War and Resolution

"They will let you live only when you learn to die." - Theodor Herzl

-

The first part of the plan was simple: The guerilla attacks would trim the worst of the raiders' numbers, and therefore make it easier to take them out with as few casualties as possible. Celluci, though, despite his cockiness, was not going to make that easy, and would consolidate the men he had grounded on their last refuge, which was the security section.

Or at least, we hope he's foolish enough to do that, Zechs thought as he and Noin walked into the deserted and darkened area. He summoned up a memory of Celluci, an arrogant military prodigy who thought he was the best in the business. Zechs was certain enough that Celluci would let his anger and confidence override his training.

And if he didn't, well, it was a good day to die, as they said.

Zechs glanced at Noin, who was absently tapping a fingernail against the metal of her rifle. She looked disturbed.

"Something wrong?" he asked.

She looked at him in surprise, then sighed and shook her head. "No, nothing really. I'm just thinking how stupid I was to let Celluci slip right past me. You would think I'd know better than to let a pretty face lower my guard."

"I was just as fooled. There's no point to beating yourself up over it now."

She sighed. "You're right. All I have to think about now is finding that idiot and doing seriously unspeakable things to him." Her lips twitched in a smile at a joke only she knew.

Silence fell between them. Zechs leaned against the wall conjoined to the main corridor leading to and from the security section, one of three. They would see the enemy before the enemy could see them.

Noin dropped into a crouch against the wall on the other side, looking calm but ready. Her expression hadn't lost its introverted look.

The silence grew heavy. Zechs realized that this was the first time they had been completely alone together since their fight. Memories of that event surged to the surface of his thoughts, which had been occupied with strategy for taking back the base. With a battle to worry about, it was easy for both he and his partner to forget about their personal problems.

Now that there was nothing left to do but fight and hope to stay alive, he could sense the awkwardness between them.

Some aggravated part of him was muttering, She said she loved you. She said she loved you. Are you so hardened by war that you don't feel anything about it?

There's nothing to feel, Zechs countered furiously. She was angry. She didn't intend to say anything like that.

Maybe she didn't intend to say it, but it was said, answered the voice. And you know she meant it. You saw the look in her eyes. You fool, you've seen that look before. She meant it.

Zechs's hand clenched on the rifle's grip. And so? She meant it for someone else. Someone who isn't me. Not any longer.

The voice seemed to laugh. Let's hope you're sure about that.

He shut it out. This was certainly no time for him to be having some convoluted argument with himself. He would wait until after the battle to drive himself insane.

He felt eyes on him and looked up to see Noin looking straight at him.

"You're thinking," she began softly, looking him in the eye, "'Why did she say she loves me when she doesn't even know who I am?'"

Too surprised to say anything, Zechs just looked at her. Then he felt something shift within him, and he turned away. "And you're wondering, 'Is he right about that?'" he returned.

Her eyes narrowed, and she straightened from her crouch. "How am I supposed to know if you keep acting as if I'm not worthy to know?"

"Because then you'll completely rethink this infatuation you have with that boy from the military academy." Zechs said this was all the bitterness he'd been feeling since the moment he'd stepped foot on the grounds of Victoria Academy. "And we wouldn't want that."

Silence, again. He risked a glance at her. She was looking at the floor, biting her lip. Then she raised violet eyes to his. "You told me that boy was dead. Didn't it ever occur to you that maybe that girl from the military academy was dead as well?"

Zechs didn't let his expression change. "How can she be when I'm looking at her right now?"

A smile, small and bitter, touched Noin's lips. "And you say I'm the one who doesn't understand you."

These words hit him hard, and he struggled to come up with something, anything, that would combat her startling revelation. Finally, he tried to speak.

"Noin, I . . ."

Suddenly, he stopped and turned his head, brow furrowing as he registered the sound of many footsteps approaching. Noin came to attention, also, and their conversation was completely forgotten as they reverted into their soldiering modes.

If they hadn't been so occupied with talking, they would have heard them coming at least five minutes ago. They were close.

Pressing back against the wall, Zechs looked at his partner pointedly. She lifted the detonator in her right hand.

They looked at each other one more time, and Zechs nodded.

She pressed it the button on the detonator.

Chaos ensued.

-

As soon as the minor bombs set all down the hallway exploded, Noin moved, cocking her weapon without a thought.

The corridor was wide and filled with smoke and yells from the surprised raiders. She barreled through the uproar, tumbled, came up in the kneeling position on the other side surrounded by armed men, and started firing.

Without even having to look, she knew Zechs was right beside her.

Two went down immediately, but the rest of the group, which numbered more than a dozen, recovered quickly, and started an assault of their own.

Noin fell back just as the grenade she knew Zechs was going to throw hit the ground amidst the men and exploded.

