Gundam Wing Fan Fiction ❯ Phases of Memory ❯ Ghost ( Chapter 8 )

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Gundam Wing: Phases of Memory

Phase 08-Ghost

By Sailor Celaeno

Annie was a beautiful baby. Noin was as proud as any mother would be with her baby being the most attractive child beheld by anyone. Childless women commonly wished and hoped for a pretty little girl like hers. Some mothers wished happy and lovely things when they stopped to speak to them, though Noin had the oddest feeling a few complements were not very sincere. Noin found no pleasure in receiving jealousy disguised as pleasantry. In spite of everything, Noin loved her girl like such a rare treasure. Most of all, Zechs couldn't bear to be far away from Annie. He adored her as much as he adored his wife. He had regrets of not being more present in her life. Meetings and other obligations kept him on Mars for weeks at a time. He couldn't help it if life allow enough time for him to be a father. What sort of father is he for being away from his child when she was so young and forming bonds with Noin and him? He'd ask questions over and over again.

Zechs couldn't believe how much Annie looked like Noin. His daughter was reminding him of Noin, his best friend, his lover, and his wife. Would his little girl be patient like her mother? Would she ever forgive him for being away so often? It bothered him leaving Annie and Noin. But it seemed almost certain that they would find themselves on Mars again. Annie might grow up on Mars away from her home world, Earth. It's a difficult choice to bring such a young child to a still developing colony. He could choose to keep things the way they were, living on Earth, but he would be apart from his family so often. It would still take time to decide. Zechs was gone more frequently and would continue so in the immediate future.

After Zechs returned to Earth from the latest trip, Relena treated her brother and his family to lunch. Relena was happy that they were going to find a more permanent place for the family to live. She knew very well how difficult it was for her brother to leave them when an assignment called him away. "Don't worry about me. I have a lot to keep me busy. I'll see you and the baby as often as I can. When are you going?" She was keeping her calm about the whole situation. Though she was 18, she had more experience in hiding her discomposure than many other people her age. Relena and Zechs found each other again. They were becoming siblings, more than just blood but having a real connection as they had as children. She waited with a nervous expectation of his answer.

"We'll most likely leave next year when the Martian Minister of Affairs retires. I'll take his place after the New Year," replied Zechs.

Relena nodded her head. Louis van Milden was resigning due to health issues. Zechs's experience with the Martian terra-forming project made him the logical replacement. His position could last almost indefinitely. She was amused that both she and her brother were ministers of ESUN. The irony of the situation wasn't lost on anyone.

*****

After much frustration, perseverance, late nights, and occasional swearing, Hilde began to make reasonable progress with PAGE.

"It looks like the organization has branches and cells all over the planet, and on the colonies. I managed to make a break into their little network. One of the cells has been kinda sloppy and hasn't been protecting their main computer."

"Where's it located?" asked Une.

"In a small colony in L2. I've locked in the exact location." Hilde handed Une a paper with everything that Hilde had discovered about the cell.

Une nodded as she read the paper. "Very well. I want you and Duo to use that computer and get everything you can. Whatever information is on there, it may prove to have some use later on. No matter how insignificant it seems."

Hilde consented to the logic of that idea. Hilde saluted before leaving Une's office. Duo met her outside the office. "So what did the boss say?"

Hilde smiled at him. "Looks like we're going on a trip."

Duo smiled as well. Some time with Hilde, and maybe some much need action in his life.

*****

Heero walked down the hallway towards the large office suite. He knew that she'd have the answers he wanted. No one else could have more reliable information than Nova Rokureno. The receptionist said that she was at the testing facility. He tried to open the door, but it refused to budge. "Hn?"

"Authorized personnel only." A laser-like beam made several passes over his eyes. "Identity not recognized."

Heero glared until he heard the clip-clap of women's heels. He turned to see that Trista Meioh was approaching. "Hello Heero. You're here to see Nova too." She gave him a pleasant smile.

Heero gave her a slight smile. "New toy you've been working on?" he pointed at the eye-scan beam.

Trista nodded. "Yes. This will make things more secure. Once we establish a network of supercomputers, we'll have eye-scanning available on a more wide-spread basis. Pleiades hopes that it will provide better security. Anyone entering a building can be identified and tracked… just in case." She stepped forward and the beam scanned her eyes.

"Trista Meioh. Authorization accepted." The doors opened with Heero following Trista.

While Heero was intrigued with the eye-scanning, he had to play Devil's advocate. "This sound very 1984."

Trista smiled. "Quite true Heero. But sometimes, you have to pay a price for security. It all depends on how much you really value it."

