Starman chapter 7

[wsprs]

The sun came, and with it, Wufei?s search party.
?Are you sure, man? Ya know I deal with this kinda thing all the time in the sweeper business. If ya ask me, it doesn?t look like any craft or pod or whatever. Just normal space junk. Normal? weird, twisted, metal space junk that I have no idea where it came from or what it?s made of.?
Duo squatted by the still smoldering remains of the crashed pod, scratching his head, baffled. Wufei stood by stiffly, jaw locked and eyes piercing the air.
?I know what I saw, Maxwell. It changed course. Twice. And it was hollow.?

He stared down at Duo, as if daring him to contradict.
?Meteors don?t change course, and they certainly don?t bellow smoke like that when you shoot them down!?
Duo stood, and put his arms up defensively.
?Ok! Ok. Whatever you say, man. If it?s spacecraft, we?ll find out real quick. Hilde?ll be here any minute and she?s bringin? some of the equipment from the salvage yard. If it?s what you say it is ? ?
?It is.?
?- then we?ll figure out what to do next. If it turns out to be nothin? but smoke and fuss, we?ve all done our jobs, the world can rest in peace, and I can make pretty credits off this thing.?
Duo looked back to the wreckage rubbing his hands together. A wide grin erupted on his face, and his eyes twinkled.
?One thing?s for sure. I?ve never seen metal like that! And the amount of debris embedded in it .. this thing has been in space a loooooong time??

Just then Sally came up from behind them and nodded her head towards where she had come.
?Hey. Hilde?s here.?
Duo bounded in the direction Sally indicated, eager to see what could be done to move things along. Wufei turned to her and gestured she follow with a sharp thrust of his head. When they were out of hearing range, he glared at her.
?And??
She flicked her gaze at him quickly before settling her eyes back on the pod a short distance away.
?And what??
She could feel the heat of his stare.
?And I know you better than that. What didn?t you want to say in front of that idiot??
Sally closed her eyes and held her breath. When she felt she wouldn?t betray herself with a shaky voice, she looked to Wufei.
?She?s gone.?
He took in a sharp breath, and stared down the jagged path of earth and broken trees left by the pod. She could tell his mind was working as fast as it could, trying to absorb the information and calculate possibilities without getting dizzy.
?We don?t know if it took her. She could still be safe.?
?Wufei, we don?t even know if that thing is ? was ? a space craft. She could be out by herself on a day hike for all we know.?
His attention snapped to Sally.
?Then why did she not tell anyone??
She opened her mouth, about to say something, but was relieved when Duo?s shout interrupted.
?Eureka! It really IS hollow!!?
Wufei turned his head to glower over his shoulder before giving Sally one last sharp glare, and turned to rejoin the group. It was a clear promise that the discussion was unfinished.

He stepped over the rubble of rock and former plant life, and stopped a few paces from Duo. Wufei crossed his arms over his chest, in the classic display of challenge.
?You doubted me, Maxwell?! You don?t have the sense to believe truth when it?s clearly right in front of you. Fool.?
Reprimanding Duo out of habit rather than true annoyance, Wufei peered over Duo?s shoulder in curious interest. Duo was hopping from one foot to the next as he manned the drill, unable to control his excited nerves.
?That?a girl. Almost there? just a bit more..?
A loud crack was heard, and Duo jumped. Through his safety goggles, his eyes were wide and glossed with shock and excitement. As the pod slowly emerged through a thick haze of smoke, Duo, with the help of Hilde, removed the drill. A small hole that could fit a man ? if the man squeezed ? appeared. Zechs grabbed Duo by the shoulder before he could enter and shoved him aside.
?My sister is missing. If there is any chance this thing is involved with her disappearance - even in the slightest detail - I will find it, and I will destroy it.?
Duo sucked in a breath and looked from Hilde to Sally. They looked back, clearly as nervous as he was. Wufei appeared controlled, but worry was etched in his features.
Zechs caught the eyes of everyone briefly, grunted when there was no one else to peer at, and turned towards the pod to consider it before entering. He nodded once to himself, and disappeared inside. A short minute later, a surprised sound echoed from within the pod. A hand appeared from inside the hole to grip the exterior. Slowly, Zechs pulled himself half way through, paused to look everyone in the eye, and emerged the rest of the way. In his other hand, he held something that appeared to be an ancient music record. It looked as if it were in perfect condition, except that it was gold. Zechs?s face held no expression as he studied the disk, but it was clear to all that he was cold iron. Everyone held their collective breath. Iron is strong, but brittle. It will crack before it bends.
Without looking, Zechs threw the disk to Duo.
?Explain this.?
Duo was barely able to catch it, as he had been busy dodging what he thought was an attack. He looked to the disk in his hands, and a puzzled expression spread over his features. He turned it over, righted it so that the writing was facing the correct direction, and his eyes flew open in an eruption of utter shock.
?This is one of the Time Capsules we put up into space like a thousand years ago! Uh? Viking - no? Uhh..?
?Voyager???
Duo flicked his gaze at Hilde in silent thanks.
?Yeah. Voyager. It?s got like a million pictures of people?s every day lives, old buildings, nature, and stuff like that. It?s also got sounds and clips of stuff like animals, waves and leaves blowin?. I?m pretty sure it?s got an address from some important dead guy inviting aliens to earth or something. Oh yeah, I think it also has a bunch of people saying greetings in like a hundred languages.?
?Fifty-four, you imbecile.?
Duo ignored Wufei. Zechs nodded as he listened, considering Duo?s words.
?Yes. I am aware of Voyager. We learned of it in the Academy.?
He looked up and raised an eyebrow at Duo. It almost appeared as if he were amused.
?I?m surprised you knew of it.?
Duo grinned sheepishly and scratched his head.
?Yeah, well. Don?t always judge the cover by its book.?
Hilde jabbed him in the cheek with a finger when a blank look filled his eyes and his mouth dropped open in deep thought.
?Uuhh??
She grinned playfully.
?Yeah. Skip it. We know what you meant.?
As everyone filtered away, Zechs barked out orders to report any strange or abnormal occurrences, and Duo allowed the record to be taken from him by the older man. Wufei tossed a last comment over his shoulder before embarking the military craft.
?It was a dumb analogy, anyway.?

