|
"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"
As they walked, Trowa hastily explained Barge-Fore Faction politics to his friend. "Nikol has a lot of bluster, but he won't go against the Colonel. She's... funny - I can never decide if she's really lost touch with reality or just puts on that facade when she feels threatened. Or both. I have a strange feeling she knows what I am... but for some reason doesn't want to confront me on it." Heero, staring straight ahead, replied, "So you're saying she's likely to peg me, too?" Trowa glanced over, his eyes widening at the chill tone to the other's voice. "I don't know, Heero - sorry. She's a bit unpredictable. At least we don't need to present you as another test pilot. That would be a little too risky." "Understood." The taller boy glanced again, looking more closely at his friend this time as they continued in silence. [Let me guess... Heero blames himself for Duo's capture,] he mused. [Damn... okay, he's totally in mission mode, but he's got to give himself a break over Duo. Does he think he has to protect Duo for Zechs? Heero... you're so strong; don't do this to yourself...] Sighing, Trowa looked ahead. [I'm glad he's here... I missed him...] Of course he ached for his Quatre with every breath, but the firm, solid support of Heero Yuy had meant a lot to him, too, after that month they'd traveled around Europe together tracking down the Noventa family. [He just understands me... and never asks for anything back. Oh, Heero...] "So, where are they keeping Wufei?" Heero asked abruptly. Trowa glanced over, startled. "Wufei? Oh, you'd heard he was captured, too. Well, it wasn't the Fore Faction. Must be Trant's group. That's just damn peculiar if you ask me. I mean, the Fore Faction was looking for Gundam pilots to help test the Mercurius mobile suit. But why would Trant want one? Maybe to foil our efforts here... but how could he know about our new suits?" Heero was staring. "Trant? The Aft Faction commander, you mean? He's got Wufei? I thought he would be here..." That put a different picture on things. When Trowa nodded, he added, "Maybe Trant plans to capture one of the suits..." "Nah, he'd have done worse than that already if he had that sort of capability," Trowa replied thoughtfully. As he'd expected, Lieutenant Nikol was waiting for them. "Come with me," he muttered tersely. He led them to a conference room a short distance from the bridge. "Colonel Une," he said to the commander who stood as the men entered, "this is Officer Odin Lowell." Lady Une was, to Trowa's relief, not in uniform, but dressed in one of her smart business dresses, her hair loose, glasses absent. "Oh, yes, the computer man," she said breezily, flipping the ends of her hair on one side, a somewhat vacuous smile on her face. "Welcome to Barge, Officer Odin!" Heero gave her a smart, OZ salute, which she waved off. "Reporting as instructed, ma'am," he replied firmly. He'd already noticed that Nikol's _expression tightened when he saw her response. [Interesting...] "Well," Une was continuing, waving them to chairs set in a small semicircle apart from the long table in the room, "Nikol tells me you worked on Gundam 02. Tell me, Officer Odin, aren't you worried about working with your former employer?" All three men gaped at her for a moment. [Does she know?] Trowa wondered, thinking fast. Was this a set-up? [Good, she's suspicious,] Nikol thought, relaxing. [Maybe she's more herself today than I thought...] He felt the tension in his stomach ease. [Une...] Heero immediately responded, "You mean Professor G? I'm not worried about him, Colonel. In fact, I've been looking forward to this." Une straightened, surprised. "Oh? How is that, Officer Odin?" "It'll be a little payback for how he's treated me in the past," Heero answered promptly. "He might well be worried about working with me instead." [Maybe I was wrong about him,] Nikol mused, seeing the firm determination on the younger man's face. [He wants to get back at that scientist... this could be a very good thing...] The commander blinked a couple times, then turned to Nikol, affording him a rather sweet _expression. "Nikol, would you mind returning to the bridge? They're doing sensor sweeps again, and you know how the bridge crew often needs your guidance... and firmness. They do get so bored..." Nikol narrowed his eyes, but saluted anyway. "Yes, of course, Colonel." He glanced at the others intently as if warning