The Mayfly of Space
By Seraphilim
Chapter 2 - Integration
U.C. 0083
Aftermath of Operation Stardust
Luna II
She could see them again. Those dark, hollow faces, devoid of emotion, just staring at her with blank gazes. The stares weren't accusatory or pitying, nor were they saddened or angered. They just... stared. Maybe they were judging her. Judging her for what she did four years ago...
Cima woke in a cold sweat. It was dark, and she was lying in a bed. This didn't feel like her bed in the Lili Marlene; this was stiff and cold, like a military bunk.
"Oh hell..."
She remembered. The colony drop. The battle with Delaz Fleet and the Albion. Losing the Lili Marlene. Losing her life. 'But that can't be. I'm still alive, I think. How did I survive?'
The door opened, and bright white light shone through the new opening. Cima had to squint until she could accustom herself to the light. A silhouette of a person entered, and took a seat next to the bed. A hospital bed, she realized.
"You're awake, huh? How do you feel, Miss Cima?"
"I feel like shit, Alex. Why am I alive?"
"Well, that's my fault, I suppose. I smashed that cannon before it fired, and it missed your cockpit."
Cima stared up at the ceiling. Nobody had ever saved her life before. Hell, most people were trying to take it from her. She looked back at Alex, her eyes finally adjusted to the light.
"What happened after I was out?"
He took a long breath before speaking.
"Well, first off, me and the Vagabonds hauled you out of there to the Rose as fast as we could. No one spotted us, fortunately. That mobile armor who got you ended up fighting Gato. Those two were right in front of the Solar System when it fired at the colony. The white one was destroyed, though the Gundam inside survived, and Gato escaped. He tried to get the remnants of Delaz's forces to follow him through the Fed fleet to get to those Axis guys. He's dead now; rammed into one of the Salamis cruisers. I think only a few of Delaz's men made it through. As for us, we're the only ship left of your fleet. We managed to pick up some survivors from the Wild Osprey and a 2nd Lt. Maxwell Enders and his HM Zaku; he was still fighting when his ship, the Kraken, blew up. We contacted the Feddie fleet after the colony fell; yeah, Bosque Ohm couldn't stop it with the Solar System. Anyways, we contacted them, told 'em we were the Cima Fleet, but the bastards almost shot us down before we could get them to believe us. They sent us here to Luna II, and we got you laided up here in their hospice. Some Feddie commander wanted to speak to you once you got yourself back on your feet. And that's all you missed."
Cima was quietly digesting this information. 'Okay, Delaz's men are pretty much all gone. That's good. Mr. Nightmare of Solomon is dead, that's even better. My fleet is down to one Musai. That's NOT good. But, it seems like the Feddies are willing to take us in. That's definitely good.'
"So, who's this Mr. Big who wants to talk to me?"
"Some Major, uh, name's Jeffrey Carroway. I think he works for Jamitov, at least that's what I can get from him."
Cima sat up, slowly. She didn't really feel as bad as she first thought. Her shoulder felt pretty sore, she'd probably dislocated it and they had had to put it back in. Besides that, she felt fine.
"I'll go see him now."
Alex stood up, and began to leave.
"Right. I'll go tell him you're coming."
He left, and Cima was alone again. She swung her long legs over the side of the bed, and stood up gracefully.
"Oh, yuck."
She was wearing of those damn hospital gowns. Cursing under her breath, Cima looked around for any of her clothes. To her surprise, she found a small case with a white and black tiger-stripe pattern next to her bed.
"Alex, you sneaky bastard..."
This was her 'emergency' case, just for situations like this. She always kept it stored on her mobile suit or her ship(her mobile suit, in this case), which ever one was more likely to be needed. And if she knew herself...
She dropped the case on the bed, and typed in her lock code. The case popped open, and she rummaged through the stuff inside to the bottom, rather, the fake bottom. She grasped the edge, and pulled out the false bottom. To her delight, she found her back-up monetary 'gains', set aside for anything that could happen.
"Heh, Cima Garahau isn't fucked yet."
She replaced the fake backside, and pulled out her uniform and undergarments. Shrugging off the damned hospital gown, she dressed in the simple black underwear. She didn't care much for it to be fancy rather than comfortable. Reaching over, she snagged her uniform. Tossing the beige cloak back onto the bed, Cima quickly donned the snug, red uniform she always wore on the bridge of the Lili Marlene.
"Dammit, I miss my ship. I wonder if the Feddies have any spare Zanzibars?"
Leaving the cloak, Cima reached back into the case for one more thing. Her Asian-style fan. She loved that little trinket. It cost her a bit, since it was imported from Earth, but when she had it, she felt regal and confident. Almost like a queen.
"Well, I damn well made everyone treat me as such. What a waste... all that effort, and those idiots go off and die."
