Mobile Suit Gundam 0079: Where the Hero Fell…

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Writen By: (Weltall)

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Disclaimer: I do not own Mobile Suit Gundam or anything that Tomino created. I do not claim ownership, and this fan fiction is for non profit means, as it's just a hobby. Otherwise, I do claim to own any originally made characters that are not cameos or guest appearances from the Mobile Suit Gundam series.

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January 3rd, UC 0079

Guru 10 Colony, Side 1 Cluster

10:45 A.M.

A sign of adulation. Within such a robust setting of a colossal space colony, masquerading as the perfect environmental clone of Earth's nature features, one would assume first that the setting would be as quiet as possible. If anybody was in the vicinity of the located forest in Guru 10, one could easily get perplexed in a state of annoyance. The harmony of noises from joints grinding, metal clanging, and pumps being loaded, one would think that this was not a normal colony. Actually for the most part, the collection of varying people within the massive cylinder was as "normal" as possible, as their life styles didn't involve anything more than working for their lively benefit.

For the most part. Here, a military group seems bent on completing their goals, no matter how many they manage to annoy in this secluded forest. One could see several soldiers in green uniform working on a big triangle-like cylinder. Across the suspicious looking object was clearly inscribed in bright, crimson letters that read "D A N G A R - G3" [1]. If one didn't know, "dangar" served as a misspelled "danger". It was a possibility it was a translation error, since it was taken into consideration that the canister was not made in a country containing the basics of the English language. Looking not too far, three massive giants stood dormant and lifeless, as cold as steel. Workers were working on these machines as well, testing the "eye" of the machine, which served to be just a mono-eye. One cycloptic crimson sphere, that moved from right to left, with the ability to scare anybody not used to seeing these ugly things.

This must have be a military, or at the very least, a settlement close to military affairs. How could one tell? These giants were armed with weapons that should only be adored on men with ground combat experience, so there might be some nostalgia hidden message to why machines of this timeline would be armed with weapons to this degree. One of the giants christened a large machine gun, with a flat circle figure serving as the clip. The other had a large bazooka, with four openings on the back for ammo. The last was adorn on the back of the machine, but seemed to be one that none of the other machines possessed due to both it's originality and irregularity; a flamethrower. The flamethrower consisted of a massive barrel, with tubes running through the crevices of the weapon itself. The flamethrower was so massive, that it had to be positioned over the giant's shoulder.

"General, will the G3 be effective? I mean, on morale?" A miniscule voice permitted itself into the inversion of a much higher ranking male. The man was baring a cap of his military origin, shielding any sort of evidence of aging he was undergoing. A dark gray lash of hair crept below his nose, while his eyes were that of stone, never evading the presence of the armored giants. The lackey on the other hand, had freckles, fitting the stereotype of a naturally weak, and submissive person. In response to the worker's question, the General was taken in to a state of humor, either commenting on the stupidity of something that only the general knew, much contrary to his own opinion.

"The G3 will work. You doubt it already, it's weapons like these canisters that will show the Federation Zeon's ferocity in the war. Haven't you realized that already?" The General said. His voice was deep, yet slightly affected from the aftereffects of tobacco that he usually took, hinting from the cracking moments in his speech.

"Sure. . . What about morale though?" The worker said quietly. The General didn't give him yet another look for another thing that the lackey couldn't comprehend.

"Haven't you been listening to me? I said that it'll boost morale in laymen terms. There's nothing wrong with a few sacrifices for the pride of war." The General's asseveration to the principal of war seemed to strike a surprise along the worker's perspective, as nothing but a puzzled expression was what the General got in exchange.

"Pride of war. . ." The worker said to nobody in particular. Those words echoed among the crevices of his mind. That doesn't sound like something that the General would say, is what he said to himself to rid of the question for the time being. Another comment slipped his mouth, a comment that should have probably been much better not said. "Okay General Jackson. . . Ha ha. . I mean, you didn't get that rank for nothing. ." The worker froze for a moment, catching his tongue before he said something that'll get it cut off altogether.

"Idiot. . Get back to work or you and your entire team won't get any food, which will mean they'll be mad at you ." Jackson said. The threat speared through the worker's soul, triggering him to slightly quiver in fear at the thought.

