To Hell and Back Ultimate Rewrite Edition
Chapter 13: Storming Earth
IMPORTANT AN! PLEASE READ!
Ron the True Fan: Good day, everyone. While this breaks with tradition, I thought I should inform you all as to what the fuck is going on. Jorn, if you will?
(Camera pans to 117Jorn)
117Jorn: *Clears through* Wazzup everyone! 117Jorn here! Ron has decided to let me help write THAB URE! Looking forward to kicking some Toaster A**!
Ron the True Fan: Well, it's not the only ass you're kicking. Also, this chapter will conform to Jorn's standards rather then my own.
117Jorn: Yeah, what he means is that it will be less of a script format, and more like that of a genuine story. Make it easier for you to read. Actually including 'Saids' and such.
Ron the True Fan: The idea was to let the reader pick who was speaking, but that doesn't matter right now. Since I did all the writing for the last 12 Chapters, Jorn, the first scene is all yours.
117Jorn: *Cracks Knuckles* Let's do this!
Earth - C.E 74
Lagrange Point 3 - Near the Heliopolis Shoal Zone
The Heliopolis Shoal zone was the debris belt of what once was the Orb colony of Heliopolis, left adrift after its destruction in the first Bloody Valentine war. Although abandoned, the area was still Orb territory, and the Orb government has claimed they plan on replacing the destroyed colony with a newer colony, one which would be much more sturdy than the old Island-3 type colony that was once there.
Until that day came, the area was still patrolled by Orb warships. Or more precisely, a single Orb warship.
Floating in the space just outside the shoal Zone, were two vessels: One was a red and white colored Izumo-class battleship, while the second was a dark green and black colored Girty Lue-class battleship, which was currently docked with the vessel. On the side of each ship were their respective names, the Amaterasu, and Hell Vulture.
On the bridge of the Amaterasu, Captain Victoria Harvey, a woman in her late 30's with sandy blond shoulder-length hair and blue eyes wearing the standard Orb Captain uniform, sighed as she turned to an individual on the Bridge "Thanks for coming so quickly, Mr. Takeo." She said, "We thought we'd be stuck here for a while."
The Individual in question was a young man who looked to be in his mid twenties, with short spiked black hair and crimson colored eyes, wearing a pair of sneakers, blue jeans, and a red T-Shirt with a black Flak Jacket. Jaden Takeo smiled and shrugged "We were just in the area." He said, "Junk Guild is alway glad to help a ship in need. In fact we should be thanking you, its been pretty boring in this area. Most of the latest action is going around the PLANTs and Earth. I can only dream of going over there and salvaging everything I come across from ships to MS parts." He then sighed as he looked at his handheld computer "Anyways, your engines are fixed now. Should give you enough power to make it back to Ame-no-Mihashira."
The Captain nodded, "We will, Commander." She said, "Thank you, again."
Jaden smirked as he saluted, before he turned and left the bridge. Floating through Zero G he moved through the halls of the Amaterasu, reaching the hangar bay of the Battleship. Inside there were eight Orb Mobile Suits, three MBF-M1 Astrays, one MBF-M1A Astray, three MVF-M11C Murasames one of which was a Reconnaissance Type, and a single MVF-M12A Ootsukigata. However Jaden headed towards a ninth unit in the hangar, which stood out of all of the machines. It was colored Crimson Red, with a black trim, and was not a simple run-in-the-gun Mass Production M.S.
This was his custom Mobile Suit: A GAT-X105E Strike Gundam E (Or as he had renamed it: Strike Aka), one of the M.S he had 'Liberated' from the Earth Alliance's Phantom Pain group, along with the very ship he now commanded. It was currently attached with a AQM/E-X09S Noir Striker pack. Its P.S armor was modified Trans Phase Shift armor, that had the same capabilities of the Variable Phase Shift Armor. Jaden didn't like how M.S with P.S armor would lose its colors when it ran out of power, but thankfully his modifications fixed that problem for his Strike E.
Jaden entered the cockpit of his Gundam, and strapped himself in as he got himself settled in, activating his M.S. "Alright, I'll be launching now." He said, as his Gundam approached the launch catapult of the Amaterasu. "Jaden Takeo, Strike Aka, Launching!"
The Strike Aka launched from the Amaterasu, and made its way to the Hell Vulture. "Hell Vulture, this is Commander Takeo." He said, "Detach docking cables and open the hatches, I'm coming home."
"Roger that, Commander Takeo." The XO of the Hell Vulture said. "Got word from Lowe, he said he needed our help on a mission in the Debris belt."
Jaden smirked "Tell him I'll-" He began, before suddenly, out of nowhere, a MASSIVE vessel appeared a short distance away from them, looking like a pair of starfish. "WHAT THE FUCK IS THAT?"
"What is-HOLY SHIT!" The Hell Vulture's XO Shouted, "Unknown Contact! 25 Kilometers out! Jesus, look at the size of that thing! Its bigger than the Gondwana!"
"No Shit!" Jaden shouted, before he cursed again as the vessel began launching Horseshoe-shaped Mobile Armors "Fuck, their launching a shit load of Mobile Armors! Unknown Model!"
"And Missiles!" The XO shouted, as the vessel began launching missiles their way. "All hands, Red Alert! Launch all Mobile Suits and intercept those Missiles!"
"Hell Vulture, Amaterasu here," Captain Harvey said on the Comm, "We're launching M.S to assist!"
Jaden smiled a bit grimly, at least they weren't alone. Acting quickly he picked out his Gundam's two M8F-SB1 "Shorty" Beam Rifles, and opened up as he shot each missile and Mobile Armor out of the sky, one by one. Meanwhile the Amaterasu launched its Mobile Suits, soon followed by the Hell Vulture, launching its own custom M.S that he himself had designed: Four ZGMF-602F GuAIZ F Types and five GAT-01C Strike Dagger Kai's, and also launching were a Black and Gold colored GAT-X133 Sword Calamity, and a Red and White ZGMF-X56S/θ Destiny Impulse.
"Matt! You take control of Strike Team!" Jaden ordered, "Amy, you take over Gwaze Team! Intercept those Missiles and Mobile Armors!"
"Got it!" A male voice responded, as the Sword Calamity charged forward, the Strike Dagger Kai's following as he sliced the Mobile Armors apart with his Anti-Ship Swords, while the Daggers intercepted the rest with their ranged weapons.
"Jesus Christ, there's THOUSANDS of them!" The pilot of the Destiny Impulse shouted, a woman, firing away the Destiny Impulse's full complement of weapons to destroy the inbound targets, while the GuAIZ F Types supported her, along with the Orb M.S.
"Keep it together, and take out those missiles!" Jaden ordered, when suddenly there was another flash, and another warship, this one looking more like it was built to fight appeared. And moments later came two more starfish-like ships, appeared. "Who the hell?"
Battlestar Galactica - CIC - seconds after the end of Chapter 12
"Frak! SitRep!" Adama shouted, as the entire ship shook.
"Six DRADIS contacts: four of them are confirmed as Cylon Baseships!" Gaeta reported, "The other two aren't in the warbook!"
Adama scowled. Half the Viper wing was no longer aboard (most of them had landed on Pegasus) and they still had the Minerva clogging up the starboard flight pod. "Get our Vipers out there, NOW!" He ordered "And tell Gladys to get the hell out of the flight pod!"
"On it, sir!" Gaeta said, as the Galactica banked sharply, launching her freshly rearmed and refueled Vipers.
"Hopefully we can make the toasters frak off permanently." Saul said, "We DID just blow up their Resurrection Hub."
"Don't be too sure, Saul." Adama said, before turning to Anastasia "Dee, get the unknowns on the horn." He said, "Let's try to coordinate our fire on those Baseships."
Dee got to work, but Galactica, even with the Minerva, couldn't hold off four Baseships. She'd have to work quickly.
Meanwhile - With Jaden
"Is that the Minerva?" Amy asked, as they watched as the famous/infamous ZAFT Flagship appeared from out of the new Alligator-shaped vessel. And moments later, the vessel launched multiple Fighter-like Mobile Armors, and began to intercept the Unknown Mobile Armors with ZAKU heads.
"Looks like it," Jaden said, "But their fighting those Unknowns and not us, so that puts them as allies for now!" He then hit the Comm with the Hell Vulture and Amaterasu. "Captain Harvey! Captain Cossack, focus fire on the closest Starfish ship! Mark the new contacts as friendlies!"
"Actually, we're picking up a transmission right now." Captain Cossack, the XO of the Hell Vulture said. "Its coming from the new ship... patching it through."
A female voice then came on. "Attention unknown vessels: this is the Battlestar Galactica." She said, "Please respond on this frequency." Most of Galactica's guns turned on the starfish ships, firing giant railgun shots at them. "Those put our Valiants to shame!" Captain Harvey said, and just then another turret fired what looked like a Gottfried blast, coring and destroying a starfish. "Holy shit." Jaden said, "Patch me through to her!"
A few moments passed, before he got the go-ahead. "This is Commander Jaden Takeo, of the Junk Guild Vessel Hell Vulture, and the Orb Union vessel Amaterasu." He said, "To the... Battlestar Galactica, we are receiving you, and thanks for the hand!"
"This is Admiral Adama." An older male voice said, "Coordinate with our gun crews so we can take out those Baseships! And keep those Raiders off our Vipers!" Then Galactica threw up, of all things, a FLAK FIELD. Most of the missiles that were being fired at the massive Battlestar didn't get through, and what did were quickly cut down by CIWS turrets.
"Commander Takeo, this is Major Lee Adama, callsign Apollo." Another Male voice said, "We'll try to keep as many of these Raiders off your asses. Take out one of those Baseships: we know your MSs can."
"Look, you'd better-" Jaden began, before a larger ship, similar in design to Galactica, then appeared in a flash. "Galactica, Pegasus Actual." A new female voice said, "You should thank Colonel Pinkerton later: he thought you ended up here."
"Copy, Helena." Adama said, "I'll promote him." The new ship, clearly called Pegasus, launched even MORE fighters and even a few Mobile Suits based on the Murasume.
"What the fuck is going on?!" Matthew shouted.
"Got me!" Jaden responded, and then two ships that any idiot would recognize appeared in another flash: the LCAM-X01A Archangel and the Eternal. The Baseships clearly got the message, disappearing in flashes of light.
Finally, Jaden had enough "Would someone like to explain to me what the HELL is going on?" He shouted.
"Commander Takeo, this is Colonel Ronald Pinkerton, callsign Psycho." A new voice said, "If you think you're confused now, wait until you get on board Galactica. We'll tell you everything there."
