Phase 9: The Fading Light
The Archangel…
"The arrival time with our fleet will be as scheduled." Captain Coopman said on the two-way. "Once we link up, the Archangel will come under the command of this vessel and we'll proceed together to the main fleet. You've almost made it. I wish you safe passage."
The camera widened and showed a brunette man dressed in a tan business suit. He sat in a chair next to Coopman.
"I am Vice-minister George Allster of NATO. I'd like to thank you for your initiative in managing the civilian rescue operations. Oh and one other thing. I was scanning the list of recently acquired passengers, and of course you can imagine my surprise and delight to see the name of my daughter, Flay. I'd be more than grateful if I could see a glimpse of her."
"Vice minister, you'll have plenty of time to see her when they join us." Coopman said.
"That's Flay's father. There's no doubt about it." Sai said with a smile.
Kira sat in the cockpit of the Strike as he worked on the systems. He heard a knock and opened the hatch, revealing Cassandra.
"Hey. Is something up?" Kira asked.
"Zeke told me what Ms. Allster said. Are you okay?" The curly-haired pilot asked.
"Of course I am. I've heard worse." He continued to type as he watched Zeke and several workers attached a weapon onto Takashi's GINN. "Tolle told me you held a gun at ensign Badgeruel. Is that true?"
Cassandra thought for a moment before answering. "It's true."
"So why did you do it?" Kira asked a little shocked.
"Well, as much as I hate to admit it, there are people in the military who would use Ms. Clyne as a political hostage. And unfortunately, Natarle is one of those people." And with that she floated away. Unknown to either of them, Zeke heard their conversation.
ZAFT ships…
A group of six vessels traveled together. The small fleet consisted of four Laurasia-class, one of which was the Misfit, and two Nazca-class, the leader being the Vesalius.
On the bridge of the Vesalius, Adas, Rau, Athrun and two green coats stood near the star map of the area as Alex and his teammates were present via video-link.
"This is the projected course of the enemy ships." Adas said.
"If the legged ship has reaches the fleet, we'll be in for quite a fight. Those guys took out two of my men in one battle. But on the up side, I did snag a sweat beam saber off the blue one."
"In any case, we certainly can't ignore them." The masked man said.
"We're intercepting them? But commander, we've been ordered to search for Lacus." Athrun said.
"First and foremost, we're soldiers Athrun. Even if we were sent on a mission to search for Miss Clyne, we won't have another opportunity like this any time soon." Rau said.
The Montgomery…
Crewmen worked on several Minutemen and Zero units as they made their way to the rendezvous point.
"Come on people! Move it a little faster!" An EU officer said as he walked past a Zero.
"Why do we to work on these if it's just a rendezvous mission?"
"You forget who's chasing the Archangel and its escorts. They're the same guys who attacked Heliopolis and Artemis! It's safe to assume that they'll try something very soon."
The Archangel, Balder and Dallas…
"Radar is picking up three ships. They've been identified as our escorts, Montgomery, Bernard and Law." Everyone on the ships either smiled or gave a sigh of relief. However this moment was short lived as a static noise started up.
"Oh, Bullocks!" Chester cursed.
"N-Jammers." Mitsukai grunted.
In the distance, the ZAFT vessels started to launch their mobile suits. On the Misfit, Miguel's Custom GINN was loaded onto the catapult.
"You've fought these guys twice, Miguel." Alex said. "So I expect nothing but your best out there."
"I will sir." Miguel replied. "Unless Athrun screws up again." The blonde thought, remembering Athrun's actions during the raid on the Archangel. "Miguel Aiman, launching!" The orange GINN took off.
The Aegis was also prepping for launch as Athrun did some last minute checks.
"The commander really has a knack for sensing these things."
"Athrun, show us how that machine performs!"
"Sure." The blue-haired pilot uneasily said. A GINN launched from the ships and the Aegis moved to the catapult. As Athrun's machine was clamped, he thought about recent events.
"We fight because it is the only way we can protect ourselves! If we must fight so that we may protect, then we have to choice but to fight!"
"You think we're monsters?! You attacked a neutral colony and killed innocent civilians! How can you call us the bad guys?"
