Merc

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Heero camped out at my gundam as backup and to protect against sabotage, while I made the rounds, making observations on the structural layout of the latest model shuttle and gathering intel on the news of the Oz organization. I knew, of course, that the information from the soldiers was just the trickle down bitching about orders and policy of the higher-ups, but that could be useful if you knew enough to draw conclusions.

The crew weren’t very observant to their surroundings when they gossiped, but then again, I was very good about being unseen when I wished.

From what I’d gathered, there was a detective that had been very annoying in his pursuit of Colonel Zechs Merquis. Apparently, the good Colonel had been trying to reconstruct 01’s gundam from the technology gained from the prototype model he had been piloting. But Romefeller just wanted it destroyed and sent a detective to ensure that it was.

In other words, the Romefeller Foundation was scared of letting Zechs have too much power. I had heard tales of the Lightning Count; I didn’t blame them. The awe in the eyes of the crew, the soldiers, and even the Lieutenant was apparent. They treated him like a god, spoke of him with reverence.

It was somewhat sickening, and I really wanted Heero to wipe the dirt with his ass.

My observations made it very apparent that they would follow him into hell and back. If he chose to break from Romefeller, he could very well have a small army go with him. The detective would gain quite a status with the Foundation if he could discredit Zechs and pull the awe from those soldiers’ eyes.

Which meant the detective would rather set himself on fire than let Zechs get away from him, which meant he had a perfect way to find the wayward Colonel by tracking his lovestruck Lieutenant.

In other words, I would bet my mobile suit that we were being followed. The detective could smell blood in the water, and he wouldn’t let Noin out of his sight because she would lead him straight to a scene Zechs wanted no one to see: a private battle between himself and a presumed-dead gundam pilot/terrorist.

Which meant the shit was about to hit the fan on an internal struggle between Oz and Romefeller, and Heero and I had gotten pulled right into the middle of it.

Fun times all around.

After I had made the re-con rounds, I headed back to the kitchen previously found. I wanted a cup of coffee, but I would trust nothing one of the Zechs-worshippers brought me. Plus, it was a silent finger to those surrounding me. It told them I knew exactly where I was going, and I could get whatever I wanted whenever I wanted.

It wasn’t like me. I usually didn’t like being so noticeable. I usually tried to let others fool themselves into underestimating me. But I felt on edge, like a cornered animal. And I was itching for a fight, the only thing that kept me from hopping into my cockpit and blasting holes in this damn shuttle was Heero.

He was so calm and accepting of everything that was surrounding us; I felt a little ashamed that I was so unsettled when he was the one about to do battle, injured, in a suit not his own.

I brought his a cup of coffee back as well. He was still standing guard, leaning against Heavyarms shoulder, watching the entrance to the hangar like a hawk. His head was down, and he looked at ease; I was well aware that was a calculated look to make others sloppy.

He nodded his head in thanks as he took the cup of hot fluid. The temperature in the hangar was pretty cold and steadily dropping as we headed south. I had a fleeting curiosity as to where we were headed, but I had no doubt there would be snow on the ground when we exited the shuttle.

I just stood there, letting the calm of Heero’s presence tame the agitation that was plaguing me.

It only took about ten minutes for our solitude to be disrupted. The Lieutenant walked in wearing the heavy parka issued by Oz for combat in sub-zero temperatures, and holding two others.

“I can’t have our special guests catch a cold. Here put these on.” She held them out to us.

Heero took his without comment, handing his drink to her to hold while donning the coat. She looked at me expectantly, so I sighed and did the same. Apparently, I was getting back into uniform. Thrill.

The wound on Heero’s arm had reopened during his practice in my cockpit, and it was apparently very fragile because just the movement of his arm to put the heavy coat on was enough to bleed through the fresh bandage. And the Oz officer watched the whole scene.

I could feel a growl forming in my head. I did not like this. On top of already being at such a huge disadvantage, surrounded by enemies, held at an enemy base, and now such a fresh weakness exposed…I was beginning to hate this situation.

“Where are we headed to anyway?” My voice was calm, the exact opposite of what I was feeling. I wanted to know where we were going. I needed to know how much fuel it would take to get back to a defendable position, how much more I would need if I had a battle coming up, and if I would be a chance to restock my ammo.

Because I still expected that detective to make an appearance in the near future. Hopefully, Heero and I could use the distraction of a civil squabble to get the hell out.

“The South Pole.” Her voice was calm, a warm tone colored her voice. It was hard to read her exact intensions, but I could tell she was defensive about revealing the location. She did, but she didn’t want to. The Lieutenant was very protective of Zechs.

“A mobile suit battle on a continent covered in ice?” A change in tactics would be needed.

“It’s the only place to have a battle and go unnoticed.” She was confident of that statement.

