Gundam Wing Fan Fiction / Mobile Suit Gundam Fan Fiction / Gundam SEED Fan Fiction ❯ Mobile Suit Gundam Tournament ❯ The United Kingdom's Gundam Team ( Chapter 35 )

Episode 35

The United Kingdom's Gundam Team

Written By
Mark Moore

Author's note: Welcome to Level 3 of the tournament. This level will be comparatively shorter in length than Level 2 (only 2/3rds the length - or 8 episodes). That's a relatively short sprint. I know that there's not a whole lot of new material in this episode, but I figured a slight retrospective to provide context would be better than two days' (storywise) worth of lead-up to a decisive match. Enjoy the story. Feedback is welcome.

As the United Kingdom's first Gundam match approached, Sayla Mass was worried of her performance.

Thursday, September 27, 2007

Sayla sat on the couch in the living room of her and Fraw'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 Sayla, her father with Sayla, and both of her parents with Sayla.

Fraw walked downstairs and over to the couch.

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

"In a bit."

Fraw sat down to Sayla's right on the couch.

Fraw looked at the pictures.

Neither of them said anything for a moment.

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

"7 years."

"What made you think of them now?"

"I don't know. Maybe it's the pressure. I joined the Royal 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 Flight 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?"

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

"I don't feel like it."

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

Sayla smiled weakly. "Thanks, love."

Friday, September 28, 2007

Sayla stared out the window, nervous.

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

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

Fraw 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'd read up on every aspect of the Gundam. You've questioning Karen about the Gundam's performance. What more could you possibly do?"

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

Fraw laughed. "Not likely."

"Exactly. Sally won't let me touch the bloody 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."

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

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

"There's nothing special about me."

"I disagree with that."

Sayla smiled weakly. "Thanks, love."

Saturday, September 29, 2007, 5:57 PM, Kuwait Time

Sayla and Fraw got out of the car and walked over to Sally.

Karen was sitting in the cockpit, which was located in the Gundam's chest area. Standing at consoles on the ground was Dorothy.

Sayla saluted Sally. "Sir."

"At ease."

Sayla relaxed. "How's the Gundam coming along."

"Good. All of the problems have been worked out. It's ready as it'll ever be. How about you?"

"I'm...nervous."

Sayla need not have worried, however.

Sayla fired her Gundam's beam rifle repeatedly at Nasser's Gundam, hitting it repeatedly.

"Checkmate!" the simulated male voice of Nasser's Gundam declared.

Nasser's Gundam fell backwards.

"Well done! Glory to the winner!" the simulated male voice declared over a speaker.

Sayla sat in her cockpit, stunned.

"Sayla, you did it! You won!" Dorothy exclaimed.

Sayla smiled weakly. "I don't believe it."

As the United Kingdom's second Gundam match approached, Sayla Mass was confident that she would win.

Sunday, November 11, 2007

Sally, Dorothy, and Karen were standing in the special, massive airplane that was transporting them and the Gundam. They were currently en route to Niger.

Dorothy and Karen were standing at a console, testing the Gundam. Sally was on a cell phone.

"Yes, Mr. Prime Minister." Sally turned off her phone and put it in a pocket. "Dorothy. Karen."

Dorothy and Karen stopped their work and looked at Sally.

"Is everything ready?"

Dorothy smiled. "The Gundam is in better shape than it was before our first match."

"And our pilot?" Sally asked.

Karen frowned. "I think she's taking it too easy. She's way too confident that she's gonna win."

"You think it'll be a problem?" Sally asked her.

"I don't know."

Monday, November 12, 2007, 8:07 AM, British Standard Time

Sayla got out of bed.

Fraw got out of bed. "Are you sure that you've gotten enough practice?"

"Yeah."

"Maybe we should go to the base early and practice before we leave for Niger."

"Nah. It's not a problem. I've got the win locked up."

"You seem awfully confident, Sayla."

"Why shouldn't I be?" Sayla asked. "You worry too much, Fraw."

