Gundam 00S: Star Struck Episode 4: Burning City

==Chapter 7: Tension ==

Ever since the group had returned to the base, things had been different. From the second he stepped out of the Gundam, Ransac could tell that all eyes were on him. Before arriving, Strafe had sent a private report directly to Commander Daryl, detailing everything that had happened. Though Ransac wasn’t sure of everything Strafe had said, he had a pretty good idea. To confirm this, Ransac spotted Daryl watching him very carefully through the corner of his eye. He even detected Syrene watching him, pausing as she spoke with Strafe. Embarrassed, Ransac stormed off to his room. When Ransac got there, he slammed the door shut, clenching his fists tightly shut. With a sudden roar he slammed his fist into the wall. “Damn it! Just what the hell are they playing at?! It’s been a year since I’ve escaped and now they’ve come back to haunt me!” Unable to express his emotions fully, Ransac threw himself onto his bed, biting down on the covers to prevent himself from lashing out again. For a while the room was silent, until a knock came from the door. Without waiting for a reply, the door swung open. Strafe walked in carrying a white helmet. “Locking yourself away won’t change anything.” Said Strafe. Ransac swung around to glare at Strafe. A glare Strafe met evenly with one of his own. Strafe continued to speak. “If you want to stay locked up however, I’ll be glad to take your place, you caused quite a disaster in that battle.” “You have no idea what happened to me during that fight.” Snapped Ransac. “Don’t I? I believe your Quantum Brainwaves clashed with those of the pilot. It caused you great agony to be near him didn’t it?” Unable to form an appropriate comeback, and interested in what Strafe had to say, Ransac nodded. “Here, take this.” Strafe tossed the helmet to Ransac, who caught it in his hands. He slowly inspected it before facing Strafe again. “What is it? It looks like a normal pilot helmet to me.” “That is a special helmet. It is designed to block Quantum Brainwaves, basically, if you wear that if we encounter them again, you won’t suffer like you did before.” With that Strafe left the room. Before leaving sight however, he turned his head to view Ransac through the corner of his eye. “Don’t make me regret this.” He added. With that Strafe left down the hall. Ransac returned to inspecting the helmet. It seemed normal in appearance. If what Strafe said was true, he would be able to deal with that pilot without issue now. Ransac suddenly realized he hadn’t eaten since he had arrived. That was now coming back to haunt him as his stomach gave a loud growl. Deciding Strafe was right, Ransac left for the mess hall. However, when he got there, he could hear hushed whispers. “Don’t know why he’s shutting himself away from us, doesn’t sound healthy to me.” “He just received a sucker punch from his past, Dom, a past he would rather forget. Would you like it if something highly unpleasant from your past suddenly appeared right before you with a gun in hand? If that was me I would do exactly what he’s doing now.” That was Longshot’s voice. “You shut yourself from everyone even on a good day. I’m just saying he’s being pretty dull about it, if it was me I would do everything I could to try and prevent it from happening again.” “Hush Dom, you’re being rude.” That was Syrene’s voice. “Why? He can’t hear me can he?” Syrene whispered something that Ransac couldn’t hear to Dom. Tired of hiding behind the corner, Ransac entered the mess hall, stopping as he watched the reactions of everyone. Dom became very pale. He immediately turned all his attention to a bowl of cereal he had, watching it as if it was alive. Longshot pulled his trench coat up to his face, unfolding a newspaper he was holding to block Ransac’s gaze. Syrene, however, seemed the least affected by the sudden arrival. Instead of hiding her gaze, Syrene watched him carefully before walking over to a cupboard to pull out a box of cereal and a bowl. When she was finished, she handed the bowl to Ransac before leaving the room. He caught her blushing a little before she left. Still angry at Dom and Longshot, Ransac sat at another table, forcefully eating his cereal. It was at that moment that Strafe and commander Daryl entered the mess hall. Immediately the two detected the tension in the room. Daryl sighed. “I haven’t felt this much tension since the last battle of the first Solar Wars. Ransac, get over here. Dom, that cereal isn’t going anywhere.” When Ransac didn’t move, Daryl growled in his throat. “That was an order.” Unable to fight his superior officer, Ransac reluctantly moved over to the seat Daryl had set out for him at the table. Dom also slowly lived his gaze from his cereal. “Now, am I to believe that Strafe’s report was accurate?” Ransac nodded his head, taking a spoonful of cereal into his mouth to prevent him from having to talk. “We know the Super Human Institute was sending out Super Soldiers. They’re doing it because Celestial Being poses a threat to them. We know this because one of the Gundam Meisters, Allelujah Haptism, has suffered the same thing you did with a Soma Peries.” Ransac lifted his head at the mention of Soma. Now he was curious. “Soma Peries? I know her.” Daryl nodded. “She pilots the first Tieren Taozi, and from what I’ve heard, is causing Celestial Being quite an issue. Being close to Soma seems to cause severe pain to Allelujah, from what I’ve been told, their Quantum Brainwaves seem to crash against each other quite violently.” “Why are you telling me this commander?” Ransac had a feeling he knew, and it made his heart jump. “Because now the Super Human Institute has become a problem for Celestial Being, and as Allelujah is a Super Soldier, they’ll know all about it by now.” “They’ll target it for an armed intervention.” Said Ransac. As he spoke his feelings of anger seemed to vanish abruptly. The problem was going to come to an abrupt halt if Celestial Being had anything to say about it. “Sir, I’d like to add any information I can supply.” Daryl nodded. “Permission granted, I’ll brief you in a couple hours, for now, get some rest, all of you, you’re going to have a busy week once things get rolling.” The group all left the table, each leaving for their rooms. As he left, Ransac gave a small grin. He had nothing to worry about now.