Disclaimer: I dont own Gundam, Joe Daigoji is the property of mechapunk
Here we are with another chapter, we introduce the new Gundams and ZAFT's plan to capture a Gundam. In another few chapters we'll reveal the Earth forces plan
Gundam 00 Sensou: The Ideal of Gundam
Chapter 3: ZAFT Gundam Capture Phase one
Yamato watched the crew of the Ptelamaious work. They were a dedicated crew and effective workers. Yamato liked the idea behind celestial being's ship. Since it was small and simple it only required a few crewmembers. Maintenance was easy and no doubt the bonds that formed between the crew were strong. The pilots had unique personalities and their own reasons for fighting. Though Yamato had yet to learn what motivated Elizabeth he had learnt of the reasons why Takuya and Zen fought.
"My mom and Dad lived in Junius Seven, they were caught in the nukes that hit the hourglass. I watched as the whole colony went down, after a few months Miss Sumeragi found me and said that Veda had chosen to give me a Gundam. I want to eliminate war entirely so that other people won't suffer" Takuya explained.
"A noble reason to fight," Yamato said.
"Also a foolish one," Sakon muttered.
"What, how dare you," Takuya growled.
"Change is a difficult thing to accept boy, many may see you as saviours, but others will see you as threats. Your actions though noble will lead to the deaths of soldiers on the battlefield and those soldiers have families of their own, wives, children, parents…you could take away someone else's mom and dad," Sakon explained.
Casvall nodded his head, leaning against the wall with Sakon. Yamato hesitantly nodded as well, seeing the point that Sakon had made. But the one eyed dragon hadn't had enough yet. He added more salt to the wound.
"Celestial Being may aim to change the world, but it will inevitably create a long list of victims…the road to hell is paved with good intentions," Sakon said.
Yamato lowered his head, sighing as he thought of the mercenary's words. Perhaps his own good intentions were paving a path of tragedy for both his family and his adopted son.
"What about you Zen, what do you fight for?" Sakon asked.
"I don't have any interesting past, I just want to help," Zen said, showing a genuine smile before he coughed.
Sakon looked up at the two machines belonging to Zen and Takuya respectively. They were impressive machines that certainly looked worthy of the name Gundam. Takuya's GN-Vortex was a well-balanced speed type machine. It's head was similar to the Exia's, though the V-Fin was a yellow colour and bigger than the Exia's. The slim machines frame was a chalk white colour, with yellow markings on the legs and wrists. It had the usual V-fin, but two small wing like devices were also built onto its back. Yamato theorised that the wings acted as a secondary propulsion system, generating GN particles to propel at fast speeds. Its armaments included a double-barrelled beam submachine gun, a huge cross-shaped shield with beam deflection technology and two beam sabres stored on the waist. The Dragoon was something else entirely, it stood out in the room because of its black armour, and the head mouth guard was a silver colour that matched the hands and legs. Its chest area was bigger than the other Gundam's, and more closely resembled the types made at Heliopolis. The Dragoon's V fin horns curved slightly past the round helmet. As well as having the standard GN drive, the Dragoon was also equipped with two beam cannons on its chest, a pair of cable launchers on the waist and a lance. The lance also functioned as a beam rifle while the cable launchers had beam blades on them.
"Let me ask you Mr Kuzunagi, what do you intend to do, knowing that Celestial Being exists?" Zen asked.
"I will do as I've planned, don't worry, you'll have your chance to make a difference, I promise you that!" Yamato said.
Suddenly, the condition red alarm began to blare and the sections of the ship darkened as power was diverted to weapons.
"All Crew members, brace yourselves for level one battle stations, we have ZAFT craft incoming," Sumeragi said over the intercom.
"Impossible, they wouldn't have been able to find us," Takuya said.
"Unless…you people tipped them off," Elizabeth said.
"Hold your horses we've got nothing to do with this," Sakon growled.
"Takuya, Elizabeth, Zen, let Yamato and his group go, provide them with cover as they escape to their shuttle!" Sumeragi ordered.
"What, but they may have given ZAFT information about us," Takuya said.
"Leave them be, they still have roles to play in the future, we have to do our part and help them escape," Sumeragi said as she put on her helmet.
Hours before the imminent battle began; Kati Mannequin went over the battle plan with the ZAFT commanders. Noah had sat impatiently at the briefing, but he still paid attention to every shred of detail given by the Colonel. The mercenaries were merely cannon fodder, or at least that was what they would end up becoming. They used mediocre Moebius mobile armours and had little taste of combat. Noah wondered why Zala had recruited them in the first place. Other questions soon raced through Noah's mind, like whether or not Clyne knew about this exercise.
