Scene One - Five: Gundam Wing After Dekim
Scene Two: Old Habits Don't Disappear
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Scene
Two: Old Habits Don’t Disappear
by doing temperate acts, brave by doing brave acts.
She sat in the old depot truck, calmly navigating
her way through the debris and chaos.
Dekim Barton’s attempt at gaining control and subsequent kidnapping of
Relena Peacecraft had failed. She was
heading towards the
liaison for Une, her Commander and head of the Preventers.
comm-unit went off ringing, barely avoiding a large pothole in the road.
answering the comm-unit, not allowing it to ring a second time at even less
opportune moment.
that she was not coming off too angrily to the other person.
clear and demanded direct response. “Are
you almost on site?”
making a sharp turn around a giant chunk of concrete.
Sally told herself, picking up on the slight tense quality in Une’s voice.
right now. everever it is it’ll have to
wait until I have more time, hopefully it’s not too important.’
confirmed briskly. “Find the Pilots and
confirm their status. Be careful
Sally. That zone is still hot.”
commented. “Just don’t go getting
yourself hurt or killed. This organization
needs you.”
friend. “
quick goodbye.
managed to navigate her way close to the heart of the destruction.
meticulously noted to herself. Sally
made her way out of the truck, turning it over to a Preventer.
not to all the injured who lay scattered throughout the place on makeshift
cots, even though she was a doctor. The
injured moaned in pain as they waited to get loaded on to a transport vehicle
to a hospital, while the critically injured waited to have a doctor or medic
come to them. As a doctor those still
alive should have been her biggest concern but her task overrode that old
instinct. For now her greatest concern
was finding the Gundam Pilots for a debriefing, per Une’s orders.
motionless bodies that were beginning to stiffen and the ones that still lived,
just barely, she could understand why.
It was possible their saviors were lying dead or hurt but she did not
think that they were dead. And it was up
to her to find them.
worse thans,’ s,’ Sally reminded herself.
‘They might be a little worse for the wear for a few months but not
dead. Don’t even think like that.
Sally’s biggest and perhaps most
challenging task was to assure the Pilots they had done, yet again, the right
thing no matter how many lives it had cost.
And to get contact information from every one of them if they were
planning on leaving any time soon. The
large body count was to have been expected but it would be the five of them who
would take it upon their shoulders, no one else would bear that burden.
body count,’ Sally grimaced as she walked along.
wonderful job they did? They’ve probably
already worked that out for themselves and will still be thinking that they
could have done better.’
she make sure the Pilots understand their actions were heroic and needed, that
they were not obligated to disappear again.
Une wanted some sort of contact information from all of them in case
they were needed again or at least enough of a heads up to get some Preventers
to follow them. Sally doubted that would
work since no one was trained well enough to follow a Pilot except for another
Pilot or someone like Zechs.
Dorothy and Relena standing together off in the distance.
recognition but did nothing more, turning all her attention to the girl by her
side. Sally could see two freshly killed
men being carried quickly away from the two girls.
her hand Sally surmised that the two dead men had tried to kill Relena.
need to worry about that.
Palace looking for signs of the Pilots.
Five difficult minutes of picking her way through debris she halted to
look around again. Out of the debris,
dust laden air and bits of flame still to be extinguished she spotted them, or
what she suspected was them. They had
apparently taken refuge in a little out of the way corner where they could
observe but not be easily seen or gotten to.
A defensive position, a place to easily attack from and fend off
attack.
them and she soon learned why. There was
a nearly in-navigable labyrinth of debris and flame to get through in order to
reach them.
snapped, tense and harsh. “Someone’s
lingering on the perimeter. Get them
moving again.” Only her soldier’s ears
trained to distinguish all variants of pitch and sound level picked out the
rest of his orders to them. “If they
won’t move you each got one warning shot apiece.
almost negligently tossed one of her honey colored twists over her
shoulder. ‘But what is he doing giving
out orders? There’s enough tension
coming from that corner I can almost see it.’
voice was like ice as he called out to her, a hard edge present in his
words. “It would be safer for you if you
continue moving along.”
come off two automatic machine guns, probably with single fire option from what
Duo suggested, and she knew they meant business.
identifying herself to them. “Permission
to come over to you?”
back to their corner. It took her a full
five minutes to reach them, traversing through debris and flame.
crouching by the still side of Heero Yuy.
Atst sst she thought he might be dead but his chest rose and fell
steadily.
pulse as the Chinese youth checked his pupils with a flashlight.
feeling like an intruder.
tiredly. He frowned, thoughtfully
stroking his chin in a worried fashion.
“How did you get him to wake up the other time he was out cold?
when Heero just suddenly cosed sed and we had to move fast because OZ was too
close?”
Quatre asked standing right beside Sally with a worried expression on his
face. Sally started a second tiithiithin
one hour upon noticing that Quatre and Trowa stood on either side of her and
she had not even heard them come up.
harm,” Wufei explained.
Trowa pointed out.
Wufei looked down on the oblivious Duo with a brief flicker of open
admiration. “Try it now Duo,” He
instructed.
thought waiting with the others in mixed anticipation.
grin in place. “Relena’s life is in
danger and we need to save her.” He sat
back on his heels waiting. “Hm, well
that one has failed before. I’ll try the
next one then. Heero,” Duo now looked
and sounded extremely contrite. “I’m
really sorry man, but I tried to give Wing an upgrade, and I know you said
never to touch your Gundam but I thought it would be a surprise.
though.” The group held their breath,
even Sally, but there was no reac.
“Ok then,” Duo winked at them.
“Time to bring out the big guns.
