Chapter 6
2/10/2021- Fixed error.
Merc
Merc and the other AIs had been conversing with each other about what to do once their assignment was over when they heard some screaming down the road. Looking where it originated from, the AIs were all stunned when they saw several electronic cars were going far beyond the speed limit. Two GM troopers tried to stop them, but were forced to jump to the side when they refused to stop and were going straight for them. With that, Merc and the others had no choice but watch as one of the cars crashed into the restaurant that Kai and the girls were eating while the others stopped near them. Before any of them could do anything, a GM trooper platform warned everyone of a rocket launcher before being shot with a grenade in the head, blowing it up.
As the GM trooper fell, the remaining machines drew out shields that the shields used by GM mobile suits as they confronted the drivers and their passengers. Meanwhile, Kai's news crew took cover in the barber shop as the fighting commenced.
Looking through the small slot in his shield, Merc could make out a dozen men armed with assault rifles with grenade launcher attachments or rocket launchers, one of which was reloading. All of them wearing old Principality of Zeon uniforms. Seeing the obvious threats being the rocket launchers, Merc utilized his water cannons and fired directly at the two men using rocket launchers, sending them flying off their cars. He then fired two smoke grenades at the group as they fired on the security team, whose shields were barely holding on against the grenades launched from their launcher attachments. The moment the grenades landed near the enemy, they immediately began emitting smoke that quickly filled the area in vision-obscuring smoke. As this was happening, the GM troopers switched their vision over to the infrared spectrum, allowing them to see the enemy. With this, they quickly brought out their small, pistol-like tasers and fired. Their foes spasmed and squirmed as they've been brought down by the weapons of the GM troopers. With them incapacitated, the AIs quickly over to them to arrest them. As this was happening, Kai's crew were looking towards the restaurant where their owner was eating, hoping they were okay. When they saw what had occurred while the machines were fighting, they brightened their optics in horror.
Meanwhile
Kai
"God fucking damnit." Thought Kai as the driver of the car that had just crashed into the restaurant got out of the broken car along with his passenger. Looking at both of them, Kai could see that they both were in their thirties and were clearly pissed off at seeing him and the Federation soldiers in this restaurant. Also looking at them, he saw that their uniforms were dirty with various stains on them. Combined that with their unkempt black hair, bloodshot eyes, and general smell, Kai could guess they were homeless, a result of the war and the Republic's inability to help veterans of the war. Or at least as much as people would like them to do.
Seeing them bringing out submachine guns and pistols, Kai just stayed calm as both Erika and Hepner brought out their pistols and aimed them at the men.
"Stay back!" Yelled Hepner as she pointed her gun at the driver. Though a part of her didn't like the idea of shooting at her own countrymen, she will do it if it meant protecting her friend from danger as well as herself. Erika, on the other hand, was perfectly fine with killing them. These were the type of men that were the reason that Side 3 was in the state they were in right now as well as the reason why people from the other Sides are perfectly fine with the new bill that will cripple them indefinitely. To her, these people were the problem and she was perfectly fine with removing the problem one step at a time.
Seeing the two young women before them, wearing Side 3 uniforms, the men glared at them, offended or perhaps enraged that fellow Zeon citizens were helping a Federation-affiliated reporter, guarding him from their wrath. This fact stayed their hands for a few seconds, but no more because, one of the men looked down at their feet, saw a plastic cup and then expertly kicked it towards both girls, it's leftover contents spilling everywhere. Dodging her head away from the cup as it flew past her head, Erika was to slow to react to one of the men coming straight towards her and disarming her, twisting her arm to force her to let go of her gun.
"Erika!" Yelled Hepner as she saw this before she tried to help out her fellow soldier. Unfortunately, she was then tackled to the ground, where she then felt someone grabbing a chunk of her hair before her head was pulled back and her face met the ground, knocking her out.
Erika screamed out as she was forced to the floor as the man that disarmed her pinned her to the ground. She could do nothing as she saw the other man walk over to Kai who just stood his ground as the man walked up to him.
