Disclaimer: None of us own Gundam SEED. Goddamn Sunrise… Furthermore, any franchises that make cameos here belong to their respective owners.
"Talking"
'Thinking'
"Radio"
Chapter One: Rise of Fenrir
Earth, Middle Eastern Village, Near the Battlefront, ZAFT Base of Operations, One Year after Kira becomes a Mercenary
Kira sighed as she walked through the ZAFT's operational base to the command building where the commanding officer was waiting for her to assign her her mission, throughout the last year her growth spurt had been obviously continuing having shot up to 5'7" with her breasts growing from their modest B-cup to the large side of a C-cup. "Man, it is hot out here," she groaned as she fanned herself, looking around as the soldiers ran about in preparations for a raid on the EA Base. "Man, the EA must really be dug in if they're having such trouble breaking through."
Walking up to the command building she showed her ID to the guard who waved her through, looking slightly surprised by her age. Walking through the hallways she entered the map room where the CO stood with his XO, the both of them standing behind a table that had a map laid out on it, before them stood a large group of Mercenaries.
"Solo Mercenary, Kira Yamato, reporting," she informed as she took a seat.
The commander's eyes widened slightly upon seeing her. "So you're the famous Kira Yamato..." he remarked. "I have to say, I wasn't expecting you to be so… young."
Kira shrugged disinterestedly. "And your point is?" she asked with a blank voice and a raised eyebrow. "I've made no effort to hide my age."
"I guess not, but I guess the stories people have told just don't mention your age," the commander replied. "Regardless, I am glad you're here - we could use your talents."
Kira nodded, her expression blank as the XO stepped forward. "Now that you are all here, I will explain the situation," he informed. "We are currently deadlocked with the EA forces stationed here, they currently have the superior ground with the terrain working to their advantage."
He circled out an area on the map. "This is the easiest route to access the base, however, they managed to place a Hyper Beam Cannon emplacement at a strategic emplacement, making a frontal assault suicide," he explained, before circling another area. "Our aerial surveillance has spotted a possible avenue of approach, a weak point in the EA defensive lines, we have sent a squad to scout it out, however… I think it's best to show you the recording."
He gestured to the screen behind him that started playing a recording from one of the GiNNs leading a mobile squad. "Command, this is Red-Leader, we are mobile, on approach to the village," the recorded leader reported. "So far no sign of EA forces, although, the villagers are taking cover."
"1500 meters out from the Vil-" the voice was cut off as the cockpit of one of the GiNNs in front of the leader exploded out of the back of the unit, no doubt killing the pilot.
"Red-Four!" the leader shouted. "Where did the shot come from?"
Kira watched raptly as the squad was systematically destroyed by the unseen enemy, when the video ended silence reigned in the room.
"Two other Recon squads have met the same fate, all unable to identify the attacker," the CO informed seriously. "We have also been unable to catch an image of the attacker with neither Satellites, nor Aerial Surveillance."
"High-powered 75mm Anti-Suit Rifle," Kira said, her eyes narrowing. "It has a maximum range of 1,000 meters in atmosphere, I'm guessing that every squad that was sent was attacked at 1,500 meters?"
"Y… yes…" the CO replied. "They were… which likely means they have a Mobile Suit on sniping duty about 1,000 meters away from that village, given what you have just mentioned."
"We have also sent in plain clothes men," the XO informed, with a grim look. "They were found by the regular patrols, dead, killed by knife with a printed letter stating to stop sending soldiers."
"This will be our final attempt," the CO informed. "It is your responsibility to secure this point, and defeat the enemy."
The Mercenaries all nodded, determined to carry out the mission.
Kira stepped out of the command center and headed to her army surplus jeep that she had used to travel from her landed ship to the base. 'They thought the unit was about 1,000 meters outside of the village,' she thought as she drove, using one hand to steer as she used her other to manipulate a tablet, bringing up a map of the area. 'But… there is no cover outside of the village within that area, within the village, however,' she zoomed in on the cliffside the village was based beside. 'But… the cliffs beside the village.'
Her eyes sharpened as she left the base perimeter. 'But… to hit a target 1,500 meters away, with a rifle that has a limit of 1,000 meters,' she mused. 'So… it can't be anyone in the EA military… so, that leaves a Mercenary, one that we have no data on…'
She pulled up alongside the Mugen Kano and typed in a password attached to her jeep console, causing the hangar doors to open, allowing her entrance.
