Ayashi no Yuugi: Final Sunrise
Mitsuki Cosmos: Yes! At long last! We finally earned enough money! GW is ours::Squeals with joy:
Kamui Gaia 07: Hooray! We own the G-boys::Jumps up and down and maniacally grins:
Heero::pulls out gun and turns off safety: Stop lying.
Mitsuki Cosmos::Pouts: We're not lying::Pulls out giant Algebra II text book: I will smash you with this textbook which has been blown up to two hundred times its normal size if you try to shoot me. :Waves it around threateningly: We own GW. Don't you dare say otherwise.
Quatre::Shifts from one foot to the other nervously: Now, Miss Mitsuki, you know that even if both you and Miss Kamui pooled your life savings, you still wouldn't have enough to buy Heero, much less the anime.
Kamui Gaia 07::Tears up: But Quatre… we worked so hard… :Pulls out giant Economics textbook: You belong to us… :Waves giant textbook around threateningly: I will squash you with this Economics textbook that has been blown up to two hundred times its normal size if you dare say other wise…
Duo::Jumps authoresses and knocks them out.: Hey, Trowa, got any twine?
Trowa: … :Pulls out rope.: Here. :Helps Duo tie Mitsuki Cosmos and Kamui Gaia to chairs.:
Wufei: Mitsuki Cosmos and Kamui Gaia 07 are weak onnas. They do not own anything. If you sue, it will be my duty to kill you to defend their honor since they are so weak.
Mitsuki Cosmos::Growls: What did you just say?
Wufei::Gulps nervously:
Kamui Gaia 07::Eyebrows twitch: Wufei… :Sweet smile: SHIN NE::Leaps out of chair and throttles Wufei.:
Zechs::Sweatdrops: Ahh… Well… That's… interesting…
Mitsuki Cosmos: I agree with you, Kamui Gaia 07::Leaps up and starts bludgeoning Wufei with giant Algebra II textbook: Wufei Chang, SHIN NE!
Lady Une::Coughs nervously: Neither Kamui Gaia 07 or Mitsuki Cosmos owns Gundam Wing. Please do not sue them as they have no money, and it would be an absolute waste of your time.
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July 12, 200 AC, 3:23 AM
Quebec, Canada, CSA Inner Circle Headquarters, Control Center, MAGI
ICA.
Inner Circle Agents.
In the Quebec Base was a place where the ten CSA ICA had absolute access to any and all information gathered from past to present. This area was a place where the CSA ICA had absolute power. In that part of the base, the word of the ICA was the law. This area was called MAGI.
MAGI.
Mystic Agency of Guardian Intelligence.
In the heart of the Quebec Headquarters, was the Control Center, codenamed MAGI. This was separated into three separate levels, the highest MAGI, the Crone, from which the top three of the ICA, usually the Heirs of the Triad, would command the MAGI Personnel, the second level, the middle MAGI, the Mother, was where the middle four of the ICA watched the life support of the pilots, and the medics in the base, and the third level, the bottom MAGI, the Maid, was where the last three of the ICA took over the battle and defense of the base. Around the three levels of the MAGI was a series of screen, two hundred and fourteen in all, which could provide the Inner Circle Agents manning the MAGI with a panoramic view of the surroundings should an attack take place, or show separate targets or broadcasts, and could even be used to show maps, possible attack or defense strategies, or even be used as a monitor for vid-link communication.
It is here that Inner Circle Agent Gaia, Admiral Alexa Morse, Type Two Unlimited, has chosen to run the constant investigation of the assassin known as Witch, believed to be in league with Monique Kingsley, part owner of the Remalna Resort…
Here also, Inner Circle Agent Sakura, Admiral Kayla Mitsuki, Second Class, Type Two Unlimited, has set up operations for her own investigation, the search for a group of scientists, codenamed Pack, believed to be developing a highly infective and unstable virus for Kingsley at the insistence of Witch.
Neither woman was currently in their offices, but in the Crone level of the MAGI, where they were preparing for test runs for the new MS, the EVA Series.
The EVA Series was the latest in Mobile Suits developed for the Inner Circle, armored in Gundanium, with heavy artillery reminiscent of the Heavyarms, speed reminiscent of the Deathscythe, and transformation capabilities between suit and shuttle forms reminiscent of the Wing Zero. The cockpit was to test out a new sync pattern, in which the pilot would meld with the suit, their intentions would help them pilot more easily, and the cockpit was filled with a fluid which could be breathed into the system, and the pilot would still be able to see and speak normally. Meanwhile, the life support kept this fluid clean and clear, and the bodysuit for the unit would keep the pilot warm. The fluid would also serve to absorb shocks and tremors if the unit was rammed or shot, or thrown aside, causing the chances of serious injury to the pilot from getting thrown into a safety harness to drop by 30. Of course, the only set back was that the cockpit had no safety harnesses. The design of the cockpit had no need for one.
