Patriot-112: Disclaimer, I do not own Gundam SEED or GS Destiny, they belong to Sunrise, and all of their respective creators. Now enjoy the show!
Prologue
The Ones who see the big picture
Year 73, of the Cosmic Era, almost two years have passed since the end of the first Bloody Valentine War, which was marked by the Battle of Jachin Due, and an Armistice was signed at the ruins of the PLANT Colony of Junius 7.
However, this didn't put an end to the hatred between Naturals and Coordinators, as Radicals of both camps attempt to instigate another war. And it came when followers of Patrick Zala attempt to drop the ruins of Junius 7 on the Earth in order to render it inhospitable. Due to the intervening efforts of ZAFT's new warship, the Minerva, the damage to the Earth was lessened, but damage to major cities was still catastrophic, but it wasn't enough to prevent another war from breaking out. The incident which became known as Break the World.
The first official shots of the war occurred where Blue Cosmos radicals among the EA attempt to destroy the PLANTs using nuclear missiles. Thankfully, with the use of ZAFT's new Neutron Stampeder, the missiles, along with the EA fleet, were annihilated, and not one PLANT was damaged.
Now, the Minerva, after being warned by former ZAFT Ace, Andrew Waldtfelt, that members of the Orb government, mainly the Seiran Family, were intending to betray them to the Earth Forces, decides to leave the country before an incident could take place. The ship made it's way out of it's Orb drydock, only to run into a EA Naval Fleet. To make matters worse, the Orb Defense Navy blocked off the ship's only route of escape, much to the reluctance of the Orb crews.
However, unknown to them, a second fleet of Orb ships, led by the Takemikazuchi-class carrier, the Takeminakata, had other ideas.
October 17th, C.E. 73
Outside Orb Union Territorial Waters
ODF Takeminakata
Orb 4th Defense Fleet
A fleet of warships was watching the battle between the ZAFT forces new warship, the Minerva, and an entire fleet of ships of the Earth Alliance/Atlantic Federation, including at least eight carriers. The ZAFT warship couldn't retreat due to the other ships, which bore resemblance to their own, kept them out of Orb's territorial waters.
On the bridge of the Flagship, the Takemikazuchi-class carrier, Takeminakata, a single man, dressed in the new regulation uniform of the Orb Defense Force, which had the rank insignias of an Rear Admiral, glared at the scene in front of him. He was at least 45 years of age, stood 6 foot 2 with a lean, but slight muscular build. He had greying dark brown military crew cut hair, and had dark blue eyes.
The man, Rear Admiral Kadoma Shuugo, along with his men, looked on as their comrades, led by the Rear Admiral's friend, Todaka, were forced to keep the ship, that risked their lives to save Earth, and brought back their Chief Representative, from retreating back into Orb waters. The real sting to the wound was that it helped the same nation that attacked Orb two years before, and cost them their nation, even if it was under occupation for a short time.
He, along with every Captain and crew member of the 4th Defense fleet, knew that this was an attempt by those spineless fools the Seirans to be on the Atlantic Federation's good side. Even though they hadn't signed that damned Security Treaty yet.
Kadoma had never been a huge fan of either the Sahaku, or the Seirans. But, if he was honest with himself, he picked the Sahaku over the Seirans any day.
"Admiral..." said the voice of Ship Captain and Kadoma's XO of the fleet, Trevor Acero, a man roughly his age, with dark grey hair, hazel eyes, and less muscular than him, but was still a tough fighter.
"I know Trevor... " Kadoma said, "I hoped we wouldn't have to do this." he then sighed regretfully. "But... in order to save Orb from the Seirans and the Atlantic Federation, we must protect the Minerva."
The Captain could only nod at that, as a fire burned in his eyes. "We're with you every step of the way, sir. Even though many of us will be leaving our families behind, we'll be able to bear it" he said, and Kadoma smiled.
"I know you will, I choose the best to work with." he said and looked back at the battle.
"Sir! The Alliance flagship has launched their new mobile armor! And it's heading for the Impulse!" said the sensor operator said, and Kadoma's eyes narrowed.
"So... Lady Mina's intel was right on the money." the Rear Admiral said, and took in a breath before giving out orders.
"Have all pilots board their Mobile Suits at once! Inform all ships to proceed to Level One Battlestations!" he barked. "All crew members are ordered to put on their flak gear! We're aiming right the Alliance Fleet's right flank!"
"Sir!" the crew shouted in reply.
"Also, inform the mechanics to prepare the Strike N..."
ZAFT Warship, Minerva
"Mobile suits approaching at three o'clock! Three of them!"
"Evade! 10 to Starboard!"
Captain Talia Gladys barked out orders as the Minerva entered battle with the E.A. Fleet before them. They had deployed the only three Mobile Suits they had at the moment, those being Lunamaria's ZAKU Warrior with a Gunner Pack, Ray's ZAKU Phantom with a Blaze Pack, and Shinn in his Impulse Gundam as they fought off the much larger Alliance fleet. Although they had already sunk a few ships, they were severely outnumbered and outgunned.
Add to that, the Orb Fleet behind them prevented the ZAFT warship from retreating back into their territory, and even fired a barrage of shells at them as a warning. Thankfully they all missed, but that didn't make the female captain any happier.
'Dammit! We can't go forward and we can't go back!' Talia cursed in her mind. 'Waldtfelt was telling the truth! Orb's government sold us out!'
"Captain! I'm picking another fleet of ships approaching the EA.'s right flank!" Meyrin reported.
"Damn!" Talia cursed, out loud this time, "EA Reinforcements? How many?"
"One moment," Meyrin said, as she looked, before blinking. "M-Ma'am… they're not EA ships… they're Orb Union ships!" This announcement caught everyone by surprise as they looked at Meyrin "One Takemikazuchi-class Carrier, six Aegis-class Cruisers, and twelve Kuraomikami-class Destroyers!"
"T-That's nineteen ships in all!" said Arthur Trine, the ship's XO, and Talia gritted her teeth.
"That's just great!" she said, until Meyrin spoke again.
"Wait… Captain, I'm picking up a message from the Orb Fleet, it's in text." she said, and Talia and the rest of the crew blinked as Meyrin read out the message. " 'Attention Minerva... proceed due east towards Carpentaria… We'll cover you.' "
This got the attention of everyone on the bridge, as they looked at Meyrin in disbelief "T-They'll cover us?" Arthur asked, stunned. "What are you talking about?"