them. "Barton... Lowell..." [Don't you harm her in any way...] "Lieutenant," Trowa responded smoothly. [Just... go away, Nikol. Good boy...] Once Lieutenant Nikol had left the room, Lady Une stood again and turned away from them. She ran the fingers of both hands through the back of her long hair, sighing. "Colonel Une?" Trowa murmured, wondering about her state of mind. With another sigh, the woman turned back, facing her newest officer. "Officer Odin... may I call you Odin? Trowa here can tell you that sometimes our formality gets in the way of true communication... and I very much would like to ask you about a certain... matter." "Of course, Lady," Heero replied. "What would you like to know?" [I'm not sensing any hostility from her... or even wariness. I wish Trowa had been able to tell me more about her...] Gracefully, she took her seat again. "Odin, since you came from beyond Barge... I had wondered if perhaps you had heard anything in your travels... about..." Uneasily she ducked her head. "Lady?" Heero inquired softly. "About... about our former leader," Une rushed to finish, now showing a bit of distress. "About Treize Khushrenada." Heero and Trowa exchanged glances. [So,] Heero thought, [she does have feelings for him. They'd said she felt very isolated out here... despite having everyone on this massive space station. This bears watching...] He shook his head slowly. "Ma'am, I don't know very much, just what had been reported in the news several weeks ago. About the takeover of the Romefeller Foundation on Earth... and His Excellency's resignation. It seemed to me that I heard that he was under house arrest somewhere in the Romefeller complex in Bremen... and that he had escaped." [If she only knew... escaped to Sank... and now he's in space... That... bothers me.] Une smiled briefly. "A man like Treize Khushrenada does not go quietly off the stage to sit in the wings, Officer Odin. He may no longer be at Romefeller or in the forefront of world politics, but he most certainly would not be inactive. At least I cannot believe that of him." She glanced over at Trowa who looked back benignly. "What do you think that fine man is doing, Trowa Barton?" [She knows,] Trowa considered. [About us... and suspects about Treize, I think... I wonder...] But he was unwilling to state aloud what was becoming obvious. [There's no way in hell I'm admitting he's here in outer space right now...] "Ma'am," he began quietly, "it seems he would be waiting somewhere." Her eyes widened with interest. "Waiting for what, Trowa?" Trowa met her glance firmly. "Waiting for the new tomorrow that will come when you win over the colonies for Earth and reveal all the other upstarts - the Alliance, GAIA, Trant's group - for the false hopes they represent." Une's face lit up in delight and she clapped her hands together in glee like a child. Heero gaped at her, dumbfounded, wondering how such a woman could be the leader of OZ in outer space. [This was the woman who ordered the destruction of a colony when I was in Siberia?] But abruptly her _expression changed. Une pressed her hands together, then lowered them to her sides, giving Trowa a shrewd look. It made their blood run cold. "Trowa Barton," Lady Une addressed him lightly, "you are so very perfect, do you know that?" [Is she going to say it?] "Ma'am?" Trowa replied, blinking, affecting innocence though his body was preparing for a possible danger. Une fairly winked at him. "So, you believe the Fore Faction of OZ is the true successor of power in outer space?" "Of course," Trowa answered smoothly. She cocked her head at him curiously. "You're a colonist - I would truly like to have your honest opinion," Her _expression sobered. "Honest... opinion...." "Certainly, Ma'am." "What do the colonies truly want, Trowa?" Une asked, leaning forward in her chair to regard him more closely. "Please, I very much would like to know." Trowa blinked again, internally marveling at the subtle shifts she was displaying... from vacuous saint to playful child to shrewd leader to... a woman honestly interested in the truth. At least that's how it appeared. [She means this,] he decided. [Very well...] "Ma'am, at your request I will respond as a citizen of the colonies and not as an OZ soldier." He glanced aside at Heero for a moment. [I knew it,] Une thought, catching the quick glance. [Both of them, then. They must know the prisoner... I need to meet that one next. This *will* be