Nobody said that the worker had to join the military. That's what the worker kept telling himself as he walked on back to one of the canisters, repeating his job as a supervisor for such a delicate task. After all, the entire battalion knew of Jackson's harshness. How for not laughing at his stale jokes, that could earn them several nights in the brig for no food. If one objected orders, Jackson could have him shot on sight. Among other things, Jackson would not let a woman into his battalion as well, just to prove "tough luck" on his battalion. That was basically how the military worked, even in the Universal Century's day and age, it was just a tough life, but those who could endure it would be remembered for their above average feat.

"Damn. . Those guys up at home. . They expect us to perfect a job like this. Acting one among many in a simultaneous attack on three entire Side clusters. Sometimes they ask us the impossible. ." Jackson asked himself how he managed to get into a situation like this, but on instant reflex, his mind replayed the scene so many months ago about the assignment. . . The one assignment that would most likely effect not only his battalion, but change the shape of the Universal Century. . .

"General Jackson. I have heard much about your success over on the Federation, and I am glad to see that you have finally figured out that your life is for Zeon's hands." These words, tended to echo themselves into Jackson's vision. Everything became tangible. There, Jackson could remember a wizened man in a formal military uniform. The room was immense, and Jackson was placed in front of a massive desk where the man resided. The relation was that of a job interview, but the Admiral's cold stare seemed to strike Jackson not of fear, but more of a military leader to another. They both shared the same hardships. . Just a few complications kept them different as men.

"Thank you, Admiral Zabi." Jackson said in reply. He was not taken into the scenery as the vision did not play out completely in Jackson's mind just yet. He was attempting to focus on the content rather than the context.

"You have no need to call me that here, this isn't the battlefield just yet." The Admiral replied, with his voice carrying among the entire room. There, the scene was playing out to Jackson. Two chairs and a table. Several papers concerning colony economy slid in a disorganized mess. A hologram that mapped out all of the space colony clusters surrounding the Earth Sphere. Lastly, a massive pendulum, where each knock, tended to irritate the General further, but Rear Admiral Gihren Zabi must be a big war hawk, assuming on what symbolism the pendulum shares. Gihren was dressed in an over formal Zeon uniform that put standard uniform to shame. Jackson, was outfitted in his newly acquired outfit, but what was missing was his medals. "I have brought you here to discuss your position on the upbringing of war."

Jackson's expression formulated nothing short of a vexed one. "We're. . We're actually going to declare war on the Federation?" Jackson said in utter surprise.

"Of course. . But somebody of your caliber mustn't have been surprised by an announcement like this." Gihren said, and it appeared that he was right. Jackson was taken back being reminded of his current position, and pushed onward.

"Well then, speak on Admira-. Gihren. Tell me what you're planning to do." Jackson said. He was not distracted of Gihren's short time of his humor, no doubt about his genius plan for the Federation revolt.

"It's simple, but needs to be done with absolute perfection. One man's failure is enough to drag the rest down with him. However, it's not like the Federation won't be intimidated, but my goal is to strike fear into the civilians as well." Gihren's mental state seemed to present itself, however he did have a valid point. There is no such thing as a "friendly war", as causalities to all is just the backbone of the principal of war.

"What are you planning on doing?"

"A simultaneous attack on Sides 1, 2, and 4. I plan on my forces utilizing gassing operations or NBC (Nuclear, Biological, and Chemical) weapons. The next part does not concern you however, so you may pull back and do what you wish until the first drop forces are ready." Sure, the next part might not have concerned Jackson, but he might as well try to unveil what else Gihren was going to do. At least then, he can have a good idea on what to expect when the bodies really start to fall.

"Tell me this second part, because gassing civilians is something that will either turn for Zeon in fear, or turn against us in hatred." There was the man's curiosity at work. Gihren in reply, just leaned forward with his hands folded. A slight grin spread across the Admiral's face.

"They'll turn to us, because they know Zeon's right. Also, you must know that my second part of the plan is worse than the first." From Gihren's response, Jackson just leaned back.

"What could be worse. . Enlighten me." Jackson said in a rather sarcastic tone. Something that crossed Jackson's mind many times within the first few minutes on meeting the General, was his uncanny war plan to a German leader of the old Anno Domini timeline. . .

