I'm nearly there, I reckon. I'm still in the middle of Chapter 11, but it may not be more than 20 chapters by my estimate.
But ranting aside, here's another chapter -after a long time that is-. :))
Pain. Anger. Suffering. Regret.
All of it coalesced into one emotion that had him gripping his head. This feeling reminded him of something from years ago at the end of the war when everything escalated into more than conventional weapons. He still remembered it as if it was yesterday.
A sudden flash of light filled with hatred devouring thousands of souls. The golden flash, a thundering silent giant that crushed everything in its path, even the shiver down his spine.
Yes, he remembered it quite well, the terror, fear, and death washing all over him. Drowning in this slick oily feeling that stuck to everything it touched. Only this time, he felt much closer than before. Ground zero of the deluge of emotional radiation that hit the mental walls he made throughout the years.
When the light died down, metal floated everywhere, and him? The force of the blast blew him far away from where he was. He didn't know how long, or how far because all he saw was darkness and the singular red light blinking. The red light that glowed like blood from all the lives lost in this war bereft of reason. A war of vengeance when enough had been spilled years ago!
"Help. This is—"
"Requesting assistance!"
"I'm—... tance—"
The comms filled with static and panicking cries of his fellow soldiers. All because of a simple plan that turned south. It was supposed to be a simple plan! Lure the Zeon forces in, destroy Unit 2, but this, he knew it was within expectations, but as he sat there, his disbelief never faded nor calmed down. From his disbelief came a roaring fire that he pushed back and tempered lest he become the very enemy he fought.
And here he was, stuck in the dark cockpit with an hour of air unable to do anything but stare at the flashing red that mocked him.
A thousand lives gone in a flash. Their thoughts and emotions everywhere and nowhere at the same time. He screamed, his fist pounding against the panel. He failed. Again!
Amuro. The sweet voice whispered. Let go.
Lalah! Stop. Please. He begged, unable to grow angry at the woman who understood him better than his mother. If he let go, what of the sacrifices that were made along the way? Does he simply just forget it all?
"Gato!" He screamed for all its worth. Angry at the world for letting this happen, at Gato for his thirst for death and revenge, and at Revil for this plan. He could have avoided all of this and the thought echoed in his mind. But a part of him, the remaining rational part, argued they had not a clue where they were or what they were doing.
Amuro took a deep breath and pushed down the burning embers in him. Letting the emotions power him from the cold that swept even through the thickness of his pilot suit. Typing away in the console, nothing but red in everything from systems to parts greeted him. "I have to at least have cameras on," he muttered as he opened his fogging helmet visor.
"Lenses, thermal capacitors," he continued muttering to himself. While he did so, it was a more painful reminder of what he lost from doing the same thing. A boy doing away in his room with no one but trash and a Haro for company. But most of all... a friend taken for granted until he realized it too late. All this swirled in his mind to forget the anger, the deaths, and the screams all around him.
Okay, I finally managed to fix the lens software. With a press of a button, the panels lit up in life in the constant flickering of static as if a bad colony signal. Still, there were enough panels to paint a clearer picture around of lifeless MS of both friend and enemy alike and floating ship debris, and unmoving pilots that tugged his heart further down.
Far away, the two whites moved swiftly. A GM dashed for it but a Dom met it.
I forgive you. Golden ethereal hands touched him, as everything turned hazy, giving way to a white and colorful world. The touch reached his very self that it made him shiver for its touch was a cold warmth he didn't know possibly existed, but one that he was more than used to. His core shied away from it, but the more he did so, the more it pulled him. Not by force, but by his want. No more! He closed in on himself, but ever so slightly, opened himself once more.
There was no running anymore because he could feel her everywhere. From within him, cold feelings were let loose for the first time in a long time. Silently crying words he did not have the heart as he clutched his heart trying to contain the pain.
Amuro. No more other words needed to be said for he understood it all when she touched his being. The hesitant tears fell unbidden for the regret in his heart filled him, trickling out strong as the stormy wave of a typhoon. Why, why did it have to end that way?
It was with all his will, that he mustered himself and closed his eyes to breathe, to loosen the knot in his chest. Now was not the time for Amuro Ray to fall, the others needed him. Kou needed him.
Lalah, on that one feeling, showed her everything. Of his desires, dreams, regrets, sadness, and most of all, his love for her. That moment they shared. Everything turned white and in the distance, an even purer white swan flew to him, the movement of its wings ever so graceful.
