Mobile Suit Gundam Century's Dawn
----------------------
The atmosphere on board the Earth Federation flagship Exalon was one of extreme tension. The bridge crew was
constantly staring out the forward view window. In the back of the control room was Koshiro Anaka, the Gundam Pilot,
and Keela Niyoko along with the children that she took care of.
[Title: Status Report]
"How much time left?" Commander Noah Lucas asked Helmswoman Muro Okawa.
"Two minutes," she reported.
"I think I see land," Ray cried out. Keela hushed him. But sure enough, land could be seen in the horizon.
Commander Lucas turned to communication officer Lee Moshiro. "Begin."
Lee nodded and put on her headset. "To any Earth Federation forces who are hearing this, please respond, this is the
Exalon. I repeat, this is the Exalon to any and all EF forces."
There was a long silence. Then a ship appeared. It was modeled similar to the Exalon, but on a smaller scale.
A scratchy voice came over the loud speaker. "This is the outer patrol ship Zenith, state your alleigence."
"Zenith, this is the Earth Federation flagship."
There was another long pause. For a moment, Lucas was afraid that they wandered into enemyterritory. Then the voice
replied, "Exalon, please stay on course, we'll lead you to EF Headquarters." The entire bridge crew cheered.
Even Sub-Commander Ming Xiao felt a sigh of relief.
---------------------------
Commander Lucas sat in his quarters with a tape recorder. He was preparing his report for the Earth Federation Council.
"Status Report by Commander Noah Lucas of the Earth Federation ship Exalon. Current date is April 24th, Universal
Century Year 300. What started as a normal re-supplying turned out to be an experience none of us expected..."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Sir," called Lieutenant Muro Okawa, the helmswoman. "We're locked down."
"Good. Let me tell you something, Muro, this is getting old very fast."
"Resupplying, sir?" Muro asked casting a side glance. Even though the man was 44, the tide of war was taking its toll
on him, making him look almost twice his actual age. Muro couldn't blame him.
Noah chuckled. "No, I mean this war. Ever since the Terrorists found those... what are they called again?"
"Zakus I think," Muro filled in although she wasn't exactly sure on the name. Robots like those were thought to have
been lost long ago in the aftermath of the Side Wars. Since then, the only time they have heard of them was from
intel reports and even those were sketchy to say the most.
"Whatever those things are called, the DD have been using them and have been butchering ourforces. I hate to say it,
Muro, but I fear Earth is doomed."
"Hey, that's not the Noah Lucas that I know."
"Sorry, 'Ro, it's..."
"I know, it's affecting me too." Noah smiled. The two had been serving together for so long it was like they could
read each other's thoughts.
"Commander Lucas," one of the officers called from the upper observation deck. "Captain Richards on comm."
"All right, let's see what that desk jockey wants."
"Nice to see you too." The small monitor in front of the bridge showed a man who could've been Noah's younger brother.
"I see life on that luxury liner hasn't dulled your sense of humor."The "luxury liner" was actually a Pegasus-class
ship.
"Reed, not that I'm glad to see your face, but is this a social call?"
"Getting down to business as always, George." 'George' and 'Reed' were nicknames that the two called each other.
Richards' actual name was Stephen. The two just loved to insult each other but they were actually good friends.
"Just need to know how long your ship will need resupplying."
"Twenty minutes," Muro whispered.
"Twenty minutes," Noah relayed. "Why, eager to see us off?"
"Don't take it personal, but intel's gotten whispers that an AMEC squadron is on this way. We're generating MPs
but I don't think it will make much difference if they see us. Imagine if they find the flagship of the fleet here."
"It would be a tempting target," Noah grumbled. "All right, as soon as we're refilled, we'll get out of here.
Got any other requests? Want me to pick up take-out while we're in the area."
Richards laughed. "I wouldn't mind, but I'm sure cook would."
"Anything for you, Reed, I'll tell the crew not to wander far."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"As it turned out, it was only a patrol. Certainly no match for the flagship of the Earth Federation... or so we thought.
We had a handicapp though, we were fighting over a town."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Commander," Muro called. "There are a couple of children standing between us and the Zakus."
Commander Lucas picked up the phone that served as his intercom. "Gunners, target the Zakus but be careful, there are
civilians in the area."
The blasts of the Exalon struck one of the Mobile Suits. It fell to the ground before exploding. Koshiro covered Paiyako
with his body from the rubble.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"We thought the battle was over after that, but we were wrong, as we soon found out when we returned to the scene
of the battle, the town of Scatterhaven. As it turned out, AMEC had set a trap for us."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"This is for you, Naram!" She cried. She swung her axe down, destroying the cannon.
