Mobile Suit Gundam Fan Fiction ❯ Mobile Suit Gundam: Short Stories ❯ 500km outside of Side 5 ( Chapter 3 )

500km outside of Side 5

Staring down a barrel of a 180mm cannon and staring out into the debris filled space. I could feel my urine slowly soak my “space diaper” but there was something else too. Something that I couldn't quite put my finger on but my mind was beginning to wander. It's funny how a series of coincidences can bring me to this point.

My life isn't all that interesting. My parents lived on Earth and had enough money to put me through private school. They had high hopes for me but I didn't. None of the classes really interested me. Not because they were boring but because I always thought there were better things to do. I would usually sit in class and stare out the nearest window or the cutest girl in class. I was discrete but my leering didn't go entirely unnoticed. But because I was considered to be a “cute guy” by the girls, nothing really came of it. I wasn't the kind to sleep around but I did have a relationship with one girl. Here was coincidence number one: if I had never gone out with her, I would have cared about my exam grades and actually tried harder.

When I graduated, my grades weren't bad but they did hinder my entrance to a university of my choosing. My parents were devastated and tried to get me into a university through the backdoor. I, on the other hand, didn't really care. Coincidence number two: I was approached by an EFF recruiter on a trip to buy some clothes. I had never thought about a career in the military but I signed up because he seemed like a nice guy. Mum and data weren't best pleased but they respected my choice. I packed my bags and reported to the academy. They were confiscated upon arrival as non-military grade apparel.

I was a quick learner but nothing that anyone couldn't have done if they tried a bit. My instructor thought different. He put me through the basic training and began tutoring me on more complex manoeuvres, night-flights and put me forward for zero-G training months before anyone in my class. Even though I may not have known it then but considering the speed that I progress was actually quite amazing for an 18 year-old man. My classmates were, surprisingly, supportive. They were a bit jealous but none of that spill over into hate. There was the odd joshing and hazing but I didn't get anything that everyone got anyway. Before my assignment to the Side 1 Spacy Academy, I managed to shoot a fellow cadet in the arm during target practice. The gun had misfired. The bullet ricocheted off the walls and buried itself into the cadet's lower arm. The rules on shooting a fellow cadet were quite clear, be it accidental or intentional. I was expelled. Life wasn't so good at this point.

Then Zeon dropped the colony on Australia. Seeing the destruction on the television I wasn't surprised when the phone rang and the academy wanted me to come back. I was home for only two weeks. Mum and dad begged me not to go back but left anyway. I didn't want them to worry but I wanted to go back to flying. They made me promise one thing as I left: live and come back to them. I sighed but I promised.

I was sent up to Side 1 Spacy Academy where I was introduced to the Ball. I was still in training when the Battle of Loum destroyed most of the EFF fleet. Boy was I glad that I wasn't there. Coincidence number three: if I had not been expelled, I would have joined the battle at Loum in a Flying Manta. After the higher-ups saw the usefulness of mobile suits, they put all of my class at the Spacy Academy into Mr Balls. These things were clumsy and cumbersome to pilot but we were sent out in them. I don't think my life expectancy was going to be too high.

So, here I am, staring down the barrel of my Ball's cannon. Funnily enough, I'm also staring at a huge hole in where the cockpit of a Zaku should be. My shell had hit that thing at almost point-blank range. The enemy Musai-class cruiser was retreating and the Salamis cruiser that acted as my carrier was firing bursts of mega-particle beams at it. This was the final coincidence: the Zaku had flown directly at my Ball with it's heat axe over it's shoulders. I guess the pilot thought I was out of ammo. He guessed wrong.

“Hey kid,” The squadron captain said through the crackling communications channel, “Good job. I'll be recommending you for a medal once we get back. Don't get cocky though. Getting cocky out here means you'll come back in a body bag.”

Huh, I survived to fight another day.

That was five seconds ago.

The Zaku's engine went into overload and the exploded into millions of pieces. Guess what? Several of those pieces are now lodged in my abdomen. My mind is hazy but I can feel something dragging my Ball, probably my squad captain, back to the ship. Mum and dad won't be very happy if I die. I suppose I should really survive for them. Need to keep that promise. Maybe I'll get another coincidence. God there's so much blood in me it's unbelievable.