What's happenin' now? Look, this is the longest chapter so far so enjoy. I had a lot to say in this one, but it was mainly because I couldn't figure out what to write, y'know? Anyway, I was up late trying to do a good battle scene but I was tired so it kinda sucks. Just two more chapters then they meet with the Scouts (YEAH BABY!). Patience, my readers.
Disclaimer: I don't own Gundam Wing or Sailor Moon, for they belong to their rightful owners and not me. I do own Tre Young/Sailor Universe and Pyrone Reigns so k no use without permission.
Chapter 11 - Quatre Raberba Winner
"No, Winston, I did not find my fucking ticket!" Nikki Young shouted into the phone.
She was on the top floor of her family's business office building, trying to find out what went wrong with her reservation.
She was supposed to be the spokesperson for her company at Winner Corp. HQ on Earth. She needed to catch the shuttle that takes her to Earth, but her butler lost her ticket. Her four-year-old daughter, Melissa Victoria Young, was to go with her since no one else would watch her.
"Mommy!" Melissa tugged on her mother's skirt. "Uncle Tre is here!"
"Hold on, Winston," the woman groaned. "What is it, Missy?"
"I said, Uncle Tre is here!"
"What?" Nikki shouted into the phone, ignoring her daughter.
"Nikki," a male voice said from the opposite end of the room.
Nikki looked over, and gasped. There leaning against the doorjamb, arms crossed over his long, black attire, was her little brother, Tre. An excited look crossed her face and she shrieked into the phone,
"Gotta go, Winston, never mind the ticket!"
She hung up, and Tre uncrossed his arms. He slowly walked over to his sister, while she ran to him. They embraced, laughing. Nikki, although she was wearing high heels, was just up to Tre's eyes while they were hugging. Finally, they broke apart from each other and started rambling on.
"So," Tre started. "How's the business holding up without the new Senior P in the house?"
"Well, dad was a little upset when you had to leave for your mission, but you should be able to slide right into the business once you've completed whatever you're doing," Nikki said. "And besides, it's not like I can't handle two jobs at once."
"Hmm, I see. Oh, you'll never guess who I saw while rounding up Duo."
"Duo?"
"That'd be me," said another male voice.
A teenaged boy with a long chestnut braid stepped forward in a black minister's outfit and a large gold cross on a long gold chain. His Cobalt blue eyes shone happily as he flashed a grin.
"Nikki, Duo Maxwell," Tre introduced, "Duo, my beautiful elder sister, Nikki Young and her daughter Missy."
Tre picked his niece up as he said that last part and held her on his hip. She was a cute little girl with pale bluish-green eyes and brown hair just like her mother's. She was a wearing a little dress that almost matched the business suit Nikki donned. Where Missy had a black dress, white stockings and little black single strap shoes, Nikki wore a black knee-length skirt, shiny black high heels, a white button-up blouse, and a black blazer over that. Her daughter's hairstyle was the same as hers: a bun with long hair reaching down her back.
"So what did you bring me back?" Missy asked.
"Well, I did manage to swipe something from your poor excuse of a father," Tre said.
"Huh?"
"Nothing, kid," Tre laughed. "Here, it's a locket with your mom's picture in it."
"Thank you," Missy said as Tre handed her the locket.
It was a beautiful gold heart-shaped pendant attached to fine gold necklace. She toyed with it, then flipped the pendant open and looked to see her mom's photo. She smiled, then laughed. Nikki just shed tears and covered her mouth, holding in a sob. Tre took the necklace and put it over Missy's head.
"Now you wear that and look at your mama's picture when you need it most," Tre said."OK," was the girl's reply.
He set her down and let her scamper about the office. Nikki just looked on her daughter as she looked at the locket again.
"My God," Nikki sighed. "I didn't know he still cared."
"He doesn't," Tre said. "He is to wed the princess of our enemy and he was about to sell the locket just to get rid of it before he's caught by his betrothed bitch."
"You saw him?"
"Yeah, at a bar in another L2 colony," Tre replied. "They were hunting Duo."
"It didn't do them much good," a flat voice said. Heero glared at Nikki while Trowa leaned against the wall in solitude. Heero walked forward and stood in the little group. His eyes were cold and hard.
"They were easily destroyed by Wing Zero and DreadScythe," Heero continued.
"Nikki, Heero Yuy. Heero, Nikki, my sister," Tre said.
"Hn," was Heero's reply.
"Well, what were you saying, Heero?" Nikki asked.
"The British would have killed Duo if not for your brother," Heero said. "He found out who Shawn was at the bar and held him at gunpoint. The rest of the mobile pilots were killed single-handedly by Tre in a gunfight, but Shawn escaped."
"Damn!" Nikki yelled.
"I know," Tre said. "I would have loved to kill that traitor."
"Well, there's always next time," Nikki sighed. "Hey, Tre, you wouldn't happen to have a shuttle would you?"
"Yes," Tre said, "yes I do."
"Great!" Nikki excalimed. "I need to get to Winner Corp. HQ and the shuttle has left for Earth already."
"Wait a second," Tre said. "That shuttle is for business people of the colony only so who's on it?"
"The Vitelli's," Nikki answered. "They want to persuade Winner Corp. that they are the only business that can be trusted to merge with to shut us and the Reigns' down."
"Sweet!" Tre said. "Then we could blow right past them, sign the deal, and get Quatre to come fight with us Gundam pilots."
"So that's your mission," Nikki nodded. "You're collecting the Gundam pilots to fight the Brits, huh?"
"Pack your stuff sis, we gettin' the Hell out of here!" Tre said.
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"Systems are green and working perfectly," Heero said to Tre.
The flight deck was full of people in spacesuits. Heero, Duo, and Trowa were wearing the suits they used to invade Libra two years ago on Christmas Day. Tre was wearing his own, and Nikki was wearing a feminine variant. The suit was purple and conformed to Nikki's curves precisely. Lastly, little Missy had a suit in the same color as her mom's, but it was made for a child. Everyone had their helmets on, but the visors were open.
The shuttle was set to go. Tre was opening the throttle wide. It was taking every ounce of strength out of the brakes to hold the heavy craft until they were ready to launch. The catapult came slowly behind the nose gear and caught the hook. It stood idle for a while, then the catapult shot the shuttle forward. The G forces were intense, reading at 3.5 G's. Then, the catapult stopped, sling-shotting the shuttle into space. Tre raised the gear and did a roll. The shuttle was now upside-down and speeding through space.
"Just another hour before we catch up to the business shuttle, everyone," Tre shouted.
"When we get to it," Nikki shouted back, "give 'em Hell on the radio."
"Right, Nikki."
"OK, Tre."
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"Once we merge with Winner Corp.," a muffled voice was saying, "the Youngs will go into a slump that they'll never come out of."
"Yes, Don Vitelli," a young man said. The shuttle was dark so everyone could sleep. Just then, the loudspeakers snapped on.
"Ladies and gentlemen, this is your captain speaking," the captain said. "We are receiving a weird transmission, would you like to hear it?"
"Yeah, sure," the godfather said.
"OK, here it goes," the captain said.
There was some static, then a female voice came on the speakers.
"Hello, Antonio Vitelli, it's Nikki Young," Nikki's voice said. "I just wanted to tell you that I'm goign to get to Earth, sign the deal, and be vacationing before you even enter the atmosphere."
"Oh yeah?" the godfather shot back. "How do you plan on doing that when you're on your colony?"
