Gundam SEED Fan Fiction ❯ Mobile Suit Gundam SEED: Odyssey V ❯ Course of Action ( Chapter 6 )

“There are three types of people in this world: those who control, those that are controlled and those that are neither controllers or controlled. The first two are easy to maintain and establish; the third is quite the nuisance, as it only exists to aggravate the first two and anything in between. That's the one you pay extra attention to.”
-Lord Djibril

Phase 06: Course of Action

There his mobile suit hung in deep space, amidst the flashing lights of explosions and weapons fire. There was death all around him at this place, each flashing light showing the passing of one's life to the next. There were two groups: a mass of battleships on one end, and a `Y'-shaped asteroid basin and its own support ships on the other end. Just beyond that asteroid was the familiar hourglass shapes of the PLANT colonies, which was the reason he was here in the first place.

He knew this place. He was in the battlefield of Jachin Due, during the Second Battle, sometime in the end of the summer... just a day before the war's end. Then a flash of light and a string of bullets zipped past his twin cameras. With a quick yank of the control stick, he twisted his dark purple colored GAT-X370 Raider Gundam around.

He saw a pair of ZGMF-1071 GINNs and a ZGMF-515 CGUE coming at him. One of the GINNs and the CGUE were armed with MMI-M8A3 76mm heavy assault machineguns, while the last GINN had a M68 `Cattus' 500mm recoilless rifle and a pair of `Pardus' 3-barrel missile launchers on the legs. While in the older days of the war, Vale would've instinctively cringed at their attacks, he knew they were no match for the power of the Raider.

Some conscious thought kept him from attacking right off though. Even without the Trans-Phase Armor, he knew their attacks wouldn't so much as scratch the paint of his mobile suit, so why bother with them? “Kill them.” Ordered a calm but dominating voice in his head. “…Do not hesitate. After all, they were not meant to exist in this blue and natural world.” Said another, more conniving voice. That took out all doubt in his mind, and he found himself smiling. He burst into action, transforming into flight mode and flying right at the three mobile suits. He started by firing the `Ahura Mazda' short-range plasma cannons in his Gundam's claws, striking a blow into the torso of one of the GINNs. The GINN's battery reactor then went critical and it exploded in a mass of light and flame, adding another flash to the battlefield.

The remaining GINN and CGUE naturally broke away from formation, but that didn't matter to the Alliance pilot. He targeted the second GINN, since the `Cattus' rifle and missiles would probably be more of a threat to his Gundam, then transformed into his mobile suit mode and aimed the dual 52mm hyper velocity shield cannon on his suit's right arm. “…Die.” He heard himself mutter with an amused sneer, firing a single burst from the twin barrels that again, blasted through the suit's broad torso, blowing it up.

When he targeted the CGUE, he noticed that the suit was retreating back toward its own lines, with another group of four GINNs flying to assist. “More the merrier… Just more for me to kill…” he laughed sinisterly. He brought his Raider Gundam up to full speed and set course for the pack of GINNs.

He saw from the collective flash of mono-eyes that the CGUE and GINN group spotted his approach. This was further reinforced when they started to fire at him with their machineguns but he easily evaded their shots. Again, the Raider transformed, but this time it followed up with the Ahura Mazdas, the M417 80mm machinegun in its nose and the M2M3 76mm machineguns in its shoulders. A hail of bullets and plasma fire soon came out, striking down three of the GINNs in the same burst. When he got close-enough, he again turned back into mobile suit mode, but this time he armed the `Mjolnir' spherical breaker that had become one of the Raider's trademarks. Throwing the arm out, he activated the breaker's quad thrusters, and it shot out from its mount, slamming into one of the GINNs.

By some miracle, the GINN didn't explode from the breaker crushing into its torso, but the pilot was obviously killed. Probably impaled on one of the spikes too. But that didn't matter to him, in fact, it made it all the more interesting. With a quick pull of the wire that attached to the mace-like weapon, the Raider swung the `Mjolnir' and the mobile suit it had impaled into the nearby CGUE, which was attempting to retreat again. The GINN slammed into the CGUE's back, crushing its thruster wings. This made the CGUE immobile and forced it into a floating spin. Naturally, the pilot attempted to evac from his disabled mobile suit, as the cockpit hatch opened and the ZAFT soldier leapt out with a thruster pack, attempting to float toward one of the nearby ZAFT ships for pick up.

But he never got the chance. The Raider jetted at him, and with a single blast from the `Zorn' 100mm energy cannon mounted in its head, blasting through the CGUE's battery reactor and causing it to explode. The CGUE pilot was caught in the shockwave, with the legs and left arm ripping off the main body, which had burst into flame. Much to the Alliance pilot's amusement, the remains floated through space as flaming debris.

“You murderer!” he heard somebody call out over broadband. Again, the Raider pilot turned to see his next opponent flying at him. It was one of the newer ZAFT mobile suits, the GuAIZ if he remembered the briefing correctly, but there was something different about this mobile suit. For one, it was painted orange, which could've meant it had an ace pilot. Another point was instead of extensional arrestors at the hips, it had a pair of railguns with beam sabers mounted just above. As well, there appeared to be some sort of flight pack on that the Alliance pilot didn't recognize, but he saw it mounted a pair of beam cannons at the least. And finally, there was the beam rifle, which was of a different make than the standard GuAIZ rifle.

“Heh heh… Annihilate! Disappear!” the Raider pilot cried out as he burst into action again.

The enemy GuAIZ fired a double shot at the Raider Gundam, but it was too fast for any of the shots to hit. However, none of the Raider's shots hit either, as the GuAIZ pilot dodged each one. The Raider pilot laughed again; it was a pilot worth his time for once. A wild shot from his dual shield cannon caught the left leg of the GuAIZ, blasting off the foot, but the enemy pilot countered with the weapons mounted on the flight pack, which besides the beam cannons were six types of machineguns, two mounted on turret assemblies and four built-in to the edges like a World War II fighter's wing mounted machineguns. As well, the hip railguns flipped out and added their own fire to the mix, all along with the GuAIZ's beam rifle.

Again, the Raider pilot found himself dodging the vicious assault, as shot after shot was fired at him. It was somewhat aggravating at first, that GuAIZ had more weapons on it than any suit he was used to, but the enemy pilot was relying too much on them. All he had to do was dodge the fire, which he was very good at doing. When he got close enough, he targeted the enemy's cockpit block and fired the `Zorn' cannon again.

