Times of Felicitation and War
Times of Felicitation and War
by Lady Deona
Chapter 4: Accepted by Pilot 6
On the next day, Tira was released from the hospital, to her obvious relief.
"But there is a condition," the doctor had said, "You'll need a checkup weekly for about a month. Either Iria or the family doctor can do this and they'll report the findings to me."
She thought for a moment then replied, "Okay, doc. Anything to get out of this place."
"I never thought I would see you hate hospitals," Quatre chided after they were outside the building, "When we were younger, you'd come to them and visit the patients often."
"Yes, but I wasn't cooped up before like I have been these past few days. I noticed the others haven't come with us."
He nodded and replied, "Heero's staying with Relena, Trowa is already at the destination, Wufei and Sally have gone for a walk, but he said he'll be there later and Duo's still a patient."
"That probably why Une didn't come along," she said, "With three o-- Gundam pilots along, I should be fine."
Before Quatre could ask, they heard a pair of stomachs growling loudly.
They laughed and the blond Arab asked, "How about lunch first?"
"Sonata Cafe?"
He smiled and replied, "Just what I had in mind."
***************
The bell rang as the door that it was attached to opened, admitting a rather familiar pair.
Jamie looked up and smiled, saying, "Hi, Quatre! Hi, Tira!"
"Hi there," Tira replied with a tired smile.
"You must be exhausted," the waitress observed, "Here, you two sit at the table by the window."
"Thanks," Quatre said gratefully and helped Tira to the designated area.
"I heard about Relena getting shot," the waitress said, "But what happened to you?"
"Just exhaustion," Tira said, hoping Quatre couldn't detect the lie, "Worked myself too hard."
"Hm, I doubt it was from work. But anyway, is Trowa coming in?"
Both shook their heads, which caused Jamie's face to be crestfallen.
"What," Quatre teased, "Are you in love with him or something?"
The waitress looked shocked and apprehensive as she asked with a small, nervous laugh, "W-why would you ask that?"
"Yep," Tira said, "Cupid made another direct hit."
"I'd say so. Don't worry, we won't say anything," Quatre agreed with her.
"Oh...okay, thanks. Oh no I forgot to ask for your order," Jamie replied and got the order sheet out.
"Tenderloin sandwich," Tira said, "with mayonaise."
"Hmm...a double cheeseburger, fries and some ginger tea," Quatre ordered.
"How's cinnamon tea? We're out of ginger."
"Okay," he replied and watched as Jamie went off to give the food orders to the cook.
Tira raised an eyebrow, saying with a light tone, "Double cheeseburger? Rashid would have a fit if he knew you ate that."
"Rashid doesn't know everything that I do. In this case--" he replied.
Both completed, "It's none of his business."
"And Camille would be lecturing you about eating greasy foods too," he joked, remembering Tira's mother always reprimanding her about eating burgers and chicken.
"Yeah but I never listened, did I?"
"Luckily for you," he replied and found himself staring into her green-gray eyes...and drowning into them.
She smiled softly and then noticed a small bulge in Quatre's pocket and a brown item barely showing.
He followed her gaze and saw the item, taking it out of the pocket and said a bit sheepishly, "Oh...I had almost forgotten about this. I was going to give this to you on your birthday, but with what happened then--"
"It's okay," she reassured him with one of her quiet smiles, "Getting your best friend shot and then collapsing in the hospital will ruin anyone's day."
His eyes misted slightly at that memory, but he quickly shook it off mentally and handed her the brown item, which was a fuzzy box.
Tira's eyes widened when she opened it and saw what was inside.
In the box was a silver ring with a medium sized perfect diamond.
"Q-quatre?" she asked, her heart beating a bit faster.
He nodded and said, "This might not seem as formal...but we're not exactly ones for stiff tradition."
"That's for sure," she chuckled and wondered just what he meant by formal.
Her question was answered when he said, "You know how much I love you...after what those...people tried to do to you, I knew I couldn't bear to even think of life without you."
I hope I'm not making a fool out of myself, Quatre thought to himself, shielding the thought so Tira couldn't pick it up and asked out loud, "Tira Kylen Felice...will you marry me?"
She thought for a moment, face and mind unreadable, which worried Quatre a little.
She then grinned and said, "Yes! Of course I'll marry you!"