Once she had the jeep parked and strapped in she moved to the only mobile suit in the hangar, a Custom Patriot that Samuel had given her, colored dark blue with white highlights and on its left shoulder was a pair of white wings flanking a black sword. "Right then, time to get to work." she stated, climbing into the unit. "Probably best to bring the sniper with a shotgun and a blade for this one, cover my bases just in case the sniper is just the first line…" she said to herself as she powered the unit up. "Although… this unit is reacting slower now… I may need to upgrade soon…"
Village, Cliffside Cave
Ryu sighed as he blew out a cloud of cigarette smoke from his mouth, he had grown a bit over the last year, and gained a couple of scars as well, but, he wasn't thinking on those as he sat beside his custom CGUE that he had acquired from the Junk Guild at the start of his Mercenary Career, it was currently in a kneeling position as Ryu waited for the next attack to come from ZAFT, it was painted black with crimson red slash marks all over it and had a high powered sniper cannon resting on it. 'They'll probably follow the same pattern as the EA, one unit to secure the area, two recons, a group of plainclothes, then Mercs,' he mused to himself. 'Let's hope they didn't hire Serpent's Tail or anyone of that calibre.'
"Mr. Hisanaga," a middle eastern man said as he entered the cave, causing Ryu to look up at the entrance. "The villagers have reported approaching mobile suits, it's just as you predicted, Mercenaries."
Ryu nodded. "Thank you Abdul," he said as he moved over to the CGUE, beside which rest a 75mm rifle. "Tell the village to get into the shelter, I don't know if I would be able to stop them before they enter the village limits."
Abdul nodded and ran out of the cave to warn the villagers as Ryu climbed in and powered up his unit. "Now, let's see how many we are dealing with…" he mused as he activated the camera. "Hmm, about 14 units… various types, no uniformed colors, Mercenaries alright, mostly solo ones by the look of it."
The Mercenaries were also maintaining a rather loose formation, keeping enough distance so that if he shot at one he wouldn't take out the rest. What caught his attention was a dark blue Patriot with white trim, which was outfitted with a Sniper Rifle of its own, along with a shotgun and a sword. It also seemed to be looking right at him - or at least keeping its attention on the cliff face his cave was in.
"Oh, we got a smart one there, hmm, standard anti-suit 60mm rifle, range, 750 meters, right then," he murmured to himself as he laid his unit down on its 'stomach' and brought the sniper rifle to bear. "Range out: 1,600 meters…"
With Kira
Kira had a bit of an uneasy feeling as she and her fellow Mercenaries headed towards the village. She'd had this feeling before, usually on jobs just before the situation went to hell in a handbasket, so she was keeping her guard up.
As soon as the first unit crossed the 1,500 meter mark, the cockpit exploded. "Enemy fire!" One of the mercs shouted out. "Where did the shot come from?"
"Unknown!" Another merc reported. "I saw no muzzle flash!"
Kira, on the other hand… "Cliffs beside the village, it was brief, but there was a muzzle flash!" she reported.
"What?" A merc asked in shock. "That's too far out of range of a 75mm!"
"I don't think we're dealing with standard EA Forces, here," Kira informed, voicing her gut instincts from earlier. "I think we're dealing with another Merc! Assume a customized 75mm, same power as the regular one but much greater range!"
Another merc's cockpit exploded as the group charged. "This is nuts… who in the hell would have skills like that?" A merc shouted out. "I've never heard of such a crazy customization, such a thing couldn't be possible."
"You're wrong!" another merc shouted, this one was older than the rest of the mercs by a good margin. "There is one who could do it, the Black Dragon!"
"What do we do, we're sitting ducks out here!" a younger merc asked as his neighbour was shot down. "Not a whole lotta cover here!"
"Stay mobile, and don't move in straight lines!" Kira ordered. "Keep moving forward, but make yourselves as hard to hit as possible! And see if you can find me some cover a bit closer - there's a reason I brought a Sniper Rifle, but it's only got a range of 750 meters!"
"Right! Let's get her in range people!" the elder merc ordered as he stepped in front of Kira's unit, his custom GiNN carrying a massive shield that he held in front of him. "You'll probably have only one shot at this, kid, make it count."
"I will, and thank you," Kira replied, as she started moving, making sure to keep the GiNN and its shield in front of her, even as she started getting the Sniper Rifle ready.
With Ryu
Ryu's eyes narrowed as he watched their formation shift, encircling the blue unit with the rifle. "Hn, I see… so they figured out my location," he said to himself as he watched, a smirk growing on his features. "Well, good thing I have those traps prepared," he announced, pressing a button on his console sending a signal out to the buried explosives. "Let's see how you deal with this…"
With the Mercenary Group
Kira's uneasy feeling was getting worse. "Stay sharp," she informed. "Something's telling me a Sniper Rifle isn't all this guy has in store for us."
"You'd be right about that lass," the elder merc informed. "The Black Dragon is considered to be an Anti-Army Specialist."
