UEC Space Fortress Guardian
"So, what are our options?" Harada asked again after watching the technician read his technical manuals for fifteen minutes. "Do we have any?"
"Well…no, we don't."
"That wasn't the answer I was expecting," Harada growled, his eyes narrowed.
"Well, that is…well, sir, you can always pour an excessive amount of firepower into the enemy fleet. After all, that is what Guardian was designed for. You know what they say: explosives are the solution to everything…" the technician laughed nervously.
Harada eyed him for a second before relaxing his steely gaze. "That's correct, young man, and that applies to them as well as to us. Where is the greatest concentration of the fleet?"
"Why, right around the Guardian, sir."
"Good. I want you to send out a FLASH-priority message after you're done decrypting the rest of the data disks. When the enemy attacks, they'll attack us here and aim for a knock-out blow."
"But why, sir?"
"Because," Harada answered as he left the room, "explosives are the answer to everything." Or should I say explosions?
Outside, on Mars
A light breeze rippled through the warm afternoon air as Haley and Ruri walked through the open streets towards a mysterious restaurant of Haley's choosing. It was a perfect day for an outdoor stroll; the wind made the ambient air temperature just right for the skin, and the sun, while not out in full force, illuminated the landscape with a heart-warming light that didn't sting or hurt the eyes. As the two walked past various open stores and small eateries, Haley noticed adults smiling and whispering to each other, "What a cute couple!" He blushed a little, thinking, I wasn't planning on this…
The two young teenagers walked past a clothing store that had the latest spring fashions on display and both of them stopped to admire the beautiful clothing on the mannequins. Ruri seemed particularly enamored with a mannequin that showed off an exquisite, sleeveless, sky-blue spring dress.
"Do you like that dress, Captain?" Haley asked, watching her.
Ruri nodded absent-mindedly, thinking, that's the same dress in my dream!
Haley glanced at the price-tag and took a sharp breath. "It's pretty expensive for a piece of cloth," he grumbled, pointing out the price.
Despite that, Ruri took Haley's arm and dragged him into the store. "I should stock up on non-military clothing for when I leave the service," she explained.
Haley sighed, shaking his head. "I never took you to be the shopping type, Captain," he remarked.
Fifteen minutes later, Haley and Ruri emerged from the store, Ruri in her new dress, and Haley in a smart-looking windbreaker and new pants that Ruri had picked out for him. Ruri poked him teasingly in the shoulder.
"Haley-kun, admit it. That was fun, wasn't it?" she demanded.
The boy gave her a strange look. You're acting livelier than usual today. "I suppose so," he grudgingly agreed. "These are better than the UE Spacey uniforms, but these clothes were expensive! No more new video games for me for the next couple of paychecks," he sighed sadly.
To his surprise, Ruri made a face. "Haley-kun, you need to grow up."
"You think so?" The thought that he might be immature for his age disturbed him greatly.
"Perhaps. You need to perfect your social abilities. I should lend you my resources more often," she offered.
At this, Haley's eyes lighted up. "Really? You're talking about your Ururun manga, right?" Ruri nodded. "All right!" Haley-kun pumped a fist victoriously in the air. "I've always wanted to read the rest of the series!"
Ruri's laughter drifted melodiously through the air, superior to even the songs of the birds singing in the trees.
Haley-kun grinned sheepishly as Ruri took his arm again and the two continued their walk down the street. Heck, he thought, if she's going to be like this more often, I could get used to this…she's really pretty in that dress.
"Is this the restaurant?" Ruri asked, jolting Haley from his reverie.
"What's that?" he asked, looking around.
"Is this the restaurant that you were talking about?"
"Oh. Um…" Haley looked the place over. It was an Asian establishment, advertising a combination of Japanese and Korean cuisine.
"Yeah, this is it," Haley confirmed, after matching the address with the one Saburouta had told him about. "I hear they serve really good noodles!"
"Noodles? Really?"
"What? You like noodles, Captain?"
"They're edible, if that's what you mean."
Haley laughed as they entered. "Very funny, Captain."
Ruri leaned over so she could whisper into his ear. "Maybe you shouldn't call me Captain, Haley-kun. We're not in a formal military setting." They don't call each other Captain in my resources, at least.
"What?" Haley exclaimed in consternation. "But I always –"
"How may I help you?" the waiter at the front of the restaurant asked, interrupting him.
"Table for two, please," Ruri said to the waiter before Haley had a chance to finish.
"Of course," the waiter replied, beaming and grabbing two menus. "This way, please."