"Athrun Zala, launching!" The Aegis took off into space as its armor turned red. The stolen mobile suit joined up with its allies. Alex looked at the G-Weapon with interest.
"A red one? Now that's a real paintjob. Okay men, let them have it!" The dragon yelled.
Alerts blared on the Montgomery, warning them of the incoming enemies. "Hurry up and deploy our mobile armors and suits. Load all missile and anti-beam depth charge tubes." Coopman ordered. The two Drake classes deployed their eight Moebius Zeroes while eight Minutemen (Three normal, two with shot lancers, two with missile launchers and one with a railcannon) separated from the Nelson-class. The mobile weapons flew ahead to meet the enemy.
"Heat sources, sir! Thirty-five enemy mobile suits approaching!"
"Now what's this all about?" George asked with anger in his voice. "How could you not have noticed the enemy ship until now?"
"Lower bow! Pitch angle thirty degrees! Turn to point, angle twenty degrees!" The captain ordered. "Send a message to the Archangel, Balder and Dallas! Tell them to get here as fast as they can!"
"You're serious?" The vice-minister asked.
"We don't have the firepower to take on this many hostiles. What else are we supposed to do in this kind of emergency?"
"But my daughter is on the Archangel!"
"If this ship ends up being destroyed, the Archangel will surely be next."
The two groups meet up and in less than six seconds, the sky light up as the battle started.
"Heat distribution ahead appears to be a battle." Petty Officer Chandra reported. "The advanced fleet appears to be involved."
"They're in battle?" Sai asked.
"Dispatch from the Montgomery. Message reads: SOS. Please assist and deploy all mobile forces." Romero said.
"Well what are we waiting for? Let's blast these wankers!" Chester yelled with enthusiasm.
"What's the enemy's battle strength?" Mitsukai asked.
"Four Laurasia-class, two Nazca-class. Matching thermal patterns. Thrity-three GINNs, one CGUE. Wait a minute, there's another one. It's X-303 Aegis!"
"Then we know exactly which Nazca-class is among them." Murrue stated.
A Zero detached its gunbarrels and fired upon the Aegis. The red suit dodged the shots and destroyed an approaching gunbarrel with its CIWS. Athrun retaliated with his beam rifle and turned the Zero into dust.
"All hands, level one battle stations! We'll provide back-up for the advanced fleet!" The brown-haired captain ordered.
"All hands, level one battle stations!" The PA blared. The pilots rushed to the hangar, mentally preparing for the battle to come.
"What's going on? Everything's suddenly so lively." Lacus asked Mikeva.
"Looks like we're heading into battle." The older woman said.
"So you'll be fighting too." The songtress said with a hint of sadness.
Mikeva gave a reassuring smile. "Don't worry Lacus. My mom always says I'm too stubborn. Just promise me you'll stay in here." The volunteer pilot said. The pink-haired girl nodded.
"Good luck!" Mr. Pink yelled. Mikeva smiled as she ran out of the room.
Kira ran toward the hangar as a voice stopped him in his tracks. "Kira!" He turned around and felt a little ticked as he saw Flay running toward him; the slap mark Mikeva gave her still present on her cheek.
"What's all this about going to battle stations? What about the advanced fleet?" The red head asked.
"I have no idea. I don't know what's going on." The young pilot tried to go, but Flay grabbed his shoulder.
"It... It's gonna be okay right?" Flay asked. "The vessel my dad's on won't be destroyed, will it?"
While he was still mad at her, the young coordinator still couldn't bring himself to tell her about her father's possible death. He smiled at her. "Everything will be alright Flay. We'll be there, okay?" And with that he left.
A few feet away, a GINN fired its recoilless rifle at a Minuteman, destroying its shield. The green mobile suit pulled out its heat saber and dug it into the GINN's neck.
Miguel shot down a barrage of missiles and charged at Minuteman Weapon. He impaled the suit through the cockpit and left it dead in the water.
Alex unleashed his CGUE's machinegun pods and caused the enemy units to evade or block. The red & black unit blasted toward the nearest Zero and sliced it in half with its gunblade.
