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Introduction
The
attacks staged by the five Gundams, sent to Earth by the Space
Colonies, reflected their retaliatory intentions. The Gundams'
target is Oz, who had masked its identity within the mobile suit
troops of the Alliance Military. The Gundams had a number of
missions to attack Oz. The year is After Colony 195. Oz has
finally taken center stage. With an army of elite soldiers at his
command, Treize Kushrenada carries out his plan to destroy the
Alliance Miltary. The battle between the mobile suits sent to
Earth and Oz causes the earth to shudder violently.
Hiiro - Distracted by Defeat
Hiiro
Senkou ni Chiru
A shuttle lands outside of some building of importance and inside, Treize Kushrenada looks out the window. A little ways away from the shuttle stands the Tallgeese with Aries mobile suits around it. "So," Treize says, "that's Tallgeese."
"I can see that its no ordinary machine," Treize says as he walks over a small bridge with Lady Une following behind. "And that Zechs would be the only one who could pilot it."
"It might not be wise giving Zechs too much special treatment," Lady Une replies.
"We're providing a superior suit to a superior soldier. Any problem with that?"
"I am concerned it might give him an attitude."
"Lady," Treize says," there's no need for you to worry about that. I need you to focus on the major issues."
"Sir," she complies, bowing her head.
Treize and Lady Une walk down a hallway were regiments of Oz soldiers have lined up and are saluting them. They walk into Treize's office, where Zechs and Noin are waiting for them. "We've awaited you, Your Excellancy," Zechs greets Treize.
"Sorry to cause you so much trouble," Treize says.
"Thanks for your concern," Zechs replies.
Treize turns to Noin. "Lieutenant Noin, I commend you on your frontline battles. I would like to thank you personally."
"You're too kind, sir," Noin replies.
Lady Une watches this all happen, obviously not too happy. Why should Mr. Treize have to thank his own soldiers? she thinks. And then there are those who shamelessly accept his words!
"I've put Lady Une in charge of our latest plan," Treize states. "Should we get started right away?"
"Yes," Lady Une replies. "I'll be giving an explanation of our strategies at 1600 hours."
"It's almost time," Treize states."Be on your way." He waves her away.
"Yes," she complies and walks out of the room. As she walks down the hall, she glances back at the room. "Now, Colonel Zechs, Lieutenant Noin....you two shall attend. Come with me."
"Oh," Treize says. "There was something else I wanted to discuss with Zechs. I'll send him as soon as we're done."
Lady Une nods and says, "Lieutenant Noin, get a move on." Noin follows her out of the room.
"I believe you have a better grasp of your feelings toward the Alliance by now," Treize , sitting behind his desk, says to Zechs once they're alone. "Well, Lightning Baron? Or may I call you Lightning Count?"
"Your Excellancy, I was hoping to serve you for a little longer," Zechs replies.
"There is nothing that would make me happier," Treize responds. "But you're sure?"
"As it is there is only one name I could give myself...killer of his own men."
"The Gundams?" Treize asks.
"Yes, sir."
"In that case, do as you wish."
"I am very grateful." Zechs turns and begins to walk away. Before he can reach the door, however, Treize says: "By the way, won't you be taking your mask off?"
Zechs stops abruptly but does not turn around. Treize continues. "You've succeeded in your revenge. There is no need now to hide your face."
Zechs turns his head, even though he still not looking at Treize. "I still bring my personal hatred onto the battefield. Just think of this as my mark of distinction."
"Right," Treize says. "You're a very devoted soldier. That's the reason I can trust you with anything..." A devilish grin comes onto Treize's face. "...Milliardo Peacecraft."
"That name...please don't..." Zechs whispers and turns around.
Treize stands up. "I'm very much looking forward to the day you remove that mask of yours."
"Yes, sir..."
A little mechanical balcony holding Lady Une swings out in front of a huge army of organized soldiers. A huge computer screen pops up showing three Taurus mobile suits behind Lady Une as she begins to explain the new strategy. "The latest plan involves moving the Tauruses to the Siberian base to install our new mobility system."
