An hour later Quatre, Trowa, Duo, Heero, and Relena Peacecraft had gathered in one of the larger rooms on the ship, their joy at the success of their mission dulled somewhat by Neri's condition. As the silence grew in the room, each thought back to when they had first met her over a month earlier.
* * *
Quatre and Duo
"Hey, Quatre, there's something weird on the scopes," Duo called out to his friend one evening, who was working on Sandrock.
"One moment—I'll be right there," he replied. Jumping off the ladder, Quatre went over to where Duo was staring at the screen. He wiped his greasy hands off with a towel as he asked, "Can you bring up a visual?"
"I'm working on it." Taps of keys echoed in the silence for a moment, then Duo's eyes widened. "Well, would you get a load of this."
"What is it?"
"It looks like another Gundam."
"What?"
"Yeah."
"Run it through the computer and see if it can determine any statistics."
"Way ahead of you, pal." A few more key taps brought up a rough diagnostic. "It's a nice one. Appears to have characteristics from Sandrock, Wing, and Heavyarms, too. Aww, nothing from the bringer of death… I'm hurt."
Quatre leaned back in the chair he was sitting in and let it sink in, oblivious to the other pilot's last remark. "So, there's another Gundam out there."
"Ye-up. I wonder what the pilot's like."
"Why don't we go out and meet him?"
Duo glanced over at his friend in amazement. "Why would you want to do that?"
"Well, we wouldn't want to find that he was an enemy on his grounds, right?"
"You have a point there. Okay, let's do it."
Five minutes later the two had boarded their respective suits and had blasted off in the direction of the new Gundam. Quatre contacted Heero and Trowa en route.
"You guys, we're on the trail of what looks like another Gundam," he told them.
"Are you sure?" Heero replied doubtfully.
"It sounds weird, but it seems to be a cross between your two Gundams and my own."
"Strange," was Trowa's only response.
"We're going to check it out. I'll contact you later. Quatre out."
A moment later they were closing in on the location of the new suit. The two were getting close to the lunar base of OZ, where mobile dolls were being manufactured. Off in the distance they saw flashes of light resulting from explosions. "Obviously there's a battle going on there," Duo commented. "He must be trying to take out a transport going to or from the lunar base."
"It looks like the other pilot is on par with us," Quatre mused.
"Seriously?"
"Seriously. Take a look."
The pair watched a violet-accented Gundam, similar in design to their own, cut a broad swath with his twin beam sabers and take out two suits closing in on him, then quickly turn and cut off the main weapon of another about to fire at his suit's head. Diving, he let more have their fire almost hit each other as they shot the spot where he had just been.
"Fancy flying."
"Mm hm. I'll try and contact him."
Duo's eyes narrowed. "Careful. We still don't know which side he's on."
"We're far enough away to avoid him if he's hostile. Just wait." Quatre broke their connection and established another with the unknown pilot, who had just finished his dogfight.
Odd, he thought silently. He's blocking the visual communications. Oh, well. We'll just have to rely on the voice communications instead.
"Hey, mister, how did you get that Gundam?" Quatre asked.
"It was given to me because I trained to be a Gundam pilot," a female voice answered.
A girl is piloting that? Incredible. "Which side are you on?"
"Same side as yours, I suppose…" She paused. "…except I work alone."
Sounds familiar. "Why not work with us?"
The girl answered by maneuvering her mobile suit further away from him and Duo. "At least tell me your name! I am Quatre Raberba Winner."
"I've heard that name before. I'm known as Neri Duvall," she said, introducing herself. However, that was all she meant to say, for just then she cut the connection and blasted off.
Quatre sat back in his seat, stunned. A girl was flying like that, and she had heard my name before. I wonder who she is… "Quatre?"
"Yeah, Duo?"
"How did it go?"
"Well, he's a she."
"A girl is piloting that thing that well?"
"Uh huh. Her name is Neri Duvall. Ever heard it before?"
"Nope. Hey, did you record your conversation? The guys will never believe this one."
"Of course. Without evidence, they'd think we were kidding about the whole thing."
"Yeah, they're that way all right."
* * *
Relena
Relena idly strolled around the streets of the small town near her school when there was a terrific crash to her left. Turning around, she saw mobile suits smashing the buildings all around her. Relena dashed along the sidewalk, trying to avoid the flying debris. Right as a large piece flew toward her, someone else knocked her to the ground, saving her from severe injury.
"You need to get out of here, Miss Relena!" her rescuer told her urgently.
"Who are you?" Relena asked, sitting up. A young woman of about fifteen—Relena's age—knelt next to her, with shoulder-length red-gold hair and green eyes. When she stood up, Relena saw that she was tall for a girl, and slender.
"My name is Neri Duvall," she replied.
"Thank you for saving me, Miss Duvall," Relena thanked her.
"Just Neri will do. Do you have some form of transport to get out of here?"
"No. I walked here."
"Would it be all right if I took you back to your school?"
"Yes."
