Celestial Being Chronicles - Chapter 63
Disclaimer: I don't own any of the Gundam series, nor any of the various series which are used or referenced in my fic, so please point that damned lawsuit cannon at someone else, also, don't read this if you are not of legal age to read such material. The story contains possibly disturbing content and should not be read by close-minded people (i.e., people who are easily offended.) Everything in the story is fictional. I am also not responsible for any actions taken by people who read this story and society's problems. I do, however, own my original character; Hope Yamato.
Kira growled as he sit on the Excalibur's bridge, his lovers had un-merged, and were in the Excalibur's primary infirmary.
"This is a den of true evil." Kira spoke, his voice booming from the Excalibur's external loudspeakers. "Where people without morals take children kidnapped off the streets and orphanage wards of the Earth and cut them open to add surgical enhancements no human was meant to have in order to turn them into unstoppable super soldiers. It's a place where those children are subjected to a training regime so brutal and dehumanizing that the ones who survive have no memories of their lives before they came here and...worst of all...those who survive do not even view themselves as humans any more, but instead as machines, mere interface cards for the mobile suits built for them. I heard such tales of horror that I don't know if I can repeat them...I saw such things...things I never want to remember but can never forget for as long as I live." Tears started beading in Kira's eyes. "I experienced acts among the worst humans can inflict upon each other...observed people with such terrible psychoses that they cannot be allowed to further spread their taint to new people."
"What are you trying to say, Kira?" Meyrin Hawke asked from her position at the CIC.
"You all know my stance on war and killing." Kira replied. He paused for several moments. "Despite that, for once, I think that there are just some things that cannot be allowed to exist. If you encounter a rabid animal you try to capture it and get it medical attention. But if someone is going around and injecting animals with rabies and chemical warfare agents...and indeed, goes so far as to inject themselves to prevent capture...well, then there really is only one choice. They have to be put down before they can do any more damage. For the good of all. This is a situation like that. Please believe me, I don't want to kill all those people in there...all those children who never had the chance to know any better...but we don't have the resources to save them right now...and if we don't do something now, later they will just relocate and begin anew and we'll never be rid of them. So please, destroy this base. Try to leave the living quarters intact if you can...but destroy this base at all costs. The existence of a place like this cannot be tolerated by moral people such as ourselves."
Lunamaria Hawke, whom had taken the place of Lacus at the communications station, looked at Kira, she thought briefly and nodded once. If Kira Yamato felt a place had to be destroyed, then it should probably be damn well destroyed, in her opinion. Anything that could affect the merciful Kira Yamato like this was too terrible for her to want to consider. After a moment of complete silence, Kira began to give out orders "Activate the Lohengrin. Coordinate with the Gottfrieds and Valiants. Load all missile tubes with Wombat anti-ship missiles. I want those mountains gutted and I want it done properly."
"Activating the Lohengrin. Coordinating with Gottfrieds and Valiants. Loading all tubes with Wombats." Andy quickly replied from the weapons station. "Lohengrins one through five-hundred, target the factory mountain along with Gottfried one through two-hundred. Lohengrins five-oh-one through one-thousand, target the facility mountain, along with Valiants and missile tubes. Second volley targets will be Lohengrins one through one-thousand on the factory and facility mountains, and everything else on the storage mountain. Should a third volley be necessary, I will assign targets based on how the first two volleys went."
"Lohengrins activated and powering up, thirty seconds until they hit full power." Andy announced two short seconds later. "Gottfrieds and Valiants targeted and locked on. Missile tubes will be loaded in fourty seconds."
"The enemy has pulled back and is trying to regroup at the base of the factory mountain." Meyrin said.
"Like it will do them any good." Kira snarled.
"Turning two degrees starboard to put the enemy in the line of fire. Maintaining minus three degree axial tilt. Engines idling at full power, all auxilary power connected to weapons systems." Shinn Asuka announced from the helm.
"All communications lines are clear." Luna said. "The enemy is trying to jam us but their technology is much too primitive to do so properly. Enemy communications are 95 percent jammed. No hits on the long range radar...we're still the only ship in the area."
"Ten seconds remaining until all weapons ready, captain." Andy announced. "All targets are locked in and Lexi is standing by to alternate to the second volley targets. Five seconds to weapon readiness."
"Very well." Kira replied, before taking a breath and yelling. "All weapons, open fire!"