"A new system?" Noin asks. "Why haven't I heard of it?"
"Our lack of confidence in the facilities and security of the Lake Victoria base has led to this transfer plan," Lady Une replies.
Noin just stares at her. "Hmph."
Lady Une continues. "The Tauruses will be transported across the Arabian coast under heavy gaurd. We will be taking over the transfer from there. So far, there haven't been any real threats, but we've taken everything into consideration." Suddenly the picture changes to show a fleet of carriers flying across the sky. "We've already announced a false transport plan. We won't let the enemy have it their way this time!"
"Enemy?" a soldier at the front of the group asks.
"The Gundams?" another one inquires.
"The Gundams have attacked practically all of Oz's plans," Lady Une responds, disgusted. "This should once again be an attractive target for the Gundams, but as long as I'm in charge, I'll prevent all such interference."
"Going through Siberia they pass through Oz's protected areas," Zechs, arms crossed, notes. He turns to Noin. "In which case the Gundams won't be able to attack."
"No, we want them to come," Lady Une snaps. "We consider annihilating the Gundams a big part of this plan. Our defeats up till now were because cowardly soldiers were too slow to compile their data. This time Oz is dead serious. I'd like to give a lesson on the correct way to eradicate the Gundams." Zechs doesn't say anything, just watches. "It might not come to much use, but let me provide you with some background information."
Elsewhere, Hiiro sits alone, in the dark, the lights in his dorm room turned off. The only illumination radiates from the computer screen, in which Hiiro sits in front of, typing away. Suddenly, something catches his attention - the image of the opening and closing claw of Doctor J appears, disrupting the information Hiiro was looking at. "Doctor J!" Hiiro exclaims when the rest of Doctor J's body appears on screen.
Back at Lady Une's briefing, a picture of the Wing Gundam in Bird Mode is on screen behind Lady Une. "We'll refer to the unit that fell over the Pacific Ocean as Gundam 01. It can transform into an aircraft. Once located, we'll lure it to an Aries air zone and shoot it down. Without its wings we can overcome it in a protractive battle. Next," a diagram of the Deathscythe replaces clips of Wing, "the Gundam 02."
Back at Hiiro's computer, Doctor J's claw continues to snap open and shut while images of the Taurus go by on the screen. "There is a problem with the Taurus," Doctor J explains. "It has the ability to learn from accumulated battle data. I'd like to trust Oz's battle system, but there's still the chance that the suit will ignore the pilot's plans and move on its own. If the command to kill overrides the pilot, the consequences could be significant. Destroy it...otherwise, it will be a menace to mankind."
The computer screen blips out and Hiiro stares at it and says, "Mission accepted."
Suddenly, the door opens, letting light into the room. Hiiro spins around in his chair, alarmed. "Who's there!?" he demands.
Duo stands in the doorway. "I've come to say goodbye," Duo says. "I've got a bad feeling about this one." He pushes the door all the way open and leans against the frame of the door, his arms crossed. "Oz's transport plan is gonna be good. By what I can tell, they're going to be taking two routes - by air, and by land. Hiiro...could you take the air route? I'll fight them on the ground." Duo turns and walks out of the room, but turns and looks over his shoulder before he's completely gone. "We'll lose unless we have our own plan this time."
Hiiro watches Duo leave in silence.
Clips of the Deathscythe causing havoc play on the screen behind Lady Une as she says: "02's features allow it to remain unnoticed." The clips change to those of the Heavyarms. "And with 03, the main point is to get it to use up all of its firepower at an early stage. This is true for all of them, but not one excels in an organized battle."
Somewhere else, a huge truck hides the Heavyarms under a gigantic blanket as Trowa works at a computer. "There's no choice but to attack where they're transporting. If the data they've collected in effecient, even the most elementary decoy plan will be effecient to effectively disperse their power." He looks up. "It's by air..."