"So, what?" one of the other Mercs asked. "Is he gonna have some sort of minefield laid out or someth-" the Merc was cut off as explosions started going off around them.
"Anyone else want to give him any ideas?" The elder merc barked angrily as he continued to charge forward. "Keep moving, right now, the stupid thing would be to stop following behind me!"
With Ryu
"Hoh… handled that one well," he mused as he triggered the next set of explosives. "They're getting to close to the village, looks like I'll have to get personal for this one."
He stood the unit up and dropped the rifle before picking up the CGUE's Vulcan shield, a ramming shield, and a mobile suit sized katana. "Right then, let's see how you boys like getting up close and personal with a dragon?"
With the mercs
They'd gone through another couple of explosive traps, but hadn't had any more casualties that were caused by Sniper Fire. "Was that all he had?" one of the Mercs asked.
"I doubt it," Kira remarked, holstering her Sniper Rifle and drawing her blade. "We're getting close to the village… I think he's switching out ranged combat for close quarters."
"You'd be right, lass," the elder merc said as he continued forward. "Stay on your guard!"
"Look, ahead! On the cliffs!" A merc shouted out, drawing their attention to where a mobile suit armed with two shields and a sword stepped out of one of the many caves littering the cliffside, it was definitely a CGUE, but heavily customized with parts of a GiNN High Mobility Type with a sniper camera attached to the right shoulder. "Jeezus, I don't think that unit even classifies as a CGUE anymore!"
"He doesn't have the rifle with him..." Kira remarked. "Two Shields, one of them a standard CGUE Vulcan Shield, but the other looks like it's designed for impacts… and a sword as well… definitely going close quarters."
"Here he comes!" the elder merc shouted. "Shoot him out of the sky!"
The CGUE leapt into the air, the powerful thrusters attached keeping it aloft as it towards the mobile suits who opened fire, with reflexes that should not have been possible the CGUE wove between the shots, any shots it couldn't dodge were taken by the ramming shield. His first victim was the unit in front of the Elder Merc, the suit crumpling as the ramming shield collided with the cockpit, no doubt killing the pilot.
The CGUE didn't stop there, however, as the thrusters kept going, propelling him to his next target, the elder merc who braced his unit behind his own massive shield. The pair collided with a thunderous boom that echoed off of the cliffs surrounding them. "Goddammit, how powerful are those thrusters!?" the merc asked as he was pushed back.
Kira dashed around behind the CGUE, using her own thrusters to close quickly as she slashed with her blade, aiming to remove the arm with the ramming shield.
She gasped in shock as the CGUE suddenly leapt back, detaching the shield as he did so, drawing out his katana sword with his now free hand before opening fire with the Vulcan shield.
She jumped backwards, dodging the fire, before opening up with the Patriot's Head Vulcans, aiming for the CGUE's Head Camera as she drew the shotgun, her machine holding it and the blade in one hand each.
Moving with pernatural reflexes the pilot of CGUE used it's shield to defend the main camera, even as it circled her. Seeing a chance, one of the Mercs leapt forward, swinging his GiNN Heavy Sword at the CGUE, only to find the katana blade embedded in his cockpit, the CGUE moving at an unnatural angle as it countered.
Kira fired a burst from her Head Vulcans and a shot from her shotgun at the same time, forcing the CGUE to choose between defending his cockpit or his Head Camera, before dashing forward once again, continuing to fire the Head Vulcans as she closed in for another slash with her blade.
The pilot moved again, throwing the impaled GiNN between them, even as she pulled the trigger, allowing it to absorb the damage. As Kira closed, the GiNN dropped, only to find the CGUE was no longer behind it.
'This guy's good,' Kira thought just before her instincts screamed at her, causing her to instinctively swirl around and slash with her blade.
Her blade met the CGUE's as it struck out at her, preventing the blade from piercing her cockpit. They deadlocked for a couple of seconds before the thumping noise of the elder merc's charge met their ears. The CGUE leapt away just in time to avoid getting rammed by the GiNN's massive shield. "Surviving Units, circle around him, surround him on all sides," the merc ordered to the others. "Don't give him a chance to attack, lass, be ready to finish him off."
Kira nodded, storing her blade and opening up with the shotgun, even as she started getting into the circling formation that the group was forming. Her gaze temporarily landed on the status readout for her Sniper Rifle, as an idea came to her...
The CGUE moved with its pernatural ease, seemingly anticipating the shots before they were even fired as he closed in on the mercenaries, his blade and vulcan tearing through their armor as he fought through them. "This guy… what kind of monster is he!?" one of the mercs shouted fearfully. "How can he tell where we're going to shoot?"
