This is the first of what I think will be three parts which would, in their entirety, make sense for Gundam 00 Week 's Day 5- Five Times/Repetition

Sparked by a conversation with dannyboymw and written for Laura even though it's a horrendously late (and still incomplete) birthday present haha


Breakthrough

In chess, the destruction of a seemingly strong defense, often by means of a sacrifice

April 6, 2017


Sumeragi knows what to expect even before the door slides open—they can't be slammed open, in low gravity, just because of the mechanics of the thing, but she is fairly sure that the door somehow hisses open with more than its usual vigor.

Tieria is on the other side, barely pausing long enough to finish removing his helmet before he is pushing off of the hallway floor to glide onto the bridge, face contorted with the only emotion he seemed to know.

"Sumeragi Lee Noriega," he calls in the coldest of tones, before he even catches onto the back of Feldt's chair to touch down. Feldt stares at him over her shoulder with wide eyes, but everyone else on the bridge is careful not to catch his gaze as he sweeps over them dismissively.

Sumeragi half turns in her seat to look at him staring forebodingly down at her from the steps. "Tieria Erde," she acknowledges with a tilt of her head, careful to keep her face neutral before the oncoming storm he looks ready to unleash.

"What was that?" he demands of her, eyes flashing dangerously as the words burst out of him.

The corner of her mouth twitches, for just a moment. "That," she replies evenly, "was a simulated battle plan, Tieria. I should have thought… that was obvious," she adds with a wave of her hand.

The fingers holding onto his helmet begin to convulsively squeeze into the padding lining the rim and his breathing is far too even to be natural. "A battle plan," he seethes, "that makes no sense," he finally grinds out.

Sumeragi raises a lofty eyebrow and adjusts herself in the chair before turning to him more fully. "Without a real enemy, I understand that it might not make sense to you," she allows, watching him bristle at the implication that he can't figure out exactly what the exercise had been.

"The point of these simulations, however," she continues before he can interrupt, "is that you all complete them whether they make sense to you or not. And then," she continues, slowly, as if he's hearing this for the first time, "when the time comes, and there are enemies out there, you'll be able to execute any or all of the plans without even having to think about it."

"It's the others that need to think about everything," Tieria bites out, stiffly.

"Well," she points out, coolly, "it's hard for them to practice when one fourth of the strike team walks out of training mid-maneuver."

"I already know all of the maneuvers," he shoots back.

She inhales deeply and closes her eyes for a moment. "And you need to work with everyone else until they know them as well," she finally says. "It's no good blaming Setsuna for not knowing his part when you refuse to do yours. It's a team effort," she explains.

His eyes narrow dangerously. "In what universe," he asks, slowly, "would Setsuna F. Seiei and I ever need to work together?"

Sumeragi stares at Tieria in disbelief, trying to fathom how his brain must work to come up with ideas like these. "In this one," she says bluntly. "You're both Gundam Meisters for Celestial Being. You'll be working together a lot."

"Not in such close proximity," he says, the disdain in his voice crystal clear. "I'm the artillery while Exia is designed for close encounters. The two styles of fighting couldn't be more different."

"Which is why maneuvers where the two of you respond in tandem are so effective," Sumeragi says, her bountiful supplies of patience beginning to wear thin.

Tieria scowls. "I fail to see how."

She lets out a very controlled breath.

"Were I to intervene in one of his battles," Tieria continues, "there would be no way to guarantee that when I target the enemy I wouldn't get him as well. Not that it would be a great loss, of course," he adds, lip curling in a parody of a smile. "If he's ever truly in that much trouble, then it only confirms my certainty that Setsuna F. Seiei is not worthy to be a Gundam Meister in the first place."

"And so you would abandon him mid-battle?" Sumeragi asks. "Allow the Exia to be captured by the enemy?"

"Well, if you foresee that as a possibility, then take him off the Exia now!" Tieria fumes. "I've already expressed my opinion on his dismally sub-par capabilities."

"Yes," Sumeragi interrupts with a tight smile. "Quite thoroughly, thank you. But I'm not going to take him off his Gundam."

Tieria grinds his teeth. "He is nothing more than a headstrong child," he mutters under his breath, although he makes no effort to keep anyone from hearing what he's said.

"He's not the only one," she retorts and he blinks.

Tieria's just starting to reply to that when Sumeragi stresses, "That's why you need to go through the full training sequences alongside him." He opens his mouth again but she continues, "And after all, it was Veda that recommended him as a Meister. I know you don't hold my opinions in high regard," she says witheringly, "but surely you can accept the fact that Veda was the one who wanted Setsuna here."

Tieria scowls at her and Sumeragi smiles pleasantly in return.

"That still doesn't change the fact that this formation exercise was a complete waste of time," he finally manages.

"I disagree," she countered quickly.

"Then you have no cause to be our forecaster," he spits, just as the door opens again.

