8:57am, January 12th CT 0203

Makoto sighed. She poured the serving out onto the soldier's serving tray and waited for him to shuffle off and for the next one to come on. She absently poured out a serve for him as well. Why oh why did she have to get mess hall duty? The crew and soldiers constantly came into the mess hall in a bad mood, and frequently left in an even worse mood than when they had entered the room. They also had rather uneasy looks on their faces as they got their food from the buffet and from her. As the last soldier shuffled off, she decided to have a taste of what she was serving. Swirling the stuff in the pot for a while, she dipped in her finger and then put it in her mouth. As soon as she started sucking on that finger, she whipped it out of the mouth, coughing and sputtering a little. The stuff was as foul as the diners' moods.

"No wonder they leave in an even worse mood." Makoto muttered to herself. She sighed again. She had to get this job, of all the positions available on the ship. Aya had managed to secure herself a position on the bridge, as had Henry, Iain and Jon. Bob and Alex were both constantly in the MS hangar, where Bob seemed to be in heaven, working on the Echo, and for the last week or so, they had been under hot pursuit by the ZATIN taskforce sent out after them (Alex intermittently sortieing in the Echo to deal with them, along with Kurt in his Crusader), and only two days ago had they been able to shake them.

Because it had been let slip (by Alex's big mouth) that Makoto was a good cook, she had been assigned mess hall duty. Yet, she was under orders to simply serve what was already there. The food was very bad. It was bland and tasteless, but in a way that would leave any diner crawling for the nearest stomach pump. She pursed her lips. No wonder the World League was so infamous for suicide bombings. People would do almost anything to get away from bad food like this.

Makoto grinned. It was obvious what she had to do. If she was going to be stuck on this ship indefinitely, she might as well make the best of the situation. Rolling up her sleeves and dusting her apron, she took a piece of cardboard and scribbled on it. Placing it on the front of the buffet, she began covering all the food trays and taking the pot of gruel away and pouring it down the sink. Eventually, soldiers began to notice that despite the early hour, food wasn't being served.

"Hey, what's the meaning of this?" one of the soldiers exclaimed, seeing her sign and the empty buffets.
"Exactly what it means." Makoto replied nonchalantly as she selected spices from the shelves.
"What do you mean "Closed. Come Back Later?" Some of us haven't eaten yet!" another said a little angrily.
"Then you won't die of hunger waiting a little longer. I'm going to cook up something so good it'll be like your mother cooked it." Makoto said, greeting the crowd of soldiers with a smile as she marched over and rummaged under the counter for some kitchen utensils. She stood up, a rolling pin in her hand.
"Come back later. Now go on, shoo. I have cooking to do." Makoto said matter-of-factly. The crowd of soldiers and crewmen slowly dispersed, shuffling out of the mess hall muttering.

"I can't believe that guy!" Iain complained, exasperated as he entered the mess hall.
"It seemed like it'd last forever!" Jon nodded.
"Running that damn simulation over and over again until we got a perfect score." He sighed ruefully.
"I just hope he doesn't get worse."
"Yeah, those ZAKUs are much more agile than I thought they'd be … it's like trying to hit someone who's bunny-hopping." Iain threw his hands up in the air.
"But remember? You managed to get four out of six first time." Jon said, placing his hand on Iain's shoulder.
"I only got one."
"But that's beginners luck! They were practically lined up for that shot. Those turrets that Gunnery's supposed to control are a damn sight clunkier than anything I've seen!" Iain protested.
"You're right about that though. It took mine seemingly forever to move from one side to the other." Jon replied. Iain looked around.
"Hey!" he called.
"Anyone around?" Makoto stuck her head out of the kitchen.
"I told you, come back la-" she began, before realising that it was Iain and Jon.
"Sorry."
"Apology accepted. Now what ARE you doing?" Iain said to her. Vapours were wafting out of the kitchen.
"I'm cooking." Makoto replied, ducking back into the kitchen.
"Cooking?" Jon inquired.
"Yeah. Come back later, and you'll find something nice and tasty waiting for lunch. If you're hungry now, help yourself to some fruit in the basket." Makoto replied from the kitchen. Jon glanced at Iain, who shrugged. They helped themselves to some fruit from the fruit basket sitting on the counter, before leaving the room.

