Gundam 00 Oneshots:Episode 25 (and some missed episodes!)

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Dean_the_Young
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Gundam 00 Oneshots:Episode 25 (and some missed episodes!)

Due to a couple circumstances, I'm restarting my thread collection of 00 episode-themed one shots so that I can have more editing control over the thread. ShadowCell said I could go ahead, and the old thread should be deleted shortly. Will post the two old one-shots, as well as Episode 3's. From here on is going to be simple copy-paste of the other thread.





'Tis just a drabble of my take on Graham and the world prior to the second episode. Of course, reviews and comments welcome on style and everything else; I want to try a drabble per episode. Personally I suspect I use the national acronyms too much, but I didn't want to type to much. Human Reform League is a bit much. :D



Drabble Episode 1: Report

“Graham Acre, reporting as ordered.” Cut and paste formality. A pause for the command “At Ease” to be given, and then the audible shifting of weight into a more casual but still professional position. “How can I help you, sir?”

“You can start, Graham, by explaining exactly why you were at a high level demonstration of the AEU’s new mobile suit without permission. I don’t know which strings you pulled to get in, but you created a number of problems over here.” The military liaison for the Union mission in this part of the Advanced European Union, despite his other qualification, was a stickler for observing red tape. Whether he was a natural bureaucrat or just hated the hassle of dealing with the unexpected was something Graham could never decide on.

“I wanted to see the AEU’s new mobile suit, to see if it was as good as they’ve been selling it. You and I both know that they were only able to make it with our help, so getting a professional pilot’s opinion makes since. I can show you the paperwork…”

Regardless of what other failings he had, the Liaison could smell an evasion, as well as recognize when he was about to be sold a bill of goods. Which was a good call; Graham’s companion at the exhibition was a master at arranging paperwork, both legitimate and not. Gruffly, the Liaison went on. “Never mind that. I wanted to talk to you about the report you submitted, both on the Enact and the "Gundams".”

Graham nodded, even as he looked at a copy of the exact same report. Another thing about the Liaison; he was always prepared. “The Enact looks to be a respectable machine. It looks to be a bit faster, a bit more agile than our Flag, but the weapon layout is so close they may as well be the same. One on one, they don’t have an overwhelming advantage against us, should things come to that. Their biggest advantage is the solar power system for better range, not armor or weapons.”

The Liaison didn’t nod or shake his head; Graham suspected that he may have been involved in whatever exchange took place between the Union and the AEU, or at least in military intelligence. Instead, the officer narrowed his eyes and said “At least you remember that despite cooperation, we are still the AEU’s competitor, not ally. I had to reassure some people about that, or else you would be in deeper trouble than talking to me.” That hurt, even if Graham didn’t show it. He was hardly an agent of any foreign power, though mobile suit pilots were greater intelligence gold mines than most due to their intense knowledge of both their mobile suits and technology. He also prided himself on his understanding of world politics.

The Liaison continued. “I want your personal thoughts on this Celestial Being organization, or rather the gundams they control. I’m told that your initial report was forwarded up to the very top, and I mean the top, of both Washington and Brussels after the assault on the Human Reform League’s elevator. I’ve also been told that they were glad to have any information prior to the Celestial Being’s announcement.”

Technically, the Liaison had committed a faux pas. Technically, the Union of Solar Energy and Free Nations was an equal alliance of nations, with the main organizational activities taking place in Washington at the invitation of the United States of America. And technically, the Advanced European Union itself was merely the European Union (capital Brussels) taking a leading position of guidance over smaller states in Africa and Central Asia. And technically, both were correct. The Union had grown to eclipse the individual American states of old, including the United States of America, and form a more or less politically unified state, and the AEU was very active in diplomacy in competition with the Human Reform League in regards to the remaining unaligned states of Central Asia and elsewhere. But both Patrick and the Liaison were politically realists; if one wanted to find the true centers of power in the western world, they were in Washington and Brussels respectively. They both automatically looked over a mistake that politicians would apologize profusely for.

Graham paused, organizing his thoughts. “I don’t know what you want me to say that I didn’t include in the report. I only personally saw one of the gundams, remember, and when it went flew off for the aerial battle, I couldn’t see it. I only say the aerial battle through binoculars; if you want better, you’d need the AEU’s battle data.”

The Liaison nodded. Once settled down to business, he was easy enough to get along with. “I want your general opinion. No one has seen hide or hair of them since their last announcement, but they obviously intend to act again. When they do, we want to be as prepared as can be.”

Graham considered, and then spoke. “I hate to admit it, but they already outclass what we have now in almost every degree. The sword mobile suit was able to disable all of its targets with a single swing; I saw some Helions go out of control out of the battle after a single blow, and the Enact was butchered in front of us all. It was also fast enough to dodge a point blank linear rifle shot from the Enact; I don’t know how strong the armor is, but the Helions’ machine gun assaults didn’t shoot it down.”

The Liaison waved him to continue with his left hand, jotting notes with his other.

“The two biggest aspects are its flight and the communication jamming that surrounded it. When it was near us, and I’m told when another was near the space elevator, all communications were cut off. I don’t know if is avoidable, but if it isn’t team coordination is going to suffer when people can’t talk, or even shoot remote control missiles. As for the flight…”

Graham trailed off. How to explain something he didn’t understand? Honesty seemed the only approach. “It wasn’t like anything I’d ever seen. I didn’t see or hear any rocket or jet engines turning when it lifted smoothly, I just saw strange particles of light. I’ve never seen any mobile suit take off so gently in such a manner, or move so quickly from a still position. Whatever moves those mobile suits, I’ve never used it. That’s all I can say.”

The Liaison nodded once again, though more to himself than to Graham. “Thank you. It’s not much, but it’s what we have now. I’ll look into getting you the data from the AEU; anything that can take out the Enact is certainly a threat to our Union Flags. Until then, I suppose I should tell you to do what you’re supposed to be doing, and not to go gallivanting across foreign nations without permission. Any questions?”

Graham internally grinned. A chance to try and grill a superior for info was a rare treat. “Yes sir. Have we learned anything else about Celestial Being? I looked at our intelligence database, but found nothing.”

The Liaison snorted at the idea of military intelligence. “And nor should you have. As far as anyone can tell, they’ve never existed on Earth up to this point. I know we’ve been looking under every corporate and foreign hiding rock we can, and you can bet your bottom dollar that the AEU and HRL are as well, but no one’s heard so much as a peep. No corporate groups, no private groups, no terrorist groups, nothing. As it is, we’ll just have to wait for their next move before we can figure them out. And so,” he pointedly looked at his watch; for now Graham’s further questions would have to wait. “We look to the future.”

“We look to the future,” Graham repeated. The future, the mysterious sword “gundam”, the paradoxical Celestial Being…

“I can hardly wait.”
Last edited by Dean_the_Young on Sun Mar 30, 2008 12:07 am, edited 13 times in total.
Dean_the_Young
Posts: 1293
Joined: Mon Apr 09, 2007 7:24 pm
Location: Near Rockets

Episode 2's drabble, though this came closer to five full pages than a drabble really should.

General request applies. Please comment so I can know what to improve, what was good, etc. And yes, this was very inspired by a yaoi joke that no one got and the eternal past time of making fun of fangirls. Blame them; these are all things I've seen in real life. So ahoy, fangirls of the Miesters! And serious!Graham!


00 Episode 2 Drabble

Fangirls

or

How Bad Can A Good Yaoi Joke Get?


As the four Gundam Meisters left their Gundams and slowly approached the prefabricated shelter that would be their home for the next few precious hours, most of them did so quietly. Tiera, mysterious pilot of the Virtue, would on talk when addressed. Allelujah, the tall and thoughtful pilot of the Kyrios, was contemplating Celestial Being’s first deadly battle against a foe waiting to engage them. Lockon, sniper extraordinaire of the Gundam Dynames and leader of the Meisters, had been trying to strike up a conversation for the last few minutes, but his efforts had failed in the face of his three unresponsive subordinates.
And beautiful. Definitely a beautiful team of boys! I mean, have you seen Tiera? Any guy who wears pink has major hotness potential…

Third and youngest subordinate among the Meisters was Setsuna, pilot of the multi-bladed Gundam Exia. He was possibly the quietist of them all. Not that this was much of a surprise to his comrades; Setsuna was naturally a quiet young man not given to idle chatter, but today there was a different reason from usual as to his reserve. He had had his first real battle against enemies prepared to kill him. He had had to carry out his mission to oppose both sides of the conflict for the first time. And afterwards, he had had to duel with a particularly skilled opponent in a Union Flag, one whom he hadn’t killed and had only beaten back after some trouble.
Oooh, oooh! Isn’t Setsuna so dreamy? He has such awesome hair! And he’s so quiet and stoic, like Heero! Oh, I wish I could hold him and make him forget his tragic past. :(

But what was on the front of Setsuna’s mind was his foe’s opening words, words that kept repeating over and over. “Nice to meet you… Gundam! I am Graham Acre; you captivated my heart!” In one sense, it was clear that this Graham (had he heard the name elsewhere before?) was talking about interest in the Gundam, but then again just earlier Setsuna had called himself “Gundam,” which would mean that this Graham was talking about him, which was rather awkward…
Aw, Setsuna’s all flustered over Graham’s declaration of lo-ove. Isn’t that adorable? Clearly, this series is going to see the hero and his rival fall in love. It’s as clear as with Kira and Athrun, even if these two aren’t long-lost friends. It’s obvious!

Why did that guy have to have such a bad dialect? Now he’d be dwelling on this until he went to sleep. Hopefully it would be gone by the morning. Besides, it’s not like the Gundam Meisters weren’t warned that something like this might happen. Eventually, the superpowers would recognize the Gundams and would organize a prepared opposition to them. But this only Celestial Being’s second appearance; how could someone have already become fixated on him and the Exia? Wouldn’t that require some sort of obsessive fanatic to be connected to the Exia and himself so quickly? Maybe not, but it was still better than the alternative they were warned about. Eventually, Captain Sumeragi had warned, they might create their own following of support, including fangirls. It wasn’t so much that he cared about girls one way or another, but the last thing he wanted would be to have some obsessive stalker girl. That would just be annoying.
That’s right! Girls bad, boys good! Don’t be distracted by any Relena-floozies!

Setsuna blinked. That had not been a usual thought for him. What the heck was a Relena-floozy?
That’s right, beautiful! I’m here to make you find true happiness in the arms of a Y-chromosome!

Setsuna blinked again, though no one noticed. Obviously, Graham’s comment was affecting him more than he thought. A good organizing of his thoughts after the preliminary briefing for the next mission was definitely called for. He bowed his head as he walked through the door into the prefabricated building, right behind Tiera who has such a nice butt in that flight suit, you should reach out and grab it and

Setsuna shook his head, throwing the errant thought out of his head. Tiera was a teammate, someone to be respected and not molested! Allelujah saw the motion and moved closer to Setsuna, speaking with a soft voice so Tiera and Lockon wouldn’t necessarily overhear.

“Are you alright, Setsuna-san, you forgot the –san! ? Did something happen in your first battle?” A note of quite concern, our first proof of a Setsuna-Allelujah couple! Allelujah was the one to notice; he must be constantly watching Setsuna, and was concerned at the slightest sign of a problem!

“I’m fine, Allelujah-san! . Just an errant thought.”

“Very well. If there is no problem, forgive my intrusion.” Allelujah stepped away; one reason Setsuna thought favorably of his fellow Meisters was that each of them was willing to give him his space. The two entered the room where Captain Sumeragi would speak to them via a telescreen; Lockon and Tiera had entered ahead of them.
After all, Allelujah was trying to get Setsuna alone with just the two of them! Squee!

Lockon looked around the room, obviously counting them all. Accounting for his harem, no doubt. “Good, we’re all here. Let’s start and” have a hot steamy scene? “get this pre-briefing over, so I can finally get call it a day. I don’t know about you all, but I want to get out of this suit and go to bed.”
So do I, Lockon-chan, so do I. And I even know some very demanding partner stretches.

Setsuna’s iron self control was what kept him from reacting as the Voice got more suggestive. Sumeragi’s image appeared on the screen, holding her infamous zero-g beer bottle, drops of liquid flying around in the Ptolemy. Setsuna leaned forward, intending to ignore the strange thoughts by focusing on that drunken, skanky Sumeragi’s presentation.

“This,” she began, “is the target base. It’s a reasonably heavily defended base; enough to notably maul any force that attacks it, and enough to give the Human Reform League firm and unyielding control over the area. It has a number of mobile suits, from regular Tierens to some reports of more advanced models. All in all, nothing you Meisters can’t handle, but we don’t want to be over confident either. That is why,” Sumeragi pressed a button out of view, and a five arrows appeared on the map, ”we are going do this carefully. We already showed the world how strong we are during our last operation; the three powers will be more and more prepared as our mission progresses.” Setsuna watched attentively; this presentation was boring! a good distraction from the Voice, who was apparently uninterested. Maybe it would just go away.
Not likely!

“As you can see,” Sumeragi continued, “the basic idea is overwhelming force from all directions.” I bet you would like overwhelming force from all directions, you Misato wannabe the Voice said spitefully. “As usual, Setsuna will be in first, to take the enemy’s main mobile suit force. Lockon, you and the Dynames will wait until Setsuna needs you, in case he gets in a sticky situation.” Setsuna held back a shudder, the Voice seemed to leer…

“Setsuna, don’t try and take to many men at once. Lockon will be ready for you if you get too many guns pointed in your direction; it looks like the enemy forces are getting used to your sword, and are staying at arm’s length.”
That’s right, Setsuna. Big strong Lockon will always be ready for you, he’s so reliable…

Setsuna coughed in shock. That Graham person was bad enough; he was not going to start thinking of Lockon as anything other than a reliable ally. Lockon was dependable, hard as a rock. He gave you whatever space he felt you needed, was mature enough to not make childish mistakes, and was always willing to lend a hand when needed. He’d do anything for his friends, and fight any foe. Someone to be respected, not, not drooled over!
Ah, but those are all great reasons he would work with you! You, the young boy in a dangerous world, him the solid guide to protect and lead you. It’s perfect! And you’re both so hot, it’s even better!

