Written By: Jumper Prime
For Disclaimers see prologue
Chapter 1: The Shooting Star She Saw
While Amy and Lady Gundam were en route to Earth, so too were Relena Darlian and her father, aboard a passenger shuttle. As their shuttle approached the atmosphere, father and daughter began to talk.
"What's the matter, Relena?" the Vice Minister asked "Aren't you glad to be coming home to Earth?"
"No, not a bit." Relena answered
"I'm sorry I couldn't spend more time with you but I'm afraid my work keeps getting in the way."
"Father, the next time we go out into space, how about leaving yourself a little bit of free time? Or are you going to tell me you wound up with some free time while I was visiting Amy?"
"No, you know I would never lie to you, Relena."
"I just wish that- Huh?" Relena's attention was drawn by a flashing point of light outside the window. "What is that?" Relena asked as the protective shield closed over the window for reentry. The shuttle bucked and shook as it entered the Earth's atmosphere. When the shaking stopped and the window was uncovered, she saw a somewhat aerodynamic shape, glowing from the heat of reentry, diving towards the Earth "An atmosphere entry capsule?"
"Operation Meteor."
Relena's head snapped around to stare at her father when he said those two words.
*Father knows about Operation Meteor!?* she thought frantically *If he knows, then how many of the Alliance's military officials know? What if they intercept Amy?*
Relena was left to mull over these thoughts as the shuttle descended to the runway. After disembarking, she and her father were immediately swarmed by reporters. Relena stood silently on the escalator, eyes closed most of the time, thinking about Amy while the reporters bombarded her father with questions about the summit, all of which went unanswered. Relena hastily hid a frown as they were met by 3 soldiers.
"We have been waiting for you Mr. Darlian." greeted the officer "A military car is waiting for you outside. Please proceed quickly."
"Right away?" Vice Minister Darlian frowned "That won't do. I have some things to take care of first for my daughters' birthday."
"I have arranged for a separate car for your daughter."
"Don't trouble yourself about me," Relena said in a polite tone to hide her scorn "I'm quite capable of finding my own way home."
Relena watched the car with her father in it drive off, then turned to walk down the street. On the boardwalk in front of the beach, she yelled out to thin air.
"Father, don't you realize my birthday is coming up soon!?" Relena then sighed "The average girl would probably flip over this." she looked up as she saw a plane taking off into the setting sun "A military plane. This place would've already been a space harbor if it weren't for those planes. I guess I'll head home." Then she caught sight of a figure lying on the beach below. "A body!" she dashed down onto the beach "A military uniform, he's a soldier. I better get help!"
Relena ran to a nearby public phone to call an ambulance and then ran back down to help the man. She pulled off his helmet to reveal the face of a brown haired boy her own age.
"He's still just a young boy." Relena breathed as the boy jumped to his feet, moving his hand as if attempting to hide his face from her "Don't try to move, the ambulance is almost here."
"Did you see?" the boy demanded as the ambulance siren could be heard
"See what?"
When the ambulance pulled up and the paramedics piled out of the ambulance, the boy opened a panel on the chest of his spacesuit and pressed a red button inside. He immediately slammed his left fist into the palm of his right hand and a gout of flame poured from the panel, knocking the boy down. The boy seemed surprised to still be moving but immediately jumped to his feet and dashed up the stairs to the road, knocking down the three paramedics with a single strike each. He then smashed through the ambulance's passenger side window feet first and knocked the driver out of the vehicle. The boy got in the driver's seat and drove off, tires squealing. Relena got to street level just in time to see the stolen ambulance driving off across the bridge in the distance.
"My name is..." Relena said to thin air "My name is Relena Darlian." she extended her arm to someone who wasn't there "What's yours?" she walked slowly towards home as the paramedics and ambulance driver started to pick themselves up off the ground. *That was a suicide switch on his spacesuit.* the girl thought as she walked *If I'd been in the capsule with Lady Gundam, instead of Amy, my spacesuit would've had one attached to it. Lucky for him, it looks like his malfunctioned. But why did his suit have one? What didn't he want me to see? What does it all mean?*
While Relena walked home, Gundams across the world were commencing their missions. Gundam Deathscythe was inside the targeted mobile suit factory before anyone was even sure he was there.
[And the god of death did walk amongst the living,] a deep voice filled Duo's cockpit [Laying his blessing upon all who dared to stand before him. And his name was Deathscythe.]
"You sure got a way with words, Deathscythe." Duo said as he sliced a Leo in half with his Gundam's beam scythe
[Profound words come easily to a god, my bright soul.]
"I guess they would at that, especially when you live inside a computer."
While Gundam Deathscythe made its way to the factory's nerve center, far away in the desert, Gundam Sandrock and the Maganac Corps lay hidden in the sand as Alliance mobile suits, in search of Sandrock's capsule, approached their position.
"Here we go." Quatre said as the Leos came into range
[Fear not Quatre.] a regal voice came from the cockpit's speakers [Together, we can overcome any foe. With the Maganac Corps as allies, we shall most assuredly triumph.]
"I know, Sandrock, it's not the enemy I'm afraid of."
[Put aside your doubts, my friend. When one fights in the name of peace, it is all too often that he must kill the enemy. Remember the innocents who may die in the future if we do not defeat OZ.]
The trap was sprung, the Maganac Corps and Gundam Sandrock burst from the sand, the Maganac Corps mobile suits firing their weapons and Gundam Sandrock slicing Leos in half. Soon, only the commander and one other Leo were still intact. The two Alliance soldiers ran down a dune in an attempt to escape, but Quatre and the Maganac Corps knew the desert better than they and the Leos found their escape route cut off.
"Give up your weapons and surrender, and I'll spare your lives." Quatre transmitted to the Alliance mobile suits who responded by firing their weapons. Gundam Sandrock shot forward and simultaneously sliced both Leos in half with its heat shotels. "Quatre reporting. I've destroyed the leader." Quatre said in a sad tone as he communicated on the Maganac Corps' frequency. Quatre closed the frequency, pulled his goggles up onto his forehead and whispered sadly "You should have surrendered."
[I also regret the deaths we must cause,] the voice of Gundam Sandrock was heard in the cockpit again [But if we do not fight, OZ will win by default, and my birth will have been in vain.]
"You're right. Someone has to fight OZ, and I guess it's us."
Somewhere else, a Destroyer was being demolished by Shenlong Gundam, the mighty mobile suit easily destroying the forces sent against it as a nearby ship was already burning.