"I have an idea - cover me!" Kira called out before charging forward again, tossing her shotgun aside as she drew her blade once more, opening up with the Head Vulcans to try and keep him off balance. She leapt in, blade coming in on an overhead strike that the CGUE was forced to block due to avoiding the fire from the other machines. As they deadlocked, she freed one hand from her blade and grabbed her Sniper Rifle, jamming its barrel up against the upper torso of the CGUE, aiming to blow out the linkages to the head and arms without hitting the cockpit, and pulled the trigger.
It seemed like the battle was over, but in a seemingly impossible move the CGUE managed to divert the rifle just enough to miss the head of the unit, instead taking off the arm containing the vulcan shield. Kira cried out as her suit shook with two successive hits, courtesy of the CGUE's legs, forcing her away from the CGUE. "I must admit," a male voice stated over the CGUE's speakers. "That was impressive, but… this ends now, by my guess, you all have only about one minute of battery time left, and that's just for mobility in non combat situations…"
Kira checked her gauges - he was close, she had about a minute-thirty. "I'd imagine you're in the same boat," she said over her own speakers.
"Actually… I have five minutes left," he informed. "Weapons are not the only thing I can customize, Valkyrie."
"That's pretty impressive, too, as is your preternatural ability to dodge," she remarked. "Tell me something… who hired you? The EA?"
"You really need to do your research more," the man reprimanded. "I fought off five EA attacks since taking this job, if either side gains a foothold in this canyon, then the village behind me will suffer, my job is to prevent that."
"So… the EA's been trying to take this village…" she muttered.
One of the other Mercs walked up, weapons lowered. "For the record, I doubt ZAFT wants to actually take the village," they remarked. "The EA has a Hyper Beam Cannon parked on the main assault route ZAFT would need to take into the EA Base, meaning ZAFT needs an alternate route to at least take out that cannon."
"The village still suffers, don't you think the EA already knows this?" The Pilot asked, a slight snarl to his voice. "This Canyon will become a battleground, that village hired me to protect it, and as such… all who are a threat to it… will die."
They were deadlocked, Kira realized… unless… "What if we simply went in and took out that cannon ourselves?" she asked. "Take out ZAFT's main obstacle, they won't need to worry about the Canyon, and the EA will be too busy fending off a ZAFT attack to worry about it, either."
"Feel free, the EA is not my employer," the pilot stated. "I could care less what happens outside of this canyon."
"I was kinda hopeful you could be included in that 'we', Dragon," Kira remarked. "It might be outside the terms of your contract, but it would still be protecting the village, in a way."
The Mercenary was silent for a minute, no doubt contemplating her words, the others watched on in tense silence. "Do you, even have a plan?" he asked finally. "Depending on the plan, I might just help you."
"I'd probably need to radio back to the ZAFT base, but I was thinking a sneak attack," Kira informed. "The ZAFT Forces would launch a frontal assault as a diversion, while we go in, take out any defenders not caught up in the main battle, and take out the cannon itself."
Silence reigned again as the Dragon considered her words. "How exactly do you mean, 'we go in'?" he asked cautiously.
"Two units as Snipers on the cliffsides, and three machines going in close," Kira replied. "The remainder would hold the pass, acting as reserves and also in case the EA tries another attack on the village."
A sigh was heard. "Very well, make the call, I will be replacing this arm you broke," he informed as the damaged arm was ejected off of the CGUE. "Remain here, I will return in 30 minutes."
"Understood. We're going to need recharging on our machines, as well - if you have spare power units, that would be good, otherwise I'll call in supply units from the base."
"Opposite of the Village, you can use those to recharge your units," the Dragon informed before launching himself into the air and heading for his own supply depot.
Kira started towards where the Dragon had indicated, even as she set her radio to the ZAFT Channels. "ZAFT HQ, this is Valkyrie, do you read?"
"Command here, what is the situation Valkyrie?" Came the response. "Are we clear to move in?"
"The unit attacking your forces was another mercenary, hired by the village to protect it from both you and the EA," she informed. "He's not letting any official military troops into the village, but I've worked out a slightly different agreement with him. We'll take out that cannon for you, but we'll need you to make a frontal assault as a distraction."
Silence was her reply for a minute, before a shuffling was heard. "Valkyrie, this is Lieutenant Hos," came back the response, the XO talking through the comms now. "Care to explain that more clearly?"
"The EA apparently knows the significance of this route as well, and has tried to take the village itself multiple times," Kira reported. "The villagers hired the Black Dragon to defend them from both sides."
"The Black Dragon?" came back the hushed whisper. "And it was the villagers who hired him? I see… so… what exactly are the details of this new plan of yours, Valkyrie?"
