Chapter 21
CE 73, December 5th, Terchova, Slovakia, South-East Europe
Afternoon 16 00
The ground exploded in a display of fire and debris as the three mobile suits of the 8127th Armor Tactics Squadron dove towards the Howling Spears and the Manhunter Command, their weapons fire blotting out even the light of the afternoon sun.
The Manhunter Command dove to the side, and in an instant, the two Wild Daggers were away; the dual-barrelled beam cannon on Aaqil's unit swivelled, and a moment later twin green beams lanced out towards the nearest Raider Full Spec. The aerial mobile suit turned, separating from its external flying wing; the autonomous flyer's machineguns flashed, and the Wild Dagger was forced to leap away.
The second unit swooped down on Navana Landro, and Aaqil's wingman chose to vault over the mobile suit instead; in a powerful leap, the Wild Dagger, boosters burning, managed to jump overhead of the Raider Full Spec. Navana's unit unfolded into its bipedal form, but was forced to put its shield up as the Rosso Aegis, in its plane mode, struck it in a flyby pass, the emitters on its front alight in the form of beam blades.
Ray had barely turned to face the Rosso Aegis when it had turned towards him, and even as it closed the distance, its front opened up, and the Scylla multi-phase cannon in its torso fired. The blast was blindingly bright, and Ray narrowly managed to avoid being spitted by the beam's path as it lanced towards the horizon, impacting on the ridgeline a few kilometres behind him. An explosion bloomed from the ground in a spectacular spray of dust, detritus, and burning matter.
Then the Rosso Aegis was up close, its limbs unfolding from flight mode to mobile suit mode, and Ray barely brought the Manhunter Command's right arm up in time; one beam saber met another, and a second blade struck the shield of Ray's unit, as the Rosso Aegis slammed full-force into a melee battle with Ray's unit.
The impact was enough to force the lighter Dagger L model backwards, but Ray managed to keep his balance by having the Manhunter Command lower its stance. The deadlock lasted for a second; with a violent push, the mobile suit's thrusters ignited, and the Manhunter Command pushed against the GUNDAM unit, sending it backwards; but just barely.
The Rosso Aegis, which had been fighting with its right arm blade, drew back its left for a side hook; the Manhunter Command stepped back to avoid being spitted from the side, and barely held its shield in place as the Rosso Aegis followed with a reverse roundhouse kick, the blade emitter on its right foot sparking with a brilliant yellow beam. The slash left a long, black mark on the well-abused shield, and Ray forced his panic down as he backed the Manhunter Command up further; as long as the Rosso Aegis kept up the assault, he would never be able to get a chance to turn the tables around.
Aaqil had a similar line of thought as well. "Step back, Hunter Leader! You can't take him on with just a Dagger L! Howl Two, disengage and go assist-"
Ray's plan, however, was slightly different. "Stick to your targets! If you want to help me, take them down before coming to my aid!"
Aaqil gritted his teeth, his Wild Dagger leaping in a zigzag path as it dodged fire from the Raider Full Spec chasing him; he knew Ray was right, but it didn't make it any easier for him to do his job. "Damn! As long as they keep their distance..."
Aaqil's Wild Dagger continued running, its back-mounted beam turret turning to track the target chasing it. The Raider Full Spec, now rejoined with its flying wing, easily twisted a flight path around the turret's arc of fire, and released its wing missiles; with high explosive payloads, they were not designed to kill agile targets, but the blast would serve to shake potential opponents into disorientation all the same; and with combat jamming in the equation, this was nothing if not a bonus.
Navana scarcely had the time to concern himself about his squadron leader, the twin large explosions less than two kilometres away barely registering in his mind as his own Wild Dagger attempted to dodge the rain of fire the second Raider Full Spec was throwing at him. His Wild Dagger also carried a twin-barrelled beam gun turret, but his attempts to hit his pursuers were equally abysmal.
The struggles of his longtime comrades ate away at Ray's thoughts, but he forced his own thinking back into the front of his mind. Aaqil and Navana were both experienced pilots, with equipment far superior to his own. His own position was more precarious, as the Rosso Aegis repeatedly prevented all attempts to pull away; Ray barely caught another one of its blows, stopping the Rosso Aegis' left arm and turning it to the side at the last moment. The NEFA mobile suit followed up with a swift uppercut with its right, and the Manhunter Command was forced to place its beam sabre in the way, the clash of energy blades drowning Ray's viewscreen in nothing but flashes of white. Static electricity arced across the interior of the cockpit; by the time the light faded, Ray saw the Rosso Aegis free its left fist and draw it backwards, preparing to deliver a punch that would pierce his mobile suit's cockpit block.
