All eyes fell on the ex-princess and she explained, "That's the damn closest thing to man-made immortality that anyone will get. The scientists on my colony were the first to try to create it, but none of their tests were successful and they discontinued their research." Lady Une nodded and said, "Two of those scientists were involved directly with Demetris's surgery. The whole thing was planned and overseen by Quinze Kushrenadah." Delapan crossed her arms and growled, "That explains why his loyalties are with him."
Quatre hesitated but questioned as he ran a hand through his blonde locks, "Anything else that you managed to find out?" Lady Une answered as she lowered her head, "We understand, now, where OZ is getting all of their soldiers...They now have the means necessary to clone."
Not one of the pilots was left without shocked look. Trowa whispered, "c-Clones?" The Preventer looked back up and stated, "They can clone their own men by the hundreds." Quatre lowered his own head as he whispered, "That's why they never feel the need to retreat...They can make as many soldiers as they want whenever they want."
Wufei then asked, "How were they able to pull human cloning off? No one was able to make a devise that could pull such a feat without there being some deficiency in the results. Their soldiers are as good, if not better, than their real soldiers. I can't tell the clones from the human pilots." The hesitant answer was, "One man was able to learn the means...Doctor J." Kumi's Prussian eyes widened as far as they could as a sharp and uncharacteristic gasp left her. She stepped back two paces from the screen as the color from her face disappeared. She whispered, "N-nani?..."
All of the pilots were taken back by the shocked state of their stoic comrade. Her lover quickly stood at her side with a protective arm around her shoulder. Trowa looked to her in concern as the silver-haired pilot's expression never changed. She began to shake a bit. Duo, who had remained quiet as he took everything in, shouted in blind rage, "THAT SON OF A BITCH IS DEAD! HOW THE FUCK DID HE GET TO SCREW US IN THIS WAR AFTER THE FACT!?!"
Lady Une frowned, "He was the only soul that managed to create a complete and perfect clone of a human being. The week before his death, out of revenge against Heero and Kumi, he had everything that he gathered in his tests sent to Quinze. At that time, Quinze was quietly beginning to rebuild the OZ organization. Doctor J used this as his best way to get back at them."
Kumi was finally able to breathe again, though she realized that she allowed her fear to get the best of her for a moment. Silently, she harshly cursed herself for allowing that to happen. Trowa gently rubbed her back for comfort, knowing that his lover was mad at herself through the expressionless mask. He removed his arm as he gazed back to the monitor.
Sette hoped against hope as she said, "Please tell me that you have something on the Gundam suits that OZ is using...Any weaknesses or anything that'll help us take them out without any problems." The Preventer shook her head sadly, "I'm sorry, Sette. But there was nothing in the database in regards to the suits."
The tomboy chuckled bitterly and rubbed her temples, "So much for some good news." The blue-haired pilot looked to her comrades and asked, "Anyone want to start shooting shots? I have the sudden need to bet blitzed." Delapan chuckled deeply, "That's the smartest thing you've suggested yet. I'm in." Wufei raised his right hand, "Same here."
Kumi shook her head and sighed deeply, "Is there anything else that we need to know about, Lady Une? We need to talk about this as soon as we can." Their friend nodded, "I understand. And believe me, I know how all of you feel after hearing all of this. As much as I wish that I could make all of this better, I can't do that...And there is one more thing that I have to share with all of you." Getting themselves together as best they could, the pilots prepared for the last bit of news.
Focusing on Duo, Lady Une stated, "We know where Heero is." The pilots all gasped as their faces bore the shock they received. Duo almost fell back at this. His wide eyes locked onto the screen as he whispered, "W-where is he?" Kumi placed a hand on the shoulder of her concerned and braided partner.
Lady Une answered, "He was captured by OZ and we have the location of the ship that he is being held at. As far as we know, Heero's still alive there." Duo sighed deeply and a small whimper left him as he threw his head back, "Oh, thank God." Tears instantly filled his eyes and he looked back to the screen again. His hands covered his fact from the middle of is nose and down as he battled the overwhelming swirl of emotions in him.
"We attack tomorrow," Kumi stated as she looked to the other pilots. Lady Une warned, "He's being held at one of the stronghold ships of the organization. It's defenses are the best they have and we still don't have everything on it, even in the data that we now have. There are far too many risks involved in a blind attack. Before we jump into this, we need to study the ship with the information we have now so that we have an idea as to what we're dealing with."
Wufei shook his head and said with urgency, "We can't wait for that, it'll take days, weeks." Trowa added just the same, "Heero's been held there for months. How can we just sit back when we know where he is now!?!" The Preventer assured them, "I am just as anxious to bring him back safely than the rest of you-" "Then let us go to the ship and break him out of there," Sette interrupted, concern all over her voice and face.
