Chapter Two
Gyunter wished his cabin had a window to let him see the space and stars outside. Except for advanced starships like the Sol Bianca, remnants of the old Earthen Empire, which had power shields and who knew what else - doubtfully known even by its crew - the vessels that plowed the Sea of Stars could not risk the frailties of actual transparency in the hull. Images of the outside all had to be gathered by hull mounted cameras.
Looking through a camera, to Gyunter it wasn't the same. There was a quality that could only be achieved, a reality, by using ones own eyes. He didn't have a vidlink in his cabin either, looking at humans through a machine irritated him even more. The manner Gyunter preferred as voice, or better, direct contact.
Which was why almost invariably when someone wanted his time, their arrival was announced by knocking on his door. Tap tap. Rap rap rap. He couldn't help but think of black birds, Poe.
"Enter."
The door quietly hissed open. Through it stepped the uniformed Rammy. Somethings, or people, don't change.
Seated, back turned, Gyunter put on his glasses, covering his afflicted eyes. He turned, a forearm on the back of the chair; an ironic grin.
"I hope you did not wear your uniform while gathering information on Sybus."
Rammy formally saluted his superior, despite Gyunter no longer holding any rank, save that of his reputation, a symbol far stronger and enticing than all the Marshals stars on the collective members of the Security Council, the weak creature that took over the administration of the Ludos and the Terran Fleet, after the firestorm that had been Sol Bianca killed the Admiral, and a sizable portion of the Fleet.
"No, Sir. My team was disguised." Rammy answered crisply.
Unable to contain, Gyunter laughed. "Good, good. And did you change your manners too? Or still behave like soldiers?"
Rammy ignored the sarcasm. It was Gyunter's way, how he perceived the universe. From Gyunter's side, Rammy was locked into the Tradition, the crutch that kept him alive. Seeing Earth for what it truly was, for following the orders of an outcast, ostracized. Who could not doubt when they had authorized the order to fire a nuclear missile, still the most destructive weapon in existence (except for the Sol Bianca), at his own Admiral.
"I report that my mission was a success."
Gyunter's interest was focused.
"Prince Yuri of the Rimwald Pact is searching for the Sol Bianca."
The smile faded from Gyunter's face. He rose, a tall and imposing man. A leader. A man with principle, and vision. Reborn after the fires of Earth. Meeting her.
"How close are they, do they have any leads?" Gyunter asked.
"I do not know, Sir. We gained the information interrogating privateers and pirates. Those scum couldn't resist the Blue Comets," Rammy said proudly. It felt good to be proud of something.
"Hmm. Maybe this is good news. If the Prince is resorting to mercenaries then he has not had much luck."
"His Agents are also spreading rumours that they were responsible for killing the Zypher gang."
"Clever," Gyunter conceded. "Very clever. Pirates hate nothing more than their own kind who break the rules. His chances of finding them will increase dramatically. A large bounty has been placed?"
Rammy confirmed.
Gyunter did not fear for the Sol Bianca crew because of pirates. Their ship would protect them. He had to admire the Prince for his cunning. The Zypher gang had destroyed themselves in an almost successful attempt to rescue the olive skinned Feb Fall, Sol Bianca crewmember, companion of April Bikirk. April. Gyunter's thoughts strayed to the gun, ancient, to Hilda, to Earth.
"Did you learn anything else on the Prince's plans?"
"No, Sir."
Sol Bianca. Beautiful, elegant, apocalyptic. With his own eyes he had seen what the ship could do, the technological feat of humanities ancestors. Technologies long forgotten. The lure of the past, its riches, had snared him too. To rebuild Earth, the glory past. That dream, faded, on the wasteland that Earth had become.
Sol Bianca. To men of power it meant only one thing. Invincibility. A shower of laser rain, ships exploding. The Admiral had gone mad for the ship. A man has powerful as the Prince would have heard of its feats, and wanted it. It was that simple. Power and more power. Was the Prince foolish enough to use force? Fail like the Admiral. Or did he have another way?
Whichever way, it didn't matter to Gyunter.
"The Sol Bianca must not fall into his hands."
"Yes, Sir."
