Operation Meteor

Prologue: Arrival at L1

The flight to L1 from L4 only took about sixteen hours at most. Still, sixteen hours was enough to make most people, especially a young teenager like himself, restless. The blonde stepped out of the shuttle as soon as he could and took a deep breath of fresh air.

'It's not real air,' he reminded himself as he descended the stairs at a moderate pace. Air in the colonies was generated by the colonies, no different than the air inside a shuttle or an office. 'Real air' only belonged to Earth, you can say, but still...and if such was true, then people like him, born in the colonies and never had visited the Earth, did not know real air. 'Yet here I am breathing.'

A frown ghosted over his lips as soon as his feet touched L1's ground. Using 'going on a vacation' as a front, he had really gone here for an entirely different reason. Without much ado, they had explained to him that he was about to meet the rest of the people in his mission and that he would be training with them. His order came in a plain statement: Go to L1.

Which was a lot harder than it sounded when you're the sole son of a multi-billionaire.

How was he to escape his bodyguards? One idea occurred to him, but he dismissed it quickly with a mental shake of the head. Just because he could…ah…disable his so-called protectors didn't mean he actually wanted to do just that. And where would he go after anyway? They had only told him to 'go to L1'. No other directions, no nothing.

'Maybe that's just it, I came here for nothing,' he mused with some measure of a feeling he really couldn't describe. He watched as they got his things out from inside the private shuttle. There wasn't that much. He had always preferred to travel light and he doubted he would be able to bring any of them wherever it was he was going anyway. Some of his clothes and what personal items he needed were already in the suitcase beside him.

A beeping sound caught his attention in the next second. Smiling and nodding his thanks to the man who handed him his laptop, he lightly tapped it open and came face to face with his own father. He mentally warded off any guilt from showing on his face.

Eyes took a quick look at his computer's clock. He was yet to re-set it to match that of L1's. "Good Morning, Father," he greeted, forcing as much cheerfulness into his words as he could but not so much. His father, though a paternal enough person, was not a very emotional one.

"Ah, I see you've arrived well. Had a good trip?" He didn't seem as if he really cared. Although he might have, the question appeared more of courtesy, asked only because it was expected to be done so.

"Yes, but I'm glad it's over. I imagine my stay here would be much more pleasant," his answer came, equally typical. Months long training would certainly not be 'pleasant'. If anything else it would have to be the complete opposite.

A few more words exchanged and once again work robbed him of his father. It would be awhile until the next time they speak, if ever again. He sighed and asked that a cab be hailed to take him to a hotel. Perhaps he would start out early tomorrow, find out where it was he was supposed to be, and even loose his guardians.

A taxi came into view, right behind a young man riding a motorcycle but he paid the latter no mind. That is, until the motorcycle went past without slowing down and its rider easily grabbed his suitcase as if he had simply walked past. As if a silent order had been given, his sentinels left their positions and filed into the car after the mysterious rider.

'Some soldier I'm going to make. Letting a petty thief steal my stuff right under my nose,' he thought as he watched both taxi and motorcycle ride away. For all his self-disgust however, he didn't miss the muffled groan that came from behind him. Or the unusual calmness among those of his guards who had been left. Normally, they'd be flanking him now….

He whirled around with a kick that would have hit his attacker's side and send him flying through the air, but his silent war cry turned into a startled gasp as a hand deftly caught his leg. Shaking himself free, he found his wrist held instead and the next moment had him running, led by his assailant. He would have retaliated but his other hand held his laptop in safety and that was the only thing he had to communicate with them.

He followed silently, trying not to trip. The person before him was definitely quick and agile, more so than him. He tried to find out what he looked like but all he could tell was that the man was taller than him and that his hair was mustard brown. He didn't say a word until he was shoved into the back of a small dark blue car.

"Who are you and what do you want from me?" he asked the person in the driver's seat in front, another brunette. The guy just grunted and didn't even turn around. The door of the passenger seat swung open and the one from before slipped in. "Answer me!" he demanded, a trifle nervous now that he was unsure if he could fend off both of them when he couldn't even handle one.

"Calm down. We mean you no harm," a soft baritone spoke as the brunette on the passenger side turned around to face him. The prepared protest never left his lips as one deep forest green eye looked straight at him. The other was hidden by rich brown hair that fell in a unibang which covered almost half of his face. He felt the car come to life and pull out into the road but barely cared. Somehow, that voice assured him he was safe. "I'm Trowa, Trowa Barton from L3. He's Heero Yuy from L1. And you're the one from L4?"

"Quatre, Quatre Raberba Winner," he said, nodding his head. He watched Heero drive with one hand on the steering wheel and reach for the carphone with his other hand. He pressed a button then brought it up to his ear.

"Mission accomplished."

to be continued....

Disclaimers: I don't own Gundam Wing.

Author's Notes:

1. I got this idea from Trowa's line in Endless Waltz: "This is how Operation Meteor should have been carried out." (Or something like that). He meant they should have done OM as a team, unlike what happened (in the TV series)-- they hadn't known about each other at all!

2. It's not my first time to write a GW fanfiction, but it has been awhile since I've last. Kindly please point out any mistakes. Reviews, even flames, are welcome!