Baby 4

by karina001

Wu Fei takes up the leadership of the Clan but has no intentions of abandoning the life he has made for himself. He intends to maintain his position in the Court of Sanc and continue his courtship of Milliardo and Duo.

55. Chapter 55 Earth's Children

Title: Earth's Children

Author: Karina

Rating: PG

Pairing: Milliardo + The Elder

Notes: Challenge 199. Baby Series 4 #55. Takes place following A Simple Man

Spoilers: None

Warnings:Extended Length

Many thanks to ShenLong Deb for her work betaing this set of fics.

Disclaimer: I don't own Gundam Wing or the Characters from the series but the baby is mine.

Title: Earth's Children

The blue eyes shuttered for a moment and Milliardo Peacecraft sighed. "I am not, truly. But I did know a man, a great man, who at heart was a philosopher. He was not an easy man to understand and I knew him better than most, but I can not say that I really knew him. He had a way with words that could ensnare you; show you things about yourself and the world around you, that you had not realised. He was... astounding... in all respects."

The Elder took a moment to survey the gathering, noting that the Chang stood with a cluster of other young men and he felt a shiver course the length of his spine. He did not know them all by sight, but he knew who they must be. It was one of the reasons why the world watched Sanc with jaundiced eyes.

The Gundam pilots were a striking group. All five of them present, looking deceptively 'normal', though none of them could be termed 'unremarkable' amidst this gathering of mostly exceptional people. The official reception for the Chang Clan had drawn out the most notable names and titles in Sanc and amidst the ambassadors and representatives of other countries visiting Sanc.

Always eyes watching, always someone standing just close enough to listen to conversations. Receptions such as this were the best place to be to hear what others wished you to hear. No true secret you did not wish for others to know would be spoken here. Walls literally had ears, and everyone knew it, and there was always someone interested in what might be overheard.

"It is surprising the amount of philosophers you can find in the military, not that many would consider themselves to be such. It's as though their fight to survive opens the mind, giving new sight to see beyond what most people see of the world. Birth is only the eve of our existence. Childhood is the eve of our maturity and maturity the eve of our death. Life is full, yet never filled. No matter how much we learn, no matter how much we do. There is still more out there, far more than we have managed to learn in our brief existence."

Did those blue eyes even see him? They looked deep, fathomless. Not blank by any means, not rabid or cunning either, but so very, very deep. The Elder folded his arms to his chest and lowered his head slightly, still attentive to all about him but very conscious of the tall man with the faintest of smiles curving his lips.

"Sanc is in need of everything, you know. People of all occupations, all creeds, all races. We have been a hodgepodge of societies' rejects for centuries, and it has helped us to be more open minded than most. Can an entire country be populated by philosophers? Perhaps not, but it depends on what you view the word to mean, and there is a discussion that philosophers have at every opportunity. We all strive to survive, and wisdom is a vital ingredient in that struggle. It is my hope that you, along with your people, can find a future here. We can not make this work, integrating your kinsmen, on our own. You and yours have to want it to work too. We stand on the edge of a new age. Do we leap off that edge, trusting to faith, or do we continue to stand on the edge, looking over into the unknown, wondering 'what if'?"

He met the blue eyes and the King inclined his head to the cluster of young men who had fought a war and survived.

"However it was done, the Earth's children have an opportunity to stride forward. Be they born on the Earth or on a colony, we are all Earth's children. Those young men are only a few of the millions who fought to give our civilisation this latest chance to make something wonderful. Something remarkable that might, if all goes well, be truly awe inspiring. I have a young son, and he and his generation are the future I strive to make a difference for. Though once we fought against each other, it was only the prelude, the eve, to the time where we now stand, willingly working together."

He straightened his posture and inclined his head to the Elder and walked away, though not before delivering his final comment.

"It is my hope that you will join us."

End

Karina Robertson 2012