Gundam Wing Fan Fiction ❯ Appleseeds ❯ Episode 2: Dishonourable Tactics ( Chapter 2 )

Disclaimer: Gundam Wing is the property of those far more accomplished and richer than I am.

Episode Two: Dishonourable Tactics (December 24, 279 AE)

In the darkening colony lights, Heero Yuy quickly made his way out of the ornamental government districts, his footsteps silent on the cobblestone paths. Leaving behind the impressive towering brick and marble structures, the walkways narrowed and shifted into plain stone tiles. Still within the polished administrative center of the L1 colony, he made a sharp turn around a corner and headed towards a square brick building. Although nondescript in its design - lacking the sweeping columns and arches of the other governmental buildings - it was still impressive in its size and wrought iron fencing.

Bypassing the imposing main gate, Heero quietly ducked behind one of the stone lions flanking the corners of the iron fence and made his way down a hidden alleyway. Pausing momentarily at a smaller gate, he quickly swiped an ID card and pressed his thumb against a small scanner subtly attached to one of the iron rails. After a small beep the gate swung open and Heero walked through, continuing into the shadows lining the brick building's exterior.

Ducking into another hidden entranceway, Heero made his way down a set of well-worn stone steps and swiped his card and thumb over another cleverly hidden scanner. Pushing the door open after the small click of the lock, Heero disappeared into the lower levels of the building, the door silently closing behind his retreating figure and once again blending into the shadows.

~*~

Relena studied her reflection in the mirror, considering the flowing fabric of her pale blue ball gown. Unable to keep her hands still, she fidgeted with the cascading diamond necklace, adjusting the strands to fall just above the sweetheart neckline of her gown. Behind her, Dorothy absently brushed Relena's long honey locks as she stared vacantly out the window.

“Are you sure I shouldn't wear the dark blue one?”

“Hmm?” Dorothy responded, her mind seemingly a million miles away.

Noticing Dorothy's preoccupied tone, Relena glanced at Dorothy's reflection in the mirror. Behind her bare shoulder, Dorothy absently held a lock of her hair in one hand, brush in the other, her attention seemingly focused on something outside. Craning her neck, Relena tried to see what it was that had captivated her faithful assistant's attention. From the small but elegant French windows, Relena could see Peacecraft Hall with its towering marble pillars, ornate friezes adorned with doves and awe-inspiring three tier fountain. Feeling her heart swell with pride as she gazed upon her family's famous ceremonial hall - that could only be described as the colony's prized jewel - she watched as people, dwarfed by the awesome size of the hall, streamed up the sweeping marble steps leading into the official entrance. Seeing nothing out of place, Relena returned her attention to her dazed friend.

“Dorothy?”

Snapping out of her trance, Dorothy met Relena's wide blue eyes with her own narrower, hawk-like gaze.

“Is something troubling you?”

Flicking a strand of her hip-length platinum hair behind her, Dorothy firmly pushed her worries aside. “I'm sorry Ms. Relena. I had a late night with all the final preparations and I'm afraid it's catching up to me. Don't worry yourself though Ms. Relena, I'll be fine.”

“Are you sure?” Relena queried uncertainly.

“Of course my dear Ms. Relena. In fact, now as the hour of the ball approaches, I feel my energy returning already. Tonight is destined to thrilling, especially since you will be rightfully assuming your place as head of the Peacecraft family!”

Relena squirmed lightly at Dorothy's proclamation, her fingers automatically running over her full skirt to smooth out imaginary wrinkles. “Dorothy, he still might return you know…”

“Nonsense Ms. Relena, he made his decision perfectly clear when he abandoned his public duties. Now, Ms. Relena, what was that about the navy dress?” Dorothy deftly changed the topic.

“Are you sure it won't be more suitable? After all, there will be memorial ceremony at tonight's ball, people might be insulted by the colour of-“

“Nonsense Ms. Relena! This ball is to celebrate the future with hope and joy. If you're still worried about this afternoon, don't worry yourself Ms. Relena, I assure you no one noticed!”

Seeing Relena continue to hesitate, Dorothy made a show of looking at the ornate grandfather clock next to the door and exclaiming, “Would you look at the time! Ms. Relena, we really must hurry. I'm sure your guard will be arriving any minute now.”

Right on cue, a knock sounded at the door and Lucrezia Noin stepped into Relena's dressing room with a formal bow. She was still dressed in her formal court wear although her coat had been replaced with a longer and more embellished frock coat of dark emerald and a ceremonial sword hung from her hip.

“Ms. Darlian-Peacecraft, we should be heading for the ceremony soon. If you would allow me escort both yourself and Ms. Catalonia?”

