Sahna was exhausted. She had just gone through some of the most intense weeks of her life, making the crucible at the end of Camp Triggerfish seem like a children's summer camp.
In addition to the intense studying they'd been having to do to learn all of the mobile suit's systems, they'd had to go through exhaustive physical exercises to help them develop the muscle memory in order to operate the machine effectively, before they even set foot in it.
Callie and Marie, despite her earlier misgivings, had proven themselves not only capable officers but able teachers. Marie was able to explain the technical aspects of piloting a mobile suit in a way that was fairly easy to understand, while Callie was able to walk them through the physical exercises such that made it easy to build on everything they learned.
Sahna struggled with the physical exercises, at first, having to relearn when to move a foot or an arm, and how to translate that through the controls. Although the pilot control system was supposed to take care of most of it, knowing how to move the machine manually was vital to squeezing out every ounce of performance.
The main sticking point for the three rookies of Team 05 was that their training was clearly different from the others. As far as Sahna could tell, every team was trying a different training method. With no established curriculum, it seemed up to the individual instructors what methods they wanted to use. All the three of them knew was that the other teams got to pilot their mobile suits much sooner. After almost three weeks, Team 05 was only now getting to step into their machines.
Sahna couldn't help but feel excited as she zipped up her pilot suit. At last, she was going to pilot a real mobile suit. It might not have been the fighter she'd been expecting to get into by now, but it was its own kind of special. Besides, the war effort might hinge on their level of success.
"I am so hyped for this!" Hypori punched the air before tucking her helmet under her arm. "We're going to be the first rookie MS pilots ever. Well, except for Callie and Marie, I guess."
"They were CSF pilots before that," Sahna pointed out. "They weren't total rookies."
"Yeah but it's pretty amazing they were able to figure out how the things worked quick enough. I mean, yeah, the controls are kinda' similar to maintenance pods but those don't have legs and they're a lot more forgiving."
"Less talk, more walk," Dirk said, cutting between them as he headed out of the locker room to the hangar.
Hypori giggled and whispered. "It's cute how he hides his excitement."
In the hangar, Army, Marine, and CSF techs moved about, finishing preparations for the mobile suits' departure. Callie and Marie were waiting for them near one of the alcoves.
The three of them stood in line before them and Marie looked them over.
"Alright, you three may be going on your first run in these suits but you've had a lot of simulator practice and we've been grinding the muscle memory into you pretty thoroughly so I expect no screw ups inside the hangar, am I clear?"
"Yes Ma'am!" They chorused.
"Fine then. I'll go out first and you'll follow me out by numbers. Callie will bring up the rear. Now mount up and let's get this exercise started. We've got a lot to get through today."
They saluted then split up, donning their helmets as they moved to their assigned machines. A lift waited for each of them to take them up to the cockpit.
Yesterday, Callie and Marie had them practice mounting their machines in preparation for today. To most people, that would sound like a silly thing to practice, but for their Gundam ground types, it was a necessity. The cockpit's hatch opened upward in front of the mobile suit's face, meaning one needed to walk across the Gundam's chest in order to enter the cockpit, and it was a long fifteen metres to the ground.
The lift stopped and Sahna carefully stepped onto the top of the vent housing on the right breast. The tech watched her with some trepidation as she made her way across to the cockpit hatch in the middle and climbed inside.
"Sure hope nobody else who tries out for mobile suits hates heights," she muttered.
The cockpit was almost identical to the simulator, but everything seemed a bit bulkier and more industrial. She'd spent yesterday evening preparing her mobile suit for today's first excursion so after a quick check she began the startup sequence.
The machine shivered slightly as the nuclear reactor at its heart thrummed to life. Sahna was soon bathed in light as all her instruments and readouts winked on. She waited for any warnings to pop up indicating malfunctions and was relieved to find none.
The other teams had reported mechanical or technical issues almost every time they sortied for training. They needed to be prepared for the same.
Through her viewscreens, Sahna saw the eyes on Marie's Gundam start to glow, making the machine look like an ancient statue come to life. Then she began to move, taking one measured step at a time, slow but confident, like a giant merely afraid of stepping on ants than someone unsure of their own steps.
Sahna closed her cockpit hatch, the monitors on its underside coming to life as well, allowing her to see directly upward and fully enclosing her.
"This is Five-five, comm check," Hypori's voice crackled in her helmet.
"You're clear," Sahna replied. "No issue's, Five-five?"
"Comm button was sticky. I thought the M-particles were what would create the problems but nope, sticky button. Multi-million sallo war-winning machine, and it's got a sticky button. Does that seem silly to anyone else?"
Sahna smirked. It was funny in a way. "If that's the worst issue you have to deal with today then consider yourself lucky."
Marie's Gundam finally exited the hangar and then Dirk began to move. His steps were much more cautious and slow. He took a few steps out to the middle of the hangar then pivoted in place towards the exit instead of the more graceful turn Marie had executed. Still, he avoided hitting anything and once he started towards the exit his steps normalized and he was out. Now it was her turn.
Gripping the control levers on either side of her seat she took a few deep breaths then gently pushed the outer foot pedals forward, holding down one of the control buttons that kept her arms pinned in place. An eighteen metre machine swinging its arms in a confined space was probably not a good idea.
She decided to try a turn instead of Dirk's more cautious pivot, manipulating the pedals to turn the feet and move the left leg out slightly. She succeeded in completing the turn but came very close to bumping into the hangar door, and she could almost feel Marie glaring at her from her place in front.
Through her rear-view monitor she watched as Hypori went next, moving forward with none of the hesitation of her fellow rookies and making a near perfect turn towards the exit.