"Our unit, in conjunction with the Dragon, will launch a sneak attack on the cannon - three of us in close, two Snipers, and the rest in reserve as well as to stop any EA forces that try to run by way of the Canyon," she informed. "We'll need you to launch a frontal assault to hold their attention when we make our attack."
The XO hummed before having a hushed conversation with someone on the other line for a moment. "Commander West has agreed to your plan," Hos informed. "Do you need equipment resupply?"
"The Dragon is letting us use some power units he has to recharge our machines," Kira replied as they arrived at the units and began hooking them up. "Apart from that…" she looked over her ammo count - she still had plenty of ammo for the Sniper Rifle, along with plenty of ammo for the shotgun… speaking of which… "Did someone pick up my Shotgun?" she asked over the radio channel with the other Mercs.
"Right here," the older Merc said as he handed it to her. "Pretty ballsy move you did back there, little missy."
"Thank you," Kira replied as she picked up the shotgun and stored it. Ammo for the Vulcan Cannons looked good, too… "How's everyone looking for ammo?" she asked the other Mercs.
She received various positive replies indicating that most were good for ammo. "Looks like we are in the clear, lass," the elder informed.
"Gotcha," Kira said with a nod, before saying, "We're good to go on Ammo as well, Lieutenant."
"Very well, we will begin moving our troops into position, radio us when you are in position for the strike," came the reply before the line went dead.
Kira hooked up her machine to the power unit, her power supply charging back up to full. 'Well, I managed to get the plan going,' she thought. 'Here's hoping that it manages to work, even if Murphy shows up to screw with the plan.'
With Ryu
Ryu sighed as he attached the power couplings to charge his unit before climbing out and heading to the crane he had prepared for this type of situation. Manipulating the controls he used the crane to maneuver a spare arm into position for attachment and locked it into position.
Working quickly he manually attached all of the connectors himself before pushing the arm in, locking it into place, after running a quick systems check and tested the arm he moved onto selected his weaponry. "Let's see, probably best to bring the rifle and sword, maybe bring my Smoothbore Cannon as well."
As he said that he once again manipulated the crane, grabbing the 105mm Smoothbore Anti-Emplacement Artillery cannon and loaded it onto the unit. "That's my weight limit unfortunately, well, if I need to I'll ditch the cannon and pick up some weapons."
'The Valkyrie, huh?' he thought to himself in the back of his head as he worked. 'She's a skilled one alright, smart to, managing to come up with a plan on the fly like that… plus, that older merc, I believe that was Michael 'Iron Shield' McKinzie, the others with them weren't so bad either… about five of them left, including Valkyrie and Iron Shield, so… we're basically an elite unit… I wonder…'
With the rest of the Mercs
The group had finished charging their machines, and were on the ground in front of them, making further plans. "Okay, so we have five left, six if we count the Dragon…" Kira remarked. "OK, what do each of you have in terms of weapons, and how much ammo do you have?"
"I got a Bullpup SMG, Ninjato Heat Blade and about 500 rounds for the SMG," announced a caucasian with brown hair and eyes informed, this was Larry Foulke AKA Solo Wing Pixy, piloting a steel grey Patriot with Crimson Red trim. "I also have about 10 fragmentation grenades."
"Assault Rifle with 300 rounds, GiNN Heavy Blade, and a Ion Cannon," his wingmate, George Cipher, the Demon Lord, informed quietly, his red eyes standing out with his white hair, he was currently piloting a crimson red High Maneuver GiNN with steel grey trim.
"1000 rounds left in the Head Vulcans, a Heat Blade based on the GiNN Heavy Blade, and about 30 throwing knives," remarked a man with spiked dirty blond hair and brown eyes. This was Leonhardt Raglan, the Golden Leo, famous for his gold-painted Patriot. He was also a former Atlantic Federation Soldier, who deserted shortly before the formation of the EA when he refused an order to slaughter an entire village simply because they were supposedly hiding Coordinators.
Kira nodded as she factored in the information, trying to decide on who to leave behind. "Leonhardt, do you mind remaining behind to protect the village?" she asked the man.
"No, I don't mind," Leonhardt replied. "If you need me, don't hesitate to call me, otherwise I won't let any of them past if they try going this way."
"You have my thanks," a voice said as Ryu walked in, a lit cigarette in his mouth. "Are you all ready for the operation?"
"We're ready," Kira replied, "And the ZAFT Commander has agreed to the plan - they're moving their troops into position now, and will wait for my signal to start the attack."
Ryu nodded. "Alright, let's get into position, and watch your step, these fields are the village's livelihood," he informed.
"Right," Kira replied. "Dragon, you and I will be on Sniper Duty," she continued, outlining the plan, "While Pixy, Demon Lord, and Iron Shield attack close in. While they focus on the cannon itself, we'll take out any defenders who aren't caught up in fighting off our diversion."