Pushing the controls to their limit, Ray forced the Manhunter Command forward; the mobile suit planted its right foot into the ground behind it, fortifying its balance, and it slammed an arm against the Rosso Aegis's lower torso, its back thrusters firing. The GUNDAM's blow went wide and the Manhunter Command's blow threw the Rosso Aegis off-balance; Ray, however, was unable to press his attack, as the enemy mobile suit's right arm came forward in another straight punch, this time from the underside of the Manhunter Command's torso. Sparks erupted as the Manhunter Command barely made it to push the blow out of the way; Ray twisted his unit's body ever slightly, the better to move in with what little space it had. With both arms locked in a grapple, the Manhunter Command pressed forward, placing its left foot in-between the Rosso Aegis' legs, intent on tripping it. The Gundam proved to have the higher strength, however, and quickly wrenched itself free; but not before Ray changed targets, the Manhunter Command's left hand tearing the Rosso Aegis' beam rifle from its hip holster.
Before Ray could catch his breath, however, the GUNDAM stepped back within grappling range; Ray moved just barely faster than his enemy, its right arm held up to ward off optic damage as the CIWS guns on the Rosso Aegis fired, shots throwing sparks all over. Had the shots connected, Ray's machine would have been blinded, and easily dispatched.
The chance was lost, however. This close in, Ray had no way to use the Rosso Aegis' long beam rifle as he had intended to; instead, shifting its grip, the Manhunter Command smashed the weapon against its former user like a club, and mechanical fragments fell to the ground as the Manhunter Command tossed the now thoroughly-ruined rifle away. The Rosso Aegis was unharmed, however, and as it reached out to grip both of the Manhunter Command's arms, its left knee moved upwards, connecting squarely with the Dagger L's torso, throwing the mobile suit backwards. Moving with the blow, Ray engaged his boosters; ignoring the warning of reduced propellant and medium battery strength, he placed as much distance as he could from the Rosso Aegis, while still forcing it to concentrate on him.
The Manhunter Command landed, its free left arm drawing out its other beam saber in a backhanded blow; it was data that Ray had personally installed into his machine, and he waited for the Rosso Aegis to close in again. Even with the distance, he could see that the GUNDAM's armor had been barely scratched; he was experienced enough to know, without looking for himself, that with all the movement and battles he had been in since the operation begun, his Manhunter Command would always be the second in a race of attrition.
"... an you hear me, OMNI pilot?"
Ray's eyes narrowed as he spared a glance at the comm panel. His equipment was functioning fine; the sensors hadn't picked up a stray signal.
Which could only mean that, improbable as it seemed, the pilot of the Rosso Aegis was actually trying to contact him.
The digital display of the volume wave meter on the comm panel jumped again. "... know that you can hear me, OMNI pilot. As you can see, we're still not yet dead, so why don't we humor each other and see what we have to offer to the other party?"
Ray hesitated for a moment before securing a separate channel. "And what do insurgents want with an OMNI pilot?"
Rasel Gray, the pilot of the Rosso Aegis, grinned to himself. Whatever Kasavok knew, he had put that knowledge to good use; the OMNI pilot had responded, as he had predicted.
"It's simple, really. All you need to do is to turn against OMNI, and not only will you walk away with your life, you'll even gain advantages from ZAFT. Don't tell me someone of your caliber actually buys into the propaganda OMNI is using to keep their rank and file in line?"
"Someone who's never met me shouldn't be referring to my skills or preferences in such a casual manner," Ray replied as levelly as he could, trying to bring his breathing into a more stable pattern. While it took all he had to keep up with the Rosso Aegis, the other pilot, Rasel Grey, didn't even seem to be fazed. There was a relaxed tone in his voice that was unmistakable over the intercom; a person who utterly trusted in the superiority of his skills and tools.
"There's no need to hide behind brave words, Lieutenant Feric. Or should I say, ex-Captain Feric, former instructor of the Atlantic Federation's Advanced Armor Tactics Combat Training Facility."
Ray took a moment to steel himself. "You seem to know a bit about my past."
"I know more than just 'a bit', ex-Captain," Rasel said. "I also know the failed coup de'tat you had a hand in, and your unlikely escape from the grasp of Blue Cosmos, thanks to a traitor in their midst." Rasel paused for a moment, before letting the hammer drop. "Don't you ever regret causing her death?"
