Don't own Gundam, never will, its owned by rich people, which I am not
Mobile Suit Gundam: Other Side Of The Barrel
The War between the Duchy of Zeon and Earth Federal Forces has been raging for several months now. With the failure of Operation British and half of their respective forces and populations gone, the Duchy of Zeon and the Federation rebuilding themselves to their original strength. As Zeon begins making prototype Gouf Mobile Suits, The Federation has already deployed the three Mobile Suits that were developed under Project V. As Zeon Ace Char Aznable chases after the "Trojan Horse" and her three Mobile Suits. Other Zeon units begin to attack Federation shipping lines….
1: Opening Shot
"Sir!" Lieutenant Jason Terik yelled as he looked at his radar, "We have three, repeat three Zakus moving in off the port bow!"
"Ready AA Guns! Launch a volley of missiles! Try to locate where they came from!" Captain Hiroki Sharul yelled. His ship, a Magellan-Class named Chimera, had been part of a convoy. The three Zakus that were coming toward his ship had slaughtered the supply ships and the other Magellan assigned to protect the former. "All engines, all ahead full! Bring the Port to face them! We'll show those skirt wearing freaks what a battleship can do!"
As the massive ship lurched to bring its broadside to face the incoming Zakus, it made the Zaku pilots' lives a lot more easier.
"Sir, the ship is bringing the broadside to face us!" Ensign Jill Takashi said. The new pilot had flown only three missions. The first was to destroy the other Magellan, and she succeeded. The second was to destroy the supply vessels. And the third was to finish off what remained of the small fleet.
"Sir, I have a lock on the ships port engine, may I fire?" Lieutenant JG Tycho Ravena asked.
Ravena's bazooka can no doubt take out the port engine, but the rocket has to get there….thought Captain Gavin Horn.
"Alright. Takashi, you cover me. We're gonna clear a path for his missiles, understood?" Horn said as be checked the magazine in his 120mm machinegun. "Move!"
Gavin Horn's customized red, green and black color schemed Zaku and Jill Takashi's Zaku flew toward the battleship. Horn locked onto one of the AA guns and filled the small turret with 120mm shells.
"Missiles! Three o'clock!" Jill yelled. She turned her Zaku to meet the warheads and her blood ran cold. "S-s-s-s-sir!" Jill stuttered out.
"What is it, Ensign?!"
"It's a GM! And it's gonna send you straight to Hell!" a rough voice yelled as the humanoid type Mobile Suit fired its 90mm machinegun. Jill saw the incoming shells and pulled up. The GM kicked its verniers and followed after Jill's Zaku.
"Commander! Get him off me!" she yelled. Shells whizzed past her cockpit as she tried frantically to dodge the relentless attack. The firing stopped and Jill looked down at the GM; it was changing the magazine. She pulled her heat hawk and ignited it.
"Time to die!" she yelled as she raised the heat hawk high. With incredible speed, the GM pulled out the 90mm machinegun up and fired a burst. Shell after shell ripped the Zaku's right arm off, the heat hawk going with it. Another burst of fire and the Zaku's monitors when out. Oh, God, I'm gonna die………
When her cameras came back online, she saw three rockets from Ravena's bazooka rip through the port engine of the ship. The first two cleared a path for the third, which, when combined with the other two, destroyed the aft section of the ship. Bodies and equipment were sucked out of the ship before the section lock-down took effect.
She turned her damaged Zaku to the right to see Ravena's Zaku locked in close range combat with the GM. Sparks and shells exploded back and forth. Neither was gaining an upper hand.
"Takashi! What's your status!" Gavin yelled as his heat hawk ripped through a gun turret on the Magellan class. He jumped away before the unused ammo inside the turret exploded.
"I-I-I-I am alright. My main camera is destroyed, right arm is inoperable. I think I'm leaking fuel," Jill reported.
"Cap'n, finish off the Feddie ship and get Jill out of here! I'll handle this one!" Tycho said as he sliced at the GM's torso. The GM brought its shield to block, and the superheated blade began to melt through the shield. Smoke billowed as the heat hawk sliced through the shield and through the GM's left arm.
"Good luck, Ravena," Gavin said.
He turned his Zaku to face the wounded ship and switched to the two three tube missile launchers that were mounted on its legs. The crosshairs glowed blood red and an annoying bell rang through the cockpit. He hit the trigger and the six missiles launched forth, trailing gray smoke behind them. The first two breached the armor near the center of the ship and the remaining four impacted against the bulkheads within the ship and exploded. Flaming hot metal erupted from the several meter wide hole in the ship. Several pieces going through fuel cells, making the explosion much larger and deadly.
Gavin turned his Zaku and drifted toward Jill's damaged one. He grabbed one of the shoulder spikes and a cable that ran along the side of the torso of the Mobile Suit and began to head back to their ship, the Musai, Ragnarock.
"Tell me Zeek!" the pilot of the GM taunted Tycho, "How does it feel to know you're gonna die in three minutes!"
"You tell me!" Tycho yelled as he slammed the heat hawk into the side of the GM.
Armor began to melt away, then wires and steel. The GM's right hand raised up and pulled, what looked like a hilt from his backpack. The GM kicked Tycho's Zaku back and ignited the beam saber. Tycho's eyes grew large.
"It has a beam weapon………" he trailed off as the GM charged at him.
"Tycho!!" Jill yelled. Tycho snapped out of his trance and brought the heat hawk up to block, but the I-Field surrounded plasma sliced the heat hawk in half.
The beam kept going. It sliced the Zaku's forearm in half horizontally. Tycho shook away the shock and slammed the damaged limb into the GM's head, crushing both the arm and the head. Tycho kicked the GM away and kicked his verniers to maximum. He threw his only cracker grenade at the GM to distract it, if it had backup cameras like Zakus did. He rammed his shoulder spikes into the GM's torso. He kicked his verniers and flew up. The shoulder spikes ripped three large gashes into the GM. He spun his Zaku around and was more than ready to repeat the process, but the GM drifted for a few seconds and exploded.
2: New Orders, New Location
The three Mobile Suit pilots sat quietly in the briefing room of the Ragnarock. One week ago, one of the three pilots was a rookie without any experience, now had two supply ships, and a battleship. For Tycho, a MS kill under their belt. The door slid open and a man, about thirty-three years old, with short black hair and a Zeon Commander uniform.
"Officer on deck!" Tycho announced, and the three MS pilots stood, but were waved down by their commander.
"Lieutenant JG Ravena," Commander Hiro Lorek said, a tiny bit of excitement in his voice, "You have done something very few pilots have done: racked up a Mobile Suit kill, along with two supply ships and a Magellan class."
Three days before their fight with the GM, Tycho had hacked the bridge off of a Magellan off and destroyed it single-handedly while Jill and the Captain held off the five Balls the supply ships had to counter a Mobile Suit attack.
"Also, Good job to you, Ensign Takashi. I read your Captain's report and he said you handled yourself like a true Ace out there. Most pilots, with as much experience as you had when you encountered it, would have panicked. I am saddened and delighted by your progress."
"Sir?" Tycho asked.
"Well," the commander paused for a second. He had served with Gavin and Tycho since the beginning of the war, now they, along with Jill, were going to Earth, "Your unit has been transferred to the Pacific Front. You'll be departing in the re-entry capsule tomorrow. You have also been given new Suits for Earth Since you will be a Marine unit, Ensign Takashi will be piloting a Z'Gok, Lieutenant Ravena, you will be piloting a Gogg and Captain Horn will be piloting a Z'Gok Commander Type."
"Earth? I never thought I would go there," Jill said. Tycho glanced at her. She was no older than seventeen. She had long flowing blonde hair and piercing green eyes. Her body was that of a supermodel: petite, yet voluptuous. She had the innocent ignorance that made her so attractive to him.
"Every time someone says that, we end up going ten steps ahead of 'there'. In this case, the deepest depths of the Mariana's Trench. It's truly amazing…" Tycho trailed off. Jill glanced at him, like he had her moments before. With long blue hair and ashen eyes and a muscular build, yet not quite grown up quality made him seem like a super-genius kid who was in to play with big toys. Which wasn't far from the truth.
"You'll be stationed on a base in the Sri Lanka. Oh. Lieutenant JG Ravena, you've been promoted to Lieutenant First Class. Ensign Takashi, you've been promoted to Lieutenant JG. Good Luck and Godspeed tomorrow. The Ragnarock will cover you as far as we can. Sieg Zeon!"
"Sieg Zeon!" the pilots answered.
*****
"Good Morning, Captain Horn. How are you guys in the Lightning Squad doing?" asked the cheery pilot of the Re-Entry capsule.
"Just dandy. How long 'till we leave?" Gavin asked.
"Three minutes. Your Suit Jockeys better get strapped-" he was cut off by the ship rocking violently.
"We've been hit!" Gavin yelled as he burst into the hangar of the Musai and began to give orders out, "Prepare my Zaku!"
"Gavin! Just get in the damn capsule! We got our replacement Pilots in the Sodon. It'll be here before we take any great damage!" Commander Lorek yelled over the intercom.
"Sir, Lieutenant First Class Tycho Ravena reporting-" Tycho began.
"Like Hell you are! You and Jill get in the capsule now! That's a direct order
"But!"
"Go!"
"I'm not gonna leave you commander!" Tycho yelled. Jill entered the hangar and ran to her teammates.
"Not a word Lieutenant! Get in the fucking capsule before I get insubordination charges on you both!" Gavin yelled from the cockpit of his Zaku.
"Get in the capsule, Jill. We will back in it in three minutes! I promise…" the last two words out of Tycho's mouth seemed softer and kinder than his usual tone. Was it because he was talking to Jill? Or the fact that this was a Suicide Mission? Tycho didn't care, all he did was strap himself into his Zaku.
"Thunder One is ready to launch!" Gavin proclaimed. Seconds later, his Zaku was launched from the Musai and into the midst of a Magellan, a Salamis, and three GM Mobile Suits.
"Thunder Two, all green and burning!" Tycho yelled as adrenaline poured into his system.
His camera came on-line to see Gavin empty a bazooka clip on the Magellan. The explosive shells impacted one side of the ship and sent it spinning towards Earth. It didn't make it that far, because Tycho fired a shot, and it was as lucky as he could get: it hit the reactor. The battleship exploded violently. Debris was flung out all over the plain of battle. Debris peppered the hull of the Musai, but a larger piece ripped through the bridge of the Salamis. Tycho smiled as debris from the bridge stabbed into the hull of the Salamis
"Tycho, they're going after the capsule!" Gavin yelled as he fired a parting round from his bazooka at the Salamis.
