Chapter 5: The Phantom Mobile Suit
Mankind has always struggled with the concept of morality. For most people, it's good versus evil. Yet to others, a persons actions define who they are, something no one can label. I personally believe in the latter. When you label someone, that label is permanent. Label someone a hero, and everyone will expect great things from them and that they will always be a hero. When in reality, they can easily change in the blink of an eye. Being labeled is inevitable in times of war, but I wonder, what will my actions say about me? What will the people of the world choose to label me?
The evening breeze blew through the town of Haven. The town was still and silent in the night. Shinjiro Naito sat on the porch of his home, smoking a cigarette. "Father, you said you were going to quit." Shinjiro turned to see his daughter standing in the door. "I know, Yui. It's just tough, what with the war going on. This is the first chance i've had to relax in a while." Yui stepped outside and sat next to him. "How long do you think this war will last?" Shinjiro removed the cigarette from his mouth and blew a trail of smoke into the air. "I don't know, Yui. I'm a soldier, i'm not paid to think or end wars. I'm do what i'm told like a cog in a well oiled machine. If they tell me the colonies are our enemies, then i'll fight them, whether they've done anything to me personally or not." Yui looked at him, seemingly angry. "But that isn't right! Just because-" Shinjiro cut her off. "I know it isn't, but it's the way things are. There's nothing we can do about it." Yui was about to object, but at that moment Shinjiro's cell phone went off. He pulled it out of his pocket, hit the answer button, and placed it to his ear. "Shinjiro here... What?! I'll be right their!" Shinjiro hung up and put the phone back in his pocket. "I'm sorry, but I have to go. Federation forces have been engaged over the ocean." He jogged over to his truck and got in. Yui followed him over and stood next to the window. Shinjiro started the truck and looked at Yui. "I'll be back as soon as I can. Stay here and don't leave the house. I love you." Shinjiro hit the gas and sped away towards the UEG base not too far from the city.
Yui watched as her fathers truck sped down the road, and eventually, out of sight. "Love you too dad. Come home safe." She put her hands together, a tear forming in her eye. A moment later, as if she hadn't heard a single thing her father said, she took off towards the ocean.
Shinjiro pulled up to the bases front gate. The guard opened the gate for him and he drove straight in, parking near the hangar complex. He hopped out of his truck and jogged into the hangar, making a b-line to the lockers. He quickly found his locker and pulled his pilot gear out. As he slipped it on, he heard a familiar voice. "Commander Naito!" Shinjiro looked over to see Toju Satou walking towards him. "Evening Lieutenant. To what do I owe this pleasure?" Toju stopped next to him. "Looks like i've been placed under your command again sir. We're set to head out in a few minutes." Shinjiro zipped up his suit and grabbed his helmet, shutting his locker. "Then let's be on our way Lieutenant." Shinjiro put a hand on Toju's shoulder as he passed by, letting go a few seconds later. Toju smiled and turned to follow him. "Yes, sir!"
They stepped out into the main hangar. Shinjiro headed for his Valdris Command Unit which had thicker armor than the standard model. It also had a quicker response time. It had been customized based on Shinjiro's preferences in combat, making it a mid-range type. He stepped onto the repelling line, hit the switch on the cable, and ascended up to the cockpit.
Following suit, Toju climbed into his Xenos, which was painted a crimson red. The Xenos was a new model and had been given to Toju for testing. It's armor was more resistant to ballistics than previous models like the Valdris and it had a powerful rifle. While it has a mid to long range weapon, it also has a single physical blade capable of cutting through just about anything. Because of his close combat preference, Toju had the suit modified with enhanced thrusters for superior maneuverability. This unmatched speed on the battlefield earned him the nickname "The Crimson Blaze".
Sitting in the pilots seat and slipping his helmet on, Toju shut the hatch and watched as the screens flashed on. "Those colonists are gonna regret coming near here." He smirked.
Shinjiro moved his Valdris to the hangar bay doors, Toju and a group of 7 Valdris' following closely behind. The hangar doors slid open. Shinjiro and his team stepped out into the large courtyard. "Alright everyone, listen up! Some colonials were spotted off the coast near Haven. Our job is to take them out as quickly as possible with minimal damage to the town. Got it?!" The soldiers, including Toju, shouted in unison. "Yes, sir!" Shinjiro smiled. "Commander Shinjiro Naito, taking off!" The thrusters ignited on all of the mobile suits, and they launched into the air. Toju eased off the throttle so he'd be in formation with the rest of the squad.
