C.E. 71, Onogoro Island...
The second battle between the Atlantic Federation (secretly run by Blue Cosmos) and the Orb Union was underway. The warships on both sides opened fire on each other. On one of the Spengler-class ships close to the shore, a young pilot entered the cockpit of her Strike Dagger. She had black curly hair and purple eyes and wore the standard orange pilot suit of the Atlantic Federation. The hangar doors opened and the mobile suits teams launched towards the island. The woman's Dagger landed and immediately dodged beams fired by a group of enemy Astray units. She used her CIWS to destroy the Astray's eyes and followed up by blasting the cockpit area with her beam rifle. Her radar read two more Astrays heading towards her. "You stubborn hypocrites!" She aimed her rifle and fired her grenade launcher, destroying one of the Astrays. She used the distraction to charge at the second Astray and sliced it through the waist with her beam saber. "If you had just allied us, this pointless battle wouldn't be happening."
On another part of the island, a family of four were running for their lives. The father and mother ran ahead with the daughter holding her mother's hand while the son followed closely. They heard a loud sound followed by a tremor. The wife and the son looked at the father with worry in their eyes.
"It'll be alright. They're only targeting military installations." He assured them before turning toward his son. "Keep moving Shinn."
On the shore near the family, the woman and her teammates continued their battle with the Orb forces. She looked on her side screen and saw a ship being loaded with refugees. "We're getting too close to the civilians. Guys, try to keep the fighting in this area only."
"Don't you think we're trying?" One of the pilots said before his Dagger exploded.
"Bowie! You sons of bitches!" She yelled as she returned fire and blasted an Astray to bits. Her radar beeped again and showed the IFFs for the Raider and Calamity Gundams. "Just great. The druggies are here." She said with extreme sarcasm.
The family ran towards the escape boat as the Raider with the Calamity on top of it flew past them, unleashing a torrent of air. Shinn looked up and saw the Calamity firing its beam and energy cannons which destroyed two Astrays in a massive explosion. The family took cover as the blasted died down. The Calamity landed on the ground and fired at the airborne Freedom Gundam. The winged mobile suit dodged the shots and fired back with beam rifle. The Calamity dodged the blast as the family ran away from the epicenter of the blast.
They continued to run away, but the daughter stepped on soft patch of land and slipped out of her mother's grasp. "Mayu!" She slided down the hill as her brother went after her. As he reached his sister, the Calamity fired its energy cannon and the Freedom unleashed its Full Burst Mode. The blasts collided in a gigantic ball of fire, the force alone pushing Shinn and Mayu down to the base of the hill.
"What the hell was that?" The young pilot saw the explosion and went to investigate while of the Orb soldiers raced towards Shinn and Mayu.
"Are you two alright?" The siblings struggled to get up as the soldier helped them. "You gotta hurry."
Mayu opened her eyes and saw Shinn. The two siblings smiled at each other before realizing something was off.
"Where's Mom and Dad?" Mayu asked. They turned and saw the smoking crater left by the blast, fires lighting the few trees that survived. The two of them went closer to investigate and stopped in their tracks. The Strike Dagger pilot stopped close enough to survey the area and checked to see if anyone survived. Her breath hitched as she saw what Shinn and Mayu saw.
Surrounded by fire, the mother lied twisted on ground, pooled by her own blood. The father suffered an equally grim fate as he was crushed under a tree with his blood splattered around him. Mayu fell to her knees and started crying. Shinn was in no better condition as tears fell down his face. The pilot was also in a state of shock. While as a soldier she had seen death before, she never saw anything this gruesome, especially since these were unarmed civilians and not soldiers fighting in battle. She turned and saw the siblings crying, realizing that those were their parents. She felt her eyes watering up but held back. She still had a battle to win and couldn't afford to get all emotional. But as she left, she heard the boy's painful cry pierce the air. She saw a group of Astrays and Strike Daggers duking it out and charged in with her beam saber ignited.
A pair of purple eyes slowly opened up and saw the time on nightstand clock as 5AM. The woman looked at a picture of her with her parents. The other frames had a woman in a white Earth Forces uniform with the ship known as the Dominion behind her while that last one showed her and a brown-haired man in a marketplace. Getting up as she thought of days gone by, she opened her closet and pulled out a black version of the uniform her aunt wore and a gold ring on a necklace. In a few seconds, she was tied her hair into a ponytail, changed into her uniform while wearing the necklace underneath and pinned two narrow yellow bands and two blue tabs to her uniform. She walked out of her room and was greeted by some of passing officers who saluted her.