"Nicely executed," Callie said, following her out.
"Thanks!"
"You all managed to avoid accidents," Marie said. "That's good, but in future, you should be able to deploy much more quickly and not have to wait one at a time. We know the Octarians can do it so there's no reason we can't."
"Yes, Ma'am."
Marie led their single-file formation towards the range. Because of the minovsky interference their reactors created, the 13th Autonomous Corps' operations were restricted to the outer-most area of Black Butte. The upside was that they didn't have as far to go to the ranges.
Even just taking her Gundam at a walking pace, it really was remarkable how different the real thing was compared to the simulator. The machine hummed and thrummed around her, and she felt every footfall at the base of her back. It really felt alive.
"Alright, prepare to break out into a run," Marie commanded, and Sahna stiffened. They were going to run when they had barely gotten used to walking?
"Three… two… one, go!"
Marie broke into a run and the rest of them followed. The feeling at the base of Sahna's back was stronger now and she felt the whole cockpit shift as the torso swung side-to side.
It wasn't a quick run though, not relative to its size at least. It was closer to a jog in most respects, but it did seem about as fast as she'd seen a Zaku move in all the footage of them they'd been bombarded with since their mobile suit training began.
They ran most of the way to the test range, covering the distance in a fraction of the time they would have otherwise. There, a row of trucks was parked, carrying a set of small, rectangular shields and a mobile suit-sized automatic weapon that resembled a submachine gun but was actually a 100mm autocannon.
"You should know by know which ones are yours," Marie said. "Pick up your weapons and ammo, and we'll go out to the range."
Sahna picked up her shield and gun using the manual arm and leg controls, but despite this being the first time she'd actually done it, all that training made the task second nature, and in less time than they'd taken to get out of the hangar, the whole team was armed.
They were already trained on the theory of their new weapons and how they operated with the mobile suit, but they'd never actually fired them or learned how they behaved in conjunction with the mobile suit. That was something that had to be experienced.
They started out simple, firing single shots at distant paper tank and vehicle targets at varying distances. After that, they started doing fire and manoeuvre exercises. It was familiar to Sahna and Dirk, who'd both been through infantry training, but Hypori, who's infantry training probably amounted to little more than learning how to shoot a gun, struggled and lagged behind, prompting Callie to move up and assist her.
Throughout the afternoon, Team 05 moved about the range, learning to use the different weapons they would be expected to utilize in combat, including a 380mm rocket launcher and a 180mm cannon. The most interesting weapon, however, was called a beam rifle.
"It's brand new," Marie said as she picked up the weapon. It looked less rugged than the machine gun they were used to, with an added scope mounted directly above the foregrip.
"It's still very much experimental, vulnerable to dust and dirt, and not terribly reliable yet. It has a slow rate of fire but what it does hit…" Marie pointed the gun downrange and fired at one of the firing range tanks. A bright pink beam lanced from the end of the barrel with a sound like a bullet train racing by. The upper half of the tank simply melted on contact and the beam carved a small canyon into the ground behind it.
"Ouch," Hypori murmured.
"Indeed. The original Gundam was actually built to use something like this, but half the time the gun just blew up in its hand. This gun is less powerful than that one but is still more than enough to take out a Zaku in one shot if you hit it in the torso. But can anyone identify some other disadvantages with this weapon?"
Dirk answered. "Energy beam betrays location. Especially at night."
"And the slow rate of fire would be a hindrance in close combat," Sahna added.
"All correct. There are other disadvantages but since we don't plan on using this weapon much we thought it best not to focus on it." She put the weapon back down on the truck. "One weapon we are planning on using, is this." A compartment on her leg opened and she grasped a cylindrical object from inside. Sahna gasped with anticipation and sharply sucked in air as the top of the cylinder ignited into a long pink beam of glowing energy.
"You already know the theory behind the beam sabre," Marie said. "Tomorrow we're going to be doing drills teaching you how to use it in close combat, which will happen more often than you think between mobile suits. The important thing to remember is that…" Marie trailed off as the top of the cylinder sparked and the blade suddenly winked out of existence. "…Is to remember that this weapon is also experimental and not totally reliable either."
The annoyance in Marie's voice made Callie laugh. "It's time we started heading back anyway. It's dinner."
"Right. Everyone offload your weapons and magazines and form up on the road."
As Team 05 began to move, there was another problem. It caught Sahna by surprise. There was a trill warning in her cockpit but she barely had time to look at the warning indicator before her Gundam began to fall to the side.
Reacting quickly, she shifted her left leg out and lowered herself. The mobile suit landed on its left knee before she stopped the fall with the arm. Despite her efforts, the fall was still nearly enough to rattle her beak loose.
Everyone turned. "What happened?" Marie demanded.
Sahna glanced back at her damage readout. "Left ankle actuator is broken. I think I can lock it and keep walking but I don't know how well it'll work."
"Worth a try. Do it. You two, keep her stabilized."
Dirk and Hypori moved to her sides, using their mobile suits to keep her upright while she moved the position of her foot then locked the ankle in place. She struggled to her feet and then put her bad foot forward, which sent an unpleasant judder up through to the cockpit. Ignoring it, she pushed through and managed a few steps.
"I think I'm good, but I'm not going to be fast."
"Then take centre position and set the pace. The techs would probably prefer it be left here for recovery, but this is good training. These aren't the things we want to learn out on the battlefield."
"Yes, Ma'am." And Sahna carefully nursed her injured mobile suit to the road.