"I regret nothing," Ray said, mentally quashing the rising memories. "But you and Kasavok might. We're here to end your little countryside rebellion, Rasel, and nothing will change that. If you surrender, you'll make things less painful."
Rasel laughed. "What blind devotion. Her life was wasted on a dog like you."
Ray gripped both controls again, and his body stiffened, ready to react.
"We really could use a man of your skills, Ray Feric. The Eurasian Federation is bloated. Corrupted. Tethered to the carcass that is OMNI and the Atlantic Federation. We're going to cut our home nation free. If you want to stop us, you'll need to build a road out of our dead bodies!"
The Manhunter Command shifted its stance, holding its beam sabers up."Such is the argument of those taking the easy way out," Ray said. He breathed out once, remembering what he had learnt in the few short weeks at Mannheim Base.
Remembering what Sheryl had said to him. Remembering Kaguya's words. Remembering Guy's reasons. Somewhere out there in Terchova, they were also fighting, all four of them, part of the chosen who had survived the battles up until now.
No. Not chosen. They had fought and earned the right to live, with their own bare hands.
They were here to make sure that the war could not escalate again. And, with time, to dampen it down so that peace talks could begin.
"Easy?" Rasel asked, and Ray detected that the relaxed tone was no longer present in his voice, although it still remained controlled. "You may have the right to say then when you've pilfered one of Phantom Pain's most advanced units out from under them, and all for this day!"
"Like I give a damn. Stealing a trinket is not a measure of skill," Ray replied. Almost immediately, the Rosso Aegis charged, a crimson comet hurtling towards him, and the Manhunter Command lowered its stance, one blade held facing forward, like a rapier, and the other held in a backhand stance, its beam blade slightly shorter.
With a wordless war cry, Ray charged, and the Manhunter Command leapt forward, a dark grey spectre glinting under the sun, and the forest fire that was raging all about them, two units committed to a deadly dance until the destruction of one of them.
CE 73, December 5th, Terchova, Slovakia, South-East Europe
Afternoon 16 25
Alan Reidr watched the landscape pass under his ZAKU Phantom, the unit speeding over the area in a high-powered boosted jump.
"Unfortunately, NEFA seems to be rather serious about using our help," Fernandz had said, back on the Roksova, while Alan had been resupplying. "ZAFT isn't willing to commit to full-scale support of what is largely recognized as an insurgent group, but at the same time, they recognize that this is a good chance to test our opponent's capabilities. Looking at things as they are now, they might not last long enough to give us any meaningful data."
"Is that the view of the ZAFT council, or is that an independent operation from ZAFT Intel?" Alan had asked.
"Which do you think?" Fernandz had replied.
Now, en route to the last command centre for NEFA's SAM sites, Alan could not help but ponder his place in all this. NEFA's suspicious orders aside, he found that such games left a bad taste in his mouth; but then again, he also realized that he had operated in the exact same manner, except on a much smaller scale, during the disruption operations in Africa and the Middle East, prior to ZAFT's assault on the Lohengrin Gate.
Does that make it justified? Playing sides against each other? One hand holding a lantern of light, the other, a dagger wrapped in satin behind the back...
The sound and sight of a second ZAKU Warrior unit alongside his unit pulled him from his thoughts. Grace had exchanged her Slash ZAKU Warrior's ruined equipment with that of a Blaze ZAKU's; she had also appropriated a second beam polearm. Alan didn't need to see his subordinate's face to know what she intended to do.
"Five kilometres to target zone," Fredric reported. Behind Alan's unit, the other mobile suits of the Reidr Team kept pace.
"All units, final systems check," Alan replied. "Once they give the order, we'll end this."
CE 73, December 5th, Terchova, Slovakia, South-East Europe
Evening 16 49
"How unfortunate," Kasavok replied, standing up and setting down his headset. The plastic chair behind him, pushed by his motion, clattered loudly, drawing the attention of the few people and Joachim Rhus, and he set his hands on the cold metal desk, resisting the urge to sweep the radio set in front of him into the ground.
Joachim turned away from the tactical display, waving an aide to stand by for a moment. "What happened? Did Rasel lose?"
"No," Kasavok said. "But it seems I've underestimated the willpower of our friend in OMNI. He refused the offer to join us."
Joachim's face was unreadable. "So he really is just a blind fool after all."
"No. He's definitely not. I knew him through the leaders of the coup d'état. He's not the kind of person to believe in the Atlantic Federation's rhetoric. If he had surrendered, he would have been able to provide valuable data on OMNI's battle plans." Kasavok breathed once. "Rasel won't be able to handle this fight."
