PIE Short: Earth 12

Prologue

Cosmic Era 74.

A mistake during a test to create near light-speed capable engines tears a hole in the space-time continuum and sends test pilot Parr Inlum to another universe. After he makes a rapid u-turn, scientists research the tear and stabilize it into a gateway. Subsequent tests create more tears to more universes and result in more gateways.

Universe 1 leaves the Cosmic Era for the Parr Inlum Era, commonly known as PIE….

PIE 1.(CE 76.)

PLANT and Earth forces create the Frontier Inspection Team to explore the many universes they now have access to. Although FIT is a peaceful organization, because mobile suit piloting skills are usually required, army officers are allowed to hold dual memberships within their armies and FIT.

Intrigued by the prospect of exploration, our heroes of the Bloody Valentine Wars enlist once again, this time as Frontier Inspection Team Explorers….

Earth 12, Caribbean Sea, 1696

"Well, that didn't go at all as planned!" Athrun Zala spluttered when his head bobbed back to the surface of the water.

Kira didn't seem to be pleased either, but he ignored Athrun's complaining and looked around in a circle, swimming as best he could amongst the waves. Although he did not see a hint of land, Kira liked to make the best of situations.

"Wow, this water is warm," he said cheerfully, interrupting Athrun's colorful phrases.

"Thanks, Kira," Athrun retorted sarcastically. He rounded as best he could on his best friend, though the effect was ruined by a blue wave that smacked into his face just as he put on an angry glower. He shook his head and wiped some of his hair out of his face, hoping that he was only imagining that he heard little Kira giggles amongst the waves. "What the hell are we going to do?" Athrun exploded. "All of our luggage is lost! And where are we? What's with all of this water?!"

"Well, I guess our coordinates were a little off..." Kira mumbled as he tread water.

"A little?!"

"Yeah, they can't have been too far off..." Kira paused thoughtfully. "I suppose we should just start swimming."

"In what direction?"

"Oh."

There was a long pause.

"That's a good point," Kira added.

There was another, even longer pause.

"Maybe someone'll notice our coordinate points were just a little--"

"Unlikely."

"Or what if someone is going by in a plane--"

"Waaay more unlikely. They don't have planes in this 'verse, remember?"

"Oh, that's another good point."

"How about a boat?"

"Kira, do you realize how big the ocean is?"

The two were silent, Athrun wondering how his life could end like this, and Kira wondering if any whales would show up and support them when their arms and legs got tired. He'd heard of dolphins doing that on Earth Plus.

"AHOY THERE!"

The coordinators jumped out of their thoughts as the voice boomed over them. They turned in its direction, and were alarmed by the sudden vicinity of a large, seafaring vessel made of wood.

Sails were being furled and the ship glided more slowly towards the two boys in the water. A rough-looking rope was thrown into the water, and Athrun and Kira swam towards it quickly as it dragged along just outside the boat's wake.

Athrun grabbed the rope first, and reached out to pull Kira to it. Sometimes he considered Kira as much a good luck charm as the necklace Cagalli had given him, and this was one of the moments when he felt that Kira was providing the good luck.

The two then began to climb up the rope. It reminded Athrun oddly of a drill he had done as part of ZAFT training. As soon as he was high enough, he braced his legs against the dark wooden sides of the ship.

Hands helped heave him aboard as he reached the railing. He toppled over headfirst and was about to get up when a sopping Kira slid into him.

"Sorry," Kira mumbled.

And then they looked around at their rescuers.

They were a coarse-looking bunch, with piercings, outlandish tricornered hats, ruffled collars, long coats with brass buttons, swords, pistols, and one with...tentacles? Athrun felt a little faint, remembering the horrible images he had tried to erase from his mind when he accidentally visited the wrong section of an Animate store in Earth Plus's Ikebukuro.

"Athrun?" Kira whispered. "That guy over there has a shark head on his shoulders. Do you think that's normal for here?"

"Welcome aboard, lads," said a strong young voice as the crowd cleared a swath and a swashbuckling man strode down the deck. His open white shirt showed his lean, muscled chest, complete with a deep, ugly scar across his heart. "I'm Captain Turner, and you've just been hauled aboard the Flying Dutchman."

"Thank you, Captain," Athrun said respectfully, now that he knew who to address for their rescue.

"Thanks so much," Kira added when Athrun elbowed him in the ribs. His eyes quickly drifted back to the odd bunch, and he stopped paying attention to the captain. He edged closer to Athrun, who took a step forward and held out his hand to Captain Turner.

"My name is Athrun Zala, and..." Athrun hesitated before introducing Kira. The captain had failed to hold out his hand to shake Athrun's, and instead was giving them a curious stare. "What?" Athrun asked, dropping his hand. He hoped he didn't have seaweed all over him or something.

