Dorothy Catalonia smiled as she strode through the medical research facility, the lovely blonde making a striking figure dressed in her uniform. "Is she ready?" Dorothy asked her lieutenant calmly, gazing at the brown haired woman thoughtfully. "Yes ma'am," the black haired young woman nodded, keeping pace easily and carrying a clipboard at her side. "I understand her psychiatrist is still dubious about using her in the field, however," she added. "I'm not interested in her as a warrior, Helen," Dorothy said dryly, "she's more of a psychological warfare tool." "True enough," Helen acknowledged. The crisply dressed young woman looked faintly uncomfortable, "She refuses to have the facial scar removed." "It's her choice," Dorothy acknowledged as they reached the end of the hallway. She knocked firmly and called, "May we come in?" "Please," the woman answered. The sunroom was brightly lit, the light streaming in from the glass windows, a garden stretching out just beyond the glass. Chairs were set up around the comfortable room, and the scent of roses lingered in the air. Sitting by the window a young woman with violet hair gazed out at the garden, her skin pale from long illness. "Good morning, Shiori," Dorothy said calmly. Shiori looked up calmly, her eyes oddly cold and remote. Her nightgown swirled as she rose, the scar on her cheek only becoming visible as she moved. Burned into her cheek was a rose crest, much like the one she now wore on her finger, both red as blood. "Have you found her... my dear Juri?" she asked softly. "Yes we have," Dorothy told her, "she's a pilot with the colonies now." "A pilot?" Shiori blinked, "It seems too harsh for her." Dorothy studied Shiori for a moment then asked, "Do you still want to duel her?" Shiori seemed to unconsciously reach up to her cheek, caressing the scar there with long, delicate fingers. "Oh yes," she hissed as her eyes suddenly flashed with anger, "she'll pay for leaving me to die!" Almost as soon as it appeared the rage was gone as she dreamily purred, "Oh Juri my love... I've missed you." "And we will bring you two together," Dorothy promised, "when the time is right." "Thank you," Shiori breathed out, reaching out to take Dorothy's hand. Drawing it to her mouth she kissed the top gently the her tongue flicked out, wetly sliding between the digits in a disturbingly erotic way. "God," Helen murmured, turning away with a blush. "Rest, Shiori," Dorothy pulled free from her gently before saying to her, "we'll be back once you're ready." "I'll look forward to it," Shiori purred. Dorothy waited until they were away from the room and walking down the hall before she said, "Shiori will need to be closely watched in the field." "Yes ma'am," Helen agreed tentatively, more than a little disturbed by the young woman that they were leaving. Quietly she asked Dorothy, "Ma'am, are we still planning to put her in the pilot seat of a modified Tallgeese?" "We need additional pilots for the Tallgeese wing," Dorothy shrugged, "especially with all our recent losses." Recent losses was an serious understatement, in truth OZ's Tallgeese Wing was all but dead. First Zechs had left to attend to family duties as Miliardo Peacecraft, then Noin and Sally had been captured in a space battle and finally they had been forced to remove Une from her mobile suit due to her loyalty to the former commander Treize. "Yes ma'am," Helen agreed. She checked her notes, "Sadly our attempts to recruit new pilots connected to the Gundam pilots hasn't been successful." "Put more pressure on Ms. Winner," Dorothy said after a moment, "remind her we can kill her family and business with a word. Have you looked into the orphanage Duo Maxwell claims as a place of birth?" "We've compiled a list of residents the same age as he would have been, but so far there's no luck finding them," Helen said briskly. "Trowa Barton is clearly an alias, so no luck there, and Wu-fei's family and associates died with his colony." "Wonder if the pilots were chosen deliberately for their lack of connections?" Dorothy murmured admiringly. "Possibly," Helen said. "And the Gemini suits?" Dorothy asked. "The Gundam scientists have hammered out a prototype," Helen checked over her notes as she said, "it's a improvement over Leos by several generations, but individually they're still not a match for a real Gundam." Dorothy waved that off, "Doesn't matter, they won't be going up against the Gundams one on one anyway." "There's one new problem, ma'am," Helen said after a moment. "Just one?" Dorothy raised a eyebrow, "Let's hear it." "Lady Une has dropped out of sight," Helen said tentatively, "our agents can't seem to find her anywhere." In another part of the world a figure walked along the hall, the black flightsuit clinging to her body. "Thank you, Mr. Treize," Une said, brown hair flowing over her shoulders. Treize Khushrenada nodded in welcome, the two falling into step as they went into the hanger. "No, thank you," he said, "your loyalty has been one of the few things I could count on." Une blushed faintly, looking away from him before gazing at the dark shape crouched in the room. It was red and black, looking very much like a knight in armor with a pair of steel wings stretching out from the back. "This is Epyon," Treize said quietly, "my gift to you, Une." "OZ's own Gundam," Une ran a hand over one leg caressingly. "It uses a new control interface called the Zero System," Treize continued, "it will enhance your fighting capabilities immeasurably." Une took her hand away from the cool metal as she smiled grimly, "And I know exactly who I'll use it against, too." "Dorothy or Juri?" Treize asked. Une looked up at the suit, her thoughts seemingly consumed by all the possibilities that it represented. "Both of them, maybe," she finally answered, "in time." "Fair enough," Treize nodded. He studied her thoughtfully, "Do you understand the role I need you to play?" "The bringer of chaos," Une answered him promptly, "driving both sides of this conflict closer to the final battle, and pushing them both to deadly escalation." She flashed him a smile, "It will be glorious, sir." Treize watched her grab the cable and rise to the open cockpit, his face revealing none of his thoughts, the pain that he hid away so well. Only the most disciplined of minds could safely use the Zero System, OZ scientist's experiments showed that a standard pilot would go mad in a short time. He knew that Lady Une, as good as she was, wouldn't last very long under the system's influence and quietly he grieved for her. Une stepped on the open chest plate then turned, throwing Treize a grave salute. "Good-bye sir," she said and was gone into the darkness. "Good-bye," Treize nodded. Silently the hatch closed, the suit sitting still a moment. Then the eyes flared red, glowing in the darkness, and Epyon straightened out, standing noble in the dim chamber. The outer doors opened and it moved off, stepping out onto the runway then throwing itself into the air. Components shifted, body twisting, then something very like a dragon soared off into the night.
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