Story - Raising the Flag
From Gwn
Description
Contents |
Story
Chapter 1
Space seemed calm once more. The United Solar Fleet consolidated military control in the solar system and vanquished the last remnants of Gemini. Mars and the Earth began to rebuild after the costly war, leaving many orphans behind. Mobile Weapons were disposed of in large numbers, with many Gemini and Alliance suits propelled toward the sun for a final solution. This solution worked for the weapons, but soldiers held a problematic position in the new world.
“Listen... ‘soldier Leo’, I do not care about your psychological state. We know who you are, and we will prosecute you to the fullest extent of the law. We have already dealt with Miran Caise and Jade Cassel, your cohorts among the Gemini Foundation. They are being reeducated, you can too if you confess to your crimes and tell us everything you know.”
The interrogator continued to push him. Soldier Leo had died that night, his essence ripped from Tom’s soul. His sister cleansed him, but did not cure him of the memories. Jade and Miran fully reverted back to their original selves before the Gemini reconditioning. He did not. Now, after being isolated somewhere in space, they now decided to break him.
“My name is Angel of Death, colonel of the Martian Confederation. My serial number is-”
“STOP! Just stop.” The interrogator replied, “We know fully who you are. You are Thomas Epsilon, born October first, After Colony 244. Your parents were John and Mary Epsilon, assassinated by Gemini agents in your birth colony. Before age fifteen, you worked as an illegal off the radar. You came into possession of Gemini technology and were conscripted into Alexander Whitewolf’s Newtype Mobile Suit Corps. From there, you failed to command the Pluto garrison, and then were captured by Gemini Agents during the battle of the Dark Graveyard. From there, you assumed the identity of ‘Soldier Leo’-also known as Adamant-where you committed numerous war crimes under command of Hyas Polydueces and the Zodiac Imperious. Now tell us, what else did you do?”
Tom listened to the interrogator replay his entire life, it seemed so brief. The main points missed the memories he held as a child, like his fist sunset, first kiss, his favorite drink, and the smell of an autumn afternoon on the Earth. These memories were faded, perhaps because of the Gemini tampering. Still, he could not accept that they absorbed the other Zodiacs into their ranks, but he could not accept it. His life as a Zodiac was bloody.
“My name is-.”
“Fine, be that way. We’ll wait. Soldier! Open the door.”
Aishiyurii Komojo watched the agent interrogate the Zodiac. He looked different from the news reports that constantly flashed throughout her brief training. She trained to fight this Gemini war, only to miss out of the major combat. Now she stared at one of the major participants, who seemed not much older than her. The agent scowled at him, storming toward the door.
“SIR!” She replied, unlocking the door. A brief glimpse at Soldier Leo showed him looking defeated. He reminded her of a beaten dog.
“That man will be a challenge. Radio Sat-Command. Let them know I need tools to facilitate a confession. I don’t think he will join the USF.” The agent ordered.
Aishiyurii responded, “Yes, Sir! What about the prisoner?”
“Let him stew in there. If he tries to escape, kill him.”
A door opened, the garrison commander entered. Ensign Komojo saluted, though her superior ignored him. She could not help but listen to their exchange.
“Agent Kaito, how goes the prisoner?” The officer inquired.
The Agent looked at him with contempt hidden behind frustration, “He is obstinate. Nothing but a failure, repeating his old Confederation rank and serial number. I never had this problem with the others. I say we lock him up and throw away the key.”
“Your office has no control over that. The fleet needs his knowledge about secret installations. There’s still the whispers that the Gemini Foundation’s bases are being raided by crime syndicates and insurgents. If the Martians who haven’t signed the treaties get hold of that technology, we could face a new war.”
Aishiyurii pondered on that. Thankfully, the EFF kept the war in space. Gemini protected the planet, though growing separatist groups threatened peace on the planet. She joined the military to protect her home, though now it seemed the prisoner could insure that.
“Well, I need to delve deeper. The virus prohibits some of my more refined techniques, though I don’t mind getting my hands dirty. I have ordered this soldier to get me some tools so I can properly extract the intelligence. Until then, we have to wait.” Agent Kaito responded, seeming to smile when mentioning torture.
“Get to it, then. We’ve had reports of activity on the long range sensors. We’re putting the garrison on hi-” A violent explosion in the cell cut off the commander’s words. Aishiyurii turned to see a long metal tool ripping through the wall. Klaxons sounded throughout the base, echoing throughout the corridors, they were under attack.
