Author's Notes: Okies, so… I wrote more. ^^* Sorry that it took so long
to do this, I've just been so busy with other things. -_- Thank you all
for your wonderful reviews! The prologue had a great turnout! Reviews
inspire me!
I know that this chapter is a bit short, but hopefully one day my muse will return. =) If you like this, please, please, PLEASE read Endless Dream, and its sequel, Tainted Dream posted under the pen name WarGoddesses. It's a lot of fun, and cowritten by the amazing Golden Goddess and Marika Webster. ^^
Disclaimer: Lesse… I don't own Gundam Wing… or Sailor Moon… * sigh * But I do own Renee! I stole her from Tainted Dream because I didn't feel like making up a name for the secretary. ^^* Okies, on to chapter one! Enjoy! And PLEASE review! ^^v
~*~*~*~*~
Sting of Fate
Chapter One
~*~*~*~*~
Dark obsidian eyes observed silently, darting back and forth from one station to another. The man said nothing, in fact, he barely even moved. He just watched, satisfied that everything was going according to plan. No, not according to plan. If everything was going according to plan, he wouldn't be overseeing protocol 526.
Only minutes earlier, everything was normal. Major Sally Po had left days before for a conference at Lagrange Point One, leaving him in charge. It would still be another three days before her scheduled return. "Is the object within scanning range?"
"Affirmative, Captain Chang. Scanning now." Wufei watched as the soldiers scrambled. They were young, like him, but daring and adventurous. He knew that many of them were jealous of him and his past as a Gundam Pilot, but none of them could truly appreciate the pain, suffering and guilt that went with such a vocation.
"Height, six-hundred kilometers. Width, three kilometers." Wufei listened as the man rattled off bits of information. It couldn't have been a ship of any sort… not with that shape. "Speed… speed is unreadable, sir."
"What's the substance?" Wufei asked urgently. Whatever this was, it was hurtling straight towards a civilian town.
There was a pause where all that could be heard was beeps and blips from computers as the man studied the screen. A moment later, he shook his head slowly in disbelief. "Substance… unknown."
Wufei pushed by him to look at the screen, seeing for himself that the bars were red – unidentifiable makeup. "How much time before impact?"
Another man stationed across the room shook his head. "Hard to say, but it looks to be about a minute."
"Damnit!" Wufei shouted, slamming his fist onto the wall, "There's no time for an evacuation! Prepare the Alpha missiles!" The Alpha missiles… They were Sanq's only pathetic means to defend themselves. Relena Peacecraft would not allow any other weapons, and because of that decision, people would die today.
"The missiles are ready, sir, but there is only a twenty-percent chance at hitting the target, given its speed."
"Just fire! Now!"
~*~*~*~*~
"Omedeto gozaimasu!!!" Tsukino Ikuko couldn't have been prouder as she congratulated the five girls that poured into her house. The day of their high school graduation had finally arrived.
"Arigato, Okaasan." Usagi smiled at her mother and bowed.
"Ne, Usagi-chan? You actually did it!" Makoto put on a thoughtful expression, "Who would have thought it possible!"
"Hai!" Rei agreed, "Maybe I should buy a lottery ticket! So far it's been the day of miracles!"
"Itai, Rei-chan!!! That wasn't nice!" Usagi's voice rose to a pathetic, overdramatic squeal – she had never really outgrown it.
"You shouldn't cry, Usagi." Ami added, gently as usual. She folded her hands in front of her and smiled, "You're an adult now."
Minako grinned wickedly and leaned over to whisper in Usagi's ears. "Yeah, I bet Mamoru-kun will be happy about that now."
"IIE!" Usagi looked mortified, but could not prevent the blush that spread across her cheeks, "How could you say such a thing, Minako?!"
"Come now, girls!" Ikuko broke in, "Have some cake! No more bickering, just relax!"
Usagi's eyes lit up and she dashed into the kitchen. "CAKE!"
Makoto just crossed her arms over her chest and shook her head. "Some things never change…"
~*~*~*~*~
Wufei shook his head as he surveyed his surroundings. He was at the destruction site; ground zero could be seen in the distance. No one had made it all the way to the core of the explosion just yet; it was too hot.
"How large is the impact crater?" he asked the man beside him.
"Approximately five-hundred meters deep, with a circumference of seven hundred and sixty meters."
Wufei shook his head. The casualties would be astronomical. "How many have been recovered?" he shouted over the wails of sirens and frantic cries.
The man beside him typed some information into his laptop and shook his head. "No confirmation yet, Captain Chang, but the casualties are in the hundreds."
"Where are the other rescue teams?"
"On their way. The colonies will be sending over some of their space equipment for working in ground zero."
"There will be no way for us to pay for this, not with the recent budget cuts to the Preventers." Wufei thought for a moment, wishing that he could have gone to the convention in Sally's place. "I need you to make a call!"
