"Um, Argus Actual to Argus Two, Mononobe-senpai, uhh, do you have a visual from your zoom modules?"
At the transmission, a single, GM Ground-Type rose from one knee, bringing up the barrel of its NFHI-GMCa-Type 09/180 millimeter cannon along with it. The unit's right leg stepped back to regain its balance, and the weak, rocky soil almost gave away. Said fifty-eight metric-tonnes giant spun his head around, the cyan compound optics scanning every inch of area its sensors could cover, and marched backwards towards a waiting, and also crouching, similarly-painted MS-06JC Zaku II Ground Type Variant JC, which was seen, wielding a 90mm Machine Gun on its hands.
"...Yeah," The lazy, sleepy-sounding voice erupted on the RGM-79[G]'s radio. "Argus Two here... I'm seeing..." The voice was interrupted by a small yawn from the one who replied to the radio. "Two GMs, one Command variant, one Ground Combat Type. Haven't confirmed any other units nearby, though. They're packing... a beam spray gun for the Command unit, and your usual three-eighty mike-mike Hyper Bazooka for the Ground Combat GM unit."
"How about the Priority Targets?" Another voice asked, this time sounding feminine, and much more patient and less stern than the first one. "Are we... going against tanks or hovercrafts?"
The GM rotated its body around again in silence, the only thing that made additional noises were the Mobile Suit's joints and hydraulics, grinding, creaking, and hissing with every that movement the unit did. The head unit of the Ground-combat Mobile Suit faced towards the distance, before plopping itself into a seated position once it's reached a more desirable location. The ground cracked underneath the massive weight of the unit, but the overlooking cliff they were on didn't budge just yet.
Just in cue, a trail of dust was seen near the far reaches of the horizon. The Ground GM leaned its crudely-modified Vulcan-supporting head forward, presumably to assess and confirm the source of the dust. A few seconds of silence later, the GM leaned its back against another cliff face, but its large, field ordnance Weapon pack situated on its backpack prevented it from leaning back any further when it made contact with the dull formation of rocks.
"One M61A4 'Effetto Pronto' Heavy Tank, Saint Gloriana colors, visual confirmed. It's right there at the back... it has its flanks covered by its Mobile Suit Team."
An impressed-sounding 'ooohh' was heard from the radio, as one Federation M61A3 'Barsele' Medium Tank, colored in dark-silver came into view. Its twin, 120mm main bores aimed towards the outside of the cliff, directed at the general direction of the opposing group. A chestnut-haired girl was peaking her head out from the armored secondary gunner seat, and another girl, sporting a darker hair and a pair of binoculars planted on her eyes was peeking hers out from the tank's side hatches.
"I'm going to guess that they're baiting us..." The one with the binoculars deduced with a knowing smirk. "Still, managing to hide their full team in plain sight, in which that even from here, the highest point in the area, can't see... what marvelous tactics..." Her wide smirk, only grew even wider at that. "Damn Feddies..." She spat purposefully, gaining her some uneasy looks from the rest of the Ansaldo's crew, and especially the Tank Commander.
"The biggest threat will obviously be the Ground Combat Type GM. That Bazooka can knock our suits in one shot," The Zaku pilot mused, pointing the barrel of his 90mm machine gun towards the distance. "...My um, Zaku Machine Gun can't penetrate an armor that thick. And we should also take in the consideration that the Command GM's carrying a beam gun. Sure, it'll lose its accuracy in range, but again, one shot is enough to take us out."
The Zaku's mono-eye pink optic turned to its side, witnessing the other Mobile Suit tinkering with the iron sights of its 180mm cannon.
"Uh... um, Mononobe-senpai," He called out to the GM, to which the other unit responded by giving the Zaku a glance back from its compound optics. "Can you try to... um, shoot them from up here?"
The GM made a motion of its head, shaking in negativity. "No," Came the simple, even reply. "I'm an armor-hunter unit, not a sniper. Even my ten-eighty mike-mike cannon can't reach them from up here," He informed with voice one could deduce as being bored. "Ugh, do we really have to fight these guys?" He groaned aloud.
"Hey, but that's where tactics and skill come in!" The girl lowered her binoculars and sent off a disapproving scowl at the GM's general direction. "You Federation scum will never understand things like these," She huffed smugly and indignantly.
The GM silently turned its head to the girl, but the pilot said nothing. The other members of the team laughed nervously, at the tensing situation,with the Zaku II pilot raising its free hand to separate the two from any potential bickering or argument. After a while of separation, courtesy of the Zaku, the RGM-79[G] silently snapped its head back to the distance, still saying nothing on the radio nor aloud from the GM's loudspeaker. The girl just continued to grin smugly.
After the situation has simmered down, the Tank Commander looked over to the open driver hatch. "Well, um," She began, uneasiness plaguing her already soft voice. "Mako-san please wake up. Can you please start up our tank? But be careful, we don't want it to get too loud."
A sleepy hum was the response that came back, and then, the once dormant Barsele's engines whirred to life, giving off a low, and light, but constant rumble into the air. In cue the Zaku II and the Ground GM stood up from their downed, and concealed position to stand up at their full height. Their once inactive optics now brimming with power, and the low hiss of the Mobile Suit's hydraulics and creaking joints came along to join the tempo with the M61A2.
After the engine of said armored vehicle was primed and ready, the turret first rotated a hundred-eighty degrees to face its back, and then followed by the turn of its main body. It reversed slowly until it was out of the edge of the rocky cliff and then advanced forward, silently prompting the two other Ground Mobile Suit to cover its tail, in which the Zaku II immediately marched after the tank, while the GM lagged itself to observe the surroundings for a few more seconds before joining the rest of its team.
"We'll regroup with the others and then plan our next move," Barsele's commander told on the radio. "We should be entering their effective radio range soon, since the Minovsky Particles' density isn't too high. Everyone, of the Anglerfish and Argus Team, are you ready?"
"Que quem quis sempre pode!"
"Audeamus."
"Sieg Zeon!"
"...Panzer Vor!"
"Oh, I can't believe our kid's already going to space!"
