Fifteen minutes later, Noin's plane touched down. She ushered the two Gundam pilots out and instructed that Heavyarms be brought to the hanger where Wing and Tallgeese awaited their arrival. She glanced at Heero and smiled briefly. This was the pilot that Relena had met. From what she knew of him from their flight together, she was beginning to understand why Relena thought highly of him. They were a lot alike. Both had a mission to complete and they were determined to complete it. Relena saw great strength in this boy and was borrowing that strength to start the restoration of the Sanq Kingdom. He was her inspiration and maybe she was his. Noin didn't know, nor did she ask. It was his business.
The other pilot, Trowa Barton, was quiet, like Heero. He seemed only to speak when he felt something was of importance or it was necessary to communicate. From what Noin had seen of his work, he was well versed in battle strategies and tactics. He was also efficient. More efficient than the other four pilots in their early exploits, except for maybe Heero. They were very much alike those two, but Noin didn't get the same sense of standoffishness from him as she did Heero. Realizing that she was probably over analyzing the two pilots she led them to the hanger.
To her surprise Zechs met them on the tarmac. He stood his mask firmly on his head and his manner crisp and forthright. The heavy coat he was wearing was open at the collar, so that she could see the red of his uniform.
"Greetings." He said in a tone he reserved only for people he truly respected. He held out his hand to Heero. Heero looked at it and after a moment accepted the greeting. Trowa simply nodded. Zechs smiled. "I have been expecting you. I'm sorry our duel was cut short, so I have arranged for us to pick up where we left off." With that he turned and led them into the compound. Zechs hoped that the mechanics had finished Unit 01. They hadn't had enough parts to fix one arm, so Zechs had instructed that parts from Tallgeese be used. He knew this would leave him with a handicap, but it didn't matter. As long as Heero's Gundam was as it was before the explosion, it mattered not.
Upon reaching the hanger, Zechs paused. "There is your Gundam." He told Heero gesturing up towards Wing. Heero took a step forward and stared at his Gundam. "I had it rebuilt. We tried to put everything back in its proper place and have exhausted many mechanics doing so." Heero glanced back at Zechs.
"You rebuilt it."
"Hai." Heero began walking towards Wing in a steady manner. Trowa and Zechs followed. Noin hung back a ways and let them be. Zechs started speaking again, but one of the mechanics caught her attention.
"Lt. Noin."
"Yes?"
"Do you think this is such a good idea? I mean, what if the Captain looses?"
"He won't loose." Noin said confidently. Nor will he truly win either, she thought. He would have to give up something to win against Heero Yuy and Noin wasn't sure if Zechs was prepared to do that yet. "Don't you have any confidence?" she asked.
"Plenty. I just hate to see all my hard work go to waste when those things go at each other tomorrow. I mean, we just repaired that Gundam." Noin chuckled. Mechanics could get so cranky about having their nicely repaired machines ripped apart.
Pargan watched Relena's face light up as she read the letter. He had been the Peacecraft's butler in the days before the fall. He remembered Relena as a sweet little child and was happy to serve her. Seeing her delight in a single letter after weeks of worried looks made him feel better. Not only was he once more serving the Peacecraft family, but also he was keeping a close eye on its princess. Lt. Noin had made sure that Relena was under the best care while she was gone. Pargan intended to prove to Noin that he was up to the task.
"He's alive." Relena breathed. "Heero is still alive." He knew to whom she was referring. The young Gundam pilot, which she had spent most of her spare time looking for. "I need to find him."
"I'm afraid there is no…"
"Of course there is a way." Relena eyed him. She had that determined look in her eyes again. Pargan knew she was about to grab the bit and run. "I need to talk to Mrs. Noventa first. I need to go to Sicily." She trailed off as she headed out of the room. Pargan sighed and followed her.
"I will have the private jet fueled."
"Thank you." Relena said. Pargan left her to her own musings as he went to ready the plane. What will you do if he's not in Italy any more? Pargan asked Relena silently. Why do you wish to find this boy so? Relena wouldn't share her thoughts with him. She would wander the mansion occasionally talking to herself. It was an odd habit, but it seemed to help her sort out her thoughts. Maybe she is talking to her guardian angel, he thought. Or a ghost. Could it be that the ghost of Mr. Darlian haunted his adopted daughter? Pargan didn't want to think that Relena was mentally unstable. It wouldn't do for a princess of the Sanq Kingdom to be deemed insane.
"I will believe it is a guardian angel that the princess speaks to." Pargan told the empty room. "Truly she must have a protective one because it is a miracle she hasn't been killed yet. Especially after she has known that boy." He sighed deeply and prepared to leave.
Sighing deeply, Trowa Barton ran over the diagnostics of Heavyarms once more. He wanted to make sure the adjustments he had made to it worked smoothly. Earlier that day he had witnessed Heero's attempt at piloting it. Trowa could see the blood seep through Heero's bandaged arm and knew that Heavyarms was too hard for him to handle in his present condition. Having spent a large amount of time with Heero, Trowa had drawn the conclusion that Heero was going to fight Zechs whether or not he was injured. So he had decided to help Heero out. He smiled to himself as he glanced over at his handiwork. Heavyarms' left arm normally held a robotic arm with the gattling gun was attached. With the punch of a switch the gun would fall off allowing the pilot to fight with two fists. In Heero's present condition, the usage of that arm plus gattling gun was too heavy. A faint smile curled his lips as he thought about the irony of it.
