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Shin Kidou Senki Gundam W - Chapter 2.2.2

Published at 13th of March 2016 08:51:15 AM


Chapter 2.2.2

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Chapter 2, Part 2 (2/4)

 

 

In the command room of the Barge, the operation to capture the Alliance colony is progressing.

On the screen, the relative positions of the Barge and the colony are shown, and green lights indicating the allied suits are approaching the colony. This is overlapped with red lights which appear from the colony's side.

"Mobile doll combat started in Area A at the Alliance army base."

The OZ fighting force consists for the greater part of mobile doll troops; in order to control these, each troop is accompanied by a manned Taurus suit. The opposing Alliance fighting force consists of manned Leos only.

"600 seconds until the beam cannon of the Barge enters the effective range."

The narrow, fan shaped sphere, which shows the shooting range of the beam cannon, follows the movements of the Barge and approaches the colony D120. The barrel as such is fixed and because it protects the front of the Barge, it makes the Barge change its position.

"How about the damage we cause in the Alliance colony with the beam cannon?" asks Nichol the controller.

"If we can destroy their power supply and the control facilities, we will silence them with one shot."

"Fine."

"I have heard that many civilians are living in this colony aside from the soldiers?"

Trowa asks Nichol from the row furthest to the back of the command room. The figure of Lady Une, who should always command from the row furthest to the front, is not there. From Trowa's eyes one can guess that he's worried about Nichol giving the orders.

"They are civilians attached to the army. They knew very well that, if they should hole up in the fortress, they would become a target."

"Does Major Lady Une know this?"

"This is an order from Marquis Dermail. It says to crush them together with Zechs, who betrayed OZ."

"The person in charge of OZ is Major Treize. And I thought the person in charge of space would be Lady Une? I'll prepare Mercurius and Vayeate in advance."

Nichol raises his voice towards Trowa, who wants to leave the command room.

"Wait, Trowa Barton! I forbid you to approach the mobile suit hangar. I don't trust traitors, no matter whether they are friend or foe."

"Is this also something the Major doesn't know about?"

"The Major did a sortie because of the battle with the Alliance. She has entrusted all commands to me."

After showing a slight smile, Nichol points with his finger at Trowa and calls towards the soldiers around Trowa "Restrain the guy!"

While two soldiers are thrusting their guns at him, Trowa points out to Nichol in a calm voice "As an OZ soldier, I don't intend to dwelve into other people's matters. However, this is a operation without using Mercurius and Vayeate for the troops supporting the Major. I do have some doubts."

"There is no need for a soldier to have many thoughts. Only the upper parts should think about peace and similar things. What we seek is only victory!"

Nichol declares this to Trowa, who is being taken away.

 

 

**********

 

 

In the control center of D120, Clarence is commanding, together with his grandson Gwinter, the last battle of the the former Alliance in space. However, the colony does not have armament such as the beam cannon and the war potential of the Leos is not enough either. One could say that the only help would be that the morale of the soldiers didn't decline.

"Is the escape of the remaining private citizens complete?"

Clarence asks this of Gwinter.

"Yes, they have escaped to a safe area of space in a large-sized shuttle. However, with mobile dolls they cannot capture this colony."

Clarence shakes his big head left and right at Gwinter, who is saying that this escape was for the worst case.

"The Barge of OZ wants to deliver the fatal blow. This colony will sink."

"What are you saying, Grandfather?"

Gwinter asks this with an astonished face.

"Since the construction of the colonies, it's the first time that there's a destruction in war. It's necessary that everybody knows how terrible this is. It has be to burned in the eyes of us, who we brought military power to space, and also into the eyes of the colonies, who want to have this power again, that this is a mistake. This will not be a reparation, but our blood should become useful."

Gwinter is shocked to learn that his grandfather is prepared to die. However, he immediately accepts this fact. It certainly is like this. If it's OZ, they will want to destroy the colony, and if the Alliance can't evade this, all that remains is to hope that it's useful.

"My sincere apologies that I involved you in this, Grandfather."

"These are my words. I'm sorry, Gwinter."

Clarence murmurs this tenderly to Gwinter, who bows his head.

 

 

**********

 

 

The Leos of the former Alliance are forced into a hard fight by the opposing mobile dolls. The Leo's ordinary bullets have no effect on the Taurus, which are superior in mobility and armament. The bullets don't hit precisely enough.

