CHAPTER 3. DEVELOPMENTS
DISCLAIMER:
What a shame, I own nothing. Except.The submarine Genesis (600ft long, 75 ft wide, 48000 tons gross displacement up for sale, 1 billion dollars/pounds/rubbles.) and a Compac Deskpro 433 computer (megacrap!) and a Packard Bell 3000 (much better! But it actually belongs to my family). Gundam Wing is property of Sunrise. Transformers is property of Hasbro. The Hunt for Red October is property of the author Tom Clancy and Paramount pictures. If I owned any of these things I would sleep every night 'on top of a pile of gold, with many beautiful women' to quote the 'Simpsons'. And I don't own them either.
AUTHOR NOTE:
Firstly, I warn you that much of this chapter is likely to be boring. In it several transformer technologies which will be vital for the later story will be discovered and explained in scientific detail i.e. energon, laser cores (sparks if you follow Beast Wars) and weapons hence the boredom. Rated PG-13 for some implied sex between Zechs and Noin and mild drunkenness.
I GOT REVIEWS! YEAH! Now then. I wish to thank the following people.
ASHANA: As my first ever reviewer on the internet, I thank you.
SHADOWHAWK: Thankyou as well, your wish is granted. Here's the more you requested.
NEEDNOT MATTER: Is that your actual penname? However,
thankyou for the review, and I blush at your compliments.
However, my work is substandard to that of Anime Huggler
(see below.)
ANIME HUGGLER: You may not have submitted a review, but
the inspiration for this fic was your excellent work. I
hope you update soon.
Once again I thankyou all and God bless.
CHAPTER 3.
An hour later, Noin and Zechs had both had a brief swim and had changed into more comfortable clothes than their uniforms. Howard was just concluding the grand tour.
"...We have a fully fitted electronics and chemical lab in the former torpedo room, supplies to last us for four months, and a cinema in the back," he paused, then as if an afterthought, "oh, and a facility capable of building and maintaining whole mobile suits.
The coffee Noin was still nursing quickly decorated the opposite bulkhead. Zechs however was unsurprised.
"So where is this facility?"
"Right through here." Howard pulled open a bulkhead hatch, and they stepped into the biggest room in the submarine. Both gasped in astonishment.
In Genesis' heyday as a weapon of the USSR, the ballistic missile room would have taken up more than a third of the submarine's length. 200ft long, 40 feet wide and nearly 10 meters high, most of the space would have been taken up by the twenty sinister SS-N-20 SEAHAWK missiles, each carrying eight independent warheads which would be targeted on separate targets, meaning the sub could have simultaneously destroyed 180 cities with a total nuclear explosive equivalent to eighty million tons of TNT.
Now however, Howard's engineers had stripped out the inhuman weapons and deepened the room's depth so that even the biggest mobile suit could stand up in it. At the forward end, a pair of massive racks had been set up to accommodate two mobile suits. The floor area was given over to a massive engineering facility, and from the wide range of equipment in view; Zechs figured Howard could well build an entire mobile suit underwater.
The room echoed with the sounds of machinery at work, sparks flew from equipment, gas hung around the roof, and robotic arms attached to the wall danced an intricate path across the massive space, the advanced tools on their tips glowing and sparking. Gantries criss-crossed the void and Howard led the couple onto one of these to appreciate the awe-inspiring view.
One of the massive racks was occupied by the Tallgeese 3, the third incarnation of a 20-year-old museum piece which Zechs still had fond memories of. However, there was no activity on the gigantic mobile suit. Rather, all of the twenty engineers were scrambling over the silver and red jet that sat at the foot of the empty rack.
The jet rested on its landing gear, it's cockpit open. Inside, the controls had been stripped out and a new set was being wired into place. The two engines were being run in, the massive scream they generated almost drowning out all other noises. On the aircraft's back hatches lay open, mechanics climbing in and out, stripping out mechanisms, analysing, fitting new components. Two massive hoses linked to the engines were heaving as if a thick fluid was being pumped through them into the plane. The amount of work being carried out was as impressive as the overall view of the massive room.
"I see Chris' team managed to get the mobile suit to shift to its jet form," Zechs shouted.
"What, oh no..." Howard stared out over the work, "they couldn't do a thing with it. Chris eventually got a pair of Aires to fly it out here in robot mode. When they first appeared I though you were delivering me a damn Taurus. But what I got was something...more."
"More?"
Howard turned, his face solemn.
"Down there is the most advanced mobile suit in the world, superior to all others..."
Zechs opened his mouth to interrupt, Howard didn't let him even say a word, but continued on unabated,
"...and more than a equal match to the Gundams."
Zechs' mouth flapped open like a fish that had been pulled from the water. He made a few gasping noises but said nothing. Noin stepped in.
"Explain Howard."
"I think it would be better if I showed you."
Howard stepped over to the bulkhead and sounded a massive klaxon which was load enough to drown out even the screaming engines. All work stopped.
"Close it down!" Howard gestured wildly and in a flurry of activity the mobile suit was quickly prepped for action. The engines were shut down, the cockpit controls were finished, the hoses were disconnected and all the open hatches were shut and locked.
"Chris! You there?"
A man stepped forward out of the hive of activity. Preventer Chris Latta had discarded his uniform and wore a pair of faded jeans and an oil- streaked T-Shirt. "You want something Howard?"
"Our guests require a demonstration. You wanna show them what our Grumman can do?"
"Sure."
As Latta turned and ran to the cockpit, Zechs turns and looked at Howard, "Grumman?"
"It's what we're calling it. This jet mode's an antiquated Grumman F-15 Strike Eagle. Beautiful plane, excellent plane. If obsolete"
"So it's only slightly younger than this sub Howard?"
"Touché Ms Noin. Well played. Well, it was an F-15 before we got our hands on it. We've heavily modified it. Even if it looks the same"
By this point Latta had climbed into the open cockpit, but he didn't bother to shut it. He signalled a thumbs up. Howard turned to his visitors.
"You better be ready for this."
Zechs and Noin both leant over the railing, anxious, waiting.
"NOW!"
A loud noise filled the air, a strange electrical friction.
'whum, whum, whum, whum, whump!'
As the noise passed, Zechs and Noin stared in wonder at what the jet had become. Zechs had only ever seen it lying down and inactive, covered in dust. It was a whole new experience for him as well as Noin.
The suit's red and silver paint scheme now gleamed under the spotlights. The overall shape was sleek and masculine. The most prominent features were a pair of air intakes that rose up from the shoulders, bringing the height of the mobile suit to an impressive 50-something feet. The cockpit had folded down onto the chest area, and Zechs noticed the first modification Howard's people had made.
"You've hinged the cockpit seat and controls."
"Yes. For some reason, the seats were fixed in place, so that in robot mode the pilot would be facing down, so we stripped out the cockpit interior and replaced the two seats that were there and the aircraft controls with standard mobile suit ones but left in two seats. We also hinged it so that when transformed the seats flip up and the pilot and passenger face straight forward."
