Disclaimer: See chapter 1
Saga of the Crimson Fox
By Storm Wolf77415
Gundam Capture Operation Pt. 1
(Tenchu Orbital Elevator, High Orbital Station)
Four months had passed since Celestial Being had first appeared. They had conducted nearly sixty interventions, and amazingly people were starting to pay attention. The number of conflicts around the world had gone down by nearly forty percent. After the failures of the Taribia and Moralia operations, the Union and AEU took a defensive stance to Celestial Being, saying they'd retaliate only if the Gundams attacked any of their interests across the world or anywhere in their borders.
The Human Reform League was taking a much more proactive approach to the armed group, vowing to directly oppose Celestial Being and bring their campaign to an end. Chobu, the HRL's Anti-Gundam Task Force was preparing for a massive operation to flush the Gundams out. The entire squadron, nearly fifty strong, was assembled in the briefing room ready for the final briefing before they began.
Colonel Sergei Smirnov looked over the squad. The very best from across the HRL had been handpicked for this operation and now it was time for them to shine. The stoic Soma Peries was sitting in the very front row, golden eyes unreadable. Once everyone was sitting, he took a position at the front of the room. "Good evening, everyone. Or rather I guess it's good morning." He noted the clock on the wall, reading 0430 hours. "Now that everyone's here we can begin the briefing for the upcoming operation."
The screen came to life, showing a detailed view of the Earth. "We've sunk considerable resources into this operation, so we're not going to get a second opportunity to do this. Through analyzing the data from Celestial Being's previous assaults and a little old-fashioned common sense, we've built our strategy. The Gundams can't operate completely on their own. There is a base or a carrier somewhere where they can refuel and rearm. Because of those particles it's nigh impossible to find them through conventional means." The Wild Bear of Russia gave a thin smirk, "However, despite how impressive a stealth system they have…it's not completely infallible."
The entire display lit up as thousands of tiny lights began sweeping across almost the entire orbital area above the Human Reform League. "These lights indicate a series of very small duplex communications units, covering eighty percent of the skies over the mother land. Our scientists have determined that because the particles disrupt communications, if any number of these probes goes dark. That is where we can find Celestial Being's carrier. Once we do that, Chobu Squadron will launch in force. We will bear down on Celestial Being, and capture the Gundams for the glory of our great nation. I want every one on ready status the moment the sensors detect them. Dismissed!"
The soldiers saluted and quietly filed out. Sergei's executive officer, First Lieutenant Ming Nguyen sidled up to the scarred Russian. "Very moving speech, sir. Do you really think we can pull this off?"
"We'll have to, as I said to the guys earlier. We can't afford to pull off an op of this level many times. Our resources are spread thin as is." Sergei frowned, "Ideally, I'd like to capture all four Gundams, and maybe even their carrier as well. It could lead us back to wherever their main base is. We find that, we could command the full extent of Celestial Being's technology. Our nation would jump ahead of the Union and AEU in colony development. We'd effectively control the world."
Ming nodded, "An ambitious goal, Colonel. But it seems rather daunting."
Sergei smirked, "I'm just putting forth the best case scenario. I'll be satisfied if we get our hands on just one of those mobile suits. So long as either the Union or the AEU aren't able to first. This is our time, Ming. All eyes are on us. We have to be on our guard."
Ming snapped to attention, "Understood sir. I'll get the others ready. We won't fail!"
(Tokyo, Union)
Saji and Louise were sitting outside, enjoying the warm afternoon, it was late September in Japan and the weather was starting to cool off. Saji was looking at their latest assignment, "Celestial Being's Influence On the Future of Global Conflict…this is going to be one tough paper." He remarked. Given the conflict between the three blocs and Celestial Being was further ongoing, it meant it was hard to determine what would happen.
Louise just huffed, "Then just make something up! It's not like it's going to matter for when you finally get a job on one of the Elevators."
"You know I can't do that." Saji said.
Before the hot tempered Spanish girl could make any kind of retort, a voice called out, "Louise! Louise, there you are, honey!" An older woman in her early forties wearing very expensive looking clothes, ran up to them. Despite her shorter hair, Saji could see a telling resemblance to the girl sitting next to him.
