Kai and Sayla were keeping close to their television. The last hours had
been grueling, even though they were in the safety and comfort of their
living room in the palace, not participating in the battle themselves.
When the announcement was aired that Solomon had been re-taken by Jion,
they sat quietly, not knowing what to feel. Less than a year ago, they had
been the ones winning the asteroid for the Federation, and now the tables
had turned again, as had their allegiances.
"You know the General Revil must be on its way," Kai said.
"We might be being bugged," Sayla warned.
"Of course. I figure that isn't anything Thelma and Louise don't already know." "Thelma and Louise" were Kai's nicknames for Cima and Kishiria.
Their doorbell rang and Sayla went to answer it. To her surprise, it was Kishiria, trailed by Hamaan who was carrying the queen's helmet. Kishiria strode in nervously, then stood twisting her wedding band as she spoke.
"I thought you should hear this from me, and I need to take a break anyway...Char was wounded in that battle, very badly. I don't know the extent of his injuries. The worst are in his right lung and kidney. He came through surgery, but Captain Duarte says it was a near thing, that they even lost him once." Kishiria rocked on her heels a little. "I'm going to see to Ti-Cas now; Maria says he's been crying nonstop since his father was hurt. I...just thought you should know." She turned around and walked back out.
Sayla collapsed down onto the couch and Kai put an arm around her. "I just want this to be over," Sayla whispered, "but I know it isn't."
Kai held her close and said nothing.
#####
Gato was napping in the pilot seat of his Zaku when Iserina joined him. He opened his eyes when she gasped out his name.
It took a moment for him to realize what had upset her so. He looked down at the blood on his normal suit and said, "Don't worry. None of it's mine."
"Oh. Good. Why don't you change into a new one, then?"
Gato shook his head. "I'm going to wear it until this is all over, to remind me."
"Jion drama queen," she said. Gato sniffed in indignation and she went on, "So is there anything I should know about before I start servicing this baby?"
"The left arm took a direct hit just above the arm joint."
"I saw that. The patch is already on."
"Otherwise, I think we came through."
"In that case, I'll get started. Here." Iserina handed him a plastic box. "Eat. I'll take care of the rest." She turned to the outside, then looked back in and said, "This is the first time I've seen the Royal Cuauhtemocs' mobile suits up close. Are they trying to be a carnival attraction or what?"
Gato took out some raw vegetables and started to munch on them. "Don't let them hear you say that. The paint jobs all have some kind of sacred significance."
"I know one is supposed to represent the quetzal bird, and another has all sorts of glyphs on it. But what about the suit with the Aztec warrior and the big-breasted woman?"
"Oh. That guy was just being perverse. He says it gives him the advantage of surprise, though. I'm sure it works, too."
"No kidding."
"There's four ships inbound from the Federation," Gato said conversationally as he pulled out a sandwich and peeked at the inside.
"I know, we've been briefed. Don't worry, I can work perfectly well under pressure." Iserina started running a diagnostic. She had been working five minutes when Octavio Duarte Gonzalez pulled himself up onto the platform. Iserina saluted, he returned it, and Duarte poked his head into the cockpit.
"Gato? You going to take this suit out again?"
"I was planning to. Why?"
"Berrigan in 4th team needs a suit. His lost a leg and he doesn't think he can manage without it for balance. I was thinking, you should take General Char's Gelgoog. It used to be yours, you know it, and you're too good a pilot for this old pre-war thing anyway."
Iserina's expression darkened, but she said nothing. Gato was silent in thought for a moment.
"You know this is Garma Zabi's Zaku," he said to Duarte.
Duarte nodded. "I had the privilege of fighting beside him, once, down in the Yucatan. He was our honourary commander in chief you know, like the queen is to the marines. I'll make sure Berrigan treats it with respect, cause if not," he grinned wolfishly, "I'll skin him and wear his hide like a cape."
"You do that." Gato leaned down and removed the photo of Garma and Iserina from the console. He shot a cable over to the nearby Gelgoog and floated over. Iserina joined him a second later.
"Anavel..."
"Yes, I know this feels like adultery," he said. "I'm not sure against whom, but it does. It can't be helped. Duarte's perfectly right, this used to be mine and it is a superior machine. I'll be more comfortable and more efficient. Char won't be able to use it anytime soon, unfortunately."
