Gundam Wing Fan Fiction ❯ Duo's Jewel of Peace ❯ four ( Chapter 4 )

Duo's Jewel of Peace 4/5… I think I'm gonna run out of room in only five…

By Nix Winter

Disclaimers.. alas.. if I owned them, they'd be called Dano and Tokala.. er.. no, I do own Dano and Tokala *wicked grin*. Duo's Jewel was written just for fun.

Warnings: very vicious bad guy… very descriptive first part

Notes: 1x2, after Endless Waltz, mentioned 3x4

Finding Quatre's ship hadn't been difficult. He couldn't explain why the history of the rotation algorithm told him that there would be a heavy ship docked on the alpha centaury-ward quad, but it did. He just looked at the numbers and they made patterns and info in his head. So he knew that the ship was likely there and he also knew that was a very unlikely place for a civilian ship to dock, as it was right in the middle of government security sector.

L2, as it was reorganized after the end war, was a donut shaped colony. It rotated fast enough to give it gravity, and even some almost natural atmospheric movement within the donut. Having felt Earth grav for quite a while, Duo could feel L2's now, steady most of the time, but just the slightest hint of the rotations, like being on a ship on an Earth sea when it hit the crest of the wave, held for a moment, but then on L2, it would ebb away so slowly that one hardly knew it was here. He thought it happened when the colony became slightly unbalanced, and one could feel that little tug when the section one was in hit the apex of the rotation. Of course, he didn't really have the words to describe that in any kind of believable scientific terms, so he kept it to himself. He was just an uneducated scavenger rat, he snarled to himself as he jacked into the security system on the elevator that would take him inward, up from the gravity well and towards the inner circle of the donut, towards government security and management sections. His little computer had been a gift from Trowa and though he didn't have any formal programming training, he could make that thing rock. Binary and Hex hadn't changed much in a thousand years he guessed, those old folk with puffy white wigs who hung out with Mozart probably programmed just like he did, one object at a time. It didn't really matter though, he'd broken the security patterns on L2 long ago and their new set only took him about forty-five seconds to get the elevator door opened and the destination programmed.

An elevator car would accommodate a squad of six security personnel. Basically it was just a cube with a door on each side, four handles to a wall, and low quality synthed music. The music always got on Duo's nerves. There was lots of great music in the Earth sphere, everything from Jimi Hendrix to Tai Qa and he didn't think they were paying anyway, might as well steal the good stuff.

After the first few minutes of the elevator's rise, it stopped feeling like a rise and he had to hold onto one of the handles. Once the artificial grav wasn't there, it was more difficult to tell what direction a person was going because the elevator didn't move fast enough to create any kind of G forces, at least not unless one was going all the way around the interior of the hub. Duo was planning on cutting right across the hub, going over one of the four spokes in the center, to just inside hub, still on the spoke though, to where the heavy ship was docked.

By the time he reached it and the elevator opened to let him out, he caressed his pistol with his thumb, pressing his knuckles to the small of his back, and looked before stepping out into the hall.. No one. Not a single person, which even if it would be late second shift for them, it was odd. Even the lights were dimmed.

Which meant? Duo wasn't sure. There were too many strange things going on. Fires were rare. In the past two weeks there had been four and if he didn't just know better, he'd have thought someone was testing something. The lack of guards on a detained ship was also very odd. It was perhaps a quarter mile from the elevator to where the ship was docked, and he didn't see a single person.

He jacked his computer in again to break the lock on the ship. This took a bit longer, but about the point he started to get frustrated, the information all scrolled onto his screen. The Beautiful Bloom, Duo had nearly laughed out loud, what a name for a ship. There were times when Duo was sure that Q had a heart-on over Trowa. The arrival date on the ship though was logged as another 34 hours in the future still. Which didn't make any sense at all.. Why would they hide the ship and delay it for a couple weeks, only to have it arrive at some point in the future.... To delay it?

The oxygen content in the ship was at 0%. There was Quatre's crew. Force docked and suffocated. For the first time since he'd come home to rebuild Maxwell Church, he wanted to leave, to take his children and go to Earth where there were strawberry plants and real sunshine.

On the very small hope that some of the crew might have been able to suit up, he shunted oxygen back into the living quarters. Winner Enterprises had the best technology, maybe some one was alive.

In the Center of the Hub

Papadopla smiled at the girl sitting across from him. She was sweet, innocent, and stubborn, just the way he liked them. Her father was the recently deceased Prime Minister of L2. Since he'd killed her parents her value to him was strictly entertainment and instruction to the still living members of the L2 parliament. It was such a shame that so many were going to die. "Do try the strawberries, Laura," he coaxed. "I told you I'm going to make you a vid star tonight, so I want you to be relaxed."

The make-up she wore did nothing to hide the redness of her face or nose. "I only 13. I want my Daddy." She started again moving her foot, trying to find some miracle way to get her ankle free of the chain binding her to the chair.

