Gundam Wing Fan Fiction ❯ Gundam Wing in the Wild Wild West ❯ The Road Back ( Chapter 16 )

Chapter 16: The Road Back

Hadeya stood on the front porch staring up at the fog. “It has been foggy every morning this week.”

“And cold,” Zechs agreed.

“Is it not supposed to be summer?”

Zechs chuckled. “I think numerous jokes have been told over the centuries about San Francisco summers.”

“Oh. It is different from Asgard. The clouds only cover the sun there when Odin is upset.” Hadeya continued to gaze up at the gloomy gray clouds. “Do you suppose Roku will be able to find his way back with all this fog?”

“I'm sure he'll have no problems. He can probably smell us.” Zechs grimaced. “Of course, once he and Treize bring back the root stock, I'll have no choice but to build his damn dome.”

“Is it really so difficult to create one of these domes? Could Roku not simply will it into existence?”

“Undoubtedly. But that might be harder to explain than my reasons for agreeing to build the dome in the first place.” Zechs blushed prettily. “Noin is still upset with me about my affection for Treize, although she seems to be coming to terms with it.”

Hadeya shifted uncomfortably. “Uncle Duo told me she was unaware of your, ah, passion for Treize prior to his, um, resurrection.” He scratched his head. “I think I still do not understand that part, as well.”

“Roku did it,” Zechs shrugged. “That's about as much as any of us understand. But I am quite grateful. Ah, look, there they are.” He pointed up at the sky.

Above them, the fog swirled and flushed with a golden glow. A moment later, a large orange and black dragon dropped down out of the sky into the street in front of them with Treize on his back. Roku immediately shimmered into tiger form, leaving Treize standing in the street straddling the getting-toward-full-grown tiger with four large burlap-wrapped bundles of what looked like twigs draped over his shoulders.

“Welcome back,” Zechs said. “Get what you needed?”

“Yup.” Treize stepped up onto the porch and put his bundles down. “These two are red grapes and these two are white. I should be able to make some interesting varietals from these, especially with some careful cross-breeding.”

Roku nudged one of the bundles with his nose. “There're bugs in the dirt.”

“There had better be,” Treize said. “I went to great pains to make sure I dug up bugs and worms along with the vines. That Martian soil is going to need a lot of work, I suspect.”

Zechs put a hand over his face. “You did not tell me you wanted to introduce potentially dangerous organisms into the Martian environment.”

“Growing things need bugs in the soil,” Treize explained earnestly, oblivious to Zechs' dismayed look. “Besides, they probably can't exist outside the dome environment anyway.”

“Bugs are the most adaptable creatures in existence,” Zechs pointed out with long-suffering patience. “We have been very carefully introducing specific insects into the environment to help with the terra-forming. Throwing undocumented bugs into the mix is just asking for trouble.”

“Oh, how bad can it be? You've had sprites helping your lichen grow. What harm can a few extra bugs do?”

Zechs glared. “I don't know. Introduce a hideous, man-killing plague, maybe?”

“You're such a pessimist.”

Zechs' mouth worked silently.

“Anyway, I'll have Quatre check and approve all my bugs before you even finish the dome, all right?”

“I suppose,” Zechs grumbled.

“Come on, Roku,” Treize said cheerfully. “Let's get these settled into some nice pots. They'll need a comfortable place to live until their dome is finished. We can have Alexa help us.”

“Ok.”

Treize shouldered his bundles again and he and Roku went into the house.

Zechs sighed. “Noin is going to have my head.”

“Uncle Trowa explained to me that an economic venture like wine-making could provide employment and income for Martian residents,” Hadeya offered helpfully.

“That's what the terra-forming project is supposed to be doing!”

“But does everyone on Mars work on that?”

“Well, no, some people are just family members of the engineers, technicians and scientists.”

“Perhaps those people might like to be employed as well. Farming generally requires few technical skills, or so it has been in my experience.”

