Zeta Gundam Fan Fiction ❯ Harbinger of Darkness ❯ History in the Making ( Chapter 1 )

29 May 0085

"The Fifth Convening of the Diet of the Republic of Zeon will now come to order." Chancellor Hans Fokker rapped the gavel on his podium.

Along with the other members of the Diet, Representative Linna Yamazaki stood to clap as well. This was her second term as the representative of the Nirai-Kanai colony but the seat had been held by her father, the eminent Isoroku Yamazaki, for the past three years. Linna had almost hated having to carry on the position for the man she had come to despise so much, but over time, the sense of being able to actually accomplish change through political manoeuvrings had grown on her, and she had come to cherish her seat.

Today, though, she had something more important on her mind than simply being a "Conscience of the Diet". She remained standing after the rest of the assembled representative had returned to their seats.

Chancellor Fokker recognised her to speak.

"Assembled representatives of this distinguished Diet," Linna began, "I wish to speak to you on the growing number of terrorist activities taking place in the name of the now defunct Duchy of Zeon."

Another delegate stood. "The chair recognises representative O'Day from Aberdeen colony," Fokker said, his voice a dry monotone.

Marcus O'Day was Linna's senior by seven years, and had served on the Diet since its inception five years ago and the Reichstag of the Duchy four years before that. He did have much more experience in politics than she did, but that didn't make him any less of a pompous asshole.

"It is the belief of this Representative" he began, "that this issue is outside of the jurisdiction of the assembled Diet and thus is of no pertinence to the discussions that need to be held. It is further held that this body should revert to the order of passage of bills so as to not necessitate emergency sessions as we had to have last year."

That last comment brought about several ripples of laughter, but Chancellor Fokker remained stolid. "Your beliefs are to be taken into account Representative, yet given the tarnishing nature of these repeated attacks on the image of this Sovereign State, and the subsequent sanctions that the Federation may take because of this, the Chair sees fit to overturn your request. Ms. Yamazaki, you have the floor."

`He sided with me?' Linna thought hoping she did not look as surprised as she felt. "Ah, yes sir," she nodded. "In essence, you said all that I wished to say, but, the one thing that you did not touch on was the terrorist bombing of the restaurant in Side One. This is but the latest in a string of Terrorist attacks that began with the catastrophe brought on by the Delaz Fleet. We must enforce a policy stating that there are no ties between our Republic and these Terrorist groups supposedly acting on our behalf!"

Another representative stood and was recognised. "True that most of the attacks are carried on under the flag of the old Duchy, but what of the attacks that go on in the name of the dissidents at Axis?"

That got the entire Diet hall chattering. Axis was the biggest thorn in the side of the Republic because that faction harboured more than half of the military weapons and soldiers of the Duchy. Further, the soldiers and politicians there did not recognise the new Republic as their legitimate government. They steadfastly maintained a zealous anti-Federation spirit and funds from their economy had been linked on more than one occasion to terrorists in the colonies.

"Even if it is Axis that is claiming more and more of the terrorist actions," O'Day began, "how can we do anything about it? It isn't as though we have enough troops to police them, and even if we did, where in the budget is there room to send a fleet to shuttle them all the way out to the asteroid belt?"

The members of the delegation, even some who were not of O'Day's faction, nodded in silent assent after he had finished speaking. Linna's blood boiled at the sight of their complacency, though she knew he had a point. Even though the Federation had not imposed reparations after The War, the economy of the Republic was still not what it should be. That, and the military force they had been retain after signing the Armistice was virtually nonexistent. Further, while it could barely even be considered a self-defense force, the Federation insisted on sending in Weapons Inspectors to make sure that they didn't try anything.

"But we just can't sit on our hands while these terrorist continue to perpetrate these heinous acts and drag our name through the mud!" Linna said after gathering her thoughts. "We've seen what the Titans have done to counter the Revolutionary sentiment in the colonies, already. Do we want the brunt of their force coming down on us? If we cannot even keep our own forces at Axis under control how could we possibly defeat the combined might of both the Titans and the Federation Regulars?"

More chattering followed her brief oration. Such was the commotion she had produced, that Chancellor Fokker had to rap the gavel several times before order was restored.

