A Time of War, a gundam wing/ac fanfic

Prologue:

This is now a time of war- now is AW 20, or After-War 20 (Years). The large countries formerly known as the Russian Federation and the United States of America formed an alliance and became the Democratic Union, in turn to begin conquering small third world countries and placing them under their grasp. In response, the world powers in Europe, such as France, Italy, Great Britain and many other countries not influenced by the Democratic Union became members of the Earth Sphere Organization. Eventually this conflict became very tense and it poured into space, dividing colonies and people, destroying many lives and it became known as the Third World War. After this war, peace was settled for a short time and war erupted once again, all over the world.

***

Muffled laughter and sounds of applause filled the air. Several hundred people sit in front of a podium in a stadium surrounded by thousands of people, mostly parents, grandparents, brothers, or sisters. Corny, off-key music floated from the bandstand as the lector stepped up to the stage. Suddenly, that corny music stopped. He was a short, chubby man, who had a balding head. He stepped up onto the podium and pushed back his glasses. Looking through the crowd, he coughed.

"Ladies and Gentlemen, I would like to welcome you to the first day of the rest of your lives. By completing your duties, your accomplishments have taken you to new heights. You will now become the newly trained soldier that fights on our battlefields, the one that serves upon our homefront, and you will become one with the country. You will become one with our armies, our people, and our land." He coughed, and pushed his glasses up again. "You are fighting for a just cause, for the freedom of all oppressed people. The burden of many stand upon your backs. I only hope you are able to stand and uphold our rights and protect our country."

Leon Batiste looked around and saw the thousands of faces, the blue sky, and the Headmaster giving the lecture.

Blah, blah, blah…

He couldn't hold in his excitement any longer. The day was finally here, and he was happy about it. Finally the line came.

"Congratulations, you are now newly graduated from the Hyrule Military Academy!" Applause filled his ears and everyone next to him stood up. He ran his hand over the arm of the stiff cotton uniform. It felt like too much starch had been put in. Everyone cheered and they threw their hats into the air. Suddenly, the roar of jets flew over, leaving their off white trails hanging in the air over the stadium.

"Hoorah! Hoorah! Hoorah!" The cadets yelled as they caught their hats. Soon after, the crowd began to disperse and leave the stadium. He was putting his jacket on when a hand caught his shoulder. It was the Headmaster. Leon turned around and he looked down to see the stubby man's face.

"Good job, Leon!" He extended his hand. Leon reached out, took it, and shook his hand. "I've received a letter from the Earth Sphere Forces. It's about you."

"What about, sir?" Leon's attention peaked.

"You've been commissioned to the 151st Mobile Suit Division, son!" Leon's eyes widened.

"Really?"
"Of course!" All of a sudden, Leon just hugged the Headmaster.
"Thank you! Thank you, sir!" Then, the Headmaster pushed Leon off of him.

"No need to thank me, it seems that they've had their eye on you for a while now. Take this home and you'll be on your way." He shook Leon's hand with both of his hands. "Congratulations, Leon- and good luck!"

"I can't believe it, I'm in the army…" Leon mumbled to himself as he walked to his car. "I made it…" Making his way out of the parking lot, he buckled himself up and drove to the nearest gas station. Pulling into a stall and activating the pump, he pulled out his phone.

"Mom?"

"Leon? How are you doing?"

"Guess what, mom?"

"What?" she asked.

"I was accepted and I'm being commissioned to the Earth Sphere Military!" She paused.

"- oh…"

"Aren't you happy?"

"Yes, of course." She hesitated.

"What's wrong?" Leon asked.

"Nothing. You're coming home now, right?" She questioned.

"Yes I am."
"Do you have all your stuff?"

"Of course," He said. "Ok, the gas is done, so I'll start driving home now. I'll see you soon, mom."

"Be careful, son."

"You know me." He grinned, and hung up the phone. Buckling himself into the seat, he drove back onto the road back home.

***

He drove down the street quietly. There lawns with sprinklers on, faint lights in windows, some bright lights. It was the street he had grown up upon. He remembered everything before the war- the fresh air, the mingling of him and girls his age. But the war changed everything. Sirens, screaming, explosions all happened in an instant. That's how he lost his father. He was too young to go to war and follow then, but now he was ready and willing to fight against the man who took his father's life.

It was painful. Hearing from him one day, not another. It was relieving when they came every other day, but then the letters stopped. Nothing came. Soon enough a letter confirming his father's death came in the mail. Denial came at first.

It was bullshit. It was a lie.

Eventually those lies set in, and disappeared. They were replaced with feelings of hate, of anger, desperation and revenge. The anger never stopped flowing, it made a gap in his honor roll studies in the High School. It took several months to get back to normal.

Now, that day has come. Leon was old enough to serve in the military, he was a fresh fish that just got picked out of water, and here was his chance. His chance to get back at the people that took his father from him.

***

He opened the door, and burst in.

"Hey mom!" he yelled, and she came walking to see what the commotion was all about.
"Oh my gosh, Leon!" She ran up and hugged him. "I made you dinner." She showed him to the table and she sat down with him while he was eating.
"I hope you like it." She said. "I'm going to go to sleep now. Your room is still where it is. Goodnight honey."

