Chapter Five: Zero Tolerance
Act Two: Earthbound
Written By: Knuckles19 {Maybe I'll take that review advice in the next
chapter}
Upon returning to the base with the two liberated Aires, Lance immediately set out for Dermail's quarters. Heero climbed out and was pulled aside by Zechs. "Enjoy the flight?"
"I was shooting at them, but I was thinking of you." It had brought back a few memories of when he used to fly against the Epyon.
"Well Yuy" He looked up at the recently repaired Wing Zero "Your probably not going to like hearing what I have to tell you." He handed him a legal form of some kind.
"Great....It's been two years, since I've fought a war, and now I've been drafted twice."
"As of today you are a member of the Preventers Interference Faction. Lance has also been recruited in our ranks."
"What separates this division from the rest of these soldiers?" Heero looked at all of the young and experienced pilots throughout the hangar. He saw many of them tending to the Tallgeese.
"These pilots still need training. Wufei and Trowa have been training them in the art of close and long range combat."
"The "art" of combat?"
"To many, it is a form of the most elegant art in the universe. The thought and soul of a man go into what he performs in battle. Some will even dedicate their lives to it. It's as simple as that."
It didn't sound simple to Heero. He could understand Zechs on many levels, but this was something new to him. He had only considered combat an inevitable means of solving disputes that couldn't be solved with verbal negotiations.
"By the way, here are the details of your first assignment. You leave in fifteen minutes."
"What the hell?! We just got back from our last mission one man short, and you want to deploy us already?!"
"Yuy, you and I both know the sacrifices that come with a war. This is the prevention of a war. The sacrifices are still there, but there are fewer to make and only a few of us have to make them. If it means fighting one or one hundred missions consecutively, we have to fight until we achieve peace, by any means necessary." Zechs turned and set off for the liberated Aires. "You won't be able to use these on your next mission. We'll be supplying you and Lance with civilian issue Leo's. That is all. Prepare yourself for atmospheric re-entry procedures."
Heero breathed a heavy sigh. "Great....this is just how I wanted to spend my last month as a bachelor." He flipped through the papers and began going over his objectives. "Operation Meteor Rain....Hmm..this is...where we self detonated the Gundams two years ago......The Sandrock!" Heero immediately knew what they were searching for and set out to tell his fiancé of his new assignment.
Meanwhile, in Dermail's office..
"So, they've taken Saori, and you have no idea why they want her?"
Lance stroked his chin, deeply engaged in thought. "Yes sir. If it were for hostage purposes, they would have used it to bring us back in while we were escaping. Speaking of which......"
"It's already been taken care of. We've arranged to make it look like a mobile suit malfunction in the hangar. The local colony will accept any answer we throw their way as long as the citizens know of no threat. They'll stay blissfully ignorant.....for now at least."
"That's true......but another thing bothers me. Enemy forces were very well prepared for our escape and they had a pretty tight grip on the place. It clearly takes organization to prepare a counter for a mission as covert as ours. I can only make one assumption....."
Dermail looked out his window at the eternal darkness that stretch out. He found it hard to see that all this would be threatened by an ex-social overseer. "The Zero system....either they don't want us to use it, or they have a use for it themselves."
"They do have the Epyon, well, at least a VERY effective copy of it. They may want to experiment more with the system to draw out the full capabilities of it. As we both know, the Epyon is nothing less than a miracle of modern war."
"Yes, the Epyon is an impressive machine. We've been trying to modify that Gundam of yours to match it, but we still need some time. And if they can finish theirs first, the possibilities of destruction are endless. The model that Marquis flew wasn't even armed with all the intended weapon systems. The war three years ago could have had a completely different outcome."
"Indeed." Lance caught sight of the clock on Dermail's desk. "Well, I'm off sir. My mission begins in five minutes. Can I assume we'll meet with the usual contact?"
