Disclaimer: I dont own Gundam
Back with another update to Gekido's story, this time we introduce the cast of Turn A, and even the titular mobile suit. Plus General Legacy also makes an appearence.
Gundam Rise Purpose
Chapter 2: Turmoil on the moon
Gekido looked at his enemies, in his mind he judged whoever pointed a gun at him as his enemy. These men were all rookies in comparison to him. He could see the fear in their eyes, the fear of his reputation. So with a single step he let out a brutish growl, causing the soldier's to step back. Gekido resisted the urge to laugh at them, even if they were afraid they were still in the perfect position to shoot him. Even if by some miracle he beat them all, he was still bleeding.
"Get down on your knees now," one of the soldiers commanded.
"Try and make me," Gekido retorted.
The soldier raised his rifle, aiming it for Gekido's kneecap. But before he could pull the trigger, the honk of a horn caught the attention of the soldiers. A black limo drove towards the soldiers, skidding around in an arc. The back of the car hit the soldiers, throwing them like dominoes to the ground.
"GET IN THE CAR NOW!" the white haired driver yelled.
Wasting no time, Gekido dived through the window, cringing as he felt his cut tear. He slid into the back seats, clutching his chest in pain.
"STEP ON IT LORAN!" he recognised the brown haired girl from earlier.
"I'm going Sochi," the driver seemed to hold his own, better than Kira did in the situation.
Either he was a coordinator or he had military experience. That's at least what Gekido thought as the driver manoeuvred the car around an approaching battalion. As Loran drove the car through the base, Gekido began putting together a makeshift dressing. He slipped his hoody off and tore into the leather seats.
"OI! THAT'S REAL LEATHER!" Sochi yelled.
Ignoring Sochi, Gekido took the stuffing and pressed it into his wounds. He then tore the belt off of the right passenger seat and tied it around his waist.
"Sochi, get on the phone to the house, tell Jessica and Sam to get bandages and a med kit, and a knitting set too," Loran explained.
"R-right," Sochi picked up her phone and began dialling a number.
Gekido shook his head as his vision began to blur. He sat on the seats and fastened his seat belt as Loran accelerated. Loran turned his wheel, skidding as he avoided an OZ barrier. The young man put his foot down on the accelerator, kicking the limo to high speed. Sochi let out a scream as the car knocked through the fences gate.
'He's good,' Gekido thought, seeing the OZ soldiers in the distance. 'Damn it,' he suddenly realised just how much danger he had put these people in.
Unless OZ was incompetent then at least one of those soldiers would have seen the registration plates, and would look up whatever household on the moon owned the vehicle. The girl Sochi contacted someone, perhaps a servant or a relative, if that was the case then the girl was upper class, had a big house and family.
'Got to get out, got to leave these people…shit, no don't fall uncon…'
Gekido eyes drifted shut, and his breathing became shallow. Loran looked in the back, widening his eyes as he saw Gekido fall unconscious. He turned to Sochi, ordering her to climb into the back with their passenger and start with CPR.
"I've only seen it done in the TV, how do I kiss him?" Sochi asked.
"You don't kiss during CPR, just put your ear to his mouth and you should be able to feel whether he's breathing, if so then worry about his heart and start chest compressions, one hand over the other in a rhythm," Loran explained.
"Oh I remember it now…huh…huh…huh…huh…staying alive, staying alive!"
Loran sighed as he put the radio on, a sweat drop running down the back of his head. The station was playing the exact song Sochi was using to control the rhythm of Gekido's chest compressions. They came up to a manor in the woods where a middle-aged manservant opened the gate. Loran parked the car near the front door, climbing into the back with Sochi. A pale-blonde haired girl ran down the steps, followed by several other manservants.
"Sochi, Loran," the girl called to her fellow teenagers.