"That's quite a long assumption to make," Joachim said, an eyebrow arched.
"Rasel thinks of himself as a dirty fighter," Kasavok said. "While I've never witnessed Ray Feric in action, what I've heard of him seems to prove that there are always higher mountains out there."
"Have heart," Joachim replied. "We've yet to lose. How are our ZAFT allies?"
"They're in the thick of it at the last command centre," Kasavok replied. "I'd wanted them to knock down Feric, but they failed this afternoon; and as I guessed, given the current situation, he should be put on the backburner for now."
"Is he really that good of a pilot?" Joachim asked.
"Pilot skill level is irrelevant – and subjective," Kazavok replied. "But as a former coup member, it's highly likely that he was privy to plans known only between him and one of their leaders; the late ex-Captain Kelvin Genedan. He's the only survivor of that purge that I know of who holds a chance to topple the Atlantic Federation... if we have to go as far as that."
"The Atlantic Federation, huh..." Joachim mused. "Well, it's too much to expect us to have to look that far..."
Kasavok kept his thoughts to himself. But as expected from an officer of a regional defence force, he fails to appreciate the consequences of our failure here. They willoverrun us, either by force of arms or force of numbers, and their frontline forces here are lacking in neither. NEFA is doomed unless ZAFT chooses to step in with more force than they have now.
The only thing to salvage from this situation is to gain the knowledge required to topple the true mastermind of all these... the top dogs in the Atlantic Federation.
As Kasavok watched the big-screen tactical display in the command room, he straightened up. "I'll go out as well, Joachim. They need every hand they can get."
"Do you even have a mobile suit?" Joachim asked, a hint of disbelief in his voice. "If you're planning to go out in a standard unit-"
"I do," Kasavok replied. "And they will regret that they had ever forced my hand."
CE 73, December 5th, Terchova, Slovakia, South-East Europe
Evening 17 07
Sheryl cursed as beam weapons fire smashed into the dirt around them, setting broken branches and leaves alight with their backwash. With the sun beginning to set, light was able to reflect off the ground where weapons fire had hit, the shimmering of colours over fused ground displaying a lightshow that would have been dazzling under any other conditions.
As they were, Sheryl's and Guy's units returned fire, but with the enemy raining fire down on them from the ridgeline, that left very little options for them but to stand and fight.
A Strike Dagger launched another round into the sky, the powerful heavy shot barely missing the Manhunters' mobile suits. From amidst a spray of dirt, Guy's Launcher Dagger L let loose with its shoulder vulcan, a stream of tracers accompanied by a loud roar that echoed across the mountainside. The rounds struck home and demolished the exposed Strike Dagger, but the return fire from the enemy reinforcements scant seconds later forced him to duck behind the shield of his unit.
"How did we get ambushed like this!?" Sheryl said, her own unit turtled behind its shield. "It's like they just came out of nowhere!"
"I wouldn't put it past them to have dug access tunnels underneath this entire mountain range", Guy said. "Or they could be using pre-existing ones. Plenty of places have these leftover relic underground locations from the Reconstruction War; this place is no different."
Sheryl fired a shot upwards the mountainside, forcing a Strike Dagger to duck behind its shield as the beam shot flew perilously close to its torso. "It's always like this, isn't it? Current generation makes war, next generation tries to clean up, and makes war in the process. Ad infinitum."
A deafening explosion that felt as though it would shake all the teeth from his jaw prevented Guy from giving his original reply. Cutting loose a blast with his Launcher Dagger L's Agni blaster cannon, he decided to settle for something else. "Any word from the Blizzards?"
"Nothing since that last transmission. They said that Kasavok's 91th ATS has been confirmed engaging the Blizzards. Thankfully, we've not seen any ZAFT units... yet." Sheryl replied. "If I had to guess, though, Kasavok is probably using his trained units to engage the main force on multiple fronts; he's going to match us asymmetrically in strategy. If we don't manage to destroy that relay station, we won't be able to use air power to steamroll his face in."
Beam fire lashed out from opposite the Manhunters, towards the enemies on the ridge, as two Jet Dagger Ls of the 3367th ATS' first flight returned from their scouting mission. "Zephyr Leader, entering combat!"
The surprise attack caught the NEFA group off-guard, with the first wave of weapons fire taking out three mobile suits. Zephyr Leader engaged his mobile suit's thrusters, the mobile suit righting itself from its flying position to face its front, feet kicking forward to slow its momentum and to stabilize the unit from its precarious balancing during low-level flight; smoke wreathed its flight wings as mounted rocket pods emptied their stores, dozens of smoke streaks tipped with bursts of flames striking the ridgeline in a storm of unrestricted fury. His wingmate kept pace, beam rifle barrel alight with fire, as a second wave of rockets were launched.