'For you, stupid. They died because they valued your life over their own. You didn't even treat them like soldiers, you used them like servants and serfs.' Dammit, those voices were talking to her again.
"Shut up. You don't know what it felt like."
'It felt damn good, and you know it. You cared only about yourself, the queen bitch of a group of thugs and half-wits.'
"Shut the fuck up! You don't know me! I deserved that! I deserved better than what those bastard Zeons gave me!"
That seemed to make the voices stop. Cima huffed in annoyance, and strode from the room, leaving her cloak behind.
It wasn't long before she arrived at the office of Jeffrey Carroway. Without even bothering to knock, she waltzed in and dropped herself in the most comfortable-looking chair available; immediately she began to slouch in the chair. The office's sole occupant, a tall, thin man with a neatly trimmed bush of brown hair on his head, stared at her, speechless. Cima mentally sighed. Typical Feddie.
"Major Carroway, I presume?"
Carroway quickly composed himself.
"Ah, yes, that's correct, Lt. Colonel... Cima Garahau, I believe?"
"Yes."
Carroway waited, obviously expecting her to say more. When she didn't, instead boring a hole through his forehead with her leveled gaze, the Federation Major continued.
"Well, okay, here's what I need to discuss with you, Lt. Colonel. Brigadier General Hyman has told me that you and your men are to be integrated into the new Titans military division. You may keep all of your mobile suits and your ship, and you'll also be receiving new ships and mobile suits, along with the men to use them. You're going to be one of our 'secret police', for lack of better term. Essentially, you'll be going throughout the entire Earth Sphere, dealing with any dissidents, riots, rebellious colonists, etc, etc."
Carroway folded both of his hands in front of him on the desk, his composure completely regained.
"I recommend that you junk that Musai, Lt. Colonel. You'll be moving back and forth from the Earth and space, and Musais can't operate on Earth. Either that, or leave it with us, we could always use another ship. Speaking of which, we have one of our new Pegasus-II carriers on standby to take you and your crew to Earth, where you'll be taken to our Belfast Base in Europe. You'll receive your new ship and orders there. That's all I have for you, Colonel."
They both stood, and Carroway offered his hand. Cima stared at it, as if she didn't know what to do with it, then took it in hers and shook once before turning on one heel and leaving the office. Carroway stared after her and muttered.
"Damn, what a bitch."
End Chapter 2
By Seraphilim
Chapter 2 - Integration
U.C. 0083
Aftermath of Operation Stardust
Luna II
She could see them again. Those dark, hollow faces, devoid of emotion, just staring at her with blank gazes. The stares weren't accusatory or pitying, nor were they saddened or angered. They just... stared. Maybe they were judging her. Judging her for what she did four years ago...
Cima woke in a cold sweat. It was dark, and she was lying in a bed. This didn't feel like her bed in the Lili Marlene; this was stiff and cold, like a military bunk.
"Oh hell..."
She remembered. The colony drop. The battle with Delaz Fleet and the Albion. Losing the Lili Marlene. Losing her life. 'But that can't be. I'm still alive, I think. How did I survive?'
The door opened, and bright white light shone through the new opening. Cima had to squint until she could accustom herself to the light. A silhouette of a person entered, and took a seat next to the bed. A hospital bed, she realized.
"You're awake, huh? How do you feel, Miss Cima?"
"I feel like shit, Alex. Why am I alive?"
"Well, that's my fault, I suppose. I smashed that cannon before it fired, and it missed your cockpit."
Cima stared up at the ceiling. Nobody had ever saved her life before. Hell, most people were trying to take it from her. She looked back at Alex, her eyes finally adjusted to the light.
"What happened after I was out?"
He took a long breath before speaking.
"Well, first off, me and the Vagabonds hauled you out of there to the Rose as fast as we could. No one spotted us, fortunately. That mobile armor who got you ended up fighting Gato. Those two were right in front of the Solar System when it fired at the colony. The white one was destroyed, though the Gundam inside survived, and Gato escaped. He tried to get the remnants of Delaz's forces to follow him through the Fed fleet to get to those Axis guys. He's dead now; rammed into one of the Salamis cruisers. I think only a few of Delaz's men made it through. As for us, we're the only ship left of your fleet. We managed to pick up some survivors from the Wild Osprey and a 2nd Lt. Maxwell Enders and his HM Zaku; he was still fighting when his ship, the Kraken, blew up. We contacted the Feddie fleet after the colony fell; yeah, Bosque Ohm couldn't stop it with the Solar System. Anyways, we contacted them, told 'em we were the Cima Fleet, but the bastards almost shot us down before we could get them to believe us. They sent us here to Luna II, and we got you laided up here in their hospice. Some Feddie commander wanted to speak to you once you got yourself back on your feet. And that's all you missed."
