Review reply: To my good reader KenshinGoku. Thank you for your business, but please let me reply and attempt to justify myself. Your image of Kira and mine is very different. You see him as a near divine type, the best at everything he tries, far and above better than everyone else because he is an Ultimate Coordinator. However I think you're placing too much stress on the Ultimate part of that, without regard for what exactly one is. According to the series, an Ultimate Coordinator is one who is born entirely artificially, without any biological input from his mother's body potentially messing up the transfer of skills/traits from his parents to him. It doesn't necessarily mean he's the best at everything. In fact, outside of a mobile suit, Kira is highly skilled, but not necessarily better than others. Even in a mobile suit, he is defeated by Shinn in GS Destiny. Perhaps you are right, that if properly trained in something, Kira could be better at it than almost anyone else, but lacking such training, he's simply a guy. Remember, above all things, that a Coordinator merely has POTENTIAL, and potential does not equate to superiority unless you work hard at it. Its an argument that is made several times in GS itself, as well as in this story. I've never read GS Astray though, so I'm afraid your references there don't mean much to me.
Review reply: To KLL is enough: You say I have too many characters, and that I should just focus on a single pairing, just Kira X Lacus, for instance. There are plenty of nice stories on this site that indulge that desire for you. However, it is my personal opinion that, when writing a story like mine, which is designed as a continuation/extension of the core plot of the GS universe, it is best to stick to the core values of a Gundam story. And Gundam stories are all about multiple characters. It's a war story after all, about a world wide war. They may have main characters, people whom the action is centered around, but much of the meat of the story is brought in by the people that main character reacts with, even if they are just a nameless soldier who dies in a single episode. You are right, the story is long because it is in fact multiple stories, all telling the same thing from multiple perspectives. But I believe its those multiple perspectives that make Gundam stories and series so interesting, not to mention the political/social commentary woven into them. If I want single character focus, I'll go watch Hellsing or Outlaw Star or another 13-26 episode series.
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"There's the shuttle with the PLANT delegation now." Waltfeld nodded at one of the icons on the Archangel's sensor screens. "They sure got here fast, for a clandestine meeting anyway." The Archangel was currently anchored a few dozen kilometers outside Copernicus City, in a shadowed valley of one of the many mountain ranges that criss-crossed the lunar surface. The Kusanagi was anchored a few hundred meters away, just over a couple ridgelines. While it was still technically possible for any ship, ZAFT, Alliance or otherwise, to dock at Copernicus City Harbor since the city itself was strictly a civilian venture, no one had particularly felt like testing their luck with the authorities. The last thing they wanted was to provoke a confrontation between themselves and the massed Alliance forces still present on the Moon. Of course, that stance had led to them spending a very frustrating few months cooped up on board the ships, with only an occassional stealthy supply run to liven up the boredom.
"Considering all they've lost in the last few engagements, I'm almost surprised this sort of thing didn't occur sooner." Murrue replied. "I guess it took having a few task forces sitting outside their control zones to make the PLANTS realize that Sai wasn't joking when he proposed his Isolation Plan. And now they're trying to make up for their procrastination. Despite all thats come between us in the course of this war, I do have to respect Sai for his dedication to bringing peace, even if his methods are somewhat misguided. He agreed to fly up here without a second's hesitation after he got the message from Cagalli's people that the PLANTS were interested in entering preliminary negotiations. I didn't expect him to come personally."
"Nowadays the Alliance Government is like Cagalli's in a lot of ways, due to the radical re-organization it underwent after the disaster at Panama. Sai stays in power by the force of his personality and the visible progress he's made in bringing victory to the Alliance and an end to the war. Much like Cagalli stays in power due to the love her people have for her, due to the sacrifices she has made and the progress she's accomplished in restoring Orb to its former status." Lacus explained, though it wasn't really necessary. It was just words to fill the time while they waited for the PLANT shuttle to arrive, then waited for the shuttle from Earth with Sai and the Isolationist delegation to show up as well. Neither side had specifically invited her or an Orb delegation, but neither had they forbidden them to attend. And given that the meeting wouldn't have even been able to take place if the Supreme Council had not contacted the Clyne Faction in order to send a private message through unofficial channels to the Isolationist government, Lacus felt more than justified in attending. "Sai doesn't really have too many people he could unilaterally trust to speak for him to send. It must be a lot of work leading a government through micro-management, the stress must be incredible."
"Though even that says a lot about how seriously Sai is taking this meeting. Him leaving the Earth so suddenly can't have given him much time to leave instructions for his government to follow, he won't want to spend much time out of direct contact or problems will start cropping up for him." Kira commented. Like Lacus, and indeed most of the rest of the major Clyne Faction supporters, he was dressed formally, in a suit only slightly less showy than the tux he'd worn for Sai's wedding. The memories of the last direct encounter with his friend were playing rapid fire through Kira's mind, and had been ever since he'd discovered that Sai was going to be attending the meeting personally. He really, really hoped this time wouldn't turn out like that time, though of course this time there was no Cervantes to worry about, plotting behind the scenes. No, just Sai, who'd already changed far beyond Kira's understanding. There was nothing positive to be gained by worrying about what Sai's reaction would be, but that did nothing to stop Kira from worrying. He felt the light, reassuring brush on his mind by Lacus and he smiled for her. He smiled more genuinely when he happened to glance over at Athrun.
Athrun noticed Kira's grin and look and he gave his friend the evil eye stare. Athrun had just recently been appointed ambassador for Orb, by Cagalli, an official posting that let him speak for her in almost total confidence whenever she wasn't around to speak for herself. It was going to fall to him to represent Orb's interests in the peace negotiations that were going to commence sometime today. He wasn't looking forward to it... when he, Athrun Zala, formerly of ZAFT and son of the former Supreme Council Chairman, was presented to members of that same Supreme Council as the representative of a nation that had hardly been an ally to the PLANTS. He also really hated the suit, which was in the style of the Orb Representatives... royal purple coat and slacks with a pale cyan button down shirt underneath the coat. He just didn't feel right wearing it, he'd almost have preferred being back in his ZAFT red-coat uniform. He was forced to admit though, that the official nature of his appointment had helped him a lot with patching things up with Cagalli, since he had to talk to her at least once a day in an official capacity. Not that things had really been that bad... but she had been pretty angry with him, and he with her. He was very pleased to see that she wasn't anywhere near as clingy as she'd been on the day of their departure... indeed, she'd actually hung on up him three times, official call or no, before Kisaka forced her to talk to him, the first time.
"What's the matter, Athrun? You look preturbed." Dearka could not help needling, adjusting the collar of his own suit to a more comfortable fit. He was dressed much more casually than the major players, since he was not going to have any but the most superficial role in the negotiations. But he was still fidgeting constantly, and it wasn't because he didn't like how his clothes fit.
"Least I'm honest enough to show my feelings on the surface." Athrun retorted. It wasn't very nice, but he wasn't in the most congenial of moods either. It was known to them that Tad Elsman, Dearka's father, was one of the Supreme Council delegates, which was why Dearka was sweating bullets behind the facade of calm. For that matter, Ysak wasn't much better, since his mother, Ezalia Jule, was also among the delegates.
"Yeesh, someone's got a burr up their backside. What, Cagalli not talking to you again?" Dearka fired back. Miriallia firmly placed her hand on his arm and led him away to the other side of the bridge before more heated words could be exchanged. The last thing they all needed to do was be sniping at each other during the middle of a peace conference. It was starting to get to a tough point though... three months of inaction, cooped up on the same two ships... it was getting to everyone. There really wasn't much to do besides clean, do routine maintenance, play simulators, watch a movie everyone had already seen five times or read books. Unless you were Lacus or Waltfeld or Murrue, in which case there was always a lot to worry about. The Coordinator pilots had pooled their efforts for nearly a month trying to figure out the ZAFT Gundam, which they had finally figured out was called the Pulsar. They hadn't gotten very much from their effort. So much about how the machine operated and what exactly a lot of the systems did was either protected behind security measures of such deviousness that not even Kira or Athrun had any luck in hacking them, or wouldn't be apparent until they gave the machine a test flight, something they were all very reluctant to do given how they'd found the last pilot.
They'd identified the dead pilot at length, and his identity had surprised all the Coordinators that had spent any time at all living on the PLANTS. Jeremiah Borander, one of the Ace-Commander's of ZAFT, the white-coats... all the ZAFT pilots and Waltfeld had heard of him of course. One of the top three ZAFT aces, right up there with Rau Le Creusete, and scion of what was probably the richest Coordinator family in all of the PLANTS, and one of the fifteen wealthiest families in all of Earth space. BoranderCorp made everything, from childs toys to medical products to mobile suits. It was BoranderCorp that had produced the Efreet, Grendel and Elemental classes of mobile suit that were now the mainstay of the ZAFT forces, and from there it wasn't too much of a leap to deduce that BoranderCorp had likely built the Pulsar as well. That worried many, because of the level of technology seen in the Pulsar was not something they wanted to see in the hands of a firm with the resources to potentially produce more, maybe even mass produce. Especially considering the apparent design flaw in the control system that had proved so fatal to Jeremiah, who had suffered the agony of having his entire nervous system charred to ash along with his brain, resulting in a death that was neither instantaneous nor painless.
