Gundam Wing Fan Fiction / Mobile Suit Gundam Fan Fiction / Gundam SEED Fan Fiction ❯ Mobile Suit Gundam Tournament ❯ Emma's Doubts ( Chapter 11 )

Episode 11

Emma's Doubts

Written By
Mark Moore

Author's note: I'm sorry for the delay. I've been having some personal problems. However, the show must go on. I'm going to try to get the series back on schedule. Enjoy the story. Feedback is welcome.

The United States' first Gundam match is in two days, and Emma Sheen is worried of her performance.

Monday, October 15, 2007, 4:52 PM, Eastern Daylight Time

The United States military base where the Gundam was being tested was Aznable Air Force Base in Tampa, Florida. The Gundam was in a hangar.

Lunamaria Hawke, the Gundam's test pilot, was sitting in the cockpit, which was located in the Gundam's chest area.

Emma Sheen stood on the platform adjacent to the cockpit, watching Lunamaria. Standing at consoles on the platform were Nina Purpleton and Lucette Audevie, the two engineers that had designed the Gundam for the United States Government. They worked for Anaheim Electronics and were currently under military command while on this project. The fourth person on the platform was Relena Peacecraft. She was interested in the proceedings but was primarily there to give moral support to Emma.

"Okay, raise the right arm."

At Nina's request, Lunamaria pulled the lever on her console that controlled the right arm. The arm slowly rose up until it was pointing straight up.

Nina smiled. "Good. Now, make a fist."

Lunamaria pressed the right fist button. The Gundam's right hand closed into a fist.

Nina nodded. "Good!"

"I think that's about all that we have enough time for."

Nina nodded. "Agreed, Lucette. Power down, Lunamaria."

Lunamaria opened the Gundam's hand, lowered its arm, and shut off the Gundam. The blue glow in the Gundam's eyes disappeared.

Lunamaria got out of the cockpit.

Nina looked at Emma. "I think everything is ready as we can make it."

"Will I have any unexpected problems while operating it?" Emma asked her.

"You shouldn't. Piloting the simulator is just like piloting the Gundam."

Murrue Ramius, Emma's superior officer, walked into the hangar.

Emma and Lunamaria saluted her. "Captain!"

"At ease. How's the Gundam coming along, Nina?"

"I think it's ready as we'll get it."

"Good. Our first match is in two days."

"Yes, sir. Um, may I do some tweaking of the OS code?"

"We're loading up the Gundam and shipping it to Jordan. You'll have to work on it in the air."

"Understood."

Murrue looked at Emma. "I'm personally overseeing the Gundam's transport. You will leave for Jordan tomorrow."

"Yes, sir."

Murrue looked at Lunamaria. "Lunamaria, you're with me, Nina, and Lucette."

"Yes, sir."

Murrue looked at Relena. "Relena, you know how to operate the simulator. Correct?"

"Yes, sir."

"Good. If Emma wants to get in some last-minute training, you're in charge."

"Yes, sir."

"Okay, come down from there. We have to move the platforms and elevator to get the Gundam out of there."

Emma, Nina, Lucette, Lunamaria, and Relena walked into the elevator and rode down to the floor. They walked out of the elevator.

Soon, a group of officers arrived. They operated heavy machinery to move the platforms and elevator out of the way. The women watched this.

Once all of that was out of the way, one of the officers held up a remote control and powered the Gundam up. The Gundam's eyes glowed blue.

The women watched as the officer made the Gundam walk out of the hangar. The women followed the Gundam.

A truck was parked outside the hangar. The officer made the Gundam lie down on the platform behind the truck. He then powered down the Gundam. The blue glow in the Gundam's eyes disappeared.

The truck driver pressed a button, and the platform moved into the truck, taking the Gundam inside with it.

The officer got onto the back of the truck and pulled the door closed.

Murrue looked at Emma. "Okay, we're off. We'll see you in Jordan."

Emma saluted Murrue. Murrue saluted Emma, then she got into the passenger seat of a car. Nina, Lucette, and Lunamaria got into the back seat. The driver of the car followed the truck to the runway.

Emma and Relena watched the truck and car go until they were out of sight.

Emma looked at Relena. "Let's go to the simulation room. I want to practice."

Relena looked at Emma. "You sure don't waste any time."

Emma and Relena entered the simulation room in another building on the base.

Emma got into the simulator. "Okay, I'm ready."

Relena made some selections on the computer console. "Using the battle data that was sent to us from yesterday's match, I'm going to program the drone to be a combination of our, Australia's, Niger's, Kuwait's, the United Kingdom's, Turkey's, Poland's, Russia's, Iran's, Austria's, Israel's, Venezuela's, Lebanon's, France, and Iraq's Gundams. If you can beat this, it won't be a guarantee of victory in your match, but it should boost your confidence. Okay, try this."

