In ancient times the Christians fought bloody battles for control over the birthplace of their religion, but there is no need for humanity to repeat this mistake over Earth. - Zeon Zum Deikun, UC 0068
The soldier above all others prays for peace, for it is the soldier who must suffer and bear the deepest wounds and scars of war. - General Douglas MacArthur, CE 1962
Palace of the Zabis, Zum City, Side 3. January 17, UC 0089...
"Where is Lady Haman?!" bellows the hoarse voice of an Axis Zeon officer.
"Dead!" comes the snarled reply from another voice without a face.
"We won't be able to hold out against those Earthists for more than an hour or two!" a third voice strikes in.
"They're here, NOW!"
The final words uttered by the two voices, as multiple GM-III and Nemo mobile suits penetrate the colony airlocks, rushing in by the dozen, the distinctive cross emblem of the Earth Federation Space Forces emblazoned on their titanium arm shields.
A pair of Gaza D mobile suits led by a Dreissen unit valiantly stand their ground on the central boulevard cutting through the city, but to no avail. As the Gaza Ds fall to massed beam rifle fire from Federation GM-III units, the lone Dreissen draws forth its beam lancer and launches itself forward in a kamikaze charge against the advancing GM-IIIs, sweeping the primary cutting blade of its elongated beam weapon in an arc that beheads the GM-III in its path, and then jamming the beam saber of the weapon's opposite end towards an approaching green Nemo, incorporated into the Federation Forces from AEUG's arsenal.
The Nemo deftly jumps over the advancing yellow-bladed beam saber, pulling its own beam saber for a vicious stab through the Dreissen's midsection, neutralizing the gargantuan purple war machine before advancing towards the towering edifice rising approximately two klicks ahead.
"Unit 26 reporting in," the garbled voice of the Nemo pilot sounds scratchily through the tactical net, "Enemy units in this sector eliminated. We…"
The Nemo explodes into fragments of shrapnel as it is stricken down by the gunfire of two MS-06F Zaku IIs. Even as the Nemo falls, however, three more units arrive to replace it, making quick work of the opposing Zakus.
They are Her Majesty, the Grand Duchess Mineva Lao Zabi's bravest, most dedicated mobile suit combat pilots, heedless of their own lives in defense of their monarch and their nation, but great though their valor, all of them know in their hearts that they are too heavily outnumbered to accomplish much more than stalling for time...time that was running out...time enough for Her Majesty to find safe quarter.
Within the Duchal Throne Chamber, Axis Zeon's highest ranking and most experienced surviving military officers confer on their best course of action. A glorious final stand here at the palace? A kamikaze charge to take as many Earthists with them? A strategic retreat to return to fight another day?
Their martial voices, vociferous though they be, are drowned out by the sounds of explosions that draw ever closer, shaking the walls and foundations even of the Zabi's stalwart fortress home.
The officers form a protective ring around a girl, no more than ten years of age, whose soulful green eyes shine like emeralds and belie her youth.
"You will all disperse our remaining forces to the Asteroid Belt," intones the child's voice, as authoritative and confident as a woman three times her age, "I know all of you are fearless and dedicated, but I will not be party to your perishing here in a futile gesture of bravado."
Rear Admiral Omar Damascus of the Suez Armada bows and salutes as he demurs, "Your Majesty, with respect to your royal authority, we have vowed to defend the homeland to the last drop of our blood! We will not flee like cowards from those Earthist dogs!"
Mineva's eyes flash furiously, "My late father treated the fate of his people as the most sacred responsibility. As his only daughter, I can do no less."
A murmur of dissent rises amidst Zeon's flag-ranking officers.
"I remain your sovereign!" the ten-year-old monarch proclaims with a strength scarcely conceivable for one so young, "You will obey my commands, forthwith!"
The collective flag-ranking officers of the Axis Zeon Forces salute their diminutive sovereign with their nation's signature salute, "Sieg, ZEON!"
As her officers depart to carry out her final orders, Duchess Mineva calls to one of them, "Admiral Miguel…"
"Your Majesty," Admiral Carmine Miguel of the Phobos Armada, a man mighty of body, mind, and spirit, rejoins with obeisance, taking his youthful liege's side.
"I have specific directives for you, Admiral," Duchess Mineva tells him in sotto voce, "Stay with me."
"Yes, Your Majesty…," Miguel replies, "but I suggest that…"
The Duchess holds up her hand for Miguel's silence.
Dory Ischinda, the Duchess's 18-year-old personal attendant and closest confidante for as long as the Duchess can remember, takes the liberty that is hers alone to speak her mind in the Duchess's presence, "Your Majesty, I respectfully urge you to allow Admiral Miguel and the others to take you to a place of safety. Then, we can…"
"What good is it for me to live," the Duchess interjects, "if the people of Zeon die or find themselves slaves and prisoners of the Earth Federation? Our people deserve better than that, Dory, but the ways of my forefathers and Lady Haman have brought them to ruination time and again. We must...I must do something differently."
Before Dory can reply, the overwhelming din of mobile suit landing jets rises above all other sound, like the shriek of a thousand banshees…
Fortified though it is perhaps better than any other edifice on Earth or in the cosmos, no stationary structure constructed primarily for human habitation can endure for long against the vast power of mobile suits. Hence, the resilient, but nevertheless vincible walls of the Palace of Zabi collapse under the collective force of a trio of GM-IIIs.
"We're from the Earth Federation Forces," a voice booms from the external speaker of the lead GM-III, "We demand your immediate surrender! We are prepared to respond with lethal force if you resist!"
"Your Majesty!" Dory cries out, bravely shielding the tiny ruler of the Archduchy of Zeon with her own body.
"Dory!" Duchess Mineva demands, "Get off of me!"
Admiral Miguel draws his sidearm, pointing it futilely at the GM-IIIs.
His upward gaze then catches an improbable sight.
One of ours…?
An RMS-099B Schuzrum Dias, derived from AEUG's RMS-099 Rick Dias unit.
Those aren't our colors, Miguel thinks to himself, and I'm certain that we didn't have any of these units left. Who…?
