AN Well, and here is the next chapoter yet again. And Wufei is still bravely trying to form the
plot. It'll be a while before he does though. Probable two or three chapters. I'm not sure.
Disclaimer: don't own.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Under Pressure
Chapter 3
~~~~~~~~
Quatre looked up as Dorothy entered. "How is she?" He didn't have to say who he meant.
"Terrible, but at least she's sleeping now. I cannot imagine how that woman must feel."
Dorothy shook her head. "I truly feel for her. It was dropped on her so suddenly, but there was
no other way to break the news to her. I just hope some cure can be found." She walked up next
to him and looked out over the insides of the colony. "How are you holding up?"
Quatre looked down, puzzled. "What do you mean?"
"One of your best friends is dying, Quatre. You don't always have to act so strong."
He smiled down at her head. "Thanks, I know that." He sighed and looked out of the window again.
Dorothy always managed to surprise him. She could be very hard sometimes, but she showed more
and more signs of kindness. She had changed very much since their dual on Libra. He had actually
grown to like her, as a friend. During the past she had proven her value within the Winner
company, and proven how valuable a person she had become. And he loved her for that.
He frowned at that thought. Did he love her? The way Duo loved Hilde, or the way Trowa
loved Catherine? The latter, he was sure of it. Dorothy was a very good friend, but no more.
Heero. He hoped something could be salvaged from the hard disk, that could save his
friends life, and that of Relena. From what he had heard from Dorothy, Relena had completely
collapsed after seeing Heero. He couldn't blame her. He knew the woman loved him. Exactly how
deep that love went, he didn't know, but he knew the two of them were joined with a bond deeper
than he could see. Heero's state had surprised him as well. He wasn't doing as well as Quatre
had expected. It was cause for concern that the strong Gundam pilot had become as ill as that.
Nothing had seemed to be able to hurt Heero. True many times he had been wounded, and
once he had remained unconscious in Trowa's care for a month, but every time the pilot of Wing
Zero had come through. Maybe it was because he no longer was a Gundam pilot. For five years he
had had no reason to be the Perfect Soldier. For five years he had been... normal. As normal as
Heero could be, but still...
Quatre sighed. Just because everyone had always thought Heero as invincible, didn't mean
the man really was. He was now fighting a battle inside his own body, and he was unfamiliar with
that territory.
The comm system on his desk beeped. Quatre walked to it and pressed the flickering button.
"Yes?"
"Mr. Winner, we found something that I think you should see."
"I'm on my way."
Dorothy turned around. "What is it?"
"I don't know. The people working on that disk found something. Maybe it'll help."
"I'll come with you."
He didn't argue with her, they just set out. The laboratories where people were working for
the Winner company were in the opposite direction from the hospital wing. They crossed hallways and
lowered two floors until they reached the entrance. There they were halted for an ID check, until
the guard took off his sunglasses and recognized 'Mr. Winner'. He opened the doors with an apologizing
smile. Inside they were met be the assistant head-research and led to the lab where the disk was
plugged in to computers, quickly copying and processing the data from it.
The head-research, a professor Auron, greeted them. "Thank you, for coming so soon. We found
some data regarding to what could be ailing your friend. As soon as the physician is here I will show
you."
They didn't have to wait long. The man came running down the hall. "Mr. Winner, professor Auron,
Miss Dorothy," he nodded to each. "What have you discovered, professor?"
"Come this way," the woman answered. "We have recovered the log intact. We think we know what
is wrong. It would also explain the air vent as the entrance to the hidden lab. Professor McConnoll
was working on a natural way to recycle the air inside the colonies. He tried to create a bacterium
that would extract oxygen from carbon dioxide. An old project. He somewhat succeeded, but it didn't
turn out the way he wanted. The bacteria could not survive in open air. He found, that, when exposed
to nitrogen, the bacteria died. We think that the bacteria managed to survive inside the laboratory
because the air there did not contain any nitrogen. When Mr. Yuy and the three scientists breathed
in the air in the lab, their lungs were infected with the bacteria. After they left, they breathed
in normal air again, causing a reaction in their lungs. The bacteria was trying to escape the nitrogen
and by doing so, was damaging the lungs."