A middle-aged male reached his hand out to pat a slightly taller male in front of him, a knowing, and bright smile etched on his face from ear to ear, and even that wide smile of his was barely showing the full extent of his happiness. "Look at him, Shorty, seventeen and already getting himself transferred directly by the Federation's Piloting School!" With his hand keep patting, he added, but this time, turning his head to a much shorter female right beside him. "He's pretty tall too, isn't he?" He laughed in a rather angered tone, for some reason. His pats tightening into a crushing grip instead. "Ahh, you tall piece of shi-"
A hand slapped the middle-aged individual causing him to stop pressuring the shoulder of the much younger teen, and to double over, all while clutching his head. The young male before him didn't exactly react to the things that unfolded at the scene. In fact, he didn't react at all while the older male kept on slapping and the crushing his shoulder bones. He was only giving out a dry, bored, and if not, completely dull look, as if being apathetic about the whole thing.
The slap, was the courtesy of the same, short woman who'd been standing beside the other adult.
"Seriously, how long are you gonna keep that height complex of yours bothering you?" She huffed in disappointment, sending the male a glare. "It's our son's last day here on Earth, and that's what you have to say to him?!" With the female keep scolding her companion, it took her only a few seconds to realize that they're not behaving accordingly in front of their child. "Ohh, little Kenya, we're sorry..." She apologized profusely. "This isn't the goodbye you're looking for isn't it?"
The one, identified as Kenya, blinked his pale brown eyes twice at the question, and then looked around. A lot of men and women, looking within his age's range, also clothed in the same set of attire, which consisted of a tan, military uniform, with some black markings on the shoulder, and a pair of formal, black trousers alongside a pair of boots. With most, if not all of them, saying their goodbyes to their parents. Feeling his gaze has strayed long enough, he glanced back to the older individuals in front of him.
He also scratched his platinum hair, for good measure.
"I don't mind," He replied, voice even and neutral, expression flat, as if giving the impression that he's verbally shrugging.
"You know," The father spoke up after recovering from his earlier assault, now with a new bump on his head, a disapproving frown has replaced his earlier smile. "I still feel that you shouldn't attend Ooarai."
The mother, hearing his disdain regarding the name, gave a sarcastic snort. "Yeah, tell that to the brass, Colonel," She poked him by the nose, affectionately.
Their son looked uncomfortable at that rather lovey-dovey moment, but kept it to himself.
"...Besides, the Federation already gave the all clear to be the sponsor of Ooarai, right?" She asked for confirmation. "They needed the monetary support, and we need their school's land to conduct the War Games. Come on, it can't be that bad. Kenya'll still be getting the usual curriculum at the Colony. They must've been really desperate though... word is, is that Ooarai used to be a girls-only High School, and it's only because of the Federation's sponsor, that they decided to change the classes to be co-ed, maybe it's for the upcoming War Games too, though, I'm not sure."
"That's exactly what I'm worried about!" The other adult snapped, of course, with all of the activity and the commotion happening around them, one couldn't really hope to hear what he was saying, but his action was already enough to warrant them some strange glances from the people near them. Feeling the uneasy stares landing upon his family, he along with the mother gave an apologetic bow, and the other individuals returned to their routines.
The father, finally feeling the stares dissipating elsewhere, removed the mask that was his face of apology, and wore his deep scowl again.
"...I'm talking about the War Games, Doc," He muttered to his family, sounding both angered and worried at the same time. "Our kid... he didn't have to experience that kind of thing ever. But, those Feddie-Fuckheads insisted that he entered that crap. Now look at him," He pointed a finger directly at Kenya, who again, didn't react. "You, as his mother, and, a doctor, should know about this shit better than I do. An arm, an entire, fucking arm, lost? Just because of this... sport?"
The wife of this man, looked like she's slightly taken aback by his suppressed outrage, although their son, didn't seem to change his facial expression one bit. He did raise his eyebrows.
She sighed warily, and placed a hand softly on the father's shoulder, attempting to cool his fury regarding the matter. "Well, yeah, but ever since... that incident," She paused, voice going hesitant, especially on the last part, as she also stole a quick look at their son, particularly at his gloved, right hand. "The Federation Piloting School has changed the War Games from being compulsory, to just an extracurricular activity for all students, right? Now, the kids will only have to partake in VR simulations on how to handle the units."
"That still doesn't justify the damage that's been done, Shorty," He looked at the son, with faint glints of sadness reflected on his brown eyes. "It's our damn kid for God's sake. He's..." The older male of the group trailed off, raising both of his hands to his head to let out a groan. "...Look, are you sure he's gonna be fine?" His expression had softened up by the time his hands fell back down. "It's only been a week or two since his rehab, right?"
Kenya sighed, mimicking his father's actions by running a tired hand down from his forehead, all the way to his chin. "Ma, Pa, I'll be fine," He said in a deadpan, waving his right arm around for emphasis.
"See, even he says so himself!" The mother playfully nudged the still stern-looking father with her elbow. "Come on... you've gotta stop being so paranoid. Little Kenya is just as stubborn as you. He won't be kicking the bucket just by playing some kind of sport."
One growl later, the older male released all of his anger with one final grunt of frustration, he finally looked back to his son. "Agh, Goddammit, alright!" He threw his arms up to the air, showing his resignation. "I'm still kind of irked that because of his rehab process, he has to repeat his second year."
"Well, he DID miss his six months worth of school, so I don't find that very surprising," His wive shrugged plainly, before checking her phone for the time, only to recoil slightly back in shock. "Oh crap, It's almost nine," She pointed a finger on her smartphone's screen, looking panicked, somewhat. "I have an appointment at the hospital in ten minutes, so I really have to go now," Despite looking saddened, she gave her son one last smile, and quickly engulfed him with a hug.
In which he gladly returned. "I'm gonna grow even taller to make you look bad, Mom," He spoke quietly.
She sniffed, grinned, and smacked herself away from him. "Always a blunt ass, just like your dad, still, I'm holding onto that, you know! Five point two isn't exactly tall for a boy your age!" She swiped her hand over her own pale-aqua eyes to brush away the tears that've been threatening to fall. "Look, Kenya... before you go," She stepped closer, and stood on her toes to reach her taller son's face, and used both of her index fingers to push his cheeks upwards. "Try to smile more, will you? My baby boy will look much more handsome with that."
