Disclaimer: I do not own Gundam Seed and Gundam Seed Destiny. They belong to their respective copyright owners and publishers. This work is not created with any commercial aims. I make no money from it.
Phase 03: Confrontation
=GSI=
Part 1
17:05 PM; Orb colony Heliopolis
I was staring at the central spine of the colony. The reinforced metal from which it was crafted was moaning like a wounded beast. A large segment of the construct was a glowing, half molten wreck. I thought that no amount of engineering and redundancies build in could safe Heliopolis from the wound the last GINN inflicted, yet the colony was still in one piece. Mostly.
I looked over my camera pickups. Even if the spine somehow held together it wouldn't do much good. At least ten gaping holes, open to space, could be seen from my position. The atmosphere of Heliopolis was busy being sucked by the vacuum of the space or being consumed by the voracious appetites of multiple infernos which were annihilating vast residential and corporate districts. At least the fires will be gone as soon as there was no more oxygen to fuel them.
A high powered, automatic, emergency transmission blasted on all channels.
"Attention! Attention! Heliopolis has suffered critical damage. All life boats will be launched momentarily. Brace for acceleration."
So much for saving Heliopolis though I guess that if someone decides to foot the bill the place might be salvageable. I was no engineer though so I did not know if an attempt to repair the appalling damage dealt to the colony was feasible. Besides there was a war going on so I did not believe for a moment that anyone would even think about starting such a project at a times like these.
On the bright side, Heliopolis did not shatter so most of the colonist should be OK. The only casualties should be those unlucky enough to be in life boats situated in areas hit by heavy weapons.
All that was academic if Le Cruset's people attacked again and finished wrecking the station. It was time to get out of here.
"Kira, stop messing around. We should leave before ZAFT attacks again. Heliopolis has sustained too much damage already. Another battle in or near it could result in a blood bath for the residents. "
"The Lieutenant is right, Kira. We are leaving."
My sensors pinged, informing me that the Archangel was picking up speed and heading to a huge rend in the colony's hull. It was a bit smaller for the ship to fit but it was nothing that a few surgical shots
from the main canon's could fix.
Kira stood frozen for few more moments before turning around and heading for the ship.
I flew as a vanguard and planned to deal with any ZAFT MS which were waiting on the other side. The X311 screamed out of the colony, with the escaping air giving it an extra bit of velocity.
The moment the Dragon exited the grievously wounded colony, it started series of wild, evasive maneuvers, which proved to be futile – there was no visible enemy in range. The only thing my sensors could detect were shoals of escaping life boats and various debris, which were tumbling through the void.
"Archangel, this is Dragon. No enemy units in sight. Your line of fire is clear of civilians. Proceed."
"Affirmative, Lieutenant Veil. Please stay on CAP duty."
"Roger that."
I was flying "above" Heliopolis and using the advanced sensors built in the Dragon as a makeshift AWACS platform. However it did not help much. Scores of escape pods were launching from the colony. I guess that whoever was left in charge wanted the civilians away while they tried to halt the rotation of the massive construct before it shattered under its own momentum. It made sense. The life boats had better chance if they got away without pieces of the colony flying everywhere.
For us that was a two edged sword. The hundreds of new sensor contacts made long range detection very hard at best. So while it was unlikely that I'll be able to detect another ZAFT sortie before they were close, the same was holding true for them.
"Archangel, this is Lieutenant Veil. It is a god damn mess out here. I believe that our best chance is to leave right now. The life boats will conceal our position and give us a head start. Depending on what ships ZAFT has out here, we might be able to outrun them without further combat. "
That was not likely but it was not a chance I was willing to pass.
"Affirmative, Lt. I passed your message to the captain."
It was up to Ramius, I guess.
=GSI=
Four shots from the carrier's dual mounted main cannons and the ship had made the hole in the side of Heliopolis big enough for its bulk. The Archangel exited slowly, carefully matching its course to the slowly rotating makeshift door. Once the ship was safely out of the colony, me and Kira received order to land. I thought that the boss lady had made her decisions and we were out of here. I should have known better.
We all received a distress signal which was differed from the countless life pod beacons which were blanketing the air waves.
One of the nearby pods was damaged when something blew up near its berth. I wondered if that was the same on which was Flay, the ministers daughter. It would be an incredible coincidence if, despite the changes, that happened anyway. If that was the case, I thought that my work would be even harder because in that case the probabilities here might very well be screwed into making more likely a future resembling the one I was sent to change.
I shook my head. It wasn't as if I could do something about a thing like that. I just had to do my best. Which, right now was to argue with Natarle who did not want any more civilians on the ship. It was cold blooded outlook she had but not without good reasoning I think. The Archangel was undersupplied and undermanned. With the flush of people brought on board, our situation would worsen.
"Ensign Badgiruel. The nearest ships that can provide help, besides the ZAFT task force which is attacking us are at least a week away. If we do not help the people in the damaged pod are as good as dead. You should also take into an account that a neutral colony was wrecked because of our presence. When this becomes public knowledge, the media will have a field day with both the EA and ZAFT. Lets not make things worse. Besides how would you feel to be left to die in a damaged escape pod when there was someone who could have helped you?!" I snapped over the link with the Archangel. " Kira, pick the damaged life boat carefully and carry it to the ship. We need to get out of here before Le Cruset's men came calling again. I do not want to fight with so many civies flying around. Every miss could hit multiple life boats."