"I know you're right," Iserina said. She watched as he restored the photo to a comparable spot in the cockpit, then went back to service the Zaku.
It was several more hours before the small Federation fleet appeared. On the General Revil, the crew was in normal suits and at battle stations. Amuro sat in the cockpit of the Columbia, fiddling with the computer. This time last year, he would have been fighting with Bright and noisily bemoaning the injustice of the world. Now he realized that things weren't right, and probably never would be, but at least he had his Gundam. If nothing else, he could take pleasure and pride in its improved magnetic coating which made flying it like riding within a graceful fish, its controls which reacted along with his New Type brainwaves though not completely run by them, and its lighter, more effective armour. He could honestly say that the Columbia felt like an extension of his own body, and he liked that.
Strangely, that thought led to memories of Lalla. She'd fought in the Elmeth for love of Char, and Amuro suspected she wouldn't have approved of Amuro's enjoyment of the Columbia. Amuro felt his eyes tearing up. He knew that much of his absorption in the machinery was to keep from thinking of her, especially at night when he was always tempted to imagine what it would be like to have Lalla lying beside him.
"Amuro, are you ready to make a sortie?" Frau asked from the bridge.
"I just need a minute to close up the console."
"You know Bright doesn't like you tinkering this close to battle."
"Bright's not the techie. I am, and I know what I'm doing." Amuro finished the procedure. "There. I can run a diagnostic to make sure everything's functioning."
"Fifteen minutes."
"That's plenty."
Solomon was one battle White Base had missed. Amuro felt as if they were returning for unfinished business. After this, perhaps it would finally be over.
Two hours later, the small Federation fleet closed on Kyonpei Island. Their orders were to engage the Jion fleet with the objective of forcing them to surrender at a moment when their victory was far from decisive. Ships and mecha met each other again in space.
When Amuro launched, he only had eyes for one enemy. As ships fired at one another and he engaged one Jion mecha after another, he was constantly searching for his nemesis, his dark twin. Char Aznable.
Amuro closed his eyes and searched for him. He was there, Amuro could sense it. Something was wrong, though. His presence was feeble, wavering. Amuro opened his eyes again as a Dom flew at him, beam rifle flashing. Amuro nimbly launched the Gundam out of its way, allowing the Dom to hurtle below him. Amuro bounced off a piece of debris at a Zanzibar, using one of his sabers to take out two of the main guns.
That's when his attention was seized by a patch of red growing larger in his camera's sights. His heart leapt as he recognized it as a scarlet Gelgoog. Amuro sheathed the saber and reached for his rifle...
Char wasn't in it. It was as if the Gelgoog's cockpit was empty. Amuro shook his head. The enemy pilot was head-blind. Rage filled him as he realized Char had sent out a decoy. Amuro finished the grab for his rifle. Sorry, Mr. Decoy, you shouldn't have let Char use you like this, he thought. Time to die for your stupidity.
He fired and the Gelgoog deflected the beam with deft shield work. Amuro was startled. Maybe the pilot wasn't a New Type, but he or she still flew like one.
Inside the Gelgoog, Anavel Gato grinned. The Gundam! Providence had given him a chance to fight the newest Gundam. Now he could avenge Char Aznable's fall in battle as well as do something the Red Comet had never succeeded in doing.
Gato fired his own beam rifle. He scored what would have been devastating hits on the arm and chest, but there was some kind of protective coating on the Gundam. This was not going to be easy, and perhaps only a close-in, direct blow would do. Gato holstered the rifle, drew a beam sword, and charged.
Amuro decided he'd stand and fight, knowing that a GM would be no match for this pilot. It was his responsibility to take him out. As soon as the Gelgoog was close enough, beam sabre in hand, Amuro let loose with the Gundam hammer, taking the pilot by surprise. The ball-and-chain weapon whipped around the Gelgoog's wrist and Amuro drew it in, vulcan cannons firing.
"Dammit!" Gato knew he'd stepped into that one. He pulled his second sword and cut the chain, hitting his thrusters in reverse as he did so. He was lucky; none of the vulcan's shots had done more than take out one of his auxiliary cameras, but it had taught him a lesson all right. He dodged behind a piece of debris, fired his rifle once over it, considering his next move.
