Minnie-Salinas

  The descent to Earth seemed to take much longer than Argo Gulskii imagined. Aboard the Gorby II, handcuffed to a heavy steel table in a room only illuminated by the reflection of the Earth itself, his eyes were glued to the clouds that crept closer on the eve of the 13th Gundam Fight. His newly introduced 'handler' continued to go over the Neo Russian strategy; keep him in the general population of a prison on Earth, lure Gundam Fighters to the prison, kidnap them, and cannibalize their Gundams for parts and technology. She sounded so confident as she yammered on such a dirty plan. But it worked well enough in the 12th Gundam Fight that Arg

***Back to Square One***     “Ulube, are you scared?”     Nineteen year old First Lieutenant Ulube Ishikawa stood in his dress uniform on the porch of his childhood home in Kamakura. Duffel bag on his shoulders, hair shaved into a high and tight, shoes polished, and nothing on his chest but a couple of ribbons and his brand new Mobile Suit Pilot   ’s pin. Rain pattered on to him as droplets fell from the brim of his cover. He graduated at the top of class in Officer Candidate School and Mobile Suit Pilot’s Battery and still got screwed. He hesitated stepping off of the porch. His feet were heavy b

 ***Bittersweet Farewells in Kansai***   A taxi was parked in front of a sizable home in the middle of nowhere in the Kansai District. On the long stairwell down from the front door, a young lady in a loose sun dress and open toed heels sat with a couple of large roller luggage decorated with dozens of stickers from travels and hobbies. In the muggy heat of the summer, she hugged her knees as she waited.   Her father, Dr. Mikamura, watched from the shade in the threshold of the door, not enjoying her somber mood. This was, after all, a time to be overwhelmingly happy. His pride and joy was off to university earlier in her life than many o