Disclaimer: I do not own the copyrights to Gundam Wing, Endless Waltz, or Episode Zero. All Copyrights belong to their respective owners.
Reader's Note: This is a re-post.
Gundam Wing Episode Zero:
Johan Peacecraft Rodriguez
Part 2: B.O.M. Before Operation Meteor
Year: A.C. 195
"Alright Johan." Kenda began, "Let's go through it once more."
Johan sat at the black baby grand piano with his hands above the black and white keys. He raised them like a professional pianist commanding silence from the audience. His hands came back down onto the keys and began to play Fur Elise. He played the first few bars of the sheet music set up in front of him. He played with the precision that's been taught to him in his years as a piano student.
Soon he was reading to a stop point in the middle of the bridge of Fur Elise, the stop point was marked by a pencil line that came through the left and right cleft bars. Johan played up to that point and stopped, he took his hands back and rested them on the piano stool.
"Very nice." Kenda complemented
"Yeah." Johan smiled, "I've been working on the peddling and it seems to make the music flow a little nicer."
"That's something I haven't noticed until you brought it up."
Johan smiled again with his smile that seemed to glisten like ice on a lake in the early morning of winter.
"But," Johan began, "I'm still having a little trouble with the bridge of this song."
"Well," Kenda explained, "You're not exactly advanced enough to play that part of it. But don't worry, one day you will."
"I'm already advanced enough to play Adagio Cantabile."
"True, but the Cantabile is a little slower than Fur Elise so there's a little more time to think about where to go from each point. Although Fur Elise required a certain amount of speed in order to play the middle part."
"It's a bit hard to believe," Johan pondered out loud, "that Beethoven wrote this piece for his niece. She must have been extremely advanced for this one."
"She was." Kenda smiled and asked, "By the way, how are you doing with the violin?"
Johan sat at the black stool for the piano, "I'm getting good, but as you told me the violin is one of those instruments where it's wonderful to listen to but it's a pain to learn."
"Isn't your birthday coming up?" Kenda asked
Johan got up and gathered up his sheet music and books and stuffed them into his canvas bag that was colored green. He was about to leave his lesson since it was already finished.
"That's right." Johan said
"How old will you be?" Kenda asked as Johan sat down on one of the couched near the piano.
The room that they were in was the music room of Kenda's home on Colony L-7. The outside of the house was much like any kind of good house in a rural suburban area, a lawn, a backyard, a one-car garage, and a few trees. Last of all was the black piano that could be seen from the sidewalk through the window of this one floor and basement home.
Johan sat on the couch in the music room and thought about how old he would turn on his birthday. It would be on September 18, which would be about a few days from the present moment.
"I will be 17 on the 18th." Johan stated
"You're really growing up aren't you Johan?"
"I guess so." Johan smiled
"Well, keep working on the beginning part of Fur Elise and make it a little smoother. And also keep working on the exercises."
"I will." Johan smiled as he walked out the door and to the sidewalk and began to walk home with his canvas bag swaying back and forth. As he walked out onto the sidewalk he looked up at the sky or at least the ceiling of the colony and watching the artificial clouds in the sky.
"I wish I could see the sky and the clouds on Earth." He thought
He told Kenda his piano teacher that he was walking home, but he was actually walking to his training studio. The training studio was a place that Johan would go to everyday to train himself physically. He had already mastered martial arts from Master Long, who would come to Colony L-4 to check on Johan's progression. Johan had begun training in the martial arts ever since he could walk.
But in his induction to the martial arts Master Long had asked Johan to grow a ponytail. Because most of Master Long's clan had a ponytail, But Johan respectfully refused and Master Long understood and continued to train him in the martial arts. Now all that Johan needed was to perfect his skills, as well as some more of his other skills like escaping, acrobatics, piloting, and computer skill. All this was to add up to his training to be a Gundam Pilot.
The training studio was hidden from the citizens of the colony. Not even Johan's piano teacher Kenda knew about its existence nor did she know that he's a Gundam in training. Only those involved in Operation Meteor knew about this place.
Johan went up to the steel wall of the colony. He came to this same point along the wall in which a small red rose bush was planted along the line of other colored rose bushes. The wall was away from the city within the colony, to make sure that no one would find it.
