The whole division was waiting for the attack to commence. Only minutes until dawn: Athrun and Kira waited anxiously on their radios inserted in their brand new armoured war machines. The sun was barely up until: "All units attack, I repeat, all units attack." the Colonel's voice sounded on the radio, Athrun and Kira revved their engines and sped forward.
Athrun and Kira proceeded forward past the border without any resistance. Columns of heavy infantry were lined up jogging behind them. Athrun dashed in wildly, while Kira approached the area cautiously. Kira contacted Athrun by radio,
"Athrun, slow down! I repeat, slow down! The last thing we want is to get ambushed." Kira said rationalizing,
"Sorry Kira, just worried that's all." Athrun replied,
"Yeah, I know, so am I Athrun." Kira said slowly,
"We're nearing the church, remember to stay about half a mile away from it until we get orders from the Colonel." Kira reminded Athrun of the plans made,
"I know." Athrun replied.
Athrun and Kira stood their ground approximately half a mile away from the church. Athrun and Kira dismounted from their tanks and analyze the surroundings. Every single group faced no resistance at all. The enemy decided to make their last stand in the church area slightly elevated on a light hill. Athrun and Kira both zoomed in with their binoculars looking around the church and its perimeter.
"You see that Kira?" Athrun said pointing to pre-prepared positions: foxholes, trenches, lines of sandbags, tank barriers.
"I wonder how they did that all in one night." Kira marveled at such efficiency,
"That church bell tower looks suspicious and it looks like there's a sniper in the… HOLY JENKINS! TAKE COVER!!!" Athrun shouted running around to the back of his tank as all infantry behind scrambled, the sniper's shot only barely missed Athrun by two inches.
"Holy crap Athrun, we have to take that bell tower out." Kira shouted,
"We can't just hop into our tanks and blast him out, the sniper will shoot us before we even get in." Athrun said,
"Someone get a bazooka up here!" Athrun ordered, three soldiers with bazookas slowly crawled up,
"Can any of you shoot targets that are half a mile away?" Kira asked, no one responded,
"I need you men to at least try, set up a machinegun to suppress that sniper while you three find a suitable spot to shoot that down." Athrun ordered,
"Yes sir." the men responded, as the men scrambled off, Kira came up with a backup plan.
"Athrun, if they can't shoot that target down, we're in deep trouble." Kira stated,
"So what are you suggesting Kira?" Athrun asked,
"When the sniper takes his first shot, we quickly hop back into our tanks and blow that bell tower to smithereens." Kira planned,
"Good plan." Athrun agreed.
When everyone was ready, Kira gave the signal to commence with the plan, a machinegun squad moved to the side, setting up their light 30cal machinegun and started spraying, while the three bazooka men went the opposite sides to find a spot to fire. The sniper fired hitting one bazooka man, Athrun and Kira quickly jumped onto their tanks and jumped inside into the safety of their tanks. Kira was quick to react, aiming his tanks cannon towards the bell tower and then firing. The shot was a direct hit, blowing the bell tower up.
Stellar and the MP's were glad to find their own troops coming in to relieve them at the Battalion HQ. She was still worried about what had happened to Shinn. Stellar and the MP's went out to greet their comrades. Lacus and Miriallia were immediately seen running out. Every other soldier was making their way slowly towards the church and surrounding it once every building was cleared and safe. Other MP's were seen coming out of their hiding places relieved to find their own comrades and not the enemy.
