[Ficlet] Those Left Behind
WHO: Gendo Ikari, Thomas Riley Edwards, Jamitov Hyman
WHEN: After the final battle over Earth
WHERE: Jaburo
WHAT: What became of the men who would have reshaped the future of the Universal Century?
What remained of Jaburo was an immense, glass crater. It stretched for miles across what had once been part of the Amazon rain forest. Thick clouds had gathered in the sky, though, and were pouring rain down onto the scarred land - as if something so horrific could be healed by mere rain. Steam was still rising from the scarred ground as the rain hit it, wafting upward.
The surface was composed of shards of smooth glass, shattered by the shockwaves of the Space Terrible Monster Cloud's bombardment. It was still here; nothing had lived above or below the surface. Nothing save...
There was a stirring. The glass shards slid to the side, as something pried its way from underneath the shards. White fingers, long and claw-like, but graceful somehow - as they broke through the top of the field. The glass shards shuffled, fell to the side, and the white, gigantic hand burst from the ground in its entirety. The arm shuffled for a moment, armor plates flexing around gigantic muscles. And then, in a flash, the glass shards began to be pushed aside - forced away by a wave of orange energy - a hexagonal pattern.
The figure that stood there was terrible. The mouth was an elongated thing, eyeless and white, but with no lips - its large, white incisors were visible and gleamed with saliva. It was hunched as well, thin of body but wirey, covered in metal armor plates. And on its back, wings - immense, angelic wings with white feathers. The Evangelion looked up to the heavens, and shrieked its defiance.
Thomas Riley Edwards felt distinctly uncomfortable. He had heard of the wonders of Protoculture, of course, but those were different. There was a purity to them - it was a panacea, a wonder, and any evils it brought were veiled. This Evangelion that Gendo placed his faith in was anything but that; it looked evil, somehow. The big, tanned-skin man gritted his teeth and rubbed at his head.
Gendo was dusting himself off, even now. He had taken it surprisingly well, when Jaburo came crashing down around them. Indeed, had it not been for his prototype's Absolute Terror Field, they would have been burnt away in an instant as well. Jamitov Hyman, however, seemed far more disturbed; his tan uniform was dirtied and he looked haggard as he looked around him. "Goddamn!" he shouted at nothing. "There's... nothing!"
"So I noticed," Edwards replied with a grunt. He stepped forward, boot crunching onto glass. "Is the whole planet...?" He couldn't finish the statement - hate the IPA, the Black Sheep, the Divine Crusaders, all of them as much as he did, he couldn't bring himself to be glad for any Earth having been burnt down.
"No," Gendo replied. "No, it is... whole. Humanity has triumphed."
"No thanks to us," Jamitov growled. "That damnable cannon just drew their fire. We lost Jaburo because of your weapon, Colonel!"
"My weapon?" Edwards snapped back. He looked at the older man with narrowed eyes - the thought of pummeling him took him, but he threw the fancy away. He knew Gendo would not tolerate it, and a look at that silent, white, and terrible giant told him who controlled this situation. "You don't know that. You used it foolishly. A solid strike, early, aimed at Solomon when the Zeon fleet was gathered-"
"Would have merely gotten the IPA to destroy us," Gendo assured him.
The big man punched a fist into his palm. "I'm ready for that. Let me at Fokker."
"All in due time," Jamitov answered. He looked at Gendo. "What now, then? Is this it for our alliance? For our hopes?"
"No," Gendo answered. "We have vanquished one enemy - and left another crippled. Plans may proceed, though we must rebuild. We must use this time."
Edwards folded his arms over his chest and nodded. The crew of the Macross - traitors, each and every one - were fresh on his mind. "Turn to the enemy within."
The thought seemed to please Jamitov. He afforded them both a smile, and turned to look up at the stretched out wings of the Evangelion. Edwards looked up as well; the thing was looking up at the rainy sky, droplets of water splashing off it. Edwards had to wipe some water from his face; the wings of the creature were largely shielding the worst of the constant rain, though. "Yes," Hyman said. "We must be the eagle looking over our shoulder."
