MOBILE SUIT GUNDAM: Kycilia's Convictions
I know, I know, I've been gone for quite a while. This is one of two stories I'll be posting today, so that's quite the comeback.
Disclaimer: I own nothing, with the exception of my OC's.
Summary: An AU where Kycilia survives and comes to rule over the Principality of Zeon. Read to find out more.
Kycilia Zabi sat in her office going over everything she needed to know for this upcoming meeting with Char Aznable. First, is that she knows he's the son of Zeon Deikun. Second is that he had a hand in her brother Garma's death. And third... Is that her Father and Brother Ghiren were responsible for the death of Zeon Deikun. On her desk was a number of files containing all the evidence she had amassed in the last ten years since her father put her in charge of internal affairs... she had found enough evidence to warrant a trial just two weeks after she'd been assigned her position... but she felt it wasn't enough to get a conviction, so she spent the next ten years gathering evidence, chasing down leads, anything she could to put the odds in her favor. When she finally felt she had enough evidence to prove beyond the shadow of a doubt that Degwin and Ghiren were responsible for the death of Zeon Deikun, the war started... It has forced her to put this entire idea on hold. Now she was about to have a conversation with someone she hasn't seen in ten years about these things.
The knock at the door told her that her expected guest was here. "Come in Char," she said calmly, "Close the door behind you, and have a seat."
Char did as instructed and said, "You wanted to see me, Lady Kycilia."
Kycilia Zabi took off her helmet and removed her mask. "I've taken off my mask," she said calmly, "Now I'd like you to do the same, Casval."
Char froze when he heard the only daughter of Degwin Zabi call him by his given name. "How long have you known," he asked.
"Since you joined up," she replied, "and I figured out your true motives when Garma died." She then gestured to the folders lying atop her desk, "And these folders contain all my findings concerning the death of Zeon Deikun... It turns out that Jimba Ral was right... my Father did have a hand in the death of yours."
Char was shocked to hear this coming from Kycilia Zabi of all people. He finally took off his mask and asked, "Why are you telling me this now?"
"It took me ten years to gather all that evidence," stated Kycilia, "Ten years to build enough of a power base to even feel comfortable with moving in on my father... then this damn war broke out... I'm not going to lie to you... We're going to lose this war, Char."
"So you intend to use this to seize control before more lives are lost," the Red Comet surmised.
"Actually no," she replied, "At least not yet. If I did so now, control would fall to Ghiren, and while the evidence shows he had a hand in your father's death, it's not enough to keep him out of power... in all honesty, Ghiren wants this war to continue more than anyone... In fact, there is one particular project of his that I believe warrants concern... it's called Solar Ray, and all I know is that it's a weapon of unparalleled power... The reason why I called you here is because I'm assigning you to a special team whose job to find this Solar Ray."
"Who else is on this team," asked Char.
"Well, for starters, there's Breniss Ox," she stated, "so you'll have the best sniper support imaginable with him." The Red Comet couldn't agree more... Ox is known as the One Shot Killer, after all. "Gabby Hazard will also be providing support, as will Shin Matsunaga and my Fiancée, Johnny Ridden... the last pilot is a bit of a wild card though."
Char took a look at the Pilot's file. "Jack Spencer," he knew this one by reputation, which is why he asked, "Why would you put the Black Death on an investigation crew? Hell, why would you put any of these pilots on an investigation crew?"
"Because the official mission is to have you boys go out and wreak havoc on the enemy," stated Kycilia, "Unofficially, you're to track down the Solar Ray."
"So you're taking a page out of the Federation's book by using the same set of guerilla tactics they used with the Trojan Horse," the Red Comet noted.
Kycilia smirked, "If it works, use it."
"What do you plan on sending us out in," asked Char.
"A specially designed Zanzibar-Class," the Red Head replied. "I know you've taken a protégé, but I don't want you taking them into the field of combat... the only way you'll be allowed to take Lalah Sune with you is if she remains on board the ship during combat."
"I find that acceptable," the Red Comet admitted, "It'll give her a good feel for combat without actually having to participate in battle... a chance to make sure that this is what she wants to do."
A knock was heard at the door, prompting both to put their masks back on. "Who is it," Kycilia asked.
"Colonel Spencer ma'am," answered a gruff voice.
"Come on in Jack."
