I've started watching Gundam. Brace yourselves for nerdiness in the upcoming chapters.
Garnet stared down at the unconscious form of her friend. She was a good ten years older, but despite that, she couldn't help but like such a nice girl...
Sapphire had been in a coma for three weeks now. Her wounds were finally healing, and her condition was finally stable. The doctors were saying that she would be waking up fairly soon. Everything about her was perfectly stable-her body was still damaged, but not beyond repair. Her brain was perfectly fine, she could breath by herself, she wasn't losing any blood...they were at a complete loss as to why she hadn't woken up yet. They said otherwise, but Garnet could tell just by their speech patterns and facial expression.
She kept looking down at the slim, blue-haired girl, still not sitting down. Garnet closed her eyes for a moment, tightening her hands into fists. Her uniform turned from red to pale pink in the white light, the white pants almost disappearing from view against the white wall.
If Sapphire doesn't wake up, I'm taking this personally. She didn't say goodbye to me at the spaceport. She wasn't even there. I haven't even talked to her on the phone since then. If she dies, I swear...
Garnet's hands moved instinctively to the bottom of her jacket. She gritted her teeth, bending the stiff fabric in different ways, struggling not to verbally express what she was thinking. She honestly didn't care if she tore her uniform or not-she had two more just like it. It wasn't exactly a huge loss, and she wasn't overly strong anyway. She probably couldn't manage to tear the double-layered, stiff fabric. Heck, it had probably broken more than a few scissors.
"You really aren't okay, are you?"
Garnet's eyes shot wide open at the quiet voice. She could feel her own voice cracking as her head rose from her steady gaze at the floor.
"S-Sapphire?"
She took a step forward, going down on one knee beside the hospital bed, reaching out and grasping Sapphire's hand. "You're okay...you're really okay..." Sapphire smiled faintly, sitting up with remarkable ease, seemingly unsurprised when Garnet's arms wrapped tightly around her.
"It's been three years, hasn't it?"
Garnet nodded, pulling back from the hug and placing her hand on Sapphire's cheek. "Yes." Sapphire placed her own hand on top of Garnet's. "But...why were you even here?" She smiled, her glasses slipping down once more, revealing her multicolored eyes. "You didn't say goodbye to me. I can't let that stand, can I?"
Sapphire nodded, smiling faintly. A lock of pale hair fell in front of what used to be her left eye. "Three years, and I can't feel your touch anymore..."
Garnet stiffened. "You can't..."
A simple shake of the head. "No. Nerve damage, I suppose..."
"No. It doesn't work like that. You must have had a head injury or something. You were in a coma for three weeks, of course something stopped functioning..."
Sapphire looked up, her smile returning suddenly. "Instead, I can tell that you need to wash your clothes very badly."
"Well, ya got me there.."
"What?"
Ruby jumped down from her bed. Garnet stood in her bedroom doorway, smiling a huge smile that Ruby hadn't seen for what felt like forever.
"She's awake, alive, and snarky. Everything's okay." Ruby's own smile lessened slightly at Garnet's fading one. "There's something wrong, isn't there?"
Garnet took a deep breath. "Analgesia. She can't feel physically anymore. It's not fatal, but it is pretty dangerous..." Ruby closed her eyes, keeping a fairly blank expression. "Can she still move?"
"I said Analgesia, not paralysis."
Ruby looked up again. "Then it'll be fine. She knows how to handle herself, unlike someone I could mention." Garnet raised an eyebrow. "Are you talking about me?"
"No, actually I was talking about Amethyst. You're literally a commodore and a skilled pilot. You're flipping hardcore, bro."
"I'm your sister."
"Nevermind."
Pearl stared up unseeingly at the sky. She was parked on a backroad in the middle of nowhere. In reality, it was a closed highway to New York City, which had been destroyed by a nuclear blast in the late 2700's. Radiation had been eliminated from the area hundreds of years ago, so it was perfectly safe.
She could see the Milky Way clearly. The massive strips of white in the sky were more than clear. Constellation after constellation shone down onto Pearl, lighting the area. Light pollution had been minimized due to the current nature of the Earth. Whole cities had been abandoned, and were now total ghost towns that used to have populations in the millions.
"Only two billion people left on this planet. If only those who abandoned ship knew..."
Pearl turned her eyes to the landscape. The remains of the ancient city stretched before her-they had attempted to rebuild, and had started with highways. Of course, the prject was inconsistent and they had rebuilt roughly one hundredth of the city's former grandeur.
"Who're you talking to?"
Pearl spun around. A woman wearing a military uniform stood behind her, the door to the womans car ajar.
She had long, dyed blonde hair. Dark skin with lighter burn scars that striped her otherwise smooth and clear skin. She looked to be in her thirties, and had a very muscular build.
"I was talking to myself, ah..."
"Sergeant Jasper Heliotrope. And you are?"
