Two Men, One Force
Chapter 2: The Fire in the Sky
"And today, an unidentified group linked with remnants of the Neo Zeon militia has again struck."
Yuu Kajima sat back and looked over at his desk. There, sat his uniform along with his medals recognizing his promotion. Under it, were papers concerning the new Mobile Suit model developed by Anaheim Electronics. Next to them was a small photo that he was trying to ignore, but his eyes dragged his head over to it. It was a picture of his family. The family that he misses. The family that he wants to be with. Yuu turned his attention back to the television.
"The group has made many terrorist acts including today's bomb that detonated around the generator of a colony. The death toll is said to be catastrophic with no survivors in sight. The recent attacks have had no warning nor any claiming to the attack, but Federation advisors claim that they are sure that the attackers are this underground group."
"And still, we sit back and do nothing."
Yuu got up and kicked his bag. He sighed as he saw some of his clothes spread along the floor. Across from him was the shirt Amy picked out for him during Father's Day. Not his favorite shirt, but it did contain a lot of sentimental value. So much had happened within the past few days.
"The Black Dream," he whispered to himself.
Suddenly, there was knock on the door. The knock was loud, cold, and unwelcoming. Yuu had a pretty good idea who it was. The impression he had left on Yuu the day before was one that scared Yuu . . .
"That's him?" Yuu asked. "He was a member of the Titans?"
"Yep," a soldier answered. "That's him. Yazan Gable."
"Yazan Gable, huh?"
"Just by looking at the guy you can tell that he's not somebody that you wanna' get cozy with. The Titans . . . a bunch of freaks."
"Stop that!"
"What?"
"Not everybody in the Titans was okay with the corruption. Some did it because they had to. Because . . . because they were orders."
"Yuu . . . come on now . . ."
"There were people in the Titans that didn't know anything!"
"Kid, this guy stayed in the Titans after Char Aznable gave that speech on Earth."
Yuu didn't answer back. He merely listened.
"At the final battle at Gryps, about 800 AEUG members died and about 1,300 Titans died. He wasn't one of them. He fought til' the end. He fought for a 'cause that puts us all the shame. Save yourself some breath, Yuu. He's only here for the money."
Yuu looked away. The Titans. What a group they were. Patriotic the evil deeds they carried out from 0083 to 0088. Then again, there were people in the Titans that didn't know anything . . . but, it looks like this guy wasn't one of them . . .
On the bridge of the Ra Cailum, Bright Noa paced back and forth.
"He's back, sir."
"Let him in."
A small ship docked into the Ra Cailum which was only now leaving Side 1. Within a few minutes, a Londo Bell soldier stepped onto the bridge. He salutes Bright.
"Captain Bright."
"Lieutenant Albarez."
"I've picked up all of this from Anaheim Electronics, sir. They say it's everything we need."
"Jegans."
"What about them, sir?"
"We're obviously going to need a lot more of them if this new threat is real."
"Anaheim Electronics has already billed the Earth Federation. We're getting a whole lot of new equipment."
"That's good to hear."
"Those two new models are lookin' good. I've taken a look at them myselves."
"Anything at the level of Nu Gundam?"
"Only if we had a pilot that was a Newtype the level of Captain Ray . . ."
Bright didn't answer. His response to that would be one of mixed emotions. It would be one of anger, but also one of his rare demonstrations of sorrow. Bright looked through the papers and blueprints he was given.
"The Lionheart and the Gundam Miracle?"
"The two latest designs just off the shelf, sir"
"Not bad. We'll store them both on the Ra Cailum."
Bright walked away and stored the files. There was a short silence in the room. Bright turned back around and realized Lieutenant Albarez was still there.
"Lieutenant?"
"Sir, can I just ask you about your selection of pilots?"
Bright sighed. His face showed a sign of both disbelief and regret, "What about them?"
"Sir, not to put down your judgment, but . . ."
"I know . . ." Bright took a deep breath. "But I'm final with my choices. Yuu Kajima, former Earth Federation pilot and had the highest kill count at the battle at the California base. Yazan Gable, ace pilot who had a high kill count as a member of the Titans. I trust the abilities of both of these men."
"It's not their abilities I'm worried about, sir . . ."
"You are dismissed, Lietenant Albarez."
" . . . Yes, sir."
