Disclaimer: I dont own Gundam
Gundam Rise Purpose
Chapter 3: Opportunity
Gekido said his good byes to Loran and Sochi, thanking them for their help. The farewell was short and tactless, mainly because Gekido felt that by some curb of fate he would meet them again. Fate seemed to have a habit of reuniting him with people that annoyed him, (Cagalli, Lacus and above all Kira being prime examples). Gekido whistled at how 'fancy' the hotel was. He seemed out of place amongst the rich teenagers and businessmen, but he didn't care. So long as he didn't run into anyone from his past he would be fine. He caught some of the girl's looking at him, intimidated by his appearance. Gekido removed the card from his pocket as he reached the desk. The receptionist was a skinny guy who reeked of eccentricity.
"The first class suite, it has a great view of the Turn A artefact as well as a hundred activity credits," the man explained.
"I'm not familiar with how this hotel works, this was a birthday gift you see," Gekido sighed.
"Oh, you must have some really good friends for them to turn over coins for the first class suite. It's an apartment sized room with a double bed and two single beds, a 4D entertainment system and simulator and of course the well equipped bathing facilities, your particular room also has an outdoor hot tub. Now the activity credits are what you can use to book activities, for example time in the gym, a massage and room service as well as a shuttle tour of the Heim's families mining facility."
Gekido put a hand to his chin, thinking that this was clearly a opportunity he couldn't miss out on.
"How much does the buffet cost?" he asked.
"Ten credits if you're going for the single serving," the receptionist said.
"How long is the accommodation paid for?"
"A week since check in time, the credits can also be redeemed for cash or additional days," he explained.
"How much cash?"
"Every credit costs ten dollars."
His eyes nearly bulged out of their sockets. Either Helen was very rich or she had been given a room by the Orb government.
'Great way to help the economy Cagalli,' Gekido thought.
"I'd like to check into the room now please, and have the kitchen send me up the Tai buffet," Gekido said, watching the receptionist swipe the card.
"Enjoy your stay sir, and just be sure to come to me if you want anything else."
Gekido shivered as he walked away. He didn't mind homosexuality, but an eccentricity to go along with it was a bit much.
'People can like who they like, but they've got to be who they are,' he thought as he entered the elevator.
The walk was short as people were either at the bar and pool or out looking at all the available activities for tourists. For a moment Gekido considered the tour, but he was here for a reason. He needed a place to stay and though ordering a buffet to himself wasn't keeping a low profile, he didn't want to get people hurt. Sochi and Loran would probably have trouble with OZ, they didn't need terrorists scouting their estate and finding him in the guest room. Gekido slid the card through the door and marvelled at his temporary home. It was comfort city, artificial light shined as if it was a sunny beach day, the air conditioning was just right and the smell was pleasant. In fact for the first time in a long time, Gekido noticed that he desperately needed a shower. He crashed onto the bed, looking up at a lifelike hologram of evidence-01.
'Kira, you once told me that Waltfeld once said evidence-01 was what started the fighting, 'proof that people could go further'. No the desire to fight has always been in our hearts, everyone has the ability to fight; alls they needed is the push to do so. War over hatred has existed since we humans walked the Earth,' he sighed, turning on his side.
Despite where he was he missed what he had lost. His family on Orb and the Archangel, and even the enemies he had spent his life fighting.
"Damn it, how pathetic can I be to mourn the loss of my enemies?" he wondered.
He spent the afternoon eating his food and working out. His fists flew at the air, imagining so many people he had struck. He pictured his brutal fistfight with Miguel and for a moment he experienced the rush and bliss of that fight. For a moment he could even smell the mobile suit fuel, feel the pain of Miguel's punches and hear the crunch of his shoes on the sand. He stopped; the sweat made his body shine and his panting was the only sound that could be heard. Stripping off his remaining clothes, he walked naked into the bathing room. It was the size of his bedroom and had a tub and shower. He ran through the cupboards, finding an assortment of gels and grooming products. The cupboards even had spray on dyes, colours that would specifically appear when in contact with hair and could be reversed by spraying it on again.
