PHASE 02

A TASTE OF CONFLICT

Once again, as I sat within the cramped confines of the Strike's cockpit, my brain decided to remind me how much I hated excursion suits.

They were tight, uncomfortable and only added to the claustrophobic environment of a mobile suit cockpit.

It was also a well known fact that nine times out ten, the shot that pieces the cockpit destroys the machine. The fact that Rau Le Creuset often went out without one seemed to only prove to me even the Commanders thought they were worthless. But alas, I was but a simple engineer, and if my Commander curtly informed me to set an example and wear my excursion suit with pride, I pretty much had no say in the matter.

…

Though I was really going to need a shower after all this.

"Hey Marcus, are you there?"

I glanced up at the communication screen above my head as Mira's voice came over the speakers, the greencoat's voice uncertain as she smiled uneasily.

"How you holding up?"

"All things considered, I'd rather be on the Bridge then in here," I smiled weakly, "Are you the Combat Operator for this mission?"

She nodded in confirmation, "Yes, for the moment at least. Unlike the other four machines, the Strike can be equipped with different weapon packs for different situations. For this reason, you will be launched first, but the type of weapons pack is up to you. You may choose between a general weapons pack with higher mobility and a pair of extra beam sabers, a heavy weapons pack which is equipped with a 320mm impulse cannon, 120mm anti-ship vulcan gun and 350mm gun launchers, or a Melee pack which includes a fifteen metre long anti-ship blade, a rocket anchor mounted to the forearm, and a beam boomerang,"

"You make it sound like I'm choosing a holiday package,"

"Sorry," Mira laughed nervously, "So…which is it going to be?"

"Considering we have four warships on our side, I don't think heavy firepower is going to be an issue, and melee can be unpredictable in large scale battles. Just send me out with the general mount. If I need anything else, I'll just come back,"

"Roger that. Setting you up with Aile Striker Pack. It will be waiting for you on the catapult deck,"

"Roger that,"

"Alright gents, listen up," Mira had barely disappeared from the screen when Sara abruptly took her place, my second comm. Screen dividing into four to reveal Athrun, Nicol, Dearka and Yzak, all suited up and ready to go, "The Alliance is almost on our doorstep, and the carriers are already bleeding Moebius units all over the local area. Westfield, get the Strike to the Catapult One. Zala, move to Catapult Two,"

"Roger that,"

"Yes Ma'am,"

"Gentlemen, this is how it is going to play out," My Commander smirked as I pushed my machine out from it's maintenance bay towards the catapult deck, "Due to the limited time we have before the Alliance forces arrive, we need to get the Archangel out of Heliopolis' habitable area. As such, we're going to use the vessel's Lohengrin positron cannon to create an exit through the side of the colony to make a quick escape,"

"The Lohengrin?" I shifted uneasily, "Commander, is it really okay to start blowing holes through the side of the colony?"

"We're not exactly going to start carving Heliopolis up like a turkey dinner Westfield," Michaels smirked slightly, "Damage thus far to the colony has been minimal, it's not going to break apart from one giant blast through one of it's window sections. The colony is also large enough to insure that the air won't completely drain in three seconds flat, and all colonists not aboard the Archangel are reported to be within the shelters anyway. Following the blast form the Lohengrin, Westfield and Zala will launch immediately, followed by Elsmen and Joule and finally Amalfi. Your main objective is the protection of the Archangel. We've put a lot of work into it's capture, the last thing we need is for it to be destroyed before we've even left Heliopolis. Secondary objectives are the protection of the Vesalius, Gamow, Valiant and if needs be Heliopolis itself. Leave the warships alone unless otherwise stated, the ships and other squads will handle them,"

"That's what you're making us do?" Yzak stared ahead incredulously, "Babysitting duty? We've been handed machines that could possibly outclass the GINN, and you're giving us the task of making sure the Naturals don't scratch the paint?"

"If it were up to me, I wouldn't be sending you out at all!!" Sara's eyes narrowed to slits as the Strike was locked into the launch frame and moved into position, "Data can only give you so much Joule. I'd much rather have kept the mobile weapons away from the fighting until we returned to the PLANTs. As it is however, we didn't expect to run into such a large force, and our own forces are too small to adequately fend the Naturals off and protect an extra ship. So stop complaining and carry out the orders assigned to you. Understood?"