Kenya rolled his eyes, and gently pushed his mother's hands away, returning his pushed cheekbones back to their place, and the artificial smile vanished into his usual rigid expression. "Thanks, Mom."
His mother took a few steps back, smiled sadly at him, before turning her back around to whisper something to the father's ears, in which he rolled his eyes, but nodded anyway. After saying her farewells one last time with her son, she marched towards the exit, disappearing into the crowd not long after, leaving behind the old, military personnel along with his son. An awkward silence ensued between the two, at least until the father cleared his throat to gain Kenya's attention.
"You know, your mother's right," He spoke in a defeated voice, not sounding distressed, but obviously none-too-happy. "Maybe I should let you go this time. I mean, you're seventeen now, got some pretty good grades at school, and also a high test score for your Mobile Suit aptitude test," He stepped forward, once again placing a hand on his shoulder. "But I'm gonna ask you this, not as a Colonel for the Earth Federation Forces, but as your dad."
Kenya unconsciously drew his face closer to listen on what he had to say, also unconsciously biting his lower lip behind his closed mouth.
"If you can, just... stay away from the War Games, alright?" His tone was weak, almost pleading. "Trust me, kiddo... I've had my own share of war, injuries, and casualties. But... I just can't face your Mom, if anything happens to you."
The son was silent for a few moments, as if taking in all of the request from his father. In the end, he didn't nod nor shake his head, giving his parent a silent, ambiguous answer.
His father's face twitched before cracking a grin. "Don't disappoint us, asshat," He placed some distance between them, to assume a formal stance. "Cadet, Innokenti Mononobe of the Earth Federation Piloting School."
And his son followed, standing into attention when his father called him by his full name and his rank. "Yes, Colonel."
"I hereby give you permission to board the shuttle for the Ooarai High School, I wish you the best of luck on your studies this year," He snapped into a salute. "You're dismissed, son."
And Innokenti saluted back. "Thank you, Sir."
And in cue, the two took one final, but deep breath, to, in sync, say,
"Audeamus."
"Hey-hey! If it isn't the Crazy Ivan!"
A hand was suddenly slung over Kenya's shoulder prompting him to look at the arm that'd snaked around his neck, and then to the one who called out to him. Reflexively, his hands moved to free himself from the death grip, although to no avail. After trying several times, his arms relaxed themselves, especially when the Cadet's eyes landed upon the picture of another taller student, Caucasian by ethnicity, tall, unkempt black hair, jade green eyes, and dressed in the same kind of clothes he's also wearing.
"Generic White Guy #12," Innokenti greeted back, looking as dull as always, although getting agitated somewhat at his state.
The young adult's eyebrows rose in amusement at his remark. "Generic White Guy...?" He repeated, a light snicker escaping his mouth. "Dude, the rehab wiped your memory or something? It's me, Lukas!"
The platinum-haired boy tilted his head, and then nodded stiffly. "Yeah... Auttenberg... Lukas... Cadet... age seventeen... third year... active member of the War Games extracurricular activity... Engineer," He gasped for air in between words, face going blue by the second due to the lack of oxygen from his choked position. "Can't... breathe..."
The moment he said his surname, Lukas gave an approving and at the same time, uncomfortable smirk, and then used his other, free hand to lightly slap him by the head. "Yeahhh, that much information is a bit creepy, but at least you remember me. Anyway, congrats on your recovery, and just in time for us to be transferred to space, no less, huh?" He let his hands go from the already oxygen-deprived Cadet. "Oh, sorry 'bout that."
Kenya inhaled deeply to satiate his need for air, holding his hand up as if to defend himself from further physical contact. "...But it looks like..." He coughed and wheezed, cutting himself off midway. "...It looks like we won't be attending the same classes this year."
The German blinked, and then snapped his fingers in realization, expression also going somber in the process. "Ohhh, yeah... you have to repeat your second year, because of the therapy, huh?" He rubbed the back of the disoriented student, face radiating sympathy. "Tough luck... and, sorry about your arm."
Innokenti raised his shoulders, and made them to slouch back to a more relaxed posture. "You're the fifty-something guy who says that they're sorry for my arm."
"Gee, I was just tryin' to welcome an old face back to the team," Lukas rolled his eyes. "Either way, welcome back to the fryer, eh, Argus Actual? It's good to have a War Games veteran back in action!" He offered his hand for a firm handshake.
At that, the shorter male blinked twice, and hesitantly looked at the offered hand with a slightly conflicted look on dull face. "Yeah... about that... my parents-"
"Now announcing, the final boarding call for Shuttle B16M, destination: Space Colony Ooarai. All passengers please head towards the boarding gate," The sudden announcement that rang through the airport's PA system caught the two students off guard, with Lukas nearly jumping on his spot, while Innokenti just stared at the speaker with slightly wider eyes. "I repeat, now announcing, the final boarding call for Shuttle B16M..."
As the announcement repeated itself, Lukas hummed, and then turned his attention to the shorter student. "Huh, looks like we better get on board the shuttle now, let's go, dude."
"Uh... yeah," Kenya rubbed the back of his head in uneasiness, before his feet followed the movement of his friend. "...Right..." He muttered, whilst tottering through the crowd to follow Lukas towards the boarding gate. The German, noticing his slightly lagging state, finally took note of his rather strange movement, especially his right leg, an eyebrow was raised, before his mouth formed an 'O', and he slowed himself down to let the Cadet catch up.
Lukas then raised his left shoulder slightly, silently offering a gesture to Innokenti that he can use it as a support, to which he declined with a dismissive wave of his hand.
"Your leg, did it get hit hard too?" The taller Cadet asked cautiously, not wanting to really delve into the matter any further, but he was just curious.
Innokenti merely lifted his brows. "Oh, this?" He pointed a finger down to his boots. "No, I just sprained my ankle when I wrestled my dad to let me keep Mister Sports on my backpack last night," He replied bluntly and truthfully, with no ounce of lie detected on his usual neutral voice.
There was an awkward silence that followed.