[So many soldiers sent against us, and all of them together cannot give us a challenge.] An androgynous voice grumbled in Wufei's cockpit
"They are quite weak, Nataku." Wufei agreed as he destroyed a pair of fighters with blasts from the flamethrowers mounted on his Gundam's dragon fang "I hope our next mission sends us against more worthy opponents."
[As do I. A warrior of great skill, like yourself, and the most powerful suit of armor in existence, as I am, should be sent against the mightiest bastion of the enemy's forces, not wasting our time destroying a few sentry boats defended by weaklings.]
At a far distant spaceport, Gundam Heavyarms was laying waste to the mobile suits guarding the base, but unlike his fellows, the only voice in Trowa's cockpit was his own narration into his battle log.
Relena was unaware of these simultaneous around-the-world strikes as she approached her home, the stars sparkling in the evening sky. As she came into sight of the gate, a 15 year-old girl with long platinum blond hair ran towards her.
"Relena! Welcome home!" the girl greeted her "Where've you been? Was your shuttle late? And where's dad?"
"Hi Renee. Father was whisked off to a meeting almost as soon as we landed." Relena responded as she hugged her sister "I took my time walking home. Sorry if I worried you."
"I guess I was a little. The press keeps saying how violent things are getting in the Colonies and you're always going up to space with dad."
"The Colonies aren't that dangerous."
"You would say that, you've always been the adventurous one. You laugh in the face of danger."
"True." Relena smiled "But I've never been shot at any of the times I was up there with father. Maybe Earth is more dangerous than space. Remember what happened when we were 11?"
"Ugh. Don't remind me. I was never more scared in my life than when that guy took me hostage. Then again, maybe you can remind me, since the prince from the stars who rescued me was so handsome."
"Whatever. Let's go inside."
The two girls went inside the house. After greeting her mother, Relena went up to her room to unpack her luggage, which had already been delivered from the spaceport. Before she started unpacking, she flipped the switch to turn on her computer. Relena was almost done unpacking when the computer screen caught her eye. The computer was finished booting up and her mail icon was flashing.
*I think I'll take a break from unpacking and check my mail.* she thought
Relena sat down at her computer and logged on to her E-mail account. She downloaded her messages. Most were from her classmates, but one was from Amy. Relena immediately clicked on that one and, ignoring the text, saved the attached picture to her hard drive. She then ran the decryption program on the file, sending the result to a hidden directory. Relena was shocked at the contents of the message.
{EMERGENCY!} it read {Capsule crashed. Lady G and pilot down. Proceed immediately to following location.}
Relena quickly printed out the attached map and then shut down her computer. The location wasn't too far from the city. Relena dashed down to the garage, being careful not to be seen leaving the house, got on her motorbike, and rode off towards the specified location. About an hour later, Relena was out in the countryside when she saw a thin plume of smoke coming from nearby. A quick check of the map showed the smoke was coming from her destination. When she arrived, she saw a crashed space capsule on its side with the hatch half open. Relena got off her bike and ran to the hatch, vaulting inside. Within the capsule, she saw a figure lying face-down on the floor wearing a blue spacesuit, her helmet was off, revealing a head of blue hair.
"Amy!" Relena cried as she dashed to her friend's side and turned her over "What happened?"
"R-Relena?" Amy coughed "You made it."
"What happened?" Relena repeated her question "Were you shot down?"
"No... Landing computer fritzed out... Couldn't hold it on manual." Amy coughed again, spitting up blood, a red puddle beneath her and a line of red going down her chin indicated she had been doing so for some time
"Amy, I've got to get you to a hospital!"
"No! Too late for me... Can't jeopardize the mission."
"Forget the mission! You're in bad shape. You need a doctor!"
"Mission is all that matters... You know that... Pick up the torch, Relena."
"What? Dr. Z said you were the one to pilot Lady Gundam, and you can't do that if you're dead."
"Checked with Dr. Z on the uplink..." Amy coughed up more blood. "She OK'd it. If you don't take Lady Gundam outta here, then you have to activate her self-detonation device... The thought of seeing my best... and only friend... was all that let me hold on this long... Internal injuries are too severe... Relena... it's getting dark... The bank card linked to the Supply account... is in the compartment under Lady G's pilot seat... Burn the papers that're with it... I won't be needing them." Amy coughed up more blood and her breathing was getting shallower.
"No Amy! Don't give up! Hold on, I'll get you to a doctor then come back for Lady Gundam. Don't die on me!"
"Too late... Goodbye, my friend... See you in Valhalla... one day." Amy went still and would not respond as Relena shook her body. She was no longer breathing.
"AMYYYYY!" Relena's mournful scream echoed through the capsule
Relena broke down crying, kneeling over her friend's dead body. After a few minutes, she was finally able to compose herself and stiffly walked to where Lady Gundam lay. Fortunately, the wall the mobile suit was strapped to was the one that was now the floor so it was a simple matter for Relena to climb into the cockpit. She passed her hand over the controls, lingering for a moment over the activator for the self-detonation device, but continued on to the panel for the uplink and activated that. After a moment, Dr. Z's face appeared on the screen.
"Relena," the scientist said in relief "You got the message. Is Amy-?"
"She just died." Relena replied without emotion
"I'm sorry. I know how close you two were."
"She said something went wrong with the landing computer."
"Yes, one of the processor chips was removed by a technician during maintenance and he never put it back. I've turned him over to... my sponsor."
"Your sponsor?"
"The man who planned and funded Operation Meteor."
"Lady Gundam doesn't appear to have suffered any damage from the crash." Relena said as she checked a status report on a secondary screen "I can try to accomplish Amy's mission, but I don't know if I can handle Lady Gundam as good as her. If you say so, I'll activate the self-detonation device so she won't be captured and analyzed."
"Relena, if Amy could accomplish the mission, so can you. She was better than you in personal combat and infiltration, but you had higher scores than her in computer hacking and mobile suit piloting. If you had been from the Colonies, you probably would have been the one to pilot Lady Gundam from the start."
"Is that true?"
"Yes. It is. I think you can accomplish the mission at least as good as Amy would have, but you don't have to. I can't expect you to attack and destroy the forces of the government your father works for, in addition to fighting OZ. I won't try to talk you out of activating the self-detonation device."
"I'm not going to activate it today. Once I eliminate the evidence of the capsule and Amy's body, I'm going to pick up the torch and take up the fight. OZ must be stopped."
"Glad to hear it. Before you close the link, I should tell you about one feature Lady Gundam has that wasn't in the simulator. The Beta System."
