I don't own anything except Ken DiFalco, his subordinates, and Sophia DiFalco
I also do not own the Odin; it is Deathzealot's creation, and the credit is his, not mine
Millenia Crescent does not belong to me either; she is the creation of arekuruu-inabikari-no-She
Odin, Bridge
Rau Le Creuset stared silently at the main display, fingers steepled in thought. "I hope Falcon knows what he's doing," he said after a long moment. "He's not been in combat in over two years… and I also don't think revealing his identity so soon was such a good idea."
"It sounded to me like he didn't have much choice," Jason Chance noted, glancing briefly at the ex-ZAFT commander. "Whoever this Millenia Crescent is, she was obviously close enough to him at one time to have been able to recognize him now, even with the mask. If he hadn't accepted it, she probably would've gone ahead and said his name herself."
"Perhaps," Rau granted. "But that's another thing that bothers me. Not even Tom or Leanne can tell me just what that woman was to Falcon, nor why he passed her over when selecting pilots for the Gray Demons; that strikes me as out of character for him… especially considering the skill she displayed both in the War and at Armory One."
Chance shrugged. "Personality conflict? With the Major, who knows what was going through his head. I'm sure he had his reasons, however obscure they may seem to us." That's what the Admiral would say, anyway, he thought, recalling his retired boss. I wish just with he was here now. My first true space battle without Admiral Halberton riding the bridge with me…
Unaware of his colleague's thoughts, Rau was slowly shaking his head. "Not a personality conflict," he said, almost to himself. "He was obviously on better terms with her than with Tempest, and Tempest he only removed after a particularly severe case of insubordination. And as for his reasons being obscure to us… you've obviously not been with him long enough, Jason. Falcon's mind is devious, but it works very logically; when his thinking is finally unraveled, it may be brilliant, and it may even be coldly rational, but it is always perfectly understandable, at least to those with the wit to understand."
"Well, you're the expert," the blonde-haired captain said in exasperation, "you figure it out. What could someone like that have meant to a cold fish like the Major?"
"A very good question, Jason," Rau admitted. "In this case, unfortunately, I suspect it's a question only Falcon himself could answer… Falcon, or Crescent. And since Falcon is as closemouthed as ever about some things, and I doubt Crescent would say a word about it, we're left in the dark until and unless Falcon decides it's important to the mission that we know."
Chance sighed. "Right. Whatever. So why worry? Either way, he did what he had to do, right?"
"Right… mostly." The younger man frowned deeply. "I just hope he remembers what I told him after Sophia cured me… that Gil cannot be trusted…" He shook himself. "So, any ETA on completion of the refit?"
"Yeah," Tom Delaney answered, stepping onto the bridge. "Right now… just in time for the Boss not to be able to come back for it."
Rau shrugged. "Better late than never, I suppose. If he can just survive this battle, at least he'll be well off for the next… whatever the next may be."
That there would be a next, none of them doubted. However this battle ended, it was clear the shaky peace between Earth and the PLANTs was about to come apart at the seams.
Minerva, Bridge
"I wonder what that ship's name actually is," Gilbert Durandal murmured, watching as Minerva's mobile suits approached the asteroid Bogey One had chosen as a hiding place. "A name is what defines something's existence, after all; nothing is complete without one. And if a name is false… then does that something actually exist?"
Kira Yamato looked at him curiously. "What do you mean?" he asked, interest piqued by the Chairman's tone. "How can something have a name, but not actually exist?"
"Think about it," Durandal suggested. "'The Major', for example. There is a man behind the codename… but not the one the codename would define. A false identity, protecting something completely different…"
"Yes," Talia agreed, nodding. She spared a moment's attention from the brewing battle to glance back at the civilians. "I believe Commander DiFalco himself once spoke of it, in a paper published within ZAFT. Something to do with a 'stand alone complex', copies with no original, based on fiction rather than something that actually existed."
"Indeed," the Chairman confirmed. "He was actually speaking more in terms of a ruse with battle strategies –hence his use of Operation Guillotine to distract attention from Aquilae- but he also noted at the time that it would apply equally well to a person operating under an alias… or a ship sailing under false colors."
"So what are you trying to say?" Cagalli Yula Athha interrupted at last, getting impatient. "That Ken doesn't exist?"
Durandal smiled slightly, and shook his head. "No; the Major's connection to this is quite incidental. I was merely using it as an example. My point is… that ship very likely doesn't exist. Not officially, anyway… and it wouldn't be the first time something of that sort has been encountered."
"The unit Section Nine captured the X105E from," Talia said, nodding slowly. "I always wondered where that came from." She glanced over her shoulder. "You think the same people are behind the unit Section Nine assaulted and the ship we're facing now?"
"Strike Noir was clearly intended for someone with capabilities beyond the average Natural," he pointed out. "Ergo, either it was constructed for a specific pilot –which seems somehow unlikely- or else for a type of a pilot… a type of the same sort the Major's operatives reported as stealing the prototypes."
"You're suggesting it's the Atlantic Federation behind this," Cagalli whispered. "And if that's true… plausible deniability or not, this could only be the first strike in a new offensive, or at least the preparation for one."
Kira closed his eyes. Not again, he thought. We barely got out of the first War alive, and we left behind some good people… good friends. Millions of lives lost on both sides… how many people will have to die this time before we can put an end to it?
"Indeed," Durandal said, in response to Cagalli's statement. "I don't know how long we have before they make their move, but if this is indeed an Atlantic Federation operation, it's only a matter of time before we're faced with some hard choices." He glanced briefly at Kira and Cagalli. "All of us will be."
Cagalli's eyes were shadowed, as she remembered the battles of the War, especially the nightmare of Second Jachin… but while Kira was briefly mired in those recollections himself, something else abruptly came to mind, something about the Chairman's tone… He doesn't just mean individuals, he realized. Nations, even, and organizations… like Orb, and Section Nine. Ken's gonna side with the PLANTs, I'm sure, but Orb… Cagalli will try to stay out of it completely, but with the Atlantic Federation's track record, and the influence the Seirans have over the rest of the government these days…
Not for the first time, he wished someone like the retired Siegel Clyne were prime minister of Orb, instead of Unato Ema Seiran.
Further discussion was interrupted by transmissions from the mobile weapons. "I don't like this," Lunamaria Hawke murmured uneasily. "So many asteroid fragments… and I didn't score very well in the asteroid simulations."
"Be on your guard, then," Shinn Asuka suggested tersely. "Watch yourself out here."
"He's right," Millenia Crescent interjected. "Nonetheless, don't worry too much, Luna; stay loose, or you'll be too tense to move."
"You'll be fine," the electronically-altered voice of the pilot currently known as Möbius One said reassuringly. "Just stay cool, watch your six, and think of it like a training simulation. Remember Lesson Forty-five. There is only one ultimate rule in war: survive."
Arthur Trine, Talia's exec, blinked. "The Grimaldi Falcon, worrying about a rookie? I thought he didn't have much use for them, especially after he left ZAFT."
"It's more that he doesn't think they're much use in their first battle," Kira corrected, "not that he doesn't have any use for them at all. He was a rookie once, too." And so was I, he added silently. Everybody starts somewhere…
The bridge fell silent then, as Talia simply observed the unfolding situation. So far, nothing had happened… but something didn't seem quite right anyway, and she could tell Möbius One shared her reservations. His Exus was advancing more cautiously than the mobile suits, and he'd already deployed his gunbarrels in a spiraling defensive pattern around himself.
"I don't like this," the ex-ZAFT ace said at last, voice low. "I've fought against the Earth Alliance more times than I care to remember, and the last time I ran into someone as crafty as that ship's captain was when Castor Truman nearly blew us all to hell. We should've seen some sign of the enemy by now besides Bogey One's radar signature…" He paused; from the character of the silence, Cagalli guessed he was using the "combat-computer" conditioning Heinrich Metzinger had designed into him to analyze the existing data. "I don't like this," he repeated at last. "Minerva, all mobile suits, I suggest you be on your guard. I think this is a trap."
"Concur," Millenia said a moment later. Her strategic senses weren't quite as well-honed as her mentor's, and she knew his brilliance –both as a soldier and as a strategist- exceeded her own, but she hadn't survived as long as she had by being stupid. "Möbius One is right, we should've seen something by this time. Be on guard, Minerva."