"Lightning! Get aboard the capsule! You've got a minute before its too late!" Hiro yelled. He turned to his helmsman, "Put us between that Salamis and our Zakus. If they launch anything, deploy Jill's Zaku!"
"Sir, the Feddie Mobile Suits are behind us and giving pursuit to the Zakus!" the radar officer said.
"Deploy the last Zaku! Have it come up from behind the Feddies and take 'em out!"
"Sir, one of the Feddies is turning around. Oh, God! It's got a rocket launcher!"
"Hard to port!"
"Ten seconds till impact! Ten, nine, eight, seven, six, five, four, three," the ship lurched to port, but was helped when the shell from the GM's rocket launcher ripped through the hangar and through the port side.
The shell cut through the hangar. The crew was sucked out before the shell went on through to engineering. The Zaku that had been inside the hangar had crashed through into Engineering and breached the reactor of the ship. Three people were crashed under the Mobile Suit.
"Damage critical! Two minutes till the reactor goes up!"
"Sir, we're sinking toward the planet!"
"Helm, put the engines to full and get us away from the planet. Try to get the Salamis in our way! Abandon ship!" Commander Hiro Lorek ordered as he went to the helm.
"You will die Feddie scum!" Tycho yelled as he fires three shells at the GM that had doomed the Ragnarock. The first one missed, but the next two hit it in the back and the head. The explosion of a Mobile Suit reactor was Tycho's reward.
"Tycho! Get to the capsule!" Gavin yelled as his Zaku was hit by 90mm
Machinegun fire.
The shells hit the Zaku's knees, chest and head. Sparks and smoked filled Gavin's cockpit. His monitor's shattered as more 90mm shells ripped his Zaku apart. A GM who had a bazooka locked onto the crippled Zaku and fired one shell.
"Tycho! Get to the damn ca-," the transmission ended in static as Gavin's Zaku exploded.
"No!"
3: Fiery Re-Entry
"You hellions!!" Tycho yelled as he fired two shells at the GM that had killed his best friend and commander.
The GM dodged the anger driven shells from the Zaku and fired its own bazooka.
"Tycho! Get to the capsule. You have no more time! I'll cover you guys!" Hiro yelled as the Musai began to fire its mega particle cannons at the Salamis. One blast from a turret nicked what was left of the main bridge, and made the flaming pile of debris that
much larger.
The GMs fired parting shots at Tycho and turned their attention to the down but not out Ragnarock.
"Tycho! C'mon!" Jill yelled over the comm.
"On my way…."
Tycho turned his Zaku toward the capsule as it opened the doors to where it held its Mobile Suits. Tycho lined the landing beacon with his crosshairs. The Mobile Suit took over by bringing its arms at its sides and bringing its legs together. The Zaku moved to where it would enter the hangar lying on its back. When his cockpit went black, Tycho unfastened the safety restraints and sighed deeply.
Today was a bad day for him. The ship he had severed on since before the war was destroyed. His best friends were all dead. Though Tycho had avenged Hiro and the crew of the Ragnarock, he had failed to avenge Gavin. His cockpit opened slowly and Jill stood there waiting for him.
Tycho jumped down and landed on the deck with a soft thud. He took off his helmet and threw it to the ground.
"You better strap in, we are beginning the re-entry now," the pilot of the capsule said.
Tycho looked at Jill, who was wearing a comforting smile.
"You did everything you could, Tycho. Gavin would have wanted at least one of you two to make it to Earth," Jill said as they entered the cockpit of the capsule.
Tycho strapped himself into the farthest seat back, crossed his arms and closed his eyes. The GM that had fired the shell that had killed Gavin haunted him.
"I want to have what combat data I collected on the Mobile Suit that killed Gavin analyzed by the people at the base we're stationed at. I want to have a copy of it myself," Tycho ordered before he drifted off to sleep.
"Aye, sir," the capsule pilot said, "We should arrive at the Sri Lanka Naval Base in a few hours."
Jill looked back at Tycho and walked back to the small hangar. She looked at Tycho's battered black, red and purple Zaku. It seemed to mimic its master's dark personality. She didn't know Tycho well; all she knew was that he was an orphan. Gavin told her that he and Tycho had been friends since high school.
Gavin, a senior, when Tycho first arrived in the school, was a football player and showed great interest in the Side 3 National Guard. He was going to go right to the training after he graduated. Jill didn't know the whole story, but she knew Tycho was being beaten up with four on one odds for being an atheist. Gavin, nor Tycho spoke about what happened, but she knew Gavin and Tycho had been arrested, and that they dropped out and went to the military.
Gavin had been a gunner aboard the Ragnarock while Tycho had been the tactical officer. During the campaign at Ruum, Gavin had shot down two Magellans while he was the chief gunner, and Tycho had set up a trap that allowed Gavin to get the Magellans. They had earned the nickname Duo of Death among Zeon and Feddie ships. When they were commissioned at Mobile Suit pilots, Tycho would often cover Gavin as he executed plans Tycho made. The last weeks missions against the small convoy had been Tycho's brainchild. While Gavin preferred outright attacking, Tycho liked to mess with people's minds.
While the Ragnarock had been docked at Side 3, after the Ruum campaign, Tycho visited to Flanagan Institute to undergo Newtype testing, at Hiro and Gavin's request. Tycho proved to be a Newtype and could get stronger if he stayed at the Institute, but Tycho declined. Jill wondered what Tycho would be doing if he were to have accepted. Would she be alive? Would the Ragnarock still be in one piece? Would Gavin be alive? The questions flooded her mind.
Jill ran her hand along the cold armor of the Zaku. It was like it was a mechanical personification of Tycho. Complex and cunning, cold and heartless, made of steel, implacable. But the Zaku and Tycho were different in one way: the Zaku was controlled, Tycho was not.
"The Zaku has it easy," came Tycho's voice from behind her.
"Lieutenant. I didn't mean to. I meant to disrespect by touching your Zaku. I know how you feel about it," Jill stammered out. Tycho had yelled at a crewman who had spilt oil on the Zaku. Tycho seemed as if he was going to kill the crewman if Jill and Gavin hadn't restrained him.
Tycho walked closer to her. This time, Tycho's walk wasn't the one that projected superiority, steel-like nerves, a cunning genius, and a cold personality, this one projected something more human. They both thought the other felt something toward them, but neither acted on the feeling.
Tycho stopped, his face inches from Jill's. He sensed her anxiety, both with his mind and through her breathing. Though Tycho wasn't as physically menacing as Admiral Dozul Zabi, he was still threatening, if someone knew how he thought, that is.
"L-l-l-l-l-lietenant….." Jill stuttered out as Tycho leaned forward and wrapped his arms around the small of her back.
"Jill," Tycho said as his lips were centimeters from hers.
As his lips were about to meet hers, "Hey Mobile Suit pilots! We have contacts three kilometers northeast. Can't tell if they're friendly or not. Minovsky Particle density is at combat."
Tycho looked down and muttered, "Damnit."
Jill smiled nervously.
"Okay. Get us three hundred meters above them so I can deploy my Zaku. Jill, if it turns out to be Feddies, I want you to get to the nearest Zeon base and ask for reinforcements. Got it?" Tycho ordered as he climbed into his Zaku.
"Be careful!" Jill yelled before the cockpit door closed.
It was a phrase uttered countless times before between the two of them and Gavin, but this time it meant something more. Tycho couldn't determine whether or not it was because they had lost their commander hours before, or if she cared for him.
Tycho ran through what his Zaku had left: two magazines for the bazooka, two cracker grenades and the heat hawk. Tycho had dealt with less before and survived. This shouldn't be any different. The cockpit monitors shimmered to life. The tiny hangar was empty, Jill having already gone to the cockpit of the capsule.
"Sir," Jill's soothing voice came over the comm, "we're three hundred meters above the contacts. Their a wounded Gallop and one Zaku. They're surrounded by three humanoid types and seven tanks. They're requesting assistance from any units in the area."
"Are there?"
"Just us."
"Okay. I'm preparing to launch. Jill, fly the capsule and have the pilot be the gunner. Attack the tanks. I want you to fly up another hundred meters then dive. If I can't take out two humanoids, land behind the Gallop and evac the crew," Tycho ordered with a smile. He had two humanoid kills as of now, and he wanted to become an Ace today. He was going to avenge Gavin.
The hangar doors opened and his Zaku fell for a few feet, before he activated the verniers to control his drop.
"Sure is nice to see a Zaku! Identify yourself, please," came a voice.
"Lieutenant First Class Tycho Ravena of Lightning Squadron, formerly of the Musai cruiser Ragnarock. Need any help?" Tycho asked as he fired his verniers to make his landing smooth.
"Wouldn't mind it," the other Zaku pilot said as he dove behind the wounded Gallop. The Zaku was the standard Earth deployment MS-06J Zaku. It had the standard armament of a 120mm Machinegun, but from what he could tell, he had used up two drums of ammo for the machinegun already.
Tycho threw a cracker grenade and dove behind the Gallop. The land battle unit could take a 100mm shell better than a Zaku, which made it better cover than a rock. "Jill, execute the plan!"
"Formerly of the Ragnarock? What happened, new orders or was she destroyed?" the pilot asked.
"Both," Tycho answered as he threw another cracker grenade into the midst of the Feddies.
"Well, I'm Lieutenant Myn Krugren, formerly of the Red Tornado Squadron of
Commander Johnson's land fleet. We were ambushed by this MS team and its tanks. They disabled the Gallop and killed my squad mates," the Zaku pilot explained.
Tycho looked around and saw the wreckage of two Zakus spread about the small desert valley.
"Tycho! I'm reading three more humanoids coming your way," Jill reported.
"Damnit!" Tycho yelled, "Alright, Jill, land behind me and Myn and get the crew of the Gallop out of here! Get to the nearest Zeon base and get us some help!"
"But!" Jill argued.
"That's an order, Lieutenant JG!" Tycho yelled as he slammed a magazine into the bazooka.
"We were supposed to rendezvous with another Gallop ten minutes ago," Myn reported, "Three klicks north of here. The Musai re-entry capsule can get there in a few minutes."
"You heard him, Jill. We can hold up here," Tycho's Zaku turned to face the Gallop, "Gun crew, cover the capsule!"
"Ay-" someone tried to say, but a beam struck the main turret and turned it to slag.
"They got beam rifles like the White Devil?" Tycho asked, stunned.
"Yeah, they're bigger than the normal ones," Myn reported.
"Hurry up, Jill!" Tycho yelled after the capsule.
4: Reinforcements in The Burning Valley
"Sir, the re-entry capsule has deployed a Zaku and it has taken cover behind the Gallop," a Gundam MPGT pilot reported, "The capsule leaving the area!"