The doctor ran a hand through his hair. "That could be possible. Can I see the records myself?"
"Of course. We reserved a few computers for that." She stopped near a door to a small room where
two computers stood waiting for them.
Dorothy spoke up. "If what you are saying is true, professor, then shouldn't the deterioration
of their lungs be put to a halt if we let them breath nitrogen free air? That should buy as sufficient
time to create an antibacterial that does work."
The doctor answered that question. "It very likely would. And frankly right now I am willing to
try everything. Those four patient are slipping away and there is nothing I can do to stop it."
"I'll see if I can order some nitrogen free air then." And Dorothy left the room.
Grateful for her deductive mind Quatre sat down behind one of computers and began reading what a
lonely scientist had written about one hundred and eighty years ago.
~~~~~~
Relena woke with a start. For a moment she was completely disorientated. When she realized where
she was everything crashed down on her again and she fought to hold back her tears. It was a losing battle
and she new that. Before long she buried her face in her pillow and cried until she had no more tears left.
She set upright and wiped her face. Her back occasionally shivered with dry sobs, but her mind was
a bit clearer now. Before her minds eye danced the picture of Heero confined to his hospital bed, tubes and
wires coming from everywhere. How could this have happened to her strong soldier? How could something as
small as a bacterium render him so weak? The two images of Heero, one in the hospital wing, one in his
Gundam's cockpit telling her to stay alive, didn't seem to be of the same person. But still, as she had
stood in front of the glass looking into his room, she had felt the same strength, the same will to live,
she knew so well. He was not one to give up, to lose to such in idiotic thing as a disease. She prayed
with all her heart, all her hope, that he would get better. She prayed a cure could be found to save
his life.
A pang of guilt stabbed her heart. The three scientists, who had fallen with the same illness deserved
the same as Heero, and yet she had not given them any thought until now. Well, she couldn't help it if her heart
yearned for Heero, longed to see him walk, to able to look into his eyes.
She wanted that so badly. She wanted to look into his eyes. She wanted his promise that everything would
be alright, that he would protect her. But now he couldn't. Now he was the one that needed saving, and she stood
helpless.
She tossed the blankets aside and got up. Her bedroom window gave a startling view of a darkened colony.
She stood there watching it for a while. Then she turned. This room could give her no peace. She grabbed one of
the blankets to drape around her shoulders. Carefully she opened the door. There was no-one in the hallway.
Barefoot she slipped around the corner and entered the medical wing unnoticed. The nurse sat behind her desk
in the hall reeding a magazine. The light the monitors emitted played across her face.
Relena glided passed the woman and entered Heero's room. The soft beeping of the heart monitor and
the strange bellow-like sound of the artificial lungs next to his bed were the only sounds heard. She tiptoed
to the side of his bed and hesitantly reached out her hand. Her fingertips brushed the part of his cheek not
covered by the bandage holding the breathing tube in place. He felt hot, feverish. Sweat stood on his brow.
He lay so silent. If not for his temperature or the beeps of his pulse, she wouldn't have known he
still lived. She climbed into the comfortable chair standing by his bed and set there, watching him, as another
artificial day in the D6 colony started.
~~~~~~
Trowa stood silently in the middle of the empty circus tent. The show had ended this afternoon. Right
after that he had received a call from Quatre. Trowa shook his head in disbelief. There was just no way Heero
could be sick. That guy could cross the Antarctic in his underwear without catching a cold. Poor Relena. She
must be a nervous wreck by now.
He didn't notice Catherine entering.
"Hey, you, what's on your mind?"
"Oh, hi, Cathy."
She walked up to him. "Is it the message you got from Quatre this afternoon?"
Amazing how fast she could sense his mood and what had caused it. "Yes."
She looked at him sideways. "Bad news, huh?"
"Heero is sick."
"Heero is sick?" That was definitely not something she had expected. Well, who would have? "How did
that happen?"
Trowa shrugged. "Apparently he found some forgotten lab from the early days of life in outer space in
the mining asteroid he was working on. Something toxic in the air infested his lungs. The doctors don't know
what to do."
"But that's terrible! Where is he now?"