Jaden groaned "Great..." he muttered, "Cossack, send a message back to Lowe... tell him we're gonna be late." He shook his head as he headed towards the vessel he assumed was Galactica. "Matt, Amy, you two and the teams stay tight. Jesus, of all the things..."
Later - Onboard Galactica
The Strike Aka finally reached Galactica, where he was directed towards its landing bay as his M.S gently landed on the surface. Jaden quickly noticed that there was gravity, which gave him more questions than answers. "Who the hell are these guys?" he muttered to himself, as he opened the hatch of his M.S, and descended down to the deck on his cable.
"Commander Takeo?" A voice said, and he looked at a man with blue eyes and black-blonde hair, whose eyes betrayed his age. He was older then he looked. MUCH older. "Colonel Pinkerton. I spoke to you on the wireless." He said, "Please follow me: Admiral Adama wants to speak with you."
Jaden nodded, as he followed the Colonel, looking at Galactica's seemingly antique design. "It looks so...old." He said.
"Galactica's actually the first Battlestar ever built: first of her line, and the best ship in the Fleet." The Colonel answered, "She's also the flagship."
Jaden nodded "But..." he said, "Even with the age, it could still look a little more-"
"Modern?" Ron finished "Trust me when I say all will be explained when we get to the wardroom." He led Jaden deeper into the Battlestar, reaching a large room, seemingly made for dealing with the press. Five people were waiting for them. One was an old man, who the Colonel saluted. 'That's Adama. Has to be.' He thought.
"Colonel, take your seat." Adama said, as the man walked toward a chair and sat down.
"Commander Takeo, I presume?" The Admiral asked, at his nod he continued "I'm Admiral William Adama. This is my XO, Colonel Saul Tigh-" The bald man nodded at him, and Jaden could tell one thing. He was a drinker. A HEAVY drinker. "And this is the President of the 12 Colonies of Kobol, Laura Roslin." The lady sitting beside him smiled, but didn't speak. And Jaden KNEW the signs of cancer when he saw them. "Please, take a seat."
Jaden nodded as he sat across from them. "Look, I know this is out of turn and all, but-" He began.
"You're wondering what the frak is going on." Adama said, "Then we're going to tell you after you answer this single question. Are we near Earth?"
Jaden blinked, but nodded "Yeah... you're practically right on top of it." He said, "We're in Lagrange Point 3, near the Heliopolis Shoal Zone."
"Thank you, Commander." Adama said, with a smile "Now you get your answers. We're not from Earth. In fact, we're not even from the Sol System."
Jaden was silent for a moment, as he looked at Adama, then the President, then Ron, before he chuckled and shook his head, smiling. "You're pulling my leg." He said, "Come on, what's the real story. You're from Mars, aren't you? I've heard they've been coming up with some crazy tech lately."
"We wish." Roslin said, "We're actually from the 12 Colonies of Kobol. Kobol is where humanity was born. Earth is our 13th Colony."
"Hold it!" Jaden said, raising his hands "That's not possible! We would KNOW if we weren't from Earth!"
"Not if your ancestors decided to erase their pasts." Ron said, as the Colonel handed him a photo of a city that was not on Earth. "That's Caprica City, before the Fall. Admiral Adama is from there, same with his son."
Jaden looked at the photo, before he looked back at the rest of them, before looking at the photo again, and back at them. "...Son of a bitch..." he muttered.
"And it gets worse." Ron said, "To summarize, I'll tell you a story. The Cylons were created by Man. They were made to make life better on the 12 Colonies. Then the day came where they decided to kill their masters. A 12 year war was fought, then an armistice was declared. We didn't see our robotic creations for 45 years. Then they came back and nuked our worlds. Try and picture it: 50 billion dead. And it gets even worse. They don't look like robots anymore. They look and feel human. Some are programed to even think they're human." Jaden glanced at Adama, who winced.
Jaden looked at them all "So... you created your own AI's," he began, "But, you treated them like slaves and they got angry and rebelled leading to a war. Then you made peace, but they came back. But now they look like Humans? And you're all that's left of humanity from where you're from?" He groaned a bit "Geez, it's like the plot to a Sci-Fi T.V Series..." he then leaned forward "And I'm guessing you still hate the Cylons, just as much as they hate you, right?"
"For the most part." Ron said, "I could personally care less. After all, I created the last version of them before the shit hit the fan."
Jaden sighed "Well, let me be the first to warn you." He said, "We here at Earth use A.I... granted not many, most people don't think much of A.I... unless their Lowe... not only did he find that one A.I of his named 8, but he also found the brain of George Glen and turned his mind into an A.I... still freaked me the fuck out when I first met him. Only me and Lowe really use A.I, since I got Lucy running the Hell Vulture's cyber warfare systems and other systems."
He then brought out a hand-held computer "And she just messaged me that those Cylons tried hacking their way into both my ship and the Amaterasu, but she batted their attempts away." He said, "Looks like Cylon's aren't very prepared against fighting other A.I that are better at their own game." He smirked a bit "Good thing I don't network every system of the Hell Vulture together like some idiots in the Earth Sphere do. We've caused all sorts of havoc with E.A and ZAFT ships that are stupid enough to do that."
"Well, if you ever try that with us, it won't work." Ron said, "And once we were done laughing at you, we're blow you out of the sky. While we use KEWs, our guns are a LOT bigger than yours. But that's neither here nor there. What we need is information. What the frak is going on around the Earth Sphere?"
"First off, trust me when I say you are underestimating what the Hell Vulture and Lucy can do," Jaden said, as he sighed. "But, if you want info, its simple: Its been going to Shit after what happened at Berlin. E.A is taking over, and all out war going on between ZAFT and the E.A. When the Minerva disappeared, it was a major blow to ZAFT morale, but then the loss of EA's last Extended pilots was a big blow as well, but the EA continued on, pumping out those new DESTROY Mobile Suits."
He shook his head "Pointless if you ask me," he said, "Even if the EA wins the war, all the money they're putting to the war effort is gonna make them go bankrupt! I've seen how much those things cost! You could make an entire Mobile Suit Battalion for the price of one of those things!" He then rolled his eyes "But the E.A is just stupid, too driven by Blue Cosmos and their obsessive hate against Coordinators. They only care about the short-term, and not considering the long-term effects of their actions! And it ain't doing much better in ZAFT."
"What about Orb?" Adama asked as he looked at the Junk Guild MS pilot. "From what we're heard, it's supposed to be a neutral nation."
"Yeah, that was before they allied up with the Atlantic Federation," Jaden said, "The war is going South for every neutral nation in the world. You're either with ZAFT or the E.A. The United States of South America and Oceania Union picked sides with ZAFT, while the Earth Forces invaded Scandinavia, and the Equilateral Union, annexing them into their territory. Orb's been going to shit with the Serians in charge. The Sahaku family has been keeping Orb from being completely assimilated into the E.A, but no one knows for how much longer."
A phone buzzed in the corner, and Tigh went to pick it up. "XO." He said, and a few moments passed before his eyes widened. "Bill, you've got to hear this." He switched it to the speakers.
"At 1230 hours, Aprilius Local Time, Operation Fury will begin." A voice said, Jaden recognizing it as the voice of the Chairman "I want Djbril captured, Captain. At any cost."
"Copy that, Mr. Chairman." Another voice said, "We'll level Orb if need be."
Ron summed up their thoughts. "Frak." He muttered, "ZAFT's going to invade Orb."
Jaden glanced at Adama, and while he didn't know the Old Man well enough, he knew the look. He was planning something. "Colonel, how long would it take you to install a levitator unit on a Battlestar?" He asked, and the Colonel shrugged. "18 hours if I had help." He said, "Why?"
"We're going to take back Orb." He said.
Jaden shrugged "Count me and the Vulture's crew in," he said, getting looks from the others "The Vulture can enter and exit the Earth's atmosphere. And I think I can convince the Captain of the Amaterasu to come along - considering it is an Orb vessel. Her ship is one of the newer Izumos that functions like the Archangel and can operate both in atmosphere and in space."
"Then I want you and Colonel Pinkerton to work together." Adama said, "I want that levitator installed on Galactica RFN."
"Aye sir!" Ron said, saluting.
Jaden stood up, with a small sigh. "Installing a levitation unit on a vessel the size of the Gondwana, in enough time to save an entire nation from being invaded by a foreign power with superior numbers." He said, before he grinned "I love a challenge."
"Then get to it, gentlemen."
Battlestar Galactica - War Room - 2 hours later
While the levitator was being installed (which would take the better part of a day) Adama began refining his plan. It was absolute insanity: jump Galactica in over Orb, crash dive, jump again, this time into a cloud bank and use Galactica's 600cm guns to kill anything that got close to Orb. Vipers and Raptors would support the Orb ground forces while the Mobile Suits took on anything ZAFT threw at them. "Who the hell's going to keep ZAFT from dropping more troops on us?" Saul asked.
Starbuck smirked, then pulled out a model of a Mercury-Class Battlestar. "Pegasus." She said, "ZAFT ships are like Cylon Baseships: almost zero armor and they rely on their Mobile Suits for cover."
Tigh chuckled. "And Pinkerton's new Darts beat the frak out of any of their ZAKUs or GOUFs." He said.
"Exactly." Starbuck said, "We've got 40 Darts now, so we load 20 of them on Pegasus for space superiority-"
"While the rest we put on Galactica." Adama finished.
"What about the nukes?" Tigh asked.
"We're got N-Jammer Cancellers now, but I don't think Orb will be happy about us tossing nukes around like candy." Starbuck said, and Adama looked at the plotting table, more accurately at the models of the Archangel and Minerva. "I want the Eternal supporting Pegasus." He said, "We'll need the Minerva and Archangel down there. Pegasus will have the edge in mobility in space. Unless Commanders Pinkerton and Takeo can solve our maneuverability problem, we'll need the cover more then they will."
"Well, that's fraking perfect."
Battlestar Galactica - Frame 87, deck 50
"This whole plan is insane, Commander."
"You can just call me Ron."
Galactica was a massive ship. So massive that she would need three levitator units just to stay airborne, which was why Ron was modifying the AG field generators to give them the extra push they needed to actually fly while Jaden and a Junk Guild engineering team began installing the levitators. "What did you mean when you said that after you were done laughing at us, you'd blow us up?" Jaden asked.
"CCE protocol is to not hook communications into everything else." Ron said, "You can't hack into a network wirelessly if it's not wireless."
"So you do what we do." Jaden said with a small smirk "Smart."
"And I wasn't kidding about the bigger guns, either." He said, "Your ship is lightly armored by our standards. A few shots WILL destroy it."
