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"Crisis"Written By: Artemis Disclaimer: Gundam Wing and its characters are
copyright to Sunrise, Bandai, Sotsu Agency, and associated parties.
I make no money with this fic. Rating: NC 17 Warnings: yaoi lemon including rimming, angst,
violence, language, reference to past NCS involving a minor, death,
angst. Pairings: 6x2, 3x4 Summary: Sequel to Interfacing: Regained. GAIA
prepares to go into space and announce itself to the world; Duo and
Zechs' relationship goes through its own crisis. "Crisis " 40) Under cover of night, the Shenlong Gundam landed in a deep woods outside the city of Bremen. Chang Wufei had refueled in Stuttgart and had gathered some interesting information about the Romefeller Foundation at the same time, overhearing OZ soldiers talking in heated whispers about the abrupt changes of the day. Treize had indeed resigned, he had learned, and the proponent of mobile dolls had then been killed. The leadership had even changed. [So... he *was* telling the truth,] Wufei thought somberly as he paused here in this remote place to process the information. [I have no interest in Romefeller's political future, but Treize is right that there must not now be any mobile dolls left on Earth. A rebel OZ faction could even steal them... or others unsure of the changes on Earth. Now... what exactly *is* Treize's game?] Wufei fingered the Shenlong's controls lightly, imagining for a moment the satisfying feeling of flying into Bremen and in a very loud and flashy way, simply blow the factory up. It would feel good, he knew... but... Nataku would surely be spotted. [Damn, I *am* through here on Earth,] Wufei thought with consternation, his hand tightening. I'm not stupid; if I take out that factory the way *I* want to, it will jeopardize Heero and the others in that alliance. Sally, why *did* you drag me down there? Now my hands are tied here!] But they weren't... and he knew it. He could do what Treize Khushrenada asked him to do. Treize... He could see the man's face in his mind's eye still, that arrogant stance, the self-satisfied smirk to the corner of the mouth... but those eyes of intense blue told a slightly different story. Even after defeating Wufei in the duel, Treize was studying him closely, taking his measure. And strangely, ODDLY, he was not looking at Wufei as an enemy. It didn't feel like that; there was no contempt, no anger, no animosity whatsoever. [He was... curious. Wondering?] Wufei couldn't puzzle it all out. [He should hate me... shouldn't he? Oh, well, the man's a megalomaniac anyway. The way he spoke to me - 'dear boy'! Imagine!] He shook his head to dispel the image. "All right, Nataku," he murmured softly at the panel of winking lights before him. "If Treize Khushrenada wants me to do his dirty work for him, he's going to have to pay far beyond lending me a carrier to get to outer space. He's going to owe me for this... and I *will* make him pay..." Wufei threw his head back and laughed. The thought of Treize being in his debt cheered him up immensely. [Oh, yeah, going to put a big price tag on this one...] After flying in closer and then securing his Gundam in an abandoned warehouse on the edge of the city, Wufei slipped onto the grounds of the quiet factory. It was fortunate that production was stopped in light of the Chief Engineer's death, for there was a minimum of security and no working personnel around. [That woman at Lake Victoria,] he thought as he stealthily went around placing explosives, [she would be relieved. And I suppose Treize has enough blood on his hands already...] Then it was done. Wufei retreated to the storage hangar Treize had told him about a few blocks away. That, too, had minimum security. Hiding in the shadows, he pressed the detonation switch. The explosives in the factory went off with impressive loud booms, destroying mobile dolls and control rooms alike. The few security guards at the hangar came rushing out at the sound, just as Wufei had planned. As they started running toward the factory, Wufei slipped inside. In moments, he'd powered up the HLV that was just where Treize had said it would be. [Amazing,] Wufei thought as a minute later he flew the vehicle the short distance to his hidden Gundam. Within the half hour, the HLV with the Shenlong and Chang Wufei aboard, took off for outer space... and the colony L5. Count Townshend himself woke up Marquis Weyridge to tell him the news. "I thought I heard a boom or two," Weyridge commented sleepily. "So, what was hit?" "The mobile doll factory. Rather well, too. The explosives were all on the inside, set off remotely," Townshend related. [He doesn't seem surprised... but then neither am I...] "Did you have anything to do with this?" the Marquis asked as calmly as if they were discussing the weather. "No, we did not do this, sir." "Did you know it would happen?" Townshend thought back to his last conversation with Treize Khushrenada. [If he'd been planning this, he didn't tell me...] "No, sir." "Really!" Weyridge chuckled. [Milliardo, did you...?] "Well, it seems someone has done us a huge favor. We'll say that pro-pacifism rebels did it, and it will be an incentive to the Foundation to reassure