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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"
Sanc Sanc Palace 1st March AC 198 Time 22:30 Heero Beyond the windows the night was steadily deteriorating into a blizzard. Snow had begun to gather in banks in areas sheltered from the wind, and that wind was steadily becoming increasingly colder and stronger. He had thought that the weather would improve as the day wore on, but in the last few hours the conditions had taken a turn for the worst. The storm that was building over New Port City was going to be a flirtation with the best of the winter blizzards this climate usually offered. He only hoped it would not interfere with the evacuation. It would be good cover, but it would undeniably slow them down in their escape from the city. He was thankful that Relena had accepted the need to evacuate without feeling a need to ask unnecessary questions. She had, in fact, answered the pounding on her suite door so promptly that he doubted she had been asleep. It was most likely that she had been lying in bed thinking about the assassination attempt at the garden party that day, or more likely about the difficulties on Mars and her brother. As yet there was no known threat specifically aimed at her, and he could only wonder just how Lady Une was going to explain why she had called for this evacuation to take place at this time. While he did not understand her reasoning he had come to understand the woman enough to give her credit for having a devious mind. If Une had found a means by which they could spirit Relena away from her duties and the eyes of the Council, even if only for a day or two, then he had to trust her. He hoped she had found a method to deal with the politicians who were running this entire show. When he had received the call from Preventer Earth he had known that she was reacting to the mayday call broadcast over the emergency satellite system. That had occurred less than a half hour ago and he could only commend her quick action and get Relena to safety. He would learn soon enough what Une had planned. After switching off the com he had cast off the throw rug covering his legs and motioned to the computers arrayed around his lounge, asking Quatre to secure them and take them to the rear of the building. There was no way he was going to abandon the information contained on the hard drives that so tantalized him. The units were compact and light and would be taken with them into hiding for later decoding and analysis. He had avoided using the crutches at the first opportunity, grinning to himself that no one would likely comment with the current emergency situation. Even Quatre had said nothing to his moving around without the crutches beyond sighing and shaking his head in response to his glared challenge. In the end, as he had known would happen, Quatre had nodded his surrender to the need to prepare for action, but he suspected from the gleam in the blonde's eye that he would have something to say when the crisis was over. That was all well and good. He would take the criticism then, when all was settled and they were at a safe house. Heero had run quick security checks on the perimeter of the palace grounds as he had supervised the standard evacuation procedures for the Vice Foreign Minister's entourage. Lady Une had alerted the security contingent here that a level four situation had arisen and they had swung into action like the well ordered machine they had been trained to be. It was not just Relena who had to be evacuated, and the staff of the palace and her political aides were well versed in sorting order into confusion. He and Quatre had planned to use the confusion of the general evacuation to spirit Relena out of the palace, unseen by all but the chosen security contingent, thereby throwing off the agents of the ESUN who watched her. When he had left his suite to oversee Relena's evacuation Quatre had begun to pack up the computer systems and the additional hard drives into larger cases, muttering about fetching a trolley to make moving them easier. Heero knew the information would be well guarded and was more than content to leave the data to Quatre's care. He was intent on seeing the Vice Foreign Minister was prepared to leave as speedily as possible. Within a few minutes of Preventer Earth's alert Relena had been roused from bed and told to initiate emergency evacuation procedure at level four. That had been sufficient to send the young woman running for her bedroom and a maid was summoned to begin hastily packing a few changes of clothes into a bag while the Vice Foreign Minister dressed. Heero had waited outside her suite of rooms, glaring at anyone who dared walk the hallways near her suite, while he contacted James Cameron to oversee the security arrangements for Mrs Darlian