On the bridge, Shinji called out, "Cannon 14 has been destroyed."
"Sensors are picking up Zakus all around us!" Tasha reported.
"It was a trap," Lucas realized. "They must've known we would return and layed in waiting for us. Deploy all weapons! Do
we have any Core Fighters?"
"Sir, we have one but it's mostly designed for transporting," Lee informed.
"Not good enough. Deploy all weapons!"
The Exalon returned fire. a stray shot from one of the Exalon's deployed cannons destroyed an entire city street.
Another stray shot from a Zaku destroyed a building. Fire began engulfing the whole town. You could hear the screams
easily.
Commander Lucas grunted as the ship was hit with another barrage.
"Sir, over 83% of our weapons have been destroyed," Shinji reported.
"Looks like we have no choice. Muro, take off!"
"But sir, what about the Zakus?" Lee asked.
"He who turns and runs away lives to fight another day, Lee," Lucas recited.
"Sir, there might be another way," Henry argued. "If we turn our engine on at full capacity, the jet fire let out by the
engine might be enough to destroy them, or at least scatter them enabeling us to take off. What do we have to lose?"
"At this point, nothing. Do it, Henry!"
Outside, the engine began powering up. As predicted, the exhaust fire destroyed a couple of Zakus and caused the rest
to scramble for cover.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~``
"It seemed rather bleek for us, but then we received help from an unlikely source."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Koshiro smiled, seeing his friend heading towards the road that lead over the mountains. He turned to the Zaku.
Picking up a rock, he threw it with all his might towards Mileena's Zaku.
Incredibly, it made a dent in the armor. Mileena's cyclo-eye swirled to face Koshiro.
"Over here, you giant tin can!" Koshiro called out waving his arms. "Come on, come and get me, you bucket of bolts!"
Mileena's temper flared. "Nobody comes between me and my revenge!"
Koshiro continued his taunting unaware that Mileena could hear him. "I've seen tricycles with better movement than that
rust bucket! You might as well join the Federation because you sure aren't going to make a good enemy of them!"
That was the last straw. Mileena leaped off of the Exalon and rushed towards Koshiro.
"Mileena, get back here and attack the Pegasus-class," the Base Commander ordered.
"I would never join the Federation, they are my sworn enemy!" Mileena took her machine gun and fired a stream of bullets.
Koshiro rolled to the left. When Mileena swung her gun to take aim again, he dove right between the legs and doubled
back towards the Exalon. It took Mileena a moment to realize the human was gone and turned around.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Commander Lucas sat in his chair and kicked his shoes off. "I felt grateful for the kid's help
and decided to return the favor by sending a rescue for him."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
A wall of fire came rushing at Koshiro. He quickly threw himself to the ground. To his surprise, the fire passed over him.
"Hey, kid, get up," a voice called to him. He looked up to see a red and blue plane landing right next to him. The
cockpit hatch opened and a figure wearing a flight helmet looked out at him. The outline of the figure suggested it
was female, but any other features were obscured by the helmet. "Come on, get on. They'll be throwing another particle
detonator soon and this time they won't miss."
Koshiro saw the Zaku getting ready to throw another round sphere, probably the particle detonatorthe pilot was talking
about. He really didn't want to get caught up in the war between the Earth Federation and the Zakus but at that moment,
he realized he didn't have much of a choice. He climbed into the seat behind the pilot.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"The rescue was successful but was forced down in a mountain range it was there where the kid and the pilot found
something remarkable, something that changed the lives of everyone, including me."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Koshiro and Lee came out into a huge underground loading bay. It was about as big as a football field. The ground was a
smooth metallic surface. A catwalk led around the entire area. Bright lights shone from the ceiling.
They were stunned by that, but not as stunned as they were when they saw what was in the center of the bay. A large
humanoid robot bended down on one knee, his left arm resting on the same knee, his head lowered like he was in some sort
of thinker position. The head had what looked like gun barrels on each side of the forehead. It had no eyes, just two dark
eye slits. In place of a mouth was some sort of metal mask. A large crest was at the center of its forehead. The body
was rectangular and gray. Two vents on each side of what looked like some sort of door. The left arm had an arm band
with the registry RX-83 on it. His back had some sort of pack on it with two large metal poles sticking out the top.