"Good Morning Captain Slade."
"At ease." The woman saluted back. The young captain looked out of a window and saw the vast collection of stars, getting lost in them before remembering what today was. She and her comrades were putting everything on the line for this next mission, for the slightest mistake could spell disaster.
A few minutes later, Slade entered the bridge of the ship and saw the Commander sitting in one of the main seats. Thought she outranked him, he was more experienced in ship combat while her expertise was with mobile suits. The Commander turned his head and smiled at her. "Good to see you're awake, Cassandra. I actually thought you would sleep through the operation."
The black-haired woman smiled back. "Well I can't let you have all the fun Ian." She took the seat next to him. "Has the E-3 team made contact yet?" She asked the officers.
"They said their flight will arrive at the target zone in 0800. They will rendezvous with Lt. Commander Ismail and Lieutenant Hudson shortly after arrival."
"Good, we're on schedule." Cassandra Slade said as the cloaked warship Jabberwock headed towards ZAFT airspace.
Cosmic Era 72. One and half years of grim war between Earth and the PLANTs was finally brought to an end following the space battle at Jachin Due. The two sides forged a peace treaty amid the ruins of Junius Seven, a place of unprecedented tragedy during the conflict.
The former enemies pledged themselves to work for mutual peace and understanding, and to make every effort possible to make peace. As a result, the world was once more on the path to stability.
Phase 1: Angry Eyes
C.E. 76, October 2nd.
L4 Colony Armory 1...
A shuttle slowed its way into the harbor as the traffic control room gave the green light. "Final rehearsal for military bands will be at 1400 hours in airport 3."
The military personnel were setting up for the launching ceremony that would take place the next day. ZAFT mobile suits were being moved around as fast as possible. A jeep drove through the base with one of the young passenger looking at the suits. A ceremonial GINN walked in front of them.
"Hold on!" The driver yelled as he swerved the jeep past it.
"What the hell?" Lunamaria Hawke exclaimed, scarred quite a bit from nearly being crushed. "This is a mess."
"It can't be helped. It's been awhile since we've done anything like this." Yolan said. "Everybodies a rookie here like us. But all this means that the Minerva's just about ready to go. I wonder if it's true about us getting assigned to lunar orbit."
A helicopter landed in another part of the base. Several soldiers stood at attention as the doors opened while a blonde boy in a red-coat headed toward the gathering with a smile. Gilbert Durandal, the Supreme Chairman of the PLANTs, walked out of the copter as the military staff saluted. He walked with the staff and saw the blonde pilot, smiling back at him.
"Mister Chairman." An officer approached him. "The princess from Orb has just arrived."
"Well let's not keep our guests waiting." Gilbert said.
Cagalli Yula Attha, the representative and princess of Orb floated through the airport with her blue-haired vizor wearing bodyguard behind her.
"Do you think that's appropriate attire?" The bodyguard asked. "Tell me you brought at least one dress with you."
"Why does it matter what I'm wearing?" Cagalli replied, clad in the standard attire of an ORB Government official. "Isn't this fine?"
"For a situation like this, a little bit of acting never hurts." he replied. "You know this. Don't try to be someone you're not. You don't want them to think you're an amateur. Though is an unofficial visit, never forget that you are now a ruler of ORB."
"I don't think a bodyguard should be telling his boss what to wear." She said with a scowl. The group saw passengers watching a video screen of the new warship that would launch tomorrow. The Orb bodyguard looked and saw three teenagers that seemed to stand out from the crowd. The group eventually reached an elevator taking them to the ground floor of the colony.
"So tomorrow's ceremony marks the first launching of a new warship since the war ended." Cagalli stated. "They're well aware of what I came here to discus. It's strange that they're holding the ceremony now, in this place."
"It would attract less attention if we meet them here than a visit to the PLANT homeland." Alex said as the elevator reached the open part where they could see the PLANTs.
"No matter how many times I see it, I'm still stunned at how we can replicate the Earth inside a colony." The young ruler thought to herself.
Forty minutes later, the officials arrived at the base and entered the conference room.
"Ah, Princess. Welcome." Durandal politely said, greeting Cagalli and her bodyguard. "I apologize for having to have you come all the way here."