"O-oh... ahaha..." Lukas nervously laughed, feeling that the student beside him might be a look a little too old for his own good. He did wonder how one even manage to get into a brawl, with his own parents, no less, over the decision to bring along a Haro unit with him. "Speaking of which," He trailed his gaze to the floor around them, searching for any hints of the mechanical ball. "Where's that thing anyway? Figured that he would always be by your side, spouting some nonsense regarding our trip or something."
"Mister Sports was mistaken for a bomb earlier, and he's confiscated by the security for further check-ups," The answer easily left Kenya's mouth.
At the easy, and even reply, a large amount of air suddenly got stuck on Lukas's throat, causing the boy to choke lightly. Once again, the German rose a strange eyebrow at him, and then chuckled uneasily at Innokenti's tact, or the lack of it, thereof. The boy was never known for being the most subtle being ever. The platinum-haired boy was instead, well known for his sharp, and frequently blunt tongue, that may come across as just being downright rude to everyone else.
"...R-right," Lukas cleared his throat to free himself from the choked air. "So, where are you planning on staying at Ooarai? Got any relatives there? A brother? An aunt maybe?"
The boy's pale brown eyes wondered elsewhere, before focusing back on his conversational partner. "My parents rented me a small at the colony near the school."
"Living alone, huh?" The German hummed thoughtfully, placing a hand on his chin for emphasis. "Truth be told, the idea of living independently like that has always appealed to me, but I'm staying with my aunt there, so..." He looked over to the line of students in front of them, to see that it was caused by the boarding gate's attendant, checking for their passports' validity. "...Either way, feel free to swing by our place. Sure as hell that it's gonna be lonely out there."
Kenya was quiet for a few moments, before his eyes lit up in mute excitement. "Did you say free food," And to be frank, his sentence sounded more like a statement, rather than a question.
Lukas failed to stop his palm from smacking his face. "Oh, dear..."
"Um," A somewhat, soft voice, cracked from behind them, causing the two students to turn their bodies around to identify the source of the voice. Their eyes fell upon another of the Piloting School's student, Asian by ethnicity, true to his tan, and nearly jaundiced, even, skin, and his pair of slanted, thin dark brown eyes. His black hair was cut short, still unruly by military regulations, but not as long as Lukas's and Innokenti's hairs.
Feeling the sudden gazes that fell upon him, the individual flinched in timidity, his eyes defocused and his frame shrunk slightly to the back, until he hit the other Cadet who was waiting in line behind him. After earning a light, irritated 'hey!' from the surprised individual, the boy quickly stammered and bowed his head repeatedly in apology. After he was waved off by the student, the Cadet, who looked just slightly taller than Innokenti, by a mere inch or so, turned his attention back to the two, waiting men in front of him.
"Uh, err," He stuttered, trying his best to produce coherent sentences with his shaky voice. "Mononobe-senpai! I, I'm happy to hear about your recovery, and I'll do my best, being under your care this academic year!"
Lukas blinked, and drew himself closer to whisper on Kenya's ear. "Who's this guy?"
"...Iyamamoto, Kenji, Cadet, sixteen-years old, second year, active member of the War Games extracurricular activity, Mobile Suit pilot," Innokenti spoke aloud, whilst moving his hand to shove Lukas's face from his. "We're on the same class this year... right?"
"Gah!" The German engineer yelped when the shorter Cadet's hand pushed him away by the jaw. After recoiling back from the shock, he frowned at his general direction. "Dude, how the hell can you know about everyone's personal information? That's just creepy."
Kenji, after getting his name spoken out loud by the older Cadet, quickly nodded his head several times. "Yes! uh, I mean, uh, Mononobe-senpai, I'm sorry for addressing you so suddenly, it's just that, the school has appointed me to be your wingman this school year at the War Games simulations... I... though I should let you know."
Innokenti placed a hand on his hip. "You can drop the 'senpai' thing, we're on the same year now, anyway... and getting called something like that is really making me uncomfortable," He talked in a dejected fashion. "And, no... I think... I think, I won't be joining the War Games-"
"Ooh, that reminds me!" Lukas slapped his hands together, cutting his friend in mid-sentence. "Hey, good news for you, Innokenti, I've managed to repair your Thunderbolt Sector-use GM from the last tournament! It was hard, reconnecting everything back into place, but it should work perfectly fine now. Just need to attach the shields back to its binders, and it'll all be good to go. Still could use a brand new paint, though. I just don't get it, how you can stand piloting a personal unit, but with its stock paint still slapped onto it."
The shortest individual out of all the three groaned as he also messed his own hair up with his gloved, right hand. "For the last time, I won't be attending the War-"
"Passports, please," The boarding gate attendant's curt voice muted Innokenti's voice in the middle of his sentence, causing the Cadet to glare at booth. The three students however, did, what they're told, and pulled out their passes from their respective pockets. After confirming their filed to be valid, the attendant directed the three to walk pass through the metal detector. "Thank you, please step by that platform, and enjoy your flight."
"Um, what was it that you were trying to say, Mononobe-senpai?" Kenji braved himself to speak up after retrieving his passport from the attendant.
Innokenti brushed him off with a single wave from his hand. "Nothing," He mumbled, sounding like he was holding in some suppressed fury, probably because of the fact that he was cut off for about three times in a row, he then pulled out his smartphone and unlocked the cell with his left hand. He brought the screen to near his eyes and carefully swiped through the screens and selected the music player. After inserting an earphones' cable to the empty port, he plopped the buds to his ears and blasted a track in full volume.
"Uh, okay," The second year uneasily retreated a few steps back from the clearly disappointed Cadet, despite knowing that he couldn't hear him.
Lukas frowned at the amount of volume that went through Kenya's ears, seeing how he could even hear what he's playing through his own ears. "Crazy Ivan's playin' his weird-ass dubstep again," He mused to the Japanese Cadet, feeling somewhat bad for him, being ignored. "I swear to God, this damn part-Ruskie-part-Tojo's habits of listening to his tracks in that kind of volume is gonna be the deaf of him."
Kenji, feeling that he was being addressed to, shifted himself closer to the German. "Um, is... is Mononobe-senpai mad at me, or something?"