The pilot would be expected to enter the cockpit, which was called the Pilot Plug, and the Plug would be inserted into the unit, and the shaft doors, reinforced with gundanium and titanium alloy, would close, giving the pilot inside the cockpit additional protection. In all, the EVA Series destined to be more powerful and efficient than any Mobile Suit ever designed or produced.
Despite the fact that the EVA Series had been completed for almost a year, there was a reason why the EVA Series was still in the testing phase. The sync ratio of the pilots tended to be low, and only Alexa, Kaze, Kayla, or Shinn had ever gotten adequate results. For the other members of the Inner Circle, the units seemed to have a habit of rejecting the Plug, sending the pilots unconscious for hours at a time. Until the glitches were fixed, the Dummy Plug, which was intended to be an artificial intelligence unit created to pilot the EVA in case the pilot cannot pilot the unit, would not and could not be tested. No, until the problem was fixed, the EVA Series would remain in the testing phase, and the Inner Circle would continue to pilot their supped up Gundams in a battle situation.
For that day, the two were the only members of the Inner Circle manning the MAGI. Lesser personnel with a level seven access, who knew he meaning of the terms 'discretion' and 'secret', were manning the lower consoles and the empty seat in the top level of the MAGI. It was a high honor to be given the chance to man the console normally manned by the Inner Circle. Sadly, the honor and excitement of the lesser personnel was overwhelmed by frustration, especially as the test wasn't going well.
"EVA 05 is rejecting the plug!"
"Insert plug 08!"
"EVAs 06 and 09 are rejecting the plug!"
"Sync ratio for 04 and 10 are rising from fifty percent to sixty percent!"
"Try to insert plugs 05 and 06 again."
"Admiral Morse, EVA 08 is undergoing a Full System Reject!"
"08, eject! Send in the med team. 09, 06, 05, disembark. 04, 10, good work, you may be able to pilot the EVA Series yet. Wrap things up, ladies and gentlemen, we'll end the test for today."
"Yes, ma'am!"
Alexa stood up and looked at Kayla tiredly. "Well, Kayla, that was an absolute waste of time."
Kayla stood up and stretched before heading for the door. "At least we did marginally better, Alexa."
"Marginally." Alexa sighed and tucked a strand of hair behind her ear as she followed her friend. "How's your end of the investigation going, Kayla?"
"I'm almost there. I just need the signal from Shinn and I'll be able to go in." Kayla smiled. "What about you? How's your end coming along?"
"I got some new information this morning, and the last piece of the puzzle is at the Remalna Resort. I'll have to go down there just to be sure."
"The Meat Market, what a name. I'll bet Shinn is having the time of his life."
"Hnn."
"So when are you leaving?"
"0700 hours."
"That's in three hours and thirty-seven minutes!"
"That just means I'll get three hours of sleep before I catch the shuttle to Hungary. I'm all packed."
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July 12, 200 AC; 9:06 AM
Penthouse Suite 7, Level 23; Remalna Resort; Budapest, Hungary
Alexa Morse, age 20, codename Tenshi, Inner Circle and Preventor Agent Tenshi, possible heir of Gaia of the Triad, and Admiral, First Class, Type Two Unlimited, dropped her bags tiredly on the bed. The hour and a half flight had exhausted her, and the half hour drive from the shuttleport to the resort had tired her out even further. Of course, there was no way she would be getting any rest just yet. The morning had been hectic, and the night even more so, and she had only had four hours of sleep, three before her shuttle, and one on the flight itself. By now, she was only managing to keep awake and alert out of sheer force of will. She wanted nothing more than to sleep, but she had to find Shinn first, and give him the new information before making her own investigation. Only after she had found something to link Witch to the Remalna and sent that information to Profiling, Processing, Intelligence, and the Triad and Shinn, could she sleep.
She sighed and slipped out of her suit and into a denim miniskirt and a skintight leather halter top, and a pair of knee high boots. She tied a small silver bell attached to a black ribbon around her neck, and tied her hair in a French braid, letting it flow loose from the base of her skull. Two thin locks were left to frame her face. She studied her reflection in the mirror and winced at the sight of the dark circles under her eyes, and the waxy pallor of her skin. She pulled out her makeup bag and applied some powder, rouge, eyeliner, mascara, and lipstick and nodded in satisfaction. She replaced everything inside her suitcase and snapped it shut, locking it. Then she placed it in a corner next to the bed near the bathroom door and left the room, heading for Suite 10 with mission sure steps.