"Morning Gekido," Yamato said as he walked past Gekido's room.
"Morning idiot, please tell me it's a weekend," Gekido groaned.
"Of course, your mother's making pancakes."
"Don't worry I wont miss is!"
Gekido walked into the bathroom, dropping his jaw in absolute horror. His beautiful wolf like hair had been changed into an unforgivable colour.
"P-Pink! WHAT THE HELL!"
He turned to the doorway, finding his adoptive brother and sister giggling, the spray can still in their hand.
"I'm GONNA RIP YOU BOTH TO SHREDS!" he screamed.
Despite how angry he had been at the time, Gekido now laughed. He put the pink dye back in the cupboard and took out the brown hair dye. In a few short seconds his wolf mane was gone, replaced by dark brown hair, hair that was much darker than Kira's. Stepping into the shower, Gekido stood there; time becoming lost to him as the water ran down his body. He washed his hair and the rest of his body, images of the battles he fought flashing before his eyes. It was becoming an old, frustrating experience and it made him so angry. He slammed his hand into the wall, growling intensively.
"I suppose a journey to find out the secrets of the past will always bring up old memories, you cant put your past behind you when your searching for lost history," he sighed.
He stepped out of the shower and began drying himself off. Drying his hair, Gekido looked in the mirror and began altering his hairstyle. It still had a wild side to it, but it no longer spiked like it did in the Archangel. His hairstyle was now neatly combed at the back, reaching his shoulders, while the bangs touched his forehead, with some reaching past his eyes. Satisfied with his new haircut, Gekido smiled and walked out of the bathroom. He'd never felt cleaner in his life, it was a new day and anything was possible. For just this small moment he had forgotten all of his burdens.
'Today, life is good,' he sighed, content with his situation.
Drip!
Gekido raised his eyebrows, turning to the buffet table. Sat around the table, their hands and faces frozen in shock were four women. Gekido recognised one as Helen, who was holding a bowl of pork, the sauce dripping off the slice in her chopsticks. The women suddenly began giggling, causing Gekido to blush.
"WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING HERE!" Gekido yelled.
He grabbed the nearest cushion, using it to cover his lower regions. The four women continued to giggle as Gekido stumbled around for his clothes.
"You know Gekido when I slipped you that card it wasn't for a booty call," Helen smirked.
Her friends broke into fits of laughter, causing Gekido to snarl.
"I knew you had something planned, but sneaking in when I'm in the shower, what the hell!"
"It could have been worse, you might have walked in on us playing strip poker," Helen said.
"We were just starting to consider it you know," a brown haired woman said.
Gekido put on his pants and trousers, keeping his blush under control as the women stood up.
"Everyone meet Gekido Jaeger," Helen said, smiling as her friends gasped.
"Its Gekido Kuzunagi now," Gekido sighed.
"Nice to meet you Gekido, I'm Peggy, Peggy Lee," a blonde haired woman with grey eyes smiled as she offered Gekido her hand.
He shook her hand, turning to the red haired woman. She had a dark, natural tan to her skin that seemed out of place with the brightness of her hair.
"Kate Bush, it's a real honour to meet you," she blushed as he shook her hand.
"Mahalia, and like Kate said it's a real honour to meet you, we were all pretty inspired by your actions at Jachin Due," the brown haired woman explained.
"Were any of you there?" Gekido asked.
"Junko was there, she told us about your stand against the Omega Gundam, was it really as big as a battleship?" Peggy asked.
"I'd rather not talk about it," Gekido dismissed the respect and sat on the sofa.
Helen threw his sleeveless turtleneck onto his back. He put the top on and moved his bang, covering his right eye.
"So why exactly did you give me the card?" Gekido asked.
Gekido's eyebrows twitched in annoyance as the women continued to eat 'his' buffet.
"Well…I wanted…to give you a good gift…plus I wanted to recruit you for a job," Helen said in between her food.
She scooped some rice into her mouth and sighed in relief.