Jeremiah's body was still in the morgue aboard the Archangel, awaiting a time when they could return him to his family. Right now they weren't sure when that was, because admitting they had Jeremiah's body was as good as admitting they had the Pulsar as well, and ZAFT was sure to want to get their Gundam back, at almost any cost considering the investment it represented. Lacus was hoping that they would be able to arrange something with the Supreme Council delegation, after the peace talks had concluded. She half watched the PLANT shuttle, a Silverwind class vessel much like the one that had once carried her to the ruins of Junius Seven, entered the Copernicus City Harbor and began docking procedures. A glance at the Archangels long range sensors showed another shuttle icon inbound from Earth, almost certainly the one that would be carrying Sai and his advisors. She smoothed down the royal purple pleats of her dress and nervously fingered her hair ornament again, a nervous tic that had been with her for ages now. She felt she had every right to be nervous... this was looking like it might be their last big chance to resolve things peacefully between the Alliance and the PLANTS. They could not afford to mess this up.
I'm sure we'll be fine. Both sides seem eager to find a peaceful solution to the war. Katie's beepcall flicked Lacus back out of her nervous thoughts. Lacus looked around and smiled briefly when she saw the brief thumbs up Katie shot her, from where she stood helping Ysak adjust his own clothing in a nervous tic similar to Dearka's. I'd almost rather be in your shoes, dealing with just the fate of the world, ya know? I have to deal with this mama's-boy here, who can't stop trembling because he's scared his mom is gonna yell at him. A mental eye roll was difficult to describe, but Lacus got the picture. Besides, we can always nudge things along a little if need be. No, no, don't frown at me like that, I didn't mean we should influence their thoughts like you're thinking. We should just... keep things feeling friendly, yes? Keep things mellow and nonconfrontational. Surely thats okay, right?
We'll deal with it if the need arises, but I'd really prefer not to. Lacus replied firmly. Using our abilities to force a peaceful resolution would not be helpful, as both sides would only shake off our influence after a short time and then they would be more suspicous then ever, of not only each other but us as well. If we use our powers unwisely, it could very well be a deathblow to the negotiations... please try to remember that Katie. I know you'd just be trying to help but...
Yeah, yeah, I know. Listen, don't worry about it all right? I'll follow your lead, unless something goes terribly wrong, in which case you'd better follow mine, because like you thought, morals and ethics aside, we can't afford to let either side walk out on these negotiations. Now, go tend to your man, and help him adjust his suit like everyone else is doing. Stillness like his is unnatural.
You should see the inside of his mind if you think he's just standing there idly... no, that wasn't permission to pry either.
Thats no fun. Katie pouted and returned her attention and likely her conversation, to Ysak.
"I'm sure this won't end up like last time. We're meeting on effectively neutral ground, and its not just the Alliance here." Lacus said quietly to Kira, coming over to stand beside him. "For all that, you don't have to come if you don't want to. I'd totally understand if you didn't, given the confrontation you had with Sai last time."
"Hiding from unpleasantness is hardly my style these days, though." Kira shook his head and shrugged. "I won't say I don't have reservations about meeting Sai again, but I think the both of us can shelve our personal problems with each other in the interest of the greater good for humanity. At least, I'm pretty sure I can. Don't expect me to talk too much though, I'm afraid I'll say more than I mean to again... what I said in Hawaii... I didn't mean for it to sound like I was telling him to trust me and not his wife, but that's certainly how he took it. I'm just not so good with this whole diplomacy thing."
"You'll do fine. Just having Kira Yamato present at the meeting will help keep things civil. No one wants to provoke someone with skills like yours, love. It's very reassuring for me." Lacus said with a small grin, taking his hand with hers.
"Being feared for my abilities doesn't make me happy, but if my reputation is helpful to you, thats all that matters." Kira replied. He glanced at her out of the corner of his eye. "You and Katie get things all worked out between you two?" He chuckled when he saw her look of surprise. "No, I'm not becoming an Active. Just an observation based on the fact that you were making faces at each other for a while there. You'll have to be careful about doing that during the conference... we don't need everyone else wondering if you're crazy."
"But I am crazy... I hear these voices in my head all the time. They tell me to do all these naughty things..." Lacus giggled.
"I wish I could say that I'm not disturbed by the thought of you and Katie talking to each other about things like that, but I am."
"Who said anything about Katie? Just because your vocal chords aren't always working right doesn't mean I can't hear you anyways, dear."
"And on that note, I think I need to go change my brain filters out." Alkire commented, sidling away from where he'd been leaning on a bulkhead nearby, unnoticed by either of them. He noticed their surprised looks. "Hey, so that stuff Katie said about disciplining your mind really does work for hiding from you new-whatevers, huh? Cool, maybe I won't lose hide and seek all the time anymore."
"The Alliance diplomatic shuttle is on final approach to the Copernicus City Harbor. We should probably start heading over there if we want to get in on the beginning of the negotiations." Murrue spoke up. She looked around at the gathered group. "Heres hoping, then..."
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"Still feeling okay, dear?" Sai asked, leaning over to look more closely at his wife and children, who were seated in a heavily padded acceleration couch, vs the more normal chair he was sitting in. The shuttle was mostly empty, except for Sai, Vanai, the children, Cyprus and a few of his guards. No doubt many would wonder where his gaggle of aides and advisors was, but Sai didn't hold with the idea of being a politician surrounded by a small army of flunkies. Sure, he might ask Cyprus or Ramierez to grab a cup of coffee now and again, or make a few copies of a document while Sai worked on something else, but by and large he did all of his work himself, because he just couldn't find it in him to delegate. Some of it was that he didn't trust most of the people trying to help him, recognizing them as purely political animals trying to curry favor with the boss to assure their own status, but also it just wasn't in his nature to make other people do his work, even though it was running him ragged with all the extra responsibility. He smiled, thinking that it was for the better... the more he hated his job the easier it would be to pass it on when the time came.
It was probably a good thing the shuttle was mostly empty, and had a high quality air circulating/cleaning system. Matthias and Jessi were just over three months old, the pride of their parent's world, but they were still three month old babies. They cried a lot, they puked and spat frequently and they soiled themselves with regularity. Back on Earth, Vanai had a whole support staff dedicated to helping take care of the twins, but she'd only been able to bring two of them up to the Moon with her, and both were currently dealing with space sickness, a common malady to people who'd never been out of the Earth's gravity. Sai's own stomach had fluttered some, but he'd been acclimated to microgravity during his tenure aboard the Archangel and old habits died hard. Cyprus and his men were likewise mostly unaffected, though Ramierez had been uncharacteristically withdrawn and quiet, as had Glory. Vanai hadn't thrown up yet, but the vomit suction hose hadn't left her hand since they'd left the atmosphere and she'd been holding as still as possible with her eyes closed as she fought the nausea. Matthias and Jessi had surprisngly handled the microgravity with ease and every sign of enjoyment.
"I'll be okay... probably... just... don't ask me... to live here." Vanai managed to gasp out. Sai grasped her hand and patted her shoulder for a moment in consolation. In truth, he was a little relieved too, when the docking tube extended and mated with the shuttle access doors. He was just unbuckling his seatbelt when he felt Cyprus's hand on his arm. Cyprus didn't say anything, he just tilted his head and pointed out a window. Initially Sai thought his friend was indicating the Silverwind class ship that the PLANT delegation must have arrived on, but then his eyes hit upon the smaller vessel Cyprus was actually pointing at. Sai had seen vessels like that before on several occassions... it was a lifeboat from an Archangel class warship. He'd been aware of course, that the Clyne Faction was going to try and involve itself in the peace negotiations ever since he'd recieved the coded message from the PLANTS via his message traffick with Orb, but expecting it and confirming it were two entirely different things. He had nothing against Lacus or the Clyne Faction, even if they were by and large idealistic dreamers who preferred to talk rather than take action... but where Lacus went, Kira would not be far away. Sai grimaced, he really didn't want to deal with Kira right now.
Still, there was nothing to do but accept what lay in the future. He could put on a nice face for a few hours or even a few days, and ignore the offensive presence of his former friend. It was part of being a politician, being able to socialize with people you privately loathed. "Just as we discussed then, Cyprus. We'll treat them with every courtesy, but if they start causing problems I want you to make sure they understand they are only attending the talks under my good graces. I'm willing to work with the Clyne Faction to make peace a workable reality, but if they don't want to be reasonable then I won't stand for their meddling."
"Yes, sir." Cyprus acknowledged. "Transportation is currently waiting outside the terminal area for us. The PLANT delegation is already at the conference hall, they arrived about forty minutes ago. Initial security scans indicate no armed presences beyond the ones we agreed upon. Everything looks above board for the moment."
