Disclaimer: I don't own Gundam Seed, the characters, plot, setting, yadda yadda, etc. etc. (I don't even own the manga for crying out loud)
Hmmm…
Still having inspiration issues, but this somehow managed to worm its way out of my head. (I'm supposed to be working on my other story)
Sorry this one is so short, it was supposed to be part of the last chapter but I didn't finish it in time and the ending seemed like a good way to end a chapter.
So yeah…
Also, I'm gonna be starting school soon so the chapters might be even farther apart from lack of time. Either that or all the mental stimulation will re inspire me and I'll write more then ever.
Hmmmmmm…
I think that's it.
Thanx to all of you that reviewed:) I appreciate it and have answered you at the bottom.
And those of you that didn't….. Well bleah. But Thanx for reading.
Italics means thoughts
Bold means….other stuff.
Last time:
Slowly, Nicol opened his eyes, wondering idly if violet was a normal eye-color for naturals. He moved slightly, uncomfortable on his medical bed, only to have his bindings twist oddly.
He froze.
They were…loose?
It took him less then a minute to get free and even less time to get out the door. Not once did he stop to consider why he wasn't tied down or who had done it.
Sadly, he was going to regret his lack of foresight in the near future.
Nicol's New Fate
Chapter 3: Consequences
-----------------------
Empty…
Empty…
Moving quietly as only a coordinator could, Nicol crept down the right hand corridor outside of the infirmary. A distant, vague portion of his mind was wondering why it had been so easy to get out, but that was pre-empted and ignored by the overwhelming desire to get off the ship. Part of the interrogation had made him uneasy.
---
They're all gone by now anyways.
Wh-what happened to them?
Doesn't matter. Now…
----
Dammit, if they had hurt Athrun or any of the others…
"HEY YOU!"
He went rigid at the shout.
"WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU"RE DOING!"
Crap
Whirling, Nicol jumped forward, expecting on instinct to be carried away by the zero- g (gravity) (1). Unfortunately, he had forgotten that the legged ship was no longer in space. The result was an embarrassingly undignified stumble.
"Oomph!"
"What do we have 'ere?" Strong hands grabbed his shoulders as he felt himself land against a broad chest.
Slowly, the red-eyed boy looked up at his newest captor. A tall man stood there, decked out in a mechanic's uniform. His wavy ebony hair hung lank around broad shoulders and framed a rugged yet somehow friendly face. Or at least it would have been friendly if the man hadn't been glaring at him and frowning. He obviously knew who Nicol was and was not happy that he had somehow managed to escape.
"The prisoner, eh?" The one the Kid brought in."
Kid? Oh…the boy with the strange eyes. Wait…what? He had…brought in…?
"How'd you get outta the med-bay?"
"Uh…" The frown deepened at Nicol's lack of response.
"I'd better talk to Lt. La Flaga to get you moved to a more secure location. If you're well enough to escape, you're well enough to survive down in the cells. Not to mention the punishment for whoever left you unrestrained."
What? NO! It's not his fault! Nicol hadn't even considered the fact that someone else might be punished if he was caught. Actually, in hindsight, WHEN he was caught. What had inspired him to attempt to run away on a ship in the middle of an ocean? And now his one potential ally was going to suffer because of his stupid mistake!
"Let's go" The older man jerked an unhappy Nicol down the hall, pausing at the infirmary to tie the youth's writs together before taking off down the left corridor, still dragging Nicol along. It wasn't long before the two of them wound up in front of the same door Nicol had seen when he was interrogated. He tensed upon arrival, but did not struggle. What was the point? In his injured state he was even weaker then the weakest natural. (He had found that out on the way up) This time, as the door opened, he managed to restrain his shivering but could not keep himself from gulping nervously as he was shoved through the doorway on legs gone stiff with fear.
Kira Yamato, please report to Lt. La Flaga. Kira Yamato.
"Whu?" puzzled, the young coordinator glanced up from his computer. After returning the prisoner to the infirmary about a half hour ago, he had holed himself up in his room and was currently trying to loose himself in programming. It was just mindless busywork, but it kept his troubled mind off the deeper issues he had been contemplating earlier. The prisoner was wreaking havoc with his morals system. (Not that it hadn't been in serious trouble already, but HE had been the one to hurt Athrun's friend and as such everything that happened to the boy could be traced back to him and attributed as his fault)
"Kira Yamato."