"Now that is delicious, they do great Tai food here, where was I?"
"You said you had a job for me," Gekido growled.
"Oh yeah, the Moon's political situation aside, Queen Dianna has been a tremendous help to us, granting us the opportunity to collect supplies here as well as recruits for the ship. The only thing she asks for in return is the opportunity to go to Junius Seven and pay her respects to the dead from the war," Helen explained.
Gekido nodded his head, not to accept the job but to show his understanding. Junius Seven was the orbital ring, a junkyard, though Gekido saw it as more of a graveyard as more often than not the ruins of ships and mobile suits would drift into the ring. Add to it the accidents that would occur with scavengers and pirate raids made it both a dangerous landmark and a fitting tribute to the fallen. But it was no reminder, as reminders often stopped people from repeating the mistakes of the past. That was Gekido's bitter view.
"You want to talk to Dianna, come with us and help guard her and maybe at some point you'll be able to find the answers you need," Helen smiled, offering Gekido her hand.
"It's going to be hard, me guarding someone as a pilot," Gekido said.
"Lucky for you we've got just the right equipment for you to use," Helen said.
Gekido smirked, he wouldn't reveal the Purpose's 'resurrection' just yet. He shook Helen's hand, also taking the blueprints she offered.
"The equipment we'll be using for this mission are the Genoace mobile suits, we've managed to secure you a Shalldoll. As you can see it's structurally simple and easy to use, this one has specifically been customised to account for your fighting style. We'll be taking the space shuttle Laura Rola, its been retrofitted with a launch catapult for our suits," Helen explained.
"What kind of trouble are we expecting?" Gekido asked.
"The usual pirates, but we've also heard of something else skulking around the orbital ring, Sensou's been so busy with conflicts on Earth such as the war in South America that they haven't had the time to track or eliminate whatever is destroying ships in the orbital ring. Reports are sketchy but we believe it to be some form of organised pirate gang, perhaps larger than the opportunists."
A sudden knock drew Gekido's attention away from the briefing. He opened the door, allowing the waiter to enter. The young man placed several plates on the table, his eyes wide at the sight of the four women. Gekido smirked as he heard the man mutter profanities as he left, calling him a lucky bastard. His smirk quickly fell as the four women began eating his serving of Sushi.
'Damn freeloaders,' he snarled.
"Now that's good," Peggy said, wiping her mouth with a cloth.
"Thanks Gekido," Mahalia smiled.
"I DIDN'T ORDER THEM FOR YOU!"
"Chill out, you still have plenty of credits left for the rest of our stay," Helen said.
"Good, wait the rest of our stay?" Gekido looked at the four women in confusion.
"We're going to be staying together," Helen smirked.
A blush crept across Gekido's cheeks, causing Helen and her friends to giggle.
"Your surprisingly innocent for someone as fierce as an animal," Mahalia laughed.
"Shut up, when's this job going to begin anyway and what's Dianna going to do about her people?" Gekido asked.
"She apparently has a plan of some kind, I think she has a body double or something," Kate explained.
"So let me get this straight, she's going to abandon her responsibility as a leader all so she can visit some grave sight that she could have visited before all this mess with her people started," Gekido huffed as he looked out of the window.
In times of peace a country would run itself, so long as the economy was stable and the population was content then it wouldn't matter whether they saw their leaders. But in times of war and strife people would look to their leaders. The Moonrace had Dianna, the Earth Alliance had the president (a person who Gekido didn't even know the name of because he was so inactive) and the Plants had Lacus Clyne. Gekido's hand shook in frustration, he didn't want to further his own goals whilst placing the moon in danger. But this was the only opportunity he had to ask Dianna the questions he needed to ask.
"All right I get it, I'm in then, just try not to eat all of my buffet," Gekido said, only for his jaw to drop as the four women wiped their mouths.
"That was delicious," Peggy said.
"I'm stuffed, lets not order anymore," Mahalia sighed.
"Yeah lets not," Gekido growled.