"I wish you wouldn't worry so much, but I know better than to expect you not to. They'd have to be crazier than Asmodeus and Frost to attempt any foul play here, even at a secret and unofficial peace talk. If anything happens to me, yes, it'll be a blow for the Alliance, but it'll be the end of them. They're well aware of that, or else I don't think we'd be having the meeting at all. Besides, they were expecting some diplomat, not me personally, and I think it might be hard for even Coordinators to throw together an assassination scheme in only a few hours."
"Our best time for a successful one is slightly over five hours, but that was an easy one, not confronted with all the logistical problems this meeting presents... yes, sorry sir, I'm working, I'm working." Glory said cheerfully, wilting under the stare from Cyprus. "Step this way, Mr. President, and we'll get you, your wife and your kids out into the A-grav nice and quick like."
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"Approaching the target zone. Three minutes to the access point." the pilot of the stolen helicopter reported smartly. Asmodeus flashed a hand sign of recognition, as it was impossible to be heard over the sound of the rotors unless you were either equipped with an intercom like the pilot or were part of a tactical comm network like the Hellhound team was. He pressed a button on his cell phone, transmitting a pre-arranged set of orders to the rest of the Tiamat group, who were approaching New New York City in the group's mobile suits, flying under the water of the harbor area. With any luck at all Frost would continue feeling trustworthy and would act on the orders, but there was no telling with that maverick. Which was why most Tiamat plans tended to be Asmodeus pointing Frost and his pack of BCPU's at the enemy and then going in afterwards to pick up any worthwhile pieces. Despite what the killer insisted, it did remind Asmodeus a lot of the old days... where all the hard work and planning fell to him, while Frost acted as a weapon that Asmodeus directed. Even this masterpieceof a plan didn't actually require Frost and his force to do anything more than cause a big scene and draw attention to themselves, something Asmodeus felt confident even Frost could do without a problem.
Meanwhile, Asmodeus and his handpicked new team of Hellhounds, consisting both of the few remaining Hellhound members that were loyal to him and a large group of the more skilled members of MAGOS, would execute the real mission. Assassinating Sai Argyle wouldn't do much to swing the balance of the war in either direction, but it would do a lot to prolong the war... and it would make both Frost and Asmodeus feel much happier. If in the process of satisfying this desire half the population of New New York City had to die, well then so be it. Asmodeus was thoroughly done with worrying about how his actions made him look to the world, he didn't care if people thought him as evil as Frost... in a lot of ways it was true. The nerve gas he'd managed to acquire from some of his old middle eastern contacts was a nasty bug that rapidly attacked any exposed flesh, dissolving it while simultaneously attacking the nerves controlling the circulatory system, causing wracking muscle contractions and fatal heart attacks within three minutes of first exposure. The aeresol canisters his team carried contained enough to cover an area of more than ten square blocks, and the gas would remain deadly for almost two weeks before dying off.
"Sir, we're getting reports of a disruption down at the dockside area. It looks like Frost and his monsters are getting started." the pilot radioed. Asmodeus signed his acknowledgement again.
"All right, we all know the plan, but I'll recap anyway. We're going to be dropped off on the roof of building X. We will descend through building X as rapidly as possible, hitting any targets of opportunity that present themselves. Casualties are to be maximized, because the more emergency response people we can catch with the gas, the better. The basement of building X contains a portion of the air exchanging system for the governmental bunkers. Group A will hold that location while releasing the gas into the system. Groups B and C will continue on, heading outside and across the street to building Y. The elevators of building Y are one of the access points to the bunker complex. Group B will secure the elevators and hold them while group C enters the complex proper, observing proper CBR (Chemical, Biological, Radiological) warfare precautions. Group C will assist in the distrubution of gas through the complex and will act to confirm the death of the principal target. When death of target is confirmed, groups will extract in reverse order, meeting up outside and heading as a unit to point Z, where the helicopter will be waiting to extract us. Ten minutes after reaching point Z, all remaining gas supplies will be distributed over the city, along with any remaining IED's (Improvised Explosive Devices). Good... LZ in one minute. Be ready."
Precisely fifty four seconds later the helicopter touched down on top of a nondescript office buiding about twenty stories tall. Twenty four men clad in black and red armored jumpsuits swarmed out of the chopper, many lugging large duffel bags and carry cases, along with their firearms and other assorted weapons. Stopping only to mow down two maintenance workers taking a lunch break on the roof, the Tiamat unit was inside the building and pounding noisily down the stairways within fifteen seconds of first touchdown. At each landing a soldier stopped as his comrades hurried past, kicking the door open and hurling a grenade or pipe bomb into the office spaces nearby, following it with a couple of short bursts from his assault rifle, before closing the door and resuming the downward rush. As you might imagine, the shock of the office workers was near total, and casualties were high, both due to the spraying bullets but mostly due to the powerful and well constructed bombs that devastated everything within twenty feet of their landing points, and caused wounds and panic far beyond that. The police were rapidly called, but they were slowed by the need to respond to the full on military engagement that was shaping up in the harbor distict.
Frost in the Fury, along with fifteen assorted BCPU 2's and 3's in Strike Crusaders, exploded from the placid waters of the New New York City harbor with absolutely no warning at all, overturning small pleasure and fishing boats as they came. CIWS chattered and spun, splintering the streets and various dockside structures into gore filled ruins as the busy dockside markets filled with panicking people. Railgun tracers demolished onrushing police cars and other emergency vehicles whole, knocking craters in the streets and blowing holes in various buildings. The Statue of Liberty, rebuilt after being destroyed by terrorists prior to the Reconstruction War, was toppled again when three seperate hyper impulse cannon blasts all but annihilated the lower portion of the monument. Frost sliced and stabbed with his swords, one side of him reveling in the pure chaos of the surprise attack, while the other remained feeling unfufilled by the pointless nature of the killing. It was just killing, and while fun it didn't particularly advance his own goals. Killing Sai was a step in the right direction though, and Frost resigned himself to enjoying pointlesness for a while longer. It didn't take long for the bamboozeled Alliance defenders to respond to the terrorists who had somehow managed to slip through their perimeter, thanks to a few well placed traitors, and soon enough Frost found himself faced with plentiful opponents to wile the time with.
Five police cars screeched to a halt outside the office building Asmodeus and his men had assaulted, the officers inside boiling out and taking cover behind their vehicles with shotguns and pistols raised. It was at about this time that the Hellhounds had reached the ventilation system in the buildings basement and were beginning to insinuate the gas into the system. Groups B and C headed out the lobby and saw the police presence, which was an expected problem. Hellhounds rapidly assembled a trio of RPG launchers, which they used to destroy three of the cars and a recently arriving SWAT van, while sustained automatic fire pinned down the remaining cops long enough for hurled grenades to take care of their involvment. Wasting no time the Hellhounds sprinted across the street, two more RPG's blowing apart cars at either corner, blocking the street with burning debris and human casualties. The soldiers gunned down anyone unfortunate enough to pass into their sights, not caring if it was man, woman or child. They were terrorists, fanatics with a cause, and the deaths of civilians were nothing more than a way to express their ideals to them.
The security detail inside the building that controlled the elevators that accessed a portion of the bunker complex were already rising, weapons in hand, when the Hellhounds stormed the building. Though dressed as security guards, these people were actually regular army soldiers, and were armed and armored as such. The gun fight in the lobby lasted almost a minute before all the guards were hunted down and blown apart, at the cost of two Hellhounds, who were allowed to lay where they fell, as calling cards. Three more minutes passed while the elevator controls were hacked and then group C, along with Asmodeus, continued on alone. While in the elevator they checked each other's uniforms for tightness and coverage, ensuring no bare flesh whatsoever was exposed, as well as checking the sealance of their face masks. Though not afraid to die in whatever manner was necessary to complete the mission, they felt there was no sense in dying to their own poison gas all the same.
Getting out of the elevator was bloody, because the poison gas had not yet reached this part of the complex and the guards had almost five minutes to prepare a welcome for them. Three of the team of eight Hellhounds died in the process of exiting the elevator, one because he shielded Asmodeus from a shotgun blast at close range. The complex security force lost nearly twenty men in that engagement, largely due to the attacking forces willingness to use grenades and other explosive weapons despite the close quarters. Pausing only to perforate ventilation ducts with short bursts of auto fire every fifty feet or so, group C moved rapidly through the bunker complex, following maps of the layout that Asmodeus had reconstructed from memory of his own time there with Cervantes. Whenever they encountered a living body they killed that person, and whenever they passed a doorway they tossed a grenade or other bomb through it, even if it was just a janitors closet. By the time group C reached the outer ring of security around the presidental office, they had already caused mored than seventy casualties. The nerve gas, bypassing the filters in the ventilation system through the bullet holes in the ducting, soon brought the death toll up into the triple digits.