He smiled a smile of joy and wrapped his arms around her...and found himself kissing her with a soft passion a moment later.
A loud noise outside a minute later broke the kiss and they turned to the window.
"They argue loud, don't they?" Tira asked as he put the ring on her finger.
On the sidewalk near the cafe, Wufei and Sally were standing and arguing rather loudly.
Quatre laughed and replied, "They sure do. He thinks women should be seen and not heard. They're blind to the fact that they like each other."
Tira winced slightly and said, "Like I was about you until four months ago. Though I remember from the inscription that Wufei was involved with some matchmaking back then. Do you think--"
Jamie came back in with the food and said, "Yep. It wasn't just matching Relena and Heero, that was secondary. They were mostly matching the two of you."
The pair looked at each other at this news and Quatre mused, "Hmm...Wufei was involved, eh?"
Tira grinned and said, "A rhetorical statement but are you thinking what I'm thinking?"
He chuckled and replied, "Absolutely."
Jamie put the orders down, pulled up a chair and said, "Another matchmaking scheme?"
"Two of them," Tira and Quatre said at the same time.
She chuckled and said, "Can I help in this one?"
"Sure can," was the reply from the blonde Arab.
Jamie said with a grin, "Whoever said payback was a bear never got involved in matchmaking."
***************
A tall young woman with pale blonde hair and strange eyebrows sat on a bench across the street from the expansive Felice mansion.
Damn, she thought, I know the spy at the hospital said she was coming here with Quatre. What could be taking them so long?
In the middle of her mental fuming, the phone that she carried with her rang.
She took it out and pressed a button, saying, "Yes?"
There was a slight chittering that could be heard on the other end.
She sighed and said, "Leave the Vice-Foreign Minister alone for the time being. As weak as she is, she won't be doing any snooping around for a while...especially with the secondary poison still in her system."
An alarmed blast of noise emerged.
"Don't worry about her. When the time comes, you'll get a chance to finish the job. You know what to do about our captured comrades. And make sure the activities in L3 go well."
A male voice on the other end asked clearly, "What about the empath?"
"I'll take care of miss Tira Felice myself. Tell the others that they have two days until Operation: Rebirth begins. Drill well."
"Of course, Lady Catalonia," the other voice said and the line went dead.
She shook her head, and muttered as she hung up, "Can't find decent soldiers these days..."
A minute later, a car arrived, pulling up in front of the front door.
Quatre exited from the driver's seat and opened the other door, helping a familiar brown haired woman out.
"There they are," Dorothy Catalonia said quietly with a cruel smile.
***************
Trowa and Wufei arrived outside when they heard Quatre's car pull up.
"Where have you two been?" The Chinese boy asked sternly, "You took quite a while getting from the hospital."
Quatre looked at Tira and smiled sheepishly, saying, "Sorry...we stopped by the Sonata Cafe and had lunch. Oh Trowa, Jamie says hi."
The tall, usually silent pilot nodded, although there was a slight flush to his face at the mention of the waitress.
"Ooo," Tira said with a wink, "Methinks he likes her!"
"None of your business," was the half-terse reply, "I noticed you didn't just eat lunch there."
Wufei looked at Tira's hand that wore the engagement ring and frowned slightly, saying, "Congradulations, you two."
"Thanks," Quatre replied with a smile and a blush.
Pagan hurried outside, saying, "I beg your pardon, Miss Tira, but there's an urgent transmission for you from someone."
"Who is it from?" she asked.
"He simply said to tell you that it was an old teacher of yours."
She nodded and excused herself, walking into the mansion and seating herself at a computer.
"I have a feeling I know who it is," she muttered as she called up her messages. As she suspected, a message in dark print appeared.
From: Professor H and Doctor J
To: All Gundam pilots
There is word from our sources that a pair of depots in the L3 colony cluster are arming themselves and signs of White Fang members coming together have been confirmed. One of the colonies in the section is being held hostage in addition.
Mission: Destroy the depots and free the colony. This is a solo mission.
Tira took in a sharp breath, her face devoid of emotion, though her eyes sparked with anger.
"Hostages..." she whispered and sent a reply message, which consisted of only one sentence.
Mission accepted by Pilot 6.
"Trowa?" she called out, "Can I talk to you a minute? It's important."
The tall pilot nodded and went into the room where Tira was seated by the computer.
"Is something wrong?"