"I fear that wouldn't be possible, but you'll be joining him and your mother before morning. How's that?" He'd turn enough air on in her family's air tight mansion so that she could find her parents' parts, then shut it off again. Coupled with the first part of what he wanted to film with her, it would make a very instructive vid. Nothing like fear and greed. "Just try the strawberries."

"I don't want any!" She said. "You're mean! Shinigami's gonna get you!"

"A belief in a myth will help you less than eating those strawberries."

"Shinigami is not a myth! He came to one of my daddy's dinner parties and if you hurt me he's gonna get you!"

A knock at the door diverted his attention as a sharply dressed guard entered, saluted in Rexant elite security fashion and offered Papadopla a printed communiqué. Dark eyes read over it, twice. Pale face, Asian eyes, Greek accent , he ground the words out, "This does say that air has been re-shunted to the Winner ship? That there are three life signs left. Tell me why I shouldn't kill you for this?"

"Because it was her father who over wrote Rexant security with the original L2. I had said we should shot him rather than let him suffocate."

"This is true. So, shut off the oxygen again, blow the wretched thing."

"You killed my Daddy?" Laura asked, her voice small. "Shinigami's going to kill you."

Papadopla pursed his lips. "Who in Hell is the Shinigami?"

"Japanese angel/god of death, it has been associated with a terrorist from the war, a Duo Maxwell."

"You killed my Daddy!" her voice was louder now and her eyes on the steak knife by her plate.

Papadopla got up from the table and moved out of her range. "I suppose there is some connection between Maxwell and Winner?"

His aide nodded, "Both terrorists in the war. Also connections to Heero Yuy who is in charge of the prime minister 's personal security and to Trowa Barton, a programmer for the Winner Charitable Foundation, widely thought to be personal security for Quatre Winner."

Furious, Papadopla grabbed the edge of the table and screamed, "Why didn't your father tell one of the gundam pilots lived on L2?"

Her lips had gone white, her eyes slightly bulging, but she kept eye contact with him as she stood, not betraying her hand as her fingers closed around the handle of her steak knife. She yelled and stabbed at the same time, "Because he thought you were a bad man!" She twisted the knife in his hand, screwing it down to the table. He screamed. She dove under the table!

He jerked the blade free and growled, "I am a bad man!"

"Sir," the assistant interrupted. "Another large prototype Winner vessel just veered away from the colony, not more than two hours distant. I think it likely that they have deployed a smaller stealth covered ship."

"Starving rats! I'll be back, Laura dear. Do try the strawberries."

Elsewhere on L2….

Realizing it would be hours until he could get into the ship, until there was enough oxygen and temp balance to let him open the door without frosting his fingers, unless he could find an envirosuit, he went off in search of other food and pilferables. The main government storage facility was, in fact, where he'd gotten the nutrapacks they were using now. That had been in better times and done on a bet, between himself and the Prime Minister, just to see if he could. If the Prime Minister of L2 had not been his friend, a friend he had campaigned to get elected, he would have done something about attacking the government before this. As he dropped himself to the ground from a power conduit that was designed to hold more cabling than it actually did, he admitted to himself.. he didn't want to fight this government. He just wanted to take care of his kids and keep his hands clean, pass his damn classes. He wished someone hadn't fire bombed the university. He had so much to learn.

Stealing, however, was something he knew and he preflight deck hanger he'd found.. There were probably 150 enviro suits all laid out, all nice and ready to use, but too big to take back through the conduit to get into Quatre's ship, so he quickly went one to one, snitching the nutra pack from the front left leg pocket in each. He had no idea why anyone would leave 150 envirosuits out, just so ready to be slipped into. Disaster drills maybe? Well, they were suits for grown ups, so grown ups could go hungry like the nice responsible people they were. His kids needed these. Quickly he got the backpack he'd also acquired filled.. and then… he smelled it… steak.. that lovely sauce that was dark brown and thick and tasted just a little bit like oranges.. A1.. any sauce with a 1 in it had to be good! A shudder when through him. Steak!

He grabbed a hold of his braid, right at the base of his head and told himself very firmly that he'd already gotten more than he'd come for and it was time to go home and have a nice vanilla gel pack. He promised himself two, all for himself with a tiny bit of the chocolate powder he'd been saving, but he was still walking towards the service elevator. It was damn unsafe to carry things around in zero grav elevators, so they had service elevators where one could chuck stuff to shift around, ship it to the right area, and unload it there. Kneeling in front of the roughly Duo shoulder width opening, he sniffed. Steak, asparagus, and red wine, yes, and fresh bread, underneath of those scents, he could hear a child crying, not a baby, just a kid, and that was all the justification he needed. Quickly, he jacked into the destination keypad and shut the service elevators down for service for a good half an hour, then grabbed a small o2 mask and canister, which he fastened to the side of his stolen backpack. Automatic riffle across his back, backpack on one shoulder, he slipped himself into the shaft.

Moving on his belly, elbows pulling him along, he just knew it couldn't be far.