Johan looked left and right to make sure no one was around. No one was around. He reached his hand behind the rose bush being careful as a gardener not to be pricked by the thorns. And his hand felt a round button; he knew what to do next. He pushed it in and a doorway on the surface of the wall began to open.
Johan looked from left to right again and behind him to make absolutely sure that no one was there or watching. And there was none. He walked into the pitch-blackness within the doorway. When he looked over his shoulder all he saw was the rectangular shape of light in the darkness and the door closed.
When the door closed the lights came on, and what Johan saw was what he saw every time he came here. A large gymnasium like atmosphere with mats, training equipment and practice weapons of all kinds.
In the center of all of this was Master Long along with a member of his clan that was dressed in white with a think ponytail down to his waist.
"Shall we begin, Johan?" Master Long asked
"Yes." Johan answered setting his canvas bag aside.
True though he had mastered martial arts and his training as a Gundam pilot was nearly complete but his skills still needed to be maintained. And this is why Master Long visits this colony.
Johan walked out onto the mat and took his shoes off like being in a fight of some underground club with the rules being no shirts and no shoes. Johan took his fighting stance while his opponent did the same thing and Master Long went to the sidelines to watch and judge Johan's skill.
Johan looked at his opponent in the eyes as if staring him down.
"Begin!" Master Long commanded.
The fight began in it's own way, a stand off between the anonymous fighting partner and Johan himself. Each of them at either sides of the mat looking at each other waiting like praying mantis for the other to make their move.
The fighting partner made his move; he dashed across the mat against Johan. But Johan crouched down and then as his fighting partner came at him, Johan leaped into the air. It was like a trapeze artist swinging from handle to handle. Johan flipped in mid air and came back down on the mat. The partner spun around to find Johan behind him and he dashed and made his attack while Johan blocked each of his attacks. Other attacks he dogged them until at one point when the partners fist flew over Johan's head, Johan landed his fist into the partners abdomen. The partner coughed and landed on his back grasping his stomach in pain.
The partner fell over on the mat and Johan stood above him and was about to bring his foot down on the partner's chest. That is until Master Long called out.
"That's enough!" he called
Johan stopped and bowed to his partner and to Master Long.
"Walk with me, Johan." Master Long asked
Johan didn't say a word; he walked along with Master Long through this hidden compound within the colony.
"You fight well, Johan." Master Long complemented, "But there is something that you need if you wish to be a member of our clan."
"What is that, Master Long?" Johan asked
"Mercy. The ones that you will fight are not necessarily evil, Johan. But rather they are the result of evil. Although you have something that a protégé student of mine doesn't have."
"What is that?"
"Integrity."
"Integrity, Master Long?"
"Yes, you are true to yourself, you believe in yourself, you won't lie to yourself, and I know that you won't betray yourself to anyone or anything."
"I do hope so Master Long, if I am going to pilot this Gundam Dragon."
Master Long bowed his head, "Remember to come back and keep your skills sharp as a knife Johan."
"I understand Master Long." Johan bowed as he went back to the wall where his canvas bag lay.
G
On his way back home he stopped by the University, which was Colony L-7 University (an obvious though not too clever of a name). And sitting on the grassy hill between the Student Union Building and the Classroom building was Johan's bride to be Amara. Amara Yumi, she was lying down in the grass reading a copy of St. Augustine's "Confessions". It was a book of philosophy in which it talked about the relationship between man's free will and the nature of time.
Johan walked up to Amara and lay down next to her.
"You've been training hard again haven't you?" Amara asked with a lingering smiled from under the book.
"How can you tell?"
"You smell like it." Amara laughed
Johan began to develop a very displeased look on his face at the insult but then he smiled knowing Amara's sense of humor. Because he remembered that same day when he met her in spilling his morning orange juice all over her. It wasn't exactly the most ideal way to meet someone but that's how this turned out. Even when Johan helped her clean up by offering his home for her to help. After she did get cleaned up he did try to offer her a drink, he went through a list in his head.
Tea? He had asked
No. She said
Coffee? He suggested
No. She said again
Orange Juice?
Her face looked at him in confusion and it hit Johan directly.
Perhaps not. He said
It was this meeting that brought him and Amara together and that is how these two are lying on this lawn under the artificial light and clouds of Colony L-7.