Reddish-blue beams of god-like destructive power vomited forth from 500 of the Excalibur's bow-mounted Lohengrin cannons in explosions of light and sound. Less than a second later the Excalibur vibrated and rocked backwards as millions of anti ship missiles, two high caliber railgun shots and another hundred beams of intense heat energy joined the Lohengrin blasts in flying towards the mountains housing the Allaince base. The Lohengrin impacted first, a full twenty milliseconds ahead of the Gottfried beams, almost a half second ahead of the Valiant shots, and two full seconds ahead of the missiles. The shot from the Lohengrins washed through the huddle of enemy vehicles and mobile suits like a blast of superheated steam through a butter sculpture, destroying ninety percent of the gathered forces in an instant. Not diminished in the slightest, the blast continued on to strike the mountain dead center. Positron particles reacted with their electron counterparts, ripping matter apart in a reaction of such intense power as to render nuclear forces laughable. The Lohengrin beam fully penetrated the forty feet of rock to the primary factory chamber and then continued on to burn through several cranes, two complete Strike Daggers and four incomplete Windams before finally impacting the far wall and dissipating in a tremendous explosion of superheated air and secondary blasts from ignited fuel, severed electrical connections and damaged munitions. Before the blast wave had even struck the workers on the floor of the factory chamber, the Gottfried beams had followed the path of the Lohengrin into the factory areas. Diverging ever so slightly, each of the four beam blasts followed a slightly different path, burning through mobile suits, workstations, machinery and worst of all, power generators, which went up like bombs. With a thunderous explosion that blew leaves off trees nearly three miles away, and a flash of light that drowned out the sun for a few seconds, the entire middile level of the factory mountain disintegrated in fire and rubble and smoke. Fire spread rapidly throughout the maintain, touching off fuel supplies and ammunition dump chambers in a continuing string of blasts that each made the mountain, as well as the ground within a half mile, quiver visibly. Structural integrity strained far beyond all tolerances, the top floors of the factory mountain broke up and crashed down into the middle levels, collapsing the floor and driving the multi-thousand ton mass of wreckage into the lower factory and storage levels, utterly ruining the Strike Dagger and Windam production lines and demolishing all mobile suit hangers in the mountain. Seconds before the upper levels collapsed, three mobile suits launched from their respective hangers.
"Are they ok?" Athrun Zala asked as he quickly walked into the Excalibur's primary infirmary nearly an hour later, he had been completely shocked and horrified when he saw the list of patients on the door; Cagalli Yula Athha, Hope Yamato, Lacus Clyne, Mayu Asuka and Murrue Ramius. He was good friends, not only with Kira, but his lovers as well, and he wanted to see if they would...or even could...answer, and if not, then asking Kira for an update. "Are you all...?"
"We're awake." The five women replied in unison, though their voices was very soft and odd sounding to his ears. They wasn't weak...tired maybe, but definitely not weak. They didn't sound like they was fighting off pain either, or even dealing with painkiller sedation medicines. "We all wish we weren't, but we can't sleep like this..."
"What's wrong?" Athrun asked worriedly, reaching out one hand to pull aside the bed curtain blocking Cagalli's bed so that he could see what the situation was. Kira's hand snatched out and caught him by the wrist unexpectedly, stopping him several inches short of the curtain. "Kira?"
"We...want privacy at the moment, Athrun. Even from you and Kira. Especially from you and Kira..." Cagalli's voice answered, it was even softer, and Athrun heard a sob, and then a groan. He shivered...he'd heard Cagalli groan like that before...but only when she and Kira, or more often, she and Lacus, didn't know anyone was watching them or around when they started their foreplay before sex. Small vocal cues like that were one of the first signs he listened for before suddenly opening doors on otherwise quiet rooms when he was visiting them unexpectedly...it would be incredibly embarassing to walk in on them while they were...well. Every living animal might have sex, but that didn't mean he wanted to consider two of his friends going at it.
Kira saw the puzzled and disconcerted expression on Athrun's face, and his heart sank. He and Cagalli had already gone over the situation, such as it was, with the doctors. He hadn't expected Athrun and the others to return from the PLANTs so soon though. Kira and Cagalli were still dealing with the raw facts themselves...bringing Athrun into the loop was going to make matters even worse. "I'm going to go talk with Athrun for a while. Do you guys think you'll be okay for a few minutes?"
