Sperare: The Rising Chapter 3: Part Two, a gundam wing/ac fanfic

The Earth was bleeding. She had been driven a blow to the heart – she was frozen, and burning; cut, slashed, torn to shreds by the hands of men. The dawn of realization came hard, and late. Her wound had been cauterized, but the scab was slow to heal. So very, very slow. And now, the very ones who caused her downfall were prisoner to her wrath.

A mere five years earlier, the race of men turned their backs on her, stabbing her in the front. The war between the Earth Federation and its colonies had ended a quarter of a century earlier; twenty-six years of peace…only to breed the worst attack, battle, culmination in the history of the universe? None could foretell the horror, or the tragedy. Mankind had basked in the years of peace, almost selfishly hoarding it and taking it for granted. The colonies and the Earth had never been so tranquil. Under the gentle but firm leadership of the Sanc Kingdom, the entire universe blossomed in kindred spirit.

But not even the superior government agencies of the world knew of another amongst them, knew of the plans of the Zodiac. As a very low-key terrorist group, the Zodiac built a façade out of unassuming platforms – the occasional violent protest group, or perhaps sending death threats to world leaders, or stalking pop stars. Of those who even knew of their paltry existence, they were a mere annoyance; certainly nothing worth a closer look. But only January 1, 217, the name no one knew became the name everyone wanted to forget.

In a simultaneous moment, twelve weapons – missiles, warheads, and bombs – were launched against the Earth. Six major cities were hit with nuclear warheads. Six others were spared nuclear attack, for what it was worth. All targeted cities were leveled, and areas surrounding them were in ruin. In the immediate confusion, no world power was quite sure who to blame; as a result, they retaliated without asking questions. The strength of military technology ravished the lands for nearly two years. And as the smoke cleared, only devastation remained. No government still stood; organizations and hopefuls tried to grasp at the reins of leadership, to pull the world into some semblance of order. As a natural born leader, those who stood in the shadows of the Sanc Kingdom's grave stepped forward, offering slight sanctuary and peace of mind to the survivors in the west. Zechs Marquise, Heero Yuy, and Duo Maxwell stood at the forefront as familiar faces and proven leaders. In the name of peace, they called their new nation Kanor --but before they could console the scars of the rest of the world, another blocked their way. In countenance to Kanor, a man named Istvan Khan quickly rose to power, claiming vast European and Asian territory in the name of a new nation: Fovuc.

However, no amount of spiritual and orderly repair could help the Earth. Mountains had fallen, and tectonic fault lines were misplaced. Now, five years after the Fall, earthquakes are not uncommon, even in unlikely places. Even the Earth shakes in the aftermath of the terror. The climate system was torn apart, and weather disasters beat their fury on all the Earth's surface. Landslides and volcanoes have torn at the remaining cities, and the former landscapes of the world are unrecognizable. It is truly a new, unfamiliar country. The creations of men are fragile against the strength of nature, and only the strongest endure.

The skies hold darkness, even in light; and, sometimes, a blood red sun will rise to cast the Earth in its vermillion light.

In Kanor, the holder of the North American continent, the land has returned to the jagged, untamed hills and plains of lore. The city of Los Angeles was hit with a nuclear missile, and land that had been previously weakened through the ages by earthquakes physically split from the continent. California was lost to the Pacific. Both New York and Washington D.C. were so heavily damaged in the onslaught of the Fall's aftermath that they are completely inhospitable, and deserted. Countless other cities were reduced to rubble by the war and by the subsequent wave of natural disasters. Only the city of Chicago remained in true working order. Though damaged, most communication means and electricity still was in tact, and so it became the capital "Core City" of Kanor.

Few other cities were so lucky. Mere handfuls have any sort of electrical or natural power, but the people have learned to adapt to the changing times. Though countless numbers from Europe and Asia migrated to the Kanori territory after the Fall, the majority of the population remains native to the land. And, through all their diversity, American people are unified in one virtue – stubbornness. Their will to survive far overpowers any defeatist sentiments. And so they toil and build, and live. In cities – no, villages – life is reduced to agrarian means, with technology pushed back nearly a hundred years. Without electricity, or running water, they thrive, just as their ancestors did, spread throughout the land, but united in spirit.

ooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

The district that served as the headquarters of the Kanori Intelligence Command could only be described as absolutely sprawling. It towered up, spread out, and enclosed a hulking seventeen miles in the heart of the Core City.

