Start Transmission. Gundanium Peace 0.0.10. Loading...
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After Colony 205.
L3 Colony
"...and so, after nearly five years, the search for war hero Heero Yuy has been disbanded with no further evidence. This is Shannon Christie with CAMMT News. Have a good Christmas, everyone." Quatre turned off the vidcam, not surprised by the news, but still a bit distraught. He had an idea where Heero had gone, in fact, he had no doubt. But he wondered if the man was still alive. He couldn't feel him at all, but amidst the empathic waves of death still coming from Earth in tsunamis, Quatre wasn't even sure he could tell. It didn't matter now anyway. With the strict quarantine still in effect around Earth, no one could get in or out anyway. It was best for him to continue his efforts here in space. Perhaps one day they would reopen Earth, and Quatre had a feeling that if anyone was left, there would be an immense need for new refugee colonies. The Winners had an obligation to prepare for that situation.
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Duo Maxwell wandered into the new M9 colony, looking for a job, an adventure, maybe a certain war hero. He lost his job shortly after Heero's disappearance five years ago, after all, there was no more to create scrap metal, and so, no more Sweepers to collect it. His heavy drinking hadn't helped in his securing a new job either. The need was relatively unnecessary, though. Duo had made saved enough credits to last him a while longer in his ramblings from colony to colony and his occasional binge. They had given up the search for Heero Yuy a few weeks back, and so Duo had given up whatever hope was left of finding him as well. It's not as if the pilots had stayed close, each pursuing his own life and dreams, but when Heero disappeared, they all lost at least a fifth of themselves with him. Like a broken dream in a broken reality, the team of five gundam pilots had shifted, cracked, and broken as well. It was the end of an era.
"Hey! Hey!" Duo hurried on before whoever was calling him caught up. He had hidden his person from society long enough that he should have been forgotten by the few that knew his face, but every once in a while, someone recognized him and made a scene. He just wanted to be left alone. Duo shifted through the shadows, blending in and effectively vanishing with a grace that had not left him, even after a decade of peace. Well, a decade of space peace.
But even as Duo became part of the shadows, he realized the man was following him. Leading the stalker to a relatively secluded alley, Duo turned and took a swing, hitting nothing but air. The man had stopped over ten feet away from Duo and had raised his hands in complete surrender.
"I just need to speak with you. Nothing more. Would you like to go somewhere more neutral?"
"I have nothing I need to say or to hear from anyone... get lost, dude." And Duo turned and walked towards the busy street again.
"Not even about your missing friend?" The man called out to Duo's back. Duo wheeled around, ready to attack, when he saw the man's face. His anger dissipated as quickly as it had appeared and he quietly nodded at the stalker to follow him.
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"Interest me quickly. A beer doesn't last long for me anymore." Duo stared dryly at the man in front of him, who had refused to give his name for "personal security reasons." As if there was anything to be secure against. These times were full of fat-bellied people, voting for fat-bellied representatives to feed into an already soft, fat-bellied government.
"Ex-gundam pilot Heero Yuy is still on Earth, but he died almost three and a half years ago."
"Yeah, and? I thought you had important information for me?"
"It was a matter of importance to me. The notice of his death was the last communiqué I've had from Earth. My contact there wished to send deepest sympathies for the loss of you friend, but life on Earth those days was difficult." The man looked up, mildly interested in the reaction in the still long-haired ex-pilot. "That was all I had to say. My colleagues and I tried reaching the other pilots, but they either couldn't be found, like yourself, or wouldn't see us."
"And just how did you communicate with Earth? Secret channels? Encoded satellite transmissions? Besides being high treason to communicate with Earth, since the dust cloud settled in the atmosphere, I heard you can't even get an x-ray through, much less a coherent satellite transmission. You know, I don't want to hear whatever it is you're going to make up. I'm outta here. You can pick up the tab for my drink, by the way."
"Last I heard, they had found a way to preserve the body. They want someone to pick it up for a proper space burial."
"Dude, you have got to be fucking kidding me. I've tried everything I could to get to Earth. It just isn't possible. If you could get past the quarantine shield troops you'd just be flying into to giant sanding machine. Go in shuttle, come out ground-up, radioactive dust."
"There's a way to get there. It's not guaranteed, but it's a chance. I'll be here for the next few hours for when you change your mind."
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Duo might have come to regret the decision later, but sleep seemed more important then ever as he slept off perhaps the last hangover of his life. The shuttle had engaged its experimental cloaking device over an hour ago, but Duo just couldn't get interested in whether they made it past quarantine or not. He had fallen asleep knowing he was going to die of massive radiation, being ground into space dust, being blown up by a stray anti-aircraft missile, having his insides turned into a runny goo of blood and retrovirus, being... just before he fell asleep he realized just how little the ideas really bother him.