Amuro continued after him. The other guy was probably kicking himself, he figured. This was just going to have to be a classic mano-a-mano. He aimed his beam rifle at the debris behind which the Gelgoog had hidden and fired. The chunk of ship's hull exploded, but the Gelgoog was no longer there. It appeared at Amuro's side, grabbing his right arm, punching at the Gundam's head with its shield. Amuro found himself being shaken around like a loose nut inside a nutshell, and his cannons weren't having any effect against the shield. Wishing he could knee the Gelgoog in the groin like a human opponent, he resorted to grabbing his own beam sabre and swiping at it instead. The sabre tore a strip off the side of the Gelgoog, not deep enough to be debilitating, but enough to shake off the pilot again.
The Gelgoog only pulled back a short distance this time and fired its rifle squarely at the Gundam. Amuro watched as most of the Gundam's left arm, including the shield, came off and went flying away behind him. There was no time to retreat though; he'd just have to keep fighting while presenting a narrow side profile to the other pilot.
Gato fired his rifle twice more, only scoring glancing blows. The Gundam came at him with sabre in hand, so Gato responded with a sword. It was more equitable this way, he thought, dueling like medieval swordmen as the battle raged on around them. This pilot was preternaturally swift, and he wondered if this was one of those New Types.
The Gundam's sword entered the field of vision no longer covered by the camera Gato had lost. Next thing he knew, the Gelgoog had also lost an arm. Gato took advantage of a pause in the Gundam's motion to retreat a short way again.
At this rate, the two mecha would slowly carve each other to bits, with it being anyone's guess who'd reach a cockpit first. No matter who won, they'd have done it at the cost of machine and weapons. He was going to have to be creative rather than merely aggressive.
Gato got an idea. He opened a channel to one of the Royal Cuauhtemocs.
"Magadan! I need you! Come up on the Gundam's port side!"
Amuro sheathed his sword and reached for his beam rifle. The Gelgoog was starting an approach again, a rifle in its one remaining hand. It was coming head-on, giving a wide target. Amuro aimed....
And he jumped as a weird-looking Zaku hove into view on his injured port side. It was painted matte-white, its head like a skull. Its body was mottled with black polka-dots Amuro had to tear his eyes away from this nightmare image, but he did so just as a flash of white light from the oncoming Gelgoog filled his viewscreens.
Amuro stayed in the light, but soon realized he wasn't alone there.
Lalla?
She stood before Amuro, eyes shining joyfully, her yellow dress flowing in the wind. She extended her hands to him.
Finally, we can be together in peace, she said to Amuro
Will New Types always have to die to be free of war? he asked.
Not if we can help it, Lalla answered. I'm so glad you've returned to me. The others will listen to us when we speak in their dreams.
I love you, Lalla, Amuro said, and they flew off together, free at last.
#####
On Side 3, Kai fell off the couch onto his knees. Sayla let out a muffled cry into her hands. She closed her eyes and began sobbing. Neither she nor Kai were paying attention when the Federation gave the order to retreat, having decided the attempt to take back the asteroid was too expensive. The General Revil retreated along with the two ships remaining.
In the war room, Kishiria was nursing her son under a blanket when she received the request for a cease fire. Her Majesty graciously accepted and requested a peace accord. Her head had begun to ache, and her baby was fussy. Cima and Hamaan were hugging each other and jumping up and down, but Kishiria just wanted a cup of herb tea and some rest.
On Solomon, Gato and Magadan exited their suits to loud applause. Gato smiled widely at the Neo-Aztlan pilot.
"I will NEVER laugh at your paint jobs again!"
"My Zaku represents 'cocolitzli'. Plague. I spread death through the Federation like a disease!" the tall, mustached pilot exclaimed. Gato grabbed him around the neck and hugged him.
As soon as his boots touched the floor, Iserina Estenbach came racing over to Gato, throwing herself in his arms. "You did it!" she shrieked, making him wince a little. "You killed the pilot who helped kill Garma! Oh Anavel, thank you!"
"Maybe you can move on, now," Gato suggested, hugging her back. She nodded against his shoulder.
"¡Víva la pesadilla de Solomon!" Duarte yelled, pouncing on Gato as well. "What you do now?"
"Now? I'm going--" Gato paused dramatically, "--to take a shower. I've been in this normal suit for days." He smiled at Iserina. "I'm in no condition to have dinner with a lady."
