Mobile Suit Gundam Century's Dawn
The calendar of the Universal Century has reached the year 300. The Earth has fallen into a state of disarray due to a
war against an organization of countries who are seeking total world domination. Even though the Earth Federation has
numbers on their side, they are being overwhelmed by the battle-hardened soldiers of the Alliance of Middle-Eastern
Countries. This is because they had one advantage: strange humanoid machines that could devastate entire platoons
with a single strafe. To make matters worse, the Colonies have severed all diplomatic and economic ties.
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[Title: Basic Training]
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Paiyako Mushimi awoke to find herself laying in a field. Morning dew made it shine like treasure. Paiyako shivered
and pulled on her T-Shirt. She'd been using it as a pillow. She wasn't worried about anybody appearing and seeing her,
people rarely went this deep into the forest.
Which made it a prime location for the base of the Terran Alliance.
When Paiyako was little, she heard stories about Sasari Mei, the Dark Scorpion. She once was able to trick a platoon
from both the Earth Federation and AMEC into attacking each other. The resulting battle had been considered bloody
by both sides. In short, she was a woman not to be messed with.
Paiyako rubbed her eyes and discovered that they were wet with tears. She had been crying during the night and she knew
why.
Koshiro.
For as long as she could remember, Paiyako and Koshiro had been friends. They did everything together. Nobody minded it,
in fact they expected it to turn into a romance. But then the Earth Federation and the AMEC forces brought their bloody
and pointless war to Scatterhaven and killed him.
Being reminded of that only fueled her anger at the Earth Federation. She punched the ground in anger. Then got up
and continued her walk. She hadn't gotten far when a gust of wind came up. Paiyako shivered but had to continue her
trek.
The cock of a gun startled her as she felt a cold barrel press against the back of her neck.
"Put your arms behind your head and drop to your knees," a harsh male voice ordered. Paiyako had no choice but to
comply with the man's order. "You're far away from home little girl."
"What home?" Paiyako countered. "I no longer have one."
"Well cry me a river."
"I'm looking for the Terran Alliance!"
"What do you want with them?" The man asked.
"I wish to join them."
"The Terran Alliance aren't the Girl Scouts, they don't just pick up anybody."
"Are you part of the Terran Alliance? Can you take me to Sasari Mei?"
"You are in no position to be giving orders."
"Please, I need to see Sasari Mei. I'm from Scatterhaven."
"I thought you said you didn't have a home."
"Hacker, at ease," a female voice barked. At the risk of being shot, Paiyako turned around. The man called Hacker
had long scraggly black hair and a full beard that made him look like Jesus Christ. He was wearing combat fatigues
and had what looked like a large machine gun pointed at her. The woman was tanned with short dark hair and
almond-colored eyes in half-moon-shaped eyelids. She wore a thin white undershirt and blue stretch pants with white boots.
"I am Sasari Mei," the woman announced. "Who might you be?"
"I'm Paiyako Mushimi. I'm from Scatterhaven!"
"Scatterhaven?" Sasari looked deeply at her as if she was burning a hole straight to her soul. "Of course! I remember you
now, you always used to hang around what's-his-name..."
"Koshiro. Koshiro Anaka."
"Yeah, that's him. So tell me, what's up in Scatterhaven."
"It's been destroyed!"
"What?!" Sasari gripped Paiyako's shoulders and started shaking her. "Tell me, who did this? The Earth Federation or
AMEC?"
"They both did. AMEC showed up first, then the Earth Federation. They battled, they destroyed Scatterhaven.
They even killed Koshiro. Some of the townspeople managed to survive but the town itself was obliterated."
Sasari frowned then punched a tree. "Damn, I was afraid something like this would happen. I guess it's a good thing
I got this." She reached into her back and took out a CD. "With this, the Terran Alliance will put both of them
into their place."
"What is it?" Paiyako asked.
"I'll tell you later. Come with me." With Raven still training his gun on her back, Sasari led the two of them into
the forest.
"You know, you're the second one to ask to join us today."
"Second? Who's the first?" Sasari gave out a sharp whistle. From behind a tree, another woman stepped out. She was
dressed in an olive green jumpsuit. Her hair was in dreadlocks and her dark skin was covered with bruises. She looked
at Paiyako and her eyes widened. Paiyako's did likewise."
"You!" They both cried out at the same time.
"I see you two know each other," Sasari said with an amused smile.
"You were part of the robot team that attacked me."
"You were with that kid who gave us the wrong directions. Well now you don't have that Earth Federation flagship to
defend you."
"You have a lot of nerve. You destroyed my town just as much as that flagship."
"Your town served as a front for that Earth Federation base. I saw the Mobile Suit you were developing."
"What?! What's a Mobile Suit? What are you talking about?"
"Don't deny it! I saw your friends go into the cave."
"What cave? Lady, you make about as much sense as an old toothbrush."
"Ladies, ladies, please calm down," Sasari interrupted. "You both want to join us, eh? Well I will let you both join,
however you two must do something."
"What's that?" They both asked.
"Survive."
"Survive?" Paiyako couldn't believe what she was hearing.
"That's right." Sasari handed them a GPS scanner. "This will lead you to our base. You two will have to walk there.
If you manage to get there without killing yourselves, you're in. But you both have to arrive there."
"What if one of us dies?" Mileena asked.
"Then the other must carry her body to the base. But I want to see both of you there. Or don't even bother showing up."
"So are you going to..." But Sasari and her lackey, Raven, were gone, like they were never there to begin with.
"Well, let's get a move on," Mileena said taking the scanner. She looked at it then pointed behind Paiyako.
"We need to go that way." She began to walk in that direction. Paiyako huffed then followed her.
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Koshiro Anaka looked around the quarters he was given. It was a normal crew quarters. It had a bed, dresser, desk, and
closet. That's all it had, Koshiro had nothing with him, no clothes, no possessions, nothing. Just the clothes he was
wearing.