Its foremost building, with its sloping steps and columned face, was monumental in style. Its classic architecture was only fitting for the home of the entire executive branch of Kanor. Countless other buildings reached out beyond the huge main structure – called the House -- but in some way, all of the outlying buildings were connected, whether through tree-lined, outdoor walkways or enclosed glass bridges. But regardless of the old-world, grandfatherly face of the grounds and main buildings, the security was unmatched. No one really dwelled on exactly what kind of enforcements laid in wake, but the KIC was widely regarded as the safest place in the world.

The grounds themselves were said to be a labyrinth. If you managed to get in without clearance – if being the operative word – the possibility that you would ever get out again was…well, no unauthorized person had ever succeeded in infiltrating the KIC and making it out alive. And in one piece.

The principal center for scientific research, the Cathedral, was housed in the second branch of the gargantuan spread. Complete with its high-tech labs and secret projects, the Cathedral fueled the great powerhouse of Kanor technology.

There was said to be one of the most ruthless prisons known to man hidden somewhere on the grounds. No one doubted it…everyone knew that the high profile, maximum security prisoners were not held in the federal penitentiary in Old Tennessee.

And from the headquarters, passages ran underground to different places all around the city; but only the highest ranking officials in Kanor knew any detail about those.

There was supposedly even a set of luxurious residential apartments where the Leaders could stay, and where some of the higher ranked officers lived. It was said that Chief Leader Zechs Marquise even had a whole building all to himself. But, that was hearsay.

But the most impressive aspect, the pride of Kanor, the very purpose of the KIC, was the defense department. It was the universal symbol of strength and purpose for every person in Kanor. Every task force, whether domestic or elite, came out of the KIC. It was where they were briefed for missions and the like, and where each group's coordinator worked. Most of the large task forces had headquarters on the outskirts of the KIC, but the independents and individuals all worked intimately within the complex. Information retrievers, intelligence analysts…even the public broadcasting network was run out of the Intelligence Command. After all, one of the Leaders' most adamant platforms was to keep the public informed.

And then, there were the offensive groups. The subject of every young boy's dreams, what everyone wanted to be. The legends of Kanor. There were the Windchasers and the Nightstalkers; the Blue Hearts and the Grey Phantoms; the Amazons, the Dauntless, the Halos, the Valkyries. And the best of them all – Sperare. The hope.

ooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Aurora Raven Yuy adjusted her sunglasses as she and Stars walked down one of the many sidewalks flanking the Homeland Security building of the IC. Her navy pumps made a sharp click with every stride, and added a sort of musical tempo to her racing thoughts. She clenched her fists casually, feeling the wrist-sheaths under her blazer tighten as her muscles flexed. They each held small silver daggers, balanced perfectly just for her. There was another knife hidden on her thigh. It was a good habit to always be armed. You never knew when someone would try to kill you. Better to be careful than to be dead.

Raven walked easily; she was so used to the weapons, it was as if they weren't there. Sometimes, holsters and sheaths could be uncomfortable, but when you had the world's top scientists inventing for your comfort, you didn't have to worry about that. And there was no chance that a passerby would detect the outline of the weapons through her clothes; even the skirt, which was a little clingy, gave no hint of the dagger sheathed under its front. She had a damn good tailor, too.

She was lucky that she had a chunky black pair of sunglasses and an equally good poker-face to hide her thoughts. Her face was calm, casually indifferent, and completely unhurried. Her thoughts were spinning, flipping, exploding.

They had been called in; that was not unusual in itself, even though they had been promised a full week's vacation just last night. Every 'vacation' they'd ever almost had had been interrupted in the same way. It was almost expected. The '911' message hadn't fazed her either; that was always the message they were given, because they only handled the extremely horrible stuff. The save-the-world missions. The fact that they were in 24/7 on those do or die missions was evidence of the lives they led. Nope, no small potatoes for Sperare; it was the whole barbecue or nothing. So it was a normal, potentially world-ending emergency that had been the reason for the call. Of course, all the other alpha-offensive task forces could have been busy, or something, and they were needed for some other, less important life-threatening disaster. But probably not. They were on call so much that she had almost forgotten what it was like to not be working. On any other day, she would have been relieved. The other task forces were good, really good, but if it came down to getting a vacation and letting someone else take over, she would rather do the jobs herself, and she knew her teammates felt the same way. It was probably some deep psychological trust issue she had going, but she didn't care. They all had chosen this way of life almost five years ago; it was just how it was.

She shortened her stride as they turned a corner, bypassing the huge entrance to the main defense building. That was where everyone was supposed to go in; not them, though. She was so used to Stars at her side that they automatically adjusted to each other; her brother was a constant, reassuring presence beside her; but not reassuring enough. She didn't know whether she should be glad about that, or really, really scared.