The beam shot straight through the GuAIZ's cockpit area, and although like the GINN before it, the battery reactor didn't die out, the pilot was obviously dead as George Glenn. The suit's cannon fire ground to a halt, and it started to drift in space with no brain behind it to pilot.

The Raider pilot's lips curled into a sneer. “Fools… Pathetic, worthless fools…” he laughed. “All cattle! All fresh meat! All for me to kill over and over!” he laughed further and further.

But then something happened. Something that took all enjoyment out of the Raider pilot's voice and put him into confusion. He felt a strange power wash over him and enter the GuAIZ, something that was beyond his explanation. The drifting suit's red mono-eye flared and centered on the Raider. It then re-oriented itself faster than the Raider pilot could understand and pressed on its attack. The flight pack separated itself from its back and flew at the Raider, firing burst after burst of machinegun and beam fire while the GuAIZ continued its attack with its beam rifle and railguns.

At first, the Alliance pilot was able to dodge the initial blasts, but the GuAIZ and the flight pack both moved at inhumane speeds, faster than the Raider could keep up. In a sudden flash, the Raider's right arm was blasted off, leaving its pilot disoriented. Then went wings, back thrusters and both legs. Another blast claimed the head. And then finally, the GuAIZ came close, replaced the rifle and drew one of its beam sabers. With a pair of slashes, the Raider's shoulders were cut off from the body. Then the ZAFT-oriented mobile suit grasped the remaining torso, which had once belonged to one of the Earth Alliance's most powerful mobile suits with an outstretched hand, holding it from moving. The Raider pilot struggled with the controls, but it was to no avail. “Come on you piece of junk, work!!” he roared. Once again though, he felt a power wash over him, this time in a pulsating motion. The first pulse caused him to stop struggling, the second caused all of his blood to freeze in his veins and the third… created a tangible fear that the Raider pilot had never felt before.

Before him, space began to fold and distort like waves of an ocean. “Vile creature, this one truly is…But this one still holds potential…” something spoke out from the wavering. Before the Raider and the GuAIZ, what appeared to be a set of white monoliths took form, their energy bathing space with light. There were nine in total.

Another slash, and the Raider's cockpit was cut open. The pilot found himself staring up at the GuAIZ's red mono-eyes, which were equally gazing down at him with the intensity of an angel of death's. The flight pack rejoined the GuAIZ and the twin beam cannons that were on it narrowed down at the cockpit of the Raider Gundam's remains. Yet, despite his fear, the pilot felt defiance overwhelm his heart and with all of his will power, his eyes narrowed into glare. He wasn't going to be intimidated by something like that. But that defiance was washed away when he saw what transfigured in front of him.

Before him, he saw what look like nine glowing crosses materialize and surround his Raider's remains and the GuAIZ. His lips curled into a hateful sneer and he felt the urge to charged at them with what little he had left, but a mysterious force took over his body and stopped him. He was frozen into the confines of his cockpit, energy manifesting and holding over his arms and legs in bindings, but he did not take off his glare. “What the hell do you want with me?” he snarled in hate.

The nine stood silent. “The Prodigal Son may run, but he can never escape his true purpose.” A unified voice rang out in his mind.

“'True purpose'!? No one tells me what my purpose is! Not the EAF, not Blue Cosmos and certainly none of you!” he roared, still trying to break from the force holding him. He could feel blood begin to run down his lips and to his chin. There wasn't much time left.

“Meaningless. If one is created with purpose, then one lives only to serve that purpose. What was created as a weapon only serves to function as a weapon…”

He coughed blood as his body began to fail, and his strength drained more and more. With one last amount of effort, he gazed up at the nine mysterious ones, his eyes dilated and cast in a wondrous magenta color. “What is it that you want me to do…?” he gasped.

“You and the others…Natural, Coordinator and beyond…To carry out our will and testament to humanity…” came the answer.

Energy seemed to pulsate into him now. He felt his entire body stimulate from the power, but at the same time it caused him great pain. The energy also took physical form, as a stream of pure white feathers that fluttered and fell around him. There was no taint in these feathers, and they gave off such a power, as if they fell off the wings of an angel. Or a seraph…

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When Vale Hunter jolted up and opened his eyes, the first thing he felt was a great pulsation run over his body. Immediately, he twisted and weaved in pain, feeling his vital systems and functions such as blood pressure and heart rate speed into dangerous levels. Shit, not now! He hunched over and like in the dream, felt the urge to spill his guts out, as well as to slam his head into his bed post. Both eyes began to ache violently, as if something were burning them from the insides. With as much perseverance as he could muster, he resisted such urges and held himself down by keeping his left hand clenched to his chest. While this was done, his right fished through his pockets for something that would take the pain away. Once he found what he was looking for and applied it, his breathing became evened out again and he felt himself relax. He leaned back and wiped the sweat off of his forehead.

He remembered he was on Gray Wolf's land battleship, the Rommel, and that he had spent the last several hours asleep from combat exhaustion. Yes, in spite of his enjoying a good battle, even he got tired after a while, and would spend a day or two trying to recuperate. It had now been two days since that battle. Looking at his watch, he saw it was 3:22 PM, which made him sigh. He had slept too long for his liking, as it was late in the afternoon. Vale sighed; he had overslept greatly, and he hated it when that happened. Although he hated getting up in the mornings greatly, he didn't like to spend so much time dreaming. It seemed like a waste to him, since he could spend that same amount of time doing something constructive, like playing a video game, listening to his beloved rock and roll or irritating Freddy and Lyn. After all, he had plenty of time to sleep once he was dead.

Still, the darkness and the silence kept Vale Hunter from getting up right at first. There was no sounds made in his quarters, and he could not hear of any activity on the outside. It had been a while since Vale had felt such silence. As a veteran of the First Bloody Valentine War, he had been far too used to the loud booms caused by exploding mobile suits or the screams of people being shot and blown to pieces to get this kind of silence often. Even after the war, life was no easier for his being a Vulture. When silence like this did happen though, it was usually a time of reflection…

That's the third time I've had that dream… he muttered to himself. The third time… Slowly, he got up.

The next moment he thought about it was when he was getting dressed, swapping his pair of sweatpants for a black t-shirt, black jeans, gold buckled belt, as well as his leather jacket and boots. As he slipped on the fingerless gloves, he felt his hand begin to shake again. Vale sighed. …And it seems each time it happens, it gets more detailed and the effects when I wake up get worse.Fortunately, the shaking stopped after a few moments.

