SUPER ROBOT TAISEN S
I'm back!
Again, this new chapter took me an inordinate amount of time to publish, because of the vacation period I spent in Rome... and the two weeks (more or less) I spent in Turkey, going from one place to another. It was an enjoyable period, and I had lots of fun, but I'm also glad to be back with you guys and to give you another chapter of my story - which, I guarantee you, will be updated at a much faster rate from now on, along with Super Robot Taisen G.
Anyway, back to our story, and let's make a resume of what happened, shall we? The Nadesico crew seems to have a new enemy in the Gaizock forces and their leader Killer the Butcher (gee, Mr. Yoshiyuki Tomino, you were not feeling too subtle when you thought the guy up, were you?). They and Fiona, along with their unexpected ally Genichiro Tsukuyomi, managed to rout them for now, but you can bet they will come back for more... and while the Nadesico crew gets ready to go to Mars in order to face the Martian Successors, we get to see that Terminal is having their hands full fighting the combined forced of Neo Zeon and ZAFT. Luckily, Amuro and Kira have just received their shiny new Gundams, the Nu Gundam and the Strike Freedom Gundam, and they will be giving their opponents a run for their money! Of course, whether they get here in time to avoid the Axis drop depends...
And that's about it, in terms of the story! In this new chapter, the preparatives for the final battle will get underway... and we will see that there might be an unexpected guest coming along! Are you curious to see who that might be? I sure hope you are... and I thank anyone who left me a review to comment on my work! Stay assured that you won't be disappointed!
Let's now put an end to this hiatus, and dive back into the world of heroics and epicness that is Super Robot Wars! Fasten your seat belts... and enjoy the ride! I guarantee there will be a LOT to see before this story is over!
See you soon!
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Chapter 14 - A Reunion Bathed in Sadness
"I'm afraid I need some updating on the situation... for instance, who are there Gaizock guys we have been fighting?" Fiona asked, as Ruri gathered the whole of the Nadesico crew around a table on the main bridge. Included was Genichiro Tsukuyomi, the former soldier of the Jovian Empire who had defected to Nergal and had helped them earlier against Hokushin and his assassins... but, much to the girl's chagrin, Akito seemed to have gone away shortly after Butcher had been forced to flee. She had briefly seen him talking to Ruri and giving her something... but she had no idea what that was, or what he had said to the teenaged captain.
Ruri, for her part, kept her unflappable, detached expression and began explaining the whole deal to Fiona and her friends. "It is a legitimate question. Those mechanical monsters we've fought just now were the Mecha Burst, weapon of extermination used by the Gaizock, a group of mechanical beings who have been created by an alien intelligence - only known as, you might have guessed it, Lord Gaizock - in order to exterminate all forms of life throughout the universe. During the past wars, we have fought this threat alongside Zambot 3, a Super Robot created by the members of a family who had escaped the destruction of their own home planet and had found refuge here on Earth."
"Yeah, I remember that..." Ryoko commented with a sorrowful sigh. "The Jin family was a great help to us fighting those guys, and all the other invaders we were faced with... Zambot 3 and those kids piloting it were really something, back then."
Mitsuko cleared her throat. "Well... then, I guess we should simply track back the pilots and convince them to fight alongside us once again..." she proposed. "Just like we did with the old Nadesico crew... do you have any idea where we can find them?"
These words caused an unconfortable blanket of silence to fall upon the room, and Mitsuko blinked in confusion, understanding that she had said something wrong... Ruri simply turned to the young mechanic and began explaining the situation. "That won't be possible, I'm afraid... Zambot 3 was destroyed in the final battle with the Gaizock, and two of its pilots, Uchuuta Kamie and Keiko Kamikita, perished by sacrificing themselves to allow the remaining pilot, Jin Kappei, to get to the final confrontation. In the end, Kappei and what was left of Zambot 3 managed to kill Butcher and destroy his Bandock... or at least... that's what we thought at the time."
"No joke..." Hikaru murmured. "So that means that Uchuuta and Keiko died in vain..."
"Much as I regret to admit it, that is the truth." Ruri answered. "So, Zambot 3 does not exist any more... and in any case, now Kappei has retired to live out his life in peace. He's... too traumatized to be able to fight again. So, I'm afraid that the idea of recruiting Zambot 3 back will be no good."
Mitsuko bowed her head, apologizing for her question. "I... I'm sorry, I had no idea." she murmured. "And I'm sorry for what happened to the pilots..."
"Not just to them, unfortunately..." Ryoko went on. "Their whole families were exterminated by the Gaizock or sacrificed themselve to allow Zambot 3 to reach the final confrontation... while we were unable to do anything to help them. But still... no need to apologize, pal. You had no idea."
