And where are they? and where art thou,
My country? On thy voiceless shore
The heroic lay is tuneless now—
The heroic bosom beats no more!
And must thy lyre, so long divine,
Degenerate into hands like mine?
-George Gordon Byron, 18th Century English Poet.
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"The former White Fang leader known as Milliardo Peacecraft was assassinated yesterday prior to his public trial. Facing numerous charges of crimes against humanity, including the killing of thirty children by remote detonation, and the democide of almost three hundred civilians of the Former Sanc Kingdom, amongst whom is his own sister, the former Vice Foreign Minister, Relena Darlian. Now over to Jim on location at the Sanc Kingdom Institute."
"Behind me construction mechs are hard at work excavating the ruins of the Former Sanc Kingdom Institute." Jim shouted into the microphone against the blistering wind, "The building was destroyed by explosions originating from the inside, trapping every terrorist under the rubble."
"Thank you Jim, that harrowing footage was the devastation brought on by the brutal orders of none other than Milliardo Peacecraft. The rescue team is hoping against all hope that Relena Darlian is still alive somehow, somewhere in this carnage."
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Heero blinked against the snow on his eyelashes, even in a hard cast, pain shot up his broken shin with every step as they trudged uphill in the old growth forest. He adjusted the position of his crutch to allow blood circulation back into his arm. Wind howled through the black pines against a black sky, making the trees sway and creak in the dark.
The main of their formation carried the severely injured on stretchers, along with supplies of ammunition and medicine. At just under two hundred, they were quiet and efficient for their condition. There were advantages to this miserable weather, the snow covered their trail and confused heat sensors.
Heero had a cursory topographical knowledge of these mountains north of New Port City, but not enough to navigate it in heavy snowfall with almost no visibility. He let Simeon take the lead, the man knew these woods like his own body.
A chill spread across Heero's skin, he grit his teeth and suppressed a shudder. Behind him down the hill Relena cried out, the troop halted. Heero half ran and half slid back down the path to where she crouched in the snow. This would be a bad time for both of them to get hurt. Heero lowered himself gingerly, favouring his good leg, and checked Relena for injuries. She was hunched over and trembling, her breaths puffs of vapour. He raised her gently by her elbows, leaning in close.
"Milliardo... my brother is..." she whispered to him, eyes squeezed shut.
Heero glanced around discretely, the men had begun to murmur, dark shapes shifting in the pre-dawn dim. They needed to be on the move.
"Not now," Heero grunted lowly in her ear and tightened her hood, coaxing her to stand. He led Relena up to just behind the vanguard, and resumed his position beside Simeon, whose eyes saw much, but marched on in silence.
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Sally touched her wrist to Noin's brow, her patient had been running a low fever all night. Sally cleaned and rewrapped the wound on the other woman's ribs, the superficial injury looked to be about two days old, but rain soaked through the old gauze and dissolved the scab into a bloody mess. In the pale light of the underground base, Noin's skin looked thin and fragile as rice paper, as if she could fade away at any moment.
Gently closing the door on her way out, Sally leaned against the wall in the hallway. The wrongness of the situation struck her in waves, anger welled up in her chest and quickened her breathing, she closed her burning eyes.
Sensing someone touch her shoulder, Sally swiped to trap the offending hand under one arm, her other hand came swiftly for a blow to her attacker's face. Wufei easily blocked her fist and waited for her to recognize him, offering an apologetic smile for startling her with her damaged ear. Sally calmed her breathing and swallowed the pulse in her throat, and slumped against Wufei.
"Zechs was no saint," Wufei said.
Sally looked at the closed door of the makeshift infirmary, pity swelled up for the woman lying inside, "But she loved him, none the less."
Wufei silently cursed the female empathetic nature, he changed the subject, "Trowa went back to the ESUN HQ, the two Sanc soldiers are sedated, their emotions were too high."
"We should help...do something, anything."
"The ESUN is in possession of Heero's Gundam."
