ESUN Outpost 21
I do not own Gundam Wing. That is the property of Bandai.
I do not own The Thing or "Who Goes There" which are the property of John Carpenter and John W. Campbell Jr.
This will also contain scenes not in the movie but in the original script, which is the property of Bill Lancaster.
Chapter One: It Begins
The continent of Antarctica was a forbidding place to say the least. The strong winds and subzero weather could kill a man in minutes if not protected properly. However for those who sought to get away from the world it was the place to be.
It had been seven years since the Eve Wars, the memories of which were still prevalent in peoples' minds. The ESUN now controlled the affairs of Earth and its orbital colonies. The pilots and their friends however could not escape their pasts so easily. Many haunted and others hunted by their past deeds found little solace in the world around them and set about living their lives in the one place few would dare to travel.
The ESUN's 21 Research outpost affectionately called "Fort Blizzard" by those that worked there became their home. The outpost was not big but it sufficed for its 14 inhabitants.
The day was clam and peaceful. Wufei and Duo were outside fixing the vehicles while the rest with the exception of Heero were in the rec room. Relena and Sally were enjoying a game of pool, Catherine was listening to some music, Treize and his second in command Lady Une were watching television, Quatre had just brought in plate of cookies he spent the morning working on, and the rest were just sitting on the couch.
Then two loud noises startled everyone.
"The hell was that?" Catherine said taking off her headphones.
"Sounded like gunshots," Trowa said as he rose from the couch.
Treize rushed to the window and noticed a large object hovering in the air. "A VTOL aircraft?"
Outside Wufei and Duo were staring at the hovering aircraft.
"What the hell are they shooting at?" Duo shouted angrily.
"How should I know," Wufei said as it circled around again.
Within minutes the others rushed outside with the exception of Treize who watched from the window.
"What the hell are they doing?" Relena asked the two as she put her gloves on.
Sally watched as the aircraft circled again. "An old Alliance VTOL transport. There is something written on the side."
"What does it say?" Noin asked as it flew past.
"It says ESUN Antarctic Research Program Station 14."
"Station 14? That's over 10 miles away!" Zechs said stunned. 'What business do they have with us?"
"I don't know, but if they're shooting like that then they are after something," Trowa said shivering.
Just then a small explosion hit right in front of the camp and a dog came running. It ran up to Noin and stood behind her. "Huh?" she said confused.
The aircraft landed and two men exited one brandishing an assault rifle. The other dropped something in the snow and frantically searched for it. Another explosion killed the man and destroyed the transport. The other ran towards the crew with his rifle out in front.
"Keep away from it!" he shouted. "It will destroy you all!"
The dog continued to hide behind Noin.
"I'm warning you keep away from it!"
"This guy's nuts," Duo said nervously.
"Please! You have to listen to me! That thing is not what you think it is. It will kill you all! Believe me damn you!"
"Look I don't know what you're here for but this is a serious violation of the rules of operation," Une shouted at the armed man. "You cannot not just barge in here armed and make demands. Now if you would like to sit down and talk…"
"You fool! You do not grasp the severity of the situation! I have to kill that thing!"
Sally walked over to the sub commander. "He's not mentally stable at the moment."
"Goddammit!" the man shouted and opened fire. One of the bullets hit Noin in the leg and she fell to the ground. The others scattered and the man continued his pursuit of the dog. He chased to the main building and opened fire hitting it in the hip. Treize smashed the window and drew his gun. As the man approached the dog he fired and hit the assailant right between the eyes.
Une rushed to Noin's side. 'Lucrezia. Are you okay?"
"Yeah," she replied in pain. Une and Sally helped her to her feet and started back towards the compound.
The others raced towards the burning wreckage. "Somebody get a fire extinguisher!' Wufei shouted as he stood over the remains of the transport. Trowa and Quatre raced back inside. As they entered Treize walked out and threw his parka on. He then joined the others at the wreckage.
The dog stood outside the compound until Dorothy approached. "Poor boy. Lets get you inside and patch you up." She led the dog inside and Quatre and Trowa dashed out with fire extinguishers in their hands.