Not soon after, he found himself walking down the corridors of the Rommel, passing different crew members. He wore his usual `game face' around them, showing no signs of fatigue or depression, which was enough for the crew members to accept that there was nothing wrong with Vale Hunter. Even so, he continued on his way down the corridor. Eventually, he came across the mess hall, where he was half expecting Ed to be sitting, eating a hamburger while reading a magazine on Lacus Clyne. However, he was no where to be present, so Vale proceeded to get himself a late lunch.

 

The Rommel's mess hall, despite being in the custody of a gray color-themed group, was pristine white like the rest of the ship's decks, and Vale his eyes squinting a little to compensate for the brightness. “Coordinators must be color-blind.” He muttered to himself, knowing that the white wasn't by the crew's choice, but had been on the ship since it was with ZAFT. Fortunately, the mess was also one of the most `decorated' portions of the ship, with its walls lined with various posters from naked ladies with beer bottles to the latest and greatest movies that had come out. There were also old recruitment posters for ZAFT and the EAF, but they were usually used for the annual knife throwing contests that the crew liked to hold.

As Vale's turn came to receive food, the cook on the other end smiled. “Well, look who's finally up and `bout. Heard you've been through some tough shit, Commander.” The cook commented, putting three chicken drumsticks on Vale's tray, laughing. Vale cast a harsh glare on the cook, which even made the cook, who was the stereotype large staff sergeant with a `Mother' tattoo on his left arm, stop laughing. “Sorry, sorry, just messin' with ya son.” Even the cook knew of Vale's sensitivity toward his EAF rank.

“Don't worry about it. Just give me two extra drumsticks, and I won't hold it against you.” Vale said simply, giving his grin.

“Fine by me. Plenty of this chicken shit left over.” The cook replied. He placed two more drumsticks on Vale's tray and then handed it back. Moving away from the buffet area, he worked his way around the different tables. There were still a bunch of Vultures lounging in the mess, but Vale preferred to avoid them. While a select number of Cunningham's crew were ex-EAF, ZAFT, Orb or anything other military force, the rest were merely criminals that were attracted to the life of renegades.

You could tell which ones were the criminals and which ones were the soldiers by the way they kept themselves. The soldiers were usually pristine and disciplined to a degree, even if they possessed scars or disfigures, they still had their pride from fighting in the great wars. Their clothing was usually organized and kept in good condition; they walked straighter and had a sense of duty to them, as if even though they left the military, they never abandoned their soldier's discipline. The criminals, on the other hand, wore saggy and ripped clothes, and usually had a nasty viciousness, the kind that loved being on the other side of the law more than anything.

Still, being one big happy crew, they all dressed with something gray, which was the closest thing to Gray Wolf having a military uniform. This made the crew altogether look something like a cross between old world pirates and a WWII German u-boat crew. All in all, Vale was comfortable around these men, but he never let his guard down for anything. Of course, he himself had a vicious reputation that kept most of the `gen-pop' from doing something stupid. He wasn't just a mobile suit pilot after all.

Vale couldn't remember when he got used to such people. For a good portion of his life, he had been a soldier himself, and although he was rebellious and a live wire, he never thought he'd end up with this type of family six years ago. But compared to the people Vale had once served, he preferred this bunch over anything else.

That end thought brought the repeating dream back up again, and Vale found himself a little sickened by it. He still didn't know why he was having it now of all times instead of directly after the war like the usual case of post-traumatic stress syndrome. Unfortunately, the thoughts made him grimace loudly, and that caught the attention of the occupants in the mess hall. They stared blankly at Vale as he started to exit the mess, and he looked at them questioningly. “What? I've been out for most of the day, so of course I'm going to be fucking hungry!” he called out to everyone. This made a few crew members go into laughter, while others turned back to their own meals, satisfied.

He continued walking down the corridors and various levels with food in hand until he finally came across the object of his search: the observation deck. There weren't many people in here at this time, but as Vale expected, there was one sole occupant. “Yo, Ed!” Vale called out. He had figured if Edward Harrelson wasn't in the mess, then he'd be up here looking at the sunset.

Ed looked over to Vale from the bench he was sitting on, just in front of the setting sun. “Hey, you're up! Thought you were going to sleep all day.”

Vale walked over and sat down on the bench, placing his food tray beside him. “Thank god I didn't. I hate sleeping when there's so much to do. Why didn't anyone wake me?”

“Captain felt you needed as much rest as you could get. In fact, he ordered the same for Jane and I.” Ed explained.

“What about the others?” Vale asked.

“Thomas' been in the pilot's lounge for most of the day, Lyn's probably there too and Isamu is with the Captain.” Edward said.

“And what would the Captain be doing with Isamu?” Vale inquired.

“Don't know, but my guess is he's talking to someone he shouldn't be talking to.” Edward gave a half-grin, “You okay man? You look fucked up badly.”

Vale shrugged. “Probably left over from Musashi-kun…”

“Who?”

“Th e pilot of that Gaia Gundam Kai. He's a swordsman, so I bestowed him the title `Musashi-kun'.” Vale clarified.

“Ah…” Edward responded, a little edgy as well. He had seen the Saviour Kai's flight recorder, and thus the fight with the Gaia Kai. Even he, a practiced melee combat expert, was impressed with the way the enemy pilot moved and reacted to Vale's attacks. Definitely ace material, but Ed didn't know of any high-out pilots that fought like that, and there were no distinguishable markings on the Gaia Kai. The enemy pilot probably didn't want to be known… “I can understand that…” he muttered.

 

“Is that disappointment I hear from yon Ripper?” Vale observed.

“I'm envious. How come you get to fight someone like that? I'm the melee specialist of this crew, I pilot a suit named `Sword Calamity' for crying out loud, but who gets to fight this guy? The aerospace expert. Man, life is just not fair.” Edward said, groaning. “I haven't had a good one-on-one fight since that bout with Rena years ago.”

 

Vale laughed. “Relax Ed-boy, he wasn't your type. The guy followed kenjutsu principle, whereas you're a berserker, waving those `Schwert Gewehr' swords around and hope to hit something. Besides, you took out a whole Federal taskforce and ripped a new one on an Atlantic Federation Admiral, so what are you complaining about?”

 

Ed merely shrugged. “I told you I was envious.”

 

“At least you get to keep your mobile suit.” Vale said off-handed.

 

“What's that supposed to mean?”

 

Vale's grin slowly turned into a frown, which clued Ed in. “Oh yeah, I forgot about having to leave your Raider behind.” He said.

