Gundam Seed: Wolves of War
Disclaimer: GS is not mine and Kenneth DiFalco and the Gray Demons are used in correspondence with Solid Shark. He and I discussed the events of Ken's goodwill tour to Africa leading up to the fight he had with Kisaka and this is what I came up with.
Chapter 1: Calm Before the Storm
Commander Kenneth DiFalco shifted uncomfortably in his seat. True he was on a goodwill tour, but he hated the confines of gravity. A futile attempt to stretch prompted two of the other red coats in the vehicle to laugh at him. Arching a fine eyebrow at them, he smirked before grinning lightly.
"What's so funny to you?" A blonde haired woman with light green eyes and a semi-tan complexion cocked her head to the side as she grinned at him.
"Simple Falcon. You always get like this whenever we've come to Earth's surface. You fidget and get this look on your face like if you don't get back into the sky or space the ground's going to eat you." She crossed her eyes at him and stuck out her tongue a bit as she spun her index fingers around her head to poke fun at him. The Grimaldi Falcon shrugged and slumped in his seat, good naturedly taking the jibe.
"You're one to talk Laura, given your oddity for claustrophobia despite our cockpits in Mobile Suits. And why are you laughing Leanne?"
The green haired cousin of the Amalfi family stifled her laughter and smiled.
"For the same reasons as Elsman is. You should see yourself all worked up like that. The tabloids back home would have a hay day with you if the paparazzi could get a photo of you like this."
The Falcon blanched slightly as his eyes widened a fraction as he turned his head like an owl to half glare at his subordinate. He could feel his heart drop to his gut. He never asked for fame and glory. All he did was to protect what he believed was right and to keep the PLANTS safe from whatever threat loomed on the horizon. The actions he'd taken though had made him more than a bit popular along with his squadron. It was one of the only things he found irksome with his position. The mass media was one of the biggest reasons he hardly ever left bases nowadays.
"You wouldn't?"
Both girls looked at each other before looking back at their commander and letting dark grins pass their features. As Laura began to reach for her camera phone, a new voice from elsewhere in the transport fairly boomed like a loudspeaker.
"Don't do it Laura. If you're lucky, you'll just lose the phone." Laura glanced over at Lance "Sparky" Cooper who was riding shotgun before turning back to Falcon to see his thumb push out Griever a quarter inch from its sheath.
"Oh come on Sparky, this isn't like Remmick's act of cowardice." Dixon Remmick, a former teammate of hers and Falcon's whose act of cowardice in face of the enemy had been answered with Kenneth shooting and killing him during the battle which could have ended their lives short. Tom Delaney glanced over the periodical he was browsing with a smug expression.
"True, but being reckless and greedy to the extreme is just as bad. Remember Tempest?"
The transport got quiet again at that. The group was tousled by a bump in the road before the strawberry red head in the group clapped her hands once and gave everyone a gentle smile.
"O-okay, enough about all the doom and gloom from our history, this is the first time we've left base without uniforms. Shouldn't we be enjoying ourselves a bit more? Laura, quit teasing the Boss. Unless you're trying to get him to do something to you later . . . ?" Letting the suggestive hint hang poignantly in the air made the blonde blush and admire the scenery outside. The group chuckled at her rebuff. Turning to face Falcon, she gave him a small frown. "Boss, please lighten up just a little bit? We all know you're uncomfortable, but do you really have to drag us all down with it? Speaking of which, how's your eye doing?"
Kenneth DiFalco had put away Griever and looked into his fellow pilot's light lavender eyes. Sighing, he slumped deeper into his seat and nodded tiredly.
"Yes, you're right. My apologies Alicia. I guess it's just the fatigue from teaching the greenhorns at the Academy and then immediately being sent out here of all places the moment we get back together as the team. As for my eye." He tapped the eye patch with his middle and index fingers. "If it weren't for this patch, I'd have the worst migraine in the history books. How I can see the ultraviolet and infrared spectrums is beyond me, but it's painful with all this desert. Thanks for your concern."
The group nodded, though most of them all suspected that it was a recuperatory move seeing as they hadn't seen any real action since Endymion. It was a harsh memory that was too sore to touch on yet – especially around Falcon.
Space Colony Heliopolis
Alex sat on a balcony overlooking the artificial lake in the central park of the colony. The two women who sat at the table behind him shook their heads at his far off look.