The situation is such that the Leos attack one Taurus with two or three suits at the same time and force it into a close combat, thereby barely avoiding a one-sided combat.

In the middle of this fierce battle, Zechs in his Tallgeese defeats steadily the Taurus. Even though he is inferior when it comes to mobility, Zechs can make up for it with his skills.

"Is there no end to them?"

Zechs raises a howl at the mobile dolls which appear one after the other.

It has only been two months since the Taurus were deployed. The some tens of suits which were launched from the factory on the surface of the Earth have swelled into ten times this number in the meantime. Directing the eye of the camera towards their source, the Barge, Zechs notices that the rocket engines of the Barge are ignited.

"The Barge is moving? Do they seriously intend to sink the colony?"

Zechs can only imagine that, contrary to Clarence's wish, the destruction of a colony would call for more armament in space.

"Damn it! I may not be in time starting from here!?"

Zechs exerts some force with the hand holding the control lever.

In that moment, an unexpected communication comes in.

"Treize!?"

Seeing his counterparty reflected in the monitor, Zechs raises an astonished voice.

In his office at OZ headquarters, Treize has put his hands with the fingers crossed on top of desk, like always. After directing his lowered gaze at Zechs, he calmly starts talking.

"Zechs Merquise, no, my eternal friend Milliardo Peacecraft. When I heard that you appeared in space, I found myself delighted. OZ is going to change. My power is lacking. The road on which Romefeller, no, mankind is progressing is too selfish. That the increasing power will leave behind the human heart in such a way...."

"I thought that the task of OZ was to raise soldiers with a heart to fight, not to lead wars. However, war won't need even people anymore. I am one soldier. I have chosen by my own free will the path of going against the current."

"Milliardo, I do not have the power now to change the path Romefeller has chosen. I feel happy that I speak with somebody who understands with his heart. Milliardo, there is somebody else who understands me. It's a woman who has ended up having two hearts for thinking of me so much."

"Lady Une...."

Zechs remembers Lady Une, whom he has met only once in space. There was no trace of the former Lady Une in the woman who has welcomed him when he had arrived at the colony escorted by Heero and Trowa. He even wondered in the beginning who this was. He can finally understand it. With the psychic strength of somebody like her, such a thing may be possible.

"Because she has made my ideals her own and wanted to realize these ideals, her heart has been torn in two. Both are my beloved Lady Une. However, I cannot approve her ideals. Now that she knows this, her heart has fallen into a critical condition."

Treize throws a look at Zechs as if appealing to him.

"I plunge the person closest to me into anxiety. Somebody like me has no right to talk about the future. I ask you, Milliardo, please save her for me."

Treize's voice reveals his feelings more than any other voice Zechs, no, Milliardo has heard since he was young. The facial expression is the same as always with Treize, but he is not talking dispassionately.

That Zechs reacts immediately is also because of this. At the same time, he judges that, if Lady Une were to die now, a huge disorder would occur.

Looking at the radar screen, Zechs discovers the OZ commander's suit. Pushing forward the throttle lever, he rushes into the space area where there is seemingly a hot battle going on.

 

 

**********

 

 

On the screen displayed in the command room of the Barge, the firing line, which spreads into a narrow fan-like shape, touches the circle which represents the Alliance colony.

"The Alliance colony has entered the shooting range."

At the voice of the radar controller, Nichol straightens and gives his orders.

"Fine. Fire the beam cannon!"

"But Major Lady Une remains in the battlefield!"

"That doesn't matter! A soldier should only listen to orders. The Major understands this as well!"

As Nichol raises his cry, the gunner stretches out his finger, intending to press the button.

In that moment, gravity suddenly attacks from the side.

Everybody sitting on a seat is thrown off and flung against the neighbouring seat or the wall.

"What's this?!" shouts Nichol, who just barely held onto his seat.

"The ro... rocket engines have been reversed!"

A confused voice comes back.

"What are you saying?! And the beam cannon!?"

"It has been fired! I cannot confirm a direct hit!!"

Inside the Barge, which is in an uproar, there is only one person who calmly grasps the situation. It's the person who has reversed the engines - it's Trowa.