"Representative Yamazaki, you have put forth a very clear point," he said, once the delegation had quieted down, "but you must see the position we are in. Our hands are tied; we have no effective way of combating the threat posed either by our own rebellious forces or by the threats of the Titans and Federation. Yet, everyone should endeavour to keep this point in mind though, as we go about Session this year. Perhaps a policy of rearmament may be the best way, but it would have to be cleared in bilateral discussion with the Federation.

"Now, as it is already getting late in the day, we shall revert to the order of the passage of bills."

The remainder of the day's discussion was little more than legislative tedium. Policies for the Republic were lined out and several bills were passed, but little else was accomplished. At 1700 when Linna was finally set free, she staggered back to her flat with a strong sentiment of helplessness and justice un-served.

She collapsed onto her couch, not bothering to change out of her formal, business attire just yet. After a few moments of simply sitting and reflecting, she grabbed the remote and clicked on her televisor screen. Perhaps watching some frivolous sitcom would help calm her nerves. Maybe a movie would do the trick too; that recently released adaptation of the sci-fi book about the five Gundams was supposed to be cleaning up at the box office, both within the Federation and in the Republic.

Alas, though, as the screen flickered to life the sound of the state news network began to fill the room. And what else would be the top news story but the "demands for an end to terrorism issued in the Diet!"

Disgusted, Linna turned of the screen and got to working on dinner. Doing so allowed her a return to her musings as she mechanically reached for the Cup of Ramen and set a kettle to boil.

One would have expected that being a representative would have been a position of extravagant pay and entail a life of luxury. Of course, one would be wrong for thinking so; representatives to the Diet were as poor as anyone else in the Post-Duchy age. The country was still recovering from the harsh blows dealt to its population and industry during the war, and again with the restrictions and sanctions brought on by the backlash of the Revolt of '83. It had been half a decade of continued national reconstruction but it would still be a long time before taxpayers' money started lining the pockets of the politicians again.

Oh there were some who still lived in mansions and drove the expensive motorcars-Marcus O'Day quickly sprung to mind-but they had built their fortunes in the good times, under the "Old Boy" system so popular under Duke Degin and his successors.

Linna's father had been a part of this elite fraternity, but since he had lost most of his assets when he had declared bankruptcy and resigned in '84, all he could bequeath to his darling daughter was a position, and nothing more. Thus, Linna resided in the shady apartment and ate Ramen while across town, O'Day and the other lingering members of the Old Regime got massages and dined on caviar.

"What kind of system is this?" Linna wondered as she sat at the counter with her head resting on her arms.

This was so different to the life she had been used to before the War. Her family had been suburban gentry living in the peripheral colony of Nirai-Kanai back then, and adamant supporters of the Zabi regime.

Adamant, but not so much so as to be willing to allow their only daughter to serve in the armed forces when her draft number was called.

Her father had tried all the political manoeuvrings and kickbacks he could to try and prevent Linna from having to serve, but the attempts all failed. Surprisingly, this was not because of any lack of effort on his behalf, but because Linna really did want to go. She was tired of always being the stereotypical rich girl who never had to work for anything; she wanted a chance to learn discipline, to become independent.

Unfortunately, she got far more than she had bargained for.

While serving in the elite Dark Phoenix Mobile Suit Assault Squadron, headed by the late Delaz Fleet martyr, Anavel Gato, Linna had suffered a severe case of "shell-shock". In a sortie against Federation GMs, she had been singled out and had almost been forced to self-detonate her Zaku in a sort of latter-day kamikaze attack. Coming so close to her own death had left a permanent scar on her psyche.

Linna had been discharged after the incident and returned to face her father. He was still angry at her for disobeying him and even more so when he learned of the reasoning behind her discharge. She spent several months under intense psychoanalysis, and was ultimately able to make a recovery of sorts.

She poked the Ramen with her chopsticks, suddenly not as hungry as she had first believed.

After the chaos of the Rebellion of '83, her father had stepped down from his position in the former Reichstag. Most of the older representatives did the same; it was an effort to convince the Federation that there was no support for the Old Days in the new Republic. Also, at this point, he and Linna had sat down and had a serious heart to heart. Tears were shed and apologies exchanged, and ultimately, it was agreed that Linna, with a Masters in Political Science, would serve as the representative for Nirai-Kanai, and attempt to follow in her father's footsteps after all.

