*****- change in POV, change in location or minor change in time, maybe be a combination of these.
***- Major change in time, may also feature change in POV or location.
Phase-01:Deceptions
*********************************
Orientale City, the moon.
Zera Dromos tapped his fingers on a coffee table, his eyes never left the door.
Late, damn. Why of all days could be be late? If those Coordinators are onto us... Zera thought, he was not in uniform today but rather dressed in a casual pinstripe suit, it irked him to wait on the leisure of others, people who didn't understand the concept of punctuality.
The door popped open and a blond haired man walked in, dressed in shirtsleeves and a vest he certainly didn't look the part of a soldier, more like a young schoolteacher.
"Horuma," Zera said nodding toward the man. "Why exactly are you late?"
Horuma grinned, he always did that when nervous, "sorry sir, the traffic was terrible."
Zera rubbed his eyebrows and groaned softly to himself. "Well, when will the shipment be within our attack zone?"
Horuma looked around the room nervously for a moment before stepping forward and lowering his voice, "two days, it's on track. The parade was scheduled for next month, but they wanted it to be there early...Uh...I'm sorry to be so direct but-"
Zera cut him off, "don't worry you'll get your money. Times are hard around here, I won't tell your buddies in ZAFT if I get captured either."
Horuma viably relaxed and adjusted his pair of black-rimmed glasses at Zera's words, it was understandable, Horuma was a small man and Zera was powerfully built, if the idea came into his head Zera could have killed him with his bare hands.
"You'll get your money after we've got the hardware, the account will be under the name Joseph Pilsberry and the password is malediction," Zera said and rose from his seat. "Do forgive my hasty exit, but I have somewhere to be, as you know."
Horuma murmured agreement as Zera slipped out the door, shutting it quietly behind him.
* * *
Girty Lue class vessel Pariah holding orbit around the moon.
Zera gazed at the vessel as his small shuttle drew near, the hanger opened as a voice buzzed through the shuttles speakers, "welcome back Captain, I trust all went well?"
Zera smiled. "Yeah Silvia, it all went well," he responded warmly.
The shuttle, like an unarmed fighter really, came to rest with minimal sliding and Zera climbed out of the cockpit with practised ease and proceeded across the hanger and down a corridor.
"Hey, Lightning, what's the news," a voice casually greeted Zera, a man stood in the corridor, Mars Lu Yeddin was a experimental test pilot who had served with Zera for four years, he was short, slim and had hair the colour of a fire engine with green eyes.
"I've told you Mars, it's 'captain' or 'colonel' while on duty," Zera responded with a scowl.
Mars raised an eyebrow and crossed his arms, "The day I call you captain is the day that Heman Lossi actually manages to hit something in his Windam. In other words, never. So anyway how'd it go Lightning? You gonna tell us the plan yet?"
Zera smiled wryly, "'patience is a virtue', go have a drink, then go to the briefing room, I'll tell the team then."
Mars' eyebrow twitched, "Y'know whatcha problem is? Ever since you became a commander you always feel like you can order me around," he said whilst walking away, clearly talking to him self by now. "Yeah that's the trouble, I remember back at the academy it was always-"
Zera shrugged to himself as Mars rounded a bend behind him, cutting off his monologue.
With a sigh Zera walking down another stretch and tapped the open-door button to the bridge, the command crew stood and saluted as he entered.
"All command crew members and mobile suit pilots are to meet in the briefing room within an hour," Zera announced bluntly.
"Yes Colonel. Command sent you a message, we transferred it to your quarters," Silvia said, with waist-length brown hair and honey-coloured eyes, Silvia Gettam looked pretty in a gentle way, and younger than her twenty years of age.
* * * * *
Mars sat staring at his mobile suit, without power it seemed a dull silver-grey but once activated it would appear dark blue. Behind him a long row of Windam Plus were stretched, almost dozen or so. In front of him there were only two mobile suits, Zera's Vamp and his own mobile suit.
"Well honey, looks like you'll see some action real quick-like," Mars said and chuckled to himself quietly as he stroked the Aegis' torso armour.
"Sir! The Colonel has announced that all pilots are to head to the briefing room within the hour," the man was a gunner, charged with firing the Gottfried and close in weapons systems.
"Well, I wouldn't want to keep ol' Lightning waiting." Mars said with a grin and made his way toward the briefing room.
* * * * *
Zera sat at his desk, the message still there flashing in the dim light.
"New pilots? At this stage? Arriving in a week? Turn over the captured hardware to the fifth division?" Zera said to himself digesting the orders, he was getting a bad feeling something was starting, something he hadn't been told about.
"The plan was to steal a handful of ZAKU's and attack Orb, try to make it look like ZAFT was launching an assault on the capital to wipe out leadership. After that the nations of earth would have no choice but to re-start the war against PLANT. But now...Sepha, what on Earth are you thinking?" Zera continued to himself quietly as he stared at the message.
*****
A man sat with his arms crossed, his white hair fell forward across his face. Out of the circular windows stars could be seen dotting the inky blackness.
"Serrim, ya hear the news? We're heading to our first major assignment!" The man who spoke had black ear-length hair that was slightly ruffled and bright emerald green eyes.
"Jin, I already knew that. The only reason you didn't was because you fell asleep during the briefing," The white haired man answered in a patient long-suffering tone.
"Ohhh, that explains why Estell wasn't impressed either."
Serrim Gospal sighed, Jin was an excellent pilot but sometimes his lack of focus was worrying. "Uou can't impress her, or Rafor either. Extended are rather...difficult... in that way."
Jin crossed his arms, "well I gotta try. Besides what else is there to pass time? I only know four good ways to pass time and only one way is available right now."
Serrim scratched his head, "Four? Well why don't you go check on your Windam?"
"That piece of crap? I hope I get something better soon or I'll scream. Here we are, some of the most promising and skilled new recruits and what are we stuck with? Freakin' mass produced mobile suits! Cannon fodder! At least Bouncy over there got a Vamp."
Serrim sighed again, "bare with it Jin, funds are tight as it is. We barely have enough money allocated for researching new technology, let alone giving a new custom-made suit to every pilot who whines enough. Until we have more allies I think we'll be stuck with Windams, just be glad they're Plus-series, I hear in some places they still use the originals. Still, maybe command will have sent something nice in the other transports, or maybe they sent something ahead. As you said, we are special forces."
Jin grinned, "Ya think? You're not just saying that to make me feel better?"
Serrim winced, the man was like a child sometimes he didn't want to get his hopes up but then again..."Yeah, I totally and completely believe."
*****
"As you all know, the reason we came to this point is to surprise a ZAFT convey carrying arms, the reasons for which are classified. It's a simple deal, we'll take out the guards, probably ZAKU's, and then move on to secure the cargo. Remember that despite the fact that the ships we'll be fighting are undermanned they are still battleships and still have the capacity to use their own fire-power. There will be four in all, all Nazca class and all fitted with additional mobile suit pods. These are not to be damaged, except to destroy armaments. In addition there will be two Laurasia class, destroy these if you will," Zera finished and crossed his arms.
"Yes Colonel, for the preservation of a blue and pure world, victory for the Third!" The crew responded in unison.
Blue and pure world? Yeah I suppose that's a nice thing to fight for, how long has it been since I've fought with that in mind? Duty, now there's something to fight for. Maybe equality, the Coordinators have their place and we have ours, but we cannot co-exist, both of us have proven that twice already, Zera thought to himself.
"Yo, Lightning, you all fine and dandy? Not gonna zone out on us in battle are ya?" Mars asked with a grin, interrupting his thoughts.
Zera gave a start, "wha...? Sorry about that, I was going to start a stroll down memory lane."
"Well don't do it here eh?" Mars said punching the darker man in the shoulder.
"Yes, I think I'll go to my quarters and have a lie down. Tell Darwin to take command for a few hours?"
Mars crossed his arms, "Sure, sure. You're becoming an old man, lying down during the day? Anyway we've got a couple of days yet, it'll take that long to arm up all the Windams and get everyone in order. I'd recommend everyone have a refresher on the simulators. I'm gonna head there right now, see ya 'round Lightning. Oh yeah, don't break ya hip getting outa bed."
Zera felt his face go flat as Mars walked away laughing to himself.
"'Old man?' Can't say it's better than 'Lightning," Zera said to himself.
*****
Mars' Windam dodged to the left and spun firing it's rifle, the ZAKU went down in a neon explosion.
MISSION COMPLETE
Score out of 1000, 959.
"Damn" Mars swore and climbed out of the simulator-cockpit, he wanted to punch something.
"Hey Mr. Ace, that's pretty good. For a potato!" a fellow pilot said, a tall heavyset man with dark colouring.
"Hey Zaki, you do it then, go ahead, best me. It's a simulation roughly similar to our mission, a dozen enemy mobile suits, one enemy battleship to take down, highest level of computer response and AI. I would have easily beet 975 if I'd dodged more of that Phantom's missiles."
Zaki smiled and climbed in, there was a moment as the simulation started up and soon it displayed the view as it would have been from a Windam's cockpit.
There were a few moments of manoeuvre and Zaki took down a ZAKU that tried to hit him with it's tomahawk, then the screen went flat white and the camera displayed a third person view of the Windam being shot by a ZAKU from above.
"Tisk, tisk. Not only didn't you beat my skills, you couldn't even finish, peripherals man, use 'em." Mars said confidently and sauntered off.
***
Two days later, 1000 km out of lunar orbit.
Zera sat in the cockpit of his Vamp, waiting for the signal.
"Colonel, the convoy is in sight" Darwin said over the communication link, his English accent still pronounced after twenty years away from home.
"Very good, remember my orders, Pariah is to engage the escorts but not the battleships themselves. If it's getting too dicey fall back, we'll handle it."
"Yes Colonel."
Zera did one last check of his dark blue flight suit and spoke, "Zera Dromos, Vamp, launching".
As soon as he exited he could here the other pilots signing out.
"Mars Yeddin, Dark Aegis, let's go!"
Zaki Rumo, Windam, here I go."
Zera examined the convoy as they other pilots launched, the intelligence had been correct, a dozen ZAKU and a GOUF, two Laurasia class, all hanging around the Nazca class.
"Third battalion, Attack!" Zera ordered and sent his Vamp jetting forward.
There was a moment as he drew his Neo Schwert Gewehr, he could feel it, the tension of battle about to begin, just before shots were fired.
Then it happened, the ZAKU were mainly Gunner Wizards and as soon as they saw the Windam they opened fire.
"Insects." Zera spat as he thrust heavily to the right to avoid being blasted.
Behind Zera an unlucky Windam exploded in an unfolding neon flower, Zera turned his boosters onto maximum to close with the enemy, mourning the losses was for after.
Mars grimaced, "bastards! You got Emanuel." The Dark Aegis transformed into mobile armour mode and let loose it's Scylla beam cannon toward the ZAKU defenders, one dodged to the left and another was a hair behind, getting its arm and beam cannon vaporised, but the beam continued on to strike a Laurasia class, it wasn't a good shot but it destroyed the bridge nonetheless.
Zera closed with the ZAKU and took a swing at it with his Neo Schwert Gewehr, the ZAKU attempted to block but had it's shield cloven in two, Zera used his momentum to spin around and cut the ZAKU in half at the cockpit.
"Tsubashi! Behind you, GOUF!" Zera barked and a customised green Windam thrust forward in time to dodge the whip of the GOUF, only to be caught in the combined crossfire of four Nazca class, the moment hung in time as the Windam literally torn apart.
Then the Pariah fired it's six Gottfried's, all of which struck home on the second Laurasia class, a few Gottfried blasts would have pierced and likely destroyed a Laurasia, all six at once simply shredded it into debris.
The GOUF changed its focus and flew toward Zera, swinging its whip forward and drawing its Tempest beam sword.
Zera threw his shield toward the GOUF, as the slayer whip coiled around it the shield overheated and exploded in a cloud of metallic vapour, and Zera attacked, for a moment he and the GOUF crossed blades, Tempest to Schwert Gewehr, both hovered in the maelstrom of battle.
But Zera's action had brought him toward a Nazca class and he was forced to break off the combat to avoid the Nazca's beam cannons, darting farward, zigzagging rapidly to avoid the beam cannons, then he brought his Vamp spiralling toward the Nazca and attacked, his Schwert Gewehr slicing through its cannon like a razor through paper..
The GOUF pursued Zera, firing its Draupnir forearm beam gun at him, he evaded its blasts and tried to circle around the GOUF.
"Damn, you're persistent," Zera said with annoyance thick in his voice, before he spun around and fired up the Vamp's boosters to maximum to fly above the GOUF and dived down, blade first and ready to stab.
The GOUF lacked the reach and the speed to keep up with him, it dodged to the right and lunged at him with its Tempest, only to have the Schwert Gewehr impale it's left side rather than its right and fall short of striking distance, for a moment the GOUF floated backwards, off the blade of Zera's anti-shipping sword, before it exploded violently.
Zera smiled in triumph and redirected himself toward the last of the ZAKU, they were sheltering on the surface of the Nazca classes, obviously they had picked up that the Nazca's were being spared direct assault.
"Don't shoot, we can't risk a stray beam penetrating the armour. I'll deal with them," Zera ordered his men and attacked.
The ZAKU were still firing their rifles in rapid succession and Zera had to dart quickly and skilfully to avoid their attacks, but clustered together they couldn't dodge very well and the Vamp was fast.
Zera lunged forward and embedded his sword in the first ZAKU's chest, drawing it out would take valuable seconds, instead he leapt back and drew both beam sabres and resumed his attack using them to deflect incoming beams and attacked again, one blow cutting vertical the other horizontal, the next ZAKU fell to the ship like a puppet with it's strings cut. The two remaining ZAKU broke and ran, he pursued lunging into one and impaling it from behind and then spinning to cut the next ZAKU in half, beam blade slicing through it's midsection with horrible ease.
Zera looked around, the Nazca's all floated without weapons.
"Who'd we lose?" Zera asked.
"Tsubashi and Emanuel, Zaki and Soyama, Bint lost his Windam's arms and headed back to the Pariah and Losollo got his legs blown off, I'd say it'll take a few weeks before they're combat ready again," Mars answered.
"True, but the important thing is that we have what we came for, two dozen ZAFT mobile suits."
"But why'd we want ZAFT suits?"
Zera thought for a moment, "They are an invaluable part in a very crucial plan."
He heard Mars laugh over the radio, "that the way it is huh? Well that explains everything."
Without command the squad began to return to the Pariah, all that was left behind were the debris of the fallen.
End of phase 01.
Authors note: well here it is, the first phase, hope you liked it.
Oh, yeah, I don't own any of Gundam, I'd like it if I did, but unfortunately Bandai does.
Mobile Suit Gundam SEED Legacy (Updated!)
Working out pretty well I'd say. I like the attention to detail (which the original Gundam Seed series severely lacked) I'm glad it doesn't sound like an over hyped episode of ZOIDZ like the way other writers portray their story. The mission is quite reminiscent of an Ace Combat mission in depth and degree and I like it. The scenes are as "realistic" as I'd hoped it would be. Overall I'm content. Excellent work.
Thanks a bunch!
Character development will begin later, now is more the political and scene setting.
Just so you know, I'll probably never portray characters as being able to take on 30+ mobile suits at once, even characters like Kira who do so in the anime, without support or without an EXTREMELY good reason or long battle.
For example, Zera might kill twenty enemies in a battle, but it would not be the scenario we see where it all happens in one minute, it'd take like an hour or something.
Character development will begin later, now is more the political and scene setting.
Just so you know, I'll probably never portray characters as being able to take on 30+ mobile suits at once, even characters like Kira who do so in the anime, without support or without an EXTREMELY good reason or long battle.
For example, Zera might kill twenty enemies in a battle, but it would not be the scenario we see where it all happens in one minute, it'd take like an hour or something.
"I don't CARE if the mechanaught can't handle it, I want Wings of Light, the few seconds it'd last and the pilot mortality would be worth it." -me, eXteel closed beta.
Glad to hear that. I'm currently playing GS Rengou Vs ZAFT 2 Plus on the PS2 and it IS difficult to kill even Strike Daggers in any mobile suit if you're not skilled. Basing off that, I'm glad that your story is real enough to incorporate realistic mission times due to ammo limitations, mobile suit limitations, armor damage, metal fatigue, gravity, wear and tear, energy expenditure, wind resistance, overall physics as well as pilot stress resulting from inertia, Gs, fear of dying or being shot down, etc.
On my side things are kind of taxing since I have work at the hospital...I don't have that much free time on my hands to write as it is and the rewrite really set me back some. Other than that, I actually like the alterations to be honest.
On my side things are kind of taxing since I have work at the hospital...I don't have that much free time on my hands to write as it is and the rewrite really set me back some. Other than that, I actually like the alterations to be honest.
Thanks, I'll briefly outline the factors I plan or will cover and the factors that are harder.
Some factors may or may not come into it as much, for instance metal fatigue is likely to be avoided by constant maintenance and replacements of parts.
Other things like gravity aren't likely to be pronounced, as the people in space have usually been there for a while and the others such as Serrim and Jin have trained in artificial gravity simulators before heading up.
But, for instance, if near the end of the story a characters was to go up to space after 20 phases of being on Earth, then it'd be a different story.
Ammunition is a tricky one, since beam weapons have limitless
ammunition the main factor there is how many shots the barrels can take, this is not likely to be exceeded in a single battle.
Time is hard factor because you can't write the passing of time very easily, I can try to make a battle seem like it is going for a long time, but I don't want it to be boring.
Mobile suit limitations is a tricky one, because a good pilot should be able to bring out the full potential of his mobile suit and even things like a basic Windam are pretty much as good as the Aile Strike was, minus a few points, so it isn't unreasonable to expect a experienced veteran to be able to stand up to something, such as the Impulse, if he's smart enough.
Pilot strength is more important in some battles, but yes mobile suit limitations can and will be felt, simply because a Windam just isn't fast enough nor does it have the reaction time or brute force to take on the Justice, for example well maybe, but they'd have to be real sneaky-like and it'd still be unlikely.
Armour is another hard thing to deal with, since a railgun or any other conventional weapon can be dealt with, hell, even shrugged off, by Phase Shift Armour and beam weapons tend to be one-hit kills, except in the case of low-powered or outdated beams.
However, later in the series, around phase twenty this will likely become a more important factor as technology races to meet the threat of beam weapons with something that isn't all-or-nothing.
Energy is another factor that is hard to account for, because you'd have to have set numbers for how much energy is taken up by atmospheric flight, space flight, other gravitational field flight, phase shift, phase shift when hit by X projectile, weapons usage, beam weapons, impact of other beam weapons on energy levels, I do try to be reasonable with it, but it is something I hope people will forgive me for if I accidentally make a unit run out of energy earlier or later than another.
Wind resistance isn't an important factor, yet, but in certain conditions I'm sure to raise the issue and take it into account.
Pilot stress is something I'll take into account as well, the problem is Gundam SEED more often than not takes things like fear of dying or rage as things that make a pilot better, this won't happen in my case unless it triggers a SEED response.
Incidentally expect a full report on how SEED works, according to me, which I will attempt to make as accurate as possible, it'll appear around phase twenty.
G-force is another thing that I will DEFINITELY take into account, mainly because it annoyed me so much that SEED and Destiny seemed to ignore it, unfortunately with mass-produced mobile suits high speeds, enough to make remarkable G-force, aren't so common, once again except for alter in the series.
Don't worry too much, I originally intended to write a new one once a week and I barely make once a fortnight, sometimes once a month, it takes a lot more time to make a good post than many think.
Take the time and make sure the post is as good as you feel you can make it.
Some factors may or may not come into it as much, for instance metal fatigue is likely to be avoided by constant maintenance and replacements of parts.
Other things like gravity aren't likely to be pronounced, as the people in space have usually been there for a while and the others such as Serrim and Jin have trained in artificial gravity simulators before heading up.
But, for instance, if near the end of the story a characters was to go up to space after 20 phases of being on Earth, then it'd be a different story.
Ammunition is a tricky one, since beam weapons have limitless
ammunition the main factor there is how many shots the barrels can take, this is not likely to be exceeded in a single battle.
Time is hard factor because you can't write the passing of time very easily, I can try to make a battle seem like it is going for a long time, but I don't want it to be boring.
Mobile suit limitations is a tricky one, because a good pilot should be able to bring out the full potential of his mobile suit and even things like a basic Windam are pretty much as good as the Aile Strike was, minus a few points, so it isn't unreasonable to expect a experienced veteran to be able to stand up to something, such as the Impulse, if he's smart enough.
Pilot strength is more important in some battles, but yes mobile suit limitations can and will be felt, simply because a Windam just isn't fast enough nor does it have the reaction time or brute force to take on the Justice, for example well maybe, but they'd have to be real sneaky-like and it'd still be unlikely.
Armour is another hard thing to deal with, since a railgun or any other conventional weapon can be dealt with, hell, even shrugged off, by Phase Shift Armour and beam weapons tend to be one-hit kills, except in the case of low-powered or outdated beams.
However, later in the series, around phase twenty this will likely become a more important factor as technology races to meet the threat of beam weapons with something that isn't all-or-nothing.
Energy is another factor that is hard to account for, because you'd have to have set numbers for how much energy is taken up by atmospheric flight, space flight, other gravitational field flight, phase shift, phase shift when hit by X projectile, weapons usage, beam weapons, impact of other beam weapons on energy levels, I do try to be reasonable with it, but it is something I hope people will forgive me for if I accidentally make a unit run out of energy earlier or later than another.
Wind resistance isn't an important factor, yet, but in certain conditions I'm sure to raise the issue and take it into account.
Pilot stress is something I'll take into account as well, the problem is Gundam SEED more often than not takes things like fear of dying or rage as things that make a pilot better, this won't happen in my case unless it triggers a SEED response.
Incidentally expect a full report on how SEED works, according to me, which I will attempt to make as accurate as possible, it'll appear around phase twenty.
G-force is another thing that I will DEFINITELY take into account, mainly because it annoyed me so much that SEED and Destiny seemed to ignore it, unfortunately with mass-produced mobile suits high speeds, enough to make remarkable G-force, aren't so common, once again except for alter in the series.
Don't worry too much, I originally intended to write a new one once a week and I barely make once a fortnight, sometimes once a month, it takes a lot more time to make a good post than many think.
Take the time and make sure the post is as good as you feel you can make it.
"I don't CARE if the mechanaught can't handle it, I want Wings of Light, the few seconds it'd last and the pilot mortality would be worth it." -me, eXteel closed beta.
PHASE-02 MEETINGS
***************************************************
The debris of a battle, a site few would enjoy, Zera looked out through the bridge screen as the remaining members of his squad came back. Ashes and scrap, all that's left of our foes and even a few friends, their destined to drift through space and get trapped in the Debris Belt; joining the remains of thousand's of other fallen men and women, chilling, Zera thought grimly.
"All the Nazca's have been secured? They have the drop pods?" Zera asked over the communication link.
"Yes sir. The crew escaped, but we caught up to them, to my knowledge none got away," Heman Lossi replied in a stone-steady voice.
"Very good. Take a break after you're done, you've earned it," Zera responded, giving his best comforting smile.
Heman nodded thankfully, "thank you Captain."
Zera tapped his fingers together for a moment before speaking. "Mars, Darwin, to my chambers."
The Captain's chambers were the only multi-room quarters on board. There were three rooms in all, a bedroom, a bathroom and a office. The office was the smallest room with a heavy wooden desk, half a dozen leather chairs and not much else, it was used for private talks of strategy and planning.
Zera took his seat behind the desk and waiting to the others to sit before talking. "It is about time I tell you. Our orders have changed, we're no longer going to be the ones to drop onto the target area. Instead we're going to turn the Nazca's over to the Fifth Mobile Arms Division, after that I don't know what we're going to do. I'll speak with Sepha tonight though, and I'll let you know as soon as I can. Lastly, we're going to have five new pilots join us, I trust you'll make sure they are made at home."
Mars grinned with a nervous edge to his voice, "target area? You mean the rumours are true? we're going to...never mind. Fresh meat eh? They aren't rookies are they? As it is we're under-gunned and over-manned."
Darwin nodded and ran his hands through his greying hair. "As it is, Colonel, we're already considerably over-manned as Major Yeddin said, we have three pilots to every machine we've got and we don't have the room for thirty five mobile suits on board, half that, maybe, if we disassemble some."
"I know. As of the orders I received...some pilots are still going to be going on, without us, maybe twenty or so. I hate to say it, and I'd avoid it if I could, but I'm going to miss them. We've all been together for some time, hell some of the older veterans have been with me since the second war, and they're all my comrades. Still, orders are orders," Zera responded sadly and shook his head.
A long moment of quiet passed before Mars bit his fingernail nervously and spoke,"on topic, how long before the new pilots arrive?"
"I would estimate between two and six days, something like that," Zera answered. "How long do you estimate before ZAFT knows that their convoy was hijacked?"
Darwin responded after a moment of thought, "around a week maybe a little more or a little less. The convoy was moving quite slowly and it would take a few days before they consider that it was taken."
"We don't have the time to waste waiting for the pilots or the Fifth Division. We will head to the Earth and meet up with the Fifth on our way. Darwin, see that some workmen get to stripping off the parade armour of the mobile suits. Remember, this needs to look like an attack, and ensure that the computer technicians install the converted operating systems," Zera ordered firmly as he stood.
"Yes Colonel," Darwin replied as he took to his feet and saluted crisply, he left briskly with patented Darwin Shogriff efficiency.
"Mars, tell the men what's going to happen and make sure they know the risks. If you can, see who's going to volunteer for the operation, I don't want unwilling men going," Zera commanded, his voice steady.
"Whatever you say, Lightning. I'll get on it," Mars said smoothly, almost casually, and sauntered out of the room.
*****
ZAFT Earth headquarters; Victoria base.
Ourei Bel Terai saluted, "Yes sir, it is an honour."
The other man saluted in return, he was dark and greying with a spiky oiled beard, "the Impact is a mobile suit worthy of your skills, you'll be piloting it in the combat demonstrations after the parade and leading my very own squad, make us proud."
"Yes sir, I won't let you down Commander Vultz. I'll go and practice now to make sure it runs smoothly," the blond-haired Ourei responded excitedly.
Commander Vultz smiled after the boy as he left, well he was a boy in the eyes of Edgar Vultz.
It would be so nice if his skills were never needed, I remember the Bloody Valentine wars and the thought of another conflict like that makes me sick. How fortunate we are that we live in this time of peace, Vultz thought to himself fondly as he stared out the window of his office, how fortunate indeed.
*****
Zera sat in front of his wide flat-screen computer monitor, the video link to Sepha Irillion showed the man sitting at his dark wooden desk, his dark mossy coloured hair was looking as glossy and well-brushed as ever. Zera's eyes met his, dark blue to cornflower blue.
"So that's all you want to know?" Sepha asked in an amused tone, his lips curving into a subtle half-smile. "Well the answer is simple. The Third Mobile Blue Cosmos Battalion is a battalion of veterans and very skilled soldiers, with the lowest ratio of inexperienced pilots. However, due to our lack of machines you can only make use of a third of the pilots at your disposal. Rather than letting this skilled men go to waste and gather rust, we've decided top put them to better use, something only they can do. Besides, its not as if I'm leaving you too short handed, you will receive some of the very best graduates from the Rosenburg Institute, furthermore they will be coming with their own machines," Sepha continued to answer, his smooth mellifluous echoed through the audio link.
"I understand that Sepha, but if you'll excuse me, that doesn't answer my question. Why aren't we the ones to launch the attack, I believe my men and I could perform the operation, do the damage and get our with minimum losses," Zera replied.
Sepha paused a moment to take a long sip from a delicate china tea cup before speaking again, when he did his voice was casual. "Where would you escape to? I agree it is only your men who could pull this off convincingly, thus why half of them are still going. However; this is still a suicide mission, the pilots who take part will die. The point of this change is so that more of your battalion survive to continue the fight at a later date."
Zera nodded in understanding, "I see...it's just that I've always fought to keep my men alive, it hurts to send them to their deaths."
Sepha closed his eyes and spoke softly, "I understand, no man likes to see his men die. I promise you, when the fire of war rages once again I'll arrange more support for you, but resources are short right now, bear with it, please."
Zera saluted, "yes sir, I'll make do. Sorry for disturbing you, I have duties to return to."
Sepha smiled wryly, "you're doing well Zera. Keep at it," then the image winked out.
***
(Three days later, Lunar Orbit, Earth-side.)
Zera sat and looked at the computerised pilot profiles again, they had come in the morning and the pilots themselves were due to arrive soon.
"Two Extended and three potential aces, all of them with the highest scores the military academy has seen for years. Amazing, Sepha wasn't exaggerating," Zera said to himself. "But I do wonder, what forces will we be fighting against? In both wars PLANT has proven itself both sneaky and capable, twice they've bested some of the alliances best pilots. I suppose I'll have to stop that this time."
"Sir, the pilot's convoy is in range. Shall I send our identification code and begin preparations to receive the pilots?" Silvia's voice toned in, interrupting his self-oratory.
"Yes, and tell our own pilots to head out to the shuttles. I'll give them a farewell speech in five minutes," Zera replied coolly.
"Yes Zera, right away."
Zera walked out of the door and straightened his uniform, it would be nice to say a few kind words as a goodbye to the men who had served him so well over the years.
*****
Serrim sat and watched as the Girty Lue class grew closer, surrounded by Nazca-class ZAFT vessels. His quarters were not large and he shared them with Jin, but it was fine since neither of the two spent much time quarter-bound.
"That where we're headed?" Jin asked.
"I think so," Serrim replied.
"Girty Lue class, only two were produced, officially at least, this makes three. This Girty Lue has been refitted to staff extra mobile suits. You can tell from it's bulge in the mid-section," Serrim continued dryly.
"Wow, so what does that make us? Special Ops? I hear the girls love the secret-types," Jinn said with a sleazy grin.
"I hesitate to say it would defeat the purpose of being covert if you told 'the girls'. Sorry Jin," Serrim said with mock sympathy and patted his friend on the shoulder.
"But why are ZAFT ships with them? I thought ZAFT was our enemy," Jin asked suspiciously.
"I wouldn't know, maybe it's some sort of joint operation," Serrim said slowly, I know they're my enemy at least, that's enough, he thought as he continued to look on.
The two ships came close, the mobile suits would have to be piloted from the Agamemnon class to the Girtue Lue class manually.
"We're supposed to take our mobile suits over now," a voice sounded from the doorway.
"Hey Rich Boy, I thought I said to knock before ya' come in," Jin said angrily.
"I apologize, but orders were given and it slipped my mind," the man replied snidely, he would have been average height with hair that was an inky dark blue and eyes that were topaz-yellow, odd but not unheard of.
"Never mind him Aran, thanks anyway, we'll head down to the hangers shortly, we'll just get our stuff together first," Serrim said and gave Jin an accusing glare, sometimes Serrim wondered if one of the two would finally snap and attack the other, the two men never did manage to see eye-to-eye.
*****
Mars watched as the Agamemnon class and it's three Nelson class escorts drew closer, he wasn't involved in the actions and Zera didn't need him on the bridge, so he was taking a break in his quarters. As a Major and the second-in-command of the Third Battalion he was given a whole room to himself.
"New guys...I'll have to see how they do. I'd like to see what these pilots are like, all of them managed to equal or beat my top scores, so they must be pretty good," Mars said as mobile suits were launched from the Agamemnon class..
"Purple Windam, black Windam Gr-What the? A new one?" Mars exclaimed, the mobile suit was not one he had seen before, but it wasn't easy to make out details before it docked with the Pariah.
Mars thought for a moment before pulling open his door and dashing toward the hanger.
*****
Jin climbed out of his Windam custom with a grimace, "I thought you said they'd have something special for us?" he said in a whiny voice.
Serrim shrugged, "Did I? Well they had something special for Aran. Look on the bright side, at least you've got a mobile suit. Rafor hasn't got his yet."
Jin smiled evilly at that, "heh pilot without a mobile suit, that's just silly."
*****
Aran climbed out of the cockpit of his mobile suit and onto the walkway in front of it, a man with bright red hair was waiting.
"Hey you, which one are ya? I'm Mars by the way, what's that suit you're packin'?" he said so quickly that it was hard to tell where one word ended and another began.
Aran thought for a moment before answering, "Aran Le Kauruda, I'm not sure what you mean by which one though. That suit is the GAT-X185 Templar, the specifications are on my profile. If you will allow me to go now, major, I would like to find my quarters, I have already been briefed on the layout of this ship, so you needn't send someone with me."
Mars waved him away, "yeah sure, you can go to your quarters," as soon as the man left his sight he stepped forward and stared at the big grey-silver unit. The Templar certainly was am impressive sight with a massive 585mm multiphase beam cannon mounted in the chest and a shield on each arm, without second thought Mars stepped forward for closer inspection.
*****
Zera stood in front of his soon-to-be former men.
"I am afraid I'm not very good at this sort of thing, as some of you will know by now, so I'll keep it brief. You are all here because you volunteered, knowing full well the mission that awaits most of you and the almost inescapable end to that mission. I personally extend my congratulations to you all for having the courage to go through with this. It's hard seeing this happen for me, some of you I've known for as long as fifteen years, before I was even a soldier, others I've met only in the last few. Nevertheless the situation is the same, and I wish you good luck and fortune in combat. It has been an honour," Zera finished with a salute. Instantly the twenty men in front of him broke up and began to talk, saying goodbyes to friends staying behind, others saluting him in return and getting aboard the shuttle, a few shook hands with Zera and offered their good wishes before getting aboard.
Zera walked out as the shuttle launch sequence started, he had done his part and the operation was ready to commence, now all there was to do was to sit back and wait.
*****
An hour later
Zera stood in the briefing room, with more than half of the pilots gone the place felt a lot more empty.
"Pilots, you represent the finest the Earth has to offer. Today five more will be joining your number. I present to you the following; Serrim Gospal, Aran Le Kauruda, Jin Garuda, Estell Selvar and Rafor Terodrin. Please make them welcome among us."
Each pilot stepped forward as Zera spoke and once he had finished they hesitantly began to mingle.
Zera stepped up to one of the new recruits, a man with hair that was so pale it was like silvery snow and eyes that were the colour of cut amethyst, a man called Serrim Gospal. "So tell me Lieutenant Gospal, if you don't mind my blunt approach, why are you here? I ask this to all my new recruits, I need to know the reason you're fighting for," Zera asked.
The white haired man responded in equally as bluntly, "because ZAFT is directly responsible for the deaths of many of my loved ones, a great many. It isn't logical, I know, but between their "Break the World" and "April Fools disaster" I've lost all my friends except Jin, and all my family except my older sister; who's thankfully safe on Mars. I feel the only way I can find some sort of payback is to be here, in case another war breaks out. I was a child back then, I am not now."
Zera raised his eyebrows in faint surprise, "you sound like you actually want another war."
Serrim shook his head in response, "no. Not really, it's true some part of me desires a chance for revenge, but a lot of people will die if there's another war, and I don't think all Coordinators are fundamentally evil. Their actions merely speak for them and warrant careful scrutiny."
Zera studied him for a second, not the typical Blue Cosmos attitude, he thought to himself. "Well I won't keep you Serrim, go socialise with your new comrades," Zera said and watched the snowy haired walk off to speak with two blue-coated pilots, a dark haired man joining him on the way.
*****
The four Nazca's had been fully staffed for the operation and all the ZAFT mobile suits had been refitted, re-armoured and reprogrammed, most were GOUF and ZAKU, but DOM were also present as well as the ageing-on-primitive GINN and CGUE. The suits had been cleared of their parade colours and repainted to their original colours.
The launch sequence was initiated as the Nazca's came to exact orbital locations, the temporary crew on the Nazca's spoke as others ran through check-lists and punched in coordinates, "team one, target locked, coordinates verified and confirmed, path clear of debris, launch clear, drop pods launching," the officer continued as the first group of pods were launched into the atmosphere.
The Nazaca's repositioned themselves and after a few minutes began the launch sequence again, "team two, target locked, coordinates verified and confirmed, path clear of debris, launch clear, drop pods launching. Operation Ember commenced. For the preservation of a blue and pure world!"
End of phase 02.
***************************************************
The debris of a battle, a site few would enjoy, Zera looked out through the bridge screen as the remaining members of his squad came back. Ashes and scrap, all that's left of our foes and even a few friends, their destined to drift through space and get trapped in the Debris Belt; joining the remains of thousand's of other fallen men and women, chilling, Zera thought grimly.
"All the Nazca's have been secured? They have the drop pods?" Zera asked over the communication link.
"Yes sir. The crew escaped, but we caught up to them, to my knowledge none got away," Heman Lossi replied in a stone-steady voice.
"Very good. Take a break after you're done, you've earned it," Zera responded, giving his best comforting smile.
Heman nodded thankfully, "thank you Captain."
Zera tapped his fingers together for a moment before speaking. "Mars, Darwin, to my chambers."
The Captain's chambers were the only multi-room quarters on board. There were three rooms in all, a bedroom, a bathroom and a office. The office was the smallest room with a heavy wooden desk, half a dozen leather chairs and not much else, it was used for private talks of strategy and planning.
Zera took his seat behind the desk and waiting to the others to sit before talking. "It is about time I tell you. Our orders have changed, we're no longer going to be the ones to drop onto the target area. Instead we're going to turn the Nazca's over to the Fifth Mobile Arms Division, after that I don't know what we're going to do. I'll speak with Sepha tonight though, and I'll let you know as soon as I can. Lastly, we're going to have five new pilots join us, I trust you'll make sure they are made at home."
Mars grinned with a nervous edge to his voice, "target area? You mean the rumours are true? we're going to...never mind. Fresh meat eh? They aren't rookies are they? As it is we're under-gunned and over-manned."
Darwin nodded and ran his hands through his greying hair. "As it is, Colonel, we're already considerably over-manned as Major Yeddin said, we have three pilots to every machine we've got and we don't have the room for thirty five mobile suits on board, half that, maybe, if we disassemble some."
"I know. As of the orders I received...some pilots are still going to be going on, without us, maybe twenty or so. I hate to say it, and I'd avoid it if I could, but I'm going to miss them. We've all been together for some time, hell some of the older veterans have been with me since the second war, and they're all my comrades. Still, orders are orders," Zera responded sadly and shook his head.
A long moment of quiet passed before Mars bit his fingernail nervously and spoke,"on topic, how long before the new pilots arrive?"
"I would estimate between two and six days, something like that," Zera answered. "How long do you estimate before ZAFT knows that their convoy was hijacked?"
Darwin responded after a moment of thought, "around a week maybe a little more or a little less. The convoy was moving quite slowly and it would take a few days before they consider that it was taken."
"We don't have the time to waste waiting for the pilots or the Fifth Division. We will head to the Earth and meet up with the Fifth on our way. Darwin, see that some workmen get to stripping off the parade armour of the mobile suits. Remember, this needs to look like an attack, and ensure that the computer technicians install the converted operating systems," Zera ordered firmly as he stood.
"Yes Colonel," Darwin replied as he took to his feet and saluted crisply, he left briskly with patented Darwin Shogriff efficiency.
"Mars, tell the men what's going to happen and make sure they know the risks. If you can, see who's going to volunteer for the operation, I don't want unwilling men going," Zera commanded, his voice steady.
"Whatever you say, Lightning. I'll get on it," Mars said smoothly, almost casually, and sauntered out of the room.
*****
ZAFT Earth headquarters; Victoria base.
Ourei Bel Terai saluted, "Yes sir, it is an honour."
The other man saluted in return, he was dark and greying with a spiky oiled beard, "the Impact is a mobile suit worthy of your skills, you'll be piloting it in the combat demonstrations after the parade and leading my very own squad, make us proud."
"Yes sir, I won't let you down Commander Vultz. I'll go and practice now to make sure it runs smoothly," the blond-haired Ourei responded excitedly.
Commander Vultz smiled after the boy as he left, well he was a boy in the eyes of Edgar Vultz.
It would be so nice if his skills were never needed, I remember the Bloody Valentine wars and the thought of another conflict like that makes me sick. How fortunate we are that we live in this time of peace, Vultz thought to himself fondly as he stared out the window of his office, how fortunate indeed.
*****
Zera sat in front of his wide flat-screen computer monitor, the video link to Sepha Irillion showed the man sitting at his dark wooden desk, his dark mossy coloured hair was looking as glossy and well-brushed as ever. Zera's eyes met his, dark blue to cornflower blue.
"So that's all you want to know?" Sepha asked in an amused tone, his lips curving into a subtle half-smile. "Well the answer is simple. The Third Mobile Blue Cosmos Battalion is a battalion of veterans and very skilled soldiers, with the lowest ratio of inexperienced pilots. However, due to our lack of machines you can only make use of a third of the pilots at your disposal. Rather than letting this skilled men go to waste and gather rust, we've decided top put them to better use, something only they can do. Besides, its not as if I'm leaving you too short handed, you will receive some of the very best graduates from the Rosenburg Institute, furthermore they will be coming with their own machines," Sepha continued to answer, his smooth mellifluous echoed through the audio link.
"I understand that Sepha, but if you'll excuse me, that doesn't answer my question. Why aren't we the ones to launch the attack, I believe my men and I could perform the operation, do the damage and get our with minimum losses," Zera replied.
Sepha paused a moment to take a long sip from a delicate china tea cup before speaking again, when he did his voice was casual. "Where would you escape to? I agree it is only your men who could pull this off convincingly, thus why half of them are still going. However; this is still a suicide mission, the pilots who take part will die. The point of this change is so that more of your battalion survive to continue the fight at a later date."
Zera nodded in understanding, "I see...it's just that I've always fought to keep my men alive, it hurts to send them to their deaths."
Sepha closed his eyes and spoke softly, "I understand, no man likes to see his men die. I promise you, when the fire of war rages once again I'll arrange more support for you, but resources are short right now, bear with it, please."
Zera saluted, "yes sir, I'll make do. Sorry for disturbing you, I have duties to return to."
Sepha smiled wryly, "you're doing well Zera. Keep at it," then the image winked out.
***
(Three days later, Lunar Orbit, Earth-side.)
Zera sat and looked at the computerised pilot profiles again, they had come in the morning and the pilots themselves were due to arrive soon.
"Two Extended and three potential aces, all of them with the highest scores the military academy has seen for years. Amazing, Sepha wasn't exaggerating," Zera said to himself. "But I do wonder, what forces will we be fighting against? In both wars PLANT has proven itself both sneaky and capable, twice they've bested some of the alliances best pilots. I suppose I'll have to stop that this time."
"Sir, the pilot's convoy is in range. Shall I send our identification code and begin preparations to receive the pilots?" Silvia's voice toned in, interrupting his self-oratory.
"Yes, and tell our own pilots to head out to the shuttles. I'll give them a farewell speech in five minutes," Zera replied coolly.
"Yes Zera, right away."
Zera walked out of the door and straightened his uniform, it would be nice to say a few kind words as a goodbye to the men who had served him so well over the years.
*****
Serrim sat and watched as the Girty Lue class grew closer, surrounded by Nazca-class ZAFT vessels. His quarters were not large and he shared them with Jin, but it was fine since neither of the two spent much time quarter-bound.
"That where we're headed?" Jin asked.
"I think so," Serrim replied.
"Girty Lue class, only two were produced, officially at least, this makes three. This Girty Lue has been refitted to staff extra mobile suits. You can tell from it's bulge in the mid-section," Serrim continued dryly.
"Wow, so what does that make us? Special Ops? I hear the girls love the secret-types," Jinn said with a sleazy grin.
"I hesitate to say it would defeat the purpose of being covert if you told 'the girls'. Sorry Jin," Serrim said with mock sympathy and patted his friend on the shoulder.
"But why are ZAFT ships with them? I thought ZAFT was our enemy," Jin asked suspiciously.
"I wouldn't know, maybe it's some sort of joint operation," Serrim said slowly, I know they're my enemy at least, that's enough, he thought as he continued to look on.
The two ships came close, the mobile suits would have to be piloted from the Agamemnon class to the Girtue Lue class manually.
"We're supposed to take our mobile suits over now," a voice sounded from the doorway.
"Hey Rich Boy, I thought I said to knock before ya' come in," Jin said angrily.
"I apologize, but orders were given and it slipped my mind," the man replied snidely, he would have been average height with hair that was an inky dark blue and eyes that were topaz-yellow, odd but not unheard of.
"Never mind him Aran, thanks anyway, we'll head down to the hangers shortly, we'll just get our stuff together first," Serrim said and gave Jin an accusing glare, sometimes Serrim wondered if one of the two would finally snap and attack the other, the two men never did manage to see eye-to-eye.
*****
Mars watched as the Agamemnon class and it's three Nelson class escorts drew closer, he wasn't involved in the actions and Zera didn't need him on the bridge, so he was taking a break in his quarters. As a Major and the second-in-command of the Third Battalion he was given a whole room to himself.
"New guys...I'll have to see how they do. I'd like to see what these pilots are like, all of them managed to equal or beat my top scores, so they must be pretty good," Mars said as mobile suits were launched from the Agamemnon class..