However before Meyrin, or anyone could respond, a volley of missiles and cannon fire struck the EA Fleet's right flank, striking one Spengler-class, three Arkansas-class, and 6 Frasers.
"What the hell!?" shouted both Talia and Arthur at the same time.
"What the hell!?" shouted Shinn Asuka, the pilot of the X56S Impulse Gundam, as he and the Earth Forces new Mobile Armor stopped fighting briefly as they see the ships on the right flank of the Alliance Fleet explode into fireballs. He followed where the shots fired came from, and saw - to his shock and surprise - a second fleet of Orb Union ships approaching the battle, now launching multiple Mobile Suits into the air. However most if not all of the Mobile Suits did not have the usual Orb Union colors of Red white and Black, but instead were colored Black on White with some Green.
In fact, not all of the machines were even Astrays or Murasames! A good number of the MS being launched appeared to be older EA mobile suits like GAT-01A1 105 Daggers.
"What… What is going on?" he said to himself, as he watched the Orb Mobile Suits attack the Earth Alliance Forces own units, and managing to destroy a few, while crippling others and sending them spiraling into the ocean.
However his attention returned to the Zamza Zah, as the crab-like Mobile Armour continued it's attack again. Activating it's heat claws, it grabs the Impulse by the leg.
"Shit!" he shouted as the Zamza Zah began to swing him around like a rag doll.
Flight Deck
Takeminakata
On the Flight Deck of the Takeminakata, the rogue Orb Union mobile suits were launching one after another as they headed off into battle to support the Minerva, as Astray's, Murasame's and Daggers launched up into the sky to fight.
Now arising from the depths of the Takeminakata, was one machine in particular. It was already outfitted with proper wings and flight systems required to fight in atmosphere, and was colored Green with a Maroon trim, a copper colored torso, and wielding a shield in similar colors. However what truly made it unique is the double V crest displayed proudly on its head.
In the cockpit of said machine, the pilot, wearing a First BV War Orb pilot suit colored copper brown was checking the systems of the mobile suit. The pilot was a young woman, due to the shape of her figure, but her helmet was tinted, hiding her face. The cockpit was also not like any standard Mobile Suits, for it was more spacious, and had multiple monitors showing 360 degrees around a single chair.
The pilot briefly stopped the checkups of her suit as she looked at what appeared to be a photo of a happy family of four. The parents each had a hand on the shoulder of their children, a boy, and a girl.
'Mom… dad… Shinn...' the pilot thought as her fingers grazed the photo for a moment, 'If you really are watching… I hope I'm making you proud...'
"Strike N, you are cleared to launch," came the voice from the Control Tower of the ship, snapping her back to present time. "Good hunting out there ma'am!"
The young woman's eyes behind the helmet visor, turned determined, and burned with a need for payback against those who invaded her country, and destroyed her family.
"Roger that! Strike N! Taking off!" With that, the GAT-X105N Strike N-Noir Kai Gundam launched from the deck of the carrier ship and headed straight for the duel between the Impulse and the Zamza Zah.
Back with Shinn
The ZAFT pilot was cursing up a storm as he was being held by the Mobile Armor's claw "Shit, shit, SHIT!" He shouted as the Zamza-Zah yanked him down, pulling him with him. And what was worse was that at that very moment, the energy of the Impulse hit the emergency area, and his P.S armor died away. Now unprotected, the Zamza-Zah's Heat Claw ripped through the leg entirely, and Shinn shouted as his Impulse began falling through the skies, the G Forces causing him to start blacking out.
He tried to stay focus, but his mind drifted… he thought about his family, how he lost them because of the Earth Forces and Orb, how he was helpless to do anything to stop it. However, he knew things were different now. Now he was a pilot, a Gundam pilot, and he wasn't going to be defeated yet.
"I'm not…" he muttered. "I'm not going to be beaten by something like this!" He shouted, and moments later he witnessed a vision of a glass red seed shattering into a million pieces in a bright light, and his eyes became dilated and narrowed.
Reacting quickly, he punched what was left of his energy into his thrusters as he regained control of his Gundam, narrowly avoiding the blast from the E.A Mobile Armor that would of finished him, flying off the surface of the water back towards the Minerva. "Minerva, Meyrin!" He shouted on the comm. "Activate the Deuteron Beam System! And also prepare to set out the Leg Flyer and the Sword Silhouette! Can you do it?"
"Y-Yes!" Meyrin responded. "Hang on Shinn."
It was just a few moments as a bright beam hit the Impulse's forehead. However, instead of just blowing it beam, the beam was actually re-charging the Gundam, as the power gauge went straight back into the green. The P.S. armor came back online, and he rocketed back towards the Zamza-Zah.
"Shit! What was that just now!" said one of the three pilots. However then the Impulse Gundam sped forward, drawing a Beam Saber as it attacked the Zamza-Zah once again "Fire!"
The Zamza-Zah fired another blast of its beam cannons, however the Impulse brought out its shield, and used it to block the attack of the beams! Though the Shield didn't survive, the Impulse did as it flew upwards over the beam, and raising his beam saber he stabbed his Beam Saber right into the cockpit of the machine, before sliding it down cutting the front half of the machine in half. He then jumped off, as it fell into the ocean and exploded in a massive blast.
"Not bad," said a voice, which Shinn noticed was a bit familiar, but couldn't place it. He turned and saw a Mobile Suit stop in front of him, it looked just like the Impulse, with the same double v- head crest, but in different colors.
"Who are you?" he said.
"We'll deal with introductions later," the voice said, as the Gundam-type M.S drew out a Beam Blade "Right now, get yourself a new set of legs, 'cause we need to take care of that Alliance Fleet. You deal with their ships, while I keep their Mobile Suits off of you. "
Shinn was not a person to immediately trust someone at first sight, least of all someone from Orb. But right now, protecting the Minerva took top priority as he discarded the damaged legs for new ones, and then disengaged the Force Silhouette for the Sword.
