14-Mar-2001
Disclaimer: Neither Gundam Wing nor its characters belong to me. GW is the property of Bandai, Sunrise and Sotsu Agency. I just take them out of their package and play with them once in a while. Oh, and I have no affiliation with Chiquita (the banana people) either, except as a consumer.
Warnings: None this time around
Pairings: 1+2, 3+4
**Any information contained within this fic about the LaGrange points, time tables on travel from Earth to those points is completely made up by me, so please don't e-mail me about my facts being wrong. I tried looking up information on the LaGrange points but oddly could not find any.**
Although the G-boys are still the G-boys, Oz is still Oz and Romefeller is still evil, this fanfiction is AU.
The commander-in-chief of the Oz specials did not enter his office until late that afternoon.
"Lady Une step in to my office, please," Treize released the button to the intercom.
Within a few seconds, Lady Une entered, closing the door behind her.
"Yes, your Excellency?" She had many questions on the tip of her tongue, but held them back. He would tell her where he had been when he was ready.
"Lady, sit down please," he gestured toward a chair, "I need to fill you in on what's been happening the last couple of days . . .but first, would you please get me some water and a couple of analgesics? I woke up with a headache this morning and can't seem to shake it."
"I can massage your temples, if you like," she offered.
"The water and the pain killers will be fine," Treize said absently, his mind on other things.
"As you wish, sir," she left the room in a huff.
Treize was too preoccupied with his thoughts to notice.
"Howard you can't go with us," Duo declared, "besides what am I gonna do with Junior?"
"Ok, which one of you stays behind in the shuttle, or have you boys figured out how to pilot two craft at the same time?." Howard was feeling especially smug right now, he had uncovered a flaw in their plan that not even Heero had noticed.
Duo thought a moment, dumbfounded, "You're right, we didn't even think about that. We've been concentrating so hard on getting there, we forgot. Thanks Howie."
"No problem, kiddo, that's what I'm here for, and don't call me Howie," the old Sweeper chuckled as he shook his head, amused.
"Touché' . . . but if you're goin', who's gonna watch Junior for me?"
"Aw hell, why not take him with you into space?" Howard suggested.
"Howard, are you nuts? I can't take him with me on Deathscythe, I'm going to be just a little too busy," bringing Junior with him, in to space, seemed like the craziest idea he'd heard in a long time.
"You won't take him with you on the gundam, he's going to stay with me on Peacemillion," Howard pointed out, "Junior'll be fine, heck they used to send animals into space before they decided it was safe to send humans."
"Peacemillion? We're gonna dock with Peacemillion? Cool. I didn't know you had her up and running."
"I know I'm kinda changin' the plan around a bit, but I figured you guys are gonna need a base to operate from and, let's face it, she fits the bill perfectly. There's some things that aren't fully operational yet, like the galley – we can only microwave food right now - and some of the lavatories aren't hooked up, but everything that's essential is a-ok and ready to go," Howard beamed proudly, "oh, and I got a little surprise for you, it will arrive with the gundams at the Oz base. I had the guys whip up a little space suit for Junior. So see, his coming along won't be any trouble at all."
No doubt about it, Howard had definitely gone off the deep end. Duo could not help but burst into laughter. The image of a parrot, of Junior, in a space suit made it difficult for him to keep a straight face.
"Howard, how am I supposed to convince Junior to get into a space suit? I might break one of his wings accidentally ‘cause he's gonna put up a fight if I try."
It was now Howard's turn to laugh, "No, no. It's not like that, it's a case you put his cage in."
"O-h-h-h-h! That's a relief. I was worried you'd gone nuts on me. I was imagining a bird shaped space suit with a little helmet."
Howard chuckled, "Now that is nuts, kiddo. And you should have realized, I was already planning on coming with you guys as soon as we started modifying the gundams."
"What's our ETA?" Heero asked.
"Let's see," Howard checked his watch, "we should be there in about a half hour."
"We'd better radio them that we are on schedule and will be landing at the designated time," Heero replied.
"Already done," Howard said.
"I can't get over how Treize agreed so quickly to this," Wufei remarked, "I thought you'd have to talk him in to it."
"Yes, I did too. He even welcomed us back and asked if we had a nice trip. The teachers worked the way they were supposed to. He thinks he and Pulaski spent that time observing the warehouse for any Romefeller activity, and that he left Pulaski to finish up while he went home and got some rest. Apparently, Pulaski remembers the same thing. That confirms what Dr. J said."