"Of course. She'll be waiting for you around the outskirts of town. Be sure to complete this mission quickly. They may have the system in their possession and they may try to stop us from this last shot. Don't let your guard down."
"No sir. Of course not." Lance turned and started for the hangar. "Time to save the world........"
Duo ran into Heero as he left Releena's quarters. "Hey buddy! What've they got ya' doin' this time?" Heero remained silent. "Uh huh....."
The conversation he had with Releena continued to echo in his head.
"Why do you have to go so soon? You just finished a mission and almost got killed!"
"I......I have to....I can't let him do as he pleases. If he brings back everything that the others and I worked so hard to destroy, what will the war three years ago have been for?"
"I know how you feel, but can't we find another way?"
"I wish we could, but until then, I have to go. With the Zero system, Lance said we may be able to launch a pre-emptive strike and immobilize the Libra before it takes flight."
"......just come back to me alive, okay?" She had tried to hold back tears, but Heero saw right through her.
"I will. I swear it." He hugged his bride to be one last time.
"Yo! Ground control to Major Yuy! You there Heero?"
"Hunh?" Heero finally snapped out of his trance. Duo was walking beside him. "Oh....hey."
"Hear they're sendin' ya on another one. What's up?"
"We're intercepting the black box of the Sandrock."
"Oh.....I get it. The Zero system you copied before we lit up the sky a few years back."
As they entered the hangar, everybody was clearing out to prepare for the launch of the towering Leo units. Heero took a lift up as Duo left for his Deathscythe to resume his work with the trainees. "Heero!" Duo yelled "Good luck!"
After the hangar had been cleared out, the Leo's launched and made preparations to enter the Earth's atmosphere. Normal Leo's would be ripped apart by the heat from re-entry, but special precautions had been taken on these particular suits, specifically, a light exterior layer of titanium armor, added thrust enhancements, and an extended fuel tank to support the long distance of the trip. Lance turned on his radio. "We'll be there in about twelve hours. Stay alert until re-entry. We're not safe yet."
"Will we ever be?" Heero activated the thrust, and began the long trip to the Earth.
Upon returning to the base with the two liberated Aires, Lance immediately set out for Dermail's quarters. Heero climbed out and was pulled aside by Zechs. "Enjoy the flight?"
"I was shooting at them, but I was thinking of you." It had brought back a few memories of when he used to fly against the Epyon.
"Well Yuy" He looked up at the recently repaired Wing Zero "Your probably not going to like hearing what I have to tell you." He handed him a legal form of some kind.
"Great....It's been two years, since I've fought a war, and now I've been drafted twice."
"As of today you are a member of the Preventers Interference Faction. Lance has also been recruited in our ranks."
"What separates this division from the rest of these soldiers?" Heero looked at all of the young and experienced pilots throughout the hangar. He saw many of them tending to the Tallgeese.
"These pilots still need training. Wufei and Trowa have been training them in the art of close and long range combat."
"The "art" of combat?"
"To many, it is a form of the most elegant art in the universe. The thought and soul of a man go into what he performs in battle. Some will even dedicate their lives to it. It's as simple as that."
It didn't sound simple to Heero. He could understand Zechs on many levels, but this was something new to him. He had only considered combat an inevitable means of solving disputes that couldn't be solved with verbal negotiations.
"By the way, here are the details of your first assignment. You leave in fifteen minutes."
"What the hell?! We just got back from our last mission one man short, and you want to deploy us already?!"
"Yuy, you and I both know the sacrifices that come with a war. This is the prevention of a war. The sacrifices are still there, but there are fewer to make and only a few of us have to make them. If it means fighting one or one hundred missions consecutively, we have to fight until we achieve peace, by any means necessary." Zechs turned and set off for the liberated Aires. "You won't be able to use these on your next mission. We'll be supplying you and Lance with civilian issue Leo's. That is all. Prepare yourself for atmospheric re-entry procedures."
