This chapter dedicated to Rhina, who has constantly been one of the many supporters of this fic and never fails to let me know how much it's enjoyed. Happy Birthday, Rhina!
Creature of the Wood
Chapter 16
-----------------------------
It was amazing just how close the stars seemed from space itself. Floating quietly through the vacuum, the motionless mass of gundanium known as Shenlong went unnoticed by every single early warning monitor placed around the colony cluster of L5. That was the plan, after all... the sensors were set to detect most types of metal that were associated with spacecraft, to prevent an invasion by any hostile force. However, very few people knew of the gundams, or even that gundanium had been successfully refined into the pure metal that now glistened among the stars. Drifting slowly, the mobile suit moved out of sight of the colonies and away from the outer perimeter that would alert the military to their presence. The pilot waited until all threat of detection was passed before he flicked the switches that brought the interior of the cockpit to life and gave him a full diagram of the area around him.
Wufei found it hard to believe that they were actually thinking of going to war against the Earth Alliance military. Wait... thinking was in a stage long past. Now it was perfectly obvious that war was what they were headed for, and the young Troll wasn't sure if this was truly necessary or not. There had been rumours of the Alliance building large settlement cities that were completely enclosed, essentially just large buildings in their own right. The original designer had made them a complete habitat, much like the colonies, with plenty of parks, trees, and places where humans could go to just relax. When the Alliance had gotten the plans, their industrialists and military had taken that idyllic scenario and made it into a technological nightmare that made most Fae cringe just to hear about it. The humans weren't happy either, since the word had begun that these arcologies would become standard... and all would be living in them before long.
That was what had set the freeholds into an uproar. The very idea that humans and fae alike would be forced to live out their lives trapped within constructs of steel was unthinkable, and there had to be a way to stop it. Several of the ambassadors who knew of the Fae or were Fae themselves had argued against the fortress-type 'cities', but had been overruled by those who thought that it was the perfect way to keep the human race under the control and protection of the Alliance. These arcologies were the single largest threat that had faced the Fae since the Renaissance era, and now it was nearly too late. Wufei just hoped that their strike force had been assembled in time. Their job was to sabotage and/or destroy the means for the Alliance to build the arcologies, starting with the supply shipments and working their way down to the military themselves, who took great pride in using sheer firepower to keep the masses 'willing' to undergo this veiled imprisonment.
That's all it was, really, and the very thought of it was enough to send Wufei into a rage. When his family had intercepted him on his way back to the school and told him of this plan, and of the Fae's idea for counteracting against it, he couldn't help but agree to pilot the Fae-built gundam that he had -in a moment of sentiment- dubbed 'Nataku'. He smiled faintly, running his hand over the cool metal of the cockpit interior as his thoughts led him once again to a dark-haired waif of a human who had made such an impression in his life. He had thought of her often over the past days. Would she have been rounded up into one of these living prisons? The very thought of Meiran being subjected to living in one of those hell holes sent him right back into the anger that had forced him into meditation while he and Nataku made their way tot he training grounds. No... she would never have survived a place such as that. A free spirit such as herself was more suited to life in nature, where all of creation could benefit from her kind heart and the love she spread to any around her.
It was while he was lost in these thoughts that Shenlong's console began to blip, showing him three approaching objects. He was set to battle a few 'recovered' mobile suits today, to see how good his reaction times were. Wufei smirked faintly, bringing his fingers across the panel and powering Shenlong fully. "Time to play..." As the suits came closer, allowing him to see them and what kind of weaponry they were equipped with, Wufei whistled faintly under his breath. The data coming across his screen was impressive, to say the least. He'd been under the assumption that the suits Master O had gotten from the Sweepers were older model and just barely together enough to provide a combat simulation. These suits, however, looked to be top of the line, and Wufei couldn't remember having seen their type before. He would have to compliment that Dr. G the next time he visited. He may be strange, but the old coot could come through when needed. Bringing the Gundam around to face the three newcomers, Wufei made a final systems check, then brought the energy staff around, launching himself towards them. He had to give credit to Master O's assistants... their reactions made it seem like they were surprised to see him there.
* * *
Wufei strained against the belts that held him into the cockpit seat, bringing the lance in a deadly arc towards another of the suits. Sweat had beaded on his forehead and every muscle screamed in protest of the abuse he was putting himself through, but he didn't care. Something was wrong here, and he'd quickly begun to reassess his enemy. The first three suits had been dispatched with minimal difficulty, but then several more had arrived. No matter how quickly he tore through their ranks, there were two more to take the place of the fallen one. That was when two other suits arrived, and he heard the familiar voices of their pilots, two of Master O's technicians, come over the comlink.