Loran opened the door and signalled the teenage servants to grab Gekido's ankles, whilst he and Sochi held his arms and head. Sochi had remarkable upper body strength, a result of her daily exercise. As the youngest child of the family and a tomboy, Sochi was demanding and spoilt enough to get the best trainers. Though she was comforting in her own way, smiling at him as they took their new guest to the dining room. Jessica, the oldest of the manservants cleared the table and put a medical kit on the side.
"Where's the knitting set?" Loran asked.
"Right here Loran," the older blonde haired girl said.
"Thank you Kihel," Loran smiled, causing Sochi to frown at him and her older sister.
"He cant be any older than eighteen, but look at those scars," Sam, another manservant looked at Gekido's chest in astonishment.
"It looks like something had been…plugged into him, it's the same with his back too," Kihel gulped, rubbing the back of Gekido's neck.
Loran opened the med kit and knitting basket, removing a needle and thread from one and disinfectant from the other. He swiped a lighter from one of the servants and heated up the end of the needle, disinfecting it and heating it to pierce skin. Sochi joined him in taking off the dressing, rubbing the disinfectant into the wound whilst Loran delicately sowed the cut shut. Kihel put a pillow behind Gekido's head and tilted a few drips of water down his throat.
"Is he going to be all right?" Sochi asked.
"He'll be fine, he just needs some rest now," Loran sighed in relief, wiping the sweat off his brow.
"Where is father?" Sochi asked her sister.
"He's at the dig site overseeing Sid's latest find, they were actually in quite a hurry," Kihel explained.
Loran removed his coat, throwing the blood stained uniform into a bin. Sochi looked at her own shirt, only now realising that it was stained with her 'hero's' blood. She looked to Loran, whom rubbed his forehead with a frustrated sigh.
"Who is he?" Kihel asked.
"I heard him yell that his name was Gekido Kuzunagi," Sochi said.
"Kuzunagi, as in the family of engineers from Orb?"
"What do you know about them Kihel?" Loran asked.
"They're dead!"
The three teenagers and the servants turned to the doorway in shock. A woman resembling Sochi walked into the room. She wore a yellow dress and had her hair tied into a bung.
"Sochi, its good to see you're back, but not good to see that you've bought trouble back with you. Jessica, have our guests clothes washed, I wont have him wearing any of Dylan's things," the woman explained.
"Yes Mistress Heim," Jessica bowed, taking Gekido's shirt and hoody.
Mistress Heim hugged her daughter, casting a disapproving look at Loran.
"I expected better from you Loran," she said.
"Yes Mistress, but you see Gekido needed help," Loran lowered his head.
"Gekido?"
"Gekido Kuzunagi, Loran said that that was how the man introduced himself," Kihel said.
"That's impossible, Yamato Kuzunagi and his wife died during the Alliances invasion of Orb, they only have two children, both of whom died during the Heliopolis incident," Mistress Heim explained.
"Maybe this is a distant relative," Loran suggested.
"It doesn't matter, this man saved my life mother and I wasn't about to let him die as repayment," Sochi said, glaring at her mother.
Mistress Heim sighed as she turned away, walking out of the room.
"Gee Sochi, how was your trip?" sarcasm dripped from Sochi's voice as she kicked at the carpet.
"How was Earth?" Loran asked.
"It was great, Sensou's Chairwoman Alster is really fitting into her role, she's wasted no time in assisting some of the worst hit nations in rebuilding and resettlement," Sochi explained.
"So are we really going to move there?" Kihel asked.
"That's whether father agrees to become a partner in Sensou, I hope he does," Sochi sighed.
"Me too, I'd really like to live on Earth," Loran smiled.
Gekido groaned, causing the three teens to turn to him in concern. He slowly opened his eyes, looking around the room.
"W-where am I?" he asked.
"The Heim manor up in the woods north of the city," Sochi said.
"Heim…oh shit, YOU'VE GOT TO BE KIDDING ME! GAAAAGH!"
"JESSICA GET THE SOWING KIT!"
