_____________________________________________________________
Human Nature
Chapter 1 - The Package
Year: After Colony 199
Day 1
The large metal door slid open and Lucretcia Noin cautiously
stepped in. The center of the large room was lit only with a
single table lamp. The rest was cast either in shadows or
complete darkness. 'This doesn't feel right.' She thought.
Ever since she arrived at the Highland SpacePort she could
feel the tension in the air. Security was unusually high,
that much was obvious. A voice broke through her thoughts
and she whipped to the right. "Lady Une!"
"Miss Noin. Please forgive me, but the fact that you are here
has already drawn more attention than I would have liked.
Come in." Lady Une gestured gracefully toward one of the
seats around a comfortable, round table. "Please have a seat
and join me in some tea."
Lucretcia hesitantly complied, a sense of uneasiness still
with her. "Don't think me rude, but I wasn't expecting?"
"That's fine." She replied curtly as she punched a sequenced
code into a terminal next to the door. It promptly slid closed
and locked. Lady Une looked up and smiled. "I'm not the one
who wanted to see you."
"Hello Noin."
Lucretcia jumped up from her seat. "Relena!" She
immediately ran to the blonde woman as she emerged from the
shadows and encased her in a hug. "We were so worried. Are
you alright?"
Noin was startled when Relena abruptly drew back. There was
something very different about her. Her eyes were dull -
almost cold. She took a seat and gestured for Noin to do the
same.
"Thank you for coming, Miss Noin. I need your help."
Relena's voice was calm, but there was a certain tense edge
to it.
Lucretcia narrowed here eyes. Just what was going on here?
"Wait just a minute!" She challenged, taking her seat across
from her. "You haven't answered my question. When you
contacted me, you looked so pale, almost sick."
"I'll be fine."
Noin wasn't convinced. This time, she tried a softer
approach. "Please Relena. Zechs asked me a long time ago to
look after you and I'm not about to let him down now. It took
all the strength I had to convince him to stay behind."
"Yes, well, you know my brother's always been a little
overprotective."
"I don't think so. Not this time. You can fool the world,
Relena, but you can't fool your friends, least of all me. You
haven't been seen in public for months, only communicating
though Lady Une, and that just isn't like you. I know how
much attaining true peace both in space and on earth means to
you. Please tell me what's wrong."
The young woman opened her mouth to speak, but abruptly shut
it, a pained look crossing her features. "I'm sorry. But
right now, I can't do that."
Lucretcia was about to argue, but Lady Une began. "Miss Noin,
I know that what Relena is about to say is going to sound a
little strange, but right now you must trust us. We can't
tell you everything just yet. It's too dangerous. In fact,
you're going to have to be very careful when you leave here."
"Why? What's?"
"Because I have something to give you." Relena stood and
walked to an unlit corner of the room and dragged a rather
large bag into the light. It looked as though an oblong
rectangular object was placed within. "Inside this package is
something very important. You must deliver it to the Gundam
pilots immediately."
For a moment she was silent. "Relena, you know I'd do
anything to help you, but I need to know what this is all
about. Unusually high security, secret packages, tension you
could cut with a knife? What is going on?"
Lady Une answered in a high strung emotional voice. "The
information contained within this package could start another
war."
"I've tried to keep it a secret for as long as I could."
Relena followed. "But Sydney Bartkusonete, the leader of
Arms Against the Federation finally found out just what it is
that I've been hiding. His group of militant reformists is on
the brink of starting another war. They've formed an
alliance with several small groups from the Northern Nations
and a few of the outer rim satellite stations, refusing to
disband and destroy their weapons."
Lady Une walked up behind Relena. "I've met with the General
on several occasions. It seems that the only thing holding
them back is their fear of retribution from the Gundam pilots.
He's a clever man. Even though the Gundams themselves have
been destroyed, he's well aware that the skills of their
pilots far outweigh anyone else on earth or in space."
Noin nodded. "Of course. They lack both the skills and the
technology. One battle would decide it all."
"Not necessarily. One thing we do know is that they have
somehow broke into the Federations faults and implemented the
Zero System."
Lucretcia shook her head. "The Zero System is flawed. The
final battle proved that. It can be conquered and outdone.
For them to have any chance at all in succeeding, they would
need superior pilots - ones who could match the strength of
the Gundam pilots. As you said, no such pilots exist."
"They will if they have their way." Lady Une pointed to the
large black bag. "This package holds the key."
"It makes no sense. The ability to fight that well either
comes from natural talent or years of training. And even
still?to be able to defeat the Gundam pilots, especially He?"
Lady Une was quick to interrupt, glancing worriedly at
Relena. "Everything will make sense once you know what's
inside. But you must not open the package under any
circumstances until you've found those pilots. However, it's
very important that you do so within the next 72 hours. After
that, the contents of the package will automatically open and
be revealed.
"Three days?! I only have three days to find them! They
could be anywhere!"
"I'm sorry to involve you in this, Noin." Relena whispered,
her eyes never straying from the black bag in front of her.
"But?there are so few people I can trust with?" Her voice
dropped off and she clenched her fists. A mask of calm washed
over her face and she stood.
Lucretcia stood with her and took her hand in her own.
"Relena, you are a sister to me. I trust you. And I'm glad
you have the confidence in me to deliver this."
Relena nodded and abruptly turned to Lady Une. "Please see
that she reaches the spaceport safely. And give her the codes
to my personal database. I've been tracking the Gundam pilots
for quite sometime. Finding a general location shouldn't be
that difficult." Looking back at Noin,she continued, "After
that, it's up to you. Be careful." She walked towards the
door.