"But…"

"Understood…Joule?"

"Yes…Ma'am,"

"Open Number One Container! Attach Aile Striker!"

The blare of alarms divided my attention as various hatches around my machine opened up, a shield and rifle held out to each hand as a larger thruster assembly was attached to the Strike's back.

"So…beam sabers and an assault rifle to complement the knifes and vulcan cannons," I couldn't help but smile slightly as I fully powered up my machine, the hiss of the phase shift armour sounding dull in my ears, "Little more power then the GINNs I'm used to, but better more then less I guess…Hm?" I frowned as I the screens flashed on before me, the operational system flashing across the monitor in red and black.

MOBILE SUIT OPERATION SYSTEM

///Version NV8 - N099////

General

Unilateral

Neuro - Link

Dispersive

Autonomic

Maneuver

G.U.N.D.A.M. Synthesis System

O.M.N.I. Enforcer

"Gun…dam…,"

"Earth Alliance forces inbound," A voice I didn't recognise pierced my thoughts as it came from behind Sara, "They've engaged our forces outside the colony,"

"Alright, we need to move. Westfield, Zala, we're opening the catapult doors now. Once we've pierced the Colony's wall, we're sending you out understand?"

"Roger,"

"Roger that,"

I grimaced irritably as the massive doors at the end of the catapult deck opened onto reflected sunshine, the rumble of the Lohengrin being deployed beneath my feet vibrating through my suit. The last thing I really needed was to be blinded before heading out into combat.

"Detecting incoming forces…confirmed Moebius units!"

"Lohengrin, FIRE!!!"

With an electronic roar, the powerful positron cannons erupted with in a burst of orange light, the two beams quickly combining into a single beam of white as it surged across the colony.

The window didn't stand a chance.

With little to no pressure, the beam sliced through the thick glass like a knife through paper, large cracks forming around the newly created hole as it's edges were reduced to a molten state. By the time the beam had died, a space that could easily hold the Archangel twice over stained the pristine window like a cigarette burn, the force of the local air being sucked out into the vacuum beyond buffeting the carrier as it approached.

"Your course is clear," Mira's voice came in sharply as I blinked furiously to rid my vision of the spots that danced across it, "Aegis and Strike, you are cleared to launch,"

"Roger. Athrun Zala, Aegis launching!"

"Understood. Marcus Westfield…" my helmet's visor came down with a click as the Strike's thrusters thrummed with energy, three red lights quickly changing to green above my head, "X105 Strike Gundam, heading out!"

As the force of the catapult thrust me back into my chair, a small part of my mind registered the addition to the Strike's usual name. All this was forgotten however as I flew out into the void. For the briefest of instances, time seemed to stop. Ahead of me was a sea of stars, a billion trillion points of light standing out against the darkness of space, the light of the sun, so far away, glinting off the mirrors above me and the windows behind me.

Then a Moebius ruined the moment.

"AGH!!!"

I barely managed to pull my rifle to bear as the mobile armour suddenly seemed to shoot out of nowhere, my enhanced brain reacting faster then my Natural opponent.

The poor guy didn't even manage to fire a single shot before his cockpit was pocketed with several blasts from my beam rifle, the missiles it had been carrying underneath quickly detonating mere moments later.

Then his friends followed…and I fell into hell.

"Archangel reports all mobile suits launched," the communications officer turned to Ades and Le Creuset behind him, "As per orders, she's recording all combat data for further evaluation of the prototype mobile weapons,"

"I still can't believe we're sending those machines out so early after their capture," the Captain drummed his fingers against the armrest, "Half an hour is hardly what I would call adequate time to reprogram that trash the Naturals tried to pass off as an OS…"

"I would disagree,"

"Oh?"