"Mom?" Louise couldn't believe her eyes. She ran into the arms of her mother, Elesa Halevy. "I don't believe it, Mom! You came all the way here from Lisbon?"
"Oh Louise, I missed you so much! Are you okay, dear?" Elesa asked.
"Yeah Mom, but I'm surprised you made the trip. All three of the blocs have put down serious travel restrictions. How did you make it through?"
Elesa smiled, "I just contacted some of my friends in the Spanish government and they arranged everything." It was then her eye fell on Saji. "Louise…who is this?" Saji straightened up a little bit. Despite the two of them having dated for a couple of months, he hadn't felt comfortable asking about her family and now the matriarch herself was present.
"I told you about him before, Mom. This is my boyfriend, Saji." Louise said, "Introduce yourself to her."
Saji gave a slight bow to Elesa. "My name is Saji Crossroad, Mrs. Halevy. It's very nice to meet you." He said in near perfect Spanish, hoping to make a good impression. Thankfully it worked.
"You've learned well. Your accent still needs a bit of work, but it's close. Thank you for taking such good care of my daughter. However it's not needed anymore. I'm taking Louise back to Spain with me tonight."
"But why mom?" Louise whined.
"With the way the world is right now, I'm not going to let my daughter study aboard when Celestial Being could swoop in and level the entire city." Elesa's voice was firm and unyielding. She grabbed Louise's arm and began dragging her back to the taxi. "We're going home, dear."
Louise struggled against her mother's iron grip, "Saji, say something!" She whined again.
"Uh…what should I say?" He asked, a sense of dread crawling over him. He wasn't sure if he wanted to get in between the two Halevy women. Louise was known to have a temper, and it's a sure bet she inherited from Elesa.
"How about that your lover is being taken away against her will for starters!" Louise practically blubbered. She'd wished she hadn't said that. Elesa lost her grip on her daughter's arm.
"When did that happen?!" Saji said, quickly feeling things getting out of control.
"Her lover?" The sense of dread was becoming heavier on Saji's back now. Elsea's gaze was as potent as Dynames's sniper rifle. "What have you done to my little girl?" Saji took a step back, ready to bolt if he had to, unfortunately his next words just threw more gas on the fire.
"It's just a misunderstanding, Mom!" Saji dropped his papers, clapping a hand over his mouth. He didn't mean to call Elesa that. It just sort of slipped out.
"Did you just say, Mom?" Elesa couldn't believe her ears.
"That's not what I meant to say!" Saji said, regretting that he had even opened his mouth. Louise wasn't helping.
"Be a man and stand up to her, Saji!" She huffed, but Saji just wasn't getting the idea. "SAJI!" The younger Crossroad sibling sighed. Some days it really didn't pay to get out of bed…
(Space near L4)
The Ptolemaios idly drifted through space as the Gundams slowly approached, each of them landing in their respective containers. Setsuna remained stoic as the Exia grace landed upon the moorings before folding back in as the hatch closed. Setsuna disembarked from the cockpit as Ian appeared. "Not a bad landing, Kid. I'll give it a 9.8, plus an extra point for style."
"I'll help with the repairs." The Kurdish Gundam Meister replied. The older man just shook his head.
"Nah, Go back to your quarters and rest for awhile. Let the rest of us get some work done." Setsuna just gave a curt nod and headed for his room. Giving one last to Exia. It was thanks to the magnificent piece of technology that allowed him to make a difference in the world…and to atone for his sins.
At the same time, The Dynames was settling into its container. Lockon and Orange Haro emerged from the sniper Gundam's cockpit to the many happy chirps and beeps from four more of the brightly colored robotic balls. "Big Brother! Big Brother! Big Brother! What's new?" The quartet of tinny electronic voices all overlapped, making it hard to tell who was speaking.
Lockon just smirked bemusedly, "Well that's quite the welcome." Orange flew to one of the nearby Klarel machines used to help maintain the ship and its mobile suits. The usual big green eyes were replaced with smaller ones, showing the Haro was now in control.