"A colony drop on Jaburo, South America, the Federal Forces HQ. That'll put a swift end to the war." A silence struck the room, as in ill-luck timing, the pendulum triggered a hard crash of noise through the quiet air. To Jackson's preference, it was okay to be bold in the war, as the lines are even uncertain when the battle is commenced. However, he does believe that boldness and insanity does have a fine line, and it wasn't clear which line Gihren was crossing.

"A. . . A colony drop!? Isn't that a bit much? Who knows how drastic the effects will be on Earth's environmental changes. A colony drop could taint the Earth for life." Jackson said. There are other ways to go about the war, but it doesn't seem like Gihren would be the type to change his methods. 'Either this guy is out of his mind, or he's the brains of a game commonly called "Mastermind of the Battlefield', Jackson thought to himself.

"What happens to the Earth doesn't matter. The citizens will know that migration to space is the true method. It would be even better if the Earth was permanently scarred. That would be more of a morale boost for Zeon than the Federation."

"Very well. . . How do you know that the Federation won't react to this and send your plan off course?" At this point, Jackson was trying to find as many holes into Gihren's crazy plan as possible.

"Stopping something of that mass once near Earth's gravity would be nearly impossible to accomplish. Now, don't you want to ask me how exactly you are going to carry out the first part?" Jackson accepted defeat in the argument, and withdrew from it.

"Sure. ." was Jackson's only answer.

"You'll take the 13th Battalion. Unlucky number I'm sure, considering their previous commander was executed for sharing documental information with the Federation. However, I'm sure a General can keep them inline, plus, they are one of the most fantastic group of soldiers I've seen in my days." Gihren applauded the 13th Battalion, now the only problem was how Jackson could establish order.

"Fine Gihren. However I have one more question. When will I get my medals back? It'll be kind of hard to enforce jurisdiction when I don't even have proof of my rank." Jackson mentioned. A quick. . Registry should at least grant some sort of proof of his rank.

"If you're really as good as I believe you are, you won't even notice that. You'll get your medals if you complete your mission." And there, was the bargain that Gihren proposed. The conversation was finally halted by a rather beautiful woman who for since the beginning of Jackson's entrance, has been standing still like some of the lifeless guards of the old timeline.

"Admiral Zabi, Kycillia is here to see you." The Female's voice was slender, and soft. She wasn't looking that bad either, but the woman departed from the room in such a haste it would be difficult to identify positive physical features upon her. Gihren stood because of this, probably wondering what Kycillia wanted. To Jackson, he only knew Kycillia as Gihren's sister, since all of the Zabis were war experts in Zeon ranks. What a loving family. .

"Damn woman, what does she want now. . Anyway, Jackson, you can see M'Quve on your way out. He'll brief you on what exactly you'll be seeing in the colony. Remember. . Sieg Zeon."

"Sieg. . Zeon. ." was the final line that Jackson could remember himself saying, as he was dragged out of his own visionary world by an outside force. .

"General. . ." A soldier said meekly. The General gave no vital signs of life as he stared blankly in the distance. "General. ." The soldier called once more. There was still no sign of grasping the General's attention, so then the soldier raised his voice. "General!" Jackson jolted from the harshness of his tone. By instinct, he began to scold the soldier.

"What?! Hasn't anybody told you to not yell at your superior officers?!" Jackson's tone overwhelmed the soldier's previous endeavor. The lesser man was taken back by Jackson's hostility and quickly forced his frail frame into a salute to reprimand Jackson of his reason for his annoyance.

"I apologize sir, it's just that you've been standing here motionless for past few minutes." The soldier pointed out the obvious, while Jackson took it as an embarrassing moment. Jackson just sighed, taking into account of his own secret feelings on why exactly did he withdraw into his thoughts that deeply. However, Jackson soon forgot this, as what is done is done, and it wasn't like the soldier was extinguishing this factor out to anybody else. Like him, the soldier was just trying to do his job at the best of his ability.

"Well? What is it?" Jackson's tone dropped to it's deep, regular place. The soldier looked onto a sheet he had, and began to read off the reports.

"I've came to report that we're done loading the G3 canisters." When the soldier said this, Jackson's facial expression went from sultry, to a rather surprised one. Normally, it would take well over an hour to get the checks on the canisters working, so it was apparent that Jackson was rather pleased at the Battalion's accomplishment. With Jackson's relaxed expression of his emotions however, prevented him from showering the Battalion with praise.