"...not supposed to be out this far!"
"The training grounds for the Alliance are on the other side of the colonies, what are they doing out here?"
"Doesn't matter, get rid of them! If they report what they've seen, the entire operation is in danger!"
The two suits moved to flank Shenlong, the three of them grouping together for the attack as the Alliance suits came around again. Wufei ran a quick spot check on the system during those few moments of breathing room, and wasn't happy at all with what he saw. He'd taken a beating, that much was certain, and he'd lost track of just how many of the enemy suits he'd disabled or destroyed. That was all the time he had, before he found himself the target of attack once more. Even with the backup of the other two suits, the battle was fierce, the Alliance pilots having determined that the Gundam was the largest threat and centering their attacks upon it. It wasn't until he spun around to find his next target, and saw only one other suit still mobile, that Wufei realized the battle was over. He vaguely heard the other pilot asking him if he was alright, and managed to mutter a faint reply before he slid forward in the seat, the darkness at the edges of his vision finally surging forward to envelop him.
* * *
"Get him out of there!"
The voices were far away, or at least they seemed that way. There was a sharp tug near Wufei's chest, and for a moment he felt himself falling, only to be caught in arms that lifted him from the seat. Dripping... he could hear something dripping against the leather of the seat, against the sleek panel of the console. Why wouldn't his eyes open?
"Be careful, damn you... get medical down here NOW!" It was Master O's voice, heightened with an urgency that Wufei couldn't recall hearing before. What had gotten him that upset? He struggled to open his eyes then, a piercing shock of pain lancing through the back of his skull as he moved. It was instinct to try and pull away... which only brought another wave of agony over him. Once it started, he could only continue, each motion sending him farthur over that edge.
"Damnit he's seizing, put him down. Put him down!" Rough hands wrenched him loose, laying him against the cool stone floor as heavy footsteps raced towards them. The voices seemed to fade away after that, becoming more distant as Wufei tried to seperate himself from the pain, retreating into his mind and into the meditations that he'd been taught.
Master O waited until the boy's body settled from the violent spasms, then knelt beside him, holding him in his arms. No one had expected the Alliance to be conducting maneuvers in that area... they'd never been spotted within miles of the place, which is why he'd chosen it for their external training ground. Still, he was proud. They'd only lost one pilot and suit, while there was nothing left of the Alliance force, save for a few scraps of metal. He'd already contacted the other four scientists and told them what had transpired, and all around where he now held the young Troll, people were scrambling to gather what they could to move out. It wouldn't be long before the Alliance would arrive, looking for their squadron. Dr. G was on his way, bringing with him the groups of Sweepers that were notorious for salvaging what they could and using it for their own devices. They had to travel all the way from the other side of the Earth sphere, however, and it would be several hours before they could combine their forces and clear out the 'rebel' contingent of L5.
He was proud of Wufei, however... the boy had conducted himself well in battle, even if he'd pushed himself past any and all limits to accomplish his goal. He would definately have to teach the Troll that sometimes it was necessary to retreat. It would do them no good if they lost pilots this early in the game... there were too few with the ability to pilot the massive gundams, and they were one short as it was. He was still lost in his musings when the medical staff arrived to take Wufei from him. Looking up, he met the deep blue eyes of the senior technician, her hands already moving over the battered body of the pilot.
"He'll be alright, Master O," she began, not looking to him directly as she made quick assessments of the damage done to the boy. "He's a survivor, like you trained him to be." She smiled, slipping her arms beneath Wufei's shoulders and knees, then lifted him up to place him on the stretcher that had been brought. "Give me an hour or two to stabilize him, and he'll be ready to move when the Sweepers get here."
* * *
The monitors were stable, showing heart rate and breathing to be normal finally. Sally frowned, looking over the charts that had been accumulating since the gundam pilot came under her care less than two hours ago. he'd been knocked around pretty badly, and it looked as though the restraint system in the cockpit had failed. It wasn't unexpected, really... anything a Nocker built had some type of flaw in it, she just didn't expect it to be this serious. Without the restraint system, the pilot would be in danger every time he went into battle. At least it wasn't as bad as some of the other suits she'd heard about...
