(Soooo sorry for not posting a lot lately. Many reasons, one of the main ones being some annoying new VPN/filter thing they added at work that makes it impossible to post here. Anyway, I've been hashing out this silly Gundam side story lately, and I wanted to collect my ideas in one place for everyone to see. It's a work in progress, so lots of things will probably change--maybe even the title. I thought it would be cool to set a Gundam side story in my own backyard: Massachusetts!)
It is the year 0090 of the Universal Century. Haman Karn's Neo Zeon has been defeated, and members of that movement are in disarray. The Earth Federation is in the process of reorganizing after the disgraceful Gryps conflict. Neither side is at their best. The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) has developed a prototype for a new control system for mobile suits called the Allegiance Device that may make pilots obsolete and save lives on the battlefield. The Federation sees the potential in such a technology and has deployed the elite Lapwing Squadron to the nearby Hanscom Air Force Base for testing and to ensure its protection from potentially interested Zeon remnants. Word of this new device has already reached the ears of Neo Zeon, who dispatched their own team to make contact with a local downtrodden remnant soldier to intercept that device for their own purposes. Will the Allegiance Device revolutionize how wars are fought, or simply cause even more needless bloodshed?
Earth Federation's Lapwing Squadron: Earth Federation Air Force Squadron consisting of two Zeta Plus units supplemented by the new Delta Plus.
Major Players (EFF):
Zaheda Kai Sim (Lapwing 3): 21 years old, 2nd Lieutenant. Newest member of Lapwing Squadron, this is her first proper assignment as a mobile suit pilot. Her mobile suit is the new Delta Plus. While this may be her first assignment, she has shown exceptional prowess and was requested at Khodani's behest to supplement the squadron.
Kai Sim is friendly, but rather anxious about being around such experienced fighters. With this being her first big assignment, she's a bit too obsessed with protocol and regulations and needs to loosen up a bit. She's a spacenoid by birth, having been born in Von Braun city before her family emigrated to Side 6. Joined the Federation out of a desire to visit Earth and fly its skies.
Appearance: Young woman of mixed Iranian/Nepalese descent. Dark hair with a greenish tinge. Hair is typically pulled back. Average height and build, around 162 centimeters. Her eyes are full of youthful optimism that's slowly being drained without her realizing it.
Mobile suit: MSN-001A1 Delta Plus, the new perfected version of the abandoned Delta Gundam design that was eventually adapted into the Hyaku Shiki used by the Argama in the Gryps conflict and first Neo Zeon war. Zaheda is lucky to be one of the first pilots of these brand-new machines.
Martina Khodani (Lapwing 1): Leader of Lapwing Squadron. 35 years old, Major. Veteran flying ace. Flew a Fly Manta throughout the One Year War and was reluctant to switch to mobile suits but adapted very quickly to suits based on the Zeta Gundam. As such, she was involved in the testing and development of the Zeta Plus series. Some say she could be a Newtype, but she thinks the whole Newtype thing is just superstition.
Much of the Federation brass would consider her "uncorruptible", which was essential during the Gryps conflict; she had no love for the Titans even during their early days. She's known for having the utmost trust in her subordinates and is often seen as a mentor to new pilots.
Appearance: Some would call her "chubby", she'd just say that's more to love. Roughly 170 centimeters tall. Poofy black hair with dyed pink tips. Black South African descent. Despite her extremely friendly appearance, still manages to have a commanding presence that demands respect from her subordinates.
Mobile Suit: MSZ-006A1B Zeta Plus A1B, a specialized Zeta Plus designed for dogfights and fast attacks.
Alvin MacDougal (Lapwing 2): 33 years old. Khodani's long-time wingman, the two have served together since the One Year War. Unlike Khodani, MacDougal is far less approachable and not the easiest person to become friends with. He's very quiet and can be very standoffish. However, he's the first person to speak out against questionable orders, which is part of why he's never been given a command of his own.