"Goodnighhht mawmma." Leon said with his mouth full as his mother kissed him upon the cheek. He finished and he put his plate into the sink, grabbed his bag, and went downstairs to his room. He sat on his bed and took the letter of commission out of his bag.

Mr. Leon Batiste,

You have been chosen to join the Earth Sphere Military in it's current campaign against the Democratic Union! Your group of commission is the 151st Mobile Suit Division. You and several others in your town will meet at the Greyhound bus station tomorrow at 6:00 am. Don't forget to pack your bags- Be ready for the beginning of a lifetime!

Signed,

General Klein

He put the letter down, and closed his eyes as he relaxed upon his bed.
"Goodnight, Leon…"

***

Early enough, Leon was packing his bags and had himself ready. He went upstairs to see his mom reading the newspaper, and he sat down next to her.

"Mother, I'm leaving for the Army now, since I'm being commissioned." She put down the paper and he saw that she had been crying.

"Leon, I don't want you to go," She sobbed. "I don't want you to end up like your father. I don't want to lose someone else." He put his hands over hers and he looked into her eyes.

"Mom. You know me. I won't get hurt." She sobbed again.
"That's exactly what your father said when he was drafted." He looked at his watch.
"I have to go if I want to make it, mother." He reached over and kissed her on the cheek. Picking up his bag, he headed out and heard sobbing as he shut the door.

"Gentlemen, welcome to the 151st Mobile Suit Division." The Captain said as he paced back and forth in front of the new recruits. "I know all of you have large amounts of experience in Mobile Suit combat, am I right?" He questioned. Nobody answered. He looked around again.

"When I ask a question, I want a response!" He yelled.

"Yes sir." Several people mumbled.
"What the hell was that? A meow?" He walked over to a man next to Leon, and screamed in his ear. "Say it like you mean it!" They all screamed.

"Yes sir!" He put his hands on his hips.
"That's more like it." He smirked.

Eventually the seconds wore on into minutes. Names were being called.

Blah, Blah, Blah… Batiste!

He heard his name yelled, and he snapped to attention. He didn't say anything. Suddenly, the Captain walked over to him and screamed in his ear.

"Next time I say your name, you respond! Is that understood?"

"Yes, sir!" Leon yelled. Finally, the roll call finished and the captain piled all the cadets into the bus. Leon placed himself in a seat and the Captain stood at the front.

"Gentlemen, get used to the people around you- You're gonna have to depend your lives on them." He sat down and the bus roared to life. Soon enough, it began rolling down the highway towards St. Gabriel Military Base.

When the bus came to a stop in the base, men were running around, making adjustments to planes, mobile suits, and cars. "Follow me," The Captain yelled, and everyone followed him like a flock of sheep. They arrived in a small briefing room and everyone settled in.

"Alright, Gentlemen!" The Captain said, "You boys are gonna be sent out to the front in a few hours. Get your uniforms from the front, get registered, take a seat, and sit tight."
"Excuse me, sir, but sent out?" someone asked.

"Of course you're being sent out!"

"We just got recruited!"

"You had your training, cadet-" He paused. "Now are you ready?"

"Y- Yes sir…"
"Good. You better be. After you get your uniforms, you will be briefed on the mission, then sent out." He coughed. "Now, for those uniforms."

At last, Leon got his uniform, got registered and sat back down. Soon enough everyone else got their stuff and they were seated. Then the Captain began his speech.
"You are all being sent out to the 'Emerald' Front, in Southern Africa, to combat with Democratic Union forces to gain control of the region of Angola." A slide came up on the screen behind him and he pointed to the region of Africa. "You will also be accompanied by the 20th Specials Division- They will lead you, and as well, the 123rd and 166th Mobile Suit Divisions will be fighting by your side." He paused, and shuffled some papers.

"You will all be piloting the MP-Lion, a mass produced Mobile Suit, only used by the Earth Sphere forces. It is equipped with one Dober-Gun and optional rocket launchers. I know all of you were trained already to pilot a mobile suit, since I have read your transcripts from your academies." He pressed a button and the slide of the MP-Lion came off screen. "Your division is 100 men strong, as well as the other divisions that will be with you-" He stopped. "But, we are planning a quick and precise assault on those bases. Get in, destroy, get out. That's the plan." A young man in the same type of uniform ran into the room, and gave a note to the captain. The captain looked up, and he began to speak.

"We're moving you out in twenty minutes. All of you will move to the shuttle bay, and we're shipping you all out to the front when you get there." He pointed to the young man who handed him the note. "Everyone follow this young man. Move!"

"Yes sir!" They all yelled, and got out of their seats.

Soon enough, the 151st Mobile Suit Division was flown out of the city and they arrived in the city of Franceville, Gabon. The pilots all exited out of the shuttle into a hot, and humid environment in which the sun beat down on them fiercely.

"Men, we're moving you into those barracks over there," One of the superior officers commanded. "Your equipment is all by your bed and all of you should suit up once you find your proper equipment!"

"Yes sir!" Leon and the rest of his division ran into the small barracks and eventually, Leon found a bed with a large box marked Batiste.

"Quite welcoming," he commented, as he dug through the box. Finding a jumpsuit with his name embroidered into the shoulder, a flight helmet, as well as boots and socks, he went into the barrack's latrine and changed. He came out of the latrine and holding his helmet in his right hand, he went outside to see the base.