Zechs stroked his chin.
"So what else have you done?"
"Well, the thruster engines in the legs were merely very improved F-15 ones. We stripped them out and replaced them with more modern units. Super Vernieas. We also added an optional pair of thrusters on the back much like the Tallgeese's to boost the speed. We added a great deal of weapons to the arsenal. But even if we had not done these things, this suit would still be superior to any OZ or the alliance ever designed."
"How?"
"Follow me."
Howard led them out of the missile room after gesturing for the mechanics to resume work on the suit. After navigating a maze of passages and several staircases they arrived in what had been the torpedo room. This had been divided down the centre to form two laboratories. The first one that Howard led them into was obviously a chemical laboratory. Beakers and test tubes lined the walls, their contents bubbling and steaming. He leaned on a gallon gasoline drum that someone had set up on a tripod in the centre of the room.
"This is truly something."
"Let me guess," Zechs interjected, "the glow-in-the-dark, pink fuel."
"Right. But you can add something else to it. It's a battery," Howard held up his hand to prevent interruptions. "Let me finish. This fuel compromises of a mix of hydrogen and/or carbon molecules, compressed to high pressures and given a massive electrical jolt. The result is that all the electrons on the atoms fly off and stay off. The electricity reverses their electrical charge, so they repel each other and they become a thin liquid, which is effectively pure energy. I know it sounds crazy but look..."
Howard produced pair of electrical wires which he hotwired to the room lights, which were then turned out. Using a flashlight to help, Howard ripped the lid off the drum and the flash no longer became necessary. A pale glow from the drum's liquid contents gave off more than enough light to see by.
A sort of reverential silence descended over scientists in the room as Howard, wearing insulated gloves, dropped the two electrical contacts into the fuel. There was a brief, intense flash of light as the hotwired lights burned brighter than a supernova, and then burned out instantly. Darkness fell again as Howard flicked on the torch.
"This single drum of fuel has an electrical charge powerful enough to fully power a Mobile Suit for three hours."
Zechs and Noin's eyes bulged at the implications.
"Not only that, but once the electrical charge has been drained from it, the left over waste can be sued as a powerful jet fuel."
"Jet fuel?"
"Yeah. This mobile suit has an energy system much like a human digestive system. First from the main fuel tank in the upper torso, it is passed through a system of piping lined with electrodes, which drain off the electrical energy, which is then stored in batteries or used to power the suit. Then, the remaining flammable waste is drained off to a secondary fuel tank where it is held until the engines in the legs need power. The thing is, because the waste is pure hydrogen and carbon ions, it's very efficient. This suit, on a full tank could run for hours on its afterburners, enough to circle the globe at least once. Other than this, there's no other energy supply, so we built in a standard Leo fusion reactor as a backup electrical supply."
Both pilots were mouthing the word 'WOW!' over and over. Finally, Zechs spoke up.
"How hard is this fuel to manufacture."
"Not very. Hundred years ago, you'd have to make it from actual carbon-rich resources, like coal, oil or diamonds, but nowadays we can synthesise the fuel with ease. We've already made enough to fully fuel this suit for a month. We had difficulty coming up with a name for this stuff. 'Hydrocarbon' has been taken, 'Electrum' sounds corny, so eventually we settled on the name 'Flux"
Zechs ran the word over in his head. Flux sounded right.
Howard then turned and walked through the dividing wall to an electrical lab, which had been hastily modified, into a weapons facility. Zechs seemed to have recovered from his amazement and followed him, though Noin remained with one of the scientists in the chemical lab to discuss the ionic composition of the fuel in more detail.
The main item on display in the weapons lab was a sleek silver gun, about ten feet in length, the long barrel taking up half that length. Zechs walked up to it and ran his hands over the cool surface murmuring to himself.
"Gas laser, cryogenic plant in barrel, quite small, I would estimate this gives a low amount of damage per shot."
"Wrong actually. There's a group of capacitors build into the suit's upper arm that connect to this. Each capacitor stores enough energy for this little baby to wreak a lot of havoc, and because there's several banks of capacitors, it can fire constantly because while one's charge is depleted, the next is charging."
"Impressive. Simple in concept, but difficult in execution. As far as I know, no-one's ever developed a capacitor that can store that kind of charge."
"Someone did. It uses that fuel as a storage medium. A sort of 'Flux Capacitor' Now then Zechs, can you tell me what this is?" He tapped a unit bolted on the rear of the laser."
Zechs fingered the smooth cylinder, "No idea."
"A liquid-cooled electromagnet. It fires in weak pulses that can disable circuitry for several minutes."
"Incredible, an EMP cannon small enough to be built into a rifle. It can disable targets then finish them off with the laser."
"Yup!"
"So what other weapons does this thing hold?"
Howard leant against the EMP rifle, "not many. There are two of these, and then a group of cluster bombs mounted in the chest. These bomblets were built into the VTOL engines, but weren't very powerful, so we modified them. The new engines we put in did not require air intakes or Vertical Take Off and Landing engines, so we converted those areas into assault weapons. There's a bank of missiles and two torpedoes inside each air intake, which pop up in robot mode, a modified bank of cluster bombs in the forearms, and a pair of Gatling Guns in each VTOL recess. It's literally a walking artillery platform, like the Gundam Heavyarms."
A brief look of distaste passed across Zechs' face, "so it only boasts long- range weapons."
Howard burst out laughing. "Don't worry Zechs. I know your personal passion for the honour of duelling, so we put a pair of beam sabres on the hips. There's also a pair of energy shields like the Mercurius and Vigros carried on the wings that can connect onto the EMP rifle ports to run off the capacitors."
"You know me too well Howard"
"I know you were a world class-fencing champion at the age of six."
"So what else can you tell me about the technologies in this suit?"
"Well, the armour seems to be a close derivative to Gundanium, but is thinly layered on the exo-structure with layers of titanium. Not as strong as proper Gundanium, but incredibly flexible. One of our technicians managed to hotwire the suit to sing the lyrics to old musicals, along with the proper mouth movements. We had to put up with 'The hills are alive, with the sound of music,' and 'tomorrow, tomorrow, I love ya' tomorrow,' for several days before we all snapped and smashed the CDs."
Zechs was chuckling, "that mouth by the way, what's its purpose?"
"It connects to the fuel tank. It allows the suit to refuel on the move just by drinking a supply of flux carried with it."
"Smart, very smart. So what else can you tell me?"
"Well, this metal alloy for one. The entire structure of the suit is covered with it, not just the armour. A complex system of actuated hydraulics coupled to it allow the suit to have a fantastic amount of manoeuvrability and agility, even if it makes it a b*****d to pilot!"
"That must have been expensive. Especially if this was built in the 20th century. Unless there is some way of manufacturing Gundanium outside of zero gravity I'm stumped as to how this suit could have been build."
"You're not alone there."
