Falcon of Tekkadan
Chapter 40: Lit by a Blazing Sun
Kenji was still in Orga's office, both were thinking about what they could do to help the Turbines. Merribit was also there to give reason to any options those two will come up with. They already heard from Mikazuki that McMurdo will not fight against Gjallarhorn just to save the Turbines.
"This is a complete nightmare, and I can't wake up." Kenji said.
"Dang it." Orga slammed his fist on the desk. "We know that Naze is being framed, but Old Man chose to act like he's not a part of it. The Arianrhod Fleet is closing in on him. I'll..."
"If you act now, Tekkadan will become an illegal organization like Turbines. Mr. Naze knew that, so he told both of you not to do anything." Merribit reasoned.
"We know that!" Kenji and Orga said at the same time.
"But, we want to save him." Orga said. "He's my brother..."
"And my Uncle..." Kenji said.
"You two will crush Tekkadan." Merribit said.
"Thanks for pointing that out..." Kenji said.
"But are we still wrong for wanting to save him?" Orga asked. "I..."
Suddenly, Shino and Akihiro walked inside the room.
"That's so unlike you, Orga. I thought we were supposed to keep moving forward." Shino turned to Kenji. "And this the first time I've seen Kenji freak out like this."
"Shino, Akihiro." Orga said.
"Yeah, sure, laugh it up. What's your point?" Kenji asked, glaring at Shino.
"Where are the Turbines?" Akihiro asked.
"At a relay station outside the range of Ariadne. I believe he's planning to let the non-combatants escape there." Merribit answered. "But Gjallarhorn's fleet is closing in on them."
"I guess it's a job for us then." Shino said.
"Wait. What?" Kenji asked.
"What do you...?" Merribit asked.
"We'll go take the escaped girls into custody with my Ryusei Unit and Akihiro's Muscle Unit." Shino said.
Kenji blinked. "The what unit?"
"Hey Shino. What do you mean, Muscle Unit?" Akihiro asked.
"You don't want a lame name like Second Unit, do you?" Shino asked back.
"Do you understand what you're saying? If Tekkadan acts now..." Merribit said.
"We just have to not fight them, right?" Shino asked.
"We're just going to help some civilians." Akihiro said.
"I cannot consent to that. We cannot have Gjallarhorn find Tekkadan there. You cannot take the ship." Merribit said.
"We know that, too." Akihiro said.
"My Ryusei-Go, Akihiro's Gusion, and Ride's Riden-Go will go first." Shino said.
"First?" Merribit asked.
"We'll carry Ryusei-Go and Riden-Go on a Kutan with a rocket booster. We'll equip Gusion with the latest booster pack. We already have Yamagi and the others on it." Shino explained.
"You guys..." Orga said.
"We were just doing an operational test near the relay station, and we just happened to pick up the non-combatants who escaped. That way, it wouldn't be going against what Naze said." Shino turned to Kenji. "You're coming along as well Kenji. We've already arranged for Phoenix to be prepared as well.
"Boss, please let us go." Akihiro said.
"You're not the only one who's indebted to Turbines." Shino said.
Kenji turned to Orga. "This is our chance to save Uncle Naze and the girls, please Orga."
Orga was silent, then he made a bow. "Shino. Akihiro. Kenji. Save Bro for me."
"Don't worry. We intend to." Kenji said.
Kenji, Shino, Akihiro, and Ride went to Ares to get into their Mobile Suits and prepare them for launch to the relay station. Kenji was already seated in Phoenix, which had a booster pack similar to the one on Gusion.
Yamagi's voice came online. "We already have the trajectory calculated, so don't mess too much with Kutan's controls."
"Roger that." Ride said.
"Be careful, Ride." Shino said.
"You too, Shino." Yamagi said.
"If you're ready, let's get going. We don't have time. Be prepared." Akihiro said.
"The lives of every Turbine member rests on our shoulders, do not fail them." Kenji said.
"Ryusei-Go IV, Norba Shino." Shino said.
"Riden-Go, Ride Mass." Ride said.
"Gundam Phoenix Flame, Kenji Hayabusa." Kenji said.
"Gundam Gusion Rebake Full City, Akihiro Altland. Taking off." Akihiro said as Gusion launched with its booster on.
Phoenix was next with its booster on, followed by Flauros and Riden-Go.
"Full throttle!" Kenji said.
"Let's go!" Shino and Ride said.
Even with the speed from the Kutan boosters, it still took some time for them to reach the relay station. Once the four Mobile Suits arrived at the station, they saw Gjallarhorn Mobile Suits opening fire on the fleeing transport ships.
