Last Resistance to Peace
Chapter 5
by Scarlet Eve
A.C. 204
May 1
Une adjusted the braided cords on Treize's uniform while he stood in front of the mirror, smoothing out his jacket.
"I have received the most recent membership report," Une said, finishing one side and stepping around to adjust the braids on the other side.
"Hm?"
"There are still several holdouts, including the Sanc Kingdom, of course. Czech Republic, Switzerland, Austria, and Denmark, to name a few," she said.
"That is no surprise," Treize replied.
"Many who have finally joined, do so reluctantly."
"I assume they joined due to your brand of peer pressure?" Treize asked with a half smile.
"They might have been coerced with an ultimatum," Une said. "It is your goal, though, to make them all join."
"Yes."
"We will accomplish that goal," Une said.
"I know," Treize said. "I trust you."
"Thank you, sir," Une said. Treize took one more look in the mirror, and satisfied, turned away.
"Time to go," he said.
On one side of the large auditorium, country representatives, all members of Romefeller, sat in rows of chairs, along with the long-time members of the foundation. They were the important ones. Treize spotted Duke Dermail sitting near the front, a smug smile on his face.
On the other side were the high ranking officers of OZ, along with many of the soldiers. They were not sitting in chairs, but standing in neat rows, all standing at attention. The very first row only contained five people - five young men, dressed in their own uniforms, which separated them from the rest of the soldiers. It was a pleasant sight to see. Treize smiled out at the crowd from his place on at the podium. Behind him hung the Romefeller and OZ banners, and partially covering those banners, was a large, white projector screen.
"Thank you all for coming. I am Treize Kushrenada, Chief Commander of OZ. First, I would like to wholeheartedly welcome our new members to the Romefeller Foundation. Your participation and membership of Romefeller will help ensure the success and prosperity of our future Earth. Second, thank you to all the OZ members who are here, those who have trained so hard to become the top officers and soldiers of all time. Combined, we will unite the Earth against all enemies."
A cheer rose from both sides of the auditorium. Treize smiled and waited for the cheer to die down.
"In addition to the hard work of Romefeller and OZ, we have five secret weapons that will be crucial pieces to our success." Treize gestured down to the five young men standing in front of the OZ soldiers. "Quatre Winner. Trowa Barton. Duo Maxwell. Wufei Chang. Heero Yuy. The five of you have been chosen and trained by OZ to be the top mobile suit pilots in the galaxy."
With a small clicker in his hand, Treize pressed a button and an image appeared on the screen. A wave of whispers washed through the attendees. The photo depicted a large mobile suit, colored in white, blue, and red. Treize clicked through four more pictures, allowing the crowd to take in the beautiful sight of the brand new mobile suits. A black and gray suit, holding a scythe. A suit with double curved blades in shades of brown. A heavy artillery suit, red and orange. And finally, the dragon suit, with claws on each arm, wielding a double-ended beam weapon. All five masterpieces. He clicked one more time to a picture showing all five suits lined up, shoulder to shoulder like the good soldiers.
"These are Gundams. Wing. Deathscythe. Sandrock. Heavyarms. Altron. The Gundams are elite mobile suits, made of more gundanium than any mobile suit before. With the Gundams, these five pilots will help us bring forth a new era in leadership of the Earth and Colonies, with OZ at the helm. The Gundams are our symbol of power!" Treize couldn't help himself. He shouted the last sentence with passion, rousing another cheer from the crowd. Treize saw Duke Dermail's smile widen in a sinister way.
Treize shifted his gaze to the five pilots. Each had a solemn look on their face. Treize smiled gently. Of course, the war that OZ was starting would be a bloody affair, but surely there was no need to be so serious.
This was the start of the plan Treize had worked for so long to put together, to put the pieces in the correct place, and execute. Romefeller had been operating in secret for so long, and today was the day that OZ and the Gundams would debut around the world.
And soon, total control would be in their grasp.
A.C. 204
May 2
The edict was broadcast all over the Earth and the Colonies at the same time, no matter what time of day it was. It didn't matter. The news stations everywhere picked up the story and replayed the edict so many times that Sally had it memorized. It was worse when she watched the news with Queen Relena, to see the fear on her Queen's face.
Treize Kushrenada had shown them all the five mobile monstrosities that he had created. The Gundams. Overpowered suits with far too much firepower, too many ways to kill and destroy. When the images were shown, Relena's mouth fell open in shock and horror. Sally could only think of the mobile suits hidden below the Sanc Kingdom - suits that would be no match for the power of the Gundams. She wondered what sort of person would agree to pilot such things, not to mention five.
"This can't be real," Relena said, her tea cup shaking in her hand. Sally gently took the cup from her hands and set it on the table.
"I'm afraid it is," Sally said. And there was more bad news to come.
The production and use of mobile suits, including suits with similar technology to the Gundams, is forbidden by all countries and colonies. Any country or colony found to possess mobile suits will be considered traitors and attacked.
"They can't do that," Relena shouted.
"Yes and no," Sally said. "They don't rule the world, but they have the power to follow through with their threat."
"What do we do?" Relena asked in desperation. Sally wished she had an answer. Truth be told, she was hoping Relena would have a solution.
A.C. 204
Late May
Canada was the first hold-out country to fall to OZ. With the Gundams leading the charge, OZ moved in on Ottawa and took down their government. A replacement leader from the OZ ranks was put in charge, and when the Gundams left, a contingency of mobile suits were left behind. These models, called Leo, existed to keep the people of the capital from trying to usurp their new leader.
Relena watched this play out from her palace in the Sanc Kingdom. The images on the television screen showed destroyed buildings, cars, mass transportation systems, forests, and farmland that were all ruined by the invasion of mobile suits. The Leos dwarfed everything, imposing the rule of OZ upon the people of Canada.
When she closed her eyes, Relena could see Leos flanking her palace, their large weapons trained on anyone walking up the long, stone walkway up to the front doors. She could see the destruction of her cities. She could see her own death.
After Canada, Switzerland didn't stand a chance. Without mobile suits to defend itself, the small country soon became part of Romefeller, its former government system dismantled and a new president put in place, though president was hardly the correct term. Dictator, maybe.
Relena received a desperate call from one of her friends in the country, late one evening. "We can't protect ourselves, Queen Relena. How do we hold up the idea of pacifism if we cannot defend ourselves?"
Relena closed her eyes. "I have begun to wonder the same thing," she answered.
"You have to keep leading the fight of pacifism," her friend said. "You can't let us down. You must be our savior."
"I don't know if I can do that," Relena said. "I will try."
As more countries fell under the rule of Romefeller, Relena continued to receive calls from political leaders around the world, begging for her to remain strong in the face of the OZ terrorists. Each call made her remember her broken vow of pacifism, hidden beneath the land of the Sanc Kingdom - the only thing she had against the threat of Gundams and and OZ. She felt herself crumbling under the pressure, but she maintained her strong exterior. It would do no good to falter and give up. She must continue to fight.
"Please forgive me, father."
A/N: Thank you to everyone has reviewed! I promise that Relena and Heero will meet eventually!
-SE