=GSI=
Part 2
While Kira was maneuvering the escape boat into the starboard hangar I landed in the other "leg" of the ship and let my Dragon in the capable hands of the engineers who hurried to change my machine's batteries. While the X311's energy reserves were not particularly drained I did not fancy the thought of going in combat with something less than fully charged power. I headed for the other hangar wondering if the history repeated itself and we just saved Flay's boat.
This time, unlike when the shuttle brought me to Heliopolis, I was well aware of the microgravity in which I moved. The closest way I could think of describing the feeling was to compare it to a cross of swimming underwater and floating on the surface. It was unsettling that a part of me found it utterly mundane while for the rest of my mind it was a scary novelty. Yet, moving in this new environment was natural. After all the training and experience the man I whose body I was inhabiting had received, it was not something that should have needed thinking about.
I found my way to the starboard hangar and smirked at the sight that greeted me. Kira was slowly floating to the bulkhead next to which his Strike was parked. He had a girl with fiery red hair in his arms... and a knee long pink dress which was obviously not a recommended clothing for a place where you lacked a firm gravity...
Yup. She had a veeery nice pair of legs on her. Too bad that she was a jail bait. And a ministers daughter to booth...
"Men! Stop gawking at the lady and back to work!" I snapped at the deck hands who were supposed to service Kira's Gundam and fix the last Moebius Zero in existence.
"Kira, you probably should escort the young miss to the crew quarters and help he find something more appropriate to wear considering we lack normal gravity.
"Eeek!" Flay squealed.
It was an ear piercing shriek. It was just now she noticed that her dress was floating and revealing an interesting sight...
"After that come find me. I'll be either in my quarters or with the captain. We need to talk."
I turned my attention to the one of the few marines guarding the hangar.
"Call few more men to help the civilians settle down, corporal."
"Sir! Yes, Sir!" The man gave me a textbook salute and moved to a comm terminal installed close to his position.
While our unexpected guests were dealt with I made my way to the bridge where I found the rest of the command staff of the Archangel arguing.
"We do not have appropriate Alliance codes! Who knows how Artemis would react to our appearance!"
"We don't have much choice. Our provisions are low. We might made it to the Moon but not while fighting on the way there."
"I may have a fix for that problem. I'm EF soldier with proper authorization codes for serving on this ship. Artemis should recognize them. However, what happens next would depend on who is in charge of the station. " I kept to myself that Delkatar knew Garcia was in charge of the station, that he knew the man not to mention that now I had proper ONI codes that should get us in. I blame Veil for that though I couldn't recall why exactly I was loath to admit any of that to my fellow officers.
"That's Garcia I think. I hate that guy..." groaned Mu.
"Gerard? He's not too bad. Besides, we can't outrun ZAFT. Not with that Nazca out there." I noted.
"I understand the situation." said Ramius.
"I am sure that Eurasia will understand our situation."
"I wouldn't be too sure. The commander of Artemis is an opportunistic bastard. However that is still our best chance. We should be able to contact Luna base from there and I hope that me and whoever ONI has watching over that rock will be able to keep Garcia in check. But first we must actually reach the base in one piece..."
=GSI=
ZAFT Nazca class, Near Orb colony Heliopolis
"At least the colony survived. If you can call it that. The council might be lenient about the damage we dealt to it." muttered the captain.
"Its not nearly as bad as Julius Seven. Its not like you could call Heliopolis a neutral colony with it producing advanced weapons for the Earth Alliance." declared Le Cruset.
"What would we do now? We are out of Mobile Suits. The only ones remaining are what's left of yours and the wrecked GINN which helped blow a way through the colony's outer hull." That had taken the combined firepower of said MS's heavy beam cannon and the two remaining ZAFT ships main armaments.
"What are you talking about?" scoffed the masked man. "We already have the data from the captured machines and it is being sent to ZAFT as we speak. There is no reason whatsoever not to send these machines after the legged ship."
"We have trouble finding them within that chaos over there." the captain pointed to the main view screen which showed hundreds of escape boats flying around the cylinder of the colony.
"Sooner or later they would have to make their minds and either seek sanctuary in Artemis or dash towards the moon. We'll take position that will allow us to intercept them no mater where they choose to run. My bet is on Artemis. I do not believe that they had time to resupply properly before we attacked."
=GSI=
EAS Archangel, in the vicinity of Orb colony Heliopolis
After we made a plan that had reasonable chances to get us to Artemis in one piece I headed to the living quarters. I needed to have a chat with Kira. Mu had similar idea and tagged along.
"You did well out there." he said.
"Thanks. But it was not good enough. Heliopolis got wrecked anyway."
"At least most people made it to the shelters in time."
"Small mercies." I muttered.
Mu slapped me on the back.
"Don't go mopping around. If its anyone's fault, blame who you should – Le Cruset."
"Oh, I most certainly do. How have you been after what happened with the rest of the squadron?" I changed the topic.
La Flaga grimaced.
"I've been better. It was a dark time. "He gave me a winning smile. "At least you got back from the dead so its not all bad."
