Last Resistance to Peace
Chapter 6
by Scarlet Eve
A.C. 204
Mid-June
With her closest friends and advisors around her desk, Relena opened the letter that had been delivered that day, a special delivery from Romefeller. She ripped the envelope open and unfolded the thick, cream colored paper.
"Your Royal Highness, Queen Relena Peacecraft - We humbly request your presence at the Romefeller headquarters in Brussels, Belgium, on June 20, A.C. 204. Signed, Duke Dermail Catalonia. Romefeller Foundation."
She lowered the paper onto her desk and glanced up. Minister Edward Darlian, Major General Sally Po, and Lieutenant Colonel Lucrezia Noin all stared at her, none looking too happy.
"You shouldn't go," Noin said.
"If you do, I will be accompanying you, along with several Sanc security guards," Sally said. Relena looked to Minister Darlian.
"They're going to pressure you to join Romefeller," he said. "I imagine that Treize has some hand in the fact that our kingdom has not yet been attacked. Though he's a tyrannical ruler, he still feels some genuine loyalty to yourself and your brother. At least, I assume he must. Otherwise we would have been attacked long ago."
Relena looked back down at the letter. If she didn't go, they'd certainly be attacked. If she did go, she could at least stand up for herself and her fellow pacifists. She would not join Romefeller. They believed in using weapons to force peace, and she disagreed with that completely. Relena heaved a sigh and pressed her fingers to her temples.
"I shall go. The three of you will join me. And yes, Sally, choose the team of guards you wish to bring along," Relena said. The three of them nodded.
A.C. 204
June 20
The sun had not yet risen, but Relena was awake, dressing in front of a large mirror in her room. She pulled her long hair into a low ponytail and ran her fingers through her bangs. Her maid, Talia, returned from Relena's extensive closet carrying the garment bag that Relena hoped to never have to use.
"Minister Darlian thought this would be best," Talia said as she unzipped the garment bag. The plastic fell away, revealing a beautiful jacket, white in color with gold epaulettes on the shoulders. Talia lifted the jacket and opened it, waiting for Relena to hold her arms out. With a quick movement, Talia pulled the jacket up Relena's arms and smoothed it over her shoulders. Relena glanced down at the white jacket, contrasting against her purple vest and blue scarf. She could feel Talia smoothing out the back and adjusting the buckles that cinched the waist in.
It was a symbolic gesture, to wear the jacket. It was militaristic in style, and denoted her rank as Queen of the Sanc Kingdom, and implied another role as a military leader. Of course, no one knew that she had her own small military force. She would wear it to give the impression that she would not give up pacifism without a fight.
"You look grand, your highness," Talia said, admiring her in the mirror. Relena gave her maid a small smile.
"Thank you."
Relena left her room and walked down the hall, her feet pinching in the formal boots she rarely wore. She should have gone with a better pair, something sensible that wouldn't hurt her feet, but it was too late now. Her plane was waiting for her at the Sanc airport.
In the entrance hall of the palace, Relena met with Sally, Noin, and Minister Darlian, all dressed in their formal uniforms. Sally and Noin both wore the dark lavender color of the country, while Minister Darlian wore a black uniform, trimmed with lavender. It was a formal dress decided upon to show status in the assembly. Several members of the Sanc security guards waited behind Sally, their weapons holstered at their sides. Everyone bowed to Relena as she arrived.
"Let's get this over with," she said.
The plane touched down at the Brussels airport around nine in the morning. The meeting with Romefeller was scheduled for ten. A black limousine was waiting for her, along with an additional vehicle that Sally had arranged to transport her security.
During the ride to the Romefeller headquarters, Relena stared out the window at the city. Trepidation gnawed at her, and butterflies waged war inside her stomach. She closed her eyes and tried to slow her breathing, to concentrate on the task at hand, and what she was supposed to do. She reminded herself that her ancestors had survived so much through the years, always maintaining the peace of their kingdom. She would not throw their hard work and dedication away now. Relena's mother always told her that she resembled her grandmother, Queen Katrina Peacecraft, a fierce warrior of peace. Relena used her mother's words to harden herself towards what was to come.
