~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Scene IX : The Trial of Quatre Raberba Winner
"Hate is a simple manifestation
Of the deep-seated self-directed frustration;
All it does is promote fear and consternation."
-- Bad Religion, Them and Us
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

	As birthdays went, it sucked.

	Well, honestly, it was worst then that.   It had
been� unbelievably rotten.  The day before, his sister
had died, and the next day he turned seventeen.   It
was a rotten experience, planning your sister�s
funeral when traditionally you would be cutting cake
with your family and friends.   Not that he could,
this time.   

	A few hours before he had been in a room with an
assassin who�d been in love with his sister, and found
out one of the most shocking secrets yet.   His
sisters had been sleeping with one of his best
friends, had died because she loved him.   

	He was jealous.

	Lilah �Atsuki- hadn�t come for him, like she had
said.

	He knew it was petty, he knew he shouldn�t be upset
that Lilah had lied, and he knew he shouldn�t blame
Heero for the decisions of another, but�fuck it.  His
sister was dead, Heero was alive, and Quatre was
angry.

	Quatre had expected more of Heero.   How could he use
a vulnerable woman?   

	Had the boy who he had once called the true heart of
space really fallen so far in such a short time?

	How could he have let it happen?

	Had Quatre been wrong?   Was Heero no better than a
killer?  

	Quatre clenched his fist, remembering how Heero how
even hadn�t attended the memorial services.  
Darkflight had, the beautiful and sorrowful assassin,
had, dressed in somber black clothing that was so
ill-fitted that Quatre had a sneaking suspicion that
it had been stolen�. But he didn�t care about that.  
At least he had come, and it seemed fitting that
stolen clothes be worn to a funeral for a life that
had been stolen away too soon.

	The other pilots were supposedly on base, but he had
seen none of them, with the brief exception of Wufei. 
And that had been before the terrorist attack, which
had caused such changes in his life.   The Preventers
had put him in seclusion, and he�d only seen Yaminah,
a few Preventer agents, and a reporter whose name he
couldn�t even remember.   Relena had arranged some
kind of propaganda campaign to show the �real� Gundam
pilots, and since he was technically the only one who
had been �found�, he�d been subjected to an
excruciating interview.   He knew he had done well,
since he�d been trained since birth for that, but that
didn�t make him any more comfortable with it.  

	�Quatre?�

	A voice startled him out of his reverie, and he
turned to see his sister Jaffa.   It was the first
time he�d seen her since the funeral.  �Yes?�

	�It�s time.�

	He sighed and attached his cufflinks, the ones his
father had given him on his fourteenth birthday.  
�Can you help me with my tie?   I can never get these
things on right��

	Jaffa laughed and walked over, the swish of her
skirts echoing in the large room.   �You always do
fine,� she said.   

	He got the second cufflink into place, and caught
onto her hands.   �I usually have Kasserine make sure
I�m in one piece.�  He stared into her dark eyes and
caressed the back of her palm.  �Neesan, I�m scared,�
he whispered.

	She hugged him, abandoning the tie.   �It�s no
surprise.   What you do now decides the rest of your
life.  I�m sure it�ll be okay, though!�

	He laughed and pulled away, and she took up the task
of fixing his blue tie again.   �It�s not me I�m
scared for.   I�m worried about the precedent this
will set- if they manage to pin me, they can get the
others.   And if they punish us for doing what was
right, what will happen when Duo goes on trial?   Or
Trowa?   They don�t have the financial resources to
mount a defense��

	�You always worry about others first�� Jaffa said as
she finished with his tie.

	�Because I love them.�

	Jaffa gave him another hug.   �You�re too good,� she
said.   �We don�t deserve you.�

	He smiled.  �I don�t deserve any of you, so I do my
best to make myself a better person so I can be more
worthy of you.�

	Jaffa laughed as he opened the door, gesturing for
her to precede him.   Guards and Preventer agents
quickly joined them, and he scowled.   I hate having
them shadow me like I�m something breakable, he
thought.  �Are we going to meet anyone else?� he
asked.

	�Carrington, Yaminah, Rashid and Ree are going to
join us.�   She waved to them as they turned a corner
and the four previously mentioned people joined them. 
 To his surprise, Reeshya was wearing the traditional
Arabian veils, and Carrington was smartly turned out,
her hair sleekly pulled back into a no-nonsense
chignon, and her numerous medals and ribbons shining
against the dark green of the Preventers dress
uniform.  

	�Master Quatre!�  Rashid rushed forward to shake his
hand.   �Have you been all right?  Would you like some
of the Maguanacs to serve as your guards?�

	Quatre smiled at him.   �No, I�ll be fine.   It�s
enough to know that you�re here supporting me.�

	Rashid frowned, looking like a cranky bear just
roused from his sleep.  �This is a farce.�

	�This is government in process.   This is what we
fought for- the right to a fair trial.�

	�Still-�

	�It�ll be okay,� Quatre assured him.  �No matter what
they decide, I�ll accept it.�  He gave them his sunny
smile, and all of them felt a renewed confidence in
themselves.

	Quatre had that ability.

	He straightened his blue jacket and started to walk
again, but was pulled up short by the sight of another
young man lurking in the shadows.   It was someone
he�d been longing to see for over eighteen months, one
of the few people he truly felt understood him. 
�Trowa?� he whispered.

*
	
	�May I sit here, Relena?�

	The Queen of Cinq looked up at the familiar voice. 
�Dorothy?� she said, amazed.  They had had breakfast
together that morning, and Dorothy hadn't mentioned
showing up for Quatre's trial, even though she had
known Relena would be there.   It would have made
sense for the two of them to ride in together�

	The pale blonde smiled down at her sometimes-rival,
sometimes-friend.  �In the flesh.�   She tapped her
foot impatiently, and Relena released belatedly that
she was waiting for permission with uncharacteristic
courtesy,

	�Yes, yes!� Relena said, waving to the seat to her
right.  �I have a political ally coming who�ll need to
other seat,� she said by way of explanation, since the
left was nearer to Dorothy.  �She prefers to be close
to doors- I think it�s post traumatic stress, but I
don�t press the issue.�

	�Who is it?� Dorothy asked curiously as she arranged
her flowing pale yellow dress on the chair around her
so she could rise without stumbling on it.  
Appearance was important- it led to power.

	A secretive smile danced across Relena�s lips.  
�You�ll see soon enough.   What are you doing here?�

	Dorothy knotted a locked of her pale golden hair
around her fingers.   �I had a little� chat with
Duchess Noventa, and claimed our family�s hereditary
seat.  Silly thing, those, seeing as how the World
Nation hasn�t been in action for more then two years
and already some families have permanent seats� but
I�m not going to complain at the moment.   I�ll be
holding the Catalonia seat until I get married.   I
managed to work around the stupid laws about marriage
and inheritance� so far.�

	�Isn�t your mother going to battle you about that?�
Relena asked with a little concern.   Dorothy wasn�t
one of her favorite opponents, but at least she was
rational and fair.   Duchess Noventa tended to be
something of a bitch, and power hungry.   She didn�t
care for the good of the people she was suppose to be
governing- only for what she could earn for herself.  
It was an attitude that disgusted Relena.

