Disclaimer: See subsequent
part(s). Okay, when I looked at the first two parts, I found an atrocious
amount of grammatical errors. Being the perfectionist that I am, I had to
correct them (there are still some errors, but I will have to live with them).
I also noted that a few dates were wrong in the first part, so they are
changed. There is no real need then to reread them unless you feel the need to.
I hated my original third part. I had written the first half in the summer, and
finished it during my classes, so I have totally redone that. You will need to
read it. I did the fourth part. As you read this, I am probably in the midst of
writing the fifth or sixth part. Soon it should be done. I had problems loading
the new parts, so I decided just to reload it as a new story. When I was about
to load it, I realized I had the option of doing what I had wanted to do in the
first place but had not been able to, write a prologue. Thus here is a short
prologue to the whole story. Hopefully all will be well.
Monday, May 13 AC 198
A man looked at the documents and smiled.
Everything was going according to the plan. No one would suspect a thing. He
went through a few papers and selected a few, handing them to his assistant.
“Send copies of these to JL Khushrenada,”
he instructed, “He’ll need them.”
The assistant bowed, “Yes, sir,” and left.
The man looked out at the colony, his colony. Soon those people would pay for
what they did to him, to his family. They would know their sins, and they would
pay.
“Sir,” another assistant said, “A young lady
wishes for me to deliver a message to you.”
“From whom is it?”
“Sir, it is from the young lady who does
not wish to be identified. She is the one you instructed me to call Strong
Desire.”
“What does she have to say?”
“Her progress is going well; she has
performed all and more of the duties you assigned her and is now wondering when
she will get her payment.”
The man glowered some, “Tell her to be
patient. Another pawn has shown more potential and has done more. Tell her that
she will get hers in a few months.”
“Yes, sir!” the subordinate said and left.
“They will all know soon,” he told
himself.
Wednesday, May 15 AC 198
Duo and Hilde dragged themselves back into
their small house. Hilde collapsed onto the couch while Duo actually made it to
a chair. They left their luggage at the door. The couple had just returned from
their vacation. It was on Earth, so their trip on the shuttle was quite long.
“I didn’t think we could get worn out just
by traveling on a shuttle for a day,” Hilde said, not bothering to lift her
head up.
“Now, we know,” Duo told her. After a few
minutes of resting, they got up and started to unpack. Hilde took care of all
their bathroom items, so he went to see if anything had survived the
refrigerator. Hilde walked in when she had finished.
“Did anything survive?” she inquired.
“Enough for one meal,” he let her know.
His back was turned to her. She opened the door to the refrigerator and saw
nothing there but some spoiled milk and moldy cheese.
“Duo, what kind of meal would this be? I
thought we cleared this thing out before we left,” she said.
“Well, babe, we had enough for one
meal,” he turned around, taking a bite out of a sandwich, “I’m taking care of
these things before they become like that milk and cheese.”
She stared for a bit, “What are we going
to do for dinner?” He shrugged.
“What about pizza?”
“After an expensive trip like that?” she
asked, “You’re right. I don’t feel like cooking or going to the grocery store.”
She picked up the phone and dialed.
“Thanks, babe!” he grinned, kissed her
cheek when he finished his sandwich, and sat on the couch. He picked up the
remote and turned on the television. When Hilde finished ordering the pizza,
she walked out of the kitchen to him. She was about to sit down when a chime
was heard. She rushed back to the bedroom.
“Hilde?” he called, “Babe?” He walked back
to the bedroom, curious as to what she was up.
“Is
something wrong?” he asked when he got back there. Hilde was hunched over
something in the bathroom. She was shaking with muffled sobs. She was crying!
Duo realized that.
“Why are you crying? Didn’t you like the
trip?” he asked.
“The trip was wonderful,” she said amid
sobs, “I loved everything about it.”
He smiled some, “That’s good. What’s wrong
then?”
“Duo…have you noticed how we have been
doing…lately?” she asked, still turned away from him.
“We’ve been doing what?” he asked.
She sniffed, “Have you noticed how we’ve
been…more often now? We’ve been,” she gulped, “We’ve been making love?”
His grin widened, relieved, “Yeah, Hilde,
but we’re young and in love. It’s okay. There’s nothing wrong.”
“Duo…” she said, still upset.
“What is it?” he wondered. She turned to
him and showed him a stick with a blue line on it.
“What’s that?” he questioned, a bit
confused.
“It’s a home pregnancy test,” she informed
him, “Duo, I’m pregnant.”
Thursday, May 16 AC 198
Dorothy sighed as she glared at the stacks
of paper. What had her family been thinking? They put all their affairs in
disorder and then die. Die! This left her to deal with all of it. She severely
disliked them or at least what they had left.
“I’m never going to get through with
this,” she muttered. She rubbed her temples. She had been at this for a little
more than a year now, and the end was not in sight.
“Miss Dorothy,” buzzed her secretary,
“your cousin is on line three.”
“Which cousin?” she asked. Most likely she
would send a message that she was not there. She did not feel like family
interaction at the moment.