She beamed at him and squeezed him around the rib cage again.
#####
Kishiria Zabi appeared on Solomon three days later to greet her triumphant soldiers and oversee the handover of Federation troops to their own side. She strode down a red carpet in an undamaged docking bay, flanked by her loyal troops on either side. Chin up, mask raised, black cloak flowing behind her, she felt like a conqueror as she made her grand entrance. At the end of the carpet was a podium where Kishiria faced her troops, lowered her mask, and smiled a very real smile of happiness as she gazed at them.
"Loyal soldiers," she began, "today is one which shall live forever in our history. On August 15, 0069, my father Degin first declared that we were the Kingdom of Jion. Today, we finalize his dream and that of Jion Deykun. Not only have we declared our independence from the Federation, and our distinct society away from the people of Earth, we have clearly demonstrated our superior power over them by re-taking what was rightfully ours.
"Nonetheless, today is also a day of sorrow as we commemorate our dead and pray for our wounded. As I watched this battle, I was greatly moved by the courage and intelligence with which you all fought. If any proof of our superiority was ever needed, you have provided it most brilliantly. For this, I thank you.
"Now the peace process begins. This is the stage in which I will be most involved as I go to Luna to negotiate recognition and trade with the Federation. If history grants me any stature for this, it is only because I have been lifted up by your efforts. A monarch cannot legitimately rule above and apart from the citizenry, and I would never want to. You have given me, and the people you swore to protect, the freedom to soar upon the wings of eagles.
"Sieg Jion!"
Kishiria's white-gloved fist shot into the air. Beside her, Captain Duarte seconded the gesture and the cry echoed from hundreds of throats, filling the high-ceilinged cavern of a room.
"Sieg Jion! Sieg Jion! Sieg Jion!"
Kishiria stepped down from the podium and was escorted to a small car. From there, she was taken to the hospital to greet the wounded and distribute Jion Cross decorations. For this, her helmet and gloves came off and the mask went down. She went from bed to bed, followed by Hamaan, squeezing hands in her own and handing out the medals. Cameras flashed around her, preserving her for posterity as a regal yet maternal figure, the mother of her country.
The mother was also a concerned wife, though, who finally had the chance to speak to Char's doctor. "We gave the Prince Consort a room to himself," the surgeon said. "We thought you'd want some privacy. I won't lie to you, ma'am, he's a badly injured man. We had to take shrapnel out of his upper abdomen and chest. It missed his heart and bowels, but he's lost his right kidney and lung. His right leg was also took a multiple fracture and he's in a cast."
"What are his chances?" Kishiria asked softly.
"He's in critical but stable condition at least. He's young and strong and his lady wife is here. He was calling out for you earlier."
Kishiria swallowed deeply and entered the hospital room. Char was on an oxygen mask. Both his arms had IV hookups, one for blood and another for various clear liquids. The blankets were to his waist and above them he was bandaged to his armpits.
She pulled a chair up to the bed. His hand was cold, his skin so pale it was almost green. He smelled of antiseptic and dried blood. Kishiria reached out to touch his mind and felt the bliss of morphine blocking out the awful pain in his torso and leg.
Char's blue eyes opened and focused groggily on her. "Kish..."
"Ssh. Don't try to talk. Save your strength." Kishiria's throat tightened and her eyes filled with tears.
"You're here. We won?"
"Yes, sweetheart. We won. We couldn't have done it without you."
"Why cry?"
Kishiria sniffled. "Because you're hurt." She stroked his hair, which was sticky with sweat. "Because I love you, Char. Don't die on me."
"I won't," he promised weakly and drifted off into sleep. Kishiria kissed Char's forehead and took her leave.
#####
"What happens now?" Kai asked. He and Sayla were sitting in one of the enclosed gardens of the palace, a bottle of wine between them. They had been drinking to Amuro's memory, wishing this moment of grief could have been shared by more than just the two of them.
"We've sealed our fates," Sayla said. "We stay here. We finish university finally. We find jobs, settle down, and hope that we won't be outsiders."
"I think we're doomed to that," Kai said. "You seem to keep forgetting, Sayla, your brother's Prince Consort. Your sister in law is the Queen. You're a princess. We're not going to have a normal life ever, no matter how hard we try."