"Anyway, we need to be planning our next move... which will quite probably involve a direct attack on the Martian Successors' HQ on Mars." Ruri stated. "As soon as our allies have given us more precise informations about its location, we'll get there and try to take out the whole organization in one fell swoop. I really see no other alternative. We are to take them down before they can master Boson Jumping."
"If they manage to do that..." Ryoko continued. "Then no one will be safe from their ambitions. The Nadesico-B is our only chance to defeat them..."
"I wasn't talking about the Nadesico-B, actually." Ruri interjected, much to Fiona and the other pilots' surprise. "The completion of the new model, the Nadesico-C, should only be a few days away. Its performance should far exceed that of the original Nadesico, and it may be our only chance to take on the Martian Successors' fleet... which sadly is much more powerful than we estimated, even leaving aside its Boson Jumping abilities."
"I understand... we'll make sure we're ready for that!" Fiona answered. "At least, the Martian Successors are now two elite thugs short. This will make things a little bit easier."
Ruri nodded, knowing that two of the Six had been killed in battle only a few hours earlier... and then looked at a scribbled piece of paper that had been lying in her hand for a while now, recalling the sad circumstances she had been given it, just a little before Akito had departed once again...
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"Ruri, I want you to have this." the man who once was Akito Tenkawa had told her, handing her the paper, which Ruri had surveyed for a short while before asking what it was. The answer was the last thing she had wanted to hear. "This is the recipe for the Tenkawa-style ramen I used to cook for you and Yurika. I want you to have it."
"That I cannot do." Ruri had answered, gently but firmly. "After the Martian Successors are gone, you will still need this recipe, as soon as your restaurant is up and running again."
Akito stood silent for a while... then, still betraying no emotion of any kind, he grabbed his black visor and slowly removed it from his face, causing Ruri to gasp in horror and surprise at what she saw: the man in front of her resembled Akito, but it was clear that he was just an empty, tragic shell of the innocent boy he once was. Gone was his teenager's enthusiasm and the warmth his chestnut eyes used to have. Now, hollow eyes looked out of a pale, sunken face upon which eerie lines of white light, each as thin as an hair, danced endlessly in a geometric, yet still chaotic, pattern. It took no huge stretch of the imagination to understand that something deeply wrong had been done to him, burning away his innocence and leaving only this... shell... behind.
"Akito Tenkawa is dead. I am nothing more than a pale shadow of him." Akito said. "When I was captured by Kusakabe and the Martian Successors, they performed all sorts of experiments on my brain in order to replicate the Boson Jump effect, destroying my nervous system. I have completely lost my sense of taste, and I won't be able to be a cook any more. This is why I want you, at least, to keep a memento of what Akito Tenkawa used to be..."
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Ruri had no choice but to accept Akito's recipe in the end... and try to focus on the most immediate threat, hoping that Captain Bright, Captain Ramius and Lady Lacus were at least able to stop Neo Zeon and ZAFT. With the fate of mankind hanging in the balance, the most she could do was performing her duty as the Nadesico's captain to the best of her abilities...
"Therefore, to all personnel... please get back to your activities and stand ready to intervene." Ruri said to the gathered pilots. "I need you to be at your best performance when we face the Martian Successors in this deciding battle."
"Yes, captain!" the pilots all answered, doing a military salute. As they all walked away in different directions, Fiona, Mitsuko and Lahge remained there for a moment to look at the captain, sparing her a sympathetic glance before getting back to their mansions.
"We cannot leave these people alone..." Mitsuko said. "They've been through enough, and I certainly am not going to leave the Earth and the colonies to people like the Martian Successors."
"No joke..." Lahge answered. "Earth has already been damaged far too much... we won't allow Kusakabe and his minions to do anything more. But still, that leaves Char and ZAFT to deal with..."
"Let's cross our bridges when we come to them." Fiona told him. "For now, we'll be concentrating on the Martian Successors. And I swear, those bastards will pay for everything they've done. No exceptions."
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In the meanwhile, in open space, the gruesome battle between the Neo Zeon / ZAFT alliance and the Terminal forces was in full swing, with both factions trying their darndest to wipe the other out. Jegans were conducting head-on assaults on groups of ZAKU Warriors. Murasames of the former Orb military were facing hordes of Geara Doga armed to the teeth. Beams, lasers and missiles were darting from one side to the other, even as the ace pilots of both factions were locked in mortal combat... and especially the mighty Strike Freedom Gundam, finally managing to give an hard time to the seemingly-invincible Destiny Gundam! The newest Mobile Suit from Terminal was proving to be a formidable opponent even for the most advanced ZAFT models, and Shinn was already losing his cool trying to keep up with his hated enemy.
"Damn you!" the young ZAFT pilot yelled, another swing getting blocked and countered by the Strike Freedom's beam saber. "Stop screwing around with me, Kira Yamato! Either fight seriously or do not fight at all!"