“SIR!” Komojo shouted, the hiss of vacuum sucking air from the chamber roaring. Strapped to the chair, Soldier Leo flapped in the wind like a rag doll. Thick foam spurted from the edges of the cylinder, sealing the hole. The commander shouted an order to retrieve the prisoner, though gas filled the chamber. Both the officer and agent shouted for her to enter the room, while doors in the cylinder opened.
A man stepped out with green hair and a gas mask on. He was armed with a large gun, smiling as he looked at Soldier Leo. He pulled out a small torch and began to cut at the prisoner’s restraints.
Ensign Komojo opened the door, which hissed at the low level gas. She heard both the agent and commander exit the room, sealing her to deal with the commando alone. Her pulse increased and she felt lightheaded. The man shouted at her, though she only could feel growing darkness. She hit the floor, not knowing if she would ever awake.
“DAMNIT!” Keljar shouted. The gas vented into the chamber knocked her out, though now she was left in the exposed room. When they left, she’d be sucked into the vacuum to certain death. He did not want that on his conscience. He looked at AoD, limp in the chair. He stowed his torch, and pulled a small vial from his vest. The soldier injected his former ally in the chest with ephedrine, which would hopefully awaken him from his slumber. While he twitched, he did not lift from unconsciousness.
SLAP!
“WAKE UP!” Keljar shouted, firing the foam at the access door. He could hear thumping outside, and more soldiers were incoming. The USF had been careless, keeping such a valuable prisoner in a poor location. Mars had designed extraction ships years ago to perform these exact missions. He noticed AoD stirring, thankfully.
“Eh... what... what is going on?”
“Idiot,” Keljar replied, “You know what this, get your ass in gear, we need to get out of here. Hold this!”
AoD winced while Keljar threw his gun on his lap. The pounding outside increased, while the Martian picked up the fallen USF soldier. She was shockingly light, if even a small girl. “COME ON!”
The trio retreated to the ship, which extracted the cylinder behind them. They heard the decompression-pop while beam blasts impacted against the ship’s beam shields. AoD looked at the soldier, wondering what had happened.
“I rescued you. I can’t believe you didn’t talk. That’s brave of you, though now you’re a fugitive to the new boss. But don’t worry, so am I.” Keljar smiled, though AoD seemed rather apathetic.
“I don’t deserve freedom. I am a bad person...” AoD responded, very down despite the large shot he just received.
“We are activating cloak, prepare for any impact.” A voice sounded over the ship. Keljar passed Tom a breath mask while fastening one over the soldier. The ship they were on could only cloak once the beam shields were off, removing their defense from the garrison’s retribution.
“You were not you. I know everything. We’ve got unfettered access to the USF files. The Confederacy split after Alex bit it. Most decided to play nice with the EFF, despite their slimy moves allying with Gemini in secret. Now it’s our turn to use Gemini technology against them.” Keljar smiled while saying this.
“Eh? What do you mean?”
“They haven’t found all of Gemini’s garrisons. The idiots took out the main library in their assault on Twilight City. Thumbs up their asses. You’re gonna help us find it, got it?”
“Help you find Gemini technology? NO! I can’t use that stuff, it’s cursed. It takes you over...”
Keljar sighed. Whoever Matsuo Kaito was, he did a number on poor AoD. “That was not you. They drugged you, brainwashed you, suppressed your personality. You constantly fought against it, until they found something that worked. Then your sister saved you and all the others, except you didn’t think it was a good thing. Don’t worry, AoD, you’re safe now.”
Tom listened, responding once Keljar said his old name. “Not AoD, just Tom. Tom Epsilon.”
“Oh, good.” Keljar replied, “I thought that moniker was stupid anyway.”
Both smiled, though their celebration was cut short once the soldier stirred.
“Who the hell is that?!” Tom reacted.
“Oh! She’s some dumb USF lackey that walked into the room. I didn’t want to leave her there, I’d rather only kill those trying to kill me.”
Ensign Komojo swum back to consciousness. Her mind echoed male voices, speaking words she could not understand. She could not open her eyes, despite her will to do so. Her skin started to tingle, and she could breathe in normal breaths. The room came back to her memory. She had died. All the girl could think of was this was death. Shadows and shades of reality would entice her soul for eternity. A cold feeling on her forehead broke the morbid thought.
“Wakey wakey, eggs and bacey.” The words followed vision, finally. Before her, the prisoner and green-haired commando. She could only squeak in terror.
“Eh, she’s cute. Too cute to be a soldier, especially a pilot.” The prisoner spoke.
The Commando seemed puzzled, “A pilot? Geez, why would they use a pilot to guard a prisoner?”
“HEY!” Aishiyurii responded, feeling ashamed by his comment, “I was selected because a bacterial infection hit the normal guards. I will never talk under your torture!”