"Begin maintenance! Begin maintenance!" It ordered.
"Roger! Roger!" The other Haros chimed, taking control of their own Klarel units.
Lockon just chortled and waved. "Play nice now, kids!" The Irish Meister said, eager to get out of his flightsuit and get a few hours of sleep in before they made their next move.
Setsuna made his way down the corridor, passing by Tieria in the process. The purple haired Meister said nothing to his blue clad counterpart, just offering his trademark cold glare. Who in turn paid no attention to the pilot of the heavy weapons Gundam and just continued down the corridor. A lot of friction had developed between the two after Setsuna had revealed himself in Moralia. Tieria's opinion had never been very high of the youngest member of their squad, and this just proved his point.
(Ptolemaios, Bridge)
It was business as usual in the nerve center of the Celestial Being carrier. Both Lichtendahl and Lasse both had their eyes glued on space, watching for any possible attackers. Feldt and Christina were both going over the latest combat data from Veda, determining the target for the Gundams' next intervention. And Sumeragi was lazily draped over her command chair with a disinterested look on her face. Allelujah was rather perturbed to see the woman who was the ship's nominal captain look so lax when they were so vulnerable.
"A question for you, Miss Sumeragi, what if someone attacks us while we're in the middle of our overhaul?" the pilot of the orange Gundam asked. All of the Meisters thought it was quite foolish for the ship to not have any weapons whatsoever. Even with all four of the Gundams working to protect the Ptolemaios, they were still in danger of being overrun. A hard lesson they'd learn in the future.
Sumeragi just sighed; batting some chestnut locks out of her face. "Then I'll curse God for being so inconsiderate." She replied, her mind clearly thinking about something else.
"I don't think a tactical forecaster is supposed to say something like that." Allelujah said. In the deepest reaches of his mind, a sinister cackle rose up. He frowned slightly. That's not funny, Hal! Behave yourself!
Actually, I think it's fucking hilarious! You always have to be such a killjoy! It makes me want to puke! A dark mirror of Allelujah's voice rattled in his head. I like this chick a lot! She's got attitude! Perhaps you should let me out for a while. That way I can have some fun with her. I bet I'd be a lot more entertaining than you!
Allelujah's single visible eye narrowed. Don't you dare even think of hurting Miss Sumeragi! I don't care how weak you believe I am. I'll fight you with every amount of will I have to keep my crewmates safe! There will never be a repeat of that day again! You can be damn sure of that, Hallelujah! The only response he got was the same sinister, mocking laugh.
Now that's what I'm talking about! Finally, you let your true self come forth! It's nice to see you finally accepting your better half! Come around if you're ever bored…I'm always here, just to remind ya! A single dark chuckle echoed as Hallelujah receded back into recesses of the Meister's psyche. Allelujah sighed, wondering if he'd ever be able to deal with his insane alter ego. Deciding some sleep was in order, He excused himself from the bridge.
(Renquist Air Station, Eight hours earlier)
A single Flag in standard Union blue soared majestically through the Montana skies. In the drum shaped cockpit. Daisuke let out a whoop as he accelerated to almost three times the speed of sound, leaving a pair of sharp contrails as he banked to the right. Ever since being called up to be an active pilot he had spent practically every day in the skies, getting reacquainted to the controls of a mobile suit. It was like a bike, you never really forgot.
"YAHOO!" He cried, putting the machine into a barrel roll. The Flag skimmed the very tips of the trees before rocketing back up into the wide blue expanse. "Damn I forgot how good this feels!" He took the machine up to ten thousand feet, and in a move that would have surprised everyone shifted from fighter mode to mobile suit mode. It just hovered there, unmoving. Daisuke looked downwards, seeing the vast expanse of the forest underneath him and the crystal blue sky in front of him.
"Now this is what I call a view!" He whistled. "Graham was right. You really do feel like the king of everything when you're up here!" His good feeling came to screeching halt when the master alarm started ringing, signaling someone had a target lock on him. "The fuck?" he snapped, just barely avoiding getting pegged by a 200mm shell. Daisuke looked around, to see where the round came from.