"I know they're not much, but they should provide you with what you need," Lee said from the doorway.
"Don't worry, I won't be here for long. After I meet your bosses, I'm out of here."
Lee turned away from him. "That's too bad," she said quietly.
"Why?"
Lee turned back towards him. "I... I mean that the Gundam would be a great assett against the AMEC's Zakus."
"Yeah, well, you can always make more."
"Maybe..."
"Koshiro!" It was Henry Kozuko, the chief engineer. He had a flight helmet with a full visor in his hand. "I got a
gift for you."
"What's this?" Koshiro asked.
"Your view screen. Remember that wire that came down for the ceiling? Well..." Henry pointed to a hole on the back of the
helmet. "That goes into this. Once that happens, the visor will become blue and the images taken from the optical core
of the Gundam and transmit them directly into your retina. In short, it'll be like you're looking through the Gundam's
eyes."
"Thanks. Now I can see where I'm going."
"All bridge crew please report to duty," came the voice of helmswoman Muro Okawa.
"Time to get back to work," Henry said shrugging. He left.
Lee turned to leave but turned her head back to him. "Are you coming?"
"I don't know, I mean I'm not exactly a crew member."
"Will Koshiro Anaka please report to the bridge," Muro's voice came on again over the loudspeaker.
"I guess that takes care of that." Koshiro and Lee headed for the bridge.
On the bridge, Commander Noah Lucas' head darted between Muro and tatical chief Shinji Katzuhito. Henry, Lee, and Koshiro
came in during the middle of a conversation.
"Still there?" Lucas asked.
"Yes, sir," confirmed Shinji.
"Muro, slight rotation, fifteen degrees."
"Yes, sir."
"No good, still there."
"What's wrong?" Koshiro asked.
"The MPs are being slightly distorted. The only way this could be happen is if a ship is trying to match its
distortion with ours," Henry explained. Koshiro looked at him oddly.
"We're being followed," Lucas translated.
"So what do we do?"
"Right now, nothing until we find out who's following us and why. I don't want to do anything that would give us
away to AMEC."
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However, it was too late. The ship that was following them was the Zeon. They've been trailing them from the
mountain range that the Gundams were found in.
"Think they're onto us?" Captain Garrett asked Rashad.
"Probably, but they don't want us to know that they know."
"Well, let them know that we know. Open up fire!" The Zeon fired their weapons at the rear of the Exalon.
The Earth Federation flagship shook from the assault. Then again as the Zeon bombarded them heavily.
Lucas cursed. "Shinji, are ANY of our weapons fixed yet?"
"No, sir, they were pretty devastated in the last battle."
"Great, now we have no way to defend ourselves. Looks like we'll have to make a run for it. Muro, full speed!"
"We're already at maximum power output, Commander. Any more and she'll shut down." This wasn't good. They were at
peak output and the Zeon was still catching up to them.
Lucas slammed his fist down on the arm rest of his chair. "Don't we have any defense?"
"Wait," Koshiro called. He stepped forward and went to face the Commander directly. "I'll do it, I'll defend you."
"Why would you want to help us?"
"Well if you're destroyed then I'm destroyed as well." Lucas knew that there was another reason but Koshiro obviously
wasn't going to tell him. Instead, Lucas picked up his phone. "Cargo Bay, this is the Bridge, prepare the Gundam for
launch. Muro, get ready to land."
"Land where?" Muro asked.
"There's a clearing ten miles to the west," Victor reported. "We can make our stand there."
"I hope you don't mean our last stand," Tasha muttered from her station behind Victor's. Then grunted as the ship was
struck again.
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"Hey, did you hear that?" Paiyako asked. "Sounds like some sort of explosion."
"Probably just thunder," Mileena said studying the GPS. She looked at the rock cliff that stood before them. "Looks like
we'll have to climb this thing if we want to continue."
"Can't we just find a way around it?" Paiyako asked.
"We could, but it could take days to find a route around." Mileena adjusted the range to include wide areas. "And we don't
have days. Come on."
Paiyako moaned. "I was never good at gym." She gripped onto the jagged wall and began to pullherself up. Mileena was
scaling it like it was second nature to her. Paiyako figured it was all that military training.
Mileena must have sensed her discomfort because she said, "You better be careful, you won't have your Mobile Suit to save
you."
"For the last time, I don't have a Mobile Suit, I don't even know what a Mobile Suit is!"
"Fine, if you want to be that way."
"Don't forget, you attacked us."
"AMEC attacked you."
"Which you are a part of."
Mileena huffed. "Not any more. My comrades abandoned me. Apparently they no longer consider me fit to work with them."
"So why don't you join the Earth Federation?"
Mileena turned to look down at her so fast that she almost lost her footing. "I may not be partof the army but I would
never join forces with the Earth Federation. Like I told that other kid. They are my sworn enemy."
Paiyako wondered what other kid she was talking about.
They were now almost at the top. Obviously Mileena got there first. Paiyako was about to reach there when the edge her
hand was on fell away and Paiyako found herself dangling by one arm.
"Help!" She pleaded. "Somebody help me." A hand reached down and grabbed her wrist. Paiyako felt herself being pulled
up. Mileena withdrew a step as she brought the younger girl to her feet.
Mileena stood there, panting for breath. "Thank... you."
Mileena simply turned away. "I didn't do it out of kindness. You're my ticket to joining the Terran Alliance."
Paiyako scowled but continued to follow her.
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The Exalon had finally managed to escape the Zeon thanks to some fancy flying from Muro. They were now preparing their
counterattack.
Koshiro sat back in the seat of the Gundam. The helmet felt a little big on him but if it was his vision to the
outside world, then size didn't matter.
"Koshiro, get ready." Lee's voice came from the speaker inside the helmet. "We're going to land soon. AMEC will
likely attack the moment you stick your head out so watch out for anything."
