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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 48
Mars Colony Base Dome Date: 1st March AC 198 Time: 17:37 MST [Mars Standard Time] Zechs Transmitter. Raydon. Possible escape from the massacre for those whose only crime was to accept the fact that the Terror of Earth had become resident in their neighborhood. They had no control over his presence here. They had not had a say in it. To be sure, certain people had objected on his arrival, but not nearly so many as he had thought and he had been careful to keep clear of those who had. He had also been careful to keep to himself as much as was possible while he had been feeling his way with the new community. Noin, of course, had glared at anyone who so much as looked in his direction, always expecting the worst to happen. He had, at the time, been grateful to her for garnering him a little room to become accustomed to his changed circumstances, but he wondered if it had been necessary. Yes, he was capable of defending himself, but with his reputation had he really needed to languish in his rooms so much in off duty hours? Noin had insisted that he stay in his room and kept him company, telling him that they would settle to his presence and that they needed only a little time to accept that he was now included in their number. Had he needed to be separated from everyone, or was it only another instance of Noin being possessive? Had she encouraged the segregation to keep him safe, or to further her courtship of him? He had his doubts over her motives, but he had learned to deal with her possessiveness. She had not been pleased when he had begun to venture out of his assigned quarters during hours after his work roster concluded. He had, even then, sensed a need to get familiar with the base. He had always found it vital to his peace of mind to know the bases he was assigned to on a rather intimate level, and since this was effectively his prison, he had determined to get to know it even more intimately than usual. The current base was rather different to the structure he had known on first arriving here. As the project had progressed they had made considerable changes to the Base Dome even as they worked on the Alpha Dome. He had found acceptance came easier with his co workers once he spent social time with them, though he was careful with his safety. He had also noted very early on that Noin's possessive protectiveness had hindered his efforts to make friends or even gain a grudging acceptance from many of the terra formers. He had had to use every opportunity he could to interact with people when she was not around and he had found that people tended to be more receptive on those occasions. Some people actually initiated contact with him when she was not present before he could think of a means by which to offer that contact. He loved her, but he was not in love with her and he knew that she understood that, but would not accept that it was the extent of their relationship. Yes, they had become lovers, but he still felt nothing more than the deep love of a friend. Well, perhaps more than friend, but if there was supposed to be fire and passion in his heart for her, he was sorely lacking in it. She had not allowed him to have access to anyone, male or female, who might have become a rival for his affections without her looming presence being felt as the threat it was. Because of that, it had been no easy matter to establish any type of relationships, even friendship, with the terra formers. He was largely on a nodding acquaintanceship with most of the people here, but even so he felt too much responsibility for them to allow the massacre he feared would soon begin. They had accepted his presence amongst them, regardless of their inability to protest it and for that acceptance he felt responsibility for them. His presence here was not their fault, there fore he owed it to them to do what he could to see them survive what might come. Could he trust this vision? More to the point, did he dare not? Regardless, it was obvious that his time on Mars was done. They would just keep sending more and more agents until they had him confined to a secure sector where he was a prisoner to their whims and his children were reared by God knew what person and taught exactly what the ESUN determined they learn. That was the truth he had to acknowledge here. Mars was no longer a safe place for his family or for him. Where could he go? He closed his eyes against the sight of the ladder and water cooler and drew a deep breath. Where could he go indeed. A hideous question for its implications was, where could he not go? Earth was banned to him. No more could he go to Sanc than he could march up to any other country on that planet and ask for asylum. He would get it, of course, a brief stay in a prison and a quiet execution. His children too would be shunned, spurned. No one would want the innocents who had no say in the past, but would be held to account for it. No, Earth was banned. He and they could not go there. He might be able to arrange for Howard to get the children to Quatre Winner if he could just convince Noin to allow that course of action. Howard an Quatre would find a secure place where his children and Noin could live in obscurity, unknown and safe in their anonymity. Howard and Quatre would help Noin for the respect she had earned from them during the war. He might be able to garner safety for them, but not for himself. The colonies were not a safe refuge either. More rigid safeguards and protocols would make his entrance into the colonies nigh impossible. He was too distinctive. Too noticeable. The mining settlements where the asteroids were stripped of their raw ores? He was not afraid of hard work, but the ESUN ran the mining settlements and word could not be kept from filtering out that he was there. //Raydon.