Disclaimer: I do not own the copyrights to Gundam Wing, Endless Waltz, any other Gundam Series or any of the songs that are used in this story. All copyrights belong to their respective owners.
Readers Note: This is a re-post
Gundam Wing
Gundam Pirates
G
Chapter 4:
Assault on Eldridge
G
All was not quiet at first when Heero and Johan came onto the Eldridge. Their eyes were checking their weapons to make sure that they were loaded and ready. To Johan his job was simply to find the hostages but to Heero, if he had a choice in the matter he would simply head back out in the Vindicator and blow the Eldridge all to hell. Still the orders said that he couldn't do that since there are Preventer officers aboard this ship.
Suddenly both Heero and Johan heard a great hiss, their eyes looked up and they saw guards armed with M-16 machine guns pouring out of the main doors to the mobile suit bay like a flood gate.
"Oh damn." Johan gasped as he tucked and rolled behind the Gundanium claw that was part of the landing gear for Ryu.
Heero Yuy did the same as he hid behind the crouched leg of the Vindicator.
The two pilots could see each other from their cover areas. They sat against their covers like two war buddies waiting for the command to attack. Although here they needed to act on their own, they could not contact the outside. It's every man for himself. Although once Johan said to Heero on their way to the Battleship Libra, "For no man is an island, some men are peninsulas." Heero on the other hand didn't understand this phrase, at least until now.
"Cover me!" Heero shouted as he got up onto his feet and cocked his gun.
Johan understood the instructions and rolled over onto his stomach hoping to God that he wouldn't be hit. While he rolled, the world around him was a rotating blur at least until he stopped and fired at the number of soldiers who were standing there at the gate. From the split second estimates that Johan could see there might have been 12 or maybe 20 soldiers there all armed. Johan fired his M-16 and took out maybe 6 or seven people while at the same time Heero was taking out the rest of them.
The instructions were understood and they have been followed, all the soldiers were lying unconscious as their own blood was oozing out onto the floor. Johan and Heero ran passed the unconscious bodies of the soldiers and headed their ways. At first the two of them were heading down the same hall.
The two of them jogged, they knew that if they ran they would waste too much energy. In this jog they came past a great set of doors that were near a T-intersection. The doors were like those that lead into the mobile suit bay, large, steel and hydraulically driven. As they were coming up to this T-intersection they saw more soldiers come around the corner. Johan saw the large doors and headed for them while Heero held them off.
Johan found behind the large doors was a majestic ballroom, he saw a bar, pool tables, couches, marble pillars and seats that looked greatly comfortable.
"Wow." He thought, "This is a nice place."
His guard was down for only a few minutes until the doors behind him opened and Heero came storming through it.
"Take cover!" Heero shouted
Johan's reflexes and senses came back to him within an instant and he headed to the pillars with Heero. Jumping over the pool tables, dashing across the majestically carpeted floor and behind the marble pillar.
From behind those pillars Johan and Heero managed to get the solider count down to about two people. Both of them were still firing and with as many bullets they were firing it was a good thing that the marble pillar was thick.
The tat noise of the M-16 guns was gone and only dry clicks were there.
"They're out of bullets." Johan thought.
He looked over at Heero, "Damn." He shouted in a loud whisper, "I'm out of bullets too. They're drawing their guns Johan. You have bullets, do something!"
In that instant Johan remembered something, he remembered that as he was jumping over the pool tables he saw that there were still balls in the pool pockets. He suddenly came up with a pretty good idea to stun them without using his bullets. He got to his feet and dashed to the pool table and lifted his foot to the leather pool pocket and out two pool balls, one green and the other red, both solid colors.
Johan jumped and somersaulted backward so that the top of his foot was coming up behind the balls. He was performing a bicycle kick with the pool balls, if he were to miss this he would be injured and that would be out of the question for this mission. Not only does he have to face a family member he had to take back his wife. His foot came right up to the red and green pool balls and he kicked them as hard as he could and the balls went flying at the two remaining soldiers. The red and green pool balls hit both soldiers and knocked them out.
Johan landed on his back, his head barely missing the edge of the pool table.
"That was a close call." He thought, "I nearly banged my head back there. It's actually a miracle that I was able to pull this one off."
Heero stood up and came up to Johan. He stood over him like a mother scolding her child.
"Where in the hell did you learn to do that?" Heero asked flatly
Johan looked up at him, he had a face of someone who looked as if he had been to hell and back, even though it was only a few minutes into the mission.