Other than that, there was nothing remarkable about it.
Behind it was another robot. This one looked more like a giant football player with two cannon barrels on its shoulders.
Although it was shorter and detailed differently from the first one, it was clear that they were made the same. Both were
stark white.
"My God, what are these thing?" Lee asked.
"I was hoping you could tell me," Koshiro replied mimicing her tone of voice.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"According to the records found at the facility, the robot that they found was called a Gundam. While the name was
virtually unknown to me up until now, it was clear that it was based on the same design as the robots that AMEC uses,
the Zaku." Commander Lucas paused. Why was it that the Earth Federation's databanks had no information on the
Gundam up until they discovered it? From its state, it looked like it's been waiting there for years. What
happened? What happened in the past that caused everyone to forget that such a powerful assett even
existed? Well... not everyone. Commander Lucas had knowledge from a journal one of his ancestors wrote.
-----------------------------------
"Come on, Tash," Victor Lenard said. "Just one game, come on."
"No way, Vic, we're still on duty," Tasha Benson protested.
"It'll only last for five minutes."
"They said the same thing about AMEC."
"Ouch."
"Hey, you two behaving up there?" Lee Moshiro called jokingly from below. "Don't make me bring out the hose!"
"Yes, Mom," the Twins replied also jokingly. They had a good laugh on that.
Tasha deactivated her terminal and said, "I'm going off-duty now. Join me?"
"You bet, let me just finish up some work."
"All right." With a wink to her partner, Tasha walked down to the lower deck. Victor concluded his study on the
composition of the minovsky particles.
Suddenly the computer pointed something out that Victor hadn't noticed before, the composition results. They weren't
normal. The wheels in Victor's head began turning. He finally reached a conclusion, this was suspicious and
merited further study.
Victor was sad that he wasn't able to join Tasha for a bite to eat that night.
-------------------------------------
"The kid took to the Gundam like a pro," Commander Lucas continued his report. "It was like the Gundam was made for him
specifically, or that he was born specifically to pilot the Gundam."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"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.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.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~```
"Whatever the reason, he was going head-to-head against the best of the best in no time." Commander Lucas paused his
recording as he let out a loud yawn. He then put it on again. "The history of the Gundam is one of mystery. But
apparently, there was one who seemed to have previous knowledge of the Gundam. Her name was Keela Niyoko and
according to her, she was from..."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"What was your home?"
"A space colony called Side 7."
Tasha dropped her bowl. "Side 7?"
"You're telling me you're from space?" Muro couldn't believe it.
"Why are you so excited, it's not that big of a deal."
"We thought all colonies were wiped out long ago."
"No. Actually, when I came to Earth, I stowed away on a supply shuttle. There were plenty of Colonies left."
"When was this?"
"Let's see... I'm 15 now, so I guess it's been about five years since I left Side 7."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"We agreed to take her and the survivors of her village to the United States. However, our plans changed the moment we
arrived at the United States coastline."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Smoke was billowing from the land. Smoke that came from fires, large inferno-type fires.
The coastline was devastated.
"Commander Lucas, what happened?" Christopher asked.
"I... I don't know. Victor, Tasha, systems to maximum power."
"Yes, sir," the Twins said as one. They began programming their consols. Above the bridge on the ceiling, a view screen
appeared. It showed hundreds of buildings that were destroyed. The Washington Memmorial was cut in half. The statue at
the Lincoln Memmorial lost its head and half its pillars. And the headquarters of the Earth Federation, formerly known
as the Pentagon, was nothing but rubble.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"As it turned out, the Desert Dictators have somehow invaded and destroyed the Earth Federation Headquarters.
We never even got a distress call if there was one. With Koshiro out of action, and battle looming on the horizon,
Lee Moshiro utilized the secondary Gundam that we found in the facility."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~`
Lee was running towards the port loading bay, where the second Gundam was. It was small and somewhat stocky. It
had two big cannons on each of its shoulder. It looked like a football player.
Lee stared at it. This was it, this was how she could stop the attack, but was it battle ready?
"Engineer!" She called to an officer working on a control panel. He turned towards her, a little shocked. "What's the
status of that Gundam?"
"You mean the Guncannon?"
"Yeah, that, is it battle ready?"
"I guess so, although nobody has really tried..." Without waiting for him to finish, Lee ran towards the Guncannon.
Like the B-Gundam, it was down on one knee waiting to be called to battle. Lee climbed up onto the horizontal knee and
walked across to the cockpit area.
