21Disclaimer: I don't own Zone of the Enders. I'm just a fan and the only thing I own is my character and the story for this fan fiction.
Chapter 1:The New Arrival
"So the new pilot will be arriving shortly, I presume?" the blonde woman asked regarding her male colleague standing in front of her. He nodded and then the woman opened he mouth to say something else but the man in front of her quickly cut it off.
""Elena, no, let's not begin this again." The man said. "If Leo wants to pilot Jehuty for the mission on Mars, he needs the required training for it, and the only way he can get it is by getting it from a pilot with more experience."
"I know that Thunderheart," Elena answered. "But I still think that it isn't a good idea to have Leo as the pilot for Jehuty. For God's sake, he's only thirteen years old; he shouldn't be part of any of the horrors of war. I'm sure that if we try we can find someone else to be the pilot."
" And even if we do, what do we do about Leo after that?" Thunderheart asked. " If we leave him and that girl, Celvice, behind somewhere we might as well hand them over to BAHRAM ourselves. It's been six weeks since the incident at Antillia and I'm sure that by now every single one of BAHRAM's agents know enough about Leo enough about Leo to tell him his own life story and it's probably the same with Celvice as well. There's just no way that those two could just blend back into society and lead normal lives again. Not as long as BAHRAM still exists anyway. I'm sorry Elena, but we're stuck with them until further notice."
Elena sighed and then changed the subject.
"All right Thunderheart you've made your point," she said. " Now about this new pilot. Are you absolutely certain that he'll be able to train Leo properly?"
" I've checked him out and I'm sure that he's exactly what we're looking for." Thunderheart answered.
" I'll decide that for myself." Elena said." Tell me what you know about him first."
" I never thought you'd ask." Thunderheart said and he picked up a file from his desk and opened it.
" Name: Crim Graves," he read. " Age: 18, Height: 6 feet, Hair Color: Red, Eye Color: Brown, Nationality: Martian, Pilot Rank: A+, Relatives: none, apparently all deceased, and according to records his past is normal enough."
"That's all fine," Elena said. " But that's all technical information that could easily be faked. I want some definite proof that he's as good as the papers say he is."
" Well considering the fact that if he'd stayed at the BAHRAM Academy, he would have graduated at the top of his class." Thunderheart answered without looking up from the file. " I'd say he fits the bill perfectly."
"What?!" Elena shouted." He's from BAHRAM? Are you completely insane? I don't care what some report says, this guy could very well be a spy or assassin sent by BAHRAM. What makes you think that we can trust him?"
" Well due to a certain stunt he pulled the night before his graduation," Thunderheart answered. " He's made it to BAHRAM's most wanted list. He's not too far from Leo on that list either, you know."
" What exactly did he do?" Elena asked
" Well he stole an experimental orbital frame, trashed the whole base that he was in, and then made off with a cache of Metatron as well as a BAHRAM officer's personal shuttle." Thunderheart answered. " That was two years ago, and ever since then he's been sort of a space pirate except he only targets BAHRAM ships. Headquarters informed him of the job we're giving him and he took it."
" Hold on a minute." Elena said. " He's a space pirate as well. Why would headquarters want someone like him to train Leo?"
" Probably because he's always been able to successfully raid any BAHRAM convoy no matter how heavily guarded it is and escape without as much as a scratch on his frame," Thunderheart answered. "Or maybe it's something else. Either way, I don't care. Since we don't have many pilots in the first place, we need all the help we can get."
Elena let out an exasperated sigh and said. "Alright, you win. I'll give this new pilot a chance. How long till he arrives?"
"The shuttle carrying him and his belongings will be arriving in about an hour." Thunderheart answered, glancing at his watch and then looking back at Elena. "We'll give him a couple of days to settle in and afterwards, he'll begin the training with Leo. I'll leave the matter of introducing the two of them to you."
Elena's eyes narrowed at the prospect.
" Giving me the hard job," she said. " Thanks a lot, friend."
1 Hour Later:
As the shuttle came to a complete stop in the hangar, the pilot of it glanced back at the sleeping young man behind him.
"Excuse me sir, but we've arrived." The pilot said.
The man opened his right eye lazily, proceeded to get up, and began to stretch.
