A/N: This is the first story I've written since ... well in a very long time. It's an idea I had before and I've decided to write it out. I'd appreciate feedback. :) Enjoy!

AC 200 … Colony L4

There were rumors of a female gundam pilot.

How these rumors began was a complete mystery to the Preventer Organization. Out of nowhere, the office was filled with gossip on another gundam pilot fighting for justice alongside them. There had been no indication of a female gundam pilot from the time the five original pilots began Operation Meteor to now. Still, the rumors continued. It was a mysterious phenomenon. Although the five ex-pilots believed the rumors held no water, the head of the organization on L4, Lady Une, wished to quell these rumors by seeking any truth to the matter. After all, sometimes there was a grain of truth in every lie. None of them were pleased with their current mission, especially Heero and Wufei. Even so, the five of them continued on with their task. The faster they would dispel the rumors, the faster they would return to the real missions they so desired.

So the next afternoon, the investigations began with the five ex-pilots questioning their former mentors. After meeting with Lady Une on the details of their current mission, they walked alongside one another down the large parking lot towards their own cars, ready to make their trip to their respective mentors from the war. Contrary to public knowledge, the scientists had miraculously survived the explosion on Peacemillion during the war. They were found floating among the debris in space. All were unconscious and badly wounded from the explosion, but they were safe nonetheless. After their recovery, they've gone their separate ways and settled down into the clandestine lifestyles they've so longed for since the war. Only the Preventer Organization was aware of their survival.

"It's a little ridiculous, don't you think?" Duo nudged Quatre, who walked beside him. "The things people make-up these days, and now we have to go check up on it." Duo rolled his eyes, obviously annoyed.

"You mean the rumors?" A skeptical smile was etched on Quatre's face, "Yeah, I don't see how it's possible. How did people come up with the idea?"

"Well," Wufei interjected with his arms crossed, "some people were thinking that this other pilot would act as a replacement if any of us failed the mission."

I suppose that makes sense. Quatre mused.

"If that were the case, wouldn't this person have appeared during the time of the war?" Heero said gruffly.

That is also true. So why now? Quatre sighed, and then he looked over to Trowa, "What do you think, Trowa?"

Trowa, hearing his name called, glanced at Quatre before answering, "I think this is a complete waste of our time. Like what Heero said, 'why hasn't the person appeared during the war'?"

It was true. If there was someone that was meant to be a so called replacement for any of them, why did the person's existence only become known now? At the same time, this person couldn't be working alongside them. Unlike the war where the adopted mindset was to kill or be killed, today, they followed a more passive mindset where they didn't wish to kill anyone unless they had no other choice. This other pilot was acting like they were back in war.

"Although," Trowa began to say, "there have been news on a new group, former OZ and White Fang members conducting illegal transactions of military weapons and gundanium alloy. Of course, that detail was removed from the news."

Wufei hummed, recalling the news report, "That's right. In fact, the news didn't even make the front page. It only made a petty portion in the newspaper for one day then the next, it's gone, because the important details were classified from the public."

A frustrated groan was heard from Duo who began scratching his head in irritation. "Yeah, yeah, we've heard about that during the last meeting with Une. Their operation had completely flown under our radar, but fortunately the deal was botched because of some disagreement between the groups, and they all killed each other."

"Or so it appears," Heero grunted.

That's right. Quatre's eyes lit up in recollection. "Lady Une mentioned it was a little suspicious considering there have been two other incidents and each incident ended up in failure and their leader assassinated. We've concluded that it was just a conflict between groups and immediately dismissed it." This time Quatre had a puzzled look on his face. "Is it possible that this other pilot is involved?"

No one said anything. Was there really another person, their supposed replacement in the war, eliminating the leaders of the underground groups from the White Fang and OZ organizations? It seemed a little far-fetched, but that didn't stop any of them thinking of the likelihood of this rumor to be actually true. Someone could have eliminated their adversaries just like they would have done back during the war. This person could have planted themselves in either group and took out the leader. The more they thought about it, the more theories their brains supplied. It was not until they had reached the closest car, Duo's own, when the silence was finally broken.

Duo waved to the group, "Anyway, I'll see you guys back at headquarters next week. Gotta check with G back in L2." He took out his keys and grumbled, "Man, the things people come up with these days."

With that, he entered his car and was on his way. Not too long after, the rest of the group had said their goodbyes and left in their own cars to their mentors' home. As they drove, the same thought crossed their minds:

"Is it possible?"

Quatre was the fortunate one among the group regarding his mentor. Unlike the others, Instructor H's location was on the same colony the main headquarters currently resided. He looked down at the paper in his hands that his mentor gave him long ago. On it were directions to the man's address. Quatre nodded, mentally working out the route he needed to take to his destination. As soon as he drove past the business district, the once busy streets of L4 slowly began to trickle down to nothing. It was quite refreshing to Quatre. He had been so busy lately managing his father's company together with his sister, Iria, and working with the Preventers Organization with the other ex-pilots that he almost forgot how calming this was.

He let out a calming sigh. We should find some time off to just relax and have fun.

