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needs as well as other stuff.
Two Men, One Force Chapter 5: Rise of the Grim Reaper
The Miracle Gundam launched followed by a bunch of Jegans.
"Where the hell can Yazan be?"
Out of nowhere, beam gun fire erupts. But, it's as if it's coming out of space.
"What the hell?!"
"There's a ship there, alright, but we can hardly see it!" Philip screamed.
Jill maneuvered her Jegan to the right and avoided the wave of fire. "Could be some sort of stealth mechanism . . ."
Soon, a horde of Mobile Suits arrive. This small group coming out of nowhere consist of black Geara Dogas and one of the two Nuremburg suits.
Yuu dived in, followed by the other suits. He immediately rips through a suit with his twin beam rifle. Suddenly, the Nuremburg fires its two automatic shotguns. Yuu swerved to the right.
"What the hell is that? Was that the suit that destroyed the colony?"
The Nuremberg thrusts back and launches an onslaught with its shotguns. Lawrence eyes the Miracle and fires a barrage of shots.
"Heh, I didn't expect Londo Bell to get a new model so fast . . ."
"He doesn't have a bad shot." Yuu notices a blue Mobile Suit fly out of the Ra Cailum. It's the Lionheart. "Finally . . ."
The Nuremburg drives a shotgun into a nearby Jegan and fires a hole through the cockpit. Lawrence turns his attention back to the Miracle and reloads its guns.
"Die, Feddie bastard!"
The Miracle dodges Lawrence's shots. Yuu follows the Nuremburg's motions and pulls the trigger and shoots off the left hand of the Nuremburg. Lawrence ditches his shotgun and ignites his beam saber. Yuu does the same and they clash.
Jill Kerrigan's Jegan exchanges fire with a Geara Doga. A wave of beam fire spews from her rifle as she attempts to dodge the incoming attacks. A second Geara Doga drives at her with its saber. Jill is barely able to jam her controls forward away from the attack. She draws to the right to avoid the other Geara Doga's fire and drives at it with her beam saber and slices off its arm. The second Geara Doga rises with its saber in a set position in its hand. A beam not too far away hits the Geara Doga and destroys is. Jill backs her Jegan away from her other opponent and a similar shot accompanied by other strike down on the Geara Doga.
Jill looks up to see another Jegan. In it, Philip sits, reloading the e-pac on his beam rifle. "You all right?"
"Yes. I'm just fine."
"Be careful out there."
He takes off, and she soon follows as they surround the Ra Cailum which is taking fire from what seems to be out of nowhere.
"Can we get a lock onto the ship?" Bright asked.
"We can try. It seems to have some sort of anti-light mechanism or something . . . I was reading about it, we'd need to get in pretty close with a flare or something like that in order to see it . . ."
"Who's free out there?"
"Yazan and the Lionheart just launched, sir."
"Have him try to get in as close as possible and launch a flare."
"Yes, sir."
Yuu lifted his saber above his head and struck down onto the defending Nuremberg.
"This blue one doesn't stand a chance . . ."
Lawrence pulls his saber back and drives forward with it. Yuu pulls to the right to avoid it and swings his saber again. The Nuremberg glides its saber along Yuu's to defend and then swings it at the Miracle's chest. Yuu easily defends and the two suits press against each other with their sabers. Lawrence opens fire with his chest vulcans and Yuu raises his altitude to avoid them. The Nuremberg drives back and releases two pods from his back, each of them releasing a handful of missiles.
Yuu shouts as he attempts to avoid the onslaught. The missiles' explosions barely graze the Miralce and singe its armor. For a short moment, the Miracle and Nuremburg stand a moderate distance from each other. They stare at each other while wielding their sabers, showing a display of honor and the will to destroy. Yuu takes multiple deep breaths as Lawrence laughs.
The Lionheart in Mobile Armor mode skims across space while avoiding both friendly and enemy fire.
"Heh. Not your average spacenoids."