The Schuzrum Dias abruptly piledrives two of the GM-III units, literally stomping them into the ground with its weight. With a speed and skill that few could match, the pilot the Schuzrum Dias then extracts and sweeps its weapon...a beam lancer taken from a Dreissen unit, decapitating the remaining GM-III. The Federation mobile suit, blinded, momentarily stumbles around, off balance, before the lone Schuzrum Dias collapses it with a well-placed kick to its midsection.
"Pilot, identify yourself!" Admiral Miguel demands.
The young Duchess, having forced her head from under Dory's cover, looks up at the mass of the Schuzrum Dias, experiencing a sense of recognition similar to, but far more intense than deja vu.
Char...Char Aznable…
The cockpit hatch of the Mobile Suit opens, and a pilot garbed in a scarlet, AEUG-type normal suit emerges from within.
The pilot opens the visor of his helmet, revealing the notorious, handsome visage of Char Aznable, the Red Comet of Zeon...lately known as Captain Quattro Bajeena of the AEUG.
"You," Admiral Miguel snarls, "You're supposed to be DEAD, Char…"
"You people always seem to think so," Char retorts with a cold smile, "and you've been wrong every time. We have no time for pleasantries, Carmine, old friend. Surrender the Duchess to my custody. I assure you she will be safe in my care."
Carmine Miguel thrusts his side arm towards Char, cocking its trigger and keening in a dark, low voice, "If the Duchess stays, the Federation will either execute her, or force her into an arranged marriage so they can control her… in that case, she may as well be dead."
"None of that will come to pass if you trust my judgment," Char replies with preternatural calm.
Knowing that he has no choice but to put his trust in the man called the Red Comet, Admiral Carmine Miguel turns to the Duchess, who is already on her feet and running towards the Schuzrum Dias.
"Your Majesty, no!" Dory protests.
"Dory," the Duchess Mineva replies, turning back to look at her old friend one last time, "This is the best way. I must. Admiral Miguel..."
"Your Majesty," the Zeon fleet commander responds with deference.
The last words Miguel would hear from his Duchess, "Lead our people to the Asteroid Belt. Rebuild Zeon there, and do not enter the Earth Sphere again."
The Duchess turns to Char Aznable, "Colonel Char...take me away from here. Take me away from all this."
His sidearm trained on Miguel, Char gently helps the Duchess into the cockpit of his mobile suit with his free hand. The child monarch straps herself into the auxiliary seat.
Admiral Miguel lowers his sidearm and glowers at Char,"You will make sure I receive proper status updates?"
"That can be arranged," the Red Comet replies, "With the exception of her location."
"If you fail to protect her," Miguel says through bared teeth, "All of Zeon will hunt you down and scatter your corpse across the stars, Colonel Char."
For insurance, and perhaps for symbolic purposes, Char takes a perfectly aimed, perfectly timed shot at Miguel's weapon from his own swiftly drawn sidearm, rendering Miguel's weapon useless, but leaving the commanding admiral of the Phobos Armada with nothing worse than a throbbing, aching hand. Carmine is an old mentor and friend, after all, and Char has few of those left…
His weapon having spoken for him, Char Aznable disappears into the cockpit of his mobile suit, seals its hatch, and jets away.
Char had given Mineva a normal suit upon launching the Schuzrum Dias away from the Zum City colony, which the Duchess had donned over her royal raiment. They had flown about two hours outside of Side 3 airspace when they came across a shuttle, which Mineva guessed Char had arranged to rendezvous with them.
"Who are they?" the Duchess asks.
"The Mass Family," Char replies, "Former Earth Federation Senator Teabolo Mass and his wife, Amelia. They raised my sister and me after…"
An awkward silence ensues...neither man nor girl knowing what, if anything, is appropriate to say next. It is simply understood, as it always had been, and would always need be.
"You hate me, don't you…?" Mineva whispers, her voice barely audible above the mobile suit's cockpit noises.
"Our rendezvous is approaching," is the only response Mineva hears from the enigmatic figure known as Char Aznable. Like the rest of the world, Mineva had assumed Char had died more than a year ago, at the climactic battle at the Gate of Zedan that ended the Gryps Conflict.
"Sir Percy to Shuttle Anagelis," Char speaks into a specially encrypted wavelength, "we…"
Spark...flash!
"Hang on...we've got a bogie," Char indicates, bringing the Schuzrum Dias's weapon systems online.
"Col. Char…" Mineva begins.
"Keep quiet and hunker down," Char replies curtly.
The Schuzrum Dias's combat computer delivers ID data on the bogie: RMS-119 Eyezack, the reconnaissance variant of the Titans' RMS-106 Hizack.
"Can't afford to let him scan and ID us," Char notes to Mineva, by way of explanation as he lines up the Schuzrum Dias's beam rifle in a bead on the Eyezack.
The aim...the shot...the hit...perfectly stricken, but Char is so focused on the target that he does not appear cognizant of the second mobile suit approaching from 1 o'clock high…
"NO!" the Duchess leans forward to grab the control lever and pull its trigger, unleashing a blast of beam energy that catches the enemy unit square in the monoeye, blinding its camera unit and disorienting its pilot.
Scan ID identifies the unit as a RMS-106S Hizack Custom. Char had encountered two of these during the Gryps Conflict, and they had given his MSN-00100 Hyakushiki all it could handle.
Char does not need this data to dispatch it with a deft slice of the Schuzrum Dias's beam saber, rending the Hizack Custom from top to bottom, and backing the Dias away from the blast radius as the Hizack expands into a balloon of flame.
Char hears Mineva's panting in his helmet monitor, "You all right, Tina?"
Mineva takes a moment to catch her breath before answering, "I'm….Tina?"
"You aren't the Duchess Mineva Zabi anymore," Char says plainly, "You're Christina Mass...called 'Tina' by those close to you. You're the adopted younger daughter of Teabolo and Amelia Mass, and youngest sibling of Edward Mass and Sayla Mass."
"I'm…" Mineva...Tina begins, initially confused, but quickly comprehending.
"That was a good shot," Char continues, a slight grin creeping his voice, "How long have you been shooting?"
"I….never," Tina Mass replies.
"Remarkable," Char comments, "You have latent abilities that have not, until now, been manifest."
The Schuzrum Dias stops just short of the shuttle, whose access hatch opens.
"We're ditching the Dias," Char says, preparing his normal suit's propulsion pack, "Hold on to me."
