Gundam Crucible - [An AU Universal Century Quest]

[X] Travel through the airlock and attempt to locate the source of the pressure.

You have a mission, to locate Alex Team and bring them back into communication with the Bellerophon.

But… something is telling you that this is more important.

"Alright Little Sis… we're going in." You carefully step into the airlock and activate it. The doors shut behind you and air begins to cycle into the chamber. It isn't long before your MS reports that the air is now breathable, and pressure is equivalent to sea level.

The inner doors groan open, and beyond it is a large, cavernous area filled with nondescript industrial buildings… this must be a production facility of some sort. Most everywhere looks dead and abandoned like the rest of Axis, but a few blocks into the district you can see it. There's a single large building with large sliding doors big enough for a Mobile Suit, and high windows all along the sides. Light spills out from them onto the surrounding streets. So there really is someone living here.

"…Okay, let's go in quietly." You whisper to Sicilia, using your thrusters to gently push the Woundwort into the air, then towards the building. As you get close, you carefully come to a halt, creating as little noise as possible.

Well, it's still loud, but no louder than the sound of that airlock opening, anyways.

There's no doubt about it, the Pressure is strongest here. You could just slice open the building, but what if they're not hostile? You don't like it, but you have to check this out for yourself.

You switch control over to Sicilia's seat before getting out of your own and retrieving a sidearm from the emergency supply compartment.

"Keep an ear and eye out, okay?" You chamber a round and open the cockpit door, "If I get into trouble, I'll be counting on you."

She nods, "Alright, Big Sis. Be careful."

Swinging around the outside of the head, you push off and drift down to street level. As your boots lock onto the ground, you can't help but look around at the surroundings buildings and marvel at them. This place must have churned out materials for Axis once upon a time. Was it for war? Commercial? Well, enough of these buildings have Mobile-Suit sized doors, so you guess it was probably used for MS development or production. Probably development, since the layout would not be conducive to an effective assembly line.

That aside, you quickly locate an entrance, a door with a glass window peering inside. The glass is old and frosted, but you can see light through it… Okay, now or never.

You quietly turn the handle and push the door open, stepping through. You have to be alert, who knows what could be-whoa.

What… is that? It's huge! A big red Mobile Suit! It's covered in patchwork repairs, and the right leg is clearly a transplant from a Geara Doga (it's still green, even), but it must have been imposing and magnificent when it was new. As your gaze travels up it, you're struck with a sense of familiarity. Wait, haven't you seen this MS before? Then, as you see the head, it strikes you. Everyone who's seen footage from the Axis Shock knows this Mobile Suit.

This is… The Sazabi.

It's… amazing.

Then you hear someone step out of the shadows behind you. The sound of a pistol being cocked. Shit.

"Don't move." The stranger speaks, their voice muffled by what might be a helmet, "Drop the gun."

"…Fuck." You curse under your breath, tossing the pistol away. You should have been paying attention, instead you got preoccupied with the museum piece and let this guy get the drop on you! Where were your Newtype senses when you needed them? Apparently, they play second fiddle to your appreciation of vintage hardware!

There's no mistaking it though, this guy is the source of the Pressure you've been feeling. And now he has you at gunpoint. Joy of joys.

"I know you people have a grudge against me," he says, sounding somewhat bemused, "but I didn't expect one of you to find me before a recovery team."

Wait, "you people"?

"…Who exactly are my 'people'?" You ask, hoping to god that this guy isn't a Neo Zeon hermit that's been living here for years alone, and you're about to get shot for wearing a Londo Bell uniform.

"Playing dumb? You can't fool me, I know a Titans Mobile Suit when I see one." He scoffs.

Wait, Titans? Well, yeah, it's a Titans MS, but you're not with the Titan Remnants! Why would he think that when you're wearing a Londo Bell Normal Sui-!

…

You're wearing your dad's jacket over it, covering any insignia from all angles aside from the front. Right. Oops.

"Look, Zeon hermit guy or whatever," you start talking, trying your best to sound confident and not the kinda scared teenager that you are, "I'm not with the Titan Remnants. I just use an old Titans MS. It's secondhand. I swear I got nothing against you, I was just trying to see why the lights were on in this building."

Yeah, not like you were trying to track the presence of a Newtype. You are not sure how he'd react to that, but you don't think it'd be a pleasant reaction.

"…Zeon hermit?" He repeats, baffled, "Wait… turn around."

You slowly turn on the spot, making sure you don't spook the guy. He's standing in the shadows, but you can tell he's wearing a dirty Normal Suit, and carrying a regular service pistol like the one you had. He seems surprised once he gets a good look at you.

"…You're just a kid." He lowers his gun, and then notices your uniform, "Oh… I'm sorry. From behind I didn't see…"

At the same time, you feel the Pressure lighten up. Guess this guy was on alert the whole time, and knew that those other guys were trying to come through the door. He seems confused, but you just sigh in relief at not being held at gunpoint anymore. You pop your helmet and hold it under your left arm, offering your right hand.

"Ensign Cybele Naese, I'm with Londo Bell." You introduce yourself, "Who're you?"

Please be friendly, please be friendly, please be friendly…

---

Outside- A Few Seconds Ago

You deactivate the Heat Blade and lower it from where you were about to cleave the building in half. Big Sis is okay, you can feel it. She isn't in danger anymore.

You land the Woundwort and get ready to disembark. You wanna meet this person who makes you feel tingly and nice, kind of like how Big Sis makes you feel!

