*******************************************************************
CHAPTER FOUR: BENEATH THE WAVES
Count Dreizehn looked up from his desk when he heard a soft knock at the door to his quarters. "Herein," he said quietly, and the door creaked open. "Ah, Countess, a rough landing we had, but I trust that since we are still able to speak with each other, the ship must have survived the impact..." He smiled, that playful sparkle reflecting in his deep blue eyes.
"Yes, Herr," she replied softly. "The carrier withstood re-entry as well as the impact. The chutes deployed and we hit the Mediterranean seabed."
"Were we on the mark?"
"Yes, Herr. We have landed within a twenty mile radius of the SchwarzRe?en."
"Good." There came another knock at the door, and a tall, silver- haired man entered the room. His eyebrows rose when he saw that the Countess was already inside.
"Oh... Wie bitte1? I did not know the two of you were alone." He smiled and the Countess blushed, just a little.
"Herr General, we were not-" she tried to say in half-scolding tone of voice, but the older man held his hand up to silence the azure-eyed woman. Then he turned to the Count, who also was taken aback by his implication.
"Es tut mir Leid2, Count. But you must learn to lock your door." He grinned as he continued. "I will leave, but Herr Dreizehn, please report to the main flight deck as soon as you-are able to." He smiled at the Countess as he left, shutting the door behind him. "I believe he was insinuating something..." Eins mumbled under her breath. "Yes, I do believe he was. But can you blame him, Countess? After all-" Dreizehn stopped and smiled gently at the young Countess. She flushed and quickly looked to the ground, aware that her face was turning red. "No, Herr. I suppose I cannot."
"We landed on our mark, Herr," an officer said as the Count entered the main deck of the now-submerged carrier. He nodded looked to the older man who sat by a communications console. "There were matters to be discussed, General?" he asked, and the man looked up. "Yes, Count. We must tell the units that came ahead of us that we have landed safely. We will contact-" "We will contact no one." "What is this?" "We cannot risk contact," the blue-eyed Count began to explain, as the General listened intently. "The chances are great that any communication between us the rest of the fleet will be intercepted. We do not want to fall into premature discovery. We would be putting the rebirth at risk, and we will lose our element of surprise." The General nodded, prompting the younger man to continue. "The convoy will know of what we are doing. The safest thing would be to abandon this carrier as soon as possible, and reach the SchwarzRe?en under the cover of the nightfall. We have almost a week of resources to survive here, am I correct?" "I understand. You are very right." The silver-haired man gave the orders to the officers, before turning on heel to leave the deck. He smiled at the Countess as she entered to speak with Dreizehn.
*******************************************************************
"They still have not made contact, Count Zwei. Do you think they might not have made it safely?" the man asked as he held a lit cigar between his index finger and thumb. He eyed it, but did not inhale the smoke.
"They are here," the other replied.
"Oh?"
"Count Dreizehn would not be foolish enough to try and make contact. It could endanger the entire Neu-Ro. They will come here to the SchwarzRe?en by next nightfall. I am sure of it." Count Vierzehn nodded. Zwei held up a glass and a bottle of brandy. "Would you care for some?" The other declined, but the Count splashed some into his own glass, and held it up to the light. The amber liquid sparkled like a glass of deeply coloured gems, so inviting to the eye, but he did not drink.
"Have the systems been brought back on line yet?" Vierzehn finally asked.
"Yes. Everything has been completely restored. This base is now fully protected, but still geheim3. Lest someone try to infiltrate our ranks..."
"We will be prepared for that?"
"Yes, we will."
*******************************************************************
"Air pressure?"
"System running on auto-adjust."
"High powered beam lighting?"
"Fully charged."
"Global tracking systems?"
"Online."
"Self-defence fight or flight?"
"Ready."
"Engines?"
"Engaged and on stand by, Ma'am."
"So we're all set," Preventer Une mumbled. "Michals, you're in charge of the surface ship. Tell Preventer Water to report to the sub's main deck. Have all crews on stand-by." The officer behind the console nodded.