"Purple Windam, black Windam Gr-What the? A new one?" Mars exclaimed, the mobile suit was not one he had seen before, but it wasn't easy to make out details before it docked with the Pariah.
Mars thought for a moment before pulling open his door and dashing toward the hanger.
*****
Jin climbed out of his Windam custom with a grimace, "I thought you said they'd have something special for us?" he said in a whiny voice.
Serrim shrugged, "Did I? Well they had something special for Aran. Look on the bright side, at least you've got a mobile suit. Rafor hasn't got his yet."
Jin smiled evilly at that, "heh pilot without a mobile suit, that's just silly."
*****
Aran climbed out of the cockpit of his mobile suit and onto the walkway in front of it, a man with bright red hair was waiting.
"Hey you, which one are ya? I'm Mars by the way, what's that suit you're packin'?" he said so quickly that it was hard to tell where one word ended and another began.
Aran thought for a moment before answering, "Aran Le Kauruda, I'm not sure what you mean by which one though. That suit is the GAT-X185 Templar, the specifications are on my profile. If you will allow me to go now, major, I would like to find my quarters, I have already been briefed on the layout of this ship, so you needn't send someone with me."
Mars waved him away, "yeah sure, you can go to your quarters," as soon as the man left his sight he stepped forward and stared at the big grey-silver unit. The Templar certainly was am impressive sight with a massive 585mm multiphase beam cannon mounted in the chest and a shield on each arm, without second thought Mars stepped forward for closer inspection.
*****
Zera stood in front of his soon-to-be former men.
"I am afraid I'm not very good at this sort of thing, as some of you will know by now, so I'll keep it brief. You are all here because you volunteered, knowing full well the mission that awaits most of you and the almost inescapable end to that mission. I personally extend my congratulations to you all for having the courage to go through with this. It's hard seeing this happen for me, some of you I've known for as long as fifteen years, before I was even a soldier, others I've met only in the last few. Nevertheless the situation is the same, and I wish you good luck and fortune in combat. It has been an honour," Zera finished with a salute. Instantly the twenty men in front of him broke up and began to talk, saying goodbyes to friends staying behind, others saluting him in return and getting aboard the shuttle, a few shook hands with Zera and offered their good wishes before getting aboard.
Zera walked out as the shuttle launch sequence started, he had done his part and the operation was ready to commence, now all there was to do was to sit back and wait.
*****
An hour later
Zera stood in the briefing room, with more than half of the pilots gone the place felt a lot more empty.
"Pilots, you represent the finest the Earth has to offer. Today five more will be joining your number. I present to you the following; Serrim Gospal, Aran Le Kauruda, Jin Garuda, Estell Selvar and Rafor Terodrin. Please make them welcome among us."
Each pilot stepped forward as Zera spoke and once he had finished they hesitantly began to mingle.
Zera stepped up to one of the new recruits, a man with hair that was so pale it was like silvery snow and eyes that were the colour of cut amethyst, a man called Serrim Gospal. "So tell me Lieutenant Gospal, if you don't mind my blunt approach, why are you here? I ask this to all my new recruits, I need to know the reason you're fighting for," Zera asked.
The white haired man responded in equally as bluntly, "because ZAFT is directly responsible for the deaths of many of my loved ones, a great many. It isn't logical, I know, but between their "Break the World" and "April Fools disaster" I've lost all my friends except Jin, and all my family except my older sister; who's thankfully safe on Mars. I feel the only way I can find some sort of payback is to be here, in case another war breaks out. I was a child back then, I am not now."
Zera raised his eyebrows in faint surprise, "you sound like you actually want another war."
Serrim shook his head in response, "no. Not really, it's true some part of me desires a chance for revenge, but a lot of people will die if there's another war, and I don't think all Coordinators are fundamentally evil. Their actions merely speak for them and warrant careful scrutiny."
Zera studied him for a second, not the typical Blue Cosmos attitude, he thought to himself. "Well I won't keep you Serrim, go socialise with your new comrades," Zera said and watched the snowy haired walk off to speak with two blue-coated pilots, a dark haired man joining him on the way.
*****
The four Nazca's had been fully staffed for the operation and all the ZAFT mobile suits had been refitted, re-armoured and reprogrammed, most were GOUF and ZAKU, but DOM were also present as well as the ageing-on-primitive GINN and CGUE. The suits had been cleared of their parade colours and repainted to their original colours.
The launch sequence was initiated as the Nazca's came to exact orbital locations, the temporary crew on the Nazca's spoke as others ran through check-lists and punched in coordinates, "team one, target locked, coordinates verified and confirmed, path clear of debris, launch clear, drop pods launching," the officer continued as the first group of pods were launched into the atmosphere.
The Nazaca's repositioned themselves and after a few minutes began the launch sequence again, "team two, target locked, coordinates verified and confirmed, path clear of debris, launch clear, drop pods launching. Operation Ember commenced. For the preservation of a blue and pure world!"
End of phase 02.
"I don't CARE if the mechanaught can't handle it, I want Wings of Light, the few seconds it'd last and the pilot mortality would be worth it." -me, eXteel closed beta.
Awesome chapter. Again my commendations to you and your work. I've been out of town for a week and got to read Phase 2 of your story just now. I've been rather busy as of late which explains the delay in posting Phase 2 of GS Edelweiss.
The names sound...."Gundammy" (Forgive the word) but yeah, they all have a good ring to them. The dialogue sounds very natural and non-theatrical which I find really pleasing. The descriptions and wordings really give the reader a good feel of the environment where the characters are in as well as the gravity of their situation.
Though I do write stories, I guess I would be called a "Johnny-come-lately" in storytelling as I only started a year ago, which has been rather intermittent as I'm busy with a lot of things. Based on your degree and skill in writing I'd say you've been doing so for quite some time now--A seasoned writer and a good one at that.
The events are going well. I await Phase 3
The names sound...."Gundammy" (Forgive the word) but yeah, they all have a good ring to them. The dialogue sounds very natural and non-theatrical which I find really pleasing. The descriptions and wordings really give the reader a good feel of the environment where the characters are in as well as the gravity of their situation.
Though I do write stories, I guess I would be called a "Johnny-come-lately" in storytelling as I only started a year ago, which has been rather intermittent as I'm busy with a lot of things. Based on your degree and skill in writing I'd say you've been doing so for quite some time now--A seasoned writer and a good one at that.
The events are going well. I await Phase 3
No, this one sounds good because it has been revised twice, that's because every time I post Gundam SEED Legacy on a forum I start again from the start and read over each chapter as I post it, I don't change any details, but I alter the language a bit to make it just that little bit more fitting, and it builds intimacy with my characters. Also, I try to proofread my chapters so I can pick up if something isn't quite right.
Having said that, I have only been doing this for about a year as well, and your work is as good as mine, I'd say, it just has different strengths.
I personally like my earlier chapters a lot, my later ones are a little more forced and lengthy, but they have to be to accommodate the larger size of the cast, I'll try to get Phase three up today though.
On a side-note I just did a fair bit of research on Gundam SEED, it sucks not having reliable specifications but that's something I can work around.
But...once again thanks for the feedback, I appreciate it as always.
Having said that, I have only been doing this for about a year as well, and your work is as good as mine, I'd say, it just has different strengths.
I personally like my earlier chapters a lot, my later ones are a little more forced and lengthy, but they have to be to accommodate the larger size of the cast, I'll try to get Phase three up today though.
On a side-note I just did a fair bit of research on Gundam SEED, it sucks not having reliable specifications but that's something I can work around.
But...once again thanks for the feedback, I appreciate it as always.
"I don't CARE if the mechanaught can't handle it, I want Wings of Light, the few seconds it'd last and the pilot mortality would be worth it." -me, eXteel closed beta.
We even work in an uncannily similar fashion. GS Edelweiss was probably revised about as much as your story and even then I still missed a lot of key points. Revisions are important but so are proofreads and opinions from readers (As I've learned) I have done research on Gundam Seed but apparently there's still a lot more for me to read on. Right now I'm looking for material regarding Mobile Suit manufacturing companies like Morgenroete Inc, Integrated Design Bureau, Etc. etc. I need to know their locations, specialties, inclination, (things like that) before I can even proceed with the succeeding chapters lest I face more inconsistencies as 4 of my mobile suit concepts rely on this key information.
Good luck to you on that, that's something I don't know...yet.
I guess Armoury One probably had something to do with the IDB, and I know Morgenroete was located somewhere on Orb...but that's about it.
I guess Armoury One probably had something to do with the IDB, and I know Morgenroete was located somewhere on Orb...but that's about it.
"I don't CARE if the mechanaught can't handle it, I want Wings of Light, the few seconds it'd last and the pilot mortality would be worth it." -me, eXteel closed beta.
PHASE-03 EMBERS TO A PARCHED EARTH
***************************************************
Sepha Irillion sat back in his crimson suit and and placed a flat black glass disk on a dark green cloth board,
he had always preferred Go to chess, but they taught different things.
Chess teaches one to make different elements work together and compliment each other to achieve victory, Go teaches one to use a variety of manoeuvres and strategies to capture territory and defeat the enemy, any peace is as good as any other, the only thing that matters is where the peace is placed was placed.
But the real world was infinitely more complex than any game and defeating an enemy could be just as complex. The major problem was when the enemy enjoyed almost every advantage it's hard to do combat.
Sepha smiled slightly, it is such a pity; the real world is infinitely more complex than any board game, defeating one's enemies and achieving one's goals can be as complex as the world itself and when one has as formidable opponents as myself... Sepha made a habit of playing only against himself, it was simply because no one else could beat him, it was irritating at times, but today was a good game.
A knock sounded at the door and Sepha rose to answer it, the man that was stood behind the the heavy mahogany frame looked middle-aged, he was tall and bald with dark olive skin.
"Sorry to disturb you sir, but I thought you would like to know that Operation Ember is about to start," the man spoke formally and bowed.
"Very good Svell. If you would, get the Icarus ready and organise a squad of Vamp's to escort, if all goes well things will get quite unstable soon," Sepha commanded and turned back into his room, paying no heed to Svell's retreating footfalls, he picked up his phone and pressed the first speed dial button.
"Is that you? Only three people have direct access to my home phone so it's either you or Tsubaya," the voice spoke slowly, groggy even, but it was still gruff and forceful.
Sepha's smile crept a little wider, it was true; only a few people had direct access to the President of the Atlantic Federation.
"Yes Arnold, it is me. Remember you said you'd do your part if I could deliver the reason? Well you're going to get your good reason, and soon," Sepha replied with in almost casual tone.
Arnold sighed, either with relief or anticipation, "you've called Tsubaya I presume, what about Quodre? or Armellio?"
"No. Actually Arnold you'll be the first to know, just make the preparations you need to. I am about to become a very busy man, so forgive my brevity, but there is one last thing; remember what we do is for a beautiful and pure world, a Natural world, and it is worth any sacrifice."
Arnold grunted as the line went dead, there wasn't much choice anyway. "Well, someone has to teach those Coordinator scum their place," he said before lighting a cigar and taking a deep draw on it, it was going to be a long day.
*****
The DOM raised it's bazooka-like cannon and fired, levelling another skyscraper, and then spun to raise it's energy shield to deflect another volley.
"Smart asses, they're finally beginning to wake up. I was beginning to think they'd turn-tailed and ran away, but then again we've managed to level half the city already. Frederic, take Zan and Phil to the beach, I figure Enell and Trim will need the help. Gostaf, Malorna we're taking out those four Murasame!" the DOM pilot ordered.
"Yes sir!" Three ZAKU broke off the fighting to head toward the sea, a GOUF and a GINN ran forward, taking shelter in the rubble of the larger buildings, and and began firing. Two Murasame were hit by the barrage of beam and standard fire, they went down and crashed into the city, exploding in a violent neon display. The remaining two Orb suits transformed to mobile armour mode and charged, firing their machine-guns and beam cannon.
The GOUF took several hits to the torso before an energy beam pierced its upper chest, a moment later it exploded. The GINN jumped and thruster to the left, it hit the ground and skidded, but sprayed machine-gun fire at the Murasame, both took the hits badly, one exploding in a fan of light, the other veering out of control and smashing into a big boxy building, a warehouse maybe.
"Well there goes Malorna, I figure we'll be joining her real soon. I think they're waking up, probably getting their act together too, plus they're beginning to close in with larger numbers," the GINN pilot said, a moment later his sensors pinged, a dozen more Murasame coming in from the north and fifteen coming in from the west.
"It doesn't matter, we've done what we came here to do, now all we have to do is keep fighting till we die. We've already taken a dozen down and we've lost five, I only hope we can continue with those rates," the DOM pilot responded, his was a middle-aged man, dark in colouring.
"Yes sir, may I say that it has been an honour. The Colonel would have been proud," the GINN pilot replied in a voice thick with emotion, he was a young red-headed man.
"Thank you very much Gustaf, it has been an honour to serve with you. Now lets go see what more we can do," the DOM pilot responded
With that the two suits headed toward the beach, the city behind them roared as it writhed in flames.
*****
The second squad had crashed down in a completely different location, it smashed through high Gothic architecture and new-age modern skyscraper towers. The Windams defending didn't know what had hit them, two dozen had been shot down already, but half the attackers were down and they'd lost their momentum and their edge.
Still a great deal of damage had been done to New Berlin and even though the fighting was ending it had created a second horrifying image, barely a decade after being almost completely burnt away, save for a lucky few buildings, by the Destroy and now the city was again under attack, this time from ZAKU, CGUE, GuAIZ and GOUF.
Citizens shrieked in terror as a CGUE smashed through a museum and sprayed auto-fire down onto the art aficionados, a moment later it exploded as a Windam impaled it from behind.
Three Slash ZAKU Phantoms sprayed missiles and automatic beam fire into the hotel towers and resorts around before charging forward and hewing into other buildings with their beam axes like woodsmen chopping lumber.
Elsewhere a damaged GuAIZ R impaled a Windam through the shoulder with its composite shield and fired both its hip-mounted railguns, both suits exploded brilliantly and destroyed the remains of the school they were fighting in, all across the city the scenes were equally as bitter and destructive.
*****
"Just hours ago the nations of ORB and the Republic of Western Europe both came under sudden attack by ZAFT forces. ZAFT strongly denies the claims that it was an act of ZAFT aggression and insists on a third-party intervention or the use of a breakaway faction. However, PLANT is yet to present evidence for their innocence. Perhaps this is an act of war on Earth? Our reporters will give you the story day-by-day, minute-by-minute as it breaks," Alerik Cuale turned off the news and slumped in his chair. The Chairman of PLANT was looking haggard, it was true he had always partly expected such a thing to happen, the Earth trying to start up another war, but Alerik had never considered the possibility of them using his own forces against him.
"The problem is, is it an Earth government plot or is it an extremist group, maybe it's even a group of disgruntled ZAFT operatives. To act too soon is to risk much, but if I act too late they will see it as a confirmation of guilt. Maybe it was those damn Zala followers, I always knew they would start trouble, but on this scale? I don't dare meet with the Earth or I think I'd find myself an early grave, but what to do? In any case we must call the Supreme Council to meet," Alerik mused to himself before picking up his phone.
*****
Ourei looked up at the monitor in disbelief, "did we...are we...did we do that?" The question hung in the air.
Vultz shrugged, "I don't know. Maybe the higher-ups approved it, but I don't think so. Alerik isn't the sort of man to start a war from what I've heard. Then again, neither were Siegel Clyne or Gilbert Dulandal, from what one hears."
"So what do we do?" Ourei asked.
"We wait," Vultz replied taking a seat.
*****
Zera clenched his fist and brought it down on the table, "damn," he swore.
"Sepha, he didn't want me commanding them because it was his intention to attack Western Europe!" Zera spat angrily.
The members of the bridge all looked around in confusion at his outburst, Mars just nodded in understanding. "It does make sense though. By attacking ORB and a former EA nation, and hell; the place where the Hall of Nations is located at that. It makes it all look a hell of a more like a united attempt to quickly throw Earth's leadership into chaos. I think that if there were more resources Scandinavia and Equatorial Union would probably also have been targeted, yeah that'd make sense."
"New Berlin, my sister, my mother...Sepha..." Zera whispered angrily and turned and stalking out of the room..
"Er...it's all okay, uh, y'know for a bluer and purer world and all that, I gotta go to the colonel, Darwin take over will ya," Mars said edgily and dashed out of the room.
Darwin groaned, "all right men, pay no attention to that. What you have just seen across the world is the seeds of conflict being planted. The men involved all knew the risks they took and those that died would have gladly done so knowing what they died for..."Darwin began as he stepped forward to address the whole bridge crew.
*****
"Smart move, I gotta say, top brass does have a brain in their heads. But attacking Orb? Why? We know they won't side with us," Jin said drinking a class of iced tea.
Serrim gazed into his own drink, chilled water, "it isn't a matter of making them side with us, as it is of making them not side with ZAFT. I expect somewhere along the line they'll interfere anyway, but for now it means that ZAFT is our only principal enemy, I think."
Jin flipped channels in time to see the Orb news channel. "Civilian deaths are estimated at fifty thousand, plus an extra sixty thousand wounded. Statistics are still coming in on this unprovoked ZAFT move. However, observation satellites have captured this footage of four Nazca class ships deploying the pods," as the newscaster spoke the footage changed to the Nazca's dropping the pods through the atmosphere. "For it to be such a well supplied action implies ZAFT-sanctioned actions though the motives remain unclear. As we speak Orb space forces are moving in on the last recorded locations of the Nazca's to bring them to face international court. The Orb space forces are expected to consist of five Izumo class lead by the Kotetsu."
Serrim's eyes widened, "All of Orb's space-based strength? this is serious. But wait, those Nazca's have to have been sent to hiding at Godheim Shield, I wonder what we'll do? They do have to pass through our space to get there. A most interesting problem."
Jin grinned impishly as he spoke, "maybe we can get some action toasting Orbies too? I think I need some practice."
*****
Commander Isoma Kyutahachi looked out of the Kotetsu. He had been informed recently, his wife was dead, he had talked with his second and he had lost a son. Whatever the government was saying, a lot of people had died and they had to be avenged.
"Sir, We'll have to enter Atlantic Federation space, then Western European space," his communications officer, a dark little man called Sinja, said with a frown.
"Send the request and be quick about it," Isoma ordered, he was getting frustrated.
"The Atlantic Federation say...They say we are not permitted, that it is under control. That it will be dealt with," Sinja replied quietly.
"To hell with that, tell them we're going after those Nazca's," Isoma ordered. Stand in our way? Why? This is no time for bureaucracy and formality! he thought angrily.
"I quote, 'We are afraid that we cannot allow such a thing, as stated, the problem is being dealt with. Any incursion by the Orb space fleet will be seen as an act of aggression and will be met by force.'"
Isoma grit his teeth, I won't let those bastards get away with this! , "We're going after them."
*****
"A plea for reason has been put forward, the Kingdom of Scandinavia has offered for all concerned parties to meet in Helsinki to discuss matters, any nation may send a representative and have an entourage of up to three other representatives," The Scandinavian message was broadcast across all channels.
Sepha listened intently, "so do the dice fall, now we only need to see who's got the highest score."
*****
Ourei spat out his words, "This is insane, everything is going so fast, a few hours ago Orb and Europe are attacked, now calls for peace are going out. Riots in the streets, flare-ups in anti-Coordinator acts, what is going on?"
Vultz shook his head at the younger blond man, "Scandinavia has offered negotiations and ZAFT has agreed to send a representative, Orb also has. So far Europe, the Atlantic Federation and the Middle-east have all agreed to attend. Maybe we won't have a war after all."
*****
Zera straightened his clothes. In war, one does what one must. One follows orders. Just please, let them be safe, he thought. It had only taken a few moments of thought to clear his head, now he felt only a dull throb of pain.
The door opened and Mars walked in, sir, Sepha's calling, he says he has new, immediate orders."
"I'll be there right away, thank you Mars," Zera said.
"No problem, hey Lightning, everything O-K?"
Zera smiled, he knew it was weak, "yeah, I got it under control."
Mars looked doubtful, but left him alone.
*****
Zera sat in front of the video image of Sepha, "you have new orders?"
"Yes I do. Orb is following the Nazca's trail, if they find where they went it could be potentially disastrous. Eliminate them. But be warned, they are quite formidable, a small fleet has been sent to meet them under the command of Timothy Hagur. They are intruding on our space without permission and with the threat of action being taken against them. We are within legal bounds to deal with them," Sepha was as cool and political as ever.
Zera nodded, "Orders understood. Orb always has thought too much of themselves. But may I point out this may lead to trouble, ZAFT and Orb together may be too much for us to deal with and if we start to lose...Well, you remember what happened in the second war."
Sepha smiled. "Jibril was a fool. I am not. This will cause trouble with Orb, but they are over reacting and this is a good chance to eliminate their space power once and for all. What would you say if I said that I had organised this?"
Zera's jaw dropped in surprise, "I'd say you were more of a snake than I had thought."
Sepha smiled more wryly, "a major factor in war is deception, old friend. Sometimes it is the major factor. Deal with Orb for me. I've got Arnold to get the military mobilising in secret under the guise of military manoeuvres being prepared. Coordinator blood will be spilled, and soon."
The image winked out and Zera stood and left the room to give out the new orders.
*****
Sepha turned away, his eyes took on a faraway look. Deception. It's like a race, having the lead counts and every good deception gives you an extra bit, the small and the large, those that gain you a step and those that gain you a mile. Both are important.
Sepha had had agents all over Orb send false messengers to Orb officers on board the space fleet to convince them they'd lost family members, all the officers with relations in the city at least. In the confusion that followed the attacks no one would have thought to send messages saying they were all right, or if they had they wouldn't have had the means. Sepha had banked a lot on the Orb officers losing their control, even before that he had weighed the risks. But in truth the reward was worth it, without a space force Orb was very limited in what it could do and could provide no influence at all to space without the aid of other peoples space transports. Having a mass-driver meant nothing without the craft to send up.
"The puppets must not see the puppet-master, if that were to happen it might just turn the tide before the battle begins," Sepha said to himself as he began to thumb through a thick report.
*****
The Pariah pulled up alongside the Agamemnon class flagship, it had twelve Drake-class escorts floating around it and small teams of mobile suits skipping along the surface of the battleships.
"Orb forces approaching. We're here to lend a hand Tim, but our strength is surprise, so we'll do our thing," Mars said.
Timothy Hagur's bluff, dark face nodded. "Alright Mars, we'll do our part."
Zera nodded, "activate the Mirage Colloid, turn off the booster systems, as it stands we should sail nice and smoothly over the battlefield. Once we're directly above, turn it off and start blasting, give them the all-out assault. Darwin, I'll leave that in your hands. I'll head out in my Vamp to see what I can do down there, we've sent the data on the Orb ships and strengths? Good." Zera barked orders on rapid-fire and left the room in an equal hurry.
*****
Serrim looked up from the magazine he had been reading as the battle stations lights flashed.
Jin grinned, 'playtime' he mouthed and sped out the door.
Serrim rushed to the changing rooms and dressed quickly with the type of efficiency that comes with familiarity, it was a simple routine movement that they had practised to death in their training, within five minutes he had mounted the walkway and climbed into his Windam.
As he powered up he could hear the other pilots stating their conditions and signing off as they launched.
*****
Isoma grimaced, "they weren't kidding? They're still not letting us pass? Fine, launch the Murasame, power up the weapons. We're cutting through them!"
"Sir, enemy mobile suits launching. Confirmed, Windams! Enemy ships firing!" Sinja said.
"It doesn't matter, we'll destroy them within moments, they may outshine us in numbers, but in quality we can't be beaten. Aim the Lohengrins!"
"Sir, another ship has appeared above us!" Sinja's voice had taken a panicked edge.
"Appeared? Mirage Colloid?" Isoma thought frantically.
"Sir! The Kusanagi has been hit, the new battleship is launching mobile suits! Windams and unknowns!" Sinja voiced again.
Isoma grunted, "All ships retaliate, Lohengrins fire!"
*****
The positron beams lanced out and struck six of the Drake class, the stricken ships swelled and burst apart as they were engulfed in pale blue and neon pink light, a dozen Windam that were just a little too slow were reduced to dust and scrap within seconds.
"Keep sharp, all those Izumo class carry a dozen Murasame. That equals a grand total of sixty, the same amount Tim had. But they have us beat in raw power, so we'll fail if we're not smart. Okay, Third Battalion attack!" Zera ordered as the Pariah launched another barrage of Gottfried and missiles.
"Strike one," Mars remarked casually as one of the Izumo's was taken apart by the massed fire of the remaining Drake and Agamemnon class.
******
Serrim looked on as a dozen Murasame broke off and came toward their own battle group, a dozen strong in all, the odds were even.
"Incoming suits Colonel," he heard Aran say.
"Confirmed, deal with them," Zera replied.
Serrim raised his rifle and fired, a Murasame took the blast in the shoulder and was knocked back, Serrim followed up; shooting it again in the knees and then the torso, a moment later it exploded. Well, at least the simulations work, my targeting isn't out at all, Serrim thought pleasantly, it had been one of his concerns that actual zero gravity conditions would catch them unaware.
"Hey Orb, take this you bastards!" Jin yelled and opened fire, his beam machine gun chewing through two Murasame before they could evade, the recoilless cannon's high explosives shells slamming into the Murasame's ruined frames a moment later.
"Oh yes, I almost forgot. Dawn," Zera said.
Estell gasped and then returned to silence, a moment later she sprang into action, she gunned down two Murasame, both kill-shots to the cockpit and battery pack, it was a cold and efficient display for any watching her Vamp dance among the Murasame and skewer them through the chest with beam blasts, they flaoted for a few moments before they exploded, a shock of neon in the dark void.
"Kill shot, kill shot, kill shot," Jin said with admiration in his voice.
"That's Extended for ya," Mars said and transformed into mobile armour form and fired his Scylla, taking out four more Murasame who were caught in the beam.
"Stupid Orb, these men die too easy," Mars complained.
"Another Drake class down," Darwin commented dryly.
*****
Zera charged forward with a shout, he outdistanced his comrades and brought his anti-shipping blade splitting through two Murasame, he evaded a few shots from a particularly daring pilot who charged him and drew a beam sabre, only to have both his arms removed by Zera's Schwert Gewehr before the sabres blade could be fully extended.
Then Zera transformed into mobile armour mode and took the Murasame's head off with his wing as he flew past. Zera flew along the underside of a Izumo class, evading it's missiles or shooting them down with his machine guns, then he transformed back into mobile suit mode and thrust both Neo Schwert Gewehr into the Izomo class's armour and fired his thrusters to full power, cutting two great swathes through the ship from front to back.
"Fall!" Zera shouted as he floated away from the Izumo, neon fire flooding out of the rents in its hull.
*****
Aran brought one shield up and activated it's beam emitters in time to block the fire from three charging Murasame in mobile armour mode, with his other shield he used the double beam guns to down two of the Murasame in short order, but one of the Orb suits reached him and transformed, bringing down its beam sabre on his shield.
"Coordinator!" Aran spat, noticing how well it had dodged his firing.
Aran activated his shields beam sabres and attacked, the pilot had skill but as he blocked Aran's beam blades Aran fired his inbuilt guns, taking both the Murasame's arms off and leaving it defenceless, a moment later Aran finished it off with all four inbuilt beam gun's blasts to the torso.
*****
"Sorry, dodging you was fun, but I can't let you kill any more of my fellow pilots," Mars said as he circled around an Izumo class in mobile armour form and fired his Scylla, the beam struck the Izumo class in the bridge, tearing open the entire structure like the fist of some celestial giant.
Such a reckless manoeuvre had brought Mars into the firing path of the Kotetsu's Lohengrin, which was in the process of targeting the Atlantic fleet, a second later it fired.
"Mars look out!" Zera yelled as he charged down to try to knock the Aegis out of the firing path, and Mars turned to see the positron beams flying toward him, a white lance of death.
End of Phase-03
Authors Note:
I gotta say, writing is hard, it take about six hours just to write one phase and then there's the brainstorming for each one, which can be weeks if I'm on a bad way or have writers block.
***************************************************
Sepha Irillion sat back in his crimson suit and and placed a flat black glass disk on a dark green cloth board,
he had always preferred Go to chess, but they taught different things.
Chess teaches one to make different elements work together and compliment each other to achieve victory, Go teaches one to use a variety of manoeuvres and strategies to capture territory and defeat the enemy, any peace is as good as any other, the only thing that matters is where the peace is placed was placed.
But the real world was infinitely more complex than any game and defeating an enemy could be just as complex. The major problem was when the enemy enjoyed almost every advantage it's hard to do combat.
Sepha smiled slightly, it is such a pity; the real world is infinitely more complex than any board game, defeating one's enemies and achieving one's goals can be as complex as the world itself and when one has as formidable opponents as myself... Sepha made a habit of playing only against himself, it was simply because no one else could beat him, it was irritating at times, but today was a good game.
A knock sounded at the door and Sepha rose to answer it, the man that was stood behind the the heavy mahogany frame looked middle-aged, he was tall and bald with dark olive skin.
"Sorry to disturb you sir, but I thought you would like to know that Operation Ember is about to start," the man spoke formally and bowed.
"Very good Svell. If you would, get the Icarus ready and organise a squad of Vamp's to escort, if all goes well things will get quite unstable soon," Sepha commanded and turned back into his room, paying no heed to Svell's retreating footfalls, he picked up his phone and pressed the first speed dial button.
"Is that you? Only three people have direct access to my home phone so it's either you or Tsubaya," the voice spoke slowly, groggy even, but it was still gruff and forceful.
Sepha's smile crept a little wider, it was true; only a few people had direct access to the President of the Atlantic Federation.
"Yes Arnold, it is me. Remember you said you'd do your part if I could deliver the reason? Well you're going to get your good reason, and soon," Sepha replied with in almost casual tone.
Arnold sighed, either with relief or anticipation, "you've called Tsubaya I presume, what about Quodre? or Armellio?"
"No. Actually Arnold you'll be the first to know, just make the preparations you need to. I am about to become a very busy man, so forgive my brevity, but there is one last thing; remember what we do is for a beautiful and pure world, a Natural world, and it is worth any sacrifice."
Arnold grunted as the line went dead, there wasn't much choice anyway. "Well, someone has to teach those Coordinator scum their place," he said before lighting a cigar and taking a deep draw on it, it was going to be a long day.
*****
The DOM raised it's bazooka-like cannon and fired, levelling another skyscraper, and then spun to raise it's energy shield to deflect another volley.
"Smart asses, they're finally beginning to wake up. I was beginning to think they'd turn-tailed and ran away, but then again we've managed to level half the city already. Frederic, take Zan and Phil to the beach, I figure Enell and Trim will need the help. Gostaf, Malorna we're taking out those four Murasame!" the DOM pilot ordered.
"Yes sir!" Three ZAKU broke off the fighting to head toward the sea, a GOUF and a GINN ran forward, taking shelter in the rubble of the larger buildings, and and began firing. Two Murasame were hit by the barrage of beam and standard fire, they went down and crashed into the city, exploding in a violent neon display. The remaining two Orb suits transformed to mobile armour mode and charged, firing their machine-guns and beam cannon.
The GOUF took several hits to the torso before an energy beam pierced its upper chest, a moment later it exploded. The GINN jumped and thruster to the left, it hit the ground and skidded, but sprayed machine-gun fire at the Murasame, both took the hits badly, one exploding in a fan of light, the other veering out of control and smashing into a big boxy building, a warehouse maybe.
"Well there goes Malorna, I figure we'll be joining her real soon. I think they're waking up, probably getting their act together too, plus they're beginning to close in with larger numbers," the GINN pilot said, a moment later his sensors pinged, a dozen more Murasame coming in from the north and fifteen coming in from the west.
"It doesn't matter, we've done what we came here to do, now all we have to do is keep fighting till we die. We've already taken a dozen down and we've lost five, I only hope we can continue with those rates," the DOM pilot responded, his was a middle-aged man, dark in colouring.
"Yes sir, may I say that it has been an honour. The Colonel would have been proud," the GINN pilot replied in a voice thick with emotion, he was a young red-headed man.
"Thank you very much Gustaf, it has been an honour to serve with you. Now lets go see what more we can do," the DOM pilot responded
With that the two suits headed toward the beach, the city behind them roared as it writhed in flames.
*****
The second squad had crashed down in a completely different location, it smashed through high Gothic architecture and new-age modern skyscraper towers. The Windams defending didn't know what had hit them, two dozen had been shot down already, but half the attackers were down and they'd lost their momentum and their edge.
Still a great deal of damage had been done to New Berlin and even though the fighting was ending it had created a second horrifying image, barely a decade after being almost completely burnt away, save for a lucky few buildings, by the Destroy and now the city was again under attack, this time from ZAKU, CGUE, GuAIZ and GOUF.
Citizens shrieked in terror as a CGUE smashed through a museum and sprayed auto-fire down onto the art aficionados, a moment later it exploded as a Windam impaled it from behind.
Three Slash ZAKU Phantoms sprayed missiles and automatic beam fire into the hotel towers and resorts around before charging forward and hewing into other buildings with their beam axes like woodsmen chopping lumber.
Elsewhere a damaged GuAIZ R impaled a Windam through the shoulder with its composite shield and fired both its hip-mounted railguns, both suits exploded brilliantly and destroyed the remains of the school they were fighting in, all across the city the scenes were equally as bitter and destructive.
*****
"Just hours ago the nations of ORB and the Republic of Western Europe both came under sudden attack by ZAFT forces. ZAFT strongly denies the claims that it was an act of ZAFT aggression and insists on a third-party intervention or the use of a breakaway faction. However, PLANT is yet to present evidence for their innocence. Perhaps this is an act of war on Earth? Our reporters will give you the story day-by-day, minute-by-minute as it breaks," Alerik Cuale turned off the news and slumped in his chair. The Chairman of PLANT was looking haggard, it was true he had always partly expected such a thing to happen, the Earth trying to start up another war, but Alerik had never considered the possibility of them using his own forces against him.
"The problem is, is it an Earth government plot or is it an extremist group, maybe it's even a group of disgruntled ZAFT operatives. To act too soon is to risk much, but if I act too late they will see it as a confirmation of guilt. Maybe it was those damn Zala followers, I always knew they would start trouble, but on this scale? I don't dare meet with the Earth or I think I'd find myself an early grave, but what to do? In any case we must call the Supreme Council to meet," Alerik mused to himself before picking up his phone.
*****
Ourei looked up at the monitor in disbelief, "did we...are we...did we do that?" The question hung in the air.
Vultz shrugged, "I don't know. Maybe the higher-ups approved it, but I don't think so. Alerik isn't the sort of man to start a war from what I've heard. Then again, neither were Siegel Clyne or Gilbert Dulandal, from what one hears."
"So what do we do?" Ourei asked.
"We wait," Vultz replied taking a seat.
*****
Zera clenched his fist and brought it down on the table, "damn," he swore.
"Sepha, he didn't want me commanding them because it was his intention to attack Western Europe!" Zera spat angrily.
The members of the bridge all looked around in confusion at his outburst, Mars just nodded in understanding. "It does make sense though. By attacking ORB and a former EA nation, and hell; the place where the Hall of Nations is located at that. It makes it all look a hell of a more like a united attempt to quickly throw Earth's leadership into chaos. I think that if there were more resources Scandinavia and Equatorial Union would probably also have been targeted, yeah that'd make sense."
"New Berlin, my sister, my mother...Sepha..." Zera whispered angrily and turned and stalking out of the room..
"Er...it's all okay, uh, y'know for a bluer and purer world and all that, I gotta go to the colonel, Darwin take over will ya," Mars said edgily and dashed out of the room.
Darwin groaned, "all right men, pay no attention to that. What you have just seen across the world is the seeds of conflict being planted. The men involved all knew the risks they took and those that died would have gladly done so knowing what they died for..."Darwin began as he stepped forward to address the whole bridge crew.
*****
"Smart move, I gotta say, top brass does have a brain in their heads. But attacking Orb? Why? We know they won't side with us," Jin said drinking a class of iced tea.
Serrim gazed into his own drink, chilled water, "it isn't a matter of making them side with us, as it is of making them not side with ZAFT. I expect somewhere along the line they'll interfere anyway, but for now it means that ZAFT is our only principal enemy, I think."
Jin flipped channels in time to see the Orb news channel. "Civilian deaths are estimated at fifty thousand, plus an extra sixty thousand wounded. Statistics are still coming in on this unprovoked ZAFT move. However, observation satellites have captured this footage of four Nazca class ships deploying the pods," as the newscaster spoke the footage changed to the Nazca's dropping the pods through the atmosphere. "For it to be such a well supplied action implies ZAFT-sanctioned actions though the motives remain unclear. As we speak Orb space forces are moving in on the last recorded locations of the Nazca's to bring them to face international court. The Orb space forces are expected to consist of five Izumo class lead by the Kotetsu."
Serrim's eyes widened, "All of Orb's space-based strength? this is serious. But wait, those Nazca's have to have been sent to hiding at Godheim Shield, I wonder what we'll do? They do have to pass through our space to get there. A most interesting problem."
Jin grinned impishly as he spoke, "maybe we can get some action toasting Orbies too? I think I need some practice."
*****
Commander Isoma Kyutahachi looked out of the Kotetsu. He had been informed recently, his wife was dead, he had talked with his second and he had lost a son. Whatever the government was saying, a lot of people had died and they had to be avenged.
"Sir, We'll have to enter Atlantic Federation space, then Western European space," his communications officer, a dark little man called Sinja, said with a frown.
"Send the request and be quick about it," Isoma ordered, he was getting frustrated.
"The Atlantic Federation say...They say we are not permitted, that it is under control. That it will be dealt with," Sinja replied quietly.
"To hell with that, tell them we're going after those Nazca's," Isoma ordered. Stand in our way? Why? This is no time for bureaucracy and formality! he thought angrily.
"I quote, 'We are afraid that we cannot allow such a thing, as stated, the problem is being dealt with. Any incursion by the Orb space fleet will be seen as an act of aggression and will be met by force.'"
Isoma grit his teeth, I won't let those bastards get away with this! , "We're going after them."
*****
"A plea for reason has been put forward, the Kingdom of Scandinavia has offered for all concerned parties to meet in Helsinki to discuss matters, any nation may send a representative and have an entourage of up to three other representatives," The Scandinavian message was broadcast across all channels.
Sepha listened intently, "so do the dice fall, now we only need to see who's got the highest score."
*****
Ourei spat out his words, "This is insane, everything is going so fast, a few hours ago Orb and Europe are attacked, now calls for peace are going out. Riots in the streets, flare-ups in anti-Coordinator acts, what is going on?"
Vultz shook his head at the younger blond man, "Scandinavia has offered negotiations and ZAFT has agreed to send a representative, Orb also has. So far Europe, the Atlantic Federation and the Middle-east have all agreed to attend. Maybe we won't have a war after all."
*****
Zera straightened his clothes. In war, one does what one must. One follows orders. Just please, let them be safe, he thought. It had only taken a few moments of thought to clear his head, now he felt only a dull throb of pain.
The door opened and Mars walked in, sir, Sepha's calling, he says he has new, immediate orders."
"I'll be there right away, thank you Mars," Zera said.
"No problem, hey Lightning, everything O-K?"
Zera smiled, he knew it was weak, "yeah, I got it under control."
Mars looked doubtful, but left him alone.
*****
Zera sat in front of the video image of Sepha, "you have new orders?"
"Yes I do. Orb is following the Nazca's trail, if they find where they went it could be potentially disastrous. Eliminate them. But be warned, they are quite formidable, a small fleet has been sent to meet them under the command of Timothy Hagur. They are intruding on our space without permission and with the threat of action being taken against them. We are within legal bounds to deal with them," Sepha was as cool and political as ever.
Zera nodded, "Orders understood. Orb always has thought too much of themselves. But may I point out this may lead to trouble, ZAFT and Orb together may be too much for us to deal with and if we start to lose...Well, you remember what happened in the second war."
Sepha smiled. "Jibril was a fool. I am not. This will cause trouble with Orb, but they are over reacting and this is a good chance to eliminate their space power once and for all. What would you say if I said that I had organised this?"
Zera's jaw dropped in surprise, "I'd say you were more of a snake than I had thought."
Sepha smiled more wryly, "a major factor in war is deception, old friend. Sometimes it is the major factor. Deal with Orb for me. I've got Arnold to get the military mobilising in secret under the guise of military manoeuvres being prepared. Coordinator blood will be spilled, and soon."
The image winked out and Zera stood and left the room to give out the new orders.
*****
Sepha turned away, his eyes took on a faraway look. Deception. It's like a race, having the lead counts and every good deception gives you an extra bit, the small and the large, those that gain you a step and those that gain you a mile. Both are important.
Sepha had had agents all over Orb send false messengers to Orb officers on board the space fleet to convince them they'd lost family members, all the officers with relations in the city at least. In the confusion that followed the attacks no one would have thought to send messages saying they were all right, or if they had they wouldn't have had the means. Sepha had banked a lot on the Orb officers losing their control, even before that he had weighed the risks. But in truth the reward was worth it, without a space force Orb was very limited in what it could do and could provide no influence at all to space without the aid of other peoples space transports. Having a mass-driver meant nothing without the craft to send up.
"The puppets must not see the puppet-master, if that were to happen it might just turn the tide before the battle begins," Sepha said to himself as he began to thumb through a thick report.
*****
The Pariah pulled up alongside the Agamemnon class flagship, it had twelve Drake-class escorts floating around it and small teams of mobile suits skipping along the surface of the battleships.
"Orb forces approaching. We're here to lend a hand Tim, but our strength is surprise, so we'll do our thing," Mars said.
Timothy Hagur's bluff, dark face nodded. "Alright Mars, we'll do our part."
Zera nodded, "activate the Mirage Colloid, turn off the booster systems, as it stands we should sail nice and smoothly over the battlefield. Once we're directly above, turn it off and start blasting, give them the all-out assault. Darwin, I'll leave that in your hands. I'll head out in my Vamp to see what I can do down there, we've sent the data on the Orb ships and strengths? Good." Zera barked orders on rapid-fire and left the room in an equal hurry.
*****
Serrim looked up from the magazine he had been reading as the battle stations lights flashed.
Jin grinned, 'playtime' he mouthed and sped out the door.
Serrim rushed to the changing rooms and dressed quickly with the type of efficiency that comes with familiarity, it was a simple routine movement that they had practised to death in their training, within five minutes he had mounted the walkway and climbed into his Windam.
As he powered up he could hear the other pilots stating their conditions and signing off as they launched.
*****
Isoma grimaced, "they weren't kidding? They're still not letting us pass? Fine, launch the Murasame, power up the weapons. We're cutting through them!"
"Sir, enemy mobile suits launching. Confirmed, Windams! Enemy ships firing!" Sinja said.
"It doesn't matter, we'll destroy them within moments, they may outshine us in numbers, but in quality we can't be beaten. Aim the Lohengrins!"
"Sir, another ship has appeared above us!" Sinja's voice had taken a panicked edge.
"Appeared? Mirage Colloid?" Isoma thought frantically.
"Sir! The Kusanagi has been hit, the new battleship is launching mobile suits! Windams and unknowns!" Sinja voiced again.
Isoma grunted, "All ships retaliate, Lohengrins fire!"
*****
The positron beams lanced out and struck six of the Drake class, the stricken ships swelled and burst apart as they were engulfed in pale blue and neon pink light, a dozen Windam that were just a little too slow were reduced to dust and scrap within seconds.
"Keep sharp, all those Izumo class carry a dozen Murasame. That equals a grand total of sixty, the same amount Tim had. But they have us beat in raw power, so we'll fail if we're not smart. Okay, Third Battalion attack!" Zera ordered as the Pariah launched another barrage of Gottfried and missiles.
"Strike one," Mars remarked casually as one of the Izumo's was taken apart by the massed fire of the remaining Drake and Agamemnon class.
******
Serrim looked on as a dozen Murasame broke off and came toward their own battle group, a dozen strong in all, the odds were even.
"Incoming suits Colonel," he heard Aran say.
"Confirmed, deal with them," Zera replied.
Serrim raised his rifle and fired, a Murasame took the blast in the shoulder and was knocked back, Serrim followed up; shooting it again in the knees and then the torso, a moment later it exploded. Well, at least the simulations work, my targeting isn't out at all, Serrim thought pleasantly, it had been one of his concerns that actual zero gravity conditions would catch them unaware.
"Hey Orb, take this you bastards!" Jin yelled and opened fire, his beam machine gun chewing through two Murasame before they could evade, the recoilless cannon's high explosives shells slamming into the Murasame's ruined frames a moment later.
"Oh yes, I almost forgot. Dawn," Zera said.
Estell gasped and then returned to silence, a moment later she sprang into action, she gunned down two Murasame, both kill-shots to the cockpit and battery pack, it was a cold and efficient display for any watching her Vamp dance among the Murasame and skewer them through the chest with beam blasts, they flaoted for a few moments before they exploded, a shock of neon in the dark void.
