Chapter 14: Hiding Our Tears

While the Gundam Pilots establish themselves in their new factions, the story swings back to the A.C. universe to check on the rocky situation forming in that universe…

Mariemaia Khushrenada stood before Relena wearing a school uniform with General Une at her side.

Relena had returned to Earth just the day before, but her troubles had yet to end.

"Relena, you need help, so why not allow me to help you? I can still go to school, but I'll be able to help you on the side!" Mariemaia pleaded.

Relena shook her head firmly. "I'm sorry Mariemaia… but there's too much to be done right now for somebody who is unfamiliar with what has been happening to join me…" She sighed as she stared into Mariemaia's hurt face. "I promise… the next time I get into a bind, you'll be the first person I come to. Is that all right?"

Mariemaia smiled. "That's a promise. And you had better not try and break it."

Relena smiled in amusement. "I won't…"

Mariemaia came around her desk and hugged Relena. "Please try to do more to take better care of yourself. If they were to return, you wouldn't want them to see you looking so poor, would you?"

Relena nodded as she returned the young girl's hug. "I'll try."

General Une nodded to Relena before following Mariemaia out of Relena's office.

Mariemaia looked back at the door after it was shut. "She really is as stubborn as those pilots…"

Une looked down at her. "I know she is… all we can do is support her and try and keep her health from failing… That's the last thing the Earth Sphere needs." Une said grimly as Mariemaia nodded in agreement.

"I'll head home now. Please take care." She said, waving to Une before walking away.

Sally appeared by Une's side. "How is everyone else taking it?" She asked.

Une shook her head. "Noin is in charge of keeping an eye on those associated with the pilots…"

"They aren't doing well." Noin's voice was heard as she quickly joined her associates. "They put on a brave front when I'm around checking up on them, but I doubt that's how they really are feeling."

Une and Sally nodded in understanding. "We have some very difficult decisions ahead of us… we need to get moving. Where's Milliardo?" Une asked.

Noin shook her head. "I don't know." She lied. She knew where he was… rebuilding the recovered remains of the Tallgeese III, even if it wouldn't be operational. However, she knew he'd get into trouble for being there, so she decided to keep her silence as they walked away.

Hilde Schbeiker sighed in exhaustion as she turned away another truck carrying scrap metal before finally getting the gate shut and locked. The scrap yard she co-ran with Duo was filled to capacity and without his help she was forced to do both her designated duties and those duties that were supposed to be his.

She went into the office and dropped heavily into a chair in front of a desk. She stared at a newspaper for a few moments before reaching for the phone and dialling it. "Hey, this is Hilde Schbeiker of scrap lot #309. Can I speak to Howard please?" She frowned as she listened.

"What do you mean you don't know of any scrap lot by that number? It's-" Her frown deepened in irritation. "Of course I run that lot! I'm Duo Maxwell's girl- err… I'm Duo Maxwell's business partner!" She blushed slightly at her words.

They had agreed to keep their private and business lives separate as best as they could, and it wouldn't do her any good to forget about that agreement now.

"Finally! Thank you Howard." She said with an exasperated sigh as she finally reached the former Gundam scientist and leader of the Sweeper Group. "I'm fine… I was just wondering if you'll be making a run by my lot any time soon. Yeah, it's filled." She nodded. "All right… thanks. I'll look forward to it." Her expression saddened. "No… Lucrezia keeps checking up on me… but they haven't found anything…" She shook her head. "I'm fine… yeah… I'm already used to him not being here… Thanks for your concern, though. See you later." She hung up the phone and stared at it for a few moments.

A few tears made their way down her cheeks, forcing her to quickly wipe them away. "Damnit Duo… wherever the hell you are… please come back…" She said shakily before she went to find something to take her mind off the missing pilots.

Rashid cursed out loud as he oversaw one of the many ongoing projects the Winner Corporation was in charge of.

"These damn idiots wouldn't know a direction if it slapped them in the face!" He growled in frustration. "No! That has to go the other way!" He roared at a crane operator, who was moving an I-Beam the wrong way. He growled in irritation. "How the hell could Master Quatre deal with these incompetent jerks all the time and not lose his temper?"

Abdul sighed as he approached with a few cups of coffee, handing one to Rashid. "It's because Master Quatre was a lot calmer than you are, sir. Plus, he has more patience and understanding than you do."

"Yeah, yeah." Rashid said with a shake of his head. "Any news on how that's going?"

Abdul shook his head as Ahmed and Auda joined them.

"We've heard rumours that they'll be declared dead within a matter of days though…" Auda said sadly.

"Miss Relena can't do that! She should know they'll be back…" Rashid said, his tone becoming more defeated as he spoke.

Ahmed nodded in understanding. "She probably still holds out hope like the rest of us do… but she's under a lot of pressure. The rest of the government doesn't believe they'll be back, and they're worried about more and more terrorist groups popping up with the absence of the Gundams. She would have no choice but to bow to their wishes if the pressure gets too bad."

