De Profundis

Chapter 5

Disclaimer: Damn, I'm running out of funny things to say... uhh, ok, fine... they're not mine ::sobs::

AN: One of the reviews I received pointed out to me that I wasn't clear on whether Duo knew what was going on, so hopefully this chapter clears that up. Also, I have NO idea how to spell verniaye.. err.. verni-er.. well you know what I mean right?  Those engines on mobiles suits.. so when you see the word VERNIA you know what I am jabbering on about! Happy reading! Oh, and PULEEZ review! :D

[Space Colony: JX00019]

Col. Dourchov had always considered himself to be a reasonable man, but his patience was wearing thin.   A war was what he was aiming for, if he could start a war with the ESUN and wipe them out, the Earth was there for the taking.   Even his biggest obstacle, Relena Peacecraft, had fell into his trap and was on the brink of an all out onslaught.   Yet still, he was being made to wait.   It wasn’t his strong suit.

“What? Are you saying that this error cannot be rectified?”   The chief engineer was experienced, but still young, the towering form of the Cornel was enough to intimidate the most fearless solider.

“Y…yyes sir.   We’re not sure why but the blueprints we have don’t seem to be correct, as a result the structural fault was built into all the currently constru-“   Dourchov was getting increasingly angered by the man’s incompetence.   With a swift action he lunged at the young engineer harshly grasping his collar.   The force of his grip plunged the young man backwards, careering into the wall.   Muffled gasps coursed through the plant.   All who could see stopped to watch the commotion.

“I don’t want to hear your excuses!   Fix this!”

“But sir…”   Pushing the innocent harder into the wall Dourchov had no qualms about showing his annoyance.

“I don’t want to hear it!   If you can’t fix them then I’ll find someone who can.”   Before letting go Dourchov ripped him from the wall, hurling him along the floor.

“My perfect future has not place for incompetent fools!”   Before storming off in a white rage, Dourchov let out an angered roar.

“GET BACK TO WORK!”   Without looking back once, Dourchov left the young engineer cowering on the ground.

***

Zechs was frustrated beyond words.   The information he had on their mobile forces was invaluable; he needed to get off this colony.   But how?   All communications with Earth and other colonies had been severed.   If he tried to make a transmission he would be discovered before he could even establish a connection.   His informant hadn’t been specific, but there was definitely something wrong with the Gundams that Dourchov was creating.   Apparently there was a structural flaw. One shot and poof.

If he could just get off the colony, at the very least, make it to a neighboring colony, and then he would be able to inform the Preventers.   The thoughts were clogging his mind.   He had to focus less on what he couldn’t do and more on what he could.

Taking out his high-powered night vision goggles, he aimed them directly at a derelict warehouse.   Upon zooming in on the sign discarded on the dusty track leading to it, Zechs smirked.

“OZ MOBILE-RESOURCES PRODUCTION PLANT: RESTRICTED AREA.”

[Earth: Sanc Kingdom Capital City]

The clouds were suddenly assaulted with a sharp beam of light, crystallizing the beads of rain that continued to beat down.   It spread across the horizon illuminating every tiny feature for miles.   He stared, fascinated at its enormity.   For a brief moment he thought he could see the curve of the Earth.   Lack of sleep, he mused.

Living on the colonies made people forget how beautiful and majestic the Earth really was.   It was the mother of life itself, and to think humans could re-create or replace it with science and ingenuity was sheer ignorance.   The Earth was something that all humans had a duty to preserve and protect, living away from it made people loose that sense of loyalty, viewing it from afar as something that was intangible yet legendary.   A place that everyone knew about, but always forgot to visit. It was a grave mistake to make, because to stand on its surface, to watch its wonders was its true beauty.   Heero ripped his view from the tranquil beating of the rain.   She was still sleeping, he was slightly surprised, he knew that she hardly slept.  In those months following the Mariemaia incident he watched over her, following her virtually everywhere she went, secretly guarding her.   The only one who knew of his subterfuge was Quatre.   Heero had reluctantly accepted Quatre’s help in forming a “normal” lifestyle, he’d paid for his schooling fees, hell; he’d even paid for his apartment.   Heero knew he would never be able to do all that on his own, he didn’t have a penny to his name.   He didn’t think it was right to just run out on his friend’s generosity without telling him why.   No, instead he got him involved too and now he couldn’t even face Relena, he was sure that Quatre had been the one to tell Duo what was going on.   He hadn’t seen Duo in over a year but he knew that he had become good friends with her.   At the thought Heero felt a pang of jealousy.   