 

“Yeah.” Vale said, looking away from Ed and out the window. “I've used that exact suit for four years. Not as long as you had the Calamity or Jane having her Forbidden, but I really grew attached to it.”

“I know how you feel.” Ed said. “When you use something for that long, the suit becomes more than equipment or a machine, it actually feels like a partner to you. And just like losing a human partner, it really tears at your insides.”

 

“Yeah…” Vale said, “I was thinking about doing what you did with your Calamity and just revamping it, possibly convert it to the `Gundam' configuration, like my original suit. Extended battery, better sensors, energy based weapons, maybe a beam saber or two for melee… Just to keep it up with the times.”

 

Edward nodded understandingly, but then gave a sympathy grin and slapped Vale on the shoulder. “Yeah, I know it hurts, but look on the bright side, you got an even better mobile suit out of the deal.”

 

“I'm not sure if I like the Saviour Kai or not.”

 

This made Edward's face turn to confusion. “Why not?”

“When I fought that Zamza-Zah, I felt a mysterious power coming out of it, something I've never felt from a mobile suit before. I really don't like that…”

 

Edward thought for a second, but then he turned and laughed. “Heh heh, mysterious power? This coming from Vale `Black Joker' Hunter? Give me a break!”

 

“I'm serious.” Vale said, a little offended that Edward was treating it like one of his antics.

“I know, but that's the funny thing about it. Have you ever considered that oh-so `mysterious' power to have come from you?”

 

“What do you mean?”

 

“I'm saying that strange feeling could be coming from you. Besides, no one can win with power alone, and it's the way you used Saviour Kai that fought off the Gaia Kai and destroyed one EAF mobile armor.” Edward explained, sounding more like a sage than the `Ed the Ripper' everyone knew. He did this from time to time when it was serious.

 

Vale nodded and thought about that, knowing Ed could have been right. My own power, huh…? He thought. The images of the Raider Gundam fighting that YFX-600R GuAIZ Experimental Firearms Type came up again, as well as the images of it destroying those GINNs and CGUE. “Perhaps your right Ed.” Vale said, thinking. “Perhaps you're right.” He then got up.

“Where you going?” Ed wondered.

Vale cracked his neck. “All this angst is bad for the bones. I have to find something positive to do or I'll end up as messed up as Shinn Asuka.” He said, referencing to the rumors of the legendary ZAFT pilot's bad temperament and angsty demeanor.

Ed nodded in agreement and turned back to the sunset, letting Vale walk out the door.

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Friedrich Cunningham inwardly suppressed the urge to snarl at the man he was talking to from his ready room. I still can't believe I'm doing this… he thought to himself, as the man he was talking to on the vidscreen smiled a bit more. Cunningham could tell he was enjoying this. “So you're certain that the names in question will not be there?”

“Indeed. I have processed the information to each of the twelve families. Your little meeting will not be interrupted by them.” The man on the other end said. The person in question was a rather thin man, with an even thinner face. His jet black eyes appeared as no more than slits, making him look almost reptilian, his skin a ghostly white and faded dark hair sticking out in all directions like a black flame. His mouth seemed to always be in a smile, making him look like a snake, which was exactly his personality type. “I trust you are satisfied?”

“Yes, you've been most helpful Kenav.” Cunningham rolled his eyes is sarcasm.

“Why thank you.” The man chimed back. The man he was talking to was Kenav Rukeeny, the infamous `Informant', a man who fancied himself as a controller of information around the Earthsphere. And also a man who was well know for his untrustworthy-ness. Cunningham really didn't want to talk to this guy, as he didn't put anything past him, but in this case, he needed someone with his contacts and reach around the Earth.

Currently, Kenav was dressed in a bathing suit and sitting in a beach condo somewhere, as Cunningham could see past the man's shoulders and to the blue ocean waves. He also saw a woman there sunbathing, which Cunningham assumed to be Elisa Asanya, the infamous “fashionable pirate”. It had been rumored that she and Kenav shared a close relationship for a while. Cunningham wouldn't really have cared about her, had she not been naked in that picture. He was tempted to look past Kenav and see…

“Mr. Cunningham?” Kenav questioned.

Cunningham blinked and shook his head, remembering who he was dealing with again. “Sorry, my eyes phased out for a moment.” He rubbed against his eyelids. Damn I wish I could zoom in without him noticing. “What about that information I requested?”

“Yes, I have forwarded a comprehensive list of all Eurusian bases that are now under the possession of renegades, deserters and ZAFT loyalists. I have also included notable facilities that have more `booty', as you pirates call it, to plunder.” Kenav explained.

Cunningham laughed. “You sound like an idiot when you talk like that. For a guy who gets his cutlass sharpened by a pirate chick, you sure know shit about modern pirates. Besides, we're not the Gray Wolf pirates anymore. We're just a regular Vulture crew now.”

Kenav laughed. “I was counting back to the old stereotypes. You know, yo ho, yo ho, a pirate's life for me…”

“…We pillage plunder, we rifle and loot, drink up me hearties, yo ho. I get it.” Cunningham rolled his eyes. “Look, I'm really grateful for you choosing to help us and all, but you're being more generous about it than you should.”

“What's wrong with my generosity?” Kenav asked, pretending to be confused.

“You're not the type to be generous.” Cunningham said.

Kenav smile increased further. “I can be generous when I want to be. But if you must know, I find you an interesting person, Mr. Cunningham. Almost as interesting as I once thought of Lowe Gear. As well, I find what you are doing also to be interesting, because nobody has ever tried this sort of thing in modern times.”

“I'm glad you're enjoying this, smartass. And how do I know you're not going to tip off Porsche to this arrangement?” Cunningham demanded.

Kenav raised his right hand. “Scouts honor.”

“Stierscheiße.” ; Cunningham spat.

“If you don't trust me, that's fine, I know I have a reputation. However, you really have no choice but to go forward regardless. That is, if you want what you've worked so hard for to become a reality, eh Cunningham?” Kenav pointed.

Cunningham visibly groaned. Kenav had a point, but the captain couldn't help but feel he was being played like a chess piece. Something else wouldn't put past. “Very well. I guess that covers it.”

“Not quite.” Kenav said. “I've heard a rumor or two that you've acquired a new mobile suit. Specifically, something along the lines of ZGMF-X23S Saviour.”

“Really?” Cunningham let out, unimpressed. “And assuming I had such a thing, you would want me to tell you all about it?”

“Not quite. This is quite different for me, but…” Kenav leaned closer to the monitor. “Assuming you do indeed have it, I would like to buy that mobile suit.”

