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A white shape cut through the blackness of space, exploring the debris of the Texas shoal zone. White Base and its crew had been to hell and back again several times already, but the crew was was willing to do their part in ending the war. Most of the Zeon presence in shoal zone had already been eliminated, but it never hurt to be too careful; mop-up operations were just as important as straight offensives. Just like standard physicals were just as important as triage - or at least that was what Fraw was thinking, when she called Amuro in to check on him. He looked stressed, and Fraw thought she could do her part to make sure the young Federation kid-ace was doing alright, and loosen him up, if necessary. "When was the last time we had a conversation?" Amuro asked as he walked into the room - not exactly the conversation starter that she was hoping for, but she would make do. "You're such a strong soldier now!" She remarked, fastening the blood pressure cuff around his bicep. "We've all come a long way, haven't we? Since we escaped that colony and volunteered, we've changed." "Yup." Amuro stared straight ahead. Fraw could tell he was distracted. The war hadn't been easy on any of them, and Amuro had accepted a heavy burden in piloting the Gundam. She couldn't imagine what kind of pressure he was under. "What happened at Side 6, Amuro? You can tell me, you know. "I'll explain it to you once this war is over," Amuro replied, looking straight into Fraw's eye for the first time during his visit. "When we're not soldiers anymore." Fraw thought she understood, and she didn't pry. "You're done! Pressure's fine." She removed the cuff from his arm, and hoped that the pressure actually was fine. Amuro was strong - he had to be. On the other side of the shoal zone, Char and his Zanzibar crept silently through the debris. Char had been promised a powerful new mobile suit, designed for use by the talented Newtype pilot, Lalah. She was certainly a special girl, and Char couldn't wait to give her a spin in her new mobile suit. He almost felt like a father giving his favorite girl her first car - only in this case, the "car" weighed 160 tons, and dealt death to her enemies from afar, where she'd be safe. If it worked, it would change warfare in space forever. "Captain! We're picking up Federation forces on the other side of the shoal zone!" "White Base!" The thought was Char's, but M'Quve was the one who cut in with the words. The way he said it, it was almost a curse. "I can handle it!" Char smiled. M'Quve was brash - eager to prove himself to his peers, superiors, and most of all, to lady Kycilia. The man certainly piloted an impressive mobile suit. The highly-customized Gyan he possessed was a testament to the skill and innovation of Zeon's mobile suit designers. He would let M'Quve have this one - or at least a shot at it; he didn't expect the eager young pilot to actually succeed. "Launch a squad of Rick Doms to lure the Gundam away from White Base!" M'Quve ordered. He knew that they didn't have an impressive complement of mobile suits aboard, and once the Gundam was out, he could distract it while the rest of his forces took care of the ship. It was an excellent plan. "Taking down the Gundam will result in an immediate rank promotion," he reminded them - a little motivation never hurt, especially during wartime, and they'd need all the motivation he could give them to engage the Federation's best. By this time, White Base had noticed M'Quve's advancing Chivvay-class ship, and Bright ordered out Sayla and Amuro in the G-Armor, to engage the threat to their ship. "I'll feel much better about this if I have something to do," said Mirai to Bright. It was true. Doing nothing while her friends risked their lives in battle was incredibly difficult; it was much better when she had something to occupy her mind. "You know that you can count on me for anything," Bright responded. "Now, get back to the helm! We may need your piloting skills." Mirai nodded, as she turned her attention back to White Base's navigational computer. "G-Armor, separate!" Amuro never got tired of saying that. Two Rick Doms exploded as Sayla and Amuro cut through the enemy squad like butter. It's like I know what they're going to do before they do it! Amuro realized, slicing through another Rick Dom's reactor as he ducked under the slash from another and dodged beam fire. Sayla maneuvered through a sea of beam fire, and plugged another Rick Dom in the face with pink beams, as Amuro finished it off with his beam rifle. They sure made a good team. "I sense a presence." Lalah wasn't normally the talkative type, and her remark caught Char off-guard, as she stared pointedly out the window of the ship, which some of the crew had rigged with western-themed curtains to honor their proximity to Texas colony. She sounded worried, and Char asked, concerned, "What do you mean? What's wrong?" Lalah thought for a moment, then said serenely, "It's like my heart has been touched." I wonder if someone like me is out there. Who could it be? Is it possible? What is that person like? She looked back at Char, but he didn't seem to understand. Outside, Amuro sent a pink beam streaking through the last Rick Dom - and he hadn't even broken a sweat. Battles were a lot easier when you could predict what your opponents were going to do - no matter how experienced your opponents were. Some of the Rick Dom pilots hadn't been pushovers. But the battle wasn't over! A quick flash in his peripheral was all the warning he got before M'Quve's Gyan burst out from behind the asteroid where it had been hiding. "I've got you now, Gundam!" "My name is Amuro!" He charged forward toward the asteroid behind which the Gyan had sought cover, bu was blinded as space erupted