"Hold it!" The engineer called. "You're not authorized..." But Lee was already disappearing into the cockpit.
Unlike the B-Gundam, the Guncannon had a set of view screens that lowered into position blocking the entrance door which
was already closing. The Guncannon stood on both feet.
"Muro, status," Commander Lucas called.
"Ready for take-off, Commander." Muro was wearing a gray flight suit and the B-Gundam interface helmet. "The helmet is a
little tight."
"That's because it was meant for a fifteen year old boy, not a twenty-six year old woman," Henry cracked.
"Watch it, pal, I got a beam rifle here and not afraid to use it."
"Can the chatter you two," Commander Lucas ordered, but he could see that Muro and Henry were trying not to act
so nervous. He didn't blame them. "All right, launch B..."
"Wait!" Came a new voice. Lee's voice. Her face appeared on a small monitor at the front of the bridge. "Commander,
the B-Gundam isn't properly equipped for this sort of battle."
"What are you talking about?" Commander Lucas asked.
"The B-Gundam is specifically designed for close-range combat. We need a weapon that is long-range."
"What weapon do we have with that capabilities?"
"The Guncannon in the port docking bay."
"The what?!"
"It's the second Gundam that we recovered from the facility. It's capable of long-range combat. Don't launch the
B-Gundam."
"Now wait just a minute..." Commander Lucas began.
"I'm still the field commander here, aren't I? Well let me do my job then. Release the Guncannon."
Commander Lucas sighed. He hated to admit it but she was right. "Henry... cancel the B-Gundam launch, prepare to launch
the Guncannon."
Muro sighed. Unknown to anybody except herself, she smiled. She was wondering when Lee would come to her senses.
The launch bay opened. The Guncannon stepped onto the catapult. The Guncannon was launched.
The Commander of the siege line looked through his buinoculars as the Guncannon touched down almost flawlessly.
"What the devil is that?" He asked. It looked like a Zaku, but completely remodeled which made it... what? Not a Zaku?
Unfortunately, he didn't have any Zakus and the Zeon wasn't scheduled to arrive for another day. He would have to use
what he already has. "Channel all weapons on that Mobile Suit that was ejected from the Pegasus-class."
Tons of missiles and guns fired at the Guncannon. The Guncannon held its arms up in defense. Smoke swirled around it
and when the dust cleared, the Guncannon stood unharmed.
"My turn," Lee announced. She pulled over the targeting scope and looked through it. She aimed the cannons at the missile
launchers first and fired. Two shafts of energy came out of the cannons. The recoil almost pushed the Guncannon into
the Exalon but the blasts were right on target.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"After assessing the situation at headquarters, we made our way here..." Commander Lucas paused again. Then he started
again, "The Mobile Suit Gundam design has proven victorious in multiple battles against enemy forces. I suggest that we
continue to use the Gundam designated B-Gundam as our main offensive line against AMEC. If possible, we should start
mass-producing them. This may be our one and only chance to defeat AMEC and take back Earth. End report."
Commander Lucas got up and stretched. He hadn't realized how late it was. Taking trips down memory lane is more time
consuming than he thought. His door knocked and when he opened it, Muro appeared with a tray of food.
"Um... Commander... hi... the cook said you didn't show up for dinner so I thought I'd bring some down to you."
"Yes, thank you, Muro. I was merely preparing my report for the Earth Federation Council. I guess I lost track of time.
Will you like to join me?"
"Thank you, sir, I'd be honored." Commander Lucas set the tray down and began digging in. Muro filled a cup of tea
that she got from his cabinet. "Have you finished the report?"
"Yes, I have."
Muro sat down across from him. "Have you reached any conclusions?"
"As a matter of fact, I have." Commander Lucas ejected the tape. "I think this whole Gundam business is just the tip of
the iceberg. Something happened in the past that caused all records of it to disappear including memories. And
Koshiro..." Commander Lucas trailed off.
"He is one incredible kid," Muro commented. "Just a month ago, he was hell-bent on destroying us, now he's actually a
good friend. I'm glad."
"So am I, 'Ro, so am I." And the two continued to eat dinner together, just enjoying each other's company.
--
Commander Lucas goes to see the Earth Federation Council. A demonstration of the B-Gundam's abilities is put on for the
council. Prime Minister Asif asks Ben Hoshum to ascend to an important position in the AMEC government. Meanwhile, the
Earth Federation Council discuss the possiblity of a traitor among them. Next episode: Confrontation. The greatest battles
are fought within.