"No . . . wait . . ."
"Yes, sir?"
"Bring me Lietenant Kajima."
"Of course, sir."
In about 10 minutes Yuu was on the bridge of the Ra Cailum. He stopped in front of the battle-hardened warship captain and looked on him with a certain awe.
"Lieutenant Kajima."
"Yes, sir?'
"You do know the role you're taking on, right?"
"Yes, sir. I'm going to try my best, sir."
"You . . ."
Yuu stood up straight, listening. Bright looked uneasy.
"You know about the other soldier I promoted, don't you?"
"Yes, sir. Yazan Gable."
"Do you have a problem with him?"
"No, sir. Not at all."
"You do know he was a Titan?"
"Yes, sir."
"And that's something you don't have a problem with?"
"No, sir."
"That's good to hear. Some of the soldiers have been complaining to me every few minutes on why he got a promotion." Bright pulls out some paperwork. "Here, take these."
Yuu took them and immediately began to look over them. "The Miracle Gundam?"
"It's a new prototype. I've heard about you and the GM Blue Destiny Unit 01 and the Gundam Blue Destiny Unit 03."
Memories of the One Year War quickly flashed by Yuu's eyes. Blue Destiny . . . EXAM . . . Marion . . . Nimbus Schatzen . . .
"I know you'll do fine . . . the Black Dream . . . that's what they're called . . ."
"The Black Dream, sir?"
"During the One Year War, the Federation set up a small camp at Side 3. When they declared independence, though, the group stationed at Side 3 was declared neutral. It wasn't allowed to fight in the war, and the Zeons kept a close eye on them. But . . . this group started to negotiate with the Zeons . . . and with the Zabis. It was as if they converted. After the war ended, they returned to the Earth Federation and became members of the Titans. Soon after the Titans were wiped out, they joined up with Neo Zeon . . ."
"Why so many defections, sir?"
"That's not what they consider it. They consider themselves loyal to the Zabi family, and only worked with the Federation and Titans because it was their duty as soldiers."
"So they're out for revenge . . ."
"We're not too sure what they want . . . all we know is that they're responsible for terrorist actions."
"Is this it, sir?"
"Yes. Go get some rest. We'll be at luna in a little while."
"Yes, sir. Thank you, sir."
Yuu floated down the halls of the ship, when suddenly, he heard a ruckus going on in the lounge area. He quickly jetted into the scene and watched Yazan fight off two other pilots.
"Hey!" Yuu screamed. He jumped in-between the men and promptly stopped the fight. The men had too much respect for Yuu to keep fighting. The two other soldiers backed off and walked away. Yazan merely stood there.
"Break it up already. Go back to what you're doing."
One by one, Londo Bell pilots exited the lounge. Soon, the only two that were left were Yazan and Yuu. The took a look at each other . . . Yazan with his blank face and Yuu with a half-smile.
"Hey."
Yazan motioned to walk away, but Yuu stopped him.
"Hey, where you going. You're Yazan Gable, right?"
"Yeah, that's me. And you're Yuu Kajima."
"Yeah. We've both been promoted."
"So I've heard."
"Listen, is it true what they say?"
"That I'm a Titan? Yeah."
"No, that's not what I meant. I mean, that you're in this just for the money."
"That's right. That's all I'm here for."
Yuu stood there and merely stared at the large man.
"It would've been different if we were back in '87 . . ."
". . . ?"
"The Titans. We were something back then. We were the elite of the elite. We lived each day knowing that we were superior. We were real pilots back then. The Titans. The single greatest fleet that the Earth elite had to offer. The spacenoids wouldn't be here if it weren't for the Earth elite. Londo Bell is just a bunch of dogs doing the Feddies dirty work. The Titans. We were independent."
"But . . . we protect Earth."
Yazan turned to Yuu and laughed. He hadn't laughed in a long time, he enjoyed the moment.
"Kid, you've got a lot to learn about life."
Yazan walked away, leaving Yuu behind. Yuu sighed and thought about everything that had just happened.
A large black ship moved among the stars. Its presence was cloaked by that of the darkness that stretched from one galaxy to the next. This was the Black Omen.
In the conference area, Nanai Miguel sat down, twiddling her thumbs in front of her coffee. She looked down but saw nothing but the hatred that she had for the Federation.