Still, it didn’t matter anymore.   He might as well stand on top of Preventer HQ and scream, “I’M ALIVE!”   Because the most important person in this all, the person who he was trying to keep his existence from the most, already knew.   What a mess.

“I was afraid you might have left already.”   Heero looked up, stunned he hadn’t noticed she had woken.

“I told you last night, I’m not going anywhere.”   Smiling briefly Relena just stared at him, questioning him.   He wanted to escape her eyes, anything to get out of telling her why he had done what he did.   But Duo was right he owed her an explanation.   Sighing Heero walked back over to the window, placing his hand on the cool glass, trying to gain some of the calm that the Earth seemed to have in abundance.   Taking in a deep breath, he closed his eyes.

“I know what you want to know and I want to explain what I did…” he paused, searching for the right words.   “…I had a reason.   When I think back on it now, maybe it was the wrong choice to make, I didn’t realize how much I could affect you.”   Relena sat up, a serious expression marring her features.   

“Didn’t realize? Or didn’t want to realize?”

“Relena…”

“Heero, how could you not know?   Since the day I met you my life has been taking one giant leap after another.   The day I thought you had left me forever, it was like something inside me had shut down, that part of me that drives me on, that pushes my life forward, just vanished.”

Heero shook his head, his hair limply swaying to and fro.

“I don’t deserve any credit.   The choices you made had nothing to do with me.”   Relena felt an overwhelming need to sweep him up in an embrace, tell him that he was the sole reason she did everything she did.   She would have continued in her sheltered existence if it weren’t for meeting him and changing her destiny.   She got up and placed her hand lightly on his shoulder, making him turn to face her.

“Heero meeting you was the lone element which changed my life forever.”   Heero looked up into her compassionate eyes, those eyes he could loose himself in if he wasn’t careful.   

“If I hadn’t met you, then I would have lived the rest of my life behind closed doors.   Locked away from the real world.” She gently grasped his hand.   “You freed me Heero, freed me where it mattered most...” She placed his hand on her chest. “…Here.   Where no-one else will ever touch me again.”   Heero didn’t know what to say.   Her words were so honest.   Straight from her heart, from her very core.   If there was one area he wasn’t experienced with in his whole trained life, it was dealing with these kinds of emotions.

“I…I don’t know what to say.” He stated honestly.

“Don’t say anything.”   Relena took his hand from her, and their fingers began to lock together, memories of the kiss they shared flashed through his mind; he snapped harshly into reality.   His cold, calm demeanor coming back into play.

Roughly removing his hand from hers, Heero locked his perussian eyes on hers.   Relena could see that he didn’t want to deal with this now.   She looked away clearing her throat.   “Well the least you could do is tell me what the hell has been going on.   Was everyone in on this?”   She had only just begun to think about it.   Noin, Duo, Hilde, her own brother.   They must of all known.

“It was the only way, we knew that if you had discovered our plan, you would have tried to stop us.”   

“Stop you doing what?”

He hesitated, hoping for a final time that she wouldn’t hate him. 

“Assassinate Cornel Dourchov.” Relena looked at Heero in disbelief.

“Assassinate him?   Why would you do such a thing?”   Relena was still in shock.   But you promised me.