"Right." Koshiro moved his right hand close to the beam shield activation button while his other hand touched a small stud
on the helmet. "Helmet Interface System activated." A wire lowered from the top and plugged into the back of the helmet.
The visor turned an indigo color. Koshiro strained to make an image out but all he could see was blue static like a
television that was on the fritz.
"Koshiro, Henry says to relax," Lee reported. "Let the images come to you." Without asking how she knew what he was
thinking, Koshiro closed his eyes for a moment. When he opened them again, he was staring at the inside of the Exalon's
cargo bay.
"I'm receiving an image," he told Lee.
"Koshiro, Henry asked me to tell you to try moving your head left and right." Koshiro did so and saw his vision pan
left and right.
"Why am I doing this?" Koshiro asked.
"To test the link. The movements of your head correspond with the movements of the Gundam's head. So whatever
position you move your head in, the Gundam's head will move that exact same way."
"Wow, it's like I'm the Gundam instead of its operator."
"All right, we're opening the hatch." Koshiro braced as the hatch lowered to form a ramp.
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The Exalon's movements were being tracked carefully by the Zeon. They intentionally allowed the Exalon to get away so
they could corner them later. Captain Garrett sat in his command chair pondering. To the side, Ben Hoshum, the Dark
Messiah, yawned.
"Bored, Dark Messiah?" Garrett asked.
"Yeah. When are we going to go attack the Federation Flagship?"
"Patience, my young friend. We're still waiting for all the players of this little drama to appear."
"Who cares who we have to wait for? Let's just destroy them!"
"Be patient."
"Don't tell me to..."
"Sensing movement," Rashad called from an observation consol. Garrett and Hoshum came over to his consol. They saw the
cargo bay hatch lower open.
"There he is. All right, Hoshum, now you may go out."
"About time." And before you could say Zaku, Hoshum was heading for his special Mobile Suit, Archangel.
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Paiyako and Mileena continued their trek towards the base of Sasari Mei and the Terran Alliance. The sun was just beginning
to lower. Along the way they came upon another obsticle: a deep chasm. Mileena checked the GPS while Paiyako scanned the
crevice with her eyes.
"No way around this one," she reported.
"There's a bridge over there." Paiyako pointed to a rope bridge that extended across the chasm. "Good, no climbing."
Paiyako went over to the bridge and tested it by stomping on it with her foot. It wiggled a little but seemed to be all
right. "Looks stern, but maybe we should cross one at a time. Since I'm the lightest, I'll go first." Paiyako carefully
went across the bridge. She got to the other side unharmed. "Come on!"
But Mileena could only stare down at the cliff. It looked like it was a fifty foot drop, maybe even more. Even worse, there
was a rushing river at the bottom. Even worse, she was scared of heights.
"Come on, cross!" Paiyako repeated.
"I... I can't. I... can't move."
"Just don't look down."
"A little too late for that."
"Oh brother," Paiyako groaned. She went back across and stared at Mileena with a 'what am I going to do with you?' looks.
She then took off her bandana and wrapped it around Mileena's eyes.
"Hey, what are you doing?"
"If you can't make yourself not look down, then I'll make you not look down."
"How do I know you won't push me off?"
"In your own words, 'you're my ticket to joining the Terran Alliance.'" Paiyako grabbed the front of Mileena's flight
suit and began to lead her across. {So far, she hasn't tried to backstab me,} Paiyako thought to herself.
{But she still thinks I'm part of the Earth Federation. She'll probably attack me the moment Sasari Mei allows her into
the Terran Alliance.}
Paiyako's pondering was interrupted by a loud creaking. Their combined weight was straining the bridge.
"Maybe this wasn't such a good idea," Paiyako commented just as the bridge gave away and they both fell into the river.
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"Here they come!" Lee warned. Koshiro looked up to see the robot he fought earlier descend from the sky along with
five Zakus.
"Don't give them a chance to attack," Commander Lucas instructed. Koshiro nodded as the Gundam rushed forward and punched one of the Zakus in the face. He then grabbed the Zaku's arm and twirled him into one of his comrades. He assaulted a third with his vulcan cannons. That Zaku blocked it with his arm the counter-attacked with his machine gun.
"Beam Shield!" Koshiro commanded. A blue energy shield came on on the right forearm. He used it to deflect the
bullets.
"Stand back, you morons," Ben called to the Zakus. "He's mine." Archangel drew a metal pole. The metal pole extended to
a double-edge spear. The Gundam also took out a metal pole, the energy sword (Commander Lucas said it was called a
Beam Saber) and ignited it. Archangel swung one end of the spear which the Gundam blocked with the Beam Saber.
Archangel came at him from the other side with the other end. The Gundam raised the Beam Shield to block that.
"Fool, he shouldn't have opened himself up like that," Hoshum commented. Suddenly two cannon barrels popped up from the
shoulders and fired. The Gundam fell back. Archangel fired the cannons again. The Gundam turned and caught the blast
in the back.
{I can't do this,} Koshiro thought. {Maybe I should just yield. It's not like I have any real alleigence to the Earth
Federation. It would just be easier to give up.}
[Don't give up, Koshiro.] Completely out of left field, Koshiro experienced a flashback. It was two years ago. He went
with Paiyako and the rest of their class to a survival camp. He was trying to cross a rope bridge that hung thirty feet
in the air. His leg slipped and he almost fell off. He looked down at Paiyako who was holding his suspension cord.
[I can't do this, Paiyako,] young Koshiro said. [I should just give up.]
[Don't give up, Koshiro,] Paiyako called. [Never give up, even when things seem hopeless. You can do it, just believe in
yourself, believe in your heart, and you can do anything.] At the time, it sounded corny to Koshiro but now, he understood
that that was the most sound advice he ever got.
"I can't give up!" He called out loud. "I won't give up! I promised I would protect the Exalon and that's what I'll do.
Besides, it's the right thing to do."
Those four words: the right thing to do.
That was why he was helping the Exalon, why he agreed to come with them to the Earth Federation headquarters,
because it was the right thing to do.