"In the medical wing of a branch of the Winner company on colony D6."
"Oh." She remained quiet for a while. Then she asked, "Wasn't Relena supposed to visit Quatre this week?"
He nodded.
"She must be in a fit. Poor woman. Like the stress of her work isn't enough. Do you think we should go
there?"
"There is nothing we can do. Besides, we would only crowd the place. We had better not get in the way."
'There is nothing we can do.' With pain in his heart he realized how true that was. Mobile suites, mobile
dolls, enemy soldiers with their gun exposed, that was something he could handle, something he could fight. But
now he was helpless. And he couldn't stand to helplessly watch a friend die. He would rather stay away.
"Come on, sis. Time for bed." He walked her to her trailer in silence.
~~~~~~
Lu opened the bedroom door and halted. Zechs already knew. He was packing.
"Lu, good, you're here. I just got a call from Quatre. We're leaving for colony D6. Heero's sick and
Relena is a wreck. I want to be there, to try and support here." He looked up for a moment. "You're not surprised?"
She shook her head. "No, I just got a call from Relena. She wants you to take over her duties."
He frowned. "She does, does she? Why didn't you pass her on to me?"
"Because your line was busy," she smiled. "Didn't you just say you talked to Quatre? They must have called
at the same time."
He stood there in doubt. "What should I do?"
"Do as Relena asked you to. She wants you to look after the Covenant for a bit. All you have to do, is keep
a record of which countries are joining and which are not. The rest can be handled when she gets back."
He ran a hand through his hair. "Unbelievable, isn't it? Indestructible Heero falls ill. What next? Quatre
takes on animal torture as a hobby?"
"I don't think so, honey. Besides, Heero is way too stubborn to die."
He sighed. "I hope your right, otherwise I wouldn't know what to do about Relena."
"I wouldn't jump to conclusions just that. There's still hope. Good thing you packed, though, we're leaving
for the Cinq kingdom."
"We?"
"Of course. I can't leave all that work to you."
She had meant that as a jest, but Zechs's smile showed his gratitude. She helped him finish their packing
and ordered a plane. 'Don't worry, Relena. Heero isn't going to die. I'm sure of it.'
~~~~~~
Relena sighed. Was it justified to stay here? Could she leave the Covenant to Milliardo, while
it was still in such a fragile state? What would the world think of their vice foreign minister when
they saw her moaning over a guy? Well, whatever they thought, she didn't care. Right now she didn't
feel like working at all. She wouldn't be able to commit herself to it.
She shifted in her chair. After twenty hours it became quite uncomfortable, no matter how
luxurious it was. Heero's condition hadn't changed, which was a good thing, in a way. At least
things hadn't become worse. The change of air had stopped the bacteria from attacking his lungs,
but he showed no signs of heeling. Maybe it was too soon.
The doctors had already discovered the bacteria were resistant to any kind of penicillin. They
were now working on something new. She hoped they would hurry. Just because Heero was stable now, didn't
mean he was out of danger.
It was two in the morning now. She hadn't had any sleep since last night either and she was beginning
to feel the effects. Her eyelids were heavy, but she refused to give in. It was silly though. What good would
it do Heero is she fainted from the lack of sleep. Still, she didn't move. She couldn't. Her eyes were locked
on Heero's face, trying to find some life sign. Futile, of course. There didn't seem to be any life left in him.
She rested her head to the back of the chair and repaired herself for another night in Heero's room.
~~~~~~
Wufei irritably re-buttoned his coat. The wind blew it in every direction, hindering his
movements. He was angry he seemed to have given in to the cold, while he hadn't. Not that there
was anyone to take notice, of course.
The Tibetan heights were abandoned this far to the west. He had followed the growth-free
line on the ground and estimated the area to be about half a square mile. Now he had to find a
way to cross the security line, preferably without getting zapped again, but he was willing to
take a little beating to find out what lay behind the line.
There had to be a way to disable it. There was no point in creating a security system
around nothing. It meant there had to bo some kind of control panel nearby. And that had to be
standby 24/7. All he had to do was to locate that by trying to pick up some electric field
deviating from the one emitted by whatever created those bolts fazing intruders.
