**Someplace around the L2 Cluster**
"...So you're ready, now, huh?"
The white-haired handsome man's voice was somber, the tension creeping around the edges.
The blonde girl simply smiled at him bravely, sadness leaking around the edges.
"Yep! Operation 'Stealinating Ya Gundams And Wrecking Ya Plans', ready to rock-'n-roll, O Great Mastermind, Sir!"
"Oh, I wish." The white haired man just laughed.
"Now, I don't think I actually have to go through your general Mission parameters yet again, but..."
"Go down and kick ass, don't let the bad guys get either me or the poor Gundam - and by bad guys, I don't mean just OZ or the Alliance. That covers about everything, in my humble opinion?"
"...Essentially correct, I suppose."
The white haired man sighed, then.
"Then, Aino Minako - from this time on, your codename is 'Venus'. May the Heavens smile upon you."
Minako simply nodded, then, and then paused.
This was quite possibly the very last time that she could actually see the man in front of her in the flesh, after all.
"...Um. Professor?"
" - Yes?"
The white haired man froze as he felt the girl envelope him in a deceptively gentle-looking hug.
"See you again, Professor Artemis."
And may the Heavens smile upon you, too.
**Someplace in the L3 Cluster**
The fact that this was not the worst Christmas Eve that she had managed to live through in her entire life actually was pretty sad, all things considered.
"You know, Doktor - this really is not the most auspicious way to kick off a major operation, or even a minor one, if you get my meaning..."
The dark green haired woman just sighed, absentmindedly patting her sobbing 'sister'(well, that's what they said they were, despite the age differences) and lab assistant's pale blue hair.
"But he said...he said he was going to... I... I have friends on Earth. Family, too, even if -"
"I know, I know..."
The brown-haired girl looked down at the dead man bleeding on the floor and sighed. Well, it wasn't like he was any great loss, far from it, in fact, but still. Really.
"Um, Doktor? Are you going to be OK?"
"I'm just bruised, I think..." The older woman coughed, hacking for a good while. "Don't worry, dear - I'm going to have it taken care of, alright?"
"You do that, Doktor. And - take care of that, too." The girl said, indicating the body on the floor.
"Right, right... So. You're doing this, right?"
"Yes, well, I'd think so - it's not like I'm gonna be backing out now, you know." The girl sighed yet again. .
"I'm gonna need a new name again, though, I suppose..."
And just she'd gotten used to being called 'Lita', too.
It was then that the thought struck her, out of the dark starry skies. The girl took a good look at the dead man on the floor. Well, it wasn't like he was going to be using that name anymore, that was for sure...
"Say - is the name 'Kino Makoto' still usable, you think? 'Makoto' is a gender-neutral name, after all..."
The older woman and her sister both blinked, looking at each other.
"That...might be a good idea, actually...?"
"'Confusion to the enemy' and all that, eh, Doktor Petz?" The girl grinned at the two woman.
"Very well then." The woman sighed, trying to stand up with the help of her 'sister'.
"From this time on - your codename is 'Jupiter'. And your first Mission is - "
**Someplace in the L4 Cluster**
"What the heck happened, anyway? Our poor, poor timetables..."
The girl sighed, running her fingers through her short sandy hair, looking up at the Earth in the sky.
"Hush now, Young Miss. All plans start going to hell when they encounter the enemy - "
"That's why they're called 'the enemy'.."
"And that is why there are such things as 'backup plans'."
The girl grinned at the older green haired woman, doing a slow somersault in the low gravity.
"Once a Governess, always a Governess, eh, Instructor Setsuna?"
" - At least call me a teacher, please. Or a tutor. 'Governess' sounds so..."
The older woman sighed. Oh, the girl was ready, as ready as she'd ever could be, but -
"It is time, Tennou Haruka. Do you accept this Mission?"
The girl nodded. "Yes."
"Then from this time on, your codename is 'Uranus'."
"Uranus, huh." The girl murmured. "And - her?"
"Well, since this is a special case - her codename is 'Neptune', and - "
**Someplace in the L5 Cluster**
The girl fiddled with the setting of her Gundam, one last time, black silky hair falling over her shoulders.
" - Rei."
"...Yes, Master?"
" - You are ready?"
The girl simply nodded. Everything that could be said had already been said already, after all - or so she thought, anyhow.
"Hino Rei, your codename from now on is 'Mars'. - Be well."
Rei nodded again. "You too, Master."
"...Of course."
Rei blinked. Had that been a...catch in his voice?
"...I'll be back."
"Yes, Rei."
Rei wiped at the edge of her eyes, then. Damnit. She wasn't... She mustn't...
She would make them pay and then she would come back, come back to the Colony she'd been born and raised on, no matter how rundown and broken and empty it was now, back to -
So to that day...
Goodbye, Gran'da.
**Someplace in the L1 Cluster**
The small petite girl looked down at the Earth.
"It's pretty, it's it?"
"Yes, Doctor."
The silver haired man sighed, glasses glinting. Her violet eyes were so blank, even now...
"It is time, is it not, Doctor?"
"Yes, it is." The man bent down to her level. "Our Operation Meteor has begun."
Theirs, not their Sponsors - that was the important thing...
The man smiled at her sadly. "Then from this moment, your codename is 'Saturn', named for the mythical deity of Death and Rebirth. If you had been a boy, I would have almost been obligated to give you the usename 'Heero Yuy', but as things stand..."
"Yes, Doctor?"
"Will you accept the usename 'Tomoe Hotaru'?"
The girl blinked, eyes widening very slightly, and then nodded.
"Mission accepted. I shall not fail, Doctor Tomoe."
**Somewhere Earthside, near the sea**
The blue-haired girl looked at the neverending waves, a handcomp in her hands.
Codename 'Mercury', was it now?
Well, it was fitting, she supposed...
Mizuno Ami looked up at the darkening skies, and waited for the Meteors to fall.
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(Posted Fri, 10 Apr 2009 21:51)
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らんま1/2 © Rumiko Takahashi
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