"Hey idiots, instead of gaping with your mouths open, you could try attacking the Earth Federation Flagship." The Zakus
took out their hand weapons and charged the Exalon.
"Oh no you don't!" Koshiro cried as he activated his booster jets.
"You're not going anywhere, Mobile Suit." The spike cables came out and wrapped around the Gundam's legs. The Gundam
was thrown to the ground.
"No... have to protect... the... Exalon... have to..." Suddenly the Gundam threw the Beam Saber. It twirled around and
sliced Rashad's Zaku in half. The Gundam followed through with its vulcan cannons. It caught a Zaku in the mono eye
and it fell as well. The Gundam turned and pulled on the cables with all his might. Archangel began being dragged towards
the Gundam. The cables came apart from Archangel's body. The Gundam threw them off and took out another beam saber.
Igniting it, it leaped up and got the remaining Zakus in one incredible slice. He then turned on Archangel. Archangel
blocked the Gundam's initial attack but it was clearly showing signs of fatigue despite the fact that it was a machine.
"It's over!" Koshiro declared and leaped into the air and kicked Archangel in the head. The large Mobile Suit fell.
Ben scowled at the Gundam. "This isn't over yet, Mobile Suit." Archangel took off again. Koshiro sighed. He did it, he
beat them.
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Paiyako moaned and opened her eyes. She was laying on her chest, left arm over her head, right arm down at her side.
She coughed up sand and water (thankfully, not yesterday's lunch) and pulled herself onto her knees. She looked around.
She was on a beach, half of her body was still in the water. Her bandanna was around her left arm. She reached to take
it off.
"I wouldn't do that. Your arm was seriously bruised in the fall. That's probably the only thing keeping it from becoming
infected." It was Mileena. She was sitting by a small fire that she apparently made herself.
"Thank you," Paiyako said as she sat down next to her. "I'm sorry... I didn't know that the bridge was that weak."
"It's all right. At any rate, you made me conquer my fear of heights."
"I did?"
"Yeah. Of course now I'm afraid of rushing rivers and rickety bridges but not heights." The two women laughed.
Taking a deep breath, Paiyako said, "We obviously didn't get a good first impression on one another. How about we start
over? Paiyako Mushimi." She held out her hand. "Formerly of Scatterhaven."
Mileena looked at it before she smiled and shook it. "Mileena Uharu, former Zaku pilot."
"Zaku? Is that what you call the giant robot?"
"It's what we all call the giant robots."
"Mileena, look... I don't want to bring up a sensitive subject, but... why do you hate both your teammates and the Earth
Federation?"
"Well, my teammates abandoned me to the mercy of the Earth Federation flagship and that Feddy Mobile Suit."
"The Federation has a Mobile Suit too?"
"Believe me, I'm just as surprised as you are. We received no intelligence on it."
"Wow."
"I think I know why you hate the Earth Federation, they destroyed your town, right?"
"Yeah, they also killed the only person I cared about, Koshiro."
"The boy who was with you when I first came to your town?"
"Yes, that's right."
"I saw him."
Paiyako grabbed her shoulders and shook her. "Where? How?"
Mileena wanted to tell her that she attempted to kill him but she didn't want to destroy the slowly developing
friendship between them.
"He... was near the mountain where that Earth Federation flagship was. I was asked to attack it."
"You didn't attack him, did you?"
More lies. "No, I... was in too much of a rage at the Federation flagship to pay attention to anything else."
Paiyako pulled her legs up against her chest. "That does it. I can never forgive what any of them did. I'll pay
them back for what they did to Koshiro."
"And I'll pay them for what they did to Naram."
"Maybe we could both make them pay. What do you say, a partnership?"
"A partnership? Sure." The two shook hands. "That is, if we could ever find the Terran Alliance's headquarters."
"I lost the scanner on our way down, we might never find it."
"Or it might be right under your nose." Sasari Mei's voice startled them as she dropped from the trees.
"Sasari Mei, what..."
"I've been tailing you two ever since the bridge. I wanted to see if you two could work together. If you couldn't,
then how could you work with others."
"So now that we've proved that we could, will you lead us to your base?" Paiyako asked.
"Girl, you've been at our base the entire time. This entire region serves as our base of operation. We have two enemies
to work against here. We need all the room we can get."
"So are we in?" Mileena inquired.
"Yup, you're in." It was then that a low rumble came from all around them. Over head, the Exalon cruised through the sky.
Paiyako ran forward.
"Federation flagship!" She called out. "You better watch out. When I get my hands on you, Iwill massacre you and
everything you stand for! So help me God."
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On the Exalon, Koshiro stood in front of Commander Lucas. The other crew members stood at their stations also facing him
with the exception of Muro at the helm.
"Until our weapons can be repaired, we are at a disadvantage," Commander Lucas addressed. "Koshiro Anaka, you and the
Mobile Suit Gundam will serve as our line of defense until we get to the Earth Federation Headquarters. Do you accept
this task?"
Without any hesitaiton, Koshiro nodded. "I do." Behind him, Lee smiled proudly.
"Good. Then, Koshiro Anaka, I hereby recruit you into the army of the Earth Federation and a crewmember of the Exalon.
You shall be enlisted as the rank of a spcial officer. Your real name shall not be used in battle to prevent the
information from falling into the hands of our foes. Instead, you will go by an alias. The Gundam Pilot. Your
immediate superior will be either me or Lieutenant Moshiro. Your secondary task will be the maintenance of the
Gundam's systems. Do you understand these responsibilities and requirements."
"I do," Koshiro repeated.
Commander Lucas stepped forward, then offered his hand. "Then welcome aboard." Koshiro looked at his hand then shook
it firmly.
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The Zeon continues to dog the Exalon. As Koshiro adjusts to his new lot in life, the Terran Alliance begins to design
their own Mobile Suits using the stolen Gundam blueprints.
Next episode: The Beam Rifle.
