Episode 6

Solo shook his head at the site of his friend staring off into space yet again. Lu had been like this for weeks ever since they had transferred that crazy woman to another Preventer base for further interrogation. He’s got it bad. Solo smiled to himself. He had never seen Lu this worked up about anything let alone a woman. When it came to the opposite sex Lu had just never been all that interested. Solo had to constantly force him to even go out. Now this woman has him going nuts just because she can fly a mobile suit. Solo shook his head again. Well she is good looking, and Lu could use some female attention. Maybe it would loosen him up a little. When this is all over…

"Solo, how long have you been standing there?" Lu was looking up at him.

"Not long. I came to bring you our new orders." Solo answered walking over and handing Lu a large envelope. Lu took it from him and opened it immediately. As he read his jaw began to tighten.

"So what does it say man?" Solo said trying to read over Lu’s shoulder.

"We’re supposed to go to L2 for briefing. We’ll be given further instructions when we get there."

"Yeah, so why the worried look?"

"It’s the place where we’re supposed to receive our instructions, it’s not a Preventer facility."

"What is it then?" He was starting to confuse Solo.

"It’s your father’s place."

Solo’s eyes widened. "What would my Pop have to do with our new orders?" He thought for a minute. Unless… Pop does know about mobile suit design… Specifically Gundams. "Oh shit."

"My thoughts exactly."

***

Two days later they were standing inside a secret compound beneath Solo’s family’s scrap yard in the L2 colony. The expansive facility had once been used to house Solo’s father’s Gundam, and was also a sort of repair shop for the others. Now it housed Preventer’s best hopes of defense.

Teams of engineers led by Solo’s father were constructing new Gundams. Four to be exact. Two of which had already been completed and were docked in a nearby hanger.

"Injustice." A voice suddenly screamed from one of the suits being worked on. Lu barely dodged a cutting torch that was flung from the suit. "Why can’t they make a decent left-handed laser torch?" A small dark haired woman screamed from a platform near the left leg of the suit.

"Jade, is that any way to greet old friends? You almost took Lu’s head off with that thing." Solo said waving at the woman.

"Shut up Maxwell." She said rolling her dark eyes. "Hello Lu."

"So they got you too huh?" Lu said offering his arm to help Jade down from the platform she was standing on.

"From the start. While the two of you were hunting up Tauruses I was working on these beasts. Why couldn’t I have just been a surgeon like my sisters? It’s far less stressful." She wiped her sweat soaked brow. "Job’s almost done though. A few modifications to the Dragon here," She nodded towards the Gundam she had been working on. "And …" She said gesturing over towards a black suit behind Lu and Solo " a little work on the jamming array on Hecate there and we’ll be all set. Thank the gods."

"Hey Jade who said you could have a break?" A new voice called.

"Tell your baka son and his friend to leave me alone and I’ll get back to work." She answered the older man walking up to them.

"Pop." Solo said smiling. Giving the man a hug.

"Hey boy. Lu, how’s it goin?" Duo Maxwell asked shaking Lu’s hand.

"Fine." Lu grunted.

"What’s wrong with him?" Duo asked, turning to his son.

"Nothing Pop, it’s just that Lu’s girlfriend is in a holding cell somewhere." Solo chuckled. Jade and Duo both looked at Lu wide eyed.

"Girlfriend? Since when does he have time for a girlfriend?’ Jade gasped.

"She’s not my girlfriend Solo." Lu shot the group a threatening glance. "And no I don’t want to discuss it."

"Okay, then why don’t I introduce you boys to the rest of the team." Duo said gesturing in the direction he had come from. "They’re in the conference room. We were preparing to start the latest briefing." Duo and Lu turned and walked towards the far side of the room.

"Sounds good to me." Solo said offering his arm to Jade. "My lady…"

"Maxwell, please." Jade shook her head and followed Duo and Lu.

***

The conference room was small. There was barely enough room for the furniture and the massive vid screen along its northern wall, let alone people.

"Boys I’d like to introduce you to Preventer Shadow." Duo said gesturing to a blonde man sitting at the room’s long table.

The man rose to his feet. "You can call me Alex, all these codenames don’t sit too well with me."

