Gundam Wing Fan Fiction ❯ World on Fire ❯ Proverbs ( Chapter 5 )

Quatre stalked down the corridors leading back to his room, a large folder of papers tucked neatly under one arm. The meeting from hell with Auda had gone much worse than expected and now he understood why the man had insisted it was only him attending the meeting, not the other pilots. While he could understand it, he still cursed Auda a coward. Now he was the one who would have to brief the others when he got back, and it was not something the young Arab was especially looking forward to.

He pushed open the door to his room with a grumble, not the dread of obligation, but from the fact that all four of the pilots were now forced to occupy the same room. Last night they had dragged a mattress into the room, adding to Quatre's normal double bed and his couch. Trowa had taken the mattress and Heero was sleeping on the couch, but the loud mouthed idiot with the braid had insisted on sharing his bed, leading to the most uncomfortable night he had ever experienced while the other boy snored contentedly on the other side of the bed.

“Hey Kat, what's up?” Duo's voice startled him out of his annoyed contemplation, reminding him that he'd arrived.

“I have the information from the briefing.” Quatre sighed, taking a seat at the dining table in the middle of the room. “I don't think you're going to like it.”

“What's up?” Duo queried as the other two pilots arrived in the room, each taking a seat around the table.

Quatre handed around a folder to each of the other pilots as he spoke, letting them see the evidence he had found for themselves. “Most communication satellites are not responding, even the ones that were proved nearly impossible to get into. But we were able to find some photos that were being passed around.”

All the boys had found the sequence of photos in question, a colony getting closer and closer to the camera until it was possible to see the writing on the maintenance airlocks. They were followed by one final photo, an error stating the satellite signal had been lost.

“So it was a colony drop.” Heero concluded as he browsed over the photos, meticulously organising them for whatever reason he had. The other two were just staring down at the photos, seeing if they could arrange them to tell a different story. “I thought that would wipe out the planet.”

“Take a closer look at the photos.” Quatre shuffled through until he found the one he was looking for, promptly displaying it to the others. “See these? Look like they're explosions. All along here you can see where the hull is damaged and starting to break up. I think the colony was being hit by missiles, it wouldn't have made it through the atmosphere.”

“So the Alliance shot the colony down?” Duo browsed through his own copy of the pictures, grimacing when he saw what could be imagined as a human shape being blasted out into vacuum from a hull breach. “Can't say I blame them, but damn. What were the fires about?”

“The colony burning up in the atmosphere.” Trowa looked up at the others for the first time. “It's miles long, that's a huge amount of heat. It could've set off forest fires and buildings on the ground.”

“Maybe, but that doesn't explain the radiation, or why there was a shockwave.” Quatre slid an early photo of the full colony in front of the others, circling the centre of the torus with a red marker. “All colonies have a Fusion reactor in the middle, to provide the power that solar panels can't make up. They're heavily shielded, so they'd survive the re-entry. They would have hit the planet and exploded.”

“I thought fusion reactors were clean?” Heero asked as he thumbed through reports on outside radiation levels. “The ones in our Gundams don't give off so much radiation when they go critical.”

“Fusion with a capital F.” Quatre sighed, nervously adjusting the goggles on his head. “Apparently an engineer's joke, because it's a fusion of both fission and fusion reactors. The colonies are old, so are the reactors. The earliest reactors needed the fission to keep the fusion reaction going.”

Duo threw his folder back on to the table with a huff. Sure he was understanding the dumbed down version he was getting, but the tables of numbers and reports meant nothing to him. “I don't see how this helps. It's just giving us more questions. How far does all this go? Are there going to be more colonies falling on our heads?”

“I don't know.” Quatre just shook his head, looking back at Duo with those puppy dog eyes that made him feel like he was guilty for letting this happen to the blond. “They're just clues. But it'll fit together somehow. If we can get to the satellites, we should be able to find more.”

“Why are the satellites down?” Trowa mused. “They all got hit by the colony?”