It was another Flag. The young man's face paled at the sight of the mobile suit's color scheme. The machine had a fuselage painted jet black just like Graham's, but the wings were a brilliant crimson red. The XLR-04 linear rifle was black with red pinstripes on it. "Lying down on the job when you should be practicing, Lieutenant Sanada?" A deep voice drawled. In the cockpit, wearing a brilliant Union-style cut flightsuit in his signature red, Mark enjoyed the gibbering coming over the speaker.
"Uh, no sir! Not at all, sir!" Daisuke immediately snapped to attention. Any self-respecting member of the Union Armed Forces knew the Crimson Fox's personal colors on sight. The black and red Flag came up alongside its counterpart. "Quite the view, isn't it Admiral? The forest is like a huge green carpet laid out at our feet."
"Yeah it is." Mark replied with a wistful tone in his voice. "If we're done sightseeing, how about taking on this old fox in a race? We got the perfect day for it. There's not a cloud in the sky and not a single soul around for miles." The old veteran smirked, "That is if you don't think you can keep up with me?"
The slight dig had its intended effect. Daisuke's red eyes narrowed. "Oh, you think you're so cool, huh? You're on old man! How about from here back to base? Loser does all the paperwork for the day, and has to buy dinner!"
"That's what I like to hear, kid! The winner is the one who buzzes the tower first." Mark said. The two Flags reverted to fighter mode, hovering in midair, oriented in the direction towards Renquist, "On three we go…THREE!" Both pilots ignited their engines close to the same time, taking off towards home before blowing past Mach 1 in seconds.
The two of them weren't just going in a straight line. Both of them were sweeping and banking, their vapor trails drawing lines in the sky. Renquist quickly came into view. Mark's Flag was slightly in the lead, "Oh no you don't!" Daisuke said, punching the accelerator to the max, leaping out ahead of his commanding officer and screaming by the tower just inches ahead of the Crimson Fox.
The two Flags came to a stop on the runway. The younger man hopped out of the cockpit. "Yes! Yes!" Daisuke did a little victory dance. Mark just snorted.
"Not bad, kid. You won fair and square." The Crimson Fox slung his helmet over his shoulder. He then heard his gut began churning angrily. "Come on, let's get cleaned up and hit the mess hall. All this flying makes a man hungry." Daisuke heard his own stomach growl. "I see I'm not the only one." It was then a Falcon came over the tree line.
"Were we expecting anyone, sir?" Daisuke asked. The older man didn't tear his eyes from the slowly descending helo.
"Actually…yes I am." Mark said, a slight quaver developing in his voice. "Now that you've been brought up to active pilot status. I'm lacking an adjutant. It took me awhile to find a suitable candidate. I didn't just want anyone…" The aircraft finally came to a rest on the tarmac. "Lieutenant Sanada, go ahead without me. I'll be along later." Daisuke opened his mouth to say something, but decided against it. He saluted and returned to the barracks.
The door slid open, admitting a young woman in her mid-twenties. She wore the standard female duty uniform of the Union Armed Forces, Blue jacket, with white knee length skirt and matching white pumps. Her violet hair tied in a long ponytail. Blue eyes narrowed when she caught sight of the Fox. Mark squared his shoulders and marched up to the girl. Looking every bit the image of the veteran soldier.
The young woman snapped to attention, offering a perfect salute, "Lieutenant Commander Rhythm Weber reporting as ordered, Admiral Lamperouge!" There was a frosty tinge to her voice. Mark kept a straight face returning the salute.
"Lieutenant Commander huh? So…you finally got that promotion you wanted. I'm glad." Mark said.
Rhythm just folded her arms, "And I did it all on my own…no help from you." She adjusted her cover. "If you'll excuse me, I'm off to my room. I need to get settled in. Until then, Admiral." She walked off at a brisk pace without another word to Mark. He just sighed, and headed off to get a shower and some food.