the nations of the Earth and all rebel forces that we ourselves are embracing pacifism." "Oh, right," the Count replied, amazed. "Any casualties?" "None, sir. The only injuries were some minor burns suffered by some of the security personnel." "Delightful," Weyridge sighed. "I wish I knew who to thank." "There's one more thing, sir..." Townshend straightened. "An HLV was spotted taking off from outside of the city. Only our people recorded it. Perhaps we don't want to mention that to the Foundation in general." [A colonist? Who was it?] "I see. Well, very good, we'll keep this to ourselves." [Except I will be contacting Treize and GAIA with this,] Townshend thought. "Yes, sir," he murmured, saluting. Once back in the Treize Faction-controlled operations room, Townshend inquired of his communications officer, "Can we contact that?" "I doubt they'd respond, sir." He smiled, the dark mustache twitching. "Try it." The man nodded after a moment. "There..." "Pilot of HLV," Townshend called. "This is Count Townshend of the new OZ. Do you read me, Pilot of HLV?" At the controls of the outer space launch vehicle, Wufei glared at his radio. He was almost to the upper atmosphere. [Damn! Just a little further and I'd have gotten away...] But his screens were quiet. No one was in pursuit. [What the...?] "I know you can hear me," Townshend continued smoothly. "I just want to say something to you." Silence. "Thank you, Pilot of HLV. If indeed you are the one who eliminated that unfortunate factory for us. Thank you." Stunned, Wufei gaped at the radio. Then he angrily opened the transmitter. "What do you mean? Why are you thanking me??" [And what the hell does he mean by the 'new' OZ?] "That's better," Townshend murmured. "I am thanking you because you did that and now there will be no taint upon OZ for it. There are a lot of elements in OZ who are just now finding out about our internal changes. They do not need to be confused right now." "Well, I didn't do it for *you*," Wufei retorted. "I have no interest in your internal changes. All that matters is the freedom of the colonies. Earth doesn't concern me." "I hope you are aware that the internal changes I speak of," Townshend persisted, "greatly affect the colonies. We've made it impossible for mobile dolls to be produced on Earth or in the colonies." "OZ is still in control of the colonies!" Wufei snapped back. "That's who I will fight now. I don't care about the Earth." [I think I know who this is,] Townshend was thinking. [Treize said all the Gundam pilots except one have joined GAIA. Could it be?] He leaned over to his communications officer to whisper to him: "See if we have his voice on record..." "The colonies still need the Earth for some supplies..." In moments, Townshend at least had an inkling of whom he was dealing with. "Yes, I agree heartily that the former Earthsphere Alliance let many colonies become dangerously unstable, refusing to maintain them properly," he replied to something Wufei had said. [And his argument further proves who he is...] "By the way, I would like to help you in return for your kind action." "I don't need your help!" [Why am I still talking to this person?] "But your colony does... Pilot of the Gundam 05. You're from L5, correct? I'd say they'd welcome immediate shipments of construction materials and a full support team to begin the needed process of rebuilding to save your colony." Silence. [Ta ma de! They've pegged me... but still no pursuit?] [I've got you now, Gundam pilot,] Townshend was thinking and hoping. [L5 isn't going to get what it needs from OZ in outer space, and he'll know that...] "No," Wufei finally replied. "I don't want your charity! And I wasn't working for you, and don't plan to in the future!" [And it's *Treize* I want to pay me back, not one of his former toadies...] "Of course not," the new leader of OZ replied patiently. "But you did destroy that factory. Very well, Pilot 05, I'll respect your wishes. But I would like to leave you with one bit of advice." "Talk is cheap," Wufei replied sullenly. "What is it?" "There are already those in outer space who would be a great help to you, Pilot 05. I advise you only to keep an open mind... and be slow to judge. I predict you will be surprised often in the future... and not necessarily in a bad way." [Hmph, who does he think he is, coming off like Confucius or something?] "Fine. Is that it?" "Indeed, that's all I have to say. May God speed you on your way, Pilot 05." Wufei snapped the transmitter closed. "Yeah. That'd be nice. Throw in Buddha while you're at it..." The HLV proceeded on towards the L5 colony, unobserved further. [Kitten... are you doing okay?] Trowa wondered for the hundredth time since leaving for outer space. He pulled absently on the short OZ jacket he now wore; it didn't quite fit, as the GAIA Aries pilot it used to belong to had been broader in the shoulders. Still, if he stood very straight - and he supposed he'd be doing a lot more of that from now on - the fit was much better. He had nothing else to do but monitor his screens. Already Trowa had contacted Space Fortress Barge to let them know that Officer Trowa Barton, mobile suit specialist, was arriving on special assignment. Federi, on