Disclaimer: I don't own Gundam
Gundam Gemini
Episode Six
Colony Blues
Part B
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When Laura realised Raymond Mercury, the pretentious poster boy of the RDF, was the same pilot who had almost made Swiss cheese out of her, he was lucky she didn't kill him right then and there.
The Gundam pilot got as far as shirtfronting the ace and would have walloped him in his pretty face, except Christina grabbed her from behind. This left Raymond standing there rather shocked but untouched – which allowed Laura to get a good kick in and he crumbled to the floor clutching his groin. Andre for his part had stayed behind the safety of his camera lens and clicked away nonstop, capturing the whole thing in pictures, and cited journalistic instincts afterwards. Having seen the obvious antagonism between his star models up close, however, the photographer decided to end the session there and had Christina reschedule them for another time.
Of course, that was not the end of it – not by a long shot – and Laura cornered Raymond in the lobby immediately after.
"Hey!" Laura yelled and slammed the wall next to Ray's head so hard the nearby picture frames rocked side to side. "You still owe me an apology – and an explanation! What the hell happened out there?!"
"Uh, Laura, was it?" Raymond held up his hands and tried to placate the raging pilot with a panicked smile. "As much as I enjoy your attentions, can't you just let it go? I mean, we're all on the same side here…"
"No, I can't let it go! Because of you, Vega Aurelia got away!" Laura slammed the wall again and elicited a yelp from the frightened man. "You have no idea how much my friends and I have suffered at her hands! We work so hard formulating battle strategies to beat the Scarlet Wolf and then it takes everything we have to fight her – and every time she gets away! Last time was the best chance we ever had, until you and your stupid blue Garm almost blasted me to bits! If not for you, Vega Aurelia would finally be de– what? What is it?"
Laura stopped her diatribe when she saw the handsome features of the taller man had paled considerably and he had his hands cupped over his mouth and stomach.
"D-Don't… say that name…" he managed to croak, only for Laura to raise a curious eyebrow.
"…Vega Aurelia?"
Gagging noises bubbled up from Raymond's throat and his eyes and cheeks inflated with visible distress before he pushed Laura out of the way and ran straight for the lavatory. The technopath could only stand and grimace as she heard loud retching sounds from behind the door as the RDF's poster boy lost his lunch several times over. When he was finally done, she sat the tottering ace down on one of the nearby benches while she got him a drink from a vending machine.
"Do you want to talk about it?" Laura asked, going from wounded victim to patient counsellor, and opened a can of sparkling water for him.
Hunched over, Raymond accepted the drink with trembling hands, took a small sip, and breathed deeply. Far from the confident and glamorous flirt he was before, the Ray-Man looked like a ghost of his former self and had gone uncharacteristically quiet. Laura sat on the other end of the bench and waited patiently for him to speak, watching as the man struggled to steady himself.
"…It happened two years ago," Ray began, his voice wavering every so often. "Back then, I was on top of the world… Raymond Mercury, ace of the RDF, Rem's golden boy, the face of the nation… I knew all the fame was getting to my head, but that didn't stop me from thinking I was invincible…"
A bitter smile surfaced on his lips, but it soon evaporated and the can creaked in his hands as he gripped it tight.
"Until I met… her…" he paused, focusing on the hole in the can and swallowing. "We missed each other at the Third Battle for Lemuria, right before the RDF picked me to be their ace, but I trained for her. I wanted to prove I was more than a propaganda tool made to counter LIRA's ace – that I was the real deal. So, I got every bit of info and footage I could and trained for three years… but when we finally met on the battlefield, none of it mattered… we never stood a chance."
Raymond took another sip of water and closed his eyes, visualising the memory he could not unsee.
"I'll never forget that red suit… it tore through our formation like a hot knife. I tried to keep up, but… but I could only watch as she shot my friends down, one by one," he gritted his teeth and paused, before continuing. "It was all over in a matter of minutes… I was the only survivor. They say she likes to challenge technopath pilots to a dogfight, but I doubt I even made an impression on her since I managed to escape…"
The former ace opened his eyes again, only to shake his head.
"…No, that's not right. I didn't escape… I ran away. I've been running away ever since…" Ray confessed, covering his face with one hand in shame. "After that, every time I heard her name, I'd either have panic attacks or spew my guts out. She haunted me even in my dreams and I ended up turning to the bottle to cope, until I couldn't live without it. Before I knew it not only had I lost my friends, I lost my rank, my wings, my fame – everything. I survived, but for the last two years I wasn't even living…"
Hearing his story so far, Laura couldn't help but feel for the man and found her eyes drooping with sympathy. Raymond Mercury had been scarred by the Scarlet Wolf, just like her – no, even worse, leaving him a wreck of a human being. Studying the former ace, Laura knew it could easily have been her sitting there traumatised if she hadn't had friends and family to lean on after Tully died.
"What changed?" she asked, prodding him.
Slowly, Ray finally sat up, shifted a hand from his face to his dishevelled orange hair and smoothed it back.