"I should be the one to apologize for making you take time out of your busy schedule to meet with me, Chairman Durandal." Cagalli said as the two shook hands.
"How are things in your country?" Durandal asked as the group of them moved towards the couches in the room. "I understand that ever since you've become their Chief Representative, many of the problems that ORB has been experiencing since the war, have been resolved. As the head of a friendly nation, I am happy for you. And a little envious."
"I still have a lot to learn." Cagalli admitted, taking her seat across from the chairman.
"Now. What could this urgent matter be, that would require you to come here in secret?" Durandal asked, ending the small talk. "From what I've heard from our ambassadors, it's a complicated matter that you wish to discuss. Am I correct?"
"It doesn't seem to be a complicated matter to me. But we've yet to receive a clear response from you administration on this matter." Lord Uzumi answered. "My nation has made repeated requests that you cease the use of ORB's technology and human resources for your own military purposes."
In the shopping district, the three teenagers from the airport were passing by as the lone woman in the group spotted a beautiful dress in the window. She stepped back to see what she would look like in it.
"Forget it Stella." The green-haired man said. "Like you could afford that on our kind of salary."
"Oh shut up." Stella demanded. She looked at the dress before signing. "But he's right." She turned to catch up with them but ended up bumping into someone. The bag the boy was carrying dropped as the two of them got back up.
"You okay?" The young man asked as he offered a hand. The blond woman scowled and ran to meet up with her friends. "What was that about?"
"You bumped into her. That's pretty rude." His younger sister said as she reached him.
"I offered to help her up." He said as he gathered the items that fell out of his bag.
"Still, you should watch where you're going Shinn." The 15 year old girl said as she walked ahead of him.
"Mayu, wait up!" Shinn said as he followed her.
The teens waited by the road until a ZAFT military jeep pulled up. The driver was a man of middle-eastern descent with unruly auburn hair, a matching beard and sky blue eyes and he wore black commando gear. The passenger was young man with scruffy brown hair and green eyes. He wore the ZAFT green coat.
"What's up guys?" The green coat asked.
"Aside from taking a three day flight to a colony we're going to spend about two hours in?" Sting said sarcastically. "Just peachy."
"Nice coat, Zeke." Auel commented. "Ian finally letting you wearing green on duty."
"Save the insults for roast and get in." The middle-eastern commando ordered.
The three of them stepped in the jeep and headed towards their target.
Their talks didn't seem to be going anywhere. So Durandal had decided to continue them as they toured the Armory One Base. As Cagalli and Durandal talked, Athrun couldn't help but notice the large number of new mobile suits. Including brand new ZAKUs. He couldn't help but wonder how close ZAFT was to violating the Treaty of Junius Seven.
"You, Representative, are a courageous woman. You fought in a mobile suit during the last war." Durandal complemented. "And you are also the successor to the Lion of Orb, Lord Uzumi. The man who held onto his country's ideal until the very end, without giving in to pressure. What do you believe we should do with the condition the world is in now? I'm sure you already know the answer."
"We will protect our nation and our ideals. It's as simple as that." Cagalli replied.
"We will not attack another nation. Will not allow another nation to attack us. And will not intervene in the conflicts of other nations, correct?"
"Yes."
"Naturally, we feel the same way. If possible, that would be the best way. But it is not possible without power. Even you, Princess...No, you of all people should understand that best. Isn't that why ORB maintains full military facilities?"
"Please do me a favor and stop calling me Princess."
"Representative Attha. Forgive me." he said with a slight bow. "However, I must wonder, what are you afraid of? Is it because of the pressure from the Atlantic Federation? They believe that ORB is providing military aid to us regardless of the treaty."
Cagalli clenched her fist. The relations between ORB and the Atlantic Federation had reached a delicate stage. She had hoped that she could convince Durandal to stop using ORB technology for military purposes. Which would get the AF off their back.
"But it is no truth to that." Durandal continued. "Although we did welcome refugees from the Battle of ORB, it's only natural that those people would wish to make a living here with the skills they have."
"But excessive power will only bring about more conflicts!" Cagalli argued.
"No Princess. Power is necessary because there will always be conflict."
Meanwhile, Zeke slide his card and a door to one of the hangars opened. The five of them walked in and hide behind a wall. Ismail escorting them looked over and saw three mobile suits in their births. He gave a nod as the three teenagers grabbed the weapons the green coat provided them with. Sting grabbed a pair of assault rifles and stuff a grenade in his pocket, Auel grabbed two automatic pistols and Stella grabbed a pistol and a knife. They each grabbed a grenade and tossed them. The technicians were blasted away in the explosion.