"I recall that you worried before your first match. I'm just saying some more time in the simulator might do you good."

"C'mon, Fraw. It is Niger."

Sayla stared out the window and smiled.

"How are you feeling?" Fraw asked.

Sayla looked at her. "I'm fine. In fact, I feel great."

"You're not worried about your upcoming match?"

"No. Why should I be worried?"

"Well, Niger won its first match. Doesn't that concern you even a tiny bit?"

"Not at all. I'm going up against a guy that's never lost - just like I did in Level 1. It's the same thing."

"Sayla, that doesn't make any fucking sense."

"I'll do fine. Don't worry about me."

"I'm your girlfriend. It's my job to worry about you, love."

Sayla laughed. "I love you, Fraw Bow. You make seem so happy."

"I love you, too, Sayla Mass. If you're confident that you'll do well, then I know that you'll do well."

Tuesday, November 13, 2007, 5:57 PM, Nigerien Time

Sayla and Fraw got out of the car and walked over to Sally.

Sayla saluted Sally. "Sir."

"At ease."

Sayla relaxed. "How's the Gundam coming along."

"Good. All of the problems have been worked out. It's ready as it'll ever be. How about you?"

"I'm fine."

Karen was sitting in the cockpit, which was located in the Gundam's chest area. Standing at consoles on the ground was Dorothy.

Karen unbuckled her seatbelt and got out of the cockpit, immediately entering the elevator that had been set up in front of the Gundam.

Karen rode down to the ground and walked out of the elevator.

"You ready?" Karen asked Sayla.

"Is a frog's ass watertight?" Sayla asked her.

Karen frowned. "You're weird. Just don't bang up the Gundam."

Sayla fired her Gundam's beam rifle repeatedly at Tandja's Gundam, hitting it repeatedly.

"Checkmate!" the simulated male voice of Tandja's Gundam declared.

Tandja's Gundam fell backwards.

"Well done! Glory to the winner!" the simulated male voice declared over a speaker.

Sayla sat in her cockpit, smiling.

"Sayla, you did it! You won!" Dorothy exclaimed.

"Was there ever any doubt?" Sayla asked.

"Considering how cocky that you were acting, yeah!" Karen yelled.

Sunday, November 25, 2007

At Ray Air Force Base in London, England, work was proceeding on the United Kingdom's Gundam.

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

Sayla Mass stood on the platform adjacent to the cockpit, watching Karen. Standing at consoles on the platform was Dorothy Catalonia, the head engineer that had designed the Gundam for the British Government. The third person on the platform was Fraw Bow. She was interested in the proceedings but was primarily there to give moral support to Sayla.

Dorothy nodded. "Good! I think you can take a break for a while, Karen. I'd like to go through the data for the proposed missile system. Power down, Karen."

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

Karen got out of the cockpit.

Dorothy looked at Sayla. "You can take a break, too, Sayla."

Sayla frowned. "I don't like the idea of being armed with missiles."

Sally Po, Sayla's superior officer, walked into the hangar.

Sayla and Karen saluted her. "Captain!"

"At ease, Flight Lieutenants. How's the Gundam coming along, Dorothy?"

"Great. I was about to go through the data for the proposed missile system."

"Good. Speaking of which, I have some great news. The Romefeller Foundation is going to be financing the missile system, so you can get to work on it right now."

Dorothy grinned. "That's great, sir."

Sayla sighed. "Yeah, great."

Sally looked at Sayla. "You don't seem very happy, Sayla."

"I still think that it's a bad idea, sir."

"Noted. Come down here and take a break."

Sayla and Fraw walked into the elevator and rode down to the floor. They walked out of the elevator.

Sayla and Fraw walked through a corridor in another building on the base.

"This is a really bad idea."

"Why do you say that, Sayla?"

"Iran has missiles, so we gotta have missiles. This tournament was designed as an alternative to war, but how can we truly have peace with continued weapon escalation?"

"I don't know."

They stopped at a vending machine.

"Want an energy drink?" Sayla asked.

"Why do we need energy drinks? It's not like you're doing any sim testing."