"Kill shot, kill shot, kill shot," Jin said with admiration in his voice.
"That's Extended for ya," Mars said and transformed into mobile armour form and fired his Scylla, taking out four more Murasame who were caught in the beam.
"Stupid Orb, these men die too easy," Mars complained.
"Another Drake class down," Darwin commented dryly.
*****
Zera charged forward with a shout, he outdistanced his comrades and brought his anti-shipping blade splitting through two Murasame, he evaded a few shots from a particularly daring pilot who charged him and drew a beam sabre, only to have both his arms removed by Zera's Schwert Gewehr before the sabres blade could be fully extended.
Then Zera transformed into mobile armour mode and took the Murasame's head off with his wing as he flew past. Zera flew along the underside of a Izumo class, evading it's missiles or shooting them down with his machine guns, then he transformed back into mobile suit mode and thrust both Neo Schwert Gewehr into the Izomo class's armour and fired his thrusters to full power, cutting two great swathes through the ship from front to back.
"Fall!" Zera shouted as he floated away from the Izumo, neon fire flooding out of the rents in its hull.
*****
Aran brought one shield up and activated it's beam emitters in time to block the fire from three charging Murasame in mobile armour mode, with his other shield he used the double beam guns to down two of the Murasame in short order, but one of the Orb suits reached him and transformed, bringing down its beam sabre on his shield.
"Coordinator!" Aran spat, noticing how well it had dodged his firing.
Aran activated his shields beam sabres and attacked, the pilot had skill but as he blocked Aran's beam blades Aran fired his inbuilt guns, taking both the Murasame's arms off and leaving it defenceless, a moment later Aran finished it off with all four inbuilt beam gun's blasts to the torso.
*****
"Sorry, dodging you was fun, but I can't let you kill any more of my fellow pilots," Mars said as he circled around an Izumo class in mobile armour form and fired his Scylla, the beam struck the Izumo class in the bridge, tearing open the entire structure like the fist of some celestial giant.
Such a reckless manoeuvre had brought Mars into the firing path of the Kotetsu's Lohengrin, which was in the process of targeting the Atlantic fleet, a second later it fired.
"Mars look out!" Zera yelled as he charged down to try to knock the Aegis out of the firing path, and Mars turned to see the positron beams flying toward him, a white lance of death.
End of Phase-03
Authors Note:
I gotta say, writing is hard, it take about six hours just to write one phase and then there's the brainstorming for each one, which can be weeks if I'm on a bad way or have writers block.
"I don't CARE if the mechanaught can't handle it, I want Wings of Light, the few seconds it'd last and the pilot mortality would be worth it." -me, eXteel closed beta.
PHASE-04 BLACK DAY
**************************************************
Mars' eyes widened as the positron beam closed in, it was too large and too fast to dodge, he closed his eyes. I'd rather not see this, a thought drifted through his head.
A moment passed and he reopened his eyes, the Templar stood in front of him, it held one large shield in front of it with a blazing wall of light extending out from the edges of the shield, the positron beam was stopped dead in a shower of blue and white sparks.
Within seconds the beam dwindled away and Mars mouthed a few words before he could speak, "How....How'd you do that?" Mars asked shocked to be alive.
"It is simple, when I combine my two shields the emitters are rearranged in a way that makes them considerably more effective by overlapping their fields of energy projection, this also adds a positron defence layer that enables me to block such a blast, too many at a time will overload the emitters though. Any other miscellaneous technical questions or can we get back to our jobs?" Aran said dryly.
Mars shook his head, "I got careless, that's all. I owe ya one though Rich Boy."
*****
Serrim wielded his beam sabre and tomahawk, one in each hand. In a smooth movement he sliced an arm off one Murasame and then brought the beam blade blade arcing down through the suit and spun to bring his tomahawk into the cockpit of another, Serrim twisted once again and threw his beam-edged tomahawk at the last Murasame; the weapon swirled through space and took the last Orb in the chest, cutting deep into its cockpit and leaving the suit floating dead.
That's the fifth one so far... Serrim thought to himself as he drew his beam rifle and drew a bead on another Murasame.
*****
"The Kusanagi and Iromi are down. Forty Murasame have been destroyed, opposing losses are slightly over half their fleet," Sinja reported.
Isoma gritted his teeth and spoke to his second-in-command," Target that Girty Lue class with all the Lohengrin and fire when ready. I'll leave the rest to you, Harui."
Harui nodded his tanned face, "Yes sir. Are you sallying out?"
Isoma nodded in return, "Get the hanger crew to ready the Akatsuki."
*****
Mars brought both his beam sabres down on the Murasame, it blocked with dual sabres of it's own while it's comrades leapt back to avoid getting tangled up in melee.
"Hmph, good to see Orb has some competent pilots," Mars said. "It is, however, a pity that you should meet me today," he continued and activated the Dark Aegis' wrist beam sabres with a simple lightning-fast rotation of his wrists his sliced both the hands off the Murasame, he then activated his foot-mounted blades and charged one of the remaining Murasame, sheathing both his hand-held sabres sabres and dodging its beam fire. Mars sliced through the Murasame's rifle with his right wrist sabre and then with a kick from his leg-mounted beam blades he cut the suit in two, only to spin around and throw a Midas Messer boomerang into the last suit, the spinning beam weapon cut it cleanly down the centre.
"Break 'em up and they don't last long. Just gotta be careful not to get shot up," Mars said. "I'll go to engage the flagship now, she's beginning to bug me, plus I owe her."
"Just don't get yourself killed Mars," Zera answered wryly.
"Heh, don't worry about me, Old Man," Mars answered as he strafed the Orb flagship.
*****
Jin activated his Rapid-Star beam machine-gun and let loose a stream of fire, three Murasame desperately tried to dodge but the speed and number of blasts first immobilised them, then crippled them and finally tore them apart.
"Overkill," Serrim commented as he fired a single shot into a fleeing Murasame's back, the blast cut through the cockpit on the other side and the Murasame continued to fly on for a few moments before exploding. "All you need to do is kill the pilots and the fight is won."
Jin shrugged, "I prefer to blast them apart. It makes them good and dead, you never know what sort of crazy stuff people can survive. Like a friend I had, Tsubatha, his entire house fell down on him during the Break the World earthquakes and he didn't get a scratch. If that isn't proof people can survive something that should be completely certain death what is?"
*****
Darwin sat back and ran a hand through his greying hair. "Keep firing the Devil Lances and Gottfrieds, they can't take a much more punishment. Load anti-mobile suit Black Hammer missiles in tubes one to six. After the next volley activate Mirage Colloid and continue on our course, once we are dead behind the Orb ships we'll let loose another full volley into their flanks, that should be the end-game."
Silvia suddenly spoke out, "sir the flagship has launched a mobile suit; it's an Akatsuki."
Darwin shrugged, "'I knew the Orb space fleet had one, 'bout time they launched it, we had best give Zera fair warning. If you will Silvia..."
"Yes sir," she responded and opened up a communications channel.
*****
Zera spiralled in his Vamp and cut two Murasame in half with his wing beam blades before transforming back into mobile suit mode. "They've launched an Akatsuki? I'll deal with that. Serrim, Jin you're with me; we'll take it down."
"Akatsuki?" Jin asked confused.
"Yeah, it's a mobile suit made by Orb, it saw service briefly in the Second War during ZAFT's so-called 'Operation Fury.' Don't fire beams at it, it'll reflect them. Three were made, the location if the original is unknown but one is here, with the space forces, and one is on Earth with the Orb defence forces. It's all in the Orb military profile," Serrim answered in a lecturing tone.
"Yeah, very good, so I'll do what? Attack this bastard with my beam sabres?" Jin asked.
It was Zera who answered, "No. You'll use your cannon, mind you that is the only ranged weapon to use. The beam sabres are fine if it gets close. You distract it and I'll charge in and try for a quick-kill. Failing that then Serrim and I will attempt to deal with it in close combat, if we mob it we should be able to overwhelm it."
*****
Isoma activated his Shiranui pack's computer and the seven mobile turrets shot out with mechanical precision, there were five Windams within easy range. The mobile turrets shot out and danced through the vacuum of space, firing beam guns, the Windams tried to dodge but their efforts were in vain, those that dodged the first shots were hit by the later ones, the mobile turrets darted around like wasps and the Windams lost rifles, limbs or were straight out killed by their speedy opponents and their cutting blasts.
The Pariah fired on the Kotetsu and Isoma activated the defence program on his Akatsuki, the mobile turrets launching out to form a shield prism around the Kotetsu in time to block the incoming volley, both missiles and high energy beams impacted on it harmlessly.
"No one can resist the power of Orb; the power of justice," Isoma stated boldly as he brought his rifle up to target an incoming Windam, a customised black and green Doppelhorn by the look of it, the Windam fired before he could, four quick bursts from its cannon.
*****
Jin fired his cannon at the golden mobile suit, the Akatsuki dodged the first two shots and blocked the third and fourth, though this sent the Akatsuki careening back.
The the mobile turrets returned to the Akatsuki and it returned fire with its rifle, Jin dodged heavily to the right and returned fire with his recoilless cannon. The Akatsuki blocked again and launched its mobile turrets.
Jin swore under his breath as the turrets rushed toward him and fired rapidly, he darted back while dodging with precision thruster actions, the mobile turrets were faster though, they launched past him and fired from other angles and then changed again, surrounded him and darting around while firing, ready to catch him if he faltered for a moment.
"Get the hell off me!" Jin yelled as he dodged, pinpoint actions with his thrusters and twists of his Windam saving him from being cut apart by the beams. Jin fired his cannon and caught one of the mobile turrets, both shell and turret exploded in a neon explosion as he lurched back, still dodging the remaining six mobile weapons.
*****
"What the hell is with this guy? Dodging those turrets?" Isoma mused to himself and adjusted his attack pattern, the turrets moving to a more ring-like configuration, orbiting his enemy and firing.
The scanner let out a loud ping and Isoma turned to see another mobile suit approaching, it looked a bit like a black highly modified Murasame.
"Bah? Another one?" Isoma said before turning his communication link on, "fifteenth squad, please deal with this Windam I am fighting with, he is being rather persistent," he ordered.
"Yes sir," the pilots responded and a group of Murasame broke off from their foes to attack the Windam.
Isoma changed his attack pattern in the mobile turret computer as he took aim at the Murasame look-alike, "It doesn't matter what you look like, I'll destroy you if you stand in my way, now die!."
*****
Jin dodged as the Mobile turrets broke off, still firing as they returned to the Akatsuki and were launched again. Oh well, Zera should be able to handle them, Jin thought as he took aim with his cannon, he had only a moments notice as a volley of beam-fire came down at him, three Murasame, swiftly he launched back and fired back with his cannon and carbines. The first Murasame took the cannon blast on its shield, this rendered it vulnerable to the carbines but as the beams closed in the second and third Murasame leapt in front and intercepted the beams with their shields.
"Heh, good teamwork, must be veterans," Jin said to himself and opened fire again as he backed away.
*****
Zera attacked with both Neo Schwert Gewehr, the Akatsuki darted back and the mobile turrets came in and fired. battle-earned reflexes took over and Zera dodged swiftly back and then side to side as the mobile turrets circled him and fired, the large anti-shipping swords slowed him down though, one was destroyed as he blocked an incoming shot from a mobile turret and he discarded the other before drawing his beam sabres.
Zera blocked the Akatsuki's shots with his beam sabres whilst doing his best to avoid the mobile turrets, but every now and then a beam would graze his Vamp and he was slowly getting forced away from the Akatsuki. With a curse he charged forward, only to have the mobile turrets fly in front of the Akatsuki and all fire at once, he blocked the shot with his shield and the combined force of the beams broke it apart.
"Damn," Zera swore as the mobile turrets picked up their attack without losing a beat.
*****
Darwin looked down as the Orb flagship fired its Lohengrin at the Pariah. "Full speed ahead, activate Mirage Colloid, fifty-three degree turn," he ordered and the positron beams grazed the outer hull, although being positron beams this in turn caused the outer layers of the armour to be torn off.
"That was close, too close for comfort. Cut the engines, re-load Devil Lances," Darwin ordered. The Pariah continued along with it's momentum as the Mirage Colloid rendered it invisible.
*****
Harui gritted his teeth, "Where'd it go? Did it reactivate it's Mirage Colloid?"
"We can't be sure, although that is likely," Sinja replied.
"Damn, keep firing up there, we'll just hope we luck out and hit it," Harui ordered.
"Sir, a mobile suit is approaching fast. Heat source records are similar to a GAT-303 Aegis."
*****
Serrim smiled to himself as he launched out from behind the shell of a Izumo class battle ship and thrust forward with a beam sabre drawn, the Akatsuki turned and met his beam blade with its twin beam sabre.
Serrim fired his thrusters and flew back and then rushed forward in a lunge before following up with another jab, high and low strikes to cut a head or leg off, he kept the pressure on and took advantage of the Akatsuki's surprise, still, the golden suit met him blow for blow, but seemed unable to go on the attack or make the best use of its double-sided weapon.
*****
Zera dodged to the left and lost an arm of his Vamp in the process, it would have been his cockpit otherwise. Bit by bit he was being cut down, he had already lost a wing and a foot as well and the beam's grazing was beginning to hit deeper.
Damn, Serrim, Jin, I hope you can do this I won't last much longer against this hellish system, Zera thought as he barely dodged another shot.
*****
Isoma swore as he blocked an overhead swing and countered with a stab to the cockpit, only to be blocked in turn, with a light tap of a few buttons he reorganised the attack patterns of the mobile turrets again, three to each suit.
"Damn it, what's with all these crazy pilots? I don't know anyone who could dodge mobile turrets in a Doppelhorn, or even survive for a minute, and this guy...I was the best in the Academy at close range, I've taken down Windams and ZAKUs, why is this one any different?" Isoma asked frantically as he blocked just in time to avoid losing his Akatsuki's head.
*****
Serrim smiled wryly before disengaging from the fight, the mobile turrets had began to fire on him and it was taking more effort to avoid getting hit. The Akatsuki pursued him but he just created more distance again as the turrets fired, three were quite easy to deal with so long as he kept them in mind, he dodged side to side as he wove his way back, a moment later he drew a tomahawk off his wings and threw it at the Akatsuki before lunging forward. The Akatsuki deflected the tomahawk with an inside block from its shield arm, but this opened it up for a split second and Serrim brought his beam sabre down, cutting its arm off at the elbow joint.
The Akatsuki fired it's boosters to retreat but Serrim grabbed the wrist of the remaining arm and used the thrust from the boosters to swing it into the path of the mobile turrets beams; which were deflected from the Akatsuki's reflective armour.
"Now you die, Orb pilot," Serrim stated coldly and struck his shield against the cockpit, it caved inward under the pressure and the mobile turrets went dead.
*****
Isoma's eyes widened as the cockpit walls bent and bulged inward, smashing monitors and computer panels and trapping his left arm. What? How? his thoughts raced as a second blow ripped open a rent in the torso armour and crushed his left side, it would have been very painful, but his body was in such shock that he didn't feel it.
Time slowed as Isoma looked up out of the rent to see the Windam bring it's shield back for another strike. This is...The end? I suppose that's okay, his thoughts floated as the shield closed in. This way I can be with you, my heart. My Mari. I'm sorry I couldn't avenge you, I lacked the strength to do so...I'll be with you real soon...Just a few more moments, Isoma thought as the shield struck, the cockpit gave in under the stress, the pressure and pain lasted only a bare instant.
*****
Serrim floated back and let go of the Akatsuki's arm, the mobile turrets floated by like kites with their tails cut.
"Good work, it was you right, Serrim?" Zera's voice echoed through the radio.
"Yeah," Serrim answered calmly.
"How'd you do it?" Zera asked.
"I caved in his cockpit using repeated strikes from my shield, he had no phase-shift armour you see. I figured he wouldn't, the anti-beam coating and phase shift would have cancelled each other out," Serrim responded.
"Good work, I mean it Serrim. Taking down an Akatsuki is an achievement. Now if you'll excuse me I have taken some rather serious damage and will be exiting the combat zone." Zera said dryly.
*****
Mars transformed and fired his Scylla into one of the Kotetsu's Lohengrin as the Pariah deactivated its Mirage Colloid and opened fire on the ships from behind. The Lohengrin of one ship exploded brilliantly soon followed by the ship as the Devil Lance anti-shipping missiles slammed into it and two Gottfried blasts hit home on the main hull. The Drake class launched another volley from across the battlefield which also struck the Izumo class in a shower of explosions.
Mars looked around, the Izumo class were all ruined, either breaking up, destroyed or launching escape pods. "Colonel, should we destroy the escape pods?" Mars asked.
"No, I don't think so. We're not at war yet and it doesn't help our image of a nation defending our territorial space if we kill all the survivors. Though they are witnesses to Sepha's little scheme, I don't think they'll make it back alive in any case. Orb has no more space ships to pick them up in," Zera said flatly, coldly formal with his actions.
"Acknowledged sir, I'll return to the Pariah now," Mars said, his power meter was running on thirty-five percent.
"Yes good idea. All Third Battalion forces cease combat and withdraw, this battle is over. Congratulations, we have won the day." Zera announced smoothly, his voice firm and certain.
*****
Jin floated away from the three ruined Murasame.
"Sorry guys, you fought well together. But you're teamwork was a little too good. It was very noble of you to take shots for each other like that, but at the costs of your own suits...not a risk worth taking. All I had to do was keep pounding one suit with everything I had and I knew you others would leap in the way. Silly, but I salute you anyway," Jin said as he flew away, as he did he gave a mock salute in the direction of the Murasame.
***
Sepha took his seat again, the negotiating room was a grand hall from a nineteenth century manor, but it was only half full despite all the national representatives present. Negotiations had been going for an entire day and things had been getting steadily more stalemated. Outside of the official negotiations he had already secured the help of the major nations he had needed, he had before the meeting had even started, before then even.
"This is insane, you have no evidence to support your words. You say you have no knowledge of such an operation, but the facts remain. ZAFT mobile suits were dropped to Earth and attacked two national capitals causing heavy damage and confusion. It seems to me like the opening moves of a campaign, except maybe we reacted too fast for you to continue, so you aborted it. Is that it?" the Atlantic Federation representative said accusingly.
"As we have said, we don't know where the forces who did such a thing got their hands on our military equipment as no bases or armouries have been assaulted. However, just give us a few weeks to investigate and I give you my guarantee that we'll find the culprits," the ZAFT representative replied stiffly.
Sepha smiled to himself for a moment before standing and speaking. "A few weeks? Do you really take us for fools? In a few weeks you could invent enough evidence to make your story airtight. How long would it take for a Coordinator like you to fake a radio message from a base? Fake the records too? Or just fake a transmission and hide a few Nazca's and claim they were stolen. I think maybe a week, maybe even as little as a few days. It has already been one day, how much of your bogus evidence could you have made by now? Was that why you agreed so readily, to buy time to invent an excuse?" Sepha interrogated the man, he could feel the wheels beginning to turn in everyone's heads.
"This is obscene. Why would we attack Europe? Why Orb? What reason? Can't you see you're all being manipulated? Someone wants another war, and you're all playing right into their hands," the PLANT representative exclaimed indignantly.
"Who?" Sepha demanded, "Who would want another war? Logos is gone and there are no other groups with the influence to start a new war, so it would have to be a government. Why you ask? Maybe you feel cheated because Orb beat your Luna forces in the last war, maybe you wanted revenge. You had a solid grip on the Earth till they ruined it all. Maybe to throw Earth into confusion, after all; the Hall of Nations was almost completely destroyed and that would have hampered international contact. What better way to slow an enemy down than to remove their ability to communicate well? If it wasn't for the post-war communication network installed things may have been a lot worse. But you didn't know about it's installation." Sepha said looking the PLANT representative in the eyes.
The ZAFT representative stood once again, "ZAFT doesn't attack defenceless nations, but you do I believe. Remember the first Bloody Valentine war when the Earth Alliance strong-armed the nations of Earth into the Alliance? We offered to help Orb when they were invaded for defying the Earth Alliance. The Second War was Orb aggression, you can't say we attacked one weak nation."
Sepha smiled, "really? Who invented a super weapon that would have killed half the life on Earth? Who launched the N-jammers that caused the deaths of millions? I don't believe it was we who live on Earth. I think it was ZAFT, you could argue if you want, but I believe history supports me in this case. I put forth a proposal that ZAFT be disarmed and all of PLANT should be closely guarded by a fleet made up of the nations of Earth's military, to guarantee no further incidents like this one. Twice now you of PLANT have almost killed billions, in Break the World and with Genesis. We cannot trust you, PLANT."
The Atlantic Federation representative stood, "I second that proposal."
The Western Europe and Asian representatives followed, inwardly Sepha grinned, it was all falling to place.
***
Serrim sat and flicked on the TV, the news was about to come on, a special announcement on the verdict of the negotiations in Scandinavia.
The Scandinavian man, tall and thick with a blond beard, began to talk. "As the host nation it is my responsibility to inform you all of the verdict of the negotiations. Through a lesser consensus the nations of Earth present here have decided to reject the excuses offered by the Zodiac Alliance of Freedom Treaty on the grounds of a lack of evidence and respond with a proposal to disarm ZAFT by force if necessary to prevent further such incidents. As we speak the compliant nations are mustering their military might to engage in war with PLANTs. May fortune send this is a short war and not another to stain our times. This is a black day indeed and it is with a heavy heart that I end this announcement," the man finished with a sigh, and the world was divided once more.
End of Phase-04
**************************************************
Mars' eyes widened as the positron beam closed in, it was too large and too fast to dodge, he closed his eyes. I'd rather not see this, a thought drifted through his head.
A moment passed and he reopened his eyes, the Templar stood in front of him, it held one large shield in front of it with a blazing wall of light extending out from the edges of the shield, the positron beam was stopped dead in a shower of blue and white sparks.
Within seconds the beam dwindled away and Mars mouthed a few words before he could speak, "How....How'd you do that?" Mars asked shocked to be alive.
"It is simple, when I combine my two shields the emitters are rearranged in a way that makes them considerably more effective by overlapping their fields of energy projection, this also adds a positron defence layer that enables me to block such a blast, too many at a time will overload the emitters though. Any other miscellaneous technical questions or can we get back to our jobs?" Aran said dryly.
Mars shook his head, "I got careless, that's all. I owe ya one though Rich Boy."
*****
Serrim wielded his beam sabre and tomahawk, one in each hand. In a smooth movement he sliced an arm off one Murasame and then brought the beam blade blade arcing down through the suit and spun to bring his tomahawk into the cockpit of another, Serrim twisted once again and threw his beam-edged tomahawk at the last Murasame; the weapon swirled through space and took the last Orb in the chest, cutting deep into its cockpit and leaving the suit floating dead.
That's the fifth one so far... Serrim thought to himself as he drew his beam rifle and drew a bead on another Murasame.
*****
"The Kusanagi and Iromi are down. Forty Murasame have been destroyed, opposing losses are slightly over half their fleet," Sinja reported.
Isoma gritted his teeth and spoke to his second-in-command," Target that Girty Lue class with all the Lohengrin and fire when ready. I'll leave the rest to you, Harui."
Harui nodded his tanned face, "Yes sir. Are you sallying out?"
Isoma nodded in return, "Get the hanger crew to ready the Akatsuki."
*****
Mars brought both his beam sabres down on the Murasame, it blocked with dual sabres of it's own while it's comrades leapt back to avoid getting tangled up in melee.
"Hmph, good to see Orb has some competent pilots," Mars said. "It is, however, a pity that you should meet me today," he continued and activated the Dark Aegis' wrist beam sabres with a simple lightning-fast rotation of his wrists his sliced both the hands off the Murasame, he then activated his foot-mounted blades and charged one of the remaining Murasame, sheathing both his hand-held sabres sabres and dodging its beam fire. Mars sliced through the Murasame's rifle with his right wrist sabre and then with a kick from his leg-mounted beam blades he cut the suit in two, only to spin around and throw a Midas Messer boomerang into the last suit, the spinning beam weapon cut it cleanly down the centre.
"Break 'em up and they don't last long. Just gotta be careful not to get shot up," Mars said. "I'll go to engage the flagship now, she's beginning to bug me, plus I owe her."
"Just don't get yourself killed Mars," Zera answered wryly.
"Heh, don't worry about me, Old Man," Mars answered as he strafed the Orb flagship.
*****
Jin activated his Rapid-Star beam machine-gun and let loose a stream of fire, three Murasame desperately tried to dodge but the speed and number of blasts first immobilised them, then crippled them and finally tore them apart.
"Overkill," Serrim commented as he fired a single shot into a fleeing Murasame's back, the blast cut through the cockpit on the other side and the Murasame continued to fly on for a few moments before exploding. "All you need to do is kill the pilots and the fight is won."
Jin shrugged, "I prefer to blast them apart. It makes them good and dead, you never know what sort of crazy stuff people can survive. Like a friend I had, Tsubatha, his entire house fell down on him during the Break the World earthquakes and he didn't get a scratch. If that isn't proof people can survive something that should be completely certain death what is?"
*****
Darwin sat back and ran a hand through his greying hair. "Keep firing the Devil Lances and Gottfrieds, they can't take a much more punishment. Load anti-mobile suit Black Hammer missiles in tubes one to six. After the next volley activate Mirage Colloid and continue on our course, once we are dead behind the Orb ships we'll let loose another full volley into their flanks, that should be the end-game."
Silvia suddenly spoke out, "sir the flagship has launched a mobile suit; it's an Akatsuki."
Darwin shrugged, "'I knew the Orb space fleet had one, 'bout time they launched it, we had best give Zera fair warning. If you will Silvia..."
"Yes sir," she responded and opened up a communications channel.
*****
Zera spiralled in his Vamp and cut two Murasame in half with his wing beam blades before transforming back into mobile suit mode. "They've launched an Akatsuki? I'll deal with that. Serrim, Jin you're with me; we'll take it down."
"Akatsuki?" Jin asked confused.
"Yeah, it's a mobile suit made by Orb, it saw service briefly in the Second War during ZAFT's so-called 'Operation Fury.' Don't fire beams at it, it'll reflect them. Three were made, the location if the original is unknown but one is here, with the space forces, and one is on Earth with the Orb defence forces. It's all in the Orb military profile," Serrim answered in a lecturing tone.
"Yeah, very good, so I'll do what? Attack this bastard with my beam sabres?" Jin asked.
It was Zera who answered, "No. You'll use your cannon, mind you that is the only ranged weapon to use. The beam sabres are fine if it gets close. You distract it and I'll charge in and try for a quick-kill. Failing that then Serrim and I will attempt to deal with it in close combat, if we mob it we should be able to overwhelm it."
*****
Isoma activated his Shiranui pack's computer and the seven mobile turrets shot out with mechanical precision, there were five Windams within easy range. The mobile turrets shot out and danced through the vacuum of space, firing beam guns, the Windams tried to dodge but their efforts were in vain, those that dodged the first shots were hit by the later ones, the mobile turrets darted around like wasps and the Windams lost rifles, limbs or were straight out killed by their speedy opponents and their cutting blasts.
The Pariah fired on the Kotetsu and Isoma activated the defence program on his Akatsuki, the mobile turrets launching out to form a shield prism around the Kotetsu in time to block the incoming volley, both missiles and high energy beams impacted on it harmlessly.
"No one can resist the power of Orb; the power of justice," Isoma stated boldly as he brought his rifle up to target an incoming Windam, a customised black and green Doppelhorn by the look of it, the Windam fired before he could, four quick bursts from its cannon.
*****
Jin fired his cannon at the golden mobile suit, the Akatsuki dodged the first two shots and blocked the third and fourth, though this sent the Akatsuki careening back.
The the mobile turrets returned to the Akatsuki and it returned fire with its rifle, Jin dodged heavily to the right and returned fire with his recoilless cannon. The Akatsuki blocked again and launched its mobile turrets.
Jin swore under his breath as the turrets rushed toward him and fired rapidly, he darted back while dodging with precision thruster actions, the mobile turrets were faster though, they launched past him and fired from other angles and then changed again, surrounded him and darting around while firing, ready to catch him if he faltered for a moment.
"Get the hell off me!" Jin yelled as he dodged, pinpoint actions with his thrusters and twists of his Windam saving him from being cut apart by the beams. Jin fired his cannon and caught one of the mobile turrets, both shell and turret exploded in a neon explosion as he lurched back, still dodging the remaining six mobile weapons.
*****
"What the hell is with this guy? Dodging those turrets?" Isoma mused to himself and adjusted his attack pattern, the turrets moving to a more ring-like configuration, orbiting his enemy and firing.
The scanner let out a loud ping and Isoma turned to see another mobile suit approaching, it looked a bit like a black highly modified Murasame.
"Bah? Another one?" Isoma said before turning his communication link on, "fifteenth squad, please deal with this Windam I am fighting with, he is being rather persistent," he ordered.
"Yes sir," the pilots responded and a group of Murasame broke off from their foes to attack the Windam.
Isoma changed his attack pattern in the mobile turret computer as he took aim at the Murasame look-alike, "It doesn't matter what you look like, I'll destroy you if you stand in my way, now die!."
*****
Jin dodged as the Mobile turrets broke off, still firing as they returned to the Akatsuki and were launched again. Oh well, Zera should be able to handle them, Jin thought as he took aim with his cannon, he had only a moments notice as a volley of beam-fire came down at him, three Murasame, swiftly he launched back and fired back with his cannon and carbines. The first Murasame took the cannon blast on its shield, this rendered it vulnerable to the carbines but as the beams closed in the second and third Murasame leapt in front and intercepted the beams with their shields.
"Heh, good teamwork, must be veterans," Jin said to himself and opened fire again as he backed away.
*****
Zera attacked with both Neo Schwert Gewehr, the Akatsuki darted back and the mobile turrets came in and fired. battle-earned reflexes took over and Zera dodged swiftly back and then side to side as the mobile turrets circled him and fired, the large anti-shipping swords slowed him down though, one was destroyed as he blocked an incoming shot from a mobile turret and he discarded the other before drawing his beam sabres.
Zera blocked the Akatsuki's shots with his beam sabres whilst doing his best to avoid the mobile turrets, but every now and then a beam would graze his Vamp and he was slowly getting forced away from the Akatsuki. With a curse he charged forward, only to have the mobile turrets fly in front of the Akatsuki and all fire at once, he blocked the shot with his shield and the combined force of the beams broke it apart.
"Damn," Zera swore as the mobile turrets picked up their attack without losing a beat.
*****
Darwin looked down as the Orb flagship fired its Lohengrin at the Pariah. "Full speed ahead, activate Mirage Colloid, fifty-three degree turn," he ordered and the positron beams grazed the outer hull, although being positron beams this in turn caused the outer layers of the armour to be torn off.
"That was close, too close for comfort. Cut the engines, re-load Devil Lances," Darwin ordered. The Pariah continued along with it's momentum as the Mirage Colloid rendered it invisible.
*****
Harui gritted his teeth, "Where'd it go? Did it reactivate it's Mirage Colloid?"
"We can't be sure, although that is likely," Sinja replied.
"Damn, keep firing up there, we'll just hope we luck out and hit it," Harui ordered.
"Sir, a mobile suit is approaching fast. Heat source records are similar to a GAT-303 Aegis."
*****
Serrim smiled to himself as he launched out from behind the shell of a Izumo class battle ship and thrust forward with a beam sabre drawn, the Akatsuki turned and met his beam blade with its twin beam sabre.
Serrim fired his thrusters and flew back and then rushed forward in a lunge before following up with another jab, high and low strikes to cut a head or leg off, he kept the pressure on and took advantage of the Akatsuki's surprise, still, the golden suit met him blow for blow, but seemed unable to go on the attack or make the best use of its double-sided weapon.
*****
Zera dodged to the left and lost an arm of his Vamp in the process, it would have been his cockpit otherwise. Bit by bit he was being cut down, he had already lost a wing and a foot as well and the beam's grazing was beginning to hit deeper.
Damn, Serrim, Jin, I hope you can do this I won't last much longer against this hellish system, Zera thought as he barely dodged another shot.
*****
Isoma swore as he blocked an overhead swing and countered with a stab to the cockpit, only to be blocked in turn, with a light tap of a few buttons he reorganised the attack patterns of the mobile turrets again, three to each suit.
"Damn it, what's with all these crazy pilots? I don't know anyone who could dodge mobile turrets in a Doppelhorn, or even survive for a minute, and this guy...I was the best in the Academy at close range, I've taken down Windams and ZAKUs, why is this one any different?" Isoma asked frantically as he blocked just in time to avoid losing his Akatsuki's head.
*****
Serrim smiled wryly before disengaging from the fight, the mobile turrets had began to fire on him and it was taking more effort to avoid getting hit. The Akatsuki pursued him but he just created more distance again as the turrets fired, three were quite easy to deal with so long as he kept them in mind, he dodged side to side as he wove his way back, a moment later he drew a tomahawk off his wings and threw it at the Akatsuki before lunging forward. The Akatsuki deflected the tomahawk with an inside block from its shield arm, but this opened it up for a split second and Serrim brought his beam sabre down, cutting its arm off at the elbow joint.
The Akatsuki fired it's boosters to retreat but Serrim grabbed the wrist of the remaining arm and used the thrust from the boosters to swing it into the path of the mobile turrets beams; which were deflected from the Akatsuki's reflective armour.
"Now you die, Orb pilot," Serrim stated coldly and struck his shield against the cockpit, it caved inward under the pressure and the mobile turrets went dead.
*****
Isoma's eyes widened as the cockpit walls bent and bulged inward, smashing monitors and computer panels and trapping his left arm. What? How? his thoughts raced as a second blow ripped open a rent in the torso armour and crushed his left side, it would have been very painful, but his body was in such shock that he didn't feel it.
Time slowed as Isoma looked up out of the rent to see the Windam bring it's shield back for another strike. This is...The end? I suppose that's okay, his thoughts floated as the shield closed in. This way I can be with you, my heart. My Mari. I'm sorry I couldn't avenge you, I lacked the strength to do so...I'll be with you real soon...Just a few more moments, Isoma thought as the shield struck, the cockpit gave in under the stress, the pressure and pain lasted only a bare instant.
*****
Serrim floated back and let go of the Akatsuki's arm, the mobile turrets floated by like kites with their tails cut.
"Good work, it was you right, Serrim?" Zera's voice echoed through the radio.
"Yeah," Serrim answered calmly.
"How'd you do it?" Zera asked.
"I caved in his cockpit using repeated strikes from my shield, he had no phase-shift armour you see. I figured he wouldn't, the anti-beam coating and phase shift would have cancelled each other out," Serrim responded.
"Good work, I mean it Serrim. Taking down an Akatsuki is an achievement. Now if you'll excuse me I have taken some rather serious damage and will be exiting the combat zone." Zera said dryly.
*****
Mars transformed and fired his Scylla into one of the Kotetsu's Lohengrin as the Pariah deactivated its Mirage Colloid and opened fire on the ships from behind. The Lohengrin of one ship exploded brilliantly soon followed by the ship as the Devil Lance anti-shipping missiles slammed into it and two Gottfried blasts hit home on the main hull. The Drake class launched another volley from across the battlefield which also struck the Izumo class in a shower of explosions.
Mars looked around, the Izumo class were all ruined, either breaking up, destroyed or launching escape pods. "Colonel, should we destroy the escape pods?" Mars asked.
"No, I don't think so. We're not at war yet and it doesn't help our image of a nation defending our territorial space if we kill all the survivors. Though they are witnesses to Sepha's little scheme, I don't think they'll make it back alive in any case. Orb has no more space ships to pick them up in," Zera said flatly, coldly formal with his actions.
"Acknowledged sir, I'll return to the Pariah now," Mars said, his power meter was running on thirty-five percent.
"Yes good idea. All Third Battalion forces cease combat and withdraw, this battle is over. Congratulations, we have won the day." Zera announced smoothly, his voice firm and certain.
*****
Jin floated away from the three ruined Murasame.
"Sorry guys, you fought well together. But you're teamwork was a little too good. It was very noble of you to take shots for each other like that, but at the costs of your own suits...not a risk worth taking. All I had to do was keep pounding one suit with everything I had and I knew you others would leap in the way. Silly, but I salute you anyway," Jin said as he flew away, as he did he gave a mock salute in the direction of the Murasame.
***
Sepha took his seat again, the negotiating room was a grand hall from a nineteenth century manor, but it was only half full despite all the national representatives present. Negotiations had been going for an entire day and things had been getting steadily more stalemated. Outside of the official negotiations he had already secured the help of the major nations he had needed, he had before the meeting had even started, before then even.
"This is insane, you have no evidence to support your words. You say you have no knowledge of such an operation, but the facts remain. ZAFT mobile suits were dropped to Earth and attacked two national capitals causing heavy damage and confusion. It seems to me like the opening moves of a campaign, except maybe we reacted too fast for you to continue, so you aborted it. Is that it?" the Atlantic Federation representative said accusingly.
"As we have said, we don't know where the forces who did such a thing got their hands on our military equipment as no bases or armouries have been assaulted. However, just give us a few weeks to investigate and I give you my guarantee that we'll find the culprits," the ZAFT representative replied stiffly.
Sepha smiled to himself for a moment before standing and speaking. "A few weeks? Do you really take us for fools? In a few weeks you could invent enough evidence to make your story airtight. How long would it take for a Coordinator like you to fake a radio message from a base? Fake the records too? Or just fake a transmission and hide a few Nazca's and claim they were stolen. I think maybe a week, maybe even as little as a few days. It has already been one day, how much of your bogus evidence could you have made by now? Was that why you agreed so readily, to buy time to invent an excuse?" Sepha interrogated the man, he could feel the wheels beginning to turn in everyone's heads.
"This is obscene. Why would we attack Europe? Why Orb? What reason? Can't you see you're all being manipulated? Someone wants another war, and you're all playing right into their hands," the PLANT representative exclaimed indignantly.
"Who?" Sepha demanded, "Who would want another war? Logos is gone and there are no other groups with the influence to start a new war, so it would have to be a government. Why you ask? Maybe you feel cheated because Orb beat your Luna forces in the last war, maybe you wanted revenge. You had a solid grip on the Earth till they ruined it all. Maybe to throw Earth into confusion, after all; the Hall of Nations was almost completely destroyed and that would have hampered international contact. What better way to slow an enemy down than to remove their ability to communicate well? If it wasn't for the post-war communication network installed things may have been a lot worse. But you didn't know about it's installation." Sepha said looking the PLANT representative in the eyes.
The ZAFT representative stood once again, "ZAFT doesn't attack defenceless nations, but you do I believe. Remember the first Bloody Valentine war when the Earth Alliance strong-armed the nations of Earth into the Alliance? We offered to help Orb when they were invaded for defying the Earth Alliance. The Second War was Orb aggression, you can't say we attacked one weak nation."
Sepha smiled, "really? Who invented a super weapon that would have killed half the life on Earth? Who launched the N-jammers that caused the deaths of millions? I don't believe it was we who live on Earth. I think it was ZAFT, you could argue if you want, but I believe history supports me in this case. I put forth a proposal that ZAFT be disarmed and all of PLANT should be closely guarded by a fleet made up of the nations of Earth's military, to guarantee no further incidents like this one. Twice now you of PLANT have almost killed billions, in Break the World and with Genesis. We cannot trust you, PLANT."
The Atlantic Federation representative stood, "I second that proposal."
The Western Europe and Asian representatives followed, inwardly Sepha grinned, it was all falling to place.
***
Serrim sat and flicked on the TV, the news was about to come on, a special announcement on the verdict of the negotiations in Scandinavia.
The Scandinavian man, tall and thick with a blond beard, began to talk. "As the host nation it is my responsibility to inform you all of the verdict of the negotiations. Through a lesser consensus the nations of Earth present here have decided to reject the excuses offered by the Zodiac Alliance of Freedom Treaty on the grounds of a lack of evidence and respond with a proposal to disarm ZAFT by force if necessary to prevent further such incidents. As we speak the compliant nations are mustering their military might to engage in war with PLANTs. May fortune send this is a short war and not another to stain our times. This is a black day indeed and it is with a heavy heart that I end this announcement," the man finished with a sigh, and the world was divided once more.
End of Phase-04
"I don't CARE if the mechanaught can't handle it, I want Wings of Light, the few seconds it'd last and the pilot mortality would be worth it." -me, eXteel closed beta.
PHASE-05 WINDING PATHS
************************************************
Alerik Cuale adjusted his purple suit and orange tie, he would address the people of PLANT today. Looking into his mirror he sighed, Damn, I look old. Too old for a middle-aged man, he thought.
Alerik saw himself; his short chestnut hair had decided to loose its sheen and his sea-green eyes looks glassy.
Alerik hadn't slept all night as he lay in bed, images from the past haunted him, the PLANTS being struck by nuclear weapons, torn into atoms by Requiem, countless ZAFT soldiers dying fighting to protect their homeland.
"There is no option," Alerik said to himself. The previous day he had spent with the Supreme Council and the conclusions they had reached were grim; no matter what ZAFT troops would have to be deployed to friendly nations on Earth or PLANT would run the risk of having their allies knocked out of the war before they could mobilise their defences.
Alerik let out a breath as he left the room, no matter what, he hated phrases like that, it meant there was a lack of options, of choices and he prided himself as a man who could design ways around solutions that seemed to have only one method. Nevertheless the choice was simple, if they didn't support their allies on Earth and their own occupied territories then it would be a short step before the Earth came to them in a violent manner.
The order had already been passed out, in a matter of hours Operation Starfall would see some two thousand mobile suits sent on a course for the Earth, a few days more would see them arrive at their destination. Silently Alerik prayed that sanity would return to the world by then, but he doubted it.
*****
Serrim fired his pistol, it was a smooth action and one that he had done so many times it was almost done without thought. Jin had always been the sports star; basketball star, tennis ace, baseball king, he had always been a geometrics man as well, he had solved a Rubik's Cube in seven second, he said that was a bad day.
However, Serrim had one-up on him with weapons, in school he had been the Fencing champion, at the Institute he was arguably the second best knife-fighter, behind Aran, he was the best sharpshooter with pistol and rifle and in the top ten hand-to-hand students. Jin joked that he must secretly be a Coordinator, Aran said he must have exceptional soldier genetics. A long time ago a man had once told him that there were freaks in every field, people who surpassed the ordinary limits of most humans in a select area of expertise, Serrim had began to think of himself as that sort of person.
Serrim fired another round, he preferred the smooth elegance of the sword to a gun, but it was not a practical weapon for human to human combat, in some cases it was different for mobile suits though, still the up-close and personal nature of close combat discomforted him, a cold and precise shot from a rifle was much better.
Serrim emptied his clip and waited for the target to reach him, he smiled at his shooting, it was a good day; there were only three bullet holes in the head, all overlapped, the other shots had passed through them.
Serrim heard footsteps behind him before he heard a voice, it was Major Yeddin, "hey Snowy. Pretty fancy shooting, I haven't seen anyone shoot like that since I was at the academy."
Serrim raised an eyebrow, "I like to think that the years of training would pay off."
The Major crossed his arms, "I heard you took out that Akatsuki, not bad for a rookie. But why did you bother with killing it with your shield? If you were that close I'd just cut it apart with my sabres."
"It was so the Research and Development divisions could have a look at how it was made. Both its mobile turret system and beam reflective armour would be interesting technologies to gain. If I used a sabre then important technology might have been destroyed, maybe the whole thing, as it is the cockpit is useless," Serrim explained dryly.
Mars frowned, "that's pretty cold. How many men did you kill?"
Serrim thought for a moment before answering, "Eleven."
"My oh my, an ace on his first sortie, not a bad achievement," Mars said. "So how did that make you feel?" Mars asked.
"Feel?" Serrim asked and thought for a moment. "It was a pity that they had to die, but there was no other choice. If I didn't kill them then they would just go out in another sortie, maybe against me, maybe not, either way they have the potential to cause more harm. You have to be business minded when thinking about such a thing, war is war and they are soldiers, just as I am. If I died tomorrow I don't expect them to regret it, every battle we fight there's a chance of us dying. A soldier lives to protect by means of force and to avenge that which they have lost, there is always a chance that one may die doing that, it is the price of war."
Mars nodded, "Is that really how you think? Rational, I'll give you that. But in battle there are so many emotions it wouldn't be fair to rationalize or deny. But I guess do agree with you on some points."
Serrim shrugged in response before replying, "I'm not denying my emotions, but it is a soldiers' place to die if he must for what he believes in and we all know the risks of doing so. I'm not saying I wouldn't be upset if tomorrow a comrade was shot down, because I would be. But...I don't know how to explain it in words."
Mars nodded, "we all know that we might die, but that doesn't mean we want to or that we can accept it. Something like that is probably close."
Serrim nodded in agreement, "So what about you Major? Why are you here?"
Mars thought for a moment, "I lost a few people in the wars, friends, family you know how it is. I saw Zera fighting and I thought to myself 'I can make a difference'. So I decided I'd try, but the reason I joined Blue Cosmos? Well that is another matter, but tell me, do you know how it feels to compete against people knowing you can never beat them?"
