Part 9 - Dawn
The wooden walls of the teahouse creaked each time a person entered from the steep, narrow lane outside. Athrun sat at a bench along the windowsill where he had a good view of the mountain village, with the teahouse at one of its highest points. Boldly painted buildings somehow precariously clung to the vertical hillside, giving the impression they were crookedly leaning over.
A waitress brought him a hot ceramic teapot. Tea had been a reassuring constant during his travels with Terminal. All nations of the Earth seemed to cultivate and drink some form of tea. There may be subtle variations in flavour or the way in which it was served, but it could generally be relied upon as a dependable beverage – even more so than the coffee Meyrin kept stocked in the Cavalier.
He poured the deep amber tea into a curved glass cup.
Since returning to Eurasia, the focus of Athrun and Meyrin's investigations had turned to Foundation – the mysterious, small nation on the northern side of this mountain range.
Trying to gather meaningful information on Foundation from outside its borders, beyond what the nation itself was promoting, was proving to be a waste of time – they were hitting a lot of walls. Meyrin was chasing down some interesting leads via Terminal's networks, but it was taking a long time to verify records which had been misplaced or lost in the recesses of centuries of conflict.
It had become clear they needed to go in. However, getting access to Foundation by conventional means was also proving challenging, with a highly regulated and bizarrely complex entry process.
So, they developed another plan.
Athrun had stopped in the teahouse after meeting with a Terminal contact. Inside his pockets were official identification documents all visitors to Foundation were required to hold while in the country. Athrun would use these when conducting on the ground surveillance. To enter Foundation itself, they planned to move the Cavalier in secret underwater through the river system passing through the valley in which this village was nestled, and which then snaked its way through the mountain range to Foundation's capital, Ishtaria.
It would be their most dangerous use of the Cavalier to date, putting its Mirage Colloid technology to test. Particularly with the accompanying firepower they had returned to Eurasia with from Orb.
The waitress, when taking his order, asked what brought him to the village. "Passing through to Foundation" he said, deliberately wanting to provoke a reaction.
The views about Foundation in this region had shifted the further north they travelled – in the busy metropolis in the south there was admiration for Foundation's audacious fight to achieve independence from Eurasia and awe for its rapid economic and technological development. Up here, closer to the border and the military buffer zone, views – if expressed at all – were more subdued.
The waitress nodded her head slowly. "Be careful there," was all she said.
The foreboding he was left with reminded him of the last time he spoke to Cagalli, a few days ago. It was an impromptu video-call initiated by Cagalli, which was unusual enough in itself, but made even stranger in that she appeared in the Orb-based Cavalier on her own.
Meyrin, seeing the uncharacteristically cautious way Cagalli held herself, tactfully made an excuse to leave the control room. Cagalli didn't protest and even offered her a grateful smile.
The conversation began formally and regularly enough. Cagalli sought an update on their plans, and Athrun provided it, but then she seemed to make up her mind to get to the point.
OOO
"Athrun, I've been going over the material you and Meyrin have collated about Foundation so far, and…it doesn't stack up,".
No. It didn't, Athrun agreed.
"Lacus wondered whether they might be using the Destiny Plan,".
A mixture of adrenaline and dread rippled through Athrun, but it unfortunately made sense, and he could anticipate where Cagalli might be going. "You want me and Meyrin to find out if they are,".
She watched his face carefully. "That's right. Technically, it's up to them…there are no international laws against it…but I want to know what kind of country we are dealing with,".
And who COMPS may well end up committing itself to conducting a joint operation with.
"I don't think I've shown this to you yet – read it," Cagalli electronically transmitted a copy of a document with an ostentatious gilded letterhead. "It's the letter from Empress Aura to Orb. Identical letters went to the PLANTS, Atlantic Federation and COMPS. It's straightforward enough, but don't you think the tone is a bit…" she gesticulated in the air as Athrun speedily digested the letter.
"…arrogant?".
"…I was going to say presumptuous, but yeah,".
"A potentially arrogant leadership using an arrogant strategy to cement its country's position…that could be very dangerous," Athrun considered out loud.
He immediately thought of Durandal. He knew Cagalli was thinking of him too.
OOO
"Quickly, get it!". A group of small children were playing a game of handball outside the teahouse. The game had an added element of excitement due to the slope of the lane, and they shrieked with laughter every-time the ball went astray and rolled away with great speed.
One of the children – a little girl with dark hair in a ponytail – wore a pair of glasses. She was struggling to keep up with following the quick movements of the ball, regularly swinging her hand into empty air instead of making contact. But she was determined, huffing her lips together each time it was her turn to go, and when she inevitably missed, put her hands on her head laughing.