Out of the five mobile suits, three had shown rather dangerous flaws in their making. 02's electronic countermeasure system had burned out in the first test run, overheating the entire system and shorting out most of the electronics in the suit. The pilot had died, trapped in the gundam with no way of escaping when the air had run out. 03's entire offensive and defensive system was based on artillery, and the design of the suit itself had brought about problems of keeping enough ammunition on hand to make it through a battle. The suit had yet to reach the end of a training session with shells left over, and there was no way the creator had found to make it so that the suit could carry more. The end result was that the pilot was forced to rely on hand-to-hand combat as well... and they could just thank the gods that this particular pilot had more than enough experience in it. Now they were finding the flaws with 05... and Sally just hoped that 01 and 04's were less life-threatening than the previous had been.
Most peole had a problem with a Pooka being the head of the medical staff... most would rather lose an arm than put her knowledge to the test. However, Sally Po prided herself on being an 'atypical' Pooka. She was fascinated by medicine and the fact that by using what she knew... she could save the lives of those she encountered. She wasn't a normal Pooka by any means... even her animal form was odd, when one took into account that her kith were supposed to only take after 'mundane' animals. Well, she definately couldn't be accused of being mundane, not by a longshot. Smirking to herself, she placed the test results back on the table and turned towards the still-unconscious Troll youth. He was another enigma to her... she'd expected at least one of the pilots to be of the guardian kith, but this one was different than any she could remember encountering before. Most Trolls were loyal to whoever commanded them, following them out of a sense of respect or comradery. Wufei, however, had no loyalties that Sally could see. It was as if he was fighting for something only he understood or could see. She'd definately have to do a bit of research on the pilots, if only to cover up the fact that she wanted to learn more about this one.
Sitting beside him, her hand had absently started smoothing the sleek ebon hair that fell over his shoulders. Sally didn't realize what she'd been doing until she felt him move against her, his head turning to nestle against her palm. His lips moved slowly, a crease forming on his brow as he fought to reach something or someone that only he could see. She leaned forward then, her ear close to his mouth as she tried to make out the words.
"Mei... 'n... where..."
"Shhhh..." She said softly, her eyes softening as she pulled back once more. "You're safe now... as safe as any of us are." Pulling the blanket up over his shoulders, she smiled softly, watching him settle back into sleep. His face smoothed once more as her words calmed him, and Sally found herself drawing close to him just long enough to leave a faint kiss on his brow. Stepping back, she blinked, bringing a hand to her lips as she turned away. Her thoughts were a bit confused as to what she'd just done... and she couldn't quite figure out just why she was drawn to this particular Fae.
* * *
TBC
Creature of the Wood
Chapter 16
-----------------------------
It was amazing just how close the stars seemed from space itself. Floating quietly through the vacuum, the motionless mass of gundanium known as Shenlong went unnoticed by every single early warning monitor placed around the colony cluster of L5. That was the plan, after all... the sensors were set to detect most types of metal that were associated with spacecraft, to prevent an invasion by any hostile force. However, very few people knew of the gundams, or even that gundanium had been successfully refined into the pure metal that now glistened among the stars. Drifting slowly, the mobile suit moved out of sight of the colonies and away from the outer perimeter that would alert the military to their presence. The pilot waited until all threat of detection was passed before he flicked the switches that brought the interior of the cockpit to life and gave him a full diagram of the area around him.
Wufei found it hard to believe that they were actually thinking of going to war against the Earth Alliance military. Wait... thinking was in a stage long past. Now it was perfectly obvious that war was what they were headed for, and the young Troll wasn't sure if this was truly necessary or not. There had been rumours of the Alliance building large settlement cities that were completely enclosed, essentially just large buildings in their own right. The original designer had made them a complete habitat, much like the colonies, with plenty of parks, trees, and places where humans could go to just relax. When the Alliance had gotten the plans, their industrialists and military had taken that idyllic scenario and made it into a technological nightmare that made most Fae cringe just to hear about it. The humans weren't happy either, since the word had begun that these arcologies would become standard... and all would be living in them before long.
That was what had set the freeholds into an uproar. The very idea that humans and fae alike would be forced to live out their lives trapped within constructs of steel was unthinkable, and there had to be a way to stop it. Several of the ambassadors who knew of the Fae or were Fae themselves had argued against the fortress-type 'cities', but had been overruled by those who thought that it was the perfect way to keep the human race under the control and protection of the Alliance. These arcologies were the single largest threat that had faced the Fae since the Renaissance era, and now it was nearly too late. Wufei just hoped that their strike force had been assembled in time. Their job was to sabotage and/or destroy the means for the Alliance to build the arcologies, starting with the supply shipments and working their way down to the military themselves, who took great pride in using sheer firepower to keep the masses 'willing' to undergo this veiled imprisonment.