Talia nodded. "I agree. Bart," she said, glancing over her shoulder, "keep a very close eye on your sensors. Chen, prepare to-"
"Too late," Möbius One interrupted with deadly calm… and uttered an inhuman, ascending wail into the radio.
Cagalli cringed –she'd never gotten used to that particular noise- but Kira and Talia both locked their gazes on the main screen… just in time to see what had prompted the ace's sudden cry of the peregrine falcon's hunting call.
Gaia, Chaos, and Abyss had appeared from a wrecked colony, near the asteroid Bogey One was using for concealment.
"Scatter!" Millenia snapped, reacting immediately. She rolled Strike Noir over and dove relative to her previous position, drawing one of her beam blades as she did so. At the same time, Rey and Shinn split to either side, while Luna pulled up… and Möbius One headed straight down their throats, already deploying his gunbarrels in a wider spiral.
The first shot to be fired wasn't actually directed at any of them, though; instead, Chaos deployed its remote weapon pods, armed their beam cannons… and targeted Minerva's sole GuAIZ R, which had launched late.
Its misfortune proved to be fatal, as a hurricane of powerful emerald darts savaged its torso. The pilot began to scream… and his machine vomited flame and debris, before tearing itself into a million scattered pieces.
"Remote weapons, eh?" Möbius One muttered, an edge of contempt audible even in the electronically-altered voice. "Two can play at that game, amigo… and if I weren't waiting for someone else, I'd show you myself."
Talia frowned. "Waiting…?" she murmured, unaware that she'd spoken aloud.
Unaware, that was, until Cagalli spoke up, worry evident in her voice. "It's Falcon's tactical style," she said quietly, frowning. "He gathers as much information about an enemy as he can before he strikes the final blow… and I think what that means this time is that he's waiting for the enemy Exus to come out after him."
"He's not used to pilots who can get away from him without a scratch," Kira agreed, frowning in concern himself. "Right now, I don't think he's even interested in the stolen machines; he wants another chance at the one that escaped him last time."
"He probably won't have long to wait," Durandal mused. "I'd expect the enemy pilot probably feels much the same-"
"Captain!" Heim interrupted. "Bogey One has just disappeared from radar!"
It was a trap! "Bring us around!" Talia ordered. "Find Bogey One before she can target us!"
"Behind us," Heim said tensely. "Bogey One has dropped Mirage Colloid directly to our stern; detecting energy buildup in her cannons!"
"Lower bower thirty degrees," she snapped. "Prepare to swing us around to engage directly!"
Behind them, the mysterious ship had indeed reappeared, all six Gottfried cannons charged… and only moments after Talia gave her order, those cannons opened fire, unleashing a terrible sleet of emerald fire… but Malik Yardbirds had reacted in time. The green energy missed Minerva's hull by mere meters, gouging a crater in the asteroid ahead of them, instead.
That was too close, Talia thought grimly. "Malik, one hundred and eighty degrees about. Chen, prepare to fire Tristans as soon as we're in position."
"Not possible," Yardbirds replied, voice taut. "Looks like two Dagger Ls, one to either side. If we try to turn around…"
She cursed under her breath. "Understood. Take us closer to the asteroid, instead, and put us on a terrain following course; we'll orbit it and come back around."
"Yes, Captain!"
"Meyrin," Talia said next, glancing over her shoulder, "have our mobile suits return at once, if they can; and send a message to Odin that we could use their assistance against Bogey One immediately."
"Understood, Ma'am!" Turning back to her own console, Meyrin lifted a hand to her headset. "Commander Crescent, Minerva is under direct attack; please return at once, if you're able. Bogey One is currently to our stern."
"Understood," Millenia replied, transmission weak from interference but still understandable. "However, we're currently engaged with all three prototypes; ETA may be later than any of us would prefer."
"Roger that, Commander." Meyrin switched frequencies. "Odin, this is Minerva, requesting immediate fire support."
"This is Chance," came the reply, much stronger (due to Odin's advanced ECCM). "Already moving in; the Lohengrin is contraindicated, under the circumstances –too much chance of hitting you in the process- but we're charging Gottfrieds… and opening fire with Sledgehammers and the Valiant as I speak."
"Understood, Odin." She turned back to the captain. "Ma'am, our mobile suits have received the message, but are currently engaged already; Odin moving to intercept."
Talia nodded. "Thank you, Meyrin." Now if they can just get here in time…
Odin, Bridge
"Tell me again why we didn't bring along Morgan or Nicol?" Chance muttered to himself, as Odin lined up for an attack run on Bogey One. "Or Alicia, for that matter… Anything would be better than facing off against this with only one ship and one pilot."
"Two years of complacency," Rau opined, frowning at the main display. "Even Falcon didn't expect them to make their move this soon… and now we're paying for it." His frown deepened, as another thought occurred to him. "The truly unfortunate thing is, I'm fairly sure Gil did anticipate this action…"
Chance glanced at him in bemusement, but decided he had more important things to worry about. Yeah, like not getting blown up, he thought sarcastically. We survived Second Jachin, so we should be able to survive this… but sometimes a golden BB is more likely to bring down a ship than even something like GENESIS.
At least GENESIS was big enough to avoid fairly easily.
"Lieutenant Castile," he said abruptly, eyes narrow as he gazed at the screen, "lock Gottfried on target, and prepare to fire."
"Aye, Sir." Odin's fire-control officer was the only member of the bridge crew who hadn't been present at Second Jachin. The man who'd previously held the post had retired after the War, and now acted as bodyguard for Rear Admiral Lewis C. Halberton (retired), at his home in the PLANTs. The new officer was a replacement recruited from Orb, when Section Nine first began to pull its act together.
Some members of the crew held that Castile was also an Orb Intelligence officer, on loan direct to the Major.
Chance didn't much care either way. What he cared about was the fact that Castile was good at his job.
"Locked on target," he reported a few moments later. "Sledgehammer missiles also ready to fire on command, Sir."
"Excellent, Lieutenant," Chance said approvingly. "Now give that sneaky bastard a kick in the backside."
"Consider him kicked, Captain," Castile replied, and hit a single key on his console.
From the missile launchers mounted on Odin's stern, half a dozen Sledgehammer antiship missiles rocketed out into space… and directly ahead of her superstructure, the Gottfried spat a burst of coherent light toward Bogey One.
Girty Lue, Bridge
"Status of the engagement?" Neo Roanoke asked calmly; he could see much of the information himself, but Minerva had just slipped out of direct view… and there was still no sign of the mobile suits, his or theirs.
"Minerva is currently unable to effectively engage us," the officer in charge of CIC, Lieutenant Commander Evan Barrows, replied. "Our Dagger Ls are still keeping them hemmed in. Our pilots don't seem able to finish the job yet, but Minerva hasn't been able to dive them off, either; probably because of the surrounding debris."
Neo nodded. "And our pilots?"
"Hard to tell," Barrows admitted. "The situation is chaotic. Telemetry shows them still intact, though, and since none of the enemy machines have engaged us directly, I think they're too busy right now."
"Good," another voice said, from the bridge hatch. "That bodes well for the fundamental soundness of their designs."
Neo turned his head briefly, glancing at the new arrival. "Commander Hamilton," he noted. "I wondered when you were going to show yourself," he added dryly. "It's been over two hours since we recovered the prototypes, after all."
The man who stood at the bridge hatch was of average height and slim build, with brown hair and blue eyes; apparently unprepossessing, looks could deceive. Neo happened to know the man was a superb pilot, one who'd survived Second Jachin… and as the subtle traces in his face showed, Lieutenant Commander Allen Hamilton was also the son of the late Admiral James Hamilton, who had perished when ZGMF-X10A Freedom destroyed Dominion during Second Jachin.
Unlike his father, the younger Hamilton had no interest in the feud between Natural and Coordinator; he was just a soldier doing his duty as he saw it… and, in his spare time, working quietly to find a way to avenge his father.
"Well," Hamilton said now, with a slight shrug, "I've been a little busy. We've only gleaned a fraction of the data regarding the design of those three so far, but it's still a large amount of information to wade through… and fascinating, to boot." He smiled slightly. "Believe me, Captain, their actual combat value is almost irrelevant. I can already tell the data from them alone will be of tremendous value to Project Zeta."
