Jefferson Parish, Louisiana
September 24, 0079
0548 Hours, PST
Berkeley Plantation: a Greek revival mansion on the northern shore of Lake Pontchartrain, its façade like an old temple supported by Ionic columns. Construction on the building had begun shortly after the end of the War of 1812. Thanks to the Union securing the area early in the American Civil War, it was spared from the battlefield. Today, a conflict the scope of which the 1860's could never have fathomed was being fought.
Garma thought it was a very nice place, despite him not being there often enough to enjoy it, duty and all. The young commissar was awake at this time, groomed and in uniform. The faint hiss of a shower could be heard. He had in his hand a shiny, black tablet—like an old iPad, but only rigged to function on the current premises. With the press of a button on the touchscreen, a line was made, audio-only. The sound of the water now sounded much closer. "Good morning, Char."
Despite the running shower, he understood his friend clearly. "You're up awfully early, Garma."
"I really couldn't sleep," he admitted. "It's that 'Trojan Horse'. I keep thinking about that battle yesterday." He turned to the window, still very dark outside; but there was an orange cloud over the horizon. New Orleans was over there, giving off its many lights. "So, the mansion. Like it?"
"It's a nice little place you've requisitioned."
"North America's a gold mine of late-medieval history," he said, "it's really worth a visit. We have no real use for New Orleans, but it's a really nice city and I'm thankful we left it intact. We took care not to bomb the swamps and bayous, too. You can't recreate any of those on a colony."
"A wise choice."
"Eschonbach isn't happy, though," said Garma. "He nabs every chance to lob a complaint about me whenever I try to rebuild."
"Eschonbach? Joseph Eschonbach, the mayor of LA? Better keep an eye on him."
"How would you know?"
"Common sense," said Char, now having turned the water off. "Our intel says Eschonbach runs the guerillas. How long do you plan to toy with him, Garma?"
"Toy with him?" He laughed lightly. "You can think that if you want. Eschonbach's guerillas are no real threat." He moved to a chair nearby, a black leather armchair, and took a seat. "Thanks for your help yesterday. I know I can get carried away on the front lines."
"Any soldier would help his commander out of danger."
"No, you do more than that," said Garma. "You also consider my place in the Zabi family."
"You mean Rear Admiral Kycilia again?"
The commissar took a deep breath. "Dozle adores me," he said, "but Kycilia… it feels like she's testing me."
"Don't worry, Garma."
"I guess I shouldn't. I never knew my mother, so perhaps my sister intimidates me. Who knows? If sinking the 'Trojan Horse' won't secure any prestige, the discovery of the aliens might."
"Aliens?"
"It happened while you were in space," said Garma. "I can fill you in later."
One hour ahead of the Comet and the commissar, a line had formed at Naked Creek Overlook, near the north end of Skyline Drive, watching over Shenandoah Valley. Where it was oil-black at Lake Pontchartrain, one could see everything fairly well, though it was all blanketed in mountain mist.
Two pairs of Typhoon and Twister self-propelled multi-rocket launchers, two Scorpion missile buggies captured from the Federation, five Kalinka howitzers, and three trucks mounted with high-explosive missiles faced into the valley. To the naked eye, it was just a black void right now. But it was there, as well as the Shenandoah Anomaly.
Lieutenant Konrad Ulmer had his right leg propped up on the overlook's guardrail, leaning toward the valley, binoculars up. The structure was still out there, in the same spot, unmoved like the surrounding mountains. The woods originally around it had vanished, leaving about a clearing with a radius of about 1,000 feet. It was as if nothing had grown there in ages.
He looked at his watch: 06:58. It was almost time. "Lieutenant Ricci," he said into his walkie-talkie, "when they open our present, give them yours."
"Yes, sir."
06:59. Everything seemed to go quiet and every second felt like a minute as crew and engineers stared out into the foggy distance. Captain Schultz finally gave them clearance to make a move after so long monitoring the Anomaly. After that team from Christiansburg vanished in its vicinity, they had taken increased interest in the odd structure.
07:00. Hisses and whistles erupted over the valley, rockets of varying size and type soared like meteors and came down hard on the distant Anomally, providing discordant ambiance. Like clockwork, when the flames rose, the distant thunder of howitzers pealed. Battery B, run by Ricci at Hazeltop Ridge, had opened fire on cue.
