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Gundam W Endless Waltz Book Two Chapter 5

This is an excerpt I translated from New Mobile Suit Report Gundam W Endless Waltz (Magazine Novels Special) by Katsuyuki Sumizawa. It was released in the form of two books. The second book was released on July 23, 1997. Please keep in mind that I am not an expert in translating, therefore some areas may be lacking.

5

Heero and Duo stood in front of the control room. The door was locked with a code key. Immediately, Heero began to unlock the code key. Just then, new guards came chasing after them. The guards mercilessly opened fire with their machine guns.
"Tch..." Duo clicked his tongue and fought back.
However, this time, they ran out of ammunition.

(The pursuit was surprisingly quick...)
It would take at least three minutes to unlock the code key.
(Can I hold out...?)
While thinking that, Duo pulled the pin from the last grenade and threw it at the approaching guards. The guards hurriedly fled from the rolling grenade. Before the explosion occurred, Heero stood up.
"It's open..."
The control room door was open.
(Oh, that was quick too...)
As soon as they jumped into the control room, a grenade exploded. The automatic door closed as the smoke flowed in. The two stopped. It wasn't because they felt their backs were safe.
"You're late."
In the spacious computer room, Trowa was sitting with his back turned to them. Around him, several soldiers were unconscious.
"Oh, come on..."

IMAGE

Duo continued, finding the tense moment ridiculous for even a second.
"How about that? Our objectives ended up being the same after all..."
"Help me..."
The monitors on the control panels around displayed the status of this X18999 colony. It also showed the speed limit to remain stable in the L-3 airspace.
"They've got a complex lock on the system. It's taking time to re-establish the colony's stability control..."
"Sure..."
Duo and Heero took their seats and started operating their keyboards. Just a few seconds later, Heero spoke up.
"We'd better hurry... Looks like they've started sending units to Earth..."
He was extracting the encrypted information from the external situation and command hierarchy that was supposed to be heavily locked. As a hacking expert, he read the steps that Trowa had somehow unlocked up to this point, reused the password obtained from that, and was grasping the current progress. For Heero, it was just a light warm-up to get to know the characteristics of this computer.
"How many people are still left in this colony?" Duo, the professional at security breaches, asked.

Perhaps we might not make it in time. It would take us several more hours to deactivate the security system, which is locked multiple times and resembles a maze. It might be more certain and faster to rescue the people left in the colony. Duo was calmly reasoning this out. Trowa answered without changing his expression.
"There are about nine thousand civilians. The Mariemaia Army is less than two hundred."
(Then it's impossible...) Duo had no choice but to give up.
"However, the non-civilians will likely escape on their own..." Trowa added with a slight expression of resignation.
Among the nine thousand ordinary civilians are the members of the circus including Catherine and their leader.
"Many friends that I worked with are on this colony. When I realized Dekim's plans were really the original 'Operation Meteor' this was the only way I could think to stop him..."
When it comes to foresight, among the Gundam pilots, Trowa is undoubtedly the best. It is different from Quatre's "instinct" or "intuition."

It was a conclusion derived from accurate situational judgment and past experiences. In this regard, he would be on par with Zechs. However, his judgment was quicker than anyone else's. Trowa had anticipated that Operation Meteor would be carried out the moment he saw the ID cards of the Barton Foundation men. He had understood Dekim Barton's persistence that well. That is why he joined the Mariemaia Army and acted to assassinate Dekim. However, he was stopped by Wufei. At that moment, Trowa became aware of his own mortality.

Wufei stood completely still, holding the Blue Dragon sword.
(I will surely be killed...)
It was reasonable to say that he deserved to be killed. However, Dekim did not order the execution of this troublemaker. Wufei also sheathed his sword immediately.
"What do you mean by this...?"

"Hehehe... We, the soldiers of Mariemaia, are generous..."
"..."
"Let us take on the mission of awakening all of humanity together..." Dekim said, glancing at Wufei. "Just as your former comrade is doing..."
"Hmph, you know me well... the reason I use the name 'Trowa Barton'..."
"Of course... But I do not concern myself with such a past..."
That statement felt more directed at the soldiers lined up on the platform than at Trowa.
"My personal grudges are of no importance at the moment... Everything must be in accordance with Lady Mariemaia's will, and it must serve to show the future of humanity in the Earth Sphere..."
"So, you mean to say you don't think about revenge in the face of great ambitions?"
"That's correct..." However, Dekim's eyes were filled with hatred.
"Hearing that puts me at ease..." Trowa holstered his gun.

"I thought I would be killed by you, so I hid my status and name and ended up doing something like this..." Trowa's eyes were devoid of emotion, like transparent glass marbles. "If my life is guaranteed, I will gladly pledge my loyalty to Lady Mariemaia..."
"...Hehehe, well said." Dekim addressed the soldiers. "Gentlemen, surely you understand now... we are 'justice.' The two Gundam pilots are fighting alongside us... for the future of the entire Earth Sphere!"
Dekim had one thing he couldn't afford to lose at that moment. That was the trust of the soldiers, starting with Wufei. The Mariemaia soldiers were a rare breed in this era, gathered together with ideologies and loyalty in mind.
Dekim provided ample rewards to such soldiers, dispelling their war-weariness and elevating the noble spirit of the revolution. He was educating the soldiers in such a way that this "battle" is necessary for humanity's awakening and transformation... Such a purpose and method is nearly akin to brainwashing. Additionally, the soldiers who were once part of the "Treize Faction" are made to believe that this was Treize's will.