The women looked at him in confusion and for a moment they could have sworn electricity surged around the wide-eyed, angry pilot.
Legacy enjoyed dedication, especially from his men. They were all willing to die for him, for he was 'the will of Uragiri'. He preferred to be known as her successor, the one whom surpassed her in everyway. But his men didn't care, alls they had was him to follow and they would follow until death. They had helped him to set up a temporary base in the heart of the sewer drainage system. Any waste in the colony would be dropped here, and it was the last place the stuck up higher class of the Moonrace would try to look. The masked man worked at a table with his shirt off, his back turned to his men. He assembled various primitive pieces of technology, connected them to volatile substances that would have been toxic to any ordinary man. One of his men rushed to his side, standing at attention.
"Give your report," he said, not turning away from his work.
He placed the finished explosive on the table, piling it with the hundreds of others he had completed. Wiping his hands with a towel he turned to the man.
"Our allies have come, they wish to discuss the mission," the officer said.
"Let him through," Legacy showed only mild interest, turning his attention back to the explosives.
He began assembling another improvised bomb, not needing to turn to know who graced his presence. Legacy could practically smell the fear emanating from one Mr Heim. He stood out of place amongst the tough mercenaries and fanatics, though it wasn't his class that separated them. Even the most foolish soldier in Legacy's forces would have known to have bought a gun in the presence of a man like him, or more appropriately not come here at all.
"Mr Heim, what do you need?" Legacy asked.
"I think we should scrap the mission," he said.
Legacy paused, putting down the explosives. He put on his coat and walked in front of Mr Heim. The man's legs shook but he seemed firm in his decision.
"This is the only way to help your people, the Moon changes and your company takes over, this is the best thing, or would you prefer me to follow the philosophy of your fellow rebel?"
"No, he's mad to even think of total war, I just want the Romefellar foundation out, I want my family safe. Dianna will be leaving, but she needs someone to rule the moon as she would, there's only one person on this colony who could convince the people she's Dianna," he explained.
"And you fear for her?" Legacy asked.
"Yes I do, that's why I want out, we are scrapping the mission, I wont put innocent people in danger," Mr Heim said.
The masked man sighed as he placed his hand on Heim's shoulder.
"Too bad, but the mission was going to happen without your support anyway," he said.
Heim widened his eyes as he looked up at the masked man.
"I gave you the Ex-Artefact, that was worth a small fortune to mars!"
"And you think that obligated me to help you, wrong man I'm afraid, the strong dictate the terms and they say when it is over," Legacy grabbed Heim's neck.
"You're a monster," he gasped.
"By necessity!"
Grabbing the side of Heim's head, Legacy gave it a sharp twist, breaking the rich man's neck. He let the body fall unceremoniously to the floor as he turned to the man that allowed Heim to enter.
"Take the body and put it somewhere people can see it, make it so that the Earthnoids blame the Moonracers," he said.
"Yes sir," his man didn't question the order and Legacy had no doubt that the man would do exactly as he was told.
The resulting chaos would only further his own plans.
Nights at the hotel were difficult, at least that was the conclusion Gekido came to on his first night. The women snored, but that wasn't the worst of it. He refused to sleep on the double bed with Helen and Mahalia (he knew no other man would say that) Peggy and Kate took the remaining beds and that left Gekido with the sofa.
'Thousands of credits and they cant even afford a built in sofa bed,' Gekido groaned as he adjusted his pillow.
Perhaps taking a bed with Mahalia and Helen would have been a good idea.
'Wait, that sounds a bit perverted,' he blushed.
He rested his head back, thinking of the fights he'd be getting in the orbital ring. Guarding Dianna would bring him closer to his goal, but he knew that no matter how good the double would be Dianna leaving would no doubt result in the opportunists taking advantage of her absence.
"They'll know, somehow they'll know," he said.
"WOULD YOU GO TO SLEEP ALL READY!" the girls yelled.
Gekido fell off the sofa, flames blazing in his eyes as the girls looked at him in disapproval.
