Things Are Not as They Seem5
The Year was After Colony 200
General Cameron Blackwell of the Pegasus organization has made a move against the Preventers claiming that they cannot resolve all nations and colony problems. He put forth that the nations and the colonies should have their own standing army. World Peace leader Relena Darlian disagrees with General Blackwell's notion saying that standing armies will bring back war.
Chapter 5
They walked into the office of General Blackwell. There was a woman with him as he looked at Duo and Trowa as they entered the office.
"Good morning," he greeted and stood up. "This is Colonel Marranda Jones, she will be your commanding officer, any problems you will take it up with her. Colonel Jones these young men are former Gundam pilots, Duo Maxwell of the 02 Deathscythe Gundam, and Trowa Barton of the 03 Heavyarms Gundam. They will be mechanics of the third division hanger," Cameron said as he walked around his desk the woman followed him. "You will be working on mobile suits as well as shuttles and transport vehicles. I will warn you two now, I do not fully trust you, so when war starts, there may be a time where one or both of you pilot or drive one of those machines out there. You will not choose which, think carefully before tampering with anything."
Duo crossed his arms. "Why would we wanna tamper with the machines, we came ta you remember?"
Cameron nodded his head. "I remember quite well. I also remember a couple of Gundam pilots posing as enemy soldiers in the last two wars to get information and tamper with mobile suits. I just leave you with the thought that if you do tamper with the suits that it could be you that it back fires on. I hope to build a trusting relationship with you two. I know you have a wealth of information in your heads. I also know that you also fought long and hard for this peace. Peace is nice, but the people need to be able to obtain their own peace, not have it forced on them by destroying their weapons."
"Why is that?" Duo asked watching the man.
"Peace will mean more when it is brought about by the people, rather than forced upon them."
"But people fought during the war, are you saying it wasn't brought that way?" Trowa asked. Cameron smiled at the boys and placed his hands on the desk as he leaned back.
"How are those people going to protect the peace?" Cameron asked, "it is true that soldiers fought for a peace they believed in."
"You are doing the same," Trowa replied.
"I am. My choice of peace is giving it back to the nations, letting them solve their own disputes. Preventers, they can only do so much, and they fail," Cameron smiled. "The third division is a branch of Air and Space force. Your ranks are Mechanic Technical Sergeant, your badges should say MTSrg, this gives you the ability to go into most places of the Third Division hangers and access to the tools and labs. You are not yet a true member of my military, sadly, in time should tell a different story. You were each given one dress uniform, two combat uniforms, and four mechanic uniforms. Names and rank are velcroed on your uniforms, front and both arms of the jacket. The shirt for the mechanics have extra stripping to Velcro on as well."
Marranda stepped forward, saluted Cameron who returned it and she turned to the two boys. "Follow me I shall show you where to pick up your uniforms and badges." She said and led them out the door.
I took ta wearing the uniform well enough, just reminded me of the times when I was on the sweepers ship. The material was real strong for our work. The boots were nice too. Trowa didn't seemed bothered either way. Marranda watched us as we strapped on our name and rank tags. She was going to watch us like a hawk for the new few days I just know it, deep down. She led us to the Third division hanger. It wasn't in the same building we got our uniforms in.
"You will be given an hour lunch at noon, you will swipe your id card on the box when you leave and when you return. This lets our staff know how many hours you have worked that day and it will show up on your pay at the end of the week," she started to explain, and the first thing on my mind was:
"We get paid?"
"Yes Maxwell you get paid for your work, your accounts have already been set up and your cards are inside one of the bags in your locker. You get fifteen credits starting off and after you complete the ninety day probation period you will go up to twenty credits, from then on, time and rank will play apart in your salary. We have a postal service here, you can and will receive mail here and it is placed in your mail box, in the main building. You can pick it up before or after work or on your lunch. The mail attendant can help you." She informed us. I listened to her but Trowa seemed to pay attention to her as I gaped at the sight I saw.
Mobile suits lined the back wall of the hanger, most of them with parts taken off of em and men and women in the machine parts tinkering away at them. We followed her until she stopped. I was turning around looking at the place I was ta work at for a while, how long I didn't know, until Tro said not to I guess. I had to remind myself that this was enemy territory.
"Platforms fourteen and fifteen, you are only responsible for the suits, or anything else on these two platforms. As you can see you have a mobile suit each," Marranda started again.
"What make are they?" Trowa asked.
"Good eye Barton, this one is a Gemini, and this one is as Sagittarius, two new mobile suits, though the Gemini has a twin, this one is Gemini 2, Gemini 1 is on platform twelve."
We both take a look at the mobile suits, no weapons were mounted on the things so it was a little hard to tell their battle style from the outside. The Gemini suit was a dull gray color and it looked like a space Leo, and the Sagittarius was a bark brown and one arm was slightly larger then the other, but otherwise it also looked like a leo.