Cima was quietly digesting this information. 'Okay, Delaz's men are pretty much all gone. That's good. Mr. Nightmare of Solomon is dead, that's even better. My fleet is down to one Musai. That's NOT good. But, it seems like the Feddies are willing to take us in. That's definitely good.'
"So, who's this Mr. Big who wants to talk to me?"
"Some Major, uh, name's Jeffrey Carroway. I think he works for Jamitov, at least that's what I can get from him."
Cima sat up, slowly. She didn't really feel as bad as she first thought. Her shoulder felt pretty sore, she'd probably dislocated it and they had had to put it back in. Besides that, she felt fine.
"I'll go see him now."
Alex stood up, and began to leave.
"Right. I'll go tell him you're coming."
He left, and Cima was alone again. She swung her long legs over the side of the bed, and stood up gracefully.
"Oh, yuck."
She was wearing of those damn hospital gowns. Cursing under her breath, Cima looked around for any of her clothes. To her surprise, she found a small case with a white and black tiger-stripe pattern next to her bed.
"Alex, you sneaky bastard..."
This was her 'emergency' case, just for situations like this. She always kept it stored on her mobile suit or her ship(her mobile suit, in this case), which ever one was more likely to be needed. And if she knew herself...
She dropped the case on the bed, and typed in her lock code. The case popped open, and she rummaged through the stuff inside to the bottom, rather, the fake bottom. She grasped the edge, and pulled out the false bottom. To her delight, she found her back-up monetary 'gains', set aside for anything that could happen.
"Heh, Cima Garahau isn't fucked yet."
She replaced the fake backside, and pulled out her uniform and undergarments. Shrugging off the damned hospital gown, she dressed in the simple black underwear. She didn't care much for it to be fancy rather than comfortable. Reaching over, she snagged her uniform. Tossing the beige cloak back onto the bed, Cima quickly donned the snug, red uniform she always wore on the bridge of the Lili Marlene.
"Dammit, I miss my ship. I wonder if the Feddies have any spare Zanzibars?"
Leaving the cloak, Cima reached back into the case for one more thing. Her Asian-style fan. She loved that little trinket. It cost her a bit, since it was imported from Earth, but when she had it, she felt regal and confident. Almost like a queen.
"Well, I damn well made everyone treat me as such. What a waste... all that effort, and those idiots go off and die."
'For you, stupid. They died because they valued your life over their own. You didn't even treat them like soldiers, you used them like servants and serfs.' Dammit, those voices were talking to her again.
"Shut up. You don't know what it felt like."
'It felt damn good, and you know it. You cared only about yourself, the queen bitch of a group of thugs and half-wits.'
"Shut the fuck up! You don't know me! I deserved that! I deserved better than what those bastard Zeons gave me!"
That seemed to make the voices stop. Cima huffed in annoyance, and strode from the room, leaving her cloak behind.
It wasn't long before she arrived at the office of Jeffrey Carroway. Without even bothering to knock, she waltzed in and dropped herself in the most comfortable-looking chair available; immediately she began to slouch in the chair. The office's sole occupant, a tall, thin man with a neatly trimmed bush of brown hair on his head, stared at her, speechless. Cima mentally sighed. Typical Feddie.
"Major Carroway, I presume?"
Carroway quickly composed himself.
"Ah, yes, that's correct, Lt. Colonel... Cima Garahau, I believe?"
"Yes."
Carroway waited, obviously expecting her to say more. When she didn't, instead boring a hole through his forehead with her leveled gaze, the Federation Major continued.
"Well, okay, here's what I need to discuss with you, Lt. Colonel. Brigadier General Hyman has told me that you and your men are to be integrated into the new Titans military division. You may keep all of your mobile suits and your ship, and you'll also be receiving new ships and mobile suits, along with the men to use them. You're going to be one of our 'secret police', for lack of better term. Essentially, you'll be going throughout the entire Earth Sphere, dealing with any dissidents, riots, rebellious colonists, etc, etc."
Carroway folded both of his hands in front of him on the desk, his composure completely regained.
"I recommend that you junk that Musai, Lt. Colonel. You'll be moving back and forth from the Earth and space, and Musais can't operate on Earth. Either that, or leave it with us, we could always use another ship. Speaking of which, we have one of our new Pegasus-II carriers on standby to take you and your crew to Earth, where you'll be taken to our Belfast Base in Europe. You'll receive your new ship and orders there. That's all I have for you, Colonel."
They both stood, and Carroway offered his hand. Cima stared at it, as if she didn't know what to do with it, then took it in hers and shook once before turning on one heel and leaving the office. Carroway stared after her and muttered.
"Damn, what a bitch."
End Chapter 2