Yazan barrel rolls in the Lionheart past the enemy line of fire and finds the ship masked among the darkness of space. He launches a flare, lighting up outer space and giving away the location of the Black Dream's Titanic.
The Black Dream's flagship shook violently as it began to take fire. It moved back seeing how its exact location was exploited.
The Miracle Gundam was the first to move, sliding into an attack as if it were on solid ground. The Nuremberg advanced and swung as the Miracle did the same. Both sabers slashed at the opposing Mobile Suit. As the Miracle and Nuremburg glided away from each other, the leg of the Miracle slid off, but the Nuremburg was cut in half. Lawrence was thrown back in shock as shards of glass and fire surrounded him.
"That pilot . . . he's . . . he's . . ."
Yuu turned back at his defeated opponent and held up his shield as it turned into a fiery ball of death. Yuu put away his beam saber and saw the enemy Geara Dogas retreat.
A small cruiser has just gained entry into a colony and prepares to land. Inside, Nanai Miguel and her attendants land.
"We'll be out of here in no time at all. I just have to pick up our pilot for the second Nuremburg and we're out."
A small screen on the cruises beeped. Nanai switched it on and stared at Admiral Constatine.
"Major Miguel . . ."
"I won't be long Admiral."
"We . . . we lost my son . . ."
"The Nuremburg? Dammit! That thing cost us money!"
"I just lost my son, God dammit and all you can think about it your money?!"
"A price to pay to gain what you want. I think you had even told me that before when you first took in out crew, Admiral."
The Admiral was silent. He looked away as a tear formed in his eye.
"Don't assign anyone to the second Nuremburg because I already have a pilot in mind. He's a Feddy . . . well, a soon to be former Feddie . . ."
"What makes you so sure he'd join our ranks?" the Admiral asked.
"Like I said before, he was related to Admiral Kintaro. You've probably seen him once or twice. I did my homework and found out about him. From what I've heard, he'd be the perfect poor sap for us to use. He's already agreed to it, we just need for him to come join us, now."
"Alright . . . but be careful, who knows what Londo Bell is doing in Side 3 space . . ."
"Obviously, Admiral, do you use your head? We have become their main priority. And because of that, it's our priority to match them with our prowess."
The Admiral merely signed out as he turned the screen off before he started crying. Nanai's cruiser has landed. She unboards and heads into the city. She slips on a pair of sunglasses and walks among the houses as if she were a citizen. She was here to add another name to her list of allies. Nanai took a small train to an apartment at the end of town where off-duty soldiers were allowed to stay for free.
"Hello?" Nanai said as she opened the door to the room of her destination.
There was no answer, but there were three heavy bags waiting in the main hall. Out comes a man with blue hair and a slightly dark skin shade.
"Mr. Terry Sanders."
"Nanai Miguel."
"Are you ready?"
He kept silent. He walked across to the couch and sat down.
"Don't tell me you're second guessing yourself. You were so sure this was the best thing to do the last time I was here."
"I'm not second guessing. I'm just wondering. What is the point of this operation? Merely revenge?"
"Justice. Justice, Mr. Sanders. There was no justification behind what the Federation did to you and your family."
"I know that. But . . . what makes you think such a small force can take on the entire Earth Federation?"
"Because our cause is a righteous one."
"Heh. The Zeon Zabis said the same thing, and look where they are now."
"I won't lie to you Mr. Sanders, we need you. I've talked with people that were stationed in the same places you were during the One Year War. You're the reaper, Mr. Sanders. But as much as we need you, you need us . . ."
"Or else? Are you going to threaten me?"
"There's no reason to get hostile. Just look at yourself. You're nothing but a slave to the same Earth Federation that has ruined your life."
". . ."
"And it all started back in Southern Asia, didn't it? Back during the One Year War . . . your story is an epic one Mr. Sanders, I'd like to record it for the morale for our men."
Nanai pulls out a tape recorder and presses on the record button. Sanders shuts his eyes and starts talking.