"Gjallarhorn is opening fire on unarmed transport ships? Lord Dunce, how stupid are you?" Kenji asked.
They see Lafter's Hekija run out of ammo.
"Akihiro! Lafter needs help!" Kenji said.
"Got it!" Akihiro proceeds to open fire on the Mobile Suit that was about to kill Lafter. Gusion detached its booster and immediately engaged in combat.
"Akihiro? Why are you here?" Lafter asked.
"Do I need a reason? Go. We'll buy you time." Akihiro ordered.
"We?" Lafter asked.
Shino was next as Flauros engaged in combat, saving Azee. "Yeah, us!"
"Shino?" Azee asked.
Ride "Ms. Azee! I'm glad we made it in time." Ride said as Riden-Go detached from the Kutan.
"Ride!" Azee called out.
"Did you girls really think we'd leave you out to dry?" Kenji asked as Phoenix detached from its booster.
Lafter and Azee were both surprised. "Kenji!"
Kenji and Ride both flew next to Shino then started to open fire on a Gjallarhorn Mobile Suit squad.
"Hurry up and get out of here. We got this." Shino said.
Ride charged at a Mobile Suit with a punch then fired a few rounds at it.
"Your skills are improved." Azee complimented.
"I had a great teacher." Ride said.
"Ride! On your left!" Kenji called out.
Shino managed to take down the Mobile Suit charging at Ride. "Stay on guard, Ride."
"I was just having my moment." Ride defended.
Azee smiled.
Kenji opened fire on the enemy squads with a homing missile barrage. Akihiro fired at the enemy with his rifle.
"Leave this to us. Go protect your family." Akihiro ordered.
"Allow us to be the first line of defense." Kenji requested.
Lafter tried to object. "But!"
"Let me cover your back!" Akihiro ordered.
"Listen to Akihiro!" Kenji insisted.
"Akihiro." Lafter smiled.
"Let's go, Lafter." Azee said.
The two Turbines pilots made their way back to the fleeing transport ships.
"Akihiro. Next time I see you, I'm going to squeeze you real hard." Lafter said.
Akihiro put his hand on his neck. "Why is she going to strangle me?"
"She means that she wants to hug you, meathead!" Kenji said angrily.
"Oh... that makes more sense. And don't call me a meathead, Kenji!" Akihiro said.
Kenji contacts the Hammerhead to speak to Naze. "Hey Uncle Naze, did you really think we were going to leave you out to dry?"
"What the heck Kenji? I thought I told you and Orga to stay out of this." Naze said but still smiled.
"I can see you smiling in there. Thanks for the assist little Kenji." Amida said.
"No problem Aunt Amida!" Kenji said.
The four Tekkadan Mobile Suits continued to hold off the enemy for a few more minutes. Kenji had to use a loaner sword to engage in melee while his new sword was still in production, parts of his thruster wings did take a few hits, which reduced his speed. Then Kenji saw the Hammerhead fire ceasefire signals.
"So, it's come down to this, come on Lord Dunce, show me that you actually have a brain and accept the surrender..." Kenji said.
After a minute or two of silence, the Arianrhod Fleet started to bombard the Hammerhead.
"Lord Dunce won't accept Uncle Naze's surrender? Is he really this stupid?" Kenji said.
Kenji then saw Amida's Hyakuren fly towards the fleet with an enemy Mobile Suit of a newer model hot on her tail.
"Is Aunt Amida going for Lord Dunce? Please kill him, put him out of our misery!" Kenji said.
What Kenji saw next put him in shock, a Dáinsleif team fired a Dáinsleif volley at Amida to stop her. "Aunt... Amida...?"
Amida managed to fire one last shot at Iok's bridge windows before exploding. Then another Dáinsleif volley was fired at the Hammerhead before it scratched Iok's ship and crashed into a nearby ship then exploded.
Kenji was shocked even more. "Uncle... Naze...?"
All Gjallarhorn forces immediately retreated, leaving the remaining Turbines members and the Tekkadan rescue team to take in what just happened. All of the girls started to cry, Ride had tears coming out of his eyes, Akihiro and Shino were frustrated that they couldn't save Naze and Amida, but Kenji was taking it a lot worse. For the second time in his life, he lost a family member to Gjallarhorn, and unlike the first time, he could've actually done something to prevent it. This fact made him do something no one had ever seen him do before... Kenji started crying and he screamed at the top of his lungs.
