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"Alternative Directions: Options "Written By: Karina Disclaimer: I don't own Gundam Wing or the lovely
boys and their girls in the series. Wish I did. Please don't sue me.
I haven't even got a brass razoo to give you. Rating: Deffinately PG in Australia, at the moment,
but probably safer to say R for later chapters. Not sure about international
ratings Warnings: It will be 6x2, even though it does
not start out that way. After all, Zechs and Duo never met in Gundam
Wing and only spoke briefly over a com line in Endless Waltz. I've
tried to keep them in character as I saw them in the series. A bit
of language creeping in under stressful conditions. Pairings: eventual 6x2, past 2xH, 2+H,6x9, 1+R
Summary: Directions is set post Endless Waltz
and roughly 2 years have passed. Zechs and Noin are on Mars and Duo,
after spending some time with Hilde in a relationship leaves L2 to
join Preventers. Hilde was not happy about his decision. I guess enough
said. Here t'is, and I hope you like it. This is also AU for the standard
setting, as well as the series and Endless Waltz. Spoilers: Gundam Wing Series and Endless Waltz Many thanks to Dulin for volunteering to beta this. //... // thoughts
"Alternative Directions: Options"
Chapter 125 Mars Colony Base Dome 2nd March AC 198 Time: 0: 15 [approx Sanc time 22:05] Mighty Joe Lee He was tired and he was dirty and he reeked of smoke but above all he was afraid. He had had nightmares that were tamer than the events of this day and he had no doubt that late as the hour was the day for him was far from over. //For me? Not just for me, but for all of us. I don't know what exactly is going on but I know that it is not good. Things are progressing from bad to worse and there is no sign that there is any change coming soon. There were people in those elevators. Friends. I'm tired. So tired and I want to sleep but I'm afraid that if I give in to it I'll never wake up. I'll become permanently imbedded in the nightmare. Or worse. If this is not a nightmare … It's not. It's reality and if I sleep I might not wake because … // To think it was unthinkable but he could not ignore it either. People had died in the elevators. That was the truth and it was also truth that he knew other people would be dying this day … If they had not done so already. // It's just that sort of day.// “Everyone got coffee?” Preston Kurtz faced them, eyes serious, face smudged with soot. “Yeah, yeah. Get on with it will you? I want some sleep.” //Sleep? Are you a total idiot Palmer? You have to know as well as I do what is happening here. You have to realize that our world is crumbling down around our heads. // “Take a seat. We follow procedure as always, Palmer. Debriefing is important, we have incident reports to fill out and we have safety issues to discuss.” His eyes wandered the dining hall slowly, marking who of the emergency response team looked to be dead on their feet and who simply looked exhausted. There was a difference in the level of reaction he observed and he was not inclined to trust his life to someone who had not the stamina or the will power to survive. That they were in a fight for survival he had not a single doubt. To him at least it was glaringly obvious with the explosion in the elevator that something was very wrong. “Can't this wait for morning?” Bryce Palmer scrubbed at his face, looking just as irritable as he sounded. “No, it can not. If you are so exhausted after fighting a fire and cleaning up the mess then I suggest that you withdraw your name from the emergency response services register and I'll happily have you reassigned to other less vital duties.” There was a disgruntled snort and the man slammed himself down into a chair, taking a deep drink of the scalding hot coffee and gasping as a result. He glared into the coffee cup and then at his hands resting beside the incident report form that awaited him. “We need to determine what caused the explosion.” Mighty Joe flicked his gaze to Preston Kurtz and nodded slightly in agreement. He could see by the mans eyes that he was not a fool and that he suspected. He himself knew only too well what had happened in the elevator shaft though as yet he had no real idea why it should have happened. He had already tried to talk to Kurtz, Palmer and Markos after parting company with Merquise about his concerns but none of them seemed to be inclined to listen to his theory. //They always considered me … well … not so much weird as maybe … eccentric? I will admit that I always have had a conspiracy theory or two knocking around, that is true enough, and I suppose they are right in that I can usually make a conspiracy out of putting too much sugar in coffee. It's true, but I have never mentioned anything on a scale of the likes of this before today. I have never taken my theories and thoughts to this exact type of scenario before and after speaking with Merquise I just know that I am right. The look on his face … It's not so simple as Raiders.// “Raiders.