By Stormwind

Leviathan Team

Petty Officer Lance Draike walked down the long corridor. He was tall, with light brown hair and forest green eyes. Eyes that have seen things beyond their years. At twenty years of age, he was one of the youngest members of the Tsunami Battalion. This elite aquatic mobile suit division had been honored by the Alliance with the responsibility of clearing all coastal installations as well as the task of sinking any OZ ships that came into the area.

But they were fighting a losing battle. OZ fought on with a never ending onslaught, determined to crush the resistance once and for all. The one-night coup, or the Worldwide Massacre as people had taken to calling it, had taken a painful toll on the Alliance Military. The Tsunami Battalion was the last line of defense, traveling all over the globe, striking fast and hard, then returning to their station in Antarctica.

He had always hoped for that impeccable record of service, but now those dreams were gone. The Commander had been known to be judicious and fair, doing his best to work things out with the minimum punishment, but even Draiken admitted that he had made a serious mistake.

It happened during an attack on an OZ coastal military base. Unfortunately, the Battalion’s spy double crossed them, and had given fake information stating that there would be no defenses on line at the time. When the Tsunami Battalion arrived, they me a Triton Class sub, full to the brim with torpedoes and missiles. The Battalion fought a hard battle, but the sub was winning steadily. The Battalion quickly began to retreat, attempting to avoid any unnecessary casualties. Ignoring orders to retreat, Lance rushed headlong with his Cancer, trying to do as much damage as he could. Instead he had managed to alert the Triton to the retreating battalion’s position. Occupied with the Battalion’s retreating forces, the sub neglected to remember Draiken’s mobile suit. In flash of glory, Lance hammered the ship’s bridge with torpedoes, disabling it instantly. Even better, the sub didn’t explode, and after a little work, the Alliance would have a new attack submarine on its side. Despite the victory, Lance’s actions were a direct violation of orders, and he would get whatever the rules dictated he would receive.

Darn it all! Lance thought to himself, I was this close, this close to moving up in the ranks. Now look, I walking down Mister Courtmartial-Happy’s office!

He had reached the door. I could run. But I can’t, can I? There’s nowhere to run, even if I tried.

Lance turned the handle, took a deep breath, and walked inside.

The room was hot, but hey, it was Australia. This godforsaken mud ball had worth keeping in some way, doesn’t it? Lance wondered.

The Commander was sitting in a large armchair, its intricately carved back facing the doorway. The rustle of papers could be heard as Commander Darrow thumbed through Lance’s dossier. There was an ominous pause as Darrow stopped then turned his chair around to face the Petty Officer.

It was an ugly face scarred and torn by hundreds of engagements. His eyes were a dull gray, as if storm clouds had shaded them. They sharpened when they saw the Petty Officer, and then relaxed at Lance’s sudden salute.

"Petty Officer Lance Draiken of the Tsunami Battalion reporting for reevaluation of service record sir!"

"An impeccable response, Officer Draiken. Please sit down, or would you prefer to stand. You can cut the formality for now."

"Thank you sir." Lance sat down, trying to decode the expression on Darrow’s face.

"You know why you’re here, right Draiken?"

"Yes sir. Directly ignoring orders, endangering myself, endangering the rest of Tsunami Battalion, and taking risks too big to ignore."

"You are also here because you defeated an enemy Triton class sub on your own, through sheer luck, saved many of the Tsunami Battalion’s suits, and allowed us the privilege to pilot one of OZ’s newest rides."

Lance was suddenly confused. They had sent him here to be decommissioned, hadn’t they? Why was the Commander praising him? Unless… "Sir, I don’t quite understand."

"I thought I made it obvious Draiken. What did your order tell you to do?"

"To report to you sir."

"For what, Officer Draiken?"

"It says "reevaluation of service record, pending recent actions in the line of duty," sir"

"And what do you suppose that means?"

"That I am to be court-martialed or decommissioned for my direct disobeying of orders in the field."

"Either that or your ranking just jumped from Petty Officer to Ensign. What do you think of that, Officer Draiken, or should I say Ensign Draiken."

Lance started, then relaxed. He grinned as he raised a salute. "Thank you sir!"

"Due to your obvious talent, I am assigning you lead of the 7^th Squadron. Do your duty!"

Dropping his salute, Lance turned and walked out. "I’ll do my best sir."

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I freely and willfully admit that I do not own Gundam Wing, or its various little spin-offs. I do take ownership of Lance Draiken, the Tsunami Battalion, and its members, present and future. If anyone has a problem with that…Talk to someone else, because I don’t really care.

New plot, new story, and I’m still doing other stuff as well. I auditioned for Concert Choir today, so wish me luck.