Gundam Wing Fan Fiction ❯ Family Ties ❯ Chapter 98 ( Chapter 98 )

“Family Ties”

 

Chapter 98

 

January 2007 ShenLong

 

[Preventer Transport Shuttle 121]

 

“I certainly hope that Barton doesn't have any more mobile suits hidden away anywhere,” Quatre muttered to himself as he checked the status of the three Gundams currently in the cargo hold. Just the visual was enough to have him shuddering, he hated to think what the diagnostics checks would show.

 

“Standing here isn't going to get much done,” he continued as he approached the large mecha. He frowned when he saw the amount of damage Heavyarms had sustained and sent a silent prayer in thanks that his husband had survived relatively well. It could have been a lot worse.

 

Pressing in the codes to Sandrock's hatch, he stood back and waited for the hatch to open and admit him to the cockpit. Once inside, he wasted no time in bringing the Gundam on line and connecting the laptop. He typed in a few commands and brought up the diagnostics program. The laptop connected with Sandrock's computer and the pair began to 'talk' to each other.

 

Leaving the computers to do their work, he stepped back out and with a note book and pencil, began to make notes on the structural damage he could see.

 

*

 

Trowa watched the shuttle computer continue to run through its check of the shuttle status. He gave a shake of his head as he read through some of the reports that came up on the screen. There was quite a bit of damage. Fortunately, at this stage none of it was too bad and if it continued this way, then they should be able to fly the craft back to earth. If anything else came up on the report, anything too major, then they would just have to leave the shuttle on the satellite along with the Gundams until either a crew could be sent to fix the shuttle, another shuttle could be sent to pick up the Gundams; or both.

 

Trowa didn't really like the idea of leaving the Gundams here though so he kept his fingers crossed that nothing major would show up. He supposed they could always fly the Gundams back to earth, but that again would pose problems and raised questions. Would they have enough fuel to travel the distance? Would the Gundams be capable of making the trip under their own steam? He had his doubts about Heavyarms, the mecha had taken quite a beating out there - not to mention the pilot. Trowa didn't think he would be able enough to fly the machine if it came down to that.

 

All this thinking wasn't doing him any good. He wondered if there was any more morphine in the first aid kit and if so, what his chances were of getting another shot?

 

*

 

Quatre heaved a sigh of relief. The diagnostics check on Sandrock had been good. Only minor damage to a couple of circuits and a few of the hydraulics were not functioning at full capacity. Outside, the mecha was pretty much unscathed, the Gundanium plating had done its job well. There were a few scorch marks and a couple of dents scattering the 'body', but nothing that couldn't be fixed easily enough.

 

He unplugged the laptop and powered the machine down. “Thank you, Sandrock,” he said softly and patted the console affectionately before exiting the cockpit once more. He made sure the hatch was closed and locked before clambering down and walking towards Shenlong.

 

The large, black and green Gundam also bore scars from the battle, although not as much as Heavyarms. A chunk of plating was loose on the upper thigh from where it had taken a direct hit, several scorch marks crisscrossed the length of the body, but the rest of the mecha looked fine. Keying in the code, Quatre entered the cockpit and brought the Gundam on line. He hooked up the laptop and once more ran the diagnostics check.

 

Shenlong checked out okay, a minor fault was located in the circuitry that pertained to the weapons, but nothing major. The Gundam could still be used in battle if the need arose, only the reaction time of the mecha would be slightly delayed.

 

Leaving Wufei's Gundam, Quatre looked at Heavyarms and swallowed. With a sigh he clambered up to the cockpit and set about the task of running the program again. He was in no doubts as to what the program would show.

 

When the program had finished running, Quatre took a look at the results and sighed. It was as he'd thought, the Gundam was pretty much beat up and would need major repairs. The hydraulics to the left arm were completely severed and would need replacing. The loss of the hydraulic fluid from that arm had also depleted the the total amount of fluid in the entire Gundam. The right leg had taken quite a beating too, several plates were either loose or badly dented. The area of the chest surrounding the cockpit also bore the scars of the battle Heavyarms had endured with the Orion that had tried to get into the shuttle. Several dents could be found, one of them causing Quatre to whistle through his teeth at how close it had been to connecting with the cockpit itself.

