2022-10-17: Debriefing at Palau
- Cast: Full Frontal, Suberoa Zinnerman
- Where: Asteroid Base Palau
- Date: U.C. 0096 10 17
- Summary: After the Battle of Torrington, the Garencieres returns home to Palau, and its captain is summoned before the Sleeves Commander to report on the situation - a report which stirs Full Frontal, the Red Comet Reborn, to unexpected passion.
<Pose Tracker> Full Frontal has posed.
In the depths of Palau resides an office. Gilded, lavish decorations and artwork stagnates within, trappings of a time long past. A handsome desk dominates the center of the room, at which is seated a man dressed in obligatory regalia. Full Frontal frowned slightly.
An empty display...Though one could say the same about myself.
A knock at the large, oaken doors redirected his thoughts. Putting his mask on, the Ghost of Char beckoned his supplicant within. "Enter." The hinges swung the wide slabs of chiseled wood open, as Suberoa Zinnerman entered the office. He looked ragged and even wearier than usual, the remnants of bruises on his face. A falling out with the boy, perhaps? Fuil Frontal made note of his observations in the back of his mind, but his face was as impassive as ever, a reproduction of Char Aznable's grace and charisma that merely disguised a wellspring of decayed emotion and nihilistic tendencies.
"Good of you to join me, Lieutenant...although I must say, you're looking quite the worse for wear. Did Torrington really take that much out of you? I believe I gave you orders to observe the next step of the La+ Program's journey, not to involve yourself in combat." A practiced smile flourished on Full Frontal's face, although this time it was a fair bit cooler than normal.
We have lost a piece, but no matter. There is still room on the board to recover.
<Pose Tracker> Suberoa Zinnerman has posed.
The Garencieres did in fact have damage on its hull when it finally returned from Earth; a scored line along the ventral curve of its bridge module consistent with focused, slicing beam fire, perhaps an inch at most from a hull breach.
The retreat had been spent mostly in silence, with the crew licking their wounds, both mental and physical; while the situation was technically a victory for Zeon, the sense of loss everyone is feeling, both for the young man who recently quit their company and the Earth Zeon remnants who spent their lives so dearly for so little gain, cast a dour mood upon the normally buoyant crew.
Such it is that Zinnerman presents himself to Full Frontal's summons; while he is at least in his dress uniform, there is a fatigue under his eyes that fitful nights of sleep and even a cold shower only a few short hours ago has utterly failed to chase away; and bruises ill-healed from his brawl with Banagher on his own bridge, present deep beneath his skin as well as on his face. Still; he is a professional. "Commander." He salutes. "Unexpected hostile presence forced the Garencieres to withdraw from our observational position, but the psycometer installed in the Unicorn Gundam at your orders is operational. We can track the Gundam wherever it goes."
<Pose Tracker> Full Frontal has posed.
Full Frontal listens to Zinnerman's report cooly, the painted smile on his face never wavering. There is a pressure to the room's atmosphere, a sense of disappointment growing in the air. While the Earth Zeon remnants were respectably determined, their outdated suits had done little to make a permanent impact on Torrington or the Federation. Even the Shamblo had been lost, all because of the pilot's instability. Perhaps it had been a mistake to pair Second Lieutenant Garvey with the boy, but no matter. There were still other pawns to make use of.
After a tepid pause, Full Frontal mechanically nods at Zinnerman and motions for the Garencieres' captain to be at ease. "It is unfortunate you were unable to stop the boy from leaving us, but we at least have the means to track the Gundam wherever it wanders to next." Pausing, the leader of the Sleeves turned to the tapestry on the wall, in a tuned display of respect to the dead.
The dead he felt nothing for.
"What of the battle itself? I heard there were quite a few unexpected actors on the field, but I've been awaiting your detailed report over the sparses fragments I've been offered piecemeal so far."
Turning back to Zinnerman, Full Frontal was already calculating his next moves. If the rumors of Torrington were true, then there was much to be done, and little time to accomplish it...
<Pose Tracker> Suberoa Zinnerman has posed.
Over the course of the journey, the dread certainty in Zinnerman's gut that had spurred him to issue the retreat order had been occluded by second-guesses and doubts. Now that he's here in front of his superior officer, though, the important thing is to report the observations.
"The Earthside Zeon forces finally collapsed when Yonem Kirks was shot down by a fin funnel apparently controlled by a unit remarkably similar to the RX-93 Nu Gundam fielded at the Battle of Axis in 0093. The chief difference was that the Gundam's entire chassis was bathed in a strange amber light, and its funnels seemed even more relentless than after-action reports of the Gundam's performance during the Axis operation indicated. It appears that the sudden, inexplicable arrival of this Gundam is what the Unicorn's NT-D system responded to."
Which means that Banagher would have had to confront... Zinnerman visibly swallows, forcing that worry out of his mind for now.
"The presence of the funnels provided sufficiently unpredictable air cover that we could not safely deploy any of our mobile suit team without them being shot down; retreat was unavoidable." Perhaps the Kshatriya could have shielded itself from the attack and deployed safely, but Marida's reaction to the psychic presence of the attacker suggested she had been deeply shaken, and Zinnerman had refused to allow her to launch.
<Pose Tracker> Full Frontal has posed.
Full Frontal's brow furrowed at the mention of the Nu Gundam. The ghost within him stirred violently at its mention, a multitude of feelings exploding with uncharacteristic force even as Full Frontal grit his teeth against the sudden flow. Rage, vengeance, hatred, regret...and joy?
Amuro.