“He was a threat.   When Dourchov stepped up that threat and took over JX00019, I approached Zechs covertly with the help of Quatre. The Preventers believed he was creating an army to retaliate against the ESUN.”   Relena sat down on the side of her bed.   “Nearly 3 months ago we gained confirmation of this, but the news was far graver than first estimated.   He had been procuring gundanium in small quantities, stolen from shipments that were being used for construction on neighboring colonies.   It would have taken him years to steal enough gundanium to create the amount of Gundams he has apparently built, but it would seem he had been planning this for a long time, probably since 196.”   Relena knew that he had stolen the gundanium shipment that had passed JX00019 recently, but she thought they had time before he could do anything with it.   But if his little rebellion had been operating since AC 196 then there was going to be trouble.   Still, knowing all this, only one thing weighed on her mind.

“So you all knew.   You all deceived me.”   She lowered her face to her hands.   How could they do that to me?   Heero kneeled before her, taking her hands from her face.   Her unblemished skin was again tear streaked.

“Not all.”   Her expression changed into a mixture of confusion and hesitation.

“Trowa, Wufei, Duo, Hilde…”   Relena interrupted him.

“Duo and Hilde didn’t know?”   Heero shook his head.

“They care about you.   I knew Duo would have been an obstruction, I think he would have had my head before he let me do it. " Heero had a slight smile, but it rapidly vanished. " But it was necessary Relena.”   She looked down at his hands holding hers down.

“They did find out, I assume from Quatre, or the Preventers.  But after I had already accepted the mission.   You can’t blame them, or Quatre and Noin.”  

“…And my brother?”   Relena asked coldly.   Heero didn’t want to admit it but not even Zechs was to blame for this one.

“He did what he thought was best for you.   As did I.”   She wanted to hate him, hate that damned apathetic voice of his.   How could he be so cold?

“You would have never come back…”   Relena locked her eyes on his, she wanted to be looking right into him when he answered; she wanted the truth for once.   ”…Would you?”

Heero heard his own voice, he didn’t consciously remember saying it, but he didn’t want to lie anymore.

“No.”

Relena nodded, an ironic smile deceiving her true fraught emotions. Wiping the tears from her eyes coarsely, she stood up from the bed pushing Heero away.   Hearing his voice she stopped suddenly.

“I’m….”   She looked back at him, the Sun’s ethereal glare framing her body.

“I’m sorry.”

“So am I.”   The contempt that Heero had feared flashed through Relena’s eyes.

“Relena, wait.”   Heero rose to his feet in one swift movement, reaching for her arm.

“Let go of me Heero.”

“I have to tell you why I did what I did.   I never told you why.”   She attempted to shake her hand free but he never lost his hold.

“You’re hurting me.”   His eyes searched hers, begging her to understand.

“Let go of me Heero!” Her repeated yell shook him from his grasp.   They stood for a few silent seconds, staring away from each other.   Relena was just about to leave for the second time that morning.

“I keep hurting you, that’s why I did it.   No matter where I go, you’re there.   This was all I could think of to make you move on with your life.”   Relena didn’t know whether to laugh or cry.

“You thought that if I believed you were dead, I’d just accept it and move on?”   Heero’s silence answered her question.  

“I wanted to die Heero.   If I couldn’t be with you in this life, I wanted to be with you in the next.”   The tears that had been flowing like rivers for the past 3 months couldn’t flow anymore.  

Heero frantically searched his mind for something to say, but a tension laced silence was all he could muster.

“You obviously don’t feel the same way.”   Her voice was cold and unfeeling, a picture of apathy.   She’s becoming more like me everyday, I wonder if that’s a good or a bad thing.

Relena remembered the night before.   She remembered his reaction to kissing her.

“Last night when you couldn’t…” Relena didn’t want to finish the sentence, and embarrassed flush filling her cheeks.   “Do I repulse you Heero?”

“Relena, it’s not what you think.”   He wanted to tell her how wrong she was, but he couldn’t, the words wouldn’t form in his mind let alone his mouth.