"Back during the One Year War, they called me the reaper . . . they called me that because I wiped the floor with the Zeeks . . . but it was always at the cost of my platoon. Everyone in every force I was in had the same fate - they all burned in hell, and only I survived. I wanted to follow them, but that never happened . . ."
Nanai pushed the recorder towards Sanders. He began to speak straight into it.
"Then, they assigned me to Southern Asia . . . we were the 08th MS Team, and let me tell you, I never told them, but that was one of the most fucked up parts of my life . . . maybe it's because that was just the beginning. Our leader . . . I'll never forget his name . . . Ensign Shiro Amada . . . he made a pretty stupid mistake, and we were sent into the depths of Asia to find the Zeeks' secret base . . . they told us straight up that the chances of survival were 38 percent . . . 38 fucking percent!"
He stopped for a moment.
"Please, Mr. Sanders, continue."
"We barely survived that shit. After, I was transferred to Australia and served the Feddies there. After the war ended, I never saw any of the members of the 08th team again. Around U 0088, my life took a turn . . ."
"One for the worse."
"No shit."
"And whose fault was this?"
". . . The Earth Federation."
"Continue."
"During the Gryps Conflict, I was stationed at Jaburo. God help me when I found out that there was a nuclear charge planted in there ready to take us all out along with the AEUG. We almost didn't make it out of that one. Then at Kilimanjaro . . . I had the highest kill count from my platoon . . . hardly any of my platoon survived though, some of them were hit by friendly fire from this huge black suit they called the Psyco Gundam or something. Anyway, at the end of the Gryps War, the Federation had lost a lot of supplies and money. They were in a deficit and it was obvious. I decided it was time to retire. I go to collect the large sum of money that was waiting for me, but the records of my efforts weren't there. It was recorded that I was a new recruit that only recently joined the Federation. There was no money waiting for me."
"Accident . . . or something more, Mr. Sanders?"
"It wasn't an accident. No way in hell it was an accident. I worked too hard to see everything disappear in an accident. The Feddies did it. I know they did. I spent years with them only to see the money I deserved go away. Up until now, I've only stayed with them because if I retired I'd be homeless on the streets begging for my food. I can't go home because I'd be turned away. Nobody wants me around."
"Nobody, Mr. Sanders?"
"Heh, this is the part where you convince me to come with you, right?"
"Let's talk about your cousin, Mr. Sanders."
"My cousin . . . Gerald . . ."
"Admiral Gerald Kintaro."
"The Feddies called him a traitor for working with the Zabis. But that wasn't the truth. The Feddies knew it wasn't the truth. They court marshaled him just so they could blame massacring a bunch of Zeeks with gas on him and his group. Christ, wasn't the point of the war to kill those fucking Zeeks in the first place?"
"And now he's dead."
"He didn't even get a proper funeral. Death by lethal injection."
"Amazing story, Mr. Sanders."
"You could put it that way. But I'd replace the word "amazing" with "fucked up". I'll never forget Gerald's last words, though. He came down that hall and asked to say something to me and he spoke into my ear . . . "Justice always needs a loser." If that's justice . . . then justice isn't much more than a social device to control society."
"Then we should show them the true meaning of justice, now shouldn't we, Mr. Sanders?"
"I guess we should. Where's our ship?"
Nanai smiled and shut off the tape recorder.
"Welcome to the Black Dream, Mr. Sanders."
The Ra Cailum attempted to make contact with a Side 3 colony and the Earth Federation, but thing's weren't working out so well.
Lieutenant Carl picked up a report from one of the techs and spoke across the room to Bright. "The communication devices were fried during the battle, Captain Bright. It's going to take some time before we can fix them."
Bright sat in his seat twiddling his thumbs. It didn't look like he was paying attention. He didn't blink. He merely looked out with a leering stare.
"Captain Bright?"
Bright Noa continued to look out into space. The look on his face was disturbing. The Londo Bell officer floated over to him and shook him hard. After a few seconds, he came to life.