" I called my apartment. Sasha and Georgie think they've been staying there since we left, and they are bored out of their minds," Wufei remarked with great relief, "Dr. J should consider himself very lucky it worked," Wufei's voice turned hard.
"Wufei, no one is more glad than I. Believe me when I say I am so sorry to have put you through that," Heero answered as contrite as he could, "but now that its over, let's speak no more of it."
"Agreed," Wufei reached between the seats in front of him and extended his hand to Heero, who accepted it, reaffirming their friendship.
"I hate to break up this little love fest you two got going, but its time to land," Howard drawled, "ya'll know the drill, so that means I don't have to remind any of you to fasten your seatbelts."
Howard set the helicopter, a rebuilt Bell 430, down on the tarmac and turned off the engines.
"Well, we're here but the gundams haven't arrived yet. Anybody got any suggestions?" Howard leaned back as far as he could in his seat and tried to relax.
"I suggest we get out and allow our ‘welcoming committee' to properly greet us," Quatre said pointing outside.
Howard and the five gundam pilots were sitting on one side of the conference table while Treize, Col. Pulaski, Col. Une and the base commander, Gen. Park, were sitting on the other.
"I'm sure you each want to personally supervise the loading of your gundam onto the freight shuttle, so we will keep this meeting as short as possible," Treize opened the conversation.
"I know this is an uneasy alliance, especially since it is such a temporary one, but we do want to thank you for your help, Lord Treize," Heero said, "we already know what we need to do, and you have already been filled in. We just need to know what you'll be doing, so we can coordinate."
"I've assigned a company of Tauruses to each of you, as back-up. Unfortunately, that is the best I can do right now. All I have available, ship wise are the troop transports and their weaponry is defensive only, but can still come in handy. We must assume that Romefeller has figured out what happened to that one set of microdots and will be prepared for some form of opposition. We know they've already begun deploying their battleships into position near each colony cluster. The battleships are fully equipped with a full compliment of laser cannon and rockets and each has a platoon of mobile suits assigned to them. This is standard practice.
In the meantime, Col. Pulaski, Oz security forces and I will be confronting Dermeil and the other Romefeller heads as well as informing the colonies leaders about the real reason for the conference."
"It sounds good," Trowa spoke up, "but what's to keep any your men from attacking us , truce or no truce?"
"May I answer that, your Excellency?" Une asked.
"Please do," Treize deferred.
"I will be in command of the Tauruses. Any Oz soldier suspected of firing upon you will be arrested, court-martialed and possibly executed for treason if found guilty. Their families will lose all benefits. I think that makes them understand the importance of our mutual cooperation, don't you?" Lady Une's face was devoid of emotion, as if she had just announced the local weather report. The timbre of her voice bespoke she was not in agreement with Treize, but would follow his orders none-the-less.
"So you understand, we're giving you fair warning now. If anyone takes a shot as us, however accidental it may seem, we will take them out," Duo's voice was as flat and toneless as Une's had been emotionless.
"I promise, that will not happen," Treize responded, "you have my word."
KA-WHUMP !
" HEY! YOU! IN THE CRANE!" Quatre yelled as he flailed his arms while jumping up and down, " BE CAREFUL!"
"Quatre settle down," Trowa soothed, "they can't hurt Sandrock."
Quatre moaned, "I know it's big, and I know it's made from gundamanium, but it's still a sensitive piece of equipment."
The five pilots and Howard had donned the yellow overalls, hardhats and safety goggles that were part of the safety regulations. The base's safety officer wouldn't let them step one foot near the shuttle unless they did.
//Hmph! Don't know what the hell these are supposed to protect us from,// Howard thought, //everything around here would squash us like bugs, anyway.//
Heavyarms had been loaded first. The huge crane needed to handle mobile suits towered over the shuttle and its booster rocket and took two men to operate it. Both were experts with years of working in tandem. Deathscythe had come next, then Wing.
"If they put one scratch on Nataku . . ." Wufei grumbled.
"It's not their fault, Wufei," Duo said, "the winds are picking up. Mission control says there's a small but heavy thunderstorm heading our way. I hope we at least get them all loaded before it hits and it doesn't affect our launch window."
"Ok, no one else has said anything, so I think I should," Howard remarked, "but doesn't this whole situation have you guys weirded out? It sure as hell does me. Ok, I said it, now I feel better."