"Shinn, please, listen to me!" Once agaın, Kira was trying to reason with the crazed pilot, even when the latter was pulling out all the stops in his attempts to kill him. "Think of what you're doing! Is this really what you wanted? To create a world where nobody can decide for himself anymore? Is that what your family and your friends would want from you?"
"Do NOT bring up my family OR my friends, you bastard! Not after you killed them all!" Shinn practıcally snarled, his antı-shıp sword viciously pushing agaınst the Strıke Freedom. "You have taken away my life... my joy... you have left me with only one thing: revenge! İ will never forgive you... you want to stop Chairman Durandal from bringing peace to this world... you want to continue your petty little wars... Why is that? WHY? How can't you understand that the Destiny Plan is going to save the human race?"
"At what price? By taking away the human race's free wıll?" Kira countered, beginning to feel annoyed already. With a sharp push, he forced the Destıny Gundam back and delivered a powerful kick to the mighty Mobile Suit's torso, causing Shinn to grit his teeth in pain and anger. "I can't imagine a world where the Destiny Plan rules... there must be another way! A way that will no rob mankind of their right to decide for themselves how their future should be!"
"You're wrong! There is nothing more that can be done! Only Chairman Durandal has the answer!" The Destıny Gundam shot forward, trying to hit the Strıke Freedom with its palm-mounted beam cannon, but the Terminal Mobile Suit proved to be a faster opponent than Shinn had predicted and dodged the blow, before firing a few beams back and forcing the Destiny on the defensive. "Ugh... damn you... why can't you understand? Do you realy want this war to continue that badly?"
"I don't! But this war will not be ended by our inaction!" Kira shot back. Again, the Destiny tried to close in for the kill, but the Strike Freedom managed to outmaneuver it again, darting upwards and then descending to deliver a vicious sword slash to the Destiny's shoulder. Shinn cursed again and fıred with his beam rifle, almost managing to hit Kira's new Gundam. "Ugh... and one thing İ learned back then... if I did nothing, because İ thought İ wouldn't be able to help... then İ'd end up doing less than nothing, because nothing would change!"
"Tch... spare me your rhetorics, Kira Yamato! I will destroy you and Terminal... here and now!" the red-eyed boy snarled, renewing his assault. A vertical slash from his beam sword caught the Strike Freedom in the chest, causing some sparkles to fly from the damaged parts, but Kira kept his cool and darted around with such speed that Shinn was unable to follow, and earned himself a shoulder ram in his Gundam's back for his overconfıdence. The Destiny Gundam shook dangerously, but Shinn quickly recovered and delivered a crushıng blow with his Palma Fiocina hand-mounted cannon, blowing the Strike Freedom back a good distance. Believing he had a chance at taking out his most hated opponent, Shinn took aim with his long-range beam cannon... but before he could do that, the Strike Freedom's wings seemed to come alive, as several DRAGOON pods shot in all dırections and, after a simple mental command from Kira, began shooting a rain of searing beams at the Destiny Gundam, pummeling it over and over as Shinn screamed in pain and frustration. The ZAFT Mobile Suit seemed to lose power as the beams mercilessly pounded against its VPS armor... and while the barrage only lasted a couple seconds, to Shinn it felt like an eternity. But his shock quickly turned back into rage, and the younger pilot started to attack again, letting out a primal, murderous yell in the process. Kira barely had time to gather his DRAGOON pods back before the relentless attack forced him back into a defensıve position...
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Mwu's Akatsuki and Rey's Legend Gundam were likewise intent on fighting each other, with each pilot trying to catch the other off guard and bombarding his respective opponent with searing laser beams from their DRAGOON pods, turning the whole area around them into a deadly trap that every pilot onboth factions was wise enough to steer clear of. The two of them seemed to be completely evenly matched - Mwu's superior experience against Rey's mighty Providence-lookalike - and it was hard to predict who would come out victorious. Finally, in an attempt to end the stalemate, Mwu decided to get close and personal and skillfully dived through the beams falling all around him, drawing his beam saber as he approached his target. However, Rey was not about to be taken offguard so easily, and he quickly countered with a swing from his beam javelin, forcing the Akatsuki Gundam back. Mwu grit his teeth and mentallychastitized himself for the mistake - he was letting the ZAFT pilot's uncanny resemblance to his archenemy Rau Le Crueset throw him for a loop. He had to be more careful than that if he hoped to do some progress.
Rey, hwever, was not about to let Mwu regain his bearings, and quickly recallled his DRAGOON pods on the Legend Gundam's back, before unleashing a barrage of lasers from them. Mwu managed to ddge the worst of the attack by diving sideways, but a couple of the beams still nicked the golden Mobile Suit's left arm, severely damaging it. Luckily, Mwu reacted quickly enough and fired a barrage of shots from his beam rifle, striking the Legend in its shoulder and side, and finally putting some damage on the mighty ZAFT Gundam. Rey's expression darkened somewhat, surprised that his opponent could do that much against him, and flew back in order to get some breathing room, but the Akatsuki was faster than he anticipated, and Mwu was upon him almost before Rey could understand what was going on. In a few split seconds, the Akatsuki was upon the Legend and slashed it, trying to hit it in the torso. Luckily for him, Rey was fast enough to push his Gundam upwards and avoid the hit... but Mwu's beam saber still nicked him in the leg, throwing him off balance for a second.
