Did Kira just give his DNA codes to the Atlantic Federation?
-------------------------------------------------
Thomas was helping the civilians out of the damaged lifepod Kira had brought aboard when he heard a gasp from the mobile suit's cockpit. Looking up from the redhead who was climbing out, he saw the kid's little mechanical pet diving down towards the girl, Kira close behind him. The way the little gizmo acted, he could almost think that it was his familiar. Hmm, given that the kid was some sort of machinery whiz, perhaps that wasn't as far-fetched as it sounded.
The girl looked up and beamed. "Ah, it's you," she called. "Sai's friend!" She jumped up from Thomas's helping hand and coasted up in the zero gravity towards Kira, arms outstretched.
"F-Flay," the boy stuttered. "Is it really you, Flay Alistair? So you were on this boat!"
"Hey, what happened to Heliopolis?" she asked once their faces were level. "What happened there? What went on? I... I... I got seperated... from Jessica and Misha in a store in Florence and I ran to a shelter alone, and then...! This is a ZAFT ship, right? What's gonna happen to us? What are you doing here, anyway?"
"Th-this ship belongs to the Earth Forces," Kira corrected her once he got a chance to talk through her babbling.
"You're lying!" she protested. "There's a mobile suit on board."
"No, that also belongs to the Earth Forces," the boy assured her. "B-But, boy am I glad. Sai and Mirialla are here too. You'll be fine."
'Glad' huh? Seems like the kid had a crush. Thomas shook his head and turned back to see a small girl nervously looking around over the rim of the hatch, her mother trying to persuade her to move forwards. Putting aside the adolescent byplay above him, Thomas reached down and scooped the girl up by the back of her dungarees, hauling her out of the pod before she could react. "Upsy-daisy, pup," he said, not unkindly, as her startled face passed his. "Hold onto my head for a minute, there's a good girl."
He didn't quite manage to refrain from flinching as two small hands latched onto his hair and offered his hand to the girl's mother, the woman startled and then choking down a chuckle at the expression on his face as the little girl pulled herself determinedly closer to his head.
"Mama," came the announcement from somewhere far too close to his ear. "He's got yellow hair!"
'Owowowowowow!' Thomas mouthed to the woman, who couldn't restrain her giggle at that point.
-/-
Shortly afterwards, Thomas entered the small compartment being occupied by Kira and his friends. It wasn't much - bunks built into the walls and a passage between them. He guessed that it was probably just a standard crew berth and shuddered at what it must smell like after a couple of months of occupancy.
"I wonder where we're heading," asked Kuzzey as Thomas entered. No one seemed to notice him, engrossed in their own conversation.
"They changed course once, didn't they?" Sai observed. "I wonder if ZAFT is still around."
"They're after this ship and that mobile suit, right?" Tolle observed from where he stood, leaning against one of the bunks, facing Kira. "Then maybe they're still after us."
"Huh? Then what?" Flay protested. "Are you saying that we're less safe now that we boarded the ship? No way!"
Kira flinched and Thomas shook his head. Fret fret fret. "Yer safer from losing life support," he advised the girl. "If Kira hadn't have spotted you, you'd have died in the boat before help arrived. Unfortunately, if these ZAFT fellows were going to be happy with just what they snatched the first time, they wouldn't have gone back into the colony for another fight - so they'll likely still be trying to do us in."
"Oh, Thomas," Mirialla said. "Do you know where we're going?"
He shrugged. "Not a clue. One place is as good as another for me... I suppose Maria knows, but I haven't seen her since I put the bandages back on -" There was a tap on his shoulder and he paused. "Help you, Lieutenant?"
"Is Kira Yamato in here?" Mu asked, trying to look past the larger man's shoulders.
"I'm here," Kira replied as Thomas turned slightly to let them see each other.
"Petty Officer Murdoch is furious," Mu explained. "He doesn't have enough people. He says you're responsible for maintaining your own machine."
"My machine?" Kira asked. "Wait, what do you mean, 'my machine'?"
"Let's just say that's what's been decided," the pilot told him. "The fact is, you're the only one capable of piloting that thing. It can't be helped."
