Last Resistance to Peace
Chapter 19

by Scarlet Eve

Posting early for #SundayFunday

A.C. 205

End of March

The attack came before dawn.

Relena flew from her bed, dressed quickly in a passable outfit, and dashed to the lower levels of the palace, along with her household staff, who were taking shelter in designated areas. Relena parted ways with the staff and headed to the conference room that would be her command center.

Based on the explosions she could hear, there was no doubt in her mind that there were mobile suits, possibly even Gundams, attacking her country. In the command room, Sally confirmed Relena's fears.

"All five Gundams are attacking," she said, leaning over a command console, her eyes flickering from screen to screen. Relena's heart sank further in her chest.

"Where is Noin?" Relena asked, seating herself in a chair in the middle of the room, from which she could monitor the battle.

"She's supposed to be on her way…" Sally said, though she sounded unsure.

"I see."

"What are you commands?" Sally asked.

"Huh?" Relena asked, her eyes darting from screen to screen.

"Your commands. What should we do about the mobile suits attacking the Sanc Kingdom?" Sally asked, her voice remaining patient. Relena stared at the screens, showing the destruction the Gundams had already caused.

With a deep breath, Relena answered.

"Deploy the mobile suits."

"Your Highness, we've already lost half of our mobile suit unit 002," Major Sally said, standing over the communications console. Relena pressed her lips together in a frown.

"I still don't understand what they want with the Sanq Kingdom," she muttered as she watched the destruction of her army on the screen above. Mobile suit after mobile suit, her precious soldiers, were cut down by the Gundams. Major Sally shook her head.

"Up until now, the Gundams have always been sent to deal with military complexes. This is the first time they've been sent to attack a country," she said. "What should we do?"

Relena didn't answer right away. She continued to watch her soldiers struggle to keep up with the Gundams - clearly those pilots were exceptionally trained, out-performing the program Relena and Noin had worked so hard to perfect for the Sanq soldiers.

"Majesty, there's a call coming through from an unknown mobile suit!" Sally shouted, jumping up from her chair. Relena took a step towards her.

"Is it one of the Gundams?"

"No, the ID indicates that it's a virgo suit," Sally replied.

"Put it through." Sally pressed a button on the console, and a smaller screen changed, showing the face of Lieutenant Noin. Relena crossed her arms over her chest.

"Lieutenant. Where is my brother? He disappeared just as the attack began," Relena said, glaring at Noin through the screen. Lieutenant Noin shook her head.

"I don't know, Your Majesty. I thought you would know," Noin said with a bow of her head.

"If you come across him, please inform him that I will not hesitate to relinquish his pardon if this attack has anything to do with him," Relena said, her voice full of steel. Noin looked momentarily frightened, but she nodded her head once more.

"Of course."

Relena raised an eyebrow. "Why are you piloting that suit?"

"I had to borrow it. Hilde is in another suit. We're both trained to pilot these," Noin answered. Relena stared at her image on the screen for a moment, then shook her head.

"Just get back here." Noin saluted and the communication terminated.

"We have just over a quarter of our suits left," Sally reported. Relena growled low in her throat and leaned forward onto the console, her head dropping. For a moment, she simply breathed, then lifted her head and turned to Sally.

"Stop this madness. Contact their leader. I want to meet with him," she said. Sally hesitated, her mouth opening to speak, but Relena shook her head. Sally turned back to her console and began to type in order to establish connection with the OZ soldiers - the ones known as Gundam pilots. "And someone find Milliardo."

"We've already tried, your highness. He's nowhere to be found," an officer at the communicators control panel said, hunching over as if to protect himself from potential queenly wrath. A low growl rumbled from Relena's throat and she turned away.

"Let's go, Sally," Relena said, and turned to leave the room.

With Major Sally Po in tow, Queen Relena took a helicopter out to the battlefield, where the Gundams had finally stopped attacking. The remnants of her mobile suit had retreated, and were now waiting in line among the rubble of the coastal city. Relena looked over the destruction with a frown, glad for the small favor that her citizens had been able to evacuate before the fighting began. Even now, she could see that a few citizens had come out of hiding and were surveying the wreckage. A knot formed in her throat, but she swallowed it, determined to confront the Gundam pilots with all her strength in tact.

