Woke Up One Morning... Part 42
Wufei, Trowa and I decide to take the same stations we had the last time we stood as guards for the Assembly gathering. I'll be in the meeting area while the others take their posts around the remainder of the building and the balconies wrapping the outside. In consideration of the tactics that Ivanov likes to use, they'll be keeping their eyes mostly on the streets for any suspicious cars parked around the area.
Though we are certain no one outside of the Assembly, their guards and the media knows of the meeting, we had thought that once before and were wrong. And we are not about to take any chances.
Stepping inside of the massive meeting hall, the place is just as I remember as I make my way to the second balcony overlooking everything in the honeycomb-shaped room.
At the center of the room are a single table and the Speaker's podium, where he is already standing in wait as the members of the Assembly take their assigned seats all around him at their short tables marked with the areas that they represent.
I keep myself occupied by scanning the woven paintings that hang throughout the room, their red and gold trims match the deep red and gold-embroidered carpeting on the floor of the hall and balcony. Also, I look for those new faces in the Assembly that had stand out like sore thumbs to me after having stood at so many of these gatherings.
All from different Colonies, there is Scott Daily of Z28, now occupying the seat at Relena's right. Probably the meekest looking of all of the new faces with blonde hair and blue eyes, I have seen his impressive political climb and know better than to go on appearances with him.
Representing S96 is now Jamie Dixon, petite in frame but with a fire in her blue eyes that's as striking as her red hair. C40's Pete Laux is a bit older than the first pair, his hair graying a bit and his laugh lines showing on his face, but the same focus remains on his face as those that have been here for years.
These three of the five are the ones that I will be watching the most closely. Because they're the three that have expressed the most interest in seeing to L2's needs.
From R15, we now have an Asian man by the name of Quon Lu. The oldest of the newly elected, he easily has the most experience and will be a worth-while addition to the Assembly. Last but not least, there is Josh Gupit from D37- a young man with a balding head, round-framed glasses and his face always looking like it has a five o'clock shadow.
Quatre and Relena have both told me that while these two have not made clear what specific colonies they wish to support, they swayed in our favor if the case of L2 was sold right to them. Together, these five individuals hold a great deal of responsibility as some of these proceedings have been decided in the difference of literally only a couple of votes in the past.
Up here on the second floor, I'll be watching in keen interest just what they have to offer... while ignoring the eyes of the other guards spread out every twenty feet around.
When everyone has taken to their seat, the Speaker straightens at the podium and announces in that deep voice that echoes off the walls, "Ladies and gentlemen, it is a joy to be in the presence of all of you again to resume our important duty of helping out our fellow man." Quat is one of the first to his feet as a standing ovation erupts in the air with every face of the Assembly members smiling widely.
It's about the only time they can look forward to all getting along before the debating begins and heats up.
After a few minutes, the Speaker silently calls for the congregation to return to order by raising his long hand in the air and smirking. Once everyone has calmed and sat down again, he nods firmly, "A warm welcome to our newly elected members."
His brown eyes scan those five in the crowd as he states, "You all play as important a roll in these proceedings as the rest of us who have been here since the beginning. Please be certain to keep your minds open and your biases aside when it comes time to argue and vote. Remember that there are many, many lives that will be effected by the decisions that we come to when relief support is offered."
Nodding firmly, the five are in complete attention and acceptance of their duty.
"Very good," the Speaker smiles and addresses the mass as a whole. "Then we will begin by reviewing the pleas and arguments posed by representatives of those Colonies looking for our help."
I inwardly groan when the old man holds up a massive stack of papers of the transcript from that last meeting. Leaning against the beam in the wall behind me, I prepare for the fight to stay awake.
Now comes the boring part of the day.
* * * * * *
At the end of the review, recess is called. Thank God above for that. If the reading of the transcript went on for much longer, I was sure that I was going to black out.
There is a bit of tension in the air as the Assembly gets to its feet to move for the reconstructed cafeteria. Quiet whispers start moving through the group as there are 'buddy systems' for everyone to stick together while they move from the meeting area. Sitting with my friends, I know that we were all a little more on edge than we have been all day.
No one will be sitting by the cafeteria windows today. But lunch went on without any incident.
With the end of lunch approaching, it looks as though there is not going to be an incident this afternoon. Security walking up and down the streets just past the space are keeping the parking areas clear.
"So far, so good," Wufei comments as he finishes his meal. "There are constant walk throughs of the whole building for any suspicious activity or devices inside and nothing is coming up. Krutza must have not expected life to carry on even in light of the most recent attack."
Quatre smirks across from him, "Good. That's exactly the point we wanted to make with this. Right, Relena?" We all turn to the politician seated before me to see that she is staring just over my shoulder and smiling. "Relena?" my Arab friend calls to no avail of breaking through her daze. I blink in confusion and look back to follow her line of sight.