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End Transmission.
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After Colony 205.
L3 Colony
"...and so, after nearly five years, the search for war hero Heero Yuy has been disbanded with no further evidence. This is Shannon Christie with CAMMT News. Have a good Christmas, everyone." Quatre turned off the vidcam, not surprised by the news, but still a bit distraught. He had an idea where Heero had gone, in fact, he had no doubt. But he wondered if the man was still alive. He couldn't feel him at all, but amidst the empathic waves of death still coming from Earth in tsunamis, Quatre wasn't even sure he could tell. It didn't matter now anyway. With the strict quarantine still in effect around Earth, no one could get in or out anyway. It was best for him to continue his efforts here in space. Perhaps one day they would reopen Earth, and Quatre had a feeling that if anyone was left, there would be an immense need for new refugee colonies. The Winners had an obligation to prepare for that situation.
------
Duo Maxwell wandered into the new M9 colony, looking for a job, an adventure, maybe a certain war hero. He lost his job shortly after Heero's disappearance five years ago, after all, there was no more to create scrap metal, and so, no more Sweepers to collect it. His heavy drinking hadn't helped in his securing a new job either. The need was relatively unnecessary, though. Duo had made saved enough credits to last him a while longer in his ramblings from colony to colony and his occasional binge. They had given up the search for Heero Yuy a few weeks back, and so Duo had given up whatever hope was left of finding him as well. It's not as if the pilots had stayed close, each pursuing his own life and dreams, but when Heero disappeared, they all lost at least a fifth of themselves with him. Like a broken dream in a broken reality, the team of five gundam pilots had shifted, cracked, and broken as well. It was the end of an era.
"Hey! Hey!" Duo hurried on before whoever was calling him caught up. He had hidden his person from society long enough that he should have been forgotten by the few that knew his face, but every once in a while, someone recognized him and made a scene. He just wanted to be left alone. Duo shifted through the shadows, blending in and effectively vanishing with a grace that had not left him, even after a decade of peace. Well, a decade of space peace.
But even as Duo became part of the shadows, he realized the man was following him. Leading the stalker to a relatively secluded alley, Duo turned and took a swing, hitting nothing but air. The man had stopped over ten feet away from Duo and had raised his hands in complete surrender.
"I just need to speak with you. Nothing more. Would you like to go somewhere more neutral?"
"I have nothing I need to say or to hear from anyone... get lost, dude." And Duo turned and walked towards the busy street again.
"Not even about your missing friend?" The man called out to Duo's back. Duo wheeled around, ready to attack, when he saw the man's face. His anger dissipated as quickly as it had appeared and he quietly nodded at the stalker to follow him.
------
"Interest me quickly. A beer doesn't last long for me anymore." Duo stared dryly at the man in front of him, who had refused to give his name for "personal security reasons." As if there was anything to be secure against. These times were full of fat-bellied people, voting for fat-bellied representatives to feed into an already soft, fat-bellied government.
"Ex-gundam pilot Heero Yuy is still on Earth, but he died almost three and a half years ago."
"Yeah, and? I thought you had important information for me?"
"It was a matter of importance to me. The notice of his death was the last communiqué I've had from Earth. My contact there wished to send deepest sympathies for the loss of you friend, but life on Earth those days was difficult." The man looked up, mildly interested in the reaction in the still long-haired ex-pilot. "That was all I had to say. My colleagues and I tried reaching the other pilots, but they either couldn't be found, like yourself, or wouldn't see us."
"And just how did you communicate with Earth? Secret channels? Encoded satellite transmissions? Besides being high treason to communicate with Earth, since the dust cloud settled in the atmosphere, I heard you can't even get an x-ray through, much less a coherent satellite transmission. You know, I don't want to hear whatever it is you're going to make up. I'm outta here. You can pick up the tab for my drink, by the way."
"Last I heard, they had found a way to preserve the body. They want someone to pick it up for a proper space burial."
"Dude, you have got to be fucking kidding me. I've tried everything I could to get to Earth. It just isn't possible. If you could get past the quarantine shield troops you'd just be flying into to giant sanding machine. Go in shuttle, come out ground-up, radioactive dust."
"There's a way to get there. It's not guaranteed, but it's a chance. I'll be here for the next few hours for when you change your mind."
------
Duo might have come to regret the decision later, but sleep seemed more important then ever as he slept off perhaps the last hangover of his life. The shuttle had engaged its experimental cloaking device over an hour ago, but Duo just couldn't get interested in whether they made it past quarantine or not. He had fallen asleep knowing he was going to die of massive radiation, being ground into space dust, being blown up by a stray anti-aircraft missile, having his insides turned into a runny goo of blood and retrovirus, being... just before he fell asleep he realized just how little the ideas really bother him.
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End Transmission.