"Yeah. Lucky me. "
"It beats the alternative. "
We reached the crew quarters. On the way there we passed by a check post where the civilians picked by Kira were identified and assigned place to stay. In a case of someone with skills we could use, the NCO handling the affair was nicely asking for the man or woman's assistance. That way we picked up a doctor who was now busy fixing the captain's shoulder.
We found Kira surrounded by his friends and Flay. She had gotten into a uniformed trousers to the eternal regret to the male members of the crew. It looked a bit strange under her pink dress but it was better than letting her flash the men on board.
"Kira, I've got news from Murdoc, our chief engineer. We are understaffed so he wants each pilot to help maintain his machine. "
"I am no soldier! Do you honestly expect me to continue flying the Strike?!" he exclaimed.
"Yup." I grinned at him. "Do we have to have the same conversation again? Me and Mu can't protect the Archangel from two battleships and four Gundam's by ourselves. You know that the OS of the Dragon is not worth the hard drive space it takes. I am barely able to use it as a heavy loader in MS mode much less in combat! You are a bright kid. You can imagine what will happen when Le Cruset sends the rest of the G-Weapons against us."
He winced. He had seen enough of me flying in the X311 to conclude that its agility as a MA was less than stellar.
"That's about what I wanted to talk with you. I saw you with the Strike. Either the machines are with different OS or you tweaked yours."
He looked guilty at that.
"I... ah...had to change it so I could fly the Strike."
"Splendid. If it is not too much bother I want you to see about fixing the OS on the Dragon."
"That's a good idea, Kira. With the three of us we may be able to protect everyone until we reach a safe harbor."
He glared at us.
"You two are a pair of manipulative old bastards!" he pouted.
"Yup. What gave us away?" grinned Mu.
"I thought that it was common knowledge by now. Eh. Our carefully crafted reputation is ruined! Ruined, I tell you!" I faked distress.
Kira chuckled at our antics.
"I'll think about it piloting again but its no trouble checking the OS on your machine."
"Thanks, Kira." I turned to the red-haired girl with a thoughtful expression on my face.
"I can swear that I've seen you before miss. And I don't mean the accident in the hangar."
She blushed with her face becoming almost as scarlet as her hair.
"I am Flay Allister. I do not think we've met before." She stammered from embarrassment.
"Ah. You are the daughter of vice-minister George Allister, aren't you?"
"Yeah. He's my father."
"That figures. There's where I've seen you."
"Have a good day, miss Allister." I nodded at her and headed to the hangar.
I had no intention to irritate the people making sure that my MS was in top form. They had a lot of creative ways to make my life a living hell without really endangering myself, the Dragon or Archangel and her crew.
=GSI=
The two ZAFT battleships were searching for the silent running legged ship. They were spread covering the most likely vectors for flight towards the Alliance fortress of Artemis. Their captains had disregarded what they believed to be a decoy flying towards the moon and were hunting for the illusive prey that was the Archangel. The Laurasia class detected a ship's silhouette at the edge of her sensor coverage. It was slowly moving in the direction of the EA base. The comm chatter between the two ZAFT crafts spiked and their engines roared to full military trust. The three main beam turrets of the Laurasia class traversed and took aim. Crimson beams with white tingles on the edges stabbed through the void of space.
=GSI=
Part 3
19:26 PM; In the vicinity of Orb colony Heliopolis;
The plan was simple. To maximize our chances for reaching Artemis, we needed to do something about the two enemy ships stalking the Archangel. That is where the "Scylla" cannons on my Dragon came in. The X311 was floating next to a piece of space debris which had been drifting in this region of space for a long time. The Archangel was a considerable distance away. She was moving slowly, under full blackout. The course of the experimental carrier was carefully chosen to be one of the most direct and thus short vectors to the Eurasian fortress. If the ZAFT did not cover it, the Archangel would have a great chance to reach the safety of the allied base before they could intercept the ship. So odds were very good that at least one of the enemy warships would make an appearance.
I was not disappointed. My sensors detected two thermal blooms of engines roaring to life. I checked the geometry of the enemy positions and smiled. I should be able to get to the Archangel before the second ship was in range. Perhaps even before its MS could reach my mother-ship. My targeting computer was able to determine that the closer ZAFT craft was a Laurasia class, so unless there were more changes from what I knew of the Gundam Seed series the Gundams were on the other ship. Well, I could not get everything my way, could I?
I aimed my first shot only using my MA's cameras and passive sensors. It would not be as accurate but it would give me the element of surprise. I waited for ten endless seconds as the computer refined its long range targeting solution and gently squeezed the trigger.
The Dragon shook when twin beams of scarlet death lanced forward. No doubt the ZAFT craft already knew my position but the enemy warship simply had no time to evade. It could not move fast enough to generate a miss if my targeting was good enough.
Without waiting to evaluate the effects of my first shot I engaged the engines to full power and sprang towards the Laurasia class. My sensors went active as well as my ECM suite.
=GSI=
19:27 PM;
Laurasia Class Gamow's Bridge, Near Orb colony Heliopolis
Captain Vega Zallman was sitting calmly in his command chair. He did not let it show if he was in any way apprehensive about leading the charge against a ship that by all accounts was at least generation beyond his own. The so called "legged" ship was now on his sensors and his crew were busy refining targeting solutions.
Zallman was pressed back in his seat by the acceleration as the Gamow's engines were burning to intercept the enemy craft. He could almost hear the cannons mounted on the three main turrets of his vessel moving in their housings and aiming at the white ship.
