Prologue File

Falling

Like the heavenly paradise is withering

And every night by Earth's gravity

To the silent darkness they fall.

We lose everything

Just look around you

But there exists

one who can catch the fall

R.M. Rilke "Autumn" AD 1902 [This is my attempt at translating the Japanese. The actual poem in German, English translation of the German is much shorter that what is written in FT]

This is my lifelong (eternal) friend

T.K.

The word 'summer' was recorded in German and what with bearing the initials believed to stand for Treize Khushrenada-- T.K.-- and the special import placed upon the words 'the defeated,' there is reason to believe this was penned by Khushrenada imself. But... Treize and Milliardo did not have a point of contact at this time ((it's said that they first crossed paths during the Eve Wars)). However much they seem contemporaries, from a historical point of view, it is probably more accurate to contend that it is, in fact, someone else.

The next file, too, was enigmatic. The file wasn't text but rather a video. At the start of the new school term in September AC 195, a boy by the name of 'Duo Maxwell' had transferred to the State Gymnasium on the L-4 colony R09935. He was recorded reading a composition ((or, more accurately, it had the [distinct] feeling of an essay)) on the Earth-Colony relations. As it had been recorded by a camera situated at the very back of the classroom, there was no way the youth's face could be shown clearly, but if that was the real 'Duo Maxwell,' it would mean he was the only gundam pilot we could see in the flesh and blood. [er, wasn't Duo captured by OZ in the TV series and bandied about ALL OVER TV for a very PUBLIC execution? Maybe the meant to compare this video of the speech to the TV appearances of detained Duo?] Mostly, according to the rumors precedent at the time, the pilots were young boys and in order to complete their missions, they often infiltrated schools and the like, and they repeatedly transferred schools. However, if that truly were the case, it seems like it would be impossible to use the name 'Duo.' If you want to coneal your identity, obviously, you would assume a fake name. This is what the video contained:

AC 195 Autumn

"Earth: the planet in our solar system that is miraculously able to support life. With the advent of the colonies, man had abundant resources and with cultivated technology it became possible to possess new land-- space. However, in the end, it cannot surpass Mother Earth. What was the meaning of creating the colonies, then? I've heard the main reason is to give Earth-bound men a more abundant life. I wonder if we didn't need this pseudo-space because we had (impossible) demand for it. There were no predators (menaces to our life support) and so it was safer than the Earth. The development never ceased (lit: knew no bounds) and looked as if it promised eternal existence for the human race. Space allowed for a fresh start. It seemed like a merry time. But it's difficult to believe that the colonies... no, that people could forget the Earth. What did the technology used to develop the colonies give to Earth? The most sought after technology: military power. Destruction was something the human race could not throw away. Even now, the colonies still hold a militaristic disposition. Earth cannot be forgotten.

Earth has great beauty. The animal which possesses great power, whom we call 'man', has come to control the entire planet. [In the greater scheme of things] the existence of an animal is infantessimal. That's after the fact. After all, the things humans think of do not and cannot be changed. It was useless for man to go to space.

Before reality, the ideal is nothing but a dream.

False living space.

False Pacifists.

Space claims more lives.

That is a sadness man cannot forget, and yet he cannot stop fighting. The spilled blood and fallen tears will serve as no more than decoration for a ceremony [i.e. when the victors claim the spoils of war formally, ay]. Sometimes, war is the only way to move forward [#2]. All the (faded) big talk of fighting for the sake of peace were repeated time and again in the past; that was just a load of bullshit. For the sake of peace, the colonies bore arms. Just the same as Earth. Their will power seemed to grow in correlation to the amount of blood which was spilled."

The boy calling himself 'Duo' read up until that point when the teacher silenced him and indicated for him to go to the back [to his seat] in the very back. The report paper the boy was holding was recorded by the camera, and upon closer inspection, I realized there wasn't a single thing written on it. It was completely blank paper. He probably spoke his mind right there just as if he had been reading it. If that's the case, I could imagine how his thinking was critical of the trends of the time but he was so young-- I couldn'T help but admire someone who could, at that age, have such a wide (field of vision). Then, for just a split second, the final page was revealed by a gust of wind, and there I confirmed several lines of a paragraph that appeared to be the conclusion [of his report].

I tried to read that paragraph from the frame on screen, this is what was written:

"Then why does man fight? Perhaps fighting gives our existence significance. Those who fight feel a sense of fulfillment. And it's a fact that those who fight cannot see for their sins."

This is just my personal opinion, but I had the feeling that boy was not 'Duo Maxwell.' Couldn't he perhaps have piloted another gundam? It's unfortunate that there wasn't data to prove or disprove this idea but I was, for some reason, gripped by that thought and it wouldn't let go.

I had a sudden thought as the last file was downloading. That was because I was rather familiar with the person who had saved the file: Sally Po. That was my mother's name. It was AC 196 and my mother had been employed by the United Earth Sphere "Preventers." The details of her work weren't clear, as far as I could tell from the recorded voices, they were talking about security around the time my mother was serving as a guard for Relena Darlian, the vice Foreign Minister. Neither my mother's picture nor her voice were recorded. Nor could we tell who it was who was interviewing Relena Darlian. Either the interviewee was too important or the contents were too top secret, but for whatever reason, there was [almost nothing] but snow for the picture and only the voices could be heard [#3]. We didn't know where it had been recorded and like the other files, the exact date had not been noted. However, I could just barely make out that a rather elderly man was talking to Relena Darlian. In the file, Relena and the elderly man were speaking of "Heero Yuy"-- it was extremely confidential information that Heero Yuy was also a gundam pilot, but we in the Preventers were in the know. He was the boy with the code name of a legendary colony leader. That was the crux of the conversation in this file. As a supplement to this, in AC 196 Spring, it was a time of peace between the colonies and Earth and eight months before the Mariemaia uprising. The recording starts with the elderly man.