"Major Miguel, the Rewloola along a few other ships are approaching Von Braun at this moment."
She was silent. She said nothing, but her mouth was open. It was a disturbing site.
"Major Miguel?"
"I still think I should've gone with them."
"Not in your state, Major Miguel."
"Admiral . . . those are my men . . . the same way they were Char's men. I need to lead them. You control your men however you want, but the Neo Zeon are the people I can relate to . . . rejects . . . we're all rejects . . ."
"And how do you think we feel?!" Admiral Constatine yelled. "We're just like you. If not, then worse."
Nanai took a deep breath and sighed. She wanted to watch the battle. Watching a single Federation Mobile Suit for her moves her lips closer and closer to a long lost smile. "How're the new models coming along?"
"Fine, just fine. This . . . this new one. The one we made based off of what we found at the destruction of Side 5 . . . it . . . it . . ."
"Gives you the human feeling, doesn't it? As if someone is watching you."
"Yeah . . . we plan to supply the three new models with it . . . along with the Jinn Dogas . . ."
"Excellent, Admiral. All we need now are results."
"Heh. Oh, and Major, you wanted to know how the recovery of that pilot we recovered . . . what's his name . . ."
"Johnny Ridden?"
"Yes, Mr. Ridden . . ."
"How'd he doing?"
"Feel free to check him out. He's a whole lot better than a lot of our pilots."
"He was a pretty famous was veteran during the one year war . . ."
"They called him "Crimson Lightning" . . . every suit he had was a crimson red color and he was known for that unicorn symbol. It was rumored that he committed suicide after he heard the fate of Kycilia Zabi, but all this time . . . makes me wonder what a coma for 14 years can do to you . . ."
"How's his condition?"
"Mentally and physically, he's all there. He's primed."
Nanai gave the man an odd look. "No, Admiral, I want the truth."
Constatine saw that Nanai could see through each and every one of her lies. Something she probably picked up from listening to each and every one of Char Aznable's speeches.
"He's somewhat mentally unstable. One of the nurses says he kind of a psycho, but other than that, he's ready . . ."
"Excellent. Then he'd be perfect for EXAM."
To Be Continued . . .
"And today, an unidentified group linked with remnants of the Neo Zeon militia has again struck."
Yuu Kajima sat back and looked over at his desk. There, sat his uniform along with his medals recognizing his promotion. Under it, were papers concerning the new Mobile Suit model developed by Anaheim Electronics. Next to them was a small photo that he was trying to ignore, but his eyes dragged his head over to it. It was a picture of his family. The family that he misses. The family that he wants to be with. Yuu turned his attention back to the television.
"The group has made many terrorist acts including today's bomb that detonated around the generator of a colony. The death toll is said to be catastrophic with no survivors in sight. The recent attacks have had no warning nor any claiming to the attack, but Federation advisors claim that they are sure that the attackers are this underground group."
"And still, we sit back and do nothing."
Yuu got up and kicked his bag. He sighed as he saw some of his clothes spread along the floor. Across from him was the shirt Amy picked out for him during Father's Day. Not his favorite shirt, but it did contain a lot of sentimental value. So much had happened within the past few days.
"The Black Dream," he whispered to himself.
Suddenly, there was knock on the door. The knock was loud, cold, and unwelcoming. Yuu had a pretty good idea who it was. The impression he had left on Yuu the day before was one that scared Yuu . . .
"That's him?" Yuu asked. "He was a member of the Titans?"
"Yep," a soldier answered. "That's him. Yazan Gable."
"Yazan Gable, huh?"
"Just by looking at the guy you can tell that he's not somebody that you wanna' get cozy with. The Titans . . . a bunch of freaks."
"Stop that!"
"What?"
"Not everybody in the Titans was okay with the corruption. Some did it because they had to. Because . . . because they were orders."
"Yuu . . . come on now . . ."
"There were people in the Titans that didn't know anything!"
"Kid, this guy stayed in the Titans after Char Aznable gave that speech on Earth."
Yuu didn't answer back. He merely listened.
"At the final battle at Gryps, about 800 AEUG members died and about 1,300 Titans died. He wasn't one of them. He fought til' the end. He fought for a 'cause that puts us all the shame. Save yourself some breath, Yuu. He's only here for the money."