“Piss off.” Cunningham retorted.

“But think about it, Mr. Cunningham, you already have two high performance models in your service. Surely, you could go without the one.” Kenav said. “I want to buy that suit from you.”

Cunningham pretended to think it over for a brief moment, but he had made that decision a while ago, after he saw Vale bust around the Zamza-Zah. It was too good of a mobile suit to pass up, and on the side, he didn't think Rukeeny wanted it just to start a collection of rare mobile suits.

“Yeah, and I want world peace. I guess we're both assed out, aren't we?” he signed off and started to cuss and gripe to himself in German. He then got up from his chair and moved over to the waiting couch just in front of it.

There, Isamu Yuna Kotetsu sat typing away at his trusty laptop computer while picking at a bowl of peanut butter M&Ms beside him. “Fields of Hope” by Lacus Clyne was playing lightly over his computer's sound system, one of his favorite tracks. It wasn't loud enough for Kenav to pick up on thankfully, but just enough to keep Isamu on track with his work. It probably reminds him of home too. Cunningham thought but didn't say aloud. “Find anything?”

“Yeah. I'm getting enough on him to get both the EAF and ZAFT knocking at his doorstep with pitchforks and torches.” Isamu grinned, typing harmonically like a professional writer. “I didn't think he was dumb enough to record personal logs and conversations.”

“The conversations are backups so if something goes wrong, he can always blackmail somebody. As for the logs, you got me there.” Cunningham shrugged. “Any problems with the security? He's a hacker himself.”

“Hah! There's no security system that can keep Kwaiden out. Although I have to admit, he's got more security than Morgenroete has for their database…” Isamu said as he continued typing. “And… Bingo. We've struck gold.”

Cunningham went to sit down on the couch beside Isamu, but the boy held his hand out. “Please spare the M&Ms that disgusting fate.” He said, without looking away from his computer.

“Sorry.” Cunningham walked over to the other side of the couch and sat down, looking over Isamu's shoulder. The computer displayed what looked to be a hit list of Earth Alliance and PLANT officials, probably of potential `pieces' for Kenav's game.

“What am I looking at here Isamu?” Cunningham asked.

“This is a list of notable politicians and military commanders that have done something very, very wrong in the past twenty or so years. Stuff like bribery, theft, assassinations, and even spying for their respective side's enemies. Kenav must be making a reference book.” Isamu said.

“I always figured he kept something like this around… I wonder why I never got my hands on it before.” Cunningham thought.

“Because you and a good number Eurusians seem to blow at computers Captain.” Isamu said offhandedly.

This made Cunningham's eyes narrow in distaste at the boy. “And why do you think that?”

“You hired me, some kid from Orb, for one. Second, during the second war I hacked into the Eurusian database in two hours.” Isamu said.

This made Cunningham raise an eyebrow. “How far did you get?”

“I saw the blue prints for the vaunted CAT1-X Hyperion. I even downloaded a copy and sold it on ebay, made a fair amount of money.” Isamu said.

Cunningham thought about that, then nodded his head in approval. “Impressive.”

“Thank you.”

“And I got into a porn site once without having to give my credit card number.”

Isamu rolled his eyes, just before he pressed the enter key. For the first time in the current conversation, he turned and looked at Cunningham. “In five minutes and fifty-six seconds, we will have our own copy of the Life and Times of Kenav Rukeeny. I'm downloading that list and all data associated with it to the Rommel's central computer core.”

“Five minutes… Damn, that's too long. He could find us out in that time frame.” Cunningham thought, a little fidgety now.

“No he won't, he's by the pool side.” Isamu said.

“True… And with a naked girl…” Cunningham considered.

Isamu was about to toss another handful of M&Ms into his mouth, but his hand stopped in motion. He then put the candy pieces back in the bowl and visibly grimaced. “I think I could've lived without knowing that Captain.”

“Oh drop balls already.” Cunningham smacked Isamu on his back then got up again. Then another thought came to his mind. “You do realize he could be playing us. I'm sure he knows I have the hacker `Kwaiden' in my employ.”

“That's always a possibility, but it's as he said, `you have no choice but to go forward.'” Isamu said, continuing to type.

Again, Cunningham stopped to think about that for a moment, then found himself agreeing with the kid. “Yeah. And the sick thing is, I'm okay with it. We're getting what we want in the end.” He moved back to his own chair and sat back down. As well, he took a glance at his watch. “Not too long now…”

-------------------------------

Quack… Quack… BANG BANG! Two more ducks froze and dropped out of the sky to the grassy plain below. Right after their fall, the loyal hunting dog came up from the grass, holding both ducks in either of its hands as a small victory jingle played out. “Child's play… I can't believe people thought this was hard…” Thomas Kurtz thought, as he again shot down two more ducks simultaneously. “The evolution of mankind must've gone to the ass-end in the 1980s AD.”

He was in the Rommel's pilot's lounge with fellow mobile suit pilots Lynsie Schneider and Jane Harrelson, finding some way to abide his time. In Thomas' case, he was playing the shooting game Duck Hunter on the big screen TV in the middle of the room, which was on an ancient Nintendo Entertainment System that Cunningham had somehow gotten his hands on.

Despite being more than one or two centuries old, and being vastly outperformed by modern gaming systems, the system still worked and Thomas had a liking for it, especially all the shooting games that came equipped. To make it challenging, he was standing as far away from the TV as he could while keeping the blaster gun in range. At such distance, it would've been a challenge to keep track of the 8-bit ducks flying around, but Thomas' 20/20+ eyesight allowed him to follow the ducks flying and shoot them down. It was no challenge to him, as so far he hadn't missed.

Jane and Lynsie were on the port side of the room, with Jane sitting on a couch reading a familiar sci-fi novel while Lyn was throwing knives at an Atlantic Federation recruitment poster. Lyn's latest throw landed right onto the left thumb of the Uncle Sam-like icon.

“Seven…” Lyn said, counting her shots. Another one landed on the opposite thumb. “Eight…”

“You're ruining my aim, shut up!” Thomas barked, almost missing another duck.

“And you're ruining my concentration… My game doesn't automatically keep score.” Lyn muttered, more concentrated on her aim than getting griping at Thomas.

“Sure it does! It's marked by each knife that lands.” Thomas stated, rolling his eyes as if it were obvious.

“I'm not counting how many knives I throw, I'm counting how many hit the target. Even somebody of your mentality can understand that.” Lyn retorted, getting pretty aggravated with Thomas' attitude. She really didn't like it when people bothered her while throwing knives.