Jaden chuckled a bit "Trust me Ron, the Hell Vulture has a lot more under its hood than you'd think." He said, "After we... liberated it from the E.A a year ago, I custom made every last system, Mobile Suit and weapon on that ship. The Strike Dagger Kai's can keep up with Windams, and the GuAIZ F Types makes GOUF's look like antiques." He then leaned forward "Plus, like other Girty Lue-class Battleships, she's got Mirage Colloid, so you can't hit what you can't see. Not only that, but I've given her my own custom updated version of Artemis's Lightwave Barrier shields. When activated, it could survive over a dozen Nuclear Detonations and still hold up."
Ron rose an eyebrow "But wouldn't it eventually run out of power?" He asked, "Even if you had Thermonuclear engines-"
"No, we've got something better." Jaden said with a smirk, "Helium-3 Engines, you see I discovered a method of nuclear fusion that's not Radioactive, and is absolutely infinite! Using Helium-3 from Gas Giants like say Jupiter, I have created a Reactor that is literally infinite in energy! And I made an ultracompact variant for the Dagger Kai's, GuAIZ F's and me and my siblings mobile suits. We have absolutely infinite energy for our ships and Mobile Suits, so they can keep Phase-shift armor on indefinitely."
Ron looked at Jaden, slightly impressed "How did you do the journey from Earth to Jupiter and back?" he asked, "I thought it would take people from Earth years."
"Simple, GENESIS." Jaden answered, "Although that idiot Patrick Zala only saw it as a weapon, I designed and built the Original model, GENESIS Alpha, which is owned and operated by the Junk Guild. It was originally made as a method of Fast-travel between other planets in the solar system, and eventually other Star systems entirely. So using GENESIS Alpha and attaching mirrors onto ships, we could travel between Earth, to Mars or Jupiter, in a few days. Normally a journey like that would take Years or Months."
"But what about the return trip?" Ron asked.
"That is another project I have," Jaden said, "I call it the GENESIS Network: It will be a Network of four GENESIS's, consisting of Alpha here in the Earth Sphere, two over Mars, and one in orbit around Jupiter. When they're all built, people can easily travel across the space between Earth, Mars and Jupiter in record-breaking time. I hope to use this system, when its complete, to allow ships to begin more... large-scale mining of Jupiter for its Helium-3 deposits. I want the Earth to stop using normal Nuclear reactors, and using Helium-3 Reactors! You see, I discovered that the Helium-3 Reactors are completely unaffected by the N-Jammer effect because they use a different type of neutron than regular nuclear reactors. So adding to that, plus it has no Radiation, its the ideal power source!"
"Well, we can give you a Raptor with an FTL drive and you can copy it." Ron said, "Cheaper and a lot easier than making an oversized station that could easily be weaponized."
He flipped a switch, and the power flickered slightly as the matter/antimatter reactor finally started supplying power to the AG field generators. "We're going to need to replace that thing soon." He said, "I've jury-rigged it so it won't explode in our faces, but this will be the last fight that thing's going through." He walked toward the hatch. "Well, that's the price you pay for taking a reactor from a derelict warship and barely knowing how to repair it."
He left the room, and Jaden followed him. "You know, we can fix the M/AM reactor for you." Jaden pointed out.
"We took it from the wreck of a Lesseps-Class land battleship that ended up in space. It's on its' last legs." Ron said, "Replacing it is the wiser option." Then they heard a buzz coming from his pants. "Hold on." Ron pulled out his cell phone. "Pinkerton." He said, and nodded "Aye, sir. Well, you'll have to ask Representative Athha-Right, she'd do it anyways."
He then blinked "You want to pull out THAT?" He asked, causing Jaden to blink "Frak, Pegasus is overkill enough!" He took in a breath. "Yes, sir. I'll inform Admiral Avalonia. Just pray his daughter doesn't try to rape me. Again." He hung up, and sighed "I've got to go talk to my boss. Want to come along?"
Jaden shrugged "Sure!" He said.
Battlestar Galactica - Starboard Flight Pod - 15 minutes later
"Raptor 358, you are clear for launch."
"Copy, Galactica Control." Ron said, "Taking off." A Raptor launched from Galactica, and out into space carrying Jaden and Ron, the former of which sat in the co-pilot seat.
"Gotta say, I like this Raptor." Jaden said, "But it could use some improvements... it looks severely underarmed. Once it runs out of missiles, you're pretty much screwed."
"Well, it's not built for direct combat." Ron answered "It's a support craft that can either fire anti-ship missiles or jam the shit out of anything within range, but it does have a 50mm autocannon under the nose. No one uses it though since this thing never gets into a dogfight."
"Still, it should be better armed to be able to defend itself." Jaden said, "It feels more like a Gunship or Dropship than it does a simple support ship. Besides, if you want something for heavy Anti-Ship duties, use Mobile Suits, or like Canard's team does, use Moebius Mobile Armors. Their outdated true, but they're ideal for quick hit-and-run bombing strikes in space. Maybe you colonials should work on making a Fighter-Bomber or attack craft for that type of duty, and maybe make a new Raptor that's more useful deploying troops on a battlefield quickly, and providing some air support, and being capable of defending itself from other Fighters and Suits?"
"I'll work on it when I've got time." Ron said, as he flicked a few switches "Hang on. We're about to jump."
Jaden looked at him oddly "Jump?" He asked, just as Ron pushed a red button, and Jaden's vision warped for a moment. Then they were over a volcanic moon. "Wait, that's Io!" Jaden shouted in surprise.
"We kept wondering what to call that moon." Ron said, "Io, huh?"
"Raptor 358, Legacy Control: you're clear to land on landing bay 5." A voice said on Wireless "Checkers Green, hands on approach."
"Copy, Legacy." Ron said, as Jaden then saw a MASSIVE ship, shaped much like Pegasus, but with six flight pods and at least 70 kilometers long. "Holy shit." He whispered.
"That's the Legacy." Ron said, "She's the prototype for all future Battlestar Dreadnoughts. But as you can see, it's got more than a few flaws." Jaden looked at the flight pods, realizing what he meant. They were too small, and the engines were too exposed.
"Yeah... but man, she's still huge!" Jaden said, "Its bigger than a PLANT colony!"
"Then you should see the Zeus." Ron said, "She's a LOT bigger, and doesn't have ANY of the Legacy's flaws." The Raptor touched down and landed on a lift, which took it down into the hanger. "You seem well heeled for someone who just learned that there are humans from the other end of the galaxy less then 3 hours ago." He said.
Jaden shrugged "Eh, I got over it." He said, "I've watched hundreds of Sci-fi movies, T.V Shows and games with things WAY weirder than Humans from other planets. And when you live in a world where there are giant space battles of Giant 18 Meter tall robots, everyone seems to have a type of super-weapon that should only exist in Science Fiction, and people are fighting just because you're born a bit differently? You tend to just accept weird shit. Just get me in a Mobile Suit, and give me something to fix. I'm from the Junk Guild, fixing what needs fixing and building what needs building is what we do!"
"I see." Ron said, "Well, you'd be welcome in the CCE if you ever wanted to join us. We don't give a shit what or who you are as long as you know what you're doing."
Jaden chuckled a bit "Ron, I have a feeling once the Junk Guild finds out about you and CCE, I wouldn't be surprised if they asked for a permanent partnership." He said. Both exited the Raptor and came face to face with a man in a CCE uniform with admiral's rank pins. He looked older then Ron, and the gray hair only supported this. "Frak!" He cursed.
"Relax, Ron." The man said, "You knew I would be welcoming you onboard." He looked at Jaden. "Vice-Admiral Zeus Avalonia, head of the Colonial Corps of Engineers." He said. "Welcome aboard the Legacy."
Jaden nodded "Commander Jaden Takeo, of the Junk Guild, Commander of the Hell Vulture." He said, with a short salute "Pleasure to be here sir, I think the Junk Guild is gonna get along with the CCE perfectly."
"My field marshal seems taken with you, Commander." He said, "He wouldn't've brought you here, otherwise."
"He's a good engineer. I'll grant him that, sir." Ron said, "I came here with a request from the Fleet Admiral. He wants the Legacy to support Pegasus in the battle to come."
"Ron, you and I both know that the Legacy is a flawed ship." Avalonia said, "I love her to death, but even a Spitfire would be a better help."
"Your ship is bigger than any ship ZAFT or the E.A has to offer, sir." Jaden said, "I mean, just having this ship in orbit will probably scare ZAFT away! Its bigger than their largest vessel, the Gondwana! Its even bigger than a PLANT colony. I doubt ZAFT could muster up the force necessary to take down your ship sir."
"Yes, but they have an advantage, Commander Takeo." The Admiral said, "Mobile Suits. We only have 40 of Ron's new CDF-01 Darts. They will have hundreds of ZAKUs and GOUFs. And from what I have seen, the Legacy will be torn asunder by them."
Jaden smirked a bit "Unless you have some support," he said, catching both of their attention "I have a lot of pull in the Junk Guild sir, along with Serpent Tail. In fact my parents are two of the founders of the Junk Guild. I can send a message to Junk Guild command at GENESIS Alpha to send you some support, we've got Mobile Suits and ships that will keep ZAFT's off of you."
Avalonia smiled. "Very well. I-" He began...
"RONNIE!" A loud female voice shouted, and the CCE field marshal paled. "Oh, NO." he said.
"It seems my daughter learned that you're here." Avalonia said with a small smirk.
"Frak this!" He shouted as he grabbed Jaden and got back into the Raptor. "Who the hell was that?!" Jaden asked.
"Commander Nova Avalonia," Ron explained hurriedly as he got the Raptor running as quickly as he could "Commander of the medical transport Asclepius, the daughter of my boss and the only woman in the Fleet who wants to RAPE ME!"
Jaden blinked in surprise, as he looked out the window of the Raptor. A blue-haired woman wearing a commander's uniform ran toward the Raptor, but it was already in the airlock. "Come on, COME ON!" He shouted hurriedly as the Raptor took off, and Ron spooled up the FTL drive, ready to head back to Galactica.
"What's so bad about her?" Jaden asked, "She looked alright... is she crazy or something?"
"My callsign is Psycho." Ron said, "The fact that SHE wants me means she's crazier then I am!"
"Define your term of 'Crazy'." Jaden asked, "As in Yandere-crazy or she just has a super-obsessive crush on you?"
"She would take on a Cylon Baseship in an unarmed shuttle if I asked her to!" Ron exclaimed "THAT'S crazy!"
"So? Wouldn't that be a good thing?" Jaden asked, getting a bit confused.
"If you like her so much, why don't YOU date her?" Ron shouted, as he banged the controls "COME ON! SPOOL UP!"