Back on the streets above, group B was faced with the heaviest opposition, since they were already two men down. Still, they possessed two RPG's and a light machine gun, and were not shy about using them. It didn't help the police and Alliance military forces responding to the area that Group A had sent men into the lobby of their own building to stablish a cross fire with group B, and group A had a heavy belt fed machine gun, which was more than capable of penetrating any sort of personnel armor, even the heavy riot gear of the SWAT teams. The Alliance defenders were sent reeling in a rush when group B hosed down the street with their own canisters of gas, and panic began spreading throughout the area as rumors of poison gas flew even faster than the gas itself. Terrible as that was, it still paled into the war zone the dock area had become, with a full on mobile suit engagement between the Dagger JA's and Cavaliers of the Alliance and the BCPU piloted Crusaders of Tiamat. Though flying outdated equipment, the superior skills of the BCPU's, not to mention their willingness to hide behind hostages, combined to wreak a heavy toll on the Alliance pilots, many of whom lived in the area or had family that lived in the area.
Frost himself had claimed the lives of ten pilots within the first few minutes of the opposition arriving. Much as the Crusader's his brethren were piloting were clunky and slow compared to the Dagger JA's and Cavaliers, so too were they slow compared to the Fury. Against a foe designed to overmatch large groups of Coordinator elites by himself, the Alliance pilots had next to no chance against Frost. They couldn't even get close to him before being either blasted or cut to shreds. Determined and coordinated long range volley fire served to at least keep him at bay, even if it was exceedingly hard on the city around them. The first BCPU fell ten minutes into the battle, about the time Asmodeus and group C were exiting the elevator. By the time Asmodeus had reached the outer security ring of the presidential office, two more BCPU's had been destroyed, and a fourth was heavily damaged. Frost paid it no mind... their jobs were to fight and die at his command, and that was all there was to it. He glanced at a timer on one of his screens and slowly began edging further into the city, calling his followers back with him despite their whining protests. He was the only one that could continue supplying them with gamma gliphetim, and they all knew he wouldn't hesitate to kill them besides, if they didn't do what he wanted. And he was in a Gundam, while they had obsolete weapons.
Security was a good deal stiffer on the way into the section of bunkers where the presidents office was. Tough enough that Asmodeus was forced to clear a way through by spraying half of his last canister of gas directly into the faces of the defenders in order to get them to back off. The defenders had started wearing gas masks, but they still had exposed flesh, which proved to be their undoing. Breaching charges soon cleared the locked doors that blocked their way forward and group C continued on their bloody way. They lost a fourth member of their team to an untimely gunshot wound that allowed the gas in the air to enter his bloodstream, Asmodeus blew the mans head off before the pain could really get started. Say what you might about his morals, he still knew how to give mercy when he had to. By the time Asmodeus and group C had finally reached the antechamber to the presidential office, some twenty minutes after they first touched foot to rooftop, he'd lost half his force. That was still within his expected losses figures, but an almost dead part of him gibbered at the thought of telling his bosses about the losses... oh wait, he didn't have any bosses anymore, did he?
A final set of charges and the reinforced steel door to the office was ripped off its hinges in a plume of smoke and sparks. Gunfire blitzed out at them from the security forces inside the office, almost decapitating one of the hellhounds who was slow in ducking back. That left Asmodeus with only two soldiers as backup, but he didn't even consider retreat. This was his How, the When didn't matter. Just about the last thing the security forces expected was a headlong charge, but that was exactly what they got. There were six soldiers inside the office, crouching behind tipped over chairs and snugged into corners of the room. Asmodeus had his pistol in one hand and his sword in the other and he was shouting in a wordless howl of anger and hatred designed to unman and discomfit even the most hardened of enemies. The Hellhound mask didn't help matters, for the defenders. Asmodeus's first shot tore through the back of a chair and splattered the upper torso of one soldier across the wall behind him, two more rounds served to blow the arm off another guard and then explosively eviscerate him moments later. Automatic fire stiched past his head, blowing chunks of plaster out of the reinforced wall before being stopped by the armor plating.
Asmodeus dropped and rolled as his two subordinates hosed the room down with automatic fire, shredding two more soldiers even as one Hellhound dropped, his own chest a bloody ruin. From his position on the floor Asmodeus blew the leg off one of the remaining guards and then blasted four large holes in the presidential desk, hoping to get anybody that might be hiding behind it. The desk, like most things in the office, was armored, but not sufficiently to stop the heavy and powerful rounds of Asmodeus's custom pistol. He was disappointed to see no blood splatter and hear no cry of pain suddenly cut off. Could it be that they'd already evacuated the president? He'd seen no signs of it, and his informants within the complex had given no indication of a VIP movement, besides given a CBR attack the presidential office was the safest place to be, why move into a potentially contaminated area? Security had been exactly what he'd expected it to be if the president was indeed in the office, but there was nowhere else for him to have been hiding. Pistol empty, he holstered it and struggled back to his feet, just as his last ally managed to kill the final soldier in the room, at the cost of a debilitating pair of gunshot wounds to the stomach.
"No sign of the target, sir." the wounded man gasped. "Was our... information... wrong...?" The man slumped against a wall, leaving a bloody streak.
"We had his schedule, so if he's not here that must mean he changed it himself, recently. He couldn't have known about this attack, or none of us would have gotten anywhere close to this far. DAMN IT!" Asmodeus slashed his sword down on the shot torn desk, slicing gashes in the vid screens concealed in the marble. "Defeated by a whim..." Asmodeus sighed in exasperation and then looked at his wounded ally. The man looked back and without saying another word Asmodeus flipped him a bag full of grenades.
"See... you... around... sir..." the wounded Hellhound grated out as Asmodeus headed for the door. "I'll... be... wait..."
"Don't bother. We won't even be on the same level of Hell." Asmodeus retorted over his shoulder, liberally spraying the remains of his gas canister around as he began jogging away from the office. He'd barely gone fifty meters when the sound of a series of explosions resounded through the hallways behind him. One plan down... on to the next...
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"Don't freak out so much, Dearka. I'm sure your dad will be overjoyed to see you." Miriallia endeavored to cheer up her lover, something she never thought she'd have to do. He was just sitting in the back seat of the car next to her, looking as glum as if he'd just been told a favorite pet had died.
"That's cause you don't know his dad." Ysak cut in. "Tad Elsman is... uh... umm... heroically opposed to war in general. A militant pacifist if that makes any sense. When Dearka joined ZAFT, I heard Mr. Elsman had to be admitted to a clinic to treat his apolexy."
"If I didn't know better, I'd think you were enjoying Dearka's discomfiture." Miriallia said, her voice dangerously calm. "But you wouldn't do something so crass as take enjoyment from the worries of your good friend, would you?"
"Of course I would... n't." Ysak replied, after Katie dug her elbow into his side. "I'm just trying to say that you should be ready for some fireworks."
"Don't mind him, he's just a little unhinged because he finally gets to introduce me to his mother, and I'm planning on making it as painful for him as possible." Katie said with a wicked smile. Ysak went a little paler than usual.
"I don't even want to know what you're planning. But if you embarass me in front of my mother, in public, I'll..." Ysak trailed off and just ended up clenching his fists with a serious look on his face.
"You should have seen what happened last time I torqued him up when his mom was around." Dearka said quietly. "I've never seen anyone that mad, not even my parents. All over a little kiss between friends. God, I nearly lost my life that day." Dearka chuckled. Ysak gave him a cold stare.
"You tried to make my mother think I was gay. And then you kissed me, in front of her. What did you THINK I was going to do?" Ysak said witheringly. Dearka just chuckled again and shook his head, though Miriallia was pleased to see he looked less glum now. She herself was having a hard time holding in laughter at the look that must have crossed Ysak's face when Dearka kissed him. Katie, as usual, was less tactful.
"So, is Dearka a better kisser than me, Ysak-y?" She was quick to ask.
"I am not going to be drawn into this conversation."
"Does he use his tongue like I do, Ysak-y?" Katie pressed, enjoying the red color that Ysak was quickly acquiring.
"Depends on how you use your tongue, I guess." Dearka volunteered, actively smiling now.
"You can shut up anytime, Dearka. No... in fact, its too late. You thought what I did to you then was bad... you haven't seen anything yet. You just keep it up, Dearka. Enjoy your last few hours as a man. Because I'm going to fix you like a cat after we get done with these talks." Ysak said slowly and clearly.
"Ha ha. Ha... ha... ha. I think he might actually be serious." Dearka whispered to Miriallia. "He almost put me in the hospital when I kissed him. No joke, he was legitimately enraged."
"I'll protect you, don't worry. Besides, I think he'll forget... you're pretty good at tweaking Ysak, Dearka... but I think Katie will top you. After all, it's not like he's going to put her in the hospital."
"Not till I have his babies anyway."
"GOD DAMN IT, SHUT UP!"