"Look out your port window."
The godfather leaned over his nephew and saw a bright glow from behind and below the shuttle he was in. All the sudden, a large shuttle with bulky pods surrounding it streaked past the small craft he was in.
"It will yake you another two days for you to reach Earth, while we'll reach it in four hours. Tah tah."
The godfather yelled out in scorn, waking his whole family. He then collapsed of a heart attack, unconscious.
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"OK, everyone," Tre said. "We are about to make planet fall, so close your visors."
All the pilots closed their visors, while Nikki closed hers, then Missy's visor. Then, like any normal mother, Nikki made sure that Missy's straps were nice and tight.
Tre increased the throttle of the main engines, heading nose first into the atmosphere. A loud bang told them they broke into the outer atmosphere, then a white glow lashed at the windows. It turned crimson, then bright orange. The shuttle began to shudder very violently, banking slightly as air began to pass under the control surfaces of the shuttle. Tre grasped the control stick, trying to regain control of the mammoth craft. It started to roll uncontrollably, the shuttle was tossing everywhere. Tre managed to control the movement of the flaperons as they passed through the atmosphere. Finally, the twin sonic booms signified that they had entered the atmosphere, but they were still going too fast. Tre cut the main engines off, putting the shuttle into gliding flight.
"Arabian Space Port, shuttle Nightshift, declaring an emergency," Tre called into the mic in his suit.
He was pulling tight S-turns to slow the shuttle down. He lined himself up with the runway, which was still 20 miles away.
"Nightshift, Arabian approach," an Arabic accent was thick in his English. "Copy emergency, you are cleared all the way in."
"Thanks!" Tre yelled, straining against the speed of the craft.
Tre extended speed brakes, throwing everyone against their straps as the shuttle slowed drastically. Tre retracted the brakes, then armed the gear. He was 10 miles out from the runway and lined up perfectly. He followed the flashing beacons as he came closer to the runway. He was two miles out, then he dropped the gear and flared, using the shuttle's surface area to slow down more. The craft slowly descended, and jolted as main gears touched down. Tre held the nose up and deployed the drogue chute, which pulled the main chute out to slow the shuttle down for a stop. Tre pulled as hard as he could against the stick to keep the nose up for as long as possible. The air speed dropped, so did the nose. That's when Tre jumped on the rudder pedals. The rudders opened on both sides of the tailfin and the brakes on the wheels squealed as the shuttle continued its forward momentum. Then, it stopped completely.
Tre turned in his seat and stared at his passengers. Nikki was breathing heavily, as was little Missy. Heero sat stolid in his seat, as did Trowa and Duo. Tre heard the tower command them to taxi clear of the runway. Tre brought the main engines online again and the shuttle started to roll forward slowly onto the taxiway.
After ten minutes of taxiing, Tre stopped the shuttle inside a large hangar. The control tower came on again.
"Nightshift, tower. What business do you bring to our country?"
"We are here to discuss a business merger with Quatre Raberba Winner," Tre said. "He is the head of Winner Corp. and we need to make this deal today."
"I see," the controller said. "Well, it seems you are well known because that hangar is owned by Quatre Winner."
"Which is why you directed us here?" Tre asked.
"Yes."
"Okay, then, Quatre must have known we were coming, huh, Nikki?"
Nikki laughed nervously into her helmet mic and started blubbering, fumbling for words. Tre just told her, playfully, to shut up and of which she did. The pilots were chuckling, even Heero. Tre finally got to the shuttle pulled into the hangar and set the parking brakes. He then got out of his seat and walked to the hatch and opened it. There was a ground crew wheeling a staircase to the opened hatch and a black limo pulled in from behind the shuttle. Tre was pulling his helmet and his spacesuit off. Everyone else was doing the same, but sitting down in the seats they had taken.
Tre walked down the stairs and trotted over to the limo as the back door was being opened. Out stepped a short, blonde teen with a pink business shirt, khaki slacks, brown dress shoes, and a purple vest. Tre stopped and shook hands with this teen.
"Quatre Raberba Winner," Tre said, shaking Quatre's hand.
"Tre Jason Young," Quatre said back, smiling. "It has been a year since last we met."
"Indeed," Tre said, letting go of the other's hand. "Nikki, my sister is the spokesperson for my company today, not me. I'm here on a different level of business with you. I'll discuss it with you later."
"Understood."
Nikki was walking as fast she could, smoothing out her black skirt and blazer. Her high heels hitting the smooth concrete resounded throughout the entire hangar. Missy was in close tow. Nikki smiled as she approached Quatre, holding onto her daughter's hand. She stopped right in front of Quatre, extended her free hand to shake his. Instead, Quatre took her hand and kissed the back of it. Nikki blushed.
"My how beautiful you've grown over the years Miss Young," Quatre said.
"Nikki, please call me Nikki, Mr. Winner," Nikki laughed.
"Then please call me Quatre," Quatre returned with a laugh of his own.
"Shall we discuss this merger here or in a more proper setting?"
"Yes, let's go to my office conference room where several other candidates are already gathered."
"This is the year of a double merger, huh, Quatre?" Tre asked.
Tre meant that this is the year that Winner Corp. would merge with two other companies, instead of just one. This would raise the annual net worth to more than triple the normal worth of just one company alone. Quatre wasn't in it for the money, but for the good of the people that invested in his company or went after products he designed.
"Yes, Tre," Quatre said. "It is my hope that my company will accept yours and possibly the Reigns' companies."
"Why the two of us?" Nikki asked.
"Because of both your persistent persuasive and strategic techniques in the market," Quatre answered.
"I see," Tre said, nodding.
Heero, Duo, and Trowa were all standing in an isolated group. They knew nothing about this business merger or business meeting. They just stood by the left main gear talking about Tre.
"He seems cool to me," Duo said, putting his hands behind his head.
"A very good example of a leader," Trowa agreed. "His status in his company and in his Gundam tell me that he has influence as a leader."
"He is just that," Heero piped. "Ever since the loss of his girlfriend in After Colony one-nine-four, he has devoted his time to his business and nothing else, until his mission to find us all came about."
Duo and Trowa just stared at their fellow pilot. Never had he spoken so many words in a sentence in their presence before. Yet he still leaned against the gear with his arms crossed and eyes closed as if he hadn't spoken at all. Duo screwed up his face in thought, scratching his head.
'So that's the Ghost Murder of After Colony one-nine-four,' he thought. 'Well, now it's no wonder Tre is so much like Heero most of the time. But, he does enjoy life like I do at times.'
"Heero, Duo, Trowa," Quatre called, trotting to where they stood. "It's so good to see all of you again."
Quatre went around shaking hands with all the pilots. There wasn't much Heero or Trowa said, but Duo and Quatre blabbed on about what they did after they detonated their suits as far as business and relationships were going.
"Well, I wouldn't exactly say that Hilde is my girlfriend," Duo said, "but she is nice to have around. I can't cook, so she whips up great meals sometimes."
"Do you think you might have a slight interest in her?" Quatre asked.
"I don't know," Duo said.
"Hmm, let's continue this conversation some other time. We have to get to my office as soon as possible."
So, everyone piled into the limo, Quatre last (he insisted). The chauffer closed the door behind his employer and got in the driver's seat. Then the black car drove off.