	�I don�t think so,� Dorothy said.  �Emily and I have
come to an understanding- she�s getting the hell out
of my life, and in return, I�m not going to look too
closely at a number of� questionable business
transactions she made with my finances.�

	�What?� Relena asked in surprise.

	�Oh, it was nothing too extreme� just enough to ruin
any political aspirations she may have.�   Dorothy
paused, and the gleam in her pale blue-gray eyes sent
a shiver down Relena�s spine.

	�You�re cold,� Relena said.

	�I have no filial feeling for my mother.   She�s a
cold, cold woman.   She doesn�t love me- why should I
love her?�

	�She�s your family�. You�re lucky to have one,�
Relena said softly.  

	�You can have her.�

	�Still-�

	Relena didn�t get to complete the sentence, for a
young woman dressed in a traditional European gown
came up ad curtseyed to Relena.   �Greetings, your
highness.�

	�Hello, Lady Noventa,� Relena said, turning in her
seat.   �Have you met Lady Dorothy Catalonia?  This is
Lady Sylvia Noventa.   She currently holds the Noventa
seat in the World Nation.�

	�We haven�t met formally,� the young woman said
nodding slightly to acknowledge Dorothy�s presence.  
�Greetings, cousin.�

	Relena frowned a second before laughing.   �Yes, you
would be related, wouldn�t you?�

	Sylvia smiled shyly.   �Her mother married my
great-uncle.  That makes us relatives of a sort.  Then
again, all the Catalonias and Khushrenadas and
Noventas have a long history of intermarriage, so we
were probably related before.�

	Dorothy carefully maintained a blank expression as
Sylvia took the seat at Relena�s right.   �Was Lady
Noventa the ally you were waiting for?� she asked.

	�Yes,� Relena said.   �I�ve found Lady Noventa most
helpful.�

	�I must admit I find that� rather surprising.  
Considering you are known to support the Gundam
pilots, and��

	�� and my grandfather was killed by them?� the
perceptive girl asked, leaning forward slightly so she
could look at Dorothy.   �They were tricked by Oz.�

	�Still� it must be hard to put aside the natural
hatred you must feel for your grandfather�s
murderers.�

	�Dorothy!� Relena exclaimed.

	Sylvia shook her head, soft wisps of hair
highlighting her brilliant eyes.   �I always heard
that you were an interesting woman, Lady Catalonia��

	�That�s one of the polite things I�ve been called.�

	Their eyes met and Relena felt like she was sitting
in the middle of a minefield, unsure of which way to
step.   Her back went rigid, and she wondered why she
ever decided having Dorothy sit near Sylvia would be a
good thing- their philosophies were just too different
for a civil alliance.   

	Then something shocking happen.   The two burst out
laughing.

	Sylvia�s eyes teared up, and Dorothy�s deeper chuckle
made a pleasant counterpoint to Sylvia�s bell-like
laughter.  �It�s really rather ridiculous for you to
call me Lady Noventa,� Sylvia said.   �Call me Sylvia,
and I�ll call you Dorothy.�

	�Agreed.� Dorothy produced a handkerchief and handed
it to Sylvia, who gratefully accepted, using it to dry
her eyes.

	Relena felt like she�d been hit by a two-by-four.  
�What just happened here?�

	Sylvia and Dorothy exchanged amused looks.  �You
wouldn�t understand,� Dorothy said.  �Sylvia, why are
you supporting Relena?�

	�I met Heero Yuy during the war, after my grandfather
died.   His grief� was sincere.   He was� how can I
describe him?  I really can�t.�

	�That�s Heero,� Dorothy said.   �Heero is something
profound.�

	Relena, uncharacteristically, was quiet.

	�From all reports, Quatre Raberba Winner is even more
empathetic.  I�ve never met him, but he deserves a
trial, and many people want to hang him for everything
that�s been wrong.   It�s not his fault- he was one of
the few people who tried to make a difference.

	�I hate war- but he�s not a coward.  Hanging him is
the wrong way to solve the mistakes of the past.   The
only penance he can make is to live, and contribute to
society.   And he was doing that, until we dragged him
out here for this mockery of a trial.�

	Dorothy smiled at her.  �I may not agree with your
reasons, but I do agree with your ends.   I say that
between the three of us, we can rule this room.�

	Relena raised an eyebrow.  �Oh?�

	�Just watched.   You thought you were Queen of the
World under Romafeller?  Trust me, that was nothing.  
When we�re done, people are going to ask �how high�
before we say jump.�  Dorothy gave the other two women
a wicked grin.

	Sylvia and Relena found themselves responding in
kind.

*

	Quatre stopped walking, feeling Reeshya bump into him
abruptly from behind. "Trowa?" he whispered again,
feeling an odd sensation rising up in his chest.
"Trowa�what are you doing here? I thought you were
in-"

	"The hospital?" said the familiar quiet voice. "I
was, but they let me out for the trial. 

There was a bandage wrapped around the other boy's
head, but that wasn't what made Quatre do a
double-take. Trowa had�grown up. Granted, the former
Heavyarms pilot had always had a bearing that made him
seem older than he really was, and he really wasn't
that much taller, being a gymnast. But there was
something about him that was�different than Quatre
remembered, and it wasn't just the dark blue suit and
shiny dress shoes that Trowa wore, making him look
more like a businessman than Quatre himself ever
would.

	His uchuu no kokoro throbbed and he winced, not sure
if it was from pleasure or pain.

	"Are you all right?" Trowa said, pushing himself off
from the wall and taking a step forward. He felt
Reeshya steady him from behind.

	"Yes�I�yes." Quatre took a deep breath. "It's
just�well." He paused. "I've missed you," he said all
in a rush, feeling a little uncomfortable admitting it
in front of all these people who were here to escort
him to a trial, not to see him meet an old friend.

	To his surprise, Trowa smiled easily, and Quatre felt
his heart give another little jolt as he
felt�happiness? coming from the other pilot's sense.
"They actually weren't going to let me out," Trowa
admitted, sounding rather sheepish. "But I�insisted."

	Quatre felt the corners of his mouth turn up in a
grin, his first real smile all day since he'd woken up
this morning at 5 AM and decided that it was useless
to pretend to sleep anymore. "Thank you Trowa," he
said, and suddenly stuck out his hand, not sure what
to expect from the other boy. "I'm glad you're here."

	Trowa reached out his own hand solemnly and shook it.
"I needed to be here. You know that."

	"It's been two years," Quatre said, looking into the
sharp green eyes and trying to read the emotions
behind them. "I wasn't sure."

	The hand grasping his tightened until it was almost
painful, and then abruptly Trowa released his grip,
stepping back. "You know me better than that."

	A tapping on his shoulder made him look around. Jaffa
was standing there, looking partly touched and partly
harried. "Quat, I don't want to intrude but we
should-"

	"-get going?" he finished. "I know." He glanced back
at Trowa, saw the enigmatic smile playing on the
other's face. "You'll be in there, right?"

	"Where else would I be?" came the quiet response, and
he felt the throbbing in the uchuu no kokoro ease away
to be replaced by a sense of peacefulness.

	Jaffa put an arm around him. "Quatre? We need to go
now."

	"I know," he said, taking a deep breath. "Let's make
this a good entrance."

*

	Fatima bint Narish sat quietly, something she was
unaccustomed to doing.

