~ indicates thoughts.
* indicate a time break.
^ indicates the start and end of the story.
Warning: Switches viewpoints a fair bit. ;)
Gwen is Kida's, and of course Garion is mine. :)
Date: Mid-June, AC 204 or so
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The Yggdrasil Spaceport:
~Well, I'm on the planet where this "squad" is located, now all I have to do is get to the base.~ Which wasn't really a problem, as he retrieved his baggage - the normal struggle at any spaceport to identify it first, then grab it before someone else did, and then calmly headed over to a Visitor Information booth. His father had mentioned that once on Yggdrasil, he should go to such a booth and... "Garion LeDuke, reporting for duty."
The computer hummed a moment, and a red light beamed to scan his retinal patterns for confirmation of identity. "Confirmed." The voice was a soft, female contralto. "Please wait a moment for information retrieval.” A moment later the computer spoke again. "Garion LeDuke, possible trainee...please retrieve the paper from the dispenser for your squad." The soft voice continued. A small slip of paper slid out of a slot and the name upon it was 'The Black Lions Squad'. He blinked a bit distracted, as that name seemed familiar somehow. It certainly sounded very important that was for sure what with being an R&D group, at least that's what the General had said. "...Someone will be arriving to drive you to the base within 20 minutes."
With a start, Garion was brought back to reality with a small, sheepish, grin. Someone from the base was to pick him up from the spaceport? It made sense, he supposed. Wouldn’t want recruits getting lost and all, which meant he'd better get to the proper passenger area and wait.
Finding the spot wasn't a problem since there wasn’t that many people around. Unfortunately, this gave his mind time to begin truly wondering why _he_ - with such seemingly minor, in his eyes, talents - would be summoned to join this particular group. With a small start reality once again reasserted itself as instincts honed by years of martial arts and Reserves training picked up the fact someone was approaching him from behind. Oh, there wasn't anything superhuman about it, just refined natural abilities most never used.
A faint smile quirked the lips as he turned and saw the figure coming closer to him - a man in his early forties with slightly ragged brown hair that was close-cropped in a buzz cut, dressed in tank top and military camo pants. The man's frame was well muscled, and deeply sun-bronzed, while piercing green eyes filled with a bit of amusement watched the survey that was being done on him. "Excuse me, son, but I don't suppose you'd be Garion LeDuke, would you?"
"Well, considering you've walked all the way over here, taken a good look, and seem to know the name I'm either Garion LeDuke or someone gave you a wrong turn." The tone is slightly cool, but with faint traces of amusement, while the wondering thoughts about `why' still flitted about in his head. Garion's reply caused a fit of laughter from the other man for a few moments before control returned.
"I suppose a person could see it that way, all right. I'm Gill, a mechanic at the base under the Lord God of the Hangar, Master Sergeant Lance Gregory." The eyes did a once-over of Garion's luggage and the pair of daisho in their sheaths that rested on is back - the latter caused a faint look of questioning surprise. Another flicker of a smile quirked the lips as the newly arrived potential recruit bent to pick up his bags - a couple duffels filled almost to the brim. The rest would arrive within a couple days from home, assuming that a place was accepted here.
"Oh, those are perfectly legal. I was part of the Reserves on Perseus, and one of the perks is the permit to carry personal weapons like those wherever I go." He settled the bags upon a carrier, then swung that around while an eyebrow quirks. "So, we're off, then?"
"Not quite there, Recruit." Amusement floating in the firm tone as Gill stepped towards another passenger gate area further down the hallway. “We have one other person to pick up before heading to the base.”
With that, the green eyes turned to search the thinned-out crowd for the other new recruit, one Gwenhwyfar Maxwell. It took only a few moments to find the one Gill sought, after all she was 6'3" with red hair, and muscular. Very nice in many ways, though he knew of the Scottish blood in her - which most likely meant a small bit of a temper/determination streak, too. ~Ah, well...both things should serve well in the Black Lions.~ The thought was completed as the small crowd was woven through to reach her side unnoticed.
Garion watched the other man for a few long moments, wondering who the other person could be...that is, until he noted the direction and probable destination as the tall red-head with an assortment of luggage, including...~A ski holder?~ With a soft sigh quick steps were taken to catch up to Gill as the other was just saying, "Excuse me, Miss Maxwell?" The words floated upon the air in pleasant, polite, tones.