"You could say that," she replied in a voice that could almost rival Heero's and she swung the screen so Trowa could see it.
He read the message and nodded.
"I would offer to go with you."
"No, Trowa. Professor H left it an open invitation on purpose. He wants to see how I do on a real mission."
"But the Gundams--"
She shook her head, saying, "Tempting, but all but one are not finished rebuilding or final checks yet. The finished one is mine."
"I see. You want me to keep Quatre busy while you're taking care of this?"
"That's right. Don't worry, I'll be back from this in no time."
He nodded and watched as Tira pressed a hidden switch on the desk, causing the wall on the far end to open up. She gathered what looked like a green and brown jumpsuit and disappeared into the passageway.
The wall closed again within seconds.
When he went into the living room, Quatre asked, "Is everything okay?"
"Yes. Tira's had some business come up and she went to take care of it. She should be back by late tonight," he replied, giving Wufei a sideways glance as he said it.
The Chinese boy nodded, flinching slightly at Trowa's tone.
Damn it! The day she's released from the hospital, the Mad Scientists hand her a mission, he thought, although glad that Tira had given him some lessons of shielding his thoughts, She may be a pilot-in-training on her first mission...but that doesn't mean I like it.
"Oh..." the blonde Arab said and quickly went to a computer to contact his sisters, telling them he would be staying at Tira's place for a while.
***************
A beep emitted from the cockpit, waking Tira almost immediately.
"Hmm? Wh-what's up?" she asked, shaking the cobwebs from her head.
An artificial voice answered, "Pilot Felice, we are three minutes from the L2 colony cluster."
She nodded and said, "Thank you. Autopilot off."
At the command, the Gundam switched from the autopilot that Tira had set before taking a nap.
The screen in front of her blinked: Manual Control established.
"Okay," she said in a low voice, "Let's get started. The first depot is just on the L2 border, if I remember."
She then called up a schematic of the depot, including number of staff.
"No civilians here," she said quietly, "That's a relief...well, let's stick it to 'em, shall we, Felicity?"
***************
The people in the main office of the depot were startled by an alarm that had not gone off in a little over a year, since the end of Mariemaia's coup.
"What's going on?" the commander asked.
"You're not gonna believe this sir," a young lieutenant replied, "But we have an unidentified mobile suit closing in on us at high speed."
"On screen."
The screen lit up to show an unusually slim green and brown mobile suit approaching.
"I thought most mobile suits were a bit bulky," one ensign said, "I'd say it's almost feminine."
"Sir!" the lieutenant turned pale and said, "The suit composition has been confirmed. That thing's a Gundam!"
"You had better be joking, Rawlston!"
"No joke. Made out of Gundanium alloy," Rawlston replied.
"Report confirmed, sir," the ensign said.
The commander swore and said, "Get a message to Lady Catalonia right now!"
"Aye, sir."
As the message was sent, the ensign reported, "Gundam's weapons are charging!"
The commander said, "Deploy our own mobile--"
Before he could finish the sentence, a beam of white light coming from the gundam was the last thing the commander saw.
***************
Tira frowned slightly as she prepared one of her weapons, a buster rifle, to fire.
"I would have offered to you a chance to surrender," she said quietly, "But not after you started sending that message. As a friend put it, those who lay eyes on a Gundam shall not live to tell about it...especially this one."
She sighed, and pressed the button to fire.
Within a couple of minutes, the depot exploded and Felicitation quickly left, headed for the next target.
***************
Quatre was cooking in the kitchen of the mansion when a program that Wufei was watching on the television was interrupted.
Trowa, who was reading a book, put the object down and listened.
"We interrupt this program to bring you a special news report. Just under three hours ago, two supply depots in the L3 colony were destroyed, one being on the edge of the colony limits. No survivors have been reported," an announcer stated.
"Looks like someone's been busy," Trowa commented with an unsurprised tone.
The announcer was handed another piece of paper and he said, "This just in...apparently, the hostage situation on one of the major L3 colony structures is at an end as of an hour ago. According to reports, the mysterious benefactor is said to be a mobile suit of unknown design and origin. Before we could photograph the benefactor's mobile suit or interview its pilot, it disappeared without a trace."
Wufei and Trowa suddenly heard a slight rumbing coming from what was a short distance away, and yet also beneath them.
The two pilots then walked from the living room to the room that Tira had used the computer in.