So saying, Char programs the Dias's self-destruct system to detonate in five minutes.
The former Duchess of Zeon surrenders herself into Char's embrace; the Red Comet engages his normal suit's propulsion pack, and the pair cross the void to the waiting shuttle's access hatch, where they are received by waiting crew members who wear Earth Federation Government normal suits.
The shuttle departs just as the Schuzrum Dias self-destructs.
"Where are we going anyway?" the newly christened Tina Mass asks reasonably.
"Anman City," Char answers, "we need to refuel before our final destination."
"Which is where?" Tina demands, a trace of royal imperiousness still evident in her voice.
"You'll find out when we're on the way," Char responds, "Now put this on."
Tina takes the unfamiliar garment from Char.
"A schoolgirl's uniform," Char informs her, somewhat unnecessarily, as Tina had seen them before and knew what they were, "cut in your size and perfect to make you inconspicuous."
Char hands her one final item, a blue flat cap matching the schoolgirl's uniform.
"Dressing locker is that way," Char points to the aft of the shuttle.
"Perfect!" Char grins ten minutes later.
Tina Mass, 5th Grader from the venerable Lyceum Alpinum Zuoz in Switzerland. Daughter of retired Earth Federation Senator Teabolo Mass. Currently on a state visit to Anman City.
"Col. Char," a voice comes from the cockpit over the intercom system, "We're fifteen minutes from landing at Anman Spaceport."
As they walk through the streets of Anman City, Char notices a particular McDonalds with which he is intimately familiar. This is no ordinary fast food restaurant, but to those in the loop, a modest, but important AEUG intel station where critical information was exchanged and plans made during the Gryps Conflict.
Seeing the value of up-to-date information, Char decides to head in.
"Why are we here?" Tina asks her adoptive older brother.
"It's lunch time, and I figure we could get you your first Happy Meal," Char answers.
Mineva tilts her head to the side as she echoes the words, "Happy Meal? What is this 'Happy Meal?'"
"WHAT?!" the girl behind the cash register gasps, bless her soul, upon hearing this. "You've never had a Happy Meal before?!"
"I can't say that I have," little Tina answers sheepishly, "is there...something wrong with that?"
"SOMEBODY GET THIS KID A HAPPY MEAL ON THE DOUBLE WITH AN EXTRA HELPING OF LOVE," the flamboyant cashier shouts to the kitchen before turning to the now mortified nine-year old and saying with extravagant tenderness, "Everything's gonna be okay… You're going to have your first Happy Meal, and I promise it will be the most amazing experience of your life at this point!"
"Um…." is all Tina can manage, mystified by this cryptic "Happy Meal."
A minute later, the cashier returns with a red plastic tray bearing a kind of food consisting of a disc of grilled meat between two circular bread buns, and a small box of unfamiliar yellow sticks with which Tina is unfamiliar.
"Enjoy!" the cashier enthuses, patting Tina on top of her flat cap,"You'll be lovin ' it!"
Tina takes her tray to one of the colorful tables. She draws out one of the unfamiliar yellow sticks, hot to the touch, and sniffs it uncertainly.
Char grins, "They're called french fries. They're made of potatoes."
Tina takes a tentative bite from the french fry, and grins with delight, "You MUST bring me more of these!"
"Finish the ones you have first," Char says, as he notes a familiar, lean gentleman clad in a dark purple suit briskly enter the dining area and disappear into an office in the establishment's rear, exchanging a quick glance and nod with the Red Comet.
"You take your time here," Char tells Tina, who is still working on the fries, "I need to talk to somebody."
A knock comes on the door of Wong Lee's office.
"Come in, Captain Bageena," Wong says in his dry tone.
Char...Captain Quattro Bageena, enters the room.
"Mr. Wong," Char greets Anaheim Enterprises' chief liaison to AEUG.
"Captain," Wong replies, "It's been a long time. I was quite assured that appearances to the contrary, you were not dead."
"I went deep cover after the Gate of Zedan," Char answers, "It put me in a position where I could be more effective against the Axis."
"Undoubtedly," Wong remarks noncommittally, "the child in your company…?"
"A relative," Char answers promptly and steadily.
"Undoubtedly," Wong repeats, his tone cryptic, and then abruptly changes the subject, "Now that the Titans and Axis are no more, what remains of AEUG must reassess its stance towards the Earth Federation."
"The Earth Federation," Char begins with a sigh, "as it currently stands might be beyond all salvation. Ineffectualness and corruption are embedded into its bones."
"Be that as it may," Wong observes, "the Federation is the only major power left standing."
"Standing?" Char retorts with a bitter laugh, "More like tottering. But I didn't come here to discuss these matters. I've come to formally resign my commission with AEUG."
Wong makes a mock hurt sound, "That is regrettable...you are young, and talented. There is so much more you could do for our cause."
"Your cause," Char exhales, turning his back to Wong,"is not mine. Not anymore. I have my own cause to serve."
"Like that little girl enjoying a Happy Meal in the dining area," Wong replies sinisterly.
Char stops in his tracks, but does not answer the Anaheim Electronics official.
Wong leans back in his chair, "We do have one more loose end: the Sovereign of Zeon, Mineva Zabi. She went missing after that final battle at Core Three. The Earth Federation authorities and our own personnel were unable to locate her. Mostly likely, Duchess Mineva Zabi is alive and remains at large."
"That is your problem to solve," Char answers, "not mine."
"This is farewell, then," Wong says, offering his hand to Char, "You have been a valuable ally, Captain."
Char does not take Wong's extended hand, but turns to him and offers a cryptic grin, "Hopefully, it is…oh, and if your goons touch a hair on that child's head, Wong, then I'll be the last thing you ever see."
Char rejoins Tina in the dining area of the restaurant; the girl has not touched her cheeseburger, but has already started a second round of those fascinating french fries…
Char sits next to Tina, removes his opaque shades, and draws a hand tiredly across his eyes.
"Your meeting with that gentleman in the purple suit didn't go well, did it?" asks Tina, sipping a milkshake...again, something new to her.
"What makes you say that?" Char answers with a slight grin.
"If you had expected that it would, I don't think you would have left me with this," answers Tina, flashing the silver Marakov automatic pistol in the inner pocket of her peacoat, slipped to her by Char just before his meeting with Wong Lee.
