Monsters
Disclaimer: New Mobile Report Gundam Wing isn't mine.
One of the things I really don't like about Gundam Wing is a lack of any perspective into the pilots of that vast and faceless army of OZ, better known as those guys in the Leos who have the aim of Stormtroopers, the intelligence of garden tools, and the killer instinct of Gandhi. Wing never shows us that these guys are human—for all we know they're just spawned, sorta like in Attack of the Clones, in these little vats, and when they reach a ripe old age OZ sticks them in mobile suits.
Well, Uncle ShadowCell is here to fix that with a short little fic from an OZ pilot about those dreaded, indestructible Gundams. It takes place in AC 208. So sit back and enjoy a less-than-pleasant portrayal of the beloved Gundams, who may have saved the world, but were not heroes to everyone.
========================================================
Monsters.
They said at first that they were shooting stars. Four of them fell to Earth, and Lieutenant Zechs Marquise—our best pilot, probably, the flamboyant masked "Lightning Baron"—intercepted a powerful mobile suit. It reportedly blew away two Aries with one shot—that really sucks.
Those damned Gundams had arrived.
But who knew that there were five of these bastards? There's the little bitch Lieutenant Marquise intercepted, the one they just call "Zero-One." It's got this big-ass gun to blow away our finest pilots with like they were dust.
Oh, yes, I remember you, you bastard. We've met. At New Edwards, we fought. You were probably going to kill me, but luckily, my Leo didn't die on me quick enough to kill me too. I popped the hatch and bailed out as soon as humanly possible when you stabbed me with your beam saber—a move that had brought my Leo down to its knees and crashing forward, held up by only its right arm. And then, the instant I felt my feet on the ground, I ran like hell.
I don't really remember what happened next. There was a big boom, I was thrown forward, and little flaming pieces began raining around me. That "Zero-Four" bastard was nearby, blowing stuff up alongside that "Zero-Two" bitch and that "Zero-Three" asshole. After a few seconds of dazed half-consciousness, wondering whether or not I was dead, I had to shake my head to clear the ringing. A few more smoldering pieces were hitting the ground around me, but I still had no idea what the hell was going on.
I was bruised and my elbows and knees had been scraped pretty badly, but I'm a big boy, I handled that, and otherwise I seemed fine. Turning slowly, I found a smoldering crater where my Leo used to be.
Lance Corporal Marcus Tyler was fighting that Zero-One bitch now. He fired a round of 105mm machinegun shots, but nothing would penetrate the bastard's armor. It seemed as if the Gundam saw Corporal Tyler as a nuisance that may as well be dealt with now so it wouldn't bother him later, and so Zero-One nonchalantly stabbed Tyler's Leo in the middle of the chest.
Casual killing. Never thought I'd live to see that.
Tyler's Leo blew up, and Zero-One moved on to Captain Moore, my well-respected commanding officer, in a modified Cannon Leo. He fired one of the Shorty-type beam rifles, but even that had no effect. The blast simply dissipated on Zero-One's big red shield—what the hell is that thing made of, anyways? Captain Moore fired a few more shots, but it was no good—Zero-One just sliced him in half.
Even to this day, October 16th, AC 208, I can almost hear Captain Moore's scream as Zero-One's beam saber tore him atom from atom as it drove through the Leo's cockpit, as well as his body. I hope Zero-One's pilot meets a similarly horrible fate.
Of course, Zero-One wasn't going to have all the fun of killing all my comrades and friends. That bastard Zero-Two did it too. Superior Private Harrison was someone who had always looked up to me as a big brother, and in turn I always regarded him as a surrogate little brother.
I will never forget the image of Zero-Two tearing down Harrison with a hauntingly elegant scythe slash. I hope you burn in hell for that, pilot of Zero-Two.
Zero-Three got in on all the homicidal fun too. He cut down Sergeant Higgins, a man I regarded as my older brother, and for all intents and purposes, he was—the only thing missing was the blood connection. The picture of Zero-Three ramming its Gatling gun into Higgins' Leo's stomach and firing, an explosion ripping the Leo apart a moment or so later, will never be erased from my mind. To hell with you, Zero-Three's pilot.
Zero-Four seemed to hesitate at killing, but he did it all the same—so you're a bastard all the same as the others, Zero-Four. It had two huge sickles in its hands, and it used one of them on Major Anderson's Leo. At least Major Anderson was able to try to give you a run for your money, asshole. I didn't know Major Anderson personally, but we all regarded him as the top pilot stationed at New Edwards. He had a beam saber, and he managed to block two of Zero-Four's slashes before one of those giant sickles found its mark. I hope you go to hell too for that, pilot of Zero-Four.
