Valhalla Space Colony:
"It absolutely can not happen!" A white coated woman slammed her fist onto the desk just in front of her, her dark hair was in a messy ponytail and she looked as if she hadn't slept in a week at least. Across from her, a man slowly nodded his head. He too looked exhausted but also full of life as he gestured to three computer screens showing the moving images of another woman and two men.
"We all agree with you Sisara, but there really isn't anything we can do. ZAFT will be here in," At that, he checked a watch on his wrist for the time and his eyes widened slightly at what he saw. "Nine minutes!" A murmur of anger and shock echoed around the room as the three people on the computer screens checked there own watches or clocks.
"Well then, there's only one thing we can do!" The woman, Sisara, took a seat at her desk and immediately began to tap away at a keyboard hidden from sight. Images, specifications for weapons and plans for what seemed to be a new type of Mobile Suit moved quickly into view before being replaced. "We'll have to delete all records of the project, we haven't got much time but everything has to go…"
A silent agreement had been made. No matter what, ZAFT could not get their hands on the plans for the new series of MS.
"Two minutes left everyone, Sisara start deleting the plans for the ZX-One Nine Two." The sound came from the computer screen to the left of the three as a scientist furiously tapped away at his keyboard, deleting all of his notes and plans for the ZX series. A large bang echoed around the room and the eyes of Sisara and the male scientist that was with her were immediately drawn towards the computer screens. Blood covered the far left screen, and then, only moments later, a second gun shot was heard and the screen on the far right was covered in blood.
"Oh shit Sisara! They hadn't finished deleting the plans for the ZX-Two Four Three and the ZX-Eight One Four!" The only remaining face on the computer screen, a young woman, was screaming her words. "I'm only half way through erasing the ZX-Nine Seven Two and Ethan… Sisara!" The warning came moments too late, Ethan, the scientist who had been watching over Sisara's shoulder only moments ago, slammed her head down against the heavy wooden desk and pushed her out of the seat.
"Sorry Andraya, but ZAFT want these things pretty badly."
Instead of arguing with Ethan, Andraya cut the conference connection from her computer and immediately began to choose a different path. Sisara had once given her the password and direct access to her computer, telling Andraya that she felt that something was wrong, and it was time to exploit that. Bringing up a connection to Sisara's computer, Andraya began to throw up blocks around all of the details for the ZX-192 while deleting the data of the ZX-972. Gathering all of the information of the ZX-192 together, she sent it through hundreds of different computers on the colony she was living in before letting it reach its final destination.
She screamed out as a bullet tore through her shoulder, then went limp as a second found her head. The plans for the ZX series had mostly been deleted, but enough pieces existed for ZAFT's scientists to put back together…
Asgard Space Station, ZAFT Military base:
Inside a small pod in the middle of a large room, a teenager gripped the controls to the training simulation of the GOUF Mobile Suit. His long blue hair partially hid his face, but sweat matted the rest to his head anyway. He reacted quickly to each new threat, pushing the GOUF to the edge of its limits and using every piece of scenery and debris he could to separate himself from the Moebius Zero and M1 Astray that were shooting at him. He had already taken down a fair number, but the armor of his GOUF was scorched from near misses and he was missing both of its legs.
Using the jet propulsion system built into the GOUF, he span around a full 360° while firing controlled shots from his wrist mounted Draupnir; at least until he saw the warning sign of a low power counter. From just below the right arm of the mobile suit, a long segmented metal whip appeared; the Slayer Whip was a weapon that worked with heat to tear through its opponents. Propelling the GOUF into the flight path of an M1 Astray, the pilot used the shield as an obstacle between them but suddenly let go of it, allowing it to carry on its path as he jetted around it and lashed out with the whip.
He caught the torso of the M1 Astray, tearing it apart, but at the same time two missiles slammed into the back of the GOUF. A flashing red light and lack of response from the controls showed that the GOUF had been destroyed; the training simulation was over.
"Congratulations Higure Cross that was an impressive test… However," The last of his words were drowned out by a sudden blast of noise, a warning signal of incoming enemy ships and most probably MS. Rushing to the small computer console by the door, the training officer had totally forgotten about Higure as he tried to reach his commanding officers. "Sir? Yes sir! I understand sir." Heading towards the door, he caught site of Higure out of the corner of his eye and turned to face him. "The station is under attack, it looks like you'll be fighting earlier than predicted recruit! Follow me to the hangar."
Without asking any questions, or waiting to see if any would even be asked, the training officer propelled himself out of the room and used the handrails along the zero gravity corridor to head towards the hangar. Higure followed close behind, not wanting to be left behind but wondering at the same time what was happening, who was attacking?
Within moments the two had arrived at the hangar, through the thick glass Higure could see GOUF, GINN and a variety of ZAKU were already launching to defend the base. He was pulled into a changing area by the training officer and shown where pilot outfits were stored. He quickly changed into one, feeling the suit shrink to his size as the excess air was pulled out, and pulled a helmet onto his head before floating out of the changing area and into the main hangar.
"You'll be with me kid; the GOUF over there is yours." The training officer pointed towards a GOUF several feet away and headed towards a silvery white Blaze ZAKU Phantom; looking very impressive with its dual shields. Higure pulled himself into the cockpit of the GOUF and started up the diagnosis program quickly, checking that everything was operational before hesitantly leaving the hangar behind his partner.
"Kid, stay close to me. There are reports of a pair of GUNDAM in the area…"
"Yes sir!" Higure gripped the controls of the mobile suit tightly, breathing in deeply as he tried to calm himself. He'd only just been selected by the ZAFT military as a possible recruit, heading down to the base on Asgard earlier that day to have several medical tests and the training simulator. This was only the second time he had been in a mobile suit, the third if he included the simulated GOUF. Wait… Gundam! Oh shit!