"What situation is that Howard? The one where we've got a storm coming and may miss our window? The one where we're watching Oz personnel load our gundams into an Oz space shuttle on an Oz base? Or the one where we look like we should have a ‘Chiquita' sticker on our butts?" Duo grinned sardonically.
"All of them, kiddo," Howard grinned back.
"Uh, Howard, don't call me kiddo," Duo joked.
"Touché" Howard kept grinning.
Heero stood at the window, staring out at the hard rain that was coming down. The front had stalled over the coast, the warmer air coming off the ocean was holding it at bay. The storm was going to last much longer than predicted.
K-K-K-E-E-E-E-E-E-R-R-R-R-R-R-R-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-C-C-C-C-C-K-K-K!
The thunderclap shook the windows as a bolt of lightening tore through the black sky and hit a transformer, knocking out the electricity.
"Would you get away from that window? You're making me very nervous," Duo's voice cut through the darkened room.
"I'm more worried about lightening striking the shuttle," Heero said, "if that happens, Romefeller is going to win."
The emergency lighting came on, casting a dim glow throughout the room.
"Yeah, that would be a strange twist of fate," Duo remarked, "the colonies surrendering because we're stuck on Earth due to bad weather. Bet the docs never figured that into their equation."
"No, I don't think they did," Heero shook his head.
"They're not gonna win, one way or another, they're not going to win," Duo approached then rested one hand on Heero's shoulder leaning into him.
Heero smiled as he wrapped his arm around Duo, "They won't" he promised, "look at the sky", he pointed, "it's getting lighter, that means the storm is abating. It shouldn't be long before we can leave."
"Ok Howard, we're all trusting you to get us and the gundams there in one piece," Duo chided, "I know it's been a while since you actually piloted any kind of spacecraft."
"Which is exactly why I keep a simulator program in my computer on the salvage ship," Howard replied, "I'm still fully qualified."
"Since when?" Duo asked.
"Ever since I returned to Earth, I keep it upgraded," came the answer.
"Why didn't you tell me about it?", Duo raised an eyebrow, he voice taking an accusatory tone.
"Cause no one touches that program but me, kiddo, that includes you," a selfish grin stretched from one ear to the other.
"That figures, you old fart," Duo laughed.
"Don't call me old," Howard laughed back.
"Touché" Duo smiled.
The storm cleared almost as suddenly as it had started. The sun peeked out from the few remaining clouds spreading light and warmth and began its gentle mop up of the left behind rain.
The task of finishing loading the gundams was completed while a thorough inspection of the shuttle and its booster rocket was made. No damage was found, the launch was still a go. The countdown had continued, despite the sudden squall.
"It's T minus forty minutes and counting," Heero announced, looking at his watch, "it's time to board."
Howard and the five pilots stood at the edge of the catwalk, which lead to a small hatch. It was the only exit and entry to the shuttle, besides the giant cargo bay doors.
Treize, Lady Une and Col. Pulaski joined them.
"We want to wish you luck," Treize said, extending his hand to each man, "and those troop transports should rendezvous with you at the designated coordinates and time. Our last report was they are on schedule and don't anticipate any problems getting there . . . oh and Mr. Chang, may I have a word, in private?"
Wufei stepped forward, puzzled but curious as to what Treize had to say to him.
"We need to hurry, so what do you want?" Wufei's tone was none too civil.
"Ever the adversary. Right Mr. Chang?" Treize chuckled.
"Yes, ever the adversary. We are enemies, you and I. Nothing will ever change that. It is only this one point on which we agree," Wufei looked him coldly in the eye, "things will be as they've been, once this is finished."
"Would you mind extending our cessation of hostilities for just a little while longer? Once we return to Earth, I have something I would like to give you. I would be honored if you would accept."
Wufei looked at Treize warily, "What could you possibly have that I would want?"
"That would spoil the surprise, but I assure you, I mean you no harm and you may actually like it," Treize placed a hand on Wufei's shoulder, "Please?"
"Very well," Wufei agreed, "where shall we meet?"
"I know my office and my residence is out of the question, so why don't I bring what I have to your apartment?" Treize suggested.
"My apartment then, after all I am going to have to find a new place to live anyway."
Treize bowed slightly, "Thank you, and I promise, you won't regret it."
Wufei returned to the others and began walking with them down the catwalk.