Glancing down at the pair of men she blinked at them. Well it would seem they knew her name, and she really wasn't in much of a mood to ask questions. Her flight had been way too long for any normal person's and certainly more so for her large frame. With a faint nod and a sigh of relief that she no longer needed to stand there, she licked her lips and spoke up, the Scottish accent obvious to any who heard. "Aye? You're the one's I'm supposed to met?" Hopefully that didn't sound too arrogant, though she was quite annoyed. This luggage wasn't light in the least.
A polite nod and smile was the initial part of the mechanic's reply. "That we are. I'm Sergeant and mechanic Gill Lione, and this rather cool fellow is Garion LeDuke - a fellow recruit."
Garion smiled faintly, sapphire eyes definitely matching Gill's assessment as they glanced at her belongings for a moment. He then stepped to a small desk a few feet off, pulled out a cart, and brought it back to the other two people. "You might find using this for some of your items far easier."
Gill sighed faintly at the "boy's" tone, then mentally shrugged as most likely that would change or he'd not be staying at the base through the training. "At any rate, I've got a Hummer outside to take us back to the base."
Gwen raised an eyebrow at Garion and shook her head, shifting the weight of the luggage on her shoulders. "That's a'right... I can carry it out." Turning to Gill, she gestured for him to lead the way. Actually these bags were killing her shoulders, but it wasn't that far to the mode of transportation... hopefully...
With a shrug, the cart was pushed back to its original spot, before Garion quickly slipped through the passers-by back to the rest of the group. That raised eyebrow at his offer hadn't really made an impact, ~Yeah, sure it didn't. Ah, well...~
After the raven-haired young man had gotten back to them, Gill smiled gently and then began heading to the nearest set of doors out of the spaceport. The sun was just reaching it's apex, shining brightly upon the vehicles parked a few yards away - past the entrance road. Crossing that was a simple matter, as a quiet moment in traffic was in the offering.
"There she is." Gill grinned, waving to a forest camouflage painted jeep-like vehicle a few cars down. Garion merely nodded as his blue eyes took in what was evident of the planet Yggdrasil's surface. Not much visible, truth to tell, as the spaceport and the parking lot took up miles of space and the area beyond swayed with blowing grass over a flat plain. A few short moments later the back of the jeep was opened, and the luggage was quickly being stowed.
Gwen followed along obediently, though she let out a faint sigh of relief as the luggage was lifted off her shoulders. It wasn't that she didn't appreciate Garion's offer.. she just liked to do things on her own. "Not to bad a car. How far do we have to go?"
Garion finished loading the second duffel bag with little effort, muscles rippling silently with the movement. Mentally his ears perked up at Gwen's question for the answer was something of obvious interest. ~Hopefully not too long, as my curiosity as to why I'm here is starting to reach "Drive me up the Empire State Building" capacity.~
Meanwhile, Gill had stood to the side slightly to let the recruits put their own possessions into the storage space, watching their movements with interest to see what they revealed. A little, but not much, after all they'd brought very little with them. At the question a large smile, of pleasant anticipation to their upcoming reactions to his answer, formed. "With this thing, it'll take us about two hours to get to the ocean. From there we'll switch to a boat for another hour or so to get there."
"Well that’s better than that flight here. At least we can see the scenery with this thing.."
Garion nodded absently, in agreement with her assessment, while closing the door to the back compartment and glancing at the seat arrangements. Thus the mention of a boat ride hadn't really been noticed... "Would you like shotgun...," then blinked softly as he realized he didn't know her first name. ~Not my fault, Gill never mentioned it in the introductions...easily enough fixed, anyways.~ "miss?" The entire thing was formally polite, though the initial impression of cool detachment is still there.
At the same time, Gill popped open the driver's side door and slid into the seat smoothly, before starting the vehicle up. Like almost all things these days, it was silent for the most part as gasoline was far gone in use. "Hurry up you two, I'm not going to wait forever."
Gwenhwyvar glanced at Garion and shrugged. A seat was a seat as far as she was concerned. She planned on being pretty much silent on the ride to the base anyway and having the back to herself would allow her to look out both windows. "Gwenhwyvar. No miss... just Gwenhwyvar if ye please." She paused, hoping he might give his name in return but not really expecting it. It was his decision if he wanted to be a pompous brat with a stick up his hole after all...