Jane, looking up from her book, visibly groaned. “Alright, let Auntie Jane settle this. Lynsie, just count more quietly, and Thomas, shut the fuck up, nobody's bothering you, so don't bother us.” Jane said.

“Yes ma'am, all for you ma'am.” Thomas again rolled his eyes in sarcasm.

At the moment, Vale Hunter came through the door, apparently bored and looking for something to do. When he came in, looked between Thomas and Lyn, smiling a little. “Hard at work ladies and gents?” he asked.

Thomas snarled. “More interruptions! That's all I fucking need.”

This made Vale focus his attention more on Thomas more than it did Lyn, and he found himself unwilling to resist the temptations. He had to make up for lost time sleeping and the dream he had after all. He walked over to Thomas, looked him over, then the gun, and then the TV screen. “Ah Duck Hunter. A classic among classics…” he said playfully. “A truly good choice you made Thomas, especially with your great aim.”

Thomas grimaced. “What, did you become a fagot while you were sleeping Hunter? Get away from me!”

“But I want to watch!” Vale let out, imitating the tone of the stereotypical little brother.

“Look, just...” Thomas started, but stopped when to two more ducks came out of the 8-bit grass field.

He lifted the blaster gun again and aimed, but when he fired, Vale reached his hand out and held it in front of the gun barrel. This kept the signal from reaching the TV, and thus none of the video ducks were shot. Thomas moved the gun and let off another shot, but again Vale moved his hand and blocked the shots.

“Hunter… You…!” Thomas let out in fury as Vale continued to deflect the shots. Finally, Thomas managed to get the gun past Vale, or so he thought. In actuality, Vale just didn't bother reaching out, because Thomas was so concentrated on getting his shots past Vale's hand that he didn't aim properly. Thus, the screen went pink and both ducks flew away, unharmed. The dog soon came up from the grass and gave off digitized laughter.

Thomas gawked in rage at the screen (he hated that useless dog) and watched as the two ducks, which were the last ones to fly up, were deducted from his final score. Vale laughed along with the dog. “Bet you didn't see that coming!” Vale continued to laugh.

It then dawned on Thomas as to what Vale did, and his face twisted in full fury. “You little shit!!” he roared, throwing the gun at Vale's head. The Saviour pilot however, was faster than Thomas' aim, and he dodged the flying pistol, letting it fly past and hit the TV screen, then land on the floor. Thomas followed up by throwing a punch, but Vale dodged it too.

“Temper, temper…” Vale said, as he dodged another punch.

Thomas finally stopped when he felt the spine of a book smack the back of his head. He turned, full fury, to see Jane Houston standing behind him, arms crossed and a narrowed gaze over her face. “Are you done yet with your temper tantrum?”

“He made me miss on purpose!” Thomas' words were filled with fire instead of pleading.

Again, Jane smacked him with the spine of her book, moving faster than Thomas could reach. The blow was hard enough that it left a slight bruising. “I'd be frustrated too, but not mad like this. This is not how an ex-soldier and mobile suit pilot should act like.”

Thomas got so fired up with that statement, that he actually attempted to throw a punch at Jane as well. His fist never connected though, as he felt the cold, sharp edge of a knife brush against his cheek. Lyn had thrown a knife as he reeled up for the punch, and the blade left a nice even sized cut across Thomas' cheek, blood starting to leek from it.

“I can't believe this! This worm is the one who made me this mad, and you're not throwing knives at him!?” Thomas griped, feeling as though he had been betrayed.

“It's what Jane said, your behavior is far from tolerable. You are a trained mobile suit pilot, therefore, act like one.” Lyn ordered.

“Ah, fuck you all!” Thomas threw his hands in the air and stomped out of the room. Before the door closed, there was the sound of somebody being slammed against the wall and other sounds following it.

“Yare, so tempermental. Not very becoming at all…” Vale said, smiling.

Both Lyn and Jane's eyes turned on Vale for that statement. “And you really didn't have to do that Vale. He's going to be at it for hours!” Lyn stated.

“But he's so cute when he's riled up.” Vale replied, winking. “Besides, I'm sure you two were getting aggravated just being in the same room with him. I had to do something, it's part of the gentlemen's code!”

Both women gained the anime-type sweat drops upon the “gentlemen's code” part. “Does my husband know you're talking like this?” Jane wondered.

“I'm not sure if I like where this is going.” Lyn also said.

“Now come on ladies, you know he was getting… frustrating. It's what Thomas does best.” Vale said, eyes thinning out into a slit, which gave off a very knowing gaze.

“Whatever.” Both woman said simultaneously while rolling their eyes. They went back to what they were doing, with Lyn taking her knives off the poster to start a new game while Jane went back to her book.

Seeing as Thomas had left the room, Vale decided to take over the Nintendo. He switched off the console, then replaced the blaster pistol with a regular controller, and then looked over his game choices. I've had my fill of Super Mario and Captain Skyhawk… Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles the Movie looks good. He slipped the game in and moved to turn on the console. That is, until he heard the thud of a knife hitting the wall.

This caught Vale's attention, and again he smiled, seeing another game to play. Like a serpent, he seemed to slide over to where Lyn was standing, his eyes wandering down her form. She was in the perfect throwing stance, and she held the blade like the trained professional she was. But Vale noticed something a little awkward. “A little frustrated I see…” he said.

“What are you talking about?” Lyn let out, throwing another knife.

“I can tell by your form. You're more hard edged than usual.” Vale said. “Anything I should no about?”

“No!” Lyn barked.

“Leave her alone Vale. I know what you're thinking.” Jane ordered. “And just because you got away with it with Thomas doesn't mean it'll work here.”

Vale tilted his head to the side, making a `tsk tsk' sound. “Jane, you think so little of me. What happened with Thomas was just a bit of fun. For Lynsie on the other hand, I'm merely curious. What's got our XO so uptight and hardened?”

Lyn threw another one, hitting her mark. “I don't have time for this Vale.”

“I can think of a number of things. Perhaps you're overworked, maybe you need a massage?” Vale said in mock-wonderment.

Lyn let out a small laugh. “Like I'd let you touch my shoulders.” She said.

“Perhaps it's because of Ellis' untimely departure?” Vale continued.

Again, Lyn threw a knife and hit her mark, signifying that Vale's statement had no effect. “As much as that hurt, I moved on. Ellis isn't the first person who's died in front of me.” Deep inside, something twisted in Lynsie, and she hoped Vale didn't catch it. She didn't want to admit Ellis' death still affected her.