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The elevator had reached the top floor of Quatre's company HQ. Everyone piled out, Quatre in the lead. He was tailed closely by Nikki, who was ready to get into this meeting. Tre was holding onto Missy's hand so that he could watch her while Nikki got their business merged with Quatre's. Quatre opened the double doors to a large wood-paneled conference room. A large rectangular table sat in the center of the room and was surrounded by twenty men of various ages. Most had gray hair and glasses from being advanced in age, but some were young and in their prime. An empty seat at the far end of the right side stood ready for Nikki while a chair at the opposite end of the table stood ready for Quatre.
Tre took Quatre's attention for a minute to whisper, "Quatre, if I didn't know any better, I'd say you planned to have my sister sit there, because you have a crush on her."
Quatre muffled a laugh and entered the room. Tre followed and spotted a familiar face at the table.
"Mr. Reigns!" he exclaimed.
"Tre," Mr. Reigns replied.
The man was the father of Tre's best friend, Pyrone. If there were any coincidence to Pyrone's voice, it would be that his father had the same voice and look of Sean Connery himself. This past middle-aged man, by the name of Theodore William Reigns (nickname Theo), had a head of gray hair and a dark gray beard about his face. His brown eyes were soft and vigorous with the youth of a teenager. His clothes that he donned, a black business suit: black socks, slacks, shoes, button-up shirt, and blazer.
"Good luck to you, sir," Tre said.
"Thank you, and good luck to your company, too," Theo said.
Nikki took her seat, while Tre and Missy, Heero, Duo, and Trowa all left the large room, or began to anyway.
"Tre, wait!" Quatre called.
"Huh?" Tre said.
"We need you in here for just a minute."
"Who's going to watch Missy?"
"I will," Trowa spoke. "I'm great with kids."
"It's OK, Uncle Tre," Missy said, with a tone beyond her years. "I'll play with Trowa."
"All right then, munchkin," Tre said, smiling.
Trowa took her outstretched hand and lead her out of the large room. Heero and Duo were already outside, occupying part of a bench. The doors closed behind them, then the meeting started.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
-One hour later-
"I still don't get how we can't qualify, Mr. Winner," a young, bespectacled man by the name of Jack Ritter spoke.
"Because your company has a terrible marketing and customer satisfaction record," Quatre snapped. "It is your constant problem to meet someone else's schedule that you rush through your projects. My company should merge with a company that is willing to sacrifice schedules for quality products."
As Quatre sat down, Jack was about to continue when Nikki started on him with an intensity a man in business would be jealous of.
"You sir, are too busy being a brown-nosing kiss-up to your contractors that you don't look at the big picture and see what the customer wants. The first rule in business is that the customer is always right. You do not seem to realize that since you are too busy trying to please your goddam employers and contractors. Yes, it's nice to be on schedule, but sometimes you have to delay that for quality. If you start to build a shuttle and your contractors say, 'I want it done in three months', and all you have so far is a framework, then are you going to rush that production phase to do a sloppy job and risk innocent lives?"
"Well, we try our best to do a quality job in as short a time as possible-" Jack was cut off by Tre.
"Forget your best. Losers all wind up doing their best while winners break out the champagne and pat themselves on the back for doing such excellent job. Why the Hell do you think that Young Corp. was picked first for this merger? Because we bust our asses off to make sure that every inch of our products are sealed, connected, working, etcetera. We don't do our best in as little time as possible. We bust our chops doing a thorough and complete job."
As Tre sat in the chair next to Nikki and Quatre, a round of applause came from everyone but Jack. Things like, "What an excellent business attitude!" and "I'd love to work for those two!" were heard being mumbled to others around the table. After the applause ended, Theo Reigns stood up and started to walk around the room.
"Twenty years ago, it was three years after the great Heero Yuy was assassinated and people were in a panic. I thought to myself, 'How can I help the people overcome their panic?' It was to represent them in an effort to bring peace to the colonies again. However, I was not strong enough nor influential enough to persuade the OZ organization to disarm themselves and let peace come to the colonies.
"So I took my expertise in government affairs to the computer and designed the initial cockpit system for the Tallgeese and Wing Zero projects. However, since OZ was after the Gundam scientists, I decided that I should displace myself from them in an effort to save my own ass. Which is why I designed the targeting system for OZ's mobile suits: Leo, Aries, Pisces, Cancer, and for the later Taurus and Virgo models. But I didn't just design those systems for mobile suits, it was also intended for shuttles and for space fighters."
"The Space Wasp," Tre said. "That my father and yourself invented."
"Exactly," Theo said, pointing at Tre. "Lights, please."
The lights dimmed all the way down and a white screen rolled down from behind Quatre. Everyone turned their seats to face the screen. A picture of a FX-1682 popped onto the screen. Then Jack Ritter said,
"Since when is a Neo Falcon a space fighter?"
"Since a week ago when the first Space Wasp took a maiden voyage and the tests were off the predicted charts," Theo said. "This revolutionary design will knock the socks off the mobile suit divisions of the British kingdom."
"Since you are part British, don't you think of yourself as a hypocrite or even a traitor to your nation of birth?" Jack Ritter smiled.
Theo breathed a deep breath, "No, I do not consider myself a hypocrite or a traitor to my nation of brith! How dare you tell me to choose sides of this war when I am a neutral businessman!"
Tre pulled a pistol out of its holster, cocked the hammer and pointed it at Jack Ritter.
"One more interruption like that and I'll spray your brains all over the place," Tre said coldly.
"Is that how you gained so much power," Jack said, "through threats?"
"Please, we don't need any bloodshed here," Quatre said.
Tre continued to glare at Jack while he released the hammer to its normal position and holstered the weapon. Jack was wiping his forehead with his handkerchief, obviously shaken from what had just taken place. Theo continued his presentation.
"As you can see, this is the body of an FX-1682 Neo Fighting Falcon. However, this is a redesigned and retro-fitted prototype capable of combat in space. There is no air scoop, since there is no oxygen in space to use for combustion. It is fitted with an ED-dash-fifty six forty three-dash-mark-twenty rocket motor. The wings are fitted with numerous missile rails and each side of the craft, just behind the cockpit, are two Eagle Eye laser weapons. These weapons," Theo said, pulling up a different screenshot, "are able to fire at the rate of a Gatling gun with shotgun dispersion."
"Would you mind clarifying that part?" one man asked.
"Certainly," Theo said, smiling. "These weapons fire at a rate of one-hundred rounds per second and if the fighter were sitting in the same place while firing these weapons, then their rounds would be dispersed as though it were a shotgun."
"Ah, I see," the man said.
"How much would it cost for one of these fighters?" another man asked.
"It would come to a sum of forty-one-billion dollars," Theo said.
Murmurs of excitement were heard about the room. "This is the future of low-cost defense against invading mobile suit forces, ladies and gentlemen," Theo said.
"Mr. Theodore Reigns," Quatre said, standing up, "welcome aboard Winner Corp."
Applause sounded in the room as Theo shook hands with Quatre. Then, Theo and Tre shook hands and exchanged brief comments to each other about the future development of the three merged companies.
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"Let's do it now," Shawn said to his mobile suit force.
The white Serpent moved ahead of its squadron as they advanced on the village where the Magunac Corp. has been rumored to live in. All the sudden, a barrage of fire came from the village sending several British suits toppling over themselves and exploding. The lead Serpent ducked and returned fire.
On the other side, the Magunacs were fighting to defend the village. It was the last stronghold between the Brits and their Master Quatre.
"Captain," a Magunac pilot shouted.