Dylan Heim sighed as he and his old friend Sid looked at the latest results of their dig. Space Leos from the Romefellar foundation patrolled the borders of the sight, but not even the pilots could resist the urge to look at what the excavation mobile suits pulled out of the crater they made. Sid rubbed the dust off his glasses as he turned to a console.
"Okay, we should be secure, the commander doesn't bother sending us guards," he explained.
Both men resisted the urge to shiver as their benefactor stepped out of the shadows. His aggressive stance was enough to give anyone pause, but it was his mask and eyes that made people fear him.
"Our payment as agreed," General Legacy said, his highly synthesised voice gave both men an excuse to be terrified.
"Yes, we live in truly desperate times, to be relying on private mercenary companies," Dylan sighed.
"We prefer the term private security providers, we give you men, materials and above all the training and the will to take back what is yours, tell your leader that we will leave with Artefact EX," Legacy explained.
"I'm not one to be ungrateful but we are curious as to why you would offer to train the rebels and only ask for our most recent find, what is Artefact EX exactly. Is it anything like the Turn A and X artefacts we found?" Sid asked.
Legacy rolled his head back, his digitised laugh echoing through the chamber.
"EX is so much more than a simple mobile suit, this machine is both the past and the future of all warfare," Legacy said.
The masked man looked at the newest find of the Moonrace, a crystal structure consisting of ice that had formed over a century. But sticking out of the ice was the unmistakable form of a metallic hand. General Legacy turned to the people he had been 'helping' over the past few months, right under the noses of the Earth Alliance. The rebellion of the Moonrace was all just a part of his plan.
"Call the house Mr Heim, I believe your daughter has just arrived," he said as he walked past Dylan, smirking at the horrified expression on the man's face.
As soon as Legacy left the room, Sid turned to his old friend.
"Did we do the right thing, for the moon and future generations?" he asked.
"I hope so Sid, I hope that his plan will finally give the moon the freedom it seeks," Dylan sighed.
General Legacy continued his walk through the corridors of the Moonrace's excavation colony. He came to a halt, turning to a group of people that had been following him.
"Queen Soreil, how wonderful to finally meet you in person," Legacy said.
The blonde haired girl was flanked by members of her royal guard, including their leader Harry Ord. He wore a military uniform and red glasses that covered his eyes, much like a mask. Harry himself was a young man reaching his twenties, his silver hair identifying him as a Moonrace coordinator. Dianna Soreil was the queen of the Moonrace nation, and the one Gekido sought for answers. She was a true leader to her people, unaided by advisors of politicians. Both in terms of good and bad, she was everything General Legacy wasn't, and that fact only strengthened his confidence.
"General Legacy, no true name, no true face, yet you arrived on the Moon months ago to train our men, and in that time the rebellion against the OZ faction has grown bolder," Dianna explained.
"Rebellion, they are simple hooligans my queen, nothing in comparison to your army joined with OZ," Legacy said.
"Mutual cooperation between our groups ensure peace between our race and Earth, yet I cant help but suspect you Legacy of playing both sides," Dianna narrowed her eyes at Legacy, causing him to chuckle.
"Don't mock the queen," Harry growled.
"No, its just amusing, for you to think that despite how long you have lived you feel that your wisest of all leaders, Athha, Peacecraft and Zeon didn't live as long as you did but they aged and grew in their experience, you have learnt lessons and then hid away for a few years. Tell me Dianna, how well has your body coped with cryogenics?" Legacy asked.
"Are you threatening the queen?" Harry asked.
"Threatening with facts? It can be done but I'm not doing it now, consider this Dianna, would you rather spend the last moments of your pathetic existence striving for peace between the moon and earth, or actually spending those moments in the one place you want to go to…Earth," the masked man motioned to the blue, green and white orb floating miles from the moon.