Neo nodded. "Glad to hear it; after Section Nine stole the 105E six months ago, we need something new ourselves. Still… I wouldn't be so quick to dismiss the value of those three units, if I were you. They're tying the ZAFT forces in knots right now."
Hamilton raised an eyebrow. "Do you expect that to last, Sir? Those may be rookies flying the ZAFT suits now, but if they survive, they'll learn… and believe me when I say an experienced Coordinator is not someone you want in something like the Impulse or the Strike Noir."
"I'm aware of that, Commander," the masked captain said mildly. "That's why I'm considering going out there myself, if only to confront that rogue-"
"Incoming missile and beam fire from our stern!" Barrows interrupted. "The Odin has entered the battle directly!"
"Set CIWS to point-defense mode," Neo said calmly (if more rapidly than usual). "Lower bow pitch angle sixty, prepare to reactivate Mirage Colloid, and deploy anti-beam depth charges."
"Aye, Sir!"
The Igelstellung turrets spaced across Girty Lue's surface opened up an instant later, spewing high-velocity bullets at the incoming Sledgehammer missiles. Though the projectiles were far smaller than the missiles they were intended to defeat, it didn't take much to shred an object moving at such high speed; with a combined closing speed of several thousand KPH, the missiles and CIWS bullets shredded each other almost the instant the defenses activated.
They were not quite so fortunate with the beams, and damage alarms howled as coherent light smashed into Girty Lue's stern. It wasn't a direct hit –Neo's quick reaction had managed that much- but the hammer blow splintered armor nonetheless, ravaging the hull.
"Get us under Mirage Colloid immediately," Neo snapped now. "Damage report!"
"Direct hit to stern," Lieutenant Jeffrey Tanner reported from CIC, listening intently to his headset. "Three compartments open to vacuum, but airtight bulkheads have sealed them off; Engine One is a write off, and a power surge reached halfway to the engine room. One Igelstellung was also lost in the hit. The engine room reports, however, that while acceleration has been reduced, overall combat effectiveness should be almost unaffected."
Ian Lee quietly cursed. "That'll make it more difficult for us to escape after the battle," he noted grimly. "Minerva and Odin will have an advantage over us in acceleration…"
"It won't matter," Neo said calmly, after a moment's thought. "This ship's forte is stealth, not speed, after all; after we beat off this attack, all we need to do is rig for silent running, and move out under cover of Mirage Colloid. This doesn't really change anything."
"Agreed," Hamilton interjected, and turned back to the hatch. "Shall I head out myself, maybe keep the 105E busy?"
"Good idea," Neo concurred. "But be careful, Commander; I suspect that unit is piloted by the Black Widow, and while she may be rusty, I don't think it'll take her long to recover her old skills… which, if you'll recall, were formidable enough in a GINN."
The pilot snorted. "Hard to forget." Not as good as the Freedom's pilot, though… the one who killed my father. One day, he'll pay for that… but for now, it's time to just do my duty.
Earth Orbit, Debris Field
Lunamaria Hawke was tense, searching carefully around the area and waving her enormous beam cannon at anything that looked like it might move. The three stolen prototypes had disappeared into the debris field just after their initial attack… and that left her very nervous, wondering where they were going to attack from, and when.
At least we outnumber them, she thought, but that's not much comfort when we can't even find them… She'd been separated from the others after the surprise attack, and being in a machine equipped for long-range combat without any backup wasn't making her feel any better.
Then something appeared on her thermal detection screen, and her gaze snapped up in time to see one of the enemy units approaching.
The Gaia, incongruously in mobile armor form, was charging across a section of ruined colony wall, all four legs propelling it in a gallop toward Luna's ZAKU… and firing emerald darts from the beam rifle mounted on its right flank, and powerful green bursts from its shoulder-mounted cannons.
Luna threw herself backwards, catching the beam rifle shot on her shield in an emerald splatter while the more powerful cannon shots scorched past into empty space. That was too close! Any closer, and I wouldn't be here anymore!
Gritting her teeth, she swung her Orthros cannon into firing position, locked onto Gaia's course, and triggered off a stream of fiery red energy at the stolen prototype. "See how you like it," she said under her breath.
In Gaia's cockpit, Stellar Loussier's eyes widened, but she didn't let shock slow her reactions. Just before the energy bolt struck, she kicked off from the colony wall, converting back into mobile suit mode on her way out, and boosted across space towards the ZAKU. "You're not getting away!" the Extended shouted. "Not after that!"
Luna saw her shot smash a hole through the colony wreckage instead of Gaia's fuselage, and cursed. This isn't good, she thought. Well, time to see if I got the red coat for a reason…
Readying her cannon again, she prepared to clash with Gaia one more time.
"There they are," Sting Oakley noted to Auel Neider, as the two of them came around a piece of unidentifiable wreckage. "I don't see the Exus or the Phantom, but…"
"The Strike Noir and Impulse are good enough targets," Auel finished. "You take Impulse; I've got Strike Noir."
"Right." With a feral smile, Sting deployed his remote weapon pods, sending them toward the Impulse, while the Abyss accelerated toward the Strike Noir.
"Interesting," Millenia remarked, seeing the two of them split up. "That may be the dumbest thing they've done yet… Shinn, let's play along. You lead Chaos off, while I play tag with the Abyss; just be careful of those gunbarrels."
"Right," Shinn acknowledged, understanding his commander's intent. You'll pay for what you've done today, he promised silently. The pilot of the GuAIZ R had been assigned to Minerva so recently that Shinn hadn't even had the chance to learn the man's name; that, along with the casualties from the initial theft, spurred him to finish the job before anyone else could get hurt. Leave no one behind. Never abandon your own… that's what he always said.
Impulse was currently configured for heavy bombardment, with the Blast Silhouette attached; that left it less maneuverable than it might've been, but Shinn knew how to use his firepower to make up for the deficiency in agility… and how to make use of the agility he did have. As Impulse's pilot right from the testing phase, he knew it better than anyone, in all modes.
That knowledge was something Sting was unprepared for.
Chaos had only begun to fire the beam assault cannons in its gunbarrels when Shinn suddenly broke hard left, altering the paradigm by flying straight into a large chunk of colony debris; bursts of emerald fire that should've torn Impulse apart instead simply smashed small holes in another piece of debris, while Sting cursed incredulously. "He's fast… but what does he think he's doing, trapping himself like that?" He has to know I'll just fry him the minute he comes back out of there…
Meanwhile, Strike Noir and Abyss cautiously circled each other, each seeking an opening; their clash at Armory One itself had left them both eager to finish the job. Millenia held a beam sword in either hand, while Auel charged his chest-mounted multiphase energy cannon in preparation for blowing her away with a single shot.
At least, that's what I think he's doing, Millenia amended silently. Not that I have any intention of letting it happen. She smiled to herself. I intend to finish this as it started… blade to blade. Just like old times…
Auel smiled as everything came together on his displays. "Goodbye!" Pulling the triggers on his sticks, he unleashed a barrage of half a dozen emerald streaks from his fins, as well as the red-orange bolt from his chest cannon, confidently expecting his target to be blown away in an instant…
Only to see Strike Noir react with startling speed, slashing its beam swords through the beams from the fin-mounted cannons in a single, sweeping arc, which deflected them harmlessly into space. At the same time, Strike Noir somersaulted backwards, leaving the multiphase bolt to scorch by a mere meter from its head.
"Try something more personal," Millenia recommended, still smiling. "A real battle is finished blade to blade, you know; ranged weapons just don't have the same flair to them, after all."
She'd actually transmitted that suggestion; and it was, perhaps, fortunate for Auel's peace of mind that he didn't recognize the voice. If he had, he might've realized that the pilot both sides called the "Black Widow" had gotten that moniker after a number of close-combat engagements which had left her opponents rather worse off. Like the man who'd taught her, Millenia Crescent was a warrior of the ancient school, who preferred to settle her conflicts up close and personal.
Had Auel realized that, he probably wouldn't have had the temerity to do exactly as she suggested.
Blissfully unaware of his enemy's credentials, though, the Extended did indeed pull out a beam lance, and brought the fiery blade to life with a glare. "I'm getting tired of this," he said under his breath. "If you want to die that badly… then let's go."