"You're perceptive for your age," Char observes.
"Being in my position made that necessary," Tina whispers, and then, indicating the pistol, "I should give this back to you now."
"Keep it," Char answers, "It was a graduation gift to me from your Uncle Garma."
"Uncle Garma," Tina repeats, "I never got to know him."
"I knew him very well," Char sighs, regret in his voice, "He would have wanted for you to have it."
"Colonel Char," Tina begins, uncertain what to say.
"Better put that away for now," Char tells Tina, "In time, I will train you how to use it. Right now, it's time to meet your new caretakers."
"Senator Mass?" Tina responds, eyes going wide.
Char nods with a grin, "The Senator and my father were good friends. He and his wife Amelia will raise you as their own, as they did my sister and me."
"Welcome home, Tina," comes the warm, mellifluous voice of retired Earth Federation Senator Teabolo Mass, a kindly, gentle-looking man in his late sixties or early seventies, "We have been awaiting you."
"She's adorable!" enthuses the senator's wife, an elegant and beneficent woman.
A long shuttle ride into Earth's atmosphere followed an uneventful landing at Switzerland's Zurich Aerospace Port.
"Sir...ma'am," Tina says politely, taking their welcoming, outstretched hands, unsure how to address them.
Nearby, GM-III mobile suits patrol the aerospace port grounds, producing a feeling far removed from security in the pit of Tina's stomach.
Senator Mass smiles reassuringly, "No need to be apprehensive, Tina. You are with family now. I am Teabolo, and this is my wife Amelia. You will be living with us at our estate in St. Moritz."
Tina nods, then slumps into arms of Teabolo and Amelia as Char supports her by the arm.
"I'm feeling...," Tina begins, suddenly dizzy and nauseous.
"You spent your entire life in low gravity," Char says, "You aren't accustomed to Earth's gravity."
Tina nods, this being only her second time on the planetary surface, the first being a state visit to the Earth Federation capital in Dakar, Senegal, when she was still known as the Duchess Mineva Zabi, more than a year ago...now seeming like another lifetime, which it essentially was.
Teabolo lifts Tina protectively in his arms, "You'll feel better in the mountain air when we reach home. Why not sleep until then? You are tired."
Within a few moments, a helicopter arrives, escorted by a pair of NRX-044 Asshimar mobile armors in hovercraft configuration. The wizened senator, his wife, Mineva, and Char board the aircraft, which soon whisks them to the Mass Estate in the Alps.
"I hope that you will provide her the same kindly care that you provided to Artasia and me, sir," Char says several hours later, at the palatial estate of the Masses at St. Moritz.
"She will receive only the best," Senator Mass assures his adopted son, "just as you and your sister did. She will be loved and educated as befits a duchess, but I am curious...why? I was under the impression that you hated the Zabis and wanted to exterminate them to the last."
Char is silent for a moment before answering, "She is like another sister to me. Her forebears' sins are not hers. She should not pay the price for them."
"But there's more to it than that, isn't there," the senator probes, pouring Char a cup of hot cocoa, "I sense that you have other plans for little Tina."
Char sighs, "I scarcely know my own plans, let alone plans for anyone else. It is my hope, however, that when she grows to be a woman, she will continue any work that I leave unfinished."
"Unfinished," Amelia repeats worriedly.
"Where is she now?" Char asks.
"Sleeping the sleep of the innocent," Teabolo beams.
Char leaves his adoptive parents in the kitchen and enters the bedroom that has been set aside for Tina, who sleeps comfortably on the bed. Char touches the child's cheeks with brotherly fondness.
Tina opens her eyes, her gaze falling upon Char's handsome visage, "Colonel Char…"
Tina throws her arms around her adoptive elder brother, "Are you leaving again?"
Char strokes Tina's hair fondly, "Yes. It is time for me to go."
Tina asks, "Where? Will you be back again?"
Char answers her directly, "I have much to do, but I will be here to see you when I can. There is much I need to tell you and teach you...in time. In the meantime, you will remain here. Senator Teabolo has already arranged for you to study at the Lyceum Alpinum Zuoz. You will begin your studies when the new semester begins in a few weeks."
"I'd rather travel with you," Tina confesses, "Senator Teabolo and Madame Amelia are very kind, but I would rather join you…"
"You cannot," Char rejoins, releasing himself from the child's embrace, "your time will come, but for now, your place is here, to learn...to strengthen yourself, mentally, emotionally, physically. There might come a day when all will depend on you."
So saying, Char takes Tina into his arms once again, and comforts the former Duchess of Zeon until she drifts into the oblivion of sleep once again.
The Mass Estate, St. Moritz, Switzerland, three years later...early UC 0092…
Humaniform practice targets circle at high speed, almost too quick for the human eye to follow except as a blur. Two are perfectly lined up for a fraction of a second, and are immolated together by a single, crackling shot that shatters them both simultaneously!
A quick twist, spin, and a glimpse of red hair. Another shot is unleashed, penetrating precisely through the heart of a second target.
The rapid and graceful swivel of an arm that the eyes do not follow. The squeeze of a trigger. A third target flattened.
Footsteps so light that they are effectively inaudible. Three shots fired in quick succession. Three more targets blasted out of motion.
Thirteen-year-old Tina Mass lowers her small silver Marakov handgun, smoke still drifting from its muzzle.
The sound of gunshots fade, replaced by the sound of a single pair of hands, applauding.
Tina's eyes widen and she grins with recognition and delight at the source of the applause.
"Colonel Char!" Tina enthuses, rushing into the arms of the man known as the Red Comet.
Clad in a grey business suit with a black necktie, Char appears familiar, and yet quite different from how he appeared when he brought Tina to St. Moritz three years earlier. His magnificent mane of golden blonde hair is cropped shorter and slicked back, giving him the appearance of a 1930s film star.
"I'm so happy to see you!" Tina gushes, barely able to contain her joy, "It's been more than a year since you last came to see me! Where have you been?"
Char answers with a gentle smile, "I have been watching you practice for the past few minutes. Your skills have improved remarkably since I last visited. You've mastered what I've taught you about marksmanship."
"I practice often," Tina tells her adoptive elder brother, holstering the weapon that he gifted to her, "It helps take my mind off...other things."