She sighed. "I'm sorry, Kai."
He shook his head. "I made my bed, I'm going to lie in it. It'll be tolerable, as long as I'm lying in it with you."
Sayla took his hand and pressed it to her cheek.
"You know the General Revil must be on its way," Kai said.
"We might be being bugged," Sayla warned.
"Of course. I figure that isn't anything Thelma and Louise don't already know." "Thelma and Louise" were Kai's nicknames for Cima and Kishiria.
Their doorbell rang and Sayla went to answer it. To her surprise, it was Kishiria, trailed by Hamaan who was carrying the queen's helmet. Kishiria strode in nervously, then stood twisting her wedding band as she spoke.
"I thought you should hear this from me, and I need to take a break anyway...Char was wounded in that battle, very badly. I don't know the extent of his injuries. The worst are in his right lung and kidney. He came through surgery, but Captain Duarte says it was a near thing, that they even lost him once." Kishiria rocked on her heels a little. "I'm going to see to Ti-Cas now; Maria says he's been crying nonstop since his father was hurt. I...just thought you should know." She turned around and walked back out.
Sayla collapsed down onto the couch and Kai put an arm around her. "I just want this to be over," Sayla whispered, "but I know it isn't."
Kai held her close and said nothing.
#####
Gato was napping in the pilot seat of his Zaku when Iserina joined him. He opened his eyes when she gasped out his name.
It took a moment for him to realize what had upset her so. He looked down at the blood on his normal suit and said, "Don't worry. None of it's mine."
"Oh. Good. Why don't you change into a new one, then?"
Gato shook his head. "I'm going to wear it until this is all over, to remind me."
"Jion drama queen," she said. Gato sniffed in indignation and she went on, "So is there anything I should know about before I start servicing this baby?"
"The left arm took a direct hit just above the arm joint."
"I saw that. The patch is already on."
"Otherwise, I think we came through."
"In that case, I'll get started. Here." Iserina handed him a plastic box. "Eat. I'll take care of the rest." She turned to the outside, then looked back in and said, "This is the first time I've seen the Royal Cuauhtemocs' mobile suits up close. Are they trying to be a carnival attraction or what?"
Gato took out some raw vegetables and started to munch on them. "Don't let them hear you say that. The paint jobs all have some kind of sacred significance."
"I know one is supposed to represent the quetzal bird, and another has all sorts of glyphs on it. But what about the suit with the Aztec warrior and the big-breasted woman?"
"Oh. That guy was just being perverse. He says it gives him the advantage of surprise, though. I'm sure it works, too."
"No kidding."
"There's four ships inbound from the Federation," Gato said conversationally as he pulled out a sandwich and peeked at the inside.
"I know, we've been briefed. Don't worry, I can work perfectly well under pressure." Iserina started running a diagnostic. She had been working five minutes when Octavio Duarte Gonzalez pulled himself up onto the platform. Iserina saluted, he returned it, and Duarte poked his head into the cockpit.
"Gato? You going to take this suit out again?"
"I was planning to. Why?"
"Berrigan in 4th team needs a suit. His lost a leg and he doesn't think he can manage without it for balance. I was thinking, you should take General Char's Gelgoog. It used to be yours, you know it, and you're too good a pilot for this old pre-war thing anyway."
Iserina's expression darkened, but she said nothing. Gato was silent in thought for a moment.
"You know this is Garma Zabi's Zaku," he said to Duarte.
Duarte nodded. "I had the privilege of fighting beside him, once, down in the Yucatan. He was our honourary commander in chief you know, like the queen is to the marines. I'll make sure Berrigan treats it with respect, cause if not," he grinned wolfishly, "I'll skin him and wear his hide like a cape."
"You do that." Gato leaned down and removed the photo of Garma and Iserina from the console. He shot a cable over to the nearby Gelgoog and floated over. Iserina joined him a second later.
"Anavel..."
"Yes, I know this feels like adultery," he said. "I'm not sure against whom, but it does. It can't be helped. Duarte's perfectly right, this used to be mine and it is a superior machine. I'll be more comfortable and more efficient. Char won't be able to use it anytime soon, unfortunately."
"I know you're right," Iserina said. She watched as he restored the photo to a comparable spot in the cockpit, then went back to service the Zaku.
