Last Resistance to Peace
Chapter 24

by Scarlet Eve

AC 205

April 7

"I'm nervous."

"Why?"

"Just a bad feeling."

Noin and Milliardo looked out over the party from a corner of the ballroom. Noin shifted back and forth on her feet, the leather of her boots squeaking with each movement. Milliardo lifted a hand and placed it on her shoulder.

"You have your top soldiers guarding the ballroom, Hilde and Sally are glued to Relena's side, plus you and I are here," Milliardo said. "Nothing will go wrong."

"I wish I could believe that. I just don't trust Une and Treize."

"No one does," Milliardo joked, but it was lost on Noin, who was gazing across the room at the pair. So far, only Treize had approached Relena, and it was simply to say hello and wish her a happy birthday. But Noin couldn't shake the feeling in the pit of her stomach that something was going to happen.

Milliardo slipped another glass of champagne into Noin's hands. "Relax," he commanded. She took the glass without a word and sipped the sweet champagne, her eyes still locked at the source of her irritation from across the room.

Relena knew she should be happier about her twenty-fifth birthday party, but she felt numb. There was too much tension in the air, and she didn't know where it was coming from. There wasn't anyone at the party who hadn't been there the previous year, including Treize Kushranada and Commander Une. Although, somehow, Dorothy Catalonia had weaseled her way into the party, and was flitting around the room in a lovely green dress, flirting with the male guests and flattering the females. When asked about Dorothy's last minute invitation, Sally merely stated that she thought it would be rude to refuse.

Relena sighed to herself and sipped at her champagne, her favorite, but it did nothing to lift her spirits. She felt alone in the huge room full of people, and even Sally and Hilde, who were stationed nearby, weren't acting as companions. Only her bodyguards.

"Queen Relena."

She whirled around the sound of her name and the gruff voice who spoke it. It was Heero Yuy, the pilot of the Wing Gundam, a source of her never-ending headache.

"Heero Yuy. So glad you could make it," she said, attempting to sound sincere. He stared at her with a flat expression. They were silent for a moment, both staring at each other. Heero appeared to want to speak, but something was holding him back. "I assume your investigations are going well."

His expression flickered a moment. "So far, we have been unable to trace the source of the sixth Gundam."

"I am curious as well, as to where that Gundam has come from," Relena said, her stomach fluttering unpleasantly. "But you should know by now that my secret military is took weak to fend off other attacks. I don't see why you and your companion need to stay."

"Commander Une's orders."

"Seems you could be more useful out there," she said, gesturing vaguely to the outdoors, "hunting the sixth Gundam." Heero shrugged his shoulders

"I don't question my orders."

"Why not?"

Relena forced down the desire to smile at Heero, at the confused expression on his face.

"I just-"

Duo sauntered across the ballroom and took up a spot beside the young soldier, Hilde. She was standing beside Major General Sally Po. He entertained the idea that he should be intimidated by the female-heavy military that Queen Relena had surrounded herself with, but he was rather impressed. He'd seen men crumble under less pressure.

"How are you two ladies?" Duo asked, sweeping them with a bow. Major General Po grunted a response, while Hilde blushed. She was too fair-skinned to hide the pink tint on her cheeks. Duo stood beside Hilde and elbowed her. "How about a dance later?" he asked, winking.

Hilde stuttered, "I-I am supposed to be guarding the Queen…" she said. Beside her, Sally Po rolled her eyes.

"Go dance with him," Po barked. "That's an order."

Duo saw the blush deepen on Hilde's face, and he smiled. He offered her his hand, which she took, and they walked together out to the dance floor. It was a little strange, dancing with a woman dressed in her military uniform, but Duo had never been one to follow normal conventions.

A song began, and together, they stepped off into a waltz. Duo gripped her hand and her waist, and moved a little closer to her.

"Duo… not in front of my superiors," she whispered. He shook his head.

"I have to tell you something," he said. She blushed again, and Duo was a little disappointed he didn't have something better to tell her. "I think OZ is planning something for tonight."

"What?" Hilde cried, and Duo gave her a stern expression to be quiet. "What do you mean?"