After Trowa had very easily knocked down the two soldiers who wanted to imprison him, he has headed to the engine control room. Then, beating down the surprised controllers and rendering them unconscious, he has ignited the opposite side's engines right before they entered the possible zone for firing the beam cannon.

The Barge is subjected to an emergency breaking. Places which are far away from its gravity center experience high gravity due to the centrifugal force, and the people inside are thrown into the onward direction.

Trowa, with his back to a wall, murmurs calmly "If it had been Lady Une, she would have prevented this attack. She has learned about the fragility of the colonies."

It's because he believes that both of Lady Une's faces would have thought so.

"Besides, we must not lose Lady Une now."

After verifying that the beam cannon did not hit the colony, Trowa exits the control room.

 

 

**********

 

 

Some time before this, Lady Une lets her gaze, which is not focusing yet, wander among the monitors in the cockpit of her Taurus. Her trademark, the glasses, are not there and also her hair is down.

"Sir Treize wishes for fighting, for the fighting to continue.... A future with Sir Treize can probably not be built? Only fighting is left.... Fighting is the only way.... If there is no fighting, nothing can be produced...."

Lady Une has not even grasped the control lever and stray shots from the Leos are hitting her. Fighting is not in Lady Une's mind now. Lady Une's vocation is to bring peace to space by denying fighting and by eliminating war. That's why she talked herself into intending to become a messenger of peace.

"Fighting... continue fighting..."

However, the fundamental aim, namely to create a world with Treize as a ruler, has been denied by Treize himself. Fighting is the very thing Treize wishes for. And this as a fight where the power of this and that human being appears.... By doing so, he wants to stimulate the evolution of mankind.

A direct hit from an approaching Leo rocks the Taurus. As a part of the Vernier engine has been destroyed, warning lights start burning.

"In order to measure up to the ideals...."

Is it because of the shock? Life is gradually returning to Lady Une's eyes. Her hand slowly stretches out towards the control lever.

"For Sir Treize, I will fight!"

Raising her voice, Lady Une pulls the control lever as far as it goes and destroys the Leo with the beam cannon.

It's shortly thereafter that Zechs' Tallgeese throws itself at Lady Une from behind and grasps her. In this position, Zechs ignites the Vernier engines with full throttle and tries to escape from this area.

It's a moment later that the energy beam from the Barge assaults them.

The Leos of the former Alliance and the mobile dolls are caught in the stream of energy and disappear. However, having turned around, Zechs sees that the colony D120 has remained unharmed.

"It missed? No, was made to miss."

While holding Lady Une's Taurus, Zechs unconsciously raises his voice in the cockpit of Tallgeese. With that timing, there is no reason why they should have missed.

Even while he gives a sigh of relief that the destruction of the colony has been averted, there is now another important matter.

"Major Lady Une, are you okay?"

While he supports the Taurus which has sustained quite considerable damage, Zechs puts in his message.

"Take me to the Barge."

The voice coming from the radio is the voice of that strict Lady Une.

 

 

**********

 

 

"Major, you are safe!"

Nichol comes running towards Lady Une's Taurus, which has returned home to the Barge.

"Major?"

The hatch to the cockpit is opened and Nichol murmurs this as if he's at a loss when he sees Lady Une who got up from her seat. Standing there is neither a cool-headed commander nor a pacifist. The hair is down and the glasses are not there either. However, the stern look is exactly the same as with the former Lady Une.

"Nichol, I was taught a good lesson as a soldier."

Lady Une makes a gesture as if to lift her non-existing glasses, then suddenly points her gun at Nichol.

"This is the result of the lesson. As a commander, I cannot turn a blind eye towards you."

Lady Une continues to talk to Nichol, who is struck dumb.

"It was correct what you did. And then, what I am doing now is also correct."

Something dwells in her eyes which is not just her former strength.

Sir Treize, I will start to build the history Sir Treize wishes for.

Lady Une swears this in her heart.

And then Zechs, who brought Lady Une's Taurus to the Barge and has left that place again immediately, goes into a monologue towards this former friend who is on Earth.

"Treize, it's me who has no power. In the middle of this chaotic battle, I can only walk the way of the soldier."

Zechs wants to chose the way to live not as Peacecraft, but as Zechs Merquise.





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