in a giant explosion all around him. M'Quve laughed. His plan had worked perfectly - apart from the loss of the Rick Dom pilots. Was this the strength of a Gundam - to tear through six mobile suits single-handedly, only to die in a simple ambush? When the debris had cleared, the Gundam still stood in space, in one piece, unscathed from an explosion that would have left a Zaku in several small pieces. So this was the strength of a Gundam. It was time for tactical retreat. M'Quve threw the Gyan into a quick spin, seeking one of the larger asteroids, hollowed out by an aggressive mining operation long-since terminated. He would find another place for an ambush there, certainly. Char knew what the young commander was up against, and he and Lalah were going to do their best to help. "Come on!" He held open the elevator doors as he waited for Lalah to slide in with him. The elevator ride was rather long; elevators had been around for ages, but they still sucked. Maybe if humanity hadn't poured so many of its resources into war, they'd have awesome elevators. This one didn't even have decent music. In fact, it didn't even have music. The silence was defeaning; Char had to break it. "You know, you'll be a better pilot than me one I finish training you." Lalah blushed at the compliment, and Char continued, "That's why I asked for you from the Flanagan institute, you know. I saw you had talent, and I'll do anything in my power to see you develop that talent to its fullest!" Ding! The elevator doors opened, and Char strode toward his mobile suit. Thank God. I'd run out of awesome things to say. "You know. There's still another one," Sayla muttered, as she pierced the reactor of the last Rick Dom. "Well, there was." Despite the quickness of the battle, she felt exhausted; battle in space, where attacks could come from anywhere, were quite draining. But there was no time to rest. Amuro had gone chasing after the most interesting-looking mobile suit in the area, like he usually did, leaving her to deal with the more-generic enemies, like the 2 Musais and Chivvay that were approaching from across the debris field. Perfect. She thought, as she gunned the ship into a controlled spin, away from the AA fire lancing out at here. She thanked her lucky stars as she heard Bright ordering Kai and the Guncannon into the battle. She was fairly certain that she could handle another few Rick Doms, but the 3 giant Zeon ships were birds of a different feather. With luck, she and Kai would pull through to fight another day. "A giant asteroid, huh? A fitting place to do battle!" Amuro trumpeted his resolve to himself, as he entered cautiously into the large cavern. A large cavern that was exploding. Not again... Bits of debris pinged off the Gundam's Luna Titanium armor, and the force of explosion pushed the suit backward. That's going to leave a mark. On the paint job. Amuro thought, smiling to himself. He gunned the Gundam's engines, sending it deeper into the asteroid, ignoring the small charges exploding around him like a small child running through a gauntlet of bursting soap bubbles. "I've got you now! No more tricks!" Amuro raised his beam rifle and fired off another shot with his beam rifle, which the Gyan managed to block with its shield. A shield that apparently could fire missiles. "No more tricks!" The missiles that hit his Gundam did about as much damage as those he was able to dodge: none. Luna Titanium was the best ever. He continued to take shots at the Gyan, impressed by its pilot's abilities. He wasn't the only one. Char sat in his red Gelgoog, watching the engagement from a safe location with Lalah. "Stay here. I'm going to help out." Even Amuro couldn't take two of Zeon's best, could he? Apparently, they would live to fight another day. Sayla stared with amazement at the remains of the Rick Doms and one of the enemy Musais, scattered around them. Fortunately, White Base had been there to help them out with its megaparticle cannons and AA fire. She was certain that they would not have done so well without them. She wondered how Amuro was doing with his own fight, and hoped he found a victory as decisive as they had. "Stay away Char - that's an order! I can defeat this Gundam, even if its pilot is some kind of Newtype! I will defeat it, for Zeon, for the war, and for Kycilia!" "Have it your way," Char grumbled. Amuro had a history of killing pilots in one-on-one duels, and if M'Quve wanted to be the next victim, there wasn't anything he could do about it. Still, he was putting up a decent fight, considering he wasn't as familiar with the Gundam as Char was. "Damn. Out of ammo!" Amuro drew his beam saber, and M'Quve responded in kind. It was to be a duel with blades - a tradition as old as war itself, he was sure. The two moved in a complex dance of thrusts and dodges, near-misses and parries, sword-locks and circling, as the pilots tested each others' skill. The fierce battle went on for minutes, though it seemed hours to Amuro. It appeared they were at a stalemate. Then Amuro had an idea. He went in for another strike, but as he did so, he drew another beam saber with the Gundam's other hand. M'Quve was caught off-guard, and he could do nothing to stop the beam from slicing him and his impressive mobile suit neatly in half at the waist. Lady Kycilia... I'll never be able to give you that vase... M'Quve closed his eyes. Stop! Amuro heard the voice in his head You've already won! The Gyan exploded in front of him, and Amuro leaped back instinctively from the flying pieces of mobile suit and asteroid. Char reacted too, sweeping in with his Gelgoog to shield Lalah from any debris that might be heading her way. she was too talented to lose. Lalah? Amuro. Lalah smiled as she recognized the presence she had been sensing. What a remarkable individual. |