// The thought caused a deep sigh. He was terrified of that man. There was something about Raydon that drew him, called to him. Almost craved him. Almost. He did not know what it was, or why he should respond to him. When the man touched him... He shied away from the thought. No time for that foolery now. One step at a time. He needed to concentrate on the here and now and that meant putting aside the uncertainty of his future before visions returned to send him down into hell once again. What he must do to secure a safe sanctuary for his children and Noin he would, no matter the consequences to himself, but that was for later. Now he had to think of the disaster that might be on its way toward Mars now, engines on full burn. Where had he placed the transmitter? He had meant to throw it away on any number of occasions over the last few years, but something had always stopped him at the last minute. When he had come to Mars he had brought the transmitter with him and he had kept it hidden, not even showing it to Noin. Only the fact that it had been disguised as jewelry had enabled him to get it past the checks and balances the ESUN had surrounded him with on his arrival on Mars. To look at it certainly did not resemble a transmitter, but he had been worried over the security measures they had employed on his arrival and determined to secret the device to ensure they would not learn of its true nature. Jewelry. The jewelry box in the room he shared with Noin. Had he place it there? No. No he was sure he had not. Not Raydon's choice of jewelry. He knew full well that Noin would have asked questions had she noticed it in that box. Neither he nor Noin had ever chosen to wear much in the line of jewelry, either during or after the wars, and Raydon had definite taste that differed considerably to anything he had ever chosen to wear before. The man lived in the wrong age, he was certain. No, he would not have placed that distinctive piece there, where she could all too easily see it and want to know where it had come from. A cache, then. Yes, yes he must have placed it in one... "Hydroponics Dome One." Yes. He had placed it in the very first cache of equipment he had fashioned. Hydroponics Dome One, the original of the food growing domes they had constructed within the great arch of the Base Dome. That was where it was, which, he reflected, presented just a little problem. The original cache he had fashioned on arriving on Mars and starting his secret store of weapons and useful items was hidden in the first of the now three hydroponics domes and he was currently under dome three. To get to that cache he had the choice of going back into the water pipe, climbing down to the reservoir level and then entering the pipe that led up three hundred meters to Dome One and entering the dome by climbing the maintenance ladder, as he had already done so for Dome Three. Or he had the second option of going back down the pipe he already had climbed and out of the reservoir room and using the elevators to the upper dome. After exiting the elevator he could brazenly walk across the open field exposed to all eyes. The third option resulted in something of the same problem. He could go up this short ladder, cross Dome Three and exit into the upper dome and cross open ground after leaving to enter Dome One. Anyone could see him. //I can't go back down and then climb the other water pipe. I barely can move after climbing this one. The elevators are out of the question. They would be fools to not have them watched.// his gaze settled on the metal rungs not far from his current position. //That leaves Dome Three. I don't have a choice. I need that equipment and to get it I must enter the dome. Not only is there the transmitter in the cache, but there is also a radio in that gear. It's short range, but if I can piggyback a signal over Raydon's transmitter I could... // he drew a deep breath before plunging on with the thought. With that hope. //I could ask him to intercede on behalf of the terra formers. He may be a rogue but he's a decent rogue. I don't believe he would leave these people at the non existent mercies of the ESUN.