With this kind of countermeasure, various soldiers were grouped together as an "Anti-global Unified Nation."
That's why, if he settled his personal grudge here, it will be revealed that the Mariemaia Army actually stemmed from Dekim's personal ambitions.
If that happened, there was no doubt that the hearts of the soldiers would leave Dekim and Marimeia.
Trowa saw this and deliberately used the word "loyalty." He had realized from Dekim's speech a few minutes earlier that it was such a group. And, of course, Dekim doesn't believe in Trowa either.
Dekim must have hated this man who claimed the name "Barton" with a passion.
But he can't kill him here.
(Sometime... elsewhere) He must have thought.
(As long as there is a use for him, I'll make use of him...)
Based on such calculations, he added Heero and Duo's interception team.
"Kill them if there are any suspicious movements..."
He conveyed the order to the supervisor.
Under such surveillance, Trowa led Duo and Heero to the city of the X18999 Colony and even took over the central control room.

It was almost a masterful feat akin to "tightrope walking."

Trowa said while tapping on the keyboard, "But it's taken me way to long to get here..."
He was calmly assessing the situation so far, but there was a hint of regret in his tone. The display on the control panel showed that the time limit for stabilizing the colony was under five minutes. The rotation speed had also increased significantly. The gravitational G had changed to nearly double that of normal.

If the colony's rotation speed is increased, the gravitational balance will be destroyed, and it will fall towards Earth. Up until this point, Duo had maneuvered through the hundreds of traps prepared within the control computer and bypassed dozens of security locks. However, he still couldn't complete the final unlock of the central control. The monitor display wouldn't change from the red letters of "SPECIAL MODE" no matter what he tried. He had to change this to "NORMAL MODE."
(It's impossible...)
(There isn't enough time.)

Duo made the final decision.
"I can't seem to break the final lock. We'll have to reconnect the lines directly."
This method involved leaving the program as it was, while directly manipulating the control drive circuit to make the computer believe that the correct speed was in "SPECIAL MODE." For that, it was necessary to continuously send fake data to the computer. Moreover, a procedure to create such a dummy program was needed.
"Heero, can you do it...?"
"I'm already on it..."
By the time Duo made that suggestion, Heero was already at work. Duo crawled under the console and pulled out the computer's circuit panel. In fact, this method was incredibly dangerous. If even a single operation went wrong, if even one circuit was incorrect, the colony could collapse in that instant. If the life support system fails, nine thousand people will die in an instant. If the safety mechanism of the bulkhead is released, nine thousand people will be thrown into the vacuum of darkness.
However, if one thought rationally, this method would eliminate the worry of the colony falling to Earth. It could even be considered better for nine thousand lives to be sacrificed than the death of millions. Still, the three of them were not calculating such numbers.

This method was also a painful choice made as a result of continuous effort until the very end. It was an expression of the attitude to take a chance if there was any possibility of success, no matter how dangerous it may be.
(Heh, I won't let anyone die...) Duo thought to himself.
However, the work was difficult. Cutting and connecting circuits on a microscopic scale in double the gravity was almost a feat worthy of divine intervention.
Heero completed the dummy program. While inputting it into the computer, he simultaneously disconnected the control drive circuit.
"Anytime is good..."
Duo pulled out the control drive circuit panel and began his work. It was unusual for him to act so silently. The work was that meticulous and delicate.
Meanwhile, Trowa was manually maintaining all the life support systems of the colony on the front monitor. If the control drive circuit is cut, the life support system's functions will also be severed.

They had to stabilize all nearly two hundred blocks, including preventing air leakage, stabilizing partitions, and controlling environmental devices.
Trowa calmly read the rapidly rolling out numbers at breakneck speed, not missing even a slight change in the figures. This task required an astonishing level of concentration, with not even a single blink allowed.
Meanwhile, Heero was incorporating a delay circuit to slow down the processing speed of the central computer. With this, the central computer could operate at a speed slightly slower than vacuum control. As a result, it became possible to instantly repair bugs coming from the dummy program on the spot. However, it is undoubtedly a technique that requires considerable skill.
Duo put the panel back and crawled out from the console.
"I did it..."
What is displayed on the panel monitor is a dummy program of Heero, so it's unclear what is actually happening. However, there is no doubt that the rotation of the colony continues to accelerate due to inertial motion. The gravitational force G is stronger than before.

Duo did not try to get up. Heero and Trowa also did not take action immediately. They trusted Duo's work, but if by any chance he had made a mistake, then the completely unrelated people in the colony, nine thousand souls, would disappear in an instant.
"..."
There is no such thing as a person who doesn't hesitate. And there was a brief pause. Heero, staring intently at the computer monitor, made up his mind. He pressed several keys on the keyboard and halted the dummy program. At the same time, Trowa operated the keyboard and switched the computer monitor to display the security lock. The monitor in front of him briefly displayed "NORMAL MODE." However, it immediately triggered the security, reverting to the red letters of "SPECIAL MODE."
(This will do...)
Even though the display was different, this time, "SPECIAL MODE" was the correct one. The colony steadily stabilized thanks to its strict security.
"Success..."

The colony's life system was also switched back to "AUTO." Everything was normal. Trowa stood up from his seat and said, "Alright, it's done..."
Duo reacted to those words and stood up energetically.
"Alright!" Then, he shouted into the intercom, "This is Duo!"
Duo contacted Noin and Sally from the "Preventers"----.

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