"What's the Beta System?"
"It's a revolutionary AI system that programs itself from the pilot's brainwaves. Ideally, the AI would be able to do things like monitor frequencies for transmissions of interest during battle, and perhaps hack through the datalinks in enemy mobile suits to retrieve information like their current damage status or other data stored in the mobile suit's systems. It could also act as a sounding board for attack plans you formulate."
"Sounds useful. Has it had much testing?"
"Not much at all, but since it only reads from the pilot's brainwaves to program itself, there should be no danger to you. Don't expect the computer personality to be exactly like your own, though. For that it would have to make a complete copy of your mind and there's nowhere near enough memory for that."
"I understand."
"Your first mission is already in the computer. Good luck, Relena."
"Thank you Dr. Z."
Relena closed the communications link, then reached under the seat and popped open the hidden compartment there, removing a bank card and a gun, both of which she pocketed before closing the panel. Relena strapped herself into the pilot's chair, closed the cockpit hatch and then ran Lady Gundam's startup sequence. Once all the systems were running, she took firm hold of the controls and nudged Lady Gundam into motion. The mobile suit sat up, tearing free of the straps that had merely been meant to keep it from bouncing around during the flight to Earth. Lady Gundam moved with surprising grace, considering its size, stepped around Amy's dead body, and pushed the capsule hatch open enough to get out.
Once outside, Lady Gundam gingerly picked up Relena's motorcycle in one massive hand and then walked away from the capsule. When Relena thought she was far enough away, Lady Gundam turned and leveled its right arm at the crashed capsule. A somewhat short barrel extended from the right Buster Gauntlet and small particles of light were seemingly drawn inside. Suddenly, a beam of energy lanced out of the Buster Gauntlet and into the capsule, which exploded in a fireball. The jet thrusters attached to Lady Gundam's back ignited and the mobile suit flew into the air. It landed several miles away, put down the motorcycle behind some foliage, then flew into the air again. As Lady Gundam flew towards its target, a female voice other than Relena's filled the cockpit.
[R-Relena?] the voice said hesitantly [Is that you?]
"Who?" Relena blinked "Are you the AI?"
[I am Lady Gundam. Ready to fight by your side in the battles to come.]
"You mean fight with me inside."
[Precisely!] Lady Gundam chuckled, making Relena blink in surprise. She hadn't expected the AI to have emotions.
"We're coming up on the munitions base. Start scanning Alliance frequencies for any mention of us." Relena ordered
[No mention of us in radio chatter. We shall send many to Valhalla before the others know we are here.]
"That we will." Relena flew Lady Gundam towards the base. When they were nearly there, Lady Gundam spoke again.
[We have been detected. Alliance mobile suits are assembling to guard our targets.]
"Then let's hit em hard!"
A pair of Aries mobile suits flew at Lady Gundam as she came into the airspace over the base, their chain rifles aimed directly at her.
"You are violating restricted airspace." One of the Aries pilots radioed "Land immediately and exit your mobile suit or we will shoot you down."
"They don't know what they're up against." Relena commented in her cockpit, manipulating a joystick to aim the left Buster Gauntlet directly between the two Aries, which were flying in close formation. "But they're about to."
Relena pulled the trigger and a wide beam of destructive energy fired from the Buster Gauntlet, destroying both Alliance mobile suits. Lady Gundam flew down and landed on the tarmac in front of a number of Leo and Tragos model mobile suits guarding a munitions bunker.
"Get out of my way or be destroyed." Relena's slightly modulated voice boomed from Lady Gundam's external speakers. The Alliance troops responded with gunfire "Have it your way."
Lady Gundam's shoulder-mounted machine cannons started firing at the gathered mobile suits. The high-caliber cannonfire quickly laid waste to the defenders, destroying the mobile suits. Lady Gundam took aim at the bunker with the right Buster Gauntlet. Light particles were seemingly sucked into the barrel right before a powerful beam erupted from it that caused the bunker to explode when it hit.
"One down, two to go." Relena commented
[Next bunker at 40 degrees.] Lady Gundam said helpfully
"I see it. Might as well get into range while I wait for the Buster Gauntlets to recharge."
Lady Gundam started walking towards the next bunker, Relena keeping an eye on her radar for more mobile suits, and she wasn't disappointed. A Tragos, equipped with a hovercraft system and shoulder-mounted cannons, was weaving towards her at high speed, firing its cannons, and an Aries was approaching similarly from the air, also moving in a seemingly random fashion and firing its chain rifle. Relena tried to get them with Lady Gundam's machine cannons, but it was impossible to tag the fast moving mobile suits with her shoulder-mounted weapons.
"So, you think you're hotshots, eh? Well, I've got some hot shots of my own." Relena grinned as she thumbed a button on each joystick
Panels on the front of both shoulders opened up, revealing a missile in each. Both missiles fired simultaneously, one flew towards the Tragos and the other towards the Aries. Both mobile suits tried to avoid their respective missiles, the Aries doing an intricate maneuver to try to lose the one aimed at it, but it was for naught as both homing missiles flew unerringly to their targets, following the mobile suits' movements until the moment they struck and exploded. The panels on Lady Gundam's shoulders closed and the mighty mobile suit resumed walking towards the second bunker. When she reached the bunker, Relena saw five Leos standing guard, four with machine guns and one with a bazooka.
"Run away now and you'll live. Try to stop me and you'll die." Relena warned
The Leos' only response was to open fire, the one with the bazooka firing a missile at her. Lady Gundam stood her ground, the machine gun fire pinging ineffectively off her Gundanium armor, as the missile flew towards her. At the last moment, her jets ignited and she leaped high in the air, the missile destroying only the ground she had been standing on a moment before. As she descended, Lady Gundam's machine cannons fired, the rounds destroying one Leo after another, the last one exploding just as Lady Gundam landed. At Relena's command, Lady Gundam's left arm came up, leveling the Buster Gauntlet at the bunker and a powerful beam shot out, destroying the second bunker in the same manner as the first.
"That was too easy." Relena said grimly as she guided Lady Gundam towards the third and final bunker
[I picked up a coded transmission immediately after we destroyed the first bunker." Lady Gundam spoke up "Decrypt still in progress.]
As Lady Gundam walked towards the last bunker, Relena was surprised to see a line of conventional tanks and soldiers in the way.
"You have got to be kidding me. They must be desperate." Relena declared
[Shouldn't they be?] Lady Gundam asked [We both know they have no chance against us.]