"Have the tanks shell it down! Mike, open the packs and get the Napalm. We're gonna burn these Zeeks to the ground!" the unit commander ordered.
One of the Gundam MPGT's backpacks dropped and opened, revealing sixteen Napalm grenades. Each of the three Gundams took three and began to throw them at the Gallop.
*****
"Ah, Hell! They're using Napalm!" Myn yelled as a grenade landed five meters from him. The Napalm gel spread out and turned into a giant pool of fire.
"The tanks are going after Jill. I won't let her die!" Tycho yelled.
He fired the verniers and jumped onto the top of the wrecked Gallop. Aiming at the center of the Type 61 tank group, he fired four rockets. One rocket crashed into the ground and exploded, a few meters in from of the group. It made a crater that forced them to move and be hit with blown apart rocks. Another rocket crashed right into the center of the group, destroyed four and connecting with the previous crater. The third shot finished the group off and made the crater bigger still. The last rocket made sure everything was destroyed.
The Gundams opened fire on Tycho's Zaku. Shells and beams whizzed by his Zaku, some struck the Gallop, making the dents and holes in it larger. One of the Gundams threw another Napalm grenade and it hit the front of the Gallop. The liquid fire quickly covered the Gallop. The fire quickly spread throughout the land battleship. It reached the fuel cells and the Gallop quickly exploded, seconds after Tycho's Zaku jumped from the doomed land battleship .
"There went our cover," Myn said as he crouched his Zaku.
"No, not really. Look, we're surrounded by fire," Tycho informed as another Napalm grenade landed and exploded, spreading the raging inferno, "And that was their last grenade."
"How do you know?" Myn asked.
"They began to slack off after ten grenades, then began to throw one every minute. It's almost a fair fight now. How many bullets you got left?"
"This is my last drum and it has twenty left," Myn said.
"If we're lucky, that's all we'll need. Now listen up. I'll dash out there and draw their attention. I want you to aim at their heads and take them off. Make every shot count.
Cause if you mess up, its my ass. Besides, the capsule should have met with the Gallop by now. Ready?"
"Sure," Myn said, though not really sure if this makeshift plan would work.
"Okay," Tycho said and turned his Zaku and began to walk through the fire.
When he was at the edge of the ring of fire, he kicked his verniers and flew through the fire. He fired one quick shot and hit the ground next to one of the Gundams. Blasted away rock hit the Gundam's leg as Tycho's Zaku rammed the shoulder spikes into its torso. The spikes went about a meter through the upper torso before they broke off. He didn't take any chances about the pilot being alive, so he activated the heat hawk and slammed it into the Gundam. He turned to face one of the other Gundams as its head was shot off, then a precise shot hit the elbow joint of it, taking the forearm off, which held a beam rifle.
"Tycho! Three more humanoid types are on the edge of the valley. They have cannons on them!" Myn reported.
Shells began to rain down into the valley. Shells hit the pool of fire, knocking flames around, igniting unused fuel from the Gundam, the Gallop, tanks and Zakus.
"Myn, try to take out their cannons. I'll handle these two down here!" Tycho yelled as he chucked the heat hawk at the un-damaged Gundam, lodging itself in the torso.
Tycho turned to the damaged Gundam. He walked toward it and punched it in the torso, then slammed the barrel of the bazooka into it. The force of the hit cracked the bazooka and the Gundam's armor. But the Gundam fell over. Tycho kicked the Gundam in the torso twice before he stopped, when he noticed blood on the severely damaged foot of his Zaku. He turned to face the Gundam with a heat hawk lodged into its torso.
He turned to see how Myn was doing with the GMs with the cannons, and saw that he had destroyed one of their cannons, and taken the heads of all of them. He handles himself like a pro.
"Myn! Switch to close range combat!" Tycho ordered.
"Tycho!" Jill's voice came through over the comm. Tycho and Myn both looked up toward the north edge of the valley.
"Black Cobra Gouf Squadron reporting as requested!" The Gouf commander said, "Colonel Moby Gold commanding. You outdated Zaku pilots need help?"
"Wouldn't mind it, Cobras," Myn answered as he kicked his verniers and exited the burning valley.
The Goufs quickly surrounded the GMs with the cannons, along with Myn and destroyed two, while the Goufs launched their heat rods and disabled the remaining cannon type.
Tycho disregarded the reinforcements and ripped his heat hawk from the torso of the Gundam MPGT.
"Surrender or die!" Tycho yelled as he held the heat hawk high above the Zaku's head.
"Hell with you!" The Gundam pilot yelled and fired the 75mm machinegun. Shells ripped into Tycho's Zaku. Tycho sliced the Gundam's arm off and punched it in the head. The Gundam backed off and reached down to pull its beam saber out. Tycho tried to slice the arm off, but the Gundam moved quicker, and vice versa happened. Tycho watched in stunned horror as his arm fell to the ground. The heat hawk still in the hand. The Gundam walked forward and stood on the heat hawk. Tycho grimaced when he heard the crunching of the heat hawk.
"Sieg Zeon!" Tycho yelled as he rammed the Gundam, but the it cut the Zaku's right leg out from under it.
The Gundam turned the beam saber to where the blade was pointing down. The pilot brought the beam down slowly. The light was blindingly bright. The Gundam brought the beam up once more and began to bring it down faster now.
"I love you, Jill!" Tycho blurted out, awaiting the bright light to send him to Hell.
Hundreds of bullets ripped into the back of the Gundam. It fell over, a large, jagged gaping hole replaced the torso.
Tycho began to hyperventilate. Had he cheated Death? Or was this Death? Was Death what you wanted to happen, when what happened kill you?
"Lieutenant!" Myn yelled as his Zaku slid down the valley wall.
"Tycho!" Jill yelled from the cockpit of the Gallop. She pressed her hands on the view port, hoping and praying Tycho was alive. "Myn, hurry up, he may need medical attention!"
Tycho was hearing things. He had to. He had to be dead. He felt the sharp stinging all across his body. He remembered the monitors exploding as the weight of the Gundam crashed into his Zaku. The gauges and sensors went black, so did Tycho's vision.
5: Draining The Enemy
"How is he?" Jill asked the doctor. It had been three days since the battle with the ambush team. Tycho's Zaku had been severely damaged, as had Tycho. When they got him out of the cockpit, he was bleeding and unconscious.
"Well, the glass from the monitors pierced his flight suit and punctured his skin. We removed the glass from his body, but he is suffering from both mental and physical exhaustion. What exactly happened out there?" the young doctor reported.
"We took out a supply fleet over three days. On the third, we encountered a humanoid type, which Tycho destroyed, after a long battle. The next day we were set to be transferred to the Sri Lanka Naval Base, but the Feddies launched a surprise attack. They had two cruisers and three more humanoid types. Our squad commander went out to stall them while me and Tycho were to launch, but Tycho went with him. Tycho took out a cruiser after the commander damaged it. One of the humanoid Types fired on the Ragnarock and it was a killing blow. Tycho dispatched that one. The other two took out the commander and we saw the Musai taking fire from the cruiser and the humanoid types," Jill answered.
"No wonder he's exhausted. I'll keep him here for another day and put him on combat duty."
"Okay. Is it okay if I stay here with him?" Jill asked.
"I have no problem with it."
In Tycho's exhaustion caused half coma, half asleep state, memories he wanted to forget resurfaced. Memories of his sister's rape, and the fact that he couldn't stop it….
Tycho and his sister were walking to school when it happened. Three men jumped out of an alley. One had a gun, the other two had baseball bats. No one was around.
"Hi. Me and my sissy are goin' to school. Wanna come wit us?" a young and innocent Tycho asked.
The lead man smiled evily, "Nah, we wanna get to know ya sister better."
"Tycho, run. Get the police," his sister, Claire, said.
"Okay," the ever obedient seven year old Tycho replied.
One of the men with a baseball bat stood in Tycho's way, "Where you going kid?"
"Sissy told me to go to the police. Wanna come wit me?"
The man swung the baseball bat at Tycho. The thick ash wood slammed into Tycho's ribs, shattering them. Tycho began to wail loudly, but the man kicked him in the stomach to silence him.
"Leave him alone!" Claire demanded. The other man with a baseball slammed it into Claire's skull. The trio dragged Tycho and Claire into the back end of the ally. The men beat Tycho until he was unconscious. When Tycho awoke, a few minutes later all he heard we Claire's "No, Stop, Please, Mommy, Daddy help me!" s. He remembered, he remembered, he remembered………
"No! Stop you bastards! I'll kill you all!" Tycho screamed as he awoke, "Claire!"
"Tycho! Snap out of it!" Jill ordered as she shook him. Tears were rolling down the pilots face.
"Claire….they…" Tycho sobbed into Jill's shoulder.
She patted his back and ran a hand through his sweat soaked blue hair, "It's okay. It's all over now. Go ahead and cry." So he did.
"Jill…." Tycho trailed off as he looked into her soft green eyes.
"Lieutenant Takashi, Captain Ravena! There is an urgent mission for you! Commander Johnson is waiting for you in the command tent," an Ensign reported.
"As you all know," Commander Thomas Johnson began, "The Feddies have a railroad leading from here," he said as he pointed to a long turning line on the map, "to the harbor, here," this time pointing at a large box.
"Sir," a voice Tycho recognized as Myn's spoke up, "Our squadron leader is in medical. He is currently the most experienced pilot in our battalion. It wouldn't be advisable launching an offense without his expertise with us."
"Lieutenant First Class Tycho Ravena, reporting for duty," Tycho spoke up. He was leaning heavily on Jill.
"Ah, Captain Ravena, nice to see you among the land of the living," Commander Johnson said.
The doctor burst into the command tent, "Captain Ravena shouldn't be out of medical!"
"I'm fine!" Tycho yelled at the doctor.
"The Captain says he is fine, Doctor. Don't you think so?" Johnson asked.
"Well, yes, but he should-" the Doctor began.
"Then it's settled. Captain Ravena here will lead the amphibious attack. Colonel Gold and his Gouf team will be in the Gallop and will strike at the midway point. The Gaw, which I will be in, a will deploy its Dopp squadron to strafe the railroad. It will be a one, two, three attack. The Dopps will be Strike One. The Goufs and the Gaw will be Strike Two and Captain Ravena's MSMs, along with Strike One and Two, will be Strike Three. Once the Dopps have been deployed and the Feddies pick them up on radar, they will radio assistance. More than likely, they will receive help from the fleet, which will be in the dock by oh four thirty will deploy its compliment of fighters. They should meet here," Johnson pointed to a red 'X' three quarters of the way to the harbor, "Once there, we will take our sweet time destroying their reinforcements. We have with us, Special Agent Ayia Skatori, from intelligence."