Neri led Relena to a small blue car parked in a side street. She let her in, then hopped into the driver's seat and started the engine. Carefully Neri weaved through the streets to avoid attention. She's experienced in this kind of thing. I wonder where she comes from…I certainly don't recognize her.
"Where do you come from, Neri?" she asked.
"That's not something you need to know, Miss Relena," Neri told her.
Taken aback, she demanded, "And why is that?"
"You need to stay alive to help guide this turbulent time to peace. I can't let you get involved with me because it could destroy you."
Relena gasped. That's almost what Heero told me a while ago! "I'll destroy you." …Except she said it a little bit better than he did. "Are you a Gundam pilot, then?"
Neri glanced over at her, then back at the road. "I am. How much contact have you had with Heero Yuy?"
"A lot. Why?"
"You need to stay away from him. He's good, but very focused on our mission. You must understand this. I'm only saying it to protect you," she finished, seeing Relena open her mouth to protest.
Relena did not have time to respond, for they had reached her private school. "Thank you for bringing me back, Neri," she told her.
"I did it only for your good." With that, Neri shut the door and drove off, leaving Relena standing on the front steps staring after her.
* * *
Trowa and the others
"Quatre, Duo, there's another mission for us," Trowa told them right before lunch one week later.
"Aww, man, do we have to go before lunch?" Duo complained.
"Yes."
"Damn it."
"Where?" Quatre asked.
"There's a group of mobile doll parts being shipped in to the lunar base that we're to destroy," he informed them.
"Sounds straightforward. What kind of protection does the convoy have?" Quatre inquired.
"Some completed mobile dolls and manned suits," Trowa replied.
"Let's hurry up and get this thing over with," Duo said, already halfway out the door. "The God of Death likes to eat, so I'm gonna make this one quick fight."
* * *
Minutes later they had changed into their pilot's suits, boarded their respective Gundams, and launched into outer space. When they reached their destination, they saw that a battle was already taking place.
"Guys, it's that Gundam again," Duo announced.
Quatre squinted, trying to make it out, then zoomed in with his right screen. "It's her, all right."
Trowa merely blinked. "You're sure that's piloted by a girl?"
"Uh huh." By this time they had reached the outskirts of the battle. A mixed group of thirty mobile dolls and suits were guarding the transport, with others who guarded the lunar base fighting the other Gundam. Duo equipped his energy scythe, Quatre his twin curved blades, and Trowa his arm blade and machine guns. The three joined the battle, each taking on two or more mobile suits/dolls.
"What are you guys doing here?" a female voice sounded in all of their cockpits.
"We were assigned this mission too, Neri. It's obviously a job for more than one of us," Quatre replied.
"Ah."
"Neri, eh," Trowa commed to Quatre alone. "So it is a girl."
"Yes."
By this time the three guys had spread far apart, each taking care of himself. They communicated frequently to point obscure things out that one could see from his angle, but one or both of the others could not. After a while the Gundams had broken through the protective net of the lunar base's forces, and were fighting the escort group of suits/dolls.
Trowa was battling his way through them just fine when all of a sudden he was boxed in. Well-placed laser shots hit the sides of his Gundam. He was about to be rammed in the back when an explosion sounded from behind. Before the light had even begun to fade the other Gundam had shot through the debris and cut two suits—which had been helping to box Trowa in—in half, causing them to explode. He whistled. She's good, real good. "Thanks," he told her.
"No problem," she answered, then flicked off the communication unit and destroyed another mobile suit that happened to be in her way.
Trowa dove, avoiding the shots of an enemy mobile suit, then noticed that there were three mobile dolls after Neri's Gundam. They're attempting to cut us off, one by one, he thought grimly. He turned away from where she was, to make the dolls think that he was going away from them. With a burst of speed Trowa dashed by one of the dolls, slicing it neatly in half.
What the— Neri thought as she saw the flash of light from the explosion. She whirled her Gundam around and saw Trowa battling two mobile dolls. Diving down, she maneuvered her suit underneath the mini-battle and fired her guns, destroying one of them. With a burst of bullet spray, Trowa blew up the other.
"Did they go after you or something?" Neri asked.
"No. They were after you. Three of them were homing in for the kill when I spotted them."
Neri realized he had just saved her from serious damage—or even from getting killed. "Thanks. I owe you one."
"Consider my debt repaid, then," Trowa replied, referring to moments before when she had gotten him out of that box-in.
"Sure," she answered. That guy does not want to be dependent on anyone, or owe anyone anything, she said to herself. Interesting. That one has quite the armored shell around himself.
"There's an opening over here, guys," Duo called out to them.
Neri turned in his direction, glanced down at her console, and gasped. "Watch it! It's a trap!"
Duo veered out of the area—and just in time. A laser cannon mounted on the transport's port stern flashed, and a large energy beam shot through the space Duo had just vacated. Damn. I need to be more alert. "Thanks."
"Don't mention it. This is an armed transport. It won't be easy getting to the engine section to trigger an explosive reaction, you know."
"Obviously," he told her, rolling his eyes.
"Sorry. I don't mean to sound like a know-it-all, Duo."