This one always gets a reaction.
Hee-chan! We got an important
mission from J to take out an OZ mobile suit factory.”
Heero’s left hand, but it was something.
since you got him here?” Sally asked snapping out of her immobilization and
moving closer to Heero’s prone body.
“And have his eyes been moving restlessly like that behind his lids the
entire time he’s been unconscious?”
up at Sally with wide eyes hoping she might know what was wrong with Heero.
examination on her new patient. She had
not had to perform a field examination since the first war but she went through
the motions and secretly was impressed that she could still find her rhythm
after all this time. Gingerly she poked
and prodded making note of Heero’s reaction or lack of one.
and concussion as best she could. She
ruled out any major bone breaks although there might be a few possible hairline
fractures and some fractured ribs, internal bleeding she also ruled out.
of his head his pupillatelated normally.
expected to find,’ Sally shook herself mentally.
again, bee been so long.’
a catatonic state,” Sally spoke aloud.
“There’s not much I can do for him here,needneeds a hospital.”
Sally?” Quatre looked pleadingly at her for an answer.
could give to him, to tall,all, but without first assessing his braave
ave
patterns there was no way of knowing that offhand.
confessed standing. “His brain wave
patterns need to be assessed. I’d feel
best if we get Heero to a hospital.”
at her words, trusting her and her instincts.
Duo quickly devised a way for the five of them to carry Heero out of the
corner and through the labyrinth of fire and ruins.
was the safest way to move Heero.
was almost seated upright and then lowered him onto Quatre anfei’fei’s arms,
they were supporting his back. Sally
made sure that Duo was holding Heero’s head properly before joining Trowa in
taking a leg. As one being they hefted
his prone form and began to meticulously navigate their way out of their
cor
the better. Still it took them nearly
twenty minutes to make their way out to the mostly cleared pathway.
free stretcher. There were none.
nearly dead soldier from Dekim’s side.
told herself. ‘It’s not like he’s going
to need it now.’
p>
upright,” Sally instructed Duo. “Trowa,
I’ll need your assistance with something else.”
silent message and gently lowered Heero’s leg in tandem with Sally.
either of them, because they were both soldiers and practical.
that the soldier really was dead, they shoved the dead body off the
stretcher. Occasionally the living
appeared dead, something Sally had learned as a field doctor and it never hurt
to check to be certain. There was no
objection or commentary from the other three Pilots and after checking to be
certain that the stretcher had no bodily fluids on it, they placed Heero gently
onto it.
hefted the stretcher, one at each corner, and followed after her as she walked
away from the destruction. She found her
truck being well guarded and they climbed aboard.
truck making sure that the stretcher was held steady and Heero was comfortable.
hospital that Sally knew of in the area.
They saw to it that Heero was settled into a private suite, one that
Quatre Winner would pay for along with all the other medical charges.
brain wave and head scans.
of them noting just how rag-like and tired they were.
enough to notice every passing nurse, orderly and doctor that came by on their
rounds.
easily,’ Sally thought trselrself as she fiddled with one of her two twists of
hair. ‘Even though it’s been over a year
since the last war. They won’t forget so
easily, they may never forget.’
overheard Quatre place a call to WEI, his business empire.
agent, Emily Peterson. Two hours later
he man aan announcement to the group, a smile lighting up his worried
expression, only slightly though.
agent has found and purchased a house for me not far from Heero’s hospital,”
Quatre said glancing over at his three comrades.
stay for as long as you like.”
gave Quatre a tiny smile that made the blond Arabian relax.
been? But at the same time, even though
the main danger had passed they were unable to relax.
Pilots were cautious.
realized. ‘They are willing to take all
of this on their shoulders and keep it on their shoulders.
are always ready to fight.’
back. They contained good news and
finally Sally was able to persuade Duo to leave with them back to Quatre’s
newly purchased home. He seemed to need
the rest more than any of them. She had
been afraid that she would have to drug Duo because he was so restless.
days, running purely on adrenaline as though he might drop at any moment and
yet he was the most alert out of the entire group.
sleep deprivation was nothing new.
said catching her anxious glance in Duo’s direction.
Trowa,” She protested to the Pilot from L3.
“If he doesn’t he’ll collapse soon.
The human body can only take so much strain and Duo’s already pushed
past his limits.”
said with a barely contained smile as they watched the rest of the group enter
the house.
to become agitated as she watched Duo pacing and prowling about like a caged
animal.
gently. “I meant that he’s different
from the rest of us. All of us have seen
him go an entire week without sleeping and it in no way hampered in his
performance while we were hiding in schools or on missions.
no sleep at all. And before this whole
battle began he had a brief nap in Dekim Barton’s holding cell for about twenty
minutes. Duo grew up sleeping when and
where he could for only short periods at a time.
without any stimulants for more than a week at a time.”
what I heard from Wufei,’ Sally reminded herself.
about how lazy Duo was because he slept all the time,” She said, countering
Trowa’s previous statement.
better to do or when he thought that the rest of us needed peace and quiet,”
Trowa’s face had a ghost of a smile pass over it.
who was now in front of the house. “Hey
Duo,” He called out to his braided partner.
“Sally’s worried about you and thinks you should get some sleep.”
flashed a huge grin. “But I’m wound up
tighter than the boon Won Wing Zero after Heero’s completely turned it up.
me out back? There’s a basketball and
everything!”
shooed him off with her hand as she walked into the house.
she mused. ‘I wonder how he developed
such a skill in the first place, and why he hasn’t gotten rid of it yet?’
couch. She fell quickly asleep knowing
that she did not have to report in to Une until the next day.