The faintest shadow of a smile curved the lips as a slight breeze swept ethereal fingers through shoulder-length hair as black as a raven's feathers. "I'm Garion. I assume you're fortunate enough to know why you're here," said without the bitter chill in tone though a bit of confusion follows in the rest of the words, "for myself, I've not a clue."
With a polite nod, his almost fluidic movements led to the front passenger side door, which was opened easily and the seat slid onto quickly. Though not before the sheathed daisho were slid off and carefully placed between the two front seats.
Gwenhwyvar came very close to frowning at Garion. But no, she smiled faintly and politely instead. "Why yes I do know why I'm here... a shame for you I suppose, but surprises are surprises... I'm certainly not going to ruin it for you." And with that, she moved herself into the back seat of the jeep, and felt rather annoyed with Garion.
Suddenly the thought hit Garion that he'd not exactly been especially polite so far in this bit of conversation - well, that was probably putting it extremely mildly - due to his curiosity about the situation driving him to distraction. The ghost of a smile from before turns self-depreciating as he turned to face Gwenhwyvar, with the seat-belt done up. "It's nice to meet you, Gwenhwyvar. I'm afraid my thoughts on why I'm here are playing havoc with my manners." Surprisingly, amusement at his silliness warms the words this time around.
Since everyone was in, Gill quickly backed the Hummer out of its parking stall, and quickly but cautiously drove out of the lot. Turning here and there on the streets the area was quickly left behind for the beginnings of wilderness.
Gwenhwyvar blinked at Garion slowly. That action was unexpected, but was returned with a soft smile. "That's quite alright... understandable I suppose." Gwenhwyvar flashed another quick smile before turning her eyes to the window next to her and admiring the greenery.
By this time the spaceport and surrounding buildings were fairly distant behind them, Gill smiling faintly at the passengers' conversation. "So, Gwenhwyvar, I take it you're looking forward to getting to the base?"
Garion glanced at the mechanic a moment, assessing the question and it's reasons. ~Ah, just something to try and take the mind off the trip, probably...~ With that, a hand slipped down to lightly run along his katana's hilt and the sapphire eyes took in the passing scenery outside his window, while the thoughts that had been circling returned with a vengeance.
Gwenhwyvar grinned and leaned forward to better hear the two in the front. "Very! I was hoping to talk to yer chief mechanic down there actually... do you know if I'll be able to get a mobile suit? I have a few requests if I can." Glancing over at Garion, and then down his arm to the katana with a faint smirk. It was small for her, but quite elegant and probably useful and quick. The sapphires worked into the pattern of the hilt adding a bit of color as well. "Nice sword by the way.."
A brief chuckle escaped the older man's lips before a smile of understanding formed. "Well, I'll see what I can do. However, first you'll have to get by the Commanders for basic MS approval - or at least one of them." Glancing over at her a moment the green eyes reflected consideration. "If you've some experience, then most likely they'll allow it, and Lance, Lord of the Hangar, will probably talk with you about his rules and how things work for MS's on the base - well, more likely he'll just hand you the book version. He doesn't talk much to anybody, but especially females...not usually." Turning back to the road, the words continued to flow, "As for requests, most likely it will go through, since they want the pilots comfortable on a mission."
Garion took all that in, and then waited a heartbeat before replying to Gwen's compliment. "Thank-you, I made both of them myself a couple years back."
Gwenhwyvar refrained from pouting and simply smiled. She only wanted a few modifications, but she understood the need to get through certain people. "Which Commander do we have to report to anyway? And what's his problem with women?" She frowned at that. "He got something against us?" Looks at Garion's daisho appraisingly, eyeing the hilts and such. "...What's the tang? How sharp are they?"
Gill frowned a moment, weaving around a small pothole before continuing on the road smoothly, green eyes thoughtful. "Well, as for who you're reporting too, most likely you'll be talking to Commander Maxwell as long as he's on-base. Otherwise it would be Commander Yuy." A moment passed while a faint smile quirked at his lips at a thought. "As for Lance not liking women, that's not quite it...he's just a little nervous around them, especially pretty ones."
Garion blinked slightly at that, but it happened - heck on his first date he'd been a veritable bundle of nerves. However, that thought passed as her question about the sharpness prompted a smile. "I followed the old ways, with the final test of tossing a piece of silk over both blades, which they sheared through like it was air."