 

The computer system diagnostics also told him several circuits were fried, including the navigation system. The control system for the maneuverability of the Gundam itself was also damaged and one of the missile launchers was destroyed. “Don't worry, `Arms, we will have you fixed up and working like new again once we get you back home to earth,” Quatre told the Gundam. He ran a hand over the console. “Thank you for looking after him,” he whispered.

 

Quatre could have sworn the console glowed a little brighter.

 

Shaking his head at his own foolishness, he picked up the laptop and headed back to the shuttle cockpit to let Trowa know of the results from the checks and to find out how his lover had progressed with the damage report for the shuttle.

 

* * *

 

[Abandoned Alliance Shuttle Port - Earth near the ESUN]

 

“Shit!” Sapphire muttered to himself and shifted a little more in the tree he was currently perched in. He adjusted the binoculars and watched carefully.

 

In the grounds of the abandoned Alliance port he could see that the troops that had arrived on the shuttles had all disembarked and were milling around. His trained eyes raked over the scattered crowd, noting that they were not as they first appeared. He removed the binoculars and scratched his nose, bringing the binoculars back up once more and trying to get the things to focus even clearer. Whilst the binoculars were not standard issue but rather specialized Preventer ones, he couldn't help but wish they could `zoom' in even closer.

 

What he did see had him on alert though. All the people were carrying weapons of some sort, mainly rifles or hand guns, but there was the occasional AK 47, the odd cross bow and even one or two sporting rather impressive looking swords.

 

Whilst he couldn't confirm it visually, he was pretty sure they had some explosive power too, most likely in the form of grenades and maybe even some C4.

 

Suddenly there was a stirring amongst the men and Sapphire watched as they did their best to form up into some sort of `unit'. Their sloppy attempts told Sapphire that this lot were not your usual soldiers. Sure he could see some that performed the maneuver as a trained soldier would, but the majority sort of sauntered into a vacant spot and did their best to look like they belonged there.

 

Sapphire snorted in amusement. If this is how they were in their discipline, then what would they be like in a combat situation? He quickly drew his mind back from that thought as a person - obviously the one in control - stepped to the front of the mob and began to speak to them.

 

Unfortunately, Sapphire was too far away to hear and even with the binoculars at their full capacity, he was still unable to read the lips. He gave a frustrated sigh.

 

The one in charge addressed the troops, the men all watching intently, several heads nodding from time to time. Whatever the speech was, it didn't last for too long and suddenly the men all gave a very loud cheer and raised their weapons in the air as they did so.

 

Moments later, the men had again formed up, this time into lines of roughly four abreast, although that was questionable too as several broke ranks from time to time. With the group in some sort of order, they began to file out. Hastily, Sapphire noted which direction they were going in, checked his maps in his head and almost fell out of the tree.

 

Grabbing his communicator, he quickly placed a call to Preventer Headquarters.

 

* * *

 

[Preventer Communications]

 

“Preventer communications, Agent Sun here.”

 

“Agent Sun, this is Agent Sapphire. I need to speak with the commander urgently.”

 

“Roger that, Sapphire. Hold this frequency whilst I get the commander.”

 

“Okay, am holding.”

 

Sun turned in his seat to where Sky was sitting across the room. “Any idea where the commander is?”

 

“Not too sure. I think she was going to get something to eat, why?”

 

“I've got Sapphire on the airwaves, he needs to speak with the commander and the commander wanted to be alerted immediately when he called in,” replied Sun.

 

“Hang on, I'll try her pager.” Sky rolled in his seat across to another console. He typed a couple of commands into the small machine there. “She should call us in a moment or two.”

 

“Thanks.”

 

* * *

 

Une was finishing off the last piece of the sandwich she'd procured from the canteen, washing it down with a glass of orange juice. Sally would approve, she noted and wondered how the doctor and the nurse were doing out at Quatre's mansion. Her pager beeped, Une reaching for it and noting the number. Picking up her trash, she dumped it in the bin and made a beeline for the phone on the wall.

 

Grabbing the handset, she pushed in the extension number and waited. “You paged me?” she said when the call connected.

 

“Ah, commander. You're needed in the communications section immediately. Agent Sapphire has called in with something urgent.”

 

“I'm on my way.” Une hung the phone up and wasted no time in getting to the communications section.