By only half an hour, the whole town had been secured and the church perimeter had been surrounded. The Colonel came to make the preparations for the final destruction of the ZAFT resistance. The Colonel drove down his jeep with a white tag tied onto a pole stuck in the jeep. First, the Colonel went to negotiate their surrender, however. The Colonel sighted the nearest soldier and requested to meet the commanding officer. General Zala came out of the church in formal ZAFT uniform. After formal introductions, General Zala refused to negotiate with the Colonel and demanded for Athrun immediately,
"I don't care who you are sir, I demand at once that you send Athrun Zala to me immediately." General Zala spat with disrespect,
"I'm only going to say this once. Give up now, if you do, you will be treated as P.O.W's in accordance to the Geneva Convention. However, if you do not, we will have no choice but to destroy you." the Colonel said,
"Try and make me surrender." General Zala said,
"Seriously, you are outnumbered, outgunned and surrounded. The wisest decision would be to surrender." the Colonel suggested in a persuasive manner,
"Are you going to get me Athrun or not?" General Zala shouted, "I will be happy to trade him for 5 of your captured men." General Zala offered. The Colonel found this a tempting deal, but he had to consult Athrun about it first,
"You will have my answer in exactly one hour." the Colonel said, both saluted before departing.
The Colonel called Athrun and Kira.
"Listen here you." the Colonel pointed at Athrun, "I don't know how you feel, but a General in there asked for you, he negotiated that he'd release 4 of our men in there for you." the Colonel said,
"What, why does he want me?" Athrun asked in surprise,
"I don't know, he just asked." the Colonel said,
"Did you get the name of the General?" Athrun asked,
"I think it was a General Zala." the Colonel reiterated. Athrun's eyes widened in shock, he was sure that his father had died,
"So do you want to agree to this trade or not?" Kira asked Athrun,
"…I…I…I…" Athrun couldn't make up his,
"Athrun, you can't deal with your father, he's dangerous, he's got Cagalli hostage, he's planning something." Kira said,
"And if I don't give myself up, he'll kill those 4 men and will probably kill Cagalli too!" Athrun shouted back. Kira had no reply to this, and so Athrun faced the Colonel:
"Colonel, I'll trade myself in." Athrun said,
"You have one hour to decide, you don't have to be so hasty about it." the Colonel said,
"I've already made my decision sir." Athrun said sadly as if he wasn't going to make it out alive,
"Athrun, you can't deal with a person like him." Kira complained,
"If Lacus was held hostage, what would you do?" Athrun asked hypothetically. Kira was yet again stumped by Athrun.
Stellar eventually made it to the front where the surrounding troopers were standing by for the orders to attack.
"Loussier, you made it alive." the Colonel said, happier than ever, "But where's Asuka?" the Colonel became worried,
"Stellar don't know sir, no one has heard from him." Stellar sadly replied,
"He's either dead, or held as a hostage holed up in that church." Kira suggested,
"Shinn is not dead." Stellar shot back, taking offense to what Kira said,
"Shut up Yamato! Asuka's a damn fine soldier." the Colonel also took offense to his statement.
Analyzing the battlefield, the defenses were a network of trenches, foxholes and machinegun nests that resulted in a series of killing zones that proved a serious hazard. An assault had to be made where the prisoners taken hostage would not be risked in any way. This is where tactical improvisation had come handy to the head smart Colonel thinking outside and around the box. However, if the enemy were slightly alert for too long, the prisoners would most probably be executed. On pen and paper the Colonel planned out an assault on the church after an intelligence recon report was given. Almost all fifty were seen outside the church, meaning that only several others were holed up in the church. A master plan was made including: deception, distraction, diversion and destruction against the enemy; a plan that seemed too brilliant to be true.
The hour was up, Athrun was ready to give himself in,
"Good luck Athrun." Kira said before Athrun entered the jeep,
"You too Kira." Athrun replied. Athrun was taken on a jeep, disarming himself of any weapons. Athrun was at the church as promised in a jeep with a white cloth.
Meanwhile, in the church room where the prisoners were being held, General Zala walked towards the prisoners,
"You three, get up." General Zala pointed to the MP's, "You too medic, get up." General Zala continued, everyone chosen by General Zala got up very slowly, "It's your lucky day, you're all going free." General Zala said,
"Sir, what about him?" Dearka pointed to Shinn, badly injured and looking very pale,
"So I don't care, he's staying!" General Zala yelled. Dearka could do nothing, he approached Shinn and dropped the remaining two shots of morphine into his breast pocket and whispered into his ear: "If the pain is too much, just give yourself a shot." Dearka whispered before getting up again.