"I learned that trick from Trowa." Johan explained, "During our off hours he showed me that trick. It's called a bicycle kick and normally it's done in soccer. I figured that this is the best way to take care of them without killing them."
"That's a pretty half-hearted way of fighting Johan, that's not like you."
"I know Heero." Johan groaned as he got to his feet, "But remember, we're not at war anymore."
"I think you're wrong. There are always wars to be fought."
"Pretty defeated attitude if you ask me, Heero Yuy."
G
Heero and Johan spilt their paths. Johan needed to find the hostages, meaning he needed to find Miss Noin and Haruka. Johan walked through hallway upon other hallways to find where Haruka and Miss Noin were. Who knows how much time has passed? To Johan it felt like hours, but according to his watch it was only fifteen minutes.
He felt exhausted as he came to another T-intersecting hall. It felt like Déjà vu at first because Johan expected that more soldiers would come around the corner and he would have to shoot more. He didn't want to shoot for five minutes now. He crouched down with thin eyes on his sights waiting for the soldiers to come around any corner. He sat there with his guns out towards both ends waiting like a praying mantis and yet for what seemed like too long of a time nothing came.
He sat down leaning against one of the walls, exhaling as he felt the sweat trickling down his face and he could also feel it trickle down his back. He reached up with his sleeve and wiped away his sweat and leaned his head back to feel the cold steel against his head.
He got out his outsider and looked down the barrel and found he only had one bullet, he loaded himself back up again. And he loaded his M-16 with the extra clips that he picked up from the soldiers along the way as well as his 45 magnums with the extra clips that he snatched along the way. He did load up his M-16 and his 45's first before anything else because his Outsider used some special kind of bullets. Plus (He doesn't know why he does this, even though he doesn't like to use guns that much. But for some reason he's been getting used to using guns at least hand guns.) He had this habit of loading his Outsider bullets one by one to give him this sort of Dirty Harry feeling while holding that gun.
But while he was loading his bullets he heard two loud cocking, he immediately knew that it was the cocking of M-16 rifles. He got up to his feet holding onto the hard plastic handle of the Outsider hoping to God that he won't get shot. He needed to find Miss Noin and Haruka, plus he's going to have to meet up with Heero. And not add onto that he needed to go back to the battlefield to help his fellow Gundam Pilots. It is a lot to be on the mind of one person, but Johan didn't look at it from the whole picture, he knows that looking at the whole thing overwhelms a person and dilutes their focus. All one needs to do is focus on one goal at a time, "baby steps" as his mother called it when he was a kid. That memory came back to him in this unlikely of times.
"Take in slack Johan." His mother said to him when he was young, "Everything will fall into place, take baby steps and nothing will seem so hard."
Johan tried to repress his tears, even though for the past few years he had been living independently he missed his parents. His mother Marie and his father Han. Not only that but he missed the lessons from his piano teacher Kenda. He remembered that before he fought the AI mobile dolls he told Kenda that he couldn't take anymore lessons and that was when he told her the truth. He told her everything, Operation Meteor, the Gundams, the loss of his fiancé, the death of his father, and him taking a job at Preventer. Needless to say Kenda was shocked and yet pleased to know that her own student was a Gundam pilot fighting for the colonies.
All these memories flashed to him, I guess it could be called "seeing his life flash before his eyes" or he was feeling instantly nostalgic. But he focused his concentration back on the sounds. He heard footsteps, two sets of them, and they were getting closer and closer. Louder and louder with each set of steps they took. Johan gripped tighter onto his Outsider, he crossed himself hoping that he won't die here.
"I won't die here." He said to himself as he dived and rolled against the wall of the T-intersection and aimed his gun. He aimed them at two blurry figured in his vision as he was diving and somersaulting. His vision came back and what he saw was a true sight.
He saw Haruka Tenou and Miss Noin standing there both armed with M-16's. Johan lowered his guns.
"Haruka." He gasped, "Miss Noin. My god it's good to see you two."
He got back to his feet and outstretched his arms and Haruka came back into them. As they were embracing, Miss Noin could see Johan crying.
"I'm sorry." Johan said, "I'm sorry I couldn't keep my promise Haruka."
They broke their embrace and Haruka looked into Johan's eyes, "You don't have to apologize Johan. You forget, I'm a soldier like you."
"But what happened?"
