The beauty of the Spearhead is its simplicity in refueling.
Unlike the Moebius, the Spearhead's main engines are connected to battery tanks designed to be removed in their entirety and replaced with a fresh one at the quickest possible speed, giving it an unparalleled advantage when a craft needs to be deployed quickly and repeatedly.
Thus, Ribbon and Cipher redeployed a mere hour after returning back to the rebel base.
Disregarding the technological advantage of removable batteries, the fact remained that the rebel forces were simply too unskilled at actually servicing a military aircraft beyond merely re-arming it. Besides, it's not like a Spearhead should constantly replace its batteries; it weathers the joints (according to the rebel mechanic).
"Alright, I'm in the air; Sky Eye, give me their coordinates." Cipher said, looking at his display.
"Sky Eye copies, sending data." Cipher's screen beeped and his radar updated with three new positions.
"Ribbon, who are you going after?" Cipher looked over at Mobius One's aircraft.
"I'll get Blaze."
"Roger that, I'll go after Talisman then." Cipher accelerated and headed toward Talisman's distress signal.
"What about Kira?" Tolle demanded.
"We need to recover the Strike itself; if you got something good let me know." Cipher said tersely.
…
The two Aces of Strangereal were recovered without too much incident (Talisman sprained his ankle on a rather poor landing, but it wasn't anything serious) and ferried back to the rebel base as they waited for the Archangel.
Ribbon and Cipher then departed on their second mission: cutting Kira out of the Strike.
…
"I see the Strike." Ribbon said after a few minute of flight.
"Copy that. Be advised: ZAFT elements are operating in the combat area, watch yourselves up there." Sky Eye reported.
"Don't worry about a thing." Tolle said confidently: he and his wingman were flying cover.
"Alright…touching down." Mobius One and Cipher landed near the Strike quickly (and showering it with a spray of sand).
"Galm One to Strike, do you copy?" Cipher listened for a radio response. "Cipher to Kira, you ok in there, kid?"
Nothing.
"Alright, let's go." Ribbon motioned to the technician sitting in his Spearhead's copilot seat.
…
…
What followed next is a few minutes of silent anticipation as the technician cut through the Strike's cockpit hatch little by little while everyone else listened intently for the sound of anything belonging to ZAFT flying over the area.
The technician cut through a small area in the Strike's armor, exposing some wires.
"Seriously?" The technician muttered with a grin, and quickly moved some of the wires.
A loud thud resounded through the Strike's cockpit, and the Technician forced it open with relative ease.
"I can't believe they use the same wire patterns as ZAFT. Lazy asses." He said with a cocky grin.
Inside the cockpit, Kira Yamato was slumped against the chair, held up by the safety harness and not moving.
Ribbon moved in quickly and removed Kira's helmet.
"He's still breathing." Ribbon said after testing for Kira's vital signs. "A little on the weak side, but he's still alive. Let's get him out of here. Cipher, give us a hand."
"On it." Cipher took his Spearhead into the air and hovered next to the Strike, his craft's nose almost touching the Gundam's mangled cockpit hatch.
"Easy…easy…" Ribbon and the Technician eased Kira into the Spearhead's copilot seat, and strapped him in the best they could. "Ok, you're clear."
"Roger." Cipher pulled away and lifted off. "Galm One to Sky Eye, we've recovered Strike's pilot, scramble medical assets."
"We don't have any medical assets." Sky Eye sighed. What few medical staff the rebels had were overwhelmed with the wounds of the remains of the rebel forces.
"Yeah, I forgot about that." Cipher sighed as his radar beeped. "Hawk flight, we have contacts, prepare to intercept."
"Eh? Uh, right!" Tolle and his wingmen were assimilated into Mu's flight (for procedure purposes), and Mu himself was grounded due to the Skygrasper not having the parts available for maintenance, since the Skygrasper was damaged when it forcibly ejected the Launcher Pack for the Strike. The mechanics who built the aircraft had not tested for a situation like that and the force inflicted on the Skygrasper's frame (while it was flying very fast and not hovering like it should have been) shut down its VTOL engines.
And the rebel base wasn't built with a traditional runway.
"Once we're out of the area, just run to the base; it's not like its hidden anymore at this point." Ribbon said, taking off with a steep climb.