The Aegis headed toward the Bernard and was about to shoot its engines, but a linear blast pushed the G-Weapon back. The Minuteman with the railcannon fired two more shots that shook the stolen suit but failed to cause any damage. The gundam transformed into its attack mode and eviscerated the Minuteman with its Scylla cannon. Miguel came onto the scene and fired his Ion cannon at the engines. With the vessel disabled, the two machines headed to engage other targets.
"Escort ship Bernard has lost its engines."
"X-303 Aegis is headed toward escort ship Law."
"We're being destroyed by our own machine that they stole? Is there anything more ridiculous?!" George yelled.
The four Icarus units detached from the Balder and headed into battle. In lead machine was piloted by a woman with auburn hair and brown eyes. (Voice: Sumalee Montano)
"Alright boys, let's show these Zafties what the Icarus can do!"
"Roger Lieutenant Wallace."
The Hyperion was loaded onto the Dallas' catapult as Gaius cracked his knuckled. "Just when I thought things would get boring. Gaius Ismail, ready to go!" The red & white gundam launched into battle.
On the Archangel, the Moebius Zero and the Astray Green were loaded onto the catapult.
"Remember, once it's turned on, the Firebrand can only stay active for fifteen seconds. After that, you can't use it for the rest of fight." Zeke told the gundam pilot.
"Roger that." Cassie replied as she looked at the weapon screen for the Apollo. "Gundam Astray Green, heading out!" The two mobile weapons were shot ahead and meet up with their allies.
A Minuteman was blown apart by missile barrage. The GINN pilot who fired it laughed. "Even with their own mobile suits, the naturals still have no chance." His alarms blared. "What?" Two streams of green energy tore through the mono-eyed machine, causing it to explode into stardust.
"What was that?" Another GINN pilot asked. The Zero and the Icarus squads flew through the smoke and past the GINN. "More mobile armors?" Without warning, two blue blades of frozen energy pierced through its chest as the Astray Green kicked it away. The Hyperion joined it as the two headed into battle.
A GINN aimed its cannon at the Montgomery but it was blasted to pieces by Hyperion's beam submachine gun. The red & white mobile suit stopped front of the bridge.
"This is Lieutenant Gaius Ismail of the Dallas. We're here to help." A GINN launched its leg-mounted missiles but Gaius shot them down with his head vulcans.
Meanwhile, the Icarus units engaged the GINNs in a heated battle. One Icarus unit barrel-rolled out the way from a stream of bullets and shot back with its missiles, while another used its nose-mounted Vulcans to destroy an enemy ion cannon. Wallace's Icarus fired its linear gatling gun and pulverized a GINN. Another mobile suit was closing in from behind, but the gatling gun turned around and destroyed the approaching enemy with a stream of charged blasts.
Back on the Archangel, the Strike was being equipped with the Launcher Striker as it was the only pack that could be operated with one hand.
"Course cleared for launch. You may precede Strike." The lights turned from red to green as the white and blue mobile suit launched into space. It was soon followed by the Minutemen who had been upgraded in the past week. The heat sabers were replaced with beam sabers while the machine guns were replaced by beam submachine guns. The group approached the warzone, with the ships right behind them.
"Lohengrins, target the nearest enemy warship!" Chester ordered.
"Prep all vulcan guns for anti-ship and anti-mobile suit combat." Mitsukai said. "Launch torpedoes!"
"Valiant 1 and Valiant 2, fire." Natarle ordered.
Green blasts, torpedoes and linear shots flew from the three warships. The Lohengrins hit the bow of a Laurasia-class, the torpedoes were intercepted by the CIWS of the ZAFT vessels while the Valiants destroyed two GINNs.
"Archangel, Balder and Dallas have opened fire." One of Montgomery's officers reported.
Coopman smirked at this new information. "Now that's more like it."
On the Vesalius, Rau also had a smirk, albeit a more sinister one. "So the lead player has made its appearance. Don't expend your energy on the ones that don't matter." He addressed the troops.