Sally lifted up her eyes with spirit renewed, "Let's get that Gundam back."
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Relena could no longer feel her face, her fingers and toes numb from the cold, her heart raw. She walked as if in a trance, following the path in the snow made by the men ahead. The west wind howled and shaped the snow into dunes and valleys, snow-laden clouds bleached the sunlight of its warmth.
They stopped at a thick stand of tall oaks, the terrain leveled from the steep uphill they've been climbing all night to a gentle plateau. Simeon alone went forward a few paces by a twisted tree, stuck an ungloved finger in his mouth and blew a series of bird calls into the frozen woods. The reply came just after a beat from beyond the forest, shrill long notes that cut through the dampened air.
Simeon signaled the rest of them to wait, and watched the narrow opening between two oaks. A hunched figure clad in heavy priestly robes soundlessly appeared, a grey head peaked out from under the black hood and looked about expectantly.
"Father Stephen!" Simeon whispered with urgency and ran out from his cover. He bowed low at the foot of the old priest, "Bless, Father."
Father Stephen made the Sign of the Cross quickly and let Simeon kiss his hand, but the old man's eyes searched the faces of the troops, and fixed on Relena. He hobbled toward her transfixed, "I am blessed to lay eyes on a Peacecraft heir before the Lord calls me home." He took her mitted hands in his own bare, wizen ones, shaking with emotion.
Relena repressed a surge of grief at the reminder of being the only surviving member of her family. Before she could respond, Heero's voice came cold and clear, "We shouldn't linger here."
"Yes, yes..." The old man muttered to himself and turned away, leading them through the thick hedge of oaks. As they entered past the hedge, the wind died down to a whisper, the steps of the men crunched in the quiet glade.
The oak-lined path opened up to a cemetery, bronze leaves on the trees lent the desolate scene an air of regality. At the far end of the rows of headstones stood a small chapel, pillars white as bones, no light shone in the ornate window slits. Beyond the chapel was a monastery, parts of the roof collapsed from disrepair.
Walking past the graves, some of the men crossed themselves, Relena bowed her head and shuffled along. The doors to the chapel were plated in black iron, and shone with a dull reflection as she stepped over the threshold. It was warm inside the long stone hall, icons adorned the walls, candles flickered under them, cushions placed here and there for prayers.
Relena joined Heero and Simeon, who conversed with the old priest whilst the rest of the men filed in.
"They're housed in the novice cells that are still usable, staying put until the all-clear," the priest was saying, "Warm and fed, all of them."
"What of the foreign citizens?" Simeon asked.
"The non-natives defected to the ESUN as instructed, they did not march here."
Heero nodded, "We must decide on a course of action from here. Simeon, set up a watch," He turned to the man, and softened, "Then go see your family."
"Sir!" Simeon saluted and was off.
The old priest, Father Stephen, addressed Relena, "Please come with me, Your Highness."
They stepped into an alcove at the very center of the far wall, behind the altar. Kingly figures were painted on each side, one with a sword, the other bearing the cross. Father Stephen removed a small stone floor tile, which gave him a handhold to lift a larger tile the size of a cellar door. It revealed a staircase, the old man descended down with a candle, Relena apprehensively followed after, with Heero trailing just behind her, the tap-tap of his crutch echoed down the stone steps.
"The Royal Family attended service here every year on All Saints," Father Stephen said, "The King would then visit his forefathers."
The bottom of the stairs opened to a walkway wide enough for two men to pass shoulder to shoulder, on either side were tombs carved into the rock, sealed with stone which bore the depiction of the royals entombed within. As they walked deeper in, the inscriptions became more crisp, less worn by time, until they stopped in front of the last pair of tombs.
Relena squinted at the inscriptions by the flickering light of the candle, but she knew what was engraved there without reading. Heero pressed a hand on the small of her back.
"The King and Queen, Your Highness," Father Stephen said reverently. Heero turned on his flashlight, and the priest shuffled back up the steps.