The screens inside the simulator turned on. They displayed a dock. The ocean appeared to Emma's left. The drone appeared in front of her. A thunderstorm was approaching. There were dark clouds in the sky. Lightning flashed. Emma heard thunder. There was a light chop to the water.

"Fight!" the simulator's male voice declared.

Emma moved her Gundam forward. She swung the left arm at the drone. The drone jumped and avoided the attack. Emma jumped and fired her beam rifle. The blasts hit the drone repeatedly. Emma then kicked the drone three times with her Gundam's right leg.

"Overheating!"

Emma knew that she had caused damage to the drone. She activated her Gundam's thrusters and flew the Gundam into the sky. She fired at the drone with her beam rifle.

"Not enough power!"

Emma's Gundam landed back on the dock. The Gundam didn't have enough power for long flights and had to recharge.

The chop in the water was now medium.

The drone came at Emma and kicked her Gundam five times with its left leg. Emma punched the drone three times with her Gundam's right fist. Then she kicked it three times with her Gundam's right leg.

Emma activated her Gundam's thrusters and flew the Gundam into the sky. She quickly flew over the drone and behind it.

"Not enough power!"

Emma's Gundam landed back on the dock.

Emma kicked the drone three times with her Gundam's left leg.

"Overheating!"

The chop in the water was now heavy. Water was splashing onto the dock.

Emma knew that she was close to victory. She kicked the drone five times with her Gundam's left leg.

The drone punched Emma's Gundam fives times with its right arm. It then fired at Emma's Gundam with its beam rifle repeatedly.

"Overheating!"

Emma grew frustrated. She backed her Gundam up.

The drone fired at Emma with its beam rifle repeatedly. The blasts hit her Gundam.

"Overheating!"

The drone fired at Emma with its beam rifle. Emma activated her Gundam's thrusters and started to fly into the air. The blasts hit her Gundam anyway, and it fell back onto the dock.

Emma kicked the drone five times with her Gundam's left leg.

"Checkmate!"

The drone fell down.

"Well done! Glory to the winner!"

The simulation ended. The screens went black.

Emma got out of the simulator.

Relena smiled. "Pretty good, Emma. Your reflexes are pretty good. So is your strategy."

Emma walked over to her. "Bullshit. I was lousy. I just barely won. Besides, all that it proves is that I can defeat Australia's, Niger's, Kuwait's, the United Kingdom's, Turkey's, Poland's, Russia's, Iran's, Austria's, Israel's, Venezuela's, Lebanon's, France, and Iraq's Gundams."

Relena frowned. "You're right. Who knows what the other nations have?"

Emma sighed. "I'm not ready for this."

Relena gave Emma a cheerful smile. "Don't worry, Emma. The real thing feels just like the simulator. I think you'll be able to use our Gundam to its full potential."

Emma smiled at her. "I wish I was as confident."

"You know what you need?" Relena asked her.

"My head examined?" Emma replied.

"A girls' night out. Let's have fun before we leave."

Emma smiled. "That sounds like fun."

Emma and Relena walked into a restaurant.

The man behind the counter smiled. "Welcome. How many in your party?"

Emma held up her left hand and raised her index and middle fingers.

The man picked up two menus. "Right this way, please."

Emma and Relena followed him over to a table.

The man placed the menus on the table. "Please look over our menus. I will return shortly to take your order."

The man walked away.

Emma and Relena picked up the menus and read them.

"I think I'll have the steak, a side of onion rings, and a regular cola." Emma set her menu on the table.

"That sounds good. I'll have the same." Relena set her menu on the table.

"I'm worried, Relena. What if I don't do well on Wednesday?"

"If that happens, then the United States will ally itself with one of the other nations. You know that."

"I don't want to let anyone on our team down."

"Don't worry about it. Let's just relax and enjoy our dinner."

"I can't relax."

Relena smiled. "When we get home, I'll exhaust you so much that you'll have to relax."

Emma smiled. "Maybe this should have been a girls' night in."

Emma sat on the couch in the living room of her and Relena's house.

She was flipping through a photo album.

She was mostly looking at pictures of her parents. There were pictures of her mother by herself, her father by himself, her parents together, her mother with Emma, her father with Emma, and both of her parents with Emma.

Relena walked downstairs and over to the couch.

"Aren't you coming to bed?" Relena asked.

"In a bit."

Relena sat down to Emma's right on the couch.

Relena looked at the pictures. "You were a cute kid."