"What?" Rashid shouted back from his suit.
"We should inform Master Quatre to flee the city if need be."
"That is not an option, we wouldn't want him to worry about us."
A Magunac was hit in the leg and crumpled in the trench.
"Sahib!" Rashid shouted. "Akbar, call Master Quatre immediately."
"Yes sir," the pilot answered.
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"What?" Quatre was alarmed. "The Magunacs are fighting against the British?"
"Quatre!" Tre shouted. "You know that business I was talking about earlier?"
"Yeah."
"The time has come," Tre said as he trotted to Quatre. "You need to pilot Sandrock."
"I detonated Sandrock on Earth last year," Quatre whispered.
"There's a new one in the shuttle I flew in."
"Really?"
"Let's get the other pilots and make tracks to that village."
"Right."
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The shuttle sat at the end of the runway, ready for launch.
"Nightshift, you are clear for departure," ATC said.
"Roger, control," Tre said.
He slammed the throttle all the way open, the shuttle was shuddering. Then Tre released the brakes and the shuttle leapt forward. Heero was in the co-pilot's seat, while Duo, Trowa, and Quatre were getting ready in their Gundams for an airdrop. Tre pulled hard back on the stick and raised the gear. He banked hard to port and yanked again on the stick. He turned the shuttle sharply, then leveled it out again. He kept the throttle where it was and estimated that they would reach the battle zone in ten minutes.
Tre entered a series of commands into the shuttle's autopilot computer. Then, he undid his straps and ran back into the aft cabin. Heero did the same, streaking after Tre. Tre clambered into the door marked 06, while Heero slid into door marked 00. The two pilots just got into their Gundams when the shuttle rolled to the starboard side. The doors on pods 06 to 04 opened ready to drop their contents into the battle below.
"Roll check!" Tre shouted into his mic. "Zero!
"Ready!" Heero shouted back.
"Deathscythe!" Tre shouted.
"Ready!" Duo replied.
"Heavyarms!"
"Ready!" Trowa said.
"Sandrock!"
"Ready!" Quatre yelled as he lowered his goggles over his eyes.
"Nightshift, release!" Tre yelled into his mic.
Then, all five Gundams were falling through the air. DreadScythe drew its beam rifle and fired a barrage onto the British suit squadron directly below. Three suits went down. Zero loaded its Buster rifle, then fired. It managed to take out only two suits. Deathscythe tried its machine guns, but they wouldn't fire. Heavyarms fired its chest Gatlings, missing. Finally, all five suits fired their rockets, slowing their descent and landing softly on the desert sands.
Sandrock's heat sickles burned red on the blades, then Sandrock reached behind itself, drew the blades and flung them at the rest of the suits. Two were sliced into melting halves, which exploded. The large blades spun like boomerrangs and came back to Sandrock, which caught both by the handles. Sandrock stared down the remaining six suits, lowering itself into a slight crouch. The white Serpent rounded on Sandrock, taking aim with its Gatlings. Heavyarms raised its arms and fired at the enemy suit. The Serpent managed to fall back from the attack, but not its escort suits. The Virgos exploded on either side. Then a silouhette of a walking Gundam, with its sickles held at the ready appeared on Shawn's viewscreen, the green eyes glaring down the Serpent it planned to tear apart. Sandrock crossed the two blades in front of itself, raised them on either side and swung down. The tips of the blades scratched at the Serpents surface, leaving a large X on its torso. Shawn couldn't believe it, he was almost destroyed.
"Crap, he moved away from me," Quatre said.
"Need help yet?" Tre said.
The DreadScythe pulled the staff off its back, twirled it in its right hand, then caught the bottom half with the left hand when the right hand slid up the staff. The energy blade ignited: a black scythe.
"No, Tre," Quatre said. "This one's mine."
"Oh jolly good," Shawn's sarcasm was thick in his voice.
"Serpent, surrender to us now or die," Quatre said.
The Serpent fired its missiles at Sandrock. Sandrock fired its rockets, flying backwards for a distance to avoid the missiles. DreadScythe caught the left arm of Sandrock and planted its feet on the ground.
"C'mon," Tre said. "You gonna let this guy scare ya?"
"No, let me at 'em!" Quatre cried.
Sandrock flew forward and sliced at the Serpent. The enemy suit ducked, sending the Sandrock flying over it. Sandrock flipped and twisted in mid-air, landing on its feet and facing the Serpent. The Gundam flung the blades at the Serpent, hoping to catch it this time. A Taurus suit fired at the blades, sending them off their trajectory. DreadScythe flew forward, scythe poised at the ready. The Gundam sliced at the doll, sending it into a ball of fire. DreadScythe walked forward, scythe in one hand, beam rifle in the other. The Serpent looked at Sandrock, the latter had its machine guns at the ready.
"Cherrio, old chaps!" Shawn's voice came over the radio, then the Serpent detonated. Tre caught a rocket trail coming from the suit, meaning Shawn had ejected.
"That little pussy," Tre muttered.
"What the Hell is wrong with Deathscythe?" Duo yelled over the radio. "It wouldn't do a damn thing I wanted it to."
"The suit is probably frozen up or something," Tre said. "I'll take a look at it on the shuttle."
"We're leaving now?" Quatre asked.
"We have to find Wufei, and soon," Tre said.
DreadScythe looked to the sky, still hanging thick with smoke from the burning machines.
"There are still four suits left!" Trowa yelled.
Heavyarms wheeled around, firing at the nearest suit. It shook violently from high impact slugs hitting it, then it fell over.
"All right! I fixed it!" Duo exclaimed.
Deathscythe drew and ignited the twin scythes, launching itself at another suit. The Leo cowered before it was sliced up like a turkey. All in the blink of an eye, the Deathscythe slashed at the Leo vertically, horizontally, and diagonally using both scythes. Before the Leo exploded, the Deathscythe was crouched in a pose with a scythe in each hand. Then the Leo exploded against the Deathscythe's back, the green eyes glaring from the black silouhette.
Zero ignited a beam saber and quickly jabbed the Virgo it had tackled. The suit crackled with electricity around the stabbed area. Zero withdrew the saber from the crippled suit, which promptly blew up.
Sandrock and DreadScythe worked on the last suit. The Taurus was outmatched and outnumbered, so it just threw its gun down and put its hands up. DreadScythe swung its scythe at the waist, slicing the doll in half, then let the scythe swing its way onto DreadScythe's left shoulder. Sandrock took its sickles and raised them on either side, then swung them down across the suit. The torso of the Taurus fell into four pieces then the legs fell on top of the pile.
Then, all five suits gathered in the center of the wreckage they had created, staring at each other. Tre opened his cockpit door first and walked out, followed by Quatre. Soon all the pilots were standing on their open cockpit doors. The partial Gundam team looked at each other, then Quatre spoke.
"We have a lot more than this to deal with in the coming war. But it isn't our only enemy. The biggest of all is ourselves and the bloodthirsty demons who crave carnage and bloodshed. We must control ourselves as we fight and not destroy lives for a primal urge."
"Quatre," Heero said softly. "We can't just let these pilots walk away unscathed."
"Yes, I know that, Heero," Quatre said. "But we can make an effort to at least keep some of them alive."
"It isn't them that's figthing this war," Tre jumped in. "It's the royalty of Britain and the buisness world."
"How true," Trowa said.
"We must quell this storm before it gets any stronger, guys," Tre said. "Let's find Wufei."