In his momentary daze, Higure hadn't noticed the Euclid that had broken through the ranks of ZAFT soldiers defending the station. A flash of blue and red light brought his mind into focus, and his instincts kicked in as he used the jets on the GOUF to propel himself out of the way of the dual Beam Rifle shots. Even as he moved, Higure was targeting the Mobile Armor and firing several shots with his Draupnir, the four-barreled beam gun attached to the wrist of his GOUF. The first two shots met nothing but air, but the second two tore through the guns of the Euclid and caused a chain reaction that blew the MA to pieces.
"One down," Higure muttered, gripping the controls of the GOUF tightly as he kept close to the modified ZAKU that the training instructor was in. All around him he could see fighting; blasts of color where weapons were being used and large explosions that lasted only long enough for the air inside a MS or MA to be used up. So this was a battle. No, this was going to be war. "All of the suits I've seen so far are standard Earth Alliance; this is going to lead to another war…"
Jetting forwards, Higure fired off rounds with his wrist-mounted Draupnir while using the shield attached to his left arm to deflect most of the shots that came his way. He could hear screams on the radio, cries for help and then silence.
"Kid, we're near the enemy ship. Keep your head down and watch my back!"
"Y-yes sir!" Higure twisted the MS around 180°, firing at random with his Draupnir before jetting underneath the instructor to get his first glimpse of the ship. The Agamemnon class flagship was mostly curved, an almost black paint design helped it to blend into space but today it was highlighted by the flashes of battle. Twisting around once again to fire at random intervals, trying to keep any MS or MA away from them, Higure shouted as a flash of light struck his right arm, tearing through it and causing an explosion that knocked Higure away from the instructor. "Shit!"
A MS flew into view, twisting around and firing with incredible speed and accuracy. Shots that were fired at it either missed, or were harmlessly blocked by the energy shield that seemed attached to both arms. His computer system searched through the database, trying to find a match, then assigned it as the ZX-814 but no name accompanied it.
"What the hell… Sir! There's a MS heading towards us, definitely not friendly!" Higure turned to face it, placing the shield of his GOUF in its path. "You better hurry up…" Even as he radioed this to the training instructor, he heard an explosion and was pushed several feet away from what must be the remains of the Agamemnon class ship.
The green shot of a Beam Rifle struck the shield Higure was using to try and keep the instructor safe, but before he could say anything more the MS was above him. A Beam Saber sliced straight through the head of the GOUF, creating a small explosion and making Higure wonder if it was time to leave the GOUF, but realized that in this battle zone he would be in more danger outside the MS. All of these thoughts took a second to run through his head, and before he could think about what he was doing; his instincts, or perhaps training, kicked in.
Using the jets on the GOUF, he pushed upwards; forcing the shield into the chest of the ZX-814 moments before releasing it. With the MS's left arm, he pulled the Tempest Beam Sword from inside the shield and activated it, seeing the golden blade glow slightly. Shoving the sword through the shield, he saw the weapon dig into part of the ZX-814's chest.
"Sir!"
"Good one kid, now back away!"
Releasing the sword, Higure jetted away from the ZX-814 and looked for the ZAKU that the training instructor was in. Grinning slightly as he saw it, the Beam Assault Rifle raising to fire at the ZX-814, Higure closed his eyes. A moment later, he felt an explosion rock the GOUF slightly and reopened his eyes.
"SHIT!" Parts of the ZAKU that the training instructor had been using littered the immediate area, the computer in the GOUF now showed a second MS behind him. ZX-243. "They're the Gundam!" Almost immediately, he went into a series of 'evasive maneuvers', moving away from the Gundam while attempting to radio the ZAFT forces he had been fighting along side. He saw the green shot of a Beam Rifle just miss him, then an explosion as another shot tore straight through the legs of the GOUF he was piloting.
A blur of dark red and white few past him, his computer quickly identifying it as an M1 Astray, although Higure had already figured that out. Great, I've got two Gundam and a M1 Astray attacking me! No guns, one arm, no head, no legs and no shield! Spinning around, planning to use his fist as a weapon if any of the enemy approached him. To his surprise, not everything seemed to be going the way it was in his head.
The M1 Astray had ignited two beam sabers, one in each of its hands, and had sliced through the arm of the ZX-243. Head mounted Igelstellung were firing in small bursts at the ZX-814 while doing the most surprising thing out of all. It was defending the GOUF Higure was in, taking shots from the two Gundam when it had to.
"What the he-" The GOUF was rocked suddenly as something knocked into it, checking the computer and radar that was flashing he saw that a Mistral had appeared, apparently clamping onto the GOUF as it was tugging it away from the battle scene. Why is there a Mistral, an Earth Alliance vehicle, and an M1 Astray from Orb saving me?... Or Maybe they aren't saving me, having a captured enemy always comes in handy... Expanding the radar, Higure found that only the two Gundam, the Astray and the Mistral were the only other survivors from the fight. Just what the hell is happening? On the radar he could see a ship approaching, or rather he was approaching it, his gaze drifting to the computer he stared at it for several moments. An Archangel class assault ship? WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON?
He felt the GOUF hit something solid, then knocked his head against a control panel as the Mistral released the clamps; dropping it the last few meters onto the floor of the MS launch system onboard the ship. Fighting back waves of dizziness, Higure searched around the cockpit for anything he could use as a weapon while unbuckling the harness that kept him firmly attached to the seat in the cockpit. Shit!