	She held one of the seats on the first row, an honor
that she was accustomed to.   Behind her were arrayed
around 150 other delegates in an ascending semi-circle
of seats, groups together by alliances.   Had she had
her choice of seats, she would have preferred to sit
in the back, where she could watch the various
interactions, and see what alliances were forming, and
which ones were dissolving.   

	She couldn�t, though.   She was currently one of the
lead prosecutors in the trial, and this trial would
make or break her career.   She�d been delighted when
it�d fallen to her, and even more pleased when she�d
heard who the first defendant would be.

	Quatre Raberba Winner.   God, she hated the brat.

	She�d give anything to nail his hide to the wall, and
Allah had dropped him into her lap, practically
gift-wrapped.   All she had to do was put on a
semi-decent case and she�d win.   Her career would be
assured.   Half the World Nation already hated him.  
All she needed to do was swing the necessary votes for
the requisite too thirds, and BAM!  She�d be able to
get a seat on whatever committee she fancied.  Or
perhaps� she might even wrangle the presidency of the
World Nation.

	She smiled and glanced down at her perfect nails, the
French manicure elegant in its simplicity.   She knew
that Winner�s sisters would likely be donning the more
traditional garb that the Winner family favored, so
she�d chosen to wear a cutting-edge designer suit by
Vedanta.  The brilliant red stood out in the crowd,
and her long mass of black hair was caught back in an
elaborate arrangement with ruby clips that had taken
her stylist two hours to perfect.

	Being beautiful was a bitch.

	Her notes were perfect, and she glanced over at her
legal team, the best that money could buy.   They,
too, realized the stakes that were riding on this.  
�Are we ready?�

	�We�ll fry him,� one female attorney said.

	�Don�t get cocky,� Fatima warned.  �Winner is a
charming bastard, and he�s got the money to drag this
out for years.   We need to make him evil.   We need
to make him vile- we need to show people that he�s not
innocent, and that behind those sweet blue eyes lives
the Devil himself.�

	�He�s a Gundam pilot.   That does sort of speak for
itself.�

	�You�d be surprised.   We have some opposition
against us- Relena Peacecraft, most notably, but the
Preventers support him, and he�s popular with a lot of
the little people.   A lot of the elected World Nation
senator may support him if their constituents speak up
loudly enough.�

	The lawyer looked up to where Relena was sitting.  
�Is that Queen Relena talking to Lady Noventa and Lady
Catalonia?�

	Fatima turned slightly and caught a glimpse of the
trio out of the corner of her eye.   �Well, shit,� she
said, unable to think of anything more intelligent to
say.

	�That�s bad, isn�t it?�

	�We just lost the Catalonia seat,� Fatima said,
turning back.   �There�s no telling what Lady Dorothy
will do, and Lady Noventa being there as well� well,
politics makes for strange bedfellows.�  She looked
down at her notes again.   �I think Duchess Noventa
pushed her daughter a little too far at the wrong
moment.  Damn that woman.�

	She straightened her notebook, which was already in
perfect alignment, and refrained from sighing as the
heavy floor-level doors opened.  Two Preventer guards
opened the double doors in unison, and then the Winner
bodyguards entered.  Quatre Winner walked in, wearing
a blue suit that cost more than a small colony,
expensive leather shoes, and golden cufflinks.   The
outfit highlighted his startling cornflower blue eyes,
but there was a serenity in his face as he took his
chair.  

	�And the prince arrives,� Fatima murmured under her
breath.   �Let the battle begin.�

*

	Quatre was well aware of all the cameras on him, and
knew his image was being broadcast to billions of
people.   He remained composed but not icy, knowing
that image was important and could work for or against
him.

	�Are you ready?� Yaminah asked as she sat next to
him.

	�As I�ll ever be.�

	The President of the World Nation, Sidney Alderman,
rose to his feet and knocked the gavel three times. 
�Come to order. This trial is a public trial in the
fullest sense of those words, and I must, therefore,
remind the public that the Tribunal will insist upon
the complete maintenance of order and decorum, and
will take the strictest measures to enforce it. It
only remains for me to direct, in accordance with the
provisions of the Charter, that the indictment shall
now be read.  Ms. bint Narish?�

	Fatima rose to her feet, holding out her notes.  She
looked over at Quatre with veiled eyes, and he barely
kept from glaring back at her.  He could feel the
vengefulness she was projecting at him in waves, and
didn�t like it.  Fatima spoke clearly, her voice
ringing through the chambers via the sound system, as
she glanced occasionally at Quatre, President
Alderman, and the cameras:



�The defendant, Quatre Raberba Winner, during a period
of years preceding 24th December, AC195, participated
as a leader, organizer, instigator or accomplice in
the formulation or execution of a common plan or
conspiracy to commit, or which involved the commission
of, Crimes against Peace, War Crimes, and Crimes
against Humanity, as defined in the Charter of this
Tribunal, and, in accordance with the provisions of
the Charter of the World Nation, is individually
responsible for his own actions and for all acts
committed by any persons in the execution of such plan
or conspiracy. The common plan or conspiracy embraced
the commission of Crimes against Peace, in that the
defendant planned, prepared, initiated and waged wars
of aggression, which were also wars in violation of
international treaties, agreements or assurances. In
the development and course of the common plan or
conspiracy it came to embrace the commission of War
Crimes, in that it contemplated, and the defendants
determined upon and carried out, ruthless wars against
countries and populations, in violation of the rules
and customs of war, including as typical and
systematic means by which the wars were prosecuted,
murder for other purposes of civilian populations of 
occupied territories, the plunder of public and
private property, the wanton destruction of cities,
towns, colonies and villages, and devastation not
justified by military necessity. The common plan or
conspiracy contemplated and came to embrace as typical
and systematic, and the defendants determined upon and
committed, Crimes against Humanity, both within colony
and within occupied territories, including murder,
other inhumane acts committed against civilian
populations during the war.�


	Quatre looked over at his sisters, and Trowa. 
Catherine had somehow materialized beside him. 
Yaminah, who was beside him, squeezed his hand
reassuringly, and he smiled at her gently.

	It was official- his trial had begun.

	There was no going back.

	May Allah help them all.




~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Scene VIII: What Happens When the Lights Go Out	
" When the walls around you won't stop laughing,
Where do you go?"
--Life of Agony, Ugly
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~


Li had wanted to see the look on Quatre Raberba
Winner's face when he found out that the man his
sister had been sleeping with was none other than
Heero Yuy. But the room where they'd taken Atsuki's
body was private, and she didn't think the
dark-skinned boy who was keeping watch over her would
appreciate a third party. So she left Quatre there at
the front doors of the hospital, making him promise to
call her if anything came up. She knew he wouldn't. He
looked fragile and innocent, but he was as tough as
nails, as cunning as they came.

	That was, after all, why he had been a Gundam pilot.

	It was fully dark by the time she returned to the
main part of the base, to a headquarters full of
chaos. The main building, she was told as she pulled
into the area, was locked down until a sweep could be
conducted, and General Une was away to Bern. She was
directed to the temporary main control center which
was a mess of flustered guards trying to direct lost
civilians, babies crying, people demanding to know
when and how everything would be fixed again. Li paid
them no heed, and the few who began questioning her
backed off when they saw her major's ranks, the hard
set of her face, and the death glare she fixed on
them.