"Miss Relena, where are you going?"
She refused to look back. "Bartkusonete must be stopped.
I'm going to do everything I possibly can to keep them busy
until you've completed your mission. Lady Une, you must visit
each of the colonies and inform them of Arms Against the
Federation's threat. We have to make sure that fear and panic
stays buried in the back of everyone's heads."
Relena hit the release button to unlock the door.
Noin was about to call her again, when she suddenly answered
the question that was on the tip of her tongue. "Don't worry,
Noin. I can take care of myself." She slipped through the
door and it slid shut behind her.
_____________________________________________________________
Relena took a deep breath and leaned back against the door,
closing her eyes. "It's done." She whispered. A few tears
threatened to fall, but she angrily swept them away with the
back of her hand. "No. I won't cry. I have a mission of my
own to complete." She stood up straight and began to walk
down the hall.
Just as she was passing through a corridor, the lights
suddenly flickered and the hallway went pitch black.
Hel?umph" " A strong hand quickly silenced her scream.
"Let's just keep this to ourselves for now, Vice Foreign
Minister." A muffled voice croaked. She struggled in vain -
her captor was far stronger. Finally her body gave in as a
funny smelling cloth was placed over her mouth.
_____________________________________________________________
Lady Une smiled wanly at Lucretcia. "Please come with me. We
need to get you the proper clothes and then send you on your
way. I must leave this facility in a separate vehicle, but my
guards will escort you back to the spaceport and see you
safely onto the shuttle. Remember - if you need to make any
communications, wait until you've left Earth's atmosphere and
be sure to use a secure channel." She gently touched her arm.
"Don't worry, Miss Noin. Relena conquers the world with her
conviction just as Zechs won the hearts of soldiers with his
courage."
"Thank you. And please, call me Lucretcia."
"I would be honored."
_____________________________________________________________
Noin peered out the small shuttle window as the atmosphere
changed from a majestic blue haze into dark black with small
specks of white stars peeking through. She sighed and
released the breath she hadn't realized she'd been holding.
Peering at the package situated next to her, she quickly
reached for the zipper. Lucretcia slowly peeled back the
nylon fabric to reveal an odd shaped canister of sorts. On it
were switches, gages, and temperature and pressure regulators
along with other foreign looking wires and objects. She was
no scientist and couldn't begin to guess what was inside. "It
must be some sort of weapon." A chill ran up her spine. The
only sort of weapon that would need perfectly stable
conditions was biological. "But if it's a biological weapon,
why would I be sending this to those boys? It just doesn't
make sense." She mused.
Lady Une's words rung in her head. 'However, it's very
important that you do so within the next 72 hours. After
that, the contents of the package will automatically open and
be revealed.'
"My God! It must be on a time-set mechanism." She realized,
her voice wearing thin, though just a whisper. "Is Relena
out of her mind having such a dangerous object in her
possession?" She asked herself. "I've got to get this to
those pilots as soon as I can. If biological weapons were re-
introduced, especially now, no one would survive."
She thought first of Quatre. Surely he would be the easiest
to find. After all, hadn't he taken over his father's mining
operations on one of the remaining family owned satellites?
Lucretcia pulled out a small hand-held computer and began
searching through several database files. "Missing? For over
a year?!" No information could be found about any of the
pilot's whereabouts. "Perhaps they don't want to be found."
Her mind answered. She would readily agree to that statement
concerning Wufei Chang, Duo Maxwell, and Trowa Barton, but
certainly not with Quatre. Something definitely did not add
up.
"Dead End. How am I ever gonna find these pilots?"
_____________________________________________________________
Once at the top of the staircase, she immediately spotted him.
Lucretcia took a deep breath and groaned. Adjusting the wide
brimmed hat, she glanced down at her white dress, covered with
gaudy red and pink flowers. "Well, here goes. I wonder what
he'll think." She almost laughed, curving it into a wide,
bright smile, and ran full force down the stairs and into the
arms of Zechs Marquise.
To say he was stunned beyond belief was quite an
understatement. But what happened next almost made him keel
over.
"Darling! I'm so glad to be home!" She hugged him fiercely
and gave him a long, passionate kiss. Not that he minded, of
course.
Finally coming to his senses, Zechs cleared his throat and
gazed at her sternly. "Noin! What?"
"Shh?" She placed a finger over his mouth. "It's a surprise."
She turned toward the porter who was lugging the large green
bag, followed by a second man carrying some other bags. "Do
see to the bags, Darling. I have something for you."
After ordering the luggage to be brought to his vehicle, he
quickly took Lucretcia by the hand and pulled her into a
corner. "Alright, Noin. What's going on?"
She looked around carefully, before answering. "I can't tell
you now. But it's very important. I have something we must
take to the Gundam pilots. First, we need to go someplace
secure."
"Right."
She latched her arm through his and they began walking toward
the sliding doors, when a large poster caught her eye.
Splashed with colors of green, yellow, red, and blue was an
add for the Venadette Circus. "The circus?" She thought.
"Trowa Barton?"
From a dark corner, a pair of dark eyes narrowed at the couple
exiting the complex. A crooked smile crossed hard-set
features and a gruff voice mumbled, "Well, then. To the
circus we shall go."
_____________________________________________________________
End of Chapter 1...
Stay tooned for the next one!