The following three weeks of training had the members of the 13th Autonomous Corps in their mobile suits as often as not. After training individually as teams since the start of their training, Colonel Argent had them conducting exercises with all five teams, sometimes even pitting them against each other in mock battles using hundred-millimetre paintballs and special training sabres that, fortunately, worked more reliably than the deadly ones. During the last week, he even began splitting up the teams themselves, and mixing and matching to ensure everyone got used to working with each other, and Sahna found herself fighting against her teammates more than once.
Dirk proved to be quite skilful at positioning himself prior to an attack, forcing Sahna to constantly watch her blind spots. Hypori, after she and Dirk helped her get caught up on infantry tactics, could move her mobile suit the most ably of the three of them, confidently sliding down slops or running over rough terrain.
Overall, morale was high and their confidence was growing every day. Sahna thought that, given another couple of weeks, the 13th would become a well coordinated fighting unit. Unfortunately, forces much higher than she had other plans.
Colonel Argent summoned the entire corps into the main hangar, even the techs and clerks, creating a menagerie of uniforms that made their fledgling unit look more haphazard than it really was.
Colonel Argent swept his gaze over them all as they stood at parade rest. His eyes held a mix of pride and apprehension, but it was hard to know his true feelings as he kept his mantle very neutral.
"The Octarian's offensive in East Orica is pushing our forces in the region hard," he began. "Between the orbital drops and starting to manufacture mobile suits on Terra itself, the Octarians have been able to maintain pressure all across the region. Our forces haven't been able to hold their ground and have been pushed back again and again, despite their valiant efforts – and believe me, the Octarians are paying for it in blood, but not enough to stop them. It's not an ideal situation, but it's where the Joint Chiefs have decided to send us.
"The East Orican Theatre Command is building a new, stronger fixed defence line called the Horchrest Line along the Argentum mountains, but with the enemy pushing the front lines so hard they aren't sure they'll be able to retreat in good order to put their troops safely behind that defence line when they have to. Our goal in the region is to assist local forces as best we can and prevent them from overrunning local troops. Transport is being arranged as we speak. We'll be going in wearing parachute packs just in case we get intercepted along the way and you have to bail out."
He looked over them all again, his face grim. "I'll be honest, I don't know what kind of difference we'll be able to make along a whole front, but in a local area I know we've got what it takes to knock the enemy back. If we can make the Collie's stub their toe on their way through East Orica, I think we'll have done a pretty damn good job. And remember, we're just the opening act. Once we're done, there will be a lot more mobile suit units after us, and after they meet us, the enemy will know us and fear us. We'll show them they won't have things so easy from now on."
He straightened his back and brought his voice down slightly. "I advise you all to write home and make peace with the forces of Heaven, because some of you won't be coming back. Other than that, be prepared to move out at any time. Dismissed."
Sahna sat the desk in one of the barrack's sitting rooms with Hypori and Dirk. Everything was packed in her duffle, and she'd spent several hours in the chapel doing everything she could to make peace with the ever after, but more difficult than any of that was the letter that sat unwritten in front of her, other than "Dear Dad and Iya:".
"What are you supposed to say to your parents before you go to a place where you might die?" She looked over at Hypori who had been writing energetically for the past ten minutes.
"I don't think that's what you're supposed to focus on. You're in the military, they already know you might die. There's nothing you can say that'll make them feel better about it, so don't worry about it. Just say you love them and you'll do your best."
Sahna frowned, her mantle turning brown. She made it sound so easy. "Is that enough?"
Hypori pulsed grey. "I don't know, I've never had to write something like this before. I've never shipped out, I was always in training." She paused. "Did you know anyone who served that wrote any letters?"
Sahna's expression soured and she hesitated to respond. "Yes, but my parents always read them to me, I never read them myself." She rubbed the side of her head, red ripples of frustration travelling along her tentacles. "I don't even remember much of what they said."
"Then it can't have been that big a deal. Just tell 'em that you're fine, that you hope they're doing okay, that you'll do your best, yadda yadda, usual boring stuff. Overdoing it is just going to make them nervous."
Hypori had a point. Her last letter she'd sent during OTS after she found out she would be graduating. They'd been forbidden to send letters at Black Butte until now. There had been a lot more she was able to talk about back at OTS too, but everything here was classified.
Dropping her pencil, she rubbed her hands along her head and groaned. "My lowest marks in OTS were in communication."
Hypori snickered. "There's a surprise."
Sahna's head snapped towards her. "What's that supposed to mean?"
"I mean you don't talk about much. I've known you for over a month now and I barely know anything about you outside your military career, and even then I always had to ask you a question to get anything out of you. I can tell you don't like talking about your personal life, but would it kill ya to open up a little bit? I know we wear different uniforms but we're supposed to be teammates."
Sahna's mantle turned a dark blue. Hypori was right. She'd always been a closed off sort of person since her mother's death, perhaps even before that. She'd kept to herself, focused on her goal of becoming a CSF fighter pilot just like her. Even when that had been taken away, she remained focused on her goals to the exclusion of almost everything else.
Hypori was basically her opposite, open, chatty, friendly to a fault. The fact that she was being snippy now, for the first time since she'd known her, was probably an indication she'd been keeping some of her feelings on the matter bottled up until now. How was someone like that supposed to trust someone like her who gave information only begrudgingly?
There was a soft clatter as Dirk's pencil fell onto the table. He reached into his breast pocket and, with care, pulled out a small photo, placing it in front of them. It depicted himself with a pretty girl with long pink tentacles and crystal blue eyes.