"Don't...condescend us, you little sh-!" Hope snapped, but the insult was broken by another pleased, excited gasp, totally out of place for the grim, sterile infirmary surroundings. "We're not a little girls with skinned knees...we're much more aware of the situation than you are! We'll be...just fine. Not like we...have much choice, at the moment."
"Oh God, when will this feeling go away?" Murrue suddenly cried. "I've got this terrible itch and I can't scratch it! I still think that these metal restraints, not to mention the fact that Kira has disabled all of our powers; with the exception of our immortality and regeneration, is unnecessary!"
"Metal restraints?" Athrun was dumbfounded, unable to think of any reason a to why any of the five women would need to be confined to their beds by force, much less as to why Kira would need to take all of their powers, with the only exceptions being their regeneration and immortality.
Kira stepped out of the partioned area, dragging Athrun somewhat reluctantly behind him, keeping his hand on Athrun's wrist to make sure he didn't do something regrettably impulsive, like throw back the interior curtain to see what was wrong. This was something that needed explaining, not that the explanations would make anything less painful. Indeed, it made it more painful than just bearing witness to a broken limb or ugly wound...modern medicine had been equal to the healing of those types of injuries for centuries now, and now they didn't even leave scars anymore. However, when dealing with a brain affecting drug, a chemical weapon by any definition of the term, while the symptoms were known, they didn't manifest externally. The five women still looked the same as they always did, there was no outward sign that anything was wrong. But internally...Kira's eyes hardened anew. "Please, go over it again, in complete detail." Kira requested of the doctors.
"Very well, sir. The privacy act does make provisions for next of kin, especially in situations like this where the patient is no longer considered competent to make binding decisions for themselves." The male doctor replied, his tone professionally cool, though his expression was filled with sorrow and empathy. This wasn't the first time he'd had to explain the effects of a mind altering chemical to family and friends of a patient, but he'd never imagined that the patients he'd been explaining about would be the Queens themselves! How could anyone do something so clinically monstrous as to...he shook his head slightly...the family and friends needed him to be a doctor right now, not an enraged human being and citizen of Celestial Being.
"What does that mean! What the hell is...?" Athrun spoke up again, his tone heated. He shut up when Kira gave him a glance filled with pure suffering.
"Please, Athrun...just listen. There's no easy way to be told this." Kira implored. He nodded at the doctors. "Please continue."
"They have all been injected with a blood borne, mind affecting and altering substance called 'Spiffy' although it is more commonly known as 'Pink Passion' on the international drug trade." The male doctor stated, ignroing the appalled gasp from Luna and Meyrin. Clearly the Hawke sisters had some experience with the drug...with all the charity work they undertook after joining Celestial Being, he supposed it was almost inevitable they'd spent some time in various rehab centers, and the drug was fast becoming an endemic, so they wer likely to have some idea of what he was talking about. "Pink Passion is a form of stimulant, and it primarily affects the central nervous system, especially the parts of the brain responsible for the release of the neurochemicals responsible for the feelings of pleasure or happiness derived from physical or mental or emotional sensation. While affected by Pink Passion, a person literally feels intense pleasure from every tiny little thing, from breathing, to the feel of clothing, to the slightest touch by another person, roughly equivalent to the sensation granted by a sexual orgasm."
"Pink Passion is an unfortunately common, though expensive, recreational drug in use throughout the PLANTs, and to a lesser degree, on Earth. It is illegal everywhere in this solar system, even on Luna, which has legalized most other forms of recreational drugs. The reason for this is because Pink Passion is not just habit forming, like smoking or most other drugs, but instantly addicting, affecting the internal chemistry of the brain to in some ways require the substance in order to continue functioning properly, and also because in even relatively small doses of one hundred to one hundred and fifty milliliters, it is fatal to humans, causing permanent nerve damage and overstressing of the heart and lungs, leading to cardiac arrest and death, or a persistent vegetative state. Obviously, with the relatively small dosage the Queens recieved, that isn't our current concern, despite the potency and purity of the dose they were forced to take." The man continued. His female colleague took up the explanation for a moment when he stopped for breath.