A man with auburn hair and a beard walked in wearing a rather different kind of uniform. It consists of old US Army Tiger Stripe pants with a white T-shirt under an officer's trench coat with combat boots. His left hand and forearm were critically injured and required amputation, so he now has a high-end prosthetic in its place, insuring he can continue to be a mobile suit pilot. "After you asked me to lead this operation, I did some digging and I believe I found a lead on what the Solar Ray is."
"Which is why I put you in charge of this operation," the only daughter of Degwin Zabi replied, "So what have you found?"
"It's more of a who than a what," stated Jack, "Major Cima Garahau... she was made homeless about a week ago when the Mahal Colony mysteriously vanished."
"And you believe that this missing Colony had something to do with the Solar Ray," Kycilia surmised.
"I know that a colony is a giant cylinder," Colonel Spencer explained as he brought out his sidearm, "Much like how the barrel of a gun is shaped like a cylinder."
"You believe that Ghiren is creating some sort of Laser Cannon the size of a colony," Char stated as he put it all together.
The Red Head massaged her temples as she said, "The very notion if such a weapon is beyond horrifying... which is exactly why I'm inclined to believe this is what the Solar Ray is... it would fit Ghiren's MO perfectly... what do you need."
"I need Cima assigned to this mission," he replied, "The way I see it, she's the best chance we've got at finding this thing."
"I'll see to it that she's transferred to this unit," Kycilia assured the man, "I assume you know where she is."
"She's been frequenting a bar here in Granada," he replied.
XxX
Cima had been spending a considerable amount of time at this bar the past week since she was evicted from her home in the Mahal Colony, and it didn't take a genius to figure out why... first she had been tricked by her CO into using the G3 Nerve gas on an entire colony, thus committing a Class 3 Offense against the Antarctic Treaty, Then a few months later her home was taken from her! She took a sip as a man as Colonel Jack Spencer sat down beside her. "You come around like a bad habit," she said with a hint of amusement.
"Perhaps," he admitted, "But this time it's different."
"How so," she asked.
"Major Garahau, you are to report to docking bay 13 at 0800 hours tomorrow morning," he commanded, "Is that clear soldier?"
Cima stood up and saluted the man, "Sir, yes sir."
XxX
Cima was on sight half an hour early the following morning, and was impressed by the sight of a heavily armed Zanzibar-class Mobile Cruiser. "Glad to see you're early," Jack said as he walked up to her, "let me show you the Mobile Suits we'll be using."
"Lead the way," she replied.
Once inside, she saw five Zaku's with the commander unit's head fin and a Rick Dom with a shoulder mounted cannon. "The Zaku's are all modified to match the design specs of the MS-06R-2 High Mobility Type," the commanding officer of the operation stated before stopping in front of one that was still a metallic grey, "This one is yours, so if you want a special paint job, now's the time to specify what you want."
Cima nodded before taking a look at the other Zaku's. One was white, which means it belongs to Shin Matsunaga, the White Wolf. Past that was a brown and black one, meaning the pilot was Gabby Hazard. Next was a red one with golden spikes, so that means the Crimson Lighting is on board as well. Next was an all-red Zaku which clearly belongs to Char Aznable, the Red Comet. The last was all Black, undoubtedly Colonel Spencer's MS. This left to question who was piloting the Rick Dom... The colors were standard issue, so that didn't tell her much, but given the fact that all the other pilots were some of the biggest names amongst Zeon Ace Pilots, and the configuration of the Suit... the most likely pilot would be Breniss Ox. "To think that we've got this many Ace Pilots on board this ship," she said with a chuckle.
XxX
The pilots chosen for the operation had been gathered into the Ships War Room, along with the Crew and Char's Protégé, Lalah Sune. "Alright," Jack said, "Everyone here was handpicked by either Lady Kycilia, or myself because you can contribute to the mission in all the right ways... the Crew of this vessel because of they each want this war to end as soon as possible, and the pilots because of the nature of said mission... officially, we're to launch a guerilla warfare campaign akin to the one conducted by the Trojan Horse back on earth... unofficially, we're looking for something called the Solar Ray."
"What's this Solar Ray supposed to be," asked ship's captain, Johan Istanovich.
"We're not entirely sure," Colonel Spencer replied, "But if I had to guess, it's a laser cannon made using a colony."
"So that's why you wanted me on board," Cima realized, "You think that the Mahal Colony was used to create this weapon."
"But that was one of our colonies," one of the crew members pointed out.