"After Rem lost the Fourth Battle, Admiral Turner found me in a dingy bar, drowning myself with booze as usual and dragged me to rehab," he recounted fondly, and seemed to genuinely smile and relax. "He tried to explain that Rem needed me more than ever and I fobbed him off at first… until he told me about a group of pilots who had gone through what I had and weren't giving up. When the admiral showed me footage of you fighting over Lemuria, I couldn't believe someone out there could keep up with the Scarlet Wolf. For the first time in years… I felt inspired. You inspired me, Laura Hartmann."
Raymond told the technopath to her face with a grin and, unused to receiving gratitude, Laura found herself reciprocating with a bashful curve of her lips.
"After that I managed to find the strength to pull myself together, get sober, and I got my wings back to boot," Ray went on with a budding lilt in his voice and his hands were no longer shaking. "With Admiral Turner's help, I joined the R&D Division as their lead test pilot and helped them develop new mobile suit prototypes based on the Garm. You already saw one; it's called the Garm-Alpha… but I call it the Hermes."
"I won't forget it. You gave me one heck of an entrance," Laura reminded him, extracting a soft chuckle.
"The Baselard and I were actually meant to deliver the Hermes to you, but then we heard the Lionheart required an escort and… well, you know the rest," the ace finished with a deep breath of oxygen, like he had finally gotten something off his chest. "That's my story… and how I got my second chance."
Taking a final swig of the can, he crumpled the object in his hand and threw it at a nearby bin where it bounced off the rim before clattering inside.
"Thanks for telling me… I know that couldn't have been an easy story to tell a stranger. I guess we actually have a lot in common, huh," Laura admitted, before gritting her teeth and forcing out her mea culpa. "Also…sorry I kicked you."
"It's okay, kid. Sorry I shot at you," said Ray, sighing. "I thought I could handle seeing the Fenrir again, but when I saw it up close, I just… lost it."
"Yeah, well, I guess you did save my life there," Laura conceded, before her purple orbs lit up with a shocking thought. "Wait, so, that time at the halo colony… with the friendly fire…"
"Yeah… I was blowing chunks. In my helmet. Couldn't see a damn thing except breakfast."
"Gross…"
"If you think that's gross, wait 'til you hear how I cleaned it up on the fly," Ray put his tongue in his cheek and joked – at least the slack-jawed woman hoped he was joking – and in her silence his tone switched to serious. "But you girls are amazing… you've already faced her several times and you're still not backing down. Once was all it took for me to pack it in and now the mere mention of her name makes me barf… it makes me ashamed to be called an ace."
"Don't blame yourself. What you went through was unimaginable," Laura saw his shoulders slump again and comforted the taller man. "And I know the battle you're talking about – the skirmish two years ago with the Scarlet Wolf and her pack; the report said there was a lone survivor."
"So, you know already…"
"My friends and I have read everything there is to know about her…" Laura nodded, clenching her fists. "That was the first reported sighting of the Fenrir. No amount of training could have prepared you – not for that monster… there was nothing you could have done. It's a miracle you even survived."
"Maybe… but I can't just go back to a normal life after what happened," Ray whispered. "For my own sake and the sake of my fallen comrades, I have to fight her again… I have to face my fears. And when I see her die, maybe I can finally start living."
"That makes two of us," Laura nodded with understanding, but quickly added, "Just remember though – Vega Aurelia is mine."
Raymond groaned and clutched his stomach.
"Oh… sorry. I forgot."
"It's okay… I'm taking medicine for this now, but I left it with my luggage…" Ray took a couple of deep breaths. "And don't worry – I already know I don't have what it takes to beat her. But you, Laura… you just might pull it off. That's why I'm being transferred to the Lionheart – if I can at least help you take out the Scarlet Wolf, it'll be worth it."
"Really? An extra pair of hands would definitely help, especially if it's the famous Ray-Man," Laura teased, before she frowned. "You're not going to be your annoying Ray-Man persona all the time, are you?"
"Oh, that? That's just for the fans. I hate to disappoint them, you know?" Raymond bragged, easily reverting to his celebrity-self as he slicked his hair back. "By the way, did President Winters send you to Andromeda Productions too? She told me it was a top secret assignment…"
"Winters…!" Laura shook her fist for a second time and would have followed up with some choice insults she would never say to her president's face, but her PDA went off with a text message. "It's my friends… we're meeting up for dinner now. Are you going to be, okay?"
"I'll be fine," Raymond waved her off. "I'll see you back on the Lionheart."
Laura got up from the bench and started walking towards the elevator but stopped and turned back around.
"I almost forgot… welcome to Team Orthrus, Mr Mercury."
The older man smiled.
"Thanks, ensign… and call me Ray."
.
.
For the weary space traveller enduring month-long hauls trapped inside claustrophobic tin cans with only a thin layer of titanium separating them from the freezing-yet-blood-boiling vacuum outside, there was one discomfort even worse than all the aforementioned put together.
