Disclaimer := I don't own Gundam. - y'know, I never really thought that "I don't own" fits things.. I mean, what about "I have no property rights, so don't sue me, I'm not doing this for money or what-not." This belonging thing kind of confuses me. What about all the merchandise, and stuff, y'know - is that even considered in owning Gundam, or -
Corlythe : Just shut up. You know exactly what they mean.
By the way, just in case the author hasn't explained it yet : GundamWing belongs to Bandai, Sunrise, all those cool and nifty people who made it and had too much fun with it, and those other people I may have forgotten to mention, just in case they think they're not cool and nifty.
A/N: This is actually something serious, but half-brained. I'll work on plot and stuff as I go, but as this is a first for me, don't expect too much...
The Inner Sphere
It didn't seem like much, he mused, but it was a start. Heck, it would take some civilizations several millennia to achieve total peace, but this one - only one and several centuries, and they were screaming for peace.
~It just goes to show that some people have more sense than others.~ The voice echoed in his head, and he gave a slight smile.
~So how are you today, Chaz?~
~I'm fine, but what are we supposed to do here?~
He shrugged, stretched back and locked his fingers behind his neck as he waited for the transfer to finish. ~I don't know. I guess we'll find out when we get to wherever we're going.~
click "Welcome to Dreamscape - what would you like to do?"
click "Saving worldframe..."
click "Done."
"Put it over there, now!" Lucrezia Noin directed another former OZ soldier towards the back of the hangar, then turned around to find another problem.
"Careful! Those haven't been disarmed yet!" she yelled up towards yet another technician who was mangling the transportation of several missiles. She took a deep breath and let it out in a heavy sigh. "Techies..."
"Ma'am, uh, sir, uh ..." a quiet voice spoke up from behind her. Noin turned to find a teenage boy in a technician's uniform holding a clipboard out at her. She took it from him, ignoring the clipboard for a moment to study the boy. And even OZ turned to recruiting the younger ones.
The war had just ended, so now much of both the colonies and Earth's weapons supply were in the process of being dismantled or converted to some other purpose than for fighting the war. Noin was overseeing the conversion of this Earth base, with the help of her friend Sally Po, and so far, the going hasn't been all that easy.
The young technician shifted under her absent-minded gaze, then spoke up. "Uh, ma'am," he blanched a little when she turned her full attention on him - must've been one of the last minute recruits - "Ma'am, there's a message waiting for you in your office from Representative Une."
"Une? Thank you, I'll see to it." Noin tucked the clipboard under her arm and headed off, noting vaguely as she passed the boy - He looks a little like Trowa Barton...
~
"Man, this is nice."
"Oh, I know. After all that rain and sleet on Five, it's heaven over here."
Thane leaned back in his chair and stretched, watching the sidewalk scenery around him as he and Ventra ate brunch in front of a deli. "Yeah, temperature's at around 95 here, and supposed to get hotter."
Venn grinned in anticipation. "Great. I just love the heat." She looked slyly over at her friend. "But you'll probably have a problem with that."
He only snorted. "Me and about a ton of other people." He waved towards the sidewalk, where men and women in business wear sweated and trudged along in the summer weather. His eyes were wandering over the late morning crowd, looking for anything interesting, when he suddenly sat up in his chair, almost knocking over the table.
"Hey, Thane, what is it?" Venn just barely caught her drink before Thane hit with a sweeping arm to point out across the street.
"That guy..." he breathed, eyes wide. His hand automatically reached for the pendant hanging from around his neck.
"I thought you didn't like guys that way," Venn smirked, but noticed who he was pointing at. "Whoa, all black? What, is he suicidal or something? It's not even midday yet!"
Across the street was a boy about their age, wearing a black ensemble with a white priest's collar and leaning against a store corner, as if waiting for something. He wore his chestnut brown? hair in a lengthy braid that swung below his knees, and shaded his face with a black cap. Every few seconds or so he checked his watch and tapped his foot, glancing back towards the store's entrance and trying not to look annoyed.
Venn frowned a bit. "Are you sure that's a guy? I mean, with hair that long..."
But he looks kind of cute, too...
"He's one of them," Thane mumbled, his eyes now closed as he turned away and faced the deli. "Something's going to happen here..."
~
Duo Maxwell tapped his foot and checked his watch again, trying to hide his annoyance as he waited. Damn that Hilde, what's taking her so long? She was supposed to be out thirty minutes ago! He glanced again at the storefront : "Janice's Lingerie" Why didn't she get this stuff before, when she was with Relena and Dorothy?