Dianna looked at the Earth, caught in a trance from its very sight. Her guards looked up also, not quite admiring it as she did. But the momentary distraction was quickly forgotten, and the guards widened their eyes in shock. Dianna looked at her shoulder, seeing General Legacy's hand grasping it. He moved his gloved hand to her cheek, touching it softly.
"Why spend your days wishing when you could just make those wishes reality?" Legacy asked.
Legacy raised his eyebrows in mild shock as he felt a blade touch his neck. He turned his head slightly, looking down the length of the katana into the eyes of its wielder. The man had thick purple hair, styled into a wild ponytail. He wore a short sleeved grey uniform, showing the scars on his arms. His skin was a pale colour and he had a glint of excitement in his eyes. He was eager for a fight that Legacy could provide. But the masked man simply tapped the 'mouth' of his mask against Dianna's forehead, his form of a kiss.
"You're a brave woman Dianna, and you have fine company," Legacy said as he slapped the blade away with his finger.
"I trust your business with the queen is done Legacy," The swordsman said.
"Yes Gym Ghingham," Legacy smirked, walking past the taller man.
Gym Ghingham smirked, sliding his prized sword back into its sheath. Harry's men marvelled at the speed Legacy had moved, while Harry chastised himself for the distraction, thankful that his glasses hid his shame.
"You let him go?" Harry asked Gym.
"He didn't want to harm the queen anyway, he was just showing you that if he really wanted Dianna dead then none of you could stop him," Gym explained.
"And I suppose you could," Harry glared at the soldier.
Gym let out a heartfelt laugh.
"Well the fight would certainly be interesting to see," he said.
Harry shook his head and bowed to Dianna. Gym followed the man's gesture as Dianna walked past. She clutched her chest for a moment, hiding what Legacy had spoken of.
Gekido sat in the barn where the Heim family kept their collection of cars. He rubbed the bandages on his chest through his shirt. Loran put a plate at his feet, smiling with Kihel and Sochi. The three of them stood on the other side of the barn, watching Gekido eat the steamed vegetables and meat. He spooned the food eagerly into his mouth, having hadn't eaten a decent meal in days. The last time he had had a good meal was on the Archangel. Gekido paused, looking at the thought, his mind lingering to that time he valued on the Archangel.
"You know it would probably do you good not to eat so much," Mirillia chided him.
"What are you talking about woman?" Gekido asked.
"Your sea sickness, it's connected to how much your eating as well," Sai said, turning his eyes back to his book.
"I'd take their advice kid, guy I knew would eat the full portion of rations before going out on sortie, turned out his stomach couldn't handle the G-forces so he puked most of it out," Mu laughed.
"In my experience when people say a guy I knew they're usually talking about themselves, take his advice Gekido," Kai, the Archangel's chef grinned as Mu glared at him.
Drifting back to the present, Gekido put the rest of the meal down and looked at the floor.
"Oh don't you like it?" Sochi asked.
"Its good…I'm just not as hungry as I thought I was," Gekido sighed.
Sochi and Loran looked at one another in confusion, shrugging as they joined Kihel in sitting beside Gekido.
"So your really the adopted son of Yamato Kuzunagi?" Kihel asked.
"Yeah, though to tell the truth there was never any legal contract about it, they accepted me as one of their own," Gekido explained.
"In that case I'm very sorry about your family," Loran said.
"I don't need pity, they were good people caught in the crossfire of a war they never asked for, there's not a lot that can be done about it now."
"War is meaningless, hopefully things will change now that the Earth knows peace," Loran sighed.
"It wont last, I doubt people really can overcome their desire to fight," Gekido said.
"Why do you say that?" Loran asked.
"Cause its true, some idiot with a grudge against the world says fight and kill and people do it. There's more soldiers out there that are just following orders than there are those that fight for an actual cause," Gekido explained.
Gekido got off the floor, putting on his hood and cap.
"I should leave," he muttered.
"We could go into town," Loran said excitedly.