Staring up at the man that surpassed him in height, Kai remained unmoved as the man glared down at him, his smell becoming worse due to how close they were to each other. As Kai heard the sounds of battle outside, his collar was suddenly grabbed by the man in front of him, forcing the blue-haired man to look at the man as he glared at him with hate-filled eyes.
"You're Kai Shiden." Said the man with such venom that Kai realized that he must have done something personal to this man in the One Year War to make him say his name with such venom. Despite it a bad idea, Kai began to speak back to him with a nonchalant voice. If he was going to die then he was going to do it like a man. A crazy one, but a man, nonetheless.
"Why yes I am." Said Kai with a smirk, infuriating the man. "You got a problem with that?"
"A problem? Yes, I have a fucking problem with it." Growled the man as he held Kai's collar even tighter. "You were on the Trojan Horse during the battle of Solomon. I fucking lost my brother and sister at that battle. And guess what? Their assigned ship was destroyed by a Guncannon mobile suit. A fucking red one.
"Well shit." Thought Kai as he figured out why this man was so pissed at him. Between the loss of loved one, the defeat of his nation in the One Year War as well as the repercussions that come from being the loser in a war, the fact he, probably, lost his job in the military, as well as probably being drunk, Kai figured this was probably going to end very badly if none of his robotic guards come to save him and the girls or else things won't be pretty for them.
Before he could even speak, the man picked him up and slammed him into the wall. Gritting his teeth in pain, Kai heard the screams of the other patrons as they watched all this happen. The Federation soldiers among them gritted their death as they watched this happen, either unsure of what to do or too afraid to die to fight back as they left their weapons back at base, having never thought something like this will happen with the Federation garrison base so close.
"You fucking bastard. Spacenoid that works alongside the government that oppresses your kind." Said the old Zeon soldier as he glared at Kai with his bloodshot eyes. "Selling out and killing your own kind for some coin. You make me sick." He then brought out a knife and brought it close to Kai's face. "I will have my revenge against you and the White Devil for your part in killing my family and for reducing my nation to what it is now." He was then about to bring his knife at Kai's forehead when a large plate was sent flying towards his head, cracking against him. Screaming out in pain and shock, the man let go of Kai before he was suddenly tackled to the wall by a massive brick of metal. Crashing into the floor, Kai saw Crick holding the man that was about to kill him on a wall while Slick charged at the guy holding down Erika, barreling straight towards him.
Shooting at the machine as it barreled towards him, the man glared at the machine as it charged right at him, not moving as he fired at it. Just a few inches before Slick made contact with the man, he stopped and just grabbed the man and forced him to let go of Erika by punching him so hard that he spewed out blood at the machine. Once Erika was free, Slick held the man as he escorted him towards the wall where his friend his before holding him in place there with Crick. As all this was happening, Tick was running towards Kai.
"Sir, are you okay?" Asked Tick in worry as he saw Kai got up. Kai was about to respond when he suddenly winced. Looking at his hands, he saw that there were glass shards embedded in them. Sighing at that, Kai then spoke up.
"Yeah, nothing the doctors can't fix." Said Kai as he looked at the rest of his body for anything else. "You got to check on Hepner though. She took a nasty hit to the head." Tick nodded at that before going over to Hepner and checking her head. He found, to his horror, that she was bleeding from the forehead. Realizing they needed to get her to a hospital quickly, Tick informed of this, to which caused some panic from some of them.
"Get her to the APCs quick." Said Erika as she got up. "There's med kit there that I can use to stabilize her until we get her to an actual doctor. Go!" Nodding at that Tick, gently brought Hepner in his arms before leaving the restaurant, moving slow in order to not make the injury worse. Once he was gone, Erika looked at Kai.
