Shit. Shit shit shit. Shit on a cracker. Shit. Fuckshit. Shitfuck.
Duo braced himself for another barrage of missiles. His suit shook violently as the dense line of Leos that was beginning to surround them began sprinkling them with munitions. He felt his teeth chattering in his head from the impacts.
Ugh. This suuuucks. "This defense line isn't like the others," he managed to say over the vibrations in his cockpit over a secure line with Heero. He watched through his monitors as Wing Gundam crouched down behind its shield and waited until the air cleared a big before returning fire on the incoming Leos.
"This is ten times more than what I expected," Heero's voice replied over Duo's com. Duo had to agree. Upon arrival it seemed like the usual security forces had been established on the airfield, but as they started to engage the enemy more suits began to swarm out of the woodwork and had begun to surround them. It was as if they had expected their arrival. Why were there so many massive forces at a mid-level Alliance base? As far as Duo knew there wasn't any serious top-secret weaponry being held here, so why the massive mobile suit presence?
"We've got to take them seriously today," Duo added. Alarms began to sound as proximity sensors picked up an incoming target. A Leo was closing in on his suit to engage in close combat. Duo parried it easily and spun to slash his beam scythe clean through the torso of the incoming Leo. It burst into flames and crumpled to the ground at his feet. "I'll break through the center," Duo said as he saw a weak spot in the defense line. He lunged at the Leo standing alone and mowed it down easily. However, just as he established his new position he was bombarded by attacks from every direction. More Leos lumbered towards him, thickening the surrounding protective wall they had established. "Shit! They just keep coming!"
Duo always enjoyed a good battle, and he thrived in challenging situations but this was just getting ridiculous. He would have retreated long ago if it weren't for the fact that their primary target was so important. Everything weighed on the result of this mission. He couldn't run and hide now.
High-pitched warning alarms sounded from his control panel. He looked at his scanner and saw something closing in on them at a high rate of speed. "Missiles? Aimed at us?" With his quick reflexes he evaded the incoming missiles, watching as a Leo and Aries MS that had been closing in on him from behind were destroyed in the blast. He saw Wing Gundam move back and turn toward the source of the missiles. It was a pair of suits Duo had never seen before.
"Are they OZ's new mobile suits?" Duo heard Heero's voice ask over the com line. Duo zoomed in on the orange suit and then its bulkier companion.
"Yeah, but they attacked the Alliance. Those suits are just like ours." Upon closer inspection Duo could make out the similarities in design. Both suits had faces that were remarkably like his suit's. The armor panels on the chest plate and shoulders were also similar. They had to be Gundams. Duo was shocked.
More Gundams? So Heero and I aren't the only ones? They must be here for the same mission.
He narrowed his eyes and growled. If they were on the same team, then why did they shoot at him? He felt anger begin to churn in his chest. He was irritated.
If those missiles are the same grade as mine he could have really fucked me up!
Pissed was becoming an understatement. He heard a loud whine as his sensors picked up a plane departing the base. It was their target, the OZ shuttle that was carrying all of the major OZ faction leaders.
"That's the one!" Duo heard Heero exclaim. He watched as Wing Gundam took to the air and transformed. Duo blinked. He had never see it do that before, and for a moment he was secretly envious. Once it had morphed into what looked like a fighter jet Wing Gundam blasted off in the direction of the shuttle. In no time it had caught up. Duo watched in awe as Wing unfurled itself, took a battle stance and revealed its beam sword. In a bright flash of light it had sliced through the fuselage of the shuttle and in the next instant vanished in a massive, fiery explosion.
"Mission: complete." Duo heard Heero say with satisfaction over the com. Duo breathed a sigh of relief. Finally something had gone right. Finally they had accomplished their goal. At least five of the major players of OZ were supposed to be on that shuttle. The colonies had won a serious victory.
He looked down at the monitor directly in front of him. The orange Gundam was standing just off screen. Duo felt his anger and annoyance flood back into him, replacing his relief with rage.
"Thanks for those missiles earlier, buddy! Now I'll return the favor!" Duo wasted no time closing the distance between his suit and the orange Gundam. He swung his scythe at him with full momentum, intending to slice the fucker's arm off. To his surprise the long staff of his scythe was stopped by the blade of a knife that had sprung from the other suit's arm. Duo could hear his suit groan as it strained against its opponent. A buzzing sound filled the air as the orange suit opened fire on him at close range. Duo pulled his Buster Shield up to block the attack.
"Cut it out!" Duo heard someone yell over an external speaker. A bright orange light caught Duo's eye. It was ripping through the air towards him and his opponent. He pushed the orange suit away just in time to avoid the blast of fire that passed between them.
"Morons! Haven't you had enough meaningless fighting already?" Duo was dumbstruck. He searched for the source of the voice and fire and spotted yet another Gundam walking towards them. This one was huge, with a long projectile in the shape of a dragon's head on its arm. Heero had returned from his attack on the shuttle and was setting Wing Gundam down beside his suit.
"What the hell?" Duo heard Heero mutter across the com. He couldn't have said it better himself.
The new Gundam stepped up to them and its cockpit hissed open. A young man dressed in white jumped out to stand on the hatch and began yelling at them. "Don't you get it? You've fallen into OZ's scheme."
"What?" Duo heard the same voice that had yelled at him to 'cut it out' over an external speaker.
"Check out the Alliance's report. You guys just wiped out the Alliance's pacifists," the white clad Gundam pilot said, his voice clearly annoyed.
"Impossible!" Duo heard Heero yell over the com. Duo frowned. It couldn't be true. The mission specs had clearly outlined this mission. There was ample information to back the notion that the shuttle, which clearly was designed to house and move high-level OZ military officials, was the target.
Duo tapped his controls and brought up a screen. A man in an Alliance military uniform sat sternly in the center of the screen. He was in the middle of an address. Duo stared at the man, his thin mustache and receding hairline was not nearly as atrocious as the abrasive sound of his voice.
"This is considered the colonies declaration of war on us! Today, we were here to discuss a peaceful negotiation with the colonies. And the man who was so eager to uphold that noble cause is no longer with us. He was among the victims on board the shuttle, brutally killed by the heartless colony invaders! I repeat! This is an act of war!"
Duo felt his face grow hot and his stomach do a flip. He was feeling panic rush across his body. He couldn't feel his legs.
Oh fuck. What have we done?
"Heero?" He called his friend over the com. There was silence on the other end. He tried to open a visual connection but the request was denied. "Heero, can you hear me?"
"Everything was part of OZ's plan. We were completely tricked by Treize Kushrenada." The white clad boy said, his face completely stoic.
"It… it can't be." Duo heard the voice from the larger of the other two Gundams say over the intercom. Whoever owned that voice was just as shocked as he was.
"Shit," Duo spat. He slammed his hand on his armrest in frustration.
"I'll keep fighting OZ. Even if I'm the only one left," the white clad boy said in an angry but determined voice.
Duo sighed and turned his attention back to his friend. Wing Gundam stood beside him unmoving. He tried to hail his friend again. He wasn't sure what was going on.
The guy must be beside himself right now, Duo thought with a frown. He hailed Heero again. No response.
"Hey, Heero. Heero? Can you hear me? Listen. It was a mistake. You did what the mission had instructed. You did what you were supposed to. None of us knew that it was a trick. Heero?" He tried to comfort him, but it was difficult to do from inside his own suit. Just as he was about to climb out of his suit and kick Heero's cockpit in he heard a small, shaken voice over his com.
"What… what have I done?"