"That's right, your new here aren't you, you should see the city in all its grandeur," Sochi smiled as she took Gekido by the arm.
Gekido's eyebrows twitched, though he resisted the urge to shrug the girl off. Loran bought one of the cars out and honked the horn at Sochi.
"Lets just try to be back in time to see your father Sochi, I'm sure he'll want to ask you how things were on Earth," Loran explained.
Gekido climbed into the back of the car, with Sochi sitting beside him. She seemed to be getting awfully close for his taste. Though he noticed the glint in her eyes whenever she'd look over at Loran. The young man also had hesitation in his eyes whenever they'd meet. Gekido smirked at their uncertainty.
'Love,' he huffed.
He looked out of the window, watching the vast amounts of woodland creatures running in the forest. Not even the Plants had environments like this. He heard independently financed colonies had environments that resembled Earth lands, like the Texas Colony. The Plants were designed as metropolises to house a new form of life. That concept didn't sit right to Gekido; people were bonded in a way that could only be labelled as humanity. But the fact that the Purpose, a machine was now intelligent, self aware and perhaps conscious questioned the view of 'humanity' and what bound humans to one another.
'Does my existence change the view of humanity?' he wondered.
It was a question that would probably haunt him all the time and he would search for an answer. Loran drove them out of the woods and into what Loran had described as the town. But upon closer inspection, Gekido saw that this town was a primitive place, nothing like Orb. The Moon colony was supposed to be a technological paradise, but Gekido saw little here to suggest that the Moonrace was any more advanced than the average western community. People had set up market stalls and circus entertainers had filled the street. Parking his car in one of the bays, Loran stepped out with a smile on his face, one Sochi mirrored.
"Its good to be back," she said, pulling Gekido out of the car.
"I'm glad you think so, anyway I'll let you two catch up," Gekido grumbled, prying Sochi's arm off of his.
"You should come with us, the markets pretty good," Loran said.
"I'll be sure to admire it from a distance, thank you for helping me," Gekido waved over his shoulder, walking on a separate path towards the market.
Sochi huffed while Loran's eyes lingered on Gekido's back. He felt like there was a greater pain inside Gekido than just his wounds. The young man kept his head low as he walked through the town. Everyone was going about their regular business, enjoying the peace they had. Yet Gekido still noticed the nervousness people had in their eyes. Then he saw them, Romefellar foundation soldiers, people who claimed to be part of OZ but didn't fit in with the ideology of its leader Treize. Gekido came to a halt as he watched several of the soldiers picking on one of the stall merchants. He managed an imported goods stall, fruit from the African nations; though he wasn't dark skinned he still had a thick Southern African accent.
"You know the rules, you have to have a permit to work here," one of the uniformed soldiers said.
"But sir, I had an arrangement with the Queen, my family could trade goods here," the young man explained.
"Your family's business isn't registered, we've confiscated your goods at customs before, pack up your stall and get on the next shuttle to Earth!"
"But I need money to get there and my family needs the profits from our trade with the Queen."
"You think we care, move this crap now!" one of the soldiers kicked up the stalls support pillars, bringing its boxes of fruit to the floor.
The young man fell to his knees, picking the apples and other fruits up. One of the soldiers stepped on his hand, stomping it just hard enough to break the boy's knuckles, as well as the apple he had tried to grab. Gekido looked around the street seeing everyone watching but doing nothing. They were all driven by their fear and perhaps rightly so. But still it irked Gekido.
'Play it smart,' he told himself. 'Walk away!'
"OI! LEAVE HIM ALONE!" the words hadn't come from him, but from another southern African man.
This one was dark skinned and wore a green shirt. He was taller than the younger man, the right build for an athlete, or perhaps even a soldier.
"Leave my brother alone," he said to the soldiers, kneeling at the boy's side.
"Brother? How does that work?" one of the soldiers asked.
One of the men came out with a racist term, causing Gekido to growl. His hand shook as one of the men kicked the older brother over.
