He woke up a few days later, and for a moment pretty confused (I
then found out later from him was that the last thing he remembered before he
passed out was that he was in his ruined cockpit with his blood floating about,
but it's rather irrelevant right now)...
"Tifa!!" he called out happily as he grabbed me, mistaking me for
this person, his head resting on my....
"Hey, leggo, you pervert!" I shouted, indignant, as I shove him
roughly from my chest. The boy was just as surprised as I am and then doubled
over in pain. "Hey, you shouldn't be moved around like that." I
advice him, concerned.
"Well you're the one who pushed me!" He began to shout angrily, then
broke off, looking around his surroundings curiously. He realized then that he
was among perfect strangers. And I have to put him somewhat at ease.
"Oh, you've made a point...ahahahah...." I apologized. Then the boy
asked me about his mobile suit. He was going to rescue someone.
"You can't go anywhere in that condition," I reminded him.
"How long have I been here?"
"Five days. Why?"
"I'm already late as it is." He struggled to get up. Then I decided
to show him another reason why he shouldn't go anywhere.
******
"See?" I pointed out as the boy looked at his ruined Gundam.
"Even if you can pilot, the mecha is still undergoing repairs." An
idea came to me. "But we'll try to get it fixed as soon as possible if you
join us."
"Alright." The boy said, smiling. Knowing he has nothing else to lose
either… even as we speak, word of the Double X had most likely reached the
Colonies' ears. Satelicon is the only haven he had out there.
I held out my hand, he took it with his own and gave a shake. "Welcome to Satelicon."
I said.
"My name is Garrod Ran."
"Paula Cis. Nice to meet you."
*****
"So, who's Tifa?" I asked a few days later. This was after I gave my
report to my superior and I saw him on his bed, reading the manual about the
G-Falcon.
Garrod looked at me in surprise.
"You were calling out her name in your sleep.... 'Tifa! Tifa!'" I
said. "She a girlfriend of yours?" The boy blushed, so I knew what
the whole deal was all about.
"Well, not exactly....she's someone who's very special to me."
"Ah." There was no need for explanation. I looked at the book he was
reading on. "So, do you understand the basics of combination?"
Garrod nodded. "The G-Falcon is really something." He said.
"It's probably the reason why the commander asked me to be your partner."
I said. Seeing Garrod's expression I added "Yup, when we're wanted for
battle, they'll send both of us out there."
"I understand." He looked as I sat on my chair, stretching my legs a
bit.
His question startled me. "Paula, why are you involved with this? You were
also young when the war ended."
I smiled, a bit sad. "Well you see. I got involved with it somehow. My
parents were survivors from the SRA attack when they tried to take the Colonies
by force. We were all in that space ship when the fight ended, and no one tried
to rescue us. By the time Satelicon did come, my parents died. Somehow, I
managed to survive."
"Oh." For a moment Garrod looked like he was sorry he asked,
"You lost your parents in the war, just like me. 'Sad times. The memories
are also sad.'" I looked up at him in surprise. "Tifa said that to me
a long time ago." He explained, a look of nostalgia and longing on his
face. Whoever is this Tifa person obviously had a very strong hold on him.
"She did, huh?" I smiled.
"Yeah. And you know what's really amazing? She's just as old as we
are."
I chuckled for a minutem, digesting those words of wisdom and then eventually stood
up. "C'mon. There's something I want to show you....I'm sure you will be
pleased."
