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"Endangered"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, sap Pairings: 6x2, implied 3x4 Summary: The pilots must separate to talk with
various colonies on behalf of GAIA. "Endangered"
A rumble shook the massive space station where the United Earthsphere Alliance had their base at colony D-120. "Damn, OZ again!" Gwinter muttered, mopping up spilled coffee. "Do you get this often?" Zechs asked, wondering as the three of them returned to the command station. "It's isolated squadrons only," Grandfather Septum murmured as Gwinter barked orders to his men. "Nothing serious. They like to poke at us when they get bored or frustrated." "This is no isolated squadron!" Gwinter exclaimed. "They're finally making a move against us!" A flush of adrenaline drove Zechs into battle mode automatically. He pressed forward with Gwinter to get a look at the monitors. Rapidly assessing the information, he realized with a shock that he had to make a quick decision here. "They've sent two teams of Space Leos and four teams of Tauruses! How have your men fared against the Taurus?" he asked, though his heart sank. He knew the answer already. And judging from what Trowa had told them, these suits constituted a full half of the Taurus complement of the Fore Faction of OZ right now. Indeed, Gwinter looked very concerned. "It's been difficult... and we have taken losses," he admitted. "Fortunately the laser cannons on the colony have helped. But that many..." [Shit,] Zechs was already thinking, his mind racing. [If I take Tallgeese, it'll be announcing to OZ that Zechs Merquise has sided with the Alliance. I'm already a traitor to them... but it might be bad to reveal myself to OZ this soon. Can't call Peacemillion...] His glance slid over to the trio of White Tauruses visible through the window, still in the launch bay. "There are twenty Tauruses out there. You're going to need help." As Zechs pulled out his portable radio, the two Septums looked on in amazement. "You... you're not seriously thinking of fighting..." Grandfather murmured. "If OZ defeats us, it may send a message to the colonies that OZ is too aggressive for them to permit. Our sacrifice might be needed." "Grandfather!" Gwinter exclaimed, then sighed. "He's right..." "No, I will not allow this," Zechs muttered, then turned his back on him and started running toward the launch bay. Into his radio he called, "Perry, Lance, we've got work to do!" In moments, three GAIA White Taurus mobile suits led the Alliance's Space Leos into battle. "Draw them into the line of fire of those colony lasers!" Zechs directed to the others over the open Alliance channel. The captain of the Leo force frowned, but his commander was already signalling him privately. "Remember, the Lightning Count is a brilliant, strategic leader," Gwinter Septum quickly related. "Follow his orders!" [And,] Gwinter thought to himself, [it might convince Zechs to allow us to join GAIA if we follow him now...] "Yes, sir," the officer replied hastily, then barked his own orders. "You heard what he said! Lead them toward the lasers!" On the OZ side, the leader was still preoccupied with the sight of Taurus mobile suits apparently fighting for the Alliance. "Damn it, they've got Tauruses!" he swore, hitting his fist against his control panel. "These White Tauruses must be their new weapons! And they're fast, too, better than ours... everyone, stay alert!" Indeed, the three White Tauruses were already making short work of the OZ Leos, though curiously, not blowing any of them up. One Leo after another became crippled, hanging in space, either unable to fight or unable to blast away. Then the OZ commander saw what was happening. "They're so fast, especially that leader! And they're using beam sabers to disable our suits! What the...?" Too late, they realized that the Alliance force had lured the Taurus mobile doll troops into the range of the colony lasers. "Shit, no... the Tauruses!" But these unmanned suits, though fast, were unable to escape the relentless blast of lasers. [This is the way we must fight now,] Zechs was thinking, every fiber of his being primed in the fight, though a strange exhilaration was flooding him at the thought that they were fighting without killing. It was the new GAIA way, decided upon by the Leadership Committee after many long discussions. Zechs still didn't know if the Gundam pilots themselves would fight this way, but he knew he could now. [I'm creating a peace for Duo and me to live in,] he thought with a fierce pride in his heart. [For my sweet Dancer... my Duo...] Straining against his harness, Zechs opened a channel to the enemy. "Surrender to the new future of outer space!" Scowling, the leader opened his end. He knew that voice... didn't he? But for all his musing, he couldn't place it. "We can't surrender to the Alliance, you fool! We've replaced you devils in outer space! You're not needed here!" On the Alliance space station, Gwinter hastily broke into the conversation. [Zechs shouldn't reveal himself at this time!] "You're not surrendering to the Alliance!" he called, startling everyone... except for Grandfather, who stood aside, smiling and nodding. "You're surrendering to the will of the colonies! And you're surrendering in part to GAIA! Yes, we, the former United Earthsphere Alliance, are aligning our future with that of the colonies and GAIA... and the Earth! OZ will have to bow out!" "GAIA?" The man's voice shook, his mind racing. Belatedly he opened a channel to Barge. [Lieutenant Nikol has to hear this! Man, will he be pissed! GAIA has finally shown themselves!] Then he continued, "Barge will crush you! We'll blast you out of