"Hurry up, Haley-kun," Ruri admonished, tugging on his arm. "We need to go sit down."
"…oh, yeah, of course, cap-…I mean…Ruri." Geez, that feels really weird. Actually, it's kinda difficult to say her name. Maybe I should practice. Ruri. Rur…i? Ru-ri. R-uri.
"Haley-kun, what are you doing?" Ruri asked sharply as Haley ran straight into a wall.
"Sorry, didn't see where I was going," he replied from the floor, blushing in shame. Haley, you're an idiot.
Elsewhere, on Mars
"So, where is this place you were talking about?" Ryoko asked Saburouta.
"Oh, it's this jewel of a restaurant I found when I was on leave here a few months ago," the Jovian replied, waving his hand nonchalantly in the air. "It's a combination restaurant of Japanese and Korean food. The chef's a friend of mine; trust me, he's good. I've got a way of finding all the good eats in town."
"Oh, really?" Ryoko chuckled. "I guess I should hang around you more often."
"Honestly now, Ryoko," Saburouta said, his eyes tearing up with all the acting ability he could muster, "how do you think it makes me feel to be so blatantly used in such a callous way? It's heart-rending!"
"Oh be quiet," Ryoko snapped back, grinning nevertheless. "I know you. You wanted to take me out to lunch!"
"I said no such thing!" Saburouta replied defensively. "I'm doing this only because I know you'll drop-kick me half-way to Earth if I don't!"
In the restaurant
"So, what's good here?" Ruri asked as she opened the menu.
Haley shrugged. "No idea. Never been here before."
"And yet you claim this restaurant was a good one…" Ruri observed with some skepticism.
"Well, Saburouta-san told me about this place. I'm sure he's as good a judge of food as anyone else."
Ruri raised an eyebrow at him, something Haley did not know Ruri could do. "Haley-kun, this is Saburouta-san we're talking about."
"Heh heh, you've got a point there, Captain."
"Ruri."
"Oh yeah, sorry. Ruri." Haley frowned. "Feels strange for me to say that."
"Does it?"
Elsewhere on Mars
"Oh, is this the place?" Ryoko said. "I think I've been here before!"
"No way!" Saburouta said. "Only I know about this little gem of a restaurant!"
"They've got good sake," Ryoko explained. "C'mon, let's go inside and eat! I'm starved!"
In the restaurant
"Speaking of Saburouta-san, is he out of the hospital yet?" Ruri asked. "I haven't been at the Nadesico for a while."
"He's been back for a while I think. I guess his injuries weren't that severe," Haley-kun replied, thinking, You're right. You haven't been around the last couple days. Were you with Tenkawa-san this whole time? "Ruri?" he asked, remembering to use her name instead of her rank.
"Hai?"
"Why do you spend so much time with Tenkawa-san? Is there…something special about him?" he asked, almost unwillingly. I shouldn't be asking a question like that.
Ruri looked at him in surprise, then looked down at the floor. "Well…" she said softly.
"Well! If it isn't the captain and…Haley-kun of all people!" a loud voice suddenly boomed from near the restaurant's entrance. Haley-kun looked up in alarm and…sure enough, it was Saburouta-san, with Ryoko nearby, hiding her laughs behind a concealing hand.
"Haley-kun, I didn't know you could be so forward! Taking the captain on a date, eh?" Saburouta bellowed jovially, pushing his way to their table and elbowing Haley painfully in the ribs.
"Saburouta-san! Cut that out!" the hapless boy protested. "I'm not taking her on a date! She just needed something to eat! Isn't that right, Ruri?
"Oh, on a first name basis already, are we?" Saburouta observed with a sly grin. Haley-kun reddened. "So, Captain," Saburouta began, turning towards Ruri, "has this young man been a gentleman so far?"
Ruri nodded in agreement, smiling a little bit.
"Good work, Haley!" Saburouta said, clapping the boy heartily on the back. "I knew you'd pick something up from me!"
"Based on the way you're behaving," Ryoko observed, "Haley would be a caveman by now if he started picking stuff up from you."
"Hey, that was uncalled for," Saburouta protested, pulling up a chair. "Well, captain, Haley, you wouldn't mind if the two of us joined, would you? You could call it a double date," he said, winking at Ryoko and nudging Haley in the ribs.
UEC Space Fortress Guardian
"Sir, FLASH transmission from Earth," one of Harada's aides reported.
"Okay, transmit it to my personal office," Harada replied, swiveling around in his personal office chair to see the transmission screen. As it turned on, Harada smiled. "Kouichiro-san! How are you!" he boomed out in his gravelly voice.