	She had grabbed the nearest available Preventer
officer, a young captain who was calmly giving
directions and looked like he had a brain in his
skull. "Where's General Po?" she demanded.

	"Next building over, ma'am," he said, then
recognition dawned in his eyes. "Major Li! General Po
was asking you to report to her. Should I radio her
that you're coming?"

	Li opened her mouth to say no, then reconsidered.
"Yes. Please tell her I'm on my way."

	It would be wise to make everything look normal. For
now. Until the computers were repaired.

	That was her worst fear, her every nightmare come
true. It wasn't the base that concerned her, but the
computer system. The terrorists had violated her
personal territory when they'd slipped that virus into
the systems, and they would pay, if it took her a
million years to track them down. Those in their right
mind did not anger Aidoru.

	She fought down the overpowering wave of fury and
despair at the temporary loss of her domain and ducked
into the next building, searching for Sally's office.
It didn't take her long to locate it. The door was
open and she could hear the muted clicking of keys
from within. She knocked lightly.

	"There you are."

	She took those words as a signal that she could
enter, walked in to find the general seated at the end
of a long conference table in front of a laptop
computer. They'd set up some temporary servers in the
office � nowhere near the power of the central base
system, but adequate. 

	There was a staff sergeant standing there by Sally's
chair, taking notes. Li ignored him, turning her
attention back to the honey-haired woman who was
gazing at her with a weary expression. "General, the
computer systems are completely down. The base is a
sitting duck."

	"I'm well aware of that fact," the general had
snapped back, her voice raspy and tired. "Major, I'm
glad to see you're safe. I asked you to come see me
precisely because of this issue. I'm putting you in
charge of getting those systems back online as soon as
possible."

	"It could take weeks," she said. "Ma'am." Looking
Sally in the eye. Sally knew how important those
computers were to her, but there were some things that
even the Preventers' second-in-command couldn't fix.

	"One week, Li," Sally said, not looking. "If not
less. You're good, Li�that's what I told Une. Now I
want to see how good."

	Li saluted, feeling the tension in her muscles as she
did so. "Yes, ma'am."

	Sally hadn't wanted to admit in front of the sergeant
how central the computer systems were to base
operations, but Li knew. Sally's tired posture had
told her that much, but there had also been something
else there, something that worried her. Something that
said, we're running out of time.

	Li didn't want to believe that. There had to be more
time�for her, at least, to do what she wanted done.
This Preventers Headquarters would not go down without
a fight, and when she had won this battle, she would
go after the bastards who had dared to venture into
her territory. It was personal now.

	It took less than four days to fix the system, after
Li had personally gone down and set up camp in the
information headquarters. Her first act after seeing
Sally was to march down to see the system chief, a
lieutenant colonel that had sneered at her when she'd
walked in and had been almost reduced to tears as she
walked back out. It was nice knowing that she had the
power to do that.

	On the network, she had the power to do even more
than that. More than the power to cause fear, even
more than the power to kill. Once she set her mind to
it, she could destroy a life. Erase someone as if they
had never existed. 

	On the fifth day after the attack, she went to see
Sally again, to inform her that the computer systems
were online. Not fully complete, but online and fully
secure. To her relief, the security walls had held
even through the electric and network blackout and
none of the classified information had been hacked
into. Perhaps the lieutenant colonel was more
competent than she'd given him credit for. She'd gone
to see him again after reporting to Sally with a
cautious congratulations and a promise of promotion if
he could get the system fully up and running, even
more smoothly than before, in the next two days.

	He exceeded her expectations. He did it in one. Even
she was impressed.

	She'd have given him a promotion herself if she had
had the time, but there were more pressing matters to
take care of. The main building was still off-limits,
so she'd had to settle for the rigged-together system
in her makeshift office in the temporary building, but
it was enough. She'd remembered to take her VR goggles
with her out of the building, though everything else,
including all the correspondence locked in that drawer
of her desk, was still inside. No one should be able
to get into those files, but then again, Une's Gundam
pilot files were supposed to have been confidential as
well.

	As soon as she moved back into the main building, she
would have to destroy any evidence that those files in
the drawer existed.

	Six days after the attack, she'd tested the system to
find it sufficiently ready for what she had been
planning to do a week before. The delay did have an
advantage�Masamune would have had more time to find
good assassins for her. His reputation was good�she
was about to find out how good.

	The rest of the base was still asleep at 0400 hours,
and she kept the lights out in her office as she
slipped inside, closing and double-bolting the door.
There were no security cams in this room, which was
one less thing she had to worry about. Her computer
was on standby and as she sat down, the motion sensors
detected movement and the CPU hummed to life. She
plugged in the goggles carefully, adjusting the
brightness on the screen so that it wouldn't be seen
from under the door.

	"Activate," she said quietly.

	The screen flickered and the lines of familiar code
began scrolling down. So far so good. She took the
long way, just in case she was detected by the
security 'bots that she'd personally ordered the
lieutenant colonel to place on the system. Nothing
like a show of bravado after the storm to keep people
on their toes, and she was pretty sure that if she'd
continued working on that system, she'd have the
lieutenant colonel eating out of her hand before long.
If he wasn't already.

	She slipped on the goggles, and the lines of code
abruptly became a long corridor of red sandstone with
an iron door at the far end. She hurried down the
corridor, hearing her footsteps clicking on the stone
floor, not concerned with her appearance. She'd adjust
that later. Her fingers flew on the keyboard and
through the goggles, she saw her virtual fingers move,
producing a key, unlocking the heavy metal padlock,
throwing open the door. Heard it slam behind her as
she stepped through into black nothing.

	She was in.

	Drawing a deep breath, she swallowed. The network
looked the same as it had a week ago, the liquid
mercury shimmering as waves of light passed through
its murky, transparent depths, but it was nearly
deserted. Instead of the familiar patterns of Holes,
Bugs, and tracers, there were mostly "shadows," faint
traces of Holes that had once been there and had been
closed up. Plunging into the eerie quiet, she kept
alert for any foreign presence that would explain the
sudden disappearance of most of the network's
population, but except for the lapping of the mercury
ocean, there was nothing.

	Li would gladly have lingered in the shallower parts
to do some readings and tweak some code tracings, but
she had no time for that today. Plunging directly into
the data sea, she was prepared this time as the
sensation of Pulling overtook her, watched as the
blackness of the Dungeons dissolved into�a tropical
rainforest.

	Disoriented, she blinked and glanced around her,
turning in a slow circle to take in the landscape
around her. She was standing in a small clearing
surrounded by towering trees wrapped in thick, heavy
vines, tropical flowers bursting with raucous color.
Somewhere overhead, a bird cawed. 

Her present garb was beginning to make her feel hot
and uncomfortable, so she discarded it, pulling up the
android visualization, giving herself a darker
metallic skin than the bright silver she usually
preferred. Taking a step forward through the thick,
muggy air, she found the ground under her foot was
spongy, squelching slightly at the pressure. She made
a face.

	"You don't seem to like our current landscaping."