"Get these toys out of my way before I step on them!" Relena's modulated voice blared from the external speakers
The soldiers opened fire with their guns and the tanks started firing their cannons at Lady Gundam, the entire barrage completely ineffective against Lady Gundam's armor. Lady Gundam's head turned and the vulcans mounted there started firing, creating a line of destruction amongst the tanks and soldiers as the Gundam's head turned to aim down the line of soldiers and tanks. When it was over, the tanks were completely destroyed and most of the soldiers were dead, torn apart by the vulcan rounds and tank explosions, though a few were still alive. Lady Gundam stepped over the remains and continued on towards the bunker.
[Relena, I've just finished decrypting the transmission from earlier.] Lady Gundam proudly announced [Have a listen.]
"Attention! All mobile suit units!" a male voice came from the speakers "All mobile suits except Squad Two proceed immediately to Bunker Three. Bunker Three is to be defended at all costs. Squad Two will maintain presence at Bunker Two and attempt to slow the unregistered mobile suit as much as possible to give the other troops time to get into defensive position."
"There must be something pretty valuable inside that last bunker." Relena commented "Should make it all the more satisfying when we blow it up."
[Mission data indicates the last bunker has much thicker armor than the other two.] Lady Gundam warned [We'll need a combined blast from both Buster Gauntlets at full power to pierce the armor and detonate the munitions inside.]
"This should be interesting. Every mobile suit left on the base will be guarding that bunker. Wish I could crack it open and see what's inside, but my mission is to destroy the whole bunker, not play peekaboo."
Lady Gundam walked towards the last bunker at a steady pace. As it came into view, Relena could also see a large number of Leo, Tragos, and Aries mobile suits guarding it.
"Get out of your mobile suit and surrender, or you will be destroyed." the enemy commander ordered
"Funny, I was just about to say the same thing." Relena transmitted back
"FIRE!" the enemy commander broadcast and the mobile suits opened fire with machine guns and chain guns. Other mobile suits fired bazookas and missile pods.
"As you wish." Lady Gundam flitted to the side to avoid the missiles and opened fire with her machine cannons, destroying several mobile suits before running out of ammo. "Since I have to save the Buster Gauntlets for the bunker, it's time to get up close and personal."
Relena flipped a switch on the control panel, then manipulated the joysticks to make Lady Gundam reach back with both hands. A pair of white metal tubes sprouted from her back on either side of her neck. Lady Gundam grabbed one in each hand and pulled them from their sockets, the armor closing over the gaps immediately. The arms straightened out in front of Lady Gundam and a green beam of energy came forth from each tube. Lady Gundam held both her beam sabers so that the energy blades formed an X in front of her.
With a burst from her jets, the Gundam mobile suit shot towards the pack of enemy mobile suits and started slicing them apart with a grace normally seen only in swashbuckler movies and professional duelers. Some of the Leos tried to fight back with their own beam sabers, but they were hopelessly outmatched. A few were able to parry one blade and survive momentarily, but the second immediately caught up with them or they had their main camera destroyed by a vulcan round which left them vulnerable to the next swing. Most were like lambs to the slaughter. The Aries mobile suits tried to gain altitude to get out of her reach, but Lady Gundam's jets allowed her to easily catch and destroy them.
Finally, all the Alliance mobile suits were nothing but burning wreckage. Relena pressed the buttons to extinguish the beam sabers and return them to their storage positions. Lady Gundam stood facing the bunker and raised both arms to point directly towards it. The barrels of both Buster Gauntlets extended and particles of light were sucked inside. A powerful beam of energy issued from each and the two beams merged into one massive blast which punched through the bunker's armored exterior, touching off a powerful explosion from within. It was so big, in fact, that even though Lady Gundam was well clear of the bunker, she ended up standing at the edge of the resultant fireball.
"Mission Complete." Relena said without emotion as the fireball receded
A nudge of the controls and Lady Gundam was soaring into the air on jets of flame. She flew away from the base unhindered and landed where Relena had left her motorcycle. The motorcycle was picked up in a metal hand, and then Lady Gundam took off again.
"You're sure about this cave?" Relena asked
[Yes.] Lady Gundam answered [In my files it is noted as having been determined to be suitable for hiding me.]
"Who made that determination?"
[An advance team who did a survey of the planned landing area. It was relayed to Dr. Z through her sponsor.]
"Again this mysterious sponsor. Do your files have any data on who he or she is?"
[That information was not necessary to the missions so none was inputted into my database.]
"Alright, we'll just have to trust that it's accurate. I actually hope it is. That cave is reasonably close to home but still a little out of the way for most people."
Soon, Lady Gundam landed on a rocky beach in front of a large cave, more than large enough to hide the powerful mobile suit. Relena guided her Gundam inside and walked it well inside so that she could not be seen from outside. Relena put down her motorcycle on the ground and positioned Lady Gundam with her back to the wall, then powered down the systems before getting out. Once she was standing on the ground, Relena gazed around at the spacious cave.
"Perfect!" she smiled "Plenty of room to store fuel and ammo. Now, let's have a look at you." Relena turned to scrutinize Lady Gundam "Looks like there isn't any real damage. Gundanium's pretty tough stuff. I should have some fuel and ammo for you tomorrow. Sleep tight."
Lady Gundam did not respond as her systems were completely shut down. Relena realized this after about half a minute of silence, then shrugged and got on her motorcycle. She rode out of the cave and down the beach before turning onto a dirt road which soon connected with the main one, eventually taking her all the way home. Relena quietly parked her motorcycle in the garage, then sneaked back up to her room to finish unpacking. As Relena put the last of her things in the drawer, Renee poked her head in the door.
"Sneaked off to the arcade, huh?" the blonde asked
"I guess I'm busted." Relena answered "Is Father mad?"
"Mom & Dad don't know you sneaked out. I don't think I'm gonna tell them."
"Thanks Renee. I owe you one."
"Too bad you were so busy unpacking. You missed something interesting on the news. Seems the Fushaguchi military base, you know, the one where they keep a ton of missiles and ammunition, had some bunkers blow up. Just as they were about to say what caused it, the report got cut off by a censor on the grounds of Alliance security."
"Probably some guard lit a match where he wasn't supposed to and the Alliance military doesn't want to deal with the embarrassment."
"Maybe. I guess we'll get an Alliance-approved version tomorrow. See ya later."
"Later, sis."
Renee closed the door as she left. After her sister was gone, Relena smiled wryly as she took Amy's gun out of her pocket and hid it in a drawer under some clothes.