"Huh? What?!"
"Captain Bright, are you alright?"
"Huh? Umm . . . I'm fine. Just fine. What's the problem?"
"The communication devices were jammed during the battle. We need some time to fix them."
"How much time?"
"A few hours at most."
"Is there any way to make contact with the colonies?"
"Not from here, sir. We're going to have to send someone in."
"Okay, give me a second and we'll send a few men into the colony."
In the lounge area, Yuu and Philip stood next to a vending machine. Philip pressed on a button and the machine wouldn't dispense anything.
"Damn machine!"
He kicks it.
"Watch it, there."
"This thing is so stupid . . ."
He kicks it again and ends up hurting himself.
"Ow! Damn!"
The drink finally comes rolling out. Jill Kerrigan walks over next to Philip.
"I'll be back," said Yuu, walking away at a steady pace. "Some conversation with other pilots should be good for him."
"Umm . . . Ensign Philip Hughes?"
"Huh? Oh . . . umm, yes?"
"I just wanted to thank you . . ."
"Thank me? For what?"
"For saving me out there. I would've been done if it weren't for you. That was your Jegan, correct?"
"Oh you mean that? No sweat. It's never a problem."
There's a short silence.
"Anything else?"
"No . . . umm . . . not really, sorry. I just wanted to thank you." She starts to giggle a bit. "Sorry, I've never actually been much of a conservationist. I'm Ensign Jill Kerrigan."
"And you already know who I am."
"A little cocky now are we?"
"Is that the impression I'm giving?"
"It doesn't matter unless it's the impression you want to give."
He smiles, she does the same. From afar, Yuu looks on.
"I knew it would take his mind off of everything else."
"These enemies aren't idiots."
Yuu turned around to see the towering Yazan in front of him.
"Yazan, what took you so long to get out there?"
"Had to take care of some business."
"What were you saying?"
"These guys, they're not your average enemies. Don't matter if they're Zeeks or a bunch of refuges, they can be pretty bad . . ."
"I see you've been evaluating our enemies."
"I've got this feeling, kid. Haven't felt it since the Gryps Conflict. I've got this feeling . . . haven't felt it since then since I fought a powerhouse suit that could wreck a ton of colonies if it had the chance."
Yuu merely looked at Yazan. This was the first time he was open about something he was thinking.
"I was hoping I'd be getting out of this one easy," Yazan continued. "Looks like I won't be seeing my payment for a long time."
"Is that all you care about? The money? We're fighting a war here."
"Bring as humble and truthful as I am . . ." Yazan said sarcastically, "Yes, the money is all I care about. It's how I live my life. Fighting for the Feds isn't my priority."
Yuu sighs. "Fighting for the Feds isn't something I'm talking about. I mean . . . for something higher . . . for something . . . gwah, how do I put it . . . sentimental."
"Nope. Got nothing."
"You're hopeless."
"I could say the same thing about you, kid."
Lieutenant Carl drifts into the room. "I've got a message from the captain. Our communications were damaged so he wants to send a small ship into Side 3's 37 Bunch. He asks for Captain Yazan Gable and Ensign Philip Hughes to report to the Mobile Suit deck prepared to take off and enter the colony.
Yazan shifted his weight forward and slugged past the short Lieutenant. Philip got up from his seat next to Jill and replied "Yes, sir" to the Lieutenant and exited.
Back on the Black Dream's flagship, Nanai finished ordering her men to paint the second Nuremburg the color of Sanders' choice. The door to her room slides open. She steps in and lights a bunch of candles with matches. She then walks into the middle of her room where a chess table sits. On one side are the black pieces. Underneath their side of the table it's labeled "Earth Federation". On the side with the white pieces, various names are labeled on the board . . . the names of Johnny Ridden and others are on the pawns . . . on the queen its labeled Admiral Constatine . . .
Nanai takes a label and with a smile she places it down on a knight. The label reads "Sanders".
