Geppetto - Chapter 2
aku_ryo@hotmail.com - Reviews pleeeeeaaaaassssseeeeeeee
Eventual romance and action but now to continue with the mystery
The small Preventer group reached the surface without incident. Preventer Water had gone on ahead, trusting the two men to delicately carry their discovery the rest of the way. Wu-Fei occasionally spoke, giving directions to the taller man who had the burden of walking backwards the entire time. Carefully exiting the cave, he glanced down at the figure in his arms, the small form trapped within such a large casing. The gash on her left side was truly horrific but she seemed no worse for wear and contented in this Wu-Fei began to search the foreground for Sally. ?We have much to discuss?, one of her favorite sayings ?the number of times I?ve heard that, only this time it?s true?
?Wu-Fei?,
?What?, he said, turning his attentions back to his current partner.
In what barely registered as a movement, he motioned with his eyes for Wu-Fei to look up.
From across the clearing where they landed she saw him looking down at the still form he was carrying. She doubted anyone else would have noticed the miniscule changes Wu-Fei?s expression contained as he gazed down deep in thought. ?Anyone except someone who has worked continuously with him for 6 years, six YEARS!? Her eyes widened with this recognition and she heaved a sigh before turning to her task at hand.
Having decided it would be best to seal off the passageway, Sally Po was busy placing remote detonating mines in various strategic points along the rock face. She absently brushed away the loose strands of hair the wind had seen fit to whip in her face.
?The wind?? her mind registered her previous action after a moment, ?the winds picking up? quite a lot?. Lifting her head from her now completed task she noticed the darkened sky and confirmed what Wu-Fei had been shouting to her from across the clearing ?
??a storm, do you hear me, we should be moving on, the plane will be too heavy with this?we need to lift off soon if you want to pilot us back ? I won?t have you trying to control this archaic device in the middle of a hurricane!?
?A hurricane!? her mind screamed at her ?we must leave before it hits?. Wu-Fei was right about the danger the added weight of their unplanned discovery could bring them. She adjusted her watch to set off the explosion ?20 minutes that should be plenty of time for us to be in the air? and starting the countdown in her head she hurried over to help the pilots load the plane.
?It?s going to be a cramped ride back, this thing was designed for recognizance not freight, assuming someone would design anything this foolish? Wu-Fei mumbled.
Appearing composed on the outside is a skill. One that, Wu-Fei determined, his current profession occasionally required of him. It was not something natural for him, he was known for expressing his opinions, quite forcefully at times. It was a part of his personality, one that he was proud of. At this moment it was a mask he was struggling with. Trying to remain unperturbed by the brutal nature of their discovery was no small task. His head and heart swam openly with emotions. ?Sadness, I am sad for this sorry discovery, no one to fight no one to make pay for this atrocity. Pity, a wasteful emotion, no one surely would ever want pity, yet I doubt us finding her will make any difference in her fate, we have so little to go on?? he shook his head ? This kind of thinking will not help her?
Before he could stop it the last emotion came out in full, making him feel sickened with himself again, it was regret. He bit his lip ?regret for acting like a fool, acting like a child, shouting at Sally??
?Hey, you two look like you could use some help?
Wu-Fei?s eyes darted up to find the source of the voice, his mind knew it was Sally, ?how did she get ahead of me without me noticing? his paranoid mind inquired ?and did she see?. He knew she was one of the very few people who could read his thoughts just by the look on his face. He looked up at her to see if he in turn could read her face for the answer, but he was only greeted with a smirk. ?Foolish onna now she probably thinks I am flirting with her!? His revelry was dashed as he stumbled forward on the narrow ramp.
Sally?s smirk grew into a wide grin at her partners? momentary clumsiness. She covered her mouth and faked a yawn to save Wu-Fei the embarrassment and then headed into the cockpit for a pre-flight check.
Fitting the machine in their small plane was proving quite a challenge for the two Preventers. Bringing up the rear Wu-Fei found his side stuck.
?Lift your side up a bit, that should give us the chance to edge it around the corner?.
Wu-Fei, still recovering from his own shame at his earlier behavior and more importantly the nagging suspicion Sally suspected this, wasn?t being all that helpful in this coordination. This was the third time his side had stuck. Wordlessly he complied with the other mans request and they were finally able to put the machine sturdily in place for the ride.
?One problem? the taller man noted with the uncomfortable realization of his growing anxiety, ?Wu-Fei?s absentmindedness has now trapped me down this end of the plane!? . His analytical mind quickly examined the situation, his only option to get to the cockpit was to climb over the top of the machine.
?No that will not do? he looked around once more "no other option" he grumbled and clenched his fists ?what?s wrong with Wu-Fei, this is his plane, he should have been paying more attention, he was the one giving directions, he should of seen that this would happen?
?Climb over? his mind said it with such simplicity. It was after all the natural answer to his problem, but he couldn?t bring himself to do it, in fact he found since first picking up the machine he couldn?t even look directly at it. He knew why ? he just didn?t quite understand why. The girl, she made him uncomfortable, the way she seemed lifeless, frozen. ?No matter what my brain commands, I can?t look in at her. I will mention this to Quatre when we get back he is good at figuring these sort of things out?. Glancing up he noticed Wu-Fei disappear into the cockpit. Sighing he wrestled vigorously with an aisle chair before finally slumping down victorious, ready for the four hour flight back to headquarters.
Wu-Fei sulked into the cockpit and sat next to Sally. He longed to apologize, to say something, but his pride was preventing him once again from finding the right words.