You haven't seen anything yet.
The calendar of the Universal Century has reached the year 300. The Earth has fallen into a state of disarray due to a
war against an organization of countries who are seeking total world domination. Even though the Earth Federation has
numbers on their side, they are being overwhelmed by the battle-hardened soldiers of the Alliance of Middle-Eastern
Countries. This is because they had one advantage: strange humanoid machines that could devastate entire platoons
with a single strafe. To make matters worse, the Colonies have severed all diplomatic and economic ties.
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[Title: Basic Training]
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Paiyako Mushimi awoke to find herself laying in a field. Morning dew made it shine like treasure. Paiyako shivered
and pulled on her T-Shirt. She'd been using it as a pillow. She wasn't worried about anybody appearing and seeing her,
people rarely went this deep into the forest.
Which made it a prime location for the base of the Terran Alliance.
When Paiyako was little, she heard stories about Sasari Mei, the Dark Scorpion. She once was able to trick a platoon
from both the Earth Federation and AMEC into attacking each other. The resulting battle had been considered bloody
by both sides. In short, she was a woman not to be messed with.
Paiyako rubbed her eyes and discovered that they were wet with tears. She had been crying during the night and she knew
why.
Koshiro.
For as long as she could remember, Paiyako and Koshiro had been friends. They did everything together. Nobody minded it,
in fact they expected it to turn into a romance. But then the Earth Federation and the AMEC forces brought their bloody
and pointless war to Scatterhaven and killed him.
Being reminded of that only fueled her anger at the Earth Federation. She punched the ground in anger. Then got up
and continued her walk. She hadn't gotten far when a gust of wind came up. Paiyako shivered but had to continue her
trek.
The cock of a gun startled her as she felt a cold barrel press against the back of her neck.
"Put your arms behind your head and drop to your knees," a harsh male voice ordered. Paiyako had no choice but to
comply with the man's order. "You're far away from home little girl."
"What home?" Paiyako countered. "I no longer have one."
"Well cry me a river."
"I'm looking for the Terran Alliance!"
"What do you want with them?" The man asked.
"I wish to join them."
"The Terran Alliance aren't the Girl Scouts, they don't just pick up anybody."
"Are you part of the Terran Alliance? Can you take me to Sasari Mei?"
"You are in no position to be giving orders."
"Please, I need to see Sasari Mei. I'm from Scatterhaven."
"I thought you said you didn't have a home."
"Hacker, at ease," a female voice barked. At the risk of being shot, Paiyako turned around. The man called Hacker
had long scraggly black hair and a full beard that made him look like Jesus Christ. He was wearing combat fatigues
and had what looked like a large machine gun pointed at her. The woman was tanned with short dark hair and
almond-colored eyes in half-moon-shaped eyelids. She wore a thin white undershirt and blue stretch pants with white boots.
"I am Sasari Mei," the woman announced. "Who might you be?"
"I'm Paiyako Mushimi. I'm from Scatterhaven!"
"Scatterhaven?" Sasari looked deeply at her as if she was burning a hole straight to her soul. "Of course! I remember you
now, you always used to hang around what's-his-name..."
"Koshiro. Koshiro Anaka."
"Yeah, that's him. So tell me, what's up in Scatterhaven."
"It's been destroyed!"
"What?!" Sasari gripped Paiyako's shoulders and started shaking her. "Tell me, who did this? The Earth Federation or
AMEC?"
"They both did. AMEC showed up first, then the Earth Federation. They battled, they destroyed Scatterhaven.
They even killed Koshiro. Some of the townspeople managed to survive but the town itself was obliterated."
Sasari frowned then punched a tree. "Damn, I was afraid something like this would happen. I guess it's a good thing
I got this." She reached into her back and took out a CD. "With this, the Terran Alliance will put both of them
into their place."
"What is it?" Paiyako asked.
"I'll tell you later. Come with me." With Raven still training his gun on her back, Sasari led the two of them into
the forest.
"You know, you're the second one to ask to join us today."
"Second? Who's the first?" Sasari gave out a sharp whistle. From behind a tree, another woman stepped out. She was
dressed in an olive green jumpsuit. Her hair was in dreadlocks and her dark skin was covered with bruises. She looked
at Paiyako and her eyes widened. Paiyako's did likewise."
"You!" They both cried out at the same time.
"I see you two know each other," Sasari said with an amused smile.
"You were part of the robot team that attacked me."
"You were with that kid who gave us the wrong directions. Well now you don't have that Earth Federation flagship to
defend you."
"You have a lot of nerve. You destroyed my town just as much as that flagship."
"Your town served as a front for that Earth Federation base. I saw the Mobile Suit you were developing."
"What?! What's a Mobile Suit? What are you talking about?"
"Don't deny it! I saw your friends go into the cave."
"What cave? Lady, you make about as much sense as an old toothbrush."
"Ladies, ladies, please calm down," Sasari interrupted. "You both want to join us, eh? Well I will let you both join,
however you two must do something."
"What's that?" They both asked.
"Survive."
"Survive?" Paiyako couldn't believe what she was hearing.
"That's right." Sasari handed them a GPS scanner. "This will lead you to our base. You two will have to walk there.
If you manage to get there without killing yourselves, you're in. But you both have to arrive there."
"What if one of us dies?" Mileena asked.
"Then the other must carry her body to the base. But I want to see both of you there. Or don't even bother showing up."
"So are you going to..." But Sasari and her lackey, Raven, were gone, like they were never there to begin with.
"Well, let's get a move on," Mileena said taking the scanner. She looked at it then pointed behind Paiyako.
"We need to go that way." She began to walk in that direction. Paiyako huffed then followed her.
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Koshiro Anaka looked around the quarters he was given. It was a normal crew quarters. It had a bed, dresser, desk, and
closet. That's all it had, Koshiro had nothing with him, no clothes, no possessions, nothing. Just the clothes he was
wearing.