To Be Continued . . .
Two Men, One Force Chapter 5: Rise of the Grim Reaper
The Miracle Gundam launched followed by a bunch of Jegans.
"Where the hell can Yazan be?"
Out of nowhere, beam gun fire erupts. But, it's as if it's coming out of space.
"What the hell?!"
"There's a ship there, alright, but we can hardly see it!" Philip screamed.
Jill maneuvered her Jegan to the right and avoided the wave of fire. "Could be some sort of stealth mechanism . . ."
Soon, a horde of Mobile Suits arrive. This small group coming out of nowhere consist of black Geara Dogas and one of the two Nuremburg suits.
Yuu dived in, followed by the other suits. He immediately rips through a suit with his twin beam rifle. Suddenly, the Nuremburg fires its two automatic shotguns. Yuu swerved to the right.
"What the hell is that? Was that the suit that destroyed the colony?"
The Nuremberg thrusts back and launches an onslaught with its shotguns. Lawrence eyes the Miracle and fires a barrage of shots.
"Heh, I didn't expect Londo Bell to get a new model so fast . . ."
"He doesn't have a bad shot." Yuu notices a blue Mobile Suit fly out of the Ra Cailum. It's the Lionheart. "Finally . . ."
The Nuremburg drives a shotgun into a nearby Jegan and fires a hole through the cockpit. Lawrence turns his attention back to the Miracle and reloads its guns.
"Die, Feddie bastard!"
The Miracle dodges Lawrence's shots. Yuu follows the Nuremburg's motions and pulls the trigger and shoots off the left hand of the Nuremburg. Lawrence ditches his shotgun and ignites his beam saber. Yuu does the same and they clash.
Jill Kerrigan's Jegan exchanges fire with a Geara Doga. A wave of beam fire spews from her rifle as she attempts to dodge the incoming attacks. A second Geara Doga drives at her with its saber. Jill is barely able to jam her controls forward away from the attack. She draws to the right to avoid the other Geara Doga's fire and drives at it with her beam saber and slices off its arm. The second Geara Doga rises with its saber in a set position in its hand. A beam not too far away hits the Geara Doga and destroys is. Jill backs her Jegan away from her other opponent and a similar shot accompanied by other strike down on the Geara Doga.
Jill looks up to see another Jegan. In it, Philip sits, reloading the e-pac on his beam rifle. "You all right?"
"Yes. I'm just fine."
"Be careful out there."
He takes off, and she soon follows as they surround the Ra Cailum which is taking fire from what seems to be out of nowhere.
"Can we get a lock onto the ship?" Bright asked.
"We can try. It seems to have some sort of anti-light mechanism or something . . . I was reading about it, we'd need to get in pretty close with a flare or something like that in order to see it . . ."
"Who's free out there?"
"Yazan and the Lionheart just launched, sir."
"Have him try to get in as close as possible and launch a flare."
"Yes, sir."
Yuu lifted his saber above his head and struck down onto the defending Nuremberg.
"This blue one doesn't stand a chance . . ."
Lawrence pulls his saber back and drives forward with it. Yuu pulls to the right to avoid it and swings his saber again. The Nuremberg glides its saber along Yuu's to defend and then swings it at the Miracle's chest. Yuu easily defends and the two suits press against each other with their sabers. Lawrence opens fire with his chest vulcans and Yuu raises his altitude to avoid them. The Nuremberg drives back and releases two pods from his back, each of them releasing a handful of missiles.
Yuu shouts as he attempts to avoid the onslaught. The missiles' explosions barely graze the Miralce and singe its armor. For a short moment, the Miracle and Nuremburg stand a moderate distance from each other. They stare at each other while wielding their sabers, showing a display of honor and the will to destroy. Yuu takes multiple deep breaths as Lawrence laughs.
The Lionheart in Mobile Armor mode skims across space while avoiding both friendly and enemy fire.
"Heh. Not your average spacenoids."
