Post by deadguydrew on Nov 26, 2009 1:42:46 GMT -5
“And this one?”
Each man sat on either side of the stainless steel table, the unblemished chrome surface reflecting the sterile white settings of the room around them. The man in the lab coat held a flashcard up to Alain, the blank side facing the potential newtype.
“Blue moon.”
Dr. Jolian nodded, placing the card face down on the growing stack of cards he had already used. Another tick on the clipboard, and then he pulled another card from the top of the nearly empty deck. The young man studied the back of the card intently, his brow scrunching as he tried to divine the image on the other side.
“It's a pot of gold.”
Another nod, another tick, and a new card.
Scrunching his brow again Alain tried to pick up any sort of thought, or impulse from the mind of the Flanagan Institute representative.
“A red balloon.”
The man's face gave off no emotion, no tell, as he placed the last card on the then completed stack of cards, making a final mark on his clipboard. Without a word he stood up, pushing his chair back under the table before exiting the room.
Alone, Alain whistled to hisself as he waited for what came next. He guessed that behind the “mirror” along the side of the room people were watching him, but Alain didn't care. He'd spent what felt to be days on Granada, being subjected to every test possible. He had been poked, prodded, and analyzed in ways that he hadn't know existed, but none of it bothered him.
Since birth he knew that he was destined for greatness. It was greatness that was put into form by Zeon Zum Deikun's espousing of Ere-ism. He was one of the newtypes, one of those destined to lead mankind to the stars.
A few minutes later Dr. Jolian reappeared, a Zeon officer standing wordlessly with him.
“Please follow us.”
Pushing back his own metal chair, Alain followed the pair into a narrow hallway. There had seemed to be miles of the generic white corridors, but the pair didn't miss a turn as they navigated through the labyrinth. The ultimate destination of the three was a mobile suit hangar, an old type Zaku the sole occupant.
Thrusting a large operating manual in the young man's face, the officer's face gave off as little as the doctor's had.
“You have five minutes to read this, then you get to show us what you know.”
The cover read “Operations Manual; MS-05B Zaku.” For the first time since he had started testing, Alain balked, but after a moment he accepted the guide, quickly thumbing through the pages. The first few pages were gibberish to Grace, but then he came to the section he had wanted, basic movement controls.
“Time.”
Alain looked up, it had barely seemed he had opened manual. Frowning, he offered the manual back to the officer, walking along the scaffolding over the hanger to the small ramp leading to the Zaku. Jumping in the light gravity, Alain glided toward the open cockpit, grabbing the top of the hatch to steady himself before slipping into the blackness.
Placing his hands on the controls, Alain pressed the button clearly marked to close the cockpit of the Zaku, closing his eyes as he tried to remember the exact order of the controls. With a deep breath he opened his eyes, smiled.
“Here I come.”
Moving the controls, he guided the Zaku through a single unsteady step, and then another. He grinned as he more confidently made a third step. However the Zaku inexplicably began tumbling, Alain flinching as he realized that wasn't going to be able to stop the Zaku from slamming into the hangar's metal floor. Instead of the brutal impact of metal on metal he had expected, the Zaku stopped listing at a forty-five degree angle, a massive cable attached to the back of the mobile suit, holding it to wall. In only a few minutes the Zaku had been righted, Alain eager to hear the doctor, and the officer's appraisal.
Landing in front of them, Alain performed a brief salute, the officer returning it, albeit more casually.
“So?”
Anticipation, sweet anticipation.
“You're a keeper. Welcome to the Terrestrial Assault Force.”
Alain's heart skipped a beat, and then seemed to stop.
“But I'm...I mean aren't y--”
Neither of the two were even facing him any longer, both of them walking toward the corridors they had come from. Next to where Dr. Jolian had stood was the clipboard he had used when evaluating Grace. Alain picked it up, brushing away the water that welled around the bottom of his eyes as he read the sentence written in large red letters at the bottom of the first page.
“4F. APPLICANT STATUS IS NEGATIVE FOR ENHANCED BRAINWAVE FUNCTION.”
Throwing the clipboard as hard as he could toward the Zaku, Alain turned to chase down the officer, and doctor, but a hand on his shoulder restrained him.
“Easy soldier, you're coming with us.”
Struggling to get away from the man in the military uniform holding onto him, Alain never saw the fist that crashed into his temple, sending him into oblivion.