Citizens in Haven looked out of their windows to see what all the commotion was about. Not a moment later, 9 UEG mobile suit's flew overhead, heading towards the ocean. As they drew ever closer, they could see the explosions in the distance. The mobile suits blasted over the water, leaving trails in their wake.
Minutes later, they reached the battlefield. 4 UEG Valdris suits were engaged in battle against 10 Federation Natsu's and one new model. Shinjiro opened a comm channel to his team. "All right, watch each others backs, strike at the most dangerous suits first, leave the weaklings for last. Lieutenant Satou, take the new model." An eager Toju came back over the comms. "With pleasure, sir!" The Xenos broke off from the main group and sped towards the unknown model. Shinjiro slowed and watched as the rest of his team flew past him. Come back alive... all of you.
The fighting raged for quite a while. Blades clashed, bullets flew in all directions, rockets sped past, barely missing their marks. So far, 2 Natsu's had fallen, and not a single Valdris had taken severe damage. The new model couldn't keep up with the Xenos speed, but it made up for it in defensive power, being able to hold it at bay. The fighting was slowly making its way towards Haven as the mobile suits flew in all directions. Shinjiro took down one Natsu, seemingly frustrated at how well organized the enemy forces were. "Form a defensive line! We have to keep them away from the town!" The Xenos and Valdris' moved back to Shinjiro's position, forming a wall. The Natsu's and the new model assaulted the mobile suit wall, taking relatively small amounts of damage from the UEG's fire. A stray shot flew through the air and struck the head of a Valdris. With the optics destroyed, the pilot couldn't see, rendering the mobile suit useless to a degree. The Natsu's used this to their advantage and charged the new weak point in the wall. One Natsu fell to enemy fire, but the rest managed to break through and flew straight to the town. One of the Valdris pilots aimed his rocket launcher and fired one off, aimed at the lead suit.
Yui had been running for what seemed like an hour, but it couldn't have been more than 10-20 minutes. She finally made it to the beach. Above its waters in the distance she could see the raging battle. Father...
The battle soon spread towards the beach as the Federation suits pushed through the UEG blockade. They were headed straight for her. Fear spread across her face. Would they attack the town? Use it as a shield? Or fly straight over it? All the outcomes terrified her. One of the Valdris' fired a rocket at the Federation forces, trying to keep them from getting to the town, but the suit that it was aiming for rolled out of the way, and the rocket streaked straight towards the beach. It was headed straight for Yui.
Shinjiro watched as the rocket streaked through the night, blazing towards its intended target, but at the last possible second, the Natsu rolled out of the way, and the rocket was sent flying towards the beach. Shinjiro's optics zoomed in on the beach, detecting a single person. "Yui!" She was right in the rockets flight path, and no way out. Shinjiro pushed his Valdris as far as it could go, but no matter how fast he went, it would be too late. Even the Xenos, which was way ahead of them, couldn't reach it In time. Suddenly, his sensors went off. He saw a flash of light to his left. It streaked through the nights sky and headed straight towards Yui's location and the rockets flight path. All of the mobile suits stopped, including the Federation suits.
Yui could only watch with fear as the rocket sped towards her, growing ever closer. She knew she was going to die. She was afraid. She wondered why she had come out instead of staying home like her father had told her. Out of instinct, she raised her arms, trying to shield herself. The rocket detonated and heat washed over her... but she was fine. She slowly opened her eyes and lowered her arms.
Shinjiro watched as the streak stopped in front of Yui. The rocket impacted on something and detonated. The explosion seemed to have been dispersed over something. He zoomed in as far as he could and scanned with night vision. As the smoke cleared, it revealed a mobile suit as black as night with red streaks all along its body. Despite the color scheme, he recognized the design. It was the same mobile suit he had seen on Elysium. "So... it was here on Earth all along." It's shield was raised above it, meaning the rocket had impacted on it, but... it appeared almost completely unscathed.