"What if they destroy the Strike?" Tolle asked, watching the radar blip come closer and closer.
"Then we're screwed." Cipher laughed.
Tolle sighed.
…
"This is Heartbreak one hailing EFA assets." Mobius One heard over the radio.
Is he that other Wyvern pilot? Mobius One wondered. "This is the EFA fighter call sign Razgriz three. State your intentions, ZAFT pilot."
He heard a laugh. "Razgriz, huh? I'm a mercenary, not ZAFT. Let's try again. This is Heartbreak one affiliated with the Osean air force, 108th Tactical fighter squadron 'Wardog', a pleasure, I'm sure."
So he's just like us. Mobius One looked at the radar spot approaching him quickly. "This is Mobius One, affiliated with the ISAF 118th Tactical Fighter Wing."
"The famed reaper! I'm honored." Ribbon saw the Wyvern approach him, then slow down to fly side by side. "Well, then this'll go a little faster. I'm requesting neutrality in return for letting me pick up my downed wingman."
"As long as ZAFT doesn't try anything I think the EFA will stay out of a fight, for the time being." Ribbon mused.
Heartbreak one laughed. "Of course. I'm Bartlett. Do you have a name, reaper?"
"Ribbon."
Another chuckle. "Thought so. Well then, mister Ribbon, pleasure doing business with you." The Wyvern banked and pulled away.
The Technician let out a whimper along with his held breath.
…
Soon enough, the two Aces landed and Kira was laid on a bed in the infirmary.
"What a goddamned disaster." Cipher groaned.
Ribbon could only sigh as he looked at the rows of corpses being prepped for burial. A small part of him reminded him that a lot of bodies were still on the sand dunes, unable to be picked up because they were buried by the battle that killed them.
"I mean…" Cipher looked grim. "I thought the Excalibur was bad, but this is insane."
"I guess this means the rebellion is all but finished." Ribbon muttered.
"It isn't finished. It's just beginning." One of the rebel captains said with a bitter smile. "We've attracted the attention of the EFA. We'll use them to liberate Africa, you'll see."
He then clapped Cipher on the shoulder. "Thanks for your help, Aces. If it weren't for you…well, we would've lost all these people without anything to show for it."
Cipher felt the man squeeze. "I wish we could've done more."
The man nodded. "Yeah. We wish we could've done more, too."
…
…
[Two days later]
…
…
Kira woke with a start.
"Where-ow!" He felt his entire body burn.
"Whoa, easy there." Blaze said from the bed next to his. "You passed out in the Strike."
"I…what? When did that happen?" Kira asked, lying back down.
"Who knows?" Blaze sighed. "We were hoping you could tell us that, actually."
"I…I remember hearing that…" Kira then almost shot up again, but his body forced him back down. "Nevermind me, what about you and Talisman?!"
"Oh, we're fine, just fine." Blaze stretched. "Cipher restricted us to bed rest for a while until we can get a proper evaluation. I'm really bored, by the way." Blaze laughed. "We punched out when our aircraft were hit, so we're fine. Don't worry." Blaze said upon seeing the look on Kira's face.
Kira sighed in response. "If you say so." He stared at the ceiling. "I remember hearing the two of you go down and then…my mind just felt…clear, and then…" Kira shuddered.
"And then you killed people. I saw your handiwork." Blaze said lightly.
"How could I have done that…what did I do?" Kira said softly, despair creeping into his voice.
"Kid." Blaze said firmly. "That power is yours, and you know what I've told you about power."
Kira took a deep breath. "I need to train it to control it, so I don't kill people like this again."
"Not to the point where you pass out from the strain, you idiot." Cipher said, walking in and gently tapping Kira on the head. "When was the last time you got a good night's sleep? Sheesh."
That was a rhetorical question: Kira slept very poorly lately due to how hard he was pushing himself. And even a coordinator with superior physical capabilities had a limit.
"I'll take better care of myself in the future, I promise." Kira said a little sulkily.
"Good. At least you'll be able to control yourself then." Cipher said seriously.
…
…
[Two days later]
…
…
For the past four days Sky Eye had watched over the Strike's position, looking for any possible ZAFT signatures near the nonresponsive Gundam.
