Disclaimer: I do NOT own Gundam Wing, if I did, I would probably take over the world, but yeah, that's just me.
Warning: some minor cussing here… consider urself warned
Chapter 3
Report
It was dark; the central power having been shut off hours ago. The only light came from the many computer screens running numbers in front of the man sitting at a desk. The rhythmic clicking of the keys by the man, whose figure was outlined only by the illumination of screens in front of him, paused as the other man approached.
"Well, it took you long enough to get here, Colonel," drawled the collectedly elegant voice from the man ahead of him. Ax cleared his throat nervously.
"I was held up by-"
"Do you think I want to hear your pitiful excuses? Report."
"Yes, of course. I've had the girl settled in already. She's gotten a room of her own in of the dormitories and Khan's on his way back to Earth."
"So, he won't be staying here to entertain us, then?"
"Er, no. He said that he had some urgent business back at-"
"Right. The bastard's still scared of me. That's nice to see." Ax almost flinched at the smug sound of his voice. "But back to the girl."
"You see, sir, I mean, er-"
"What? What should I see?"
"Khan just informed me of something before he left. Not only did I not know that Cal wasn't a boy, but I also didn't know that, well, the girl was a part of a certain prominent family in which they practiced-"
"You're not serious, I hope."
"Unfortunately, I am."
"Did the girl make some type of commitment to it? Does she even know about it?" The man's voice held something akin to concern, though Ax knew better than to be certain of it. If there were something that this man was worried about, it was himself.
"Yes and yes, I think she does."
"Hmm. How unfortunate."
"Yes, but also Khan also requested that she not be qualified to be specially chosen by you, because of this."
"Oh, you mean, he didn't want her to have to chicken out like he did?"
"Your answer?"
"When hell freezes over and the devil sings Hallelujah. She's probably the most qualified of the tiresome bunch here. I don't give a rat's ass what Khan wants. He has no say in the matter. It will be her choice when the time comes, as it was his choice to rejected my offer."
"But she-"
The man's voice sharpened immediately with the hint of a threat. "You have no say in the matter either, 'Commander'. Operation Meteor is soon to begin and all the others have been chosen. I need a prodigy and she is my choice whether you two like it or not." Ax dug his heels in, not willing to give up just yet.
"Then, we will request that you wait before you start."
"Wait? Why?" He could almost see the man's eyebrows arch into its patented recherché curve. "It begins in less than three years. She will need to train intensively and she will need all the time there is."
"One semester is not very long and I do have some say in this. You need my cooperation to find recruits and I will protect this girl whether you like it or not." Ax would've sworn that the man had chuckled in what seemed to be amusement, but it also might have been a cough.
"So I see you are still sore about me not choosing you, Ax. You weren't fit for it then and you aren't in the position to tell me what to do now. You need our help much more than we'll ever need yours. But I'll let you have this. I understand she will need time, so I will give it to her and to you. I also need to test her further. Her endurance, her stamina, her adaptability, all the things that a Gundam pilot will need. I'd especially like to see how she deals with the rest of the boys." The man paused as if to stop and think about what he was about to do. "I have no doubt that she will exceed even my standards."
"As do I." Ax turned to leave, hesitating for only a moment. "Thank you."
After the echoes of footsteps faded from the empty corridor, the clicking of the typing of keys continued in the dark room as if they had never stopped.
* Author's Notes *
hey, this is a short interlude to my next chapter, sorta to give u an idea what's going on behind the scenes. I like it. I also changed the name of this b/c I thought the other one was way too long. 'adustum' by the way, means to start a fire, ignite a fire, etc. if u've ever seen Endless Waltz or know the Preventor's policy on 'putting out fires', then I'm sure u get what I'm hinting at. ^_^ -w.r
