Sequel to How Zechs Became A Special
The auditorium was almost filled to the brim. Seating had ran out early and many sat or stood in the isles, murmuring amongst themselves. The Oz uniforms denoting every rank from Captain to Private were the sole composure of the crowd, but not a man, woman or recruitment officer there wasn't sweating.
The word that had filtered down was that there was to be a reprimand, sanctioned by General Treize Khushrenada himself. In the aftermath of the recent destruction of so many bases, it was inevitable, but none were looking forward to it, now that it was looming so ominously over their heads.
The lack of air conditioning and press of too many bodies made the already tense atmosphere that much more unbearable. When the door leading backstage slammed open, everyone's attention was immediately fixed on the stiff backed military lady wearing glasses and curled braids.
In the resulting silence, her crisp steps and boot heels echoed as she strode towards the podium. Her glasses glinted in the overhead fluorescent lights, and each person there had the unnerving feeling that she had picked THEIR face out of the crowd to stare at a second more than everyone else's.
As you have most likely heard, this IS an official reprimand for repeated shameful performance on the field of battle." Colonel Une began, noting the flinches and bowed heads of the assembled group. "As a result, by order of His Excellency, General Khushrenada, retraining will commence immediately..."
The discontented murmurs built up to a near roar of disapproval. Une's fist slammed into the top of the podium. Such insubordination over Treize-sama's orders wouldn't do, even if they were a little strange. The last thought brought a puzzled scowl to her face, but the mass in the auditorium misinterpreted it as just another sign of anger from the formidable Colonel.
"FOR!" she barked over the crowd silencing them. In a lower, but sterner tone, she continued. "For all rank and personnel." Discontent was thick in the air, but not a soul dared to be the first to comment again. Satisfied Colonel Une nodded once, briskly.
She gave a signal to someone offstage and the lights dimmed to a point were almost no illumination was left in the room. There was a snick and a white rectangle of light washed over the back wall, partially illuminating Une's profile. Those in attendance could see her raise the controller for an antique slide projector.
"I am instructed to start with a series of informational slides."
Elsewhere on base, two men sat across from each other at a chess board. The ginger-haired aristocrat seated in front of the black pieces seemed to have the advantage in the game and his long, white-gloved fingers beat a gentle, pattering rhythm against the table top as he waited for the mask wearing man across from him to make his move.
"The retraining should be in progress by now," Treize commented off handedly, conversing to pass the time. "I don't know where you had come up with the idea, but it does seem to be past due."
"Mmm," Zechs replied. His fingers paused in the air over the white knight, carefully not touching the piece, before they curled and withdrew, the move aborted. "It wasn't mine actually, it was Lt. Noin's." After a moment's hesitation, Zechs picked up the rook and moved it across the board, taking a pawn. "Check."
"Not for long," Treize murmured. He picked up the black knight and almost delicately knocked over the solid form of the rook with the base of the piece. "Noin? Ah yes, the instructor you mentioned from the tragedy at Victoria I believe. I could see where she would be fully justified in demanding the retraining."
Zechs scowled at the board. Even obscured by the mask, he gave the impression of a drawn brow and wrinkled nose. "I will never understand how a simple knight could defeat something as big as a rook. I mean, it *is* designed after a siege tower."
"You forget, my good friend, that the black knight always triumphs," Treize said. One hand folded over the other, and he looked the very picture of innocently smug.
Zechs snorted and returned to staring at the pieces. "I'm going to ignore you now." Zechs replied amiably. The soft sounds of pieces moving across the glossy black and white surface of the board punctuated the easy silence between the two, only broken by quiet declarations of 'check,' but no signs of resolution even as the pieces on both sides diminished.
"So what did Lt. Noin choose for the instructional material?" Treize asked in another long interval.
"She didn't say actually. Just that it was highly appropriate and that she felt it would get the point across."
Une paused, blinking as she looked at the cards she was supposed to read. It wasn't difficult. That wasn't the problem at all; even where she was to emphasize parts of the words. It was the words themselves that caused her to doubt even the infallible Treize-sama's sanity this time.
Sighing, she pressed the button and began the presentation. Treize's will be done.
"Today's lesson will be a two hour presentation entitled, "How To Identify Gundams From a Very Long Way Away." She pressed the projector button.
/Snick!/
"Exhibit A:" A pale green slide with the words across it lit up the back wall.
"Really? You didn't check the curriculum at all?" Treize asked, his knight took a bishop, unnervingly close to the white king. "How do you know it will be effective?"
Zechs gave a catlike grin and the diminutive figure of a pawn took the black knight. Treize actually pouted. "Oh I trust her implicitly on this. She was a top instructor after all, and I know from personal experience how effective her wit can be."