"We are the authority here, not the supposed Queen of the moon, now I want you immigrants out of this district now," the commander snarled as he raised his club.
Gekido rushed at the soldiers, punching the commander across the head. The commander slammed his head against the pavement, falling unconscious. Gekido slipped into a feral fighting stance, his back slouched and snarls escaping his mouth. The other soldiers looked at him nervously before they ran at him. One tried to hit him with a club, but Gekido ducked and elbowed the man in the cheek. He rolled back, kicking two men in their necks. Gekido quickly jumped to his feet and broke off into a run, tackling one of the soldiers. The man's pistol clattered to the floor, sliding into one of the sewer drains.
"RACIST BASTARD!" Gekido yelled, viciously punching the man across the face.
He struck once, twice, his slow blows quickening into a brutal flurry. In his rage his hat and hood fell off, revealing his face fully to the terrified and battered man. Gekido's ears twitched as he heard the click of a gun's safety.
"HANDS IN THE AIR NOW!" the soldier screamed.
The feral pilot turned around, looking the man in the eyes. He braced himself, waiting for the coward's bullet. But the bullet never came, instead all eyes were drawn to a flash of steel and blue. A katana blade cleaved through the soldier's fingers, separating him from his weapon. Gekido looked at the wielder in astonishment, his eyes held a similar feral expression to his own. The purple haired man aimed the edge of the blade at the soldier's throat, smirking as the man's legs shook.
"Since when did OZ begin amending trade agreements that had been made before they arrived here?" the man obviously wasn't looking to have the question answered. "And since when was it deemed acceptable to harass local businesses? I'll tell you when, never, not by your leaders and certainly not by mine. Take your wounded and leave, and only come back if you're ready for a real fight," the man growled.
The soldiers picked up their commander and the man Gekido had battered. He turned to the swordsman as they left, watching the man cautiously.
"Ready for a fight then?" the man asked.
Gekido snarled, a part of him eager for another brawl. But he knew that if he got serious and faced an opponent bigger than him then he would risk reopening his wounds. After all the effort Loran and Sochi had taken into helping him, he wasn't about to jeopardise that.
"Gekido Jaeger!"
He widened his eyes, turning around to meet a familiar face. Their encounter had been brief, but she had actually been the reason why he knew of Orb's deep space mission. She stood wearing brown slacks and an aviator jacket, which hid her athletic…form.
"Helen Jackson," Gekido said.
She was an Orb pilot, an attractive woman with tanned skin and short orange hair. A scar decorated the bridge of her nose, while her lips were coated red.
"Gekido Jaeger, that is you isn't it?" she asked, picking up his hat and slapping his shoulder.
"What are you doing here?" Gekido asked.
"Good to see you too, your looking good for a dead man," Helen smirked.
"And you look like you'd be better off on a magazine than a mobile suit," Gekido retorted.
"Charming as ever I see, or is that your idea of flirting?"
"You ain't my type."
"Too bad," Helen said sarcastically.
"Helen, who was that man that helped me?" Gekido asked.
Helen walked to Gekido's side, handing him his cap.
"That was Gym Ghingham, leader of the Moonrace's space fleet, he donated a very large amount to our deep space project," she explained.
Gekido put on his cap and began helping the African boys clean up their stool.
"We've transferred the stock you requested to a shuttle Miss Jackson," the older brother said.
"Thank you Eric, I'm sorry I didn't get here sooner," Helen sighed.
"They would have harassed us anyway, they probably would have been worse, despite Treize's right hand being a woman these Romefeller foundation dogs don't have much respect," Eric explained.
"Still I should have been here to do something."
"Your regret is unnecessary, but appreciated, these days not too many people try to help us," Eric looked at Gekido, who was checking his younger brother's knuckles.
"Try not to over exert that hand, no heavy lifting or anything," Gekido said.