"Right, let's do it!" he said and the two Gundams head right toward the main Alliance line, with the newcomer attacking a wing of Dagger Ls and Windams, and Shinn headed straight for the ships. The Alliance Ships fired a salvo of missiles towards him, however Shinn accelerated as he flew over the missiles before he landed on the first Des Moines-class Cruiser, slashing into it twice with the Impulse's two Excalibur Anti-Ship Swords before slicing it a third time across the bridge.
He jumped off the Cruiser as it exploded, and landed on the next Cruiser, as he stabbed it in its missile bay, setting off the missiles as he jumped off again, as the front half of the Cruiser exploded. The Alliance ships were beginning to panic, even up to the point they were colliding with one another trying to retreat from the rage of the Impulse, as one Cruiser crashed into a Spengler-class Carrier.
Shinn landed on the collided cruiser, its CIWS Turret trying to damage him but did little against the V.P.S armor of the Impulse before Shinn sliced it in half, and then jumping up and landing on the carrier, before stabbing and slashing his way through the massive vessel causing detonations across its flight deck.
Onboard the Minerva, the crew could just watch in shock and awe as Shinn decimated the Earth Forces fleet almost single-handedly, destroying ship after ship like they were flies.
They were also amazed by the new Gundam as it sliced through the Alliance Suits as if in a dance.
"Captain! We're getting a hail from the Orb Fleet, it's from the flagship!" said Meyrin, and Talia blinked.
"Put it through," said the captain of the Minerva, and Meyrin did that.
The image then showed Kadoma, dressed in his uniform, with the addition of a helmet and flak vest.
"Captain Gladys, it's an honor to make your acquaintance." the Orb Rear Admiral greeted as he gave a salute. "I am Rear Admiral Kadoma Shuugo. Sorry for taking so long to help you out."
Gladys still looked stunned, however she nodded. "I-It is alright, Admiral," she said. "While I thank you for your assistance… I must ask, why is Orb helping us? When the word gets out that an Orb Fleet opened fire on an Alliance-"
"That won't be a problem, since we no longer answer to the Orb Union," the Rear Admiral said. "As of this moment, the entirety of the 4th Orb Defense Fleet is defecting to ZAFT."
Talia and the whole bridge crew's eyes widened at that.
"W-What!?" Talia said in surprise and shock.
Kadoma only sighed. "It wasn't... Orb per se, that wanted to sell you out," he said, and his face turned into a frown. "It was the Seirans, as a way of a gift of good faith to the Atlantic Federation."
Talia nodded, now having confirmation that the current Orb Government, more specifically, the Seiran Family, were the ones who sold them out.
"And that is the reason... why we no longer wish to serve a government under those spineless fools who would sell out their country to the same army who invaded us two years ago," the Admiral continued. "If you'll allow us, we wish to enter formation with you and proceed to Carpentaria."
It took the Captain a few moments of consideration, as she thought about their current situation. While they have survived the E.A's first attack, there was the ever so present chance that what's left of their fleet could try to regroup for another attack on their way to Carpentaria. Since the Minerva was damaged that makes things all the more difficult, even more so with only three functioning Mobile Suits onboard.
Making a solo journey to Carpentaria was obviously ill-advised. However making the journey there with an entire fleet of Naval Ships - and from Orb no less - seemed much more safer.
After a few more moments, Talia sighed before she looked at the Rear Admiral, and smiled. "Welcome to ZAFT, Rear Admiral," she said.
Kadoma nodded and smiled again. "A pleasure, Captain Gladys."
With the Strike N
The pilot of the Strike N-Noir Kai Gundam watched as the EA Mobile Suits retreated back to their ships. Or, the ships that survived Shinn's rampage that is. Sounds of heavy breathing were heard, as the pilot was exhausted, due to the number of Mobile Suits she brought down.
Most of them were rookies, but there were a few among them who were vets of the last war. But now they retreated, at least those she left in flying condition or managed to get back to their ships.
Letting out a calming breath, she leaned back in her seat before she heard a beeping sound, coming from her comm. She looked at where the signal came from, before sighing a bit, as she activated the Comm. "Miss Sahaku," she said. "Pleasure to hear from you again."
The screen showed the said Orb noble as she nodded her head.
"You as well," she said. "I watched your performance from my Mobile Suit. You've improved very much these last two years."
The mystery female pilot could only nod her head.
"Thank you, Miss Sahaku," she said. "Though, I doubt you're calling me to appreciate my latest sortie."
The Orb Noblewoman chuckled a bit. "Of course, you are right," she said. "I sent a message to the Rear Admiral… I would like you to land on the Minerva and be part of its M.S complement.. Considering they only have three Mobile Suits, they could use all the help they can get."
The young woman blinked behind the visor before she nodded. "Of course, Miss Sahaku," she said. "Anything else I need to know?"
Mina just gave a smirk. "Just that the Impulse's pilot is someone you remember." she said, causing the woman to raise a brow.
"Who?" she asked, and Mina's smirk just grew.
"That would be telling, now would it?" she said. "Stay safe, Lieutenant, ja ne!"
With that the link ended, causing a look of confusion to appear on the pilot's voice.
'What was that all about?' she thought, but shook her head as she activated the comm.
Back On the Minerva
Shinn sighed as he walked the Impulse back into the hangar, its P.S armor now deactivated after using up most of the energy it had against the E.A fleet. 'That was too close,' he thought as he moved the Impulse to its own birth as he unbuckled himself from the cockpit as he opened the hatch.
"Shinn!" A voice called out, and Shinn blinked as he looked down, and saw a crowd was growing below the Impulse, as he could see Vino, Yolan, Lunamaria, Ray and most of the engineers of the Minerva gathering below, all with smiles on their faces.
"Wow, that was incredible man!" said Vino, as Shinn came down on the descent cable. "You practically annihilated that entire fleet!"
"He's a super ace!" commented Yolan.
"You did really great!"
"He should be getting a medal for this for sure!"
Shinn smiled a bit nervously, not use to the massive amount of attention he was being given "Uhh… thanks?" he said, not exactly sure how to respond to all of the praise he was being given. However his attention was drawn away from the crowd as the sound of an MS walking into the hangar was heard, drawing the others attention as they looked and saw the second Gundam that had helped Shinn in the battle had landed, and was walking into the hangar.
