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Phase 04: Artemis, the fortress where everything changed
=GSI=
Part 6
X-311 Dragon
In the vicinity of EF Fortress Artemis
"Mobile suits approaching. Mark nine dash..." one of the pilots in our escort announced.
My eyes darted to the sensor screen and sure enough, faint echoes appeared just on the edge of the detection range. They were growing stronger by the moment.
"Where did they come from?" Major Tanya Rostov, Myrmidon Wing's CO asked in exasperation. "Even with extended hangars, you can't cram more than eighteen Ginns into a Laurasia. Perhaps nineteen if you are truly desperate!"
"This is actually a good news." I said with fake cheer in my voice.
"How so, Knight?" The Major asked.
"My educated guess is that those MS are from their anti-ship strike, diverted to intercept us. With those units coming our way, the fleet is safer."
"We definitely aren't." Rostov grumbled. "Antares and Sirius squadrons, form on me. We will intercept those Ginns. Knight, good luck. Go bag us few frigates." With those words she cut the connection. Seconds later her Moebius broke formation and headed towards the approaching enemy, followed by the rest of our escorts.
"Gods speed, Major. Come back in one piece." I muttered quietly.
Twenty four MA versus nine Ginns. Even armed with missile pods, the odds weren't in our favor. Especially when Rostov couldn't make a high speed run like Mu did few minutes ago. That would leave any MS that survived the initial engagement to come after us. Even worse, they were approaching at such vector that guaranteed them an intercept before we could strike the ZAFT frigates.
All I could do was watch my sensors and imagine the short, and vicious engagement. Four missile waves, followed by two thirds of Myrmidon wing going in, slow enough for a stand up fight. The Ginns obviously anticipated such a move, decelerated slowing down a bit the rate of approach with the ordinance flying their way, before opening fire.
Two massive explosions scrambled the view of the battle.
"Damn it. There had to be someone who knows what he is doing on the enemy's side, didn't it?" I hissed.
It was obviously what happened. At least one of the Ginns kept a part of the heavy weapons issued to it for the strike against our fleet and used them as makeshift anti-missile system. Those detonations would have messed up the first strike, perhaps scrambled the sensors of the second one too.
When my sensors managed to clean up the interference and sort out what was happening over there, the picture made me grit my teeth. Three Ginns were engaging the bulk of our escorts, two more were racing our way, while another was covering them against five Mobile Armors, which were in pursuit.
Fuck. The missile strike had taken out only three of the enemy Mobile Suits. Rostov and her people wouldn't be able to stop the pair of Ginns that were coming to intercept us. The sensor screen told me everything I needed to know. Those two machines would hit us in the flank just when we reach the Laurasias effective weapon range. To guarantee kills on those ships, the strike packages had to be deployed closer than that. We didn't have enough ordinance to overwhelm them from long range.
"Hound," I called Master Sergeant Levalier's call sign, "I'm going after those two party crashers. Concentrate each squadron on a single Laurasia. I'll make an attack run on the last ship if practical, or we'll leave the fleet to deal with it."
With my piece said, my right hand fell upon the throttle level and pulled it, acceleration pushing me back into my seat.
=GSI=
ZAFT Frigate "Celsius"
Laurasia Class
On Course towards EF Fortress Artemis
"We've been had, gentlemen." Brown grumbled. "Recall Hawkings and Sagan. Helm alter course, forty five degrees to port and go to maximum acceleration. We'll rotate to face the enemy fleet when we are closer to effective weapons range."
For a few seconds there was stunned silence in the CIC, before the Coordinators hurried to obey the Commodore's orders.
"XO, call the Chief Engineer. Unless the detachment of Luna Wing gets very lucky, we'll be hit by at least an enemy squadron. There will be a lot of ship-killers coming our way. We should do something about it..."
=GSI=
Joakim Koh's Ginn
ZAFT Forces Red Wing Leader
In the vicinity of EF Fortress Artemis
A short burst from his machine gun nailed a MA, shredding the fragile craft. His Ginn spun away from it's previous position, deftly guided by Koh's hands, avoiding a hyper-velosity penetrator. His fingers blurred over the controls, the MS jinking away from another shot, before turning in the direction the enemy fire was coming from. A pair of Moebius were flying straight at him.
Koh grinned savagely and flew to meet them. He avoided another two shots then pressed the trigger. His rounds tore the leading MA in two. It's wing mate tried to get out of the Colonel's sights, but it was futile. The Moebius was even more sluggish than ordinary thanks to the pods strapped on it, becoming another easy kill for the ZAFT Ace.
The Colonel glanced at the status of his Wing. He was down two more suits, however the enemy had paid a dear price for bringing them down. There were only sixty or so EA craft remaining. Even if the current exchange rate held, he should still have Mobile Suits left when the enemy force was annihilated.
Koh charged into the fray again. He had no intention of letting it go that bad for his Wing. So he had to kill more of the damn Naturals, before they could try returning the favor.
=GSI=
X-105 Strike
In the Vicinity of EF Fortress Artemis
"Kira, we have enemy Mobile Suits incoming. Command is vectoring Aegis Wing to intercept. You'll have to handle anyone who gets through." Miralia's familiar voice sounded from the Strike's comm.