Two tables behind us, Scott Daily is seated along with the other new members to the Assembly. Occasionally, his blue eyes peer over at 'Lena and that same small smile tugs his lips before he turns away shyly and returns to the conversation taking place around him.
Ah. Suddenly, it's all too clear what's going on here. I remember catching the two of them quietly talking during the first half of the meeting since their tables were beside each other. And I am not the only one that spotted the exchange as I turn back with a smirk matching the ones on my fellow former pilots' faces.
Smirking, I start to sing, "Scotty and 'Lena sitting in a tree. K-I-S-S-I-N-G." That's enough to get through as she gasps sharply and casts me a glare even as her face turns beet red.
I laugh with my head falling back as the other guys snicker and shake their heads in amusement. "Ah, budding love is so cute," I sigh dramatically as I bat my eyes.
"Oh, that's quite enough," Relena huffs, rolling her eyes and folding her arms. Instantly on the defensive, she states, "Scott and I have had quite a few interesting conversations over the last few weeks ever since he was in consideration for joining the Assembly. As it turns out, we have a lot of the same views on a lot of things. He is very nice, but that does not mean I'm interested in him beyond that."
To my surprise, it's Trowa who snorts, "Who are you trying to convince of that? We just happened to catch the eyes you were giving each other." Her mouth opening and closing as she tries to come up with an answer, the Vice Foreign Minister gazes over all of our faces and finally sags in defeat in her chair with a sad frown.
"Hey, 'Lena," I smile. Shaking my head, I reassure, "There's nothing wrong with it. Just go over there and talk with him. You won't be offending us is you want to go." The other guys all nod their heads in encouragement.
Swallowing roughly as she stares back at Scott, she mumbles, "I would if I had a better track record in talking to guys that I like."
I move my head in her sight's path and grin, "Yea, but things were different then. You're grown up enough now to know the difference between infatuation with a dangerous terrorist and a possibly real attraction with a guy who you have things in common with. Right?"
With a light laugh, Relena replies, "I would certainly hope so." Biting her lip, she keeps our gazes locked as she asks quietly, "Do you really think I can do this without making fool of myself, Duo?"
On this day, wonders never cease. Not only is this young lady that I once felt at odds with defend my honor, but now she is relying on me for advice.
My right eye winking, I tell her sincerely, "You'll be perfect so long as you're just yourself." Her eyes brightening and a wide smile spreading on her face, Relena quickly gets to her feet and leans over the table to kiss my cheek with a whispered, 'thank you.' Blinking in shock, I almost miss her taking up her tray and leaving our table.
Like a proud pack of brothers, we all watch as she heads over to where Scott is now staring at her with wide eyes when she nears.
A quiet discussion between them takes place and the new representative smiles brilliantly and shifts over to make room for her to sit on the bench beside him. Focused only on each other, the pair has plastered grins on their faces as they begin to talk.
Quatre turns his head to smirk at me, "That was a very nice thing to say to her, Duo."
"It's all true," I shrug nonchalantly. I gaze back at the giggling pair and smile, truly happy for 'Lena that she's on her way to finally accepting herself enough to maybe know how to let someone else in.
* * * * * *
The love fest is officially over.
Going on two hours now since the meeting has resumed, the heavy battling has begun. Getting the list of all of the Colonies of interest down to the three that will actually be receiving help in the near future is proving to be no easy task. Along with harsh words being thrown, there are glares being shot from all over the floor below.
At least now I have no trouble staying awake.
Relena and Quatre have been particularly quiet, not saying a damn thing until the initial mud throwing is out of the way.
The second there is a lull in the commotion, however, it's Jamie Dixon that rises. Small in stature as she is, the way she rises commands all attention and everyone's eyes fall on the redhead near the back of the room. Taking a deep breath, she turns as she speaks to address her whole audience, "Not one person in this room has given any mention to L2."
I don't know the woman from Eve, but I like her already.
Shaking her head, she frowns deeply and continues scanning her fellow Assembly men and women. "Perhaps the Colony was not directly affected by the war," she states, "But that does not mean that the people there are not in dire need of our assistance. When rain can only fall there twice a month for three hours at a time, something is terribly wrong."
My heart pounding, there are actually a couple of heads nodding in the audience besides the ones that I was expecting. That little bit of hope for my home Colony is starting to grow ever so slightly.
Jamie goes on, "There is not a good system for purifying and distributing water, one of our most needed resources for survival. And there is not an established system to keep the people there working instead of on the streets. For all intents and purposes, L2 has become the Colony of the forgotten and we simply cannot allow this to continue when we are the ones with the power to change that."