"The Solar Ray is one of Ghiren's pet projects," stated Char, "Which is why it's important we discover the truth."
"Th-this is treason," another crewman all but shouted.
Jack simply turned to the Red Comet and said, "Time to show everyone the truth."
Char sighed as he took off his helmet then his mask and said, "My given name is Casvel Rem Deikun... I joined up under the name Char Aznable in order to get revenge for my Father's Assassination... Lady Kycilia spent the ten years after her family's rise to power investigating the circumstances around my Father's death, and confirmed that Jimba Ral was right... Degwin had a hand in the Death of Zeon Deikun."
"She has enough evidence to put Degwin away for a long time," stated Jack, "But if she did so now, power would fall to Ghiren, and not only would that insure the war would continue, but would also allow him to do God knows what, AND WE CANNOT ALLOW THAT SICK SONOFABITCH TO HAVE HIS WAY WITH US!"
Silence fell over the ship's crew as they took all they'd just heard in... Few had ever seen Jack Spencer lose his cool, and now everyone present had seen what it looks like when the Black Death is rattled by something. "You heard the man," Johnny Ridden said, "We got a job to do, so let's get to it!"
Captain Instanovich spoke up, "We'll get the... Huh, it just occurred to me that we haven't given this ship a name yet."
"The Astraia," Char said just loud enough to be heard.
"If I remember correctly, that's your mother's name," pointed out Jack. Char simply nodded in response, to which Colonel Spencer said, "The Astraia it is."
"Alright," Johan nodded in agreement, "We'll get the Astraia Deployed while you do what it is you pilots do."
With the crew doing their designated job, it was time for the Pilots to get to discussing how they're to go about doing theirs. "Most of us are already familiar with the weapons we'll be using," Stated Jack, "But there's one toy I've got onboard that was specially made for you, Ox... I took an ASR-78 Anti-Ship Rifle, and had it modified to fire custom Depleted Uranium Round's... Needless to say, you can punch a hole through damn near anything."
"I get the feeling that I'm gonna really like this gun," Ox said with a smirk.
"As for the weapons the rest of us will be using," Colonel Spencer said as he moved on to the next detail worth touching on, "We'll all be carrying the standard Zaku Machine gun as well as a Standard Zaku Bazooka... The MG's will be firing a custom High Velocity Armor Piercing Round to compensate the weapons lack of power... this should level the playing field against the Federation Forces and the ungodly number of Beam Weapons they're using."
"Sounds to me like you've thought of everything," noted Gabby Hazard.
"We haven't tested these New Bullets against the Federations Mobile Suits yet," Jack stated, "So we have no idea whether or not they'll work."
"Which is why we're the ones doing the test run," Shin surmised, "Better a group of tried and true ace pilots be the ones to find out this doesn't work as planned than simply mass-producing and getting a group of rookie pilots killed because it didn't do what it was supposed to do."
"That's right," Colonel Spencer replied, "Now let's head to our quarters and get some rest... Lalah, you'll be bunking with Cima."
The Young Newtype was about to protest when Char placed his hand on her shoulder and said, "It's just standard procedure for the male and female crew members to be kept separate onboard a ship such as this one... there's nothing to worry about."
XxX
While the other pilots were headed to their quarters, Jack headed to the bridge where Captain Instanovich was waiting to discuss where they intended to go. "So where do you think we should head to," Johan asked the Commander of this Operation.
"Take us to the outskirts of Solomon," he said, "The Federation has a presence in Solomon ever since they captured it, so I'm hoping to find a patrol for us to hit."
"YOU HEARD THE MAN," the Captain shouted, "CHART A COURSE FOR SOLOMON!"
XxxX
It took them four days to reach their destination from Granada at top speed, and now they had finally found a viable target. The pilots were walking to the Mobile Suit Hangar as Jack went over the details with them. "We've got a patrol consisting of four Salamis-Class centered around a Magellan-class," Colonel Spencer stated, "On the hulls of each Salamis is four RGM-79 GM's... Ox, I want you to line up a shot on a set before they can deploy with your ASR-78... I want to see how many targets you can take down with a single shot from that thing."
"The Ultimate Test if there ever was one," the One Shot Killer remarked.
"Everyone else is to spread out and wait for Ox to take his shot," Colonel Spencer stated, "His sniper shot is our signal to move in and make mincemeat out of them because they'll be focused on the Zeon Pilot who just took a pot shot at them."