The image of Grand Admiral Misumaru Kouichiro appeared on the screen. "Fine, thank you," he said solemnly. "How goes the fight for Mars!"
"A bloody stalemate, friend," Harada replied. "But for now we've beaten the bastards back. How's your daughter?"
Kouichiro coughed, looking uncomfortable. "That's the reason why I called, Harada. She's coming to Mars."
Harada nearly dropped the coffee mug he had in his hand. "But this is a war zone! This is no place for someone in her cond—"
The Grand Admiral raised up a hand to silence Harada. "She insisted, and you know how she is once she has her mind made up. She's onboard the hospital ship in the reinforcement fleet coming your way. She'll be there in three hours."
Suddenly, another screen appeared next to Kouichiro's, and Harada noticed the Grand Admiral look in surprise off-screen. Apparently, he was getting the same screen too. While the picture cleared up, Harada could hear a female voice saying, somewhat weakly, "Daddy, did you get permission from Admiral Harada yet?"
"Yes, my daughter," Kouichiro said quickly, "and you shouldn't be on the communications channel right—"
"It's okay, daddy, I made the nurse open up this comm channel."
"Yurika-chan, is that you?" Harada asked, remembering the hyper-active girl of five years when he was serving under then-Commodore Misumaru Kouichiro.
"Hi, Harada," the voice said, still feeble. "It's been a long time since I've last seen you." Finally, the picture cleared up, and Harada felt his face go pale.
The once-beautiful Misumaru Yurika had now shriveled up to a shell of her former self. She had lost a horrific amount of weight, her body appearing almost skeletal under the hospital bed sheets. Her hair, once a shining wave of eye-catching blue, was thin, stringy, and now a dull pale gray-blue; a shadow of its former self. Her face was emaciated, her eyes sunken in their eye sockets. Her once-flawless skin seemed gray and worn, and she breathed with the help of a ventilator, the cold individuality-robbing mask hiding what little of a smile she could force from her lips. Several tubes snaked around her, inserting themselves into various places on her arms.
Harada's coffee mug crashed to the floor, shattering into a thousand pieces, the coffee slowly spilling out onto the hardwood like viscous blood. Misumaru Yurika was dying.
A/N: Yay! Finally, I finished a chapter! That took me SUCH A LONG TIME! This is one of my favorite chapters, I must admit. No fighting at all, so sorry to you battle buffs, but I needed to cement the relationships going on here. So…what do we have…Akito/Ruri, Ruri/Haley, and Saburouta/Ryoko. I'm going to be vacillating between the Akito/Ruri pair and the Ruri/Haley pair throughout the story, though in the end there will be only one couple! You'll just have to find out who they are.
Sorry about the faulty science with the Boson particles. I just threw in some fancy physics terms and hoped it would make sense. If any of you understand what Boson particles do (if I recall, they do exist, but they don't work the way they do in the TV show) and stuff like wavelength and amplitude and can explain it, I don't mind changing it so it's more realistic.
I worked with more flashbacks since you guys liked that a lot, and I also incorporated some of the Ururun manga. Media like that was instrumental in the series; you had Gekigangar in the series, and the movie had its basis in the Ururun manga, though I'll be using the manga the way I did this chapter; as a foreshadowing of future events. I kind of like it; adds a new twist and dimension to an otherwise 2-D story. Of course, if you guys think it totally ruined the thing, tell me and I won't do it. I'm experimenting with different styles and techniques, and I want to know which ones to keep and which ones to chuck.
Of course, that means that YOU guys have to REVIEW! Otherwise I'll be sad and I won't have any constructive criticism to work off of.
Oh, and how do you guys like the ending? Scary, huh? Told ya you'd see Yurika! More will be explained next chapter…maybe. Heh heh heh. This chapter I think is the "calm before the storm," as Harada put it. And oh, what a storm it'll be…(shameless advertising) Oh, and I'm trying to see how I'm going to put in a Ruri birthday chapter in here somewhere…might be kinda difficult though.
Anyways, read and review please, and thank you for all the reviews I've gotten already! Looking forward to posting the next chapter!
This is the second version, since people kindly told me that I had none of the spaces between scenes that I usually have. Weird thing is, I have at least three of those enter tab spaces between each paragraph, but FanFiction won't pick it up, so it looks like one giant scene. Strange. So, I've put in little dividers that states the location, and, while VERY corny, I hope it remedies the situation a bit.
And yes, Yurika is dying for a reason. That's next chapter so don't crucify me yet!