As they finished their conversation, they could hear a voice talking to another. They soon spotted Nova with Iria Winner in a great discussion. However, it immediately stopped when they noticed Trista and Heero standing there. "Perhaps, we'll discuss this later."

Iria nodded and walked away. She said hello to Trista and Heero before she left the room. Heero frowned a little. He was getting very curious about what they were talking about, but that had to wait for the time being. Trista began first. "I got him in."

"Well Heero, you've come here because you suspect that I know about Linner and all sorts of things pertaining to him."

Heero had to like Nova for the fact that she went straight to the point. It would have been much more helpful if she was the same with answers. "What do you know?"

"Certainly more than you do." She smirked. He wasn't amused by her reply. "You don't sincerely believe that I'd shift the balance onto your side simply because you should win? Heero, we both know that's not how the game works here. You shouldn't depend on one source for solutions, Heero. You can't develop if you need to hold onto someone's hand."

Heero glanced at Trista just at that moment. She seemed to regard him the same bemused way. "Since you have nothing to say to me that has anyo bearing on the mission, then I'll leave."

Nova smiled and so did Trista. "Let's not make your trip here feel like a waste of time," replied Trista.

"How?" Heero arched an eyebrow.

"The answers have always been in front of you. You need tangible things to lead you. But the truth is right there so cleverly concealed," said Trista.

"Like what?"

"You were looking at Linner's past, correct?" asked Nova.

Heero nodded the affirmative.

"Did you look at it thoroughly enough?" asked Nova with a teasing grin.

Heero glared slightly. "We overlooked something…"

"Bingo." Trista simply watched him.

*****

Sally sat at her desk reading as much as she could about Linner at Heero's suggestion. She shook head in disbelief. "I can't believe we didn't see this earlier."

Wufei turned to her from another file. "Exactly. We've been complete fools for not thinking of looking at his patients more closely."

Sally read as much as she could about the patients that had trusted Linner. "Dresnen… Colony X2938."

"Did you find something?" Wufei turned to his partner.

"It says here that a Karl and Hedda Dresnen had visited Linner and later had son. Pierce Dresnen died two weeks after his birth."

"What's the point?"

"The point is that haven't you noticed that most of these Newtype children that Linner created are female? There were only four Newtype boys that are alive."

Wufei arched an eyebrow. "That is rather strange. He has 30 known Newtype children. And only four are male."

Sally nodded. "I recall reading that the Newtype factors in his male embryos were rare. It seems that complications occurred and some of the boys didn't survive. Theoretically there shouldn't be a problem, but it's possible there was a flaw in the procedure that favored females. It's possible when he artificially created Newtypes, his procedure caused a reaction that harmed many of his male Newtypes. It's hypothetical but possible. Since Y-chromosomes generally mutate only every few generations, the mutation would more likely come from the mother. That would make male Newtypes smaller in number. But then again… this is all newly discovered and there could be other reasons for Newtype factors being activated. Look at Quatre. He isn't an artificially made Newtype as far as anyone knows."

Wufei nodded as he listened. Anything was possible at this point. He picked up a few more files and arched an eyebrow as a thought occurred to him. "Something else…"

"What's that?" Sally asked.

"I have something interesting. That doctor had lab assistants and students, correct?"

"Of course. Do you think one of them might know something?"

Wufei had a determined look on his face. "I wouldn't doubt it. One of them might know something that we can make use of."

Sally nodded. "We'll have some more files sent here." She closed the file in her hands and stretched her arms. "I have the feeling that you're on to something."

Wufei nodded in agreement. "Something big," he replied cryptically. "And monstrous," he replied after a meaningful pause.

*****

Trowa tried to make his spying as inconspicuous as possible. He had to make sure there wasn't useful material in the doctor's office that was overlooked. Linner's office was empty and Trowa being in the doctor's office wouldn't be questioned since he had the mandate to check for suspicious material, like bombs. Trowa checked around before casually searching through files. "Hm… just as I thought. The doctor doesn't anything incriminating in the office," Trowa thought. "At least he's a clever man. But this makes things more difficult."

"Preventer Barton?" a woman's voice piped.

Trowa turned around casually. "Yes Miss Grayson?" He acknowledged the kind-hearted secretary. He was surprised at the fact that such innocent people like Miss Grayson and Mira would work for a man that had done horrible things to patients that trusted him. Then again, perhaps Mira wasn't as innocent as she appeared. The red-haired assistant was a mystery. He couldn't find anything concrete in his background checks on her.

"I thought I heard noises here. Is something the matter?"

Trowa coolly thought of a lie. "I've just been admiring the painting in here." He gestured at the portrait. It was an unusual painting that had been very curious to him. This picture provided the perfect cover.

Miss Grayson walked to him with a pleasant smile. "You mean `Eugenia.'"