The door opened, and Duo opened his mouth to complain to Hilde about how ten minutes did NOT in fact equal thirty, when he saw what had been keeping the dark-haired girl. Two other girls stood right behind Hilde while she explained.
"Hey, Duo! Sorry it took so long, but I met Relena and Dorothy here, and I invited them to lunch with us. That's okay, right?"
"Uh-" he started, but Hilde was already moving toward the crosswalk, his arm in her grasp. She nodded towards the other two to follow.
"Thank you so much for treating us to lunch, Mr. Maxwell," Dorothy smiled sweetly, her eyebrows arched almost evilly as she and Relena followed the pair across the street. Relena started to say something about not wanting to intrude, but Dorothy cut across her with a breezy "That is so chivalrous of you."
"Aww, man," Duo moaned as Hilde lead him across the street. He was outnumbered, and it didn't look good. He began to search his pockets for his wallet, careful not to mutter audibly about girls and their habits. He may talk a lot, but he knew when not to say too much.
~
Venn whistled. "So, he's a ladies man..."
"Looks like he's been cornered to me." Thane said as they watched them approach the entrance to the deli. He twitched. "Not here, but he's one of them." His friend looked at him in alarm.
"One of what? Do you know?"
- Flash. -
It is the year After Colony 195. In a decisive Battle to End All Battles, the various forces of the colonies serving under the name of White Fang met with the forces of the Earth's World Nation, supposedly fighting in the name of peace. It was only after the destruction of the battleship Libra and the broadcast of a meaningless battle between two powerful mobile suits that the colonies and Earth made a unanimous decision for peace....
- Flash. -
"One of them." Thane whispered, then shook his head. He looked up and noticed that the boy and three girls were already inside the deli, ordering a slightly early lunch.
Venn shrugged at her friend's muttering, and stood up to stretch and look around.
~
Inside the deli, Duo was busy shelling out the money to pay for lunch. Hilde hung onto his arm and smirked over his head at Dorothy, who was serenely sipping her tea, eyebrows still arched. Relena sighed quietly and looked out the deli window, searching for a place to sit. Vaguely, she wondered where Heero Yuy was - what with Duo and Quatre on Earth to help with the weapons dismantling...
This was in fact her first day off since she arrived from space; the past few weeks had been total chaos as many people struggled to adjust to the new "war-free" world. The past few weeks were filled with conferences and meetings, and it seemed that there were more to come in the days ahead. It was a good thing that Paegan put his foot down and made her go with Dorothy - she could feel the traces of her headache starting to fade away.
There was a sudden movement outside, and Relena found herself staring at two teenagers standing underneath a shaded table right outside the window. The taller of the two was a blonde with light blue eyes, and seemed to have a headache - he was rubbing his temple as he stood up, while his other hand steadied himself on the chair. His companion, a girl, had shoulder-length black hair and dark brown eyes. The boy was dressed in a T-shirt and jeans, while the girl wore jeans, a white shirt with the sleeves rolled up, and a red vest over the shirt. Underneath their table sat two backpacks, filled to almost breaking.
"Miss Relena," Dorothy called her out of her observations. "Let's go outside, now."
"Travelers?" she wondered aloud. Those two - why do I feel like they don't belong here?" -
~
"Thane?"
Thane looked up and saw the girl looking at them. "She's another." Caught, the girl quickly tried to look away, but he knew she was still glancing back as she moved away from the window.
"Hey, are you guys just leaving?" a voice came from behind Venn, and she yelped in shock. They turned to see the braided boy and the other two girls waving at them, carrying their lunch as they weaved through the sidewalk tables. "We kind of need a table, so.."
Thane was able to see the group's faces up close for the first time. That guy...
-Flash.-
Someone talking. A voice ~I haven't heard that voice in a long time ~ saying:
"When there's oppression, there's bound to be someone out there who's going to fight against it. Whether they succeed or not...Well, that depends on the person..."
-Flash.-
It is the year After Colony 195. In an effort to free the colonies from the oppression of the Earth Sphere Alliance and its Specials Unit, five mobile suits and their pilots were sent to Earth...
He's one of the pilots. Thane watched as the last girl took a seat at their table, smiling apologetically. And she's -
"Thane." Venn shoved his backpack into his arms and snapped her fingers in front of his face. "We're leaving, k?" With that, she grabbed his arm and led him across the street.
"It's them, Venn." Thane said, as soon as they were out of earshot. He gave another glance back. Venn grinned as they passed several screens advertising the "New Peace."
"Looks like we just missed the war." She laughed out loud at their luck, but Thane was worried.
"We're here for a reason. Something's going to happen."
Venn sighed. "So you said. Man, don't we ever get a break?"
