Gundam Wing Fan Fiction ❯ Mobile Suit Gundam Wing: Shattered Peace ❯ Race Against Time! ( Chapter 2 )

[ T - Teen: Not suitable for readers under 13 ]

Gundam Wing: Shattered Peace

Episode Two: Race Against Time!

With the arrival of peace in the Earthsphere the citizens of both earth and space thought that it would last forever. But relics left over from the old age have returned to threaten the new one. Their first targets: The former Gundam pilots.

Alex suddenly noticed a tiny red dot moving along the floor. It landed on the foot of Thomas' bed and then landed on Duo's foot. It than made a beeline for Duo's head.

“Everyone shut up,” said Alex in a voice of deadly calm. They all looked at him but he put a big smile on his face and turned to look out the window, just barley seeing the line of the laser beam. Duo was about to ask Alex what the crap he was playing at when Alex drew the small gun with great speed, but he saw a flash in the window.

“DOWN!!” he bellowed and no sooner had his head cleared the sill than a hail of gunfire filled the room with flying splinters and screams.

A black van roared around the corner and headed straight for the Murphy's. While Duo fired at the unseen attacker, Alex emptied all but one bullet on the windshield of the car, but to no avail. The van pulled to stop and machine gun fire stitched a line of slugs across the passenger side. But the van was obviously bulletproof. The driver's side door opened and Duo and Alex both fired their guns at the driver. The weapons clicked emptily.

“Damn,” cursed Alex under hi breath, but that changed to open mouthed astonishment when he, Duo, and the others saw who was driving. Heero Yuy had come to their rescue.

“The people who are after you are part of a secret organization that has built itself up over these last few years into something truly formidable. I can't tell you much about it just now, but I can tell you that they've positioned themselves in every colony and country on Earth,” said Heero.

“This organization wants the Gundam pilots and their allies out of the way,” said Heero in his usual monotone, “I've informed Lady Une about this because I think it's probable that they are going to invade the ESUN.”

If the pilots do not act quickly, peace may be lost forever.

April 3rd, A.C. 200

Near Quatre's Home Colony

“Here they come,” said Duo as he looked up from the console. Outside their freighter, a Preventer cruiser closed formation with them. A buzzer signaled an incoming transmission and Duo opened the line. The images of Wufei Chang and Sally Po, Preventers Dragon and Water respectively, appeared on the screen.

“Hey there you two. What's…” but Duo was cut off as he was shoved aside by Heero.

“Wufei, Sally, match our course and speed and come to a heading of 188 mark six and follow us.”

“What's all this about Heero?” demanded Wufei.

“Oh nothing,” piped up Alex from behind Heero, “We're just on the run from people who're tryin' to kill us, that's all.”

“What!?” yelled Sally and Wufei at the same time.

“Wufei, we don't have the time. Please just trust us. I'm sending you a file. Read it on the way,” said Heero, a note of urgency in his monotonous voice. Wufei and Sally looked at each other and then turned back to the screen.

“All right Heero, we'll go along with you… for now,” said Sally hesitantly.

“And this had better be good Heero,” growled Wufei.

“Oh it is. It is,” said Duo darkly. Wufei looked slightly taken aback by Duo's manner just as the screen went dark.

-Gundam Wing-

Later, Wufei and Sally came over to the Armadillo to talk with the rest of the pilots and the girls. Wufei waved a CD under Heero's nose.

“Is all this true Yuy? When exactly were you going to provide us with this information?! After we'd been taken over??! Huh??!!” he spat, his voice rising to a full shout. Wufei's face was becoming flushed and Sally stepped in before it came to blows.

“Heero, the information on this disk is frankly… disturbing. Do you realize the magnitude of what's about to happen? According to this in less than twelve hours the ESUN as we know it will end!” Heero fixed both of them with his Heero Yuy Death Glare.

“I know this. The fact of the matter is that I only discovered their activities six months ago. Their operation is well guarded. Very well guarded.”

“Coming from the Perfect Soldier, that's extremely high praise,” said Duo sarcastically. Hilde poked him in the ribs.

“I discovered their timetable only a week ago. That was only enough time to secure a secret base, find you pilots and the others, and secure the Gundams,” continued Heero.

“You could've just asked ya know. You are authorized,” said Alex, slightly annoyed.

