G-Gundam: New Deals



Opening Bids



by Tremor3258



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Chibodee Crocket, Queen of Spades, 3rd place fighter in the 13th Gundam Fight, and almost certainly the Neo-American fighter for the 14th, chewed on a stick, feeling unconcerned. Most people, perhaps even some of the other members of the Shuffle Alliance, would wonder about Chibodee's state of mental health, as even a poor tactician could see he was in a lousy position.



Gundam Maxter stood at attention in Boxing Mode, powerful fists gleaming in the sunshine, the destroyed remnants of its beam magnums at its feet. This scene of Neo-American might was tempered by the four other mobile suits standing arrayed against it, surrounded by rolling rocky hills. Resembling men in robotic armor, the Nobusshi suits, used across the colonies, were no match for a Gundam one-on-one, even with the powerful beam rifles these were holding. Still, it was four on one, and the postures of Chibodee's opponent mobile suits, rifles set at the firing position, radiated confidence. One moved slightly forward, motioning menacingly.



"Surrender, Chibodee!" warned a female speaker from the lead mobile suit. "Your position is hopeless!"



Chibodee glanced around for a moment, and then shrugged. "Guess you're right," he drawled slightly, before complaining, "And the scenery's LOUSY from this angle." Chibodee took a deep breath, and balled his hands into fists. Gundam Maxter did the same, though its fists were hidden from hostile gazes under the 'boxing gloves'. "Guess it's time to change it," he announced, before shouting an attack command, "Cyclone PUNCH!" Chibodee roared,bending to one knee as he drove his right fist straight down at the ground. Maxter, eyes glowing, mimicked his movements, wind gathering around the fist before the force of air surrounded the mighty Gundam, launching it into the air.



Caught off guard, the Nobusshi desperately shifted their guns to fire at the rapidly rising Gundam. "Sorry, ladies!" said Chibodee in triumph, "But you didn't get up early enough to beat this Gundam Fighter. Burning Punch!" Chibodee commanded, launching several rapid-fire punches in succession. Maxter responded, tubes of flames twisting away from its gloves towards the stunned Nobusshis. Soon, four mobile suits hit the ground, their heads burned through by Maxter's power. Jets flaring lightly, Maxter settled down in the midst of the wrecked, and slightly crispy, suits, arms crossed in a posture of total confidence.



Chibodee held the pose for several seconds, before sending a signal to the Gundam. The view-screens surrounding him went dark, replaced after a moment by the image of the scaffolding surrounding Maxter, snug in its bay on the Neo-American colony. Four screens popped up, each one for one of the lovely ladies on his crew. Each was sitting in a separate mock-up cockpit elsewhere in the Defense Department complex. "Well, what do you think girls?" Chibodee asked, throwing off a few practice right jabs, "Does Domon Kasshu even stand a chance?"



Bunny, the glasses-wearing girl spoke up, "You're assuming you're going to passethe qualification rounds, Chibodee," she said with a grin, before assuming a face of mock compromise, "Of course, you're assuming he's going to pass as well."



Chibodee's grin grew a few notches, "King of Hearts missing the fight? I think he'd die if he didn't make it! He's Neo-Japan's champion, they'd be crazy not to send him down and TRY to get four more years of control." Chibodee raised up a hand, index finger extended as he made a second point, "Besides... you've seen who's come forward for the talent pool for Qualification this year. Not bad... but with the training that I've been doing, they really don't stand a chance!"



Another screen popped up, interrupting Chibodee in his plans for glory. A man with dark hair, sunglasses, and wearing a business suit was centered in the middle of the screen, with several technicians wandering in the background. "Of course, Mr. Crocket, the upgrades to the original Maxter's servos and thruster system designs also help the Maxter II assist in your fighting style," he said stiffly. Chibodee looked around, agreeing. Much had been done to replicate the feel and look of Chibodee's previous Gundam, which, as with all Neo-American Gundams, had been stripped of its working parts, the mighty body put on display within the colony's branch of the Smithsonian.



