A/N: This is Alternate Universe. That means major changes in GW world.
Chapter
One – A soldier will not do!
In
the outskirts of a deserted part of the colony, there was a building
of the remnants of L4's former glory. The peeling of paint from its
outer structure, as well as the broken down condition of the
surrounding fence, gave the impression of being uninhabited for a
long time. You'd be surprised to see the old caretaker of the
building, the only living thing in that eerie place.
And it
was deserted. The building was originally a hospital, founded by an
ambitious young man who had graduated from the School of Medicine at
Sanc Kingdom. He, being the son of an aristocratic family, was able
to buy the building, as well as the vast spaces of land around it.
The building was soon done to be a masterpiece, and the work began.
In the first few months, things went well... but what happened was
that the young doctor went to Earth to get some advanced equipment
for the hospital. However, his absence went on and on; the staff was
dismissed, and the building was deserted. Many things were said at
that time about the matter, but then the UEN announced its presence,
and soon the people forgot about it in the inferno of events that
raged through the colonies from L1 to L5... The building just became
another ruin of L4's former glory.
No one knows when exactly,
but about two and a half years after its desertion, life sprang once
more in that building. It is said that someone bought the building
from the doctor's father, but no one really cared about the matter in
that stressful period of time. A sign was put up on the building that
said "Ministry of Research and Construction". It was an
unfamiliar name; nobody really knew what research or construction
that ministry did. Anyway, the only apparent changes were the hiring
of another caretaker who worked with the other one, and the prompt
daily arrival of the ministry's staff.
The strange thing was
that that ministry did not have any dealings with the public, and its
staff was a limited number of young, but extremely punctual, men.
Sharp at eight, they would all be there to leave at two at
noon.
However, no one was interested in the affairs of the
ministry to find out that it had quite a number of reinforced safes,
complete with combination locks. Or that the young staff was prone to
stay till late in the night over their work, in determined energy
never found in other ministries... But the most important thing was
that one of those men had to spend the night in the rooms of the
ex-hospital!
Naturally, none was aware of all of this in a
time boiling with struggles that would decide the future of the
endangered colonies.
None was aware, and that was exactly the
motive behind choosing that location... For that building was one of
different locations chosen to plant the seeds of the new born CA. And
those punctual young men, were nothing but the planters of that seed,
that would grow into an organization playing a profound effect in the
future of the entire colonies...
oo00oo
A couple
of months after the change of ownership of the said building, two of
its staff were sitting in one of its offices, engaged in a
conversation that began that morning until it was almost eight in the
evening. Rashid Kurama and Auda were tired; as deeper they went, they
discovered more of the impending catastrophe that the colonies were
about to fall in. As crippled as the colonies were in the field of
gathering information, Zion had a wellspring of data from its
communities spread al over the colonies. The UNES was way advanced in
that field, in sharp contrast to the CA. Yet they had to race against
time to reach that stage. The colonies had to have eyes inside Zion
for it stand against the terrific thorn in their midst.
In
short, Rashid and Auda were trying to find a way to plant a spy in
the very heart of Zion.
That discussion had began months
ago... Those men spared nothing; they read everything about previous
experiences, from pre-colony era to the Eve Wars. Knowledge was
vital, and they were to spare nothing to get it. It was the only hope
for the colonies.
Rashid and Auda thought of recruiting a
Zion... but the events of World War Two showed that the fifth column
planted by Germany had been discovered in one way or another, and all
its webs had collapsed.
Zion had colonists living in it... but
the two men soon rejected that idea. The colonists living in Zion
were under strict security, and they were forbidden to go to many
places where information can be found.
As deeper as the
conversation went, Rashid and Auda found nearly all paths blocked.
For if they, for example, tried a person of neutral origin – other
than Zion and the colonies – that person would be only a visitor,
not a resident, and his loyalty would not be for the colonies, rather
to the person who pays more.
It was here that they thought of
a soldier.
The idea came in a moment of desperation, and
feeling of hopelessness, when Rashid suddenly said,
"Then it
is who should go!"
