Mobile Suit Gundam Century's Dawn
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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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Commander Lucas and Muro Okawa discovered that something was happening at the Earth Federation Headquarters in
Washington D.C. AMEC has made a crucial step, but it's a step so secretive not even the officers know about it.
Koshiro and Lee had a heart-to-heart and Koshiro discovered that he had a friend. Now, the true journey begins.
[Title: Journey Across the Sea]
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Koshiro grunted as Archangel made another assault with its metal spear. Again, he blocked it with his beam shield and
countered with the beam rifle. Archangel dodged it and released its spike cables. The B-Gundam in turn pulled out one
of its beam sabers and made several strikes at the cables. Some were sliced off but the majority of them avoided it
and wrapped around the B-Gundam's arms. The beam rifle fell out of its hand. The vulcan cannons fired but didn't make
any damage on Archangel. Koshiro knew he needed a new strategy, not just the simple dodge and shoot routine.
Koshiro's eyes glazed over for a second as an idea came to his mind. The B-Gundam took out the other beam saber and
ignited it. It put the ends of the handles of the two beam sabers together. They remained that way.
Ben Hoshum, the Dark Messiah, wondered what his adversary was doing now. He saw the Feddy Mobile Suit started twirling
this lance made from two beam sabers around like a helicopter propeller. Archangel fired its cables again. But they
weren't able to get through the B-Gundam's twirling beam lance. He retracted the cables or what was left of them.
Koshiro turned and lifted off. The Exalon was just ahead, being harrassed by almost a dozen Zaku Mobile Suits.
Using his new beam lance, the B-Gundam took them down two at a time. He retreated into the sky as they all exploded.
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On the bridge of the Exalon, Victor Lenard wiped his brow. "Whoa, that was a close one."
"Hey Victor, how about a status of the Beam Gundam instead of some commentary?"
"Sorry, Commander Lucas. Status of Beam Gundam is nominal."
"Good. Lee, tell Gundam Pilot to keep along side of us in case AMEC try another attack."
"Aye, sir."
The B-Gundam separated the beam lance into two beam sabers and holstered them. He settled into a flying pattern next to
the Exalon. Koshiro finally found time to take a breather.
"Good job, Koshiro," Lee congratulated.
"Thanks. Can I come on board now?"
"Sorry, Commander Lucas wants you to remain out in case they attack again."
"No rest for the weary I guess." The B-Gundam and Exalon continued on their way in a straight line. Suddenly they stopped.
Just ahead of them was a vast blue area.
"The ocean!" Muro cried excitedly. "We've finally reached the ocean."
Sonya pressed her face against the glass window. "Wow, it's so big."
"Have you ever seen the ocean before?" Muro asked. The young girl shook her head.
"Is Washington across the ocean?" Christopher asked Lee.
"That's right. As soon as we get to Washington, we can drop..." Lee was interrupted by an alarm.
"Zakus, twenty in all," Victor reported. "Approaching from right behind us."
"They just don't give up, do they?" Henry Kozuko asked.
"Koshiro..."
"I see it, Lee. You go on ahead, I'll make sure they won't follow you."
"Gundam Pilot, the B-Gundam's flight ability is limited. You're bound to run out of fuel before you get to shore."
Henry said through Lee.
"Then don't wander far. After I'm sure they won't follow us, I'll join up. Now go!"
"No," Lee argued. You won't survive!"
"Lee," Commander Lucas said calmly. "That's enough. Gundam Pilot, here's what we'll do: we'll head out for ten kilometers
and set down in the water. We'll wait approximately ten minutes. If you're not here after that, we're taking off."
"All right."
"But Commander Lucas," Lee said. "How do we know the Exalon won't sink before the time is up?"
"I'm sure she can stand up to a little dip," Keela assured them. "Besides, if it does start to sink, we could always
take off, circle around and land again."
"Then it's decided," Commander Lucas declared. "Gundam Pilot, synchronize chronometers for ten minutes. Synchronize...
now." Koshiro programmed the B-Gundam's timer for ten minutes while Victor did the same thing to the ship's chronometer.
Lucas himself even set his watch for ten minutes.
"All set, wish me luck." The B-Gundam turned and ran towards the Zakus.
"Commander," Lee said meekly. "Permission to speak freely."
"Granted."
"I'm not sure he can do this."
"You know what, Leeka? Neither do I."
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Koshiro charged towards the Zakus. At first, he saw only eight of them. The others must be waiting in reserve.
"All right, who's first?" Koshiro asked taking aim with his beam rifle. He fired and nailed one Zaku right in the chest.
The Zaku fell over. Koshiro turned to another but one got in behind him and shot at his back. The B-Gundam quickly turned
and raised its beam shield in defense. It dispatched that Zaku with a shot from its beam rifle. "I hope the beam rifle
has enough power for them all." Koshiro fired the beam rifle again but missed. The Zakus were quickly surrounding him.