safe removal. Relena's foster mother would be sent with an escort to a secured location until the emergency was considered over. To Heero's surprise Relena, when she called for Heero to reenter the suite, objected to being separated from her mother, despite previously having agreed to level four evacuation plans. He found that he needed to be quite demanding to overrule her objections. “But Heero, I … I really need Mother just now.” Huge blue eyes stared at his in appeal, her full bottom lip quivered slightly, a dangerous precursor to a bout of tearful objections. “No, Relena. Earth was very explicit about her instructions. You know what a level four alert implies. You are being moved to a safe house, under level four security seal and your mother will be taken to another safe location until this matter is dealt with.” He had met her gaze with iron will, for once not in the least softened by the threat of tears. “But I … Very well, but Heero, what is going on? What has caused this evacuation?” She had seemed to deflate and he was concerned at that too easy collapse of her will power. He had hoped to see fire spark in her blue eyes and there was nothing but tired resignation to be seen there. Relena looked as though she had spent a sleepless night, he decided, wondering if she had even closed her eyes since retiring for the evening. A great deal had happened in a couple of days and it was no wonder that she was distraught, but he could not help that. While it was true that her mother might have comforted her he was not about to compromise an established evacuation plan. His job was to get her to safety, and that he would do. He had no time to explain to her that he did not as yet know what it was that Lady Une intended, but he had come to trust the woman enough to believe that she would react without overkill to the situation. Preventer Earth had good instincts and since her mental stability had been attained and proven since the war, she was trusted to preserve the peace and act as seemed appropriate to the situation. Still, it left him wondering just what had caused Une to call for the evacuation. The mayday from Mars? Shocking as it was there was no reason for Une to use that situation to justify a level four threat against the life of the Vice Foreign Minister. How could Lady Une justify the security arrangements she now called into effect around Relena? On first hearing the mayday he had stared in disbelief at Quatre who had reacted by turning on the news channel and it had taken only minutes for the media to begin their coverage. At that time it was to repeat the mayday recording and begin offering background information on the Terra Formation Stations on Mars. There had been nothing else worthy of interest on the news broadcasts and it left him wondering exactly what it was Lady Une was reacting to. She would need a plausible excuse for a localized threat to explain the expenditure of men and money for this security alert. He was uncertain what to tell Relena at this time. How did he tell her that the ESUN had decided to act because her brother had defied them? He was not generally a coward but he really did not feel up to explaining to Relena Darlian that the ESUN she worked so hard to maintain, was slaughtering two thousand people on a distant planet because it was inconvenient for them to survive as witnesses to what could be her brother's murder. He now waited in the lounge of her suite and his eyes seemed to do nothing but flick to the clock over the mantle. Even as he called himself a coward he thought of what might be the easiest and maybe the kindest way to explain the latest developments. It approached the turn of the hour and he expected Sally Po to arrive within a few minutes. “Heero? Why won't you tell me what is going on?” He looked around to face her bedroom, but she was not in sight, her voice coming clearly from the other room. What to do? What could he say? She was far from a fool and she would understand the implications quickly enough. “Turn the news channel on. You'll no doubt see the broadcast within a few minutes.” Relena paled, emerging from her bedroom with a pair of boots in hand, blue eyes wide. “Mars? Someone has discovered that Milliardo is alive? They have told the media? Someone has started trouble because he is alive?” “I wish.” Heero muttered. “No, something far worse.” He could only wait for her to make the decision and hope she would do it quickly. He really did not want to tell her himself. Relena stared at him for a long moment and then reached
to turn on the news channel, before she settled onto the couch to
put on her boots. Mindful of the weather conditions that had deteriorated
into the snow storm that currently wracked New Port City she had chosen
warm slacks and a sweater, with a coat lying over the chair near her.