"I know they're not much, but they should provide you with what you need," Lee said from the doorway.
"Don't worry, I won't be here for long. After I meet your bosses, I'm out of here."
Lee turned away from him. "That's too bad," she said quietly.
"Why?"
Lee turned back towards him. "I... I mean that the Gundam would be a great assett against the AMEC's Zakus."
"Yeah, well, you can always make more."
"Maybe..."
"Koshiro!" It was Henry Kozuko, the chief engineer. He had a flight helmet with a full visor in his hand. "I got a
gift for you."
"What's this?" Koshiro asked.
"Your view screen. Remember that wire that came down for the ceiling? Well..." Henry pointed to a hole on the back of the
helmet. "That goes into this. Once that happens, the visor will become blue and the images taken from the optical core
of the Gundam and transmit them directly into your retina. In short, it'll be like you're looking through the Gundam's
eyes."
"Thanks. Now I can see where I'm going."
"All bridge crew please report to duty," came the voice of helmswoman Muro Okawa.
"Time to get back to work," Henry said shrugging. He left.
Lee turned to leave but turned her head back to him. "Are you coming?"
"I don't know, I mean I'm not exactly a crew member."
"Will Koshiro Anaka please report to the bridge," Muro's voice came on again over the loudspeaker.
"I guess that takes care of that." Koshiro and Lee headed for the bridge.
On the bridge, Commander Noah Lucas' head darted between Muro and tatical chief Shinji Katzuhito. Henry, Lee, and Koshiro
came in during the middle of a conversation.
"Still there?" Lucas asked.
"Yes, sir," confirmed Shinji.
"Muro, slight rotation, fifteen degrees."
"Yes, sir."
"No good, still there."
"What's wrong?" Koshiro asked.
"The MPs are being slightly distorted. The only way this could be happen is if a ship is trying to match its
distortion with ours," Henry explained. Koshiro looked at him oddly.
"We're being followed," Lucas translated.
"So what do we do?"
"Right now, nothing until we find out who's following us and why. I don't want to do anything that would give us
away to AMEC."
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
However, it was too late. The ship that was following them was the Zeon. They've been trailing them from the
mountain range that the Gundams were found in.
"Think they're onto us?" Captain Garrett asked Rashad.
"Probably, but they don't want us to know that they know."
"Well, let them know that we know. Open up fire!" The Zeon fired their weapons at the rear of the Exalon.
The Earth Federation flagship shook from the assault. Then again as the Zeon bombarded them heavily.
Lucas cursed. "Shinji, are ANY of our weapons fixed yet?"
"No, sir, they were pretty devastated in the last battle."
"Great, now we have no way to defend ourselves. Looks like we'll have to make a run for it. Muro, full speed!"
"We're already at maximum power output, Commander. Any more and she'll shut down." This wasn't good. They were at
peak output and the Zeon was still catching up to them.
Lucas slammed his fist down on the arm rest of his chair. "Don't we have any defense?"
"Wait," Koshiro called. He stepped forward and went to face the Commander directly. "I'll do it, I'll defend you."
"Why would you want to help us?"
"Well if you're destroyed then I'm destroyed as well." Lucas knew that there was another reason but Koshiro obviously
wasn't going to tell him. Instead, Lucas picked up his phone. "Cargo Bay, this is the Bridge, prepare the Gundam for
launch. Muro, get ready to land."
"Land where?" Muro asked.
"There's a clearing ten miles to the west," Victor reported. "We can make our stand there."
"I hope you don't mean our last stand," Tasha muttered from her station behind Victor's. Then grunted as the ship was
struck again.
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"Hey, did you hear that?" Paiyako asked. "Sounds like some sort of explosion."
"Probably just thunder," Mileena said studying the GPS. She looked at the rock cliff that stood before them. "Looks like
we'll have to climb this thing if we want to continue."
"Can't we just find a way around it?" Paiyako asked.
"We could, but it could take days to find a route around." Mileena adjusted the range to include wide areas. "And we don't
have days. Come on."
Paiyako moaned. "I was never good at gym." She gripped onto the jagged wall and began to pullherself up. Mileena was
scaling it like it was second nature to her. Paiyako figured it was all that military training.
Mileena must have sensed her discomfort because she said, "You better be careful, you won't have your Mobile Suit to save
you."
"For the last time, I don't have a Mobile Suit, I don't even know what a Mobile Suit is!"
"Fine, if you want to be that way."
"Don't forget, you attacked us."
"AMEC attacked you."
"Which you are a part of."
Mileena huffed. "Not any more. My comrades abandoned me. Apparently they no longer consider me fit to work with them."
"So why don't you join the Earth Federation?"
Mileena turned to look down at her so fast that she almost lost her footing. "I may not be partof the army but I would
never join forces with the Earth Federation. Like I told that other kid. They are my sworn enemy."
Paiyako wondered what other kid she was talking about.
They were now almost at the top. Obviously Mileena got there first. Paiyako was about to reach there when the edge her
hand was on fell away and Paiyako found herself dangling by one arm.
"Help!" She pleaded. "Somebody help me." A hand reached down and grabbed her wrist. Paiyako felt herself being pulled
up. Mileena withdrew a step as she brought the younger girl to her feet.
Mileena stood there, panting for breath. "Thank... you."
Mileena simply turned away. "I didn't do it out of kindness. You're my ticket to joining the Terran Alliance."
Paiyako scowled but continued to follow her.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The Exalon had finally managed to escape the Zeon thanks to some fancy flying from Muro. They were now preparing their
counterattack.
Koshiro sat back in the seat of the Gundam. The helmet felt a little big on him but if it was his vision to the
outside world, then size didn't matter.
"Koshiro, get ready." Lee's voice came from the speaker inside the helmet. "We're going to land soon. AMEC will
likely attack the moment you stick your head out so watch out for anything."
"Right." Koshiro moved his right hand close to the beam shield activation button while his other hand touched a small stud
on the helmet. "Helmet Interface System activated." A wire lowered from the top and plugged into the back of the helmet.
