Gundam Wing Fan Fiction / Utena, Revolutionary Girl Fan Fiction ❯ Mobile Suit Gundam Wing: Revolution ❯ Chapter 17

Mobile Suit Gundam Wing: Revolution
Part Seventeen

 

Trowa Barton fought back his annoyance as he gazed at the now deserted facility, only the standard mobile suits of the specials below them. He pushed his angular brown hair back smoothly as he calmly remarked, "We're too late."

 

The blonde haired young man nodded glumly, his elegant clothes and manner making him stand out oddly beside the other boy. "I think you're right," Quatre Winner agreed, his usual aviator's goggles gleaming.

 

Trowa's expression was grim as he considered the situation. He had contacted the other pilots in hope of attacking this facility in force, but only Quatre had been able to respond in time. Even worse, they had discovered that the advanced mobile suits here had all been removed, ferried off to a unknown location.

 

"We should have expected OZ to develop a counter to the Gundams," Quatre added, "but I never thought they'd move so fast."

 

"We knew the technology was out there," Trowa shrugged. The two young man silently stalked away from the facility, heading back to where their Gundams had been concealed. Grimly he continued, "We'll destroy the facility and whatever research is still there, of course, but I doubt it'll do much good."

 

Quatre gracefully moved through the brush, ducking beneath a branch. "Did you receive the message from the colonies?" he asked softly.

 

Trowa nodded to him seriously, his own eyes serious. "The colonies have asked us to return," he confirmed, "though I don't know why."

 

"I guess we'll find out soon enough," Quatre agreed, the two young men reaching the massive shapes concealed beneath forest green netting.

 

A few days later and in another part of the world Colonel Une saluted, her uniform crisp as usual, round glasses gleaming. "And so this concludes my report," she calmly finished, brown hair mercilessly pulled back from her face.

 

"Good work," Treize Khushrenada nodded, his blue colored uniform as stylish as usual. His brown hair was casually swept back, the style adding to his powerful presence.

 

"Sir?" Une looked confused, "I failed in my primary mission."

 

"But you did provide us with an essential piece of information," Treize calmly pointed out. He folded his hands together, rose signet ring gleaming, "We know that Arisugawa Juri is indeed still a player in the dueling game."

 

"Ah," Une's eyes widened, then she smiled reluctantly.

 

"What's your impression?" Treize asked quietly.

 

Une paused, considering the question a moment. "Very capable both as a swordswoman and as a person," she said, "impressively charismatic. She has a surprising degree of influence on those around her...."

 

"I saw the transcript of the colony meeting you included," Treize agreed. He leaned forward, "Which way are they going to jump?"

 

"War," Une answered him frankly. "We've pushed the colonies with annexation of several of their numbers, as well as using political pressure on them," she said quietly.

 

There was a thoughtful nod as Treize looked off in the distance. "Any new reports on the Gundams' movements?" he asked.

 

"Two of the Gundams have seized orbital vessels and left the Earth for the colonies," Une answered, "I think we can expect the others to do so soon."

 

"We'll need to move up the debut of the Tallgeese Wing," Treize noted, "before the impact is lost." He looked at reports thoughtfully, "Do we have a fifth pilot?"

 

"I believe that Sally Po has agreed to do so," Une said, consciously not choosing to mention the closeness that she had noted between Sally and Noin. It wasn't relevant, and nothing that she could confirm anyway.

 

"I know that Dorothy is looking forward to this," Treize added, a faintly approving smile on his handsome face.

 

Une steeled her expression, hiding her first reaction. The ambition of Dorothy Catalonia worried her, in all honesty, as did her essentially treacherous nature. The idea of having her as Une's wingman made her skin crawl, but there was little choice. "I look forward to serving with them," Une answered firmly.

 

Treize chuckled softly. "Zechs will be in overall command due to his experience with the Tallgeese," he revealed, "though you will be the ranking officer in relation to other units. The internal structure will be determined by you and Zechs."

 

"Then I suspect that Zechs and Noin will be in overall command," Une said promptly, "with Dorothy, Sally and I following."

 

"You're willing to take a secondary role?" Treize raised a eyebrow.

 

"I'm a good pilot," Une answered frankly, "but I'm well aware that I am not of their rank, sir." She hesitated, "And I was surprised to loose a duel to Arisugawa."

 

"I wondered when you were going to mention that," Treize said. He gave her a gentle smile, "Remember, she was one of the best duelists in Ohtori."

 

"It still bothers me," Une raised her chin with pride, "and I am determined to defeat her the next time we meet."

 

Arisugawa Juri felt a chill as she walked across the campus, school bag slung casually over her shoulder. Her black schoolboy's uniform hugged her slim form, her long orange hair bold as she strode through the sunlight.

 

"Arisugawa-san," Releena walked up to her, gracefully falling into step along the walkway. Her eyes twinkled in amusement as she added, "I see your adoring fans haven't died off with your visit to the colonies."

 

Juri rolled her eyes at that comment. The route that she took to school was lined with boys and girls, all of them lingering to give her a wave or to cheerfully wish her a good morning. "I was sort of hoping they would die off," Juri sighed. She gave Releena a scolding look, "And I suspect some of them are your fans, too."

 

"True enough," Releena conceded, seemingly unbothered by the idea. She looked up at Juri, "You heard the news?"

 

"The colonies are holding a press conference today," Juri confirmed.

 

What Juri didn't mention was the order that had showed up on her Gundam's communication's gear. She had been using the hidden suit in simulator mode, honing her skills, when the system abruptly shut down, communication's activating. The text message was short and to the point, "Return home, await further instructions."

 

'Of course my getting the Wing Gundam home isn't going to be easy,' Juri mused.

 

"What do you think they're going to announce?" Releena asked Juri, her long brown hair falling gracefully over her shoulders. "You don't think they're going to....?" she trailed off, unable to bring herself to say the words.

 

"I don't know," Juri shrugged a bit uncomfortably, knowing what the girl wanted to say. "Has your father said anything?" she asked.

 

"No," Releena shook her head, "but he doesn't look happy."

 

'Understandably,' Juri thought. The older man had worked to try to broker a peace treaty between the colonies and Earth, to ease the growing tensions, but ultimately he had been unsuccessful. Juri felt a flash of guilt, knowing that in no small part her own words had played a role.

 

"It's not your fault, Juri," Releena said, putting her hand on her arm and squeezing gently, "you just told the truth as you saw it."

 

"Maybe," Juri admitted, "but I certainly didn't help."

 

They filed into the buildings together, students streaming in around them when the public address system for the campus activated. There was a simple ringing tone, first, one that inspired them all to be quiet, then they heard the principal's grim tone. "I regretfully must report," he rumbled, "that the colonies have formally declared war with the Earth nations."

 

"Oh no," Releena managed weakly.

 

Juri held on to Releena's hand unconsciously, squeezing it for comfort. There were no words of comfort that she could give right now, none that would matter anyway. She knew everything had changed for them this morning, and for the world. A period of uneasy peace was over, the era of wars had begun again.

 

End, Book One.

 

Note: Book two of this series will start in a few weeks, the only difference being a slight jump forward in time. Be prepared for some changes, but the cast will largely still be the same. ^_^