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"Lasting Impressions"Written By: Dragonmistress_7 Disclaimer: I don't own the Gundam Wing Boys.
Lasting Impressions
Lasting Impression 14 They were a grim-faced group, standing in a line just outside the door of the shuttle. For all of his bravado earlier, Heero was worried about being on Ansirii. He didn't know why Trowa was so anxious about it and unknowns bothered him. Quatre had been quiet, but he wore the face of an accuser when he looked at Heero or Duo. Since every ship that came into Ansirii was inspected, they were waiting for the inspector to finish up and disembark. He did, a moment later, and walked over to the group. "Papers." All visitors were inspected too. Wufei said nothing, but handed his identification and passport over. The inspector looked them over and handed them back. The process was repeated with Hilde and Duo. When he came to Heero, he took the papers but also began asking questions. "You're the captain? What happened to this vessel?" Heero briefly explained about the pirates and assured him that they only wanted to make repairs and leave. Again, the Ansirian handed back the papers wordlessly and moved to the next. Trowa focused on the ground as he furnished the requested documents. The inspector's eyes widened as he looked down at what he was holding. "Trowa?!" "I wasn't going to insult your intelligence with the fakes," Trowa explained softly. "I swear, with these people as my witnesses, that if you put me down as anything other than a Ryunan citizen in that book I know you're carrying, I will kill you if it is the last thing I do." "Relax, Trowa. Not everybody is against you, you know. I think you deserve to be left alone at the very least, after everything that has happened. A full apology wouldn't be out of order either." His tone said exactly how likely he thought that was. He handed back the ID. "You must be Quatre then. Nice to meet you." Quatre offered his credentials and a slight smile. The inspector gave them a cursory glance and handed them back. "This all looks in order. Three humans, two Ryunans and a Drakon stopping to make repairs after an attack by pirates. Got it. Please enjoy your stay on Ansirii." He leaned in and added quietly, "And be damn careful." The shuttle was being moved. As tempting as it was, boarding and hiding out until it all went away was not option. Instead, they made their way to the shuttle port cafeteria and had some breakfast. Heero wasn't sure what to expect but nobody seemed to notice them at all. They were far from the only aliens there. Of course, perhaps that was why. They were just finishing up when the inspector from before hurried over. His skin looked pale beneath the blue and green pattern on his face. He bowed his head and addressed Trowa directly. "It wasn't me, I swear. Somebody else recognized you and called it in. If I were you, I'd take my friends and lay low for a day or two." "We haven't done anything wrong," Hilde objected. "Of course you haven't! You think that matters? They'll detain you for the rest of your lives. Look, the shuttle repairs will go as scheduled. If you can be here tomorrow morning, I will find a way to get you on that shuttle and cleared for take off. I have a buddy in the control tower who'll do it." "How long do we have before they get here?" Trowa asked. "Shit, I don't know. Thirty seconds? Not long enough to make a dignified exit." Heero stood. "Undignified it is then. Wufei and Hilde, get up right now and leave slowly. We'll meet up in the morning out back. Check into a motel or something. If anybody asks, you've been here a week and you know nothing about any of this." "That won't be hard to fake," Hilde muttered as Wufei took her hand and led her away. Heero turned to the others. "We're going to give them something to chase. Then we're going to lose them. That's the entire plan unless you can come up with something better." "Sounds good to me," Trowa agreed, getting to his feet. "I won't forget this," Quatre promised the Ansirian inspector. "Get going before you're seen." The inspector left the four of them standing there. The sound of many hurried footsteps spurred them into action. Duo sprang over the table, Heero jumped a chair, and they all took off like mad for the nearest exit. "Left," Trowa hissed as they passed through the door. "Right takes you to the water. Unless you can grow gills, you don't want to go that way." They followed his directions out and down a set of stairs as he explained that Ansirian cities were built on two or three levels and that their best bet was to head to the bottom. Heero was surprised to see that the second level looked much like the first. It had streets, apartments, traffic and shops that offered everything imaginable. There was little time to look, however. "We've got more company coming," Duo warned, pointing ahead. They ducked down an alley way, jumping crates and accumulated trash. "Find the stairs down," Trowa gasped as they emerged from the other side. Heero was out front and he spotted them first. "Just ahead," he panted, racing across the street with Quatre right on his heels. Duo was a few steps behind. Trowa yanked him back by the shirt just before some indistinct vehicle shot by. "Hold on, there should be more." True to his words three more of them passed, each moving too fast to be more than a blur. Only then did Trowa release Duo's shirt. The other two were already out of sight. "Hold it!" someone shouted, powering up a weapon to get his point across. Trowa and Duo turned to see that there were three Ansirians behind them, weapons at the ready. "Well, fuck," Trowa said, raising his hands above his head. "I hope you know that you're causing an interplanetary incident." "Two incidents," Duo corrected, copying his movement. There was a phrase he'd read in one of Heero's books that neatly described this situation; so he used it. "The shit is really going to hit the fan on this one." ~ * ~ |