Miss Noin had explained that the two of them were locked in different rooms. And their rooms had one guard for each of them. Haruka came up with this idea of seducing the guard, what Haruka did is she convinced the guard to open the door. And while the door was opening she took out the bra from under her shirt and when the guard opened the door she lifted her shirt and the guard dropped his gun and tried to grope her. While he tried Haruka knocked him out and grabbed his gun while shooting the other guard. And that's how she released herself but she simply released Miss Noin by getting the code to her room. Although Haruka said that she did put her bra back on when they met up with Johan.
"I've been taught a lot of escape techniques." Johan explained, "But that's probably the most effective that I've ever heard."
Miss Noin shrugged, "That's usually the best."
G
Meanwhile back on the battlefield in space. The Gundams along with the Maquanate Corp were fighting hard although they were only limiting down the numbers little by little. Even with the combined ammunitions of the Heavyarms and Clockwork, it didn't seem that they would win this battle so easily.
"Damn!" Duo cursed as he tried to chase down one of the Desbats mobile suits.
The Maquanate's were protecting the Sandrock but even they couldn't reduce the numbers.
"Master Quatre." Rashim called, "These pilots are veterans! They fight just as good as mobile dolls."
"Keep fighting." Quatre instructed, "Once Johan and Heero come back then we'll have an upper hand."
G
Back on the Eldridge.
"Are you sure we're going the right way?" Miss Noin asked sounding slightly concerned about this.
"I'm going on my hunches." Johan said
"Great." She muttered. She knew that Johan is good but how reliable could his hunches be?
After numbers twists and turns, lefts and rights elevator rides that kept going up they came to the top deck. The doors to the elevator opened and to their right along the blue colored steel wall were a small sign that was written in both English and Japanese was the word "Bridge" and an arrow pointing down the hall.
"That makes things a lot easier." Johan stated in an exhausted huff, "Makes me wonder why don't they put these things all over the ship."
"Yeah." Haruka agreed
To their left they saw a panel of windows and they saw small explosions happening in the distance like watching microscopic fireworks.
"I hope they're doing alright." Johan thought
He ran out of the elevator towards where the sign was pointing to, and right behind him was Miss Noin and Haruka. To Haruka, Johan was running so fast that it was as if he was the wind, but why was he running so fast?
"I have to hurry." Johan thought, "I don't know how long the others will last."
He came to the door, but he stopped.
"Why did you stop Johan?" Haruka asked
Johan turned and he looked at Haruka with his eyes on the verge of crying but holding back. He threw his arms around Haruka, and then he broke the embrace and looked at Haruka and kissed her. The same embrace was broken and Johan placed his hands on the sides of Haruka's face.
"Please Haruka." He pleaded, "Leave this place. If you or Miss Noin stay here you're in danger. Please leave this place, I promised that you I wouldn't loose you and I'm keeping that promise."
Haruka too was on the verge of tears, "But I didn't promise that I wasn't going to loose you."
Johan smiled behind his about to weep face, "You forget too, I'm a Gundam Pilot."
Miss Noin understood Johan's instructions. She reached over to Haruka's shoulder.
"Let's get out of here." She said
"Before you go." Johan said, "Take these."
He handed Haruka and Miss Noin his guns except for his holstered Outsider revolver.
"Be careful you two." Johan advised
"Yes." Haruka whispered still looking into Johan's face, she reached over and kissed him once more and she broke the embrace and ran with Miss Noin down the hall. Johan didn't know where they were going, but he figured that they were heading to one of the smaller ships to escape the Eldridge and the battlefield.
"Please God." Johan thought, "Protect me and Haruka."
He felt his holstered Outsider at his right side and the sword at his left side. He walked towards the door and it opened with a hiss of air. Johan looked and saw the back of a chair, a captains chair, next to it was the Perfect Solider, Heero Yuy holding his M-16 rifle at the chair. Heero kept his stance and looked out at Johan with those same deep cobalt blue eyes.
"Mission complete." He whispered to himself and then said to Johan, "What took you so long Johan?" He asked
"A lot of traffic." Johan answered
Heero gave a slight smirk but returned his sights to the chair.
Johan took his steps and walked around the chair to the person who was sitting in the chair. He looked and saw the face of the man who he thought was his enemy. He looked at the young mans face along with that same black spot that was his eye patch.
"I am Johan Peacecraft Rodriguez, of the office of Preventer. State your name." Johan demanded
"I am Kazuki Peacecraft." Kazuki answered
"How are you a Peacecraft?"
"I was born in the Sank Kingdom, my father was King Peacecraft. I think that's more than enough evidence."
"Why are you a leader of a pirate group?"