It was several more hours before the small Federation fleet appeared. On the General Revil, the crew was in normal suits and at battle stations. Amuro sat in the cockpit of the Columbia, fiddling with the computer. This time last year, he would have been fighting with Bright and noisily bemoaning the injustice of the world. Now he realized that things weren't right, and probably never would be, but at least he had his Gundam. If nothing else, he could take pleasure and pride in its improved magnetic coating which made flying it like riding within a graceful fish, its controls which reacted along with his New Type brainwaves though not completely run by them, and its lighter, more effective armour. He could honestly say that the Columbia felt like an extension of his own body, and he liked that.
Strangely, that thought led to memories of Lalla. She'd fought in the Elmeth for love of Char, and Amuro suspected she wouldn't have approved of Amuro's enjoyment of the Columbia. Amuro felt his eyes tearing up. He knew that much of his absorption in the machinery was to keep from thinking of her, especially at night when he was always tempted to imagine what it would be like to have Lalla lying beside him.
"Amuro, are you ready to make a sortie?" Frau asked from the bridge.
"I just need a minute to close up the console."
"You know Bright doesn't like you tinkering this close to battle."
"Bright's not the techie. I am, and I know what I'm doing." Amuro finished the procedure. "There. I can run a diagnostic to make sure everything's functioning."
"Fifteen minutes."
"That's plenty."
Solomon was one battle White Base had missed. Amuro felt as if they were returning for unfinished business. After this, perhaps it would finally be over.
Two hours later, the small Federation fleet closed on Kyonpei Island. Their orders were to engage the Jion fleet with the objective of forcing them to surrender at a moment when their victory was far from decisive. Ships and mecha met each other again in space.
When Amuro launched, he only had eyes for one enemy. As ships fired at one another and he engaged one Jion mecha after another, he was constantly searching for his nemesis, his dark twin. Char Aznable.
Amuro closed his eyes and searched for him. He was there, Amuro could sense it. Something was wrong, though. His presence was feeble, wavering. Amuro opened his eyes again as a Dom flew at him, beam rifle flashing. Amuro nimbly launched the Gundam out of its way, allowing the Dom to hurtle below him. Amuro bounced off a piece of debris at a Zanzibar, using one of his sabers to take out two of the main guns.
That's when his attention was seized by a patch of red growing larger in his camera's sights. His heart leapt as he recognized it as a scarlet Gelgoog. Amuro sheathed the saber and reached for his rifle...
Char wasn't in it. It was as if the Gelgoog's cockpit was empty. Amuro shook his head. The enemy pilot was head-blind. Rage filled him as he realized Char had sent out a decoy. Amuro finished the grab for his rifle. Sorry, Mr. Decoy, you shouldn't have let Char use you like this, he thought. Time to die for your stupidity.
He fired and the Gelgoog deflected the beam with deft shield work. Amuro was startled. Maybe the pilot wasn't a New Type, but he or she still flew like one.
Inside the Gelgoog, Anavel Gato grinned. The Gundam! Providence had given him a chance to fight the newest Gundam. Now he could avenge Char Aznable's fall in battle as well as do something the Red Comet had never succeeded in doing.
Gato fired his own beam rifle. He scored what would have been devastating hits on the arm and chest, but there was some kind of protective coating on the Gundam. This was not going to be easy, and perhaps only a close-in, direct blow would do. Gato holstered the rifle, drew a beam sword, and charged.
Amuro decided he'd stand and fight, knowing that a GM would be no match for this pilot. It was his responsibility to take him out. As soon as the Gelgoog was close enough, beam sabre in hand, Amuro let loose with the Gundam hammer, taking the pilot by surprise. The ball-and-chain weapon whipped around the Gelgoog's wrist and Amuro drew it in, vulcan cannons firing.
"Dammit!" Gato knew he'd stepped into that one. He pulled his second sword and cut the chain, hitting his thrusters in reverse as he did so. He was lucky; none of the vulcan's shots had done more than take out one of his auxiliary cameras, but it had taught him a lesson all right. He dodged behind a piece of debris, fired his rifle once over it, considering his next move.