The entire base was busy as well, just like St. Gabriel. Many mechanics were out tuning up and repairing Mobile Suits, and he saw others that didn't look like the Lion.

"Hm, interesting." He smirked, as he saw a jeep and two other officers pull up in front of his barracks.

"Son, get your division out here now." Leon felt confused, because he wasn't the Division's leader. He slowly walked back into the barracks.

"Everyone get your butts out there!" Leon began.

"Why should we?" One of the men asked.
"Because you should."

"Listen to you? Little size of a man?" The solder that spoke before approached Leon. He was at least six inches taller than him.
"You should listen to me."

"Why should I?"

"Because the commanding officers are waiting!" The men's attention perked up and they suddenly got their jumpsuits on and dashed out the door. All in line, they stood there, being inspected by the XO.

"Good job," One of them said, and he walked up to Leon, reading his name on his uniform. "Batiste." He paused. "This is the 151st Mobile suit division, correct?"
"Yes sir!" They all yelled in response. The XO grinned.

"Well, I like that. Good response." He looked and the other XO, and he laughed as well. "Gentlemen, your assault upon a Democratic Union base will commence shortly. All of you, follow me." He began to walk to a nearby hangar, and everyone else trailed him. Inside the hangar stood a row of MP-Lions. "This is your Mobile Suit. All of you get down the line and take one, get inside, and get acquainted with the controls."

"Yes sir!"

Quietly, Leon got into one of the Lions and he buckled himself into the seat. Pushing some of the control sticks around, the Suit's system automatically turned on.
"Oh crap!" He got scared and he grasped one of the sticks. The screen flashed, and words kept scrolling up and down. "Oh- It scared me." Suddenly, a communications link opened up with the base.

"Hello gentlemen, your mission is about to commence. You all remember your briefings. Remember, you're not alone and will be led by the 20th Specials Division. Good luck." Slowly, all the Mobile Suits came to life and walked out of the hangar area and took off.

With autopilot on, Leon sat back in his seat and he closed his eyes. Small background chatter filled his ears as his fellow Division mates were talking over the radio. Running his fingers over the control console, he quietly listened for anything else. Suddenly, loud chatter came through his ears.

"Get ready, we're approaching the base!" He instructed the Suit to withdraw the Dober-Gun. "Arrival in 3… 2… 1…" Suddenly explosions and screams over the radio were heard as the assault began.

This was war. This was death, destruction, and hell all over.

Leon fired a few shots, and then he dove behind cover. He jumped out, and destroyed one Suit by a few shots. Suddenly, he was hit by gunfire and he started running again. Pulling out a beam saber, he charged towards two and sliced them in half. He didn't know what was happening but he could hear everything over the radio.

"We're getting killed out here!" One voice screamed. "Where is everyone!" He managed to yell before he screamed and silence engulfed the radio. Only four other Suits remained with his, and he charged the enemy.
"Rahhhhhh!" Leon yelled as he drove the beam saber into one suit, pulled it out, and slashed another. Before he knew it, the battle was won. He used the cameras to look around the field and he saw nothing but wreckage and burning buildings.

"Is anyone out there?" He whimpered into the radio, confused.

Am I the only one left?

"Roger that, this is 20th Specials Division." One voice answered. It sounded like a girl. "Pilot, identify yourself."

"Leon Batiste, 151st Mobile Suit Division." Suddenly a view of the other pilot's cockpit came up on his screen.

So it was a girl. Hm.

He smiled. She looked very serious.

"Where's everyone else?"

"Dead."

"Everyone?" Leon questioned.

"Everyone." She paused. "Leon, head back to base. We're right behind you."
"Roger that."

After a very long hour passed, Leon set down on the area in front of a hangar as he made his way out of the Mobile Suit. Many mechanics rushed over to the suit while he made his way towards the woman that he spoke with before he landed.

"What the hell happened out there?"

"Everyone died. That simple enough?" She turned around to walk away before he grabbed her shoulder.

"Are we the only survivors?"

"No." She looked up and then three mobile suits landed in the area as well.

"Who are they?"
"They're part of my division." She replied. "Get into the barracks. You're going to be debriefed." He stopped, and saluted her.

"Yes, M'am." He turned and began to jog back to his barracks. Surprisingly, there was an XO waiting for him in the middle of the barracks.

"Take a seat." Leon plopped into seat and then the XO got up.

"Seems to be there was a large amount of casualties. All divisions were destroyed except for one survivor. You." He paused and looked at Leon. "The base was destroyed, no suits were left behind and explosives destroyed what we needed destroyed. We now have complete control of the region. As well, one of the Specials commanders requested to see you."

All of a sudden, there was a knock at the door.

"That's him now." He turned around. "Come in." A tall man came into the room.

"This is the pilot that I saw on the field?" Leon looked at him in anger.

"Yes it is. He was newly commissioned." The man looked at Leon.
"Wow. You have some potential, son."
"What do you want to do with him?" The XO asked.

"I want to see him in a simulator." The Specials leader said, looking over Leon.
"Tomorrow morning, then."
"Of course." The Specials Leader saluted the XO and he walked out.
"You are to report to the main building tomorrow at 0600 hours sharp. Do you understand?"
"Yes sir." He got up, as well as Leon.
"Very well then. Get some rest. You'll need it."