----------------------
The atmosphere on board the Earth Federation flagship Exalon was one of extreme tension. The bridge crew was
constantly staring out the forward view window. In the back of the control room was Koshiro Anaka, the Gundam Pilot,
and Keela Niyoko along with the children that she took care of.
[Title: Status Report]
"How much time left?" Commander Noah Lucas asked Helmswoman Muro Okawa.
"Two minutes," she reported.
"I think I see land," Ray cried out. Keela hushed him. But sure enough, land could be seen in the horizon.
Commander Lucas turned to communication officer Lee Moshiro. "Begin."
Lee nodded and put on her headset. "To any Earth Federation forces who are hearing this, please respond, this is the
Exalon. I repeat, this is the Exalon to any and all EF forces."
There was a long silence. Then a ship appeared. It was modeled similar to the Exalon, but on a smaller scale.
A scratchy voice came over the loud speaker. "This is the outer patrol ship Zenith, state your alleigence."
"Zenith, this is the Earth Federation flagship."
There was another long pause. For a moment, Lucas was afraid that they wandered into enemyterritory. Then the voice
replied, "Exalon, please stay on course, we'll lead you to EF Headquarters." The entire bridge crew cheered.
Even Sub-Commander Ming Xiao felt a sigh of relief.
---------------------------
Commander Lucas sat in his quarters with a tape recorder. He was preparing his report for the Earth Federation Council.
"Status Report by Commander Noah Lucas of the Earth Federation ship Exalon. Current date is April 24th, Universal
Century Year 300. What started as a normal re-supplying turned out to be an experience none of us expected..."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Sir," called Lieutenant Muro Okawa, the helmswoman. "We're locked down."
"Good. Let me tell you something, Muro, this is getting old very fast."
"Resupplying, sir?" Muro asked casting a side glance. Even though the man was 44, the tide of war was taking its toll
on him, making him look almost twice his actual age. Muro couldn't blame him.
Noah chuckled. "No, I mean this war. Ever since the Terrorists found those... what are they called again?"
"Zakus I think," Muro filled in although she wasn't exactly sure on the name. Robots like those were thought to have
been lost long ago in the aftermath of the Side Wars. Since then, the only time they have heard of them was from
intel reports and even those were sketchy to say the most.
"Whatever those things are called, the DD have been using them and have been butchering ourforces. I hate to say it,
Muro, but I fear Earth is doomed."
"Hey, that's not the Noah Lucas that I know."
"Sorry, 'Ro, it's..."
"I know, it's affecting me too." Noah smiled. The two had been serving together for so long it was like they could
read each other's thoughts.
"Commander Lucas," one of the officers called from the upper observation deck. "Captain Richards on comm."
"All right, let's see what that desk jockey wants."
"Nice to see you too." The small monitor in front of the bridge showed a man who could've been Noah's younger brother.
"I see life on that luxury liner hasn't dulled your sense of humor."The "luxury liner" was actually a Pegasus-class
ship.
"Reed, not that I'm glad to see your face, but is this a social call?"
"Getting down to business as always, George." 'George' and 'Reed' were nicknames that the two called each other.
Richards' actual name was Stephen. The two just loved to insult each other but they were actually good friends.
"Just need to know how long your ship will need resupplying."
"Twenty minutes," Muro whispered.
"Twenty minutes," Noah relayed. "Why, eager to see us off?"
"Don't take it personal, but intel's gotten whispers that an AMEC squadron is on this way. We're generating MPs
but I don't think it will make much difference if they see us. Imagine if they find the flagship of the fleet here."
"It would be a tempting target," Noah grumbled. "All right, as soon as we're refilled, we'll get out of here.
Got any other requests? Want me to pick up take-out while we're in the area."
Richards laughed. "I wouldn't mind, but I'm sure cook would."
"Anything for you, Reed, I'll tell the crew not to wander far."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"As it turned out, it was only a patrol. Certainly no match for the flagship of the Earth Federation... or so we thought.
We had a handicapp though, we were fighting over a town."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Commander," Muro called. "There are a couple of children standing between us and the Zakus."
Commander Lucas picked up the phone that served as his intercom. "Gunners, target the Zakus but be careful, there are
civilians in the area."
The blasts of the Exalon struck one of the Mobile Suits. It fell to the ground before exploding. Koshiro covered Paiyako
with his body from the rubble.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"We thought the battle was over after that, but we were wrong, as we soon found out when we returned to the scene
of the battle, the town of Scatterhaven. As it turned out, AMEC had set a trap for us."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"This is for you, Naram!" She cried. She swung her axe down, destroying the cannon.