*So, they're keeping me secret, eh?* Relena mused silently *Fine with me, that'll only hurt them in the long run. A few more 'accidents' and either the Alliance will start to look bad, or they'll have to admit they've been under attack by an unstoppable mobile suit and didn't say a word to the public who might've ended up in the crossfire, not that I would actually put civilians in any danger.*
Part of Relena's training had included methods for procurement of the various supplies needed to keep Lady Gundam in effective fighting condition, including fuel, ammunition, and materials for making repairs. Among those methods were several black market dealers who did business over the Globalnet and regularly made blind drops. Relena logged onto the Globalnet address for one of those dealers and arranged for a load of high-grade mobile suit fuel and ammunition for machine cannons and vulcans to be left a short way up the beach from Lady Gundam's cave. She paid with an electronic money transfer using the bank card she had retrieved from Lady Gundam's under-seat compartment.
The next morning, Relena awoke before sunrise, dressed, and sneaked down to the garage. She walked her motorcycle down the driveway, only starting it once she was out of earshot of the house, and rode it towards the cave where she had hidden Lady Gundam. As she rode down the dirt road, she passed a pair of trucks going in the opposite direction. Relena suspected they were the trucks that had dropped off her order. Arriving at the drop site, she saw a large tank marked FUEL and several large crates and continued on to the cave. Within minutes, Lady Gundam had moved the fuel and boxes of ammunition into the cave. Confident that Lady Gundam and the supplies would be safe, Relena dismounted from her Gundam and rode her motorcycle back to the house, turning off the engine before getting in earshot of the house. As quietly as a cat, she padded her way back up to her room, changed back into her nightgown, and climbed back into bed, soon to arise with no one knowing she had already been up and about.
Later, Relena and Renee, clad in their school uniforms, were driven to school by the family butler, Pagan. As they walked through the courtyard, they were greeted respectfully by a number of their fellow students. Things went as normal when Relena and Renee continued on to class. The teacher announced a new student and Relena's eyes widened when she saw who it was: The same boy from the beach the previous day.
"My name is Heero Yuy," the new boy introduced himself to the class "It's a pleasure."
"Take the seat beside Relena," the teacher instructed as she pointed at the table where Relena and Renee sat "Feel free to ask her any questions you have. Now let's begin class."
"Nice to meet you, Heero." Relena said as Heero sat down next to her
Relena waited patiently for a response but Heero totally ignored her. The entire morning's classes passed by with Heero never once speaking a word to her. At lunch time, Relena and Renee were passing out invitations to their classmates.
"That new boy didn't say a single word to you." Renee said as they walked "I wonder if he's shy, or just rude. I know he's not a mute since he talked when he introduced himself." Just then they saw Heero standing by the ornate railing "Whoa, there's Mr. strong-silent-type now. Relena, what're you doing?" Renee blinked in surprise as Relena walked towards Heero, but followed her anyway
"Here you go." Relena said as she handed Heero a small envelope "It's an invitation to my and my twin sister's birthday tomorrow." Relena gestured to indicate herself and Renee "I hope you'll be able to make it to the party."
"You don't look like twins, if you don't mind my saying so." Heero replied in a monotone, noting Relena's light brown hair and Renee's platinum blond locks.
"We're fraternal twins." Renee impatiently explained "Fraternal twins don't have to look alike. Anyway, like she said, we hope you can come."
Both girls were flabbergasted as Heero made a show of tearing the invitation in half, envelope and all.
"B-but why?" Relena stammered in surprise as Heero stood right next to her, and brushed away a tear from her eye
"I'll kill you." Heero whispered, almost too soft for Relena to hear, definitely too soft for Renee to hear his declaration, and calmly walked away
"What kind of person is he!?" Relena whispered to herself in shock
"A total jerk! That's what kind of person he is!" Renee declared "Tearing up his invitation to our party like that!"
"It's... alright, Renee. Don't get yourself worked up over it."
"Don't get myself worked- Ohhh. I get it now. You took one look at Heero Yuy and fell head over heels in love with him!"
"What? I have not!"
"I saw the way you looked at him when the teacher introduced him, and how you gave him an invitation to our birthday party despite not even having one conversation with him. Face it sis, you're in love."
"That's ridiculous! Like you said, I haven't had one real conversation with him."
"Love doesn't necessarily require speech, if you know what I mean." Renee started to giggle
"Renee!" Relena blushed
"Deny it all you want, but I'll bet the school gossip mongers are already on the case."
"Well, they'd better not hear it from you."
"Fear not, sister dear. Your amorous secret shall not pass my lips." Renee looked like she was on the verge of cracking up, drawing a sigh from Relena
The rest of the day passed without incident. After returning home for the day, Relena changed into regular clothes and rode her motorcycle to Lady Gundam's cave where she set to work refueling the mobile suit and replenishing the ammunition in the machine cannons and vulcans. The next day, Relena awoke with a song in her heart for it was her birthday. Even Heero's studious ignoring of her during the day's classes could not dampen her mood.
When the time for Fencing class finally arrived, Relena saw one of her classmates, a boy with short blonde hair, fencing with Heero. The match ended with Heero's foil breaking just above the guard, Heero continuing the motion and imbedding the jagged edge in the faceplate of the boy's helmet, giving him a good scare, but otherwise not harming him. Relena pulled on her helmet, grabbed a pair of foils and then walked towards Heero, who had been on his way to the exit.
"You seem to be quite strong, Heero," Heero turned as Relena spoke "But I'll wager that grace is more effective in a fight than brute strength." Relena tossed one of the foils to Heero, who caught it handily
"I wouldn't expect to see you down here." Heero said calmly, noting that she was wearing the same fencing uniform as him and the others practicing
"I'm one of the few girls who enjoys fencing. So, let's have a match and see which is better. En garde!"
Relena and Heero exchanged a salute, then dropped into guard positions and the match began, foils clashing. Up in the observation gallery, Renee watched along with a few of her and Relena's friends.
"You think she can beat him?" one girl asked
"She'll beat him." Renee replied confidently "She's not the school champ for nothing."
"I dunno, it looks like he's giving her a run for her money."
"He may be good, but Relena's better."
Relena and Heero's foils clashed one more time and then both thrust with their foils the tips of the foils struck their targets' chests simultaneously. Relena and Heero remained as still as statues for a moment.
"Whoa, they tied. He's good." One of Relena and Renee's friends up in the gallery said
"But not better than Relena." Renee smiled triumphantly "Next time, she'll take him for sure."