The Maganac Corp. mobile suits gather around Quatre's Sandrock. "We'll hit the land!" Quatre orders. "Might be by air. If we hit the land transport, we can tell everyone which one is the decoy."
"Do you think that the other Gundams will come?" Rashid asks.
"We can't win by ourselves," Quatre replies. "But I'm positive the others will come.
In a river closed in by two mountainous land formations, I'm assuming far away from all humanity and civilization, Wu Fei stands on a rock in front of Nataku. Wu Fei is about level with the Gundam's chest. "Sorry," Wu Fei says. "I am no longer able to fight." He bows his head. "Denounce me, Nataku."
"04 is also a close range battle type," Lady Une continues. "Make sure when facing 05 to avoid direct combat. Stop it in its footsteps and barrage until its destroyed. Be extremely cautious of the firepower in its left arm. That concludes my briefing. I ask that you gather the troops of the respective bases near here and stand by."
"Yes ma'am!" the soldiers cry in unison.
Lady Une's platform moves forward till she's just in front of Zechs. "Colonel Zechs, I was hoping you would take the task of fighting 01 with the Tallgeese one on one." The whole time, she's got a sinister smile on her face. "What do you think?"
Noin jumps forward. "You can't seriously expect him to go alone. I'll back him up!"
"But Noin!" Zechs starts.
Noin cuts him off. "There's still some Aries left in the Lake Victoria base." She turns back to Lady Une. "I request orders to lead the Aries to battle!"
"I'm appointing you lietenant to the Headquarters," Lady Une snaps.
"But why?" Noin asks.
"You'll be assisting me. Do you have any problems with that?"
"No," Noin says solemnly, defeated.
"Colonel Zechs previously received a serious blow at the hands of 01. Now that he has the Tallgeese, I felt this would be the perfect opportunity to get his revenge," Lady Une explains.
"Convenient," Noin says quietly. "If he loses, it all becomes Zechs' fault..."
"Noin, it suits me just fine," Zechs says. She's startled, but he continues talking. "Actually, I was hoping you'd be stationed at the Headquarters."
"Colonel?"
"When we meet the enemy, we'll need quick, accurate information. I'll need your support there."
"Yes, sir! Count on me!"
"Commence operations!" Lady Une orders.
Relena's pink limosuine pulls up to her school. She looks out quietly. As she's walking along, a group of girls runs up to her. "Relena, something awful's happenend!" one of them says.
"Hiiro has changed schools, right?" she replies. Her face is stern and her voice lacking emotion.
"You already knew about it...?"
Another one bows her head. "There wasn't enough time to become friends with Hiiro or Duo..."
"Off to fight again, Hiiro?" Relena whispers. She closes her eyes. "Well, I'm off to my own battleground..."
"Mobile suit preperation for both the flight and the railway course complete!" an underling calls as Noin and Lady Une enter a computer room at the Headquarters. They walk up to a big circular map in the middle of the room, where lots of the soldiers have gathered around. "Check with the observation satelite for any irregularities along the course," Lady Une orders. Lady Une leans over the map and whispers: "It's only a matter of time..."
"Excuse me Colonel Une," Noin says. "Which is the true carrier route they're going to be using?"
"Both are extremely important" is the only response Lady Une gives.
Suddenly an alarm sounds and a block on the map lights up red. "Gundam 4 located 9.4 kilometers from land point A," one of the soldiers around the map says.
"Aries number four squadron....ATTACK!" Lady Une screams.
The Maganac Corp fires, mowing down the Aries suits. Rashid sits in his cockpit, looking at his screen. He closes up on the train, speeding along the railroad tracks. "Master Quatre, I have our targets in sight!" The train screams along its tracks.
The battle continues, Quatre kicking massive ass in the Sandrock. "No mistaking this security," he says. "It's this route!"
He walks the Gundam up to the tracks in front of the train and prepares to sever the trains path when a turret appears on the train and shoots him in the back. He screams and falls onto the track in front of the approaching train. Quatre watches in horror when suddenly another Gundam latches itself to the train. "You wish!" Duo screams, and rolls over, ripping the train from its tracks and sending it sliding along on its side.