"Clanna. Girlfriend since high school. Our town was hit at the start of the war, everyone forced to move. Joined Army to support family. Wounded on Scylla in first engagement. Requested transfer to Armoured Corps during recovery. Unpopular move. Zakus like popping tanks. Transfer approved but got brought here. No regrets though."
Hypori leaned in to get a closer look at the photo. "She's gorgeous. Must've been the prettiest girl in town."
Dirk actually smiled a bit, his mantle turning green with spots of yellow. "Still would be if town was still there. Didn't like me enlisting, but understood necessity."
Sahna sighed heavily, feeling pressured and guilty. Hypori was still admiring the photo while Dirk seemed to be reminiscing about it.
Dirk's actually seen combat, unlike us two. He's not as nervous about that, but he probably knows what we're going through… Which means he also knows how important opening up to your comrades is if he's doing this. He hasn't been the most open type either.
Sahna bit her lip. She didn't want to talk about it, especially with all that had happened since she first tried to enlist, but she knew she wouldn't be able to hide it forever, and with what they were about to do, she couldn't afford to leave life with regrets.
Slowly, she reached into her own breast pocket and pulled out the broken pilot's wings, setting it gently on the table. The other two stared at it for a moment, confused, then looked up at her expectantly.
"They were my mother's first set of pilot wings. They broke at some point. She said she didn't remember how. She let me have them when I was a kid and I used to wear them sometimes when I practised on the flight simulator at home."
Hypori leaned closer, examining the wings more closely without touching them. Her finger pointing to the star at the centre. "Your mom was CSF?"
"Fighter pilot. I tried to join the CSF to become the same thing, but they wouldn't even let me enlist. The Marines took me on instead."
"To end up here instead of Fighter Training Academy," Dirk observed.
Sahna flashed green. "I think Mom would have wanted me to become a mobile suit pilot if I could, if she knew about how the war would have gone."
Dirk and Hypori both realized it at the same time, their mantles turning paler, their eyes downcast.
"How long?" Hypori asked softly.
"Five years. She died fighting pirates in one of the asteroid fields between here and Elysian. I never found out the details."
Hypori leaned her head onto her hand, staring at the small pair of wings. "So… your Dad's at home all alone?"
"No, Iya's there with the twins. They turned four while I was at OTS."
Dirk looked up at her. "Two wives?"
Sahna stiffened. "Yes, we're an epeso family. Mom and Iya married Dad together." She couldn't help but sound a little defensive. Epeso families, or families where the male married more than one female, were not uncommon in inkling society since almost two-thirds of the species was female. Despite this, a lot of people disapproved of the practice and some were extremely vocal about it. Personally, Sahna had never been able to understand the opposition.
"So you grew up with two moms then?"
Sahna pulsed grey. "I guess you could look at it that way. Iya was supposed to be the home maker while Dad and Mom worked. Since Mom served she didn't think she should have any kids until she got older. But then I happened."
Hypori smiled. "Ah, so you were a surprise?"
"Mom found out she was eggnant while on deployment. Carried me into battle against pirates and smugglers without realizing it until she kept getting sick and the ship's doctor looked at her."
"Got in trouble I bet," Dirk said, holding the picture with his girlfriend.
"I don't think so. She always liked to tell the story. Made a lot of people angry though."
Hypori laughed. "I'll bet. Reckless child endangerment!"
Sahna allowed herself a small smirk. She replaced the broken wings and looked sideways at Hypori. "Better?"
She grinned lopsidedly. "Better. Think you got something to write about in that letter now?"
Sahna stared down at the paper, the last few minutes of conversation running through her head.
She picked up her pencil and at last, began to write.
Thee days later, Sahna found herself once again sitting in the passenger compartment of a Medea transport. Sat around her were a number of technicians and other specialists. The nature of their unit meant that they had a much larger mechanical and technical department than an equivalent tank or bomber squadron.
They were talking excitedly about finally being able to hit the Collective back as hard as they've been hitting them. Some of them had even been assigned to the East Orican front prior to becoming a member of the 13th. Sahna made sure to listen to them, wanting to learn all she could about where they'd be fighting.
The loadmaster suddenly burst into the compartment and waved frantically at Sahna to get her attention, an urgent look on his face. "Ma'am, message from Colonel Argent. All members of the 13th are to mount up and prepare for instructions."
Shana tore off her seat belt and launched to her feet. Fastening her helmet as she followed the loadmaster out of the passenger compartment then down the ladder into the cargo bay.
Her Gundam lay on its back, feet towards the cargo door. Mounted on its back was the parachute pack they had fitted in case they needed to bail out should their flying convoy be intercepted. She deeply hoped that wasn't what was about to happen.
She climbed into the cockpit and switched on the comm. "This is Five-four, reporting in."
The comm crackled. "This is Five-Five, reporting in."
"Good, everyone's here," came Colonel Argent's voice. "Listen up, we have a problem. The Collies have changed tactics and are now focusing on night offensives. They didn't like to do it before 'cause, in addition to everything else, it gave our tanks a bigger advantage against their mobile suits. Trouble for them is, our Air Force has been giving 'em hell lately, so they see our combat air support as a bigger threat now. Net result, a major night offensive is currently underway, and in an M-particle battlefield, the flyboys can't reliably provide combat air support to slow them down.
"How this matters to us in particular is that the spearhead of the enemy's attack is pointed right at MOB Shambley. General Hoth is worried that they might execute a breakthrough that'll put our main operating base within striking distance of enemy artillery, or worse, they could break right through the lines, and put it in range of a single concentrated mobile suit sortie. In other words, the Collies might be about to steal the beds were were planning on sleeping in tonight right out from under us unless we stop them.
