This is a writing exercise where for a time I was in love with the idea of a Gundam series on Mars. I started with this story with the goal of translating the Frozen Teardrop novel. Unfortunately, that love soured. I have been enjoying the new Crossbone Ghost series recently so I don't know if I ever will go back to Gundam Wing's novel. Maybe the new Gundam Series will continue the inspiration.
Here is part one of Preventer 5 in English with some creative embelishment:
Brussels, Belgium. After Colony 196, December 26
A loud pop filled the bunker; a gunshot. Silence followed as all those inside watched Dekim Barton collapse to the ground. Everyone stared at the back of his skull shattered from the assassin’s bullet. Blood cleansed the situation as everyone assembled watched the nervous hand of an adjutant shake with a smoking side-arm.
“I have executed the rebel. Please forgive me for my betrayal, Your Excellency.” The man uttered before dropping the weapon. The man, an adjutant for Dekim, used the title of the fallen leader Treize Khushrenada. His eyes focused on Dekim Barton’s corpse, as did everyone else’s. Barton’s control was the only thing uniting the Mariemaia Army. This war was now over.
Relena Darlian squeezed the fallen leader of the eponymous army, Mariemaia Khushrenada. The young girl lay injured and broken after taking a bullet meant for Relena. Relena could not help but be amazed at the legacy of Mariemaia’s father, Treize. His influence continued even a year after his death, with the Adjutant assassinating his commander Dekim after his attack upon Mariemaia. Relena looked into the dimming eyes of the mortally wounded child and screamed to keep her from passing. “Mariemaia, HOLD ON!”
Mariemaia looked up at Relena with the same blue eyes her father had. “I was mistaken… I am sorry.”
Relena held the girl as she wheezed from her wound. Dekim’s bullet, meant for Relena, pierced Mariemaia during the latter’s sacrifice. Despite the pain the small girl was obviously in, she smiled. Relena realized that Mariemaia was smiling in reaction to the sound of a music box.
“That music box… I remember that gentle song… I can hear my mother singing to me.” Mariemaia spoke in strained words.
“I’ll relieve you of your pain.” The cold voice’s response startled Relena as she turned. Before her stood Heero Yuy; he was holding the music box in one hand and a pistol in the other. His Prussian blue eyes focused on Mariemaia’s chest wound. The tinny music from the music box played a song called ‘Endless Waltz’. Relena noticed his exhaustion almost immediately, but did not think that would keep him from executing his mission.
“HEERO!” Relena immediately called out to her friend. She hoped he would stop for her. He already showed loyalty toward her in the past despite his obligations. She also knew, however, Heero held no loyalty towards Mariemaia.
The tense moment ended when the music box’s tune slowed down. Mariemaia’s cloudy eyes focused on Heero’s. The music’s slowing rhythm matched Mariemaia’s life slipping away. She spoke out to her assassin with a quiet voice while closing her eyes. “I thank you.”
Heero pulled the trigger the moment the last note chimed from the antique. Relena closed her eyes in anticipation of the shot. Her mind raced toward hatred and fear. How could he murder this child? Despite everything that had occurred in the past few days, Mariemaia was nothing but a dying child.
Relena opened her eyes after a brief moment. There was no gunshot. Heero’s clicked empty as the firing pin passed through an empty barrel. Relena felt relief as she realized the firearm was empty.
“I’ve killed Mariemaia.”Heero’s voice now matched Mariemaia’s: weak and strained. Relena looked down at the now unconscious child and then back at Heero. His posture softened and the pistol now seemed too heavy for him to support. His knee wobbled and Relena understood.
“I-I will never kill anyone again. I don’t have to.” His body crumpled as his face transformed from a strained mask of stone into a soft façade of relief. Relena dashed to him, leaving the fallen Mariemaia. She pulled Heero close an instant before he fell to the floor. Just then she realized the scars and injuries he suffered from this night. For a moment she thought he had died, but relief flooded her as she realized he fell asleep. He looked innocent and at peace.
“She’s not dead yet! Get her to the doctor!” Relena heard Lady Une shout from Mariemaia’s position. A soldier came to Lady Une’s aid in lifting the dying girl. Mariemaia too was unconscious. Relena wondered if both she and Heero were dreaming the same dream now. Both children were victims of circumstances beyond their control; thrust into war without any regard for their innocence.
