Gundam Wing: Phases of Memory
Phase 08-Ghost
By Sailor Celaeno

Annie was a beautiful baby. Noin was as proud as any mother would be with her
baby being the most attractive child beheld by anyone. Childless women commonly
wished and hoped for a pretty little girl like hers. Some mothers wished happy
and lovely things when they stopped to speak to them, though Noin had the
oddest feeling a few complements were not very sincere. Noin found no pleasure
in receiving jealousy disguised as pleasantry. In spite of everything, Noin
loved her girl like such a rare treasure. Most of all, Zechs couldn’t bear to
be far away from Annie. He adored her as much as he adored his wife. He had
regrets of not being more present in her life. Meetings and other obligations
kept him on Mars for weeks at a time. He couldn’t help it if life allow enough
time for him to be a father. What sort of father is he for being away from his
child when she was so young and forming bonds with Noin and him? He’d ask
questions over and over again.
Zechs couldn’t believe how much Annie looked like Noin. His daughter was
reminding him of Noin, his best friend, his lover, and his wife. Would his
little girl be patient like her mother? Would she ever forgive him for being
away so often? It bothered him leaving Annie and Noin. But it seemed almost
certain that they would find themselves on Mars again. Annie might grow up on
Mars away from her home world, Earth. It’s a difficult choice to bring such a
young child to a still developing colony. He could choose to keep things the
way they were, living on Earth, but he would be apart from his family so often.
It would still take time to decide. Zechs was gone more frequently and would
continue so in the immediate future.
After Zechs returned to Earth from the latest trip, Relena treated her brother
and his family to lunch. Relena was happy that they were going to find a more
permanent place for the family to live. She knew very well how difficult it was
for her brother to leave them when an assignment called him away. “Don’t worry
about me. I have a lot to keep me busy. I’ll see you and the baby as often as I
can. When are you going?” She was keeping her calm about the whole situation.
Though she was 18, she had more experience in hiding her discomposure than many
other people her age. Relena and Zechs found each other again. They were
becoming siblings, more than just blood but having a real connection as they
had as children. She waited with a nervous expectation of his answer.
“We’ll most likely leave next year when the Martian Minister of Affairs
retires. I’ll take his place after the New Year,” replied Zechs.
Relena nodded her head. Louis van Milden was resigning due to health issues.
Zechs’s experience with the Martian terra-forming project made him the logical
replacement. His position could last almost indefinitely. She was amused that
both she and her brother were ministers of ESUN. The irony of the situation
wasn’t lost on anyone.

*****

After much frustration, perseverance, late nights, and occasional swearing,
Hilde began to make reasonable progress with PAGE.
“It looks like the organization has branches and cells all over the planet,
and on the colonies. I managed to make a break into their little network. One
of the cells has been kinda sloppy and hasn’t been protecting their main
computer.”
“Where’s it located?” asked Une.
“In a small colony in L2. I’ve locked in the exact location.” Hilde handed Une
a paper with everything that Hilde had discovered about the cell.
Une nodded as she read the paper. “Very well. I want you and Duo to use that
computer and get everything you can. Whatever information is on there, it may
prove to have some use later on. No matter how insignificant it seems.”
Hilde consented to the logic of that idea. Hilde saluted before leaving Une’s
office. Duo met her outside the office. “So what did the boss say?”
Hilde smiled at him. “Looks like we’re going on a trip.”
Duo smiled as well. Some time with Hilde, and maybe some much need action in
his life.

