Chapter 35
"Ladies and gentlemen. I am glad to see you all today, and I would like to extend
my gratitude to all of you who have expressed your condolences," Lady Une began,
addressing the large audience.
"We have suffered a vicious attack today. As you may or may not know, one of our
food shipments was contaminated. As a result, over eighty Preventers will be honorably
discharged due to their injuries. Today, we are here to discuss our new agenda of attack.
We cannot sit idly by and take this insult. The Neo-Rommefeller is testing us, and we will
rise to the challenge and strike them down so that they cannot recover.
"First off: Security must be tightened. As you all know, most of this
structure is located underground, with various entrances and several building located in
hidden places on the surface. The entrances and surface structures are monitored 24 hours
a day, 7 days a week, but as we all realized today, our system is not perfect. Therefore,
I turn this time over to Preventer Ron, who will describe the new system."
Meilai stood up. "Here is a map of the entire base," she said, projecting an image on
the screen. "The entrances are all marked with red circles. From now on, we will not
only have someone monitor the entrances from afar: We will have a Preventer there who will
direct the staff at each entrance, and who will report directly back to Preventer Chang
every day. All entrance staff will be called in for a personal briefing by him. There
will be systematic checks by Mr. Duo Maxwell to check for any spying devices of the
Neo-Rommefeller. Helping him will be Mrs. Hilde Maxwell, myself, and Mr. Quatre Raberba
Winner. There are other details as well, and I request that all leaders of the entrance
staff see me afterwards. I now return the time to Lady Une."
"Thank you. Our next order of business is how we plan to act aggressively." At
this, several in the audience cheered. Lady Une herself nodded. "Yes. Ever since
Gundam pilots Miss Aelis Merquise and Mr. Geoffry Merquise were recovered, we have been
able to follow their activities more closely. We know the locations of several of their
main bases, including the one where we believe Colonel Charles Nicolae is. There are
several parts to this plan. First: Today's incident cannot happen again. As a result, I
have appointed Mrs. Reiming Barton to conduct medical research in all biological weapons in
existence, as well as to develop some of her own. Mr. Trowa Barton will head the
intelligence committee in charge of obtaining the necessary information. Next: We need to
figure out how to combat the Neo-Rommefeller's new suits. Here is an image. Note it's
smaller size and it's ability of stealth and speed. Alone, it cannot necessarily do
much, but in a group, they become like a swarm of bees, or a school of pirahnas. Take
your pick."
At this time, as Lady Une described the images, both Reiming and Meilai nearly fell out of
their seats. "Impossible..." Meilai whispered, staring. "The wings...they remind me of
Seraphim!"
Reiming was thinking the same. "The shape, the proportioning of parts...why does it seem
so familiar? And how is it that it can be mass produced so easily? Judging from its looks,
it SHOULD be not practical for mass factory production, and yet..."
Lady Une continued. "These suits are extremely deadly, and I am not sure whether or not
we will be able to quickly design, test, and produce our own weapons. As a result, we are
upgrading the Xero system. Mr. Heero Yuy will head this project, and when he has time,
Mr. Duo Maxwell will assist him. Lastly, we will be regularly monitoring the public.
Mrs. Relena Yuy, along with Miss Mariko Yuy, will be our representatives. Mrs. Dorothy
Winner will also undertake this task. And one more thing: To ensure that we don't lose
track of the Neo-Rommefeller, Preventers Wind and Fire will monitor their activity and
inform us of when new bases and or stations spring up. They will head an elite group of
Preventers whose missions may run the gamut from sabotaging transports to detecting new
bases."
Lady Une breathed a sigh of relief. "And that's about it. I think that's enough work for
all of us, don't you agree?" A light chuckle arose. Smiling, Lady Une said, "Very well.
You are all dismissed."
a few days later...
"Yuri? Aw, come on! This bites! Aren't YOU the one who's supposed to be
dragging ME out of a depression?!"
Since his confrontation with Relena a few days ago, Yuri had not stopped moping. On one
hand, he was glad: The burden he had carried for all those years was finally gone. But
then again...
"I broke her," he muttered, curled up in the fetal position on the bed. "And Aelis
is angry at me too."
As soon as Yuri had been escorted back to his room by Preventer agents (Heero had wanted to
strangle him), Aelis had stormed in. First she raged about how insensitive he was, and
then she cried about how sorry she felt for him, and then she raged some more about how
cold he was, and then she beat herself mentally for pitying him, and finally she had
slapped him, told him she never wanted to see him again, and then flounced out, leaving
behind two young men bowed over by the power of the female spirit.