He was proud from the swift and precise actions of the men and women under his command. After months of painstaking training and brutal combat, they were forged into a well oiled machine.
"Guns, fire when you have positive lock." the Captain ordered.
"Yes, sir!" came the immediate answer from the ship's weapons officer.
However that was not to be. Two spears of pure energy streaked towards Zallman's ship. He had a moment to comprehend that his command was ambushed after the sensor operator shouted a warning. The ships pilot was already taking evasive maneuvers but the Captain knew that it was too late for that. Before the Gamow could obey the command of her helmsman she was struck.
Mercifully enough only one of the two energy beams connected. It struck on an upwards angle. The blast of crimson pierced the starboard turret and proceeded to smash its way through the short pylon on which the central of the three primary dual-cannons were mounted. Two thirds of the heavy energy weapons of the Gamow were erased in an instant along with twenty five of her crew. The ship listed to its port side. It was physically moved by the kinetic energy of the beam.
"New contact! Heading 2-01-15! It is approaching at high speed."
"Evasive pattern Beta 3. Launch anti-MS missiles. All CWCS on stand by for automatic fire." said Zalman in a calm voice, as if he was not doing something more stressing that ordering groceries.
"Energy spike!" shouted the sensor operator.
"Brace for impact!"
=RK=
X311 – Dragon
It was a race between myself, the captain of the Laurasia and Le Cruset's Nazca class with its Gundams. One I was about to win. Before the more powerful ZAFT ship and its MS could become a factor I unleashed the Multi-Phase Energy cannons on my Dragon for the second time. That was second before my target answered with a spread of four missiles which boosted in my direction.
Both my shots pierced the MS hangar under the main body of the frigate. The high energy beams cored the compartment which was engulfed by hellish flames when some of the ammunition contained within was detonated. The ZAFT ship shook and was thrown off course by the internal blasts.
I opened long range fire on the missiles heading my way. The beam cannons mounted in my Dragoon pods made short work of the incoming ordinance.
=RK=
ZAFT Frigate Gamow
Captain Zalman bit off a curse when the Mobile Suit bay of his ship was wrecked. At least it was empty of personnel ever since the GINN compliment of his frigate was wiped out so no additional victims from that strike beyond the crew-members who were not secure in crash webbing when the attack hit.
"All missiles intercepted short from the target. Its some kind new mobile armor."
"Rotate the ship and head in its direction!" ordered Sinclair.
With the turrets which could face to the starboard taken out with the first lucky hit, the Gamow could not meat the incoming enemy with heavy firepower if maintaining her current course. The CIWCs would be unable to faze the attacker. With so much heavy firepower, the enemy pilot did not need to come in their range.
=RK=
X311-Dragon
A small part of my mind, what I could recognize as a remnant of the man I was before being flung in this universe was frantic. This was not my damn war! Yet, here I was – flying a high tech dead machine and doing my best to snuff out the lives of few hundred people. But those protests were distant, quiet. Ice water was running through my veins. There was no real pity and regret in what was the dominating part of me – the phantom of a super soldier built on the operating table. There was only the mission. The ship I was firing on was simply that – a target, instead of a craft carrying living, breathing human beings.
The lethargy and apathy that were my constant companions eversince I awoke here were gone, replaced by lethal, calculating precision.
The Frigate changed its bearing and ponderously made a turn to bring its remaining heavy weapons to bear. The Dragon gave me the dual warnings of multiple targeting sensors locking onto me and of new contacts appearing in front of the Nazca, which was racing this way. I disregarded them for the moment and shot again before receiving the positive lock tone for my own missiles.
The four "Lance Dart" KEP's separated from my DRAGOON pods and sped away to their destination.
My third cannon attack glanced the armored bow of the enemy warship leaving deep gorges of molten metal.
=RK=
ZAFT Frigate Gamow
For the first time since the start of this assignment, Zallman cursed out aloud. The last strike nearly destroyed the bridge and killed them all. As it was, the main power to the forward sections of his ship was cut and his bridge crew was illuminated by the eery red glow of emergency lighting.
He was listening over the internal comms, which were still operational, the frantic orders of his XO from the CIC burred deeper in the ship. The Mobile Armor was still coming and it had launched missiles which were not impressed by the countermeasures and ECM the first officer had deployed. CIWC guns opened fire and managed to damage one of the KEP enough for it to miss its target.
The other three struck the Frigate mid-ship and a moment later detonated. The starboard pod was torn away from the main body of the Gamow by the massive internal detonation that gutted the ZAFT craft. The wrecked spacecraft was finished by a pair of crimson energy shots which entered the huge gaping holes made by the "Lance Dart's".
Captain Zallman had a second to regret failing his crew before a chain reaction of blossoming explosions tore the Gamow apart.
=RK=
X311-Dragon
I was close enough to see how the Laurasia class was shattered by a rolling wave of internal detonations that fragmented the once proud craft. I had the blood of hundreds on my arms and I felt... nothing. I could almost hear a whispering in my head.
"Target eliminated. Mission accomplished. Return to base."
Whose were those thoughts? Mine? That of the dead man I possessed? A side effect of all the cybernetics stuck in my head? Or was I just loosing it? In the middle of a battlefield no less.