"Incredible, simply incredible. These technologies have been desired for years by the world's militaries, the 'Flux Capacitor' technology alone would revolutionise all forms of life, not just warfare. But till now they have all been beyond the reach of science...What the!"
A small explosion rocked the nose of the submarine. Smoke burst through the door into the chemical lab. Suddenly, coughing, her hair standing on end, Noin staggered through the division before grabbing the fire extinguisher mounted on the wall.
"Sorry, I was trying to test how flammable that fuel was and I used a bit too much."
Still coughing, Noin stumbled back into chemical lab, where several small fires had sprung up. Howard turned to Zechs.
"Could you keep that girl away from anything explosive when we're submerged!"
*
"There's one other factor about this mobile suit that you haven't seen yet."
"And that is?"
"Well, when we were stripping out the cockpit, we found something else underneath
"And that was?"
"It's best if you see yourself. Up here."
Zechs and Howard had returned to the former missile bay, and were now scrambling up a ladder that led into the suit cockpit. Zechs paused by the blue foot and stared up at the robot's imposing mass.
'I once described the Gundams as impressive beasts, because I hoped that someday I would be able to pilot such a suit, to control it, to tame it like a wild animal. But this robot I feel is less of a beast and more of a warrior, something that does not need to be broken because it already has full control over it's abilities.'
When the two reached the top of the ladder they found that the cockpit was already occupied. Latta was sitting inside, tongue between teeth and a soldering iron in his hands, trying to reconnect some wires in one of the joysticks, which had snapped in the installation.
"Hey Chris, mind if we swing you out so we can have a look underneath?"
Latta nodded, never taking his attention from the severed wires. Howard flipped a switch on the cockpit lid, and the seat with Latta in it swung out of the cockpit along with its console. Behind, a panel of the wall slid down, giving Zechs a clear view into the heart of the Mobile Suit. A strange light washed over his face as his eyes widened in shock.
"What in the name of God is THAT!" he spluttered.
THAT! was a strange transparent sphere about a foot across which was filled with a pale purple gas, which rippled and spun in complex fashions. It stood on a shaft in the centre of a spherical chamber the near side of which was lined with what Zechs realised with a small shock were lasers. A few of these were calmly blinking on and off, firing small burst of concentrated light into the sphere. These were reflected and diffracted out the other side of the sphere striking sensors with which the other half of the chamber was lined. When the laser beams intersected inside the gas or came in close proximity a strange rainbow hued glow was given off. Howard watched on with unhidden pride.
"That, my friend Zechs, is a laser brain."
"A brain, you mean a CPU of some sort?"
"What he means," a new voice interjected, "is that this mobile suit can think. Not just process information and produce a logical response, but think like a human."
Zechs spun. Latta, his soldering put down for now, was leaning into the opening.
"This thing can strategise, plot responses, continue to fight when most of it's supporting systems fail, fight a battle with a fighting style unique to itself."
Zechs just stared into the sphere, the strange light continuing to light up his face in an unearthly manner.
"My God!" he murmured.
*
"The sphere essentially models a neuron, a single component of the human brain. It transforms incoming data from the CPU in the head into light, which is shot into the sphere by the lasers. The gas, in the sphere, is of a composition unique to the robot. When we discovered the laser brain, Chris here went back to Mt. St. Hillary and checked the other suits to see if they were fitted with similar units. All were, but each was different. The sphere was larger or small, the gas was of a different colour and density or texture, and there were a different number of lasers. The result is, that when the laser beam comes out of the sphere and hits the sensors, sometimes split into different beams, the light is translated back into electrical data, but comes out different to how that same data went in. And the individual designs means that data is translated in a unique way for each suit"
"So what your saying is that each suit has different brain processes."
The four of them (Zechs, Noin, Latta and Howard) had retreated to Howard's office, the former captain's cabin. Howard had poured drinks (hot tea without milk or sugar but a hefty shot of whisky) and they had sat around the small stateroom table to first explain the laser brain system to Noin, and then discuss it.
"Exactly Ms. Noin" Howard sat back.
"But what's the point?" Zechs lifted the glass cup to his lips and took a sip of his tea. Surprisingly, the whisky went quite well with the drink, giving it a sharp ting and drowning out the unpleasant bitter aftertaste of plain tea. It also gave it a surprisingly mellow feel. Zechs was worried about how much of the drink he could take. He had always been a lightweight when it came to alcohol and Howard was insisting on serving everyone refills when their cups got half-empty.
'Oh God! Please don't let me get drunk!'
"What's the point of having a mobile suit that can think?"
"Common' don't you get it!" Howard was now grinning smugly at the others, happy as a clam that he knew something they didn't, he slowly leant forward, and as if divulging a great secret, whispered, "it's what the zero system lacked to make it work."
Zechs and Noin sat back in their seats with a look of realisation dawning on their faces, but Latta looked puzzled.
"The zero system? What the heck's that?"
Zechs leant back into the corner, pinching the bridge of his nose to relieve the pressure building there. Noin took centre stage.
"The zero system was a system designed specifically for mobile suits. Data from the suit's systems and battle simulations are fed directly into the pilot's brain. The intention was to heighten the pilot's instincts and make them react almost simultaneously to a battle situation. It almost bordered on precognition." She sighed. Howard took up the staff in explaining to Latta.
"The problem was it caused pilots to flip. The data rush was too much for most humans to handle. Caused temporary insanity in them."
"Insanity?"
"Hallucinations, increased aggression etc. In some cases it fed on the pilot's most secret fears and emotions and caused severe personality changes in them. The first person to use it had a lot of built up anger and hatred. The zero system mutated that negative emotion into homicidal tendencies. He blew up an entire colony and murdered its whole population. Only the most hardened pilots," he shot a significant stare at Zechs over the rim of his drink, "could handle it. In return, the zero system granted them a level of temporary enlightenment..." his voice trailed off.
Latta wanted to know more, but the atmosphere in the room told him not to push it. Zechs was now contemplating his drink with a very serious expression, Noin was weeping quietly, and Howard was staring blankly at the wall over his intertwined fingers.
"I think I understand it...this zero system failed because the human mind could not take the sudden rush of direct information, which I assume was presented in digital format. But...(he paused and looked round slowly), if you had something which could translate this data into human brainwaves, the pilot would be able to take it," by this point, the others were all nodding slowly, "something like, the laser neuron."
Howard slowly sat up, a look of almost childish joy filling his face.
"In fact Chris, if such a device were linked to the zero system, the pilot would most likely cease to be an individual portion of the machine, and the human brain would take control from the CPU. The pilot would become the suit."
"But wouldn't they loose control?" Noin had wiped away her tears.
"No, the pilot would retain his humanity, but would be in joint control with the CPU. He would become the weapon, and as such, would become unstoppable."
"But, why are all these brains to different designs?"
"Most likely to make them as compatible as possible with the pilot specific to the suit. The pilot would be in better harmony with the machine if the brain is designed to convert the data into brainwaves as similar as possible to his own."