 

Within a couple of minutes she was striding through the door.

 

“I have agent Sapphire on stand-by,” Sun said and handed the commander a headset.

 

Une slid the head set into place, adjusted the mic and spoke. “Sapphire, this is Commander Une. What is happening?”

 

“Commander, I've been observing those shuttles that arrived and all the people on board have disembarked. They are all armed with varying weapons, mostly rifles and hand guns, but there's a few AK 47's some blades and I did spot a couple of cross bows too.”

 

“I see. Did you happen to see if there were any other forms of weaponry? Things like explosives... or mobile suits?”

 

“Mobile suits?” Sapphire echoed. “Aren't they completely outlawed?”

 

“Yes, agent. They are, but somehow Barton has managed to construct quite a few of them. As far as I know they were all restricted to the satellite these shuttles came from, but I wouldn't put it past Barton to have sent one or two down here with his army.”

 

“If he has then they're either still in the shuttles or were on the one that blew up. I've not seen anything remotely like a suit come off those shuttles. I haven't been able to confirm or deny the presence of any explosives either. Some of the troops are carrying bags so it is highly possible that they do have some explosives of some sort,” Sapphire replied.

 

“Wonderful, just bloody wonderful,” Une muttered.

 

“Commander?” Sapphire wasn't sure if his ears had heard that correctly or not. Sun and Sky were also in a similar state of shock.

 

“What are those troops up to now?” Une asked, putting the conversation back on track

 

“The troops have all formed up, been addressed by the one I assume to be in charge and have moved out.”

 

“Any chance you could hear what was said?”

 

“I'm sorry, commander. I couldn't get close enough to hear without being detected and I was too far away to lip read.”

 

“No problem. Which way did they go?” Une already had a pretty good idea of which direction the troops would have gone in, but she needed it confirmed.

 

“They went south east. Without a hard copy of a map I couldn't be one hundred percent certain of their destination, but I'm pretty sure they're heading for the ESUN headquarters.”

 

Une's eyes closed and she gave a sigh. “That's what I thought you'd say. Okay, thanks, Sapphire. I'd like you to try and tail them, follow behind and report in from time to time with your location.”

 

“Roger that, commander.”

“Sapphire, stay safe.”

 

A soft chuckle came over the line. “I'll do my best. Sapphire out.”

 

“Commander, out.” Une slid the headset off and rubbed her temples. Raising her eyes to meet those of Sun, she spoke softly “Try to contact the ESUN and warn them of the approach. I don't think we have any of the ESUN staff still inside the building, I'm certain the agents managed to get them all out and to safety, but I want you to check.”

 

Sun wondered just how the hell he was supposed to contact the ESUN when all forms of communication except their own were down, courtesy of the Firecell.

 

Realizing what was going through the agent's mind, Une added, “Contact any agents in the immediate area and get them to go in and check.”

 

“Yes, Commander.”

 

“I'm going to find out exactly how many agents we have left free in the field. I have a feeling this could become a little nasty.”

 

Sky rolled his eyes. In his opinion the entire situation was well beyond nasty, more like the coming of the Armageddon!

 

Fortunately for Sky, Une didn't see the roll of the eyes. “I'll be in conference room four planning out what the hell we can do about this situation,” she stated and stood up. “Page me the instant you have anything new from either Sapphire or the agents still on that satellite.”

 

“Yes, commander.”

 

Une left to try and figure out how to try and get them all out of this mess.

 

* * *

 

[Preventer Transport Shuttle 121]

 

Hearing whistling coming down the corridor, Trowa looked up from the data readouts as a blonde head stuck itself around the entry to the cockpit. “All done?” he asked.

 

“Yes. All diagnostic checks are complete and I have a copy of the report on this disk,” Quatre replied and handed over a white disk. “How is it going with the shuttle?”

 

Trowa rubbed his weary eyes. “Almost finished.” He turned to look at his partner fully. “It's not too good either.”

“Ah. Just how bad is it then?”

 

Sighing, Trowa looked back to the screen and the results there. “So far the major issues we have are as follows. The heat shields are partly unstable which will affect any re-entry into the earth's atmosphere. The other concern is the starboard wing, it took a few shots which have resulted in damage to the plating there.”

 

“Can we fix it?”