My short lived confusion was drowned by a wave of cold logic and I banked my MA to the right and headed to the Archangel at top speed. Behind me the four captured Gundams were heading our way followed by the Nazca class. The battle was far from over and I could not allow myself any doubts if I wanted to survive the approaching encounter with the ZAFT Aces.
"This is Knight. Target destroyed. I am returning to base and bringing company. "
=GSI=
Part 4
Near Orb colony Heliopolis
The Dragon raced through the distance between the ambush point and the Archangel. Behind me, the four stolen Gundams were in hot pursuit. The good news was that I would reach my mother ship with few minutes to spare before the enemy MS reached it. On the flip side, we would have to deal with them. I had the distinct feeling that with this being the real world, it was unlikely that either Kira or the Archangel had their plot shield. Neither did I.
With my X311 locked in MA mode until Kira had time to update its OS so I could use its full capabilities, I was in a great disadvantage. Facing run of the mill ZAFT suits within Heliopolis was bad enough. This coming battle was going to be much worse.
When I was close enough, my sensors detected the ship and Yamato's Strike which was small by comparison. There was no sight of Mu's Zero. So the plan was in motion. Or totally messed up by a technical screw up...
I took escort formation near the Archangel and awaited the arrival of the ZAFT forces. Unfortunately, I did not have time for a pit stop to get the Dragon's batteries recharged. My energy was down to seventy five percent.
"So, Kira, which pair of Gundams do you want?" I quipped on a private channel.
"Very funny." grumbled the kid.
"Three contacts detected! They... they are the X numbers! Buster, Duel and Blitz!" announced the sensor operator of the Archangel.
"Where is the Aegis?" I asked aloud.
The three captured machines moved in triangular formation in an attempt to braked the Archangel from behind. I flew to meet them, leaving Kira near the ship.
"Another contact detected! It's approaching fast from the starboard!"
"Strike, intercept the new contact." I ordered calmly.
From behind me, twelve Korintos missiles darted around my Dragon and sprinted towards the three Gundams moving on intercept vector.
Meanwhile, an unfamiliar male voice spoke across one of the channels dedicated for contact between the G-Weapons. With me piloting the second command model, I had access to the same communication equipment and protocols as Zala did. That permitted me to listen to his conversation with the kid.
"Kira!" exclaimed the ZAFT ace.
"Athrun!" I could hear the surprise in Yamato's voice.
"Stop it Kira! Put your weapons away! We are not enemies, am I right? Why you, a coordinator like us, must fight against your own people?"
"Well, if that is the case let us all go home!" I interjected with amusement filling my voice.
While we were idly chatting the battle was unfolding around us. I could see the Duel banking to its left and shooting down a missile homing on it. I let my Dragoon pods loose under wire control and opened fire at the X102. Its pilot was forced to maneuver erratically in order to evade my beam fire. I used the pods to keep him busy and targeted the Buster with my primary weapons sending a dual beam of crimson death its way. The artillery platform managed to twist its bulk so my shots passed harmlessly by the MS.
The Blitz was dancing around the missiles targeting it and blowing them out of the sky while moving towards the Archangel. The Buster, while maneuvering to make itself a harder target was also creeping towards my mother ship. Only the Duel was kept in check by the burst fire of my pods but I could not keep such a barrage indefinitely. Not while piloting a battery powered suit, anyway.
Behind me, the carrier was lit up by the fire of its weapons. Both anti missile guns and main weapons were filling the space around it with as much ordinance as they could in futile hope to discourage the enemy operated Gundams.
I mouthed a curse and cut loose the Dragoon pods leaving them on wireless control and headed to the ship. It was just a matter of time before either the Buster or Blitz find an opening to exploit.
Most of us were fighting for our lives, yet Kira and his friends were just flying around each other and chatting. Bloody kids.
"Why Kira!? Why are you siding with the naturals!?"
"I am not a part of the Earth Forces! My friends are on that ship! The same ones ZAFT almost killed when you wrecked Heliopolis!"
"Athrun Zala, is it?" I asked. "You should have thought about that before wrecking a neutral colony!"
"What about you, Athrun? Why did you join ZAFT and the war?" exclaimed Kira.
I shook my head with amusement. This was starting to resemble a bloody soap opera. At least Kira's sister was not with us. Yet.
"Athrun! Stop fucking around! Why are you not attacking!" shouted the pilot of the Duel.
The Dragon's communications suite had no problem intercepting the transmission and patching it to me. I wondered when the ZAFT pilots would catch up and understand that I could intercept all communications between the Gundams. I decided to show the Duel's pilot that I had not forgotten about him so I ramped up the fire rate of the pods. I could hear him cursing on open channel before he pushed his machine to the limits.
If it was not for my cybernetic enhancements there was no way I could multitask so much – controlling the Dragoons, piloting my MA in combat and carrying out a conversation with one of the enemy pilots. I had to keep a tight control over the pods in order to keep the Duel from shooting them down.
For some reason the Buster and Blitz's pilots decided that it was a good idea to attack the Archangel from the front. The supposed stealth machine flew in first using itself as a shield for the artillery platform. The Phase armor of the Blitz had not trouble tanking the shots from the CWCS and a barrage of light missiles. It was briefly engulfed by the combined blast waves of multiple explosions but moments later emerged from it unscratched. The best that attack did to it probably was to rattle a bit its pilot.