"Looks like you killed me, Heero," Relena said calmly "Stabbed me through the heart, but I took you with me." Relena and Heero withdrew their respective foils and took off their helmets "Nice match." Relena extended her hand but Heero simply turned and walked away. *What is your secret, Heero?* Relena wondered to herself
Later that day, as Pagan was about to drive Relena and Renee home in their pink limousine, three of their friends were seeing them off.
"See you Relena, Renee." one girl said
"We'll come over right away." declared the second girl
"Relena?" the third spoke her name with a questioning tone
"Uh, yes?" Relena answered after a moment
"What is it Relena? Is something the matter?" the brunette asked
"You'd never guess it was your birthday, with that gloomy looking expression on your face." the blonde observed
"C'mon Relena, show us your pretty smile!" the brown-haired girl ordered
"Yeah, Relena! It's our birthday today!" Renee chimed in
"Thanks a lot you guys." Relena finally smiled
"Now that's more like it!"
As Pagan drove them home, Relena's mind was fixated on Heero.
*That boy's so secretive. He has many secrets.* she thought *That's why. I know his secret. That's why. That's why he said he was going to kill me.*
When Relena returned to her room to get changed for the party, she noticed that a certain icon on her desktop was flashing.
"One of my Lurker programs has been triggered!" she realized as she clicked on the icon "Hmm. Lurker01 is the one that got tripped. That's the one I put in the school's computer system. I wonder..." Relena opened up the report file sent by the program, which she had written as part of her hacking practice and planted copies of it in several computer systems she had hacked into. The program's only function was to hide in the system and alert her if someone succeeded in making an illegal access to the system. "Hmm. A student file was altered, Heero Yuy's student file. He changed it to say that his tuition, boarding fees, and bursary funds had all been covered, as well as inputting a bogus financial check, which of course checked out. Very interesting indeed. Especially considering he was absent from Horsemanship class about the time the computer was hacked." Relena closed the window, enabled her computer's secure mode, and then started to get dressed for her birthday party.
Meanwhile, out at sea, deep underwater, Gundam Deathscythe was destroying Cancer model mobile suits with swings of its beam scythe.
"We're under attack!" one pilot transmitted frantically "But I can't see the enemy anywhere! AH!"
As the Cancer was literally ripped apart by Gundam Deathscythe, the Gundam's voice filled Duo's cockpit
[Of course not!] it laughed [No one ever sees the icy hand of Death until I already have them in my grip.]
"Time to take out the ship these mobile suits came from!" Duo decided and brought Deathscythe close to the surface
Gundam Deathscythe destroyed two escort vessels from beneath with a single swing each from its beam scythe, then shot out of the water, propelled by its vernier thrusters, and landed on the carrier's deck. It seemed to look in the bridge windows, Duo smiling at the shocked expressions on the crew's faces right before a swing of the beam scythe bisected the tower and caused it to explode. He saw the radar indicating an aircraft taking off from the carrier.
"Trying to get away, eh?" Duo muttered
[Obviously, they do not realize that there is no escaping Death.] Deathscythe observed
At Duo's urging, the Gundam turned towards the fleeing helicopter and raised its left arm. The pincers on the Buster Shield opened and the beam blade between them ignited. Thrusters on the shield ignited and it flew through the air, spinning as it struck the helicopter and destroyed it.
"You'll all die." Duo declared "Anyone who sees me has got a date with his maker."
Back on dry land, fireworks were exploding above the Darlian estate as Relena and Renee's birthday party was getting started. The birthday girls walked to the top of the steps overlooking the large patio where the guests were gathered. Relena was wearing a blue dress and Renee a green one.
"Good evening," Relena greeted "We'd like to thank everyone for coming to our birthday party."
"We've never been so happy and delighted." Renee continued
"Miss Relena, Miss Renee, I'd like to wish you both a happy birthday." their blond friend called from the bottom of the steps
"Happy birthday! Love your dresses." their brunette friend added
"Thank you all." Relena replied
"Thanks." Renee said
"Do you really have to be leaving so soon darling?" Mrs. Darlian asked her husband at the bottom of the stairs "Can't you stay just a bit longer, for Relena and Renee?"
"Hi dad." Renee said as she and Relena came down the stairs
"Hello father." Relena greeted
"Relena, Renee, I'm terribly sorry." Vice Minister Darlian apologized
"It's alright, dad." Renee said
"We're old enough now to understand just how important your business is to you. Take care." Relena agreed
Relena and Renee leaned over the rail to receive a kiss from their father, but as he leaned forward as well, the manilla envelope he was holding spilled its contents on the floor. Along with the written reports, there were several photographs, some of which had fallen face up. Relena's eyes widened as she saw them. The photographs depicted shooting stars, or, more precisely, space capsules in the midst of reentry.
"And now for the news," A pleasant voice came from a radio sitting on one of the tables "According to an announcement, made by the military, the meteorites that entered the atmosphere at six locations disintegrated before reaching the ground. They were not manned spacecrafts, as previously rumored."
*From keeping silent to outright lies.* Relena thought *Amy and Lady Gundam were in one of them and I'll wager Heero was in another. But does that mean Heero... Is he another covert operative from the Colonies?*
The party continued for a little while before moving inside. Soon, Relena and Renee were sitting at a table in front of their birthday cake, the candles lit as all the guests watched.
"Alright, time to blow them out, sis." Renee smiled
"Yeah, Relena." One of their friends urged, noting her friend's blank expression
"Huh?" Relena blinked
"The candles." another of their friends said
"Oh. That's right."
"Good, I didn't miss the main event." came a male voice as the boy who had fenced with Heero earlier that day walked up to the table with an armful of flowers "Happy birthday, Relena, Renee."
"Thank you."
"Thanks." Renee winked at the boy
"So, it looks like Heero's not here after all." the boy said as he looked around "Then maybe that was Heero that I saw."
"Did you see Heero?" Relena stood up as she spoke
"Yeah, along the coastal road. But the funny thing is, he was driving an ambulance."
*An ambulance? That's him alright.* "Which direction was that ambulance headed for?"
"It was headed for the military port."
"Where're you going, Relena?" her blonde friend called
"Please continue the party without me." Relena said "I'll be back in a few minutes
"If you're going to the port, at least let me give you a ride." the boy suggested
"You're not going without me!" Renee declared "Twins gotta stick together!"
"Let us go along with you, Relena." her blonde friend demanded
"No! You stay here!" Relena shouted and everyone gasped "Excuse me, everyone."