Taking a moment to take stock of her physical condition –even now, her body still made her nervous from time to time, especially in combat- Millenia then put away her left-hand blade, preferring to engage with just one. Her style wasn't quite the one she'd been taught any longer, as she'd long since put her own spin on things, but even now her preference was a two-handed stance with a single weapon, giving her greater control and power with her strikes.
The two machines observed each other a moment longer… and then moved almost as one, to bring their blazing weapons down on each other…
On the other side of the debris field, Möbius One's Exus flew carefully alongside Rey Za Burrel's ZAKU Phantom, watching and waiting for a target… a very specific target, one which had not yet revealed itself.
For his part, Ken DiFalco was feeling more uneasy than he had since the day he'd made the decision to bring Rau Le Creuset out of cryogenic stasis. Not only was he wondering about the pilot who'd managed to evade him at Armory One… but he was also concerned about his current wingman. The two of them had wound up flying in tandem after the three stolen prototypes had gone after Minerva's other machines, and since then Ken had realized something about Rey that disturbed him.
At first he'd attributed it to the pilot from Bogey One, the one who'd flown the Exus; after all this time, he'd gotten to know the sensation of a nearby pilot with superior powers of spatial awareness quite well, and from his own piloting experience it was quite obvious one such person was flying the enemy Exus. So, Ken's original assumption was that he was just picking up on him… but now he wasn't so sure.
Because Bogey One had gained some distance from his area of the battle… and yet the feeling was still very close by.
I'll have to ask Rau about him when I get back to the ship, he decided. Za Burrel wasn't in ZAFT when I was, but Rau might've run into him sometime…
His thoughts were interrupted by a transmission from his fellow pilot. "I don't see anything here," Rey reported. "…I'm aware of your expertise in this line of work, Möbius One, but I think we should try and join up with the others now."
"Do as you wish, Za Burrel," Ken said calmly, eyes still sweeping the surrounding area. "As a member of Section Nine, not ZAFT, I have no jurisdiction over you; if you believe your duty would be better carried out closer to Minerva, then I suggest you do just that. I, however… my instincts are telling me something, and I have not survived this long by ignoring them." He glanced over at the white Phantom. "I can handle things from here. There's really no need for you to-"
A streak of green fire slashed across space right between his upper gunbarrels, and Ken dove by instinct out of the line of fire. Who-? he wondered, and glanced back.. and understood. In his concentration on the possible presence of the Exus pilot, he'd managed to miss the arrival of a more normal pilot… though "normal" might not have been the best description.
The machine that had fired on him wasn't a Dagger of any sort, he knew; all Dagger variants had the same basic look as the prototypes they'd been based on, and this didn't resemble any of the old G-weapons. It did, however, clearly share one feature with the Strike series: variable weapon loadouts. Currently, it had a winged backpack for extra maneuverability –and, Ken suspected, atmospheric flight- along with several missile pods… which would actually be effective against something like his Exus.
Looking lighter than an equivalent Dagger, with a visor-like optical sensor, large shoulders, and a long communications antenna, it was clearly a new design… one with nonstandard markings, which told Ken it was an above average pilot in the cockpit. Overall black, with a white tiger-stripe pattern, it was a menacing looking machine.
Ken suspected the pilot probably had the skill to back it up, or he wouldn't have been assigned a machine so new not even Section Nine yet knew of it.
"Who are you?" he murmured, almost to himself. "One of the new generation of pilots, inducted only after the Junius Treaty was signed… or one of the old guard, still bitter about your defeat at Second Jachin?"
The ace wasn't expecting an answer… but he got one. "I presume I'm speaking to the enigmatic 'Major'," the enemy pilot said softly. "Or should I say… Möbius One? I hope so, anyway. If not, then deliver this message to him, if you survive: Section Nine has gone too far, and its interference will no longer be tolerated… by the Atlantic Federation, by us, or by the Earth Alliance as a whole."
"Bold statement," Möbius One's altered voice observed. "I suppose you honestly believe you have the power to carry that out?"
"I'm a soldier, Möbius One," the other man said simply, taking the electronic voice as confirmation of his opponent's identity. "A very good one, in fact; and I know I have my comrades behind me, my fellow soldiers. Unlike you, I don't fight alone, or with some upstart 'third party'." His voice changed, pride infusing it. "Unlike you, I know my duty… just as my father knew his. My name is Lieutenant Commander… Allen Hamilton."
Ken's sharp intake of breath must've been audible over the radio, as a moment later Rey –using a private channel- asked, "You know the name?"
"Yes… you could say that…"
Ken's mind flashed back to the Battle of Mendel, old memories he'd not thought on for nearly two years… "I don't need nukes to deal with you rabble. Admiral Hamilton, launch mobile suits immediately! Our target is the so-called True ZAFT fleet!" That had been Muruta Azrael's voice… before another responded.
"Yes, Director…"
And Jachin Due… Ken had been there, too, when it all went down, and he remembered the recording of the final transmission from Dominion, as received by Archangel and the Freedom. "We all must face judgment for our crimes, Director. In the end, justice always prevails…"
Somehow he doubted this man knew those words… and because of that, he knew this opponent was unlikely to stop until death. For duty… and for revenge.
"Yes," Ken said again, gaze locked on the strange machine, "I know the name. I didn't know he had a son… but I was there when Admiral James Hamilton died." His eye closed for a moment. "My greatest student… was the one who killed him."
Rey's eyebrows went up. "The son of the flag officer aboard Dominion at Jachin Due?"
"Exactly." Ken glanced at the Phantom. "This is someone we can't take chances with, Za Burrel. Because… he's a believer."
A beam scorched right past him, and he instinctively rolled and dove just in time to avoid a follow up shot. "A believer is right," Hamilton agreed. "And one not inclined to just wait around until you're ready to fight back."
Fair enough, the ace admitted to himself. Unfortunately, I don't have time to deal with this son of a bastard. "Za Burrel," he radioed, "if you can, I need you to hold him off for now. The way things are going now, I don't think it'll be long before the pilot from before launches, and frankly, I don't trust anyone else to deal with him. You understand?"
Rey nodded slowly. "Affirmative, Möbius One." He lifted his own rifle. "You defend Minerva, and I'll hold off Hamilton."
"Gracias."
The Exus' thrusters ignited, kicking it around in a brutal one-eighty turn, and the mobile armor raced off in another direction, leaving the two mobile suits facing each other… something which puzzled Hamilton.
"The great 'Major', just running away?" he mused. "How strange…"
"He's not running away," Rey retorted. I think… "He just has more pressing duties." His finger tightened on the trigger. "As do I."
Hamilton's weapon came up, as well, and the two fired at the same time.
Girty Lue, Bridge
"So far, so good," Neo murmured to himself, watching his Dagger Ls harass Minerva. "We've taken some damage, but it appears that the battle is still proceeding in our favor… even with Möbius One's presence."
"He was better than I expected," Lee admitted, his own gaze fixed on the battle from which they hid, while they repaired what they could. "He's made a name for himself as a planner and operational commander, but until today he'd never ventured out to participate in an operation directly. I would've expected…"
"He was somewhat more skilled than I anticipated, also," the masked captain acknowledged. "Nonetheless, I assumed from the outset he would at least be above average; no ordinary pilot would've been assigned to such a duty." He shrugged. "It won't matter, though. He's only one mobile armor; if nothing else, Commander Hamilton's Windam will be able to finish him." He paused. "In theory, at least."
He would've been certain, given Hamilton's impressive record… were it not for his own experience battling the "Major". Good enough to survive going up against Neo's own Exus without receiving a scratch… and there was something about him…
Lee looked at him curiously. It wasn't like his commanding officer to be so preoccupied, particularly about just one man. Maybe he's taking this more seriously than he cares to admit? he hazarded. Expressing confidence in front of the troops, I guess…
After a few moments, he cleared his throat. "Are you… thinking of going out there yourself, Captain? To engage Möbius One?"
Neo rubbed the left eyehole of his mask absently. "I'm considering it, yes," he admitted. "I actually rather suspect that's what he wants me to do… but I have to admit I'm just as curious about him as he seems to be about me." He shook his head minutely. "Not just yet, though. Status report?"