"The main objective is to measure the enemy forces strength, there is no room for bravado in this exercise," Kati explained.
"Excuse me ma'am," A ZAFT soldier said, standing up to face the colonel.
"I am Commander Kaizen of the thirty second battalion, whatever orders you have my men and I are willing to follow but this mission is one of great importance to the Plants. Capturing one of those mobile suits may very well tip the balance of power in our favour, the people desire a quick end to this war, I believe we should give them that!" The Commander explained.
Noah looked at the man; he wore the standard white Commanders uniform. He had black hair and blue eyes and he was clearly a combat veteran. A man like that carried much respect, yet he still had ideals on what actions would end the war. Clearly this was a man whom was both impatient and had something to fight for.
"Your input is appreciated Commander, but this is a battle we need to approach logically, you have your orders now return to your ships and prepare your mobile suits for launch," Kati said.
The Commanders saluted the colonel and left the briefing room. Each one reported back their ship and began preparing their forces for battle.
The members of Celestial Being put on their helmets. Sakon put on his customised suit and Casvall climbed into his GINN. He didn't bother putting on his helmet as he activated his machine. Takuya and Zen climbed into their machines, while Elizabeth made her way to the container holding the GN-Storm. Sumeragi floated onto her chair and looked at the ZAFT ships on the main screen. Four Nazca class carriers and two independent mercenary shuttles. The ZAFT forces would be many, but if Sumeragi's forecast was correct then the ZAFT fighters would be disorganised, unused to fighting as part of a larger army. Takuya slid his visor down and smiled as Feldt appeared on his screen.
"We're opening the container now Takuya, launch timing is yours," The pink haired girl said.
"Thanks Feldt, see you later," Takuya smiled.
He gave the girl the thumbs up before activating the Vortex's GN drive. Meanwhile, the ZAFT ships began to launch out mobile suits. ZAFT pilot Joe Daigoji mounted his black CGUE, checking over his weapons. His customised CGUE was equipped with a katana style sword and a recoilless rifle. The other GINN's beside him were being equipped with Ion cannons and net launchers provided by their unknown source.
"All units follow the plan I have given you, keep at a distance to the ship and engage any mobile suits at close range, utilise the plasma nets and the defensive generators…our mission is to capture an enemy suit as well as judge the enemies speed. Don't be too eager in your pursuit, if I give the order to retreat then follow it, this is an operation that has no room for casualties!" Kati explained over the radio.
"Shit, at range, I rip my enemies apart up close, that's how a real man fights," Ruther said.
"Shut up Ruther," Sochiro said.
"All forces launch," Kati ordered.
Noah launched inside his CGUE, known as the Gargoyle. He narrowed his eyes at Celestial Beings ship as it opened one of its containers. The Commander was quite shocked to see a red GINN flying out of the ship.
"Is that one of ours?" A GINN pilot asked.
"Its not one I recognised," Joe said.
"Everyone focus on the G-units, follow the colonel's plan" Alan ordered.
The ZAFT ships each launched one missile each. Lichty manned the gun turrets and locked onto the missiles. With four clicks of the trigger he easily shot them down. The mercenary shuttles released Moebius mobile armours, small threats in comparison to the Gundams.
'In this battle, they'll no doubt try to get a measure for our force strength, that's why we cant afford to show them all of the Gundams abilities' Sumeragi thought, keeping her eyes on the enemy ships.
As planned by both forecasters Lasse moved the ship to the right and the Red GINN flew off, heading the opposite direction. Sochiro targeted the Red GINN, but stopped as he noticed the glint of the Vortex's armour. Noah pulled out his sword, commanding his forces to stop. The other GINN's lined up with the Bagal team and aimed their bazookas at the ship.
'Who will strike first?' the two forecasters wondered.
Ruther's eyebrow twitched as he impatiently waited. Takuya kept his eyes on the enemy mobile suits, waiting for either an opening or an excuse to defend himself. Elizabeth climbed into the Vortex, tucking her hair into her helmet. Feldt opened the container that held the Storm and the ZAFT pilots widened their eyes. The Storm flew out of the container, revealing itself fully to the enemy forces. Its chest armour was thick, particularly on its right shoulder. The Gundam was a grey colour, with red parts on the hands and feet, as well as a red V-Fin. It was equipped with a double-barrelled beam minigun, a beam rifle on its shoulder and missile launchers built into the thick shoulder pad. The Storm also had a GN Vulcan's on its wrist and on the helmet.
"A heavy unit, like the Massacre," Noah said, grinning for he expected much from this machine.