“ Palmer grunted. “Bullshit.” he denied automatically and silently cursed. They were not going to want to hear that. He had told himself repeatedly that he was going to handle this carefully. He had to be more circumspect about this. He had to be infinitely reasonable. “Lee, give it a break.” Markos sounded exhausted but he looked alert enough for the moment and he took a long drink of strong coffee. “The security alert said we had infiltrators in the base and that we were to remain at emergency stations. That alert was sounded hours ago and as yet has not been lifted. We have no contact with the upper dome nor do we have communication with the Alpha Dome. We also have no means of contact with the Preventers either here or in Alpha and no way of contacting the security office. Our computers are down, our radio communications-both internal and external -are out of commission. What this means to us is that effectively we are deaf and blind and stricken dumb by the failure in our systems. Most of the computer and systems failures appear to be related to the virus but not all of the problems we are experiencing can be explained by pointing to that corruption. From everything that I have ever heard concerning the Pirates who patrol in these remote areas, this does have all the earmarks of a classic Raider take over.” “I know all of that and I am just pointing out that the Raiders hit hard and fast and then run like hell when they have what they want. I admit that I am no expert on Raider attacks but I have heard the same stories as you. Don't you think it has been rather a long alert? All of the stories I have heard suggest that a raid is over within four to six hours. Should the Raiders not have made it into the sub base by now? Where are they? What do we have on Mars that is worth stealing anyway? We are not yet a mining community worth raiding. We should have at least received the all clear if they follow what has become accepted patterns.” “Accepted patterns? It sounds like we are talking about patch work quilting or something. There is nothing acceptable about Raiders.” Palmer growled, a low murmur that did not carry far, just far enough to goad Mighty Joe into another glare. “One of our chief concerns, well, mine at least, is that we really do not know who the enemy is.” Dan Curran glanced up at Markos with a diffident shrug. “I do admit that he has a valid point about the amount of time this is taking. It does seem to be taking rather a long time for the raiders to enter the sub base, not that I want them here. What sort of opposition are they meeting in the upper base? It was almost deserted and what is happening with our personnel outside of the dome? I have … most of us have friends out there. Who exactly are these Raiders and what do they want here? Those are the questions we need answered.” “Security alert said to stay put at emergency stations and wait.” Palmer rumbled, staring into his coffee. Kurtz ran a hand through his hair, looking harried. “Who are they? I have no idea but as near as I can recall Merquise said that the Raiders were wearing …” “Merquise never said anything about Raiders.” he met the engineers gaze and shrugged at the accusation in that glare. “I was there. As I recall it, it was you that suggested Raiders, not him. He said we had infiltrators in the base and that some of them were running around in ESUN combat fatigues. While you and Preston were in the room he never mentioned anything specifically about Raiders attacking the base and he sure as hell never said when we were alone that it was Raiders from the Asteroid Belt who were attacking the base.” He could be reasonable but to hell with it. No matter what he said he would be considered an alarmist at worst and a harmless eccentric at best. Well, he had evidence and he would use it. Soon. He had been tentative at first about mentioning his theory that these were no Raiders attacking the base when he had met up with his companions and Bryce Palmer after Zechs had left him. His suspicions had initially been aroused when he had noted the hesitation in Merquise soon after they had defused the radio relay that would have detonated the bombs. Admittedly at the time he had had no real proof of his suspicions to offer to further his argument and he supposed it did sound like a very bad third rate novel. In this current situation his friends would be less amused by his conspiracy theories but he thought that there were enough oddities about this situation that they might have given it some thought instead of dismissing him out of turn. He would present his evidence and see what they had to say then. “No conspiracy theories, if you please.” Palmer fairly snarled. Palmer was never the most pleasant natured man and past experience had proven that exhaustion simply made him stupid and surly in Mighty Joe's opinion. He was a nice enough body in the best of circumstances but he had proven to be a royal pain in the ass during times of stress and this occasion was no exception. Mighty Joe had bore the brunt of his anger in other lesser circumstances and he was not inclined to be the butt of Palmers ill humour this night. He had other, more important things to do than listen to Palmer sound off on how idiotic he could be. “Enough sniping. There are other