"It's true, the first four captured units' Operation Systems were inadequate," Rau smiled slightly as he read through the hurriedly compiled reports in his lap, as though the battle before him was nothing more than entertainment, "If a Natural had attempted to use these machines, I would very much doubt their effectiveness in combat. Mr. Westfield's report however indicates the fifth unit, X105 Strike, had a perfectly operational OS when he began the data extraction. One that theoretically could surpass the one we use for the GINN in every regard,"

"Wasn't that the unit that downed Miguel?"

"Yes, but if you will remember, even this machine seemed to perform within the expectations of the OS seen on the other four machines in the beginning. It was only halfway through the battle, when we believe that child that was discovered in the cockpit upon it's capture took over the unit from Lieutenant Ramius, did the Strike manage to disable Miguel's GINN,"

"He reprogrammed the OS himself? In the middle of a battle?" Ades whistled between his teeth, "That must be some genius Natural…"
"No Ades, not a Natural," Rau smirked at his comrade's surprise as a nearby Moebius detonated under a volley of fire from the Buster as it soared by, the first of the Drakes exploding under fire from the Archangel in the distance, "Even now, it is unlikely that machine could be piloted by anyone with unaltered genes. No…I believe that young man…just might be…a Coordinator,"

"How are they holding up Sanchez?"

"All the machines look good, although Joule is complaining that he wanted more time to test the Duel's OS," Mira smirked slightly, "The only problem I'm seeing is this beam technology combined with the Phase Shift armour is draining the battery, and we didn't have enough time to fully charge them all before we headed out. It's not really a problem at the moment, but if this becomes a long term battle…like the one over Junius Seven…"
"I hear you," Sara bit her lip as she turned her pale blue eyes back to the battle before her, "We need to end this quickly, otherwise we run the risk of leaving our new toys adrift and sitting ducks," she watched carefully as the Valiant and the Gamow moved in against a cornered Nelson, debris and shrapnel spraying off in multiple directions as their combined beam blasts carved through the onyx vessel's hull, "What's the death count?"

"Honestly? We're slaughtering them," Ryan grimaced slightly, "Unfortunately, it's not really a question strength, more like numbers. Quantity over quality. The Gamow's already lost two of it's GINNs…"

"Ma'am…I'm getting some strange reports in from the Strike,"

"Westfield?" Michaels bit her lip slightly, her hands clenching the armrests tightly, "What's that idiot doing now?"

"He's being pushed away from the battle group Ma'am," Mira put a hand to her ear piece as she listened to her comrade's panicked voice, "He says…they're not Moebius units," she cast an alarmed look the Commander's way, "Strike identifies units as Cosmograspers!"

"What!?"

"That's what I said, Cosmograspers!" I bit my lip angrily as gatling gun fire rattled off my shield, my returning fire missing the space planes by inches, "I'm counting at least five of them; FXet-565, they look like jet fighters with a long range cannon mounted on the fuselage. I've also seen a pair of mid-range cannons and two gatling guns slung underneath. They're also…" I smiled grimly as a beam blast sliced through an attackers engine, the jet careening out of control into it's wing-mate as the remaining three scattered, "…incredibly fast. They keep pushing me away from the ship," a short alarm suddenly flared up, "And I'm down to the last fifteen percent of my energy supply,"

"I've just skimmed Archangel's database. Apparently, those Cosmograspers were for us…sort of," Mira smirked slightly, "They were designed primarily to deploy your Striker packs in space without the need to return to the ship,"
"Yeah, well right now they're doing a terrific job keeping me away from the ship," I cast my rifle aside in favour of a beam saber, "And I could really use some back-up over here!!!"

"Someone call for back-up?"

Had I looked away, I might have missed it, for as the third grasper soared across my camera, the onyx form of the Blitz abruptly seemed to materialise out of nowhere, the pilot ejecting as his craft was speared by the offence/defence system's beam saber

"Now that is an impressive system," I smirked as I managed to slice the engine off the forth machine, the other pilot ejecting before his machine exploded as the final fighter took off back towards his home ship, his comrades clinging to the fuselage, "They might not be good and building decent OSs, but at least the Alliance knows how to equip their machines. Thanks for the assistance,"

"Any time," Nicol smirked with a mock salute, "How's your energy reserves?"