"Maybe this wasn't such a good idea after all." The Zakus were overwhelming. It seemed that no matter how hard
Koshiro aimed, he could only graze them.
A warning light inside his helmet told Koshiro that the beam energy was almost depleted. He would have to holster the beam
rifle in case he would need it later. He attaches the large gun to the side of the jet pack on the B-Gundam's back and
drew one of the beam sabers. He switched to close-range combat, clashing with the Zakus and their heat hawks.
"This must be the elite of the group," Koshiro figured as he defended with his beam shield.
He only had 7 minutes left.
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"Seven minutes," Victor reported.
"Commander Lucas, are you sure this is a good idea? I mean what if Ko... I Mean the B-Gundam is destroyed?"
"I'm worried about him too," Lucas admitted. "But when you think about it, we're no better off if he remained. I mean
if we were attacked while over the ocean, we couldn't release the B-Gundam because its flight ability is limited and the
Exalon's weapons are all out of action. At least this way, they won't have a chance to follow us."
As Commander Lucas turned to return to his seat, Lee said to Keela. "I'm not sure I understand his logic."
"I do," the girl replied. "Commander Lucas is looking out for the crew of the Exalon. He only wants to sacrifice the
absolute minimum."
Lee turned towards her in fright. "Keela!"
"I'm sorry, but if there's one thing I learned, it's that a leader must look at the big picture. He can't put one person's
life ahead of another. I'm sure if he wanted to, he would've charged there with stick and stone if necessary and help
out Koshiro. But then, he would put the entire crew in danger and that's something he can't do." Sonya came up and held
onto Keela's leg. "The life of a Commander is a harsh one. No matter what he does, he's not going to get what he wants."
"Five minutes," Victor announced.
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"Five minutes," Koshiro said to himself. "And I'm no closer to beating these rust buckets than I was before. Looks like I
have no choice, I'm going to have to destroy them totally, even if that means lasting beyond the ten minute time limit.
First thing I'll do is lead them away from the Exalon." The B-Gundam leaped over a few Zakus and started to run inland.
Just as he planned, the Zakus followed him. He kept running until he couldn't see the ocean any more. Then he stopped.
Suddenly a pair of hands reached out from under the ground and grabbed the B-Gundam's legs.
"What?!" Koshiro was startled. All around him Zakus began rising from beneath camuflage nets. "It was a trap! They
must've wanted to lure me away from the Exalon." The Zakus began taking pot shots at the B-Gundam. As much as he tried,
Koshiro couldn't defend against all of them.
And he only had three minutes left.
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"Less than three minutes," Victor reported.
"Perhaps the Zakus are giving Gundam Pilot a much harder time than we originally thought," Commander Lucas said.
"Detecting a large object descending from above us," Victor announced.
"What was that?" Commander Lucas asked startled.
"Is it the B-Gundam?" Muro asked.
"No. Mass, density, and speed don't match. I'm bringing it on the screen." On the screenwas an image of the Zeon.
"It's AMEC!"
"But how could they..." Muro began to ask but was interrupted by Commander Lucas' grunt of outrage as he slammed his fist
on his chair rest.
"I can't believe I fell for it," he said. "How could I be so stupid?" Everybody looked at him and he could see that they
didn't know what he knew. "It's the oldest military maneuver in history: a two-pronged attack. One force is sent to
distract our defenses, in other words, the B-Gundam, and another force comes around and attacks us from above. Looks like
we have no choice. Muro, full power to engines. We'll have to outrun them."
"But what about Koshiro?" Lee pointed out. "What if he arrives and finds that we're not here?"
"If we don't move, there won't be anything for him to find," Lucas came back.
Lee frantically hurried to call Koshiro. "Koshiro, come in! Koshiro, this is..." A loud screaching echoed through her
headset and Lee ripped it off her head. "Commander, they're jamming us!"
"They had this planned from the beginning!" Commander Lucas grumbled as Keela led the children off the bridge.
"The attack, the jamming, everything. The only thing we can do now is try to make it to Federation territory.
Muro, go!"
As the Exalon began to lift off, Lee could only watch helplessly at the distant land. "Koshiro..." She said quietly.
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The B-Gundam aimed its gun at the bottom. Praying that it worked, he fired. The entire ground exploded underneath him.
The B-Gundam was thrown into the air. Quickly, Koshiro fired up the jet pack and flew off. The Zakus pursued him using
their own flight ability.
"These guys just won't give up," Koshiro complained. He reached the seashore and continued heading out to sea. Still the
Zakus pursued him. "Man, they're going to continue to dog me until I'm dead... wait a minute, maybe that's it."
Koshiro remembered how he fooled the strange Mobile Suit into thinking that he was dead. Maybe it will work twice.
"Wait a minute," Koshiro said. "How do I know this thing won't fill up with water? I wish someone could give me a sign."
Koshiro did get a sign. His eyes glazed over. In his mind's eye, he could see an image of the B-Gundam. His vision
zoomed in on the two vents on the B-Gundam's chest then panned to a small area in the neck.