"I'm with you, Tre," Duo said.
The pilots got back in their Gundams as Nightshift flew overhead. Then all five suits blasted off to catch their transport. Next stop: Wufei.
Disclaimer: I don't own Gundam Wing or Sailor Moon, for they belong to their rightful owners and not me. I do own Tre Young/Sailor Universe and Pyrone Reigns so k no use without permission.
Chapter 11 - Quatre Raberba Winner
"No, Winston, I did not find my fucking ticket!" Nikki Young shouted into the phone.
She was on the top floor of her family's business office building, trying to find out what went wrong with her reservation.
She was supposed to be the spokesperson for her company at Winner Corp. HQ on Earth. She needed to catch the shuttle that takes her to Earth, but her butler lost her ticket. Her four-year-old daughter, Melissa Victoria Young, was to go with her since no one else would watch her.
"Mommy!" Melissa tugged on her mother's skirt. "Uncle Tre is here!"
"Hold on, Winston," the woman groaned. "What is it, Missy?"
"I said, Uncle Tre is here!"
"What?" Nikki shouted into the phone, ignoring her daughter.
"Nikki," a male voice said from the opposite end of the room.
Nikki looked over, and gasped. There leaning against the doorjamb, arms crossed over his long, black attire, was her little brother, Tre. An excited look crossed her face and she shrieked into the phone,
"Gotta go, Winston, never mind the ticket!"
She hung up, and Tre uncrossed his arms. He slowly walked over to his sister, while she ran to him. They embraced, laughing. Nikki, although she was wearing high heels, was just up to Tre's eyes while they were hugging. Finally, they broke apart from each other and started rambling on.
"So," Tre started. "How's the business holding up without the new Senior P in the house?"
"Well, dad was a little upset when you had to leave for your mission, but you should be able to slide right into the business once you've completed whatever you're doing," Nikki said. "And besides, it's not like I can't handle two jobs at once."
"Hmm, I see. Oh, you'll never guess who I saw while rounding up Duo."
"Duo?"
"That'd be me," said another male voice.
A teenaged boy with a long chestnut braid stepped forward in a black minister's outfit and a large gold cross on a long gold chain. His Cobalt blue eyes shone happily as he flashed a grin.
"Nikki, Duo Maxwell," Tre introduced, "Duo, my beautiful elder sister, Nikki Young and her daughter Missy."
Tre picked his niece up as he said that last part and held her on his hip. She was a cute little girl with pale bluish-green eyes and brown hair just like her mother's. She was a wearing a little dress that almost matched the business suit Nikki donned. Where Missy had a black dress, white stockings and little black single strap shoes, Nikki wore a black knee-length skirt, shiny black high heels, a white button-up blouse, and a black blazer over that. Her daughter's hairstyle was the same as hers: a bun with long hair reaching down her back.
"So what did you bring me back?" Missy asked.
"Well, I did manage to swipe something from your poor excuse of a father," Tre said.
"Huh?"
"Nothing, kid," Tre laughed. "Here, it's a locket with your mom's picture in it."
"Thank you," Missy said as Tre handed her the locket.
It was a beautiful gold heart-shaped pendant attached to fine gold necklace. She toyed with it, then flipped the pendant open and looked to see her mom's photo. She smiled, then laughed. Nikki just shed tears and covered her mouth, holding in a sob. Tre took the necklace and put it over Missy's head.
"Now you wear that and look at your mama's picture when you need it most," Tre said."OK," was the girl's reply.
He set her down and let her scamper about the office. Nikki just looked on her daughter as she looked at the locket again.
"My God," Nikki sighed. "I didn't know he still cared."
"He doesn't," Tre said. "He is to wed the princess of our enemy and he was about to sell the locket just to get rid of it before he's caught by his betrothed bitch."
"You saw him?"
"Yeah, at a bar in another L2 colony," Tre replied. "They were hunting Duo."
"It didn't do them much good," a flat voice said. Heero glared at Nikki while Trowa leaned against the wall in solitude. Heero walked forward and stood in the little group. His eyes were cold and hard.
"They were easily destroyed by Wing Zero and DreadScythe," Heero continued.
"Nikki, Heero Yuy. Heero, Nikki, my sister," Tre said.
"Hn," was Heero's reply.
"Well, what were you saying, Heero?" Nikki asked.
"The British would have killed Duo if not for your brother," Heero said. "He found out who Shawn was at the bar and held him at gunpoint. The rest of the mobile pilots were killed single-handedly by Tre in a gunfight, but Shawn escaped."
"Damn!" Nikki yelled.
"I know," Tre said. "I would have loved to kill that traitor."
"Well, there's always next time," Nikki sighed. "Hey, Tre, you wouldn't happen to have a shuttle would you?"
"Yes," Tre said, "yes I do."
"Great!" Nikki excalimed. "I need to get to Winner Corp. HQ and the shuttle has left for Earth already."
"Wait a second," Tre said. "That shuttle is for business people of the colony only so who's on it?"
"The Vitelli's," Nikki answered. "They want to persuade Winner Corp. that they are the only business that can be trusted to merge with to shut us and the Reigns' down."
"Sweet!" Tre said. "Then we could blow right past them, sign the deal, and get Quatre to come fight with us Gundam pilots."
"So that's your mission," Nikki nodded. "You're collecting the Gundam pilots to fight the Brits, huh?"
"Pack your stuff sis, we gettin' the Hell out of here!" Tre said.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Systems are green and working perfectly," Heero said to Tre.
The flight deck was full of people in spacesuits. Heero, Duo, and Trowa were wearing the suits they used to invade Libra two years ago on Christmas Day. Tre was wearing his own, and Nikki was wearing a feminine variant. The suit was purple and conformed to Nikki's curves precisely. Lastly, little Missy had a suit in the same color as her mom's, but it was made for a child. Everyone had their helmets on, but the visors were open.
The shuttle was set to go. Tre was opening the throttle wide. It was taking every ounce of strength out of the brakes to hold the heavy craft until they were ready to launch. The catapult came slowly behind the nose gear and caught the hook. It stood idle for a while, then the catapult shot the shuttle forward. The G forces were intense, reading at 3.5 G's. Then, the catapult stopped, sling-shotting the shuttle into space. Tre raised the gear and did a roll. The shuttle was now upside-down and speeding through space.
"Just another hour before we catch up to the business shuttle, everyone," Tre shouted.
"When we get to it," Nikki shouted back, "give 'em Hell on the radio."
"Right, Nikki."
"OK, Tre."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Once we merge with Winner Corp.," a muffled voice was saying, "the Youngs will go into a slump that they'll never come out of."
"Yes, Don Vitelli," a young man said. The shuttle was dark so everyone could sleep. Just then, the loudspeakers snapped on.
"Ladies and gentlemen, this is your captain speaking," the captain said. "We are receiving a weird transmission, would you like to hear it?"
"Yeah, sure," the godfather said.
"OK, here it goes," the captain said.
There was some static, then a female voice came on the speakers.
"Hello, Antonio Vitelli, it's Nikki Young," Nikki's voice said. "I just wanted to tell you that I'm goign to get to Earth, sign the deal, and be vacationing before you even enter the atmosphere."
"Oh yeah?" the godfather shot back. "How do you plan on doing that when you're on your colony?"
"Look out your port window."
The godfather leaned over his nephew and saw a bright glow from behind and below the shuttle he was in. All the sudden, a large shuttle with bulky pods surrounding it streaked past the small craft he was in.
