Muv-Luv Alternative: Black Sun
By: StrikeFreedom462/Serenade462
A/N: Thanks for the review and all the view the story received on its first chapter. Personally it ended a lot better than I hoped. As usually I'm still trying to grasp elements in the Muv-Luv universe. But anyways enjoy.
Synopsis: It is the year 2001 and for 34 long years humanity has combated the Beings of Extraterrestrial Origin which is Adversary of The Human Race or BETA. And for 34 years humanity has been fighting a one sided war with the end in clear sight. If something isn't done to turn the tide of battle in humanity's favor, then mankind will surely fade into extinction.
Takumi Bles is a Former Officer in the Empire of Japan's Imperial Royal Guard, but due to an act of insubordination. He was given a dishonorable discharge and exiled from the home he strived to protect. Though his actions have caught the attention of Hummel Industries - a Private Military Contractor that has recently started their own TSF development program. The company graciously offer him an invitation to participate in Project PROMINENCE. Takumi reluctantly accepts the offer and so begins his trials and tribulations in the Seraphim Test Flight.
Chapter Two: Return to Hell
Miho Bay Forward Operation Base (FOB), Japan, March 17, 2001...
"This is utterly absurd!" Mark shouted at Lieutenant Colonel Hisoka Nakamura. "I have a clear contract with the Ministry of Defense, stating 'The 9th Mechanized Infantry Battalion will participate in the skirmish of Miho bay, and may use all assists they have at their disposal.'"
Lt. Colonel Nakamura was the commander of the 8th Imperial Japanese TSF Regiment and a survivor of the first Miho Bay Skirmish. The Imperial commander just sighed as he turned away from the piece of paper in front of him.
"I never said the 9th wouldn't be able to participate, I just don't want that insubordinate excuse for an Eishi to lower moral." Hisoka said sliding the paper back to Mark. "The 9th will participate except for Takumi the Traitor."
Mark and Cynthia had spent more than several hours trying to persuade the Lt. Colonel to allow Takumi to participate in the battle. But old grievances seemed to create a wall of stubbornness between the Hummels and Nakamura. Suddenly Mark had an excellent idea, that would work around his current predicament.
"Lt. Colonel, I would still like to collect combat data on the Chaos Reaper so I'll replace Takumi and have him on standby." Mark said as Cynthia seemed to catch his intentions. "It'll be Takumi's unit but a different pilot."
"Of course, I know you are currently involved with Project PROMENENCE, I have no intention of interrupting your research." Nakamura said as another officer entered the tent and handed him a message. "If you would excuse us I have some urgent matters to attend to."
Mark sighed as him and his wife were escorted out of the tent, once outside Mark smiled as Cynthia patted him on the back.
"You're going to keep Taku as the pilot huh?" Cynthia silently laughed as her husband nodded.
"All we have to do is wait for the Beta to arrive." Mark smiled as he walked towards the briefing room as Cynthia noticed a message on her phone. "Is that from our informant?"
Cynthia nodded to her husband. "It would seem that our order of G-Elements is being processed."
"We're going to be needing more than just those scraps..." Mark hesitated. "We need to hope that we can squeeze our way into the next hive operation."
9th Mech's Position, Miho Bay 2nd Defense Line, Japan, March 20, 2001...
Takumi didn't like the position his squadron was placed in. The 9th Mechanized Battalion was divided into four squadrons; 4th TSF squadron "Cherubim", 3rd TSF Squadron "Dominion", 2nd TSF Squadron "Virtue", and 1st TSF Squadron "Seraphim". Squadrons Cherubim, Dominion and Virtue were what composed of the first defense line consisting all 32 F-15Es and 50 T-90 MBTs (main battle tanks). Their formation was designed to funnel the BETA into a small pocket that would be within range of Seraphim Squadron's (the Seraphim Test Flight) kill zone. With that the 8th Imperial TSF Regiment would pick off the remains of Beta that got through the kill zones.
But this set up greatly worried Taku, aside the fact that he knew this Imperial Unit held a grudge against him. That warning the Silver Phantom gave him only proved that fact, he ran a quick system check. The Chaos Reaper had quite an amazing set up, two XAMWS-24s along with two XCIWS-2Bs, Blade Edged Armor and a Type-74 PB Blade. The Chaos Reaper was specifically designed for mid-short range combat. Takumi gripped the controls and read the ammo count 2600 36mm rounds and 8 120mm rounds, it was about to begin he could feel it. Sure enough there was a ominous red flashing that illuminated his cabin, Code 991 continued to flash - the Beta were here.
"This is HQ to all Squadrons, The main BETA force consists of two BETA Divisions and a BETA Brigade Vanguard, ETA 30 minutes." Cynthia's voice emanated from Takumi's headset. "No Laser-Class are expected, but be careful out there."
"A little less than 50,000..." Takumi said a little nervous before laughter caught his attention.
"Don't worry, Taku nothing the 9th can't handle," Gauss laughed as he waved his massive Gatling gun in excitement.