*****

Heero walked down the hallway towards the large office suite. He knew that
she’d have the answers he wanted. No one else could have more reliable
information than Nova Rokureno. The receptionist said that she was at the
testing facility. He tried to open the door, but it refused to budge. “Hn?”
“Authorized personnel only.” A laser-like beam made several passes over his
eyes. “Identity not recognized.”
Heero glared until he heard the clip-clap of women’s heels. He turned to see
that Trista Meioh was approaching. “Hello Heero. You’re here to see Nova too.”
She gave him a pleasant smile.
Heero gave her a slight smile. “New toy you’ve been working on?” he pointed at
the eye-scan beam.
Trista nodded. “Yes. This will make things more secure. Once we establish a
network of supercomputers, we’ll have eye-scanning available on a more
wide-spread basis. Pleiades hopes that it will provide better security. Anyone
entering a building can be identified and tracked… just in case.” She stepped
forward and the beam scanned her eyes.
“Trista Meioh. Authorization accepted.” The doors opened with Heero following
Trista.
While Heero was intrigued with the eye-scanning, he had to play Devil’s
advocate. “This sound very 1984.”
Trista smiled. “Quite true Heero. But sometimes, you have to pay a price for
security. It all depends on how much you really value it.”
As they finished their conversation, they could hear a voice talking to
another. They soon spotted Nova with Iria Winner in a great discussion.
However, it immediately stopped when they noticed Trista and Heero standing
there. “Perhaps, we’ll discuss this later.”
Iria nodded and walked away. She said hello to Trista and Heero before she
left the room. Heero frowned a little. He was getting very curious about what
they were talking about, but that had to wait for the time being. Trista began
first. “I got him in.”
“Well Heero, you’ve come here because you suspect that I know about Linner and
all sorts of things pertaining to him.”
Heero had to like Nova for the fact that she went straight to the point. It
would have been much more helpful if she was the same with answers. “What do
you know?”
“Certainly more than you do.” She smirked. He wasn’t amused by her reply. “You
don’t sincerely believe that I’d shift the balance onto your side simply
because you should win? Heero, we both know that’s not how the game works here.
You shouldn’t depend on one source for solutions, Heero. You can’t develop if
you need to hold onto someone’s hand.”
Heero glanced at Trista just at that moment. She seemed to regard him the same
bemused way. “Since you have nothing to say to me that has anyo bearing on the
mission, then I’ll leave.”
Nova smiled and so did Trista. “Let’s not make your trip here feel like a
waste of time,” replied Trista.
“How?” Heero arched an eyebrow.
“The answers have always been in front of you. You need tangible things to
lead you. But the truth is right there so cleverly concealed,” said Trista.
“Like what?”
“You were looking at Linner’s past, correct?” asked Nova.
Heero nodded the affirmative.
“Did you look at it thoroughly enough?” asked Nova with a teasing grin.
Heero glared slightly. “We overlooked something…”
“Bingo.” Trista simply watched him.

*****

Sally sat at her desk reading as much as she could about Linner at Heero’s
suggestion. She shook head in disbelief. “I can’t believe we didn’t see this
earlier.”
Wufei turned to her from another file. “Exactly. We’ve been complete fools for
not thinking of looking at his patients more closely.”
Sally read as much as she could about the patients that had trusted Linner.
“Dresnen… Colony X2938.”
“Did you find something?” Wufei turned to his partner.
“It says here that a Karl and Hedda Dresnen had visited Linner and later had
son. Pierce Dresnen died two weeks after his birth.”
“What’s the point?”
“The point is that haven’t you noticed that most of these Newtype children
that Linner created are female? There were only four Newtype boys that are
alive.”
Wufei arched an eyebrow. “That is rather strange. He has 30 known Newtype
children. And only four are male.”
Sally nodded. “I recall reading that the Newtype factors in his male embryos
were rare. It seems that complications occurred and some of the boys didn’t
survive. Theoretically there shouldn’t be a problem, but it’s possible there
was a flaw in the procedure that favored females. It’s possible when he
artificially created Newtypes, his procedure caused a reaction that harmed many
of his male Newtypes. It’s hypothetical but possible. Since Y-chromosomes
generally mutate only every few generations, the mutation would more likely
come from the mother. That would make male Newtypes smaller in number. But then
again… this is all newly discovered and there could be other reasons for
Newtype factors being activated. Look at Quatre. He isn’t an artificially made
Newtype as far as anyone knows.”
Wufei nodded as he listened. Anything was possible at this point. He picked up
a few more files and arched an eyebrow as a thought occurred to him. “Something
else…”
“What’s that?” Sally asked.
“I have something interesting. That doctor had lab assistants and students,
correct?”
“Of course. Do you think one of them might know something?”
Wufei had a determined look on his face. “I wouldn’t doubt it. One of them
might know something that we can make use of.”
Sally nodded. “We’ll have some more files sent here.” She closed the file in
her hands and stretched her arms. “I have the feeling that you’re on to
something.”
Wufei nodded in agreement. “Something big,” he replied cryptically. “And
monstrous,” he replied after a meaningful pause.