But Aelis' words had forced him to think, and as much as he hated to admit it, he had a
feeling that she was right. True, he DID have a duty to his deceased relatives, but
then again, his relatives hadn't exactly been perfect people. Who was he to carry on the
tainted legacy?
"This makes my head spin," Yuri muttered, burying his head in his pillow and
ignoring Will, whose mood had definitely perked up since his talk with Reiming. After a
few days, Will had finally gotten the courage to confront Trowa. Yuri wasn't too sure of
exactly what happened, but since that day, Will had been cheerfully addressing Trowa and
Reiming as "Dad" and "Rei," and he had been calling Giselle "Little Sis," with special
emphasis on the "little," much to her chagrin. At last count, there had already been
ten fist fights between the two newfound siblings.
"Are you even LISTENING to me?!" Will demanded angrily, frustrated that his friend
was in such a mood. Finally, he threw up his hands. "Fine! You win! See if I care!"
and he stormed over to the bed and shoved him off. "Mopers don't get the bed!" he
snapped. When even that elicited no reaction, he beat his head against the wall. "This
is ridiculous!" he muttered, then flopped down on the bed. "Well, I'M going out to eat
with my family, so you, Mr. Sunshine, can sulk about in here by yourself!"
later...
"Will, do you know anything about the N-R's weapons?"
Will grinned cockily and leaned back in his chair. "Interrogation time, eh? Somehow I
knew this would happen."
"Jerk!" Giselle muttered, glaring at him. "Got a prob, LITTLE sister?" Will
teased. Giselle stuck her tongue out at him, and fist fight number eleven would have
started if Trowa and Reiming hadn't given out two nearly identical glares. The warring
siblings subsided, and Trowa asked his question again.
"I really don't know," Will said seriously, sitting up. "I was never very high in
the ranks; I was rude, rebellious, and Yuri had to save my as-er, butt several times."
Then he snapped his fingers. "Talk to Yuri. He was a baron, right?" Then he frowned.
"Oh wait, he's really depressed right now. You won't get three words out of him."
Both Trowa and Reiming sighed in disappointment. "Hey, can I help it if I was a
deliquent?!" he said, pretending to be hurt. His reaction caused Reiming to smile. "Well,
it was worth a shot," she said mildly. "It's just, well, those suits look so familiar to
me, and it's been bothering me a lot recently. I keep on thinking I've seen PARTS of it
in places."
"Didn't Aunt Meilai say that she though the wings looked like Seraphim's wings?"
Giselle piped up. At this, Will cocked his head. "Seraphim?"
"Yeah, what about it?!" Giselle said somewhat defensively, sure that he was going to
insult her suit. "You wanna make something of it?!"
"Yeah...Actually, I do..." he said slowly. Looking at Giselle squarely in the
eye, he said, "Okay. Here are your Gundams: Wing, Deathscythe, Heavyarms, Sandrock, Altron,
Epyon, Phoenix, and Seraphim. See anything...unusual?"
Giselle blinked, confused. "Huh?"
"Think NAMES. Is there a NAME that stands out?"
"Look, I'm stupid too," she muttered peevishly. "Just tell me!"
"I never knew His Excellency (well, I don't have to call him that anymore), er,
I never knew the Tin Man very well, and the Colonel pretty much hated me, but I remember
overhearing them talking about it once. Mr. Tin Man was being pretty smug about it,
saying how great it was yadda yadda. Well, Nicolae asked him what it was, and he said,
'It's all in the name.' Now tell me, which one of the names sticks out?"
"The...Seraphim..." she whispered. "It's the plural form of seraph, right?"
"Bingo. And it's plural because-"
"IT'S ABLE TO BE MASS PRODUCED!" Reiming shouted, jumping up and knocking her
chair over. "But of course! That's why it had Seraphim's parts! They used the
crucial parts of Seraphim's design in it, giving it speed and agility, but it's design
allows them to turn out hundreds of them!"
"So...what you're saying...is that we're fighting a hundred copies of MY SUIT?!"
Giselle asked furiously. "Those...those...copy-cats!" she sputtered, not being able to
come up with a better insult.
Meanwhile, both Trowa and Reiming were racing towards the building's interior. "Sorry,
but you guys will have to clean up," Reiming called over her shoulder while fumbling with
her cell phone.
The two siblings glared at each other. Finally, Will said, "Ladies first!"
Giselle didn't buy it. "You wish!" she snapped. "I've cleaned up for sixteen years, and
now it's your turn, dear BROTHER!"
"Who figured out the name thing?!"
"Who PILOTS the damn thing?!"
"You saying that I can't pilot a MS?!"
"You said it, not me!"
"You got a problem?"
"Yeah! YOU!"
Fist fight eleven was on.