Slowly Leon pulled off his jump suit and slid into the newly folded bed. The smell of the newly laundered sheets and the pillows kept him awake. The silence of the empty barracks got to him slowly, and the shuffling of Leon's bed was the only thing he heard. Soon enough, sleep came.

***

Leon took a long time to wake up. Sliding out of bed, he walked over to the large bathroom that was supposed to hold a large amount of people. Surprisingly, the lone sound of one shower filled the large room as he jumped into the stream of warm water. Getting out, he dried up and slid into his jumpsuit again. Putting his socks and shoes on and taking a long jog towards the main compound, he entered the building and ran across the same XO that debriefed him yesterday talking with the Specials Leader. Leon ran up to him and saluted him.

"Good morning, sir." The XO returned the salute.

"Hello Leon. I want you to follow us," Said the XO, and they turned around and headed down a series of hallways. After taking a long walk, they arrived in a room filled with large pods.
"This is the Simulation room, Leon." He pointed to one pod. "Get in it and get comfortable."

"Yes sir." Leon ran over to the pod, and opened the door. Getting into the large capsule, he buckled himself in. It looked very similar to the Lion's cockpit and console. Suddenly, a voice came into the capsule.

"The Specials leader would like to see you in combat against some of the computer AI. You will be placed in battle against two Mobile suits, and you are equipped with a chain gun, mini rockets, and two beam sabers." He heard a few clicks. "Good luck, private." Leon nodded and the screen came alive.

"Chain gun." He said and the Suit pulled out one of it's guns. He flared the boosters to fly above the ground.
"Where are they?" He said to himself and a sound of fire and shaking answered his question. He strafed to the right and fired upon the charging Suit. Laying a rain of bullets down upon the Suit, it exploded and fell to the Earth in flames.
"One down." He pulled out his beam sabers and he shut off the flares, letting him fall to the ground. The pod shook and he walked through the streets of this makeshift city. Another explosion sounded off and he took to the air. Sweat dripped down the side of his cheek as he scanned the radar for a sign of his enemy.

"Where are you?" Another shake and his suit fell forward. Pushing the boosters to max he flew forward and he turned around, firing missiles at the elusive Suit. It missed and flew into a building next to the suit, sending it to hell. He charged the suit with his sabers and it pulled out two sabers as well. They clashed in mid-air, and sparks fell from the clashing swords. They flew apart and together, like fighting lighting bugs.

"Grrr…" Leon yelled as he flew towards the enemy suit and clashed again- this time with the second saber, he slashed the suit in half, and he was returned to darkness. He pulled the helmet off of his head and he stumbled out of the simulation capsule.

"Damn, that was hard." He grumbled as he approached the control room. The Specials leader approached him and patted him on the back. "I think he would make a great addition to the Specials, don't you?"

***

Eventually, Leon went back to his barracks and got more rest. After taking a shower, a knock came to his door.

"Yeah?" Leon said.

"Letter from the XO." The runner said. Leon took it, and the man went off. He shut the door and sat on his bed. Opening the letter, he found that it read-

Leon Batiste-

We regret the tragedy and the deaths of your former Division. We hope that you may feel well soon and in that time, we have decided that you will be promoted to the 12th Specials Division. You will meet with your fellow soldiers tomorrow afternoon at 1300 hours in hangar B-12.

Congratulations,

General Klein

A smile came over Leon's face. He folded the letter and stood on top of the bed.

"I'm being promoted!" He yelled and he did a little victory dance, while chanting the whole time:

"I'm moving up, I'm moving up…"

When he woke up, the day seemed to be very promising. Walking down the road to the suggested hangar, he silently sung to himself. As he entered the hangar, he came upon 4 mobile suits and two pilots. One was reading something at the far end of the hangar, and the other was making repairs on the leg of her Mobile Suit. He didn't know what to say, but he said it anyway-

"T… This is where I'm supposed to meet the Specials 12th Division?" Leon stammered. The pilot making repairs noticed and jumped down about 2 stories and landed at the base, and walked over. He noticed it was a girl. The girl was about 5'2, had long brown hair and dark brown eyes. She also looked very fit.

"It sure is." She smiled at him and she looked him over. "Are you the new rookie?"

"You… could say so." He hesitated to say. She giggled.

"Well if you are, I'm Johanna." She stuck out her hand and Leon shook it. "Johanna Russo." She smiled again and let go of his hand. "That guy over there's Lars." Right after he heard his name, he raised his hand as if to wave it, but he just resumed his reading. "Lars! Get over here!" Johanna yelled, and painstakingly slowly, Lars got up and walked over. Lars was well over 6'0, and his name lived up to his ethnicity. He was thoroughbred German, from his short blond hair to the blue eyes.

"Hello. I am Lars." He said. Lars had a very strong German accent through his English. He looked pretty intimidating to Leon, even though he was a few inches taller than him.
"I'm Leon Batiste. I'm the rookie that'll be with you guys."

"So I heard. The XO was saying a lot about you." Lars mentioned, and crossed his arms upon his chest.

"Yeah, Alec was glad to have you in our division." Said Johanna.

"Who's Alec?"

"Our division leader." Said Lars. Just then, a man walked into the hangar.