Apart from one copter that showed up to pick up the ZAFT rescue signature on the first day there wasn't any activity.
…
"Yo." Neil knocked on the wall near the gate of the dock, getting the attention of Cipher and Ribbon. "Your ship is gonna be here in fifteen minutes."
"Oh, good." Ribbon stood up. "I was getting antsy."
…
The Archangel pulled into the dock with surprising ease, opening up its hangar doors in the process.
"Hey guys!" Murdoch said with a huge grin; all of his animosity towards the Gründer mechanics seemed to have fallen by the wayside in favor of having a shiny new ship. "We're here! Did you miss us?!"
Cipher could only grin in response.
"We missed having a professional to work on our shit." Ribbon grinned.
Murdoch's grin faded a little. "Yeah? We don't have replacement parts for the Super Spearheads though…hmm." The Gründer mechanics didn't give the Archangel any spare parts for the Super Spearheads.
He then shrugged. "Nothing a little retrofitting can't fix, though…well, for the time being, let's just get the units loaded up." Murdoch looked around. "Where's the Strike?"
"Uh…" Cipher and Blaze shared a sideways glance.
…
"Hmm…" Murdoch scratched his stubble of a beard. "We should be able to recover it easily enough with the Duel and flying the ship near the Strike…did something happen to Kira? It sounded serious."
Tolle, by virtue of being tasked to escort the Archangel into dock, was able to relay what the battle was like for the crew of the ship, including the final results of losing two Razgriz pilots, and Kira.
And thus Tolle sent gave Miriallia a panic attack when she learned that Kira was apparently nonresponsive after the battle. As far as the rest of the ship was concerned, Kira Yamato was blasted into a million little pieces.
"He's suffering from something; I don't think it's serious, but I say he doesn't deploy unless it's serious." Cipher said matter-of-factly.
"Isn't that a shame…does this qualify as a serious situation?"
…
"This is an extremely serious situation!" Natarle practically yelled, before turning on Murrue and lecturing the lady with her brand of polite seriousness.
Murrue listened to the rant about "equipment fidelity" and "chain of command" and "rebellion inadequacy" for all of two minutes. "Cipher, if you feel that Kira can deploy to retrieve the Strike, please let him do so." Murrue said when Natarle paused to take a breath.
"Understood." Cipher saluted quickly and left the bridge as Natarle went into a new tirade.
A small part of Murrue's mind informed her that the bored, noncommittal look on her face was probably only egging Natarle on.
…
…
[Four hours later]
…
…
At the crack of dawn, the Archangel flew to the position where the Strike was.
The Archangel, incidentally, had several new passengers and an additional crewmember on board.
"Duel, you're cleared to proceed with the mission. How are you feeling, Yamato?" Sky Eye asked from his seat as a tactical officer (of sorts).
"Please just call me Kira. I feel great, sir." Kira said with a smile.
"Take better care of yourself and you'll fly better." Cipher laughed from his spot next to the bridge's walls.
"Ok…Duel, cleared for takeoff." Upon Sky Eye's words, the Duel walked slowly out of the hangar and landed gently on the sand dunes.
"Wow. Do we have a shovel?" Kira looked at the Strike covered in sand.
"We have something even better." Murdoch pointed to a spare VTOL engine with his thumb.
…
One sand-clearing via cyclone later and the Strike was loaded onto a pair of harnesses strapped to a pair of Spearheads. Kira idly reminded himself to get the cockpit block properly cleaned later.
With the help of the two Spearheads and the Duel, the Strike was lifted into the catapult, where it was latched onto said Catapult and rolled back into a dock.
All in all, an operation that took about an hour.
…
Sky Eye scowled at the new radar signature that looked very familiar.
"Mobius One."
Mobius One instinctively looked down at his radar. "I see him." He then switched to a different frequency. "Mobius One to Heartbreak One, state your intentions."
"Good to see you again, Reaper. We could use a new contract after ZAFT just paid us." Bartlett laughed.
"And here I thought ZAFT would pay well." Ribbon's eyebrows shot up.
"Waltfield pays well. ZAFT…not so much." The Wyvern rolled lazily in the sky. "And since you guys killed Waltfield's ship he's being assigned somewhere else."
