Gundam Wars Part 2
Dawn found Quatre flying over the sand dunes in his speeder, Relena P-O at his side. His scanners had caught something up ahead that, he was pretty sure, was their R-2 unit. If he could only reach it before the sand people did!
He leapt from the craft as it pulled to a stop next to the little robot and grabbed hold of it as best he could. "What do you think you're doing?! All the way out here- we could be caught any second..."
Beep. Beep. Beep.
Relena smacked R-2 again. "I don't want to hear any more of this Howie-Wan Kenobi business! You're lucky Master Quatre doesn't blast you into a million pieces right here and now!"
Quatre stopped Relena's advance quickly. "No- it's okay, but we've got to get out of here and fast! They're almost here!"
A series of horn blasts behind them brought Quatre's head around as he simultaneously pulled his blaster from its holster...
Bang! Quatre didn't spare the time to look as a shot smacked into Relena and blew her backwards. He dove for cover behind a large boulder, squeezing off as many shots as he could, though he knew that they were surrounding him...
He blinked in shock as he heard the approaching sand people squealing in fright. What in the Empire could they be running from!? He reloaded his blaster as fast as he could. Whatever it was...
"Young Quatre! What are you doing out here?" a voice called, and the blond felt relief wash over him. It was Old Howard.
He stood slowly. "Man, am I glad to see you! I came after that little droid."
Howard's sunglasses swung to look at the small thing, and Quatre resisted the urge to laugh. Howard insisted on those terribly loud shirts and sunglasses, along with that crazy hair- it was no wonder that the sand people ran away!
The old man's voice was hushed. "Where did you find him?"
Quatre walked over. "Bought him yesterday. He's blabbing about a mission and someone called Howie-Wan Kenobi. Thought he might be a relation of yours."
"Howie-Wan Kenobi? I haven't heard that name in... a very long time."
Quatre smiled brightly. "You know him then?"
The old man smiled down at the eagerness in the boy's eyes. "Of course I do, kid! He's me. This is most curious... Hn. Let's get inside, shall we? The sand people will be back."
~*~
Lieutenant Otto stopped in amazement as he rounded a corridor on OZ's huge space cruiser, not willing to believe what he was seeing.
Another man flew through the doorway of the interrogation room and slammed into a wall, clearly out cold. He rushed forward as others knelt next to their comrade. "What is the meaning of all this?!" he yelled.
And yet even as he reached the soldiers, he heard another voice ringing with laughter from inside the room- Prince Duo's voice. "Take that, sissy boy! And don't come back!"
Otto's face darkened- Lord Treize would be back before long and would want results, not beat up officers! "I thought I told you not to touch the hair! He's been known to kill people before for even looking at it wrong!"
The men grimaced. "Sorry, sir." None would meet his glance.
Otto groaned in self pity. He had known somehow that no one would take his warnings about the young man in the adjoining room seriously- Duo just looked far too harmless and innocent for it to be believable- but he had tried, anyway. They would have to be more careful and much smarter if they were going to break this one!
~*~
Quatre and the two robots followed the old man quickly back to his small dwelling- the blond leaned on the door and let out a sigh of relief. "I sure am lucky you just happened to be around, Howard."
Howard shrugged and replied, "In my experience, there is no such thing as luck. Now tell me, young Quatre, what brings you out so far?"
The blond gestured at the small R-2 unit. "I had to track him down and get these two ready for work, but he seems to be holding some sort of message that I couldn't access..."
Howard raised a hand to silence the boy as the holographic image projected itself again. "I think we've found it."
They watched in silence as the message played out. Howard was silent for several moments before he sighed deeply. "I suppose my sabbatical is over, then. But I suppose that the Winner family soap opera hasn't yet played itself out, and my role..."
"The Winner family?" Quatre interrupted. "What in the universe do you know about my family? Uncle Owen keeps us as far from out here as he can..."