The next day, Gekido dressed and waited for the women in the lobby. They came down the stairs, kitted in day out clothes and makeup, making the men around them blush. Even the 'eccentric' receptionist whistled and clapped his hands in approval.
"You are one lucky man," he said.
"Shut up," Gekido growled.
To further Gekido's embarrassment, Mahalia took him by the arm and dragged him out of the hotel. A limo was waiting at the entrance, its windows tinted black. One of the doors opened and the group climbed in. Gekido's cheek pressed against the window as the women climbed in.
"Sit in another seat damn it," he snarled.
"You can all sit next to me if you want ladies!"
Gekido turned away from the window, looking at the man sitting in the seat in front of him. He wore white clothing, with black gloves. His hair was pure white and seemed as wild as Gekido's had been, matching the man's wolfish grin.
"Yo, good to see you again Gekido," the man said.
"Woolf Enneacle, the race car driver?" Gekido asked.
"Hey, you know I'm a pilot now, racing was too boring for me," Woolf grinned.
"So your also part of this mission, I get it now, you and that pretty boy friend of yours are also on the deep space mission aren't you?"
"Hey, that pretty boy's a father now," Woolf said.
"Do you expect me to congratulate him?"
"Ha! Gekido you haven't changed one bit, good to see you again, and…I'm sorry about what happened to your family," Woolf and the Shrike girls lowered their heads as Gekido squeezed his fists.
"Its all right, the people that did it are dead anyway," Gekido said.
"I trust you made them feel it?" Woolf asked.
"No, one of them, a friend of mine sought atonement, so he killed them and probably himself," Gekido sighed.
"Shit, you can't have a regular day can you?"
"What's regular?" Gekido asked.
Woolf chuckled at Gekido's attempt to joke. The limo drove them to the launch sight of the Laura Rola. It looked big enough, not as big as the Archangel; then again the Rola was a luxury vessel, not the warship the Archangel was. Crowds had gathered at the launch site and for a moment Gekido wondered if his suspicions about people knowing had been right. Those suspicions changed when the crowd started cheering as Woolf exited the vehicle. He put on a pair of shades and walked down the red carpet. Gekido shook his head before covering his face with his hood.
"Come on, try to look like your having a good time," Mahalia said as she took him by the arm.
"I'd rather look like a bodyguard," Gekido grunted, shrugging Mahalia off.
Mahalia sighed, causing Helen to pat her shoulder. Gekido walked close to Woolf, looking at his surroundings. He spotted Loran and Sochi in the crowds. Though surprisingly he didn't see Sochi's sister with them. That and Loran and Sochi didn't seem to be on the best of terms, for one thing Sochi wasn't jumping up and down trying to get his attention.
'Then again you've dyed your hair,' Gekido smirked.
Perhaps the disguise was working better than he imagined. The only reason the Shrike team knew was because they had expected him to be at the hotel and Woolf probably knew he would accept the job. But the sooner he found a replacement eye patch or a cybernetic eye the better. Everyone seemed to relaxed with the current situation, though the mobile suit force of the Moonrace terrorists were ineffective against skilled pilots in Leo's, it wasn't how quickly the rebels would be put down that scared Gekido, it was how severe OZ or perhaps the Romefellar Foundation would be in putting the rebel force. The moon colony was a small community and probably wouldn't survive a full-scale battle.
'Why do you care so much about this colony?' Gekido wondered. 'Your reading too much into it, nothing spectacular is going to happen to this place…what am I kidding, nothing spectacular was supposed to happen to Heliopolis but it did, I'm sure nothing spectacular was supposed to happen to Junius Seven but it did, but why do you feel responsible?'
He looked at the palm of his hand, squeezing it into a fist. The images of a crumbling Heliopolis and the bodies inside Junius Seven flashed before his eyes.
'Is it because you feel like you can stop those disasters? Or because as a weapon, your responsible for the destruction?'
He walked on, the vein on his forehead popping as Woolf signed autographs and stopped to shake hands. The girls were posing for cameramen, looking like classic models. Their actions made Gekido question their worth as soldiers, how could women that stunning be good soldiers.
