11-Dec-2005
This is a story I'll never finish. Sad, but true; I never should've begun the sequel, and it stands as one of those in which I had to learn the lesson the hard way, I suppose.
The next few sections I'd planned consisted of the following:
-- Wufei's POV
A scene where Wufei discusses his ambivalence about Duo and Heero being
divided on whether to stand as Preventer agents or civilians. His
fiancee (a distant relative of Meiran's) listens, chides him, and
basically acts as sounding board. He's not in a position where he's
able to speak to Sally, due to the investigation, and is reluctant to
speak to Quatre and Trowa is off on L3 and still in school. When he
receives word that Quatre and Trowa are coming back to earth as a
couple, Wufei is furious that he's been left out and feels manipulated.
His fiancee points out that he was one of the ones doing the
manipulation, during the original events, and Wufei starts thinking
twice about exactly what's going on. At the end, he tenders his
resignation and opts to stand by Heero as a civilian. Duo is surprised,
then congratulates him.
-- journalist POV
Interviewing the members of the grand jury, about the evidence
presented and their reactions to it, and what prompted them to decide
to return the indictment they chose. A number of revelations about the
depth of the case (with mostly refresher for the complex plot of the
original story) with the final surprise that the indictment was for two
counts of illegal weapons usage for Heero, and one count each for
Trowa, Duo, Enny, and Hilde. The actual charges listed are
misdemeanors, and carry no more than ninety days in jail, and/or a
fine. Prosecutor opts not to instate a second grand jury, and does not
take the case to trial. Short interview with the judge seen in previous
chapter; Judge was ready to fine each five hundred dollars and let them
go with time served.
--- Enny's POV
Shorter piece about the five gundam pilots in court, and the women
who'd been with them in the war. Basically just seeing all the
characters under stress, and their reactions to the counsels'
questions. Includes a snippet of seeing Duo and Heero meeting in a jail
cell after a month's separation, with bits of overheard conversation
that imply they had planned it from the beginning, as a means to bring
their friends to realize the same conclusion they'd had; that is, that
a military tribunal would never achieve the same publicity or
credibility as a civilian grand jury. Enny contemplates the
manipulation, but knowing the original situation, realizes that
sometimes being led to water and left to drink is better than being
forced, even if the leading was on the sly.
...And that's about it. Sorry I just couldn't ever seem to write it; Wufei's POV kept tripping me up. I could get into his head just fine, but what showed up on paper didn't work. However, I'd always seen this plot line as the final solution, that a grand jury would weigh the overall situation, the choices the "team" had to make, and see that sometimes the lesser evil must be done to create the greater good. That, in effect, the team was fighting a third war, on a far less public scale, but one that had ramifications for the entire world; some costs must be borne to achieve an end, even that of peace.
The End
(:./sol/echoes4)