Vale did indeed catch the small change of movements, but it wasn't great enough, and it wasn't really a subject he wanted touch base on. So he decided to go for the gold with his next question.

“Maybe it's your period?”

“Eeeep!” Not only did Lyn not throw the knife, but it slipped out of her hand and dropped to the floor. It was like a scene from an anime or manga, where her eyes went totally right and fixed into inward pointing angles, and a forehead vein popped out from her forehead. “What kind of question is that!!!?”

“Hmmm… Nevermind that, it's way too early to be your period.” Vale thought, looking up in the air as if contemplating. “Perhaps you've lost hair?”

Twitch.

“Or maybe it's the opposite. You grew white hair.”

Twitch. Twitch.

“Oh I know! You gained weight.” Vale said as if figuring out the answer. “I told you to stay away from the Meatloaf before we left Catalina, said it wasn't very healthy… Didn't think it'd add pounds though…”

Vale quieted down when, like Thomas did, he felt the cold, sharp edge of a knife. However, instead of Lyn throwing it, she twisted around and had brought the knife against Vale's throat.

Vale never lost his smile. “Really Lyn, after that speech you gave Thomas, you're going to throw a tantrum to? Not very lady like.”

“JUST WHAT ARE YOU GETTING AT WITH THOSE STUPID QUESTIONS!!?” Lyn roared much like Thomas did. Vale moved fast and jumped back, smack her hand away with his left arm. Lyn didn't advanced for an attack, she just tossed the knife up and grabbed it by the blade, holding it in a throwing position.

“Uh oh! This isn't good. Looks like the XO is ticked off about something! Whatever happened to `be frustrated too, but not mad like this'?” Vale called joyously, dodging the knife throw. A fight ensured, again much like Thomas, with Lyn trying to clobber Vale while the mobile suit ace simply dodged her attacks.

Don't get involved. Don't get involved. Jane's mind repeated to herself, a cross-vein of her own appearing on her forehead. When random objects started to fly around the lounge, she just closed her eyes and gritted her teeth in annoyance. She was really tempted to join in the fight and just clobber both of them for interrupting her reading…

“Testing… Testing. This is the Captain speaking.” Interrupted Cunningham over the intercom. The fight continued despite that though, even as one of the game cartridges for the Nintendo smacked against the speaker. “Will the following people report to the briefing room: Lynsie Schneider, Vale Hunter, Thomas Kurtz, Edward and Jane Harrelson. If anyone is missing, then they will be docked pay and privileges for two weeks. That is all.”

All the rage and fighting in the room immediately stopped short, as all three occupants looked to the intercom speaker in wonder.

“Yes, two weeks. It's that important.” Cunningham came back, and then signed off again.

Jane looked over to Lyn. “Do you know what that's about?”

Lyn thought. “I think I do, but I'm not sure.”

Vale looked at her. “And what's your assumption?”

“He's drunk again.” Lyn said, as she looked to the floor while a sweatdrop formed on her head.

Vale busted into laughter. “As much as I'd like to think so, he isn't. His tone is too stable, and he's serious.”

“I'll see you two up there.” Jane said, putting her novel underneath arm and leaving the room.

Lyn and Vale were about to follow, but Lyn stopped. “Tell me something Vale, why did you pick a fight with me? I thought you only did that sort of thing with Thomas, and just stick with annoying the rest of us.”

Vale just smiled knowingly. “Simple. I saw from your movements that you were frustrated about something, and judging by that small tremor before, it was Ellis' demise, so I decided to help you lose that frustration by turning it all on myself.”

Lyn looked at him skeptically.

“Or I just wanted to piss you off after I had so much fun with Thomas. You decide.” Vale said, his face angling downward to give off more of a sinister look. He moved past her and continued to the briefing room.

Lyn watched the mobile suit ace leave, then shook her head. “Wierdo.” She remarked, following.

-------------------------------

It had been a while since Friedrich Cunningham had felt the way he felt now. Back when he was in the Eurusian Federation, he gave briefings like the one he was going to give to the most trust members of his crew regularly, mostly to the main brass and other commanders of his rank at the time. Every time he did it, he felt a mixture of hesitance and excitement, which was exactly what he was feeling now. And he loved every minute of it, especially since he knew his audience would more than listen to him.

Or so he wished. He looked over his audience and groaned. Vale was giving off his usual smirk and looking over Cunningham for any sign of weakness, Thomas and Isamu were having an argument, with Lynsie trying to break them up and Edward and Jane were both unamused, since they both hated this kind of thing. He remembered that he know longer talked to soldiers and military minds, but instead to renegades that really didn't give a shit about anything Cunningham talked about. In fact, it was a wonder why they even listened to him since they never took him that seriously.

Still, he cleared his voice and continued after Lyn finally broke up Thomas and Isamu. “Okay, ladies and gentlemen, I can see by your faces that none of you are too damn interested in hearing me out, but I'm going to talk anyway, so shut the fuck up and pay attention.” He ordered.

“Do we get paid overtime for this?” Thomas asked.

“No, but I did threaten to take two weeks of pay and privileges, and that also applies to how attentive you'll be. Now pay attention.” Cunningham put out, signaling to Isamu.

Isamu nodded and reached with a remote, activating the display screen at the end of the room. Everyone turned to the screen expecting something spectacular, like ruins from a battlefield or somebody's picture. What they got though, was something different: It was a map of what looked like the west side of the Eurusian continent, with a very large amount of red dots and lines, like it was a tactical map for an upcoming battle.

Everyone looked it over, and then Jane spoke up. “What is it? The new company logo?”

“I haven't seen so many dotted lines since back in the war.” Ed also said, rolling his eyes.

“This, ladies and gentlemen, is the insignia of my pet project: Operation Blitzkrieg.” Cunningham clarified, sounding dominant as if he expected a trumpet chorus to sound out after he said the name.

This only caused more confusion for the audience. “Blitzkrieg? Isn't that some Leiji Matsumoto anime?” this time it was Thomas that was critical.

“Of course not you idiot, it was a battle strategy the Germans used during World War II. Basically bombard a city with howitzers out of enemy striking range while the ground troops moved in.” Isamu said. He had a hobby at pointing out this type of stuff.

Cunningham groaned. “Let me re-clarify, anyone that's not shutting up and listening gets docked pay and privileges for two weeks, and that's the last fucking time I'm going to say it! Sav-vy?” the room turned to silence. “Don't make any mistakes, I am serious and I've worked very damn hard on this, so the least you can do is hear a word or two of what I have to say.”