"Ah. OK. I can totally do that!" he stammered.
"I know." There was something in her voice that sent a not unpleasant shiver up his spine. "I just want you to know that we believe in you! You can do it!"
Kira shrugged, dismissing the strange feeling. Girls. He was never going to get them…
Yamato returned his attention to the tactical map overplayed on his main view screen. Forty eight dots, representing Aegis Wing were racing ahead. Six crimson icons were heading straight at them, followed by another nine some distance away. Then his attention was caught by the fleet itself, which was shifting formation. The smaller ships, the Drake escorts, Kira reminded himself, were moving to interpose themselves before the enemy Mobile Suits and the four battleships making the core of the battle group.
It struck him then. Exactly what he was seeing. Men and women ready to lay down their lives for something they believed in. And incidentally or not to protect his friends on the Archangel by sacrificing themselves if it was needed.
Or to kill to achieve the same goal.
Kira's attention returned to the tactical plot after he heard an alarm going off. He blinked, looking at it in confusion. There were only forty two green dots left heading towards the enemy Mobile Suits and they were still out of effective weapons range… Moment later, the carefully arranged assault formation of Aegis squadron shattered as the Mobile Armors went evasive, just in time, because a moment later three more winked out of existence.
He switched on the Wing's general comm channel, wondering what the hell was happening. But before that, just in case, he made the Strike dance in erratic evasive pattern.
"...sneaky bastards." Someone was speaking through gritted teeth. "Those were guided missiles from their strike group, using those six in front for terminal guidance!"
"Bullshit! They aren't supposed to be able to do that!"
"Coordinators. Do I need to say more?" a third voice quipped.
"Enough joking around. We have a job to do." another, level-headed voice interrupted. "The plan remains the same. Each squadron concentrates on a single Ginn until it's dead. Rinse and repeat until they run out of Mobile Suits."
Kira could see the Moebius' reforming in four distinct groups and heading straight at the ZAFT forces.
What followed was short and vicious. The leading three Mobile Suits might have lived longer, if they hadn't tried to kill as many Mobile Armors as possible in the shortest amount of time. Kira frowned. Those ZAFT pilots were all Coordinators, so they had to know the score! Yet they all but sacrificed their lives… he blinked, looking at the plot.
Aegis was down to less than half strength, facing three MS, while the other nine were once more throwing guided missiles at them.
=GSI=
X-311 Dragon
In the vicinity of EF Fortress Artemis
I had forgotten how vicious space combat could be. How friends and foe alike could vanish in the blaze of a dying craft, just in the blink of an eye. The engagements I fought ever since being dumped in here, were different. Much smaller affair, fought by Aces with incredible machines at their disposal. People who had both the skills and luck not to die easily.
Now I was reminded what the war was for the rank and file. What was for me when I piloted the Moebius Zero… When I died.
I breathed in slowly, trying to calm down my hammering heart. Even my implants weren't helping with that. Neither did seeing friendly icons disappearing from the tactical plot, nor the distant flashed of explosions caught by the Dragon's cameras. My enhanced perception made the anticipation even worse, almost stretching the seconds before I was engaged in combat.
I glanced at my hands, which were gripping the controls. If it wasn't for the implants they would be trembling right now. Hell, I could feel a slight tremor in them, yet my hands were mostly still. It felt weird.
Another alarm blared and I welcomed it. I was almost in range. No more time for pondering or second thoughts. A flick of a switch and the DRAGOON's detached, flying in a lazy formation around me. The approaching Ginns separated, obviously preparing to flank me. I smiled, and activated the Phase Shift armor, which I had let dormant until now, in order to preserve energy. Then I cut off the engines and began decelerating to meet the enemy. The range was steadily falling down, until an imaginary line was crossed and I pressed the triggers.
Iridescent beams of compressed particles left my weapons, blazing lines in the void. The ZAFT pilots were already evading, pushing their units to the limit. I followed suit, a stream of tracers flashing by my cockpit. So we starting dancing. Speed and armor matched against superior maneuverability…
Crimson beams and HEAP rounds crossed in the void, passing their targets by a hair-breadth. I frowned. Those two were good. Better than most ZAFT pilots I had faced before.
A burst hit my fuselage, shaking me. Or perhaps the man I now possessed had been a better pilot that simply getting his skills dumped into my head made me.
Well, if that was the case I would have to learn fast. Or die. Again.
Luckily I didn't need to shoot those two down any time soon. I just had to keep them away from the strike, something perfectly doable thanks to the extended weapon coverage granted to me by the DRAGOONs.
I entered a sharp turn, g-forces crushing me, as I chased one of the Ginns, while I was distracting the other with pot shots from my weapon pods. Few more seconds and the strike could go on undisturbed.
=GSI=
Dagger One
Moebius Mobile Armor
In the Vicinity of EF Fortress Artemis
"Begin evasive maneuvers. We'll be entering in the Laurasia's defensive envelope shortly." Master Sergeant Lavalier spoke calmly in his comm.