"Of course he does! Afraid that you'll follow old Howard Kenobi on some damned-fool crusade like your father did..."
"You knew my father?" Quatre asked, his eyes wide.
Howard barely covered a flinch as he realised how little this boy knew of the truth of his heritage and fate. His tone was soft and sad as he replied. "I did- I was a Jedi knight, just like him. I'm all but the last of my kind now. In fact," he bounded to his feet and tore open a chest, rummaging through its contents. He brandished something with a flourish. "I have something for you- it was your father's. He left it with me to give to you when you were old enough."
Quatre eyed the thing dubiously. "What is it?"
"Your father's first light sabre," Howard replied, grinning to himself as he thumbed the switch and the blond jumped- a beam of light shot out of it and solidified, a deep, glowing blue that rivalled Quatre's own eyes in brilliance. "The weapon of a Jedi knight, not so clumsy or crude as a blaster, though necessitating a great deal more skill." He deactivated it and handed it to the boy, who accepted it with a quiet smile.
The two stared at each other for a long moment. Howard looked distant. "The Force was strong in the Winner family..."
"The Force?" Quatre asked.
Howard nodded. "Yes- it is... hard to explain. It is everything, in essence, a single, all-encompassing being that gives a Jedi his power, if he can harness it within himself."
Quatre felt a sense of foreboding as Howard peered at him piercingly over the rims of his dark sunglasses. "You must learn the ways of the Force if you are to come with me to Alderaan."
Quatre leapt up with a laugh, feverishly trying to hide that it had been his keenest wish ever since he first saw the message. "Alderaan?! No way! I've got to get these two home- I'm in enough trouble as it is, but I can't go there."
"You can't, or you want to so bad that it scares you?"
Quatre turned incredulous eyes on the old man. "My... m-my uncle needs me here! And it far away- I could never get involved..."
Howard burst out laughing as Quatre continued to sputter. "Like it or not, kid, you are involved. I need you. He," he added, gesturing at the R-2 unit in a clear reference to the person in the holographic message, "needs you. Can you really turn your back and pretend this didn't happen?"
Howard could see the boy's feeble attempts at resistance floundering and he smiled, not wanting to push it just yet.
Quatre gave what he hoped was a smile. "I can take you as far as the Spaceport. There are tons of pilots there- I'm sure you could find one to help you out."
~*~
He was unable to cry.
It was a terrible feeling- so empty, so broken, and dominating his entire spirit as he sped back towards the broken, destroyed Jawan transport unit.
They had come upon the transport on their way to the Port, and it had shocked Quatre to see such wanton destruction and disgusting waste of life. It had been unnecessary and vile...
And then it had happened- Quatre's Spaceheart had begun to throb in his chest as he felt something, as though a part of him were being torn out and... "Oh, God! Uncle Owen! Aunt Iria!" He turned from his companions and jumped back into his speeder, racing back towards his home at breakneck speed.
He had been too late.
He was headed back to the Jawan cruiser now, trying to ignore the glaring ache on his soul and failing at it miserably. They were dead, and over what? Over a bunch of droids they never would have bought had he not opened his mouth!
Howard read it on the boy's face as he returned and sent out a wave of compassion, much though he knew the other didn't want it. "It's not your fault, Quatre."
The boy shook his head sadly. "I should have been there- I could have done something..."
Howard shook his shoulders roughly. "The you'd just be dead, too, and the droids would be in OZ's hands. You can't change the past, Quatre."
The aquamarine eyes hardened frighteningly. "But I can change the future. There's nothing for me here, now. I want to come with you to Alderaan and learn the ways of the Force to become a Jedi like my father."
Howard squeezed the boy's shoulder sympathetically. He would be more careful with this one- and he wouldn't lose him!
~*~
The Bar in Mos Eisly smelled almost as bad as it looked, and that was saying a lot.