"I would... but I can't..." Jaden looked down a bit, "I'm... not very good with talking to girls... its kinda hard to find women who are interested in Mobile Suits, Weapons, Science Fiction, Starships, and all sorts of other tech, without stuttering like I have a speech impediment."
"Well, it doesn't help that she's practically declared herself my wife!" Ron shouted "Issue is, I'm 70 years old! That's EXTREME cradle robbing if you ask me!" The screen showed that the drive was spooled up. "Thank you, Lords." He said before he pushed the button, jumping them back to Galactica.
"70?" Jaden asked surprised, after the Jump was completed. "Damn, I knew you seemed older than you looked, but 70?"
"My parents were genetically engineered." Ron explained "Hell, my entire FAMILY has had their genes rewritten. I'm the only one who hasn't."
"Raptor 358, Galactica: you're clear to land in bay one." The Galactica's Operator said, "Checkers Red: call the ball."
"Galactica, Raptor 358: Hands on approach." Ron responded, "I have the ball." He guided the Raptor down with practiced ease. "I'm a veteran of the First Cylon War, same as Adama and Zeus. I know my way around the battlefield."
Jaden nodded "I can relate," he said, "I've seen a fair share action in the last war, and this one too. Not as much as you've seen of course." He then sighed a bit "I'd rather I hadn't seen it all in the first place... lost a lot of good friends."
"At least you didn't have to fight and kill your own creations." Ron said, "I did." The Raptor descended into the hanger, and Ron got out of the pilot's seat. "If you can track down your parents, I'll take us to their ship." He said, "I'd like to meet them." The hatch opened and Ron left the scout ship, heading for Galactica's CIC.
"Sure thing!" Jaden shouted back, "I'll head back to my ship and get a hold of em!" And with that, he ran towards where the Strike Aka resided, ascending up the cable, and a few minutes later, launching.
Later - Galactica CIC
Ron entered CIC and saluted the Fleet Admiral. While a waste of time, it was protocol. "Admiral?" He said, announcing his presence.
Adama looked at the CCE field marshal "Yes, Commander?" Adama asked.
"The Legacy will be able to support Pegasus, but-" Ron began.
"Cain will be in command of the space operation, Commander." Adama said with a small sigh "I don't like it, but we need her ruthlessness. As much as I hate to say it, people in the Earth Sphere are too sentimental. They won't do what needs to be done."
"Yes, sir." Ron said, "The Junk Guild have also offered to help us. Commander Takeo is going to get in contact with their leaders, and we should have some more support from them."
"Commander, as soon as the levitator is installed, we're launching the attack." Saul said, "We don't have time to wait for reinforcements!"
"Colonel Tigh, control yourself." Ron snapped, but Adama looked at Ron. "The Colonel's right, Commander. We'll have to make due with the Archangel and Minerva."
"Aye, sir." Ron said.
"Don't take it as an insult." He said, "Time, as always, simply isn't on our side. Check in with the engineering teams: find out when we can head out."
Ron saluted and walked out of CIC.
"I get the feeling that those Junk Guild guys aren't going to like Cain very much, Bill." Saul said with a sigh.
"She's a necessary evil at the moment." Adama said, "As soon as Earth is secured and our people safe, then we'll deal with her." Adama was sickened by Cain's treatment of her Cylon prisoner. Rape, torture and degradation were just part of it: she was broken. While Tigh hated the Cylons as much as anyone (AN: Ironic, if you ask me) even he would be merciful and just shoot the Cylon after they were done getting all the intel they could out of it instead of doing what Cain did. To say Thorne was dead was an understatement. The man was in pieces. Literally.
They were STILL finding pieces of him after Shinji not so gently ripped him apart. If the kid weren't so young, the deck crew would be giving the kid free rotgut booze for a month.
"Dee, tell Captains Gladys and Ramius to plot a jump into Earth's atmosphere just outside Orb territory." He ordered, and Dee saluted "Aye, sir."
Adama continued looking at Galactica's blueprints, wincing at the punishment he was going to be putting his ship through, even if they could repair it.
Zero Hour - L1 Lagrange Point (Directly over the United Emirates of Orb)
Three Nazca-Class destroyers hung over Orb, ready to drop their MS drop pods into the fight at any time. "Back to Coronado: are you seeing this on sensors?" The operator of one of the vessels asked.
"Negative, Back." Came a reply "What do you see?"
"It's-" However the response was cut off as a volley of 600cm rounds hit the Back's topside, tearing into the Nazca and destroying her. "What the fuck was-" Then another volley hit the Coronado, destroying the Nazca almost instantaneously. The last Nazca, the Krusenstern, was the only ship to see what was killing them: a massive ship in the rough shape of an alligator, firing a LOT of 600cm rounds at them. But like her sisters, the Krusenstern was unable to open her catapult doors, let alone fight before she, too, was destroyed.
The Hell Vulture was now surrounded by a wide assortment of vessels of the Junk Guild from old Marcellis III-class Transports to captured or Salvaged E.A and ZAFT vessels like Drake-class escorts and Laurasia-class Frigates. On the bridge, Jaden's eyes narrowed as he picked up the Comm "Hell Vulture to Pegasus: what the fuck are you doing?!" He demanded.
"Dealing with the enemy before they become a threat." Cain responded "Now Galactica can jump without being molested."
Jaden scowled. Cain didn't even give them a chance to surrender before she opened fire! "I'll deal with you later." He muttered, "Just tell Galactica to jump in! ZAFT will probably send in reinforcements when they find out those ships aren't reporting in anymore."
"Copy. Galactica should be jumping in right about..." Then the massive shark-like form of the oldest Battlestar appeared just over 200000 feet above Orogoro Island. "Now." (AN: Play Storming New Caprica here. Fitting, since I'm more or less stealing that idea from Exodus Part Two!)
ZAFT Minerva-Class Battleship LHM-BB02 Fortuna - Orb territorial waters
"Captain, I'm picking up something coming in from above!"
Captain Maria Vincennes looked at her radar/MS operator. "We've got three Nazcas ready to drop Mobile Suits onto Orb." She said, "It's probably them doing just that."
"Ma'am, unless we've got drop pods the size of a Gondwana-Class supercarrier, that's NOT what I'm seeing!" The Operator shouted. This confused the Captain "Put it up!" She ordered.
The forward screen showed a massive object, shaped like either an alligator or a shark (AN: Galactica does look kind of like a shark without the fins. Scary thought, huh?) dropping toward them. "Holy fuck!" She shouted, "Where-"
"It's right on top of us!" The blonde haired woman looked at the massive ship (at least she was assuming it was a ship) literally dropping in on their heads. "Get us out of here!"
Battlestar Galactica - CIC - Above ZAFT invasion fleet
"HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!" Ron laughed like a maniac over the Comm. To say he was enjoying himself was an understatement. To say he was also pissing off Tigh was also an understatement. Gaeta looked at Adama as the ship plummeted toward the Pacific Ocean. "Angels 100 and falling like a rock!" He warned.
"Stand by FTL!" Adama ordered, and Ron nodded from the FTL console. "Jump is plotted!" He said, "On your command, Admiral!"
Outside, Galactica was closing in on the ZAFT fleet. At less then 300 feet above the waterline, Adama gave the order. "JUMP!" Ron turned the jump key, and Galactica jumped away. The superheated gases from Galactica's crash dive, coupled with the 150 meter distortion created by the FTL jump, lifted dozens of ZAFT surface warships out of the water, breaking them in half and even sinking two of their Vosgulov-Class submarines.
ZAFT Minerva-Class Battleship LHM-BB02 Fortuna - Bridge
"Would someone tell me what the FUCK just happened?!" Captain Vincennes shouted. No one answered their captain as the Fortuna righted herself. "Report!"
"Half the surface fleet's gone!" The sensor Operator announced, "Whatever that thing did-"
Then giant railgun rounds hit another cruiser, destroying it. Maria followed its' trajectory and found the source. The shark from hell was cruising out of a cloud bank, firing its' forward railguns.
'How did they do that?' She asked, 'One moment they were right over our heads, and the next they're in the clouds! A ship that size couldn't move that quickly without some sort of teleportation device! No one has that kind of tech!'
Suddenly, the vessel began launching Fighter Aircraft and Mobile Suits which looked very similar to Murasames, yet different. The Captain cursed, they didn't have the force to fight back these odds. "Tell all forced to pull back!" She ordered, "We don't stand a chance against that... that thing!"
High-energy beams cut the Fortuna off from escaping. "New contact!" The Operator warned, "It's the Archangel!"
"What the hell?" She shouted, "When did they get here? Better yet, how the hell did that thing survive Berlin?!"
"Don't know-Fuck, another contact!" The Operator cursed "Fuck me! It's the Minerva!" They were surrounded on all sides by three powerful warships. They were going to get slaughtered!
"Ma'am, I've got an ID on the shark thing!" The Operator announced.
"Well, don't keep it to yourself!"
"It's IDed as...the Battlestar Galactica?" He said, and Maria glanced at the giant warship as it fired at the ZAFT fleet and its' fighters took out anything it missed. The ZAKUs and GOUFs were getting raped by the Murasume copies, and if Maria had any doubts that the Galactica could easily destroy the Fortuna, they were quickly banished. "We've only got one option: we fight!" She said, "All hands, Level One Battle Stations! Target the Battlestar Galactica!"
Ex-ZAFT Battleship LHM-BB01 Minerva - Brig
Rey Za Burrel waited for his chance to escape the cell he was in and help the ZAFT forces he KNEW were outside fighting and got his chance when the guard was killed by a support girder. He took the key from the dead guard, unlocked the cell and made his way out of the brig, heading for the hangers. While almost all of the Mobile Suits were gone, there was one left: the ZGMF-X666S Legend.
Everyone was helter skelter, running across the deck in a panic, so no one would notice him getting into the cockpit until it was too late. He quickly made it to the MS, climbed up the leg and got into the cockpit. When it shut, THEN everyone knew something was wrong. "GET DOWN!" someone yelled and everyone hit the deck when Rey fired at the hanger walls, blowing a hole in the ship's hull. "Rey Za Burrel, in Legend, taking off!" The Legend's thrusters kicked in and launched the ZAFT MS forward and into the fight. "This is Rey Za Burrel to all ZAFT forces! I've stolen a Mobile Suits from the Minerva! Patch me into your commanding officer!"
"This is Captain Maria Vincennes of the Fortuna!" Came the reply, "Would you mind explaining just what the fuck is going on?!"
"There's no time!" Ray shouted, as A trio of beam rifle rounds passed by the Legend's bulky form. Three Colonial-controlled Mobile Suits (the Freedom, Strike Freedom and Infinite Justice) had just shot at him, knowing that he was NOT friendly. "Kira Yamato." He growled, "You are going to be a pain to get rid of."
