Honor and Justice

Chapter Two

By Aryn

One Week Later…

Quatre followed Wufei through the maze of alleyways and up the creaky steps. He too was slightly appalled by the conditions, but hid his reaction very well. He couldn't figure out why Wufei had called him concerning this situation. Wufei hardly ever dealt with him because he considered him to be the weakest pilot.

<Well, maybe time has changed his opinion of me.> Quatre thought.

"I want you to ask her questions. Tell me the overall feeling you get from her." Wufei told him quietly as they made their way down the hallway.

"Okay." Quatre shrugged. "But why me? Couldn't you do that yourself?"

"Yes." Wufei responded, his pride somewhat hurt by Quatre's question. "You just connect to people emotionally. I figured you could use your weakness for something."

<Well, maybe time hasn't changed his opinion that much.> Quatre thought, keeping his mouth shut. Wufei knocked on the door and Mei instantly opened the door and let the two men in. She looked over Quatre a little nervously, but the blond gave her a smile and she seemed to relax slightly.

"Who is this?" she asked, trying to sound polite.

"A friend." was all Wufei said.

"Quatre Raberba Winner." Quatre introduced himself, extending a hand.

"Mei Ling." she responded, shaking his hand. Just then, Hana came running into the room and ran straight for Wufei. Before the Chinese pilot could move, the child had herself attached to his leg.

"This is Hana." Mei said, motioning to the happy child. Quatre had to stifle a laugh. That had to be one brave child to hug Wufei's leg like that. Wufei just looked down in surprise at first, and then annoyance. Finally, he leaned down and pried the child off his appendage and handed her to her mother like the child was covered in dirt. But once Hana saw Quatre, she had found a new friend. Quatre was more than happy to pick the child up and hold her as she played with his blond hair.

"Mommy, he has gold hair." she exclaimed, pulling on a lock of it.

"Hana!" she said sharply. Immediately the girl let go of his hair.

"It's all right." Quatre said, waving it off.

"Are you ready?" Wufei asked, breaking into the scene.

"Yes, I am." she responded, picking up a small duffel bag in one hand and a larger suitcase in the other. Wufei immediately grabbed the suitcase from her in an attempt to leave faster. Quatre agreed to carry Hana as Mei kept hold of the duffel bag. Half way down the steps, Wufei remarked, "How much did you pack in this thing, woman?"

"That's all Hana's stuff." she replied.

"Where's yours?" Quatre asked.

Mei held up the small bag.

"That's it?" Quatre asked, surprised.

"You learn to pack light when you're on the run." she answered. All four passengers made their way to the shuttle without incident and settled into their seats. Wufei sat across from Quatre and Mei, so that would give them time to talk. Unfortunately, that left him seated next to Hana. The little girl enthusiastically climbed into his lap and threw her arms around his neck.

"Wu-Chan!" she exclaimed.

"Don't call me that." he responded in all seriousness.

Slightly shocked by her new "friend's" reaction, she just sank into his lap and got comfortable there, much to Wufei's dismay.

Quatre and Mei laughed at the scene before them, but once Hana had settled down, Quatre began his questioning.

"How long have you lived on in this colony?"

"About a month now." she answered.

"Do you want to leave?"

"If it means safety for my daughter, yes."

"What about safety for yourself?"

"My safety doesn't matter any more."

"And what happens to your child if you're killed?" Quatre asked.

"Michi will take care of her."

"Who's that?"

"An old friend of the family."

"When were you married?" Quatre ventured, hoping he wasn't treading on thin ice with the woman.

"When I was fourteen. It was an arranged marriage, but I was lucky. I loved my husband very much and he loved me as well. We were very happy."

"How did he die?"

"Oz had found where we were living on Earth and broke into our house. My husband handed me Hana, who was one at the time and hid me in the attic. He promised me he would come back and hide with us, but once I heard the gun shot..." she trailed off.

"I'm sorry." Quatre said softly, letting her know she didn't have finish.

"I see you're married." she said, pointing to the ring on his left hand.

"Yes, I am." Quatre smiled widely.

"How long have you been married?" she asked.

"Three months."

"Newlyweds, then. No children I take it?"

"No, no children." Quatre answered, a slight down note in his voice.

"Any hope of children?" Mei asked, noticing the change in the otherwise cheerful blond.

"No, I'm afraid not. But we're thinking about adopting maybe later."

"Good. What's your wife like?" she asked.

Wufei listened on and off through out their conversation, which lasted the whole trip there. Hana had fallen soundly asleep on his lap, which was better than if she was awake and moving around. When the announcement came over the speakers that they were on Earth, Wufei looked over at Quatre expectantly. Quatre smiled a large smile and nodded his head briefly, giving Wufei a sign that she was all right. He only hoped that Quatre was correct in his reading of the woman.