"Yes, Ma'am." He stood up and left the control deck of the surface ship. Une stood, assessing the sub from her place above the boarding terminal, then allowing, unconsciously, her mind to wander away. She gazed out onto the vast expanse of the Mediterranean. The memory of her dream returned; those dark grey waters, the voice, the blood rain... and Treize. She shook her head. No, Une thought. A mere dream will NOT pull you back to where you began. You said you moved on, and it's about time you let go... completely.
"Preventer Une?" An officer's voice broke her from her thoughts, and she turned to face him. "Preventer Water has boarded the sub. We await your presence."
"Thank you." She nodded and dismissed the officer. Yes, Anna, it is time you let go. There are much more important things to worry about right now. She turned and followed the young man down to the sub's boarding port.
She was the last to climb aboard the Explorer before the hatch was sealed and the sub descended into the icy sea water. She broke away momentarily from the bridge crew to keep log on the expedition.
"It's probably just space debris," Une whispered to herself, but she knew, this was more of a hope than a certainty. "Still, we will have to take all necessary precautions." She sighed despairingly as the word revolution crossed paths with her thoughts.
"Preventer Une!" a voice from the main deck called over the intercom, reeling her mind back to reality. "Please report to bridge immediately. We've found something!!" In an instant, she was there with the crew, peering through the fogged glass, their expressions changing from initial shock, to worry, to fear... The thing they had dreaded most was sitting before them on the rocky sea bed.
"It can't be," Une whispered after a few long moments of uneasy silence.
"It is," an officer replied from his computer. "And it's completely functional. Most of the systems are still online as we speak. It is still capable of sustaining human life...and, if I may, I'd like to express that I think it still is."
They navigated the currents and pulled the sub closer to the sunken object. It was undoubtedly an MS carrier. "Damn," Une whispered as the sub circled the submerged transport ship.
"Ma'am, I've located a docking port. We can link the sub and check it out," Preventer Koush told her as she kept her eyes locked on the sunken carrier. It was massive, and definitely large enough to hold an entire MS unit. And if there were anymore like it... "Ma'am? Should we dock?"
"No."
"Huh?"
"It's too risky with our current defences. We must resurface and notify the shoreline crews of its existence. We'll need back up."
"But Ma'am-"
"We can't take chances, Officer." She turned around to face the rest of the crew. "It is one thing I have learned from the past. We cannot risk resources, nor can we risk lives, by taking foolish chances. We will resurface immediately."
The others nodded in agreement, but before Sally could take her post at the console, an explosion of bubbles burst from the carrier, and the water and air expelled from the outburst sent a wave of underwater currents rushing, knocking the Explorer off balance. For a few fateful seconds, the dive team fought for control of the sub, and when it was finally regained, Une caught a glimpse of the last fleeing MS, propelling itself away from the whole commotion. Well, it wasn't actually the last...
"Shit! Look out!" she yelled, practically throwing herself into the piloting seat, and grabbing hold of the controls. She banked the sub steeply to the left, just barely dodging the close-range missile. "They're firing on us!" She pulled the Explorer around a full 180, bringing them to face their attacker. The mobile suit fired again, and Anna's old military instincts came flooding back to her. Koush took control of the sub as Une jumped to the SD console, firing a counter-defence. Her aim was on the mark, and the missile's impact disabled the MS's only feasible underwater weapon. It turned to retreat.
"Was that a Pisces?!" an officer exclaimed, but Une shook her head.
"No, it wasn't. Did you see it's design? It was something new. something we've never faced before."
"Another Gundam?" She shook her head again.
"Not likely. It was too easy to fend off. We wouldn't be alive, right here, right now, if it were another-Gundam. Believe me, I know."
"But why would it attack..."
"A diversion. So the others could get away." Une knew her strategies well. She had pulled a stunt like that once or twice during the days of Oz...
As everyone's nerves calmed, a vidalink signal came through. "FX Explorer, this is Preventer Michals. Radar has picked up several unidentified targets fleeing rapidly towards the northeast. Is everything alright? Can you hear us?" Une was on the lower deck, checking for damages.