"Sound enough plan," Michael said with a nod. "Demon Lord, we'll get you into position to use that cannon of yours."
"On the off chance that Dragon and I run out of ammo for our Sniper Rifles, we'll jump down from the cliffs and join the close-in assault," Kira added. "Not that I'm expecting it, since I have about 30 rounds for my rifle still, but who knows what will happen."
"50 rounds remaining for my rifle, and I have a smoothbore with 30 rounds," Ryu informed. "They'll count well."
"All right," Kira said, as the group began leaving the building to get to their machines. "Dragon, let's get up to the cliffs now - the canyon should hide our thruster emissions."
Ryu nodded and headed back outside to his CGUE. "Let's go, I know a good vantage point we can use."
"Lead the way," Kira replied, starting up her Patriot and following Ryu as they headed up the cliffside. The others began moving as well, Michael, Larry, and George going into the canyon itself, while Leonhardt remained at the entrance of the canyon, staying between it and the village.
Kira followed Ryu CGUE as they moved, walking to hide their thrusters. "We have about five minutes at this rate until we are there," Ryu informed her. "While we are moving, I have a question for you, why are you willing to help defend the village?"
"They just wanted to stay out of the war, right?" Kira asked. "If someone doesn't want to get involved in this war, I'll respect that - honestly, if the villagers had contacted me instead of you, it might very well be possible that our roles in this encounter might have been reversed."
"Mm," Ryu hummed thoughtfully. "Not many mercs will go that extra mile…"
"If someone doesn't want to be involved in any war, it's their right to sit it out," she replied. "Of course, this war is such that it will find everyone eventually - it's up to those who have the ability, power, and will to make a difference to protect those who can't protect themselves."
"Mm, it's a good thing ZAFT hired who they did," he replied. "It seems you got lucky with the survivors being people who agree with that philosophy."
"Yeah…" Kira admitted. "Honorable Mercs like us are rather rare, unless you look at Terminal."
"Mmm," came another hum. "We're getting close, go prone."
"Right," Kira replied, getting her machine into a prone position and crawling forward.
They soon came close to the edge of the cliff overlooking the EA base, far enough for them to have trouble spotting them, but close enough for them to have a clear shot at the base, with a perfect line on the cannon. "We need to take out those emplacements there," Ryu informed, pointing out a series of emplacements on the side that their team would be exiting the canyon on. "Aim for their ammo depots as well, make as much chaos as you can in the base to provide them cover as they move to the cannon."
"Roger," Kira replied, sighting in on the first emplacement before keying the other Mercs and ZAFT forces into the radio. "This is Valkyrie. Dragon and I are in position. Demon Lord, Pixy, Iron Shield, are you in position?"
"This is Iron Shield here, we are in position and ready to move," came the reply.
"ZAFT Forces, are you in position?"
"This is Wilco-Lead, all ZAFT forces are in position to attack, are you certain you can take out that Cannon?"
"All we can do is our best, but I believe we can succeed." There were a few seconds of silence as she confirmed all conditions for her shot. "Begin Operation! ZAFT Forces, begin your attack, we'll wait for one minute so you can draw as much of their attention away as possible!"
"Understood, all forces, move in!" came the response. "Get their attention!"
The ensuing minute was long and tense as they watched the forces leave the base towards the approaching ZAFT forces. "Open fire!" Ryu shouted as it hit the one minute mark.
Kira pulled the trigger, her bullet hitting the first emplacement as Ryu's shot hit the second one. Quickly sighting in and shooting the third emplacement, opening the path for the others, she ordered, "Demon Lord, Pixy, Iron Shield, move in!" She then shot a fuel tank near the cannon, creating a massive explosion that destroyed a few more emplacements.
A thunderous roar next to her informed her of Ryu's smoothbore cannon firing, destroying a group of tanks as they attempted to shore up the hole in their defenses. A shot from his rifle destroyed another emplacement. "Incoming air units!"
"I see them," Kira informed, spotting a group of four attack helicopters moving in. Sighting in with her Rifle, part of her chided them for staying so close together as she fired, the bullet going through the helicopters in both the lead and trail positions, the twin explosions enough to damage the rotors of the other two, which spiraled down to crash into another fuel tank and a cluster of emplacements. The tank went up in another fireball, while the cluster of emplacements was destroyed, as well.
Another roar from the smoothbore hit an ammo dump sending up a ball of fire as the explosives stored there exploded in a chain reaction.