Special Agent Avia Skatori stood, her Intel uniform complemented every aspect of her. She was normal height with a regular build. She seemed perfect. "I will lead the Dopp mission. Once we arrive at Point X, I will then slice into their comm channel and give them the all clear to move ahead. Once we have destroyed the reinforcements. Myself and the Dopps will move ahead and wait a mile away from the harbor. The Gaw will follow the train from three kilometers back. The rest is in Commander Johnson's hands."
"Once in place, Captain Ravena and his people will destroy the concrete harbor and the ships. The train will no doubt try to retrace its steps. Then we will disable the train and have our Gallops come in and take all the supplies we can. We depart at oh one hundred and I want us to be back by oh six hundred. Questions?" Jonhnson explained
"Sir," Myn raised his hand, "What model MSMs will Lightning Squad be using?"
Tycho looked at Myn for the first time. He had strong facial features, short black hair, a new goatee. From the way his muscles bulged out from his flight suit, it seemed he worked out a lot.
"Captain Ravena will be using a Z'Gok Commander Type, Lieutenant JG Takashi will be using a Z'Gok, and you will be using a Gogg. Any other ones?" Johnson said
"Will there be enemy Mobile Suits?" one of the Gouf pilots asked.
"Probably not. If there are any, they will probably be the humanoid types. I'm sure your Goufs can handle them," Johnson said, "Okay people, get to your Mobile Suits. Lightning will be deployed first. Then the Gaw will come back and pick up the Mobile Suits and the Dopps. I will be leading the harbor attack in my Zaku. Good luck. Sieg Zeon!"
"Sieg Zeon!" the pilots answered
*****
"Sir," a Federation Ensign said.
"Yes?" his superior.
"Our spy in the Zeek battalion just reported in. They're going to attack the supply ships in the harbor, the track and the train," the Ensign said.
"Give me a line to the eightieth battalion," the Commander said.
"Aye, Sir," the Ensign said. He went to a console and tapped a few buttons. A burly man in a Federation uniform with the sleeves cut off appeared.
"Colonel. We request help from one of your Guncannons, how about it?" the Commander.
"Ya know you just need to ask, Jerry. I'll send a whole team of them out to ya. Where do you need them?"
"Can you get them to my base within the hour?"
"Within the hour? Sure. I'll tell em to get to the Medea now."
"Great."
6: The Judas Part 1
A school of exotic fish swam past the main camera of the Z'Gok Commander Type. If his Z'Gok had been a fish, it would have looked more exotic than any fish out there. Painted in his usual color scheme of red, purple and black, Tycho's Z'Gok lay on its back in the soft sand a few hundred meters from the beach, and a few dozen feet under the cement harbor.
"All units report," Tycho said for the umpteenth time.
"Lieutenant JG Jill Takashi, all systems and weapons a go," Jill said.
"Lieutenant Myn Krugren, ready and willing," Myn said.
"What's the status of Strike One?" Tycho asked.
"The Dopps have destroyed the track, a hundred meters each way. Strike Two will commence in T Minus fifteen minutes," Jill reported.
"That means we have half an hour till its our turn. Charge particle cannons," Tycho ordered.
"Why? We have half an hour," Jill questioned.
"It's better to have fully charged cannons at the beginning of the battle, rather than have half charged at the beginning," Tycho explained.
"Sir!" Myn exclaimed, "Strike Two is reporting contacts with enemy Mobile Suits. They have large cannons on their backs! Commander Johnson is requesting assistance from us."
"Where are the supply ships?" Tycho asked.
"A kilometer away from the harbor," Jill reported.
"Okay. Here's the plan: Myn, wreck the harbor. Jill, me and you will take out those ships. Once your done, Myn, make your way to the battlefield. Me and Jill will be right behind you," Tycho ordered as he stood his Zugock up and turned away from the harbor, "Move out!"
*****
"Sir, Black Cobra Leader reporting loses. My right arm's gone, so is Cobra Three," Cobra Leader screamed over the comm as one of the Guncannons, outfitted with the missile launchers, fired a volley at the command Gallop.
"Johnson, here," Commander Johnson said, "I am moving out. Special Agent Skatori is coming with me. Don't worry. Gaw, do you copy?"
"Gaw here, what are our orders?" the captain of the Gaw asked.
"Land on the railroad and begin to fire at the humanoid types! Where is Ravena's people?" Johnson ordered.
"On their way," the communications officer aboard the Gallop yelled.
Johnson fired his Zaku's 120mm machinegun at a Guncannon, as it fired at one of the Goufs. The shells struck the Guncannon, but did nothing against its heavy armor. It turned and aimed both of its 100mm machineguns at Johnson's Zaku and fired. The Gouf launched its heat rod and it wrapped around the arm of the Guncannon, and a massive jolt of electricity flooded into the Guncannon's arm. It fell limp as the Gouf activated its heat saber and stabbed through the chest and sliced to the left, cutting the useless arm off. The Guncannon fell over and exploded. The shockwave knocked over the Gouf and Johnson's Zaku.
*****
Myn's Gogg erupted from the concrete, its particle cannons making a gaping hole in the harbor ground. The Gogg turned around and fired its particle cannons again, taking out a group of buildings. He swung the Gogg's arms and the long sharp claws dug into the concrete. He began to rip the harbor apart. Federation soldiers poured out of buildings, armed with anti-tank weaponry. He placed his crosshairs in the center of the group and fired the particle cannons again, vaporizing the soldiers and more of the harbor.
He jumped over to the docks and began to rip through them. The weight of his Mobile Suit made the older wooden docks crack and break, while he fired the particle cannons at the concrete ones. He jumped back to the center of what had once been the harbor.
"I'm going to Point X," Myn reported and kicked his verniers toward the train and the embattled forces.
*****
"Sir, we have two contacts coming toward us," the sonar man aboard one of the Federation supply ships said.
"Man the 50mm cannons! Prepare to shoot down whatever they are!" the captain yelled.
A massive claw ripped through the bridge of the ship. The talons of the claw ripped through computers and people. The talons ripped the captain's arm off.
"Mobile Suits!" he yelled before the claw was pulled back underwater.
Tycho's Z'Gok jumped out of the water and onto the deck of the ship whose bridge he had destroyed. The ship began to break apart, for the weight of his Z'Gok made the fore of the ship sink into the water, bringing the aft and keel above the water. The sound of metal screaming to remain together filled the air around the Z'Gok. Finally, the aft fell, crushing the crew that had been near it.
Jill's Z'Gok was going under a ship, when she grabbed the sides of it with her claws and ripped through it. Water flooded the ship. Her Z'Gok jumped out and sliced the bow off and fired a missile at the bridge. It ripped through the steel and exploded inside the bridge. Burned bodies and equipment were thrown out of the crater.
Tycho and Jill turned their Z'Goks to face the center ship and fired their particle cannons. Tycho's struck the fore and aft, while Jill's took out the bridge and severed the fore and aft sections. Tycho's turned to face the shore and dove into the water. Jill followed suit.
*****
"Now! Deploy our GMs! Have them fire on the Gaw! Broadcast the signal!" the Federation commander order.
All of the train cars opened up and a GM sat up. The walls fell off as the GMs stood and took their places around the train. All were armed with bazookas.
"It's a fucking trap!" Colonel Gold as he should rammed one of the GMs.
It was now seven GMs and two Guncannons against a Zaku, two Goufs, one of which was damaged and eight Dopps. The GMs quickly rushed toward the Gaw and each fired three rockets. Seven rockets hit each wing, and the remaining seven ripped into the main body. The Gaw exploded in a beautiful medley of reds, oranges, yellows and the colors of the Gaw.
The three Mobile Suits took cover behind the Gallop as it fired its cannons and beam cannons. Moby looked up and saw as the Dopps formed a V pattern and dove, but the barrage of hundreds of shells from eleven 100mm machineguns shot them down in seconds.
Out of nowhere a ten note musical signal was broadcast. The three Mobile Suits looked at each other. The two Goufs turned to the Gallop and went on either side. Moby's Gouf fired its five 75mm machine guns, while the other Gouf fired its 120mm machinegun. Moby saw a flash from behind the Gouf as a heat hawk lodged itself into its back. He turned to see Commander Johnson's Zaku aiming its 120mm machinegun at the Gouf's cockpit.
"Sir?" Moby asked as his wounded wingman's Gouf turned around.
"The comman-" the pilot tried to say, but a barrage of 120mm shells ripped through the cockpit and the pilot. The blue Mobile Suit fell to the ground, motionless.
"It's nothing personal, Moby, the Feddies offered me more money!" Johnson yelled as he threw a cracker at the Gouf. It knocked it back and Johnson's Zaku ran to the downed Gouf, flipped it on its chest and tore the heat hawk out of its back.
"This is Cobra Leader! Lightning, fall back! Get-" Moby tried to saw before searing heat slice through him and his Gouf.
7: The Judas Part 2
"Uh, Tycho?" Myn asked as the two Z'Goks joined him, a kilometer away from the battlefield.
"Yeah?" Tycho answered.
"I got a garbled transmission from the Cobra. Something about money, Feddies and the commander. What should we do?" Myn reported.
"What is the status of our group?" Tycho asked.
"Cobra has been eliminated, as have the Dopps and the Gaw. I think the commander's Zaku has been destroyed; I can't locate it. The Gallop is holding off nine Mobile Suits. I think we need to help it," Myn reported.
"Okay," Tycho contemplated his next move, "Okay. Myn. Go around half a klick and get by the Gallop. Jill, do the same except come in and wait behind that large rock by the train. When I give the word, you two get the humanoids and I'll get the big ones. Got it?"
"Yep," Myn reported.
"Okay. Be careful, guys," Jill said.
They were fish out of water, literally. The Z'Goks and Gogg were meant for marine combat with limited land combat capabilities. Z'Goks had the advantage over the Goggs as far as long rang weaponry meant. Z'Goks had thirty missiles, along with particle cannons, whereas the Goggs had torpedo launches and one particle cannons. The Goggs had longer arms than the Z'Gok. They equaled out, but they had an extreme disadvantage compared to the ground combat GMs and Guncannons.
If Tycho's plan worked, they could take out enough of the enemy Mobile Suits for the Gallop to escape.
*****
"Commander! What are you-" the captain of the Gallop tried to ask, but a 9mm HP bullet pierced his skull. His brain and skull matter splattered across the console.
