Earth Hospital
"Thanks, Trowa," Duo said as he came back into the hospital room. "Helluva day for the God of Death and all." Trowa gave a light nod. "I'll try to help find that Middie Une if I can. Once somebody's some place long enough, a foot print is kind of made." Still, Trowa didn't look any better. "You got any information to share?" It was clear that whoever took her was worrying Trowa.
"I shouldn't have stayed back," Trowa blamed himself. "Found her phone and an address she wasn't at."
"Huh." That was bad. "Maybe she'll come home." Yeah, maybe not. Duo pulled up his phone. "Anyway, got some information for you. All of the pilots actually. Turns out the scientists were real thorough. Howard had information on his computer." He smirked at Trowa. "Cool information. It was worth the trip." He downloaded it to Trowa. Duo watched his expression. His poker face didn't change much. "Not real surprised?"
"I was in the general vicinity of one of the markers they always set up at," Trowa admitted. "I've always been close to Catherine."
"Glad to see you take it well. Mine?" Duo looked at Hilde. Still sleeping. "My parents weren't in it for love, and my dad's even still alive. I even got brothers. Half brothers. Twins." He sighed. "Look into that another day, right now I just want to concentrate on Hilde. Found a link to the sepsis and my past. It turns out, that's how my biological mother died." He noticed Trowa's poker face slip slightly. "Howard says sepsis is common. It's hard to tell but murder by mother's death sounds like it might be up RTL's alley." Duo watched as Trowa dug through the files. "We'll find her."
"It was supposed to be a raid." Trowa looked confused. "Quick death by gunshot." He put his phone away. "I'll take any assistance that any of the previous Gundam pilots and/or the Earth forces want to give."
Yeah. Duo saw that too. Trowa's mother's cause of death was being beaten to death. "I hope the others are having a better day than us."
"They checked in. Heero's running with Relena Peacecraft to avoid a hefty sentence on her. Quatre's trying to run with Dorothy Catalonia, she apparently is being blamed for killing someone. Wufei avoided war by collecting Mei-Lin Wang."
"Well, Wufei's the winner today. I'll text him congratulations later," Duo muttered. "Right after I text the others their information." Everybody deserved to be aware.
---
Not Far From the Medical Colony
"What do you mean we can't go back down?" Quatre asked. Check-in should have been fast. He had Dorothy Catalonia stashed in the back but a few Maguanacs were still waiting there with him. As far as he knew, Heero made it out. Hopefully.
"Quarantined," the voice came back to his ship. "Sorry, Mister Winner. No one is returning to Earth. You can head out to your own colony for the time being. The Quarantine is just between Earth and the colonies."
"Quarantine?" What a time for this. "My other volunteer supply shuttle just passed here, maybe half an hour ago. Nothing was said about problems."
"It's just started, Mister Winner," the check-in said. "It's real vicious though. People are getting flanked left and right who came into space and back to Earth. No one knows how it traveled or what's infected. If I were you? I'd go to my own colony. No telling what's going to happen until we figure it out. I'm sure your other one will get stopped. No one's going to get much closer, Sir."
"What is it?" Quatre asked.
"The CDC is heavily involved. I've just heard rumors but it makes liquid mincemeat out of your insides. Trust me, you do not want to travel downward. Go back home."
"Is it in the shuttle areas?" Quatre tried to reason with them.
"It's striking everywhere. I even want to go home, Sir. Nobody knows where it's coming from. Until everything is checked out to be safe, no one can go through to Earth. Sorry. Checkpoint says no and there are a ton of authority shuttles to make sure no one else goes through. It has to get contained."
"I understand." Alright, for the time being, Quatre would have to divert to his own colony. He left the main room and headed to the back. Dorothy Catalonia wasn't very pleased with him interrupting. She didn't understand anything. He'd get to it. "We are going back to my home colony. There's some kind of quarantine going on right now. It won't let us go back to Earth."
"I don't mind that," Dorothy answered politely. "I find the colonies quite lovely. The only thing I don't find lovely? Is your actions. Some explanation as to what is going on would be quite welcomed, Quatre Raberba Winner."
"I told you. I'll explain." Yeah. When he got home. They could relax. He'd explain. "Just not right now." She was safe with him, no one would find her. He had time to explain it all in the right way. Then, he felt his phone vibrate in his pocket.
It was a message from Duo.
---
A Little Further Than Quatre's Shuttle
"Quarantine." What timing. Heero listened to what Rasid said. They were separated from Quatre, but they would be stopped soon. Authorities weren't taking chances. Sometimes things like this happened, especially in the earlier days of the colonies. Still, it was coincidentally bad timing. He should be careful. Relena had real medicine and plenty to eat that was cold. His duty there was fine. "If they stop us, where will they direct us?"
"Master Quatre admits that he doesn't know," Rashid said. "We are further than him. He had a chance to redirect back to his colony. I don't know if we'll get that or be sent to a quarantine base."
"We can't do a quarantine base." Relena and him were practically hot celebrities as much as the social communications were focusing in on them. She would be noticed and taken in. It could be RTL, he didn't put anything above them right now. Options? Quatre would let them stay with him, or a quarantine base. Heero had a third option. Outrun the authorities. It would put them both into more hot water, but he doubted twenty years doubling to forty was much difference to Relena. A long time was a long time.
All he could do was wait for now. His phone chirped. He expected to see more information about what would happen, but it was a message from Duo instead.