He dumped his backpack on the ground and began searching for the right tools.
plot. It'll be a while before he does though. Probable two or three chapters. I'm not sure.
Disclaimer: don't own.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Under Pressure
Chapter 3
~~~~~~~~
Quatre looked up as Dorothy entered. "How is she?" He didn't have to say who he meant.
"Terrible, but at least she's sleeping now. I cannot imagine how that woman must feel."
Dorothy shook her head. "I truly feel for her. It was dropped on her so suddenly, but there was
no other way to break the news to her. I just hope some cure can be found." She walked up next
to him and looked out over the insides of the colony. "How are you holding up?"
Quatre looked down, puzzled. "What do you mean?"
"One of your best friends is dying, Quatre. You don't always have to act so strong."
He smiled down at her head. "Thanks, I know that." He sighed and looked out of the window again.
Dorothy always managed to surprise him. She could be very hard sometimes, but she showed more
and more signs of kindness. She had changed very much since their dual on Libra. He had actually
grown to like her, as a friend. During the past she had proven her value within the Winner
company, and proven how valuable a person she had become. And he loved her for that.
He frowned at that thought. Did he love her? The way Duo loved Hilde, or the way Trowa
loved Catherine? The latter, he was sure of it. Dorothy was a very good friend, but no more.
Heero. He hoped something could be salvaged from the hard disk, that could save his
friends life, and that of Relena. From what he had heard from Dorothy, Relena had completely
collapsed after seeing Heero. He couldn't blame her. He knew the woman loved him. Exactly how
deep that love went, he didn't know, but he knew the two of them were joined with a bond deeper
than he could see. Heero's state had surprised him as well. He wasn't doing as well as Quatre
had expected. It was cause for concern that the strong Gundam pilot had become as ill as that.
Nothing had seemed to be able to hurt Heero. True many times he had been wounded, and
once he had remained unconscious in Trowa's care for a month, but every time the pilot of Wing
Zero had come through. Maybe it was because he no longer was a Gundam pilot. For five years he
had had no reason to be the Perfect Soldier. For five years he had been... normal. As normal as
Heero could be, but still...
Quatre sighed. Just because everyone had always thought Heero as invincible, didn't mean
the man really was. He was now fighting a battle inside his own body, and he was unfamiliar with
that territory.
The comm system on his desk beeped. Quatre walked to it and pressed the flickering button.
"Yes?"
"Mr. Winner, we found something that I think you should see."
"I'm on my way."
Dorothy turned around. "What is it?"
"I don't know. The people working on that disk found something. Maybe it'll help."
"I'll come with you."
He didn't argue with her, they just set out. The laboratories where people were working for
the Winner company were in the opposite direction from the hospital wing. They crossed hallways and
lowered two floors until they reached the entrance. There they were halted for an ID check, until
the guard took off his sunglasses and recognized 'Mr. Winner'. He opened the doors with an apologizing
smile. Inside they were met be the assistant head-research and led to the lab where the disk was
plugged in to computers, quickly copying and processing the data from it.
The head-research, a professor Auron, greeted them. "Thank you, for coming so soon. We found
some data regarding to what could be ailing your friend. As soon as the physician is here I will show
you."
They didn't have to wait long. The man came running down the hall. "Mr. Winner, professor Auron,
Miss Dorothy," he nodded to each. "What have you discovered, professor?"
"Come this way," the woman answered. "We have recovered the log intact. We think we know what
is wrong. It would also explain the air vent as the entrance to the hidden lab. Professor McConnoll
was working on a natural way to recycle the air inside the colonies. He tried to create a bacterium
that would extract oxygen from carbon dioxide. An old project. He somewhat succeeded, but it didn't
turn out the way he wanted. The bacteria could not survive in open air. He found, that, when exposed
to nitrogen, the bacteria died. We think that the bacteria managed to survive inside the laboratory
because the air there did not contain any nitrogen. When Mr. Yuy and the three scientists breathed
in the air in the lab, their lungs were infected with the bacteria. After they left, they breathed
in normal air again, causing a reaction in their lungs. The bacteria was trying to escape the nitrogen
and by doing so, was damaging the lungs."