Serrim thought for a moment, "I do. In a way. When I was very young there was a Coordinator boy at our school, he was my age, yet he was skipped three grades in a year and was still top of his class then-"
Mars interrupted, "that's what I'm talking about, you obviously have your reasons but for me...There was a guy, I hated him so much because no matter what I did I could never beat him. When we were young we'd fight like young boys do and he'd always win, in races he'd always win, in spelling he'd know it all, maths, science he could do it all. Human beings are supposed to be equal, if someone is better than you at one thing, you're usually better than them at another. But it's a horrible feeling to actually know at such a young age that there is at least one person who excels you in every way that you are gifted. That is why I joined Blue Cosmos and why I fight, to restore the balance of this world. I know it's tacky, but I just don't want others to feel as useless as I did."
Serrim understood and he replied, "Coordinators killed my family, except my sister. She's on Mars," the words brought up unwanted memories and emotions, Serrim closed his eyes and forced them down bitterly.
"Oh...A lot of people lost their lives in those wars. Those Coordinator bastards never seemed to understand how many people they were going to kill. We killed a few hundred thousand of them in the Bloody Valentine, and they'd kill tens of millions of us with their Neutron Jammers, it isn't fair and certainly not justice," Mars answered.
Serrim smiled wryly, "you know Mars, this is the first intelligent discussion I have ever heard you have."
"Hey give me a break, you've known me for what? A week?" Mars replied indignantly.
*****
Zera finished writing his report and sat back in his chair and turned on the TV.
He flipped the channels till he reached a news program. The PLANT Chairman was in the middle of an announcement. "...Say to you, stand strong in this troubled time and do not allow chaos sweep you away. Together and united we can make it through these dark times. In the face of this over-reactive step taken by the Earth we have no choice but to respond by mobilising our own military. I give you my word that we and ZAFT will do all we can to keep the PLANTs secure and to ensure the war does not reach so horrifically close as it has in the past. For now it is my fondest wish that the Earth regains its sense, but I fear that it is not likely. Once more I say that our brave men and women in ZAFT carry our future and as such they deserve our support and faith."
Zera switched the television off again and poured himself a class of iced water, he didn't drink while on duty and even then it was rare. Zera drank the water in a few gulps and lay back in his seat, he smiled as he fell into a light sleep, sleep was a rare thing that he snatched when he could.
Zera stood in a city, the buildings were either burning or nothing more than piles of rubble. It had been days after combat, too late to save the city, too late to catch the attackers. All they could do now was search for survivors, it was all to common a scene. After looking for two days and finding only corpses he was feeling depressed. Zera was snapped out of his reverie as he saw one of the bodies move, just for a moment and jsut barely, but it was unmistakeable.
Zera broke into a run, as he drew closer he could hear the sounds of sobbing. The body was of a man, middle-aged and heavily bullet-wounded, dried blood pooled around him. The cring was coming from under him though.
Tentatively Zera moved the body to one side, underneath was a young girl, maybe ten years old, with dark hair and eyes, her cheeks were stained with dirt and tears and blood had soaked through her dress rendering it a sickly dark red.
Zera leant down to the girl but she weakly crawled away, fear wide in her eyes. "Come now...I'm not one of them, I'm here to help. Where's your family?" Zera asked with the most gentle smile he could put on.
The girl gestured around her and quietly replied, "here," before beginning to cry again. Then it dawned on Zera, the bodies laying around were similar, the woman laying to the left, the two boys laying tangled together, ,they were all alike in appearance, they were a family, the father must have shielded his daughter from the guns of ZAFT soldiers.
Zera drew a breath through his teeth before offering his hand to the girl, "don't worry, I'll help you. Come with me, you'll be safe then. We'll get you a bath and some food and see what we can set you up with.
The girl just shrank back further, eyes wide with fear. A few minutes passed and stared at Zera, a moment later she stopped crying before standing on shaky legs and taking his hand, he picked the girl up carefully and held her close to his chest. "You're safe now, I'm Zera, what's your name?" he asked softly wrapping one arm around her and moving back to his Windam.
The girl snuggled to his chest before speaking softly, "Silvia," she answered.
Zera woke up with a start, he wasn't sure how long he had been asleep for. It was a rare dream, a memory really. It was...comforting in an odd way, it reminded him of what he was fighting to get rid of and at the same time what he was fighting to protect. Silvia had been with him from that day on, some ten years ago now. It had bothered him to have such a young child on-board a military vessel, but she refused to leave him and it wasn't as if he knew a safer place to keep her.
After the first few battles the soldiers began to see her as a kind of lucky charm or maybe a mascot, it became commonplace to see Zera being followed by the strange little dark-haired girl who followed him everywhere and never spoke to anyone else.
Three years later he found out that she still had living family left, yet when he told Silvia she replied that she wouldn't leave and every time he suggested it afterwards she broke down and cried for hour upon hour until he dropped it, after a year he had given up trying to force her to leave.
It hadn't been easy, sometimes she treated him like the other crew did, like saw him as her commanding officer, other times she treated him like an older brother and still other times she treated him like she was a jealous girlfriend.
By the time she was sixteen she decided to enlist in the military and became the trainee communications officer for Zera's command at the time, it was shortly before Zera would finish fighting in Eurasia, partly because he was tired of fighting a losing war, partly because he didn't want the girl he had worked so hard to protect to die.
Looking back it was something Zera could not have predicted, he had thought his service in the military would be straightforward, he would go out and fight and hopefully come back alive and decorated. Instead he never really did give up being a soldier, there was one chance he had but that was long-gone. 'I'm a soldier, it's what I've done for almost half my life and it's what I do best,' Zera had once said to himself, his life had taken so many twists and turns he wasn't even sure how it would have been without them.
Zera stood and looked at his clock, time in space was hard to measure as it was set to an entirely different time zone to on Earth, but it was three in the morning by the measure of UCT, Universal Cosmic Time.
Zera gave himself one last thoughtful smile and headed back off to bed.
*****
Serrim lay in his bed and stared at the plain grey roof of his room, next to him he could here the the sound of Jin throwing his Rubik's Cube in the air and catching it again, how he managed it in such low light was beyond Serrim's understanding. It was late, yet he wasn't getting to sleep.
All across the world the signs of war would soon become evident, soon one or another of the major parties would launch an attack somewhere and people would die. It was all but inevitable now, but it had to be done. Serrim had seen first-hand the sort of atrocities that Coordinators could deal out, he had seen people die in agony from drinking polluted water because the water purification plants could not be powered.
Serrim had seen men and women freeze to death because it was so cold that no matter how many blankets you wrapped around yourself you couldn't stop becoming numb, he remembered sheltering together for warmth with his remaining family and praying that some twist of fate would leave him alive, alive to protect others, alive to have his revenge.
Serrim remembered seeing meteor-like chunks of the PLANT Junius Seven crashing into his home town two years later, even though they hadn't even been involved in the previous war.
Serrim remembered swearing to himself that if he survived he would have his revenge on the Coordinator's who made him suffer so.
After that he enlisted in the military, he remembered his sister, Sarah, saying she would go to Mars to get away from all the fighting, he remembered arriving at the Rosenburg institute after he was judged skilled enough to qualify.
Nothing could make him forget those memories because they forged the foundation of who and what he was, they were memories etched in stone, there were others too. Memories of Jin, tears in his eyes as he explained that his parents were dead, taken from him by the same Coordinators that had taken so many others' lives.
Still, there was one that remained above all others, another that was closest to his heart, like a wound that refused to heal.
Serrim saw the meteors crash into the town he was living in with his family, he went running as fast as he could through ruined block after ruined block as snow and ash fell around him. Serrim stopped as he saw his mother lying pinned under a heavy section of concrete, her long snowy hair pooled around her head and was stained with scarlet, he could still see the look of pain and surprise frozen in his little sister's eyes as she lay dead from the impact of flying debris.
Serrim quietly fell to his knees and cried, all strength gone from his body, the cold turning his tears to ice on his cheeks.
"Serrim," a voice chimed in behind him, resonating with sadness.
The white-haired boy turned to see his sister standing there, she was crying too, tears streaked her cheeks as she knelt and gathered him up in her arms.
"They're dead...everyone keeps dying on us. I can't take this any more...I...can't," she said between sobs, he closed his eyes but the tears continued unabated.
Serrim came to his senses again as Jin spoke, "Hey Serrim whatcha think of Estell?"
Serrim raised his eyebrow in the dark, "I suggest you stop that line of thought. Let us consider what she'll do to you if things don't go well, she is Extended, she'll probably kill you or something."
Jin harrumphed before speaking, "Serrim, you're no fun."
"Just looking after your best interests," Serrim replied dryly.
***
Zera walked onto the bridge and Darwin saluted him. "Message from HQ was received a few minutes ago, it states that the leaders of the new Earth Alliance are going to be meeting in Svalbard soon and that some two-hundred ships are being placed in orbit over the location to ensure no ZAFT attacks, we've been ordered to join a second gathering of a larger size to ensure that once a battle-plan has been set that the ZAFT-allied states will not be able to be reinforced from space. Furthermore, we are ordered to make sure that any ZAFT fleets that attempt to reach Earth Orbit are stopped before they may send reinforcements. We will be joined by the First, Second and Fourth battalions as well as several Earth Alliance fleets."
Zera nodded, "understood, send our confirmation."
*****
Ourei stared up at the starlit sky, command had just announced that Operation Starfall was under way and soon they would get reinforcements, he brushed back his blond hair and sighed.
"I had hoped so much that another war wouldn't start. As it is, virtually no one has got away without losing someone, yet the powers on Earth are determined to make everyone loose more of their loved ones. Sometimes I just don't know where this is all going, at least I know I have to protect the PLANTs, at least I know that much," Ourei said to himself.
"Hey Ourei! Ourei! Where are you!" A woman's voice yelled somewhere below him and shocked him out of his reverie, he stood and called back, "Artemis, I'm up here."
A young woman came into his view, she had long waist-length hair tied back in a ponytail and gold toned eyes, "what are you doing up here? A barracks roof is no place to be right now, the soldiers might think you're a infiltrator and shoot you!"
Ourei waved off her concern, "I'm touched, really I am. But, if the soldiers don't know me by now they never will. Since you have gone to so much trouble to disrupt my nice peaceful musings I suppose I'll go and run a few simulation battles before bed."
Without further talk Ourei climbed down the ladder, leaving Artemis on the roof alone.
"Jerk," she said after him.
END OF PHASE-05
************************************************
Alerik Cuale adjusted his purple suit and orange tie, he would address the people of PLANT today. Looking into his mirror he sighed, Damn, I look old. Too old for a middle-aged man, he thought.
Alerik saw himself; his short chestnut hair had decided to loose its sheen and his sea-green eyes looks glassy.
Alerik hadn't slept all night as he lay in bed, images from the past haunted him, the PLANTS being struck by nuclear weapons, torn into atoms by Requiem, countless ZAFT soldiers dying fighting to protect their homeland.
"There is no option," Alerik said to himself. The previous day he had spent with the Supreme Council and the conclusions they had reached were grim; no matter what ZAFT troops would have to be deployed to friendly nations on Earth or PLANT would run the risk of having their allies knocked out of the war before they could mobilise their defences.
Alerik let out a breath as he left the room, no matter what, he hated phrases like that, it meant there was a lack of options, of choices and he prided himself as a man who could design ways around solutions that seemed to have only one method. Nevertheless the choice was simple, if they didn't support their allies on Earth and their own occupied territories then it would be a short step before the Earth came to them in a violent manner.
The order had already been passed out, in a matter of hours Operation Starfall would see some two thousand mobile suits sent on a course for the Earth, a few days more would see them arrive at their destination. Silently Alerik prayed that sanity would return to the world by then, but he doubted it.
*****
Serrim fired his pistol, it was a smooth action and one that he had done so many times it was almost done without thought. Jin had always been the sports star; basketball star, tennis ace, baseball king, he had always been a geometrics man as well, he had solved a Rubik's Cube in seven second, he said that was a bad day.
However, Serrim had one-up on him with weapons, in school he had been the Fencing champion, at the Institute he was arguably the second best knife-fighter, behind Aran, he was the best sharpshooter with pistol and rifle and in the top ten hand-to-hand students. Jin joked that he must secretly be a Coordinator, Aran said he must have exceptional soldier genetics. A long time ago a man had once told him that there were freaks in every field, people who surpassed the ordinary limits of most humans in a select area of expertise, Serrim had began to think of himself as that sort of person.
Serrim fired another round, he preferred the smooth elegance of the sword to a gun, but it was not a practical weapon for human to human combat, in some cases it was different for mobile suits though, still the up-close and personal nature of close combat discomforted him, a cold and precise shot from a rifle was much better.
Serrim emptied his clip and waited for the target to reach him, he smiled at his shooting, it was a good day; there were only three bullet holes in the head, all overlapped, the other shots had passed through them.
Serrim heard footsteps behind him before he heard a voice, it was Major Yeddin, "hey Snowy. Pretty fancy shooting, I haven't seen anyone shoot like that since I was at the academy."
Serrim raised an eyebrow, "I like to think that the years of training would pay off."
The Major crossed his arms, "I heard you took out that Akatsuki, not bad for a rookie. But why did you bother with killing it with your shield? If you were that close I'd just cut it apart with my sabres."
"It was so the Research and Development divisions could have a look at how it was made. Both its mobile turret system and beam reflective armour would be interesting technologies to gain. If I used a sabre then important technology might have been destroyed, maybe the whole thing, as it is the cockpit is useless," Serrim explained dryly.
Mars frowned, "that's pretty cold. How many men did you kill?"
Serrim thought for a moment before answering, "Eleven."
"My oh my, an ace on his first sortie, not a bad achievement," Mars said. "So how did that make you feel?" Mars asked.
"Feel?" Serrim asked and thought for a moment. "It was a pity that they had to die, but there was no other choice. If I didn't kill them then they would just go out in another sortie, maybe against me, maybe not, either way they have the potential to cause more harm. You have to be business minded when thinking about such a thing, war is war and they are soldiers, just as I am. If I died tomorrow I don't expect them to regret it, every battle we fight there's a chance of us dying. A soldier lives to protect by means of force and to avenge that which they have lost, there is always a chance that one may die doing that, it is the price of war."
Mars nodded, "Is that really how you think? Rational, I'll give you that. But in battle there are so many emotions it wouldn't be fair to rationalize or deny. But I guess do agree with you on some points."
Serrim shrugged in response before replying, "I'm not denying my emotions, but it is a soldiers' place to die if he must for what he believes in and we all know the risks of doing so. I'm not saying I wouldn't be upset if tomorrow a comrade was shot down, because I would be. But...I don't know how to explain it in words."
Mars nodded, "we all know that we might die, but that doesn't mean we want to or that we can accept it. Something like that is probably close."
Serrim nodded in agreement, "So what about you Major? Why are you here?"
Mars thought for a moment, "I lost a few people in the wars, friends, family you know how it is. I saw Zera fighting and I thought to myself 'I can make a difference'. So I decided I'd try, but the reason I joined Blue Cosmos? Well that is another matter, but tell me, do you know how it feels to compete against people knowing you can never beat them?"
Serrim thought for a moment, "I do. In a way. When I was very young there was a Coordinator boy at our school, he was my age, yet he was skipped three grades in a year and was still top of his class then-"
Mars interrupted, "that's what I'm talking about, you obviously have your reasons but for me...There was a guy, I hated him so much because no matter what I did I could never beat him. When we were young we'd fight like young boys do and he'd always win, in races he'd always win, in spelling he'd know it all, maths, science he could do it all. Human beings are supposed to be equal, if someone is better than you at one thing, you're usually better than them at another. But it's a horrible feeling to actually know at such a young age that there is at least one person who excels you in every way that you are gifted. That is why I joined Blue Cosmos and why I fight, to restore the balance of this world. I know it's tacky, but I just don't want others to feel as useless as I did."
Serrim understood and he replied, "Coordinators killed my family, except my sister. She's on Mars," the words brought up unwanted memories and emotions, Serrim closed his eyes and forced them down bitterly.
"Oh...A lot of people lost their lives in those wars. Those Coordinator bastards never seemed to understand how many people they were going to kill. We killed a few hundred thousand of them in the Bloody Valentine, and they'd kill tens of millions of us with their Neutron Jammers, it isn't fair and certainly not justice," Mars answered.
Serrim smiled wryly, "you know Mars, this is the first intelligent discussion I have ever heard you have."
"Hey give me a break, you've known me for what? A week?" Mars replied indignantly.
*****
Zera finished writing his report and sat back in his chair and turned on the TV.
He flipped the channels till he reached a news program. The PLANT Chairman was in the middle of an announcement. "...Say to you, stand strong in this troubled time and do not allow chaos sweep you away. Together and united we can make it through these dark times. In the face of this over-reactive step taken by the Earth we have no choice but to respond by mobilising our own military. I give you my word that we and ZAFT will do all we can to keep the PLANTs secure and to ensure the war does not reach so horrifically close as it has in the past. For now it is my fondest wish that the Earth regains its sense, but I fear that it is not likely. Once more I say that our brave men and women in ZAFT carry our future and as such they deserve our support and faith."
Zera switched the television off again and poured himself a class of iced water, he didn't drink while on duty and even then it was rare. Zera drank the water in a few gulps and lay back in his seat, he smiled as he fell into a light sleep, sleep was a rare thing that he snatched when he could.
Zera stood in a city, the buildings were either burning or nothing more than piles of rubble. It had been days after combat, too late to save the city, too late to catch the attackers. All they could do now was search for survivors, it was all to common a scene. After looking for two days and finding only corpses he was feeling depressed. Zera was snapped out of his reverie as he saw one of the bodies move, just for a moment and jsut barely, but it was unmistakeable.
Zera broke into a run, as he drew closer he could hear the sounds of sobbing. The body was of a man, middle-aged and heavily bullet-wounded, dried blood pooled around him. The cring was coming from under him though.
Tentatively Zera moved the body to one side, underneath was a young girl, maybe ten years old, with dark hair and eyes, her cheeks were stained with dirt and tears and blood had soaked through her dress rendering it a sickly dark red.
Zera leant down to the girl but she weakly crawled away, fear wide in her eyes. "Come now...I'm not one of them, I'm here to help. Where's your family?" Zera asked with the most gentle smile he could put on.
The girl gestured around her and quietly replied, "here," before beginning to cry again. Then it dawned on Zera, the bodies laying around were similar, the woman laying to the left, the two boys laying tangled together, ,they were all alike in appearance, they were a family, the father must have shielded his daughter from the guns of ZAFT soldiers.
Zera drew a breath through his teeth before offering his hand to the girl, "don't worry, I'll help you. Come with me, you'll be safe then. We'll get you a bath and some food and see what we can set you up with.
The girl just shrank back further, eyes wide with fear. A few minutes passed and stared at Zera, a moment later she stopped crying before standing on shaky legs and taking his hand, he picked the girl up carefully and held her close to his chest. "You're safe now, I'm Zera, what's your name?" he asked softly wrapping one arm around her and moving back to his Windam.
The girl snuggled to his chest before speaking softly, "Silvia," she answered.
Zera woke up with a start, he wasn't sure how long he had been asleep for. It was a rare dream, a memory really. It was...comforting in an odd way, it reminded him of what he was fighting to get rid of and at the same time what he was fighting to protect. Silvia had been with him from that day on, some ten years ago now. It had bothered him to have such a young child on-board a military vessel, but she refused to leave him and it wasn't as if he knew a safer place to keep her.
After the first few battles the soldiers began to see her as a kind of lucky charm or maybe a mascot, it became commonplace to see Zera being followed by the strange little dark-haired girl who followed him everywhere and never spoke to anyone else.
Three years later he found out that she still had living family left, yet when he told Silvia she replied that she wouldn't leave and every time he suggested it afterwards she broke down and cried for hour upon hour until he dropped it, after a year he had given up trying to force her to leave.
It hadn't been easy, sometimes she treated him like the other crew did, like saw him as her commanding officer, other times she treated him like an older brother and still other times she treated him like she was a jealous girlfriend.
By the time she was sixteen she decided to enlist in the military and became the trainee communications officer for Zera's command at the time, it was shortly before Zera would finish fighting in Eurasia, partly because he was tired of fighting a losing war, partly because he didn't want the girl he had worked so hard to protect to die.
Looking back it was something Zera could not have predicted, he had thought his service in the military would be straightforward, he would go out and fight and hopefully come back alive and decorated. Instead he never really did give up being a soldier, there was one chance he had but that was long-gone. 'I'm a soldier, it's what I've done for almost half my life and it's what I do best,' Zera had once said to himself, his life had taken so many twists and turns he wasn't even sure how it would have been without them.
Zera stood and looked at his clock, time in space was hard to measure as it was set to an entirely different time zone to on Earth, but it was three in the morning by the measure of UCT, Universal Cosmic Time.
Zera gave himself one last thoughtful smile and headed back off to bed.
*****
Serrim lay in his bed and stared at the plain grey roof of his room, next to him he could here the the sound of Jin throwing his Rubik's Cube in the air and catching it again, how he managed it in such low light was beyond Serrim's understanding. It was late, yet he wasn't getting to sleep.
All across the world the signs of war would soon become evident, soon one or another of the major parties would launch an attack somewhere and people would die. It was all but inevitable now, but it had to be done. Serrim had seen first-hand the sort of atrocities that Coordinators could deal out, he had seen people die in agony from drinking polluted water because the water purification plants could not be powered.
Serrim had seen men and women freeze to death because it was so cold that no matter how many blankets you wrapped around yourself you couldn't stop becoming numb, he remembered sheltering together for warmth with his remaining family and praying that some twist of fate would leave him alive, alive to protect others, alive to have his revenge.
Serrim remembered seeing meteor-like chunks of the PLANT Junius Seven crashing into his home town two years later, even though they hadn't even been involved in the previous war.
Serrim remembered swearing to himself that if he survived he would have his revenge on the Coordinator's who made him suffer so.
After that he enlisted in the military, he remembered his sister, Sarah, saying she would go to Mars to get away from all the fighting, he remembered arriving at the Rosenburg institute after he was judged skilled enough to qualify.
Nothing could make him forget those memories because they forged the foundation of who and what he was, they were memories etched in stone, there were others too. Memories of Jin, tears in his eyes as he explained that his parents were dead, taken from him by the same Coordinators that had taken so many others' lives.
Still, there was one that remained above all others, another that was closest to his heart, like a wound that refused to heal.
Serrim saw the meteors crash into the town he was living in with his family, he went running as fast as he could through ruined block after ruined block as snow and ash fell around him. Serrim stopped as he saw his mother lying pinned under a heavy section of concrete, her long snowy hair pooled around her head and was stained with scarlet, he could still see the look of pain and surprise frozen in his little sister's eyes as she lay dead from the impact of flying debris.
Serrim quietly fell to his knees and cried, all strength gone from his body, the cold turning his tears to ice on his cheeks.
"Serrim," a voice chimed in behind him, resonating with sadness.
The white-haired boy turned to see his sister standing there, she was crying too, tears streaked her cheeks as she knelt and gathered him up in her arms.
"They're dead...everyone keeps dying on us. I can't take this any more...I...can't," she said between sobs, he closed his eyes but the tears continued unabated.
Serrim came to his senses again as Jin spoke, "Hey Serrim whatcha think of Estell?"
Serrim raised his eyebrow in the dark, "I suggest you stop that line of thought. Let us consider what she'll do to you if things don't go well, she is Extended, she'll probably kill you or something."
Jin harrumphed before speaking, "Serrim, you're no fun."
"Just looking after your best interests," Serrim replied dryly.
***
Zera walked onto the bridge and Darwin saluted him. "Message from HQ was received a few minutes ago, it states that the leaders of the new Earth Alliance are going to be meeting in Svalbard soon and that some two-hundred ships are being placed in orbit over the location to ensure no ZAFT attacks, we've been ordered to join a second gathering of a larger size to ensure that once a battle-plan has been set that the ZAFT-allied states will not be able to be reinforced from space. Furthermore, we are ordered to make sure that any ZAFT fleets that attempt to reach Earth Orbit are stopped before they may send reinforcements. We will be joined by the First, Second and Fourth battalions as well as several Earth Alliance fleets."
Zera nodded, "understood, send our confirmation."
*****
Ourei stared up at the starlit sky, command had just announced that Operation Starfall was under way and soon they would get reinforcements, he brushed back his blond hair and sighed.
"I had hoped so much that another war wouldn't start. As it is, virtually no one has got away without losing someone, yet the powers on Earth are determined to make everyone loose more of their loved ones. Sometimes I just don't know where this is all going, at least I know I have to protect the PLANTs, at least I know that much," Ourei said to himself.
"Hey Ourei! Ourei! Where are you!" A woman's voice yelled somewhere below him and shocked him out of his reverie, he stood and called back, "Artemis, I'm up here."
A young woman came into his view, she had long waist-length hair tied back in a ponytail and gold toned eyes, "what are you doing up here? A barracks roof is no place to be right now, the soldiers might think you're a infiltrator and shoot you!"
Ourei waved off her concern, "I'm touched, really I am. But, if the soldiers don't know me by now they never will. Since you have gone to so much trouble to disrupt my nice peaceful musings I suppose I'll go and run a few simulation battles before bed."
Without further talk Ourei climbed down the ladder, leaving Artemis on the roof alone.
"Jerk," she said after him.
END OF PHASE-05
Last edited by Ragormha on Sat Aug 11, 2007 5:56 am, edited 1 time in total.
"I don't CARE if the mechanaught can't handle it, I want Wings of Light, the few seconds it'd last and the pilot mortality would be worth it." -me, eXteel closed beta.
PHASE-06 ICE AND VOID
************************************************************
Snow fell all around the pyramid shaped building, the windows were frosty but the inside was kept warm and toasty, a large flat monitor was installed on one of the walls, two great polished mahogany doors led outside, within there were six heavy leather seats, five were occupied.
Sepha smiled and nodded to his companions, there was Arnold Colomdril from the Atlantic Federation, gruff and blond with brown eyes and dressed all in white as he sat with a fevered look in his eyes.
There was Tsubaya Heharo, black haired and jet-eyed, who sat stroking his moustaches in an stylish blue pinstripe suit, he was from the Dominion of Indo-China.
Rhamon Quodre, of the Middle-Eastern Union, dark and tan in a middle-eastern style suit with a purple sash, his pale brown hair combed and his beard trimmed into a square-cut, his piercing blue eyes stared our from heavy brows.
Lastly there was Armellio Ruel, head of the Republic of Western Europe, dark skinned and dark-haired with surprisingly bright green eyes, he was a big man, almost seven foot tall and with a heavy-bodied build of a lifelong fighter, his delicate green suit strained over his bold and muscular frame. They were the leaders of the nations that had joined the new Earth Alliance so far.
"It is a shame Yurich Szittas couldn't join us, but as I understand he has some rather significant issues to deal with on his home front. He doesn't want to look like a lapdog of you gentlemen. It was his Commonwealth that fought the hardest to be free of the iron grip of Eurasia, and the last to do so, but he assures me he will support us once we are making significant progress. Personally I think he is being sly, he wants proof we can beat ZAFT before he risks his nation, Yurich always was twice as sly as he looks and he looks like a weasel," Sepha said sipping at a fine wine, twenty years old and grown somewhere in Northern France, wines weren't his speciality.
"He is. I think with enough pressure I can even get Bjorn Wyntar over to us, that'll be a major success," Armellio said, his voice surprisingly mellow.
"I am a busy man, gentlemen, I don't know about you. But I have over two billion citizens in the Dominion, it's hard enough keeping it all together. Hell, the Dominion was just a temporary alliance to defeat the forces of the Eurasian Government when we were fighting for independence, it is a wonder I've kept it going this long," Tsubaya said impatiently, his steely voice taking a sharp edge. "I'd appreciate it if we could talk politics later."
Sepha gave him an indulgent smiled, "but of course, I too am a busy man."
Sepha gestured to the massive screen and it switched on with a loud click.
"Firstly I present to you the GAT-04 Plus Series. As it is, the Windam Plus is already a staple machine of all modern Earth nations, Orb and ZAFT-allied nations excepted. However we still lack many of the strengths ZAFT possesses, those being things such as adaptability. Their basic ZAKU can be equipped with wizard packs to deal with many situations simply at the press of a few buttons. To counter this we have worked long and hard to improve and add variety to our own Windam series. I now present to you the GAT-04 Advanced Plus Series," Sepha said, as he did the monitor lit up, displaying schematics and blueprints.
"Firstly I'll show you the basic long-range high powered Windam Plus. We call this model the Windam Plus Basilisk type. In essence we have simply given it a long-range high-power beam cannon, similar to the ZAKU's Orthros weapon. This is not one of our more high quality models." The monitor showed a Windam firing a long beam cannon, hitting automated tanks and buildings, simulated ZAFT ground battleships and dummy mobile suits.
"The advantage of the Basilisk is that it is fast to equip, literally a minute is all it takes to be committed, no alterations need to be done to the main body. The Basilisk pack itself adds an extra battery and the cannon may be fired in long sustained blasts, such as those to cut through a battleship, or shot bursts for anti-mobile suit use. Next we will see the improved Doppelhorn Windam," Sepha continued, once again the screen changed, this time to a Windam with two cannons mounted on it's back. "This model is highly effective in ranged combat, it is equipped with two recoilless cannons that can either fire plasma, standard or fragmentation shells as well as two beam carbines for hand-held use. This comes at the cost of reduced mobility, but given that the role of the Doppelhorn is long-range combat this isn't so bad. This package takes only minutes to set up in combat and can be installed with ease. The Doppelhorn pack can also be ejected should the situation require it."
The screen changed once again to a similar model, larger and more bulky and this time with two eight-barrelled guns on the shoulders in place of cannons. Sepha sighed before speaking, "This is something which is bound to become an invaluable asset to any battle formation. This is the Star Ravage Windam. It uses two large improved "Rapid Star" beam machine guns, each unit comes with batteries that may fire three hundred shots each. For this reason piloted are recommended to use burst-fire rather than full auto as only eight spare batteries are attachable. However should the situation warrant it the Rapid Star beam machine guns can be fired directly from the mobile suits power supply, this can prove to be a significant drain if used badly and is recommended only as a worst case scenario or one where there is not enough time to reload. The Star Ravage Windam is also roughly twenty percent heavier, this comes from increased battery size and armour plating. Aside from the impressive cannons the only weapons of the Star Ravage are its beam carbines, however this is because this unit is meant to deployed in large groups to form fire-teams where huge amounts of massed fire can be deployed to literally tear an enemy attacking force to shreds."
"Wouldn't the heat from so many beam blasts cause the barrels to warp?" Arnold asked examining the footage.
Sepha nodded, "Yes, sadly the technology is not perfect and after a thousand shots the individual barrel will begin to warp. After two thousand shots the amount of heat build-up and stress will cause the barrel to fail, however this is why replacements are issued and given that each weapon has eight barrels it takes some time to run down the singular barrels, so I wouldn't worry about it. With proper maintenance this is a non-issue. Like the Doppelhorn pack this pack may also be jettisoned should it be necessary."
"Next up we have a combination model," Sepha continued dryly as the monitor changed once again to a larger mobile suit, four cannons came off its back. "This is the Razorback Windam, it has both the dual recoilless cannons of the Doppelhorn and the Rapid Star machine guns of the Star Ravage, it also mounts the beam carbines of both series. To accommodate this extra power drain and ammunition storage the unit itself is eighty percent larger than a Windam. However, this Razorback Windam is well worth the price, although mass production is only to be done in smaller numbers due to the high number of components. The Razorback may not drop its backpack, so it is recommended that it is kept under escort in battlefield situations, Nevertheless, the Razorback is in itself a one-man artillery unit capable of supplying suppressive or support fire to a dozen or so allies."
"Last of our Windam series we have the Knight Windam." Once again the monitor changed, the display showed a mobile suit standing in the snow. "The Knight is our close-combat variation. It is slightly larger due to thicker armour and it is equipped with two beam sabres, which are stored in the hips for basic combat. It is given an anti-beam shield, modelled after those used by its namesake, and it has both a large "Neo Schwert Gewehr" anti-shipping sword and a "Mach Cavalier" multi-purpose beam lance. A unique feature of this mobile suit is its use of Colloid particles, like the Geschmeidig Panzer system. This is used in the shield to generate an anti-beam shield around the Knight, the result is that any beam weapons fired at it will simply "bounce off" this invisible field."
"We are currently construction a new G-series for both the alliance and my own organisation's militaries, but I am hoping you gentlemen could start putting in your parts, you can handle the money and the resources, we'll handle the construction, plans and technology. Now I will be taking production orders shortly so I suggest you consider carefully how many mobile suits you need and how many you want," Sepha finished and crossed his arms.
"You've sold it to me, Sepha, as always your organisation does good work. This will surely tip the balance in favour of us, those Coordinator dogs won't even know what hit them," Armellio said with a grin.
"Indeed. you have my full backing," Tsubaya said stroking a moustache.
"Now we have rather more important matters to deal with, namely ZAFT and it's allies," Arnold said lighting another cigar.
"Yes, right you are gentlemen. That is another reason for this meeting. I suggest each power should deal with the ZAFT ally closest to them," Sepha said casually.
Arnold grinned, "I'll deal with South America then. We've already beaten them down once, they didn't stay down though, we'll have to teach them a lesson about who rules on Earth."
Sepha shook his head, "No, that is what lost us the Second War, too much hard power. We're going to go on a large-scale media campaign; 'South America is supporting the Coordinators who attack the innocent. For the preservation of a safe world they must be removed.' Things like that, I'll have some of my organisation's personnel spread rumours and civil unrest, discredit the government and other such. We'll give it a while, wait for their resolve to weaken before we deal with them and we'll offer incentives for joining the Earth Alliance. Until then, you're going to provide the greater amount of force in space. Before we go after the PLANTs we need to rid the Earth of the Coordinators."
Tsubaya thought for a moment, "We'll need to take control of all the mass drivers. There's one in Xi'an, one at Victoria, one at Gibraltar, two at Panama, one in Helsinki, one here, one in Carpentaria, one in Caracas and one in ORB. Of those mass drivers ZAFT controls four. Two are neutral and four for us. This means that they can easily deploy as many suits back into space as they send down here, as fast as we can at least."
"I'll deal with Gibraltar," Armellio stated flatly.
"I suppose I'll go for Victoria then," Rhamon replied.
"That leaves Carpentaria for me and I suppose Arnold can deal with Caracas when South America is weaker. First things first, we need to hit military targets outlying ZAFT allied territories, I'll deal with Taiwan first, then move toward the Philippines, I'll use that as a staging point," Tsubaya said.
"What of Orb, and the Equatorial Union?" Rhamon asked.
Sepha's smiled turned wicked, "Orb is stubborn, they're so headstrong they'll fight everyone if we provide them with targets, in secret of course. The people are upset about Orb's defeat in space, and their inaction over the Orb surprise attack. The government can't afford to be neutral, they'll either decide it was a trick and side with ZAFT or believe the evidence and side with us."
"If they side with us?" Arnold asked.
"Then we'll use them. We'll use them till they are used up and broken and then they can provide one last great service to mankind by dying in a glorious defence against the forces of ZAFT. After all, Orb is not one of us, nor will they ever be. Why let our brave soldiers die when Orb men and women can die for them?" Sepha replied.
The men continued to talk as the snow fell.
*****
Ourei let out a hiss as Vultz continued his video announcement across the base, "So we may expect an attack any time soon. As of this announcement all ZAFT forces in Victoria are on full alert."
Ourei knew the odds, there were a hundred mobile suits at Victoria, mainly for parade purposes, it was the least heavily armed of all ZAFT fortresses on Earth.
"Artemis, Louin, Zella, Sioun, I suggest we make damn sure we're ready. The EAF usually makes sure they're ready to attack right after declaring war," Ourei said.
Louin shrugged, "I'm sure those bastards will. But think about it simply, even if they launched a fleet the day they declared war it won't be here for a few days, maybe weeks. Command said they'd be reinforcing all the major strong points and strategic locations soon too."
"We'll wait for Vultz, I'll check on my BABI later," Zella said.
Sioun puffed out her cheeks and crossed her arms, "Ourei, I'm in charge of this squad. That is why it is called the Reava Team, I may only have taken command yesterday, but I'm still your boss."
"Fine then, boss, what do you suggest we do?" Ourei asked angrily.
"I don't suggest anything. However, I'm ORDERING you to sit down and shut up, we'll get action when the alert sounds. You may be a Red, but you're still a rookie and I'm not having one of my pilots so worked up that when battle comes he passes out," Sioun answered.
"Hey hey guys. Not the time to be fightin' right now. Ourei, stop worrying and for the love of anything holy, Sioun, go easy on him," Zella interjected brushing back his short-cropped bland hair and shaking his head.
*****
Serrim sat and ate quietly, soldiers food was rarely exotic but tonight it was more homely than usual, baked vegetables and steak. Jin always ate with gusto, the man would eat anything so long as it could be eaten, he'd eat frog's legs or toasted beetles, he'd eat kangaroo or lamb, borscht or risotto, pasta or falafel. Nothing seemed to bother him. Serrim almost wished he had his stomach, almost.
"Only a day till combat," Aran said before taking a delicate bite of a baked sweet potato.
"Yeah, a ZAFT battle fleet, maybe a few hundred battleships, maybe a thousand mobile suits, great fun. I prefer the small scale battle myself," Serrim replied dryly.
"So what are you gonna do tonight? Shooting range?" Jin asked around a mouthful of potato and meat.
"Yes, I'd like to focus before battle. You?" Serrim asked.
Jin grinned, "too early to nab myself a date with one of the cuties on board, so I'll just crash in my room and listen to some Lacus Clyne music."
Serrim felt his face go flat, "...Jin you do realise...That music...Is made by a Coordinator right? Not just a Coordinator but one who was in charge of PLANT for a while."
Jin shrugged, "Music is music, who cares who sings it so long as it's good? Besides, Lacus was only really a good singer after Break the World. Before that she put me to sleep with her boring and repetitive songs. I liked her latter music though, her remake of Quiet Night was fantastic."
"Whatever, I'm going to fine-tune my Templar," Aran said pushing away his plate and gliding out of the door smoothly.
*****
Rafor sat on the bed and waited for the ship's doctor to fill a syringe. She was a woman named Ruth Hari, with her hair tied back in a tight black bun, not a pretty woman by any stretch, but somehow motherly.
"This will hurt a bit, try to bear with it," Dr. Hari said.
Rafor nodded as the syringe was filled and injected into his arm, not a performance enhancer this time, it was a control mechanism, if he didn't get any in two weeks he'd begin to die. Just another way his creators had made sure he knew he'd never be free again.
Next Dr. Hari filled a small vial and handed it to him, "drink it," she instructed.
Rafor obeyed, it tasted bad and plastic-like, it was a routine he had dealt with for a year now. It was his last chance, unlike Estell, he was no innocent; he had embraced his fate as a biological CPU, an Extended, in order to avoid the alternate fate of Capital Punishment.
*****
Zera sat at his desk drinking a mug of hot black coffee, he was looking at a photo of the men who had left his unit, likely all dead by now, bar a few.
Then new pilots...They're all people who have a reason to hate Coordinators with enough drive to make their anger have strength. Except Aran, I suppose the higher-ups wanted him to be in a crack battalion, but I'm still undermanned until we get a shipment of mobile suits. Hmmm, first real fight against Coordinators, I wonder how they will fare? Zera thought to himself.
The First and Second battalions would be around too, and the Fourth. Roy Silver was in command of the First Battalion, they would be a valuable ally, Roy was the longest serving commander in the Blue Cosmos armed forces, they had the command of an Archangel class ship, like the Second.
The second battalion were...strange, they were hard-line, fanatical religious extremists who believed all Coordinators were abominations in the eyes of their God. Ivon Michaels was in command of the Second, not a bad man but as rabid as a half-starved wild dog. Then there was Duncan Yvel's Fourth, they were reasonable, although they were plagued by a lot of untrained pilots, they were in command of a Girty Lue as well.
Outside of the Blue Cosmos forces Zera didn't know how well the Earth Alliance pilots would hold out, they certainly didn't prove their mettle well in the previous Orb space battle. There were a lot of men who hadn't seen any previous action, but that made sense, the Bloody Valentine was a long time ago and Eurasia had been mainly left to rot.
*****
Commander Apollo Harin looked out of his Minerva-class battleship, around them over two hundred battleships were scattered through the stars.
Twenty-two hours till they reached Earth Orbit, he wasn't a big-time commander, but he was still the highest ranking FAITH officer in the fleet. The orders were simple, break through any Earth Forces and ensure that at least half the mobile suits made it to Earth.
Apollo brushed back his dark hair, "okay then ladies and gentlemen, take a break. We're changing shifts, be happy to have your rest because once battle starts there won't be any sleep for anyone."
"Yes sir," The crew responded as they filed out, the replacements coming in to take their places.
***
The ZAFT fleet advanced toward the Earth, there were three fleets in all, each with two-hundred and fifty ships and each aiming to reach a different location.
"Estimated time to combat range, half an hour," a black-coated officer said.
"Alright then, all pilots to their mobile suits. Inform the Admiral that we're ready," Apollo ordered and nodded to his communications officer.
"Yes sir. All battleships are going into code red, mobile suits are to mobilise for combat," The communications officer replayed over the intercom.
"Shield the bridge, load Neidhardt and Dispar missiles, all crew prepare for combat," Apollo ordered and took his seat.
*****
Zera leapt into the Vamp's cockpit and let the walkway retract before he mounted the catapult. "Zera Dromos, Vamp, launching!" Zera declared as his mobile suit boosted off the catapult.
"Serrim Gospal, Windam, heading out," Serrim said and Zera saw his Windam take up place next to his own Vamp.
"Aran Le Kauruda, Templar, going out."
The other pilots continued to sign off as their units launched.
"Good luck Zera," Silvia said.
"Thanks a lot. Don't get yourself killed guys, keep the Pariah out of harm's way," Zera ordered and fired up the Vamp's boosters.
"Allied ships have finished the launch process, all mobile suits have been deployed, prepare for combat," Silvia relayed.
"This is the acting commander of the United Earth Fleet Roy Silver, good luck gentlemen, show them what we've got. All forces give it your all and do not let the Coordinators break through," a man's voice said, it was deep and authoritative.
*****
On the Earth moonlight still shone down on the beaches of Orb, a tight cluster of houses were clustered on the sand and looked out over the ocean, a young boy woke from his sleep to hear a door slamming.
"Dad?" the boy asked quietly, walking down the stairs.
The boy stepped into the light of the lounge room, he was young, perhaps five or six years old, with blue eyes and chin-length length pink hair.
"Dad? Where'd you go?" the boy asked again and looked around confused. Then the boy saw a note laying on the lounge room table and picked it up, he began to read it.
Peace is what everyone dreams for, but I am afraid that this world's dream has turned into a nightmare. Some time ago I fought to stop a war, the second time I had done so. I'm not sure if I still have the power to do so again, but my will remains as strong as ever. I have to try, because I have never stopped believe our world is worth saving. I was late last time, almost too late, I will not be so again. I'll wake our world from this nightmare before it gets too dark. I'm sure you understand. Take care of our son while I'm gone, I hope it isn't for long.
Your loving husband.
"Mum! Dad's gone off to fight!" the boy yelled.
END OF PHASE-06
Authors note: and here it is, completed and ready to go, hope you like it! Not much to say really, more of a scene-setter than anything.
************************************************************
Snow fell all around the pyramid shaped building, the windows were frosty but the inside was kept warm and toasty, a large flat monitor was installed on one of the walls, two great polished mahogany doors led outside, within there were six heavy leather seats, five were occupied.
Sepha smiled and nodded to his companions, there was Arnold Colomdril from the Atlantic Federation, gruff and blond with brown eyes and dressed all in white as he sat with a fevered look in his eyes.
There was Tsubaya Heharo, black haired and jet-eyed, who sat stroking his moustaches in an stylish blue pinstripe suit, he was from the Dominion of Indo-China.
Rhamon Quodre, of the Middle-Eastern Union, dark and tan in a middle-eastern style suit with a purple sash, his pale brown hair combed and his beard trimmed into a square-cut, his piercing blue eyes stared our from heavy brows.
Lastly there was Armellio Ruel, head of the Republic of Western Europe, dark skinned and dark-haired with surprisingly bright green eyes, he was a big man, almost seven foot tall and with a heavy-bodied build of a lifelong fighter, his delicate green suit strained over his bold and muscular frame. They were the leaders of the nations that had joined the new Earth Alliance so far.
"It is a shame Yurich Szittas couldn't join us, but as I understand he has some rather significant issues to deal with on his home front. He doesn't want to look like a lapdog of you gentlemen. It was his Commonwealth that fought the hardest to be free of the iron grip of Eurasia, and the last to do so, but he assures me he will support us once we are making significant progress. Personally I think he is being sly, he wants proof we can beat ZAFT before he risks his nation, Yurich always was twice as sly as he looks and he looks like a weasel," Sepha said sipping at a fine wine, twenty years old and grown somewhere in Northern France, wines weren't his speciality.