"I said, I'm Captain Turner, of the Flying Dutchman," Captain Turner told the two FIT members with a look that conveyed a wink-wink-nudge-nudge without the winking or the nudging.

Athrun gave Kira a sidelong glance. Kira moved his shoulders in a tiny shrug.

"I'm not following you," Athrun told the captain honestly. He tried to return the stare, but failed miserably, most likely because he had no idea what significance Turner or the Dutchman had.

"This is the Flying Dutchman," Captain Turner repeated helplessly. He grinned at them as if they were about to get the joke. When nothing changed, his smile faded. "Aren't you going to ask if you're dead? Don't you want to know where we're headed? Are you curious as to what may happen to you? You know, lads, it's not every day that you come aboard the Flying Dutchman and her crew." Turner paced back and forth as he asked them his questions, and finally turned in a complete circle before facing them again.

"Actually," Kira began hesitantly from behind Athrun. The blue-haired pilot had the sinking feeling that Kira was raising his hand. He didn't look behind him because honestly, he didn't want to know. Captain Turner's eyes narrowed in on Kira. "Actually, " Kira began again, his voice growing stronger, "I think we would like to know where we are headed."

There was a dramatic gleam in Turner's eyes as a roguish smirk spread across his features. "So you do want to know?" He took a few, slow steps forward as he spoke, his long, purposeful strides taking him right up to the faces of Athrun and Kira. "Be you sure you want to know?" A few of the crewmen guffawed quietly, as if they were in on some private joke. Turner turned away suddenly, his boots clunking sharply on the deck. "We're going far from this world, boys." Athrun and Kira stiffened. If they left this world, chances of getting back were slim. Their communication lines were only good for this universe...

"But don't you worry, lads, I've been making this trip for almost ten years." He smiled to himself. "I've always come back. And hopefully," the captain continued, stepping lightly up the steps to the helm, catching the railing and swinging round it in one smooth motion, "you'll both come back from the dead, too."

The crew laughed heartily with their captain, and got back to work as Turner yelled a few orders.

"Back from the dead...?" Athrun queried aloud. An eerie feeling crept from his extremities to his heart and brain as he silently wondered where the man with the tentacles had gone.

"...Too?" Kira asked, sharing a long look with his best friend. Athrun swallowed nervously.

"You have to admit, Athrun, we're pretty lucky that they agreed to take us wherever we wanted," Kira said cheerfully, hoping to raise Athrun's spirits. He set his stiff scrubbing brush down for a moment next to the bucket of dirty sea water.

"Lucky?!" Athrun cried hotly in an uncharacteristic outburst. "In what way are we lucky, Kira?" The younger boy raked his fingers through his shoulder-length hair and sat back on his heels, leaving his scrubbing brush on the deck. "To me, lucky means that I've not managed to get myself stuck on a pirate ship that is very literally on its way to Hell! And as if that weren't bad enough, some of the people on this boat aren't actually people!"

Athrun picked up his brush again, dunked it into the bucket, and scrubbed the deck with unneeded vigor.

Kira reached out a hand to comfort his friend. "Look, Athrun, it's not really that b--"

"And we have to scrub the deck!" Athrun continued heatedly, not quite under his breath. He shoved the brush ruthlessly across a board, causing a thin piece to splinter off...into his hand. "Ouch!" he yelped, dropping the brush and cradling his hand. He rocked back onto his heels so fast he fell backwards onto his behind.

"Are you okay, Athrun?" Kira asked in concern.

"Fine." Athrun gritted his teeth and hissed as he pulled the splinter out. He tossed it over the nearby rail. "This just sucks."

"Ah, boys!" came the voice of Captain Turner. The young man strode down the deck to their little workstation, his boots making their characteristic upbeat tempo as their owner smiled broadly and approached. He came to a halt, but his white shirt continued forward, billowing open in the sea breeze.

Kira looked up brightly, but Athrun's face showed a partially veiled contempt. Why did Turner get to brisk around the ship looking all roguish and daring while he and Kira had to scrub decks and clean chamber pots?

"Yes, Captain?" Kira asked, oblivious to his friend's inward struggle.

"Oh, don't worry about the decks right now. Sunset's coming, and we'll be off shortly now to the other side." Turner smiled and his buckles swashed in the warm setting sunlight. Athrun grimaced. Turner noticed Athrun's facial expression, and knelt in front of the blue-haired FIT explorer. "You all right, Zala?"

"Peachy."

Turner smacked Athrun on the shoulder good-naturedly, and stood. "All right then, boys, if you'll follow me, I'll show you to your temporary quarters." He smiled his winning smile, and Kira was won. Athrun followed a distance behind as the other two left for belowdecks, hoping that at least Kira would catch on to one simple fact.

Athrun Zala was not to be made into a simple cabinboy so easily.

Well, stay tuned for another chapter. Damn, Bloom is sexy. That last scene in Pirates 3...drool. Please review!