"Hull breaches contained," Lee replied, inwardly grateful to turn his attention to more prosaic matters. "The engine will remain out of action until we can return to proper repair facilities, but Commander Watkins believes we can replace the Igelstellung from onboard stores, and compensate somewhat for the loss of acceleration by narrowing the safety margins on the other engines a few percent."
"The design engineers are always more conservative than they need to be," the masked captain remarked, nodding. "Tell Commander Watkins it's approved. Now… what about the engagement?"
"Minerva is still on the defensive," Barrows reported, and nodded at the main display. "We're coming up on them again, and they're nearing a tight space, Sir; we should be able to hem them in and open fire from the rear, pound away at their rear armor."
"Hm…" Neo considered that for several moments, then shook his head. "No. Hem them in, yes; but attempting to destroy them with direct Gottfried fire would leave us exposed to another attack from Odin, and we might not survive that again." He frowned behind his mask, examining the area their Dagger Ls were herding Minerva into. A cluster of asteroid, as well as the one large rock the ship was using as a kind of shield…
I think we can use that… Probability of successful attack with Gottfrieds: ninety-nine percent for first three seconds, dropping to zero within five seconds, due to Odin's inevitable interference. Probability of success by firing missile barrage at Minerva: forty percent at best; the warheads aren't powerful enough to bring her down within a reasonable period of time. Probability of success if missiles are launched into the asteroids, blasting free large pieces: seventy-eight percent…
Neo nodded to himself. "All right. Commander Barrows, target the large asteroid and the surrounding rocks with missiles. We'll use them as improvised kinetic weapons to batter Minerva to scrap." He stood. "Have the hangar prepare my Exus. While you're finishing them off, I'm going to see about dealing with Möbius One personally. Section Nine's roamed unchecked for quite long enough."
Minerva,
Bridge
Minerva vibrated once more from a direct hit by a burst of laser fire, and Kira and Cagalli exchanged concerned glances. The hit itself was of little consequence –a Dagger L's beam rifle wasn't powerful enough to cause serious damage to a ship of such size, at least not very quickly- but the fact that the enemy mobile suits were still able to fire with impunity wasn't a good sign.
Odin had been forced to fall back, unable to assist Minerva in such close confines, and was now engaged in a search for Bogey One; for much the same reason, Minerva herself was unable to use much of her weaponry, as doing so would likely do more harm than good with chunks of rock all over the place, and the two Dagger Ls too close for anything but the CIWS to even draw a bead on them.
The weakness of any ship to airpower, Kira thought, reflecting on the naval history his teacher had introduced him to during and after the war. Once they get this close, only our own mobile suits could do much to stop them… and they're already busy.
His reverie was interrupted by an abrupt call of, "Missiles launched!"
Talia glanced back at Heim. "From where?" she demanded.
"Somewhere astern," he replied, typing rapidly at his console. "Precise launch point unknown; they're still under Mirage Colloid."
Kira glanced briefly at Durandal, received a nod, and pulled himself over to Heim's station. They're trying to prevent Odin from hitting them again, he realized. But missiles aren't going to be much of a threat to this ship… unless… He examined the trajectory data for three endless seconds… and then understood.
"Captain," he said quickly, "those missiles aren't targeted directly at us. With their present course, they'll overshoot and hit the debris field, instead. If we don't move away, we'll be hit by the resulting debris!"
Talia's eyes widened, and then she, too, understood. Sneaky, a corner of her mind thought. Very sneaky… "Malik, hard to port, now!"
The helmsman complied instantly, bringing Minerva's bow around… just as the missiles from Bogey One impacted on the asteroid's outer surface. Rippling shockwaves blasted across it, tearing free chunks of rock, which in turn hurtled out toward the ship.
One large boulder –nearly as large as the ship herself- vanished in an emerald flash as Odin employed desperate measures, but the others were coming too fast. Several missed completely… but more were right on target.
The vibrations from the Dagger Ls' attacks were nothing compared to the shaking as rocks slammed into Minerva's outer hull. Kira was faintly surprised it didn't rattle the entire ship apart; as it was, he was certain the outer hull was taking a beating. A testament to the design that we're not dead yet, he thought distantly.
"Damage to outer hull!" Trine called unnecessarily. "Hull breaches on Decks Three and Four; several compartments open to space. Airtight bulkheads are holding, but if we take any more hits like that, we won't make it!"
"Concur," Heim said tightly. "And… one fragment is drifting directly into our path." He turned to look directly at Talia. "We're trapped, Ma'am, and one of the Dagger Ls is approaching-"
Before he could finish the sentence, the enemy mobile suit appeared directly in front of the bridge… and its beam rifle was raised.
Time seemed to stop for Cagalli, as she stared into what she believed to be certain death; she was dimly aware of others present beginning to react to the same sight. No, she thought distantly, fear only beginning to take hold. No, it can't end here, not after everything… not when I still have responsibilities to Orb!
For Kira, gripping Cagalli's shoulder as reassuringly as he could, it was a sense of déjà vu, remembering the Battle of Alaska, when he'd saved the Archangel from a similar fate. But this time, there's no rescue, no Freedom to come, he thought, starting to close his eyes. There's just-
A scarlet line appeared across the Dagger L's midsection, ripped through at the level of the cockpit, and blazed past… leaving the mobile suit to blow itself apart in a shower of fragments before it could fire the fatal shot.
Talia blinked, taken aback. "What the…?"
A face appeared on the display, masked but nonetheless familiar… a feeling reinforced when the gunbarrel that had destroyed the Dagger L rendezvoused with a slate-gray Exus. "I had a hunch you could use some assistance, amigos," Möbius One noted. "And it looks like I was right."
"Your assistance was timely, and appreciated, Major," Talia informed him sincerely. "Though I thought you were waiting for your own target to show himself."
"I am," he acknowledged. "But I rather think Bogey One is closer to you than to my previous position; and Za Burrel is handling the enemy who tried to intercept me there. I'm not certain of the others at present, save for being sure they're still in the fight, but…"
He trailed off… and wrenched his mobile armor into an ascending spiral as a hurricane of emerald darts reached out for him, followed by the quartet of gunbarrels that had spat them, and the Exus behind them.
"Pardon me," Ken said a moment later, voice tense but otherwise normal. "It appears I've got to swat an annoying fly."
In the blink of an eye, the two mobile armors were gone, chasing each other away from the Minerva.
"Well," Durandal said, breaking the silence, "it appears this battle is becoming… complex." He looked over at Talia. "Is there anyone we can send out to assist the Major?"
She shook her head. "I'm afraid not. We do have an additional mobile suit, but no pilots; and from what Möbius One had to say, the pilots we do have are all busy." She sighed. "He's on his own… as are we, until we break out of our current predicament."
Earth Orbit, Debris Field
Streaks of red-orange fire blazed across space, lighting up the blackness with bright lights… bright lights meant to kill.
The powerful blasts of energy were responded to with a staccato of emerald fire, coming from the opposite direction… and a constantly-moving pair of aimpoints insured difficulty in targeting the source of the retaliatory fire.
Mere minutes earlier, Impulse had burst out of hiding and announced itself with a hail of missile fire; now Shinn exchanged blasts of focused radiation with the Chaos, which used its gunbarrels in an attempt to gain an advantage over him.
But I'm not going to let him beat me, he thought grimly, and unleashed another barrage from both beam cannons simultaneously.
Sting cursed, throwing himself out of the path of the bolts just before they could hit, and fired off a burst from the Picus machineguns mounted in his shield, trying to tear Impulse's cannons apart. If he could do that, he could practically finish off the machine at his leisure…
Shinn wasn't about to let that happen, though; nor did it take much skill to prevent it. Knowing exactly what Chaos' capabilities and armament were, he knew perfectly well that the armed shield used projectile weapons only. With that in mind, he kicked in his thrusters to put him into a spin, and took the burst on his VPS-protected back, before swinging around to face Chaos again. Too easy.
"Bastard," Sting hissed, and maneuvered his gunbarrels in again. "I'm going to finish you off right now!" Hitting the triggers, he unleashed a barrage of small missiles and another staccato burst of laser fire at the Impulse.
