Some readers have found that my plot is little undone in places. I'm sorry; I didn't mean for it to be that way. I hope to clear some confusion up by posting these answers to some questions.
Originally, I had written more scenes with Treize, but I've decided I'm not qualified yet to step within his head. I couldn't have him just "talk to a wall" so I took these scenes out. I thought it wasn't very important as the story is about 1) Zechs and Noin and the details of their relationship; and, 2) Treize's master plan in the main series. I'm sorry if it makes my story confusing-- it was just supposed to be some minor details. But my thanks to some astute readers for pointing out that I haven't made that complete clear, as a good story writer should do.
I'll try harder next time...
Chinkonkyoku.
1. Why is there a delay between Zechs and Noin's return to OZ and the beginning of Gundam Wing?
Because in Ep. 4, when Noin first sees Zechs on the holophone, she says something to the effect of: "I haven't seen you for a year and some days." When I wrote the fic, I knew how many days, but it escapes my mind now.
Also, Zechs has just developed a closer relationship with Trieze; they need sometime to achieve the friendship they had in Gundam Wing. I'm giving them a year to do it in.
2. What about the random person that recognizes Zechs without the mask?
What about the cover-up?
Yes, there might be some people. I would imagine that Zechs, even though feverish and extremely sick, is still an elite graduate of OZ. He would have taken pains to avoid people-- hence the sunglasses, janitor's outfit and the baseball cap. In effect, the only people who would have seen him briefly would be General Diego O'Neguil, and his two bodyguards. The bodyguards were knocked off almost instantly. Diego saw a baseball capped, sunglassed janitor. He wouldn't have known that his attacker had long hair. Besides, O'Neguil was busy fending for his life, gripping the knife, etc. It would be hard to identify the attacker as the First Lieutenant Zechs Merquise. Treize was just being over-cautious.
In my mind, Treize knew about the past of his subordinate when First Lieutenant Zechs joined him after training with General Catalonia in (I think) AC 193 (check the Episode Zero Manga). Also, I always have thought of Treize as a genius at strategy and manipulating people-- therefore he would have seen Zechs staring at O'Neguil at the ball and deduced correctly what his lieutenant was up to when Zechs went suddenly AWOL. Barring that, I'm guessing that Treize, the mastermind of a million schemes, would have been monitoring Zech's actions (electronic and otherwise). When I wrote the story, in my mind, Trieze *knew* from the beginning what was going to happen. Therefore, when he found Noin also AWOL, he assigned her "sick leave". Being a high-ranked officer in OZ and the Alliance military, he could safely cover the incidence up. Who would question him?
To O'Neguil, he could say: well, there's some rebels after you, and Lt. Noin saved you. Which is true.
To the Alliance Military, he would say: it looks bad that some rebels managed to break in our base and attack one of our men; let's just pass it off as a practice so the public won't lose confidence in us.
Treize, being one of my more favorite characters, is given "God-rights" in my story.
3. Why should Treize jeopardize his position for two people?
Zechs Merquise and Lucrezia Noin, as I tried to portray them, are suppose to be extraordinarily brilliant. Treize, having taught Noin (see Episode Zero manga), obviously appreciates this and rightly want to recruit her. Having worked with Zechs for approximately a year, at this point (again, Zechs should have joined him approximately one year ago-- Episode Zero manga), I should think that he begins to admire Zechs. Zechs, as Millardo *Peacecraft* and his father's son, aims for peace because it is the will of his father. In fact, I suspect that the recruitment of these two characters would have occured at this time, even if Zechs hadn't rebelled. O'Neguil just gave Treize an excuse to recruit them.
Treize is aware of the risks involved, but the chance to get two of the best OZ soldiers is worth the risk. Besides, Treize is certain that he can handle the repercusions-- he is a genius himself, particularly at anticipating people and handling them, including little children. Having covered up the incident successfully, he could deal with recruitment of these two people. In fact, it serves as a useful club over their heads, should they have declined his offer. It was the ideal time. So-- the short answer: because Treize is a genius and knows he is a genius (unlike Zechs), he can be daring-- he knows when he will win and when he will lose (Sun Tzu again).
Finally, Treize really does care about people, and particularly about his former student, Noin. In Episode Zero, he shields her from Heero's bazuka attack. In my story, he's rather protective of her (he sees her as a possible protege), much like that of a father or an older brother (see Ch.10, when Treize gives Zechs a harsh time about being blind). If possible, I think he would act to save Noin's career, if it didn't interfere with his plans too much. Notice that in the series, he did the same for Relena.