G
After this small part of the day spent with Amara, Johan thought that he should go by the mobile suit production to see how the Gundam is coming along. He went to the same place where he entered to make that small sparing session with Master Long and one of his students.
But this time Johan walked past the training area and he went through the maze of catwalks within the colony to where the Gundam was being made. And Johan came to it, he began to smell that same motor oil odor mixed with the sweat of dozens of workers and technicians.
He walked up to it, the Gundam Dragon. It was nearly complete; on some parts it was hollow to show the inner wires and Gundanium beams of the Gundam. But it's face, Johan looked, the face was complete. It's green shinning eyes seemed almost alive in the fluorescent lighting, even though it wasn't turned on inside.
As Johan looked up at this Gundanium statue he heard a voice.
"Johan." The voice called
Johan looked and saw Paul Ian, the technician foreman. He came down the catwalk to Johan while looking up at the Gundam.
"What do you think of it?" Paul asked
"It's a real beauty." Johan complemented
"Hey, it has to be." Paul shrugged while wiping the grease on his hands with a small handkerchief he had in his oil stained white jumpsuit, "You're the one who drew up the plans."
Johan thought back and remembered the training mission that was set up, he went from colony to colony and stole the plans of the other Gundams that were involved in Operation Meteor. Even though there was no sixth scientist, and there were no rebel citizens' on Colony L-7. But there was a Peacecraft family member, and that was Johan's mother. At the time that she had died so many years ago, Johan's mother asked her only son to go to Earth and someday rebuild his heritage, the Sank Kingdom. That was when his father introduced him to Operation Meteor.
Johan's father, Han Rodriguez, found out that there were rebel citizens on the other colonies and they were planning to upraise against the Earth Sphere Alliance. Along with that they were also building superior mobile suits called Gundams. So, using some connections, H. Rodriguez brought the best technicians together to build a Gundam. All that was needed was the plans, and that was Johan's job, to steal them. Johan was only 10 years old at the time.
Johan thought about these things when he looked into the lifeless face of the Gundam.
"Right Paul." He said
Paul looked back up at it and admired it and he explained what needed to be done, "We just need to fix up the few holes in it. Then we'll work on the cockpit and last of all you're beam gattling. That's the last thing that needs to be done."
"How long do you think it'll take to finish it?" Johan asked still looking at the Gundam
"About a few more days." Paul answered and whistled at it, "Boy, I'd love to pilot this thing."
"I'm not sure if you can take the stress of it."
"Why do you say that?"
"The way this thing is designed, for someone like you to pilot it you'd probably suffer heart failure from the G-forces as well as G-lock. But don't take it the wrong way Paul."
Johan walked over and laid his hand on his shoulder, "You're one hell of a technician. And that's what's helped me make this Gundam."
"Thank you, Johan." Paul smiled, "Well, I'll get back to work."
G
September 18;
Johan stirred in his bed, it was early morning at his home. The artificial light of the colony came through his window and his face began to bask in the glow of it. But that was not the thing that woke him up. The thing that woke him up was a smell; it was the smell of breakfast. Eggs cooking in butter, the sweet hickory smell of bacon in its own fat. And last of all, coffee the sweet aroma of coffee. It could remind someone of some kind of Folgers Coffee Commercial where people wake up with bright smiling beautiful faces just by the smell of this company's coffee.
To Johan however, it didn't matter which company made it, it was just the coffee itself that he liked. He rose out of bed and rubbed his eyes and looked out the window of his second floor room to see the quaint houses in his neighborhood. He had forgotten that it was his birthday, but he was thinking that it wouldn't be too long until Operation Meteor would begin.
Johan rose out of bed still in his pajama's and he came downstairs to where the smell of breakfast was even thicker than from his own room. And there he saw his dad making breakfast, Han Rodriguez (whose ethnicity was Spanish), Johan's father was a tall man with short black hair and brown eyes. His skin was remarkably dark, a shade of tan that could only be obtained if one were either of Spanish origin or stayed in the sun a great deal of time. Han was always a big breakfast person, even though Johan wasn't exactly a breakfast person. Han would usually say that he gets that from his mother along with Johan's eyes.
Johan walked into the room and the first thing that his dad said to him was, "Happy Birthday, Johan. How old are you? 21?"
