Oh judgement, thou art fled to brutish beasts, and men have lost their reason.
-W. Shakespeare, 15th Century English Playwright.
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"I'm not getting any signal." Relena frowned when her secure mobile blipped an error code.
Heero quirked a brow at her from the driver seat, "Check mine." He handed his unit to her.
Relena slid the identical device open and was greeted by the same bleeps, an alert popped up on the screen, "Trowa sent you a message an hour ago."
"Read it to me."
"'False flag, blackout, invasions.'" Relena's eyes widened, "The Luxembourg bombing?"
Heero swerved the car off the dark road, into an abandoned petro station, "Communication blackout is only possible if the satellites are disabled."
"Quatre?" Relena's breath caught with worry for the safety of their friend.
Heero shook his head, "Trowa would've said something." he positioned the car behind the unlit old pumps to hide the dash light and turned on the radio, dialling from one station to the next. After flipping through an eerie amount of white noise, they heard a faint melody through the static.
"This is a local broadcast," Heero adjusted the radio to get a clearer sound, an old military march flowed from the speakers, "What is that?"
"That," Relena's expression turned grim, "Is the Battle Hymn of the Sanc Kingdom."
"Zechs."
Relena nodded, eyes downcast. For all her pretty rhetoric, she was powerless to stop the coming tide of war.
Heero tipped her chin up and turned her face toward him with a calloused finger, "You know what I have to do."
"If there's any other way..."
"I can't protect you with my bare hands, Relena." He held her with a steady gaze, "This is a battle I have to fight."
She pulled back, unwilling to accept his pledge, "I don't want you to."
"It's not up to you," His harsh, clipped tone reminded her of when they'd first met, "I'll not see your kingdom destroyed again."
The contact of his lips startled her for only a moment, she grasped the back of his neck, committing to memory the feel of his bristly hair against her fingertips. He was always kissing her goodbye.
"Return to me soon." Relena released his neck to fist her hands in the thick material of his forest green parka, fighting with herself to let him go. He slipped out of the car, she watched him until he disappeared into the dark, and clutched the warm metal he pressed into her hands moments before.
Though it was a short drive to the southern boarder of New Port City, Relena was thankful when the makeshift checkpoint came into view. She couldn't remember the last time she drove a car by herself and was woefully rusty.
Under the glaring floodlight that marked out the barricade, she counted three soldiers in what appeared to be old OZ uniforms, two were shouldering rifles, the third waved a flashlight signalling her to stop.
As Relena slowed the car, the flashlight bearer approached her driver side door, she recognized him in an instant. The other two soldiers followed behind, weapons raised. Relena stepped out of the vehicle, hands up in surrender.
"Hello, Simeon."
Simeon smiled with genuine gladness and bowed deeply, a hand on his heart, "Allow me to escort you to the Prince, Your Highness."
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Mariemaia tried to hide her yawn, she propped her cheeks on folded hands, face lit by only the light of the vidcom. "I dug into the new recruits records all night, and still didn't find anyone suspicious."
"Twenty six hours without sleep is a bit long for someone your age, Marie'." Une wrinckled her forehead at her daughter, "I appreciate your work ethic though."
"Something else is bothering me," Mariemaia rubbed her eyes with the heel of her hand, "How did they know Hamza could be leveraged?"
"A third pawn...an informer?" Une said distractedly as movement in the dim room behind Mariemaia caught her eye, she feigned an unhurried smile and tapped a finger twice on her chin to signal a warning to her daughter.
Mariemaia froze for a fraction of a second, then sprung up and picked up her chair in one smooth motion, "No sense in hiding now."
The intruder stepped out of the shadows, he towered over Mariemaia, who held the chair to her chest as a shield. He smirked coldly, "Khushrenada."
"You knew my father?" Mariemaia inched sideways along the edge of the desk, silently vowing to never sit with her back to a door ever again.
The man shook his head and spit in disgust, "That devil and his witch in OZ murdered my sister, when they 'liberated' my homeland from Alliance rule."
Bribes wouldn't work on personal vengeance, Mariemaia shifted gears, "Was she serving in the Alliance?"
"She was just a clerk!" He grabbed the leg of her chair and yanked it toward him, Mariemaia let go and used the time to dash for the door. The chair hit the wall with a clatter and she was snatched off the floor by her neck.
Clawing at the meaty hands around her neck, Mariemaia began to lose her vision, she could hear Une's panicked voice coming through the vidcom, it sounded miles away and fading fast.
