Gundam Wing Fan Fiction ❯ Appleseeds ❯ Episode 1: Celebrations ( Chapter 1 )

Episode One: Celebrations of Death & Survival (279 AE)

“My fellow citizens, peace has been won.”

Relena Darlian-Peacecraft paused for the smattering of applause and scanned the crowds. The people filling the ceremonial square looked worn and uneasy, the tense fear and uncertainty that had plagued the colonies for the past seven months still fresh in their minds. She had no doubt that the people watching her speech on the various public widescreens and at home on their monitors were in a similar state of mind. Taking a deep breath, Relena smoothed down her demure white suit and prepared to rally her people's spirits. After all, this was what she had been bred and groomed for; she was Relena Darlian-Peacecraft, heir to two of the most influential surviving families, and she had handpicked the hero who would uplift the people's spirits.

Relena took another deep breath and checked her elation. It would not do to reach the emotional peak of her public address too quickly. Exhaling, she pulled her shoulders back and raised her chin high.

“For far too long, fear and military force have ruled the colonies, but no more! An era of peace is upon us. We will move forward together as a peaceful civilization, military reign has no place in our future!”

Another pause for effect, and the beginnings of a small smile, “From now on, we will advance hand in hand with compassion in our hearts.”

“We will move forward together,” Relena breathed softly, a glisten in her eye. “We will move forward together towards a bright future of peace and prosperity!”

Relena allowed her smile to widen as approval and the beginnings of joy began to ripple through the crowd. Making sure to perform a wide sweep of the square and make eye contact with all the broadcasting cameras, she allowed more of her joy to shine through and prepared to make her grand reveal.

“I am extremely pleased, to announce the foundation of a new organization that will protect and foster our bright future. I present to you the Preventers, a non-military peacekeeping force who will ensure our safety and prosperity.”

Hushed whispers and murmurs rippled through the crowds, some apprehensive, others curious. Thousands of eyes scanned the stage, studying the figures in shadow behind Relena's podium. Relena allowed herself a quick glance out of the corner of her eye at one of the silent figures behind her, her heart pounding in anticipation. `Only a few more moments,' she thought.

“My esteemed citizens, may I present to you the head of our new illustrious organization, Ms. Lucrezia Noin!” A tall dark haired woman dressed in ceremonial court dress complete with tall boots and a long silk frock coat stepped out from behind Relena and politely shook her hand, a tight-lipped but gentle smile upon her face.

Allowing Noin a moment to acknowledge the small cheers and applause of the crowd, Relena snuck another glance behind her. Then, finally permitting the full force of her elation to shine through, Relena stepped closer to the microphone.

“It is also a great honour to present to you today, the hero who protected us from the terrors of the Liberators and single handedly ended the S.A.'s tyranny. Named in memory of a great leader and one of the illustrious members of the Gundam Ten, I give to you, my personal pillar of strength, HEERO YUY!”

A lean figure of medium height stepped into the spotlight, standing at ease in his olive and dark blue jacket emblazoned with the Preventers logo and matching deep blue slacks. A messy head of dark brown hair partially masked a slightly furrowed brow and intense blue eyes narrowed in a glare. A hushed awe fell over the crowd as they gazed upon the man before them, a member of the elite Gundam Ten who had remained shrouded in mystery. With a radiant smile, Relena stepped away from the podium and boldly took the young hero's arm.

The spell from the initial shock broken, the crowd erupted into a symphony cheers, rapturous applause and whistles. Taking her place at the vacated podium, Noin waited for the cheers to subside. Searching the crowd, she found the figure she sought, obscured in the shadows near the back of the crowd. She locked gazes with icy blue and took strength from the encouragement she saw in those eyes. Hearing the cheers die down, Noin brushed back a lock of her short dark hair and turned to face the crowd and the sea of cameras. Making sure that her voice carried, but was not overly loud, Noin began her first public speech as the head of the Preventers organization.

Gazing at blissfully at Heero's strong profile, Relena tightened her grip on his arm with a happy sigh. Next to her, Heero kept his gaze firmly on the crowd, not sparing her a glance. Unmindful of Heero's lack of response, Relena let her mind wander into happy little daydreams of her personal saviour, Heero Yuy. A slight hissing sound permeated her blissful haze, accented by the tensing of Heero's muscles and a discrete nudge. Jarred back into the present, Relena glanced to the wings of the stage where her assistant Dorothy Catalonia was frantically trying to gain her attention, her forked eyebrows dancing with her efforts. Relena raised a questioning brow, and Dorothy gestured at Noin and pointedly lowered her head.

“…we cannot let ourselves forget the sacrifices made and the tragedy of lives lost. I ask that we have a moment of silence to remember those no longer with us today. Let them never be far from our thoughts.”

Snapping back to the present, Relena hurriedly bowed her head and clasped her hands above her heart for good measure. Her cheeks tinting with the folly of losing herself in her daydream, Relena prayed that no one else had seen her misstep. At her side, Heero remained silent, his gaze turned upward towards the artificial blue sky, a hint of mournfulness reflected in his eyes.

~*~

Deep within the infrastructural bowels of the L1 colony, another pair of eyes was turned upward. Deep violet contemplated the condensation on the network of pipes snaking along the tunnel ceiling. Soft light from a single small monitor reflected off the water, creating playful patterns along the walls. Lounging on the floor, head resting on arms folded behind his head, the figure sighed deeply.

“A moment of silence eh? Try a lifetime of silence!”

In a fit of anger, the figure flung himself forward into an upright sitting position and glared at the screen. With brows drawn low over his eyes, he scanned the image on the screen, the so-called couple of the future.