	Li jumped before she could help herself, then swung
her head around to glare at the man emerging from the
curtain of vines that swung at one edge of the
clearing, a man who could only be Masamune. He was
dressed in the same Japanese shogun costume, but
instead of looking incongruous, a man out of place, he
blended right into the colorful swirl of vegetation
that now seemed to her more than anything like a
backdrop, a scenery set, a curtain for a stage on
which he was the central player and she the helpless
audience.

	She didn't like that feeling.

	"Whatever you deem suitable," she said coldly,
reminding him that she was the one in charge, the one
with more power. Or at least, she tried. She saw the
look of amusement in his eyes as she did so, knew with
annoyance that no matter how powerful the name Aidoru
was, the Dungeons were Masamune's domain.

	"I've found your assassins," he said, not bothering
with the niceties of a formal greeting. He knew what
she was here for. "I was wondering when you would come
back to claim them."

	"I was�delayed."

	He raised an eyebrow. "Actually, you couldn't have
come back at a more opportune time, Aidoru. They're
just about to make their move."

	She narrowed her eyes. "What do you mean?"

	He smiled, that thin, watchful smile that would have
made her skin crawl, if androids had skin. "This
particular group was�a bit anxious to get the job over
with, especially with the amount that I offered. They
also seemed to have personal reasons to take the deal.
Whatever the case, they're already on mission."

	"What?!"

	He gazed mildly at her. "Should I have waited?"

	Li stared at him, fuming. It wasn't the issue that he
had somehow found out the information of who she was
trying to kill before she had had the chance to tell
him. It was the Breaks, after all, and someone would
have found it sooner or later. But the fact that he
had let the assassins go after the target before she
had the chance to speak with them�

	"I sense you're angry with me," Masamune said
abruptly. "I thought you would be."

	"You bet I'm damn well angry with you!" Li snapped.
"I haven't even personally talked to these assassins
of yours yet! How do I know they're reliable?"

	"They are reliable," Masamune said coldly. "Trust
me."

	"I don't even know you," she countered, just as
coldly. "Trust is something that one builds up over
time. I don't believe we've had that time yet."

	"What if I told you," he countered, "that these two
assassins were relatives of Seki Hikaru?"

	For the umpteenth time that day, she did a double
take. "They're what?"

	"Relatives," he said. "A great-nephew and a
grandson." He smiled again, showing his teeth.
"Rivalry is strong in the Breaks. What better way than
to pit snake against snake?"

	"You're a bastard," she said, but she knew he could
sense her grudging admiration, and didn't bother to
hide it. "So where are they now? Are you monitoring
them?"

	He gave a curt nod. "If you'd like, you'll be able to
witness the final kill."

	"If it's not an inconvenience," she maintained,
putting emphasis on the last word. He was still
smiling.

	"Not at all. You've paid me well, and I told you that
you could trust me. This way."

	He led the way along a trampled footpath of jungle
foliage, through a jumble of exotic plants thriving in
the ever-humid air that condensed on her metal android
body, rolling in large dewdrops down her arms and legs
and torso and becoming uncomfortably ticklish on her
face. She ignored the sensations, focusing on the
mission, on getting there, making sure the job was
completed, and getting out. She'd argued against this
being done at all � in fact, she'd argued against
using the Breaks and the Black Diamond Cartel as a
resource in the first place � but now that it was in
the works, she was damned if she would let it fail
now.

	We can't let someone like him run loose on us
anymore. I was taking a big gamble with him, and it's
worked out so far, but I don't know how far he'll test
his leash. I don't want to find out. 

	Seki Hikaru was a big fish, but in the end, he was
only a fish. She had to admire the ruthlessness and
the unwavering mindset of her employer. She herself
would have let Seki alone, but she could see now that
he was too dangerous, that he knew too much, and that
knowledge could destroy them, should he ever try to
use it against them.

	And that was why he had to die.

	"Here," Masamune announced, as they stepped into a
second, smaller clearing. There was a blinking
vidscreen on a pedestal of some kind, and both of them
seemed to be made up of the same shifting, glowing
mercury of the network ocean. He didn't seem to notice
her surprise as he motioned her towards it and
adjusted the display. "We shall be able to watch their
progress here."

	"I'd prefer to watch alone, thank you," she said
harshly. "Leave."

	She expected him to argue, but instead he simply
bowed in the traditional Japanese manner. "As you
wish." She stared after him as he departed the
clearing, but he didn't look back, and sighing, she
turned her attention to the vidscreen.

	At first it didn't show much � a bunch of squiggly
lines that spoke of a broken connection, and she was
about to stalk into the forest after Masamune and tell
him that she was deducting half his pay � but as she
watched, the lines resolved themselves into shadowy
forms, forms that cleared and lightened into human
bodies.

	The first was clearly still a boy in his teens, no
more than sixteen or seventeen, she guessed, but she
wasn't surprised that he was one of the assassins on
this mission. Children grew up quickly in the Breaks,
she'd heard, or they didn't grow up at all. The second
was a little taller, broader in the shoulders, with
the ease of motion of an adult male. His facial
features looked very familiar and she struggled to
place him for a moment before she realized where she'd
seen him before.

	He looked like Shinobu.

	Before she could begin to digest the significance of
that, the figures were already moving, almost too
quickly for the virtual camera to keep up. She
squinted her eyes to keep track of them for a moment,
then noticed the blinking buttons on the side of the
camera pedestal, fiddled with them for a moment. The
top one apparently allowed the camera to connect
directly with the VR goggles, and she adjusted the
settings and switched it on. There was a moment of
disorientation as the network maneuvered around the
Preventers' system security walls, and then she was
connected.

	It was an odd feeling. She had now essentially become
a tiny, invisible, floating camera in the Breaks
itself. She'd heard of such technology before, and
knew more or less the specifics of how to make
something like this work, but she'd never actually
been inside it. It was only the very experienced and
the very brave who would ever try something like this,
and in a place like the Breaks, if someone was caught
manipulating data flow like this by the cartels, it
would mean instant death.

	Her respect for Masamune went up a tiny notch.

	The boys (yes, they might be old enough to be adults
in the Breaks, but they were still boys to her) were
making their through a hallway inside some building,
which she assumed was the Black Diamond's headquarters
building, with the bare gray functionality of the
walls and the sparse d�cor. She'd heard that Seki was
quite a cultured man, but there was nothing here that
indicated culture, only monochrome color and greenish
fluorescent lights guiding their way. The boys
traveled smoothly, lightly, as if they were on a walk
around the park instead of a journey to assassinate
the most powerful man in the Breaks.

	It would be interesting to see what happened after
Seki died. Would there be a power play, as with the
Shionji cartel? Would the Black Diamond Cartel fall as
well? Criminals pitted against criminals would make an
interesting spectacle.

	Li smiled tightly to herself. She shouldn't be
talking�if she were caught here doing this, she would
be considered a criminal as well. She thought of the
files still locked in her desk drawer in the main
building and wondered how many of those would be
enough to earn her a court martial. Ten? Two? One?

	The boys stopped in front of a low, narrow metal
door, and she watched as two men slipped out of the
shadows and conferred with them for a few seconds.
Bodyguards? Whatever the case, the boys must have been
deemed trustworthy because the bodyguards slipped back
into the shadows and the older boy produced a key from
his pocket and inserted it into the electronic lock on
the door. It beeped and the lock clicked.