The jingling of the telephone brought her back to reality. She picked up a wad of noodles and stuffed it in her mouth as she reached for the receiver.

"Hello, this is Linna," she said as she waited for the static to clear.

"Howdy fellow representative!" It was her friend, Paige Rhome, a bubbly young delegate from the New Houston colony.

"Hi, Paige," Linna brightened slightly. Paige was a buxom, twenty-nine year old blonde who could turn the head of even the most stoic politician when she walked by in one of her designer business suits. Not only was she good looking, but she had that infectious charm that all those of American descent seemed to have been blessed with.

Unlike Linna, who had come about her position as delegate in the old hereditary fashion, Paige had been elected democratically, as was becoming more and more popular throughout the Republic.

"That was some mighty fine speaking you did today," Paige complimented, "You might not've had the entire Diet on your side but you sure as hell got most everybody all hot and bothered about it. Good thing too; stuff like this has been going on for way too long, and I for one don't take kindly to see our flag being drug through the mud like that. Too bad O'Day didn't see it that way, huh?"

"I have given up on trying to reason with that dinosaur," Linna sighed. "With him you never would have known the war was over. Hell, for all we know he may even be financing the terrorists! Wouldn't surprise me one bit."

Paige laughed. "A dinosaur! That's about the way he looks too: an old crusty Tyrannosaurus Rex. God, I wish we could make his ass extinct."

"Half of the Diet would certainly say `aye' to that." Linna took another bite of her noodles. "Think we'll have to go into emergency session this year?"

"I hope not, but knowing how much time we waste in parliamentary procedure, that may be the case. If I hear `I rise to speak in favour of this bill' one more mother fuckin' time, I swear to God I'm gonna kill somebody in there! Why is it necessary to go through all that high-fallutin' horse-shit just to make a point? I mean, damn! This is the Universal Century for Chrissakes; leave all that political pageantry back in the Last Era where it belonged. The Feddies certainly have, and look where they were! Riding High and Mighty as the supreme hegemony." Like most of the newer generation representatives, she also found the system stuffy and archaic.

Linna shrugged. "It's the way its always been done. If you think that anything some of us can say will change that…"

"I guess that's why they only let older people do the job until a few years ago. Hey, on another note, you wanna go with me to get something to eat tonight?"

"Can't you see that I'm eating now?"

"Oh, is that what you were doing? I couldn't tell; my screen is on the fritz." She banged the side of the monitor a few times until some of the static cleared. "That's better, now I can see. You fiddlin' with them damn sticks again? Why don't you just use a fork?"

"Sayonara, Paige-chan," Linna said tightly. That was a running joke they had; at least Paige thought it was a joke. Linna thought it was just stupid.

"Wait! Tomorrow then?"

"Fine! Provided nothing catastrophic happens at work, tomorrow. Now good-bye."

25 June 0085

Dr. Michelle Bannock looked at the picture on her desk and sighed audibly. The date on the back (not that you could see the back; it was in a frame) said 13 July 0064, and in the background, the famed White Cliffs of Dover were plainly visible. In the foreground stood a waif-like brunette girl dressed in a frilly white and pink outfit that was a universal requirement of parents that their children wear in such photographs. She was also wearing a broad-brimmed hat with a flower on the side that she clutched tightly to her head by hugging it down with both arms.

The most noticeable thing about the photograph, to Michelle though, was not the Cliffs, or the dress, or the hat. It was the innocent and pure smile that lit up the face of the girl like so many rays of sunshine. A smile that all children wear before they grow up and have to face the ugly hardships of the dreaded Real World. A smile that said, "no matter what happens, I'll always give it my best!"

Seeing her reflection in the glass of the frame, Michelle tried to smile like that. She looked from the reflection to the picture and back again several times before ultimately grabbing the frame and setting it face down on her desk.

The child-like smile of her youth would never again return to her.

It was impossible. Over the past six years she had seen too much, experienced too much, cried too much to ever be able to be truly happy again. Not like that little girl in the picture.