"Does that mean that if we were to pilot that suit, we would start thinking like someone else unless a brain specific to us was put in?"
Howard paused in reaction to Noin's question. After a minute of silence, he looked up.
"Yes. It would take time to make a new brain though. We would need to analyse the gas, find out how to adjust the parameters to suit a new pilot. That pilot would also have to undergo a full CAT scan of his brain before any changes were made. But, if anyone would like to take the suit out for a fly before then, I could put in a bypass, to allow the suit to be piloted manually by cutting the laser neuron out of the loop. I could install the zero system on a similar bypass as well. What do you think Zechs? Zechs?"
Zechs had not moved from his position in five minutes, he had not said a single word either.
Slowly, Zechs made his first move since Noin had started to explain the zero system; he reached out, picked up his tea which Howard had just topped up, and downed it in a shot. He felt the warm glow of the whisky hit his stomach, and then his world went black.
'That hits the spot,' he thought as he keeled over onto the tabletop.
*
"Are we going to wake him up?" Latta enquired of Noin, who was silently laughing as Zechs snored loudly, a thin trail of saliva trailing from his mouth onto the tabletop. He highly suspected she had had a bit too much of Howard's tea herself, there was a mischievous glint in her eyes which were slightly out of focus.
"No, I've got a better idea."
*
Zechs had the very pleasant sensation that he was floating in his world of darkness. Invisible hands were carrying him gently over the world of his dreams, then he felt them let go, and he was soaring through the air gracefully, free of all restraints.
'How wonderful, I'm fly...'
SPLASH!
Zechs hit the steaming water of the swimming pool in a belly flop. Noin watching from the side winced as he sank slowly below the surface. Suddenly, he sprang up, glaring at her.
"Why you...!"
She turned to run out the door, but found it shut and locked in her face.
"Howard, Chris, Let me out. You b*****ds!"
She felt a pair of strong hands grab her around the waist and then she was dragged back into the pool, kicking and screaming.
*
Outside, Howard slipped back the bolt on the door and turned to Latta.
"There, they're free to go anytime they want."
Latta pressed his ear to the soundproofed door. Noin's screams of indignation and the loud splashes had subsided into quiet, half-drunken giggles.
"I don't think they'll be coming out anytime soon."
Laughing to themselves, the two men made their way back towards the missile bay.
TO BE CONTINUED:
CHAPTER NOTES:
I'm going to introduce these after every chapter for those who are interested. Here I summarise the chapters posted to date.
PROLOGUE:
I know that the official Gundam Wing website sets the series many thousands of years in the future, but I'm setting it 300 years from now to simplify things. Also, it's a bit odd that thousands of years in the future, human culture and technologies are pretty much unchanged (with the exceptions of the colonies, space travel, portable fusion reactors and mobile suits.)
CHAPTER 1.
I've named the transformer mountain Mt. St. Hillary as that is the general fan consensus. However other fan authors in the past have dubbed it Mt. St. Helens, Mt. Rainier and MT. DOOM!
Mt. St. Hillary is a fictional mountain, yet the clues we see in the Transformers TV show and comics suggest it is in the state of Oregon, close to the real Mt. St. Helens, which last erupted in the early to mid 1980s with great loss of life.
Going by a brief scene from the end of Gundam Wing: Endless Waltz, I'm assuming Lady Une adopted Marimaya. (Does anyone know Une's first name, or even if she has one?)
My character Chris Latta, although an original one, is named in memory of the voice actor Chris Latta, who voiced my favourite character Starscream in Transformers. He also voiced Wheeljack, Reflector, Sparkplug and starred in GIJoe as Cobra Commander and others. Sadly he passed away recently (some wags believe that doing Starscream's unique screeching voice gave him throat cancer). He was a man much beloved by young fans and many of his fellow voice actors and will be sorely missed. May his soul rest in peace.
I'm trying to work in a reference to a film/movie in each chapter. This first one is somewhat obscure. The railroad train that Zechs muses over briefly is from a favourite film of mine, 'Runaway Train', starring Jon Voight, Eric Roberts and Rebecca DeMornay.
The likeable mechanic Sparkplug is of course a descendant from the Sparkplug Witwicky of the 1980s transformers TV series. They say kids look like their grandparents, in this case the similarity has merely skipped about five generations.
'The red jet'. Hm. I wonder who that could be?
Those of you who know your naval history will understand why Howard flies to Murmansk in northern Russia to get the Genesis. Murmansk was originally the headquarters of the Soviet Union's northern fleet navy.
CHAPTER 2.
I know, I know! The odds that the classic Chinook Helicopter is still in service in 300 years are slim to say the least, but I couldn't pass up on the mental image it generated.
It's hard to tell but Noin's my favourite of the GW girls. I luv' her!
Does anyone think that the concept of Noin as an adventurer works? Because she's stationed in Africa and seems to wear combat fatigues complete with boots in bed (See episode 4.), this image popped into my head.
A DAMN TYPHOON! This was inspired by the fact that while typing this I was watching the 'Hunt for Red October' and got inspired at the point when Alec Baldwin starts pratting around in the missile room with a gun ('Be careful, some things in here don't react well to bullets!'). I saw this beautiful shot of the room and saw a mobile suit standing up in it in my mind's eye.
The film reference is obviously Howard dressing up like Sean Connery and quoting him from the opening scene of 'Hunt for Red October.'
Yes, Typhoon submarines do have saunas and swimming pools (and a gymnasium). As they are the largest submarines in the world there is more than enough room. Did any other nation care for its sub crews to give them such luxuries? It still doesn't mean communism works though!
CHAPTER 3.
As you've gathered, Starscream's jet mode is a Grumman F-15E Strike Eagle. Grumman also built the Saturn 5 moon rockets.
Energon. After a few weeks of working out formulas on little bits of paper (I have no life!) I finally get some vague idea of what it is. Thus, the extreme boredom while Howard waffles on about it. It probably works as well if you only pervert science slightly. Lets get together and throw all Einstein's work out the window!
Film reference: 'Flux Capacitor'. This is lifted from Back to the Future, the greatest film trilogy to date (Lord of the Rings is going to be better though!).
The EMP rifle is obviously Starscream's null ray.
This is how I think a Transformer laser core works. I'm not getting into any of that perverse Beast Wars/Beast Machines spirituality junk!
This is how I think the Zero System works and why people go nuts in it.
Psychotic kid pilot who killed a whole colony. Who can it be but QUATRE!
I know there's a picture on the net showing Zechs gulping Wild Turkey whiskey, but I thought he needed a weakness, so I made him a lightweight when it comes to drink. BWAHAHAHA!
Zechs and Noin in a swimming pool. Kinky. I again, have no life and a perverted mind.
Well if you've read this far, well done on not dying of boredom and thankyou! Please review and I don't mind people copying my work as long as they e-mail me beforehand.
Later Days. And keep watching the skis! Er.Skies! (Again, the Simpsons. I HAVE NO LIFE!!!)