Relena traced the faces carved into the stone, her father's austere features, the kind eyes of her mother. She touched her own forehead to her mother's stone one, and turned toward the long hall of royal tombs. Here lay all she could call kin on earth, and soon her brother's bones will be gathered and laid to rest like all the others.
Heero stood mute behind her, his eyes steady and without judgement. A breeze ruffled Relena's hair, light poured in from the entrance of the mausoleum. Simeon closed the hatch and strode stiffly down the steps toward them, he stopped in front of Relena with an outstretched hand.
"Commander Milliardo entrusted me with this before the operation," Simeon indicated to the data chip in his palm, "It's for you."
Relena took the offering and examined it. Simeon saluted Heero and jogged away in a hurry, stoically holding the tears in his eyes. Relena glanced at Heero, "He knows?"
"It's not hard to guess, Noin should've sent word via shortwave by now," Heero said, "Your outburst back there didn't help either."
"Sorry..."
Heero shook his head and surreptitiously stroked her cheek before limping away to give her privacy.
Relena bit her lip and activated the data chip with her bio marker, pale light projected onto the stones of the sepulcher, her brother's face flickered like a ghost.
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Dear Sister,
We the children of the Peacecrafts were robbed of our heritage, as our nation was robbed of her sovereignty. You were too young, but I remember the Sanc Kingdom in all her glory. Mother singing by the seaside, the mountains where Father taught me to hunt, the old palace walls that still echo with the ghosts of old kings. Every moment of my exile I ached to return.
In our hubris, Treize and I sought to purge mankind of its will to fight, our pride cost hundreds of thousands of lives, and changed billions more for the worse. People will always be corruptible, there is no final solution to end all wars, the world wasn't ours to fix.
My hands are tainted with blood, I am not fit to rule as a Peacecraft; but you are not burdened with a vengeful spirit like mine, Relena. Your wish for peace is not wrong, but a king who loves his people must be able to defend them.
The Gundams fought because they loved the Colonies. You know better than most that the sheepdog looks much like a wolf, but for the lambs to lie down in green pastures without fear, the sheepdog must keep his fangs sharp. Let Heero help you protect those whom you love, my dear little sister, do not fault him for his soldier's heart.
The curse of a monarch is to watch others sacrifice themselves in your name. I am honoured to give my life for our kingdom, perhaps my death will reunite our people.
Farewell, Little Sister.
All my love,
-Milliardo Peacecraft
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Relena slid to her knees as the projection faded.
"I failed you," She said quietly to the dry bones in the sepulchre, "I've abandoned our people, and now our nation will perish here."
The tomb was silent, expectations of long-dead kings hung in the air like thick smoke. Sightless stone faces patiently waited for the creature of flesh and blood to join them.
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"The remnant forces of the Sanc rebellion are still missing," Trowa's voice crackled over the video comm., "Wufei and Sally are headed that way."
"Weren't construction mechs sent to the region to excavate the Sanc Institute?" Quatre took off his welding helmet and shook his head, beads of sweat splattered the screen, he wiped at it with his sleeve.
"The lack of bodies at the site is going to tip them off that the Sanc forces have escaped."
"So they'll have to abandon the narrative that the Peacecrafts buried their own people."
"Not necessarily," Trowa curbed his friend's optimism, "The Sanc rebels are officially dead, the ESUN can't be held accountable for killing them twice."
Quatre ground his teeth, "The average citizen only sees what is shown on the ESUN controlled networks, good people operating on bad information."
"Anti-ESUN demonstrations have appeared in almost all major cities of the supposed ESUN strongholds, don't underestimate your average citizen."
"I haven't seen any of this in the media, but I guess it goes against the narrative."
"That's why we need eyes on the ground and broadcast capabilities," Trowa steered the conversation back to business, "When can the satellites come online?"
"Four hours till launch."
"Don't wait too long, Quatre, this is war."