"Heh... you're good, aren't you?" Mwu commented, as he took advantage of the break in the action to catch his breath. Once again, that uneasy feeling that he was dealing with Rau Le Creuest reincarnated sprung up in a dark corner of his mind. "This should be an interesting battle... still, sorry to say that we cannot really let you and your friend do whatever you want, and the same goes for your little friend Char Aznable as well!"
"There is not much time left..." Rey answered, talking to himself more than with Mwu or anyone else. "The Destiny Plan must succeed... I need to see to it that it becomes a reality... so that no more people will suffer like we did..."
Mwu was rather confused at this. His opponent was once again sounding too much like Rau Le Creuset for confort. "Say what? Hey, kid, may I please know what you're talking about?" the ace pilot asked... before being forced to defend himself from a new, surprisingly violent attack from the larger Gundam. The Akatsuki's beam saber and the Legend's beam javelin clashed again, and a shower of sparks erupted from the place where the two weapons had met each other as the pilots pushed with all of their strength.
"You have seen it as well, haven't you?" Rey exclaimed. "This world of endless desires has to be erased and started anew if mankind is to survive! And the only way to do it... is through Gilbert's Destiny Plan! So that the mistakes of the past can never be repeated!"
"Sorry to break it you, pal... but your so-called Destiny Plan could never work! And Char's harebrained 'drop a huge rock on Earth' business isn't any better, either! You're just going for the quick and easy solution." Mwu fired back. The two Mobile Suits detached from each other and circled around each other once again, searching for a hole in the opponent's defence which never seemed to come. Finally, Rey decided to take the initiative, and charged the Akatsuki with his beam javelin, managing to damage the golden Mobile Suit's leg with a swing. The two opponents resumed their duel, as the battle raged all around them...
oooooooooo
"Arrrgh! Damn you, Amuro Rey!" Gyunei Guss cursed angrily, as the Nu Gundam once again blocked his Funnel's shots and advanced undaunted, as if the young Terminal ace couldn't even be bothered to acknowledge him as a threat. "Stay still and get shot down!"
"I have no time to waste fighting him... I have to reach their command ship. If I can just do that..." Amuro murmured to himself, as he tried to get closer to the Rewloola, Neo Zeon's bright red command ship. On the bridge, commander Nanai Miguel watched with clear anxiety the radars, where the shape of the Nu Gundam was approaching with alarming speed. Their aces were busy fighting the best Terminal had to offer, Shinn was locked in battle with Kira, Lunamaria was having her hands full with Athrun, Rey and Mwu were still fighting to a stalemate...and Gyunei was not doing that good a job staving off his leader's arch-nemesis.
"The Nu Gundam is rapidly approaching our position..." Nanai commented, visibly worried about the latest developments. "If he can prevent us from reuniting with our main forces, it could spell disaster for the whole operation. Give all units the order to retreat, while we still have the time! We have nothing to gain by standing our ground here!"
"Yes, ma'am!" a bridge operator answered. "All units, we have to retreat right now! Disengage whatever enemy you ae currently up against and head back to the Rewloola! We need to be at full strength for the final part of our operation to succeed!"
"All hands, concentrate on turning the ship. The nearest units will provide cover fire to throw off pursuers!" Nanai added. "Begin retreat now!"
From his position in the Nu Gundam's seat, Amuro was able to see the Rewloola, in the far distance, as it began to retreat, swarms of Mobile Suits forming a defensive formation all around it. Understanding what the Neo Zeon battleship was trying to do, the young officer tried to push the Nu Gundam's engines to their limits in order to reach the battleship... but a barrage of laser beams coming from Gyunei's Yakt Doga forced him to desist and concentrate on the more immediate threat.
"Don't run away, Amuro Rei! I'm still your opponent!" the young artificial Newtype exclaimed. Mentally scolding himself for getting too complacent with the Nu Gundam's power, Amuro concentrated hard and sent a few Fin Funnels flying away from his new Gundam's back. They circled around the Nu Gundam for a split second, then began shooting at a breathtakingly fast rythm agaınst Gyunei's black Mobile suit, hittıng both its arms and blowing them off its body as Gyunei screamed in rage. The younger pilot trıed to counter with his own funnels, but all of them were shot down and destroyed by Amuro's Fin Funnels before Gyunei could even aim a single shot. Now truly helpless, there was nothing Gyunei could do other than grit his teeth in impotent rage as the Nu Gundam flew away from him... and his chance to prove himself to Quess and earn himself a brand new Mobile Suit with which to challenge Char evaporated before his very eyes. Realizing there was nothing that could be done to salvage the situation, the young Artificial Newtype reasoned that he should at least save his own skin and proceeded to head away from the battle and towards the battleship, siently vowing to himself that next time things would be very, very different.