A few seconds passed and Ulmer donned his binoculars again. The Anomally was still standing, not a scratch.
Another surprise came with it. Some kind of structure rose from the ground before the stone ring. No hatches were opened, nor was the ground broken. In the manner of a 3D-printout, it rose up, taking the shape of an old battleship turret with three barrels. It swiveled so its guns were pointed toward Hazeltop; they rose one by one in speedy succession.
"Ricci, return fire! Quickly!" he yelled, frantically over the line.
KRA-GOOOM! The turret replied to Ricci's bombardment about a second before more fire rained down on the spot.
Another unwelcome sight followed the exchange: a second turret, identical to the first, materialized in the same fashion. This one was all Ulmer's.
"Don't stand around like a bunch of fucking rocks!" he yelled. "Open fire!"
A huge geyser of flames erupted before the battery as soon as the command was issued. Fortunately for Ulmer, the Anomaly's volley came down just a little short.
Once they were able to rebound from the shock, they were all in awe of a second sight. Some odd shape faded in above the dome, as big as a monster from an old Japanese kaiju movie. At first, it looked humanoid in shape, but became more and more catlike as the shape cleared. The image spoke, its voice not needing to be amplified: "I am NICOLE, steward and administrator of New Mobotropolis. You are trespassing on the territory of the Republic of Acorn. You are to depart this vicinity immediately."
Ulmer scowled. Whatever trick these aliens had, it wasn't going to work. Schultz had given them their orders, after all. No retreat. "Hit 'em again!"
"Ow!" Amuro had slept so hard, the only thing that could wake him was falling out of bed. Dizzy and groggy, he rubbed the sore spot on the back of his head as he rose to his feet. The clock on the wall shone in green digital numbers: 06:01.
He noticed he was still in his normal suit from yesterday. He never changed out. Tugging his collar open, he sniffed. I need to hit the shower before Bright starts calling me.
The boy wasn't completely rested, but he was feeling a lot better than he was the previous evening; at least he was aware enough to bring a clean uniform with him. The walk to the shower didn't feel like it took an eternity this time. Today, though, his stomach was troubling him. He didn't need to use the bathroom or anything, it was just that he wasn't completely used to having to wake up that early, so he felt queasy.
Stepping into the locker room, he was greeted by the sound of a nearby shower in use. He unzipped his normal suit and placed it in the dirty clothes bin in the corner. After that, to number 67, his locker, where swapped his clean uniform for a small bottle of shampoo, and a thin bar of soap, still wrapped.
He looked at the bench on the hallway end on the other side of the aisle: a small pair of gloves sat on a bench and a pair of tiny red and white buckle shoes were beneath it. No other clothes.
The water stopped running and was replaced by a rejuvenated voice. "Geez, it feels like it's been years since I last took a shower. Good thing we bumped into these guys." It belonged to… something. Something small, hairy, and blue. It was only about as big as a child, but was clearly not human. It left the bathroom drying itself off with a white towel. Amuro looked at it as if were a clown riding an ostrich with a fake rainbow mohawk on the bird's head.
The creature noticed the boy sitting on the bench, wearing only a pair of boxers.
Silence saturated the locker room.
"What's wrong, kid?" said the little animal-like thing. "Never seen such fine cut of Hedgehog before?"
"Hedgehog?" Am I still asleep, Amuro thought, or has all this fighting finally made me snap?
"Long story," it continued, "but here's the short version: My name is Sonic, I'm from the future, our time's merged with yours, and we're trying to get home without a bunch of those Zaku things killing us. Good thing you ancients had a sense of cleanliness!"
"But hedgehogs aren't blue… and they don't talk…"
"Again, long story." He slipped on the small gloves and shoes. Those aside, the "Hedgehog" was completely naked.
"How—How do you know about the Zakus?" he asked.
"Had a few run-ins with Zeon the past couple of days," Sonic explained. "Had no clue about how to deal with them until I saw you guys and that white thing yesterday in the Great Canyon."
"Grand Canyon," he corrected.
"Same place, different era," Sonic remarked. He smirked, saying "Y'know, you look like you could use a shower yourself. I don't wanna hear that Kai dork make fun of you having BO."
Amuro stared as the little guy stepped into the corridor. "Just a shower and breakfast and maybe it'll all pass over," he whispered, still thinking he wasn't totally awake yet.