The Buster used the distraction provided by his fellow ace to move to the board side of the carrier and opened fire at the ships flank. Two anti beam charges detonated over that side of the Archangel and the first two shots from the Buster's beam cannon dispersed harmlessly before reaching the armor. However that type of defense bought a very short respite. As one could expect it was not a practical thing to use in space if your ships had to maneuver. The anti beam charges however were really useful for protecting static installations. Then the attacker had to haul KEWs to do the job.
The third shot from the cannon connected with the super-dispersive armor plating of the Archangel heating her until it glowed orange for few seconds. But it held and soon started cooling down.
The Blitz added the loads of its missile pods to his onslaught but before it could use its cannon again, the ZAFT pilot was forced to move it away from my mother ship. He had to do so or be lanced by my anti-ship cannons. I flew by the stolen Gundam, peppering it with rounds from by Vulcan cannons. While they had no chance of breaching its Phase shift amour, every hit drained a bit of the suit's power.
"Its too well armed! I can't get a clear shot! Not with the Mobile Armor trying to blast me away!" I could hear the words of the Blitz's pilot but did not reveal the ability to listen in.
The Duel flew under the Archangel, tanked through the barrage from its close in weapons and turned so it could target the relatively vulnerable belly of the ship. The carrier rotated too and aimed two of its main cannons at the Blitz which was forced to evade the energy blasts.
I shot at the Duel, preventing him from easily targeting my mother ship. I frowned when a red light started blinking on my display. The wireless connection with the Dragoons had weakened dramatically thanks to the energy thrown in by our combat. So the pods were returning to my location on autopilot. I cursed. Now the Duel was going to either go after Kira or join the assault on the Archangel.
=GSI=
Nazca class ZAFT ship Vesalius
"We are approaching the enemy vessel. Distance 740. The MS force reports that they are engaged by one enemy Mobile Suit and the MA which sunk the Gamow." reported the sensor operator.
"So they have not fixed yet La Flaga's armor." muttered Le Creuset.
"I believe that we can assume so." the captain agreed.
"Target the Legged ship with the main cannons. Once its dealt with their mobile forces are finished. We can simply wait for them to run out of energy before gathering the rest of our prize." declared the ZAFT commander.
=GSI=
X311 Dragon
I winced when a shot from the beam's cannon flak carried by the Blitz pelted my armor. It did little more than scorch the paint but it was an unpleasant reminder that my only advantage was the speed my MS had in MA mode. Every other Gundam had me beat in the agility department.
I heard a transmission from the Duel to the ZAFT ship. It confirmed that there were only the two of us deployed and that he was going after Kira. I hoped that Le Creuset would think that Mu's Zero was still out of commission after he trashed it earlier. While thinking to my old friend, where the hell was he?! I was down to thirty percent energy and Yamato's reserves would not last much longer while he was facing two enemy Gundams. It should be noted that as a command suit with more active system, the Dragoon had one additional battery built in giving it more combat endurance even when going all out.
I could see the dot representing the Strike on the edge of my sensors. Kira was dodging madly in all direction trying to keep his machine in one piece. He was desperately blazing away at the Duel with the occasional shot thrown Zala's way. At that rate he was going to run out of energy before me and considering how far away he was, there was no way that I could go to his aid without compromising the Archangel's defense. I believed that the carrier could survive for short time against the two Gundams but that was not something on which I was going to bet my life.
The Buster decided to make the life harder for Kira, at least until the Nazca was in range. Its pilot sent few shot at the Strike before I persuaded him that such an action was not good idea. A combined barrage from my main cannons and the pods which had returned to me bracketed the ZAFT piloted MS in a web of beam fire. The X103 remained largely untouched but one of its cannons got its barrel melted making it a useless piece of scrap.
The Buster headed towards the Strike while the Blitz disregarded the Archangel and flew at me.
I threw the Dragon in a spin barely avoiding energy beams which lanced at me. The damn thing was fast, neutralizing most of my sole advantage. At least it was designed as a close combat model. If it had more beam weaponry, I would have been in real trouble. However it did its purpose splendidly. It kept me busy while the other three Gundams were ganging on Kira. With the Archangel rotating to face the approaching Nazca class, there was no help to be had from there besides a single missile salve sent at the G-Weapons attacking Kira.
Where was that scoundrel La Flaga!?
=GSI=
Zero Moebius, on intercept vector with ZAFT Nazca class
Mu was getting restless. With no real cover to speak about, the two part ambush directed at the Le Creuset forces had to be carried out with some improvisations. Veil had managed to sneak up to the Laurasia class but his Dragon had weapons with much longer reach. So La Flaga was reduced to crawling on minimum power on a vector he hoped to lead him below the Nazca. Before the enemy warship could attack the Archangel.
Even at this distance he could receive weak transmissions from the battle. It was not going well. Kira was facing three of the stolen MS and Delkatar was kept at bay by the last one. The Blitz was fast enough to prevent Veil from simply outpacing it and going to Strike's help. Being unable to use the X311's MS mode in combat, there was not much Delkatar could do besides hoping to disable his opponent with lucky hit.