Space rations. These unsavoury imitations of earth food, with all the nutrients and none of the flavour, could single-handedly demoralise a crew in days and were the cause of many a near-mutiny. Conversely, the promise of real food at the next port of call could be enough to stave off any ill-discipline and conversation would instead abound with what they would sate their ravenous appetites with first.
Fortunately, in that regard, Colony Zero was a foodie's paradise overflowing with restaurants that served culinary delights of every culture, season and craving – all made with fresh ingredients sourced from the colony's agriculture farms and boiled, baked, roasted, grilled, fried, smoked or sautéed without fear of a kitchen disaster in the simulated gravity. The most esteemed restaurant of them all, boasting a plethora of five-star reviews and accolades, was the Cuisine de Olympus at the top of Olympus Tower – the tallest building in all of Colony Zero. It was here that Sofia had been invited to dine out with her old friends from military academy.
"How did you even get a table? You have to book this place months in advance," said a large woman in a pink dress shirt, whose eyes almost fell out of their sockets as they perused the prices on the menu. Formerly the athlete of the group, she had since let herself go a touch and ran a small business on Colony Zero together with her husband, with whom she already had three children.
"A colleague at the firm made a booking last year to impress a client, but they pulled out at the last moment," another woman in an expensive dress suit replied, and her fox-like features curved upwards. "It would have been a shame to have seen it squandered, not when we all happened to be on Colony Zero at the same time."
"You never let an opportunity go to waste, do you, Mei?" Sofia remarked, smiling as she admired the night view of Colony Zero out the window with wine glass in hand. "It's almost refreshing to see you haven't changed a bit."
Dinner was a congenial affair as they updated one another about their lives over a three-course meal of chicken consommé, boiled lobster, and chocolate souffles. While they ate and conversed, it was obvious to anyone watching they were close friends and chatted like a day hadn't passed since they last met. Soon, however, the conversation turned to that inevitable topic affecting only single women and Sofia gestured for more wine.
"Sofia, have you thought about settling down yet? Maybe meeting someone?" asked the woman in pink, who leaned forward with concern. "I know you're still young, but time waits for no one."
"You sound like my mother, Penny," Sofia sighed, while a waiter filled her glass with white wine. "And my rank and reputation doesn't exactly let me 'meet people'. Drives them away, more like. Thank god..."
"It is hard to imagine our Sofia bagging herself a man – even at the academy, she was always the consummate professional," the fox-faced woman, Mei, chuckled and flashed the engagement ring on her finger, having just told them she had a fiancé. "But on the subject of settling down, I think you should consider it. The war's not ending anytime soon and there's plenty of other fields in which you could excel. We do worry about you, you know?"
"I know…" said Sofia, who was touched enough to smile. "But I can't right now… my current duties are too important."
"We've heard that excuse before, but is that really all?" Penny pressed, noticing a tiny change in Sofia's demeanour that wasn't there the last time.
"Well…" the commander faltered, and the faces of the orphans flashed in her mind. "There's some new recruits I've taken under my wing – a team of all-female pilots. If I'm being completely honest… they remind me of us."
"Ah, I see now," Mei nodded with understanding. "You're still thinking about what happened ten years ago."
"You weren't responsible for what happened… she always did things her own way," said Penny, and three pairs of eyes lingered on the empty chair at their table. "The fault belongs to this war… it's killed so many of our young for so long. I know I don't have to tell you this, but… try not to get attached."
"I know, and perhaps it's just my sense of self-satisfaction speaking, but… if I can prepare and help them to survive for even a day longer, I think it will be worth it," Sofia spoke softly of her charges, not realising she was smiling until she saw her friends gazing upon her with pride, and hastened to add, "Also, I'm this close to being promoted to captain. I can't stop here."
Chuckling, the three women raised their glasses and made a toast.
"To the future captain!"
After dinner, they went their separate ways for another year and Sofia took the monorail back to the spaceport. The night was still young and the lights on the opposite side of the colony above shined like stars, but as an XO she preferred to report back early to set an example – Sofia Gabriel had never been tardy and she wasn't about to start now. When she arrived, the platform was deserted and a check of her wristwatch showed the next train of gondolas were still several minutes away.
Sofia heard footsteps and when she looked back up, she realised someone else was on the platform – a tall man with spiky orange hair in a blue RDF uniform.
After his stomach had finally settled, Raymond left Andromeda Productions and was headed straight to the Lionheart to report for duty when he found himself frozen in his tracks on the spaceport platform.
The woman before him was the most beautiful he had ever laid eyes upon, with long, midnight blue hair draped over milky white skin and piercing red eyes which matched her full lips. The azure dress she wore only complemented her stunning hourglass figure, flaunted her long legs, and dainty feet in black heels peeked out from underneath. When Ray realised he was gawking like a zombie he mentally struggled to get his befuddled mind back in order.
"Cool it, Ray!" he chided himself, inwardly. "Play it cool!"
The last time Ray had a girlfriend was before he joined the RDF and while becoming an ace had boosted his popularity among women, there had always been a chaperone to make sure he never got too friendly with his female fans. That said, even when he was at the height of his fame, the beauty in front of him would have been out of his league… but Ray wasn't going to let that stop him. Raymond Mercury was a new man again and fortune favoured the bold – and who knows, she might be a fan.
