Battlefield

A fanfic by Mako-chan

Disclaimer: I don't own Gundam Wing. XP

The battlefield was empty. No shots had been fired, no lives lost, no side made victor or loser. The battle had not yet begun, but it would. OZ knew we were using this dessert as a hideout. They were coming, but they would never make it to the base. That base was a mistake. too many civilians were too close. A battle there would only result in the loss of innocent lives, and we had endangered their lives long enough. They would escape while we died, trying to buy them time. It was a dirty job, a suicide mission, but all of us had volunteered for it. Our numbers were too few to stop them, we were just here to slow them down.

"Jennifer!" The voice of our leader, Cable, brought me back to the present. "They're coming. Stay focused!"

"Yes, sir!" I looked at the screen of my cockpit for a visual. All of the equipment all around me told me that they weren=t far away, that they were marching toward us, but somehow I couldn't believe it until I saw it with my our eyes. Row upon row of dull gray mobile suits were slowly coming our way. Thousands of them were marching blindly, the dust and sand would have upset their ill-equipped machines. "D***," I said in low voice, to no one in particular. "There's too many of them."

"Don't back down now." In the left-hand side of my screen, an image of Rachel appeared. "Remember, we volunteered for this."

"Gotcha, Rache. What do you say when we finish here, we go back to the base and celebrate with that GOOD beer I know cook's been hiding?"

She forced a smile. "Sure. But we've got to finish here first. Good luck." The connection was broken, and I was left to myself, silently preparing for the upcoming battle. We were just forcing ourselves to be cheerful. No one would live through this battle without a miracle, and I had already used too many to expect one now. Still, if then civilians could get away, then it would all be worth it. My life might have been short, but it never lacked excitement. It's been good, I've no regrets.

"All right everyone, on my mark. Aim carefully and don't waist bullets. Take out as many as you can and make yourselves hard targets. Remember, they need a good hour or two." We all sat silently, waiting for the right moment to fire, our mobile suits crouching low in the sand and hidden by the flying dust.

'Come on,' I thought. 'Just a little closer.' A shot rang out in the silence, hitting one of the leading OZ suits in the arm.

"What the hell was that!??!"

"Damn trigger-happy rookies!"

"I'm sorry! I slipped!"

"Ranso, you fool!"

"Quit yelling and FIRE!" The babble that was pouring in through my radio stooped. OZ was returning fire and we had to stand and return fire. The Earth shook as bullets rained down and all around me giant machines were moving to dodge them. I took careful aim at the suit nearest me. If I could only hit the right spot. My shot was good and the head and shoulder of the suit exploded slightly. It fell slowly and crashed into the ground, still smoldering. 'One down, ten billion to go.' There was no time to delight in my victory, more OZ suits were coming. I let loose shot after shot, mobile suits falling with each one. But it was too slow. I didn't have enough time to aim carefully enough with each one. There were to many suites rushing at me. My shots became reckless and missed their targets, but I kept firing, I couldn't stop or I'd die.

Our troops were skilled, we had the better technology, considering the environment, but they were over powering us with sheer numbers. No matter how many OZ suits fell in smoldering heaps of metal, more came to take their place. Still, we had expected this. We were buying the innocents the precious time they needed to get away. It was all we could do, after endangering their lives for so long. They deserved to live peaceful lives. I shot another suit and it fell. I didn't deserve the kind of life they were going to get. My life was too full of blood. I killed for a good cause, but still, that didn't pardon what I had done. I shot another suit, but he kept coming. I shot again, and again. He went down with three bullets in him. "Bastards. You kill just for the pleasure of it." Despicable. I shot another. He erupted. I had no idea who was winning or loosing, I just kept firing. I could have been the last one on our side standing at that moment, but suddenly it didn't matter. I was going down, I knew, but I was taking as many of them down with me as I could.

"We're all going to die!"

"Shut up!"

"Run!"

"Hey, come back!" The fool turned his back on the enemy and was killed.

'Serves him right the coward.' But I didn't mean it. All around me I finally saw remains of our own forces, of people I knew. 'No time for that now,' I told myself. I couldn't get sentimental now. I switched of the radio so it wouldn't distract me. Focus, I need to focus. I aimed again and a mobile suit near me exploded and fell. The only thing that mattered now was holding of the enemy. I had abandoned all emotions once I fired that first shot. More suits were coming. "Damn! Is there no end to them?"