The helicopter landed, and before stepping out, Relena adjusted her uniform and smoothed her hair. Sally rested a tentative hand on the Queen's shoulder.

"I've got your back," Sally said. Relena gave the woman a grateful smile, then hardened her expression and hopped off the helicopter.

Already waiting for her were the five Gundam pilots, standing in a line on the battlefield. They'd left their Gundams standing behind them. Relena surveyed them as she approached, noting how each was as different as the last. Behind her, Relena heard the decompression sounds from the cockpits of her mobile suits. She glanced over her shoulder to see that her soldiers were dropping to the ground and approaching her, flanking her and Sally as they moved to meet with the pilots.

The blonde pilot stepped forward when Relena was only a few feet away. He bowed from the waist and met her gaze.

"Your majesty, Queen Relena - I am Quatre Raberba Winner of the Romefeller Foundation," he said. Relena stared at him for a moment before speaking. She recognized their faces from the ball they'd all attended, though their names had slipped her mind.

"What do you want with us?" Relena asked. Quatre smirked.

"I am surprised you're asking," he began. Relena narrowed her gaze. "A mobile suit - or I should say - a Gundam has been attacking Romefeller military bases and factories, bearing the insignia of the Sanq Kingdom. These acts of aggression have been seen by the Romefeller Foundation as a declaration of war."

"A Gundam?" The images of the maroon suit with the strange symbol swam before her eyes. Did Romefeller know something about that symbol that she didn't know. The pilot Quatre pulled a few pictures from the inner pocket of his flight suit and handed them over. Relena flipped through them, at the devilish body style of the gundam, and the sword and feather, crossed in the middle.

It began to dawn on her what the symbol meant. The feather was peace. The sword was war. There was only one person she knew of that would fight under a symbol like that.

Milliardo… what the hell is wrong with you?!

"I can assure you that I have not authorized any such attacks," Relena replied, pressing her hands to her hips. One of the other pilots stepped forward, a young man who looked to be of Asian, perhaps Chinese, descent.

"Not a very good ruler if you let some rogue soldier run around in an illegal mobile suit, attacking the ruling power," he said, a smug expression on his face. Relena's fingers twitched to reach for the gun holstered at her waist. Beside her, she could feel annoyance radiating from Sally as well.

"Calm down, Wufei," Quatre said, glancing at his comrade. Relena's gaze swept the pilots once more. The tall pilot with a long braid down his back looked bored, as he shifted from one foot to the other. The fourth pilot was gazing off into the distance, his green eyes focusing on something far away. The fifth pilot sent a jolt of energy through her, prickles forming on her skin. His intense blue gaze stared at her from behind his dark brown hair, and a scowl seemed to be firmly planted on his face. Her breath caught in her throat, and she tore her eyes away from him, back to the slightly friendlier gaze of Quatre Winner. She remembered that man from the ball. He'd questioned her beliefs. What was his name?

"Commander Treize Kushranada ordered us to stop the attacks by the new gundam," Quatre said. "If what you say is true, and you did not order these attacks, then it is your responsibility as a member of the Foundation to make them stop. You know that the production of any suits similar to the Gundams is forbidden."

Relena resisted the urge to bite her lip. She'd never agreed to be part of the Romefeller. It was forced upon her.

"Trust me, I will," she replied, trying to put up her stoic front.

"To make sure it does happen, two of our pilots will remain here with their Gundams, as insurance," Quatre added. He turned towards his comrades. "Heero Yuy and Duo Maxwell will stay here to ensure this threat is neutralized." The braided pilot and the blue eyed pilot nodded. Relena's eyes widened slightly - the pilot who sent the jolt through her was one of the two staying. Heero Yuy. That was his name.

Major Sally leaned in close to Relena. "I don't like this, Your Majesty," she whispered. Relena tilted her head towards Sally.

"I know. I'm going to kill my brother."

-SE