"They look like Leos," Trowa said seeming to read my mind. I grinned at him.
"They do, but their weapon and defensive systems are quite a bit different from a Leo. We have a hand full or so of those as well," she supplied us. "Maybe one day you can see what the differences are. The pilots report of the suit is on the monitors, I will leave you to your work. Oh I almost forgot Second Lieutenant Hagen Green is the Third Division Hanger's Commanding Officer. I will see you later gentlemen."
With those being her last words she walked away from Tro and myself. I crossed my arms and grinned wide at Trowa. Who wasn't smiling back. I took a look around then. A quick glance at thirty mobile suits in this hanger alone, who knows how many hangers they have or how many not broken machines they had. Earth does not have a defense against this.
I turn to fifteenth platform and I let Trowa take the fourteenth.
We clocked out for lunch at noon, and we sat in a small table in the corner of a small dinner. I watch duo sit in front of me, going over the menu. He had dirt and grease smeared on his hands, arms and face and he was happy about it. I had stained hands and arms, no helping it, it's the job. When Duo finally finished telling the waitress what he wanted and she walked away he leaned in to me.
"I'm'a thinkin bout taken a look around tonight, seen where they keep the good ones," he whispered. Looking at him for a moment I shake my head.
"Its too dangerous on the first night, they'll be expecting it," I reply to him. "Wait."
"Aww, I don't like playin the waitin game…" he moaned out in protest. I could feel my lips twitch up some at him. "Oh hey, since we're gittin paid think we can get an apartment instead of that motel room?"
"I like the room," I answer. Duo turned his violet eyes up at me, it made me want to laugh, his dirty face mixed with his pleading eyes. He looked like a kicked lost puppy. Besides an apartment means different rooms, and I liked sleeping in the same room as Duo, I will never say this out loud or to him because I don't know how he feels but, I like it.
"But an apartment would make our cover look better, besides, I was talken with Nicola, she's the mechanic for the sixteenth platform and she knows a nice place, she said it was small, but affordable and close to work that we don't have ta get a car or wake up three hours before cause it takes us an hour ta walk to work. She was willing ta show us after work," he started talking. Sometimes I disliked it when he would start to ramble. My eyes strayed to his braid that was pinned up on his head to keep it from getting oil or grease into it. "What'da'ya think?" he asked.
"We can go look and see what its like," I answer him. His smile brightens.
And he was cheery the rest of the day. Well I liked working on my Gundam when I had Heavyarms, and mobile suits before him. I was also happy working on them again.
We met Nicola at the front gate after work. Duo and I were carrying our duffle bags of uniforms and belongs gotten from the Pegasus group. She was a sturdy woman with light brown hair that was up in a pony tail and brown eyes hidden by glasses.
"Hello Trowa," she said and smiled. "Duo, I see you managed to talk him into the field trip?"
"Yep!" he nearly yelled at my side. I forgot how loud he could be.
"It's not far," she said eyeing our bags. So we walked, and true to her word it wasn't far. The owner was waiting to greet us, he was an elderly man and kind too. The apartment was on the second floor. Here it was, standing at the door I waited to see what was inside.
He opened the door. Duo walked in first and looked around. It was furnished with a stove, a refrigerator, AC and heating, dinning table and four chairs, a couch, coffee table, and chair, no television, no phone. I walk in and look at the rooms offered. A closet, a bathroom and a single room. I looked at Duo who was standing inside the single bedroom looking out one of the windows.
"How much?" I asked the man.
"Five hundred credits a month," he answered.
Nodding my head kept my eyes on Duo as he turned to look at me. "We can do five hundred a month," I answer. "When can we move in?"
Duo talked all the way to the motel room. That we would be staying in until the weekend. On the way to the room he picked up several store books, to pick out things we would need. Like a bed or two. Seeing how it was my turn to cook we had a simple meal of chicken, peas and rice.
"Trowa are you paying attention?" Duo asked. I knew I wasn't paying attention because I typed on the laptop while he talked. "No, yer startin ta act like Heero." He grumbled. I heard that and looked at him. Damn it, and I tried so hard not to. I push the laptop away from me for a moment and looked at him.
"Go over that last part again?" I asked softly. Duo was looking towards the television pouting, but he turned his eyes on me and then broke his pout and nodded.
"I was thinken bout a queen," he said. Closing my eyes I had to think what he was talking about. "Bed." He supplied for me.
"Would two queens fit?" I asked.
"Two?" he countered sounding rather saddened at that number. He looked back down to the book. "We could go two, fulls would fit I guess, or twins would be better…"
I place my hand over his hand as he was about to mark out the queen size beds. "A queen is just fine."
He smiled at my hand on his. He looked up at me with that smile and I smiled back.