Sally glanced over at him as he came in ?he?s frustrated, the way his eyebrows are creasing and relaxing, hmm, maybe I should give him a chance - instead of trying of drag it out of him, ?for once?. Sally stopped her scrutiny of Wu-Fei?s face with a small sigh of disappointment, ?he looks so cute when he?s like this? but she had other things to think about, namely the oncoming storm and the mines upcoming detonation.
As a rule Wu-Fei Chang was very strict on safety procedure. He was even renown among the Preventers for it. He normally would never have allowed Sally Po the leeway she was now experiencing, even though she was his senior officer. Sally for her part, was almost intentionally ignoring the usual regulations. Slightly disappointed, she eased the plane off the ground with not ever a disagreeable glance from her partner.
Looking out the only window he had for entertainment, the trapped man hardly noticed when the rock face collapsed. His mind was elsewhere.
Sally waited until they had been in the air for an hour, making sure they had cleared the storm area, before contacting Director Une. She was unsure, for the first time, about leaving Wu-Fei in charge of the controls. ?He?s acting out of sorts?. She crossed the cockpit and on a secure channel began to give a former Oz officer her report. Her lip trembled when she remembered her role in Oz, ?I?ve more than made up for that now but the Director still feels it - the need to undo the damage she?s done?.
?Meet me in my office.? The Director began, ?Upon your return take your?cargo? she winced at her choice of words ?still must improve my tact? ??to the medical testing facility on the 23rd floor. Use the security elevators in the East wing to get there. Sally, I want to keep this as quiet as possible. At least?? her voice trailed off but Sally already understood, ?another scandal for the old Alliance, another damage we must undo?.
The former OZ officer, loyal Colonel to his majesty Trieze, looked away as she shook her head. Her left hand ran through her loose hair, clenching it above her head before releasing it again, she reassumed her trail of thought.
??at least until we can determine more about its origins.?
Looking back into the view screen she crooked a half smile, sincerity replacing the worry usually found in her eyes.
?I look forward to seeing you Sally.?
The screen beep signaling the end of transmition caught Sally off guard. She silently walked back to Wu-Fei. ?We have much to discuss? her mind reeled in confusion. ?The 23rd floor, why not my lab, why them, are we off this assignment now? No, that will not do! I must discuss this with her as soon as possible when we get back.?
By the time the ship was unloaded and Sally was heading to Dir. Une?s office she was livid. ?I will not be off of this assignment, none of us will!? She had expressed her concerns to the two Gundam pilots before landing. ?Yes, they both agreed with me, WE will determine what is behind this? this? mystery. We will not be brushed off for no reason whatsoever?. Mentally rehearsing her speech for Dir. Une she paced in front of the looming oak doors waiting for her turn to be called in.
The two Gundam pilots solemnly escorted the machine between them to the testing facility as ordered. They both wanted to know more, not to be reassigned as Sally suspected the Dir. was going to do. Wu-Fei?s mind rattled on how it was his obligation to see this through while the others mind was more complicated.
Finding that he was now unable to look even remotely at the machine in his hands he felt?curious. Certainly there was some responsibility muddled within, but the quiet pilot had to admit to himself it was his curiosity winning out.
His curiosity at the odd object now next to him.
His curiosity at his inability to even glance at the odd object now next to him.
?How very human? he then attempted to gaze once more out of the corner of his eye at the machine. ?No still can?t do it? and with this he felt he was beginning to smile, maybe even laugh at his own predicament. He may have done so had he not been interrupted by the opening of the doors onto the 23rd floor.
?Preventer Water? Dir. Une said as she reached across her desk to emphatically shake her hand. ?You have done well? she began.
?If I may?, the Dir. nodded her acceptance of the interruption, ?I have spoken with my partners on this and we are all in agreement that we would like to remain on this assignment.?
?What do you feel there is left for you to do that---?
?To begin with?, she handed the Dir. a copy of her quickly typed up report, ?You will find on page 3 that I have found evidence suggesting the machines origin is not from the Alliance?
The Dir. eyed the evidence in the report Sally was referring to,
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Memo: to Admiral Xavier
From: Dr. C. Dryer ? Head of Bioengineering Dept - Base 516
1 Sept, AC 180
Planned time schedule now appears impossible to keep. Previous
attempts made to reanimate collection with information from current
research have proved fatal. Suggest additional research is required
before any further attempts are made. Original system
requirements still maintained. Contact with
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
?If I were to allow all of you to continue this assignment, what would you need from me??
?Time, just time.?
?Time that all of you should be spending on another assignment? correct??
?The medics on the 23rd won?t have a clue where to begin with this find. The Alliance?s finest researchers were stumped by it. Much of the research we recovered is over 20 years old. Some of the files are corrupted and others need decryption. Give us a chance to explore this area more.?
?Computers are not your specialty Sally??
?Dir., I know we can do this.?
?Perhaps you can, but to assure so I?m assigning you another agent, one whose abilities I?m sure you are familiar with?
Sally?s eyes widened in shock, ?Four agents on one assignment, that?s almost unheard of. The last group who did that were Blackrose, Silversong, kmf and aku-ryo...' Nodding her approval to the Directors decision Sally continued, ?So long as neither of my partners are reassigned for a rookie, that?s fine? .
Preventer Water stood up to go, pausing an instant before the Dir.?s desk, ?It seems my worries were unfounded?, she mused, before exiting.
Dir. Une smiled up at her friends retreating form, 'A rookie, wouldn?t dream of it'
End of Chapter 2 - Big shout out to those who replied to Chapter 1 !!!!!!!!!!!!
If you reply I promise to write you into the next part! Living immortality people - the best kind!!!!
aku aku
wonder who that is 
*wonders what project I was working on....*
i was gonna make you an old buddy of Sally's but nevermind.... snif snif 
more! more! more!