"That's him now." Said Johanna. "He's really physical and he likes to get into a lot of tight situations. We've had a lot of lucky breaks…"

"Hey," Said Alec, walking up to the three pilots. "This is the new kid?"
"Sure is." Johanna said.

"Hi. I'm Alec Davie."
"Leon Batiste." Leon saluted, and Alec laughed.

"No need for that now. That's for in front of the XO and the others." Leon relaxed and they shook hands. "I heard you've had a rough week…" Alec pulled out a packet of papers from the folder he was carrying earlier. "You only got here three days ago?" He looked up and gave Leon a confused look. "I thought you were commissioned for a while when you got transferred."

"No sir."

"Jeeze. You must have some skill if the Specials Leader got you in here after three days."
"It's an honor to be here, sir."

"It sure is." He paused, still shuffling through the papers. "I think we should all head to the Sim room and have a little one on one." Everyone agreed and they all walked out of the hangar towards the main compound.

"Well here we are." Said Alec. "Let's see… how about… Johanna and I, then Lars and Leon."

"Fine with me. I'll show the rookie how we fight in the Specials." Johanna and Alec both got into one of the capsules and Lars initiated the combat sequence. He pressed a button and a screen overhead portrayed the battle. Leon laid back and closed his eyes, listening to the sounds of explosions and remarks over the speakers.

"Leon, I don't want you going!" His mother yelled. "I don't want to lose you…"
"I want to get those bastards back for what they did to my father!" He responded. "Your husband!"

"You're going to get hurt, Leon."

"Mother, I won't. You know me." He said. "I'm going to the academy whether you like it or not-" He sat into his car, already loaded with his clothes.
"Leon!" His mother screamed. The car started and pulled out of the driveway. "Leon!" She yelled again, to no use. He drove down the road without saying anything. "Leon…" she said, tears streaming down his cheeks.

"Leon!" He heard a voice scream. Remembering he was just sleeping he stumbled out of the chair, only to fall and regain his balance on a table. "Leon, are you okay?" Johanna said.

"What? Oh…" He paused, getting back up. "I'm fine."

"You're going to pilot against Lars. Get into a simulator."

Leon propped himself up against the silver egg and opened the small hatch. He climbed in and placed the helmet upon his head.

"I'm ready." Leon said.

"Roger that." Lars replied. Suddenly the screen blanked out and he was amongst many tall buildings.

                "Weapons check." He said, and a list of items came up. He pulled out the beam sabers and ignited his boosters to fly above the buildings. Scanning his radar, he found a blip.
                "Here we are…" He approached the blip and suddenly, an explosion went off. Turning around, to his surprise, a building was about to collapse upon him.
                "Oh no…" Leon gasped as he flew out of the way. "Where are you?"
                "That's for you to find out, rookie." Lars replied, as Leon searched for the blip on his radar. He spotted the blip again and he fired several rockets at his area. Explosions consumed the area and a plume of smoke towered.

"Nice try, rookie." A danger siren wailed in his cockpit as he noticed that the blip was coming from behind. Very quickly, he pulled out his beam saber, and dodged the charging object. "Very good!" He said. "Try this on for size." Several rockets flew out from the suit and he managed to barely dodge one, when two others slammed into his Suit.

"Damnit." Leon said. Charging Lars, their beam sabers clashed in mid air.
"Do something, rookie!" All of a sudden, Leon's rocket bays opened up and fired. Leon quickly moved away right before the rockets landed upon Lars' Suit. Lars cursed in German and charged again at Leon. Like two dueling swordsmen, they returned shots with the beam sabers. Flying apart and together, they stopped to exchange weapons fire before coming back together again. When Lars came in to charge again, Leon pulled out a chain gun and fired repeatedly at Lars, sending his suit into a small fireball that plummeted towards the ground. The screen then faded to black and Leon popped the hatch and got out. When Leon was waiting for Lars in the control room, Lars threw a punch at Leon.

"The rookie never beats the expert!" Lars said when he swung. Leon dodged the punch and moved to the side.

"Whoa, Lars…"

"Stop it!" Johanna yelled as her and Alec tried to hold him back.
"Beaten by a rookie…" Lars mumbled as he stopped and sat down in a chair.

"Don't mind Lars. He's not used to losing."

"Lars, what were you thinking?" Alec asked. "You guys are part of a team and that was just practice. You all have to work together, not against each other!" Suddenly an noise broke the heated fray.

"Alec, what's going on here?" The XO said.

"Nothing, sir."

"That better be true." He said. "Follow me. Something urgent has come up." The 12th Specials division quickly followed him to a briefing room elsewhere in the compound.

They arrived in a small briefing room made to hold 10 people. Chairs were lined up neatly in front of a table in the front of the room. The pilots sat down and the XO sat himself at the front. "You've been picked for a top secret mission that involves complete sabotage-" The sound of a door interrupted the XO's lecture.

"Sorry we're late, sir." One man saluted, and in followed three other pilots. Two fair skinned European girls, and a tall dark-skinned man. The other group took seats behind the 12th division.
"Ah yes, the 10th Specials division." The XO commented, and then continued. "We have reports of a base in Angola that is producing a new type of Mobile Suit that has the capability to turn the tide of the war against us. Considering our long campaign against the Democratic Union, we are so far into the war that we cannot accept failure. We need you and one other Specials unit to pull off an assault, eliminate all opposition, and destroy the base." He looked up at all of the pilots. "Are you sure you can handle that?"