Setsuna winced at that, which just drew more attention to him. Sumeragi looked up from her notes. “Setsuna, are you alright? If you’re tired, you can go now. We’ve covered your duties, and you can just refresh on everyone else’s tomorrow morning at the final briefing.”

Now everyone was looking at him. Lockon was probably thinking something about how Setsuna was shaken up by the first battle, Allelujah was probably remembering their ‘talk’ before entering the base, and Tiera… no one could tell what Tiera was thinking at any time.

“No, I’m fine” Setsuna said. After a moment, Sumeragi looked back at her notes, plainly not going to make an issue of it. The Meisters in the room, though, looked at him for just a bit longer.

Sumeragi looked towards Allelujah. “Allelujah, you and the Kyrios are going to sneak around the back for a deep penetration raid with the missile bombardment mission pack. You are to attack their rear, as fast and hard as you can. Remember, in and out as fast as you can is the key yeah girl! ; you’re going to find yourself surrounded by the enemy’s protection if you’re too slow, and we don’t want you swamped by their men.
I take it back, I like how Sumeragi thinks!

“Tiera, once again you and Virtue are going to go after the enemy’s heavy artillery. This is where their biggest guns are; I want you to take Virtue for a flanking attack here and wipe them out. We expect them to thrust this way once the base realizes it’s under attack; time it right and you can take most of them by surprise. Penetrate the holes in the enemy defense from Setsuna and Allelujah’s simultaneous attacks and beat them away from reinforcing the base.”
Off. She meant beat them off, Setsuna, so the bad big men wouldn’t overpower you. Oh, is poor little Setsuna too innocent to know what goes through a girl’s mind? Hehe!

Setsuna coughed again, this time fighting the beginnings of a blush he could feel rising as he bent forward to hide it…
That’s right! Bend over, pretty boy! More! More!

“Setsuna…?” Sumeragi had a faint look of concern on her face. A Gundam Meister suffering problems was a BAD thing to have. She would have to check on that…

“I’m sorry. I must need rest more than I thought. May I go?” Still fighting the blush down, just barely.

“Get a good night rest.” Setsuna rose, but Sumeragi had one more thing to say. “Setsuna, make sure to clean your personal firearm before tomorrow. You never know when you might end up using it, and you don’t want it to fail on you because you forgot to oil your gun. Understand?”
Yeah baby yeah!

“Yes Captain,” Setsuna said stiffly. As he turned, Sumeragi thought she saw a bit of pink on his cheeks, but put it down to her imagination. Everyone knew that Setsuna was as solid as a rock; nothing ever seemed to affect him. Instead, she looked back at the remaining Meisters, but a silence fell among them.

“I suppose one of us should check him out, see if there’s anything wrong with him.” said Allelujah, breaking the silence. Sumeragi nodded, and the Voice no one else heard agreed.

“I’ll do it,” volunteered Lockon. “His room is beside mine anyway.”
Which makes it all the more convenient, doesn’t it?

“In that case,” Sumeragi said, “this meeting is done. Meet back up tomorrow for final briefing.” The screen went out, and the Meisters left the room. Allelujah and Tiera went towards their rooms, and Lockon ambled to Setsuna’s room and knocked on the door. After a moment, Setsuna opened the door, clad in a loose white shirt and some boxers. Lockon was suddenly reminded of how much he wanted to get out of his own pilot suit.

“You looked a bit troubled back there, Setsuna. Is there anything wrong? Anything I can do for you?” Something passed through Setsuna’s eyes faster than Lockon could catch.

Yes! “No.” And with that, the door slid shut meaningfully. Lockon stared at the door, blinked, and then walked away.




In a bed far away, Graham Acre was slowly waking up. He may have been unaware what he had done to a certain pilot’s mind, but then again he himself was repeatedly going over their fight in his own mind. He was alive, which was good, and not missing any limbs, which was even better, but not being able to defeat the Gundam was at the forefront of his mind. Then, in an instant, it wasn’t. There was movement beside him.

Turning his head, he could only see a form-hiding white lab coat and the end of a long stretch of hair. He made the appropriate conclusion. “Nurse?”

A soft but not gentle hit on his head rewarded him. “It wasn’t funny the first time, Graham, and it isn’t funny now.” Ah, Katagiri, his faithful friend.

There was a soft giggle; Graham turned to the other side and saw an actual woman in a lab coat. “Ah, so you’re the nurse?” he asked with a grin on his face, hamming it up.

The woman smiled. “Not quite; I’m a doctor, and it’s my happy assessment to tell you that you’re completely fine. Quite an achievement, considering the state you brought your mobile suit back in.”

Graham nodded. He would have known had he been injured, after all. “So tell me,” he started another friendly jab, “did Katagiri stay at my side the entire time?”

“Like you were his once-lost love.” The doctor could kid with the best of them.

Katagiri sighed; this was typical Graham humor. He decided to get back on track. “If you must know, I was reading a book while waiting for the results. Do you want them now or not?”

Graham heard the tone, and shifted to business mode. The Doctor did as well, and quietly moved out of the room. She had her own report to file. “And how was it?”

Katagiri checked his notes, a show only; Graham was sure Katagiri knew exactly what he was going to say. “Your suspicions were correct; it looks like the light particles are directly tied to the Gundam’s abilities. Both your Flag and the tests you ordered on yourself show evidence of radiation of some kind. Whatever it is, I’ve never seen it before. We’re going to kick it, and the battle data you brought back, up stairs for analysis. The radiation spiked massively when the Gundam used its energy sword, and your plasma blade has residual marks from your first strike against its solid sword. I’m willing to bet that a lot of engineers are going to have a number of sleepless nights thanks to you.”

Graham smirked at Katagiri’s accusing tone; he knew that Katagiri was going to be one of those techies, and was itching to figure out the Gundam’s mysteries. “Aside from that, what else?”

Katagiri sighed. “I know what you’re asking, and the answer is no. No sign of Celestial Being at the moment, no substantial new information has come up, though some are claiming a guy dead two hundred years is involved, and we don’t know where they ran off to. Not that it matters; you don’t have a suit to chase after them with anymore. Orders came in while you were asleep; both the Flag and the plane are to report to the nearest Union airbase, so that they can be studied for clues of the Gundams.”

Graham sighed. No helping for it, he supposed. Getting out of the bed, he started looking for a uniform. The hospital gown, while necessary, was not long-term wear. The plane was too cold, with too many drafts. By Katagiri’s movement out the door, he agreed as well. Graham jumped up, though, when he realized that Katagiri had not closed the door there were footsteps outside the hall. The Doctor stopped and looked in, raised an eyebrow as Graham turned around for decency’s sake, and closed the door.

“Cheeky bastard,” Graham thought.

And in some other plane, a Voice watched and looked to work with the two in the future…
I'm sorry this letter is so long, but I did not have time to make it shorter. -Mark Twain

Official Jerid Fanboy
Dean_the_Young
Posts: 1293
Joined: Mon Apr 09, 2007 7:24 pm
Location: Near Rockets

Like me, most of you have probably been going through the last 48 hours plus however long it takes me to write this in 00 withdrawal. Not because 00 episode 3 didn’t come out, but because you can’t find a decent sub. My understanding is that this is because the person who does it quickly AND well for the community was hit by a car.

Best wishes for him to get better (preferably by next Saturday).

But some of you still haven’t figured out what’s happened. Well, I’m here for you. I’ll conveniently summarize this episode from my viewing of the raw footage. Don’t worry about my lack of Japanese; I will conveniently include the important points, while throwing out useless relevant details and plot movement.

And here it is, in an attempt to copy/maul/bastardize a style we all know and love. Because imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, not evidence at a lack of originality…






Gundam 00 Episode 3: The World With Erie Similarities

OR

Count the Cameos (hint, not many)


(The fight between the totally awesome Union ace Graham Acre and Heero-wannabe Gundam Meister Setsuna picks up exactly where it left off, swords locked together. No flashback to when they conveniently met five seconds ago, no inter-episode gundam-jack, nothing. But since you’re special, I’ll include the only line that matters. )

Graham: You’ve captured my heart, Gundam!

(And then this.)

(Graham ducks a non-stock footage slash from the Exia and puts the Flag’s hand on the Exia’s shoulder. A loud metal screech results.)

Setsuna: (angry) You idiot! You scratched my paint job, and I haven’t even finished making payments yet! Die!

(Setsuna flies forward and slashes the Flag’s Linear rifle with the brand new GN Saber! Not a beam sabre that’s cliche. GN particles are the new M-particles, Nancy.)

Graham: (You meanie! I don’t want to play with you any more!


(Daybreak’s Bell plays)

(The opening fades away. We are on the Nameless-Union-Transport-That-Looks-Like-A-Stealth-Bomber, aka NUTTLLASB. We’ll just call it the transport. In it, Graham and Billy Katigiri are sitting in a small room inside the transport, while the Flag is parked in Gerwalk mode in the enormous hanger inside the tiny plane. Graham is talking to Katagiri; Katagiri is on typing on a computer with coffee next to him.)

Graham: (completely different personality than before)He was a worthy adversary, so I let him go.

Katagiri: (sipping coffee while typing, not looking up) Uhuh.

Graham: (Arms crossed) Yeah, really. He put up a good fight, but it was no contest.

Katagiri: …says the guy who only touched him once.

Graham: Hey! Once was all I needed! I was totally owning that kid! Compared to the AEU or HRL grunts, I’m a god just for surviving!

Katagiri: …you were totally disarmed in under thirty five seconds, and then ran away crying.

Graham: But I still look awesome by comparison!

Katagiri: …true.

(Scene Ends. A number of short scenes from the various powers around the world. News and intelligence agencies across the world are looking for any hint of Celestial Being. So far, the CIA and one reasonably hot reporter have tracked down and are focusing on a man who died two hundred years ago. The CIA stops pursuing this track of how a man they killed so long ago could be doing this; clearly, they are idiots. However, all the highest offices of the world receive a similar briefing. Let’s go to the AEU.)

Minister-person of the AEU: That’s it?

Appropriately European Aide: Yes sir. It is our judgment that Celestial Being is evil, good, and stupid, all at the same time.

Minister-guy: Explain this to me. I’m a bureaucrat from a lineage of bureaucrats dating back to the first days of the European Union; I don’t understand.

Aide: Yes sir. We know they are evil because they blew up our stuff and are represented by a guy who wears a black coat and a monocle. Two of those could be a coincidence; you can’t go outside here in the future without bumping into some deadly guy who wears black. And humiliating us with a major international incident by exposing our breaking of a major treaty could be an accident. But a monocle? Only evil people wear monocles.

Minister-dude: And the good and stupid parts?

Aide: Oh, that. They’re good because they oppose all war and attacked the Human Reform League. They’re stupid because they attacked the Human Reform League and oppose all war while attacking the Human Reform League. But don’t worry; despite having our airspace around our critical orbital tower penetrated at will, we techno-conglomerates who are holding all of Africa as an empire again are perfectly safe. Evil realists always win, because good is stupid.

Minister-chum: Oh. Well, I always thought I was more realistic than evil, but it’s good to know that I have nothing to fear. In that case, I suppose I should approve that measure to sell more mobile suits to independent nations, even though they will likely end up in the hands of terrorists.

Aide: Very good sir.

(Scene change. The Gundam Meisters sans Setsuna are at a weird table at the base of the HRL’s tower. Setsuna comes up to the table.)

Setsuna: Sorry I’m late. Last parking spot that would take the Exia got jacked by some Yank from Jersey. That fat idiot pile-drived me for the spot. Then his pet monkey flicked me off.

Lockon: Ah, now worries. Don’t worry, your drink is still warm.

Setsuna: (eyebrow raised) Is that milk?

Lockon: Oh, yeah. You’re just a little guy, so you need some to grow big and tall.

Setsuna: (eyes narrow) Last week was more than enough. We don’t need that again.

Allelujah: What? Oh yeah, the yao- (Setsuna grabs his arm)

Setsuna: Not in public, or I’ll tell everyone what really happened to make your hair that way.

Allelujah: …fine. Wait, where did Tiera go?

Lockon: Oh, he went back to the Ptolemy, which uses our Gundams as giant batteries in an example of brilliant thinking of the future. Apparently Sumeragi was using the Food Processor Unit for beer again.

Setsuna: …and how’s he getting into orbit again? GN particles?

Lockon: Oh, he’s just taking the space elevator. Clearly, with all the powers looking under every rock for us, they won’t do a cursory scan of their own space elevators!

(Flash over to Tiera, who is currently on the elevator and counting the levels as he’s rising)

Tiera: Two thousand three, two thousand four, two thousand five…

(Flash back to the base of the elevator. Lockon walks out yawning with his arms raised high; Allelujah and Setsuna scoot upwind. As they leave, the camera moves over to a group of HRL soldiers standing in front of another door.)

HRL Grunt: How long are we going to have to stay here, sir? Three guys have already fainted, and now something’s reeking up the air.