“It was essential that I remove the Gundams in secret. These New Romefeller confederates have spies within the government and Preventers that would've tipped them off and they may have struck too soon,”

“What, they would've launched their invasion sooner?” blurted out Ami.

“No,” said Heero, his voice turning frosty, “they would have killed you all.”

-Gundam Wing-

Eventually they hammered out a rough plan of action. They would first head to Quatre's colony, retrieve him and Relena, then head to Heero's `secret base.' It turned out that Heero's secret base was an old asteroid listening post first used by the Earth Sphere Alliance and then by OZ. Later the White Fang colonial rebels had attacked it. It had been abandoned since then and not even the Preventers paid much attention to it.

“If Quatre can get us one of his large transports, preferably with boosters equipped, it will cut the travel time in half,” said Heero from the pilot's seat.

“Man, you plan for every crappin' thing don't you Heero?” yawned Alex from the co-pilot's seat. He hadn't slept well ever since the attack at the colony hours earlier. Heero glanced over at him.

“You don't survive with one plan, you use ten plans,” he said.

“This whole situation bugs the heck out of you, doesn't it?' he asked sympathetically. Heero turned and stared into the dark abyss of outer space.

“I promised to never kill again. I won't be able to keep that promise now,” he said dully. Alex leaned back and stared at the stars as well.

But I wonder for whose benefit you made that promise. Yours… or Relena's? Alex smiled to himself.

Relena's. Definitely. Oh man he's got it so bad and he doesn't even know it. Pity really.

-Gundam Wing-

They contacted Trowa who was currently living on his home L3 colony and told him everything. As soon as they were done explaining, Trowa grabbed Catherine and began to look for transport off-colony. They would meet up with the others on the way to the base. Alex wanted to contact Zechs Merquise and their old friend Lucrezia Noin on Mars, but the Armadillo certainly didn't have that kind of transmitting strength, and Heero was adamant that they not transmit along even Preventer channels. Quatre's private company comm. array would be better for that purpose.

“Aren't we all glad we have a rich boy for a friend? Say do you think he'll let us swim in that money pool of his?” joked Duo, the eternal smart aleck. The Armadillo continued chugging across the vastness of space.

-Gundam Wing-

On his home colony of L4-172120, Quatre Rababa Winner sat in his private office and was drinking tea with his good friend Vice Foreign Minister Relena Darlian. The room was large and well appointed but only so much so as suited Quatre's tastes. Contrary to popular belief Quatre didn't live like a real life Bruce Wayne, with a girl in every casino.

Quatre poured a second cup of tea for Relena then sat back down and picked up his own cup.

“You wanted to know how the others were doing?” he asked.

“Yes I would. I don't hear much from any of them…” she looked like she wanted to say more but stopped. Quatre smiled.

“I haven't heard from Heero in a while, but that's not unusual for him is it?' Relena seemed disappointed by this so Quatre pressed on, “Duo is still working in the junkyard on L2. He told me last week that he almost has enough money to buy Hilde a ring. I would have offered the money but you know Duo. He said he wanted to earn the money himself, which is probably what I would do…” Quatre realized that Relena's mouth was hanging open.

“Duo is going to propose to Hilde?! But that's wonderful! When and where will they…”

“Whoa, whoa! Before you start asking any of that, you should know that Duo's still wrestling with whether he wants to ask her or not.” Relena smiled thoughtfully.

“Let me guess, he's still wrestling over whether he's good enough to marry her. `How could a junk monger like me ever be good enough for a classy girl like her?'” said Relena, imitating Duo as best she could. Quatre laughed and was about to reply when his Gundam pilot's version of a spider sense went off. You know the `I have a bad feeling about this, said Luke Skywalker' Syndrome. Before Quatre could get up, a dozen black armored commandos burst through the double doors of the office. Before they had time to react, six of the commandos pinned them to the floor. The others set up a perimeter around the office. The speed of the attack rendered both Quatre and Relena speechless. Quatre soon found his voice.

“What's the meaning of this?!” demanded Quatre. But the only answer he got was a rifle butt to the face. The six commandos who were not guarding the prisoners had finished making sure that security wasn't about to intervene.

“We are secure sir. Do we dispose of them here, or take them?” asked one of the commandos, his voice muffled by his mask. The apparent commander of the commandos looked down at the two prisoners.

“We execute them in the name of the New Romefeller Foundation here. We can't afford to get them off the colony.” Quatre and Relena looked at each other with alarm. NEW Romefeller Foundation?! What was this all about?