If Heero couldn't operate that left arm, then he would be a sitting duck for Zechs. Therefore, Trowa was removing the arm and setting a beam saber in its place. When Heero detached the gun, he could still fight even though he would have only one hand. It still would be enough Trowa knew. As he finished he noticed someone enter the hanger. He recognized Lt. Noin immediately. She stared up at him, then her gaze shifted to Wing.
"Why isn't Heero piloting his own Gundam tomorrow?" she asked as he climbed down. Trowa looked at the newly refinished Wing.
"He believes that Zechs has made Wing better than it was before. Therefore he would have the advantage tomorrow. He wishes for a fair fight I believe, so he is using Heavyarms instead." Noin nodded.
"I see, they are very similar." She muttered. Trowa didn't reply. "And just what were you doing?" she inquired." Trowa ducked his head and moved to her left.
"Making sure the fight remains fair." Trowa answered as he began to walk away. Noin watched his retreating back for a moment before turning around to follow him. There was something she needed to ask him.
"Wait. Trowa." Trowa stopped and turned his head. "I need to ask you something. OZ has a report of a sixth Gundam. A large black one. No one knows if it is for real or not, but since you are a Gundam pilot you must know." Trowa stared at her. His expression revealed nothing and Noin wondered if she were staring into the eyes of a ghost.
"I know nothing about this sixth Gundam OZ has seen." He continued walking leaving Noin alone in the snow.
The sky had grown gray as storm clouds loomed over the horizon. Treize stared out at them wondering what he should do. On his desk was a list of OZ installations that had been hit recently. Most of them were the work of various terrorist organizations, a few by Unit 05 and its shadow. Fortunately, the Gundam had been very quiet recently and Treize was counting his good fortune with that, but he knew it was only a matter of time. He had to go speak to the Romafellar Foundation members tonight and he wasn't looking forward to it. Their spies had been tracking down Captain Zechs Merquise ever since they caught wind of his plan to rebuild Unit 01. Now they had figured out that the Gundam that they had seen blown up at Lake Victoria was simply a shell used for the occasion, that the real one was somewhere else. Where ever it was, so was Zechs.
"I can't help you anymore my friend." Treize murmured. "Once they catch you, they'll want to destroy you. Ah, but they can't. I know you will rise like a phoenix out of the ashes to thwart them. I wish I had your courage to do the same."
"Your Excellency, General Treize?" a voice asked. Treize tilted his head away from the window. His eyes alighted on Fjorten Hale. Dressed in her neatly pressed dark green OZ uniform, she reminded him of Lady Une. Whether he had wanted her or not, Fjorten had been assigned his new secretary until Une returned. Colonel Tolk had insisted upon it. The man was in such a rush to make sure his Draco Project was secure, that OZ and the Romafellar Foundation wouldn't cut the funding that he'd sent one of his minions to sweet talk Treize. Treize wasn't falling into that trap. Fjorten was still standing in the doorway, her hand on the brass doorknob.
"Is there something you needed Sgt. Hale?"
"I have some reports that you might be interested in." She walked forward holding two folders in her hand. Treize turned and sat at his desk. "These are the results of the initial Mobile Dolls test. Duke Dermail has extended an invitation to your for the next series of tests." Treize nodded and opened the file. He sifted through the pages of readouts and wondered how Tsuborov could be so enthusiastic about this project. Tsuborov, was the main supporter in Romafellar of the Mobile Dolls. He spent much time and money making sure his dream came true. What good was a mobile suit that was remote controlled? It had no soul; it could not anticipate the move of a human pilot. They could only follow a set of given instructions, while humans had the capability to think on the spur of the moment. Treize had been against this from the start, but his voice was drowned out by Tsuborov and his supporters. OZ would have its Mobile Dolls soon. Too soon in Treize's mind.
"And this file." Fjorten continued as Treize put the first folder down. "Is a report on the incident in the South Pacific off the coast of New Guinea. We lost five ships and 34 mobile suits." Treize took the folder from her outstretched hand. "The sailors that survived claimed that two huge shadows descended upon them and proceeded to destroy everything in sight." Slowly opening the folder, Treize eyed the photos taken from the surveillance satellite. Like most of the ones taken of Unit 05 and its shadow, these had just enough static to obscure the details, but not the shape. Treize could make out a twin barrel beam rifle and what appeared to be a thermal halberd. He didn't know such a thing was possible, but apparently it was.
"Shadow Gundam." He breathed.
"Treize-sama?" Fjorten asked. Treize held a photo of each Shadow Gundam and opened his desk drawer. He took out the photo of Unit 05 and its shadow and placed all three photos down for Fjorten to see.
"Look at this photo of Unit 05, what do you notice?"
"Besides the static?" She leaned closely. "There is shadow."
"Not a shadow, another Gundam. There appears to be at least two, possibly three of these black Gundam. From the photo, I can't make out if either of the two that struck the fleet are the same one that has been with Unit 05."
"I see. Shadow Gundam." Fjorten said studying all three photos. Straightening, she brushed a tendril of hair out of her face. "So they aren't the five we know."
"No. These are new." He sighed. "Yet they haven't made themselves completely known. As you can see they are giving us glimpses, but never the whole picture. Strange."
"I wonder if they are trying to intimidate us." Fjorten suggested.
"A possibility." Treize said. "For now let us assume there are now eight Gundam."
"Eight? Wasn't Unit 01 destroyed?"
"Let us assume there are eight." Treize repeated sternly.
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