// He sipped the water slowly, taking inventory of the equipment he carried. At the present time his weapons consisted of the four shock guns he had confiscated from the ESUN agents and he still had a few of the tranquilizer darts and a blow pipe. He also had the home made throwing knives he had made from scrap titanium. At one of his caches there were two bowie knives he had made from gundanium scrap he had managed to acquire. Three of the five caches had lengths of rope he might yet need, but he felt the whip was more important at this time. Its length was both weapon and rope if he should need it and it was multi functional, and that was vital to his situation. It had taken him time and considerable effort to make some of this equipment and to make it work properly. It had taken a longer time to learn how to use some of it effectively. The leather braided whip had a three meter length that had not been as hard to master as he had originally feared, as it had been somewhat different to the heat rod of the Epyon, but it had not taken him long to learn the differences. He was confident in his use of it now. In truth the heat rod on Epyon had been harder to master, considering he had been using the suits hydraulics as well as his own muscles. One of the bonus features of the whip was that it was organic and had no energy core or metallic parts, so it would not register as a weapon if they scanned him from any distance. All he had to do was get to the cache he had stashed it in. Also in that cache were six shurikens; throwing stars fashioned of gundaniam he had salvaged from the wreckage of a Ore Carrier that had made an emergency landing on Mars some seven months ago. The equipment he carried consisted of the shock weapons, whose use he was hoping he would not have to consider, afraid as he was of the side effects considering the reports he had read in his days in Oz. The throwing knives and blow gun with... he counted quickly and handled each dart carefully... five tranquilizer darts. The knives and darts were short range, but he was hoping to avoid notice and not have to engage in any combat. At least until he felt that his body would not fall apart. His equipment also included the dental mirror which so far had come in very useful. He had also pocketed some matches and made some low level explosives, which had been stored in the store room in the medical center. While it was not his intention to damage the base, he had felt he needed to cover as many possibilities he had glimpsed as possible, and some of the visions had suggested he needed a little explosive power on his side. He also had a few small bags containing flour and pepper. The cache with Raydon's transmitter was in hydroponics dome one, and certain other positively medieval items were safely ensconced there. Caltrops were vicious things, but they would disable pursuit quickly if he used them carefully. Cache one would need to be his first stop. "Time to move, Marquise. Every minute you waste gives them the chance to call in the Wellington. There's a chance you can stop that now and you still have to find Noin." He could only hope that his gut feeling was wrong, and that they had not already summoned the Wellington. It was only a small hope, but he clung to it. If they had summoned the ship and he could get off a message to Raydon, he might yet be able to salvage the situation. He could only hope summoning the Raiders would not present larger problems. His stomach had settled with the slow administration of the cold water and he found that his body was responding better than he had dared hope. The energy bars were doing their work, quickly digested and efficient distribution of energy. He needed that, but he would still need to handle himself carefully. His shoulder while stiff and sore was manageable and he had little difficulty using the rungs that led to the hatch. It was amazing, he mused, how easy it was to climb a couple of meters with a sore body after climbing three hundred meters of shaft. It seemed so easy and relatively painless. He paused at the hatch, every sense straining as he opened the cover enough to allow the rich earthy smells of the vegetation to waft into the shaft. Sound of running water. Silence. No sound of movement beyond the hatch. Still he lingered, counting to fifty before lifting the hatch with a low grunt of effort and raising himself enough to peer out into the garden. Hydroponics dome three was the recreation world of the base. Terra formed to resemble a rainforest, the vegetation had been carefully nurtured to varying stages of maturity and the area landscaped to give as natural an impression of a rainforest on Earth as such young plants could give. The aim of the unit was to help purify air and water for the Base Dome, as well as offer a much needed respite from the metallic shell they called home for its citizens. This dome was less than a third the size of the biggest hydroponics dome in the Alpha dome, that processed water and generated oxygen for the people who might not make Mars their home if the ESUN destroyed it all. To his right was the small water feature that fed a pond. All very pretty but functional for all its beauty. The water was run through purifiers and filtration plants and then allowed to run through the domes natural system, providing the water with a more natural taste. It also served as a social gathering area as the base personal came here to unwind and allow the scents of Earth to soothe them. Foolish in a way, he mused, to constantly remind themselves of the world so far away, but coming here also had another use that he wondered if the others thought of. To him, who knew that Earth was lost to him forever, this place had shown what could be created on another world. The soil the plants grew in was native Martian soil, treated with fertilizers to give nourishment to Earth born plants. Yes, they had to seal out the atmosphere of the planet, for it would take a couple of hundred years to alter the atmosphere enough to allow them to live out side a domes protection. However with this habitat dome they had proven that they could