____________________________

Mei sat at the conference table and watched the other people that were seated around it with great trepidation. She had heard of the Gundam pilots before, but actually seeing them altogether was slightly overwhelming. A Japanese boy sat at the head of the table and eyed her intently with a grim expression. A dark haired girl sat on his right and glanced at her every now and then, but her expression was softer than the boy's. Quatre sat next to a red haired woman and the two were engaged in a very animated conversation. She remembered what that was like. To have someone to converse with like that. Tearing her gaze away the couple she saw a tall, serious boy sitting on the Japanese boy's left side. His hair covered one eye while the other studied her solemnly. Next to him was a very animated American with a long braid. She watched as he practiced some kind of trick with a pen, but every time he messed it up somehow. He was quite entertaining to watch. And Wufei was seated next to her, quiet as usual. She was grateful to him for bringing her to the Preventor's, but he hadn't said a word to her since they arrived. She hoped he didn't think that this was a mistake. But if he did, it was a little too late for that. The door opened and a woman in uniform walked in. Everyone rose to greet her.

"Everyone sit." she said. "I'm Lucrezia Noin Peacecraft, but everyone just calls me Noin, including my husband." she introduced herself to Mei.

"Mei Ling." she responded.

"Have you met everyone?" Noin asked.

"I know Quatre and Wufei, that's all."

"Okay, that's Heero Yuy," Noin said, pointing to the Japanese boy, "And his wife, Arys, is next to him. The red head is Nari, Quatre's wife. Trowa Barton is on the other side of Heero and this is Duo Maxwell by me."

Mei nodded her head to all of them. All politely nodded back.

"Well, with that out of the way, why don't you tell us about the disks you brought with you." Noin said, taking her seat. Mei stood up and started addressing the group with more confidence than what she felt.

"I have disks that have information from the Waverly Enterprises that reveal attacks that Oz had planned. If all of these attacks succeed, then Oz will have the advantage to take over Earth and then the colonies." she explained.

"How long have you had these disks?" Arys asked.

"A little over three years."

"And you never thought about, I don't know, handing them over to us?" Duo asked, not quite buying into her answer.

"The thought had crossed my mind, yes. But I believed I could do more by actually stopping Oz, than by sitting in meetings discussing ways to stop Oz." she responded sharply.

Duo sat back, surprised at the tone of her voice. Before the sudden silence in the room could get anymore uncomfortable, Noin gave Mei a stern look.

"Attacks on the enemy should be organized, designed to break them down, not random fires set only to confuse them."

Mei crossed her arms over her chest, a smug look on her face. "My attacks were hardly random, Noin."

Wufei was rather impressed by Mei's outspokeness. Not many of them dared stand up to Noin, but usually, they never had a reason to. She always asked them for their opinions.

Noin eyed the Chinese girl for a moment. She smiled slightly. "So you're the one who's been stirring up OZ lately?"

Mei nodded, her dark eyes flashing.

Noin leaned on the back of her chair. "Pilots, I think this girl will prove a valuable asset to the Preventers. Mei Ling here has been attacking key OZ bases for the past three years. We've been working off her attacks."

The pilots glanced at her with new respect, especially Wufei. Yes, she was a woman, but she certainly wasn't weak. He was the first to stand to his feet. The others were shocked. Wufei strode toward Mei and put his hand out to her in a gesture of acceptance.

"Welcome to the Preventers, Ling Mei."

The others quickly followed Wufei's lead. Arys Yuy gave her a friendly smile. Mei found herself immediately liking the dark haired American.

"We're glad to have you, Mei." Arys said, shaking Mei's hand. "Right Heero?" She turned to her silent husband.

Mei, at first, was taken aback at the emotionless eyes of the Japanese boy, but she realized that she needn't worry when Arys spoke to him. His eyes seemed to come to life at the sound of her voice. He glanced at his wife, then at Mei, nodded and said, "Sure."

Arys patted his arm. "You'll have to forgive him. He's not very talkative." She winked at Mei.

Heero put an arm around Arys' shoulders and directed her toward the door. "Let's go." He glanced back at Mei. "Nice to meet you."

Mei had to smile as she heard Arys begin scolding Heero for his rudeness.

"So you're the Firestarter." Duo Maxwell walked up to her, a broad smile lighting his face. "That's what we've been calling you 'round here."

"Duo, go away," Wufei told the braided second pilot coming up beside Mei.

Duo shrugged. "What? Just being friendly."

"Go away."

"All right, all right..." Duo waved his hands in a placating gesture. He walked toward the exit, shaking his head. "Sheesh. You'd think I was trying to ask her out on a date!"

The American's antics amused Mei, and she laughed. Wufei glanced at her.

"I'm sorry."

Mei looked confused. "For what?"

"Duo. He's annoying."

Mei laughed again. "He was...interesting."

Wufei snorted derisively. "To say the least."

A serious look crossed her face and she glanced around the room to see that it had emptied of everyone except her and Wufei.

"He called me Firestarter..." Mei began.

Wufei nodded. "Yes. You've been starting fires for us to fan. The Preventers used to be an agency dedicated to keeping peace, but now with the rise of Waverly Enterprises, we've run into a fire too big for us to put out."

"So you're using the controlled burn technique."

"Exactly."

"Will it work?"

Wufei shrugged. "We don't know yet. We may end up putting out fires we've started."

Mei sat down, her eyes becoming distant. "Why do you fight, Chang Wufei?"

The question startled him. No one had ever asked him such a point-blank question before. Mei looked up at him, saw the indecisive look on his face. She smiled faintly.

"Never mind, Wufei. It's a hard question to answer."

Wufei nodded. "Yes it is." For just a moment, his mind had gone back to his wife and how he fought in her memory. "Especially when you don't really know the answer."