"Yes sir." The pilots chorally answered.

"12th Division will be working with 10th Division. Radio silence will be kept mandatory, unless under extreme situations. 12th Division will be designated Alpha, 10th as Charlie." He coughed. "You will report back here, ready to be sent out at 1600 hours."
"Sir, that's two hours from now."

"That's why I said it was urgent." He looked at the interrupting officer. "That is all. Report back here. Dismissed!" He said, and the pilots got up.

"So Leon, are you ready for your first Specials Mission?" Johanna asked, acting enthusiastically.

"I guess so."
"We better get back and show you your Suit." She waved to him. "Let's go." And then they began to jog off back towards the hangar. When they arrived, He looked around at the Mobile Suits.

"This isn't the original Mobile Suit that's mass produced for the Infantry Divisions, but this is a more complex and better performing suit." She pointed at the last one in the row. "That's yours. It's known as the MS-Serpent-"
"What's with the insignias?"

"What insignia?"
"That thing on the shoulder."
"That's our Division mascot." She grinned. "Besides being known as the 12th Specials, we're known as the Red Foxes."

"I see."

"Yeah," She paused. "We better get suited up before we're late." She swung her hair around and then began to run off to the bathroom. "I'll see you in the briefing room!" She yelled back. Seeing that there were a couple of lockers next to the base of the Suits, Leon ran over and found his last name on the locker- Batiste. Opening it, he found a new flight suit and flight helmet. He grabbed the new equipment, ran into the shower, and got changed. After changing, he looked at himself in the mirror and checked out the badges he had on him.

Red Foxes, eh?

He looked at his watch, and saw that it was almost time to leave. Soon enough, he was sitting in a chair, waiting in the briefing room. Soon enough, all of the pilots arrived and the XO came in.

"Good, you're all here." Within a few minutes he went over the parameters and objectives of the mission. "Alright, now it's time to get ready. Head back to your hangars and meet at runway B."

Once the mobile suits had reached the run way, the XO was on a communication link with all of the pilots. "Remember- Maintain radio silence. Also, 10th division is designated as Charlie, and 12th as Alpha. Good Luck, and Good Hunting." A chorus of 'Roger that's' followed, and the suits began to take off.

"Set in coordinates for target and set on autopilot." Alec said.

"Roger." Everyone responded. Leon leaned back and tried to relax as the machine began to work for him. He looked at the console. Fuel was ok. Altitude was stable. Everything was real.

No chances for a mistake here. Do it right,

Leon said to himself, as he and the Red Foxes flew out towards the enemy base. Leon began to listen to the background chatter upon the radio. Someone was praying, someone kept mumbling, and everything else was silent. Leon thought it was weird, how he got this far, only a few days after being recruited.

"ETA is five minutes to target." A voice popped into his head.

"Four minutes." Time passed quickly as Leon repeatedly tried to sleep, but kept waking up at the sound of the notifying voice.

"Two minutes."
"Guys, get ready." Alec said, as Leon's fingers wrapped around the control sticks next to him. He took deep breaths and waited.

"ETA, one minute." Eventually, all of the mobile suits pulled out some sort of weapon, whether it had been a Dober-gun or a Beam cannon.

"We have visual." Someone said.

"Open fire." All of a sudden, flashes and rays of light flew towards the unknowing base. Buildings exploded and plumes of smoke headed to the sky.

The battle had begun.

Returning fire came back from the base as Leon saw other Mobile Suits taking off.

"Those aren't-" Was interrupted and replaced by a scream as Johanna and Lars looked around.

"Davie!" Johanna yelled.

"Shit!" Lars screamed, while being attacked by one of the other Suits.

"These must be the new suits," Leon said. "They're pretty good."

"Alpha team, we're getting killed out here!" Someone yelled, and Leon went to respond.

"There's too many of them!" Leon cried, as he destroyed one and got knocked back by another.

"Keep fighting! We must complete this mission!" Lars said, as other explosions and other screams were heard.

"Charlie team, status!" Johanna yelled into the microphone, waiting for an answer.

"I'm hit, my Suit is losing altitude!" A girl's voice replied.

"We're surrounded," Leon said, as he slashed two of the Suits in half. "This is getting too hard!" Nobody answered. "Hello? Alpha, Charlie teams, status!"

Silence remained as the other suits began closing in on him.

"Damnit!" he yelled as his suit shook and he hit his head on a metal bar next to him. He raised his hands and he felt a trickle of blood come down the side of his head.

Suddenly, darkness.

The feeling of being dragged came to Leon as his hands were touching cold concrete, and two pairs of strong hands were holding his shoulders, dragging him across the floor. The clang of a door shutting came to his mind as he struggled to open his eyes. A pasty white room and two beds chained to the wall were all that came to him.

"A- am I dead?" He asked himself out loud.

"No, you're not." A deep voice brought him to alarm.
"The hell?"

"Leon, shut up." Lars' voice boomed.

"Jesus Christ, Lars," Leon said. "You scared the crap out of me."

"Good. We need to complete the mission and get the hell out of here." Leon rubbed the back of his head.

"How are we going to do that?"
"We can't right now." Lars pointed out the orange jumpsuit. "We can't set off the distress beacon because it's in our flight jumpsuits." Suddenly they both heard a voice from something.