"Sure I rode the thing twice, only because I had no choice!" the youngster protested. "But I'm not a soldier or anything!"
Mu rubbed his face. "So when the fighting starts again, you'll say that again. Yu'll refuse to pilot it, and we'll all die, right? Right now, you and I are the only ones who can protect this ship."
"But I..."
Thomas reached over and patted him on the shoulder. Kira looked up and saw the regret on the man's face as he growled something that the boy wasn't sure he could pronounce, much less comprehend. It was as much snarl as speech and Thomas frowned as he realised he'd used the wrong language. "Sorry, forgot who I was speaking to," he said. "Roughly translated, you can sing or make love when you wish, fighting you do when the other guy wants to."
"Right..." Kira admitted. "What you said about war and victims, back on Heliopolis."
"Yes," Thomas agreed. "No one's saying you've got a good deal out of this, but for better or for worse, we're all dependent upon you. I'm sorry."
Kira gulped. "I..." He shook his head and then bolted from the room.
The two adults in the room looked each other in the eye and grimaced. "Hey, Kira?" Tolle called after his friend.
"What? What's that supposed to mean?" Flay asked, confused. "You mean that that Kira kid was on...?"
"You heard that a mobile suit carried your lifeboat to this ship, right?" Sai explained. "That guy, Kira, was the one piloting it."
"What? Him? But how? How could he pilot a mobile suit?"
Thomas gave her a puzzled look. "I presume he puts his hands on the hand controls and his feet on the pedals. They have pedals?" he asked Mu suddenly. "They're not piloted through some sort of mind-machine interface thingy are they?"
Mu blinked. "Er... no."
"Oh. Good."
"You really liked giant robot shows when you were a kid, didn't you?"
"I really like giant robot shows now... what's your point?"
"Excuse me," Sai asked, interupting what looked like it was going to be a long and probably pointless arguement. "Where is the ship headed?"
"A Eurasian military fortress," Mu told him. "Well, we'll be lucky if they let us in without incident."
D for Drakensis
You're only young once, but immaturity is forever.
-------------------------------------------------
Thomas was helping the civilians out of the damaged lifepod Kira had brought aboard when he heard a gasp from the mobile suit's cockpit. Looking up from the redhead who was climbing out, he saw the kid's little mechanical pet diving down towards the girl, Kira close behind him. The way the little gizmo acted, he could almost think that it was his familiar. Hmm, given that the kid was some sort of machinery whiz, perhaps that wasn't as far-fetched as it sounded.
The girl looked up and beamed. "Ah, it's you," she called. "Sai's friend!" She jumped up from Thomas's helping hand and coasted up in the zero gravity towards Kira, arms outstretched.
"F-Flay," the boy stuttered. "Is it really you, Flay Alistair? So you were on this boat!"
"Hey, what happened to Heliopolis?" she asked once their faces were level. "What happened there? What went on? I... I... I got seperated... from Jessica and Misha in a store in Florence and I ran to a shelter alone, and then...! This is a ZAFT ship, right? What's gonna happen to us? What are you doing here, anyway?"
"Th-this ship belongs to the Earth Forces," Kira corrected her once he got a chance to talk through her babbling.
"You're lying!" she protested. "There's a mobile suit on board."
"No, that also belongs to the Earth Forces," the boy assured her. "B-But, boy am I glad. Sai and Mirialla are here too. You'll be fine."
'Glad' huh? Seems like the kid had a crush. Thomas shook his head and turned back to see a small girl nervously looking around over the rim of the hatch, her mother trying to persuade her to move forwards. Putting aside the adolescent byplay above him, Thomas reached down and scooped the girl up by the back of her dungarees, hauling her out of the pod before she could react. "Upsy-daisy, pup," he said, not unkindly, as her startled face passed his. "Hold onto my head for a minute, there's a good girl."
He didn't quite manage to refrain from flinching as two small hands latched onto his hair and offered his hand to the girl's mother, the woman startled and then choking down a chuckle at the expression on his face as the little girl pulled herself determinedly closer to his head.