The ZAFT crew were awed by the appearance of the suit, as it reminded them of the GAT-X105 Strike from the last war, but could tell it was a more modified version, with the wings on the back giving it a dead give away. The coloring was also different, colored a dark green with maroon trim, and a dark copper torso. The Strike-like Gundam parked in the MS cradle that was meant for the Gaia, and the PS Armor began to shut down, and the cockpit hatch opened.
Shinn and the others watched as the pilot came out, clad in a Orb Union First BV War flight suit, that was colored copper, instead of either the normal blue or pink. Shinn could tell the pilot was female by the figure, and also, he heard her voice even though it was muffled. The pilot then grabbed the descent cable and was lowered down to the deck of the hanger.
Upon reaching the bottom, she was soon greeted by Ray Za Burrel, who seemed to inspect her for a moment. "Who might you be?" he asked.
"I'm the pilot of the Strike N-Noir Kai Gundam," the woman said. "My superior wanted me over here to help the Minerva's own MS complement, since you appear to only have three Mobile Suits."
Ray and the mechanics looked a bit surprised that the now defecting Orb Fleet donated a Gundam and its pilot for the Minerva to use, but either way they weren't going to complain. One more MS for them to use means that Shinn and the others didn't have to carry so much weight when on sorties.
"Well… I suppose we appreciate the help," Ray said as he smiled a bit. "Though, what might your name be?"
The woman sighed, as she reached for her helmet and pulled it off. Revealing a young woman who looked to be around 15-16 years old, no older than Shinn was. She stood at about 5'5 with shoulder length chocolate brown hair which framed either side of her face, and dark almost violet colored eyes. The other ZAFT mechanics looked at her in surprise, as she looked so much like…
"Name's Lieutenant Mayu Asuka, 4th Orb Defense Fleet, and former test pilot of the Orb Union." She said with a smile, "Pleasure to meet you all." However whatever she was about to say after that was cut off as she heard a sharp gasp, "N-No way… M-Mayu-nee?"
Mayu's eyes widened… that voice… she knew that voice… she recognized it as the pilot of the Impulse, but in person… it sounded far more familiar, from someone who she thought died nearly three years ago. She turned her head, and her eyes widened even further as she saw Shinn Asuka standing there, looking at her wide eyed and jaw-gaping, just as Mayu was now looking at him.
"S-Shinn…" She whispered in disbelief, as the ZAFT engineers, Luna and Ray looked at the two in a mixture of shock and confusion. "Shinn-nii… is that… y-you?"
The helmet in her hands fell from her grasp, causing a loud clanging noise to be echo around the hangar, along with Shinn's. The two then approached each other, both slowly, until they were at least, at arm's length from each.
The silence was so low that anyone could hear a pin drop on the opposite side of the hangar. For what felt like a full minute the two just stared at each other wide-eyed in disbelief. However it was Mayu who broke down first as tears began to escape her eyes, and she quickly embraced Shinn in a massive hug "Shinn! It's you! It really is you! You're alive!" She sobbed out, holding onto Shinn like a life preserver.
Shinn, while shocked for a moment, returned the hug as he shed a few tears himself.
"M… Mayu. Is it you? Is it really you?" Shinn asked. "I… I saw your body and…"
He couldn't finish as he continued to hold his younger sister, praying that this wasn't a dream.
"The last thing I remember… was the explosion…" Mayu whispered, still sobbing, "Next thing I knew… I was in a sickbay belonging to an Orb Ship… I was told I was found there… almost dead, but… they managed to keep me alive… t-they told me Mom and Dad were… a-and they couldn't find your body, and I thought you…" She hugged him tighter. "I can't believe… you're still alive!"
The others were confused by this, more specifically, Lunamaria, while Rey looked at the scene with a calculative gaze. He was one of the few, if only one, people that Shinn ever told about what happened to his family at Orb.
However, Shinn payed this no mind at the moment he didn't care about the specifics or anything. Right now, all he cared about was that right here was his sister, who he thought dead for years, alive and well. "I… I can't believe this either…" he said, as he continued to smile. "I missed you… I missed you so much Mayu…"
Mayu, smiled as well, as she continued to hug her brother.
"Uh, Shinn…" Shinn blinked and looked at the group looking at him. "Do you know this girl?" Yolan said, as he, Vino, and Lunamaria gave him looks that looked curious.
Shinn chuckled, as he stroked Mayu's hair. "Well… I haven't told you guys this, because it brought back bad memories during my time in Orb." he said. "But... I have a sister. The person you see hugging me."
The eyes of the others widened once again as they looked at Mayu, who scratched her head a bit sheepishly. "You have a sister/you're Shinn's sister?" were the questions they all asked.
"Yes," Mayu said as she smiled. "I'm his younger sister, Mayu… It's nice to meet you all."
The whole group could only gape like fish, while their eyes bulged out of their sockets.
They were like that for ten seconds until, as one, exploded into questions all aimed at the two reunited siblings.
"Where the heck you've been hiding her Shinn!?"
"You didn't tell me your sister was a hottie!"
"You were the pilot of that Gundam? Damn, is being a super-pilot an Asuka thing or something?"
The Mechanics began to gather around them, all of them asking their respective questions, and greeting the new pilot of the Minerva and Shinn's sister. She was taken aback at all of the attention she was getting, however she just kept on smiling and greeting them in return, answering what questions she could.
Rey could only shake his head amusedly at the situation. He may be a little stoic all the time, but he cared about Shinn, since the two of them were classmates back at the Academy, and had been friends for two years. He then looked at the Strike N, curious as to where Mayu got it.
"Okay you guys! That's enough! Get back to your stations!" the Head mechanic shouted, and reluctantly, the Mechanics went back to their stations, while the pilots remained.
"I think it's best we speak with the Captain," said Rey. "That way, we can introduce you to her, and perhaps tell the story of your survival two years ago, and how you're the pilot of the Strike N."
Mayu nodded in agreement. "Right, I have a message to give her anyway, as well the Chairman if we run into him." she said, making the three Red Coats blink.
"A Message?" Luna asked. "About what?"
"Sorry, Classified," Mayu said. "Intended for Captain Gladys and the Chairman's ears only. I was told to tell them as soon as possible."
Rey nodded in understanding.
"Follow me, then," he said, and the the four pilots left the hangar for the Captain's quarters.
