Gundam Wing Fan Fiction / Mobile Suit Gundam Fan Fiction / Gundam 08th MS Team Fan Fiction ❯ Amalgam Gundam ❯ Dark Meetings ( Chapter 18 )

[ Y - Young Adult: Not suitable for readers under 16 ]
Narrator: Universal Colony Year 118 was the year of triumphs and defeats. The Thallonian Empire conquered 95% of the area, enslaving the populaces of both planetary and space colonies. This Empire was ruled by the dictator Marianna Dellis, whose cruelty was only surpassed by her military knowledge and power. However, five space colonies took it upon themselves to join forces in resistance against the Empire by purchasing five Gundams off of one Clarke Axem and sending them to Thallos to win the war with guerilla tactics. Marianna responded by purchasing the mobile armor Apsalus IV and attempted to destroy all the colonies and Clarke Axem. The battle drew them over the Empire's Headquarters, and when the Apsalus fell, it destroyed not only the headquarters, but the storage point for the whole economy of the Empire. The Empire has now fallen, but the Earth Sphere has now put its attentions on the coveted area...







"This is not good, General. This is simply... horrific."

Five-star General Yamato stood in front of the Earth Sphere President with a sullen and serious look on his face. He had just presented President Maxwell with the details of the battle at the edge of Thallosian space in which fifteen of Earth's finest warships were obliterated by a force of fifty-six mobile suits. Among the honored dead was a personal friend of President Maxwell's, the esteemed four-star General Noa, who had commanded the mission.

The President stood and narrowed his eyes at General Yamato, his gaze never letting down for even one brief moment.

"I had better have a pretty damned good thing to tell the families of the people who were killed in that battle. And may God help us all for what I'm going to have to tell the families of the people we suspect have been captured. What I'm trying to say, General, is that I need to have a very good reason not to demand your resignation!" the President yelled.

"I know why we were defeated, sir, and I believe we can prevent further casualties on our side." the General replied, his hands squeezing each other behind his back in nervousness.

"Enlighten me, General!" the President screamed, slamming his hand on his desk.

"The reason we were defeated was because of the weapons used by the enemy. Mobile suits are unlike anything we've faced before. We have been unable to capture any for study, but we may not need to. A surveillance craft was contacted by an individual who claims that he can supply us with as many mobile suits as we need. Also, not all of the colonies were so turned off by the idea of joining forces with the Earth sphere. I am arranging a meeting with them on the very installation where we shall purchase our new weapons so that I can be advised on the best weapons to acquire." General Yamato explained.

The President listened and examined every single word, leaning back in his chair.

"All right," he said, "but this had better not be a waste of time, General, otherwise I will want your letter of resignation on my desk the day you return from this little trip. Understood?"

"Perfectly, sir." The General saluted the President and then quickly turned on his heel to walk away from him.






Aram put out his cigarette on the ashtray he had had installed in Arsenal. Despite his recent taste for cigars, he could never turn away from the white and brown sticks that had "gotten him through the war" as he'd say. The cockpit shook a little as Arsenal landed on the third moon of Thallos, the chosen spot for the meeting to follow. His sensors had already detected the presence of three other Gundams, all of which were familiar to him. He opened up the main cockpit door and looked out at the three people gathered between the Gundams, a smile locked on his face.

"Hello, strangers! Anything I can help you with?" he called out.

Down on the ground, Kenola Mozart pulled back her green hair and looked up at Aram as he climbed down from his Gundam. She crossed her arms and narrowed her eyes, glaring at the teenager as he walked towards her. Den Ryuu put a similar look on his face as he turned to watch his former war compatriot. Sitting in the grass was Melanie Deikin, who didn't even acknowledge Aram's presence.

"You're late." Kenola stated.

Aram simply stood in front of Arsenal, staring back at the two who were glaring at him. A few seconds later, the three of them burst into laughter, recovering a minute later. Aram crossed his arms and sighed, smiling as he stepped up closer to the three.

"Well, are we going to give this same kind of thing to Ed when he gets here? Isn't it a bit strange that Captain Serious isn't his usual punctual self?" Aram pointed out.

"Edmond told us he wouldn't be able to make it. Apparently, there's some sort of political dispute going on in his colony and they need him there." Den explained.

"Isn't that just the thing? The soldier's too busy being a politician to actually do his duty to protect the colonies. Are we even sure we can have a vast alliance without them? After the loss of Melanie's colony, the alliance was damaged enough as it is, but there was a reason we were all sent here." Aram said.

Kenola smiled. "The alliance is holding together. Den's colony has sent peace representatives to the Thallosians in the hope that we'll be able to join forces with them against the Earth Sphere."