Earth orbit
To say call what was happening between the Colonial forces and the ZAFT reinforcements a battle would be overselling it. Even calling it a slaughter would be generous. Vipers, supported by Mobile Suits, were tearing the ZAFT ships apart.
Let's back up a little bit and find out how this got started. Ten Nazca-Class destroyers were sent in to find out what happened to the ships supporting Operation Fury. They ran into the Eternal, the Junk Guild task force and, most importantly, Pegasus.
Please note that Pegasus is still commanded by Rear Admiral Helena 'KILL THEM ALL!' Cain. When the Eternal picked up the ZAFT fleet on her sensors, Lacus (in her cute, naive way) wanted to talk them down and make them leave by words alone. Cain, in her eternally PMSing way, also wanted them gone.
The difference? Cain just wanted to kill everything that got in her way. And kill she did. Three of the Nazcas didn't even have time to react as Pegasus opened fire on them and destroyed them.
"That bitch just won't stop!" Jaden shouted, as he disarmed a ZAFT ZAKU Phantom "They're retreating! What the fuck is WRONG with her?!"
Suddenly, he watched as the Pegasus's cannons turned and gunned down another Nazca-class, however this one's weapons had already been disabled, and could no longer fight. But Cain still gunned down the defenseless target. "HEY!" Jaden shouted, "That ship couldn't even fight back! What the hell are you doing?" He didn't get an answer. In fact, Pegasus, her Vipers and Mobile Suits didn't even send messages to her support ships.
"She's not showing any mercy." Amy said, and at that moment, another ship appeared on sensors, and Jaden was relieved to see it was the Legacy. They had problems with their FTL drive (yet another problem that the ship had) and couldn't join them until now. "Admiral Avalonia, this is Commander Takeo!" Jaden shouted, "You've got to stop Pegasus! She's-"
"In charge of this operation." The Admiral said with a sigh "I'm sorry, but that's the way it is." Pegasus gunned down yet another Nazca, which was retreating.
"She's shooting ships that aren't even fighting back!" Jaden shouted, "They're not fucking Cylons that can resurrect, they're humans!"
"And Cain doesn't care." He answered, "She sees them as obstacles to her mission and is destroying them for that reason alone. That's why Bill put her in charge. He knew I would be too sentimental."
"Bullshit!" Jaden shouted, "We didn't need Cain to go on a fucking rampage on ZAFT! This ain't a battle, this is just a fucking slaughter now!"
"Believe me, Bill didn't want her in command either, but that's reality." The Admiral said.
"Then why put her in command in the first place?" Jaden asked. "Because we would try to talk them down first, and that would have cost us lives and equipment." The Admiral said.
The last two remaining Nazcas finally got the hell out of there, getting outside of Pegasus' weapons range. "Thank God." Jaden muttered "She can't-" Then Pegasus launched a missile toward them, and every non-Colonial human gaped. "She's using fucking nukes?!" Jaden shouted.
"Hold on, Jaden!" Matt said, "Those Nazcas have N-Jammers! They might-" The missile exploded in a ball of nuclear hellfire. "They've got N-Jammer Cancellers?!"
That was the last straw from Jaden "Okay... that fucking tears it!" Jaden shouted, "Admiral, I don't care if Adama put her in command, that was just flat out Murder!"
"You attack Pegasus, that means we have to fire on you!" He warned, "Besides..." Pegasus jumped away, heading back to Io. "Adama and I will deal with her."
Jaden's eyes narrowed "She had better be, Admiral." He said, as he received a message from his parent's flagship, and the Eternal "My parents just sent me a message, and they are not happy with her display. If she isn't dealt with permanently, you are going to lose your alliance with the Junk Guild, Three Ships Alliance, Serpent Tail, and Terminal."
"Understood. I'll inform the Admiral."
Battlestar Galactica - CIC - Over Orb
"She WHAT?!" Adama shouted, causing everyone within CIC to flinch as his grip on the phone tightened.
"She slaughtered the ZAFT fleet sent to reinforce the ships over Orb." The CCE Admiral said, "Ten of those Nazca-Class destroyers, and opened fire on several vessels that had been disabled and were defenseless. On top of that she used a NUKE for the last two that were retreating!"
Adama fumed. "I did NOT give her permission to use nuclear weapons!" He growled.
"Be that as it may, the Junk Guild is PISSED." The Admiral said, "They're saying if she isn't dealt with permanently, they withdraw their support, and so will Terminal, Three Ships Alliance, and Serpent Tail."
"We'll deal with Cain later, Zeus!" Adama said, "Right now-" Galactica rocked from weapons fire. "We have bigger problems! That clone prisoner, Za Burrel, escaped from the Minerva and took one of their Mobile Suits!"
"What? When-"
"Two minutes ago!" Adama said, "Kira, Athrun and Lunamaria are trying to keep him away from our Vipers and Darts, but they're having a hard time with the bastard! Hell, Ron took off in the Proto-Dart to help, and if that's not a sign we're desperate, I don't know what is!" Galactica shook from another volley of weapons fire, this time from the Fortuna. "Batteries Alpha through Echo, target that fraking ship and KILL IT!" He ordered, the Fortuna was REALLY pissing Adama off.
On the Fortuna, the bridge shook from another series of hits from the Galactica and its ships 'Damn we don't stand a chance here!' Captain Vincennes thought, 'Our forces are falling apart because of that giant warship!' The Admiral that was in charge of the operation had been killed, and that left Maria as the senior commander of the invasion now.
"Send word to all ZAFT Forces, we need to get out of here before we're completely overrun!" She ordered, "Tell Za Burrel to cover our retreat and fall back with us! We're heading back to Carpentaria!"
Ray was still fighting everyone off at once, using the Legend's DRAGOON units, even if he couldn't launch them he could still fire them. Suddenly he got the orders from the Captain. His eyes narrowed, but he realized she was correct 'ZAFT doesn't stand a chance in this fight,' he thought, 'We need to fall back before the entire force is blown away.'
With that last thought, Ray launched a wave of Beams towards Ron's Proto-Dart, and the Strike Freedom, forcing them to back off before he accelerated the Legend towards the Fortuna, which was turning around and limping away, while what was left of the ZAFT invasion force quickly followed suit.
"They're running." Kira said.
"No shit they're running." Adama said on the wireless, "I just got a call from the Legacy. Cain blew up an entire ZAFT fleet up there: even used a nuke on damaged retreating units! I guess they're afraid we'll do the same thing."
"Wait a second!" Ron said, "I thought Cain didn't have permission to use nukes!"
"She didn't." Adama said, "The Junk Guild is pissed off along with everyone else who took part in the orbital battle. Now I have to deal with them AND Cain!" Everyone snarled in disgust. The ONLY reason that Cain still had her command was that they needed every flag officer they had. Now she had crossed the line.
Luna came up with a good idea. "Admiral, should we hand her over to the Junk Guild? I mean, they're the one who are being most vocal." "A good idea, but she's still in deep shit with us, Hibu." Luna looked at the Proto-Dart and winced. It had taken the brunt of Rey's attacks (the clone did NOT like him at all) and was on the verge of falling apart. "Representative Athha, this is Admiral Adama. have you dealt with that idiot Seiran yet?" "He was killed by a Viper when it was shot down." "Karma's a bitch, just like my mother." The left leg fell off at last. "Frak. Can I land this thing, Actual?" "Permission granted."
Battlestar Pegasus - Brig - Earth orbit - 1 hour later
Cain, on orders from Adama, had jumped back to Earth, but didn't expect getting clapped in irons the moment Adama came on board. "Admiral, I am NOT happy with you." Adama growled out, "I gave you explicit orders!"
"You ordered me to deal with the ZAFT forces as I saw fit." Cain defended, but Adama shot her the glare which shut her up.
"I did not order you to fire on defenseless hulks that couldn't move!" He said, his voice rising, "I didn't order you to destroy them outright! I DID NOT TELL YOU TO USE NUCLEAR WEAPONS!"
Cain flinched under Adama's unholy Glare. Adama was pissed off, and not in the mood to deal with Cain. "I'm giving you to the Junk Guild." He said, "They want to try you for war crimes. I can't say I blame them: I'm tempted to do the same. But as of this moment..." He tore off her dogtags. "You are not an officer in this Fleet! Marines!" Two of Pegasus' Razors turned to the Fleet Admiral. "Take her to a Raptor and send her to the Hell Vulture."
They took her away, and outside the cell was Jack Fisk, acting commander of Pegasus. "Admiral-"
"Don't even start, Fisk!" Adama snapped "You're not command material, either. In fact, this won't be a Colonial warship soon. I'm giving her to the Orb military. Maybe she'll be in better hands!"
Adama left the brig, and Fisk was left to wonder what was going to happen to Pegasus' crew. "Understood, sir."
Aprilius One - 24 hours later
Gilbert Durandal looked at the footage that was sent from the Fortuna. 'Shark from hell, indeed.' He thought to himself. It beat the shit out of the ZAFT fleet, its' Mobile Suits (based on the Murasame, but taking elements from the Strike and the Savior) beat the shit out of any ZAFT MS and the ship (the name was Battlestar Galactica, from what he had learned) had VERY thick armor. So thick, most of the Fortuna's weapons were useless against it.
'Still, I have Rey and the Legend back.' He thought, 'Pity Djibril got away.'
"Mr. Chairman, we're picking up a transmission from Orb." His assistant said, "Seems to be an announcement from Representative Athha."
Durandal rose an eyebrow "Didn't she go missing?" He asked, before he sighed "Very well. Show me."
A few moments later, the Computer screen in front of him changed to that of Cagalli Yula Attha, sitting behind a desk wearing the Orb Commanders uniform.
"Fellow people of Orb, and of the world." She said, "This is Chief Representative Cagalli Yula Attha. I once again stand before you, my people, as the leader of Orb. I know much has changed, and I have been gone for some time. However I once again stand before you, and I have removed the Seiran Family from power, who were running our nation to the ground with their so-called alliance with the Earth Forces."
"In my absence, Orb has made many bad decisions. However those will now come to an end, as we work to correct the mistakes my... predecessors made during their brief time in office." She continued, "Upon my return, I found my own nation attacked by ZAFT, who I once thought of as an ally before my absence. But the invasion has failed, and now Orb stands independent and free once again from ZAFT, and the Earth Forces."
"I understand their reasoning for attacking," Cagalli said, "The Serians lied about Lord Djibril hiding in our nation, without my approval, or the approval of the other Noble Families. But this does not excuse them for invading us because one of our families were, quite frankly, idiots. But I will inform ZAFT that Lord Djibril is no longer in Orb, as he has escaped into space. However he will not get away so easily, as I am issuing orders for all Orb forces to find Djibril so he may answer for his crimes, and we shall do so with the aid of our new allies."