But my mind kept going to the fact that what she said was obvious, and how many others could guess the location because of that. Our only advantage was that the majority of the Oz populace still considered Heero dead.

Yuy was quiet through the interchange. Head down, sipping his coffee in silence.

The Oz officer took a step back, eyes glancing over the two of us opposite her. “I guess I never thought of the similarities, but you boys are just like the young recruits I train.” She shook her head. “It really is different when you see the face of your enemy. I always knew, but never truly understood until you gundam pilots.” Her face was suddenly very far away; I wondered exactly how many of us she had encountered, and if Heero and I were the only faces she’d seen.

Somehow I doubted it.

She stood by as Heero and I went back up to the cockpit to make some final adjustments. I didn’t like her being present, but there wasn’t much she could see from her vantage point.

We were talking quietly among ourselves on the controls when we both went quiet. Footsteps. Someone was running down the entry hall, making no effort towards stealth. A young man burst through the door. I couldn’t tell his rank; the parka covered it, but I would guess a Private from his lack of decorum and his lack of subtlety around enemies.

“We’ve got a problem, Lieutenant!” He shouted before running up to her.

Heero and I both looked over. It was obvious they had our attention, and he made no effort to hide his information. “Our craft is being followed by a number of carriers, Ma’am.” Definitely a Private.

“Damn, they found us.” Lieutenant Noin seemed genuinely surprised.

So the shit hits the fan before we have a chance to capitalize on it. We will have to improvise, I suppose. I wondered what the woman would do now, outnumbered and outgunned. There was actually some amusement that filtered through my irritation. She was now in the exact position she had pulled us into.

“We spotted them as soon as we reached the continent.” He blathered on, spouting information that we terrorists shouldn’t have known.

“They’ve calculated our flying range. They must’ve figured out that we’d be headed for Colonel Zechs’ base.” She was frustrated, and rightly so, she was leading them to the one she is so protective of.

But seriously? She had no idea this was going to happen? She didn’t know that someone trained to deduce people’s reactions, one hired by Romefeller, so obviously good enough to get attention of the aristocrats, would not know she was going to do Zech’s bidding and return like a dog to its master?

Either she had no common sense, or she was letting her emotions overrule her logic. Lovestruck fool.

“Then we’ll change directions and throw them off.” The Private speaks up with a plan to save the day. Too bad his plan wouldn’t fool the detective, would leave Zechs without reinforcements, and would probably get them all killed by wasting fuel and getting them stranded in sub-zero temperatures. This was getting better and better.

“No. If we got rid of two Aries, we’d have enough fuel to lose them. Then, even if they know the base location, we can attack.” Her arms were crossed over her chest.

“Right!” He took off at a run to relay her orders. I’ve never experienced true military life. The mercs used a lot of the protocol, but every man was responsible for his own actions.

The Lieutenant was lying through her teeth, and he swallowed her bullshit like she was omnipotent. There was no way she would launch an attack against Romefeller from Zechs’ base. It would bring entirely too much attention to the man; he would be censured for aggression against the Foundation’s dogs.

“Stop lying.” It slipped out of my mouth before I realized it. I was getting too used to saying what I wished around the other pilot, but I continued without reaction so none could tell it was a slip. “You wouldn’t dream of doing anything that would be a burden to Zechs.”

She glared at me, and I think she truly saw me for the first time. I was no longer a replica of her sheep-like recruits; I saw through her lie and called her on it. I read her well enough to know her intentions without spending more than a few hours with her. I gave a lot away with my words, but it doesn’t matter.

If she’s fully intent on sacrificing herself for Zechs, which she was; she wouldn’t be alive long enough to pass the information along to others. But it was still sloppy on my part.

It wouldn’t happen again.

“So you’re going on the Aries?” Heero sounded surprised. It made me wonder what he had been pondering earlier to have missed her bulldoggish protectiveness of the Colonel.

“You’ll be totally overpowered by their numbers.” I let her know exactly what I thought of her sacrifice. Maybe I was already a little biased because of my disapproval of Heero’s recent attempts at sacrifice, but this was just pointless.

One, maybe two, Aries fighters against multiple carriers? The Romefeller’s forces wouldn’t even have to slow down. All they would need to do is have one of the carriers drop their suits, and the other shuttles would continue on. Pointless.

The warm tone she had used was gone, replaced by her ‘superior officer’ voice. “My mission is to bring you to the destination safely. The method is up to me, alone.”

She turned quickly, no doubt to get to the drop shoot before her crew realized what was happening.

Heero and I made our way to the shuttle’s cockpit to watch the battle on the radar screens as we pulled away. Noin and one of her subordinates exited the shuttle and began taking out the pursuing carriers. They were fairly successful in avoiding the dogfights the other suits were trying to pull them into; they kept their focus pure.