Guy and Sheryl added their firepower to the barrage, a veritable hailstorm of beam and heavy-caliber automatic cannon rounds slamming into the reeling enemies from below their position; stray shots that went over them served an accidental purpose as cover fire, kepping the enemy from boosting out of the area. Within moments the enemy had been silenced; of the twelve mobile suits that had attempted to ambush the Manhunters, none remained standing. As Guy and Sheryl joined Zephyr Leader on the ridgeline, they could see the charred bodies of humans, the remains of what were five anti-MS infantry rocket squads. Further down the opposing end of the ridge, Guy's suspicions were confirmed; a well-concealed heavy duty blast door was built into a small mound.
"Looks like we found another entrance," Guy said. "Thanks for the assistance, Zephyr Leader. Any word from the others?"
"None, if you're referring to real-time updates," the pilot replied. "We did find the location of the last command centre, though. We've also made contact with radar and infantry units belonging to your unit; the infantry unit, according to last update, has discovered an entrance much like this one. I've left two of my pilots with them just in case."
"The last command centre?" Sheryl remarked. "Good. Now we can end this."
"It's not going to be easy," Zephyr Leader replied. "Last I saw when I left the area, there were ZAKU units mingling amongst the troops there. The rebels look trained, too; nothing like what we've fought so far. They're probably the traitors from Trencin Base."
"Then we better get there fast," Guy said. "If we don't take that down before they reinforce that point further, the line troops will have to fall back to numbers again... and the least we'll get out of it is losing our lives."
CE 73, December 5th, Terchova, Slovakia, South-East Europe
Evening 17 27
Kaguya's Sword Dagger L ducked as it ran, and with beam carbine in its left arm returned a shot at the general direction where the attack had came from. On the viewscreen Kaguya saw a silhouette fall backwards, but any joy she might have felt was short-lived, as whomever else was up there returned fire with even greater intensity.
This is going to take forever. Kaguya thought.
With a howl permeating the forest valley, the Sword Dagger L leapt into the air, its thrusters ignited in a powerful boosted jump. Shoulder rocket nozzles fired as the Sword Dagger L adjusted its trajectory, avoiding scattered beam shots by a hair's breath. Kaguya's jump vector had placed the setting sun behind her back, affording her a certain degree of protection from her enemies; it was more illusionary than physical, but Kaguya was counting on basic human nature to bring hesitation to their hand. So far, it seemed to be working.
The Sword Dagger L threw its beam boomerang, forcing all three units to duck as the deadly projectile arced towards them. Then, Kaguya landed, her Sword Dagger L's beam sabres flashing twin vertical arcs to the sides of a Strike Dagger that had stood in front of her. The mobile suit had barely lifted its beam sabre off its back rack when its arms were cleaved off at the shoulders in a swift double slash, and a swift smash from the Sword Dagger L with its arm-mounted small shield sent the machine tumbling into the dirt. A GINN beside it turned, sniper rifle held at the ready; a burst of thruster flame, however, availed its efforts to nothing as Kaguya closed the distance, the shot easily missing the Sword Dagger L from under its left arm.
Tucking in both arms, the Sword Dagger L charged, its beam sabres held facing the ground and arranged across each other. The GINN back-pedalled, its pilot clearly in a panic, but Kaguya paid it less attention than she would an insect; in a swift stroke, the beam sabres bisected the GINN at its torso, and the Sword Dagger L ignited its thrusters again, bashing through the separated mobile suit to pierce the last opponent behind it; a Dagger L wielding a heavy cannon. Scattered parts fell to the ground as the Sword Dagger L came to a stop, and pulled its beam boomerang, now inert, from the ground.
As the wreckage around her began to burn, Kaguya turned her mobile suit to face where the sensors had picked up additional contacts; seven Jet Dagger Ls, identified as part of the 3367th ATS, approached her.
"Zephyr Three to unidentified allied unit," a transmission broke through, static marring the voice quality. "Zephyr Three to unidentified allied unit. If you can hear us, please respond."
"Hunter Four of the 108th ATS to Zephyr Two, I read you loud and clear," Kaguya replied. "Where did you guys come from? Reinforcements from the front?"
"That's correct. OMNI has decided on a final push to end this. They want the command centre down as soon as possible. I've received a data package via encrypted burst of the final location."