"Gundam Storm, clearing a path!"
Elizabeth suddenly engaged her GN-Drive, flying forward at full thrust. The ZAFT pilots were astonished by the acceleration of the heavy machine. Its Gundam Meister took aim, firing an arc of missiles. Noah readied his sword, igniting the beams and bracing himself for impact. Suddenly, the missiles exploded, releasing clouds of smoke.
"Shit, I can't see" A GINN pilot said.
Suddenly, several beams flew into the GINN, blowing off its arms. The Vortex flew around the smoke cloud, dodging missiles fired by the Nascas and taking pot shots at the mobile suits. Takuya dodged an Ion cannon shot and fired several beam from his machine gun. He hit the GINN in the head, then in the shoulders.
"They are attempting a hit and run attack as expected, ships focus your missiles on the enemy battleship, mobile suits resume defensive stance" Kati ordered.
The Nazca class ships fired their missiles, attempting to hit the Ptelomaios. But the Storm fired its minigun, easily intercepting the missiles. Elizabeth then turned to the mobile suits, taking aim at Sochiro and a GINN. She fired a flurry of beams, shredding Sochiro's leg and disabling the other GINN. Sochiro showed little concern as he barely dodged the beams. Barely dodging was still dodging in his book as he took aim and fired at the Storm. His first shot only made the Gundam flinch. But Elizabeth was smart enough to dodge the second one, not being overconfident in her Gundams abilities.
"Time for a little up close and personal time, come and give me a hug sword style bitch," Ruther cackled as he drew two swords from his GINN's assortment of bladed weapons.
The Storm braced itself as Ruther slammed his blade into the Gundam's wrist. Elizabeth then pushed the suit forward, shoving Ruther backwards. Suddenly, Sochiro seemed to appear behind Ruther, firing a shot past his brothers head and into the Gundam's chest.
"Trying to kill me brother?" Ruther asked.
"A headshot wouldn't do it, Noah would just pick you up and take you back to ship, a shot in the chest will do," Sochiro said emotionlessly.
"Ah brotherly love," Shadi muttered.
Shadi and Linda fired their recoilless rifles at the Vortex, forcing it on the defensive. Zen slid his faceplate down and flew the Dragoon forward. He targeted the GINN's and began firing shots from his lancer. The pink particle beams flew at the mobile suits, just missing them by inches. Zen thrust his lance forward, breaking apart a GINN's arm. Then he swung the lance round, bashing aside Linda's GINN. Linda fired her machine gun at point blank range, hitting the Dragoon several times. Shadi then swung out his sword and hit the Dragoon on the shoulder.
"They're certainly high tech, but I'm not impressed so far," Noah said.
He closed in on the Vortex, swinging his sword towards the machine. Takuya quickly drew his sabre, blocking Noah's swing. Then the Vortex flew backwards, firing its head Vulcan's at the CGUE. Noah dodged the beam bullets and went back to back with Shadi. He pulled out his rifle and began firing shots with Shadi. The bullets slammed into both the Dragoon and the Vortex, knocking both mobile suits back. Joe swung his katana around, slamming it into Vortex's shield. He followed through with the swing, throwing the Vortex towards the Storm. Elizabeth stopped her assault on the mobile suits and stopped Vortex with her left hand.
"They seem weaker than the other models, could they be leading us into a false sense of security?" Kati wondered, putting a hand to her chin.
"Lasse, Lichty, be ready to fire a volley of missiles then moved at full speed away from here," Sumeragi ordered.
Casvall got closer and closer to Yamato's shuttle. He opened the GINN's hand and Sakon gave him a salute as he put on his rocket pack.
"This is where we make our stop Yamato, knock them dead red!" Sakon smirked as he grabbed Yamato's shoulders.
While his one eyed friend flew their employer back to the shuttle, Casvall turned to the battle and narrowed his eyes at the explosions. Elizabeth fired her minigun, trying to hit the nimble GINN's. Sochiro continually fired his rifle, hitting the Storm in the chest and head.
"Capture unit, move in and fire plasma nets," Sochiro said.
The GINN's came to a halt and aimed their bazookas at the Gundams.
"TAKUYA MOVE THE VORTEX AWAY QUICKLY!" Elizabeth yelled.
But her warning came too late as the GINN's fired their bazookas. The missiles were attached to wires, and when the shells broke apart they revealed electrified nets. Elizabeth and Takuya screamed as the nets trapped their Gundams.
"Takuya, Elizabeth," Zen said.