“Vigo Renaldo, ma’am,” reported her
secretary.
“Hello?” she greeted, “
“Dorothy!” he greeted, “It’s been
forever!”
She grinned, “Yes, it has. What has been
happening? Design anymore clothes?”
“Yes, my dear cousin, I have,” he
informed, “In fact, I have a few for you!”
“You do? You don’t have to,” she said,
even though she really thought he did.
“For my most beautiful cousin?” she
grinned more at his comment, “Of course, I do. Now, they are on their way
already in the mail. I think I still have your correct measurements. They are
my birthday present to you.”
“You’re the greatest,” she told him, “I
can’t wait.”
“And you are the best model I could ever
ask for. Your pictures still inspire me.”
“Thank you,
“If there are any alterations needed, let
me know,” he instructed, “Happy nineteenth birthday!”
She laughed some and said a last good bye.
Sunday, May 19 AC 198
Quatre groggily stared at the papers in
front of him. He angrily questioned their existence. Was this what he was going
to do for the rest of his life? Had this been his father’s life? He now had
more sympathy for the man who gave him life.
“Master Quatre,” greeted a young intern,
“It would be my honor to get you your morning tea. What kind will you be having
today?” The young woman was overly cheerful for this time of the morning. Okay,
so normally he was that perky, but the early mornings were getting to him. Iria
had been right, but he was not going to let her know that.
“Coffee,” he told her, “Black.”
She blinked, a bit dismayed, “Yes, sir, I
will get you black coffee.” She rushed out to get the beverage. He rolled his
eyes some. He looked back at the documents and almost let out a cry. The words
were blurred together. In a few seconds, they arranged themselves to their
respective words, but that did not solve his problem. For some reason, he could
not read the documents. He knew how to read a few languages, among them Arabic
of course, English, most Latin-based languages like French, Spanish, and
German, Japanese, and enough Russian to get by. However, this morning, they
looked familiar, but he did not understand their meaning. He could just read
the Arabic documents, and that was when he concentrated really hard.
“Here, you go, sir!” piped the intern. She
handed him a hot, black coffee, proud of her fast journey with his most
important, first beverage of the day. He took a sip and spit it back in the
cup.
“What the hell is this?” he asked quite
loudly.
The intern trembled some, “Black coffee,”
she informed as she cowered, “You asked for it.” He stared at her for a bit.
“Did I?” he asked. She nodded silently.
“Then I would like a new beverage,” he
informed her, an edge still in his voice, “Jasmine tea.” She nodded and quickly
left. He rolled his eyes and put the cup as far away from him as he could. He
returned to the documents and stared some more. A few minutes later, the intern
apprehensively walked back in, handing him the new beverage. He sipped it and
smiled, relaxing. The intern relaxed as well.
“I am glad this is more to your liking,”
she grinned, still proud of herself for the save. He dismissed her, and she
went to boast to the other interns. Quatre looked at the papers and was upset
to find that he still could not read a word.
“Quatre,” his older secretary told him
from the doorway, “you need to have a day off.”
“I can have it later,” he told her, a bit
annoyed with her. She simply smiled. She was like his mother.
“You can’t read them, can you?”
“How would you know?”
“Your father used to get the same
expression from time to time,” she informed him, “That was when he knew it was
time just to go home and call it a day. He’d go home and have the day with
you.” He blinked at her. “Now, you may be my employer, but I’ve seen you since
you were in diapers, I even changed quite a few of those. Therefore, I must say
that this is more of a command than a request: go home. Sleep for the whole day
or go on a date.” She gave him one of her smiles that made him feel like she
was even more of a mother. He had to grin as well.
“Okay,” he reluctantly caved in, “But I
don’t think those papers will do that well without me.” She rubbed his back
after he put on his coat and was walking out the door.
“You know that I was only voicing what you
were already pondering on doing,” she told him. He had to admit she knew about
what she talked. He went home and curled under the covers for a morning of
sleep.
Tuesday, May 21 AC 198
Relena looked at herself in the mirror.
She was not all that bad, she decided. So why did she never seem to go on
dates? Maybe it was her position of power or her fame that intimidated suitors.
She longed for the attention of a man, of a boyfriend. A couple of years ago,
she only wanted that attention from Heero, but now she thought she might settle
for anyone.
“Not just anyone,” she told herself, “but
it does not have to be Heero.” She picked out one of her more favorite dresses
and put it on.
“Not too revealing,” she muttered.
“I think it is,” said a voice from behind.
She turned suddenly, afraid of whom it might be.
“Gerry!” she exclaimed, “Don’t scare me
like that.”
“Sorry,” he apologized with a smile, “I
thought you heard me when I knocked.”
“How long have you been here?” she
inquired with a blush.
“Don’t worry. You were already in that
dress when I got to the door. I didn’t see you change,” he assured her. She
smiled more.
“Are you ready?” he asked. She nodded.
“You
think my dress is too revealing?”