Suddenly she could breath again, and as Mariemaia gulped air into her lungs, her senses came back gradually like water saturating a cloth. She was sprawled on the floor, the lights in her room had been turned on and someone was cradling her head.
"Marie'," Quatre's furrowed brow betrayed his worry, his good hand examined her neck for damage. Mariemaia twisted away from him and sat up, she looked back at where her attacker had been standing. Strange, Mariemaia didn't hear a gunshot. Recalling a combat lesson, she realized she must've experienced auditory exclusion.
The big man lay crumpled on his side, black-red blood oozed from under him. He was wearing a mechanic's coveralls, identifying him as one of the dock workers. Dorothy stood over him, gun still trained at his head.
"...brood of war-mongering blue bloods..." The man said as he bled bubbles from his throat, he wasn't going to make it, "Hell would be a mercy on your blackened souls..."
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"But sir, no one has yet to claim responsibility." State Minister Yacovitch set down the forensic report, "How can we be certain it was the separatists?"
The Defence Minister cleared her throat, "Our Intelligence clearly establishes the source of the bomb," she spoke evenly, "We don't need a confession."
President Davos nodded approvingly, "Now we must respond to this heinous attack, and neutralize all terrorist states."
"But from which country did the terrorist originate?" Yacovitch inquired further, she wiped sweat from her palms on her pant suit under the table. It wasn't smart to question authority in a time of crisis, but the lack of transparency gnawed at her.
"It doesn't matter," The Defence Minister said, "They're a network of many dissident states, their goal is to destroy the work of the ESUN."
"Minister Yacovitch, Rhoda," Davos used her given name, he's never done that before, "I understand that you pride yourself in being detail oriented, and I appreciate that quality in your work," the President straightened in his seat, "But we must respond decisively and swiftly to such a flagrant threat to our peace efforts."
Yacovitch nodded, ashamed at her own short-sightedness; what was this small incongruity in the grand scheme of things? If they were to liberate backward nations from superstitious medieval traditions, no, to deliver the masses into the enlightened new world, the ESUN couldn't afford to hesitate.
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Une watched the two people who have, despite her best efforts at maintaining a professional distance, become her closest friends.
Wufei's permanant scowl softened at Sally. The injured woman sat in a cot, her back propped up by several bedrolls, swatting away his fussy hands. Her head inclined toward him at a peculiar angle whenever he spoke, trying to catch his words with her undamaged ear.
Lady Une sat across from them in the small sleeping quarters of their hideout, the sight of the two made her ache for something impossible for herself. Was she strong enough to live up to the legacy of Treize? She had come so close to losing his daughter today... Was she worthy of this burden?
"Really now," Sally spoke louder than her usual voice, overcompensating for her ruptured eardrum, "I'm the doctor here."
Wufei sucked on his teeth impatiently, "Today you're just a stubborn woman with head trauma."
"Settle down, Trowa delivered the brief for tomorrow's ESUN press conference." Une waggled her tablet.
"Speaking of, that blasted clown told us to join the protest," Wufei cracked his knuckles, "Where is the circus freak anyway?"
"Charming his way into the Defence Department of the ESUN by now, no doubt," Une answered with an unconcerned tone, "Oh, and Agent Chang, I'd appreciate it if you never address your colleague disrespectfully again."
"Yes Sir, sorry Sir," Wufei sat in the chair nearest the cot and picked up his tablet, plugging in a data cable. Sally pretended to not notice the exchange and read on her own device.
The room wasn't silent for long. Wufei scrunched up his face in increments as he read through the brief, disbelief and cold anger radiated off him. He waited for Sally to finish and she looked up at him with matching incredulity.
"How could they have traced down the perpetrators in such a short time?" Sally shuddered as the gruesome scene from a few hours prior rushed back at her like bile.
"They didn't, no one's been arrested." Wufei said, and rubbed Sally's back comfortingly, though he affectied an expression of long suffering.
"Trowa traced the remote control signal on that drone to an apartment over the west side of Luxembourg square," Une informed them, "The nest was abandoned by the time he got there."
"So, they hired someone competent this time."
Sally looked sharply at her partner, "Are you insinuating that the same organization was behind the Moldova attacks, too?"
"All the attacks which so conveniently give the ESUN an excuse to mobilize its army?" Wufei crossed his arms, "Call me paranoid, but yes I think so."
"As one of the orchestrators of the New Edwards massacre and the subsequent world-wide military takeover, no, you are not paranoid." Une broke in, "My real worry is this list of countries alleged to support the attack."
Wufei nodded, "They've included the Sanc Kingdom."