"Assemble all the nearest ships, we must be ready for the Prince's move. The rest will continue their operations."
"Yes, Sir!" Rammy saluted. Left.
The Sol Bianca must not fall.
April, are you strong enough? Are you made of the same sterner stuff as Hilda?
Gyunter's jacket was lying on the edge of his bed. He picked it up. Old it was. The same one he had worn when chasing down the famed ship. Gyunter did not wear it because he thought it lucky, if he thought in those terms at all, he would conclude that the jacket was unlucky. Or perhaps not. Something had come, unexpected, from that ship.
Blood. And olive.
The simple dreams were the surest. The past, melancholy. The future. what you make of it.
The jacket still fit, snug.
Gyunter left his cabin for the Bridge.
end chapter two
Director's Notes: Concerning names. Each of the Sol Bianca women is named after Gregorian months of the year. January, February, April, May, and June. It is an interesting convention. For my story, I am slightly modifying the way the names were said in the animation, which were pronounced in a certain way because of how they were said by a Japanese speaking person.
Thus, Mayo becomes May, as there is no stand alone 'y' in Japanese, same as Febu is Feb, not the fe * bu sounds. April's name is left alone, it is common enough as it is. I have decided to make June as the month is, rather than Jun, keeping in with the month theme. Additionally, June spoken in Japanese would be ju * neh. Both Feb and Jan are shortened versions of the whole month, even in the future it would be odd to call someone that way. It is also easier and quicker to say, and keeps with the informal rapport the women have together. In the anime, and other fictions, Jan is Janny (or Janni), a longer short form of January. I prefer a simple Jan, more suited to the tough woman's character - like her hair. June and May are the two most likely culprits to call her Janny however, June to tease, May because she is still young.
Gyunter is the spelling on the Singaporese VCD that I have, and I have stuck to this name. I have seen Gunther elsewhere, but his name clearly has the 'y' in it (Japanese language, English subtitled), and Gyunter is a more interesting/exotic spelling. For Rammy I have settled on the ending 'y' standard, rather than using 'i' (also for Janny, not Janni). Consistency.
Gyunter wished his cabin had a window to let him see the space and stars outside. Except for advanced starships like the Sol Bianca, remnants of the old Earthen Empire, which had power shields and who knew what else - doubtfully known even by its crew - the vessels that plowed the Sea of Stars could not risk the frailties of actual transparency in the hull. Images of the outside all had to be gathered by hull mounted cameras.
Looking through a camera, to Gyunter it wasn't the same. There was a quality that could only be achieved, a reality, by using ones own eyes. He didn't have a vidlink in his cabin either, looking at humans through a machine irritated him even more. The manner Gyunter preferred as voice, or better, direct contact.
Which was why almost invariably when someone wanted his time, their arrival was announced by knocking on his door. Tap tap. Rap rap rap. He couldn't help but think of black birds, Poe.
"Enter."
The door quietly hissed open. Through it stepped the uniformed Rammy. Somethings, or people, don't change.
Seated, back turned, Gyunter put on his glasses, covering his afflicted eyes. He turned, a forearm on the back of the chair; an ironic grin.
"I hope you did not wear your uniform while gathering information on Sybus."
Rammy formally saluted his superior, despite Gyunter no longer holding any rank, save that of his reputation, a symbol far stronger and enticing than all the Marshals stars on the collective members of the Security Council, the weak creature that took over the administration of the Ludos and the Terran Fleet, after the firestorm that had been Sol Bianca killed the Admiral, and a sizable portion of the Fleet.
"No, Sir. My team was disguised." Rammy answered crisply.
Unable to contain, Gyunter laughed. "Good, good. And did you change your manners too? Or still behave like soldiers?"
Rammy ignored the sarcasm. It was Gyunter's way, how he perceived the universe. From Gyunter's side, Rammy was locked into the Tradition, the crutch that kept him alive. Seeing Earth for what it truly was, for following the orders of an outcast, ostracized. Who could not doubt when they had authorized the order to fire a nuclear missile, still the most destructive weapon in existence (except for the Sol Bianca), at his own Admiral.
"I report that my mission was a success."