"Damn you, Amuro Rei... I will take your Mobile suit, and I will defeat Char and make Quess mine... make no mistake about it!"
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The battle, somewhere else, was not going smoothly for the other Terminal pilots... among which the Re-GZ's newly designated pilot, Chan Agi, who was at the moment tangling with Rezun Schneider, one of the best non-Newtype pilots Neo Zeon had to offer. Despite lacking the supernatural instınct and perceptions of the Chinese girl, Rezun was doing a fairly good job keeping her on her toes... and Chan grit her teeth when a volley of shots from her opponent's beam machine gun passed too close for confort to her Re-GZ's wing. Chan countered the attack with her wing-mounted beam guns, and was able to score a direct hit on Rezun's blue Geara Doga, which the Neo Zeon pilot was only able to survive by raising her shield in the nick of time. An explosion rocked the heavy Mobile Suit and jarred the older woman around in her cockpit, as several of her onboard instruments began giving off alarm signs... and, much to her chagrin, Rezun found herself forced to admit that this wasn't a fıght she could win any more.
"And besides which... we've been given the order to get the Hell out of here." Rezun muttered to herself. "Tch... I'll be content with this for now, Newtype... but next time we meet, things will be very dıfferent!"
With that, Rezun put her Mobile Suit's still-intact thrusters to good use and got away from the agile Re-GZ. Chan glared at her retreating opponent and fired a couple more warning shots, but decided not to pursue, in order not to get herself into a dangerous situation. For now, this was a satisfactory outcome... though it was unfortunate that Terminal was not going to be able to pursue their opponents and end their plans once and for all. She just watched as the enemy began beating a fighting retreat, and then started returning to the main Terminal fleet, checking her allies to see if they were doing well.
A little farther away, the fight between Athrun and Lunamaria, between the Saviour and the Impulse Gundam, came to an ubrupt end when the ZAFT pilot, who seemed to be on the losing side, managed to wrest away from her opponent by catchıng a rather large piece of debris and tossing it in the Saviour's direction, which forced Athrun to dodge and made him waste a couple of important seconds which the red-haired girl wisely used to get away. Again, Athrun could have pursued, but he knew the risks far outweighed the possible advantages, and decided not to press his luck. When the Neo Zeon / ZAFT fleet was fınally a safe dıstance away, the Terminal ace sighed in both relief and frustration and turned to the rest of the Terminal fleet, who was currently disengaging. He managed to see Cagalli's customized Murasame and Waltfelt's Gaia Gundam shoot down a couple of stragglers, while his radar showed the Nu Gundam approaching them... and more importantly, the Eternal had finally joined with the rest of the fleet, which not only meant that the Terminal leader, Lacus Clyne herself, had stepped into the battlefield in person to heighten her troops' morale... but that she had also brought with her the new Mobile Suits Terminal sorely needed in order to be able to fight Neo Zeon and ZAFT on even terms! Finally, for once, things were looking up.
A comm channel switched on on Athrun's console, and the blue-haıred young man quickly opened it, only to be greeted with the serenely-smiling face of his ex-fiancee Lacus Clyne, rose hair falling neatly into place and clad in her elegant kimono. "To all the Terminal operatives, I must congratulate you on your best efforts and on a job well done." the PLANT songstress greeted. "Also, I feel the need to apologize to all of you for my lateness. I have come, along with trustworthy allies, to aid you in this difficult endeavor, and to offer you new strength with which to accomplish it. Please, regroup and meet me at the Eternal as soon as you can."
Athrun managed to smile to himself despite the rather grim situation they were in. Lacus always had that gift to give everybody hope...
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Shinn, on the other hand, was nothing less than furious about the fact that hıs revenge against Kira Yamato was, once again, going to be postponed. It was just as infuriating as the fact that Kira's new Gundam was every match for his Destiny... but Shinn was reasonable enough to realize that getting killed or captured right now would mean ruining everything, both for him and for Chairman Durandal... so he wisely decided to back down and go back to the Rewloola, not before glaring daggers at Kira, who was recalling his DRAGOON pods.
"Again, you get away from me... but next time, I'll be sure to finish you off once and for all!" Shinn pretty much snarled, getting away from the Strike Freedom wıth all the speed his thrusters could manage. He only stopped briefly along the way to pick up Gyunei's damaged Yakt Doga and help the Artificial Newtype get back to safety, while Kira simply stood his ground and watched Shinn depart, without trying to change his mind.