“How very thoughtful of you Ms. Noin,” Dorothy practically purred. Taking a moment to rearrange her own deep crimson skirts, Dorothy took a gentle hold of Relena's elbow and deftly manoeuvred her down the stairs towards the walkway that connected the official Peacecraft residence to the ceremonial hall.

~*~

Violet eyes snapped open as their owner reacted to the sharp nip at his foot. With lightening reflexes he grabbed the being responsible for the attack as a shrill squeal echoed through the tunnel. Bringing his hand up to view the offender, the figure smirked at the struggling rat.

“Hey hey now, I'm not quite dead yet. It's a bit too soon to be making of meal outta me. Where are your manners?” he admonished while staring into beady little eyes.

“Hmm… in fact, you would make an excellent meal for me. I think it's my lucky day, you look nice and plump,” the figure noted as his eyes roved over the struggling animal. Feeling the soft squishiness of the rodent's midsection, his eyes narrowed as he studied his prey's belly intently.

Stilling his breathing, the figure cocked his head and listened intently. `Ah, so I didn't imagine that,' he thought to himself. Pushing himself upright, he silently made his way down the tunnel, stopping every couple of steps to listen and scan the shadows, the struggling rodent still grasped firmly in his hand. Spotting a section of broken pipe, he crouched down next to it, nodding to himself in satisfaction.

“That's quite the litter of pups you have there lil' mother,” he whispered, gently releasing the rat who hurriedly scrambled towards her babies. “I'm feeling generous, today being a day of celebration and all. And those pups need you more than I do.”

The figure sat himself down next to the rat's nest, the mother placing herself between him and her offspring, teeth and claws ready to defend to the death. Keeping an eye on the hostile rat, the figure reached carefully into a jacket pocket and withdrew a thick slip of embellished paper.

“In fact lil' mother,” the figure continued his one-sided conversation with his rodent companion, “I think I have a present for you.”

Gently placing the card in front of the rat he turned his eyes upward, “It's a formal invitation to the Peace Ball, well, half of one anyway. Can you imagine the gall? Wasting precious resources to make invitations? And I've never seen paper that thick before. The guy that ripped up the invitation must be an ass too… mutilating a decadent luxury like that. And get this, lil' mother. I think it was our illustrious hero that tore it up!”

The figure rocked with laughter, ending in a hacking cough. “See the -UY? There's hundreds of those `privileged' that could have been invited. But I only know one family name that ends in UY! And it's spelt Y-U-Y!” he finished in a singsong voice.

Glancing over at his audience, he noted that the rat's maternal instincts had overcome her fear and he smiled as he watched the rodent efficiently shred the invitation and create a cozy nest for her litter.

~*~

“If it isn't Mr. Heero Yuy, the broodingly handsome hero of the colonies!”

“Can it 05!” Heero growled at the smirking man lounging with his back to a massive array of screens. Dressed in the same Preventers garb as Heero, minus the tie, Wufei Chang's tracked his colleague's approach with slanted coffee-coloured eyes before swinging his chair back towards the myriad of screens.

“Not my words, my friend, but the words of hundreds of swooning girls, posted all over netsphere,” Wufei chuckled before adding, “And it's Chang or Wufei now. We're not using our old designations anymore, remember?”

“Yes, those designations have become classified material; privy to only those with the highest clearance.”

Wufei spun his chair around to face the second entrance to the room, “Dammit Barton! Don't you ever make any noise? Stop sneaking around and eavesdropping like that.”

The tall man leaning against the doorframe shrugged his shoulders elegantly, “Sorry Chang, force of habit. If you hadn't been so engrossed in reading gossip newsfeeds about our revered colleague you would have noticed me come in.”

Trowa Barton made his way into the room, his one visible eye glinting with mischief, neatly stepping around a glaring Heero and leaned over Wufei's chair to study the various newsfeeds littering the screens. “You've been very busy I see,” he mused, “Here's a spicy one: `Heero Yuy, Relena Darlian-Peacecraft's secret pillar'. No wonder you were so distracted Wufei.”

“I was not,” Wufei snarled back, “I've been sorting through those files you gave me for the past 14 hours, excuse me taking a small break. Besides, it was that damn woman's fault, sending me the links, that distracting, meddling-”

“Who's a distracting, meddling damn woman? I hope you're not referring to me.”

Wufei yelped and jumped from his chair to face the basement office's newest occupant.

“That's twice now,” Trowa murmured to Wufei before smoothly evading the line of fire stand beside Heero.

“Shut up!” Wufei muttered irritably before clearing his throat to address the woman idly rolling a thick twist of sandy hair around her index finger. “If you recall, it was you who filled my inbox with all that gossip mongering!”

Sally Po laughed lightly at Wufei's irritated expression and turned her attention to Heero. “Well, I just couldn't resist. You looked so handsome on that stage, especially with that beautiful girl on your arm. Speaking of which, why aren't you at the ball? She did send you a personal invitation after all.”