"Hm. . . That was pretty damn fast, only 30 minutes to do so. No wonder Gihren recommended you band of fools. ." Jackson's voice level was barley above the tone of a whisper, as the soldier wondered what the thought escaped the General's thoughts so discreetly.

"Sir?" The soldier said this to captivate Jackson's attention once more.

"Forget it. What's our current position?" As if it was an order, the soldier did not dwell on Jackson's irregular transactions once more.

"Well. . . We still have to secure the radio channels to make the announcement of the declaration. Is there anything further you'd want to say when we broadcast?" The soldier asked. To address thousands of civilians of their predicaments was no easy task, a task that was on a toll that Jackson simply could not muster.

"No. . The Admiral will handle everything. He'll tell the civilians that their lives will be used for the cause of Zeon, and are merely causalities of war, not victims of murder." Jackson's voice was deep, and his eyes darted to the ground. His feelings upon the assignment was mixed, but he'd rather just not own up to the situation and just get his job done. He knew that he wasn't the only person who felt this way in the Battalion. After all, every single person helping had some sort of role in the gassing.

"Otherwise that, we still need to outfit the Zaku II unit properly. We have Ensigns Lisa and Cabochon, but we haven't seen any word from the squad leader. He still may be in his mobile suit." The soldier said. Jackson was rather pleased with his battalion's current situation. He was now starting to see what expectations an Admiral would have for a unit of this momentum. However, the news of one of his pilots missing did not grant him with a more than happy expression. Sure, he should asseverate a pilot of the squad leader's potential, but a gifted "giant driver" or "mobile suit pilot would not share anymore benefits than the cooks, since Jackson was the one who believed in mutual understanding. Although, his current position of gassing a colony does raise some hypocrisy about Jackson, and it's often talked about among his battalion.

Otherwise, Jackson swiftly curved to the direction of the trio of steel giants, forgetting about the Soldier's life already. It wasn't like he even knew his name to begin with. Jackson could see his other workers lifting up one of the canisters onto a wheelie. Due to the lack of cranes or any other useful construction material that would be regularly recommended for delicate tasks alike of these, the soldiers had to utilize their brawn in overwhelming quantities in order to lift them. Harsh yes, but it could produce muscles among the already weak members in his battalion.

To one of the giants, a ladder was positioned, leaning on the chest of the "Zaku". If one could glance upward, he or she could see a small captivity in the torso area, granted where the cockpit was. Jackson climbed up the ladder with extreme caution, attempting to ignore the various thoughts in his head pertaining to fear of heights. Jackson froze whenever the ladder rocked, and he'd occasionally look down; witnessing his ant colony of workers like dots scurrying around. For a period that seemed like hours, but was in actuality minutes, Jackson accomplished reaching the cockpit of the Zaku.

Was there a pilot? There was a pilot, but the sight of the pilot in the cockpit automatically perturbed Jackson. The pilot was young, and had blonde hair. He could identify headphones around his head, and the pilot dormant. Asleep at a time like this. . Jackson looked to where the headphones were connected to, and it seemed to have been plugged into the radio port of the control console. Military radios were only meant for emergency transmission, not music-listening. Jackson attempted to identify the music that the pilot was peacefully listening to, and by what it seems, it was a song not even from the Universal Century, but from the "Old Timeline".

'Ode to Joy'. . .

"Lieutenant Samuel Apollo!" Jackson's voice was booming, as it echoed within the tight space of the Zaku cockpit. The pilot took no mind of Jackson's annoyance, while Jackson cursed on the pilot's assumed "ignorance". "Damn it. ." Jackson violently turned the adjusting knob of the radio as far as it could go in one direction. Apollo was insolently awakened by the symphony of loud static and fuzz noises.

"Ah. . Man. . Don't get excited all at once. . Who is it?" This man, Apollo said in a sluggish speed. As soon as Apollo's vision obscured, his first treat of waking into the living was the General's angry face, something that everybody in the battalion was adjusted to much more than they should, or deserve. Oh man. Another lecture. . I don't need this right now, is what rang through the man's mind. Upon thinking that, Jackson ripped the headphones out of socket and nearly damaged them in his furor. Immediately in Jackson's fit of rage, with a mixture of panic, he threw the headphones out of the Zaku's cockpit, landing somewhere in the endless amass of green below.