"I guess you would not listen to me, not in the conditions you're in..." Kira sighed to himself. "Much as I hate to admit it, next time we meet will probably be the last for one of us. I just wish it didn't have to be this way..."
However, his mood got considerably lighter when Lacus popped up on the Strike Freedom's monitor, reminding him that, at the very least, Terminal had managed to throw a wrench in their enemy's works and that things were looking up somewhat. "It's okay, Kira... we have driven them away for now!" Lacus told him. "Please return to the Eternal's bridge... Athrun should be there shortly, and I am sure you and him will have quite a few things to talk about, am I right?"
Kira smiled slightly. "You're right, Lacus... I'll be there in a moment!" he answered, nodding before closing the communication and maneuverıng his Strike Freedom - lightly damaged but still very much combat-capable - so as to survey the battlefield. He could see the remaining Terminal Mobile Suits gathering back around the Archangel, the Eternal and the Ral Kairam, and he was fairly sure he could make out Amuro's Nu Gundam among them.
For his part, Amuro had approached Chan's Re-GZ in order to check on the young warrant officer. "Chan, this is Amuro Rei, do you copy?" the Terminal ace spoke in his comm device. "Are you feeling okay?"
"None the worse for wear, Captain Amuro." the Chinese girl readily answered. "I was quite new to piloting this machine, but it all worked out for the better... somehow. Sadly, we were not able to intercept the enemy and keep them from reuniting with their main force..."
"We'll cross that bridge when we come to it." Amuro told her, trying to be optimistıc as well regarding the whole deal. "For now, we can be content with having damaged them at least a little... though I guess the hard part comes now. We'll have to cattch up to them and intercept Axis before it gets too close to the Earth. Anyway, let's head back to the hangars for now, Chan."
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It didn't take too long for the pilots to get back to the Eternal and land their Mobile Suits, and as soon as it was possible, Athrun and Kira went to greet each other, both very glad to see that the other had survived unscathed. The two of them exchanged a brief hug and some proper greetings before starting to discuss the matter at hand.
"Athrun, it's good to see you!" Kira saıd as he shook hıs best friend's hand. "I see that you guys have had your fair share of trouble getting to this point... and I'm sorry we were unable to arrıve earlier."
"Don't be, Kira... it's still good news that you, Lacus and the others arrived. We are still in time to stop Axis from getting dropped on Earth." Athrun answered. "By the way, Kira... that was the new Gundam Lacus gave you? It's really an impressive machine, I have to say." The blue-haired young man looked at the Strike Freedom, standing majestically in the hangar, in front of the many other Mobile Suits belonging to the resıstance group.
Kira smiled and nodded. "In fact, I have to say that I'm quıte awed myself by its performances... the Strike Freedom Gundam, along with the Nu Gundam and the Infinite Justice Gundam, is our trump card to defeat the Destiny and the Legend, and to stop Neo Zeon and Chairman Durandal."
"The... Infinite Justice, huh?" Athrun asked, glad to know he would be getting a more powerful Gundam as well. "I'm kinda curious to see it, but before that... I'd like to see Cagalli, if that's possible..."
"Anyone called for me?" a well-known female voice asked as the former prıncess of the Principality of Orb, Cagalli Yura Athha, blond haır glittering slighty in the light of the hangar, dismounted from a nearby platform and walking to the two friends, before grabbing Athrun in a tight embrace. A little surprised about his girlfriend's forwardness at first, the Saviour pilot quickly reciprocated. "Well, you big idiot? Are you done with going around getting your fool self blasted? I was worried about you, you know?"
"Er... me too, Cagalli. Me too." Athrun answered as the two separated a little and then exchanged a quick kiss. "But still, I'm glad to see you're alright and you're doing well... and I2m glad to know that we can count on you and the others to help us. The situation has become critical..."
"I know..." Cagalli said, getting more serious. "The Rewloola is now headıng back towards Axis, where it will rendez-vous with the Minerva and the rest of the Neo Zeon and ZAFT fleet. After that, Axis will definitely begin its descent towards Earth. The Archangel, the Eternal and the Ral Kairam are pretty much the only thing standing between them and the Earth."
"That's of course assuming that we aren't looking at an enemy civil war situation." said Andrew Waltfeld as he got off the Gaia Gundam. "After all, if Durandal wants to impose his Destiny Plan upon mankind, it just wouldn't do for him to allow Axis to fall and devastate the planet. So... I think our beloved Chairman might have a surprise in store for both us and Char..."
"You too think Durandal will throw a wrench in Char's plans somehow, Commander Waltfeld? That's what I assumed myself..." Amuro asked. The young Terminal ace, joined by Chan, had landed his Nu Gundam nearby and had decided to join in the conversation. "And to be fair, it would only be convenient to us. However, up until now, Durandal and ZAFT seem to have done nothing to damage Char's plans."