“Not at all,” he comforted, “I just wanted
your attention.” Relena grabbed her purse and took his arm. She thought of
Gerry as just a good friend, and he knew it. He was not really looking for a
girlfriend in her anyway, but they had known each other since they were small
children. Both were unattached at the present and just wanted company. Relena
liked to get out once in awhile, and Gerry knew how to dodge the press. It came
quite handy.
“Where are we going today?” she asked.
“McDonald’s,” he reported.
“McDonald’s?” she questioned.
“What?” he teased, “Are you too good for
the golden arches?” She laughed some.
“Not at all, but I don’t think I’ve been
in too many of them.”
“Well, you don’t know what you’re
missing,” he informed her, “Anyway, no one is going to look for you there
really.”
She smiled and had to give him credit, for
his words were true. They went and had a lovely afternoon at the park and lunch
at McDonald’s.
Thursday, May 23 AC 198
A man cleaned his gun as his informant
hastily corrected all the lies he had just told him. A woman watched.
“Now,” said the woman, “was that so hard?
Was it so hard to tell the truth?”
The mole shook his head negative.
“Why
did you lie in the first place?” questioned the man.
The informer gulped, “He paid me to. That
madman gave me double to lie.” He kept his eye on the gun.
The man glared, not too pleased, “How
many?”
“Five…but I think it’s only a couple,” the
informant testified.
“Why five? Isn’t that too much?” inquired
the woman.
“Like I said, I am sure it’s only a
couple.”
“Which two?” the man angrily asked.
“I don’t know. I swear!”
“I think he’s telling all the truth now,” the
woman indicated. The man nodded, dismissing the spy, who hurriedly left.
“I should have just done it myself,” the
man told her.
“You know you couldn’t have,” she reminded
him, “We couldn’t afford you to be noticed or anything.”
“I’m not famous.”
“You are around the colonies here. They
would know.”
“They wouldn’t.”
“Stop being blind!” she charged.
“I’m not!” he countered. Both glared at
each other.
Friday, May 24 AC 198
“Trowa, are you going to be okay while I’m
gone?” Midii asked him. He nodded.
“Midii, he’s a big boy,” Catherine told
her, “And I’m still going to be here with him,” she reminded.
“You both know I can take care of myself,”
he informed them. They looked at him as if they were holding back laughs. He
rolled his eyes and went back to the creatures that appreciated and knew his
capability, to the lions and animals.
“You haven’t seen your father or brothers
in almost a year,” Catherine jogged her memory, “You miss them. Trowa will be
fine with me for a couple of months.”
“Yes, you’re right,” Midii remembered with
a smile, “I must go now when my brothers on their summer vacation. I just know
I’ll miss Trowa so much.”
“I’m sure he’ll miss you, too,” Catherine
told her. She helped the younger girl carry her few bags to the taxi. After
putting the suitcases in the back, Catherine said good-bye and went to get
Trowa. He walked up and hugged Midii.
“Have fun,” he instructed, “I’ll be fine.
I swear. I was a Gundam pilot after all.”
She
nodded, “I’ll miss you.”
“I’ll miss you too,” he admitted. He
kissed her forehead, “Don’t do anything too wild.”
“I won’t as long as you don’t either.”
“I ride lions, get knives thrown at me,
and do complicated acrobatic flips on a tightrope. What do you consider wild?”
he asked.
“Fine, then don’t see any other girls.”
“I won’t, but you better not do the same
with boys.”
“Gee,” she teased, “how could I? How could
I do better than a Gundam pilot? All the others are just…plain and boring
then.”
“Right you are,” he told her, “So don’t
even think about it.” He kissed her. She kissed back.
“Now, now,” Catherine came up, “You two
can make out later. Midii’s going to miss her shuttle!”
“Catherine’s right,” Midii got into the
cab with a last kiss and waved good-bye to the siblings.
Monday, May 27 AC 198
“Woman,” Wufei (sort of) greeted, “what
are you doing?” He stood in the doorway to her office.
“What is it, Wufei?” Sally asked testily.
“These reports,” he put folders full paper
on her desk, “Why did you erase and white out all that I wrote?”
“Wufei,” Sally said, extending his name a
bit, “you belittled the victims.”
“Victims?” he questioned, “What do you
mean?”
“You called the survivors of the fire
‘ignorant fools who don’t know when their building’s on fire and are too weak
to go save the noble people of the fifth floor.’ You called the rebels’
hostages ‘pansies who can’t save their own hide,’” she told him.
“It’s true.”
“Wufei!” she reprimanded, “They’re
victims! You also demeaned our superiors.”
“How did I do that?”
“You said they were ‘complete idiots’ for
not sending you out early enough, and you also suggested they ‘train the
monkeys better’ so that you don’t have to go ‘to every case of importance,’”
she recited.
“I see nothing wrong with any of that.
It’s the truth. They need to know that.”
“Then write your own, separate report. I
won’t have my name on something like this where I could get fired,” she told
him.
He shrugged, “Those reports are fine.” He
turned and left. Sally almost felt like screaming.
How is it? Let me
know please.