“Escorting a girl to an irrelevant ball is not an efficient use of my time.”

“Not entirely. Your presence could have cemented some support for the Preventers, we could always use more funding, especially since I feel like we're going to need it,” Sally quipped back.

“Noin has that under control. She is far more suited to politicking than I am.”

“That's very true,” Sally conceded, “glaring at dignitaries and calling them spineless idiots won't make them sympathetic to our cause. Still, I feel sorry for Lu, fending for herself considering her situation, especially since the ball is taking at Peacecraft Hall.”

“She's perfectly capable of fulfilling the requirements of the mission.”

“It's not a mission Heero, nothing in politics is as straightforward as a `mission'.” Wufei corrected, “But she'll have to get used to the meddling curiosity of those dishonourable people now that she's the head of the Preventers. At least she's one of the few capable women in all of the colonies.”

“I'll pretend I didn't hear that one Wufei,” Sally gave Wufei a glowering look before turning her attention back to Heero. “Speaking of women, Relena's a lovely girl wouldn't you say Heero? And she seems to be quite smitten with you too. It wouldn't have hurt to have escorted her to the ball, if only for an hour or so. ”

Heero shifted uncomfortably before muttering, “She was eating berries.”

Three pairs of eyes widened, wondering if they had heard him correctly, and if so; why the eating habits of the young lady in question seemed to make Heero so uncomfortable.

“She is from a very affluent family…” Wufei made tentative stab in the dark, “I'm sure she would have shared?”

“That is irrelevant,” Heero scowled, “She was in possession of the strawberries, blueberries and blackberries.”

Trowa raised his visible eyebrow as he noted the seeming emphasis on those particular berries. Exchanging looks of bafflement and concern with Wufei, he asked, “The berries? Anything special about those three berries in particular?”

“Never mind,” Heero growled. Abandoning the subject he turned to Sally and snapped, “Have you finished those tests yet?”

Throwing a swift glance towards the other two, Sally indulged Heero in his efforts at changing the topic and held up a thin tablet, lightly tapping the screen to turn it on. “As a matter of fact, that's why I came here in the first place.”

“And…?”

“Well, I re-ran the male blood sample through the classified S.A. databases that Trowa gave me, and still no match.”

“What of the other test I asked you to run?” Trowa and Wufei glanced at each other worriedly as they noted Heero's tense posture and tightly clenched fists.

“I don't know how on earth you knew,” Sally began while referring to her tablet, “but you were right. The sample contained QR145 antibodies.”

“QR145?” Wufei asked, “I feel like I've heard it somewhere before.”

“It's the code for one of the weaponized viruses the S.A. used to exterminate the UNDIS,” Trowa spoke up solemnly. “It was a vicious disease that literally dissolved the internal organs, particularly the digestive organs, causing them to release hydrochloric acid into the bloodstream. If the victim didn't die from organ failure, they died from having their blood curdled within their very veins. Because of the virus's malicious design, death was slow and painful.”

“Dishonourable fiends!” Wufei spat, “They had to be insane to release something like that into the general public! A virus like that could have killed an entire colony.”

“I don't know very much about the virus either,” Sally stated, “but I was able to determine, by examining the antibodies in the sample, that the virus would have had a very low level of contagiousness. The files Trowa gave me also indicated that the virus could only be transferred through direct injection into the bloodstream or direct blood to blood contact.”

“Even so, how did they keep it contained? And keep the public unaware?” Wufei demanded.

“By the time they employed the QR145 virus, the UNDIS had been effectively quarantined from the rest of the population. The virus was delivered to them under the guise of a cure for an influenza virus that the S.A. covertly contaminated the UNDIS population with, one that all regular citizens were immune against.” Trowa sighed, “The S.A. tricked the UNDIS into performing their own executions.”

“I knew it must have been something deadlier than a simple influenza virus,” Sally nodded sadly, “Despite what the S.A. wanted to the public to believe, I highly doubted that UNDIS immune systems were as frail as they were made out to be.”

“Was it possible to survive this virus? Was there a cure?” Wufei asked quietly.

“No,” Trowa replied, “but there was a vaccine. All S.A. members and Liberators were vaccinated.”

“So that blood Sally analyzed is from an S.A. member?” Wufei questioned heatedly. “But, if there was no match in the files then that could only mean… a black ops member so covert that they aren't even recorded? Or someone even higher up in the S.A. command chain. Then that woul-“

“No!” Heero cut in sharply. “The blood sample is an UNDIS sample.”

~*~

Lucrezia Noin wearily shifted her weight to her other foot, trying to appear attentive as she discreetly scanned the crowds for trouble. Finding none, she returned her attention to Relena as she spoke to the large crowd of her fawning admirers. She sincerely hoped that Relena would be one of the very few who would remain immune to power's corrupting influence within the world of cutthroat politics.