Zechs regarded Hadeya thoughtfully. “Perhaps you have a point. The hydroponics domes where we grow all our food are operated by technicians because we need to force a lot of food out of a very small area. In fact,” Zechs started to get excited, “I could say the new dome is a farming experiment to see if we could successfully grow food the old fashioned way in domes. Having enough food for the residents limits how many people can live on Mars. If we can produce more food before the full terra-forming is complete, we can start accommodating more people, which will speed up the work.”

“But wine is not food,” Hadeya pointed out.

“True, but we need less area to grow grapes than we would anything else. And if I am going to design new farming domes, I need something less critical to experiment with.” Zechs rubbed his hands together eagerly. “This is turning into a very interesting idea. Thanks for the mental nudge, Hadeya. I'm going to go draw up some designs for farming domes.” Zechs entered the house, leaving Hadeya alone on the porch.

Hadeya blinked thoughtfully. “I am pleased to help,” he said to no one, “I just wish I understood what I was helping with.” He went into the house too, but was immediately accosted by Jett, who was toddling very determinedly toward the front door. Hadeya picked her up. “Where are you going, Jett?”

Jett pointed at the front door. “Momma is outside.”

“No one is outside, Jett.”

Jett frowned and pointed more firmly. “Momma went out!”

“Oh, maybe he went shopping with Uncle Wu-Fei. Wu-Fei told me he was planning to go souvenir shopping.”

Jett nodded. “Momma and Papa Wu-Fei went out. Jett want to go out, too.”

“You cannot go out by yourself, Jett. You are too young.”

“Jett go out too!” Jett exclaimed loudly, causing Hadeya to wince.

“No so loud, Jett, please!” Hadeya said quickly.

Jett pouted. She regarded him with big dark eyes and her lower lip trembled slightly.

Hadeya looked around. No one was in sight. “I suppose we could go look for them.”

Jett beamed. “Yes! Hadeya take Jett out!”

With serious misgivings, Hadeya settled Jett onto his hip and marched out the front door. “I do not know where they were planning to go,” he said. “But I think there is a shopping district near the waterfront.”

“Go that way!” Jett said decisively, pointing down the hill.

“All right.” Hadeya turned in the indicated direction and set off.

Two corners down, Jett pointed to the left. “That way.” Hadeya turned left.

Even though it was chilly, there were lots of people out and about. No one paid any attention to Hadeya at first, but he finally passed a group of well-dressed women standing in the street gossiping. One of the women stared at him as he approached.

“What an adorable little girl!” she squealed as Hadeya walked by. Or tried to, because he was immediately surrounded by the whole group. “How old is she?”

“Uh, three?” Hadeya suggested.

“How sweet!”

“Where is her mother?” another woman demanded, rather rudely in Hadeya's opinion.

“Out shopping.”

“And she left you to care for your daughter?” she sniffed. “She does not seem to be a very attentive mother.”

“Don't say mean things about Momma!” Jett grumbled loudly.

The woman stared at Jett. “What did you say?” she exclaimed huffily. “How rude!” She glared at Hadeya. “That is no way to bring up a young lady!”

Jett scowled. “That lady isn't nice!”

“Hush, Jett!” Hadeya said quickly, but the offended lady was already puffing up with indignation.

“I never!” she exclaimed. “No child of mine would be allowed to speak so!”

Hadeya started edging away. “She is young,” he explained apologetically. “She is just saying what she thinks.”

This was apparently the wrong thing to say, because the woman became even more offended. “What she thinks?! A child that age can only repeat what she's heard!”

“Jett is not a parrot!” Jett shrieked in outrage and the windows of several nearby stores shattered.

The women cried out as they were pelted with shards of broken glass and Hadeya dashed away.

“No shrieking!” Hadeya admonished Jett worriedly as he sprinted up the street.

“Turn here!”