"Get your asses over here!" Duo shouted at the two men.
Within in minutes the flames were extinguished and the crew perused the burnt remains. Duo approached cautiously and his foot hit something. "Huh?" He pulled a can of kerosene out from the snow. "What did they need this for?"
Trowa and the other searched the ground and found ten more cans. "Now this is interesting," Trowa said as he pulled one out of the snow. "Why did they load this craft up with kerosene and why so much."
"Who knows," Treize said as he looked at wreckage. "This is going to be a long winter."
Inside the camp the crew set about their work. Hilde was busy trying to contact any nearby outpost in the radio room. "This is ESUN 21. I repeat this ESUN 21 do you read me over." She shook her head and noticed Relena in the room with her.
"Reach anybody."
"No. And we're probably not going to."
"We have to report this Schbeiker."
"I haven't been able to reach anybody on this goddamn continent in two weeks and you're demanding I reach someone. Go bang Heero or something you pain in the ass bitch. Oh sorry that's right. You dumped him. Well his shack isn't too far so maybe you can catch up on some quality time. But for right now stay the hell off my back!"
"Like Duo's any better. All he does is get stoned and screw around all day. You two make a perfect pair. A couple of lazy asses." The former vice foreign minister spouted.
"At least Duo isn't drinking himself to death like a certain ex-perfect soldier we know.'
"Why you…"
"Both of you shut up!" Une shouted as she entered the room. "Hilde have you reached anybody yet?"
"No ma'am."
"Stick with it. Relena, Sally wants both you and your brother in the lab. Zechs is on his way now."
"Yes ma'am." Une and Relena left the room.
"Thank God." Hilde sighed with relief.
In the lab Wufei and Treize stared at the dead gunman while Sally stitched up Noin's leg. Zechs walked in from the lab with a document in his hand.
"Ouch!"
"Relax it just grazed you so you only need two. Of course I could give you shot if you think that will help."
"No thanks. Sally why do you think they were chasing the dog?"
"I don't know. Possibly the isolation got to them."
"Zechs how long were they stationed there?" Treize asked.
"About six weeks," Zechs replied.
"That's not a long time but not enough to drive someone nuts."
Quatre poked his head in the room. "I wouldn't be so sure about that. I mean Duo's been high since he came here," the young cook laughed.
"Piss off!" Duo said as he glared at Quatre and then lit a joint. "Oh yeah. That's some good shit."
"Hell if you have a couple of annoying bitches with you its possible to go mad in six hours," Wufei said stoically.
"WUFEI CHANG!" Sally and Noin shouted together.
"I'm just speaking the truth that's all."
"Yeah right," Noin said as she stormed past him.
"However I think we should investigate." Sally said as he approached Treize.
"In this weather?! Are you insane?" the station commander shouted.
"Noin?" Sally said turning towards their meteorologist.
"It'll be calming down soon."
"By how much?" Treize asked.
"A little bit," she replied
"A little bit? That doesn't say much."
'Its only an hour here and back commander."
"Hey I'll take you Sally," Duo said as he put out his joint.
"Not a chance Maxwell."
Duo sat back down and glared at Treize. Trowa entered the room and noticed everybody standing. "Whats up?"
"Trowa Barton. You seem to have a knack for showing up at the right time. Go fetch Yuy for me will you."
"Heero!" Sally shouted surprised. "Why him?"
"He's our best VTOL pilot," Treize replied.
"Forget it commander. Heero's hibernating or something in that shack of his and I dare not arouse him from his slumber. He'd shoot me or something. Besides knowing him he's probably smashed so Duo will have to go."
"Trowa you the man!" Duo shouted as he got up. "Damn my hands are friggin huge."
"Relax Relena disarmed him armed a month ago so he has no weapons other than empty liquor bottles. What are you afraid of Barton? That you'll find him in their smashed and shouting at those video games of his or finding him jerking off while staring at a porno magazine? Please tell me?" Treize sneered at Trowa knowing he could not think of a suitable answer.
"Fine I'll get him. But if I die I'm coming back to haunt you." Trowa then stormed out.