'Cagalli was reasonable…wait a second, am I thinking of Cagalli as attractive, Kira mistook her for a boy…then again he's an idiot,' Gekido sighed.
His eye scanned the crowd, despite his cover he was no security expert but he saw quite a few fans with old pictures of Woolf when he was younger. Some even looked like personal photos from a few years back, of a younger Woolf stood next to a boy with green hair and a yellow jacket. There were quite a few men on the side Helen's friends walked on. They were mostly teenagers, word had probably gotten around that four sexy women were walking down the red carpet. Gekido even spotted a pervert trying to grab at Helen's breast. She proved just how much of a soldier she was by punching the man in the head.
'Wow, Helen really is sexy,' Gekido grinned as the woman huffed and walked away from the unconscious cameraman.
"Come on guys, Woolf we've got a schedule to keep," Helen said.
"Just one more minute," Woolf said.
The man grinned as he removed the permanent marker pen from the back of a woman's shirt. Her friends squealed in delight at the cartoon Woolf drawn on the shirt. Gekido cast Woolf an unbelieving look as the man continued walking down the carpet. Woolf gave one final wave to the crowd before they entered the shuttle. Once the doors were closed, Helen went into her leadership form.
"Have our mobile suits prepared for full combat, I especially want the Shalldoll finished. Send word to the captain and tell him we're ready to launch, also inform our guests of the areas they are allowed to enter, keep them in the briefing room," Helen explained to a passing crewman.
"Yes ma'am," he saluted respectfully before running off.
"How many times did you have to hit that guy to show him respect?" Mahalia asked.
"Only once, he stopped trying to catch a peep at me in the shower after that," Helen grinned.
"I like a woman who takes charge, although I've heard Gekido had aggressive training techniques too," Woolf nudged and winked at Gekido.
"Gekido, come with me," Helen said.
"Wow that was quick!"
"ITS NOT ABOUT A BOOTYCALL!" Gekido yelled.
Gekido followed Helen down the corridor, shooting a glare at Woolf (who was still winking at him). He kept his head low as he noticed a few Orb mechanics and officers running past them. Helen opened the door to one of the briefing rooms and stepped inside. Gekido looked at the screen they had displayed, showing a list of ship names, a few Gekido recognised as Alliance.
"What's this about? Why are we really going to Junius Seven?" Gekido asked.
"You're a sharp one, we're doing a favour for Queen Dianna, but in actuality we're working on behalf of Sensou's commander Vincent Rach to eliminate the forces working inside Junius Seven," Helen explained.
"You report to Vincent?"
"Of course, the Shrike team are all members of Sensou after all," Helen smirked.
Gekido cursed under his breath, his hands on the verge of shaking.
"Its okay, I haven't told Vincent that I met you, my friends wont say anything either."
"Why didn't you tell him?" Gekido asked.
"Because when I met you on the streets it was obvious you didn't want to be found, your friends are starting to move on with their lives, so you didn't want to reopen old wounds. Murrue Ramias is working under a new name as a technician along with Andrew Waltfeld, Kai has opened up his own restaurant, and he's actually quite successful now. Athrun Zala is also under a new identity and is working as a bodyguard for Cagalli," Helen explained.
"Bet that's not all he's working as," Gekido huffed.
"Not every loving relationship involves sex you know," Helen sighed.
"They're teenagers that just survived a war!"
"Point taken!"
"Anyway, how is Vincent?" Gekido asked, awkwardly rubbing his head.
"He's fine actually, fitting quite well into the role of a leader, he's already gained the loyalty of several fine pilots and organisations," Helen said.
"All that without having to punch someone," Gekido smirked.
"Yeah, anyway we'd better get ready to meet with Queen Dianna," Helen smiled as she removed a case from her pocket.
She slid the case across the table, just fast enough for Gekido to grab it. He opened the case and smiled, removing his hood as he removed the object inside. It was a metallic black eye patch with the kanji symbol for rage on it. Tying the patch around his eye he nodded his head to Helen.