General Zala was out to greet Athrun with the 4 prisoners as promised,
"Ah Athrun, so glad to see you." General Zala welcomed coldly,
"Now let them go father." Athrun said gesturing to the prisoners,
"Alright, off you go you maggots!" General Zala said releasing the prisoners, as Dearka passed Athrun:
"Good luck Athrun." Dearka said,
"Thanks." Athrun whispered back. Athrun watched as the 4 prisoners drove away on a jeep while they left him to the mercy of his father,
"I was meaning to talk to you Athrun." General Zala said with a disgusted face, "Now get inside my boy!" General Zala ordered pointing into the church.
As the 4 prisoners made it to the Colonel, Kira was glad to see Dearka alive and well,
"Hey Dearka, good to see you." Kira shouted,
"Sup Kira!" Dearka replied. Unexpectedly, Miriallia came out screaming, the two met with a hug and a couple of tears, "Dearka, I thought you were dead." Miri cried,
"Me? Dead?" Dearka said, "Not even a truck coming at the speed of light can stop me." Dearka joked,
"You're such an idiot!" Miri laughed. The Colonel approached the two, "Doc, save that for later, we have more important things to discuss." the Colonel said. Dearka had knowledge of who was still inside and the description of the interior of the church. Dearka explained everything in as much detail as possible,
"Sir, Shinn is still in there; he was tortured almost to death by that crazy General. I don't think he can survive any longer. He's in a lot of pain and needs medical attention." Dearka blurted out after he answered as many of the questions asked by the Colonel. Stellar overheard in horror,
"God damn that son of a bitch!" the Colonel said silently, "I swear that I'll kill him myself if Asuka passes away on me." the Colonel blurted,
"And another thing sir, there is another hostage in there, the princess of ORB, she is pregnant and her child is in serious danger if the General gets a hand on her." Dearka said,
"What?" Kira yelled, "Cagalli's pregnant?" Kira asked in surprise,
"I'm afraid so." Dearka said regretfully.
The Colonel had completed the finishing touches of his plan of assault; however there was just one problem,
"The assault will have to wait until tomorrow at sunrise." the Colonel concluded, Kira was less than happy,
"Sir, we don't know what General Zala will do to them in there, we have to attack now!" Kira demanded,
"Captain Yamato I understand how you feel, my best damn soldier: Asuka is being tortured to death in there, but God damn boy you have to use your noodle for once." the Colonel said,
"Sir, if we wait, they probably won't be alive by tomorrow." Kira complained,
"That's why we keep stalling them." the Colonel said,
"Stall? How?" Kira asked curiously,
"By continuously negotiating with them and offering them fake solutions." the Colonel said,
"Yes sir." Kira said.
The Colonel gathered all his field commanders together to brief them on the plan.
"Alright listen up, the enemy defenses around the church consists of tank barriers, trenches, foxholes and sandbags; so a tank assault won't work. They have 6 squads of men equally spaced out with two machinegun squads filling the gaps and with two squads on the rooftop of the church leaving the rest of them holed up in the church of about another squad. So here is the plan." the Colonel devised:
"Just after sunrise, when the sun comes up from the east, I want a diversionary attack on the northern and western flanks of the defenses. Two squads are going to rush the northern trench with grenades while a machinegun squad suppresses the enemy machinegun squad in the sandbags, while the western diversion will have two squads rush the western trench with grenades and suppressing fire. The east will be the real attack. About 6 squads will be in waiting while a machinegun squad suppresses the enemy machinegun nest then rushed by one squad." the Colonel continued,
"Captain Yamato, you will be in your tank firing HE(high explosive) shells into the rooftop continuously; by doing this, the occupiers inside the church will have no choice but to take cover with their heads down, leaving them no choice but to leave the prisoners while trying to find cover." the Colonel said,
"While this is all happening, 5 squads will attack the eastern trench in both sides; since the sun always raises from the east, the two enemy squads will be somewhat blinded by the sunlight meaning they will clear the trench and then quickly encircle the church. Captain Yamato, when you see that our squads are approaching the church you will cease fire while our squads bust down the front and back door, eliminating the enemy inside and rescuing the prisoners." the Colonel planned to perfection. All officers were speechless, the plan seemed perfect… too perfect,
"Any questions?" the Colonel asked, one sergeant immediately stood,
"Sir, if there are only 3 prisoners, why are we risking the lives of dozens of more men if we can just bombard them without any casualties with the exception of the 3 in there?" the sergeant asked,
"That is an excellent question. I'll tell you why: if you were in there sergeant, wouldn't you want someone to rescue you?" the Colonel asked,
"Isn't what we are going to do tomorrow what freedom, honour and justice defines in this world? So you have to tell yourself; what does your heart tell you is right and what is wrong?" the Colonel concluded. Everyone stood silent for a moment and then came thunderous applause from everyone, soldiers that were around to hear what the Colonel had to say all applauded as if he was their hero.