It eventually slides to a stop, and Duo climbs up from the wreckage. "Hey...you okay?" he asks Quatre.
"Yeah, I'm fine," Quatre says, standing up. "Glad you came."
"Sure," Duo replies. "But this route is the decoy."
"What?"
The doors on the overturned train swing open and countless Leo suits rise up from them, holding rifles in their hands. Duo and Quatre find themsleves surrounded.
"Radar plane reporting! The highspeed carrier's heading our way!" says an offscreen voice as carriers, flying in formation, open their cargo departments and drop Aries suits into the sky. The Aries fly towards the unknown carrier, blowing off its wings and setting it aflame. Out of the smoke on the top of the plane rises the Heavyarms Gundam.
The Aries finish they job they started on the carrier, and as it explodes, the Heavyarms propels itself into the air using boosters on its back. It shoots down the Aries with no problem.
Nearby, the infamous Taurus carrier heads towards a run way while an offscreen voice says, "The Taurus carrier has reached its refueling point!" Another voice responds, "Back up defense army, attack!"
Trowa destroys a couple tanks as he descends to the ground, then lands on its knees, sliding and kicking up dirt. It stands back up and shoots some Leo suits, then blows away some jets in the sky.
In Lady Une's control room, a man says, "Flying object approaching from the southeast at great speed, believed to be 01."
"It will arrive at the supply base in T minus 300," another man says.
"Come in Zechs, " Noin says, "01 has just arrived. Its headed for the air route supply base where we're fighting off 03."
In the air, Zechs' blue carrier opens up and the Tallgeese falls out the back. In the cockpit, Zechs says, "That's fortunate. He's headed for the air route. It'll be close, but I'll take him out mid way." The boosters in the back open up and the Tallgeese speeds away.
In Bird Mode, the Wing Gundam arrives on the battlefield and is immediately shot out of the sky by the Leo suits. It transforms as it falls, and then stands up just in time to get blasted by a huge cannon. As it falls back, it counterattacks with a blast from its Buster Cannon and blows the Leo suit away.
In the cockpit, Hiiro starts to turn around when an alarm at his left starts to blink and bleep. "That an Aries?" he asks. "No, its bigger." On his screen, Zechs' Tallgeese heads straight for him. The computer analyzes it and Hiiro reads it aloud. "Data checked...no match to any OZ weapons?"
He aims his rifle at the approaching suit which charges him until they're about face to face, then shoots into the sky just in time to avoid the shot. "He's fast!" Hiiro observes.
In the air, Zechs takes aim and shoots down at Hiiro. The blasts land around him and kick up quite some dust. Hiiro flinches, then watches as Tallgeese descends gracefully, slowly to the ground.
"Thats enough, 01," Zechs says, with a big grin on his face. "We should have no need for beam cannons or blaster rifles between us." The gun attached to the Tallgeese's arm pops off as it reaches behind the tiny round shield and pulls out a beam sword. "We'll fight for recognition of superiority!" Zechs exclaims. "You are a Gundam pilot. I'm sure that'll suit you."
Hiiro drops his own gun and pulls out his own beam sabre. Tallgeese lands and turns off its boosters, and the two suits face each other.
Elsewhere, Trowa is happily blowing stuff up with no opposition or force that can stop him. After shooting a gabizillion missiles at nothing in particular, Trowa notices Hiiro and Zechs fighting off to the sight. "Hm? There's the flight type! Is that a new OZ model?"
Zechs and Hiiro begin to fight each other, neither one striking a successful blow. In his cockpit, Zechs smiles and says, "I believe I have won this battle. I feel no fear whatsoever. I'll defeat you without taking Tallgeese to its full limit!"
Finally, Hiiro realizes what his enemy suit is. "A prototype Leo! So, OZ has completed them? It won't be easy, but I'll try and destroy it."