"That's ridiculous, there's not even a central government in Sanc." Sally tried to get up, but stopped when dizziness overcame her, "Relena's headed there isn't she?"
"With Zechs in New Port, I've no doubt that's where she's headed," Une said with concern, "But Heero and Relena have been radio silent for over two hours."
"It's already shut down?" Wufei rubbed his thigh in agitation, eyes focused on a faraway memory, "They always cut the telecommunications first..."
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Noin straightened her imperial guard uniform, she watched Simeon lead the Princess through the main hall of the former Sanc Kingdom Institute, drawing gasps and stares from the other soldiers gathered about their business, several called out "Queen Relena" with hushed reverence. Noin cringed inwardly at Simeon's decision to put Relena on display, but morale was markedly improved and she couldn't say it was entirely the wrong decision.
Relena glanced around at their admiring faces but didn't acknowledge the whispers, her pace quickened when she spotted Noin at the end of the hall.
"Why are all these soldiers here?" Relena overtook Simeon as they drew near, "Where is my brother?"
Noin bowed formally before the Princess, "Please allow me to brief you on the situation, Your Highness." She turned into the passage between the main hall and the old administrations office, trusting Relena to heel.
In the dusty old office, Noin's shoulders relaxed as she shut the heavy oak door, letting her soldierly mask drop, and to her relief, Relena seemed to sense this. The two women embraced for a long moment, Noin found it difficult to speak past the lump in her throat.
"Not a day went by that we didn't think about you," Noin finally croaked out, she cleared her throat.
Relena withdrew and looked at the other woman somberly, "What do you mean by raising this army? It's against all the teachings of the Sanc Kingdom."
"You've done well with the publication of Heero's war memoir, it drained support for an all out invasion of the Colonies." Noin chuckled without mirth, "But the Sanc Kingdom is a small nation amongst powerful pro-ESUN superstates, who won't hesitate to swallow us whole."
"Armaments cannot pave the path to peace."
"That may be, but peace at the point of the sword is no peace at all." Noin gestured to the ceremonial blade on her belt, "And Sanc is far from the only nation with separatist intentions."
"Those men looked like they were preparing for a siege," Relena was skeptical, "How long do you expect to hold out against the ESUN forces?"
"Even if we are defeated, the world will realize the Sanc Kingdom is no easy target."
"You are willing to sacrifice lives to make a grand stand?" Relena recoiled and stepped back from Noin, eyes round in disbelief.
"No, Sanc has a history of surrender and humiliation, we are going to change that." Noin stood tall, trying to help Relena come to terms with Milliardo's intentions before the inevitable clash of the Peacecraft heirs. "Soldiers of tomorrow will be proud of their forefathers who fought to preserve their heritage."
"People of the future will look back and see fools who fought a doomed rebellion." Relena has firm convictions, Noin didn't expect less, but it still pained her to watch the girl she thought of as a sister work against Milliardo.
"I think you'll understand, Miss Relena, that I cannot allow you to wander around our camp," Noin placed herself between Relena and the door, "Please use this time to rest, I'll inform the Prince of your arrival."
Noin shut the door and locked it from the outside, good God, the girl hasn't changed one bit, she's as stubborn as her teen years. Shaking her head with a sad smile, Noin headed to the courtyard where Milliardo was due to arrive after an evening spent recruiting. That stubbornness and steadfast spirit was what she loved most about Zechs, how can she fault Relena for being true to the Peacecraft blood?
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Heero navigated through the icy dark tunnels by memory, shivering. His thick jacket and gloves were not near enough protection against the antarctic freeze. In the total absence of light, the hands he put out in front of him felt oddly disembodied, he clapped them together to reorient himself every half minute.
The hatch was closer than Heero expected, he must have underestimated his growth spurt since he was last down here. After punching in the code, the hatch opened with a hiss to reveal the familiar cockpit he still saw in his dreams.
"Hello, old friend," Heero hopped in, readjusted the controls to his new stature, fingers flying on keypads to initiate launch sequence by muscle memory. The screens around him lit up in response as drives and motors whirled to life, "Lend me your wings one more time."
Snow at the surface broke in pieces as the giant awoke, its armor shone silver and white like the icy world that entombed it. Heero checked his performance stats, all systems functioning, he changed the mobile suit into flight mode and lifted off into the nautical twilight. Dread and exhilaration filled Heero's body as the machine climbed into high altitude, he clutched the controls tighter, it was going to be a long flight back to the Sanc Kingdom.
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Tbc...