The Aegis pierced the hull of the Law with its Scylla cannon. The alarms in the cockpit blared as Athrun looked at the screen and saw the approaching Strike Gundam. The red suit closed in as it transformed back into its mobile suit mode. He was about to close in on the white and blue mobile suit, but a hail of fast beams shots stopped him in his tracks. Luke and Gale in their respective mobile suits closed in.
"Strike, we'll deal with this bastard. Just concentrate on the enemy vessels." Gale said.
"Roger." The Strike flew away as Kira felt a twist in his stomach.
"You serious think you can beat me with those knockoffs?" Athrun yelled as he fired his beam rifle at the NATO suits, only for them to dodge and retaliate. To the young man's surprise, the shot actually damaged the Aegis, causing small explosions. "They've been equipped with beam weaponry." The two green machines blasted towards the enemy gundam, determined to take it down. They separated and charged at the Aegis from two directions.
"Let's go Gale!" Luke yelled as he activated his orange beam saber.
"Hell yeah!" His wingman replied as he did the same.
Athrun only had a second to react and activated the Aegis' arm-mounted beam sabers. The four blades met in a shower of sparks as the pilots started pushing, two forward and one back. With all its strength, the Aegis pushed the Minutemen back and flew away in its mobile armor mode. The twin mobile suits pursued the red machine with their weapons loaded.
Mu La Flaga chased after a GINN has his targeting axis lined up. The ZAFT machine fired at the mobile armor which spun away from the shots and released its gunbarrels. The wired weapon opened and destroyed the enemy mobile suit. Also immediately, another GINN flew up right next to the Zero and aimed its rifle at it. Just as the one-eyed machine was about to fire but a group of missiles closed in on it, causing it to back up and shoot down two missiles as the other four hit it straight on. Mikeva and Takashi's Minuteman Weapons stopped next to the Zero.
"Are you alright Lieutenant La Flaga?" Mikeva asked.
"I'm fine. Thanks for the save. Now go meet up with Ismail and protect the Montgomery." The blonde pilot ordered.
"Yes sir." The Minutemen headed towards the flagship as the Zero retracted its gunbarrels and flew off.
The Launcher Strike flew past the CIWS of a Laurasia and fired its Agni Cannon, destroying one of the high-energy cannons. Its combo weapon pod unleashed its payload and took out the dual railgun before aiming its cannon and destroying the last energy cannon.
On the Archangel, Flay opened the door as she ease-dropped on the bridge.
"Gottfried 1, aim, fire!" Natarle ordered.
"What's the status on the Gundams?" Murrue asked.
"Strike has disabled one of the Laurasia-class and is heading for another target. Astray Green has engaged a GINN in combat and Hyperion has formed a defensive perimeter around the Montgomery along with the Weapons." Mir reported.
"The lead Nazca-class is launching missiles. It's targeting the Law."
"Intercept them!" Mitsukai ordered as the Blader fired a missile barrage.
Kuzzey was working on his terminal as he noticed a certain red head floating into the room. "Flay?" Everyone turned and saw the girl.
"Hey Flay!" Sai said as he got up from his chair.
"Dad! Tell me where my dad's ship is!" She yelled as Sai grabbed a hold on her arm.
Murrue lowered her brow with a serious expression. "We're in a combat situation; civilians are not permitted on the bridge."
"What ship is my dad on? What is going on out there?" The young girl asked, panic growing in her voice.
A flash shone through one of the screens as a Drake-class ship was destroyed.
"The Law has been taken out."
Flay stood still as her brain still tried to process the destruction she just witnessed. "Flay, let's go. You shouldn't be in here." Sai said as he led her out of the bridge. When they got out Flay grabbed her fiancé's shoulders as she shook. "Where are Kira and the others? What have they been doing all this time?"
"They're trying their very best, but this is largest battle we've been in so far so it's difficult."
"But listen! Kira told me everything was going to be okay! He said in his own words that it was because we'll be there."
The Dallas aimed it Lohengrins and fired. The green blasts almost hit Alex who dodged at the last second before they hit their target and destroyed the bridge of the second Nazca-class.
"Everything's going to be fine." Sai said as he walked Flay back to her room. "Ship your father is on is being protected by the Hyperion. It'll be fine."