All came crashing down when he opened his eyes as alarms blared red and flashed all over him. The panoramic cockpit broke more, a snap and crackle of electricity, but what remained allowed him to still see the aftermath.
In the distance, on the static screen, two units, flaring with hot rage drew his attention and there was only one he could think of. Feelings washed over him as glimpses, flashes of images, drawn from fury that brightly lit his vision.
"Come on," he muttered. His heart raced at the thought of Kou facing the Nightmare of Solomon alone. Amidst it all, his voice went unheard in the myriads of the static cry for help from the others on the open channels. As if that wasn't enough, emotions filled the space all around him so much that if he wasn't any adept at dealing with it, he'd have been long overwhelmed by the pressing heavy aura.
"Search….—survivo—"
What could he do during this situation. Radiation filled the space and jammed the comms causing broken screams and calls for help Some lucky enough to come out unscathed, but others? Their pain transcending reality to echo in the beyond that is now much louder than before.
Pressing a button, he input a command and silently hoped the rescue team would see his SOS. When the worst came, he had enough air for several hours and a flaregun.
"This is Lt. Amuro, does anyone read, over." He repeated this again and again, burying the shiver of dread and fear from everywhere that constantly ran through his spine. His mind focused on the task at hand and tried not to think about it.
His fortune changed when the comms crackled to life followed by a reply, "This is Ensign Hammon. I see you, Lt. Ray."
Opening his cockpit, he saw a GM Intercept type approaching his vicinity, the head moving all around and gently pushing things out of the way. Its light purple color scheme made it easier to spot from where he was now. Its thrusters glowed in slowing down, the visor flashing in Morse code as it kept looking for him and any survivors.
He turned on his short-range helmet communicator and said, "I'll signal you."
Opening the pilot seat, underneath it was a small space filled with essentials, and in the middle of it was the distinct orange flaregun. He pointed it up and pulled the trigger, lighting the area in bright white flare that drove away the darkness.
"Visual sighted. Commencing rescue." The GM approached him with open mechanical hands reaching for his broken Gundam, but Amuro had something different in mind. And there was no time to lose.
"Belay that order." His order caused the MS to stop in front of him before the opened the cockpit. "I need the MS, now." He didn't even wait for the other to reply as he kicked off and boosted towards it. Ignoring his throbbing all over his body, his already fatigued state.
The cockpit hatch opened with the pilot already giving space for him as he huddled on the side. Amuro for his part nodded and curtly returned the salute. Amuro was swift in his adjustments after switching the control to manual. As he thought before, he was used to panoramic cockpits that the older one felt as limiting as the unit itself.
He had no choice, this would do against Unit 02.
"Sorry, Ensign Hammon, but this is urgent. Hang on." With a push of a pedal he turned to where the hate lay strong. Blinding even in the darkness while all, Zeon or Federation, suffered far away as the exchanging fire continued. He would stop it. No, they would stop it!
All he could do was ignore the listless debris and MS that called for help and avoid them while silently praying the others would get to them in time. The pilot held on, but even in his silence he could feel the fear. Fear of what, he dared not ask because of his focus on one thing and one thing only; Gato.
Beam rifle in hand and saber already at the other, he kicked the foot forward and thrust up spinning in evasion against more debris.
Screams filtered by the static comms echoed on the open channel. Their fighters still too distant away for him to aim but the Fellow booster helped them gain distance swiftly. "Hold on."
Image magnifying, clash of sword, and martial prowess can be seen even with the blurry image. Quick hands calculated the trajectories and opened fire on all the missiles before swerving right, right behind the stolen Gundam.
"Gato! Are you satisfied?!" Beam sabers clashed, the lone GP01 standing against the behemoth of a Gundam as it returned the strike cutting something and pushing the other back.
"Uraki! Evade!" He let loose shots forcing Gato to turn. His shot missed and grazed the shield. Amuro fired missiles, sending it back from the blast alone before ejecting the booster. Sword struck down with a downward swipe, his sword meeting Gato's battered enduring shield. Pulling the trigger, he shot point blank and kicked it just as Uraki went it for a stab. A strong force of push repulsed him as it turned to his ally, letting loose vulcans and deflecting the strike.