Koshiro's vision returned to the outside world. He knew what he had to do. "Closing vents, activating internal oxygen
system. Here we go." The vents on the B-Gundam's chest closed. A hissing sound began filling the cockpit. Koshiro
smelled the sweet odor of oxygen. The B-Gundam dropped into the water. Koshiro felt himself plunge to the ocean floor.
It was rocky and the current made it a little difficult to position himself. Koshiro terminated the interface link and
waited. His vision wouldn't do much good even if it was activated. But he could hear the splashes if the Zakus entered
so that made his ears his early warning system.
He waited for a while but didn't hear any splashes. Maybe they thought he drowned and went back, or maybe they were going for reinforcements. Either way, he had to get moving to catch up with the Exalon. He re-activated the interface link
and began making short jumps, like a moontraveler (before the moon was colonized that is).
His internal gauges (numbers were transferred directly into his helmet) told him he was at the designated spot. Koshiro
fired the boost jets and was propelled up. But he couldn't see the Exalon. He maximized his scanners but couldn't see
them anywhere.
"This doesn't make sense," Koshiro commented as he checked his gauges again. "I know this is the designated area, but
where's the Exalon. B-Gundam to Exalon, come in. "B-Gundam to Exalon, can you hear me, Exalon? Shoot, they must be out
of communication range." The B-Gundam began to descend back into the sea. Koshiro quickly fired the jets again but
nothing happened. The jets must've gotten waterlogged from that last jump. Now, Koshiro had no choice. He had to make it
to land before his air ran out.
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The Exalon finally lost the Zeon. They settled down while Commander Lucas decided what to do next.
"Now that we're away from the rendezvous point, we have no way to find the B-Gundam," he said.
"We should go back," Lee said. "He might be there."
"No way to tell," Victor argued. "By the time we do, he could be half-way across the ocean."
"What would Koshiro do in this situation?" Shinji asked leaning against his control panel.
"Well," Commander Lucas began. "He knows that our final destination is Earth Federation HQ. Perhaps he is heading there
in which case we need to get over there as soon as possible."
"What if he isn't?" Henry said darkly. "What if he was destroyed?"
"We can't think that way," Muro said. "Koshiro is strong, I can tell. He wouldn't go down so easily."
Lucas smiled at his helmswoman. "Ever the optimist, aren't you, Muro?"
"I try, sir."
"We don't have much time. Any moment now, that Desert Dictator warship will come for us and our weapons are still down.
We have no defenses. We have to get to the Earth Federation headquarters. Muro, prepare to move out."
"Aye, sir."
"Shinji, Lee, we won't need you two for a while, why don't you two get some sleep. I'll wake you if we need you."
"Yes, sir," shinji replied and turned to leave. Lee started to follow but paused. She looked back at her station.
"Lee?" Commander Lucas laid a hand on her shoulder. "Get some sleep. You're no good to anyone if you're half-asleep
at the consol." Sensing her trouble, he continued, "Muro's right, Koshiro's a strong kid." He smiled. "I'm sure he
wouldn't go down without bringing half the planet down with him."
Despite herself, Lee smiled. "I hope you're right, sir."
"I am." Lee turned and left the bridge. Commander Lucas returned to his seat and took a deep breath. "At least, I hope I
am," he muttered to himself.
"You should get some sleep too, sir," Muro suggested noting her superior's fatigue.
"I'll only sleep once we're all back on land." Commander Lucas emphasized 'all.' Muro could see that he was just as
worried as Lee was, if not more.
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Koshiro was finding it more difficult to tranverse the ocean terrain. The B-Gundam began slowing down. Eventually he came
to a stop at a pit. He tried to jump over it but the pull was almost too strong. He almost fell in but a quick flick of
the beam saber and Koshiro had an anchor. He managed to pull himself up and continued on his way.
"Mental note, never travel vie the ocean floor again," he cracked. He continued on his way.
The B-Gundam's sensors went off signalling that something was heading his way. Koshiro looked up to see a shark rapidly
swimming towards him. The shark bit down on the B-Gundam's arm.
"Off, blubber boy," Koshiro cracked as he fired the vulcans. The shark convulsed as blood spilled from its dying body.
Koshiro wanted to breath a sigh of relief, but that was impossible. More sharks began swimming towards the area, drawn
towards the carcas of one of their own.
"Great, I can't use the vulcans, they might just attract more." The B-Gundam kicked one of the sharks then grabbed another
by the tail and swung it around like a bat, knocking more away. The B-Gundam took off with the sharks in hot pursuit.
A couple of nautical miles further down, he saw something unusual. Multiple metal spheres with spikes all around were
spread out, held in their position by a weight and string.
"Must be some sort of bombs," Koshiro guessed as he scanned them using the B-Gundam's instruments. "No doubt they'll
probably explode if I touch them and destroying them with weapons would probably worsen my situation. So I'll have to
disconnect them somehow, or at least move them out of the way." Koshiro activated the beam saber again and sliced the
rope holding one of the bombs down. The bomb rose until it was just above the B-Gundam's head then it exploded. The
force threw the B-Gundam out of control. Koshiro dug the B-Gundam's feet into the oceam floor and slowed his acceleration.