Durandal rose an eyebrow at that "Allies?" He asked. And at that moment, an older man wearing a navy blue uniform and glasses walked into view. "Good day, people of Earth." The man said, "My name is William Adama, Fleet Admiral of the 12 Colonies of Kobol Defense Fleet." Durandal was NOT liking where this was going. "5 months ago, we encountered the Archangel and Minerva after their battle in Berlin. They ended up across the galaxy, almost directly in our path."
NOW he knew why he didn't like it. "We are from the 12 Colonies of Kobol, where humanity was born." He continued "I will not give you all the details, but in the time we have known one another, we have been steadfast allies, defending one another from our common enemy, the Cylons. We will NOT tolerate an attack upon our allies. As of this moment, a state of war exist between the 12 Colonies, ZAFT and the Earth Alliance. If you do not wish to fight us, stand down your forces and meet with us in Orb. If you will fight, then you WILL be defeated."
Durandal paled at the idea that Adama had more then ONE of those Battlestars. 'He's also got the assistance of the Orb military if he REALLY needs it.' He thought 'I don't want to admit it, but I think we're screwed.'
"Hack into that transmission." He ordered, "I think it's time Meer made another appearance."
"Aye, sir. We're on it!" If Meer could turn the people against Orb, then Adama and Athha would lose any support they had. Seconds later, Meer Campbell's image appeared on the screen. Of course, she looked like Lacus, but really, could anyone tell the difference?
Orb Battlestar Pegasus - same time
The CCE field marshal scoffed as he typed like a madman on a computer. "What an idiot." He muttered to himself. Adama and Roslin both thought either Djibril or Durandal would pull something like this, so they asked Ron to perform counter-hacking operations. "People of the Earth Sphere, please heed my words-"
"Shut up, you plastic bimbo." He muttered as he hit the enter key, and Meer disappeared, replaced by Cagalli, Adama and the REAL Lacus. "I love my job."
"Hello, everyone." Lacus said, "My name is Lacus Clyne."
Aprilius One - same time
"Son of a BITCH!" Gilbert cursed. While he saluted Adama and Cagalli for getting the feedback, he cursed them for screwing with him YET AGAIN.
"The people of the 12 Colonies are simply scared, as they lost their homes less then half a year ago." Lacus said, "When we appeared in their path, they saw us as a ray of hope."
"Get the line back!" Gilbert ordered.
"On it, sir!"
Orb Battlestar Pegasus - CIC
"Commander, we've got another hacking attempt!"
Ron just smirked as he rolled his eyes "Hack this, Durandal." He said, and the CCE field marshal began hacking back, and while the ZAFT technicians were good, Ron outhacked the Cylons. And NO ONE could outhack them!
"Can we turn them away simply because of one action?" Lacus continued "They came to help defend this beautiful country from ZAFT, who came for ONE man. They nearly destroyed Orb for one man. Thousands, perhaps millions of people could have died from such careless actions."
"Keep talking, girly." Ron said, "Give me time to make Durandal have a few heart attacks!" He completed the virus and uploaded it into the ZAFT military network. Their C3 would be in RUINS.
"Thank you, Lacus." Ron said, "Your ability to turn air into useless words actually saved us some trouble."
"What's your problem with Lacus?" Ron turned and saw Jaden walk into the CIC, Orb had asked the Junk Guild to help inspect the Pegasus and its process of refitting it with modern Orb tech. "She's doing pretty good, this speech of hers should sway more people to our side. Resistance groups in the USSA and other nations that the E.A took over will start fighting back, and nations that declared support to ZAFT will begin rethinking their allegiances and side with Orb."
"Words don't solve anything, kid." Ron said, "As much as I hate to say it, Cain had the right idea during that debacle over Orb. Problem is, she took it WAY too far."
Jaden shook his head "You underestimate what words can do, Ron." He said, "Trust me, some of the greatest speeches had lead humanity on earth through the toughest times and darkest hours. World War II, the Cold War, and even here in the Bloody Valentine Wars. Cylons are one thing from what I have heard of them, but humans are different from Cylons. Its easier to reason with a human than a computer."
"Well, I'd jaded." Ron said shrugging, "Actions always speak louder to me. Besides, I've got a ship to refit." Ron was using his experience with the Athena to give Pegasus ventral and dorsal cannons. He was also trying to mix KEW weapons and high-energy weaponry into one unit to save space.
"Yeah," Jaden said, "I gotta admit though, the tech behinds these Battlestar's is amazing!" He smirked a bit "I might be able to move ahead one of my own projects with this."
"What's that?" Ron asked.
"Working on a new Battleship design, make a new Flagship for the Junk Guild," He said, handing him a Handheld Computer which showed the image of a five-kilometer long spaceship "Five Kilometers long, enough armaments and Mobile Weapons to lay waste to a small nation, and Atmospheric Flight capabilities. It was all just theories and prototype specs, but your tech may jump its development by years."
Ron looked at the design. "I'm going to be giving you a Raptor." He said, "That way, we can work on this thing on the Athena. Pegasus, or rather Izanami, is too...unsuited for design work."
Jaden blinked "Izanami?" He asked.
"The Orb Space Fleet's decided to rename the ship." He said, "I have to make sure they don't blow it up before then." Ron left CIC, and Jaden followed him out.
"Say, I heard you designed this ship." He said, "Is that true?"
"I designed almost every military ship in the Colonial Fleet." Ron said, "What's your point?"
"Aside from the fact that if you weren't in CCE, the Junk Guild would be begging on their hands and knees for you to join?" Jaden asked with a small chuckle "Heck, my parents asked me to see if I could get you to become an honorary member of the Guild. Even if you don't, they want to begin a permanent alliance with CCE, and start trading technical know-how between us, help one another out."
"Well, I'm not one for words." Ron said, "Like I said, actions. SHOW me that that this is what you guys want. Then I'll think about it. Until then, I have a new ship to design."
"New ship?" Jaden asked curiously.
"I'm mixing what little I know about Earth technology with the Mercury-Class Battlestar, but I'm adding dorsal and ventral turrets to it." He explained, "It may be powerful, but it doesn't have the omnidirectional firepower of a Galactica-Class Battlestar."
"Maybe we can help you out there," Jaden said, "Junk Guild knows all there is to know about modern Earth Technology, we can toss you a few of our own designs." He smirked a bit "I think I can give you the specs to my Helium-3 Reactor, as well as try and instal the same type Lightwave Barrier shields the Hell Vulture has for some added protection."
"This is a production warship, not a one-off." Ron said, "This ship is serving as the effectual prototype. But the new ship will be the first new-build Battlestar since the Fall."
"Thought of a name?" Jaden asked, and he nodded. "I have." Ron said. "I took it from your star charts. The North Star. Polaris."
"The Polaris-class Battlestar..." Jaden said, before he smiled "I like it!"
"Then tell your parents we have a deal." Ron said, "And I wasn't kidding about that Raptor. Take 264. Chief Laird will tell you where it is."
"Thanks," Jaden said, "And I think this is the beginning of a very great and fruitful friendship between us, the Junk Guild, and CCE. May the E.A, ZAFT and Cylons tremble in fear against our combined might!"
"Kid, I think you need to stop reading comic books." Ron said as he walked off, leaving Jaden behind as the field marshal headed for his own Raptor. But Jaden didn't see the small smirk on his face. 'This kid is gonna make things interesting,'
Battlestar Galactica (over Orb) - Adama's Quarters - 6 hours later
Galactica had just had her matter/antimatter reactor replaced, the makeshift beam cannons were replaced with Gottfrieds and the CIWS turrets were all now 75mm Igelstellung guns. Of course, the shell-firing KEW cannons were hybridized to fire both beam rounds and conventional ordnance. Believe me when I say it was a ROYAL BITCH to get it to work right. In fact, Ron had been working on it for MONTHS. "Galactica's going to be delivering a lot of pain to the ZAFT fleet, but it's Daedalus Crater that worries me." Ron said as Adama looked at the photos of the base provided by the Blackbird. "It's an Earth Alliance military base, Commander." He said.
"A base that has a giant hatch that would fit a Galactica-Class Battlestar, and the Alliance doesn't have ANYTHING that big." Ron said shaking his head "No, it's got to be a weapon of some sort."
"A weapon?" Adama asked "Commander, Earth's come up with some odd things-"
"Mobile Suits being one of them."
"But there is no way this thing could be dangerous."
Kira took in a breath. "Admiral, the Alliance wouldn't build this just to grandstand." He said, "It's got a purpose."
Adama looked at Ron. "Thank you, Commander, but the plan is still a go." He said, "We're attacking Althea Crater in 12 hours. Phantom Pain needs to be brought into the light for the world to judge." Tales from the Extended pilots that escaped Phantom Pain about Althea Crater, where the Extended program was now based, sickened Adama.
Jaden looked at the image, and shook his head "I've got a bad feeling about this..." he said, before he sighed "But, its your decision sir. Hopefully once we take Althea, we can attack Daedalus and blow that thing up before the E.A does anything with it."
"Well, the Alliance is about to learn the power of a Battlestar Dreadnought." Ron said, "The Macon will be joining us on this op."
"Macon?" Jaden asked.
"It's one of our Zeus-Class Battlestar Dreadnoughts." Ron said smirking "90 kilometers of flying DEATH."
Jaden blinked before he grinned "Nice," he said. "Can't wait to see it in action!"
"Good, because I'm taking command of her during the operation, and if you're coming along, you're parking your asses on board her." Ron said, and the CCE field marshal saluted the Fleet Admiral, then left.
"He's an odd man, isn't he?" Jaden asked.
"He's almost literally seen it all and lived through it all." Adama said, "Dismissed, gentlemen."
Junk Guild tender ReHOME - 1 hour later
Lowe Guele was watching the news. While it was usually boring, this was interesting, because it involved one of those Battlestar things. "Leaked information from ZAFT included this footage, given to this network exclusively." The newsman said as the image of a massive, well-armored warship beating the shit out of a fleet of Nazca-Class destroyers appeared on the screen. "Unconfirmed sources have identified the vessel as a 'Mercury-Class' Battlestar, meaning there are more then one. This vessel is the Battlestar Pegasus, formally under the command of Rear Admiral Helena Cain. The woman has since been dismissed from her post due to her unauthorized use of nuclear weapons."
Lowe raised an eyebrow as the footage showed Pegasus firing a missile at two retreating Nazcas before the missile exploded in a nuclear fireball. "Unconfirmed sources within both the Orb Union and the Junk Guild have told us that this vessel has been given to the Orb Space Fleet, and is being refit. Back to you, Sonja."