That's all it was, really, and the very thought of it was enough to send Wufei into a rage. When his family had intercepted him on his way back to the school and told him of this plan, and of the Fae's idea for counteracting against it, he couldn't help but agree to pilot the Fae-built gundam that he had -in a moment of sentiment- dubbed 'Nataku'. He smiled faintly, running his hand over the cool metal of the cockpit interior as his thoughts led him once again to a dark-haired waif of a human who had made such an impression in his life. He had thought of her often over the past days. Would she have been rounded up into one of these living prisons? The very thought of Meiran being subjected to living in one of those hell holes sent him right back into the anger that had forced him into meditation while he and Nataku made their way tot he training grounds. No... she would never have survived a place such as that. A free spirit such as herself was more suited to life in nature, where all of creation could benefit from her kind heart and the love she spread to any around her.
It was while he was lost in these thoughts that Shenlong's console began to blip, showing him three approaching objects. He was set to battle a few 'recovered' mobile suits today, to see how good his reaction times were. Wufei smirked faintly, bringing his fingers across the panel and powering Shenlong fully. "Time to play..." As the suits came closer, allowing him to see them and what kind of weaponry they were equipped with, Wufei whistled faintly under his breath. The data coming across his screen was impressive, to say the least. He'd been under the assumption that the suits Master O had gotten from the Sweepers were older model and just barely together enough to provide a combat simulation. These suits, however, looked to be top of the line, and Wufei couldn't remember having seen their type before. He would have to compliment that Dr. G the next time he visited. He may be strange, but the old coot could come through when needed. Bringing the Gundam around to face the three newcomers, Wufei made a final systems check, then brought the energy staff around, launching himself towards them. He had to give credit to Master O's assistants... their reactions made it seem like they were surprised to see him there.
* * *
Wufei strained against the belts that held him into the cockpit seat, bringing the lance in a deadly arc towards another of the suits. Sweat had beaded on his forehead and every muscle screamed in protest of the abuse he was putting himself through, but he didn't care. Something was wrong here, and he'd quickly begun to reassess his enemy. The first three suits had been dispatched with minimal difficulty, but then several more had arrived. No matter how quickly he tore through their ranks, there were two more to take the place of the fallen one. That was when two other suits arrived, and he heard the familiar voices of their pilots, two of Master O's technicians, come over the comlink.
"...not supposed to be out this far!"
"The training grounds for the Alliance are on the other side of the colonies, what are they doing out here?"
"Doesn't matter, get rid of them! If they report what they've seen, the entire operation is in danger!"
The two suits moved to flank Shenlong, the three of them grouping together for the attack as the Alliance suits came around again. Wufei ran a quick spot check on the system during those few moments of breathing room, and wasn't happy at all with what he saw. He'd taken a beating, that much was certain, and he'd lost track of just how many of the enemy suits he'd disabled or destroyed. That was all the time he had, before he found himself the target of attack once more. Even with the backup of the other two suits, the battle was fierce, the Alliance pilots having determined that the Gundam was the largest threat and centering their attacks upon it. It wasn't until he spun around to find his next target, and saw only one other suit still mobile, that Wufei realized the battle was over. He vaguely heard the other pilot asking him if he was alright, and managed to mutter a faint reply before he slid forward in the seat, the darkness at the edges of his vision finally surging forward to envelop him.
* * *
"Get him out of there!"
The voices were far away, or at least they seemed that way. There was a sharp tug near Wufei's chest, and for a moment he felt himself falling, only to be caught in arms that lifted him from the seat. Dripping... he could hear something dripping against the leather of the seat, against the sleek panel of the console. Why wouldn't his eyes open?
"Be careful, damn you... get medical down here NOW!" It was Master O's voice, heightened with an urgency that Wufei couldn't recall hearing before. What had gotten him that upset? He struggled to open his eyes then, a piercing shock of pain lancing through the back of his skull as he moved. It was instinct to try and pull away... which only brought another wave of agony over him. Once it started, he could only continue, each motion sending him farthur over that edge.
"Damnit he's seizing, put him down. Put him down!" Rough hands wrenched him loose, laying him against the cool stone floor as heavy footsteps raced towards them. The voices seemed to fade away after that, becoming more distant as Wufei tried to seperate himself from the pain, retreating into his mind and into the meditations that he'd been taught.