"In plain terms, sir, what we're dealing with in this case is a unpreventable dependency on the substance in order to sustain the pleasure receptors of the brain. The full extent of the damage is still unknown to us, but in near overdose scenarios somewhat like this one, patients have often experienced long term degradation of their ability to excite those pleasure sensors without utilizing more Pink Passion, with the problem growing worse even as it is temporarily assuaged by additional contact with the substance." The woman explained, somewhat awkwardly.
"Is there anything that can be done?" Athrun was swaying on his feet, stunned by the horror of what he was being told, his emotions a wild, formless storm inside him. He couldn't figure out how he was feeling...sad, angry, pitying, disbelief...it all was mixed up inside and nothing would present itself long enough for him to pick it out. He supposed he could just call the whole experience trauma.
"Well, the body will flush the drug from their brains through natural processes in about three weeks, give or take a few days." The male doctor replied. "After that point, the cravings and depression should fade somewhat. However, their brains have already been permanently changed, at least to the degree modern science can affect. The craving for more Pink Passion will be with them for the rest of their lives. It's a matter of personal willpower, and a constant battle against the depression and the inability to be like they were before this tragedy. In some ways you could compare it to suffering the loss of a limb, or other massive, permanent physical injury. They won't be able to live their lives the same way they did before the incident. Whether or not the inability to be the same is a major concern depends on the person. Some handle it better than others."
"The best thing you can do for them is be there to support them, unconditionally." The female doctor supplied. "This isn't a battle that anyone but those five can fight, but at the very least reducing outside sources of stress will help them stay on even footing with the cravings. Avoiding stressful situations is very important...when we're stressed, we want to seek out comfort to combat it. Their ability to feel comfort has been damaged, and the only way they'll ever be able to regain their full ability to comfort themselves, or be comforted by others, will only make the problem worse. Each additional hit they take will push them that much closer to absolute dependency on the drug, to the point where they literally will feel that they cannot live without it. If that occurs, they'll have to go to permanent inpatient care...they won't be able to live outside of a bed or unsedated."
"By stressful situations you mean what exactly?" Luna asked, studiously avoiding looking in Cagalli's direction with any of her senses.
The doctors looked at each other uncomfortably for several seconds. "Well, unfortunately, my medical responsibilites force me to say that any sort of political position is impossible, despite how I feel personally about their ability to handle themselves." The male doctor answered. "Even if I did not declare them medically unfit for duty right now, the courts would force me to do so later. I'd have to look at the letter of the laws, but I think they should still be able to remain as Queen, since that is a largely ceremonial position with few stressful responsibilities. But none of them can continue being Chief Representatives, or anything else that requires daily problem solving and personnel interactions. Any serious stress could cause a breakdown, with a possible suicide or self mutilation attempt, or even worse, an attempt to take another dose. Pink Passion is expensive and illegal, but someone with their personal resources would not have too much challenge acquiring some all the same."
"Piloting a mobile suit or taking part in combat, even from the bridge of a ship, is also impossible. It would be almost certain to cause a breakdown, with potentially fatal results, even if she did nothing but lapse into catatonia." The female doctor added. "I'll write up a list of non-stressing hobbies and activites that I would recommend them looking into filling their day with. No sports, no major physical activites, nothing that could cause potential physical injury. You'll have to control what they watch on TV or in movies, or what they look at on the networks. Anything which provokes extreme emotional reactions has to be avoided. In many ways, their situation has become that of a child, unable to take care of themselves. The mere fact that they will still feel capable of taking care of themsevles will provide a stress in and of itself...their physical capabilities and desires are unchanged, unlike what happens with most severe injury patients, it is merely their ability to deal with the side effects of their actions that has been compromised. Anger, frustration, sadness, fear, embarassment...any of those emotions and dozens more besides, could all trigger a breakdown with potentially fatal results."
"No sports or physical activities? No TV or internet, basically. No politics, no mobile suits or fighting...what's left in their lives!" Athrun complained bitterly. "How are they supposed to fight off depression if they can't do anything that they enjoy! They shouldn't have to live in fear like that!"