Trowa watches a second longer, then says, "My mission is to destroy the Taurus. I'm checkin' out." He starts blowing up more Leos.
"Half the land troop Leo suits have been destroyed by 02 and 04," a man in Une's control room says.
"01 is battling the Tallgeese. But 03 is headed for the supply base," says another.
"Who would have guessed Gundams had this much power...?" Lady Une wonders.
"The Taurus carriers are on standby for immediate take off," Noin says. "I'll give the okay."
"I didn't approve that," Lady Une snaps. "I know my strategies will never fail, Noin!" She turns and screams, "Get the space fortress Barge online!"
"Space fortress...?" Noin asks.
"Colonel Une, sir, positioning is complete!" a man on Barge who pops up on the screen says.
"Good!" Une replies. She turns and pulls a little radio to her face. "Calling all Gundam pilots. We are now positioned to stage an all out missile attack on the colonies." In space, we see the missile silos open up, showing off several missiles aimed straight at random colonies. "We have seized all missile satellites from the former Alliance. It's reasonable to say we control the destiny of all colonies. This isn't a bluff. I demand all Gundam pilots to surrunder at once and hand over your Gundams."
Quatre rips the flight goggles off hsi head and exclaims, "They've targeted the colonies!"
"Hand over our Gundams!?" shouts Duo.
"Sounds like OZ's tricks," Trowa scoffs.
"Hell of a time for tasteless tactics!" Zechs snaps, disgusted at what he's hearing. Suddenly, Hiiro charges him. "YOU GUYS CAN FIGHT, WELL, CAN'T YOU!?" Zechs screams. Hiiro replies by hacking off the Tallgeese's left arm. Hiiro stops and just stares at his injured opponent.
"I can't fight, in that case," Zechs says. He turns to his side. "Noin, please. Get me Lady Une!"
"The Gundams have stopped," a man tells Noin, "but the pilots show no sign of surrendering."
"Launch a missile!" Lady Une barks. "I don't care where!"
Zechs appears on screen. "Colonel, get a grip on yourself!!"
"I know exactly what I'm doing!" Une snaps.
"That is not what His Excellency wants," Zechs replies.
"I am doing nothing more than fulfilling His Excellency's ideals!"
"No! You clearly don't understand his Excellency!" Suddenly, Zechs is cut off screen and Une stands, her finger pressed down on a button.
"You're the one who doesn't understand him, Colonel!" Lady Une says to a Zechs that can no longer hear her.
Behind her, Noin says, "No, ma'am, you're wrong! Look, Colonel Une, the objective is to eliminate the rebels. His Excellency doesn't want battles that involve civilians!"
Une turns around and slaps Noin clear across the face. "THE COLONIES CAN BE FLATTENED WITH THE MOST MINUTE OF ATTACKS! THEY'RE INSIGNIFICANT WORLDS FOR THE PATHETIC! As for the rebels, I'LL SWEEP THEM ALL AWAY WITH THIS SINGLE COMMAND!" She turns over her shoulder and screams, "LAUNCH MISSILES, NOW!"
"NO! DON'T!" Noin screams.
Suddenly, all the computer screens in the control room go haywire and Dr. J appears on screen, confusing everyone. "Attention OZ," he says. "I never would have imagined that you people could have been so incredibly foolish. The space colonies have no intention of fighting OZ! This is my personal battle that I'm staging against you!"
"Who is he?" Zechs asks.
"Dr. J..." Hiiro says to himself.
Une walks up to the computer console and looks at J. "So, the rebels finally showing his face," she taunts.
"His transmission is on a regular line from outer space," a man says.
"Transmission origin - Colony C10C," another man says.
"Who is this guy?" Duo asks.
"The person who's been sending orders to someone amongst us five," Quatre responds.
"In your eyes," J continues, "inhumane moves such as attacking the colonies are just, if that's what it takes for you to come out victorious. I have no choice but to surrender."