existence, GAIA, with our mighty beam cannon! Then we will laugh at you!" [Uh-oh,] Zechs thought, gesturing to Lance to circle around behind the OZ leader, [I can't risk D-120 any further! Damn, is he transmitting to Barge? Can't risk that either...] He activated an enzyme-code enhanced communications jammer quickly. It would prevent all communications within a radius of several thousand kilometers. The OZ troops couldn't communicate with Barge, but then neither could they communicate with D-120. [Old boy, remember later to devise field hand signs for mobile suits to use in battle...] Fortunately, the OZ Taurus mobile dolls were all destroyed by now, and the Leos were all disabled. Lance duChien, who with Perry Reglor were the other White Taurus pilots, managed to get in a last, stealthy swipe at the OZ commander, disabling his Vernier rockets. Zechs gestured at the remaining Alliance troops with a universal "come on" sign. In moments, grappling hooks were in place to haul the disabled Leos to the space station where the OZ pilots would be held captive. A half hour later, it was all over. Zechs landed his Taurus after seeing that the last OZ Leo was taken in, then rode his lift cable down to the floor. Gwinter Septum was already waiting for him. "That was... impressive," Gwinter murmured as Zechs touched down. Belatedly his grandfather came up beside him. "So, seeing as how I've declared ourselves for GAIA, Zechs... will you take us?" Zechs looked up at the very tall man in wonder, then nodded. [We've done it, Dancer... we've brought the former Alliance into the fold. If only you could be here to share this victory with me...] A moment later, they were all shaking hands, sealing the new alignment. An Alliance officer jogged up to them. "Sir, we just got the strangest message... in code, we think... and we can't trace the source." Gwinter frowned. "What was the message?" "'WK from PM... RK is coming.' That was it." "It's for me," Zechs said immediately, alarmed. "I'm sorry, but I must be going." The message was clear to him: "White King from Peacemillion: Rose Knight is coming." [Why is Treize coming to space now? What's happened?] "But we have so much to talk about," Grandfather Septum spoke up worriedly. As the other three Taurus pilots had joined them by now, Zechs clapped a hand on Lance's shoulder. "I'm leaving behind one of our top men, Lance duChien," he said quickly. "He'll work with you on the transition." "And Barge? Won't they be sending more troops now?" Gwinter wanted to know. The threat of the massive Barge beam cannon was a daunting one. Zechs thought for a moment, then shook his head. "I don't believe much got through, and they won't have returning troops to tell tales. They won't use the beam cannon until they're desperate, and I don't think they're to that point yet." [And Trowa may be able to run interference... I hope!] Gwinter sighed. "Well, it's an acceptable risk." "It's better than that," Grandfather spoke up, smiling. "They have no second thoughts about attacking the former Alliance. But they will have second thoughts about attacking a GAIA base from here on!"
Security near the Aft Section of Barge was viciously tight after Trant Clark's Tauruses had chased away the prying spies of the Fore Section in order to secretly bring in the captured Gundam. After the Gundam had been towed in, a large armed team surrounded it. No chances were being taken in securing the pilot. Trant stood before the Gundam, hands on his hips as he glared at it. "Gundam pilot!" he called. "Come out of there on your own and you won't be hurt." After a long pause, the Shenlong's cockpit door opened, revealing the slim Chinese youth who glared at the OZ firepower facing him. "Hmm, seems you're afraid of a little boy like me!" Wufei snapped at the man in front derisively. But he came down without hesitation, deciding he was going to have to wait for a chance to do some damage here. Now was not looking to be a good time. Trant snorted ironically. "Not hardly, boy," he replied. "I'm Lieutenant Trant Clark of the True OZ, the group that follows the ideals of our commander in chief, Treize Khushrenada." [What? Treize isn't involved with these nutcases!] Wufei wondered, scowling. "So?" he threw back, challenging. The red-haired lieutenant frowned. "His Excellency doesn't believe in mobile dolls and neither do we. We believe in superior manned mobile suits such as the Gundam. We will conquer and defeat the False OZ with our superior power!" [Oh, great, another megalomaniac,] Wufei thought, irritated. "You're nuts, Clark. There are no mobile dolls! That group called GAIA saw to that." But the man only smirked. "On Earth, perhaps. But the False OZ in space has mobile dolls aplenty. That's our enemy now!" [I don't believe this...] Wufei shook his head, bewildered. "I don't know about any False OZ - where are they? The only OZ base in space is this barge..." "For now they inhabit the Fore Section of this fortress," Trant interrupted. "But we will eradicate them in time." "What, with my Gundam?" Wufei cast a glance around, sneering. "I don't see anyone here capable of flying a Gundam." Trant stepped forward until he towered over the diminutive pilot in an intimidating manner. "Watch what you're saying, boy! I'm not interested in your Gundam!" [Huh?] A coldness began to seep into Wufei's veins at this startling statement. [If they don't want the Gundam, then... oh, ta ma de...] The man chuckled. "Now you get the picture! Yes, it's you I want, Gundam pilot!" Then his expression tightened as he yelled out commands. "Stow that Gundam away! Prepare Wing Zero!" Wufei paled. [Wing Zero... what's a Wing Zero?]
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