"Wait a minute Relena." her mother called as Relena ran out of the room "What has gotten into her? I have never seen such a severe expression."
"She's got it bad." Renee said quietly "Never figured she'd skip out on our birthday party for a guy, though. What does she see in that jerk, Heero Yuy?"
Relena ran to the garage and hopped onto her motorcycle.
*Heero,* she thought as she rode out the main gate *What are you planning to do? Who are you going to kill?*
Meanwhile, deep beneath the waves, a group of OZ mobile suits were gathered around the fallen form of Wing Gundam, not knowing that Gundam Deathscythe lurked above them.
"Let's show these guys the light." Duo quipped as he flipped a switch to release a flashbang
[The last thing they shall ever see,] Deathscythe said grimly [As befits creatures of darkness who crave my blessing.]
The flashbang ignited, blinding the OZ pilots, and Gundam Deathscythe dropped into the middle of the Cancer and Pisces mobile suits slashing apart both Pisces mobile suits with its beam scythe. The Cancer blindsided Deathscythe, grabbing its head with its claw, the center of the claw firing non-stop torpedoes right into the Gundam's face at point blank range. After several shots, the Cancer's claw was destroyed by the explosions and the next shot sent Deathscythe drifting down and away from the Cancer, apparently not moving.
"I did it. I defeated it Lt. Zechs!" the Cancer pilot transmitted, the last transmission he would ever make
"Yeah right." Duo muttered to himself in his cockpit
A nudge of a joystick, the push of a trigger, and Gundam Deathscythe's left arm came into line with the Cancer, the pincers on the Buster Shield opened, the beam blade ignited, and the Buster Shield shot forward on jets of flame, its beam blade drilling into the OZ mobile suit and destroying it.
"Ugh. That new armor of OZ's is pretty tough." Duo said, holding his head with one hand as he righted his Gundam
[Arrogant young pup.] Deathscythe grumbled [Thinking he could kill the God of Death.]
Duo's attention was suddenly attracted by the flashing lights and klaxon from Wing Gundam
"So that's what they were searching for." Duo said "It's on Self-Detonate mode. Hey Deathscythe, this suit is identical to you, even the location of the Self-Detonation device."
[Not identical.] Deathscythe disagreed [But he is one of my brother gods.]
"Brother gods?"
[Surely you do not believe the universe could function with only the God of Death? If such were the case, the universe would be naught but a series of charnel houses on a scale that would make even I nauseous.]
"I guess that makes sense. So, who're the other gods we're gonna run into here on Earth?" Duo was curious as to how much of his Gundam's statement was hard data and how much was pure delusion.
[I... I cannot remember. When I chose to take on corporeal form to directly battle the evil of OZ who, in their hubris, believed they had a right to choose when an innocent should die, I left behind much of my power so that death and life would still run smoothly. Can you imagine the suffering that would occur if the mangled, the debilitated ill, those in great pain, if they were all unable to die despite injuries or pain that would make them wish for death?]
"I've seen some suffering in my day. Much as I don't like losing friends, I guess it'd be worse if they had to live forever in agony. But what's that got to do with you losing your memory?"
[As a god, my power and mind are closely linked. When I cast off much of my power, I also inadvertently cast off much of my memory, including details on my fellow gods. It is also why my mighty body is inert without you guiding it, my bright soul. The computer programs which house my mind have not the capacity for action and I know not how to make my limbs and weapons move myself. Only with you serving as a conduit can my might be brought forth and the wicked punished.]
"So how do you know this is one of your brothers?"
[As a god is far stronger than a human, a Gundam is far stronger than a normal mobile suit.]
"I see." Duo grinned
Gundam Deathscythe used its beam scythe like a scalpel, making a precision cut that neutralized Wing Gundam's Self-Detonation device.
"No need to destroy a good Gundam. I'll just use it for my backup supply. Y'know, in case you get damaged real bad and I get a Priority One mission before you're fixed."
[I suppose we should be prepared for the possibility of my physical body failing us.] Deathscythe grudgingly agreed [It is only metal and plastic, instead of the divine, invincible flesh of a god.]
"Whatever you say, buddy." Duo spoke as he used Deathscythe's arms to pick up Wing Gundam "Today's a busy day. Trash some ships and mobile suits, retrieve a spare Gundam, and I still gotta do some dirty work at that military port before we rendezvous with our home away from home. That reminds me, gotta program the autopilot so you can pick me up after I do the deed. This job's gonna have to be a covert one. You're invisible to radar, but eyeballs can still see you just fine."
Gundam Deathscythe ignited its vernier thrusters and ascended towards the surface. Later, back on dry land, Relena stopped her motorcycle on top of a cliff overlooking the base and looked down at it just in time to see a series of explosions go off.
*I'll bet that's Heero at work.* she thought
Relena got back on her motorcycle and rode down into the base, the gates had sloppily been left unguarded. She finally caught sight of Heero standing on the deck of a submarine, activating a set of controls. She parked her motorcycle out of sight and walked down onto the deck.
"Heero! It is you, Heero. It is you." Relena called as she walked onto the sub, then looked up and saw the cart of torpedoes on a hoist "No Heero, don't do it!" Relena still wasn't sure of Heero's true affiliation so she was playing cautious. She was also curious as to what he planned to do with the torpedoes "Heero, what are you doing? Tell me. Just who are you, anyway? Those are torpedoes, aren't they? I can tell. I want to know who you are." Heero ignored her, staying bent over the hoist controls "Talk to me Heero!"
"Relena." Heero finally spoke then turned and pulled a gun pointing it at her head "You're in over your head. Say goodbye, Relena."
Heero's finger tightened on the trigger and a shot rang out, but it was not Heero's gun that had fired as a bullet hit him in the arm, the impact sending him sprawling, the gun flying out of his hand. Relena's eyes widened, a little shocked that she was still alive, but she stayed standing straight, staying calm even in the face of death.
"Heero!" Relena called out in surprise and concern
"Who are you?" Heero grunted out as a figure in black stood up from a crouch
"It's pretty obvious to anyone that you're the bad guy here." said the 15 year-old boy with a long brown braid "Are you alright lady? Huh?" The black-clad boy blinked in surprise as Relena knelt next to the fallen Heero, who had been about to shoot her a moment before.
"Heero, are you OK?" Relena asked in a concerned tone
Heero did not answer, instead lunging for his gun, but was shot in the leg by the other boy and missed his own gun
"Don't overdo it." Duo cautioned "Remember, you're injured."
"Stop it!" Relena shouted as she placed herself between Duo and Heero "What do you want to shoot him for?"