"Oh? Looks like they're scrambling Fighters now…" Kira remarked, watching a pair of Spearheads beginning to taxi for a runway. "Can't have that!" She sighted in on the first one, just lining itself up for takeoff, and fired, the bullet hitting the engine and turning the Spearhead into a fireball of its own, creating a small crater in the runway - easily fixable, but in a position that left the runway unusable. A second shot destroyed the second Spearhead in a similar fashion.
With the Ground Team
Pixy ran through the base, pushing the limits of his Patriot's speed as his Bullpup fired at a group of tanks. "Iron Shield, you guys coming?" he asked the elder merc as he protected Demon Lord, ensuring that he got into position for his shot.
"You forget, your machine was customized for speed," Iron Shield replied, positioning his shield to deflect a tank blast, before Demon Lord destroyed the offending tank with his assault rifle. "Not everyone's Mobile Suits can move as fast as yours, Pixy."
"Just keep interceptors off of us, Partner," Demon Lord said, a slight amount of amusement in his voice. "Else you'd have to slow yourself down with my cannon."
"You got it, Buddy," Pixy replied, his Bullpup destroying another tank just before a loud roar preceded the detonation of another ammo dump. "Wow, those two are really tearing the place apart!"
"They have amazing accuracy," Iron Shield said with an approving tone. "And they seem to know what the other is targeting."
"Yeah, that's true," Pixy mused. "I wonder if they're both psychic, or something?"
"I think they both have Spatial Awareness on the level of the Zero Squad," Demon Lord informed. "It's the only way to describe their reaction time."
"Probably," Iron Shield remarked before another fuel tank went up. Checking their positions, he noticed that he and Demon Lord were getting close to the cannon. "We're almost there - get ready, Demon Lord."
The Demon Lord nodded as he holstered his rifle and brought out the Ion Cannon. "Energy levels good, beginning the charge progress," he informed as the Ion Cannon began to charge. "Tee minus one minute."
They had reached the cannon, so now Iron Shield got behind Demon Lord, placing his shield to protect them from shots. "One minute, everyone!" he called out.
"Understood, Valkyrie, take care of the right flank, I'll take care of the left." Dragon informed as a group of jeeps armed with Rockets were destroyed by a sniper bullet from Dragon.
"Sure thing, Dragon!" Valkyrie replied before another Tank was destroyed by a sniper bullet from her.
Pixy's ninjato was shoved into a tank that was then thrown into another tank. "Time buddy?" he asked to his partner who was kneeling behind the Iron Shield.
"Ten seconds!" came the reply, when the ten seconds were up he came out around the shielded GiNN and took aim at the cannon. "Charge Completed, firing!"
The blast hit the Hyper Beam Cannon dead-center, coring through vital components just as it was about to let off a shot of its own. The explosion from its detonation rocked the ground like an earthquake.
"Nice Shot, Demon Lord!" Valkyrie called out. "Valkyrie to ZAFT Forces, Cannon is down, repeat, Cannon is down!"
"Roger that Valkyrie," came Wilco-lead's response. "All forces, cannon is down, repeat cannon is down, move in and secure the EA base!"
"Demon Lord, Pixy, Iron Shield, fall back to the Canyon Entrance!" Valkyrie called out. "We'll hold the door shut so no EA forces can escape that way!"
"Understood," Iron Shield responded. "No one will get through."
Another roar of the smoothbore took out a hangar as they attempted to scramble their jets, while the Dragon's rifle took out a barracks. "Here come the ZAFT forces," He informed as they entered the base perimeter.
Indeed, ZAFT GiNNs and CGUEs came streaming in from the front of the base, infantry and a few tanks following them up. The job became much easier for the Mercs at that point, as Dragon and Valkyrie continued sniping any aircraft that tried to take off, while Demon Lord, Pixy, and Iron Shield took out any enemy ground units that tried to flee by way of the canyon.
Several Minutes Later…
"That wraps everything up, that you for the assistance Valkyrie, Iron Shield, Demon Lord, Solo Wing," Wilco lead said over the radio. "Command will debrief you when you return."
"I'm heading back to the village," Dragon informed as he started back. "I'll send your friend back to the base."
"Understood," Kira replied, beginning to head to the ZAFT base before pausing a bit. "Once I'm done with my debriefing, Dragon, I'll take my ship and come pick you up - we worked well together today, and I'd honestly like to continue that. What do you say - would you be alright with partnering up with me?"
His CGUE paused for a moment as he considered the possibility. "It just may be a good idea," he said finally. "We'll talk more later about it."
"Gotcha," Kira replied. "I'll see you either tonight or tomorrow morning - depends on how long the debrief takes." She then started off towards the ZAFT Base, Demon Lord, Pixy, and Iron Shield following behind her.
ZAFT Base, Command Center Briefing Room
"Good work you five," Hos said with a nod. "Not only did you capture the base, but you did it in a way that allowed us to work past the Village the Dragon was guarding, we've sent over some supplies to them as a way of apology for putting them in such a tight spot."