Quatre stuck close by Howard's side as the old man pushed his way to the bar and ordered a drink. The blond tuned him out as the old man began speaking to someone or something- he wasn't sure- he sank back down into his dark thoughts as he considered his family's murder. He scowled down at the bar-
Someone smacked into him from the side and Quatre whirled to growl, "Hey! Watch where you're going!"
The creature turned- it was easily three feet taller than he was, with ugly fangs and five eyes on its oversized head. It leered at him angrily. "You want to make something of this, boy? You best watch out- I've got the death penalty on five systems."
Quatre grunted derisively. "Yeah, sure. I'll be careful." He turned away-
The creature grabbed him by his jacket and forcibly turned him around. "You'll be dead!"
Quatre was just tensing to teach this overgrown maggot a lesson when Howard turned around. "This little one isn't worth the effort, friend. Now let me get you something."
With a scream of anger, the creature smacked Quatre hard across the chest- he lost his balance and toppled backwards onto a table-
Howard drew and there was a flash of light. All conversation in the bar ceased as the piercing blue glow of a light sabre illuminated the place and Howard's angry face. The creature was on the floor in two pieces. He looked around, as if daring someone else to start something, before he deactivated the weapon. Quatre was already on his feet again and glaring at the room angrily as Howard approached him. The old man whispered to him, "I've been talking with the First Mate of a ship that sounds like it's what we're looking for. Come on!"
Quatre looked up- they were following a... what? He didn't know what it was, but it was really furry and tall and armed with a crossbow that looked very mean... He followed along silently.
It lead them to a small table in the back of the bar, where a young man of roughly the same age as Quatre sat. He was intimidating looking, despite the fact that he wasn't much taller than Quatre, with messy-looking dark brown hair and piercing blue eyes, not to mention a perpetual scowl that seemed to lighten as the... whatever it was... leaned in and spoke to him. He managed a small smile as he waved them to the two vacant seats at the table. "So," he began, "Trowbacca here tells me that you need passage to the Alderaan system. Said you might be interested in my ship, the Millenium Wing. I'm her pilot, Heero Yuy. What's the cargo?"
Howard replied, "Just myself, the boy, two droids and no questions asked."
Heero grunted. "What's up? In trouble with the local authorities?"
Howard shook his head. "Let's just say we want to avoid any... Imperial involvement."
"Hn." Heero raised an eyebrow. "That will cost you- 10,000 credits."
"Ten thousand!" Quatre cried. "We could buy our own ship for that much!"
"Perhaps," Heero replied evenly, "but who will pilot, you?"
"Damn straight," Quatre bristled, "I'm not a bad pilot myself..."
Howard gripped Quatre's arm tightly to silence him. "We can pay you five thousand now, plus another ten when we reach Alderaan." Quatre sat back, speechless.
Heero watched the old man evenly. "Fifteen? Alright- you've got yourself a ship. When do you need to leave?"
Howard grinned. "We have some last business to attend to here- an hour?"
Heero nodded. "Ryoukai. We're in hangar 01."
The pilot turned to his companion as the other two left the bar. "Fifteen! That'll help us go into hiding for a good long time, Trowa! And then maybe find someone to fix you up..."
Trowbacca growled and howled in the only sort of language he could use anymore, since the Emperor cursed everyone on the ship he had been on... Heero wasn't even certain that he was using the right name for the creature- Trowa couldn't really tell him... and manipulating writing instruments wasn't possible anymore, either.
Heero patted his friend on the back. "Get back to the Wing and warm her up- I have a feeling that we'll have to get out of here in a hurry." Trowa grunted and left.
Heero downed the last of his drink and stood. He still had to be so careful...
"Going somewhere, Yuy?" Heero's face went blank as a man approached him with a drawn blaster.
The pilot glared evilly. "As a matter of fact I was just leaving here, Guido. And if you know what's good for you, you'll turn around and leave as well."
The bounty hunter shook his head and tsked. "And yet my boss still wants revenge for those two systems you robbed him of. Revenge out of your hide."