"Yo, Shelly!" one of her co-workers stuck his head in the door, "Don't forget you got that two o'clock this afternoon. Medical Records say they've already sent up the folders."

"Thanks," she said, looking up quickly. "Yes, I have them."

"Cool," he waved as he shut the door to her office.

Work: the eternal drudgery of a salary-earner. Michelle already had a mountain of paperwork on her desk and it clearly was not going to start getting smaller any sooner at this rate.

She couldn't help it though. Her thoughts and musings had far too strong a grip on her for her to concentrate on the task at hand.

Still, she knew she had to get started again soon. She had been very fortunate to land this job, given her somewhat less that perfect record of service in the Federation Medical Corps.

Michelle shook her head. No, it was best not to remember that. Best to not even think about it at all. That was the reason she could no longer smile, she was certain.

The old wound in her leg began to throb.

`No!'

She grabbed the first paper in reach and began working furiously at it, filling in comments and prescription data at nigh breakneck pace.

`Why did you do it Michelle?' a voice in her head kept repeating. `Why?'

`No, I won't think about it, I won't!'

Back and forth she vacillated, filling out one paper after another with hardly so much as a conscious thought.

`Why?'

"Stop it!" she shouted aloud, her hands rushing up to cover her face.

"What's going on in here?" Her partner Sayoko Nanamori asked, as she burst into her office. "What's wrong Shelly?"

Composure found her almost instantly, and she suddenly felt very foolish. "Nothing, Sayoko, it's nothing. I'm fine."

"Are you certain?" a slight tinge of suspicion ran through her voice and she cocked an eyebrow. "This is the third such outburst this week. Maybe you should see about taking a break?"

"No, no, I'm quite all right, I assure you. Just a little overwhelmed by all this paperwork." She stole a quick glance at the pile in the "Out" box, for the first time consciously aware of the fact that she had done so many forms already.

"It is almost a bit excessive, isn't it?" her fellow doctor asked patting the pile as she walked around beside the desk towards the large window behind. After pulling back the blinds, a flood of light washed over the room's interior.

"Beautiful Victoria Harbour," she said sarcastically, and then, "You have a wonderful view here, Shelly. You can see the entire skyline."

The Hong Kong Memorial Hospital sat on the side of the mountain range that divided the main island in half, not far from The Peak, a tourists trap that had been around since the Last Era. Its location afforded a spectacular view of the entire city.

"Newscast says a Typhoon's coming through later on this week," Sayoko said, wistfully, "it's definitely summer."

"I'm really sorry Dr. Nanamori," Michelle hung her head. "I really need this job, but it's a lot of stress, and I don't have time or money enough to go on a holiday."

"Just try to relax. I know about your situation and I understand completely. Given what you've been through, I can see that you would be a little on edge at times."

"I'll try not to let it happen again."

"I know you will. But now, I believe that you have some appointments to take care of?"

Michelle glanced at her watch and gasped. "Two already? Where did the time go?" She picked up her clipboard and put on her labcoat and headed for the door.

Sayoko followed her into the hall, but turned down a different corridor leaving her to tend to her patients.

`Oh well,' Michelle thought, `at least she wasn't mad. Maybe I can get my mind out of the past if I focus on helping others.'

She could hope anyway.

(same date)

`Damn, dirty subway,' Dr. Sayoko Nanamori thought as she boarded one of Hong Kong's illustrious subterranean trains. She had to take one to get down to the even dirtier harbour to get on a still dirtier ferry to get to the clinic, which, by mercy of God, was actually clean.

Still, all this beat the hell out of taking a cab. When she first started working at the clinic, she had tried that once and barely lived to learn not to try it again. The drivers were, as a rule, psychotic speed-demons. Whoever was in charge of giving such people licences should be taken out a shot for contributing to the endangerment of the people of the Federation.

Fifteen minutes later found her at the front entrance to the clinic getting a retinal-scan and hand analysis. After passing the first check-point and giving a cursory nod to the guard, she arrived at the second set of doors. At this one, she was required to give a voice sample. "Nanamori Sayoko," she spoke into the small microphone. As the computer matched the voice fluctuations, the massive steel doors slid slowly open.