The German pointed a finger at the now-silent Cadet. "Him? Nah, he's never angry," He snorts. "It's just that... his social skills are just kinda... lagging from us students. Not like he's constantly angry or anything, but I guess I should've expected him to be this salty, considering he's the son of that Colonel in the Londo Bell's Sixteenth Covert Ops Division."
"That Colonel?" Kenji repeated, sounding somewhat astonished. "You mean, that pilot, the one who piloted that Jegan during the Laplace conflict? Um, but isn't Mononobe-senpai... Japanese? I, I mean, his father was a Russian citizen, right?"
Lukas shrugged, but nodded nevertheless. "Oh yeah... well, the Colonel isn't exactly a man with a family himself, so, when he got married, he changed his surname to follow his wife's. Oh, don't even get me started on Innokenti's bloodline. He's probably got the blood of every single race in him. Just that his Russo-Japanese genetics took up more room in his body. And that would also explain why he has a Russian name, too. Papa-Mama Magic, you know the drill."
"I... I see," The Japanese nodded his head slowly. "Is he... um, always this sleepy-looking, though?" He lifted an index finger towards the wobbly state of the shorter student.
"Huh... how should I say it... Crazy Ivan is... um," Lukas scratched the base of his neck, eyes wondering to look at the shuttle that they're about to enter. "It's not like he doesn't have the energy, he just... lacks the enthusiasm... I think? See that stiff expression of his? Yeah, better get used to it if you're gonna be his wingman, Argus Two," He teasingly nudged the second-year with his shoulder, earning a surprised squeak from him. "By the way, I'm Lukas, Lukas Auttenberg, one of our school's Mobile Suit mechanic for the War Games simulations, nice to meet a new face on the team," He offered a handshake.
To which Kenji shook it firmly. "Y-yes, I, um, Kenji Iyamamoto, I haven't been assigned to a unit yet for this year's term... but, uh, I will do my best not to slow any of you down."
"Relax, kid. You're doing fine. Argus Team can surely use a friendly face for once. One can't help but to just get scared after constantly seeing Innokenti's face for a while," Lukas grinned sagely at the team's newest addition.
To say that Miho Nishizumi was not in a good mood, would be a great understatement.
She specifically chose this certain school, on this certain colony, all the way out at Side 8, to avoid the clutches of the simulations.
She did it on purpose so she wouldn't be able to do that thing ever again.
But there she was, along with newly-acquainted friends, namely Hana Isuzu and Saori Takebe, as well as eighteen other female students, standing on the wide-open field of the Ooarai (former) All-girls High School, facing the school's student council board members, who were standing behind a set of large, somewhat abandoned, hangar buildings. Rust and faded paintings took over the gargantuan structures meant to store the arsenal of the things she'd hated the most.
The War Games simulations.
The fact that she chose to enroll to the school to begin with was to avoid the dreaded sport that was once compulsory to some schools all across the solar system, let them be situated on Earth, or in the colonies. Sure, ever since that unforgettable incident at the interschool championships and then also some, all schools, even including main branches of the Federation Piloting Schools had since reduced the simulations to be just a simple extracurricular activity, and the simunitions' lethality had been significantly reduced even further.
But she surely didn't expect Ooarai to just go do something so unexpected, and revive the sport, and force her to join the simulations. Even going as far as forming a pact with one of the Federation's main Piloting School branch, and to an extend, change the school's once gender-restricted enrollment system to co-ed, so that they would get sponsored by the E.F.F. The thought surely wasn't comforting for the poor Nishizumi, but seeing how the school's student council got not only hers, but, Hana's and Saori's rights to attend the school on the line, she had no choice but to accept the forced offer.
First there was the terrible propaganda video about the War Games, being able to produce quality women by joining such sport, and then the ridiculous rewards and pardons that's basically just downright bribery for those who're intelligent enough to not buy the recruitment skit. A hundred lunch coupons, two hundred pardons for coming late, and thrice the markings of one's academic scores. Whether the school would actually do that, however, was up for debate.
And then, as if trying to add insult to injury, there was only one tank inside the hangar. Not to mention, said vehicle was in a bad shape.
"...Why do we have only one tank?" One student questioned, sounding deadpanned at the predicament they were in.
"Yeah, that won't do for all of us."
"Don't we need at least... five of these things to house us all?"
"This tank's all nuts... and bolts... and strings, too..."
The dejected chatter of the girls caught the attention of the Student Council members of the Ooarai. And in turn, the president, Anzu Kadotani only grinned.
"Well, it looks like you guys would have to look around, then," She said, brushing one of her crimson twintails in a somewhat sagely manner.
Glancing to her side, the Ooarai's PR Manager, Momo Kawashima nodded and pushed her clear-lens, oval-framed single eyeglass up to the bridge of her nose. "It's been many years since the War Games simulations was disbanded at our school, however, there should still be some vehicles that you all would be able to use, around the Ooarai, somewhere..." She paused to shake her head. "No... rather, I'm positive about it. More so, an official instructor from the Federation will be here tomorrow morning, so, we expect you all to find the four remaining tanks by then."
"Then, where do you want us to look?" One of the girls voiced her question, voice giving off the sense of eagerness for the task at hand.
Anzu shrugged her shoulders and closed her eyes. "Yeahhh, if we knew that we wouldn't need your help."
And then a round of protest erupted from the group.
"Whaaaa...?!"
"So we have to search the ENTIRE colony to find these things?"
"It'll take days just to search this field... let alone the whole Ooarai..."
"And we have, only until tomorrow?"
"But... don't you have any clue whatsoever?"
Knowing the situation they were in, the president merely raised her hand to silence the group of panicked girls. "Relax, all of you," Her body did a u-turn to face the hangar's exterior. "I wouldn't be asking this to you guys if I don't know how to get this done. So... we've called for some help."
In cue, a steady thumping sounds of boots, hitting the solid field grounds of the Ooarai fields, and the creaking noises of the second and third hangar bay doors opening, were heard by all in attendance. Curiosity rising, the girls rushed out from the hangar to see what was going on outside their own hangar. And the most of them would only find themselves stunned, when they see a bunch of well-clothed men and women, dressed in the Earth Federation's service-dress uniform, marching in an orderly fashion, with some directly heading towards the hangar, while some other stood at the ready by the edge of the field.