 

“I don't know. There's quite a bit of minor damage to circuits and one of the hydraulic chambers has a slow leak in it, those we can fix reasonably easily. The heat shields though... We would need to get outside and take a proper look to see exactly where and how they are unstable. I'm betting they're loose and as you know, entering the earth's atmosphere with them in that state will only loosen them further to the point where they will either disintegrate or fly off,”

 

“Meaning we will end up being in something akin to a pressure cooker,” Quatre muttered.

 

“Yeah. The wing damage is in the plates that control the speed, the flaps to be precise.”

 

“Shit!”

 

“My sentiments exactly. To fix the shields and those plates we will need access to plating, smelting facilities, metal and welding equipment.”

 

Quatre's eyes suddenly lit up. “Trowa, cast your mind back to when you were searching for these satellites.”

 

“Eh?”

 

“We have all of that here. This satellite used to process the minerals, remember? It has the smelting facilities, there's lots of metal out there,” Quatre waved his hand to the surface of the satellite and the many suits scattered about. “And if Barton built those suits here, then there has to be welding equipment in those Domes too.”

 

“Quatre, you're a genius,” Trowa smiled.

 

Quatre beamed and then blushed, lowering his head a touch at the compliment.

 

“What about the Gundams?” Trowa asked, changing the subject slightly.

 

“Ah, Sandrock only has minor damage, both circuitry and physical. Shenlong has a problem with the circuits connected to the weapons which means it's a little slow in reaction time, also some plating is loose on one of the upper legs.”

 

“Heavyarms?” Trowa whispered.

 

Quatre sighed. “It's not good, but it could have been a lot worse too. The left arm will need to have the hydraulic system totally replaced. The hydraulic fluid also needs replacing as a lot was lost when that arm was severed. Several plates are loose on the legs and lower torso, also around the cockpit. One rocket launcher is destroyed too. On the internal side, a lot of the circuits are fried affecting the navigational system and also the maneuverability of the Gundam.”

 

Trowa let go a soft whistle. “Fuck, he did take a beating.”

 

“He can be fixed,” Quatre said softly. He knew how much the Gundam meant to Trowa, hell, the Gundams meant a lot to all of them and it had torn them apart when they'd been `destroyed' after the war. To have discovered that Une had taken them and put them in storage after having them repaired had come as quite the shock. Now the question hung in the air. Would Une allow them to be repaired and stored once more in case they should be needed again in the future?

 

“I”m not giving him up again to be destroyed,” Trowa growled.

 

“I agree with you there. If Une won't have them repaired and insists they be destroyed, then I'll make sure they disappear,” Quatre promised.

 

Trowa nodded. He didn't question it further, he knew his husband well enough by now to know that whatever the blonde said, he would do.

 

“I suppose we should report in to Une and let her know the damage report,” Quatre said.

 

“Do we have to?”

 

Quatre snickered at the pout on his husband's face. “Yes, we do.”

 

“Can I have some more morphine first?”

 

“I think I might need a shot too,” Quatre chuckled.

 

* * *

 

[Control Room Corridor - Satellite XRB 23]

 

Both Zechs and Wufei came to a sliding stop when they saw the carnage in the corridor ahead of them.

 

“Shit!” Zechs muttered as his eyes roamed over the two `bodies' and the amount of blood pooling on the tiled floor.

 

Wufei's mouth went into a grim line as he also observed the damage. His head suddenly shot up and a noise up ahead had him leveling his gun. When a familiar head of chocolate hair came into sight, he breathed a sigh of relief and holstered the gun. “Yuy,” he stated curtly.

 

With the arrival of their fellow agents, Heero stepped out of the alcove first, Duo a couple of steps behind him. Checking there was no other immediate threat in the corridor, Heero made his way towards the other two, Duo following closely.

 

“What the fuck happened here?” Zechs demanded. He'd gotten a little closer to the two forms and knew from the visual that one of them was certainly deceased. The other he wasn't too sure about just yet as he hadn't had a chance to check.

 

“Self defense,” Duo muttered.

 

Wufei raised an eyebrow in question.

 

“Only one of them is dead,” Heero supplied. “The other is merely unconscious.”

 

“Dammit! You know what Une said, she wanted them brought in alive,” Zechs snapped.