"Ladies and gentlemen. I am glad to see you all today, and I would like to extend
my gratitude to all of you who have expressed your condolences," Lady Une began,
addressing the large audience.
"We have suffered a vicious attack today. As you may or may not know, one of our
food shipments was contaminated. As a result, over eighty Preventers will be honorably
discharged due to their injuries. Today, we are here to discuss our new agenda of attack.
We cannot sit idly by and take this insult. The Neo-Rommefeller is testing us, and we will
rise to the challenge and strike them down so that they cannot recover.
"First off: Security must be tightened. As you all know, most of this
structure is located underground, with various entrances and several building located in
hidden places on the surface. The entrances and surface structures are monitored 24 hours
a day, 7 days a week, but as we all realized today, our system is not perfect. Therefore,
I turn this time over to Preventer Ron, who will describe the new system."
Meilai stood up. "Here is a map of the entire base," she said, projecting an image on
the screen. "The entrances are all marked with red circles. From now on, we will not
only have someone monitor the entrances from afar: We will have a Preventer there who will
direct the staff at each entrance, and who will report directly back to Preventer Chang
every day. All entrance staff will be called in for a personal briefing by him. There
will be systematic checks by Mr. Duo Maxwell to check for any spying devices of the
Neo-Rommefeller. Helping him will be Mrs. Hilde Maxwell, myself, and Mr. Quatre Raberba
Winner. There are other details as well, and I request that all leaders of the entrance
staff see me afterwards. I now return the time to Lady Une."
"Thank you. Our next order of business is how we plan to act aggressively." At
this, several in the audience cheered. Lady Une herself nodded. "Yes. Ever since
Gundam pilots Miss Aelis Merquise and Mr. Geoffry Merquise were recovered, we have been
able to follow their activities more closely. We know the locations of several of their
main bases, including the one where we believe Colonel Charles Nicolae is. There are
several parts to this plan. First: Today's incident cannot happen again. As a result, I
have appointed Mrs. Reiming Barton to conduct medical research in all biological weapons in
existence, as well as to develop some of her own. Mr. Trowa Barton will head the
intelligence committee in charge of obtaining the necessary information. Next: We need to
figure out how to combat the Neo-Rommefeller's new suits. Here is an image. Note it's
smaller size and it's ability of stealth and speed. Alone, it cannot necessarily do
much, but in a group, they become like a swarm of bees, or a school of pirahnas. Take
your pick."
At this time, as Lady Une described the images, both Reiming and Meilai nearly fell out of
their seats. "Impossible..." Meilai whispered, staring. "The wings...they remind me of
Seraphim!"
Reiming was thinking the same. "The shape, the proportioning of parts...why does it seem
so familiar? And how is it that it can be mass produced so easily? Judging from its looks,
it SHOULD be not practical for mass factory production, and yet..."
Lady Une continued. "These suits are extremely deadly, and I am not sure whether or not
we will be able to quickly design, test, and produce our own weapons. As a result, we are
upgrading the Xero system. Mr. Heero Yuy will head this project, and when he has time,
Mr. Duo Maxwell will assist him. Lastly, we will be regularly monitoring the public.
Mrs. Relena Yuy, along with Miss Mariko Yuy, will be our representatives. Mrs. Dorothy
Winner will also undertake this task. And one more thing: To ensure that we don't lose
track of the Neo-Rommefeller, Preventers Wind and Fire will monitor their activity and
inform us of when new bases and or stations spring up. They will head an elite group of
Preventers whose missions may run the gamut from sabotaging transports to detecting new
bases."
Lady Une breathed a sigh of relief. "And that's about it. I think that's enough work for
all of us, don't you agree?" A light chuckle arose. Smiling, Lady Une said, "Very well.
You are all dismissed."
a few days later...
"Yuri? Aw, come on! This bites! Aren't YOU the one who's supposed to be
dragging ME out of a depression?!"
Since his confrontation with Relena a few days ago, Yuri had not stopped moping. On one
hand, he was glad: The burden he had carried for all those years was finally gone. But
then again...
"I broke her," he muttered, curled up in the fetal position on the bed. "And Aelis
is angry at me too."
As soon as Yuri had been escorted back to his room by Preventer agents (Heero had wanted to
strangle him), Aelis had stormed in. First she raged about how insensitive he was, and
then she cried about how sorry she felt for him, and then she raged some more about how
cold he was, and then she beat herself mentally for pitying him, and finally she had
slapped him, told him she never wanted to see him again, and then flounced out, leaving
behind two young men bowed over by the power of the female spirit.