	She let out a breath she hadn't even realized she was
holding. For a moment there, images had flashed
through her mind of the guards stopping them, not
letting them through, seeing all her hard handiwork
gone to dust. It was absurd, of course � they were
relatives�but nothing was impossible.

	The door slid open automatically and the boys
entered. The room was dim and dark and at first it
took several milliseconds for the camera's lens to
adjust to the sudden decrease in light � milliseconds
that her networked linked vision interpreted as far
longer than they actually were. She was still trying
to orient herself when she was suddenly aware of a
strange glow filling the room.

	The walls were glowing.

	That wasn't true, of course, the data linked to her
brain insisted. The walls were coated with some
phosphorescent material that emitted a soft, natural
light�but the overall effect was impressive. Glancing
around the room, she found it was an antechamber of
some sort, the kind of eighteenth century meets
science-fiction outer room that one could only find in
movies nowadays, with strangely shaped and weirdly
beautiful statues and paintings scattered artistically
around the walls. The ceiling was a dome made entirely
out of one sheet of smoked glass, and she noticed a
switch on the wall, which her data sensors told her
controlled the tint of the glass. 

	She now understood why they called Seki a cultured
man.

A vidscreen stood in the middle of the room, but it
took her data sensors a moment to realize it was a
vidscreen. The stand was in the shape of a slender
tree trunk with a blinking keypad set just below the
screen, and the screen itself was merely a wide metal
ring balanced vertically. She saw in an instant how it
worked: the image was projected from photon emitters
around the inside of the ring, shooting towards the
center and creating a picture suspended in midair. It
was a new state-of-the-art design, almost priceless,
but then again, being one of the richest men in the
world, Seki could probably afford ten of these things.

	The boys had crossed the anteroom now and Li tore her
eyes from the vidscreen, hovering just behind the two
as they stopped at what seemed to be a piece of flat
sheet metal set into the shimmering walls. On second
glance, her data sensors revealed that it was a door
of smoked glass, the same kind as the glass in the
dome, but reinforced with steel. She'd seen these
before, where the person inside the room could see out
but those on the other side could not see in. The set
up reminded her of Une's office in the main building.

	The older boy knocked.

	There was a silence and then the door swung open.
Seki's office was as sparsely but elegantly decorated
as the anteroom, and the theme here seemed to be oak
and velvet. An oak desk, wine-colored velvet drapes
and carpet, oak bookcase. In the leather chair, facing
the door, was the crime lord himself.

	He rose as the boys entered. He wasn't as elderly
looking as she had imagined him to be, but his face
was heavily lined and his shifty dark eyes had
wrinkles around the corners. He was wearing a
severe-looking traditional Japanese hakama in blacks
and grays, the fabric molding smoothly around a form
that was surprisingly muscular for a man of his age.
Here was a man who was powerful, and knew it. A man
who was not only powerful, but supremely secure in his
power.

	Not for long, Li thought grimly. Your usefulness is
about to come to an end.

The boys stopped in front of his desk, bowed. Li felt
the data sensors tingling as they analyzed the scene,
found herself wondering just how the two were planning
to conduct this mission. The camera was obviously not
equipped with soundwave sensors, because Seki opened
his mouth and spoke, but she heard nothing. The older
boy answered him, then gestured to the younger one,
who looked faintly angry, crossing his arms over his
chest. Seki laughed.

	She saw the younger's hand twitch slowly, realized he
was wearing a gun strapped to his belt. Her heart
plummeted. Surely they weren't that stupid, to think
that they could just march into Seki's office and
shoot him? He would have guards against that sort of
thing. How had the gun gotten past the guards, anyway?
She fixed her gaze on the older boy, hoping he had
something else up his sleeve, but he seemed to be too
busily engaged in conversation with Seki, who looked
bored. The younger boy was tapping his foot against
the carpet impatiently.

	Seki said something else and it was the elder's turn
to be angry. He spat something and the younger one
frowned, answered. Seki pointed a finger at him,
glaring at both of them, and the older boy rolled his
eyes. The younger one was shouting now, advancing at
the desk. Li watched in fascination. Whatever they
were, these boys were great actors.

	Seki pointed his finger at the younger boy and the
boy spat something, and as the older one lunged
forward, the other pulled his gun and fired

	It would have been too fast for her to follow if
she'd been watching this with human eyes, but the data
feed to her nervous system alerted her to the fact
that the bullet had not been aimed at either Seki or
the older boy, but in fact at an almost hidden
security camera in the wall. She saw the bullet leave
the gun, saw it hit the camera and saw the camera lens
shatter into thousands of tiny slivers. She watched as
Seki glanced scornfully at the camera, then flicked
his glance over the two boys. 

At once, Li realized two things. One, that Seki knew
the gun was not dangerous and had allowed them to
bring it into his office, because the antechamber was
equipped with sensors that would not allow any real
weapon to pass through. Therefore, the gun had not
been loaded, at least not with any kind of bullet the
sensors would recognize. And two, the thing that had
hit the camera lens had truly not been a bullet of any
sort. It was a capsule.

	A poison capsule.

	Her camera lens zoomed in to Seki, saw the tiny
slivers of the lens, almost microscopic, burying
themselves in the exposed flesh of his head and neck.
Saw, as if on an x-ray, the poison creeping through
his bloodstream.

	But if Seki had been hit, surely the two boys�?

	She zoomed out and saw that the older boy had fallen
to his knees. Looked up at Seki again and saw the
dawning understanding on his face as the boy's eyes
rolled up in his head and he collapsed against the
velvet carpet. The younger boy was still on his feet.
She could feel the fear rolling off of him, not from
any program, but from his very stance and the look on
his face.

	For the first time, Li wondered if the scene before
the shooting had been scripted at all. This was a
cartel, and the older boy clearly had had some kind of
high standing in the family. Perhaps Seki was not the
only one who had been tricked.

	She saw the cartel leader sway on his feet, press his
hands to his desk to keep himself standing. She
expected him to rant or rage, perhaps pull out a gun
and shoot the younger boy, who seemed to be frozen,
watching the still form of his cousin. But instead,
the drug lord simply smiled. Then began to laugh, and
as she watched his shoulders shake, she couldn't rid
herself of the feeling that he knew he was being
watched. That he knew, and was enjoying her
discomfort, as if instead of being the loser here, he
had in fact won.

	She was glad that the camera was not equipped with
sound as his head lolled back on his shoulders and he
slumped against his chair, his eyes wide and staring
but the smile still on his cunning face.

	The door to the office burst open and bullets from
the guns of the bodyguards struck the younger boy, but
Li had been expecting that. As he crumpled to the
ground and as the blood began staining the
wine-colored carpet, she was already stepping back
from the screen, keying her way out of the Dungeons
and out of the network. Her fingers trembled as she
hit the final keys out of the system and, pulling the
goggles from her face, she rested her head on her
hands, trying to calm her heart.

	Even though there had been no sound, even though she
was kilometers away from L1, even though she was no
longer connected through the mercury ocean, she
thought she could still hear Seki laughing.