"A coordinated strike that will depend on the Speed of our Mobile Suites," Johnny pointed out, "Hence the reason why you had all the Zaku's onboard upgraded to the design specs of the latest High Mobility Type."
"That and we'll be maintaining radio silence for the duration of this battle," Jack added, "We're going to have to rely on good old fashioned combat instincts to make this work."
"Which is why the only people being deployed are veteran pilots," Shin added, "We've all got top notch Combat Instincts."
XxX
Lalah stood on the bridge in a Normal Suit, pondering what the Colonel said to her just moments earlier.
-FLASHBACK-
"Ensign Sune," Jack called out, "I have something to tell you."
"Sir?"
"I want you to understand that while you are Char's Protégé, you're going to learn something from virtually everyone on this ship," he explained, "But no one will teach you more than the seven pilots getting ready to sortie... I want you to observe our tactics, and see what it is you can learn from us."
Lalah nodded and said, "Yes sir."
"I'll want you to tell me all about what you learned afterwards," he replied.
-FLASHBACK ENDS-
"Show me what I'm supposed to learn," she said softly.
XxX
While Ox moved to his position in front of the Federation Patrol, the six Zaku Pilots split into groups of two.
Shin and Gabby had positioned themselves at the rear flank of the enemy, with Char and Johnny positioned below. This left Jack and Cima, who were positioned above the enemy.
XxX
Well out of site of the enemy, Breniss Ox had gotten into position and was now lining up his first shot on the enemy. He aimed at the first GM standing on the hull of a Salamis, making sure to line up the shot so that it could potentially take out each enemy MS and the ship with it. "Time to see what this thing can do," he mumbled as he fired his shot.
XxX
Things were dead quiet until they saw a single shot punch through four GM's AND the Command Bridge of the Salamis-Class they were standing on. "I think it's safe to say the Feddie's just shit themselves," Jack said as he fired up his Zaku's Thrusters and broadcast his next orders, "Move in and take the enemy out now, don't give them time to recover!" He then brought his 120mm MG up and shot an Enemy Mobile Suit that managed to deploy. It only took five rounds to destroy the GM, proving the effectiveness of the High Velocity Armor Piercing Rounds.
Char and Johnny came up from below and put a Bazooka round into the area between the Engines and the fuel cells of two other Salamis-Class, causing both to explode... one of which had its entire Mobile Suit Complement go with it.
Of the 16 GM Mobile Suits, only seven were left... two of which were suddenly sliced in half by Gabby and Shin, who both took a shot at the remaining Salamis. This left the Magellan and five Mobile Suits. Cima saw her chance to contribute and used her MG to destroy the Magellan's communications systems. She then took her Bazooka in the Left hand of her Zaku and put a round into the Chest of another GM. The last four were annihilated by Johnny and Char, leaving the Magellan.
Jack landed on the hull of the ship, directly in front of the Command Bridge and used the proximity to pirate the vessels intercom. "This is Colonel Jack Spencer of the Principality of Zeon," He declared, "As the commanding officer of this battle group I am willing to let the crew of this vessel pile into the Komusai Shuttle that we'll be willing to provide should you comply."
Fortunately the Captain of the vessel wasn't the kind of man to look a gift horse in the mouth, and complied. Once they were gone, Jack gave orders to have Lalah pilot the Elmeth so they could test the Mobile Armor's Psycommu Systems. Truthfully, Jack hates Mobile Armors... in his opinion, they're screaming metal death traps that only good for making a last stand... for this reason, he won't have Ensign Sune deployed in a combat situation using the Elmeth.
(AN: not even gonna bother describing how she blows the Magellan up... I see no point)
The entire process took less than half an hour... Less than thirty minutes and they not only had the Elmeth back in the Cargo Hold, but were well on their way to A Baoa Qu. Jack decided they'd head to Ghiren's base of operations for several reasons. First: to acquire a seven of the thirty Experimental Gelgoog Mobile Suits. Second: to see if there's any Prototype Mobile Suits equipped with a Psycommu Weapons System for Lalah. Third: to hack into the Fortresses Database and see if they can find anything on the Solar Ray.
As the Commanding Officer of their group, Jack would have to handle most of discussions. Therefore, he set Cima to the task of finding the information they needed on the Solar Ray... he even provided a Program that would do the work for her... all she has to do is get it to a computer terminal.