The black-haired pilot didn't allow himself the luxury of cursing; he just boosted power to his thrusters, jetting straight at the Chaos while jinking from side to side to avoid the beams, and triggered his CIWS, sending out a hail of bullets that tore the missiles to shreds.
Sting cursed again, and prepared to fire his chest-mounted Callidus cannon… but at the moment of discharge, a black shape slammed into him and propelled him sideways. "What the-!"
"I'll kill you for that!" Stellar Loussier snarled from Gaia's cockpit, already recovering her bearings (and ignoring Chaos completely). "Why won't you just go down!"
Fully as startled as Sting, Shinn glanced around the area in confusion, before spotting a red ZAKU coming his way, beam cannon at the ready. "Luna!" he called. "Nice work!"
Luna smiled. "She got too close; I kicked her when she got cocky." She jerked her head toward the large asteroid the conflict orbited. "Rey's off dueling with some kind of mobile suit I've never seen before; we'll have to help Minerva ourselves… if we can break away from these guys."
Shinn nodded. "Right," he agreed. Then he hesitated. "What about Möbius One? Is he…?"
"Fighting the Exus from before," she answered. "It looks like he's too busy to directly assist the ship right now."
"Okay, I got it." He lifted his cannons, and nodded to his friend and fellow pilot. "All right, let's do it. Fire!"
He pulled the triggers on his cannons, and Luna opened fire at the same moment, sending three bolts of fire from two different directions at the stolen mobile suits.
"Move it!" Sting snapped at Stellar, and boosted straight "up" and away from the shooting himself. He wasn't crazy enough to get in the crossfire of three high-energy beam cannons; not when multiple angles of attack were involved.
Stellar, for all her near-berserker anger, was still an excellent pilot, and she reacted with lightning-fast reflexes of her own, throwing Gaia to one side… but not quite fast enough, as a red-orange streak smashed into Gaia's left leg. A graze, rather than a direct hit, it still blasted free a chunk of armor, and sent damage warnings across Stellar's display, as short-circuits shut down the leg from the knee down.
Minerva's pilots had finally struck a blow… and it wouldn't be the last.
That mobile suit, Rey Za Burrel thought, exchanging fire with Allen Hamilton. It's not a Dagger design… but it looks familiar. Wait… it's faint, but that looks like… X12A? But that should've been lost when True ZAFT destroyed GENESIS Alpha, two years ago. So how could they have gotten any information on it…?
"A simple ZAKU, even a Phantom, isn't going to stop me, rookie," Hamilton called. "This is our latest design… and I survived Second Jachin." He smiled thinly. "It took a special breed of pilot to survive that battle, especially with the Butcher Bird flying around, obliterating anyone who got near him."
Rey didn't bother to respond; instead, he fired off a salvo of missiles from his Wizard pack, intending to batter Hamilton's machine to a wreck without actually destroying it. Gil needs to know about this. This isn't a catastrophe, but it still isn't part of the plan; we need to determine how much the possible continued existence of Testament changes things.
The missile attack might well have worked against another pilot, but Hamilton was indeed the veteran he proclaimed himself to be… and clearly intimately familiar with the capabilities of his new machine, even if it had never before been tested in battle. Rather than being battered by Rey's missile barrage, he instead launched one of his own, directing them on a kamikaze course that intercepted the incoming weapons.
The two flights of missiles collided, annihilating each other in what became a single, massive explosion… one which blinded both machines' optical and thermal sensors.
Hamilton had one priceless advantage over Rey at this moment: he'd known it was coming. Having piloted a Fortresta-equipped Duel Dagger during the final engagements of the Bloody Valentine War, he'd used the tactic before to cloud his enemies' vision, before moving in for the kill… and now he boosted directly into the fireball, beam rifle raised and ready to fire the moment he had a target.
The tactic might well have worked against another pilot… but Rey, while lacking in actual combat experience, was cunning in his own right, with trained instincts several Academy instructors –themselves veterans of battles like Second Jachin- had honed to a fine edge during training.
By the time Hamilton's machine emerged from the explosion, Rey had already twisted his Phantom around, and the emerald dart the older pilot instinctively fired on sight slammed into his left shoulder-shield, spattering harmlessly against it instead of piercing his torso as Hamilton had expected.
A moment later, Rey returned fire.
"Better than I thought," Hamilton grunted, managing to bat the retaliatory beam aside with his own shield. "I guess ZAFT hasn't slacked off training its new recruits… Hm." Then let's try this the old fashioned way…
Clamping his beam rifle onto his right thigh, Hamilton pulled out a beam saber, and ignited the fiery weapon. See how he likes close combat!
Rey saw it coming, and yanked out a beam tomahawk in response, igniting it just in time to clash with Hamilton's blade. He's not like the other pilots we've fought, he realized. The ones who stole the prototypes were good, but clearly inexperienced, despite their enhanced capabilities. This one… he does have experience, and greater raw ability than his fellows.
In the future, he could be more dangerous than the other three combined.
With that thought in mind, Rey shifted more power into his thrusters and the actuators in his Phantom's arms, using it to thrust the new mobile suit away. Then, capitalizing on the minor success, he went on the offensive, slashing across with his axe.
Hamilton nodded in appreciation. A genuine challenge… well, it looks like carrying out my mission will at least be interesting today. "All right, then," he said aloud, adroitly parrying the relatively clumsy axe.
"Let's see just how long you can hold out, hotshot."
Strike Noir's blade clashed with Abyss' beam lance, and Millenia realized with no small satisfaction that she was beginning to get the hang of the increased reaction speed of her new body… and that she was finally beginning to recover her old skill.
Finally, she thought, drawing back and then nudging aside a clumsy thrust, I'm getting back in the groove… back to how I was before Alaska. Eighteen months in stasis didn't completely ruin my skills after all…
"What's up with this thing, anyway?" Auel wondered, in Abyss' cockpit. "Why won't it just go down?" He'd been fully briefed on the Strike Noir after it had been stolen by Section Nine, and while he didn't remember all of the data, he was fairly sure nothing in it had indicated it could react this fast.
Snarling in silent frustration, he reversed thrust, gaining some distance so that he could safely fire his Callidus cannon… only to see Strike Noir charge into pointblank range again, forcing him to hastily ward it off with his lance.
"Now, now," Millenia chided, "where do we think we're going? I told you we'd finish this blade to blade… even if that lance of yours is one of the most ridiculous melee weapons I've ever seen on a mobile suit." She snorted. "Even the axes used by ZAKUs make more sense than that thing. However… if you really want to try ranged combat, I can work with that, too."
To Auel's surprise, she actually backed off, giving him time to charge his Callidus. What does this Coordinator think she's doing? Well… if she wants to die that badly, I'll be happy to oblige. Beginning to smile, he squeezed the trigger…
And Strike Noir's linear guns snapped into firing position, spitting out a pair of hyper-velocity projectiles, while the machine itself jerked sideways to avoid the multiphase energy bolt.
The bullets hit their mark with unerring accuracy, smashing into the Callidus itself with brutal power. Ineffective against the rest of the machine, the projectiles successfully smashed the weapon's aperture to useless junk.
Auel's eyes widened in shock; and in her own cockpit, Millenia smiled. "Always beware of when an enemy does exactly what you want them to do," she said pleasantly. "When something looks too stupid to be true… it usually is. 'Only seldom is true surprise achieved in battle; usually, it is simply that the commander misinterprets what he's seen all along.' That's Lesson Thirty-eight, in case you're interested."
"Why, you…!" Now truly furious, the Extended snapped his fins wide, and unleashed a barrage of massed laser fire at the Strike Noir, hoping to saturate it and finally rid himself of this incredibly irritating adversary.
Millenia merely smiled wider, raised her shield, and charged right into the massed fire, beam sword ready…
"So," Ken observed, diving beneath a hail of emerald fire, "it's you again, is it? I wonder… who are you, really?"
Neo didn't respond to the transmission; he was more concerned with rolling away from a pair of shells from Möbius One's linear guns… and with not giving away any information that might be gleaned from a transmission.
He may be able to speak, the masked captain thought to himself, but he uses a voice synthesizer… and he obviously realizes I've already figured out that he's Möbius One. I, on the other hand, have given him no clues at all as to my identity. Or so I assume, at any rate, from the fact that he's still asking me who I am…
Since chasing each other away from Minerva, the two pilots had engaged in a running dogfight, sending their wireless gunbarrels at each other in increasingly complex flight patterns, all the while engaging one another with their onboard weaponry… and so far having effectively no success at all.
