30 Ways to Conquer Mars
#003 ユル!
A.C. 197, February: 「You Have Forty Seconds」
Gundam Wing © SOTSU AGENCY - SUNRISE - ANB
This is a work of derivative Fanfiction. No claims are made towards the ownership of intellectual rights pertaining to the metaseries.
...
If you overlooked his mild mannerisms and reading habit, and even the long platinum hair that any woman would claw her jealous eyes out for, the man sandwiched on the lower deck between the one-eyed miner and the widow with her four wailing kids might have fit in easily enough; but not to old Auldo, who had a keen eye for people, even half-blind at seventy-six.
The nails peeking from his crude cut-off gloves were too even and his pose, one long leg tucked under his body and the other under his chin, spoke for too much etiquette. He did not smell of anything and his clothes, though worn and serviceable, were too well-cared-for. Mostly, he was too clean. But above all, he seemed too calm when a great jolt rocked the shuttle, like a man who has foreseen everything and now merely waited for the scenarios to pass him by.
These decks are not the norm for the likes of him. It belonged to the Initial Adjusters, those desperate and destitute enough to risk their lives and well-being in unexplored, undeveloped territories for the promises of a little work, and the dodgers, those haunted by things to hide and secrets to run from. This man was neither, he was sure of it. If he were any judge, Auldo would have pegged him for nobility. Perhaps even a military officer, just the sort of man any number of young girls could fancy for their prince.
An irresponsible young man, then, running from certain consequences. Perhaps the lack of guilt in his squared shoulders is just a sign of an inherent self-righteous arrogance. That would not be inconceivable for someone of his apparent class. Damn those nobby types, being better than all the rest of us and stealing the dreams of our young women, but humanity needed them. Millenniums of wars and revolutions, fighting for equality, and in the end, we just went right back to the old ways, different verse, same song.
That was why Auldo liked space and was willing to do anything to keep living amongst the stars, even swallow his pride as a genius astrophysics engineer and put on the dull blue cap and coveralls of a shuttle janitor. Out here, in these transient moments, nothing touches him when he takes these glimpses into other people's varied lives, like channel surfing or browsing through a book store, experiencing all the drama and adventure without committing to the consequences of knowing them or their world.
"Attention Mars Terraformation Shuttle," a low, even, voice crackled over the old-fashioned public announcement systems, and Auldo watched the young man twitch, for a fraction of a second, as though struck by lightning. The image of a dark-haired woman with smoldering purple eyes appeared in the overhead video displays.
"This is the Preventer cruiser Adler, requesting the immediate and peaceful surrender of passenger number 2000476. If you do not comply, we shall be forced to board this shuttle and conduct a formal arrest." The gigantic image shifted and leaned closer into the screen, as if she could see him right through him. There was a devilish look in her eyes, but her voice was completely, pleasantly, calm. "You have forty seconds."
On board the Adler, Preventer Water was shaking her head disbelievingly at her colleague.
"Why didn't you tell us where he was going if you knew all along? Lady Une will have your head for this."
"She knows," Noin replied evenly, her mouth set in a grim line as she docked to the Mars Terraformation Shuttle. "Or she wouldn't have sent me." She felt bad about betraying Zechs to the Preventers. On the other hand, she had not actually said anything. It was his oversight, really. He should have seen that Lady Une was sly enough to simply send Noin out to retrieve him instead of attempting to squeeze her for information.
Although, squeeze her she did, and planted two hearty kisses on her cheeks in a surprisingly uncharacteristic display of passion. "Oh Lucrezia, hurry!" were her whispered orders. "Don't let him fuck it up this time!" Noin could only guess at her meaning and what incredible intuition could have revealed to her so suddenly that this was the day he had planned to leave Earth, possibly for good.
The airlock cycled and clicked.
Down in the lower decks, the incongruent young man looked up, into the stern purple eyes of the Preventer agent, and got on his feet. Auldo watched him stretch and stroll leisurely with his hands in his pockets towards the nearest exit, an olive coloured duffel swinging freely from his arm.
"Hey you!" The old man called out to him, showing off his wide, toothless grin. "What are you running away from, boy?"
The man pulled his cap tighter over his face, until all that showed was the wry smile of a man going to face his consequences.
"It's not what I'm running from that matters," he replied. "It's what I'm going towards that counts."
...