A mobile suit, as black as night, towered above Yui. It was kneeling, its shield raised to the sky. Its arm reached out to her, palm opened, as if gesturing for her to get on. She hesitated for a moment, but something made her trust it. She climbed onto the hand. The hand raised itself up to a red portion of the chest armor. It hissed and opened, revealing the cockpit inside. A man stepped slightly out of the hatch. He was wearing a black pilot suit and helmet. The visor on the helmet was dark, no face visible inside it. The man extended his hand. He spoke, his voice seemingly synthesized. "Don't be afraid. You can trust me." Yui hesitated. This man was a stranger. He could have any number of reasons for wanting her to get in the cockpit with him, but something seemed familiar about him, though she couldn't quite place what it was. Something made her trust him, whatever it was. Common sense told her not to, but her heart told her she could trust him. So she reached out and took his hand. He pulled her inside. She slipped behind the pilots seat while he sat down. The hatch closed and sealed itself tight. The holographic displays lit up the interior. Even with the illumination, she still couldn't see past his visor. Was this intentional?
The mobile suit stood as tall as it could. It turned towards the mobile suit's hovering above the ocean. The emerald optics flashed to life. Kazuo turned on the thrusters, removed the beam sword from the side holster, and pushed the throttle as far as it would go. The Gundam kneeled for a slight second as the thrusters built up, then shot off into the night sky towards the mobile suits.
The Federation suit's hesitated for a mere moment before charging him... a very bad mistake. The beam sword connected with the first suit as he flew past it. The Natsu was sheared in half, and detonated. Two Natsu's tried to overtake him, but to no avail. The first one grabbed onto him from behind. He flipped the beam sword in the Gundams hand and thrust It backwards, into the right side of the mobile suit. The sword cut through vital systems. Kazuo tore the sword out through what was left of the right side and brought it around in a sideways slash. It connected with the lower left half of the oncoming second mobile suit and tore straight upwards. The blade came out of the right shoulder. Taking the small reprieve, the Century launched upwards away from the two suits, which both detonated a moment later.
While Kazuo was busy fighting the Federation suits, the UEG forces took the opportunity to strike as well. The 9 UEG Valdris suits, and the Xenos, sped off towards the battle. Shinjiro didn't move. "Hey! Get back here! That's an order!" There was no response. Shinjiro took off after them.
Kazuo sliced through another Natsu, this one only disabled, and fell into the ocean below. His motion sensors went off, detecting the incoming UEG suits. One of them came straight at him. It was a crimson red. Using the Gundams enhanced response time, Kazuo swung the Gundams foot straight at the crimson mobile suit, which left itself exposed. The foot connected with the side of the mobile suit and sent it reeling into the ocean below. The other UEG suits were lagging behind, so Kazuo took the opportunity to strike at the Federations new model which seemed to have been giving the UEG suits so much trouble earlier. The Century's shield collapsed into a smaller form, giving his left arm more room to move. He tossed the beam sword to his left hand. He kicked the thrusters into high gear once more, the Gundam shooting off towards the new model. The new model pulled out its own melee weapon, a physical blade. Kazuo's beam sword connected with it, tearing through it, into the right shoulder, and sheering off the right arm entirely. The arm fell towards the ocean, but exploded before crashing into the water. In that brief moment, Kazuo had taken out the Gundams beam rifle, pointed it at the new model, and fired. The round tore through the cockpit. The systems inside exploded, and a second later, the entire suit went up like a flare.
The Century's motion sensors went off once more, signaling the arrival of the UEG suits. They engaged the remainder of the Federation forces. Bullets flew in every direction. A Valdris sped towards him. Kazuo raised the beam sword and cut a diagonal line through the suit. The blade had started at the left shoulder, tore its way through the core and the cockpit, and exited through the lower right side. The Valdris exploded. Kazuo resheathed the beam sword on his right side, and extended the shield. Bullets pinged off the shield as 3 of the Valdris' fired at him, attempting to avenge their fallen comrade. He aimed his beam rifle and fired. One round tore through the optics of one Valdris, sending it into the ocean below. The second round tore through the core of the second Valdris. The third one broke off, knowing its demise was imminent should it stay. It joined up with its remaining squad mates who were assaulting the Federation forces.
The Federation and UEG forces tore at each other, almost ignoring Kazuo's presence now. One by one, they fell. Kazuo personally saw that the last remaining suit was destroyed, a UEG Valdris. He shot it right in the back, taking out its core. It exploded soon after. Only a single Natsu remained, having hidden away from the battlefield.
