Chapter 12 Meetings and Threats

The black armored SUV was just one of dozens as it moved down the closed road with a mixture of military and local police escort as news choppers followed it's every move. Lining the road where thousands of people some with signs giving voice to their anger. "Traitor" "False Hero" and "Rot in Hell Coordinator love" were the most common as Heero turned his gaze away from the signs and the demonstrates to his friend Lacus.

"Not the normal welcome you are used to Chairwoman." stated Heero

"No, but it is what I expected." Confirmed Lacus as she looked out at the crowds as the SUV made a tight turn and the six Zaft Special Forces member of her security detail hung onto the sides of the car, assault rifles hanging form straps on their shoulders ready to respond to any threat. Most of the anger was pointed toward the limo ahead of the SUV where the crowed believed Heero and Lacus were. "Hopefully we are able to make a peace which will be the best for all."

"That may be more difficult then you think." noted Heero as he pulled a small pen sized object from his uniform and twisted it. It released a high pitch burst which while too high for humans to hear did disrupt all the listening and recording devise in the car. "Whatever terms you put forward Relena is unlikely to accept it because of one key thing."

"You?" asked Lacus as Heero nodded his head "She can't be so focus on you that she would risk a full scale war?"

"If you were in her shoes and Kira was standing on the other side of the table dressed in a different nation uniform and married to someone else. Would you be upset and unwilling to make peace with those who you thought stole him?" asked Heero as Lacus paused for a moment "You don't have to answer; I don't know what I would do myself. Relena once flew into the middle of a battle between Zechs and me in an attempt to make me stop fighting; there is nothing she will not do if she thinks it is right even if what she thinks is right is wrong."

For a while, the two of them rode in silence as the SUV made a turn and passed behind the old stonewalls of the Victorian style mansion which would serve as the meeting place for the first conference between two different versions of Earth.

"I thought Dearka owed you fifty dollars from your poker game not twenty?" inquired Lacus as Heero grinned a bit "So what did him giving you twenty dollars means?"

Heero unfolded the ten and two five-dollar bills laying them out for Lacus to see.

"A ten means that one of the three primary targets have been done by the Phantom core and the two fives means two of the secondary targets have also been reached." explained Heero as Lacus nodded her head in understanding.

"Worried about communication intercepts are we?" asked Lacus as Heero nodded his head.

Just over seventy miles away from them Dearka neared Malta; he passed by the line of Preventer warships which sat on the surface their massive guns pointed toward the island. He could see at least fifteen flights of Ares mobile suits flying patrol and that was on top of the five which where escorting him to the island. He noted three large mobile suit aircraft carriers and two large battleships, which had the largest guns he had ever seen outside of some of the super weapons like Requiem. Once he pasted the line of ships his five escorting mobile suits broke formation and allowed him to head straight toward the one of the two military bases on the island.

"Well that looks familiar." stated Dearka as his computer zoomed in on a half-finished mass driver which sat sitting on top of large pillars coming out of the water. It was clearly not as advance as the mass driver they used but it was the first mass driver. As his gundam came in for a landing, he saw five Leo ground type mobile suits surround him guns raised. He powered down his gundam before opening the cockpit doors and lowering himself to the ground.

"Dearka is that really you?" came Yzak's voice from nearest Leo mobile suit to him.

"I am me and you still owe me money from when I paid for your lunch all those years ago," added Dearka with a grin "I expect to be paid back with interest."

With that the Leo's cockpit door opened and his old friend descended to the ground on a small cable.

"Well you look like shit," noted Dearka as he looked at the old patched flight suit his friend wore. It was hard to tell if it had been

"Well not all of us have a full military behind us," said Yzak as he crossed his arms over his chest and studied his friend. "Where are you stationed now?"

"Armory One." answered Dearka "I am actually second in command of it behind Kira but he is the pilot of the Strike Freedom and spends most of his time dealing with Angel Squadron stuff."

"Strike Freedom?" asked Yzak with venom in his voice.

"Yes, he was the pilot of the strike then the freedom and is now married to Chairwoman Lacus." said Dearka as Yzak blinked.

"Lacus Cylne isn't she supposed to marry Athrun?" asked Yzak slightly confused an unsure if this was really his friend.

"He is married to the head of the Orb Union and is a member of their military now," explained Dearka "A lot has changed since you left, the Earth Alliance, Orb and us are all allied together now after a second war devastated everyone."

"I remember Heero saying there was a second war in his address to the world." Added Yzak as Dearka nodded his head "How bad?"