The Zero was drifting closer and closer to the projected course of Le Creuset's ship. Its passive sensors detected the enemy craft and the EA ace frowned. It was distant enough that he may not get the surprising attack he was hoping for.
A look of determination shone in Mu's eyes and he sped up at his quarry. The moment his engines got to full power he hit the afterburner. Any time now the Nazca would be in range.
It was a race between the last Moebius Zero and the crew of the ZAFT ship.
=GSI=
Part 5
Zero Moebius, on intercept vector with ZAFT Nazca class
Mu frowned. He felt the crawling feeling that always came over him when Le Creuset was nearby. The enemy ship was seconds from range when it banked to the starboard and opened fire with all its secondary weapons. The EA Ace simply shrugged and continued on his course. He released the gun funnels from their mooring. Moments later his Zero crossed the invisible line signifying that the Nazca was in range, and he opened fire with his linear canons.
All the firepower of his Mobile Armor was targeted at the engine section of the enemy ship. For seconds, so long they felt like hours, La Flaga's craft hurled itself in the Nazca's teeth. Only a great amount of luck and his superb skill as a pilot gave Mu a chance. He was even treated to a rare sight of pyrotechnics – on of his shells stuck the warship's defensive fire and blossomed into a crimson explosion. The annihilation of the two pieces of metal lit up the space around the Vesalius, momentarily drowning the lights of the short but vicious encounter.
"Yes!" exclaimed Mu when he hit near the spaceship's engine. Something vital detonated and the bulk of the Nazca visibly shuddered from the shock-wave.
That was his cue. The second part of his plan was suicidal. After the stunt he was about to pull out, La Flaga knew that he could hardly haze his revenant friend. Moments before the Zero passed by the stricken enemy ship, he launched a dart which was connected to his MA by a metal wire. This grappling hook pierced the weakened armor of the Nazca and unfolded inside.
In the last possible second Mu banked around the warship using the leverage provided by the wire connecting his craft with the much larger ship to change his vector in a turn that would have been otherwise impossible.
He nearly lost consciousness by the sudden G-forces falling upon his body but his suit did his job and barely kept him awake. Painted smile appeared on his face when he knew that his maneuver succeeded. Mu hit the afterburner for all it was worth and headed towards the Archangel.
Behind him the Nazca's crew was firing maneuvering thrusters in an attempt to prevent the ship from spinning out of control.
=RK=
X311 Dragon
A relieved smile stretched my lips when I received a message from the carrier. Mu had done the deed!
Behind me the Archangel was rotating to face the distant enemy warship. Various hatches on opened revealing its main cannons. I prayed that this time this Earth would be luckier and the shots would blow Le Creuset out of existence.
I knew it was unlikely but a man can hope, right?
"The Vesalius has been hit!"
"They want us to return?! Now?"
I could hear the exclamations of the men piloting the stolen Gundam. It was time to get Kira out of the bind he found himself.
"Archangel Actual, this is Lieutenant Veil. I am requesting fire support against the Blitz." I spoke calmly in my mic.
I twisted the Dragon out of the way of a beam shot and returned the favor against the enemy machine that was making my life hard. The Blitz danced away from my return fire, and I banked to the left so I could keep him away from close range.
"Archangel, do you copy?" I asked, wondering why there was no answer from my mother ship.
I frowned and glanced at the instrument panel to my left. I grimaced and felt like bashing my head against the closest, convenient flat surface. My comm was stuck in receive only mode. I thought about the battle while evading fire from the stolen machine.
It was stuck that way eversince the start of this battle. I remembered Kira answering me just before the enemy MS arrived. I shook my head in embarrassment wondering how I could forget something as basic as this.
Well, the answer was simple – I was out of my depth. While, thanks to ROB undoubtedly, I did have the skills of a competent soldier and excellent pilot, I lacked the practiced experience needed for what I was doing. Things that should have been a second nature were not. Not yet at least. I just hoped that I'll survive long enough to polish my skills.
The side effects of the operation that had put my body back in one piece were partially to blame too. Thanks to the cybernetic implants in my brain I found it very easy to multitask... however my mind was not accustomed to such actions. I was missing details, something I could ill afford in combat. I doubted that I had plot armor as Kira had in the anime. That said, here he, as well as the crew of the Archangel and the enemies we were fighting were real, blood and flesh humans.
That meant I could not afford to become complacent and assume that unless I changed something the events in this world will unfold just as in cannon. On shot moving few degrees in the wrong direction was all that was needed to ruin someones day. Permanently.
I did not have time to ponder such things. I continued to exchange fire with the Blitz and repeated my request for fire support. This time it was hear and approved. Seconds later I could see missiles launching from the Archangel which was below me and to the left.
The screens in the part of my cockpit facing that direction polarized for few seconds announcing that some of the cameras had closed their irises to protect them from the intense light created as a by product of the Archangel's main guns.
Le Creuset's ship had obviously retained enough maneuverability to evade at that range because I could hear disappointed reports over my still open channel to the carrier.
The salvo sent at the Blitz had better success. The agile Mobile Suit managed to evade one of the missiles and shot down two more. The last slammed into its side sending it on a new trajectory. Unfortunately that had a downside – a pair of beams shot by my main canons passed through its previous location moment after the detonation moved it away. Yet, it was not enough for the Gundam to get away unscratched. Its right leg was melted off just above the knee.