"He is. I think with enough pressure I can even get Bjorn Wyntar over to us, that'll be a major success," Armellio said, his voice surprisingly mellow.
"I am a busy man, gentlemen, I don't know about you. But I have over two billion citizens in the Dominion, it's hard enough keeping it all together. Hell, the Dominion was just a temporary alliance to defeat the forces of the Eurasian Government when we were fighting for independence, it is a wonder I've kept it going this long," Tsubaya said impatiently, his steely voice taking a sharp edge. "I'd appreciate it if we could talk politics later."
Sepha gave him an indulgent smiled, "but of course, I too am a busy man."
Sepha gestured to the massive screen and it switched on with a loud click.
"Firstly I present to you the GAT-04 Plus Series. As it is, the Windam Plus is already a staple machine of all modern Earth nations, Orb and ZAFT-allied nations excepted. However we still lack many of the strengths ZAFT possesses, those being things such as adaptability. Their basic ZAKU can be equipped with wizard packs to deal with many situations simply at the press of a few buttons. To counter this we have worked long and hard to improve and add variety to our own Windam series. I now present to you the GAT-04 Advanced Plus Series," Sepha said, as he did the monitor lit up, displaying schematics and blueprints.
"Firstly I'll show you the basic long-range high powered Windam Plus. We call this model the Windam Plus Basilisk type. In essence we have simply given it a long-range high-power beam cannon, similar to the ZAKU's Orthros weapon. This is not one of our more high quality models." The monitor showed a Windam firing a long beam cannon, hitting automated tanks and buildings, simulated ZAFT ground battleships and dummy mobile suits.
"The advantage of the Basilisk is that it is fast to equip, literally a minute is all it takes to be committed, no alterations need to be done to the main body. The Basilisk pack itself adds an extra battery and the cannon may be fired in long sustained blasts, such as those to cut through a battleship, or shot bursts for anti-mobile suit use. Next we will see the improved Doppelhorn Windam," Sepha continued, once again the screen changed, this time to a Windam with two cannons mounted on it's back. "This model is highly effective in ranged combat, it is equipped with two recoilless cannons that can either fire plasma, standard or fragmentation shells as well as two beam carbines for hand-held use. This comes at the cost of reduced mobility, but given that the role of the Doppelhorn is long-range combat this isn't so bad. This package takes only minutes to set up in combat and can be installed with ease. The Doppelhorn pack can also be ejected should the situation require it."
The screen changed once again to a similar model, larger and more bulky and this time with two eight-barrelled guns on the shoulders in place of cannons. Sepha sighed before speaking, "This is something which is bound to become an invaluable asset to any battle formation. This is the Star Ravage Windam. It uses two large improved "Rapid Star" beam machine guns, each unit comes with batteries that may fire three hundred shots each. For this reason piloted are recommended to use burst-fire rather than full auto as only eight spare batteries are attachable. However should the situation warrant it the Rapid Star beam machine guns can be fired directly from the mobile suits power supply, this can prove to be a significant drain if used badly and is recommended only as a worst case scenario or one where there is not enough time to reload. The Star Ravage Windam is also roughly twenty percent heavier, this comes from increased battery size and armour plating. Aside from the impressive cannons the only weapons of the Star Ravage are its beam carbines, however this is because this unit is meant to deployed in large groups to form fire-teams where huge amounts of massed fire can be deployed to literally tear an enemy attacking force to shreds."
"Wouldn't the heat from so many beam blasts cause the barrels to warp?" Arnold asked examining the footage.
Sepha nodded, "Yes, sadly the technology is not perfect and after a thousand shots the individual barrel will begin to warp. After two thousand shots the amount of heat build-up and stress will cause the barrel to fail, however this is why replacements are issued and given that each weapon has eight barrels it takes some time to run down the singular barrels, so I wouldn't worry about it. With proper maintenance this is a non-issue. Like the Doppelhorn pack this pack may also be jettisoned should it be necessary."
"Next up we have a combination model," Sepha continued dryly as the monitor changed once again to a larger mobile suit, four cannons came off its back. "This is the Razorback Windam, it has both the dual recoilless cannons of the Doppelhorn and the Rapid Star machine guns of the Star Ravage, it also mounts the beam carbines of both series. To accommodate this extra power drain and ammunition storage the unit itself is eighty percent larger than a Windam. However, this Razorback Windam is well worth the price, although mass production is only to be done in smaller numbers due to the high number of components. The Razorback may not drop its backpack, so it is recommended that it is kept under escort in battlefield situations, Nevertheless, the Razorback is in itself a one-man artillery unit capable of supplying suppressive or support fire to a dozen or so allies."
"Last of our Windam series we have the Knight Windam." Once again the monitor changed, the display showed a mobile suit standing in the snow. "The Knight is our close-combat variation. It is slightly larger due to thicker armour and it is equipped with two beam sabres, which are stored in the hips for basic combat. It is given an anti-beam shield, modelled after those used by its namesake, and it has both a large "Neo Schwert Gewehr" anti-shipping sword and a "Mach Cavalier" multi-purpose beam lance. A unique feature of this mobile suit is its use of Colloid particles, like the Geschmeidig Panzer system. This is used in the shield to generate an anti-beam shield around the Knight, the result is that any beam weapons fired at it will simply "bounce off" this invisible field."
"We are currently construction a new G-series for both the alliance and my own organisation's militaries, but I am hoping you gentlemen could start putting in your parts, you can handle the money and the resources, we'll handle the construction, plans and technology. Now I will be taking production orders shortly so I suggest you consider carefully how many mobile suits you need and how many you want," Sepha finished and crossed his arms.
"You've sold it to me, Sepha, as always your organisation does good work. This will surely tip the balance in favour of us, those Coordinator dogs won't even know what hit them," Armellio said with a grin.
"Indeed. you have my full backing," Tsubaya said stroking a moustache.
"Now we have rather more important matters to deal with, namely ZAFT and it's allies," Arnold said lighting another cigar.
"Yes, right you are gentlemen. That is another reason for this meeting. I suggest each power should deal with the ZAFT ally closest to them," Sepha said casually.
Arnold grinned, "I'll deal with South America then. We've already beaten them down once, they didn't stay down though, we'll have to teach them a lesson about who rules on Earth."
Sepha shook his head, "No, that is what lost us the Second War, too much hard power. We're going to go on a large-scale media campaign; 'South America is supporting the Coordinators who attack the innocent. For the preservation of a safe world they must be removed.' Things like that, I'll have some of my organisation's personnel spread rumours and civil unrest, discredit the government and other such. We'll give it a while, wait for their resolve to weaken before we deal with them and we'll offer incentives for joining the Earth Alliance. Until then, you're going to provide the greater amount of force in space. Before we go after the PLANTs we need to rid the Earth of the Coordinators."
Tsubaya thought for a moment, "We'll need to take control of all the mass drivers. There's one in Xi'an, one at Victoria, one at Gibraltar, two at Panama, one in Helsinki, one here, one in Carpentaria, one in Caracas and one in ORB. Of those mass drivers ZAFT controls four. Two are neutral and four for us. This means that they can easily deploy as many suits back into space as they send down here, as fast as we can at least."
"I'll deal with Gibraltar," Armellio stated flatly.
"I suppose I'll go for Victoria then," Rhamon replied.
"That leaves Carpentaria for me and I suppose Arnold can deal with Caracas when South America is weaker. First things first, we need to hit military targets outlying ZAFT allied territories, I'll deal with Taiwan first, then move toward the Philippines, I'll use that as a staging point," Tsubaya said.
"What of Orb, and the Equatorial Union?" Rhamon asked.
Sepha's smiled turned wicked, "Orb is stubborn, they're so headstrong they'll fight everyone if we provide them with targets, in secret of course. The people are upset about Orb's defeat in space, and their inaction over the Orb surprise attack. The government can't afford to be neutral, they'll either decide it was a trick and side with ZAFT or believe the evidence and side with us."
"If they side with us?" Arnold asked.
"Then we'll use them. We'll use them till they are used up and broken and then they can provide one last great service to mankind by dying in a glorious defence against the forces of ZAFT. After all, Orb is not one of us, nor will they ever be. Why let our brave soldiers die when Orb men and women can die for them?" Sepha replied.
The men continued to talk as the snow fell.
*****
Ourei let out a hiss as Vultz continued his video announcement across the base, "So we may expect an attack any time soon. As of this announcement all ZAFT forces in Victoria are on full alert."
Ourei knew the odds, there were a hundred mobile suits at Victoria, mainly for parade purposes, it was the least heavily armed of all ZAFT fortresses on Earth.
"Artemis, Louin, Zella, Sioun, I suggest we make damn sure we're ready. The EAF usually makes sure they're ready to attack right after declaring war," Ourei said.
Louin shrugged, "I'm sure those bastards will. But think about it simply, even if they launched a fleet the day they declared war it won't be here for a few days, maybe weeks. Command said they'd be reinforcing all the major strong points and strategic locations soon too."
"We'll wait for Vultz, I'll check on my BABI later," Zella said.
Sioun puffed out her cheeks and crossed her arms, "Ourei, I'm in charge of this squad. That is why it is called the Reava Team, I may only have taken command yesterday, but I'm still your boss."
"Fine then, boss, what do you suggest we do?" Ourei asked angrily.
"I don't suggest anything. However, I'm ORDERING you to sit down and shut up, we'll get action when the alert sounds. You may be a Red, but you're still a rookie and I'm not having one of my pilots so worked up that when battle comes he passes out," Sioun answered.
"Hey hey guys. Not the time to be fightin' right now. Ourei, stop worrying and for the love of anything holy, Sioun, go easy on him," Zella interjected brushing back his short-cropped bland hair and shaking his head.
*****
Serrim sat and ate quietly, soldiers food was rarely exotic but tonight it was more homely than usual, baked vegetables and steak. Jin always ate with gusto, the man would eat anything so long as it could be eaten, he'd eat frog's legs or toasted beetles, he'd eat kangaroo or lamb, borscht or risotto, pasta or falafel. Nothing seemed to bother him. Serrim almost wished he had his stomach, almost.
"Only a day till combat," Aran said before taking a delicate bite of a baked sweet potato.
"Yeah, a ZAFT battle fleet, maybe a few hundred battleships, maybe a thousand mobile suits, great fun. I prefer the small scale battle myself," Serrim replied dryly.
"So what are you gonna do tonight? Shooting range?" Jin asked around a mouthful of potato and meat.
"Yes, I'd like to focus before battle. You?" Serrim asked.
Jin grinned, "too early to nab myself a date with one of the cuties on board, so I'll just crash in my room and listen to some Lacus Clyne music."
Serrim felt his face go flat, "...Jin you do realise...That music...Is made by a Coordinator right? Not just a Coordinator but one who was in charge of PLANT for a while."
Jin shrugged, "Music is music, who cares who sings it so long as it's good? Besides, Lacus was only really a good singer after Break the World. Before that she put me to sleep with her boring and repetitive songs. I liked her latter music though, her remake of Quiet Night was fantastic."
"Whatever, I'm going to fine-tune my Templar," Aran said pushing away his plate and gliding out of the door smoothly.
*****
Rafor sat on the bed and waited for the ship's doctor to fill a syringe. She was a woman named Ruth Hari, with her hair tied back in a tight black bun, not a pretty woman by any stretch, but somehow motherly.
"This will hurt a bit, try to bear with it," Dr. Hari said.
Rafor nodded as the syringe was filled and injected into his arm, not a performance enhancer this time, it was a control mechanism, if he didn't get any in two weeks he'd begin to die. Just another way his creators had made sure he knew he'd never be free again.
Next Dr. Hari filled a small vial and handed it to him, "drink it," she instructed.
Rafor obeyed, it tasted bad and plastic-like, it was a routine he had dealt with for a year now. It was his last chance, unlike Estell, he was no innocent; he had embraced his fate as a biological CPU, an Extended, in order to avoid the alternate fate of Capital Punishment.
*****
Zera sat at his desk drinking a mug of hot black coffee, he was looking at a photo of the men who had left his unit, likely all dead by now, bar a few.
Then new pilots...They're all people who have a reason to hate Coordinators with enough drive to make their anger have strength. Except Aran, I suppose the higher-ups wanted him to be in a crack battalion, but I'm still undermanned until we get a shipment of mobile suits. Hmmm, first real fight against Coordinators, I wonder how they will fare? Zera thought to himself.
The First and Second battalions would be around too, and the Fourth. Roy Silver was in command of the First Battalion, they would be a valuable ally, Roy was the longest serving commander in the Blue Cosmos armed forces, they had the command of an Archangel class ship, like the Second.
The second battalion were...strange, they were hard-line, fanatical religious extremists who believed all Coordinators were abominations in the eyes of their God. Ivon Michaels was in command of the Second, not a bad man but as rabid as a half-starved wild dog. Then there was Duncan Yvel's Fourth, they were reasonable, although they were plagued by a lot of untrained pilots, they were in command of a Girty Lue as well.
Outside of the Blue Cosmos forces Zera didn't know how well the Earth Alliance pilots would hold out, they certainly didn't prove their mettle well in the previous Orb space battle. There were a lot of men who hadn't seen any previous action, but that made sense, the Bloody Valentine was a long time ago and Eurasia had been mainly left to rot.
*****
Commander Apollo Harin looked out of his Minerva-class battleship, around them over two hundred battleships were scattered through the stars.
Twenty-two hours till they reached Earth Orbit, he wasn't a big-time commander, but he was still the highest ranking FAITH officer in the fleet. The orders were simple, break through any Earth Forces and ensure that at least half the mobile suits made it to Earth.
Apollo brushed back his dark hair, "okay then ladies and gentlemen, take a break. We're changing shifts, be happy to have your rest because once battle starts there won't be any sleep for anyone."
"Yes sir," The crew responded as they filed out, the replacements coming in to take their places.
***
The ZAFT fleet advanced toward the Earth, there were three fleets in all, each with two-hundred and fifty ships and each aiming to reach a different location.
"Estimated time to combat range, half an hour," a black-coated officer said.
"Alright then, all pilots to their mobile suits. Inform the Admiral that we're ready," Apollo ordered and nodded to his communications officer.
"Yes sir. All battleships are going into code red, mobile suits are to mobilise for combat," The communications officer replayed over the intercom.
"Shield the bridge, load Neidhardt and Dispar missiles, all crew prepare for combat," Apollo ordered and took his seat.
*****
Zera leapt into the Vamp's cockpit and let the walkway retract before he mounted the catapult. "Zera Dromos, Vamp, launching!" Zera declared as his mobile suit boosted off the catapult.
"Serrim Gospal, Windam, heading out," Serrim said and Zera saw his Windam take up place next to his own Vamp.
"Aran Le Kauruda, Templar, going out."
The other pilots continued to sign off as their units launched.
"Good luck Zera," Silvia said.
"Thanks a lot. Don't get yourself killed guys, keep the Pariah out of harm's way," Zera ordered and fired up the Vamp's boosters.
"Allied ships have finished the launch process, all mobile suits have been deployed, prepare for combat," Silvia relayed.
"This is the acting commander of the United Earth Fleet Roy Silver, good luck gentlemen, show them what we've got. All forces give it your all and do not let the Coordinators break through," a man's voice said, it was deep and authoritative.
*****
On the Earth moonlight still shone down on the beaches of Orb, a tight cluster of houses were clustered on the sand and looked out over the ocean, a young boy woke from his sleep to hear a door slamming.
"Dad?" the boy asked quietly, walking down the stairs.
The boy stepped into the light of the lounge room, he was young, perhaps five or six years old, with blue eyes and chin-length length pink hair.
"Dad? Where'd you go?" the boy asked again and looked around confused. Then the boy saw a note laying on the lounge room table and picked it up, he began to read it.
Peace is what everyone dreams for, but I am afraid that this world's dream has turned into a nightmare. Some time ago I fought to stop a war, the second time I had done so. I'm not sure if I still have the power to do so again, but my will remains as strong as ever. I have to try, because I have never stopped believe our world is worth saving. I was late last time, almost too late, I will not be so again. I'll wake our world from this nightmare before it gets too dark. I'm sure you understand. Take care of our son while I'm gone, I hope it isn't for long.
Your loving husband.
"Mum! Dad's gone off to fight!" the boy yelled.
END OF PHASE-06
Authors note: and here it is, completed and ready to go, hope you like it! Not much to say really, more of a scene-setter than anything.
Last edited by Ragormha on Thu Feb 14, 2008 7:34 am, edited 2 times in total.
"I don't CARE if the mechanaught can't handle it, I want Wings of Light, the few seconds it'd last and the pilot mortality would be worth it." -me, eXteel closed beta.
PHASE-07 LIGHT OF BATTLE
*************************************************************
The battle raged on, as it had done so for some time.
The numbers were approximately even, each side had a little over two-hundred ships left, over a thousand mobile suits fought, some in close range, some stayed on their mother ships and fired with long-range cannons and rifles. The ships swarmed together with little obvious distinct battle lines, apart from the fact that one side of the battlefield had more ZAFT ships and the other had more Earth Alliance battleships.
"Third Western European division is falling fast. Send the Fourth Cosmos battalion and the seventeenth Atlantic battalion to back the third up, we can't let those Coordinators break through," Roy ordered, he was a dark man, heavily tanned from his previous assignments in Africa, with red-brown hair and wine-toned eyes.
"Yes sir, the Second Cosmos battalion is requesting reinforcement on the far right flank," an officer called out from the other side of the bridge.
"Send the ninth to twelfth Atlantic battalions. Aim both the Gottfired and the Valiants at that incoming Nazca class, load anti-armour Devil Lances in all tubes and fire on my mark," Roy ordered.
*****
Mars set his thrusters to full power and boosted the Dark Aegis toward an enemy GOUF and two ZAKU Blaze Warriors, drawing his beam rifle and throwing a Midas Messer boomerang.
The two ZAKU were swiftly cut down by the boomerang, the pilots lacked the experience to dodge effectively, but the GOUF drew its Tempest beam sword and attacked.
Mars continued flying toward the GOUF and fired his rifle, the GOUF used it's sword to slash and block the incoming beam and returned fire with its Draupnir beam machine gun.
"Hmph, a pilot who isn't an idiot, a refreshing change. However..." Mars said to himself as he drew both his beam sabres and attacked, lunging with both weapons.
The GOUF dodged to the side and brought its sword down, aiming to cut off the Aegis' arms, Mars spun in reply and swung his beam sabres, one aiming for the GOUF, one blocking the strike.
The GOUF fell back as one of the Aegis' sabres cut its leg off and it's own strike was blocked, Mars resumed his attack with blades swinging in unison.
The GOUF blocked again and continued to retreat, Mars heard his scanner sound, more mobile suits were in range, half a dozen ZAKU warriors, he transformed the Dark Aegis into its mobile armour form and fired the Scylla, the GOUF dodged to one side and blocked again with its sword, but the beam tore the Tempest in half.
Three of the ZAKU exploded as beams lanced through their cockpits from behind.
"Need a hand?" Serrim asked, flying up next to the Dark Aegis and past the remains of his victims.
"Bah, thanks a lot Snowy, but I had it under control, these grunts are too green to hurt anybody but themselves," Mars replied and fired the Scylla again, the beam blowing the GOUF in half. "I just need to get warmed up, that's all."
"Whatever you say, Major." Serrim boosted back and fired again, two shots in rapid succession, another two Gunner ZAKU exploded as their battery packs were struck and rendered unstable.
***
"Stay together squad, Bint, Losollo, stay with me. Aran, Serrim, Jin you guys stay together, Estell, Mars and the others should also join together. In big battles like this you need to cover each other," Zera ordered as he drew his two Schwert Gewehr.
The squad sounded off acknowledgements as Zera attacked, followed by his two Windam wingmen.
"Alright guys, four Blaze ZAKU and a GOUF, just keep the pressure on them and I'll handle the rest," Zera ordered and charged.
The ZAKU began firing immediately, Zera saw one beam graze his right shoulder as he began evasive manoeuvres, he blocked the incoming beams with the blade of his anti-shipping sword whilst dodging and flying toward the ZAFT mobile suits.
One of the ZAKU had its arm shot off by Bint and Losollo's supporting fire as Zera closed with them, he impaled the GOUF with one Schwert Gewehr as it drew its sword and with the other he sliced off a supporting ZAKU's head.
Zera wrenched his anti-shipping sword out of the GOUF and attacked again, a ZAKU lunged at him with it's beam tomahawk but was shot down before it could reach him.
"Good work Bint, keep it up," Zera commented and attacked again, hacking off both of a ZAKU's arms before kicking the torso away.
***
"Fleet status?" Apollo asked.
"Forty ships have been lost, eleven are heavily damaged, sixty percent of losses are Laurasia class. Some one-hundred mobile suits have stopped responding, presumed destroyed," his XO, a dark man called Hayata, reported briskly.
"Damn. Alright, we're breaking through. Full speed ahead, sector seven-nine-yellow. Charge the Tannhäuser, fire at the next battleship cluster we make contact with as soon as you've got a clean shot. Hayata, you have the command, tell the team to prepare the Law for launch. Inform the Admiral our actions, tell him to give us some support, a dozen battleships should do."
"Yes sir, good luck commander," Hayata said.
"I don't need luck, I've got faith," Apollo replied flatly.
***
Aran cut a DOM in half with his beam lance and fired his Scylla, destroying two Slash ZAKU as they attempted to fall back.
Jin fired his Rapid-Star taking two more Gunner ZAKU down, "hell, they just don't stop coming do they?" Jin said as he dodged back from an incoming volley from a squad of Blaze ZAKU.
Aran threw his lance into one of the ZAFT mobile suits and fired his dual-purpose shields' beam rifles, taking two more Blaze ZAKU down. "It would appear not, these guys are surprisingly bad for enhanced humans, by that I mean they'd be bad for apes," Aran commented.
Serrim drew his beam sabre and fired his rifle with his Windam's left hand, shooting one ZAKU's head off before cutting its cockpit open cleanly.
Suddenly Jin felt something, a flash of surprise like he just realised another man was in the cockpit with him, but far more distant, "guys, I...I think someone is coming up from Earth."
Serrim raised his eyebrows as he cut a gunner ZAKU in half longways, "what are you talking about? What do you mean you think?"
Jin fired both carbines and his recoilless cannon, taking off both arms and the head of a charging GOUF and let the body drift by. "I'm not sure, I can feel something though, more than I usually can. These Coordinator bastards must be confusing me."
Aran fired his Scylla again, this time at an incoming Nazca, his blast took it in the mobile suit catapult and neon coloured flames erupted from its damaged opening.
Jin ground his teeth as he felt something, like suddenly realising there was someone standing behind him, although not quite, the third time now and it was getting stronger.
Serrim sheathed his beam sabre and aimed his rifle with both hands before firing two more shots, both of which hit a Slash ZAKU Phantom in the chest, a moment later it exploded.
"Screw this, I'm going!" Jin said and spun before firing his boosters to maximum flying toward the Earth.
"Going? What are talking about Jin?" Aran asked as he followed, Serrim sighed and boosted after them.
***
Estell fired her rifle twice before drawing her beam sabres and launching her Vamp toward a squad of Gunner ZAKU, spinning and slashing, the ZAKU swiftly fell back as two were cut in half and one lost an arm. Estell redrew her rifle and fired into the fleeing mass, destroying two ZAKU's boosters and killing one other with a shot to the cockpit.
"Damn girl," Mars said gruffly, firing his rifle and hitting a GOUF that was aiming its Draupnir at Estell's Vamp.
Mars turned as a Minerva-class battleship came into view. "Hey, Old Man, I think we've got a problem. There's a Minerva class that's heading for the centre of the line."
Zera sighed, "I'll inform Roy and go try to slow it down."
"Okay then, guys, Estell we're protecting the Pariah until Zera gets back," Mars said and headed back.
***
Jin felt his hands shaking as he saw a mobile suit coming up from the Earth's surface.
"See? I told you I felt something," Jin said.
"Felt something? I don't understand.," Serrim replied in a confused voice, he could plainly see the suit coming up fast but Jin's answer made no sense.
"Aran le Kauruda reporting, additional mobile suit sighted coming up from the surface of the Earth, vector twenty-two blue, no I.D made as of yet," Aran said.
"Confirmed, sending a Drake Class to identify," an officer reported.
*****
Apollo climbed into the cockpit of the white mobile suit, it looked a lot like the earlier ZAFT Impulse, but completely white and silver. A few mobile suits had been made off the template of the Impulse, it was the non-mass produced ZAFT mobile suit with the most data collected. Of course, the ZGMF-X59S2 LAW did have it's differences, customised for Apollo and upgraded using the advanced technology of a decade. It was true that ZAFT had cut its military budget during the time of peace, but that didn't mean all advances had stopped. The Law was one of the Preservation of Peace series made to enforce the peace between PLANT and Earth.
Apollo lowered his visor before powering up the Law, "Apollo Harin, Law, ready to launch," Apollo declared.
"Confirmed Apollo, you are go for launch." A moment later the catapult engaged and sent the Law into the blackness of space.
*****
Roy examined the visual as the Drake class had its weapons blown off, he took a deep breath and interlocked his fingers. "Change the channel, Blue Cosmos special forces only," he ordered.
"Sir, done," his communication officer replied.
"Alright then, transmit this message. 'Attention all forces, a rogue mobile suit has been sighted arising from the surface of the Earth, it has been identified as the ZGMF-X20A Strike Freedom. Any spare forces are to intercept it.' Okay? I'll be sallying myself, prepare my mobile suit."
"Yes Colonel," his officers replied as one.
*****
Jin stared wide-eyed as the mobile suit entered weapons range, mainly white and blue it was like seeing a movie character come to life, a fairy tale even. The Freedom had been a legend since the Bloody Valentine war, but it was piloted by a Coordinator and that meant it had to be destroyed. Still that was no matter, what worried Jin was the fact he could sense the pilot so acutely, like the man was standing in front of him.
Jin closed his eyes, he could still feel it.
Serrim raised his beam rifle and fired, the beam was blocked almost effortlessly by the Freedom.
"Alright then, I'll go head to head with this thing, Serrim, stay behind me, Jin do the same. I'll need your fire-power," Aran said and activated his beam shield emitters.
Aran narrowed his eyes at the incoming mobile suit. "Why are you here Strike Freedom? This is none of your business, it is an affair of ZAFT and of the Earth," Aran said over the communication link.
The Freedom stopped and a image appeared in the corner of Aran's display screen, a man, late twenties with brown hair and in a white flight suit.
"I am here to stop another war from starting," the pilot replied calmly.
Aran grinned mockingly, "I hesitate to say you are rather significantly too late, war has been declared, are you going to stop that?"
The pilot shook his head, "I came as soon as I could, if I can stop you guys here, stop ZAFT here too, maybe we can avoid war."
Kira Yamato...he did serve as a commander in ZAFT when Lacus Clyne was Chairwoman, maybe those ZAFT troops might listen to him...No, he's not well known enough. Still best not to take the risk. I guess I'll just keep him from communication range, Aran thought. "It is such a shame, Freedom, such a shame, Kira Yamato, but I cannot let you pass," Aran replied and fired his Scylla cannon.
The Freedom jumped back and deployed it's energy shields to block the incoming blast, "I'll just have to fight my way through you then," Kira said drawing both his beam rifles.
Jin opened his eyes, "Aran, do we kill him?" Jin asked.
"If we can," came the reply.
Serrim drew his rifle and fired, the Freedom dodged and charged forward whilst firing its own rifles.
"Hey, Coordi-bastard, try this one!" Jin yelled and fired all his weapons at once.
The Freedom twisted and activated its beam shields, the beams were deflected with minimal stress of the Strike Freedom's beam shields, before linking its rifles and firing back, destroying Jin's Rapid Star beam machine gun in a neon explosion.
Serrim raised his rifle and fired again, the beam cut the combined rifle in half, a moment later the weapon exploded and the Freedom drew its beam sabres without a blink of hesitation.
Jin fired his carbines and Aran charged forward firing his Scylla again, the Freedom blocked the Scylla and slashed the incoming beams away before going on the attack, Aran blocked the beam sabres with his shields' beam sabres.
"Jeeze, you guys don't give in easy," Kira said as Serrim thrust heavily to one side and fired, blowing off Freedom's left hand and taking its beam sabre with it as it made for another slash at the Templar. There was a moment where time seemed to stop and Kira felt a sort of feeling, everything seemed clearer, sharper, possibilities opened up like never before, it was a familiar sensation by now. (Dark blue-purple crystal shatters)
The Freedom activated its DRAGOON system and jumped back, blue-white wings fanning out, Aran swore as DRAGOON pods darted around him, he blocked the beams from them using his beam shields but was forced to retreat as he did so.
Jin opened up with his beam carbines and destroyed two pods before firing two cannon rounds at the Freedom, they made contact but failed to do any significant damage due to the phase shift armour of the Freedom.
"Damn, I'll try plasma rounds then," Jin said and fired again. The Freedom dodged to one side and charged, Jin backed away trying to keep the distance between them. Despite being ten years old the Strike Freedom was still faster than the Windam Plus, especially with the artillery pack slowing it down.
Jin fired his carbines again as the Freedom gained striking distance, it blocked with the energy shields on it's damaged arm and spun in mid-space cutting off the ends of both his carbines with its sabre.
Jin swore to himself and boosted back, drawing his beam sabres, the Freedom jumped back and fired its Callidus chest-mounted beam cannon, Jin jumped to one side and fired back with his recoilless cannon. The Freedom dodged to one side and lunged at him, trying to take his Windam's head off with its remaining sabre.
Jin blocked the strike with his own sabres and fired his cannon at point-blank range, the plasma round struck the shoulder of the Freedom's undamaged arm, damaging it but not destroying it. "Why don't you just quietly die!" he yelled as he slashed with his spare sabre.
Serrim held his beam rifle in both his Windam's hands and fired, three shots in rapid succession, each shot he fired brought down a DRAGOON pod, only three were left, they returned to the Freedom as it broke away from Jin's Windam.
The Freedom fired it's Callidus again and Serrim tried to dodge, but had his rifle blown out of his hands as he did so.
*****
Roy activated the power to his mobile suit, "Roy Silver, Fatal Duel, launching," he said as his mobile suit was launched out of the hanger of his Archangel class.
"Commander, two Nazca class have broken through, they'll be getting near enough to launch their drop pods soon," Roy heard a soldier report.
"Don't worry, I'll deal with them and the Freedom," he answered and boosted his black and white mobile suit toward the two Nazca.
*****
Aran drew his two tomahawks and threw them before charging forward, activating the beam sabres built into his shields and attacking.
The Freedom fired it's Callidus, destroying one of the axes and used it's DRAGOON pods to destroy the other.
"Now you're just being difficult, Freedom," Aran said snidely as it blocked his blade attacks with its beam shields.
"Why are you guys even doing this?" Kira replied, his DRAGOON pods launching again, Jin fired again but failed to hit one.
"We won't reveal anything to you, Coordinator," Serrim replied and twisted his Windam around as he saw two Nazca class coming up, five mobile suits around them.
"Jin, keep helping Aran, I'll deal with our newcomers," Serrim ordered and drew his tomahawks.
"Alright, so long as you remember you don't outrank me," Jin replied dryly.
Aran cut the Freedom's left arm off, only have his own right detached in return, he fired his Scylla at point-blank just as the Freedom leapt back and fired it's Callidus, the two beams collided and exploded in a flash of light.
***
Zera cut a Gunner ZAKU in half and slashed through a large three-barrelled turret on the Minerva class, the turret exploded brilliantly as his Vamp jumped back.
"Sir there's an unknown suit approaching I'm not sure but I thi--" Bint's voice cut off as his Windam exploded in a burst of neon coloured fire.
Zera turned and his Vamp came face-to-face with a white and silver mobile suit.
Zera drew a Schwert Gewehr before smiling, "alright then white suit, lets see what you've got,"
*****
Serrim threw his tomahawks, the ZAKU were all Gunner's and he'd already killed one of them, two more fell back as the Tomahawks hit home in their cockpits. Serrim flew up to them and grabbed their Orthros cannons, "I need something powerful to take out the Nazca, these will do," he said to himself and fired both at once.
One of the Nazca class was hit full-on by both beams and exploded a few moments later, taking a ZAKU with it.
The last ZAKU drew its tomahawk and charged him, he smiled and charged toward it in turn, thrusting his longer Orthros against its chest and pushing it and trapping it against the hull of the remaining Nazca class, the ZAKU raised its axe to slash the cannon and Serrim fired, the beam tore through the ZAKU and into the Nazca, which soon began to break apart and explode as Serrim turned back toward the Freedom.
*****
Mars fired his Scylla and transformed back to mobile suit mode in time to cut another ZAKU in half with his beam sabres. "Everyone else gets all the fun, we get all the ZAFT academy's rejects," Mars said to himself.
Estell dodged to one side and cut a GOUF in half before turning and shooting a DOM through the back.
"Hey, those DOM are rare, I wanted that kill," Mars said in an annoyed tone.
*****
Aran threw his remaining beam lance and jumped back as the Freedom dodged another Scylla blast.
Serrim lined up the Freedom in his sites and fired both Orthros, "Aran, fire your Scylla again now, Jin give us some cannon-support, the more directions the fire comes from the better," Serrim ordered.
Aran acknowledged and fired, the Freedom blocked the three beams at once, but the combined force overloaded its beam shield emitters and sent the Freedom tumbling back, it came to a moment later and charged Aran's Templar as the DRAGOON pods fired at him. Aran defended himself, but with only one arm the Templar couldn't block the three pods effectively, it lost a leg and took a few hits to the torso as Aran struggled to counter the Freedom.
Jin hissed and fired again, his shot tore one pod apart with his cannon-fire, but on his second shot the barrel failed and exploded, with an annoyed groan he ejected the weapon pack and backed off, he was no expert in close range combat and just charging in would make him a liability.
Serrim fired both his newly-claimed Orthros cannons but the Freedom dodged and attacked the Templar, spinning and slashing out at its head as the DRAGOON pods fired from behind.
Aran grit his teeth as three beams impacted on his booster system causing it to explode. Aran fired his Scylla in response only to have the Freedom dodge and slash the Scylla cannon and then the Templar's remaining arm, disabling both.
Serrim discarded the cannons and charged with both sabres, intervening before the Freedom could damage the Templar any further.
"Just go away, you're an outdated philosophy, go to hell and stay there!" Serrim yelled as he attacked, sabres slashing in tandem.
The Freedom blocked and dodged, boosting back and firing its Callidus cannon, Serrim pursued and blocked with his shield, feeling it give way he ejected it from his arm as it broke apart.
"Damnit, what's with these guys? Are they normal humans?" Kira asked himself as his remaining two DRAGOON pods changed their targets, then the green and black Windam launched back in and cut one of them in half before joining the purple and white one as they attacked.
***
Roy smiled as he saw the Freedom, one of the Third's mobile suits was in bad shape, but the Freedom was also heavily damaged, almost disarmed.
"Gentlemen, let us end this display. I am the Colonel of the First battalion, Roy Silver, you may consider me adequate reinforcement," he said and fired his beam rifle as well as his shoulder-mounted multi-phase beam cannon at the Freedom.
*****
Serrim attacked again, the new mobile suit was similar to the other two Duel's, mainly white and in simple design, but his decoration was all black. The Freedom dodged the Duel's beams but Serrim caught it on its remaining arm with his sabre attack, cutting it off at the elbow, just as Jin struck from the right side, charging past and taking the Freedom's leg at the knee joint.
The Freedom thrust back and fired its Callidus, Serrim ducked to one side, the beam grazed his shoulder and taking a few layers of armour off, Jin ducked under the beam and swung his blade up, cutting across the opening of the cannon as Roy fired again and destroyed one of the glowing white wings.
*****
Zera leapt his Vamp back, the ZAFT pilot was good, although he'd already received several minor damages and lost his shield the Vamp was in equally bad shape. Zera powered his Vamp forward, lunging with his remaining Schwert Gewehr, the white suit sidestepped and struck the blade from behind, breaking the weapon.
Zera continued forward, drawing his sabres, the blades met violently before each mobile suit broke off and then resumed the attacks, Zera dodged to the left and lunged, the white suit sidestepped again and slashed at his head, he ducked and cut toward it's arm, the white suit blocked and broke off the combat again.
*****
"Damn. I can't win here, not now," Kira said to himself as he dodged another volley, only to have one of the Windam slice a line across back of the Freedom with a beam sabre. "I'm going to need more support, my power alone isn't enough to stop this fighting," Kira said to himself as he retreated, the Duel firing and destroying another wing and sent the Freedom hurting to one side before Kira righted his mobile suit.
*****
"Pursue him?" Serrim asked.
"Denied, Windams don't have phase shift, they can't survive atmospheric re-entry and we wouldn't catch him anyway," Roy replied.
"Then we'll take Aran back to the Pariah," Serrim responded.
"That would be fine," Roy answered before heading away.
*****
Zera cut across the enemy's chest as it's own sabre stabbed through his Vamp's left arm.
"Hell," Zera said to himself as his left arm was rendered useless.
The white suit attacked again, Zera dodged and countered, taking one of it's hand's off.
*****
Roy headed back toward his Archangel-class, the Terminal Penitence, "Status?" he asked as he landed on it's hull.
"One-hundred and fifty battle-ships left, half are damaged, enemies have broken through on the flanks, the Second battalion reports Major Saquila has been killed in action. The Fourth reports heavy damage due to an enemy Minerva class, the Third is currently heavily embattled and reports two deaths." Roy grit his teeth.
"If we stay where we are, we'll be destroyed. All forces are to retreat to Methusa base, send out the communication and the flares, but make it a fighting withdrawal," Roy ordered as he fired at a squad of Blaze ZAKU that had just broken through an opposing squad of Windam. The new models he had heard about hadn't reached mass-production yet, some weren't even in the testing period yet, and the Windam Plus was only as good as its pilot, most were green.
***
Apollo attacked again, his foe was good, every time he got an advantage his enemy equalised it. The Law attacked again, only to be blocked by his enemy.
"Well I'd best wrap this up fast," Apollo said to himself, he activated his beam shield and charged, usually he saved it for emergencies, the beam shield used up an ungodly amount of energy for a battery powered suit, but it could be used as a shield and a weapon.
The Law struck the Vamp with the momentum of it's charge behind it's beam shield, Apollo let out an annoyed grunt as the enemy blocked with its beam sabre and slid back a few steps and in retaliation Apollo kicked the Vamp in the torso sending it crashing back across the Minerva-class' deck.
Unlike the Law the Vamp was not phase-shift armoured, it struck a CIWS turret which exploded, causing damage to the Vamp. Zera groaned as he powered his Vamp to stand.
Apollo didn't give his enemy a chance to get up, he lunged forward, his blade taking the enemy square in the chest, just above the cockpit.
***
Zera felt his eyes widen, he only had a few second left, he activated the eject and the hatch popped open above him and launched him out as the Vamp exploded behind him.
Zera looked back at the exploding Vamp and felt several pieces of shrapnel impact him, thrown out by the force of the explosion, a large piece lodged itself in his left shoulder, he only had time to grit his teeth and growl in pain before the shock wave knocked him unconscious.
***
Silvia let out a scream as the mobile suit readout read: GAT-05C-VAMP SIGNAL TERMINATED.
Authors note: There we are. I'd like to point out that this is not a Kira-bash, but the man's just rusty and he happens to be taking on several above-average pilots.
Hope you enjoyed it.
*************************************************************
The battle raged on, as it had done so for some time.
The numbers were approximately even, each side had a little over two-hundred ships left, over a thousand mobile suits fought, some in close range, some stayed on their mother ships and fired with long-range cannons and rifles. The ships swarmed together with little obvious distinct battle lines, apart from the fact that one side of the battlefield had more ZAFT ships and the other had more Earth Alliance battleships.
"Third Western European division is falling fast. Send the Fourth Cosmos battalion and the seventeenth Atlantic battalion to back the third up, we can't let those Coordinators break through," Roy ordered, he was a dark man, heavily tanned from his previous assignments in Africa, with red-brown hair and wine-toned eyes.
"Yes sir, the Second Cosmos battalion is requesting reinforcement on the far right flank," an officer called out from the other side of the bridge.
"Send the ninth to twelfth Atlantic battalions. Aim both the Gottfired and the Valiants at that incoming Nazca class, load anti-armour Devil Lances in all tubes and fire on my mark," Roy ordered.
*****
Mars set his thrusters to full power and boosted the Dark Aegis toward an enemy GOUF and two ZAKU Blaze Warriors, drawing his beam rifle and throwing a Midas Messer boomerang.
The two ZAKU were swiftly cut down by the boomerang, the pilots lacked the experience to dodge effectively, but the GOUF drew its Tempest beam sword and attacked.
Mars continued flying toward the GOUF and fired his rifle, the GOUF used it's sword to slash and block the incoming beam and returned fire with its Draupnir beam machine gun.
"Hmph, a pilot who isn't an idiot, a refreshing change. However..." Mars said to himself as he drew both his beam sabres and attacked, lunging with both weapons.
The GOUF dodged to the side and brought its sword down, aiming to cut off the Aegis' arms, Mars spun in reply and swung his beam sabres, one aiming for the GOUF, one blocking the strike.
The GOUF fell back as one of the Aegis' sabres cut its leg off and it's own strike was blocked, Mars resumed his attack with blades swinging in unison.
The GOUF blocked again and continued to retreat, Mars heard his scanner sound, more mobile suits were in range, half a dozen ZAKU warriors, he transformed the Dark Aegis into its mobile armour form and fired the Scylla, the GOUF dodged to one side and blocked again with its sword, but the beam tore the Tempest in half.
Three of the ZAKU exploded as beams lanced through their cockpits from behind.
"Need a hand?" Serrim asked, flying up next to the Dark Aegis and past the remains of his victims.
"Bah, thanks a lot Snowy, but I had it under control, these grunts are too green to hurt anybody but themselves," Mars replied and fired the Scylla again, the beam blowing the GOUF in half. "I just need to get warmed up, that's all."
"Whatever you say, Major." Serrim boosted back and fired again, two shots in rapid succession, another two Gunner ZAKU exploded as their battery packs were struck and rendered unstable.
***
"Stay together squad, Bint, Losollo, stay with me. Aran, Serrim, Jin you guys stay together, Estell, Mars and the others should also join together. In big battles like this you need to cover each other," Zera ordered as he drew his two Schwert Gewehr.
The squad sounded off acknowledgements as Zera attacked, followed by his two Windam wingmen.
"Alright guys, four Blaze ZAKU and a GOUF, just keep the pressure on them and I'll handle the rest," Zera ordered and charged.
The ZAKU began firing immediately, Zera saw one beam graze his right shoulder as he began evasive manoeuvres, he blocked the incoming beams with the blade of his anti-shipping sword whilst dodging and flying toward the ZAFT mobile suits.
One of the ZAKU had its arm shot off by Bint and Losollo's supporting fire as Zera closed with them, he impaled the GOUF with one Schwert Gewehr as it drew its sword and with the other he sliced off a supporting ZAKU's head.
Zera wrenched his anti-shipping sword out of the GOUF and attacked again, a ZAKU lunged at him with it's beam tomahawk but was shot down before it could reach him.
"Good work Bint, keep it up," Zera commented and attacked again, hacking off both of a ZAKU's arms before kicking the torso away.
***
"Fleet status?" Apollo asked.
"Forty ships have been lost, eleven are heavily damaged, sixty percent of losses are Laurasia class. Some one-hundred mobile suits have stopped responding, presumed destroyed," his XO, a dark man called Hayata, reported briskly.
"Damn. Alright, we're breaking through. Full speed ahead, sector seven-nine-yellow. Charge the Tannhäuser, fire at the next battleship cluster we make contact with as soon as you've got a clean shot. Hayata, you have the command, tell the team to prepare the Law for launch. Inform the Admiral our actions, tell him to give us some support, a dozen battleships should do."
"Yes sir, good luck commander," Hayata said.
"I don't need luck, I've got faith," Apollo replied flatly.
***
Aran cut a DOM in half with his beam lance and fired his Scylla, destroying two Slash ZAKU as they attempted to fall back.
Jin fired his Rapid-Star taking two more Gunner ZAKU down, "hell, they just don't stop coming do they?" Jin said as he dodged back from an incoming volley from a squad of Blaze ZAKU.
Aran threw his lance into one of the ZAFT mobile suits and fired his dual-purpose shields' beam rifles, taking two more Blaze ZAKU down. "It would appear not, these guys are surprisingly bad for enhanced humans, by that I mean they'd be bad for apes," Aran commented.
Serrim drew his beam sabre and fired his rifle with his Windam's left hand, shooting one ZAKU's head off before cutting its cockpit open cleanly.
Suddenly Jin felt something, a flash of surprise like he just realised another man was in the cockpit with him, but far more distant, "guys, I...I think someone is coming up from Earth."
Serrim raised his eyebrows as he cut a gunner ZAKU in half longways, "what are you talking about? What do you mean you think?"