"Thanks." Sonja said as the screen switched back to that of the news station "There are only two confirmed Battlestars in existence. The more famous one was seen flying over Orb, defending the nation from a ZAFT invasion. It has been confirmed that the ship is named Galactica, and is the flagship of the Colonial Fleet." Footage from the failed invasion of Orb was then played, and it showed Galactica performing its' power dive toward the ZAFT fleet before it jumped.
Lowe's eyes widened "Whoa!" He said as he grinned "That's awesome!"
"We have no idea HOW Galactica did this, but leading scientists have theorized that Galactica and Pegasus are equipped with a faster than light drive." The reporter said, and Lowe decided that he would pester any Colonial he ran into. He WANTED one of those FTL drives! "We have managed to get an interview with a leading officer in the Colonial Fleet: a Colonel Jack Fisk, former XO of the Battlestar Pegasus." Lowe chuckled. He found his target.
Althea Crater - 0650 hours
Brigadier General Gendo Ikari scowled as he read the reports. His wayward Extended (and his only child, but that was meaningless to him) had been found. He had been trying to make the ultimate warrior for over a decade, and his son was the closest thing they had. Instead of making him feel fear, his block word made him unstoppable in combat.
If they got him back and put him in a Destroy, then the Alliance would retake Earth once and for all. Of course, his thoughts were broken when the facility rocked from weapons fire. "General, we're under attack!" A voice said on the comm.
Gendo's eyes narrowed "By who?!" He demanded.
"It's the Gal-" But then static filled the room as the base rocked from another barrage. He only knew ONE ship starting with that. The Colonial Fleet was attacking his facility.
Above Althea Crater (Play Counterattack from Gundam 00)
From the bridge of the Hell Vulture, Jaden chuckled at the sight before him. Galactica gave new meaning to the word Blitzkrieg. "It's like it's plowing the fucking moon with bullets!" He said.
Jaden had decided not to join Ron on the Macon and instead brought the Hell Vulture into the fray. While Galactica was smaller than Pegasus/Izanami, she was still more heavily armed than any Earth Alliance, ZAFT or Orb warship.
Any Mobile Suit unlucky enough to get in the way of the Battlestar's main guns was instantly destroyed. Even the Zamza-Zah and Gells-Ghe Mobile Armors that were sent up to defend the base were cut down by Galactica's massive 600cm main guns. Even the few that had managed to activate their lightwave shields were destroyed as the shield just couldn't take the sheer kinetic force.
'Is this what Ron meant by us not standing a chance?' he thought to himself.
"Ok, people." Jaden said too the crew of the Hell Vulture "Adama's not going to pull what Cain pulled and just blow everything up. So work with the Colonials, and let's take this place down! Once we evacuate all of the prisoners and extendeds inside, then we blow this base up!"
"Jaden, Galactica's launching Vipers and I think they're getting their Mobile Suits on the catapults." Crossak said, just as Twenty Darts took off from Galactica's flight pods, followed by the massive 90 kilometer long Macon jumping in from above.
Jaden smirked "Oh, you're in for a WORLD of pain E.A!" He said, turning to Crossak "Keep the Vulture stealthed, and launch the Mobile Suits!" He ordered, "We're not letting the Colonials have all the fun!" He then turned to leave the bridge "You have the Bridge Cross."
Battlestar Galactica - CIC
"I'd pity the bastards if I didn't hate them so much." Adama said. As per usual, Galactica was kicking the shit out of EVERYTHING. Her Darts (all fit with Striker Packs of varying types thanks to the Orb Union) were slaughtering the Phantom Pain 105 Daggers and Windams and the Vipers were knocking out the base defenses.
In the years after the First Bloody Valentine War, the Alliance had focused on anti-MS defense instead of anti-fighter. As such, the small, one-man fighters were beating the crap out of the fixed base defense emplacements. "Macon Actual to all Darts: if those PP MSs are carrying Striker Packs, I want them intact!" Ron said on the Comm. Adama chuckled as the CCE Field Marshal barked at the Dart teams over the wireless.
"Admiral, the Eternal just jumped in and Pegasus-er, Izanami is four kilometers out." Gaeta reported.
"Tell the Eternal to cover Izanami." Adama ordered, "She still doesn't have Mobile Suits." Dualla got to work.
"Admiral, picking up a MASSIVE contact!" Gaeta said, before he cursed "Oh, frak me! It's a Destroy!"
Adama narrowed his eyes. The Alliance was deploying a Destroy to stop them? 'Shows how desperate they are.' He thought before he barked out an order "Macon, Galactica Actual. Target the Destroy."
"Oh, I'm going to enjoy this, Admiral!" Ron said. While the Destroy was heavily armed and armored, the Macon had more powerful guns then Galactica, and If Galactica could punch through the lightwave shields on a Gells-Ghe, then the Macon would have ZERO trouble taking on and out a Destroy.
"Admiral, the base is launching out more of those Mobile Armors." Gaeta said, "Orders?"
"Take them out!"
Shinji Ikari's GAT-X105E+AQME-X09S Strike Noir
Shinji didn't want to come back to Althea, but his bastard of a father HAD to be dealt with. 'I'm not running away.' He thought, as the Strike Noir hovered over the lunar surface, looking for a target. And when Shinji had to dodge a pair of beam rounds, he found it in a YMAG-X7F Gells-Ghe. "So, boy, you've returned." A voice said, and Shinji's eyes widened at the sound of his father's voice. "What is a USELESS little boy like you doing back here?"
Gendo clearly forgot something. Shinji's block word...was 'useless'.
(Play Banshee from Gundam Unicorn here)
Shinji roared over the radio as he charged the Gells-Ghe. A pair of Sword Windams tried to get in his way, but Shinji simply tore them apart with his beam knives before stealing one of their anti-ship swords. And Gendo knew right then and there that this wasn't going to end well. Every time that the Strike E was given a Sword Pack, Shinji destroyed EVERYTHING with it.
Above them, Asuka sighed. "Why does everyone say his block word?" She asked, "I mean, everyone KNOWS what I need to do to just to calm him down."
"The bastard did it on purpose, Red." Mari said.
"Shut up, Makinami!" She shouted, as Asuka hacked another Slaughter Dagger in half as she watched Macon duel with the Destroy. All of her 1500cm cannons were firing on the massive Mobile Weapon, and most of the shots were getting through, much to everyone's surprise. The Destroy finally crumpled, simply unable to take any more hits, and finally exploded.
"Scratch one Destroy!" Ron shouted on the Comm, "Take that you E.A Bastards!"
Jaden in the Strike Aka smirked as he saw the Destroy fall before the Macon's firepower "He didn't know what hit him," he said. "Striker Team, Gwaze team, begin the attack on the H.Q of the base! Let's get this battle over with!"
Their sensors blared out a warning as a ship suddenly appeared. Jaden realized that it was a ship using an FTL drive, but he didn't know what it was, and the Colonials weren't bringing in anymore ships to support the attack. Galactica alone was overkill. Izanami and Macon just rubbed salt into an already infected wound.
Then, Ron's voice echoed through the comm "Son of a bitch!" He shouted "It's a Cylon Baseship!" Jaden vectored the Strike Aka to look at the Baseship in question, but was VERY confused. It looked like the same ones that attacked them less then a week before, but the lower set of arms were MUCH shorter than the top ones.
"That's the same ship that attacked us three months ago!" A voice shouted, and Jaden looked at the pink Verde Buster as it fired on the Baseship. The shots connected, and Mari's angry shots were rewarded. With many, MANY angry Cylon Raiders. "What the hell?" Jaden said, "They look like-"
"Flying wings?" Jaden blinked at Ron's question, but nodded. "Yeah, they do." He said.
"Frak me." He cursed, "War-Era Raiders! Works of art, those."
"Galactica to all players: kill that Baseship!" Adama ordered, and the Izanami turned on the Baseship, ready to fire its' new hybrid cannons at the Baseship and destroy it. "Wait, shouldn't we-" Jaden began.
"We're at war with them, kid." Ron said, "Let us fight it our way. But if you want to board it, don't let me stop you." The Vipers turned toward the Baseship's Raiders, creating a deadly furball. "Macon MarDet Team, you are clear to begin your assault on the facility." Adama said, and over a dozen of Macon's Raptors took off and began their approach to Althea.
Meanwhile, Shinji was tearing the Gells-Ghe apart. "DIE! DIE, DIE, DIE!" He shouted continuously. The shield on the Mobile Armor was long since gone, and the Strike Dagger torso was missing its' two arms. "Without me, you're nothing, boy!" Gendo shouted, "With-"
Shinji shut him up by stabbing the sword into the Mobile Armor and into the cockpit, killing the bastard instantly. However, there was a problem. Shinji was in 'KILL ANYTHING THAT MOVED' mode. He was a danger to everything. But Gendo, dead man that he was, was not stupid. This was proven when Asuka's Rosso Aegis clamped onto the Strike Noir, shutting the multirole machine down.
Of course, Shinji's bloodlust needed to be sated. But Asuka was the perfect way to calm him down. All she had to do was let him have her. Sex took the kid down and kept him down until his block word was used again.
Battlestar Galactica - CIC
"Admiral, Marine Teams are overtaking the facility." Dualla reported, "Althea's ours."
Adama nodded "Very well." He said. "Tell them to begin evacuating all of the children inside, once we've cleared this place, we're nuking it."
"Admiral, Commander Takeo is requesting to board the Baseship." Dualla said, and Adama scowled. "If the Commander wants to commit suicide, let him." He said.
"Commander Pinkerton is requesting to escort him." She continued, and Adama shook his head. "Grant his request."
Raptor 212 - En-Route to Baseship
A Raptor launched from the Hell Vulture, which carried Jaden, Ron, and an entire squad of men and women armed too the teeth. Jaden had told Ron they were members of the Junk Guild who use to be part of ZAFT Special Forces or Earth Forces Marines.
"I hope you know what you're doing kid," Ron said, "Trust me when I say, Cylons are not as easy to take down as you may think. Centurions have thick armor only Armor-piercing and Explosive rounds could penetrate."
"Energy Weapons?" Jaden asked suddenly, causing Ron to blink "Excuse me?" He asked.
"What about Energy Weapons?" He repeated, but Ron shook his head. "No... there's no way their armor is set against Energy or beam weapons... but why-" Jaden suddenly picked up a Rifle, which reminded Ron of a Colonial G36K, only more smooth and streamlined "Huh?"