"They sure are noisy back there." Alkire commented, fighting a grin as the rental convertible glided around a bend, following the limo that held Lacus, Kira, Athrun and the other important folks. "Acting like real kids. About time, too." He glanced around at the surprisingly lush countryside. When one thought of Copernicus City, you usually thought of the ultramodern malls and shopping districts it was famed for... but there was a rural side, or as close to rural as you could get in a self contained environment. It was very... quiet, out away from the major population centers, with just the occasional agricultural combine or rich celebrities mansion dotting the terraformed landscape. Well, that and the huge armor-glass lid on the canyon, about a kilometer and a half overhead. "I should get some property out here... this peacefulness is something I need."
"You'd get bored in a week. They don't allow firearms or hunting, not that there's any wildlife to hunt. Also, all the cars are automated, so I don't know why you're pretending to drive. Yes, I like the scenery, and the peace and quiet is nice to visit... but its not us, dear." Raine replied lazily, slouched in the front passenger seat. She stretched her legs again, glad she wasn't forced to sit in the back seat with four rowdy teenagers, like Victor was. Crammed away against the door next to Ysak, sitting as the fifth person on a seat designed for four, the look of misery on Victor's face in her rear view mirror was a cause of much hilarity to Raine. "I think Victor's forswearing children."
"I might too, if my kids turned out like those people. Never seen such a bunch of self righteous, self sacrificing do gooders. If my kids turn out like that, I'll probably die of worry and old age before I'm fifty." Alkire paused a few moments. "I should be so lucky." He added quietly.
"Having kids like them or dying before you turn fifty?"
"Which do you think?" Alkire finally caught sight of the mansion where the meeting was slated to be held. It belonged to someone famous... someone dead, but Alkire couldn't call the name to mind. It didn't really matter... it was a place that was private and neutral to all parties. That's what mattered. His convertible turned off the main road without his guidance and followed the limo up the long driveway. "Stupid automated pieces-o-crap..."
"Looks like the Coordinators are already here." Raine remained slouched, but her keen eyes were rapidly picking out the positions the ZAFT security forces had staked out. "Six... no, eight positions. Single man only. Well within the numbers allowed by the terms of the meeting. Eight to three odds... when did we sign off on this bullshit anyway?"
"Oh, but we got Kira Yamato remember? Ooooo, scariness!" Alkire fluttered his hands like a child imitating a ghost. "They won't dare start anything with him around. Oh wait, he's entirely helpless outside a mobile suit, isn't he..."
"Sarcasm doesn't solve the problem, herr major." Victor piped up. "We may be outnumbered, but these people are not stupid. We're with Lacus Clyne. I'd really like to see a Coordinator point a gun at Lacus Clyne. Just so I could see someone commit suicide, you know."
"I think you may overestimate her impact a little bit..." Raine said with a frown.
"Not after Purgatory Day. I don't know if its possible to overestimate her impact anymore." Victor replied. "Besides... we have plenty of hostages." he flicked his eyes at Ysak and Dearka.
"Yeah, I could see THAT working real well." Alkire didn't even try to hide the sarcasm.
"It's an option."
"If you've been shooting heroin, maybe you might think that. But reasonable people..."
"Now boys, play nice in front of the important politicians." Raine admonished, as the members of the PLANT delegation came out of the manor house to meet the new arrivals. Ezaria Jule, who was a long standing member of the National Defence Committee and a former Radical supporter of Patrick Zala; now a member of the moderate bloc party that controlled the majority of council decisions. Tad Elsman, another long standing councilmember, who'd been a free spirit for as long as he'd been in office, only recently had he added his support to the moderate faction. Eileen Canaver, Supreme Chairwoman of the council and leader of the moderate bloc faction. And finally Orsen White, chairman of the Administrative Committee, the man who was in charge of all domestic matters with the PLANTS. Those four people represented a little more than sixty percent of all the political power in the PLANTS, more if you counted in all the little favors they could call in. Each had brought an aide or assistant, either a trusted advisor or just some flunky that was necessary for their operation as a politician. Raine recognized one Gilbert Durandal, vice-minister of the Interior, one of the most up and coming figures in PLANT politics. If he was here, that meant that even the newer generation of PLANT politicians were invested in these talks, which was a good sign indeed.
Dearka had lost most of the exuberant mood of only a few minutes earlier. It hadn't taken him long to spot his father, and only a few moments more for his father to spot him. The two locked gazes across about forty feet of driveway. Dearka gulped audibly. Miriallia looked at him and then scanned the crowd. It didn't take her long to pick out Tad Elsman. He looked a lot like Dearka, same blond hair, same mediterranean cast to his skin, same lanky build. If not for the beginnings of silver at his temples, and the aristocratic pencil moustaches on his upper lips, Tad Elsman could have been Dearka, fast forwarded about ten years into full adulthood. The two Coordinators just stared at each other, even as everyone else moved forward in greeting. Miriallia prodded Dearka in the side. "See, nothing to worry about. I must say, your father is a very distinguished looking man. I hadn't thought that would be in your genes, given how you usually act."
"Please... don't make jokes like that if he can hear you." Dearka pleaded in a low voice. "My father's degree of specialization is in Biochemistry... he's leading the efforts to resolve the whole 2nd generation and later Coordinator issue. He's very uptight about genetics. Like Ysak with a stick up his ass, but worse."
"Well, we're not making any progress just standing here looking at him. Lets go meet him, eh?" Miriallia pulled at Dearka, who reluctantly started forward with her, though he moved like he was wading through chest deep water. At length they had managed to close to within easy speaking distance of Mr. Elsman, who had done nothing but stand and stare at Dearka with an unreadably calm expression on his face that had Dearka positively shivering.
"Uh... hey, Dad. Long time, no see." Dearka managed weakly, not quite looking his father in the eye anymore. He couldn't seem to stop fidgeting. Miriallia was concerned... this wasn't how the Dearka she knew acted.
"Dearka... your mother and I were very pleased when we heard you'd left the ZAFT forces." Tad Elsman eyed his wayward son and chose his words carefully. "But becoming a traitor to ZAFT was not the way to go about it!" he forced his voice to remain low, not wanting to cause a scene before the extremely delicate peace talks even got underway. His teeth were clenched so hard he was sure he'd need some reconstructive dental surgery at a later time. "Boy, you don't know how much trouble you've caused for your mother and I..."
"I think what you meant to say and couldn't find the words for was... "I'm glad to see you're alive and well, Dearka"." Miriallia interrupted. "Maybe... "Your Mother and I were worried half to death about you", but that might be assuming too much on my part. You know, just going by my experience for what parents usually say to children they haven't seen in years."
"Who are you, anyway?" Tad Elsman was somewhat taken aback by the imperious tone the teenage girl had taken with him. Things were not done this way in the Elsman household, where children were taught to respect their elders, not talk back to them.
"My name is Miriallia Haww. I'm a citizen of Orb, and I'm a Natural. I'm also Dearka's girlfriend and co-pilot, thank you very much for your courtesy in asking." Miriallia replied primly. There was a glacial silence, and she could almost hear Mr. Elsman's eyes swivel to look back at Dearka.
"I... see. And when exactly were you planning on updating us as to this information, Dearka?" Tad Elsman asked, fighting to hold back his anger. It wasn't that he had anything against Naturals... he just couldn't see the point of engaging in romantic follies with one. Not when there were plenty of intelligent and beautiful Coordinator girls that were desperate to marry an heir to one of the Supreme Council members. Girls that wouldn't get sick and die while their husband was still in his eighties, fit and full of life. Couldn't his rebellious son see that? Or was he really that lacking in elementary planning?
"Not that it's all that much of your business anyway, Dad." Dearka retorted with a bit of the fire he usually had. "I mean, you pretty much tossed me out of the house and out of the family after I joined ZAFT. Why do you care who I associate with?"
"Don't take that tone with me, young man. I'm still your father and you will give me the respect I deserve. I don't know what you've been up to for these past few years, but whatever it is, it doesn't give you the license to cop an attitude with me. Now, I'm trying to be calm here, but you insist on always pushing my buttons. Why can't you be like your sisters!?"
Dearka has sisters? He never said anything about sisters. Miriallia was momentarily wrongfooted. Though I can see why he didn't talk about his parents. What an arrogant ass. "Probably because he's a guy. Guy's have that rebellious streak in them, you know, no matter how much you tinker with their genes." the witticism slipped out before she could stop it. The look of dismay on Dearka's face was hilarious and she couldn't help a chuckle or two. The dark brown flush covering Mr. Elsman's face was even funnier, though she knew that she was poking a sleeping bear. Still, she didn't back down. She wasn't going to let this puffed up stiff necked bastard put the scary adult treatment on her, though obviously Dearka had been conditioned into it during his upbringing.
"So this is the sort of company you choose to surround yourself with." Tad Elsman said slowly, moments from exploding into one of his infamous rages. Tad Elsman was widely known as a calm and reasonable man, until you started disrespecting him. Then he turned into a volcano.