Delapan nodded, "We can't get through this war without Heero. We'd be taking a bigger risk in not attempting an immediate attack that if we did." Duo wiped a few tears that made their way from his eyes and he looked to the Preventer with sadness as he pleaded quietly, "Please, Lady Une. Let us bring Heero home."
The young woman was fighting her own tears as she lowered her head, "I don't want to lose anymore of you. We have to take all the precautions that we must to protect all of you. You have to know that if I thought we could go right in and free Heero, I would be the first to call the assault." Looking to the pilots she knew as her children, she whispered through the wet trails that came from her eyes, "I just don't see this attack being successful unless we carefully plan this."
The pilots fell silent, each forgetting how much the Preventer loved all of them. They all felt guilty for doubting that she was not looking out for all of them, even if that doubt lasted for the briefest of moments. Kumi shook her head first and said quietly, "Gomen, Lady Une... I know that you're trying to do the right thing." Duo bit his lip and nodded, "We all know that...I'm sorry that I got you all worked up." Each of the pilots gave their own apology and Lady Une dried her eyes as she smiled warmly to whisper, "I know that you didn't mean to doubt me." She sighed, "This whole war has been taking more than its toll on all of us."
Wufei shrugged, "We won't be able to accomplish anything like this. We might as well call it a night...It's been a long day." There wasn't a soul present that couldn't have agreed more. One by one, the pilots all said their 'good night's' to their friend on the screen before shutting the system down and filing out of the hanger. It had been a long day...A long few months... And an unbearably long war for all of them.
* * * * * *
Duo awoke that a start as he shot up in his bed, gasping loudly. Sweat was soaking his body, making his tank and boxers cling to his skin as he panted with wide eyes. His hands shook as they came up to dry his face. Thankful that he left his hair in its braid, he managed to get himself to stand. He took his pillow and the green blanket from the bed and wrapped them right so that he could carry them more easily as he left the room.
Downstairs, Kumi was sleeping on the floor of the pitch dark living room. She had been working on the laptop and her blueprints late into the night, too late to risk waking Trowa from his slumber. She took the pillow and blanket from the closet and utilized them as she lied on the wooden ground.
There was a subtle creek from the doorway and the silver-haired pilot's eyes snapped open. In less time than it takes one to blink, she removed the gun from under her pillow, undid the safety and aimed it at the source of the small noise with her eyes narrowed in a death glare.
The pilot's Prussian eyes widened for a moment when they focused on the face of her braided partner. Duo didn't seem upset, even at the fact that he could see clearly down the barrel of the gun in Kumi's hand. He just stood before her, blanket and pilot still clutched against him. With her expressionless mask back and place and clicking the safety back on she asked quietly, "Duo?" The American nodded and whispered, "Yea... Gomen...I didn't mean to scare you."
Kumi nodded and placed the gun back from where it came. Looking back to the cousin's lover, she asked, "What's wrong?" The American said quietly as he lowered his head, "I... I couldn't sleep... There was this nightmare..." Looking sadly to the silver-haired pilot, he asked, "Mind if I sleep down here?" The 'Perfect Soldier' simply nodded once and patted the floor on her left side. Duo smiled a bit and took is sleeping gear as he set himself up in that spot.
Just as Duo was lying down, Trowa walked into the room, carrying a blanket and pillow of his own. He looked to his friends and asked Duo, "You couldn't sleep either?" The braided pilot just shook his head, "No. After everything that Lady Une had told us..." The tall pilot nodded, trying not to remember that just now. He requested the two of them, "Mind if I sleep down here, too?"
Kumi gave the smallest of smirks, still sitting up in her spot, and patted the floor on her right side. Her lover went to her side and got his pillow and blanket set up. In a few seconds, he was lying on his back, under the blanket and head secured on his pillow. Duo was now comfortable as he slept on his right side, still costumed to that position as he always would be.
Just as Kumi was finally about to lie back down, herself, when two more pilots entered with a pillow and blanket of their own. Sette and Quatre looked with wide eyes to the sight beside them. Duo and Trowa both laughed simultaneously, "Can't sleep?" The tomboy laughed and shook her head, "Not a damn wink." The Arabian asked, "Mind if we-" Trowa smiled as he motioned for them to make themselves comfortable beside him. Sette smiled and made her way next to him as Quatre rested on her free side.
"Well this is an interesting sight," a familiar, deep voice said from the doorway. The pilots looked up to see Wufei and Delapan standing there. They walked to their comrades with their bedding. The Chinese pilot lied between Quatre and Catherine, Delapan rested between Wufei and Duo.