more important matters that demand our attention. Settle, if you please and if you have nothing constructive to contribute I would appreciate it if you filled out the obligatory report on the explosion in the elevator shaft and the subsequent fire in the hallway and left the rest of us to discuss the matter. Now. We need to know what exactly is going on. All of the readings on the emergency services computer indicate that the fire in the elevator well has been extinguished, but if you want proof we have to open the door and I personally am not of a mind to do that at this time. We are still working on re-establishing the security camera system, but at this stage I can not see us having much success. That bloody virus has thus far defeated our every attempt to kill it. What moron would feed a virus into our computer systems?" //Well, that one is easy. The sort of moron who does not want anyone to know their identity, of course, but if I suggest it I'll be shouted down. Sooo, which of you bright sparks will say it instead of me? Come on now, don't be shy. One of you has to state the obvious.// “A moron who obviously does not want us to track them.” Dan Curran shifted a little in his seat and his voice, while as mild as always held not the faintest hint of amusement. //Dan, hmm? I had not expected it to be him. Quiet, usually has very little to say. Well, he has not ridiculed my theory to date, not that he seemed to pay much attention either. Maybe I can count on him as an ally? I don't know. Quiet man, pretty much keeps to himself.// “Is our air supply at risk?” Marcus Risch, his deep toned voice softened by his Germanic accent looked up from the form he was filling out. Mighty Joe glanced down at the waiting incident report he had as yet to set pen to and shrugged. Forms. Paper work. Formalities. He had more important things to think about at the moment. The form was unimportant and could wait and if he could not convince anyone in this group that there was serious trouble and not from Raiders then he was going to have to try to find someone else who would help him. Someone who would not dismiss his fears out of hand. Preferably Merquise. If he could just find Merquise and convince the man to tell him what was really happening then he would feel a whole lot better. “No. We are fortunate there that the virus is selective. While it has taken out all radio communications and the security systems including the cameras monitoring the upper base and sub base it has not as yet targeted our life support systems. The systems it has not targeted seem to include the security codes that operate the airlock systems to the shuttle bay though the explosion resulted in the blast doors activating and locking down the airlock to the shuttle bay. The blast doors activating when they did saved us from the lethal results of the poisonous fumes when the elevators exploded but I need an access code that will open the airlock to the shuttle bay so that we can try to access the computer systems in the supervisors office and regain some control of the base. My access code no longer works, which suggests that someone has changed all of the access codes. We are effectively isolated until we can regain control of the core computers. We need to get on top of this virus before it does penetrate our life support systems.” //Well that much is sense at least. We do need to chase down the virus and kill it but we need to do something about those people running around the base. The virus is not the greatest of our worries at this time. Why won't they believe me? They would not even give me the chance to explain how I gained evidence of the seriousness of this situation. They have not even permitted me to show them that evidence, but I will not be put off again. I suppose they will deny it anyway. No doubt they will come up with some simple and easier to believe reason why I am running around with state of the art plastic explosives. As though I keep that shit under my bed and use it every other day for fun! Come on, people. Give me an excuse to throw it at you in a manner you can not dismiss. You have to believe me when you see that. // “With the radio down we are limited in what we can do. We need to know what is happening in the upper dome but even the old intercom system seems to be down." //I wonder if I can incite anyone to bite in the general direction I need them to take? Some of you are beginning to sound a little too panicky for my liking. Panicking will not help us survive and if I am right we are going to need cool heads. Alright, I'm game to push a little to see if I can get some results, but I have to go carefully. Nothing too fast to have them close me out of their discussion. No need to mention that I don't exactly believe everything Merquise said to me. I have my own ideas of what is happening after all and that is what I need them to listen to. I think the real problem is that too many of them are afraid of Merquise and are too willing to make him the bad guy if there has to be a bad guy. Okay, I can work with that assumption if I have to. I'll let you think I mean Raiders for the moment and try not to mention who I