Minutes later
Captain's Quarters
Talia Gladys blinked as she looked at the supposed dead younger sister of one of her pilots, more specifically Shinn. She, like many others, were surprised to see her. Both alive and well.
And now here she was, telling her, that she delivering a message in the form of a data disk, and was instructed that she and Gilbert were to be both to hear it. She nodded in understanding, but decided to ask the question on how she's still alive.
"I thank you for delivering this to me." she said, and placed the disk in the breast pocket of her uniform. Mayu nodded as Talia continued. "Now, may I ask how you survived the Battle of Orb? The official file stated that you were killed."
Mayu nodded. "I almost did die," she said. "It's all a bit hazy, since the last thing I remember was the explosion… when I came too, I was in the sick bay of an Orb Aegis Cruiser that was retreating with what was left of the Orb surface fleet. Later I found out that I was found by Orb Soldiers that were loyal to the Sahaku Family, or more specifically Mina Sahaku."
Shinn and Luna's eyes widened at that.
"Mina Sahaku? The Rondo Mina Sahaku!?" Shinn said in surprise, and Mayu nodded.
"Yes. She visited me after being informed I was awake," she said, and her head bowed a bit. "She told me that I was the only one found alive, while only the bodies of my mother and father were found. And my brother was nowhere to be found, possibly vaporized…"
Shinn winced at the mental image.
"Miss Sahaku then told me how Orb had fallen to the Atlantic Federation, and became occupied." She then clenched her fist. "I...I never felt so angry before… they took away my home, killed my family… just so they could get the Kaguya Mass Driver… they didn't care who got in their way, military or civilian!"
Mayu stopped herself for a moment, as she took in a deep calming breath, before she continued "Anyways…" she said, "Afterwards, I stayed with the Orb Fleets that survived the battle, regrouping at an old Redoubt the Orb Union had from the Reconstruction War, where they stayed until the occupation ended. During those days, I got to know a lot of the people in the Orb Military, including Rear Admiral Shuugo."
She then smiled fondly. "It was strange… even after losing the homeland… so many in the navy still had high spirits," she said. "Kept on saying… that we would get it back, even if we had to do it by force. They said that Orb will never belong to anyone other than the people of Orb. But they would say that even if we never got the homeland itself back… as long as the people of Orb lived on, it's still a victory."
She paused for a moment as she thought about something before she continued. "While I stayed there, I grew to admire the Orb Navy and pilots more and more," she said. "Thanks to Mina, I learned more and more about the Navy and Mobile Suits… and eventually, I asked her if I could join the Orb Mobile Suit corps myself. I wanted to be like them… to be able to protect the people of Orb, so what happened to me wouldn't happen to anyone else…"
The four ZAFT officers were surprised by the passion in Mayu's voice. Shinn saw that his sister, while having suffered a traumatic event, was still able to keep her kind and gentle side. Luna, thought along the same lines as Shinn, while Rey and Talia could see the maturity in the young woman's eyes.
Shinn then remembered something, and blinked when he noticed that Mayu still had her left arm.
"M-Mayu, your arm," Shinn said, and Mayu blinked, before she looked at her arm and smiled in understanding.
"You can thank Mina for that," she said, and removed the glove and showed a lifelike human female hand. "Since they couldn't recover the arm I lost, Mina had a prosthetic made for me." She flexed its fingers and wrist around a bit. "Mine is the first prototype of a new line of prosthetic limbs that can still react perfectly in tune with the nervous system. She hopes to make it so others like me who've lost limbs because of war and accidents have better futures. It's not perfect, but it's better than nothing."
Shinn looked at the limb in surprise, but still managed to smile a bit. He was glad that Mayu didn't need to live life with just one arm. At the very least, Rondo Mina Sahaku took good care of his sister, and for that he was thankful for.
"Remind to thank her when I see her," Shinn said, before he blinked. "Say, Mayu, I saw a lot of Dagger model Mobile Suits among the defectors. How did Orb get those?"
Mayu blinked before she smirked. "Those are actually a new model built by Morgenroete, they're called MBF-01A3 Jōhin Daggers, or J-Dagger for short." she said as she placed her hands on her hips and gave a smug look toward her brother. "I was one of the first test pilots and gave the suit it's nickname. Not like my Strike N, but still a reliable unit. Can give those Dagger Ls and Windams a run for their money."
Talia and the red coats blinked at that.
"How in the world did Orb get the data to build them?" Talia said, and Mayu began to chuckle before laughing softly, causing the ZAFT personnel to become confused.
"You seem to forget something Captain," she said. "Morgenroete was the ones who made the first original Gundams at Heliopolis, and used the same data to make the Astray's. Every single mobile suit in the EA's arsenal is descended from Orb Engineering. Meaning anything the Alliance can do, we can do better, stronger and faster. All we did was salvage destroyed and damaged machines from the last war and convert them to more superior Orb standards."
The three ZAFT pilots and one captain all had astonished looks on their faces, as Mayu continued.
"Not to mention those idiots in the Atlantic Federation are so careless when selling many large numbers of their Older MS to other countries, in order to fund projects for newer, more advanced, units that they neglected to check who was buying them." The young pilot said.
The ZAFT personnel were stumped by that for a bit, until Talia cleared her throat.
"Well, I thank you for telling us this, and giving me this disk for me and the chairman." she said. "Now, we have to prepare quarters for you, as well as what uniform you will wear, I doubt you'd want to wear that flight suit all the time."
Mayu chuckled a bit as she nodded. "Thank you, Captain," she said, before she tilted her head towards Shinn. "And thank you for taking care of my idiot brother."
"Hey!" Shinn shot back, while behind them Luna giggled slightly, and Ray just shook his head, but with a small smile.
"Hey, it's true!" Mayu said, cheekily. Which prompted Shinn to give his sister a glare in return.
"You little… I oughta…" he began, only to be stopped by Talia.
"As amusing this will be to watch, we're not out of the woods yet, and have a long ways to go before we reach Carpentaria," she reminded, and the four pilots nodded. "There could be more EA ships in the area, so, I suggest you get some rest. And Miss Asuka, I will assign you the quarters of one of our supposed to be pilots, Riika Sheder, the intended pilot of the Gaia."
Mayu nodded. "Thank you, Captain," she said, as she sighed and stood up. "Well, I guess I gotta start moving my stuff in."