After that close call, its pilot decided that enough was enough and headed to his own mother ship.
I smiled. With any luck that damage would have disabled its stealth system.
"Kira break towards the Archangel!" I ordered before requesting that the carrier send few more missiles after the Blitz to encourage it on its way home. Soon another salvo raced his way.
"Back him up!" ordered Captain Ramius.
"It's impossible while they are in such a close quarters!" came the frantic answer from one of the weapons operators.
With that frustrating machine out of my way, I headed towards Kira who was dealing with the other three stolen machines. The Strike was dancing between energy beams, evading shots against which its Phase Armor offered no protection.
I was about a minute from entering effective range of the MS skirmish when suddenly the Strike's engines cut off and the suit started drifting. Damn it, the kid was out of power!
I saw the dot representing the X301 merging with the one of symbolizing Kira's machine.
"The Strike has been captured by the Aegis!" I heard an unnecessary report from the Archangel's sensor operator.
"I am heading to retrieve the Strike and Yamato. Vector Lieutenant La Flaga this way as well." I informed the Captain, and pushed the Dragon's engines up to full power.
As I raced to help the kid, I could hear the chatter of the ZAFT pilots.
"Aegis, what the hell are you doing? Your orders are to destroy it not to tow it home!" exclaimed on of the enemy pilots.
"I am capturing that machine." calmly answered Kira's friend.
"You are ignoring orders." Informed him another pilot.
"Athrun, what do you think you are doing?" wondered Kira aloud.
"You are a coordinator so I am bringing you home."
This was becoming a real soap opera. I shook my head at their antics. Perhaps I should not forget that all of those kids were teenagers despite being a group of elite pilots. Except Kira who was just an amateur with incredible potential.
"Archangel, prepare launch the "Launcher Striker" pack! I want it out in two minutes when I am in range of the Mobile Suits."
"Confirm that, Knight!" ordered Natarle.
"If I am remembering the specs correctly, that pack has built in batteries from which the Strike can siphon power. I'll distract the G-Weapons while Kira docks with them. His suit should still have some emergency power which he can redirect to the engines for such a maneuver." I explained my reasoning.
"Its dangerous, but it might work." muttered the Captain.
"Either that or I'll have to shoot down the Strike in order to deny it to the enemy. It is the prototype for the Mass Produced MS of the EA. It will be easiest to reverse engineer and put in production. Its bad enough that ZAFT got the other machines. I can't allow it to fall in their hands." I said quietly.
After few seconds of tense silence, Ramius ordered the launch of the pack.
I watched my sensors carefully as well as the information coming through the data link with the Archangel. Mu would be in range twenty seconds after me. I subtly reduced my MA's acceleration so we could attack at the same time. I sent him a message to target the Duel while I concentrated on the Buster. Those were our targets after we forced the Aegis to release Kira.
That at least was the plan and I had no reason to believe it should not work. In the original time-line, Mu had pulled it off alone, against all four captured machines. Yet, I felt uneasy.
The seconds that passed while I approached the fleeing enemy felt endless.
Finally I was in range. The Buster turned around and aimed at me with its beam canon, forcing me to evade. That cost me a clear shot at the Aegis, which I left for La Flaga to handle, and I opened fire at the artillery platform. At least that part of the plan was still working.
I saw the pinkish colored MS take hits from the Zero's linear canons and it released the Strike.
"Kid, use the override on your emergency power system. The Archangel sent a Launcher Pack for you. Go and get it!" I ordered while trading pot shots with the Buster.
The Strike floated helplessly for few seconds before its engines roared to life and it darted in the direction of our carrier.
I glanced at the level of interference around us and smiled viciously. It was low enough that I could safely use the wireless mode of my Dragoons. I sent the pods after Kira so they could provide him with covering fire, and less than twenty seconds later that decision was proven to be correct. The Duel had broken from trying to nail Mu, leaving my friend to the Aegis and flew after the Strike. I was locked in an artillery duel with the Buster so I could not go to help the kid.
The Dragoons however, which were under my control, earned their weight in any precious metal you care to name. The pods maneuvered erratically and attacked the enemy machine from two different vectors. To tell you the truth, I was not trying to hit the Duel, but only to prevent it from shooting down Kira.
We all continued that deadly waltz for the next minute or so, until the Strike went under the defensive umbrella of the Archangel. All this time, the carrier was accelerating our way.
The front of the warship was lit up as it opened with all of its secondary weapons on the Duel. The pilot of the captured machine took one look at the ordinance heading his way, and decided that discretion was the better part of valor. He made a tight turn while still banking around randomly to evade my pods fire and headed back towards his mother ship. Soon enough the Buster and Aegis disengaged too.
I glanced at my power meter which was at four percent and getting lower. This was an underwhelming resolution of the hostilities but at least we were all alive. The same can't be said for the crew of the warship I sunk. I idly wondered how long it will be before the full impact of what I've done hit me. I had killed few hundred people in my sneak attack, and felt nothing unusual. Whether it was because the drugs, the implants or a combination of the two I did not know. Though I believed that if was in their power, the bastards who had put my body back together, would have done their best to eliminate my conscience. After all, it was a pesky thing that could get in the way of following orders without question. Damn Atlantic Federation bastards!
I let those thoughts drift away and guided my Mobile Armor towards the Archangel.