Dawn had yet to break, but the White Base was already on the move. It wasn't too difficult for Sally to piece together as to why. Reed had made it clear the night before.
Every eye of the human refugees was fixed on her. Obviously seeing a sample of what would become the predominant race on the planet in several thousand years without knowing what exactly it was going to attract stares.
Convincing Bright to head for Acorn was a small victory for her little coterie, but trying to build a bridge between these ancient humans and the Mobians only yielded a single brick thus far.
"Morning Sal!" Sonic came walking up to the princess from behind, drawing some of the rubberneckers' attention toward him. "Seems you've won a bunch fans."
"Sonic, Mobians don't exist in this period," she told him. "They don't even know what we are."
"I'm aware of that," he said. "Bumped into some kid on my way out of the shower. He didn't believe I was a Hedgehog!" He laughed a little, before changing the subject. "Got a status report on the road home?"
"Bright said we'd reach the Virginia line in a little under three hours as the Luggun flies," she said.
"Sal, lagoons are made of water," he said. "They don't fly."
"No, L-U-G-G-U-N," she corrected him. "You know those Zeon planes with the stalks on the wings? That's what they're called. I'm told one's behind the ship right now, tracking us."
Sonic didn't look bothered. "Well after all the fireworks in the Canyon yesterday, those Zeons aren't gonna be that big of a nightmare. We've got shitload of firepower on our side."
"For the moment," she reminded him. "Bright said they're only going to go to New Mobotropolis so we can go home and they can make quick repairs. After that, we're parting ways with them."
"The sooner we're home, the better," said Sonic. "I'm sick of that desert."
Sayla only got about two hours of sleep in before getting called down to sick bay. Losses were minimal yesterday, but there were quite a number of wounded. Refugees of varying ages and backgrounds had gotten banged up the day before, more so than the crew. For the better part of her shift, it was groans, wailing, and a stated concern about the possibility of running out of anesthesia.
Amid the people she and ship's surgeon Son Malo were treating, was a man called Martin Goro. He was quite alright for a man in his early seventies, apparently coming to sick bay to see a friend who had gotten wounded. His silent watch over the early morning landscape ended with him voicing his feelings. He laid his eyes on Sayla, who was currently tucking another old man who was worse off than him into one of the infirmary's beds. "I have a question. How far are you planning to drag us?"
"Drag you?" Sayla asked. The man's voice was sour.
"We're sick and tired of all the fighting," he elaborated.
Another elderly visitor, a woman this time, agreed. "Ever since we left Side 7, with all the battles, I haven't slept a wink."
"Just how long are you planning to keep this up?" another old man asked, this one bald with glasses.
"We're trying to land someplace safe," Sayla explained. "But until then, you must be patient."
"We're just tired of all this," another man replied. "We don't care where it is, just let us off."
The old lady squeezed her hands together. "The Zeons only want the ship, right? Give it to them and let us go free!"
"What the hell is this!?" Another voice chimed in. It didn't belong to any of the old people, but to that Bunnie girl they'd picked up last night. It seemed as though she had stumbled upon the refugees' complaints, and she didn't look happy about their position. "I can't believe what y'all are bitching about! We're in the middle of nowhere right now and the sun hasn't even come up yet! Y'all really wanna leave now of all times? As long as y'all are safe in the short term, y'all're willing to give up everything!?"
The complaining stopped for the time being, but the oldsters didn't seem to have recanted their stances; a few of them looked shocked at the sight of the Rabbit and the fact that she could speak. But all-in-all, their collective demeanor gave off the look of little kids who were scolded, but weren't a bit sorry.
The reverberation of blasts could be heard throughout Luray. One restaurant, the Mountaintop Kitchen, was closed off to the public today. It had been requisitioned as a makeshift command center for the Shenandoah investigation by Captain Gleb Schultz.
Despite the view of the steamy mountains to the west, Schultz couldn't enjoy the scenery. In fact, he could barely touch his pancakes as his ears were fixed to a lasercomm whose line went straight to the battery at Naked Creek. So far, hardware at said overlook, and Hazeltop further away, had been pummeled by the alien colony in the valley. Several fatalities had already occurred, most from indirect fire, and the wounded were piling up. Despite their efforts, not so much as a dent had been made in the Anomaly.