The sharks that have been chasing the B-Gundam took off from fright.
"Wow, whoever put these here knew what they were doing." But on the other hand, it gave him an idea. If he could explode
them all at once, it could signal a ship to pick it up. Sure, it might be an AMEC ship but at the moment Koshiro really
couldn't afford to be picky. His shallow breathing told him he had a couple of minutes of oxygen left. After that, it'd
be all over.
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"What the... that's weird," Victor commented.
"What is it?" Commander Lucas asked.
"The heat sensors just picked up a thermal reaction from under water."
"How can that be possible?"
"I don't know, sir, we better go check it out."
"Do it. All senior crew members to the bridge! Combat Alert!" Lee, Shinji, Henry, and Tasha, even though she was on sick
leave due to a broken arm, came onto the bridge.
"Everybody take your positions," Commander Lucas instructed. Victor helped his partner up to her station while the other
three slid into their seats.
"What's going on?" Henry asked.
"We have an underwater explosion," Commander Lucas commented.
"Which means what exactly?" Lee asked.
"Which means that something's going on under water that isn't suppose to be," Tasha explained.
"It could be a trap," Shinji pointed out.
"If it is, maybe they have an idea on the status of the B-Gundam," Muro said. Lee's hopes were immediately raised.
"Doubt it, but I suppose anything's possible. Muro, full speed."
The Exalon turned and headed for the direction.
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Koshiro's vision was starting to blurr. His oxygen was almost out. He had to signal a ship now. Taking aim with his beam
rifle, he fired. A huge explosion engulfed his field of vision.
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On the Exalon, Tasha looked up from her control panel and down at Commander Lucas.
"I've got it," she called out. "It's some sort of depth charges, left over from ancient times." She could see that
saying that devastated the hopes of the others so she said, "But something triggered them."
"Even if that was so, what good would it do fo us. It's just a wild goose chase. Muro, resume course."
"But Commander, what about investigating what caused those things to go off in the first place?" Lee asked.
"Most likely a malfunction," Henry guessed. "Those things would explode if anything touched it."
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Koshiro felt himself floating. Did the explosion destroy the B-Gundam and left him under water? No, that was impossible.
He still felt dry. He could see images of his life flash before his eyes. He saw all those people whom he met. Lee,
Henry, Shinji, Muro, Victor, Tasha, Keela, the children, Commander Lucas, Sasari Mei. One image lingered more than the
others, that of Paiyako.
"Paiyako," he called weakly. His finger accidentally landed on the trigger for the Beam Rifle. Since the rifle was
pointed downward, the force was propelling the B-Gundam upward at an angle.
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"Commander, detecting an object approaching us from under water at high velocity," Victor announced.
"Muro, full reverse!" The Exalon managed to back up just in time to see the B-Gundam leap out of the water and hover in
front of them.
"It's the B-Gundam!" Lee cried excitedly.
Everybody cheered. Commander Lucas quickly picked up his phone. "Launch Bay, open up, we have a Mobile Suit and pilot to
retrieve. As the hatch began opening, the B-Gundam started to plunge back down. At the last second, the B-Gundam's hand
reached out and grabbed the edge of the bottom part of the hatch.
Commander Lucas took a deep breath and sat back in his chair. "Just between you and me, Muro, that kid's going to give me
grayer hair than I already have." Muro burst into laughter.
"Lee, come with me." Commander Lucas and Lee got up and went down to the docking bay. The B-Gundam was just being settled into standard position. The hatch opened and Koshiro stumbled onto the knee.
"Koshiro, are you all right?" Commander Lucas called up.
The boy gave him a thumbs up. "A little water-logged, Commander, but other than that..." Suddenly Koshiro froze, staring
straight ahead.
"Koshiro? Koshiro, is something wrong?"
"Koshiro?" Lee joined in. "Koshiro, you're beginning to scare me." Koshiro fell off the knee. Had he not been wearing
his helmet, the fall would've seriously injured him. "Koshiro!" Lee ran over to him and laid a hand on the boy's shoulder.
Koshiro was crouched into a ball, moaning in agony.
Lee turned to the Commander. "Commander..."
"I understand," Lucas affirmed. He quickly went over to the intercom. "Medical Bay, emergency in the Loading Dock,
bring a stretcher immediately!"
Lee had taken Koshiro's helmet off. She was running her hand through his hair whispering words of comfort. "Hang on,
Koshiro, everything's going to be all right, everything's going to be fine."
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Koshiro is suffering from decompression sickness and is taken out of action. The Exalon finally arrives at the United
States, but finds that it has been laid to waste and the Federation base destroyed. Unable to pilot the B-Gundam, Lee
finds hope in a new weapon.
Next episode: The Guardian.