Sayla smiled. "But we might need some extra energy when we get home."

Fraw smiled. "Oh! Of course!"

Sayla took her wallet out of her front-left pants pocket, unzipped the coin purse, and took out some 50-pence coins. She zipped the coin purse and put her wallet back into her pocket. She bought 2 energy drinks.

Sayla and Fraw each took 1 can out of the machine, opened them, and took a sip.

"Still, I think you're worrying too much, love. You might not even have to use them."

"Well, if it comes down to it, I will." Sayla sipped her energy drink. "Fraw, how long have we known each other?"

"23 years - my entire life. Perhaps longer."

"What?"

Fraw sipped her energy drink. "It just seems like a really long time. Why?"

"In all of that time, you've known me to a peaceful person; right?"

"Yeah."

"I've never killed anyone. I've never even shot anyone. The possibility of firing at someone with missiles sickens me."

"I understand. Maybe you could talk with Karen about it."

"Yeah, good idea."

Karen was sitting at a table in the break room, sipping a regular cola.

Sayla and Fraw walked into the break room.

Sayla sat across from Karen, and Fraw sat to Sayla's left.

"Karen, I've got a question. If we end up being paired with Iran, would you please pilot the Gundam in my place?"

"What's the matter? You scared?"

"Yeah."

"You're pathetic, Sayla. You knew there were risks in piloting this new type of hardware called a Gundam when you accepted Sally's offer. Now, you wanna back out, because you're afraid?"

"I'm scared of dying!" Sayla exclaimed.

"You're in the wrong profession."

"Yeah, I probably am."

"You know that I'm trained as a back-up pilot, the least of the reasons being that you chicken out. Why are you asking me to take over for you?"

"I dunno. Just to hear you say it, I suppose. It'd make me feel better."

Karen sipped her cola. "Yeah, I'd take over for you."

Sayla smiled. "Thanks."

Fraw smiled. "See, Sayla? Karen will take over. You have nothing to worry about."

Karen looked at Fraw. "That's true, Fraw, but Sayla should consider whether she's making the right decision or not. What will people think of her and of our nation?"

Sayla stared at Karen for a moment. "I don't care."

Sayla stood up and walked out of the break room.

Fraw stood up. "Bye, Karen."

"Bye, Fraw."

Fraw walked out of the break room and caught up with Sayla.

Mobile Suit Gundam Tournament

Mobile Suit Gundam Tournament

The United Kingdom's third Gundam match is in one day, and Sayla Mass is fearful for her life.

Thursday, December 6, 2007, 4:52 PM, British Standard Time

At Ray Air Force Base in London, England, work was proceeding on the United Kingdom's Gundam. An elevator was set up to take people up to various levels of the Gundam. There were also metal platforms set up for people to walk on.

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

Sayla Mass stood on the platform adjacent to the cockpit, watching Karen. Standing at consoles on the platform was Dorothy Catalonia, the head engineer that had designed the Gundam for the British Government. The third person on the platform was Fraw Bow. She was interested in the proceedings but was primarily there to give moral support to Sayla.

"Okay, Karen, I'm bringing the missile launchers online. Raise the launchers."

At Dorothy's command, Karen selected the MISSILE option on the Gundam's computer console.

Panels on the arms of the Gundam slid open, and the missiles rose out of the arms.

Dorothy smiled. "That did it. The missile launchers are fully installed."

Karen smiled. "Hey, how do we know that these things will really fire? Maybe I oughta test them out."

"Not bloody likely." Dorothy checked her console. "Power down, Karen."

Karen shut off the Gundam. The blue glow in the Gundam's eyes disappeared.

Karen got out of the cockpit.

Dorothy looked at Sayla. "Be careful with these missiles. They do a lot of damage, and they're expensive as hell."

"Dorothy, if I'm in danger of being fuckin' blown up, I'm not gonna care what I hit in addition to the Iranian Gundam, and I don't care how many of these bloody missiles that I fire off."

