Mobile Suit Gundam Wing: Revolution
Book Three, Chapter One
Dorothy Catalonia cursed as she wheeled her Tallgeese unit through the depths of space, her weapons blazing. Colony L1-BO4467 hung in the darkness below them, the space around the colony swarming with Mobile Suits as they zipped around on thrusters, trying to kill each other.
Two Leos raced at Dorothy, weapons blazing as they swept in fast. Quick bursts of her thrusters got Dorothy clear of the attack, then she drew and ignited the suit's beam saber and cut both of them down with a single strike.
"Helen, report!" Dorothy growled, keying the communications link to her headquarters inside the colony.
"I have bad news," Helen responded after a second or two of lag, "someone has attacked our forces inside the colony too. The hostages have been freed."
Dorothy cursed, then swiftly brought her anger under control. "It had to be the White Fang," she growled as the battle raged around her, "they were just pretending to negotiate with us."
"It seems so," Helen agreed. "Ma'am, we cannot hold the colony, not with our current numbers," she advised seriously.
"I know," she acknowledged, watching the combat. Dorothy knew her OZ pilots were doing their best, but there were just too many colonists out there, along with a Gundam and the original Tallgeese unit.
"Ma'am, what do you want us to do?" Helen pressed, sounding just a bit frightened.
Dorothy scowled, knowing there wasn't much choice left. "Load Shiori into the spare Tallgeese," she ordered, "and have Casval Winner deploy in the Gemini. We don't have the option of saving them anymore."
"I don't think Shiori is stable enough to...," Helen started.
"We don't have time for this," Dorothy activated her thrusters as one of her pilots died in flames, zipping in to kill his attackers with deadly strikes, "If we don't launch her now, we will not have a chance to do so in the future."
"This is against my advice, but understood," Helen nodded. She smiled grimly, "Meuller is launching in a Tallgeese as well, ma'am."
"Well, let's hope he's actually loyal to us instead or just to Trize," Dorothy sighed, knowing she needed every pilot she could get, now.
In another part of the colony a violet haired woman walked beside her attendants, the young lady strikingly beautiful even with the rose crest that had been burned into her cheek. "Is it time to see Juri?" Shiori asked, her expression thoughtful.
Asuna, a OZ medic, kept pace with the young woman as they entered the outer section of the colony where the mobile suits were kept. "Not yet," the red head said, "but soon. Right now Miss Catalonia needs your help."
"Dorothy?" Shiori echoed, her eyes looking off in the distance, "Yes, I remember her. She took me out from the asylum, you know. I hadn't been out in such a long time."
"Let me help you into your flight suit," Asuna urged her as she hustled the slightly vague young woman into the change room.
"Thank you," Shiori smiled as she removed the plain jumpsuit she had worn, slipping on the modified Specials flight suit prepared for her. She touched the rose crest of her uniform thoughtfully, then looked at Asuna, "Do you know what this means?"
"No, I don't," Asuna said as she passed the suit's helmet over.
"It means I'm a duelist," Shiori smiled at her madly as she advanced on Asuna, "and I can do anything I want."
"Wha...," Asuna started when Shiori swung the helmet, smacking her hard in the face. She staggered backward, hitting the wall as the pain blinded her a moment. She tried to get her wits about her but Shiori was too fast, following up with another powerful swing of the now bloody helm.
Asuna's nose broke with a wet crack as she bounced hard up against the wall, then Shiori punched her viciously in the gut. Blood dripped from the woman's face as she doubled over, sobbing weakly in pain and confusion. "You have to understand," Shiori grabbed her by the hair and forced Asuna to meet her eyes, "only the worthy will survive to see Revolution."
A few minutes later Shiori walked out of the change room, her flight suit splattered with blood. With a sure step she strode across the walk ways to where the Tallgeese waited, the massive mobile suits looming over the small woman. She reached out from where the walkway lead to the access hatch in the chest, smearing a bit of blood on the metal.
"I baptize you in blood," Shiori murmured as she pressed the switch to open the hatch, "serve me well." The simulators had taught Shiori well, and the young woman swiftly brought the Tallgeese online. She activated her helmet's communication's system, then sat back a moment as the comforting sound of battle communications washed over her.
"Shiori?" the voice interrupted her meditation, "Are you prepped for launch?"
"Yes Helen," Shiori answered, opening her eyes as she keyed in the command to depressurize the bay, "I am launching now."
"Did officer Asuna leave you?" Helen asked curiously, "She hasn't reported back in."
"I'm sure she's on her way," Shiori lied cheerfully. As the air rushed out of the bay Shiori saw a flash of red off in the corner of her eye. Turning her head she saw the corpse of Asuna floating in the now weightless, airless bay, a cloud of blood swirling prettily around her.
"Good luck," Helen offered as the last of the air went and the outer bay doors opened.
"Tallgeese, launching!" Shiori declared, keying her thrusters on and bodily tearing free from the gantry that had been surrounding the mobile suit.