Enter the Starlight Guncannon.
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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.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Commander Lucas and Muro Okawa discovered that something was happening at the Earth Federation Headquarters in
Washington D.C. AMEC has made a crucial step, but it's a step so secretive not even the officers know about it.
Koshiro and Lee had a heart-to-heart and Koshiro discovered that he had a friend. Now, the true journey begins.
[Title: Journey Across the Sea]
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Koshiro grunted as Archangel made another assault with its metal spear. Again, he blocked it with his beam shield and
countered with the beam rifle. Archangel dodged it and released its spike cables. The B-Gundam in turn pulled out one
of its beam sabers and made several strikes at the cables. Some were sliced off but the majority of them avoided it
and wrapped around the B-Gundam's arms. The beam rifle fell out of its hand. The vulcan cannons fired but didn't make
any damage on Archangel. Koshiro knew he needed a new strategy, not just the simple dodge and shoot routine.
Koshiro's eyes glazed over for a second as an idea came to his mind. The B-Gundam took out the other beam saber and
ignited it. It put the ends of the handles of the two beam sabers together. They remained that way.
Ben Hoshum, the Dark Messiah, wondered what his adversary was doing now. He saw the Feddy Mobile Suit started twirling
this lance made from two beam sabers around like a helicopter propeller. Archangel fired its cables again. But they
weren't able to get through the B-Gundam's twirling beam lance. He retracted the cables or what was left of them.
Koshiro turned and lifted off. The Exalon was just ahead, being harrassed by almost a dozen Zaku Mobile Suits.
Using his new beam lance, the B-Gundam took them down two at a time. He retreated into the sky as they all exploded.
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On the bridge of the Exalon, Victor Lenard wiped his brow. "Whoa, that was a close one."
"Hey Victor, how about a status of the Beam Gundam instead of some commentary?"
"Sorry, Commander Lucas. Status of Beam Gundam is nominal."
"Good. Lee, tell Gundam Pilot to keep along side of us in case AMEC try another attack."
"Aye, sir."
The B-Gundam separated the beam lance into two beam sabers and holstered them. He settled into a flying pattern next to
the Exalon. Koshiro finally found time to take a breather.
"Good job, Koshiro," Lee congratulated.
"Thanks. Can I come on board now?"
"Sorry, Commander Lucas wants you to remain out in case they attack again."
"No rest for the weary I guess." The B-Gundam and Exalon continued on their way in a straight line. Suddenly they stopped.
Just ahead of them was a vast blue area.
"The ocean!" Muro cried excitedly. "We've finally reached the ocean."
Sonya pressed her face against the glass window. "Wow, it's so big."
"Have you ever seen the ocean before?" Muro asked. The young girl shook her head.
"Is Washington across the ocean?" Christopher asked Lee.
"That's right. As soon as we get to Washington, we can drop..." Lee was interrupted by an alarm.
"Zakus, twenty in all," Victor reported. "Approaching from right behind us."
"They just don't give up, do they?" Henry Kozuko asked.
"Koshiro..."
"I see it, Lee. You go on ahead, I'll make sure they won't follow you."
"Gundam Pilot, the B-Gundam's flight ability is limited. You're bound to run out of fuel before you get to shore."
Henry said through Lee.
"Then don't wander far. After I'm sure they won't follow us, I'll join up. Now go!"
"No," Lee argued. You won't survive!"
"Lee," Commander Lucas said calmly. "That's enough. Gundam Pilot, here's what we'll do: we'll head out for ten kilometers
and set down in the water. We'll wait approximately ten minutes. If you're not here after that, we're taking off."
"All right."
"But Commander Lucas," Lee said. "How do we know the Exalon won't sink before the time is up?"
"I'm sure she can stand up to a little dip," Keela assured them. "Besides, if it does start to sink, we could always
take off, circle around and land again."
"Then it's decided," Commander Lucas declared. "Gundam Pilot, synchronize chronometers for ten minutes. Synchronize...
now." Koshiro programmed the B-Gundam's timer for ten minutes while Victor did the same thing to the ship's chronometer.
Lucas himself even set his watch for ten minutes.
"All set, wish me luck." The B-Gundam turned and ran towards the Zakus.
"Commander," Lee said meekly. "Permission to speak freely."
"Granted."
"I'm not sure he can do this."
"You know what, Leeka? Neither do I."
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Koshiro charged towards the Zakus. At first, he saw only eight of them. The others must be waiting in reserve.
"All right, who's first?" Koshiro asked taking aim with his beam rifle. He fired and nailed one Zaku right in the chest.
The Zaku fell over. Koshiro turned to another but one got in behind him and shot at his back. The B-Gundam quickly turned
and raised its beam shield in defense. It dispatched that Zaku with a shot from its beam rifle. "I hope the beam rifle
has enough power for them all." Koshiro fired the beam rifle again but missed. The Zakus were quickly surrounding him.
"Maybe this wasn't such a good idea after all." The Zakus were overwhelming. It seemed that no matter how hard
Koshiro aimed, he could only graze them.