"Jenni look out!" Rachel's shout made me jerk. The bullet just me, but mine didn't. Another OZ suit fell.

"Thanks Rachel." She came to stand next to me and we kept firing on them.

"It's hopeless! We're all going to die!" The kid next to me began to scream in terror.

"Don't panic! Stay focused!" That wasn't any rookie. Nathen was my like a brother to me, just like Rachel was practically my sister. He began firing blindly into the sea of mobile suits, not hitting anything. An OZ suit fired on him and Nathen's suit fell to it's knees. "Nathen! No!" But all my yelling was useless. The suit fired it's final shot on him be for I could stop it. I took out the OZ suit but I was to late to stop it from killing Nathen. "No!"

"Jenni! Snap out of it! There still more mobile suits!" No time to mourn now. I had to stay focused. We still need more time for the civilians. I'd probably see Nathen again soon anyway. We were running out of soldiers to counter OZ's attack but I put that out of mind. There was no time to think about anything else. I fired on the closest suit and then fired on another as that one fell. Rachel stood next to, doing exactly the same. But she didn't see the suit behind her that was ready to fire on her.

"Rachel!" Again I was too late, too slow. I killed him, but not before he shot Rachel. She fell flat on her face, but she wasn't dead. She tried to stand but all she could manage was to raise the torso of her suit slightly. "Rachel! Stay down! Play dead!"

"No!" The suit was raised leaning on one arm. "I'll never stop! Not till I'm dead!" She aimed carefully and fired three shots. Three mobile suits fell, smoldering. More took their places and shot her. I was helpless there was nothing I could to make them stop.

"Rachel!" She was dead, but they kept firing on her till the suit exploded. "Bastards!" I charged at them, blinded by my grief and hatred. "I'll kill you all!" I fired again and again. On suit after another fell and exploded, but I could have done better. I was low on bullets and my reign of terror wasn't helping. Most of my shot missed their targets entirely, but I kept on shooting. Suddenly, my suit was thrown sideways. I'd been hit in the arm. The suit came after me, still shooting. I was hit three more times before I finally fell with a tremendous crash. Red lights blinked and swam in front of me as my head went smashing into the front screen. An annoying buzzing sound filled my ears. "Shit." I tried to stand, but couldn't. I couldn't even raise myself enough to give one final shot as Rachel had done. "Stupid piece of junk! I know I'm hit! Shut up!" But the lights kept blinking and the alarm kept buzzing, almost as if it was mocking me.

I waited for the inevitable, for it to all end. I saw the suit take careful aim. It was going to finish me in one blast. I closed my eyes and waited, somehow strangely at peace. Soon I would be with Rachel and Nathen. But that final shot never came. I looked up and saw a giant black mobile suit gleaming in the sun, carrying a green-glowing scythe. It was standing over the charred remains of an OZ suit.

"It's a Gundam!" came a voice from somewhere to my left. How ironic, the radio seemed to be the only thing working. We had taken out most of the OZ forces, but not enough. The Gundam finished them off for us. After a few minuets of furious fighting all of the OZ troops were dead and only three of our soldiers were left standing.

"Is anyone out there alive?" asked Cable over the radio.

"I am," I called out weakly.

"Jenni? Is that you?" It was Justin, another friend from the base. 'Oh good. Someone I know is still alive.' "Jenni, where are you?"

"I'm right here." I tried to lift the suit again but couldn't quite do it. The movement must have attracted their attention however, for the black Gundam came and landed next to me.

"Can you stand?" Such a young voice! He might even be younger than ME! For some reason, this made me mad.

"Well obviously I can't," I spat at him. "Why do you think I'm lying on the ground?" Justin came over and landed on the other side of me.

"Don't take it personally," he told the Gundam's pilot. "She's got a really short temper."

"S'okay. Sorry I was late." They each grabbed one arm of my suit and together began to take me back to camp.

'Ironic,' I thought. 'Heroes are supposed to fly into the sunset after a fight.' But that was not the way back home. 'What home? Everyone I know is dead now. Almost.' So we flew away from the sunset that was casting blood-red shadows on the remnants of so many peoples shattered lives as they waited to be covered and lost forever by the desert sand.

The End

A.N. Ack! Sorry it was kinda short and sad and there were no pretty boys in it. Please reciew anyways? *puts on best puppy-dog pout* Please?