Originally, I had written more scenes with Treize, but I've decided I'm not qualified yet to step within his head. I couldn't have him just "talk to a wall" so I took these scenes out. I thought it wasn't very important as the story is about 1) Zechs and Noin and the details of their relationship; and, 2) Treize's master plan in the main series. I'm sorry if it makes my story confusing-- it was just supposed to be some minor details. But my thanks to some astute readers for pointing out that I haven't made that complete clear, as a good story writer should do.
I'll try harder next time...
Chinkonkyoku.
1. Why is there a delay between Zechs and Noin's return to OZ and the beginning of Gundam Wing?
Because in Ep. 4, when Noin first sees Zechs on the holophone, she says something to the effect of: "I haven't seen you for a year and some days." When I wrote the fic, I knew how many days, but it escapes my mind now.
Also, Zechs has just developed a closer relationship with Trieze; they need sometime to achieve the friendship they had in Gundam Wing. I'm giving them a year to do it in.
2. What about the random person that recognizes Zechs without the mask?
What about the cover-up?
Yes, there might be some people. I would imagine that Zechs, even though feverish and extremely sick, is still an elite graduate of OZ. He would have taken pains to avoid people-- hence the sunglasses, janitor's outfit and the baseball cap. In effect, the only people who would have seen him briefly would be General Diego O'Neguil, and his two bodyguards. The bodyguards were knocked off almost instantly. Diego saw a baseball capped, sunglassed janitor. He wouldn't have known that his attacker had long hair. Besides, O'Neguil was busy fending for his life, gripping the knife, etc. It would be hard to identify the attacker as the First Lieutenant Zechs Merquise. Treize was just being over-cautious.
In my mind, Treize knew about the past of his subordinate when First Lieutenant Zechs joined him after training with General Catalonia in (I think) AC 193 (check the Episode Zero Manga). Also, I always have thought of Treize as a genius at strategy and manipulating people-- therefore he would have seen Zechs staring at O'Neguil at the ball and deduced correctly what his lieutenant was up to when Zechs went suddenly AWOL. Barring that, I'm guessing that Treize, the mastermind of a million schemes, would have been monitoring Zech's actions (electronic and otherwise). When I wrote the story, in my mind, Trieze *knew* from the beginning what was going to happen. Therefore, when he found Noin also AWOL, he assigned her "sick leave". Being a high-ranked officer in OZ and the Alliance military, he could safely cover the incidence up. Who would question him?
To O'Neguil, he could say: well, there's some rebels after you, and Lt. Noin saved you. Which is true.
To the Alliance Military, he would say: it looks bad that some rebels managed to break in our base and attack one of our men; let's just pass it off as a practice so the public won't lose confidence in us.
Treize, being one of my more favorite characters, is given "God-rights" in my story.
3. Why should Treize jeopardize his position for two people?
Zechs Merquise and Lucrezia Noin, as I tried to portray them, are suppose to be extraordinarily brilliant. Treize, having taught Noin (see Episode Zero manga), obviously appreciates this and rightly want to recruit her. Having worked with Zechs for approximately a year, at this point (again, Zechs should have joined him approximately one year ago-- Episode Zero manga), I should think that he begins to admire Zechs. Zechs, as Millardo *Peacecraft* and his father's son, aims for peace because it is the will of his father. In fact, I suspect that the recruitment of these two characters would have occured at this time, even if Zechs hadn't rebelled. O'Neguil just gave Treize an excuse to recruit them.
Treize is aware of the risks involved, but the chance to get two of the best OZ soldiers is worth the risk. Besides, Treize is certain that he can handle the repercusions-- he is a genius himself, particularly at anticipating people and handling them, including little children. Having covered up the incident successfully, he could deal with recruitment of these two people. In fact, it serves as a useful club over their heads, should they have declined his offer. It was the ideal time. So-- the short answer: because Treize is a genius and knows he is a genius (unlike Zechs), he can be daring-- he knows when he will win and when he will lose (Sun Tzu again).
Finally, Treize really does care about people, and particularly about his former student, Noin. In Episode Zero, he shields her from Heero's bazuka attack. In my story, he's rather protective of her (he sees her as a possible protege), much like that of a father or an older brother (see Ch.10, when Treize gives Zechs a harsh time about being blind). If possible, I think he would act to save Noin's career, if it didn't interfere with his plans too much. Notice that in the series, he did the same for Relena.