They could also clearly see several transport trucks unloading some Mobile Suits into the hangars. Relics of the One Year War, let them be manufactured by the Zeon forces or the Federation, were rolled into the docking clamps that each hangar'd provided. Miho counted several GM units and its variants as well as the infamous Zaku-line units being placed into the empty docks. None of them looked really stood out, though, as they were still unarmed. The only thing that differentiated each units were their color schemes, despite all of them were painted to fly the Federation's colors of either tan, dark gray, dull silver, marine-green, or dark blue-to-near-violet.
"Get the Mobile Suits into position!"
"Jerry, Peter, over here! This clamp's stuck!"
"Get that debris outta the way, the truck needs to roll into the hangar!"
"Lukas, make sure that Zaku doesn't fall down from the platform!"
The response from Ooarai's girls were varied. With the most of the girls instantly looking amazed, surprised, and even, feared by the new, unfamiliar figures that looked like they didn't belong in a simple school like Ooarai, but in the military. A few others looked dejected, and even, disgusted by their arrival. Particularly a girl, with a short, dark-brown hair, and a matching pair of eyes. This one only chewed down hard on her lower lip as she irritably witnessed the personnel unloading on their school grounds.
Miho Nishizumi, swallowed hard, and posed a look that one couldn't exactly place. On one part, she looked like she was still rejecting their sudden presence, but on the other hand, she felt a light hint of relieve from inside her. Probably only because Anzu had just told her that these men and women might just be their help for their next task. She eyed each and every individual carefully with her chestnut eyes, taking in all of their stern faces and trying to deduce, and learn each of their properties.
A few of the Federation members caught her attention, though. Even though the most of them looked like they're steeled and ready for the job, a trembling boy, Japanese, was seen trying to keep his posture in check. And to his right, another boy, with a rather ambiguous racial ethnicity, who didn't even try to keep himself in check. The latter's body was actually swaying left and right, threatening to fall down, and looked like he just wanted to bail from his post at any given moment. His face told her everything that he didn't want to be there alongside the others. And judging by his moving lips and his irritated expression, he seemed like he was catapulting some sharp, and yet, constant stream of complains from his mouth.
"...This is barely our first five minutes here, and we're already doing sports...?" The deadpanned voice of Innokenti Mononobe whined aloud. "...They didn't mention the place to be so big, too..." He droned on and on, shielding his eyes from the sunlight. "...And it's so hot out here..." He groaned, letting his hand go from his eyes, and the Cadet plopped himself to a crouched position. "...They didn't even feed us back at the shuttle..."
Kenji Iyamamoto glanced over to his right, and his eyes nearly bulged out at the older boy's slacked posture. "Mononobe-senpai...!" He whispered in panic, bending his body slightly to the general area Innokenti was crouching at. "Please... stand up! You're going to get your first warning if you keep this up!" Straying his glance away, his shock was amplified tenfold when he saw one of the girls of Ooarai, actually looking straight at them with a blank look, he immediately reached his hand out to grab the older Cadet by his collar to pull him up. "Uh, um, err... Please, excuse me for this!"
"Heyyyy...!" Kenya lazily flailed his arms around when he was pulled back up by his junior. "What's the big idea...?!"
Miho's head limply fell to her side when she saw the shenanigans before her eyes, completely dumbfounded at the random scene. Unfortunately for her, it seemed that she stared at the two and their for a few seconds too long, for the trembling student realized her gaze'd been planted on them. Almost instantly when she realized that the boy'd been returning the look back, she turned her face away to hide her own face in embarrassment, shame, and guilt, mostly directed at herself for being too rude by staring at them.
Surely enough, though the two's actions warranted them some strange looks, even from their fellow students.
To her side, Saori's squeal snapped her out from her daze. The girl was leaning her head forward, and was this close to let that piece of saliva fall from her mouth. On closer inspection, one might even see stars twinkling on her eyes as she checked each of the Federation personnel out, and particularly, the boys. Miho only laughed nervously at her reaction from seeing so many men up close. She was the one who could literally go on for hours if it's about boys, after all.
"Kami-sama help me," The girl in question mumbled dreamily her hands gripping hard on her green skirt. "That one is so cute! But that one is sooo handsome! Oh, but that one is really good-looking! And look at that tall one!"
Hana simply giggled quietly to her fisted hand. "My, my, Saori-san seems to be in high spirits, isn't she, Nishizumi-san?"
"A-ah... um, yes," Her answer came out stiff and hardened, for some reason, before deciding to keep herself quiet when she saw one male from the formation of Cadets, looking older than the most, presumably third year, advancing forward to meet with Anzu and the rest of the Ooarai's Student Council members, who'd just stepped out from the hangars themselves to greet that certain staff of the Federation. Tall and very well-built, as expected from the fabled rigorous training exercises of the Federation's Piloting School, considering it's still partly a military school. Latin American, short, but curly black hair, light chocolate complexion, minimal stubble, and bright hazel irises.
Miho almost feared for Saori's well being when he came into view, for the girl, and some others nearly fainted.
"Balthazar Silva," The boy courtly saluted Anzu and the two others representatives of the Ooarai. "Student Council President, and a third year student of the Earth Federation Piloting School, Vuelo Escuela, Latin America branch, requesting your permission to partake in Ooarai High School's activities, Ma'am," His calm, but firm voice sent a few rounds of 'ooooh's from the girls who were impressed at how much discipline one individual could achieve.
Anzu chewed on her gum and waved her hands dismissively. "Yeah, yeah, ask me for permission when you guys have already vandalized our hangars..." The girl stopped chewing to show off her grin. "Either way, sure, we'll be putting you guys to good use right away, even... have some of your guys get into their mechs and help our girls search for our tanks, will ya? We've got a lot of ground to cover here, and I'm sure you guys want to have a feel of the colony first hand."
"A-anyway, please, all of you wouldn't need to address us so formally," Yuzu voiced her thoughts shyly, still feeling the uneasiness of being in the face of multiple foreign individuals. "You are all officially members of our school, so..." Her soft voice trailed off, as she played with her own thumb to rub away the nervousness that was plaguing her. "Welcome... welcome to Ooarai!"