HRL More-Important grunt: I told you it wasn’t me, didn’t I? And we’ll wait however long it takes. Other militaries show up thirty minutes early; we show up thirty hours! Deal!

(Before Grunt can answer, the sliding door opens. Out comes a scarred HRL officer. This is Sergei Smirnov, typically Russian in a alliance where India and China have much larger populations. He is carrying a suitcase almost as big as he is, with the occasional piece of dress or undergarment hanging out.)

Sergei: Please forgive my delay. I was asked to carry down one of Wang Liu Mei’s luggage bags left over from the party. You would think that five outfits in three episodes would be enough, but noooo, Comrades.

(Ass-kissing More-Important Grunt moves forward to take the bag; Sergei waves him back.)

Sergei: It is alright Comrade, I will carry it. I was told that if I took it everywhere with me, I would get Liu Mei’s autograph, Comrade!

(Out of the suitcase falls various cameras and automated spy equipment; Sergei puts them back in without looking at them.)

Sergei: But enough about this; take me where I am to go, Comrade.

(Scene flash. Graham and Katagiri are in uniform in the Union military headquarters, somewhere in South America. They are standing in front of an officer who looks upset.)

Officer: I know that both of you have been model soldiers, well respected by your peers. Katagiri, you helped develop the Union Flag. Acre, you are one of our most famous aces. But both of you have violated the agreement you made when you signed up. In taking a rule conveniently three hundred odd years old and dubiously stretching a past political issue to this age and time, I am afraid I am going to have to dismiss you for violating the Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell policy.

Graham: (Blink) …sir? I just asked Katagiri if he knew what was for dinner. He told me. That’s not what that’s talking about.

Officer: Really? I feel like a moron. Here, take these assignments to the new anti-Celestial Being group and try not to suck any more.

Graham: Who do you think I am, Patrick from episode 1?

Officer: True. Just don’t suck like that genetic clone the two of you split genes for. What was his name again?

Katagiri: Jerid. Appearance from the father, attitude from the father. And no, that doesn’t violate Don’t Ask either.

(Scene change again. It’s high school in Japan. Saji Crossroad is bored in class, his girlfriend Louise Halevy typing away behind him.)

Teacher: And in the twilight of the twentieth century, the even we now know as Second Impact…

Saji: Sigh, I wish I could just scene-flash ahead…

SCENE FLASH! SAJI AND LOUISE ARE AT THE CAFETTERIA!

Saji: Wha…? That rocks!

Louise: …huh? Have you been listening to a word I said, or were you looking at my bust again?

Saji: (thinking) Trick question, trick question! What was the right answer again… (out loud) Listening of course! What kind of guy do you think I am?

Louise: I don’t know, one that thinks my cousin finding she has breast cancer rocks? Men! Why can’t you be a super cool, hansom, and socially inept soldier like your next-door neighbor’s boyfriend? Geez, if he wasn’t already taken I’d dump you in a minute!

(She struts away, while other students laugh at Saji as he chases after her.)

Saji: (thinking) At least now I can fast forward through the apology to the good stuff, without having to put up with the talking anymore…

(Change scene to a nice fancy restaurant. Liu Mei, in yet another dress, is drinking an orange beverage. A long line of men are behind her, each holding either a drink or another flattering dress. A classy man cuts in front of the line, nods to Liu Mei’s bodyguard/bouncer, and sits across from her. The rest of the men groan and disperse.)

Alejandro Corner: Having a soft drink I see? Perfect imitation coke of some sort?

Liu Mei: Mr. Wayne already tried to ply me up with alcohol earlier, and I’ve already seen three guys and one girl try and slip Red Comet pills into my drink. I think I’ll play it safe now.

Alejandro: (hides bottle of pills in back pocket) Well, I have business to talk about, so I wouldn’t dream of that. Perhaps your bodyguard would like a drink from the bar?

(Hong Long goes to the bar. Before he orders a drink, a drink appears in front of him.)

???: Comer here often?

(It is Alejandro’s own companion. Long’s eyes widen as he sees a bottle of pills be put away.)

(Scene change. The HRL base at Siri Lanka from the last episode is back, and Sergei is being briefed about the Kyrios’s ejected missile container.)

Grunt: So we’re kind of mixed. Half of us feel that this is disgusting and should be punished, while the rest of us wonder just how we would fine them for mobile-suit scale littering.

Sergei: …I was given to understand that we had called in our forensics experts to track down clues from the container, Comrade.

Grunt: Well, that too, but the environment is important too! I’ll go get the Doc, though. Hey, Doc! New Inspector is here to look at the evidence!

(A man in a lab coat comes up, clearly having spent untold hours already looking over the missile pod.)

Doc: Oh great, another one. You inspectors are all the same. You come to the scene after we spend all those hours looking everything over, and then try to just go up and pick some piece of hair as the clue that will solve the crime. Well I got news for you, buster, it doesn’t work like that. A crime scene investigation is a very intense process done by experts, not something that any half baked inspector can…

Sergei: I am not an inspector, Comrade.

Doc: …you’re not?

Sergei: No. I am just in charge of the overall investigation of this matter. I want to know what you have found so far, Comrade.

Doc: You’re not going to solve the mystery in a convenient half-hour timeslot?

Sergei: It would be nice if I could, but no, Comrade.

Doc: In that case, sorry. Let me get my techno babble to English dictionary out…

(Scene shift back to Graham, who is looking over his Flag on a platform. An old man with a crane walks forward. This might be the real Alejandro Corner; I don’t know.)

Old man Corner: So, you seek to defeat your enemy, boy?

(Graham says nothing, just keeps looking at his Flag.)

Old man: I say, do you seek power to conquer your rival?

(Graham still says nothing.)

Old man: Hey, whiper-snapper! Down here!

Graham: (takes out headphones, which are playing Daft Punk) Yeah? What is it, old man?

Old man: You want me to make your mobile suit better for your next fight? I can have it done by next week for free!

Graham: Please, this a well maintained, cutting piece of military technology. You can’t just boost its performance in a week. What do you think this is, a cartoon?

Old man: Ah, but I’m a crazy mad scientist! I have my own secret lab of uncertain funding to do this! Why, I’ve been making robots super before you were a gleam in your daddy’s eye! Surely you’ve heard of… Erde Kaiser?

Graham: Nope.

Old man: Mazinger?

Graham: Nada.

Old man: Unit 01?

Graham: Sorry man.

Old man: (starts to cry) Is it so wrong to want to leave a legacy behind? Is it? I just wanted to be remembered as the man who made the robot of the unbeaten hero! Is that a crime?

Graham: Geeze, settle down. If you promise not to mess with my radio settings, you can fix my machine up.

Old man: That’s better. Oh, did you know that we can use the paint on your Flag’s fingers to trace Celestial Being? And that Celestial Being is attack the weak and helpless and Human Reform League right now?

(Cue a short scene in which Lockon learns to shoot a beam pistol with work mechs in an Africa mine as his targets. He looks bored as the miners shoot to no effect. In South America, Allelujah drops dozens of dumb bombs on a drug farm, as the local farmers watch their only form of economic support burn in front of them. Clearly Celestial Being is a good force that fights the fair fight, even more obvious as the Exia spins around in its “Stellar Dance”, cutting down hapless Zakus, er, Tierens, left and right. Suddenly, shells burst near the Exia.)

???: Stop right there! In the name of the series ugliest mech so far, I will punish you, Comrade!

(It is Sergei, in a Tieren high mobility type. Six times as fast as a regular Tieren (take that, Char!), but twice as ugly, the Tieren HMT zooms past as the Exia ducks. The Tieren keeps going forward, and keeps going forward, and…)

Setsuna: If I wasn’t such a bad shot with my beam rifle, he’d be dead by now…

Sergei: Ah, finally got that turned around, sorry about that. Now, to prove how awesome I am, I will beat you without my gun! Tieren Finger, Comrade!

(The Tieren HMT grabs Setsuna’s face. Well, the Exia’s. Setsuna would be squashed if it was actually his face.)

Setsuna: Will you people stop groping my mobile suit? I'll cut off you arm!

(The Exia swings its GN blade, but the blade doesn’t cut through the Tieren’s armor. Setsuna is shocked.)

Setsuna: My sword doesn’t work? But what will I do if I can’t spam my sword?

Sergei: Get creative is what I would say, but you’re done with! I will forever go down as the man who beat the main gundam in the third episode! I will clearly surpass Char and Jerid and Athrun in terms of rival greatness! And Graham too, Comrade!

Setsuna: Well, two of those aren’t hard, but psyche!

(Setsuna takes out his GN saber and proceeds to chop off the Tieren HMT’s limbs. The mobile suit falls down, and a few more explosions rip across the body.)

Sergei: …or maybe not, Comrade.

(Scene shift to space, where Tiera and the Virtue approach the mothership to serve battery duty. As the Virtue docks, Tiera looks bored.)

Tiera: Man, this is boring. Why couldn’t that punk Setsuna or someone else come up here? I don’t feel good unless I’m using my BFG, and there’s no one to use it on here.

(Sumeragi pops up on the screen. She is wearing a dress that accents her generous curves, and her hair miraculously hangs mostly down in zero g while other parts… don’t.)

Sumeragi: Tiera, you’re more than welcome to come on board if you wish; I still have some beer left in my cabin if you want some.

Tiera: No, I’m fine Captain. The sooner I’m done, the sooner I can get back to Earth.

Sumeragi: Are you sure? You’re more than welcome in here., no need to be alone in that cold cockpit

Tiera: I’m perfectly fine. Some time alone won’t be the end of me. Thank you for your offer though, Captain.

Sumeragi: (After the screen closes) …and you wonder why some question your choice of people? (Shakes head.)

(Scene change again. We’re back in Japan, and Saji approaches his door. As he puts in his key, Setsuna puts his key in the next door over. Setsuna has a bandage over his head.)

Saji: Hey! So I guess you’re my new neighbor!

Setsuna: …yes.

Saji: What’s your name?

Setsuna: …Setsuna

Saji: Ookay… how did you get hurt?

Setsuna: … I tried to open the door on the other side of yours, and some girl with blue hair hit me with a fan. Then her boyfriend tried to shoot me, but she hit him harder.

Saji: Haha, Kaname’s pretty nice once you get to know her. Just don’t look like you’re trying to pick her door open, she hates that. Say, want to hang out sometime?

Setsuna: …no.

Saji: Oh, well, never mind then. Later.

(Saji goes into his home, but as he enters his sister, the female reporter from earlier, is leaving.)

Saji: Going out sis?

Kinue: I swear, I’m spending so much time looking for info on Celestial Being that if I ever find that a lead were right next door, I, I, I don’t know what I would do!

Saji: Well, sucks to be you. I’m going to veg in front of the tv, not do any homework.

(Kinue flicks him off as he goes to the living room, but he doesn’t see it. Instead, his phone rings. It’s Louise.)

Louise: Hey Saji, turn on the news! Even though the story is already playing as I’m talking to you, if you turn on now you’re sure to enter at a conveniently informative point with no confusion!

Saji: Ok!

Newsman: For those of you just turning in, in Britain today a holdout group of an insurgent group that disarmed over three hundred years ago has finally unilaterally agreed to cease its rebellion against the British State, which hasn’t existed within the European Union for nearly as long. Public opinion across the islands is potent, with thousands asking any reporter who approaches them “Who are these bloody wankers again?” and “Why haven’t I heard of them before?” Some are already attributing this miraculous occurrence to the mysterious but peace-seeking private army Celestial Being, who just last night simultaneously attacked farms in South America, a mining complex in Africa, and Human Reform League military outpost. I, for one, would like to welcome our new Celestial overlords.

Saji: Wow, that was conveniently timed, and informative to boot. Has Celestial Being already started to change the world for the better, or are they just a bunch of idealistic morons?


Find out next week, when Episode 4 comes out!






And now that I've gotten to 9 pages, I really shouldn't call these "drabbles." More like "one shots."

If you are one of the 137 people who read the first thread, please comment so I can know what to improve. This series will go up anyway; you won't just help me be a better writer by commenting, but you'll also get a better story to boot. And better motivated as well.

So what did I do wrong? Did I screw up the first scene with too much OOC? Was my Sergei "comrade" motif overbearing? What?
I'm sorry this letter is so long, but I did not have time to make it shorter. -Mark Twain

Official Jerid Fanboy
Dean_the_Young
Posts: 1293
Joined: Mon Apr 09, 2007 7:24 pm
Location: Near Rockets

An actual (2 page) drabble this time, my thoughts on Celestial Being's purpose and motives, and more importantly why they have acted now. As always (though I know you won't), please review and let me know what's good/bad.



Gundam 00 Episode 4

Serious Reflections


“We plan to fail. That is the first truth you must understand as a member of Celestial Being. We aim to end wars, to end conflict, but never let yourself suffer delusions of grandeur, that you might live to be recognized and praised for your victory over human nature. There lies arrogance and blindness that will doom you.”

One was speaking, the other was listening. She was a new member of this secret order, selected only after grueling examinations, back ground tests, and more. She had promise, but there was still much for her to learn.

“Every member of Celestial Being knows our overriding goal, set down by Aeolia Schenberg himself. Not everyone knows how we will go about it, or why we have waited so long.”

The speaker moved towards a window, overlooking the bright lit streets of Brussels. Celestial Being’s agents could afford any local anywhere; one rumor had it that the interest alone from a fraction of the Schenberg legacy could buy an entire luxury hotel chain a dozen times over. A rumor, but perhaps not so exaggerated. Unlike some people, however, the speaker did not revel in the luxury, he merely tolerated it. Rather than wine, he held water in his glass.