The three teenagers rushed in and opened fire, mowing down anyone they saw left standing. Sting tossed a grenade and the explosion took out some of the personnel hiding behind the births while Stella seeked out any remaining workers and stabbed them to death. "All clear!" The blonde yelled.
"Nice work guys." Ismail said as he pulled three flash-drives out of his pocket and gave one to each of them. "These will re-write to OS to your specifications. Once your rides are good to go, cause as much havoc as possible while Zeke hacks the main computer. At 1400, the Jabberwock will arrive in the airspace. RTB at all costs."
"What about you guys?" Auel asked.
"Don't worry, we'll commandeer an escape shuttle." Zeke said as he turned on the console and plugged in the flash-drive.
"Okay, let's go!" Sting ordered.
The three of them each entered the cockpit of a mobile suit and plugged in the flash-drives, rewriting the OS for their use. "Status?" Sting asked.
"Okay, just like they told us." Auel reported.
"All's good." Stella said.
"Starting Quantum Catalyst." Sting said, noting his unit used a DRAGOON System. "Powerflow satisfactory."
"All armament active. All weapons free." Auel said, happy to see that his mobile suit had an insane amount of weapons.
"System operating at combat status." Stella said while schematic for a transformation mechanic for her suit.
The eyes of the three Gundam-class units lit-up as the slumbering giants got up from their births. The Variable Phase Shift Armor activated, turning their mobiles Green, Blue and Black respectively. As the suits started to walk out, Zeke pressed the alarm.
The klaxons blared throughout the base and got everyone's attention. Four green beams pierced the door for hangar six before blowing up. Another stream of beams flew from the smoke and destroyed two GINNs in the opposite hangar. The officials took cover as the smoke blew past them. The three Gundams walked out of the wreckage, surprising the ground crew. "Chaos?! Gaia?! Abyss?!"
"Destroy all the hangars first before they move the mobile suits out." Sting said.
"Stella, you take the left." Auel ordered.
"Understood." The blonde pilot responded.
The three stolen mobile suits moved out and attacked anything they could find.
The Gaia transformed into a tiger-like mode and destroyed a GuAIZ R. The Abyss fired its cannons and blew up a hangar. Chaos used his beam rifle to blast two ceremonial GINNs into slag. Some of the pilots actually managed to get to their mobile suits and headed out engage the enemy.
"They've captured the new models from hangar six! We've got recapture them!" A soldier yelled.
"New models?" Cagalli asked. The group saw the Abyss approach a hanger and fire its four chest mounted beam cannons into it. "A Gundam."
The Chaos launched some missiles a group of hangars. Rey and Luna headed towards the hangar were their mobile suits were stored. A GINN was taken out by a stray missile, the resulting explosion knocking the ZAKUs in the hangars down as the two redcoats ducked from the blast. They looked up and saw their units buried in rubble.
"Get them to the shelters." Durandal ordered. "Where's Evans?"
A green coat lead Cagalli and Alex to the direction of a shelter.
"We have to stop them no matter what it takes!" Durandal exclaimed. "Call the Minerva for back up!"
On the Minerva, Mayu entered the bridge wearing a green coat. "Sorry I'm late captain." The young girl said as she took her position at the comm station.
"That's alright. Is Shinn here?" Gladys asked.
"Yes ma'am. He's getting ready to deploy."
The officials ran towards the shelter but stopped when they saw the Chaos stab a GINN with its beam saber. Cagalli and Alex ran into a nearby building as the explosion consumed the green coat. The smoke cleared as the Chaos moved away and the three of them ran, only to see the Gaia in its mobile armor mode. Alex looked up and saw a DINN open fire but the four-legged mobile suit jumped into the air, the shots hitting a building next to them as they hid behind a truck. The Gaia blasted towards the DINN and sliced it in half with its beam blades. The two pieces hit the building and exploded, leaving nothing but two ZAKUs that fell behind them.
"You okay?" Cagalli asked.
"I might have slight tinnitus now, but otherwise I'm fine." Alex joked.
The Gaia shifted into its mobile suit mode and fired its beam rifle at some of the buildings. Alex turned around and saw the ZAKUs. With a cocky smirk, he climbed the mobile suit and fell into the cockpit as Cagalli did the same.