What was bothering her was the air around her. Lately, the normalcy of the days had been sickening. It had been the same for weeks, months. No attacks on any Kanori territories or vassals, no nothing. It was the very reason they had been given time off…there was nothing to do. Technically, they were the primary offensive task force in Kanor, but usually, all of their…ventures were in response of, or at least caused by, something else. Not that they didn't enjoy starting their own fun and stirring up the Fovucian waters – it was what they did best, certainly. But there had just been that feeling...that something was off; it was that that prevented them from jumping in first.

But today…

She could taste the change in the air on the back of her tongue. It was small, barely there, but to her it seemed huge.

With the excitement of the constant raids and reconnaissance, the constant explosions and the countless clandestine missions…one was always on a sort of adrenaline rush, ready for anything, on your toes. But when it all stopped, and you were forced, rather suddenly, into a normal life….well, that was deflating and completely unsettling. And when that continued for a seemingly endless amount of time, months on end, a feeling of foreboding was inescapable. It left way too much time to think, and that was the last thing any of them wanted. Thinking hurt.

Today, it was as if all that had ended. It was even more unsettling to go from nothing to everything in a single breath. The current of fear that their whole world had been built on was back. She shook her head slightly and squared her shoulders, unconsciously walking in sync with Stars.

A laughing voice broke into their silence, "You two have to stop doing that. It's absolutely unnatural. The 'Bobbsey Twins' meets a fleet of synchronized swimmers."

Neither she nor Stars broke their stride, but she inclined her head and smiled as Lander fell into step beside them. Her eyebrow rose as she took in his untucked shirt, disheveled hair, and loose tie. Some things never changed. He let his sunglasses slide down the bridge of his nose, and winked at her with warm violet eyes. "It must be that freaky twin thing. You guys look all evil, walking the same like that, and in uniform. Hell, if I wasn't me and I'd seen the two of you coming at me, I'd have gone running for the hills. Well, I would have gone running for them before that episode in Dublin, where the hills started chasing us. Maybe I could run for the boulevard instead."

Raven grinned. "Yeah, I've heard boulevards are vegetarians."

His reply was cut short as they reached the back entrance of the building: an inconspicuous, glass-like door, tucked into a niche, flanked by two imposing guards. Of course, the door wasn't glass. It was adamantine. All three of them brought their sunglasses away from their eyes. Stars stepped ahead, his arresting presence filling the alcove.

The guard smiled and nodded. "Good to see you again, Dante."

"And you, Hawk."

"Good morning Hawk, Sloane." Raven smiled as she passed them. They were two of the few people in the entire IC that had been there from the beginning, and she was very fond of them.

"Morning, Miss Ariel. Long time no see, Merlin."

Lander grinned and clapped Sloane on the back. "Yeah, it's only been seven whole hours since I was here last. So much for a day off."

They passed through the doors and walked into a long, empty hallway, and down three flights of stairs. Two rights and a left later, and they stood before a short hallway. A tall man was leaning casually next to the hall's only door. When he saw them, he pushed away from the wall, and as the approached, he turned silently and walked further into the building. Without a word, they followed him.

ooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Raven narrowed her eyes as she followed Stars down the hallway. Kale Peacecraft was tense. He was stunningly handsome, with very refined, blonde good looks that were somewhere between a surfer and a prince. His finely sculpted, patrician features were model-esque, and his ice-blue eyes were always sharp. But there had been a tightness around those eyes, and that full mouth was set in an unhappy way. His shoulders were tight under his jacket. She frowned. The last time Kale had been openly disconcerted, they had almost been cut to ribbons by a bipolar televangelist with a fondness for scissors. She and Kale were favorite cousins, and even though she could read him like a book, he never let his emotions show in sticky situations. He preferred to confront everything with indifference or witty repartee. So either this wasn't a big emergency, or it was a Really Big Problem. She was betting on the latter. Oh, Goody.

Well, you wanted excitement, she thought.

The fact that he hadn't said a word was more disconcerting than anything else. He was an arrogant, sarcastic-but-loveable ass at the best of times. Kale never not said anything.

She quickened her step and moved past Stars to where Kale was leading them. The silence between the four of them was building, and if she was being affected by it, then so were Lander and Stars. The last thing they needed was to get anxious before they even knew about the problem. She had the sudden urge to laugh. Her stomach was already shivering with nerves. So much for the big, bad super-girl.

As she came along side him, she touched his tanned arm to get his attention, and a shock of emotion jolted through her. For a split-second, her vision swam with color, and she was drowning in his emotions – worry, apprehension, and tiredness. She quickly jerked her arm away and brushed her hand against the material of her skirt, as if trying to get the feel of him off of her. He looked down at her through narrowed blue-gray eyes. She met his stare with one of her own, ignoring the lingering chill of senses and silently asking him what was wrong. He turned back to the hall and their destination without so much as an answering look, but as they approached another door, he took her hand and squeezed it reassuringly.