"Don't zone out too much Alex." The voice made him blink and turn to face his wife. Marisa's light brown hair swayed in the breeze. Across from her, a woman with long jet black hair held in a long pony tail with deep wine red eyes lounged in her chair with a Cheshire Cat-like smile on her face. "You might not come back from the realm of dreams."
"I'll keep that in mind Jessica. Thanks again for pulling whatever strings you had to in order to hide the Stiletto and her crew throughout the colony. I can't imagine what your siblings would say if they found out what we were doing here."
Jessica dropped her smirk and frowned with a souring expression.
"Honestly, I couldn't care less what they think or do. They're extremists within Orb and that will be the cause for one or both of their falls. My elder siblings have always been too zealous. I just hope that we can complete our plans before the G-Weapons are completed, much less the Archangel."
The heirs of Romania nodded in agreement with the Wolf squadron member. Looking down at the road below at teenagers walking and laughing freely, Alex sighed heavily.
"Ignorance is bliss." Marisa and Jessica both looked at each other slightly confused at his words. "There was a time when all of us were that way. In war the first thing to go is one's innocence. For their sakes, I hope we can get this done before anything comes to this area."
Marisa cradled her mug of coffee before getting up from her chair and walking to Alex's side. Propping one elbow on the edge of the railing and canting her head to peer over the side, she saw a group of students that she'd been teaching under her false persona of an engineering professor and the local Technical School. Feeling Alex tense a bit, she noticed his eyes focus intently on one of the boys in the group. Following his eyes, she sighed when she saw what he was so focused on.
"Alex, he's not a trained Coordinator, Kira Yamato isn't a threat to us."
"I know Marisa, but the thought of it still doesn't help me. Think about it, that young man is probably the only other person alive who could challenge the Grimaldi Falcon. Hell, the Grimaldi Falcon caught us off guard the first time we encountered him. Can you imagine what would happen if that boy learns to fight and joins him among our opponents?"
The thought gave Marisa chills and her coffee didn't do anything to help. A hand on her shoulder made her turn to face Jessica who looked at them both with a slight measure of concern.
"You two got awfully quiet. Hm? Is that him? Kira Yamato?"
Both royals nodded and Jessica gave him a good once over and sighed.
"He really doesn't seem like one who would want to fight even if he had too. He seems too timid."
Alex pushed away from the railing as his cell phone began to ring at him.
"True Jessica, but the timid ones fight the fiercest when cornered." Flipping the device open, he held it to his ear. "Alexsander speaking. Oh? I'll be there later today to check on it myself. Thank you Evan."
Jessica lifted a curious eyebrow when Alex smirked after ending his call.
"Is it the new machines?"
"Yes, they're done with the initial phase. Want to give it a shot? You do have the most experience with them thus far."
The woman turned to fully face him a placed her fists on her hips in a challenging stance with a cocky smile. Her eyes gleamed with a mischievous light.
"Is that an order from the Prince of Romania?" Marisa rolled her eyes and batted the slightly taller woman on the back of the head with a rolled up magazine.
"It may not be from him, but I am making it one. Those machines may save your lives in the upcoming struggle. Now get to it."
Jessica laughed and bowed slightly to the two individuals before taking her leave. Alex shook his head as she left the balcony and gave Marisa a wry look. His wife folded her arms across her chest and pouted a bit.
"You and your toys. I swear this is like Christmas to you and the rest of your squadron."
Taking his seat at the table once again, Alex picked up his cup of tea and took a drink. Setting the cup back on its saucer, he gave her a long, hard stare before motioning to the chair across from him. Recognizing that gesture from their past tea breaks, Marisa took her chair without further complaining and waiting for him to begin talking.
"It's their nature, and mine as well to a degree. However, we all realize that these machines will diametrically change the way this war is fought. Even more so with the advent of the G-Weapons and the Archangel. You weren't always this concerned and uptight. Have I done something to irk you so?"
His concerned expression made her momentarily forget everything else as she realized that he was only focusing on her. Even in the midst of all the chaos and planning, he made time for her alone, and tried to be thoughtful about things whenever they hadn't spent time alone together for some time. It told her that he still held on to his humanity, and she treasured that more than anything else.
"No, it's just that we've not been able to sit down and spend time with each other outside of obligations and duties. I feel like we're floating apart. It's not much, but I do feel like we're not as close as we were back then."
Alex nodded in understanding. He felt very similar in their relationship. It had been a long time since the two of them were alone without military hardware around them. Yet it felt alien to them without it. Reaching across the table to grasp her hand in his, he looked at her inquisitively.