"Excellent," Kaguya replied. "Now we-"
Alarms blared as the sensors on Kaguya's unit picked up a new group of approaching machines. Unlike the Jet Dagger Ls, however, these contacts came from where Kaguya suspected NEFA's main forces were; a split second later, beam fire lanced out to greet them, further confirming her suspicions. Her gaze took in the information; a Long Dagger in Fortrestra Armor, its high powered thrusters throwing up debris behind it; a group of Strike Daggers, Dagger Ls scattered amongst them, one of them equipped with a Launcher Striker pack, and hanging farther back, two Buster Daggers. Around the mobile suits, the Sword Dagger L's sensors identified other units; a radar truck, missile vehicles, even passive tracing from infantry missile launchers, hiding in the forest.
And, to her mild surprise, shock, and deep down, a sense of anticipation, the bulky form of a Sword Calamity could be seen in the centre of the formation.
"Hunter Four to Zephyr Two, those contacts are from two of Kasavok's special units," Kaguya said. "I don't think they're going in the right way to our main forces."
"I see them," Zephyr Two replied. All around Kaguya, the jet engines on the Jet Dagger Ls ignited one after another; not in the instantaneous burst of long-distanced boost jumps, but the whine of prolonged flight, either for long-distance traversal... or high-speed, low-level aerial combat. "We've got no orders to engage, but given what we've been briefed on them... I don't think this is a fight we can get away from."
Kaguya's Sword Dagger L grabbed the hilt of its anti-beam sword, bringing the weapon from its rack to the front of its unit. The front of the heavy beam blade smashed into the ground, digging a furrow into the dirt in a spray of soil; seconds later the beam blade snapped to life in a stream of plasma, bathing everything around it in an eerie glow that was only halfway hidden by the setting sun. "I concur. Let's make this as quick as possible, then. Leave the Sword Calamity to me."
With both squads positioned at opposing ends, there was little choice but to charge each other. As ONMI and NEFA advanced upon each other, as a private battle in this little corner of the Eurasian Federation, with a part in representing the crossroads that heralded the future of the supernation unfolded, two mobile suits gunned straight for each other, either uncaring, or oblivious to their surroundings.
Kaguya's Sword Dagger L and the Sword Calamity swept straight into each other, anti-ship sword against anti-ship blades; Kaguya knew she could not hope to catch the other unit's attack if she had stuck with her beam sabres. The impact was titanic, the snap of air pressure from the blows tossing a maelstrom of leaves and soil stirred up by their passing high into the air.
The three Sword Calamities of OMNI are something of a minor legend amongst the force, mused Kaguya. But you… well, from whence did they get the parts to repair you? Extras? A cannibalized fourth unit? Or stolen from an OMNI higher-up's latest nefarious plan…?
Kaguya's thoughts were swiftly pushed to the back of her mind as both mobile suits were thrown back, the blow having forced their blades above their heads, but Kaguya's Sword Dagger L turned with the blow, letting the weight of the anti-ship sword drop to a more favourable position before bringing forth a horizontal upwards slash from her left. The Sword Calamity chose to fight inertia, stabbing one of its swords into the dirt as it brought its second blade down to meet Kaguya's strike.
Had Ray not fought the mobile suit before, Kaguya would not have had a chance to study its data. As it stood, while it was faster than her own unit, the moves of its pilot was predictable; Kaguya was experienced enough to know that the number of swords were not proportionate to the chances of landing a lethal strike. As the Sword Calamity parried the blow, the Sword Dagger L let its own heavy blade fall backwards. Kaguya pressed her attack, forcing the Sword Calamity to back off as she reversed the grip her mobile suit had on its weapon, and with its right arm thrust the beam dagger on her anti-ship sword's hilt at its torso; in a blink of an eye the Sword Dagger L's left arm reached out to grip the weapon in a two-handed stance, torso turned sideways to its right, and swiftly changed its stance to that of a sweeping horizontal strike that the Sword Calamity barely caught with its other blade, the NEFA unit reeling from the impact. Its torso glowed brilliant, a sign of its charging multi-phase cannon, but the shotgun blast of energy struck nothing but air as the Sword Dagger L sidestepped, thrusters alight with fire.
The two behemoths continued their unstoppable dance, dust whirling over the ground, beam blades tracing a frenzy of light paths as the snap and crackle of the surrounding air, ionized in an instant by the collision of plasma and magnetic fields, echoed around them, lost to the cacophony of destruction that the other units were unleashing around both of them.