“If we wished to destroy or wreck the world, we could have done so at any point in the last two centuries, once a presence in space was strong enough so that a shuttle heading towards the asteroid belt could be overlooked and hidden. An asteroid, even one merely strong enough to throw the world into chaos and to press humanity to consolidate, would have been well within our capabilities.

He sipped his water, wetting his throat. She looked out the window herself, listening as he continued.

“However, we knew from the history of the Energy Crisis that humanity would fight over the scraps that remained, rather than unify. At such a junction of global disaster, even if one side won, it would be a Pyrrhic victory at the cost of humanity. Genocide is entirely opposed to our goal.

“If we wished to overthrow the world, to take the capitals and control centers of the world by force of arms, we could have done so in the last several decades. It would have required a great recruitment of pilots, and risked security breach, but we had both the technology and the resources to shatter their defenses by storm, to crush the centers of control and to watch as the three main alliances splintered as they lost control of the subordinate states.

“However, we also knew from the breakup of major powers of old, such as the Soviet Union, that should a major power be brought low, it fractures into a thousand political entities, all farther from unification than where they started. International anarchy is also incompatible with our goals. Without someone to guide a peace, multipolarity sets in, and unity is increasingly distant.

“But now, now we can act, and now we must act. Do you know why?”

She shook her head, though she may well have heard this all before. Her face betrayed nothing.

“We can act now because a new level of stability has been achieved in the world, but one that is still young enough to be malleable. The Solar System is completed; the economic turmoil that provoked troubles endlessly has been over for ten years. But most still remember the troubles, and have come to terms with the need to abandon the nation-states of old and to embrace new multinational unions. The chains of nationalism that held against the calls of class and race in previous centuries have been broken, and what has been broken once can be broken again. Should the need prove itself, the people will be willing to do what they have done once already, to join an even larger alliance of nations even further separated from their homes. An alliance, perhaps, that even requires the entirely of mankind to unite against some threat.

“And we of Celestial Being are that threat. We know the exact limits of the enemy, and have stepped beyond that limit tenfold. Our mobile suits have overwhelming tactical firepower, defense, and the nature of the GN particles makes them an ideal unit for facing numerically superior enemies. Our information sources are buried everywhere, so that we can move at will and know almost any relevant detail. From the space elevators to the Pacific Islands to the heart of Africa, there is nowhere we cannot move our Mobile Suits. If needed, we could even fight through the capital cities of the three powers, some of the most heavily defended places on the planet, without a single casualty on our side. No single nation can beat us; only by working together can they hope to overcome us, and if they ally themselves there, they can ally themselves elsewhere as well. That is our goal, to be overcome by our enemies, but in doing so forge them into a single force.”

“That is why we can. But do you know why we must act now, after hundreds of years in the shadows?”

She responded in a monotone, reciting chapter and verse of past lessons.

“We must act quickly because humanity is approaching a new age of civilization and technology that will limit our influence, the two main factors being the colonies and the development of beam technology by the powers. Should the colonization of space be divided between the powers, humanity may never be able to unify regardless of what goes on Earth; Celestial Being must act before that occurs. And while the Gundams are far in advance of any normal mobile suit, the establishment of the theory of beam weapons by the three powers may lead to a sharp reduction in our advantage. Beam weapons are effective even against our Gundams, and should Celestial Being wait another decade, standard enemy mobile suits may be equipped with such.”

The male speaker nodded.

“Precisely. That is why we have sent Captain Sumeragi and the Gundam Meisters out despite there being only four of them, and that is why we have rolled the die on this final intervention. We have our final chance to fulfill Schenberg’s legacy, and to change humanity once and for all.”

He had been walking to the wine cabinet, and had taken out an expensive-looking bottle of wine which was actually sparkling water, his sole self-allowed luxury. After filling two glasses, he offered one to her, and took the other for himself.

“Within the next two years, Celestial Being will be dead. No credit will be unspent, no weapon spared, no life unused, to fulfill our intervention. And so, I offer a toast, to our brave Gundam Meisters and members of Celestial Being who have willingly taken this role and given away their own futures for humanity. To those who are about to die, we salute you!”
I'm sorry this letter is so long, but I did not have time to make it shorter. -Mark Twain

Official Jerid Fanboy
Dean_the_Young
Posts: 1293
Joined: Mon Apr 09, 2007 7:24 pm
Location: Near Rockets

And here's episode 5. Because I'll be playing soldier at Fort Benning, don't look for Episode 6 until sometime next week around this time.


Episode 5: Bonds that Tie

“Ovey ovey! I just want to sleep!”

After a interesting (curse the man who came up with that saying!) week that involved a trip to one of the three orbital elevators of the world, two near-death experiences at said elevator, and many other frustrations, Louise collapsed on her bed with a sigh, not even bothering to change into her normal night clothes. But despite being exhausted, sleep would not come. A nap on the descending train and the plane ride back to Japan had let her sleep, if not rest, and now she was paying the price.

A sigh. And then she rolled over, took her holo-computer from her bedside drawer, and called up the email service.

“If I can’t sleep, I guess I’ll just have to write the letter to Brother…”

And so she started typing the email of her last several days. It might even let her vent a bit about Saji, the clueless geek she called a boyfriend. Brother wouldn’t mind; she wrote to him about Saji a lot. He normally said nice words of encouragement, though sometimes Louise wondered if Brother’s friend helped write those return mails. It wouldn’t be the first time.

---
Konichiwa, Brother!

It’s Louise, of course, back in Japan once again. I know I told you that I was going up the Pillar of Heaven orbital tower this week, but did you know that I was part of the block that fell away after the accident? It’s true! It was really scary, and we all thought we were going to die until the mobile suits started pushing us away. Apparently, one of them was a gundam! I don’t know which one, but aren’t you investigating them?

But that was later. The trip to the tower itself was great; zero-g is fun! I arranged for Saji and I to have a private cabin rather than one of those crowded public ones. I think his sister was a bit jealous of us, even though she says she doesn’t quite approve of me. She likes me enough, but she thinks I’m too rich for Saji. She didn’t realize I could hear her when she said that, though! Her face when I told her was priceless!

Saji, though, is a dork. I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again, but you were right in your impression of him. He’s cute and lovable, but he’s also a dork and doesn’t do fun stuff unless you push him to doing it. He’s naïve to boot, even if that’s part of his charm. Did you know that he thought the “Mile-High Club” was a sandwich? Aargh! That boy is so clueless sometimes! Clueless clueless clueless!

He can’t even be a cool hero if his life depended on it! We did a spacewalk at the low-orbital tower, where there’s still slight gravity. I got him to join me on the edge, where we had a beautiful view of the Earth below us. After making sure my safety cord was secure, I “accidentally” started to fall backwards, so Saji would catch me. The goof wasn’t paying attention, and ended up lunging late at me and falling with me! It was a stupid idea, I know, but you wouldn’t have fallen like that. Why can’t Saji be cooler?

Sometimes I wonder why I bother. On the train ride up, when we had zero-g, he was more interested in the explanation of how the solar power system works than in hanging out with me, even though I brought food into space to eat. Then when we were walking in the gravity hub, he had the audacity to check out some Chinese girl who was already walking with a guy. Men! (No offence!)

I swear, the only redeeming part for him was that he didn’t panic when the gravity hub broke off. Unlike some of the grown men, he didn’t start screaming, and made sure that I was alright before we set off to figure out what had happened. When we were about to enter the gravity well, I was going to tell him, well, you know… but before I could, the Gundam showed up and interrupted.

I didn’t tell him afterwards, and I slept on the descent and the plane back to Japan. So did he, I think, though he put a blanket over me when he thought I was asleep. I’ll have to make that up to him soon. He isn’t a bad guy, even though I might complain about him. Otherwise, I wouldn’t still be with him.

Thanks for listening, Brother. I needed to vent that out, and now I feel like I’m about to crash. Goodnight, I’ll right to you again soon.

Your Sister,

Louise


---

The ping on the desk was the signal that Graham’s pocket computer had received the email from Louise, and a picture she had sent lit up a corner of the screen. Master Sergeant Dutch, the African American under Graham’s command, picked up the PC from the shelf it was on and took a look at the picture.

He cocked an eye; the picture was quite flattering to Louise. “A bit young for you, isn’t she Lieutenant? Doesn’t even look twenty yet; you like them young?”

Katagiri, who was also in the office, snorted in amusement. Graham looked up from the paperwork he had been going over and looked to see what Darryl was talking about. Seeing Louise’s photo, he chuckled.

“Sorry Dutch, but you should know by now that I only have eyes for the Gundam. That’s just Sister; she sends me emails everyonce in awhile. Hand that here, if you would. Apparently she was at the Human Reform League’s tower during the incident, and I’m guessing she finally got around to sending me a email.”

Dutch handed the computer over, making connections in his head. “I thought the Lieutenant didn’t have any siblings…” he trailed off.

While Graham read the mail, Katagiri answered. “You’re right; they aren’t actually related. Louise, that’s her name, got connected to Graham through a “Siblings in Service” government program several years ago back when Graham had just been commissioned, part of a school project. Graham was “Brother in Arms,” while she was “Sister Civilian.” They liked it enough that they’ve kept up contact for the last couple years.” Katagiri turned towards Graham, who was had a mix of amusement and surprise on his face. “She talking about Saji again? That’s her boyfriend.” The last part was to Dutch.

“You guessed it. And you owe me five bucks while you’re at it; I was right, and he didn’t know what the Mile High Club was. Doesn’t look like Louise got to explain it to him properly either.” He grinned as Katagiri groaned at the jab. “Turns out she was one of the people in the hub section that broke away, though. That was surprising.”

Both Dutch and Katagiri looked surprised as well. “Are they alright?”

Graham nodded. “Apparently Saji got good marks for how he handled the situation. Didn’t panic, kept his head on his shoulders, and made sure to look after Louise. You can tell she’s proud of that. I’ve got to give him credit for that; I don’t know many people who would keep their cool when sent off towards reentry. Better send an email back to her soon.”

And he did, later that day.

Dear Sister Civilian…
I'm sorry this letter is so long, but I did not have time to make it shorter. -Mark Twain

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User avatar
Zero Revenge
Posts: 802
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I think these are pretty damn funny. Keep them coming. Different sense of humor, but still funny.

I'm surprised more people haven't replied...
Dean_the_Young
Posts: 1293
Joined: Mon Apr 09, 2007 7:24 pm
Location: Near Rockets

Episode 6. I have mixed thoughts. I like the "What If" concept, but feel the character execution was a bit lagging. This WI is based on Katagiri. I'll probably do others in the future, but they may or may not be linked in any real fashion.



Gundam 00 Drabble 6

Alterations


Phase 1: Billy Katagiri

It was one of the seedier bars in the neighborhood, in a very controlled way. A place for guys who wanted to look tough, but not be in a place with a reputation for bar fights and other things that might require a man to walk the walk. It was, in short, an odd place, and Billy Katagiri looked ridiculous in his ever present lab jacket. But he ignored the stares and headed to the side of the always polished bar and saw a figure watching a news report on a personal holo screen. From the looks of it, is was of the nearing showdown between Celestial Being and the AEU over Moralia.

“What do you think, does it bring back memories?” Billy asked as he slid beside his companion. “A Scotch is you would,” he asked the bartender a moment later. He was quite fond of wine, but for a place like this some appearances had to be made.

“Perhaps,” his companion answered, looking at him for the first time.

“And? What do you think?” Billy asked. “What is your professional opinion?”

“Since when did I ever have a professional opinion? Soldiers weren’t supposed to have politics, remember?”

“That never stopped you when it applied to your job, I remember. How long has it been since we last had a drink?”

“Who can say for sure? I don’t know, which makes me feel old now. So tell me, why did you want to meet in person? What couldn’t you say over the phone, but can say here?”

Billy reached into his coat and grasped a box. Handing it over, he looked forward and sipped his drink. Doing this was harder than when he asked for his wife’s hand in marriage; at least then he had an idea of what the answer would be.

“This is…” his companion trailed off as he looked at the insignia in his hands. Years ago he would have been exhilarated. Shortly afterwards, he would have been glad and possibly thanking his lucky stars. Now he looked at the insignia with a mix of confusion and something else. “Is this what I think it is?”

“Yes. A commission to the rank of First Lieutenant as an instant promotion from your old rank, a full pardon and clearing of your record of the Incident, and a correction to your profile to mark you as having never left. It will be as if you never left.” Billy paused, and then leaned forward and whispered in a confidential tone. “You and I both know that the Incident wasn’t your fault, and that you were set up for the fall. And you know I’ve worked over these years to clear your name. And this is your chance! The top is so desperate for someone like you they don’t care who! You can return with your head high, and all you have to do is accept this one assignment! Graham!” The last word came out with emphasis; Billy wanted his old friend back, the way he was before the Incident that ruined him.

Graham looked at the insignia again, and closed it in his fist. “You were able to convince them to do this, Billy? They are desperate, aren’t they? What’s so important that those who hung me out to dry would let me back?” Graham saw Billy wince slightly at the acidic tone, and back-peddled. “I’m long since forgiven her, Billy. I know why she had to do what she did, and I don’t hold it against her. As far as she’s concerned, I’ve forgotten about the Incident. It’s those others that still get to me. What do they want?”

Billy took another sip from his scotch. So Graham was still bitter from how he had been made the scapegoat for the incident, if not at him. Not what Billy had wanted, but there was no helping it. He continued. “We want you to come on board of the Anti Gundam Investigation Unit as one of our lead pilots. You’d be working with me and my wife, as well as any pilot you feel the need to conscript for the purpose of capturing a Gundam.”