A blast shook the ship as Flay tried to run back to the bridge. Sai grabbed her arm to stop her. "Flay!"
"Stop it!" The red head said as she struggled. "I said let go!" She elbowed Sai in the chest with a surprising amount of strength as she ran away. The bespectacled youth held his chest in pain as he wondered how Flay could have done that.
"This feeling of being useless, I hate it!" Flay thought. "I have to something, anything! Or else Dad is gonna…"
In this quiet night
I'm waiting for you
Forgetting the past
And dreaming of you
The young girl stopped as she heard singing. She looked around and saw a nearby room.
Time passes by
And memories fade
But time can't erase
The love that we've made
An idea she would later regret came to Flay's mind as she headed for the room.
And the stars in the sky…
The door opened as Lacus stopped singing and saw Flay.
Outside, the Astray fired its TSR upon a GINN but the machine dodged the shots as it chased after the gundam. The mobile suits flew toward a Laurasia-class as they dodged each other's attacks. The enemies flew downward while Cassandra started to sweat. "Damn it. Why can't I hit this guy?"
The machines flew under the Laurasia-class as the GINN shot the Twin Sword Rifle out of the Astray's hands. It continued to fire on the green & white mobile suit as said machine blocked the shots with its shield as they made it underneath the ships' engines.
The ebony-haired pilot looked at her weapon options and saw the Firebrand. "No time like the present I guess." She pressed a button on her control stick. The right arm of the Astray opened up and revealed a cylindrical device with a gray part at the end. The targeting axis turned red as Cassie pulled the trigger.
A concentrated red laser shot out of the arm-mounted device and pierced the right shoulder of the GINN. However, the laser didn't stop there as it shot through the appendage and pierced through the hull of Laurasia, destroying and blasting through the railgun. The bright stream got the attention of all the combatants.
"Take this!" The Astray Green moved its arm horizontally as it separated the GINN's top from its torso and sliced through several sections of the Laurasia. The last thing the bridge crew saw was a red stream of death as their lives faded away. The red beam finally separated from the ship as the two parts separated, sliced in half.
"What the hell was that?!" Miguel yelled.
"Was that fired by one of our ships?" George asked.
"That must be the new weapon Zeke was talking about." Tolle commented as everyone of the bridge of the Archangel was stunned by the amazing display.
The grey end of the Firebrand detached as it went back into the Astray's arm. Cassie looked around and saw the Twin Sword Rifle floating among the debris. The mobile suit flew ahead and grabbed the composite weapon. With her signature hand-held armament back, Cassie looked at her energy levels and was happily surprised that the Firebrand didn't consume any of her mobile suit's battery. With a smile, she stepped on the foot pedals with a smile and flew into battle.
On the Archangel, Flay was dragging Lacus to the bridge.
"What is going on? Why are you doing this?" The pink-haired pop star asked only to be ignored.
"I'd answer the question Ms. Allster." The two women turned and saw a serious looking Zeke with Haro next to him. "What do you think you're doing with Ms. Lacus?"
"Answer! Answer!" Haro yelled as he bounced.
"This girl is the chairman's daughter right, so that means she's incredible important to ZAFT." The red head said with a glare.
"What are you getting at?"
"I'm going to tell ZAFT that I'll kill this girl if they don't stop attacking my dad's ship."
"Kill me?" Lacus asked in fear.
"Listen to yourself! The pilots can handle it!" The young engineer exclaimed.
"Liar! I saw them destroy one of the escort ships. They can't protect my dad!"
"We're in the middle of battle! Of course people will die! You think your dad is the only one in danger?"
"Well you can't stop me." Flay started pulled Lacus away as the songstress struggled. His patience gone, Zeke charged at the red head as he pulled out a high-powered taser from his pocket.
"ENOUGH OF THIS NONSENSE YOU CRAZY BITCH!" He hit the red head in neck as electricity shot through her body, her screams being the only noise she uttered. Zeke pulled the taser away as Flay fell limp, letting go of Lacus as she fell onto the floor.
"You killed her." Haro stated.