"How did a media coup against Ms. Relena morph into a campaign to quash discontent nations?"
"Relena's death was supposed to justify the invasions of these regions, but their sacrificial lamb survived the slaughter, and it got messy."
Trowa's calm grated on Quatre, was his friend always so cold? "All those years, all the lives lost, haven't enough people died?"
"Shape up, Quatre, a woman like Dorothy may be impressed by kindness at first, but a weak spirit will not satisfy her."
"Trowa!" Quatre blushed a shade of indignation.
Trowa laughed quietly but turned serious again, "The fight came to us, we must finish it."
"Conflict is the air we breathe!" Duo proclaimed loudly over Quatre's shoulder and pointed at Trowa through the screen, "You've been waiting for a chance to play dress-up, don't deny it."
"Duo," Trowa eyed the other man from under his bangs, "Get back to work."
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Heero's chest ached with every breath, the pain in his leg pulsed as he walked down the steps into the Royal Catacombs, injuries he could've brushed off a few years ago. The step-scrape of his limping echoed off the walls as he approached Relena.
Deep inside the dark tunnel, she knelt by her father's tomb, hands folded in prayer, he regretted disturbing her. An irrational hatred of her brother boiled up in Heero. Zechs, how many times must she grieve for you?
Relena opened her eyes and looked up at him, "Do you think me foolish? To rely on an unseen God at a time like this?"
"I can't mock what I don't understand," Heero rested on his good leg and met her eyes.
Relena stroked the line of inscription on the tomb, "I don't have a right to lead these people."
"It's not a right, it's your duty."
"A small nation like us declaring independence will Balkanize the ESUN. Is it worth the death and suffering?"
"The Unified Nation is now a pretext for empire. Peace by tyranny is no peace at all."
"What can our meager hundreds do against that empire?" Relena smiled sadly, "Make a principled stand and die fighting?"
Heero struck the ground with his crutch, "If you make a stand, the world will follow."
Relena looked at Heero as if seeing him for the first time. He fought for the Colonies even when they betrayed him, his own life expendable for what he thought was right. "Heero, if the fighting ends tomorrow, where will you go?"
"The fighting will never end, but my place is with you."
Relena smiled in a way so familiar to him that he couldn't help but respond in kind, "Then my place is with my people."
Heero nodded, "In that case, you should know, this tunnel goes through the mountain to the other side."
"The other side?" Relena echoed with a start, "We can escape..."
"It is an option."
Relena stood and dusted the knees of her fatigues, "I need to speak to my people."
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"What have those idiots done to you..." Wufei whispered grievously to the Gundam, almost forgetting to release the unconscious guard from his chokehold.
"Wufei! You'll kill him!" Sally said urgently, prying his arms loose around the poor ESUN soldier.
Wufei left Sally to set the limp body down in soft snow, and climbed up to the cockpit. Scorch marks and dents covered the rim of the hatch, but it remained firmly sealed.
"They couldn't open the cockpit so they just started stripping the outside panels." Sally followed after him.
"No respect for good craftsmanship," Wufei opened the hatch, hopped inside and checked the status, "Cooling system in the left arm is offline, but it's otherwise intact."
Noin struggled up the side and hoisted herself in front of the cockpit with a grunt, "Let me pilot it."
"No way," Sally helped the other woman up, "Not with your injuries."
Wufei locked eyes with Noin, he didn't like what he saw, "You think we'll just let you go fulfill your death wish?"
"I'm not ready to face Milliardo yet, besides," Noin's mouth twisted into a joyless grin, "You don't know the lay of the land here."
"I know it well enough." Wufei countered, "You're injured and compromised."
"Alright," Noin feigned to concede, "But you'll be leaving the rest of the mission to us two wounded women."
Sally looked from Noin to Wufei, and knew the woman won the argument. She clutched at her friend's thick coat sleeve, "Promise me, Noin, that you'll value your life and live through this."
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Tbc...