Chapter Two
The shuttle raced towards Earth as Heero considered why they were going back.
"Mission accepted." He murmured.
Relena awoke with a start. She'd fallen asleep in the sun lounger on the balcony again. She sighed and looked up at the midnight sky. The stars twinkled down at her, and far away, a star moved towards the Earth. She ran inside and grabbed a pair of binoculars.
"Something going on?" enquired a sleepy Hilde.
"I'm just checking something. Go back to sleep." replied Relena, racing outside again.
"Oh…O.K." sighed Hilde, snuggling down in her quilt and going back to sleep.
Relena trained her binoculars on the shooting star, her heart thumping wildly. What if the enemy had launched a missile? What if that missile was hurtling towards unsuspecting peaceful citizens? She slumped her shoulders dejectedly and sighed with relief. It was only a shuttle, from L1 from the direction it was coming from. So why had she woken up? It didn't make any sense.
Relena sat down on the sun lounger and tried to sleep again. She failed, and fell to thinking about the other time that she saw a shooting star. The shooting star that turned out to be a Gundam, piloted by the most complex boy she had ever known. The boy she had loved, now she saw that it was just a childish infatuation. She was over him now, she hadn't heard from him in years and he had probably forgotten about her, knowing him. Anyway, love was a weakness that could easily be exploited by an enemy. She was the best in her training, driven by the need to protect that which she had built, and so worked the hardest and the longest. In two years, she had become the perfect soldier. Lady Une said that she could give even Heero a run for his money.
Eventually she fell into a fitful sleep. Hilde stepped out of the shadows and looked at the sleeping young woman. Slowly, she raised her head and looked in the direction of where the shuttle was now landing. Somehow, she knew…
"They're back." she whispered.
Duo suddenly stopped as he walked across the landing platform. With a jerk, he turned on his heel and looked at the sky to the north.
"Something wrong, Duo?" asked Quatre.
"No, just…. just a feeling." Duo replied, distracted, his gaze still fixed to the north.
The others shrugged and walked past him without saying a word, but Duo stayed for a few more moments, staring upwards, then picked up his bag and silently followed them, his feet making no noise on the tarmac.
"Times up!" Lady Une barked out the order.
"What is wrong with you guys? Yesterday you got that exercise down and off pat in a quarter of the time. Today you can't even finish it!"
The girls tried to catch their breath. Doubled over, hands on their knees, they attempted to concentrate on their irate instructor instead of concentrating on regulating their breathing.
"I…don't…don't know…Lady Une. Maybe we're…just…. just tired." Relena sighed, straightening.
"Tired! Well, you had better learn to work through it, because the enemy will not stop when you are tired, and neither will I. Do you think that an enemy will refrain from shooting you if you say ' hold on, could you please wait for me to catch my breath, I'm a little tired.'? OF COURSE THEY WOULDN'T! The enemy would not hesitate in shooting you in the back! So, get used to it people, because you're not leaving until you have got this exercise right fifty times in a row!" Une almost yelled.
"Right, starting position, again, GO!"
Sighing, and inwardly groaning, the girls obeyed.
"So, you are the five boys sent from L1. Well. I will tell you now; I do not appreciate brawling or bullying in this college. Understand?"
The five boys nodded their heads once in agreement, but stayed silent.
The headmaster eyed them warily. They were thin, sure, but what they lacked in muscle, they could probably make up for in speed and manoeuvring. They looked like they could pack a fair punch as well. They each had an air about them that rather said, "Don't mess with me, because someone will get hurt, and it won't be me." Apart from that, they looked like good lads, although he wasn't sure if the one with the braid was even a boy! However, they all stood in front of his desk, silent and unmoving.
"As if they've been trained." The headmaster thought to himself, and then gave an inaudible chuckle and a small shake of his head, dismissing it from his mind. He sighed.
"Okay. Here are your timetables. I trust you can find your way, but here is a map of the college as well just in case. If you have any questions, don't hesitate to ask a member of staff. Oh, and by the way, the west wing of the college is out of bounds. It's devoted to special classes and is no concern of the college." He watched their reactions intently. None of them changed at all.
"Well, you're dismissed. Enjoy your time here. Miss Kinhouse!" The headmaster called. Through the open door came a woman with blonde hair that was brunette at the roots and who reeked of a strong, cheap perfume.
"Yes headmaster?" She said in a high-pitched voice, similar to that of a mouse.
"Please be kind enough to show these new students to their dormitory."
"Yes, headmaster." She breathlessly squeaked. "Follow me, boys." She left, leaving a stench of strong perfume.
The headmaster looked at the boys in front of him. "Remember, the west wing is out of bounds, understand?"
"Yes sir." Replied the boy called Heero, and on that note, they all filed out as silently as they had come in, shutting the door behind them.
The headmaster mused, and thoughtfully regarded the closed door for a few minutes. Then, he picked up the phone and dialled the west wing extension.
"Lady Une? I think there is something you should know about…."
Miss Kinhouse opened the door and teetered in on stiletto heels.
"Here you go boys. We've put you all in the same room since you know each other." She shooed them in with long, elegant hands that possessed well-mannered fingers so thin they looked as though they would snap under pressure. Each finger tapered to a perfect point and ended in a crimson nail that looked like it could inflict a nasty scratch. Her blonde, wavy hair bounced as she moved her head to check everyone was in, and her heels tapped as she tiptoed back and forth.
"You can have today to yourselves to settle in and explore, and then you will start your lessons tomorrow, okay? Goody." Miss Kinhouse walked, or rather tottered, to the door. "Remember, no going in the west wing, boys, alright? Goody! Now you be good, boys. I'll leave you to it. Bye!" Finally she left, leaving the boys alone in their room.
"Phew! I thought she would never leave!" Duo collapsed onto the nearest bed.
"She was just trying to make us feel welcome." Quatre said, defending her. "I thought she was nice."
"Yeah, if you can smell that perfume and not faint!" Duo snorted.
"It was rather potent, wasn't it?" Quatre chuckled.
"Well, at least we are in now." Trowa said quietly.
"Hm." Wufei snorted.
"Find the innocents-"
"The innocents? Why not just say the girls?" Duo asked.
"Fine! Find out where the girls are and watch them. Strictly reconnaissance." Heero said, a touch irate. It had been a long flight, and Duo never sleeps when he flies. No sleep makes Duo extremely hyperactive.
"I'll hack into the computer system of the college and find out what is in that west wing that is so secret. The rest of you, explore. Everything. Escape routes, possible weaknesses of the building, look for things that we can use. And keep your ears open. You might hear something that we can use." Heero ordered.
"This is not our first time!." Duo said. Heero shot him a death glare and Duo backed up slightly.
"OK, OK, geez."
Duo, Trowa, Quatre, and Wufei walked out of the doorway and split up, going in different directions, leaving Heero in their darkening dorm, tapping on his laptop, intent on the screen.