Yuu looked away. The Titans. What a group they were. Patriotic the evil deeds they carried out from 0083 to 0088. Then again, there were people in the Titans that didn't know anything . . . but, it looks like this guy wasn't one of them . . .
On the bridge of the Ra Cailum, Bright Noa paced back and forth.
"He's back, sir."
"Let him in."
A small ship docked into the Ra Cailum which was only now leaving Side 1. Within a few minutes, a Londo Bell soldier stepped onto the bridge. He salutes Bright.
"Captain Bright."
"Lieutenant Albarez."
"I've picked up all of this from Anaheim Electronics, sir. They say it's everything we need."
"Jegans."
"What about them, sir?"
"We're obviously going to need a lot more of them if this new threat is real."
"Anaheim Electronics has already billed the Earth Federation. We're getting a whole lot of new equipment."
"That's good to hear."
"Those two new models are lookin' good. I've taken a look at them myselves."
"Anything at the level of Nu Gundam?"
"Only if we had a pilot that was a Newtype the level of Captain Ray . . ."
Bright didn't answer. His response to that would be one of mixed emotions. It would be one of anger, but also one of his rare demonstrations of sorrow. Bright looked through the papers and blueprints he was given.
"The Lionheart and the Gundam Miracle?"
"The two latest designs just off the shelf, sir"
"Not bad. We'll store them both on the Ra Cailum."
Bright walked away and stored the files. There was a short silence in the room. Bright turned back around and realized Lieutenant Albarez was still there.
"Lieutenant?"
"Sir, can I just ask you about your selection of pilots?"
Bright sighed. His face showed a sign of both disbelief and regret, "What about them?"
"Sir, not to put down your judgment, but . . ."
"I know . . ." Bright took a deep breath. "But I'm final with my choices. Yuu Kajima, former Earth Federation pilot and had the highest kill count at the battle at the California base. Yazan Gable, ace pilot who had a high kill count as a member of the Titans. I trust the abilities of both of these men."
"It's not their abilities I'm worried about, sir . . ."
"You are dismissed, Lietenant Albarez."
" . . . Yes, sir."
"No . . . wait . . ."
"Yes, sir?"
"Bring me Lietenant Kajima."
"Of course, sir."
In about 10 minutes Yuu was on the bridge of the Ra Cailum. He stopped in front of the battle-hardened warship captain and looked on him with a certain awe.
"Lieutenant Kajima."
"Yes, sir?'
"You do know the role you're taking on, right?"
"Yes, sir. I'm going to try my best, sir."
"You . . ."
Yuu stood up straight, listening. Bright looked uneasy.
"You know about the other soldier I promoted, don't you?"
"Yes, sir. Yazan Gable."
"Do you have a problem with him?"
"No, sir. Not at all."
"You do know he was a Titan?"
"Yes, sir."
"And that's something you don't have a problem with?"
"No, sir."
"That's good to hear. Some of the soldiers have been complaining to me every few minutes on why he got a promotion." Bright pulls out some paperwork. "Here, take these."
Yuu took them and immediately began to look over them. "The Miracle Gundam?"
"It's a new prototype. I've heard about you and the GM Blue Destiny Unit 01 and the Gundam Blue Destiny Unit 03."
Memories of the One Year War quickly flashed by Yuu's eyes. Blue Destiny . . . EXAM . . . Marion . . . Nimbus Schatzen . . .
"I know you'll do fine . . . the Black Dream . . . that's what they're called . . ."
"The Black Dream, sir?"
"During the One Year War, the Federation set up a small camp at Side 3. When they declared independence, though, the group stationed at Side 3 was declared neutral. It wasn't allowed to fight in the war, and the Zeons kept a close eye on them. But . . . this group started to negotiate with the Zeons . . . and with the Zabis. It was as if they converted. After the war ended, they returned to the Earth Federation and became members of the Titans. Soon after the Titans were wiped out, they joined up with Neo Zeon . . ."
"Why so many defections, sir?"
"That's not what they consider it. They consider themselves loyal to the Zabi family, and only worked with the Federation and Titans because it was their duty as soldiers."
"So they're out for revenge . . ."
"We're not too sure what they want . . . all we know is that they're responsible for terrorist actions."
"Is this it, sir?"
