nightburst | Because Veda Says So

TITLE: Because Veda Says So
FANDOM: Gundam 00
CHARACTERS: Tieria Erde, Neil Dylandy
WARNINGS: N/A
WORD COUNT: 764
CHAPTERS: 1/1
NOTES: Inspired by this.
SUMMARY: Celestial Being stands for the eradication of war... and one unfortunate wasp nest.

It’s absurd.

No matter how many times he reminds himself it’s blasphemy to question Veda’s judgment and the Plan, he cannot get over the inherent absurdity of their -- Lockon’s, specifically -- next mission.

But if this is meant to happen, then it’s meant to happen, and if he doesn’t understand the reasons for it, it hardly matters. His own understanding of the Plan is less important than the fulfillment of the Plan -- Tieria keeps telling himself that.

In other words, Dynames is heading to the moon for a sniping mission.

Lockon Stratos, the man that can shoot beyond the stratosphere, is naturally capable of shooting from space back into Earth’s atmosphere, too.

But he won’t be shooting to take out any sort of military facility, or anything, really, that registers on Tieria’s radar as an instigator or tool of war.

His target is a wasp nest. Not even any specific wasp nest. Just “a wasp nest”.

(Tieria thought, initially, that might be a code word for something that wasn’t a home to insects, but no. It really is a literal nest of wasps that must be annihilated.)

And he has to shoot it from the moon. It was discussed that another planet’s moon might fulfill the requirements, because Veda wasn’t specific about that either, but everyone has agreed that shooting from Earth’s moon will simplify the process as much as it can be simplified.

That’s the mission per Veda’s instructions.

It’s. It’s just.

How is this supposed to advance the Plan?! How?! No matter how he wracks his brain or searches Veda for additional information, he is given no answers or insight.

Perhaps this is a test? A test of their trust in Veda, and their willingness and capability to act on orders, no matter what they are? That would make sense. Yes, if anything, that is probably what’s happening here. But even this perfectly logical conclusion doesn’t put Tieria fully at ease. He can’t shake the feeling that he’s rationalizing insanity.

“Almost time for my target practice, looks like,” says Lockon. He has made it clear that he thinks this is a strange mission, but he is willing to carry it out. Good. Tieria would not accept a refusal.

“Take it more seriously than that,” says Tieria.

“Relax, won’t you?” says Lockon with a grin. “It’s a stationary target. That makes this ten times easier already.”

Tieria isn’t sure how mathematically sound that statement is, but he’s not in the mood to verify it.

“I have to admit, it’s kind of exciting. This is history in the making, Tieria.”

Of course it’s history in the making. The Plan is going to change history, and this is a part of the Plan. However, Tieria suspects that’s not precisely what Lockon means.

“In what sense?”

“Can you name even one other time someone’s shot a wasp nest from the moon?”

No, Tieria wants to say, because that would be an incredibly inane endeavor to partake in in the first place. For what purpose would anyone waste their resources on something so trivial?

But now this task is part of the Plan, so it’s wrong to call it inane.

This is… frustrating.

“I cannot,” he replies in a clipped tone.

“So I’ll be the first,” Lockon says. “That’s something to be proud of.”

“I suppose,” says Tieria dully.

Lockon is called to duty over the speakers.

“And that’s my cue,” he says, giving Tieria a pat on the shoulder as he passes him. Tieria huffs, folding his arms, and he hears Lockon snicker.

The mission goes off without a hitch. Dynames lands on the moon and a random wasp nest is obliterated. Nothing about the world changes in any way Tieria can perceive, and anyone else who happened to witness the feat is going to be questioning it for the rest of their days.

Much like Tieria.

But at least they did as Veda instructed. That, Tieria assures himself, is the important thing.

Many years later, when Tieria’s consciousness is uploaded to Veda, he remembers the Wasp Sniping Incident and makes one more attempt at figuring out its purpose.

It really doesn’t seem that there was a substantial one. Perhaps someone, at some point, meddled with Veda and hid this mission in as nothing more than a bizarre joke.

Tieria sighs, shakes his head.

Lockon was indeed proud of his accomplishment after it was completed, he remembers.

He was truly a peerless sniper. Nowadays, Tieria can appreciate that a shot like that was, well… pretty cool.

With a small smile, he thinks that may be justification enough.