“Torture?” The green-haired soldier blinked, looking at the prisoner. They stared at each other for a moment, before erupting into laughter. Private Komojo felt depreciated from their response. Was she really that useless?
“Listen, Komojo. We don’t need to know what the guard schedules are for that base. You’re only here because I didn’t want you becoming a floating corpsicle. Had I known you were a pilot... maybe I would have left you.” The green-haired commando replied.
Aishiyurii felt reassured, despite his seeming disdain for her rank. “Oh. Why would you steal a war criminal? He’s going to help us secure peace!”
“Secure peace?” The commando’s mood changed, “No, listen. They’re using him to find out all of Gemini’s dirty little secrets. How long can they hold peace with half of the EFF’s former fleet, and most of mobile weapon fleet eliminated? That war destroyed a lot of things, and the USF wants to rebuild.”
“Rebuild!? That’s insane. We’re destroying suits in record numbers, sending them to the sun.”
The commando leaned his head back, “Girl, you know nothing. Trust me, we’ve been hacking their database for the past week. They’re planning new models of mobile suits to keep the peace and their power. They’re doing this by accumulating all the information they can from Gemini and the Martian Confederation. I’ve already personally destroyed two R&D centers on Mars. I’d rather not have an army using combined EFF, Confederation, and Gemini technology. Why else do you think they’re keeping pilots?”
The prisoner broke the exchange, “The interrogator, he questioned me on the bases. He said that Cassel and Caise had already talked.”
“Nah, they only gave them ammunition depots. Neither were given the same knowledge about Gemini you were.” The commando spoke, pulling out a small datapad. He handed it to Soldier Leo, before turning back to her. “They’re collecting the information, especially that man. His name is Matsuo Kaito, a former EFF partisan and overall ghoul. OH! How rude of me, my name is Keljar, and this lovable war criminal is Tom.”
Aishiyurii was not shocked about the agent’s identity. He gave her a bad vibe, especially when he talked about torture. The introduction did shock her. Keljar extended her hand, shaking it gingerly.
“So, what do we do with her?” Tom looked at her, his grey eyes revealed a confused soul.
Keljar smiled, pulling a knife from his vest. “Well... we could kill her.”
“HEY!” Aishiyurii pulled out her sidearm, pointing it Keljar. She would not be butchered by these two criminals.
“Um... you’re missing the clip.” Tom pointed out.
“Relax.” Keljar put the knife back. Aishiyurii could not believe her naivete. “We’re not going to kill you. I saved your life, remember? Well you can go back to serve those evil bastards and whatever their ‘take over the world’ scheme they have planned, or...”
Aishiyurii could not go back if what they spoke about was true. Her family would again be at risk. She did not want to fight for a military state. “Or what?”
“Or you join us. Right, Kel?” Tom looked at Keljar with antipathy on his face.
“Hey, she is cute. She can be like, our mascot. I wonder if we can find some bikinis.”
“Cut that out. Just because I am a girl, does not mean I am useless... EYE CANDY! I scored at the top of the EFF exams, and I was placed in the special forces! I fought against Gemini to stop this from happening, even scoring a kill!”
Keljar stifled a laugh, “Fine, fine. Maybe you are some use, even though the EFF never produced a pilot worth their suit. Even if you’re their best, you’re nothing compared to us. Hell, we have two of the four horsemen in our service!”
“Two?” Tom replied, looking at Keljar. Aishiyurii heard tales at her training camp of the four horsemen of Mars. They were aces who scored many kills during the attack on the Bolt. They lead a Pluto Garrison before Gemini broke up the ranks. She did not know they were horsemen.
“OH! Yeah, Neo’s working for the cause, too. He wanted to be here, but his skills were needed elsewhere. I am hoping to rendevous with him at a Gemini base loaded with secret weapons capable of dissolving mobile suits in one hit.”
“Neo’s alive, thank God. Well I know no locations with weapons like that, though hopefully they haven’t found one spot. Before the... battle, I was being prepped to command an elite squadron of suits into combat. Believe it or not, they’re being held in a former colony.” He turned, looking at Aishiyurii. His face intimidated her, she knew of his past and what he did to many different soldiers in the outer system.
“Hey, I am... cool. I’ll join you, I don’t want the USF to turn into another Gemini.”
“Eh, if you turn against me, then I’ll just kill you. Got it?” Tom responded.
She smiled, nervously. “Don’t worry. I am smarter than that.”
Tom turned back to Keljar, “They’re in colony U29345, which Gemini relocated to the Sargasso. Chances are it’s abandoned, so we’ll face little resistance. Either that, or they blew it up. In which case we may be able to salvage some of the units. Gemini definitely evacuated it before the battle, and the soldiers working on it were killed with Sigon’s charge.”