interesting.] "The people of the colonies," Trowa explained solemnly, "wish for peace. Peace to live out their lives... without harm." He'd been about to say, "without interference." Une studied her officer's bland _expression a long moment. [It's best if their little secret is intact for now. But still...] "Then tell me this - what do you think this new group, GAIA, is all about?" [I can't lie to her,] Trowa mused. He respected Lady Une as a soldier but he thought he could understand the inner conflicts ruling her now. [To be apart from the one you care about... is very difficult.] He took a deep breath, then launched into his explanation. "Lady Une, I would have to say that from all appearances, GAIA in fact seems to want what you yourself want - the end of wars which use mobile dolls to fight battles. I do not know if they had anything to do with the assassination of Romefeller's chief engineer on the mobile doll project but that event has created a pivotal change in history, I believe. It is true that the demise of that scientist has paved the wave for GAIA... on Earth. Whether they hold any power in space is completely unknown." "Indeed, you are right, Trowa, though for now we must use the Taurus mobile dolls we already have even if there will be no more new ones," Une replied thoughtfully. [And I think you know a lot more about GAIA. If only we could speak openly...] "Do you think Treize had anything to do with that assassination?" Trowa relaxed. [I don't have to talk around this one at least. Though Treize knew, he did not engineer that assassination, not directly at any rate.] "No, ma'am, I don't think His Excellency would have stooped to that." [Sully his name and reputation with assassination? Not hardly...] "That's good to hear," Une replied with a sigh. "It's good to speak so plainly about this..." She straightened then turned to Heero. "What do you think of GAIA, Odin?" "Not much," Heero replied flatly, though he was impressed by Trowa's manner of speaking around this obviously fragile woman. "Aside from the Alliance practically throwing themselves at them here in space, they have done utterly nothing against OZ. All their pretty words on Earth mean nothing now, it seems." Both Une and Trowa stared at the new officer. "Really?" Une inquired, surprised at the young man's bluntness. "Perhaps they're waiting for something," Trowa offered. [Heero, what are you getting at?] Heero returned Trowa's stare evenly. "Ah, perhaps that's it. Waiting to see what happens with OZ." He glanced at their superior officer. "Colonel Une, I will have to admit that I've heard rumors of confusion in the colonies because of OZ's split here on Barge. Forgive me for speaking about what I'm sure is a delicate matter, but are their any plans for the resolution of that situation... other than the development of the new mobile suits we're working on?" Une blinked, then smiled minutely. "A good leader appreciates candor, Officer Odin," she responded brightly. "You certainly are a secure young man to speak so to me, but I like that. It's a trait Lieutenant Trowa possesses as well, which is why I seek his advice and input from time to time." [And it follows,] she thought privately with delight, [that every single Gundam pilot possesses brass balls like this! He's been on board not even an hour and already he's brought up the uncomfortable subject of our little civil war. Clever little thing...] Heero blinked. "Yes, ma'am." "Well, there may or may not be plans," Une continued blithely, pointedly not answering him. "It's really too much for our younger officers to worry about, wouldn't you agree?" She was eager now to meet with the other new one, the pilot under custody. Crisply she stood and straightened her dress, not waiting for his response. "Now, Officer Odin, I'm sure you're anxious to see the new mobile suits, so I won't keep you and Trowa any longer. I thank you for your insights. I look forward to chatting with you both again sometime." [Soon...] Trowa and Heero stood at once, resuming a more professional manner as well. "Yes, thank you, ma'am," Heero responded firmly. "I look forward to that as well." Then they both saluted her sharply. Une returned the salute then waved it off, chuckling as she departed... still an enigma. "Come on, Odin," Trowa murmured in her wake, shaking her head. "The construction bay isn't far." Heero nodded and went with him. [That *was* a very interesting conversation...] (tbc)
|