Warm socks and boots would complete the ensemble. She had no idea
where the safe house she would be taken to was located, but she was
not intending to freeze in the Sanc spring. “…Oh God … The Raiders are here! They're killing everybody. Help us … Mayday! Mayday! Help us. This is Mars Base Dome. The Raiders … oh, God … The Raiders are here! They're killing everybody. Help us …” the only too familiar voice exploded from the television and caused him to wince. “The distress call from the terra formation base on the planet Mars erupted onto the air waves a little over half an hour ago. The terra forming project has been the pet project of the Vice Foreign Minister, Miss Relena Darlian for the last three years, though it was originally begun in the year AC 192, under the supervision of the Alliance Planetary Development Agency, which is now defunct. The Office of the Vice Foreign Minister has not yet been contacted for a comment, but it is expected that an extraordinary meeting of the ESUN Council will be called to discuss the problem the Space Reavers are presenting to traffic in the shipping lanes. The Head of the Patrice Mining Consortium had this to say …” Relena was staring at the television with all colour slowly draining from her face. The announcer droned on, speaking about the newly forming colony on the distant planet and about comments made by people she was only too familiar with, but all she really saw and heard was the mayday call that was playing over and over again in the background. Repeating again and again. The red-haired woman was screaming about Raiders and killing and somebody help us. Relena sucked in a deep breath, her face void of all colour, her eyes looking too large and too blue. Heero watched, thinking that he really should have said something first, before allowing her to turn on the television. Now he could only hope that she would be too shocked to realize the implications of the mayday broadcasting throughout the Earth Sphere. He could hope, because he really was not sure how to deal with her if she should fall to pieces. Relena sucked in a second deep breath, forcing calm. Pressing her hand to her mouth to stop herself from an outburst she knew was very unladylike indeed, she turned to meet his intense gaze. Raiders? Raiders were attacking Mars? How incredibly convenient for certain people that such an event would take place at just the exact time that the ESUN was trying to remove her brother's family from that planet. Did they honestly think that she was a fool? She was not such a simpleton as to believe that for an instant and surely others would be suspicious. //That is just way too much of a coincidence to be believed. So … So this … is their solution? I don't understand.// the thought of the struggle going on on Mars reared before her, the struggle that undoubtedly would have erupted between infuriated parents and Official Agents. Unbidden the vision of people standing quietly by and allowing events to take their course filled her mind and she knew that it was a fantasy. How could you not react to what would be going on around you? If it was herself on Mars and the ESUN turned up... and suddenly she understood only too well. //Ah, no. No, they would not … surely they could not mean to … All those people …// “Heero. “ she whispered, meeting cobalt blue eyes with misery in her own. “They … they are going to kill everyone on Mars. Just to get the babies. Just … just to …” “I know, Relena. I think its fairly safe to say
that things are not going the way they intended, and this is their
solution.” he hurried to her side, and reached to gently touched
her cheek, wiping the tears rolling over her cheeks, offering what
comfort he could. “Their cover up. Kill everyone. Just … Just kill everyone there. Oh, God. Oh, God, Heero. I am to blame. I am to blame for this. If I had said something before …” He drew her into his arms, squeezing gently, uncertain how best to offer comfort. “No. You are not to blame for this. We don't have time for a post mortem just now, Relena. We have to take this opportunity to get you safely out of here while we can. We need to gain some time and we can make use of this situation to get you to a safe location, where they can not easily affect you. We will talk about this when we have time. When you are settled into a safe house.” She waved a hand dismissively, blue eyes dark with emotion, colour returning to her face with a rush. “They can kill my brother and his children just as effectively, whether I am in Sanc's palace or living in a haystack, Heero.” He sighed, unable to dispute that for the simple truth that it was. “Just finish dressing, Relena. We have very little time.” He watched her finish with her socks and then stamp into the first of her boots, keeping one ear tuned to the television as he did so. He was not really expecting anything more to be said at this time that could be of importance. So little was known about what was happening on Mars and the media researchers would be scouring records for whatever information about the project they could find. They would be accumulating lists of names of people they could interview to make the broad cast interesting