"It will yake you another two days for you to reach Earth, while we'll reach it in four hours. Tah tah."
The godfather yelled out in scorn, waking his whole family. He then collapsed of a heart attack, unconscious.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"OK, everyone," Tre said. "We are about to make planet fall, so close your visors."
All the pilots closed their visors, while Nikki closed hers, then Missy's visor. Then, like any normal mother, Nikki made sure that Missy's straps were nice and tight.
Tre increased the throttle of the main engines, heading nose first into the atmosphere. A loud bang told them they broke into the outer atmosphere, then a white glow lashed at the windows. It turned crimson, then bright orange. The shuttle began to shudder very violently, banking slightly as air began to pass under the control surfaces of the shuttle. Tre grasped the control stick, trying to regain control of the mammoth craft. It started to roll uncontrollably, the shuttle was tossing everywhere. Tre managed to control the movement of the flaperons as they passed through the atmosphere. Finally, the twin sonic booms signified that they had entered the atmosphere, but they were still going too fast. Tre cut the main engines off, putting the shuttle into gliding flight.
"Arabian Space Port, shuttle Nightshift, declaring an emergency," Tre called into the mic in his suit.
He was pulling tight S-turns to slow the shuttle down. He lined himself up with the runway, which was still 20 miles away.
"Nightshift, Arabian approach," an Arabic accent was thick in his English. "Copy emergency, you are cleared all the way in."
"Thanks!" Tre yelled, straining against the speed of the craft.
Tre extended speed brakes, throwing everyone against their straps as the shuttle slowed drastically. Tre retracted the brakes, then armed the gear. He was 10 miles out from the runway and lined up perfectly. He followed the flashing beacons as he came closer to the runway. He was two miles out, then he dropped the gear and flared, using the shuttle's surface area to slow down more. The craft slowly descended, and jolted as main gears touched down. Tre held the nose up and deployed the drogue chute, which pulled the main chute out to slow the shuttle down for a stop. Tre pulled as hard as he could against the stick to keep the nose up for as long as possible. The air speed dropped, so did the nose. That's when Tre jumped on the rudder pedals. The rudders opened on both sides of the tailfin and the brakes on the wheels squealed as the shuttle continued its forward momentum. Then, it stopped completely.
Tre turned in his seat and stared at his passengers. Nikki was breathing heavily, as was little Missy. Heero sat stolid in his seat, as did Trowa and Duo. Tre heard the tower command them to taxi clear of the runway. Tre brought the main engines online again and the shuttle started to roll forward slowly onto the taxiway.
After ten minutes of taxiing, Tre stopped the shuttle inside a large hangar. The control tower came on again.
"Nightshift, tower. What business do you bring to our country?"
"We are here to discuss a business merger with Quatre Raberba Winner," Tre said. "He is the head of Winner Corp. and we need to make this deal today."
"I see," the controller said. "Well, it seems you are well known because that hangar is owned by Quatre Winner."
"Which is why you directed us here?" Tre asked.
"Yes."
"Okay, then, Quatre must have known we were coming, huh, Nikki?"
Nikki laughed nervously into her helmet mic and started blubbering, fumbling for words. Tre just told her, playfully, to shut up and of which she did. The pilots were chuckling, even Heero. Tre finally got to the shuttle pulled into the hangar and set the parking brakes. He then got out of his seat and walked to the hatch and opened it. There was a ground crew wheeling a staircase to the opened hatch and a black limo pulled in from behind the shuttle. Tre was pulling his helmet and his spacesuit off. Everyone else was doing the same, but sitting down in the seats they had taken.
Tre walked down the stairs and trotted over to the limo as the back door was being opened. Out stepped a short, blonde teen with a pink business shirt, khaki slacks, brown dress shoes, and a purple vest. Tre stopped and shook hands with this teen.
"Quatre Raberba Winner," Tre said, shaking Quatre's hand.
"Tre Jason Young," Quatre said back, smiling. "It has been a year since last we met."
"Indeed," Tre said, letting go of the other's hand. "Nikki, my sister is the spokesperson for my company today, not me. I'm here on a different level of business with you. I'll discuss it with you later."
"Understood."
Nikki was walking as fast she could, smoothing out her black skirt and blazer. Her high heels hitting the smooth concrete resounded throughout the entire hangar. Missy was in close tow. Nikki smiled as she approached Quatre, holding onto her daughter's hand. She stopped right in front of Quatre, extended her free hand to shake his. Instead, Quatre took her hand and kissed the back of it. Nikki blushed.
"My how beautiful you've grown over the years Miss Young," Quatre said.
"Nikki, please call me Nikki, Mr. Winner," Nikki laughed.
"Then please call me Quatre," Quatre returned with a laugh of his own.
"Shall we discuss this merger here or in a more proper setting?"
"Yes, let's go to my office conference room where several other candidates are already gathered."
"This is the year of a double merger, huh, Quatre?" Tre asked.
Tre meant that this is the year that Winner Corp. would merge with two other companies, instead of just one. This would raise the annual net worth to more than triple the normal worth of just one company alone. Quatre wasn't in it for the money, but for the good of the people that invested in his company or went after products he designed.
"Yes, Tre," Quatre said. "It is my hope that my company will accept yours and possibly the Reigns' companies."
"Why the two of us?" Nikki asked.
"Because of both your persistent persuasive and strategic techniques in the market," Quatre answered.
"I see," Tre said, nodding.
Heero, Duo, and Trowa were all standing in an isolated group. They knew nothing about this business merger or business meeting. They just stood by the left main gear talking about Tre.
"He seems cool to me," Duo said, putting his hands behind his head.
"A very good example of a leader," Trowa agreed. "His status in his company and in his Gundam tell me that he has influence as a leader."
"He is just that," Heero piped. "Ever since the loss of his girlfriend in After Colony one-nine-four, he has devoted his time to his business and nothing else, until his mission to find us all came about."
Duo and Trowa just stared at their fellow pilot. Never had he spoken so many words in a sentence in their presence before. Yet he still leaned against the gear with his arms crossed and eyes closed as if he hadn't spoken at all. Duo screwed up his face in thought, scratching his head.
'So that's the Ghost Murder of After Colony one-nine-four,' he thought. 'Well, now it's no wonder Tre is so much like Heero most of the time. But, he does enjoy life like I do at times.'
"Heero, Duo, Trowa," Quatre called, trotting to where they stood. "It's so good to see all of you again."
Quatre went around shaking hands with all the pilots. There wasn't much Heero or Trowa said, but Duo and Quatre blabbed on about what they did after they detonated their suits as far as business and relationships were going.
"Well, I wouldn't exactly say that Hilde is my girlfriend," Duo said, "but she is nice to have around. I can't cook, so she whips up great meals sometimes."
"Do you think you might have a slight interest in her?" Quatre asked.
"I don't know," Duo said.
"Hmm, let's continue this conversation some other time. We have to get to my office as soon as possible."
So, everyone piled into the limo, Quatre last (he insisted). The chauffer closed the door behind his employer and got in the driver's seat. Then the black car drove off.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The elevator had reached the top floor of Quatre's company HQ. Everyone piled out, Quatre in the lead. He was tailed closely by Nikki, who was ready to get into this meeting. Tre was holding onto Missy's hand so that he could watch her while Nikki got their business merged with Quatre's. Quatre opened the double doors to a large wood-paneled conference room. A large rectangular table sat in the center of the room and was surrounded by twenty men of various ages. Most had gray hair and glasses from being advanced in age, but some were young and in their prime. An empty seat at the far end of the right side stood ready for Nikki while a chair at the opposite end of the table stood ready for Quatre.
