22-May-2000
Yes, another 13+Sally ficcie. Yes, I know this is absolutely not canon at all, but it's theoretically possible since I think Treize's been around a lot considering he fathered Mariemeia and seems to be juggling three people during the series. -_^;; (What is up with that, anyway? Mariemeia doesn't look like anybody on either side of the family. (scratches head) ) Not sure if there'll be another one after this... (am I fated to be the only person who writes this couple?)
"Treize-sama?" said Une as she stood before the one she desire above all others.
"Yes, Une."
"Your calendar said that you had a night off this Saturday. I was wondering what you were doing... "
"I'm having dinner with an old friend from the Academy."
"Oh, really?" A look of disappointment crossed her face, softening her appearance despite the glasses and the hair put up in a bun.
"Yes... "
"I see. Why don't you tell me about this old friend of yours?"
"I don't see why."
Une sighed and said, "I'm in charge of your security. I'd like to do a background check."
I really didn't want to mention the fact that my old friend is female unless absolutely necessary, but obvious concealment would only make her more edgy, thought Treize. "She served under my command during a mission recently. It was that mission in the L5 cluster where I was supposed to destroy the colony by using biological weapons, but I chose to give them a fighting chance instead. As you know, this colony still exists. She was the one who gave the order to retreat and list them as 'destroyed.' Her name is Sally Po. I assure you that I'm quite safe with this person."
"If you insist. I'll trust your judgement in this," said Une, who then walked out of the office.
Treize sighed. He didn't want to disappoint or hurt her feelings, but he needed someone that he could relax around rather than put on a performance as the perfect general. With Sally, he knew he was dealing with someone that had seen him act like the silly, rash fool that boys on the verge on the adulthood almost always are. But then, Une will find out one day that I'm not perfect. It is better if she finds out while I keep her at arm's length.
"Dinner is served... " announced Simon the butler.
Treize took Sally to the dining table, which was a small circle for this occasion. The lights were low and a lightly scented vanilla candle was alight on the table. The dinner consisted of pork tenderloin medallions in a port mustard sauce on a bed of wilted greens and polenta. The glasses were filled with a light red wine.
Treize was dressed in a white shirt and gray wool slacks, a much more casual look than he usually sported. Sally was dressed in a sleeveless blue dress that ended just below her knees and matched her eyes. It was pretty rather than sexy, the skirt didn't cling but allowed her full range of movement.
"Didn't Une have any questions?"
"Yes, she did, but I told her I was having dinner with an old friend."
Sally put on a mock scowl. "I don't have a single grey hair on my head."
"That's not what I meant."
"I know."
Both of them picked up their knives and forks. Sally said, "Oh, this is delicious. Your cook is a genius."
"I hired him away from an exclusive fusion cuisine restaurant. He finds me a challenge to cook for."
"I suppose anybody who works for you finds you a challenge."
"Ouch." Treize enjoyed the banter even if some of it was a little pointed at him. "I hope you find working at the hospital a welcome change."
"Oh, very," said Sally. "I prefer to use my medical training though I miss piloting. It's much too hard to do both on a consistent basis. And I'll have a hard time upholding my Hippocratic oath if I keep getting sent on missions like the last one."
Treize nodded. "That mission in the L5 cluster. You stated that in your report that a new type of mobile suit had completely eliminated the force sent out to destroy the colony. According to my information, the pilot was a young teenage boy, one of the heirs of the warrior clans on that colony."
"A teenage boy... " Sally breathed. She picked up her wine glass and took a swallow, but the false warmth it had did nothing to combat the sudden sadness that overtook her.
"It reminds me of another mission a long time ago. I was hunting down a terrorist named Odin Lowe. The odd thing was that his partner was a young boy, who couldn't be over seven or eight years old. The rocket launcher he was using was almost bigger than he was... He knew how to use that thing, he blasted my suit. I was sent to a hospital. The thing I remember most were his eyes, they were very bright and had no fear."
"Using children to fight... " said Sally. "As if they weren't already victims "
"Treize closed his eyes. "Lucrecia Noin was around the same age as that pilot on L5 when she went with me on that mission. Zechs Marquise was also a prodigy and was doing missions around that age as well. As for me, I feel a kinship with that child who held that rocket launcher. We were both raised for war. I have a very strange feeling that someday I will see him again in battle. Sally... I think that the mission in L5... that this is not the end of it. I think that soon, very soon we will get caught up in the aftermath of that conflict."
"You sound like you're seeing into the future... Are you psychic?"
Treize chuckled at that. "Not really, I'm just making informed guesses."
"Well, what do you see in the future for Earth, the colonies, all of us?" said Sally.
"I think that there will be an end to this conflict within our lifetimes," said Treize. "The people I work with... I believe in them. We will bring about peace, but it won't be a false peace where all the old wood stays in place. The colonies are revolting because they don't see a government they can respect, just a bunch of corrupt old parasites who suck off their lifeblood. It is no wonder that there's turmoil. Everything wrong will be swept away like the trash that it is and something new and wonderful will be born. If fighting things out is the only way to create a true peace, then I'm all for it. I would risk everything for it."
"And for yourself?"
"I plan to have a large hand in the way things turn out. It's not just because I'm ambitious though I am. It's just the only way things get done the way you want them."
"I simply don't want to see any more children in this... Treize, take a look at the soldiers nowadays. You're well on your way to being a general. I'm already a Major. In the wars previous to ours, most of the officers of my rank were in their late twenties. Soldiers were often in their forties before they reached General. Doesn't that tell you something?"
Treize smiled bitterly. "It tells me that so many soldiers' lives have been thrown away by the mistakes created by senile old men who hide in their towers of luxury that the few who survive are made officers. Those men care nothing for what war really means or the soldiers who entrust their lives to them. I would change things. I will change things!" His eyes flashed.
Sally was taken a little aback. "I'm sorry if I've brought up some rather unpleasant... "
"No, I enjoy talking like this with you. You're one of the few people I can talk openly about my thoughts and feelings. I wish that we could've worked together more often."
They looked at each other very thoughtfully. Simon the manservant said, "Would either of you like some dessert or coffee? The chef tells me that he has made a creme freche ice cream with caramel ribboned through it that he could easily turn into a parfait or perhaps you'd like a Thai iced tea."
"As good as the ice cream parfait sounds, I'll have the iced tea," said Sally.
"I'll have the same," said Treize. "Sally?"
"Yes, Treize."
"I know that you are being transferred to a base far away from my headquarters. It might be a long time before we see each other again," said Treize, looking somber.
"It might be," said Sally. "But if you really need someone to talk to, go ahead and call me up or if you happen to be visiting the area, knock. Now, how about you tell me about some of these people you're so proud of."
And they spent the rest of the evening, sipping tea and reminiscing about all the people they knew from Academy, talking about the people Treize believed in and also about the time that Treize had gotten a tattoo while totally wasted which his father immediately had him remove.
The End
(:./mk/dinner)