~*~*~*~*~
Green eyes fixed on the television as the young woman stared on in shock. Never in her life had she seen anything like this. She tugged at her coppery hair nervously as the reporter told of the damage done to Sanq by the unidentified object. She was so tuned in to the report that she barely even heard the phone ringing. Once it finally registered, she pushed the button on. "Good afternoon, Winner Corporation."
~*~*~*~*~
"So, what are your plans for this summer, girls?" Kenji asked as he stirred his coffee. He smiled up at his wife as she set another piece of cake in front of him, and then looked back to the girls. "Jobs? Vacations?"
"HAWAII!!!" Usagi jumped up from her seat, thrusting her fist up in the air, "We've all been saving up for a long time!"
Kenji blinked a couple of times. "Hawaii? By yourselves? Why wasn't I informed of this?"
Ikuko just smiled and replied in her normally sweet voice, "Oh, come on, dear! They're going to have to leave each other and go to universities in the fall."
"Besides, Otousan! We're all adults now! We can take care of ourselves!"
"I don't know about this…" Kenji did not like the idea of his daughter leaving the country to fly half way around the world for the summer, but he soon found himself surrounded by six pairs of pathetic looking eyes, and one of those, he knew could turn violent and whap him to death with a spatula. He sighed and shook his head, "Alright, alright…"
~*~*~*~*~
Quatre sighed as he leaned back in his leather executive chair. He didn't turn on the television or the radio, he didn't dare. He felt something, something awful. His hand was clenched against his chest as his breathing came labored. Something wasn't right…
There was a knock at the door, but the woman soon let herself in. She was too shocked to think to wait. He might have been on an important call, but… who would be at a time like this. "Mr. Winner?"
Quatre took a deep breath, attempting to regain his bearings. He looked up and did his best to smile at his secretary. "Yes, Miss Williams?"
"There's a call for you on line one."
Quatre just nodded and took the call. "This is Quatre Winner."
"Winner! There's been an explosion at Sanq!" It was Wufei's voice, and from the noise in the background, Quatre could tell that his Chinese comrade was already on the scene. "The casualties are uncountable, and damage is severe! We're going to need your help!"
Quatre nodded, understanding what Wufei was asking of him. He had agreed long ago that should the Preventers ever need any financial assistance, he would be the first to help. "I understand."
That said, Wufei cut out and Quatre looked back up at the woman in the doorway. She was still there, almost unsure of what to do. She looked terrified, and he knew why. She had just been transferred to L4 from Sanq, but her family was still there. "Renee, please wire the emergency funds to the Preventer headquarters, then go home, alright?"
She just nodded and walked out silently, too shaky to say much of anything.
Quatre sighed and leaned back in his chair. So his space heart was right… the world was in danger.
~*~*~*~*~
I know that this chapter is a bit short, but hopefully one day my muse will return. =) If you like this, please, please, PLEASE read Endless Dream, and its sequel, Tainted Dream posted under the pen name WarGoddesses. It's a lot of fun, and cowritten by the amazing Golden Goddess and Marika Webster. ^^
Disclaimer: Lesse… I don't own Gundam Wing… or Sailor Moon… * sigh * But I do own Renee! I stole her from Tainted Dream because I didn't feel like making up a name for the secretary. ^^* Okies, on to chapter one! Enjoy! And PLEASE review! ^^v
~*~*~*~*~
Sting of Fate
Chapter One
~*~*~*~*~
Dark obsidian eyes observed silently, darting back and forth from one station to another. The man said nothing, in fact, he barely even moved. He just watched, satisfied that everything was going according to plan. No, not according to plan. If everything was going according to plan, he wouldn't be overseeing protocol 526.
Only minutes earlier, everything was normal. Major Sally Po had left days before for a conference at Lagrange Point One, leaving him in charge. It would still be another three days before her scheduled return. "Is the object within scanning range?"
"Affirmative, Captain Chang. Scanning now." Wufei watched as the soldiers scrambled. They were young, like him, but daring and adventurous. He knew that many of them were jealous of him and his past as a Gundam Pilot, but none of them could truly appreciate the pain, suffering and guilt that went with such a vocation.
"Height, six-hundred kilometers. Width, three kilometers." Wufei listened as the man rattled off bits of information. It couldn't have been a ship of any sort… not with that shape. "Speed… speed is unreadable, sir."
"What's the substance?" Wufei asked urgently. Whatever this was, it was hurtling straight towards a civilian town.
There was a pause where all that could be heard was beeps and blips from computers as the man studied the screen. A moment later, he shook his head slowly in disbelief. "Substance… unknown."
Wufei pushed by him to look at the screen, seeing for himself that the bars were red – unidentifiable makeup. "How much time before impact?"
Another man stationed across the room shook his head. "Hard to say, but it looks to be about a minute."
"Damnit!" Wufei shouted, slamming his fist onto the wall, "There's no time for an evacuation! Prepare the Alpha missiles!" The Alpha missiles… They were Sanq's only pathetic means to defend themselves. Relena Peacecraft would not allow any other weapons, and because of that decision, people would die today.
"The missiles are ready, sir, but there is only a twenty-percent chance at hitting the target, given its speed."