(Commissary)
Mark grabbed a tray of food and sat down. "Cornelia, I'm just hoping I made the right choice here. Rhythm didn't give me a very warm reception…I don't blame here." He dug his fork into the mashed potatoes before taking a bite. The Crimson Fox's face twisted into mild disgust as he swallowed. It was lukewarm. "You'd think the cooks would at least make sure it was well heated." He tossed his fork down and sulked.
It was then Graham joined him. "Hello Admiral…is something wrong, sir?" Mark motioned for the younger man to sit down.
"Hello, Graham." He said. "As for is something wrong…it really depends on how you look at it." He ate some more of the lukewarm potatoes. "With Daisuke now a full member of the squadron, I needed a new adjutant." He sighed. "So I called Rhythm." The blonde pilot's jaw went slack. "Yeah, wondering if someone slipped something into my coffee when I made that decision."
"Indeed! Of all the people you thought to call it was her?" Graham asked. "Why, Admiral?"
Mark was about to give his reply when the doors banged open and Rick ran in, his face bright red. He saw Mark and Graham at the table. "I'm sorry to interrupt you, sir." He panted in between breaths "But I needed to find you immediately! You need to get to the Situation Room. It's the Human Reform League. They've begun an operation to capture the Gundams!" No more words were needed, lukewarm potatoes were forgotten and all three men were tearing across the base back to the Operations Center.
There was a tense atmosphere as Mark entered the room. All of his worries were locked into a box and punted into the deepest corner of his mind as he shifted into commander mode. The Crimson Fox moved with the sly, fluid grace of the animal he was named after. "Tell me when it all started, Commander Hunter." He said in a cool voice.
"About seven hours ago, Admiral. There was a lot of activity within HRL airspace. They seemed to be launching a complex array of devices. What they are, I have no clue." Rick brought the display up. "As you can see, they've covered nearly all of their orbital airspace with them. But I can't imagine for what reason."
Professor Eifman was also present, his brilliant sea blue eyes looking over the display with close scrutiny, already breaking down the composition of the devices in his mind. It didn't take him long. His eyes narrowed as the grip on his cane tightened, "Those HRL bastards…they worked it out! They figured out the key to beating the Gundams' stealth systems!" Everyone looked to their chief scientist for an explanation.
"Care to share with the rest of us, Doc?" Rick asked.
"Gladly, Commander Hunter." Eifman said, regaining his composure. "I've been poring over the data from the last few interventions. The Gundams have been using those special particles of theirs as a blind, scrambling all communications and sensors. I was trying to find a weakness in it…it looks the HRL beat me to the punch! Those are communication satellites, all in constant contact with each other; it's like a huge net. If there's even the smallest break in that net…that's where Celestial Being will be."
"Then what does that mean?" Graham asked. Mark lightly bit the back of his hand at the ramifications.
"It means that Colonel Smirnov may actually succeed in capturing the Gundams!" He said.
(Ptolemaios, Bridge)
A general calm had settled over the ship. The Meisters were all currently resting up, Sumeragi was in her quarters going over plans for the next intervention, which left Christina alone on the bridge. She was poring over some software improvements to the Gundams' operating systems when the door squeaked open, admitting Lichtendahl. "Hey, where's Feldt?" He asked.
"Said she wasn't feeling well, so I'm on watch by myself." The programmer replied, not looking away from her coding work. Lichty came up next to her. Her stomach growled, causing her to start blushing, "It's been awhile since I ate. Guess that's what happens when I get focused on something." Lichty craned his head to get a look at her console.
"What are you working on anyway?" He asked, his eyes straining to make sense of the long lines of numbers and letters.
"Just some improvements for the Gundams' firmware." She said. "Took me the better part of a month to get it done. Can you imagine what it's like coding improvements to the OS's for all four mobile suits at once." She grunted in frustration, "It takes forever."
"Well, if you're hungry, why don't you go get some food? I can take watch for a while." The young helmsman offered. Christina smiled at him, hopping down from her station. She knew he had a crush on her, but her heart already belonged to someone else. Her fingers brushed against the dolphin shaped ring on her right hand. Lichty walked to his station, kicking back in his seat. So taken with Christina's smile he didn't notice the blinking light on Feldt's board, signaling the E-Sensor had picked up communications activity. The Ptolemaios had fallen right into the HRL's trap.