"Time to bring out the old charm…" the ace whispered to himself and slicked back his hair, before approaching the woman in blue. "Evening, miss. Night on the town?"
"…Something like that," the woman replied, keeping her expression neutral, and her husky voice sent a shiver down Ray's spine.
"I knew it when I saw your lovely blue dress. You were so attractive, I just froze up – you didn't bewitch me, did you?" he half-joked, flattering her and piling on the charm with his best lady-killer smile, which was usually enough to win over most women.
"You look fine to me," she said, with an aloof expression that gave nothing away, and Ray's heart skipped a beat under her intense red gaze.
"By the way, I'm a pilot with the RDF," he casually dropped his occupation, something else which usually got positive attention from women. "Warrant Officer–"
"Raymond Mercury," the woman finished for him. "You're the ace of the RDF."
"She's a fan!" Ray's inner voice cried with premature victory.
"Oh, so you've already heard of me?" Ray held his chin and smiled, making sure she could see his good side, and as the overconfident ace felt his stocks skyrocket his lines trickled out with increasing smoothness. "Can I interest you in a drink? The night is still young and I could use the company. You see, I'll be shipping out tomorrow and… and I don't want to spend what might be my last night alone. I know, with a woman as beautiful as you, we could make some sweet memories together…"
He shuffled closer and cast his big puppy eyes towards his feet, while feeding her a sob story – only a woman with a heart of stone would ignore this perfect sympathy play. She finally turned his way and stared up into the taller man's eyes, and he grew conscious of how close their faces were. Ray was so lost in the intoxicating scent of the woman's perfume and her striking upturned eyes that he never saw it coming.
The woman's palm smacked him across the cheek like a bomb, almost twisting his head right off as it spun ninety-degrees and left him with a serious case of whiplash.
"You've got a lot of nerve hitting on your superior officer, Mercury," said the woman, who reached into her purse while Ray nursed his aching neck, and he watched open-mouthed as she retrieved an RDF identity card and thrust it into his face. "Commander Sofia Gabriel of the Lionheart – your new XO."
Ray had to gape at the card for a few seconds, confused and breathless, before his face drained of blood and he stood to salute like his life depended on it.
"M-Ma'am! M-My apologies, ma'am!" he stammered, and kept his eyes towards the colony's ceiling and prayed. "I, I had no idea!"
"Shut up! I don't want to hear your excuses, warrant officer!" Sofia barked and gave Ray his first taste of the RDF's dreaded demon commander. "If you ever address me like that again, I will personally remove your manhood and mount it on your wall so you'll never be lonely again – is that the last night you wanted, Mercury!?"
"No, ma'am! Please, no!" Ray squeezed his eyes shut and cried, just as the train of gondolas rolled in on the platform and opened their doors.
"Good. Now get in," Sofia ordered him, and the ace was perplexed until he realised the demon commander intended to get in the gondola with him. "Admiral Turner told me all about your little problem and I've prepared the perfect training regimen to beat you back into shape."
Raymond gulped and retreated into the carriage as Sofia advanced on him.
"Don't worry, Mercury. When I'm done with you, it will all feel like a sweet memory…"
As the door hissed shut and the gondola was carried away, Ray had only just begun to grasp the true peril of the predicament he found himself in. Instead of a memory, he had gotten a nightmare… one he was going to see every day. Observing the sadistic look on the commander's pretty face, the ace recalled that age-old adage.
In space, no one could hear you scream.
.
.
After filling their stomachs and singing their lungs out at a karaoke diner, the orphans meandered their way back to the spaceport arm-in-arm, humming tunes with varying degrees of harmony. They weren't intoxicated – Sofia would have their behinds if they were – but they were certainly feeling merry as their day out on Colony Zero came to an end. They arrived at the platform just in time to see a train of gondolas take off back to the docks.
"Shoot! We just missed it," Freya cursed, pretending to be angry, only to laugh with the rest of her friends. "Shore leave extension!"
"Hey, was that Commander Gabriel?" said an eagle-eyed Junko, watching the gondolas disappear out of the colony like a centipede. "I think she was with someone."
"It looked like a man," commented Alice, to loud and juvenile oohs and aahs.
"No way! You'd need balls of steel to even approach the Demon Commander," Laura joked, provoking fit of giggles from the others.
The technopath paled when she sensed they weren't alone and prayed it wasn't Sofia behind her – but it turned out to be another pair of acquaintances.
"Milos?" she exclaimed, and saw her father being supported around the shoulder by Superintendent Moses. "Are you drunk?!"
"No, I am not drunk…" the captain growled with painstaking diction as Superintendent Moses helped him stagger up to the platform. "This is just… an unfortunate series of events."
"He challenged Admiral Turner to a dance-off…" Moses explained, grinning, "…only to trip and fall on his behind."
"Seriously?" Junko clapped her hands and laughed. "No one can outdance the Turner – his stamina is legendary!"