"Stand by to launch Impulse. Pilot to Core Splendor." Mayu announced.
On the Minerva, Shinn in a red flight suit ran towards a Jet Fighter and entered it.
"Sword Module Selected. Opening Silhouette Hangar Two. Silhouette Flyer, standby for launch." The four platforms came active. "Platform setup complete. Central Catapult online. Opening Airtight shutters. Bring central catapult to launch position." The platforms moved up as the controls in the core splendor activated.
The central catapult on the Minerva opened up as the light shined on the fighter. "Course clear. Core Splendor, go ahead and launch." Shinn pushed the throttle ahead as the engines roared to life. The small jet took off into the air. "Catapult engaged. Please deploy Silhouette Flyer." A red drone with two swords launched next. "Now deploy Chest Flyer." The top half of a mobile suit torso launched. "Deploy Leg Flyer." Finally, a pair of legs followed afterwards.
The cockpits of the ZAKUs closed up. "I suggest we use these to get the hell out of here." Alex said as he started up his machine.
"What about the Gundams?" Cagalli asked.
"ZAFT should be able to handle this. They did build them." The two mono-eyed mobile suits stood up, shaking the debris off them. Stella spotted them.
"What now?" She asked as she aimed her rifle at them. She shot as Cagalli dodged it while Alex blocked it with his shoulder shield. "What?" Cagalli's ZAKU bodychecked the Gaia back a few feet as Alex yelled at her.
"What are you doing? We need to escape!"
"Bastard." The Gaia pulled out and ignited its beam saber. At the same time, Cagalli pulled out his beam axe from the ZAKU's shoulder and the two clashed. Alex tried to help but was cut off by the Chaos. The stolen mobile suit slashed the bodyguard but he dodged and pushed him back with a kick. Two missiles hit the Chaos and knocked it on the ground. Alex looked up and saw the Core Splendor fly by them.
The Core Splendor compacted as two red lasers joined it up with the leg flyer. Another two lasers connected them with the chest flyer. The Silhouette Flyer detached the red part that connected onto the mobile suits back. The Phase Shift Armor activated, turning the mobile suit into a red Gundam. The red mobile suit landed on the ground with a thud. It connected its two anti-ship swords and held them in both hands, igniting the pink beams.
The five of them looked at the new arrival in amazement. "You want these mobile suits?" Shinn asked. "Then you're going to have go through me!" And with that, the Impulse Gundam charged into its first battle. With a roar, he swung his weapon in an arc, scorching the ground and knocking the Gaia into the air. The Gaia retaliated with its CIWS but the bullets did nothing against the VPS. Shinn grabbed the beam rifle on his waist and fired. The black Gundam boosted away and dodged the second shot, making the beam hit a fuel tank. From a corner, Sting fired his beam rifle but the Impulse blocked it. He fired back and Sting dodged the blasts.
"They had another Gundam?" He activated his ear piece. "Zeke, ZAFT sent a mobile suit after us. It looks like the Sword Strike and Sword Calamity had a baby."
"Give me a sec." Sting keep behind the cover as another beam hit. "Found it. That's the ZGMF-X56S Impulse. It's a modular and improved version of the Strike Gundam. This could actually be useful for the X400 series."
"Well that's fine but I need a weakness!"
The Gaia transformed into its MA mode and charged at the Impulse. The red Gundam disconnected his blades and charged, taking Stella by surprise. The Gaia jumped over the Impulse and fired its beam cannons, forcing Shinn to block it. He tossed his right Excalibur and knocked the Gaia onto the ground.
"Shinn, your orders are to capture them." Arthur said. "They're our mobile suits."
"I know that! But I need some reinforcements damn it!" The red-eyed pilot yelled. "How the hell did this happen in the first place?"
Gaia ran with its beam saber drawn and swung twice. The Impulse dodged the swings and swung back, making each unit clash, beam against shield.
"Did we just let the enemy walk in?"
"Alright, that's enough!" Talia Gladys, captain of the Minerva stood up. "This isn't the time for idle chatter. Just concentrate on the battle." She sat back down and dialed on her chair's phone. "If they're on a capture mission, they must have carrier waiting outside."
As it turns out, Talia was right. The Jabberwock approached the colony under Mirage Colloid. From her seat, Cassandra looked at her watch, waiting as it ticked down. "Tell Hudson and Ismail to get out of there."