Gwenhwyvar leaned back in her seat again, turning her gaze to the foliage around the road. "Commander Chang won't be around?" She let a faint chuckle slip out at Lance's predicament. "Ahh... well then I suppose it shouldn't be that bad. I doubt I'll have any interest in him like that anyway." She coughed and flipped back to the subject of the swords, running a hand through her thick red hair as the heat was getting to her a bit... she missed the rains. "That's... interesting... Not how I usually test the sharpness of my blade though. Why would you test it like that?
The mechanic glanced back with a slight bit of a "why me?" look at Gwen's misreading of his words. "Oh, Commander Chang will be there, just not too likely that he'll be involved with your arrival at the base. Though knowing how things have been the last few months, Commander Maxwell will most likely be behind his desk with ulcer relief in one hand and stacks of reports in the other." A soft smile curved the lips, as a headshake of gentle resignation gave away what the man thought of Duo's antics. However, the comment about Lance caused eyebrows to rise...though it was let be.
Garion only half-heard those words as he thought on the other recruit's reply. Sapphire blue eyes had warmed a bit during the discussion, probably due to its being on something he easily talked to others about, though there were still edges of coolness there. Those took a while to get rid of towards someone. "Tradition for one, it's the mark of a truly forged blade from Feudal Japan times, and if a blade can cut silk then most other things won't be a problem." A twist of the lips revealed a fleeting smile. "So, how do you test your blades, then?"
Gwenhwyvar nodded slowly and blinked at Gill as he looked back at her. "Well then it would seem he needs to take a break for awhile.." Gwenhwyvar nodded in approval. She might be far removed from anything Japanese, but she still thought the culture was something worth respecting. Smiling faintly at Garion, Gwenhwyvar shrugged slowly. "If I can kill with it, it's good enough. Though I tend to test it on my own flesh to determine if it's sharp enough fer use."
Garion blinked softly in surprise. "Your own flesh? I suppose that would work..." A soft chuckle escaped. "Reminds me of a story I've read about one set of warriors whose blades when drawn had to taste blood before they could be sheathed again. Sometimes they resorted to cutting themselves to satisfy the requirement." The faintest spark of amusement danced in the blue eyes. "Personally, I prefer my methods a bit more than that."
Gill smiled softly at the way things had warmed up between the recruits, at least far better then they had been. "Oh, the Commander could use a break all right, but I doubt that he'd take a long one." For a few moments they drove through a clump of local trees - transplanted from Earth, but changed a bit - with bits of blue weaving amongst the green.
Gwenhwyvar chuckled faintly and tipped her head to the side in to show her interest. "I haven't heard that tale before... perhaps I can find it somewhere. Norse?" Gwenhwyvar shrugged slowly at his preference. "To each his own." Turning her eyes to Gill, more questions came forth. "Why not? There's more than one Commander around." Turning her eyes to the foliage again, she smiled at the interesting colors and growth. "Why're the trees different colors here?"
A small shrug was made from Garion's shoulders. "I can't honestly recall at the moment where that one came from, I could check into my collection and try to find it again." A brief smile formed. "Or her own." Then the levity vanished as again the thoughts wandered to just why he was there...well, the base and the answer was getting closer quickly, at least.
"Well, for one thing, Commander Maxwell can't seem to let someone else handle the full reins if he can do it himself. Besides, what with all the new recruits going through basic at the moment, things are kinda pressured on everyone. Not just him." The green eyes glanced at Gwen through the rearview mirror with a bit of amusement as he moved on to the last question. "As for the trees, that I don't really know - though it does add a rather nice quality to the trees."
Gwenhwyvar simply nodded at Garion as she stared out the window, turning her head long enough to respond to Gill. "Commander Maxwell sounds stubborn... " She smiled faintly. "And yes…it is a nice touch... I don't think I would have expected any amount of blue on a tree." Being that she had the entire back seat to herself, she laid back in it as best as possible and yawned widely. "How far into this ride are we anyway?"
Gill glanced from the road to the surrounding area a moment, searched for landmarks, then smiled. "Maybe another ten minutes until we reach the ocean." A side-glance was thrown Garion's way, as the kid was somewhat perplexing...first rather cold, then warming up right quick. Somewhat odd. ~Should make sure that goes into the report to Duo...~ As for Gwen, well, she was another case. Straightforward, friendly when talked to...definitely a good candidate so far.
Garion paled a bit, sapphire eyes turning to Gill with a look of shock. "Ocean? You just said ocean, right? Does this mean the base is...?"
Gill shot a puzzled look over to the young recruit before replying calmly, "The base is on a large island, Recruit LeDuke."