Meanwhile, Athrun was thrown in the room with Cagalli, they were both relieved to see each other again, "Cagalli, I thought for a moment that I lost you." Athrun held Cagalli tightly,
"Athrun, I can't believe you traded yourself in just to see me again, you're so sweet." Cagalli said with a slight smile, "Athrun." Cagalli called out,
"Yes Cagalli?" Athrun replied,
"I have to tell you something." Cagalli said quietly,
"What is it?" Athrun asked,
"I'm pregnant." Cagalli stated, Athrun could barely speak,
"…That's… wonderful Cagalli, but the baby is in danger… you know what father will do to you, and if he does…" Athrun couldn't continue,
"I know Athrun, I know." Cagalli said, however, General Zala was listening into the conversation from next door almost angered, but something repelled him from being angry and taking the anger out on them.
Almost unaware that Shinn was also listening, "Now I wonder if Stellar's pregnant." Shinn said weakly with a smile, Athrun saw Shinn in pain looking extremely pale and weak,
"Shinn! By God, what did they do to you?" Athrun said in shock; he had never seen anyone so beat up before,
"Some General tortured me." Shinn said still in the same weak, quiet tone,
"Don't worry Shinn, we'll be out of here soon, the Colonel will probably make a deal for our release." Athrun said,
"Why not assault this place and rescue us?" Shinn asked,
"This place is defended too well, he wouldn't want to risk our lives. Trust me, one false move and we'll be dead." Athrun stated.
General Zala moved from one room from the next, "Rey, how's the defenses?" General Zala asked,
"They seem almost impenetrable for an infantry assault sir and I don't think they wouldn't risk bombarding the place." Rey suggested,
"You're right, they wouldn't." General Zala agreed. Lunamaria came inside quietly,
"Sir, an enemy officer tried to contact you sir, he said his commander wanted to negotiate, but my squads sent him away." Lunamaria reported,
"Why the hell did you send them away?" General Zala looked angry,
"Sir, what might they offer us that we'd accept?" Lunamaria rhetorically asked,
"Next time they send a negotiator, you send for me, I want to hear their offer." General Zala ordered,
"Yes sir." Lunamaria said in dissatisfaction.
General Zala decided to listen further into the conversation of the prisoners; he walked slowly up to the door and listened closely. He heard Shinn in pain,
"Shinn, you alright?" Cagalli asked,
"Yeah, I'm feeling good, of course I'm not alright, hurts like hell." Shinn tried to yell, but came out as a weak moan, Shinn breast pocket where the morphine is, but the pain on his shoulders restricted him from going in,
"What are you trying to do?" Athrun asked,
"There's morphine in my pocket, I need you to get one for me." Shinn said. Athrun reached in and grabbed a shot, however, General Zala burst in calling the guards. The surprised prisoners looked in fear, General Zala snatched the morphine and took the remaining morphine in Shinn's pocket. General Zala then ordered his guards to:
"Take that boy to the interrogation room." General Zala pointed at Shinn.
Hope you liked it, next chapter or maybe the one after that: one of the main characters is going to die (T_T)
Don't worry, that person will die heroically... or maybe not... or maybe of a freak accident... you never know!!!