Shinn smiled at that. "I'll help you out," he said.
"Me too," Luna said. "Besides it will give me the chance to know you."
Mayu could only smile. "Thanks. It's not much, just a few things, like a few military clothes." she said, and the three left Talia's quarters, with said Captain shaking her head.
"I've never seen Shinn give a smile like that before," she said, causing Rey to look at her in question.
"Talia?" he asked, seeing as they were alone.
"In the time I've known Shinn, he rarely smiles unless he's with you, Luna, Vino or Yolan," she said. "And even then, the smiles don't seem… genuine. This is the first time I have seen Shinn with a truly happy smile…" She shook her head "Mayu must mean a lot to Shinn…And if anything were to happen to her…"
She shivered at the thought. If Shinn were to see what almost happened to Mayu happen again, then Heaven help those who did the deed, for the pilot of the Impulse would sure not show any mercy toward them.
Later, Mayu's new quarters
Shinn and Luna placed down the two bags, that contained Mayu's belongings as Mayu placed the picture of herself, her brother, and their parents on the nightstand of the bed.
"Wow, Mayu!" said Luna. "What exactly do you have here?"
"It's not much, really," Mayu said, "I tend to not get too much stuff, since being in the Orb Navy and M.S Corps means I get transferred from one ship to another a lot. So the less stuff I have, the easier it is when I have to move."
The two nodded in understanding at that, as Mayu proceeded to open one of the bags, a duffle and began to remove a few clothes from. When she reached the bottom, she pulled out what looked to be a gun case and proceeded to open it, showing an old 20th Century Walther P38.
"I didn't know you were into old school guns from the Pre-RW era," Luna said as she saw Mayu inspecting the pistol.
"Mina gave it to me, said it was a gun that fitted me perfectly." Mayu said, before chuckling bitterly, "Back before the Battle of Orb, I wouldn't even think of holding a gun. Now…"
Shinn frowned a bit at that, before he blinked as he remembered something, and dug into his pant pocket.
"Here Mayu…" he said, and his sister turned and her eyes widened slightly in recognition when Shinn pulled out a item she hadn't seen in a long time.
"My mobile phone," she said as she took it from Shinn, looked at it for a good few moments in disbelief, before she looked back at her brother with a smile and gave him a hug. "Thank you, Shinn," she said. "I can't believe you actually kept it all this time..."
Shinn smiled a bit. "It's… nothing, really…" he said. "It was all I had left after… well…"
Mayu could only nod in understanding. "It's alright," she said and went back and placed the phone on the nightstand. "Thank you."
Shinn smiled, while Luna also smiled, happy for Shinn.
Mayu then headed for the second case which looked to be something that held a uniform. She then opened it, and the two were stunned at what they were seeing. It looked very similar to a ZAFT uniform colored copper with a maroon trimming, and lying next too it was a pair of black heeled boots, like regulation ZAFT boots. However on the shoulder pads were clearly Orb Military insignias instead of ZAFT ones.
"Mina let me customize my uniform," Mayu answered their unanswered question as she pulled it out. "I liked the style of ZAFT uniforms, so they made mine to look a bit more like theirs. Makes things easier now, since I can just replace the Orb patches with ZAFT ones now."
With that she removed the patches on the shoulders, revealing them to be velcro stitched.
"Wow, I like it!" said Luna. "I bet it rocks being friends with an Orb noble!"
Mayu chuckled. "More like trusting acquaintance than friend," she said, before she frowned. "You should've met her twin, though, man what a jerk!"
"You mean Rondo Gina Sahaku?" Shinn asked. "I heard something about him…"
"Mina said he use to be a good guy," Mayu said. "However he took a turn for the worse near the end of the last war. He wanted to continue his plan of having Orb 'take over the Earth Sphere' through Morgenroete… but he ended up getting killed by a Junk Guild pilot and a Serpent Tail Mercenary. Mina almost was the same… but she told me the words of the Junk Guild pilot inspired her to put aside those plans, and focused on what her father wanted: protect the people of Orb."
Shinn and Luna both nodded at that.
"That's good to hear," said the magenta red haired girl. "We don't want a conqueror in the middle of a war between genetics."
Mayu nodded at that as she laid her uniform on the bed. "True… Now if you all excuse me, I need to change before we arrive in Carpentaria." she said, and the two nodded.
"Right. We'll leave you be, come on Shinn," she said, and the elder Asuka sibling nodded.
"We'll see you later, then, Mayu," Shinn said, and Mayu nodded as they left her alone to change.
Hours Later, Carpentaria
At the ZAFT base of Carpentaria, many of the men and women stationed there were indeed preparing for the arrival of the Minerva, as many wanted to see the ship which - for all intents and purposes - saved the world from destruction.
However, none of them expected as the Minerva arrived… that they would have an escort of nearly 20 Orb Union ships, all in a perfect formation surrounding the Minerva and an Orb Union Carrier in the center.
Talia managed to inform the Base Commander of the Orb Fleet's defection to ZAFT, and thus the ships were free to dock at the base. This news of course, was well received by the base personnel, as well as the Reinforcements who dropped in to reinforce the base after the war began.
As the Minerva and its escort finally docked their ships, the Base Commandant welcomed the Captain and her crew, as well as Admiral Shuugo.
"I must admit, having your forces here Admiral Shuugo is a great relief to our forces," the Base Commandant said, as he was now in the office of the base with the Minerva captain and the Rear Admiral. "Even with the reinforcements from the orbital drop, we are somewhat understaffed. And with no surface vessels of our own we were at something of a disadvantage if the Alliance tries to attack with a fleet of their own."
Kodama nodded in agreement. "Yes, I understand the situation. Of course you're probably wondering why we defected in the first place." he said, and then sighed. "As I told Captain Gladys, the Seirans and those in the government who support them were bought by the Atlantic Federation, and thus are just puppets of the Alliance. Which is why they're signing that damn treaty in the first place. The other Noble families are pissed about that."
"Are all of the Families against this?" The Commandant asked.
"The Sahaku and Mizutori families are firmly against it," The Rear Admiral said, "The Kiroshi Family is tempted at joining the Earth Alliance - if only to help establish a new world government to effectively replace the United Nations, but are not nearly as ready to work with the AF - who invaded Orb not even three years ago, and want nothing to do with Blue Cosmos."
