Prologue:
Daybreak
Anno Exodus 234
The dark of night hushed the onslaught of the previous day. Asgard lost once more to the Aresian legions, and have taken the city of Srenz. The remnants of the defenders of the city retreat to a huge tunnel that connects them with an Asgarn stronghold.
Only two soldiers and their mobile suits remained, standing guard as their battle-damaged comrades retreated. One of them, Pvt. Fidel Praise, watches on as damaged allies entered the barricade they set up. Their mobile suit battalion was ordered to retreat to Srenz city, outnumbered and outflanked by the numerically superior Aresian legions. They had but this night to fall back, any time later would lead to their annihilation.
Fidel watches, as dozens of damaged mobile suits in huge cargo trucks roll in single file.
"This war is hopeless…" Fidel heard from across the road. It was the 2nd mobile suit in station, piloted by Pvt. Freddy Straits.
"Freddy?" The first pilot leaned on to listen.
"Isn't it obvious enough Fidel? We're retreating. It means it's only a matter of time before our battalion is overrun, by now Srenz city is overrun. How could the kingdom descend into this kind of warfare…? We're just being sent to the field to feed the Red legions."
"Don't talk like that Freddy, we're not beaten yet. Just a few days ago, I heard that Grizna was attacked by the legions, yet a new mobile suit, a 'Gundam' repelled them, even the illustrious 45th legion."
"Well, are you hoping they'll help us too? Grizna is half a thousand miles away from here, do you think they'd know what's happening here tonight?"
Fidel stood silent. Already, his friend was despairing. On what hope could the two of them possibly hold on to? On what mad hope could their battalion hold on to?
A few moments of silence passed then…
"Fidel! They're here!!"
Freddy, on his HUD, picked up a group of enemy mobile suits advancing from the other end of the tunnel. About eight mobile suits were spotted.
"C'mon, the trucks haven't yet even got out of the tunnel! Dammit'!!" Fidel shouted as he prepared his mobile suit for combat.
A few shots then came from the opposite end of the tunnel. The Aresians were firing at the two machines, ignoring the trucks that pressed forward. Green bolts of energy sped from the Aresian mobile suits' beam rifles. On the other end of the tunnel, the two defenders could make out the menacing masculine framework of the Aresian mobile suits. Fidel and Freddy returned-fire; trying to fend-off the shadowed enemy. The darkened tunnel then revealed glowing red orbs, the eye-shine of the Aresian's machines.
The two were panicking, but fighting still. They kept shooting, hoping to take out the enemy. Fidel's machine was hit on the left leg, collapsing on the road and destroying one truck. As the sparks flew off his machine's leg, he saw but the bleak silhouette of Aresian mobile suits advancing, their long Lancia Lucis beam spears like burning spears from hell. Freddy sped to cover his ally, taking the brunt of the gunfire, using his broad hexagonal beam shield to deflect the energy shots.
"Fidel, lower your railcannon now!!" he ordered. Fidel's mobile suit happened to be an artillery support unit, and all of these units were equipped with the ARC Railcannon. The damaged mobile suit suddenly shifted even lower, and then a long 3-pronged black cylinder came down from its back to its shoulder.
"Target locked!!"
Fidel fired. The steel-black cylinder first lit up with small bolts of yellow lightning, then an orb of yellow lightning formed on the edge of the weapon. As the Railcannon fired, the whole tunnel shuddered, dust and small fragments of the tunnel wall falling on the combatants. The yellow arrow of high-energy sped and hit the Aresians. An explosion followed, sending a second shudder to the tunnel. But as the smoke cleared, the two men saw the Aresians were still numerous, the shot from Fidel's cannon only brought down one machine, there were at least 7 left. It then seemed to the two men that it was hopeless to resist. Still Freddy and Fidel shot on, seemingly in vain.
"C'mon, keep firing!!!"
Then… from a nearby vertical tunnel entrance, just in front of the two, a bright pillar of light fell in the tunnel.
There were fragments and the rubble of the vertical entrance. Smoke and dust fell from the tunnel roof.
Daylight shone through the tunnel. A miracle, it seemed to the two.
In front of them was the legendary Gundam of Grizna base, the blue defender… Callsign "Phoenix". The mobile suit fell to the tunnel floor, kneeling. At first glance, it was armed with only an energy assault rifle, the only one of its kind.
The Aresians stopped firing momentarily, awed by the enemy's new machine.
"Looks like I made it just in time." The pilot of the Gundam spoke through the radar of the two defenders.
"There are no more trucks that'll go through, you guys better fall back. The one in good shape, fall back to the tunnel exit, I'll be the one to carry your friend here." The pilot ordered the two. His voice seemed calm, as if he had done this hundreds of times, as if it was just like taking a stroll in a park. His voice seemed an irony to the battle, the two were desperate, fighting for their lives, yet he was calm and casual.
The new mobile suit lifted its head to face the Aresians in the dark. It then flashed a yellow light from its eyes, a sign that it had engaged combat mode. The eyeshine was for maximum visibility, but also it was a warning to those unlucky enough to be its enemies.
"I'll take it from here."
The Aresians resumed fire, but now they were firing much faster. The Gundam then dashed swiftly to the dark, against the barrage of green bolts of energy coming from the Aresians. It fired its assault rifle in flight, hitting one in the leg, destroying it, and forcing it to the ground. It then retracted from its left arm an oval tear-shaped joining blade as long as its arm. It sliced the downed machine in the torso with a clean cut, the severed area still glowing hot. It jet once again to the enemy while shooting, its thrusters burning yellow, taking down another machine, pumping it with still glowing energy holes. It kicked the next one, tumbling it backwards, and then the Gundam retracted the left blade and took a combat knife from its own hip compartment, still avoiding enemy gunfire, barely missing a stab from a beam spear nearby. It plunged the knife to the red torso of the Aresian machine. The Gundam, in a great feat of flexibility, backdived towards the enemy. It unfolded its tear-shaped blade in mid-air, and turned, slicing the nearest machine. It took off nearly half of the torso, save for one arm the blade didn't reach. Its blade glowed yellow, like a pillar of deathly light. As it stood on the tunnel floor, it backed one step, still under fire, and then jet leaped again to the next enemy. The Gundam stabs the Aresian mobile suit downward through the chest. The mobile suit fell, still shooting, before exploding. The last machine was already retreating, its pilot still godsmacked at what happened to their almost perfect plan to secure Srenz tunnel. The Gundam didn't give chase.
It flew back to the downed mobile suit he saved. Still dazed and awed, Fidel got out of the cockpit to take a good look at his savior.
The Gundam looked magnificent; its yellow eyes blending with the yellow light from the hole it entered through, its blue torso and legs glowing richly with the light. The pilot spoke through the Gundam's speakers.
"Hey, get back in there, I'm gonna carry you to the exit." He said in a friendly way, a comforting way that only a soldier would know how. The Gundam picked up the downed mobile suit like a pair of newlyweds. It then turned face and flew to the tunnel exit, leaving behind the wreckage of the Aresian mobile suits, with sparks trailing from the damaged unit. As the two sped towards the exit, Fidel asked the Gundam pilot. "Who… who are you..?". He seemed relieved, as if he had seen a miracle. He still did not believe that the Gundam from Grizna would even be there to help, and yet it came.
"Heh… just call me Neo". The other pilot replied.
"Neo… thank you…" Fidel's words ended with a sigh. He fainted from the stress and tension from the battle, and from the overwhelming relief of his salvation. It seemed to him now that there was such a thing as hope…
It was already daybreak.