Brow furrowed in confusion, (why would the Lieutenant want to see him? And why summon over the intercom rather then in person?) Kira made his way to the designated room. Shaking off a strange, irrational feeling of foreboding, he opened the door and stepped forward, saluting.
Then froze.
Four pairs of eyes were looking at him.
And all save one looked very, VERY angry.
"Ensign Yamato." Captain Ramius moved forward. "Care to explain why a prisoner left in YOUR care was found outside of the room he was confined to? Unrestrained?"
"He…what?" Kira's incredulous expression turned to the other boy, who currently had his eyes trained stubbornly on the floor. He was quite obviously trying to avoid Kira's confused gaze. If he hadn't been tied down, he would have been fidgeting.
"Don't act like you don't KNOW!" Kira's head ripped around to Ens. Badgerule. She looked pissed. "This COORDINATOR was found wandering the hallways! After YOU left with him! That can not be a coincidence!"
"Ensign Badgerule, if you cannot keep a cool head, I will have to ask you to leave." Ramius' clipped expression, so different from her usual warm chatter, made Kira even more nervous then before. Badgerule was always on his case, but the captain too? What had happened? His gaze drifted to the last person in the room. Lt. La Flaga was watching him with a strange mixture of pity and disappointment evident in his expression.
Shamefully, Kira dropped his own gaze to the floor. Like Nicol, he suddenly found it much more interesting. He had no idea what he had done to alienate his superior officers. Badgerule he couldn't really care less about; she had had it in for him since she found out he was a coordinator. But La Flaga and Ramius were people he had grown to respect and he cared about their opinions. What had happened?
Let's see…he eyes went distant as he tried to remember his actions with the prisoner. He had been focusing on his emotions…I took him to the infirmary…he was dead tired…I was thinking about Athrun…I tied him up…tied… he actually felt the blood drain from his face. His crime had indeed been serious.
Oh shit.
Nicol watched the boy fearfully. How long would it take him to figure out what had happened? Slumping down as far as his bindings would allow, Nicol tried very hard to make himself as invisible as possible. He was certain Ensign Yamato…whatever his first name was… would hate him for this. He didn't want to see hatred in the one person who had shown him kindness; it was a sight the young prisoner didn't think he'd be able to stand.
Despite the situation, he felt a small humorless smile form on his down turned face. I guess it's true that artists are more sensitive then most people. None of the others would give a damn what the kid thought: they'd take advantage of his kindness and escape. But I'm not like that, I'm too sensitive What I wouldn't give to be home right now acting the part of the sensitive artist rather then the injured POW (2)
"Ensign Yamato."
Two pairs of distracted eyes, one violet and the other crimson, snapped up.
"You are charged on three counts by this provincial Earthen Alliance Court."
The boy's dry gulp was loud enough to be heard around the room. Guilt pounded in Nicol's chest like a sledgehammer.
"Count one. Aiding a prisoner in attempted escape. Count two. Disobeying the direct, succinct orders of a superior officer. Count three. Jeopardizing the safety of the crew of the vessel Archangel by allowing a known war criminal to wander unsupervised."
Kira's clenched hands were white with the effort he was expending to keep himself from trembling. They complemented his pale face. The only other time he had been in a situation like this was with Lacus' ordeal. And then he had been a civilian and military law could not be applied. This was much different.
"Your punishment is as follows."
This time, Nicol was the one to swallow. He could not believe he had repaid such a kind act by getting the benefactor punished. Even if the person was a natural.
"Solitary confinement in personal quarters upon the will of your superior officers until the Archangel reaches its final destination, at which point you will be subject to court marshal."
Silence reigned as Kira stared at the captain in horror, trembling in disbelief and fear. All of them knew what would happen if the supremely racist officials, most of which were on the payroll of Blue Cosmos, were consigned to his –a coordinator's- case.
Pity flickered through the captain's eyes. "However, good behavior will be rewarded accordingly. And the confinement need only take place within three days of our set docking time at Joshua and/or when I, Lieutenant La Flaga, or Ensign Badgerule commands."
Nicol's eyes were once again glued to the floor. That was it; he was never going to see his savior again.