In the MS hangar, Ismail saw the message on his wrist computer. "Time to go." Zeke nodded and unplugged his flash drive. The two of them headed towards the harbor.
Outside, two mobile suits approached the harbor. They were bulky and had one green eye. Their black paint job made it hard for them to be stopped in space and they armed their bazookas.
On the Jabberwock, Cassandra's watch beeped and signaled to started the attack. "Okay, let's go!" The ebony-haired woman ordered.
"Activate Gottfried One and Two."
"Load missile tubes 1-8 with Corinthos."
"Lago and Ikari, proceed to the catapult."
"Main guns, target the portside Nazca-class." Ian ordered. "Disengage Mirage Colloid as we open fire. Engines to maximum."
"Looks like things are about to get interesting." Cassandra said with a smirk.
"Gottfrieds, fire!" Ian ordered.
Four large green beams laced from out of nowhere and pierced the hull of the ZAFT ship. The crew of the second Nazca were baffled by this.
The Jabberwock boosted forward, firing beams and missiles as it dropped out of Mirage Colloid, showing its gray and cobalt paint job. The Nazca dodged the beams and intercepted the missiles with its CIWS.
"Nazca-class approaching. Distance 1900."
"Turn twenty immediately after launching our mobile suits." Ian said.
"Main guns, target Indigo Nazca-class." Slade ordered. "Watch out for return fire."
The catapults opened as two mobile suits launched ahead with surprising speed.. They were the same model as the ones sneaking into the harbor. One unit fired its bazooka at the Nazca's catapult, barely missing the GINN that launched. Two GuAIZ Rs and a CGUE flew towards the black mobile suits. One of them clamped the bazooka onto its back and grabbed two beam pistols. With three shots, the CGUE was destroyed.
A Laurasia was about to launch from the hangar to assist its comrades. The eyes of the bulky mobile suits flashed twice and they headed into the hangar. One unit stopped in front of the Laurasia's bridge and blew it up. The second one fired at the left engine, making it lose its course and crashed against the traffic control room. A shuttle flew past the debris and flashed its headlights four times. The mobile suits let the shuttle pass as they continued to their attack, destroying both of the Laurasias and causing a massive explosion that was felt from the inside.
"That sounded like an attack." Cagalli commented.
"It's probably the harbor." Athrun said.
The Gaia in its MA mode charged at the Impulse with its Griffon beam blades ignited. Shinn pushed it back as two DINNs opened fire from above, only for the Abyss to destroy them with his back mounted rail cannons. "Guys, that's our cue." Auel said.
"I know, but this Strike ripoff is persistent." Sting replied.
"But we have to leave now. Zeke already downloaded the data on that thing so let's just get the hell out of here!"
Sting looked at his radar and saw two unknown units flew towards the battle from the hangar. The green-haired man smirked. "The Spetsnaz are here. This is Rook 1. We need some cover fire."
"Roger that Rook 1." A male voice said. The two bulky mobile suits grabbed their beam pistols and opened fire on the Impulse, melting the left shoulder armor as Shinn blocked the other shots. The Gaia used this chance to escape and joined the other stolen Gundams.
"Fuck, they have reinforcements!" Shinn yelled. One of them closed in with a blue beam saber, but it was blind-sided by a ZAKU Warrior hitting it with its shoulders.
Cagalli grunted as she grabbed a fragmentation grenade and tossed it. The bulky suit flew back as the explosive ignited. Athrun ignited his beam axe and clashed with the other unit. A group of DINNs fired at the stolen Gundams but they were destroyed by a combination of beams, rail cannons and missiles.
Meanwhile, a group of workers were trying to clear the debris off of Rey and Luna's ZAKUs.
"Rey. There could be some internal damage so it might not perform at full efficiency." The blond-haired man nodded as he fell into the cockpit. The White ZAKU Phantom got up as its mono-eye flashed.
"Everyone, stand clear." Rey said as he cleared the debris from Luna's red ZAKU. The red-haired pilot smiled and rushed to her mobile suit.
As this was happening Durandal walked around as the soldiers tried to figure out the next move. "What's going on? Who's in charge here?" He asked, not getting an answer. "Where did those new machines come from? Somebody answer me."
A couple a feet away, he saw an explosion. "Mr. Chairman, this area is still dangerous. Please make way to the shelters."