 

Duo whirled around, the anger clear in his eyes. “I don't give a rats ass what Une wants. I owed that bastard and he got what he deserved. I promised him I would kill him; and I never lie,” he growled.

 

“If Duo hadn't taken him down, he would have killed the both of us,” Heero replied calmly, although the anger was boiling in those cobalt eyes.

 

“You could have incapacitated, not killed,” Zechs snarled, clearly not understanding the gravity of the situation.

 

“I probably could have, but I didn't,” Duo retaliated. “I swore I would kill that asshole for what he did to me, what he made me do, what he put me through. I don't give a damn what Une's orders were, she didn't have to put up with him like I did.” Duo's eyes were blazing. “I'll happily take any discipline she sees fit for my actions, but I swear, if I had to do it again, I would.” Duo turned on his heel, warm arms enveloping him.

 

“Zechs, you have no idea what has gone on, what Duo has suffered through, hell I only know some of it, but that's enough for me to know that what he did here in killing that man was justified,” Heero snapped as he pulled Duo deeper into his arms. He could feel his partner shaking with the attempts to hold back his rage - to keep Shinigami tightly in his box.

 

“I understand,” Wufei said quietly, his onyx eyes clearly backing up his words.

 

Heero nodded and felt Duo relax slightly.

 

Seeing Zechs about to start off on another tirade, Wufei stepped in. “Wind, you are not fully aware of all the facts pertaining to this mission so I suggest that until you are, you refrain from making and passing further judgment.”

 

Zechs scowled, but nodded his head.

 

Turning to the other two, Wufei spoke again. “Is that the control room?”

 

“Yes,” Duo replied as he pulled slightly away from Heero, his rage having dissipated a little.

 

“Barton is in there?”

 

“I can't be completely sure, but this is usually where he can be found and given the outside battle, his troops being sent to earth and all, I'm betting he's in there.”

 

“Other personnel?”

 

Duo sighed and did a quick mental run through. “Besides Barton, there's a few techs, probably a couple of soldiers and a few other staff. Zaheer and the other hit man are already dealt with.” Duo looked pointedly to the pair on the floor. “Oh, Professor Hawkins is most likely in there as well.”

 

“Firepower?” Wufei asked.

 

“Again, not sure on the amount. Barton would be armed and so are the soldiers. They carried hand guns and one had an AK 47. The techs were not armed, nor were any of the other people.” Duo scratched the back of his neck as he did his best to recall what weapons those in the control room had.

 

“Plan of attack?”

 

“Errr...”

 

Wufei rolled his eyes. “You don't have one, do you?”

 

“Ummm... Not at the moment, no,” Duo replied a little sheepishly.

 

“I suggest we move these two first, get them out of sight somewhere,” Wufei began and handed Yuy a pair of handcuffs. “Put those on the one still breathing.”

 

Heero took the `cuffs and placed them around the wrists of Matthews.

 

“Anywhere around here we can put these two?” Wufei questioned and glanced around.

 

Duo snickered. “Planning on a repeat performance, Wuffers?”

 

Both Zechs and Heero turned to look at the pair, the question clear on both faces. Wufei had gone a nice shade of red.

 

“Explain,” Heero demanded.

 

Before Wufei could get a word to form, Duo beat him to it. “Just that Wuffy here seems to have a penchant for stashing dead and live people together in closets. Isn't that right, `Fei `Fei?”

 

“It's nothing like that, Maxwell,” Wufei growled, “And my name is Wufei!”

 

“Something tells me there's more to this than I really want to know,” Heero muttered.

 

“Hey, you're the one that asked,” Duo defended.

 

“Next time remind me to keep my mouth shut.”

 

Duo just grinned.

 

“There are a couple of doors leading off the corridor back there,” Zechs informed, trying to get things back on track.

 

“Yuy, go check them out, Maxwell, you can help Merquise and myself to get these two into one of those rooms,” Wufei stated.

 

“Why can't I check the doors?” Duo questioned.

 

“Because you made the mess here so you can help clean it up,” Wufei replied with a smug smile. “Then we will see what we can figure out between us for getting into the control room and taking Barton down.”

 

Duo gave a sigh and bent to the task, Zechs beside him whilst Heero went to check the doors and rooms.

 

~ * ~

 

tbc...