"This is the FX Explorer, Preventer Une speaking. Michals, I want your full attention," Une said hurriedly and calmly. "Have all coastguards on high alert, and send out a relay message. All Preventers' offices in the European hemisphere remain on stand by for a code-red. Get in contact with Preventers Fire and Wind, and have them online via the vidalink as soon as possible. You will be informed of the details when we resurface. Be ready."
"Yes, Ma'am."
Seeing there was no relevant damage to the hull, Une headed back to the main deck. Revolution. The word crossed through her mind once again, and she stopped in the stairwell as she remembered something. With a sigh, she pulled the silver chain from around her neck, and held the rose-shaped pendant in her hand, fingering over the delicate carving. On the back, under a thin coat of glass, was a tiny, faded picture. "It's happening all over again," she whispered. "Only this time, everything depends on my own decisions. Treize isn't here. I can't rely on anyone to take charge and stop this before it gets worse. It's up to me."
*******************************************************************
"No way," Preventer Wind muttered as Une finished explaining the details of the first investigation. "That couldn't be possible."
"Quite frankly, it is," Sally said grimly, turning to Preventer Fire, who shared the vidalink with Zechs. "The mobile suits were a completely new model, but we do not know of their origin. The carrier was completely unmarked. However, I think it has fallen far beyond reasonable doubt that they came from the L2."
Noin nodded. "We will meet you at Earth's headquarters as soon as we can."
"Thank you," Une acknowledged as she cut the communication link.
*******************************************************************
1 Wie bitte?: "excuse me" 2 Es tut mir Leid: "I am sorry" 3 Geheim: "secret"
AUTHOR'S NOTES:
OK, so far we've seen the beginnings of a secret plot against the
Earth, and Une's had a really freaky dream. Something, which we know
is an MS carrier, crashed into the Mediterranean, and a new model of
mobile suit, not a Gundam, attacked a Preventers' investigation sub.
Is this GOING anywhere?? That depends on your point of view. I promise
it will get better.
Oh, and for those who weren't sure: Zechs is once again Preventer
Wind, and Noin is Preventer Fire. They returned (married) from the
Mars Terraforming project and rejoined the organization.
CHAPTER FOUR: BENEATH THE WAVES
Count Dreizehn looked up from his desk when he heard a soft knock at the door to his quarters. "Herein," he said quietly, and the door creaked open. "Ah, Countess, a rough landing we had, but I trust that since we are still able to speak with each other, the ship must have survived the impact..." He smiled, that playful sparkle reflecting in his deep blue eyes.
"Yes, Herr," she replied softly. "The carrier withstood re-entry as well as the impact. The chutes deployed and we hit the Mediterranean seabed."
"Were we on the mark?"
"Yes, Herr. We have landed within a twenty mile radius of the SchwarzRe?en."
"Good." There came another knock at the door, and a tall, silver- haired man entered the room. His eyebrows rose when he saw that the Countess was already inside.
"Oh... Wie bitte1? I did not know the two of you were alone." He smiled and the Countess blushed, just a little.
"Herr General, we were not-" she tried to say in half-scolding tone of voice, but the older man held his hand up to silence the azure-eyed woman. Then he turned to the Count, who also was taken aback by his implication.
"Es tut mir Leid2, Count. But you must learn to lock your door." He grinned as he continued. "I will leave, but Herr Dreizehn, please report to the main flight deck as soon as you-are able to." He smiled at the Countess as he left, shutting the door behind him. "I believe he was insinuating something..." Eins mumbled under her breath. "Yes, I do believe he was. But can you blame him, Countess? After all-" Dreizehn stopped and smiled gently at the young Countess. She flushed and quickly looked to the ground, aware that her face was turning red. "No, Herr. I suppose I cannot."