"Thanks."

"You're still cute."

"Thanks."

"That was a hint, Emma. I want you upstairs and nude."

"In a bit."

Relena sighed and looked at the pictures.

Neither of them said anything for a moment.

"How you has it been?" Relena finally asked.

"6 years."

"What made you think of them now?"

"I don't know. Maybe it's the pressure. I joined the Air Force, because they had been in it, and I wanted to honor their memory somehow. I constantly feel that I'm out of my league, though. Maybe I shouldn't have joined."

"You're a Lieutenant. That should indicate that you're doing well."

"What does the Peter Principle say? 'In a hierarchy, every person tends to rise to her level of incompetence.' Right?"

Relena sighed. "Something like that. Don't beat yourself up, though. You're a fucking good pilot."

"I don't feel like it."

"Your parents would be proud of you,...and so would mine...for taking care of me."

Emma smiled weakly. "Thanks, sweetie."

Emma closed the photo album and set it on the coffee table. Then she stood up.

"Come on. You have to exhaust me, so I can get a good night's sleep."

Relena happily followed Emma upstairs.

Mobile Suit Gundam Tournament

Mobile Suit Gundam Tournament

Emma pressed Relena against a wall in their bedroom and held her arms against the wall.

Emma kissed Relena passionately on the lips.

Relena opened her mouth. Emma used the opportunity to slip her tongue into Relena's mouth. Emma and Relena french-kissed.

After a moment of this, Emma released Relena's arms and placed her hands on the wall. Relena moved her arms around Emma and placed her hands on Emma's ass.

Emma finished the kiss. "I want you."

"I want you, too."

"Then let's not waste any seconds."

Emma and Relena took off their clothes and let them fall to the floor.

Relena hugged Emma and kissed her passionately on the lips.

Emma broke the kiss. "Not yet. Let me get the bed sheets pulled off first.

Relena released Emma. "Hurry."

Emma turned, grabbed the bed sheets and cover, pulled them off of the bed, and let them fall to the floor.

"Okay."

Relena tackled Emma and pushed her onto the bed. She shoved her tongue into Emma's mouth.

Emma lied down in bed, smiling. "That was fun."

Relena lied down to Emma's right and smiled. "I knew you'd like it. Now, get some sleep."

Emma kissed Relena on the lips briefly. "I love you. Good night."

"I love you, too. Good night, sweetie."

Emma soon fell asleep.

Emma had a nightmare.

She was sitting in the cockpit of her Gundam, fighting a monstrous, shadowy Gundam. It kept pummeling her Gundam.

Emma kept pressing buttons on her console, but they didn't have any effect.

"Come on!" Emma yelled. "Do something!"

"Emma, what are you doing?!" Nina demanded through the Gundam's radio frequency. "Kick his ass!"

"I'm trying, but the fucking controls won't respond!" Emma yelled back.

"The controls work fine! It's you that's the problem!"

"No, it isn't!" Emma insisted. "Call off the match! I don't want to lose!"

The opposing Gundam landed a final blow, completely incapacitating Emma's Gundam.

Murrue appeared in front of her.

"I can't believe you lost! After all of the work that we put into this match, you let us down!"

Murrue faded away and was replaced by Lunamaria.

"You're a pathetic pilot!"

Lunamaria faded away and was replaced by Nina.

"You got my Gundam destroyed!"

Nina faded away and was replaced by Lucette.

"Anaheim seeks monetary reparations!"

Lucette faded away and was replaced by Relena.

"No sex for you tonight, loser!"

Relena faded away.

"I didn't mean to let you down!" Emma yelled. "I didn't! Please forgive me!"

Murrue, Lunamaria, Nina, Lucette, and Relena appeared, surrounding Emma.

"Emma Sheen! Emma Sheen! She's the worst pilot that we've ever seen!" they chanted in unison.

"Stop it!" Emma yelled.

"Emma Sheen! Emma Sheen! She's the worst pilot that we've ever seen! Emma Sheen! Emma Sheen! She's the worst pilot that we've ever seen! Emma Sheen! Emma Sheen! She's the worst pilot that we've ever seen! Emma Sheen! Emma Sheen! She's the worst pilot that we've ever seen! Emma Sheen! Emma Sheen! She's the worst pilot that we've ever seen! Emma Sheen! Emma Sheen! She's the worst pilot that we've ever seen!"

"Shut up!" Emma yelled.

"You know it's true!" Lunamaria yelled.

"You're a failure!" Nina yelled.

"You're a loser!" Lucette yelled.

"You're a disappointment!" Murrue yelled.

"And you're lousy in bed!" Relena yelled.