Back on Earth…

It had been twenty hours since Heero's departure and Relena wished she could declare that she was completely over the sadness, that she was delighted for her two friends to be moving towards each other. But the truth was she really hadn't had time to think about it. She'd spent most of the time reviewing extremely boring data about L2 and trying to contact the Prime Minister. The accountability act required all executive decrees be placed on file with the Parliament of the Earth Sphere, and therefore available for review by top level people. Relena had a handwriting expert comparing the signatures of the last twenty degrees to be filed by L2. The decree declaring martial law was in those twenty, and she didn't think that the president had signed it. Greed and opportunity were only abetted by poverty and greed. She would not allow the colonies to be taken over by corporate entities. She had two options. Sanctions or military intervention were really the only options, because waiting to see if it got better would do nothing. Sanctions would starve people, if they were imposed, but sometimes the threat was worth more than the action.

Sanctions would prove very effective against a corporate enemy, however. If Rexant wishes to make profit from L2, Relena would see that they didn't. She stood and pushed back her chair, adjusted her collar just slightly, then turned to look out her office window into the garden. And she would send Preventers with food and medical supplies. And the ship would carry a letter, signed by every member of parliament, including L2's representative, if she could finesse it, declaring L2 isolated until the president accounted for his actions.

Head high, shoulders back, not looking in the least as if she were a woman with a forever unrequited love, she moved into her world, the world of consensus and politics. They would see it her way.

Back on L2…

It was a very tiny anomaly and Ricther pointed it out to Papadopla cautiously. "It might not be a ship."

"It is more logical for it to be a ship than for it to be Santa Clause running late," Papadopla said, hair standing up on his neck, eyes looking murderous. "Use the new net. Capture it just as we did the Winner ship, but don't drain the air. We have a nasty little rat in our house, and those are his friends. I think they'd make good bait."

Elsewhere…

Duo gave the panel another solid shove and this time it gave, opening with a groan of outraged hydraulic hinges. He shoved his back pack through, then went out head first, landing on his hands before tilting to the side and going down to his knees. There, right before his eyes was a table, with candle light and two plates, two glasses of red wine, a bowl of fruit, and he sighed. Heaven. There right on the edge of the table nearest him, was a crystal bowl full of some thick amber fluid, with dozens of strawberries floating in it. Mouth watering, stomach trying to turn into a black hole on him he moved forward, hands and knees, then up onto his feet.

Someone had spilled wine, bright red, on the table cloth. He speared one cut up bit of the steak with a fork and brought it up to where he could sniff it, the tang of the sauce and even the very slightly copper scent of the rare meat, an herb, maybe cilantro was in the sauce as well and he swore to himself, he'd learn to cook. He'd get foods and baby them in the kitchen, cut up the little leaves and grind the seasonings until he could create the most succulent of food. He moaned softly and put the small bit of meat into his mouth, holding it there, feeling the texture of the mean, of the grill line, before swallowing it whole. His stomach did not wish to wait for him to chew.

Next came a strawberry. He lifted it by one green leaf, holding it gently between thumb and pointer finger, watching the amber syrup drip, slowly, a drop going over the curve of the berry, across a seed, down, to hang at the bottom and then drop back into the swirling pool of strawberries. He licked his lips, cleaning away the bit of steak sauce and brought the berry closer. With just his lips, he held the very tip, gently, no teeth, as his tongue circled the end, sweeping away sticky sweet, almost chocolate flavor. He pushed it in, slowly, turning as he went, cleaning it with his tongue, before pulling it back out. Shivers rose up over his shoulders as he sank his teeth into the rarest of fruits. Juice ran to his lip, flowing into his mouth, and out over his lower lip as the berry divided, offering half of itself to his tongue.

This he chewed, furiously, crushing the juice and swallowing nearly whole, before he went back to the remaining half. He circled his tongue all the way around the O of the berry, then right into the very center where there was the palest little pink part. As he chewed that berry, hands already shoving the steak into a nice damask napkin, a knife got stuck on the table cloth, nearly pulling the whole of it over the side and he jumped back, just as the steak knife stabbed forward again, breaking off just where his foot at been.

"Hey!"

The edge of the tablecloth lifted and a tear streaked face looked up at him. "Leave me alone! I'll stab you!"

"Laura?" The prime minister's daughter? Chained to a chair? Duo gritted his teeth, blinking just a tiny bit as his vision went all lovely rainbow like for a moment. "Laura, it's me. Duo. You remember me? I want to help you."

"Duo! I told him you get him! He killed my Daddy and my Mommy!"

"I'll help! Hold on." He drew the pistol from the small of his back, and fired at the chain on the chair leg. The leg had been bolted down to the floor. Now it wasn't. He knelt down and held out his hand. The most unfamiliar sense of power and freedom, of invincibility was creeping up on him. He could do anything, anything at all!

"You shouldn't eat the strawberries," she whispered, taking his hand and then wrapping her arms around him. "I think they're drugged."

If you'd like to see my original novel, but you're not sure ebooks are safe or so.. email me at squallsknight at yahoo.com and I'll try to get you a version that you're comfortable with.