"What did he want?" Trowa whispered.
"I'm not sure," Wufei answered, "but I'll soon find out."
"He's sincere, Wufei," Quatre stated, "you can trust him."
"How can you be so sure?" Wufei asked.
"You have to ask?" Quatre smiled.
"Ok, point taken," Wufei grinned, "thank you, Quatre, that does make me feel better."
"Any time, my friend," Quatre responded.
Heero was the last to enter the hatch and they heard it close and lock as they made their way to their seats.
"T minus thirty minutes and counting," he said looking at his watch, "now comes the hard part, sitting and waiting."
The launch went smoothly and they all let go of collectively held breaths and relaxed once they broke free of the Earth's gravity.
As soon as they got the ‘all clear' sign from Howard, they unbuckled and began walking about. Even though it was designed for freight transport, the shuttle was also equipped with three small cabins and a shared lavatory for the crew.
"We have two hours before we make contact with Peacemillion," Howard said, if you feel like laying down and resting, there are cabins back by the lavatory. They're small and so are the beds, but I'm sure you've slept on worse."
"Yeah, like the ground with no pillows or blankets," Duo laughed, "I'm not going to complain about a narrow bed," he gave Heero a lascivious wink, "let's go check ‘em out, shall we?"
He followed Heero down the narrow aisle and they entered the cabin next to the lavatory, "good thinking He-chan, in case we make too much noise," Duo smirked as he waggled his eyebrows.
Heero smirked back, "is that all you ever think of?"
Duo tilted his head and he tapped a finger against his cheek as if he was thinking, " N-o-o-o," he answered slowly, " I even sometimes think about our missions," he joked as he pushed Heero into the room and quickly closed and locked the door.
Once inside, Duo commanded "lights on", the cabin instantly lit up, "pretty cool, huh?" he looked around the small room.
"Yes, it is," Heero agreed, "just resist the urge to play with it, ok?" he too was looking at the small area provided to crewmembers while they ‘lived' in space.
"I bet this gets claustrophobic, after a while," Duo commented.
"Hn," Heero responded.
The small room was laid out as efficiently as possible, making use of as much space as possible. Almost everything was hinged and fastened to the bulkheads. The small bed, really no more than a cot with a thin mattress was on one side while a small combination desk and table top was on the other. Duo undid the fastener and folded the table down. When it opened, he could see a bench was part of the unit, attached by hinged brackets that swung out when lowered.
"Hmph," he remarked as he folded it back against the wall and redid the fastener.
Heero undid the bed and lowered it, small legs swung down and he heard a click as the bed locked into place. He searched and found the lever underneath that released the catch. The bed had straps stretched across it to help hold the sleeper in place.
"This thing is smaller than I imagined," he noted, "there really is room for only one person."
"We'll manage," Duo grinned, "I'm going back up front and sit and talk with Howard for a while. I brought you in here to get some rest. You've been on the go ever since we arrived at the island. You've gotten no where near as much sleep as the rest of us, so you're going to get some now."
"But . . ." Heero began to say
"No buts and get in the bed," Duo ordered, pointing toward the cot.
"Aren't you going to lay down with me?" Heero asked hopefully.
"If I do, you won't sleep," Duo replied
"I'm not tired," Heero stated.
"I don't care, you're laying down and no more arguments," Duo kissed him lightly on the lips, "besides, we can have more fun on Peacemillion, bigger cabins and zero gravity control."
Heero quickly slid into the bed, a big grin spread from ear to ear, "lights off" he commanded as Duo left the room and closed the door behind him.
Duo walked back up the aisle, finding Wufei still sitting in his seat. He sat down next to him.
"Guess Trowa and Quatre took one of the other cabins. So why aren't you taking advantage of the time and getting some rest?" he asked.
"I've been sitting and thinking," Wufei answered, "I just can't figure Treize out. It's as if he wants something from me, but what? Friendship? Why?"
"I don't know, Wu. None of us know him except by his reputation as the Oz leader."
"He seems to have honor. He's kept his word so far. I guess you'll just have to wait and see."
"Quatre told me he was sincere, but I still wonder if I should trust him enough to meet with him. I have to admit, I'm curious as hell."
"Just say the word, and I'll be there to back you up."
"Thank you, Maxwell, I am honored you call me friend."
"Same here Wu."
"Don't call me Wu, please."
"Touché."
TBC
End of Act 12
KwyckSylver
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