Amuro was fast in returning strike with his rifle, battering the shield more as he went around it to shoot when he realized something; the arm didn't move to cover. Did Uraki damage the shield arm? That was not important, it was his chance to deal the heavy blow.
Without hesitation, he went for the strike, cockpit in sight, but a strong hostile pressure pushed against him. Bullets rained from above and below forcing him back in evasion. Still, the shot hit causing the GP02 to explode as the shield arm elbow and below blasted and drifted away from the force.
Uraki circled and countered with his longer-range weapon but the Dra-C's, with a custom one having bigger shoulders and shield, fired rapidly following the lead of the white one and sweeping in. Systems beeping, he kept it in sight and when it neared, he pulled the trigger. His enemy dodged by spinning left but he was ahead and took another shot piercing the head and exiting out the back.
Damn you….
Hatred spilled out of the pilot before it disappeared. The white and pink unit which now went past them returned, and shots rained down on him, too accurate to be just another pilot for along that was the pressure washing over him. A cold frigid mind against the bulwark of his defenses.
While the Physalis battled Kou with one arm alone, the other one circled him and ran zigzag as it continued shooting, its gatling guns and endless fire of bullets that had him spinning and stopping midflight to swing his foot forward and zooming upwards in surprising agility of a GM. He tuck in, spun, and with thrust down evaded the shots going for the only thing he can do to match its speed. There, floating was the booster amidst the many debris and he turned when the sensors beeped and fired multiple shots to deter the Dra-C making it veer right.
As soon as he reached the booster, he kicked the foot forward as he curved right then down, gunning down the enemy but it spun and gained more distance between them.
Light armor. He concluded as it grabbed the Physalis and sped away until it was no more than a blip from the distance and disappeared from his radar. Whoever the pilot
"Uraki," he called. "Status report."
"I'm… fine, sir." Only in between breaths did he manage to reply. That was good, but he worried for his friend because the GP01 was dented and cut from many sides by Gato, with only the remaining left arm holding the saber and the other lightly cut from the part connecting the shoulder to the torso. No doubt rendering it immobile. Not only that, with the shield and rifle that left Kou too vulnerable. "Can't say so for the others."
The muttered words made his heart heavier, but it was the truth. It was supposed to be a simple plan, lure them in and stop Gato, but now, hundreds of pilots were dead. Part of him was angry with the HQ for not telling them of the plan, but the other part of him that spent precious second away from the troubling thoughts—the pragmatic one, knew there could be a spy within their midst and leaked it to the enemy.
He supposed it could be worse, with the thousands of ships now destroyed—sacrificed, the number of casualties could be higher. Hands clenched the control tighter, was this the best he could think of? It could have been worse?
Pushing the pervading thoughts out, he focused his sights on the battered GP01. Grabbing it by the shoulder and pulling it along.
"Come on, Uraki, let's get you back." As they did so, many lights ahead continuously neared.
"Damn it!" Only the resounding echo of his shout reverberated in the room as he faced himself in the mirror. All this while the pain outside remained, their silent cries as they hoped to find salvation and hope of being rescued. Even the hangar crew felt the somber atmosphere despite the distance from the main fighting with the cheery crew talking in only hushed tones.
For friends that wouldn't be able to go home, and lovers that would leave behind teary widows.
Gato. His fists trembled remembering that fanatic of a man.
They outnumbered Zeon for all its worth yet…. yet they were defeated. Not only did they incur losses greater than of Zeon, but their main goal failed; stopping the launching of the nuke. Although he was glad they went with the decoy and stopped the real Naval practice, even still, the lives lost. To those left behind to sell the deception of the plan.
This was the beginning of a war, he shuddered at the thought. A message from Axis. From Kycilia. We're gaining more power.
That's how he read it, and the future all of a sudden didn't look good. That did not include the effects this will have on colonist-Earth relations, especially the Zabi and Principality of Zeon supporters lurking about.
He did not put much thought into it first even, of course, he took it seriously even before that, but he now realized that that was not enough. They were a growing threat with their capabilities of fielding many Newtypes and Newtype MS. Not to mention they even fielded Mobile Armors! Multiple of them!
Shaking his head, washed his face and grabbed his water from his mini-fridge. There was no use thinking of what could have been, only what they could now. Where Delaz could strike in his colony drop and how he would do it. If HQ knew, they didn't tell, but he hoped—as someone involved in it that they'd at least tell the Captain and Burning.
