Miranda Shadowind
Sirens, laser fire, and explosions pierced the night air. The year was AC 189, and Bristol, England was under attack by OZ for unknown reasons.
Inside a quaking townhouse on Grossvenor Street, a pair of twin 9-year-old children, a boy and a girl, raced through the rooms and halls. "Mum? Dad?" the girl called out, following her brother.
An older woman appeared in one of the doorways and grabbed her children's hands. "To the bloody basement wi ye, 'tis safer down there." She led the twins to a back room and opened a hatch in the floor. "Down ye go!"
"Buh wha about ye an' Dad?" the boy asked worriedly as he and his sister descended into the darkness.
"Neva ye mind tha, Kayle. We'll be right down wi ye." The mother bent down and kissed them each on the forehead and shut the hatch once they were down.
The girl clung to her slightly older brother as their eyes adjusted to the blackness. Kayle ran his hand along the wall, fumbling for a switch. He found one, and flicked it on. A few bare bulbs scattered about the ceiling lit up the room.
"W-Wha's goin' on Kayle? Wha's 'appening?" the girl asked as they settled down on a pile of old blankets and rags.
"I dinnae know, Krysta..Dad said somethin' about a bloomin' air raid by someone called 'OZ..." was Kayle's reply.
"Wha does this 'OZ' want wi us? I'm scared!" She yawned.
Kayle hugged Krysta tight, and she hugged him back. "Ye just get some bloody rest. I'll stay up an' wait fer Mum and Dad.."
Krysta slowly nodded and curled up beneath a blanket. "G'night bro."
"G'night sis."
"Love ye.."
"Love ye too.."
When morning came, Krysta rubbed her eyes and tried to sit up, but only after much struggling could she do so. When she opened her eyes the reason became as clear as the dawn sky overhead. Metal, beams, shrapnel, and other debree were scattered about the exposed basement. Except for a few crumbling pieces of wall, the house was completely destroyed.
Scared, Krysta wriggled out from under the blanket and debris and scoured the wreckage for any signs of her family. Nothing...not a trace... She fell to her knees and wailed, joining the sirenic song of other morning survivors in the city.
Eventually, Krysta stopped crying and stood up. She managed to climb up a pile of rubbish and debris and out of the basement. Once she'd breached the surface, Krysta started running without any particular direction in mind. She just had to get away.
2 years passed, during which Krysta roamed the streets of Bristol on her own, stealing food and hanging around with fellow orphans. Then one day, she stumbled upon a secret rebel hideout run by Professa Q, a former Mobile Suit engineer for the Alliance military. He offered to take Krysta in if she would join their cause and she willingly accepted, wanting revenge for what OZ had done to her family and home.
"Wha did ye say yer name was again Miss?" Professa Q asked her as they headed into the base.
"Krysta Riannese, sir," she replied.
"Riannese eh? Well then, I 'ave a bit of a surprise for ye! Come this way."
"A surprise? Wha do ye mean?" Krysta followed him through a long corridor until he stopped next to one of many doors.
"Why don't ye go in and see for yerself?" He opened the door, but before Krysta could see what was behind it, the entire scene was shattered by yelling.
(Rebel base of the present, AC 195)
"Wha's that?"
"It looks like a bloody Gundam buh it's all fulla bloomin' 'oles!"
"'oo's the bloody pilot? Where is 'e?"
"Bleedin' Christ it's the Geminae! MEDIC!"
"Wha the bloody 'ell?!" Krysta had been asleep in the docking bay recalling how she'd gotten here in the first place 6 years ago only to be jolted awake by the technicians' cries. "Kayle?!"
Angered to hear that her brother had been shot down, Krysta ran over to where the technicians and medics were moving a battered and bloody form from Gundam Geminae's remains to a stretcher. Condition aside, he looked almost like a male Krysta...
"Kayle..speak tae me.." Krysta gently brushed away a trail of blood on his cheek. He stirred and opened his right eye halfway. The other was swollen shut. Kayle managed a weak smile as he gazed up at his twin sister.
"Krysta.." he moaned softly, almost in a whisper, then passed out again. The two medics holding the stretcher carried him off in a hurry to the infirmary, Krysta close behind.
All she could think about then besides her ailing brother was, "First our 'ome and bloody parents...now this..OZ will nae get away wi this!"
Later that night, Kayle's prognosis was good, but his recovery would be slow. As Krysta settled down for the night, she experienced the same nightmare/memory she had earlier in the day that had plagued her for years.
But this time the dream took an unexpected turn, one that hadn't really happened at all. For beyond the door Professa Q opened for Krysta was Kayle, 11 years old and yet in the same condition as his present-day self if not worse.
"Nae.." present day Krysta murmered in her sleep. "'e be alive an' well... 'e's trainin' tae be a bloody Gundam pilot... Kayle's perfectly fine..." But all that convincing didn't make her brother's bloody form go away...
A month or so later, the Geminae was fully operational and ready for battle, but Kayle wasn't. This brought up the issue of his already-delayed mission to the Peacemillion. Krysta had been a bit jealous at first, but now she was furious that they were going to send Kayle back into the fray as soon as he was healed.
"They're bloomin' nuts tae send 'im out so soon like tha! I can't lose anotha bloody family memba tae OZ...Neva again.." Krysta muttered to herself, a look of determination upon her face.
With that, she dashed off to Kayle's quarters, the door of which was locked. She pulled a pair of lockpicks out of her jacket cuff, picked the lock, and slipped inside the room. Replacing the picks, she hurried over to Kayle's closet, where his astro suit was hanging up. She snatched it and hurried out, slowly closing the door behind her.
Once she was in her own room, Krysta began gathering up what few possessions she had left; mostly weaponry, espionage tools, and a few photographs. She threw these and her black leather jacket into a large bag, then twisted her ponytail into a bun. This done, Krysta donned Kayle's astro suit, helmet and all, then slunk out of the room.
She started to head for the docking bay to find Professa Q, but reconsidered and headed for the infirmary instead. Krysta slunk into one of the recovery rooms and over to the bed, where Kayle lay sleeping peacefully. She removed her helmet and kissed him on the forehead.
"I'll make ye proud Kayle...wait fer me..." she whispered, and donned the special eyepatch that lay on the nightstand beside the bed. Kayle stirred but didn't wake up. Krysta placed a strange device over her ear and pressed a few buttons, then put the helmet back on and headed out toward the docking bay.
Professa Q blinked, surprised at the suited figure walking towards him. "Kayle? Yer all 'ealed already?!"
Krysta smiled and nodded. "Aye, ready and willin' tae go to the bloody Peacemillion. Those doctas are a bunch of blinkin' quacks!" she replied, her voice matching Kayle's exactly curtesy of the voice changer device on her ear.
"Are ye sure?" asked Professa Q, baffled.
"Aye, now give me the bloody coordinates already!"
"...All right then.." Professa Q pressed a few buttons on the main computer and it spat out a slip of paper, which he handed to Krysta along with a remote control. "'ere, now be careful this time!"
"Right, of course I will! See ya layta!"
Krysta took the paper and pressed the remote's only button. The Geminae's cockpit opened, and a cable was lowered down. Krysta grabbed the cable's hand and was lifted upward. Once she reached the cockpit, she climbed in and sat down. Krysta activated the gundam and punched in the coordinates. Once they were set, she engaged the thrusters and took off into space.
To be continued...