Auda looked at him in surprise; he knew
that Rashid was one of those soldiers who baffled the UEN troops for
years. Endless stories of his skill and courage in face of danger and
death... At first, Auda liked the idea, for Rashid's loyalty was
definitely unquestionable... But they began to study the matter from
all perspectives... the planting of a soldier in Zion.
Undoubtedly
there was a chance!
For the Zion community in L4 was large and
spread in all parts of the society... From millionaires to taxi
drivers to students and shopkeepers, Rashid and Auda had killed that
subject with investigations over a year ago, and now they knew it
almost inside out. The first step was to find a way to plant the
soldier in the Zion community of L4, as an introduction to his
planting in Zion itself.
"Vayete's Tavern," said Rashid,
mentioning the name of the famous coffee shop that the Zion community
took as their meeting place in L4. From that place, the planting was
to begin...
The discussion was soon renewed with flowing
vigor; it was easy to spin a background for the new 'Zion' till
he gained the community's trust, then he would have a job... But
though Auda was participating in the discourse, he seemed to be
thinking in something else. Rashid was tired; irritated by his
comrade's daydreaming he yelled,
"What are you thinking
of?"
Immediately Auda replied, "remember that day when
that UEN soldier insulted you?"
"Is this time to go down
memory lane?"
"Do you remember that day, Rashid?"
pressed Auda.
"Yes I do. So what?"
"What
happened?"
Rashid was not one to talk about himself. His
life as a soldier taught him that oneself was the last thing to think
of when he had given his life for the cause of the colonies. Because
of that, he was annoyed by Auda's question, for it made him –
unwillingly – remember that day...
He was assigned a very
important mission in one of the UEN bases on L4. He made a plan, and
everything went well. The only thing left was to receive some
explosives in a bar for the UEN soldiers. The mission went as
planned, and Rashid went to take the explosives from the bar, when it
happened that a drunken soldier bumped into him. Though Rashid tried
to ignore him, the soldier continued to annoy the hell out of Rashid,
until he called him a "dirty colonist". At that point Rashid
snapped, and the next minutes found the soldier beaten to
unconsciousness. Rashid fled the bar before anyone could arrive; he
didn't receive the explosives, and the mission was deferred.
"What
do you want to say?" snapped Rashid. The heavily built soldier knew
that Auda had a purpose from his question, for he had taken his
jacket to leave.
"A soldier will not do," said Auda.
Rashid opened his mouth to retaliate, but Auda beat him to it,
"Not
just you, Rashid, any soldier will not do!"
The discussion
ended at that, for a soldier who couldn't take the insult of a
drunken man, cannot live in an entire community of vicious enemies,
where he could hear things about the colonies that would make him
lose his control and... his life! Heavy silence reigned over the
room. Rashid looked at his friend,
"Why did you wear your
jacket?" he asked.
"I want to go out!" Rashid tried to
protest, but Auda yelled as he went for the door,
"I don't
want to work! I'm fed up, my brain is tired... I want a break, even
if it is for only two hours!"
oo00oo
Being the
only son of a landowner, Rashid was able to have a car of his own.
The general condition of the colonies was not great, so his car was
anything but new and stylish; however, it served its
purpose.
"Rashid!" The giant leaned out of the window to
look at his partner.
"Before I ride, no talking about work!"
said Auda. Rashid nodded; it was useless to burden their minds even
more during this short break.
"Come on, let's go see the
outside world," said Auda as the car went through the streets of L4
main colony, without a destination or aim.
Thirty minutes
later found them in a bustling street, known for its cinemas and
fashionable shops. On passing one of the cinemas, Auda stared for a
moment at the poster of the feature program, showing scenes of war
and fighting soldiers.
"Rashid, park here!" said Auda. His
friend complied, parking the car near the cinema. "Let's go to
that movie."