"It's true, you should have seen the size that we commonly get stuck with," Ingrid laughed trying to comfort their newest member. "You shouldn't have any problems, you did fine on your own, but this time you have us."
Takumi relaxed for a moment and realized he wasn't alone, unlike before. He did one last check as he made sure all his systems were in check. As the screen gave him the all clear sign, he felt something strange. The earth began tremble, inside of the TSF cockpit Takumi could feel the faint vibrations.
"They're here..." He said as Cherubim Leader shouted in the comm link.
"Beta Vanguard approaching, all units remember to funnel them into the choke point!" Cherubim Leader shouted to all the squadrons.
Right before Taku's eyes the first defense line opened fire accurately taking out the charging Destroyers and forcing them into the funnel. But what was more surprising was the 9th had not surrendered even an inch to the BETA, and had not taken a single loss within the 8 minutes. It wouldn't be long until the surviving remains of the vanguard would reach Seraphim Squadron.
"Ingrid you take care of the Destroyers make sure you keep them at bay." Gauss said as his Gatling gun started it's warm up process. "Taku you just make sure those Grapplers and Tanks keep their distance from Ingrid and I."
"This is your field of expertise Taku, show us the pride of the an Imperial Eishi." Ingrid smile as she fire six 120mm rounds from her XLRWS-47 (Experimental Long Range Weapons System).
The weapon laid waste to six charging Destroyers; the rounds striking the soft tissue under the Destroyer's massive frontal armor. Their bodies lay motionless and creating a small blockade that forced the main Destroyer force to halt; but that didn't stop the Grappler and Tank class as they managed to slip through the small cracks in the blockade. Before Takumi could respond a massive roar like thunder forced him to cover his ears. Turning he saw Gauss as his minigun and gauss cannons open fire on the incoming swarm.
With ease the 56mm rounds and gauss shells tore through the BETA's ranks. Through his headset he could hear Gauss laughing enjoyably watching nothing but pure red mist hover in the air. Surprisingly though a sizeable amount of Grapplers and Tank-classes had broken through that hellish barrage - it was Takumi's turn now.
Gripping the controls he softly squeezed the trigger as his XAMWS-24s pelted several Tank BETA. After a short time of adjustment he maneuvered to the right as dodging a Grappler's arm as it slammed into the ground. The BETA's own tactic had worked in Taku's favor, the force of the impact had embedded the arm there trapping the Grappler. Maneuvering to the left he quickly took down the creature with a short burst of 36mms.
"Hey Taku how many kills are you up to now?" Gauss asked laughing in his machine.
"Why is it suppose to be relevant?" Takumi asked forcing his machine to do a back flip just barely dodging a swarm of Tanks.
"That's right... we forgot to mention." Ingrid laughed as several more 120mm rounds exited her weapon. "The one with the least kills ends up buying the drinks tonight."
Taku found himself baffled, the world was on the path of extinction and he found it unbelievable that they could be enjoying this.
"Well Taku how many do you have if you don't know Mark should have installed a counter." Gauss said before directing his attention to Ingrid. "I'm up to 371, what about you Ingrid.
"You'll have to do better than that Gauss, I'm at 530 and still counting." Ingrid laughed as she abandoned her XLRWS-47 and drew both of her XAMWS-24s. "Sorry Taku, but it seems I won't be able to stop all the Destroyers, you'll need to take out the ones that make it through."
Takumi could instant tell by the thundering of the ground as a herd of Destroyers charged towards him. But the horde of Tanks and Grapplers in front of him were the main issue. Within a matter of minutes Taku was able to successfully wipe out the BETA in front of him. But as he boost jumped over the group of Destroyers and squeezed the trigger but there was nothing but clicking noises. Looking at his screen the ammo counter for his 36mm and 120mm rounds read zero. Cursing to himself he discarded the extra weight and drew the PB Blade and using the Chaos Reaper's thrusters hurtled as he sliced at the back of several Destroyers instantly killing them.
Before any of the other Destroyers could advance with lightening speeds he cut them down. It was a gory sight, BETA entrails lay scattered around Takumi, his machine now dyed in a crimson red as it stared at the new group of approaching BETA - Destroyers, Grapplers, Tanks and several Forts were among them. Inside of the Chaos Reaper's cockpit Takumi heard a voice inside his head as charged the enemy with a hysterical smile on his face.
Several Hours Later, Hummel Industries Mobile HQ...
The battle ended surprisingly in total victory for humanity. Not only did the BETA not break through the second defense line, but the 9th had not suffered a single causality. This was a first for the young pilot as, he was used to seeing his country forced to surrender more and more territory and losing precious friends. Yet today the 9th held their ground and showed informed those inferior life forms to not fuck with humanity. At this moment there was a loud celebration as the 9th and 8th celebrated this overwhelming victory. In the far corner of the room the members of Seraphim Squadron sat at the bar. Takumi and Ingrid seemed to be smiling as Gauss was sulking in his chair.