Chibodee motioned for the man to calm down, "Relax, Mr. Johnson. I know how important the work of your team in Defense is to the rebuild, it handles twice as well as the original did!" Chibodee said brightly, before turning serious, "But when are those new beam pistols going to be ready?" Chibodee called up the simulation recordings, pointing to the shattered remnants of the magnums. "Considering how much trouble running out of ammo caused four years ago, you'd think all the taxpayers money could buy your Gundam Fighter some better guns!"



Johnson leaned back slightly, looking aggrieved, "You forget, Mr. Crocket, that the defense allocations have more than you to go to. Admittedly, your success means Defense has an easier time of getting more money on its own, but for the Gundam, your development grants are the same as everyone else's, and replacing the Statue of Liberty cannon hasn't been cheap either. Still, Sunbrite Industries is practically GIVING you those prototypes, so you can't complain."



Chibodee nodded in reluctant agreement, "That's true. Of course, if they work half as well as they claimed," Chibodee chuckled and corrected, "Or even the quarter I'm expecting, they'll make a fortune selling them to you guys and the rest of the colonies." Johnson nodded, giving an amused, but heartfelt groan.



"Speaking of the colonies," Bunny spoke up, "What's the latest intelligence reports for the next Gundam Fight?" Chibodee nodded in agreement.



Johnson picked up a small notebook, "Well, since you're not confirmed as the Gundam Fighter yet, there's a limit to what we can tell you. It looks like Neo-Japan is managing to enter after all, but I wouldn't expect them to be able to deploy anything besides Burning Gundam after both the colony repairs and the fines. They may be in charge of the Earth Sphere, but no one really wanted to help them that much with their rebuilding expenses."



Chibodee snorted, "Like they need anything more than Burning Gundam. Domon is going to be the fighter, right?"



Johnson nodded again before explaining, "It looks the whole Shuffle Alliance is going to at least attempt to enter. Not surprising after the publicity you five got, so you'll get your rematch." Johnson turned to the next page, and said, slightly startled, "But there's some preliminary stuff they gave. You should watch out, and tell your friends to as well when you see them. The Shuffle Alliance going public makes you all HUGE targets for the other Gundam Fighters."



"Only natural," Chibodee confirmed, "Who wouldn't want to take on the five best Gundam Fighters in the colonies? Still, it'll be good to give Domon what's coming to him without the Dark Gundam's Kings to distract us."



Johnson chuckled, and said seriously, "That's what Defense wants to hear." His watch beeped, and Johnson winced, "Mr. Crocket... we're running late for that meeting with our publicity staff."



"Damn," said Chibodee mildly. "Girls, you go on ahead while I shut things down here, and try and buy me some time away from those vultures!" His support staff nodded and all the screens winked out. A quick mental command later darkened the view of the outside world as Maxter went to shut-down mode.



Chibodee quickly began to change, automatic after his long experience, and his thoughts ahead. It was November 20, FC 63, and the Gundam Fight was a little more than a month away. It looked to be a good one, with everyone's fighting spirits raised by the events of last year, and everyone hoped for a good clean Gundam Fight. Chibodee, as a Shuffle member, intended to do his best to enforce a clean fight, and hopefully he would have less trouble with his government next time. He'd proven that he could uphold the American dream AND the honor of the Fight simultaneously, so he'd get to fight his own battles. Which was better than his friends could say, with their more dictatorial colonies breathing down their necks-



A quick rattling noise suddenly echoed through the Gundam's cockpit. Chibodee was shaken from his thoughts, instantly alert as he brought his hands up to a ready stance, before dropping them to his side feeling foolish. "Just the reactor cooling down, Chibodee... gotta relax if you're going to win the Qualification Trials!" Chibodee chided himself.. before another ghostly rattle echoed through the cockpit. Chibodee blinked, and then quickly finished changing to his usual apparel,

"Or.. maybe it's someone climbing Maxter's scaffolding," Chibodee muttered angrily. There were plenty of people, in Neo-America and out, who had something to gain from disabling the Gundam, and he had foolishly sent his security staff ahead for the photo shoot. "Oh, come on Chibodee... if you can't handle one lousy saboteur, how can you expect to be called a Gundam Fighter?" Chibodee braced himself, and popped open the forward cockpit, leaping from Maxter to stand poised on the forward cat-walk, which rattled under his feet, echoing around the empty bay.