"I don't know exactly, but I heard Heero on the phone with Une earlier. It sounded like something was going to happen, but I don't know what. Heero must be privy to more information than me."

"I hope you're not surprised," Hilde said. "You're telling the enemy everything you know."

Duo shrugged. "I don't hate the Queen or this country. I was only here on orders, but it doesn't mean I want the country destroyed."

"You think it could be something that big?" Hilde asked.

"I don't know," Duo said with a shake of his head. "But you should tell your superiors to be on high alert."

"I will."

The song ended. Duo and Hilde's hands lingered, intertwined for a moment, before they both pulled apart from each other. With another blush, Hilde turned and walked briskly towards Sally Po.

Heero stared at Relena, his mouth open. No one, save for Duo, had ever questioned him on his orders or where his loyalties lie. As his eyes searched hers for a hint of weakness, he realized that she had no weaknesses. She had no fear. And that scared him.

Would Une's plan make her afraid?

Heero had never met anyone like Queen Relena Peacecraft in his entire life.

"I never got the feeling from you that you were a follower, Heero Yuy, Gundam Pilot," Relena said, rising from her table. Her eyes were drawn to where her Major General and the young soldier Hilde were speaking animatedly to each other.

"I don't believe in pacifism," he blurted out. She turned to him once more, a smile on her face, a touch of sadness in her eyes.

"Not many people do. But that's why I cannot let it die."

She walked away from him, but not before dipping him a slight curtsey. Heero stared after her.

"She really is something special," a voice said from behind him. Heero turned his head and saw Dorothy Catalonia standing behind him.

"What do you want?" Heero growled.

"I actually came over here to speak to Queen Relena, but it seems she is otherwise engaged," Dorothy said. Heero grunted and stepped away from her, leaving Dorothy alone. He made his way to the bar, where Duo was leaning on the counter, talking up the bartender. Heero ordered a whiskey neat and sipped it with a sullen expression on his face.

"The plan should commence just before midnight," Une said, her voice low enough that only Treize could hear her.

"And there is no room for failure?"

"I've taken every precaution. If that meddlesome gundam doesn't show up, I believe that will be the proof we need that Miliardo Peacecraft is the pilot, and therefore, committing treason," Une said. Treize nodded. "The biggest problem Yuy is having is tracking just where the gundam came from and how it was built in secret. And who built it, for that matter.

"I'm sure Yuy can figure it out," Treize said. "And the other pilots? They know their next missions?"

"We will be having a debriefing tomorrow afternoon, after which, they will commence their next missions," Une replied. "As I said," she continued with a grin, "I have taken every precaution."

"Excellent work, Commander. Now, we just wait for the fireworks show."

Sally's gaze swept the ballroom for about the hundredth or more time, searching for anything out of the ordinary. She'd increased security by forty-percent since Relena's last birthday, and even hired out a small personal protection company, Prevent, to bolster their numbers for the party.

In theory, nothing could go wrong.

But Hilde's warning from the Gundam pilot, Duo Maxwell, had set Sally on edge. Partially because she couldn't understand why a Gundam pilot would be trying to protect Relena. Wasn't she the enemy? Not only that, but the presence of Treize and Colonel Une made Sally even more nervous. One might think that because they were there, nothing bad would happen, but Sally knew Colonel Une to be evil and conniving, someone who would do anything to destroy the Sanc Kingdom.

Across the room, Sally saw Prince Milliardo talking with Noin. There was another pair that she couldn't quite put her finger on. She knew they cared for each other, and wondered why they didn't just marry and be done with it all. Not to mention how absent Milliardo had been since his release from prison.

Sally's gaze fell on Relena, who was speaking with a group of Sanc regional representatives. The other Gundam Pilot, Heero Yuy, was hovering nearby with a glass of whiskey in his hand. His dark gaze occasionally lingered on the Queen, then would quickly avert as if someone had caught him staring. Sally narrowed her eyes at him, wondering if he was planning something.

Sally turned her head to ask Hilde a question, when a screaming voice came over her communication device.

"Mobile suit attack!"

-SE