"We landed on our mark, Herr," an officer said as the Count entered the main deck of the now-submerged carrier. He nodded looked to the older man who sat by a communications console. "There were matters to be discussed, General?" he asked, and the man looked up. "Yes, Count. We must tell the units that came ahead of us that we have landed safely. We will contact-" "We will contact no one." "What is this?" "We cannot risk contact," the blue-eyed Count began to explain, as the General listened intently. "The chances are great that any communication between us the rest of the fleet will be intercepted. We do not want to fall into premature discovery. We would be putting the rebirth at risk, and we will lose our element of surprise." The General nodded, prompting the younger man to continue. "The convoy will know of what we are doing. The safest thing would be to abandon this carrier as soon as possible, and reach the SchwarzRe?en under the cover of the nightfall. We have almost a week of resources to survive here, am I correct?" "I understand. You are very right." The silver-haired man gave the orders to the officers, before turning on heel to leave the deck. He smiled at the Countess as she entered to speak with Dreizehn.
*******************************************************************
"They still have not made contact, Count Zwei. Do you think they might not have made it safely?" the man asked as he held a lit cigar between his index finger and thumb. He eyed it, but did not inhale the smoke.
"They are here," the other replied.
"Oh?"
"Count Dreizehn would not be foolish enough to try and make contact. It could endanger the entire Neu-Ro. They will come here to the SchwarzRe?en by next nightfall. I am sure of it." Count Vierzehn nodded. Zwei held up a glass and a bottle of brandy. "Would you care for some?" The other declined, but the Count splashed some into his own glass, and held it up to the light. The amber liquid sparkled like a glass of deeply coloured gems, so inviting to the eye, but he did not drink.
"Have the systems been brought back on line yet?" Vierzehn finally asked.
"Yes. Everything has been completely restored. This base is now fully protected, but still geheim3. Lest someone try to infiltrate our ranks..."
"We will be prepared for that?"
"Yes, we will."
*******************************************************************
"Air pressure?"
"System running on auto-adjust."
"High powered beam lighting?"
"Fully charged."
"Global tracking systems?"
"Online."
"Self-defence fight or flight?"
"Ready."
"Engines?"
"Engaged and on stand by, Ma'am."
"So we're all set," Preventer Une mumbled. "Michals, you're in charge of the surface ship. Tell Preventer Water to report to the sub's main deck. Have all crews on stand-by." The officer behind the console nodded.
"Yes, Ma'am." He stood up and left the control deck of the surface ship. Une stood, assessing the sub from her place above the boarding terminal, then allowing, unconsciously, her mind to wander away. She gazed out onto the vast expanse of the Mediterranean. The memory of her dream returned; those dark grey waters, the voice, the blood rain... and Treize. She shook her head. No, Une thought. A mere dream will NOT pull you back to where you began. You said you moved on, and it's about time you let go... completely.
"Preventer Une?" An officer's voice broke her from her thoughts, and she turned to face him. "Preventer Water has boarded the sub. We await your presence."
"Thank you." She nodded and dismissed the officer. Yes, Anna, it is time you let go. There are much more important things to worry about right now. She turned and followed the young man down to the sub's boarding port.
She was the last to climb aboard the Explorer before the hatch was sealed and the sub descended into the icy sea water. She broke away momentarily from the bridge crew to keep log on the expedition.
"It's probably just space debris," Une whispered to herself, but she knew, this was more of a hope than a certainty. "Still, we will have to take all necessary precautions." She sighed despairingly as the word revolution crossed paths with her thoughts.
"Preventer Une!" a voice from the main deck called over the intercom, reeling her mind back to reality. "Please report to bridge immediately. We've found something!!" In an instant, she was there with the crew, peering through the fogged glass, their expressions changing from initial shock, to worry, to fear... The thing they had dreaded most was sitting before them on the rocky sea bed.
"It can't be," Une whispered after a few long moments of uneasy silence.
"It is," an officer replied from his computer. "And it's completely functional. Most of the systems are still online as we speak. It is still capable of sustaining human life...and, if I may, I'd like to express that I think it still is."
They navigated the currents and pulled the sub closer to the sunken object. It was undoubtedly an MS carrier. "Damn," Une whispered as the sub circled the submerged transport ship.
"Ma'am, I've located a docking port. We can link the sub and check it out," Preventer Koush told her as she kept her eyes locked on the sunken carrier. It was massive, and definitely large enough to hold an entire MS unit. And if there were anymore like it... "Ma'am? Should we dock?"
"No."
"Huh?"