Graham snorted in amusement; clearly the military hadn’t learned to make names that made sense since he had left. Billy continued. “We don’t just need good pilots; we need the best. You remember Lieutenant Yamamato?”

Graham nodded, even as he was pleased at the praise. Yamamato was one of the most famous pilots in the Union’s military, if paradoxically one of the gentlest people in the world. He was famous for once having taken out twelve Tierens, two of them high-mobility types, in two minutes during a sortie in the Pacific. Graham had never flown against him back in the service, but Yamamato was a bar everyone sought to pass.

“He was shot down in under a minute by one of the Gundams while on a reconnaissance patrol over the Pacific. He survived despite being slashed mere meters over his cockpit, but the only time he touched the Gundam was when his mobile suits arm scrapped some paint off while falling to the Pacific. That paint is the only forensic evidence we have of the Gundams yet. All the Union’s top scientists are on the case, and only the top have any clue as to what we’re seeing. Even I’m not being told, and I near invented the Flag!”

Graham digested this, but said nothing. Truth be told, he was surprised anyone could beat Yamamato that easily. Surprised, and perhaps a little pleased. Good, thought Billy. He was interested, and that was the most important part.

“That’s why we need you, Graham. You’re a survivor, and the Union needs to capture a Gundam before either Celestial Being turns its sights on us or another power captures the a Gundam themselves. So what do you say? Just say the word and you can have it all back. Your pride, your place, and a challenge of a life time. You can have it all once again. What do you say? It’ll be just like old times.” By now, Billy was giving a smile that challenged Graham to do anything other than to take on the world. Any moment now, Billy thought. Any moment now, and the Graham he had known would be back on the team, and Celestial Being wouldn’t stand a chance…

“No.” Billy blinked. He had been sure he was close…

“Why?” He would accept it, it wasn’t like he could force Graham to pilot at gunpoint, but he had been sure. “Why not? Is it still the Incident?”

Graham smiled, and for a moment Billy felt like they were back to the days of being young men in the Union’s military. “Don’t take it personally. It’s not you, Billy, and like I said earlier I’ve long since made my peace in regards to your wife. It’s not even the Incident; I rarely think about it these days. Had you come six years ago, or even four, I would have leapt at the chance, but not now. I’ve gotten involved in other things since then, and now I’m in the middle of something big. I can’t tell you what, though I’m sure you’ll know one of these days. But until then, I can’t go back. Sorry to disappoint you, Billy.” He extended his hand, and Billy took it. They had never stopped being friends, but now they were connected once again.

Billy sighed. “There’s no helping it, I suppose.” A wry smile graced his lips. “You were always stubborn and unpredictable, you know that?” He rose, but spoke again. “You know how to contact me; if you ever change your mind, and I do mean ever, the door will always be open for you. Don’t be a stranger.”

“Don’t worry; I won’t. I’ll aim to keep in touch more, though.

“And Graham?”

“Yeah Billy?”

“I really wish you had joined back up.” And Billy turned as Graham watched him walk away.

---

Billy opened the door quietly. He didn’t want to wake anyone, but he was foiled. As he walked into his bedroom, the rustling of sheets told him that the other occupant was awake.

“Billy? Is that you?”

“You should be asleep, Sumeragi,” he chided his wife. “You know you’ve been spending too much time on those simulations lately.”

“There are too many variables when it comes to Celestial Being, and if I forget any of them the whole system is off. I think I figured out what will happen, though.”

“Yes?” he asked like he was supposed to while he slipped into nightwear.

“Short of pulling out a new trick, at least one of the Gundams will be brought down over Moralia. But since I know that, they likely know that, and if they know that then they’ve likely prepared a trick. I expect that the Gundams will win without a loss.”

Billy knew he could trust her prediction; except for one infamous miscalculation, Sumeragi had been near flawless for years. She was a living legend in Union Military Intelligence, the person who had turned the very name from an oxymoron into a group that anti-Unionists trembled before. If she said four mobile suits would beat two hundred, only a fool or a gambler would bet otherwise. Except for one infamous mistake, of course…

They had been married long enough that their thoughts often ran parallel. She spoke with the first hint of hesitation he had heard from her in awhile. “And what did he say when you asked him?” It wasn’t fear that made her hesitate; it was a feeling of responsibility that had lasted all these years.

Who she was talking about was clear, as was the reason for her hesitance. Even after so many years, she still had periods of depression, where she wondered what would have happened had she taken the fall as she should have, rather than allowing Billy and his friend to try and cover it up. When they had been caught, and Graham had been placed responsible for the failure of the operation, she knew she should have done something. But both Billy and Graham had told her not to, and so she had said nothing. It was the hardest decision she had ever made.

Her husband put his hand on her shoulder. “He said that he doesn’t hold it against you, you know. He’s forgiven you, and you should forgive yourself.”

Tension flowed out of her shoulder, but she didn’t let him change the subject. “He didn’t accept because of the Incident though, correct?”

“Actually, he said it was because he had another commitment, though he didn’t care to elaborate. I think we resolved things, though. I told him the offer would always be open, and he promised to try and stay in contact more often. Who knows with him? He might change his mind. We might meet again sooner than we think.” And with that, he turned off the lights as he got in bed with his wife.

---

Elsewhere in the city, a man was speaking into a cell phone in the privacy of his hotel room.

“Yes Captain, don’t worry. I’ll be ready for tomorrow’s mission. I just wanted to let you know that the Union’s put their top engineer and their best strategic planner, against us now. They’re working on reverse engineering the Gundams, though he couldn’t say what they have learned so far. I wanted to let you know about the new opportunity, should we ever wish to use it. We’ll need to be cautious, now.

“Yes, yes sir. I understand. I’ll be maintaining contact with him whenever possible.”

“Understood. Out.”

And with the last task of the day done, Gundam Meister Graham Acre went to sleep.
I'm sorry this letter is so long, but I did not have time to make it shorter. -Mark Twain

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Twenty Motivations, two sentences each. You do the math, and you figure out who I’m talking about. I liked how this turned out; did you?



Gundam 00 Drabble 7

Motivations

1: Patricide

The curse of his actions was to see them before his eyes forever more. The sole absolution will be to make a world where it could never happen again.

2: Abandonment

In space, no one could hear them scream. Now his cries will change the world.

3: Reciprocity

They took his parents. Now he will take theirs, until no one ever does it again.

4: Objectivity

The cold logic of their mission was all he needed. Sometimes, the village must be destroyed in order to save it.

5: Perfection

The only time she had made a major mistake before, it had cost here everything; her position, her love, and her conscience. It won’t happen again.

6: Naïve Idealism

The ignorance of youth had played its hands. If the end is eternal peace, what do the means matter?

7: Guardian

He was strong enough that he could live in the world either way. But then, someone has to protect her.

8: Human Reform

He had always liked the idea, even if he felt the execution was lacking. Unlike them, he would cleanse the evils of humanity.

9: Vision

His vision had set everything in motion; everything. To a patient man, a year can pass without qualm; to him, hundreds.

10: Fealty

They had sought her when no other hope remained. In return, she would seek with all her power to deliver them.

11: Challenge

A woman of her ability could have thrived anywhere she chose, so why stay here? It certainly wasn’t archaic nationalism; perhaps it was the challenge of having no cards but your advice to play.

12: Pride

Proof of excellence is proof of existence. However, mastery of games is not enough.

13: Prejudice

They were all beneath him; why shouldn’t he believe it? They were gullible pawns who would go to hell for him for the sake of a kind word, and he was the one who moved the Queen.

14: Destiny

It was quite literally what she was born (no, made) to do. What other path or reason could there be?

15: Fatherland

He had offered his life to his homeland because it had given it to him in the first place. Now, however, he is the one who can offer life to one who has never had it.

16: Rise, Learn, and Grow

To be the strongest, to go the farthest, to climb the highest! There is no limit to his potential!

17: Sum of the Parts

By himself, he would be considered brilliant, intelligent, kind, and more. Together with his friend, they are more, and he knows it.

18: Discovery

Due to circumstances, she had started working in news long before her brother was even concerned with his girlfriend. Now a new phenomenon has appeared that she can’t wrap her mind around, and it drives her nuts.

19. Bildungsroman

His is a man in potential, just as his life is an unwritten story. From here, the meaning is in the journey, not the destination.

20. Grow Up

Despite the knowledge and experience in her, she is still very much a child in some ways. However, she knows that the best days of her life won’t last forever, and sometimes it worries her.
I'm sorry this letter is so long, but I did not have time to make it shorter. -Mark Twain

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Is it just me, or are you quoting LeCreuset in the first half of Motivation #16?
Great stuff, as ever.
// ART THREAD // NOT ACCEPTING REQUESTS

"You can learn all the math in the 'verse, but take a boat in the air you don't love, she'll shake you off just as sure as the turn of the worlds. Love keeps her in the air when she ought to fall down. Tells you she's hurting before she keens. Makes her a home."
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Dark Duel wrote:Is it just me, or are you quoting LeCreuset in the first half of Motivation #16?
Great stuff, as ever.
It's not just you. I see Graham as a character with tons of potential both ability and character-wise, even if we don't know what his goal is. Is he ambitious for power like Jerid? Does he have a cause to fight for? Does he fight because he likes to? His potential for character development is what gets me, and made the quote jump out to me.

In fact, "Rise, Learn, and Grow" is the title of an excelent character-development driven story on fanfiction.net by Silver1 for Digimon, and part of a series of excellent stories that focus on characters maturing. If I use the theme titles "Walkabout", "Justice", "Unheard Voices", and "Caring Hearts", it'll probably be with those stories in mind.
I'm sorry this letter is so long, but I did not have time to make it shorter. -Mark Twain

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I've only skimmed some of the longer ones (though I did read ep. 3 completely), but I suppose I'll chime in with some encouragement. I won't say they're consistently hilarious, but the overall quality is good, with occasional flashes of much better than good. I enjoy the changing styles, it should allow you to keep this series running for a while without growing monotonous. Although they share a common author, they feel more like an anthology than a continuous body of work, and I like that.

EDIT: And "Sometimes the village must be destroyed in order to save it," fits Tieria perfectly.
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...in fact, it's best if you forget I was ever here before.
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Ascension wrote:I've only skimmed some of the longer ones (though I did read ep. 3 completely), but I suppose I'll chime in with some encouragement. I won't say they're consistently hilarious, but the overall quality is good, with occasional flashes of much better than good. I enjoy the changing styles, it should allow you to keep this series running for a while without growing monotonous. Although they share a common author, they feel more like an anthology than a continuous body of work, and I like that.

EDIT: And "Sometimes the village must be destroyed in order to save it," fits Tieria perfectly.
Aye this is what I wanted to hear. So a change of styles is a definite plus? I'll keep it in mind.

If you don't mind, can you tell me which parts were the most mediocre, and which parts stood out? I found that with episode 3, I can't use the script format as well as Thundermuffin because he has a much better library/memory of references to throw around (like "Stellar Smash!") than I do. The Graham-Setsuna fight was what I thought was a weak point, while the Saji switching to the news at just the right time was a good one. You agree, disagree with that?
I'm sorry this letter is so long, but I did not have time to make it shorter. -Mark Twain

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Episode 8's piece, which has nothing to do with episode 8 and was in fact written the Tuesday before, right after I posted the last update. I might or might not do a real Episode 8 piece after a good copy finds its way to me.

Brace yourselves; this is a seven-part dozy.


Gundam 00 Oneshot 8

Seven Stages of Grief

Stage 1: Shock

Graham collapsed on the couch, visibly shaken and drenched with sweat. He mouthed inaudible words, while at the same time staring at his gloved hands. While he accepted the coffee Billy handed to him, he made no other acknowledgement of his presence. He just sat there, oblivious to the world around him while Billy tried to ease his friend back into reality.

In the hallway, his two subordinates Warrant Officer Mason and Master Sergeant Dutch looked through the door at their stricken leader. While they wanted to help, they were clearly out of their depth and left the work to Billy, who had already shooed them out of the room. Instead, they were reduced to watching.

Master Sergeant Dutch was the first to break the silence. “It couldn’t just be from being shot down, could it? Everyone has a bad day every once in a while, on occasionally you or I get him during practice and he’s never been like this before.” Confusion was clearly present on his African-American brows.

Warrant Officer Mason pushed his glasses back up his face before responding. “I don’t think that’s it either. Maybe it was something said during the fight?”

Dutch shook his head, the braids in the back of his hair flying. “I know it can’t be that; I know for a fact that he’s tougher than any trash talk. Nothing gets to him. Gotta be something else.”

Mason looked back at Graham, who now sported a emergency blanket around his shoulders that Billy had dug up from somewhere.

“I don’t know, Dutch. What the hell happened during his match with the AEU’s Patrick Corlasawar to make him like this?



Stage 2: Denial

This is not happening. This is not happening. This is SO not happening! Saji fell backwards against the wall of his apartment entryway while staring straight into the living room. A gasp of surprise indicated that he had been seen, and the frantic sound of skin on fabric called images to his mind that he did not want to see right now.

“Saji!” That was Louise’s voice, the epitome of surprise. “You were supposed to be gone longer!”

Somehow, Saji’s first thoughts were of despair. “But Louise! Why? Why at all, and why him?”

Saji pointed a quivering figure at the half naked Setsuna who was standing behind the couch. He had apparently managed to throw on a pair of black pocketless spandex and gree sleeveless shirt in that instant, but just by standing and showing well toned muscles, he made Saji feel weak and inadequate. Setsuna merely nodded, and said in that monotone of his, “You normally take another twenty minutes, Crossroads.”