~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Scene X : A Traitor Among Us
"There's an unceasing wind that blows through this
night
And there's dust in my eyes, that blinds my sight
And silence that speaks so much louder that words,
Of promises broken."
-- Pink Floyd, Sorrow
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~


	She felt out of place; Geneva had become home, and
being in Bern was a sign of her failure.  Lady Une sat
back in her chair, looking at Carrington, who had
taken the seat across from her.   �How is it going?�
she asked, shuffling a few of the papers on her desk
to give her hands something to do.  She dismissed her
sentimental feelings to focus on the matter at hand.

	�It could be better,� Carrington said.   She had just
arrived from the third day of the trial in Geneva to
give Une a first person perspective, and Une was
relieved for her presence, for a change.   Carrington
would not bother with any flowery platitudes- she
would explain the situation without glossing over any
of the lumps.  �Quatre is both the best and worse
pilot who could be the first to go on trial.   People
want to hate him, but he�s honest, and looking into
his eyes makes you weigh yourself- and usually find
yourself wanting.   Still, they want someone to blame
for the war, and he did destroy two colonies
single-handedly� it�d be worse if it was one of the
others� most likely.�

	�Maxwell would rant about being the God of Death,
Chang would lecture about justice and the strong
surviving, and the other two would stare ahead blankly
or do something just plain scary.   Trowa and Heero
aren�t precisely the two most� normal individuals I�ve
ever met."   Une spoke precisely, her tones clipped
and very factual.

	�That was my reading of the situation.   Still,
Winner is listed as one of the ten wealthiest
individuals, and that makes people jealous.   Getting
the chance to bring him down makes some people
salivate at the thought.�  Carrington flipped through
the notes on her legal pad, the neat hand writing
standing out against the amusing doodles and SD
depictions of Fatima bint Narish getting her head
whacked off with a herring.

	�What do you think the members of the assembly will
say?�

	�Relena Peacecraft, Sylvia Noventa, and surprisingly
Dorothy Catalonia seem to be very much on our side.  
I�m relieved that Lady Dorothy replaced her mother-
Duchess Noventa is not a kind woman and bint Narish
has her in her pocket, no matter what the Duchess
thinks.   Keets has become vehemently opposed to the
pilots and Preventers due to their daughter�s death,
bint Narish is vocal in her opposition.   Lord Jareth,
Tatsumi-ou, and Dancing Horse seem to be taking the
moderate stance� the others are either taking their
usual stances or being unreadable.   It was just
opening arguments, though, so��

	�How long should we anticipate this lasting?�

	�Weeks� months� as long as they can drag it out, they
will.   I hope Winner is prepared to be crucified,
because that�s what�s going to be happening."

	"Quatre always did make a splendid martyr," Une said
dryly.

	"That wasn't that funny."

	"...you know, I'm not sure it was supposed to be."  
Both women remained in their seats for a moment,
thinking on the usually serene pilot.   

	�I feel sorry for him�� Carrington admitted after a
moment.   �I think I feel sorry for all of them.   And
I respect them even more.�

	�You?� Une asked in surprise.

	Carrington nodded solemnly.   �I respect few people. 
 Respect is something that must be earned.  Who else
has done more to earn it then they?  Did you watch any
of the trial footage?�

	Une shook her head, wondering where Carrington was
going.

	�I was there� and when Fatima lit into Quatre, I
wasn�t sure what to do.   But he remained calm, and�
it was like he was centered.   He�s at peace with
himself- he�d confident.   He�s here to tell his side
of the story, and while he�d like us to believe him,
he won�t wilt away and die without our approval.

	�It�s not just Quatre, though.   The night of the
attack, Chang was out helping.   I see how loyal
Barton is to his sister, or how much Maxwell cares for
his friends.   There�s something in them� something
deep.   For a while I was wondering about Yuy, but all
the others seem to respect him most of all.   And he
did stop the Libra from falling��

	Une looked at Carrington.   �Were you at that fight?�

	�Anyone who could fly a MS was there.   That battle�
well, I�m now on the ineligible list for combat duty. 
 Look at my file much, Une?�

	Une shook her head.   �I don�t have time to.  
Sally�s in charge of personnel.�

	�Well, if you�ve ever taken a look at it, you�d seen
that I�ve got PTSD.  They wrote it in nice, big red
letters all over my profile- the shrinks wanted me to
retire, but I told them where to shove it.  I need to
keep working here��

	Une was surprised.   �What happened?� she asked.  
Carrington had always stuck her as tough-as-nails
major who wouldn�t let anything get her down.

	�I never met Treize- I envy you that,� Carrington
said, in her usual abrupt change of topic.   Une tried
not to flinch at the unexpected mention of the man she
had loved for so long�. No one had said his name to
her in ages, and hearing it aloud hurt, especially now
that she had screwed up all of the ideals he had
worked so hard for.   

	�Treize was a very special man,� Une agreed after a
minute, setting aside the stack of papers she had been
toying with.   She wasn�t going to be getting any work
complete with Carrington there, and there was no point
in keeping up the pretence.

	�I know,� Carrington seemed to grow softer, and for
once her hard features took on an edge that seemed to
make her look almost attractive.   �I saw him speak
once, though� in London.   It was before the Gundams
descended, back when I was still an officer for the
Federation.�  Her blunt fingers toyed with a strand of
her graying hair, and she seemed to be looking for the
right thing to say.   �It was magical.�

	�Treize was like that,� Une agreed.   �He believed in
himself, and caused others to do so as well.�

	A smirk transformed Carrington back into the woman
Une was familiar with, something that relieved the
General greatly.   �It was more than that,� Carrington
admitted.  �I think I was a little in love with him. 
Who wouldn�t be?   He was everything that I joined the
military dreaming I�d follow.   Handsome, intelligent,
and with ideas- he had plans, and he meant to carry
them out.   He wanted to make the world a better
place, and he offered me a chance to help him, even
though he didn�t know me.   I wasn�t a part of
Operation Daybreak- didn�t have a clue it was coming,
though I should have.  Anyone with a brain should have
known something like that was coming- the Colonies
sure saw it.�

	�We often don�t see what�s right in front of our
face,� Une said, still speaking softly.

	�Heh.   I was forty-two years old, and a career
soldier.   I thought I knew what I wanted, but as soon
as Treize rose, I followed him�. I was probably a
little in love with him, even though I was old enough
to be his mother.�

	�Anyone who saw Treize most likely was�. Some of us
more than a little.�  Une blushed guiltily.

	�Some people are like that.   Burning brightly, they
illuminate us all.  Entrancing, but those that burn
brightest, burn quickest.   Or something like that.�  
Carrington shivered.   �I saw Chang kill him.   I see
Chang kill him.  I think I will see Chang kill him�.�

	�What?� Une wasn�t able to make sense of what
Carrington was trying to say.

	�PTSD.  A noise, a sight, something triggers it�. And
I�m back there, watching the light leave the universe.
  It took me six months to get it under enough
control.   I still have to get weekly counseling and
I�m on a few anti-anxiety medication.�

	�How� how close were you?� Une asked, pained.   She
had never talked to anyone who had actually been that
close to Treize as he died, had never been ready to.  
She never dreamed that the brash Carrington would be
the first person she�d speak to.

