Post by thomas on Nov 11, 2009 18:05:40 GMT -5
The mosque had been beautiful once. They said that a king had come through, stopped at the sandy plateau, gazed out at the miles and miles of desert, and been struck by the sheer vastness of God's creation. He ordered that a mosque be built here, in this out of the way place, and be dedicated to travelers, that they too might understand God's vastness and power, even in so harsh a climate.
For centuries, armies had pounded at it. The Germans blew up the minaret and six months ago, Zeon shelled it. Now, it is lifeless--a shell. Or, it almost is.
Kathryn arose at the break of day. She put on her Federation nurse's uniform, cleaned so delicately the night before, and set to making breakfast. The last patient, an old fruit seller from the local market, had died last night. Suffocated from the shrapnel caught in his lungs.
A nurse without patients, she thought as she cracked eggs.
Shiv, the engineer, came in and sat down at the kitchen table. He was followed by Giacomo, his hands still bandaged. He refused Kathryn's offers to take a look at the his mutilated limbs, as he did every morning. She put breakfast before them and they ate in silence.
"I had a dream," Giacomo said suddenly.
The other two looked up. Giacomo never talked about dreams or feelings or anything like that.
"A blue giant came and stepped on our mosque here," he said. He balanced a pomegranate between his two bandaged bundles. "And then it got small and came and lived with us and then it died. And then it turned into an angel and flew away. And all that was left was a little tin soldier."
"Are you delirious?" Kathryn asked immediately. Giacomo smiled a little sadly and shook his head.
Shiv finished first, cleaned his plate, and assembled his gear. At nine every morning, he left to check the surrounding countryside for mines--the last orders he had received before communications were cut off. Every morning, Kathryn asked him not to go.
"I don't want to pick up your pieces too, now," she said. She held his metal detector for him while he carefully charged it.
"It doesn't matter," he said. Despite living in Britain for a decade, the young man's Bombay accent remained. "What do I have to come back to? This hole."
He realized he'd said something cruel and looked up at Kathryn's pale face.
"I didn't mean that. I'll be fine."
He stood and kissed her cheek. She handed him the metal detector but held onto it a little too long.
After he left, Kathryn walked through the halls of the mosque. She knew Giacomo would be changing his bandages now: the arduous process consisted of grasping a piece with his teeth and carefully unwrapping it. Then, he drowned what was left of his hands in antiseptic and gritted his teeth.
Kathryn tried to read--the mosque hadn't had an imam for years but the last one had kept an extensive library. She sat in his study, facing the window, paging through Tolstoy's War and Peace. Had it only been two years ago that she sat in a college lecture hall, flipping through this very book, trying to write an exam?
The Russians were retreating from Austerlitz when she heard a distant rumbling. It grew louder and she glanced up. From the window, she saw a speck on the African horizon, growing larger and larger. She ignored it at first but the larger it grew, the louder the rumbling became.
After a minute, it took on a blue hue. Another few moments and Kathryn realized it was vaguely human in shape.
"A mobile suit?" she whispered and felt the fear in her stomach. The war had found them. The mobile suit was heading right for the mosque.
"Giacomo! Giacomo!" she screamed, tearing through the ancient halls, looking for the mutilated old spy. He came out of his room, his hands still unwrapped--the gristled remains glistened with fresh blood.
"Mobile suit--" Kathryn panted. "Coming for the mosque!"
"That's the rumbling?"
"Yes!"
"We've got to run," he whispered. They started off and he asked: "Zeon? A Zaku?"
"I don't know. I've never seen one like this before!"
They left the mosque through a passage in the back, dashing out into the desert, where there were simultaneously everywhere and nowhere to run. At that very moment, the Blue Destiny leapt over the mosque and landed only thirty yards in front of them, throwing up sand. Kathryn screamed and Giacomo grabbed her, trying to shield her.
Then, all was very still--the mobile suit seemed to power down and the cockpit opened. A body tumbled out. The two watched it lying, unmoving, in the sand.
"Is he--"
Giacomo's question was answered definitively a second later when Thorvald jumped to his feet.
"I'm finished! I'm finished with you fucking faeries! Fuck all of you! I've tried and I've tried to be nice to ye, I've given ye herring and whisky and bananas but no, ye nae kin gi' Thorvald a break, kin ye? Ye's bloody ungrateful faeries, ye are! I spit on ye, ye hear?!"
He spat on the Blue Destiny's foot. The mobile suit did not seem particularly offended.
"All this kill me bollocks! Come down here, then, and I kill ye! I fight ye like a man, ye bloody faeries! I show ye how me da' taught me t'fight!"
He kicked the Blue Destiny and howled in pain. This didn't stop him from kicking it again and again, till his foot was throbbing and swollen.
"Yeah, ye take that and that!" Thorvald yelled as he beat the luna titanium giant.
"He's insane," Kathryn whispered.
"Let's back up slowly and maybe he won't hear us," Giacomo whispered back.
Unfortunately, Thorvald heard their whispering and turned and saw them. They could see his front now: bloodied, his uniform torn and soaked through with sweat. Bruises covered his face.