---

Inside- Now

The stranger steps into the light, and you notice more details about his Normal Suit. It's a white and blue Londo Bell one, but older in style. Looks almost new though… well, looks like it was new, then got roughed up for a week or so. There's a distinctive red line down the right side of the chest. It looks familiar, where have you seen it before?

He holsters his gun and pops his own helmet, revealing a head of reddish-brown hair and a face that you could never forget (it's plastered all over the merch you just bought, and lovingly recreated on the dakimura). No longer muffled by his helmet, his voice is iconic and instantly recognizable.

"Captain Amuro Ray. Sorry about earlier." He smiles sheepishly, "I'm a bit jumpy today. Anyways, Ensign, did Bright send you? Odd choice, but I'm not going to complain. I was afraid I was going to have to fly this junk pile out of here."

He gestures to the Sazabi, which you realize he's been repairing. You try to say something witty.

"Bwuh."

You just… You can't even-! Amuro Ray?! The Hero, the Legend, the guy who's supposedly dead?! He's just been living like a hobo in Axis all these years, waiting for Bright to pick him up?!

"I know, not my best work," Amuro winces, apparently taking your speechlessness as a reaction to the Sazabi, "but I really did a number on it during the fight. Patching the Nu's cockpit into it was a nightmare, not to mention attaching that leg. Want to see it?"

"I, uh, sure." You stammer, trying to understand just how he's been here for years with nobody noticing. Didn't Londo Bell and the Federation do a sweep of Axis after the battle? How did they miss Amuro Fucking Ray and his giant Sazabi kitbash?!

As he leads you up towards the head, you notice cabling connecting the MS to some sort of large machine near the wall, which is in turn plugged into the building itself. If you had to take a guess, Amuro is powering this entire district with the Sazabi. Well, the airlocks and this building in particular.

"Thankfully, Anaheim is very good at making their hardware compatible," he explains, stepping into the cockpit, "The physical connections are where I had some trouble. Otherwise, this thing is almost ready to go. I'm just trying to fix one last issue I found yesterday. I must have damaged the Sazabi so badly that the Chronometer got thrown off. The Suit's OS says that the Chronometer itself isn't damaged, but if it's wrong about that, who knows what else it's wrong about? So I'm running one last full diagnostic on the Suit manually."

"How do you know it's broken?" You ask, a bit intrigued at this mashup of a Mobile Suit.

"It doesn't match the backup Chronometer in my cockpit," Amuro answers, fiddling with a panel on the back of his Linear Seat, "It's off on the magnitude of five years. Minutes and hours match up well enough, but five years? That's more than a small deviation."

….

Wait. Something isn't adding up. A lot of somethings aren't adding up.

"…Captain Amuro," you look him in the eye, "What year do you think it is?"

He gives you a miffed look, "U.C. 0093, of course. Why? I know I've been here a while, but it hasn't been that long. A week at most."

He goes back to his work, adding, "I can't believe it took a week to find me. Did we really lose that many people during the battle?"

…. A week. Amuro Ray thinks that he's been missing for a week.

"Big Sis!" Sicilia chirps, her head popping into view from the side of the cockpit hatch, "I parked the Gundam! Who's that guy?"

He looks at Sicilia, blinks a couple of times, then waves to her, "Hi. I'm Amuro."

"Hi Amuro." Sicilia smiles cheerfully, climbing into the cockpit along with the two of you.

He notices her uniform, then shakes his head in exasperation.

"I leave for a week, and Bright starts recruiting kids again. I swear…"

Closing the panel, he looks back to you, "Well, Ensign, looks like you're my ride out of here. I was worried when I noticed that someone was trying to force the doors earlier, but I guess that was just you, hm?"

Providing a taxi ride for Amuro Ray? Sure…

…

Wait, wait, are you just going to ignore that he thinks he's only been gone a week? It's been five years! Yeah, his Normal Suit only looks like it's been through about a week or so of wear, and his facial hair is only like a week-old bad, not five years bad, but that just makes things more confusing! Also, he was going to fly the Sazabi out of here? Wasn't the Sazabi abandoned on the surface of Axis or something? How'd he get it in here?! And he didn't even have his own Gundam, just his own cockpit from the Nu, which was probably adrift in the first place! You just have so many questions! None of this makes any sense!

But does Amuro have the answers you're looking for? Or are your questions just going to confuse him too? He seems to be pretty convinced that he's only been gone a week, so does he even know what happened? You don't think so! The only thing that occurs to you is fucking Time Travel, but that's entirely nonsense!... Right?

At any rate, the Sazabi is probably fine. The Chronometer is working. If anything, it's the one in his cockpit that's busted. He can fly himself out of here. And honestly you kind of want some backup, given that you got separated from the rest of your team.

Maybe… Maybe don't address the time difference, and just give him the cliff notes as to the situation? It might confuse him a bit, but less so than "You Time Travelled".

Alternatively, just let him believe what he wants, although it would be harder to convince him to take the Sazabi in that case.

"Your memorial was nice!" Sicilia comments to Amuro, causing him to frown and mumble to himself.

"Oi, Bright, don't write me off so quickly…"

---

[][Amuro] Don't challenge his assumptions. You are now his chauffeur.

[][Amuro] Explain your mission. Ask for his assistance. Leave out anything related to the time difference.

[][Amuro] Tell him the year. Show him proof. Find out what he knows, and what he doesn't know. Then ask for his help to finish your mission.