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"Alternative Directions: Options "Written By: Karina Disclaimer: I don't own Gundam Wing or the lovely
boys and their girls in the series. Wish I did. Please don't sue me.
I haven't even got a brass razoo to give you. Rating: Deffinately PG in Australia, at the moment,
but probably safer to say R for later chapters. Not sure about international
ratings Warnings: It will be 6x2, even though it does
not start out that way. After all, Zechs and Duo never met in Gundam
Wing and only spoke briefly over a com line in Endless Waltz. I've
tried to keep them in character as I saw them in the series. A bit
of language creeping in under stressful conditions. Pairings: eventual 6x2, past 2xH, 2+H,6x9, 1+R
Summary: Directions is set post Endless Waltz
and roughly 2 years have passed. Zechs and Noin are on Mars and Duo,
after spending some time with Hilde in a relationship leaves L2 to
join Preventers. Hilde was not happy about his decision. I guess enough
said. Here t'is, and I hope you like it. This is also AU for the standard
setting, as well as the series and Endless Waltz. Spoilers: Gundam Wing Series and Endless Waltz Many thanks to Dulin for volunteering to beta this. //... // thoughts
"Alternative Directions: Options"
Chapter 17
Sanc Sanc Palace Time: 17:55 Heero Heero settled at the security consol running an experienced eye over the bank of monitors and the readouts on the multiple of screens spread before him. He checked the daily reports, noting who had come and gone and noted that two listening devices had been removed from Relena's study and the primary conference room. It was a fairly common occurrence when talks were scheduled to take place on sensitive matters. Tomorrow Relena would be hosting the second round of talks with the trade delegations from L3 and L4. They would run a sweep of the palace again before the delegates arrived. He was far from happy with the events of the day. Not only had the interview in Luxembourg been a total waste of time, but he had returned to find Duo gone. Word had been left with the agents at the palace that Duo had departed for L2 on family matters. A quick check of his email and he found the coded note Duo had sent. ~/ Check with Earth/~, had been the code. Nothing more. Check with Earth, hidden in the message that he was off to the L2 cluster to see his son. So it was not so straight forward. Family matters was not the only reason the braided pilot had taken to his heels with no warning. He wished Duo had waited for him to return, so that they could talk. They had not had a chance to adequately discuss this business with Romefeller. They had not had the chance to plan their best options for finding out just what was really going on. He was not pleased with the day at all. Things seemed to be spiraling out of control, not that they had been under control at all, in the first place. He had a few hours before he saw Earth. She was to attend a small dinner party at the palace this evening and he planned on having a very private interview with her before she departed. He needed answers to too many questions. Answers there was no guarantee that Lady Une would, or could, provide. That something would have to be done concerning the ESUN's blackmail of Relena was not in doubt, but as to what that something was, well-that was another matter entirely. For Relena to work properly as Vice Foreign Minister, to maintain the fragile peace that they so far had enjoyed and to further it, they needed her rested, happy and able to function with a clear head. That certainly was not the case at this present time. For now, the monitors were all clear, the message banks quiet and he was not on duty in either the dining hall or the foyer. That gave him the opportunity to browse a little amid the files that Duo had found. I gave him the chance to begin the investigation and to consider the implications of Romefeller being active. Romefeller. Relena was right, he decided. A very large part of the World Council was made up of former Romefeller patrons. They went by a different name now, but they all had belonged to that organization. Were they likely still to belong to it and how many of them knew about these hidden files? Was it general knowledge amid the nobility of so many countries of the world that their blood lines had been controlled for tens of generations in some cases, and WHO controlled this element of Romefeller? Just how many ESUN Councilors still belonged to Romefeller? What was Romefeller's objective? There had to be an objective in this type of selective breeding. Genetic manipulation had been practiced by controlling who married whom in the nobility for a couple of thousand years, now. He had the evidence on disk. More precise genetic manipulation had been practiced since the mid twentieth century. Here it was in what would equate to the twenty third century by the old reckoning and Romefeller was still playing god. Choosing the traits to be passed on in selected families. Why? He had a long list of questions. It was time to see if he could come up with answers. Romefeller had been breeding the nobility for hundreds of years, but more recently they had shown their hand in other breeding programs. The nobility were still being controlled for the Stud Book, but there was also those children who were the results of the laboratories. Children such as himself. He had been designed and bred to be a Space Explorer. The children rescued a few months ago from a laboratory controlled by Romefeller were designed to be soldiers. Perfect Soldiers. There was so much that needed investigation. Just where did he start. