Chapter 3: "Sandstorm Serenade"

American Space Colony, Paul's Birthplace
Rai Ryu Electronics Secondary Facility: Hangar
April 20th LC 214

Quote :

"You're the owner of that trashed Kiba? Hermph... quite a fine mobile suit you wrecked. Combat data taken from the monitors say you fought a Jabongga and some Stratos. You should be ashamed of yourself... calling yourself a veteran when all you did there was be kicked in the arse..."

"Your eyes must be going as it was 2 prawns and a Jabongga, and sadly when they all decide to aatack you at once, things can get dicey. Especially when one of them was made to take down a Gundam. Still I made it out of that fight victorious. Besides that Kiba wasnt even setup for me, you guys took my model for the project" Paul then Mimics the voice of James, "To setup a more powerful suit tuned to my fighting style and to help develop stronger mobile suits for all our customers!"

Paul then looked to his new suit, he looked down at the arm where it appeared there were 2 sabers. "Can those sabers be drawn or are they setup only for that?" He continued overlooking the suit noticing the horn on the top, "Quite an interesting design. Does this horn have any special purpose?"


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

Charlie had finished sending the supplies off to the Alduin and was left with nothing to do again. He wandered the colony town and went inside a shop that appeared to sell a variety of weaponry. He browsed the walls and picked out a Katana which he checked for balance, sharpness, and if it was Full Tang. After he was satisfied he had picked out a usable Katana he went to the counter to check out, "So is there anything you have that you aren't putting on display?"

Forest on the outskirts of Ghazni...
April 20th, LC 214...
Late Afternoon...

Issac's left eye was twitching again, his patience wearing thin.
"Fine..." Issac spat, "Go on then. If you're so desperate to gather such vital intelligence or whatever, then by all means, go ahead...but your Gundam stays here. That machine is F.U.S.E.'s secret weapon. If you want to get yourself captured by the enemy than feel free, but that mobile suit is a thousand times more valuable than a pilot who can't take orders."

Issac had little use for a subordinate that couldn't take orders. Part of him was starting to question whether agreeing to transfer to ETCHOS was truly a good idea? He recalled his short time with Privates Ariah and Luke. They were proper pilots, Issac would have been able to serve proudly as their senior officer.

"...one more thing Cherry boy..." Issac added, "The only reason that Kain Arrows is of any importance to this mission is if he is either aligned with or against the Cactus general. The safety of civillians in a backward country like this is of no concern to ETCHOS. The only reason F.U.S.E. even cares that Ozum Beldey exists is because since he became dictator, he's ceased all trade with F.U.S.E. ally nations, cutting off a valuable supply of resources. Do you think ETCHOS cares about a couple of dirty peasants out in the desert? Don't waste time on such petty niceties, you're a soldier and your only purpose in life is to follow those above you. Understand?"

[OOC conformation from B.R.O., we gotta stay put until he declares battle O3O/ <3]

Fortissimo, Ship Bridge...

Ghazni, Afghanistan...
April 20th, LC 214...
Late Afternoon...

Angela found herself, of all things, naked in front of Tomoya, Cheese, Kara and soldiers. She was so extremely embarrassed her eyes started to spin. She tried to cover herself up but since she was held by her captors she couldn't do anything. Hearing Tomoya's words like he didnt' care for their well being at all - even smoking there casually while she and Kara were on the brink of getting deflowered by the Moussaigah Troopers.

The only thing that could cross her mind right now was anger. Anger at Tomoya for seemingly abandoning them. She looked at him with the meanest stare possible.

"You're worthless!" she said. And she also told Cheese how she felt "Baka-no-cheese!"

The ground shook hard after that, and a large shadow obscured them. Angel saw from outside, a large Gundam with wings that spread around like the rays of the sun. Also, funnels flew out and aimed at the bridge. Angela didn't even get to hear what Kain said - she passed out because of fear.

Quote :

"You're worthless!"

The facade broke upon hearing those words. The cigarette fell from his mouth.
"I...I was just trying to protect you" Tomoya thought her words piercing him like a sword.
Before he could respond Kain Arrows the legendary Chrome ace had appeared out of nowhere telling the intruders to leave.
Normally Tomoya would have been overjoyed to see his childhood hero....But right now all he could think of was Angela the words she had said and her fainting.
With the facade he had tried building gone all that remained was anger
"Didn't you hear him. He said get out of here Leave now I don't think he is bluffing about killing us all!" Tomoya said the rage he had been hiding clear in his voice.
"And you DON'T YOU EVER DARE TOUCH HER AGAIN!" he shouted in a deadly tone.
Then using Kain's distraction he launched forward towards the Soldier holding the unconscious Angela aiming a punch for the man's gut.
"GET OUT OF HERE ALL OF YOU" he shouted as he hoped he was doing the right thing.