Marie's voice crackled in. "Sir, are you proposing an airborne insertion?"
"I'm not proposing, Lieutenant, that's what we're doing. The flyboys might not be able to hit anything on the ground but they're able to give us one hell of an escort, enough that the Collies shouldn't be able to detect our transports or us, and despite how close we'll be getting to the front, make no mistake, our Air Force rules the skies here.
"As we speak, the Air Force is giving coordinates to your transport crews. Each team will be dropped off at a separate location along the enemy's advance, except for teams one and two, you'll be blunting the tip so I'm keeping you together.
"I know it's not ideal but we didn't come here just to test these machines, we came here to fight so that's what we're going to do. Any questions?"
Major Crusher, head of Team 01 asked, "what are we doing to ensure that our own forces don't start shooting at us? Their first instinct when they see a mobile suit of any kind will be to treat it as a threat."
"Your drop zones will be behind our own lines and at designated forward supply areas. Obviously, I can't promise anything, but it should at least help reduce the chances of friendly fire."
Marie's came next. "Sir, we're only carrying three magazines. Our engagement time will be very limited."
"I know. You're just going to have to do the best you can with what you have. Once the local forces are able to reestablish a defence, your orders are to make your way to MOB Shambley. We'll figure out what happens after that. Any more questions?"
Honestly, Sahna could probably think of hundreds of them. Did the Army forces even know they were coming? Who were they supposed to coordinate with when they dropped? Where they supposed to attack the enemy or merely take a defensive position? But none of the team leaders said anything.
"Alright. Good luck everyone, and you better come back with those mobile suits in one piece, and the enemy's mobile suits in pieces."
Colonel Argent's transmission ended and Sahna began going through her startup checklists, which was a little more difficult lying on her back.
Hypori spoke through the team comms. "Did anyone fail to mention we're in giant robots covered in unpainted lunar titanium?"
Sahna grimaced. She'd forgotten about that. Their Gundams were covered in a very durable and very expensive form of armour made of lunar titanium. It would make them much more durable than the opposing Zakus, but unpainted lunar titanium tended to glow just like its namesake. The plan had been to coat the Gundams in camouflage after they arrived, the logic being that the locals would know the best pattern of colours to use.
"We'll make it work," Callie said. The natural optimism in her voice remained undaunted. "Maybe we'll scare them into thinking we're ghosts. They were designed to look like ancient warriors of Earth."
"Reliant on shock and awe," Dirk said. "Hit fast, hard, and bold."
"Agreed."
Sahna looked at her right comm monitor where a live bust shot of Marie appeared.
"We only have enough ammunition for a short battle, so we have to go for maximum effectiveness. We'll head to the strongest concentration of enemy forces in our assigned sector and take them out as best we can. If we do a good enough job, we'll advance to threaten the rear of the enemy spear point, which should help the other teams in their sectors. I know a lot of you have questions but we're pretty much going to have to wing this. I don't like it anymore than you but nobody gave us these machines and expected us to do the easy jobs."
Sahna expression darkened. "I'm more worried about our own forces shooting us than the enemy, Ma'am."
"I'm sure. We'll just have to mitigate that risk as best we can. Everyone get ready; our drop is coming in ten minutes."
The screen winked out and Sahna went through her final checks before running through the procedure of parachuting a giant robot from an airplane. She'd only done it in simulations so, for her, it was all theory and she'd only done one actual parachute jump of any kind before, at OTS.
She watched through one of her secondary monitors the view from her Medea's nose camera as they flew over the mountains below the moons illuminating the ground below enough that she could make out the tops of the trees and the reflection of a few small streams.
The quintet of transports carrying Team 05 banked gently to the left towards an area of cleared jungle. The cargo bay door opened and Sahna heard the VTOL thrusters start to howl as they flew as slow as they dared.
Sahna braced herself and brought her Gundam to full power, it's yellow sensor eyes glowing to life just before the tray it was resting on rolled towards the open door as the transport pitched upwards.
Sahna felt herself in free fall and watched her instruments as the computer made thousands of calculations. She waited for the machine to stabilize then pivoted in the air to face the direction of travel. A second later an indicator light flashed and she hit one of the triggers on her control levers.
A trio of round parachutes burst out of her pack and Sahna felt a jolt as they caught the air and slowed her descent. She waited until the indicator light flashed again then triggered the boosters built into the parachute pack, slowing her descent even further so that the landing merely rattled her organs loose and didn't dislodge them completely.
When they were all down, Marie called them again. "Team Five, status?"
They all responded fully operational, and Sahna was extremely thankful her suit hadn't suffered another malfunction.
Checking her surroundings, they found themselves at what appeared to be an Army resupply point carved into the surrounding jungle with the west side facing the river. Sahna could see pipes and fuel bladders refilling fuel trucks, and a whole lot of very surprised and very scared-looking soldiers.
Marie turned them towards the base and called out through her Gundam's loudspeakers. "We're the Thirteenth Autonomous Corps, here to provide support. Who's in charge here?"
The soldiers started looking at each other, shocked and confused. Sahna was surprised no one had shot at them yet.
"Watch your sectors," Dirk said harshly, and Sahna snapped to.
She and Hypori moved and then knelt in defensive positions. Callie remained standing while Marie's machine knelt and her cockpit hatch opened.
She climbed out and down, Approaching an army officer who cautiously approached the machine. He seemed relieved to see an inkling when Marie removed her helmet.
"Bet some of these guys inked themselves when we dropped in," Hypori said quietly.