"This is our professional medical opinion, sir, I'm sorry." The male doctor replied, wincing slightly, now addressing both Athrun and Kira. He was very familiar with this sort of reaction from family and friends of patients. It was always like this...the complaining about the unfairness, the directionless anger, the bitterness, the very real feelings of helplessness. It made his heart feel just a little bit heavier each time he had to break news like this to people...it was the hardest part of being a doctor, giving bad news like this. "Whether or not the Queens follow our advice is up to them of course...we can't force them to listen, at least initially, though if they don't not listen, and end up having a breakdown that requires permanent hospitalization, then the choices will no longer be thiers. I cannot stress to you enough about the seriousness of this situation they are in...though they look and might even act fine, they are seriously injured. They won't want to admit it. They'll try to pretend everything is fine. I have seen it a hundred times or more. They'll act just fine...up until the moment they slice their wrists open or try to throw themselves off a rooftop. The self destructive impulses stemming from the depression are sudden and unpredictable. They'll need to be constantly watched, and they're not going to like that, which is more stress."
"You'll need to change some things around the places where they live and spend a lot of time. "No weapons or sharp implements can be left in a place that they can access alone. Someone needs to be with them, or at least within close visual range of them, at all times, especially during these first twenty one or so days while the drug flushes from their systems. Many addicts have problems with other drugs or binge eating and drinking, especially drinking alcohol, so you'll have to watch out for that as well. They'll try and do some of the things that used to give them pleasure and comfort, and find out that they don't, so they'll try them to excess, possibly harming themselves in the process. Addicts have scalded themselves or almost died from hypothermia because they could no longer get water hot or cold enough to bathe in comfortably, or gorged themselves to the point of sickness because they never felt full enough. They won't always realize that they're overcompensating...it's often a subtle thing that other people need to watch out for. It will seem to them like they're just doing what they needs to in order to feel good, but it won't be until something goes wrong that they'll realize they is overdoing it, and even then they probably won't be able to stop." The female doctor continued on mercilessly, she didn't like this any more than the family did, but it all needed to be said.
"Especially in the case of independent and free-willed individuals like them, the constant intrusion of other people into formerly personal and private aspects of their lives, even if they are intimate partners or family, will be a constant source of problems. They're going to get angry at you for meddling, and for being controlling and overprotective, in their eyes. They're likely going to try and hide things from you when they test the strictures of the safety mechanisms you implement. I won't lie, Commander Yamato...I've seen many usually inseperable relationships break up only because of Pink Passion addictions. They'll feel like you don't trust them to take care of themselves anymore, and sadly, they will be somewhat right...because you can't trust them. They're not in full control of themselves anymore, that's the simple truth. There are also often complications arising from the lack of pleasure derived from sex many addicts experience...they might feel that you aren't trying as hard to pleasure them or provide for their intimate needs, even though it is their ability to perceive and respond to your efforts that has been reduced. They may intellectually recognize the falsity of their feelings...but that doesn't mean they won't feel them all the same. In many ways, this is going to be much harder on you than it is on them." The male doctor looked at Kira sympathetically.
"I'm prepared for that." Kira said simply.
"We'll write up a full diagnosis and provide you with full details on what you need to do, in our medical opinions, in order to ensure their safety as best you can." The female doctor turned for the door. "They're still suffering under the effects of the high, and given the purity of the dose they had, and their bodyweight and a number of other factors, they should remain in a gradually diminishing state of pleasure for the next few hours before the withdrawal symptoms start. They're all fully awake and aware and have refused sedation, so feel free to talk with them. I'd advise avoiding any stressful subjects though, especially once the withdrawal starts. The first twelve hours after the high ends are the most acutely dangerous, so we're going to have them stay here in the infirmary overnight. Please don't do anything to change their restraints...they are for their own good, to prevent them from hurting themselves during the withdrawal. By morning they should be calm enough that we can take them off. Please, call us if you need anything." The doctors both bowed their heads briefly in respect and then left.
Athrun put his hand on the wall to help support himself. This was too much for Athrun to take in all at once, but Kira was livid, and that was plainly obvious as he stormed down the corridor, his emotions flaring up, actully becoming visible, and surrounding his body with a brightly glowing blood red flame.
A few minutes later, Asuka and Misato, both of whom were completely unaware of the current situation, waved at Kira as he stormed past them, only for the amethyst-eyed man to lash out with his telekinesis, picking up the red-headed Eva pilot, and slamming her into both walls of the corridor. Asuka impacted the wall closest to Kira first, followed an instant later by an equally punishing impact against the far wall, the second impact leaving her to crumple to the floor in a motionless heap as the purple-haired lieutenant rushed to her side.