"Stupid threat," Treize laughed.
In the small shack located in the eastern end of the outpost Heero Yuy, former Gundam pilot and perfect soldier, sat in front of a T.V. screen shouting as he played a video game. "Come on. Yeah that's it! Just twenty more and I can get the rocket launcher." He took some ice from his small fridge and deposited a few cubes in glass. He then began to fill the glass with brandy. "Come on baby!"
The temperature in the shack was relatively warm since Heero preferred warmer weather. Treize used to scream at him for turning the temperature up too high. Treize also complained about the fact Heero rarely every cleaned the place up. His sleeping bag, which he used when he did not want to sleep in the main building, was sprawled all over the floor. Posters of tropical places and centerfolds lined the walls. Relena used to constantly complain about his walls as she found some of the centerfolds offensive. Heero said he would replace them if Relena gave him some erotic pictures of herself to use instead. Of course he was drunk at the time and she promptly slapped him.
Heero's drinking stemmed from the war. He had a hard time letting go of his past. He found alcohol could numb his pain so he took up the bottle. However he learned his quick solution had some drawbacks. First was that Relena left him after he had alcohol poisoning. That was when she began to study biology and proved herself to be one of the best in the field. She got a PhD in five years since she attended school year round. Heero worked for the Preventors for a while but soon found it could not quell the nightmares of his past. It was then he found out Treize was still alive and managed an outpost in Antarctica. He had been there ever since.
"Alright. Sorry babe but you lose to today." Heero resumed his game with a glass in hand. "Poor bastard you thought you had me but I proved you wrong huh?" Then a loud electronic explosion filled the area. "WHAT? You son of a bitch. You cheating prick!" He threw his drink at the console. "Take that you cheating piece of shit!"
The door opened and Trowa entered. He noticed Heero fuming and swearing at the video game console. "I don't think it understands you." The pilot turned towards his visitor bottle in hand.
"The hell do you want?"
"Damn its hot in here," Trowa said as he took off his coat. He then saw the pilot approach the game console again.
"I'll kill you!" he shouted as he pummeled the machine.
"Are you drunk?"
"Not yet. Why are you here Barton?"
"Get your stuff on"
"You're kidding me aren't you?"
"Nope. Commander Treize's orders."
"I don't care if it comes from the fucking prime minister of ESUN I'm not going out there."
"Fine Maxwell will go instead."
"What? You'd send that pothead out."
"Only if you refuse."
"Damn it. Fine. Tell Treize I said this was a bad idea."
Back in the camp Dr. Sally Po was getting her medical bag ready. "Relena we'll start the autopsy when I get back.'
"Yes."
Dorothy then rushed in. "Hey Sally. The bullet's in really deep so can I borrow some of your surgical tools.'
"Just as long as you wash them off with alcohol and put them in the autoclave when you're done."
"Thanks."
"Well I got to go." Sally then walked out.
"Dorothy?"
"Yes Relena?"
"Why do you insist on taking care of the dogs? I just don't see you as the type."
"When my dad was alive he used to have hunting dogs and I used to play with them. When he died nobody watched over them except for me. Unfortunately when they died we didn't get any more. So I treat these dogs as if they were my own."
"Well it's a good thing the dogs have such a devoted caretaker."
Heero approached the VTOL aircraft grumbling. He did not want to go out in this weather but he did not want to have Duo killing the station's only doctor with his reckless flying. He pulled his hood over his head and place a wool cap on top of it. He turned and found Treize and Sally walking towards him. "Out of the cave at last," Treize laughed.
"Treize Kushrenada! You have some nerve sending Trowa to get me out here to fly in this shit."
"Quit you're whining Yuy. This is going to let up a bit so you'll be fine."
Heero glared at Treize angrily and wished Relena had not taken his gun from a while back. The thought of shooting the commander felt good to him. "Heero I'm sorry this was my idea," Sally said as she stepped between him and Treize. "I'm just curious to see how the men at Station 14 are faring."
"No problem doc. It's just going to be risky."
"Now would you please go before the weather gets worse," Treize said as he started to rub his hands.