Athrun watched as she missed the ball again. One of the other children encouragingly said "you nearly had it, next time!" while another raced down the hill to retrieve the ball on her behalf.
The rest of the village kept moving around the children at a steady, ordinary pace – goods being moved between shopfronts, workers repairing buildings, villagers gathering in the streets to discuss local matters of importance, or matters of no consequence at all.
Athrun's eyes narrowed with steely determination.
They had to protect this, all of it, absolutely.
OOO
"I can't…understand why any leader would want such a policy for their people… but I suppose how could I…" Cagalli brooded. The words "because I am a natural" left unsaid.
Athrun sought her eyes. "Cagalli…". He knew it was something that would always grate at the back of her mind: where did Cagalli Yula Attha – no, Cagalli Hibiki – fit into Durandal's new world order?
As someone who Durandal had so easily categorised and groomed into a role – AthrunZala, solider of ZAFT, tool of FAITH – he sometimes wondered about it too.
She shook her head vigorously though before he could go on, mumbling under her breath. "Hypocrite,". He momentarily stiffened in shock, then realised she was referring to herself. "What makes me any different…to them,".
Them. Durandal. The Atlantic Federation. The Seirans. Those who think they can build a better world.
It was still hard to talk about. What had happened. It was the same for me, he wanted to say. Their strengths – their desires to protect, their unyielding determination, that unnamed emotion deep inside their hearts – twisted into weakness in the pursuit of power.
"You're not the same," Athrun said firmly. "You care. You care about people,".
She smiled faintly in return. "Some would call that a weakness, Athrun," her voice wavering between being dead-panned and sad.
Athrun realised then, how much she must think about it. The shadow of her leadership…the legacy she would one day leave behind. The fine line she had to walk to build the authority she needed to lead her country and shape the future, without imposing her will on others.
Without losing sight of herself, her heart.
A searing, fierce bonfire roared inside him, and with burning clarity he knew he would do everything he could to support her.
He was so proud of her.
"Cagalli. You know…power is just power,".
Her eyes widened at the familiar phrase, gifted to each of them from two precious people.
Athrun was reminded again at the power of words.
They smiled at each other – wearily perhaps, but lightened too – finding strength in a shared resolve.
There was no panacea or obvious solution to Durandal's challenge of how to reach a peaceful future without the structure and subordination of the Destiny Plan.
The answer could only be found in the accumulation of small, determined efforts over a long, potentially infinite, period of time.
OOO
The door of the teahouse opened, this time admitting the little girl and a woman, her mother, carrying a small baby nestled in a sling around her body. They sat at a table to the left of Athrun.
The girl's face was animated with wildly varying iterations of excitement. Even though the light in the corner of the teahouse they sat in was dim, Athrun could see with his refined eyesight that in addition to glasses, she also wore behind one ear a small, discreet electronic device – a hearing aid.
Mother and daughter carried out their conversation flowing between words and sign, switching seamlessly between the two languages. It was a loving, happy back and forth.
The teahouse door opened again. The little girl let out a delighted cry as a man – his clothes dusty and hands caked with dirt – entered, and she bounded over to throw her tiny arms around him before dragging him over to join her mother and sibling.
The scene made Athrun remember sitting with his parents in a very different teahouse on Aprilius-One, visiting his father when he and his mother lived on the moon. That teahouse was light, modern and sleek, with glass walls and expensive porcelain teacups – not exactly a comfortable environment for a small child, but he remembered being overcome with delight at the rare treat of being in the company of both his parents at the same time.
He remembered his mother gently explaining to him how they grew tea plants on the Junius colonies, how they were able to replicate all the different temperature and soil conditions of Earth in compact indoor hydroponic and aeroponic farms, which meant that the people of the PLANTS could enjoy all the diverse varietals of tea as the people of the surface.
He remembered how his father watched his mother admiringly, lovingly. How he then turned to Athrun and said, "And it is thanks to the efforts of scientists like your mother, Athrun, that one day coordinators will never need to depend on naturals ever again,".
He remembered the high-pitched clang his teacup made as his hands unexpectedly shook resting it down onto a saucer. He wished he could remember his mother's face at that moment.
The gurgle of a baby interrupted his ruminating – the little girl was exuberantly kissing her sibling on each cheek while her parents laughed watching on.
Athrun took another sip of his tea.
OOO
Cagalli still looked uneasy on the screen. "Something else is worrying you," he assessed.
She rested her head on a hand. "Lacus was hesitating," she said, then looked directly at him. "Lacus never hesitates,".
First, decide. Then, act. That's all anyone can do.
So, this was what Cagalli really wanted to talk to him about.
"Right…" Athrun frowned. He knew there was very little that could faze or unsettle Lacus, unless it had something to do with…
"When was the last time you spoke to Kira again?" Cagalli asked.