He survived? Ribbon thought.
"Yeah, he survived; the Lesseps is a tough ship." Bartfield said, reading Ribbon's mind.
"Huh, good for him." Ribbon said lightly.
"A man like that shouldn't die for something like this." Bartlet agreed. "So what do you say?"
"Might I remind you, Mr. Mercenary." Natarle's voice cut across the conversation. "That he is not the ranking officer on this ship, and the prerogative to hire mercenaries falls upon this ship's captain."
"Oh really? You sound like a bag full of fun." Bartlett voice suggested that he considered Natarle to be anything but fun. "So who's the captain of the ship?"
Natarle scowled at Bartlett's immediate dismissal of her as the ship captain.
"That would be me, Heartbreak One." Murrue said.
"Please, Bartlett is fine." Captain Bartlett, Heartbreak One laughed. "You sound friendly, captain; so how about it?"
"Uh…"
…
The X-02 Wyvern was guided to one of the Archangel's hangars, where it touched down and was brought to one of the anchors meant for the Spearheads.
"So…did she end up hiring them?" Cipher asked Ribbon once he left his Spearhead.
"Who knows?" Ribbon shrugged. The Wyvern was told to land due to it nearly running out of fuel.
"Hey! Kid!" Kira and Blaze both looked around for the source of the voice.
Captain Bartlett came out of the Wyvern and removed his helmet to show the huge grin on his face.
Blaze strided towards his ex-captain with an equally large grin on his face.
"Do they know each other?" Kira asked the closest person available.
"Probably." Cipher shrugged.
…
Ribbon saw the second man from the Wyvern jump down from the copilot seat and approach him.
"I take it you're the pilot of that aircraft." The man said with a pleasant smile.
"That I am…and you must be Yellow 13?" Mobius One said, offering a hand.
"The very same; it's an honor to meet a fellow pilot from Strangereal, even if we are on opposing sides." Yellow 13 shook the offered hand.
Even if…? "I take it you know who I am?" Ribbon asked.
"I do not." Yellow 13 shook his head. "But Captain Bartlett filled me in on the details." Yellow 13 then laughed. "I'm looking at my future killer from a different universe; not a lot of people get to see this kind of thing."
Mobius One grimaced. "I suppose this whole timeline business is confusing at best; to the best of my memory you are still the superior pilot."
"And I intend to keep it that way." Yellow 13 smirked.
Ribbon shook his head. "If only Captain Murrue will let you."
Yellow 13 blinked. "Oh yeah, good point; well, until she decides, care to go for a drink?"
"They don't serve alcohol on the ship." Ribbon shrugged.
"That's fine by me."
…
"Captain, I advise against hiring mercenaries who lose the trust of their employers." Natarle repeated.
Murrue sighed. "Natarle, we're looking at a pair of people that ZAFT wanted to let go; do you think it might be because they're anti-ZAFT?"
"Uh, no, ma'am, but still…" Natarle frowned. "I don't believe they were released due to their political affiliations, so…"
Murrue yawned; the constant sound of repairs when the ship was docked meant she didn't rest all that well. "I know, I know. I'll reserve my judgment for a little while longer, is that ok with you?"
Natarle shook her head in despair.
…
[In the ship medical bay]
…
"Looks like you're stuck here for a while longer, huh." Cipher said.
"Yeah." Talisman sighed.
Due to Talisman's Spearhead being totaled before he ejected, Talisman was recommended (forced) to rest until the ship doctor cleared him for further missions.
"Look on the bright side: we have two more pilots to take your place." Cipher grinned.
Talisman rolled his eyes. "Yeah, yeah…did Murrue actually hire them?"
"She's undecided right now." Cipher leans against a wall. "But I think she wants to hire them, under the table if necessary."
"Under the table?" Talisman frowns. "What is she afraid of all of a sudden?"
"Hiring ex-ZAFT mercenary not even days after they were discharged is pretty suspicious." Cipher said, and then saw Talisman stare at him. "What?"
"Nevermind. Are you going to put a good word for them?"
"I don't know them." Cipher shrugged. "So I'm getting you to do it for me."
Talisman shook his head. "How very noble of you."