(Tenchu, High Orbital Station)
Ming was manning the Command Center when the alarm went off. There was a sense of dread and anticipation in the air when the southwestern most corner of the satellite network went dark suddenly. There was dread because it meant that Celestial Being was indeed in their territory, but at the same time it was exactly what they were hoping for. Finally they'd be able to take their shot at the Gundams.
He didn't waste any time notifying Sergei who came in pulling on his uniform jacket. "Sir, I think we got it!" Ming said. "Sector RX-78 went dark just a couple of minutes ago, Colonel. I think…it could be them. They're just about a twenty-minute flight from here. If we go now, we could catch them with little trouble."
The Wild Bear of Russia's eyes narrowed slightly, it was now up to him to make the vital call. It could very well be just a sensor ghost, but at the same time, this could be their only chance. Sergei weighed his options closely before giving his next order. "Send word to all Chobu pilots to board the transports. We depart immediately! For the honor of our great nation!" He declared to which all the others let out a cry of agreement.
The pilots raced to the four waiting Laohu Transports, the squadron's MSJ-06II-E Tieren Space Types had already been loaded ahead of time. So it was a simple matter to board. Sergei took his place on the lead vessel's bridge. "Let's get going." He ordered to the pilot. Soon they were underway. The four vessels slipped into the black void towards their destiny.
In the cockpit of the Tieren Taozi, Soma waited in silence. She had been outfitted with a new flightsuit. This one didn't have the helmet mounted display like traditional HRL flight suits. Instead it was fitted with a more normal helmet and visor, which seemed more comfortable to her in some way. It was supposed to shield her quantum brainwaves and keep a repeat of the Orbital Elevator incident from happening again. Her eyes narrowed at the prospect of that person being part of Celestial Being. When that happened, she'd show just what super soldier could really do!
(Ptolemaios, Corridor)
Lockon idly made his way down the hallway. A long nap had made his mind sharp, which was just as important as his sharp sniper's eye. He was on his way to see Sumeragi when he heard soft sniffling coming from a side room. He peeked into to see Feldt looking out at space, crying. "You all right there, kid?" He called out. The pinkette leapt suddenly. "I didn't mean to startle you."
"No…it's okay." She said, before her still puffy blue eyes went back to looking at the starscape. "I was just thinking about my parents." The Irish sniper came up alongside her, putting a comforting arm around her shoulders, eliciting a slight blush that he didn't see. "Celestial Being is my entire life. Mom and Dad were part of the organization…Today's the anniversary of their deaths." She said.
Lockon's eyes widened slightly, but he quickly regained his composure. "I'm sorry to hear about that, hon. Do you know how it happened?" She shook her head.
"No, it's classified." Feldt replied, "All I know is that they died during a mission. No one has told me a thing." She said. "The Vashtis have raised me alongside their own daughter, Mileina. They're good people, but I still miss them. This day is always a sad one for me…" Lockon pulled Feldt close to him.
"My real name is Neil Dylandy." Lockon said suddenly. "You're not alone, sweetheart. I know exactly where you're coming from." The pinkette craned her neck to look up at the sniper's caring expression. "My parents and little sister, Amy were killed a long time ago by a terrorist bombing. We're cut from the same cloth, you and I. I'm sure your parents would want you to carry in their stead." Neither of them said anything more, and just watched the stars slowly pass by them.
(Bridge)
Christina stormed onto the bridge. She had tried eating in the mess hall, but she had the great misfortune to dine at the same time Tieria and Setsuna were. The cold glares, and general frosty atmosphere had been too much for her to take. She had quickly finished her meal and got back to the bridge. Chris saw Lichty lazing back, when a flickering on Feldt's console caught her attention. Her eyes widened in horror when she realized what it meant.