Seeing a flash of crimson swiftly making its way towards her, Noin groaned inwardly. Her night was about to get much, much worse.

“There you are Ms. Noin,” Dorothy Catalonia smiled slyly, a bearded man following in her wake. “I have been telling my grandfather that he absolutely must make your acquaintance. Grandpapa, this is Ms. Noin, head of the Preventers and Ms. Relena's temporary guard tonight.”

Noin bowed respectfully to the elderly, broad-shouldered man. “It is an honour to meet you Duke Dermail.”

Politely extending his hand for a handshake, Dermail gazed down at Noin, his stern eyes studying her intently. “Likewise Ms. Noin. I have wanted to meet you for some time now. Unfortunately certain… circumstances seemed to have prevented our meeting until now.”

Hiding her indignation at his none too subtle barb, Noin smiled back politely, uttering the socially required expressions of dismay and regret. Running her own critical eye over the man, she observed his commanding presence and the aura of power that seemed to permeate from every pore of his being. With growing consternation, she concluded that Duke Dermail would indeed most likely become a key player in the newly forming government. Although Noin and her fellow Gundam Ten members had always suspected Dermail of being a secret supporter of the S.A., they had never been able to find any definitive proof.

“And where is your wayward husband tonight? I would like to speak to him as well.”

At Noin's involuntarily flinch, Dorothy admonished her grandfather. “Grandpapa, it's not husband but companion, remember? All couples are now equal and must be reflected as such.”

“Oh yes, how thoughtless of me, do forgive me Ms. Noin,” Dermail apologized while stroking his aristocratically trimmed beard, “I do get so forgetful in my old age.”

“No apology necessary Duke,” Noin replied as she frantically schooled her features into a polite mask. “Regretfully, at the moment, my companion is engaged in other matters and unfortunately cannot attend to any of his public duties.”

“Is that so,” Dermail responded with false sympathy. Having already delivered sufficient tongued barbs, he steered the conversation into another direction.

“I understand congratulations are in order. It is quite an honour to head such a prestigious new organization. It also must be quite the burden to shoulder. If I could ever be of any assistance, please do not hesitate to contact me.”

“Thank you for your generous offer. Fortunately, I have a very dedicated group of agents helping me get the Preventers up and running.”

“Ah yes,” a predatory gleam entered the Duke's eyes, “I understand some of the former members of the illustrious Gundam Ten are among the agents at your command, including Mr. Heero Yuy. Where is he tonight?”

“Agent Yuy's presence was required back at headquarters to deal with a time sensitive matter.”

“Is that so?” Dermail seemed unconvinced. “I was lead to believe he was Ms. Relena's personal bodyguard.”

“Agent Yuy has served as a guard to Ms. Darlian-Peacecraft in the past, but he has not been formally assigned as her permanent guard.”

Seeing that Noin was going to remain tight-lipped about the matter, he returned to an earlier inquiry. “What of the other nine members of the Gundam Ten. When will we be able to make their acquaintance?”

With some of her rising irritation seeping into her tone, Noin tried to reply as neutrally as possible. “We have decided it would be prudent to keep the identity of the surviving members of the team from public record. It would allow my agents to operate more efficiently and would keep their families from harm's way. Agent Yuy only agreed to reveal his identity in order to settle public unrest and under the strict agreement that all the others' identities would remain undisclosed. I trust you understand?” The last was gritted out more harshly that she would have liked.

Knowing he would glean nothing more from their meeting, Dermail politely excused himself and left an angry Noin behind with granddaughter in tow. “How is the girl progressing in her simpering adoration of that boy?” he demanded while weaving through the crowds.

“Quite well grandpapa. She is absolutely smitten.”

“Good. I want you to keep working that angle but I also have a new assignment for you. I want you to find out as much as you can about the Gundam Ten. That woman mentioned that the team had lost some of their members. I want to know how many they lost, who survived, EVERYTHING! That girl may prove useful in this task. You will come through for me won't you Dorothy?

“Of course Grandpapa. But we have an even greater problem. I have it on good authority that some of the UNDIS survived.”

“They WHAT!? They were supposed to have been completely eliminated. The Liberators tracked down every last one of that vile scum and terminated them. How could this be?”

“I don't know Grandpapa. UNDIS records were not complete. Perhaps a few escaped notice?”

“I don't care for your idle speculations. I want facts. Find them for me!”

“Yes Grandpapa.”

AN: Ok, I know I promised the boys would be featured more prominently in this chapter but Relena is relentless! Funny since I'm not a huge fan of her character. Still… she is crucial to the story I suppose. All the boys will be in the next chapter, I promise!