"We have to steal from the Alliance, the very same people who destroyed the Sank Kingdom."
Kazuki kept looking at Heero Yuy who had a watch on him like a hawk.
"You do realize that the Alliance is no more, the same with Oz and Romafeller." Heero said
"Very well then." Johan stated as he drew out his sword, "Shall we duel."
Kazuki stood up, he had a rapier, an old style rapier like a fencing foil at his side, he drew it out and was ready to fight.
"Heero." Johan called, "This will be a one on one duel, understood?"
"Understood." Heero said flatly
The duel began as their swords clanged and bashed against each other, even though the katana had a thicker blade than a rapier. It surprised Johan that with as much power as he could have he didn't break the rapier. But perhaps he should do that at the right time.
"How can you call yourself a Peacecraft?" Kazuki asked
"Because I am a Peacecraft." Johan answered
Kazuki was thrusting harder against Johan's sword, "How dare you use that name. You dirty the name Peacecraft as a Gundam Pilot. You who slaughter innocent people."
"I say the same thing about you, who steal from the people as well. That makes us equal. Just as it makes us both equal with Milliardo Peacecraft."
"How dare you compare me to him!" Kazuki shouted as he was banging his sword against Johan's katana with the same kind of force like chopping logs. As he was doing this, it was the right opportunity for Johan to strike.
He lifted his katana and came crashing down, with enough force to probably break marble. But instead the katana broke through the hard steel of Kazuki's rapier. He looked at his broken sword with bewilderment, wondering why and how this has happened. It was now an uneven match.
"Why are we fighting each other?" Johan asked, "We're both Peacecrafts, peace has already been won. The Sank Kingdom is restored, isn't this what you've wanted? To go back to a real home?"
"The Eldridge is my home."
"I should kill you for dishonoring the Peacecraft name, destroying the Wing Zero, and taking my wife!"
"I should kill you for destroying my Gundam!"
"I think that makes us even again."
The banging and clashing of swords stopped. The two of them looked at each other, Kazuki had a look as if he were saying; what the hell am I doing? Johan looked at him with eyes of purpose.
"We're at a stand-off." Johan shrugged, "I should kill you but I'm not going to. Simply because, we're family. Why don't we call this off Kazuki? Peace is always in our hands, yet we refuse to know it's there because we think it's impossible. Let's call it off." Johan was now pleading.
Something in him was saying that he shouldn't kill Kazuki, even though there are a number of reasons to do it he still had to remember that this is a family member at the swords edge.
"I agree." Kazuki said, "Let's call it off and live in peace."
He dropped his broken rapier to the ground and reached his hand out to Johan and they shook hands.
"I'm going to call my troops and tell them to stop fighting." Kazuki went over to the COM microphone, "Gandor." He called, "this is Kazuki, I'm calling a cease-fire. Stop fighting now."
He lifted his thumb away from the microphone.
"Kazuki." Gandor's voice came back through the COM system, "With all due respect. Have you lost your goddamn mind? We're already winning, two of the Gundams have already lost most of their ammunition. And a lot of these others are fighting like pussies. We're in the heat of victory, I say we keep fighting."
Kazuki pressed his thumb against the microphone, "Gandor, I'm giving you an order. Stop fighting now!"
"With all due respect sir." Gandor replied, "Hell with you!"
Kazuki dropped the microphone and it dangled like a worm on a hook from the COM panel.
"Oh God." Kazuki breathed, "He's gone crazy."
Johan looked at Heero, the two of them knew what needed to be done. Johan sheathed his sword.
"Mission accepted." They stated together.
G
Back on the Battlefield in space.
"Sir." Laramie called to Gandor from her mobile suit, "Captain Kazuki ordered a cease-fire. Shouldn't we follow his orders?"
Gandor replied, "Kazuki's under the influence of those Gundams. I'm taking charge now."
He opened a channel to all of the Desbats mobile suits, "Attention Desbats. I'm taking command now since Kazuki is unable to perform those duties. Laramie will be my second in command. My orders are to keep fighting, anyone who will refuse to follow my orders will be killed."
Laramie as well as the other senior members of the Desbats figured that Gandor has now gone mad with glory. He wants to kill the Gundams in order to achieve his own ideals of victory. Yet the true tragedy is, he doesn't know that in the end all the Gundams wanted was peace.
To be continued…
Author's Notes: I felt that Kazuki shouldn't be held to blame for any of what has happened so all the blame goes to Gandor whose already planning to take glory for killing the Gundams.
Come again for more chapters of Gundam Pirates