Such security was necessary. The people in this clinic were of paramount importance to the security of the Federation, and the information gleaned from them was being incorporated in weapons research.

They were Newtypes.

After the fall of the Duchy of Zeon in U.C. 0080, all of the research that their scientists had already compiled on Newtypes was confiscated by occupation forces for their Federation counterparts to continue and perfect. The result was the creation of the Newtype Labs where Sayoko was employed.

She smiled at another guard and continued down the sterile, white hallway, ultimately stopping at room 372. She knocked softly, and waited for a response. Making sure the patients were happy was a large part of her duties; no telling what an enraged ESPer was capable of, and no one particularly wanted to find out.

This patient was a teenage boy, and privacy was his highest concern, so she never entered without first making sure it was okay with him.

"Come in," came a voice from within.

Sayoko opened the door and found patient 056, Shinji Ikari, lying supine on his bed with his walkman blaring in his ears.

"Dr. Nanamori," he nodded, pulling the phones from his ears. "What's on the agenda today?"

"You're the psychic," she smiled at him, "you tell me."

Shinji looked thoughtful for a moment. Then, "Check-up and questioning. Honestly, doctor, is this really necessary again? This is all we do!"

She spoke earnestly, taking a seat on the small stool to his bedside, "I know you hate it, but it's what we have to do. I need to get more data on what makes you tick so we can apply it in the future."

"So you can make more weapons," he grumbled, taking off his shirt.

"I won't tell you you're wrong-open your mouth-yet, would you rather we have the weapons to defend ourselves, or be crushed by another enemy?" She said while taking his temperature.

"I'd rather there were no wars at all." He spoke around the thermometer with the confidence and naïveté that all fourteen-year-old boys have.

"If only it were so easy. Here, let me put the Halo on," she pulled the thermometer from his lips and reached for the round metal ring to slip onto his head. The Halo monitored his brainwaves while at the same time dampening his telekinetic abilities (he didn't know about the latter function). "Now. Have you had any interesting or scary dreams recently?"

"No, not really. Newtype activity's been on the downswing for a while."

"Oh, really?" she asked suspiciously.

"Yeah. See? I can barely levitate your pen anymore." With that he commenced to lift the pen from the pocket of her lab coat with what seemed an exceptionally large amount of mental strain.

"Shinji," Sayoko said tightly as she snatched the pen from the air. "You're not getting out of here anytime soon, so just drop the act."

"Dammit, doctor! Why are you holding me prisoner here? And worse yet, using data from my mind to help you make things to kill people with?" Shinji cried.

"Calm down, Shinji," she did her best to smile, "you've got to be reasonable. You know that's not all we're doing; a lot of helpful things are coming from this research too."

"But does that justify your holding me here in this manner?" he asked, bitterly.

Sayoko sighed and stood before him, putting her hands on his shoulders. "Look, Shinji, I'm really sorry about all this, I really am, but you have to look at it from the point of view of the Federation as a whole. Is it worth this slight sacrifice on your behalf if it can help billions?"

He grit his teeth and clenched his fists but did not utter another outburst. Under his breath though, he muttered, "Wish Dr. Bannock gave me check-ups instead."

"What was that?" Sayoko asked.

"Nothing, nothing!" Shinji said quickly. "It wasn't anything! What's the next thing you need me to do Dr. Nanamori?"

"Is that really necessary, Shinji?" Sayoko asked bluntly, crossing her arms. "You know I know what you said."

He laughed stupidly and waxed crimson.

"Were you spying on Michelle today, Shinji?" she asked.

"N-no," he stuttered. "What would make you think that?" his voice cracked.

"Shinji, you can't probe people like that, especially not emotionally scarred people like her! That's not right."

"I know that!" He sounded offended, "But you don't know what it's like in here alone every day. I just wanted some human interaction, and of all the people in Hong Kong, she is the only one who…" he couldn't finish.

"You think of her as a kindred spirit?" Sayoko smiled at that, and took a seat on the stool again.

"Well, something like that," his voice cracked.

"So you know about her past, huh? About her relationship with that noncom, and the treason charges?"

"It wasn't treason!" he said, quickly. "She only contacted that Zeon pilot because she was in a fit of emotion. Do you know that she cried after she made that phone call?"