"...Both parties should head out to search the premises, immediately. Balthazar Silva-san, you may dismiss your men," Momo followed shortly after by directing the man onto the objective.
Balthazar slowly lowered his hand from the tip of his eyebrows and gave a formal nod to the girls. He did a turn to face the students of the Piloting School, and assumed an eased position, placing one balled hand on the back of his waist, and making gripping said hand with his free left one. His eyes first caught the wobbly state of both Innokenti and Kenji, but decided to ignore them for the time being with a tired sigh.
"You heard the ladies, men!" He barked with a voice full of power and sense of order. "You are to help the students of Ooarai on whatever task they wish to complete! Since this is the new school year, I would like to first welcome the newest additions to the Vuelo Escuela's War Games simulations! Pick your poison on the hangar, and that suit is going to be stuck with you 'till the end of this term! And remember, sightseeing comes second! is that understood?!"
"Sir, yes, sir!" Came the collective reply, which was conducted in a perfect sync from the Federation Cadets, except for Kenya, who was still trying, to regain his bearings, if he was actually trying, that is.
The president from the male's portion of the group nod his head. "Good! Now let me hear that cry one more time!"
"Que quem quis sempre pode!" The whole team resounded, and with that, the men quickly scattered to the hangars to find their ideal machines, again, except for Innokenti, and Kenji, to an extent.
"Wh-whoa, they completely beat us in every category..." Saori choked in amazement at the other team's synergy. "So, these are the guys from the so-called Earth Federation Forces, huh?"
Momo, who was still around by the time she said that, shot the girl a glare from her own dark-colored eyes. "That goes for the all of you too! Team up with the rest of the War Games' members and start searching for the rest of the vehicles!"
And most of the girls instantly panicked, much to her chagrin.
"Audeamus..." Innokenti's sluggish voice suddenly spoke up, whilst shakily saluting towards his school's president's general direction, surprising nearly everyone on the field, and drawing him some unwanted attention from the girls. Balthazar rubbed his own neck at the seemingly late, and incorrect response the boy'd just given back to him. Kenji, who was already a few steps away from him, decided to check back to the other second year.
Said Japanese placed a hand on Innokenti's shoulder. "Mononobe-senpai, that... is, um, the wrong motto," He pointed out. "You, uh, just recited the Londo Bell's war cry..."
"Ano, is something wrong?" Hana, who was keeping her curiosity in check, finally thought that the urge to ask was too great for her to handle. The girl slowly approached the boys in a graceful, and ladylike manner. She was among the few students, alongside Miho, Saori, and one final other student, the same one who rejected the Federation's presence on the colony, who didn't immediately scatter, even after Momo gave the order.
Balthazar, however, was the one who responded. "Oh, uh, sorry about that, Miss," He bent his head downwards slightly in apology to her. "Please don't mind him. This here's Innokenti Mononobe, a veteran of our school's War Games simulations. He's the same age as me, but he'll be repeating his second grade here, at Ooarai, because of the injuries he'd sustained during last year's War Games tourney, that rendered him immobilized by the hospital for six months. He's just completed his recovery and will be rejoining the team, though."
Innokenti, who finally managed to get himself focused, realized that the president was talking about him. "Prez..." He called out, "Prez, guys, listen... I won't be joining the War Games-"
"HEY!" Lukas's voice screamed from the hangar, catching everyone's attention, and directing their eyes towards him. "WAIT!"
The same time, all of the attendees felt some light tremors as well as some loud metal noises, thumping against the ground. They saw several of the docked Mobile Suits within the hangar walking out from their docking clamps and into the exterior. Zakus and GMs alike poured down and immediately marched away from their general premises. One such GM caught every single Cadets' eyes. For it was a dull gray GM, that was also equipped with several extra arm-binders and thrusters on its back.
"HEY, I SAID WAIT, GODDAMMIT!" Lukas yelled at the GM in question, throwing his arms up into the air to get its attention alongside his protests. "THAT THUNDERBOLT GM ISN'T YOURS!"
Unfortunately for him, his voice fell unto deaf ears, as the modified Mobile Suit just continued to step away from the hangar's exit in ease. The German mechanic chased after the unit for several hundred meters, until finally giving up in frustration. He kicked a few ounces of dirt into the air and slowly went back to the hangar, he spotted Innokenti, Kenji, Balthazar, as well as what's left of the Ooarai's War Games teams. He carefully watched Kenya's face for any change in his expression, but to find none.
As confused as he was, it was Saori who went and asked the question. "Um... what just happened?"
Lukas growled, scratching his head with the both of his hands in both anger and irritation. "A Mobile Suit theft-auto happened, that's what," He muttered. "Some first year newbie just decided to jump into Innokenti's GM right here without asking first! Me and the engineers tried to stop him, but he wouldn't listen!" The mechanic explained frantically. "Damn it all, sorry, dude. It's my fault for letting the cockpit open."
Innokenti shrugged. "...It's fine," He answered sleepily. "I won't be rejoining the War-"
"Damn, dude," Balthazar mused, slapping the Russo-Japanese student by his back. "I should be sayin' sorry, too... should've told the greenhorns that they shouldn't enter your unit."
The shortest male Cadet's face twitched twice. "As I have said..." His voice was starting to change, seemingly taken over by anger by that point. "It's okay... it's just... my parents, ever since the championship, they've decided that I shouldn't-"
"Senpai!" Kenji's voice yelled from the hangar, causing Lukas to wonder in surprise, on how he managed to brush past them without anyone noticing. "We have, um, some spare Mobile Suits in the hangar!"
"Alright, that's it," After spitting one such sentence out from his mouth, Innokenti stomped his feet, hard, so hard, that it kicked a greater amount of dirt compared to Lukas when he did it, on the ground and walked over to the hangar Kenji was at, the sudden change of his voice was all the proof that everyone needed that he was pissed. Very pissed. On what reason, though, they couldn't exactly guess why. He walked pass the other Japanese, who was supposed to be his wingman, and looked over to the units that were reported by him.