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Relena Relena ran a light, caressing finger over the discoloured picture in it's battered, stained frame. She had found the picture soon after returning to Sanc from her flight to the Antarctic. Before that fateful flight she had not known that she had had a brother. While deep in thought about the revelation that she was not an only child, she had found herself wandering in the ruined halls of the original Palace of Sanc. Noin had not told her when they had worked together after their first meeting of her brother. Noin had brought her to Sanc and helped her settle herself in as the returned, long lost Princess, never once even hinting that she was not the only heir to the Peacecraft Monarchy. The picture was stained by time and the fires that had raged at the fall of the old palace. It was the only time she had ventured into the ruins of the place where life had changed for her. From princess to senators daughter to escape the slaughter and no word in all the intervening years said to give a hint that she was not the Darlian's daughter. Only at the point of his death had her father revealed to her the truth of her heritage, but even then, no word that she had a brother. Perhaps he would have told her, if he had had time. The portrait of her real father had come from there in the great hall now blackened and rotting with time and neglect. This tarnished, battered old frame had been found on the side board under the portrait of a murdered King. She had refused to allow either the portrait of King Stephan or the photograph and frame to be repaired. People needed-she needed- to see them in that condition. A kindly, somewhat stern looking old man with crystal blue eyes. Eyes just like the happy eyes of the tassel haired little boy holding his little sister in a battered framed picture. "I'm sorry, brother. I just don't know what to do." a whisper, fighting against the onslaught of tears. "Relena? My dear, what is the matter? Your crying." "Oh, mother." the slender arms were very welcome around her and the light French perfume one of her very favorite comfort smells. "Mother, what should I do? I just don't know what to do anymore!" She was ashamed that it came out as a plaintive wail as she buried her face against her mothers breast, instinctively seeking the comfort and scent that she always associated with her mother. She had only ever known the Darlian's as her parents. It would only ever be so. She had not even the faintest memory of another mother. A mother an entire country had loved. Seeing the old photograph clasped in shaking hands Mrs. Darlian sighed and led her daughter into a small private salon, where she rang for tea and waited, allowing Relena to find her composure again. Not once did she let go of the slender shaking form, as they settled to a deep burgandy settee and she lightly stroked the honey brown hair in offered comfort. Words were not needed, just her presence. Only after Pagan had brought a tray and quietly left did she ease her daughter out of her embrace and wipe her eyes. "I think we need to talk. I was told that you had flown out of the country and now I find you here, in tears. What brought this on, my dear?" "I went to see Marquis Wayridge in Luxembourg. I don't ever want to be like him, mother. He... he... was so cold. I could not stand myself if I turned out like him." "What happened?" concern was evident in the quiet words, but caution too. Alice Darlian knew Marquis Wayridge. Her husband had had many encounters with the nobleman in the years since the fall of Sanc had given them Relena. It had not been easy to hide her from him as she had grown up. Had the Marquise spoken out against them? Decried them for hiding his granddaughter from him all these years? "I needed his help. I still do, but he won't give it. In fact, he agrees with the ESUN Security Office. I can't ever be that cold, mother. Its not in me. I can't be a politician or diplomat if I have to grow that cold." For a long moment Mrs Darlian considered her response. Personally she found the old man to be a hard man. That he was astute went without saying. He was very aware of the world around him, both the political world and the general world that most people lived within. She also had no liking for him at all. A fact she would not inform her daughter of, at least not at this time. He was, after all, Relena's grandfather. "The Marquis is a very astute politician, Relena, with much more experience than even your father had." Her father. Her foster father who had been Vice Foreign Minister before her. He had been in political circles for some twenty years. A Senator in Sanc in his younger years. An adviser and friend to her actual biological father. Both fathers politicians, one a king. She had grown up with one, lamented and sometimes thrown tantrums because he had always seemed to be running off to solve the world and colony problems. He had so often seemed not to care that she too had had problems that she felt her father should solve. Instead of spending time with her discussing her problems the call to solve the worlds conflicts seemed much more important to him than the needs of his daughter. "What was my brother like, mother? You were at the palace when he was born. Father knew the King. What was Milliardo like when he was a child?" A frown marred her beauty as she poured tea into two cups, sweetening them, then passed one to her daughter. Where had this come from? She had watched her daughter with pride, walk in the footsteps of her husband. Where had this insecure child come from, to replace her strong willed, world wise daughter? Relena had been making such progress and now, suddenly, without warning, she was that naïve