"You dumbass! What in the hell were you thinking! You listening to the radio is enough to alert any Federation forces in this colony! How would that feel?! You've blew this entire operation just because you happen to feel the need to slack off?" Jackson yelled. His raised tone seemed to call to Apollo's attention rather quickly.

"Sir. . . There aren't any Federal Force battleships for around 5 more colonies in this entire Side. . Don't get overworked for nothing." Apollo said quietly, as if he was experienced with Jackson's scolding.

"Apollo, look, we're all distressed about this assignment, but that calls for no reason to slack off while people are working their asses off to keep us alive. . Just because you're a new-"

"I told you once, never call me that term. ." Apollo's tone dropped, to that of a violent one. His eyes glared upon Jackson as stiff as rocks. .

"Ha. . Ha. . That's funny. The psychic doesn't want to be called the proper term. You have your own problems I see. . We're about to mobilize, so prepare. I would switch Cabochon for you, but he adores that Zaku more than his own life, plus the flamethrower would be useless in space. . Anyway, you're on standby in the colony, just incase Federal Forces are in Guru 10, you'll standby to secure an exit. That's all. . Lieutenant." Apollo was silent up until he was sure that Jackson was clear from the cockpit altogether. It was then where he finally had the clearance to curse to no one in particular, but rather just to work off his own anger about things. He took great offense to being called a "psychic". For what reason, is unknown, but one would assume it was because it ruptured a greater boundary from his battalion, the collection of soldiers from all sorts of races and backgrounds.

The collection of soldiers he called. . "family".

"Now that Operation Halo is prepared execution, I want to make sure of our mission one more time before we go, just incase you. . Lazy people who feel superior to most of us, feel free to have forgotten." The soldiers ceased their activities, and turned towards Jackson, paying the General their utmost attention.

"As you know, Operation Halo is one among many Operations to start off the declaration of war with the Federation not in a whimper, but a bang. To strike fear into the Federation and civilians alike. Ensigns Cabochon and Mayes will create two holes on two opposites of the colony to plant the G3 canisters. Simultaneously, I'll take a team to raid the TV station while Lieutenant Apollo stands by in his Zaku II to assure that no Federation forces try to make a comeback." Jackson cleared his throat. .

"There, I'll relay to home so that Gi. . . Admiral Zabi's speech will come through. This is the crucial part, the moment of the end of the speech, both canisters should be activated, that's when we'll swiftly pull out. We plan to hi-jack a civilian cruiser for escape while the three Zakus provide cover. ." Jackson's tone after this point started to go awry.

"If by some reason the operation goes wrong and the Federation does show up, I expect the mobile suit force to dispatch of the battleships, and we'll escape by the civilian ship. Hopefully, other than that, the operation will be a success and causalities should be nil. Hopefully a bumbling battalion such as yourself, will be able to handle this easy mission. That's all. . Dismissed. ." Afterwards, Jackson was treated to wild fanfare of Zeon's motto. Jackson seemed, out of place at the moment. . For somebody who was a Zeon General, these excited cries in German seemed so foreign to him. For the Glory of Zeon. . Sieg Zeon.

"S. . . Sieg. . . Zeon." The line rang forth to nobody but himself, as Jackson silently questioned the mere integrity of those two words. .

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"Hey, did you hear? Zeon's in this colony!" A soft voice whispered on. The voice was moderately deep, but not as bass-toned compared to older people.

"For what?" A second voice replied in question.

"I'm not sure. I just heard from my dad that they're here, and they don't even know the Federation is here." The gossip between the two beings continued on.

"Your dad isn't a Federation officer." The reply was soft in tone, but the other person seemed to take offense to the rebellion.

"He is too!" The second voice loudly replied, breaking the soft mood of silence.

"Liar!" The physical plane came to existence, as it appeared to be a lot of beings trapped into one confined space. At the sound of hearing the boy's harsh tone, eyes around the room deviated from their previous activities and focused onto the source. The boy seemed rather nervous until a man dressed much differently from the shirts and khaki pants approached the boy. The man's face expressed pure annoyance.