The Federation troops moved throughout the Gallop, capturing those who surrendered, and killing those who did not. There was more of the latter. Gunshots filled the Gallop. The Federation soldiers dragged the Zeon soldiers and crew outside of the Gallop and let them lay there.
"Johnson," the leader of the Federation force said as he walked into the cockpit of the Gallop, "all Zeon soldiers are dead. Minimal damage to the Gallop and its systems."
"Good," Johnson said as he clasped his hands around the small of his back, "Have your GMs and Guncannons fire on the Gallop. Have them destroy my Zaku, also. Load the Guncannons into the hangar of the Gallop and we will tell them that the entire group, excluding myself was destroyed."
"What about the MSMs?" the Federation officer asked.
"Well, if Captain Ravena's service record holds true, he will have destroyed the fleet as ordered," Johnson explained.
"Didn't one of your men get a transmission out?" the Federation officer asked again.
"Yes, but knowing Ravena, he will have formed his unit up and proceed as a unified front. I will exit here in a few minutes and engage in a mock battle with one of Guncannons. They will most likely assist, then, your GMs and Guncannons will attack and annihilate them. I'm sure you Feddies can handle that," Johnson said.
*****
"Sir, there's the commander's Zaku! Its under fire from one of the two cannon ones!" Myn reported.
"Alright. Myn, go ahead and move in. Jill cover him. I'll make sure the Gallop is okay. Once the cannon thingy is destroyed, get the commander back here ASAP. Got it?" Tycho ordered.
"Yeah," Myn answered.
"Okay," Jill answered.
The Z'Gok fired its missiles at the Guncannon. Though Jill had only one intention of the volley: to distract the Feddie. Myn's Gogg rushed forward and swung its arms at the Guncannon. The Guncannon brought an arm up to block the slash and punched the Gogg in the torso. The fist crushed the chest of the Gogg. The monitors inside the cockpit cracked under the force of the blow.
Myn saw the cannons lower and fire. The shells ripped the head and shoulders of the Gogg off. Myn fired the particle cannon into the torso of the Guncannon. It melted away most of the armor on the side, giving Myn a chance to swing the arm at the chest, but a heat hawk lopped it off.
"What the!" Myn yelled.
The Zaku swung it's heat hawk once more. It slammed into the torso. Armor and steel melted away around the heat hawk. It came close enough to the cockpit, so that he could feel the scorching heat, but it stopped. Myn looked up and saw Jill's Z'Gok slam its claw into the Zaku.
"Open fire!" Johnson yelled. Hundreds of shells followed immediately after.
Shells ripped into Myn's Gogg. His backup camera was destroyed. His systems were critical. Myn opened the hatch of his Gogg and grabbed the lowering cable. He threw it down and slid down. The friction burning his hands. Myn made a mad dash to the Gallop. Shells exploding all around him. But the shells stopped. He turned around and saw Jill's Z'Gok dive in front of the barrage. Jill jumped from the cockpit and joined Myn in the mad dash toward the Gallop, which was still a few hundred meters away.
Aboard the Gallop, Tycho looked at the walls and floor of the Gallop. Blood and spent shell casings were everywhere. He entered the cockpit and saw the bloody mess on the window. He sat in the command chair and typed a few commands. The Gallop's computers came to life, as did the hover jets. He heard a banging on the doors and turned, he saw several Gms and two Guncannons firing at a Z'Gok. He saw a Zaku, its heat hawk raised high, as it walked toward the Gallop. He opened the doors and Jill and Myn fell in, breathing heavily.
"What the Hell happened to you guys?" Tycho asked.
"Commander's a traitor," Myn said as he caught his breath, "He must have killed them all…"
"Okay…" Tycho said, "Myn, get us out if here! Jill, you and me will man the cannons."
"Affirmative," Myn said.
"Alright," Jill said as she and Tycho walked toward the gun mounts.
"Move!"
8: Revenge
"Follow the Gallop!" the turncoat Johnson said. The Guncannons, GMs and Johnson's Zaku gave chase after the land battleship.
*****
"Tycho!" Myn said, "They're following us!"
"Get us to the base! Radio ahead and tell them to have Mobile Suits ready. There are ten Mobile Suits on our tail!" Tycho ordered.
"I have a lock on one of the humanoids!" Jill reported.
"Fire at will. Myn take control of the Gallop. I'm going to my Z'Gok," Tycho said as he left the bridge.
"Why?" Jill asked from a gun mount.
"Because, my Z'Gok is on its back. I can fire all of my missiles and give us some sort of cover fire. And if they get too close, I can fight them with the claws," Tycho said as he entered the hangar.
When he lowered the ramp, he saw all of the Mobile Suits giving chase. The Zaku and GMs lead the way, while the slower Guncannons brought up the rear. He quickly climbed into his Z'Gok and brought the HUD online. He locked onto one of the GMs and fired three missiles. Two struck its torso and another took its head off. It exploded violently, showering the other ones with shrapnel.
"Sir," Myn began, "the base has deployed one of its Gallops with an escort of Zaku's!"
"Good," Tycho said as he launched five missiles into the cluster of Mobile Suits.
"Tycho," Jill said as she fired one of the guns, "I'm reading four Medea class transport planes. They must be here to pick up the humanoid types!"
"Let them get em. Get us back to the base!" Tycho yelled as he fired the last of his missiles at the ground, creating a five meter deep crevice and a large dust cloud.
*****
"Well, preliminary reports suggest Johnson had been working with the Feddies since June. He must have arranged this mission so he could get to his masters within the Federation, and kill a large portion of the battalion's Mobile Suit forces. However, we only lost three pilots. All of which were good pilots. It is a lot easier to Mobile Suits, Gaws and Dopps than it is to replace good pilots. Cobra Squadron, along with Special Agent Skatori, and your Gogg and Z'Gok were destroyed. We did however, manage to destroy one of their Guncannons and three of their GMs. Because of this, you will be given Cobra Squadron's new Mobile Suits," the new commander of the battalion said, "Captain Ravena, you will be using a Gouf Flight Type. Lieutenant JG Takashi, you will be using one of the new Dom units. Lieutenant Krugren, you will be using the a Zaku Cannon.
"Because of this insult to the Duchy of Zeon, you will be leading an attack against the nearest Feddie base. Intel says it is where Johnson is supposed to be, along with the Mobile Suit force. We will be launching this mission, called Operation: Revenge, in a few days. I suggest you use this time to get used to your Mobile Suits. Dismissed."
The three Mobile Suit pilots left the briefing room. In the three days since Johnson's betrayal, Tycho had been analyzing the data given to him from the base personnel about the GM that had killed Gavin. Jill had been with Tycho most of that time. They seemed to be closer, now that they haven't been in combat together. Myn had been working on the Mobile Suits that had been damaged, or need maintenance.
"Tycho?" Jill asked as she entered his quarters.
"Yeah?" he answered, looking up from the questions the maintenance crew asked him on how to customize his Gouf.
"Remember what you said a week ago?" she asked as she sat down on the edge of his bed
"I cannot forget that day…it was the worse day of my life," Tycho said as he looked over the diagram of his Gouf Flight Type.
"Did you mean what you said?" Jill asked.
Tycho thought for a long second, "Yes."
They looked at each other and leaned closer. Tycho wrapped his arms around the small of her back and she put her arms around his neck.
"Tycho," Jill said as she looked at him.
"Yes?" he asked, looking into her eyes.
"I love you," she said and kissed again.
*****
"Whadda think they're doing in there?" a Zeon Ensign said, a dirty grin on his face.
"I dunno. Probably something you'll never do," his friend answered.
"Either way, its none of your goddamn business!" Myn said as he walked up to the two.
"Hey, hey, now. C'mon, we all want Takashi. Your commander is one lucky bastard. Just think, if he had died in that valley, you might have gotten some of that," the first ensign said.
"You perverts! Don't talk about my teammates like that, hear?" Myn ordered the two Ensigns.
The ensign slammed his fist into Myn's stomach. He doubled over with a moan and the two ensigns began to kick him.
Tycho's door opened his door, dressed in his pants and undershirt, "Explain!"
"Sir," Myn coughed, "They were making allegations that you and Lieutenant JG Takashi were making love."
Tycho turned to the ensigns, "Why is my love life a concern of yours? Wait, don't answer you perverts. Who hit who first?"
"They hit me," Myn said as he stood up. Jill walked out of Tycho's room, wearing Tycho's leather jacket. The ensigns began to laugh.
"Alright," Tycho yelled, clearly angry, "You two are going to perform maintenance on my Gouf, Lieutenant Krugren's Zaku and Lieutenant JG Takashi's Dom. If they want any custom modifications, make them. Understood?"
"Yessir!" the ensigns said and ran toward the hangar.
Jill laughed as she wrapped her arms around Tycho.
"Damned pricks," Myn said as he stood up. He saw the two and laughed a little.
"What's so funny?" Tycho asked.
"Were they right?" Myn asked with a smirk.
"No comment," Tycho said, blushing slightly.
"All Mobile Suit pilots! Report to your Mobile Suits immediately. We are beginning the Operation now!" the new commander say
*****
"Alright. The attack will consist of the Gaw and our two Gallops. The Lightning Squadron will be in the Gaw. Saber and Shield squadrons will be aboard the Gallops. The Gallops will shell the area, taking out the estimated five, five hundred millimeter cannons. Once that has happens, the Gaw will deploy Lightning and the Dopps. If we have to fall back, protecting the Gaw is top priority. The Gallops will begin their assault on the roads leading to the base. It's Mobile Suits will enter the base and destroy the Mobile Suits. Then, our pilots, armed with assault rifles, will move in and take Johnson, where he will meet justice!" the commander explained, showing each part of the base.
"Sir," one of the Zaku pilots said, "Do we know how many Mobile Suits are at the base?"
"Well, they should have six GM type Mobile Suits and one Guncannon ready to go. Myn and Jill damaged the other Guncannon and Johnson's Zaku. It almost equals out," Tycho informed.
"Sir, we have you and your team. Your group has done more damage than this battalion has. You're an Ace. You're up there with Char Aznable, Shin Matsunaga and Johnny Ridden."
"I am no where near their level! I was just lucky. They have real talent. I am just lucky, that's all."
"Hey! We don't need to be arguing who is the better pilot here! We all need to be better pilots than those Feddies! Shield and Saber, report to your Gallops. Lightning, report to the Gaw!" the battalion commander ordered.
9: The Drop Into Hell
"Your Gouf has been customized to your specifications," the mechanic said.
"Good. Have the Gaw loaded with six fuel tanks. I'm gonna be moving around a lot out there. I don't wanna be in the middle of a fight and run out of fuel. Got it?" Tycho ordered.
"Yeah."