XxX
The Eight Pilots sat in Colonel Spencer's office around a table, discussing their first Sortie together. "I gotta hand it to ya Ox," Jack said as poured everyone a shot of whiskey, "That Shot you pulled on that Salamis was one in a million."
"I couldn't have done it without that ASR you put together for me," he replied as puffed his Cigar, "that depleted Uranium Round punched through Four Mobile Suits, and the Command Bridge of the ship they were standing on! AND IT KEPT GOING!"
"You know," Jack said with a grin, "That things gonna keep going until someday, somewhere, somebody is gonna have a bad fucking day cause outta nowhere." He then slammed his hand on the table as he shouted, "BOOM!"
Everyone got a laugh out of that... Everyone, except Lalah. "That's a terrible," she said coldly, "How can you be so uncaring about someone else's misfortune?"
The room was suddenly quiet... Jack knocked back his shot of whiskey... "Believe it or not, we do care," he said as he poured himself another shot, "The problem is we don't have the luxury of showing it because we're soldiers." He downed his shot and said, "Which brings me to the most important lesson you can learn from any of us: know when to tell your C.O. to go fuck himself... Cima, this is your lesson to teach."
The only other woman in the room became the most sullen individual in the room. "During the early days of the war," she said softly, "I participated in the forerunner to Operation British... I was ordered to deploy the contents of a cylinder in a colony in Side 4." She gave a bitter chuckle as she said, "Looking back on it now, I should have known what was inside the cylinder, but I was so naive that didn't even consider it possible." She looked the Ensign in the eyes and said, "I followed orders blindly, and as a result, I released G3 Nerve Gas into a colony... I've committed a Class 3 offense, and there's a very good chance that I'll be executed for it."
Lalah, who had in the brief time she had spent with Cima had come to look up to the older woman, was shocked. "But you didn't know," said stammered out.
"Ignorance is no excuse for Mass Genocide," Cima replied sadly as she downed her shot, "And I have to answer for what I've done."
"As the Gaul's liked to say when they were at war with the Roman's," Jack said as he refilled Cima's drink, "Eat, Drink, and be Merry for tomorrow you die." He then lit up a cigar and pulled out a pack of cards, "Let's play some five card stud."
"I didn't take you for a gambler," Char said humorously.
"We're soldiers" Colonel Spencer replied, "Every time we go into battle, we're gambling with our very lives... besides, I do enjoy a game of Five Card Stud... the rules are simple; everyone gets dealt five cards, and what you have is what you get." He took the cards out of the pack and began shuffling them, "Our wagers will come out of our Paychecks, and since most of us are NCO's, we have a decent sized paycheck... the only one who might have some financial trouble would be you, Ensign." He proceeded to deal out the cards as he said, "So I'm gonna forward you $2,000 from my personal funds so you can play... does anyone else want to help the Ensign out?"
"I'll give her $500," Ridden said with a nonchalant shrug.
"I can give her $1,500," Cima replied.
"I'll throw a grand her way," Shin replied.
"I'll extend her $500," answered Hazard.
"Add another $500 from myself," stated Ox.
Char felt obligated to give Lalah the most because she's his Protégé and said, "I'll give her $4,000 since she's my Protégé."
"So the Ensign now has a credit line of 10 grand at her disposal," Jack surmised as he set the deck down, "Let's make that the amount each of us will be playing with so she has a fair chance, and Pay in is $500." Everyone nodded in affirmation which prompted him to say, "Good," Now we can play the game."
Everyone the picked up their cards and looked at them. Right away, Lalah noticed how stone faced they all were... Even Char, who had taken his mask off, was unreadable. She knew the hands for poker... She had been used to make money for people of shady backgrounds before being taken to the Flanagan Institute, so she was familiar with the game... but as she looked at her hand, she could tell this was a much harder game to play than what those people had her play... her hand was useless. "All in," Jack declared, which prompted the other players to fold.
Lalah looked at her hand, and then at the Colonel... The man was completely relaxed... Not a care in the world... Most people would have folded based on that, but she wasn't like most people, so she did what she would always do in these situations and trusted her instincts. "I call," she replied.
Both put their hand down showing that there was literally nothing between them. "You've got good instincts," he replied, "Which was the only reason why you were willing to call my bluff."
The remainder of the evening was spent with the eight playing hand after hand of Five Card Stud, with Lalah walking away with everything.
DONE!