Note: This story takes place in AC. 197 -- the pilots are 18 ( except Trowa, who is 19 ). War between anti-Unification rebels and the Unified Army seems impossible to avoid. The story begins on the brink of another mobile suit war, this one without the benefit of Gundams. The pilots have split ways and now are finding themselves facing off on opposite sides of the battle. The young men who once won peace are now left struggling to determine which cause is right -- total, Unified peace, or personal identity?
Pairings:Undetermined, but watch for Hilde, Sally, Noin, and Dorothy to show up, along with several male and female OC characters.
Please, Please, PLEASE, review this story!The end product is going to be huge, but we're going to need a lot of constructive criticism, so please let us know what we should work on or if we miss something. Also, let us know if you're enjoying the story! Thank you!
High Road
Part Two: A Revolution
It shattered her slumber and her eardrums, nastily jerking Angel Tsuiraku out of her sleep. The aftershock of the detonation rocked her out of her bed, and her elbow made sharp, jarring contact with the hardwood floor beneath her. She cursed out loud, her head and arm throbbing, and hauled herself to her feet in a hurry. She'd fallen asleep in her combat gear the night before, minus the utility belt and the guns. Grateful now that she hadn't taken off her boots, she grabbed her guns and took off for the stairs, trying to shake the ringing out of her ears.
It was pandemonium, absolute and utter chaos. Refugees that hadn't been evacuated the day before were running for the line of trees, as if the natural cover would save them from missiles and grenades. The rebels were scattering like ants, scooping up what weapons they could and firing off sporadic cover fire. Angel burst out of the small, two-story farmhouse that had served as a makeshift safe house and headquarters of sorts, and stopped dead in her tracts. Mobile suits were closing in, and in front of them were foot soldiers, advancing in collected, ruthless lines. No chaos there.
"Mike!" she shouted, coming out of her nightmares, "gimme one of those!"
Mike, who had been reloading one of the few FN SCAR heavy assault rifles, glanced up at her, then dug another out of the pile beside him. Carefully darting over to him, using what cover the barrels and hay stacks provided, Angel took stock of the situation.
"Why didn't you guys wake me?" she snapped as she positioned herself and took some pot shots at the advancing Unified Army foot soldiers.
"We thought you were already up!" was the frantic reply as bullets ripped into the earth just in front of their meager cover. Angel shook her head.
"We're gonna have to get into those trees if we're going to stand a chance -- we're gonna be sitting ducks for those mobile suits when they get in range, and the fields aren't gonna be enough cover from the infantry." She gritted her teeth and glanced at Mike. "We've got to hold them until the last of the refugees gets the hell out."
Mike would have rolled his eyes if the situation hadn't been so dire. "We've got to try, anyway."
That was the last of the conversation. The rebels tried again and again to get organized and grouped, but the attack had come too early, too fast. They'd never had a chance. Some didn't even have guns, most were isolated in small groups. The fear was palpable in the air, and comrades were falling at an alarming rate. The hopelessness was a bitter taste in Angel's mouth as she signaled the retreat.
"Anybody know if the refugees are away?"
Mike gave her a baleful look, cautiously backing away from the tractor they'd been using for cover.
"Right." She could feel the iron-clad control slipping from her as the rebels slipped into the trees and scattered further. She told herself that spreading out and scattering would be beneficial, that the Unified Army would have to pick and choose targets. She tried to ignore the feeling that she was sending lambs to be sacrificed. Besides, there wasn't time to have regrets -- the Unified infantry were swarming into the forest like an infestation, and soon all she had were her prayers and Mike.
---
Quatre had led his unit of Maganac forward under cover of night, the rage sill lingering after his late-night call from Relena's Secretary of War. He had tried to stress that he'd only politically sided with Relena Peacecraft and Unification, and had no intentions of becoming a crack general in her war. But he'd been strong armed, as an ally, to provide troops and aid. And his version of troops consisted of forty Arabian soldiers, his friends and allies for years, the Maganac.
The morning had revealed makeshift tents and sleeping bags, refugees and makeshift soldiers. They were scattered over the ground, the only shelter being a barn and a farmhouse on the edge of the fields. Beside him, Rasid Kurama had stiffened.
"This is who we go to make war against? This is our enemy?" His dark eyes had cut right into Quatre's soul. "This is not the noble cause I remember fighting for two years ago."
Briefly, Quatre closed his crystal blue eyes. "We have our orders."
Rasid snorted as if he wished to say more, but his loyalty to Quatre was as unshakable as ever. He simply turned his eyes forward and braced himself for what was shaping up to be a massacre.
The fighting was more intense than any of the Unified Army's soldiers had been expecting. What the rebels lacked in men, equipment and organization, they made up for in passion and courage. Though they were in a steady retreat, Quatre recognized several attempts to form organized lines and tactics. He knew if they scattered into the trees, the Army wouldn't be able to capture or kill all of them. In fact, if they were quick enough, most of the rebel forces would get away.
That is, if the mobile suits held their fire. He knew that their trigger-happy commander, Major Brice McPhearson, wouldn't hesitate to blow the forest into toothpicks if given half the chance. Luckily, Quatre's prestige as an ex-Gundam pilot and his raw skill as a tactician meant that the mobile suits would only open fire on his order. And for now his orders were that the suits were to remain out of range as a backup, to enter combat only if the infantry required aid.