By now, both Exus' had expended their onboard missile supplies, and were limited to spitting hyper-velocity projectiles across space, while also trying to outflank each other with their gunbarrels, sometimes with bursts of laser fire, sometimes by trying slice each other to pieces.
Both had the feeling by now that the battle could go either way very easily… or even go on indefinitely, as each tried to get the upper-hand over the other.
Ken, dipping beneath a staccato burst of laser fire, found himself increasingly frustrated… and confused. I haven't faced anyone this good since Kira and I fought at Jachin… who is he? And why does his fighting feel familiar? Have I fought him before, at some time in the past?
The two mobile armors raced at each other in a head-on pass, and broke away an instant before they could collide, unleashing a mutual barrage of emerald energy from their gunbarrels that turned the area in a brief-lived spider web of green fire, which they had to twist and turn through before coming around to engage each other again.
This one is no ordinary pilot, Neo determined, eyes narrowing. This one… he's definitely one of True ZAFT's aces. No one else could possibly be fighting like this; not and bother to hide his identity, at any rate. So… which one? Could it actually be…?
Möbius One gave him no time to ruminate on the matter, instead recalling his gunbarrels to cluster around himself, before unleashing a withering hail of emerald darts and hyper-velocity slugs from his linear guns.
Neo cursed, pulled straight up, and sent his own gunbarrels back after the renegade Exus. Let's see you how long you can dodge, Möbius One.
Ken had pulled up after him, entering into a stern chase; it should've left him in the superior position… but he hadn't quite counted on Neo's gunbarrels coming straight back at him, opening fire at the same moment he did.
One of Neo's gunbarrels was shredded an instant later, hit dead-on by three lasers and a linear gun slug… and Ken's Exus shuddered from an impact just aft of the cockpit, sending it into a spin.
Even the ace known as Möbius One was momentarily disoriented by the unexpected hit, and only dimly realized one of his own gunbarrels had blown apart in the same exchange. Counteract the spin, he thought, distracted from his target. Get back in control before you run into something and explode…
"Hm," Neo murmured, glancing back at the now-tumbling Section Nine machine. "So, you can be hurt… good." Inwardly, though, he knew it was hardly a good sign that it took even him that long just to land a hit. If it had been one of his subordinates facing Möbius One…
He might've been interested to know that he had done far better than ninety-percent of the pilots who had ever flown against Ken DiFalco.
Minerva, Bridge
Well, Gilbert Durandal thought, at least the enemy seems to have been distracted from coming at us directly…
Between their own mobile suits and the assistance of the Major's mobile armor, all but a single Dagger L had been drawn away from Minerva herself; and it appeared that, aside from occasion missile salvos, Bogey One was too concerned with possible attacks from Odin to engage directly.
That did not, unfortunately, mean that they were winning the battle. The single Dagger L was doing little more than harrying them, but they remained quite literally trapped between a rock and a hard place, by the asteroids and debris surrounding them. Until they found a way clear of it, they could not bring the battle to a decisive conclusion.
Standing almost unnoticed toward the aft of the bridge, Kira's mind was working furiously, trying to find a solution. There's gotta be a way, he thought, but what? They've got us hemmed in, and even if they can't do anything decisive right now, all they have to do is…
His breath caught momentarily. All they have to do is wait for the mobile suits –and Ken- to run out of power, and then they can destroy them at their leisure… and then come after us almost completely unopposed.
Cagalli glanced at him, detecting his brief lapse. "Kira?" she said quietly, looking at him worriedly. "Are you okay?"
He shook himself. "Yeah, I'm fine. I'm just… trying to figure a way out of this mess."
"We'll make it," she said encouragingly. "We've been through worse than this, remember. The right idea will come to you, or to Captain Gladys… or to Ken."
"Yeah," Kira agreed quietly, though far from convinced. "Yeah, I'm sure it…" He trailed off, as something new occurred to him. Wait a minute… if we try anything by the Book, the Dagger L will notice, and head us off again… but what if we try something so crazy no one would ever expect it?
He carefully stepped forward, ignoring Cagalli's confused look. "Captain," he began, "can you tell me how many starboard thrusters are still operational?"
Talia blinked, startled by his abrupt question. "Pardon me, Commander Yamato, but that information is somewhat sensitive…"
"The enemy can probably see it as well as we can, Captain," Durandal pointed out diffidently. "There's no harm at this point. Besides, I think the Commander may have thought of something the rest of us haven't. He did train under two of the best strategists ZAFT ever produced, after all, and survived Second Jachin."
She thought about that for a moment. Good point, she conceded inwardly. At this point, classifications are effectively meaningless; survival is more important. And if he's as good as the Grimaldi Falcon or the Desert Tiger…
"We have six surviving starboard thrusters," Talia said finally. "Others were damaged by debris, but those are still functional. Why?"
Kira took a deep breath. "In that case, I suggest you activate all of them, and at the same time use all starboard weaponry against the asteroid itself. The combined force of the thrusters and the explosion should push us into open space before the Dagger L can react."
"But that's crazy!" Trine protested instantly. "If we do that, the blast alone could further damage us, and the additional debris-!"
"If we stay like this, we'll just be a sitting duck," Kira retorted. "Sooner or later the Dagger is going to manage to break through, or the mobile suits will run out of power, allowing the rest of them to come finish us off. We have to do something now."
Talia might've taken offense to the sharp tone with which he addressed her exec, but in this case… "Commander Yamato is right," she said firmly, before Trine could protest further. "It's a chance we'll have to take." She glanced over her shoulder. "Chen, prepare to fire all starboard weapons; Meyrin, get in touch with Odin, and see about coordinating the attack with them. The more firepower that can be brought to bear on Bogey One, the better."
"Yes, Ma'am." Meyrin raised a hand to her headset. "Odin, this is Minerva, requesting fire support against Bogey One once maneuvers are in progress."
"Roger that," Chance replied. "We'll be ready."
"Weapons ready, Captain," Chen reported a moment later.
"Helm ready as well," Yardbirds concurred.
Smiling, Cagalli reached over and squeezed Kira's hand. "I told you the right idea would come to you," she whispered.
"We won't know it was the right one till it works," he pointed out, but inwardly he agreed with her. This is the right one… I can feel it…
Talia waited a beat, checking for herself to make sure all was in readiness, then nodded sharply. "Malik, Chen, commence maneuver!"
Girty Lue, Bridge
"They're in dire straits now," Barrows observed, watching Minerva's struggle with both the debris and the remaining Dagger L. "We could probably take the time to finish her off with minimal chance of interference from Odin, Commander."
Lee didn't reply at first, instead taking in the situation himself. They're definitely in trouble, he conceded to himself. Their mobile suits scattered, their ship damaged, and caught in a debris field… and Odin doesn't know where we are yet.
"All right," he said aloud, "we don't have any orders from Captain Roanoke, but I think you're right, Commander. Target all Gottfrieds on Minerva, and fire as soon as you have positive target lock."
"Aye, Sir," Barrows acknowledged, and the ship's fire-control officer bent to the task without waiting for further prompting.
"Target locked," the man announced within moments. "Opening fi-"
Before he could finish the statement –or the action that went with it- a brilliant flash erupted from the direction of the Minerva, engulfing the remaining Dagger L in the process. The entire area was briefly consumed in light, blinding anyone who tried to see into it.
"What just happened?" Lee demanded. "Did they destroy themselves, or…?"
The flash faded… and his question was answered, as Minerva emerged from the blast on a course directly at them, with a large, single-barrel weapon protruding from the bow.
In that instant, Lee realized instinctively what the weapon had to be. "Evasive maneuvers!" he ordered hurriedly. "Lower bow pitch angle ninety, right roll thirty!"
In the span of two seconds, Girty Lue heeled over, desperately trying to avoid the burst of positron fire Lee had realized was about to come… as well as any fire from the rear. And in those same two seconds, Chen Jian Yee triggered the Minerva's Tannhauser cannon… while Frank Castile set off Odin's Gottfried beam cannon.