That took out two more, lessening the odds enough for the real fighting to begin.

Getting to her feet with blinding speed, Noin bulldozed into the nearest assailant, bludgeoning him with the butt of her rifle. Then she whirled and took out one more with bullets before diving out of the way to avoid an onslaught of bullets from another raider. She wasn't quite fast enough, and a bullet grazed her shoulder, tearing a wound.

Zechs managed to shoot him down before the raider could do any real damage to her person, but she knew they both had only so many bullets left and there were eight raiders to go.

She turned and blew a raider away with the last of her clip, then looped the rifle's strap over her shoulder, jumped up to grab a grating over her head, and kicked another in the face.

When she dropped, she saw that the men that had been knocked cold by the explosions were getting back up, and two more were coming down the corridor to back up their partners, so she yelled, "Zechs!"

"Do it!" he replied, slamming another clip into his rifle and letting loose another round of carnage.

She pulled the second detonator from her pocket and started to press it.

That was when she felt the impact of a rifle butt on the back of her neck, and blackness swallowed her vision whole.

-

Zechs whirled just in time to see Noin go down hard, and the detonator bounce away to be lost in the chaos of moving feet.

Immediately, he knew he only had two options: One, do what his logic was telling him and go after the detonator, leaving Noin to a most likely gruesome fate at their enemies' hands, but ultimately saving himself and the base. Without the detonator, this fight was all but lost. Two, do what his heart was telling him and abandon the detonator to try and protect her, thus probably dooming both them and the base.

He narrowed his eyes. When forced to decide between logic and emotion, it was best to choose neither. So he would pick the third option.

He lifted his rifle high, took careful aim, and fired.

Steam exploded from a punctured pipe and scalded a raider right in the face, before completely clouding up the corridor.

Keeping low and manuvering through the crowd of shouting and confused men, it was easy for him to hunt down and retrieve his fallen partner. She hadn't been hit particularly hard, and was already coming to and nursing the bruise forming on the back of her neck. He draped her arm around his shoulders to keep her steady and felt around for the detonator, which seemed to have gone unnoticed in the fray.

Just as he found it, the other hand holding his rifle was being lifted, and the gun was going off. He looked up in surprise to see a raider dead and Noin aiming the weapon. Her eyes were at half-mast and she looked disoriented, but obviously she was going to be fine.

"The schematics," she rasped. "There was a passageway."

Zechs frowned, then flashed on the previous study they had done of some base maps Elle had drawn up for them.

"Right," he said quickly. "Hold on."
"Like a vise."

His mouth twitched in an inappropriate smile, he clasped her hand tightly, and he pressed the detonator.

The series of explosions down the corridor were fast, but not fast enough to keep up with them as they located the discreet removable paneling on the right wall, slammed through it, and hit the ground just as the corridor collapsed in on itself, echoed by the cries of the defeated raiders.

Silence for a few seconds, as the dust cleared and the vibrations ceased. It was impossible to see through the darkness. Then Zechs heard his partner mutter, "Two head injuries in one day. There go my tap dancing lessons."

He snorted and tried not to laugh. "You took up tap dancing?"
"Briefly. Very briefly."

She shifted and he felt her get to her feet, grabbing his hand to help him up as well. A moment of searching his person helped him find a small but powerful flashlight and illuminate the passageway. It was only wide enough for two people to walk side-by-side, and he could almost touch his head to the low ceiling, but it was good enough for their purposes.

"Where does this go again?" Noin asked, rubbing the back of her neck.

"Launch Bay Three."

"Right. We're going to catch some serious hell from Grant when he gets a look at that corridor."

"He specifically told us not to use the detonator unless it pertained to an emergency," Zechs reminded her. "It seemed like an emergency to me. Besides, it can always be rebuilt."

But you can't, he added silently, and started walking.

His partner kept pace with him as she removed her nine millimeter from her belt and cocked it. "I'm going to miss my rifle," she remarked. "I hope the others kept to the plan, otherwise, we're going to have a big problem at the bay."

"We have a back-up plan."

"One that involves more casualties than should be necessary, and therefore using it should definitely be a last-ditch effort."
"You and your casualties." Zechs sighed. "There are always sacrifices, Noin."

She made no comment to that. Their footsteps echoing off the walls and their steady breathing were the only sounds.

Then she said, "I wish you wouldn't say things like that. When you do," she caught his eyes with her own, "you sound just like Trieze."

He looked back at her unwaveringly. "Trieze was a brilliant man, so I suppose I'll take that as a compliment."

"Trieze is a dead man, so you should take it as a warning."

Zechs didn't say anything to that. There was nothing to say.