"And you wore that shirt in public?" Freya gasped at the sight of the Hawaiian shirt peeking out from underneath Milo's jacket and covered her mouth. "Laura, your dad's fashion sense is legendary in itself…"
"Oh, the admiral and Milos! I would have loved to have witnessed that tango," Alice swooned and clasped her hands together, before setting her sights on the men holding each other up. "But this is wonderful too…"
Moses raised a puzzled eyebrow at the blonde angel but was left in the bliss of ignorance as the next train of gondolas pulled up to the platform.
"Come on, I'll help carry you in," Laura sighed, and supported Milos from the other side. "Wait until Clara hears about this…"
"She'll vouch for me – I dance just as well as the admiral!" Milos insisted, and they all filed into the same gondola. "And by the way, not a word of this to the other crew members – that's an order."
Freya and Junko froze in their seats with their PDAs in hand and a flood of texts began to sound in the carriage.
"Oops…"
Milos shook his head and exhaled forcibly.
"You see, Johnny? What did I tell you… what did I tell you?"
The doors locked shut and they were returned to zero-G as the gondola took them back to the hive docking bay. There, freed from the weight of simulated gravity, Milos eschewed assistance and hobbled to the Lionheart's gate by himself. Once the group was inside the ship, a familiar face greeted them in the corridor.
"Captain Hartmann," Raymond, who looked a little worse for wear, saluted when the group floated by. "Warrant Officer Raymond Mercury, reporting for duty, sir."
"Ah, yes, Mercury," Milos saluted back. "Glad to have you aboard. You came on Admiral Turner's recommendation, so we're expecting great things."
"This is the guy?" Freya whispered to Laura and looked the newcomer up and down, unimpressed. "He looked better on TV…"
"By the way, this is Team Orthrus," Milos gestured to the young women, before addressing them. "The warrant officer may rank under you, but he's more experienced in mobile suit combat, so take note."
"Oh my god, it is Ray-Man!" Junko screamed, leaping forward to get a close-up look at the RDF ace, and Ray suspected she hadn't heard a word the captain had said. "I totally thought you were dead and said Laura was lying, but here you are in the flesh! I'm actually a big fan, you know…"
"You don't say?" Ray smiled and relaxed his shoulders, relieved to finally get a normal reaction.
"…of your blue Garm! What's it made of? Does it use a new engine? What's its top speed? Are there more? Can I see them?"
"This is Junko," Laura put her hand on the mechanic's bobbing head and reigned it in before a stunned Ray was overwhelmed. "Our resident mobile suit maintainer and fanatic."
"At your service!"
"That's Freya and Alice behind me; I already told them about you too," the Gundam pilot gestured with her thumb, and noticed a look of query on Milo's face at their familiarity. "Oh, we already met, earlier today."
"I see… so you've met my daughter already, Mercury?" Milos put an emphasis on 'daughter' and his dark stare gave Ray a cold sweat.
"Hey, Mercury!" Freya caught his attention, and the pilot felt like he was being assaulted from all sides. "You probably think you're hot stuff, but while you've been sucking on your thumb, Team Orthrus has been kicking LIRA's ass and taking names – we're the real aces of this war, not you! If you want any chance of being one of us, you've got to start from the bottom – in other words, you're lower than plankton until I say so! And finally, flyboy, Team Orthrus has one purpose and you either get on board with it or go bust – killing Vega Aurelia!"
Freya jabbed her finger at Ray, albeit at a safe distance, but when he didn't react the way she expected the diva furrowed her brow and turned to Laura.
"Hey, what gives? I thought you said he spews at the sound of her name?"
Laura sighed at her friend's childish antics and covered her face, only to hear laughter coming from Freya's intended victim.
"Nice try, brat! I thought this might happen, so I just took a double-dose of my medicine," Ray gloated, and the pink-haired girl flushed with anger. "Don't underestimate a veteran – try hazing me when you've been in this war long enough to grow out of your diapers."
"D-Diapers?! How dare you!" Freya bellowed and shook her fist, appalled. "And it's not brat, it's Ensign Valstein – I outrank you, warrant officer!"
"Maybe you do, ensign, but I was flying mobile suits when you were still playing with your dollies – and I saw Vega Aurelia first!"
"The nerve! Forget Ray-Man, you're a Ray-Boy on the inside and a Ray-Old-Man on the outside!"
"H-Hey, I'm still only twenty-five!"
Laura groaned as the two fully-grown children butted heads and she, Junko and Alice got between them.
"Ray-Man…. Ramen?" Alice did not help when she began chuckling to herself in her odd way.
"What's going on here?!"
Sofia suddenly appeared, having changed back into her uniform, and the four women and one man lined up and saluted faster than a panicked flock of sheep.
"I see you've already been introduced," the demon commander observed, running her crimson gaze over them like a razor. "But do you understand the value of teamwork… or do I have to teach you?"
"Ma'am! No, ma'am!" they replied in unison and Sofia nodded, satisfied.
"She has you whipped already, huh?" Freya whispered to Ray, who could only grunt in response.
