Trouble
Prologue: Re-Introductions
By Liewe

Standard disclaimers apply...

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Lady Une smirked as she watched the vid screen. Really, her subordinates should know by now that in her headquarters someone was always watching. Well not always, but nearly always because of course, even she wouldn’t go as far as to put cameras in the restrooms, or the locker rooms, but everywhere else was fair game wasn't it? And a commander should know everything that there was to know about her subordinates, shouldn't she? She chuckled. Really. Some people were just naive. Yes that was the word. Like the Gundam pilots.

They may have defeated all their enemies, but... In certain circumstances they really were naive. Like now for instance. Barton was railing at his comrades about his current assignment, in a conference room. Anyone could easily overhear what he was saying and report back to her, but of course that thought never crossed his mind. Certain places became safe, and you let down your guard. Headquarters had become one of those to the pilots, and well… Times were changing. Who would have guessed that her silent soldier was really so talkative? Especially when mad.

Who would have thought that he'd react so violently to being an errand boy. It was an important assignment. She needed someone to escort her long-lost niece to Preventer HQ, and she needed someone that she could trust, and that was capable of handling any and all trouble that her niece brought with her.

Her older brother, well half-brother really, had written that the girl was a veritable magnet for trouble. No matter where she went. And of course, this earned her the nickname of Trouble. Not exactly the most reassuring of nicknames, but that in and of itself was a clue as to what she was inviting into her household. But still, the girl was family and she had no one to turn to. She hated her father with good reason, her brothers were dead as was her mother, and of course Mariemaia needed someone closer to her age around the house anyway. So it was the right thing to do... She hoped.

And Barton was the perfect man for the job. He was as skilled as Yuy, and a little more trustworthy in her eyes. Yuy was likely to shoot the girl at the first sign of trouble. Barton was a slight bit more tolerant of childish antics, evidenced by the care he gave Mariemaia on the few occasions she'd had to leave the young girl in his care.

Yes, he was the right choice. And he'd damn well like it. She snickered again as she continued to watch the tall clown vent his frustration completely oblivious to his silent audience.

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The young woman looked out the window at the sprawling metropolis of Capital City. It'd be nice to be in the real world again, she mused. Maybe her aunt would even let her join Preventer, she looked spiffy in uniform. The thought caused her to grin, and shake her head. Really, joining an organization just because she looked spiffy in uniform. Who would have thought that she, the greatest asset of the Alliance would ever think of doing something like that.

"We'll be landing in a few minutes. The captain asks that you return all seats to their upright positions, stow all baggage, fasten seat belts, and return any trays to their proper positions."

She chuckled at the message. The stewardess sounded so harried. It was ridiculous. Make one little comment, leave a bag slightly open, and flash an ID and the flight crew got in such a tizz. Of course it might have been the comment, the type of ID and the actual contents of the bag, but still. It was so much fun not having to hide behind masks anymore, she mused as she tried to stiffle the tell tale shake in her shoulders that always gave her laughter away. It wasn't right to torment the flight crew, but they were so stuck up. They needed a good dose of adrenaline, really they did.

And now, now she just needed to get through customs in one piece and find whoever her aunt had sent to fetch her. Maybe he'd be hot. She chuckled again. When had she become such a bag of raging hormones. It was never this bad during the war, or was it? Had her hormones really been raging like this back then as well, but she'd never had the time to examine the actual sensations, and think on anything but getting to the next safe house, completing the next mission. Maybe that was it. No, not maybe, probably.

Now, all her aunt had told her was to look for a young man in a Preventers uniform standing by the Capital City sign on the wall by customs. Nothing more. Hopefully there'd only be one Preventer at the spaceport, but... with her luck there'd be a hundred. Oh well, at least she had a set location to look for him at. Maybe that would narrow the field?

She eeled her way through the thronging crowd, heading through customs with a nonchalant shake of her head, and the smile which had won her access to more than one supposedly secured area. Really, they had to beef up security. Even her ID was fake, but the guards were too busy ogling her to notice. Of course even if they had paid it any attention they wouldn’t have been able to tell it wasn’t the real thing. But still, it was pathetic.

She stopped when she saw the Preventer standing at the ad, waiting for her. He looked so familiar. But... it couldn't be him. It couldn't. Right?

"Nanashi," she whispered involuntarily, before shaking her head. Clearing her thoughts. The past was the past, now the present... that was something else. Something she could change. And if it was him, he wouldn’t want to see her anyway… Good thing she’d never introduced herself with her first name while on business but then… she really did prefer her middle name anyway, oh well, what the hell.

"Hi, I'm Renata Midii Une, or just Midii for short," she said with a grin offering her hand to the Preventer. He looked as stunned as she felt. Maybe it was him, she thought before shrugging. "Otherwise known as Trouble,” she added and he startled at that. And she grinned, this would be so much fun.

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author's note: I have no idea on the cities and what not that are in the current ESUN as per the end of the series. In my mind, and in the universe going along with this story, the ESUN has re-organized boundaries once more. Cities have been renamed, and such... and Capital City has emerged as the main base of operations for all forms of government and other such things.