"Hello, Mr. Elsman. It's been a long time. How are things on Feburarius?" Lacus suddenly appeared next to them, a pleasant smile on her face and her hand extended in greeting. "I really hate to break up your reunion with your son, but the other delegates and myself are going to be moving into the conference room now and we'd like you to join us." Kira stood a few steps behind Lacus, not saying anything, but a quick look showed Tad Elsman that what Lacus said was indeed true as the other members of the delegation, as well as the other Clyne Faction delegates, were all headed back inside. His anger receeded as suddenly as a switch being thrown.
"Of course, Ms. Clyne. It's good to see you again as well. Hopefully you can come and visit us again on Feburarius soon, perhaps after we've attended to this matter here?" Mr. Elsman walked away with Kira and Lacus, leaving Dearka standing there shaking and Miriallia still stifling a chuckle now and again.
"Do... do you think... that... that Lacus..." Dearka gestured vaguely towards his head.
"I have no way of knowing. Its possible though, considering how fast he switched to nice guy mode. Maybe thats just something politicians can do though. Are you arguing?" Miriallia replied at length.
"No, come to think of it. Damn Mir, I warned you about the genetics jokes."
"Oh be quiet. I wasn't going to just sit there and let him bully you. He may be your father, and it is always harder for children to stand up to their parents, but really... you don't need shit like that. I can see why you didn't go home all this time. But what was that about sisters now...?"
"Oh crap..."
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Just as Dearka was going through an uncomfortable reunion a few meters away, so too was Ysak dealing with sudden tides of embarrassment and an inability to know what to say. He'd always gotten along very well with his mother, since she'd been the only parent he'd ever known, since his father had died in an accident only a few months after Ysak was born. His mother had never remarried, never really even pursued another relationship, throwing her efforts into her job and into nuturing him, in her spare time, which had resulted in her skyrocketing career from a low level aide to a Supreme Council member. Ysak's eye twitched ever so slightly as he recalled a brief aside his mother had said to him while he was stationed on Jacin Due. He'd asked her about how she was doing, and was expecting the same placitudes and other day to day info that question usually got him. He hadn't expected her to tell him she was starting to fall for a man, who just happened to be Patrick Zala. She hadn't seemed conzigant to his horrified expression, going on to tell him that she was starting to feel a mutual attraction between her and her political ally, the then PLANT Supreme Chairman. It was just in the beginning stages, neither of them had any time for serious romance with a war on... but after the war was over...
Fortunately that had never gone anywhere past idle thoughts in his mother's mind. Maybe uncharitable of him to be glad for the death of someone else's parent, but it was bad enough being around Athrun as a rival and sometime comrade. Ysak would not have been able to stand him as a step brother. End of story, one of them would have mysteriously died during the night, or had a training accident of some sort. Not that he particularly hated Athrun, most of the time... he just rubbed Ysak the wrong way. Sibling rivalry was one thing, but what he and Athrun had was a little more vehement than that. Living together would not have helped matters. Even now the image gave him chills, and he gave a prayer of thanks that fate had seen fit to spare him that torture. But that was only one of many thoughts that crossed Ysak's mind as his mother came down the stairs towards him, her stern political mask cracking just slightly to allow her that smile, the special smile she always reserved for him when she saw him again after they'd been apart for a while. It always made him feel reassured.
"You're such a cute mama's boy." Katie whispered in his ear. He snapped his mental focus back to the here and now, feeling the odd sensation of her mental presence receeding from his mind somewhat as he brought up the so called "shields" she'd taught him to use to keep his thoughts to himself. It was a constant pain remembering to discipline his mind in order to keep the shields up, and as a consequence they often slipped when he was thinking serious thoughts, or like now when he got lost in memory. "Every time you try and act like a tough guy, I'm gonna play that memory back for you and remind you what a cuddly little teddy bear you are..."
"Do what you want. Just don't..." Ysak hissed back.
"Embarrass you in front of your mother, yes, Ysak." Katie replied casually, slipping an arm around his waist in a companionable fashion. She felt him go nearly as stiff as a board under the light, non-sensual touch. Though that won't be easy when you freak out at every little thing. Come on, Ysak-y, we've done much more than just put our arms around each other in public before... why all the tension now?
"This is my MOTHER!" Ysak enunciated slowly and clearly, if very quietly, as if speaking to a retarded person.
Who you wrote letters to asking for romantic advice when it came time for intimacy. Well, intimacy has come and gone, Ysak-y, so I don't see why you're twigging out.
I... am... not... twigging... out. Ysak managed to keep that communication totally mental in nature, something of an accomplishment for him. "There's a difference between letters and face to face." he added, hastily shutting up as Ezalia closed to easy speaking range.
"Don't mind me, Ysak. You can keep muttering your sweet nothings to your girlfriend. I've got plenty of time, both now and after the meeting. It does your mother's heart good to see you in such an obviously cherished relationship." Ezalia said lightly, her smile widening just fractionally as she saw the flush spreading across Ysak's face. The fraction withdrew when she noticed how the flush was making the scar across his face stand out even more lividly than usual... she'd hoped he would have reached closure on that problem and had it removed but that didn't seem to be the case. "It's good to see you again, in the flesh and blood, not just those fussy old letters."
"Mother..." Ysak seemed, as usual when he was around her in public, especially when she displayed affection for him, lost for words. Still, he was quick to step forward away from his girlfriend and give her a firm hug. Ezalia blinked the moisture away from the corners of her eyes... there would be a time for tears and other strong emotions later, but right before important peace talks was not that time. "I missed you."
"Me too." Ezalia fought the quaver in her voice. Bad enough, it had been, during the last war, with Ysak gone most of the time on missions of one sort or another... but he'd still almost always been within calling distance. She could at least look at him and speak face to face, even if they were thousands of miles apart if not farther. But it had grown much worse after Jachin Due. ZAFT and the PLANTS were in chaos, protesters and rioters were clogging the streets, calling for the impeachment of the Supreme Council members who'd ordained the use of GENESIS, and the general backlash against the military, exemplified in the so called war crimes of certain individuals... like Rau Le Creusete, or even Ysak Joule.
It hadn't been easy, not at all, but she'd managed to persevere through it, knowing Ysak was safe if largely out of touch aboard the Archangel. Then had come the new war, and she'd stopped even receiving letters from him for months on end, with no way of knowing if he was alive or dead. Several times she glimpsed a mobile suit that looked much like the Duel in the intelligence reports that were shown to the supreme council, but that was hardly enough to tell if he was okay. And now here he was, alive and whole, healthy looking, slightly taller than the last time she'd seen him, with a confident and self assured pose he'd lacked before. He'd gone and matured again.
"You should have called and... no, you couldn't have, or you would have, right?" Ezalia said, releasing him from the embrace and inspecting him at arms length. "Look at you. Almost a centimeter taller and a few well muscled pounds heavier. And that stance... my, my where did my ego-centeric red-coat son go, anyway?"
"Mother..." the growled tone of exasperation made her smile again. Physical changes not withstanding, some things didn't change, or changed extremely slowly. He still had trouble dealing with affection in public. The Joule family had their pride, they certainly did. Just like his father.
"Well, don't just stand there, introduce us already. You've spoken about your friends so much in your letters, and two of them in particular, I'm very anxious to meet these girls you asked for advice from me for." Ezalia looked pointedly over his shoulder at the tall, slim girl with the raven wing black hair with blond highlights standing a pace behind Ysak, who he'd been whispering quite intently to while she'd approached them.
"Oh... yes. Mother, this is Katie Belaruse. Katie, this is my mother, Ezalia Joule." Ysak managed weakly. The two women stared at each other, blue eyes meeting blue eyes. Almost simultaneously they reached out to shake hands. Ezalia noticed that the girl had a very firm handshake, very military actually. Well, far be it from her to question her son's taste in women... it was actually very little surrpise, given the regimented nature of his upbringing, that he would be attracted to another person who fought.
"I'm pleased to meet you Ezalia. Or should I call you..."
"Ezalia is fine, there will be more than enough formality for everyone when the Earth Alliance Delegation arrives. Besides, anyone who could have trapped my Ysak in a serious relationship, despite all the effort he used to put into avoiding them, is definitely someone who I should be on a first name basis with. Though pardon me for asking, but Ysak's letters mentioned twin sisters... is your sister off on some other..." Ezalia trailed off as she saw the look of pain and tragedy that crossed Katie's face for a moment. "Oh, my dear... I'm so sorry, I spoke without thinking..."
"You couldn't have known." Katie replied after a few seconds. Ezalia marveled at how steady the girl's voice was, despite the pain still apparent in her eyes. "But yes... Chanel is no longer with us. She was... killed in action... several months ago. There's a story behind it, but we'll get into that later, when we have time and a more private location." There was another several second pause. "So what did you tell Ysak in your reply letters anyway? He wouldn't tell me."
Ezalia blinked at the sudden change of conversation, but then realized that Katie probably didn't want to dwell on painful memories any more than Ezalia herself did. A sidelong glance at the tortured look on her son's face was more than enough to convince her that a change of topic was a very good idea. Clearly this story behind the death of Chanel was extremely traumatic for Ysak. "You mean when he asked me for... intimate... advice? I'll grant you I was rather surprised, but I suppose it's only a natural consequence of the blinkered social life he forced himself to lead. I hope you've been able to help him with that."