"Captain, superintendent," Sofia greeted the others and made a report. "I just passed one of the hangar crew. Apparently, the Lionheart received several deliveries in our absence."
"Deliveries?" Milos repeated, uninformed of this development, and marched straight to the hangar bay with the XO and the superintendent in tow. Laura and the others tagged along, and she noticed Ray had a knowing smile on his face. When they arrived, the hangar was abuzz with excitement and the deliveries were hard to miss – three new mobile suits were docked in the bay alongside the Orthrus and they came with containers packed with brand-new equipment.
"The blue Garm!" Junko cried, and threw herself at the azure giant for an inspection. Meanwhile Freya and Alice, whose Garms were destroyed in the last battle, were more enamoured with the other two mobile suits which were of a similar model to Ray's but white. On the surface they were smaller versions of the RDF Garm, but were leaner, sleeker, and similar to the Gundam in ways that filled them with breathless excitement.
"Could these be…"
"…For us?"
"Yep, compliments of the R&D Division. Looks like they arrived in time," Ray explained to the girls' widening smiles. "They're the new Garm-model prototypes, built using what we learnt from all the data the Lionheart sent of the Orthrus. Alpha is mine and was made for high-speed manoeuvring, while Beta and Gamma were calibrated for mid-range melee and long-range support, respectively."
"That's perfect. It's like they were made for us," said Alice, unable to take her amber eyes away from the new Garms.
"Well, your data was mixed in there with the Orthrus too, so it only made sense," Ray answered. "We only want the best pilots for field testing, after all."
"Awesome!" Freya hooted, ecstatic to have her own personal suit, before coughing and returning to a ladylike manner. "It's about time they recognised my talents. They'll need new paint jobs though… and new names. R&D obviously has no imagination…"
"Feel free," Ray chuckled in agreement. "I called mine Hermes."
"And what's this?" Laura pointed to the base of her Gundam where a new rifle and shield sat inside their opened crates. The rifle in particular was unlike those issued by the RDF and had an open 'beak' rather than a barrel.
"It was pointed out to R&D that standard RDF equipment was not very compatible with the Orthrus' Solar Mode," said Ray. "So, they designed a Solar Rifle and a Solar Shield for you, each made of Gundanium composite."
"I knew it!" Junko shouted, and leapt from the Hermes to drool over the Orthrus' new equipment. "A shield that can absorb beams and a rifle that can fire them back!"
"In theory," Ray laughed. "Try not to lose them though – as you can imagine, they're in limited supply."
"Understood," Laura replied, and her lips curved with glee as she ran a hand over the new weapons. "These are just what we need to fight the Fenrir now that it has a Gravity Mode. Are you up for it, Ray?"
"You know I am," the former ace responded, and took a good look at the Orthrus towering above him with awe, his first encounter with the Gundam outside of videos, photos, and a breakfast-stained visor. "There's more equipment and supplies here too, including flight packs for atmospheric deployment – oh, and someone ordered more Vulcans?"
"That's me!" Junko declared and made a beeline for them, while Laura darted out to stop her.
"Oh, no you don't!"
While the pilots and crew fussed over the new mobile suits and equipment, prompting Moses and Sofia to jump in and restore order, Milos watched with quiet approval. It appeared a day of shore leave had done everyone good and along with the gifts from R&D, their morale had been restored after their defeat at the halo colony. The captain then recalled Admiral Turner's words; they had one month to get ready for the ZUN expedition – the Lionheart, the crew, the mobiles suits, the pilots… everyone.
Even now, as his daughter and her friends laughed, LIRA too was preparing for the next theatre of the war. The thought of facing the Scarlet Wolf and the Lunar Fox again, after narrowly surviving them so many times, made Milos shudder – but it also made him more determined than ever.
In the next month, he had to make every second count – the lives of everyone aboard the Lionheart were depending on it.
.
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Just as Rem had their own midway station on the route to Lemuria in Colony Zero, Lux had theirs in an asteroid station named Elsinore Base. Found floating just outside Lux's Gate on the Lemurian side, the large asteroid had been converted into a LIRA military base with which to defend the entrance to the motherland and screened trade ships and their goods from the Zodiac Union before they were allowed entry into the Lux system. The large and impressive base also acted as a crucial stopping point for LIRA and serviced ships and mobile suits while allowing their crew to rest within its facilities.
It was here at Elsinore Base that the Blue Crow had come to dock for repairs after the battle at the halo colony and their arrival had coincided with a historic event – the first space barbecue.
"I hereby declare these hamburgers and steak, grilled to perfection!"
A theatrical voice boomed throughout the base's cavernous hangar bay, deep within the belly of the asteroid, and Vega Aurelia held up a pair of tongs to the deafening cheer of hundreds of her fellow LIRA comrades. The throng of black and green uniformed revellers were gathered around the Fenrir, which kneeled in the centre of the bay, and walked or sat on the ground in zero-G despite the base's lack of simulated gravity. Thanks to a power cable connecting the Fenrir to the Elsinore's nuclear fusion reactor, it had an unlimited supply of power with which to use its Gravity Mode – which presented a unique opportunity Vega could not resist.