"Man, I'm tired!" Tim said, stretching as he entered the mess hall. He looked around. The mess hall was empty. "Great! More food for me!" He clutched his head suddenly as Bob came up behind him and entered the room. "Ow! Bob! What was that for!" he asked indignantly.
"You should learn to shut up." Bob replied. His hand was balled into a fist. "I've had it almost up to here with you going on about how you're going to land Alex's sister and what you're gonna do to her. It's disturbing, the things you say you're gonna do."
"It's like he likes to read rather …" Henry coughed as he searched for an appropriate word. "Dubious material." Henry entered the room behind the other two.
"So you managed to catch up with us, Henry." Bob remarked. He glanced at the buffet.
"I can see why the hall's empty. No food!" Tim laughed.
"I know how to solve this!" he said, brimming with confidence. He took a deep breath.
"Makoto! Where are you! We're hungry! Where's our food!" he yelled into the empty mess hall. There was no answer. Tim turned back to the other two. He spread his arms.
"Now we play the waiting game." He didn't have to wait long, as an irate Makoto snuck up behind him and smacked him on the head.
"Ouch! That's twice today I've been hit on the head! What are you doing!" Tim complained to Makoto. She wore an expression that stated that she wasn't to be toyed with.
"I've been cooking! Now you won't get a taste at all, for being impolite." Makoto replied, turning and storming back to the kitchen.
"Geez … what's her problem?" Tim said to Bob and Henry. Bob shrugged.
"Beats me." He replied.
"She doesn't like people yelling when she's cooking." Henry explained. Tim shrugged.
"Hmph. It's not like I want to taste her-" he began, before Henry shushed him up. When Henry stopped, Tim was perplexed.
"What's wrong?"
"Don't insult her cooking." Henry replied, in a whisper.
"She doesn't like it when people insult her cooking before they've tasted it."
"So? What's the big deal? And why are you whispering?" Tim asked again, still confused.
"She can get very scary if you insult her cooking. Believe me. I've seen it." Henry replied. His body language was screaming "don't tempt fate."
"Just what does she do, anyways?" Tim asked him. Henry laughed.
"Well, when we were younger, Alex insulted Makoto's cooking by accident. She chased him around the whole day with a rolling pin. Alex ended up hiding in a tree because he knew Makoto couldn't climb trees very well with an apron on." Henry replied.
"This was when we were much younger. I imagine that it would only get worse as she got older." Tim stretched.
"So what's with the captain anyways?" he whined, looking around the room for some food.
"He's not saying much." Henry replied. "But I overheard on the communications that we're going to go to the Lunar Union." Tim did a double-take.
"The Lunar Union? But I thought that they were all wimps!" Tim exclaimed. Henry chuckled at this remark.
"They're far from wimps." He replied. "Just because some of the city-states didn't want to support ZATIN in their invasion of Pan Arabia doesn't mean they're wimps. In fact, I applaud Von Braun and Parye for leading the charge in opposing that blockhead that we call President."
Bob sighed.
"Here we go again." He groaned. Tim ignored him and launched into a tirade.
"President Schrabb may have his own faults, but I think he's doing a fine job running ZATIN." Tim argued back.
"We are more secure than ever, since the Great Wipe. A sense of nationalism is uniting all the peoples within ZATIN together! Our economy is really improving and expanding too!" Henry laughed.
"That's because ZATIN's economy has shifted into war production, ever since the Great Wipe. The Earth Crusade to exterminate the League has improved the economy greatly, because the biggest customer in ZATIN is buying up as much as it can: the government." Henry replied, wagging his finger.
"President Schrabb is an idiot. Look at his recent stories. He accidentally called his vice president Wag, which is the name of his dog, among other things. I really don't approve of his "Cowboy politics" approach to Earthsphere politics. He's alienated most of the Lunar Union, the member states of the Earth Treaty Organisation don't particularly like ZATIN much anymore, particularly powerful states like Ruskovy or Asia Orienta." Tim opened his mouth to respond to Henry's argument, but then Bob cut in.
"If there's no food here, and you two don't want to upset Makoto, I think it's best we leave. That way I can get back to the MS deck and out of earshot of the arguments of you two about ZATIN's administration." Bob said, frustrated. He lead the other two out of the mess hall.

The door to the mess hall opened again, and this time, Alex came in with Aya. Alex took a good sniff of the smell wafting out from the kitchen.
"Hey!" he called loudly. Makoto stuck her head out of the kitchen again. "What is it … oh, it's you two." She said, coming out of the kitchen bearing a large plate of sandwiches.
"Could you move that buffet please? I need the space." Alex nodded and went and after some heaving, shifted the buffet away, placing it on the ground at the end of the counter. Makoto then set down the plate of sandwiches.
"What's cookin', good lookin'?" Alex inquired flirtatiously, with an impish grin on his face.
"Oh, stop that you."Makoto replied good-naturedly, smiling a little.
"I've been cooking."
"That much I can see." Aya replied. She took a look at the sandwiches. "They don't look like much." She ventured cautiously. Makoto sighed.
"I didn't have much to work with. I swear, there was only four days' worth of food left when I last checked. And that's not counting that … vomit I was supposed to serve." Makoto complained. She brightened up.
"But even with that, I think I made some real treasures. Come on, try one." Alex didn't hesitate in picking one up and biting into it.
"Mm …" he murmured, chewing carefully on the sandwich.
"Turkey, lettuce and tomato. The mayonnaise is quite nice …" he smacked his lips as he wolfed down the last of the sandwich.
"Delicious!" he declared. Aya followed suit and tried munching on one.
"Ham, cheese, lettuce …" she commented as she munched on the sandwich.
"It tastes great!"
"Glad you like it!" Makoto said happily, delighted.
"Careful then," Alex warned playfully.
"If it's too good, they might make you stay!" That elicited a glare from Makoto.
"Go on, help yourselves – there are more waiting in the kitchen." Makoto replied.
"Cooking for four hours straight … it really takes it out of you." She sat down, heaving a sigh of weariness. The two of them obliged, helping themselves to more of Makoto's sandwiches.
"Mm … thethe aa gurey!" Alex said with his mouth full.
"Alex!" Aya said sharply.
"Don't talk with your mouth full. We don't want you getting chewed up sandwich all Makoto!" Alex swallowed his mouthful.
"Sorry." he replied.
"It's just that I'm so hungry after working with the Echo all morning."
"What on earth do you do with that thing every day, anyways?" Aya inquired, indignant. He had been spending so much time with the Echo that the only time the whole group got together was when they were going into their rooms to sleep.
"Lots of stuff." Alex replied. "Maintenance, familiarising myself with it, training in it, and fighting off ZATIN pursuers. Fighting off ZATIN is the most time consuming one. And damn the Pervert." He ended, cursing.