really think is behind all of this. // "We need to maintain calm. To panic or to go off without planning our movements will likely result in more deaths. Yes, I said more deaths. Come on, after that explosion do you honestly think that people are not dying up there? I told you what Merquise told me and who else would have the know how and resources to lock us down here? I know you don't want to believe it, hell I don't want to believe it, but I'm not such a fool that I will bury my head in the sand and ignore what is going on around me." "Now just wait a minute, Joe. I can not believe that you actually trust Merquise. Come on the man tried to blow up the Earth. He's not sane." //Yeah, that's just about what I thought the response would be. The man is insane is just about THE catch cry for him. I thought that at first, but after I got to know him … He's no more insane than I am, but then you all reckon I'm a bit of a nut case. Can't be helped, I suppose, still we all have to be nut cases to be living out here. If you were sane when you arrived on Mars then a year or two cures you of that ailment. What is so wrong about being eccentric? This is not going to work. Being mild mannered and ever so polite is not going to gain me anything. I need you to listen, not humour me and I need to show a bit of spirit for that. I guess it's time for me to show that I have teeth and that I can bite with the best of you. Nothing too dramatic, maybe just a nibble for now? // "Oh, for Christ's sake, Palmer, don't be a flaming idiot. Look around you. This is Mars. Mars, Man, not Earth. Until now the politics of Earth has meant precisely nothing to us so long as they kept the supplies coming. I'll be honest with you and tell you that I don't actually give a shit about who stands on the top of the dung heap and calls himself King, President or Chief Prick. What does concern me is Mars and the safety of the people that work here. Even you have to admit that since he came to Mars he has done nothing to warrant our distrust or suspicion. Give the guy a break. He defused the detonator, man. Had that gone off the enviro dome would have been breached and you know that anyone caught out in the open or in the warehouses would be dead." Palmer snorted in response and thumbed his nose in direct insult. "We really only have his word for it that there were bombs at all." //Christ, what an idiot! I showed them the burned out device that would have detonated the bombs. So I don't have access to the dome to fetch a nice bomb from the envirodome for them all to admire and play with. Well, I think I now have something just as good and thank you for giving me the opening I needed. No, you idiots, don't roll your eyes and think 'here we go again'. This time you listen to me. Cop this, you morons.// "Oh for the … Look, you idiot, I suppose this is play dough?” It felt so good to pull the wad of explosive from his pocket. “Take a good look at it. This is high grade explosives, you moron. I took it myself from the freight elevators not twenty minutes ago.” // I was bloody terrified that the men would spot me but it was worth the risk. You have to believe me now.// “Oh, it's harmless enough without the detonator to trigger it, I made sure to dispose of that. While I removed this from the freight elevators I would not advise anyone to use the elevators. I have little doubt that there is a lot more of this shit there. I only removed this piece to demonstrate to you that there are people who are running around this base who do not exactly have our best interests at heart. If the elevator is used it will undoubtedly go up in just as spectacular a fashion as the others did." He watched as Marcus Risch frowned and then pushed himself to his feet and stalked over to take the material from his hand and turn it over carefully. Markos and Kurtz came closer too, both frowning and that at least was a small victory. Victory it might have been but it was far from what he needed to happen. He had their interest but he needed so much more. He wanted more than a quick examination and dismissal but it was a start and he was uncertain just how far he could push them without going too far and having them turn from him again with a sniff and mutter about questionable sanity, but something needed to be done. He needed to take a few chances here. Whether their enemies were Raiders or some other private concern or even ESUN agents as he personally suspected, some action needed to be taken. "If the elevators are trapped and the access codes have been changed that means that we are completely isolated from the enviro dome. There is no other means of reaching the upper base with the blast doors sealing off the primary elevator shaft and the freight elevators now out of bounds." Risch frowned, turning the grey play dough like material over in his hands. Palmer thrust himself to his feet and slammed a fist down against the table. "So what do we do about it? We have no proof who placed the explosives. Merquise could have placed it." "I do not believe this." He sighed in frustration, wishing he could slap the idiot who seemed to have no trust in anyone other than himself, which