Pearl blinked. She was expecting her to be higher ranking. "Head Programmer Pearl Mollusk. Kronos organization."
Jasper Heliotrope raised an eyebrow. "How'd you get to that rank? What are you, eighteen?"
"I'm twenty-five, actually. I was recognized for my outstanding work in the later Titan models, specifically-wait, I don't want to get anyone arrested. Please forget I ever said anything." Jasper raised an eyebrow. "I'm actually one of the ones working under you, Diamond, Quartz, and Crystal."
Pearl blinked. "What's Ame-Oh, right. Is the head of Kronos coming here anytime soon? Or do you also not know?"
"I'm a soldier, ma'am. Intended for fighting purposes only. I don't know anything aside from what my job is." Pearl nodded. "I understand. I'll be going now."
As Pearl drove away, her eyes widened when she looked up at the rearview mirror. Jasper had sent a flare into the air, the triangles interlapping over and over again. She forced her eyes away, knowing what could happen to her if someone knew she had seen this. It probably wasn't very important, but who knows.
She hit the gas. Her small red car sped down the deserted highway at speeds generally considered illegal in all but those races that took a ridiculously long time.
When she made it home later that night, Pearl flopped down onto her bed before Ruby had a chance to see her. She was probably in her room, listening to music on her phone or something.
Pearl stared up blankly at the ceiling. She could hear the wind pick up outside. Her pale blue eyes remained wide open. Eventually, she covered her eyes with one of her arms. She was interrupted from her silence by her phone ringing. She uncovered her eyes, reached over, and picked up.
"Hello? Who is this?"
"Rear Admiral Yellow Diamond. We need you, Ruby Crystal, and Garnet Crystal, to report for duty immediately."
"Yes, ma'am."
"Very good. I expect you to be here within twenty minutes."
"I understand."
Pearl let Diamond end the call. She stood up and left her room, going past Sapphire's and standing in front of Ruby's. She knocked on the wall next of the curtain.
"Yeah?"
"We need to go to Kronos ASAP. Get your shoes on. We have to hurry, since we're getting Garnet."
After a few minutes, Ruby left her room wearing beat-up boots and a red hoodie. She nodded to Pearl, who stood in front of the door wearing her usual attire. They only took a minute or so to get to the car, where the promptly drove over to pick up Garnet.
After all three of them were in the car, Ruby finally spoke up.
"Garnet, you need a phone, by the way." Garnet nodded in response, leaning her head against the front passenger window. "I know."
"We're here."
Ruby and Garnet stood in front of the dressing room door awkwardly, waiting for directions. The Enhancement Suits were brand new, and looked almost completely different. No longer black and burgundy, Ruby's was now black and crimson, and Garnet's was purple and red. They fit differently-and besides, it was especially weird for Garnet, considering she hadn't worn hers in over three years. Now had she piloted a Titan. Rumor had it she was going to pilot Titan Three, Atlas.
"Ruby and Garnet Crystal?"
They both looked up at the sound of a woman's voice. She stood at about 5'8, with pointy, pale green hair going out in different directions. She had fairly dark skin, a very common outfit for Kronos, and her eyes covered by rounded glasses. She stood before them, looking down at a clipboard.
"That's us," Garnet said calmly, regaining her calm expression from the awkward one she had before.
"Ruby Crystal, you are to pilot Titan Four, as per usual. Garnet Crystal, you are to pilot Titan Ten. I apologize for the Titan you used last being unusable. It was sunk six months ago."
Garnet shrugged. "Eh, I don't mind."
"Very well. You are dismissed. Report to your Titans immediately."
The two nodded and darted for their Titans. It didn't take long for the cockpits to be inserted into the foreheads. Ruby couldn't help but notice that it was now deeper in and protected by layer upon layer of diamond-reinforced steel, probably, with screens portraying the surroundings via hidden cameras all over the head.
"Titan Ten is go for launch." Ruby jumped slightly at Garnet's voice coming through a surprisingly clear intercom. A video of her shot up from the dashboard in hologram form. They had finally fixed the communication and defense issues.
"Titan Four is go for launch." Ruby looked up at the monitor displaying the scenery just above her. It was as if she were in one of those classic, stereotypical UFOs. She grimaced at the G-force pushing her back into the seat as her Titan shot up towards the surface.
Her eyes immediately widened as she saw the opponent. The other Titans were already out there, even Three-who the hell was piloting it?-facing off against a huge being. It only took a few seconds for Ruby to realize what it was.
A huge space fleet, with countless ships over the city. The sheer size of them stunned Ruby-the largest had to be half a mile long. There where thousands upon thousands of smaller ones, stretching past the horizon. They were clearly armed. The light from their engines and already lit weapons stained the sky red. The size of the fleet dwarfed the twelve Titans, a few tanks, and around five fighters along withe the Supreme Flagship that had come to Earth from Ptolomy recently.
"...It's the enemy forces. This is war."
*Cue Imperial March*