-

The second part of the plan would be more difficult and less straightforward than the first. It had already been knocked askew by their need to use the passageway, but they had been prepared for the possibility and told their "soldiers" to go on ahead if their leaders were held up for any reason. Noin wished they could have continued radio contacts, but some forethought by Zechs and a little surveillance by a security worker had confirmed suspicions of there being the probability of their audio communications being monitored. Radio silence had to be maintained in order for things to go as well as possible, and everyone would just have to hope everyone else would do what they had to do when they had to do it.

Celluci was beginning to wise up to the fact that his victims weren't going to behave as victims. They were going to fight back, and a couple of seasoned soldiers would be leading the cavalry.

This is going to be tricky, Noin thought, falling a little behind Zechs as they continued their wind-about path through the dark passageway.

Snagging a cruiser and getting into space without being shot down, then either infiltrating or pounding their way into that damned raidership without driving Celluci to use that buster rifle to blow the base clean off the surface of Mars.

He would probably do it, too. Shawn Celluci didn't strike Noin as the kind of person who took defeat graciously. If he was willing to kill off any civilians that defied him, then he was probably willing to annihilate the entire base if he felt it was necessary.

Bastard.

She realized she was clenching the grip of her gun too tightly, and forced herself to loosen her fingers. Then she saw that their passageway had come to a fork, one going left, one going right.

"I wonder why Elle designed all of this?" She stood looking between one way and the other, puzzled.

"Probably for the very reason we're using it," Zechs told her. "In case of raider attack. This terraforming project was commisioned by the Preventers, so a number of the people here were part of the Alliance or OZ reserves. Military training, even simple basics, teach to be ready for any type of emergency. I'm fairly sure it's left," he added, going down the left passage.

"Right . . ." Noin nodded, following him. "But what use will Mars ultimately serve? I imagine Une has some kind of plan for it, although most likely, it isn't militaristic."

"I suppose most of the people coming to settle here in the first few years after its completion are going to be former soldiers."

"Yeah. That makes sense." With wars as abolished as they were going to get, those who were formerly with the military and all military functions, including schools, training facilities, and weapons manufacturers were left with only two choices: Join the Preventers, or give up the lifestyle altogether. Some became rebels and terrorists. Others fell into obscurity and went into the underground. But the majority just wanted to enjoy the peace in solitude, and turning Mars into a home was a good idea.

"Maybe Mars will even become the base for further space exploration," she mused.

"It's a possibility."

They fell silent, and she did her best to focus on the upcoming battle. But a question was nudging at her relentlessly. Noin decided now, before the most grueling part of the fight, was as good a time to ask as any.

"Would you do that?" she asked.

Zechs glanced at her over his shoulder curiously. "What?"

"Stay here on Mars. You know, permanently."

For some time, he said nothing in response, so long that she almost thought he wouldn't answer. Then, suddenly, "I don't like to stay in one place for too long."

She practically had to bite her tongue to keep from remarking that for most of his life, she knew, he hadn't had a choice in staying in one place for too long. Neither one of them had. Since he had been six and she had been nine, nothing had been constant. Moving from one place to another, from orphanages to military bases to academies to battlefields, colonies to Earth and back again, the only kind of home either one of them had recognized had involved war. And no one could find a peaceful home in war.

But this wasn't the time or place to say any of that. So she just murmured, "Neither do I."

He looked at her again, seemed about to say something, then glanced back in front of them with a sudden tensing of his hand on his rifle. "Here it is," he announced tersely.

She stopped beside him and looked on as he flashed his light over the large black block letters that proclaimed the wall paneling to lead to Launch Bay 3.

As Zechs moved the light to check his watch, Noin told him exactly what he needed to know: "Ten minutes and thirty-three seconds until Xack does his thing."

He dropped his wrist and shot her an exasperated look. "How do you do that?" he wondered, not for the first time.

She smiled. "Remember, I was always better at math than you were."

"Yes." A shadow of a smile crossed his features. "I remember."

With that, he shoved the flashlight into his belt to free his hands, and got to work removing that section of the wall. Noin stepped in to help, and within seconds the heavy slab of metal fell away to reveal the darkened and lifeless bay. Her partner raised to the flashlight yet again to illuminate the contents of the area.

Three hulking shapes that consisted of one shuttle and the Preventer cruiser they had used to first arrive at Mars were two of the resident space vehicles, as they had planned. But the cruiser was too heavy for what they intended, the shuttle weaponless. So they headed for the third vehicle.

"A Version 46.701 Starfighter," Noin said, looking the sleek silver craft over appreciatively. "Equipped with high-level beamlasers, multi-directional maneuvering, futuristic targeting and navigational arrays to put a Gundam to shame." She folded her arms behind her head and grinned at her partner. "Are you as turned on as I am just by looking at it?"

