"Hey, Rain!" Allenby chirped, looking perfectly satisfied to see her one- time rival.
"Um, hi." Rain replied. "Did you need something?"
"Well, I wanted to talk to Domon, but talking to you is good too." Allenby hesitated a minute and rumpled her already unruly aquamarine hair. "Listen, I'm sorry about what happened the last time I saw you, about fighting you-"
"It's all right." Rain hastened to assure her. "It wasn't your fault. You were under the influence of DG cells."
Allenby, for the first time that Rain could remember, looked pensive. "I know, but I've been doing a lot of thinking since the Gundam fight. I have to take responsibility for my actions." Her eyes cut directly to Rain. "Are you sure you want to forgive me? I tried to kill you. And then there was that whole mess with Domon…"
Rain gave her a sympathetic smile. "It's all right, Allenby, really. Now, what did you call about?"
"Are you two going to the next Tournament?"
"Yes. Domon's training right now."
"Word of advice? Be careful."
"Why?" Rain asked, taken slightly aback. If anyone had ever demonstrated that they could come through a crisis reasonably intact, it was she and Domon.
Allenby looked uncomfortable. "I've been traveling around some, and I've heard some things… I'm sure you already know about the tensions in the colonies, and on Earth?"
"Yes, go on." Rain urged.
"Well, I've only heard rumors, but… there's talk going around. About conspiracies and stuff like that. People are leery of foreigners, and there's a lot of resentment. People in other colonies are resentful that Neo- Japan won, and they're starting to say that Neo- Japan was responsible for the Dark Gundam in the first place and shouldn't be rewarded for it by getting to rule space. People on Earth are resentful because the Thirteenth Tournament was even more damaging than usual, and they're getting tired of Gundams coming in and destroying their homes. So it's a bad atmosphere. Just- watch your step, okay?"
"Yes, sure. You too, Allenby." Rain said distractedly. She hadn't known things were as bad as all that. Something occurred to her. "Allenby, why were you traveling around? Surely your government would want you as their fighter again?"
"Well, I needed to work some things out. Besides, Neo- Sweden was boring. And those military people wanted to start refining the Berserker System again, so I took off. And since the Nobel Gundam was in such bad shape, they decided to give me a new one, so they wanted me to try that out too- that's what I'm doing now." She smiled eagerly. "Tell Domon I want to spar with him as soon as we get to the Tournament, okay?"
"Sure." Rain replied. "Bye, Allenby."
"Bye."
Rain sat back and weighed her feelings. There was no longer any jealousy. Instead, Rain felt sympathy, mostly. She could imagine how horrible unrequited love must be. And, now that Domon wasn't an issue, she liked the girl. Allenby wasn't all that bad, really.
She got up and decided to watch Domon as she waited for him to get through with his training. There would then be time enough to tell him what Allenby had said.
*
"What do you mean, they're still in prison?" Nastasha angrily demanded.
"Argo Gulskii failed to win the Gundam Tournament." the bored official on the other end of the line told her. "Therefore the Neo- Russian government is under no obligation to free his crewmates."
Nastasha's eyes narrowed. "Surely his exemplary conduct in the Thirteenth Tournament, not to mention his service to not only the nation, but the world, in defeating the Dark Gundam was not taken into account?"
"I can't tell you whether it was taken into account or not." the man replied. "What I can tell you is that it doesn't matter. The government has decided to keep those men in case they need them again." His voice turned sympathetic. "I can tell you that they'll treat them relatively well, since they have a use for them."
"Who else can I talk to?" Nastasha demanded.
The man sighed. "I'll get you my supervisor."
*
Four hours later, Nastasha had finally gotten somewhere. "You do realize that not only did Argo Gulskii represent our nation with befitting dignity, strength and courage, but that his actions directly resulted in the destruction of the Dark Gundam? And that the destruction of the Dark Gundam, in turn, saved your life? Saved everyone's lives?"
"Look, lady, the decision has been made to keep them. I could countermand those orders, yes, but you don't have any idea how much trouble that would get me in. Losing my job would be the least of it. Just drop it. As long as the higher- ups see a use for Gulskii's crew, they'll keep them prisoner. There's no way you're going to get them free, unless you win this next Tournament. That's all I can tell you." the official told her.
Nastasha slammed down the phone without even an attempt at a goodbye. She knew the Neo- Russian government well enough to recognize the truth in the bureaucrat's words. The only way to get Argo's comrades free would be to win the Tournament.
She stalked down the halls to Argo's cell, hell- bent on delivering a fire- and- brimstone motivational speech. If they won the Tournament, Argo and his comrades would be freed, she would be promoted, and the lives of everyone would be better. Everything hinged on this.
Next chapter, it begins! Cake to LivEvil and cookies to anyone who decides to review! Word of caution, though; I'm winging it here. So things are kind of uncertain. La. Yeesh, this thing is only sixteen chapters? Feels longer. Maybe because it's taken me so long to get this far. Eh heh… Anyway. You know the drill. Thanks for reading, please review!