“Finally it’s over, Heero.” Relena said gently. She reached out and picked up the small music box that played the ‘Endless Waltz’. She wondered if peace ever had a chance or if humanity was destined to resume war simply because it was the rhythm of life. A single tear dropped from her forlorn eye onto the music box as Heero slept in peace.
Location Unknown. After Colony 197, January
Duo Maxwell looked up at the towering Mecha before him. The Gundam Deathscythe Hell, Gundam Heavyarms Kai and Gundam Sandrock Kai towered above the trees before him. Beside Duo stood Trowa Barton and Quatre Raberba Winner all gazing on the impressive. They chose this isolated spot as the graveyard for their Gundams. While not as flashy as Quarte’s original plan to plunge the mobile weapons into the heart of the Sun, the self-detonation of all three in this pristine wilderness would be fitting.
Peace was present and real. Lady Une vanished with Mariemaia Khushrenada after the war. The colonies and the Earth signed a treaty for everlasting peace. People around the world were dismantling the leftover weapons of war and committing toward a mutal goal of progress. The Gundams were no longer needed for whatever struggles humanity faced as it looked toward the stars.
“Well buddy, looks like it is goodbye for real.” Duo said, looking into the eyes of the Deathscythe. He knew the robot was inanimate and thus had no concept of goodbye; however he felt pained to depart from this piece of metal. The suit protected him from the horrors of combat and helped liberate humanity from all-out war. The pilot looked down at the small remote in his hand. The self-detonation switch would finally kill the God of Death and free Duo to be a boy again.
Duo looked at his companions. Both Trowa and Quatre had similar resolve in their eyes as they each held their respective remote. The three of them had been through hell and back and needed to say goodbye. The trio nodded at the same time in unilateral resolve. All three depressed the red switches on their small remotes.
Three brilliant while flashes engulfed the suits standing a safe distance away. The pilots covered their eyes due the intensity. All three suits dissolved under the high heat of the explosions. The detonation units generated high heat similar to the temperature of the Sun. It was designed to destroy the suits’ internal mechanisms while the remaining metal melted and fused into unusable masses.
“Well I have once again lost my name.” Trowa mumbled under his breath. A tinge of defeat in his tone indicated his own sadness toward losing the Gundam. For the past few years the Gundams were their identities and now nothing remained but burned out Gundanium scraps.
“Trowa sounds fine to me, Quatre immediately responded to Trowa’s lament, “why not keep that name?”
Duo snorted. “A name is just something someone else gives ya. Why even worry about it and waste your time? What is important is that we have a place we can call home, right?”
“I suppose you’re right. Catherine’s waiting for me with the circus. There, everyone will call me Trowa. I suppose I could even call her ‘sister’.” Trowa smiled after speaking. Duo was happy that Trowa did have a home after all. Unlike Quatre, both he and Trowa were orphans. To have a sister was a luxury Duo himself never had.
“I have the Winner Corporation and my sisters waiting for me. I even have the Maganacs waiting for me. Sometimes family’s can be too big.” Quatre joked. The trio began to walk away from their viewing area, leaving the ghosts of their Gundams behind.
“I hear that,” Duo said, then mumbled, “Maybe I’ll just run away again.”
Duo resigned his fate too being a simple junker. While not as glamorous as heading a major corporation or performing nightly in front of thousands, simplicity had its rewards. Plus, the future was always there for new dreams and adventures.
The trio approached a vehicle emblazoned with the Winner Corporation logo. Quatre arranged their journey back to the colonies through the company’s personal charter. Each would now leave the Earth behind again and split their separate ways. Duo felt further regret from that, knowing there was a chance he would never see either pilot again.
Ancestral Home of the Long Clan. After Colony 197, January
“This mad era is over, Nataku.” Chang Wufei said in memoriam. Sitting on a rock among the ruins of the village, he came here to find peace. He looked out at his Gundam which stood peacefully in the middle of a lake. Quatre provided him with the device that would finally destroy the Gundam once and for all. For too long it reminded him of his wife and the struggles that led to her death. While the others destroyed their suits elsewhere, Wufei needed to honor Meiran’s memory properly.
The Altron Gundam disappeared in a white flash of light after change depressed the switch. Wufei pictured Meiran’s face in the violence and felt she was now finally at peace. He waited long after the metal fell apart and the waters again ran clear. The meditation felt peaceful but also fostered new doubts.