"Another bottle of wine Bartender!" Ingrid shouted her voice obviously influenced by the alcohol.
Mark turned around and pulled out the bottle of wine Ingrid preferred and faced a sulking Gauss. "Shall I put this on your tab?"
"Yeah..." Gauss said trying to hold in his tears. "There goes half my paycheck... again..."
Ask Gauss was sulking and Ingrid enjoying her vast amount of free wine, Takumi sat in his chair thinking of how he survived that battle. Mark approached the young pilot and placed down his order of sake.
"Are you sure you don't want anything else, you scored an unbelievable amount of kills today, 816 if I remember correctly." Mark smiled as he handed Ingrid another wine bottle. "On your first sortie with us you scored a higher kill count than both Gauss and Ingrid."
Takumi didn't say anything, he continued to ponder on what happened. There was this eerie feeling as if someone was keeping a close eye on him, even Mark could sense it as well. Though this didn't bother him too much. Before Takumi could take another sip of his sake, Nakamura approached him.
"You traitorous scumbag!" he shouted a fist firmly connecting with Taku's face. "I knew you'd find a way to slither your way onto the battlefield!"
The former Imperial eishi fell to the ground as he held onto his fresh mark on his face. The festivities in the room halted as everyone gazed at the two. Nakamura was obviously furious, the other members of the 8th noticed who it was that Nakamura punched and also demonstrated much distrust.
"What's that traitor doing here!" an Imperial Eishi shouted.
"I knew the stench of treachery was really strong with Mercs, but now I know where it's originating from." another Eishi shouted. "Oh look the traitor has something to say."
"I did what I had to do..." Takumi said as he restrained himself. "I also didn't come here to be persecuted for something I didn't do!"
Before the other Imperial Eishi could say anything the members of the 9th intervened. The once joyous celebration turned into a bitter debate between the members of the 9th and 8th. Mark help lift Taku up and instructed him to get some rest, as they would conclude this debacle. Standing up Taku walked towards the exit, knowing that he was not welcomed anymore in his homeland.
Hummel Industries Mobile HQ, Hanger Area, March 18, 2001...
Gauss and Ingrid quickly sprinted down the hall of the Mobile HQ to see if the rumors were true. Just moments ago the SU-47 that Mark and Cynthia always towed around with them had taken off for the first time. What everyone was headed down to the Hangers for was to see who was the pilot. Unfortunately as a majority got to the Hanger the Berkut was already on the linear catapult. The Soviet machine gave the crowd an evil eye as it took off towards the sky. Quickly Mark and Cynthia were surrounded by their staff asking questions as to who had taken out the machine. Mark and Cynthia themselves were baffled but they seemed to not be worried about it being taken; the best answer they could provide was to catch the pilot upon the return of the machine.
The Next Day, March 18, 2001, ...
The next day it was mandatory for everyone to participate in the battlefield cleanup. Takumi was assigned the same area that he covered a little under a year ago. Inside of the Chaos Reaper he sighed as he held a moment of silence for all his flight members that perished that horrid day. As Takumi sighed in relief he quickly found himself surrounded by several four Takemikazuchis, three Type-00As and a golden Type-00F; their Type-87 Assault Cannons primed at his Chaos Reaper. Before Takumi could say anything, the pilot of the Type-00F interrupted him, the voice was familiar - it was Lt. Colonel Nakamura.
"That day you not only murdered Commander Takatsukasa Kyoko, you insulted me as well." Hisoka said holstering his Type-87 into its mount pylon.
"I had nothing to do with Lady Kyoko's death! You were there! You know I saved those citizens!" Takumi shouted in defense as the Type-00As took aim at him.
"You have absolutely no proof of that!" Nakamura smirked.
"Impossible I saw them leave and they escorted you out of the combat zone!" Taku shot back.
There was a hint of laughter in Nakamura's voice. "I made sure none of them made it out... I promised myself I'd get revenge for a lowly Eishi like you to insult a vassal of the Saionji family!"
Takumi was stunned, all the hard work he did to save those citizens, went to waste. This selfish excuse for an Eishi, valued his pride more than the precious followers of the Empire. Takumi was silent. In a fit of rage he drew the PB Blade and charged at Nakamura. Taku's blow was swiftly blocked by Nakamura who countered by bashing the Chaos Reaper back, forcing it to stumble. At that point the Type-00As dropped their assault cannons and drew their own blades. Regaining his balance Taku took a defensive stance as he was now clearly at a massive disadvantage.
To Be Continued...
Ending A/N: I know like it seems I'm tying up the side story about Takumi and his past but rest assured this is but one part of what resulted that fateful day. As usual any advice would be helpful, also I'm still trying to get a hold of working with BETA combat so advice particularly in that would help. Also I created a forum for the story (Fan Fiction) and will be posting TSF Data there among other things. Please be sure to visit the forum and let me know what you think.