Tycho walked up the ramp into the hangar. He saw Jill sitting on the shoulder of her Dom. She smiled at him and he smiled at her.
"Doesn't the brass frown on inter-squad relationships?" Myn joked.
"If I wanted any shit from you, I wouldda squeezed your head," Tycho joked back.
"Wow, the commander isn't a cold heartless bastard anymore. It's amazing what the love of a good woman can do," Myn said as sat on the foot of his Zaku Cannon.
"Yeah, well. You like your Gouf?" Tycho asked as he walked
toward his black, red and purple Gouf Flight Type.
"Yeah. Sims say its heat saber can right through a GM. I sure hope it does. We gotta lot to pay those Feddies back for," Myn said. Tycho smirked
Tycho placed his foot on the cable that would bring him up to his Gouf cockpit. He typed up in the mission objectives and gave them in raising priority, with killing Johnson at the bottom, and keeping Jill and Myn alive at the top.
"Computer?" Tycho asked.
"Sir?"
"Has the file 'Gavin GM' been loaded into you?"
"Yes."
"Good. If we meet any GM or Mobile Suit who's style is that of the GM, tell me and lock onto him. Not only on this mission, but on all missions. Understood?"
"Yes."
"Captain Ravena?" the Gaw pilot asked.
"Yes," Tycho asked, running last minute systems checks.
"We are ready to depart. ETA is fifteen minutes."
"Good. Myn?" Tycho asked
"Yeah?"
"Cover Jill, okay?"
"Understood."
"Thanks."
The Gaw lurched forward and began to increase its speed. Tycho grabbed onto a safety rail inside the Gaw's hangar and waited for it to level off. Tycho walked into the cockpit and sat in a command chair. He looked out the window and saw the Gallops, trailing behind the Gaw.
"The base is on one of the cliffs of that mountain. We're gonna have to land at the base of the mountain," the Gaw pilot said as he typed a few commands into the Gaw's computer, "We are gonna drop you guys above the base. You'll slide down while our three Dopps strafe the area."
"Got it," Tycho said, "Good luck."
"You, too. Kill that bastard Johnson personally, Captain."
"You have my word."
*****
"Thunder One, deploying now!" Tycho yelled as his Gouf Flight Type dropped out of the Gaw and freefell for ten seconds. He fired his maneuvering verniers and steadied his approach.
"Thunder Two," Jill said, "Dropping now." Her Dom fell and its hover jets kicked in.
Doms were amazing Mobile Suits. They had large bazookas and a mega particle cannon as standard armament. With a heat saber similar to that of the Gouf's, the Dom and Gouf helped were perfect counterparts. Goufs were close range combat land Mobile Suits, where as the Dom were long range attack Mobile Suits.
Tycho looked up and saw a Gouf with a 240mm Zaku Bazooka drop out of the Gaw.
"Alright. I'll go after the Mobile Suits. You guys take out the turrets. Those rookies are screwed if those turrets are functional when they arrive. Let's go!" Tycho yelled as he kicked his verniers. His agile flight type Mobile Suit flew over the base.
He locked onto one of the buildings and fired the 75mm gatling gun that was attached to the shield. The shells ripped into the building as the rockets from the Dom and the larger shells bombarded the cliff base. He heard sirens and he saw people pouring out of buildings.
Tycho killed verniers and dropped onto a large group of soldiers. He heard dings as small arms fire hit his Gouf. He aimed the gatling shield at them and let loose a barrage. Shells ripped through bodies and blood began to pool around his Gouf.
"Johnson! Where are you, you son of a bitch!" Tycho yelled as he stepped through a building.
A 500mm shell struck the building next to Myn, and he fired three quick bursts of 55mm shells into the dome of the turret. Shrapnel, un-exploded bullets, bodies and concrete flew everywhere, peppering the Mobile Suits and buildings.
"Shield and Sword squadron reporting for duty!" one of the rookies yelled as they cleared the cliff.
"Ah, shit! Everybody! Clear the area!" Tycho yelled, his Newtype intuition burning in his mind. He fired his Gouf Flight Type's verniers and flew high into the air. The ground were he had been standing parted and crashed down.
Several incendiary charges flew up and exploded, catching buildings and trees on fire.
"Cap'n?" Myn asked.
"What?" Tycho asked, his 75mm cannon aimed into the hole.
"Have you noticed the lack of resistance?" Myn asked as he aimed his cannon into the hole.
Tycho thought back. The only resistance he had met was small arms fire. The 500mm turrets had fired once. There was a definite lack of defense, for a base holding a valuable spy.
"Captain Ravena! Shield Group is moving in!" the rookie pilot said as he lead his Zaku's into the pit.
"Get out of there!" Tycho yelled. As if on cue, hundreds of shells exploded from the pit.
Three large explosions made the entrance to the pit wider. A red beam ripped through the cockpit of one of Sword Group's Zakus. Another Sword fell from the assailant. The last Zaku saw the beam and tried to dodge, but he was too late, the beam cut his Zaku in half. Two GMs, one in Johnson's color scheme and one in yellow on black.
The hornet colored GM engaged in combat against Myn, as Johnson's went after Jill.
"Captain!" Myn yelled as he blocked a slice from the hornet GM, "I'm reading several…Gunperries! They're loaded! They must have the Mobile Suits!"
"They're mine!" Tycho yelled as he kicked his Gouf's verniers. Like a giant black, red and purple demon bird, his Gouf flew.
He drew the heat saber and sliced the first of five in half. Shells began to come from the ground. He looked down and saw the Mobile Suits, all that had survived the attack, we're now double and triple teaming his squad mates. He sliced another Gunperry in half and filled the other with 75mm shells.
He cut verniers and landed behind a GM. He cut it in half diagonally. He stabbed another through the chest and slammed it into another GM.
"The Gavin GM has been located."
"What?!" Tycho yelled as he cut the upper torso of one of the Guncannons off.
"The Gavin GM has been located," the computer said and targeted the hornet GM. Tycho threw the gatling shield into a GM and rushed the GM. He raised his heat saber high, ready to strike down his friends killed, when a beam struck one of his jet engines.
"Hell! Jill move out of the way!" Tycho screamed as he jumped from his mortally wounded Gouf. He rolled down a hill, rocks and trees cutting into his flight suit.
"Tycho!" Jill screamed. The remaining GMs surrounded the Dom and fired upon it. He saw the hornet GM rush forward and stab it through the cockpit.
Tycho snapped. He ignored the gunfire, the pain, the bleeding, the fires, he ignored everything! He pulled his pistol and began to empty magazine after magazine into the hornet. He knew it was futile, but he had to do something. Surprising, the GM s and Guncannon jumped back down into the hole. A few moments later three more Gunperries flew out of the hole, but were shot down by the Gallops.
The Dopp group landed a few meters from Tycho's position. He sauntered toward them, and saw a Salamis re-entry capsule burst out of the ground, a hundred meters from where Myn's Gouf stood. Tycho looked up at it and saw the hornet GM standing atop it, like an armored sentry.
"Shoot down that capsule!" Tycho yelled as he ran to a Dopp unit. "I'm using this."
He jumped into the cockpit and closed the hatch. He flicked a few switches and the Dopp's engines roared to life.
"Cap'n! What are you doing!" Myn yelled as he fired a shell at the capsule.
"Getting revenge," Tycho said as the Dopp flew toward the capsule.
"Captain Ravena!"
"What?!" Tycho screamed as he fired at the GM.
"Return to the battlefield. We will have him shot down later!" the battalion commander said.
10: Off To Solomon
"New orders?!" Myn yelled as he tore open the envelope.
"Shit like that happens in war," Tycho said as he hung upside down from his bunk.
All Tycho had done since Jill's death was mope around and look down the barrel of his pistol. He had been drinking heavily and had not shaved in the two weeks since the incident.
"Yeah. We're going to space. Hey, listen to this," Myn read, " 'Dear Lieutenant Krugren and Captain Ravena. We have been reviewing your battle record for some time now and we would like to offer you the chance to be stationed at the Asteroid Base Solomon. We have for you, Lieutenant Krugren, a Gelgoog High Mobility Type, and for Captain Ravena, we have a Gelgoog Marine Commander Type. Also, you both have received promotions. Congratulations Colonel Krugren and Lieutenant Commander Ravena. Please, respond to this request as soon as possible. Sieg Zeon.' Can you believe this? Solomon!"
"And your point is?" Tycho said as fell off the bunk.
"Chances are that our 'good' friend Mr. Hornet will be in space. And who knows, maybe you'll have a chance to get him back," Myn said.
"Tell them we're going," Tycho said as he walked to the small bathroom.
"Where you going?" Myn asked.
"I have to shave. Admiral Dozul Zabi commands Solomon. Anavel Gato and Shin Matsunaga are stationed there, also," Tycho explained.
"In other words, where the Aces are?" Myn asked.
"Yep."
*****
"Preparing for lift off," the pilot of the Musai re-entry capsule said.
Tycho felt the capsule begin to vibrate as he looked out the view port. He hated Earth. Earth was the reason why Gavin was dead. Earth was where Jill had died, Johnson betrayed them, and where he tried to fight the hornet GM.
"Sir!" the pilot said, "there are three GM type Mobile Suits coming over the horizon. Orders?"
"Get us out of this hellhole, NOW!" Tycho yelled.
"Aye, sir!" the pilot said and the capsule picked up more speed.
"Been too long since I've been back home," Tycho said to himself as the stars became clearer and clearer.
"Lieutenant Commander," the pilot of the Musai capsule said, "We have a distress signal coming in from a wounded Musai. They were attacked by a Feddie squad and are sinking to the planet."
"How long 'til we reach them?" Tycho asked.
"Thirty Minutes," the pilot said.
"Can you get me a line to them?" Tycho asked as he took the co-pilots seat.
"Yes, sir, but it won't be a good one," the pilot explained as he tried to get through the static.
"…..sai…..ing……tance…Feddie…….eed….prototype……Solomon….." came over the static.
"Is Solomon expecting a prototype?" Tycho asked.
"Yeah," the pilot said, "A Kampfer thing,"
"We need to get those then. Move!" Tycho yelled.
"Um, Tycho?" Myn asked as he looked at his commander, "We don't have our Mobile Suits. How can we possibly help them?"
"We have the capacity for one Mobile Suit and I can ride in the other one," Tycho explained.
"Sir! I am reading three Guncannons! We should pull back!" the pilot yelled. Tycho looked out and saw the three Guncannons surround the wounded Musai.
"Fall back. We can't help them…" Tycho said as he watched the Guncannons bombard the Musai.
"Attention Lighting Squad!" came a voice over the comm.