OOO
After stewing on it for a while following the end of the call with Cagalli, Athrun had sent an email to Kira to check in. Cagalli would probably be annoyed with him if she thought he was doing it for her, but he was worried now too.
He had not been able to give her a good answer to her question. The truth was he was not in regular contact with Kira, through a combination of circumstance and intent – he knew it might look strange from the outside, but that was just the way of their friendship.
It became apparent as they talked that Cagalli had been concerned about Kira for a while. She had kept that from him, back at the monjayaki restaurant in Orb.
With a flash of annoyance, he had thought to himself it was something the twins had in common – being practiced at distancing and obfuscating so as not to burden others with their problems.
But to be fair to Cagalli, and if Athrun was really being honest with himself, Kira had not been okay for a very long time. Did Lacus know that too?
A complicated knot of emotions settled over Athrun. He thought again about the importance of putting things into words, not relying on assumption, making yourself clear. He'd been thinking about that a lot lately.
He glanced down at the postcard he had purchased earlier, sitting on the benchtop.
It captured a sight he had seen early that morning – the rising sun peaking over green hills and snow-capped mountains, spectacular rays of yellow, purple and pink light reaching for the heavens. Violet mountain flowers were starting to bloom in the spring weather, after hiding under the snow in the long winter months. The world felt alive and hopeful and golden.
He checked the time on his watch and stood to leave; it was a long walk back to the Cavalier. On his way out, he purchased a small tin box of tea. The waitress wrapped it in gift paper and ribbon.
He thought he would like to share it with Cagalli, when he got back to Orb.
As he opened the door to leave, he paused to look back at the young family, then went on his way.
OOO
"Good luck with the mission, Athrun. Stay in touch,".
It was time for Cagalli to go, for them to say goodbye. Again.
"Wait!". Cagalli was in the process of closing her connection, when he suddenly cried out, surprising himself along with her.
She tilted her head, looking at him curiously.
And in that moment, Athrun froze, overwhelmed, words tacky and stuck in his mouth. "I…I'll be back, Cagalli," he finally eked out, trying not to sound crestfallen. It was not exactly what he wanted to say, but he hoped she would understand. He placed his palm against his chest. I am going to come back home to you.
Cagalli stilled, then lifted her fingers to touch the white cravat shrouding her neck. "I know Athrun,".
And she smiled dazzlingly, breathtakingly, radiantly back at him.
OOO
The mountain village was becoming sleepy in the late afternoon. It was one of many villages and townships dotting the hillsides and valleys from here to Foundation and beyond.
It was near evening by the time he returned to the Cavalier hidden at the bottom of the valley in a nest of trees. Meyrin excitedly motioned for him to look at an electronic message that had just come in from Orb.
COMPS had formally accepted the Foundation's request to conduct the joint operation; Athrun and Meyrin were to commence the infiltration mission immediately.
And then a follow-up message from the Chief Representative giving them authorisation to engage in combat to the extent necessary, if COMPS were to require support during the joint operation.
Athrun's eyes widened at that. Cagalli had never done this before. They had a standing authorisation to use force for the purposes of self-defence only as part of missions with Terminal. It was another matter to have authorisation to engage in actual combat…
But after his initial surprise subsided, he understood. Given her inability to take concrete action before they had any evidence, Cagalli was thinking through a range of possibilities and planning ahead. They had discussed some contingency plans if what she suspected was true – what it might mean for the joint operation and COMPS, what it might mean for Orb – and she was no doubt busily working with others to ready those now. Athrun and Meyrin had their part to play too.
(As it turned out, no one could have possibly anticipated the scale of chaos that was about to be unleashed).
Athrun checked his email inbox again. Still no reply from Kira.
Kira, Lacus. Hang in there, too.
He pulled out of his pocket the postcard with the three words he had carefully written on its back while sitting in the teahouse, thinking of the future, thinking of Cagalli. He stared at it for a long time, then put it away in a drawer in his sleeping quarters.
He would post it once this mission was over.
A/N:Every week something new and wonderful Freedom-related still seems to come out - and between the latest Athrun/Cagalli illustration and the preview of the Escape for Two Drama CD, I am amazed I actually finished this chapter...!
I will include a longer note after the last chapter/epilogue, but for now just wanted to make two points:
- I feel really strongly that Athrun and Cagalli in Freedom – in all the background/offscreen work they must have been doing for the story to move forward – were acting not only to protect Orb/the universe, but also out of mutual love for Lacus and Kira.
- How Athrun came to grow and thrive in the Terminal role – how it fits into his broader narrative, and as a role I imagine did not come naturally to him immediately – is something I have thought about a lot writing this.