"Come, gorge yourselves on this meaty and juiciest of fare – fresh, straight from the motherland and slow-roasted tender in searing flame!" the Scarlet Wolf, with her long silver hair tied back and wearing an appropriately red apron, flogged her wares with the charm of a lively hawker and was obviously enjoying herself. "There is more than enough to go around – after all, loyal and noble service must be rewarded!"
Along with a dozen other officers, including Ursula and Luke, Vega personally served the hungry masses as they lined up for a buffet of mouth-watering dishes. Behind them a long row of portable barbecue grills, 'borrowed' from those meant for LIRA's ground forces on Lemuria, filled the air with delectable scents and hissed with loud, satisfying sizzles which played like music to their ears. After grabbing their grub, the excited diners mingled freely and either sat on the floor or at makeshift tables and chairs, while others took the novelty of artificial gravity further and played volleyball nearby.
"How did I get roped into this?" bemoaned an aproned Ursula as she scurried to and fro, replenishing food on the buffet table from their makeshift kitchen.
"Don't be like that, captain," Luke grinned from his station at the grill, and turned over another steak before gesturing at the crowd with his eyes. "Look at them… they needed this."
Indeed, the mood was overwhelmingly positive and gave their space-bound comrades much-needed doses of home, normality and real food that wasn't space rations. Vega and the Fenrir too were an added attraction as they cast their spell over their new and grateful followers – including the base's commander who, while initially angry at what Vega had done, felt compelled to join them after some careful persuasion… which may or may not have involved pork chops. However, there was one individual who was far from joyous at the festivities and, in particular, its masked host riled them to no end.
"Out of the way! Clear the way! Make way, you lower-born dolts – your presence has been graced by nobility!"
A shrill voice shouted above the crowd, which parted to allow a familiar figure to pass through – a tall officer with a large chin and golden hair gelled into place like a blonde cast. His small beady-eyed underling trailed close behind, barking at those that gave the pair dirty looks, but his master either ignored them or was totally unaware. When he stopped in front of the buffet, which stood between him and Vega, there was a pause as they considered one another.
"Ambion…" Vega spoke first and greeted him with an unreadable expression.
"Aurelia…" Narick acknowledged her, keeping his tone civil even as he raged inside.
"There is a queue, you know."
"You see, that's where you're wrong, Aurelia," the scion simpered, and proudly put his hands on his hips. "We of the nobility have the privilege – nay, the duty – of standing above the lower classes. After all, we cannot lead them standing from behind! It would do you well to remember that as you wait on them like some common kitchen wench."
Narick grinned to himself as if he had just given an intelligent sermon while his minion fanned his ego by clapping on his lonesome and Ursula could have sworn the smaller man had a tear in his eye. But even as the crowd murmured, Vega was unperturbed.
"Funny," the masked woman smiled. "I seem to remember you standing behind me at the podium quite a bit."
Narick's eye twitched and he heard the crowd snicker behind him.
"T-Those were trivial contests between children! Hardly worthy of your boasting."
"You're right. What was I thinking?" Vega conceded, before thoroughly wiping the smirk off his irritating face with her next words. "Viewing you as an adult was being far too generous. 'Child' describes you much more accurately."
Now both of Narick's eyes convulsed as they mirrored the chasm made by his oversized jaw and when the laughter started it appeared as if a freakish tomato had replaced the nobleman's head atop his body.
"And I certainly wouldn't want to be accused of besting a child," his rival added, to even more boisterous laughter, and the heir to House Ambion could only cross his arms while his beady-eyed sycophant tried to silence everyone.
"…Are you going to serve me, Aurelia, or are you going to prattle on all day?" Narick hissed out from between gritted teeth when the laughter finally died down, only for his self-control to be tested when Vega's lips curved into a victory smile.
"Ursula, a special order for the major, if you would," she bid her second, who braved the tension and prepared a plate with one of everything. "By the way, I heard the terrible news about the Tybalt and Team Ambion. That you were one of the few survivors was nothing short of… miraculous."
Vega let her tongue linger on that final word and her opponent suspiciously flinched.
"Y-Yes! Yes, it was! Those Rem cowards, disguising their fleet as innocent junkers and shooting first!" cried Narick, closing his eyes and shaking his fist. "Despite all my skill, there was nothing I could do to save my poor, poor brothers-in-arms…"
"Of course," the Scarlet Wolf crooned with sympathy, although her tone sounded mocking to the nobleman, who had kept one dry eye open to gauge her reaction.
"Y-Your team hardly fared any better!" he tried to change the subject, only to glance at the Fenrir towering above them, and Narick grinded his teeth to a reluctant concession. "Although I suppose congratulations are in order, for your…. achievement…"
He almost spat out the word as his entire being melted with scarcely concealed jealousy – and one look at Vega told him that behind that infuriating mask of hers, she was enjoying every second of his suffering.