Tre took Quatre's attention for a minute to whisper, "Quatre, if I didn't know any better, I'd say you planned to have my sister sit there, because you have a crush on her."
Quatre muffled a laugh and entered the room. Tre followed and spotted a familiar face at the table.
"Mr. Reigns!" he exclaimed.
"Tre," Mr. Reigns replied.
The man was the father of Tre's best friend, Pyrone. If there were any coincidence to Pyrone's voice, it would be that his father had the same voice and look of Sean Connery himself. This past middle-aged man, by the name of Theodore William Reigns (nickname Theo), had a head of gray hair and a dark gray beard about his face. His brown eyes were soft and vigorous with the youth of a teenager. His clothes that he donned, a black business suit: black socks, slacks, shoes, button-up shirt, and blazer.
"Good luck to you, sir," Tre said.
"Thank you, and good luck to your company, too," Theo said.
Nikki took her seat, while Tre and Missy, Heero, Duo, and Trowa all left the large room, or began to anyway.
"Tre, wait!" Quatre called.
"Huh?" Tre said.
"We need you in here for just a minute."
"Who's going to watch Missy?"
"I will," Trowa spoke. "I'm great with kids."
"It's OK, Uncle Tre," Missy said, with a tone beyond her years. "I'll play with Trowa."
"All right then, munchkin," Tre said, smiling.
Trowa took her outstretched hand and lead her out of the large room. Heero and Duo were already outside, occupying part of a bench. The doors closed behind them, then the meeting started.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
-One hour later-
"I still don't get how we can't qualify, Mr. Winner," a young, bespectacled man by the name of Jack Ritter spoke.
"Because your company has a terrible marketing and customer satisfaction record," Quatre snapped. "It is your constant problem to meet someone else's schedule that you rush through your projects. My company should merge with a company that is willing to sacrifice schedules for quality products."
As Quatre sat down, Jack was about to continue when Nikki started on him with an intensity a man in business would be jealous of.
"You sir, are too busy being a brown-nosing kiss-up to your contractors that you don't look at the big picture and see what the customer wants. The first rule in business is that the customer is always right. You do not seem to realize that since you are too busy trying to please your goddam employers and contractors. Yes, it's nice to be on schedule, but sometimes you have to delay that for quality. If you start to build a shuttle and your contractors say, 'I want it done in three months', and all you have so far is a framework, then are you going to rush that production phase to do a sloppy job and risk innocent lives?"
"Well, we try our best to do a quality job in as short a time as possible-" Jack was cut off by Tre.
"Forget your best. Losers all wind up doing their best while winners break out the champagne and pat themselves on the back for doing such excellent job. Why the Hell do you think that Young Corp. was picked first for this merger? Because we bust our asses off to make sure that every inch of our products are sealed, connected, working, etcetera. We don't do our best in as little time as possible. We bust our chops doing a thorough and complete job."
As Tre sat in the chair next to Nikki and Quatre, a round of applause came from everyone but Jack. Things like, "What an excellent business attitude!" and "I'd love to work for those two!" were heard being mumbled to others around the table. After the applause ended, Theo Reigns stood up and started to walk around the room.
"Twenty years ago, it was three years after the great Heero Yuy was assassinated and people were in a panic. I thought to myself, 'How can I help the people overcome their panic?' It was to represent them in an effort to bring peace to the colonies again. However, I was not strong enough nor influential enough to persuade the OZ organization to disarm themselves and let peace come to the colonies.
"So I took my expertise in government affairs to the computer and designed the initial cockpit system for the Tallgeese and Wing Zero projects. However, since OZ was after the Gundam scientists, I decided that I should displace myself from them in an effort to save my own ass. Which is why I designed the targeting system for OZ's mobile suits: Leo, Aries, Pisces, Cancer, and for the later Taurus and Virgo models. But I didn't just design those systems for mobile suits, it was also intended for shuttles and for space fighters."
"The Space Wasp," Tre said. "That my father and yourself invented."
"Exactly," Theo said, pointing at Tre. "Lights, please."
The lights dimmed all the way down and a white screen rolled down from behind Quatre. Everyone turned their seats to face the screen. A picture of a FX-1682 popped onto the screen. Then Jack Ritter said,
"Since when is a Neo Falcon a space fighter?"
"Since a week ago when the first Space Wasp took a maiden voyage and the tests were off the predicted charts," Theo said. "This revolutionary design will knock the socks off the mobile suit divisions of the British kingdom."
"Since you are part British, don't you think of yourself as a hypocrite or even a traitor to your nation of birth?" Jack Ritter smiled.
Theo breathed a deep breath, "No, I do not consider myself a hypocrite or a traitor to my nation of brith! How dare you tell me to choose sides of this war when I am a neutral businessman!"
Tre pulled a pistol out of its holster, cocked the hammer and pointed it at Jack Ritter.
"One more interruption like that and I'll spray your brains all over the place," Tre said coldly.
"Is that how you gained so much power," Jack said, "through threats?"
"Please, we don't need any bloodshed here," Quatre said.
Tre continued to glare at Jack while he released the hammer to its normal position and holstered the weapon. Jack was wiping his forehead with his handkerchief, obviously shaken from what had just taken place. Theo continued his presentation.
"As you can see, this is the body of an FX-1682 Neo Fighting Falcon. However, this is a redesigned and retro-fitted prototype capable of combat in space. There is no air scoop, since there is no oxygen in space to use for combustion. It is fitted with an ED-dash-fifty six forty three-dash-mark-twenty rocket motor. The wings are fitted with numerous missile rails and each side of the craft, just behind the cockpit, are two Eagle Eye laser weapons. These weapons," Theo said, pulling up a different screenshot, "are able to fire at the rate of a Gatling gun with shotgun dispersion."
"Would you mind clarifying that part?" one man asked.
"Certainly," Theo said, smiling. "These weapons fire at a rate of one-hundred rounds per second and if the fighter were sitting in the same place while firing these weapons, then their rounds would be dispersed as though it were a shotgun."
"Ah, I see," the man said.
"How much would it cost for one of these fighters?" another man asked.
"It would come to a sum of forty-one-billion dollars," Theo said.
Murmurs of excitement were heard about the room. "This is the future of low-cost defense against invading mobile suit forces, ladies and gentlemen," Theo said.
"Mr. Theodore Reigns," Quatre said, standing up, "welcome aboard Winner Corp."
Applause sounded in the room as Theo shook hands with Quatre. Then, Theo and Tre shook hands and exchanged brief comments to each other about the future development of the three merged companies.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Let's do it now," Shawn said to his mobile suit force.
The white Serpent moved ahead of its squadron as they advanced on the village where the Magunac Corp. has been rumored to live in. All the sudden, a barrage of fire came from the village sending several British suits toppling over themselves and exploding. The lead Serpent ducked and returned fire.
On the other side, the Magunacs were fighting to defend the village. It was the last stronghold between the Brits and their Master Quatre.
"Captain," a Magunac pilot shouted.
"What?" Rashid shouted back from his suit.
"We should inform Master Quatre to flee the city if need be."
"That is not an option, we wouldn't want him to worry about us."