"It'll get me back to the Archangel," I smiled as I pushed the Strike back towards the stolen carrier, "I'll have Mira load the next Striker Pack…" I paused as another alert sounded in my cockpit, directing my eyes to the Nelsons on my right.

"Hey Nicol…is it me, or does the Alliance's aim look a bit…off?"

Nicol never replied, for at that moment, as the second Drake exploded under combined missile salvo of several GINNs, the Nelsons' cannons opened fire, a full blast beam barrage smashing against the side…of Heliopolis.

"What the hell?!"

Sara could only stare, her mouth agape, as beams of emerald green sliced arced over Archangel's Bridge and slammed into the side of the colony on either side of the hole that had already been gouged in the cylinder's side by the Lohengrin. Glass and other debris scattered in all directions as blast after blast smashed into Heliopolis, the colony's rotation only serving to scatter the damage across a wider area.

"What the hell I they doing!?" The Commander turned around in a rage to face Ryan, "Why are they attacking Heliopolis!? There are innocent people down there!!!"

"I…I don't know!" the blond's hands flew across his console in a panic, "But we've reduced their mobile armour numbers to near zero and destroyed both Drakes and a Nelson. They must be running out options…"
"How exactly is turning this skirmish into another Junius Seven an option?!" Sara's eyes suddenly widened with realisation, "No…not Junius Seven…They're trying to get Heliopolis to release her lifeboats, give us something to worry about!"

"If those lifeboats launch…" Mira seemed to pale, "It'll cause chaos on the battlefield…"

"Rely new orders to Zala and Elsmen," the Commander rose quickly from her chair, "They're to eliminate the Nelsons by any means necessary, top priority. Where's the Strike?"

"Still too far away," Sanchez wiped the sweat from her eyes, "We can have the Launcher Striker ready and waiting for him, but it'll still be another five minutes before he gets here, and another five in order to…"

"That's too long. We have to get the Striker to the Strike quickly…what about that Moebius Zero we captured? Is it still flyable?"

"Flyable? Yes," Mira nodded, "But all four pods and it's linear gun have been completely destroyed, any pilot would be going in defenceless…"
"Right now, the Launcher Striker is the most powerful mobile suit weapon we've got on hand," Sara pushed off her chair towards the elevators, "Have the engineers rig a tow cable between the Moebius Zero and the Striker by the time I get down there. In the meantime, try and down those ships as fast as you can, use the Lohengrin if you think you can miss our own troops,"

"You…you're going out there yourself Ma'am?" Illum stared back at her in horror, "But you'll be completely defenceless!!!"

"I won't let the Earth Alliance destroy this colony just to provide a distraction," Michaels scowled as the elevator doors opened up, "If getting the Striker to that idiot results in the colony's safety, but the cost of my life…so be it,"

"She's doing what?!" I blinked up at Mira in surprise as I recovered my rifle, "Crazy bitch! What the hell does she think she's doing, going into a battlefield with no weaponry whatsoever!?"

"Just be ready for where when she arrives," Sanchez shifted uneasily in her chair, "ETA is three minutes. Get ready to detach the Aile Striker. Once Launcher Striker is attached, engage the Nelsons at will. They are top priority, Understand?"

"They're trying to blow the colony to smithereens to create chaos on an already chaotic battlefield," I scowled darkly as a flash of orange flickered at the edge of my vision, "They need to be stopped, even I don't need eyes to see that. Nicol, you've still got energy, go help Athrun and Dearka. I'll see if I can't cut that three minutes down a bit,"

"Roger,"

"She's crazy," I shook my head as I watched the Blitz depart, "It's like she has nothing left to live for. That said…" I frowned as I deactivated the Phase Shift armour, pushing all my remaining energy reserves into the thrusters, "With all that's happened recently…I wonder…if she actually believes that…"

"Are they for real?" Dearka grimaced in disgust on Athrun's Communications screen, "Attacking the colony itself just to cause chaos? Just when I thought the Naturals couldn't get any lower,"

"What's why we show them no mercy," Athrun scowled darkly, "Miguel, what's the targets status?"