was just about the stupidest thing Mighty Joe Lee could think of. He would not trust Palmer as far as he could kick him. The man had serious personality issues in his opinion. "Would you mind telling me just where Merquise would get this shit? I can assure you that we don't even use it here when we need to do blasting. This stuff is state of the art, newly arrived from Earth, Palmer. There is no way that Merquise could have gotten his hands on some of it let alone planted it. I already told you that I followed that ESUN Security agent." "I can't believe that you would believe that the ESUN agents are out to kill us. It is their job to protect us! We are citizens of the Earth Sphere and they are our security agency. They are the good guys, Lee. Not the bad guys. Good guys do not go around shooting up terra forming bases and massacring civilians.” “Personally I think it depends whose side you are on as to who you see as the good guys.” Mighty Joe snapped back. “This is degenerating into a mud slinging match, gentlemen.” Kurts growled, glaring at both offenders. “Oh, let them go for it, Preston. They might just work some tension off or do us all a favour and kill each other. After all, four-year-olds have to be permitted to have their little fights.” Markos grunted, glaring at the two men. Mighty Joe snorted softly but subsided. He needed to get his point across and not antagonize them, but this idiot was really getting on his nerves. He was so close to having them take him seriously and the Mouth had to interfere. He really was aching to have a swing at Palmer but he was going to have to calm himself down or he was going to defeat his own purpose. He could not believe how dense some people were. He watched as Palmer sniffed noisily and after a moment turned his attention to the incident report and began to fill it out. Resisting the urge to curl his lip in disgust Mighty Joe glared at Kurtz and Markos, refusing to back down from his stand but willing to stop the sniping if they would only listen to him. “No matter what you believe I have my own ideas and I am not an idiot. I am not inclined to get myself shot in the back because you choose to trust anyone and everyone wearing a government uniform. Before you say anything along the lines of 'the government is our friend', you were not on L1 when the Alliance forces came and massacred more than four hundred people because they suspected rebels were hiding in the area. Suspected. They had no proof, no evidence. They just came. I was there. I saw it. I lost family to that unprovoked attack. I learned through practical experience that just because They are in power does not mean that They are in the right. Just because you stand on the top of the dung heap does not mean that you have to protect those who look up to you.” There was an awkward silence from the room in general and then a faint curse from someone. The massacre of the civilians on L1 had never been generally known and acknowledged publicly but everyone on Mars knew it had occurred. Some of the earlier terra formers who had come to Mars had been survivors of that bitter day. They had stated clearly in private conversations whispered in dark corners and whispered only because they were on the safely distant Mars, that it had not been rebels who had slaughtered the citizens, but Alliance forces. The government had refuted the claims and somehow held to the cover up. “That was in war time, Joe. I know that is no real excuse for such an atrocity but this is different. This is peace time. The Alliance is gone and we have an entire new power structure in place. Those kinds of incidents are in the past and will not be repeated.” Kurts sighed rising to move to the commode and pour himself another coffee. “Thankfully those days are behind us.” “Christ! You think?” Dan Curran stared at them all, looking from one to the other and finally shook his head in disbelief. “We may be on Mars but that does not mean that we are out of reality. I can't believe that you don't realize the implications of the latest round of elections taking place on Earth and in the Colonies. If you think that we have an entirely new government then I think you need to have another look. A thorough look because you are seriously mistaken.” Preston Kurtz frowned, glancing at Markos who was absently running a finger over the rim of his coffee mug but he was frowning and looked far from happy. “What do you mean?” “You don't follow politics, do you? Keep abreast of the changes in the government? No, I did not think so. If you sat down now and I handed to you two lists, one with the names of the key government officials in charge of the Earth Sphere during the One Year War on one and the other list for their current counterparts, I think you would shit yourself. I know I nearly did when I monitored the latest poll results of the by elections in the European and Germanic sectors on Earth. Politics is never static and there have been big changes in the make up of the Council of Representatives. Some names that had vanished after the advent of peace have now reappeared and they have reappeared in positions of influence. In politics