Hadeya flew around the corner and kept running until he had put several blocks between them and the commotion Jett had caused. He slowed to a walk. “Jett, you have to be careful about shouting,” he said sternly. “Those ladies might have been hurt by the broken glass.”

Jett blinked, round-eyed. “I'm sorry.”

“Just remember; only shout or scream when it is really important or you are in danger.”

“Yes, Hadeya,” Jett said, her little face full of seriousness.

Hadeya patted the top of her head. “And the lady was somewhat rude.”

Jett grinned. She pointed. “Go that way. Momma is close.”

Hadeya followed Jett's directions and not long after found Duo and Wu-Fei in a shop bargaining for a bolt of silk.

“Momma!” Jett squealed. She leaned dangerously away from Hadeya, reaching for Duo.

“Jett!” Duo cried. He scooped her off of Hadeya's hip. “How did you find us?” Jett just giggled, so Duo looked expectantly at Hadeya.

“She knew where you were,” Hadeya explained. “She told me which way to go.”

“Really?” Duo looked at Jett in surprise. “How did you know where I was?”

Jett just shrugged and giggled. “Jett always knows where Momma is!”

“Wow! That's pretty cool.”

“Duo!” We-Fei said. “We were in the middle of something here.”

“Oh, right! Sorry!” Duo scurried back over to Wu-Fei. “So like I was saying,” he said to the merchant, “blemishes in silk are normal, but this is a water mark. I certainly can't be expected to pay full price for silk that someone has allowed to get wet, no can I?”

The merchant produced a sickly grin. “Well, this particular bolt is the finest Chinese silk. Even slightly stained, it is still quite valuable.”

“I'm not arguing its value,” Duo said. “But having a visible mark like that limits what can be made from it, wouldn't you agree?”

The two of them haggled back and forth until they settled on a price that left the merchant looking slightly green, but he wrapped the silk in a piece of canvas, tied it up and handed it over. Wu-Fei tucked it under one arm and they left.

Outside the store, Wu-Fei grinned excitedly. “Thanks, Duo! I really wanted this. Hand-woven Chinese silk is really rare in our time. It reminds me of my heritage.”

“My pleasure, Fei,” Duo grinned back. “You know how much I like bargaining.”

Jett tugged on Duo's arm. “Will Momma buy something for Jett?”

“Sure.” Duo kissed her cheek. “What do you want?”

“A knife!”

“Augh!” Duo slapped his forehead. “Heero is a terrible influence!”

“Just a little one?” Jett blinked hopefully. “Jett-size?”

Duo groaned.

When they got back to the house later, Jett dashed into the living room and leaped on Heero, who had been reading a book. “Look what Momma bought for Jett!” she squealed, causing the windows and lamps to rattle. She showed him a little folding knife, which she carefully unfolded to reveal a gleaming blade.

“Hey, that's pretty nice!” Heero exclaimed. “May I see it?”

Jett offered it to him by the handle and Heero smiled approvingly. He took the knife and studied it carefully.

“Having your own knife is a big responsibility,” he said gravely as he handed it back. “You have to take good care of it.”

Jett nodded. “Yes, Papa Heero.”

From the living room doorway, where everyone had gathered at the sound of Jett's squeal, Quatre shook his head disbelievingly. “You bought the child a knife?” he said to Duo.

“It was what she wanted,” Duo said. “And anyway, blame him!” He pointed at Heero. “He's the one who got her started.”

“So the fact that you're the one who indulged her by buying it…”

“Hey, he would have given her one eventually anyway! At least I got a little one.”

“Yeah, Quatre,” Wu-Fei spoke up, “consider the size of the knives on Death Scythe. Duo's idea of a small knife could have been worse than Heero's.”

“You're not helping,” Duo mumbled.

“Anyway,” Quatre said, changing the subject, “Treize and Roku are back, so it's time to get ready to go. Trowa saw the landlady this morning and told her the house is mostly not haunted anymore and that we'll be moving out by the end of the week.”