"You can't mean that!" Emma yelled. "I did the best that I could!"

"Emma Sheen! Emma Sheen! She's the worst pilot that we've ever seen!" Murrue, Nina, Lucette, Lunamaria, and Relena chanted in unison.

Emma screamed.

Emma woke up, sweating and panting.

She sat up and took in her surroundings. She was in bed. Relena was sleeping to her right. It was dark.

Emma lied down and tried to go back to sleep.

Tuesday, October 16, 2007, 7:43 AM, Eastern Daylight Time

Emma woke up.

She looked to her right. Relena was sleeping next to her.

Emma turned and positioned herself over Relena. She took a moment to admire Relena's beauty.

Emma kissed Relena on the lips.

Relena woke up.

Emma finished the kiss, pulled back, and smiled. "Good morning."

Relena smiled. "Good morning."

"Let's eat a quick breakfast, then we can pack."

"Okay."

Emma put a duffel bag on the bed and opened it.

Then she got a clean uniform and put it into the bag.

She also got a toothbrush, a tube of toothpaste, a box of dental floss, a small bottle of mouthwash, a small can of deodorant spray, a small bar of soap, and a small bottle of shampoo from the bathroom and put them into the bag.

Emma zipped the bag closed.

"Is that all that you're taking?" Relena asked.

"We're going there just for the match. We'll be back home by tomorrow evening. Pack just one pair of clothes. It'll be enough."

"Okay."

Relena got a duffel bag, put it on the bed, and opened it.

"Don't worry about the hygiene stuff. I already packed it."

"Okay."

Relena got a fresh set of clothes and put it into the bag.

She zipped the bag closed.

Emma checked her watch. "We should get to the base and board the plane."

Emma and Relena sped down a highway in Emma's yellow convertible. They were listening to "Never" by Heart on the radio.

After driving for a few minutes, Emma turned right onto another street.

A few minutes later, they reached Aznable Air Force Base.

Emma brought her car to a stop by the gate. She handed her badge to the security guard, and Relena did likewise with her visitor's pass. The guard scanned them and handed them back. Emma and Relena handed their duffel bags to the security guard. The guard opened them, inspected them, closed them, and handed them back. Then Emma had to go through a thumbprint and retinal scan. Finally, the security guard opened the gate, and Emma drove onto the base.

Emma drove to a runway and parked in the lot near it.

Emma and Relena got out of the car and walked over to an airplane.

The pilot and the copilot saluted Emma. Emma saluted them.

The four of them boarded the airplane.

"Aisle or window?" Emma asked Relena.

"I don't care."

Emma sat in the seat by the window, and Relena sat to her right. They each buckled their seatbelts.

Soon, the airplane's engines started. The airplane sped down the runway and flew into the sky.

Emma stared out the window, nervous.

Relena laughed. "Don't tell me that you're afraid of flying."

Emma looked at her. "Not flying. Piloting the Gundam."

Relena sighed. "Not this again."

"I can't help it. I'm worried."

"You have nothing to worry about. You've prepared as much as you could. You've spent countless hours in the simulator. You've read up on every aspect of the Gundam. You've questioned Lunamaria about the Gundam's performance. What more could you possibly do?"

"I could pilot the actual Gundam before the match."

Relena laughed. "Not likely."

"Exactly. Murrue won't let me touch the fucking thing."

"She has her reasons. As for what those reasons are, beats me."

"Money, most likely. That thing is expensive."

"That's a good reason. She probably doesn't want to raise the maintenance costs too high."

"I doubt that I'd add any significant amount of money to the repair bill during practice."

"That's true."

"Why'd they choose me for this position?" Emma asked. "Surely, there are more qualified people."

"Maybe, but Murrue must have seen something special in you to get you this job."

"There's nothing special about me."

"I disagree with that."

Emma smiled weakly. "Thanks, sweetie."

"Did you bring anything to read?" Relena asked.

"No."

"I thought so. It's a long flight."

"I don't suppose you've brought anything."

Relena unzipped her duffel bag and took out of box of playing cards. "As a matter of fact, I have. Up for a game?"

"Sure. Which game do you have in mind?"

Relena opened the box, took the deck of cards out, and dropped the box into her duffel bag. "Blackjack."

"Okay."

"If I win, you have to shut up about being a lousy pilot. No complaining. No whining."

"Deal. Get it? Deal."

Relena groaned and dealt the cards.

The United States' first Gundam match is here. Emma Sheen is worried of her performance. Will she be able to defeat the Jordanian pilot and keep the United States in the tournament?

Next on "Mobile Suit Gundam Tournament":

"Level 1, Match 08"

You will race with the tide.