“Hero of the people huh?” he spat angrily. “And there's the perfect dove of peace, blushing oh so prettily next to her prince. Well la dee dah! Good fortune to you all. After all, you earned it didn't you?” he mimicked in a snobbish voice.

Giving a dark chuckle, he continued. “She's nothing compared to ya Hilde. So dainty, no spunk to her at all! As for him… he looks like he's got the personality of brick. Yup, none of the ole Solo charm.”

With slumped shoulders he whispered, “No one up there has got anything on any of y'all. Not a single damn one. Don't y'all dare forget that!”

With silent grace, the figure got to his feet and slunk down the empty tunnel, leaving the televised echo of the celebrations above far behind.

~*~

Once again safely ensconced within her private quarters, Relena lightly kicked off her heels and sunk gratefully into her sofa cushions. With a deep sigh of relief, she unbuttoned her fitted blazer and worked the kinks out of her shoulders. Today had taken a lot out of her. Despite her confident demeanour and her natural grace in the public eye, moments spent with only her thoughts for company often lead to self-doubt and misgivings. Now that it was over, Relena doubted that all her preparing and rehearsing had been enough. Had her facial expressions been genuine enough? Had her enunciation been clear enough? Had she made enough eye contact with both the cameras and the crowd?

With a start, Relena sat up with a gasp. Oh no! What of her slip up with Heero during the moment of remembrance? With a groan, she slumped back into the cushions, lightly banging her head against the sofa's soft padding.

A knock at the door brought her out of her thoughts and she sat up, hurriedly straightening her honey blonde hair. “Come in!” Relena called out breathlessly while slipping her shoes back on.

“Oh Ms. Relena, you were absolutely wonderful today!” Dorothy Catalonia gushed, as she entered with a small tray of tea, biscuits and fruit.

“Oh… Dorothy, it's you.”

“I'm sorry Ms. Relena. Were you expecting someone else? Perhaps a certain dark and handsome gentleman with those smouldering blue eyes…?” Dorothy teased.

Predictably, Relena blushed and stammered in reply, “Of course not! I wasn't expecting… well it's not like he wouldn't… Oh NO! Don't remind me!” Relena finished with a wail. “How mortifying, I completely disgraced myself at the ceremony!”

“Now, now Ms. Relena,” Dorothy soothed, “You were magnificent! And that moment when you stepped next to him and took his arm, it was genius!”

“Really?”

“Of course Ms. Relena! There's nothing as uplifting as the sight of a beautiful young couple, and you looked so perfect together!” Dorothy praised.

Relena's rosy blush intensified and she lowered her gaze, spotting the tray Dorothy had set down on the wooden side table. “Oh! Fresh berries! And cream!” she exclaimed happily.

Dorothy's cat-like smile widened. “Yes Ms. Relena, a gift flown in by express just for you. You have gained many admirers Ms. Relena. No doubt there are many who will support your political debut.”

“So soon?” Relena queried with some trepidation, her fingers reaching for a particularly juicy strawberry.

“You underestimate yourself Ms. Relena. And with a handsome young hero at your side, nothing would be out of your grasp!” Dorothy declared with certain gleam in her eye.

“Heero…” Relena breathed, her eyes taking on the same dreamy quality as they had earlier that day.

A curt knock at the door interrupted her before she could be swept away into another daydream. “Come in!” she called absently.

The door opened to admit the very subject of her dreams. Heero Yuy stepped into the room with a slight nod of acknowledgement to Dorothy and turned to face Relena.

“There you are,” Relena smiled brightly. “Will you be attending the Peace Ball tonight? You will won't you? Oh, you must escort me down the grand staircase, after-”

“Relena” Heero interrupted firmly. He glanced briefly at the plump strawberry in her hand and returned his polite gaze back to her face.

“Yes?” Relena whispered.

“I will be leaving now to go back to headquarters. Ms. Noin will remain on the premises and will accompany you to the ball for your safety.”

“…Oh” Relena sighed, unable to hide her disappointment.

“Must you return now?” Dorothy asked archly. “I'm sure you can spare an evening to escort Ms. Relena to the ball. Everyone is so looking forward to meeting you in person.”

“No.”

“No?” Dorothy parroted back, arching a forked brow. “The public expects y-”

“The public is still disordered an-”

“All the more reason for you to make an appearance!” Dorothy argued vehemently.

Heero focused his glare on Dorothy and bit out “The S.A. may have been unseated from power but not everything has been resolved. There are still many urgent matters that need attending too.”

“Like what?” Relena asked, trying to dispel the rising tension in the room.

Heero returned his attention to Relena, his glare softening. “There are still pockets of S.A. loyalty, and not all Liberators have been accounted for. There is also the matter of UNDIS survivors.”

“But I thought the UNDIS were all dead!” Relena exclaimed before she realized that she had spoken.

Heero's mouth tightened unhappily, “There is reason to believe that there are survivors. They need to be located quickly.”

“Oh no…” Relena whispered, “Are we in danger?”

“No.” Heero's glare returned, “But they are in danger of expiring if we do not find them soon.”

Heero turned to the door. Once again his gaze strayed to the strawberry clutched in Relena's fingers before giving a polite bow and making his exit.

Hearing the soft click of the door closing, Relena dropped her eyes to her lap, noticing her forgotten strawberry. Remembering Heero's covert glances at the fruit and Dorothy's earlier statement about the fruit being a gift from an admirer, her spirits lifted. `Could it be?' She asked herself, `Oh Heero…'

Off to the side, Dorothy stared off into space with a look of horror on her face. `They survived? It can't be! It just can't be!'

~*~

Thousands of feet below her, a lone figure slunk along the myriad of tunnels, whistling a lonely tune.

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