Outside the office, two of Quatre's sisters, Iria and Inyri were coming to see their little brother. They were two of Quatre's twenty-eight sisters who were spread out over the Winner family's Natural Resource Satellites. Iria had treated Quatre for injuries when he had come floating into the colony in a damaged Leo. Inyri was in charge of security here at the main building. That was why when they approached Quatre's door, Inyri threw out an arm to stop Iria from going inside.

“What are you…” Iria began but her sister stopped her.

“Listen,” said Inyri as she pressed her ear to the door. They could hear muffled voices on the other side.

At the moment Relena was shouting up at her captors.

“What is the meaning of this?! What do you intend to do with us?!” she yelled, but the leader moved in front of her, jerked her head up by the hair, and slapped her.

“Still your tongue girl! We don't need security breathing down our necks. And don't worry, your troubles will be over soon enough, you peace-mongering whore.”

At that remark Quatre snarled and tried to throw off his captors, but they held him down, one of them hitting him in the face with the rifle again.

“Stop it! You're hurting him!” cried Relena, trying to rise to the aid of her friend but held down by her captors as well.

“Gag them both. Then let's kill them and get out of here,” ordered the commander.

On the other side of the doors, Iria and Inyri leaned back and looked at each other in horror.

“We can't let them kill Ms. Relena and our little brother,” whispered Iria fiercely.

“I know. They're trying to finish their objective and get out quick,” said Inyri, looking at the opposite wall in thought, “Our security teams will take to long to get up here and get in position… we'll have to do it ourselves.”

“What? Are you crazy?!” Iria whispered back.

“Look here's what I want you to do,” whispered Inyri. Iria looked incredulous, but nodded. Inyri then began to pick the lock.

The leader of the commandos had pulled out his sidearm and had fitted a silencer on it. He then pointed it at Quatre.

“The condemned may have a final statement,” he said sarcastically. A commando removed Quatre's gag.

“I don't know what your people's game is, but killing us will only serve to bring about your own destruction!” The commander laughed out loud.

“If you mean you're friends, the vaunted Gundam pilots, then I'm afraid you'll be disappointed. They are, as of this moment, probably dead.” Quatre's and Relena's eyes widened. Dead?! Impossible! Or was it?

“No…” muttered Quatre, staring at the floor.

“Oh yes,” continued the commander, “They're all dead. Duo Maxwell and Alex Munroe on the same L2 colony, Trowa Barton on L3, they're all gone and cannot interfere with the plans of the New…” just then the commander was interrupted as the doors opened and Iria Winner walked through the door.

“I thought you locked the door!' yelled the commander at one of the other commandos. Iria looked like she was about to scream.

“I did, but…” started the soldier, but the commander cut him off.

“Never mind! Kill them all!” yelled the commander. The commandos raised their silenced sub-machine guns and were about to shoot, when Iria ducked revealing Inyri hiding behind her. Inyri was an excellent pistol shot, having received several awards, and she used that skill now. With six shots she killed six of the commandos, but they were also quick on the draw as well. The nearest one ducked under two shots and tackled Inyri to the ground. Two others grabbed Iria and pinned her as well. The commander stalked over and slapped Inyri in the face.

“Witch! Your foolish stunt did nothing but put yours and your sisters' heads on the block as well!” He walked back over to Quatre's desk and leveled his pistol again.

“Now let's get this over with and get out of here. Those shots have probably alerted security.”

“Uh, Commander. Look out the window!” said one of the soldiers shakily. The commander snarled and turned around. Under his mask, his jaw dropped and his eyebrows took up permanent residence on his forehead. It was them.

From out of the `sky' of the colony, soaring down like avenging angels, came the Gundams. Wing ZERO, Deathscythe Hell, Heavyarms, Sandrock, Altron, and Phoenix. They hovered outside Quatre's office, but their weight meant they that they still descended albeit very slowly. As the intruders looked on in horror, the Gundams pointed their massive weapons, each capable of reducing the entire building to a pile of debris, at the office window. A voice emanated from the Wing ZERO.

“I'll say this once. Throw down your weapons and surrender yourselves. If you harm any of your hostages, you're dead.” Relena's heart leapt into her throat at the sound of the voice. She'd recognize it anywhere. Once again, Heero Yuy had come to her rescue.

None of the commandos moved. The appearance of the Gundams seemed to have rendered them speechless.