"Evan Jones, if you interrupt one more time, I'll send you out in the hall! That is the last time I'll put up with your disturbances!" The Teacher's lecture was rudely interrupted by the pair of disruptive students. It's the first day back to school, and the students already feel as if they were at their own routine once again; school, school, and more school. Midway High School, as the name suggests, it's the public high school for the central area of Guru 10. As far as citizens go, they were also back to their methods. The traffic was littered with cars even two hours before the coming of noon. As many students near the windows looked outside, they could see the glistening sun (with the aid of reflection mirrors) shining upon the colony, granted it was supposed to be night time on most parts of Earth, but colonies follow their own day/night conversions as they see fit. When the news announced would be night time, the mirrors shifted so no light could get to the colony, and the moon glistened even more so than it did on Earth.

The same goes with weather as well. If it was going to rain, it would be announced. If so many people denounced the approval of raining for that day, the engineers of the colony would designate the rainy weather for another day. One thing that never saw Guru 10 was snow, if half the people in the colony even know what snow is . Life in the Colony can be so boring, considering gravity wells give you the same feeling as you do on Earth, but everybody who lived in space felt some sort of pressure that they could not feel elsewhere. Maybe this was mankind's evolution taking shape. However, sometimes life in the colony can be very. . . Boring.

Then, the focus is on a boy in the classroom, sitting in the far back against one of the windows. His arm was positioned as a pillar holding his head up, as his face clearly expressed some drowsiness. He probably wasn't ready for school either, and just to think, kids used to go to school much later, but that's one of the many changes of the Universal Century from the Anno Domini timeline. It feels like a year ago if it wasn't 78 or so years ago. Outside the school wasn't any better either; workers cleaning off post New Years' objects off the streets wasn't interesting. Below the boy's arm was a drawing of a Zeon Zaku, the flagship mobile suit of the Duchy that changed military warfare and mechanics for years, and something that was assumed was that mobile suits happen to be the pinnacle of technology. The boy's drawing was of a Zaku I, and older, non military model that was released to the public.

"Hey Satoru. . . What are you doing with a drawing of a Zeon Zaku?" A girl said. The boy called Satoru shrugged firmly before answering the girl next to him. Satoru was a quiet boy, but got good grades, but it's not like he acknowledged them or his talent. He keeps telling himself that it was "just a fluke" doubting his own confidence. Satoru had shoulder length black hair that made him look rather. . . Woman-like at times, and no he did not get through school in one peace looking like that. The girl had short brown hair. . Or she used to have brown hair before she died it black. Her skin was of a darker coloration than Satoru's as her skin was slightly brown. Some would call it natural, others would presume it was just a tan.

"I like the Zeon. . Zeon Zum Daikun's [2] ideals on spacenoid equality makes perfect sense to me and I agree with it. I also like his philosophies of human evo-" Satoru's strong sense of devotion to a hobby was interesting and all, but the girl simply dismissed the factor as an act of stupidity and fanboyism.

"You actually believe that load of bull?" The girl caught herself a split second too late when she was talking out of a quiet tone, but more in a semi-loud tone. The previously irritated teacher caught the girl before she could even counteract.

"Margaret May! Do you have anything to say that has to be said in front of the entire class?" Margaret looked down at the floor, trying not to meet eye-to-eye with the teacher, or what she called "The Tyrant".

"No sir. . . I won't disrupt again." Margaret's tone was barley above any audible levels, but the teacher could figure exactly what the girl said. The teacher retreated in victory, thinking that he attained fear over one of his students. . Or so he thought.

"You'd better. . Now, as I was saying. . . " The teacher began off with his lecture, and to Satoru, everything from there trailed off ward. Satoru's head dropped down, due to the lack of activity and interest to the teacher's lectures and the lesson itself. Margaret sat back down, grinning at Satoru in a dominance or victory sort of way. Or a mischievous manner.

"Heh. . Works every time." Margaret took pride over fooling the teacher to get out of the mess she caused. Satoru on the other hand, was disgusted at Margaret's hand of trickery.

"Goodness. . . This is your first time getting caught. . ." It would even seem that Satoru even avowed some sense of duty, or maybe it was just Margaret's method on getting out of trouble.

"What's wrong? Sometimes the "good girl" gets caught sometimes too. I'm only human, not one of the "evolved human" nonsense you read." Margaret said, continuing to make fun of Satoru for his strong devotion that not everybody could make sense out of. If anybody else, Satoru would just dismiss them, but given how long he knew Margaret, he eventually got used to her ranting.