“Then explain what it is, Captain.” Lyn said, sounding a bit more interested than the rest of the group. Even she had been kept in the dark about this one.

“I shall.” Again, Cunningham cleared his throat. “If you'll all notice, the Earthsphere is in pretty sorry shape right now. The Earth Alliance is fragmented, ZAFT is out of contact with the forces planetside and everyone is generally doing their own little things and going against each other in the process. But nothing, I mean nothing, got hit as hard as the Eurusian Federation, which as everyone knows, is in poor disrepair. That means its open for raiding.

Over the past couple months, I've been talking to fellow Vulture leaders like Ol' Ben Hornigold, Barbossa `Walrus' Flint and `Red Lady' Margaret Anne. They have agreed to meld their resources with our own so we can make this operation come true.” Cunningham said. “Think about it. The Eurusian Federation, fragmented and scattered, opened up just waiting for a group of Vultures to come in and pick at it. Doesn't that just warm your black hearts?”

“Yeah, my black heart is on fire.” Thomas said. “It's burning like hell.”

Cunningham glared at him. “I don't like your tone, Kurtz.”

“Call me a pessimist Captain, but I don't think this is going to work.” Thomas said. “You're basically proposing a Vulture alliance between some of the worst criminals on the Earth, to strike a raid at one of the largest continents on the planet. I don't know about anyone else, but that's a long shot, no pun intended.”

“As much as I hate to admit it, I agree with the pessimist too.” Ed said, raising his hand. The others also agreed.

Cunningham actually laughed. “I know this of course. But we're not going in blind. Remember, I ran the Eurusian military during the war, back when we were on the run from ZAFT. I know the general layout of the western portion of the continent, such as all the facilities that have the best equipment and armaments, among other things. I know it's been six years, but not much has changed, and I've worked out a game strategy to use.”

Again, he signaled Isamu, who selected the next slide, which showed a very familiar city. Cunningham let everyone get a good look before continuing. “Seven days from now, I and the other potential leaders for this Blitzkrieg will hold a meeting in the city of New Orleans of the Atlantic's Louisiana state to discuss the terms and requirements for this alliance. The meeting will be held in the Grand Shirio casino. As my mobile suit force, you will all be responsible for making sure nothing goes wrong in or out of the city, and we all know how bad New Orleans is.”

“I agree.” Lyn spoke up. “New Orleans is one of the few cities on the Atlantic east coast that operates under its own splinter government instead of under the Federation. It's been rumored even the EAF is hesitant to go into the city to `reorganize' it. That's both an advantage and disadvantage because we know people like Larson will avoid us, but you have to worry about the groups that dwell in the city.”

“Correct, and we can expect repercussions from any of the twelve families that run the city, that is if any of them find out about the meeting.” Cunningham explained.

Vale raised his hand. “I don't suppose you used Kenav to throw those said families off track, did you?”

Cunningham nodded hesitantly. “Yes I did.” The atmosphere in the room seemed to drop to a deadly chill when Cunningham said that. “But before any of you jump to conclusions, I had no real choice. Since we left Catalina, are list of allies has shortened.”

“But Kenav of all people! That's suicide Captain.” Jane stated. “Who knows what he'll leak about this, and to who!”

“I told him the same thing.” Isamu said offhandedly.

“Fine, I get it! Kenav isn't the most trustworthy son of a bitch on the planet, but as I said, I really had no choice! He's the only one who has that kind of reach over the Earth, and besides, while I was talking to him, Isamu pulled something very important from the snake's hole…” Cunningham said.

“And that is?” Ed spoke up, a little more interested. Anything that belonged to Kenav certainly shouldn't be overlooked.

Isamu clicked again, and this time the screen displayed the list he downloaded earlier. He spoke up. “This list contains the names of a good number of Earth Alliance and PLANT officials we can exploit for favors. Some of them are lenient towards criminals for a given fee, others have enough skeletons in the closet to make a bone eater's well. That's an anime joke, feel free to laugh.” Isamu said. “This will also ensure that Blitzkrieg works out in the long run, because everyone at the meeting will want a piece of this list. And they'll want it enough to follow through with their allegiance.”

“And what's that going to do for everyone?” Thomas demanded, not seeing the picture in this.

“In other words, Einstein, as long as we have this list, we call the shots. This is the Prima game guide to Loopholes in the Government, and to a Vulture, that's more valuable than gold or silver.” Isamu clarified. “With this, we also may or may not have a measure to blackmail Kenav with, in case he does anything stupid.”

“True, but how will that ensure the success of our group? It still doesn't guarantee the `honor among thieves' part.” Ed said.

“No, it won't. That's why we have to be extra careful with this alliance if it comes to form, and not take anything for granted. But that's all worth the risk of getting five times the booty, don't you think ladies and gents?” Cunningham presented. “That's the rough estimate of how much the Blitzkrieg would receive from any one of the raids, compared to the pick-pocketing we were doing before.”

Nobody questioned that part. In fact, you could almost see the clichéd dollar signs appear over everyone's eyes, followed by the `cha-ching' sound of a cash register. Even if it wasn't exactly five times as much, everyone agreed at least they'd get more money out of this than they would pirating independently.

“Why didn't you say the magic words before Captain?” Edward demanded, imagining what he and Jane would do with the larger pay cut.

“It take it everyone is in on this?” Cunningham said.

“Like you'd need to ask.” Vale replied.

“I'd say we're all with you Captain.” Lyn also spoke up.

Ed, Jane and even Thomas nodded in approval.

“Good, then enjoy things while you can, because five days from now, it's going to get a lot more complicated…” Cunningham said.

-------------------------------

TO BE CONTINUED…

 

A/N: Not much in this chapter, but at the same time we get some points. A dream of Jachin Due, some character angst and comedy, as well as the premise to a new story arc.

This is what I like to call a `set-up' chapter, where instead of having a lot happen, it sets up the story for a new storyline. In that respect, I think I did pretty well here. Expect cameos from Astray and MSV characters. There's already a cameo by Kenav Rukeeny, the infamous Informant and Gel Finieto pilot. Others I have in mind are Serpent Tail, Rena Imelia and perhaps even Canard Pars.

And finally, just so everyone knows, the term Vulture, which was coined by Gundam X, is the general term used to describe renegades that live by scavenging ruins and larger military bodies like the Alliance. Henceforth, the V cast won't be using the Gray Wolf designation anymore; they're just going to be a regular Vulture crew.