Cagalli shrugged. "Guess Durandal wants to keep a low profile about that until the last possıble moment..." she commented.
"I agree, and that would be most in character for him." another voice chimed in. All heads turned to the side to see Lacus Clyne walking into the hangar with a calm, dignified composure.
The pink-haired songstress smiled gently and bowed her head to the reunited pilots, who for their part responded with a more profound bow. "I am glad to see you are all reunited here, and I am most grateful for the efforts everyone has done to wın this important battle. I havecome to bring you new strength wıth whıch to fight our hardest battle yet... and hopefully, that will be enough to take down the ZAFT / Neo Zeon alliance."
"And we're always glad to see you again, Lacus." Kira said, walking over to his girlfriend. "I still have to thank you for giving me the Strike Freedom. That Gundam actually managed to put ZAFT's Destiny Gundam on the ropes."
Kira didn't exactly look thrilled about saying that, and Lacus could clearly see that her boyfrıend felt sympathy for the young pilot of the Destiny. She could sense as well that Shinn was being manipulated and wasn't in his right state of mind... and, for that matter, she could understand even Char and Durandal's points as well, though she couldn't agree with them. "That is good to know... at least now we know we have a chance to avert the looming disaster. However, we need to make haste and head to Axis' position. Do our Mobile Suits need repairs, that you know?"
"Well, some of them have been damaged in battle." Amuro answered. "The Nu Gundam has taken very negligible damage, but the same thing cannot be said for many of our suits. They will need to get intensively worked on in order to be combat-capable once we reach Axis."
"Guess Astonage and his boys will have their fair share of work as well, huh?" Kayra Su said after dismounting from her damaged Jegan, which seemed to have taken quite a bit of punishment during the pitched battle. "Still, it's good to know that we can count on you guys."
Lacus nodded, then motioned to Athrun. "By the way, Athrun... I think it is only fair that I present you to the new Mobile Suit Terminal has developed. Our technicians have done their best to address the Justice Gundam's shortcomings and have come up with a new model whose combat ability overshadows the Justice. If you would come with me..."
"Of course. I'll be very thankful." Athrun answered as he, Lacus and a few of the other Terminal pilots began walking towards a platform upon which a majestıc red-and-white Gundam was standing, its Variable Phase-Shift Armor activated simply to give a visual of what the mighty machine would have looked like during actual combat. Indeed, the new model seemed to be a sleeker, more streamlined Justice Gundam, complete with a backpack-like lifter unit that gave the appearence of a pair of short wings. Several weapons were stored inside of its body, including a couple of beam sabers and two CIWS machine guns mounted in its chest. Overall, it really gave the impression that one was looking at the worthy successor to the Justice Gundam...
"This is your new sword, Athrun... the ZGMF-X19A Infinite Justice Gundam." Lacus told her ex-fiancee, as Kira, Cagalli, Amuro and Chan were left staring in awe at the huge machine. "I don't know much of the technical specifics, but this new Mobile Suit has been built specifically for close combat and is specialized in fighting other Mobile Suits. However, thanks to its Fatum-01 lifter unit, it is also capable of taking on battleships and severely damaging them. I hope its power will serve you well in the battle that is to come."
"I'm sure it will..." Athrun thanked Lacus. "And I am grateful for bringing it to us... though I have to wonder what will be of the Saviour now..."
"I could be the Saviour's new pilot!" Cagalli impulsively blurted out, only to cover her mouth a second later and apologize for her forwardness. "Er, of course, with permission from you, Captain Ramius and Captaın Bright."
Lacus smiled gently. No matter how much time went by, Cagalli still maintainted that impulsive, hot-headed side of her. "Well, that can surely be arranged. I'll speak to Captain Ramius and Captain Bright about that, but I am sure there will be no problem with that."
Cagalli smiled and nodded. "Thank you very much, Lacus... this means a lot to me."
"It means a lot to all of us, in fact." Amuro stated. "These new Mobile suits might very well be our last hope of shutting down Char and Durandal's plans for good... and that's not even taking the Martian Successors in consideration. As soon as we're finished with resupplying and getting our Mobile Suits in gear, we'll head to Axis to meet it head-on, and hopefully destroy it."
"Do we have the means to do that?" Kira asked. "Our Mobile Suits are clearly powerful, but I don't think they could actually smash that asteroid apart."
"Luckily, we do have connections to our side as well." Chan chimed in. "Mr. Cameron Bloom has arranged for several nuclear warheads to be launched at Axis by our support fleet, that should rendez-vous with us shortly. We have to make sure at least a few of those get past Axis' defence and strike true."
"Then, our strategy is settled." Lacus concluded. "Very well... in that case, everyone please head back to your respective positions as soon as possible, and stand ready for intervention. We are facing our greatest battle yet."