Lockon pushes through, this time, helmet in hand and brow furrowed as he lands and takes a step forward, trying to assess the situation. In a moment, he takes in the quick, relieved glances from Chris, Lichty, and Lasse. Worried, he looks between Tieria and Sumeragi, trying to figure out what Tieria's had a chance to do before he could get to the bridge.

"We would be better off without you in that chair," Tieria hisses viciously, tearing his gaze away from Lockon as he tries to get one last word in before he's forcibly escorted from the room.

Sumeragi merely hums and Tieria scoffs at her response, about to reply with something truly scathing when Lockon closes the distance between them,

"Hey, now," he interrupts, putting a hand on Tieria's shoulder. "Miss Sumeragi is the best—"

Tieria roughly shrugs off his hand and whirls around, hair swishing as he stares defiantly up at his fellow meister. "Surely, you're joking," he says. "I could—"

He stutters to a stop, not because of Lockon's sharp frown, but the expression growing on Sumeragi's face. When he turns to see her beaming up at him, he falters, wondering what had happened and confused as to why she looks so utterly pleased.

Her grin widens as he warily finishes, "-could… do better…"

"Would you like to?" she asks, tilting her head at him, and he blinks.

"Like to…?" he frowns.

"Take over?" she offers. "Be Celestial Being's new tactical forecaster?"

Tieria peers down at her, trying to determine if she is being serious or if this is another one of those jokes she seems so fond of, but for which he cannot divine any purpose.

Before he can accept the startling offer, however, Lockon jumps in. "Whoa, whoa, no," he says. "I think that's not a good idea."

Sumeragi isn't listening to him, though, and is staring considering at Tieria. "Fine," she acquiesces, and Lockon sighs in relief. "We can have a test first," she says instead and he jumps in alarm. "Is that acceptable?" she asks Tieria, ignoring Lockon's squawks of protest.

He pauses. "What kind of test?" he asks.

"Comparing out mental prowess," she replies. "Our forecasting skills. Strategy. Winner…" she relishes the pause, "gets to decide what happens in this chair."

Tieria narrows his eyes, looking for a catch.

Lockon balks at the stakes, trying to separate the, "Um, I really don't think this is a good-" he tries again.

"Lockon?" Sumeragi asks with a smile. "Am I or am I not currently the tactical forecaster here?"

"You are."

"And… weren't you just saying that I was the best?" she presses.

"Yes…"

"Then don't you think I can decide for myself if this is a good idea?" she asks.

"I—" he huffs. "Don't twist my…" he stumbled, staring at her before throwing his hands up in the air, knowing full well that he had talked himself into a corner and was unable to change the outcome of this conversation.

"Well, then," Sumeragi turns to Tieria. "How about it? You pick the time and the place and the skill."

There's a moment's pause where Lockon stares between them, wide-eyed, and trying not to draw parallels between this set-up and some kind of deadly dues, and then Tieria is nodding sharply, his fears at being taken in apparently assuaged. "Tonight in the mess hall," he decides. "Chess."

Sumeragi's eyebrows rise in pleasant surprise and she smiles. "Alright."

"Alright," he echoes back, stiff now that they have reached an agreement. With a final glance around the room, he turns and pushes off the bridge.

Everyone sighs in relief as soon as the door slides shut behind him.

Lockon stares at their forecaster in exasperation for a minute. "Miss Sumeragi…" he finally begins.

She smiles up at him, seemingly without care. "What," she asks, "You're not starting to question my abilities now, are you?"

He sighs explosively, running his free hand through his hair. "No," he grudgingly admits. "But…" he trails off. "Chess?" he finally asks, voice high.

She shrugs. "You heard Tieria. And chess is a game that's as much reading your opponent as it is the situation at hand," she says, settling back comfortably into her chair. Then she snorts. "He's probably on his way to Veda right now for a last minute study session," she predicts.

Lockon turns back to the open door and the now empty hallway, realizing that she is probably right.

"Do we even have a chess set on board?" he asks in a belated bid to halt the game.

"Of course," Sumeragi replies, "It's in the game cupboard."

Every head on the bridge swivels to Sumeragi in surprise.

"We… have a game cupboard?" Chris asks in disbelief.

"Well," Sumeragi amends thoughtfully, "the only thing in it right now is the chess set, but the 'chess cupboard' sounds a little underwhelming, don't you think?"

Lockon snorts and shakes his head. "Anything you need from me?" he asks absently, regretting the offer as soon as he catches sight of her bright smile when she turns back to him.

"Why yes!" she replies immediately. "I could use a drink."

He gapes at her, trying to come up with something to say.

"A stiff one," she adds, before turning her attention back to the front of the bridge. "Christina, Feldt," she says, and the two girls turn toward her at once, waiting for her instructions. "I think we've had enough of this for one afternoon. Tell Setsuna and Allelujah they can come back in."

"Yes, ma'am," they chorus, before opening communication lines to the remaining Meisters still executing a lop-sided training sequence and starting to configure their docking sequences.

Lockon shakes his head but soon realizes there's nothing else to be done, so he turns and follows Tieria's path toward the heart of the Ptolemy.