When the door opened, he did not need to look back for the presence was one he knew from the top to bottom, both literally and metaphorically. Head nuzzled his back lowly sighing in content and relief as arms then caressed his chest making him shiver. The arms touching him lowered until it ended just on his waist.
Amuro…. The longing in the voice echoed in him.
"Sayla," he said breaking the silence. "You're fine." He sighed, relieved that she made it unscathed after all that.
He should visit Chris and Uraki later, he worried for them. Especially the kid, for a moment this made him shake his head as he and Kou were nearly the same age.
"What about you," she asked, her worry echoing in their bond. I'm here for you. As their minds connected, the heavy weariness in him lifted making him smile as he clasped his hand over hers. A most wonderful dance in the freedom of the mind transcending reality under Sayla's gentle touches
"I'll be fine." That was his promise to her, so he smiled. "It's just… so much death. Can you feel it, the pain and agony. All this for what? Revenge for a war that's already over?" He shook his head as he sighed burying the anger that threatened to explode inside him, releasing the fists that belonged nowhere in their most sacred of times.
In the back of his mind, a voice whispered, one so familiar but also alluring that muttered his name almost too sweetly.
The hands in his slid up until it reached his face. Kissing the left one, and nuzzling the right one. Savoring the warmth and softness of the arm. "I'm more worried about you."
"I'm fine. I had help." She shook her head. "The Gundam saved my life many times."
He wanted to say more, but the fear he had more than encompassed any words in the world. Putting it into words would make it a reality, something real, too physical to be left as unneeded worry. Even so, in their connection, he felt her wash over him with the gentlest of touches. A smooth caressing hand touching his being brought chills in him as he sought to repay her by shielding her from the pain and torment outside, bearing it without wincing from the sensation that bombarded his open mind.
"That's good. Anyways," he gave her a smile to assuage her worry. "What's the plan? It's obvious the Federation can't leave Gato and Delaz alone anymore." More than that, Kycilia stood at the forefront of his mind as the full scope of her involvement was unclear but served as the greatest threat.
What dark deeds and foul methods did she conjure out of nowhere to have so many Newtypes under her command? Where did she get the resources for her technology? So many questions that they still don't have the answer for.
"The Captain'll brief us in an hour." Smirking as she nuzzled his neck, deeply inhaling his scent making him shiver from the contact. "That gives us more time to..." hands crossed over his chest.
Turning to her, his lips met hers and his hands slid down carrying her by the legs awhile their minds entwined than ever before as the world around them disappeared. Everything turning white, red, and gold, a flurry of rainbows twisting and spreading ever so constantly with no pattern in mind just happy to feel her being and soothing the edges of her soul with his jagged being.
Nothing was present, not the battle, the echoing pain, the phantasmal embrace of Lalah, the minute detail of his shaking hands. In this world of real and surreal all were forgotten save for the present moment of feeling the warmth of Sayla underneath him. No world other than them existed at this moment as their consciousness connected and their passion lit brighter when he deepened the kiss.
For this peace in a sea of blood, he was thankful to her.
Somber silence filled the briefing room, even the rowdy Monsha could only glare at the wall in silence. All of them felt the effect of that one shot, it may have been mitigated by the trap for no one was in those ships, but the lives lost in the defense and the subsequent blast only made it worse.
"All those dead." Uraki glared at the wall as a speechless Nina consoled him by embracing him. "Gato…. he… he…"
"All those lives." Even the ever-calm Bates whose eyes were shadowed by his hair, lips pursed, sat tensely. "How many did we lose. Thousand? Ten thousand?"
"With that many ships." Adel as always remained composed, but he felt a cold feeling from the man. "More than that."
"Not quite." Captain Synapse entered followed by Lt. Burning. Both eyes impassive but radiating a silent determination."As of 0830, Zeon attacked. By 1125, Gato fired the nuclear bazooka killing more than 500 pilots and less than 200 crewmen of the defense fleet." Sharp calm eyes looked at each of them making them stand in attention just with the Captain's silent strength alone. The surprise of the others echoed in the room, except for him, Sayla, Chris, and Burning. "You heard me. Pilots. Not ship crew and noncombatants."