"The Senator and Madame Amelia tell me you've been doing well at the Lyceum," Char offers.
"Yes," Tina affirms, "I'm not supposed to even be in high school until next year, but as it is, I've completed enough coursework that I should be completing high school in fewer than two years."
Char nods, "And the Senator has told me that you're wrecking the curve for everybody else in your class. Well done, Tina. I am proud of you. There are things, however, that can only be learned outside of the classroom."
"I know that," Tina answers, "and I hope that before long, you'll take me with you to learn beside you."
Char shakes his head and smiles ruefully, "That will not be possible, Tina. This...might be the last time I will visit you."
"Last time?" Tina's eyes widen in alarm, "What do you mean?"
Char removes his dark sunglasses, "I have plans for the near future. Very important plans...perhaps the most important plans I've ever made, but I cannot know the outcome."
Tina, struggling to hold her emotions in check, can only say, "Colonel Char, I…"
Char puts his hands on her shoulders lovingly, "It's my hope that we will meet again, but if not, Tina...Mineva, learn from my mistakes. Don't make the mistakes that I did."
Tina...Mineva, buries herself in Char's embrace. He holds her for a long, long time.
Late March, UC 0093…
Withers, the Mass Family's loyal butler, knocks on the door of Senator Teabolo Mass's study.
"Come in, Withers," the aging senator responds.
Withers enters the private chamber, where Teabolo sits with his wife, Amelia and their youngest adopted child, Tina.
Withers announces gravely, "A Colonel Jack Spencer is here to see you, Master Teabolo. He says he bears important information about….Master Edward."
Teabolo nods, closing his eyes, "Please ask him in."
A few minutes later, Withers escorts in a middle-aged gentleman, dressed in a black suit and tie, his weatherworn eyes covered by dark shades.
"Senator Teabolo Mass," Col. Jack Spencer says solemnly, "I'm Spencer. Jack Spencer. I've come to tell you that….your son, Edward, has been confirmed dead."
Amelia breaks down into sobs, while Tina, comforting her adoptive mother, struggles to contain her own. In her youthful, fiery green eyes, there is anger and a sense of deep loss.
Senator Mass's eyes are moist when he finds his voice, "We...had some awareness that it was likely so. Even so, this confirmation…"
Jack puts a comforting hand on the old man's shoulder, then turns to the redheaded teenage girl...Tina, regally beautiful at age fourteen.
"You must be Tina, Edward's sister," Jack says.
"I am," Tina replies, choking back tears.
Jack nods, "Edward spoke highly and fondly of you. He wants you to be his legacy, and he wanted you to have this."
So saying, Jack hands Tina what appears to be a trinket...equally suitable to be worn as an earring, finger band, or pendant.
Tina accepts the trinket, looking at it sadly, wishing it could speak.
"Did my brother have anything else to say?" Tina asks in a whisper.
"Only this," Jack replies, "don't make the mistakes that we did. Do it better. Do it right."
Tina extends her hand to Jack, "Thank you, Col. Spencer."
Jack extends his left hand to Mineva...a hand of cold, gleaming metal.
"A little memento of the One Year War," Jack remarks dryly, "Just one of many, many reasons these crusades have to end."
"Yes," Tina concurs, somewhat flatly.
"Will you be our guest tonight, Col. Spencer?" Senator Mass cuts in.
"Thank you, Senator," Jack replies, "but that won't be necessary. I have obligations elsewhere, and a little girl who hasn't seen her father for quite a while now… But thank you for your hospitality. You're good people...a rare enough thing these days."
Col. Spencer takes his leave of the Masses, leaving them to grieve the loss of their son and sibling in privacy.
Tina takes the trinket that Char gave her into her room, lies on her bed, and allows herself to break into the sobs she did not want Teabolo and Amelia to see or hear. She could put on a brave front for others, but now...she could give release to her feelings.
Little does she know it would be the final time for many years.
Tina examines the trinket carefully...her mind clears, and she notices...this is no ordinary piece of jewelry.
Printed circuitry...a data chip?
Tina uses a delicate finger to delicately dig around the structure of the trinket….crimson red and likely 100% authentic ruby, and extends a hidden USB connector.
Tina inserts the chip into her personal computer. The screen lights up.
"My Dear Tina...for your eyes only…"
Late Spring, UC 0094
Spring Semester has come again to the Lyceum Alpinum Zuoz, the elite academic institute nestled amidst the natural beauty of the Alpine peaks. The students hardly have the time to appreciate the grandeur of their natural surroundings, however, focused as they are on preparing for their semester-ending final exams in a few weeks.
Tina Mass is no exception, her attention absorbed in an advanced political theory textbook. Though only fifteen years old, Tina has completed enough coursework that she will be graduating with the senior class at the end of June...by far the youngest member of the graduating class.
Tina senses an object...a soccer ball... hurtling towards her at high velocity, and manages to dodge the incoming sphere just in time to avoid impact.
Tina lifts the ball into her delicate hand, glaring in the direction of whichever hooligan just couldn't keep his toy out of her way…
Her heart skips a beat as Jordan Vance, senior and captain of the Lyceum's soccer team, approaches.
"Oh, Tina! Sorry!" Jordan apologizes, "My bad! That was a horrible kick! Sorry I almost nailed you!"
Tina hands the ball back to Jordan, not quite sure why she feels a hot flush in her face, "No harm done."
"Thanks," Jordan, a handsome 17-year-old with dark, full hair and soulful blue eyes replies as he takes the ball from Tina, "Hey...are you going to be busy on Friday night?"
"No," Tina answers, "My finals will be done by then. What's up?"
Jordan bounces the ball on his knee and chest as he answers, "Student protest rally against the government's mistreatment of the citizens at Side 3. I know you're from Side 3, and you have an interest in poli-sci, so I thought maybe you'd want to join in."
Tina thinks about that for a moment. Political agitation has been nothing uncommon in the First Universal Century, and that agitation has reached even here, to the schools of the elite on Earth.
"I'm in," Tina says, using her knee to steal the ball from Jordan, then kicking it around, defying the captain of the soccer team to catch her.
"Hey!" Jordan protests, "Come back with that!"
Tina outmaneuvers Jordan and kicks the ball into the goal.