Jin fired both carbines and his recoilless cannon, taking off both arms and the head of a charging GOUF and let the body drift by. "I'm not sure, I can feel something though, more than I usually can. These Coordinator bastards must be confusing me."
Aran fired his Scylla again, this time at an incoming Nazca, his blast took it in the mobile suit catapult and neon coloured flames erupted from its damaged opening.
Jin ground his teeth as he felt something, like suddenly realising there was someone standing behind him, although not quite, the third time now and it was getting stronger.
Serrim sheathed his beam sabre and aimed his rifle with both hands before firing two more shots, both of which hit a Slash ZAKU Phantom in the chest, a moment later it exploded.
"Screw this, I'm going!" Jin said and spun before firing his boosters to maximum flying toward the Earth.
"Going? What are talking about Jin?" Aran asked as he followed, Serrim sighed and boosted after them.
***
Estell fired her rifle twice before drawing her beam sabres and launching her Vamp toward a squad of Gunner ZAKU, spinning and slashing, the ZAKU swiftly fell back as two were cut in half and one lost an arm. Estell redrew her rifle and fired into the fleeing mass, destroying two ZAKU's boosters and killing one other with a shot to the cockpit.
"Damn girl," Mars said gruffly, firing his rifle and hitting a GOUF that was aiming its Draupnir at Estell's Vamp.
Mars turned as a Minerva-class battleship came into view. "Hey, Old Man, I think we've got a problem. There's a Minerva class that's heading for the centre of the line."
Zera sighed, "I'll inform Roy and go try to slow it down."
"Okay then, guys, Estell we're protecting the Pariah until Zera gets back," Mars said and headed back.
***
Jin felt his hands shaking as he saw a mobile suit coming up from the Earth's surface.
"See? I told you I felt something," Jin said.
"Felt something? I don't understand.," Serrim replied in a confused voice, he could plainly see the suit coming up fast but Jin's answer made no sense.
"Aran le Kauruda reporting, additional mobile suit sighted coming up from the surface of the Earth, vector twenty-two blue, no I.D made as of yet," Aran said.
"Confirmed, sending a Drake Class to identify," an officer reported.
*****
Apollo climbed into the cockpit of the white mobile suit, it looked a lot like the earlier ZAFT Impulse, but completely white and silver. A few mobile suits had been made off the template of the Impulse, it was the non-mass produced ZAFT mobile suit with the most data collected. Of course, the ZGMF-X59S2 LAW did have it's differences, customised for Apollo and upgraded using the advanced technology of a decade. It was true that ZAFT had cut its military budget during the time of peace, but that didn't mean all advances had stopped. The Law was one of the Preservation of Peace series made to enforce the peace between PLANT and Earth.
Apollo lowered his visor before powering up the Law, "Apollo Harin, Law, ready to launch," Apollo declared.
"Confirmed Apollo, you are go for launch." A moment later the catapult engaged and sent the Law into the blackness of space.
*****
Roy examined the visual as the Drake class had its weapons blown off, he took a deep breath and interlocked his fingers. "Change the channel, Blue Cosmos special forces only," he ordered.
"Sir, done," his communication officer replied.
"Alright then, transmit this message. 'Attention all forces, a rogue mobile suit has been sighted arising from the surface of the Earth, it has been identified as the ZGMF-X20A Strike Freedom. Any spare forces are to intercept it.' Okay? I'll be sallying myself, prepare my mobile suit."
"Yes Colonel," his officers replied as one.
*****
Jin stared wide-eyed as the mobile suit entered weapons range, mainly white and blue it was like seeing a movie character come to life, a fairy tale even. The Freedom had been a legend since the Bloody Valentine war, but it was piloted by a Coordinator and that meant it had to be destroyed. Still that was no matter, what worried Jin was the fact he could sense the pilot so acutely, like the man was standing in front of him.
Jin closed his eyes, he could still feel it.
Serrim raised his beam rifle and fired, the beam was blocked almost effortlessly by the Freedom.
"Alright then, I'll go head to head with this thing, Serrim, stay behind me, Jin do the same. I'll need your fire-power," Aran said and activated his beam shield emitters.
Aran narrowed his eyes at the incoming mobile suit. "Why are you here Strike Freedom? This is none of your business, it is an affair of ZAFT and of the Earth," Aran said over the communication link.
The Freedom stopped and a image appeared in the corner of Aran's display screen, a man, late twenties with brown hair and in a white flight suit.
"I am here to stop another war from starting," the pilot replied calmly.
Aran grinned mockingly, "I hesitate to say you are rather significantly too late, war has been declared, are you going to stop that?"
The pilot shook his head, "I came as soon as I could, if I can stop you guys here, stop ZAFT here too, maybe we can avoid war."
Kira Yamato...he did serve as a commander in ZAFT when Lacus Clyne was Chairwoman, maybe those ZAFT troops might listen to him...No, he's not well known enough. Still best not to take the risk. I guess I'll just keep him from communication range, Aran thought. "It is such a shame, Freedom, such a shame, Kira Yamato, but I cannot let you pass," Aran replied and fired his Scylla cannon.
The Freedom jumped back and deployed it's energy shields to block the incoming blast, "I'll just have to fight my way through you then," Kira said drawing both his beam rifles.
Jin opened his eyes, "Aran, do we kill him?" Jin asked.
"If we can," came the reply.
Serrim drew his rifle and fired, the Freedom dodged and charged forward whilst firing its own rifles.
"Hey, Coordi-bastard, try this one!" Jin yelled and fired all his weapons at once.
The Freedom twisted and activated its beam shields, the beams were deflected with minimal stress of the Strike Freedom's beam shields, before linking its rifles and firing back, destroying Jin's Rapid Star beam machine gun in a neon explosion.
Serrim raised his rifle and fired again, the beam cut the combined rifle in half, a moment later the weapon exploded and the Freedom drew its beam sabres without a blink of hesitation.
Jin fired his carbines and Aran charged forward firing his Scylla again, the Freedom blocked the Scylla and slashed the incoming beams away before going on the attack, Aran blocked the beam sabres with his shields' beam sabres.
"Jeeze, you guys don't give in easy," Kira said as Serrim thrust heavily to one side and fired, blowing off Freedom's left hand and taking its beam sabre with it as it made for another slash at the Templar. There was a moment where time seemed to stop and Kira felt a sort of feeling, everything seemed clearer, sharper, possibilities opened up like never before, it was a familiar sensation by now. (Dark blue-purple crystal shatters)
The Freedom activated its DRAGOON system and jumped back, blue-white wings fanning out, Aran swore as DRAGOON pods darted around him, he blocked the beams from them using his beam shields but was forced to retreat as he did so.
Jin opened up with his beam carbines and destroyed two pods before firing two cannon rounds at the Freedom, they made contact but failed to do any significant damage due to the phase shift armour of the Freedom.
"Damn, I'll try plasma rounds then," Jin said and fired again. The Freedom dodged to one side and charged, Jin backed away trying to keep the distance between them. Despite being ten years old the Strike Freedom was still faster than the Windam Plus, especially with the artillery pack slowing it down.
Jin fired his carbines again as the Freedom gained striking distance, it blocked with the energy shields on it's damaged arm and spun in mid-space cutting off the ends of both his carbines with its sabre.
Jin swore to himself and boosted back, drawing his beam sabres, the Freedom jumped back and fired its Callidus chest-mounted beam cannon, Jin jumped to one side and fired back with his recoilless cannon. The Freedom dodged to one side and lunged at him, trying to take his Windam's head off with its remaining sabre.
Jin blocked the strike with his own sabres and fired his cannon at point-blank range, the plasma round struck the shoulder of the Freedom's undamaged arm, damaging it but not destroying it. "Why don't you just quietly die!" he yelled as he slashed with his spare sabre.
Serrim held his beam rifle in both his Windam's hands and fired, three shots in rapid succession, each shot he fired brought down a DRAGOON pod, only three were left, they returned to the Freedom as it broke away from Jin's Windam.
The Freedom fired it's Callidus again and Serrim tried to dodge, but had his rifle blown out of his hands as he did so.
*****
Roy activated the power to his mobile suit, "Roy Silver, Fatal Duel, launching," he said as his mobile suit was launched out of the hanger of his Archangel class.
"Commander, two Nazca class have broken through, they'll be getting near enough to launch their drop pods soon," Roy heard a soldier report.
"Don't worry, I'll deal with them and the Freedom," he answered and boosted his black and white mobile suit toward the two Nazca.
*****
Aran drew his two tomahawks and threw them before charging forward, activating the beam sabres built into his shields and attacking.
The Freedom fired it's Callidus, destroying one of the axes and used it's DRAGOON pods to destroy the other.
"Now you're just being difficult, Freedom," Aran said snidely as it blocked his blade attacks with its beam shields.
"Why are you guys even doing this?" Kira replied, his DRAGOON pods launching again, Jin fired again but failed to hit one.
"We won't reveal anything to you, Coordinator," Serrim replied and twisted his Windam around as he saw two Nazca class coming up, five mobile suits around them.
"Jin, keep helping Aran, I'll deal with our newcomers," Serrim ordered and drew his tomahawks.
"Alright, so long as you remember you don't outrank me," Jin replied dryly.
Aran cut the Freedom's left arm off, only have his own right detached in return, he fired his Scylla at point-blank just as the Freedom leapt back and fired it's Callidus, the two beams collided and exploded in a flash of light.
***
Zera cut a Gunner ZAKU in half and slashed through a large three-barrelled turret on the Minerva class, the turret exploded brilliantly as his Vamp jumped back.
"Sir there's an unknown suit approaching I'm not sure but I thi--" Bint's voice cut off as his Windam exploded in a burst of neon coloured fire.
Zera turned and his Vamp came face-to-face with a white and silver mobile suit.
Zera drew a Schwert Gewehr before smiling, "alright then white suit, lets see what you've got,"
*****
Serrim threw his tomahawks, the ZAKU were all Gunner's and he'd already killed one of them, two more fell back as the Tomahawks hit home in their cockpits. Serrim flew up to them and grabbed their Orthros cannons, "I need something powerful to take out the Nazca, these will do," he said to himself and fired both at once.
One of the Nazca class was hit full-on by both beams and exploded a few moments later, taking a ZAKU with it.
The last ZAKU drew its tomahawk and charged him, he smiled and charged toward it in turn, thrusting his longer Orthros against its chest and pushing it and trapping it against the hull of the remaining Nazca class, the ZAKU raised its axe to slash the cannon and Serrim fired, the beam tore through the ZAKU and into the Nazca, which soon began to break apart and explode as Serrim turned back toward the Freedom.
*****
Mars fired his Scylla and transformed back to mobile suit mode in time to cut another ZAKU in half with his beam sabres. "Everyone else gets all the fun, we get all the ZAFT academy's rejects," Mars said to himself.
Estell dodged to one side and cut a GOUF in half before turning and shooting a DOM through the back.
"Hey, those DOM are rare, I wanted that kill," Mars said in an annoyed tone.
*****
Aran threw his remaining beam lance and jumped back as the Freedom dodged another Scylla blast.
Serrim lined up the Freedom in his sites and fired both Orthros, "Aran, fire your Scylla again now, Jin give us some cannon-support, the more directions the fire comes from the better," Serrim ordered.
Aran acknowledged and fired, the Freedom blocked the three beams at once, but the combined force overloaded its beam shield emitters and sent the Freedom tumbling back, it came to a moment later and charged Aran's Templar as the DRAGOON pods fired at him. Aran defended himself, but with only one arm the Templar couldn't block the three pods effectively, it lost a leg and took a few hits to the torso as Aran struggled to counter the Freedom.
Jin hissed and fired again, his shot tore one pod apart with his cannon-fire, but on his second shot the barrel failed and exploded, with an annoyed groan he ejected the weapon pack and backed off, he was no expert in close range combat and just charging in would make him a liability.
Serrim fired both his newly-claimed Orthros cannons but the Freedom dodged and attacked the Templar, spinning and slashing out at its head as the DRAGOON pods fired from behind.
Aran grit his teeth as three beams impacted on his booster system causing it to explode. Aran fired his Scylla in response only to have the Freedom dodge and slash the Scylla cannon and then the Templar's remaining arm, disabling both.
Serrim discarded the cannons and charged with both sabres, intervening before the Freedom could damage the Templar any further.
"Just go away, you're an outdated philosophy, go to hell and stay there!" Serrim yelled as he attacked, sabres slashing in tandem.
The Freedom blocked and dodged, boosting back and firing its Callidus cannon, Serrim pursued and blocked with his shield, feeling it give way he ejected it from his arm as it broke apart.
"Damnit, what's with these guys? Are they normal humans?" Kira asked himself as his remaining two DRAGOON pods changed their targets, then the green and black Windam launched back in and cut one of them in half before joining the purple and white one as they attacked.
***
Roy smiled as he saw the Freedom, one of the Third's mobile suits was in bad shape, but the Freedom was also heavily damaged, almost disarmed.
"Gentlemen, let us end this display. I am the Colonel of the First battalion, Roy Silver, you may consider me adequate reinforcement," he said and fired his beam rifle as well as his shoulder-mounted multi-phase beam cannon at the Freedom.
*****
Serrim attacked again, the new mobile suit was similar to the other two Duel's, mainly white and in simple design, but his decoration was all black. The Freedom dodged the Duel's beams but Serrim caught it on its remaining arm with his sabre attack, cutting it off at the elbow, just as Jin struck from the right side, charging past and taking the Freedom's leg at the knee joint.
The Freedom thrust back and fired its Callidus, Serrim ducked to one side, the beam grazed his shoulder and taking a few layers of armour off, Jin ducked under the beam and swung his blade up, cutting across the opening of the cannon as Roy fired again and destroyed one of the glowing white wings.
*****
Zera leapt his Vamp back, the ZAFT pilot was good, although he'd already received several minor damages and lost his shield the Vamp was in equally bad shape. Zera powered his Vamp forward, lunging with his remaining Schwert Gewehr, the white suit sidestepped and struck the blade from behind, breaking the weapon.
Zera continued forward, drawing his sabres, the blades met violently before each mobile suit broke off and then resumed the attacks, Zera dodged to the left and lunged, the white suit sidestepped again and slashed at his head, he ducked and cut toward it's arm, the white suit blocked and broke off the combat again.
*****
"Damn. I can't win here, not now," Kira said to himself as he dodged another volley, only to have one of the Windam slice a line across back of the Freedom with a beam sabre. "I'm going to need more support, my power alone isn't enough to stop this fighting," Kira said to himself as he retreated, the Duel firing and destroying another wing and sent the Freedom hurting to one side before Kira righted his mobile suit.
*****
"Pursue him?" Serrim asked.
"Denied, Windams don't have phase shift, they can't survive atmospheric re-entry and we wouldn't catch him anyway," Roy replied.
"Then we'll take Aran back to the Pariah," Serrim responded.
"That would be fine," Roy answered before heading away.
*****
Zera cut across the enemy's chest as it's own sabre stabbed through his Vamp's left arm.
"Hell," Zera said to himself as his left arm was rendered useless.
The white suit attacked again, Zera dodged and countered, taking one of it's hand's off.
*****
Roy headed back toward his Archangel-class, the Terminal Penitence, "Status?" he asked as he landed on it's hull.
"One-hundred and fifty battle-ships left, half are damaged, enemies have broken through on the flanks, the Second battalion reports Major Saquila has been killed in action. The Fourth reports heavy damage due to an enemy Minerva class, the Third is currently heavily embattled and reports two deaths." Roy grit his teeth.
"If we stay where we are, we'll be destroyed. All forces are to retreat to Methusa base, send out the communication and the flares, but make it a fighting withdrawal," Roy ordered as he fired at a squad of Blaze ZAKU that had just broken through an opposing squad of Windam. The new models he had heard about hadn't reached mass-production yet, some weren't even in the testing period yet, and the Windam Plus was only as good as its pilot, most were green.
***
Apollo attacked again, his foe was good, every time he got an advantage his enemy equalised it. The Law attacked again, only to be blocked by his enemy.
"Well I'd best wrap this up fast," Apollo said to himself, he activated his beam shield and charged, usually he saved it for emergencies, the beam shield used up an ungodly amount of energy for a battery powered suit, but it could be used as a shield and a weapon.
The Law struck the Vamp with the momentum of it's charge behind it's beam shield, Apollo let out an annoyed grunt as the enemy blocked with its beam sabre and slid back a few steps and in retaliation Apollo kicked the Vamp in the torso sending it crashing back across the Minerva-class' deck.
Unlike the Law the Vamp was not phase-shift armoured, it struck a CIWS turret which exploded, causing damage to the Vamp. Zera groaned as he powered his Vamp to stand.
Apollo didn't give his enemy a chance to get up, he lunged forward, his blade taking the enemy square in the chest, just above the cockpit.
***
Zera felt his eyes widen, he only had a few second left, he activated the eject and the hatch popped open above him and launched him out as the Vamp exploded behind him.
Zera looked back at the exploding Vamp and felt several pieces of shrapnel impact him, thrown out by the force of the explosion, a large piece lodged itself in his left shoulder, he only had time to grit his teeth and growl in pain before the shock wave knocked him unconscious.
***
Silvia let out a scream as the mobile suit readout read: GAT-05C-VAMP SIGNAL TERMINATED.
Authors note: There we are. I'd like to point out that this is not a Kira-bash, but the man's just rusty and he happens to be taking on several above-average pilots.
Hope you enjoyed it.
PHASE-08 ZERA
********************************************************
The full moon shone down on the street, empty save for two figures. A big man with dark hair and olive skin and a slim, beautiful woman with dark reddy-brown hair.
"What's wrong honey? I thought you had fun tonight, why are you so quiet?" The man asked in a worried tone.
"I did, but...Do you remember what I said a few days ago? Have you even thought about it? Honestly? Zera it has been seven years, you almost died out there, when are you going to give up fighting?" The woman asked, tears came to her eyes..
Zera shook his head, "but I didn't die, that's all that matters. Remember what I said, I'll come back to you no matter what."
"Stop that! You always say that, but have you even considered what you're doing?" The woman replied.
"Have I broken my promise yet? My homeland is breaking apart, do you expect me to sit back and watch it happen?" Zera responded.
"Don't change the subject Zera. Gaula and Simon died last time, you spent a month in the hospital. Is fighting really this important to you?"
Zera closed his eyes before replying, "it is what I am fighting for that matters and yes, it is exactly that important to me."
"Important enough to die for?" The woman demanded as tears began to slide down her cheeks again.
"Yes, should it come to that, but I won't die because I promised you I'd come back," Zera responded.
"I'm...sorry Zera. If that's the way you think...I won't become a widow, not again," the women turned away and dropped something silver, it bounced a few times before rolling out of sight down an alley way.
Zera stared after the woman as she walked away, he was too shocked to do anything. Once she was out of sight he fell to the pavement like a puppet with his strings cut.
"Damnit!" Zera yelled to himself and punched the concrete as hard as he could, ignoring the pain it cause, he considered heading after her but he knew what she'd say, what she needed to hear, what he could not say or do.
Zera placed his hands over his face as a single tear streaked down his cheek slowly, soon a second followed, then a third.
In one of the alleyways a figure moved, it knelt and slowly retrieved the fallen silver object, a ring carved with roses.
Mars opened his eyes and woke up with his hand grasping hist nightshirt. It had been three days and the battalion was still in shock, Zera had been declared MIA, missing in action, and presumed dead. Darwin and Mars had taken over running the battalion until HQ decided on a course of action, everyone had thrown themselves into their work, busy with reports and tinkering with the ship and its systems.
Of all of them Silvia had taken it the worst, she had broken down and cried for the first night straight, the only reason she stopped was that she fainted from exhaustion. Mars felt his heart go out for the girl, he was never sure how she had became acquainted with Zera, but he was her whole world. In some way Zera had taken the part of ever male role-model for the girl, the older soldiers knew it better than Mars, but every since she was young it had been that way, according to them.
Now she was alone in the world, torn away from what could have her only real support.
*****
Serrim stared out of the windows, Methusa base was the third largest in the entire Earth Alliance, nearly eight-hundred battleships were kept there when necessary. Of course, only half that were currently in port. It was shaped like a giant V, made from a single unique asteroid pulled from deep space, with beam cannon turrets bristling along its impressive mass.
"So...who do you think will become the new colonel? Call in someone from another battalion? Darwin? Mars?" Jin asked as another Agamemnon class came in, escorted by two Nelson and five Drake class.
"I don't know, Mars doesn't have the combat record to justify the promotion, the other battalions are stretched as it is and Darwin...well...I guess he's an option but I wouldn't think it's likely. The Earth Alliance lost over a thousand mobile suits, ZAFT lost nearly as many, when all is said and done we're lucky we only lost three," Serrim replied.
"Moreover we survived the Freedom, Aran's probably pissed about his Templar though, the repair crew said it'd take a week just to get it back to being capable of basic space movement, 'cause his thrusters were totalled." Jin said in response.
"Silvia's taking it hard," Serrim responded.
"They all are, I only knew Zera for a short time, but some of these men have known him for a decade or more. I can see why they might be upset, he was a famous man, a top Earth Alliance ace, a noted commander and he seemed like an OK kinda guy. But you're right, I hear she still hasn't got out of bed," Jin said solemnly.
"That''s because Zera meant everything to her, it'd be like losing your whole family," Darwin said stepping through the doorway.
"What do you mean, old man?" Jin asked.
"Old man? Why I'm not a day over forty, well, forty-four anyway," Darwin responded indignantly.
"I see...back to the topic, what did you mean?" Jin said dismissively.
"Well you see, Zera saved Silvia when she was much younger; her entire family had been killed and she didn't have anything left. In an odd way Zera gave her everything she needed, he was a source of comfort, a father and brother figure and more. As she got older...I don't know. Usually girls like to socialise and...well I don't know. I do know that while some girls may put up pictures of pop stars on their walls, Silvia put up photos of Zera, some girls love to quote ancient philosophers or athletes, pop-stars or social icons too, Silvia quoted Zera. I don't know how he took all the attention, especially how angry Silvia got whenever he was in a relationship. Only one woman ever stuck with Zera through all Silvia's pouting and tantrums," Darwin said, his eyes lost in the memories.
"So what happened to this girl?" Jin asked.
"They were engaged for a short while but she wanted Zera to give up being a soldier and if you know Zera...sorry, if you knew Zera you'd know that he was a driven man, he'd fight his war all alone if he had too. At that time he was fighting to keep Eurasia together, as you know, Eurasia broke up once and for all three years ago, but it was the Midle East that first rebelled on the second of April, seven years ago. Zera had been there since the year after that.
It all started when he heard the Middle East was going to secede...Zera is...was...a traditional man. He always loved his visits to the desert, he said they fulfilled him in a way nothign else could could. Well anyway, when he heard the Middle East was going to secede he joined a part of a joint Eurasian force that was deployed to force it to stay, as you know the Middle East resisted, eventually the Middle Easterners got their act together and united against the Eurasians and the rest is as they say, history.
Zera fought to keep his homeland, Eurasia, together. He nearly died four times, twice he was sent to the nearest hospital with life-threatening injuries. I guess she just got tired of worrying for him, it was a real pity, they were so deeply in love you could feel it," Darwin finished with a sad nod.
"I see, should someone check on her?" Serrim asked.
"Who? Oh, Silvia. She just needs time, I'd give it to her but if you want to visit, feel free," Darwin replied as he stared at Methusa base. "She's tougher than she looks though, she just needs to adapt."
*****
Sepha sat and watched the video recording, Roy Silver had sent it to him the previous day but he hadn't had the time to watch it then.
The Freedom, legend of both wars, its very name brought the image of awe-inspiring power. In the first war it had been a rogue fighting for peace, in the second it had been one of the last chances to stop Gilbert Dulandal's Destiny Plan, but now it was in the way. Sepha watched intently as a DRAGOON pod was shot in mid-movement.
"Fascinating, those pilots, they were the top graduates of the Rosenburg Institute, I wonder, mayhap they will be an asset worth seizing..." Sepha wondered to himself as he watched intently, un-altered Naturals fighting on equal level with a Coordinator, true it was three against one, but the two Windams didn't offer a lot to work with.
***
Serrim sighed to himself as he opened the door to Zera's quarters, well they were the ship's captain's quarters really. The order had come through while they were talking with Darwin, Mars would succeed Zera and act as Colonel and would in turn choose a major from the crew. Serrim had been given the duty of taking Zera's personal belonging to return to his family, since his body could never be recovered.
The sound of sobs caught Serrim's ears first, he looked around, it wasn't coming from anywhere in obvious sight.
Zera walked through to the next room, the bedroom, Zera slept in a regulation bed like everyone else, navy and white bedding. From the doorway Serrim could see a long lock of dark hair peaking out from under the blankets. Serrim took a deep breath as he stepped forward and pulled back the top blanket, Silvia lay with her head face down on the pillows, both her face and the pillows were wet with tears.
Serrim was at a loss of what to do, he gave it a moment before quietly sitting next to her and placing a hand on her shoulder.
"Go away," Silvia snapped harshly as tears ran from her dark eyes.
Serrim raised his eyebrows, "No," he responded flatly.
"No? Are you some sort of sadist? Does it give you some freakish pleasure to see a girl crying her heart out?" Silvia asked angrily..
"It's actually not that either. I think it'd help if you talked about these things to me, if it doesn't I'll quietly leave, but people will worry if ignore you're own well-being. When was the last time you ate? Or drank?" Serrim asked leaning toward the girl, she looked pale and hollow-cheeked, he didn't know her but he didn't want the girl to harm herself from neglect.
Silvia rolled onto her back and stared up at Serrim for a long moment with a thoughtful look. "Zera...he used to...read to me...when I was a little girl, when I had nightmares I'd come in and it'd be all right because he was there...It's probably not making a lot of sense but..." Silvia's voice cleared as she went. "But he's gone now, my Zera is gone and he can never come back, like everyone else! I...I don't know what to do," as she finished her voice broke and she began to cry again.
"It's okay, my mother...she used to say crying makes things better because it washes the sadness out, little by little. It shows you're alive and that you still have a heart if you can cry," Serrim said taking Silvia's hand and placing his other on her shoulder. It sounded, corny, to his ears and the words were not suited to his mouth but it seemed to help her.
"Everyone...everyone I care about ends up dying, maybe I should just go and die myself," Silvia said digging her fingernails into her palms.
"Don't do that, never do that. Here, just sit back and let your sorrow out, tell me about it if it makes you feel better," Serrim said as quietly and softly as he could. "I lost my family too, except my sister and she is billions of miles away. I guess I sort of know how you feel," Serrim continued softly.
Silvia leant forward and wrapped her arms around Serrim, he wasn't as broad or tall as Zera but the feeling was similar, "thank you," Silvia whispered as she cried softly against Serrim's chest. Serrim placed his arms around her protectively and closed his eyes.
*****
Jin sat up, momentarily awakened from his dreams, it was late, or rather it was early. "Damn Serrim, he's still not back, how long can it take to lug a few suitcases of junk to a storeroom?" Jin asked himself rubbing his eyes groggily before laying down again.
*****
"It's okay, you'll be together one day, when we all live in peace, when our war is over," Mars said softly as Zera nursed his bruised knuckles.
"Do you really think so?" Zera asked as they continued down the moonlit street.
"Yes, of course I do. You two were perfect together," Mars responded.
"My ring..she threw it away," Zera said sadly.
Mars smiled slightly to himself as he placed a hand in one of his pockets, "I'm sure it'll turn up one day, when you need it again."
Zera sighed, "maybe you're right. Wait, you said 'our war' what do you mean?"
Mars grinned in response, "me and you Zera, we're comrades, as long as you fight you won't be alone as long as I'm alive and...If you happen to die before me I'll give you your ring back."
Zera gave him a puzzled nod as the two men continued down the pavement.
Zera opened his eyes all was white, blindingly pure and intense. Slowly, ever so slowly, his vision cleared and shapes became recognisable.
"Sir, the patient has awoken," a woman's voice said to his right, he tried to move but his body didn't seem to be able to obey. Zera became aware of a regular beeping sound as he stared up at the white roof.
"Very good," a male voice said.
Zera moved his eyes, a big man was sitting next to him, he had dark black-green hair and a piercingly green eyes.
"You gave us quite a show, four days and you nearly died twice. All the shrapnel caused some bad injuries and you nearly died of asphyxiation. I intend to get some answers from you later, but for now, I suggest you get some more rest, your body is still healing," the man said.
Zera already felt his consciousness slipping away, I'm...alive, he thought before the darkness of sleep took him again.
*****
Mars sat in his quarters and stared at a silver ring, carved with roses, it hung around his neck on a black cord, but most people never noticed that. In the dim light it was hard to make anything else but the ring out.
"Well old man, a deal is a deal, but it's a shame I don't even have your body, it makes giving this back to you rather...stupid," Mars said and placed the ring on his table and stared at it for a moment longer, a memory came back to him...
A woman sat across the park bench from him, her hair was a dark reddy brown and her eyes were two dark pools, maybe black, maybe brown, hard to say.
"I'm sorry, I...you know my husband died in the war right? You understand?" the woman said in a nervous and shaky voice.
"Yeah I understand, I'd leave too if I was you. I just hate seeing how Zera takes it, he really loves you," Mars responded as softly as he could.
"I love him too...but I can't just sit around and wait for him to get killed, tell him...tell him I'm waiting for him, I'll wait for the day when we live in peace and he stops fighting. When we can really be together, without worry," the woman said with tears beginning to enter her voice.
"I promised I wouldn't cry, so thanks Mars, I'll be going now, I'm...sorry," the woman said and ran away, running to outpace her own emotions.
"I'm sorry too Sophia," Mars said under his breath as he placed his hand in his pocket and gripped the silver band there.
Mars shook his head to clear the memory and picked the ring up again, he examined the inside of it, in flowing script a single line read, Yours forever, my eternal heart.
"I'm sorry too," Mars said quietly to himself.
END OF PHASE-08
Author's note: Here it is, the first real character development phase. I also gave a bit of back story, hope you enjoyed it.
********************************************************
The full moon shone down on the street, empty save for two figures. A big man with dark hair and olive skin and a slim, beautiful woman with dark reddy-brown hair.
"What's wrong honey? I thought you had fun tonight, why are you so quiet?" The man asked in a worried tone.
"I did, but...Do you remember what I said a few days ago? Have you even thought about it? Honestly? Zera it has been seven years, you almost died out there, when are you going to give up fighting?" The woman asked, tears came to her eyes..
Zera shook his head, "but I didn't die, that's all that matters. Remember what I said, I'll come back to you no matter what."
"Stop that! You always say that, but have you even considered what you're doing?" The woman replied.
"Have I broken my promise yet? My homeland is breaking apart, do you expect me to sit back and watch it happen?" Zera responded.
"Don't change the subject Zera. Gaula and Simon died last time, you spent a month in the hospital. Is fighting really this important to you?"
Zera closed his eyes before replying, "it is what I am fighting for that matters and yes, it is exactly that important to me."
"Important enough to die for?" The woman demanded as tears began to slide down her cheeks again.
"Yes, should it come to that, but I won't die because I promised you I'd come back," Zera responded.
"I'm...sorry Zera. If that's the way you think...I won't become a widow, not again," the women turned away and dropped something silver, it bounced a few times before rolling out of sight down an alley way.
Zera stared after the woman as she walked away, he was too shocked to do anything. Once she was out of sight he fell to the pavement like a puppet with his strings cut.
"Damnit!" Zera yelled to himself and punched the concrete as hard as he could, ignoring the pain it cause, he considered heading after her but he knew what she'd say, what she needed to hear, what he could not say or do.
Zera placed his hands over his face as a single tear streaked down his cheek slowly, soon a second followed, then a third.
In one of the alleyways a figure moved, it knelt and slowly retrieved the fallen silver object, a ring carved with roses.
Mars opened his eyes and woke up with his hand grasping hist nightshirt. It had been three days and the battalion was still in shock, Zera had been declared MIA, missing in action, and presumed dead. Darwin and Mars had taken over running the battalion until HQ decided on a course of action, everyone had thrown themselves into their work, busy with reports and tinkering with the ship and its systems.
Of all of them Silvia had taken it the worst, she had broken down and cried for the first night straight, the only reason she stopped was that she fainted from exhaustion. Mars felt his heart go out for the girl, he was never sure how she had became acquainted with Zera, but he was her whole world. In some way Zera had taken the part of ever male role-model for the girl, the older soldiers knew it better than Mars, but every since she was young it had been that way, according to them.
Now she was alone in the world, torn away from what could have her only real support.
*****
Serrim stared out of the windows, Methusa base was the third largest in the entire Earth Alliance, nearly eight-hundred battleships were kept there when necessary. Of course, only half that were currently in port. It was shaped like a giant V, made from a single unique asteroid pulled from deep space, with beam cannon turrets bristling along its impressive mass.
"So...who do you think will become the new colonel? Call in someone from another battalion? Darwin? Mars?" Jin asked as another Agamemnon class came in, escorted by two Nelson and five Drake class.
"I don't know, Mars doesn't have the combat record to justify the promotion, the other battalions are stretched as it is and Darwin...well...I guess he's an option but I wouldn't think it's likely. The Earth Alliance lost over a thousand mobile suits, ZAFT lost nearly as many, when all is said and done we're lucky we only lost three," Serrim replied.
"Moreover we survived the Freedom, Aran's probably pissed about his Templar though, the repair crew said it'd take a week just to get it back to being capable of basic space movement, 'cause his thrusters were totalled." Jin said in response.
"Silvia's taking it hard," Serrim responded.
"They all are, I only knew Zera for a short time, but some of these men have known him for a decade or more. I can see why they might be upset, he was a famous man, a top Earth Alliance ace, a noted commander and he seemed like an OK kinda guy. But you're right, I hear she still hasn't got out of bed," Jin said solemnly.
"That''s because Zera meant everything to her, it'd be like losing your whole family," Darwin said stepping through the doorway.
"What do you mean, old man?" Jin asked.
"Old man? Why I'm not a day over forty, well, forty-four anyway," Darwin responded indignantly.
"I see...back to the topic, what did you mean?" Jin said dismissively.
"Well you see, Zera saved Silvia when she was much younger; her entire family had been killed and she didn't have anything left. In an odd way Zera gave her everything she needed, he was a source of comfort, a father and brother figure and more. As she got older...I don't know. Usually girls like to socialise and...well I don't know. I do know that while some girls may put up pictures of pop stars on their walls, Silvia put up photos of Zera, some girls love to quote ancient philosophers or athletes, pop-stars or social icons too, Silvia quoted Zera. I don't know how he took all the attention, especially how angry Silvia got whenever he was in a relationship. Only one woman ever stuck with Zera through all Silvia's pouting and tantrums," Darwin said, his eyes lost in the memories.
"So what happened to this girl?" Jin asked.
"They were engaged for a short while but she wanted Zera to give up being a soldier and if you know Zera...sorry, if you knew Zera you'd know that he was a driven man, he'd fight his war all alone if he had too. At that time he was fighting to keep Eurasia together, as you know, Eurasia broke up once and for all three years ago, but it was the Midle East that first rebelled on the second of April, seven years ago. Zera had been there since the year after that.
It all started when he heard the Middle East was going to secede...Zera is...was...a traditional man. He always loved his visits to the desert, he said they fulfilled him in a way nothign else could could. Well anyway, when he heard the Middle East was going to secede he joined a part of a joint Eurasian force that was deployed to force it to stay, as you know the Middle East resisted, eventually the Middle Easterners got their act together and united against the Eurasians and the rest is as they say, history.
Zera fought to keep his homeland, Eurasia, together. He nearly died four times, twice he was sent to the nearest hospital with life-threatening injuries. I guess she just got tired of worrying for him, it was a real pity, they were so deeply in love you could feel it," Darwin finished with a sad nod.
"I see, should someone check on her?" Serrim asked.
"Who? Oh, Silvia. She just needs time, I'd give it to her but if you want to visit, feel free," Darwin replied as he stared at Methusa base. "She's tougher than she looks though, she just needs to adapt."
*****
Sepha sat and watched the video recording, Roy Silver had sent it to him the previous day but he hadn't had the time to watch it then.
The Freedom, legend of both wars, its very name brought the image of awe-inspiring power. In the first war it had been a rogue fighting for peace, in the second it had been one of the last chances to stop Gilbert Dulandal's Destiny Plan, but now it was in the way. Sepha watched intently as a DRAGOON pod was shot in mid-movement.
"Fascinating, those pilots, they were the top graduates of the Rosenburg Institute, I wonder, mayhap they will be an asset worth seizing..." Sepha wondered to himself as he watched intently, un-altered Naturals fighting on equal level with a Coordinator, true it was three against one, but the two Windams didn't offer a lot to work with.
***
Serrim sighed to himself as he opened the door to Zera's quarters, well they were the ship's captain's quarters really. The order had come through while they were talking with Darwin, Mars would succeed Zera and act as Colonel and would in turn choose a major from the crew. Serrim had been given the duty of taking Zera's personal belonging to return to his family, since his body could never be recovered.
The sound of sobs caught Serrim's ears first, he looked around, it wasn't coming from anywhere in obvious sight.
Zera walked through to the next room, the bedroom, Zera slept in a regulation bed like everyone else, navy and white bedding. From the doorway Serrim could see a long lock of dark hair peaking out from under the blankets. Serrim took a deep breath as he stepped forward and pulled back the top blanket, Silvia lay with her head face down on the pillows, both her face and the pillows were wet with tears.
Serrim was at a loss of what to do, he gave it a moment before quietly sitting next to her and placing a hand on her shoulder.
"Go away," Silvia snapped harshly as tears ran from her dark eyes.
Serrim raised his eyebrows, "No," he responded flatly.
"No? Are you some sort of sadist? Does it give you some freakish pleasure to see a girl crying her heart out?" Silvia asked angrily..
"It's actually not that either. I think it'd help if you talked about these things to me, if it doesn't I'll quietly leave, but people will worry if ignore you're own well-being. When was the last time you ate? Or drank?" Serrim asked leaning toward the girl, she looked pale and hollow-cheeked, he didn't know her but he didn't want the girl to harm herself from neglect.
Silvia rolled onto her back and stared up at Serrim for a long moment with a thoughtful look. "Zera...he used to...read to me...when I was a little girl, when I had nightmares I'd come in and it'd be all right because he was there...It's probably not making a lot of sense but..." Silvia's voice cleared as she went. "But he's gone now, my Zera is gone and he can never come back, like everyone else! I...I don't know what to do," as she finished her voice broke and she began to cry again.
"It's okay, my mother...she used to say crying makes things better because it washes the sadness out, little by little. It shows you're alive and that you still have a heart if you can cry," Serrim said taking Silvia's hand and placing his other on her shoulder. It sounded, corny, to his ears and the words were not suited to his mouth but it seemed to help her.
"Everyone...everyone I care about ends up dying, maybe I should just go and die myself," Silvia said digging her fingernails into her palms.
"Don't do that, never do that. Here, just sit back and let your sorrow out, tell me about it if it makes you feel better," Serrim said as quietly and softly as he could. "I lost my family too, except my sister and she is billions of miles away. I guess I sort of know how you feel," Serrim continued softly.
Silvia leant forward and wrapped her arms around Serrim, he wasn't as broad or tall as Zera but the feeling was similar, "thank you," Silvia whispered as she cried softly against Serrim's chest. Serrim placed his arms around her protectively and closed his eyes.
*****
Jin sat up, momentarily awakened from his dreams, it was late, or rather it was early. "Damn Serrim, he's still not back, how long can it take to lug a few suitcases of junk to a storeroom?" Jin asked himself rubbing his eyes groggily before laying down again.
*****
"It's okay, you'll be together one day, when we all live in peace, when our war is over," Mars said softly as Zera nursed his bruised knuckles.
"Do you really think so?" Zera asked as they continued down the moonlit street.
"Yes, of course I do. You two were perfect together," Mars responded.
"My ring..she threw it away," Zera said sadly.
Mars smiled slightly to himself as he placed a hand in one of his pockets, "I'm sure it'll turn up one day, when you need it again."
Zera sighed, "maybe you're right. Wait, you said 'our war' what do you mean?"
Mars grinned in response, "me and you Zera, we're comrades, as long as you fight you won't be alone as long as I'm alive and...If you happen to die before me I'll give you your ring back."
Zera gave him a puzzled nod as the two men continued down the pavement.
Zera opened his eyes all was white, blindingly pure and intense. Slowly, ever so slowly, his vision cleared and shapes became recognisable.
"Sir, the patient has awoken," a woman's voice said to his right, he tried to move but his body didn't seem to be able to obey. Zera became aware of a regular beeping sound as he stared up at the white roof.
"Very good," a male voice said.
Zera moved his eyes, a big man was sitting next to him, he had dark black-green hair and a piercingly green eyes.
"You gave us quite a show, four days and you nearly died twice. All the shrapnel caused some bad injuries and you nearly died of asphyxiation. I intend to get some answers from you later, but for now, I suggest you get some more rest, your body is still healing," the man said.
Zera already felt his consciousness slipping away, I'm...alive, he thought before the darkness of sleep took him again.
*****
Mars sat in his quarters and stared at a silver ring, carved with roses, it hung around his neck on a black cord, but most people never noticed that. In the dim light it was hard to make anything else but the ring out.
"Well old man, a deal is a deal, but it's a shame I don't even have your body, it makes giving this back to you rather...stupid," Mars said and placed the ring on his table and stared at it for a moment longer, a memory came back to him...
A woman sat across the park bench from him, her hair was a dark reddy brown and her eyes were two dark pools, maybe black, maybe brown, hard to say.
"I'm sorry, I...you know my husband died in the war right? You understand?" the woman said in a nervous and shaky voice.
"Yeah I understand, I'd leave too if I was you. I just hate seeing how Zera takes it, he really loves you," Mars responded as softly as he could.
"I love him too...but I can't just sit around and wait for him to get killed, tell him...tell him I'm waiting for him, I'll wait for the day when we live in peace and he stops fighting. When we can really be together, without worry," the woman said with tears beginning to enter her voice.
"I promised I wouldn't cry, so thanks Mars, I'll be going now, I'm...sorry," the woman said and ran away, running to outpace her own emotions.
"I'm sorry too Sophia," Mars said under his breath as he placed his hand in his pocket and gripped the silver band there.
Mars shook his head to clear the memory and picked the ring up again, he examined the inside of it, in flowing script a single line read, Yours forever, my eternal heart.
"I'm sorry too," Mars said quietly to himself.
END OF PHASE-08
Author's note: Here it is, the first real character development phase. I also gave a bit of back story, hope you enjoyed it.
Last edited by Ragormha on Tue Aug 28, 2007 8:52 am, edited 1 time in total.
"I don't CARE if the mechanaught can't handle it, I want Wings of Light, the few seconds it'd last and the pilot mortality would be worth it." -me, eXteel closed beta.
It's alive! Your thread, I mean. yes, and Zera too. As you said, quite a lot of character building going on. I wonder if Serrim is sincere, though. That is a rather opportune moment for him to manipulate Silvia.
-We will not be caught by surprise!
*Almost everyone I've killed uttered similar last words.
-Then I am glad once again that you are on my side.
*They've often said that too.
*Almost everyone I've killed uttered similar last words.
-Then I am glad once again that you are on my side.
*They've often said that too.
You'll just have to find out, won't you?
Though I am trying to make this a little more realistic and being only seventeen you've gotta remember that Serrim himself isn't the most manipulative sort.
Yeah, its taken forever to get around to updating, but I'll do so again tonight, then give it a rest for a few days. I've been lazy lately, but I hope to build up the inertia a bit more now that I have a bit more free time.
EDIT: oh yeah, I'll be updating the mechanics and character thread in the next few days, still haven't managed to get a good artist to do the mechanical designs though, so no graphics yet.
Though I am trying to make this a little more realistic and being only seventeen you've gotta remember that Serrim himself isn't the most manipulative sort.
Yeah, its taken forever to get around to updating, but I'll do so again tonight, then give it a rest for a few days. I've been lazy lately, but I hope to build up the inertia a bit more now that I have a bit more free time.
EDIT: oh yeah, I'll be updating the mechanics and character thread in the next few days, still haven't managed to get a good artist to do the mechanical designs though, so no graphics yet.
"I don't CARE if the mechanaught can't handle it, I want Wings of Light, the few seconds it'd last and the pilot mortality would be worth it." -me, eXteel closed beta.
PHASE-09: CHOSEN
********************************************************
Serrim sat back and blinked, he wasn't sure how much time had passed, hours at the least, Silvia still lay against his chest and slept peacefully, he considered moving but found he lacked the heart to wake the emotionally exhausted girl. Silvia had cried for a long time before she'd finally ran out of steam and fell into a slumber.
Idly Serrim curled a lock of her chestnut hair around his right index finger as he closed his eyes, he was tired and weariness threatened to pull him into sleep against his will.
Then the door burst open and Jin virtually leapt in "Serrim! We're being called back to Earth!" Jin said in a near yell.
"Quiet, you'll wake her," Serrim responded softly as Silvia groaned faintly and began to stir. "Now, what's going on?"
