*********
Long Lost
Disclaimer: I still don't own GW or any of its characters. I tried, but Evilnmalice outbid me. (Fortunately it didn't pay up, so it doesn't own them either.)
Warnings: None
Pairings: so far, only 3x4, we'll see how things develop
Archive: Desolation Angels.
************
Chapter Seven: Council Meeting
************
It was a meeting of the best and brightest, of war heroes and world leaders. And it was taking place in Relena Darlien's basement. The Vice Foreign Minister herself perched cross-legged atop a table, twining a strand of honey hair around her fingers. In front of her, Duo had turned a chair backwards and sprawled across it, leaning folded arms across its back. Heero, Quatre and Catherine had scattered themselves about the room, and Trowa leaned against one wall in what had long become known as his favourite 'thinking pose.'
"Right." Heero popped open his computer and switched it on, drumming his fingers impatiently on the casing as he waited for it to load. "Anybody have information for the group before I show you what I found?"
Duo, Trowa and Cathy shook their heads. Relena and Quatre looked at each other and shrugged.
"Well...neither my brother nor Miss Noin knows anything," Relena offered. "They were both too young. Peygan said she was running from something going on in the Sanq Kingdom, but it was never made public." She sighed, resting her chin in her hand. "Sorry. Not much to go on, there, I know. I was thinking I could go back to the--to the Peacecraft mansion, where I found the picture. Maybe there would be something--letters, maybe. Journals. Records."
Heero nodded. He took his role as organiser of this mission quite seriously. "That's a good idea. Quatre?"
The blonde boy shook his head. "I asked Iria, but she was on Earth at the time. They only had one conversation. Most of my sisters didn't even know her...we're not exactly the closest family in space."
Heero nodded again. "Nobody does. They kept it out of the press, too. I've been searching for three days and this is the only thing I found." As his computer finally ceased whirring, he tapped a few buttons and words scrolled across the screen. "Here--this was published on page 16 of section D of the Sanq capital's newspaper. 'Her royal majesty, Queen Katrina, is planning a sabbatical following complications in the birth of her daughter the Princess. The Queen will be staying in the space colonies, as a guest of longtime friends of her late brother.'"
He finished, and passed the computer to Quatre to read. "That's it. It took me so long to find this, I haven't had a chance to look up information on the brother yet. I'll do that next."
"So we split up into teams?" Duo suggested, taking the computer from Quatre and passing it up to Relena. "Say...Trowa goes with Relena and Quatre to search the castle, and Heero, Cathy and I can hit the libraries and see what we can dig up there."
A low murmur of conversation finally ratified and confirmed the plan. "Right. Then you three get going...it's a long drive back to the mansion, you know. The rest of us...Heero, you said you're on the brother?"
Heero arched an eyebrow at Duo's sudden takeover of the mission plans, but nodded. "Hai."
Duo just grinned at him, the way only Duo could. "Great. And since you're a one-man-army all by yourself, even when it comes to hacking, that leaves me and Cathy to hunt through whatever was going on in the court at the time and see what she was running from."
Heero, in the midst of typing, paused and looked up. "/You/ and /Catherine/ are in charge of analysing court life?"
"Now, now..." Catherine grinned, easing out of her chair and leaning over his shoulder to see what he was typing. Heero tolerated it remarkably well, being himself. "Just because we're of the common stock ourselves doesn't mean we can't /read/, Heero."
"Looks like they're off to a great start already," Trowa murmured, as Relena ushered him and Quatre out the door. "I suppose I'm driving?"
"Please?" Quatre asked hopefully. "We want to get there fast."
Relena made a face. "Actually I'd like to get there in one piece...I've seen you drive..." She shrugged, then, an exaggerated motion that matched the twinkle in her eyes. "Oh well. I suppose courting death once more can't hurt. Let's get going."