Listen to My Song (ch 3b)
Califf, Jennifer (jcaliff@nsai-petro.com)
Thu, 10 Jun 1999 18:53:44 -0500
Listen to My Song (chapter 3b - if you haven't been reading it then I'm
not even gonna try to explain. E-mail me for previous parts. ^_^)
By Jennifer Califf
"May I help you?" Sandy, the new receptionist, tried hard not to stare
at the four incredibly cute guys who stood in front of her desk. She'd
only been at this job for less than a week, and already she was enjoying
the benefits.
"Yes, we're here with a flower delivery for Mr. Heimdal on the 5th
floor."
"Of course. But I'll have to inspect the delivery," Sandy replied,
standing up to move around her desk. Cute guys with flowers. What more
could she ask? "Is Mr. Heimdal expecting you?" she asked.
"No, I think it's a surprise delivery. From a secret admirer," added
one of the other young men hastily.
"Oh," Sandy remarked knowingly. She smiled as she examined the flowers.
Not noticing anything suspicious, she returned to her desk.
"I'll let him know you're here," she said.
"Please do," answered the first young man, smiling sweetly. Sandy
decided that she liked this job.
Elsewhere, an Imperial fleet moved silently through the Iserlohn
Corridor on its way to meet its destiny. Ernest Mecklinger followed
Sigfried Kircheis to a room on the main flagship. Inside, a
communications array had hastily been patched together. Mecklinger
gripped the pokeball containing their secret weapon. He was almost
afraid to go near the mess of wires and electronic equipment for fear of
being electrocuted.
"Are you sure this is safe?" Mecklinger asked, as he noticed electricity
arc through the air from an exposed wire.
"No," answered Kircheis, "but it's the best we could do on such short
notice. We don't want Jigglypuff to put the bridge crew to sleep."
"I understand," Mecklinger replied. "How much longer before we engage
the Rebel fleet?"
No sooner had Mecklinger spoken than a video screen lit up on the far
side of the room. Admiral Reinhart von Lohengram addressed them.
"Kircheis, the enemy fleet is coming into range. I don't want to give
them the opportunity to launch their Spartanians. Or those so-called
'Valkyries'," Reinhart said, shuddering involuntarily at the memory of
their first encounter with Sound Force. "Mecklinger," he continued,
"how soon will Jigglypuff be ready to sing?"
"Whenever you are ready, Your Excellency."
"We should be within effective range in a matter of minutes."
Reinhart's image disappeared, replaced by an image of the stars and
ships that lie ahead of them.
On the Alliance flagship, Yang Wenli watched the display showing the
Imperial fleet move closer and closer to his own. He made a decision.
"Launch Sound Force," he ordered.
"But sir, the enemy is not yet in range of our main weapons," remarked
one of the bridge crew.
"They'll be slaughtered with no support," said another, quietly so that
only his buddy sitting next to him could hear.
"From what I've heard, that could be a blessing," smirked his friend.
Fredericka Greenhill looked nervously at Yang.
"I don't want to give the enemy a chance to act before we do. Sound
Force's Valkyries are even more versatile than Spartanians; they should
be able to dodge enemy fire. The enemy is expecting us this time, so I
want to get those sound boosters in place before the enemy knows what
hit them." Yang smiled, and Fredericka suddenly felt encouraged. Maybe
he really did have a plan after all. She smiled back as the
announcement was made that Sound Force had sucessfully launched.
Having delivered their flowers, four handsome young men sprinted through
the service areas of the Phezzan capital building. As they came to a
doorway, the one farthest ahead suddenly stopped, and signaled his
colleagues to do the same.
"What is it, Aya?" asked one.
"Something's not right," answered the one called Aya. His eyes searched
the darkness that lay beyond the doorway ahead.
"Well, we can't just stay here. We have to complete the mission, and
that means there are only two choices; forward and back. And I, for
one, am not turning back," said the first, who took off his sunglasses
in order to wipe them off on the sleeve of his long coat.
"Yoji's right," said a third, who was taking the moment of rest as an
opportunity to fan himself off. "Damn, it's hot in here," he said
quietly to himself.
"Ken, Yoji, please. Aya, what do you think?" asked the fourth and
youngest-appearing member of the group.
"That's easy for Omi to say; he's wearing shorts," muttered Ken to Yoji,
who nodded in agreement.
"I don't like it. Everything's been too easy," Aya said, his hand
fingering the hilt of his sword that he had somehow managed to hide
while bringing in the flowers.
"I know," Omi agreed, "it feels like we're walking into a trap. But I
guess there's no other choice. Let's go, but be careful," he added.
The foursome quietly walked into the darkened room that loomed ahead.
However, before their eyes had even had a chance to adjust to the
darkness, someone turned on all the lights. Squinting in the
brightness, the four young asassins gasped at the sight that greeted
them.
"What the hell!?!" asked Yoji, as he stared into the face of the largest
humanoid robot he'd ever seen. A sinister voice echoed through the
room.
"Contratulations, detectives. You've discovered our secret. However,
what you see here is nothing compared to the Deus project iteself. I
suppose you already know all about that. According to all official
sources, our scientists have been developing advanced technology to end
the war between the Empire and Alliance. And indeed, the war will end.
And Phezzan will be the ultimate victor!!"
"WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT!?!" yelled Ken at the disembodied
voice.
"What? You mean you're not here to expose our plans for universal
domination?" asked the voice.
"We're just here to deliver flowers!" replied Yoji.
"Bah, you can't fool me!" snarled the voice. "It doesn't matter. You
know too much. Now, I'm afraid you'll have to die. You may call this a
mobile suit, but I prefer to call it a Gear. Ramsus, kill them!"
Inside the cockpit, a young man with a wild look in his eyes activated
his Gear.
"I'll show you, Fei! You'll see! I'm good enough, I'm smart enough,
and gosh darn it, PEOPLE LIKE ME!!!!" Ramsus shouted the last phrase as
if it was his battle cry, driving his Gear forward straight towards the
4 uber-cool young men. They all dove out of the way as the Gear plowed
through the wall and into the next room.
To really be concluded next time. . .
Author's notes: I'm having too much fun writing this thing. It keeps
getting longer and longer. And there are more and more crossovers. I
know, it's bizarre. And I'm rather proud of that. ^_^ Got a little
more Weiß in this one than in previous chapters. That's okay though - I
like it. I probably should have split off the Weiß section into it's
own story. I originally wrote it just as a one-shot cameo, but the
concept grew on me so I decided to expand it. There's always a place
for Phezzan in a Galactic Heroes fic. Anyway, there really is only one
more section to go. I've got the whole thing outlined and almost
written. I'll send it tomorrow. C&C always appreciated.
Jennifer
jcaliff@nsai-petro.com http://www.topher.net/~jcaliff/iserlohn.htm
Broken mirror, a million shades of light
The old echo fades away
But just you and I can find the answer and then
We can run to the end of the world
-"Small of Two Pieces" lyrics by Masato Kato, end theme of Xenogears