He tried to move his mobile suit forward, but Ruther flew in his way, pointing his sword at the Dragoon's face. Joe, Noah, Shadi and Linda then moved in, aiming their own weapons at the Dragoon. Sumeragi looked at the two Gundams in shock, had her tactical forecast failed? Zen narrowed his eyes and pulled the trigger on his control sticks. The Dragoon suddenly fired two pink beams from its chest, causing Ruther to throw his machine back. Zen then flew forward, firing his cables. Sochiro turned to the Dragoon, intercepting its cables with shots from his rifle.
"Do whatever it takes to capture them, even if you have to break their bodies apart, make sure you take those special generators," Commander Kaizen explained as he grabbed the Dragoon from behind.
"No, Takuya, Elizabeth!" Zen growled as the Dragoon struggled.
Takuya and Elizabeth's vision began to blur as the electrical field passed through the armour of their Gundams.
"I wish I could hear their screams, although killing them myself would be better," Ruther said.
"Where did we get Plasma fields anyway?" Linda asked.
"An anonymous donation, apparently the Massacre was equipped with a plasma field generator too," Noah said.
"Just a little more, then we can take the first steps towards ending this conflict," Kaizen whispered.
Suddenly, several bullets flew into Kaizen's CGUE, ripping through his armour. The ZAFT pilots watched in shock as the commander's machine exploded. Zen then fired his beam cannons; destroy the cables controlling the plasma nets. Elizabeth recovered, throwing the nets off and grabbing the Vortex.
"Takuya wake up, its time to go," Elizabeth said.
"But what about our pursuers?" Takuya asked.
"Don't worry about them, we have to get going now," Sumeragi said across the radio.
The Vortex grabbed the Storm's shoulders and moved towards the Ptelomaois at full speed. Zen followed from behind, firing shots from his lancer.
"Pursue the enemy forces, don't let them escape," Kati said.
"You heard the lady," Noah smiled as he locked onto the GN mobile suits.
Suddenly, more bullets seemingly flew out of space, cutting apart Noah's rifle. He drew his sword and looked towards where the shots had come from. The Red High Manoeuvre type GINN flew towards the ZAFT forces.
"That's the unit that killed the Commander," Joe growled.
"SHOOT HIM DOWN!" One of the pilots yelled.
The overeager pilot fired his ion cannon, widening his eyes as the GINN dodged. Casvall flew the GINN forward, dodging a storm of bullets and beams. Kati widened her eyes, as the GINN seemed to flow between the mobile suits. Ruther eagerly flew at the red machine, with Sochiro firing shots behind him. Casvall dodged the bullets and drew his sword.
"Lets see how good he is at close range," Ruther cackled.
Ruther drew two of his swords and swung them towards the Red GINN. He widened his eyes as the GINN ducked and with a single swing, cut off the GINN's arms. Sochiro merely huffed as the red GINN kicked his brother's machine aside. Casvall then drew his rifle and fired several disabling shots into Sochiro's GINN.
"Come on, hit him!" One of the pilots growled.
"Its not just his machine, the way it moves, the pilot isn't even using an operating system!" Noah said.
Casvall flew between beams and dodged missiles. He span the GINN around and fired several bursts from his rifle, taking out the weapons of nearby GINN's. Linda drew her sword and charged towards the GINN with Shadi at her side. Joe slammed his sword into Casvall's, grinding the blades together.
"Your good, but I can't just let you get away with killing the Commander," Joe said.
"Keep him like that sir," One of the pilots said as he lined up his rifle.
Casvall pushed Joe's CGUE aside and fired his rifle, hitting the GINN trying to attack him from behind. He then turned to Shadi and Linda. The two ZAFT pilots swung their swords at the same time, hitting Casvall's guard and throwing him towards two GINN's. But this seemed to be part of Casvall's plan as he flipped in midair, slicing the GINN's cannons apart. Then he beheaded the two mobile suits and fired a bullet into Joe's sword, breaking the katana and blowing up Joe's shoulder.
"Shit, this guys unreal, I need to train some more," Joe muttered.
He suddenly gasped as the red machine appeared in front of him. The Red GINN slammed its leg into Joe's chest, sending his mobile suit crashing into his allies. Linda yelled as she dived towards the GINN.
"LINDA STOP! KATI GIVE THE ORDER TO RETREAT!" Noah yelled.
Linda stopped her attack, with Casvall's rifle on her chest. She grinded her teeth together and pulled her suit back. The red machine kept its rifle pointed at the ZAFT forces. Casvall looked to his left, seeing that Celestial Being had retreated from the area. He raised his rifle and turned his machine around. Soon, the GINN was nothing but a red blur to the ZAFT forces, like a comet in the distance. Noah opened his helmet, letting out his sweat with a laugh.