"How can I head for shelter? I don't even know what's going on out here!" Durandal angrily stated.
"Then at least board the Minerva."
The Jabberwock fired and hit the Nazca, causing the ZAFT ship to shake.
"Those new Spetsnaz are really proving themselves out there." Ian commented. "If they could fly in the atmosphere, I don't think we would even need the Windams."
"Every mobile weapon has it's use. Even the Strike Daggers proved their worth at times." Cassandra said as she looked at her watch.
In the colony, the battle moved into the air where gravity was at it's weakest. The Impulse and ZAKUs found itself fighting against the stolen Gundams and the Spetsnaz. The Gundams on both sides were starting to run low on energy.
"Why did ZAFT have to build these things with batteries?" Stella asked as she swung at the Impulse, only for the red machine to dodge it.
"They don't have the same resources as us. So they probably don't even know what a CFR is." A Spetsnaz pilot said.
Shinn threw a beam boomerang at a Spetsnaz but the black machine dodged, turned around and blasted it to dust.
"And as impressive as the Sword models are, they incredibly predictable." The Abyss unleashed a fury of beams. The Impulse blocked but the other beams hit a group of mobile suits down below.
"Die already!" Auel yelled as he charged at the Impulse. A green blast hit his shoulder shield and knocked him back. The pilots saw the two ZAKUs flying towards them with their beam assault rifles drawn. This made the fight five against five.
"You bastards!" Luna yelled as she fired on the Abyss. The blue Gundam blocked the shots as the pilot saw the time.
"Guys, we're out of time! And my machine's running out of power."
"Spetsnaz, let's make and exit." Stella said as the three black machines blasted towards the colony wall. The Chaos and Abyss fired at the ZAFT machines before following them.
"Athrun, our machines are almost dried up." Cagalli said.
"I know." The two green mobile suits flew down as Shinn, Rey and Luna chased after them.
Outside, the Jabberwock finally destroyed the Nazca class.
"GuAIZ approaching. Portside to stern. Three units."
"Fire ABDC and accelerate by twenty percent for ten seconds." Ian ordered. "Load tubes 1-4 with Sledgehammers and call our mobile suits back."
"Any word on E-3?" Cassandra asked.
"No ma'am."
"There's dealing with a fourth prototype ZAFT had up their sleeve." Ismail said as he entered the bridge. "Even with two Spetsnaz escorting them, they'll have a hard time getting out."
"Gaius, I wouldn't have sent them if I didn't think they could do it." Cassandra stated as she stood up. "I'll go out and buy us some time. I've been itching to get out there." The ebony haired woman left the bridge as Ian and Gaius smirked.
"I already feel sorry for ZAFT." Gaius said.
"Hangar deck, the Exus is launching. Get ready."
The Chaos launched its DRAGOON pods while the Abyss fired its cannons, causing the ZAFT machines to evade.
"These guys are pretty good for flying stolen machines." Shinn commented.
"If they get out of here, that's it." Rey said.
Cassandra entered the MS hangar in dark purple pilot suit that matched the color of the Exus. Zeke floated by in an EA engineer uniform but had green replacing the usual orange. "Your Exus is ready for take off mademoiselle."
Cassandra giggled at her fiance's attempt at flirting. "Is now really the time for this?"
"Well you never know what might happen out there." Zeke said as he looked at the Gundam they had in the hangar. "As soon as we finish the Resolute, you can say goodbye to this old klunker."
"Hey, I happen to like this clunker." The ebony-haired pilot said as she entered the cockpit of the Exus and strapped on her helmet.
On the Minerva, the crew were trying contact the control but failed to reach anybody. "Captain, if they manage to escape with those machines.." Arthur stated.
"We're not going to let that happen without a fight." Talia said defiantly. "I have to wonder though. Which enemy unit was responsible? This was a daring plan."
The light on the Jabberwock's catapult turned green and the Exus launched forward. A group of two GINNs and a GuAIZ opened fired but the mobile armor weaved out the way and launched its gunbarrels. Within twenty seconds, the three mobile suits were destroyed by a web of green blasts.
Rey suddenly felt a pulse in his head as he looked around. "What was that?"
Gilbert entered the bridge of the Minerva, surprising everybody.
"What's happening? Give me a status report."
The Gaia and the Spetsnaz fired a barrage of beams and explosive projectiles, weakening the colony wall.