"Almost scrap metal," The GINN pilot grinned, "Never say no to back-up though,"

"Right, we'll leave the last one to the Vesalius," Zala frowned as the final Nelson suddenly took off towards the ZAFT fleet, "Looks like it's heading in for the kill…it's suicide…" his eyes widened in horror, "Oh shit!"

"It is suicide!" I braced myself against my chair as the final Nelson soared overhead, it's beam cannons firing blast after blast as it's hull became scorched and pocket marked from the last desperate assaults by my comrade's ships, "It's a suicide run! It's not the colonists they're after, it's a Scorched Earth policy!"

"If the Alliance can't have the Archangel and the prototype, no one can. Dammit, we stayed too close to the Colony!" Sara slammed her fist into her cockpit's side, "Archangel and the other ships will be torn to shreds by the debris, and the chaos that will ensue by the lifeboats will just be the icing on the cake! Westfield, stand by, you're only going to have one shot at this. Mount the Launcher, then blow that Nelson to hell and back, Understand?"

"Don't need to tell me twice," I gripped the controls tightly as the stripped down form of the ruined Moebius Zero soared towards me, "Detaching Aile Striker in three…two…one…NOW!!!"

With a metallic clunk, I felt the Aile break loose of it's moorings against the Strike's back, pure instinct and adrenaline fuelling my actions as I spun the mobile suit 180 degrees as the Moebius Zero flew by my head, it's tow cable snapping loose as it arced overhead.

Something slammed into my shoulder at back, new weapons options appearing on my screen as the Phase Shift Armour kicked in.

"Launcher Striker, online," I slammed my fist urgently into the weapons panel, the long barrel of the Launcher's primary weapon sliding into few as the tactical computer extended over my eye, "Hyper Impulse Cannon, ready!"

"Just aim and fire!" Sara's panicked voice resonated in my ear as I aligned the target to the Nelson's engines, "It's almost on top of the colony!"

"Just a little…more…" the computer pinged as the target locked on, "THERE!!!"

I pulled the trigger.

With a flare of orange and red, the powerful energy blast seared through the void between the Nelson and me, the beam slicing directly through the centre of the ship. Entire plates of armour burst off the hull as explosions plumed across the night. But just as I started to relax, the Nelson careened out of control, only to explode against Heliopolis' side.

The effect was instantaneous.

Already weakened by the near constant barrage of beam fire it had recently endured, the dying space colony finally seemed to give up on it's life. Segments of land and glass broke free of their moorings as the air within the cylinder was violently sucked out into space, all kinds of debris from cars to disintegrating buildings cast out into the darkness as the lifeboats were ejected into the chaos.

"No…" I could only watch as massive sections of space colony smashed into each other and the mirrors above them as the fleet struggled to move clear of the spraying debris, "Still not good enough," I clenched my fingers tightly around the controls sticks, "What the hell have brought upon these people,"

"Not us Westfield," I glanced at the Moebius Zero as it came up beside me, "We're not the ones at fault here.

If anyone's to blame here, it's those bastards we call the Earth Alliance,"

(Something seems wrong with fanfiction: I can't seem to get the title centered. Oh well)

One thing I realised while writing this chapter: Big battles are hard to describe. It makes it even harder when you've got such a great scene in your head, but when you write it down it doesn't seem as impressive. The only thing I wasn't sure about here was the suicide run by the Nelsons. Reading it over, I'm not sure exactly how effective ramming a 250 metre long warship into a 30 kilometre long space colony would be, but I'm going to assume that the fleet was attacking weak points along the cylinder's wall with the final run being the deadly icing on the cake. I needed to find a way to destroy Heliopolis (It's an important factor later) and I didn't want to have the fight return to the inisde of the colony, so I think this is the best I can come up with.

Anyway, Phase 02 done and dusted. I'm actually up to Phase 08, but progress is slow with this fic (I'm currently at university, which is taking up most of my time), which is why chapters will probably be out on a roughly monthly.

I hope you enjoyed this chapter. Phase 03 will be a little more quiet, and will probably be out just before Christmas.

Thanks for reading,

Dearing