A warning light inside his helmet told Koshiro that the beam energy was almost depleted. He would have to holster the beam
rifle in case he would need it later. He attaches the large gun to the side of the jet pack on the B-Gundam's back and
drew one of the beam sabers. He switched to close-range combat, clashing with the Zakus and their heat hawks.
"This must be the elite of the group," Koshiro figured as he defended with his beam shield.
He only had 7 minutes left.
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"Seven minutes," Victor reported.
"Commander Lucas, are you sure this is a good idea? I mean what if Ko... I Mean the B-Gundam is destroyed?"
"I'm worried about him too," Lucas admitted. "But when you think about it, we're no better off if he remained. I mean
if we were attacked while over the ocean, we couldn't release the B-Gundam because its flight ability is limited and the
Exalon's weapons are all out of action. At least this way, they won't have a chance to follow us."
As Commander Lucas turned to return to his seat, Lee said to Keela. "I'm not sure I understand his logic."
"I do," the girl replied. "Commander Lucas is looking out for the crew of the Exalon. He only wants to sacrifice the
absolute minimum."
Lee turned towards her in fright. "Keela!"
"I'm sorry, but if there's one thing I learned, it's that a leader must look at the big picture. He can't put one person's
life ahead of another. I'm sure if he wanted to, he would've charged there with stick and stone if necessary and help
out Koshiro. But then, he would put the entire crew in danger and that's something he can't do." Sonya came up and held
onto Keela's leg. "The life of a Commander is a harsh one. No matter what he does, he's not going to get what he wants."
"Five minutes," Victor announced.
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"Five minutes," Koshiro said to himself. "And I'm no closer to beating these rust buckets than I was before. Looks like I
have no choice, I'm going to have to destroy them totally, even if that means lasting beyond the ten minute time limit.
First thing I'll do is lead them away from the Exalon." The B-Gundam leaped over a few Zakus and started to run inland.
Just as he planned, the Zakus followed him. He kept running until he couldn't see the ocean any more. Then he stopped.
Suddenly a pair of hands reached out from under the ground and grabbed the B-Gundam's legs.
"What?!" Koshiro was startled. All around him Zakus began rising from beneath camuflage nets. "It was a trap! They
must've wanted to lure me away from the Exalon." The Zakus began taking pot shots at the B-Gundam. As much as he tried,
Koshiro couldn't defend against all of them.
And he only had three minutes left.
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"Less than three minutes," Victor reported.
"Perhaps the Zakus are giving Gundam Pilot a much harder time than we originally thought," Commander Lucas said.
"Detecting a large object descending from above us," Victor announced.
"What was that?" Commander Lucas asked startled.
"Is it the B-Gundam?" Muro asked.
"No. Mass, density, and speed don't match. I'm bringing it on the screen." On the screenwas an image of the Zeon.
"It's AMEC!"
"But how could they..." Muro began to ask but was interrupted by Commander Lucas' grunt of outrage as he slammed his fist
on his chair rest.
"I can't believe I fell for it," he said. "How could I be so stupid?" Everybody looked at him and he could see that they
didn't know what he knew. "It's the oldest military maneuver in history: a two-pronged attack. One force is sent to
distract our defenses, in other words, the B-Gundam, and another force comes around and attacks us from above. Looks like
we have no choice. Muro, full power to engines. We'll have to outrun them."
"But what about Koshiro?" Lee pointed out. "What if he arrives and finds that we're not here?"
"If we don't move, there won't be anything for him to find," Lucas came back.
Lee frantically hurried to call Koshiro. "Koshiro, come in! Koshiro, this is..." A loud screaching echoed through her
headset and Lee ripped it off her head. "Commander, they're jamming us!"
"They had this planned from the beginning!" Commander Lucas grumbled as Keela led the children off the bridge.
"The attack, the jamming, everything. The only thing we can do now is try to make it to Federation territory.
Muro, go!"
As the Exalon began to lift off, Lee could only watch helplessly at the distant land. "Koshiro..." She said quietly.
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The B-Gundam aimed its gun at the bottom. Praying that it worked, he fired. The entire ground exploded underneath him.
The B-Gundam was thrown into the air. Quickly, Koshiro fired up the jet pack and flew off. The Zakus pursued him using
their own flight ability.
"These guys just won't give up," Koshiro complained. He reached the seashore and continued heading out to sea. Still the
Zakus pursued him. "Man, they're going to continue to dog me until I'm dead... wait a minute, maybe that's it."
Koshiro remembered how he fooled the strange Mobile Suit into thinking that he was dead. Maybe it will work twice.
"Wait a minute," Koshiro said. "How do I know this thing won't fill up with water? I wish someone could give me a sign."
Koshiro did get a sign. His eyes glazed over. In his mind's eye, he could see an image of the B-Gundam. His vision
zoomed in on the two vents on the B-Gundam's chest then panned to a small area in the neck.