"Damn it!" Shinn yelled as he threw his last boomerang, only for the Abyss to destroy it. He scowled and turned on his comm. "Minerva, send out the Force silhouette."
"Captain?" Arthur asked.
"Send it out." She ordered. "There's no point in keeping it secret anymore right?" She asked as she looked at Gilbert.
"No." He regrettably answered.
"Force silhouette, standby for launch." Mayu said.
The Chaos's DRAGOONs released a barrage of missiles, forcing the Impulse to use its head and chest CIWS. The ZAKUs fired on the Abyss as it spun and dodged.
The specialized catapult on the Minerva opened as a new unmanned machine was launched. The white ZAKU Phantom and Abyss clashed axes before the blue Gundam kicked it away.
"One last shot!" Stella yelled as the three machines fired another barrage at the wall. Shinn grunted as he approached them. His alarm rang as the Chaos chased after it. The Chaos itself was hit in waist and forced to dodged shots from Luna's ZAKU. Shinn blocked shots from the DRAGOONs and swung his sword, only for the Chaos to cut it in the solid part and destroying it. Luna forced the Chaos back and turned towards the Impulse. "Shinn, the flyer's here." Rey and Luna distracted the two stolen Gundams as Shinn flew away and detached the sword pack. The flyer detached from the silhouette as the Impulse and Force pack aligned and connected. This new pack resembled the Aile Striker used by the GAT series and the Impulse changed from red to blue. The enemy pilots were shocked by this as the Force Impulse blasted ahead, igniting its beam saber and dodged shots from the Chaos with fast turns.
"Zeke was right! This thing really is a Strike ripoff!" Auel yelled. He fired but the Impulse blocked the shots and rammed the Abyss with its shield. The white and blue Gundam charged at the Gaia and Spetsnaz, causing them to split as he swung his saber.
"Everyone, fire at the wall!" Sting yelled. As massive barrage of green beams, plasma cannons and projectiles hit the wall, finally breaking through. The air started to escape from the colony, causing a current to suck out the Gundams, Spetsnazs and ZAKUs.
"Captain, the Impulse and the ZAKUs are outside the colony!" Arthur reported. "The enemy ship is still out there!"
"The Impulse's power is reaching critical levels. 300 left at the most." Mayu reported.
"It would be a catastrophe to lose the Impulse as well." Talia stated. "It's time, launch the Minerva!"
"Very well, Talia." Gilbert said. Meanwhile, the ZAKUs piloted by Cagalli and Athrun entered the open catapult of the Minerva. The two of them existed their mobile suits as the soldiers pointed their guns at them.
"Hold you two, don't move." The lead soldier said as Cagalli scowled.
"Commencing Minerva launch sequence." Arthur said. "The ship is now switching to combat status."
"All gunnery crews, prepare for FCS contact. Set all configurations to grade one." Mayu ordered. The catapults closed and the clamps detached from the ship.
"Lower your weapons! I am Cagalli Yula Attha, representative of the Orb Union!" Cagalli yelled. "My bodyguard and I were meeting with chairman Durandal before this mess happened. Our only option was to take these machines and protect ourselves."
The soldiers hesitantly lowered their guns.
The Impulse looked around and tried to find the Gundams. "Damn it, where are they?"
"Shinn, retreat for now. This is just reckless." Rey ordered.
The Chaos, Gaia, Abyss and the four Spetsnaz entered the Jabberwock as Cassandra watched them from afar. "I guess I was expecting too much of them. At least they survived."
"Incoming message from Captain Slade. Move Jabberwock to new position. Blue-18 Mark-3 Alpha sir."
The Exus detached its magnetic clamp from the colony and blasted ahead. Rey sensed the new arrival.
The floor under the Minerva opened up and the ship descended. "Launch gate depressurization complete ma'am. We're ready to go at any time." Arthur reported.
"Start the engines. The Minerva's heading out." Talia ordered. "Go to condition red!"
"The Minerva is heading out. Condition red is announced." Mayu said over the intercom.
"Is this ship getting ready to go into battle?" Athrun asked.
The Exus detached two gunbarrels and fired on the three redcoats. Shinn blocked and evaded the shots as the purple mobile armor flew past him. "We'll have that machine too." Cassandra said.
"Shinn!" Luna yelled.
The hangar doors under the Minerva. The red and gray ship unfolded its wings and headed out into space.
Next time: Warning Shots
Set the engines to maximum! Minerva, launch!