The doctor ran a hand through his hair. "That could be possible. Can I see the records myself?"
"Of course. We reserved a few computers for that." She stopped near a door to a small room where
two computers stood waiting for them.
Dorothy spoke up. "If what you are saying is true, professor, then shouldn't the deterioration
of their lungs be put to a halt if we let them breath nitrogen free air? That should buy as sufficient
time to create an antibacterial that does work."
The doctor answered that question. "It very likely would. And frankly right now I am willing to
try everything. Those four patient are slipping away and there is nothing I can do to stop it."
"I'll see if I can order some nitrogen free air then." And Dorothy left the room.
Grateful for her deductive mind Quatre sat down behind one of computers and began reading what a
lonely scientist had written about one hundred and eighty years ago.
~~~~~~
Relena woke with a start. For a moment she was completely disorientated. When she realized where
she was everything crashed down on her again and she fought to hold back her tears. It was a losing battle
and she new that. Before long she buried her face in her pillow and cried until she had no more tears left.
She set upright and wiped her face. Her back occasionally shivered with dry sobs, but her mind was
a bit clearer now. Before her minds eye danced the picture of Heero confined to his hospital bed, tubes and
wires coming from everywhere. How could this have happened to her strong soldier? How could something as
small as a bacterium render him so weak? The two images of Heero, one in the hospital wing, one in his
Gundam's cockpit telling her to stay alive, didn't seem to be of the same person. But still, as she had
stood in front of the glass looking into his room, she had felt the same strength, the same will to live,
she knew so well. He was not one to give up, to lose to such in idiotic thing as a disease. She prayed
with all her heart, all her hope, that he would get better. She prayed a cure could be found to save
his life.
A pang of guilt stabbed her heart. The three scientists, who had fallen with the same illness deserved
the same as Heero, and yet she had not given them any thought until now. Well, she couldn't help it if her heart
yearned for Heero, longed to see him walk, to able to look into his eyes.
She wanted that so badly. She wanted to look into his eyes. She wanted his promise that everything would
be alright, that he would protect her. But now he couldn't. Now he was the one that needed saving, and she stood
helpless.
She tossed the blankets aside and got up. Her bedroom window gave a startling view of a darkened colony.
She stood there watching it for a while. Then she turned. This room could give her no peace. She grabbed one of
the blankets to drape around her shoulders. Carefully she opened the door. There was no-one in the hallway.
Barefoot she slipped around the corner and entered the medical wing unnoticed. The nurse sat behind her desk
in the hall reeding a magazine. The light the monitors emitted played across her face.
Relena glided passed the woman and entered Heero's room. The soft beeping of the heart monitor and
the strange bellow-like sound of the artificial lungs next to his bed were the only sounds heard. She tiptoed
to the side of his bed and hesitantly reached out her hand. Her fingertips brushed the part of his cheek not
covered by the bandage holding the breathing tube in place. He felt hot, feverish. Sweat stood on his brow.
He lay so silent. If not for his temperature or the beeps of his pulse, she wouldn't have known he
still lived. She climbed into the comfortable chair standing by his bed and set there, watching him, as another
artificial day in the D6 colony started.
~~~~~~
Trowa stood silently in the middle of the empty circus tent. The show had ended this afternoon. Right
after that he had received a call from Quatre. Trowa shook his head in disbelief. There was just no way Heero
could be sick. That guy could cross the Antarctic in his underwear without catching a cold. Poor Relena. She
must be a nervous wreck by now.
He didn't notice Catherine entering.
"Hey, you, what's on your mind?"
"Oh, hi, Cathy."
She walked up to him. "Is it the message you got from Quatre this afternoon?"
Amazing how fast she could sense his mood and what had caused it. "Yes."
She looked at him sideways. "Bad news, huh?"
"Heero is sick."
"Heero is sick?" That was definitely not something she had expected. Well, who would have? "How did
that happen?"
Trowa shrugged. "Apparently he found some forgotten lab from the early days of life in outer space in
the mining asteroid he was working on. Something toxic in the air infested his lungs. The doctors don't know
what to do."
"But that's terrible! Where is he now?"
"In the medical wing of a branch of the Winner company on colony D6."