Around him the two squadrons of strike craft started jingling madly.
"Dagger Squadron, Dagger One. We'll be concentrating on the leading Laurasia. Andromeda, take the one to the left. Remember, we go in, send the birds on their way and then go back to the fleet to rearm. No needless heroics and don't get yourself killed!"
"I'll be glad to follow those orders, Dagger One." Andromeda's CO said.
A sharp, continuous tone sounded into the Master Sergeant's cockpit. Targeting sensors were painting his armor, burning through his ECM fast. The enemy ships were mere specks in the void at this range, yet they will be able to threaten his squadron shortly with their missiles. However, there was not much he could do about that. The two squadrons had to survive for another two minutes before they reached optimal shooting range.
So Lavalier steeled his nerves and continued on course heedless of the danger, all the while making random corrections in his course.
Thirty seconds later, the alarm tone became shrill, announcing that missiles were in the void, speeding up his way. The Sergeant flipped off the safety of the Vulkan guns built in the fuselage of his craft and started searching for the missiles trying to kill him, an action mirrored by the other EF pilots participating in the strike.
Fifteen seconds later he could almost make the shimmer of their drives on the star lit background. Fortunately, his sensors were far better than Mark One Eyeball, helpfully marking the incoming ordinance on his display. Luckily only two missiles were screaming his way, coming in for a headlong intercept.
Lavalier corrected the heading of his Moebius a bit and let lose with his cannons, filling the space in front of his Mobile Armor with depleted uranium. Few long seconds later he was rewarded with a small explosion, then another. He sagged back in relief when the shrill alarm became quieter, signifying that there were no more missiles homing on him, for the moment at least.
He glanced at the tactical display. Three of the twenty four Mobile Armors weren't so lucky and this was only the first barrage coming their way.
Lavalier gritted his teeth. Just one more minute! Was this too much to ask for?!
The alarm became shrill again and he swore.
=GSI=
X-105 Strike
In the Vicinity of EF Fortress Artemis
"I'm engaging the enemy!" Kira spoke in his comm much more calmly than he felt.
What little was left of Aegis Wing was now engaged by four Mobile Suits while the remaining six were moving towards the fleet he was supposed to protect. They were coming to sink the Archangel. To kill his friends!
Kira narrowed his eyes at the approaching machines, his fingers squeezing the controls hard. He wouldn't let them endanger his friends, no matter what he had to do!
Under his direction, the Strike darted towards the approaching Ginns. It pointed its beam rifle at them, aimed carefully and squeezed the trigger.
And missed, because the Mobile Suits had entered evasive maneuvers to make themselves harder targets for the fleets beam weapons and conventional canons. One of the Ginns remained back and pulled up, opening a clear firing lane for its recoiless rifle, while the others closed in. Two of them in turn broke from the group and headed his way, obviously aware of the danger he represented.
=GSI=
Dagger One
Moebius Mobile Armor
In the Vicinity of EF Fortress Artemis
"Few more seconds. Keep it steady!" Levaler spoke calmly, using all his willpower to keep his voice from trembling.
They were down to sixteen birds, he winced as a flash lit up his canopy. Fifteen now. Then a panel on the right lit up green and a distinctive tone chimed in. The strike package had a firm lock on and it was in optimal range. He flipped a switch and pressed the trigger. The Sergeant's Mobile Armor shook, the ride becoming bumpier as he lost the additional mass of the two heavy ship-killer missiles that were strapped on his belly.
"Missiles away!" He announced. Within couple of seconds the surviving members of the two EF squadrons followed suit. "Well done! Now break away and head up for the nest!" Levalier followed his own order.
The Mobile Armors scattered, looping around and pulling away from the three Laurasia frigates, who now had a bigger headache to deal with – thirty Longshot ship-killers screaming for their blood.
=GSI=
ZAFT Frigate "Celsius"
Laurasia Class
On Course towards EF Fortress Artemis
"Vampire, Vampire, Vampire!" The sensor operator shouted. "Thirty Vampires in the air!"
"Rotate ninety degrees. Lunch counter-missiles. CIWS ready for defensive fire." Brown ordered calmly. "What's the status of enemy MA?" He asked in the same, almost bored tone.
Holden looked at him incredulously before looking back at his console. "They're breaking off."
"Weapons, send a parting salvo their way and let them be."
"Yes, sir!"
"Tactical, what's the status of our Mobile Suits?"
"Heavy losses. I about thirty or so are destroyed. However most revised primary objectives are achieved. Our anti-ship strike is engaging as we speak and the Ginns are dealing with the bulk of the enemy Mobile Armor."
"Good," The Commodore nodded.
Once it became clear that the Archangel was actually with the enemy fleet, the tactical situation had shifted. Radically. So has the goals Task Force. Now he simply needed to maul the enemy and survive until he could link with Hawkings and Sagan, with their untouched MS Wings and Gundam. Those two ships and the units they carried would deal the killing blow on the enemy fleet. If he could just hurt them hard enough in the meantime, victory would be assured.
Though first they had to survive the missile strike reasonably intact. 'Let's see if my brainstorm is going to work,' Brown thought.