"You idiot!" she screamed, causing Lichty to come tumbling out of his seat, "We've been detected!" Christina's finger plunged on a button on Sumeragi's command chair. The entire bridge was soon bathed in angry red light as sirens began sounding. "Red Alert! All Meisters head to their Gundams. Miss Sumeragi to the bridge immediately!" She flashed an angry look at an apologetic Lichty before running to get her space suit on.
Sumeragi came on to the bridge barking orders almost at once. "Answer two questions for me, how many of them are there and where are they coming from, Christina?" She asked. The pony tailed girl nervously tapped at her console.
"Four Laohu-class Human Reform League Mobile Suit transports along with escorting space type Tierens! They're approaching from Tenchu's high orbital station, ETA is about twenty minutes!" Panic was rising in Chris's voice. "I think we stumbled into some kind of sensor network. The HRL was waiting for us all along!" She flashed a dirty look at Lichty with those last words, clearly putting the blame on him for not being more vigilant. The Ptolemaios had no onboard weaponry and so stealth had been its only weapon. This was the worst position to be in.
Sumeragi remained calm, and quickly began making a strategy, "Take us along the length of the ring! We'll try to use the electromagnetic radiation as cover." she said, calling up their chief mechanic who frantically scrambling in Dynames's container with the GN sniper rifle. "Ian, we're going to have some unwanted guests very soon. What's the status of the Gundams?"
"Kyrios, Virtue, and Exia are ready, but the Dynames's leg generator is in need of repairs so it won't be usable." He replied apologetically. Sumeragi's eyes narrowed. "Damn it, that's the machine I need the most right now!" She hissed, "Order Tieria and Allelujah to launch and intercept the HRL forces. Attach a temporary leg to Dynames. Lockon will be on standby in his container. Setsuna will remain close by to guard us in the event any enemy forces make it through." Her face became determined, "Good luck everyone, We will survive this!"
(Laohu-class transport Qing Long, Bridge)
Sergei was quiet as his flagship closed in on the Ptolemaios, "Colonel, we've locked onto a trail of those strange particles. It appears to be heading toward the Orbital Ring. I think we can get it on camera before long." Ming reported. Indeed, a computer enhanced image of the sleek looking transport appeared on screen. He gave the Ptolemaios a scrutinizing eye.
"I'm impressed they have a vessel of that size…perhaps they do have a country supporting them." Sergei remarked, "Remind me to have a word with the boys in Intelligence, Ming. I think we need to reconsider the possibility of Celestial Being having a connection to one of the other blocs. In order to have equipment like that, there's no other way."
"I can understand what you're saying sir, but let me play devil's advocate here." Ming took a deep breath clearly a little reluctant to put the idea forward, but he needed to say it, "If they are aligned with either the Union or the AEU…why attack their own benefactors? It seems rather counterproductive if you ask me."
Sergei quickly shut him down. "It's not our place to question, only to act in the best interests of our country and its people." He gave the enemy vessel one last look before beginning his attack, "Tell the Zhu-Que, Bai-Hu, and Xuan-Wu to launch their Tierens, order all pilots to line up behind our ship. After that tell the Zhu-Que and the Bai-hu to detach their bridges and advance on auto pilot."
Ming began transmitting orders to the other ships while Sergei kept his gaze on the Ptolemaios. "All right, Celestial Being, let's see how you handle a Russian Bear!"
(Ptolemaios, Bridge)
Sumeragi would have bit her fingernail if the heavy gloves of her space suit didn't cover them. She watched with dismay as the two of the Laohus suddenly broke off from the main formation, each heading for one of the Gundams. "Damn it, my analysis was wrong." She commented to Lockon. "It was my hope all four ships would attack together, allowing Kyrios and Virtue to swing around and catch them in a pincer attack, but those two ships have broken off to engage the Gundams. Then it must mean they've already launched their Tierens."
Sumeragi clenched her hands, desperately craving a cold one at that moment. "That means Allelujah and Tieria are going to waste their time on a pointless attack…and leaving us vulnerable to their real strike." She watched as two temporary suns bloomed to life in the viewport, signifying that the attacking Gundams had destroyed the transport ships. "Allelujah, did you and Tieria encounter any mobile suits?"
"No Miss Sumeragi, we didn't see anything." The soft-spoken young man said.