"I think it makes perfect sense. . . Our souls aren't weighed down by gravity, so our souls are free to roam and discover new boundaries. ." Satoru said, quoting perfectly from a passage within the philosophical book of his. Margaret's head moved to the side, eyeing Satoru in a puzzled manner. After a moment, she found another use of an insult.

"Is that your reason? Or is that Deikun's reasoning?" And the blow was struck, and Satoru had no way to retaliate.

"Err. . . Well. ."

"Ha. . I knew you wouldn't be able to defend that stuff. Philosophies aren't supposed to be true, they're just entertainment, and leave it at that." Satoru, battered and defeated in the argument, just sighed softly. It would seem that nobody could understand the true meaning of what Zeon Zum Daikun was trying to pronounce and articulate. Not his mother, certainly not his father considering he was an Earth Elitist, and was in the Earth Federation as a technical specialist, not his friends, or even Margaret. Even though the two tend to argue from time to time.

"Well. . . I'm going to leave during lunch. You want to come with me?" Yet another surprise was struck. Satoru was the last person to ditch school, unless it was. .

"Where in the hell would you. . . Oh no. . A Zeon escapade?" The mocking tone in Margaret's voice seemed to finally deal quite of an offense to him. Satoru just nodded in reply.

"That could get you suspended, besides, those are just rumors . The odds are Zeon isn't really in the colony." Margaret tried to persuade Satoru against this transaction, but the boy proved to be extremely stubborn in the matter.

"No way. . I saw an Armored Vehicle this morning." Satoru replied. Margaret was still attempting to find holes in his story.

"What if it's the Federation's?"

"I just have. . . An intuition, okay?"

"Whatever. ." Margaret said to herself. That just makes things so much more re-assuring, the girl thought to herself. Two geological ages later, the class was finally released from the clutches of the Teacher. Satoru folded up his drawing, and shoved it in his pocket. Margaret just followed him, every once in awhile, muttering about Satoru's lack of wisdom on this decision and was hoping that he would lose interest during lunch. However, this was not the case as he didn't go to lunch, but straight outside to the back quad. Around that, were fences and houses. There was no gate to simply pass through, but Margaret became even more annoyed when Satoru started to climb the fence.

"You've got to be kidding me. ." The boy was prepared to cross every boundary, but Margaret was getting annoyed by this. By her logic, if she didn't try to get the boy out of trouble, who truly would?

"You want to come don't you?" Satoru asked. Margaret just pouted in response, as finally she was the one who was beaten into submission.

"Fine. . Somebody has to keep you out of trouble." Margaret said, but regretted it immediately afterwards. She went above her call of duty and tried to climb the abnormally high fence. Once to the top, the boy ended up getting a few cuts on his hand due to the twisted sharp tops of the fence, but managed to overcome that and jump to the bottom. Margaret's end, was another story as it seemed to be an hour before she could make it over the edge. The was more nervous on if a teacher came. Once getting to the top, she lost her footing, and her dress got caught on the tip of the fence.

She let out a shriek that must have caught a lot of attention before plummeting long and hard onto the grass of somebody else's backyard. Part of her dress was torn, but not enough to show any "unmentionables".

"You are just a master athletic. You can join the Olympics if you keep that up." Satoru teased, and them laughed to himself. She got up, brushing off any excess dirt on her already torn skirt.

"Shut the h-. . Hey, look over there. ." She pointed to the distance. Something that was visible was a thick cloud of black smoke coming from the north. Before the two knew it, gunshots could be heard from miles away, the same with booming explosions that ruptured the ground no matter how far they where.

"A battle. . Here?"

"That's probably your Zeon. ." Those words rang a bell through Satoru's mind, as the gunfire increased even closer to their present vicinity. . He beckoned the girl to come with him, and so the last shot was them running in the distance where the sounds were originating from.

To Be Continued.

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Author Notes

[1] "DANGAR" - "DANGAR is basically an Engrish saying. I think Engrish is Japanese dialect in English. You've seen some anime when they say "Rock On" rather than "Lock On". If anybody has seen Mobile Suit Zeta Gundam, G3 Canisters say "DANGAR" instead of "danger". For me, it's some bit of nostalgia.

[2] Zeon Zum Daikun is the former leader of Zeon when it was a republic. If anybody watched the old Mobile Suit Gundam series, this is Char Aznable, or Casval Daikun's father. He was murdered by the Zabi family, which is how maniacs like Gihren Zabi got power.