The visor turned an indigo color. Koshiro strained to make an image out but all he could see was blue static like a
television that was on the fritz.
"Koshiro, Henry says to relax," Lee reported. "Let the images come to you." Without asking how she knew what he was
thinking, Koshiro closed his eyes for a moment. When he opened them again, he was staring at the inside of the Exalon's
cargo bay.
"I'm receiving an image," he told Lee.
"Koshiro, Henry asked me to tell you to try moving your head left and right." Koshiro did so and saw his vision pan
left and right.
"Why am I doing this?" Koshiro asked.
"To test the link. The movements of your head correspond with the movements of the Gundam's head. So whatever
position you move your head in, the Gundam's head will move that exact same way."
"Wow, it's like I'm the Gundam instead of its operator."
"All right, we're opening the hatch." Koshiro braced as the hatch lowered to form a ramp.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The Exalon's movements were being tracked carefully by the Zeon. They intentionally allowed the Exalon to get away so
they could corner them later. Captain Garrett sat in his command chair pondering. To the side, Ben Hoshum, the Dark
Messiah, yawned.
"Bored, Dark Messiah?" Garrett asked.
"Yeah. When are we going to go attack the Federation Flagship?"
"Patience, my young friend. We're still waiting for all the players of this little drama to appear."
"Who cares who we have to wait for? Let's just destroy them!"
"Be patient."
"Don't tell me to..."
"Sensing movement," Rashad called from an observation consol. Garrett and Hoshum came over to his consol. They saw the
cargo bay hatch lower open.
"There he is. All right, Hoshum, now you may go out."
"About time." And before you could say Zaku, Hoshum was heading for his special Mobile Suit, Archangel.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Paiyako and Mileena continued their trek towards the base of Sasari Mei and the Terran Alliance. The sun was just beginning
to lower. Along the way they came upon another obsticle: a deep chasm. Mileena checked the GPS while Paiyako scanned the
crevice with her eyes.
"No way around this one," she reported.
"There's a bridge over there." Paiyako pointed to a rope bridge that extended across the chasm. "Good, no climbing."
Paiyako went over to the bridge and tested it by stomping on it with her foot. It wiggled a little but seemed to be all
right. "Looks stern, but maybe we should cross one at a time. Since I'm the lightest, I'll go first." Paiyako carefully
went across the bridge. She got to the other side unharmed. "Come on!"
But Mileena could only stare down at the cliff. It looked like it was a fifty foot drop, maybe even more. Even worse, there
was a rushing river at the bottom. Even worse, she was scared of heights.
"Come on, cross!" Paiyako repeated.
"I... I can't. I... can't move."
"Just don't look down."
"A little too late for that."
"Oh brother," Paiyako groaned. She went back across and stared at Mileena with a 'what am I going to do with you?' looks.
She then took off her bandana and wrapped it around Mileena's eyes.
"Hey, what are you doing?"
"If you can't make yourself not look down, then I'll make you not look down."
"How do I know you won't push me off?"
"In your own words, 'you're my ticket to joining the Terran Alliance.'" Paiyako grabbed the front of Mileena's flight
suit and began to lead her across. {So far, she hasn't tried to backstab me,} Paiyako thought to herself.
{But she still thinks I'm part of the Earth Federation. She'll probably attack me the moment Sasari Mei allows her into
the Terran Alliance.}
Paiyako's pondering was interrupted by a loud creaking. Their combined weight was straining the bridge.
"Maybe this wasn't such a good idea," Paiyako commented just as the bridge gave away and they both fell into the river.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
"Here they come!" Lee warned. Koshiro looked up to see the robot he fought earlier descend from the sky along with
five Zakus.
"Don't give them a chance to attack," Commander Lucas instructed. Koshiro nodded as the Gundam rushed forward and punched one of the Zakus in the face. He then grabbed the Zaku's arm and twirled him into one of his comrades. He assaulted a third with his vulcan cannons. That Zaku blocked it with his arm the counter-attacked with his machine gun.
"Beam Shield!" Koshiro commanded. A blue energy shield came on on the right forearm. He used it to deflect the
bullets.
"Stand back, you morons," Ben called to the Zakus. "He's mine." Archangel drew a metal pole. The metal pole extended to
a double-edge spear. The Gundam also took out a metal pole, the energy sword (Commander Lucas said it was called a
Beam Saber) and ignited it. Archangel swung one end of the spear which the Gundam blocked with the Beam Saber.
Archangel came at him from the other side with the other end. The Gundam raised the Beam Shield to block that.
"Fool, he shouldn't have opened himself up like that," Hoshum commented. Suddenly two cannon barrels popped up from the
shoulders and fired. The Gundam fell back. Archangel fired the cannons again. The Gundam turned and caught the blast
in the back.
{I can't do this,} Koshiro thought. {Maybe I should just yield. It's not like I have any real alleigence to the Earth
Federation. It would just be easier to give up.}
[Don't give up, Koshiro.] Completely out of left field, Koshiro experienced a flashback. It was two years ago. He went
with Paiyako and the rest of their class to a survival camp. He was trying to cross a rope bridge that hung thirty feet
in the air. His leg slipped and he almost fell off. He looked down at Paiyako who was holding his suspension cord.
[I can't do this, Paiyako,] young Koshiro said. [I should just give up.]
[Don't give up, Koshiro,] Paiyako called. [Never give up, even when things seem hopeless. You can do it, just believe in
yourself, believe in your heart, and you can do anything.] At the time, it sounded corny to Koshiro but now, he understood
that that was the most sound advice he ever got.
"I can't give up!" He called out loud. "I won't give up! I promised I would protect the Exalon and that's what I'll do.
Besides, it's the right thing to do."
Those four words: the right thing to do.
That was why he was helping the Exalon, why he agreed to come with them to the Earth Federation headquarters,
because it was the right thing to do.