"Now you look much better, less likely to hit someone," Helen said.
"Better find a new one then," Gekido growled, causing Helen to laugh.
A few seconds passed before Woolf silently entered the room. He sighed in relief, wiping beads of sweat from his forehead.
"Thank goodness, I thought I'd come in and find Helen on top."
"ITS NOT A BOOTYCALL!" Helen and Gekido yelled at Woolf.
He rolled his head back and laughed, even as the door opened. Helen stood to attention whilst Gekido cast a careful eye at the new entries. He recognised one as that Ghingham guy and for a moment his heart blazed with excitement. The man looked ready for battle, holding two katanas on his belt. Behind him however was someone who made Gekido's eye flare in anger. She was wearing a white Orb uniform as a disguise but she didn't fool Gekido. Her skin was pale, but it was the blonde hair that gave her away. She looked exactly like Sochi's sister.
"So that's your game," Gekido growled.
"Excuse me?" Dianna put a hand to her chest, taken aback by the aggression in Gekido's voice.
"Damn coward, damn idiot," Gekido snarled.
His fist slammed into the table and Woolf reached for the gun in his jacket. He hesitated, unwilling to turn his gun against someone he respected. Gym however had no such qualms. He drew one of his swords and grinned from ear to ear.
"We might as well celebrate the launch of this mission with a battle," Ghingham laughed in delight.
He pulled the second sword on his belt and threw it to Gekido.
"Go on, let loose your fighting spirit!"
Gekido clutched his head and time seemed to slow for him. He saw the katana floating towards him, as if they had already left the artificial gravity of the colony. The image of the Katana continually faded between several faces. Uragiri, her merciless grin as she kissed him, abused him in a way no one should be abused. Brian, his evil laugh, then his despaired expression right before the gunshot. He saw Kira at first alone but then finding happiness with Flay. Lacus alone and confused, then her eyes clear on her goal as she led a revolution. He saw the crew of the Archangel overcoming their doubts, one soldier after another defying orders to help him and finally Vincent.
He swung his arm around, batting the sword aside with a glare fixed on Ghingham. Images of the people he had fought flashed before his eyes. He'd fought as a beast in nearly every encounter. But his final battle with Miquel had been in perfect clarity, he wanted to face every opponent like that from now on. No more tantrums like the one he threw at the shuttle port. That was his silent vow and with the best of his abilities he would see that done.
"There are bigger things at stake here than whatever crap reason you've got for leaving your people and getting Sochi and Loran involved. I'm gonna expect answers from you 'your majesty' but right now, I've got a job to do and I'm gonna see it through," Gekido explained, squeezing his hand into a fist before walking out of the door.
Dianna trembled softly, the ferocity of this man was like an animal and it made her think of the masked man. Gym trembled for a very different reason, even though Gekido had rejected his challenge his respect for the man had deepened. More than ever he wanted to meet Gekido in battle. Helen smiled at where the sword now rested, rejected by its would be wielder. When she'd told her second in command Junko and her mentor Oliver about finding Gekido, they questioned whether she'd be able to control him. It was clear now that he ability to command didn't matter, because Gekido would always do what he knew in his heart to be right before letting his fighting instincts overcome him. He was a berserker but more than that he was a Gundam pilot through and through. Gekido floated to his bedroom, he'd check out this Shalldoll Helen talked about later; right now he wanted to sleep.
(Snore!)
Gekido's eyebrow twitched, for he was sharing a room with the Shrike girls. While some men wouldn't believe his anger, they hadn't yet heard their snoring.
Next Chapter 4: Valentine graveyard
Hope everyone enjoyed the chapter, I had considered Gekido and Gym actually getting into a fight but I figured it would be senseless (too senseless for even Gekido :) Also I hope I got the portrayal of the Shrike team members right, I was trying to establish the fact that they're a bunch of stunning but very strong women in both their independance and their characters. Anyway next time the raiders (or perhaps raider) in Junius Seven is revealed.