Mobile Suit Gundam Fan Fiction ❯ G-element ❯ The Prelude to Destiny ( Chapter 1 )

G-Element

Chapter 1: Prelude to destiny

The setting: A peaceful forest somewhere in America. A lone man walks down a dirt road towards a clearing visible in the distance. He is dressed in a dirty well-worn army jacket and equally faded jeans. It's a pleasant summer day, but you couldn't tell by the unhappy look on his face. He has a handsome visage, with light eyes that belie the intensity that once fired behind them. He walks slowly down the path like a man who has seen way too much in way too little time. The man is Thomas Cane, formerly of the U.A.C military. A job he "quit" in disgust after experiencing the widespread corruption firsthand. All of his ancestors were members of the army, and most importantly his Great-Grandfather who was one of the Gundam Pilots of legend, but that's all they were now… legend. The possibility of a Kabal resurgence was well known by nearly the entire populace, and when confronted the political leaders both this and the fact that the Kabalites were planning on constructing their own force of Mobile Suits. That ordeal was two years ago and the situation had only gotten worse since. Cane was just returning from his weekly trip into the nearest town to pick up supplies and brush up on any news. He lived the life of a hermit, and that's exactly how the people in town viewed him, with an equal combination of fear, curiosity and apathy. However, not many of the townspeople knew all that much about him and those who did knew that he was simply a man jilted by both life and society, seeking peace in a turmoil filled world. He had a promising career but because of his strong sense of justice and personal honor he had to leave. He neared his home, a none-too-spectacular cabin in a clearing in the woods, as he enjoyed being alone sometimes. But to his surprise, as soon as he entered his house he was face-to-face with a beautiful woman.

"I've been waiting for you Thomas Cane." She frowned and crossed her arms over her chest.

`What are you doing here, Maria?' He asked, furrowing his brow. She responded by strolling over to him, wrapping her arms around his neck and kissing him. Her face lit up with a bright smile.

"You know that I can't stay mad at you for too long, Tom!" Maria laughed. Lieutenant Marian Spencer, career officer and one of the only shining stars of the generally lackluster U.A.C. intelligence bureau. She has been described as friendly and outgoing by her peers, an overall nice person. It was the subject of many debates during Tom's time in the military about how she could end up dating someone like himself. Most settled on that she saw or thought she saw something worthwhile in the bitter Cane. The pair hadn't seen each other for about a year or so. Thomas was surprised by her sudden reappearance to the point that he felt compelled to push her away, but before he could he recalled that he had locked all of the doors and windows before he left.

"How exactly did you get into my cabin?" He asked, while examining the windows and door for any signs of forcible entry. Maria laughed out loud.

"Please, you don't spend part of your life in the armed forces without picking up a trick or too. But on a more serious note Tom I came to apologize for the way I treated you way back then." Her smile faded, and she took on a passive look. Thomas looked at her, she was pretty, not stunning, but good-looking enough to turn a head every once in a while. She kept herself in good shape, thanks to the regimen that came along with being in service, and like Thomas she was in her lower thirties, though a year younger than he was. They had separated following a nasty argument the two had concerning the events that caused Thomas to quit the military and hadn't seen each other since that time. He was still a little angry with her about her apparent blindness to the situation, but he had since realized that he shouldn't have taken part of his anger out on her.

"Look." He began. "I regret what happened just as much as you do, but I don't know why you'd jeopardize your promising career just to be with a loner like me, I don't think this will work out." Maria took a step backwards and stared right into the once intense eyes of her former lover, trying to comprehend the thoughts and feelings behind the stoic face. She tried to sort out the events that had happened over the past two years, and what she had learned in town about Tom. From what she knew, he earned his food doing mostly mechanic work in the village along with an odd job here and there. He never had many visitors, but that suited his personality. It was hard enough to get him to admit that he had feelings for her so many years ago. Despite what any of his former commanders and fellow soldiers might say about him, she was positive that beneath his rough exterior beat the heart of a caring, honorable man.

"You listen to me Cane, I'm not sure about you, but I still love you. My superiors will never find out about you and me, don't worry" She chided him. Deep in her heart she knew he still loved her, she would get it out of him even if she had to beat it out of him. Thomas turned his back to her, and slammed his fist into the nearby wall in a sudden flair of anger.

"You're right…as usual. I do still love you Maria, but I…I…just…." He said, trailing off before he could finish. Maria smiled, and once more wrapped her arms around him reassuringly. It was obvious to her how difficult it was for him to admit his feelings like that.

"That's all I wanted to hear Thomas, that's all I wanted to hear." The two sat down and spent the next couple of hours chatting and catching up on old times. Thomas seemed to relax over time, and for a few moments Maria saw glimmers of his old self again. He had changed a lot, but not so drastically as to be a stranger to her. It made sense seeing what he had gone through. Thomas felt at ease, to be honest he felt better than he had in a long time, as he talked to Maria. She was as beautiful as ever and just as pleasant. He knew he had loved her, he had since day one, but his feelings were not the real reason he had tried to push her away. Not long ago while going through some old journals that belonged to his family he uncovered something. In one of his Great-Grandfather's journals he found a bit of information that nearly caused him to fall out of his chair. Riddick Cane had hidden something of incredible power for just this sort of emergency in a cave not far from the family cottage. Maria was happily chatting away about some unimportant little thing when Thomas interrupted her. She stopped as soon a she noticed the deathly serious look on his face.

`Maria there's something very, very important that I have to show you, please follow me."

`O-Okay Tom" she said not knowing what to expect. He stood up stiffly and motioned her outside. He began walking into the forest, beckoning her ever so often to keep pace with him. The thought that something was wrong with his mind quickly flashed through her mind, but she dismissed it just as fast. He was he strong willed to have gone crazy, but you can never tell. The silent walk ended when he stopped at the opening of a massive cave hidden behind a roaring waterfall. She followed him inside the near pitch black cave. Thomas was nowhere to be seen until a burst of light temporarily blinded her. She looked forward to see him standing next to what looked like a pile of parts, he was pointing at something deeper into the cave. She shaded her eyes and then it hit her. Her mouth hung open when she when it clicked in her mind what he was pointing at. An unmistakable, huge white, blue and black humanoid machine kneeled as if it were at rest. Something she had only heard about and dreamed about. Only two words were needed to sum up what was right there in front of her.

"A Gundam."

End of chapter one