"I hate to bring this up, but have any of us considered going to Clarke Axem and seeing if he wouldn't mind assisting us again? A lot of mobile suits were destroyed during the war and we could certainly use new supplies, particularly if the Earth Sphere is planning a full-scale invasion." Den suggested.

Aram laughed. "What's the point?! Didn't any of you see the battle the Thallosians had against those guys from Earth? I don't think there's anything to fear from these saps."

Melanie stood up, picking up a rock and tossing it at Aram. It hit him in the shoulder.

"Ow! What'd you do that for?!" Aram grumbled.

"Why did you not acknowledge my potential as a threat until now?" Melanie inquired.

"Because you'd only been sitting there, not doing anything to harm me until you threw the rock. What's that have to do with-"

"An enemy doesn't become a credible threat until they've already done damage in your eyes. If you wait until you've been stabbed in the heart before you fight your attacker, you'll die and lose the battle before it's even really fought. Prepare for war and expect the worst. Our work is not done yet." Melanie stated.

And with that, Melanie calmly turned away and started walking back towards her Gundam, the powerful Jubilee Zero. The three Gundam pilots stared at her as she walked away, confused by her change in attitude thanks to recent events.

"Is it just me or did the kid sound a lot like Eddie there for a minute?" Aram asked, pulling out a cigarette and lighting it.

"Yeah, well, she hasn't been the same since that battle with Marianna. She's hardly spoken at all, but when she does, it's usually about battle and war. I fear that the sheer hatred she had for Marianna has overtaken her." Den stated.

"Well, it doesn't get any better for her. Marianna's alive and in a hospital on AS-002." Kenola said.

Aram and Den snapped their heads in Kenola's direction. Both had a shocked look on their faces. Kenola scowled back at them.

"Don't you two give me that look. When I was working for her, she and I became good friends, despite what she did to those people. I don't leave my friends to die when they don't have to. She's not exactly in the best of shapes, but she's alive and I intend to help her recover from all of this with, hopefully, a new purpose in life aiding us against Earth." Kenola explained.

Aram stepped forward, glaring at Kenola. "And what should happen if, instead of joining our 'noble crusade' against Earth, she decides to be a psycho again and take over the sector?!"

"Then I'll put her down. Myself, if I have to." Kenola retorted. "Now, instead of focusing on things that can't be changed, let's get to work on coordinating forces for a defensive line against potential Earth targets..."







General Yamato stepped off of his transport vessel and shuddered. The space station he had landed on was operating at a higher gravity level than what he was used to aboard an Earth ship. He suddenly felt himself weighing significantly more than he had a moment ago, so his balance was a little off. The cargo doors in front of him opened up as a grinning old man stepped up to him, ignoring the six guards who were aiming weapons at him.

The old man, AKA Clarke Axem, laughed and shook General Yamato's hand. "Welcome, my friends! Welcome to the Axem Depot for Mobile Suits, the ONLY place in the universe to purchase one of the greatest weapons of war. Can I interest you in some tea? Maybe take your coats?"

"We've not come for tea, Mr. Axem, and you know that." Yamato stated, almost glaring at the old man.

Axem rolled his eyes and looked up at the General, sighing in frustration. "Well, between you and the other individual who will be joining us shortly, this sale will just be a barrel of laughs."

"Other individual? I was under the impression that I was meeting with representatives of all of the colonies that wish to join the Earth Sphere." Yamato interjected, worrying that all of this would be in vain.

"You will be. On the off chance that this is actually a trap by your precious Earth Sphere, the group of colonies that wish to join the Sphere have elected to send only one person who would be best suited to representing their interests. They sent someone capable of defending himself in the event of attempted kidnapping and someone who was also rather expendable due to his nature." Axem explained.

There was a beeping sound, indicating that another vessel had docked at a nearby port. Axem grinned and looked over at another circular airlock, seeing that it was beginning to open.

"And there he is now."

The airlock opened all the way, allowing a single individual to step through. He was still wearing his flight suit, but his face was unfettered by a helmet and his face was straight and emotionless. He had short white hair, whiter than one would think natural hair could be.

It was Edmond Shibumi.

"Allow me to introduce Edmond Shibumi, terrorist, hero, freedom fighter, pilot of the Gundam mobile suit Gallant, and political liaison from the Unified Colonies for Earth to the Earth Sphere." Axem introduced.

Yamato gave the young man a once over. He raised an eyebrow, intrigued by this individual.

Axem laughed. "Things just keep getting more interesting, don't they?"






To Be Continued...