Admirable, until the subordinate got greedy. They had shot down two of the carriers with only one remaining. Too eager, he stopped looking behind him, too focused on his target, and was shot down.

The Lieutenant went down with him for support on the ground, but now they were stationary targets. Additional troops started pouring into the skies, landing all around them, backup troops. The other suits surrounded them and began firing around the perimeter of the downed two. Trapped, there was nothing the Ozzies could do short of charging one area of the line, taking damage from the hail of bullets keeping them contained, taking out two of those suits and getting the hell out of there.

But the damaged Aries wouldn’t make it. His maneuverability was gone; the Lieutenant may have made it, but she wouldn’t. She’s the ‘never leave a man behind’ type.

Now, standing behind the pilots of the shuttle, in front of Heero and I was the overly talkative Private. He was more than a little distressed about his Lieutenant’s situation. “Damn it! We have to go back and rescue Lieutenant Noin!”

“That’s against orders.” I spoke up calmly from behind him.

“What?! I don’t have to take that crap from the likes of you! Turn us around!” Apparently, he was giving the orders now, so he could go back to save someone to give him further orders. He would never be able to stand alone, never progress past a Private, unless his superior is a fool.

“You’re too weak.” My eyes narrowed, and I felt my face go hard. Did he think he would be the hero of the day? That he would save the two with no damage and get hailed with flowers and accolades?

Someone would have to fix his mistake; Heero was in no condition to fight tomorrow despite his insistence, there wasn’t a change in hell I would let him injure himself more prior to a battle against a skilled opponent.

The shuttle turned around, and we were able to see the Aries piloted by the Lieutenant throw away her main gun. “We’ve thrown down our weapons. We surrender. Just stop attacking us.” It was broadcast on every frequency, as was the response.

“Do you really think the normal rules apply to someone who’s betrayed Romefeller? But I might if you hand over the Gundam as proof of Zech’s betrayal.”

I felt my blood run cold. They knew my gundam was on board? How? It was completely covered as we transported it. And what did it have to do with Zechs? Yes, he wanted a rematch, but there was no way he could have expected me to stay with Heero this long. He could with no certainty assume that I would let another pilot my gundam for a whim rematch.

What the hell was going on?

“What?!” The Lieutenant sounded confused.

“Unfortunately for Zechs, it won’t change his destiny. We’re finishing him off right here. And as my reward for defeating him, my superior skills will be recognized.” The voice, who I was fairly certain I could call the detective, was confident of his assumptions. Zechs was here; Zechs betrayed Romefeller. Zechs was going to fight Romefeller’s troops and prove his misdeeds.

But there were a lot of leaps in his logic. This whole conversation reeked of a fishing trip. The detective was certain enough to bring troops, an entire squadron, but he wasn’t certain enough to go attacking random Oz bases. If he was wrong, it was the end of his career. He wanted Lieutenant Noin to affirm his assumptions.

“I’d never let you scoundrels get near Zechs.” She powered her thrusters back up, ready for a fight, and I felt my eyes close. She gave him exactly what he wanted.

“So Zechs is here after all!” His voice was triumphant, and now the chaos would start. Noin was expendable now, a traitor and a preliminary sacrifice.

“Damn you!”

“Ok, we’ve got what we wanted. Get rid of them!” The detective gave the order, and they prepared to start firing.

The Private, for his ineptitude, did have dramatic timing. The shuttle came into range just as the order was given, and took out two Leos with the shuttles defenses before the firing began. The triumphant posture could almost fool you into thinking he was the one who took out the suits, when in fact the copilot was aiming the guns while the pilot steadied the craft.

Four more Leo’s fell to the copilot’s aim, but as the shuttle turned to take aim on a second group, it took a hit to the two left engines. There was too much weight on this shuttle with all the suits to run on only the starboard engines.

“Emergency landing!” The Private was really starting to irritate me.

“Let me off first.” I jerked the heavy parka off my shoulders, not wanting anything to hinder my movement. “I will correct the mistakes brought on by your weakness.”

There were too many suits waiting for me to be hampered in any way, and I didn’t want my suit to take any damage. I didn’t know what resources would be available to me at the base; I might not get to repair any damage before Heero uses my suit. And any weakness could mean his death.

Unacceptable.

I ran down the corridor to the cargo bay, leapt onto the shoulder of my suit, and dropped into the cockpit. I took a deep breath as the doors began to open. It had to be quick, too fast for anyone to get a message out. I couldn’t take any damage; Yuy would not inherit a damaged suit.

And I was outnumbered 20:1. No problem.
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Sorry its been so long. I'll be in and out with review responses and updates for the next few weeks. Sorry, but moving sucks. Anywho, kind of a filler, but I hope you liked anyway. I'm psyched about next chapter, tho! *evil smile*

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