When Quatre caught sight of the familiar rustic part of L4, he slowed down, knowing he would be arriving shortly as his destination. There were very few buildings in this area, and many of the buildings were divided by beautiful greenery, be it fields or an entire forest. Still the beauty they tried to bring from the Earth could never be compared. Soon enough, he saw a simple ivory-colored home up ahead. It was a charming one-story home with blue-gray roof, just as his mentor described on the paper. He parked by the curb and looked at his surroundings. It felt so serene just being there. There were no sounds of the hustle and bustle of busy people hurrying off to work or even the sounds of car engines zooming by every minute. All that Quatre could hear was the sound of the wind breezing by, the delicate laughter of some children playing, and the chirping of the birds that dwelled in the area. It was very tranquil.

Quatre stepped out of his car and walked over to the mailbox in front of the house. On the mailbox was a nameplate: Gerard Holtzclaw. This was Instructor H's real name. Since the end of the war, all of the creators of the gundams have gone back to using their real names; names that lead no trace to their former lives to all but the Preventers Organization. After seeing the nameplate, Quatre was sure that this was the home of his former mentor. He walked past the mailbox and knocked on the door of his mentor's home.

There was no answer.

Quatre knocked again, louder this time, thinking that maybe the thumping went unheard the first time. Still, there was no response. He frowned and decided to take a look around the house. The right wing of the house had a patio gazebo furnished with a table and a couple chairs. Not too far from that was a hammock, rocking gently from the afternoon breeze. As Quatre walked around the house, he soon found himself standing in front of a greenhouse. Its door was left open. Quatre walked inside and was amazed at the vast greenery surrounding him. There were different types of plants growing there, he noted, and many of them were exotic.

"This is amazing," Quatre murmured.

Suddenly, he heard a small rustle up ahead.

"Hello?" Quatre called out. "Is someone here?"

From above the foliage in front of him, a head popped up. It had to be his mentor. Quatre walked over to him and found him standing in front of a group of plants, working his gloved hands on the soil. They were hydrangeas, if memory served him right.

"Quatre, what a surprise!" Gerard glanced at Quatre before turning back to his work. "What brings you here? Is another war upon us already?"

Quatre shook his head amusingly. "Of course not. We're making sure peace remains on Earth and the colonies for a long time."

"Oh so then I ask again, my boy. What bring you here?" He continued tending to the hydrangeas.

"Instructor – "

"Quatre," his mentor smiled wryly, "I haven't been called as such since the war. Please, just call me Gerard."

"Ah, of course, Gerard." Quatre chuckled.

Gerard chortled at the sound of his name. It would be something Quatre was going to get used to. "Now, what is it that you came here for? It must be pretty important."

He watched his mentor work and decided that it would be best to get straight to the point. "I wanted to ask about another gundam pilot. A woman perhaps?"

There was a pause before Gerard fully turned his attention on Quatre. His brows furrowed. "Female gundam pilot?"

"Yes."

Gerard hummed and asked, "What brought this on?"

"Well, there were rumors going around the organization about it."

"Were there any evidence indicating as such?"

"No, but— "

"That's why you're here." Gerard smiled and began to peel off the sullied gloves, "Let's sit in my patio. We can talk comfortably there."

At the patio, Gerard had offered Quatre some iced tea, which he accepted obligingly. When the two of them sat under the comfortable shade of the patio, Quatre took that moment to see how much his mentor had changed the past couple years. Gerard had lost some weight, no longer being the stout mad scientist everyone remembered. On the other hand, he still kept his thin, dark mustache as sharp as ever. Gerard's normal white button-up shirt and black tie wrapped with his lab coat were replaced with a pastel blue polo shirt and brown pants. Even the strained appearance of having to work night and day on the gundams was gone. Quatre remembered him usually covered in the grime and sweat from his hard work. Now with the war over, there was an air of contentment around his mentor. It was a definite change from the war; a really good change.

"So," Gerard began, "there are rumors about a female gundam pilot?"

Quatre nodded. "Yes. Lady Une asked to look into it in case there was any truth to the matter."

"What have you found so far?"

"At first the thought was ridiculous seeing as how this female gundam pilot was supposed to act as a substitute if any of us had failed the mission, and we haven't heard anything until now. But lately there have been reports of failed transactions between former White Fang and OZ members usually ending with the leader eliminated. We were thinking maybe it was possible."

Gerard took a sip of his tea. "Well it certainly sounds possible, but I haven't heard of such a story during the war. As far as I'm aware, there were no replacements ready."

I guess it really is all a rumor. The operations were probably just conflicts between the groups.

"But if you ask me, Quatre," Gerard began, "I wouldn't completely throw out the idea of someone behind the assassinations of those groups."

Quatre arched his brow. "Do you know something about the assassinations?"

"Sorry, I do not, but if I happen to find out something, I'll let you know."

"Ah well, I guess this was all for naught." Quatre stood up and placed his glass upon the table. "Thank you for your help, Gerard. I should get going. It was really good to see you again after so long."

Gerard waved his hand back to Quatre's seat. "Sit, sit. I'm sure you're in no hurry to return anyway. How about we just relax for a bit before you go? We can just sit and talk like the old times; an old mentor and his former student."

There was a gentle smile on Quatre's face before he sat down and talked with his old mentor until darkness began to settle.

TBC