Chibodee started, realizing what he had just thought, and a few glances confirmed: The bay, which should have had a few technicians working, was completely silent, but for the sound of Chibodee's breathing. "All right... so that's the way we're going to play it, huh?" Chibodee murmured, before taking a deep breath and jumping from the cat-walk, landing easily despite the six meter or so drop.



Much as he'd like to stay and poke around, there was a good chance the technicians would need medical help... and so he raced for the alarm button situated near the door, expecting to have to dodge or catch a bullet, or perhaps a hail of bullets, with each step. He was pleasantly surprised to make it safely through the Gundam storage area, and, grinning in triumph, hit the alarm button behind its glass cover, turning as he did to go look for the technicians.



Klaxons howled, but the sound Chibodee was interested in was a hissing noise coming from behind him. Turning back to look at the alarm, Chibodee gasped as he saw vapor leaking from out of the alarm plate. "Gas?" he identified incredulously, but before he could say anything else, a powerful coughing fit wracked his body, dropping him to his knees. "Got to," Chibodee coughed, struggling forward, "Stop it!" he finished, but, as he raised his hand up to try and seal the flow, his body gave in to darkness.



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A quarter mile away, in a small, unmarked truck parked in an abandoned industrial neighborhood, the scene played out on a bank of video monitors. Several people were working in the truck, bamboozling Neo-American security as they hacked the security cameras within the complex. Their leader smiled, picking up a communicator and dialing the frequency.



"Target 1 has been disabled, sir," he reported, "But we can't confirm permanent neutralization, security is responding too quickly."



"No matter... assuming we underestimated his strength even by half, he'll be in no shape to enter the Gundam Fight," reported back a cold voice. "You've done quite well... how long can your hackers hold off Neo-America?"



The leader refocused his attention to his surroundings, and inhaled sharply. Dust particles were starting to dance off horizontal surfaces, and a nearly imperceptible rumbling conducted itself through the walls. The leader forced his voice past a suddenly dry throat, "Not long enough sir.. it seems we may be expecting company shortly."



"Very well," said the voice through the airwaves, slightly tinged with sadness. "Your relatives will be compensated, and know you died as heroes."



The leader nodded, even thought it was highly probably even HIS superior couldn't see it. "Yes sir... goodbye." he said, as the terminated the connection. Turning the radio to look at its back, he popped the false casing off, mashing down on the red button located there. The last thing the commando saw was the bodies of his men, shadowed against a sudden terrible light.



Outside.. a Murphy mobile suit in helicopter mode paused in its frantic flight towards the apparent invader. The pilot threw up his hands over his eyes and cursed as the truck he had been approaching suddenly exploded. After a few moments of shaking, all was still... the truck now a grey smear. "Base," he said, feeling weary, "I think we have a problem."



To be continued...



Next time: As Neo-America's qualification trials loom in the near future, the question of WHO will be Neo-America's brightest star suddenly burns far brighter. Meanwhile, the rest of the colonies prepare for the first Gundam Fight after the devastating Dark Gundam, including the Shuffle Alliance! Which young hopefuls will represent their nations, and what old faces will be reappearing?



Author's Notes: I really had to resist the temptation to set it up as Stalker.. but that doesn't work in prose format. There's going to be a few original characters in here, starting next chapter, but I suppose it goes with the territory. It's the 14th fight, and there's been four years to improve technology, so expect more old faces than old Gundams. The first of which was actually Maxter, actually Maxter II. This is a new Gundam based on the old design to a great degree... but with a few mild upgrades thrown in. (Better servos for faster movements, a bit better ammo capacity, etc.) Note I'm going dub here, and I apologize if anyone has a problem with that.



Please remember to send any comments you might have my way, I always appreciate well thought-out critiques, either positive or negative.



Oh! And don't worry about Chibodee. He's a Shuffle Alliance member... he's not going to stay down for too long. ^_^