Pacifist Chronicles

Book I: The Mistake that began it all.

It was the year AC 170; the colonies were living peacefully under the reign
of Heero Yuy. But that quiet was not destined to stay for long. In that
very year, the story began...

Part I: The man they called Viper.

Chapter 1 – Plans revealed at L4:

[AC 170, L4 colony cluster]

L4 colony cluster was one of the wealthiest colonies in outer space, due to the fact that most of the resources were under the control of the Winner family. The people were happy with the way things went, for Mazen R. Winner cared about his people more than anything else. The hum of machines was nearly always heard at the factories of the colony, making life easier for the colonists. No one ever dreamed that something was brewing under the veil of harmony...

One such factory belonging to the Winner family was managed and directed by a Professor Hussam, a close friend and assistant of Mazen Winner. Professor Hussam, or Professor H as he was sometimes called, had an accomplice, Lucifer, who helped him manage the affairs of the establishment. No one ever boasted of knowing Lucifer's real name, and asking him was out of the question. Those who knew him as close as he allowed called him Viper. The reason? Days would answer for that soon enough.

The gong went off, announcing the end of a long day of hard work at the factory.

"All right, men," said Hussam, "we're done for today. Samer, I need you to check on that pump first thing in the morning."

"Majid," the manager continued, "how is your son now? You can take a paid leave if you want."

"No, sir. He's doing quite well with the medicine. Thank you."

"I'm glad to hear that. This will be all for today. Good work, and have a nice evening."

With salutes of genuine content they began to leave. The crew of the factory was like one big family with the professor as its head that cared for its members. That, however, was not the case with Lucifer. The viper was a distant man, not really harming anybody but foreboding in his air. But he was a genius in his field and as long as the workers left him alone, things would go well... for the time being, at least.

The professor passed through dark corridors till he reached Lucifer's workshop, the only room still occupied. Lucifer had always refused to go out with the other men; Hussam was used to checking back on him after everyone was gone.

"Come on, Lucifer," he said as he entered the room. "It's time to leave."

The man coolly acknowledged his entrance with a nod and began to shut down the system.

"Have you finished the new working plan?" asked Hussam. "We need to increase our production speed."

"Yes, so that we can import the surplus to L2 colony cluster for free," said Lucifer indifferently. "Why does Mr. Winner trouble himself with them?"

"Because they are in need of help, and we have the means of helping them. Being rich doesn't mean that you forget the poor. Mr. Winner is a good man, Lucifer, that's why."

"Maybe," replied the other, "but I think he should employ his resources in a wiser way."

"What do you mean?"

"Haven't you noticed that L4 is completely harmless? Not a single gun, let alone a mobile doll. Instead of caring for others, he should care about his people and provide the means to protect them."

"And what makes you think that they need to be protected? Is safety only by gun and blood?" asked Hussam.

"Ha! The old pacifist crap as usual! It is the strong who survive, Professor Hussam, and the weak will perish. This peace under the reign of Heero Yuy will not remain for long, I tell you. The wise will prepare to rule the world from now. I'll see you tomorrow, Professor." Lucifer went out of the room, leaving behind Hussam disturbed and thoughtful.

His instinct had been right after all: something was definitely going on, and he knew he wouldn't like it.

'O Allah,' he thought as he left the factory, 'please make it turn out right...'

"Here we go," remarked the professor as he launched a program that would allow him access to Lucifer's personal files, without his knowing, of course.

The professor knew that his assistant had files of his own on his system. Files that had nothing to do with the new production scheme, or anything related to the factory. Lucifer's outburst that occurred a few days ago was not the first; every word he said troubled Hussam a lot: the man was too clever to say such words without a reason.

The head of the Winner family had long been informed, and although Winner trusted Hussam, he couldn't do anything without evidence. That was the reason he was currently invading his assistant reports, something he had never dreamed of doing before.

When Hussam finished scanning the files, he was sure of one thing: things were not going to be all right at all.

"He has laid down plans for a new generation of weapons," Hussam told Winner soon after his discovery. "Weapons that could seriously harm the pilots without affecting his aircraft. If plans like these fall into the hands of the Alliance, it's going to be a disaster!"

Winner gripped the arms of his chair tightly. Hussam would not be that anxious if the situation was trivial. To imagine that Lucifer had been planning for weapons in his factory, and using the Winner resources!

"Call Lucifer immediately," he ordered.

The Viper came in soon after, showing less emotion than an iceberg. Professor Hussam lost no time in telling him that they knew all about his plans. The bored expression from his face disappeared, only to be replaced by a slightly amused one.

"So," he said, smirking, "you found out about my plans, did you? Well, you're not as stupid as I thought. Anyway, now or later makes no harm. You were going to find out about them either way."

"What do you mean, Lucifer?" asked Professor Hussam in a strained voice.

"As I told you before, Professor," replied he, "the wise will prepare to rule the world from now, and I will help you with that. You have the resources, I have the plans: together we can bring the universe under our control!"

"Lucifer," said Winner, fighting to control his voice, "I am sorry to say that we cannot be hospitable to you any longer. Your plans are unfortunately against our codes: we will never be the ones to wage war."

"Idiots! Your pacifism will lead to your downfall! Do not think that you'll be forever safe with Heero Yuy, his era is not going to last forever. The days will prove my words true, and then you shall pay."

And with that, Lucifer left the colony without anyone seeing him, or knowing his destination. Everything connected to Lucifer had vanished into thin air; people soon forgot about him and life went on as usual.

That was how it ended, or so people thought. For the Viper's disappearance from L4 did not necessarily mean that he was never to come back. In fact, the story had just begun to unfold...

To be continued...

Author's notes: So, how was it? Maybe it sounds a little dull without the main characters but I have to tell you the background. Please review if you have time. Thank you!