CE 73, December 5th, Terchova, Slovakia, South-East Europe
Evening 18 02
Rasel Grey gritted his teeth in frustration as another blow glanced off the Manhunter Command's beam sabers. The OMNI unit returned to keeping itself just outside of the Rosso Aegis' range, and Rasel moved his mobile suit back. The Rosso Aegis leapt into the sky, and its torso cannon charged up again; with a powerful flash, the GUNDAM unleashed a withering blast from its strongest beam weapon.
Ray had seen this before. The Manhunter Command ran forward, backpack thrusters flaring, and before the Rosso Aegis could sweep its beam over him, he kicked off to the left, the mobile suit dodging at the last moment. Even as the Rosso Aegis adjusted its aim, Ray's mobile suit landed feet out first, and kicked off a second time, propelling itself backwards. Shoulder and leg thrusters burned as the mobile suit twisted in mid-jump to face the direction it was moving in; a spray of charred bark and parched soil burst from the ground as the Manhunter Command landed, before taking off at a full run again.
"We can keep this up all night, Ray Feric!" Rasel said. "You know that your chances of victory here are slim!"
"You surely don't think that those insurgents in NEFA amount to anything more than rabble when it comes to warfighting, do you?" Ray replied, the Manhunter Command keeping itself just ahead of another multi-phase burst. The Rosso Aegis shot through the sky, swinging its left arm down as it aimed for the OMNI mobile suit. "Outside of Kasavok's forces, none of them have been, and will be, a match for any of OMNI that's here today. They'll have better luck going back to bombing hapless citizens and the poor!" The Manhunter Command swung its own left arm up, meeting the blow, and stabbed at the Rosso Aegis with its right sabre, missing the agile mobile suit by just barely. "Saving the Eurasian Federation? Screw off! All you're doing it bogging it down even more with unnecessary trouble!"
"Don't lecture me on my own nation, Atlantic scum," Rasel said, the Rosso Aegis diving down to slam a foot into the Manhunter Command, sending both mobile suits backwards; Ray's unit nearly lost its balance, while Rasel landed his Rosso Aegis gracefully. "I won't let an Atlantic dog tell me what I should do!"
"Beats running around headless," Ray said, searching the tactical map for Aaqil and Navana's locations. They were still trading shots with the Raider Full Specs, although he could see from their movement patterns that the enemy was now more cautious; both the Full Specs lacked their wing flyers, and all that kept Aaqil and Navana from shooting them down was a lack of aerial range and flexibility. "You really think that anyone in NEFA has an idea of what to do in the long-term? It's just the blind leading the blind!"
"You need to learn when to keep your mouth shut!" Rasel said, clashing with Ray again, their mobile suits engaged in a brief deadlock as they strove for physical superiority. Aaqil was too far out, but Navana's path was fairly close to his-
The Rosso Aegis slammed a second beam sabre in from the Manhunter Command's left, the powerful blow knocking the mobile suit to the side as it barely caught the blow; his teeth rattling, Ray scanned the screen for signs of the rest of the enemies, ignoring the alert warning him of his rapidly-emptying propellant tank. This would be his only chance.
"Howl Two!" Ray shouted. "We'll bring that vulture down!"
If Navana was surprised at Ray's wording, he didn't show it. "I got it," the African said, his Wild Dagger stopping to stabilize its aim. The Raider Full Spec swooped as the Wild Dagger's beam shots passed over it, and banked left as it angled in for an attack run.
Ray was pressed into his seat by the sudden burst of acceleration as the Manhunter Command's main thruster fired for an instant, throwing the mobile suit forward and away from Navana's Wild Dagger. On his part, Navana pushed his mobile suit forward at a dead run towards Ray, the quadruple mobile suit digging a hail of dirt off the ground every time its hind legs struck the ground.
Ray barely had time to set up his own mobile suit, its thrusters lifting it off the ground in what seemed like a standard boosted jump. The Raider Full Spec was well into its attack run, guns blazing, as the Wild Dagger made a final leap and set itself onto the shoulders of the Manhunter Command. With the sound of metal-on-metal contact, the Wild Dagger leapt off the customized Dagger L, pushing it forward and back towards the ground as it flung itself at the Raider Full Spec. Beam blades active, Navana's manuever struck the enemy square on its left, the Wild Dagger twisting its frame so that the beam blade on its back sliced through wing and body of the Raider Full Spec.