The boy nodded in thanks and Gekido stood up, brushing the dirt off his trouser leg. He put his hood over his head and put his hands in his pockets. Gym had disappeared and Helen would no doubt tell her superiors about this meeting. He stopped as Helen latched onto his arm.
"Come on, explanation time, you can use that cash to buy me some coffee," Helen said, dragging Gekido towards a nearby café.
Gekido let out an exasperated sigh as he sat at one of the tables. Helen applied another layer of lipstick to her mouth, looking in her make up mirror. The waiter bought their cups to them, including a cake Helen had also asked her.
"So what brings you here Gekido?" Helen asked.
"I'll tell you so long as you tell me why you're here," Gekido said.
"Well our ship needs supplies, we're dealing with several sponsors in this area."
"So your actually going through with it, the deep space mission is happening?" Gekido asked.
Helen took a sip from her cup before she answered.
"Even with the war we were still able to establish contracts with multiple sponsors including Anaheim electronics and the Vist foundation. Charity organisations also supported us and even groups like Blue Cosmos," Helen explained.
"Blue Cosmos, why would you accept help from them?"
"Not every person in Blue Cosmos supports the anti-coordinator ideology, many still follow its old environmentalist path. It was these people that donated towards the research that has provided our ship with an Arc reactor," Helen smiled as Gekido widened his eyes slightly. "That's right, the very same generator that powered the Purpose and the Nenshou Kokoro is being used to fuel the next generation of deep space travel. A generator that draws power from UV light and converts it into energy, the Purpose used a small prototype based on designs found in deepspace, whilst the Trailblazer, our ship uses a larger generator, together with a series of Minovsky particle generators to not only power the facilities of the ship but recharge our mobile suits," she explained, sipping her coffee.
She reached into her pocket, removing a white handkerchief. Gekido nervously pulled his head back as Helen wiped the blood from his knuckles. He didn't mind the gesture but he wasn't used to the physical contact. True he and Lacus had been intimate, but Lacus was innocent and cute (something Gekido 'hated') but Helen was a different class of attractive. He coughed drawing his hands away from Helen's reach to drink his coffee. But he didn't swallow the brown liquid; instead he spat it onto the floor.
"Is that supposed to be coffee?" he stared at his mug in disbelief. 'Waltfeld would be pissed if he ever tasted this crap!'
"I drink it just to stay awake really, so what are you here for then?" Helen asked.
"I came here for answers, I remember from conversations with my dad how advanced the Moonrace was, how their queen used advanced cyrogenics to maintain her youth. But I come here and I see such a 'primitive' design in their architecture, then there's these terrorists and their mobile suits, those Flats are jokes," Gekido explained, causing Helen to laugh.
"You've been here a day and your already getting into fights, and what do you need answers about anyway?"
"My past, my origin, what I am, I don't expect you to understand but before Jachin Due I was told something that made me question whether I'm really human," he lowered his head at the shocked expression on Helen's face.
"Your not kidding about that are you? Wow, a miracle really did happen at Jachin Due didn't it?" she asked.
"Miracle?"
"That's what the soldiers called it when you saved them from the effects of Genesis, the fact you united a force shows that your no ordinary man…hell you're a legend Gekido," Helen smiled.
"I'd rather be an ordinary man," Gekido muttered.
"No I don't think you would, I think your happy you are what you are, because if you were anything else you probably wouldn't have met the many people you've met," Helen explained.
"Maybe not," Gekido sighed.
She smiled and finished her coffee, putting her handkerchief on the table.
"Hey what about…"
"Keep it, consider it an excuse for us to meet again while we're both still here, also…try to get a shower some kind," Helen clutched her nose, smirking at Gekido's frown.