"Hey Al what’s up?" Solo said shaking his hand. Lu only nodded his recognition.

"Alex here will pilot the second generation Heavyarms." Duo said pulling up an image of the suit on the vid screen. It was a quite impressive remake of the Heavyarms custom suit. Jade and Lu sat down at the table with Alex.

"What about me pop? Do I get my own Deathsycthe?" Solo said jumping up and down like a kid waiting to get a new toy at Christmas.

"Something like that my boy." Duo said pulling another image up on the vid screen. A large blue and black suit appeared on screen. It resembled the Deathsycthe Hell only it was a bit smaller. "Say hello to the Hades."

"Sweet!" Solo yelped unable to control his excitement. Another suit replaced the Hades on screen. "Awww man." Solo said.

"Shut up Maxwell. You can drool over your suit later." Jade called from her seat.

"This is Jade’s suit the Dragon. Although don’t let Wufei hear you call it that." Duo said chuckling.

Solo glanced at Jade. "Daddy doesn’t like your suit Jadie?"

Jade grimaced at the comment. "Father has his own ideas about proper mobile suit names, and our clan name is not one of them."

Duo switched the images on the screen again. Lu’s stomach tightened as he looked at it. "That’s the…"

"Yup, Tallgeese III. A little present from your old man. I had no idea that he had kept it all these years. Sneaky bastard, I bet he’s got Noin’s old Taurus stashed somewhere too." Duo chuckled.

"Hey if Lu’s getting the Tallgeese then whose suit is that in the other room?" Solo asked more than a little confused.

"Ah the Hecate." Duo said pulling up the image of what appeared to be a black version of Epyon on screen. "That suit belongs to the Preventer of the same name. Speaking of which…where is the charming young lady?" Duo asked Alex.

"She said she was tired of waiting, and was going to finish running the diagnostic on Tallgeese." Alex said pointing towards the door that led to the hanger that held the completed suits.

"Well let’s go get her. We need everyone in here for the briefing." Duo said rising and walking towards the door. The others followed suit.

They walked past the Hades and Heavyarms II. Tallgeese stood in the far corner of the hanger. Its cockpit open. "Hecate, girl get your butt down here. The others have arrived and I’d like to get this briefing done before dinner." Duo called up to the open cockpit of the suit.

"I’m just finishing things up. Be right down." A voice answered. Lu’s head snapped up from where he had been admiring the suit’s heat rod. That voice…

"Lu what is it man? You looked like somebody slapped you." Solo said to his friend whose gaze was locked on the woman now descending from his mobile suit. "What is she hot or something… Oh man." Solo said in shock. Lu began to walk towards the brown haired woman. She reached the ground and began to walk towards the group but stopped short when she saw Lu approaching her.

The others exchanged confused glances. "What’s going on Solo?" Alex asked looking between the couple next to the suit and Solo.

"Yeah, spill it Maxwell. Why are those two looking at each other so strangely?’ Jade asked poking him in the shoulder.

"Guys that’s her." Solo said pointing towards the woman

"Who?" the other three asked in unison.

"That’s Lu’s girlfriend."

***

Lu looked at Rowan who was dressed in much the same way, as she was the first time he laid eyes on her. Only this time her grease-stained coveralls were Preventer issue.

"What are you doing here?" He asked.

"Some of your friends offered me a deal that was slightly better than spending the rest of my life in a holding cell." She said not meeting his eyes. "I figured being a Preventer couldn’t be all that bad. You seemed to like it."

"I was worried about you." He breathed, moving closer to her.

"I’m a big girl. I can take care of myself." She snapped though she didn’t try to move away.

"I know, you saved my tail remember." He said smiling. To his surprise she smiled back. Jackpot. He came closer.

"It’s a nice tail." She mumbled before she could stop herself. Where did that come from? Why do I constantly turn to jelly when I get around him?

They stood silently eyeing each other. Neither of them knowing quite what to say. They just knew that for what ever reason they were being drawn to one another.

"Hey, love birds, we have a meeting." Solo shouted at them breaking the spell.

"We should get going." Rowan said looking away.

Damn Solo. Lu thought frowning. "We’re on our way." He said as he and Rowan walked towards the others.