Each man sat on either side of the stainless steel table, the unblemished chrome surface reflecting the sterile white settings of the room around them. The man in the lab coat held a flashcard up to Alain, the blank side facing the potential newtype.
“Blue moon.”
Dr. Jolian nodded, placing the card face down on the growing stack of cards he had already used. Another tick on the clipboard, and then he pulled another card from the top of the nearly empty deck. The young man studied the back of the card intently, his brow scrunching as he tried to divine the image on the other side.
“It's a pot of gold.”
Another nod, another tick, and a new card.
Scrunching his brow again Alain tried to pick up any sort of thought, or impulse from the mind of the Flanagan Institute representative.
“A red balloon.”
The man's face gave off no emotion, no tell, as he placed the last card on the then completed stack of cards, making a final mark on his clipboard. Without a word he stood up, pushing his chair back under the table before exiting the room.
Alone, Alain whistled to hisself as he waited for what came next. He guessed that behind the “mirror” along the side of the room people were watching him, but Alain didn't care. He'd spent what felt to be days on Granada, being subjected to every test possible. He had been poked, prodded, and analyzed in ways that he hadn't know existed, but none of it bothered him.
Since birth he knew that he was destined for greatness. It was greatness that was put into form by Zeon Zum Deikun's espousing of Ere-ism. He was one of the newtypes, one of those destined to lead mankind to the stars.
A few minutes later Dr. Jolian reappeared, a Zeon officer standing wordlessly with him.
“Please follow us.”
Pushing back his own metal chair, Alain followed the pair into a narrow hallway. There had seemed to be miles of the generic white corridors, but the pair didn't miss a turn as they navigated through the labyrinth. The ultimate destination of the three was a mobile suit hangar, an old type Zaku the sole occupant.
Thrusting a large operating manual in the young man's face, the officer's face gave off as little as the doctor's had.
“You have five minutes to read this, then you get to show us what you know.”
The cover read “Operations Manual; MS-05B Zaku.” For the first time since he had started testing, Alain balked, but after a moment he accepted the guide, quickly thumbing through the pages. The first few pages were gibberish to Grace, but then he came to the section he had wanted, basic movement controls.
“Time.”
Alain looked up, it had barely seemed he had opened manual. Frowning, he offered the manual back to the officer, walking along the scaffolding over the hanger to the small ramp leading to the Zaku. Jumping in the light gravity, Alain glided toward the open cockpit, grabbing the top of the hatch to steady himself before slipping into the blackness.
Placing his hands on the controls, Alain pressed the button clearly marked to close the cockpit of the Zaku, closing his eyes as he tried to remember the exact order of the controls. With a deep breath he opened his eyes, smiled.
“Here I come.”
Moving the controls, he guided the Zaku through a single unsteady step, and then another. He grinned as he more confidently made a third step. However the Zaku inexplicably began tumbling, Alain flinching as he realized that wasn't going to be able to stop the Zaku from slamming into the hangar's metal floor. Instead of the brutal impact of metal on metal he had expected, the Zaku stopped listing at a forty-five degree angle, a massive cable attached to the back of the mobile suit, holding it to wall. In only a few minutes the Zaku had been righted, Alain eager to hear the doctor, and the officer's appraisal.
Landing in front of them, Alain performed a brief salute, the officer returning it, albeit more casually.
“So?”
Anticipation, sweet anticipation.
“You're a keeper. Welcome to the Terrestrial Assault Force.”
Alain's heart skipped a beat, and then seemed to stop.
“But I'm...I mean aren't y--”
Neither of the two were even facing him any longer, both of them walking toward the corridors they had come from. Next to where Dr. Jolian had stood was the clipboard he had used when evaluating Grace. Alain picked it up, brushing away the water that welled around the bottom of his eyes as he read the sentence written in large red letters at the bottom of the first page.
“4F. APPLICANT STATUS IS NEGATIVE FOR ENHANCED BRAINWAVE FUNCTION.”
Throwing the clipboard as hard as he could toward the Zaku, Alain turned to chase down the officer, and doctor, but a hand on his shoulder restrained him.
“Easy soldier, you're coming with us.”
Struggling to get away from the man in the military uniform holding onto him, Alain never saw the fist that crashed into his temple, sending him into oblivion.