Amuro continued after him. The other guy was probably kicking himself, he figured. This was just going to have to be a classic mano-a-mano. He aimed his beam rifle at the debris behind which the Gelgoog had hidden and fired. The chunk of ship's hull exploded, but the Gelgoog was no longer there. It appeared at Amuro's side, grabbing his right arm, punching at the Gundam's head with its shield. Amuro found himself being shaken around like a loose nut inside a nutshell, and his cannons weren't having any effect against the shield. Wishing he could knee the Gelgoog in the groin like a human opponent, he resorted to grabbing his own beam sabre and swiping at it instead. The sabre tore a strip off the side of the Gelgoog, not deep enough to be debilitating, but enough to shake off the pilot again.
The Gelgoog only pulled back a short distance this time and fired its rifle squarely at the Gundam. Amuro watched as most of the Gundam's left arm, including the shield, came off and went flying away behind him. There was no time to retreat though; he'd just have to keep fighting while presenting a narrow side profile to the other pilot.
Gato fired his rifle twice more, only scoring glancing blows. The Gundam came at him with sabre in hand, so Gato responded with a sword. It was more equitable this way, he thought, dueling like medieval swordmen as the battle raged on around them. This pilot was preternaturally swift, and he wondered if this was one of those New Types.
The Gundam's sword entered the field of vision no longer covered by the camera Gato had lost. Next thing he knew, the Gelgoog had also lost an arm. Gato took advantage of a pause in the Gundam's motion to retreat a short way again.
At this rate, the two mecha would slowly carve each other to bits, with it being anyone's guess who'd reach a cockpit first. No matter who won, they'd have done it at the cost of machine and weapons. He was going to have to be creative rather than merely aggressive.
Gato got an idea. He opened a channel to one of the Royal Cuauhtemocs.
"Magadan! I need you! Come up on the Gundam's port side!"
Amuro sheathed his sword and reached for his beam rifle. The Gelgoog was starting an approach again, a rifle in its one remaining hand. It was coming head-on, giving a wide target. Amuro aimed....
And he jumped as a weird-looking Zaku hove into view on his injured port side. It was painted matte-white, its head like a skull. Its body was mottled with black polka-dots Amuro had to tear his eyes away from this nightmare image, but he did so just as a flash of white light from the oncoming Gelgoog filled his viewscreens.
Amuro stayed in the light, but soon realized he wasn't alone there.
Lalla?
She stood before Amuro, eyes shining joyfully, her yellow dress flowing in the wind. She extended her hands to him.
Finally, we can be together in peace, she said to Amuro
Will New Types always have to die to be free of war? he asked.
Not if we can help it, Lalla answered. I'm so glad you've returned to me. The others will listen to us when we speak in their dreams.
I love you, Lalla, Amuro said, and they flew off together, free at last.
#####
On Side 3, Kai fell off the couch onto his knees. Sayla let out a muffled cry into her hands. She closed her eyes and began sobbing. Neither she nor Kai were paying attention when the Federation gave the order to retreat, having decided the attempt to take back the asteroid was too expensive. The General Revil retreated along with the two ships remaining.
In the war room, Kishiria was nursing her son under a blanket when she received the request for a cease fire. Her Majesty graciously accepted and requested a peace accord. Her head had begun to ache, and her baby was fussy. Cima and Hamaan were hugging each other and jumping up and down, but Kishiria just wanted a cup of herb tea and some rest.
On Solomon, Gato and Magadan exited their suits to loud applause. Gato smiled widely at the Neo-Aztlan pilot.
"I will NEVER laugh at your paint jobs again!"
"My Zaku represents 'cocolitzli'. Plague. I spread death through the Federation like a disease!" the tall, mustached pilot exclaimed. Gato grabbed him around the neck and hugged him.
As soon as his boots touched the floor, Iserina Estenbach came racing over to Gato, throwing herself in his arms. "You did it!" she shrieked, making him wince a little. "You killed the pilot who helped kill Garma! Oh Anavel, thank you!"
"Maybe you can move on, now," Gato suggested, hugging her back. She nodded against his shoulder.
"¡Víva la pesadilla de Solomon!" Duarte yelled, pouncing on Gato as well. "What you do now?"
"Now? I'm going--" Gato paused dramatically, "--to take a shower. I've been in this normal suit for days." He smiled at Iserina. "I'm in no condition to have dinner with a lady."
She beamed at him and squeezed him around the rib cage again.