"Hey, how do you know my name?"
"Your broadcasts to each other aren't exactly the most private things in space," Neri said dryly.
"Oh."
A few minutes later Neri saw an opening and went for it. She sliced through one of the transport's wings and sent it sailing. Quatre flew in and finished the job, generating a terrific explosion.
"Quatre! Port side!" Duo exclaimed, spotting something.
"What?"
Neri's eyes widened. He can't see it, and Duo's too far away. There's only one thing I can do. Novastar, hold together! Neri turned on her space travel engines for a brief second, then turned them off again once she had gained enough momentum. Ramming into Quatre's Gundam, she knocked him out of the way of the flying wing from the transport. Unfortunately, the wing ended up ramming into her, instead.
Duo whistled. "Nice save, Neri. Are you all right?"
The force of the impact sent Neri into a slow spin. Slightly dazed, it took her a moment to reorient herself and stop the spin of her Gundam. "Unh…"
"Are you all right, Neri?" Quatre repeated. "Thanks for saving me. I owe you one."
"Duo gets part of the credit," she replied weakly. "He was the one who yelled."
"Yelled? Hey! I don't yell."
Neri, remembering that they had returned to video communications, mock scrubbed out an ear. "Really."
The brown-haired pilot crossed his arms and tossed his head back. "Yes, really."
The young woman tried to keep a straight face, but burst out laughing at Duo's comical expression.
"I hate to break up comedy hour, you two, but Neri's Gundam isn't in the best shape. Neri, would you like to come back with us so we can get your suit repaired? It's the least we can do."
"Aw, Quatre, I was just getting on a roll."
"Some roll," Neri said dryly.
"Quatre has a point," Trowa interjected, speaking for the first time.
Neri paused, weighing the risks and benefits in her mind, and recovering from the shock that he would suggest that. That and the fact that he had actually spoken. Maybe he doesn't actually consider his debt repaid. "All right."
Quatre smiled. "Good." Now I can get to know this girl better. And how she had heard of me.
They landed at an abandoned base on an ocean shore shortly after coming through the earth's atmosphere. Neri was the last to land and disembark. She walked around Novastar, examining it, ignoring the covert stares of Quatre and Trowa and the not-so-covert one of Duo. So, she's good looking as well as a top-notch Gundam pilot. Not bad, he thought.
The three guys eyed a tall, slender young woman about their own age with shoulder-length red-gold hair and green eyes wearing a pilot's suit similar to their own. Why, she's almost as tall as me! Trowa thought, astonished, for he was easily the tallest of the male Gundam pilots.
Neri leaned against her Gundam, grinning as she shook her head. "I feel like a horse at auction," she teased. They coughed in embarrassment and looked everywhere but at her – well, Quatre and Trowa did.
After a moment, Quatre spoke up. "Would you like something to eat? We were called out right before lunch."
"Sure. Thanks," Neri replied, smiling. "I had the same thing happen to me. I'm starved."
"Yes!" Duo said, pumping a fist into the air and startling the female pilot. "I just know we're going to be friends."
"What's up with him?" she asked, pointing her thumb at Duo.
"Oh, he was annoyed that we had to go out before lunch. Don't ask. You'll understand if you get to know him any better," Quatre told her.
"I can already see that he's blunt."
"That's Duo for you."
"Hey!" he said, indignant. They started laughing, and walked inside the main building to the mess room.
Inside, they met up with Heero and Wufei, both back from their own missions. The two turned from their meal as the others walked in, and were startled to see Neri with them. What's a girl doing in a Gundam pilot's suit? Wufei wondered. Girls are weak, and shouldn't be piloting mobile suits of any kind.
Heero's chin was resting on his hand, his elbow sitting on the table where he was seated. Must be Neri Duvall, that female pilot Quatre was talking about. She can't be much older than we are. He frowned. I'll wait to appraise her piloting skills 'til I see her in battle.
"Hey, guys," Quatre greeted them. "Did your missions go well?"
"Fairly," Wufei replied.
"Accomplished," Heero told him.
"Great. Guys, this is Neri Duvall. Neri, this is Wufei and Heero," he introduced them, indicating each in turn.
"Nice to meet you," Neri told them politely.
"Pleasure," Wufei said, with a slight undertone of hostility that she barely caught. Heero merely nodded.
Wufei doesn't like me, and Heero keeps to himself, although there's a sharp brain behind that aloof expression. It looks like I'm going to have to prove myself to both of them somehow—if I decide to stay on with these guys—and that won't be easy.
As soon as it became apparent that no one was going to say anything else, Quatre led them to the kitchen and each prepared their own meal.
A few days later, after Neri had decided to stick around, almost everyone had become comfortable with having her there part of the time. As soon as her Gundam had been repaired, she had taken off for hours at a stretch, attending to different assignments given her. By this time both Sally and Noin had dropped in for a visit and met her. Noin took a liking to Neri instantly—both piloted mobile suits—and Sally saw in her a determination that matched her own to see peace return to the earth.