One GM Ground-Type, and a Zaku II JC-Type, similarly colored, with light, creamy, tan limbs and dark-blue torsos, but the paints of each suits had already peeled off from their main body, leaving behind two, pale and nearly grayed-out hulls of their former selves. The two ancient Mobile Suits stood at the ready by the docking clamps. As expected, they were still unequipped with anything, seeing how some of the other trucks were in the progress of unloading the rest of the school's arsenal by the next hangar. After eyeing each suit carefully with his pale-brown eyes, he walked over to each of the two mechs, and kicked at their feet to produce some echoing sounds, that only confused the other students and the mechanics even further.
"You," He pointed a finger at Kenji.
And Kenji sputtered when the usually sleepy-looking Cadet suddenly turned a tad bit too scary for his tastes. "Y-yes?!"
"Congrats. You're now the new Argus Actual. Now take a pick."
The Japanese male tilted his head. "Uum... um, wh-what?"
"Your machine, take a pick," Innokenti repeated, now sounding impatient, as he was also tapping his foot lightly on the hangar floors, for emphasis, he jabbed a thumb over the two waiting, empty Mobile Suits.
"The-the Zaku! I'll, um, take the Zaku II, Mononobe-senpai!"
Kenya merely nodded, and he swiftly climbed over a set of stairs to set himself inside the cockpit of the Ground-Type GM. The sounds of the suit's system booting up were heard, and the secured docking clamps automatically folded themselves to let the eighteen-meter mecha to walk past it. A stream of hot steam was excreted from the GM's chest exhaust ports, then the green optics of said unit flared up into life, before finally its feet moved, slowly forward, to step down from the elevated platform it was standing on.
"I'm waiting for you, Argus Actual," Innokenti's voice, which sounded several octaves deeper than usual, erupted from the GM's loudspeaker. The Mobile Suit menacingly turned its head to face down to the Japanese cadet.
Kenji squeaked in fear, and he did what he was ordered. He quickly climbed onto the cockpit of the Zaku II and quickly booted the Heads Up Display of his own, chosen unit on. The student took several deep breaths as he waited for the system to completely set itself up. After closing the cockpit and activating the main camera feed, he gingerly fastened the safety harness, then placed his hands onto the flight sticks and thruster pedals which the suit had provided for him. The interior of the old unit was dirtier, and rustier than he'd expected, but he wasn't in the power to bargain nor complain about it.
"Okay... okay... okay, Kenji, you can do this..." He chanted to himself, pushing the right stick forward, and giving the left thruster pedal a light pressure. The unit responded by flaring its pink, mono-eye optic, and blowing out some of its own, excess steam from its main breather-unit. The docking clamps folded and the Zaku began its march to the outside. "Left leg, right leg, left leg, right leg..." Kenji repeated such orders as he worked on his own with the suit's controls.
On the ground, Balthazar pointed towards the now-active GM Ground-Type with his fingers. "Did... something happen to Innokenti? I mean... what's gotten into him all of a sudden?"
Lukas shrugged. "Who knows?" His answer came out brief and simple.
"Mononobe-senpai!" Kenji's optical voice was also spoken out from the Zaku's own speakers. "Um, what do you mean, by me, being the new Argus Actual?"
"It means that I will now be your support and you are the new leader of the Argus Team," Innokenti replied simply. "Don't even say anything, especially you, Lukas, and you too, Balthazar," He instantly added, his GM looked down to their general location, causing the mechanic to flinch slightly on his place. "I'm out of my own league, so don't try to change my mind about being Argus Actual again. I will be Argus Two from now on, and that's final. Well, I'm waiting for your orders now, Team Leader."
"Wh-wha-whaaaaa?!" Kenji's Zaku staggered a few steps forward, and it nearly fell if it wasn't for the unit's AMBAC self-balancing system taking control to force the suit back into a standing position. "Me?! The Argus Actual?!" The GM's head nodded, and it stayed silent afterwards. Clearly the pilot wasn't in the talking mood. "But I've never... um, I've never even piloted a real Mobile Suit in a live situation before!" The moment he trailed off in uncertainty, Innokenti's Ground GM slowly turned its head intimidatingly towards his Zaku. "U-uhm I mean, I'll do my best! I-I mean, yes, uh, the orders... my orders are..."
The Zaku II's round mono-eye trailed to the girls, sending Kenji's silent, but desperate request for help.
"Um!" Miho, getting the message from the pilot, found her voice. "Can you... please help us find the tanks? I mean... um, it would be better if we work together, right?"
"Yes!" The optic of the Zaku rolled back to look at the GM. "Err, she's right! We should team up with them, see if that works out!"
The GM visibly shrugged its shoulders by raising its arms in an up-and-down motion.
"Um, shall we, then?"
"Audeamus.
Das War Games
A Mobile Suit Gundam and Girls und Panzer Crossover Work of Fiction
When Two Schools Collide
Author's Notes:
I was drunk when I wrote this. I don't know what I was doing when I typed this down on my laptop. It started as a simple, 'I'm bored in the middle of the class' kind of bullcrap, along with another Gundam project which I probably won't post, and then suddenly, I was writing a poor, ten-thousand words chapter. This story sucks, I'm sorry. I'm only humiliating myself further by posting this, aren't I? Oh, well. Might as well as give a glossary regarding this story.
There are some original content created by me that don't exactly exist in the Gundam universe, such as:
- The other M61-type tanks, with numerous classifications, like the M61A2, M61A3, M61A4 tanks. Each tank has its own type with the A2 being the light tank, the A3 being the medium tank, and A4 being the heavy type. The M61 and the M61A5 tanks retained their original, canon role as the Federation's Main Battle Tanks. The names of each tanks are associated with the name 'Semovente' which is the name of the M61A5 MBT, and the Italian WWII self-propelled gun.
- The motto/war cry for the Earth Federation Forces and Londo Bell. They are the mottos of the Portuguese Armed Forces and the Canadian Special Forces Regiment respectively. The reason why my drunken mind chose the Portuguese motto for the E.F.F., it's because the flag of the Earth Federation strongly resembles Brazil's flag. But since Brazil has no confirmed motto, I decided to look for a fellow, Spanish-speaking country. The Londo Bell / Canadian motto was purely random, though.
Again, I'm sorry. This story sucks.