three years is along time. A lot can change in that time and it has in the Council of Representatives. The pacifists are still there, hanging onto power but a fair bit of their support has been eroded away and the new Representatives are by no means as inclined toward total pacifism. This One Nation policy has been at the heart of the election results. The candidates who are winning have almost to a man included that policy in their campaigns, and not as a pro standing. If the Pacifists don't want war to break out again they are going to have to do something about that piece of idiocy.” //The man talks sense. He might just be an ally in this. If I can get him on side I might be able to persuade them that Merquise is not the bad guy here and that we really must take some kind of action. // “The One Nation policy is responsible for bringing about peace after years of continual war. War after war broke out in succession, no more than a year or two between any of the conflicts for years. More years than I care to think. This is our one shot at peace after so long. Are you saying that you preferred the Alliance in charge of things?” Kurtz scowled. “You are not listening to what I am telling you. I am saying that in the very near future some decisions are going to have to be made on Earth and in the Colonies and they are not going to be easy decisions to make, but they are necessary decisions. If someone does not realize it soon and take action then despite the One Year War and the lessons learned in the Barton Incursion then there is going to be war. Again. Not an isolated skirmish, but planet wide war and the Colonies will be right in there, pointing fingers and taking sides. I might add as a point of interest that it was not the One Nation policy that actually brought about peace. While it was all bright smiles and look we are all now brothers, wars were still being waged on Earth over borders. Just telling someone that a line on the map no longer exists is not going to convince people who have been fighting over that very line for generations that the thing just does not matter. I've made it something of a hobby since I came to Mars to fill in my idle hours with studying history. I have joined a sort of history club, if you want to call it that and I have learned some very interesting things through it. An unavoidable truth is that it's the victors in a war who write history. You will always get a jaded, one sided view on the events as stated by the winning side. You can believe their word as gospel or you can examine the facts yourself. If you choose to examine the facts and look carefully between the lines and hunt around in the right places then you can sometimes come up with something that might more closely resemble the truth.” “And that would be?” Markos questioned, glancing up from his coffee. He was looking thoughtful, not nearly so agitated and curiously enough, not nearly so tired. “You won't like it.” //Don't back off now. I am finding what you are saying very interesting indeed. Your not a fool. Quiet people can get away with an awful lot if you forget they are around and this one has been very quiet indeed since he came to Mars. I wonder what he has learned? Will he reveal it or is he going to step back and let the opportunity pass?// “So far I don't like anything about today so what is unusual about that?” Mighty Joe watched as Curran flicked his gaze over the men gathered, no doubt considering those eyes and the weight of speculation and curiosity. Palmer and a few others of the emergency response team had their heads buried in the incident reports, all of them seeming to be ignoring the conversation but it was apparent that Kurts, Markos and Risch were all watching the man and waiting for him to continue. // You look as though you think you should have kept your mouth shut. Don't think that. Get it out and hopefully it will help me. I think you just might be the ally I need. // “If you go back in detail over the years and trace the developments of the wars that have waged, particularly the One Year War that brought us this peace, then you find some interesting trends. It fascinated me the more I investigated, not that it is overly easy to do so from out here, but being out here in itself has the advantage that there are not a lot of distractions to occupy free time.” “We all know that, Dan.” Palmer glanced up, proving that he was listening. “Christ, we all live here and we all know what our social calendars are like.” “Your point being, Dan?” // Shut up, you moron. I need the man to talk.