bring life to this desolate world. When he had come to Mars he had had hope, originally, that he might find a place he belonged and could find some beauty in. While he appreciated the rugged splendor of the planet, his heart had been soothed when they had succeeded in growing the plants here. He had felt that he could make a new life for himself here. He should have known better. He should have known that they could not just leave him alone to live his life on this distant world. Raydon had never failed to point out to him, at every opportunity, that the Earth Sphere was never going to be safe for him. Terror of Earth. Yes, they would never forget the past and they would never forgive him his past any more than he could forget the beauty of his home world. As he would long to be there, so they would long to ensure that he never returned. //In the vision of possibility they were taking me to Earth? No, not necessarily, I think. The twins, yes, I can see that they would want them on Earth, but me... I don't think Earth would have been my new prison. So where have they prepared to contain me? Where would they consider safe to contain the man who threatened to destroy a planet?// He hoped that he never need find out. He was their key to controlling Relena. Should she begin to fight them, as he knew that eventually she would, then he would be the first to die. They could control his children with far less effort that it took to contain him. Relena was far less likely to give them trouble if their hostages were infants. He would be made an example of the results of rebelling against their rule and Relena would fold, unwilling to allow the next generation to pay for his actions. No, his new prison would be far from comfortable. It would be far from desirable to become a prisoner of the ESUN if they got him off this world successfully. His options were limited. He was too recognizable to wander the colonies or even the Earth. Everyone knew the face of the Terror of Earth. The ESUN had plastered his face all over the Earth Sphere in their eagerness to blame him for all the ills of their society. He had known it would happen and he accepted it as just one small part of his personal purgatory. //Stop it. You are just begging to be caught. Pay attention to what you are supposed to be doing, idiot.// He slipped from the hatch, sealing it behind him. No need to advertise where he had been. He might need to use it again before this was over. Never give the enemy the advantage of knowing your methods and keep your safe routes safe. Basic. Very basic and he had to remember it. One of his few advantages in this entire mess was his knowledge of the base. He had made a point of knowing every inch of the base and the surrounding area of the planet, in the event the matter escaped the confines of the dome. It had not been easy to gain access to the maintenance shafts or the original blue prints of the dome, but he had persevered and made himself an indispensable part of the maintenance team. His skills had been recognized and used by the terra formers to recycle valuable resources when replacement parts were scarce. Some of those parts he had had to make scarce, to get himself into restricted areas, but he did not regret those difficulties. No doubt the ESUN would not make the same mistakes again if he failed to escape their net. The main entrance to this hydroponics dome faced the tower containing the main control room. That was the point to which he had expected Noin would go on a worst case scenario. Her need to confirm the deception perpetrated on her by Shanna McIntyre would drive her. It would be considered to be a personal insult and grounds for a personal vendetta he did not think Noin would be capable of ignoring. He really did not think that Noin would resist the need to exact her revenge. She was Italian, for gods sake, all fire and passion and the great granddaughter of a mafia daughter who had turned her back on her family, to wed where she wished. Oh, yes, he was sure where Noin had headed after they had parted. The question was, could he take the time to see what might have happened in the control room? Did he dare take the time away from what his vision suggested the most urgent need for the terra formers demanded he do? Noin's safety was personal. The safety of his fellow terra formers was duty. He had been reared from birth to his duty to the people and the people here on Mars fell into that category. He was responsible for their safety. He knew of dangers others did not suspect and he felt a responsibility to these innocents that his blood heritage would not allow him to deny. They were innocents. Most of them. They had no idea what they had fallen into by the simple expedient of being on Mars when the ESUN decided to come for him. It was always the innocents who paid the highest price in any conflict. Noin was a soldier. Blue eyes turned from the tower barely visible through the curvature of the dome and the greenery of the plants and he considered his location. The main entrance was definitely not going to be his option of choice. There was, however a small door in the dome closer to Dome Two. Originally it had been included in the design when they had planned to have a supply room attached to the exterior of the dome, as they had done between domes one and two. It was only later that they had decided they did not need such