Heero breathed a heavy sigh. "Great....this is just how I wanted to spend my last month as a bachelor." He flipped through the papers and began going over his objectives. "Operation Meteor Rain....Hmm..this is...where we self detonated the Gundams two years ago......The Sandrock!" Heero immediately knew what they were searching for and set out to tell his fiancé of his new assignment.
Meanwhile, in Dermail's office..
"So, they've taken Saori, and you have no idea why they want her?"
Lance stroked his chin, deeply engaged in thought. "Yes sir. If it were for hostage purposes, they would have used it to bring us back in while we were escaping. Speaking of which......"
"It's already been taken care of. We've arranged to make it look like a mobile suit malfunction in the hangar. The local colony will accept any answer we throw their way as long as the citizens know of no threat. They'll stay blissfully ignorant.....for now at least."
"That's true......but another thing bothers me. Enemy forces were very well prepared for our escape and they had a pretty tight grip on the place. It clearly takes organization to prepare a counter for a mission as covert as ours. I can only make one assumption....."
Dermail looked out his window at the eternal darkness that stretch out. He found it hard to see that all this would be threatened by an ex-social overseer. "The Zero system....either they don't want us to use it, or they have a use for it themselves."
"They do have the Epyon, well, at least a VERY effective copy of it. They may want to experiment more with the system to draw out the full capabilities of it. As we both know, the Epyon is nothing less than a miracle of modern war."
"Yes, the Epyon is an impressive machine. We've been trying to modify that Gundam of yours to match it, but we still need some time. And if they can finish theirs first, the possibilities of destruction are endless. The model that Marquis flew wasn't even armed with all the intended weapon systems. The war three years ago could have had a completely different outcome."
"Indeed." Lance caught sight of the clock on Dermail's desk. "Well, I'm off sir. My mission begins in five minutes. Can I assume we'll meet with the usual contact?"
"Of course. She'll be waiting for you around the outskirts of town. Be sure to complete this mission quickly. They may have the system in their possession and they may try to stop us from this last shot. Don't let your guard down."
"No sir. Of course not." Lance turned and started for the hangar. "Time to save the world........"
Duo ran into Heero as he left Releena's quarters. "Hey buddy! What've they got ya' doin' this time?" Heero remained silent. "Uh huh....."
The conversation he had with Releena continued to echo in his head.
"Why do you have to go so soon? You just finished a mission and almost got killed!"
"I......I have to....I can't let him do as he pleases. If he brings back everything that the others and I worked so hard to destroy, what will the war three years ago have been for?"
"I know how you feel, but can't we find another way?"
"I wish we could, but until then, I have to go. With the Zero system, Lance said we may be able to launch a pre-emptive strike and immobilize the Libra before it takes flight."
"......just come back to me alive, okay?" She had tried to hold back tears, but Heero saw right through her.
"I will. I swear it." He hugged his bride to be one last time.
"Yo! Ground control to Major Yuy! You there Heero?"
"Hunh?" Heero finally snapped out of his trance. Duo was walking beside him. "Oh....hey."
"Hear they're sendin' ya on another one. What's up?"
"We're intercepting the black box of the Sandrock."
"Oh.....I get it. The Zero system you copied before we lit up the sky a few years back."
As they entered the hangar, everybody was clearing out to prepare for the launch of the towering Leo units. Heero took a lift up as Duo left for his Deathscythe to resume his work with the trainees. "Heero!" Duo yelled "Good luck!"
After the hangar had been cleared out, the Leo's launched and made preparations to enter the Earth's atmosphere. Normal Leo's would be ripped apart by the heat from re-entry, but special precautions had been taken on these particular suits, specifically, a light exterior layer of titanium armor, added thrust enhancements, and an extended fuel tank to support the long distance of the trip. Lance turned on his radio. "We'll be there in about twelve hours. Stay alert until re-entry. We're not safe yet."
"Will we ever be?" Heero activated the thrust, and began the long trip to the Earth.