After a minute he heard the shuffling of feet approach the door, the deadbolt is unlocked and then the door opens; revealing the tired face of Cagalli Yula Athha. “I take it you had a rough day?”
Cagalli let out an exasperated sigh and grabs Kou, dragging him into the room. “Oh you can say that…” she said in an “oh-so-sweetly, but I’m really pissed” tone.
“Uh-oh, am I in trouble or something?” Kou began to sweat as Cagalli shut the door behind them as she gently pushed him into the room.
“No you’re not.” Cagalli deadpanned before she spun him around and just…hugged him?
Blinking his eyes Kou cocked his head at Cagalli. “Um, is there something I need to know?”
”I just…need to hug someone, and since Athrun’s not here you made a nice substitute.” Cagalli murmured tiredly.
“What happened?”
A long sigh, “that damn Unato, he’s still pressing for the marriage with his son and brought out the fact way back then my Father actually consented to an arranged marriage between Yuna and I.”
”Your Dad consented to that?!”
”Yes, at the time he was low on the totem pole of Orb’s nobility and political arena’s, he was more or less pressured into it. But he was going to dissolve it formally when he had the backing and power to do it. However the Earth Forces declared us enemies and attacked the day before he was going to do it.”
Kou winced; while he wasn’t the most knowledgeable about arranged marriages, but without her Father, and being the low woman on the totem pole herself, Cagalli would have a helluva time trying to get out of an arranged marriage like that. “Shit, that sucks…didja try to explain you’re already involved?”
”That didn’t even seem to hit his ears, he brushed it off every time I mentioned Athrun.” She sighed in frustration. “What’s worse is some of the other representatives are in agreement with him.” Sighing Cagalli tightened her hug around him.
“Well I guess since you helped me when I was in a funk, consider myself as your personal plushy till Athrun can fill in that duty.” Kou said jovially.
“Thanks…have you had any dinner?”
”No not yet anyway.” Kou answered.
“How about I call up room service, my treat?”
Kou grins. “Food on someone else is always welcome in my book, or are you bribing me?” He jokes.
She smiles faintly. “Sorta, would you mind staying with me again tonight?”
“Gee ain’t I special? Sure, like I said after you helped me it’s the least I can do.”
******************
Looking over a checklist in her office, Tammy looked over at Anna. “So the preparations are almost complete? What’s left that needs to be done?”
”The mobile suits are loaded into the subs, and final checks are being done. All we need to do is finish loading the spare ammo for the suits and replenish the sub’s energy supplies and the spare parts for maintenance.” Anna answered as she checked her PDA.
Leaning back in the leather chair of the oak desk, Tammy brought a hand to rub her brow. “Let’s hope our mission is successful this time, with the Top Five breathing down our necks we can’t afford errors.”
”Well this time we’ve taken into account the battle strength of the Junk Guild as well as the mobile suits of the Kusanagi and the tenacity of their ground forces.” Anna stated reassuringly. “Plus we’ll make sure that damn Gold Frame is taken out ASAP before the pilot can repeat what he did to Barton and the others.”
“Yes, and speaking of Barton I want to hold a formal briefing with all our pilots before boarding the subs, I want to make it crystal-clear that if we have any Barton-wannabe’s I’ll shoot them myself before we take off.” Tammy stated firmly.
“I’ll let you even have my Desert Eagle for that if you want.”
Tammy laughed lightly. “I may take you up on that.” Her face then resumed a serious look. “Back on the topic, if you can just disable Gold Frame so it can be captured.”
”HUH?”
”The pilot is someone we need for the Grand Solution Project, but if capturing him is not doable and would be at the cost of your life…authorization to finish him is given.” Tammy sighs.
”…Tam I get the feeling you personally don’t want us to kill the bastard.” Anna said slowly, approaching her commanding officer and friends’ desk.
Tammy looked at Anna below looking away. “In all honesty I don’t…I know who he is Anna and…the Top Five’s plans aside I’d rather not take his life if we can.”
”Who is he? Why do the Top Five want him, for anyway and on top of that, how do you know him?”
“I used to baby-sit him…” Tammy replies.
“Eh? Tammy if you baby-sat him, and you’re what nineteen, he’d have to be barely in his teens.”
”He’s twelve actually, going on thirteen the 15th of this month.” Tammy says.
“What? A kid tore our asses up last time?”
”Don’t let his age fool you, he was born to pilot mobile suits, at least his uncanny skill with them seems to suggest that…” Tammy states as she turns in her chair to look out the window. “He was once part of Obsidian Abyss’s child recruitment program but he…strayed from us. He’s a good kid but misguided…”
Anna frowned, “Misguided or not Tam, if he tries to off me all bets are off, but for your sake I’ll try to bring him in alive…”
”Thank you Anna, that means a lot to me.”
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(Posted Tue, 31 May 2005 07:23)
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