But Aelis' words had forced him to think, and as much as he hated to admit it, he had a
feeling that she was right. True, he DID have a duty to his deceased relatives, but
then again, his relatives hadn't exactly been perfect people. Who was he to carry on the
tainted legacy?
"This makes my head spin," Yuri muttered, burying his head in his pillow and
ignoring Will, whose mood had definitely perked up since his talk with Reiming. After a
few days, Will had finally gotten the courage to confront Trowa. Yuri wasn't too sure of
exactly what happened, but since that day, Will had been cheerfully addressing Trowa and
Reiming as "Dad" and "Rei," and he had been calling Giselle "Little Sis," with special
emphasis on the "little," much to her chagrin. At last count, there had already been
ten fist fights between the two newfound siblings.
"Are you even LISTENING to me?!" Will demanded angrily, frustrated that his friend
was in such a mood. Finally, he threw up his hands. "Fine! You win! See if I care!"
and he stormed over to the bed and shoved him off. "Mopers don't get the bed!" he
snapped. When even that elicited no reaction, he beat his head against the wall. "This
is ridiculous!" he muttered, then flopped down on the bed. "Well, I'M going out to eat
with my family, so you, Mr. Sunshine, can sulk about in here by yourself!"
later...
"Will, do you know anything about the N-R's weapons?"
Will grinned cockily and leaned back in his chair. "Interrogation time, eh? Somehow I
knew this would happen."
"Jerk!" Giselle muttered, glaring at him. "Got a prob, LITTLE sister?" Will
teased. Giselle stuck her tongue out at him, and fist fight number eleven would have
started if Trowa and Reiming hadn't given out two nearly identical glares. The warring
siblings subsided, and Trowa asked his question again.
"I really don't know," Will said seriously, sitting up. "I was never very high in
the ranks; I was rude, rebellious, and Yuri had to save my as-er, butt several times."
Then he snapped his fingers. "Talk to Yuri. He was a baron, right?" Then he frowned.
"Oh wait, he's really depressed right now. You won't get three words out of him."
Both Trowa and Reiming sighed in disappointment. "Hey, can I help it if I was a
deliquent?!" he said, pretending to be hurt. His reaction caused Reiming to smile. "Well,
it was worth a shot," she said mildly. "It's just, well, those suits look so familiar to
me, and it's been bothering me a lot recently. I keep on thinking I've seen PARTS of it
in places."
"Didn't Aunt Meilai say that she though the wings looked like Seraphim's wings?"
Giselle piped up. At this, Will cocked his head. "Seraphim?"
"Yeah, what about it?!" Giselle said somewhat defensively, sure that he was going to
insult her suit. "You wanna make something of it?!"
"Yeah...Actually, I do..." he said slowly. Looking at Giselle squarely in the
eye, he said, "Okay. Here are your Gundams: Wing, Deathscythe, Heavyarms, Sandrock, Altron,
Epyon, Phoenix, and Seraphim. See anything...unusual?"
Giselle blinked, confused. "Huh?"
"Think NAMES. Is there a NAME that stands out?"
"Look, I'm stupid too," she muttered peevishly. "Just tell me!"
"I never knew His Excellency (well, I don't have to call him that anymore), er,
I never knew the Tin Man very well, and the Colonel pretty much hated me, but I remember
overhearing them talking about it once. Mr. Tin Man was being pretty smug about it,
saying how great it was yadda yadda. Well, Nicolae asked him what it was, and he said,
'It's all in the name.' Now tell me, which one of the names sticks out?"
"The...Seraphim..." she whispered. "It's the plural form of seraph, right?"
"Bingo. And it's plural because-"
"IT'S ABLE TO BE MASS PRODUCED!" Reiming shouted, jumping up and knocking her
chair over. "But of course! That's why it had Seraphim's parts! They used the
crucial parts of Seraphim's design in it, giving it speed and agility, but it's design
allows them to turn out hundreds of them!"
"So...what you're saying...is that we're fighting a hundred copies of MY SUIT?!"
Giselle asked furiously. "Those...those...copy-cats!" she sputtered, not being able to
come up with a better insult.
Meanwhile, both Trowa and Reiming were racing towards the building's interior. "Sorry,
but you guys will have to clean up," Reiming called over her shoulder while fumbling with
her cell phone.
The two siblings glared at each other. Finally, Will said, "Ladies first!"
Giselle didn't buy it. "You wish!" she snapped. "I've cleaned up for sixteen years, and
now it's your turn, dear BROTHER!"
"Who figured out the name thing?!"
"Who PILOTS the damn thing?!"
"You saying that I can't pilot a MS?!"
"You said it, not me!"
"You got a problem?"
"Yeah! YOU!"
Fist fight eleven was on.