…
[Next day]
…
While the Wyverns weren't formally hired, the pilots (well, pilot and spare) were allowed to room on the ship for the night provided that no support beyond fuel was given, per the international treaties that the EFA paid lip service to. Thanks to these rules, the now six Strangereal aces were able to gather and trade information (largely from Talisman, since he was the latest in the timeline) and learn more about themselves from each other.
Captain Bartlett was taken from the tail end of the Circum-Pacific war, when the Razgriz was about to make their final sortie against the Grey Men. At no point did he remember Blaze suddenly disappearing, as all four aces rescued him a few days prior.
"So we're all from totally different timelines then, this is convenient." Talisman had said.
Yellow Thirteen, on the other hand, was just given leadership of the Yellow Squadron before he was transported, and before the war against ISAF had even started. Thus, he had no memories of Mobius One, and the others (namely Blaze) felt that it was in their best interest to have an immediate showdown between him and the Ribbon Reaper.
Things escalated and they almost went to the simulators before Mu told them off for disobeying Cipher's orders for rest.
"Oy, La Flaga." Bartlett, like Cipher, was fairly attentive to the news, and knew of Mu La Flaga's fame as an Ace. "Let us Oseans have our fun, yeah?"
Oops.
"Oseans?" Mu's eyebrows went up in surprise. "Where's that?"
"Strangereal. Never heard of it?"
Natarle had the fortune to walk in on that sentence.
…
Which is why the five pilots (Talisman exempt) are now in the captain's quarters.
Five pilots plus Mu and Kira (who tagged along on account of the rather somber mood).
"Now, then, gentlemen." Natarle said in a falsely pleasant tone. "Care to explain what 'Strangereal' is?"
"It's where we came from. Did kid not tell you that?" Bartlett grunted. "Man, Blaze. What were you doing?"
"We got dropped into an EFA facility and they don't take kindly to strangers." Blaze shrugged, having agreed to himself that he was going to just go with it.
"So…" Murrue baited.
"So, we're all pilots from an alternate dimension, even from alternate timelines." Yellow 13 said, complete with a salute.
"Oh, that explains why you all have different call signs." Mu said with a very visible grin.
"Why are you so happy about this!?" Natarle demanded.
"Because it means I'm still the real Ace!" Mu's grin refused to fade.
Murrue rolled his eyes. "Then, can you introduce yourselves to us again?"
"Our names are still a bit of a secret, you understand." Ribbon denied respectfully.
Natarle opened her mouth.
"Drop it, lady." Bartlett warned.
"Yes, sir." Natarle said almost instinctively.
"Look, we're still the same pilots as we are before." Cipher said, glancing at Kira to gauge his reaction. "So this information really changes nothing."
"Yeah, it's not like you guys are interesting aliens." Mu deadpanned.
"I think we should've made some eyes on stalks." Blaze smiled. "Or do you guys not have those kinds of movies?"
"Oh, we have plenty." Mu laughed, while Natarle seemed to finally come around to the realization that she called a mercenary 'sir'.
"Well then." Murrue cleared her throat. "I think it would be best if we held that information here amongst ourselves until further notice."
"About that possible contract…" Bartlett smiled.
Murrue rolled her eyes. "The EFA isn't willing to hire mercenaries unless they absolutely have to, and I can't say I absolutely need new pilots, with the records these guys are setting." she motions toward the Razgriz pilots. "That being said, it's also not within the EFA's best interests to let aces like yourselves go back to ZAFT."
"So you'll give us repairs and resupply and we'll fly for your ship?" Bartlett asked.
Murrue frowned; that was exactly what she was going to say. "Yes." She said a few seconds later.
"Excellent." Bartlett grinned.
…
The Strangereal pilots were asked to keep their origins secret.
Naturally, it meant that the entire ship knew within the hour, and honestly could have cared less.
Granted, the authenticity of the story was greatly diminished by the fact that the Strangreal Aces came from a place named after "Strangely Real."
…
…
…
[Start of EFA's Africa takeover operation, several days later]
…
…
…
The EFA forces were poised atop aircraft carriers and landing ships, facing off against the ZAFT DINNs, GINNs, and emplacements along the ZAFT controlled African coastline.
Naturally, the Archangel was nowhere to be seen, since it was sailing in the Pacific Ocean, on a region that would be otherwise known as the Arabian Sea in a different universe.