"Very well, your surrender's accepted," Une says. "Abandon your Gundams and hand them over immediately."
The cockpit on Wing opens up and Hiiro walks out.
"A boy?" Zechs wonders. "The Gundam pilot is nothing more than a little boy!?"
"I surrender," Dr. J says, "but I will not hand over the Gundams. I repeat...I surrender, but I will NOT hand over the Gundams!"
The other four Gundam pilots watch, terrified, as Hiiro pulls a detonation device up and holds it out at arm's length. "Mission...accepted," he says, and presses the button.
Suddenly, the Gundam lights up and begins to hum and whir ominously. The camera swings back from Hiiro as the machine explodes, seeming to melt away into nothingness. Hiiro, his eyes wide with horror, is flung through the air like a little rag doll. Pieaces of the Gundam, black, charred, destroyed, fall to the ground with metallic clanks. The Gundam starts to tilt forward. Its left leg snaps in half at the knee, leaving the bottom half of the leg standing straight. Headless, the machine falls to its knees, then collapses on it chest, a broken, destroyed mass of pointless Gundanium and wiring.
Hiiro finally lands, tumbling and rolling violently along with the shrapnel of the machine. The Gundam lies on its chest, the wings broken off and pieces everwhere. Hiiro lays on his back on the ground, staring into the night sky. His head is lying back in an expanding pool of his own blood. His eyes are open, but they are the eyes of a corpse. His mouth hangs slightly open and blood runs down in little rivulets on his face.
"01 just..." Noin starts.
"....self detonated...!" Une finishes. Both are wide eyed and amazed.
In his cockpit, Quatre clutches his heart, gasping. Zechs' face floats in the screen. "That pilot sacrificed his life.." Lady Une's face floated past. "He self detonated in exchange for the colony..." Noin's face floats past. "He sacrificed his life without a second thought..."
Quatre cries in pain and hunches over, still holding his heart. "The pain...my body...his soul...!"
Suddenly, Trowa's voice calls over the radio: "Can you hear me!? We must leave here at once!"
A giant metallic hand scoops the lifeless form up from the pool of blood. Heavyarms stands up, holding the limp form of Hiiro in its hands.
"Trowa!" Quatre calls. "Is that you, Trowa?"
"Without resolution, we cannot fight!" Trowa says. He looks down at Hiiro, whose head hangs down, staring athe giant fist. "He's accepted all the orders..."
"Because they bluffed with the colonies...!" Duo growls. "Damn!"
"We...can't fight any longer..." Quatre says.
Suddenly, fire is opened on Quatre and Duo, who back away slowly. Zechs stands in his Tallgeese in front of Trowa, still holding Hiiro. "Hurry and move out!" Zechs says. "I won't attack you in a position like this!"
Heavyarms cautiously turns around and walks away.
"All Gundams are leaving their respective battle points!"
"Don't expect this to be the end of it, Gundams!" Une says. "Or you, Lieutenant Noin."
Noin holds her hands to her ear. "Colonel, I have a call in from His Excellency."
"GIVE IT!" Une orders, reaching for Noin's face. Noin shoots her hand up, blocking Une's.
Noin smiles slightly. "Colonel...he says for you to be more graceful. About everything." Lady Une's mouth hangs open and her eyes are wide. Noin's eyes squint into tiny slits. "More graceful. Lady Une."
Somewhere, Trowa sits alone in the front of a gigantic truck. On the bed of the truck, the Heavyarms is tied down. And in the Heavyarms' hand, his hair blowing in the wind, his eye still staring, and his mouth still open, lays Hiiro.
Next
Time
The
Gundams have been defeated. With the colonies used as shields,
the Gundams don't have a chance. They face a time of humiliation
and are unable to fight. On top of that, no one is able to
confirm whether Hiiro is dead or alive. Relena heads to Moscow,
having been informed that Lady Une is there. She aims her gun
straight at her father's killer...Lady Une. Next, on Gundam Wing
episode 11, The Whereabouts of Happiness.
Written
by PJ