"Whew!" Jordan enthuses, "I forgot for a moment that YOU were the captain of the soccer team last year, until you got kicked off the team after beating the captain of the opposing team within an inch of his life for a dirty play against our team. I tell you: I still think they did you wrong, Tina!"
"Forget it," Tina replies, handing the ball to Jordan again, "I've got more on my mind than soccer these days."
"Hey!" comes the voice of Veronica Leeds, a 16-year old junior with two other friends, Liz Moon and Madison Peres, "Look at those two lovebirds getting it on!"
Tina takes the soccer ball from Jordan again and CHUCKS it at the three laughing girls, managing to bounce it off all three of them in one throw.
Jordan whistles, "You know, sometimes, I think you're supernatural."
Tina smiles, saying nothing.
Friday afternoon comes, and Tina is with Veronica, Liz, and Madison hastily painting up a protest sign that they plan to carry to the rally in the St. Moritz town square.
"END OPPRESSION OF SPACENOIDS!" is painted in black, the font suggestive of dripping blood. The banner also features printed photographic images of the Earth Federation's atrocities at Side 3 and other space colonies.
"Perfect!" Veronica enthuses, "Everybody will see this!"
"It's good enough on short notice," Tina amends, "We only had a few hours to get this ready."
"You don't think we'll all get in trouble for this," Liz asks somewhat timidly, "My mom and dad says we shouldn't get involved in stuff like this."
"If you're afraid of getting involved," Tina remarks dryly, "they already own you."
So saying, Tina goes in search of rods on which to post her sign.
"What's up with that bitch?!" Veronica demands when Tina is out of earshot.
"Tina has always been a stuck up know-it-all," Maddie remarks, "She isn't like the rest of us."
"But she's usually right about things," Liz offers, fairly.
"'Right' my ass," Veronica answers dismissively, "she probably just wanted to be alone with Jordan, that hus…"
"Veronica," comes Tina's voice behind the elder girl.
"Oh!" Veronica spins, startled, "You!"
Tina hands her the rods and offers her most charming smile, "Please be a dear and help me glue these rods to the sign."
"Right," Veronica sighs, to the giggles of Liz and Madison.
The girls assemble their sign together, and Maddie finds herself unable to resist asking, "You know, Tina...speaking of our moms and dads, isn't YOUR dad a big shot in the Earth Federation Government? I heard he used to be a senator or something...a really important one."
"He was," Tina replies plainly, helping the other two girls to glue the rods to the banner, "That was a very long time ago. He retired from the Federation government years before any of us were even born."
"I knew it," Veronica remarks wryly, "Adopted. But isn't your old man going to be peeved at you for getting into something like this, Tina?"
"He understands," Tina answers, "He always does."
St. Moritz town square, roughly an hour later...near sunset.
Tina, Jordan, Veronica, Liz, and Madison carry their banner at the head of a group of at least four dozen Lyceum Alpinum Zuoz students, along with professors, lecturers, and deans from their school, and an even greater number of assorted denizens of the town. They number at least five-hundred people…
"SHAME ON THE EARTH FEDERATION!"
"BUTCHERS! MURDERERS!"
"CONTOLISM AND PEACE!"
"JUSTICE FOR THE PEOPLE OF SPACE!"
For the first hour, the protests are relatively peaceful...there are shouts, screams, and even some tuneless singing, but nothing suggesting violence…
"Hey, heads up!" Jordan Vance points up the main boulevard.
A platoon of Earth Federation Forces Military Police, clad in body armor and riot gear, march towards the protesters with an armored vehicle following behind them.
"Those pigs have brought in their goons!" somebody yells.
A voice issues forth from the speakers of the armored vehicle, "EVERYONE DISPERSE TO YOUR HOMES! WE ARE DISSOLVING THIS UNLAWFUL GATHERING!"
"Unlawful?!" the voices of the people jeer.
"DISPERSE NOW," the voice from the armored vehicle repeats, "THIS IS YOUR FINAL WARNING!"
This is going to go horribly wrong, Tina thinks to herself, but does not utter.
"Disperse, THIS!" Jordan rages through clenched teeth, picking up a stone from the ground and hurling it at the armored vehicle. The stone bounces off the metallic shell harmlessly.
The armored vehicle extends a high-powered hydro cannon and unleashes a torrent of water into the crowd, knocking dozens of people, including elderly folk and young children down.
"Damn BRUTES!" Jordan rages, charging at one of the armor-clad MPs.
Tina's forehead sparks with alarm, "Jordan, DON'T!"
The startled MP opens fire with his firearm, tearing a hole through Jordan Vance's chest!
Screams break out among the crowd as people begin trampling each other...fleeing in terror or charging the Federation Forces MPs in outrage and hate.
Tina shimmies her way through the pandemonium to kneel by her dying classmate. She takes his hand, "Jordan…"
Dark blood erupts forth from Jordan's mouth. His shocked and aggrieved parents come to his side from where they had been observing, nearby, attempting to comfort their son in his final moments.
"Tina! TIIIIIIINNAAAAA!" comes the horrified shriek of Liz Moon.
Tina turns her head to see Veronica Leeds' limp body cradled in Liz's lap, a gunshot wound in Veronica's head leaking the girl's lifeblood.
Tina sees another trooper bearing down on Liz and Madison from behind.
"SHIT!" Tina snarls, launching herself forward to knock the trooper down with a flying tackle to the man's knees. She brings him down just before he can get a shot off, but is unable to lay hold of his weapon as it flies from his grasp.
Sitting her meager 43 kg atop the fallen trooper, Tina punches the man out cold with surprising force, but before she can stand, a half dozen more troopers swarm around her, beating her and the others senseless with their truncheons and smothering them with their bulk.
Tina barely recalls being handcuffed and thrown into an MP vehicle before passing out…
Tina awakes...a few minutes...a few hours later? She has a throbbing headache...and aches in about a dozen other bruised spots running the length of her body. She checks herself...nothing broken, at least.
She is confined in a small, dark room...a jail cell, she quickly surmises. She wonders if Liz and Madison are all right.
Jordan, Tina recalls, a wave of heartache washing over her.