“Mostly not haunted?” Wu-Fei questioned.

“All the dangerous ghosts are gone,” Quatre explained. “It's mostly just the ones Roku likes to play with that are left.” He clapped his hands. “So start packing up. We'll give ourselves a couple of days to make sure we don't leave anything.” He shooed everyone upstairs to get started.

And so, a few days later, the group gathered in the entry hall of the house with their belongings collected around them. Quatre had pointedly not asked just what all everyone had privately tucked into Roku's storage space. He was quite sure he did not want to know.

“Everyone ready?” Quatre looked around and received affirmative nods from everyone except Jett, who had her little arms clutched around Duo's neck while she watched with big worried eyes. “All right then, here we go.” Quatre held up his spell book. “Take us back to our own time on Mars please, the morning after we left.” He opened the book and read the spell that appeared on the first page.

The world went momentarily dark and Jett let out a frightened squeak.

“Ouch!” Duo said, rubbing his ear. “Don't worry, Jett. This is our home that I was telling you about.”

Jett looked around the living room of their house on Mars. “It's little,” she announced.

“You'll get used to it. You get to share a room with Roku.”

Jet grinned. “Goody!” She slid down Duo's legs and scuttled over to Roku.

“Come on, Jett,” said Roku. “I'll show you.” He padded off down the hall with Jett clinging to his tail.

Heero headed for the door. “I'm going to work. I'll get on the computer and make up an identity for Jett. You coming, Wu-Fei?”

“Yea…” Wu-Fei began and he sneezed loudly, shooting a plume of fire into the air. He clapped a hand over his mouth as the rest dove for cover. “Sorry! I'll go take my pills!” He scurried into the back.

“That's funny,” Duo said. “I just realized that Wu-Fei hardly had any problems in the Old West and he didn't shed.”

“That's true,” Trowa said. “I wonder if being back in the domes will trigger an allergic reaction.”

“I hope not,” Duo declared. “Wu-Fei gets really irritable when he's shedding.”

“Who wouldn't?”

“Good point.”

Wu-Fei returned. “I need to stop by the pharmacy while we're out,” he told Heero. “I'm getting low on my antihistamines.” The two of them left.

“We should go to work as well, Quatre,” Trowa said, “since Duo has to stay home with Jett.”

“Right. What about you, Zechs?”

Zechs sighed. “I have to see Noin,” he admitted a little mournfully. “I may as well get this whole dome thing over with.”

Treize grinned. “I'll take our things back to the house and walk Alexa to school. Hadeya, when you and Roku get to the university, you should go to the library and study up on winemaking. Since you college students will have the most free time, you can help me.”

“It's going to be months before the dome is ready!” Zechs exclaimed.

“I know, but I want to hit the ground running.”

“Noin's going to kill me,” Zechs said sadly. He left the house and trudged resignedly over to Noin's cottage.

“Zechs!” Sally exclaimed when she answered the door. “Did you have a nice trip?”

“Yes, very nice. And no one was injured!” he added quickly when Noin appeared behind Sally with a scowl on her face.

“That's good to hear,” Sally said cheerfully. “How is Duo's baby?”

“She's a lovely little toddler now,” Zechs said. “She's very cute but has kind of a loud voice.”

“That's an odd way to describe a kid,” Noin noted suspiciously.

“Oh, it's nothing to worry about,” Zechs said quickly, “although we may want to look at the resonance frequencies of the dome material.”

“Resonance frequencies?!”

“Well, sometimes Jett can hit some really high notes that seem to resonate with glass-like materials.”

Noin stared.

“I'm sure it's nothing to worry about.”

Noin folded her arms across her chest.

“But we should probably check, just to be careful.”

“She cracks glass when she cries,” Noin stated flatly.

“Well,” Zechs said with a sickly grin, “there were one or two incidents were a glass or two, and possibly several windows, seemed to shatter in response to Jett's cries.”