"Good to hear it," Kira replied. "I'm glad we were able to do it this way - No one deserves to be forced into this war if all they want is to peacefully sit out."
Hos nodded his agreement with a sigh. "I will be heading to village myself soon, by the order of the Commander, to broker a defensive agreement with them, while we have rooted out the main EA force from the area, there still may be more who would wish to use those cliffs as a staging area, but that will wait until we have our new base set up."
"Anyways, as for your payments, we have wired the agreed upon sum as well as a bonus to your accounts," he informed. "We will be keeping you all in mind for future jobs that we may need done."
"Thank you very much," Kira replied, standing up. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I should head out - I have a prospective new partner I need to meet with."
Hos nodded. "It has been a pleasure Valkyrie, may Haumea smile upon you," he said with a salute as Kira left.
At the Cliffside Village, a little later
Ryu looked up a he heard the roar of an engine above him, and spotted a Valiant-class carrier flying above the village, settling itself down on the upper parts of the cliffs. "Well, that must be my prospective partner…" he said with a sigh as he moved towards the cliffs, casting an eye out towards where the ZAFT Soldiers were unloading food and farming supplies for the villagers.
He made his way through the cliff tunnels, eventually coming out before the ship where Kira was exiting. "I must say, never expected the Valkyrie to be so young," he announced as they met partway between the ship and the caves.
"Saw a Terminal Agent letting schoolkids try out a Mobile Suit Simulator when I was twelve," she admitted. "Tried it myself, and aced the training mission they gave me - something I heard has not been done on a first try before or since. That was… three years ago now, and I started my career last year - age isn't as important in our career as skill and talent are."
Ryu nodded in agreement as he lit up a cigarette. "So then, what exactly are you expecting from a partnership between us?" he asked. "'Cause there are some things that I am not willing to do."
"For starters, we would pool our resources," Kira informed. "We could still take separate jobs in addition to teaming up for jobs, but we'd put a portion of our earnings into a mutual account. In addition, you would be able to base yourself on my ship - sometimes it can get a little lonely with no one to talk to. Also, I'm kind of hopeful you might be able to customize my machine and weapons a bit - I'm starting to outpace the reaction times on my machine."
Ryu hummed in thought. "How serious are you about this?" he asked. "You do realize, that when you start with one, more will join."
"Very," Kira replied. "I'm making a difference, but there's only so much I can do alone. I'll need help if I want to do more."
She locked eyes with him. "I want to protect all those innocents caught up in this war who can't protect themselves…" she said. "Will you help me?"
"It's a tall order," he mused as he released a cloud of smoke. "But, I know of a way to do it, creating a guild."
"Yes, a guild would work," she replied with a nod. "Would you be willing to help me start it? I feel that we can work well together."
"Hn, might as well," he informed with a shrug. "I also have a few candidates in mind for our guild, but we're also going to need a ship crew, ground crews, a shipyard to do repairs and upgrades…"
"Agreed," she replied. "Well, I look forward to working with you, Dragon."
"Ryu," the merc said to her. "My name is Ryu Hisanaga."
"And my name is Kira Yamato," she replied. "I look forward to working with you, Ryu."
As the two shook hands, neither of them, or any of the rest of the world, knew what had just been set in motion. For from this partnership would rise a Mercenary Guild on par with Terminal, a Guild that would play a great role in the war to come.
The Guild known as Fenrir...
END CHAPTER
CUSTOM SHIPS!
Valiant-Class, Mobile Suit Transport
Known Ships: Avalon, Utopia, Mugen Kano
Special Armor and Equipment: Laminated Pot Metal Armor
Armaments: 2 x Beam Cannons
4 x Missile Pods
Many x Anti-Missile Vulcans
Carries: Up to 15x Mobile suits
Sections:
Cafeteria
Bridge
Hangar
Crew Quarters, with communal Men and Woman Baths
Rec Room
Mobile Suit Pilot Ready Room
War Room
Infirmary
Appearance: Based off of the Gagaul-class from MSV-R
CUSTOM MOBILE SUITS!
Model Number: TSMF-81 Patriot
Unit Type:Multi-purpose Mobile Suit
Powerplant: Ultracompact Energy Battery
Manufacture: Terminal
Operator(s): Terminal, Mercenaries
Equipment and Design Features: Multi-port Attachments
Fixed Armament:
2x 55mm head vulcans
2x Anti-Mobile Suit Sword, Stored on waist, hand-carried in use
Optional Armaments:
It can equip any weapon as needed
Pilot: Many
Appearance: Looks like the RGM-79
Colors: Many Variants