Her body aching from the multiple blows she received from the Federation troopers' steel truncheons, Tina is relieved to learn that at the very least, her hands are free of the manacles with which the troopers had bound her when they took her down on the street.
Tina looks around the confines of her cell. The metal door of the cell has a window, but it is covered by a grating accessible only from the outside.
After a long time, Tina hears heavy footsteps, and the door of her cell bursts abruptly open. A burly Federation MP, whom Tina, her eyes adjusting to the darkness, recognizes as the one she had tackled and knocked out, lurches into the room.
Tina barely manages to suppress a laugh as she sees the trooper's nose bandaged, but her desire to laugh quickly subsides as she spies a lustful gleam in his eye.
"You bloodied my nose out there tonight, sweetie," the Federation MP says menacingly, approaching close enough that Tina can make out the identification on the chest of his uniform jacket, "Pfc. A. Morrison."
Morrison, who doesn't quite seem sober, finishes his threat, "...and for bloodying me, you're gonna pay with some blood of your own. But don't worry...I wouldn't dream of bloodying up that pretty face of yours. I got something else in mind entirely…"
Tina, knowing exactly what Morrison means, backs towards the wall...until there is no more space left.
Tina launches a powerful kick with her right leg that sends Morrison sprawling back against the door. Had Tina been at full strength, the kick almost certainly would have been enough to knock Morrison out cold, but weakened by injury, Tina is unable to deliver a knockout kick.
Morrison, his eyes bearing as much rage as lust now, charges animalistically at Tina again, knocking her back against the bench/bed of the cell.
Tina gasps for air as Morrison's weight, easily three times her own, bears down upon her. More alarmingly, Tina feels Morrison's meaty hand reaching up her skirt, caressing the skin of her thighs and buttocks, reaching for the hem of her underpants.
Tina feels around Morrison's mass, knowing generally where his armaments are distributed across his uniform. As Morrison's pudgy fingers draw Tina's panties down, Tina's fingers unclasp a leather case, lay hold of a metallic handle, and pull a gleaming blade free.
Without a moment's hesitation, Tina plunges the blade deep into Morrison's back, behind his solar plexus. Morrison screams in pain and terror as blood spurts from the gaping wound. Tina bites her teeth down hard and draws the knife viciously upward towards Morrison's neck, gutting Morrison open like a fish. The Federation MP's blood splatters on Tina's face, hair, clothing, and hands.
Morrison crumples to the ground, unmoving, blood still leaking from his wound.
Tina rises, straightening her clothing as best she can, spitting out blood and kicking Morrison's corpse one more time out of spite. She searches the body, and from a holster, pulls out the dead trooper's sidearm.
"You won't be needing that," a man's voice issues forth from the cell door.
Tina spins around, the slain Morrison's handgun in her hand, preparing to open fire upon the source of the voice, only for the man to move at borderline superhuman speed to take the weapon from her.
"I am not your enemy," he whispers harshly.
"Then who are you, and why are you here?" the teen demands.
"My name is Ryusuke Kenta," the man answers, "and my friend Jack asked me to keep an eye on you."
"Colonel Spencer," Tina exhales, with surprise.
Kenta nods as takes the keys from the deceased MP and steps into the hall, where Tina can finally see him clearly… his brown hair is kept in a long ponytail, under a wide-brimmed fedora that gives him the appearance of a Western cowboy with the addition of his black duster.
Tina's sharp eyes catch a glimpse of a sharp katana underneath the coat, which surprises her… most people carry a firearm at the end of the First Universal Century.
"Stay here for a moment," Kenta warns her, as he flips through the keys, "Your friends are in the room next to this one."
Tina stands quietly by as Kenta fumbles through the keys before unlocking the door.
Notwithstanding Kenta's reassurances, Tina liberates the knife from Morrison's back and now has it in hand, ready for action.
The next thing Tina hears is the sound of a sword being drawn followed by two heavy thumps.
Tina immediately bolts into the room, dagger raised menacingly, but lowers it when she sees him placing the jackets of the now decapitated MP's on her friends, who are sobbing.
"I don't need to tell you what happened," Kenta tells Tina before turning to Liz and Madison, "Now is not the time for tears… once you are both safe… then you can cry… Till then, I need you two to hold it together."
They exit the holding cell to be met by a squad of MP's.
"FREEZE!" orders the Squad Leader, "You are under arrest."
Rather than be intimidated, Kenta begins to chuckle… a sinister sound.
"The thing about Federation MP's is that they're all a bunch of trigger-happy fuckwits with chips on their shoulders because they didn't get a shot at any of the glory during the war," Kenta snarls as he turns towards them, "This is why I hate you scumbags."
A sinister smile spreads across his face as madness creeps into his eyes, "It's also why I'm not afraid of you."
Kenta keeps his eyes trained on the enemy as he instructs the girls, "Follow the corridor behind us…Senator Teabolo Mass should be at the end by the time you get there."
Without warning, Kenta dashes into the MP's and begins hacking and slashing away at them…
In her mind's eye, Tina briefly sees the image of a demon with blackened skin overlap their savior, and is gripped by terror. Never one to be paralyzed by fear, however, Tina grabs her two friends and drags them down the hallway towards freedom.
Tina sees the comforting sight of her adoptive father, Senator Teabolo Mass, awaiting them at the end of the hall, as the man named Kenta promised. The girls collapse into the elder man's protective embrace.
"Are you all right?" the aged senator asks.
Tina responds, "I...I saw..."
Teabolo nods, patting Tina on her head, "We'll talk about it later. Let's get you girls home, where you belong."
Before they can leave, a deranged chuckle echoes from the hallway behind them. Tina immediately places herself in front of her foster father in a protective stance, bloodied dagger raised.
Ryusuke Kenta steps into the light, covered in blood. He tosses the decapitated head of Pfc. Morrison, the MP who tried to rape Tina, and lets out a demented chuckle, "I figured you'd want the head of the slimeball who tried to rape your daughter."
Teabolo straightens his glasses, gives the strange figure an apprehensive once over, and asks, "Who are you?"
"Captain Ryusuke Kenta of the Earth Federation Forces Mobile Suit Test Corp," he said as he completely calmed down, "Or I was a captain… I retired after the war."
"I need you to stay here," the senator says, "to be interrogated about what happened here today."