"That's the lady's name?" The painting was very melancholy. In the background, the sky was mostly covered by storm clouds with only a small sliver or blue left. The setting was by what appeared to be a lake with a quaint country village nearby. There was a sailboat in the distance on the far side of the lake. The lady's face was partially covered by her wind-swept, black hair. Her eyes were a striking hazel that was as mournful as the rest of the painting. She stood firmly against the wind on the lake shore with the lake to her back.

"Why yes. The lady is or rather-- was a woman name Eugenia Brentworth. She was an English woman the doctor met when he was…" She glanced at Trowa's face for a few moments. "I'd say about your age."

Trowa processed this tidbit of information. He had to admit that there was something beautiful and compelling about the sad lady. "Was she a girlfriend?"

Miss Grayson smiled. "That's a guess really. Rumor has it that the doctor is still in love with her. After all, over twenty years that I've know Dr. Linner, he still stares at that picture like he thinks she'll escape from the canvas and talk to him."

Trowa was a little puzzled. But then again, everyone he knew puzzled him. Even himself. Linner was a man of passions. He was even more reserved than Heero, and now it had been revealed that he was actually a love-sick romantic of the greatest kind. He hadn't heard or seen such an extreme personality anywhere, except Heathcliff. Trowa smiled inwardly at Cathy's pleasure when she heard that he had finally found time to read that book she gushed about so much about.

*****

Nichola had a lot to report back to Kelly. She was very professional and thorough as she informed her friend and superior about everything, including that story about Eugenia she stealthily overheard when Trowa had that interesting conversation with Miss Grayson. The opportunity was too perfect to miss and she surprised herself with her innate ability to be in the right place at the right time. She could feel that another piece of her past was revealed.

Kelly praised her greatly. She was especially interested in that bit of fodder. There may be something that she could do with that information. It didn't take long for her to find out everything she needed to know about Eugenia Brentworth.

*****

Arliss Linner had no company for dinner as he usually did. With Trowa or a subordinate outside his bedroom door on guard, Linner had gotten sleep again. Ever since the nomination announcement was made, he was receiving all sorts of angry messages denouncing him as a living Dr. Frankenstein of the most abominable degree.

With bodyguards, Linner had some amount of reassurance. There was still something within him that made him fear. Perhaps sleep would ease his overactive imagination. So he drifted off into the hopeful promise of rest and peace.

It started out quite simple and nothing extraordinary. He was thirty years younger again. He was standing at the lake edge again. It was Lake Luzern, just as he had remembered. The lake large and pristine gleamed in the rays of the setting sun as he walked every night after dinner. His father wanted to visit the old mother country of the Linner family. The family tree went back to two hundred years before the Alliance. Arliss hardly cared about all that. He more concerned about his father. It was Niels Linner's wish to finish his years by the lake where his parents met. This was also the place he met his late wife, Flora Bardwin. Like himself at the time, Flora was a university student on a vacation. Secretly, Niels had the strong belief that his son would be fortunate enough find a wife at the lake as well. Seven generations of Linner men found their future brides by the lake. There was no doubt in the mind of the patriarch that his only son would find "her."

Arliss didn't care much for his father's old-fashioned notions of fate and tradition. His sister, Isadora was happy in Switzerland and was as annoyingly sentimental as their father. Mother was more sensible, but she was also sentimental. However she wasn't so foolish as her husband or her daughter.

Arliss was a cold young man. Niels couldn't believe that Arliss was his son. People were not very interesting except as higher animals. He was more interested in observing people in a disinterested, scientific manner.

Arliss was walking around the lake as he did every night after dinner. Of course something changed his mind. He had often observed a very pretty young woman by the lake who seemed very enchanting and intriguing.

Now in his dreams, she haunted his mind again. She had the same raven-black hair that fluttered free in the breeze. She had her back to him. He called her name, but she never turned to him. She never looked at him. A gust blew fiercely pushing him back. She'd vanish when he shouted for her. That was the nightmare.

As the nights went on, the dreams grew more terrible as the nights past. The worst nightmare had the same lake. The wind was calm, just like the day she was lost to him. But instead of those fateful words, she said, "You killed me. You killed me."

*****

Cass had never experienced such power and so much sadistic pleasure as she savored the wonderful nightmares she gave him. Her whole being felt such a surge of power that she had only dreamed that she could have. Linner was weakening to the horrible visions in his dreams. "Now Linner, you will feel all the miseries that others have."

Next Time: Midii/Nichola/Mira and Trowa have an interesting conversation. Quatre gets a strange vision that leads him to some answers. Wufei and Sally finds someone that also can give them clues. And what does Cass plan for Linner now? All this and more next in Phase 09-The Key