Sorry for the delay everyone! But here it is now Chapter 3 and 4. Chapter 3 was a little short so i combined it with chapter 4.
Thank you so much to gh0s7y for the review!
Chapter 3 is a little slow but bear with me, it will get better soon I promise!
Disclaimer: I don't own Gundam Wing... Don't Sue! I do however own the characters Meika and Katsumi!
Chapter 3: Katsumi
"Katsumi Otakawan, please report to the loading bay for instructions. And leave the cats in the shuttle please." There was smothered laughter as a twenty two year old girl stood from her table at the shuttle port café and walked towards the loading bay.
"You heard the co-official. Wait in the shuttle." Her midnight green eyes met the eyes of the two kittens at her side. They meowed unhappily. Yasu, the tortoise-shell female kitten put her front paws on the girl's leg in protest. Take, Yasu's calico brother, growled in displeasure. A hard glance from Katsumi gave them their answer and the kittens made their way reluctantly back to the shuttle.
Katsumi turned, her auburn hair fluttering in the breeze. Her hair normally fell down to her waist but she had cut it mid torso length. She walked into the loading bay quickly, not wanting to be late. She was the first one there.
"I'm sure you're all aware of the skirmish this morning." The co-official said once everyone had arrived.
"I want you all to be on look out for this girl that the Haru Pilot Academy is looking for. She is armed and dangerous. Her distinguishable features are ice blue eyes and long blonde hair. She is nineteen and was dressed completely in black on escape from the academy. She was driving a black motorcycle." Katsumi raised her hand and the co-official glanced at her.
"Yes Ms. Otakawan?"
"Why is the academy looking for this girl?" She questioned. Several people around groaned.
"She is responsible for the murders of Captain Bering, General Azra, and a fellow trainee named Blake." They were dismissed and Katsumi made her way back to the shuttle. She worked as a shuttle pilot for Trans-shuttle Company, and had worked there since the owner had seen her piloting a flier when she was seventeen. She liked to build things in her spare time. .
The screen suspended above the shuttle gate entrance said the shuttle would be launching in fifteen minutes. Katsumi sighed and whistled for her two cats. They came bounding from the cockpit's slightly open door. The kittens followed her back to the café where she took her place at a table and ordered a cup of coffee.
"Expecting another long one?" the waitress asked. People knew Katsumi and her kittens as well. Katsumi nodded slightly and sipped her coffee.
"You shouldn't drink so much coffee it's bad for your health." The waitress stated.
"People also say that I shouldn't stay up until 7 in the morning running a full time job as a shuttle pilot that makes m get up and three in the afternoon to call in for work or that I shouldn't bring my cats to work. Yet I do." The waitress shook her head amusingly. She had known Katsumi since she was a baby. Ever since an OZ raid had killed Katsumi's parents. The youngster didn't like people to think her inadequate for any line of work. She had ultimately sought a career in piloting so that she could maybe pilot something in an attack on OZ someday. Katsumi noticed the waitress staring at her, and laughed as the older woman hurried back to work.
"Will the pilots for shuttle gates 1 through fourteen please report to their shuttles for liftoff?" Katsumi paid the coffee and stood up. The kittens stuck firmly beside her and she passed though the late night crowed to gate six, where her shuttle waited.
People were finished loading, and the doors were being closed and sealed. If air escaped while they were in space, suffocation would be painful. Katsumi thought about this as she slid into the cockpit and fastened herself in. She closed and sealed the window followed by the door. She fastened her helmet under her chin and checked to make sure the speaker inside was working. When she was sure all was fine Katsumi applied for liftoff permission. It was granted and she started up the auxleriary engines. Maneuvering onto the runway she turned the main engines to half power. When the shuttle reached the main point she put the engines to third power. As the shuttle began to launch she gave the engine full power and switched on the propulsion engines. The shuttle cleared the run way and Katsumi angled it upwards. The cargo hold, cockpit, and passenger hold had their own gravity, so they never noticed the vertical angle. When they were in the atmosphere, Katsumi switched on the autopilot and leaned back.
"Another boring shuttle ferry." She said to her cats. They were batting at a feather on a string that hung from the ceiling. Katsumi ginned and seized Yasu, startling her. The female kitten purred once she realized what happened. Katsumi leaned back and closed her eyes. Strange that the coffee was having no effect…
The computers insistent notifications woke Katsumi and made her aware the shuttle was approaching the space colony. She took it off auto pilot and guided it to the docking bay, the hatch closed tightly behind the ship.
When she received clearance, Katsumi unsealed all the doors and opened her window to allow some fresher air in. She watched as the passengers unladed and retrieved their belongings. Katsumi figured since she had another hour before she had to pilot another bunch back to earth, she would stretch her legs and get something to drink.
"Come on guys." She said to her cats. The meowed and leaped after her as she walked from the cockpit door. Some people stared disdainfully at her as they realized their pilot had been such a young person, and that her cats followed her everywhere.
"What would you like miss?" The waiter asked and Katsumi looked up.
"A medium coffee please." The waiter nodded and returned moments later with her coffee. "Could I get some scraps for my kittens," She asked, "I'll pay extra if you want."
The waiter smiled and said that it wasn't a problem. He came back with the scraps and set the plate on the floor underneath the table. Yasu and Take began devouring their meal.
Katsumi sipped the hot coffee thoughtfully. Her waitress friend on earth was right. She did drink too much coffee, but she needed to stay awake on flights, or else they might crash if the computer failed to wake her in time. It was strange she had fallen asleep in the recent flight.