"What are we doing in here?" Wufei asked.
Trowa studied the desk a minute and then pressed a small button.
The wall from before opened up.
"She used this path to depart for L3," was the quiet reply.
"So I see," Wufei said, a bit irritated as he followed Trowa into the wall opening.
The wall closed behind him and the capsule-shaped room they were in began to slowly drop.
Neither pilot said a word as the now-apparent elevator continued on its path...and in a couple of minutes, it opened.
As the two entered the vast area, they were treated to the sight of a green and brown mobile suit being lowered on a rather large elevator.
"Is that...Tira's Gundam?" Wufei asked.
"Sure is," a voice behind them stated.
They turned and saw Tira, wearing a blue-green body suit, looking at them with bemusement and mild irritation.
"How you found this Gundam's dock doesn't matter, but as long as you're here--" she said and pointed to the strange mobile suit.
"Hey, Felicity, say hello," she called out, "And scan them into your memory."
The gundam's eye-lights blinked for moments and a mechanical, slightly female voice said, "Scan complete. Greetings, Trowa Barton and Wufei Chang."
Trowa blinked.
"Surprised? Felicitation's equipped with an AI system. Actually, all the Gundams were when you fought in them...but it wasn't as advanced as this one is."
One of the workers in a white jumpsuit walked up to them and said, "Ah, Tira, there's a slight problem that just showed up on the scanner.
"Oh? What is it?" she asked, all business.
"The belt compartment hinges are rather loose. I'd say that when H built her that he ran out of gundanium screws."
She groaned, rolled her eyes and said, "I should have figured. We have some appropriate screws available so fix the area and send a message to Professor H."
"Of course, ma'am," the worker replied, "The last thing you need are the grenades to fall out of there on the next mission. I'm surprised they didn't this time."
"Indeed," she said quietly.
Trowa and Wufei's eyes widened and they both asked, "Grenades?"
"Mm-hmm. Just below the midsection is what's commonly called the belt compartment. Inside there are about 20 or so grenades."
The normally-silent pilot nodded and said, "I would not want to be on the wrong end of a battle with you. I see your mission was a success."
"As Duo would say, 'big time'. Where's Quatre?"
"He's in the kitchen, cooking something," Wufei replied, "Thankfully, he wasn't in the living room when the special bulletin came on. You made the news."
She nodded and said, "Mmm...Now I'm hungry. I'll go change out of the combat uniform, take a quick shower and then I'll be topside."
At that moment, another white-jumpsuited worker came up and said, "Good news, Tira! Gundams Heavyarms and Altron have just passed final checks."
"Excellent! Marks, show these two to their Gundams. They can move them to the main docking bay themselves," she commanded with a smile and said to her friends, "I remember Quatre telling me that no pilot touches or messes with another's Gundam."
Both nodded gratefully and she added, "Oh and don't worry. This entire underground base is soundproof."
Wufei and Trowa followed Marks but the Chinese young man asked, shocked, "You're rebuilding all the Gundams down here?"
"Call it intuition, call it psychic," she replied, "I started rebuilding them about a year ago."
The pilots nodded.
***************
Quatre walked out of the kitchen, hands and face smuged by oil and smoke, and walked towards the living room area where he had left Trowa and Wufei.
As he walked, he heard the pilots' voices...as well as a familiar female's light voice.
As he entered the room, he grinned widely, forgetting his appearance for the moment, and said, "Tira! How was the business you had to take care of?"
She grinned wearily and said, "Oh...it went as well as could be expected. In fact, I'd say it was a blast."
He smiled softly, said, "I'm glad..." and held her tightly, forgetting that he was a mess.
"Smells good. What's cooking?"
Quatre sniffed the air and murmured, "Oh no, the chicken!" before letting go of her and running back into the kitchen.
She chuckled and said to Trowa, "Regardless of what it looks like, Quatre's a very good cook, and it looks like he gave all the cooks the night off again."
Before anything else could be said, everyone heard the ring of the doorbell.
"I'll get it," she smiled and said to her friends.
"Not alone you won't," Trowa replied as he and Wufei went with her to the door.
Tira opened it with a little smile...which vanished into shock and apprehension when she saw who stood on the other side.
Trowa and Wufei had similar looks on their faces.
"You! What are you doing here?" The tall pilot asked.
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