	�Within half a mile.   Close enough� sometimes I
dream that I could feel the heat from the explosion�
and then, the world just went insane.�  Her hands
dropped like lead weights onto the desk.  �Sometimes I
wonder if it�ll ever be sane again, with him gone.  
We pinned all our hopes on him, and he died.�

	A knocked sounded on the door, but before Une could
give permission to enter, Brown entered, trailed by
the ever-present Lopez.  Brown�s face was tense with
stress lines, and Lopez looked like he�d been sampling
arsenic to get his skin the pure white that it was
currently boasting.

	�What is it?� Une asked testily.   �I thought you,
Lopez, at least had the manners to knock.�

	�Pardon us, Lady, but this is a little bit too urgent
to observe the formalities.�

	�Oh?� Carrington asked with interest.

	Une shot her a dirty look, but Carrington just
shrugged.   �Should I leave?� the unrepentant major
asked.

	�No,� Brown said.   �I need everyone I can trust in
here, and right now, I can count that number on one
hand.�

	�What�s wrong?� Une asked, sobering up, forgetting
her anger.   Brown rarely got stressed, and she
couldn�t remember ever seeing him look this grim
before.  

	The two men pulled up chairs across from Une�s desk
as Carrington hitched hers over, creating a
half-circle in front of Une�s desk.

	�Seki Hikaru died two days ago.� 

	�Seki Hikaru� I should know that name�.� Une said,
trying to place it.

	�He was the head of the Black Diamond Cartel,� Lopez
said.

	�Fuck,� Carrington said.

	Une felt the same.  �Great.   How is L1 taking it?�

	�Not well.   He was killed by one of his likely
heirs, who died in the attempt.   There�s no clear
succession- a few nephews, a granddaughter, a missing
grandson� and lots of factions all wanting the power. 
The fight is starting to spill out of the Breaks, and
L2-C is experiencing the repercussions, and the Black
Market planet side is going to be hit within the next
two days.�  He paused.

	�Why do I feel like you�re not telling me the worst
of it?�

	Brown and Lopez exchanged glances, communicating on
the level that members of the same gender used to say
something the opposite sex couldn�t understand.   �It
gets worse,� Lopez said softly, ignoring the towering
difference in their ranks to speak freely.

	�Much worse,� Brown agreed without humor.�

	�Can it with the build-up and spit it out!�
Carrington spat.

	Brown shot her a Look, reminding her who was the
General and who was the Major.   �Seki was a vengeful
bastard.   As far as I can tell, he had some kind of
system rigged up� if he didn�t enter some kind of
passcode entered every 48 hours, it would trigger a
data dump of his files into mine.�

	�WHAT?� Une exclaimed.

	�I have no clue how he got my personal account
number, but he was one of the best.   I�ve got months
worth of information to dig through- I�m going to be
able to make a lot of arrests, assuming the Preventers
are still operating.�

	�What do you mean?�

	�Seki knew he was dealing with people as dangerous as
he was� he wasn�t sure exactly of the name, but he
knew that if he dumped into my system, I�d be able to
combine it with what I knew, and be able to pin the
bastard.�

	�What do you mean?�

	�Une, we have a traitor.�

	Une�s mind reeled.   �What?   Who?� 

	�Let me and Lopez break it down, and you�ll see.�

	�Seki was involved in supplying the rebel faction of
A007.   He also planted operatives in various groups
to incite anti-Gundam sentiment, hired the assassins
for Chang Wufei, and has been doing other actions to
undermine the World Nation.�

	�Why?� Carrington asked.   �I thought he was happy
enough playing in the Breaks.�

	�There�s been a lot of power plays there- no ones�
been able to keep what�s been going on there straight.
 What I think happened is that he�s afraid that the L1
government is actually going to keep its promise to
attempt to clean out the Breaks- and that would have
been very bad for his business.  Criminals thrive on
chaos.�

	�So he gambled� and lost.  He got himself killed,�
Carrington said with a bit of satisfaction.   �What
does that have to do with a traitor?�

	�Someone inside the Preventers was working with him-
several someones.   I�m starting to think that there
is actually a rather large organization of people
within the Preventers who are working to bring down
the World Nation.�

	�Why?�

	�Nationalists.�   It was Lopez who spoke.   �Many
people believe that the World Nation is just a return
to the Federation under a different name.   Some of
the fighters feel� gypped by what happened.   They
fought during the war, and all the sudden everything
returns to a status quo that seems frighteningly
familiar.�

	�So� we have traitors.   That�s no surprise.�

	�It�s more complicated than that.  From the data dump
I received, the person who is in charge of the
anti-Preventer activities is very high up in our
organization.   High up enough to reassign personnel
to where they become ineffective, or plant their
agents where they can do the most damage.�

	Une�s blood ran cold at the thought.   She herself
didn�t have time to do everything in the organization,
so had learned to delegate to people she had thought
were worthy of her trust.   Apparently her feelings
had been misplaced.  �Who?� she demanded.

	Lopez spoke again.   �The person had to have high
security clearance.  Personality-wise, it would be
someone above suspicion, with an intense loyalty to
their country of origin.   This person would be able
to place Banks near your office as a security guard,
send Lucrezia Noin away, since she would likely catch
on, rearrange staff whenever they started to catch on,
keep agents off-balance with their postings, be able
to divert military resources��

	�Only three people have the security clearance high
enough to do all that needed to be done.   I didn�t
have any reason, you built the Preventers, so that
leaves the third�� Brown trailed off to let Une put
the final piece into place herself.

	She opened her mouth, but was interrupted by a
priority one message flashing to life on her screen.  
�What is it?� she snapped.

	Etille�s tired face flashed onto the screen.  
�Etille?� Une asked, wondering what else could go
wrong.

	He blinked once, the only sign that he was surprised
to see her.   �I was calling for General Brown.   I
have some� unpleasant news.�

	�MORE unpleasant news?� Une asked.   Her mind still
refused to come to the conclusion Brown was trying to
lead her to- it was simply unacceptable.

	Brown rose and went over to where he could look over
Une�s shoulder into the view screen.   �What is it?  
Did you get her?�

	He shook his head.   �Negative.  Apparently the
information leaked, and she had a chance to escape.�

	�WAIT just a second.   Would you mind explaining
what�s going on?� Une demanded.

	�I issued an arrest warrant as soon as Lopez pieced
together enough to get one together.   We didn�t want
to risk our bird flying the coop� even though she
still managed to��

	Une placed her head in her hands.  Her head was
throbbing, but she couldn�t deny the reality anymore. 
 Slowly she raised her head to  look up at Brown in
horror as all the pieces of the jigsaw puzzle clicked
in an alarming and all-too-plausible whole.   "Sally
Po."

END 9.3

END OF THE BETRAYALS ARC


Carrington has PTSD- Post Traumatic Stress Disorder.  
More information can be found at
http://www.ncptsd.org/

Sainan no Kekka is going on sabbatical for the summer
since Ger will be away, but Quicksilver will still be
around to answer the Email, and feedback is
appreciated!   Next week will be the Mission logs for
this act, and then adieu! This is our Memorial Day
post� dedicated to Veterans like Carrington, who are
haunted by the past, and those who never made it back.
May we never forget.


=====
"No matter what the bible says, the battle always goes to
the strong. And I am strong. I don't need to prove that to
anyone anymore."
-Excerpt from Sainan no Kekka- Act Seven, Scene VII

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Quicksilver/
http://www.midnightrevolution.org/gundam

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