"Hello?"

"Huh?" said Leon.
                "It's coming through the vent," said Lars. Leon approached the grating and spoke into it.
                "Who is that?"
                "Tracy Lehman, 10th Specials Division."

"I thought there weren't any other survivors," said Leon.
"I survived," She said.

"Is there someone else with you?" Asked Leon.

"Another girl, but she isn't conscious." Leon turned towards Lars.

"You think it's Johanna?"

"Yes." Leon turned back to speak into the grating.

"Is the girl from your division?"

"No. I think I saw her at the briefing." Suddenly a rapping came to the door.

"Shoot." Said Leon. The door opened, and the guard that came in saw Leon standing on the bed.
"What are you doing?" the guard said.

"…Nothing." He pointed his gun at Leon. "Get down from there. Let's go, out." The guard motioned with the gun to move out of the room. Lars was about to strike him, but another guard stood outside of the steel door. They walked Leon and Lars down the halls to a large room, like a dining hall. "Sit here, and wait."

"Guard, what time is it?" Leon asked.
"2100 hours."

Suddenly another set of doors across the room opened as two girls were moved into the room. It was Tracy and Johanna. The girls were forced into the chairs by the soldiers as they walked off.

"What are we doing here?" asked Tracy. Leon looked over Tracy, and noticed she wasn't hurt in any way.

"How are you not hurt?"
"I got knocked out."

"… oh."

"So what are we doing here?"

" Eating dinner, probably." Lars said as the pilots heard the clanking of places. They suddenly heard a crash, and a few guards went into the room in the back to investigate. A few screams were heard as the guards came out of the room laughing.

"We need to get out of here." Leon said.

"I have a plan," Said Tracy. Leon looked around, and saw that Johanna had her head down on the table, as if she were sleeping. "I heard one of the guards bitchin' about how he had to wake up early to escort us to breakfast at 7. I think that it'd be smart to make our escape in the morning, or at night."

"Good thinking." Lars added.
"But how are we supposed to escape…" said Johanna.

"I got it." Leon said. "If I can get one of the guards to escort me to the bathroom, I can knock him out, take his guns and uniform, and come back and take out the other guards. After that it's just up to us to find the shuttle bay and get the hell out of here."
"I don't think it's a job for one person." Johanna mumbled, her head still down.

"I'll go." Said Tracy. "Separately. Leon, when you're ready-" Several guards came to the table and put down trays of food for everyone, then walked away.

"That was close." Said Lars.

"When you're ready, you get up and ask. After five minutes, I will ask to go and you should be in uniform and ready to help me take my officer out by then."

"Alright." Everyone started eating, and soon enough, everyone was taken back to their cells.

Prepare…

The next morning, everything was going by the book. The guards came on time; they were in the cafeteria at the planned moment. Food was served. Everyone was quiet, and they exchanged glances often. Constant laughing and talking was heard out of the corner of the room, where the guards were congregated.

Leon finished his food first, and got up. He walked over to the guards, his hands up and raised.

"I need to go to the bathroom." The guards continued talking and Leon got a little freaked out.

"Rocks, paper, scissor, shoot!" One soldier groaned and left the group.

"Let's go." He motioned for Leon to follow and he led Leon to the bathroom. Leon went in, and thought out the rest of the plan.

How do I get the guard in here to knock him out? … I know…

Leon kicked a garbage can over, then ran over and punched a mirror. Letting the shards fall to the floor, he ran behind the door as the guard opened it, and saw the mess.

"What the hell?!" He asked as Leon snuck up from behind him and knocked him out. Stripping him and putting on his uniform, he took all his equipment and gun and sat outside to wait for Tracey. The other guard walked past Leon in the uniform laughing, and Tracy exchanged a glance with Leon. She went into the bathroom and all of a sudden a ring of noise came from the room. Leon and the other guard exchanged looks and he didn't know what to do.

"Go in there, I'll cover you." The guard said. Leon's eyes widened. Leon snuck into the bathroom and shut the door behind him when two arms wrapped around his neck.

"Tracy, Tracy…" He flailed his arms as she let go.
"Jeeze, Leon… You scared me."

"I have an idea." Leon said. Suddenly, another sound was heard outside of the room, when the second guard came in. He saw Leon on the floor, when Tracy came from behind him and broke his neck. Then Leon got up and Tracy put the uniform on.

"It smells."

"Don't complain, we have to get out of here." Leon tied up the second guard and put him in a stall, as they walked out of the bathroom together. Sneaking down the hallway, they found the cafeteria, and the guards in the corner.

"Do you have a gas grenade?" Tracy whispered, and Leon pulled one off of his belt. She pulled the pin, and threw it into the small congregation of guards.

"Huh?" The guards yelled as they passed out next to each other. Suddenly, Tracey and Leon came through the cloud of gas, and they were scrimmaging through the guard's uniforms. Lars and Johanna ran over, when Tracy and Leon tossed guns to them.

"Take what you can, we have to move!" Tracy yelled as they moved back into the hallway. Suddenly the loud chirps of an alarm rang through the halls.

"Crap!" yelled Lars, as they were running down the hallway. "They know!"

"Of course they do!" Said Tracy. "Get going!" Out of nowhere, gunshots erupted from behind the pilots.