On the bridge, Shinji called out, "Cannon 14 has been destroyed."
"Sensors are picking up Zakus all around us!" Tasha reported.
"It was a trap," Lucas realized. "They must've known we would return and layed in waiting for us. Deploy all weapons! Do
we have any Core Fighters?"
"Sir, we have one but it's mostly designed for transporting," Lee informed.
"Not good enough. Deploy all weapons!"
The Exalon returned fire. a stray shot from one of the Exalon's deployed cannons destroyed an entire city street.
Another stray shot from a Zaku destroyed a building. Fire began engulfing the whole town. You could hear the screams
easily.
Commander Lucas grunted as the ship was hit with another barrage.
"Sir, over 83% of our weapons have been destroyed," Shinji reported.
"Looks like we have no choice. Muro, take off!"
"But sir, what about the Zakus?" Lee asked.
"He who turns and runs away lives to fight another day, Lee," Lucas recited.
"Sir, there might be another way," Henry argued. "If we turn our engine on at full capacity, the jet fire let out by the
engine might be enough to destroy them, or at least scatter them enabeling us to take off. What do we have to lose?"
"At this point, nothing. Do it, Henry!"
Outside, the engine began powering up. As predicted, the exhaust fire destroyed a couple of Zakus and caused the rest
to scramble for cover.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~``
"It seemed rather bleek for us, but then we received help from an unlikely source."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Koshiro smiled, seeing his friend heading towards the road that lead over the mountains. He turned to the Zaku.
Picking up a rock, he threw it with all his might towards Mileena's Zaku.
Incredibly, it made a dent in the armor. Mileena's cyclo-eye swirled to face Koshiro.
"Over here, you giant tin can!" Koshiro called out waving his arms. "Come on, come and get me, you bucket of bolts!"
Mileena's temper flared. "Nobody comes between me and my revenge!"
Koshiro continued his taunting unaware that Mileena could hear him. "I've seen tricycles with better movement than that
rust bucket! You might as well join the Federation because you sure aren't going to make a good enemy of them!"
That was the last straw. Mileena leaped off of the Exalon and rushed towards Koshiro.
"Mileena, get back here and attack the Pegasus-class," the Base Commander ordered.
"I would never join the Federation, they are my sworn enemy!" Mileena took her machine gun and fired a stream of bullets.
Koshiro rolled to the left. When Mileena swung her gun to take aim again, he dove right between the legs and doubled
back towards the Exalon. It took Mileena a moment to realize the human was gone and turned around.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Commander Lucas sat in his chair and kicked his shoes off. "I felt grateful for the kid's help
and decided to return the favor by sending a rescue for him."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
A wall of fire came rushing at Koshiro. He quickly threw himself to the ground. To his surprise, the fire passed over him.
"Hey, kid, get up," a voice called to him. He looked up to see a red and blue plane landing right next to him. The
cockpit hatch opened and a figure wearing a flight helmet looked out at him. The outline of the figure suggested it
was female, but any other features were obscured by the helmet. "Come on, get on. They'll be throwing another particle
detonator soon and this time they won't miss."
Koshiro saw the Zaku getting ready to throw another round sphere, probably the particle detonatorthe pilot was talking
about. He really didn't want to get caught up in the war between the Earth Federation and the Zakus but at that moment,
he realized he didn't have much of a choice. He climbed into the seat behind the pilot.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"The rescue was successful but was forced down in a mountain range it was there where the kid and the pilot found
something remarkable, something that changed the lives of everyone, including me."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Koshiro and Lee came out into a huge underground loading bay. It was about as big as a football field. The ground was a
smooth metallic surface. A catwalk led around the entire area. Bright lights shone from the ceiling.
They were stunned by that, but not as stunned as they were when they saw what was in the center of the bay. A large
humanoid robot bended down on one knee, his left arm resting on the same knee, his head lowered like he was in some sort
of thinker position. The head had what looked like gun barrels on each side of the forehead. It had no eyes, just two dark
eye slits. In place of a mouth was some sort of metal mask. A large crest was at the center of its forehead. The body
was rectangular and gray. Two vents on each side of what looked like some sort of door. The left arm had an arm band
with the registry RX-83 on it. His back had some sort of pack on it with two large metal poles sticking out the top.
Other than that, there was nothing remarkable about it.