"No I didn't." The green-eyed coordinator said as put away the taser. "That shock doesn't have enough strength to kill anyone, just enough to put them to bed." He turned toward the songstress. "Are you okay?"
Lacus nodded, a bit shaken by the recent events. "Thank you Mr. Hudson."
"W..Why?" The two of them looked down and saw Flay struggling to get up. "Why… did …you..."
"Impossible! That shock is supposed to knockout any natural." Zeke thought to himself.
On the Vesalius, Rau stood up from his chair. "We cannot waste anymore time. We need to destroy the Nelson-class. Then we can focus on the legged ship."
"Aim cannons at the Nelson-class." Adas ordered. "Prepare to fire on my command." The ship shook as a Minuteman Weapon took out the left cannon. Another Minuteman flew in front of bridge and aimed it Shot Lancers, but an ion blast took it out as Miguel's GINN flew through the smoke.
"Commander, if you're going to do something, do it now!" The Magic Bullet of Dusk yelled as he dodged gatling gun fire from an Icarus.
"You heard him. We still have one cannon left."
The CGUE Asura spun as it dodged the Bernard's vulcan guns. He aimed his gunblade,vulcan system and machinegun pods as he unleashed hell on the ship's bridge. He smirked at his victory until his alarm blared. The red machine dodged three beam shots and saw the Astray Green closing in on it. Since his pods were out of ammo, he retracted the wired weapons and charged at the enemy.
Cassie activated the TSR's blue beam sabers while Alex activated the pink one he had stolen from the Strike. The two weapons meet as the machines stared each other down.
"So you're the one that sliced up the Vandal." The Dragon of Nova commented. "And they say my weapons are crazy."
"Flattery will get you nowhere." Cassandra replied, even though she was scared out of her mind. "Not what I expected from the Dragon of Nova."
The Hyperion stabbed a GINN in the eye with its beam knife before kicking away and finishing it with his CIWS. A small screen appeared on one of his monitors.
Laser designator detected. Suggest retreating.
"I'm being targeted?" He looked around and saw the Vesalius closing in from the right. "No. They're targeting the Montgomery!" The EU machine flew in front of the right side as the pilot pressed a series of buttons. The Forfanterie beam cannon clamped over the shoulders.
"Nelson-class in sight."
"Fire!" Adas ordered.
The Vesalius' remaining cannon charged before unleashing a powerful stream of energy. When the blast neared the Montgomery, a blinding light shone through the darkness of space.
"So was that it?" Chester asked grimily.
The bridge crew of the Archangel started to worry. With the Montgomery destroyed, the Archangel and its escorts would be next.
"Wait a minute." Jackie said.
"What is it?" Natarle
"I'm picking up a new energy signature. It's similar to the Umbrella of Artemis."
The light faded away and revealed the Montgomery still intact. In front of it was the Hyperion surround by a dome of lightwave energy. The dome dissipated and revealed four wired emitters coming out of the front and back of the beam cannons.
"Alright! Way to go Gaius!" Mitsukai cheered.
"Amazing." Kira commented.
Rau grit his teeth. They had lost nearly all of their mobile suits, three of the Laurasias and one Nazca. "We've lost this battle. Order a full retreat."
Three flares were launched from the Vesalius as the fighting stopped. The remaining GINNs retreated from the warzone as they joined the retreating ships. The Aegis in its mobile suit form met up with Miguel's GINN.
Meanwhile, the Astray Green and CGUE Asura floated away from each other as their beam sabers powered down. Alex smirked as he flew away towards the Misfit.
In the cockpit, Cassandra pulled off her helmet and wiped off some sweat from her brow. "What a day. I could really use a power nap." She looked at her mobile suit's status screen, more specifically the arm-mounted Firebrand. The pilot chuckled. "Geez Zeke. You've really made something else when you built this Gundam."
The Strike flew toward the Astray as the allied ships flew towards the Montgomery. The mobile weapons started to return to the ships. The ebony-haired pilot was proud of herself and her friends as she flew back to the Archangel.
Next time: Separate Ways
Cry for those who are lost Gundam!