Out in the chaos of combat Wu Fei cursed bitterly as the black haired young man saw another Tallgeese launch from the colony. Soon after a unfamiliar Mobile Suit deployed, with bulkier armor and carrying some type of heavy rifle. "Zechs," he called even as he cut down a Leo casually, "two new suits, incoming!"
"I know," Miliardo Peacecraft answered briskly, the pilot expertly handling his Tallgeese Zero. "I need to get to Dorothy," he said flatly.
"We can buy you some time," Wu Fei conceded reluctantly, "but why?"
"Hopefully I can talk her down," Miliardo answered, "and if not... I think I have the best shot at taking her."
"Fair enough," Wu Fei answered, "but don't kill her. I think Noin called dibs on that."
"I'll do my best," Miliardo answered as Wu Fei, colony forces and White Fang troops tore into the OZ forces, buying him some time.
Dorothy saw the Tallgeese racing towards her, and her hands tightened on the controls. A request for communication came up on her control panel, and Dorothy acknowledged it. "Well, it's been awhile," she told Miliardo with a faint smile.
"Dorothy, order your forces to stand down," Miliardo ordered, flatly even as he swung, his suit's beam saber stopped by her swiftly moved arm shield.
"Never," Dorothy unleashed her suit's customized lash, driving him backwards a moment.
"We've just received a update from our forces," Miliardo dodged back then fired his suit's rifle, nearly clipping her, "the situation has changed."
Dorothy barely dodged, once again shaken by how good Miliardo really was in a mobile suit. "I doubt in any way that matters," she hissed, trying to get a shot.
"Yes it does!" Miliardo growled as he swept in, nearly taking the Tallgeese's head off with a swipe of his beam saber, "Akio Ohtori has seized Libra!"
"What?" Dorothy froze, blinking in surprise even as the battle raged around them, the two suits floating just meters apart.
Dorothy knew who Akio Ohtori was, of course. She, Miliardo, Treize and others had received their duelist rings from him, and the promise that the power would be theirs if they won. None of them trusted the smooth, aristocratic man, but the information and influence he offered had made things easier for them all. The idea that he had betrayed them wasn't shoking, but the scale of stealing the new battleship was...
"How?" Dorothy demanded tersely.
"I don't know," Miliardo shook his head intensely, "I don't think even Treize knows yet, but I cannot imagine that the man called 'End of the World' will do anything good with Libra."
Dorothy hesitated, not knowing if this was a trick or... but she knew Miliardo, even if it was in the past. He might fight her, he might even hate her now, but she felt certain he wasn't lying to her. She saw a flash of light in the distance and moved, swiftly shoving Miliardo's Tallgeese aside as she yelled, "Look out!"
The beam saber swept where Miliardo would have been, crackling with energy as Shiori attacked, her blade continuing through to slice across Dorothy's suit arm. "Oops," Shiori noted mildly, "Why did you push him aside?"
"Shiori, stand down," Dorothy ordered, watching the arm with her beam saber spin away off into space.
"No," Shiori answered cheerfully. Her tone changed, darkened, "Where is Juri, Miss Catalonia? I want my Juri... I have so much to tell her."
"Miss...," Miliardo started.
"Don't talk to me!" Shiori flared angrily, spinning towards him as she brought her rifle up for a point blank shot. "Men lie! They all lie! You're lying to me just like Ruka!"
Dorothy felt a dull sort of horror as she realized Shiori was even more unstable than she had thought. "No, Shiori," she quickly said, "Miliardo is here to help us. He knows where Juri is!"
"He knows?" Shiori's voice became much more gentle, "I can see my beloved Juri again? Oh, that will be so..."
She didn't have a chance to finish the sentence as a beam of pure energy shot up from below, lancing the Tallgeese. The bolt probably killed the madwoman instantly, the explosion certainly finishing the job as the heavy suit detonated from the damage.
"Who...?" Miliardo asked as the bulky Gemini mobile suit roared up towards them, the heavy canon glowing faintly as it dissipated the remaining energies from firing.
"Casval Winner," the blond haired young woman identified herself as she came up on both their screens. "I apologize for the suddenness of my actions, but they were necessary."
"I could handle her," Dorothy said flatly, still not trusting the younger woman.
"Handling her is irrelevant," Casval answered bluntly as she continued, "before she launched Shiori beat to death her nurse, Asuna."
"She what?" Miliardo blinked, wondering what sort of operation Dorothy was running.
"I see," Dorothy conceded, sighing. She looked over at Miliardo, "You're certain of your data?"
"I'd bet my life on it," Miliardo answered.
"Well, now you're betting mine," Dorothy said grimly. She switched to a 'all units' line and hailed her forces, "All OZ mobile suits, stand down! I repeat, stand down!" She heard Miliardo passing similar orders to the colony forces and smiled grimly, 'Well, I wonder if Akio planned on this?'
To be continued...
Notes: 'Book Three' will probably be shorter, and will be the final book of the series. Assuming I don't get too distracted by other things.