"I agree. So what is it that you want to do today? There's no school today and the issues with the Stiletto and the others can wait a day or two. Let's be a little selfish for a bit shall we?"
Letting him take her hand, she smiled and nodded, suddenly feeling a bit more enthusiastic. It wasn't often that Alex lived for only himself, but then again, neither did she. Her heart beat a bit faster in anticipation.
"Selfish? Alright then Alex, shall we spend a night on the town?" Her husband only nodded with an equally eager grin on his face.
Africa
The Gray Demons arrived at the local restaurant that they had heard about from Andrew Waltfield. The group had taken a table a bit farther back as Montgomery Campbell went to take their orders after a bit of searching over the menus. Falcon took up the Desert Tiger's suggestion of kabobs with the yogurt sauce. Laura was doing the same while the others were ordering other items.
"So what do you think Falcon? Is the Tiger's assessment accurate?"
Laura waited for Ken's reply as the others watched him finish his first skewer. After he set the spit down, he shrugged. The action made the group around the table moan and shake their heads in disbelief. Ken smirked and leaned back in his chair a bit.
"They're okay. I'm not the gourmet here, Andy is and it's borderline obsession for him."
"This coming from the one who's a sword buff to the extreme that all of us now wield one? Pot calling the kettle black Boss." Tom Delaney propped his elbows on the table as he called his commander out. Ken had enough manners to look slightly rebuffed.
"Really Tom? You, who forged our swords don't really have much to say on that either."
"Touche."
The TV was broadcasting a live announcement from Uzumi Nara Atha from Orb to the rest of the world. In it, he spoke of Orb's continued neutrality in the continued conflicts. What kept his attention were the two individuals sitting behind representative of Orb with passive expressions. An aged, but wizened visage hid a brutal combat veteran in the man with slightly graying hair. His countenance was benevolent, but the world knew that the man had a sharp edge that could split durasteel without effort. The woman beside him only supported her husband's impressive aura. Her face remained just as stoic as her partner's, but her eyes held concern behind a cautious yet caring veil.
"Look, it's Romania's King and Queen." Several patrons actually stopped what they were doing and began to pay attention to the newscast.
"He sure looks like a tough nut to crack." The Gray Demons looked to Sparky. Ken glanced at his XO quizzically. He'd heard the stories of the parents of The Immortal and had a decent amount of respect and a slight touch of admiration for them.
"Of course he does Sparky. They literally tore away from the Eurasians and took two additional nations with them and succeeded. Unlike Orb, which was independent from the beginning and retracts from the world in a shell, Romania has continually sought out and any military threat that moved against them rather than let it come knocking on their doorstep. It's one thing to say you're neutral, it's quite another to actively control and push their neutrality unlike Orb."
A man with dark tan skin and blue-gray hair stepped over to the table they were seated at with a stern expression crossing his features.
"What did you say about Orb?"
"I was merely pointing out Romania's differences to Orb. I feel much better allying myself with them rather than Orb for the simple difference in that one aspect of their philosophy. They have far more combat experience as a whole and it has the world on edge to try to move against them. Hell, ZAFT knows better than to pick a fight with Romania simply due to that Indestructible Fleet commanded by the Prince and future Princess themselves. They're warriors to the core and that is the difference between Romanians and the soldiers of Orb. What difference does it make to you?"
The man pounded a fist on the table, making all the drinks and the few plates of food still there rattle. Several other clusters of people were now giving them their full attention.
"I am Kisaka. A soldier of Orb's military and it makes a huge difference."
"And what's a soldier of Orb doing here in Africa of all places? Sightseeing? There's not much here other than sand and more sand. Did you get tired of the oceans?"
Laura chuckled a bit as the others smirked at Falcon's words. Knowing Falcon's views of military power, technology, fundamental strategies and tactics, Orb's neutral stance and its military tech didn't make any sense when all they ever did was drill. For Falcon, drills didn't mean squat on the battlefield. Out of Falcon's Lesson's of War Number 29: "If it looks good in a drill, it's gonna get ripped apart in combat." When they first faced Alexsander's unit after the Bloody Valentine, it had been their first real face-to-face encounter. Falcon had thought that The Immortal was getting lucky considering several of the commanders that had gone against them weren't slouches, but they weren't the best either.
