Last Resistance to Peace
by Scarlet Eve

AC 205

June

Heero watched Queen Relena from across the throne room. He and Duo had been summoned by the Queen for some pronouncement or other. Duo and Heero waited, while Queen Relena spoke to her Major and Lieutenant, her voice low. He couldn't hear what they were saying, but occasionally, their glances would travel to Duo and himself. Heero pressed his lips into a frown, resisting the urge to tap his foot against the ground in impatience.

Finally, the small group broke apart, and Queen Relena sat down on the chair that stood on the raised dias, her body perched at the very edge of the chair. She looked nervous, her hands fidgeted in her lap and her eyes darted around the room. Finally, with a wave of her hand, she motioned for them to approach. Together, they crossed the throne room and stopped at her feet.

Relena shifted in her chair, her gaze lowered towards the ground. Finally, she looked up, meeting their eyes, one at a time.

"I am appealing to Treize to remove you from my country," she said.

Heero's eyebrows rose in surprise. Beside him, Duo shifted on his feet.

"He'll never listen to you," Heero said, not hearing the words until they were coming out of his mouth. He cringed inwardly at his lack of verbal filter.

Relena's expression darkened. "You have seen everything we were hiding," Relena said. "There's no other reason for you to be here. The mobile suits I have left would hardly defend this country against just one Gundam. I am going to ask him to remove you from this country and leave us alone. We joined Romefeller. What more can he possibly want from us?"

"And what about the maroon Gundam? Epyon?" Heero asked.

Before she could control her expression, her lips parted in surprise. Heero's eyes drifted towards her lips. He couldn't help but notice how alluring the expression was, how the harsh, angry lines faded when she stopped schooling her expressions so violently.

"I hardly think that question qualifies, based on the actions of one of your own," Relena said. Heero knew exactly what she was talking about. Wufei had destroyed a colony on Lady Une's orders, and now he was nowhere to be found. Rumor around OZ was that Treize was extremely unhappy with the attack, but he did not come out publicly against it. Duo guessed that Lady Une was probably in the dog house, so to speak.

"We had nothing to do with Wufei's attack," Duo said. Heero elbowed him in the side, as an attempt to silence him. Relena merely crossed her arms over her chest.

"Treize will never agree to this," Heero said. "Neither will Une."

"Damn Lady Une!" Relena cried out, slamming her hands against the broad armrests of the throne chair. Everyone in the room jumped at the outburst, and Heero felt very unsettled. Fury was written across Relena's face, before she settled back in the chair, and her fingers resumed twisting around in her lap. Heero stared at her, and for a moment, just a moment, felt pity for her. He'd only known her to be collected, but here she was, having an outburst, and Heero could understand the pressure she felt, coming from all sides.

"Tell us what you know about Epyon, and we can be on our way," Heero said, his voice softening. Relena stared hard at him, but shook her head.

"I don't know anything," she said. Heero had a feeling she was lying, but he said nothing else, instead pressing his lips into a thin line. Beside him, Duo continued to fidget, like he wanted to say something. Heero threw him a dark look, and the movement stopped.

"If there's nothing else," Heero said, bowing to Relena, much against his wishes. "Then Maxwell and I will go back to our rooms."

She inclinced her head ever so slightly, and Heero took that to be a dismissal. He turned and grabbed Maxwell by the bicep. He half-dragged the braided pilot from the room. Once in the hall, Heero whirled on Duo.

"What do you know?"

"I don't know nothin'," Duo said.

"You can't lie to me. Who is the pilot of Epyon?"

Duo shook his head. "I don't know."

"It's her brother, isn't it? Are you protecting his identity?" Heero asked. He could feel his anger rising to the surface, about to bubble over. He couldn't believe Duo would be a traitor.

Well, mostly.

"I told you, I don't know anything," Duo said. He turned away from Heero and walked down the hall. He raised one hand in a wave to Heero. "See ya later."

Heero stared after him with a frown. Duo's silence just confirmed that Heero had begun to suspect: that the Queen's brother, Milliardo Peacecraft, was behind the Eypon attacks. Heero strode after Duo. He had a phone call to make.

AC 205

June

Lady Une strode through the halls, purposeful in her steps. Her destination was Treize's office, where she would deliver some potentially crushing news. Her hands clenched and unclenched with nerves that coursed through her body. She knew Treize would be upset with her news, but it was important that she inform him right away. It was something that could not wait.

She reached his office at the end of the hallway and knocked at the door. A first, there was no answer. Une raised her hand to knock again, but the door swung open, revealing the young man who worked as Treize's personal assistant. Une's face hardened at the sight of the young man.

"Is Mister Treize in?" she asked. The young man met her gaze, unyielding.

"He's having a bath," the young man said. "He asked to not be disturbed."

"I think he'll want to hear what I have to say," she said. She pushed past the young man into the office and walked across the room towards a set of double doors that opened into the lavish Roman bath that Treize had installed in the OZ headquarters. Immediately upon entering, Une's nose filled with the scent of rose, likely coming from the bubbles that covered the surface of the bathwater. She saw Treize, lounging against the side of the bath, his arms outstretched on either side of him. She could see his bare chest rising above the bubbles the covered his lower half.

Une felt a blush stain her cheeks as she walked around the perimeter of the room, her heels clicking against the tiled floor. Treize opened his eyes when she approached and smiled up at her. She could feel the steam from the bathwater sticking to her skin and hair.

"Une. What brings you here?" he asked, his voice smooth and relaxed. Une inwardly cringed at the thought of ruining his blissful solitude.

"Well, I have some news, sir," she began. "Bad news."

Treize shifted in his bath, and for a moment, Une thought she saw…

She shook her head and averted her eyes towards the ceiling. The blush on her face grew hotter, or was it the steam?

"What is it?"

"Heero Yuy contacted me. He thinks he knew the pilot of Eypon."

"Oh…?"

"He has reason to believe that it's Milliardo Peacecraft."

Treize froze, and his face fell. Une saw his shoulders tighten. He turned, slowly, towards her, all while remaining submerged. "Milliardo?"

"Yes," Une said. "Logically it makes sense."

"Yes, I suppose it does," Treize said, turning back around in the bath. He let out a long sigh.

"Send Duo and Heero after him. I want him stopped."

"Sir?"

"Friend or not, I cannot allow him to destroy my bases. Have him destroyed," Treize said. Une saluted, though Treize did not see her. He prolonged silence was enough of a dismissal, so Une clicked her way back to the door leading into Treize's office.

After the door closed behind her, a smile formed on her face. Finally, she'd get a chance to destroy that meddling Peacecraft man. And perhaps, if she worked quietly, she could destroy the Peacecraft woman as well.

-SE