"Oh, hello," he said with a weak smile. Then, he pitched forward.
"Load him onto my back," Giacomo said with a sigh.
For centuries, armies had pounded at it. The Germans blew up the minaret and six months ago, Zeon shelled it. Now, it is lifeless--a shell. Or, it almost is.
Kathryn arose at the break of day. She put on her Federation nurse's uniform, cleaned so delicately the night before, and set to making breakfast. The last patient, an old fruit seller from the local market, had died last night. Suffocated from the shrapnel caught in his lungs.
A nurse without patients, she thought as she cracked eggs.
Shiv, the engineer, came in and sat down at the kitchen table. He was followed by Giacomo, his hands still bandaged. He refused Kathryn's offers to take a look at the his mutilated limbs, as he did every morning. She put breakfast before them and they ate in silence.
"I had a dream," Giacomo said suddenly.
The other two looked up. Giacomo never talked about dreams or feelings or anything like that.
"A blue giant came and stepped on our mosque here," he said. He balanced a pomegranate between his two bandaged bundles. "And then it got small and came and lived with us and then it died. And then it turned into an angel and flew away. And all that was left was a little tin soldier."
"Are you delirious?" Kathryn asked immediately. Giacomo smiled a little sadly and shook his head.
Shiv finished first, cleaned his plate, and assembled his gear. At nine every morning, he left to check the surrounding countryside for mines--the last orders he had received before communications were cut off. Every morning, Kathryn asked him not to go.
"I don't want to pick up your pieces too, now," she said. She held his metal detector for him while he carefully charged it.
"It doesn't matter," he said. Despite living in Britain for a decade, the young man's Bombay accent remained. "What do I have to come back to? This hole."
He realized he'd said something cruel and looked up at Kathryn's pale face.
"I didn't mean that. I'll be fine."
He stood and kissed her cheek. She handed him the metal detector but held onto it a little too long.
After he left, Kathryn walked through the halls of the mosque. She knew Giacomo would be changing his bandages now: the arduous process consisted of grasping a piece with his teeth and carefully unwrapping it. Then, he drowned what was left of his hands in antiseptic and gritted his teeth.
Kathryn tried to read--the mosque hadn't had an imam for years but the last one had kept an extensive library. She sat in his study, facing the window, paging through Tolstoy's War and Peace. Had it only been two years ago that she sat in a college lecture hall, flipping through this very book, trying to write an exam?
The Russians were retreating from Austerlitz when she heard a distant rumbling. It grew louder and she glanced up. From the window, she saw a speck on the African horizon, growing larger and larger. She ignored it at first but the larger it grew, the louder the rumbling became.
After a minute, it took on a blue hue. Another few moments and Kathryn realized it was vaguely human in shape.
"A mobile suit?" she whispered and felt the fear in her stomach. The war had found them. The mobile suit was heading right for the mosque.
"Giacomo! Giacomo!" she screamed, tearing through the ancient halls, looking for the mutilated old spy. He came out of his room, his hands still unwrapped--the gristled remains glistened with fresh blood.
"Mobile suit--" Kathryn panted. "Coming for the mosque!"
"That's the rumbling?"
"Yes!"
"We've got to run," he whispered. They started off and he asked: "Zeon? A Zaku?"
"I don't know. I've never seen one like this before!"
They left the mosque through a passage in the back, dashing out into the desert, where there were simultaneously everywhere and nowhere to run. At that very moment, the Blue Destiny leapt over the mosque and landed only thirty yards in front of them, throwing up sand. Kathryn screamed and Giacomo grabbed her, trying to shield her.
Then, all was very still--the mobile suit seemed to power down and the cockpit opened. A body tumbled out. The two watched it lying, unmoving, in the sand.
"Is he--"
Giacomo's question was answered definitively a second later when Thorvald jumped to his feet.
"I'm finished! I'm finished with you fucking faeries! Fuck all of you! I've tried and I've tried to be nice to ye, I've given ye herring and whisky and bananas but no, ye nae kin gi' Thorvald a break, kin ye? Ye's bloody ungrateful faeries, ye are! I spit on ye, ye hear?!"
He spat on the Blue Destiny's foot. The mobile suit did not seem particularly offended.
"All this kill me bollocks! Come down here, then, and I kill ye! I fight ye like a man, ye bloody faeries! I show ye how me da' taught me t'fight!"
He kicked the Blue Destiny and howled in pain. This didn't stop him from kicking it again and again, till his foot was throbbing and swollen.
"Yeah, ye take that and that!" Thorvald yelled as he beat the luna titanium giant.
"He's insane," Kathryn whispered.
"Let's back up slowly and maybe he won't hear us," Giacomo whispered back.
Unfortunately, Thorvald heard their whispering and turned and saw them. They could see his front now: bloodied, his uniform torn and soaked through with sweat. Bruises covered his face.
"Oh, hello," he said with a weak smile. Then, he pitched forward.
"Load him onto my back," Giacomo said with a sigh.