Transforming in mid-air, the Wild Dagger caught the wounded Raider Full Spec just before both mobile suits passed each other. The combined weight sent both mobile suits crashing into the ground; the difference was that the Raider Full Spec was now silent, a hole burned into its cockpit block, while the Wild Dagger stood back up.
The Manhuter Command was still active, albeit with stress damage warnings blaring in the cockpit. "Howl Two!" Ray shouted. "Take the other one!"
Navana didn't need to be told at all; the Wild Dagger already away by the time Ray finished his sentence. The other Raider Full Spec was angling into the sky, its pilot knowing full well what a Wild Dagger was capable of. The aerial mobile suit twisted, Navana's shots grazing its right wing, but the drop in airspeed was all that Aaqil needed to score a perfect follow-up shot, the beam slicing through both the right sub-wing and the mobile suit's own wing.
Even as the aerial mobile suit transformed, landing heavily on its feet amidst a rain of slag and debris from its ruined subwing unit, Aaqil's Wild Dagger rushed down his opponent, the four-legged mobile suit rapidly transitioning into bipedal form to embed both its beam sabres into the Raider Full Spec's torso. The enemy mobile suit held its poise for a moment, before slumping into the ground, its body bereft of both power and pilot to keep it up.
The Rosso Aegis alone was left silhouetted against the flickering flames around the battlefield. "We have you cornered, Rasel," Ray said, as the three mobile suits advanced on the Rosso Aegis. "End of the line."
Rasel was silent for a while, before he laughed, a short, bitter sound. "Really? So you sunk two Raider Full Specs. Big deal. But still, I applaud you people. I guess even those trained by Phantom Pain are nothing compared to actual veterans of 'that war'."
"This basta-" Navana started, but Aaqil cut him off.
"I'm reading reinforcements coming in!" the Afghan said. "Aerial units... these are DINNs?!"
"ZAFT!?" Navana said. "No, it's a different IFF with this group! And their flight pattern... drones?"
"You didn't think we'd just match you in a straight fight, did you?" Rasel said. "They're target spotters. Unless your air forces are daring enough, we'll see your land forces wasted within the next few hours!" The former Phantom Pain pilot grinned. "Looks like the leadership decided to pull out all the stops after all!"
"Missiles! Long-range artillery types!" Aaqil said, as streaks of light reached into the evening sky. "If they rain on the frontlines with those..."
"Take the relay tower!" Ray said. "Clear the airzone! The airforce can afford to take a few scrapes of their own, but they need that tower down to get close enough!"
Both Wild Daggers transformed into their quadruple forms, but before they could charge off, new units landed on the battlefield, forming a veritable line of machines.
"Oh, for you, those drones aren't the worst of it. You brought this upon yourself, Ray Feric," Rasel said, suppressing the urge to laugh. "Really, if you'd just joined us, and your friends over there, too, you could have avoided all this. It would have made our victory that much sweeter, too, but... well, I guess at this point, beggars can't be choosers, eh?"
The leading machine of the new group of units straightened up, the grey-black Blaze ZAKU Phantom rising. Beam rifle in one hand, beam tomahawk in the other. Around it, its compatriots rose as well, grey spectres with marred silhouettes in the hazy, heated air, foreboding titans outlined in crimson war paint in an orange-hued, flame-wreathed battlefield.
A Blaze ZAKU Warrior twirled its beam polearm menacingly, thrusters flaring in anticipation. Two ZAKU Warriors, one a Blaze model, and the other a Gunner model, hefted their beam rifles. Behind them, a GuAIZ R stood, Cattus recoilless guns balanced on both shoulders, mounted railguns unfolding in preparation. More units landed, spared from the defence of the command centre on Rasel's order; mobile suits from other locations, some with the crests of OMNI hastily painted over. Traitors from other regions. A Sword Dagger L here, a 105 Launcher Dagger there, even a Fortrestra Duel Dagger, its shoulder cannon barrel glinting from the fires around it.
For Ray, time froze. In an instant, his fire had turned to ice; hope, into less than despair. Into nothingness.
"All Raiders," Alan said. "Focus on the twin-horns. Leave the rest to the others."
Afterword:
We're now in full swing in the high point of the NEFA arc. This part was initially much shorter with a more clearly-defined 'VS mode' scenario going on, with most of the named representatives for each side being set against each other. However, I thought that the initial portrayal of ZAFT did not do justices to them in this scenario, since after their first meeting the Reidr Team then gets bogged down by bureaucracy and stick on the land battleship for the duration of the battle, so Alan and friends have been rewritten into the second half to make the story more believable. Due to that, the next chapter has been drastically changed as well.