Behind it was another robot. This one looked more like a giant football player with two cannon barrels on its shoulders.
Although it was shorter and detailed differently from the first one, it was clear that they were made the same. Both were
stark white.
"My God, what are these thing?" Lee asked.
"I was hoping you could tell me," Koshiro replied mimicing her tone of voice.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"According to the records found at the facility, the robot that they found was called a Gundam. While the name was
virtually unknown to me up until now, it was clear that it was based on the same design as the robots that AMEC uses,
the Zaku." Commander Lucas paused. Why was it that the Earth Federation's databanks had no information on the
Gundam up until they discovered it? From its state, it looked like it's been waiting there for years. What
happened? What happened in the past that caused everyone to forget that such a powerful assett even
existed? Well... not everyone. Commander Lucas had knowledge from a journal one of his ancestors wrote.
-----------------------------------
"Come on, Tash," Victor Lenard said. "Just one game, come on."
"No way, Vic, we're still on duty," Tasha Benson protested.
"It'll only last for five minutes."
"They said the same thing about AMEC."
"Ouch."
"Hey, you two behaving up there?" Lee Moshiro called jokingly from below. "Don't make me bring out the hose!"
"Yes, Mom," the Twins replied also jokingly. They had a good laugh on that.
Tasha deactivated her terminal and said, "I'm going off-duty now. Join me?"
"You bet, let me just finish up some work."
"All right." With a wink to her partner, Tasha walked down to the lower deck. Victor concluded his study on the
composition of the minovsky particles.
Suddenly the computer pointed something out that Victor hadn't noticed before, the composition results. They weren't
normal. The wheels in Victor's head began turning. He finally reached a conclusion, this was suspicious and
merited further study.
Victor was sad that he wasn't able to join Tasha for a bite to eat that night.
-------------------------------------
"The kid took to the Gundam like a pro," Commander Lucas continued his report. "It was like the Gundam was made for him
specifically, or that he was born specifically to pilot the Gundam."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"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.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.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~```
"Whatever the reason, he was going head-to-head against the best of the best in no time." Commander Lucas paused his
recording as he let out a loud yawn. He then put it on again. "The history of the Gundam is one of mystery. But
apparently, there was one who seemed to have previous knowledge of the Gundam. Her name was Keela Niyoko and
according to her, she was from..."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"What was your home?"
"A space colony called Side 7."
Tasha dropped her bowl. "Side 7?"
"You're telling me you're from space?" Muro couldn't believe it.
"Why are you so excited, it's not that big of a deal."
"We thought all colonies were wiped out long ago."
"No. Actually, when I came to Earth, I stowed away on a supply shuttle. There were plenty of Colonies left."
"When was this?"
"Let's see... I'm 15 now, so I guess it's been about five years since I left Side 7."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"We agreed to take her and the survivors of her village to the United States. However, our plans changed the moment we
arrived at the United States coastline."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Smoke was billowing from the land. Smoke that came from fires, large inferno-type fires.
The coastline was devastated.
"Commander Lucas, what happened?" Christopher asked.
"I... I don't know. Victor, Tasha, systems to maximum power."
"Yes, sir," the Twins said as one. They began programming their consols. Above the bridge on the ceiling, a view screen
appeared. It showed hundreds of buildings that were destroyed. The Washington Memmorial was cut in half. The statue at
the Lincoln Memmorial lost its head and half its pillars. And the headquarters of the Earth Federation, formerly known
as the Pentagon, was nothing but rubble.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"As it turned out, the Desert Dictators have somehow invaded and destroyed the Earth Federation Headquarters.
We never even got a distress call if there was one. With Koshiro out of action, and battle looming on the horizon,
Lee Moshiro utilized the secondary Gundam that we found in the facility."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~`
Lee was running towards the port loading bay, where the second Gundam was. It was small and somewhat stocky. It
had two big cannons on each of its shoulder. It looked like a football player.
Lee stared at it. This was it, this was how she could stop the attack, but was it battle ready?
"Engineer!" She called to an officer working on a control panel. He turned towards her, a little shocked. "What's the
status of that Gundam?"
"You mean the Guncannon?"
"Yeah, that, is it battle ready?"
"I guess so, although nobody has really tried..." Without waiting for him to finish, Lee ran towards the Guncannon.
Like the B-Gundam, it was down on one knee waiting to be called to battle. Lee climbed up onto the horizontal knee and
walked across to the cockpit area.