"Lieutenant, please escort Ensign Yamato to his quarters. He need not stay there yet, but," here she turned back to Kira, "I would suggest you stay out of Ens. Badgerule's way."
The captive did not look up; he could not bear to watch as a numb, shocked Kira quietly followed the older man out the door. The foreboding hiss of the closing door seemed to echo Nicol's trepidation for his future. As well as that of the kind young man suffering the consequences of his own selfless heart and Nicol's thoughtless actions.
TBC.
REVIEW!
Again, not my best work, but I'm not exactly ashamed of it.
Sorry it's so short; this was the one event that I didn't put in the last chapter. I didn't add it on to the next chapter because (a) I haven't written it yet and (b) it seems to stand pretty well on its own.
Hmmmm….
Oddly, I'm not feeling very talkative today. Maybe next time. Seeya.
Oh, and I'm starting school soon but I think I already covered that.
Oh! And I'm thinking of another GS story. Don't know if I'll actually get around to doing it but the main plot would be that Kira is captured by Athrun after that space station place gets blown up and is taken in to the Vasalius. Com. LaCreuset doesn't know he's a coordinator and believes he's just a natural (doesn't care that he's a civilian) and decides to experiment on him (if he dies, it will just be attributed to Heliopolis) with a drug that combines animal and human DNA. It should make him stronger, faster, but much less smart for a short period of time. However, because he is a coordinator he reacts differently and they all have to live with the results. :) I've been reading neko fics, can ya tell?
That's the gist of it. Kira gets transformed halfway into a chosen animal and they all believe he's lost his mind as well. Athrun has to get used to having Kira as his pet…when all hell breaks loose.
(1) Nicol trained mostly in space; in the series, he spent the majority of the time on the Vasalius (the Zaft spaceship) which had no gravity. They all just sort of floated around. I'm taking creative liberties in guessing that Nicol spent most of his training in zero-g conditions rather then in heavy atmosphere.
(2) Prisoner of War (just like MIA means missing in action, KIA means killed in action, etc. They talk about it a little after Tolle and Kira go missing in the anime)
Yipster54- Glad you like. :) I try to update but inspiration in a fickle thing…
Xiaoj- Heh, here's the next installment. Very short, but whatever. That's cuz it was supposed to be part of the last chapter. Hope ya like.
Animeluver- Heheheh. Glad you like it so much. I try to update often, but it doesn't usually work.
Gs lover- :) thanx a lot.
SpiritsMelding- heh, Nicol won't find out who Kira actually is for a little while. Few chapters. Glad you like the story.
Nevermore-Amaya- 'sank you. :-) And you're probably right. Nicol and Cagalli don't really seem to mesh very well, do they? Problem is, if they're not with each other then they're alone… Hm. Of course, this isn't really much of a romance story. Maybe a little bit later, but Nicol's gonna be focusing on escaping so… maybe I just won't give him a partner. Or I'll have him talk about someone back at the plants.
Poisonous Akemi4869- Glad you like it. And yeah, I like Kira as the nice guy. Unfortunately, it does get him in quite a bit of trouble. And I'm not talking about this chapter either; something else happens later on between him and….XD not telllling…
Jiang Mae- Heheheh. Glad you like.
Easy-Company-506/101- wow…. You sound like you were in the navy. I appreciate the support and the detail, but I don't think I'm gonna spend that much thought on their titles and positions. Prv. Andrews probably isn't going to come back and if he does I'll keep it the same (the Archangel crew seems like a motley bunch anyways) because if I change it then I have to go back and re upload the last chapter and do a bunch of stuff. Thanks for the input!
Yzak Lover Extrodinaire- yeah, that's right. And I don't like her either. She's too much like the people from Blue Cosmos. Glad you like the story.
Anonymous- :) I'm glad you like it. Maybe I'll do a NicolxKira story another time. They do seem compatible… But this one will probably be KiraxAthrun. Thanx for the review!
artgirl150- Sorry, poor Kira gets in trouble quite a lot. At least he's often too busy to angst as much as he does in the series. And the couples aren't going to be remarkably defined. If there are any, they will probably be shounen- ai, boyxboy. But it won't be overt.(most likely)
Precognition74- Heh, they don't come in for a little while. There might be an example of them in the next chapter, but I'm not sure.
karone-sakura- heh, glad you liked it.