Yazan barrel rolls in the Lionheart past the enemy line of fire and finds the ship masked among the darkness of space. He launches a flare, lighting up outer space and giving away the location of the Black Dream's Titanic.
The Black Dream's flagship shook violently as it began to take fire. It moved back seeing how its exact location was exploited.
The Miracle Gundam was the first to move, sliding into an attack as if it were on solid ground. The Nuremberg advanced and swung as the Miracle did the same. Both sabers slashed at the opposing Mobile Suit. As the Miracle and Nuremburg glided away from each other, the leg of the Miracle slid off, but the Nuremburg was cut in half. Lawrence was thrown back in shock as shards of glass and fire surrounded him.
"That pilot . . . he's . . . he's . . ."
Yuu turned back at his defeated opponent and held up his shield as it turned into a fiery ball of death. Yuu put away his beam saber and saw the enemy Geara Dogas retreat.
A small cruiser has just gained entry into a colony and prepares to land. Inside, Nanai Miguel and her attendants land.
"We'll be out of here in no time at all. I just have to pick up our pilot for the second Nuremburg and we're out."
A small screen on the cruises beeped. Nanai switched it on and stared at Admiral Constatine.
"Major Miguel . . ."
"I won't be long Admiral."
"We . . . we lost my son . . ."
"The Nuremburg? Dammit! That thing cost us money!"
"I just lost my son, God dammit and all you can think about it your money?!"
"A price to pay to gain what you want. I think you had even told me that before when you first took in out crew, Admiral."
The Admiral was silent. He looked away as a tear formed in his eye.
"Don't assign anyone to the second Nuremburg because I already have a pilot in mind. He's a Feddy . . . well, a soon to be former Feddie . . ."
"What makes you so sure he'd join our ranks?" the Admiral asked.
"Like I said before, he was related to Admiral Kintaro. You've probably seen him once or twice. I did my homework and found out about him. From what I've heard, he'd be the perfect poor sap for us to use. He's already agreed to it, we just need for him to come join us, now."
"Alright . . . but be careful, who knows what Londo Bell is doing in Side 3 space . . ."
"Obviously, Admiral, do you use your head? We have become their main priority. And because of that, it's our priority to match them with our prowess."
The Admiral merely signed out as he turned the screen off before he started crying. Nanai's cruiser has landed. She unboards and heads into the city. She slips on a pair of sunglasses and walks among the houses as if she were a citizen. She was here to add another name to her list of allies. Nanai took a small train to an apartment at the end of town where off-duty soldiers were allowed to stay for free.
"Hello?" Nanai said as she opened the door to the room of her destination.
There was no answer, but there were three heavy bags waiting in the main hall. Out comes a man with blue hair and a slightly dark skin shade.
"Mr. Terry Sanders."
"Nanai Miguel."
"Are you ready?"
He kept silent. He walked across to the couch and sat down.
"Don't tell me you're second guessing yourself. You were so sure this was the best thing to do the last time I was here."
"I'm not second guessing. I'm just wondering. What is the point of this operation? Merely revenge?"
"Justice. Justice, Mr. Sanders. There was no justification behind what the Federation did to you and your family."
"I know that. But . . . what makes you think such a small force can take on the entire Earth Federation?"
"Because our cause is a righteous one."
"Heh. The Zeon Zabis said the same thing, and look where they are now."
"I won't lie to you Mr. Sanders, we need you. I've talked with people that were stationed in the same places you were during the One Year War. You're the reaper, Mr. Sanders. But as much as we need you, you need us . . ."
"Or else? Are you going to threaten me?"
"There's no reason to get hostile. Just look at yourself. You're nothing but a slave to the same Earth Federation that has ruined your life."
". . ."
"And it all started back in Southern Asia, didn't it? Back during the One Year War . . . your story is an epic one Mr. Sanders, I'd like to record it for the morale for our men."
Nanai pulls out a tape recorder and presses on the record button. Sanders shuts his eyes and starts talking.