And Zero-Five, who probably racked up the most kills, counted my dear Corporal Riley among the heads he took. She was a great pilot too, though she preferred fire support, which was why she was piloting a Tragos. Of course, Tragos or Leo or Aries or whatever, those bastard Gundams killed our troops all the same. That dragon's-head thing on Zero-Five's arm shot out to crush the Tragos' chest. And as if that hadn't killed her, you ensured that there would be nothing to bury with that point-blank flamethrower burst. Die and go to hell, Zero-Five's pilot.
I never got to take Corporal Marcus fishing, like I'd promised. I never got to see Captain Moore's kids. I never did get to help Private Harrison refurbish that old vintage car of his. I never got to ask Sergeant Higgins all the things I wanted to. I never got to have a simulator battle with Major Anderson. And I never got to tell Corporal Riley how I felt about her.
Damn you Gundams. Whoever piloted those things on that horrible day in AC 195, I hope you die a slow and horrible death, and I hope you rot in hell for it.
OZ High Command reassigned me to space as a Taurus pilot, giving me a nice promotion. It was fun—Taurus are far superior to Leos, and I will always believe that Lieutenant Junior Grade Roy McAllen has a far nicer ring to it than Sergeant Roy McAllen. The best part was getting revenge on Zero-Five—how many times did I blast that thing before the Lieutenant Commander ordered me to stop? In the end we only captured it, and I never got to see the pilots—I would've left Zero-Two and Zero-Five in no condition for interrogation for months to come anyways. That's probably why Colonel Une wouldn't let anyone short of herself and the most disciplined and restrained of guards near them.
Of course, those two bastards escaped anyways. But at the time I'd been sent off with the Vayaete and Mercurius pilots—I would've beat up the Mercurius's pilot, who was the captured Zero-One, but Colonel Une wouldn't let me—to stop a rampaging Gundam that had destroyed a colony. Turns out that was Zero-Four, and the little bitch blew up my home colony, therefore taking out just about all my remaining friends and family, after they'd relocated from Earth to the colonies. As the son of an OZ official sent to the colonies to make sure they were doing what they were told, they naturally were living there—and Zero-Four took them all down with one blast.
After Zero-Four's "Blow up my home colony" stunt, we captured him, but I was assigned off the lunar base and sent back to Earth. That was about the time OZ split, and I suppose my loyalty to His Excellency Treize was too strong, so I joined up with him. And silly old me barely survived the Romefeller Foundation's siege on Luxembourg—those mobile dolls are as soulless and ruthless as the Gundam pilots. My Taurus was for the most part okay, but I personally escorted His Excellency out of Luxembourg, and I've gotta say, His Excellency did some awfully cool stuff with his Taurus. If only we could give him a Gundam and blow the hell out of the Gundam pilots.
White Fang rose up, and His Excellency ascended the proverbial throne of the World Nation. We all packed up, went up to space, and I got to take my Taurus into action one last time. White Fang's mobile dolls were even closer to the soulless ruthlessness of the Gundam pilots, which was definitely not good. Somehow I survived that too, but fighting alongside those Gundams was the hardest thing I've ever done in my life.
I wanted so badly to just turn and blast one of them in the back, but I couldn't very well violate direct orders from His Excellency Treize Khushrenada—orders seconded by Colonel Une once she took command. So I had to restrain myself. The Gundams, though not necessarily fighting for our sake, were fighting the same enemy, and we were therefore to leave them alone.
All restraint was lost when I heard the rumors that Zero-Five had killed His Excellency in a mobile suit duel. Why the hell His Excellency had gotten into a mobile suit duel with the very Gundams he had told us were going to have to be our allies is beyond me, but I went mad with rage. The only thing stopping me from attacking the Gundams—and probably getting killed—was the fact that I couldn't find them. They had all gone inside Libra, and needless to say, I was ordered to stay out. Fine with me, that thing was crawling with mobile dolls.
Colonel Une hailed the Gundams as saviors. Yeah, right.
Then came AC 196. I thought that the Gundams had disappeared, and with them would disappear my memory, but they came back. What few friends I had left were scattered throughout the Earth Sphere, and several of them had joined the Mariemaia Army. I considered it, but decided that I was an old soldier and I didn't want to go fight again.
Well, Mariemaia pulled her coup d'etat off with hardly a hitch, launching from midday and seizing control of the government by the end of the day. Guess that's what you get when you totally demilitarize yourself and have only a secret intelligence bureau to defend yourselves.
Then those Gundam bastards came back.
You know, I really didn't think much of Mariemaia. One would think I'd be grateful to the Gundams for getting rid of her and all. But I'm not. The Preventers could have done it just as easily—that's what they're there for.
Some people think you're great symbols, that we should all strive to be like you. I don't think so. You're nothing but killers. Murderers.
I'm never going to forgive you, you bastard Gundams.
I hope you all die and rot in hell for what you've done to me.
Monsters.