Seeing them fight on the battlefield before they joined the fray made Falcon realize that Alex's unit and the fleet supporting them were veterans of hard boiled combat and displayed a simplistic, but vicious combat style. The squadron's observations had the Grimaldi Falcon re-evaluate things. The majority of everyone in the Gray Demons knew that this batch of space soldiers were pragmatic fighters whose main goal was survival. In truth, he hadn't really given the Romanian Fleet any real thought until after they all had made it back to the Nacht Jaeger. "Sparky" Lance Cooper would never forget entering Falcon's office in time to see the man slam a fist on his desk and swear.
Falcon's Office
Nacht Jaeger
Shortly after the Furball from Hell
"Boss, careful there, you could break your hand doing that!"
Falcon slammed a fist down again and sent his pen holder off the desk. The objects clattered loudly as they spread across the floor. The eyes that the Ace of ZAFT glared at Cooper froze him in place. They were almost translucent.
"Damn it Sparky! We were nearly turned into scrap by that single unit! They were half our size Sparky! HALF!! We outnumbered those pilots two-to-one in MOBILE SUITS and they nearly killed us all even after two of them went down!"
Sparky swallowed as the realization finally hit home. The only one who had gotten off somewhat lightly was Victor, oddly enough. When he really thought about for another few minutes Lance Cooper broke into a cold sweat. They had outnumbered the Mitternacht Wolfe squadron three-to-one and got pounded. It was beginning to look like a miracle that they had all made it home alive.
"Zero pilots are only just barely a cut above the average Mobile Armor pilot in the EA Sparky. I know you know that. One's like Mu La Flaga are rare and fortunately few. However, it's obvious that Alexsander Wallachia Tepes has several Aces of his own and what makes them so powerful is that they are all at Mu's level of piloting or higher. Actually, I think if I didn't go Beserker when I did, I think they would have defeated us. As much as I grudgingly admit to it."
Lance, not one to see Kenneth DiFalco so easily admit a loss . . . swallowed hard.
"May I ask why you think that?"
Ken began to pace back and forth in a much calmer state of mind.
"I think he was like me - in that transcendent frame of mind. Like the first time back during the Bloody Valentine where I flew my GINN to pieces. I think he's a Beserker. Unlike me though, I think he can control when it activates."
"Is that even possible?"
Falcon took a seat in his chair and called up the video replays of the battle. Cooper took a seat in an opposing chair.
"Watch this replay that I've inserted slow motion caps to. You're in for a shock."
The battle replayed and nothing edited occurred until Falcon and Alex clashed and Sparky thought he was looking at something out of a movie.
Africa
Kisaka grit his teeth at the youth in front of him.
"You want to start something?"
Falcon scowled.
"I've seen more bloodshed than most everybody in this place will in their lifetime. Can you honestly say that Orb's forces would be able to put up the kind of fight Romania has proven they can. The only thing saving that country is the fact that your technology is far more advanced and that Romania feels that you're a sibling nation."
Kisaka crossed his arms over his chest.
"You're saying that Orb has no experience?"
"That and they lack the resolve because they have never been through the hells that Romania has. Do you even know how to hold yourself on a battlefield? Much less know what one looks like?"
Kisaka glared at the Mobile Suit pilot.
"Wanna find out?"
To their surprise, Ken stood and walked over to the Orb soldier.
"Alright then."
The two men took stances and the bar went silent. The presentation on the TV forgotten with the advent of a fist fight. Sparky snapped twice to get his fellow pilots' attention.
"I've got five on the Boss. Who's in?"
Montgomery Campbell smirked and added his five to the pot on Kenneth. Laura smirked and took out her credits.
"I don't know guys, I'm actually going to go against you and put it on that Kisaka fellow. Ken's good with a sword, but hand-to-hand?"
The squadron looked slightly surprised and impressed. Normally Laura just went with whatever Falcon was up to. Then again, she always had been his foil in more than one way. Delaney chipped in on Kisaka as well.
"I know the Boss, in a sword match none of us can outmatch him. But this isn't a sword duel, so I'm with Laura on this one."
Leanne Eldridge sighed as she added her money to the impromptu gamble.
"The Boss is the reason I got involved in all of this so I'm going with him. So that makes it three in favor of Falcon. What about you Alicia?"
Alicia only smirked.
"I'm going to say that both of them beat each other soundly, but neither wins and they both end up with some kind of weird respect thing between them. Count me out of this one guys."
The group looked at her in unison.
"Killjoy."
Alicia Sharpe only sipped her drink merrily as the first fists were thrown.