The pilots lied in a huddle, thankful that they weren't sleeping alone this night. Kumi was still sitting up, looked after everyone as they got themselves comfortable in their spots and closed their eyes. She chuckled deeply, just low enough that only she heard, as she shook her head.
The Japanese pilot lied on her own back now, looking to the ceiling for a moment before her eyes slid closed. Just then, Duo popped his head up and he chuckled, "Do y'all realize how close this is to an orgy right now!?!" Everyone shouted, "DUO!!!" and laughed loudly, hitting the braided pilot with their pillows. The American laughed as he dodged the feathery weapons, "Look! I'm not into that and never would be! I was just saying that because if someone we didn't know was to walk in here-" Again, the other pilots interrupted his observation as his friends all shouted in one voice, "GOOD NIGHT, DUO!"
Duo smiled as he lowered his head back down. As he closed his eyes, he whispered to himself, "That lightened the air enough for them to sleep." Kumi's eyes opened when she heard this. She turned to the braided pilot with a soft glance. "He goes out of his way to make the rest of us comfortable," she thought to herself. A small smile spread on her lips as she turned her gaze back to face her lover while there others slept peacefully.
Trowa's eyes opened, and he smiled warmly to the 'Perfect Soldier.' He leaned in and kissed her lips gently as he whispered, "Good night." The kiss was returned as his lover whispered back, "Good night." The European pilot closed his eyes again as a small, content sigh left him. His lover looked back up to he ceiling for a moment. The silver-haired pilot waited almost an hour before slipping from the living room to get some air.
* * * * * *
Outside, Kumi made her way off the porch as she headed out to where she and Duo would go to watch the stars. Once there, the stoic pilot lied on her back at the top of the hill that gave the best view of the stars. Tonight, there were only a few stars that were visible as the sky was slowly becoming covered with thick clouds, slowly devouring the bright sparkles of the dark blue sea above.
It had been a while since it had rained in this part of Virginia, so the change in weather would be welcomed. The 'Perfect Soldier' just focused on the stars that were in plain sight. She wouldn't remember how long she was watching them before her eyes closed as sleep claimed her...
When she 'woke,' Kumi found herself lying in a dark, metal hallway. Knowing instantly that she was dreaming, the pilot allowed her subconscious to lead her. Rising to her feet, she looked through the darkness to her surroundings. On her right and left as she walked, there were several metal doors, each locked tightly. It was obvious to her that she was in a prison somewhere. Walking down the hall, she eyed each of the doors carefully and checked to see if anything was open.
On her way down, Kumi heard several voices laughing. There were different ranges, male and female. Some of the things she made out were, "He's not as tough as we made him out to be." Another sarcastically remarked, "Some 'Perfect Soldier.'" "It won't be much longer now. He's spirit is practically dead." "It was dead when we found him." "He can't be the same pilot that helped end the last two wars." "That bastard won't be causing us anymore trouble now, that's for sure." Every line cut into Kumi's heart and she sighed deeply. Her eyes closed in anguish as she whispered sadly, "Heero."
It wasn't until she was almost at the dead end of the hall when Kumi noticed one door that budged a bit when her hand pressed against it. Her Prussian eyes widened a bit at this before they narrowed. She looked to see that she wasn't being watched or followed. Even in her dreams, she was not one to put aside the soldier within her. The silver-haired pilot slipped through the thin opening and closed the door behind her silently.
Inside, Kumi pressed her back against the closed door, waiting for her eyes to adjust to the pitch cell. It was by far the darkest room she had ever been in, dream or not. After a moment, she managed to make out the walls of the room. Looking from the top down, the Japanese pilot scanned everything. Finally, she stopped when her eyes found the room's occupant.
Their back was to her as they lied along the floor on their right side, their top and their pale blue jeans torn all around. The captive was muscular and yet very fragile in their appearance. The skin that was visible had been bruised and scarred terribly with little left untouched. Their dark, unruly hair was still wet after sweating badly through the beatings that the prisoner had faced. And there was a tattoo on the right shoulder blade. Still in tact, it was the image of a gold cross encased in a pair of white angel wings and wrapped by a pink rose who's bud fell in its center.
A sharp gasp left the visitor as her Prussian eyes widened instantly. "HEERO!" Kumi cried as she ran to the fallen form of her cousin. She rolled him onto his back and held him from the waist up, arms wrapped tightly around his upper body. Heero's head fell on her right shoulder, eyes closed and body limp. The Wing pilot's chest was rising and falling as testimony that he was still alive, much to the relief of the pilot holding him. He was soaked at the touch and his cousin called desperately, "Heero!?! Come on, wake up." She lied him on his back gently and ran a hand through his damp hair as she tried to revive him.