Heero didn't seem to react, though he was slowly unstrapping his blaster from its leg holster underneath the table. "He was breaking the law and it was my job to uphold it. His problem, not mine."
Guido growled, "You should have turned around and left! You do not challenge the power of the Hutts, boy! And now I'm taking you in!"
"Over my dead body," Heero replied, taking a firm grip on his blaster and thumbing off the safety switch.
"That's the idea, Yuy," the bounty hunter replied. "I've been looking forward to this for a long time."
Heero sneered, "Hai, I bet you have." He fired once.
Everyone turned as Heero blasted a hole through the bounty hunter, but quickly turned back to their conversations. The pilot stood and tossed a couple coins to the barman. "Sorry about the mess." He turned and walked out.
~*~
Baron Zechs Marquise smiled broadly as he recognised the tall, caped form marching down from the shuttle bay, a slight, smaller figure at his side. "Welcome to the Death Star, Lord Treize. And who is this guest you have brought me?"
Duo didn't wait for introductions. "Zechs Marquise. I should have known you'd be the one holding Treize's leash. I detected your foul stench when I was brought on board."
Zechs laughed down at the Prince. "Charming, as always. You have no idea how hard it was to sign the order to terminate your life." He reached out to tip Duo's chin up so their eyes met.
The boy recoiled from his touch. "I'm surprised you had the guts to do it, eh, Zechsy?"
The tall blond raised an eyebrow. "Zechsy? If you think that being cute is going to tempt me to spare you..."
"Oh, spare me the little speeches!" Duo exclaimed, rolling his eyes. "I still haven't changed my mind- the answer is no, not in a million years, not if every other human being in the galaxy were dead and gone, not if God himself ordered me to!"
Treize's hand clamped down on the Prince's shoulder, and Duo lapsed into silence.
An evil smile graced Zechs' face. "You're forcing me to be a monster, Prince. If you won't tell us where the stolen plans are, we will have to be more... persuasive." He turned to the helmsman, and the smile deepened. "Set a course for Alderaan."
~*~
Quatre sighed as he brought the light sabre up again and faced down the small training droid. Or faced as best he could- Howard insisted that he use a helmet with the blast shield down! He growled, "This is really beginning to piss me off!"
Howard, somewhere in the room behind him, chuckled. "Search out with your feelings, Quatre. Remember, a Jedi's strength flows from the Force."
The little droid sent out another small bolt of electricity that almost made the blond boy drop his light sabre, and Trobacca, watching from the sidelines, growled at it in warning.
Quatre wrenched the helmet from his head. "Screw this! I can't see a damned thing in this helmet, and those shocks are giving me a headache!"
Howard sighed- he knew precisely how the boy felt, since his master had put him through the exact same trial so many years before. "Master it, Quatre! You can feel it, can't you?"
Heero, walking in, gave a low chuckle. "Hokey religions and ancient weapons are no match for a good blaster in a fight, Quatre."
The blond turned on him. "You don't believe in the Force, do you?"
The blue-eyed pilot glared back. "No mystical energy force controls my life."
~*~
Duo watched in horror as the giant station went into orbit around his home planet. He sincerely hoped that this didn't mean what he thought it meant...
Baron Zechs turned to face him. "Since you won't tell us where you sent those plans or where the rebel base is, we have no choice but to demonstrate the power of this space station on your home planet of Alderaan."
Duo elbowed his way away from Treize, who had been holding him back and approached the tall blond in distress. "You can't- Alderaan is peaceful, we have no weapons..."
"Do you have another target in mind, a military target? Then name the system!" Zechs's smooth voice coolly asked of him. The blond was suddenly right in his face, his grip on Duo's upper arms painful as they stood almost nose to nose. "I grow tired of asking, so this will be the last time. Where is the rebel base?"