DISCLAIMER:
What a shame, I own nothing. Except.The submarine Genesis (600ft long, 75 ft wide, 48000 tons gross displacement up for sale, 1 billion dollars/pounds/rubbles.) and a Compac Deskpro 433 computer (megacrap!) and a Packard Bell 3000 (much better! But it actually belongs to my family). Gundam Wing is property of Sunrise. Transformers is property of Hasbro. The Hunt for Red October is property of the author Tom Clancy and Paramount pictures. If I owned any of these things I would sleep every night 'on top of a pile of gold, with many beautiful women' to quote the 'Simpsons'. And I don't own them either.
AUTHOR NOTE:
Firstly, I warn you that much of this chapter is likely to be boring. In it several transformer technologies which will be vital for the later story will be discovered and explained in scientific detail i.e. energon, laser cores (sparks if you follow Beast Wars) and weapons hence the boredom. Rated PG-13 for some implied sex between Zechs and Noin and mild drunkenness.
I GOT REVIEWS! YEAH! Now then. I wish to thank the following people.
ASHANA: As my first ever reviewer on the internet, I thank you.
SHADOWHAWK: Thankyou as well, your wish is granted. Here's the more you requested.
NEEDNOT MATTER: Is that your actual penname? However,
thankyou for the review, and I blush at your compliments.
However, my work is substandard to that of Anime Huggler
(see below.)
ANIME HUGGLER: You may not have submitted a review, but
the inspiration for this fic was your excellent work. I
hope you update soon.
Once again I thankyou all and God bless.
CHAPTER 3.
An hour later, Noin and Zechs had both had a brief swim and had changed into more comfortable clothes than their uniforms. Howard was just concluding the grand tour.
"...We have a fully fitted electronics and chemical lab in the former torpedo room, supplies to last us for four months, and a cinema in the back," he paused, then as if an afterthought, "oh, and a facility capable of building and maintaining whole mobile suits.
The coffee Noin was still nursing quickly decorated the opposite bulkhead. Zechs however was unsurprised.
"So where is this facility?"
"Right through here." Howard pulled open a bulkhead hatch, and they stepped into the biggest room in the submarine. Both gasped in astonishment.
In Genesis' heyday as a weapon of the USSR, the ballistic missile room would have taken up more than a third of the submarine's length. 200ft long, 40 feet wide and nearly 10 meters high, most of the space would have been taken up by the twenty sinister SS-N-20 SEAHAWK missiles, each carrying eight independent warheads which would be targeted on separate targets, meaning the sub could have simultaneously destroyed 180 cities with a total nuclear explosive equivalent to eighty million tons of TNT.
Now however, Howard's engineers had stripped out the inhuman weapons and deepened the room's depth so that even the biggest mobile suit could stand up in it. At the forward end, a pair of massive racks had been set up to accommodate two mobile suits. The floor area was given over to a massive engineering facility, and from the wide range of equipment in view; Zechs figured Howard could well build an entire mobile suit underwater.
The room echoed with the sounds of machinery at work, sparks flew from equipment, gas hung around the roof, and robotic arms attached to the wall danced an intricate path across the massive space, the advanced tools on their tips glowing and sparking. Gantries criss-crossed the void and Howard led the couple onto one of these to appreciate the awe-inspiring view.
One of the massive racks was occupied by the Tallgeese 3, the third incarnation of a 20-year-old museum piece which Zechs still had fond memories of. However, there was no activity on the gigantic mobile suit. Rather, all of the twenty engineers were scrambling over the silver and red jet that sat at the foot of the empty rack.
The jet rested on its landing gear, it's cockpit open. Inside, the controls had been stripped out and a new set was being wired into place. The two engines were being run in, the massive scream they generated almost drowning out all other noises. On the aircraft's back hatches lay open, mechanics climbing in and out, stripping out mechanisms, analysing, fitting new components. Two massive hoses linked to the engines were heaving as if a thick fluid was being pumped through them into the plane. The amount of work being carried out was as impressive as the overall view of the massive room.
"I see Chris' team managed to get the mobile suit to shift to its jet form," Zechs shouted.
"What, oh no..." Howard stared out over the work, "they couldn't do a thing with it. Chris eventually got a pair of Aires to fly it out here in robot mode. When they first appeared I though you were delivering me a damn Taurus. But what I got was something...more."
"More?"
Howard turned, his face solemn.
"Down there is the most advanced mobile suit in the world, superior to all others..."
Zechs opened his mouth to interrupt, Howard didn't let him even say a word, but continued on unabated,
"...and more than a equal match to the Gundams."
Zechs' mouth flapped open like a fish that had been pulled from the water. He made a few gasping noises but said nothing. Noin stepped in.
"Explain Howard."
"I think it would be better if I showed you."
Howard stepped over to the bulkhead and sounded a massive klaxon which was load enough to drown out even the screaming engines. All work stopped.
"Close it down!" Howard gestured wildly and in a flurry of activity the mobile suit was quickly prepped for action. The engines were shut down, the cockpit controls were finished, the hoses were disconnected and all the open hatches were shut and locked.
"Chris! You there?"
A man stepped forward out of the hive of activity. Preventer Chris Latta had discarded his uniform and wore a pair of faded jeans and an oil- streaked T-Shirt. "You want something Howard?"
"Our guests require a demonstration. You wanna show them what our Grumman can do?"
"Sure."
As Latta turned and ran to the cockpit, Zechs turns and looked at Howard, "Grumman?"
"It's what we're calling it. This jet mode's an antiquated Grumman F-15 Strike Eagle. Beautiful plane, excellent plane. If obsolete"
"So it's only slightly younger than this sub Howard?"
"Touché Ms Noin. Well played. Well, it was an F-15 before we got our hands on it. We've heavily modified it. Even if it looks the same"
By this point Latta had climbed into the open cockpit, but he didn't bother to shut it. He signalled a thumbs up. Howard turned to his visitors.
"You better be ready for this."
Zechs and Noin both leant over the railing, anxious, waiting.
"NOW!"
A loud noise filled the air, a strange electrical friction.
'whum, whum, whum, whum, whump!'
As the noise passed, Zechs and Noin stared in wonder at what the jet had become. Zechs had only ever seen it lying down and inactive, covered in dust. It was a whole new experience for him as well as Noin.
The suit's red and silver paint scheme now gleamed under the spotlights. The overall shape was sleek and masculine. The most prominent features were a pair of air intakes that rose up from the shoulders, bringing the height of the mobile suit to an impressive 50-something feet. The cockpit had folded down onto the chest area, and Zechs noticed the first modification Howard's people had made.
"You've hinged the cockpit seat and controls."
"Yes. For some reason, the seats were fixed in place, so that in robot mode the pilot would be facing down, so we stripped out the cockpit interior and replaced the two seats that were there and the aircraft controls with standard mobile suit ones but left in two seats. We also hinged it so that when transformed the seats flip up and the pilot and passenger face straight forward."