Louise didn’t help. Wearing a shear shirt that would be better called as decoration than modesty, she stood by Setsuna with a hand dancing up his exposed and glistening chest, one finger tracing a circle on his green shirt. “You never gave me the one last thing I wanted from you, Saji. You’re innocence is charming, but sometimes a girl wants more. And when you didn’t provide…”

Here she put her hand under the green shirt, and started slowly moving it downwards in a way that made Saji gulp. “I had to go somewhere else.”

What’s gotten into her?Saji took a staggering step towards Louise, still on Setsuna’s arm. “Louise, this isn’t like you! I’m sorry, but I’ll make it up to you! So please…”

Saji stopped short when Setsuna suddenly pulled out a black pistol, despite having no pockets. Where did he pull that from? His a**? “You’ll do no such thing, Crossroads. You had your chance with her, and now it’s my turn. You’re no longer needed.” Setsuna’s horrifying smile made it all the more menacing.

This can’t be real! Saji thought, as Setsuna pulled the trigger…

And woke up screaming in his own bed as the alarm blared. Memories flooded back to him; his sister was out of town on work, Louise would be over any minute, and perhaps that last slice of pizza before the nap wasn’t the best idea...

As he got a drink of water to cool his nerves, loud and authoritative pounding started at the his door. Saji hurried over to it, and opened it just in time to see Setsuna, dressed in black spandex and a sleeveless shirt, prepare to shoot off the door lock. Saji’s blood pressure skyrocket even after his neighbor pointed the gun in a less threatening direction.

“I heard your scream. Is there an emergency, Saji?”

And most horrifying of all, Louise’s head popped up from behind Setsuna’s back, where she was hiding while grasping his arm.



Stage 3: Bargaining

“Fine, please. I’ll even put in a good word for you.”

“ I said no, sorry.”

“Look, I’ll make it worth your while. I’m willing to slide a little something in, if it would grease any wheels.”

“Who do you think I am? No means no.”

“Alright , play coy. Oops! My wallet fell on the ground. Oh well, it’s not like there’s anything in there I can’t afford to lose. I’ll just look the other way now…”

“Bribing an officer is a federal crime, pilot, and it won’t work on me.”

“God damn it, do you even know who I am? I could make or break your career with a single letter, and when I make such a simple request like this you bring up all this damn red tape? Stuff the red tape! I’ll be fine!”

“These visits would be much easier on you if you would just stay quiet and do as we say, you know. Now I’ll have to sedate you to lower your blood pressure, and then you’ll just be here for another twelve hours. You brought this on yourself; just accept that what we do is for your own good.”

He had always hated hospitals before, and now he was given another reason why. It was truly a sad day in history when ace pilot Patrick Corlasawar couldn’t even get real food inside a hospital.



Stage 4: Guilt

The worst part of it, Sergei mused as he used the military-grade brush to remove the last of the intricate ties and patterns in his hair, was that he felt so guilty in removing it. Clearly Soma would not remark on it one way or another; respect for superiors had been so ingrained in her that he suspected that she was confounded that he had let her do it in the first place. And just as clearly, keeping it would have shattered his image in the eyes of his other subordinates, which could be disastrous for discipline at a time when a single misstep could spell disaster.

But when he had asked about his subordinate’s unique hair style on a whim, it had immediately become apparent that it was one of her few links to her humanity. Soma, the Indian designer baby whose entire life revolved around being the perfect little human machine, was attached to her hairstyle.

Personally, Sergei wondered where Soma would have learned the intricacies of hair braiding without a mother or sister to pass it on. Perhaps the labs in which she had been raised had suffered a bout of cultural-related political correctness and had taught her as a matter of policy. Maybe one of the female doctors, in a bout of sympathy, had taught a young girl how to braid her hair in classical patterns. Either way, Sergei had seen how one of the calmest, most human points of Soma’s day was immediately after she had performed her morning hygiene and braided her hair. At those times, her military formality almost softened with a hint of peace which lasted until she was reminded of her duty.

And so, seeking to nurture any hint of humanity within his young subordinate’s mind, he has asked her to see what sort of work she could do with his hair. He had used a vague excuse of potentially needing to change his hair in the future should he ever need to connect with a domestic Indian are and that he had noticed her patterns and if she wouldn’t mind helping teach him on this matter. She had obviously been bewildered by the unexpected request, but he had produced a reflective screen in his quarters and soon enough she had stood behind him, attempting to put his too-short hair into various patterns.

Sergei had been rewarded as well. Not just in his hair style, which Soma had skillfully managed to rearrange three, four times despite the limitations of his short hair, but in seeing Soma unwind fractionally during the exercise. She had taken off her ever-present gloves, and her calloused fingers gently threaded his strands over and under each other. Her eyes, rather than calculate the best way to break someone’s neck or who could possibly present a threat, instead looked into creative possibilities. But most importantly, her shoulders and face had eased out of their customary iron-ridged posture. Her shoulders were almost relaxed as they moved the arms in non-machinelike motions, and her grim expression had softened into a not-quite-a-smile of contentment.

And with regret, Sergei had broken stopped it after a period of time. While work had been caught up on when they started, his commander-senses told him that there would always be more once he went back, and that letting a super-soldier play with his hair wouldn’t be the smartest reason to neglect his duties. As soon as he had signaled for Soma to stop, her posture immediately went back to its default and her relaxation was forgotten, almost as if she was trying to reconcile that she had just been working on her superior’s hair style. He had asked her to go on ahead of him while he cleared up, and now he was just finishing destroying the last proof of her work.

What kind of people would create such a child and call it ideal? Sergei rarely questioned his superiors, but this was one area in which he couldn’t simply trust that those above him were better connected to the truth. He knew he would do his best to allow Soma some semblance of humanity, now he would go back to work for the very people who had made her this way.

At some point, something would have to change.



Stage 5: Anger

“I am sick and tired of all you all! You are all a bunch of idiots!”

Allelujah’s hands slamming on the table only emphasized the outburst, while his eyes flashed gold.

“You,” his figure pointing at Setsuna, “have done perhaps the most moronic move I have ever seen! You exposed yourself to complete defeat for no reason, stopping in the middle of the battlefield like that! You set up your team to lose, all on a whim! You never even bothered to consider the consequences! Idiot! If you’re going to specialize in powerful melee weapons, you have to work with your teammates to cover your weaknesses!”

“Lockon!” he snarled, changing targets. “You take nothing at all seriously, and haven’t demonstrated the slightest bit of leadership! You just let everyone run around aimlessly, while you yourself just charged straight up the base with pistols blazing as everyone and their mother turned to fire at you! If it weren’t for your extra shielding and us, you would have died in an instant. Take charge, god damn it, and like a leader! Correct someone if they step out of line!”

“And don’t you start smirking, Tieria,” he said, turning to the last one. “You’re no better than them. You can spam your big guns and laser all you want, but unless you learn some control you’re as big a danger to us as you are to the enemy! You almost vaporized me that one time, AND you let the enemy get away! Someday an enemy will come who can beat you at your own game, and what then? Jesus-fecking-Christ!”

Silence descended on the four Meisters with the exception of heavy breathing following the outburst. Then, after a few more moments, Allelujah raised his head with a sheepish look on his face.

“I apologize for Hallelujah’s outburst. He’s especially a fan of this classic series, and hates to see anyone do badly at it. I’ll keep him under better control, I promise.”

Lockon was the first to reply. “Ah, he had a point though, so don’t worry. I would have done better with a sniper rifle, but there wasn’t one and so I had to stay with what I knew. You’ve seen my luck with grenades.”

Setsuna gave an encyclopedia’s worth of opinion when he softly said “My controller was unplugged, so I was fixing it.”

Tieria was the only one who showed any real hint of annoyance. “Would someone remind me why we’re sitting around playing a game over three hundred years old? The processing is poor, the graphics worse, and the controls are archaic. And how can there even be air on the inside of a giant ring in space?



Stage 6: Depression

It was a pub more than a bar, a place for groups rather than individuals to come and drown their sorrows. Here and there were older, well established groups of legend. There sat the White Ghost, constantly squabbling with the Red Comet. No one talked to the newest arrivals; the unofficial hierarchy would only be set once there was a good feel as to the direction the newcomers would go.

“New” does not always mean “happy,” though. Not a fifth of the way through the season, and already some of the characters were helping themselves to the variety of beverages available. Some heavily, some not so much.

Graham Acre was one of those drinking only lightly, in his case just enough to get him in a light fury. “God damn it, they still won’t give up! How many times am I going to have to go over this? I… AM… NOT… GAY! It’s hasn’t even been two months, and they’re already drawing smut of me and Billy! And, for that matter, me and Setsuna! What’s next, myself and Soma? Am I going to be the pedo-manwhore of this series?” It was probably fortunate for the peace of the bar that Graham didn’t notice the males of more than three other series roll their eyes and laugh at his “predicament.” Graham hadn’t suffered anything yet compared to the infamous G-Boy Fivesome.

Neither had Wang Liu Mei, who was a bit tipsy after drinking what was alleged to be apple cider. “You should add me to that list to, you know. I’m not even eighteen, so I’d fit right in. I can see it now! New doujin, straight from the perverts! “Liu Mei ‘meets’ Graham, the full exposure inside! What will hunky bodyguard and hunk-toy Hong Long do?” That’s if I’m lucky, of course; if I’m not, I’ll be checking up on every single Gundam Meister and half the male soldiers of the Human Reform League. Perverts can’t even wait for me to be legal.” Neither of them noticed Meer and Lacus’s twin wails of anguish as the horrible memories of countless doujin welled-up inside them.

Beside them Sumeragi snorted and took another sip of her gin, though whether it was hers or the bar’s is a joke cliché at the making. “You think you have it bad? Felt’s only fourteen, and yet her bust is bigger than most models’. And at least you get the decency to wear clothes. In seven episodes, I went from a full-body space suit to not having a shirt top worth the name! Fanservice is one thing, but I’m being turned into the next “Captain Earthquake-joyjoy!”” From across the bar, female captains from across the multiverse looked up at the sound of their name.

Dark laughter cut off Sumeragi. Unlike the others, Patrick was the definition of wasted. He staggered, in the space of an hour he looked like he hadn’t slept for a week, and at the rate he was going the bar’s owner would be a millionaire by age thirty. To make matters worse, rumor had it that even Jerid Messa had refused to drink with Patrick, despite the general ‘rival alliance’ mentality of gundam rivals and antagonists. “At least you get script and face time! I’ve showed up a grand total of four times, and every time I’m a joke! I’m the best in the AEU, and yet while Flag-boy here gets to duel with the Gundam, I get to be my own Team Rocket every episode! Heck, even the President of the Union gets more lines and face time than me!” He likely would have gone on longer, but a well aimed throw from (H)Allelujah put him to sleep. Allelujah then turned back to trying to convince a slightly drunk Sergei that he was not about to try and take advantage of Soma, who was likely the soberest person in the pub.

Graham turned his attention to his other side, where Setsuna had been drinking his own ‘cider’ quietly for the last several minutes. “How about you, my dear rival? How have they messed with you so far?” After seeing Patrick go down, Graham was almost giddy with drink.

Setsuna looked up from his mug, and then looked back down.

“They had me kill my parents.” He looked up again, and looked Graham in the eye. “Do you think that will get me laid by an older girl? I heard that good things happen if you kill some girl’s family, but I’m not so sure what happens if it’s your own…”

Graham, Liu Mei and Sumeragi all looked at each other and nodded. Compared to Setsuna, their problems for the moment were minor.



Stage Seven: Acceptance

It was strange how easily they had come to depend on each other, despite the unnatural and completely random nature of their relationship. He was man, the hero of his nation, sworn to capture her so that she could be taken apart, piece by piece. She was machine, a “she” only in the vaguest sense of the word and data compilation, and one whose mission was literally hard coded into her. And furthermore, she wasn’t even his machine, though he was assigned to capture her and had joked of falling for her before they had been stuck together. It had only been by chance they had “met,” if two people of different forms of existence could really meet. He had been unconscious while having his implants updated, and she had been separated from her mainframe and chased throughout the system by the primitive AIs every nation used. She had escaped pursuit by hiding, but when Graham had woken up, he had found her, the Exia, in his mind.

At first, she had forced his compliance to keep her presence hidden by blackmail, holding his senses and life hostage to her control. She had intended to force him to return her to her mainframe. He had been resolved to see to it that she was removed and annihilated piece by piece, and that he would stand there as it was done. But when they had both realized that both would die if either was removed, an uneasy relationship had formed, known only to the observant Billy Katagiri. While Graham sought even harder to capture the Gundam, Exia could not let anyone get a hold of her mainframe, even reduced to a marionette as it was without her. But she could not let Graham die, and Graham had to see to her well being as well, and mutual dependence forced understanding. And understanding slowly changed the two of them, and grew into more.

Slowly, he came to accept and even rely on her updates and her advice in battle, and the improvements she had given his Flag so that he would not die as he sortied against both gundams and other mobile suits alike. And slowly, the Gundam Sentient AI became less concerned with taking every advantage of her situation for intelligence, and connected with the Union pilot in a fashion her previous one had been ill-suited for. Graham stopped being her host, she stopped being a parasite, and together they became greater than the sum of their parts.

And now, as she stands (Floats? Exists?) before the Veda supercomputer, the one force on Earth that can separate the two of them, as Graham lays vulnerable, unconscious, on a cold metal bed, she finds herself refusing her god, her creator, refusing to abandon her host if it costs his life. Her previous existence has become obsolete; her role in the gundam has been replaced in her absence, and her recovery is now a luxury, not a necessity. In fact, her existence has become a threat should she refuse as she does now. Her home (home is where the heart is) is elsewhere now, with him. And in her so-human, and yet so-alien mind, she wonders when they came to accept each other so.