MacDougal is originally from Australia—specifically, Sydney, and if he weren't on assignment in space at the time, it's quite possible that he would have been many of the millions lost during the fateful colony drop that destroyed his home. He holds a special hatred for the hypocritical Zeons that show such reckless disregard for Earth while hiding among it.
Appearance: Lean and fit like a marathon runner. 183 centimeters tall. White guy with short brown hair and eyes that match. Has a very strong, authoritative chin that would mean something if he had any actual charisma.
Mobile Suit: MSZ-006A2 Zeta Plus A2 "Howitzer," one of only 3 Zeta Plus A2 units still in service, Alvin's machine is painted in a stunning charcoal black with green highlights. Due to its power demands, the High Mega Cannon equipped on its head is used very sparingly.
Minor Players (EFF):
Pavel Doychinov (Hanscom Base Commander): 48 years old, Colonel. Salty war horse. Dislikes the assignment he's stuck with as he feels this idea will go nowhere. Finds the humidity of the spring/summer in Massachusetts insufferable.
Runli Zhang (Hanscom mechanic): 80 years old. Machine hobbyist by nature. Hates seeing beautiful mobile suits senselessly damaged. Often lectures Lapwing Squadron on proper maintenance and how to avoid wear and tear. May be old but is easily the spunkiest mechanic you'll ever meet.
Sebastian Orlando (Hanscom Operator/Dispatcher): 30 years old. Communications specialist, joined the forces because he flunked out of college and had nowhere else to go. Not the biggest fan of the job, but he does it well enough. Assigned to this position because his brief college stint was at MIT.
Major Players: Zeon/Neo Zeon
Ilsa Feldmeier (Zeon Remnant): 27 years old, Corporal. Sniper. Was a pilot cadet hastily trained on the new Gelgoog Jaeger in the waning days of the One Year War before being thrown into battle. She was to be sent to the European front via Komusai, however the craft was shot down upon breaching the atmosphere and crash landed in the Nashoba Valley of Massachusetts. She was the only survivor. Not long after landing, she learned the war had ended, and nobody was coming to recover her. She's spent the past ten years taking up odd jobs to eke out a meager living while maintaining her Gelgoog for mercenary work.
To say Ilsa is jaded would be an understatement. She began her military career with the intent of fighting for spacenoid liberation, like most Zeon soldiers. After finding herself stranded after barely any training, she learned how hollow that was. Any trace of the bright-eyed, optimistic cadet has been buried by a decade of survival instincts. She's hoping the big pay day from this Neo Zeon job might be just what she needs to finally get her life together.
Appearance: Lanky blonde-haired Scandinavian woman. 176 centimeters. Surprisingly strong, despite her thin build. Her piercing blue eyes do little to mask her many abandonment issues and trauma. Still has many scars from the impact that brought her earthside that never faded away. Her uniform is in surprisingly decent condition, mainly because it hasn't been worn often in the past decade.
Mobile Suit: MS-14JG Gelgoog Jaeger in camouflage coloring, equipped with a special beam rifle. Has held up well for over a decade, but is still a decade-old machine, nonetheless, and is showing some wear.
Torrun Cho (Neo Zeon): 23 years old, Lieutenant Junior Grade. Young and brash Neo Zeon commander assigned to capture the control unit. Extremely determined and unwilling to admit to fault. This mission is his first time on Earth, and unlike Zaheda, he is not impressed. He finds it disgusting and misses Axis's sterile conditions. He desires little more than to finish this mission and get back to space.
Torrun's mother is Admiral Hana Cho, captain of the Endra-class battlecruiser Tendra, and it's somewhat of an open secret that he only got his position due to nepotism. He immediately dismisses this notion, however. Obsessed with protocol and regulations.
Appearance: Young man of pan-Asian descent, primarily Korean. Typically has the kind of expression that says, "I'm telling my mom!" whenever he's the slightest bit upset. 170 centimeters. Average male build. Short, regulation hair cut. Insists upon keeping his uniform clean and tidy.