Zechs stroked his chin.
"So what else have you done?"
"Well, the thruster engines in the legs were merely very improved F-15 ones. We stripped them out and replaced them with more modern units. Super Vernieas. We also added an optional pair of thrusters on the back much like the Tallgeese's to boost the speed. We added a great deal of weapons to the arsenal. But even if we had not done these things, this suit would still be superior to any OZ or the alliance ever designed."
"How?"
"Follow me."
Howard led them out of the missile room after gesturing for the mechanics to resume work on the suit. After navigating a maze of passages and several staircases they arrived in what had been the torpedo room. This had been divided down the centre to form two laboratories. The first one that Howard led them into was obviously a chemical laboratory. Beakers and test tubes lined the walls, their contents bubbling and steaming. He leaned on a gallon gasoline drum that someone had set up on a tripod in the centre of the room.
"This is truly something."
"Let me guess," Zechs interjected, "the glow-in-the-dark, pink fuel."
"Right. But you can add something else to it. It's a battery," Howard held up his hand to prevent interruptions. "Let me finish. This fuel compromises of a mix of hydrogen and/or carbon molecules, compressed to high pressures and given a massive electrical jolt. The result is that all the electrons on the atoms fly off and stay off. The electricity reverses their electrical charge, so they repel each other and they become a thin liquid, which is effectively pure energy. I know it sounds crazy but look..."
Howard produced pair of electrical wires which he hotwired to the room lights, which were then turned out. Using a flashlight to help, Howard ripped the lid off the drum and the flash no longer became necessary. A pale glow from the drum's liquid contents gave off more than enough light to see by.
A sort of reverential silence descended over scientists in the room as Howard, wearing insulated gloves, dropped the two electrical contacts into the fuel. There was a brief, intense flash of light as the hotwired lights burned brighter than a supernova, and then burned out instantly. Darkness fell again as Howard flicked on the torch.
"This single drum of fuel has an electrical charge powerful enough to fully power a Mobile Suit for three hours."
Zechs and Noin's eyes bulged at the implications.
"Not only that, but once the electrical charge has been drained from it, the left over waste can be sued as a powerful jet fuel."
"Jet fuel?"
"Yeah. This mobile suit has an energy system much like a human digestive system. First from the main fuel tank in the upper torso, it is passed through a system of piping lined with electrodes, which drain off the electrical energy, which is then stored in batteries or used to power the suit. Then, the remaining flammable waste is drained off to a secondary fuel tank where it is held until the engines in the legs need power. The thing is, because the waste is pure hydrogen and carbon ions, it's very efficient. This suit, on a full tank could run for hours on its afterburners, enough to circle the globe at least once. Other than this, there's no other energy supply, so we built in a standard Leo fusion reactor as a backup electrical supply."
Both pilots were mouthing the word 'WOW!' over and over. Finally, Zechs spoke up.
"How hard is this fuel to manufacture."
"Not very. Hundred years ago, you'd have to make it from actual carbon-rich resources, like coal, oil or diamonds, but nowadays we can synthesise the fuel with ease. We've already made enough to fully fuel this suit for a month. We had difficulty coming up with a name for this stuff. 'Hydrocarbon' has been taken, 'Electrum' sounds corny, so eventually we settled on the name 'Flux"
Zechs ran the word over in his head. Flux sounded right.
Howard then turned and walked through the dividing wall to an electrical lab, which had been hastily modified, into a weapons facility. Zechs seemed to have recovered from his amazement and followed him, though Noin remained with one of the scientists in the chemical lab to discuss the ionic composition of the fuel in more detail.
The main item on display in the weapons lab was a sleek silver gun, about ten feet in length, the long barrel taking up half that length. Zechs walked up to it and ran his hands over the cool surface murmuring to himself.
"Gas laser, cryogenic plant in barrel, quite small, I would estimate this gives a low amount of damage per shot."
"Wrong actually. There's a group of capacitors build into the suit's upper arm that connect to this. Each capacitor stores enough energy for this little baby to wreak a lot of havoc, and because there's several banks of capacitors, it can fire constantly because while one's charge is depleted, the next is charging."
"Impressive. Simple in concept, but difficult in execution. As far as I know, no-one's ever developed a capacitor that can store that kind of charge."
"Someone did. It uses that fuel as a storage medium. A sort of 'Flux Capacitor' Now then Zechs, can you tell me what this is?" He tapped a unit bolted on the rear of the laser."
Zechs fingered the smooth cylinder, "No idea."
"A liquid-cooled electromagnet. It fires in weak pulses that can disable circuitry for several minutes."
"Incredible, an EMP cannon small enough to be built into a rifle. It can disable targets then finish them off with the laser."
"Yup!"
"So what other weapons does this thing hold?"
Howard leant against the EMP rifle, "not many. There are two of these, and then a group of cluster bombs mounted in the chest. These bomblets were built into the VTOL engines, but weren't very powerful, so we modified them. The new engines we put in did not require air intakes or Vertical Take Off and Landing engines, so we converted those areas into assault weapons. There's a bank of missiles and two torpedoes inside each air intake, which pop up in robot mode, a modified bank of cluster bombs in the forearms, and a pair of Gatling Guns in each VTOL recess. It's literally a walking artillery platform, like the Gundam Heavyarms."
A brief look of distaste passed across Zechs' face, "so it only boasts long- range weapons."
Howard burst out laughing. "Don't worry Zechs. I know your personal passion for the honour of duelling, so we put a pair of beam sabres on the hips. There's also a pair of energy shields like the Mercurius and Vigros carried on the wings that can connect onto the EMP rifle ports to run off the capacitors."
"You know me too well Howard"
"I know you were a world class-fencing champion at the age of six."
"So what else can you tell me about the technologies in this suit?"
"Well, the armour seems to be a close derivative to Gundanium, but is thinly layered on the exo-structure with layers of titanium. Not as strong as proper Gundanium, but incredibly flexible. One of our technicians managed to hotwire the suit to sing the lyrics to old musicals, along with the proper mouth movements. We had to put up with 'The hills are alive, with the sound of music,' and 'tomorrow, tomorrow, I love ya' tomorrow,' for several days before we all snapped and smashed the CDs."
Zechs was chuckling, "that mouth by the way, what's its purpose?"
"It connects to the fuel tank. It allows the suit to refuel on the move just by drinking a supply of flux carried with it."
"Smart, very smart. So what else can you tell me?"
"Well, this metal alloy for one. The entire structure of the suit is covered with it, not just the armour. A complex system of actuated hydraulics coupled to it allow the suit to have a fantastic amount of manoeuvrability and agility, even if it makes it a b*****d to pilot!"
"That must have been expensive. Especially if this was built in the 20th century. Unless there is some way of manufacturing Gundanium outside of zero gravity I'm stumped as to how this suit could have been build."
"You're not alone there."