Johan smiled while scratching his head, "I'm 17."
"Damn." Han smiled, "that mean's I'm going to have to cancel the keg and the strippers."
Johan laughed, it was a great way to start his birthday since he would be starting Operation Meteor soon.
Johan looked and saw the eggs, bacon and sausage cooking, "You didn't have to do that dad." Johan said, "You know that I usually cook."
Han smiled a smile that was like Santa Clause without his beard, "Hey, it's your birthday Johan. You know what they say all work and no plays makes you a dull boy."
"Yeah." Johan agreed as he sat down at the small dining table near the kitchen, "I have been working a lot trying to prepare my missions for Operation Meteor."
"You can't work too hard." Han said, "If you work you're whole life you won't have time to live."
It was a profound thought to Johan; then again his dad was full of those kind of profound thoughts.
"Right, dad." Johan smiled
Han came over with two plates, both of them with good servings of Scrambled Eggs, Sausage, and Bacon. It was one of those breakfast meals that would make you full just looking at it. But that wasn't exactly it, Han also came back with two mugs of coffee and a couple of glasses of orange juice.
"Oh my." Johan said softly looking at the small feast of a breakfast laid before him.
Han and Johan sat down at the table together. As they ate Han was about to tell Johan something.
"Johan." Han began
"Yeah dad?" Johan said
"You know, your mother asked me to promise her not to give this to you until you're old enough to fit into it."
"What's that?" Johan asked wondering what it could be. He already knows that he's a descendant of the Peacecraft monarchy, but what else would he need or need to know?
Han left the table and he was gone for a few minutes. And while he was gone, Johan slowly ate his Birthday breakfast. And then his father came back with a black garment bag over his shoulder.
"This is what your mother wanted me to give to you when you were older." Han explained as he lifted the garment bag and unzipped it.
Johan rose from his seat and went to his dad and looked into a bag. He saw a coat, a black, green and gold jacket. It looked to Johan like something that a French Aristocrat would wear. Below it he could see a little of the black pants that would go with this.
"This Johan." Han explained, "Is a uniform that is worn by those of the Sank Kingdom. And this is yours. Your mother made it before she died. She guess on what you would be like when you were old enough for it. So, here try it on."
Johan took the bag and went to the other room and took off his pajamas and took out the garments from the bag. He slipped on the pants, the undershirt, the vest, the overcoat, the cummerbund and the ascot. And he came back and he looked at his dad and he had to ask him.
"How do I look dad?" He asked
"You look like…" Han paused, "The right man for the Sank Kingdom."
"But dad." Johan said mournfully as he sat down, "Something has occurred to me, wouldn't be a bit wrong of me to be the ruler of the Sank Kingdom since I'll be a Gundam Pilot?"
"Sometimes Johan, you must fight for a belief even if it means going above what you know."
Johan began to look puzzled, "What do you mean dad?"
Han smiled that same beardless Santa Clause smile; "You'll know when the time comes, my son. Happy Birthday, Johan Peacecraft Rodriguez."
Han outstretched his hands and Johan walked into them and the two of them hugged, father and son.
"I'm proud of you my son. You're truly blessed. Let me tell you something, it's a jungle out there, you gotta look out for number one." He paused again and it came, "But don't step in number two."
Johan giggled and laughed, it's something that his father would do a lot. But even though there is this warmth and comfort it feels as though something was missing, gaps in his heart that wants to be filled. It's his mother, without his mother the couple of parents was missing. Although hat didn't matter at the moment because Johan didn't feel alone with his father as well as his fiancé, Amara Yumi. Loneliness is the thing that he fears the most.
But he would have to endure being lonely and being on his own if he were to be a Gundam Pilot. Otherwise he may as well renounce the suit and give up all hopes of restoring the Sank Kingdom. Then he would have to face something worse than anything, letting down his mothers dying wish. That is something he can not allow.
To be continued…
Author's Notes: This is where I wanted to show a little bit of Johan's family or at least what he knew on his home colony before he embarked on Operation Meteor. I did model Johan's father a little bit out of my own imagination, I always imagined Johan's father to be someone who was wise yet fun loving. Plus this is the calm before the storm that is to hit Johan like nothing else.
Come back again for the conclusion of Episode Zero