Duo's eyes were focused on his planet as his heart sank- it was going to happen! He couldn't do a thing to prevent it, but tell a convincing lie... "Tatooine. They're on Tatooine."
Zechs stepped back and smiled up at Treize. "You see- he can be reasonable!" Turning back to the men in front of the weapons controls, he waved a hand dismissively. "You may fire when ready."
Duo cursed and tried to reach the blond, his only thought being to kill the bastard, but Treize held him back with a heavy, bruising grip, and he watched with horrified eyes as the Death Star shuddered and...
Alderaan exploded. It hurt to watch- like an empty ache in his heart, and Duo glared up at the blond Commander, who was smiling broadly. When the time came- he would be there when the Alliance destroyed the Empire. He would use all of his special training... And he would take Marquise down.
~*~
Howard quite suddenly grabbed at his chest as he lurched into a seat. Treize, you bastard!
Quatre turned to him with wide eyes. "What's wrong, Howard?"
The man shook his head to try and clear it, wild hair looking even more like an owl's peaks. "A great disturbance in the Force, as though thousands of voices cried out in pain and were suddenly silent. Something terrible has happened- I know it."
Howard smiled suddenly, stood up and plucked the helmet from Quatre's hands, plopping it down over his head again with no preamble. "Try it again, Quatre, and concentrate! Don't try to see it- try to feel it!"
Trobacca let out another low growl as Quatre was hit yet again by a small blast of electricity. He glared at the little droid- there had to be something he could do to it...
But at that moment, as Quatre faced it down, it spun and another jolt flew-
The light sabre came up in a perfect arc to block the strike, and the small droid fired off three more that were equally blocked and reflected back at the small thing.
Nearly bubbling with excitement, Quatre deactivated the light sabre and tore off the helmet. "I did it! Woohoo! I hope I cooked the little piece of..."
Howard silenced Trobacca's light chuckle with a pointed glare. "Well done, Quatre. You've taken the first step into a greater destiny."
A beeping sound brought all heads around, and Heero stood and stretched. "Well, looks like we're almost there. Come on, Tro- we've got to get back to the cockpit."
The two left, and Quatre was still bouncing on his feet. He had felt something that time, and it had been remarkably easy once he let it speak to his mind- almost like the feelings he got from his Spaceheart...
Howard and Quatre were roughly thrown from their feet, and they stared at each other in shock. What the hell was that?
Standing, they ran from the room.
~*~
Quatre stared up at the giant mobile suit in front of him in awe. He had only heard distant rumours about suits like these- what had they been called- Gundams? Howard chuckled appreciatively as he turned back to the scowling pilot of the Millennium Wing. "Where'd you get these, boy?"
Heero glared darkly. "These are suits 01, 03 and 04. 01's mine and 03 is Trobacca's though he hasn't been able to use it since... since the run-in with the Emperor's shuttle. It's how I got in trouble- Tsubarov the Hutt stole suit 04 and I was sent after it. In the process... I destroyed the fleet he sent into the Sanc system, and now he's after my blood."
Howard looked disturbed. Three Gundams! What if the Empire finds them down here..."
Heero grinned at him. "Never happen! This is about the most secure shuttle bay you'll ever find- one of the reasons I keep her looking less than beautiful- so no will suspect. Still we've got to get out of here, in case they do bio scans."
Trobacca growled and gestured at one of the screens he had brought down with them.
Howard frowned- they had to get off of there fast. "What will it take to get off this barge?"
Heero shrugged. "I don't doubt that we'll be able to get away, as long as we deactivate that tractor beam- I can't outrun it."
The old man's face registered sadness for a split second before he smiled again. "Leave that part to me."
Heero snorted. "I knew you would say that."
Quatre stared at his mentor in silence, but just as he was about to say something about the achey feeling in his chest, proximity alarms went off. Howard tossed him a wink as Heero frowned at his controls. "We've got company."
TBC...
Back to Ashkara's Fanfictions Page