02-Jan-2006
Title: Launch 1/?
Author: TB
Archive: GWA
Category: Action, yaoi
Pairing: 4x3
Disclaimer: The characters and storyline of Gundam Wing are used here
without permission. I do not profit by their use.
Rating: PG13
Spoilers: The story takes place three years after EW and will reference it
and the series.
Notes: This story was influenced by reruns of seaQuest: DSV. It is not a crossover with that series. I am not a marine biologist, but I live
with one, so any mistakes are her fault.
'Food or bath?' Duo asked, dropping his pack to the garage floor and stripping out of his gear.
'Bath,' Quatre answered. 'A very long, very hot bath.' He fumbled the strap of his helmet, and bent double to pull it off his head. It hit the concrete floor with a clatter, and Quatre shook his head like a dog, spraying sweat everywhere. Duo made exaggerated noises of disgust, but he was grinning when Quatre straightened.
'I like the look,' Wufei said laconically. Quatre crossed his eyes and stuck out his tongue, but Wufei didn't see it- already up the steps and into their townhouse.
'Well, it's food for me,' Duo answered his own question. 'It's Wufei's turn to cook, which means good food for once.'
'My food is always excellent,' Quatre objected mildly.
'You mean your food is always take-away.'
'Exactly.'
'Enjoy the water.' Duo bumped Quatre's shoulder as he passed. 'We'll put it on ice for you.'
Without doubt, the best thing they had done to the townhouse was update the bathroom. Quatre left his very ripe hiking suit on the rug, took out the largest towel in the linen drawer, and turned on all three shower heads to full blast. Very welcome steam billowed into the glass-walled stall; Quatre slipped under the water with a heart-felt sigh. When the heat began to break down the numb feeling in his extremities, Quatre reached for Duo's shampoo- it smelled the nicest- and squeezed a judicious amount into his hand. His hair felt lank and greasy even soaked, and it was a genuine relief to scrub it clean. His chin evidenced some serious stubble, but he would have time to shave in the morning before heading to the office. He left it happily.
He'd nearly finished with the soap and was balancing on one foot to wash the other when the door opened. Duo's voice said, 'How you feeling, buddy?'
'Almost human,' Quatre answered with a pretend-sigh.
'Bet you smell almost human now, too.' They both laughed. 'Sorry to interrupt, but you have a call.'
He couldn't hold back his groan. 'I thought I'd have at least an hour before they found me!'
Duo laughed this time. 'News for you- you've had your hour.'
'You're kidding!'
'Well, forty-five minutes. I took down the number, I told him you'd call back when you were done. But you'd better finish up, or he'll think you spend all day under the water.'
'Just who did you tell I was in the shower?'
'No-one special. Mostyn. I think he's a General, or something.' He couldn't see it, but Quatre knew the sound of a grin when he heard one.
'Captain Hughes Mostyn, perhaps?'
'Could be.' There was a short pause. Then, more sympathetically, Duo said, 'Wufei's keeping your plate warm. It'll still be there.' The door clicked shut softly behind him.
Quatre finished quickly- albeit reluctantly- and dried himself perfunctorily. He threw on a terry-cloth robe, stuffed his suit into the laundry in the hall, and jogged to the north-east study. As promised, a note sat on the 'vid keyboard with a number scrawled in pen. Quatre composed himself, and dialed.
Immediately an ESA logo appeared on his screen, but the number must have been private, because Mostyn's face followed directly, not a secretary's. Mostyn wore a pleasant smile on his tan face, but his dark eyebrows climbed when he took in Quatre's state.
'I would have waited for you to dress,' the Captain joked.
Quatre grinned. 'You would have waited until tomorrow, then. I don't intend to put on anything more taxing than this robe for the next twelve hours.'
'Long weekend?'
'Hiking in the Alps,' Quatre explained, absently straightening the desk. 'We took a mini-break together.'
Mostyn faked a shudder. 'That's a little too much altitude for me.'
'What can I do for you today, Captain?'
'Calling to let you know the schedule for the launch. We've been delayed by a week- some last minute adjustment to the guidance systems.'
'I hope nothing major.'
'We've got ourselves a crack-shot engineer- suggested some improvements. Never been done before, but she swears by it.'
'I'll keep my fingers crossed.' Quatre grinned. 'Waiting for download.'
'Sending.' A moment later, the 'vid chimed, announcing the arrival of the schedule. Quatre saved it to the desktop.
'Any surprises?' he asked.
'Exactly what we've been expecting. You're slated for a good hour of speaking, you know. I hope you make good notes.'