“You heard the man! Surrender!” came Duo's voice from the Deathscythe, leveling his monstrous beam scythe at the office window. The commandos still didn't move, but when Quatre tried to escape his guard's clutches, the commander moved over and put the business end of his pistol against Quatre's temple.

“You can do nothing to us Gundam pilots! All of us are prepared to die for our cause. Are you sure that your friends are ready to die? Do you think that you could possibly kill us and NOT harm your friends with those weapons?!”

“You're right,” said Heero, lowering ZERO's buster rifle. This caught the commandos off guard, the commander lowering his silenced pistol away from Quatre and Relena. That was all the pilots needed. Without warning Altron's right Dragon Fang activated and shot forward, burying itself under Quatre's window. The impact shock knocked everyone off their feet inside the office. As soon as she was free, and the building stopped shaking, Inyri sprang into action. She took down three of the remaining six commandos, but the lieutenant threw out an arm and clotheslined her . Iria jumped up and grabbed the lieutenant from behind. The commander roared and picked up a machine gun and pointed it at the struggling Winner sisters. Quatre leapt forward, while Relena slapped her captor so hard he fell flat on his butt.

“Noooo!!” screamed Quatre, but he wasn't close enough to knocked the gun away. There was a flash, a clang, and the machine gun dropped to the ground, followed by the commander. It was Wufei. During the ensuing chaos, Wufei had jumped up onto the arm of his Gundam and ran along it to the office window. Wufei didn't waste anymore time and used his katana and his martial arts skills to disarm and disable each of the remaining commandos.

“Yeah! Go Wufei! You rock!” came Duo's voice from Deathscythe's speaker. As Quatre helped Inyri back to her feet, Relena suddenly ran to the edge of the window, and looked down at the Gundams below on the ground.

“Heero! You could come to see me when my life's not in peril!”

There wasn't a mischeivieous grin on anybody.

-Gundam Wing-

Once the mess in the office had been cleaned up, Heero immediately put the rest of his plan into action. Wufei and Sally took Quatre and Relena aside to explain what was happening as Heero, Duo, and Alex attempted to contact Zechs and Noin on Mars. For several minutes there was nothing but static, then the face of former OZ and Sanc Kingdom officer Lucrezia Noin appeared on the screen.

“Heero! And Duo! AND Alex! This is certainly a surprise! To what do we owe the honor?” said Noin. Before Duo or Alex could say anything, Heero cut in.

“Noin is Zechs there?” Noin frowned.

“Milliardo is upstairs, I'll signal him. What do you need to talk to him for?”

“We'll tell you when he gets here.”

A long silence followed. Whatever Zechs/Milliardo was up to sure was taking a lot of time. Never one for uncomfortable silences, Duo spoke up.

“So have you and Zechs… uh Milliardo or whatever finally tied the knot?” Noin chuckled softly.

“You've thought we would've by now, but the truth is that even after nearly three and a half years they've been keeping us far too busy with this stupid terraforming project to ever have a moment to ourselves.”

“You know that's not true Noin. You're just afraid of commitment,” said a voice from behind Noin. There was the sound of a chair being rolled over and then the face that had been jointly know as Zechs Marquise, Milliardo Peacecraft and Preventer Wind was next to Noin's on the screen.

“Heero,” he said.

“Zechs,” said Heero, just as neutrally. The exchange wasn't hostile, merely one old foe greeting another after a long time.

“What do you need? This doesn't have to do with Relena does it?” asked Milliardo.

“Partly,” replied Heero, “I'm uploading a file to you. It'll probably take a few minutes because of the distance. Read it and then catch the next interplanetary transport off of Mars and go to the coordinates provided. We already have the Tallgeese so don't worry about that.”

“The Tallgeese?!” said Noin and Milliardo together.

“What do you need the Tallgeese for Heero? What's happened?” demanded Milliardo, now visibly worried.

“No time to explain guys,” broke in Alex, “Just read what we've sent you and then get here as fast as possible.”

“Before you go,” said Noin, worry and sadness etched on every line of her face,” please tell us… Is it another rebellion? Is the ESUN under threat again?”

The three Gundam pilots looked at each other and then Hero broke the bad news.

“Yes, it is.” And with that, he terminated the connection.

-Gundam Wing-

When the Gundams were all safely tucked away aboard the Armadillo, the pilots and company blasted off from the colony, towards Heero's rendezvous point.