The woman walked away, leaving Gekido with the gift and the bill. Gekido placed some notes on the table and moved to walk away. He stopped and looked at the table again, eying Helen's handkerchief. Lifting the cloth off the table, Gekido blinked in confusion at the card hidden underneath. It was an electronic key/coupon for a hotel; 'Earth Light', it was an extremely expensive glamour hotel in the centre of the tow. Gekido was tempted to throw the object aside, but realised that Helen must have given this to him for a reason. Staying with Loran would eventually attract attention, perhaps from the 'freedom fighters' or OZ. He couldn't put them in danger but he needed a place to stay.
"This is that place," he muttered as he walked away from the café, pocketing Helen's gift.
"HEY GEKIDO!"
Gekido fell to the ground, looking at Sochi with fire in his eyes.
"DON'T SNEAK UP ON ME LIKE THAT!" he roared.
"Sorry Mr Kuzunagi, we were just glad to have found you," Loran said.
"Its okay, I'm glad to see you too, I just wanted to say thanks for your hospitality, but I don't intend on imposing on your family anymore," Gekido sighed.
"You're not imposing…"
"You don't need to convince me Sochi, I've found a place to stay anyway," Gekido took out the hotel card.
"Earth Light, wow the service there is incredible, and you've got the added room service," Sochi looked at the card, his eyes twinkling in jealousy.
"Maybe you two could go there together sometime," Gekido smirked as the two teens blushed.
"We could give you a lift there if you'd like, your bags still in the car anyway," Loran smiled.
"Oh my bag, I had completely forgot about it."
"We picked it up before saving you, although Loran had to carry it," Sochi said.
"What was in that bag?" Loran asked.
"You don't know?"
"No, it was so heavy but I couldn't feel anything resembling a weapon inside it," Loran said.
Loran's statement about not being able to feel a weapon in the bag only confirmed Gekido's suspicion. The white haired Moonracer definitely had experience with weapons. His disdain for violence wasn't as a civilian pacifist, and his athletic shape strengthened the idea that at some point he had been a fighter.
'A fighter that doesn't like fighting, it seems like a common contradiction amongst young pilots,' Gekido thought.
"So it's settled, we'll drop you off then, plus there's something we've got to show you at the centre of town," Sochi said.
Gekido followed, keeping his suspicions about Loran quiet. Every soldier deserved to enjoy peace. It was the politicians, the leaders that had to keep working even when the war was over. He mentally shook his head, he disapproved of Lacus's decision but the part of him that cared for her was glad she could find peace. Though that was something he vowed never to admit to her, if they ever saw one another again. Sitting in the car, Gekido thought of those he had left behind. Helen had been right, he wouldn't have met those wonderful people that he forged bonds with if he had been an ordinary man.
'I regret what I am, but not where it took me,' he thought, smiling as he remembered them all.
Kira, Lacus, Cagalli, Canard, Mu, Murrue, Vincent, Miguel, Casvall, Athrun, even you Natarle. Then the Meisters, the Gundam pilots that pushed the Purpose and me. Even Rau Le Creuscet, one of my most hated enemies has had an effect on me. And something tells me that I still have further to go, that there are still more people for me to meet and forge bonds with.
Gekido's smile lowered into a shocked gasp as the car got closer to the centre of town. Sochi poked her head out of the window, looking at the object in the centre of town in amazement. Even Loran looked at the object with a distant expression, as if he was caught in its gaze. Gekido knew what Loran knew, that the magnificent white doll stood in the centre of the town wasn't a simple statue.
"Artefact Turn A," Loran whispered.
Many saw a symbol of what there was left to discover on the moon, Gekido however saw the magnificent white and blue giant for what it was.
'A mobile suit, a very old mobile suit!' he thought.
Not only do I have more people to meet, but more secrets to discover.
Next Chapter 3: Opportunity
There we are people, chapter 3, I know we're slow on the action, or at least mobile suit action. There will be some mobile suit combat very soon, and the Purpose will appear within the next two chapters. Right now I'm establishing the characters and situations of the current arc as well as Gekido himself. Next time he'll settle into the hotel (who can guess what I named it after) and will give himself a new look.
Please tell me what you think of the new story.