"Incredible, simply incredible. These technologies have been desired for years by the world's militaries, the 'Flux Capacitor' technology alone would revolutionise all forms of life, not just warfare. But till now they have all been beyond the reach of science...What the!"
A small explosion rocked the nose of the submarine. Smoke burst through the door into the chemical lab. Suddenly, coughing, her hair standing on end, Noin staggered through the division before grabbing the fire extinguisher mounted on the wall.
"Sorry, I was trying to test how flammable that fuel was and I used a bit too much."
Still coughing, Noin stumbled back into chemical lab, where several small fires had sprung up. Howard turned to Zechs.
"Could you keep that girl away from anything explosive when we're submerged!"
*
"There's one other factor about this mobile suit that you haven't seen yet."
"And that is?"
"Well, when we were stripping out the cockpit, we found something else underneath
"And that was?"
"It's best if you see yourself. Up here."
Zechs and Howard had returned to the former missile bay, and were now scrambling up a ladder that led into the suit cockpit. Zechs paused by the blue foot and stared up at the robot's imposing mass.
'I once described the Gundams as impressive beasts, because I hoped that someday I would be able to pilot such a suit, to control it, to tame it like a wild animal. But this robot I feel is less of a beast and more of a warrior, something that does not need to be broken because it already has full control over it's abilities.'
When the two reached the top of the ladder they found that the cockpit was already occupied. Latta was sitting inside, tongue between teeth and a soldering iron in his hands, trying to reconnect some wires in one of the joysticks, which had snapped in the installation.
"Hey Chris, mind if we swing you out so we can have a look underneath?"
Latta nodded, never taking his attention from the severed wires. Howard flipped a switch on the cockpit lid, and the seat with Latta in it swung out of the cockpit along with its console. Behind, a panel of the wall slid down, giving Zechs a clear view into the heart of the Mobile Suit. A strange light washed over his face as his eyes widened in shock.
"What in the name of God is THAT!" he spluttered.
THAT! was a strange transparent sphere about a foot across which was filled with a pale purple gas, which rippled and spun in complex fashions. It stood on a shaft in the centre of a spherical chamber the near side of which was lined with what Zechs realised with a small shock were lasers. A few of these were calmly blinking on and off, firing small burst of concentrated light into the sphere. These were reflected and diffracted out the other side of the sphere striking sensors with which the other half of the chamber was lined. When the laser beams intersected inside the gas or came in close proximity a strange rainbow hued glow was given off. Howard watched on with unhidden pride.
"That, my friend Zechs, is a laser brain."
"A brain, you mean a CPU of some sort?"
"What he means," a new voice interjected, "is that this mobile suit can think. Not just process information and produce a logical response, but think like a human."
Zechs spun. Latta, his soldering put down for now, was leaning into the opening.
"This thing can strategise, plot responses, continue to fight when most of it's supporting systems fail, fight a battle with a fighting style unique to itself."
Zechs just stared into the sphere, the strange light continuing to light up his face in an unearthly manner.
"My God!" he murmured.
*
"The sphere essentially models a neuron, a single component of the human brain. It transforms incoming data from the CPU in the head into light, which is shot into the sphere by the lasers. The gas, in the sphere, is of a composition unique to the robot. When we discovered the laser brain, Chris here went back to Mt. St. Hillary and checked the other suits to see if they were fitted with similar units. All were, but each was different. The sphere was larger or small, the gas was of a different colour and density or texture, and there were a different number of lasers. The result is, that when the laser beam comes out of the sphere and hits the sensors, sometimes split into different beams, the light is translated back into electrical data, but comes out different to how that same data went in. And the individual designs means that data is translated in a unique way for each suit"
"So what your saying is that each suit has different brain processes."
The four of them (Zechs, Noin, Latta and Howard) had retreated to Howard's office, the former captain's cabin. Howard had poured drinks (hot tea without milk or sugar but a hefty shot of whisky) and they had sat around the small stateroom table to first explain the laser brain system to Noin, and then discuss it.
"Exactly Ms. Noin" Howard sat back.
"But what's the point?" Zechs lifted the glass cup to his lips and took a sip of his tea. Surprisingly, the whisky went quite well with the drink, giving it a sharp ting and drowning out the unpleasant bitter aftertaste of plain tea. It also gave it a surprisingly mellow feel. Zechs was worried about how much of the drink he could take. He had always been a lightweight when it came to alcohol and Howard was insisting on serving everyone refills when their cups got half-empty.
'Oh God! Please don't let me get drunk!'
"What's the point of having a mobile suit that can think?"
"Common' don't you get it!" Howard was now grinning smugly at the others, happy as a clam that he knew something they didn't, he slowly leant forward, and as if divulging a great secret, whispered, "it's what the zero system lacked to make it work."
Zechs and Noin sat back in their seats with a look of realisation dawning on their faces, but Latta looked puzzled.
"The zero system? What the heck's that?"
Zechs leant back into the corner, pinching the bridge of his nose to relieve the pressure building there. Noin took centre stage.
"The zero system was a system designed specifically for mobile suits. Data from the suit's systems and battle simulations are fed directly into the pilot's brain. The intention was to heighten the pilot's instincts and make them react almost simultaneously to a battle situation. It almost bordered on precognition." She sighed. Howard took up the staff in explaining to Latta.
"The problem was it caused pilots to flip. The data rush was too much for most humans to handle. Caused temporary insanity in them."
"Insanity?"
"Hallucinations, increased aggression etc. In some cases it fed on the pilot's most secret fears and emotions and caused severe personality changes in them. The first person to use it had a lot of built up anger and hatred. The zero system mutated that negative emotion into homicidal tendencies. He blew up an entire colony and murdered its whole population. Only the most hardened pilots," he shot a significant stare at Zechs over the rim of his drink, "could handle it. In return, the zero system granted them a level of temporary enlightenment..." his voice trailed off.
Latta wanted to know more, but the atmosphere in the room told him not to push it. Zechs was now contemplating his drink with a very serious expression, Noin was weeping quietly, and Howard was staring blankly at the wall over his intertwined fingers.
"I think I understand it...this zero system failed because the human mind could not take the sudden rush of direct information, which I assume was presented in digital format. But...(he paused and looked round slowly), if you had something which could translate this data into human brainwaves, the pilot would be able to take it," by this point, the others were all nodding slowly, "something like, the laser neuron."
Howard slowly sat up, a look of almost childish joy filling his face.
"In fact Chris, if such a device were linked to the zero system, the pilot would most likely cease to be an individual portion of the machine, and the human brain would take control from the CPU. The pilot would become the suit."
"But wouldn't they loose control?" Noin had wiped away her tears.
"No, the pilot would retain his humanity, but would be in joint control with the CPU. He would become the weapon, and as such, would become unstoppable."
"But, why are all these brains to different designs?"
"Most likely to make them as compatible as possible with the pilot specific to the suit. The pilot would be in better harmony with the machine if the brain is designed to convert the data into brainwaves as similar as possible to his own."
