Arisugawa Juri smiled slightly as she looked around the airport,
searching around for the gate she needed. The orange haired woman in
casual black slacks and white shirt strode through the crowd, a striking
figure amid the chaos of arriving and departing people.
"Juri-san!" Releena waved.
Juri cut towards where the brown haired young woman stood,
taking in the two figures standing nearby. A older man, Releena's
father, stood to one side, looking distinguished in his suit. Watching
the crowd like a hawk was a woman dressed in a red military uniform,
glasses gleaming and hair up in a complex bun.
"I hope I'm not late," Juri smiled slightly.
Releena smiled, moving to meet Juri. "You're early," she
murmured, "but it seems our military escort has her own schedule."
Juri nodded to Releena slightly. She offered her hand to the
older woman as she introduced herself, "I'm Arisugawa Juri, pleased to
meet you."
"Colonel Une," she nodded, glasses gleaming. She pushed up her
glasses, gloves crisp and white, and added, "I wasn't aware we were
having company on this trip."
"My daughter invited Juri," Ambassador Dornlan said firmly,
"with my permission." He raised an eyebrow to ask challengingly, "Is
there a problem?"
"No, I don't think so," Une replied calmly.
A few moment's later Une excused herself, leaving the three of
them to wait for the flight. "She's a bit tightly wound," Releena said
softly.
"And she was certainly happy to see me," Juri noted.
"I get the feeling that she doesn't like surprises," the
ambassador noted. He gave Juri a thoughtful look, "You recognized the
uniform?"
Juri smiled grimly, wondering why he was asking. "She's one of
the Specials," the young woman said calmly, "a member of OZ."
Colonel Une entered the secured communications booth, using her
access to quickly make the connection she wanted. "Yes?" Treize
Khushrenada asked curiously.
"There is an unexpected complication with the mission," Une said
calmly, "it seems that Arisugawa Juri will be coming along."
Treise frowned slightly. "Will this prevent you from carrying
out your mission?" he asked. "If you wish, we can delay the operation,"
he offered.
"No," Une shook her head, "I'll complete my mission. I'm well
aware how much we need this event to ignite our other operations."
Treise smiled slightly in approval. "I look forward to hearing
about your success," he said before disconnecting.
"I love you," Une murmured to the blank screen, then with a
shake of her head she was off.
"Here she comes," Juri murmured as Une walked back towards them,
"everybody be good, now." Releena chuckled softly while the ambassador
frowned at her.
"You can still decide not to go," Releena's father smiled at
Juri wryly, "this may not be quite the trip you were expecting."
"I gave my word," Juri said, giving the worried looking Releena
a smile. "Besides," she added, "this way I get to miss a few days of
school, too."
"Looking on the bright side?" Releena asked.
"Something like that," Juri agreed.
The ambassador fought back a chuckle. "I wouldn't have thought
you were that sort of student," he noted as they began to board the
shuttle.
"I'm not, generally," Juri agreed.
They settled into their seats, the luggage all stowed away
earlier. Releena's father took a seat ahead of the two young women, Juri
and Releena sitting side by side behind him. Across the aisle Colonel
Une sat, going through some papers that she had brought along.
Releena noticed Juri's tense posture and quietly asked, "What's
wrong?"
"Sorry," Juri made herself relax her grip on the armrests of her
chair, "this is the first time I've been on an orbital shuttle."
"Don't worry," Releena smiled, putting her hand gently on Juri's
own. "You don't get seasick, do you?" she asked.
"Thankfully no," Juri chuckled.
"Then you shouldn't have any trouble with spacesickness,"
Releena said.
"That's comforting," Juri laughed.
The vehicle rumbled slightly as it began to move, rolling down
the runway. It smoothly rose up into the sky with barely a kick,
ascending into the air. The ground receded, the city's shrinking away,
ultimately disappearing far below them.
"Brace yourself," Releena's father advised them, having taken
this trip many times before.
A powerful burst of thrust slammed them back into their seats,
the rockets firing in a powerful continuous burst to push their craft
out of the atmosphere. The blue sky faded out, replaced by darkness and
starlight as they moved into space itself.
"Wow," Juri managed, knowing that she sounded foolish but not
really caring.
There was an odd smile on Colonel Une's face as she pushed her
glasses up, but it wasn't mocking. Instead it was a slightly sad smile,
almost as if she regretted loosing some of the wonder carried by
spaceflight. Then she shook herself and went back to work.
"It's incredible, isn't it?" Releena murmured.
There was a moment of silence as the sensation of weightlessness
came over them. Only the belts securing them to their seats held them in
place as the shuttle maneuvered, jets turning them into position.
Gravity apparently returned as the engines fired again, propelling them
towards the colony. In only a short time they were docking with the
massive construct, walking down an access-way into the earth-like
environment within.
"Welcome to the colony," the brown haired young woman smiled a
bit nervously. She was dressed casually, holding a clipboard in her
hands and a cowlick disturbing her neat hair. "My name is Hilde," she
introduced herself, "and I'll be your guide."
"Nice to meet you," the ambassador introduced himself, then
said, "this is Colonel Une, by daughter and our guest Arisugawa Juri."
There was an odd flicker in Hilde's eyes when she heard Juri's
name but whatever she was thinking she hid well. "welcome," Hilde
repeated with a smile. She tilted her head to the side, "Would you like
to go to your hotel, or I could show you around?"
"Hotel, I think," Une jumped in to say firmly, "we could use a
rest." She looked at the ambassador, "And I don't believe you've eaten
since breakfast?"
"No, we haven't," the ambassador agreed.
"I think we can manage to avoid starvation for awhile," Juri
surprised them by saying. She ignored the glare Une was giving her and
continued, "Personally, I'd like to look around."
"Me, too," Releena offered.
The ambassador looked at both young women, then at the
displeased Une and smiled slightly. "Why not," he agreed, "we have
nothing urgent scheduled for today."
Hilde lead them over to a car, large enough to seat everyone,
then climbed in the driver's seat. "A restaurant first?" she asked.
"Sounds like a plan," Releena's father said as Une climbed I the
front passenger side, maintaining her distance. As the car started up he
quietly asked Juri, "Why did you do that?"
"I'm not sure, she just seemed oddly insistent about it," Juri
shrugged. She flashed a smile, "And I liked the idea of throwing off her
schedule."
The ambassador chuckled softly. "Remind me not to annoy you," he
said.
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