Gyunter's interest was focused.
"Prince Yuri of the Rimwald Pact is searching for the Sol Bianca."
The smile faded from Gyunter's face. He rose, a tall and imposing man. A leader. A man with principle, and vision. Reborn after the fires of Earth. Meeting her.
"How close are they, do they have any leads?" Gyunter asked.
"I do not know, Sir. We gained the information interrogating privateers and pirates. Those scum couldn't resist the Blue Comets," Rammy said proudly. It felt good to be proud of something.
"Hmm. Maybe this is good news. If the Prince is resorting to mercenaries then he has not had much luck."
"His Agents are also spreading rumours that they were responsible for killing the Zypher gang."
"Clever," Gyunter conceded. "Very clever. Pirates hate nothing more than their own kind who break the rules. His chances of finding them will increase dramatically. A large bounty has been placed?"
Rammy confirmed.
Gyunter did not fear for the Sol Bianca crew because of pirates. Their ship would protect them. He had to admire the Prince for his cunning. The Zypher gang had destroyed themselves in an almost successful attempt to rescue the olive skinned Feb Fall, Sol Bianca crewmember, companion of April Bikirk. April. Gyunter's thoughts strayed to the gun, ancient, to Hilda, to Earth.
"Did you learn anything else on the Prince's plans?"
"No, Sir."
Sol Bianca. Beautiful, elegant, apocalyptic. With his own eyes he had seen what the ship could do, the technological feat of humanities ancestors. Technologies long forgotten. The lure of the past, its riches, had snared him too. To rebuild Earth, the glory past. That dream, faded, on the wasteland that Earth had become.
Sol Bianca. To men of power it meant only one thing. Invincibility. A shower of laser rain, ships exploding. The Admiral had gone mad for the ship. A man has powerful as the Prince would have heard of its feats, and wanted it. It was that simple. Power and more power. Was the Prince foolish enough to use force? Fail like the Admiral. Or did he have another way?
Whichever way, it didn't matter to Gyunter.
"The Sol Bianca must not fall into his hands."
"Yes, Sir."
"Assemble all the nearest ships, we must be ready for the Prince's move. The rest will continue their operations."
"Yes, Sir!" Rammy saluted. Left.
The Sol Bianca must not fall.
April, are you strong enough? Are you made of the same sterner stuff as Hilda?
Gyunter's jacket was lying on the edge of his bed. He picked it up. Old it was. The same one he had worn when chasing down the famed ship. Gyunter did not wear it because he thought it lucky, if he thought in those terms at all, he would conclude that the jacket was unlucky. Or perhaps not. Something had come, unexpected, from that ship.
Blood. And olive.
The simple dreams were the surest. The past, melancholy. The future. what you make of it.
The jacket still fit, snug.
Gyunter left his cabin for the Bridge.
end chapter two
Director's Notes: Concerning names. Each of the Sol Bianca women is named after Gregorian months of the year. January, February, April, May, and June. It is an interesting convention. For my story, I am slightly modifying the way the names were said in the animation, which were pronounced in a certain way because of how they were said by a Japanese speaking person.
Thus, Mayo becomes May, as there is no stand alone 'y' in Japanese, same as Febu is Feb, not the fe * bu sounds. April's name is left alone, it is common enough as it is. I have decided to make June as the month is, rather than Jun, keeping in with the month theme. Additionally, June spoken in Japanese would be ju * neh. Both Feb and Jan are shortened versions of the whole month, even in the future it would be odd to call someone that way. It is also easier and quicker to say, and keeps with the informal rapport the women have together. In the anime, and other fictions, Jan is Janny (or Janni), a longer short form of January. I prefer a simple Jan, more suited to the tough woman's character - like her hair. June and May are the two most likely culprits to call her Janny however, June to tease, May because she is still young.
Gyunter is the spelling on the Singaporese VCD that I have, and I have stuck to this name. I have seen Gunther elsewhere, but his name clearly has the 'y' in it (Japanese language, English subtitled), and Gyunter is a more interesting/exotic spelling. For Rammy I have settled on the ending 'y' standard, rather than using 'i' (also for Janny, not Janni). Consistency.