*****

Trowa tried to make his spying as inconspicuous as possible. He had to make
sure there wasn’t useful material in the doctor’s office that was overlooked.
Linner’s office was empty and Trowa being in the doctor’s office wouldn’t be
questioned since he had the mandate to check for suspicious material, like
bombs. Trowa checked around before casually searching through files. “Hm… just
as I thought. The doctor doesn’t anything incriminating in the office,” Trowa
thought. “At least he’s a clever man. But this makes things more difficult.”
“Preventer Barton?” a woman’s voice piped.
Trowa turned around casually. “Yes Miss Grayson?” He acknowledged the
kind-hearted secretary. He was surprised at the fact that such innocent people
like Miss Grayson and Mira would work for a man that had done horrible things
to patients that trusted him. Then again, perhaps Mira wasn’t as innocent as
she appeared. The red-haired assistant was a mystery. He couldn’t find anything
concrete in his background checks on her.
“I thought I heard noises here. Is something the matter?”
Trowa coolly thought of a lie. “I’ve just been admiring the painting in here.”
He gestured at the portrait. It was an unusual painting that had been very
curious to him. This picture provided the perfect cover.
Miss Grayson walked to him with a pleasant smile. “You mean ‘Eugenia.’”
“That’s the lady’s name?” The painting was very melancholy. In the background,
the sky was mostly covered by storm clouds with only a small sliver or blue
left. The setting was by what appeared to be a lake with a quaint country
village nearby. There was a sailboat in the distance on the far side of the
lake. The lady’s face was partially covered by her wind-swept, black hair. Her
eyes were a striking hazel that was as mournful as the rest of the painting.
She stood firmly against the wind on the lake shore with the lake to her back.
“Why yes. The lady is or rather-- was a woman name Eugenia Brentworth. She was
an English woman the doctor met when he was…” She glanced at Trowa’s face for a
few moments. “I’d say about your age.”
Trowa processed this tidbit of information. He had to admit that there was
something beautiful and compelling about the sad lady. “Was she a girlfriend?”
Miss Grayson smiled. “That’s a guess really. Rumor has it that the doctor is
still in love with her. After all, over twenty years that I’ve know Dr. Linner,
he still stares at that picture like he thinks she’ll escape from the canvas
and talk to him.”
Trowa was a little puzzled. But then again, everyone he knew puzzled him. Even
himself. Linner was a man of passions. He was even more reserved than Heero,
and now it had been revealed that he was actually a love-sick romantic of the
greatest kind. He hadn’t heard or seen such an extreme personality anywhere,
except Heathcliff. Trowa smiled inwardly at Cathy’s pleasure when she heard
that he had finally found time to read that book she gushed about so much about.

*****

Nichola had a lot to report back to Kelly. She was very professional and
thorough as she informed her friend and superior about everything, including
that story about Eugenia she stealthily overheard when Trowa had that
interesting conversation with Miss Grayson. The opportunity was too perfect to
miss and she surprised herself with her innate ability to be in the right place
at the right time. She could feel that another piece of her past was revealed.
Kelly praised her greatly. She was especially interested in that bit of
fodder. There may be something that she could do with that information. It
didn’t take long for her to find out everything she needed to know about
Eugenia Brentworth.

*****

Arliss Linner had no company for dinner as he usually did. With Trowa or a
subordinate outside his bedroom door on guard, Linner had gotten sleep again.
Ever since the nomination announcement was made, he was receiving all sorts of
angry messages denouncing him as a living Dr. Frankenstein of the most
abominable degree.
With bodyguards, Linner had some amount of reassurance. There was still
something within him that made him fear. Perhaps sleep would ease his
overactive imagination. So he drifted off into the hopeful promise of rest and
peace.
It started out quite simple and nothing extraordinary. He was thirty years
younger again. He was standing at the lake edge again. It was Lake Luzern, just
as he had remembered. The lake large and pristine gleamed in the rays of the
setting sun as he walked every night after dinner. His father wanted to visit
the old mother country of the Linner family. The family tree went back to two
hundred years before the Alliance. Arliss hardly cared about all that. He more
concerned about his father. It was Niels Linner’s wish to finish his years by
the lake where his parents met. This was also the place he met his late wife,
Flora Bardwin. Like himself at the time, Flora was a university student on a
vacation. Secretly, Niels had the strong belief that his son would be fortunate
enough find a wife at the lake as well. Seven generations of Linner men found
their future brides by the lake. There was no doubt in the mind of the
patriarch that his only son would find “her.”
Arliss didn’t care much for his father’s old-fashioned notions of fate and
tradition. His sister, Isadora was happy in Switzerland and was as annoyingly
sentimental as their father. Mother was more sensible, but she was also
sentimental. However she wasn’t so foolish as her husband or her daughter.
Arliss was a cold young man. Niels couldn’t believe that Arliss was his son.
People were not very interesting except as higher animals. He was more
interested in observing people in a disinterested, scientific manner.
Arliss was walking around the lake as he did every night after dinner. Of
course something changed his mind. He had often observed a very pretty young
woman by the lake who seemed very enchanting and intriguing.
Now in his dreams, she haunted his mind again. She had the same raven-black
hair that fluttered free in the breeze. She had her back to him. He called her
name, but she never turned to him. She never looked at him. A gust blew
fiercely pushing him back. She’d vanish when he shouted for her. That was the
nightmare.
As the nights went on, the dreams grew more terrible as the nights past. The
worst nightmare had the same lake. The wind was calm, just like the day she was
lost to him. But instead of those fateful words, she said, “You killed me. You
killed me.”

*****

Cass had never experienced such power and so much sadistic pleasure as she
savored the wonderful nightmares she gave him. Her whole being felt such a
surge of power that she had only dreamed that she could have. Linner was
weakening to the horrible visions in his dreams. “Now Linner, you will feel all
the miseries that others have.”

Next Time: Midii/Nichola/Mira and Trowa have an interesting conversation.
Quatre gets a strange vision that leads him to some answers. Wufei and Sally
finds someone that also can give them clues. And what does Cass plan for Linner
now? All this and more next in Phase 09-The Key