Koshiro's vision returned to the outside world. He knew what he had to do. "Closing vents, activating internal oxygen
system. Here we go." The vents on the B-Gundam's chest closed. A hissing sound began filling the cockpit. Koshiro
smelled the sweet odor of oxygen. The B-Gundam dropped into the water. Koshiro felt himself plunge to the ocean floor.
It was rocky and the current made it a little difficult to position himself. Koshiro terminated the interface link and
waited. His vision wouldn't do much good even if it was activated. But he could hear the splashes if the Zakus entered
so that made his ears his early warning system.
He waited for a while but didn't hear any splashes. Maybe they thought he drowned and went back, or maybe they were going for reinforcements. Either way, he had to get moving to catch up with the Exalon. He re-activated the interface link
and began making short jumps, like a moontraveler (before the moon was colonized that is).
His internal gauges (numbers were transferred directly into his helmet) told him he was at the designated spot. Koshiro
fired the boost jets and was propelled up. But he couldn't see the Exalon. He maximized his scanners but couldn't see
them anywhere.
"This doesn't make sense," Koshiro commented as he checked his gauges again. "I know this is the designated area, but
where's the Exalon. B-Gundam to Exalon, come in. "B-Gundam to Exalon, can you hear me, Exalon? Shoot, they must be out
of communication range." The B-Gundam began to descend back into the sea. Koshiro quickly fired the jets again but
nothing happened. The jets must've gotten waterlogged from that last jump. Now, Koshiro had no choice. He had to make it
to land before his air ran out.
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The Exalon finally lost the Zeon. They settled down while Commander Lucas decided what to do next.
"Now that we're away from the rendezvous point, we have no way to find the B-Gundam," he said.
"We should go back," Lee said. "He might be there."
"No way to tell," Victor argued. "By the time we do, he could be half-way across the ocean."
"What would Koshiro do in this situation?" Shinji asked leaning against his control panel.
"Well," Commander Lucas began. "He knows that our final destination is Earth Federation HQ. Perhaps he is heading there
in which case we need to get over there as soon as possible."
"What if he isn't?" Henry said darkly. "What if he was destroyed?"
"We can't think that way," Muro said. "Koshiro is strong, I can tell. He wouldn't go down so easily."
Lucas smiled at his helmswoman. "Ever the optimist, aren't you, Muro?"
"I try, sir."
"We don't have much time. Any moment now, that Desert Dictator warship will come for us and our weapons are still down.
We have no defenses. We have to get to the Earth Federation headquarters. Muro, prepare to move out."
"Aye, sir."
"Shinji, Lee, we won't need you two for a while, why don't you two get some sleep. I'll wake you if we need you."
"Yes, sir," shinji replied and turned to leave. Lee started to follow but paused. She looked back at her station.
"Lee?" Commander Lucas laid a hand on her shoulder. "Get some sleep. You're no good to anyone if you're half-asleep
at the consol." Sensing her trouble, he continued, "Muro's right, Koshiro's a strong kid." He smiled. "I'm sure he
wouldn't go down without bringing half the planet down with him."
Despite herself, Lee smiled. "I hope you're right, sir."
"I am." Lee turned and left the bridge. Commander Lucas returned to his seat and took a deep breath. "At least, I hope I
am," he muttered to himself.
"You should get some sleep too, sir," Muro suggested noting her superior's fatigue.
"I'll only sleep once we're all back on land." Commander Lucas emphasized 'all.' Muro could see that he was just as
worried as Lee was, if not more.
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Koshiro was finding it more difficult to tranverse the ocean terrain. The B-Gundam began slowing down. Eventually he came
to a stop at a pit. He tried to jump over it but the pull was almost too strong. He almost fell in but a quick flick of
the beam saber and Koshiro had an anchor. He managed to pull himself up and continued on his way.
"Mental note, never travel vie the ocean floor again," he cracked. He continued on his way.
The B-Gundam's sensors went off signalling that something was heading his way. Koshiro looked up to see a shark rapidly
swimming towards him. The shark bit down on the B-Gundam's arm.
"Off, blubber boy," Koshiro cracked as he fired the vulcans. The shark convulsed as blood spilled from its dying body.
Koshiro wanted to breath a sigh of relief, but that was impossible. More sharks began swimming towards the area, drawn
towards the carcas of one of their own.
"Great, I can't use the vulcans, they might just attract more." The B-Gundam kicked one of the sharks then grabbed another
by the tail and swung it around like a bat, knocking more away. The B-Gundam took off with the sharks in hot pursuit.
A couple of nautical miles further down, he saw something unusual. Multiple metal spheres with spikes all around were
spread out, held in their position by a weight and string.
"Must be some sort of bombs," Koshiro guessed as he scanned them using the B-Gundam's instruments. "No doubt they'll
probably explode if I touch them and destroying them with weapons would probably worsen my situation. So I'll have to
disconnect them somehow, or at least move them out of the way." Koshiro activated the beam saber again and sliced the
rope holding one of the bombs down. The bomb rose until it was just above the B-Gundam's head then it exploded. The
force threw the B-Gundam out of control. Koshiro dug the B-Gundam's feet into the oceam floor and slowed his acceleration.