AC 196 SPRING

"We have two rather large sicknesses in our hearts. One is the cross-generational urge for revenge. The other is man's tendency to not look at each person individually, but rather to put a label on them"

"......"

"Surely your [note: it's a plural "your"] ideals have successfully, however temporarily, broken the chain of hatred which has extended over several centuries. However, the group advocating ideal pacifism cannot afford to show discord in any opinion."

"......"

"I think you know what that will lead to."

"......"

"I'm talking about him."

"... yes..."

I heard the old man's breath come as if he were laughing.

"He was the best. Exceeded expectations...... no matter what the barrier, he never [knew how to] give up."

"......"

"His name... yes, that was something I thought up."

"You mean Heero Yuy."

"Hm... pretty good for a (lit: bluff), isn't it."

"You've given Heero... I understand he's been given a new mission."

"Can I answer that question with one of my own?"

"... okay."

"Do you really believe you can achieve a perfect peace by throwing away weapons and writing off (lit: seal) the soldiers?"

"As long as the concept of fighting remains in people's hearts, real peace is impossible, isn't it......?"

"Has the human race actually come that far?"

"I think not, and it will be rough going from here as well."

I heard Relena sigh deeply.

"But, essentially, what people must turn their full power towards isn't an opposing enemy, I believe it's a firmly rooted hardship."

"So that's why there are plans for terra-forming on Mars."

"I'll thank you for not laughing. I sincerely believe that."

There was a sound of the old man swaying. It really seemed like he was really laughing.

"That's alright."

I heard the creak of a wooden chair being moved.

"About Heero's mission to destroy the as-yet incomplete colony sized bean canon that was designed for [specifically for the purpose of] destroying Earth... in the shadow of the peace you've constructed, a deterrent [like (lit: named)] Heero Yuy is constantly necessary."

"......"

"In any generation, in any place, that's-"

This file was top secret even among Preventers. If Master Chang had not given me special permission, I wouldn't have been able to see it. At the time, the there was no record of there being a colony sized beam cannon (to be used to fire at the Earth). The boy code named Heero Yuy... his mission was probably to blow up that weapon, I think. When I think about the (contents) of the mission, it seems about the same as what present day Preventers are doing. It's strange the assignment was given to my mother but I suppose that might have been because the then-newly inaugurated organization hadn't actually been up and running. In addition to the voice recording, there was other data attached to the file. There was the Human Hibernation Frozen Capsule blue prints and the user's manual. The plans were signed only with "J" so I didn't know who might have made them. There was an off chance it was possible that it was the old man to whom Relena had been speaking. Of the three files, only that last one seemed to have a significant connection to the files ordered by President Catalonia. But no matter how you slice it, I just didn't think data this old was necessary information for this mission.

"Lieutenant Commander Kathy, my apologies for the delay," said Captain Hicktory as he eased up on the Voyage's thrust[ers]. "We've arrived at the Preventer's Martian North Pole base. We managed to make our ETA."

"Thank you, that's a big help," Said Captain Sakai cordially. The white storm outside had passed. Like a frozen teardrop in the dim sky, Mars' second moon Dimos was shining on the other side of the rainbow colored Aurora Borealis.

Hurriedly, I dashed from the docking back to the base. Master Chang was working here all by himself. I cleared several layers of heavy security and after submitted to a DNA scan, I ran to the Branch Head's quarters. Mars only had one third of the gravity of Earth or the colonies. My stride were unexpectedly long and made for easy running. I opened the final door and there, in a deep navy blue [Chinese style] suit with a mandarin collar, Master Chang stood waiting [for me].

"Well met."

"Master Chang, we've received permission to carry out Operation Mythos. Please awaken the Aurora Princess."

'Sleeping Beauty' was now sealed in the human hibernation frozen capsule. That was when I heard a noise behind me.

"You really look just like your mother."

I turned around in surprise. Standing there was a man in early middle age wearing a priest's smock and a boy with a long braid of hair. The voice belonged to the priest. I turned round on the spot, minding my pistol.

"Who are you?" Tensely, I took aim. The man, however, didn't seem to sense any danger whatsoever. He was unperturbed, even as he looked down the barrel of my gun. I knew these were not your average blokes.

"You're Sally's daughter, aren't you" so saying, the priest and boy passed in front of me. Master Chang [followed after]. The boy glared at me sullenly, revealing his distaste of having a gun trained on him.

"How long you gonna keep me in your sights?" His gaze flashed with fearlessness. "...... you wanna die?"

I might have misheard, but that's what it sounded like he muttered.

"I'm Father Maxwell."

Conversely, the priest never let up on his affable smile. "[I] may run and hide, but I cannot lie... and this [ray of sunshine #4] is my son, Duo."

Instead of an introduction, the boy snorted disparagingly at me. Master Chang remained silent but motioned for me to lower the gun. I reluctantly obeyed. The boy lashed out immediately with his sharp tongue, "That's a load off, might even make it to a ripe old age now."

When I realized that smart-aleck kid's name was 'Duo Maxwell' I thought it had to be a terrible joke.

Whatever possessed his parents to name him after a gundam pilot? I thought.

"By the way, have you brought the three files?" Father Maxwell asked as if to remind me. "To awaken the 'Aurora Princess,' the three songs of the prelude are necessary."