Sayoko nodded, knowingly. "That sounds like her. It's only too bad that she was convicted and sent to that penitentiary on Third Luna. I'm sure she was a different person before that."

"She was," Shinji said, gravely, "she smiled more."

In the silence that ensued, an idea began to form in Sayoko's mind. "Say, Shinji," she said, her voice sweet, "How would you like to meet Dr. Bannock?"

"Really?" another voice-crack.

"Yeah. She could use a friend now, and I get the impression that you might like to meet with her too. What do you say?"

He nodded vigorously.

She smiled. "The only thing though, is that you have to co-operate with me for the next few weeks while I get the paperwork processed, okay?"

"A couple of weeks?" Shinji frowned, "it'll take that long? No, of course it will. Those slackers down in records and regs are going to leave it on their desk for a week, letting it get buried under other papers, and then, stained with coffee and wrinkled, they'll hand it to their supervisor. He'll look at it and consider it for fifteen minutes and then forward it to his supervisor. By the time it gets back to you, it'll probably be two weeks and four days. It'll be affirmative though." He smiled "I can't wait, doctor!"

She began jotting down notes on her clipboard, and said without looking up, "and no more spying until then. She's under enough stress with paperwork at her office to need to be harangued by a little psychic Romeo."

He laughed sheepishly, but nodded in assent.

She put down her pen and looked up. "Now, can we continue with the exam?"

30 July 0085

Henry Sterling looked simultaneously resplendent and formidable in his Axis officer's uniform. His dour personality only served to intensify the image.

"Aren't you going to let me in, Sister?" he asked Naomi from the other side of the threshold. "I used to live here too you know."

"Henry," she began, simultaneously relieved that he was still alive, and terrified that he had returned to her. "Please," she said at last, standing aside to allow him to enter, "forgive my rudeness."

"Thank you, Naomi," he stepped in with deliberate and militant motions. Sitting on the couch, he asked, "How have you been?"

She swallowed hard. "F-fine, thank you. I've been working as a waitress at Pompeii down on the corner." She didn't mention that she had also filled out an application for Lady Iboshi's and was actually preparing to start work there the night one of his terrorist cohorts blew it to hell and gone. She shrugged and tried to act casual as she continued. "It's not great pay, but I can still make rent and buy groceries. How about you though? You made officer?"

Henry smiled, but even the gesture of amiability could not light his face. "That's right. Ensign in the Newtype corps."

"You…didn't use those powers again…did you?" fear was evident in her voice, regardless of her attempt to cover it.

"Do I frighten you, Sister?" he laughed. "Do you fear what sort of monster your brother has become?"

"Please, Henry," she pleaded. "I'm…I'm worried about you. You haven't been the same since that night-"

"Oh, how right you are, Naomi, how right you are." He stood and walked over to her. "Anything is possible now. I used to think change, that fighting the system of oppression of the Federation, was but a dream. That all I could do was sit on the sidelines and write a few treaties on the corruption and hope that the masses would see. Now…"

He glanced down at his left hand. The appendage twitched, seemingly of its own accord. "Well, you've seen the effect of these powers firsthand. You probably know better than anyone else what I am capable of."

"I just don't want you to be hurt," she said, looking away from his piercing gaze. "I don't want the Titans to catch you."

"Do you really think they could?" Henry said around another haughty laugh. "Do you think they could possibly stand against me? Against the might of a god?"

"They'll catch you if you keep thinking like that. If you get arrogant, if you get careless, they'll catch you and put you in front of a firing squad."

"So…" he could barely restrain an ironic laugh, "you still care about me after all, eh? You do love me, your Brother, the monster?"

"I love the man you used to be, not the monster you have become."

"Well, that's fine just the same." He sat back down at the table.

With a wave of his hand, he opened the cabinet and levitated the bottle of Vodka towards his outstretched palm. "A shot, Naomi?" he asked.

"No, thank you," she shook her head and remained standing.

"Suit yourself," he shrugged and poured himself a hit. After draining the shot-glass he had also brought over by telekinesis, he looked at her nonchalantly. "You may be interested in moving sometime soon. You should at least get to another colony, if you do not wish to come to Axis."