"Even still, that is life at the hands of Zeon." Lt. Burning stood beside the Captain tensed yet calm. "All this was prevented thanks to a tip from a defector that we were able to plan accordingly. That's not all, it's not over yet. "
"What? Sir, what do you mean." Keith stood up as his eyes lit up in disbelief, grasping what little hope he had. "You mean—"
"We had to save as much as we could with our ruse." The man nodded. "This is just the start."
"Delaz plans to drop a colony." The pilots went stiff, with only their learned discipline controlling them, some gasping at the Captain's words. None want a repeat of Operation British; the operation that destroyed much of Earth. "Where on Earth is not clear yet, but we won't have to worry about it if we stop it. Any more questions."
Monsha even after all that drinking Amuro saw he had earlier now looked sober with his arms crossed and leaning on the chair. "This defector, it was the Zanzibar class that we encountered, wasn't it."
"Yes. She was instrumental in our plan to lure Zeon with empty automated ships and defense fleet to convince them of the ruse." Captain Synapse let that sink in as he sat while Lt. Burning stood behind him, both looking impassive. "The reasons for not disclosing it should be obvious."
None said a word because they understood. Every war had its spies, and every war had its turncoats, this time it was on their side. Something he was thankful for.
"The casualties no matter how mitigated, are deaths of our comrade." Burning moved to stand in front of them and blocking his view of the Captain. His back ramrod straight and glaring at them. "With the loss of nearly two-thirds of our fleet just to lure them, our forces are crippled, but still. Are we going to let this be?"
"No, sir." All at once they all replied with fervor.
"Are we going to let Zeon destroy the peace that we won?!"
"NO, SIR."
"Good." Nodding in satisfaction, Captain Synapse opened the map. "0435 hours ago, a fleet patrolling borders of Side 4 failed to make contact with Solomon and on the same path of a colony transfer from Side 1 to Side 3."
Lt. Burning stepped forward. "As the Autonomous Fleet, we've been ordered by the Vice-Admiral to check the area."
"Sir," Uraki called, his face folded and dour as heat radiated from his being. "Any thoughts about the colony drop location?"
Such anger, yet, he could not fault the man for that. Just as he let anger fill him, Amuro was filled with guilt and shame for failing.
"None yet. But I have my doubts that it's Jaburo." The man half turned to the map of Earth. "In any case, it's not important where, we must stop it at all costs."
Bates shook his head. "Captain, in case you didn't notice, we aren't exactly in the best shape. All of our units took damage from Zeon attack."
"Not to mention all the materials are being used to repair the ships and Solomon is still sorting all the damage done and putting all forces around it on high alert in case there's another attack."
He had to agree because Solomon was one of their main base on this side of the Earth sphere, and everything was being used for search and rescue now. They still have a fleet here, even if reduced from their failed defense but they had it so no doubt they would use it to salvage all the ships with that said resource. Even moreso with the crew behind the safety of the Solomon.
"What about the Colonies," Sayla asked. "Where do they stand in all of this."
If it was possible, the shadows on Captain Synapse's face darkened when he tipped his hat to fix it. "We have no way of knowing where they stand since it wasn't just long ago that Gato made his declaration."
Looking around, it was just not him in agreement with it. Most of whoever left was, which was just three-fourths of the original. Too much personnel with no units to spare stretching the already stretched-thin EFSF.
"The attack may have surprised us, but you forgot we also dealt them a heavy blow even with all those Mobile Armor and suits that they had. Gato's attack may have affected them as it was with us since they fell for our trap." Crossing his arms, Burning smirked a little probably to raise morale.
"Vice-Admiral Kowen has given us a tall task but worry not. We will be getting something to aid us, as of right now a part of the supplies is being allocated to us for repairs." He pointed to the area in between Side 3 and 5 before continuing. "Our first objective is to get to La Vie en Rose to retrieve the last Gundam unit. After that we will go to the objective to investigate and if possible intercept Zeon. Understood."
"Sir, yes sir!" Their roar vibrated in the room before being dismissed.
"All right. All hands on deck, to the hangar for assigned tasks." Burning led the others, which they followed with quiet resistance. Some lamented a restless night after they'd been through, but none disagreed.
None should. They knew what was at risk if they failed. Something worse than the earlier attack. If worse comes then it meant another war on their hands. Something they were not prepared for in the slightest.
"Lt. Ray," Captain Synapse called and gestured with a tilt of his head. "Stay a minute."