Attack Soldier holding Angela
Punch 1 damage

The member 'bOZZ' has done the following action : DICE ROLL

'LC Melee' :

Result :

Ghazni, Afghanistan...
April 20th, LC 214...
Late Afternoon...

The trooper took Tomoya's punch and reeled from the pain. But it wasn't that which made them nervous. The terrifying visage of the Double Arrows send chills up and down the spine of the Troopers.

"Fuck! Double Arrows! The same dude which royally fucked our allies back at the Meditteranean front! Let's get out of here!" the squad leader freaked out. The Troopers threw down their guns, and jumped out of the bridge onto the waiting hands of their Behnkes.

Within minutes, the entire Moussaiga battallion ran away from Ghazni, scared shitless at the Double Arrows. General Beldey looked very disappointed, but there was little he could do against that legendary Gundam. He bit his lip hard, cursing Kain and the Gundam.

Timeskip: 2 hours later

The denizens of Ghazni cheered for their hero Kain. That night, songs and dances were held in front of the downed ship Fortissimo. They were treated like real heroes, especially Kain. While a festival was going on, the chopper pilots radioed Issac and Takeshi.

"Well its good the Moussaigas are out of here, but there will be a slight change of plans. Your new targets are the Fortissimo and that Gundam. Agreed?" they ordered Takeshi and Issac.

Quote :

Notes:
-It's around 7 pm
-A bonfire party is being held near the ship
-Moussaiga Army is gone.
-Uryuu and Issac prepare for combat in one hour

Ghazni, Afghanistan...
April 20th, LC 214...
It's around 7 pm...

Tomoya could hear the sounds of the celebration outside. But he didn't feel much like celebrating.
"Sigh....I wish I could make her understand why I did what I did" he thought to himself as he wiped grease and sweat from his face with a rag.
He had spent the last two hours repairing the Gundams, being here in the desert undefended made him nervous and the sooner the Gundams and the ship were repaired the better.
The plasma vortex had shorted out the electrical circuits and the breakers and they needed to be replaced.
If he was honest with himself he would admit that he had replaced the burned out parts a while ago. Now he was attempting to repair the minor damage the suits had taken from the crash.
Leaning against the Octave's leg he looked around the bay "Looks like we are running low on the necessary supplies to make repairs efficiently" He thought a bit annoyed as he lit a cigarette and listened to the fun outside. he didnt feel like enjoying the party tho.

Quote :

"You're worthless!"

those two words just kept running through his mind.
"How do I explain what I did to her?" he thought out loud.
In reality he didn't need to even be here all that was left to do was re-upload the operating system and he could be out there if he wanted as the instalation would work on it's own. But he didn't feel like facing Angela's hatred.
Thats the sort of person Tomoya was when he felt bad he preferred others to not know. It might have been part of being in a gang where any weakness was punished, it might have been his youth. He really didn't care. He would allow her to calm down and he would talk to her.
As he puffed the cigarette he wondered if the Fortissimo would be repairable. He would offer to help Cheese make the repairs tho they would need to find a friendly dock before they were fully reparied.
"Perhaps Lt Ramstein and his rebel squad would be able to help us get the repairs we need" Tomoya thought making a mental note to suggest it to Cheese.
Putting out his Smoke he climbed back into Octave's cockpit to check on the progress of the re-installation of the Octave's operating system.
Tomoya had learned something making these repairs he now knew along with training, and spending time in the simulator he had found making repairs to the suits also helped take his mind off his problems.

Ghazni, Afghanistan...
April 20th, LC 214...
Evening Victory Party around the Fortisimo...

Even though Kain had lent a helping hand to the locals, he did not share the same sentiments at them. He sat by the bonfire, roasting a Skeever rat which he had caught just a while ago. Everyone looked merry and gay, except for him. Day after day, for seven long years, he was on the run from those who wished to capture him and his mobile suit. He built a reputation of being uncatchable by slaying them all, all those who pursued him and the Double Arrows were erased from this wretched Earth by the Weltraum Sword.

"The Skeevers in this region are very malnourished, but I can't complaine..." Kain mumbled as he took a small bite from the roasted rodent. He didn't mind the children running in front of him, nor the sexy gypsies that filled his neck with garlands made of desert flowers. It was all shallow.



"What the hell am I fighting for? These people? Man, I don't even know. You wouldn't happen to know would you?" he asked his rat-on-stick. Kain sighed and gazed at the stars

"Why am I even asking my own food for answers?" his lips buzzed. After taking a few more bites from his BBQ-rat, he threw the remains away and lay on the ground, not minding the celebration thrown for him. Not too far from the ship, his Double Arrows was in a kneeling, prayer position, the gigantic Weltraum sword pierced on a rock.

