Part 12: A Day in Eisengrad

Chapter 11: A Day in Eisengrad

When we last left our heroes, Hal had just totally bailed them out with the Gundam. Still no sign of Vladi Zarth, though.


: (Where am I!? Oh, right. The Mobile Suits Corps sleeping quarters... I'm lucky to still be alive after yesterday.)


: Great, actually! I'm good as new!
: Cheeto, there's something I'd like to ask you. Who exactly is Captain Vizardt?
: Why? Is there something wrong?
: No, not really. Just a hunch, I guess.
: Well, I don't know much about him either. I only just met him myself.
: Ah, never mind then. It's probably just my imagination.
: Well, whatever it is, I know one thing for sure. You can trust him. I can guarantee it.
"Damnit, Hal is a good guy and if you DARE question him I swear I'll put my hands over my ears and sing 'LALALALALALALALALALALALA!'" <>


: By the way, General Sosei sent you a message. He wants you to come see him when you're feeling up to it.
: Uh... Do I have to?
: Ha ha ha! If I didn't know better, I'd say you were scared!
: Of course I am! We're talking about the Army's General HQ!
: Just relax! You'll be fine!


: If he took that mask off, I bet I'd remember.
"Shut up Tremmie not you too!" <>


: ... Huh!? Oh, it's you, sir! My apologies! Please go on through!
Damn straight. Anyway, the road to the palace is littered with little secret paths to treasure.


There's one here...


Here...


Here...


And here.


"Hm... Important people means important treasure..."


Oh, hey, I have a fan.


So here we are at the palace. I would LOVE some of the Kampfer data they have in such abundance.


: General Sosei is waiting for you in his audience chamber on the 3rd floor!
: Oh, man...
: Oh, and I have some more good news for you. Supreme Commander Dustov has requested to meet you personally.
: You mean THE Commander!? He wants to meet me!?
: There's no need to be nervous. You're the hero that saved Eisengrad!
: B-but...
: You don't sound so self-assured when you aren't in your Mobile Suit...! Keep your chin up and remember what a hero you were on the battlefield!
In Cheeto's defense it's really easy to be self-assured when you're piloting a complete travesty of science. I only wish I could make it more ridiculous, but I can't find any awesome parts.


Now, I know what you're thinking: "He wouldn't DARE steal from the palace. No way."


"Yoink."


: Commander Dustav, this is the young man we were talking about.
: Well met! I am Elmott Dustov, Commander of the Eisengrad Army.
: Uh, h-hello! I-I'm Cheeto... sir!
: Ha ha! Relax, my young friend! General Sosei told me about everything you've done for us.
: All I've done...? If it wasn't for Captain Hal, we wouldn't have made it!
: The fact remains that you risked your life to repel the enemy attack.


: I'd like to thank you on behalf of the people of Eisengrad! Please accept these as small tokens of our appreciation.
He gives us 5 small ECAPS and 10000 credits. Hell yeah.
: It's the least we can do!
: Th-thank you! ...Sir!
: The Dark Alliance is spreading terror throughout the world. But with young warriors like you on our side, our future looks bright! Cheeto, I'll be keeping an eye on your progress.


"Keep an eye on THIS, old man!"


: And, well... I just wanted to warn you. There are people in the army who aren't exactly happy about you being here.
: What do you mean?
: Soldiers or not, they're only human. And people get jealous of those who make them look bad. Perhaps it would be best if you stayed out of our war against the Dark Alliance. A battlefield is no place for youngsters, anyway.
: Thanks for the warning. But we can't just stop now. We're in this for our own reasons.
: I see. Well, I wish you luck... And take care. You never know when you might get hurt, after all.
Yeah, screw you Akter. Dorpo and I've got bigger fish to fry anyway.


: He wants you to meet him at the Mobile Suits Corps command center!
I guess our next destination is clear.


: Did something happen?
: We've located the Dark Alliance's headquarters!
: What!? Are you serious?
: Of course I am! Our analysis of the enemy's retreat indicates the Alliance is operating out of Fort Berg to the northeast.
: What are you going to do?
: I'd like to hit them right away, but we took heavy casualties in yesterday's battle. It's going to take a while to reorganize our forces.
: So you're just going to sit back and do nothing?
: Of course not. That's why I called you. It looks like we need your help again. I'd like you to find out who's supplying weapons to the Dark Alliance.
: An arms dealer, you mean?
Were you not paying attention a few updates ago? They make these giant robots out of dirt. Nobody supplies dirt, except... My God. This could be worse than we thought. EARTH IS ARMING THE DARK ALLIANCE! QUICKLY, AIM THE NUKES FOR THE PLANET'S CORE!
:Exactly. I want you to identify the arms dealer and cut off the flow of weapons to the Alliance.
: Do you have any leads?


: He's been making a tidy profit on the Black Market. Unfortunately, we aren't sure of Vargas's current whereabouts. And we haven't pinpointed the exact location of the Black Market, either. I know it isn't much to go on, but could you lend us a hand?


: I knew I could count on you. I know it isn't much, but I can offer you some data for creating a new Mobile Suit.


Theoretically, the Gyan would be much better for Cheeto's strong melee abilities, but I'm going to go for the Gelgoog. I like Cheeto to have some ranged abilities, plus later I can use the Gelgoog as a hand-me-down.
: If anyone can do this, it's you, Cheeto!


Next time: Pirates! Again!


BONUS CONTENT!

Timeline Dickery Part Deux


"However, evidence contradicting this has been discovered in various locations. Documents describe alternate eras of Mobile Suits, such as the 'Future Century' and 'Another Century.' Debate continues as to the truth and accuracy of these documents."

First off, translation error. "Another Century" should read "After Colony". Gundam Wing takes place during the After Colony era. So anyway, time for the ultimate timeline dickery. According to MS Saga, Universal Century, After Colony, and Future Century all took place in the same timeline. Time for me to do my best to explain what the hell happened. The spoiler tags are only there because I don't want to take chances. I'm just talking about various Gundam series.
 It all starts in Universal Century 0093. Amuro stops Axis from plummeting into Earth, ending the war between Londo Bell and Neo Zeon.

Time goes on normally until the year UC0100. A ripple in the time currents causes the universe to violently tear into two paths. One path continues as normal, onto the Crossbone conflict of UC0123. The other path creates a whole new reality. There are theories as to what caused such a drastic split.


We follow this path, leading to a new era known as the After Colony era. In the year AC0197, the five Gundam pilots had recently averted a global disaster and saved the Earth. The Earth and Colonies live in harmony for years to come.

However, the pond of time experiences ripples the likes of which haven't been seen since the Great Split. Again, AC continues as usual while another alternate reality is created. Again, there are theories abound.


This new path becomes known as the Future Century. Rather than fighting for ideals, the Colonies send Gundams to Earth to fight for sport. The winning country of the Gundam Fight becomes ruler of all Colonies for the next four years, until the next Gundam Fight. In the year FC0060, Domon Kasshu defeats the Devil Gundam, effectively saving the Earth and Colonies.

It is shortly after these events that the already ravaged fabric of time takes one final hit.


This leads to out current timeline, which is the timeline in MS Saga. The Great Fall kills an enormous percentage of the Earth's population, leaving humanity with nothing but the G Systems. Survivors find data from Mobile Suits throughout the Universal Century, After Colony, and Future Century eras.  

Ladies and goons, my take on the clusterfuck of timelines in this game. You know, I'm kinda glad they didn't make a sequel in a way. I'd have to explain how Correct Century, After War, and Cosmic Era fit into all this, and I'm totally out of time travel jokes.