Funky


Most of the time I don't remember my dreams, but this time, the accurs'd alarm clock knocked me out of a doozy. For some reason, it involved running through a multi-story building chasing someone, ending up in a room where a pair of people in gorilla suits insisted I help them with Windows problems, which I did, but was forced to use a strange accent while doing it to ensure that they wouldn't recognize me, and finally, escaping the building through a stairwell in which someone had crammed a classroom, the bright, cheerful children in which were having 'Warren Ellis Day' (complete with cheerful crayon-colored signs).

...

I'm never eating at that Cuban restaurant again.

Gundam Wing #20 - Attack on the Lunar Base

Heero and Duo are hanging out in his room, while Heero explains his plan. He'll go to the Lunar base where they're building two new mobile suits, and either steal or destroy them. Duo wants to come, but admits he'd just be a liability with his injuries. Heero tells him to go wander about a bit, heal up, maybe go to school (convenient since Heero signed up using Duo's name). Duo complains and gripes but Heero wanders off anyway.

Meanwhile, Lady Une (in her perky, happy personality) goes to a meeting with the colony leaders. OZ's plan is to unite all the colonies in a single cohesive political entity. This they're fine with. OZ also wants to increase military industry and development in space. This they're not so fine with. Une points out that the only way to maintain public order is with force, and every previous regime has eventually given up on peace and gone for the big sticks.

Down on Earth, Major Sally tries to destroy the bits o' Gundam that Quatre abandoned, but is stymied by the appearance of guys in fezzes, and by the fact that the explosives she sets don't even damage the Gundam. The guys in fezzes turn out to be Quatre's middle eastern minions again, and they rush to try and steal the Gundam while Sally goes to steal a mobile suit to try and destroy it. After a brief battle to brush aside the base's guards, the minions manage to convince Sally that they just want to take the Gundam to restore it for Quatre. She lets them go, trusting person that she is, and heads off to clean up yet another mess left behind by the Wing Boys. Heero's mecha, perhaps?

Up in space, a news broadcast makes much of space colonists being trained to fight in space Leo suits against simulated opponents, while Duo watches and looks rather disgusted with the whole thing. The Taurus pilot is leading this endeavor, and watching as the colonists make idiots of themselves... except for one, who easily trounces the scenario. Hey, it's Trowa. The Taurus pilot, who's no idiot, immediately thinks "Hey, it's a Gundam pilot trying to infiltrate our organization." He has a brief conversation with perky-mode Une, but she seems to think Trowa's background checked out all right. Fine, says the Taurus pilot. He puts Trowa up against a last test... to destroy the remnants of the DeathScythe. Trowa considers, then releases his gun, which makes the Taurus pilot freak for a moment... until Trowa asks to borrow his beam rifle. The standard Leo gun won't make a dent in the Gundam, after all. Duo, watching all this on TV, freaks, especially when Trowa then happily blows away the DeathScythe, as the OZ commentator blithers on about how it's a peace-minded colonist destroying those evil, nasty Gundams. Duo has a nice, dramatic scream "Nnnooooooooo!" and apparently forgets that he's supposed to be hiding. You know, inconspicuous? That thing you do to avoid notice? Hello?

Une insists on meeting with Trowa, although her minions try desperately to dissuade her. She meets with the prospective pilot as her perky self... and starts debating the merits of OZ with him - she seems to genuinely believe the arguement that OZ is after peace... to the point of having a nervous breakdown when Trowa patiently explains to her that OZ is playing everyone for suckers. The minions rush in and hurry her away to have a nice lie down, and Une's second in command pulls a gun on Trowa, remarking that even though he may have fooled her, he isn't buying Trowa's background about being a former construction suit pilot and 'just having a knack' for flying. He also remarks that Une is "much stronger" with her uniform on...

Une, in her room, picks up her glasses and remarks thoughtfully, "So I'm Lady Une?" Whoa... hello, multiple personality nurse! The glasses (or mention of Treys) seems to snap her back to her surly personality... Good grief, keep her away from those wire frames! They're evil! Eeeeevil!

Une, her second, and a bunch of prospective pilots fly down to the moon base (the narrator has helpfully filled us in about it earlier - with its low gravity it wasn't really as suited for colonizing as the colonies, which could be spun, but it sure was dandy for industry, and, apparently, sleazy bars). There, the five doctors are working on a pair of mighty mobile suits. One, the Veii, has only the torso complete, but is designed around the largest mobile suit scale beam cannon they were capable of building. The other, the Mercurius, is mostly finished, and takes the opposite approach, having a force field generator powerful enough to counter the Veii's beam cannon. One has the most powerful offense possible, the other the most powerful defense possible. Who'od win? This gets bantered about for a bit, but the general consensus is that it depends on which has the better pilot. Une suggests testing them (gosh, testing! Who'd have thunk it?) but is interrupted when the torso of the Veii powers up... The fhuge beam cannon starts charging, and the five doctors quickly reposition the Mercurius to protect everyone with its force field. Although you have to wonder, if they can remote control these two obscenely powerful mobile suits, why they're still prisoners...

Also, whichever one of them sent Trowa is really good at not acknowledging the kid. Or maybe the writers just forgot.

Anyway, the Veii's beam is stopped by the Mercurius' field, revealing a bit of a design flaw, in that the Mercurius' field promptly goes pif, and the Veii's cannon goes idle to re-charge. Who bails out of the Veii but... Heero! Next time, take the one that can, you know, move on its own. Heero is about to shoot his way out like always when Trowa leaps over to him. Both draw down on each other, but... Trowa's much faster. Heero's left looking profoundly surprised with his gun barely drawn as Trowa aims at his head. So much for solidarity among the Gundam pilots, as Trowa brings Heero in.

Next time: More of the Joy of Zechs.

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