Keljar grinned from ear to ear. “Then, we’re off to find our armors!”
Aishiyurii slumped against the ship’s bulkhead. She now was a fugitive about to steal Gemini suits to wage a guerilla war against her former employer. She knew this was right, because she felt no shame from her choice, only fear that she might die becoming a hero.
“What’s your name, Komojo?” Tom inquired.
“Aishiyurii Komojo, though most people call me Ai.” She responded.
Keljar smiled. “Ai, eh? Well, I hope you can pilot.”
Chapter 2
Sunlight, a luxury taken for granted. Neo Lee walked through the halls of the preliminary USF capital, observing the sunlight pouring through the large windows. The former Earth First Federation used this building as a Senate, though now the USF used the building to draft a new constitution. A former Martian soldier, Neo Lee would never be welcome in these halls unless he denounced his heritage. He could never deny his honor, but he could play a junior page by the name of Anthony Block.
Several women smiled at him. Neo looked down at his arm; the sleek, grey suit definitely flattered him. Still, he preferred to dress in combat togs. Their protection and symbolism trumped any aesthetic value this suit had.
“Mister Block!” A young secretary dashed after him. She held an envelope in her trembling hands. The girl was probably his age.
“Yes?” He responded.
She smiled, huffing slightly from her sprint. “These documents, you need to bring these to the PSYops division in the west tower, on the seventh floor. Orders from General West.”
“Oh? Why wouldn’t he transmit them?” Neo snuck into this program under an assumed alias to explicitly spy on electronic files within the USF database. He already retrieved thousands of extremely sensitive files detailing the organization’s true purpose. These documents seemed important, though why a general would not email them to another department perplexed him.
“No clue. Maybe he’s afraid of some spying on him?” The secretary stared into Neo’s eyes for a moment, before exploding in water-cooler laughter. Neo grinned, though the light chuckle hid a cold shock. He had no plans to die for espionage. Even if she joked, he could have been detected.
“Thank you,” Neo replied, “I’ll bring them right up. West tower, seventh floor?”
---
The dim lights in the elevator partially bathed the spy in shadow. Not many people used this elevator, since it only went one place. Before the USF commandeered the building, the EFF used this tower for Newtype research. This was Neo’s first time in this building, though he knew the floor plan well. He was ordered to form a team to infiltrate this very structure before the Gemini threat materialized. Now the USF may have changed the department’s name, but it continued the top secret research. Only the seventh floor was accessible to non-agents, an odd way to organize the building.
DING
The doors opened. Neo walked into the red and gold lobby. Plush carpets and antique furniture created an old look to a structure no more than 20 years old. Sweet smells of incense and leather enticed his nose. A lyrical voice called to him from a rosewood desk. “Excuse me, can I help you?”
“Yes, good morning. I am Page Anthony Block, I have a package for Agent... Matsuo Kaito.”
“Oh, one moment.” The secretary pressed a button. Neo looked at a painting on the wall. The colors were brilliant and the shapes very artful. This masterpiece seemed like something worthy of a museum, but instead was restricted to this lobby.
“He will see you, enter the red door over there.”
Neo complied, walking to the doors. Seven of them, each colored differently. He could only think how odd it was to have a rainbow of doors in such an artistic room. He opened the door, which revealed that the room was another elevator. He entered the small lift, which lacked any buttons. The door closed and he descended down. Neo smiled, each color corresponded to a floor, with one leading to a basement.
The elevator door opened, revealing a completely different sight than the one he came from. Dark gunmetal walls framed an obsidian floor. Sterile-white fluorescent lights illuminated the hallway, each wall containing several doors with no handles. A red light in the distance started to blink, indicating that Neo needed to walk there.
When he approached his destination, a man came out. His hair was wild and out of control. His face looked older than he should have been, and his personal hygiene left much to be desired. Neo recoiled for an instant, before realizing the man’s eyes. He looked insane.
“What do you want?” His gravelly voice responded.
“Morning, Agent Kaito. Delivery for you.” Neo raised the package. Kaito looked down at it, eyeing the label.
“General West? What the hell does he want? Fine, just put it on my desk.” Kaito withdrew back into his office, which looked like a confusing mess of equipment and hardware. He placed the file on the desk, cluttered with many other files seemingly unopened. A glint caught his eye, a black satchel filled with chromed picks and blades rested on a chair.
“Now get out.” Kaito responded, turning on an unknown device. If this data was worth the effort, Neo understood he had to somehow break into this mess and find out what this scarecrow ignored. Hopefully, Neo thought, this was something worth the risk.
---
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