a building linking domes two and three. The door had been built, the construction of the dome being nearly complete before they had changed their plans. He had never actually seen anyone use that door and that screamed potential he could not ignore. If he could cross through Dome Three unseen and then through that door and across the dividing distance and into Dome Two through the opposite door without being seen, it would all be to the good. He would then need only cross Dome Two unseen and enter Dome One through the shared equipment and storage building. Much less chance of him being seen. He did find himself wishing they had had the need to build ventilation shafts in the domes though. He might hate the cramped things but there was much less chance of him being seen if he was in one. The heights of this dome offered no cover at all, all functions having been constructed under the surface, except for the walkways servicing the solar lights. //Move it, Marquise. Times wasting. // Dome Three appeared to be deserted. He could hear the clear melody of the water features, but little else above it's joyful chuckle. In the hydroponics domes the sound of equipment being used in the main dome was rarely noticeable, but as he threaded his way through the vegetation he began to become increasingly uneasy. It was too quiet, even for the recreation dome. He rested a hand on a rock outcrop as he passed, pausing and glancing at the rock under his hand, when he realized that there was no faint vibration to be felt. When ever the working machinery in the main dome was used, there was a vibration, subtle, but noticeable in the hydroponics domes. Something was very wrong. //Brilliant, idiot. Of course something is wrong. There's an invasion going on. The techs think it's the raiders and are lying low... Oh shit.// He stood in the cover of the rock outcrop and its surrounding fringe of vegetation and stared at the scene before him. Nausea threatened again to visit him and he felt the crawling pressure of threatening vision. He forced himself to take a few deep breaths, exercising control, forcing his heart to ease from its pounding. He could not lose control. He could not afford that loss of control. Not now above all. It had started. He had hoped to avoid it, but it had been a vain hope. There could be no doubt. No doubt. His gut instinct had been right. They had called in the Wellington and now he must deal with the consequences. The terra formers in the upper dome were the first to meet their fate at the hands of sleeper agents they had called friends for months and in some cases years. The body lay beside the artificial stream that fed one of the holding reservoirs disguised as a large pond. The pool of dark crimson surrounding the body had not quite reached the pool, but it covered the grassy bank and pooled around the head of the woman who lay face down, a ration pack and drink flask upset not far from her. A small, petite woman with dark hair in the coverall of a gardener. //Bastards. They've started the massacre. Whatever I do now they will kill the techs and engineers who are not agents to cover their own hides. Noin, Noin, why did you have to stay here? Why did you have to leave Earth and follow me to Mars? I don't know if I can stop this before they are all wiped out.// Drawing in a deep breath he forced himself to move. The vegetation around him gave no hint that others were nearby but he used the cover to work his way closer to the corpse, pausing often to listen. He crouched beneath fronds, an outcropping of rock adding to his cover as he considered the area around him. Only when he deemed it safe, that there was no one, possible friend or likely enemy, did he move out into the open, skimming quickly low to the ground and kneeling beside the body for a quick examination. //Stabbed in the back. No weapon left behind. Decent sized knife, though. She probably didn't know what hit her. Had to be someone she knew though. Someone she trusted to get that close to her. I'm sorry, Marina. I'm sorry that you got dragged into this. I promise you, though, that they will pay. They will pay. There was no need for them to do this. No need for this overkill.// Hopefully there would be time enough later to bury the dead. Hopefully there would be time enough to mourn for the friends who in their innocence had become statistics on a piece of paper in a strategists file. Inconvenient statistics for the ESUN. A deep cold settled over him as he left the body behind and moved deeper into the vegetation, always inclining towards that little used, and hopefully forgotten door. They had killed. It was too late to salvage the situation beyond trying to get the terra formers some protection, if not a ride off this rock. They had killed. The one thing he had been desperate to avert had happened. They had killed. Indiscriminately, coldly, dispassionately they had instigated the massacre to cover up the ESUN's operation. They were no better that the Alliance or Romefeller. They were no better than the warmongers of the past, and for their failure to learn from the lessons of the past, they would know what it was to earn the disgust of Zechs Marquise and to finally raise him to anger. They had killed. Murdered the innocents. //Was it all for nothing, Epyon? Did we go through that horror for nothing?//
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