"Hold it!" The engineer called. "You're not authorized..." But Lee was already disappearing into the cockpit.
Unlike the B-Gundam, the Guncannon had a set of view screens that lowered into position blocking the entrance door which
was already closing. The Guncannon stood on both feet.
"Muro, status," Commander Lucas called.
"Ready for take-off, Commander." Muro was wearing a gray flight suit and the B-Gundam interface helmet. "The helmet is a
little tight."
"That's because it was meant for a fifteen year old boy, not a twenty-six year old woman," Henry cracked.
"Watch it, pal, I got a beam rifle here and not afraid to use it."
"Can the chatter you two," Commander Lucas ordered, but he could see that Muro and Henry were trying not to act
so nervous. He didn't blame them. "All right, launch B..."
"Wait!" Came a new voice. Lee's voice. Her face appeared on a small monitor at the front of the bridge. "Commander,
the B-Gundam isn't properly equipped for this sort of battle."
"What are you talking about?" Commander Lucas asked.
"The B-Gundam is specifically designed for close-range combat. We need a weapon that is long-range."
"What weapon do we have with that capabilities?"
"The Guncannon in the port docking bay."
"The what?!"
"It's the second Gundam that we recovered from the facility. It's capable of long-range combat. Don't launch the
B-Gundam."
"Now wait just a minute..." Commander Lucas began.
"I'm still the field commander here, aren't I? Well let me do my job then. Release the Guncannon."
Commander Lucas sighed. He hated to admit it but she was right. "Henry... cancel the B-Gundam launch, prepare to launch
the Guncannon."
Muro sighed. Unknown to anybody except herself, she smiled. She was wondering when Lee would come to her senses.
The launch bay opened. The Guncannon stepped onto the catapult. The Guncannon was launched.
The Commander of the siege line looked through his buinoculars as the Guncannon touched down almost flawlessly.
"What the devil is that?" He asked. It looked like a Zaku, but completely remodeled which made it... what? Not a Zaku?
Unfortunately, he didn't have any Zakus and the Zeon wasn't scheduled to arrive for another day. He would have to use
what he already has. "Channel all weapons on that Mobile Suit that was ejected from the Pegasus-class."
Tons of missiles and guns fired at the Guncannon. The Guncannon held its arms up in defense. Smoke swirled around it
and when the dust cleared, the Guncannon stood unharmed.
"My turn," Lee announced. She pulled over the targeting scope and looked through it. She aimed the cannons at the missile
launchers first and fired. Two shafts of energy came out of the cannons. The recoil almost pushed the Guncannon into
the Exalon but the blasts were right on target.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"After assessing the situation at headquarters, we made our way here..." Commander Lucas paused again. Then he started
again, "The Mobile Suit Gundam design has proven victorious in multiple battles against enemy forces. I suggest that we
continue to use the Gundam designated B-Gundam as our main offensive line against AMEC. If possible, we should start
mass-producing them. This may be our one and only chance to defeat AMEC and take back Earth. End report."
Commander Lucas got up and stretched. He hadn't realized how late it was. Taking trips down memory lane is more time
consuming than he thought. His door knocked and when he opened it, Muro appeared with a tray of food.
"Um... Commander... hi... the cook said you didn't show up for dinner so I thought I'd bring some down to you."
"Yes, thank you, Muro. I was merely preparing my report for the Earth Federation Council. I guess I lost track of time.
Will you like to join me?"
"Thank you, sir, I'd be honored." Commander Lucas set the tray down and began digging in. Muro filled a cup of tea
that she got from his cabinet. "Have you finished the report?"
"Yes, I have."
Muro sat down across from him. "Have you reached any conclusions?"
"As a matter of fact, I have." Commander Lucas ejected the tape. "I think this whole Gundam business is just the tip of
the iceberg. Something happened in the past that caused all records of it to disappear including memories. And
Koshiro..." Commander Lucas trailed off.
"He is one incredible kid," Muro commented. "Just a month ago, he was hell-bent on destroying us, now he's actually a
good friend. I'm glad."
"So am I, 'Ro, so am I." And the two continued to eat dinner together, just enjoying each other's company.
--
Commander Lucas goes to see the Earth Federation Council. A demonstration of the B-Gundam's abilities is put on for the
council. Prime Minister Asif asks Ben Hoshum to ascend to an important position in the AMEC government. Meanwhile, the
Earth Federation Council discuss the possiblity of a traitor among them. Next episode: Confrontation. The greatest battles
are fought within.