Rashid ran his hand through his hair in frustration. "Well… there's nothing we can do about it… Come on, let's get back to work. Master Quatre would have wanted us to…"

The other Maganacs nodded and went back to their duties as Rashid resumed ordering the crew around, pausing to look up at the artificial sky of the colony.

Master Quatre… wherever you are… return quickly… if you're declared dead… we'll all be lost…

Catherine Bloom entered the trailer of the circus manager with a yawn of exhaustion. He looked up from the money he was tallying up from the performance they had just wrapped up. "How was the new kid?" He asked worriedly.

She shook her head. "He wasn't that good. The poor kid looked more scared than any other partner I've ever had."

The manager sighed. "I knew it. He claimed to have had previous experience, but that was an obvious lie. Well Catherine, what should we do? You've been in this business since you were a child…"

"I can practice more with him; hopefully he'll begin to trust me more." She said, although her tone suggested doubt in her words.

"Tsk. Why did that idiot have to rejoin those suicidal maniacs? If he had stayed away from them, he wouldn't have gone missing…" The manager's words fell into a frustrated grumble of curses and insults for the Gundam pilots and Trowa.

Catherine slapped her hands on his desk once she had heard enough. She leaned over the desk to stare the manager directly in the eyes as fury flashed in her own. "That isn't fair, manager. You shouldn't judge his decisions without knowing his reasons. Besides, you know as well as I do that if it weren't for him, there would be countless occasions where this circus wouldn't exist anymore!"

He sighed and nodded. "I know… but you have to admit, he had a good life here… why did he choose to become a pilot again?"

Catherine shook her head. She couldn't argue with that point. "I don't know… he never told me his reasons, even when I asked him. All we can do is hope for the best, but prepare for the worst…"

The manager nodded as she stood up straight and began to turn for the door before suddenly remembering something. "Oh! I made some soup, do you want any?" Catherine asked politely.

The manager shook his head, keeping his face schooled. "No thanks, Catherine, I ate earlier."

"That's all right, maybe next time." She said, turning and leaving.

As soon as the door clicked shut, the manager sighed in relief and returned to his counting.

Relena sighed as Milliardo sat before her. "How are those projects coming along?" She asked.

"The Mars Terraforming Project has been put on hold, as you know…" He said as he glanced at a list of notes Une had given him before their meeting.

"Of course, I was the one who put it on hold." She said with a slight hint of sadness in her tone. She really didn't want to have to take that step, but the other issues they were faced with were far more important.

"The Nuclear Jamming Devices are coming along nicely. By the end of this year the entire Earth Sphere should be a nuclear-free zone. Only the L2 Cluster, some parts of Eurasia, and the United States are still under construction and considered danger zones." He reeled off from the same list, almost boredly.

She smiled in relief, knowing one of the more important projects would be done by the end of the year. "That's good to hear."

Milliardo frowned as a troubling thought occurred to him. "Relena… if these NJDs have been set up and activated… how is it that the Gundams haven't ceased to function?"

Relena's relieved smile turned into a sly one. "I knew when we decided to rebuild the Gundams that this problem would come up, considering that the NJD project was already well into the works…"

Milliardo nodded as he listened intently.

The NJD project had begun two years after the Eve Wars concluded, long before rebuilding the Gundams had even been considered.

"So the engineers who were working on the NJDs developed cancellers. They're all short-ranged cancellers, so they only void the NJDs' effects on the Gundams. They were also installed in the power plants to keep power flowing safely, and on the colonies to avoid accidentally implementing Operation Meteor when we activated the NJDs equipped on them."

Milliardo's expression darkened at the mention of the operation that had sparked the official beginning of the Eve Wars. "I see… So now all we have to do is hope that nobody with ill intent learns of the cancellers…" He trailed off, not really wanting to think about what would happen if that occurred.

Relena nodded.

"What about…?" He allowed his question to go unfinished, knowing that she knew he what he was asking about.

She sighed as she looked away from her older brother. "I've been keeping myself busy, so I didn't have to think about them… I just wish we knew something…" She said as her head fell into her hands in frustration.

"I understand… is that all for today?" He asked softly.

Relena nodded. "Then I'll continue with my other duties." He said as he stood.

"Please be careful… I don't want to lose you too."

Milliardo bowed to her. "I promise I will do everything in my power to stay by your side, Relena." He said before leaving.

Relena shook her head. "If only I had made them make the same promise…" She muttered as she checked to see what her next appointment was.

Author's Notes: I apparently have Carpal Tunnel Syndrome, so my wrists aren't in as good a condition as they should be. It'll be slow going, but I refuse to allow Winged Destiny to be put on hold. It's still on the bi-weekly schedule, but don't always expect it to be updated Mondays. Two more chapters follow in the After Colony universe, and then the action swings back to the Cosmic Era. Sorry for the slow chapters, but it's setting things up for "No Escape from War", so it has to be done.

By the way, I'm still having trouble with the third story's title. So I'm asking the fans. What should the third story's title be? It returns the story back to the Cosmic Era during the events of Gundam Seed Destiny, but that's all I can tell you. It's the final story and a lot happens. So please readers, help me? Suggestions will be gathered up and put up for voting in the last chapter of the After Colony universe intermission.