“Could be the Alliance took them down because of the attack.” Heero suggested.

“At this point, does it matter? They're down.” Duo stood from the table, leaning over his chair to regard his fellow pilots. “Sitting here and guessing what's happening isn't going to help. We're safe, let's go out and see what actually is happening.”

Duo grinned when the other pilots eventually nodded their slow approval. He was competent at best when it came down to theory, but when it came to the practical side he was a goddamn genius.

“Should we head out then?” Trowa queried, rising from the and moving around to join Duo.

“Well, not right now.” Quatre leaned back in his chair, tossing his intelligence folder into the middle of the table with the resignation that no one was interested in hearing the rest of the details. “We'd want to at least fix up the suits with some sensor equipment... or something, at least. There's no need to rush, we've still got a lot to do here.”

“Maybe you have lots to do.” Duo grumbled. “We've just been sitting around all day.”

*

Trowa was leaning back on the couch, watching the braided pilot pace the room with some measure of sympathy. They had gone from learning of a massive nuclear catastrophe, to travelling through a wasteland decimated by fire and radiation, only to be isolated in a tiny room when for all they knew the world was falling down around them. Their... host, Quatre was filling them in the few times he would came back to the room but most of the time he was out, summoned to some meeting or control room. Heero had huddled away into a corner to read all the reports that came back, barely sparing a word to any of the other pilots.

“Come on.” Trowa said to the other pilot, rising to his feet.

“Huh?” Duo stopped mid-stride, turning to face Trowa with a puzzled expression all over his face. Trowa always believed that someone's face would tell you more than their words, but that went double for Duo. The boy had the most expressive features of anyone he had ever seen.

“We're not doing anything here. Let's go find something useful to do.” Not waiting for the other boy's approval, Trowa strode out of the room in his usual calm and understated manner, the door slowly clicking behind him to announce his departure.

The corridors were typical of an underground base, bare and emotionless concrete walls decorated only with dust and cryptic hallway numbers that meant nothing to a non-resident. It reminded him a lot of the poorer colony sectors: functional, but no money was ever spent on making it feel like home.

Another click from the door he had left signalled that Duo was indeed following behind him. He smiled slightly, keeping his back turned and his face hidden from the other pilot. Slowing his pace slightly, he let Duo catch up to him in a short jog - no need to break his stride to do that.

“Why do you do that?” Duo asked as he caught up, forcing Trowa to acknowledge him.

“Do what?” He queried, eyes briefly flicking to the side. Even Duo's way of walking was causal, one thumb in his pocket, head tilted to regard Trowa causing his braid to bounce oddly off his shoulder.

“The International Man of Solitude, Mystery and Broodypants thing. It's kind of weird, I'm getting the same vibe from the asian guy... Heero, or something.” Trowa quirked an eyebrow at him, gears turning in his mind as he considered the question. His behaviour wasn't something he had given much consideration, though it was obvious that others found it odd.

“It suits me. Keeps people away.” Trowa said at last. Somehow Duo had managed to turn a comment of 'you're aloof' into something that was throwing him off balance.

“Yeah? Guess you don't really need personal skills locked in a Gundam.” Duo remarked, shoving his hands into his pockets as he fell back into step. “Dunno. I figured you were just shy at first - didn't add up though, you're pretty comfortable around us... strangers, you know.”

“Where are you going with this?”

“Dunno.” Duo shrugged, flashing Trowa a short grin. “Just thought it was weird, that sort of mystery make-him-follow-me-down-the-corridor. You could've just said where we were going.”

He hadn't rated Duo highly on their first meeting, but he was a pilot for a reason. The sharp mind and observation that was showing through was a late reminder that he should not be underestimating any of them. Stopping at a bend in the corridor, he turned to face Duo. “You didn't ask.”

“No point.” Duo just shrugged and flashed his grin again. “You would've just ignored it and been all mystery- uh...”