“It’s not?” She was angered by his presumption.   What does he know of how I think and feel?

“Well then there’s just one thing that bothers me about all this Heero.”   Her tone was sarcastic.

He didn’t need to ask. He had a pretty good idea what she was talking about.  

“If your plan was the pretend to be dead and then disappear, why are you here now?   If it was all going so well you could be gone right now.   So why aren’t you?”

Realizing he wasn’t going to answer her, Relena turned on her heels and stormed out of the room, not exactly sure where she was going still fully dressed in what she was wearing the day before.   Heero painfully watched her leave, an earlier conversation running through his mind.

“It’s my fault. I did that to her.”

“You can put it right.”

“I can’t.”

“Yes you can.   She loves you, and I don’t need to ask if you love her."

[Space Colony: JX00019]

He knew that the chance of there being anything inside the plant was slim, all arms were disposed of after the battle at Libra.   But it seemed this colony had many secrets, all he could do was hope this was another one of them.

This was the designated nighttime for the colony.   It was pretty much deserted in the area he was in.   No one came here anymore, too many painful memories; memories at their imprudence for trusting Oz.   Zechs cautiously strode over to the warehouse fence.   It was a simple matter of climbing over; still, he didn’t like the look of all the barbed wire protruding over the top.   He grabbed his thick platinum mane, tucking it into his jacket while mentally chastising himself for not asking Duo how the heck he does that thing with his hair.

The cool metal of the mesh fence was cold to the touch, his warm hands numbed slightly.   Grunting he made it to the top; now came the fun part.   Getting as high as he could, Zechs lifted his legs slowly over, one after the other.   Sighing with relief, he dropped down, crouching as he hit the floor.   No one appeared to have seen him.   Scouting the situation he quietly ran towards the warehouse stepping over the trampled sign he spotted earlier.   Now that he was closer he could see a man, he was partially obscured by darkness, only a dim light thrown over him revealed there was a dog lying on the floor.  A rather big dog.  It was too dark to tell but Zechs assumed it was a security guard.   Maybe there is something here.

The building was huge; one security guard was definitely not enough to protect it from intruders, trying to enter through the main entrance was not an option now.   He’d be caught without a doubt.   He needed to find another way.

***

Dourchov mulled over the computer files before him.   How could they have missed such a blinding error in their design?   He could see it now that he was looking for it.   The structural flaw allowed easy access to the Vernia fuel tanks, with one shot they would be blown sky-high.   Even if the Gundams weren’t destroyed by the blast, they’d certainly be irreparably damaged.   He slammed his fists into the desk; the force was so hard the wood buckled.

This just can’t be.

Glaring up at his second in command, he continued to scowl.

“These Gundams were supposed to be more advanced than the Wing Zero, yet instead of that we have this useless junk that could be taken out by 10 year old Leos!   Tell me Foster, how this could have happened.”  

“Sir, we had them analyzed by the best minds on the colony.   They said there wasn’t a problem, taking that at face value we proceeded to construct the Gundams.”   Dourchov was fuming.

“Best minds? Are you mocking me Foster?   These Gundams are a deathtrap!   If a pilot was put in one of them, they’d be killed in a matter of minutes, one lucky shot and they’re gone.   You’re telling me that your “best minds” approved that?!”

“Yes sir.”   Foster was used to his superiors condescending nature.   He had become immune to it.

“Well, you might want to get those best minds here.   Now.”   Dourchov wore a perverse expression. Nodding once, Foster knew that he would be sending his colleagues to their death.

“One more thing.”   Foster stopped his hasty exit and turned to see several images on the laptop now facing him on Dourchov’s desk.

“If anyone can correct this error.   It would be the people who created it, wouldn’t you agree?” Dourchov’s sudden light tone faded. “Find these men.   Without fail.”  

Foster focused on the images more clearly to see their names.   Doctor J, Professor G, Doktor S, Instructor H and Master O.