The sharks that have been chasing the B-Gundam took off from fright.
"Wow, whoever put these here knew what they were doing." But on the other hand, it gave him an idea. If he could explode
them all at once, it could signal a ship to pick it up. Sure, it might be an AMEC ship but at the moment Koshiro really
couldn't afford to be picky. His shallow breathing told him he had a couple of minutes of oxygen left. After that, it'd
be all over.
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"What the... that's weird," Victor commented.
"What is it?" Commander Lucas asked.
"The heat sensors just picked up a thermal reaction from under water."
"How can that be possible?"
"I don't know, sir, we better go check it out."
"Do it. All senior crew members to the bridge! Combat Alert!" Lee, Shinji, Henry, and Tasha, even though she was on sick
leave due to a broken arm, came onto the bridge.
"Everybody take your positions," Commander Lucas instructed. Victor helped his partner up to her station while the other
three slid into their seats.
"What's going on?" Henry asked.
"We have an underwater explosion," Commander Lucas commented.
"Which means what exactly?" Lee asked.
"Which means that something's going on under water that isn't suppose to be," Tasha explained.
"It could be a trap," Shinji pointed out.
"If it is, maybe they have an idea on the status of the B-Gundam," Muro said. Lee's hopes were immediately raised.
"Doubt it, but I suppose anything's possible. Muro, full speed."
The Exalon turned and headed for the direction.
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Koshiro's vision was starting to blurr. His oxygen was almost out. He had to signal a ship now. Taking aim with his beam
rifle, he fired. A huge explosion engulfed his field of vision.
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On the Exalon, Tasha looked up from her control panel and down at Commander Lucas.
"I've got it," she called out. "It's some sort of depth charges, left over from ancient times." She could see that
saying that devastated the hopes of the others so she said, "But something triggered them."
"Even if that was so, what good would it do fo us. It's just a wild goose chase. Muro, resume course."
"But Commander, what about investigating what caused those things to go off in the first place?" Lee asked.
"Most likely a malfunction," Henry guessed. "Those things would explode if anything touched it."
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Koshiro felt himself floating. Did the explosion destroy the B-Gundam and left him under water? No, that was impossible.
He still felt dry. He could see images of his life flash before his eyes. He saw all those people whom he met. Lee,
Henry, Shinji, Muro, Victor, Tasha, Keela, the children, Commander Lucas, Sasari Mei. One image lingered more than the
others, that of Paiyako.
"Paiyako," he called weakly. His finger accidentally landed on the trigger for the Beam Rifle. Since the rifle was
pointed downward, the force was propelling the B-Gundam upward at an angle.
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"Commander, detecting an object approaching us from under water at high velocity," Victor announced.
"Muro, full reverse!" The Exalon managed to back up just in time to see the B-Gundam leap out of the water and hover in
front of them.
"It's the B-Gundam!" Lee cried excitedly.
Everybody cheered. Commander Lucas quickly picked up his phone. "Launch Bay, open up, we have a Mobile Suit and pilot to
retrieve. As the hatch began opening, the B-Gundam started to plunge back down. At the last second, the B-Gundam's hand
reached out and grabbed the edge of the bottom part of the hatch.
Commander Lucas took a deep breath and sat back in his chair. "Just between you and me, Muro, that kid's going to give me
grayer hair than I already have." Muro burst into laughter.
"Lee, come with me." Commander Lucas and Lee got up and went down to the docking bay. The B-Gundam was just being settled into standard position. The hatch opened and Koshiro stumbled onto the knee.
"Koshiro, are you all right?" Commander Lucas called up.
The boy gave him a thumbs up. "A little water-logged, Commander, but other than that..." Suddenly Koshiro froze, staring
straight ahead.
"Koshiro? Koshiro, is something wrong?"
"Koshiro?" Lee joined in. "Koshiro, you're beginning to scare me." Koshiro fell off the knee. Had he not been wearing
his helmet, the fall would've seriously injured him. "Koshiro!" Lee ran over to him and laid a hand on the boy's shoulder.
Koshiro was crouched into a ball, moaning in agony.
Lee turned to the Commander. "Commander..."
"I understand," Lucas affirmed. He quickly went over to the intercom. "Medical Bay, emergency in the Loading Dock,
bring a stretcher immediately!"
Lee had taken Koshiro's helmet off. She was running her hand through his hair whispering words of comfort. "Hang on,
Koshiro, everything's going to be all right, everything's going to be fine."
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Koshiro is suffering from decompression sickness and is taken out of action. The Exalon finally arrives at the United
States, but finds that it has been laid to waste and the Federation base destroyed. Unable to pilot the B-Gundam, Lee
finds hope in a new weapon.
Next episode: The Guardian.
Enter the Starlight Guncannon.