and it was very likely that the Councilors behind this had ensured that the information they wished released was found quickly. Still, it would take at least another half hour for the media to come up with more … His head snapped around to the television at the abrupt change in the background noise made up by the mayday call. Instead of that annoyingly repeated distress call there was the breaking news theme. Something was going on, he immediately saw, as on the screen the recording of Shanna McIntyre had vanished, replaced by a file photograph of Lady Une, in the full dress uniform of the Preventers. The photograph became a file video taken some weeks before, he noted, at a official engagement. The announcer was on screen again, a small sheaf of papers clutched in her hands, though she never once looked at them. “We interrupt this bulletin to bring you breaking news. This station has received a message from an as yet unidentified terrorist faction. The message contains death threats against a list of prominent members of the ESUN Council. This message has been passed on to the appropriate authorities, including Preventer headquarters, where Lady Anne Une, chief of the Preventers, had no comment to make, other than requesting that the media refrain from publishing the names contained on the list at this time … Just a moment please.” the announcer pressed a finger to her ear piece and listened for a few minutes, face noticeably paling. “We have received unconfirmed reports of an attack on the home of Preventer Chief Anne Une. Reports suggest the home of the Preventer Chief has been seriously damaged by an explosion. We have received no reports as yet on casualties …” Heero growled, not even bothering to click off the television before he grabbed Relena's hand and raced her out of the room. Relena uttered a muffled grunt as she was given no option other than to run, one hand clutching her boot. Adrenaline surged through his system, a familiar and automatic response to an emergency situation. He was not certain what was going on, but there was no way he was going to allow Relena to be in the public areas of the palace. “Ice to all agents.” he activated his radio system. “Security lock down. Repeat Security lock down, Level seven.” “Gate security to Ice. The car with Preventer Water has just arrived. You are to make your way to the rear entrance with all speed.” //Good. The sooner we get her out of here the better. Une must have gotten wind of this threat through sources. Well, that explains why she wants Relena evacuated.// “Acknowledged, Gate Security. On the way. Ice out.” He was aware of being joined by two other agents who ran with them, both with dawn weapons in hand. Somewhere in the flight through the palace Quatre joined them, Relena's coat draped over his arm and a trolley full of lap top computers, crutches and hard drives in tow. As they skidded to a stop near the rear entrance to the palace Quatre blew blonde bangs out of his eyes and handed the coat to Relena and the crutches he had stacked on the trolley to Heero. “If you think Sally will let you off using them once we leave here, you're deluded.” the blonde grinned, ignoring the icy stare turned his way. On consideration Heero shrugged. “Point.” he conceded. “Check the exit. Relena, what are you … Oh. Sorry.” Relena smiled, panting for breath even as she finally pulled her boot on, straightening to shrug into the heavy coat Quatre had passed her. She was delighted to see that Heero blushed under her gaze. “It's okay. Do you think Mariemaia is alright? She would have been terrified. Who would do this, do you think? I thought we had dealt with most of the cells.” “Entrance is clear.” an agent called, motioning them urgently to come forward. “I'm sure Mariemaia is fine. Une has excellent security precautions. There is always someone who is dissatisfied. You can not please all of the people all of the time.” Quatre soothed her, urging her to the door, peering out first then going ahead of her to the car and opening the door. “In. Quick.” Relena slipped into the car, scooting across the seat until she came up against a warm body. The interior lights of the car were off, a security precaution, so she could not see who else was in the car, but a small and delicate hand groped for hers and a soft sigh sounded in the night. “Miss Relena.” a whisper. “Someone blew up Aunt's house just after we left.” “Mariemaia? Oh, thank goodness your alright. I was so worried.” Heero tossed his crutches onto the floor and slid onto the back seat, peering over his shoulder. The boot of the car was up and he could hear Quatre tossing the computers in, then there was a slam, two taps on the roof and Sally, behind the wheel of the car, was pulling away from the palace. “Quatre?” Relena queried. “He's in the lead car.” Sally informed her. “Heero. Two forward motorcycle escorts, the lead car and a rear car?” “Check.” came the response. “Where are we bound?” “Safe house ten. It's a ten hour drive, maybe a little longer in this weather, and for much of it we will be taking back roads. Settle in and make yourselves comfortable people.”
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