Biting her lip, Excalibur's pilot carefully began to study Heero's wounds as she whispered over and over, "Please be alright. Please be alright. God, please be alright." There were countless broken bones and Kumi didn't know where she should begin. Looking to the cuts and scars, she told her unconscious partner as she tried to assure herself more than him, "You've been though worse than this, ne, Heero...You'll be fine once we get you back-" Her words were cut short when a small, deep moan left the Wing pilot.
Kumi instantly looked back to her cousin's face and caressed his cheek. His eyes never opened, but it was clear that he was in excruciating pain. Before she could whisper his name, Heero whispered in a sad, broken voice, "Duo..." At this, he exhaled deeply and his body sagged as much as it could. His partner watched with wide eyes as a small whimper left her. Heero's chest never rose again. Kumi hands smacked over her mouth as she gasped loudly, eyes still wide as she looked to the fallen pilot's face. Her head shook slowly, then quickly as she whispered, "No."
The 'Perfect Soldier' had tears in her eyes and she lowered her hands and shouted, "HEERO!" She threw her arms down to rest on his shoulders as she shook him and shouted, "DON'T YOU DIE ON US LIKE THIS!!! YOU CAN'T!!!" Tears were pouring from her eyes as she bit back sobs that threatened to shake her whole being. Wrapping her arms around Heero's upper body again, she lifted him until he sat up at the waist as before. This time, she used her right hand to hold the back of her cousin's head to rest his face against her neck. Holding him like that, the silver-haired pilot whispered in his ear, "You can't die on us, Heero. We need you."
Just then, her sobs and labored breathing ended as her hand touched something warm that seeped through Heero's dark hair in the back of his head. Eyes wide and hesitant, Kumi slowly removed her hand from the warm spot. Extending her fingers as far as they could go, she looked turned her hand to examine the palm. Instantly, her breathing became quick and rasping as she gazed to it in shock and terror. Her entire palm and her fingers were covered in blood. Another whimper left her and her hand was shaking uncontrollably.
Looking to the floor beneath her, Kumi saw that she was kneeling in blood that coated the entire floor of the cell now. Heero's body remained on its back, lifeless as the silver-haired pilot stumbled to her feet. The blood on the floor spread and ran up all of the walls, soon reaching the ceiling and from there, falling like thick and heavy rain upon her. Kumi was being drenched by the blood as she struggled to scream through her heavy breathing. Finally, she took a deep, breath and screamed at the top of her lungs, "NNNOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!"
Kumi sat up instantly, screaming, "HEERO!" A crash of thunder echoed through the countryside. She was soaked from rain, not blood as she broke free from the horrendous nightmare. Her eyes still wide and breathing still heavy, Excalibur's pilot looked to her right palm, just catching the fade of red blood that was there in the vision. Her hand was then clean and wet only from water. She rolled to lie on her left side as she pulled her legs up to hug them against her chest. Shaking and still with a look of sheer terror on her face, Kumi remained panting and lying like that.
* * * * * *
Duo was the only pilot who woke not long after he fell asleep. Seeing that Kumi was no longer with the group, he sat up and looked around for a moment. Assuming that his stoic partner was in the hanger working again, the braided pilot rose and stretched. Needing some fresh air, he walked towards the door. The sound of thunder and rain registered as he made his way from the living room, not waking any of his sleeping friends.
Stepping onto the front porch, Duo took in a deep breath of the rain-scented air, eyes closed as he took it in. Releasing the breath slowly, he opened his eyes in time to see a lightning bolt brighten everything around. That brief instant he saw a figure walking from the woods in the direction of the cabin. Instantly, the American's eyes narrowed and he grabbed the shotgun that had been hidden behind the bench beside the front door.
The braided pilot ran ahead into the storm, clicked the barrel of the gun to arm it and aimed at the figure. Another bolt of lighting allowed him the clear view of the mysterious form. His narrowed, cobalt eyes widened and he lowered the gun as he called, "Kumi!?!" The 'Perfect Soldier' continued to walk towards him, as if she was in a daze.
Duo strapped the gun onto his back and ran to his partner. Stopping a foot before her, he sighed deeply, "Jesus, Kumi. You really know how to scare the shit out of someone-" He stopped as his eyes focused on the distraught look on the silver-haired pilot's drenched face. "It's Heero, isn't it?" Duo asked in a small, pained voice. Kumi simply replied in monotone, "We need to talk."
TBC