Ghazni, Afghanistan...
April 20th, LC 214...
Evening Victory Party around the Fortissimo...

"Let's play later, okay?" Angela smiled at some local kids, patting their heads gently one by one. She was still recovering from the traumatic experience from two hours ago. Thankfully, the presence of children, as well as this heroic victory celebration eased out her heart. Slowly, she was starting to feel better.

Angela temporarily left the kids and assisted the women in serving drinks and food for everyone. When she passed by the campfire, she saw Kain Arrows, the man who saved them earlier, lying on the desert sand. Angela nervously approached Kain and offered him some wine.

Angela sat beside the dashing ace pilot. Blushing, Angela's lips parted lightly...



"Uhmmm... I'm... I'm really grateful! Thank you very much!" Angela told Kain. A small scorpion that brushed past Angela's knee, made her shriek and jump on top of Kain. When she realized what she was doing, she quickly got herself off Kain and bowed repeatedly, blushing even more.

"I'm sorry Arrows-san! Forgive me for... aahh but there was a scorpion! Sorry sorry!" Angela begged and begged, again and again until she could hear a response from Kain.

Ghazni, Afghanistan...
April 20th, LC 214...
Late Afternoon...


Isaac responded to Takashi's pleading rather coldly.

Quote :

"Fine...Go on then. If you're so desperate to gather such vital intelligence or whatever, then by all means, go ahead...but your Gundam stays here. That machine is F.U.S.E.'s secret weapon. If you want to get yourself captured by the enemy than feel free, but that mobile suit is a thousand times more valuable than a pilot who can't take orders."

The angry pilot was about to yell at him, but was cut off.

Quote :

"...one more thing Cherry boy...The only reason that Kain Arrows is of any importance to this mission is if he is either aligned with or against the Cactus general. The safety of civillians in a backward country like this is of no concern to ETCHOS. The only reason F.U.S.E. even cares that Ozum Beldey exists is because since he became dictator, he's ceased all trade with F.U.S.E. ally nations, cutting off a valuable supply of resources. Do you think ETCHOS cares about a couple of dirty peasants out in the desert? Don't waste time on such petty niceties, you're a soldier and your only purpose in life is to follow those above you. Understand?"

He was even angrier with Isaac than he was before and had enough of his uncaring attitude. He gritted his teeth and aggresively brushed Isaac's Beam Rifle aside with his Hand Gun and got down to one knee, disembarking yet again. He ran towards the short route around the mountain, but stopped mid-way. He turned around to look to his uncaring superior with an angry look. "Errrrrrrrr~ Fine!! But don't tell me what or what isn't my purpose! That's for me and me alone to decide! I fight because I don't want to see innocent people to get killed! So why would I want to take orders from an uncaring jerk like you anyway if you don't even care who gets hurt?!" Takashi's face got all red and tears formed in his eyes as his heart got heavier. "Why should I listen to someone with absolutely no sense of justice whatsoever, you heartless bastard?!!" He ran off in a huff as fast as he could around the mountain to keep an eye out on Kain and the Moussaiga Army, only leaving behind several teardrops on the ground. ("What've I been fighting for if not to protect people that can't protect themselves? I don't even know anymore if I have to fight along side allies that think the way he does. I can't stand it!")

After a few minutes of sprinting, he made it back to the clearing and looked through his binocular to see that the army had fled from the town in the presence of the monsterous mobile suit. He breathed out a sigh of relief that there was no bloodshed as far as he could see. He sprinted back to camp as fast as he could and immediately got back into his Gundam. He walked just a few away from the camp and went back into standby, not saying a word to the Lieutenant. He figured that since there objective had been met they'd get picked up in an hour or so by carriers, but oddly he didn't get any radio conformation.

Nighttime...

Two hours later and still nothing. Takashi snoozed for the past hour, but was awoken by his Gundams comm system. "Uugh~ I'm awake, I'm awake~!" He openned the channel and recieved a transmission from the chopper pilots from earlier. "Ugh~ What is it?"

Quote :

"Well its good the Moussaigas are out of here, but there will be a slight change of plans. Your new targets are the Fortissimo and that Gundam. Agreed?"

It took him a few moments for to catch up with what he had been ordered to do. When he finally realized what was happening, his expression changed from drowzy to stricken with dread. He tried responding the best he could through his gaping mouth. "Ah..........ah......R-R....Roger~" He ended the call and had beads of sweat running down his face. He was ordered to face off with the legendary CHROME ace, Kain Arrows. This was the scariest moment in his life, even scarier than that night at the academy. He put his head down on the front control panel and began hyperventilating uncontrollably. He then summoned all the courage he had and took in a deep breath to calm himself down. He activated the Panzers systems and stood up.