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July 12, 200 AC, 9:43 AM
Quebec, Canada, CSA Inner Circle Headquarters, Control Center, MAGI
It was well known that the ICA was the best of the best, and the ten members of the ICA went out of their way to be calm, amiable and reliable, as they were the heads of the ten departments in the CSA, and the best pilots the Agency had ever trained. Of course, it was also common knowledge that certain members would become nothing if pleasant when angry.
So it was not good.
She was smiling gently and her words were soft and polite.
Which, they noted uneasily, was the worst thing that could happen.
Everyone who knew Kayla Mitsuki long enough to know that when the Admiral, Second Class, Type Two Unlimited, was looking positively cute and good natured, she was someone to be feared.
Yes, fear her, because that usually meant that she was angry beyond comprehension.
That was why the three men gulped, and looked around nervously when she cocked her head to the side in a childishly cute way.
"You do realize what you are saying, don't you, gentlemen?" her voice was calm.
The three men winced. "Yes, madam," the man on the right said, fidgeting nervously.
"So let me get this straight," her voice was deceptively polite, "you are telling me that if this virus is used, it can and will mutate into a more dangerous strain."
The men nodded. "Yes, madam," the man on the left said, never noticing when his voice cracked with fear. "The virus is more unstable than we originally thought. Once it is released, it will be self-propagating and air borne."
The man in the middle added, "Millions of people could die from the virus, and there would be nothing we can do about it, short of retreating to the colonies and preventing the colonists or visitors from earth to return to the planet."
She smiled gently and the three men flinched. "I see."
She sat back in her chair, drumming her manicured fingers lightly on the armrests. The men kept glancing from the door to her long nails nervously, wondering if their blood would add a fresh coat of red to her painted nails.
"Is there anything else you would like to add?"
"…"
She swiveled the seat around to face the console, and the three remaining ICA members in the MAGI levels below her. "Very well. Send Lunamaria to my office. Dismissed."
The three men saluted, and scrambled out the Control Center, identical looks of fear and relief etched on their faces.
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July 12, 200 AC; 10:13 AM
Remalna Resort; Budapest, Hungary
Shinn quickly hustled the four stunned and dazed pilots out of the nightclub and muttered furiously under his breath, "Wants to get to know them better my ass. More like she wants to break them, well, not while I'm the dom on this mission, she won't."
Feeling Shinn's hand trembling slightly against the small of his back, Quatre murmured, "Shinn?"
"Not now, Quatre. Wait until we're in the elevator," Shinn said curtly.
Quatre swallowed nervously and inclined his head slightly. Shinn caught a glimpse of the hurt look on the Arabian's face and moved his hand up to squeeze the blonde's shoulder reassuringly.
Quietly, he murmured, "I'm sorry. It's just safer to talk in the elevator than out here. Fate only knows who is listening."
When they arrived in the main lobby of Roissy's most exclusive hotel, all it took was a single, cool amethyst stare to make the impatient herd of guests milling around the elevators to clear a path for them. They continued to hang back and allowed Duo, who ushered the other ex-pilots inside, to take sole possession of the next available car.
As he slipped his card key into the slot which granted access to the penthouse level of the hotel, Duo allowed himself to relax fractionally. Once the doors closed and the car jerked into motion, Duo slumped against the wall and put his head into his hands, taking deep shuddering breaths.
Showing weakness?
Perhaps.
In front of people like Monique Kingsley?
Most definitely.
In front of his companions since the wars?
A sign of absolute trust.
For an immortal in a mortal body?
A mask to hide the true extent of their capabilities for cruelty.
Which was true? Which was false? Quatre was sure that this display was simply an act, put on for the sake of their comrades, but he also knew that Shinn would suffer most, being the immortal, forever young while those he loved would grow old and die before his very eyes. For now, if he wanted to act, to put on another mask for the others, Quatre would allow it. After all, they would have plenty of time after death in between reincarnations to get to know the immortal behind the mask, the true face of Shinigami. There would be plenty of time.
Seconds later, Shinn's breathing evened out, and he lifted his head from his hands, while he straightened. The elevator pinged and the doors opened and he composed his face into a blank mask and stepped out. The others followed him and they moved wordlessly down the hall towards Suite 10.
