Disclaimer: Alex Strassimeier is Dragoon Swordsman's. Mark Lamperouge is mine.
Saga of the Crimson Fox
By Storm Wolf77415
Celestial Being Rising
It's the twenty fourth Century. To prevent the last of Earth's fossil fuels from being depleted the United Nations issued a global wide ban, giving rise to the use of solar energy. A massive solar power relay traverses the entire planet, the centerpiece being the three massive orbital elevators controlled by the three power blocs formed by the nations of the Earth after the devastating Solar Wars in the mid to late 23rd century. The Union of Free Energy and Nations, built around the United States. The Advanced European Union, consisting of much of Western and Central Europe, and the Human Reform League, built up from the combination of the Russian Federation and the People's Republic of China. Even now, in the year 2307AD, humanity is still at each other's throats.
Lake Victoria Military Base, Uganda, AEU, 2307
A dry wind whipped across the lake, the yet incomplete La Tour Orbital Elevator rose towards the heavens. It was the perfect backdrop for the test trial of the AEU's newest mobile suit, the AEU-09 Enact. A large urban street course was set up. The Enact was dancing about, floating just above the asphalt streets as it picked off the targets one by one. A large crowd was on hand to observe the proceedings, including a Japanese man wearing glasses, his long brown hair tied in a pony tail.
A blonde haired man in a dark blue suit strolled leisurely down the steps of the bleachers. "Enjoying the show, Billy?"
"Don't tell me the great Graham Aker of the Union Navy is scared?" Billy Katagiri teased back.
"So this is the AEU's new Enact?" Graham remarked, watching the Enact shoot out two target balloons, as a wave of autocannons fired back, deflected by the spinning defense rod.
"It's just a knockoff of our Flag model. They both can draw solar power directly from the orbital array. The only differences between them are cosmetic in nature. The AEU's putting a lot of stock in this new machine. It's no coincidence they're debuting it on the same day of the tenth anniversary celebration of the Human Reform League's elevator." Billy finished as the Enact took out three more targets with its linear rifle.
"It is quite formidable…I wish I could say the same for the pilot. What was the AEU Council thinking letting Colasseur test it? He's not exactly known for his common sense," Graham remarked.
"Hey! I heard that!" A loud, indignant voice came from the bluish green mobile suit. The cockpit folded out revealing a young man with bright red hair, eyes blazing at the blonde lieutenant. Patrick Colasseur was one of the rising stars of the AEU Armed Forces, the greatest ace of the AEU, according to him at least. His ego chafed with more than a few of the higher ups, "You wanna come up here and say that to my face, Aker? I've got over 2000 simulated combat victories under my belt! Don't fuck with the ace of the AEU!"
"It seems the audio pickups are good. Don't encourage him, Graham!" Billy pleaded, but the blonde paid his friend no heed, standing up, smirking at the redhead.
"Oh really? I was under the impression that title belonged to Colonel Strassmeier! You know…your boss?" Graham shot back. Lieutenant Colonel Alex Strassmeier was indeed the finest pilot in Europe. He earned the name "Silver Spider" for his silver painted AEU-05 Hellion and his famed "Spider's Web" tactic. Most people who met the Colonel were put off by his cool demeanor and the bizarre helmet shaped mask which covered most of his head and face. Graham considered Berlin's greatest son a friendly rival of sorts, Alex saw him as little more than an annoyance. "Don't get me wrong, you're a great pilot, Patrick, but I believe the good Colonel has actual combat experience!"
"THAT DOES IT, AKER! GET YOUR PRECIOUS LITTLE FLAG SO I CAN MOP WITH THE FLOOR WITH YOU AND SHOW YOU WHAT THE ENACT CAN REALLY DO! SCREW STRASSMEIER! I'll PROVE I'M THE BETTER OF US!" Patrick shook his fist angrily.
"Oh really, Lieutenant?" An authoritative voice ordered. A second Enact gracefully flew overhead, transformed, and landed. The cockpit extended open, revealing the Silver Spider himself in all his glory, clad in a silver flightsuit trimmed in black, only his lower jaw exposed thanks to the hawklike helmet. "I'd like to see you try!"
"C-colonel Strassmeier! I wasn't expecting you to be here!" Patrick's voice cracked. He respected the Spider, but not being able to see the man's eyes sent chills down his spine.
Alex just shook his head, "Somehow I not surprised you'd be making trouble. Your recklessness is a disgrace to the service, Colasseur. If you do anything to that prototype, it's your head." He then directed his attention to Graham. "Lieutenant Aker, please do not antagonize my subordinate. That's a twenty billion euro machine he's piloting, I'd hate to see it destroyed due to his own stupidity."
As the arguing continued, a sleek metallic titan slid down through the atmosphere, "2208, Exia on approach to target. Commence GN particle dispersal," The young man clad in blue spoke in a clear monotone. The crowd stood up in amazement at the white and blue mobile suit, landing near the two Enacts.