He smiled. "The Titan holding the world on our shoulders."
WHEN: After the final battle over Earth
WHERE: Jaburo
WHAT: What became of the men who would have reshaped the future of the Universal Century?
What remained of Jaburo was an immense, glass crater. It stretched for miles across what had once been part of the Amazon rain forest. Thick clouds had gathered in the sky, though, and were pouring rain down onto the scarred land - as if something so horrific could be healed by mere rain. Steam was still rising from the scarred ground as the rain hit it, wafting upward.
The surface was composed of shards of smooth glass, shattered by the shockwaves of the Space Terrible Monster Cloud's bombardment. It was still here; nothing had lived above or below the surface. Nothing save...
There was a stirring. The glass shards slid to the side, as something pried its way from underneath the shards. White fingers, long and claw-like, but graceful somehow - as they broke through the top of the field. The glass shards shuffled, fell to the side, and the white, gigantic hand burst from the ground in its entirety. The arm shuffled for a moment, armor plates flexing around gigantic muscles. And then, in a flash, the glass shards began to be pushed aside - forced away by a wave of orange energy - a hexagonal pattern.
The figure that stood there was terrible. The mouth was an elongated thing, eyeless and white, but with no lips - its large, white incisors were visible and gleamed with saliva. It was hunched as well, thin of body but wirey, covered in metal armor plates. And on its back, wings - immense, angelic wings with white feathers. The Evangelion looked up to the heavens, and shrieked its defiance.
Thomas Riley Edwards felt distinctly uncomfortable. He had heard of the wonders of Protoculture, of course, but those were different. There was a purity to them - it was a panacea, a wonder, and any evils it brought were veiled. This Evangelion that Gendo placed his faith in was anything but that; it looked evil, somehow. The big, tanned-skin man gritted his teeth and rubbed at his head.
Gendo was dusting himself off, even now. He had taken it surprisingly well, when Jaburo came crashing down around them. Indeed, had it not been for his prototype's Absolute Terror Field, they would have been burnt away in an instant as well. Jamitov Hyman, however, seemed far more disturbed; his tan uniform was dirtied and he looked haggard as he looked around him. "Goddamn!" he shouted at nothing. "There's... nothing!"
"So I noticed," Edwards replied with a grunt. He stepped forward, boot crunching onto glass. "Is the whole planet...?" He couldn't finish the statement - hate the IPA, the Black Sheep, the Divine Crusaders, all of them as much as he did, he couldn't bring himself to be glad for any Earth having been burnt down.
"No," Gendo replied. "No, it is... whole. Humanity has triumphed."
"No thanks to us," Jamitov growled. "That damnable cannon just drew their fire. We lost Jaburo because of your weapon, Colonel!"
"My weapon?" Edwards snapped back. He looked at the older man with narrowed eyes - the thought of pummeling him took him, but he threw the fancy away. He knew Gendo would not tolerate it, and a look at that silent, white, and terrible giant told him who controlled this situation. "You don't know that. You used it foolishly. A solid strike, early, aimed at Solomon when the Zeon fleet was gathered-"
"Would have merely gotten the IPA to destroy us," Gendo assured him.
The big man punched a fist into his palm. "I'm ready for that. Let me at Fokker."
"All in due time," Jamitov answered. He looked at Gendo. "What now, then? Is this it for our alliance? For our hopes?"
"No," Gendo answered. "We have vanquished one enemy - and left another crippled. Plans may proceed, though we must rebuild. We must use this time."
Edwards folded his arms over his chest and nodded. The crew of the Macross - traitors, each and every one - were fresh on his mind. "Turn to the enemy within."
The thought seemed to please Jamitov. He afforded them both a smile, and turned to look up at the stretched out wings of the Evangelion. Edwards looked up as well; the thing was looking up at the rainy sky, droplets of water splashing off it. Edwards had to wipe some water from his face; the wings of the creature were largely shielding the worst of the constant rain, though. "Yes," Hyman said. "We must be the eagle looking over our shoulder."
He smiled. "The Titan holding the world on our shoulders."