Standing in front of the man, he had no idea what he had in store for him. If it was punishment for his failure to apprehend Gato for the second time, the Captain was within his rights. His chest grew heavy in expectation of correction, admonition, and punishment.
If it was something else, he had no idea, but all of which weren't good.
"With your Gundam heavily damaged, it can't be repaired in time for the next operation." The Captain turned towards the map. "I've already talked with Vice-Admiral and your temporary unit is on its way anytime soon." He raised his arm to check the watch. "It's already here."
Inside, he let out the relief he had been holding, but wincing mentally at the thought of shirking responsibility for the events. "Thank you, sir."
Head turning towards him, a fleeting smile graced the Captain's lips, and said nothing but a nod. Saluting, he promptly exited to see Sayla waiting for him. "Where's Chris," he asked looking around for the redhead.
"She's helping with the repairs and supplies."
Right, all of their units were damaged in some way. His was thrashed from the fights against the Zeon Newtypes and that red Mobile Armor. Chris had her Gundam's left arm and leg cut. The Gerbera was the least damaged of the three, which was fortunate, he sighed.
As for the others, only the Primrose survived nearly unscathed with GP01 being the next worse damaged than his unit. Considering that Uraki and Burning captured the pilot of the red Mobile Armor, Val Waro, of Zeon, Amuro was surprised Uraki was able to fight Gato after that.
Putting an arm around her, they floated towards the hangar enjoying their presence on the empty halls. Most of the presence he felt moved about in the hangars with urgency about them.
"Put that crate there!" Mora screamed.
The sight they entered upon the hangar was people carrying crates to and fro with most of the crew scurrying on with MS repairs. With the new Additional MS, his Gundam was stored on the corner forgotten for now while beside it was a white and blue GM Guard Custom but behind it were two missile launchers. On its rear skirt was the same sniper rifle a GM Sniper Custom had while its left arm held the same curved shield the GM Custom had. As if that wasn't enough, two pistols were strapped to the side of its legs.
"I guessed that's my replacement unit." He shrugged. Better than nothing. And when it comes to GM variants, he could do no better with a custom GM Guard, one of—if not the—best GMs out there. "Come on, let's see what we can do."
"Looks like the crew already put your ace symbol on it," Sayla smirked in mirth at the red stylized A on the right shoulder. "Mora!"
The woman turned to them and waved them with naught a mirth in her face. "I want you to lead repairs of the Mobile Suits. Nina's handling the others in hangar two while I'm coordinating the supplies. Sayla, can I task you with manning the Mobile pods in supply transfer."
Mora gave him the datapad and he scrolled through making him frown. This was gonna be a long night, so he asked, "How bad is the ship." All of it rested on how fast they could recover from the damages.
The woman sighed, massaging the temple of her nose. "Lots. Let's just leave it at that. I'm thankful for the assistance."
"It's nothing, right, Amuro."
Nodding, so, with a peck to her cheek, he went to start with the repairs of the critically damaged unit, the Zephyranthes.
"You there." Without a single glance at the datapad, he glanced at their work, going at each unit and nodding in satisfaction at their prioritization. Like a finely tuned machine, the mechanics didn't voice any disagreement against him. By the time they were done, all of it was finished in record time.
Hours after the repairs, they huddled on the wall eating and relaxing their weary bodies. All around the crew laid on the floor or just slept while floating. How long was it since everyone had a proper rest? It was the other day, wasn't it? Before the attack and their failed defense.
Loosening his pilot suit by the collar, the cool wind soothed his torso. To his right, Sayla leaned against him humming while Chris sat to Kou's left and Mora and Keith's right. If looks could kill, the glare Kou had would have already melted the wall. Nina could only sit in silence glancing in worry at Kou and a worry for something else.
No one talked about Stardust or the nuking. It only made the tension heavy thinking of their earlier failure. Clearing his throat, he drank water and mentally cleared his head. With the battles ahead, it would do no good to carry such feelings.
"Nina." Deciding to break the silence, Chris arched her back and stretched her arms. "The Captain said about the last Gundam. Any idea what it is?"
The woman in question blinked and stared at them in confusion, eyes furrowed and unfocused, unlike the person she usually was before looking down. "I don't know much about it since my focus was on Units 01 and 02. Lucette was the one who worked on it."