“Rest in peace Nataku, where is my new path?” He said noticing a small bird flying over the lake.
“Hey, Wufei.” Sally Po’s voice broke the sanctity of the moment. He turned and saw the woman wearing the Preventer uniform that she wore last he saw her. She smiled as they locked eyes.
“Noin and Zechs disappeared after the whole Brussels incident. So what do you say, want to come work with me?”
Wufei paused for a moment. “You mean work as a Preventer?”
Sally did not react. She only maintained the smile. Wufei felt the pressure of the moment in her silence. It was a brilliant tactic as the social pressure now worked against him. He let out a small grunt before responding “Why not?”
“Excellent!” Sally finally responded. “Just because there’s peace now doesn’t mean we won’t have work preventing anything that will disrupt it. You’ll find we will have plenty of work ahead of us as everyone rebuilds.”
Wufei stood up from the rock. His entire life he styled himself a scholar, but circumstances forced him to become a warrior. The tragedies that followed seemed to be of his own creation by straying from his honor for one reason or another. Perhaps the Preventers would give him hope, Wufei thought, as he followed Sally away from Nataku’s ashes.
The space between the Earth and Mars. After Colony 197, February
A small shuttle crossed the void between the Earth and Mars. Aboard, Lucrezia Noin and Zechs Merquise watched the brief glint of Mars before them. Now it appeared as a shimmering star in the distance. The star would grow into a red planet as they approached their target.
“Are you sure?” Zechs inquired, “The terraforming project hasn’t even officially started yet.”
Officially the Martian Terraforming project stalled due to enmity between the colonies and the Earth. In reality, 15 years earlier a resource satellite labeled MO-VII crashed into the Martian surface carrying tons of algae from the Jovian moon Europa. That event spread the algae through the Martian atmosphere. Within years, the algae created ‘Jovian Moss’ that nearly covered the entire planet drawing moisture from the ground itself and feeding on the carbon monoxide. The moss, now extant over 80% of the planet’s surface was transforming the environment toward Earth-like levels.
Unfortunately, the terraforming process was still years away from stability. Massive pre-constructed domes remained built but unused in Martian orbit awaiting colonists. The wars that plagued recent history prevented humanity from finding its second home.
Noin’s eyes remained fixed upon the glimmer of Mars in the distance. “Relena’s worked on an immigration plan before the whole Brussels incident. She and several other scholars developed a government structure and time table for colonization. Even with the Domes in place, life on the surface won’t be easy.”
Zechs sat back. He chose to remain Zechs Merquise as Milliardo Peacecraft died in the Eve Wars. Now, after the events with the Barton Foundation he was happy if Zechs remained dead as well. A ghost should be the first to make Mars livable for humanity. It was his duty to atone for his sins.
“That’s why a corpse like me is perfect for the hard work ahead. Noin, are you sure-“
Noin pulled her gaze away from Mars and placed her finger of his lips. She knew he was going to dissuade her from remaining on Mars. However, his destiny was hers.
“Zechs please don’t make me repeat myself.”
Zechs knew better than to take her at her word. Her father, Nove Noinheim, was famous for his drive toward Martian colonization. His industry headed the Mars Terraforming Project that Relena recently took over. The ensuing peace after Eve Wars and Brussels meant that the Noinheim Konzern, his umbrella corporation, would prosper in the wealth of world building. Noin rejected her father’s ambitions flat out as evident by her participation in Oz.
Regardless, both agreed that their presence on Mars would end once colonization began. Neither Zechs nor Noin wanted to remain on the Red planet forever. The Preventers asked that they represent the organization on Mars to keep corporations like the Noinheim Konzern in check. The Preventers as a whole did not want someone like Nove Noinheim to have free range over a new world.
Zechs himself had further reason for voyaging toward Mars. Instead of destroying the Epyon as the other Gundam pilots had destroyed their Gundams, Zechs sent the mobile suit toward Mars with an old friend. Even now that decision haunted him after learning no other Gundams existed and the Governments destroyed their last remaining mobile suits. The idea that the Epyon still existed somewhere on the red planet remained a constant irritation.
Zechs felt Noin’s hand caress his check. He looked over into her purple eyes and smiled. They needed no further words to discuss their future. Together they would conquer Mars and exist in the paradise of each other. They deserved the peace.