It was full night by the time the four mobile suit pilots had docked inside the Lesseps and disembarked to rendezvous with the Desert Tiger. Yzak stood inside the crowded hangar, massaging both shoulders and cracking his neck experimentally, glad to be free of his confined cockpit. It wasn't until recently that he'd decided the space was far too small. Dearka watched the deck hands milling about, while Nicol kept to himself.
"Let's go," came the raspy voice of Envy, as the homunculus prodded Athrun in the back. "Get a move on, you three."
Dearka frowned, and Yzak fixed his face with a mutinous scowl, but they obeyed just the same. Nicol didn't even blink. The sinewy homunculus had a long blade at their azure-eyed leader's back; he was determined not to try anything that would get Athrun Zala hurt. The youngest boy thanked his lucky stars that the other two pilots were smart enough to do the same.
Andrew Waltfeld turned around in his chair with a practiced ease as they entered the bridge, a cup of coffee clenched in his hand. "Well it's about time," he announced. "I got so bored I had to take a walk outside."
"Sir," Athrun saluted, noting gratefully that Envy had retreated to one corner of the room, "We're sorry for any inconvenience we may have caused you. Also, the Commander gives his thanks for allowing us to store our mobile suits on the Lesseps."
"That Le Creuset," Waltfeld muttered, "He'd better be thanking me. He knows this ship is only built to carry BaCUEs. And as for your tardiness," he grinned, "Not to worry. I actually met an interesting duo while I was outside."
Athrun refrained from asking just whom it was that the Tiger had come across. Instead he cleared his throat. "And what are our orders now that we're here, Sir?"
"Orders?" Waltfeld snorted. "Same as mine. Sit tight and wait."
"What?" Yzak exploded, taking a step forward. "We just wait? What for?"
"Subordinates should remember to keep their tempers in check in the presence of their superiors," the Desert Tiger stated coolly, indulging himself with another sip of coffee from his mug.
"Yes. Be quiet or I'll eat you," Gluttony exclaimed from his spot at the wall, and Waltfeld fixed his relaxed gaze on the obese homunculus.
"Really now, I doubt the boy would taste very good," he counseled professionally, "I'd try this coffee if I were you. It's superb."
Yzak was too stunned to speak. His mouth opened and closed in silent rage, but not a word managed to leak out. Dearka put a steady hand on the silver-haired youth's shoulder, and Yzak immediately clamped his jaw shut.
"Well then, Mr. Desert Tiger," the blonde began, "What exactly are you planning?"
"Oh, quite the little excursion, in fact," he told them, fiddling with the keys on the video screen until a static image of the Central Library came into focus. "See that building there? In there is where they're holding our little pink princess." He pretended not to notice the way Athrun Zala shifted, clenching his fists with wrath. "Apparently she was taken away during an agreement that was made between Commander Le Creuset and a one of the inhabitants of Central."
"That isn't true!" Athrun nearly shouted in his haste to disagree. "I was there! The Commander agreed to let Lacus Clyne be used in some plan of his, and it was one of those creatures that took her!" He pointed an accusing finger at Envy and Gluttony.
"Now then." Andrew's lips twisted into a menacing smile. "I'd watch what you say. We can't have one of our own soldiers spreading false information around, can we? There's a very severe punishment for things like that."
The blue-haired youth was seething. "But—"
"Athrun, it's no use," Nicol cut in quietly, placing a reassuring hand on his arm. "We know what really happened because you told us." The younger boy kept his voice so low that even Athrun had to strain to hear him. "Try not to lose your temper. We'll figure something out." He released him only when the azure-eyed pilot nodded.
"As I was saying," the Tiger went on, "The State has Lacus held captive, which throws a rather large monkey wrench into our plans. Lucky for us, Commander Le Creuset has come up with an interesting solution. We'll be using Lacus Clyne to…lure a certain element our way, shall we say. Once that's done…"
"Once that's done," Envy cut in, growing impatient with the Tiger's useless embellishment of the facts, "Then you Coordinator idiots use the Stone we're giving you to blow the little legged ship to pieces, we take the Fullmetal for our own purposes, and everyone goes home skipping like a child on the first day of spring. Get it now?"
"Well," Waltfeld mused, "That isn't how I would have put it, but if you insist…" He caught the looks on the faces of the four mobile suit pilots. "What this means is that we're finally going to win this war. Cheer up. We're being nice, see? We'll even go out of our way to avoid blasting this city into oblivion."
"As for me," Envy announced, throwing his hands into the air and stretching luxuriously, "I couldn't care less what happens to this place. Gluttony!" The other homunculus removed a sticky finger from the corner of his mouth upon hearing his name. "Go find Lust and tell her not to make any mistakes." The bald creature scampered off.
"The Earth Forces will arrive soon," Waltfeld predicted. "Not long ago I heard the legged ship was on its way. We'll have a nice surprise arranged for them." His smile was disturbingly sinister.