The Pervert was their nickname for Kurt. Having heard stories about him from the female crew on the Argento, they had almost caught numerous times trying to get into the Aya and Makoto's rooms, and trying to look down their shirt. Alex pursed his lips.
"I swear … he must have girls on the brain." Aya gave Alex a suspicious glance.
"All men do, dear brother." She replied sharply. Alex laughed.
"Of course … some more than others." Makoto got up and went back into the kitchen, returning with a large plate of sandwiches.
"I think it's about time that I announce lunch." She declared. Soon, the mess hall was filled with happy crewmembers, dining on the best meal they have had in weeks.

3:43pm, January 12th, CT 0203

"So that's the new model mobile suit that ZATIN has cranked out?" Vaan remarked to Gorvik as they watched it being unloaded from the supply ship. Gorvik nodded.
"That's right, corporal. This information has just been cleared." He said, looking down at the clipboard.
"Shortly after the Great Wipe, when it was found that mobile suits would once again become dominant, ZATIN chartered Colonial Aerospace to construct for them a prototype high performance mobile suit that would blow all existing mobile suits out of the water."
"Colonial Aerospace? Don't they build ZAKUs and GOUFs?" Vaan replied. Gorik nodded. Vaan gave another glance at this MS. It had a head like that of an old samurai war helm, with a three-point crown.
"They were secretly building this new MS at Neo Lockheed under this commission, codenamed Project Gundam – but then the League managed to infiltrate it, and captured the facility for a short period of time. I imagine you remember the siege at Neo Lockheed last year?" Vaan nodded.
"That prototype mobile suit was what the League was after." Gorvik replied, tapping his mask.
"It had a new propulsion system that allowed it to excel at mobile suit dogfights. They stole it and the designs, completing it after the siege." Vaan was silent, looking at this new mobile suit.
"So what's that got to do with this one then?" he asked the Silver Face.
"They were able to recover the data from Project Gundam, and they decided to continue with it, this time designing a counter-unit to the one that was stolen."
"So who's the designated pilot, sir?" Vaan asked, his eyes sparkling with a desire to try this new MS.
"Let's see …" Gorvik replied. He glanced at the clipboard again.
"I was the designated pilot, but after a test run, I much prefer my GOUF to this new toy. Since you have almost as much experience as I do engaging the League's stolen mobile suit, I asked that you be made the designated pilot." Vaan's eyes lit up like a child's on Christmas morning.
"So … I'm piloting that new mobile suit?" Vaan inquired. Gorvik nodded. Just then, alarm klaxons went off.
"Attention all hands!" the voice came over the intercom.
"We have found the League ship! All mobile suit pilots to the hangar and prepare to launch!" The two of them dashed off, Vaan to the new MS, while Gorvik returned to his GOUF.

Sitting in the cockpit, a 360 degree panoramic monitor-linear seat combo like in the ZAKU, Vaan powered up the new MS. The welcome screen came up.

PROJECT GUNDAM
COLONIAL AEROSPACE INC.
EXPERIMENTAL MOBILE SUIT

ZMS-X17 MYRMIDON

"Myrmidon?" Vaan muttered to himself.
"So that's your name." He took the Myrmidon over to the launch catapult.
"James Vaan, Myrmidon, launching!" he called. The Myrmidon was propelled out into space, its white, dark blue, and green shape shortly followed by Gorvik's silver GOUF.

As they approached the Argento, they saw it launching its own MS. The Myrmidon's data came up as the white MS from the Argento launched. "Echo, huh?" Vaan remarked. He maneuvered the Myrmidon and charged in at the Echo.
"Let's see how you do against me!"