"Mama," came the announcement from somewhere far too close to his ear. "He's got yellow hair!"
'Owowowowowow!' Thomas mouthed to the woman, who couldn't restrain her giggle at that point.
-/-
Shortly afterwards, Thomas entered the small compartment being occupied by Kira and his friends. It wasn't much - bunks built into the walls and a passage between them. He guessed that it was probably just a standard crew berth and shuddered at what it must smell like after a couple of months of occupancy.
"I wonder where we're heading," asked Kuzzey as Thomas entered. No one seemed to notice him, engrossed in their own conversation.
"They changed course once, didn't they?" Sai observed. "I wonder if ZAFT is still around."
"They're after this ship and that mobile suit, right?" Tolle observed from where he stood, leaning against one of the bunks, facing Kira. "Then maybe they're still after us."
"Huh? Then what?" Flay protested. "Are you saying that we're less safe now that we boarded the ship? No way!"
Kira flinched and Thomas shook his head. Fret fret fret. "Yer safer from losing life support," he advised the girl. "If Kira hadn't have spotted you, you'd have died in the boat before help arrived. Unfortunately, if these ZAFT fellows were going to be happy with just what they snatched the first time, they wouldn't have gone back into the colony for another fight - so they'll likely still be trying to do us in."
"Oh, Thomas," Mirialla said. "Do you know where we're going?"
He shrugged. "Not a clue. One place is as good as another for me... I suppose Maria knows, but I haven't seen her since I put the bandages back on -" There was a tap on his shoulder and he paused. "Help you, Lieutenant?"
"Is Kira Yamato in here?" Mu asked, trying to look past the larger man's shoulders.
"I'm here," Kira replied as Thomas turned slightly to let them see each other.
"Petty Officer Murdoch is furious," Mu explained. "He doesn't have enough people. He says you're responsible for maintaining your own machine."
"My machine?" Kira asked. "Wait, what do you mean, 'my machine'?"
"Let's just say that's what's been decided," the pilot told him. "The fact is, you're the only one capable of piloting that thing. It can't be helped."
"Sure I rode the thing twice, only because I had no choice!" the youngster protested. "But I'm not a soldier or anything!"
Mu rubbed his face. "So when the fighting starts again, you'll say that again. Yu'll refuse to pilot it, and we'll all die, right? Right now, you and I are the only ones who can protect this ship."
"But I..."
Thomas reached over and patted him on the shoulder. Kira looked up and saw the regret on the man's face as he growled something that the boy wasn't sure he could pronounce, much less comprehend. It was as much snarl as speech and Thomas frowned as he realised he'd used the wrong language. "Sorry, forgot who I was speaking to," he said. "Roughly translated, you can sing or make love when you wish, fighting you do when the other guy wants to."
"Right..." Kira admitted. "What you said about war and victims, back on Heliopolis."
"Yes," Thomas agreed. "No one's saying you've got a good deal out of this, but for better or for worse, we're all dependent upon you. I'm sorry."
Kira gulped. "I..." He shook his head and then bolted from the room.
The two adults in the room looked each other in the eye and grimaced. "Hey, Kira?" Tolle called after his friend.
"What? What's that supposed to mean?" Flay asked, confused. "You mean that that Kira kid was on...?"
"You heard that a mobile suit carried your lifeboat to this ship, right?" Sai explained. "That guy, Kira, was the one piloting it."
"What? Him? But how? How could he pilot a mobile suit?"
Thomas gave her a puzzled look. "I presume he puts his hands on the hand controls and his feet on the pedals. They have pedals?" he asked Mu suddenly. "They're not piloted through some sort of mind-machine interface thingy are they?"
Mu blinked. "Er... no."
"Oh. Good."
"You really liked giant robot shows when you were a kid, didn't you?"
"I really like giant robot shows now... what's your point?"
"Excuse me," Sai asked, interupting what looked like it was going to be a long and probably pointless arguement. "Where is the ship headed?"
"A Eurasian military fortress," Mu told him. "Well, we'll be lucky if they let us in without incident."
D for Drakensis
You're only young once, but immaturity is forever.