"I didn't think the Archangel was this fast." Cipher said as he poked around on a map.
"It isn't." Talisman looked at his own map. "Well, the trip to Orb is going to take us at least two weeks, assuming nothing usual happens."
"Which means we'll probably be attacked or something." Cipher mutters. "Why orb?"
"It's the closest pit stop between us and Atlantic that isn't the Eurasian branch."
"Are we just being paranoid or is there a legitimate fear of the Eurasian branch here?" Cipher poked around on his map some more.
"Captain Murrue is worried that Eurasia is going to re-task us to some bullshit mission as soon as we hit land." Talisman sighed. "I agree with her, though."
"Yeah, I can see that." The tension between Eurasia and Atlantic branches weren't getting any better, especially since the Eurasian branch had apparently acquired a new civilian contractor for their arms production. "What do you think about this one?" Cipher showed a news story to Talisman.
"What about it?" Talisman shrugged after scanning it quickly. "Atlantic stops paying Eurasia for technical help and Eurasia stops paying Atlantic for loaning factories…what's not to like?"
Cipher looked pensive. "I don't think an army needs to pay itself for its own facilities."
Talisman stopped for a moment. "Back in Blaze's war, Gründer charged a token sum for every aircraft they sold. Think that's what's going on here?"
"What, the EFA has a hidden arms factory that nobody knows about churning out toys?" Cipher laughed. "It would be reasonable if their toys were worth anything to begin with."
"Yeah, I guess. Every nation has its secrets but not every one of them has a hidden poison inside it…by the way, what are we doing here?" Talisman asked.
"Threat assessment." Cipher went back to his map. "Blaze wants to know if we need to worry about the ZAFT from down south."
Given the current path the Archangel is taking, their route will take them precariously close to the ZAFT controlled territory of Australia, since the Equatorial Union (consisting of a smattering of island nations between Eurasia and Australia) denied the Archangel rights to use the waterways, and Murrue wasn't about to risk starting a war just to cut a few miles off of her sailing path.
"What is there to assess? They're going to attack us as soon as they can." Talisman sighed, going back to the map.
…
On another section of the ship, a small party was being held for Kira's recovery (he wasn't clear on exactly what he was recovering from, but went with the flow all the same). However, it became very clear after the first five minutes that Miriallia organized the thing just so she could have a reason to relax for a while.
…
In the hangar, Murdoch scratched his head over the conundrum facing him.
"What do we do about crafts one and four?" A technician asked after handing in a report detailing the maintenance results on the Super Spearheads 2 and 3 belonging to Cipher and Ribbon respectively.
"And here I thought this was going to be easy." Murdoch sighed. "If we retrofit the B-types for air to air, how well are they going to perform?"
"I ran some numbers." An Engineer tapped his tablet computer. "The B-types were retrofitted like fighter bombers, so they'll do fine as long as no strenuous dogfights are involved."
"Well, isn't that a hoot." Murdoch grumbled, his annoyance at the Gründer mechanics returning. "Why the hell did they turn a multirole craft like a Spearhead into something so useless?"
The technician and mechanic shared a look that plainly asked and answered one question:
"Jealous?"
"Very jealous."
Fortunately for them, Murdoch didn't notice.
…
[One week later]
…
Sure enough, as soon as the Archangel sailed near the ZAFT waters the sensors began to beep.
"Captain, we're being targeted by ZAFT long-distance scanners." Miriallia said, feeling a little uneasy.
"Estimates on contact time?" Murrue asked Cipher, who was looking over his notes.
"Eh…according to Talisman, if they launch we'll have about a fifteen minute warning before anything will get within targeting range. Assuming the enemy doesn't pull out any new equipment, that is." Cipher said, resisting the urge to just toss the notes. "If you want us to be on standby just in case, just give us the word."
"Hmm…well, I would like to avoid getting bogged down in a battle if possible." Murrue mused. "Increase speed; the sooner we get out of here the better."
"Aye aye." Arnold Neuman the helmsman said.
.
.
.
{ === + === }
Winding down for the first trip to Orb.
Also, the Archangel now has two Gundams operational and available.
Even the Ace Combat pre-battle system is getting a crossover...