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Kishiria Zabi appeared on Solomon three days later to greet her triumphant soldiers and oversee the handover of Federation troops to their own side. She strode down a red carpet in an undamaged docking bay, flanked by her loyal troops on either side. Chin up, mask raised, black cloak flowing behind her, she felt like a conqueror as she made her grand entrance. At the end of the carpet was a podium where Kishiria faced her troops, lowered her mask, and smiled a very real smile of happiness as she gazed at them.
"Loyal soldiers," she began, "today is one which shall live forever in our history. On August 15, 0069, my father Degin first declared that we were the Kingdom of Jion. Today, we finalize his dream and that of Jion Deykun. Not only have we declared our independence from the Federation, and our distinct society away from the people of Earth, we have clearly demonstrated our superior power over them by re-taking what was rightfully ours.
"Nonetheless, today is also a day of sorrow as we commemorate our dead and pray for our wounded. As I watched this battle, I was greatly moved by the courage and intelligence with which you all fought. If any proof of our superiority was ever needed, you have provided it most brilliantly. For this, I thank you.
"Now the peace process begins. This is the stage in which I will be most involved as I go to Luna to negotiate recognition and trade with the Federation. If history grants me any stature for this, it is only because I have been lifted up by your efforts. A monarch cannot legitimately rule above and apart from the citizenry, and I would never want to. You have given me, and the people you swore to protect, the freedom to soar upon the wings of eagles.
"Sieg Jion!"
Kishiria's white-gloved fist shot into the air. Beside her, Captain Duarte seconded the gesture and the cry echoed from hundreds of throats, filling the high-ceilinged cavern of a room.
"Sieg Jion! Sieg Jion! Sieg Jion!"
Kishiria stepped down from the podium and was escorted to a small car. From there, she was taken to the hospital to greet the wounded and distribute Jion Cross decorations. For this, her helmet and gloves came off and the mask went down. She went from bed to bed, followed by Hamaan, squeezing hands in her own and handing out the medals. Cameras flashed around her, preserving her for posterity as a regal yet maternal figure, the mother of her country.
The mother was also a concerned wife, though, who finally had the chance to speak to Char's doctor. "We gave the Prince Consort a room to himself," the surgeon said. "We thought you'd want some privacy. I won't lie to you, ma'am, he's a badly injured man. We had to take shrapnel out of his upper abdomen and chest. It missed his heart and bowels, but he's lost his right kidney and lung. His right leg was also took a multiple fracture and he's in a cast."
"What are his chances?" Kishiria asked softly.
"He's in critical but stable condition at least. He's young and strong and his lady wife is here. He was calling out for you earlier."
Kishiria swallowed deeply and entered the hospital room. Char was on an oxygen mask. Both his arms had IV hookups, one for blood and another for various clear liquids. The blankets were to his waist and above them he was bandaged to his armpits.
She pulled a chair up to the bed. His hand was cold, his skin so pale it was almost green. He smelled of antiseptic and dried blood. Kishiria reached out to touch his mind and felt the bliss of morphine blocking out the awful pain in his torso and leg.
Char's blue eyes opened and focused groggily on her. "Kish..."
"Ssh. Don't try to talk. Save your strength." Kishiria's throat tightened and her eyes filled with tears.
"You're here. We won?"
"Yes, sweetheart. We won. We couldn't have done it without you."
"Why cry?"
Kishiria sniffled. "Because you're hurt." She stroked his hair, which was sticky with sweat. "Because I love you, Char. Don't die on me."
"I won't," he promised weakly and drifted off into sleep. Kishiria kissed Char's forehead and took her leave.
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"What happens now?" Kai asked. He and Sayla were sitting in one of the enclosed gardens of the palace, a bottle of wine between them. They had been drinking to Amuro's memory, wishing this moment of grief could have been shared by more than just the two of them.
"We've sealed our fates," Sayla said. "We stay here. We finish university finally. We find jobs, settle down, and hope that we won't be outsiders."
"I think we're doomed to that," Kai said. "You seem to keep forgetting, Sayla, your brother's Prince Consort. Your sister in law is the Queen. You're a princess. We're not going to have a normal life ever, no matter how hard we try."
She sighed. "I'm sorry, Kai."
He shook his head. "I made my bed, I'm going to lie in it. It'll be tolerable, as long as I'm lying in it with you."
Sayla took his hand and pressed it to her cheek.