Had Minerva's strike been a clean hit, Girty Lue would've simply ceased to exist, its matter converted entirely to energy; as it was, the positron stream grazed her starboard side, obliterating armor plating and spectacularly detonating the engine Odin had already damaged… while Odin's own emerald fire smashed one of Girty Lue's Gottfrieds to slag.
Girty Lue staggered, leaking air and trailing molten armor…
Earth Orbit, Debris Field
The two Exus units had just flashed past each other, making another futile attempt to blast each other to bits –an attempt hampered by Neo's loss of a gunbarrel and Ken's damaged thrusters- when Neo realized something was wrong.
Pulling away long enough to check his instruments, his eyes widened at the sight of the data he received. They've taken damage? So… Minerva got out of the trap…
As he was contemplating the bare-bones damage report, Lee's voice came up over his radio. "Captain, this is Lee," he said. "I'm sorry, Sir, but we've taken serious damage, and I don't believe we can continue the engagement any longer."
Neo nodded. "Understood, Ian; and don't blame yourself. It looks like they've just got someone a little smarter than we expected." Pouring more energy into his thrusters, he easily pulled away from his enemy's damaged mobile armor, heading back toward his own ship. "Send out a recall order, then; we've done enough, for now. I'm on my way back as well."
"Understood, Sir." Ahead, Girty Lue's flanks were suddenly illuminated by light from signal flares, informing her mobile suits it was time to retreat.
As he himself neared the ship, Neo finally switched to a frequency he was sure his opponent would be able to intercept, and keyed in interference to disguise his voice. "Another time, Möbius One," he called. "Believe me, though, you've not seen the last of me… and next time, our battle will go very differently."
In his own cockpit, Ken didn't respond. I'm sure, he thought to himself. Because next time, I'm going to fly something that can eat you for breakfast… The damage he'd sustained in the battle genuinely concerned him; there weren't many pilots who'd ever managed to do that to him, and at present most of them were on his side. I need to find out who that pilot is. He has the same level of spatial awareness I do, and raw skill on par with ZAFT's greatest aces. Of all the pilots I know, only Kira could truly outmatch this one, I can tell…
Allen Hamilton had just shoved Rey's ZAKU Phantom away when he, too received the recall order, and he shut down his beam saber with a certain reluctance. "Pity," he murmured. "Well, I suppose that means our job here is done… and perhaps we've gotten enough data to complete Project Zeta now…" He turned to look at the Phantom. "Sorry to cut this off, but I'm sure we'll meet again some day." He smiled thinly. "Next time, though, I think only one of us will be walking away."
Before Rey could react, he spun his machine around, and boosted away at high speed. I'm sure of it, Rey thought, watching it go. That design was influenced by the Testament, somehow… and the pilot is no ordinary one. He was toying with me… and if he hadn't been recalled, he would've eventually finished me off.
It was beginning to look like only the best pilots on all sides had survived Jachin Due… and those veterans were forming an experienced core, especially among the nations of Earth, which would give even elite groups like ZAFT's Special Forces or Section Nine genuine difficulty.
Not far away, the stolen prototypes were also breaking away, leaving Minerva's pilots behind. All three of them were at least a little battered, with Abyss having taken the brunt of it; by contrast, Impulse and Luna's ZAKU had a few grazes, while Strike Noir was pristine.
"Well," Shinn remarked, closing his eyes, "at least we're okay… but I wish we hadn't let them get away like that again."
"We did our best," Luna pointed out. "We may not have recaptured them, but we proved we can at least hold our own against them. I'm sure we'll have another chance at them, Shinn, and by then we'll have an even better idea of what we're doing."
"She's right," Millenia interjected. "You've been flying Impulse for over a month now, Shinn… but that was only your second combat sortie. You can't expect to become an expert instantly, you know; everyone needs experience."
"I guess…" Shinn sighed, and glanced briefly at the slate-gray Exus limping toward them. "But what about him? I heard he did well during the blockade, four years ago…"
"Yes," she conceded, "he did. However, the Major was facing mobile armors during that time, and they were only basic Möbius units, at that. No mobile suit pilot I know of has ever had any trouble shooting down Möbiuses." Though it is true, she added silently, that Falcon was better at it than most of his peers…
But that, too, was ancient history now. Whether she liked it or not, Ken DiFalco had put ZAFT behind him…
Minerva, Bridge
"Our mobile suits are running low on power, Captain," Meyrin reported, glancing up from her console. "No more than ninety seconds effective combat time remaining; after that, they'll require recharge to continue the engagement."
"It's just as well," Durandal put in, before Talia could respond. "Despite their damage, Bogey One is clearly able to escape, and they've already gotten their mobile suits out of range; also, we have damage of our own to worry about. I think we're going to have to let them go for now, Captain."
Talia sighed. "I suppose you're right. Well, they'll be sure to turn up again eventually; I doubt they stole them merely for the technical data. All right, Meyrin, send out recall orders to our own units."
"Right away, Captain!"
The captain turned to Kira and Cagalli. "Lady Cagalli, Commander Yamato, I apologize for the delays involved here. Now that the battle seems to be over, though, we should be able to get a ship out here to pick you up, and then get you back down to Earth."
Cagalli nodded. "We appreciate it, Captain. We'd ask Odin to do it, but…"
"It looks like they're going to be busy trying to track down Bogey One themselves," Kira finished for her. "I don't think the Major is going to let this go." He paused, glancing away for a moment. "Speaking of what just happened… I think I may have overstepped my bounds there, Captain. I'm sorry about that."
Talia shook her head. "Nothing to apologize for, Commander. You had the right idea at the right time; had you not suggested that, we might not have been able to drive them off. You probably just saved all our lives."
He shifted his shoulders uncomfortably. "Well… maybe."
Cagalli smiled inwardly. So Kira still doesn't like to be told he actually saved someone's life, huh? She remembered that from a time in the Libyan desert, two years before… "Well," she said aloud, "I guess there's no more reason for either us of to be here. If you'll excuse us, Captain?"
Talia nodded. "Certainly. You'll find a lounge not far from here; I'll have someone assign you quarters later."
"Thank you, Captain."
Earth Orbit, Debris Field
"Well," Millenia observed, seeing the scorch marks and missing pieces on the rear fuselage of Ken's Exus, "you look like you've had an interesting day, Falcon. Run into an asteroid during your merry chase or something?"
Ken grimaced. "Hardly. That fellow in the other Exus turned out to be better than I expected, even after our last encounter. He and I managed to shoot each other up, with him losing a gunbarrel and me nearly losing my engines."
She shrugged. "Could be worse; at least this time you came out of tough exchange without needing a complete refit or an entirely new machine. That may be a first, for you."
He snorted. "Considering my many and varied close encounters with nuclear weapons and overstressed mobile suits, you're probably right about that. Still… he worries me. The last time I had that much trouble was against Kira, and then Rau… and there aren't many pilots like them around. Even Athrun Zala couldn't have done that to me, were he capable of flying a machine like that."
"Well, you'll have plenty of time to figure it out," Millenia mused. "Something tells me you're not going to just let this go."
"No, I'm not." Ken's eye narrowed. "This is Section Nine's true mission, after all…"
"Hm; I suspected as much. So," she went on, changing the subject, "what do you think of Shinn, now that you've seen him in actual battle?"
"He's no Demon," he replied, after a moment's thought. "He still has issues with his temper, though I see he at least kept that on a leash… this time. Until he truly masters it, though, an experienced pilot will be able to defeat him with fair ease, just by provoking him a little. Still…" He nodded slowly.
"Still…?" Millenia prompted.
"He's no Demon… but he has potential."
Author's note:
After a grueling battle, Girty Lue has been forced into retreat… but Minerva has been damaged as well, and Ken DiFalco's Exus has been put out of action, at least for now, in battle against a foe of unknown origin and startling capability… and meanwhile, other currents swirl beneath the surface, as the son of Admiral Hamilton presides over a project to turn the tide…
I'd apologize for this chapter being late, except that it was somewhat unavoidable; even I can't write something this long that fast. It probably won't be the last of its kind, either, considering how massive the battles Ken DiFalco becomes involved in tend to be. Looks like it's going to be quite the ride, though…
In any case, let me know how this one was. If nothing else, I expect there were a couple of surprises… and foreshadowing… -Solid Shark