Mobile Suit: AMX-104 R-Jarja in blue and gold, kept in excellent shape.
Bruno Barusso (Neo Zeon): 38 years old. Experienced veteran, has been piloting mobile suits during the early days of the One Year War. Was among those who escaped to Axis following the end of the war. Doesn't mind taking orders from a young upstart like Cho, however that may be because he's there simply to keep the little twerp from screwing up—a glorified babysitter. It doesn't hurt that he's served with his mother ever since she saved his life at the end of the One Year War and feels he owes her an eternal debt of gratitude.
Bruno is surprisingly laid-back despite being in the company of a pretentious young commander like Cho. He's the type who can make field rations into something actually edible and will raise spirits by playing guitar for the rest of the squad. He knows that moments of rest on the battlefield are something to be cherished.
Appearance: Muscular, tanned Iberian (Portuguese/Spanish) descent. 186 centimeters. Short, curly hair. Cuts the sleeves off his uniforms to let the pythons show. Torrun hates this.
Mobile Suit: AMX-101 Gallus-J, tan and olive. Seen some action since he likes to fight his enemies up close and personal.
Minor Players (Zeon/Neo Zeon):
Hana Cho (Neo Zeon): 48 years old, Vice Admiral. Commands Neo Zeon's 4th Fleet from the Endra-class Tendra. She was the captain of a Musai during the One Year War and saved Barusso while evacuating A Baoa Qu--his damaged Rick Dom may have otherwise been overlooked. Has a stern demeanor that keeps her troops in line, and her fleet is know as one of the most efficient in all of Neo Zeon.
Other Noteworthy Players:
Eric Fielding: Head of the Allegiance Project. Not a scientist, but a businessman. Best described as a "tech bro" who is more interested in using technology to make money than any humanitarian purpose. Brash, self-centered, and disliked by most around him, he's never found a problem money couldn't solve.
Carly Fielding: The actual "brains" behind the Allegiance Device at MIT. Younger sister of Eric. She designed the system as a means to save lives on the battlefield, but understands that it might not be combat-ready. Very shy, and has always lived in her brother's shadow.
The Boston Patriots: Boston's self-appointed "guardians." Four wanna-be protectors in cobbled-together mobile suits who do their best to keep the city "safe," for lack of a better word. The team is led by Scott Holden with his subordinates Isabella "Izzy" Lennox, Matthew Walsh, and Patrick Sheehan. Since the city is rarely under any threat, they spend most of their time running around local bars getting drunk and causing a ruckus.
Settings:
Hanscom Air Force Base: Air Force Base used by the United States of America in the old century, situated approximately 20 miles northwest of Boston, Massachusetts. It had since fallen into disrepair due to lack of use but is now being used as the primary base of operations for Lapwing Squadron to guard MIT's new project. Much of Hanscom's equipment is old and not designed to interface with modern Federation equipment, so Runli Zhang has a lot of it jury-rigged. Hanscom will likely never be a permanent settlement, and if it does, it will only be used as a satellite base for the nearby Newport base in Rhode Island.
Boston: Capitol city of the old state of Massachusetts. Due to being on the Atlantic coast of the country, it was not subject to as much of the damage as the west coast was following Operation British during the One Year War. However, the recent colony drop on Dublin has caused flooding along its coast and left irreparable damage. Much of Boston's economy is reliant upon its many institutions of higher education, which have existed for centuries.
Nashoba Valley: Massachusetts valley famous for hosting a ski resort in the old century, long-since closed because of climate change. Current crash-landing site of Feldmeier's Komusai, it's her "Home away from home" in a sense. She keeps her Gelgoog and other military paraphernalia here while living in the nearby town of Littleton. Littleton, like many towns in the valley, fell into economic disarray when the ski resort closed down, and is now very sparsely-populated. The extreme proximity to Hanscom is what got Ilsa picked for this position by Neo Zeon leadership. (I'll most likely add onto this later, I just wanted to publish this somewhere I can share it with folks. For now, enjoy!)
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