"Pretty sure most people would if they saw a mobile suit drop in on them like that. These guys have only dealt with Guntanks before."
They waited as Marie spoke with the officer then returned to her machine.
"What's the sitrep?" Callie asked.
"He doesn't know the whole situation," Marie replied with a sigh. "Can't blame him, being all the way back here. He's going to try and get in touch with somebody at the front and then put them in contact with us. Until then, we sit and wait."
"What happened to shock an awe?" Hypori asked.
"Shock and awe enemy," Dirk reminded her. "Not friendlies."
"Correct. They know this area and the situation best. We're trying to avoid friendly fire, remember? These guys found out they were to expect an airdrop about two minutes before we landed. Let's hope things aren't worse for the other teams."
Sahna looked through her monitors. Now that the locals realized they weren't a threat, many of them came closer, gazing at them with wide-eyed fascination, before a few officers started barking at them to get back to work.
Shana saw a flash in the distance, her sensors briefly picking up a few fast moving objects before they vanished.
"What was that?"
"Airstrike maybe?," Callie suggested. "Maybe the Air Force decided to shoot some missiles in the enemy's direction while they were here."
After a short time however, the glow reflecting off some of the hills indicated something else.
"Napalm," Dirk said. "Enemy air strike. "
"Taking advantage of so many local air assets being put onto escort duty," Callie murmured. "Damn."
Marie finished her conversation with the Army officer and returned to her cockpit.
"I got it," Marie announced. "We're moving out, Team Five. We're to follow the road and meet up with the forty-first infantry. Five-three, take point. Five-four, the rear."
Dirk stood up and began marching up the road, with Callie following behind and then Marie in the centre, followed by Hypori, and Sahna brought up the rear.
"Careful not to run anyone over," Callie said in a singsong voice.
"The Federation has insurance," Hypori joked.
"Cut the chatter, I'm trying to get on the Army's frequency."
As they progressed down the road, they passed other vehicles and groups of soldiers, many of them wounded. They looked up in awe as they stomped past, and even from high up in her cockpit, Sahna thought she could see hope in their eyes.
As they crested the top of a hill, they saw the firestorm raging amid the Federation positions. The troops were being forced to evacuate well entrenched positions lest the be burned alive or suffocate, creating a steady stream of fleeing troops and vehicles coming up the road. Towering columns of smoke were illuminated in the light of the moon above and the fires below swept further up the slope, assaulting the lungs of troops the fires hadn't yet reached. The weather, it seemed, was on the enemy's side.
"The fires are travelling up towards us," Marie observed. "If the enemy is smart, they'll advance with the fire. The smoke will make it harder for our side to see them. Everyone go to passive sensors."
"We making an ambush?" Callie asked, the eagerness in her voice was palpable and Sahna shared in it.
"The forces in this area are basically routed. They can't retreat in good order and the enemy will eat them from the tail up. But, that also means we're less likely to get shot by accident and it gives us room to create a kill zone. I've been in contact with the commander of one of the tank companies down there. He's given us his recommendation."
A waypoint appeared on Sahna's screen, indicating a spot on the road where the surrounding jungle was well and truly on fire. Yet, there was also a deep gully on either side were the fire seemed to have already burned itself out.
"Good spot. Fire and smoke will hide us, gully provides solid cover, but no room for classic L-shape."
"Acknowledged, Five-three. From what I heard it's mostly tanks and infantry coming. No sign of mobile suits but I bet if we make enough noise, they'll come. We've still got some friendly tanks around to watch our backs."
"We gonna' rush 'em?" Hypori asked excitedly.
"Once the attack begins. I am worried about friendly fire but we need to take as many out as quickly as possible, especially with our limited ammunition. Besides, it'll keep them distracted and let our armour get work done too. Let's get set up. You know what to do. Hundred metre separation."
Sahna advanced to the gully, trying to ignore the rise of her temperature indicators. Through the smoke and fires she saw burnt out vehicles and large dugouts that might have been covered by vegetation at some point, but now stuck out obviously amidst the scorched landscape. It finally sunk in that she was on a real battlefield and about to go into combat.
Feeling her anxiety rising, she tenderly rubbed the bulge in her flight suit pocket where her mother's broken wings were nestled then forced herself to focus on her task.
As she carefully slipped into the gully, she found it occupied by scores of infantry who had escaped the fire. Many were injured, some with burns, others with shrapnel wounds. They all looked at her with slack jawed expressions, perhaps too tired or too stunned to run. A few tentatively aimed their anti-armour missile launchers at her. They must have noticed the Federation crest on her left shoulder because they didn't shoot.
Sahna positioned her machine carefully, telling herself she hadn't seen the charred corpses of fellow soldiers amidst the burning forest in front of her, and picked a spot that allowed her to see the through the flames, though the view wavered with the heat. She extended the periscope attached to the Gundam's head, which afforded her a better vantage. She could even see the enemy tanks advancing in a close, chequerboard formation.
"Five-four has tally on enemy tank formation."
"Five-three also has tally. Infantry following behind tanks. APCs and IFVs in support behind them."
"Target rich environment," Marie said. Her voice had a predatory edge. "I expect double digit kill scores from all of you."
"Just try to keep up, Ma'am," Hypori boasted.
Sahna smirked. Despite the pressing situation and the tension, spirits seemed unaffected. She wondered if Marie was actually as confident as she sounded.
Movement on the ground caught her eye and she saw a soldier produce a wire gun and tentatively approach her as she finished setting up. He fired the magnetic tip of the wire at her leg and Sahna heard his shaky voice through the comm.
"Identify yourself."