// “My point being that with the aid of a group based on Earth but consisting of Terran and Colonial alike, I have invested a great deal of time and interest in this matter of the peace we now enjoy, so don't dismiss me out of hand. I am probably about the closest thing that Mars has at the moment to a Historian and for now my attention has been focused. The Group has specialized in studying the One Year War. Cause and effect, if you will. My investigations early on showed up a few interesting points that kept me hunting and digging for more information as I found they contradicted the media reports. Not unusual in itself but enough to keep me interested. This type of incident usually happens, by the way, after a war of significance. The victors write the history that the next and subsequent generations learn, cementing their view as right but a generation or two later historians begin to dig a little more deeply into the circumstances surrounding key events. Usually by that time the people who were actively involved in the events are either dead, lost in anonymity or just want to forget the whole thing and conveniently recall nothing. A great deal of information gets lost that way. Usually there are the notes left by people like me who were curious and started to investigate the events surrounding the wars for purely personal reasons and because of those reasons you have to be careful not to colour your evidence and your eventual findings with your own personal views. I can not tell you how delighted I was when I learned that Merquise and Noin were coming to Mars.” Mighty Joe hid his grin at the looks the man found himself subjected to. Clearly a number of people had been far from happy to learn that they were going to host the Terror of Earth, but Dan Curran ignored the daggers looks and shrugged, dismissing their views. “Hell, think about it. They were in the middle of things. First hand witnesses to the events we only hear about as whispers, speculation and rumour. In short, the victors view of the war.” “But by talking to them you only get their side of things. That has to be just as prejudiced as the other side.” Kurtz pointed out. “Yes, that can happen and you need to be aware of the risks, but I was surprised with Noin and Merquise. At first neither of them wanted to talk to me about the war and I had expected that, but I gradually began to realize that it was not just the wish to forget the past and get on with living. I think that it was more than mere reluctance on their part to recall those days that made them avoid me for so long. I think that Mars was chosen carefully by the Powers that Be to ensure that they were kept quiet. Merquise was sent here to keep him low key. Hidden, not because he is considered to be a danger to the Earth, but because he is considered to be a danger to certain influential and well placed people on the Earth. In short, so that he could not talk to anyone about certain key events.” “It's a prison for him, we all know that.” Markos agreed. “We would have to be stupid to not see that, but I do think it would have caused trouble not just on Earth but in the Colonies too if his survival was widely known. There is a reason he is called the Terror of Earth. It is prudence that saw him brought to Mars.” Mighty Joe flicked his glance over the group noting that no one was filling in the reports now. They were all watching the interaction between Curran and Kurts with thoughtful expressions, even Palmer. That was a good sign and he only wished that he had the same confidence that this man displayed. He was hopeful that whatever point Curran was going to be making it would eventually lead to the end that he was hoping to achieve. It was his aim to get the men here to be acknowledge that they did not have just Raiders attacking the base. Raiders, yes, but not pirates. He was convinced that they had troubles much closer to home. // The ESUN government is like any government, only too willing to sweep the unpalatable under the carpet and out of sight. Merquise was lucky that they did not kill him as soon as they realized that he was alive. // “It is a prison but he seems content enough to be here. Or he was. Still is as far as I know, after all, where else could he go? He's dead. Where else can a dead man go than to a dead world and struggle to make some kind of life for himself as he works to bring life to the planet?” Markos commented. “He had to go somewhere.” “Look, we are not here to discuss the working habits of dead men …” “Can it Palmer.” Lee interrupted. “I'm interested.” //Shut up you fool. I need them to go on and pursue this. Just go back to your form and leave it alone.// “Of course you are. It will give birth to yet another idiotic conspiracy theory that you can work on for the next six months. Christ, we are all insane. Living out here we have to be.” There was an uncomfortable silence after that as it was a thought that all of them had had at one time or another. The utter desolation of Mars and the isolation got to a man. No one was immune. “Are you ready to go back?” Markos queried softly. “Is it time you took a break?” Palmer scrubbed a hand over his jaw and sighed, shaking his head as he pushed the form away from him. He looked tired and drawn and years older than he actually was. At this moment he looked like an old man. It was a look the workforce of Mars were only too familiar with. “Yeah. Yeah, maybe it is time I went back and saw that there is something more than red and brown rock. More than a god awful pink sky. I think maybe I have reached my limit.” There were no arguments, no further questions. Everyone knew the signs and how to deal with them. Everyone knew that at some point it was likely to be them who had reached the edge of reason. This