"It's too risky with our current defences. We must resurface and notify the shoreline crews of its existence. We'll need back up."
"But Ma'am-"
"We can't take chances, Officer." She turned around to face the rest of the crew. "It is one thing I have learned from the past. We cannot risk resources, nor can we risk lives, by taking foolish chances. We will resurface immediately."
The others nodded in agreement, but before Sally could take her post at the console, an explosion of bubbles burst from the carrier, and the water and air expelled from the outburst sent a wave of underwater currents rushing, knocking the Explorer off balance. For a few fateful seconds, the dive team fought for control of the sub, and when it was finally regained, Une caught a glimpse of the last fleeing MS, propelling itself away from the whole commotion. Well, it wasn't actually the last...
"Shit! Look out!" she yelled, practically throwing herself into the piloting seat, and grabbing hold of the controls. She banked the sub steeply to the left, just barely dodging the close-range missile. "They're firing on us!" She pulled the Explorer around a full 180, bringing them to face their attacker. The mobile suit fired again, and Anna's old military instincts came flooding back to her. Koush took control of the sub as Une jumped to the SD console, firing a counter-defence. Her aim was on the mark, and the missile's impact disabled the MS's only feasible underwater weapon. It turned to retreat.
"Was that a Pisces?!" an officer exclaimed, but Une shook her head.
"No, it wasn't. Did you see it's design? It was something new. something we've never faced before."
"Another Gundam?" She shook her head again.
"Not likely. It was too easy to fend off. We wouldn't be alive, right here, right now, if it were another-Gundam. Believe me, I know."
"But why would it attack..."
"A diversion. So the others could get away." Une knew her strategies well. She had pulled a stunt like that once or twice during the days of Oz...
As everyone's nerves calmed, a vidalink signal came through. "FX Explorer, this is Preventer Michals. Radar has picked up several unidentified targets fleeing rapidly towards the northeast. Is everything alright? Can you hear us?" Une was on the lower deck, checking for damages.
"This is the FX Explorer, Preventer Une speaking. Michals, I want your full attention," Une said hurriedly and calmly. "Have all coastguards on high alert, and send out a relay message. All Preventers' offices in the European hemisphere remain on stand by for a code-red. Get in contact with Preventers Fire and Wind, and have them online via the vidalink as soon as possible. You will be informed of the details when we resurface. Be ready."
"Yes, Ma'am."
Seeing there was no relevant damage to the hull, Une headed back to the main deck. Revolution. The word crossed through her mind once again, and she stopped in the stairwell as she remembered something. With a sigh, she pulled the silver chain from around her neck, and held the rose-shaped pendant in her hand, fingering over the delicate carving. On the back, under a thin coat of glass, was a tiny, faded picture. "It's happening all over again," she whispered. "Only this time, everything depends on my own decisions. Treize isn't here. I can't rely on anyone to take charge and stop this before it gets worse. It's up to me."
*******************************************************************
"No way," Preventer Wind muttered as Une finished explaining the details of the first investigation. "That couldn't be possible."
"Quite frankly, it is," Sally said grimly, turning to Preventer Fire, who shared the vidalink with Zechs. "The mobile suits were a completely new model, but we do not know of their origin. The carrier was completely unmarked. However, I think it has fallen far beyond reasonable doubt that they came from the L2."
Noin nodded. "We will meet you at Earth's headquarters as soon as we can."
"Thank you," Une acknowledged as she cut the communication link.
*******************************************************************
1 Wie bitte?: "excuse me" 2 Es tut mir Leid: "I am sorry" 3 Geheim: "secret"
AUTHOR'S NOTES:
OK, so far we've seen the beginnings of a secret plot against the
Earth, and Une's had a really freaky dream. Something, which we know
is an MS carrier, crashed into the Mediterranean, and a new model of
mobile suit, not a Gundam, attacked a Preventers' investigation sub.
Is this GOING anywhere?? That depends on your point of view. I promise
it will get better.
Oh, and for those who weren't sure: Zechs is once again Preventer
Wind, and Noin is Preventer Fire. They returned (married) from the
Mars Terraforming project and rejoined the organization.