Yet even as the shade clawed at Full Frontal, inherited emotions and memories desperate to escape in an outburst, the leader of the Sleeves retained control, the only outward sign being a slightly stressed expression...albeit uncharacteristic for the normally composed Ghost of Char. "A unit resembling the Nu Gundam you say? You are certain of this?" Zinnerman's worry was plain on his face, while Full Frontal's brow continued to arch, as the commander began calculating various possibilities. If Amuro Ray was still alive, that White Devil...then it stands to reason that perhaps the original Red Comet still lingered somewhere as well. More importantly, while Banagher was still a Newtype in their infancy, Amuro...Amuro had transcended humanity's wildest expectations. Laplace's Box was beginning to float further out of reach, and now the Sleeves had a demon returned from death to deal with as well.
Zinnerman's report of the unit being coated in light was also unsettling. A permanent psycho field? Full Frontal pursed his lips slightly, as he and his inherited ghost aligned within. For the first time in a long, long time, Full Frontal felt more than just his duty stir. Buried emotions and his own desire began to alight within his twisted, reformed soul as two halves agreed.
We must settle the score.
Snapping back to reality, as an unsettled Zinnerman looked at him, Full Frontal's smile returned. Practiced. Control. Reassure the piece that they still have a place on the board. "You did well to return to me with this information, Lieutenant Zinnerman. While it is tragic to hear about the fate of Major Kirks and the Earth remnants, we will make use of this information, and make sure their sacrifices weren't in vain." He bowed his head slightly towards the captain of the Garencieres, a mechanical show of respect to the fallen.
<Pose Tracker> Suberoa Zinnerman has posed.
"I was assigned elsewhere during the Second Neo-Zeon War," Zinnerman explains, even though he suspects the Commander knows full well the nature of his assignment no matter how secret it had been, "but according to our database the unit was an exact match except for the energy field it was engulfed in, which we have no data on but appeared to push the Nu Gundam well above its documented performance. Definitely not the newer mass-produced model deployed this year by the Federation, and certainly piloted by a Newtype in order to utilise the fin funnel psycommu." His brow furrows as Full Frontal seems to lose himself in some kind of reverie. "Commander?"
And then the facade is reasserted, and Zinnerman nods at the words of praise. "Sir. Will that be all?"
<Pose Tracker> Full Frontal has posed.
Full Frontal nods curtly to Zinnerman. "Indeed, thank you for the report. I've much to think about regarding our next plans...ah, and there is one more thing. Tell me, Zinnerman. Did Banagher leave you with anything? Possessions, or the like? I seem to recall hearing that the boy had some sort of drone with him." Even as he speaks these words, the Ghost of Char is not entirely present in the conversation. Funny, that. He thought himself above this pitiful swell of emotions and yet, the mere notion that an inherited mortal enemy was potentially still alive was enough to send his combined psyches into a frenzy.
Char had been a fool to hope that Amuro could come to see his side of things, and his ghost agreed. Placing their hopes in another had been one of their greatest mistakes. One they would not repeat so carelessly this time around. Full Frontal smiled slightly, this time a genuine flicker of the anticipation within. Perhaps it was time for him to take to the field after all. One does not win a game by holding their strongest pieces back forever.
Returning his focus to Zinnerman, Full Frontal cooly waited for the man's reply. He didn't mind showing a scrap of the swell within to the man. On the contrary, the more unsettled he could make his pawn, the better. An uncertain mind craves certainty, familiarity, assured action and promises.
<Pose Tracker> Suberoa Zinnerman has posed.
Zinnerman grunts, frowning at the curiosity of the question. "Standard-issue Haro model. If he's made any modifications, I'm not privy to them. May I ask why, Commander?" It seems an unusual request to the old man, whose hackles are now definitely up.
<Pose Tracker> Full Frontal has posed.
Full Frontal sits in front of Zinnerman on the office couch, hoping to put his subordinate at ease with a more relaxed position of address. "Worry not, Lieutenant. I merely wish to have our technicians access it for any potential information or leads on the boy's whereabouts. Just because we have a tracker on the suit doesn't necessarily mean we will be able to find Banagher's whereabouts so easily."
Securing the boy once more would be key to their objectives...and hearing how the Split-Horn's NT-D rendered it berserk against the Nu Gundam...now there was a tool to be made use of. The boy was too meddlesome to die or be shot down, but perhaps pointed in the right direction, a hammer could be of more use than a scalpel, especially against a foe as potent as Amuro Ray.
<Pose Tracker> Suberoa Zinnerman has posed.
Zinnerman considers. "I'll see what I can do, sir. The Garencieres will be in port for repairs and resupply for some time as it is." The Commander already knows that, he can't pretend there isn't time for a low-priority belongings search of a former passenger, no matter how uncomfortable the idea makes him. Besides, there oughtn't be anything too compromising on that Haro - but Banagher will definitely notice if he replaces it. Never expect a child to not notice when you replace a favourite belonging.
<Pose Tracker> Full Frontal has posed.
"Excellent, Lieutenant Zinnerman. I look forward to seeing what information our technicians can pry from that drone, and to your continued health and reports as well. Now, if there is nothing else of note, you may resume your duties. Return to the Garencieres and await further command. I will have your next set of orders shortly." Rising from the couch, Full Frontal turned away back to the desk, but called out to his subordinate one more time before the captain left the office. "Ah, and Zinnerman...My thanks for your report. You've given me much to think of...and assisted me in charting a new course for the Box. Let us continue, for the sake of the Spacenoids and Zeon."
Looking up at the tapestry, Full Frontal smiled. A warm, genuine smile. A feeling rose within him, that he only sparsely felt from within the Sinanju.
The thrill of the hunt.