"Bad, estimate is at least a billion died." Reported Dearka "We will never know the whole numbers because the Break the world incident was so bad but we know how many died in the tears of the sky when Requiem fired on the Plants."

"The Plants?" asked Yzak as his eyes widened "The plants themselves where attacked?"

"Yes, five of them where destroyed with 90% of the population lost, most people never even had time to reach settles before all the air was gone. The few who lived where either in suits already or where lucky enough to be near a shuttle." stated Dearka sadly, as he prepared to give the personal news "Your mom died there as well, she was found holding a little girl. Likely she was trying to save her."

Yzak simply lowered his head; his mom was the only family he had ever had since his father had died before he was born.

"I see." said Yzak sadly as Dearka lowered his head.

"I had her grave placed in a place of honor in the shrine to the victims," added Dearka hoping it would provide some comfort to his friend but it clearly did not. "Mariallia and I are considering naming our daughter after her if we have one."

"You're having a natural baby?" asked Yzak as Dearka shock his head.

"No but do you remember all the trouble coordinators where having kids?" asked Dearka as Yzak nodded it was the main reason why arranged marriages where so common in the Plants. "Turns out the problem was how we messed with the genes most of the X and Y chromosomes. So a compromised was needed now most people decide the basic outline of the children but they do not pick the gender. It seems to be the right balance."

"I see, and your wife is fine having nature do that? Have some half natural offspring?" asked Yzak as Dearka shock his head.

"She shouldn't considering she is a natural herself." explained Dearka as Yzak blinked at the news before reaching down and placing his hand on his pistol grip. "Ok, why are you are you putting a hand on your gun."

"Because the Dearka I knew wouldn't have married a natural," explained Yzak as Dearka rolled his eyes before groaning a bit.

"Well things change in almost a decade," explained Dearka "Now can we please talk about saving your people or shall we stand here and have you keep threating to shot me."

"Come on inside," ordered Yzak as the two of them headed toward a nearby building to talk.

Meanwhile Heero's bad day was growing as the talks quickly turned south when Relena placed their demands on paper. First Yzak and all the coordinators would leave and never return to their world however, any naturals who sided with the Coordinators would have to face punishment for breaking the law. Then they demand that universal jump technology be given to them so that they could launch a second strike if the untrustworthy coordinators attacked. Then the final demand was for Heero to hand himself over to trail for his attack on the Preventer Base. All the positions where unacceptable for them so Lacus provide them with their simple terms which he hoped they would take.

Zaft would provide transport off world for the coordinators and anyone else who wanted to level even if they were or where not on Malta. Then they would send an envoy ever year to try to open talks or take away anyone else who wants to have the freedom to have coordinators. All other deals would be talked about if normal relations ever happen between the two versions of Earth.

"I believe these talks are not going anywhere maybe we should break for the evening." offered up Lacus as she looked out at the darkening sky.

"Agreed, we have each made our offers and maybe with some time we can come to an agreement of some kind," offered President Barker however the tone of voice gave away that he didn't think it was possible. Slowly everyone stood from the table as Heero picked up his cap, he had remained quiet the whole time taking in all the information.

"Heero." said a voice as he lifted his eyes up to see Quatre who had been standing in the background as a guard the whole time. "I was hoping that we could some time together all of us."

Heero looked around the room, all his old friends where in the room even Zechs.

"I need to spend some time briefing Chairwoman for tomorrow's meeting." explained Heero

"Heero go spend time with your friend, that is an order." ordered Lacus as Heero nodded his head before turning back toward Quatre.

"What is your plan?" inquired Heero

"Dinner and cards." explained Quatre "Duo wants to order pizza from what he claims to be the best place he has ever eaten."

"Pizza cards and maybe drinks all you need if Dearka doing something stupid and it's a normal night with the guys." noted Lacus with a smile.

"We have Duo for that Chairwoman Yamato.," explained Quatre with a laugh before turning toward Heero "Meet in the Den in an hour."

"Understood." confirmed Heero as he and Lacus left the room.

A little bit over an hour later Heero walked into the den, he had changed out of his dress whites and had instead changed into more normal cloths, jeans and a green T-shirt. The things, which made it stand out, was the thicker belt with built in clips for extra pistol magazines, a holster, and the large angle squad patch on his black leather jacket. If he was going undercover, he would go for a plain black jacket but he was not under cover. His eyes quickly scanned the room, it was a mix of a library and a bar, and large bookcases covered two walls with a bar with rows of bottles and drink wear behind it. The across from the bar was a large window which showed the city and the harbor in the distance.