"For you to say so, Ambion… it was certainly worth finding the Gravity Relic first," the daughter of House Aurelia whispered so only he could hear and watched as his face swelled like a pink balloon. She then took the readied plate of food from Ursula to hand over to Narick, but he was in no mood to accept.
"Cecil!" he bellowed, and the underling took the plate instead. After they both stormed off, Vega resumed her duties as host and order returned to the crowd.
"Who's the flunky?" Ursula asked Luke, watching as Cecil shooed a group of diners away from their table so Narick could have it all to himself.
"Cecil Weaver," Luke answered. "The Weavers have served the Ambions for generations as retainers, but this one willingly chose to enlist in LIRA alongside his master – now that's blind loyalty."
"He acts more like a servant than a subordinate," Ursula almost gagged watching the man pamper the pompous buffoon of House Ambion and shook her head. "Has he no self-respect?"
"Well, he was probably raised to be Ambion's butler and worships the ground he walks on… but don't underestimate him," Luke warned her. "That rank of captain is real."
"What are you two gossiping about?" Vega caught sight of them and pointed her tongs like a wand. "Move those hands!"
After everyone present had been served, Vega stole the show again by proposing a toast to the fallen, a swift victory over Rem, and to Lux's glory, which were all received with much cheer. But little did those gathered know they were being watched from above, from behind one of the many windows overlooking the hangar bay, far outside the Fenrir's well of gravity. There, inside the shadowy corridors of Elsinore Base which girded the hangar, a skeletal figure observed the festivities with their bony hands folded behind their backs.
"General Cypher?"
Commodore Sparrhorn was just on his way to the barbeque when he crossed paths with the notorious general. Years ago, when Jonas had first joined LIRA, Leonidas Cypher had already built a reputation as a cold and calculating officer who achieved victory by any means necessary and did it without mirth, anger, or any other emotion. He had not changed much over the years, including his tall and reed-like frame which, together with his black uniform, had earned him the nickname 'Reaper'.
"I didn't realise you were on Elsinore, sir," Jonas stopped and saluted, but Cypher neither reciprocated the salute nor turned around. Instead, he kept his gaze on the congregation in the distance.
"I am personally overseeing the resupply of the Fourth Fleet," the old man replied, speaking of his command with a chilling baritone that had lost none of its authority, despite his age. "Tell me, Sparrhorn… what is this?"
"Oh, Major Aurelia decided to throw a party for the troops – with authorization, of course," Jonas explained, not mentioning it was sanctioned after the fact. "The Gravity Relic gave her the idea… it's quite the sight."
"Yes, the relic… it was worth coming to witness its power," Cypher whispered, and from the general's reflection in the glass, Jonas swore he saw the man they called the Reaper crack a ghost of a smile, before his lips reset to a dour line. "Commodore, I do not approve of these events in times of war – and when the Blue Crow falls under my command, I will approve of them even less. Do you understand?"
"Yes, general. I will have a word with Major Aurelia immediately."
Cypher nodded and finally spun around, revealing pale skin pulled taut over the protruding features of his skull, and wisps of uneven white hair fell out from behind his cap. The general's eyes, black and hollow, cast a cursory glance at Jonas before he pushed off the window and floated down the corridor. When his superior was sufficiently out of earshot, the Lunar Fox stopped holding in his breath and exhaled with relief – he had known many merciless individuals in his life, but none of them froze his blood like the Reaper.
He watched Cypher disappear down another corridor, but not before the general met up with a group of pilots wearing black masks and Jonas squinted his eyes. Rumours of the Reaper having his own personal and secret squad of pilots in the Zodiac Union, where the Fourth Fleet was stationed, had made its way to Lux over the past decade, but Jonas had never considered it any more than a rumour – until now. Their masks were even more guarded than Vega's, appearing to be gas masks or breathing apparatus that covered their entire head, except for the last pilot who had a shock of white hair coming out the back.
The pilot looked directly at Jonas, sending a shiver down the old man's spine, before the abomination left with their commander. When the relic hunt continued into the Zodiac Union, the Blue Crow was going to have to work closely with the Fourth Fleet as they followed the star map – a thought the Lunar Fox did not relish after this experience. The barbeque below in the hanger bay caught his eye again and the commodore remembered what he had been doing and continued on his way.
Experience told Jonas they had to enjoy things while they lasted, because nothing lasts forever – whether it be victory… or good grub.
"They better not run out of hot dogs before I get there…"
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END OF EPISODE SIX
Next Episode Preview
JUNKO: Finally, the Lionheart is going to the Zodiac Union! Jungles, beaches, relics, and… pirates?! No, the ZU Militia? Hey, keep your hands off our Blonde Hellhound!
Next time, on Gundam Gemini:
Death at the Zodiac.
Laura, you can swim, right? Can the Orthrus at least dog-paddle?
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Finally done! This one took a while and I expect the next episode to be even longer... so I hope you like waiting.
Anyway, I hope you enjoyed learning more about the characters, plus the new ones introduced here. There hasn't been much action lately, but things will heat up again next episode, so look forward to it!
Thanks for reading and see you next time!