Nodding, Scott gets to his own feet and adds, "She's right. I have followed the decision process of the Assembly since you have been established. While I have agreed with where your resources and energies went in the rebuilding time following the war, I simply cannot rationalize L2 being overlooked any longer. There are only a couple of other sites that are worse off than the Colony, so it should be taken into serious consideration."
Damn. My eyes are actually misting over a bit. These are the same passionate arguments that Heero, myself and our friends have been making for years. And now, we're finally not the only ones that are fighting for the cause.
Quatre and 'Lena hurry to rise as my Arab friend nods firmly, "We are also very much behind this line of action."
Before either of them can comment further, a snort rises from a far corner as one of the Senators in alliance with Renee chuckles, "Well, there's a surprise." Several voices along with Tishim's snicker throughout the room and eyes roll.
Just like that, my hopes begin to dwindle.
It's now Pete Laux who stands and focuses on Renee and her band of friends. "Let's not make this a personal matter between us when there are lives hanging in the balance, shall we?" he chides as a father would when correcting a child. "Because you had a slap on the wrist earlier today is no reason to forget that we are looking out for innocent people."
Several quiet laughs fill the air as Tishim and her band fight blushes for being called out yet again. Quick to take the focus back off of her, Renee glares at the older man and snaps, "Personal agenda, you say?"
Pointing at my friends, she accuses, "They have been pushing for L2 because of their friendship with a former Gundam pilot who happened to live there. They are the ones with a personal agenda"
My fists clench at my sides as I stand here completely helpless to help Quat and Lena.
Luckily, I don't have to as Scott smirks, "And who is it that you're friends with that you would willingly overlook a whole Colony of people for? I'm sure if we looked deeper into your connections, the way you have been voting would suddenly not be such a surprise."
Gasps and sharp laughter erupt as Renee flushes and lowers her head when she cannot come up with a good response.
With a gesture to Quatre and Relena, Daily comments, "Whatever Mister Winner and Vice-Foreign Minister Peacecraft's reasons for supporting L2, their attention is still focused where it needs to be. The bottom line is that more must be done there." My friends both smile widely at him appreciation.
Pete spreads his hands and follows up with a sighed, "Everyone, the war is long over and you have all done your best to cover the worst of the scars that had been left by it. It's time we moved on and extended our hands to others in need."
Jamie raises her voice again to say, "And let's be frank here, everyone. There are those who need whatever assistance they can get and those with the means to rebuild on their own that are just looking for a hand-out from us!" Several cries of 'Here, here!' are shouted in the room and I have to cover my mouth to keep the back of a laugh that almost escaped back.
Finally, somebody said it!
Again, there are more heads than ever before that are nodding. Quon Lu and Josh Gupit share glances of interest over what their comrades had to say. God, this is all just looking so good right now! I just hope to hell that it actually means something when the vote begins.
Returning to his podium, the Speaker raises his hands and those on their feet sit back down and all eyes fall on him. "I believe that the arguments have gone on for long enough now," he announces.
"Since our last gathering, we have nearly one-hundred areas of interest to begin narrowing down by votes. Let's get as far as we can today and we will recommence where we leave off. No further discussions will be allowed, there will only be a show of hands and the majority will rule as to whether or not we will be looking closer into a particular case."
His tall stack of papers that the white-haired man had been following earlier is now a pack of scratch sheets. Taking a deep breath, he opens, "Let's begin on voting for Colony D82. Raise your hands if you wish to see this further looked into." From my spot up here, I can see that the majority of Assembly members have kept their hands down.
Brown eyes scanning the room, the Speaker nods firmly, "Colony D82 will wait until the next time we begin this process over again." Scribbling on his sheet, he move on, "In the interest of Colony H97, who how do you vote?"
While I remain perfectly still, I can feel swear building on my forehead in anticipation of when they get to vote on L2. But it's a wait until they get that far and I'm going to have to be patient. Too bad that's one virtue that always seems to elude me.
* * * * * *
I... I can't believe it.
Somehow, following just over two hours of voting, the Assembly has managed to narrow the list of interest to twenty locations. And L2 is one of them! Right now, It's lumped pretty closely with the nineteen others far as the majority votes go. And it looks like they are stopping here to end the long day.
A satisfied smile on his face, the Speaker suggests, "I believe that is enough for today, ladies and gentlemen. With this list of twenty that we need to narrow down even further, step away from this gathering and away from your personal feelings involving these areas.
"It will be nearly a year before we can offer support like this to three places at once again, so I want you to really consider what each location is going through. Research on your own and really focus on where we should be sending our support."
Gripping the gavel on his podium, he smiles, "Thank you for your time and patience. We will resume this meeting here in four week's time. That will give you a month to really think things through before this terribly important vote." As he raises the gavel, he concludes, "Safe journeys home. This meeting is adjourned."
The crack from the hammer when it slams down rings through the room.
TBC...
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