Sally Po, Sayla's superior officer, walked into the hangar.

Sayla and Karen saluted her. "Captain!"

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

"It's good as we can get it. The missile launchers are installed and working. I'd like to look over it a bit more and see if I can make the computer code more efficient."

"Get it done. Our third match is tomorrow."

"Yes, sir. May I have a little bit more time to work on the code?"

"We're loading up the Gundam and driving it to the Palace. You'll have to work on it there."

"Understood."

Sally looked at Sayla. "I'm personally overseeing the Gundam's transport. I'll see you here in a few hours."

"Yes, sir."

Sally looked at Karen. "Karen, you're with me and Dorothy."

"Yes, sir."

Sally looked at Fraw. "Fraw, if Sayla 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."

Sayla, Dorothy, Karen, and Fraw 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.

Sally looked at Sayla. "Okay, we're off. I'll see you in a few hours."

Sayla saluted Sally. Sally saluted Sayla, then she, Dorothy, and Karen got into the back seat of a car. The driver of the car followed the truck to the runway.

Sayla and Fraw watched the truck and car go until they were out of sight.

Sayla looked at Fraw. "Let's go to the simulation room. I want to practice."

Fraw looked at Sayla. "You sure don't waste any time."

Sayla and Fraw entered the simulation room in the base.

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

Fraw made some selections on the computer console. "Okay, I just selected 2-player mode. We're both armed with missiles."

"Cool."

Fraw got into the second simulator. "Are you ready, love?"

"I suppose, love."

The screens inside the simulators turned on. They displayed a city street at night. Skyscrapers appeared to Sayla's left and Fraw's right.

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

Sayla moved her Gundam forward. She selected the MISSILE option on her Gundam's computer console.

Panels on the arms of the Gundam slid open, and the missiles rose out of the arms.

Sayla fired the missiles directly at the cockpit of Fraw's Gundam.

The missiles impacted.

"Over-"

Fraw's Gundam exploded.

"Well done! Glory to the winner!"

The simulation ended. The screens went black.

Sayla got out of the first simulator.

Fraw got out of the second simulator.

Fraw smiled. "You shouldn't have anything to worry about, Sayla."

Sayla walked over to her. "I win, if I kill him right away. That isn't comforting. In fact, it sickens me."

Sally, Dorothy, and Karen rode in the back seat of a car to the location of the match. A truck followed them, carrying the Gundam.

After Sally, Dorothy, and Karen got out of the car, they stood and watched as the Gundam was unloaded from the truck and placed in an upright position. Then computer consoles and an elevator shaft were set up near the Gundam. Niger's Gundam stood across from their own, covered with canvas.

Dorothy turned on the consoles and checked the readings. "Everything seems to be working just fine. The consoles are interfacing with the Gundam's systems. Karen, please go up there."

Karen walked over to the elevator shaft and got into the elevator. She pressed a button. The elevator rose and stopped at the Gundam's chest area. Karen opened the cockpit and climbed in.

"Power on!" Dorothy called.

Karen pressed a button and turned on the Gundam. The Gundam's eyes glowed blue.

Dorothy checked the readings on the console. "We've got a 100% signal. Good. Radio on!"

Karen turned on her radio.

"Can you hear me?" Dorothy asked Karen.

"Yeah. Can you hear me?"

"Yeah." Dorothy looked at Sally. "We're going to do some system checks before going back to the base. You can go ahead."

"Nah, I'll be fine. I want to observe your work."

Sayla and Fraw walked into their bedroom.

Sayla looked at Fraw. "I'm scared, Fraw. Let's make love. I need to be close to you."

"Of course."

Sayla and Fraw took off their clothes and let them fall to the floor.

Sayla kissed Fraw passionately on the lips.

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

The United Kingdom's third Gundam match is here. Sayla Mass is nervous. Will she be able to defeat the Iranian pilot and keep the United Kingdom in the tournament? For that matter, will she be able to stay alive?

Next on "Mobile Suit Gundam Tournament":

"Level 3, Match 1"

You will race with the tide.