That thing isn't that small, Schultz thought, how are our guns not doing anything? I know I wanted some action in this backwater zone, but I wanted to fight Feddies, not aliens. He stood up and called out to the booth in the southwestern corner of the restaurant. "Private, has Rappahannock responded?"
A pair of computers had been set up there and one grunt was trying to babysit them both. "No reply yet Cap—!" He was interrupted by a ping. "No, wait, they just sent it. 'The 55th and 77th Dopp Squadrons and 20th Medical Ops Squadron inbound for Shenandoah. Estimated arrival: forty minutes.' Also, Winston-Salem is sending armor via Gaws to attack the Anomaly from the south."
"And anything from Fort Pickett?"
"I've sent your request for gunships a few minutes ago. No response yet, but it went through—C-Captain, another message! Commissar Garma is inbound for Norfolk. He requests a report on the Anomally."
A moment of silence and a mental remark from Schultz: Definitely shaping up to be a big stink.
Pathetic. The castle rocked again. From within the body of Geoffrey St. John, Ixis Naugus watched as the guns outside the city and the ones on the sides of the mountains to the east exchanged fire. No matter what the AI did, it seemed as if she were trying to frighten the attackers away instead of actually fighting.
The emergence of Agunus' bellicose tone stilled the sounds of artillery in the wizard's mind. "Bravo," he said. "You have an opportunity to save your office now."
"Indeed," Nusgau concurred. "The AI appears to be… hesitant about directly engaging our assailants."
"A capital time to prove that you're not a king who will hide from the world when your land is threatened," Suguna added. "That you're not afraid to get your hands dirty."
"I know what you're planning," said Naugus, as a crimson cloud bloomed against the shield surrounding the city. "I'm not so foolish as to try that."
"Do you plan to fight them in your student's body?" Agunus asked. "Or have you elected to stay bottled up in your little bubble?"
"You want me to leave this body so you can run amok," said Naugus. "The work on the remedy is still incomplete and you know it."
"Likewise, you have lost your favor," Suguna noted. "We were with you during the meetings, you know."
"The people are beginning to wish for Maximillian's son to return," Nusgau responded.
"And with your retreat from the public eye, the Council could very well consider it," Agunus added.
"Leave me be, you foul fiends!"
Nusgau cackled. "If only it were that simple."
"What will it be, O king?" asked Suguna. "To hide or to act?"
A female private was dragged away from the ridge, her stomach and legs all sliced up by shrapnel. She'd gotten off lucky, she would live. Most of those who had fallen at Naked Creek and Hazeltop that morning would find places in a MASH; at least ten wouldn't be so lucky.
Ulmer watched as the pained grunt was escorted to the ambulance on the side of the parkway, where at least a dozen others were stuffed inside. Then he turned to face the Anomaly. It had been an hour and, despite throwing everything they had at it, didn't leave a scratch. Smoke billowed along the slopes and woods below, the alien colony standing firm. It's as if they're avoiding trying to hit us, Ulmer thought, but we're the only ones taking losses. What are we up against?
The large hologram of that catlike creature appeared again. "I am NICOLE, steward and administrator of New Mobotroplis. I do not wish to fight you. Furthermore, your weapons have proven useless in penetrating the defensive shield surrounding the city. To cease further damages and prevent unnecessary losses, a ceasefire is requested."
A ceasefire? Were they serious? Was it out of fear? More like bravado. Luray would need to be radioed ASAP.
AUTHOR'S NOTES:
There you have it! Amuro Ray has finally laid eyes on Sonic the Hedgehog and the White Base is bound for New Mobe!
Thanks to HyperionGM for the assist on the new Gundam bits and SonicEvan for the Sonic stuff.
+ In Origin, the scene between Garma and Char when the latter was showering occurred at the Beverly Wilshire Hotel in Hollywood, while the Movie I sequence occurred somewhere in the Deep South (most likely the Mississippi/Louisiana area, based on the establishing pan). The scene was moved to a locale more fitting of the movie trilogy sequence of events, since the White Base is going eastward for a little bit.
+ The scene with Bunnie, Sayla, and the old people was derived from a similar scene in Kondo's Gundam 0079 manga. The difference being that Ryu was the one telling the oldsters off.
(Things are about to get pretty interesting with Naugus, given his current position.)