An hour had passed in silence. It would be another twenty minutes before they reached Preventor Headquarters, and Wufei was still avoiding her. He was staring through the window, but she could see his reflection in the glass. He had a vague expression on his face, but she knew he was worried, and probably blaming himself for something he had no control over. He sighed once, then twice. She put her lips close to his ear, and blew softly. He jumped, and threw her an annoyed look, but didn?t berate her.
?That?s it! No more! Out with it!!?
He took on the look of a child who realized he would ? should - be punished. When he spoke, it was low and Sally had to strain to hear his words.
?It?s my fault. It?s all my fault.?
She had expected something like that, and had been preparing a speech for the passed hour. She knew exactly what to say, and had been waiting for him to say something first so she could recite it. Only now, it didn?t seem right. He deserved her honesty.
?Wufei. We both failed. It was our job to protect the airspace surrounding the Minister?s cabin while she was there. Maybe we handled it wrong, but we both did what we thought was right at the time. Don?t look at me that way, Mr., I?m not finished yet. Neither of us had any way of knowing it was going to crash where it did. Even if we had, we still don?t know if whatever was inside it took Relena. Or if there was even anything in it at all. So stop blaming yourself. Either share the responsibility so we can move on and find a solution, or quit feeling sorry for yourself. It?s not helping.?
He didn?t meet her eyes.
Perhaps I am feeling sorry for myself, but I need to admit my faults. I must overcome my weaknesses to reestablish my sense of integrity.
?Only after One embraces Their worst, can They become Thier best.? I owe that to you, Sally. Though you deserve better, I cherish your spirit. I only hope you can forgive me this selfishness.
?I should have let you talk to it. I acted without thinking.?
She sighed, but she was smiling inside. He was Wufei. Always hard on himself, but always quick to come back strong and make up for what he thought had been a shortcoming.
Wufei, You?re such a perfectionist! If it weren?t for your mistakes, there?d be no reaching you! Thank God you?re human and screw up like the rest of us. I couldn?t bear it if you were as perfect as you want to be.
?We tried that, remember? You were right to shoot it down. If we had lost it, we would have no idea what would have happened. It could have been a hundred times worse. At least this way we know we?re looking for an orange and black mustang with Princess plates. Wufei?. Wufei??
She took him by the shoulder, and forced him to meet her gaze. When he looked up, his eyes were wide, and filled with the dread that is left when disbelief is overcome by realizing your worst nightmare is really happening. His mouth opened and shut a few times until he worked the stiffness out enough to use his jaw. Looking at Sally, he saw nothing but a blur. Her heart broke as she saw haunted guilt swirl together with failure in a nauseating dance. He closed them, and she saw him tremble, but to his credit, his voice remained strong and clear.
?An empty craft is unlikely, and Relena?s disappearance is too coincidental. It must be me. I will inform Colonel Une of the Minister?s abduction.?

[kawaiiemogirl]

Hmm supenseful.