"Yes. Go get some rest. We'll be at luna in a little while."
"Yes, sir. Thank you, sir."
Yuu floated down the halls of the ship, when suddenly, he heard a ruckus going on in the lounge area. He quickly jetted into the scene and watched Yazan fight off two other pilots.
"Hey!" Yuu screamed. He jumped in-between the men and promptly stopped the fight. The men had too much respect for Yuu to keep fighting. The two other soldiers backed off and walked away. Yazan merely stood there.
"Break it up already. Go back to what you're doing."
One by one, Londo Bell pilots exited the lounge. Soon, the only two that were left were Yazan and Yuu. The took a look at each other . . . Yazan with his blank face and Yuu with a half-smile.
"Hey."
Yazan motioned to walk away, but Yuu stopped him.
"Hey, where you going. You're Yazan Gable, right?"
"Yeah, that's me. And you're Yuu Kajima."
"Yeah. We've both been promoted."
"So I've heard."
"Listen, is it true what they say?"
"That I'm a Titan? Yeah."
"No, that's not what I meant. I mean, that you're in this just for the money."
"That's right. That's all I'm here for."
Yuu stood there and merely stared at the large man.
"It would've been different if we were back in '87 . . ."
". . . ?"
"The Titans. We were something back then. We were the elite of the elite. We lived each day knowing that we were superior. We were real pilots back then. The Titans. The single greatest fleet that the Earth elite had to offer. The spacenoids wouldn't be here if it weren't for the Earth elite. Londo Bell is just a bunch of dogs doing the Feddies dirty work. The Titans. We were independent."
"But . . . we protect Earth."
Yazan turned to Yuu and laughed. He hadn't laughed in a long time, he enjoyed the moment.
"Kid, you've got a lot to learn about life."
Yazan walked away, leaving Yuu behind. Yuu sighed and thought about everything that had just happened.
A large black ship moved among the stars. Its presence was cloaked by that of the darkness that stretched from one galaxy to the next. This was the Black Omen.
In the conference area, Nanai Miguel sat down, twiddling her thumbs in front of her coffee. She looked down but saw nothing but the hatred that she had for the Federation.
"Major Miguel, the Rewloola along a few other ships are approaching Von Braun at this moment."
She was silent. She said nothing, but her mouth was open. It was a disturbing site.
"Major Miguel?"
"I still think I should've gone with them."
"Not in your state, Major Miguel."
"Admiral . . . those are my men . . . the same way they were Char's men. I need to lead them. You control your men however you want, but the Neo Zeon are the people I can relate to . . . rejects . . . we're all rejects . . ."
"And how do you think we feel?!" Admiral Constatine yelled. "We're just like you. If not, then worse."
Nanai took a deep breath and sighed. She wanted to watch the battle. Watching a single Federation Mobile Suit for her moves her lips closer and closer to a long lost smile. "How're the new models coming along?"
"Fine, just fine. This . . . this new one. The one we made based off of what we found at the destruction of Side 5 . . . it . . . it . . ."
"Gives you the human feeling, doesn't it? As if someone is watching you."
"Yeah . . . we plan to supply the three new models with it . . . along with the Jinn Dogas . . ."
"Excellent, Admiral. All we need now are results."
"Heh. Oh, and Major, you wanted to know how the recovery of that pilot we recovered . . . what's his name . . ."
"Johnny Ridden?"
"Yes, Mr. Ridden . . ."
"How'd he doing?"
"Feel free to check him out. He's a whole lot better than a lot of our pilots."
"He was a pretty famous was veteran during the one year war . . ."
"They called him "Crimson Lightning" . . . every suit he had was a crimson red color and he was known for that unicorn symbol. It was rumored that he committed suicide after he heard the fate of Kycilia Zabi, but all this time . . . makes me wonder what a coma for 14 years can do to you . . ."
"How's his condition?"
"Mentally and physically, he's all there. He's primed."
Nanai gave the man an odd look. "No, Admiral, I want the truth."
Constatine saw that Nanai could see through each and every one of her lies. Something she probably picked up from listening to each and every one of Char Aznable's speeches.
"He's somewhat mentally unstable. One of the nurses says he kind of a psycho, but other than that, he's ready . . ."
"Excellent. Then he'd be perfect for EXAM."
To Be Continued . . .