Once there, the door swung open, and they were met with the sight of Admiral Alexa Morse standing in the center of the sitting room.
"Admiral Asuka," Alexa said crisply, saluting.
"Admiral Morse," Shinn replied, saluting.
"We have received more information on Witch's involvement with the Remalna Resort. According to the contacts, Witch should be arriving here in the resort in a few hours. I have taken the liberty of positioning 08, 04, and 05 in various positions here in the resort, with Admiral Kaze and Admiral Noin's permission of course." A slow smile crossed her face. "The noose is tightening around her neck, Admiral. Just a little while longer, and she will have no place to run but into our wide open arms."
Shinn nodded and closed the door behind the other pilots. "A wise move, Admiral. What about Admiral Mitsuki? When will she make her move?"
"Admiral Mitsuki is in charge of 07, 09, and 10, as well as the investigation of the virus. My guess is that she may arrive with the remainder of the INA either tonight or tomorrow. Contact 45, who was relocated from Gibraltar has reported that Witch has made contact with the scientists developing the virus and seems happy with the results. That leads to the assumption that the virus is nearly finished and should be ready for distribution soon."
Shinn nodded in approval. "Once the rest of the ICA and Admiral Mitsuki arrives, the last piece will be in place. We will have the King in check, and we'll be able to go home." His eyes darkened. "This place is a walking debauch. I will be glad once Operation Silverfish is complete and we shut down the resort."
Alexa smiled sympathetically. "The atmosphere is rather disturbing, isn't it?"
Shinn nodded and said, "Go look around. It'll be best if you get acquainted with the territory. Who knows, maybe the ICA you brought with you will have spotted something the five of us," he waved vaguely at the other ex-pilots behind him, "have missed."
"Sir, yes, sir!" Alexa snapped a salute and left the suite.
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July 12, 200 AC; 12:23 PM
Quebec, Canada, CSA Inner Circle Headquarters, Sublevel 26, Kayla Mitsuki's Office
The words wouldn't make their way to her brain.
Yes, her eyes took them in, but the brain was far too occupied to take them in.
It was simply a mess of black symbols on a white background…
…and a blinding daze of anger…
Kayla Mitsuki snatched up the papers she was supposed to be reading and threw them as far away as possible, her brows arching skywards in unveiled murderous rage.
Anyone catching sight of her at the moment would be terrified senseless. The soft-spoken, smiling Kayla Mitsuki, one of the top three members of the ICA, reduced to venting her anger on an innocent piece of paper... and then, of course, Kayla wouldn't have anyone seeing her this way. A leader was supposed to be calm, cool, amiable yet firm in his or her commands. That was why Kayla, like the other nine members of the ICA, always reserved a space for this mask of unwavering confidence.
Wasn't it the same for the contacts? A firm mask of ever changing emotions and lies, to be discarded or reused or created should the situation ever call for it—a mask for only the best of spies. Perhaps that was why she was rarely ever double crossed by the spies, she could easily tell when the CSA contacts were lying, which was a factor in how she had managed to gain the position of Head of the DIN, the Department of Intelligence Networks…
Speaking of contacts…
The Immortal forced herself to resist the powerful inclination to knock the entirety of leather-bound books from the bookshelf. It was frustrating, maddening, anything...
They lied to her. Lied. Operation Silverfish was labeled a Code Red Alpha AX23940 for a reason. Whether the Earth Sphere survived the next threat rode on operation was a success or a failure, and over two thirds of her contacts had the gall to lie to her.
Just what were they thinking? Did they have any idea what withholding or altering information could do to a delicate operation like Silverfish?
She wasn't quite sure if she wanted to yell or smile. Despite what the previous Head of the Department had said, she was losing faith in the contacts.
Perhaps she should execute and replace them?
She smiled wryly. Alright, perhaps that was a bit extreme, but wasn't it the best and most effective way to silence any leaks from the contacts? They had information about the organization that would make any of their enemies drool at the prospect of gaining, and they would pay outrageous sums of money to gain such information. If there was one god that the informants loved most, it was money, and if offered the right amount, any contract made with the CSA would go flying right out the window. It had happened once before, and after that little debacle, needless to say, very few of their informants lived to the ripe old age of forty-five, and rarer still were those who survived to see age sixty.
There was a timid tap at the cherry wood door. "Admiral?" a quiet voice said nervously.
The quiet feminine voice was enough to rid the scathing hatred running through her veins for a second. Kayla took a deep breath, and another, and another, and willing her breathing to become even, she arranged her features into a calm and pleasant mask.
"Come in, Lunamaria," she called.
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