Rashid scowled; he wanted to go to a restaurant
to shut his stomach's grumbling up. But Auda continued, trying to
persuade him,
"We will not forget the work, and as I am
thinking of it right here, you are doing the same while driving the
car... I want to forget; we have to forget! This cinema is showing a
movie about war; let's go see it!"
His words were
perfectly logical; for as they were previous soldiers in the army,
and had taken part in the EW, a movie about war would definitely
capture their attention.
They paid a few pounds for tickets in
the back seats and entered the theatre. And...
it was a
disaster!
What makes stories of life so unique... is the chain
of coincidences that we call fate. For Auda'a trivial whim of
watching the movie is the direct reason behind all the events to take
place...
The movie related a true story from the pre-colony
history. Auda and Rashid had read about it during their research on
previous experiences. The movie brought the story to life,
captivating the complete attention of the audience till the end. It
was a famous account from the files of the British
investigations...
During their invasion of France, the Nazis
made one of its countryside fortresses a center for their
investigations in entire Europe. It even had the names of all the
spies making up the fifth column in all European countries in a
secret safe somewhere in the palace. It was required to get a copy of
those files without the Germans' knowledge. That is, they had to
secretly infiltrate the palace, which was put under terrific security
for twenty four hours each day, not only by wary shifts of guards,
but also by ferocious dogs that shredded anyone dared pass the
electric fence. Then after passing these, they had to creep into the
actual fort itself without attracting anyone's attention, and go to
the room that had the safe. After opening the safe and making a copy
of the files, they had to close it without leaving any signs, then go
back to Britain with their treasure.
The mission was assigned
to one of the British officers; immediately he began to study the
blueprints of the palace and the security around it... the
spotlights, the dogs, the guards and hundreds of details that made it
seem impossible.
But it did happen, and all preparations and
practices were made – but there was one obstacle...
the
safe.
The information about it said that the safe was a very
advanced one, with tens of combinations for it to open... and here
the officer found himself facing a dead end. For he could go into the
palace without anyone's knowing, but to open the safe, he had to
destroy it, destroying the entire the mission. Destroying it would
attract the guards, and even if the team managed to escape, the files
would be of no use, as the Germans would have alerted their agents.
And thus the officer had no other alternative except contact Scotland
Yard.
On the officer's request for an expert in opening
safes, the other asked to know about the mission to be able to select
the right person. After some hesitation the officer told him, and
here the other brightened.
"My friend, what you need is
not an expert from Scotland Yard... what you need is a thief!"
And
that was true, for an expert from Scotland Yard may be able to open
the safe, but his sense of security would be fake, because he had
never stolen before. On the other hand, a thief would be perfectly
suited to the surroundings, and his sense of security would be more
accurate.
"And do you have this thief?"
"Yes,
in prison."
"Can you persuade him to do
this?"
"That's your job, not mine."
The
officer was able to persuade the said thief to do the mission; in
return, he would be forgiven for his past and be able to live as any
citizen.
And so he began the practices on the infiltration
till he was ready and became a part of the team that went into the
fortress and succeeded, causing the collapse of the fifth column in
Europe. And that was all because of a thief's sense of
security!
...
It was almost three in the morning, yet
that car was still standing in front of the cinema. Two people were
having a quiet conversation since they came out. The officer guarding
that street was at a loss on what to do... They could have been
plotting criminals for all he knew. Finally, he decided to
interfere,
"Good evening, gentlemen."
Rashid
looked at him, eyebrows quirked, "Good evening,
officer."
"Excuse my interference, but is there
something wrong?"
"What do you mean?"
"It's
three in the morning, and you've been here for a long time."
Rashid
stared at his watch in disbelief, "Really?!"
It was
past three in the morning, when a funny little car sped through the
empty streets of L4. But Rashid and Auda had agreed on one
thing...
They had to find a fiend!
--end of chapter
one—
Notes:
Well, chapter one was long, and the others will probably be the same. Please forgive any OOC-ness, but this is Alternate Universe. Please spare some time to write a review.
To all those who read/reviewed/are planning to do so thank you for sparing time. See you later!
Free Skylark. 25 June 2004.