"Unbelievable, one man stops our pursuit, simply amazing," He said.
"Commander, what's wrong?" Alan asked.
"I think we finally found a pilot whose red isn't just for show," Noah grinned.
"All forces, retreat from the area, the first phase of the operation is a failure, begin retreat now!" Kati ordered.
It was a bitter retreat for ZAFT, not only had they failed in fully measuring Celestial Beings strength but a member of the team had already been lost. Noah and the other commanders gathered in Kati's office as she made contact with Patrick Zala. The chairman held a look of frustration on his face as Kati told him of the failure.
"This is unacceptable, I hired you Mannequin for your supposed genius in combat…this failure is truly a show of why naturals are now obsolete," Zala explained.
"With all due respect sir it was not just the Colonel's fault. We all played a part in the plan, the mercenaries you hired did nothing to help, and unfortunately Commander Kaizen went against the Colonel's recommendation. Though his sacrifice was noble it didn't gain us any knowledge on the enemy, with respect he went against the plan and got himself killed," Noah explained.
"Also Chairman Zala I must remind you that the point of this exercise was to measure Celestial Being's strength, we have learnt not to underestimate them," Kati said.
Zala growled, practically glaring at Kati. Noah had enough of the man's eyes, even if he was the superior officer he still couldn't help but think that Zala's hatred for naturals was a liability to any chance of peace. He walked in front of Kati and looked the man in the eyes.
"Sir, I believe that the pilot of the red machine wasn't a coordinator," Noah said.
"Thank you Commander your opinion is valued," Patrick didn't even try to hide his sarcasm. "Joe Daigoji, you are now Commander in Kaizen's stead, congratulations on your promotion soldier."
"Thank you sir, as my first act as commander I would like to "request" that my team be pulled off this mission. Our morale is steep after the loss of the Commander and I believe we would all like to go back to the frontlines in order to fight our real enemy."
Joe's request made Zala visibly angry, but he wasn't willing to let that anger out. Instead he merely nodded his head before cutting the line.
"Great, you get back on the frontlines and do some damage while we get stuck with black ops," Noah chuckled.
"Actually I'll be first going back home for a funeral, the Commander had a family, and a son I heard he was particularly close to. Poor kid will be crushed, but that's the life we lead, what can you do? What I want to know is what makes you think that pilot was a natural?" Joe asked.
"Something of an instinct, and a hope I guess, I wanted a worthy fight from the naturals but this guy…I pity any man whom chooses him as an opponent," Noah explained.
"So your actually afraid of him?" Alan asked.
"Nah, I'm just eager to live and see what kind of damage that guy can do with a G-Weapon like Zala's kids got!"
Joe laughed while Alan face palmed.
Yamato leant back on his chair, sighing at the damage that had been caused by Casvall alone.
"You know I find it kind of hypocritical that you talked about Celestial Being creating victims, yet look at what Casvall has done, look at your own actions Sakon," Yamato said.
"The difference is I made victims before I realised how wrong I was, I realise my actions still make victims but I'm a soldier for Christ sake. Soldiers kill each other, its when we aren't killing soldiers that we should be stopped. As for Casvall, he regrets it and don't you dare think that there isn't a day that goes by where he doesn't ask "what's the point of all this?" He doesn't have all the answers, but when he does gain those answers I have absolute faith that my friend will become a force that could destroy the chaos caused by those whom push for war!" Sakon explained.
Yamato looked at Sakon and saw genuine admiration in the man's eyes. A force that could destroy the chaos, those whom push for war. Peace could only be achieved through understanding. But soldiers were still needed to cut aside the people that had twisted this world. Uragiri, Rau Le Creuscet, Muruta Azrael and others. They were the people that had to be fought. The kind of people Yamato was breeding Gekido to destroy.
Next Chapter 4: Meister vs. Psyche
Gekido: RAAAARGH!"
Setsuna: You've become twisted!
Gekido: I…wont beat you like that…Archangel launch Dual shields! Lets go blue Gundam, let's see who's the best with the sword!
Hope everyone enjoyed the chapter. Next time we'll see the big battle royale between the Meisters and the Archangel forces. Virtue vs the Archangel, Dynames vs Strike, Kyrios Vs. the Skygraspers and of course the biggest one of all, Purpose vs Exia, coming soon!
This chapter also included a bit of a tie in to Lion's Silence, Casvall's actions will have repurcusions. So review guys and tell me what you thought, also for the future what kind of modifications do you think Nena should get for her suit? Ideas are welcome