'You get used to it.' He slumped back in his chair. The aches he'd expected were starting to set in, especially in the knees and calves. 'I'm terribly excited. It's hard to believe that last year your ship only existed on paper. I'm dying to see it in person.'
'It's your ship, Mr Winner,' Mostyn said crisply, but he was smiling. 'Without your grants we never would reached the finish-line.'
'The push for deep-space exploration is sort of sucking up all the available funding,' Quatre agreed. 'I may not have set foot on the mother-planet until I was fifteen, but I do think we ought to learn more about our origins before we set off for other galaxies.'
'Mother-planet,' Mostyn repeated, sounding bemused. He rubbed his moustaches. 'Sometimes I forget how different the colonials really are.'
'Judging by the progress they're making with the Mars Terraforming Project, it may be shared vocabulary in a few generations,' Quatre retorted drily. 'Earth isn't home to all of us, but it's just as important to the colonials as it is to those of you born dirt-side.'
'And the International Oceania Exploration team is lucky you feel that way.' Mostyn grinned around his hand. 'So we can expect you to stay on board with us?'
'Absolutely,' Quatre said firmly. 'I haven't gone this far with you to drop out just before the maiden voyage.'
'Excellent!' The Captain beamed, flashing white teeth over the 'vid. 'Then I'll get a cabin ready for you.'
He had the sinking feeling he often got when he realised, too late, that he'd agreed to something without listening to all the terms. 'Wait a second,' he began, holding up both hands. 'A cabin? For the launch?'
'For the voyage!' Mostyn was laughing. 'Now, don't panic. Think about it. You're as much an architect of this ship as the men who built it. If you hadn't shepherded this project through the Senate it would have died last year. You belong with the crew, most especially for the maiden voyage. This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, Quatre. A chance to see the deep ocean the way no man has ever seen it.'
'Surely you don't have room on your ship for a businessman,' Quatre tried. He was interrupted, and bit his lip against a smile.
'Bull,' Mostyn said bluntly. 'I believe your pilot status is up-to-date. Not to mention your international renown as a diplomat and your interest in science. This is a voyage of discovery. I seem to recall you were the one who came up with the monthly broadcast to grade-school classrooms? You have less to learn than school children?'
A flush crept up his neck, warming him. 'I don't believe I said that,' he managed levelly. 'But still... I have obligations. I can't just leave WEI.'
'WEI has been mobile since you were fifteen. Isn't that what you told me?' Mostyn was winning, and he knew it. 'We'll be more than happy to accommodate your needs. But take some time to think about it. You've got an extra two weeks, now.'
Quatre stared blindly at the screen, already envisioning it, and wishing he didn't have such an active imagination. 'I can't even swim,' he murmured at last.
The Captain laughed. 'I'd say you've got incentive to learn, then.' He saluted cheerfully. 'As for me- I'm going to go put some champagne on ice.'
'That kind of confidence is a little annoying,' Quatre muttered. He put on a smile that felt reluctant, and tried consciously to brighten it. 'I'll be in touch. I will at least consider it.'
'I know you will. Mostyn out.'
'Good night.' He keyed 'end,' but sat staring for longer than he needed to. He was still sitting there when Wufei found him, bringing him a plate of microwaved snow peas and shrimp. Quatre said something grateful, taking the plate and starting to eat without half-recognising what he was eating. Wufei perched on the desk beside him.
'You look a little shell-shocked,' he said.
Quatre looked up, and swallowed a mouthful chewed so much it had turned to mush. 'I've had an interesting invitation.' He recapped his conversation with Mostyn. He ended sceptically, saying, 'Can you fathom it? Me, on a boat?'
'Ship,' Wufei corrected. 'Your ship, actually.' He tapped the edge of the desk. 'Think of what you would see,' he mused.
Quatre sighed. 'That's what the Captain said.'
'He sounds like a smart man.'
'He's very capable. He's been involved in deep sea exploration for almost twenty years. He initially proposed an IEO.' Quatre ate a large shrimp. 'This is good,' he added.
'Thank you.' Wufei smiled briefly. 'How long is the voyage?'
'Nine months.' He frowned. 'I really can't take that kind of time away from WEI.'
'Why would you have to?' Wufei gestured to their study. 'You spend hours in here every week. You brought two briefcases to Switzerland. And I think you managed three mergers from the cockpit of your Gundam.'
Quatre rolled his eyes. 'Two,' he said airily.
Wufei took a pea from Quatre's plate and delicately licked his fingers. 'Do you know how to swim?'
Quatre sighed.
He called Mostyn the next morning, and accepted.
End Part 1
(:./erin/launch1)