END


Different inspirations for each stage of grief, which I’ll quickly summarize.

Inspiration 1: I asked myself, “what would be the absolute worst thing that could happen to Graham at this point in the series?”
2: Been looking to throw in a “Setsuna steals Saji’s girl,” and the chance to make a poke at Heero Yui’s magic pockets was too much.
3: Based on a real account of a hospital, where someone got so upset over not being able to have real food actually had to be sedated
4: Papa Bear Sergei and Soma. What’s not to like? Also partially motivated by this.
5: Should be obvious, unless you live under a rock.
6: Complaints of the cast. Hm, does sexual harassment seem like a trend?
7: Awkward; I was remembering “Metropolis” vaguely, and was wondering how a Graham-Exia pairing could possibly work after hearing Graham (jokingly?) declare his love for the Gundam. Clearly, a cyborg/AI was the only possibility while keeping it Gundam-like and not total AU. An alternate universe idea I might explore in the future, and likely my attempt at the genre of impossible loves. (And totally uncannon to boot. :D)
I'm sorry this letter is so long, but I did not have time to make it shorter. -Mark Twain

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Note to self: In future, don't attempt to parody tv shows that you have (a) never seen, (b) have no idea what they really involve, or (c) can't stand to humanly face. When you do, non-so-outstanding writing results, even if it is as good an idea as anything else you can think of.

But next week is going to be pretty empty for me; I may write a more serious drabble on episode 8, so if I do think of it as an apology/peace offering of sort. I think I'll do much better with it than I did with this.


Gundam 00 Episode 9

00 Channel Flipping

IE: Don’t rip off modern television, especially if you don’t watch it.

24

… Christina walks into a dark room. Inside is a chair with restraints, occupied by a young man of Middle Eastern descent. He is already bloody, and in front of him is Tieria. Tieria looks up, and puts down the drill that he had just turned on.

“He isn’t talking yet, but don’t worry. I’m about to get serious,” foreboding look, “and soon he’ll be telling me everything. I’ll make him talk.”

“Tieria, why are you doing this? Sumeragi and Veda deduced to location of the bomb as soon as we found out about it.”

A look of annoyance flitters on Tieria’s face. “They could be wrong. Do you really want to risk it, going easy on people like this? The lives of millions are at stake, after all.”

Christina sighs. “The two of them have never been wrong before, Tieria, and Allelujah is recovering the bomb as we speak. The city is safe. Geeze, you’re such a sicko.” Christina walks out, closes the soundproof door.

“I don’t understand why she was seen fit to be a part of Celestial Being.” A shrug, and Tieria picks up the drill and turns back towards Setsuna…

---

Generic Soaps

“Last week on “Love in Space,” Christina was astonished at the declaration of love from her crewmate at the Ptolemaios, the cheerful helmsman Lichtendahl Caeli. However, what he didn’t know was of Christina’s unrequited love for her personal hero, Allelujah, who is currently entranced by the mysterious Indian girl Soma Peiris, who is the charge of the protective Sergei Smirnov.

At the same time, though, thoughts of Setsuna linger on Marina’s mind even as she struggles to support her nation, but what does the appearance of the handsome Alejandro Corner mean for this recently seeded relationship? And what will happen to the relationship of Louise and Saji, now that her mother has arrived to drive the two apart? And what role will Lockon’s twin play in his relationship with the young Felt?”


---


Jerry Springer

Scheduled guests.

Live coverage of the relationship between a older man who accuses his much younger girlfriend of cheating him and getting pregnant, despite her protests that he is the father of her baby. Look forward to the unveiling of the DNA test, and the shocking appearance of the man’s identical twin!

Then, the tale of an upper-class mother who accuses her daughter’s boyfriend (of humble origins) of molesting her daughter, even though the young man denies touching her and the girl protests that it was only because the two are in love with each other. How will they react when the boy’s sister shows up and demands that he takes responsibility for his actions and marry the girl?

---

Survivor

The Pre-Vote Oppinions as Team CB Votes a Member Off

Sumeragi: While I admit I was outmaneuvered by Sergei, I think we would have done better had our lookout done his job better.

Christina: I know I freaked out back there, but being surprised by Team HRL was not my fault!

Felt: …Lockon…

Caeli (the lookout): Yeah, I was asleep at the switch. That doesn’t mean I have to vote for myself, though, does it?

Allelujah: Personally, I think we all screwed up back there, and it can’t be blamed on anyone of us. Did you see the way I went out of control back there? Man, did Tieria get on my case for that…

Tieria: I think it’s clear now that I’m the only one who deserves to be on the team. I keep telling people when they disgrace themselves, but they refuse to change. Setsuna was completely useless out there.

Lockon: We would have done much better had I been able to shoot well. I blame the haro mechanics.

Haro mechanics: Haro! Haro! Tieria kicked us!

Setsuna: …I am Gundam…


And so the votes were tallied:
Haro mechanics: 1
Setsuna: 1
Caeli: 2
Tieria: 5






And don’t miss our other programs for this week!

“Crib” is going to visit the mansion of idol Wang Liu-Mei, but watch as we try and escape the gaze of her constant hunk companion and find ourselves her legendary secret rooms!

In “Pimp My Ride,” Master Sergeant Dutch proves that he’s black by tackling the ride of his homedog Graham, who wants something better than his old-fashioned Union Flag, while Ali Al Sarshes is going to get a taste of what an Enact can really do once it goes through the hood. Don’t forget to tune in and watch the stereotypes at work!

And on Friday at eleven, turn in to Fox News where the beautiful Marina Ismail and expert Shirin Bakhtiar tell what to think, and how to think it, about the wonderful Middle Eastern country of Azadistan, the perfect place for you to invest!
Last edited by Dean_the_Young on Mon Dec 24, 2007 11:37 am, edited 1 time in total.
I'm sorry this letter is so long, but I did not have time to make it shorter. -Mark Twain

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Gundam 00 Episode 10

Five Mighty Angels



GN-001 Exia

Exousiai: Powers; the Sixth Ranking Order of Angle. Sometimes credited to having been the first Order created by God. Subordinate only to God Himself, they are tasked with keeping the Universe in balance.

Also: “Power of Choice,” “To Have,” “To Have Freedom to Act”

Setsuna F. Seiei

Seiei: Roughly to shatter, one who shatters.

It is his purpose, his last meaning for existence. It allows him to change the world. It has given him complete freedom to act as he sees fit, despite what his superiors desire. But can one who shattered his own family obey the plan with such power at his fingertips?



GN-002 Dynames

Dynamis: Virtues. The class of Angels that lie beyond the Throne.

Also: Strength (of Armies), Power (of miracles)


Lockon Stratos

Lockon: to target

Stratos: Army, General

With it, he had the power of his namesake. With it, he could reach out and touch someone. But with great power comes great responsibility, and a leader’s greatest responsibility is the safety of his command. To protect those he cares about, he will need more Strength. To end all conflict, he will need more Power.



GN-003 Kyrios

Kyriotetes: Dominions. The order of angels tasked with overseeing other angels; the angels who preside over the fate of nations.

Also: Lord, Master, One Who Controls Something

Allelujah Haptism

(H)Allelujah: Praise the Lord/Master

Haptism: Baptism; Ritual purification; the cleansing of sins

Agree, they can not. Compromise, they will not. Unify, they may not. Two paths diverge from a single mind, but a baptism of blood will purge the weaker. Who will be Master? Who will forfeit control? And who will oversee these two in their struggle?



GN-005 Virtue

Virtue: Virtues. The class of Angels that lie beyond the Throne.

Also: Strength (of Armies), Power (of miracles)


Tieria Erde

Erde: Earth

He was a mountain: powerful, resolute, unmoving, and uncompromising. So why was he as weak as them? Why was he just as unfit as those whose virtues wavered?



GN-004 Nadleeh

Nadleeh: Navaho spiritual men, with feminine characteristics. Important and respected, with connotations of transgender.


Tieria Erde

Erde: Earth


It was almost magic, the way she had turned the tables on his captors. But now he is left inside of her as her Virtue coverings surround them, and he is forced to face his inner confusion. What is he now? Is he fit to be a Gundam Meister? "Ore wa... Boku wa.... Watashi wa..."









I’d like to say that I received help from Blacknight, who has my thanks even if he didn’t require them, while also noting that any bad writing is my own and not his, and that while the known definitions/declinations I gave are rough and slightly off, they were meant to capture the spirit of the idea rather than the exact linguistic meanings.

But obviously, the idea was for 5 themed sentence groups, where the meaning of the pilot was linked to the meaning of the Gundam. The results may be mixed, but I'm proud of it anyway.
I'm sorry this letter is so long, but I did not have time to make it shorter. -Mark Twain

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Gundam 00 Episode 11

10 Thoughts: Sumeragi

1. Zero-G
Space was a wonderful place: materials impossible to manufacture in gravity could form with ease, an infinite expanse of space with an infinite supply of energy to mold it, and an infinite amount of possibilities. Oh, and where else could beer form a perfect sphere in the middle of the air?

2. Back Support
Space is said to be very good for the health (until your bones get weak), and Sumeragi would agree if asked. Nowhere else would she be able to curl a hundred pounds, and in space she never has back problems from holding her chest up straight.

3. Crush
One of the things she’d been expecting upon boarding the Ptolemy was to become the center of the male crew’s attention. She was mostly pleased when she found out otherwise, though it was fun to tease Allelujah at times. (Setsuna was a lost cause, she had long realized. Not even a peek from him.)

4. Maniacal
For something as imposing and all-knowing as Veda, it was awfully boring. What was the point of planning in scheming the fate of nations in a hidden room in a secret location if you didn’t do it in dim lighting over a chessboard?

5. Jealousy
As Christina stretched and attempted to ask Allelujah to put suntan lotion on her back, Sumeragi could just feel the undercurrent of jealousy coming from the girl as the Meister gawked at the strategic planner.

6. True Sight
Whenever anyone asked how Sumeragi could predict so accurately after seeing the data, she would just shrug. For her, the data translated itself into lines and patterns to be followed. It was just that simple to her.

7. Responsibility
Having worked in the Union military, she knew how strange her position was; she was neither captain nor combat coordinator, and had no real authority over the individual meisters. At most she was an advisor, and yet when plans failed it was she who took responsibility beyond her due.

8. Bitter
He asked why she drank something so bitter. The answer was simple. So long as that taste remained in her mouth, she would never forget the feeling of that day so long ago.

9. Memory
Sumeragi is blessed with a brilliant mind. It is the kind of mind that can understand complex math immediately, has an innate understanding for the complexities of human interaction, and the ability to use logic and reason without driving itself insane. And worst of them all, it was the kind that will never let her forget anything, no matter how much drink she partakes.

10. Torture
In her mind, perfect prediction is the greatest curse one can have. It means that the result of every miscalculation is clear long before the disaster befalls, and it means that there is no hope that the horrors will never happen again.





Yes, I'm late. I know, and I'm sorry. Episode 12 is about to go up as well. I'll try and throw in a Christmas special to make up for it, even with no episode next week.
I'm sorry this letter is so long, but I did not have time to make it shorter. -Mark Twain

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Gundam 00 Episode 12

Composition

Who causes the war? Is it the militants who kidnap a local authority, inflaming tensions? But like soldiers, they too take their directions from a higher authority, and in their case it is the highest.

What starts the war? Is it the mercenary who carries out the first strike? But a mercenary only exists when the conditions already call for them, and won’t act unless someone else pays them.

When does the war start? Is it in the first exchange of fire that breaks the latest peace? But in an area with a history of centuries of intrigue, interference, and violence, can it really have been said that there was a peace in the first place?

Where does the war start? Is it the first base to be attacked, or the city streets that once again burn red with blood and fire? Or is it the corridors in faraway lands, where instructions are given to attack to one man and to defend to another?

Why does the war start? Was it arranged in those corridors for that man to launch that attack in that place over that figure in order to lure out the prize? Or is there another force involved?

There is no war because there was no peace. What there is is a confused and bloody conflict in which no one knows the pieces. A conflict with no perpetrator, no start and no location or time, and worst of all no reason. Only smoke and gunfire and the corpses, who are the only ones to know the truth.
I'm sorry this letter is so long, but I did not have time to make it shorter. -Mark Twain

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Gundam 00 Episode 13

Two Talks That Never Happened.



Why do are you helping me?

To put an end to conflict.

There is violence around the country, but I am just one man. How could you have found me?

Many people were looking for you. Your followers, the Princess, and even the Union. They all sought to find you safely.

The Union!? The United Nations was controversial enough, but what drove the Princess to involve them?

She did not. The Reformists asked for Union protection to insure that the government would not be overthrown, and did so without letting her know. They have, however, prevented your followers from storming the Palace.

What foolish children… doing so would not have helped our nation…

Do not blame them harshly. Hopeless people will do desperate actions, and the man who did this to you has done it to the past.

You know him?

He has done it to men, women, and children. He is most dangerous to those who trust him or those who don’t know him.

And to you?

…yes.

Then I shall ask no more…

Are you well?

…I fasted while held captive…

…here. We took precautions. This is bread and water purchased locally. Eat and drink.

Thank you. But what will Celestial Being do next?

We end this conflict by returning you. And then we will continue our interventions, until no more causes of conflicts remain.

You realize that using force to end wars is a hopeless paradox, and that God will not forgive hypocracy.

We feel we must try anyway.