A Magunac was hit in the leg and crumpled in the trench.
"Sahib!" Rashid shouted. "Akbar, call Master Quatre immediately."
"Yes sir," the pilot answered.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"What?" Quatre was alarmed. "The Magunacs are fighting against the British?"
"Quatre!" Tre shouted. "You know that business I was talking about earlier?"
"Yeah."
"The time has come," Tre said as he trotted to Quatre. "You need to pilot Sandrock."
"I detonated Sandrock on Earth last year," Quatre whispered.
"There's a new one in the shuttle I flew in."
"Really?"
"Let's get the other pilots and make tracks to that village."
"Right."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The shuttle sat at the end of the runway, ready for launch.
"Nightshift, you are clear for departure," ATC said.
"Roger, control," Tre said.
He slammed the throttle all the way open, the shuttle was shuddering. Then Tre released the brakes and the shuttle leapt forward. Heero was in the co-pilot's seat, while Duo, Trowa, and Quatre were getting ready in their Gundams for an airdrop. Tre pulled hard back on the stick and raised the gear. He banked hard to port and yanked again on the stick. He turned the shuttle sharply, then leveled it out again. He kept the throttle where it was and estimated that they would reach the battle zone in ten minutes.
Tre entered a series of commands into the shuttle's autopilot computer. Then, he undid his straps and ran back into the aft cabin. Heero did the same, streaking after Tre. Tre clambered into the door marked 06, while Heero slid into door marked 00. The two pilots just got into their Gundams when the shuttle rolled to the starboard side. The doors on pods 06 to 04 opened ready to drop their contents into the battle below.
"Roll check!" Tre shouted into his mic. "Zero!
"Ready!" Heero shouted back.
"Deathscythe!" Tre shouted.
"Ready!" Duo replied.
"Heavyarms!"
"Ready!" Trowa said.
"Sandrock!"
"Ready!" Quatre yelled as he lowered his goggles over his eyes.
"Nightshift, release!" Tre yelled into his mic.
Then, all five Gundams were falling through the air. DreadScythe drew its beam rifle and fired a barrage onto the British suit squadron directly below. Three suits went down. Zero loaded its Buster rifle, then fired. It managed to take out only two suits. Deathscythe tried its machine guns, but they wouldn't fire. Heavyarms fired its chest Gatlings, missing. Finally, all five suits fired their rockets, slowing their descent and landing softly on the desert sands.
Sandrock's heat sickles burned red on the blades, then Sandrock reached behind itself, drew the blades and flung them at the rest of the suits. Two were sliced into melting halves, which exploded. The large blades spun like boomerrangs and came back to Sandrock, which caught both by the handles. Sandrock stared down the remaining six suits, lowering itself into a slight crouch. The white Serpent rounded on Sandrock, taking aim with its Gatlings. Heavyarms raised its arms and fired at the enemy suit. The Serpent managed to fall back from the attack, but not its escort suits. The Virgos exploded on either side. Then a silouhette of a walking Gundam, with its sickles held at the ready appeared on Shawn's viewscreen, the green eyes glaring down the Serpent it planned to tear apart. Sandrock crossed the two blades in front of itself, raised them on either side and swung down. The tips of the blades scratched at the Serpents surface, leaving a large X on its torso. Shawn couldn't believe it, he was almost destroyed.
"Crap, he moved away from me," Quatre said.
"Need help yet?" Tre said.
The DreadScythe pulled the staff off its back, twirled it in its right hand, then caught the bottom half with the left hand when the right hand slid up the staff. The energy blade ignited: a black scythe.
"No, Tre," Quatre said. "This one's mine."
"Oh jolly good," Shawn's sarcasm was thick in his voice.
"Serpent, surrender to us now or die," Quatre said.
The Serpent fired its missiles at Sandrock. Sandrock fired its rockets, flying backwards for a distance to avoid the missiles. DreadScythe caught the left arm of Sandrock and planted its feet on the ground.
"C'mon," Tre said. "You gonna let this guy scare ya?"
"No, let me at 'em!" Quatre cried.
Sandrock flew forward and sliced at the Serpent. The enemy suit ducked, sending the Sandrock flying over it. Sandrock flipped and twisted in mid-air, landing on its feet and facing the Serpent. The Gundam flung the blades at the Serpent, hoping to catch it this time. A Taurus suit fired at the blades, sending them off their trajectory. DreadScythe flew forward, scythe poised at the ready. The Gundam sliced at the doll, sending it into a ball of fire. DreadScythe walked forward, scythe in one hand, beam rifle in the other. The Serpent looked at Sandrock, the latter had its machine guns at the ready.
"Cherrio, old chaps!" Shawn's voice came over the radio, then the Serpent detonated. Tre caught a rocket trail coming from the suit, meaning Shawn had ejected.
"That little pussy," Tre muttered.
"What the Hell is wrong with Deathscythe?" Duo yelled over the radio. "It wouldn't do a damn thing I wanted it to."
"The suit is probably frozen up or something," Tre said. "I'll take a look at it on the shuttle."
"We're leaving now?" Quatre asked.
"We have to find Wufei, and soon," Tre said.
DreadScythe looked to the sky, still hanging thick with smoke from the burning machines.
"There are still four suits left!" Trowa yelled.
Heavyarms wheeled around, firing at the nearest suit. It shook violently from high impact slugs hitting it, then it fell over.
"All right! I fixed it!" Duo exclaimed.
Deathscythe drew and ignited the twin scythes, launching itself at another suit. The Leo cowered before it was sliced up like a turkey. All in the blink of an eye, the Deathscythe slashed at the Leo vertically, horizontally, and diagonally using both scythes. Before the Leo exploded, the Deathscythe was crouched in a pose with a scythe in each hand. Then the Leo exploded against the Deathscythe's back, the green eyes glaring from the black silouhette.
Zero ignited a beam saber and quickly jabbed the Virgo it had tackled. The suit crackled with electricity around the stabbed area. Zero withdrew the saber from the crippled suit, which promptly blew up.
Sandrock and DreadScythe worked on the last suit. The Taurus was outmatched and outnumbered, so it just threw its gun down and put its hands up. DreadScythe swung its scythe at the waist, slicing the doll in half, then let the scythe swing its way onto DreadScythe's left shoulder. Sandrock took its sickles and raised them on either side, then swung them down across the suit. The torso of the Taurus fell into four pieces then the legs fell on top of the pile.
Then, all five suits gathered in the center of the wreckage they had created, staring at each other. Tre opened his cockpit door first and walked out, followed by Quatre. Soon all the pilots were standing on their open cockpit doors. The partial Gundam team looked at each other, then Quatre spoke.
"We have a lot more than this to deal with in the coming war. But it isn't our only enemy. The biggest of all is ourselves and the bloodthirsty demons who crave carnage and bloodshed. We must control ourselves as we fight and not destroy lives for a primal urge."
"Quatre," Heero said softly. "We can't just let these pilots walk away unscathed."
"Yes, I know that, Heero," Quatre said. "But we can make an effort to at least keep some of them alive."
"It isn't them that's figthing this war," Tre jumped in. "It's the royalty of Britain and the buisness world."
"How true," Trowa said.
"We must quell this storm before it gets any stronger, guys," Tre said. "Let's find Wufei."
"I'm with you, Tre," Duo said.
The pilots got back in their Gundams as Nightshift flew overhead. Then all five suits blasted off to catch their transport. Next stop: Wufei.