"Ravena here, identify yourself please," Tycho said.
"This is Commander Nazaki, of the Omega Demon Squadron. We were detained when we were ambushed by a Feddie group. We we're supposed to escort you and that Musai to Solomon," the Zeon officer said.
"What's your status?" Tycho asked.
"Our squad was attacked. The Musai that sank was our command vessel. Our fleet is about three kilometers away. Damn Minovsky particle interference prevented us from contacting them," Nazaki said.
"Bring us about to where they are!" Tycho ordered, suddenly the small ship turned and drifted toward the signal.
Amidst the debris of several other Mobile Suits, drifted one of the new Rick Doms, being quadriplegic and decapitated, it wouldn't have been noticed, but the pilot was firing off flares, which saved his life. He jumped from his Mobile Suit and hit the view port gently. He pointed toward the center of the debris. The pilot nodded and fired its rockets. The MS pilot fired his grappling hook and held on for dear life.
"Ah, Lightning, never thought I'd be glad to say that," Nazaki said as he bailed from his Gelgoog. The high performance MS was riddled with holes, scorch marks and larger holes.
"Didn't stand a chance did you," Tycho remarked as he walked both pilots into the small cockpit.
"No. Those GMs of theirs were different from the others. They were using beam rifles. These were like the ones they used against us in Odessa and in the Himalayas. They cut right through my wingman's Rick Dom like it was nothing," Nazaki said, "But we got 'em back. We killed every single one of 'em."
"At the loss of a Musai and a Kampfer," Myn interjected.
"Quiet," Tycho ordered, "Pilot, bring us to their fleet or Solomon. Whichever is closer."
"Sir!" the pilot screamed, "the Guncannons are moving in. They're ordering us to surrender or they'll fire!"
"How badly damaged was your Gelgoog?" Tycho asked.
"Um….thirty percent fuel left, beam rifle has about two shots, and the twin beam sword was destroyed. It lost its right arm and left leg were destroyed, plus all the shell damage. I wouldn't let a Feddie pilot, honestly," Nazaki said.
"Sir, I volunteer!" the first pilot said. He was young, maybe seventeen. He seemed like a farm boy, blonde hair and blue eyes, and scrawny.
"No, you don't. I will go," Nazaki said as he turned back to the airlock.
"Neither of you are going," Tycho said coolly.
"Sir?" the scrawny pilot asked.
"How many flares do you have?" Tycho asked.
Suddenly, a shell exploded less than a hundred meters away from the capsule.
Tycho turned around and saw one of the Guncannons face the view port. "Everyone! Get out of the ship!" he ordered as he slid his helmet on. He grabbed Myn's and threw it to him.
"Sir!" the capsule pilot said as the Guncannon faced him, "He is saying we have to or he will open fire."
"Set this thing on autopilot and bail! Send a distress signal! Everyone out!" Tycho yelled as he wrapped a cable around his waist. He pulled to make sure everyone was attached and went for the hangar door.
Through the door into the cockpit, Tycho saw the pilot remove his space helmet and do an obscene gesture to the pilot of the Guncannon. Tycho slammed the door to the hangar and it parted, taking with it the oxygen and other loose material inside the hangar. The four MS pilots were ripped from the hangar and into deep space. They spun out of control until the scrawny one grabbed onto what looked like a MS hand and slowed their speed. They coiled around it quickly. Tycho was slammed into what looked like the back of the hand of the limb.
Tycho turned, struggling to remain conscious, and saw the Guncannons turn. He watched as Myn waved his hand in front of him, but Tycho didn't care. His vision slowly went to black, like it had before…maybe this time indefinitely.
11: Final Agenda Part One
Thomas Johnson, ex-Zeon Commander, now Earth Federal Forces Special Forces Squad Leader, smiled as he cut through the thick armor of the Zeon Musai.
"Sir," a lieutenant asked, "You sure it's in here?"
"Yes. I do have several contacts within Zeon. The Gyan is here. M'quve was in one and it was destroyed. The other was sent to Granada, and the last one, is here," Johnson explained.
He kicked in the metal and cleared the way for the unfastened material inside the Musai to fly out. He drew his pistol and ventured into the ship. He signaled for three men to place the explosive charges against the main turrets and for the other two to follow him.
He made his way through the ship undetected and into the hangar. There, standing in the artificial light of the hangar, stood a Gyan and two Rick Doms.
"Sir," whispered a voice over his comm, "charges are set. We are returning to the Bradshaw now."
"Good, have them be ready to cover us in a few minutes," Johnson said as he jumped toward the Gyan.
He missed the feeling of no gravity, considering he was born on Side 3, he ventured often to space and to the other colonies. But ever since the blasted Zeon had sent him to Earth, he hadn't felt the comforting lack of gravity that space offered.
He grabbed onto the Gyan and opened the cockpit door. He turned to either side and saw the other two members doing the same with the Rick Doms. He sat in the chair of the Gyan and ran his hands over the controls.
The YMS-15 Gyan was originally intended to be the counterpart of the Rick Doms, as it was the Rick Doms were long range-combat Mobile Suits and the Gyan was a close range model.
Suddenly, the cockpit of the Gyan flickered to life, and Johnson raised the Gyan's beam sword.
"Open fire!" Johnson said. His Gyan slammed its beam sword into the ceiling of the hangar, melting away the metal. He brought the beam sword to the left, slicing more of the hangar away. The Rick Dom to his left fired his bazooka into the hangar door, and the debris, oxygen, and whatever was left in the hangar was sucked out.
"Move out!" Johnson ordered. The Rick Doms jetted out of the hangar, followed by the Gyan. The Trio turned and fired all they had.
The Gyan's missiles and the Rick Doms shells slammed into the hull of the Musai, ripping it apart. The charges set next to the turret's exploded on cue, further ripping the battleship apart.
"Mission accomplished!" Johnson yelled as he trio flew toward the Salamis refit.
It was a feeling all to familiar to Lieutenant Commander Tycho Ravena. The feeling of drifting directionless, an endless void that had become his life. Somehow, dying would be to good for him, in his view. He wanted to die, but he knew he wouldn't. Something inside his tortured soul drove him. He had to kill the murderer of his best friend, his lover and his squad. Never would he rest until that damned GM pilot was free floating atoms.
Zeon was being driven back. They were losing. Their Aces were being slaughtered, as were their fleet. Admiral Dozul Zabi, was killed defending Solomon. With M'quve killed also, and the theft of one of the other Gyan's, Zeon was desperate for a victory.
They commissioned three Aces for the job. Lieutenant Commander Tycho Ravena, Commander Jason Nazaki and Colonel Myn Krugren were chosen to be the leaders of the strike force.
The strike force would consist of a Zanzibar Class cruiser, Omega, Ravena's Gelgoog Jaeger, and Nazaki and Krugren's newly commissioned Gelgoog High Mobility Types. The remaining three Mobile Suits would be Gelgoog Marines. This strike force's orders were to destroy the Gyan and all involved.
"This new Gelgoog is sweet," Myn said as he ran his hand over the armor of the foot.
"Yeah, only Aces get these," Jason said. Tycho walked into the hangar of the Omega in his flight suit.
"Nice to see your among the living, Tycho," Myn said as he walked toward his friend.
"Yeah. You like the Gelgoog more than the Zaku?" Tycho asked as he eyed the blue on red color schemed Gelgoog.
"Hell yeah. I love that twin beam sword!" Myn yelled with childish glee.
"Anyway," Tycho said as he nodded toward his commander, "The Captain wants to see us and the other pilots in the briefing room."
*****
"Welcome to the Omega," the Captain, John Schwartz, "As you know, this mission we are about to embark on is pretty direct. Intel says that the Gyan is aboard a Pegasus Class cruiser, named the Flaming Arrow. We don't exactly what her defenses as far as Mobile Suits go, but we have confirmed that the Gyan, along with the two Rick Doms are there. We are leaving port today and will intercept it in two days. I suggest you guys get to know your Mobile Suits and make final arrangements."
The pilots piled out slowly, Tycho leading the way. He turned down the corridor and to a view port. He rested his hand on the cold hard glass and watched as the Omega departed from port. "This is gonna be a suicide mission," Tycho realized.
That's why they were only sending six Mobile Suits and one ship. They wanted to cut their loses. Three Aces and six very powerful Mobile Suits. They knew that the strike force could take out the Gyan and its escort.
"Sir," Captain Schwartz said as he watched the final "provisions" being loaded into the Zanzibar, "Are those what I think they are?"
"Yes, they are. Thermonuclear warheads, Captain. In the event that you fail, you are to launch both nukes at the enemy. That Gyan must not reach Luna II or Jaburo. Hell, it's not supposed to enter Earth's atmosphere," the admiral said.
"But, sir, what about the Antarctic Treaty?" Schwartz reminded his commander. The Antarctic Treaty called for a ban on all weapons, nuclear, chemical or biological, in hopes of not repeating the disaster during the One Week War.
"I am well aware of that little detail, Captain. The Gyan is to be destroyed. All costs are acceptable," the admiral said as he turned around and strode away from the dumbfounded Captain.
12: Final Agenda Part Two
Nearly a week of waiting was going to pay off. Oh, how it was going to pay off. The Omega had found her prey, along with two Salamis cruisers.
"Okay," Captain Schwartz began, "You know our orders. No Survivors! Sieg Zeon!"
"Sieg Zeon!" the crew yelled back.
"All Mobile Suits reporting in. Ready to go," the helmsman said.
"Good," Schwartz said, "To all members of the crew of his Sovereignty Degan Zabi's ship, the Omega, this will be for Solomon! This will be for Admiral Dozul! Death to all Feddies!"
"And us," Tycho muttered to himself as he brought his Gelgoog Marine CT online, "Myn, me and you will go after the nearest Salamis."
"Hiroki, you and Hans are to take out the other. Mitchell, you and I will cover the Zanzibar until the Arrow's cover is gone."
Three, whole hearted "Aye"s came over the comm.
The Zanzibar opened her doors, like a jaguar, she released her teeth.
"Die Feddie Scum!" Tycho yelled as he wove through the massive net of beam fire from the Salamis. He landed behind the bridge and ignited a beam saber. "From the heart of Hell, I stab at thee!"
He swung the crimson blade wide. It impacted into the armor and began to melt through. Support girders either melted or exploded from the intense heat of the plasma. Bodies boiled away from the sudden depressurization and the heat. The bridge of the battleship separated itself as Tycho drove the beam saber into what had been the neck of the bridge. He held it with the hilt down and flew around the massive ship, cleaving the entire aft section off. He turned around and kicked his verniers back, raised his beam machinegun and fired a burst into the Salamis. The beams melted all in their paths. They struck the reactor of the battleship.