Inside the compound Catherine watched as the VTOL craft began to take off. "So he's actually going through with it. I'm surprised he and Treize didn't get into a fight."
Duo approached her and stopped beside her. "Maybe Heero wised up or something."
The trip was not difficult but Heero still hated the conditions. Sally had a bad habit of trying to help people even if it put others in danger. However Heero was not about to refuse her a ride to Station 14 just because he was in a bad mood. He looked at the white landscape and suddenly noticed a pillar of smoke. "Sally, look at that."
Sally looked down at the smoke and saw the remains of an outpost. "Looks like we found it Heero."
"What the hell happened there? It looks like they were bombed."
"Lets go in for a closer look."
"Okay doc but I don't think you'll find too many survivors if there are any in the first place." Heero then took the craft down and was shocked by the extent of the damage. He had seen ruins like it before during the war but this made no sense. There were no wars after ESUN came into existence except for the Marimeia incident the following year but no bombings. Besides it was against the treaty to have military forces in Antarctica.
The craft landed and Sally departed followed by Heero with a carbine in his one hand and a flashlight in the other. "Lets get moving. It'll be dark soon and we won't be able to return until morning. On top of that this does not look like a place to spend the night." Sally nodded and they entered.
"Hello anybody there?" Sally called out.
"Hey anybody home?" Heero said as he looked around the darkened building.
They began to walk down the charred corridors finding no signs of life. Then they came to door that looked as if something was trying to tear it open. "What could have done this?" Sally asked perplexed.
"Beats the hell out of me," Heero said as he pushed the door open.
The room they entered appeared to be lab lined with testing equipment and containers. Heero aimed his light on the test tube racks and smashed computers. Sally moved further into the room until she felt something could against her. She turned her light on it and froze. "Heero. Get over here." He walked towards Sally as she motioned him forward. "Look at this."
Heero gazed upon a frozen corpse with a deep gash in its neck and large cut in its wrist. Heero felt his stomach drop. "What the fuck?"
"Lets look at the last few rooms," Sally said as she opened the door. The room was exposed to the outside and papers were strewn about the floor. Sally bent over and picked up some of the papers. "This might prove useful."
Heero noticed something on the table. "DVR. Its in good shape too."
"We'll take it back with us," Sally said as she collected the papers. She found a picture of the men stationed at the outpost on the table. It seemed strange as they all appeared happy but from what she could put together something terrible happened here.
"I'm going to check the last room," Heero said as he opened the door. Sally continued to collect the papers until she heard Heero shouting. "Hey Sally come here." She grabbed the DVR and walked into the last room. There she found Heero standing against a large slab of ice with the center dug or melted out. She was awestruck.
Wasting no time they returned outside. "What was in that ice?" Sally asked as they returned to the VTOL.
"I don't know," Heero said and then noticed something in the snow. Sally soon followed him. Past a can of kerosene was what appeared to be a body.
"What in the world?"
Back at the station Dorothy had just finished patching up the dog and had retired in the rec room. "Damn that bullet was in deep. It took me a while to get it out."
Duo and Catherine were watching TV on the large plasma screen. "Hope Heero and Sally get back soon," said Catherine.
"Ah relax they'll be fine." Duo said taking out a joint and passing it to Catherine.
In the greenhouse area Wufei was checking on his and Duo's investment. "How are my little babies today?" he said monitoring the growth of the marijuana plants. "Ah good. Some Mozart will help you out," he said as he turned on the stereo. "There you go." He then noticed the dog. "The hell are you doing here? Get lost! The last thing I need is you pissing on my plants." The dog left. "Good. Dorothy needs to keep those things locked up."
In the radio room Hilde was dozing off. She had been trying unsuccessfully and against all odds to reach someone but to no avail. It was as if they were completely cut off. "Hey." She turned a weary eye to find Treize standing there in his robe. "Get anybody?"
Hilde yawned. "No. Its as if we're the last people on earth."
"Go get some rest." That was one thing Hilde and Treize both agreed on.
Meanwhile the VTOL returned to the station with something wrapped in plastic.