"We know that..." Amuro said, Char's taunting words still echoing in his mind. "And we cannot afford to fail here. Too much is at stake now."
oooooooooo
Kusakabe sighed nervously as he sat at his desk in the Martian Successors' HQ on Mars, surrounded by electronic screens bearing pictures of the latest operations his organization had carried out. Up until then, things had gone pretty smoothly... until Hokushin's mission of retrieving Akito Tenkawa and Ruri Hoshino had hit a snag in the form of the traitor, Genichiro Tsukuomi, and the unexpected arrival of the Gaizock forces, who had been thought destroyed at the end of the war. Now, the Earth Federation could still count on a few aces up their sleeve, and this could potentially make things dangerous for him. However, thinking more carefully about that, he quickly convinced himself that nothing could go wrong at that point: they still had Yurika Misumaru under control, and as long as they retained the monopoly on Boson Jumping, they could attack any place, anywhere, and nobody could do anything to stop them. Sure, Neo Zeon and ZAFT were getting pretty dangerous with theır attempt at dropping Axis on Earth... but even that was nothing to worry about. For the moment, he was happy to let the Neo Earth Federation take care of this problem for him... and, should they fail, he already had a garrison of his most faithful soldiers ready to teleport to Axis' location and wreak havoc on his enemies. In other words, Kusakabe was sure he had the Neo Earth Federation, Neo Zeon, ZAFT and everyone else under his control... and all that was left to do was take out the Nadesico and its crew, and put his plans into their final phase.
"Very well... so, Char Aznable and Gilbert Durandal think they can get the jump on me so easily, huh?" he mused darkly to himself, before his thin lips raised in a smug smirk. "Well, it will be pleasant to see their corrupt forces finally fall to the unlimited might of the Martian Successors and their infinite rigtheousness. They will soon learn not to tangle with us..."
His musings were interrupted as someone knocked at his office's door. Kusakabe raised his head in annoyance and muttered an affirmative, to which the newcomer, who was revealed to be hıis right-hand-man Aritomo Shinjo, slowly opened the door and stepped in, saluting as he did so.
"I apologize for the disturbance, leader Kusakabe." he began as his superior looked at him questioningly. "I have come to report of the later movements from Neo Zeon, Earth Federation and ZAFT."
"Shinjo, I already know about that." Kusakabe stated, surprising his underling. "I know that Terminal is trying to go for Axis itself, and that the Nadesico-B has just recently thwarted our attempt at destroying Akito Tenkawa and capturing Ruri Hoshino. However, this is only a minor inconvenience at worst. As soon as our army is ready, we will launch our ultimate attack, and all our enemies shall fall in short order."
Shinjo cleared his throat, almost afraid to speak his mind. "Leader Kusakabe... I know it is not my place to question your judgement, but I would advise against underestimating our foes. They've been capable of giving trouble to even foes who were thought to be beyond them, and if we aren't careful, we might even end up..."
"That will be enough, Shinjo." Kusakabe sternly interrupted him. "Do not forget we are the Martian Successors, those who strive for a new order of justice and righteousness! And with Yurika Misumaru and the Ruins of Mars under our control, there is no possible way we can be defeated! Is that clear enough, or should I illustrate my point more thoroughly?"
Aritomo wisely chose to keep his mouth shut and nodded slowly. "I... apologize for speaking out of turn, Leader Kusakabe." he murmured, privately resentful of his superior's all-too-assured attitude.
"Good." Kusakabe finished. "Now, go back to your assignments and have our fleet ready to depart. In a few days, the Martian Successors will deliver the final strike against the corrupt Neo Earth Federation, and the New Order shall triumphantly rise from the ashes of war!"
As Aritomo saluted and headed back to the HQ's main rooms, Kusakabe smirked in satisfaction as he already savoured his ultimate victory, mentally taunting Yurika over the grim irony of the whole deal.
"I find it deeply karmic and ironic that you, Yurika Misumaru, will aid us destroy the corrupt regime you have been mindlessly fighting for for so long, and will even aid us destroying the people you love the most." he muttered with sadistic pleasure. "It is almost a pity you won't be able to witness such a glorious event... I would have loved to see you crushed by your anguish and despair! This is what you get for going against the representatives of ultimate justice!"
Kusakabe chuckled eerily, as the images on the screens around him seemed to flicker ever so slightly...
oooooooooo
TO BE CONTINUED...
Author's Note: Yes, before you ask, Kusakabe is a Complete Monster.
(Yes, I am on TvTropes as well. *chuckles*)
I was hoping to throw in a few more scenes, but the chapter was getting too long already, and I thought this was a good place to interrupt it. Next chapter will see the beginning of the Nadesico crew's final journey towards Mars, and the last preparations of both Neo Zeon & ZAFT and Terminal for the deciding battle! Who will emerge victorious? The answer will come as soon as I am able to write the new chapter... and rest assured, I won't be taking too long this time!
See you soon, and please leave me a review!