In the center of the room was a pool table and in the corner of the room was a poker table already set up with poker chips and a deck of cards ready. Slowly Heero moved behind the bar picking out his drink from an unopened bottle and checking to make sure the seal had not been tempered with. He poured himself a drink before moving toward his seat, he had picked it so that his back was to the wall and he was out of view from the window. This way he could face any threat from the door and avoid any snipers from the window. He did not think they would try anything but he was not going to take chance.

"Hello old no smile," laughed Duo as he entered the room carrying two large pizza boxes, behind him Trowa was doing the same. "I hope being an Admiral doesn't prevent you from enjoying some old fashion carry out pizza."

"Not at all," confirmed Heero as Wufei, Quatre and finally Zechs entered the room.

"We didn't know what you liked so we got a range," noted Quatre as he placed his own slice on a plate. "You want cheese or something else?"

"Cheese is fine," confirmed Heero as he started shuffling cards even as his old comrades took their seats. For the longest time no one said anything and they simply looked at each other.

"Well this is a first," noted Duo with a small laugh as he looked at his cards before tossing a few chips into the pot.

"So Heero." started Wufei as he placed a pistol down beside his glass "How does it feel to be a traitor?"

Heero grinned as he tossed a few chips into the pot before pulling his gun and laying it down beside his own glass. Slowly one by one every one of them minus Quatre pulled a pistol and placed it down on the table.

"I am an Admiral in the Orb Military," said Heero as he lifted his drink to his lips brushing his 45-caliber 1911 pistol. "And on another note I don't give a damn if you think I am a traitor I know I am not. I swore to protect Orb and her people, that is where my home is and where my family is."

"Wufei stop it." Ordered Zechs as picked up his own pistol and pressed the release button allowing the magazine to drop. Then with one quick movement, he emptied the chamber before placing the gun back down. Heero nodded his head before all of them followed suit until the table was covered with five empty pistol with waiting loaded magazine beside them. "No talking about military or any war related issues, we are old friends come together for cards."

"Yes, sir." grumbled Wufei as he looked at his own cards before tossing them away. "Fold."

"Well if we aren't going to talk about military stuff which since we all mobile suit pilots means it is a large part of our lives I might as well drop the news now." laughed Duo as he clapped his hand together before grinning like an idiot "I am going to be a father."

"Coagulations." said Quatre as he slapped his friend on his back.

"You a father, what a scary thought." said Heero with a rare smile as he lifted his glass up and took a deep drink.

Across a small bit of open ocean on the island of Malta Dearka sat at the dirty food stained table with Yzak, between them sat a couple of expired MREs.

"I know it is worst food then what that old cook made for us at basic but it is the best we have." Noted Yzak as Dearka nodded his head as he took a bite and tried not to gag on it.

"I think it is about time we talk about the defense of this place," said Dearka as Yzak shock his head.

"There is no way to defend this place, we are outnumbered in mobile suits almost 70 to 1 and they have almost every military advantage on top of that." Stated Yzak sadly "The only reason why they haven't just nuked this place is because we have their new mass driver. They already have smaller ones but this one is the largest one and is able to launch their new breed of warships. The prototype of that warship is also sitting in hanger here."

"You have a warship?" asked Dearka

"A half finished warship yes." answered Yzak as he leaned back in his chair "And it is key to any hope we have."

"Yzak I saw the defenses they have up there waiting for you in orbit, there is no way a single warship could get passed them." explained Dearka as he look a breath "We have a plan which should allow you all to leave and if not the entire force of Zaft, Orb and the Earth Alliance will be behind you."

"Forces in another universe and I am betting you don't have a lot of these jump drives meaning we will be overrun before you can arrive in force." Stated Yzak "We will strike back against these naturals who dare to stand in the way of the future. They think that this is our only base but this isn't our last base or even our strongest base."

"What are you talking about?" asked Dearka slightly confused.

"You remember our own history, who were the first coordinators?" asked Yzak as Dearka reached back into his memories and pulled something he somewhat recalled from history class.

"The children of the rich and powerful who had the money to make their children the higher above all naturals." explained Yzak "And do you think that they would be down here in the mud and dirt?"

"Where are they?" asked Dearka as Yzak smiled.

"They are with our trump card," said Yzak as he tossed a small computer pad across the table. Dearka looked down at the blueprints for a beam cannon. "We call it the DIB, Directional Ion Beam."