"Oh." She remained quiet for a while. Then she asked, "Wasn't Relena supposed to visit Quatre this week?"
He nodded.
"She must be in a fit. Poor woman. Like the stress of her work isn't enough. Do you think we should go
there?"
"There is nothing we can do. Besides, we would only crowd the place. We had better not get in the way."
'There is nothing we can do.' With pain in his heart he realized how true that was. Mobile suites, mobile
dolls, enemy soldiers with their gun exposed, that was something he could handle, something he could fight. But
now he was helpless. And he couldn't stand to helplessly watch a friend die. He would rather stay away.
"Come on, sis. Time for bed." He walked her to her trailer in silence.
~~~~~~
Lu opened the bedroom door and halted. Zechs already knew. He was packing.
"Lu, good, you're here. I just got a call from Quatre. We're leaving for colony D6. Heero's sick and
Relena is a wreck. I want to be there, to try and support here." He looked up for a moment. "You're not surprised?"
She shook her head. "No, I just got a call from Relena. She wants you to take over her duties."
He frowned. "She does, does she? Why didn't you pass her on to me?"
"Because your line was busy," she smiled. "Didn't you just say you talked to Quatre? They must have called
at the same time."
He stood there in doubt. "What should I do?"
"Do as Relena asked you to. She wants you to look after the Covenant for a bit. All you have to do, is keep
a record of which countries are joining and which are not. The rest can be handled when she gets back."
He ran a hand through his hair. "Unbelievable, isn't it? Indestructible Heero falls ill. What next? Quatre
takes on animal torture as a hobby?"
"I don't think so, honey. Besides, Heero is way too stubborn to die."
He sighed. "I hope your right, otherwise I wouldn't know what to do about Relena."
"I wouldn't jump to conclusions just that. There's still hope. Good thing you packed, though, we're leaving
for the Cinq kingdom."
"We?"
"Of course. I can't leave all that work to you."
She had meant that as a jest, but Zechs's smile showed his gratitude. She helped him finish their packing
and ordered a plane. 'Don't worry, Relena. Heero isn't going to die. I'm sure of it.'
~~~~~~
Relena sighed. Was it justified to stay here? Could she leave the Covenant to Milliardo, while
it was still in such a fragile state? What would the world think of their vice foreign minister when
they saw her moaning over a guy? Well, whatever they thought, she didn't care. Right now she didn't
feel like working at all. She wouldn't be able to commit herself to it.
She shifted in her chair. After twenty hours it became quite uncomfortable, no matter how
luxurious it was. Heero's condition hadn't changed, which was a good thing, in a way. At least
things hadn't become worse. The change of air had stopped the bacteria from attacking his lungs,
but he showed no signs of heeling. Maybe it was too soon.
The doctors had already discovered the bacteria were resistant to any kind of penicillin. They
were now working on something new. She hoped they would hurry. Just because Heero was stable now, didn't
mean he was out of danger.
It was two in the morning now. She hadn't had any sleep since last night either and she was beginning
to feel the effects. Her eyelids were heavy, but she refused to give in. It was silly though. What good would
it do Heero is she fainted from the lack of sleep. Still, she didn't move. She couldn't. Her eyes were locked
on Heero's face, trying to find some life sign. Futile, of course. There didn't seem to be any life left in him.
She rested her head to the back of the chair and repaired herself for another night in Heero's room.
~~~~~~
Wufei irritably re-buttoned his coat. The wind blew it in every direction, hindering his
movements. He was angry he seemed to have given in to the cold, while he hadn't. Not that there
was anyone to take notice, of course.
The Tibetan heights were abandoned this far to the west. He had followed the growth-free
line on the ground and estimated the area to be about half a square mile. Now he had to find a
way to cross the security line, preferably without getting zapped again, but he was willing to
take a little beating to find out what lay behind the line.
There had to be a way to disable it. There was no point in creating a security system
around nothing. It meant there had to bo some kind of control panel nearby. And that had to be
standby 24/7. All he had to do was to locate that by trying to pick up some electric field
deviating from the one emitted by whatever created those bolts fazing intruders.
He dumped his backpack on the ground and began searching for the right tools.