The Romefeller headquarters stood near the center of the city, not far from the Brussels Flower Carpet, which Relena hoped she'd have time to see before returning to Sanc. The limousine pulled up along the front of the headquarters building.
"Looks like they brought out the welcome party," Noin commented, looking through the tinted window. Relena followed her gaze. Treize, Duke Dermail, Colonel Une, a young blonde woman Relena didn't recognize, and several OZ soldiers stood at the top of the stone steps, smiling and waiting for her arrival.
The driver of the limousine climbed from the car and walked around to Relena's side and opened the door for her. Relena's own party filed out of the car, joined by Sally and the Sanc guards from the second vehicle. Relena led the way up the steps.
At the top, the Romefeller 'welcome party' greeted her by bowing. "Thank you for coming, your highness," Duke Dermail said, stepping forward to greet her. He clasped her hands for a moment in greeting. "You know Commander Treize and Colonel Une, I believe?"
"I do," Relena said, nodding to them.
"Then the last person is my granddaughter. Queen Relena, this is my granddaughter, Dorothy Catalonia," Duke Dermail said, gesturing towards the young blonde woman. Dorothy stepped forward and flourished a curtsey, dipping low in a swift, practiced movement.
"I can't begin to tell you how pleased I am to meet you," Dorothy said, looking into Relena's eyes. "I have admired you since I was a little girl." Relena was a little taken aback and forced a smile.
"Thank you," Relena said.
"Dorothy is here to act as your escort and personal assistant while you're here. If you need anything, please don't hesitate to ask," Duke Dermail said.
"Oh, that won't be necessary," Relena said.
"It's not a problem at all," Dorothy said. Relena stared at her, feeling a distinct twinge of distrust forming in her mind. The problem was that Relena couldn't tell if Dorothy was being serious, or if she were mocking Relena.
"Shall we go inside?" Treize asked, nodding to the man standing beside the door.
"Please," Relena said, and the whole group turned and filed inside.
"By joining Romefeller, you'll be a part of a group of people who only want to make Earth a safer place," Duke Dermail said from the other end of the large table. Relena sat with her fingers laced in front of her face, flanked by Sally and Minister Darlian. Noin stood behind her chair, with her security guards fanned out behind her. Treize, Une, and Dorothy were all present for the meeting, along with several OZ soldiers.
"My country already rules under the ideals of pacifism," Relena replied. "It seems to me that Romefeller is the one bullying other countries into joining the foundation." She heard Minister Darlian inhale sharply. Dermail laughed and shook his head.
"I wouldn't use the term 'bullying,' your highness. We're simply showing these countries the benefits of Romefeller and our influence on the world as a whole," he replied. Relena stared at him. Surely there was more to his argument than that. "I assume you have heard of the Colony Alliance?" Dermail added. This time, Relena frowned. She glanced at Minister Darlian, who shook his head.
"I'm sure you'll be happy to enlighten me," Relena replied.
"Indeed," he said. "The Colony Alliance has been forming for about a year, amassing soldiers and mobile suits, in order to wage war against the Earth. They pose a threat to our way of life."
"How so?"
"We have intelligence that they plan to attack major cities and ports around the world, to stop Earthlings from reaching space. The colonies want to separate themselves from us." Dermail's voice grew louder as he spoke, apparently passionate about the subject. Relena tilted her head to the side and stared Dermail down.
"And I suppose you haven't sent OZ out to the colonies to try and bring them under your control, have you?" Relena asked facetiously. Dermail scowled at her.
"It is unwise to allow the colonies to amass a sizable army when they're only enemies are Earth," Dermail said.
"I would think that the Colonies would only build an army in the situation where they felt afraid of someone else," Minister Darlian interjected. "They desire peace, just as the rest of us do."
Dermail laughed harshly. "That's a fool's way of thinking," he said. Relena closed her eyes and released a long breath. Her fears had been confirmed - that Dermail was an unhinged leader, desperate to take control of the Earth and Colonies through force, and not through peace. And it was disturbing to her just how quickly he was succeeding.