"And the Atthas?" The Commandant asked, and the Rear Admiral sighed.
"Cagalli is doing what she can," he said, "but the Serians are taking away power from her, and excluding her in more and more meetings. She's losing influence in the Orb Union, and if this keeps up… " he shook his head "The E.A may try to get Orb to actively help them in the war against ZAFT if the treaty gets signed."
The Commandant and Talia both sighed at this.
"I see… And when the Alliance gets their hands on Orb Technology…" He shivered at the thought. "May Heaven help us."
Shuugo nodded, as he signaled Trevor, to bring what looked like a laptop computer, and activated the screen.
"I thought it would be best to show you all what inventory we have, so you and also the Chairman could see what we have." he said, and Talia and the Commandant looked at the list on the computer and were flabbergasted.
4th Orb Self-Defense Fleet:
1 x Takemikazuchi-class Carrier 'Takeminakata'
6 x Aegis-class Cruisers
12 x Kuraokami-class Destroyers
1 x GAT-X105N Strike Noir Gundam Kai
25 x MVF-M11C Murasames
35 x MBF-01A3 Johin Dagger
12 x MBF-M1+EF-24R Astray Shrike
"Jeez…" The Commandant muttered, "That's more than enough forces to take a small country for yourselves…"
Shuugo only smirked. "We don't mess around, Commandant. Despite our… original policy to remain neutral, we prefer to not just sit like lambs to be slaughtered," he said, and the Commandant nodded.
"I understand perfectly," he said. "Also, Captain Gladys, we received a message from headquarters. They're sending in replacements after the losses you suffered back in space, as well as the new overall Commander of the MS Team, an agent of FAITH."
Talia blinked in surprise. "A FAITH Agent?" she asked. "When will they arrive?"
"The Agent should be here tomorrow morning, he's coming all the way from the PLANT's," the Commandant said. "However the other eight pilots should be here sometime today with their own commander... and you'll never guess who they're being lead by."
Talia looked at the Commandant, who grinned as he leaned back in his chair. "It's the Cipher Team," He said, "Lead by the Demon Lord of Jachin Due himself… Jaden Hunter."
The eyes of both Talia and the Admiral widened in surprise at that announcement. The Demon Lord of Jachin Due… that was a very well known name, feared and respected by ZAFT and the Earth Alliance alike. During the first battle of Jachin Due, he and his team were the ones who almost single-handedly destroyed the Earth Forces fleet that attacked, destroying them all and forcing the EA to retreat. Stories of one pilot, whose Black and Red ZGMF-515 CGUE was three times faster than an average Machine, destroyed ten EA Battleships and Carriers single-handedly spread, being known by the Earth Forces for his relentless assault as a 'Demon Lord'. And his team dealing almost as much damage.
His name was Jaden Hunter, the first and youngest ZAFT Ace, whose skills were rumored to rival that of Rau Le Creuset and Andrew Waltfeld. And his team, the Cipher Team, were just as skilled, supposedly.
"Y-You're kidding?" Talia said in shock, while the Commandant just shook his head.
"I'm not, though I heard he was a bit peeved that he and his team are being switched from Space to Earth," he said, while smirking. "They will most definitely be of great help if the Minerva meets enemy forces that even the ship itself has trouble with."
Talia was still stunned, however she still shook her head. "Either way… it will be nice to get some more help," she said. "Even with Mayu joining the Minerva, having a near full complement of Mobile Suits is greatly appreciated."
Meanwhile - 10,000 Kilometers above Carpentaria
Descending at high speed through the atmosphere were two ZAFT Drop Pods, which glowed bright red as they went through the friction around them. However as they cleared the cloud cover and began to cool off, suddenly the shelling of the Drop Pods shedded off, revealing eight Mobile Suits which continued the descent down, maintaining formation.
Each Mobile Suit appeared to have a degree of Customizations, however most of them still looked like the units they were based off of. Four ZGMF-601R GuAIZ R's, three of which shared a Black and Blue color scheme, while the fifth was silver with an orange right arm. A ZGMF-1001/S Slash ZAKU Phantom which was white with Red Trimming, a ZGMF-1000/S Slash ZAKU Warrior which was Black with Gold Trimming, and a ZGMF-1000/M Blaze ZAKU Warrior that was colored Black with White Trimming.
However in the front of the formation was the machine which stood out the most. At first glance looking like a ZGMF-1001 ZAKU Phantom, but with such massive amounts of customizations made it look like a totally new machine, given a very noticeable Black and Red color scheme. On both of its shoulder shields was the image of Devil's head and a Trident.
In the cockpit of this machine, a man wore a customized version of the ZAFT Normal Suit, which shared the same colors as hie Mobile Suit. His visor was polarized, revealing him to be a man in his late teens or early twenties, with short spiked black hair, and crimson red eyes. As they continued their descent, he let out a short sigh, leaning back in the seat of his machine.
'It's been awhile… since I've been on Earth…' he thought. 'Since I felt Earth's natural gravity… if only it were under better circumstances.' Sighing again, he keyed the Comm. "All Ciphers, report in." He said.
"Cipher 2, checking in."
"Cipher 3, no problems sir."
"Cipher 4, all green here."
"Cipher 5, following your lead sir."
"Cipher 6, reporting."
"Cipher 7, I'm clear."
"Cipher 8, good to go."
He nodded. "Cipher 1, acknowledges," he said. "Alright everyone, form up, we're heading to the Minerva, shouldn't be hard to spot."
"Roger!" shouted the Cipher Team Members, and the ZAFT team formed up as they continued their descent toward the northern part of the Australian continent.
"I remember hearing how a whole Orb Fleet defected in order to help the Minerva against an entire EAF Fleet," said one of the pilots. "Talk about luck."
"At least we're not alone when we head to our next stop," another pilot said. "It would be stupid to send the Minerva to head almost half way across the world on its own. And with all the Earth Forces between here and there, we'll need as much help we can get."
"Heh, Earth Forces won't know what hit them," another pilot said. "They still tell stories about what we did during the last war… I doubt they'd forget what we accomplished so soon."
"They're gonna be having nightmares when they see us," another said. "Assuming they live long enough."