Jin gave the two a questioning glance before moving on, whatever news he had was obviously more interesting.
"Us, Serrim, me and you, we've been called down to Earth."
"For what?" Serrim asked.
"I dunno, we're going to Svalbard though, Angel Industries HQ," Jin replied excitedly.
"Angel Industries? What would that have to do with us? We're not mercenaries or test pilots, if we were being honoured for our performance it'd be held at Methusa so..." Serrim trailed off.
"It doesn't matter, Mars says to get your gear together and head down to the shuttle bay," Jin said and reached into one of his pockets. "Oh yeah, one more thing, here is your new badge, Major Serrim Gospal."
Serrim's eyebrows rose, "what?"
"Heh, Mars was promoted to colonel and apparently he chose you as his major, didn't seem too happy about it though," Jin replied with a grin and placed a badge on Serrim's lap.
"Fine then, I'll meet you in an hour," Serrim said sliding out of bed. Silvia stirred again before sitting up. "You...you're leaving?" she asked, eyes wide and focussed on him.
Serrim sighed softly to himself, "yes, but I'll be back as soon as possible."
"You promise?" Silvia mumbled in a small voice, sounding very much like a child.
Serrim nodded, "I promise," he said and placed his hand on her shoulder.
"Okay, hurry back!" Silvia said and jumped up, busying herself with tidying her hair and uniform.
"What's with her? I mean, she was in pieces yesterday," Jin said once they'd left the room.
"I have no idea, I expect she's putting on a brave face," Serrim replied.
Jin's eyes narrowed, "Yeah...by the way what's with that, you were out all night."
Serrim gave Jin his coldest smile, "not what you think."
"Sure Serrim, sure. That's what you like me to think isn't it?" Jin questioned in a sly tone.
"No, it is the truth," Serrim replied flatly.
"Awwww come on Serrim, we're friends, I won't tell anyone. Spill the details! Come on..."
"Nothing happened Jin, you should know me better than that," Serrim replied.
"I guess. It's probably for the better, she's cute, but I have a bad feeling about her," Jin replied.
*****
Mars finished packing up one of his boxes of stuff, he only had a few, mainly clothes. As the new colonel he'd be moving into the quarters reserved for the captain of the ship. While his own quarters would become Serrim's. I wouldn't have chosen him, but Sepha gave the order directly; it had to be either Serrim or Jin, and Jin is way to undisciplined. Still, I wonder, why one of them? We have plenty of better experienced men for the job, Mars thought to himself as he stuffed a blue checked shirt into a plastic bag.
*****
Sepha stood in the pristinely white laboratory and looked carefully at the readouts displayed on the flat screen monitor. "Are you sure?" he asked.
"Yes, here are the genetic reports on Jin Garuda and Serrim Gospal, as you requested. As you can see, both exhibit unusual genetic manifestations," the doctor said, he was in his early forties with green-brown eyes and reddy-brown hair.
"Jirogue, I trust your analysis, but I'm afraid I'm not a doctor. What does this mean?" Sepha asked.
The doctor, Jirogue, responded, "well sir, that is Jin Garuda's sample. Here we compare it to the genetic sample of what is considered an average soldier, and here we compare it to some above average soldiers who exhibit similar combat abilities. Note the similarities with the second sample." As Jirogue spoke different images displayed themselves.
"So...this Jin Garuda possesses these cells, a pity I thought he was more unique," Sepha said to himself.
Jirogue smiled, "Oh he is, if you knew what this meant you'd...I mean, let me explain. Those altered cells are very, very rare. Quite a lot higher than "One in a million" they control altered levels of spatial awareness, among other things," Jirogue said pointing at the display. "Between Cosmic Era year seventy to the present less than a hundred of these extra-spatial awareness carriers have been found. Some have no inheritance from parents, that is neither parent had the information, and some did. Strangely, it doesn't seem to be a dominant gene," Jirogue paused and took a breath before he continued. "Of all the children from high spatial awareness parents only three had children inherited their parent's awareness and in two of the cases it was weaker. This suggests it may be a random mutation that is merely more likely to appear if the family has a history. I stress our sample was extremely small and I'm not sure of the absolute validity of the results."
Sepha nodded, "so he isn't as bad as I had thought, tell me more."
"Well, sir, there's not a lot more to tell. I assume the only way he could have such a well-developed traits is if both his parents were highly gifted with spatial awareness. This Jin Garuda can look forward to high levels of spatial awareness and enhanced physical or cognitive abilities, such as increased reaction time and the ability to multi task on a massive scale. But one thing puzzles me, you said his comrade's reports mentioned him saying he could feel the pilot of the Strike Freedom mobile suit, I'm not sure how that is possible. What really puzzles me is that by all reason he should have graduated as the bestto come out of the Rosenburg Institute. Yet he was the third, I would greatly like to know how Aran Le Kauruda achieved a higher score."
Sepha thought for a moment, "I couldn't begin to imagine, maybe it's just a mental factor, genetics need not be the be-all and end-all. Why Aran and not Serrim though?"
Jirogue shrugged, "Aran is genetically almost identical to a normal person, he has some oddities but they are far from beneficial, but you would know about that. Serrim...he is different, I'll show you."
The display changed again and Jirogue shrugged. "You see? Serrim doesn't have the high spatial awareness genes, but...I haven't seen anything like this, I suppose in the wars some information could have been lost but...no Earth Alliance pilot has ever had anything like this, except one, briefly, Kira Yamato. "
Sepha spoke in a mildly shocked tone, "Serrim Gospal...he's a Coordinator?"
Jirogue shook his head, "No, it isn't a artificial intervention, his genetics and mental attitude predispose him to be a above-level warrior, as the Rosenburg Institute graduate report claims. But I really am not sure what it could mean, I'll have to consult other of my peers."
"Well I thank you for your time, it has been most informative. When my...agents in ZAFT and ORB return I'll make sure they have extra data. Tell me if you uncover anything new," Sepha said, he was glad he'd get to meet the two in person soon.
"Yes sir," Jorigue said simply.
***
Jin sat in the shuttle as it touched down, it was quite small, only big enough for half a dozen passengers, but it was made for high-speed not mass transport and with only Serrim and himself it was roomy enough.
Snow fell all around as they exited the shuttle, factories and boxy buildings were all around, ahead was a giant silver pyramid shaped building, a blue limousine rolled up and a dark man stepped out, he was bald and wore a pale blue suit.
"That the Angel Industries HQ?" Jin asked.
"Yes sir, it is, it's where I have been ordered to take you," the man responded.
"and your name is...?" Jin asked.
"Svell, that's all you need to know," the bald man responded and opened the door to the limousine for them.
"So, do you know why we're here?" Serrim asked.
Svell thought for a moment, "Sepha wanted to see you about something. Be happy, you've caught the attention of one of the most powerful men in the world."
"That's not an answer," Jin said flatly.
"True, but I don't know why he called you," Svell responded as flatly.
As the pyramid shaped building loomed closer they could truly appreciate the size of the building, it was massive, like a small man-made mountain.
There were large tunnels that lead into the interior of the building, as the drove past the gates Serrim noted that they could be closed with doors that were at least five metres thick.
"What's with this place, for a company HQ it sure looks like a military base. Armed guards, armour plating, hidden gun emplacements..." Jin said.
"Gun emplacements?" Serrim asked.
"Yeah, outside of the building, notice it was all smooth-like but if you look carefully the windows can be covered with metal shutters and did you see the things that looked like tiles? They open to reveal single-barrel beam turrets, I saw at least fifty on this side, so that means two-hundred turrets, at least, unless I'm mistaken," Jin answered.
"Wow, you've been studying," Serrim commented in an amazed tone.
"Actually no, Aran told me about Angel Industries this morning," Jin said with a grin. "Still, pretty heavy armaments for a mere company, don't you think?"
Svell answered, "I thought you knew, Angel Industries supplies and arms all ten Blue Cosmos supported armed battalions and a large portion of the Earth's militaries, both with designs and with raw technology. Also, as the current ruler of the former Eurasian territory of Svalbard Sepha is entitled to maintain an army, since he is technically the head-of-state. Angel Industries is just one of his assets, he also owns Dragon Finances and Chimera Electric company, among others. This serves as a military and industrial base as well as a corporate HQ."
"Gee, he must be loaded, though he has a weird fetish for mythical animals," Jin commented as they pulled into a large car park.
"That's a mtaarer of opinion," Svell answered as they exited the car.
"Well, I'll be leaving you now. Head through the blue-tinted glass doors ahead and take the lift to level 88, I have...business to attend." Svell said and left without waiting for any reply.
It wasn't hard to find their way, in no time they were at level eighty-eight. The furnishings were different, thick carpet lined the floors and portraits hung on the walls, the windows showed a view onto the surrounding city. At the door Jin stopped and straightened his clothes before entering.
Within was a large oval chamber with doors leading out to the back, on one wall a massive screen stood balanced by large rectangular windows on the opposite wall. In the centre of the room a large, heavy, square desk sat, behind it in a heavily padded seat sat a man in his thirties with long green-black hair and bright blue eyes.
"Welcome gentlemen, how pleasant it is that you could make the time to visit. I assume you know who I am," Sepha said, his voice surprisingly rich.
"Jin Garuda, sir," Jin responded with a bow.
"Serrim Gospal," Serrim said with equal formality.
Sepha smiled, "I don't think there's any need for formality, take a seat."
Jin looked at the seats he gestured to for a moment and sat down woodenly. Serrim settled down with a great deal more grace.
"Now I'm sure you are eager to know why I called you down here, correct?" Sepha.
"If you would..." Jin replied.
"Well, really it is quite simple. I was watching the video recordings from your mobile suits, most especially your fighting with the Strike Freedom, and I noticed your exceptional combat potentials. That alone is enough to make me consider this, but there are other factors. I would like to propose something, an offer if you will...be my Knights, my Chosen," Sepha said casually.
"Knights?" Jin asked.
"Yes, you two will go where I say, report directly to me and be free from the usual chain of command. Moreover as you improve your skills it will set an example to our allies about the kind of quality I see fit of my personal champions," Sepha said smoothly.
"What other bonuses would we get? Don't get me wrong, being a status symbol is good and all but I don't see why we should just do this for you with no knowledge of your motivations or personal gain, also, who else would be in our team, organisation, thing," Jin asked.
"The only other Knight is Roy Silver, as of today. I was going to offer a position to Zera but he is...no longer with us," Sepha replied matter-of-factly. "To answer the other points...You'll have automatic authority over anyone of the same rank or lower under my command; a sort of extra portion of command. You'll receive a twenty percent higher salary and also be the first to receive new technology as it is developed. As it is there are perhaps a dozen others I am considering for Knighthood, but you are to be my main proxies, interested?" Sepha asked coolly.
Jin and Serrim exchanged glances, "I'll let you think about it," Sepha said before they could speak.
"Why are you supporting this war?" Serrim asked.
Sepha interlocked his fingers, "There are many reasons, the wars have taken so many friends and family from us all. I support this war because we have lost to those Coordinators twice, both times they were ready to deal out a crippling blow to us. The only way that we can win is if the whole Earth is united, then we will disarm ZAFT and end the Coordinator threat."
"Sounds an awful lot like revenge based on injured pride to me," Serrim replied.
"No, I run a weapons business; it is in my interests to have these wars go on as long as possible, but even I can see that the last two wars scarred all of humanity for generations. I design weapons because I know that we need the decisive edge over ZAFT. Without me the Earth Alliance will fall apart and be out-done both technologically and strategically," Sepha explained.
"You think awfully highly of yourself," Jin commented dryly.
"Yes, one should always aim to maintain an accurate depiction of oneself. If you knew more about me you might understand better," Sepha said simply.
"It is strange, you don't act like the a member of Blue Cosmos," Serrim said thoughtfully.
Sepha shrugged, "things are not always as we expect. Blue Cosmos allows me to have more influence than some world leaders."
"A means to an end is it? But what end are you aiming for?" Serrim questioned.
"I want...a united Earth. People will always band together if you give them a threat big enough; Coordinators are that threat. When I was a younger man, men would kill each other because of religion, skin colour, political ideals...now the same is beginning to happen and it will if I don't do anything. With the threat of Coordinators men are too busy to fight each other based on primitive and outdated bias," Sepha answered coolly.
"But what do you do when ZAFT has been disarmed?" Serrim asked.
"It doesn't matter, PLANT, Coordinators, they are just the launching step. Once the Earth is united I will ensure it does not collapse, there have been periods in history where great empires have survived for centuries despite the differences of the citizenry. I wish to start a new era," Sepha said, a faraway look coming into his eyes.
Jin shrugged, "I'm in. Don't get me wrong, I don't really care for why you're fighting, I just want to beat ZAFT into the dirt."
"If Jin is in, I'm in," Serrim added.
Sepha smiled, warmness lighting his features, "excellent. Now if you please, I have some...gifts I would like you to have a look at."
Sepha pressed a button on his desk and the monitor on the wall lit up, displaying schematics for two mobile suits. "They aren't ready yet, the designs were finalised today. but they will be yours. The BTMA-701Z Wrath and the BTMA-63Z Clarity."
"BTMA?" Jin asked.
"It stands for Bipedal Tactical Mobile Armament, it means it is a Angel Industries mobile suit. It's a new naming system adopted only for this altest generation. Alternately they would be called the GAT-X195EC Clarity and the GAT-X284EC Wrath in the Earth Alliance, use whichever you want. You'll notice a subtly different operating system as well, I'll have someone send you a simulation training program to get accustomed to the suits so when they arrive you'll be ready to pilot straight away," Sepha explained while reaching into a draw.
"One last matter, these are your Knight badges, wear them with pride," Sepha said as he placed the two white palm-sized boxes on the desk and waited for the other two men to retrieve them.
The badges were not overly original or characteristic, a winged silver sword against a blue shield that was also edged in silver was the entirety of the design, but the craftsmanship was masterful.
Serrim pinned his inside his coat, next to his major's badge, Jin wore his on the breast of his coat.
"Now it really has been a most pleasant time gentlemen, but I fear time waits for no man and I have things I must attend to, we should speak again later," Sepha said as he began to slip some silk gloves on.
"Thank you sir," Jin said with a salute before leaving.
Serrim nodded and left with little more, Sepha had asked for no formality after all.
*****
Sepha sat down again after the two men left, moments later the phone rang.
"Yes?" Sepha said expectantly.
"Ah Sepha, have I got some wonderful news for you," Armellio said over the phone.
"Do elaborate."
"You know what I said about Bjorn Wyntar? I think he's almost coming over, we're to meet in Paris tomorrow to finalise things, as it is we only need a little more and I think he's ours. Your presence would be greatly appreciated, if he comes over...we go ahead with Operation Avalanche," Armellio said, excitement clear in his voice.
"Very good, I'll meet you and Bjorn tomorrow," Sepha replied.
"'Til then," Armellio said and was cut off by the click of the phone hanging up.
Excellent, another star lines up. Now we only need to know which way Orb is going to go, Sepha thought to himself as he left the room.
***
Ourei sat back in the briefing room, it had just ended, an Earth Alliance fleet of large size was on a heading for Africa, it would arrive within a week. ZAFT reinforcements now brought Victoria up to almost four hundred mobile suits, it would be a big battle. Unlike Gibraltar, Victoria was mostly landlocked so the Earth Alliance would have to create a beachhead and fight their way to Victoria and then take the base, of course, ZAFT had the advantage of mobility as they could drop more pods directly to Victoria whereas the Earth Alliance, which didn't hold control over orbital space would have to send troops from the Middle East.
All we have to do is sit back and let them come to us, beat them to a pulp from our defended positions and then counter-attack once they lose momentum. If we damage them enough they'll run back home with their tails between their legs, Ourei thought. Still, doubt wormed in his stomach, what if the Earth Alliance was stronger than they thought?
"Three-to-one odds aren't very good," Ourei said to himself as he continued to examine the readout.
*****
Apollo looked at the latest readout, "more Earth Alliance forces being massed at Methusa, Earth Alliance forces heading for Victoria, Atlantic Federation Troops massing at Panama, South Korea as well. Looks like the Naturals are getting ready for some big operation. "
"Sorry sir? What was that?" Hayata asked.
"I was just saying the Earth Alliance seems to be getting ready for something big, united we have about a hundred and fifty battle-ready warships, counting the ships that had to be sent away for repairs and the new ones to arrive. The Earth Alliance now has over five hundred ships at Methusa, according to our latest reports."
Hayata nodded his dark head solemnly, "I guess more ships will have to be sent in, or we'll have to fall back."
Apollo nodded, "I agree. How is our guest?"
"He is still too injured to speak for long, but he'll be better eventually. It'd be good if we could glean something from him," Hayata responded.
"Yes, that mobile suit he was piloting...it was unregistered, he must be quite high ranking to have one, only four others were spotted in the battle," Apollo replied, forwarding the display.
"In other news, we'll be heading down to Earth sometime. The Chairman said he needs someone in FAITH to reinforce the defences," Apollo continued casually as he examined a computerised map of South America.
"Us? Where are going to go?" Hayata asked.
"Africa, or South America. Louis Matadi has already been sent to Carpentaria," Apollo answered.
*****
Orb Hanger, Onogoro Island.
The Strike Freedom hung suspended by cables and girders, mechanics worked on it from head to foot.
"I'm sorry to trouble you guys like this," Kira Yamato said as he watched the work being done, sipping from a mug of coffee.
"No problem, the Freedom has always been a friend of Orb, in both wars you helped us and saved many lives, my own wife was saved by your intervention during the second war. Fixing your suit is the least we can do. The Earth needs the Freedom now more than ever, although most probably don't realise that. We've reconstructed and upgraded all the armaments we could, ten years is a pretty big technology gap, but some of them...You'd need to go to ZAFT to get the technology updated," the Orb technician said as he smoked a cigarette.
"All the same, thanks a lot," Kira said as one of the reconstructed wings was lowered and locked into place. I have to stop everyone from fighting, but who would have thought they'd have that much power? And that black Windam pilot, he was...familiar.
*****
Nasuma Aman sat across the table from the ZAFT representative, Orb's capital had been decimated, government buildings included, so the current administration had seized the remaining high-profile hotels and luxury resorts and used them as temporary headquarters.
"I don't fully understand why we should trust you. ZAFT mobile suits attacked our capital and killed thousands, for all we know this could just be another lie," Nasuma said sipping his tea, it was surprisingly good; for one of multiple times Nasuma mentally thanked his staff for choosing a five star hotel as their temporary residence.
"Damn it! Think logically, if we wanted to finished Orb why would we use so few suits, you know that as well as I. Look how that squad performed, if we sent the attack we would have sent several and that would have been that," The ZAFT man angrily, he was a big man, red-haired and blue eyed.
"Yes, that does make sense. But, what if you were thinking further ahead? Attack us now, say it can't have been you for the very reason you stated and all just to get us onto your side. Maybe that is overly sneaky, but then again if I can think of it, so can you. We in Orb have prided ourself on our strong national ideals and our neutrality above all. Unless you can give us concrete proof the Earth Alliance attacked us, or a terrorist group, then we can only assume that you may be an enemy. However, this is the sort of thing the Earth Alliance might have done, so we can't trust them either," Nasuma said standing up, he was a small man with sandy hair and dark skin.
The ZAFT representative stood as well, "Representative Nasuma, what will you do? The world is soon going to become a war zone and I don't think Orb alone can resist it."
"We will protect ourselves, as we always have. Unless there is something more I think our meeting is at an end," Nasuma finished.
"Fine, but should you need our help I suggest you ask for it, sooner rather than later," The ZAFT man said through clenched teeth, he left stiffly and shut the door more forcefully than he needed to.
"Sooner? But is that for our good or yours?" Nasuma asked quietly after the ZAFT man.
*****
Serrim stared at the Pariah as they came back, it had been less than a day, but much had changed.
"How does it feel Serrim, I suppose I have to call you Knight Major now eh? Hell I might have to start showing you respect!" Jin joked.
"Yes, and don't you forget it, or I'll have you locked up for insubordination," Serrim replied, equally as jokingly.
"I mean this is so cool, we've been real soldiers for only a few weeks and we're already on the way to the level of top elites," Jin said rubbing his hands.
"Remember Jin, despite the ranks we've been awarded, we both have a long way to go until we're elites. Sepha gave the promotion because he thinks we have potential, not because we're good now," Serrim said seriously.
"Yeah, I won't forget," Jin replied as he rand a hand through his jet-black hair, ruffling it slightly.
"You know Jin, you and me are very lucky, we have been chosen and it might just make our goals that much more attainable," Serrim said appreciatively as the shuttle touched down in the Pariah's bay.
*****
Ourei sat and watched the stars, it was something he enjoyed doing while he thought. "Ah, soon, so soon we'll see if I can do my duty. Fortune grant strength," Ourei sighed to himself.
END OF PHASE-09.
Author's note: Next post should be a bit more ZAFT focussed, hope you enjoyed it.
********************************************************
Serrim sat back and blinked, he wasn't sure how much time had passed, hours at the least, Silvia still lay against his chest and slept peacefully, he considered moving but found he lacked the heart to wake the emotionally exhausted girl. Silvia had cried for a long time before she'd finally ran out of steam and fell into a slumber.
Idly Serrim curled a lock of her chestnut hair around his right index finger as he closed his eyes, he was tired and weariness threatened to pull him into sleep against his will.
Then the door burst open and Jin virtually leapt in "Serrim! We're being called back to Earth!" Jin said in a near yell.
"Quiet, you'll wake her," Serrim responded softly as Silvia groaned faintly and began to stir. "Now, what's going on?"
Jin gave the two a questioning glance before moving on, whatever news he had was obviously more interesting.
"Us, Serrim, me and you, we've been called down to Earth."
"For what?" Serrim asked.
"I dunno, we're going to Svalbard though, Angel Industries HQ," Jin replied excitedly.
"Angel Industries? What would that have to do with us? We're not mercenaries or test pilots, if we were being honoured for our performance it'd be held at Methusa so..." Serrim trailed off.
"It doesn't matter, Mars says to get your gear together and head down to the shuttle bay," Jin said and reached into one of his pockets. "Oh yeah, one more thing, here is your new badge, Major Serrim Gospal."
Serrim's eyebrows rose, "what?"
"Heh, Mars was promoted to colonel and apparently he chose you as his major, didn't seem too happy about it though," Jin replied with a grin and placed a badge on Serrim's lap.
"Fine then, I'll meet you in an hour," Serrim said sliding out of bed. Silvia stirred again before sitting up. "You...you're leaving?" she asked, eyes wide and focussed on him.
Serrim sighed softly to himself, "yes, but I'll be back as soon as possible."
"You promise?" Silvia mumbled in a small voice, sounding very much like a child.
Serrim nodded, "I promise," he said and placed his hand on her shoulder.
"Okay, hurry back!" Silvia said and jumped up, busying herself with tidying her hair and uniform.
"What's with her? I mean, she was in pieces yesterday," Jin said once they'd left the room.
"I have no idea, I expect she's putting on a brave face," Serrim replied.
Jin's eyes narrowed, "Yeah...by the way what's with that, you were out all night."
Serrim gave Jin his coldest smile, "not what you think."
"Sure Serrim, sure. That's what you like me to think isn't it?" Jin questioned in a sly tone.
"No, it is the truth," Serrim replied flatly.
"Awwww come on Serrim, we're friends, I won't tell anyone. Spill the details! Come on..."
"Nothing happened Jin, you should know me better than that," Serrim replied.
"I guess. It's probably for the better, she's cute, but I have a bad feeling about her," Jin replied.
*****
Mars finished packing up one of his boxes of stuff, he only had a few, mainly clothes. As the new colonel he'd be moving into the quarters reserved for the captain of the ship. While his own quarters would become Serrim's. I wouldn't have chosen him, but Sepha gave the order directly; it had to be either Serrim or Jin, and Jin is way to undisciplined. Still, I wonder, why one of them? We have plenty of better experienced men for the job, Mars thought to himself as he stuffed a blue checked shirt into a plastic bag.
*****
Sepha stood in the pristinely white laboratory and looked carefully at the readouts displayed on the flat screen monitor. "Are you sure?" he asked.
"Yes, here are the genetic reports on Jin Garuda and Serrim Gospal, as you requested. As you can see, both exhibit unusual genetic manifestations," the doctor said, he was in his early forties with green-brown eyes and reddy-brown hair.
"Jirogue, I trust your analysis, but I'm afraid I'm not a doctor. What does this mean?" Sepha asked.
The doctor, Jirogue, responded, "well sir, that is Jin Garuda's sample. Here we compare it to the genetic sample of what is considered an average soldier, and here we compare it to some above average soldiers who exhibit similar combat abilities. Note the similarities with the second sample." As Jirogue spoke different images displayed themselves.
"So...this Jin Garuda possesses these cells, a pity I thought he was more unique," Sepha said to himself.
Jirogue smiled, "Oh he is, if you knew what this meant you'd...I mean, let me explain. Those altered cells are very, very rare. Quite a lot higher than "One in a million" they control altered levels of spatial awareness, among other things," Jirogue said pointing at the display. "Between Cosmic Era year seventy to the present less than a hundred of these extra-spatial awareness carriers have been found. Some have no inheritance from parents, that is neither parent had the information, and some did. Strangely, it doesn't seem to be a dominant gene," Jirogue paused and took a breath before he continued. "Of all the children from high spatial awareness parents only three had children inherited their parent's awareness and in two of the cases it was weaker. This suggests it may be a random mutation that is merely more likely to appear if the family has a history. I stress our sample was extremely small and I'm not sure of the absolute validity of the results."
Sepha nodded, "so he isn't as bad as I had thought, tell me more."
"Well, sir, there's not a lot more to tell. I assume the only way he could have such a well-developed traits is if both his parents were highly gifted with spatial awareness. This Jin Garuda can look forward to high levels of spatial awareness and enhanced physical or cognitive abilities, such as increased reaction time and the ability to multi task on a massive scale. But one thing puzzles me, you said his comrade's reports mentioned him saying he could feel the pilot of the Strike Freedom mobile suit, I'm not sure how that is possible. What really puzzles me is that by all reason he should have graduated as the bestto come out of the Rosenburg Institute. Yet he was the third, I would greatly like to know how Aran Le Kauruda achieved a higher score."
Sepha thought for a moment, "I couldn't begin to imagine, maybe it's just a mental factor, genetics need not be the be-all and end-all. Why Aran and not Serrim though?"
Jirogue shrugged, "Aran is genetically almost identical to a normal person, he has some oddities but they are far from beneficial, but you would know about that. Serrim...he is different, I'll show you."
The display changed again and Jirogue shrugged. "You see? Serrim doesn't have the high spatial awareness genes, but...I haven't seen anything like this, I suppose in the wars some information could have been lost but...no Earth Alliance pilot has ever had anything like this, except one, briefly, Kira Yamato. "
Sepha spoke in a mildly shocked tone, "Serrim Gospal...he's a Coordinator?"
Jirogue shook his head, "No, it isn't a artificial intervention, his genetics and mental attitude predispose him to be a above-level warrior, as the Rosenburg Institute graduate report claims. But I really am not sure what it could mean, I'll have to consult other of my peers."
"Well I thank you for your time, it has been most informative. When my...agents in ZAFT and ORB return I'll make sure they have extra data. Tell me if you uncover anything new," Sepha said, he was glad he'd get to meet the two in person soon.
"Yes sir," Jorigue said simply.
***
Jin sat in the shuttle as it touched down, it was quite small, only big enough for half a dozen passengers, but it was made for high-speed not mass transport and with only Serrim and himself it was roomy enough.
Snow fell all around as they exited the shuttle, factories and boxy buildings were all around, ahead was a giant silver pyramid shaped building, a blue limousine rolled up and a dark man stepped out, he was bald and wore a pale blue suit.
"That the Angel Industries HQ?" Jin asked.
"Yes sir, it is, it's where I have been ordered to take you," the man responded.
"and your name is...?" Jin asked.
"Svell, that's all you need to know," the bald man responded and opened the door to the limousine for them.
"So, do you know why we're here?" Serrim asked.
Svell thought for a moment, "Sepha wanted to see you about something. Be happy, you've caught the attention of one of the most powerful men in the world."
"That's not an answer," Jin said flatly.
"True, but I don't know why he called you," Svell responded as flatly.
As the pyramid shaped building loomed closer they could truly appreciate the size of the building, it was massive, like a small man-made mountain.
There were large tunnels that lead into the interior of the building, as the drove past the gates Serrim noted that they could be closed with doors that were at least five metres thick.
"What's with this place, for a company HQ it sure looks like a military base. Armed guards, armour plating, hidden gun emplacements..." Jin said.
"Gun emplacements?" Serrim asked.
"Yeah, outside of the building, notice it was all smooth-like but if you look carefully the windows can be covered with metal shutters and did you see the things that looked like tiles? They open to reveal single-barrel beam turrets, I saw at least fifty on this side, so that means two-hundred turrets, at least, unless I'm mistaken," Jin answered.
"Wow, you've been studying," Serrim commented in an amazed tone.
"Actually no, Aran told me about Angel Industries this morning," Jin said with a grin. "Still, pretty heavy armaments for a mere company, don't you think?"
Svell answered, "I thought you knew, Angel Industries supplies and arms all ten Blue Cosmos supported armed battalions and a large portion of the Earth's militaries, both with designs and with raw technology. Also, as the current ruler of the former Eurasian territory of Svalbard Sepha is entitled to maintain an army, since he is technically the head-of-state. Angel Industries is just one of his assets, he also owns Dragon Finances and Chimera Electric company, among others. This serves as a military and industrial base as well as a corporate HQ."
"Gee, he must be loaded, though he has a weird fetish for mythical animals," Jin commented as they pulled into a large car park.
"That's a mtaarer of opinion," Svell answered as they exited the car.
"Well, I'll be leaving you now. Head through the blue-tinted glass doors ahead and take the lift to level 88, I have...business to attend." Svell said and left without waiting for any reply.
It wasn't hard to find their way, in no time they were at level eighty-eight. The furnishings were different, thick carpet lined the floors and portraits hung on the walls, the windows showed a view onto the surrounding city. At the door Jin stopped and straightened his clothes before entering.
Within was a large oval chamber with doors leading out to the back, on one wall a massive screen stood balanced by large rectangular windows on the opposite wall. In the centre of the room a large, heavy, square desk sat, behind it in a heavily padded seat sat a man in his thirties with long green-black hair and bright blue eyes.
"Welcome gentlemen, how pleasant it is that you could make the time to visit. I assume you know who I am," Sepha said, his voice surprisingly rich.
"Jin Garuda, sir," Jin responded with a bow.
"Serrim Gospal," Serrim said with equal formality.
Sepha smiled, "I don't think there's any need for formality, take a seat."
Jin looked at the seats he gestured to for a moment and sat down woodenly. Serrim settled down with a great deal more grace.
"Now I'm sure you are eager to know why I called you down here, correct?" Sepha.
"If you would..." Jin replied.
"Well, really it is quite simple. I was watching the video recordings from your mobile suits, most especially your fighting with the Strike Freedom, and I noticed your exceptional combat potentials. That alone is enough to make me consider this, but there are other factors. I would like to propose something, an offer if you will...be my Knights, my Chosen," Sepha said casually.
"Knights?" Jin asked.
"Yes, you two will go where I say, report directly to me and be free from the usual chain of command. Moreover as you improve your skills it will set an example to our allies about the kind of quality I see fit of my personal champions," Sepha said smoothly.
"What other bonuses would we get? Don't get me wrong, being a status symbol is good and all but I don't see why we should just do this for you with no knowledge of your motivations or personal gain, also, who else would be in our team, organisation, thing," Jin asked.
"The only other Knight is Roy Silver, as of today. I was going to offer a position to Zera but he is...no longer with us," Sepha replied matter-of-factly. "To answer the other points...You'll have automatic authority over anyone of the same rank or lower under my command; a sort of extra portion of command. You'll receive a twenty percent higher salary and also be the first to receive new technology as it is developed. As it is there are perhaps a dozen others I am considering for Knighthood, but you are to be my main proxies, interested?" Sepha asked coolly.
Jin and Serrim exchanged glances, "I'll let you think about it," Sepha said before they could speak.
"Why are you supporting this war?" Serrim asked.
Sepha interlocked his fingers, "There are many reasons, the wars have taken so many friends and family from us all. I support this war because we have lost to those Coordinators twice, both times they were ready to deal out a crippling blow to us. The only way that we can win is if the whole Earth is united, then we will disarm ZAFT and end the Coordinator threat."
"Sounds an awful lot like revenge based on injured pride to me," Serrim replied.
"No, I run a weapons business; it is in my interests to have these wars go on as long as possible, but even I can see that the last two wars scarred all of humanity for generations. I design weapons because I know that we need the decisive edge over ZAFT. Without me the Earth Alliance will fall apart and be out-done both technologically and strategically," Sepha explained.
"You think awfully highly of yourself," Jin commented dryly.
"Yes, one should always aim to maintain an accurate depiction of oneself. If you knew more about me you might understand better," Sepha said simply.
"It is strange, you don't act like the a member of Blue Cosmos," Serrim said thoughtfully.
Sepha shrugged, "things are not always as we expect. Blue Cosmos allows me to have more influence than some world leaders."
"A means to an end is it? But what end are you aiming for?" Serrim questioned.
"I want...a united Earth. People will always band together if you give them a threat big enough; Coordinators are that threat. When I was a younger man, men would kill each other because of religion, skin colour, political ideals...now the same is beginning to happen and it will if I don't do anything. With the threat of Coordinators men are too busy to fight each other based on primitive and outdated bias," Sepha answered coolly.
"But what do you do when ZAFT has been disarmed?" Serrim asked.
"It doesn't matter, PLANT, Coordinators, they are just the launching step. Once the Earth is united I will ensure it does not collapse, there have been periods in history where great empires have survived for centuries despite the differences of the citizenry. I wish to start a new era," Sepha said, a faraway look coming into his eyes.
Jin shrugged, "I'm in. Don't get me wrong, I don't really care for why you're fighting, I just want to beat ZAFT into the dirt."
"If Jin is in, I'm in," Serrim added.
Sepha smiled, warmness lighting his features, "excellent. Now if you please, I have some...gifts I would like you to have a look at."
Sepha pressed a button on his desk and the monitor on the wall lit up, displaying schematics for two mobile suits. "They aren't ready yet, the designs were finalised today. but they will be yours. The BTMA-701Z Wrath and the BTMA-63Z Clarity."
"BTMA?" Jin asked.
"It stands for Bipedal Tactical Mobile Armament, it means it is a Angel Industries mobile suit. It's a new naming system adopted only for this altest generation. Alternately they would be called the GAT-X195EC Clarity and the GAT-X284EC Wrath in the Earth Alliance, use whichever you want. You'll notice a subtly different operating system as well, I'll have someone send you a simulation training program to get accustomed to the suits so when they arrive you'll be ready to pilot straight away," Sepha explained while reaching into a draw.
"One last matter, these are your Knight badges, wear them with pride," Sepha said as he placed the two white palm-sized boxes on the desk and waited for the other two men to retrieve them.
The badges were not overly original or characteristic, a winged silver sword against a blue shield that was also edged in silver was the entirety of the design, but the craftsmanship was masterful.
Serrim pinned his inside his coat, next to his major's badge, Jin wore his on the breast of his coat.
"Now it really has been a most pleasant time gentlemen, but I fear time waits for no man and I have things I must attend to, we should speak again later," Sepha said as he began to slip some silk gloves on.
"Thank you sir," Jin said with a salute before leaving.
Serrim nodded and left with little more, Sepha had asked for no formality after all.
*****
Sepha sat down again after the two men left, moments later the phone rang.
"Yes?" Sepha said expectantly.
"Ah Sepha, have I got some wonderful news for you," Armellio said over the phone.
"Do elaborate."
"You know what I said about Bjorn Wyntar? I think he's almost coming over, we're to meet in Paris tomorrow to finalise things, as it is we only need a little more and I think he's ours. Your presence would be greatly appreciated, if he comes over...we go ahead with Operation Avalanche," Armellio said, excitement clear in his voice.
"Very good, I'll meet you and Bjorn tomorrow," Sepha replied.
"'Til then," Armellio said and was cut off by the click of the phone hanging up.
Excellent, another star lines up. Now we only need to know which way Orb is going to go, Sepha thought to himself as he left the room.
***
Ourei sat back in the briefing room, it had just ended, an Earth Alliance fleet of large size was on a heading for Africa, it would arrive within a week. ZAFT reinforcements now brought Victoria up to almost four hundred mobile suits, it would be a big battle. Unlike Gibraltar, Victoria was mostly landlocked so the Earth Alliance would have to create a beachhead and fight their way to Victoria and then take the base, of course, ZAFT had the advantage of mobility as they could drop more pods directly to Victoria whereas the Earth Alliance, which didn't hold control over orbital space would have to send troops from the Middle East.
All we have to do is sit back and let them come to us, beat them to a pulp from our defended positions and then counter-attack once they lose momentum. If we damage them enough they'll run back home with their tails between their legs, Ourei thought. Still, doubt wormed in his stomach, what if the Earth Alliance was stronger than they thought?
"Three-to-one odds aren't very good," Ourei said to himself as he continued to examine the readout.
*****
Apollo looked at the latest readout, "more Earth Alliance forces being massed at Methusa, Earth Alliance forces heading for Victoria, Atlantic Federation Troops massing at Panama, South Korea as well. Looks like the Naturals are getting ready for some big operation. "
"Sorry sir? What was that?" Hayata asked.
"I was just saying the Earth Alliance seems to be getting ready for something big, united we have about a hundred and fifty battle-ready warships, counting the ships that had to be sent away for repairs and the new ones to arrive. The Earth Alliance now has over five hundred ships at Methusa, according to our latest reports."
Hayata nodded his dark head solemnly, "I guess more ships will have to be sent in, or we'll have to fall back."
Apollo nodded, "I agree. How is our guest?"
"He is still too injured to speak for long, but he'll be better eventually. It'd be good if we could glean something from him," Hayata responded.
"Yes, that mobile suit he was piloting...it was unregistered, he must be quite high ranking to have one, only four others were spotted in the battle," Apollo replied, forwarding the display.
"In other news, we'll be heading down to Earth sometime. The Chairman said he needs someone in FAITH to reinforce the defences," Apollo continued casually as he examined a computerised map of South America.
"Us? Where are going to go?" Hayata asked.
"Africa, or South America. Louis Matadi has already been sent to Carpentaria," Apollo answered.
*****
Orb Hanger, Onogoro Island.
The Strike Freedom hung suspended by cables and girders, mechanics worked on it from head to foot.
"I'm sorry to trouble you guys like this," Kira Yamato said as he watched the work being done, sipping from a mug of coffee.
"No problem, the Freedom has always been a friend of Orb, in both wars you helped us and saved many lives, my own wife was saved by your intervention during the second war. Fixing your suit is the least we can do. The Earth needs the Freedom now more than ever, although most probably don't realise that. We've reconstructed and upgraded all the armaments we could, ten years is a pretty big technology gap, but some of them...You'd need to go to ZAFT to get the technology updated," the Orb technician said as he smoked a cigarette.
"All the same, thanks a lot," Kira said as one of the reconstructed wings was lowered and locked into place. I have to stop everyone from fighting, but who would have thought they'd have that much power? And that black Windam pilot, he was...familiar.
*****
Nasuma Aman sat across the table from the ZAFT representative, Orb's capital had been decimated, government buildings included, so the current administration had seized the remaining high-profile hotels and luxury resorts and used them as temporary headquarters.
"I don't fully understand why we should trust you. ZAFT mobile suits attacked our capital and killed thousands, for all we know this could just be another lie," Nasuma said sipping his tea, it was surprisingly good; for one of multiple times Nasuma mentally thanked his staff for choosing a five star hotel as their temporary residence.
"Damn it! Think logically, if we wanted to finished Orb why would we use so few suits, you know that as well as I. Look how that squad performed, if we sent the attack we would have sent several and that would have been that," The ZAFT man angrily, he was a big man, red-haired and blue eyed.
"Yes, that does make sense. But, what if you were thinking further ahead? Attack us now, say it can't have been you for the very reason you stated and all just to get us onto your side. Maybe that is overly sneaky, but then again if I can think of it, so can you. We in Orb have prided ourself on our strong national ideals and our neutrality above all. Unless you can give us concrete proof the Earth Alliance attacked us, or a terrorist group, then we can only assume that you may be an enemy. However, this is the sort of thing the Earth Alliance might have done, so we can't trust them either," Nasuma said standing up, he was a small man with sandy hair and dark skin.
The ZAFT representative stood as well, "Representative Nasuma, what will you do? The world is soon going to become a war zone and I don't think Orb alone can resist it."
"We will protect ourselves, as we always have. Unless there is something more I think our meeting is at an end," Nasuma finished.
"Fine, but should you need our help I suggest you ask for it, sooner rather than later," The ZAFT man said through clenched teeth, he left stiffly and shut the door more forcefully than he needed to.
"Sooner? But is that for our good or yours?" Nasuma asked quietly after the ZAFT man.
*****
Serrim stared at the Pariah as they came back, it had been less than a day, but much had changed.
"How does it feel Serrim, I suppose I have to call you Knight Major now eh? Hell I might have to start showing you respect!" Jin joked.
"Yes, and don't you forget it, or I'll have you locked up for insubordination," Serrim replied, equally as jokingly.
"I mean this is so cool, we've been real soldiers for only a few weeks and we're already on the way to the level of top elites," Jin said rubbing his hands.
"Remember Jin, despite the ranks we've been awarded, we both have a long way to go until we're elites. Sepha gave the promotion because he thinks we have potential, not because we're good now," Serrim said seriously.
"Yeah, I won't forget," Jin replied as he rand a hand through his jet-black hair, ruffling it slightly.
"You know Jin, you and me are very lucky, we have been chosen and it might just make our goals that much more attainable," Serrim said appreciatively as the shuttle touched down in the Pariah's bay.
*****
Ourei sat and watched the stars, it was something he enjoyed doing while he thought. "Ah, soon, so soon we'll see if I can do my duty. Fortune grant strength," Ourei sighed to himself.
END OF PHASE-09.
Author's note: Next post should be a bit more ZAFT focussed, hope you enjoyed it.
"I don't CARE if the mechanaught can't handle it, I want Wings of Light, the few seconds it'd last and the pilot mortality would be worth it." -me, eXteel closed beta.
PHASE-10: PURPOSE
************************************************
Ourei sat back in the cockpit of the Impact and sighed. The briefings were over, all the preparation that could have been made had been made, the order to go to condition red had come minutes ago. Ourei had been dreading and anticipating this moment for longer than he could remember, his first battle with enemy forces.
"Kahal Team reporting in, enemy forces spotted in sector one, approximately fifty Windam, moving to engage."
"Suruishi Team, no sign of activity in sector three."
Ourei looked ahead at his monitor, relaying an image from the Lesseps' main cameras; so far there was only flat water. They had been assigned to back up the Jehar Team on the beaches along with seven other teams.
The Jehar team was mainly GAZuOOT and Gunner ZAKU, Commander Jehar himself was in a bright green GOUF standing at the front.
Ourei and the Reava team had not launched yet; they wouldn't until enemies had been sighted, once they had visual confirmation they'd launch from the Lesseps and engage the enemy wherever the line needed support.
"Enemies spotted! Twenty Jet Windam incoming, at least seven large warships have been confirmed as well," Arome Zella relayed.
"Okay, lets show these Natties that we can still send their warmongering asses to hell!" Louin replied.
"Right you are, all units launch and prepare to engage," Sioun ordered.
"Louin De Suile, BABI launching!" Louin said with eagerness in her rough voice.
"Artemis Harin, Fortune, heading off!"
Ourei closed his eyes for a moment as the Impact was moved into position in one of the hangers, a tingling feeling run through his skin as his breathing became shallow.
"Ourei Bel Teraa, Impact, here I go." Ourei powered up his thrusters and felt the Impact surge forward and out of the hanger.
It had only been a minute, but already the first shots were being exchanged between the long-range weapons of each opposing force, Gunner ZAKU fired Orthros cannons and on board the Earth Alliance fleet Windam responded with their own high-impulse beam cannons. There were seven large battleships, and maybe as many carriers with a handful of smaller combat vessels. The Earth Alliance fleet here was not impressive, but Ourei knew there'd be more coming, maybe more a145678lready at other fronts
"Jet Windam incoming, one unknown, Ourei, Louin, Zella, deal with it. Artemis, you and me are to remain here for the time being, go!" Sioun ordered from her bright blue ZAKU Blaze Phantom.
Ourei sighed anxiously as he powered up to reach altitude of the Windam, a team of BABI followed him but were unable to truly keep up as he rocketed ahead. The Windam were all in the lime-green colours of the Middle-Eastern Union which made them stand out against the bright blue sky.
Ourei drew his rifle and fired off a few shots to scatter the Windam as he charged. The BABI's opened up with all their weapons, beams and rail slugs lancing up into the air, two Windam were gunned down before they could return fire, the others broke and began evasive manoeuvres
"Sluggish reflexes, typical of Natties," Louin said, her green custom BABI fired its Ardour again, taking a Windam square in the chest.