"I'll tell you what happened," the retired soldier growls as he points to the disembodied head, "He tried to rape Tina, and the other two." The man begins to tremble with rage as the memory of what he saw stirs that part of him.
Tina actually stumbles back when the image of the Demon appears before her once more, holding the dagger between herself and the diabolical presence.
"I thank you for protecting them, Captain Kenta," Teabolo acknowledges, "but you do not seem altogether well. Were you wounded in the fight? I can bring you to medical care"
"Medical care can't fix my problems," he grunts, "There's nothing physically wrong with me." he nods his head at Tina and says, "She might be able to tell you."
"Again, I thank you," the senator says gratefully, extending his hand to the other man.
"You don't want to do that," the soldier replies as he holds up his blood-covered hand.
Senator Teabolo nods as he shepherds the girls into his staff limousine awaiting outside. He turns to look over his shoulder, but Captain Kenta is gone.
"Odd," Teabolo muses, "Very odd."
"Final report is 55 civilians dead, 267 more critically injured, Senator," an aide reports to Teabolo the following day, "...and then, somebody...or something got into the base detention center and slaughtered two platoons of the same MPs...apparently without the use of firearms. All the corpses showed signs of mutilation by some kind of bladed weapon."
Senator Mass, gazing thoughtfully out the window of his palatial home to the beauty of the Alpine peaks, nods, "Make sure the wounded get the best care. As for the base: I want every officer's and enlisted soldier's files reviewed and subject to court-martial if investigation turns up evidence of their part in illegally brutalizing the civilians. Also, please get me the file on a Captain Ryusuke Kenta of the Mobile Suit Test Corps."
"Right away, Senator," the aide bows, and turns to carry out his orders.
Senator Mass sits back in his chair, musing, "Captain Ryusuke Kenta. The name seems somehow...familiar. Just who is he?"
The senator spots Tina...Mineva, looking thoughtfully across the vista of mountains. He senses that he should join her.
"Are you all right?" Teabolo asks, his voice filled with fatherly affection and concern.
"That man," she says quietly, "has a demon in him."
"Demon?" Senator Mass smiles weakly, "Since when have you come to believe in such things?"
"I… just don't know how else to explain it," she replies softly, "but sir…I think the time has come for me to go."
"Go?" the senator asks, putting a gentle hand on her shoulder, "Go where?"
Tina glances up to the sky, "To pursue my future. I saw the darkness in the heart of the Earth Federation, sir. A deep sickness within, that can only be cured from within."
Senator Mass nods ruefully, "I knew this day would come, as surely as I knew it would with Edward and Sayla."
Tina says, "I can't be Tina Mass anymore...not after what's happened...not if I'm going to go forth to fulfil my plans."
"Then who will you be?" asks Tina's foster father.
A moment's pause for thought, and then a smile, "Athena….Athena Ibaz."
"Poetic," the senator nods, "'Athena'...the original Greek form of the Latin name Minerva, the Greco-Roman goddess of wisdom and warfare. 'Ibaz,' though...don't you think you're playing with fire...Athena?"
"Can you wipe the slate clean for me?" Athena asks.
"Consider it done," the senator replies, as his wife Amelia comes to join them, "but will we see you here again, Athena?"
"I will never forget you two," Athena says affectionately, hugging the aged couple, "you have been as good to me as any parents could have been, and I will return to see you both when the time is right for me to do so."
So saying, Athena goes to her bedroom to pack her few belongings.
She puts the red jewel/encrypted file that Char gave her on an earring and tucks the silver Marakov pistol into a holster strapped to her thigh. Donning a flat cap similar to, but slightly larger than the one she wore when she arrived in St. Moritz five years earlier, Athena makes her way to Senator Mass's office to say farewell...
"Sir," Senator Mass's aide knocks on his office door, "I've brought that file you requested on Captain Ryusuke Kenta."
Senator Mass opens the file just as Athena walks in to say her final goodbyes.
"Come here," the senator tells her, "This is Captain Kenta's file… we might be able to shed some light on what you experienced around him."
Athena walks in and takes a look at the file with her foster father.
CLASSIFIED*CLASSIFIED*CLASSIFIED*CLASSIFIED*CLASSIFIED*CLASSIFIED
INTEL SECURITY CLASS A-1 ACCESS ONLY
Subject Name: Ryusuke Kenta
EFMS # 1331667879
Present Rank: Captain
Known Alias: The Devil in Black
Mobile Suits Piloted:
RGM-79 GM
RGM-79D GM Type D
RGM-79G GM Command
RGM-79FP GM Striker
RX-78-1 Prototype Gundam
IMPORTANT ADVISORY:
Is prone to sudden mood swings and acts of extreme violence. Most common trigger for such incidents come from witnessing what the subject has labeled to be the most vile criminal acts. Has been known to mutilate his victim's with a sword, as well knives, broken bottles, and his teeth should the 'need' arise. If he is seen behaving in this manner, do not engage. Standing orders are to flee on sight.
Marital status: Widowed.
Relationship Status: Romantically involved with Earth Federation Forces 89th MS Squadron (Side 7 Space Command) officer, Maj. Christina MacKenzie (EFMS # 3258982589)
CLASSIFIED*CLASSIFIED*CLASSIFIED*CLASSIFIED*CLASSIFIED*CLASSIFIED
Senator Mass removes his glasses, wiping them thoughtfully, "The wars have produced quite a few broken souls such as this Captain Kenta, but this man is not our enemy. Nevertheless, he is a wildcard."
Athena nods, "I'll be careful. I'm ready to go."
"You aren't carrying much," the senator observes, noting that Athena is carrying only one small valise along with the clothes she is wearing...a turtleneck sweater, sports jacket, trousers, a muffler, and a flat cap.
"It's best for me to travel light," Athena replies, "but I have everything I need," indicating the ruby earring and her Marakov sidearm.
Teabolo touches Athena's face lovingly, "My wife and I will miss you. You will always be welcome here, any time you wish to return."
Amelia, Teabolo's wife and Athena's foster mother, enters with a bag of freshly picked pears, "Take these with you, Athena...along with our love and best hopes."
"I'll return," Athena says, "After I've made this world a better place."
Thirty minutes later, a train pulls out of St. Moritz's station, bound westward for Gibraltar…