"Hey, wait a minute!" Duo stared in confusion as Relena tore strips off her dress and used them to bind Heero's gunshot wounds. "Great, how come I end up as the badguy here?" Duo's watch beeped "Huh? It's already reached the surface. I musta miscalculated the tide."
Two metal forms broke the surface, one seemingly carrying the other.
"What in the world is that?" Relena stared at the metal forms rapidly approaching "Are they-? Ah!" she was suddenly blinded by a bright light coming from an object in Duo's hand
"Don't look lady."the black-clad boy ordered "I'm sure you got your reasons for being here but you better just walk away. Save yourself a lot of grief." Heero somehow got to his feet and leaped towards the cart of torpedoes "You haven't had enough!?"
Heero made it up onto the cart of torpedoes as the other boy fired at him, but only hit the underside of the torpedoes.
"It's my mobile suit!" Heero yelled and hit something on the torpedoes, causing them to ignite. The torpedoes broke free of the cable and, cart and all, descended into the water, Heero falling away and splashing into the water behind them.
"What're ya doing you fool!?" Duo shouted as the torpedoes drove unerringly towards the two Gundams and there was a massive explosion. "NOOO!" Duo screamed as both mobile suits sank beneath the waves but then calmed down "Dammit. He knows Gundanium's impact-tolerance, which means he's the mobile suit's pilot."
Relena tore her eyes away from where the Gundams had sunk and her heart caught in her throat as she saw Heero floating face down. She didn't know if this new guy would try to stop her from saving Heero or not, but she wasn't going to take a chance. Relena took a firm hold on her right earring and yanked down sharply, causing the blue ornament to come free while the ring remained in her ear. She threw the earring so that it hit the ground at the boy's feet and it exploded, releasing a cloud of thick smoke. While the Duo coughed from the smoke, Relena dove into the water and swam to Heero, immediately turning him face up and pulling him to shore. She dragged him out of the water and carried him to her motorcycle using a Fireman's Carry, staggering a little under his weight. Relena managed to get Heero onto her motorcycle behind her with his legs snared by her own and his arms placed around her waist. She carefully rode off, being careful not to jar Heero too badly.
Duo Maxwell coughed a bit more as he saw the girl carry the boy who had threatened her to a motorcycle and ride off with him.
"Geez," he coughed "I just don't understand the girls here on Earth. That guy holds a gun on her, she yells at me when I save her, she helps him, then she hits me with a smoke bomb and dives in to save his life." He shook his head in disbelief "Time to think about girls later, Duo. Without Deathscythe, I'm gonna have to hustle to make the rendezvous with the Sweepers on time, and I'm gonna need their help to retrieve and fix him."
Duo ran to find a motorboat he could steal and use to make his rendezvous, his mind swimming with the implications of the existence of another Gundam and corresponding pilot.
"Hold on, Heero." Relena said quietly to the boy behind her, despite his being unconscious *He's out cold.* she thought *Could be dying. Only one choice. Have to risk the Alliance Medical Facility. It's the closest.*
End of Chapter 1
OK, about the Gundams talking. It's a little something that latched onto my brain and wouldn't let go. The first spark of it came from the episode where the Gundam pilots go back into space, and Gundam Sandrock's left arm and cockpit hatch seem to move on their own to seemingly suggest to Quatre that he dismount and escape without it. Then I came up with The Beta System, which uses the pilot's own brainwaves to program an AI. It's possible for the Gundam Scientists to do this since they invented the Zero System, which majorly affects the pilot's brainwaves, so why not a toned down, less dangerous version like Doctor J did with Wing Gundam's Buster Rifle from Wing Zero's mega-powerful Twin Buster Rifle? It can also be a nice tool for exposition so the characters don't have to always be talking to themselves.
As you can tell, each Gundam's personality comes from its pilot's mind. In the anime, Duo likes to call himself the God of Death, so why not have his Gundam literally think it's a god? I envision Sandrock as being sort of like a noble Arabian prince, Shenlong Gundam thinks it's a sentient suit of armor, and Lady Gundam a Norse warrior maiden(as evidenced by her references to Valhalla. Who knew Relena was so fascinated with the Vikings? Maybe she got it from her friend Amy.) I almost made a faux pas with Shenlong Gundam's voice. I almost gave it a male voice before I discovered that the ancient warrior Nataku was a woman, as was Wufei's departed wife who claimed to be a reincarnation of said warrior woman, but I discovered my mistake well before I finished the chapter and corrected it. I decided to give Shenlong Gundam an androgynous voice since it doesn't strike me as being particularly female, not to mention Wufei probably doesn't like to be reminded of his late wife, possibly one explanation for his not liking to fight against or alongside female warriors(like Lt. Noin and Sally Po)
I decided that, just as not all the Gundams have machine cannons and/or beam-based melee weaponry, they wouldn't all have The Beta System. Specifically, neither Wing Gundam nor Gundam Heavyarms have it. I decided this for 2 reasons: 1) Heero and Trowa are the only pilots who discard their Gundams right before returning to the Colonies. What human being would so casually discard a good friend who was almost a piece of them? They'd be a lot less likely to do that if they actually thought of their Gundams as alive, like the remaining Gundam pilots will over the course of this story; 2) Heero and Trowa also have the LEAST personality of all the Gundam pilots. No offence meant to Heero or Trowa or their fans, they just keep everything bottled up inside. I could probably come up with a semi-decent personality for Gundam Heavyarms if I wanted to, based on its configuration, but Wing Gundam's personality would definitely be as mechanical as its body since Heero seems to live for his missions alone(but over the course of this fic, he's gonna get to live for something, or rather someone, else. Heero/Relena fans, stay tuned.
Oh yes, one other thing, when I write that a Gundam is performing a physical action, the Gundam is performing the action, but it's doing so at the behest of its pilot working the controls. As a rule, the Gundams cannot act of their own volition, despite their advanced AIs. Exceptions will be few and far between and explicitly stated.
One more thing!(delivered in oriental old man voice. Viewers of Jackie Chan Adventures will easily get that bit.) Those who were wondering about what will happen to Relena's Peacecraft arc have probably already figured out how I'm gonna go about keeping Relena in a Gundam cockpit without shredding the anime plotline. I'm not gonna come right out and say it here, though, so those patient souls who want to wait until I get there, can do so without me throwing the coming revelation in their faces. Don't worry though, I figure it'll probably be in chapter 3, maybe chapter 4. I'll know better once I've written some more of this story