"Never mind that," Treize said. "You *took* my knight."
"Because I could." Zechs declared a little loftily. It was rare that he ever managed to captured his commander's favorite piece.
"He was invincible," Treize lamented with a bemused sigh. Rubbing the bridge of his nose, he suddenly set his entire mind not into stretching out the game or even winning, but to get a single pawn through enemy lines to the back row. The Black Knight would rise again!
/snick/ A rather impressive slide of Deathscythe appeared on the wall behind Une. Pushing her glasses up the bridge of her nose, she steeled herself and read with careful deliberation.
"The Deathscythe. The DEATHscythe."
Somewhere in the audience there came an impressive scream. "AHHHHH! IT'S A GUNDAM!" followed shortly by the soft slap of someone being knocked upside the head.
"Shh stupid! It's a slide!" the hisses response floated up through the darkness.
Une fought for her composure as she pressed the button.
/snick/
"Exhibit..."
She stared a moment at the card, and then back at the screen. At the card, back at the screen again, then another time before the rigid Colonel's shoulders slumped slightly. It was going to be a long two hours.
"Exhibit A:" /snick/ "The Deathscythe. The DEATHscythe."
*Ten Minutes Later*
/snick/ ...."scythe."
"AHHH! IT'S A *gerk!*"
A whispered voice called out. "Whoever did that. THANK YOU!"
"No problem. I have no idea how he keeps surviving battles."
"Sheer pity from the enemy?"
"Possibly."
/snick/
In a weary, droll tone, Une continued, now convinced that Lightning Baron had SOMETHING to do with this humiliation and besmirch on the honor of Oz and their great leader. It was obvious since that first day in the auditorium at the Academy where he'd given that horrible speech. What Treize sama saw in him....
"Exhibit A:"
/snick/
"I can't believe you just sacrificed your queen just to get that damned knight back." Zechs said, his voice incredulous. This was the tactical genius behind Oz?
"Oh, I think you'll find that the move had its advantages."
"Like what?"
A disturbingly feline smile crossed the refined face of the Oz General. The expression subtly redefined the man's entire appearance. "Like.." A gloved hand lazily moved across the board and slid the knight into a familiar L shaped pattern. "Checkmate."
*Nearly two hours later*
The room had fallen into a catatonic trance, now almost entranced with the strange repetition. Une finally seemed to come to the last card.
"The DEATHscythe," she finished. /snick/ The screen became that dull green again with the word END printed across it in thick block letters. Methodically, she read the last card, her voice strained with over use and near hysteria at the words printed there. "And this concludes today's lesson. Tomorrow report here promptly at the same time, for Exhibit B: Shenlong. SHENlo..."
/BANG/ The report of an Oz-issue revolver rang out over the room. A flash of white overtook the auditorium for a moment before the wounded slide projector whimpered, fizzled briefly and died.
As the gathering tried to blink away the afterimage left in their retinas, Une signaled for the houselights to turn on. As the room brightened again, she glared across the assembly. "Who did that?"
"I did it, Colonel Une Ma'am," A voice, hesitant but unremorseful said. "I couldn't take it, I just couldn't, not another two hours, please Lady, anything but..."
"ENOUGH! Step forward." The man did so hesitantly. "Name and rank."
"Jeremy Harrison, Special," the man squeaked, quailing in the face of the stern woman looming down over him.
"I want to see you in my office immediately afterwards. You must deal with the consequences of your actions." With that, she turned abruptly on her heel and walked offstage to the waiting and nervous crew, taking the proffered glass of water with a perfunctory, but grateful air.
"Colonel Une," one man, wearing the overalls of maintenance fidgeted in front of her. "I'm... I'm sorry.... but the projector... we can't fix it... it will be a week until we can get another."
Une's face never actually changed from its composed state, but her glasses positively *gleamed.* "See to it that it never arrives." She glanced at another man, a secretary. "And make sure that Special Harrison gets the fullest promotion possible."
Leaving the stunned retinue, Une departed swiftly. There were some days it just didn't pay to put her glasses on.
Chuckling, Noin carefully stopped the camcorder's recording and made her way back to the barracks, humming softly to herself.
OWARI
Nixers: Now really? Who wouldn't have wanted to shoot the bloody thing after hearing, The Larch, The... LARCH enough times? ::giggles::
Zechs: ::sighs:: I thought you had enough of torturing me?
Nixers: Oh cheer up, Une got the worst part of the deal this time.
Une: {with an evil grin} I need to speak to you about that....
Nixer: EEP!
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