"Where did that come from?" Alex asked. "That's not one of ours!"
The Commander tried to radio the tower, but there was only static. He then turned to the Enact. "Enact, come in Enact? Colonel Strassmeier respond!"
"That light…Could it?" Graham said to Billy. "We have to report this to the Admiral when we get back. He'll find this very interesting."
"It would explain where it came from." Billy concluded.
"What the?" Patrick said, at the static squawking in his ear.
"The cockpit slid back inside, "So who are you with? The Union? The HRL? It doesn't matter to me! I'm Patrick Colasseur! The ace of the AEU! I've never lost a simulated match! Cause I'm just that special!" Patrick leered, pulling out a sonic blade and turning it to full blast.
"That idiot!" the commander groaned. Alex was quick to realize what the impulsive young pilot was about to do.
"Patrick, don't you dare! This is a direct order! Do NOT engage that thing. We don't know what it's capable of!" Alex warned. Patrick just blew him off. He lunged at Exia, ready to plunge the blade right through the cockpit in one blow. Not moving, Exia's arm mounted blade snapped open. It whistled through the air, cleaving off the hand containing the weapon.
"How dare you!" Patrick roared, squeezing off a quick shot from the linear rifle, Exia just dodged it, brandishing the blade again, for a quick downward slash, the other arm was slashed off, the linear rifle clattering across the ground, "Don't you know who I am! I'm Patrick Colasseur!" The armless mobile suit fumbled about, vainly trying to get at its opponent, Exia's response was to cleave off the head, "I'm SPECIAL!" The battered machine tumbled to the ground.
Alex just shook his head in frustration. "He only has himself to blame." He then redirected his attention to the Exia, "He took out our most advanced mobile suit without getting scratched. I must say, he's quite good." Alex concluded.
"Hey! What about me?" Patrick said indignantly.
"You were ordered not to engage but you did. Let that be a lesson in never underestimating your opponent. The only reason you're still breathing is because the pilot of that machine deliberately spared you." Alex spoke to the younger man as parent would scold a child. Alex's Enact rose into the air and took off after Exia. "Whatever that machine is, it's powerful, far more so than the Enact, I may not last long, but I'm not going to just let him leave without a fight!" He opened fire with his linear rifle.
Setsuna looked over his shoulder. "The second Enact, he should have just left well enough alone. Exia eliminating target." The GN Blade unfolded and swooped towards the Spider for a downward swing, Alex avoided it by transforming the Enact into flight mode, swooping away from the white mobile suit. The Enact transformed again, squeezing off two more shots.
Exia's blade folded back, revealing a small beam rifle mounted on the hand guard. Three magenta bursts erupted from the barrel. The Defense rod spun, creating a plasma field which shielded the Enact from the two blasts, the last one burned off the shoulder armor.
The massive blade flipped out again, making a move to cleave the Enact in half, reflexes honed by experience allowed Alex to whip out a plasma sword. The two blades hit. "Melee's not my strong suit!" He remarked, parrying the heavier blade.
The blade cut deep, taking off the arm, and head, Alex decided he had enough and turned and flew off.
"Command, this is Strassmeier, I've engaged the intruder mobile suit. Be advised it's several degrees stronger than my own machine. It's also equipped specifically for melee combat, my advice is to take it out at range."
"Understood, Colonel Strassmeier, RTB. A Hellion squadron is inbound, they'll take care of it." A team of six AEU-05 Hellions started engaging Exia. Produced in massive quantities and exported outside of the AEU member states, the Hellion found its way into the hands of several terrorist groups, who found it a big step up from the cumbersome and near obsolete Anf.
The Hellions opened rapid fire on Exia, gracefully dodging and weaving through the fire. A flight of Hellions flew down from the tower.
"We were right. They were hiding forces in the elevator itself!" Setsuna observed, started firing at the incoming Hellions. Exia gracefully accelerated, snapping the blade open again, and slashing off a Hellion's wing.
"Lockon…enemies approaching…enemies approaching!" the Orange Haro beeped, popping its flaps excitedly. The tall, lanky man clad in a dark green flightsuit, stretched out in the pilot seat.
"Heh, looks like Setsuna needs help. Alright, Lockon Stratos! Ready to debut with Gundam Dynames! Sniping targets!" He grasped a gun shaped control in his hand, peering through a view scope. The dark green Gundam Dynames took its massive sniper rifle, and opened fire. Pink lances shot into the clear blue sky, striking down the Hellions.
Setsuna stopped to note Lockon's handiwork as Exia slashed another Hellion out of the sky. "That's Lockon." A few more shots from the Dynames cleared the sky, and the two Gundams departed.
Tenchu Orbital Elevator, High Orbital Station
"Would you like a drink, miss?" A waiter asked, a trim petite figure wearing a backless purple cheongsam. His heart fluttered as the figure turned around, revealing a cute, Chinese girl with playful eyes, curvy hips, and a very large, perky, chest. The majority of her midnight black hair done up in buns with two small braids trailing down the back.