"You have a beam cannon?" asked Dearka

"Eight of them and right before your arrive we were preparing to fire them from our hidden base." Explained Yzak

"How?" asked Dearka

"It was a design that the Preventers rejected since they didn't think it would work but using some of the information from the database from my gundam my team was able to make it work." explained Yzak

"I assume this base is in space since that would be the best place for firing a beam weapon?" asked Dearka as Yzak nodded his head.

"Yes, each of these cannons have an adjustable field of destruction from the size of a city block to a whole city." said Yzak as Dearka's eyes widened at the level of destruction his friend could unleash. "We could end this war in a couple of days if they wanted to."

"You plan to kill millions of people?" asked Dearka fearing the answer.

"If I have to I will burn this world, the bitch Relena can enjoy this pure blue world after I burn it." answered Yzak "If it leads to a better future for my people then I will do it."

While Heero was enjoying the first couple card hands with his old friends another meeting was taking place just down the hall as Relena sat in conservatory surrounded by multiple plants with the fading sun light coming through the thick glass behind her.

"Lady Relena your guest is here." came a voice as Relena looked up from her computer pad only to see a woman about her age. She had long blonde hair pulled back into a tight bun and deep violet eyes; she had on a black business pants suit.

"Mrs. Frasier thank you for coming, please sit." greeted Relena to the woman who even at such a young age was head of the largest political action group in the world.

"No problem I was just sorry that you couldn't attend the wedding last month." greeted Mrs. Frasier as she sat down across from the most powerful woman in the world.

"Can I get you something to eat?" asked Relena

"I could use some wine if you don't mind," said Mrs. Frasier as Relena nodded her head.

"Is red ok?" asked Relena

"Of course." Said Mrs. Frasier with a smile as a butler went to carry out his task. "May I see the terms the coordinators offer so that I can assist you."

"Thank you." said Relena with a smile as she handed over the terms that Lacus had offered. "Of course we can't accept these."

"I agree those who would turn against nature must be punished," confirmed Mrs. Frasier as she reread the terms. "Also the demand of this jump drive is very important so that we may help them out."

"We need to buy more time for our military to prepare for this new situation and for the two damaged gundams to be repaired," noted Relena as she drank some of her tea "Also for Heero to come to his senses and realize his mistakes."

"You may be dreaming there Miss Peacecraft." added Mrs. Frasier "He is likely forever lost to us."

"I refuse to believe that." Snapped Relena as Mrs. Frasier decided to change the subject.

"Tell me when is your joint news conference with this Lacus Yamato?" asked Mrs. Frasier

"Tomorrow around 1." answered Relena as she tilted her head a bit.

"And you can get me a news badge and into the crowed?" asked Mrs. Frasier

"Of course, why?" inquired Relena

"Because we need to get the public behind us and the only way to do that is to turn them against these unholy coordinators even more then they are and I will do that." answered Mrs. Frasier with a grin as she brushed back some blonde hair from her violet eyes. "I will make this Chairwoman regret the moment she crossed Mrs. Stella Loussier Frasier."

A few hours later Heero walked back into his room after playing cards with his old, he passed the two guards which protected the entrees to the wing of the old mansion where the talks were taking place.

"Admiral." said the Zaft commando as he saluted the much younger Admiral.

"Thank you Sargent Holmes, how are your two kids?" asked Heero as the man smiled.

"They are good Sir, I thank you for asking." confirmed Sargent Holmes "Nothing out of the ordinary to report sir. Chairwoman Yamato retired a few hours ago."

"Good." said Heero as he moved toward his bedroom. He opened the door to find an old style four-posted wooden bed with carved figures of wild animals on it with a canopy over it all. He was about to head to the shower and then bed when he saw that his laptop computer was flashing an alert message. Quickly he turned it on and pressed his thumb down onto a small pad built into the computer. It scanned his print as well as taken his heart rate and DNA sample all to prove that he was alive and who is was. Once that was conferred, the Top Secret files opened up. Heero's eyes widened as he read the alert from Dearka before he sat down in the nearest chair.

"Shit." Cursed Heero as his mind went into overdrive as he tried to imagine the damage Yzak could do with eight beam cannons and how this would affect the chances of peace, all the options he was coming up with ranged from bad to worst. He rubbed his temples knowing that he was not going to sleep tonight.

Well I hope you liked this chapter and the two major surprises I revealed; now I hope that you keep reading. Now some may ask why Stella is talking to Relena well that is the Stella native to the Wing universe and not the one from the Seed universe. They are two different versions of the same person. Thanks Wilkins75