"I need a new job." She said to herself. Checking her wrist watch she noted that her break was over, she gave herself thirty minutes extra time just in case she might get lost on her way back to the port.
This time however, she knew exactly where her shuttle was and arrived before anyone else. She stretched and got into the cockpit, and laid her head on the controls closing her eyes.
Chapter 4: To the Hangar
A sudden yelling brought Katsumi back to her attention. People still hadn't arrived which was odd. Looking around she saw the probable reason. A blonde haired boy around her age was running from port security.
He saw Katsumi, the only present pilot, and ran towards her. He awkwardly pulled out a pistol when he reached her.
"I-I need your ship. Hand it over or I shoot." Katsumi looked behind him to the security officials. Then her eyes fell on their OZ enigmas. Her face hardened. She looked back to the boy. He was shaking and trembling. She smiled and grabbed the pistol in one swift motion. Katsumi stood up and moved further into the cockpit.
"Forget hijacking my ship. How about I save you from the OZ creeps and take you with me on a speedy exit?" The boy nodded and climbed into the cockpit. Take hissed at the boy as he shut the window and sealed the doors.
"Take shush. I suggest you find a secure place. I have some pretty good engines on this shuttle and they can deliver a hard kick." The latter was said to the boy. He nodded and sat directly behind her chair. As Katsumi fired up the engines and flashed the hangar controls the code to open the doors, she flipped the boy his pistol.
"Here, I don't need this. My attack cats and my 12-gauge here beside me will protect me way better than that little thing."He stared disbelievingly at the two little kittens who were curled up and watching the new comer with curious stares. Katsumi buckled herself in as she cleared the hanger into space.
She punched on the thrusters and the propulsion engines. The shuttle rocketed away from the space colony.
"Seeing as the space colony docking bay will have probably told the company I work for on earth what I've done, I might as well take 'er down in the wilderness. Why were you running from them anyways?" she asked the boy casually.
"They wanted to arrest me on criminal charges." Katsumi rolled her eyes.
"I kinda figured that. What kind of charges?" the boy was silent for a moment.
"Terrorist charges. I work with people who attack OZ." Katsumi whistled appreciatively.
"I think I like the way you people deal with OZ. What's your name?"
"Quatra Reberba Winner." Katsumi smiled in awe.
"I've heard about you. You pilot a Gundam named Sandrock. You're also on OZ's most wanted list."Quatra nodded. "There is also a hefty reward for your capture." Quatra tensed.
"Are you going to turn me in?" He asked. Katsumi laughed.
"Are you kidding me? Of course not! Like I said, I like the way you people handle OZ. I'm Katsumi Otakawan. These kittens and Yasu and Take." Quatra sighed in relief. Yasu, evidently deciding that Quatra was all right jumped onto his shoulder. He picked her up and petted her. She purred, eyes half shut.
Going at full speed they reached earth's atmosphere quickly. Katsumi slowed the ship as they entered making it seem little more than a meteorite on a sonar screen.
When the shuttle was below the sonar scanners, Katsumi pulled with ship up and flew it parallel to the ground a few meters above the tree tops.
"Any place in particular you want me to set it down?"She asked. Quatra considered.
"Yeah, set it down one hundred and ninety miles southeast of the boarding school nearby." Katsumi frowned.
"Where exactly are we headed?"
"To my base of operations. Sort of."
"Ah, then wouldn't we want to set it down about fifty miles from it to make sure no one follows us?" Quatra agreed sheepishly. When Quatra indicated Katsumi landed the shuttle.
"All rightly then." Katsumi unsealed and kicked open the cockpit door.
"What are we going to do about the shuttle?" Quatra asked. Katsumi shrugged.
"Empty it out and discard whatever we don't need. Then leave it here I guess." She opened the cargo door and climbed through the opening. She found her own meager belongings and pulled them from the cargo hold. Quatra was surprised all she carried was bedroll , a small tool box, a picture of a group of people, and a half-full duffle bag. She packed everything into the duffle bag and hung it over her shoulder. Since there was nothing else in there, they left behind the ship as it was and walked in the direction Quatra indicated.
By morning, the kittens were worn out and had fell asleep, one on the duffle bag and the other on Katsumi's head. Quatra and Katsumi were also tired from walking in the brisk cool weather all night but Quatra said they were close, so they pushed on.
They crested a hill and saw the base/hangar. Several people were standing outside.
"Trowa! Wufei!" Quatra called, waving. The two young men, around Quatra's age waved back as Quatra and Katsumi approached.
"Hello Quatra, good to see you. Who's this.?" Trowa, a tall brown haired man asked. Quatra grinned at his more serious comrades.
"This is Katsumi Otakawan. She's a shuttle pilot that helped me escape from the OZ guys at the space colony. Her kittens are Take and Yasu." Wufei and Trowa nodded to Katsumi in greeting.
"Where are Heero and Duo." Quatra asked when they were inside.
"Duo went to pick up the new engineer from the airport, and Heero hasn't checked in yet." Quatra frowned.
"That's odd wasn't Heero due back last night?"He was met with quiet nods. Quatra turned to Katsumi.
"I guess you can stay in the empty quarters near the repair bay." Katsumi agreed with a small yawn.
Quatra lets Katsumi to where she'd be sleeping. She thanked him and collapsed on the bed. Quatra closed the door quietly and walked back to where the other two waited.
Katsumi and the kittens were asleep moments after the door was shut