teenager again. "He was a happy child. Perhaps a little too serious for his age. I can remember quite clearly the day that photograph was taken. He skipped more than walked that day. He had been allowed to hold his baby sister, and when would she be big enough to play with him?" she said softly. "I am sorry to say that I do not understand why he changed so much, that he would threaten such terrible things when he grew up." Wiping her eyes Relena took a few minutes to calm herself and regain her composure. A sip of tea left her feeling more able to broach a question she felt she must ask. "I am beginning to understand only too well. Mother, why was he turned away when he was brought to you?" Alice Darlian frowned, titling her head to study her daughter. "Relena, Milliardo was not brought to us. We assumed he had died that terrible day. I never told you about him because I thought there was no point. He had been dead so long. You had no memories of him. Your father said it was better that way. There was no need to disturb you over something none of us could control. When I saw him as the leader of White Fang, I prayed that he was not, truly, Milliardo Peacecraft, the child of my friend. The King would never have forgiven him." It was Relena's turn to frown. Why would her mother lie to her? Especially about this. Why was it everyone, including herself, said repeatedly that the King would not have forgiven Milliardo? Didn't anyone realize that if the King had been alive none of this would have happened in the first place? She sighed, acknowledging to herself that Pagan was right. Her father, King Peacecraft had advocated forgiveness and tolerance. Why then did everyone say that he would not have forgiven his son? "I know, Mother." Relena met her mothers eyes with wide eyes and a firm line to her chin. "I know that Pagan found him, and brought him to Father and he was turned away. I also know that later Milliardo's letters to me were burned, and that Pagan was threatened with dismissal if he did not put a stop to the letters." For a long time she considered her tea cup. A pretty, delicate classical design of red roses and pale blue forget-me-nots with a gold border. Such a delicate piece. Rather like her daughter looked. Delicate. Fragile. There was, however, a core of steel in Relena. If she had ever doubted it she had been a fool. Where had her daughter heard this? Where? When had she learned it? All these years and she had not known what had been done so long ago. To her shame, she was not certain if she was happy not to have known. Katerina Peacecraft had been her friend. Finally she met Relena's pleading blue eyes. "I did not know, Relena. I did not know that Pagan had found your brother. I thought he was dead." a whisper, wanting desperately to believe her daughter had been deceived. Knowing her husband enough to believe he would have done it. How dare her husband have kept this from her? How dare he leave this for her to deal with. Why had he made such a decision? No consultation with her at all. Now she must pick up the pieces and deal with the hurt. Yes, she could all too easily see him making this choice. Deciding it was the right thing... no... not the right thing, but the `expedient' thing to do. Now she must salve her daughters hurt over something that could not be changed. It was done long ago. Her husband was dead, and so was that poor child that had become the Terror of Earth. Katerina would have been devastated by her son's fate. He had been such a happy little boy and the pride of his mother. "Everyone sent him away. No one wanted to look after him." Relena knew her voice was thick and close to breaking. "I've found out so much I did not know before. So much I wish I still did not know. It's better that I do know, though, but it hurts, mother. No one but Pagan cared about him. Until he found the Kushrenada's. Why would they take him in, mother? Why would the Kushrenada's take him in when no one else would?" Why, indeed, she thought. The Kushrenada's had been far from the pacifists that the Peacecrafts were. Very different to the King and Queen, yet she could not deny that Duchess Anna and the Queen had been firm friends. True friends? Perhaps, but she would never know, and she was the wife of a politician, so she looked for ulterior motives. "No doubt to use him, I am afraid, my dear. It is a horrible thing to say, but an abandoned prince, let alone any lonely child, is terribly vulnerable to manipulation. Pagan should have taken him to the Marquis. Your grandfather would have provided better for him. Given him a true home with family." Relena's eyes seemed too large as she leaned back to watch her mother. "Grandfather would not suffer him to be on the estate. Pagan did take him there, and grandfather sent him away. He told me himself, Mother. The Marquis told me Milliardo was an inconvenience to his political career." She was uncertain what she could say. A politician and diplomats wife, she well understood the call of the halls of power. She also understood the loneliness of being abandoned for that call. She had spent too many nights alone not to resent her husbands calling. She had nursed Relena through childhood illnesses alone, because he had been in meetings he could not postpone, or in transit to far away places where he said only he could make a difference. Yes. She understood what it was to be abandoned for politics. She could see and understand only too well her daughters shock and hurt at learning this news, old as it was. "I do have to admit that sometimes family takes a back seat to politics, dear. You know that. Your father often got called away on short notice. It was not pleasant for us, you and