A large sigh escaped from the paler lips as the young man slouched back into his seat. His entire body seemed to radiate resignation to the inevitable. ~Wonderful, just absolutely ^perfect^...I've not been out on the ocean in years and my stomach is tied up in knots due to not knowing why I’m here. Hopefully that flight food will stay put, as I'm not all that sure about some what was in it.~
Just as the last word was thought Gill was pulling up to a gate that surrounded a small docking area. A guard stepped out of the gatehouse, eyes scanning the vehicle and it's occupants thoroughly, before focusing on the Hummer's driver. "Hello, Sergeant Gill. Been a little while since your last trip out from the base." The guard then raked his gaze over the two youngsters...well, youngster, one other adult. "These new recruits you're packing?"
Gill chuckled softly, then nodded. "That they are, Senior Ensign. Is She ready for a ride?"
The guard grinned, then glanced at the recruits again with amusement before replying. "Of course She is. We all quite remember what happened the last time She wasn't, and She is quietly sitting at the second pier for you." A smile flitted over the tanned face. "Word by way of the grapevine also helped. Have a good trip, Sir." He stepped back from the vehicle and saluted, while the gate quickly opened before the Hummer.
"My thanks. Tell Jerry that I'll get him back later..." With a laugh the mechanic easily drove through the gate and turned towards one of the docks. "Grapevine, indeed. That guy is definitely going to get paid back..." Then he turned to glance at the two silent passengers who were currently staring at the `boat' that was tied up at their dock destination.
It was dark grey, and the tones shifted as they looked at her hull, blending with the water's colour seamlessly. The word `sleek' paled beside the magnificent streamlines that swept along the body, and though no weapons were evident, an aura of the predator seemed to radiate from the every millimeter of it. There wasn't an open area, as the metal formed a roof to cover up the passengers with armoured toughness. Further inspection revealed covered fan-ports for hover mode, further increasing maneuverability should it be needed. "So, how do you like the Skipray, recruits?" Warm amusement filled Gill's tone as the two stared at one of his finest achievements.
"She's beautiful, Sir." Garion automatically slipped into formal mode as the sapphire eyes drank in the aerodynamic beauty before them.
"Aye, I canna agree with that." Gwen shook her head slightly as if to clear it, then grinned. "Well, time be wasting." She quickly got out of the jeep and opened up the back to get her gear. After a few moments the two men joined her and within a couple minutes all was aboard and so were they.
"Now then..." A grin of loving tenderness curved the lips of the older man as he took the controls. "That hour-long estimate I gave you back at the spaceport, well, with this lovely lady that gets cut down to half." A mild glance was shot at the two recruits as they were still standing.
"I'd suggest you two buckle in right quick..." After a button was pressed the engines were brought to live with a quiet `Thruuuuuuummmmm'. Gwen easily moved to a nearby passenger seat, and strapped in. Garion, however, was more hesitant in moving but was very soon also seated and buckled in.
The mechanic noted Garion's hesitancy, and then shrugged it off as he carefully backed Stingray from her dock. A moment later he turned her, and then applied 50% power to clear the small set-up - easily clearing the camouflage net that had been spread over all of the buildings and the boats in dock. Then he really opened up the engines - going to full military power.
"Erk..." Garion turned to almost sheet-white before green entered into the complexion. A hand moved quickly to on of his pants pockets to pull out a sub-dermal syringe and applying it over his jugular.
"Are you okay, Garion?" Gill had glanced back at the sound, green eyes slightly worried.
"Will be in a minute, Gill. It's just some of the food from the flight...but that shot will clear things up soon. Hopefully before I lose some of my lunch. I don’t really trust food from flights to stay down on its own." Every syllable was strained, as an intense look of concentration formed on his features, but there was a trace of calm there, too.
"Yer sure?" Gwen was also glancing at Garion with a bit of apprehension, though it faded a bit as he nodded. ~So, the man can be affected...~
The rest of the trip passed quietly as the ocean swept beneath the boat. The island the base was built on was pretty big and so was visible quite a ways out before they reached it. They had switched to hover mode a little ways out so there would be no visible wake. The Stingray pulled up to the camouflaged dock without fuss or telltales. Hidden in a slightly bigger building was another Hummer, which they quickly boarded and then started out on the last leg of the journey in.
Questions, Comments, etc. - all will be enjoyed and appreciated, send to: Phantasm_psi@hotmail.com.