"Second-Lieutenant Starburn, Thirteenth Autonomous Corps. I'm on your side."
He looked relieved. "Understood. Lieutenant Chaffer, Forty-fourth Infantry Company, second platoon. I heard help was coming but you're not what I expected."
"They failed to mention friendly mobile suits were coming?"
"Might have caused less heart attacks, but no. Thought you mighta' been Guntanks at first until we felt the vibrations."
"I see. Well, Sir, if you're trying to evacuate your people, we're about to create one hell of a distraction."
"There are more of you?" He sounded surprised but the elation in his voice was unmistakable.
"Affirmative. That's all I can say for now."
He took the hint. "Alright, good luck."
He unfastened the wire gun and jogged back to his troops, getting them to lower their weapons.
"Here they come," Marie said. "Everyone stand by."
Sahna renewed her focus and pulled out her targeting visor. She picked out one of the Magella attack tanks rapidly approaching.
The Magella was a tank that had been designed to be operated by one person. It had a trio of 30mm machine guns in the bow and a single 175mm main cannon in the turret. The turret could even separate as a short-range VTOL craft in the event the tank was disabled. On its own, it was no match against her Gundam, but it was far from alone.
"Make at least thirty-six of 'em if all formation positions are filled," Callie said.
"Plan remains the same. Remember to be fast. We'll wait until our tanks open up then I'll give the order."
"Copy."
Sahna brought her hand to the firing trigger, focusing on the view in her right eye as she peered through the targeting visor. They were less than half a kilometre away. Surely they should be able to fire now, but they kept coming closer and the Federation tanks held their fire.
She felt the tension pull on her nerves as they enemy tanks drew closer. Four-hundred metres, three-hundred metres, two-fifty…
A number of the lead tanks in the enemy formation sparked and exploded, including Sahna's own target. Cursing, she switched to the next and Sahna fired at her enemy for the first time.
The first shot blew apart the forward half of the tank's tracks, sending steel wheels and track links flying. The second ripped a deep gash in the side of the upper hull, and the third impacted just below the turret, causing a gout of flame to erupt up from the crew compartment. Her first kill.
The enemy must have expected the ambush from the Federation tanks as they remained in good order and didn't seem to fully be aware of the situation they found themselves in as they returned fire in the general direction of their enemies.
Sahna saw one explosion to her left as a friendly tank's turret popped off from a direct hit, and a shot narrowly missed her right shoulder as well.
"Team Five, go, go, go!"
At Marie's command, all five Gundams climbed out of their hiding positions, charging through charred trees and flames in a storm of sparks and flying embers. They fired smoke from the multi-purpose launchers in their chests, blinding the enemy to what was coming. They must have thought they were tanks because they fired at Sahna's legs. But as they emerged through the smoke and flames, it must have seemed like figures of myth and legend were descending upon them.
Sahna emerged from the smoke and fired at close range with her gun, ripping apart one tank then the next, getting in among them as practised and keeping herself moving. The tanks were so stunned that they failed to react in time as she ripped apart a whole platoon.
The lighter armoured vehicles behind them opened fire, but their light autocannons and machine guns did little to her armour. They might as well have been shooting spit balls.
Sahna drove her shield down through the turret of one tank while she fired into the flank of another, blasting it apart. A tank behind her tried to fire into her back but she side stepped out of the way of the shot. But before she could turn around and deal with it, a tank in front of her fired, and she just managed to catch it with her shield, a shot that would have otherwise hit close to the cockpit.
Nice shot. But I'm not letting you get another.
She destroyed the tank in front of her with a few well placed shots of her own then immediately turned around and destroyed the one behind her before it could reload.
In just a few minutes, the entire formation of tanks was no more, leaving a handful of tall, glowing white giants standing amidst their burning carcasses. But they weren't done yet.
Shells streaked through the air from the Federation lines into the lighter vehicles that had been trailing the tanks. Marie and Dirk were firing their chest-mounted vulcan guns into the enemy infantry, scything through them with streams of angry red tracers.
Sahna joined in, focusing on using her machine gun to destroy the enemy AFVs while occasionally letting out a burst of vulcan into any groups of infantry she saw. The AFVs were fast though, and some of them were able to get away around the opposing hills before they could finish them off.
As the battle settled down, Sahna opened the visor on her helmet. panting heavily, her hearts racing. She had just survived her first engagement.
Hypori let out an excited cry.
"Whoo! Let's do that again!"
"Settle down, Five-five," Marie chided. "How's everyone on ammo? I'm on my second magazine."
The same appeared to be the case for everyone except Callie who was still on her first. Apparently she'd taken out some of the tanks using her beam sabre instead.
"What's next?" Asked Dirk's calm monotone.
"We advance. That parade ground formation we just ripped apart shows that the enemy has become a bit complacent. They probably planned on rolling through and over the tank ambush. After we just ripped them apart they'll be sending in their big guns and we have to be ready to meet them because we'll probably be outnumbered."
"Two Zaku teams," Dirk supposed. "At least six, maybe eight."
"Agreed, so let's keep after them but set up another ambush. We don't have infantry support so we'll have to go where enemy infantry can't."
Sahna looked at the fires up ahead, probably where the first napalm strikes had landed. That was probably where Marie planned to set their next ambush.
"Ma'am, movement behind us," Hypori reported.
Sahna turned and saw the tanks that had supported them leaving their prepared positions in the burning jungle and advancing down the hill.
"Well they can't stay without potentially being burned. They might as well come with us. So let's go, Team Five. Line abreast. It's time for some real payback."