He shot her an amused look. "You always did have an affinity for high-tech machinery."
"Oh, please. Like you don't. Boys and their toys," she reminded him as they went towards the lockers at the far end of the bay to change into their spacesuits. They had no intention of actually being out in space, but it would be beyond stupid to strand themselves up the river without a paddle, as the saying went.

Always be prepared, Noin thought caustically, trying to cheer herself up. But not even her ever-present, morbid sense of humor could ease the foreboding in the pit of her stomach.

The gist of it was this: She didn't like fighting. She never had. It had always been a means to an end for her, more a duty than a pleasure. Sure, it gave her a rush sometimes, but that thrill wasn't the point. If this was what it took to get to where she was going, then so be it. But she didn't have to enjoy it.

Her partner, however . . . he was another story.

She finished zipping up her snug, jet-black suit, picked up her sleek helmet, and glanced at Zechs. He was clad in his equally fitted crimson suit and picking up his gun, deep in thought, probably plotting out the rest of their mission in his head. It amazed her sometimes, how utterly right he looked in the pre-battle tension, ready to go to war.

Could he even do anything else so well?

She didn't know, and it bothered her more than she wanted to admit - even to herself.

The Starfighter ship was smaller and sleeker than a standard cruiser, restricted to a main cockpit set in the front and a second one just behind it. It was a new Preventer model that they had tested on Mars earlier in the year, where it would be neatly distanced from any kind of media interest, and Noin had loved it from the moment of take-off. It had been crafted after the design of standard atmospheric fighter jets, only far more aerodynamic and considerably more dangerous. Being too small for heavy-duty weapons, it wasn't made to cause large amounts of damage, but more as a distraction for the larger ships to get in or to protect a larger ship - basically, a dog fighter. The ship moved through space like a shark through water, agile and deadly, never slowing down, never letting up.

Just - just beautiful.

"If you start salivating, I might have to sedate you," a voice remarked dryly.

Noin snapped out of her admiring daze and looked at her partner sheepishly. "Mechanomania. I'm seeking help."

He raised an eyebrow. "You're not alone."

She grinned as he opened his cockpit and climbed up into his seat, and she followed suit.

The ship was as beautiful inside as it was outside. There was silver and black paneling everywhere, metallic perfection. It reminded her of her days as an instructor at Victoria Base, where she got to preview and test new mobile suit models.

But she wouldn't be piloting. That would be Zechs' role.

The Lightning Count strikes again, she thought, settling into the co-pilot's seat and strapping in.

Her partner strapped himself in as well, and they both closed their hatches. Quickly, he flicked the necessary switches to start the engines and entered the access codes for the system. Lights brightened the darkened console with a soft humming noise, and the entire vehicle seemed to vibrate with new life. The oxygen tanks activated, and the darkened bay came up on viewscreens in both their sections.

She was almost lost in thought as they both silently went through routine checks to make sure everything was online and functioning properly.

Finally, she just had to know. "It's nice, isn't it?" she asked over the comm. line.

She heard him pause a moment, then go back to typing. "What is?"

"This. Being back in the pilot's seat. Going into battle."

For long time, he didn't say anything. When the entire system came up green, he sat back, staring at the screens. Then, he sighed. "What do you want me to say, Noin? Yes, I do enjoy battle?"

"Just tell me the truth." She pulled up his video image on her screen. "That didn't used to be so hard."

"A lot of things 'didn't used to be,'" he replied. "And this isn't the time to get into that again."

If she hadn't been maintaining an even level of adrenaline and anger since the entire mess had began, that would have been the last straw. Now, she just took a deep breath and released it, and forced herself to say what she felt she needed to say.

"Thank you," she said softly.

He looked up and they locked eyes on the viewscreen. In that moment, like they had once been able to accomplish not so very long ago as comrades, as friends, he knew exactly what she meant, just by looking at her. "Don't thank me," he said. "I was being sentimental. It wasn't practical."

Just like in Epyon, Noin thought. Saving a friend's life is "impractical".

"Well, then." She crossed her arms and narrowed her eyes. "Thank goodness for impracticality."

For awhile, they just looked at each other in the distance of the screen, both unwilling to back down, an entire conversation that had yet to be spoken allowed flashing in their eyes.

And then a beeping sound filled both cockpits, startling both out of their staring match. It was Noin's watch. They looked out into the bay as it suddenly came to life, lights flickering on and the airlock breaking open to space. The heavy steel doors moved aside, revealing the pathway to the stars.

Noin smiled. "Right on time, Xack." That kid really was genius with a computer - maybe even as good as Heero Yuy. Not that she would ever say that aloud.

"Ready for launch," Zechs said, and kicked the space vehicle into gear.

As his partner braced herself for what was coming, she made a promise to herself.

When this is over, Zechs, she thought, I'm going to ask, and you're going to answer.