"Is that an Orb Murasame?" Zella asked firing his dark-red BABI's beam rifle and gunlauncher, taking a Windam's wing off as it dodged to one side, the mobile suit began to lose altitude and returned fire, destroying his BABI's beam rifle.
"Not unless they make them with EA weaponry, also it looks a good deal more bad-assed up," Louin commented firing at the new mobile suit.
Ourei zig-zagged and dodged a volley from a group of five Windam and returned fire taking one's head off taking the suit out of the battle. He didn't want to kill the pilots, he didn't want anyone's blood on his hands, but he knew he'd have to.
The Murasame-like mobile suit drew a beam-edged anti-shipping sword and charged Louin who ducked back and fired her Ardour beam cannon at point-blank range, her enemy blocked using the flat of blade of the anti-shipping sword and swung again taking an arm off her BABI.
"Damnit, little help?" Louin said launching her BABI back and evading another swing.
Ourei grinned and forced his shaking hands into motion, the Impact drew its long range beam cannon and fired, the mobile suit dodged to one side and transformed into a mobile armour before flying right at Ourei.
Ourei fired again; clipping a wing as the enemy transformed back to mobile suit form and drew a beam sabre, slashing in one motion, Ourei blocked with his shield and fired his beam cannon a third time.
The mobile suit launched back as the beam grazed its shoulder, Ourei returned the cannon to his hip and drew both the Impact's Hyper Vajra beam sabres to attack. The mobile suit fired a anti-armour penetrator from its shield and charged; sabre held at an angle to impale him through the cockpit.
Ourei made to block with his shield, a moment later it detonated into several shards as the anti-armour penetrator struck home, Ourei dodged frantically to one side and stabbed into the cockpit of the suit as it passed him by, he let go of the beam sabre and launched away as the mobile suit exploded behind him.
A long moment passed as Ourei stared wide-eyed and panting at the fading explosion behind him.
"Nice goin', now we just have to deal with the fifteen of them left, with the five of us," Zella said in grim humour as he engaged the remaining Windam.
*****
Artemis raised one of the Fortune's shoulder shields and activated the Geschmeidig Panzer system, causing an incoming volley of beams to bend away at the last minute.
"Jet Windam! Six coming in from above!" Sioun relayed and fired her Firebee missiles and her beam rifle as rapidly as she could, one Windam was shot through the cockpit and another's flight-pack was damaged, but the rest continued forward while evading the attacks and returning with their own
Artemis brought up her Baleena II beam cannons to firing position, held under the Fortune's arms, and fired; both beams hitting a Windam in the chest and tearing it in half. The support GAZuOOT fired a volley in unison that took down remaining Windam, literally shredding them from sheer weight of fire.
In the distance some of the ships could be seen opening hangers and letting more Windam launch climb onto the deck to take up firing positions.
"The battleships are launching Windam!" Artemis exclaimed, a shrill tone to her voice.
"They aren't battleships, they are carriers, the battleships have the big guns, battleships don't launch much," Sioun replied with a hint of edginess.
"Who cares? There's more of them coming!" Artemis responded.
"Second wave of Jet Windam approaching, fifty this time, coming in from the east," Jehar stated.
Artemis gasped as a shell from a battleship struck a Gunner ZAKU and tore it into several pieces, she fired her Baleena II's in response, destroying a turret and striking the deck, tearing open a rent in the metal, but the Earth Alliance fleet continued forward, heedless of her attack.
*****
Ourei dodged to one side and slashed a Windam in half, Louin had already been shot down, or the nest best thing, all her BABI's limbs had been removed making her little more than a big target and she'd been forced to bail out.
"Only five more, we can do this!" Zella said as he transformed his BABI to mobile armour mode and let out a spray of missiles and machine-gun fire. Ourei fired fired his beam rifle and his cannon, taking two more Windam down.
"Stupid cannon, takes so much power, I'm running at less than half power!" Ourei spat as he fired again, a Windam blocked his rifle blast but as did so the cannon the beam tore through its shield and destroyed its arm.
"I repeat; second wave of Jet Windam approaching, fifty confirmed, coming in from the east," Commander Jehar said.
"Hell. I don't think we can take that many, sir." Zella said in an irritated tone.
"I know, retreat back to the battle line and see if you can do anything here. The EA have just started to engage us seriously," Sioun ordered.
"Understood, moving to acknowledge," Ourei replied.
*****
A GAZuOOT and a Blaze ZAKU exploded as more shells found their mark, one of the battleships had fallen, but the sheer weight of their fire combined with the Windam's attacks was exacting a heavy toll on the ZAFT defenders.
The Impact landed to one side of Sioun and fired its beam cannon, the broad shaft of energy impacting a communication tower on one of the battleships.
"Windam within firing range, gunners fire at will," Jehar ordered and a squad of Blaze ZAKU obeyed, letting loose with both rifle fire and missiles.
"Kahal team reporting in; five losses taken and heavy fire from enemy Windam, eight hostiles destroyed. Requesting permission to withdraw."
"Denied, the Seruishi team will move in for backup, hold out for a minute or two," Commander Vultz ordered from his command post; a Compton class by the name of Glorious Khan.
"Understood. For ZAFT!" the Kahal team responded fervently.
Sioun sidestepped an incoming beam and fired back, her beam went wide and missed the carrier, instead splashing harmlessly in the water.
The Gunner ZAKU continued to fire at the Jet Windam, they would be in return firing range within a moment or two.
The Impact once again took to the air as it drew a beam sabre and its rifle, "I'm made for air combat, I'll see what I can do to keep these guys off you," Ourei said and boosted to meet the Alliance mobile suits.
Damn it, go to hell and leave us alone! Ourei shouted mentally at them as adrenaline pumped through his system and a cold knot formed in his stomach. There were so many of them.
Ourei lunged forward and slashed one of the Windam's heads off before spinning around and firing through the upper torso of another. Normally he'd stand no chance in a direct fight with so many, but the greater portion of the Windam were tied up in fire fights with ZAFT ground forces, so they could focus on his unit.
Zella's BABI came up beside him and fired its Ardour, the beam cut through one Windam's chest and the rifle-arm of the next. In response one of the Windam charged down from above striking Zella's BABI with it's shield and cutting the BABI's head off with its beam sabre.
Zella broke off and began to retreat haphazardly, "sorry man, getting too dicey for me and besides I'm running on empty, do what you can!"
Ourei fired his rifle and lunged again, his beam blew one of the Jet Windam's wings off and he cut the another one's legs off before moving on and firing at another two Windam.
*****
Sioun fired as fast as she could, her target Jet Windam darted to the side and dodged the first few shots but mistimed it's movements and was quickly shot down by her fifth shot.
"Hanbard Team reporting in; forty percent losses, requestion permission to withdraw."
"Permission granted, all forces begin a tactical withdrawal to the stage two defences," Vultz ordered.
*****
Admiral Tataj Yessal looked up from the strategic display,"Hmmm, not bad losses for the initial fighting, you say the ZAFT forces are falling back to a second line of defence inland eh? We lost a little over a hundred Windam today, inform the families and send my personal condolences. Establish a beachhead and wait for the rest of the forces to land. We have six hundred mobile suits to do this, excluding the forces we're keeping back on the beach and at sea, Rhamon will have my ass if I don't put up a good show."
"Yes sir!" The officers responded and scuttled off to their duties.
The Admiral ran a hand through his iron grey hair before sighing, "damn Coordinators, they're still going to keep fighting."
Tataj was not a man who hated Coordinators, even during the wars it was really just a job he had fighting them. It was the Earth Alliance that started the war in any case. However, the fact remained that it was his job and he wouldn't fail, it was just business after all.
*****
Ourei felt his mobile suit shake as he settled into position, the outside of the Impact was grazed, gouged and scorched by the weapons of the Windam, but it had taken no significant harm. It was a close thing though, by the time he came back he was running on 3% energy.
Ourei slipped out of his mobile suit and sighed heavily, "How'd we go?" Ourei called to Zella as he up-ended a bottle of water on his head, washing away a heavy sheen of perspiration and revitalising him, the pale blond haired man turned and shook his head.
"To be blunt, we got smacked around," Zella said running his hand through his hair.
Ourei nodded solemnly, "how bad?"
Zella tapped his lips, it was a problem with the man; he never could keep his hands still when he was thinking. "We lost a little under a hundred mobile suits. That is very bad for a first day of fighting when we hold the defensive and logistical advantage."
"African reinforcements?" Ourei asked.
"Probably, eventually, the African Union is not a superpower considering its economic and population problems. You'd have to ask Vultz or at least Sioun, but I heard that they'll be sending something like two thousand tanks and a few hundred mobile suits. Of course, they aren't likely to reach us in time," Zella responded grimly.
*****
Vultz let out a as he sat, things were not going well at all. The new Earth Alliance Windam seemed to be far more impressive than he had originally thought and his own men were worryingly inexperienced.
It didn't surprise him, between low population growth and high levels of post-war retirement and desertion all areas of ZAFT suffered, but a distinct lack of veterans was the most prominent, those experienced men that remained in ZAFT were mainly relegated as ship commanders and instructors, leaving the new recruits to fight the actual mobile suit combat.
The first defensive layer had fallen, it was supposed to last a week but it only managed a day, the Victoria base and its defences were the final and third layer, but he doubted they'd last much longer. Everything hinged on the second layer, there they had entrenched artillery and missile batteries to provide support as well as the terrain advantage.
Vultz typed up a quick message and left his room, it was unlikely anything more could be spared, not in time at least, but he had to try.
*****
Alerik read over the latest correspondence, the research on the latest mobile suits was coming along well, which was good since the Supreme Council had voted in massive favour of a 200% increase in defence spending, but it would still be some time before a new mass-produced model was ready.
The news on the fronts was mixed, in Africa things were going badly, with a tactical retreat already in progress, in the Mediterranean things were going well with an Earth Alliance fleet from Italy already sunk to the bottom of the sea, which should give the Western Europeans some pause. Australia and South America were unharmed as of yet.
Orb was refusing to join or even aid ZAFT, but they couldn't be blamed for that given how the war had started. Communications with Scandinavia and the Equatorial Union were getting icy, and that was worrying as even during wartime they had been diplomatic at the least.
Those Naturals have really managed to seize the advantage. But it is of no real importance yet, soon ZAFT will be able to go on the offensive backed by our allies. Problem is getting ZAFT to survive this in one piece while our allies mobilise.
Every day it takes African and South American troops to take up arms and man their positions is a day ZAFT soldiers have to protect those same positions, we're losing out mobility and getting bogged down on Earth in garrisons, Alerik thought as he read the next letter, he wouldn't admit it, but he was beginning to get worried.
*****
Apollo read the transmission aloud, "'any spare forces that can be spared are requested, the situation is becoming very unfavourable.'"
Hayata nodded, "prepare to descend?"
Apollo nodded, "We received orders this morning, ZAFT is pulling out of orbit, ZAFT can't risk a war of attrition and we can't do anything else here, so I may as well drop in on my darling sister. Besides, we'd probably be sent there anyway."
Hayata groaned mentally before speaking, he hated the Earth, it was dirty and unpredictable, not like the clean environments of the PLANT cities.
"The Galahad will now commence atmospheric entry, all crew head to your posts. I repeat, the Galahad will enter the atmosphere shortly, all crew to posts."
*****
Ourei slumped over in his chair, exhausted from the long day and full from a recent meal. Without anything going on it gave him much time to think, too much time. Opposite him Artemis lay reading a novel titled Valentine Hearts Zella sat back and listened to music quietly and Louin rubbed gloved hands through her red-brown hair as she sprawled on one of the couches. Still there was a sombre air to the place, everyone knew the dire situation.
Sioun was still out at a meeting of the squad captains and Ourei stared at the roof, as he lost himself in thought. Why are these Naturals so damn intent on fighting? What purpose could it serve, we finally begin to make things stable and then they go and screw everything up, twice! Even they must see we didn't want any trouble, it was probably those stupid Zala Faction trying to get things started again. Seriously, it makes you think thinks about how much these Naturals actually deserve our help, Ourei was interrupted by the door slamming open and Sioun rushing in.
"FAITH! A member of FAITH is coming to help us, we're saved!" Sioun said ecstatically.
"FAITH? Who?" Zella asked pulling the headphones out of his ears.
"Apollo Harin, the Dagger of Morning, decorated with the Order of the Nebula and promoted to FAITH for his service," Sioun responded with a twirl.
"Not to forget he's our little Arty's big brother, isn't that right, Arty?" Ourei said with a grin.
Artemis threw her book at Ourei, "I've told you not to give me such ridiculous nicknames! Jeez, so what if he's my brother?"
"Hey, it's no big deal, he's just in one of the highest positions a man in ZAFT can attain," Zella said sarcastically.
"So when do we see this Apollo Harin?" Ourei asked.
"Tomorrow morning, hopefully before the EA begin their attacks again," Sioun responded.
"Cool, anyway I'm off to see how my BABI is goin', has to be ready for tomorrow, y'know?" Zella said striding out the door.
***
Artemis awoke bleary-eyed to the sound of sirens, stage one alert, the clock read slightly after seven AM, the EA forces had decided to be real punks and come early and loud.
It took only a few minutes to suit up and run to the hanger climb into the Fortune and launch. Ourei and Louin had already launched a few minutes beforehand and were busy engaging the enemy Windam in the early morning sky. All around ZAFT forces were being deployed, GAZuOOT and ZAKU walked to their positions and began firing, BABI launched out and engaged in dogfights with their EA foes and BuCUE, as well as a few elite Kerberos BuCUE, launched with jumps and rushed to the front lines.
"Good morning sleepyhead," Ourei's smug voice said.
"Shut up Ourei, I sleep a lot further from the hangers than you do," Artemis replied as she took up position on the Lesseps.
"All right then squad, stay sharp and try to hit those Jet Windam, without the air superiority advantage we can hold them back," Sioun ordered as she took up position between the 400mm calibre cannons of the Lesseps.
Artemis took aim and fired both her Baleena II's at the lime-green and white painted Windam in the sky, probably about a hundred in all, like a swarm of massive metallic wasps they darted around in small groups and rained fire down on the ZAFT defenders, fortunately the ZAFT mobile suits had heavier terrain cover than in the previous battles whereas the airborne Windam had none, two Windam fell out of the sky as the beams cut through their torsos.
"Damnit, Ekahara Team move to the left flank to relieve the Suruishi team, we have heavy artillery pressure on the right flank, Jehar Team move to cancel. Yari Team deploy and back up the centre," Vultz ordered over the communication link.
Artemis fired again and again with the Baleena II, the cannons were easy to aim with their under-the-arms style of firing, it had been taken off the ease with which the Blast Impulse's cannons worked.
Still, every now and then she'd see a ZAFT mobile suit take one hit too many and explode, ahead two Slash ZAKU were taken out by a long range beam cannon, to one side a GAZuOOT was hit by a dozen missiles from a Jet Windam, a little way down a Blaze ZAKU toppled over as a Windam charged forward and thrust its beam sabre right through the ZAKU's chest.
Artemis jumped back as a beam grazed the Fortune's shoulder, unable to see which of the swarm of Windam attacked she fired back with her Baleena II jumped down off the the Lesseps, it was a little too exposed.
*****
"Go to hell you Nattie scumbags!" Louin yelled as she fired both her rifle and gunlauncher into a Windam at point blank range, beside her another Windam exploded in a neon cloud as Ourei cut through it with his beam sabre.
It wasn't in any way a one-sided battle, a BABI was cut in half by a Windam on one side and two more were shot down on another, two BABI charged and fired their Ardour beam cannons only to have the Windam dodged and counter with rifle fire tearing the BABI apart.
Chaos reigned all around as mobile suits were shot down or destroyed and the fighting grew more ferocious. Zella slammed into a Windam and caught both it's arms in his hands before blasting it with his Ardour cannon, a Windam charged and smashed into Louin with it's shield before firing it's CIWS machine guns into the missile pods on her BABI's shoulders causing them to explode, the Windam then brutally kicked her mobile suit away.
"Arrogant moron!" Louin yelled as she fired her gunlauncher and beam rifle up at the Windam as she fell, most of the beams missed but one scored a hit on the shoulder and took of the wing as well, the Windam plummeted out of the sky a moment later.
*****
Vultz examined the battlefield from the Glorious Khan, a few hundred metres ahead a Petrie class land battleship exploded showering the area with shrapnel.
"Damn it. We're losing ground, I don't know how long it'll be before we have to signal another withdrawal if this keeps up, as it is we're doing pretty well with two-to-one kills to losses, but the lines are thinning fast and we're running low on reinforcements," Vultz said to himself.
"Minerva class ship detected sir, it's the Galahad," an officer said.
"About time," Vultz replied grimly.
*****
Apollo brushed back his hair and spoke, "Parsifal loaded, aim the Tristan and Isolde. Charge the Tannhäuser and fire when ready. We're going all out, knock these Naturals out of the sky. As soon as you can launch the DOM, I'll head out shortly. All personnel full battle stations!"
"Yes sir!" Hayata responded, echoed by the crew.
*****
Ourei swore as he broke away from a Windam he had decapitated, it had left a long gouge in the Impact's torso with its beam sabre, "Minerva class?" Ourei said as he looked up.
Moments later the front of the ships opened and the Tannhäuser positron cannon fired, a long blue-white beam lanced out and destroyed all the mobile suits that were unfortunate to get in its way, about a dozen by the looks of it. After that the Minerva-class continued advancing as missiles sprayed out at the Windam, both in the air and on the ground, mobile suits were launched, DOM by the look of them, they fired their thrusters before touching the ground the ground and activated their beam shields before charging at the stunned Windam, deflecting incoming fire and slicing into the Windam.
The Minerva-class fired it's weapons down onto the Windam, which were still advancing, catching them in a crossfire between the ZAFT defenders in front and the newly arrived FAITH battleship from above.
"I am Apollo Harin, member of FAITH dispatched here at the request of the ZAFT council. Now that the introduction is over let us drive these Earth Alliance swine into the ocean, for ZAFT!" a man's fine-toned voice said over the communication link.
Lastly a white and silver mobile suit launched from the Minerva-class and began to attack the enemy Windam with its beam rifle, which was a game move considering the massive odds stacked against him. The pilot was good, beyond just good really, he dodged and fought with amazing precision and speed.
"All forces comply, all-out assault!" Vultz ordered.
Ourei launched forward, and sheathed his sabres before drawing his rifle and cannon, most of the Windam in the air were falling back, some had been shot down. Ourei pursed the fleeing Windam and fired, some of them lost limbs or heads, others crashed to the ground and ran
*****
Admiral Tataj Yessal saw the change in the battle as it was happening, as soon as the Minerva-class appeared with its compliment of mobile suits, "all forces withdraw, we don't have the numbers or weapons to deal with that Minerva-class and the enemy army. Call in special reinforcements , tell them of our situation," Tataj ordered as he crossed his arms, it had all been looking so well, but he wasn't about to quit just yet.
In truth, it wasn't so bad. A minor setback, just with the damage to morale and the shock of a new and powerful enemy, Tataj didn't want to risk more losses than he needed to.
*****
"Enemy forces are pulling out, pursue?" Ourei asked.
"No, as it is power supplies are running low, we're better off resting for a day to make repairs, replace damaged parts and recharge the power on the mobile suits before attacking. We'll assume an assault position soon though. That goes for everyone," Vultz replied.
Vultz sat down with a sigh as he contacted the Galahad, "well done, as impressive as I had hoped for a member of FAITH to demonstrate. You also have my personal thanks."
The dark haired man merely smiled, "I am always pleased to aid ZAFT according to the will of the Supreme Council. It is my purpose to serve and embody the will of ZAFT."
*****
Ourei washed his face with cold water and took a long drink of orange juice before sitting down, "Gee, I guess I'm lucky, two battles so far and I haven't lost anything serious yet, unlike you guys," Ourei said to Zella and Louin with a pointed look, both of whom had came back with badly damaged BABI."
"You think it's over Ourei?" Zella asked.
"Not yet, but we've almost driven them back," Ourei responded.
"Not by a long shot, one thing I know is these Naturals are tenacious, they'll fight for every step we have to pull back from them, it's not over by a long way yet. A lot more of us might die before then." Zella responded grimly.
"That doesn't bother you?" Ourei asked.
"It does, but as I said; its what Naturals are like. They know they can take the losses, so they do. They don't care how many of their own men die, so long as we do too," Zella responded.
*****
"This news does not please me, not at all," Sepha said coldly, it was already light outside, despite the early hour.
"I am deeply sorry sir, the commander was competent but it seems the ZAFT forces were aided by a Minerva class equipped with DOM Trooper-type mobile suits, and a new mobile suit, reports are still coming in but I saw enough to know that," the officer responded.
"Then I suppose we have to up the ante, send in the First and Seventh battalions, see how the ZAFT defenders appreciate that," Sepha replied.
"Yes sir, thank you sir," the officer replied and the image winked out.
Sepha stood back and closed his eyes, fighting down his feelings of frustration, "Alerik...it seems I may have underestimated how annoying you could be, but we'll see; when my proxies meet yours we'll see who is the better. We will find out, and so will the whole world."
END OF PHASE 10
************************************************
Ourei sat back in the cockpit of the Impact and sighed. The briefings were over, all the preparation that could have been made had been made, the order to go to condition red had come minutes ago. Ourei had been dreading and anticipating this moment for longer than he could remember, his first battle with enemy forces.
"Kahal Team reporting in, enemy forces spotted in sector one, approximately fifty Windam, moving to engage."
"Suruishi Team, no sign of activity in sector three."
Ourei looked ahead at his monitor, relaying an image from the Lesseps' main cameras; so far there was only flat water. They had been assigned to back up the Jehar Team on the beaches along with seven other teams.
The Jehar team was mainly GAZuOOT and Gunner ZAKU, Commander Jehar himself was in a bright green GOUF standing at the front.
Ourei and the Reava team had not launched yet; they wouldn't until enemies had been sighted, once they had visual confirmation they'd launch from the Lesseps and engage the enemy wherever the line needed support.
"Enemies spotted! Twenty Jet Windam incoming, at least seven large warships have been confirmed as well," Arome Zella relayed.
"Okay, lets show these Natties that we can still send their warmongering asses to hell!" Louin replied.
"Right you are, all units launch and prepare to engage," Sioun ordered.
"Louin De Suile, BABI launching!" Louin said with eagerness in her rough voice.
"Artemis Harin, Fortune, heading off!"
Ourei closed his eyes for a moment as the Impact was moved into position in one of the hangers, a tingling feeling run through his skin as his breathing became shallow.
"Ourei Bel Teraa, Impact, here I go." Ourei powered up his thrusters and felt the Impact surge forward and out of the hanger.
It had only been a minute, but already the first shots were being exchanged between the long-range weapons of each opposing force, Gunner ZAKU fired Orthros cannons and on board the Earth Alliance fleet Windam responded with their own high-impulse beam cannons. There were seven large battleships, and maybe as many carriers with a handful of smaller combat vessels. The Earth Alliance fleet here was not impressive, but Ourei knew there'd be more coming, maybe more a145678lready at other fronts
"Jet Windam incoming, one unknown, Ourei, Louin, Zella, deal with it. Artemis, you and me are to remain here for the time being, go!" Sioun ordered from her bright blue ZAKU Blaze Phantom.
Ourei sighed anxiously as he powered up to reach altitude of the Windam, a team of BABI followed him but were unable to truly keep up as he rocketed ahead. The Windam were all in the lime-green colours of the Middle-Eastern Union which made them stand out against the bright blue sky.
Ourei drew his rifle and fired off a few shots to scatter the Windam as he charged. The BABI's opened up with all their weapons, beams and rail slugs lancing up into the air, two Windam were gunned down before they could return fire, the others broke and began evasive manoeuvres
"Sluggish reflexes, typical of Natties," Louin said, her green custom BABI fired its Ardour again, taking a Windam square in the chest.
"Is that an Orb Murasame?" Zella asked firing his dark-red BABI's beam rifle and gunlauncher, taking a Windam's wing off as it dodged to one side, the mobile suit began to lose altitude and returned fire, destroying his BABI's beam rifle.
"Not unless they make them with EA weaponry, also it looks a good deal more bad-assed up," Louin commented firing at the new mobile suit.
Ourei zig-zagged and dodged a volley from a group of five Windam and returned fire taking one's head off taking the suit out of the battle. He didn't want to kill the pilots, he didn't want anyone's blood on his hands, but he knew he'd have to.
The Murasame-like mobile suit drew a beam-edged anti-shipping sword and charged Louin who ducked back and fired her Ardour beam cannon at point-blank range, her enemy blocked using the flat of blade of the anti-shipping sword and swung again taking an arm off her BABI.
"Damnit, little help?" Louin said launching her BABI back and evading another swing.
Ourei grinned and forced his shaking hands into motion, the Impact drew its long range beam cannon and fired, the mobile suit dodged to one side and transformed into a mobile armour before flying right at Ourei.
Ourei fired again; clipping a wing as the enemy transformed back to mobile suit form and drew a beam sabre, slashing in one motion, Ourei blocked with his shield and fired his beam cannon a third time.
The mobile suit launched back as the beam grazed its shoulder, Ourei returned the cannon to his hip and drew both the Impact's Hyper Vajra beam sabres to attack. The mobile suit fired a anti-armour penetrator from its shield and charged; sabre held at an angle to impale him through the cockpit.
Ourei made to block with his shield, a moment later it detonated into several shards as the anti-armour penetrator struck home, Ourei dodged frantically to one side and stabbed into the cockpit of the suit as it passed him by, he let go of the beam sabre and launched away as the mobile suit exploded behind him.
A long moment passed as Ourei stared wide-eyed and panting at the fading explosion behind him.
"Nice goin', now we just have to deal with the fifteen of them left, with the five of us," Zella said in grim humour as he engaged the remaining Windam.
*****
Artemis raised one of the Fortune's shoulder shields and activated the Geschmeidig Panzer system, causing an incoming volley of beams to bend away at the last minute.
"Jet Windam! Six coming in from above!" Sioun relayed and fired her Firebee missiles and her beam rifle as rapidly as she could, one Windam was shot through the cockpit and another's flight-pack was damaged, but the rest continued forward while evading the attacks and returning with their own
Artemis brought up her Baleena II beam cannons to firing position, held under the Fortune's arms, and fired; both beams hitting a Windam in the chest and tearing it in half. The support GAZuOOT fired a volley in unison that took down remaining Windam, literally shredding them from sheer weight of fire.
In the distance some of the ships could be seen opening hangers and letting more Windam launch climb onto the deck to take up firing positions.
"The battleships are launching Windam!" Artemis exclaimed, a shrill tone to her voice.
"They aren't battleships, they are carriers, the battleships have the big guns, battleships don't launch much," Sioun replied with a hint of edginess.
"Who cares? There's more of them coming!" Artemis responded.
"Second wave of Jet Windam approaching, fifty this time, coming in from the east," Jehar stated.
Artemis gasped as a shell from a battleship struck a Gunner ZAKU and tore it into several pieces, she fired her Baleena II's in response, destroying a turret and striking the deck, tearing open a rent in the metal, but the Earth Alliance fleet continued forward, heedless of her attack.
*****
Ourei dodged to one side and slashed a Windam in half, Louin had already been shot down, or the nest best thing, all her BABI's limbs had been removed making her little more than a big target and she'd been forced to bail out.
"Only five more, we can do this!" Zella said as he transformed his BABI to mobile armour mode and let out a spray of missiles and machine-gun fire. Ourei fired fired his beam rifle and his cannon, taking two more Windam down.
"Stupid cannon, takes so much power, I'm running at less than half power!" Ourei spat as he fired again, a Windam blocked his rifle blast but as did so the cannon the beam tore through its shield and destroyed its arm.
"I repeat; second wave of Jet Windam approaching, fifty confirmed, coming in from the east," Commander Jehar said.
"Hell. I don't think we can take that many, sir." Zella said in an irritated tone.
"I know, retreat back to the battle line and see if you can do anything here. The EA have just started to engage us seriously," Sioun ordered.
"Understood, moving to acknowledge," Ourei replied.
*****
A GAZuOOT and a Blaze ZAKU exploded as more shells found their mark, one of the battleships had fallen, but the sheer weight of their fire combined with the Windam's attacks was exacting a heavy toll on the ZAFT defenders.
The Impact landed to one side of Sioun and fired its beam cannon, the broad shaft of energy impacting a communication tower on one of the battleships.
"Windam within firing range, gunners fire at will," Jehar ordered and a squad of Blaze ZAKU obeyed, letting loose with both rifle fire and missiles.
"Kahal team reporting in; five losses taken and heavy fire from enemy Windam, eight hostiles destroyed. Requesting permission to withdraw."
"Denied, the Seruishi team will move in for backup, hold out for a minute or two," Commander Vultz ordered from his command post; a Compton class by the name of Glorious Khan.
"Understood. For ZAFT!" the Kahal team responded fervently.
Sioun sidestepped an incoming beam and fired back, her beam went wide and missed the carrier, instead splashing harmlessly in the water.
The Gunner ZAKU continued to fire at the Jet Windam, they would be in return firing range within a moment or two.
The Impact once again took to the air as it drew a beam sabre and its rifle, "I'm made for air combat, I'll see what I can do to keep these guys off you," Ourei said and boosted to meet the Alliance mobile suits.
Damn it, go to hell and leave us alone! Ourei shouted mentally at them as adrenaline pumped through his system and a cold knot formed in his stomach. There were so many of them.
Ourei lunged forward and slashed one of the Windam's heads off before spinning around and firing through the upper torso of another. Normally he'd stand no chance in a direct fight with so many, but the greater portion of the Windam were tied up in fire fights with ZAFT ground forces, so they could focus on his unit.
Zella's BABI came up beside him and fired its Ardour, the beam cut through one Windam's chest and the rifle-arm of the next. In response one of the Windam charged down from above striking Zella's BABI with it's shield and cutting the BABI's head off with its beam sabre.
Zella broke off and began to retreat haphazardly, "sorry man, getting too dicey for me and besides I'm running on empty, do what you can!"
Ourei fired his rifle and lunged again, his beam blew one of the Jet Windam's wings off and he cut the another one's legs off before moving on and firing at another two Windam.
*****
Sioun fired as fast as she could, her target Jet Windam darted to the side and dodged the first few shots but mistimed it's movements and was quickly shot down by her fifth shot.
"Hanbard Team reporting in; forty percent losses, requestion permission to withdraw."
"Permission granted, all forces begin a tactical withdrawal to the stage two defences," Vultz ordered.
*****
Admiral Tataj Yessal looked up from the strategic display,"Hmmm, not bad losses for the initial fighting, you say the ZAFT forces are falling back to a second line of defence inland eh? We lost a little over a hundred Windam today, inform the families and send my personal condolences. Establish a beachhead and wait for the rest of the forces to land. We have six hundred mobile suits to do this, excluding the forces we're keeping back on the beach and at sea, Rhamon will have my ass if I don't put up a good show."
"Yes sir!" The officers responded and scuttled off to their duties.
The Admiral ran a hand through his iron grey hair before sighing, "damn Coordinators, they're still going to keep fighting."
Tataj was not a man who hated Coordinators, even during the wars it was really just a job he had fighting them. It was the Earth Alliance that started the war in any case. However, the fact remained that it was his job and he wouldn't fail, it was just business after all.
*****
Ourei felt his mobile suit shake as he settled into position, the outside of the Impact was grazed, gouged and scorched by the weapons of the Windam, but it had taken no significant harm. It was a close thing though, by the time he came back he was running on 3% energy.
Ourei slipped out of his mobile suit and sighed heavily, "How'd we go?" Ourei called to Zella as he up-ended a bottle of water on his head, washing away a heavy sheen of perspiration and revitalising him, the pale blond haired man turned and shook his head.
"To be blunt, we got smacked around," Zella said running his hand through his hair.
Ourei nodded solemnly, "how bad?"
Zella tapped his lips, it was a problem with the man; he never could keep his hands still when he was thinking. "We lost a little under a hundred mobile suits. That is very bad for a first day of fighting when we hold the defensive and logistical advantage."
"African reinforcements?" Ourei asked.
"Probably, eventually, the African Union is not a superpower considering its economic and population problems. You'd have to ask Vultz or at least Sioun, but I heard that they'll be sending something like two thousand tanks and a few hundred mobile suits. Of course, they aren't likely to reach us in time," Zella responded grimly.
*****
Vultz let out a as he sat, things were not going well at all. The new Earth Alliance Windam seemed to be far more impressive than he had originally thought and his own men were worryingly inexperienced.
It didn't surprise him, between low population growth and high levels of post-war retirement and desertion all areas of ZAFT suffered, but a distinct lack of veterans was the most prominent, those experienced men that remained in ZAFT were mainly relegated as ship commanders and instructors, leaving the new recruits to fight the actual mobile suit combat.
The first defensive layer had fallen, it was supposed to last a week but it only managed a day, the Victoria base and its defences were the final and third layer, but he doubted they'd last much longer. Everything hinged on the second layer, there they had entrenched artillery and missile batteries to provide support as well as the terrain advantage.
Vultz typed up a quick message and left his room, it was unlikely anything more could be spared, not in time at least, but he had to try.
*****
Alerik read over the latest correspondence, the research on the latest mobile suits was coming along well, which was good since the Supreme Council had voted in massive favour of a 200% increase in defence spending, but it would still be some time before a new mass-produced model was ready.
The news on the fronts was mixed, in Africa things were going badly, with a tactical retreat already in progress, in the Mediterranean things were going well with an Earth Alliance fleet from Italy already sunk to the bottom of the sea, which should give the Western Europeans some pause. Australia and South America were unharmed as of yet.
Orb was refusing to join or even aid ZAFT, but they couldn't be blamed for that given how the war had started. Communications with Scandinavia and the Equatorial Union were getting icy, and that was worrying as even during wartime they had been diplomatic at the least.
Those Naturals have really managed to seize the advantage. But it is of no real importance yet, soon ZAFT will be able to go on the offensive backed by our allies. Problem is getting ZAFT to survive this in one piece while our allies mobilise.
Every day it takes African and South American troops to take up arms and man their positions is a day ZAFT soldiers have to protect those same positions, we're losing out mobility and getting bogged down on Earth in garrisons, Alerik thought as he read the next letter, he wouldn't admit it, but he was beginning to get worried.
*****
Apollo read the transmission aloud, "'any spare forces that can be spared are requested, the situation is becoming very unfavourable.'"
Hayata nodded, "prepare to descend?"
Apollo nodded, "We received orders this morning, ZAFT is pulling out of orbit, ZAFT can't risk a war of attrition and we can't do anything else here, so I may as well drop in on my darling sister. Besides, we'd probably be sent there anyway."
Hayata groaned mentally before speaking, he hated the Earth, it was dirty and unpredictable, not like the clean environments of the PLANT cities.
"The Galahad will now commence atmospheric entry, all crew head to your posts. I repeat, the Galahad will enter the atmosphere shortly, all crew to posts."
*****
Ourei slumped over in his chair, exhausted from the long day and full from a recent meal. Without anything going on it gave him much time to think, too much time. Opposite him Artemis lay reading a novel titled Valentine Hearts Zella sat back and listened to music quietly and Louin rubbed gloved hands through her red-brown hair as she sprawled on one of the couches. Still there was a sombre air to the place, everyone knew the dire situation.
Sioun was still out at a meeting of the squad captains and Ourei stared at the roof, as he lost himself in thought. Why are these Naturals so damn intent on fighting? What purpose could it serve, we finally begin to make things stable and then they go and screw everything up, twice! Even they must see we didn't want any trouble, it was probably those stupid Zala Faction trying to get things started again. Seriously, it makes you think thinks about how much these Naturals actually deserve our help, Ourei was interrupted by the door slamming open and Sioun rushing in.
"FAITH! A member of FAITH is coming to help us, we're saved!" Sioun said ecstatically.
"FAITH? Who?" Zella asked pulling the headphones out of his ears.
"Apollo Harin, the Dagger of Morning, decorated with the Order of the Nebula and promoted to FAITH for his service," Sioun responded with a twirl.
"Not to forget he's our little Arty's big brother, isn't that right, Arty?" Ourei said with a grin.
Artemis threw her book at Ourei, "I've told you not to give me such ridiculous nicknames! Jeez, so what if he's my brother?"
"Hey, it's no big deal, he's just in one of the highest positions a man in ZAFT can attain," Zella said sarcastically.
"So when do we see this Apollo Harin?" Ourei asked.
"Tomorrow morning, hopefully before the EA begin their attacks again," Sioun responded.
"Cool, anyway I'm off to see how my BABI is goin', has to be ready for tomorrow, y'know?" Zella said striding out the door.
***
Artemis awoke bleary-eyed to the sound of sirens, stage one alert, the clock read slightly after seven AM, the EA forces had decided to be real punks and come early and loud.
It took only a few minutes to suit up and run to the hanger climb into the Fortune and launch. Ourei and Louin had already launched a few minutes beforehand and were busy engaging the enemy Windam in the early morning sky. All around ZAFT forces were being deployed, GAZuOOT and ZAKU walked to their positions and began firing, BABI launched out and engaged in dogfights with their EA foes and BuCUE, as well as a few elite Kerberos BuCUE, launched with jumps and rushed to the front lines.
"Good morning sleepyhead," Ourei's smug voice said.
"Shut up Ourei, I sleep a lot further from the hangers than you do," Artemis replied as she took up position on the Lesseps.
"All right then squad, stay sharp and try to hit those Jet Windam, without the air superiority advantage we can hold them back," Sioun ordered as she took up position between the 400mm calibre cannons of the Lesseps.
Artemis took aim and fired both her Baleena II's at the lime-green and white painted Windam in the sky, probably about a hundred in all, like a swarm of massive metallic wasps they darted around in small groups and rained fire down on the ZAFT defenders, fortunately the ZAFT mobile suits had heavier terrain cover than in the previous battles whereas the airborne Windam had none, two Windam fell out of the sky as the beams cut through their torsos.
"Damnit, Ekahara Team move to the left flank to relieve the Suruishi team, we have heavy artillery pressure on the right flank, Jehar Team move to cancel. Yari Team deploy and back up the centre," Vultz ordered over the communication link.
Artemis fired again and again with the Baleena II, the cannons were easy to aim with their under-the-arms style of firing, it had been taken off the ease with which the Blast Impulse's cannons worked.
Still, every now and then she'd see a ZAFT mobile suit take one hit too many and explode, ahead two Slash ZAKU were taken out by a long range beam cannon, to one side a GAZuOOT was hit by a dozen missiles from a Jet Windam, a little way down a Blaze ZAKU toppled over as a Windam charged forward and thrust its beam sabre right through the ZAKU's chest.
Artemis jumped back as a beam grazed the Fortune's shoulder, unable to see which of the swarm of Windam attacked she fired back with her Baleena II jumped down off the the Lesseps, it was a little too exposed.
*****
"Go to hell you Nattie scumbags!" Louin yelled as she fired both her rifle and gunlauncher into a Windam at point blank range, beside her another Windam exploded in a neon cloud as Ourei cut through it with his beam sabre.
It wasn't in any way a one-sided battle, a BABI was cut in half by a Windam on one side and two more were shot down on another, two BABI charged and fired their Ardour beam cannons only to have the Windam dodged and counter with rifle fire tearing the BABI apart.
Chaos reigned all around as mobile suits were shot down or destroyed and the fighting grew more ferocious. Zella slammed into a Windam and caught both it's arms in his hands before blasting it with his Ardour cannon, a Windam charged and smashed into Louin with it's shield before firing it's CIWS machine guns into the missile pods on her BABI's shoulders causing them to explode, the Windam then brutally kicked her mobile suit away.
"Arrogant moron!" Louin yelled as she fired her gunlauncher and beam rifle up at the Windam as she fell, most of the beams missed but one scored a hit on the shoulder and took of the wing as well, the Windam plummeted out of the sky a moment later.
*****
Vultz examined the battlefield from the Glorious Khan, a few hundred metres ahead a Petrie class land battleship exploded showering the area with shrapnel.
"Damn it. We're losing ground, I don't know how long it'll be before we have to signal another withdrawal if this keeps up, as it is we're doing pretty well with two-to-one kills to losses, but the lines are thinning fast and we're running low on reinforcements," Vultz said to himself.
"Minerva class ship detected sir, it's the Galahad," an officer said.
"About time," Vultz replied grimly.
*****
Apollo brushed back his hair and spoke, "Parsifal loaded, aim the Tristan and Isolde. Charge the Tannhäuser and fire when ready. We're going all out, knock these Naturals out of the sky. As soon as you can launch the DOM, I'll head out shortly. All personnel full battle stations!"
"Yes sir!" Hayata responded, echoed by the crew.
*****
Ourei swore as he broke away from a Windam he had decapitated, it had left a long gouge in the Impact's torso with its beam sabre, "Minerva class?" Ourei said as he looked up.
Moments later the front of the ships opened and the Tannhäuser positron cannon fired, a long blue-white beam lanced out and destroyed all the mobile suits that were unfortunate to get in its way, about a dozen by the looks of it. After that the Minerva-class continued advancing as missiles sprayed out at the Windam, both in the air and on the ground, mobile suits were launched, DOM by the look of them, they fired their thrusters before touching the ground the ground and activated their beam shields before charging at the stunned Windam, deflecting incoming fire and slicing into the Windam.
The Minerva-class fired it's weapons down onto the Windam, which were still advancing, catching them in a crossfire between the ZAFT defenders in front and the newly arrived FAITH battleship from above.
"I am Apollo Harin, member of FAITH dispatched here at the request of the ZAFT council. Now that the introduction is over let us drive these Earth Alliance swine into the ocean, for ZAFT!" a man's fine-toned voice said over the communication link.
Lastly a white and silver mobile suit launched from the Minerva-class and began to attack the enemy Windam with its beam rifle, which was a game move considering the massive odds stacked against him. The pilot was good, beyond just good really, he dodged and fought with amazing precision and speed.
"All forces comply, all-out assault!" Vultz ordered.
Ourei launched forward, and sheathed his sabres before drawing his rifle and cannon, most of the Windam in the air were falling back, some had been shot down. Ourei pursed the fleeing Windam and fired, some of them lost limbs or heads, others crashed to the ground and ran
*****
Admiral Tataj Yessal saw the change in the battle as it was happening, as soon as the Minerva-class appeared with its compliment of mobile suits, "all forces withdraw, we don't have the numbers or weapons to deal with that Minerva-class and the enemy army. Call in special reinforcements , tell them of our situation," Tataj ordered as he crossed his arms, it had all been looking so well, but he wasn't about to quit just yet.
In truth, it wasn't so bad. A minor setback, just with the damage to morale and the shock of a new and powerful enemy, Tataj didn't want to risk more losses than he needed to.
*****
"Enemy forces are pulling out, pursue?" Ourei asked.
"No, as it is power supplies are running low, we're better off resting for a day to make repairs, replace damaged parts and recharge the power on the mobile suits before attacking. We'll assume an assault position soon though. That goes for everyone," Vultz replied.
Vultz sat down with a sigh as he contacted the Galahad, "well done, as impressive as I had hoped for a member of FAITH to demonstrate. You also have my personal thanks."
The dark haired man merely smiled, "I am always pleased to aid ZAFT according to the will of the Supreme Council. It is my purpose to serve and embody the will of ZAFT."
*****
Ourei washed his face with cold water and took a long drink of orange juice before sitting down, "Gee, I guess I'm lucky, two battles so far and I haven't lost anything serious yet, unlike you guys," Ourei said to Zella and Louin with a pointed look, both of whom had came back with badly damaged BABI."
"You think it's over Ourei?" Zella asked.
"Not yet, but we've almost driven them back," Ourei responded.
"Not by a long shot, one thing I know is these Naturals are tenacious, they'll fight for every step we have to pull back from them, it's not over by a long way yet. A lot more of us might die before then." Zella responded grimly.
"That doesn't bother you?" Ourei asked.
"It does, but as I said; its what Naturals are like. They know they can take the losses, so they do. They don't care how many of their own men die, so long as we do too," Zella responded.
*****
"This news does not please me, not at all," Sepha said coldly, it was already light outside, despite the early hour.
"I am deeply sorry sir, the commander was competent but it seems the ZAFT forces were aided by a Minerva class equipped with DOM Trooper-type mobile suits, and a new mobile suit, reports are still coming in but I saw enough to know that," the officer responded.
"Then I suppose we have to up the ante, send in the First and Seventh battalions, see how the ZAFT defenders appreciate that," Sepha replied.
"Yes sir, thank you sir," the officer replied and the image winked out.
Sepha stood back and closed his eyes, fighting down his feelings of frustration, "Alerik...it seems I may have underestimated how annoying you could be, but we'll see; when my proxies meet yours we'll see who is the better. We will find out, and so will the whole world."
END OF PHASE 10
Last edited by Ragormha on Thu Feb 14, 2008 6:59 am, edited 7 times in total.