Master O waited until the boy's body settled from the violent spasms, then knelt beside him, holding him in his arms. No one had expected the Alliance to be conducting maneuvers in that area... they'd never been spotted within miles of the place, which is why he'd chosen it for their external training ground. Still, he was proud. They'd only lost one pilot and suit, while there was nothing left of the Alliance force, save for a few scraps of metal. He'd already contacted the other four scientists and told them what had transpired, and all around where he now held the young Troll, people were scrambling to gather what they could to move out. It wouldn't be long before the Alliance would arrive, looking for their squadron. Dr. G was on his way, bringing with him the groups of Sweepers that were notorious for salvaging what they could and using it for their own devices. They had to travel all the way from the other side of the Earth sphere, however, and it would be several hours before they could combine their forces and clear out the 'rebel' contingent of L5.
He was proud of Wufei, however... the boy had conducted himself well in battle, even if he'd pushed himself past any and all limits to accomplish his goal. He would definately have to teach the Troll that sometimes it was necessary to retreat. It would do them no good if they lost pilots this early in the game... there were too few with the ability to pilot the massive gundams, and they were one short as it was. He was still lost in his musings when the medical staff arrived to take Wufei from him. Looking up, he met the deep blue eyes of the senior technician, her hands already moving over the battered body of the pilot.
"He'll be alright, Master O," she began, not looking to him directly as she made quick assessments of the damage done to the boy. "He's a survivor, like you trained him to be." She smiled, slipping her arms beneath Wufei's shoulders and knees, then lifted him up to place him on the stretcher that had been brought. "Give me an hour or two to stabilize him, and he'll be ready to move when the Sweepers get here."
* * *
The monitors were stable, showing heart rate and breathing to be normal finally. Sally frowned, looking over the charts that had been accumulating since the gundam pilot came under her care less than two hours ago. he'd been knocked around pretty badly, and it looked as though the restraint system in the cockpit had failed. It wasn't unexpected, really... anything a Nocker built had some type of flaw in it, she just didn't expect it to be this serious. Without the restraint system, the pilot would be in danger every time he went into battle. At least it wasn't as bad as some of the other suits she'd heard about...
Out of the five mobile suits, three had shown rather dangerous flaws in their making. 02's electronic countermeasure system had burned out in the first test run, overheating the entire system and shorting out most of the electronics in the suit. The pilot had died, trapped in the gundam with no way of escaping when the air had run out. 03's entire offensive and defensive system was based on artillery, and the design of the suit itself had brought about problems of keeping enough ammunition on hand to make it through a battle. The suit had yet to reach the end of a training session with shells left over, and there was no way the creator had found to make it so that the suit could carry more. The end result was that the pilot was forced to rely on hand-to-hand combat as well... and they could just thank the gods that this particular pilot had more than enough experience in it. Now they were finding the flaws with 05... and Sally just hoped that 01 and 04's were less life-threatening than the previous had been.
Most peole had a problem with a Pooka being the head of the medical staff... most would rather lose an arm than put her knowledge to the test. However, Sally Po prided herself on being an 'atypical' Pooka. She was fascinated by medicine and the fact that by using what she knew... she could save the lives of those she encountered. She wasn't a normal Pooka by any means... even her animal form was odd, when one took into account that her kith were supposed to only take after 'mundane' animals. Well, she definately couldn't be accused of being mundane, not by a longshot. Smirking to herself, she placed the test results back on the table and turned towards the still-unconscious Troll youth. He was another enigma to her... she'd expected at least one of the pilots to be of the guardian kith, but this one was different than any she could remember encountering before. Most Trolls were loyal to whoever commanded them, following them out of a sense of respect or comradery. Wufei, however, had no loyalties that Sally could see. It was as if he was fighting for something only he understood or could see. She'd definately have to do a bit of research on the pilots, if only to cover up the fact that she wanted to learn more about this one.
Sitting beside him, her hand had absently started smoothing the sleek ebon hair that fell over his shoulders. Sally didn't realize what she'd been doing until she felt him move against her, his head turning to nestle against her palm. His lips moved slowly, a crease forming on his brow as he fought to reach something or someone that only he could see. She leaned forward then, her ear close to his mouth as she tried to make out the words.
"Mei... 'n... where..."
"Shhhh..." She said softly, her eyes softening as she pulled back once more. "You're safe now... as safe as any of us are." Pulling the blanket up over his shoulders, she smiled softly, watching him settle back into sleep. His face smoothed once more as her words calmed him, and Sally found herself drawing close to him just long enough to leave a faint kiss on his brow. Stepping back, she blinked, bringing a hand to her lips as she turned away. Her thoughts were a bit confused as to what she'd just done... and she couldn't quite figure out just why she was drawn to this particular Fae.
* * *
TBC