Lance's suggestion and with Heero's help, had sent ahead the orders, offering Officer Trowa's expertise to Lieutenant Trant to help with testing the new mobile suits which the Gundam scientists were building. Of course the fact that the orders had Treize Khushrenada's signature on it couldn't hurt. No one, they were sure, would suspect His Excellency of sending a Gundam pilot... An hour after sending the coded message to Antarctica, Trowa's screens indicated an approaching carrier. [My escort? Hmmmm,] he thought, and immediately activated his radio. "Calling OZ carrier, this is Officer Trowa Barton, enroute to Barge. I'm on special assignment to Lieutenant Trant from General Khushrenada." A moment of static, and then he heard a startled voice. "Khushrenada! But we just heard that His Excellency has resigned as leader of OZ!" Then the voice turned angry. "Are you one of his spies?" "Hey, my orders were dated yesterday," Trowa replied smoothly and calmly. [They know already...] "I don't know about any resignation. Perhaps he wanted to get me out of his way. Anyway, Trant is going to need me." "Transmit your security codes and orders, then stand by," the voice replied tersely. [This better work...] Trowa mused as he complied. A moment later, a new voice came on. Trowa's eyes widened; the indicator said that the incoming transmission was from Barge, patched through the carrier. "Barton? This is Lieutenant Nikol. What does Trant want with you?" [Nikol... Federi told me he's like a second in command to Lady Une. This could be useful...] "I was told Colonel Une had ordered the captured scientists from the colonies to build new mobile suits. I'm an expert test pilot. Treize sent me to assist Trant with them, but apparently that was before he decided to resign." Laughter came from the radio, a bit nasty. "Trant doesn't have the scientists, though, I do! Hmm... a mobile suit expert? Mind if I put those skills to the test? Even if your orders do check out... Not that I'm going to let you near those new models... anyway, you're here. We might as well use you somewhere." Nikol sighed. "Follow the carrier in. I'll see you when you disembark. Nikol, out." As Trowa directed his shuttle to follow the carrier back to Barge, he frowned, thinking that something in what Nikol said was very odd. First of all, there was no mention of Lady Une... and secondly, he seemed to have some sort of negative attitude toward Trant. [What's going there? Oh, well, looks like I'll be finding out. And Treize's information that Trant had control of the Gundam scientists seems to have been wrong. Something is definitely strange...] In another hour, Trowa had one of his answers. Colonel Une, with Lieutenant Nikol in tow, met the shuttle herself. But she was totally unlike anything Trowa had expected. "Welcome to Space Fortress Barge!" a woman in a blue business dress greeted him when he left the shuttle. She smiled at him sunnily and flipped her long, feathery hair. "We so rarely get visitors from Earth. And how is His Excellency faring?" [Is she for real?] "I'm sorry, ma'am, I did not receive my orders from him in person. And, frankly, I never met him. He knows me only by reputation, it seems." The smile faded abruptly and the woman's soft brown eyes widened. "Oh. I'm sorry, I so wanted to hear how he was. Hmmm..." She looked at Trowa as if seeing him for the first time. "Oh, you're the mobile suit expert!" "Yes, he thinks he's supposed to be working for Trant," Nikol spoke up. He'd been uncomfortable ever since he laid eyes on the new officer. [He... he's a KID! Oh, geez, and look how she's looking at him. You'd think he was a puppy or something... and, as I'd feared, she's totally ignoring the fact that His Excellency has just resigned...] "Why would he be working for Trant?" Lady Une inquired, looking honestly mystified. Nikol just looked at her, eyes pleading for her to remember. [Geez, has she forgotten everything?] "Oh, yes, Trant has his own little project, right." Then Une chuckled merrily. "But you're working for us instead, right, Officer...?" "Trowa Barton." [What project?] "Oh, yes, Officer Trowa!" Trowa glanced at Nikol, who had a strange statement on his face. [I've arrived here not five minutes and he thinks I'm a threat? To what? Something tells me things here aren't as Bremen thinks they are...] "Well, I suppose I am..." "Splendid!" Une clapped her hands together. "You should see the beautiful new models! Nikol, be a dear and show Officer Trowa to his quarters. Make a schedule for him. See if our guests are ready to hold a demonstration." Nikol looked stunned. [Oh, shit, she's actually handing out orders... most of the time she's spaced out, but she seems to have noticed this guy for real... and what's worse, she thinks Trant is just working on a project! Gah!] "Y...Yes, ma'am!" Then he glared at the newcomer. "Come with me!" But Trowa turned first to Lady Une. "Ma'am, a pleasure to meet you at last," he murmured, saluting smartly. "Oh, how nice!" Une giggled girlishly. As Trowa departed with Nikol, he thought to himself, amused, [I have a strong feeling that I could have quite an interesting time here...] (tbc)
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