I, nor for your father, I am sure, but it was part and parcel of your father. We learned to live with it. You know that he loved you. I am sure the Marquis loves you too." "No one loved my brother. No one. You think the Kushrenada's only took him in to use him? I do not know if that is true or not, but at least someone gave him something like a home." All this upset was over her brother, not her own abandonment as a child for the realities of the political circle her father had moved in. Alice Darlian sighed, setting aside her teacup and gently taking her daughters, placing it on the tray. They really needed to get this into the correct perspective. "It was not so good when you consider what your brother did, Relena. What must they have taught him, the Kushrenada's, to see him turn from a Pacifist to the leader of White Fang?" "What did my brother do, mother? Yes, he fired on the Earth, but he did not fire on a city. He fired on a wilderness area. Yes, people died, but how was anyone to know that they were there? Everyone keeps telling me it was war and there must be casualties in war. Tell me why it was alright for other people to kill in the war but it was not acceptable for my brother to do so? Why is everyone forgiven but Milliardo? Why? Why does he alone carry the weight of the war on his shoulders?" "He was the Commander of the White Fang, Relena. The commanders always bare the responsibility." Her daughter was so young and still had so much to learn. "War is a truly horrible thing, my dear. People do things they would not ordinarily do. I'm not saying he was a bad man, but I very much doubt that he was entirely sane, Relena." "He was nineteen. Only nineteen. One year older that I am now." a deep sigh. "So what about Treize Kushrenada? What about Bunt, Noventa and Septim? What about Duke Dermail? Colonel Tuberov? What about them, mother? They all had a hand in it. Not one of them was innocent. None of them was innocent of blood on their hands. I have learned some shocking things about the so called Alliance Peace leaders in the last year, mother. Horrible things. Whether OZ, Alliance or Romefeller it makes no difference. I have seen secret reports on all of them. All had blood on their hands. They massacred thousands of people and much of it was covered up. Blamed on others. Their names were kept clear of the dishonor now associated with those deeds. Yet it is Milliardo everyone screams about. It is Milliardo who is painted as evil." "I am sure he was not evil, dear. I suppose they just need someone to blame." "Yes, they do need someone to blame and that person can not possibly be themselves and the system they have worked with so long. I am so tired, mother." Relena sipped at her tea, considered for a long moment "I am so tired of fighting everyone. No one wants to see more than their views. I'm guilty of it. I can see that only too well now. I thought I could control events and bring about my father's peace. I can't. I thought I could bring the world to peace. But I can't, Mother. Not true peace. I just don't know what to do anymore." Mrs. Darlian lightly touched her flushed cheek. "You are a young girl, Relena, who has had the weight of responsibility on her shoulders for some time now. You need a rest. A change of scenery, perhaps, would help. The chance to relax and then you might see that it is not as bad as you think it is." Relena winced. It had been a very long time since she had been a young girl. So long since she had had the cares only of a teenager. The weight of her position would not allow for anything but excellence and her total devotion. "I can't. I have too much to do as Vice Foreign Minister. I have to maintain the peace. I have to do something for my brother." Mrs. Darlian sighed and lightly touched her daughters hair, smoothing it over her shoulder. "Your brother is dead, my dear. The dead do not care about what is said of them. It is only the living who care about that. In his way he achieved what he said he wanted. The Earth and the Colonies are at peace. It is strained a little at times, but it is peace. That is what he wanted. To stop the fighting, is that not so? Let him lie in his grave, Relena. Let him have peace." "Milliardo is on Mars, mother. He was the pilot of the Tallgeese 3, that suit that held Dekim Barton's army at bay for hours until Miss Noin and then the Gundam Pilots arrived. He was to be arrested and tried for war crimes and executed." she stared into her mothers wide eyes, seeing the disbelief there. "I sent him to Mars to keep him safe. The ESUN Security Office allowed it, calling it a life sentence, as no one outside of a select circle was to know he survived . He was never to leave Mars, a prisoner for life. Miss Noin went with him and now they have babies, Mother. I am an Aunt. Now the ESUN Security Office has demanded that I sign a statement, and documents, that will allow them to take his children away from him. They want them raised on Earth, by the ESUN and taught how to be good little citizens. If Milliardo objects he will be `dealt with in a suitable manner'." Mrs. Darlian set aside her tea cup and contemplated her daughters passion flushed face for a long while. Considered what she had learned. She knew this information was classified. Not to be spoken beyond these walls. She had been the wife of the Vice Foreign Minister. She knew many state secrets. More than she hoped her idealistic daughter ever suspected. Her daughter had kept this secret for so long. Not a word breathed in the media that the Terror of Earth was alive and well. Not a word. Relena had sent her brother to Mars. That far away, desolate place was not far enough to hold him. Was any place isolated