"Mother..." this time Ysak's voice had a note of pleading in it. Katie gave him a positively wicked smile and stepped over to him, wrapping him in a tight embrace before he could slip away. Ezalia expected her son freeze up like a corpse with rigor mortis, or else try and escape, firmly if politely. The only person who could touch him in public was her, anyone else got a harsh rebuttal, even friends. He did neither, though he did give a brief sigh of mixed frustration and resignation. He then returned the embrace in kind, and even initiated a kiss. Ezalia blinked, not sure she'd seen that right. Ysak, starting a kiss by himself. Part of her was shocked, another part was proud and a third part slightly envious. Oh, you really need to find a boyfriend Ezalia, when you get jealous of your own children.
Do your worst... you think you can tweak me up with a hug and a kiss? I'm not that Ysak anymore, dear-heart. Ysak thought smugly, even triumphantly, loudly enough that Katie was sure to hear him.
Did I just hear that right... did you actually just challenge me... Ysak-y? Katie's reply was slow and measured. Ysak quickly realized he'd made a blunder. Sure, he'd managed to dodge Katie's attempt to needle him in front ofhis mother by turning it around on her. But gloating about it had been an unwise decision. Boy, you don't even know yet... the promise in that thoughtline made him start to sweat. Katie broke the kiss and looked over at Ysak's mother, who was watching them with a slightly bemused expression. "Pardon me if I offend any of your sensibilities, Ezalia, but your son really needs to learn to keep his thoughts to himself." The expression of puzzlement on Ezalia's face only grew at that rather cryptic phrase, but Katie didn't mind. No one would believe in Newtype powers without either experiencing them or some other sort of proof, so there was no harm in dropping a hint every now and then. She was just about to make Ysak-y regret ever dreaming he could get the upper hand in their one-upmanship game, when a sudden storm of sour emotion jerked her head around and made her lose her train of thought.
Mr. Elsman is well known for his rather fiery temper. Lacus observed to her. Katie glanced over at the knot of council members clustered around Lacus and Kira. I had hoped he and Dearka would have been able to patch things up, but I seem to have underestimated the degree of antipathy between them. Athrun had told me once, back when he was still in ZAFT and still my fiancee, that Dearka was estranged with his family, but I had no ida it was anything this confrontational.
Mir's probably not helping matters along too much. She's not the type to stand for someone getting pushed around, maybe even especially by their own family. And while she's certainly more polite than Cagalli or I am when we get angry, she's... not nearly as tactful as you. Not that I can really remember seeing you mad too often...
You don't want to see me mad. Especially not these days. I'm actually afraid to get truly angry... I don't know what I might end up doing to people inadvertantly. Especially people like Kira and Ysak and maybe even you...
Well, try not to worry yourself too much about it. Getting mad is part of life... keeping yourself from getting angry isn't healthy. And if a consequence of you getting torqued up is discomfort for me and Ysak and Kira... well, I'm sure you know that we'd forgive you. Even Ysak, once he grew the stones to talk to you firmly. Katie was monitoring the emotional state of Mr. Elsman even as she talked with Lacus. Their conversation had taken up only a second or a little more. Katie was in no way as attuned to the emotions of other people like Lacus could be, since her talents lay more in communication than mental influence, but even she could feel the tension gathering in the mental space tht Mr. Elsman occupied. He was going to flip out, and soon, and it would be ugly. Lacus was already in motion, heading over to the scene of the confrontation at a brisk walk, even as the Clyne Faction and PLANT delegations started moving inside the mansion to wait more comfortably for the arrival of the Earth Alliance ambassadors. Katie saw Lacus greet Mr. Elsman, who whipped his head around, the fury still more than evident on his face. There was a sudden... implosion was perhaps the best way to describe it... in the mental fabric that occuied the space of Mr. Elsman's mind. Katie gasped involuntarily and winced.
When she opened her eyes less than a second later, Mr. Elsman was talking pleasantly with Lacus, and all his anger was gone. Flat out gone, like it had never been there. It wasn't under control, or supressed or being dealt with by some coping strategy... it was gone, like an emotional faucet had been suddely turned off. Mr. Elsman had been about to cause the scene of the decade one second, and the next he was conversing with Lacus like he hadn't a care in the world. It was difficult to get a sense for his thoughts, since he was a Stump, but Katie exerted herself and couldn't even find a trace of angry thoughts. As far as she could tell, he didn't even remember being angry, much less why he was breathing so hard and sweating in the first place. Stuff like that did not happen... even sudden blows to the head causing unconsciousness and memory loss didn't cause an emotional transition THAT rapid and total. Katie was both impressed and frightened.
Damn girl... I thought you were the one that was adamantly against influencing people at all costs... you're gonna have to show me how you pulled that one off... Katie sent to Lacus. The moment she touched minds she felt the fear, shock and anger inhabiting Lacus's thoughts, which turned rapidly to just fear and shock.
I thought that was you... I was about to give you more than a small piece of my mind, after we agreed NOT to influence people for good or ill... Lacus replied. That wasn't you?
I WISH! No way I have the kind of juice to just banish an emotional buildup like that. Maybe, if I practised for a long time, and was very lucky and I was working on Ysak... maybe. Not to a Stump I never met before on a whim! Katie let a few thoughts percolate to the surface of her private mind. Her unease grew exponentially. But if it wasn't you... and it wasn't me... and it sure as hell wasn't natural... Katie suddenly unshielded her mind and cast her perceptions out, mental "eyes" darting this way and that, searching frantically for another Newtype. There was nothing... after almost five seconds, during which a wincing Ysak was prodding at her to tell him just what was going on... she reached the end of her range. She couldn't see any Newtypes within seven hundred meters, besides herself, Lacus, Kira and Ysak. We need to be very careful... Katie thought, sharing it with not only Lacus but Ysak and Kira as well, as they all started heading inside.
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"Well now, this is quite interesting..." Noah muttered, studying the Clyne Faction delegation from an upper story window of the mansion proper. He'd known about Lacus Clyne of course, having felt her power during the broadcasts on Purgatory Day... but she wasn't the only one like him in that group. No, the one known as Kira Yamato, and the one known as Ysak Joule... both of them had minds almost painfully open to his talents. It was hard restraining himself from reaching out and conducting a few experiments with them, but he really didn't want to tip his hand to Lacus or the girl with black and blond hair who was so desperately trying to find him right now. He could feel her, rippling the thought-space with her efforts, her mental gaze like a flashlight beam probing the shadows. If he'd merely been shielding his mind she probably would have found him... she was skilled and experienced, if not overly powerful. Quite how he knew her mental strength he did not know... but he could tell just from looking at her that she was no match for him, not by a significant margin.
But he wasn't just shielding... no, he was using a method of his own devising, not so much minimizing and focusing his mental presence to a point where it was impossible to detect as just bending thought-space around his mind so that even when she looked right at him, she was actually looking past him, seeing either empty space or even a Stump mind from one of the other people nearby. It wasn't easy... doing it took a lot of concentration, even more when he had allowed himself a moment of vanity in showing off his ability by calming Tad Elsman... he would need a lot of rest in an hour or two... but it allowed him the option of observing in almost total safety while still being able to use his own powers. "That put you on your guard, yes it did. You're both going to be afraid to use your powers too openly now."
Noah turned away from the window as both delegation parties entered the mansion and headed for the conference room, pausing only to grab a refreshment or a quick bathroom break on the way. He could barely sense their minds... concealing himself from them necessarily obfuscated them from him. It was frustrating, like walking around with a blindfold half over his eyes, but it was a neccessary evil at this stage in the game. Eventually there would come a time when he'd be able to come near them in his full glory, but that time would not arrive for years, at least if everything went according to plan. And there was no reason it shouldn't. But he did have to be careful... too heavy a hand in the early stages could make things much more difficult later on. Noah looked up and contemplated the man standing at the door, ensuring Noah was not bothered. "You... will stay here and you will let no one... especially from the Clyne Faction, see you. Is that understood?"
"It's going to make it very hard to protect you if you go wandering around while I'm hiding in this room." Michael Genesis replied sourly. "Your father would not be happy if something happened to you."
"Never mind my father. I'm the person giving you orders now." Noah gritted his teeth from the effort as he blasted his bodyguard with his will, renewing the mental bonds that he'd been sinking into the man's psyche for some time now. Noah gave a vindictive little twist at the end that brought a memory from the man's past life briefly spinning up into his forebrain, before Noah banished it back into the void of the subconscious.
"Murrue... wait... what was I saying?" Michael mumbled.
"Nothing important. Stay here and stay out of sight. I'm going to need a place to rest in an hour or so, less if you keep being bullheaded."