Kale turned upon reaching the door; he didn't bother knocking as he opened it. Taking a deep breath, Raven went in after him, followed closely by Stars and Lander.

ooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Kale had been in the room before. Hell, he'd spent all morning in it. Unlike the others, he had come into the IC early that morning to meet with his father, and in return he was the first of the group to learn of what passed in the early hours of the morning.

Despite outside appearances, it was a large, open room, with glass-like walls. Except the glass was not transparent in the slightest, and it would never break. The room was one of the few offices that was coated in adamantine. It was windowless, as they were underground, but the lighting was not too dim or too harsh. At the end of the room, a long black desk that could double as a conference table sat horizontally. At the moment, it was scattered with maps and file-folders, just as it had when he'd left it. There were two hard-looking black chairs before the desk that Kale knew were actually really comfortable. A painting of the Scottish Moors at sunset was the only spot of color. Although the sparse furniture was harsh, the room was strangely warm and comforting. Maybe because they had spent the better half of five years in it.

Odin Bristow, their coordinator, sat facing them behind the desk, reading some document. He looked up as they walked in.

"Paris," he acknowledged to Kale, and nodded as the others filed in. "Ariel, Dante, Merlin…good, you're all here." Odin was of an average height, with mousy colored blonde-brown hair cut short, but still a little curly. His eyes were pale, pale green, and he had strong, good-looking features. Kale, along with Raven and Stars, had grown up next-door to Odin. Well, as next-door as a mansion could be. He had been one of the founding members of Sperare. Somehow, his identity, including pictures had been made public a little over a year after Sperare had been formed. After the fifth attempt on his life within two hours of the out, he had decided to 'die.' The Leaders had offered him a new identity and a place on a different alpha task force, but he declined and instead became Sperare's coordinator. He was built like a soccer player, lithe but strong, and he had been an excellent operative, but he was an even better coordinator.

Raven and Lander walked to the desk and took seats in the two high-backed executive chairs facing Odin. Stars had leaned indifferently against one of the glass walls to the left of Raven. Kale crossed his arms and, remaining standing, took a post to the right.

"Ares," Raven murmured quietly, "what has happened?" She was perched on the edge of her chair, hands twitching in her lap. Kale watched her face as she tried to hold back her nervousness; she was failing miserably.

Lander was leaned back in his chair unconcernedly, but he wasn't smiling. That usually meant the sky was falling. "Yeah. In case everyone forgot, we're supposed to be on vacation. You promised us a whole week this time, man. There better be a damn good reason for bringing us in." Raven gave him an admonishing look, but turned questioning eyes on Odin just the same. And Kale could feel Stars' eyes boring a path across the room to the coordinator.

Odin ran his fingers through his short hair and sighed. "The Leaders think that this is something Sperare should handle, and I agree." Lander started to speak, but was cut off as Odin pressed a concealed button on the tabletop. A static, scratching sound started to play, easily recognizable to them as a 'black box' recording – a tape from the cockpit of an airplane.

"…seven…six…five…four…three…t—"

Kale closed his eyes as an incomparable, awful ripping sound came through the speaker, and then the room was flooded in silence as the recording ended. Even after hearing it fifty times already, it still made him ache. He looked up as Raven let out a choking gasp. Stars, who had somehow crossed the room without him noticing, stood beside her chair and put a hand on her shoulder.

"That was from Kanori Skyrocket 451. It exploded just before leaving the atmosphere about four hours ago. It was one of three to go down – two others, a Pegasus and a Wind Dancer, went down late last night." Odin turned and depressed another button, and a three-dimensional projection sprang up above the middle of the table. "We didn't connect the flights until the Skyrocket went down. Both the Peg and the Dancer's crashes were attributed to weather conditions. But, look at the scan of the Skyrocket." The 3-D blue-prints of a jet-liner appeared in midair. A scanning line passed through the plane, and a number value began flashing above it. "This is ten seconds before the…explosion. That was as close as we could get. This," he pointed to the number, "is the density of the air. The water density."

Stars frowned as he studied the evidence. "Water density? But that's impossible. They were what, ten, twelve seconds from exiting the atmosphere? They would've had to be under a monsoon to experience those kinds of numbers, and at that altitude…there's no way. They were 50,000 feet above the nearest rainstorm."