"I'm going to help stabilize, Hepner." Said Erika. "Come with us once you're done with these bastards." She waved at the two men before leaving. As she was leaving Merc and two GM troopers were arriving in. Upon seeing the carnage, Merc let out a metallic sigh before going over to Kai, who was looking at the two men with a disappointed stare before looking at Merc.
"Bring them in, Merc. I want to talk to them on why they decided to attack me in a Side 3 establishment." Said Kai, to which Merc nodded. The military AIs then took over for Kai's crew in subduing the two man. With everything calm now, Kai left with his remaining crew. As they left, they saw the carnage that had happened outside and more old Zeon military folks being subdued by their assigned guards along with other Federation forces that had just arrived. After passing through all this, Kai hoped that Hepner will be alright and that nothing permanent will be inflicted on her.
Few hours later
Federation main base capital colony in Side 3
"You're in luck, Mr. Shiden." Said the doctor as he finished bandaging his hands. "No infection nor any lasting damage to your nerves that'll impede your assignment here. You're quite lucky." Kai just nodded as he let the doctor do his work. As soon as they were able to, Kai's group drove back to the Federation garrison as fast as possible while also being as careful as possible in order to not make Hepner's injuries worse due to sudden bumps on the road or something. They arrived an hour ago and they immediately gave Hepner to a medical unit, who had been prepared long before they arrived due to Erika contacting them of what had happened at the restaurant. Half an hour after they arrived, the men that Kai's security team fought were brought in and were currently being interrogated on for why they did what they did and if they have any accomplices as well.
"I wouldn't really consider myself lucky." Said Kai as the doctor finished bandaging his hands. "After all, it was because of me that those guys attacked in the first place."
"Those men were drunk and filled with bitterness over Side 3's situation." Said the doctor as he looked at Kai in pity. "They would have attacked sooner or later. It was just a matter of time."
"That doesn't help my conscious, doc." Said Kai, looking at the doctor in slight annoyance.
"I'm merely giving you something to think about." Said the doctor. "I'm not the kind of doctor you go to for what is troubling your mind." Kai rolled his eyes at that before asking about Hepner. "Fortunately she was stabilized before she arrived back at this facility. We'll keep monitoring her, but be assured that the likelihood of her dying is impossible. However, she won't be participating in any guard duty to you for some time." Kai nodded at that before thanking the doctor for what he did. With that, Kai then left the medical bay. Upon leaving, he was immediately surrounded by his news crew, asking if he was alright and asking if Hepner was alright as well.
"Relax, guys." Said Kai as he looked at his friends with a smile. "I'm alright and the doctor assured my that Hepner will make it as well. She's not awake though so she isn't ready for visitors." Upon hearing all that, the bots sighed in relief before giving Kai some room to move. Nodding in appreciation at that, Kai then saw Merc coming up to him.
"Good to see you made it through one hundred percent, Kai. Sorry about what happened earlier. But, we had to fight a bunch of other crazies that prevented us from helping out. I'm very sorry." Said Merc, genuinely sorry and showing it through the slightly dipped head of his mobile platform. Kai sighed at that before speaking.
"Relax man." Said Kai. "No hard feelings. I'm just glad that everyone is safe and sound." He then sighed again before asking something that may surprise Merc. "Anyway, the guys you captured. Are they available to be interrogated by me?" Merc was a bit surprised to hear that along with Kai's news crew before nodding. "Good, I want to interrogate one of them. Maybe it'll help me find some stuff for my articles. That and I want to get some more excitement in my life. Can you get me to them?" Merc just processed this request for a few moments before nodding.
"I'll contact Lombard about your request. It'll take a while, but he'll answer." Said Merc before making the call. As he did so, Crick went over to Kai and spoke.
"Are you sure about this, sir?" Said Crick. "Those men are mighty dangerous. They might try to hurt you more if you're alone with them." Kai just smirked at Crick's worry.
"Relax." Said Kai. "This time when we met, I'll be prepared. Besides, can't get things done without some risks." He then winked at Crick before waiting for Merc to finish his call to Lombard.