hell hole of a planet, so far from all that they knew as natural, had claimed another victim. Not his life, not yet, but if he remained, that was a real danger. “I'll put your name on the shuttle list and set up appointments on Earth for you with the councillors. Don't feel so bad about it, Bryce. We all have our limits.” Markos sighed and set his cold coffee on the commode, running a hand through his hair. Mighty Joe stared for a long moment at the table top. Yes, everyone had limits beyond which lay madness and Mars was a hard place to live with. Here you were always confined, enclosed. You could not go outside for a stroll and feel the breeze on your face and look up at the sky to admire the shade of blue or to play the shape in the clouds game that all children played. He missed the clouds and seeing the shapes of familiar things in their cotton candy forms. Candy floss. Just that exact shade of pink in the light of a setting sun. Bryce Palmer was Terran, a native of Earth and the confinement required by living under an enviro dome was trying on the planet born. Those who were Colony born and raised fared much better on Mars than did those born and raised to Earth. The colony born were accustomed to a sealed environment and to the taste and scent of recycled air and water. Yet on the Colonies too they had some simulated weather conditions, particularly the more modern colonies. Even the Colony born had problems dealing with the conditions on Mars. Under the envirodome there was not even the simulated wind that circulated the oxygen around a colony. Conditions on Mars were harsh but you had to acknowledge the fact that in some cases those conditions were also better than the colonies. Just how long you could stay here depended on the individual. “Hey, Curran.” he called softly. “Joe?” the computer technician turned Historian met the dark eyes of the engineer. “I would like to hear your history lesson.” Curran smiled slightly, a faint upward tilt of his lips. “In detail or in brief?” “Both.” Mighty Joe grinned. “In brief for now, if at all.” Markos glanced at him. “I'll admit that I am interested and it will give us something to do while we wait for the emergency to end.” Curran nodded, shrugging slightly. “Fine. Just so long as you understand that I have not completed my investigations at this time. My findings are incomplete but they do coincide with the findings of others in my research group who are also investigating the wars and its component parts. While my findings are of a general nature at this time, others in the group are further advanced in their investigations but what they have shared with me and others tends to support our individual theories. This is not going to be a glimpse of the personal history of the chief players involved in the war and you will need to recall that it is far from a complete picture. To date I have had no real chance to learn much of the Gundam Pilots, their reasons for fighting and who controlled them. Noin and Marquise have been singularly uncooperative when it comes to details concerning the five pilots. The outcome of the war could have been so different.” “Yeah. A lot of people could have been spared if Blondie had not lost his sanity.” Palmer muttered. Mighty Joe snarled but at a look from Kurts and Markos he subsided and allowed the comment to pass. Bryce Palmer was obviously walking a fine line at this time and he should not push and make the situation worse. The man had acknowledged his condition and was going to be returning to Earth and would be subjected to some pretty intense therapy in the future. Mars had claimed a lot of victims over the years and the biggest casualty rate was to the sanity of her population. He needed to remember that and not have anyone wonder if he too needed to be returned to the ESUN's central hub. Conditions would improve dramatically the more people came to Mars. Improved facilities and a greater population would lead to greater social interaction and there would be a greater presence of psychologists to deal with budding problems before they became dangerous to the individual or could impact on the colony. There had been similar teething problems in the early days of the Colonies and the designers of the Mars project were following a plan laid down in those far away days to deal with the elevated stress levels and other related psychological problems that abounded in sealed environment living. It all took time and some people just could not cope with the isolation and the environmental restrictions involved in surviving here in the long term. // I might be eccentric but I am not insane. I am not going to be tagged as a nutter ready to explode. // “Actually, I don't believe that Merquise ever was insane.” Curran shrugged at the assortment of disbelief and disgusted looks directed at him. “Not for an instant do I think he did not know exactly what he was doing and as an interesting aside, I believe that a lot more people would be dead now if he and, I think, Kushrenada had not very deliberately initiated the entire Libra incident and that final battle.” t.b.c.
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