Commander Shinjiro arrived just in time to see his entire team get wiped out by a single mobile suit, that had also almost single-handedly taken out all of the Federation forces. The Xenos finally emerged from the ocean depths, Toju having finally gotten it to function again. Shinjiro put his Valdris in the Xenos' path.
"Why did you stop me?!"
"Because you'll die if you proceed further."
"I can take-" He was cut off.
"My daughter is inside that suit."
Toju lowered his weapon. He had no idea she was in there. He had tried to attack it before. No wonder the Commander had stayed back. He didn't want to risk harming his own daughter.
The Gundam hovered in the air. It lowered its weapons. Through his optics, Kazuo could make out news bots, hovering around the battlefield. The battle was being broadcast live to the entire Earth Sphere. Kazuo turned on the Gundam's external speakers, small speakers hidden beneath the armor, but had tremendous range, able to be heard as far as Haven. He wanted the world to hear his message. His helmets voice masker kicked on, his voice seemingly synthesized. "Citizens of the Earth Sphere! Let it be known, I fight for neither the United Earth Government or the Colonial Federation. My battle is with war itself... and all who support it! For as long as war continues, I will be their, like a phantom in the darkness, striking down all who call war necessary! This is my warning." His speakers shut off, his message broadcast to the entire Earth Sphere.
The Century's thrusters came to life, and the Gundam glided towards Shinjiro's Valdris. He stopped in front of it by 10 feet. The Gundam's cockpit hatch opened with a hiss. Kazuo stepped out onto the hatch, his helmet still on and his visor as black as the rest of his suit. No one could see his face. He turned and extended his hand inside the Gundam. Yui took his hand, and he helped her onto the hatch. The Valdris' hatch opened as well, the two open hatches connecting like a bridge. Kazuo let go of her hand and nodded in her fathers direction. She began walking, and about halfway, she stopped and looked back at him. She stared directly into his visor, their eye's meeting, even if she didn't know it. She turned and walked to her father. They embraced. "Yui. I'm glad you're safe. Are you all right?" She looked up at him, smiled, and nodded. "Yes, i'm okay father, thanks to him." They both looked at Kazuo. "While I cannot forgive you for the deaths of my men... I will thank you, for saving my daughters life." Kazuo acknowledged Shinjiro's thank you with a nod, and stepped back inside the cockpit, sitting in the pilots seat. The hatch slowly closed, Shinjiro and Yui not taking their eye's off of him until they could not see him anymore. The Century's hatch hissed as it sealed tight, and the Gundam glided backwards. The two of them stepped inside the Valdris, and its hatch too shut.
Toju watched the entire exchange with hatred in his eyes. While he was glad that she was safe, he still hated this man with all his being. Some of those pilots were his friends. How could he ever forgive him? "Commander!" Shinjiro's voice came over the comms. "We will not pursue him. Not this time. You will have your chance soon enough." Toju slammed his fist on the console out of frustration. He watched as the Gundam turned and sped off into the night. Its signal mysteriously disappeared, despite the fact that it still should have been within range of his sensors. Since there was nothing he could do, he returned his focus to the lone Federation suit, however while they were distracted, it had limped off and out of their range. With nothing more to do, they set off back to the base. They had messages to send and funerals to arrange.
All over the Earth Sphere, every news station played footage of the battle that had just taken place. Millions of people had watched the broadcasts. The footage was replayed over and over again, the Gundam being displayed prominently and Kazuo's message broadcast with the utmost clarity. People needed a name for this mobile suit, this mysterious jet black suit that seemingly appeared out of nowhere and disappeared without a trace. The people of the world began calling it, the phantom mobile suit, and it's pilot was similarly named Phantoma. Seemingly overnight, groups formed in support of Phantoma and his goals. However, his actions had not won over a majority of the population, making these growing movements small blips on a radar.
Somewhere above the Earth, a man sat in an ornate chair, staring out at the Earth. In front of him lay a chessboard, with only a few pieces moved on either side. Another man entered the room and set up another board adjacent to this one. The man left the room, leaving the original one, the only one left in the room. He pulled a new piece out of his pocket, this one looking different from the others. He placed it on the new board, and slid the new piece one space forward.