Still not speaking to Isaac, he marched towards the clearing next to the unsuspecting town. He took his rifle and set it against the side of the cockpit so it would be less combersome. He openned the hatch to the cockpit once he made it there and looked through his binocular. He switched it to nightvision since it was too difficult to see in the dark from this distance and saw the Double Arrows still there, but it wasn't moving. Takashi decide to wait for Isaac to arrive before he did anything, being too scared to go out all by himself. His whole body couldn't stop shaking, thinking about having to face that monster of a mobile suit in battle, against that man.

Tomoya watched as the Octave's computer ran it's final system check. But he was bored and hungry.
"Hmm I will go see if there is any food out there." Tomoya decided
Climbing down from the cockpit he left the ship's hangar to go and check out the party.
Those were the reasons he used to go out there but deep down he wanted to see Angela, hated or not he wanted to explain himself to her.
So walking among the celebrating villagers he looked around searching for Angela.
He soon noticed her away from the group with his childhood hero Kain.
What he saw annoyed him "Sitting in his lap like that, Sure he saved us. But he is twice your age." Tomoya thought as he was filled with a massive jealousy.
He wasn't sure what about seeing this emboldened him but he marched up to the two of them and said
"Angela I wanted to apologize. What you saw on the bridge it wasn't me. That Isn't how I feel. I was trying to buy time to figure out how to protect you. So hate me, Call me worthless it wont hamper the way I feel for you. JUST NEVER THINK I DON'T CARE. Because I do, I cared so much that had I looked at you I would have broken down and done something stupid. In fact I did seeing you out cold like that" he whispered that last part more to himself
Tomoya wasn't sure why he was saying this in front of Kain but he was tired of running from her.
"I would like to talk about this more in private" Tomoya said then looking at Kain he said in a somewhat stiff voice.
"Thanks for saving us I was worried they were going to hurt her so for that I owe you a lot"
he then offered his hand to his childhood hero with conflicting feelings about the man.

Kain looked very puzzled, first there was a girl on his lap, and second, the spikey-haired boy wanted to have a word with him. Kain rose from his spot, and rubbed Angela's chin. "You're a very beautiful girl, but you musn't always be that clumsy. A good Gundam pilot was a strong heart and a powerful will..."

Turning to Tomoya, he nodded. "Sure,go ahead and talk. Feel free to approach me if you need me, Miss Gundam Pilot..." Kain got up and kissed Angela's hand. He walked ahead of the young man, headed for a quiet spot for himself in the open desert.

Tomoya Looked at Kain in surprise. He had actually wanted to speak with Angela.
But despite his jealousy this was an opportunity to speak with Kain about the last war.
So Looking at Angela he said
"I want to talk to you in private later as well.....But I will return in a moment"
Then following Kain he said "I apologize for the inconvenience I was actually talking to Angela. But while I have this opportunity I would like to ask. What was it like fighting and surviving in the last war, is there any advice you can give. And most importantly...... Did you ever fear losing your friends so much you cant sleep and if so how did you overcome that... I am sorry those are personal questions. But I Grew up in Chrome territory so growing up you were my hero. And I would like the advice of someone who has seen true warfare." Tomoya said as they walked hoping he hadn't asked anything to personal. "Of course if you don't want to answer don't I know my brother wasnt the same after he came back." Tomoya finished with a pang of sadness. He had abandoned his brother and the Moorhounds out of a distaste for there methods but turning from his brother and family in general still hurt.

Ghazni, Afghanistan...
April 20th, LC 214...
Evening Victory Party around the Fortissimo...

"If there's anything you want to tell me Tomoya, I'm all ears..." Angela smiled at her guardian. She made a spot for her near Kain's bonfire, and sat there. She waited for Kain and Tomoya to conclude their little talk. She was also surprised when Kain kissed her hand. Definitely a gentleman.

Angela couldn't deny to herself that she felt some sort of attraction to Kain. He was everything a girl could ever hope for: famous, good-looking, strong, and of course, capable of protecting her when she needed to be saved. But first of all, Kain was more than a decade older than her. He was cool, sure, and dashing, but she felt that the gap between her and him was too great.

She also had other things in mind. As night fell across the tranquil desert-scape, her thoughts of Risa flowed in. She wondered if she was alright, if she successfully recruited the new keyboardist. She thought deeply of her... Risa. There was a point in her life that she felt like she was falling in love with Risa, but she didn't want to destroy their friendship.

"I'm overthinking things. A lot of things..." Angela sighed. She was also thinking of Tomoya, how he expressed his feelings earlier. At the moment, she was confused. She was comfortable seeing him as just a friend, but her admiration for him grew as well. Particularly how Tomoya decided to stay with her through thick and thin. There is something to be said about a person whose heart is that selfless.

Ghazni, Afghanistan...
April 20th, LC 214...
Evening Victory Party around the Fortissimo...

BGM: "AESTHETIC"