Duo stammered as Trowa's hand brushed his cheek, touching the skin lightly on it's path to cradle the back of his head. Not giving the other boy time to react, Trowa pressed his body up against Duo's and touched their lips together just long enough for Duo feel the briefest flick of a tongue. Just as quickly it was gone, Trowa turning away and walking back down the corridor.

“Wh- what the hell did you do that for?” Duo stammered, his breathing having hitched with the surprise.

“To shut you up.” Trowa responded, still keeping his back turned as he walked away.

Duo ran back to the other boy, catching up in a few long strides. “Hey!” He protested, falling back in step and glaring holes in the side of Trowa's head. “You could've just told me to, so why did you do it?”

“No point.” He finally turned his head to face Duo, sporting a predatory grin. “You would've just ignored it and continued to yammer.”

“Hey, that's bullshit.” Duo grumbled, his face flushing as Trowa continued walking off. “Man, you're a freak.”

Trowa chuckled to himself. There was a reason he was a pilot too and he didn't appreciate the psychoanalysis. “Are you coming, or not?”

*

“So you're Brian.” Duo gripped the older man's hand, grinning manically. “Good to finally see you in person.”

Brian was shorter than Duo had imagined, much younger too. He couldn't have been more than nineteen or twenty; Duo would have guessed that the low voice over the radio would have been thirty at least. He looked like Howard might have forty years and a lot more hair ago, even down to the Hawaiian shirt and shorts - though those were just lying on the table, discarded in favour of a medical gown. It was enough to wonder if there was some sort of family tie there.

“You too kid, you too.” Brian laughed before letting Duo's hand go. “We owe a lot to you and your friends.” He nodded to Trowa with a small smile.

Duo glanced down, noticing that the man had slipped something into his palm with the handshake. Turning his hand over, he saw the small piece of bloodied flesh. Glancing up to catch Brian's gaze, he saw the hopeless expression as the man nodded gently.

“What...” Duo whispered, lowering his gaze to the small patch of skin as his heart sank.

“I was out of the bridge when it hit, taking a smoke break.” Brian just shrugged, leaning back on the infirmary bunk. “Howie said they'd kill me, don't think he saw it this way though.”

“Shit.” Duo breathed, not sure what else to say. What could he say to someone who was dying? Lie to him, say he'll pull through? Some crap about heaven and hell that he didn't believe in? “I guess.” Duo chuckled, tugging at the collar of his priest uniform. “Guess I shouldn't have worn this.”

Brian laughed at that, patting him on the shoulder. “Yeah, not all that appropriate.” He chuckled, giving Duo a short wink. “Why the costume, anyway? Shouldn't you be wearing, you know, normal clothes?”

“Yeah, you'd think so.” Duo chuckled softly, his eyes dipping to avoid eye contact. “Yeah, I was training to be a priest, actually. Kinda just wore it out of tradition, I guess. Think I might have to change, though.”

Duo turned as the door behind them swung open, spotting the base medic walk into the room. Turning back to Brian, he locked eyes with the man, giving silent acknowledgement that it was time for them to leave. Trowa was the first to go, giving a curt nod to Brian as he left. Duo followed closely behind him, his eyes avoiding the dying man at the same time he was feeling guilty for doing so.

He turned on Trowa as soon as they were out in the hall, the door having not even shut before he started ranting. “Is that what you brought me here to see? Him dying?”

Trowa just shrugged, infuriating Duo even more. “I didn't know.” He absently brushed his bang out of his eye, making eye contact with Duo for the first time since they had met. “I just wanted to show you some of the people you saved.”

“Why?” Duo asked, not sure if he relented because Trowa would be impossible to guilt or just because he was too emotionally worn to try it.

“Don't know.” So far Trowa was beginning to have an annoying habit with that phrase.

“Oh, come on.” Duo grumbled in an exasperated tone, turning away from Trowa to lean against the wall. “You do something and you don't even know why?”

“I find my instincts work better if I don't question them.”

“Yeah,” Duo chuckled humourlessly to himself. “Yeah, I guess you've got a point.”