Odin nodded in agreement. "We realize that. That is precisely the reason this is under such investigation, and you four were brought in. The other two planes were not rockets, and they were under heavy cloud coverage, but their cause of crash was the same as the Skyrocket. Three planes, all within 8 hours of each other. This is what we've been waiting for. It has 'Fovuc' written all over it, and the last thing we need is for Fovuc to have developed some insane way to blow our jets out of the sky."

"But...how can that be?" Raven stood and leaned toward the suspended rocket. "All the other numbers are fine. The scan hasn't reported any unknown devices in the vicinity of the plane…what could they have done, dropped a giant water balloon from outside the atmosphere? And if the satellites didn't pick up any inter-galactic tampering… I understand that this is anything but natural, but even Khan can't magically change the water content in the air. And I understand that the weird water density is the only unusual thing, but that won't crash a plane, and it certainly won't make a plane combust. It doesn't make sense, Odin." She clenched her fists.

Kale stepped forward and touched her arm. She was getting frustrated. "We know that. Like Ares said, that's why we're here." He lowered his voice soothingly. "Have faith, Raven. We'll figure this out." He didn't release her until she nodded and took a deep breath.

Lander, who had been scanning the passenger lists of the flights, looked up and shook his head. "There doesn't seem to have been any specific targets on the planes. Carina Espier was on the Skyrocket, but she hasn't done a thing that would warrant an assassination. It seems like the attacks were completely random." He seethed and crumbled the papers in his fist.

Kale nodded. "We've checked out all the passengers. The crashes weren't suicide missions. Whatever happened was done outside the planes, sometime after they went airborne."

Odin stood and sighed. "Obviously, we don't have any leads. Right now we're on an information hunt. We need to know what, why, and most importantly, how. Usually, we would send off some of the Black Ops or Grey Phantoms to do some investigating, but the Leaders don't want this out yet. Besides, you guys are the best at recon anyway." He shuffled through some file folders. Kale frowned. Odin was…uneasy? "The Skyrocket was too far up to leave any solid debris, and the Pegasus was over water. But the Dancer's crash site is in western Kentucky; we tracked the wreckage to some deserted field. It's a forty minute Helo ride from here, and as far as we know, it's untouched. Since it wasn't bound for space, it wasn't on a scan system, so we don't have much information. Actually, we don't have any information. But that's why I'm sending you." Yes, Odin was definitely uneasy. He was fidgeting. Kale turned toward Stars. His attention was focused piercingly on their coordinator; he had noticed too.

"Dante, you, Paris, and Merlin are going to the Dancer to see what you can find. Ariel, you're going to stay here and act as a land leader…after you go see Doctor Mackenzie."

There it is, Kale winced. Shit. He had the urge to back up and clasp his hands over his ears. All he could think was that they should have at least disarmed her first. Those knives were sharp. And there was a pencil lying close to her on the desk. Weapons, weapons everywhere.

"What!" Raven hissed, eyes flashing dangerously.

Odin put his hands up in defense. "Now Ariel, it really is the best way—"

"The best way?" Her voice lowered in quiet disbelief. "How can you say that?" She closed her eyes and shuddered angrily. When she opened them, their ferocity made him take a step back. When she spoke, it was with a deadly edge. "I am sick and tired of having to be babysat. I am not a child – something all of you know very well. And I am a member of this task force – Sperare, for God's sake – and I am sick of not being treated like it. In case you forgot, Ares, I was not given my position out of charity. I earned it."

"Ariel --" Stars started.

"Shut up, Dante." She turned her wrath on him. "I'm tired of having to fight through all of this bloody testosterone. Eternity in the company of the Killer Angels and all their hellish torture devices will be a picnic compared to five minutes with me and this pencil if you all don't learn to grow the fuck up!" Stars' eyes flinched. Raven never, ever cursed. She turned back to Odin. "How many died on those flights?"

"Well—"

"How many!"

He sighed. "Six-hundred eleven."

She sucked in a sharp breath and raised her head. "It would be worth it, Ares." Her eyes filled with tears. "It will always be worth it."

He sighed. "Its not my choice this time, Raven. Your f— well, it's just not my choice."

She stilled and narrowed her eyes as understanding hit her. Anger turned the air around her cold. Kale fought the urge to shiver. "Where is Leader Yuy?" She clenched her fists. The pencil had somehow wound up in her hand, and the sound of it snapping seemed to resonate through the room.

Odin sighed in defeat. "He's on the grounds, Rave. I don't know where."

She whirled and headed for the door without a word. Stars and Kale moved like lightning and each grabbed a wrist as Lander moved to block the door. She hissed and met each of their eyes; Kale would not have let go if he hadn't seen the pleading sorrow behind her fury. He shook his head as she walked out the door, but tried to block her from his mind as he turned back to the others to work out the details of their little day trip.