"Back during the One Year War, they called me the reaper . . . they called me that because I wiped the floor with the Zeeks . . . but it was always at the cost of my platoon. Everyone in every force I was in had the same fate - they all burned in hell, and only I survived. I wanted to follow them, but that never happened . . ."
Nanai pushed the recorder towards Sanders. He began to speak straight into it.
"Then, they assigned me to Southern Asia . . . we were the 08th MS Team, and let me tell you, I never told them, but that was one of the most fucked up parts of my life . . . maybe it's because that was just the beginning. Our leader . . . I'll never forget his name . . . Ensign Shiro Amada . . . he made a pretty stupid mistake, and we were sent into the depths of Asia to find the Zeeks' secret base . . . they told us straight up that the chances of survival were 38 percent . . . 38 fucking percent!"
He stopped for a moment.
"Please, Mr. Sanders, continue."
"We barely survived that shit. After, I was transferred to Australia and served the Feddies there. After the war ended, I never saw any of the members of the 08th team again. Around U 0088, my life took a turn . . ."
"One for the worse."
"No shit."
"And whose fault was this?"
". . . The Earth Federation."
"Continue."
"During the Gryps Conflict, I was stationed at Jaburo. God help me when I found out that there was a nuclear charge planted in there ready to take us all out along with the AEUG. We almost didn't make it out of that one. Then at Kilimanjaro . . . I had the highest kill count from my platoon . . . hardly any of my platoon survived though, some of them were hit by friendly fire from this huge black suit they called the Psyco Gundam or something. Anyway, at the end of the Gryps War, the Federation had lost a lot of supplies and money. They were in a deficit and it was obvious. I decided it was time to retire. I go to collect the large sum of money that was waiting for me, but the records of my efforts weren't there. It was recorded that I was a new recruit that only recently joined the Federation. There was no money waiting for me."
"Accident . . . or something more, Mr. Sanders?"
"It wasn't an accident. No way in hell it was an accident. I worked too hard to see everything disappear in an accident. The Feddies did it. I know they did. I spent years with them only to see the money I deserved go away. Up until now, I've only stayed with them because if I retired I'd be homeless on the streets begging for my food. I can't go home because I'd be turned away. Nobody wants me around."
"Nobody, Mr. Sanders?"
"Heh, this is the part where you convince me to come with you, right?"
"Let's talk about your cousin, Mr. Sanders."
"My cousin . . . Gerald . . ."
"Admiral Gerald Kintaro."
"The Feddies called him a traitor for working with the Zabis. But that wasn't the truth. The Feddies knew it wasn't the truth. They court marshaled him just so they could blame massacring a bunch of Zeeks with gas on him and his group. Christ, wasn't the point of the war to kill those fucking Zeeks in the first place?"
"And now he's dead."
"He didn't even get a proper funeral. Death by lethal injection."
"Amazing story, Mr. Sanders."
"You could put it that way. But I'd replace the word "amazing" with "fucked up". I'll never forget Gerald's last words, though. He came down that hall and asked to say something to me and he spoke into my ear . . . "Justice always needs a loser." If that's justice . . . then justice isn't much more than a social device to control society."
"Then we should show them the true meaning of justice, now shouldn't we, Mr. Sanders?"
"I guess we should. Where's our ship?"
Nanai smiled and shut off the tape recorder.
"Welcome to the Black Dream, Mr. Sanders."
The Ra Cailum attempted to make contact with a Side 3 colony and the Earth Federation, but thing's weren't working out so well.
Lieutenant Carl picked up a report from one of the techs and spoke across the room to Bright. "The communication devices were fried during the battle, Captain Bright. It's going to take some time before we can fix them."
Bright sat in his seat twiddling his thumbs. It didn't look like he was paying attention. He didn't blink. He merely looked out with a leering stare.
"Captain Bright?"
Bright Noa continued to look out into space. The look on his face was disturbing. The Londo Bell officer floated over to him and shook him hard. After a few seconds, he came to life.