Relena looked up. "I have heard enough," she said, and rose from the table. Sally pulled out Relena's chair for her, and she left the room, leaving behind protests from Dermail, asking her to stay longer. Relena led her contingency along the hallway away from the conference room.
"Your highness!"
Relena paused and glanced over her shoulder. Dorothy Catalonia was striding down the hall, moving quickly to catch up. The young woman floated to a stop, her long hair settling against her back. "Yes?" Relena asked.
Dorothy folded her hands in front of her and bowed her head. "You'll have to forgive my grandfather. He is a great man, but he sometimes lacks tact when it comes to convincing others to his way of thinking," she said. "He simply wants to unite the Earth together, to remove the fighting at borders."
Relena gave Dorothy a sympathetic smile. Dorothy Catalonia must have been brainwashed to her grandfather's way to thinking. "Thank you, Miss Dorothy, but I cannot join Romefeller. It goes against the freedom of nations to run independently, based on their own values. Your grandfather is taking control of countries and instilling a military dictatorship. No good will come of this."
Relena began to walk away, but she could feel the intense gaze of Dorothy on her back.
A.C. 204
Late June
Major General Sally Po stood in the control room of the Sanc Kingdom military, located deep underneath the Sanc Kingdom Palace. Her arms crossed over her shoulders. To her right, two technicians were monitoring the underground mobile suit hangar. To her left, two low ranking officers with information technology backgrounds monitored information exchanged between countries, searching for keywords that Sally had set for them. On the other side of the room, three more low ranking officers monitored the security cameras for the Sanc Kingdom palace.
It appeared that for the moment, everything was fine. An executive order was placed to raise the security level of the country, but Sally could not shake the feeling that something was wrong. Normally, Sally did not monitor the control room herself, but her anxiety would not allow her to leave it to the assigned officer.
In the pocket of her uniform coat, Sally's phone began to ring. She removed the phone and glanced at the screen. Minister Darlian's name flashed on the screen. Sally answered the call.
"Minister," she said.
"Major. I have an interesting problem," Darlian said.
"What?"
"A request came through from a company called Terratek Industries. They want to set up a facility within the borders of the Sanc Kingdom," Darlian said.
"What kind of company is that?" Sally asked.
"Well, that's the thing. I did some digging. I have reason to believe that they have ties to Romefeller," Darlian said. Sally rolled her eyes.
"Of course they do. What exactly did they want to do?"
"They were applying for a permit to start mining," Darlian said. "Because of Relena's environmental protection laws, the permit came to me. They want to mine chromite."
"How do they even know about that?" Sally asked.
Darlian chuckled on his side of the line. "Well, anyone can perform a geological survey. We've known for a long time that there are chromite reserves under the Sanc Kingdom. Relena has refused all attempts to mine those reserves," Darlian explained.
"Chromite is used for making mobile suits and other weapons, is it not?" Sally asked.
"That's correct."
"And Relena will deny this permit?"
"She doesn't know about it yet," Darlian said. "I wanted to give you a heads up. I think you should have some people go and watch that area, to make sure no one's sneaking around. In the meantime, I'm going to discuss this with Relena. It is extremely likely that she will reject the permit."
"Alright, I will do that," Sally said. They said goodbye, and Sally hung up her phone. She left the control room and passed through into an adjacent room, where radars were constantly scanning the landscape and air space of the Sanc Kingdom. Three technicians were sitting at the radar panels. The room smelled heavily of stale coffee. The technicians glanced up at Sally and rose, saluting her. She waved a hand, and the technicians returned to their seats.
"I need you to set up a special monitor location," Sally said. "Southern portion of the country, in the mountain area." One of the technicians frowned.
"That area is not populated. It's all forest and rocky hills," he said.
"I'm aware of that," Sally said. "We have some concerns about potential illegal mining operations."
The technician nodded. "Of course, Major," he replied, and spun back around to his computer. He began to type very quickly, setting up a monitoring point in the area where the chromite reserves were located. She watched with this a long sigh.
Relena would deny the permit, and that will be another strike against her. Sally worried that with each slight against Romefeller, they were getting closer to being attacked.
A/N: Your continued support of this story makes me smile. Thank you!
-SE