enough and secure enough to protect them from HIM? Earth shook whenever he was mentioned, she was sure. A Peacecraft turned Soldier, turned prisoner. Relena seemed not to consider him so awful. What had changed? Her daughters attitude had suffered a complete turn around from after the One Year War. She had certainly not looked on her brother kindly then. "There was a time when you had not a single good word for your brother. Why, now, do you tell me that he is alive, and that it was you who arranged for him to go into exile to save his life? This is the man who threatened to destroy the very world we stand upon. This is the man you struggled against to bring about a peace and to end all wars." "I said some truly horrible things to him, Mother." a whisper. "I was horrible to him. I never understood what his life had been. I made no effort to understand him. Or to understand his reasons for any of the actions he considered necessary to take. When he held me on the Libra ,I did not hold him back. I rejected him, Mother, but he never rejected me. Even then. He still loved his little sister, whom he had not seen for so many years. He loved me, unconditionally. He loved Sanc and gave everything he had to return Sanc to life from the ashes. I hate myself, mother. I was the only family he had left he still cared for, and I rejected him. I have so messed things up." She sighed. Relena was becoming more distraught as they spoke, not calmer, which had been her intention. Damn Milliardo Peacecraft for being alive and for shaking the foundations of her faith yet again. "No, my dear, I do not think you have messed things up. Yes, things are a little confused now, but we shall have to see to that. You are a politician and diplomat Relena. You are also a young lady who has had a lot of stress." gently she stroked her daughters hair. It had been a long time since she had felt she could take that liberty. Until this moment, her daughter had seemed too adult for such actions. She had felt it would be seen as a threat to the young woman's self esteem. "You do need the vacation. For the moment, why don't you allow me to make a few calls? I will need a secured line and some time." "Of-of course. But why?" "My dear daughter, I was a politicians wife for more than twenty years. Your father was not the only one with connections. Let me see what I can learn about this matter of stealing babies from their parents." "Protective custody, they call it." Relena whispered. "He's not a bad man, Mother. He would not have destroyed the world. He only wanted people to open their eyes and see how fragile this world really is. Just like the colonies, mother. He wanted us to understand that the Earth was no different to the colonies. There the people are only too aware of the fragility of their `worlds'. An explosion could destroy the entire colony. I am slowly beginning to understand what he intended. We had to see that we were not on an invincible, indestructible world. Earth is every bit as fragile and vulnerable as those artificial worlds." "Mmm. You think that is what he intended? I myself am not so certain. However, that is in the past. You say your brother has children and that something must be done to protect them. Let me see what I can learn. How much time do we have?" Relena shook her head, despairing, not daring to hope that of all people her mother might offer a solution to the problems haunting her. "Days, Mother. Only days. ESUN agents are due to land on Mars tomorrow." Relena studied her mother for a long moment. "Mother, I don't just want the children protected. I want Miss Noin and Milliardo to be safe. I want them to be able to enjoy their children. They have a right to be able to keep their children. What right does the ESUN have to go to Mars and order them to give up their babies?" she sighed. "I am an Aunt. I would love to see my nephew and niece, but if it means that Milliardo and Miss Noin are to be threatened, then I will gladly go without seeing them. Milliardo has had no family to love him. Why can't he be allowed to have a family of his own?" "Then I shall have to have that secured line quickly, shall I not? I can not make you promises, Relena, you must understand that. I can not promise to make a difference, only learn what is happening. I can assure you that I will try my hardest to sort out this mess you are involved in. Katerina was my friend. I will do what I can for love of her. For my friend and for you, my dear." Relena sighed, nodding. For the love of her and her biological mother. Again, tragically, not for her brother. "Mother." "Yes, dear?" "What would you have done had Milliardo been brought to you, and not to father that day? Would you have sent him away?" Mrs. Darlian sighed as she studied her daughters face. Relena looked so disillusioned. This had not been a pleasant day for her and the day was far from over. It was a question she would have preferred time to consider, but her daughter was sitting there, within touching distance, waiting. It was a question she had never had to consider before. When he had brought Relena to her she had held the child for hours, weeping for her friend and the King and the little boy she had thought dead. Damn her husband for leaving her to deal with this. "I like to think not, Relena." "I hear a `but' in there." "You will find in life that there are usually a great many `buts' involved. I honestly do not know what I would have done. I like to think that I would have taken him in my arms and been a mother to him, as I was to you. That is what I like to think. It did not happen that way, Relena. I can not say what I would have done." t.b.c.
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