And you know that this will not change my denunciations of your actions. By my duty, I must not be a man affected by personal emotions.

We understand that to. We do not ask that to be loved. We only seek the end of conflict.

…

We are approaching the palace. Be prepared.

But also as a man of the cloth, I must thank you on behalf of our people, all of them. Thank you.

Then end this conflict.


+++++++

I disagree. He may not have captured a gundam, but that was through no fault of his own. He had conflicting orders, and acted in our nation’s best interest every time.

Our nation’s “best interest” is to capture a gundam, so that we can take its technology into our own. He had two opportunities the like of which we’ve never had before, and he squandered them!

As much as I hate agreeing with my friend in uniform there, the soldier in question did the proper action. As the man on the spot, he acted to fulfill our agreement with Azadistan and insured that the government was not overthrown. We have increased our credibility in the region, and that can only help us in the future. We will have another chance.

He had a gundam completely still the first time, and the second time one was entirely unarmed! Two regular Flags and one of our Custom designs could have easily captured it. At either point, capturing a gundam would have been worth the diplomatic costs.

You have looked too much at the surface of things, then. While it’s true that to our knowledge Acre is the only pilot to have ever engaged the sniper in close combat, that is no guarantee that he would have won. The gundam had discarded its rifle and taken out its short range guns, and was still entirely undamaged. There was no guarantee. And had not clue as to where the sniper was during the hostage return. In all likelihood, trying to capture the sword gundam would have led to our taskforce being shot out of the sky.

Besides, do you really believe that they would risk a Gundam when they could have just turned the man over somewhere else? They were making a political statement, and had we appeared around the world to have not only destroy the chance for peace, but to also havefailed to capture a Gundam, our leadership of the Union would have been endangered. Ever since Celestial Being intervened in Moralia, President Brian has given us all strict orders not to inflame anti-American sentiments anywhere, especially with our strengthened presence in South America as of late.

Your state department people are all the same. There is going to be anti-American propaganda any, and yet you take baby step around what could make it all irrelevant. Tsch.

That’s because we know that we can’t escape the consequences of screwups, unlike you people who think that any Intelligence screw up can just be hidden and forgotten.

Gentlemen! Save your inter-agency sniping untill after we finish this report for President Brian. Now tell us, any progress made in regards to the Human Reform League?

Yes. We were surprised when they approached us, but with President Brian’s permission we may have a joint operation in, if not the next few weeks, within a few months. Rough terms have already been agreed, and what remains is more detailed-oriented.

Such as?

This is more of the State Department’s area. Roughly, we both agree that should a gundam be destroyed or capture during an operation in which both parties have made real assistance, we will share data and research on the gundam in joint research labs. Besides some safeguards to prevent one from withholding Gundam data from the other, we also agree to not share the data with the Advanced European Union and other proofs of good intent. Some of these have already gone into effect; we have already shifted support for Siri Lanka rebels over to the European espionage networks, and the amount of propaganda and aid for anti-American groups in South America has already reduced. Of course neither of us will entirely stop what we think we can get away with, but that is typical.

Good. I’ll make sure that gets into the briefing. For the final piece of business: any remaining objections for keeping the current status of the Anti-Gundam taskforce in regards to pilot Graham Acre.

None here. I suggest that a note recognizing his decisions in keeping and improving our relations with Azadistan be placed in his service jacket. From the state department view, he made the best decisions.

I don’t agree with that, but I won’t argue that he has become our Gundam expert, being the source of most of our data and information about the Gundams. And that our investigators have found no hints of foreign influence over him or any of his peers.

Consider both of those duly noted. I might also remind everyone that he is to date the only man we know of to have survived three sorties against the Gundams without being shot down. His experiences and anti-gundam tactics are already being taught to established select pilots across the Union. We haven’t had many engagements with Celestial Being, but we also seem to be having a better combat rate than most. I will also not that in the appropriate report. Now, does anyone have any other issues to bring up? No? Then I call this meeting over.
I'm sorry this letter is so long, but I did not have time to make it shorter. -Mark Twain

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00 Drabble 14

Like two birds, they circled each other at increasing altitudes seeking aerial dominance. Both birds had weapons far more lethal than any talon, though, and as they flew in circles each sought to bring his to bear against the other. Though either could have assumed human form to advantage of a shorter turn radius, they were already at an altitude where doing so would force the one to change to plumet back towards the Earth, helpless.

More or less evenly matched they were. While the black eagle was likely stronger and faster, it could not bring its weight to bear against the darting hawk. Closer and closer their circle became as they reached their uppermost limit. Engines stalling, for a moment they stood above the curved horizons of the Earth, masters of all they surveyed. And then, as if by mutual agreement, they transformed into men.

They plummeted, and once again moved in circles. This time, however, streams of fire raced between the two. The eagle was the first to fire its massive rifle, but the hawk flittered to and fro, avoiding the slug as it flew past at speeds no man could survive at. The hawk retaliated with its own rifle, firing a stream of rapid ammo, but the eagle’s power took form as it raced below and under the hawk, before jetting up with its massive thrusters, halting its fall while baring its talon.

The hawk had been rotating as its foe flew under, and with the grace of an acrobat merely somersaulted in place to avoid the heated slash from beneath. Another summersault almost saw a lightning fast kick to the eagle’s head, but by then the eagle had withdrawn, and the two birds of prey saw themselves once again circling, but this time in freefall.

Blast after blast was shot between the two, but with the ability of birds and the form of men none came close to hitting. The hawk managed all number of evasions, rolling and spinning to avoid the shots by hair lengths. The eagle was not nearly as fancy, but its massive wings and its pilot’s defiance of the forces involved allowed it to evade with a single surge of energy.

Again and again they closed in, using any manner of tricks to attempt to land a blow of any sort. The hawk used its shield to close in towards the eagle despite a close shot, but the eagle transformed and pointed all its force down, nearly stopping its decent. The pilot nearly blacked out, but his will carried him through as he now shot at the hawk from straight above. The hawk used its own human body to slow its own descent while flying through the shots, and soon the two were once again on even level, plummeting towards the sea below.

None could say who paid mind to the surface first, with how involved they both were. But soon their trading of shots slowed, and stopped. There would be no need; one would have to break off first, and the one who did so last would come out behind the other, assuming both did not die. Twelve thousand rolled into eleven thousand. Soon, all the thrust of their human forms would be as nothing.

The eagle moved first, perhaps in part due to the knowledge that it wouldn’t be able to make as sharp a turn as the hawk on the ground. Transforming into its flight mode, it angled for the sharpest descent it could make, using its powerful thrust to counter the pull of gravity. The hawk followed, its slower speed but sharper turn allowing it to fall behind the eagle at a height mere meters above the surface of the waves below, though the forces affected the pilot much more than the eagle’s.

It was likely because of this that the eagle was able to pull its trap. Transforming into its man shape once again, it let loose a steady volley of bullets and tracers from its anti-personnel gun. While such a gun was too small to damage even the hawk, its sudden appearance did something even better; it startled the hawk. Already dangerously low, the instinctive movement to dive was enough. To the hawk’s credit, only the skill of its pilot saved it from instant destruction. Transforming into man form, a single leg grazed the top of a wave. The machine began to tumble, hitting the other wave and tearing off the entire other leg. Just as the hawk was about to crash into the sea in a burst of flame, a sudden shock hit it in the body; the eagle had grabbed it and was lifting from its doom.

The hawk was silent, sullen, as the eagle carried it back to its floating nest. No attack could possibly be made against its savior, no matter how humiliating. Just the opposite, if anything. As the hawk was lowered onto the flat metal nest, the eagle watched smugly as tiny figures raced forward to aid its beleaguered foe. The contest had been decided, the outcome undeniable.




Notes: Thought I’d go into my first attempt at something action, though I decided to go with a passive voice and an (over)extended metaphor. And yes, the eagle is supposed to be Graham’s Custom Flag while the hawk is Patrick and the Enact. Doesn’t look like there will be a Patrick-Graham fight anytime soon, so I had to make my own.

Next time for action, maybe Ali and Graham, to try and dabble in more serious action?
I'm sorry this letter is so long, but I did not have time to make it shorter. -Mark Twain

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Author Note: Decided that best bet would be to go back to the Military-Diplomacy-Intelligence triad I had before. Next time I do it, the roster might shake up a bit!




00 Drabble 15

Three men sat around a table once again, as they did every week. Unlike their last meeting, however, a march darker mood had settled among them.

“God damnit, how many of these monsters are there?” A raw, undirected fury could be felt underlining the words from the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. “We were this close to capturing a gundam! Celestial Being was almost wiped out, and out of Lucifer’s ass come more?”

“As far as we know, these are all they have. Nothing indicates any more after these. It’s interesting to note that whereas their first set was of four, only three have arrived in this wave. That likely points to a limitation of resources on their point.” The Secretary of Security, the formal title of the United States’ spymaster, was the second calmest man in the room despite the magnitude of the recent events.

The calmest man was the Secretary of State, though rumors were already abounding that he might retire in the near future; he had been an outspoken advocate of the joint assault. “More importantly, we have shown that Celestial Being can be beaten with ample preparation. We will see them defeated yet. Besides,” he said with a hint of a smirk, “now no one can argue that building the energy pipeline to the Western Pacific never had any uses. How else would we have gotten our foot into the door there?”

The Chairman was not amused by the attempt at levity, and refused to take his attention off the topic at hand. “We did not beat Celestial Being’s gundams; we beat their pilots by waiting for them to tire. Any fool with enough missiles and men could have done that. We are at a critical disadvantage at all fields. These gundams surpass ours in every way conceivable; they are faster, stronger, more accurate, and not one was even seriously damaged during the entire operation. Together the old four could take out entire single armies; now these new three appear to be even more powerful. Just look at these!”

He indicated an open folder with reports of the latest machines; one of the few benefits from the new arrivals was how they had spurred all three powers to frantically compare notes on the new machines.

“Remote omni-directional weapons. A more mobile beam-cannon who’s output our Gundam investigators haven’t even begun to estimate. A machine that excels in all fields imaginable. Before, Celestial Being could conquer a small country in a day. Now, they could conquer the world in a month.”

“Do you think that’s their goal now? Having reduced minor conflicts already with force and the threat of force, that they will conquer everyone and use their reputation to keep everyone docile?” The Secretary of Security was often regarded as a touch paranoid, and rightfully so. It kept his mind focused on his job, which is why President Brian had kept him from the previous Administration.

“No, even if they blew up every mobile suit and every factory in the world, they’d still need an occupation army to keep order and to make sure taxes were collected and whatnot. Though for all I know, wherever their factory that produced these latest monsters also has some giant cloning vault that’s in its final stages.”

“Cloning soldiers is impossible; you know that. The defects that make them dye so quickly will require another century and a half of research to overcome, at least.”

“Will it? ReallY?” The unsaid question was simple; isn’t Celestial Being over a century ahead of us in other fields?

The Secretary of State looked at the Chairman with pity. His anger was the outward sign of despair, and the Secretary understood. Though they differed often and loudly on the means, both he and the Chairman wanted the same thing; to keep the United States strong and healthy, and thereby keep the people safe. Two oceans and friendly neighbors were no match for the power of Celestial Being and its new gundams.

“We don’t have to worry about clones, at least. While we have tracked down the engineers who we presume helped Celestial Being in the last centuries, there have been no comparative disappearances in geneticists and biologists in the last few centuries. At most, they will have rudimentary gene manipulation in the style of the Human Reform League’s project, so that is one nightmare scenario we will not have to worry about. Besides,” and here was the point to make an upbeat note, “we have several consolations in our favor.”

The Chairman looked up from his anger, and the Secretary of Security looked to see what the State Department’s view on the situation was going to be.

“Item: this was not a public conflict as Moralia or PMC Trust were. Only those in the government know about it, and while undoubtedly someone will talk, all the governments in the Union had been in agreement about this operation. Nothing much was loss that a few shipments of aid and replacement mobile suits can’t salve. Politically, this will be a non-issue in most of the media across the Union, and likely in the other powers as well. All things considered, our causalities were lighter than even Moralia, not least because of indirect bombardment being relied on.”

“Item: This has been our best evaluation of anti-gundam tactics to date, and was a success in those terms. By all accounts from the other powers, anti-pilot measures will prove to be our best bet against Celestial Being. Plasma fields, electricity, and energy fields that effect the pilots as much as the machine will be looked into. We also fielded and proved the effectiveness of our cluster-missiles against stealth objects; even though we can not track them with conventional means, our cluster area bombardments are confirmed to have repeatedly hit the Gundams, and even to have weakened the sniper’s ability to fly. We were able to field a variety of weapons and ideas here, and have learned accordingly.”

“Item: cooperation with the other powers is going to greatly increase after this fiasco. The Human Reform League has been making the noises of a joint-alliance for some time now, but now we may actually see something come of that. Data-sharing is likely to increase, and there have even been rumors of actually joint-operations, rather than merely staying out of each others way. The Over Flags Unit is likely to be the first to fly training missions with the Human Reform League’s own elite.”

“And final item: we know of the presence and some of the abilities of the new gundams. Clearly they were already on their way into this conflict; now we have met them and can plan against them. We can plan against them, and act accordingly. We may never be able to bring this kind of force together again in one place, but now we know what we are up against.” Even the Secretary of Security nodded at the upbeat assessment.

“But what,” the Chairman asked, despair finally escaping into his voice, “does knowing what they are matter if they can beat us all? We could barely beat the old ones; the only force with a hope against these new Gundams is Celestial Being itself!"
I'm sorry this letter is so long, but I did not have time to make it shorter. -Mark Twain

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