"Oh yes, thank you!" she said with a bright smile. The waiter didn't meant to stare, but the beauty in front of him was really hard to ignore. She giggled. "I think it's a sign of a real man who isn't afraid to blush!"
Tenchu Orbital Elevator, Command Center
"Nothing appearing on the scope right now sir," One of the technicians reported.
"Well, we still have a lot of dignitaries and VIPs present here for the party. Keep your guard up," the station commander remarked.
"We have incoming mobile suits!" One technician called. "It's a squad of Hellions! They've got missile launchers."
"Launch all Tieren squadrons!" the commander barked. The klaxons sounded, pilots racing to their machines. Among them was Colonel Sergei Smirnov, legendary as the "Wild Bear of Russia" during the Fourth Solar War.
"They're Hellions! Damn the AEU! They'll sell weapons to any tin pot nation!" Sergei grunted as he pulled on his flightsuit.
"But sir, I've only had 79 hours of simulation time in space combat!" One young pilot said hesitantly.
"Then if it comes to it, crash into them!" the commander snapped, hopping into his Tieren Space type. He and two others flew out of the station towards the terrorists.
"Sir, we're all on our own!" One pilot complained as they opened fire at the Hellions. The dark green machines came into firing distance, the missiles headed for their target.
"Damn it!" the lead Tieren wasn't fast enough to reach it in time.
A succession of pink beams lanced out, eviscerating several of the terrorist machines. An orange and white machine flew by, destroying the missiles before any of them could connect with the orbital station.
"What the?" the station commander said in surprise. One by one the displays in the control room went blank.
"Comms are down! Radar is down!" One of the operators called out. "We're not getting anything."
"I won't let you harm these people."
In the ballroom, the partygoers underwent the same experience as their personal terminals and phones blinked out. "What's this all about?" One partygoer said. Wang Liu Mei stood in the corner, a smug expression on her pretty features.
"It's a Gundam…Gundam Kyrios" Wang Liu Mei replied. The orange winged mobile suit streaked by the orbital station. Kyrios transformed, and started blasting the remaining Hellions.
"I won't let you harm these people!" Allejujah Haptism, the orange clad pilot of Gundam Kyrios declared, opening firing with his rifle once again. Soon only one Hellion remained, it aimed straight for the station.
"It's going to ram us!" one of the controllers said in fear.
"Oh no you don't! Tieria!" Allelujah called out.
A large bulky black and white mobile suit, armed with a large cannon, dropped in front of the command center. "Tieria Erde, Virtue eliminating target." The man in the purple flightsuit spoke in a cold monotone. The cannon split open, a deep whirring started within the mechanical behemoth, a massive beam roared out, completely vaporizing the Hellion.
Everyone on the orbital station could only gaze in awe at the two mighty war machines and how quickly they had dealt with the enemy machines. All the monitors immediately shifted to the image of man in his late fifties wearing a black suit, and half of a pair of eyeglasses on his face.
"We are Celestial Being, we are a private armed organization armed with the mobile weapon, Gundam." The man spoke in a deep, clear voice. "We are dedicated to eradication of war through armed force." He continued the message for the whole world to hear, The office of the council of the Advanced European Union in Brussels, the Chairman of the Human Reform League in Beijing, and the President of the Union in Washington D.C. Monitors all over the world bore the image of the mysterious man. And everyone watched…
Deserted island in the South Atlantic
"Well, this is it." Lockon observed, as he to the younger man.
"The world will change…for we are the Gundam Meisters of Celestial Being." Setsuna remarked.
Tenchu Orbital Elevator, Car 4
Wang Liu Mei and Hong Long were on the elevator back down to the planet's surface.
"It's begun, mistress," Hong Long spoke, as she settled back in her seat.
"Indeed it has. Exia, Dynames, Kyrios, and Virtue, All of Celestial Being's Gundams have been unveiled. And it's also time to prepare our ace in the hole." She dialed a number on her terminal. "Mr. Anderson, have you paying attention?"
"Yes ma'am, I've been watching everything through Vega." A cultured voice spoke on the other end of the line.
"You have a green light to begin operations. I'm counting on you." Liu Mei said in a flirty tone.
Unknown location
"Understood ma'am, I'll start shadowing the Ptolemaios." The voice of the man known as Anderson spoke before he closed the comlink.
"If she only knew the truth about what we were really about," A second voice remarked with a derisive snort, the dim light catching his glasses. "I don't trust her, boss. She seems like a shameless opportunist who wouldn't hesitate to sell us out if she thought it would improve her own standing."
"I know, Reaper. But this was the best way to connect with the rest of the organization. Right now we have to play the fool in order to carry out our objectives. The Ptolemaios crew can't know we exist yet."
"It's really happening isn't it boss?" another voice, this of an Asian accent replied.
"Indeed it is, Hawk…Celestial Being has taken center stage…and now the work of Cell Three has also begun."
