Soldier's Return
A dark figure moved silently down the darkened, metal hallway. The dull sound of his footsteps was barely audible as he moved quickly and precisely, avoiding the laser tripwires and the eyes of the guards that were no doubt looking for him.
He paused at a three-way intersection, noticing a surveillance camera that was still active. A frown crossed his face. He tapped twice on the screen of the small computer module attached to his left arm. The screen blinked to life and within seconds he had hacked into the security grid. With every camera from his position to the hangar shutdown he could proceed with his mission. He smiled faintly, but distant voices behind him snapped him out of his self-congratulations. Quickly, he continued on his way.
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The figure halted a few yards short of the hangar. The light filtering through the space below the doors told him there were at least one, more likely several people inside. He quickly brought up a map of the hangar on his wrist computer. The control room was just to the left inside the doors. He could probably sneak in unnoticed, but he checked for another way in just the same. His map showed that if he went one hall to his left he could duck into a ventilation duct that came out over the control room. He decided that would be his method of entry.
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After crawling through and replacing the grate on the vent, the mysterious figure made his way to the vent directly over the control room. Seeing nobody in the room he dropped down silently and peered through the large, glass windows into the hangar. There were about a dozen mobile suits lining the walls, various repair and diagnostic automatons, and only two technicians. That would make his mission much easier. As he watched, one tech walked to the other. It looked like they were talking, but he couldn't make out the words. He cracked the door open just enough to hear the conversation.
"-to do this now. I'm going to get some sleep. Can you lock up?"
"Yeah, sure thing. I'm gonna finish up the repairs to this actuator first. Shouldn't take long. You go ahead and get out of here."
"Alright, thanks. See ya in the morning then."
The control room door closed silently as the technician walked out of the hangar. The dark figure smiled. Everything seemed to be going his way. He would finish his mission ahead of schedule.
Looking around the control room, he found a dirty, blue technician uniform and put it on over his stealthy black attire, which was now covered in dust and who knows what else from crawling around in the ventilation duct. He put the cap on, pulling it down over his eyes, and made his way toward the lone technician.
The technician turned his head when he heard footsteps behind him, but just smiled and went back to work.
"Hey, I thought you left."
He got no response, but finished what he was doing. He stood, wiping his hands on a rag and admiring his work.
"There. This one's ready to go."
"Thanks."
The technician turned at the sound of the unfamiliar voice.
"Hey! You're not - augh!"
A swift kick to the groin and a precise chop to the base of the neck sent the technician sprawling to the floor, unconscious. The figure quickly shed the uniform and climbed up to the open hatch of the mobile suit. After one last look around, he climbed in and brought up the main systems. The suit whirred to life and slowly started for the exit.
*Let's see what this ugly thing can do.*
Secrecy didn't matter so much anymore, so he lowered a beam cannon toward the closed door and fired. The resulting explosion rocked the entire base. In seconds alarms were sounding and sprinklers were raining down on the fires in the hangar.
Once the smoke cleared, the pilot could see the cold blackness of space waiting for him.
*Hmmm. Not bad.*
On the viewscreen to his right, he could see armed guards in space suits rush into the hangar. He paid no attention to them. They were no threat to him. The mobile suit's engines fired and rocketed into space. When he was at a safe distance the pilot took out a remote detonator and pressed the button. Explosions ripped through the base and tore the old resource satellite to shreds. The figure grinned widely as the base was turned to dust.
*Mission accomplished. Let's just hope the next one is that easy.*
He set the autopilot and relaxed in his seat. He'd put the suit through a few stress tests later, but now he needed some rest. He laced his fingers behind his head and closed his eyes as the autopilot steered him toward the Earth.
DISCLAIMER: I do not own Gundam Wing. If I did, I wouldn't have to put this disclaimer here. It is copyrighted by people who have a lot more money than I do. This was written for fun and for the fans of the series. All ideas concerning the storyline are mine.
NOTES: OK, so I never actually mention what the suit looks like, but it is ugly. Maybe I'll do a sketch if I have time. In one of the later parts I do give an idea of what it might look like, but nothing real specific. Just use your imagination.
Comments and criticisms are welcome. Please send them to HeeroWZero@hotmail.com and be sure to include your name so I can get back to you. Thanks for reading!