"Why?" she crossed her arms, hoping to give the affectation of stubborn confidence. "I happen to like it here regardless of what you may think about it."

"Though I am flattered that you remember the low esteem in which I hold this slum, I was speaking more out of concern for your personal well-being, rather than ideological condescension." He knocked back another shot.

"What do you mean?"

"I mean, that if you have any sort of affinity for continued existence on this mortal plane, you'll get the hell off this colony, and get as far away from it as you can.

"In less than eight hours, there will be massive riots throughout the colony expressing the anti-Federation sentiment that burns so fervently here. The event will rapidly spin out of control and the Titans will be called in to suppress the revolt. And since you have obviously heard the rumours about their methods of silencing dissent…"

Naomi went white. "They're going to kill everyone in the colony, aren't they? They'll wipe out all three million of us to quiet the mouths that would speak against them."

"Excellent deduction, Sister," Henry nodded casually. "Indeed, it is as you say. Now, given this unfortunate fate that awaits your beloved '30 Bunch', do you still wish to stay here, or will you follow your younger brother's advice and get out while you still can?"

The cold manner in which he spoke of the coming mass murder chilled Naomi to the bone. "We need to warn the other citizens, though!" she protested, loudly, as she momentarily was lost in the heat of her emotions. "We can still tell them to stop!"

Henry gave her a queer look. "Sister, why would I want to stop what I had a hand in orchestrating?"

The realisation didn't so much dawn on her as it struck her like a freight train. "My God," she whispered, "You're doing this on purpose! You're setting them up!"

"Again, marvellous uptake, Sister. You really are on a roll this evening."

"But…but…" she could only sputter.

"Do you not see the necessity of this sacrifice?" Henry had anticipated what she was thinking. "If the Titans commit this act of nigh-genocidal mass-execution, it will cause the various anti-Federation factions that exist to congeal and coalesce into a single entity. One with the strength and political pull to actually make a stand against the might of the Titans!"

"But think of the lives that will be lost!" Naomi returned, finally able to speak again. "Think of the innocents that will have to pay the price for this `Revolution' of yours to start? What of the children that will perish? What of the elderly? The Veterans? Are they all so expendable to you as to allow this devastation to proceed?"

"Naomi, you would do well to remember to whom you are speaking," Henry's tone went low and dangerous. "You would mock the decisions of a Newtype? Of a god? You presume to tell me that I have not weighed and re-weighed the costs and benefits of this action? This sacrifice is necessary and so it must be made."

"I cannot believe my own brother would say such a thing!" she cried. "Get out of my home! Demon! Beast! Do not darken the steps of this flat again!"

"How dare you speak to me thusly?" he stood with a start and stabbed a finger in her direction. "I could kill you this very instant, right where you stand. I could freeze your lungs, crush your heart, melt your brain-and no one would be the wiser. No one would care. You do not understand the times we are living in, Naomi. You do not-no, you will not-see the corruption oozing forth from the very walls that hold this flat together."

"That may be, Henry, but at least I can see the difference in value between battling corruption and preservation of human life!" She was beyond terrified to speak to him thusly for she knew that every threat he'd made was true, but she was emboldened by the belief that right was on her side.

"Oh?" he sneered. "My Sister the humanitarian. Very well then, Naomi, enlighten me. Tell me the point of living if each new day only brings nothing but more destitution and each evening the promise of naught but further hunger and poverty."

"I…well…" She was dumbstruck.

"Exactly."

"Damn you!" she exploded, "Leave my flat at once! Go back to playing soldier and leave me and the people of this colony alone!"

He sighed, and looked to the window. "I had hoped it would not come to this, Sister, I really had." He spoke without looking at her, "but it seems as though you leave me no choice."

With that, he mentally lifted the bottle of vodka and smashed it over her head before she even had a chance to cry out. Naomi slumped to the floor with a dull thud.

"Naomi, Naomi," he sighed as he lifted her crumpled form in his arms. "The peace that you so adamantly support is but a dream. The war is not over yet, and the time has come for us to take up arms again. We must make a stand for the freedom which is rightfully ours."

He carried her to the door. "Someone with your strength of character will be a welcome addition to the forces of Axis…"