"Same here," came Tieria's terse reply. Sumeragi's uneasiness grew.
"Damn it! Then that means he's here!" She smacked her armrest.
Lockon's image on the screen frowned a little bit. He had always known the Ptolemaios's captain to be always composed and under control. "What is it, Boss Lady? We got a problem?"
"Yes Lockon, we have a very big one!" Sumeragi said. "This strategy was used 18 years ago during the Fifth Great Solar War by Colonel Sergei Smirnov." The entire bridge went silent. "As much as I hate to say this people. We are fighting the Wild Bear of Russia, one of the Human Reform League's best."
Christina began hyperventilating with those words. Ever since they had spotted the HRL ships approaching them, she had begun to get nervous. The Ptolemaios wasn't armed in any way, and the only defense they could put up was by raising a field of condensed GN particles, it would protect them from any incoming fire but it would only hold for so long. It was then a text message scrolled on her board.
"Relax…we got the Gundams. They won't let anything happen to us. LT." She looked across the way to Lichty, who gave her a reassuring smile. Between the simple gesture and brief message that helped Christina maintain her composure. She went back to work, finger trembling as it hovered over the button to raise the GN Field. It didn't hurt to be prepared after all.
(Ptolemaios, Hangar D)
Meanwhile, Lockon was nervously getting prepared in his container bay. Since Dynames wasn't able to actively engage in combat. He would be relegated to playing mobile turret on the ship. Luckily it was the one place he excelled at. He locked onto the Xuan-Wu. "I have lock, engaging!" He fired, sending a lance of magenta light at his target, much to his dismay the beam missed. "Damn it, my rifle's calibration must be off because of the leg!"
The Qing Long then fired a round of missiles at them. Christina screamed, hitting the button to raise the GN Field. Lockon and Setsuna opened fire with everything they had, but several of the missiles got through, impacting on the dense layer of GN particles. The Xuan-Wu began advancing on the Ptolemaios for a suicide attack.
"We're all going to die!" Christina screamed, curling up into a ball in panic. Lockon came to the rescue, opening up with a barrage of GN missiles that reduced the empty vessel to fire and metal splinters. The debris crashed into the shield, causing the entire vessel to shake. But even with the immediate threat neutralized, She whimpered in fear, "Anthony…save me!" It was then Feldt surprised everyone.
"We're all going to get out of here alive!" The pinkette cried out loudly, "We're going to live…but only if everyone does their job. That includes you as well, Christina!" It was the most emotion ever seen out of the youngest version of their crew. Christina mentally cursed herself for panicking in such a way when Feldt was able to stay in control. She got back into her seat and began working again.
The good feeling didn't last long as the Tierens finally revealed themselves. Thirty-six of the ugly mechanical beasts appeared from the Qing Long, all of them primed for battle. Exia and Dynames began opening fire on the HRL mobile suits but they quickly scattered. Sumeragi's stomach leapt up into her throat as Sergei's plan became blatantly clear to her. "It's the Wild Bear of Russia all right…and he's come for the Gundams!"
(Qing Long, Hangar)
In the cockpit of his MSJ-06II-ET Tieren Space Commander Type, Sergei smirked, his strategy worked out better than he expected it to. By using the empty Laohus as decoys he had split Celestial Being's forces in half. The two Gundams that had gone after the ships who had split off earlier were now quite a distance away from the mothership. It would take them time to head back and regroup; which was exactly what the Wild Bear of Russia was hoping for.
"We're targeting the winged Gundam and the heavy weapons type first." Sergei felt a pang of guilt for targeting the Kyrios, especially after what its pilot had done during the elevator incident. But duty wad duty. He saw the orange and white machine rapidly approach before a series of explosions went off around it as it tripped off the proximity mind field that the Qing Long had set off as the Tierens launched. "We have our first target…send out our secret weapon."
With that order the flagship's Tierens launched…including the Taozi. At the moment the pink machine came into Allelujah Haptism's field of vision. The screaming pain of a thousand rusty needles erupted into head. The situation had just gone from bad to worse…