"Remember why we're here, people," the lead pilot said. "This is gonna be a defense war for ZAFT, and it will stay that way until our orders change. However, if we can, we will contact the First Recon, and see if they can lend us a hand."
"I doubt they could do much for us," another pilot said. "They'd rather not reveal themselves yet…"
"I know, but there are things we must accomplish on Earth that we can only do with the First Recon's experience and Connections," he said. "We will contact them when we can, but for now we focus on the order's we have."
"Copy that." said the team, and the ZAKUs and GuAIZ Rs continued their descent toward Australia.
All the while, the lead pilot had one thought.
'Just a little longer… just a little more.'
117Jorn: And The first chapter is DONE! And that is… huh… only 8,760 words.
Patriot-112: Yep. And while others are busy reading this fic, we gotta get back to the others we're writing up, especially that new idea.
117Jorn: Hell yeah! :D
Ron the True Fan: Time for the killing spree! (Fires Merkava's main gun) Whoops. I think I hit something that wasn't supposed to be hit…
Takeshi Yamato: Should we make like James May, Richard Hammond, and Jeremy Clarkson from Top Gear when they royally screw something up, and run?
Ron the True Fan: IN THE TANK! NOW! (Spins tank around and guns it)
117Jorn: Way ahead of you! (Hops into ZGMF-X2000 GOUF Ignited and takes off)
Takeshi Yamato: Right behind you, Jorn! (Gets into GN-103 Tempest and launches after Jorn)
Patriot-112: Guess that's our cue… Before I take off, here are some of the Mobile Suits you've just seen.
Mobile Unit: MBF-01A3 Johin Dagger
Unit Type: Mass Produced Multi Purpose Mobile Suit
Manufacturer: Morgenroete
Operators: Orb Union (Sahaku Family); ZAFT (Orb Defectors);
Overall Height: 18.00 meters
Standard Weight: 68.09 metric tons
Power-plant: Scorpio Ultracompact Reactor, or Deuterium Ultracompact Energy battery
Pilot Accommodations: Pilot only in Panoramic Cockpit/linear seat, in torso
Special Equipment & Features: Sensors, range unknown; laminated armor (improved type of heat-resistant ablative gel DPX-30); hardpoints for mounting Striker packs
Fixed Armaments: 2 x 75mm "Igelstellung" CIWS, fire linked, mounted in head; 2 x Type 72 beam saber/dagger, stored in hips, hand-carried in use; 2 x 12.5mm anti-infantry gun, fire-linked, mounted in feet; 2 x beam saber, stored on Aile pack, hand-carried in use; shield, mounted on left arm
Optional Fixed Armaments:AQM/E-M1 IWSP; AQM/E-X02 Sword Striker; AQM/E-X03 Launcher; P204QX Lightning Striker
Optional Armaments: 1 x Type 71E Kai Beam rifle; Type-72E Shield, mounted on either forearm
Technical & Historical Notes: After the First Bloody Valentine War ended, the Earth Alliance, more specifically, the Atlantic Federation, proceeded to either upgrade, sell, or decommission most of it's GAT-01 Strike Dagger and GAT-01A1 105 Dagger fleets, while also supplanting them with more advanced M.S. such as the GAT-04 Windam and the GAT-02L2 Dagger L. The remaining Strike Daggers were regulated to use as training M.S., while the 105 Daggers, while many were modernized into the GAT-01A2R Slaughter Dagger, were placed into reserve storage or were sold.
This carelessness presented a perfect opportunity for the Sahaku Family of Orb, who managed to purchase a good number (precisely over a hundred) of 105 Daggers. By commissioning Morgenroete, the 105 Daggers were reverse-engineered and modified to more powerful than their original specs. This resulted in the MBF-01A3 Johin Dagger, the third generation of the 105 Dagger series.
While cosmetically similar to the original 105 Dagger design, and using the same Striker Packs as the original Strike Gundam. The Johin Dagger's major differences was the head CIWS being 75mm "Igelstellung" vulcan guns, a panoramic monitor/linear seat cockpit, the machine gun rifle replaced with a modified version of the Type 71 Beam rifle, used by the MBF-M1 M1 Astray and able to switch between a more advanced Deuterium Ultracompact Energy battery, and a Scorpio Ultracompact Fusion reactor. The unit gained the affectionate nickname of "J-Dagger" later on by it's test pilots.
Rondo Mina Sahaku, head of the Sahaku Family, gave many J-Daggers to the Orb 4th Defense Fleet, who would defect to ZAFT in protest of the new Seiran-led government, who were pro-Atlantic Federation/Logos. They also served alongside the M1A Astray Space Types, and other E.A. MS used by the Sahaku Family at the Ame-no-Mihashira satellite fortress/mobile suit factory..
Colors: Black on White with green torso (4th Defense Fleet Defectors); Gold on Black (Orb Union/Sahaku Family)
Appearance: Looks like the GAT-01A2R Slaughter Dagger, with the shield and beam rifle from the MBF-M1 Astray
Mobile Unit: GAT-X105N Strike N Gundam/Strike Noir Gundam Kai
Unit Type: Prototype Assault/Close Combat Mobile suit
Manufacturer: Morgenroete Inc./Wolff Heavy Electronics
Operators: Orb Union;
Known Pilot: Mayu Asuka
Overall Height: 17.72 meters
Standard Weight: 90.51 metric tons
Power-plant: Scorpio Ultracompact Fusion Reactor
Pilot Accommodations: Pilot Only, in Panoramic/linear seat cockpit in torso
Special Equipment & Features: Sensors, range Unknown; Hardpoints for Striker and Wizard Packs; Gundarium PS Armor; Power extender
Fixed Armaments: 2 x 75mm "Igelstellung" CIWS, fire-linked, mounted in head; 4 x EQS1358 rocket anchor; 2 x M8F-SB1.5 Shorty Beam rifles; 2 x MR-Q10 "Fragarach 3" Beam Blade; MAU-M3E42 Linear Gun; Shield, mounted on either forearm, carries two Type 70J Kai beam sabers, hand carried when in use.
Optional Armaments: 2 x 57mm Beam Rifle w/ 175mm grenade launcher
Technical & Historical Notes: (Classified)
Appearance: Based on the GAT-X105E Strike Noir
Colors: Green with maroon trim, dark copper torso; shield colors are green with maroon trim.