"Don't worry about it, kiddo. When you're your age, you'll have plenty of energy again in no time. I'll guard the fort, don't worry. Just try not to get lost or anything. Have a sandwhich and a glass of milk or something, I'm sure Mr. Durandal can help you if you won't let me." Michael said with paternal concern. He failed to note the angry twitching of Noah's lips..
"You're lucky I need you eventually. I hate being treated like a little kid."
"But face it, kiddo... you are a little kid. Least until you hit puberty anyway. Aww, I didn't mean to hurt your feelings, forgive me, pal?"
"Count slowly. Resist the temptation. He's more useful if he isn't a vegetable. Count slowly..." Noah whispered to himself, letting himself out into the hall and closing the door after him. He had to reach up to do it... being ten was such a bother.
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"Looks clear." Ramierez reported, scanning the villa and the surrounding areas with a pair of high powered binoculars. With him in the car were two other members of the First Family security detail, dressed in the forbidding dark suits and the standard dark sunglasses. Though Ramierez scorned the inscrutable secret service image, he had to admit it did have its pyschological uses, especially when dealing with politicians. Nothing said "VIP" like a big limo and a squad of FAGGs (FAceless Government Goons). Still, his sunglasses were mirrored, not matte dark, and were of a slightly more fashionable rimless style than the stodgy government issue square lenses. Not to say his weren't just as high tech though, if not more so. EFSOU and by extension the Hellhounds, had gotten first crack at a lot of very expensive tech, and even though EFSOU was now dissolved along with the formal Hellhound unit, many of those perks remained in place.
"Details." the calm and dry voice of the Lieutenant never failed to send chills through Ramierez. Not bad chills, or even good chills... just a few brief shivers, the sort of feeling you get when meeting someone and realizing that they are entirely out of your league, powerful beyond your understanding and knowledgable about every mystery you could think of. Ramierz hadn't been speaking to either of the other two members of the advance unit, but had been reporting to Cyprus and Glory in the presidential limo. Combined with 3 more agents in the rearguard vehicle, they formed the entirety of the security force for this mission. Having only eight agents made none of the security specialists happy, but it was the politicians calling the shots for this game, so they did they best they could.
"I make five exterior posts and three interior. No sign of extra personnel. Three rent-a-limos for the PLANT delegation, plus one more and a convertible, probably from the Clyne Faction. Everyone looks to be inside the house, and the ZAFT exterior security has sighted us, just like you asked." Ramierez smiled, hearing the sound of a baby crying in the background of the comm line. Sounded like Matthias, by the volume. He was a loud one, that nino. As one of the principle and senior agents in the Presidential Security unit, Ramierez was directly in charge of the First Lady's fasty on a day to day basis, except during missions like this, so that meant he was around the presidential chidren all the time too. They were as familiar to him as they were to Vanai, and just as dear to his heart. Ramierez was still reasonably young, not much past twenty seven, and quite single... but that didn't mean he didn't have hopes for the future, especially with peace finally looking promising. If even Ashino could find a girl, prospects were high for a latino powerhouse like himself.
"Acknowledged. Begin initial deployment. We'll be moving in five, arriving in six." The Lieutenant signed off, cutting off the displeased warble of Matthias in mid wail. Without saying a word, Ramierez stowed the binoculars and punched the ignition for the car, allowing it to resume its pre-programmed course. Automated cars creeped him out, but all vehicle transportation was like this on the Moon and in most colonies. It was supposed to be safer and undoubtedly it did cut down on the number of accidents by a large margin... but to an Earthling it was entirely unnatural, just letting the car move by itself. He did not converse with the other two agents in the car with him... one because they were on a mission and small talk was a needless distraction and two because they weren't Hellhounds. Former Hellhounds, Ramierez reminded himself. But they were still "outsiders", though Ramierez knew he wasn't supposed to think about them like that.
It was hard not to though. The Presidential Security unit had been put together from the AFSS and EFSS (Atlantic and Eurasian Federation Secret Service, respectively) units, as well as the few remaining Hellhounds that had survived the assault by MAGOS. Everybody was a professional, at the top of their game, highly trained, highly skilled and exceptionally motivated. But there were still the Hellhounds, and the not-Hellhounds. The soldiers and the suits, as Glory had been brash enough to comment one night after a few hours on the town. For all their skill and training and experience... Ramierez still couldn't help but feel the Secret Service guys just didn't quite make the cut. They hadn't been handpicked by the Lieutenant, hadn't fought by his side and under his command... hadn't done the missions or put in the time to be real comrades of his. Ramierez knew the Lieutenant was aware of this sentiment amongst his men and that he would undoubtedly take steps to ensure it didn't become an operational liability, but that would take time. Ramierez devoutly hoped they would have that time, because right now he wasn't one hundred precent sure of the men supporting him and that was not a position he wanted to be in.
Still, he trusted them enough to know they'd do their jobs for a simple diplomatic escort duty. The car rolled to a stop and he quickly stepped out in the driveway of the villa, one of several that had formerly been owned by Lucian O'Halley, one of the people who'd been in charge of the construction of Copernicus City and a famous figure in the early stages of space colonization. Not only had O'Halley done extensive work with designing the lunar habitats, he'd also helped design several colonies, including the Mendel colony and parts of the Orb resource colony Heliopolis. Such work had made him an extremely wealthy man, though he had died childless and alone several years before the first war began and now his property was largely either public domain or, like this house, a private museum and monument to one of the pioneer's of the space frontier. But while past history was all very interesting, it didn't have much to do with the here and now, other than the museum was operated by a neutral third party that had agreed to lease it for these unofficial talks on short notice.
Ramierez exchanged cool nods with the two members of the ZAFT security team who had left their posts to come observe their counterparts from the Alliance as they arrived. The ZAFT soldiers both wore FAGG suits of their own, dark grey sports jackets and slacks over either a pale green shirt or a deep crimson shirt, the symbolism of which wasn't too hard to figure out. The PLANTS didn't have any civilian security forces worth the name, so these guys were undoubtedly actual ZAFT soldiers, probably front line veterans rotated around to the HDF (Home Defense Force) as a sort of rest duty. The ZAFT men wore their weapons, likely pistols or machine pistols, in either back or underarm holsters, the bulges of the weapons were tastefully hard to detect by a casual glance but to a trained eye they were quite obvious, much the same as the weapons Ramierez and his own agents wore were. The ZAFT soldiers made no hostile actions of any sort, just stood on the steps leading up to the main entrance to the house and watched as Ramierez and his two agents got out of their car and gave the driveway area an inspection.
No words were spoken by either party... what did soldiers really have to say to each other, when on opposing sides, anyway? And until these talks ended in formal peace, on opposing sides they would remain. Even so, Ramierez couldn't help but feel slightly... awkward... when he looked at the ZAFT soldiers. He felt like he should maybe offer an apology to them, for having been a member of the forces that had undoubtedly plunged the world into war, while at the same time his years of training to regard all Coordinators as the enemy almost made him want to start a confrontation right then and there. He settled for just doing his job, investigating the driveway area and the outer surfaces of the buildings around it for any signs of bombs, ambushes or traps. There were none, the place was clean. Just as he'd expected, but it never hurt to be entirely sure, even when dealing with the PLANTS, who tended to be far more scrupulously honest in their political dealings than Earth goverments did.
Several minutes into the inspection, Ramierez became aware of a new observer. He looked up, glanced away and then almost sprained a neck muscle looking back again. The woman dressed in the casual-formal slacks and shirt wasn't just an aide from the PLANT delegation, she was Raine Belaruse, of the mercenary group TEMPEST. Ramierez had crossed paths with Belaruse and the other members of TEMPEST several times during his career, both as allies and more recently as enemies. The fight in the subway tunnels of Orb, where two of her teammates had bought it at the hands of the Hellhounds and their allies flashed into Ramierez's head, but Belaruse seemed to be keeping her professional face on, because she merely gave him a slight nod. He chuffed a slight sigh of relief... while Vladimir aka Andre Forkav had been the most frightening member of TEMPEST, it still never paid to have a sniper feeling ill towards you, especially not a marksman of Belaruse's caliber.
"Be advised, TEMPEST is on the premesis." Ramierez spoke into his collar microphone. He made no real move to hide his actions, since it would have been futile anyway and probably counterproductive as well. Though the Clyne Faction was attending the talks under Sai's good graces, whether they knew it or not, there was no sense in antagonizing people as accomplished and potentially volatile as them... unless it became absolutely necessary.
"Understood. Proceeding as before." The Lieutenant replied without hesitation. Ramierez eyed Belaruse for a few moments, and she eyed him back. The FAGGs just sort of looked past her, seeing at most a female security agent or armed aide of some sort, dismissing her as the lesser threat vs the Coordinators, as for himself Ramierez wasn't at all sure that was the right way of thinking. Some Naturals were every bit as scary if not scarier than even ZAFT redcoats or the legendary members of FAITH... he certainly considered himself and the other members of the Hellhounds to be such. They were still eying each other when the Isolationist limousine eeled into the driveway and rolled to a stately stop. This time it was Belaruse's turn to speak into a collar mic.