"Huh? What?!"
"Captain Bright, are you alright?"
"Huh? Umm . . . I'm fine. Just fine. What's the problem?"
"The communication devices were jammed during the battle. We need some time to fix them."
"How much time?"
"A few hours at most."
"Is there any way to make contact with the colonies?"
"Not from here, sir. We're going to have to send someone in."
"Okay, give me a second and we'll send a few men into the colony."
In the lounge area, Yuu and Philip stood next to a vending machine. Philip pressed on a button and the machine wouldn't dispense anything.
"Damn machine!"
He kicks it.
"Watch it, there."
"This thing is so stupid . . ."
He kicks it again and ends up hurting himself.
"Ow! Damn!"
The drink finally comes rolling out. Jill Kerrigan walks over next to Philip.
"I'll be back," said Yuu, walking away at a steady pace. "Some conversation with other pilots should be good for him."
"Umm . . . Ensign Philip Hughes?"
"Huh? Oh . . . umm, yes?"
"I just wanted to thank you . . ."
"Thank me? For what?"
"For saving me out there. I would've been done if it weren't for you. That was your Jegan, correct?"
"Oh you mean that? No sweat. It's never a problem."
There's a short silence.
"Anything else?"
"No . . . umm . . . not really, sorry. I just wanted to thank you." She starts to giggle a bit. "Sorry, I've never actually been much of a conservationist. I'm Ensign Jill Kerrigan."
"And you already know who I am."
"A little cocky now are we?"
"Is that the impression I'm giving?"
"It doesn't matter unless it's the impression you want to give."
He smiles, she does the same. From afar, Yuu looks on.
"I knew it would take his mind off of everything else."
"These enemies aren't idiots."
Yuu turned around to see the towering Yazan in front of him.
"Yazan, what took you so long to get out there?"
"Had to take care of some business."
"What were you saying?"
"These guys, they're not your average enemies. Don't matter if they're Zeeks or a bunch of refuges, they can be pretty bad . . ."
"I see you've been evaluating our enemies."
"I've got this feeling, kid. Haven't felt it since the Gryps Conflict. I've got this feeling . . . haven't felt it since then since I fought a powerhouse suit that could wreck a ton of colonies if it had the chance."
Yuu merely looked at Yazan. This was the first time he was open about something he was thinking.
"I was hoping I'd be getting out of this one easy," Yazan continued. "Looks like I won't be seeing my payment for a long time."
"Is that all you care about? The money? We're fighting a war here."
"Bring as humble and truthful as I am . . ." Yazan said sarcastically, "Yes, the money is all I care about. It's how I live my life. Fighting for the Feds isn't my priority."
Yuu sighs. "Fighting for the Feds isn't something I'm talking about. I mean . . . for something higher . . . for something . . . gwah, how do I put it . . . sentimental."
"Nope. Got nothing."
"You're hopeless."
"I could say the same thing about you, kid."
Lieutenant Carl drifts into the room. "I've got a message from the captain. Our communications were damaged so he wants to send a small ship into Side 3's 37 Bunch. He asks for Captain Yazan Gable and Ensign Philip Hughes to report to the Mobile Suit deck prepared to take off and enter the colony.
Yazan shifted his weight forward and slugged past the short Lieutenant. Philip got up from his seat next to Jill and replied "Yes, sir" to the Lieutenant and exited.
Back on the Black Dream's flagship, Nanai finished ordering her men to paint the second Nuremburg the color of Sanders' choice. The door to her room slides open. She steps in and lights a bunch of candles with matches. She then walks into the middle of her room where a chess table sits. On one side are the black pieces. Underneath their side of the table it's labeled "Earth Federation". On the side with the white pieces, various names are labeled on the board . . . the names of Johnny Ridden and others are on the pawns . . . on the queen its labeled Admiral Constatine . . .
Nanai takes a label and with a smile she places it down on a knight. The label reads "Sanders".
To Be Continued . . .