"Get out the way!" Myn yelled as he flew away from the doomed ship. He turned around and saw a GM charging him. It ignited its beam saber and slashed at Myn's Gelgoog High Mobility Type. Myn smiled as he ignited his twin beam sword.
"Oh god! He has a-" the pilot never got to finish, for the tips of one of the blades slammed into the cockpit, vaporizing the pilot.
"Another kill," finished Myn. He spun his Gelgoog around and fired a rocket into the back of another GM.
"The Omega is charging the other Salamis! Let's make sure she has a walk in the park!" yelled the Gelgoog Marine Pilot Hiroki. The three Gelgoog Marine's charged the Salamis, MMP-90 machine guns blazing. The shells ripped through the armor of the Salamis, but not to the degree the Omega's Mega Particle Cannons did. Explosions ripped the Salamis to pieces as the Zanzibar moved on toward her prey.
"All ahead full! Let's have that POS emblazed on our hull!" John yelled as he direct the Zanzibar, "All guns! Fire at will!"
"Sir," the radar officer said, "They are deploying Mobile Suits. The Gyan, Rick Doms and customized GMs. Three of the latter sir!"
"Tell them to come and get it!" John yelled.
*****
Thomas Johnson was no fool. He had defected to the Earth Federal Forces because of that fact. He instantly recognized the color schemes of two of the Gelgoogs.
"So, Ravena and Krugren are here. Hey, Jonas," Johnson said as he readied his stolen Gyan for combat.
The pilot of the yellow on black GM Sniper II Custom, known to the Federal Forces as Commander Jonas Arturo answered, "Yeah?"
"Remember the Ace I told you about; the guy whose team you killed?"
"Yeah."
"Red, Purple and Black. That's him," Johnson said.
"Good."
*****
"Hornet GM spotted," the computer chimed.
"What?!" Tycho exclaimed.
"Hornet GM spotted."
"All Mobile Suits! Take 'em man to man. The black and yellow is mine!" Tycho yelled as he charged ahead of the group.
It was a psychotic rage that fueled Tycho now. No training Zeon could offer could make him as cold and ruthless as he had become. His Jaeger moved as if on its own. It weaved through the fire from the GM Snipers, the Rick Doms and the Gyan, and on toward the killer of his happiness.
It was the kind of battle children dream about. The kind where it was one on one. The kind where the better would survive. Myn Krugren, former soldier of the traitor Johnson, went after his former commander. Jason Nazaki broke into the trio of Snipers, followed by Hiroki. Hans and Mitchell went after the Doms.
Only minutes later, the battlefield had been full of bright orbs that had been Mobile Suits or missiles. Now, they seemed to be years apart. As the battle raged between the Earth Federal Forces and Zeon at A Bou A Qu, the pilots of the Omega and Flaming Arrow had their own A Bou A Qu.
Hiroki slammed his knuckle shield into the torso of a Sniper, but his wingman fired a precise beam. The green bolt slammed into the side of the Gelgoog Marine. Armor and steel melted in the path of the beam before it impacted Hiroki. Within microseconds, Hiroki and his Gelgoog were nothing more than free floating atoms.
"You'll pay!" Jason yelled as he slammed his beam rifle into the back of the Sniper and fired three beams. They pierced through the armor and the reactor within a second of Hiroki's death.
"This is for Moby!" Myn yelled as he sliced at the Gyan. The Close Combat Mobile Suit dodged easily and kicked the Gelgoog back.
"You will die just like him!" Johnson yelled as he flew toward Jason's Gelgoog.
Jason turned his Gelgoog around in time to see the Gyan slash at his Gelgoog, but dodged, at the cost of its arm. Myn tried to help Jason, but the two Rick Doms blocked his way.
"Time to die!" Johnson yelled as he released all fifty six missiles. They swarmed around and toward the Gelgoog.
Jason tried desperately to dodge, but even the Gelgoog High Mobility couldn't dodge the barrage. The first missile that would end it slammed into the thigh of the Gelgoog, ripping the leg off. Jason over compensated in a panic and the remaining missiles slammed into various parts of the Gelgoog.
Thomas laughed insanely as the Gelgoog exploded, but the flashes of light on either side of his Gyan caught his attention. He turned around and three Gelgoogs drifted their, the Marine's with their MMP-90 Machine Guns, and Myn's High Mobility with its rocket launcher.
"KILL HIM!" Myn ordered. Dozens of shells and rockets slammed into the Gyan, ripping it apart slowly.
Shells began to breach the cockpit, sucking away oxygen. Then they began to skim the flight suit. Within twelve seconds, the area that had been the cockpit was exposed, the barely alive form of the once great turncoat Thomas Johnson sitting in it.
"Its over," Myn said as he slammed his Gelgoog's fist into the cockpit, crushing the traitor.
"Good job!" John yelled, "Now, take out the ship!"
The Mobile Suits turned and flew toward the Arrow, but were met with wall after wall of beam and machinegun fire. The first to bite it was Mitchell, a direct hit from a beam cannon.
Hans landed on the portside engine just as a beam slammed into the lower torso of his Marine. "Sieg Zeon!" he screamed as he slammed his beam saber into the engine. The combined explosion ripped nearly a quarter of the ship apart and sent it on an uncontrolled course directly into Earth.
"Death to all who Oppose Zeon!" Myn yelled as shell after shell ripped his Gelgoog to pieces. The speed of his High Mobility Type wasn't questioned that day. His Gelgoog slammed into the bridge of the Feddie ship just as the Gelgoog's reactor overloaded. The explosion ripped a gaping hole in the ship.
"Are all our people clear?" John asked.
"All dead save for Ravena, but he isn't answering," the helmsman said.
"Sir! This just in from A Bou A Qu. Commander Char has been killed in Action!" the radio operator reported.
*****
To hell with Zeon. And the Federation. And Char. And everyone else for all Tycho cared.
The Gelgoog MCT and the GM Sniper had been locked in combat for nearly fifteen minutes. Both pilots, as well as Mobile Suits showed it. Various dents and dings in both attested to that. Tycho threw a beam saber that had run out of energy at his enemy, if only to get the useless mass away.
The Sniper pulled its rifle and fired a high power azure beam toward the MCT, but Tycho's lightning quick reflexes prevented the beam from hitting home. Tycho fired his verniers and charged the Sniper. He ignited his last beam saber and slices the beam rifle of the GM in half, letting the plasma spill out. Tycho flew away from the exploding weapon and fires a quick burst of 110mm Machine Cannon shells at the GM.
The GM pulled another rifle. The Hell?! Tycho thought. The GM fired, shell after shell. Tycho brought his shield up, but two shells ripped the top half off.
"Your gonna die for that!" Tycho laughed as he charged forward, dodging the hast-driven shots. Tycho's Gelgoog raised its beam saber high and brought it down. Tycho could hear the pilot's screams in his mind! He had waited for this moment for nearly three months!
The only screaming was that of the servo's in the arm of his Gelgoog. Tycho screamed angrily as he put more pressure down onto the GM, but its beam saber blocked it.
"Give up!" Tycho screamed as he fired his verniers, putting his entire Gelgoog's mass behind the beam saber.
"Never!" Jonas yelled as he copied Tycho's actions.
Excess energy was thrown off by both Mobile Suits, but neither gave in. "I am in this to win! Not Honor!" Tycho screamed as he fired his left arm's 110mm Machine cannon. The shells slammed into the wrist of the GM, ripping it apart. The servos and wires inside it were ripped to pieces as Tycho fired another hail. The hail of 110mm bullets severed the hand above the wrist, and both Mobile Suits retreated.
Tycho raised his MRB-100 Beam Rifle and took his sweet time locking onto the GM. "See you in hell!"
The GM did a somersault, and in its left hand was a small beam pistol. The pilot fired, sending another azure beam toward Tycho. This one cut right into the beam rifle, melting away the steel, and releasing the energy! The explosion sent Tycho's Gelgoog Marine CT reeling, its right arm scorched thoroughly.
"Preparing to fire the nuke!" John yelled. Both Mobile Suits turned toward the Zanzibar. The GM took off, the Jaeger right behind it.
"Your gonna fail!" Tycho taunted as he fired a burst from his 110mm machinegun. Suddenly, the GM turned and fired its beam pistol. The beam melted through the right leg of the Jaeger. "That's not enough, scum!" Tycho screamed as he charged his tormenter.
He slammed his Marine CT's fist into the chest of the Sniper. "That was pitiful!" Jonas taunted as he fired his 60mm Vulcans. The shells ripped the head of the Gelgoog off, but didn't stop Tycho.
"Really?!" Tycho screamed as he depressed the trigger. Suddenly, scores of 110mm shells ripped into the GM's armor. The screens cracked and exploded as the shells ripped Jonas Arturo to shreds.
"Ah, hell!" John yelled.
Tycho turned his Gelgoog around to see a nuke slam into the hull of the mortally wounded Feddie ship. The massive explosion sent the debris, Tycho's MCT and the Zanzibar toward Earth's gravity. Tycho fired his verniers to the max, until they were screaming for him to let off, but he didn't . He felt the legs give way from the gravity, but he didn't let up.
"Lieutenant Commander!" John yelled. The Zanzibar was mortally wounded, three gaping holes surrounded the bridge, "Get behind us! We're crashing! You might survive if you stay behind the Omega."
"You'll die."
"And so will you if you don't obey orders!" John retorted.
Tycho reached an epiphany that day. That second. Zeon expected him to die. As did the EFF. He was going to prove them wrong!
He pushed more and more on his Jaeger. It was screaming for him to let up. "I AM NOT GOING TO DIE!!!" he screamed as he reached the aft section of the Zanzibar. He cut open a hole large enough for his Gelgoog with his beam saber and planted it there.
He felt the temperature around him rise rapidly, then he felt a massive sonic boom. The icy blackness of space was replaced with the blue skies of Earth. He fired his verniers, they didn't stop screaming, until the Zanzibar was below him. He turned his dead Gelgoog around an watch as the massive ship plunged into the Atlantic Ocean.
Tycho began to broadcast the distress signal even before he ejected from his Gelgoog.
In the tiny life raft, he stared down into the water. He could barely make out his Gelgoog in the crystal clear water, but it was a good three hundred meters down. He ripped his flight suit, soaked it in water and placed it on his head. The droning sound of the beacon that would draw his comrades to him lulled him off to sleep.
In his half dead sleep, they were waiting for him. Claire, Jill and Myn. The people he cared about more than anything else. They watched over him until the fleeing Zeon submarine found him .