"Hey idiots, instead of gaping with your mouths open, you could try attacking the Earth Federation Flagship." The Zakus
took out their hand weapons and charged the Exalon.
"Oh no you don't!" Koshiro cried as he activated his booster jets.
"You're not going anywhere, Mobile Suit." The spike cables came out and wrapped around the Gundam's legs. The Gundam
was thrown to the ground.
"No... have to protect... the... Exalon... have to..." Suddenly the Gundam threw the Beam Saber. It twirled around and
sliced Rashad's Zaku in half. The Gundam followed through with its vulcan cannons. It caught a Zaku in the mono eye
and it fell as well. The Gundam turned and pulled on the cables with all his might. Archangel began being dragged towards
the Gundam. The cables came apart from Archangel's body. The Gundam threw them off and took out another beam saber.
Igniting it, it leaped up and got the remaining Zakus in one incredible slice. He then turned on Archangel. Archangel
blocked the Gundam's initial attack but it was clearly showing signs of fatigue despite the fact that it was a machine.
"It's over!" Koshiro declared and leaped into the air and kicked Archangel in the head. The large Mobile Suit fell.
Ben scowled at the Gundam. "This isn't over yet, Mobile Suit." Archangel took off again. Koshiro sighed. He did it, he
beat them.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Paiyako moaned and opened her eyes. She was laying on her chest, left arm over her head, right arm down at her side.
She coughed up sand and water (thankfully, not yesterday's lunch) and pulled herself onto her knees. She looked around.
She was on a beach, half of her body was still in the water. Her bandanna was around her left arm. She reached to take
it off.
"I wouldn't do that. Your arm was seriously bruised in the fall. That's probably the only thing keeping it from becoming
infected." It was Mileena. She was sitting by a small fire that she apparently made herself.
"Thank you," Paiyako said as she sat down next to her. "I'm sorry... I didn't know that the bridge was that weak."
"It's all right. At any rate, you made me conquer my fear of heights."
"I did?"
"Yeah. Of course now I'm afraid of rushing rivers and rickety bridges but not heights." The two women laughed.
Taking a deep breath, Paiyako said, "We obviously didn't get a good first impression on one another. How about we start
over? Paiyako Mushimi." She held out her hand. "Formerly of Scatterhaven."
Mileena looked at it before she smiled and shook it. "Mileena Uharu, former Zaku pilot."
"Zaku? Is that what you call the giant robot?"
"It's what we all call the giant robots."
"Mileena, look... I don't want to bring up a sensitive subject, but... why do you hate both your teammates and the Earth
Federation?"
"Well, my teammates abandoned me to the mercy of the Earth Federation flagship and that Feddy Mobile Suit."
"The Federation has a Mobile Suit too?"
"Believe me, I'm just as surprised as you are. We received no intelligence on it."
"Wow."
"I think I know why you hate the Earth Federation, they destroyed your town, right?"
"Yeah, they also killed the only person I cared about, Koshiro."
"The boy who was with you when I first came to your town?"
"Yes, that's right."
"I saw him."
Paiyako grabbed her shoulders and shook her. "Where? How?"
Mileena wanted to tell her that she attempted to kill him but she didn't want to destroy the slowly developing
friendship between them.
"He... was near the mountain where that Earth Federation flagship was. I was asked to attack it."
"You didn't attack him, did you?"
More lies. "No, I... was in too much of a rage at the Federation flagship to pay attention to anything else."
Paiyako pulled her legs up against her chest. "That does it. I can never forgive what any of them did. I'll pay
them back for what they did to Koshiro."
"And I'll pay them for what they did to Naram."
"Maybe we could both make them pay. What do you say, a partnership?"
"A partnership? Sure." The two shook hands. "That is, if we could ever find the Terran Alliance's headquarters."
"I lost the scanner on our way down, we might never find it."
"Or it might be right under your nose." Sasari Mei's voice startled them as she dropped from the trees.
"Sasari Mei, what..."
"I've been tailing you two ever since the bridge. I wanted to see if you two could work together. If you couldn't,
then how could you work with others."
"So now that we've proved that we could, will you lead us to your base?" Paiyako asked.
"Girl, you've been at our base the entire time. This entire region serves as our base of operation. We have two enemies
to work against here. We need all the room we can get."
"So are we in?" Mileena inquired.
"Yup, you're in." It was then that a low rumble came from all around them. Over head, the Exalon cruised through the sky.
Paiyako ran forward.
"Federation flagship!" She called out. "You better watch out. When I get my hands on you, Iwill massacre you and
everything you stand for! So help me God."
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
On the Exalon, Koshiro stood in front of Commander Lucas. The other crew members stood at their stations also facing him
with the exception of Muro at the helm.
"Until our weapons can be repaired, we are at a disadvantage," Commander Lucas addressed. "Koshiro Anaka, you and the
Mobile Suit Gundam will serve as our line of defense until we get to the Earth Federation Headquarters. Do you accept
this task?"
Without any hesitaiton, Koshiro nodded. "I do." Behind him, Lee smiled proudly.
"Good. Then, Koshiro Anaka, I hereby recruit you into the army of the Earth Federation and a crewmember of the Exalon.
You shall be enlisted as the rank of a spcial officer. Your real name shall not be used in battle to prevent the
information from falling into the hands of our foes. Instead, you will go by an alias. The Gundam Pilot. Your
immediate superior will be either me or Lieutenant Moshiro. Your secondary task will be the maintenance of the
Gundam's systems. Do you understand these responsibilities and requirements."
"I do," Koshiro repeated.
Commander Lucas stepped forward, then offered his hand. "Then welcome aboard." Koshiro looked at his hand then shook
it firmly.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The Zeon continues to dog the Exalon. As Koshiro adjusts to his new lot in life, the Terran Alliance begins to design
their own Mobile Suits using the stolen Gundam blueprints.
Next episode: The Beam Rifle.
You haven't seen anything yet.