Come to think of it, when he saw her last, her aura—for lack of a better word, felt heavy. As if something is burdening her soul. Kou he could understand, but something else was on her mind and he doubted she'd appreciate it if he asked about it. Looking at Mora, she seemed to have the same idea as him with the way she discreetly glanced at Nina.
Humming, he pressed Sayla closer to him. "What do you mean? Doesn't Anaheim allow engineers to share data."
Nina glared at him before scoffing and shaking her head. "We could, but we chose not to. We have our pride as engineers."
"Not to mention racing to get backing and funding for future projects," Mora said matter of factly. "When news of the Gundam Development Project was released, everyone was racing to be chosen as one of the engineers for it because of the funding given. Nina and Lucette eventually won all that office politics giving birth to GP01, 02, 03, and 04."
The blonde scowled as if she ate something sour.
"Wait, wait, wait," Keith massaged his temples. "Workplace politics in Mobile Suit building? What do you think, Kou." When he didn't respond, Keith elbowed his friend.
Blinking, he looked at Keith and nodded slowly. "Oh.. ah, yeah."
The blond frowned at his friend's attitude but said nothing else when it looked like he was. "Kou…."
"Uraki, can I talk to you." Mora tilted her head and Uraki followed behind silently and hunched back.
"I should get back to it." Nina gave them a strained smile, none of it reaching her eyes. "I have to double-check the units. Excuse me."
Keith sighed. "Something's wrong with Nina, Kou is feeling down, I can't help but feel sad that I can't do anything." With a frustrated sigh and tousling of his hair, he looked down. "I know that we didn't stop it but, even still, we did save some lives. That has to count for something, right?!"
Smiling a little, he sighed pushing down the heavy feeling once more. "I know the feeling, but you're right. We saved what we could that's more than enough."
Sensing his emotions, Sayla's thumb caressed the back of his hand lifting his spirits. He knew what she was feeling too, and did what he could to alleviate it. "We did what we could. Whatever plans Delaz has, we will stop it. Right?"
Chris tucked a photo in her breast pocket. No doubt a photo of Bernie, the guy who they only saw a few times. Still, she had her reasons to stop it like he did. He too had a reason to stop Delaz, aside from millions of lives on the line, his dad, and even his mom, he didn't want to lose them to the machinations of Zeon or those from the top. Very few he trusted in the Federation.
"We will," Chris said. "We have to."
"Come on, we have," Sayla looked at her watch, "almost three hours. Let's use that time to rest awhile."
Keith yawned and stretched his body. Bones popped as he grinned. "Yeah, can't exactly defeat Delaz with restless body. Keith the Sniper wouldn't exactly grow without defeating another ace, would he."
Laughter erupted, but he, no they, needed it. Clapping Keith on the back, he grinned. "That's the spirit. You and Kou will be the Ace Duo."
"We still have no name for Kou," said a shrugging Chris.
Hands on her chin, Sayla smirked, "Blue Comet doesn't sound too bad."
Generally, Amuro doesn't like Ace pilot names, but he did admit there's a certain charm to it. "Come on, Sayla, I admit the name is good but we're not even sure that's his favorite color."
Raising her eyebrow, she looked at him in a challenge. "And yours is white?"
He shook his head. She got her there, the White Devil name was just something that stuck because of the Gundam. Sayla's "White Death" wasn't exactly made for no reason either. The Zeon remnants in America learned the hard way why the army gave her that name. Rolling his eyes, he smirked, "Shut up, White Flash. Oh, I'm sorry, I meant White Death."
The glare he received made him chuckle before pulling her closer. "I'm terribly sorry." Not a shame as he pecked her cheek in apology. "Will that apology do?"
"Man." A groan from Keith as he grumbled on. "They say you're not man enough. Kou and Monsha could learn a thing or two from you."
Their laughter echoed in the hall as they returned to their quarters. While they do so, the threat of Stardust faded, and for the few times since they met each other, it was just a group of friends laughing about the simplest thing in their wartorn world.
It has been long, but here's a chapter that I am satisfied with. I'm never satisfied with any of my works for some reason that it ends up being stuck in my PC longer than it needed to be. There's this needless perfectionist streak in me that wants it to be perfect even if its possible.
I'm still stuck in 11, and its just a few or several more chapters before I'm truly finished with this. :D
Extra note: to edit in the future.