The Maganac crashed into the forest, following the retreating rebels under the cool canopy. Instantly, gunfire was coming from all directions. The foliage provided cover, and the scattered rebels were employing guerilla tactics. Quatre and the Maganacs found themselves grimly holding position clustered together and firing blindly into the greenery. The rest of the infantry was flooding in behind them, and he could hear the panic as the soldiers were faced with a mobile, unseen enemy. He knew his position was vulnerable, but he couldn't risk moving, or losing contact with the Maganac.
His eyes darted, searching for the source of enemy fire. He spotted movement, fired a shot, and winced as a man fell to the forest floor. Cautiously, one of the Maganac -- Ahmed -- came up to his side.
"Master Quatre," he said urgently, "perhaps we should --"
He never got to finish. Brutally cutting his words short, a bullet found its mark with deadly accuracy, and Quatre watched Ahmed fell to the floor, his eyes already going glassy.
He whirled, searching for the assassin, and locked gazes with a person half-shrouded in the shadows of the foliage. He narrowed eyes like blue steel, trying to see past the shadows and the jacket that obscured most of the figure's face. All he could make out were eyes like ice, and he memorized them, feeling an irresistible desire to make this person pay. Ahmed had fought at his side for many years. This person was not going to get away with cutting him down so savagely.
But before he could lift his gun, the figure was gone, melting back into the shadows of the forest, lithely slipping away and leaving him only with battle lunacy and intolerable loss.
---
Relena Peacecraft sat in her room alone, the reports from the skirmish outside of Greenwich spread out before her on her desk. Five hours after the initial reports had come in, and she still hadn't managed to wrap her mind around the words. She closed her eyes and saw violence. A shudder rippled through her as memories -- too fresh -- sprang to the forefront of her mind. And, as always, thoughts of war brought back the haunting, cobalt blue eyes. Somewhere out there, Heero Yuy was on the front lines. Had he been in this battle?
Quatre had. Inwardly, she winced, remembering the young man she'd met at the Sanc Kingdom a lifetime ago. Cultured, elegant and educated, with a compassion and intelligence unrivaled, Quatre had made an impression on her. He was someone who shared her ideals. Undoubtedly, he had resisted going to battle today with every ounce of his being. Though publicly he backed her, she knew there were limits to his loyalty. He hadn't been raised to blindly follow orders. But he didn't know -- couldn't have known -- that Relena had been against asking him to fight, as well.
All around her, the world was crumbling. As the figurehead of Unification, a lot of the accusing fingers had been pointed her way. But she had no real control. How could she? She was a young woman of seventeen. Her war council didn't take her seriously, and neither did the rest of the world, really.
"War again," she whispered, reading again about Major McPhearson's insuboardination. Against direct orders, against Quatre's wise council, the Major had ordered his mobile suit troops to open fire. While he had done damage to his enemy, many of his own allies had fallen to friendly fire. And it was up to her to court martial him. She couldn't have leaders like that. Puppet regent or not, there were appearances to keep up. She would have to ask Quatre to testify at the hearing. And that was really the extent of her responsibilities in this war.
A quiet knock shattered her inner dialogue, and she glanced up as Lucrezia Noin entered the room quietly. She managed a smile for her sister in law, and stood slowly, as if she were a lot older than her seventeen years.
"Noin," she said, her voice soft and warm. "It's good to see you."
"And you, Miss Relena. Milliardo is on his way here, but he got waylaid by your generals." Noin moved closer, wrapped the younger girl in a hug.
"Here in the Cinq Kingdom," Relena admitted softly, "it's easy to feel separated from the chaos. But the world is crumbling apart."
Noin closed her eyes. "This war will pass, just as the others did."
Cobalt eyes… "I've lost our greatest ally. He's fighting for the rebels."
"He's never let you down before."
Funny, they didn't need to say his name out loud -- it lingered there between them, common knowledge. Noin opened her mouth to say more, but Milliardo Peacecraft chose that moment to enter the room.
"We came back from Mars as soon as we heard things were getting serious." His icy eyes were narrowed. "Your generals are getting a little too full of themselves for comfort. They have free reign over the dictation of the fighting." He met his sister's eyes. "Crushing the rebels won't crush the rebellious spirit of the people."
"I know." Sally Po had said as much when the Preventers had been dissolved three months ago. She had disappeared, more than likely offering her services to the underdogs, her eyes speaking volumes about her feelings on the subject of war. "But I can't give up on Unification, or on peace."
"Then its time to take control back. You are still acquainted with Chang Wufei?"
Noin's eyes flashed -- having even just one Gundam pilot on their side might turn the tides, and Relena was going to need all the help she could get.
"Yes," Relena replied. "He's fighting for us, although he's not a part of any unit." She frowned. "He hasn't checked in with us in a few days, and no one knows where he is. His mobile suit was shot down, but I doubt he's dead."
"I can almost guarantee that he's not dead." Milliardo didn't divulge how he could possibly know about Wufei's state of being, but neither Noin or Relena asked. He had contacts, and they could be trusted. This had been proven many, many times before. "When he contacts you, find a way to get him back here. Noin, please stay with Relena. I've got to take care of something."
He started toward the door, refusing to say more. Noin and Relena exchanged a look.
"But, Milliardo…where are you going?" Noin finally asked. He paused with his hand on the doorknob. A slight smile curved his generous lips.
"To find Heero Yuy."