"Get behind cover!" Leon screamed as he ran behind a wall, and returned fire. "We have to find our equipment!"

"It's down this hallway!" Yelled Tracy.

"Move it, then!" Leon said, as he returned small bursts of fire. The three pilots ran out and began to check doors. They broke down two before they found a room with their equipment. Suddenly, Leon ran into the room and shut the door. The pilots were in a rush, digging through the box.

"Hurry, find the distress beacons and activate them-" Clanging on the door interrupted them.

"Come on! Bust down the door!" Someone outside yelled. Lars and Leon ran over to the door, to keep it shut.

"Lars, hold the door open a crack- don't let anyone open it." Lars nodded, slowly opened the door, and then pushed his weight against the door. Leon put the barrel of the gun through the crack and pulled the trigger.

"The distress beacons are on." Said Johanna. Lars shut the door.

"Take two with us. Put one on Tracy and one on you." Leon said to Johanna. "I'll get out and clear the hallway- get ready to run to the left." Everyone nodded and Lars stood at the door again.

"Ready…" Leon said, his grip tightening on the gun. "Go!" Lars ripped the door open and Leon rushed into the hallway, checking both ends. "Go! Move!" He screamed as the girls ran out, followed by Lars. Everyone took cover behind a box when Lars was running out into the hall. Screams of the enemy guards came down the hallway as gunshots roared through the air. Suddenly Lars lost his balance and fell forwards, and he landed upon the box. He coughed up a bit of blood and looked very uncomfortable.
"Lars, are you okay?" Johanna asked.

"Go…"

"Why?"
"I'm shot-"
"No, you can't be." The guards that were rushing down the hallway which were screaming were silenced by Leon's rifle.

"Lars, the bay is right over there." She pointed down the hallway. "We can't leave you."

"I'll only slow you down."

"Hurry up, I'm running out of ammo!" Leon yelled as he fired a couple of more shots.

"I'll be okay." Lars said, and propped himself up against the box. He took his rifle, and fired shots at the charging guards. "Go, damnit!" Johanna, with tears in her eyes, followed Tracy as Leon ran towards the shuttle bay. His eyes widened as other guards came out of the entrance of the Shuttle bay. Suddenly, two bullets ripped through his arm, and he fell backwards onto the floor. He screamed in pain and dropped the rifle. Then, he saw Tracy run over him and take down the guards that shot him and she stood in front of him, Johanna behind him.

"Get up, Leon!" Tracy yelled as she was very nervous, pointing her gun around the hallway. Slowly, with a grimace on his face, Leon got up and grasped his rifle with one hand.

"Go." He said. "Let's go!" They raced towards the shuttle bay, the alarms blaring into their ears. Getting into the entrance, they saw that a group of soldiers were waiting for them.

"Covering fire!" Yelled Leon as he pointed his gun and fired at the waiting soldiers. Tracy and Johanna ran behind cover and they repeated this process several times, until they were behind the same box. Leon grabbed his arm and slumped against the box, his hand covered in blood.

"Leon, don't worry," Johanna said, putting a hand over his arm. "There's a shuttle over there." Tracy was behind them, placing explosives on a group of barrels. Right after setting the bombs, Tracy came back to the two.

"Explosives set. If we set this off, they can't catch us. I know our mission is failed, but we're getting out of here alive no matter-" More gunfire. "No matter what." She looked at the shuttle a few hundred feet from the box. "Ready?" Leon and Johanna both nodded. Tracy tossed Leon a magazine, and he loaded up his gun. Taking a deep breath, he then exhaled.

"Covering fire!" The gunshots rang out and the girls made a run for the shuttle. Leon looked around and made single shots to bring down a couple of soldiers. More gunfire erupted, and he turned toward the entrance to see more soldiers pour into the shuttle bay.

"Crap." He took more deep breaths and then he finally decided.

Go for it. I'm running.

Leon began to run, slowly picking up speed. Right before he was about to jump up on the ladder, he felt something else rip through his leg. He screeched loudly as he fell forward. Tracy stood at the ladder to the hatch.

"Leon, come on!"

"I can't!" He began to try and crawl towards the ladder. More gunshots caused him to stop. "Tracy, get out of here! I'm holding you back!"

"You're going to die here!"
"So what?!" He yelled back. "You're going to live!" He turned and fired upon the charging guards. "Go, now!" Tears filling her eyes, she fired upon the guards that were coming at him, and the shuttle lurched into life. "You'll live! Just get out of here and push the damn button!"

On the shuttle, Johanna and Tracy were contemplating.

"Why did we leave him?"

"I don't know…" Tracy mumbled, tears still spilling from her eyes. She held up the remote detonator in her hand, not knowing what to do.
"What do we do?"
"Push the button." Tracy fingered the small red button on the detonator.

"But Leon's there…"

"Leon saved our lives, so we could get out." She paused. "I owe him."
"He can't die!"
"Thanks, Leon…" She mumbled as she pressed the button.

The last few seconds passed like an eternity. Leon pulled himself up against a box and began firing at some guards, and suddenly, an explosion rang out. A large wall of fire destroyed everything in it's way. Leon hit his head against the wooden box and then took another deep breath.

"Thanks, T…" he said, before being engulfed by the explosion.