"Just fire! Now!"
~*~*~*~*~
"Omedeto gozaimasu!!!" Tsukino Ikuko couldn't have been prouder as she congratulated the five girls that poured into her house. The day of their high school graduation had finally arrived.
"Arigato, Okaasan." Usagi smiled at her mother and bowed.
"Ne, Usagi-chan? You actually did it!" Makoto put on a thoughtful expression, "Who would have thought it possible!"
"Hai!" Rei agreed, "Maybe I should buy a lottery ticket! So far it's been the day of miracles!"
"Itai, Rei-chan!!! That wasn't nice!" Usagi's voice rose to a pathetic, overdramatic squeal – she had never really outgrown it.
"You shouldn't cry, Usagi." Ami added, gently as usual. She folded her hands in front of her and smiled, "You're an adult now."
Minako grinned wickedly and leaned over to whisper in Usagi's ears. "Yeah, I bet Mamoru-kun will be happy about that now."
"IIE!" Usagi looked mortified, but could not prevent the blush that spread across her cheeks, "How could you say such a thing, Minako?!"
"Come now, girls!" Ikuko broke in, "Have some cake! No more bickering, just relax!"
Usagi's eyes lit up and she dashed into the kitchen. "CAKE!"
Makoto just crossed her arms over her chest and shook her head. "Some things never change…"
~*~*~*~*~
Wufei shook his head as he surveyed his surroundings. He was at the destruction site; ground zero could be seen in the distance. No one had made it all the way to the core of the explosion just yet; it was too hot.
"How large is the impact crater?" he asked the man beside him.
"Approximately five-hundred meters deep, with a circumference of seven hundred and sixty meters."
Wufei shook his head. The casualties would be astronomical. "How many have been recovered?" he shouted over the wails of sirens and frantic cries.
The man beside him typed some information into his laptop and shook his head. "No confirmation yet, Captain Chang, but the casualties are in the hundreds."
"Where are the other rescue teams?"
"On their way. The colonies will be sending over some of their space equipment for working in ground zero."
"There will be no way for us to pay for this, not with the recent budget cuts to the Preventers." Wufei thought for a moment, wishing that he could have gone to the convention in Sally's place. "I need you to make a call!"
~*~*~*~*~
Green eyes fixed on the television as the young woman stared on in shock. Never in her life had she seen anything like this. She tugged at her coppery hair nervously as the reporter told of the damage done to Sanq by the unidentified object. She was so tuned in to the report that she barely even heard the phone ringing. Once it finally registered, she pushed the button on. "Good afternoon, Winner Corporation."
~*~*~*~*~
"So, what are your plans for this summer, girls?" Kenji asked as he stirred his coffee. He smiled up at his wife as she set another piece of cake in front of him, and then looked back to the girls. "Jobs? Vacations?"
"HAWAII!!!" Usagi jumped up from her seat, thrusting her fist up in the air, "We've all been saving up for a long time!"
Kenji blinked a couple of times. "Hawaii? By yourselves? Why wasn't I informed of this?"
Ikuko just smiled and replied in her normally sweet voice, "Oh, come on, dear! They're going to have to leave each other and go to universities in the fall."
"Besides, Otousan! We're all adults now! We can take care of ourselves!"
"I don't know about this…" Kenji did not like the idea of his daughter leaving the country to fly half way around the world for the summer, but he soon found himself surrounded by six pairs of pathetic looking eyes, and one of those, he knew could turn violent and whap him to death with a spatula. He sighed and shook his head, "Alright, alright…"
~*~*~*~*~
Quatre sighed as he leaned back in his leather executive chair. He didn't turn on the television or the radio, he didn't dare. He felt something, something awful. His hand was clenched against his chest as his breathing came labored. Something wasn't right…
There was a knock at the door, but the woman soon let herself in. She was too shocked to think to wait. He might have been on an important call, but… who would be at a time like this. "Mr. Winner?"
Quatre took a deep breath, attempting to regain his bearings. He looked up and did his best to smile at his secretary. "Yes, Miss Williams?"
"There's a call for you on line one."
Quatre just nodded and took the call. "This is Quatre Winner."
"Winner! There's been an explosion at Sanq!" It was Wufei's voice, and from the noise in the background, Quatre could tell that his Chinese comrade was already on the scene. "The casualties are uncountable, and damage is severe! We're going to need your help!"
Quatre nodded, understanding what Wufei was asking of him. He had agreed long ago that should the Preventers ever need any financial assistance, he would be the first to help. "I understand."
That said, Wufei cut out and Quatre looked back up at the woman in the doorway. She was still there, almost unsure of what to do. She looked terrified, and he knew why. She had just been transferred to L4 from Sanq, but her family was still there. "Renee, please wire the emergency funds to the Preventer headquarters, then go home, alright?"
She just nodded and walked out silently, too shaky to say much of anything.
Quatre sighed and leaned back in his chair. So his space heart was right… the world was in danger.
~*~*~*~*~