"Does that mean that if we were to pilot that suit, we would start thinking like someone else unless a brain specific to us was put in?"
Howard paused in reaction to Noin's question. After a minute of silence, he looked up.
"Yes. It would take time to make a new brain though. We would need to analyse the gas, find out how to adjust the parameters to suit a new pilot. That pilot would also have to undergo a full CAT scan of his brain before any changes were made. But, if anyone would like to take the suit out for a fly before then, I could put in a bypass, to allow the suit to be piloted manually by cutting the laser neuron out of the loop. I could install the zero system on a similar bypass as well. What do you think Zechs? Zechs?"
Zechs had not moved from his position in five minutes, he had not said a single word either.
Slowly, Zechs made his first move since Noin had started to explain the zero system; he reached out, picked up his tea which Howard had just topped up, and downed it in a shot. He felt the warm glow of the whisky hit his stomach, and then his world went black.
'That hits the spot,' he thought as he keeled over onto the tabletop.
*
"Are we going to wake him up?" Latta enquired of Noin, who was silently laughing as Zechs snored loudly, a thin trail of saliva trailing from his mouth onto the tabletop. He highly suspected she had had a bit too much of Howard's tea herself, there was a mischievous glint in her eyes which were slightly out of focus.
"No, I've got a better idea."
*
Zechs had the very pleasant sensation that he was floating in his world of darkness. Invisible hands were carrying him gently over the world of his dreams, then he felt them let go, and he was soaring through the air gracefully, free of all restraints.
'How wonderful, I'm fly...'
SPLASH!
Zechs hit the steaming water of the swimming pool in a belly flop. Noin watching from the side winced as he sank slowly below the surface. Suddenly, he sprang up, glaring at her.
"Why you...!"
She turned to run out the door, but found it shut and locked in her face.
"Howard, Chris, Let me out. You b*****ds!"
She felt a pair of strong hands grab her around the waist and then she was dragged back into the pool, kicking and screaming.
*
Outside, Howard slipped back the bolt on the door and turned to Latta.
"There, they're free to go anytime they want."
Latta pressed his ear to the soundproofed door. Noin's screams of indignation and the loud splashes had subsided into quiet, half-drunken giggles.
"I don't think they'll be coming out anytime soon."
Laughing to themselves, the two men made their way back towards the missile bay.
TO BE CONTINUED:
CHAPTER NOTES:
I'm going to introduce these after every chapter for those who are interested. Here I summarise the chapters posted to date.
PROLOGUE:
I know that the official Gundam Wing website sets the series many thousands of years in the future, but I'm setting it 300 years from now to simplify things. Also, it's a bit odd that thousands of years in the future, human culture and technologies are pretty much unchanged (with the exceptions of the colonies, space travel, portable fusion reactors and mobile suits.)
CHAPTER 1.
I've named the transformer mountain Mt. St. Hillary as that is the general fan consensus. However other fan authors in the past have dubbed it Mt. St. Helens, Mt. Rainier and MT. DOOM!
Mt. St. Hillary is a fictional mountain, yet the clues we see in the Transformers TV show and comics suggest it is in the state of Oregon, close to the real Mt. St. Helens, which last erupted in the early to mid 1980s with great loss of life.
Going by a brief scene from the end of Gundam Wing: Endless Waltz, I'm assuming Lady Une adopted Marimaya. (Does anyone know Une's first name, or even if she has one?)
My character Chris Latta, although an original one, is named in memory of the voice actor Chris Latta, who voiced my favourite character Starscream in Transformers. He also voiced Wheeljack, Reflector, Sparkplug and starred in GIJoe as Cobra Commander and others. Sadly he passed away recently (some wags believe that doing Starscream's unique screeching voice gave him throat cancer). He was a man much beloved by young fans and many of his fellow voice actors and will be sorely missed. May his soul rest in peace.
I'm trying to work in a reference to a film/movie in each chapter. This first one is somewhat obscure. The railroad train that Zechs muses over briefly is from a favourite film of mine, 'Runaway Train', starring Jon Voight, Eric Roberts and Rebecca DeMornay.
The likeable mechanic Sparkplug is of course a descendant from the Sparkplug Witwicky of the 1980s transformers TV series. They say kids look like their grandparents, in this case the similarity has merely skipped about five generations.
'The red jet'. Hm. I wonder who that could be?
Those of you who know your naval history will understand why Howard flies to Murmansk in northern Russia to get the Genesis. Murmansk was originally the headquarters of the Soviet Union's northern fleet navy.
CHAPTER 2.
I know, I know! The odds that the classic Chinook Helicopter is still in service in 300 years are slim to say the least, but I couldn't pass up on the mental image it generated.
It's hard to tell but Noin's my favourite of the GW girls. I luv' her!
Does anyone think that the concept of Noin as an adventurer works? Because she's stationed in Africa and seems to wear combat fatigues complete with boots in bed (See episode 4.), this image popped into my head.
A DAMN TYPHOON! This was inspired by the fact that while typing this I was watching the 'Hunt for Red October' and got inspired at the point when Alec Baldwin starts pratting around in the missile room with a gun ('Be careful, some things in here don't react well to bullets!'). I saw this beautiful shot of the room and saw a mobile suit standing up in it in my mind's eye.
The film reference is obviously Howard dressing up like Sean Connery and quoting him from the opening scene of 'Hunt for Red October.'
Yes, Typhoon submarines do have saunas and swimming pools (and a gymnasium). As they are the largest submarines in the world there is more than enough room. Did any other nation care for its sub crews to give them such luxuries? It still doesn't mean communism works though!
CHAPTER 3.
As you've gathered, Starscream's jet mode is a Grumman F-15E Strike Eagle. Grumman also built the Saturn 5 moon rockets.
Energon. After a few weeks of working out formulas on little bits of paper (I have no life!) I finally get some vague idea of what it is. Thus, the extreme boredom while Howard waffles on about it. It probably works as well if you only pervert science slightly. Lets get together and throw all Einstein's work out the window!
Film reference: 'Flux Capacitor'. This is lifted from Back to the Future, the greatest film trilogy to date (Lord of the Rings is going to be better though!).
The EMP rifle is obviously Starscream's null ray.
This is how I think a Transformer laser core works. I'm not getting into any of that perverse Beast Wars/Beast Machines spirituality junk!
This is how I think the Zero System works and why people go nuts in it.
Psychotic kid pilot who killed a whole colony. Who can it be but QUATRE!
I know there's a picture on the net showing Zechs gulping Wild Turkey whiskey, but I thought he needed a weakness, so I made him a lightweight when it comes to drink. BWAHAHAHA!
Zechs and Noin in a swimming pool. Kinky. I again, have no life and a perverted mind.
Well if you've read this far, well done on not dying of boredom and thankyou! Please review and I don't mind people copying my work as long as they e-mail me beforehand.
Later Days. And keep watching the skis! Er.Skies! (Again, the Simpsons. I HAVE NO LIFE!!!)