Jaden smirked "This baby is the M8BR Assault Rifle," he said, "A new design us in Junk Guild have begun fielding a few months ago. We found out how to miniaturize Beam and Energy weapons too more Small arm infantry standards, so Infantry can use energy weapons on heavily armored forces, since we've heard the E.A have begun weaponizing Exoskeletons for infantry use, and ZAFT wasn't far behind. We based the frame off of an older pre-CE weapon, the XM8 and its variants. We've got the M8BR, the standard Assault Rifle and Carbine variants that has 30 shots per E-Cap, a Sharpshooter Variant with 20 rounds that can blast through two meters of Titanium Alloy, and a Light Machine Gun variant with 90 rounds a clip. We also have an SMG Variant with 35 Rounds per clip. You think these will work?"
"Centurions wouldn't stand a chance in hell against any beam weapons." Ron said with a smirk "Especially not the 0005s." Ron pulled out his chosen weapon for the operation. While he would have preferred the G36K, the SCAR-H was the only type of assault rifle on board the Macon. It was fit with a Masterkey-style shotgun that fired armor-piercing buckshot with a second rail-mounted FN40GN mounted on the left-side barrel rail. While it seemed unwieldy to the Junk Guild personnel, Ron simply pulled out photos of dead bodies. "These people were on Galactica when the Cylons boarded her 4 months ago." He said, "The modern Centurions tore them apart. I'd rather have two weapons that fire anti-armor rounds then one."
"We get it, but seriously?" Matthew, who wielded a M8BS Sharpshooter Beam Rifle "A side-rail mounted grenade launcher?"
"Better to be paranoid and prepared then underarmed and dead." He said, and the Raptor touched down outside an airlock, and Ron put a helmet on. "Hold it, you're not wearing a flight suit." Jaden pointed out.
"Yes, I am." Ron retorted, "It's under my uniform." He undid a few buttons to show that he was, indeed, wearing a flight suit under his uniform. "CCE policy: keep a flight suit on at all times. There's a reason for that." He secured the helmet and chuckled as the rest of the volunteers put on their helmets. "It seems that Admiral Adama is going to pull what Cain pulled."
Jaden wondered what the 70 year old man was talking about when the hatch opened and revealed Galactica opening 5 missile doors.
"He's not."
"He is." Five ICBM-sized weapons took off from the missile tubes, and Ron chuckled. "Hope you kids are wearing sunglasses." He said, as all five 60 megaton nuclear warheads exploded just a few hundred feet above Althea Crater, destroying the base. "Good thing I asked the Admiral to strip out anything of use." He said, "I'd like to take a look at what Phantom Pain's MS designers were working on."
"Adama just used FIVE nukes and you're worried about whether or not you're getting a good look at Phantom Pain's toys?!" Amy shouted, "What the fuck is wrong with you?!"
Ron looked at Amy with deadened eyes. "If I'm right about this Baseship," He said "Those nukes are the least of your worries."
Ron the True Fan: And we touch on Razor, without actually touching on Razor.
117Jorn: And this chapter is DONE! And we will begin on the next one the moment we have time.
Ron the True Fan: Yes, considering I've got another URE series story that is BEGGING to be written. Yes, people, Reds and Blues of the Old Republic is coming back, better then before. And before we go, a treat. Mobile Suits and warships featured in THAB and LFTW (both stories use the same designs) are below. Enjoy.
Mobile Weapons and Warships
Mobile Unit: GAT-01C Strike Dagger Kai
Unit Type: Mass Production General-Purpose Mobile Suit
Manufacturer: Junk Guild; Earth Alliance
Operators: Junk Guild; Earth Alliance
Overall Height: 18.02 Meter
Max Weight: 56.22 Metric Tons
Powerplant: Ultracompact Energy Battery Mk-II
Pilot Accommodations: Pilot only, cockpit in torso
Special Equipment and Features: Parachute Pack; Hardpoints for Striker Packs;
Fixed Armaments: 2 x "Igelstellung" 75mm Multi-Barrel CIWS, fire-linked in head; 2 x ES01 Beam Saber, stored on back behind shoulders, hand carried when in use; 2 x "Armor Schneider" Combat Knives, stored in hips, hand-carried in use;
Optional Fixed Armament:
AQM/E-X01 Aile Striker: (2 x Beam Sabers)
AQM/E-X02 Sword Striker: (1 x "Schwert Gewehr" 15.78 Meter Anti-Ship Sword; "Panzer Eisen" Rocket Anchor; "Midas Messer" Beam Boomerang; )
AQM/E-X03 Launcher Striker: (1 x "Agni" 320mm Hyper Impulse Cannon; 1 x 120mm Anti-Ship Vulcan Gun; 2 x 350mm Gun Launcher;)
AQM/E-A4E1 Jet Striker: (4 x Multipurpose Hardpoints, "Drache" Air-to-Surface Missiles; Mk1323 Unguided Rocket Pods; Mk438 Triple "Würger" Air-to-Air Missile Pods)
Optional Armament: GAU-8M2 52mm machine Gun; M703 57mm Beam Rifle + Grenade Launcher; Shield; Bazooka;
Technical and Historical Notes: After the First Bloody Valentine War, the Earth Alliance began phasing out its GAT-01 Strike Dagger force, in favor of newer more advance 105 Daggers, L2 Daggers, and eventually the Windams. Because of the massive numbers they had been produced during the war and in the short period after the war however, these Machines became surplus, and were sold and found their way in Colony Militias, Independent Organizations, and smaller nations across the earth sphere.
The Junk Guild was one such organization, as many members got their hands on the Strike Daggers, in favor over the older GiNN's. One such purchaser of a Strike Dagger, was Junk Guild member Jaden Takeo. When he gained his Strike Dagger, he saw that the machine was in need of improvement, and thought the E.A were being idiots just selling these machines rather than improving them and keep them in service.
He sought out and upgraded his Strike Dagger, eventually creating a new and improved M.S that would be widely used in the Junk Guild: The GAT-01C Strike Dagger Kai. The Strike Dagger Kai is a round improvement of the Dagger, giving it more weapons and capabilities in combat. The most notable improvements is its addition in armaments: Adding an extra Beam Saber and 75mm CIWS Vulcan gun gave it one good improvement. But Jaden didn't stop there as he proceeded to alter the O.S to allow different weapons, including hip-mounted Anti-Armor Knives like those on the original Strike Gundam, a Bazooka, and a standard Machine Gun. But a major addition were Striker Pack hard points, giving it access to the same Striker Packs used by the Strike Gundam and 105 Daggers.
With these additions, plus improved EM shielding and other system modifications, the Strike Dagger Kai has shown it can easily keep up with a Dagger L, and in the hands of a dedicated pilot, could give a Windam a run for its money. With its debut, it had become a very common sight among the Junk Guild, and even the Earth Alliance had begun using these units for their own purposes, to answer for the demand of more Mobile Suits on the front lines during the Second Bloody Valentine War.
Appearance: Looks like the GAT-01 Strike Dagger, with weapons and gear from the Strike Gundam and other Dagger-series M.S
Mobile Unit: ZGMF-602F GuAIZ F-Type
Unit Type: Mass Production High-Performance Mobile Suit
Manufacturer: Junk Guild; ZAFT
Operators: Junk Guild; ZAFT
Head Height: 20.24 Meters
Standard Weight: 80.2 Metric Tons
Powerplant: Ultracompact Energy Battery Mk-II
Pilot Accommodations: Pilot only, in cockpit in chest
Special Equipment and Features: Sensors, range unknown;
Fixed Armaments: 2 x MMI-GAU2 "Picus" 76mm CIWS, fire-linked in head; 2 x MA-MV04 Composite Tri-Shield, mounted on Forearms; 2 x MMI-M20S "Pollux IX" Railgun, mounted on hips;
Optional Armament: MA-M21G Beam Rifle;
Technical and Historical Notes: The ZGMF-602F GuAIZ F-Type is another product of Jaden Takeo in the Junk Guild. It was largely based off of both of the GuAIZ series M.S, the original GuAIZ, and the GuAIZ R. Quite simply, the GuAIZ F-Type, or GuAIZ F for short, is a High-Performance mobile suit, much like the original GuAIZ was. The GuAIZ F is a drastically improved M.S compared to the GuAIZ R. Jaden believed the R was a step backwards while the original was 'awesome'. So he took it upon himself to create a revamped GuAIZ.
The GuAIZ F had several additions to its predecessors: The GuAIZ F had two Composite Shields as oppose to one, but they were neither that of the GuAIZ or GuAIZ R. It was a modified version of a GuAIZ's shield, which did not contain two beam sabers each, but three. And if that was not enough, instead of EEQ7R Extensional Arrestors, it has the same Pollux IX Railguns of the GuAIZ R. With these additions plus its Beam Rifle, the GuAIZ F, sometimes called the GuAIZ Fury, was a force to reckon with across the Earth Sphere. These units were first used by the Junk Guild, before ZAFT began buying some and producing them on their own.
Appearance: Looks like the GuAIZ, but with the GuAIZ R's Railguns and two shields on each arm which show three blades instead of one or two.
Ship Class: Spitfire
Ship Type and Role: Support (Anti-missile/fighter)
Ships of the line: Spitfire, Reisen, Corsair, Pythia and at least 80 others
Manufacturer: Colonial Fleet
Operators: Colonial Fleet
Height: 587 meters
Length: 1294 meters
Width: 613 meters
Powerplant: 2 x 30000 kW Tylium thermonuclear reactors
Propulsion: 2 x pod-mounted engines
Armaments: 600 x 55mm turret-mounted CIWS cannons, 40 x 200mm flak guns and 100 x 75mm CIWS cannons on engine pods
Complements: 5 x Raptors
Crew: 600 men, 30 officers, 100 Marines
Technical and Historical Notes: The Spitfire-Class was designed as a counter to the Cylon usage of overwhelming numbers of Raiders and missiles after the First Cylon War. When deployed in during the aftermath of the War, testing showed that no matter how many missiles and fighter drones they threw at it, nothing got past the Spitfire's AA screen. This and the tonnage of guns got the ship classified as a light cruiser, although the term 'light AA cruiser' is often used. Other then the Battlestars, Spitfires are the most sought after postings because of they are easy assignments. They have almost zero armor and can easily be destroyed by a single nuclear device. (See Law for the Wolves Chapter 10 for details)
Appearance: An enlarged Birmingham-Class battleship from Gundam 0083: Stardust Memory with 50-meter wide engine pods mounted mid-hull
Next Time on THAB Ultimate Rewrite Edition: The Junk Guild finds out why the Colonials don't mind nuclear weapons as they explore the Guardian Baseship and LOGOS gets a kick in the ass in the form of the Battlestar Galactica.
Ja Ne!