"Well now," he said. "That was a pleasant flight. No movie or peanuts, but pleasant enough. Thanks a bunch man."
"It's my job." The pilot answered. "Now if you would please head over to the ship's bridge and report; you will receive your cabin number and further instruction."
" Alright then," the man answered and he started toward the door and then paused. "Oh, one more thing, about my stuff..."
" Your belongings will be delivered to your cabin later, and as for your orbital frame, it is being transported to the LEV hangar as we speak." The pilot answered. "Now if you please."
"Alright, I'll go," the man said. "I know when I'm not wanted." And with that he left.
"This clown is supposed to be a new pilot for the orbital frames?" the shuttle pilot asked to no one in particular. "Just what were they thinking?"
Later:
Crim looked around several areas of the ship before finding his way to the bridge.
"So this is the Space Force's battleship, the Atlantis," Crim commented as he entered the bridge. "A nice looking ship both inside and out, I am impressed."
Elena regarded the newcomer oddly then regained her composure. "I take it that you are..." she said waiting for the man's answer.
"Crim Graves," he answered extending his hand toward Elena, which she shook. "Sorry for being late, I got a bit lost trying to find the bridge. I believe that you're the captain of this ship, Elena Weinberg, am I correct?"
" Yes that is correct," Elena answered, momentarily surprised at the man's friendly personality.
(I've been spending too much time around Leo), Elena thought as she brushed the feeling of surprise away.
"Oh, well, pardon my rudeness, maam, but," Crim said rubbing the back of his head. "I don't really know my ranking in this whole thing since I transferred into the Space Force a couple of weeks ago, and, due to certain circumstances, I wasn't told, so could you tell me what I'm supposed to be."
Elena's eyebrow arched slightly. (This is the top-notch pilot that Thunderheart was talking about,) she thought to herself as she regarded the young man standing in front of her.
"You are to be an instructor," Elena answered. "And if that is all..."
"Oh, yes maam," Crim answered and then he stood up straight and saluted. "Instructor Crim Graves reporting maam."
(Well at least he knows how to salute), Elena thought.
"At ease," she said and she handed him a card that was sitting on her desk. "This is the card key to your room; your belongings should already be there. Now if you have any questions regarding your position..."
"Actually, I do." Crim answered. "You see I want to know about the pilots who are to become my students, and also when the whole training thing officially starts."
" You are to be training one specific pilot." Elena answered. "You will begin next week starting at every 0900 hours lasting as long as you see fit, per day. I leave the time before to you as time to get settled in and to introduce yourself to your student. His name is Leo Stenbuck. I believe that you know who he is."
Crim's eyes seemed to suddenly seemed to sparkle with interest. "Of course, he's the one who snatched the orbital frame Jehuty right out from under the noses of BAHRAM and defeated one of their top pilots even though he had no piloting experience whatsoever. Yep, I definitely know who he is."
" Very well then, Elena said. "You may take your leave now."
"Thank you, maam," Crim said and then turned to leave. " Alright, first stop, the cabin to unpack and next stop the mess hall." And with that, he left the room.
Elena turned to Thunderheart, the expression on her face telling everyone on the bridge (who pretended that they hadn't heard any of the previous conversation) what she thought.
"Thunderheart," she said icily causing the man to back away a few steps.
" Now hold on Elena," Thunderheart began carefully. "I'm sure that by next week he'll prove to be what the file on him said."
" He had better," Elena said. "Because if he doesn't..." and she left the sentence hanging threateningly.
Thunderheart silently prayed that Crim was as good as the file said.
Later:
(So I'm to train the hero of Antillia), Crim thought to himself as he packed his things. He stopped and regarded the next thing he brought out of the box that held his belongings. It was his most treasured possession, a picture of himself, his older sister, and two other people, who (along with his sister) had been the closest he had had to a family, but now they were all gone.
(I've take the next step, sis), Crim thought. (The next step on my path of vengeance for you.)
Then Crim calmly put the picture on a desk, alongside his computer, and then continued to unpack.
AN: Well that's the first chapter. It sure took a while to type this up from its written form. Please review.
Anime quote of the day: " Oh, you're gonna learn a lot from me young lady. Why don't we start with sign language." ( Eikichi Onizuka to Urumi Kanzaki while giving her the finger) (GTO English version)