“The dome is a polycarbonate crystal matrix that closely resembles glass,” Noin pointed out.

“Jett's gotten much better about keeping her voice down.”

“Why am I suddenly having visions of the entire Martian colony collapsing into the dust?”

Zechs laughed weakly. “I'm sure nothing like that will happen. But speaking of domes, there was something I wanted to talk to you about. I had this really great idea about a new dome.”

“A new dome?” Noin glared at him with renewed suspicion. “What kind of new dome?”

“A farming dome!” Zechs said brightly. “I think it would be a great idea if we could grow more food in a more natural way here on Mars. I've been thinking about constructing a couple of domes that encompass a lot of area that would just be used for farming. It would also be a good way to provide employment for our non-technical residents.”

“That's a very good idea, Zechs,” Sally said, but Noin was having none of it.

“A farming dome would have to be huge!” Noin exclaimed. “The construction costs alone would wreck our budget. And where are we supposed to get the additional air and water?”

“I'm not saying there aren't technical issues to resolve,” Zechs said quickly.

“And what about the financial?”

“Well, um, I might have another source of income that will cover that.”

“What source?”

Zechs hung his head. “Duo's gambling money. We counted it while we were away and it seems like we've accumulated a whole lot of gold coins. Many of them are antique coins and will be worth far more than their gold content. I'm sure Duo will agree to sell some of them to support Mars colony development.”

“What a great idea!” Sally exclaimed.

“Gambling money?!” Noin cried. “That's… that's…”

“A good idea,” Sally finished for her. “We'd better get going or we'll be late for work. Zechs can tell us all about it on the train.” She caught Noin and Zechs each by an arm and started walking, letting the door swing shut on its own.

“I was planning to start with a small experimental dome,” Zechs said, “with an experimental crop.”

“Oh?” Noin's suspicious look returned.

“Yes,” Zechs continued. “I thought we could start by growing a few grapes. Treize suggested winemaking as one of our first indigenous businesses. It sounded reasonable.”

“Wine?!” Noin exploded. “You want to make wine?” She stared at him with narrowed eyes. “I bet this is all Treize's idea. You'll let him talk you into anything once he starts licking you ears.”

Zechs turned red. “He was not licking my ears!”

“So he was licking your…”

“That's quite enough, Noin,” Sally interrupted. “I think an indigenous business is a good idea. Mars needs to start making money of its own, not depending on the Earth Sphere for everything. And wine is an excellent first product. It's not that difficult to produce and there's a built-in market for it.”

“Quit taking his side!”

“I'm not taking his side; I'm presenting a reasonable argument.”

“I'm not wasting valuable resources on a stupid vineyard!”

“If I can do it without impacting any of the current terra-forming projects, will you agree?” Zechs said.

Noin scowled. “I suppose I'll have to.”

“Good. I'll have a detailed proposal ready for you in a few days.”

“This is a stupid idea,” Noin grumbled.

“Oh, I don't know,” said Sally. “I think it will be fun.”

Noin glared at Sally. “You would think falling into a black hole was fun!” she accused.

Sally chuckled. “If our good friends here were involved, it might very well be!”

-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-

And thus ends another happy tale of our favorite Gundam pilots! Their little family isn't little anymore and Mars may never be the same, but that's a tale for the next story. I hope you will join me because I'm about to take a huge leap into heretofore untested waters where I will have to do actual research! Yes, that's right! My Gundam Wing series is about to plunge into the uncharted waters of a CROSS-OVER! Aieee! At the behest of Riyo, who is a very dictatorial muse, the next Gundam Wing story will be: “Gundam Wing Goes to Hogwarts”! Which means I have to actually READ some Harry Potter books. (Riyo won't let me just go off the movies; like I said, she's dictatorial.) That being said, it will be a little while before the next story starts posting because I haven't finished the obligatory number of volumes she assigned me. (I need to review that whole mother-daughter relationship thing. I seem to be taking an awful lot of orders...)