They moved ahead almost a full kilometre before settling down within the burning forest and looking down a long slope. Despite the risks, Marie insisted they stay put while the tanks set up in various hull down positions.
Sahna had removed her helmet entirely, letting her long tentacles unfurl and help regulate her heat.
"What a time for the air conditioning to fail," she muttered.
"Minovsky density increasing," Dirk reported.
Here we go, Sahna thought and readied herself for another fight.
This wouldn't be like fighting the tanks, these were machines every bit as big and dangerous as their own, and already refined through multiple iterations and battlefield experience. Sahna would count herself fortunate if the air conditioning was the only thing that broke tonight.
The glowing monoeyes of the Zakus emerged from behind the low-lying hills on the other side of the small valley. They were painted olive-green, letting them better blend in to the jungle, but the light of the moon and the fires highlighted the bare-metal scrapes and gouges in their armour from previous battles.
Five Zaku twos, one original Zaku, but it's got a bazooka.
Sahna wasn't sure if her Gundam could survive a hit from a bazooka. She'd seen footage of what they did to ships though and didn't fancy her chances. She was confident she'd survive if it hit her shield, but that was the best she could hope for.
Sahna glanced at her temperature indicators, all of them well into the yellow. She hoped nothing attached to the cooling system decided to malfunction now.
The Zakus advanced, confident but not without undo caution. They were well spread out, had their guns at the ready, and had a few Magella tanks supporting them. Suddenly, the older Zaku stopped, knelt, and its bazooka vomited flame as it fired a rocket in their direction.
The rocket slammed into the nearby hillside, collapsing it and burying two of the tanks in earth. The rest of the Zakus also began opening fire, hitting the tank's positions as they surged towards them.
Damn, how did they see them?
"Hit them now! Before they see us!"
At Marie's order, Sahna stood up, only for a familiar warbling noise to fill her cockpit and her Gundam shifted awkwardly for a second before Sahna caught it. She bit out a curse as she looked at her damage readout.
"Damn ankle again!"
Despite being peg-legged, she refused to let her teammates fight without her and forced her mobile suit to move.
The tanks returned fire, one of them managing to nail the bazooka Zaku in the face, leaving a tangled mess of metal and wiring dangling from its head like a shattered jaw. At the same instant, Team 05 burst through the flames they'd been hiding in and met the enemy's charge head on.
One of the lead Zaku's arms fell limp as tank shells struck the shoulder, another staggered under several hits to the torso. The tanks were actually doing fairly well, given their relatively small numbers, and they kept the Zaku's attention sufficiently for Team 05 to achieve near total surprise.
Callie fired a long burst into the Zaku closest to her, the mobile suit shuddering under the impacts until it collapsed in a heap. One Zaku was quick to react, firing its machine gun at Marie with one hand while the other reached for the axe on its back, but Marie's shots hit it in the lower torso, creating a secondary explosion before it collapsed backwards like a weary drunk. It tried to rise again but Marie lifted her shield and drove the end of it into it's chest, crushing the pilot.
Hypori and Dirk managed to get several shots into their own targets, but fire from the supporting Magella tanks forced them back.
"Five-four! Keep those tanks busy while we deal with the Zakus!"
"Yes, Ma'am!"
Although Sahna was slightly worried about the bazooka-armed Zaku, Hypori and Dirk were managing to keep it busy. Callie and Marie were dealing with the other two, as they suffered hit after hit from the angry Federation tankers. One of the buried tanks even managed to dig itself out and voiced its resentment by smacking a Zaku between the shoulders with both barrels, leaving it easy prey for Callie to finish off.
Sahna planted her shield into the earth before the enemy tanks and knelt behind it. One tank fired and hit her right shoulder, jarring her violently, but no message of malfunction came up.
Sahna returned fire, taking out that tank then the next. Several shots impacted her shield, one sailed right past her Gundam's head. They spread out to the left and right, trying to flank her.
Feeling cornered, Sahna glanced at the bazooka Zaku just in time to see Hypori come up behind it and stab it through the back with her beam sabre. Without missing a beat, Dirk immediately pivoted and fired into one of the two remaining Zakus duelling with Marie.
The last Zaku, feeling cornered, ignited its boosters in an effort to escape, only to be ripped apart as the tanks opened fire all at once, sending it crashing into the ground.
The Magellas instantly lost heart and abandoned their flanking manoeuver to retreat, but Sahna didn't stop her attack, pausing only to exchange magazines. She suffered two more hits but Hypori and Dirk quickly advanced to her position while Callie and Marie fired from a crouched position into the enemy tanks closest to her flanks.
Reloaded, their own tanks also opened fire on the enemy formation, and one tank after another burned until only a handful managed to escape back around the hills.
"Do we go after them?" Hypori asked breathlessly.
"No. I think we've done all we can do tonight. We'll help the tankers here recover and then fall back. Then I'll try to get in contact with the Colonel. Five-four, you alright?"
"Ankle's out again and I'm down to my last mag. Took a few hits but I'm not seeing any internal damage." She grimaced when she saw the craters in her shield. "And my shield's seen better days."
"Understood. You're on overwatch while we help the tankers recover, then we'll head back together. Nice work team. I think we gave the Collies something to worry about tonight."
Author's Notes:
I'm sure anyone would tell you that a month was not a long time to learn how to use a new piece of equipment, especially one as radical as mobile suits would be, but war respects nobody's timetable.
I hope everyone's enjoying the team's personalities. Callie and Marie are a bit more separate from Sahna than Dirk and Hypori, her fellow rookies, so their personalities don't come through quite as strongly, but I hope everyone's at least enjoyable and memorable in their own way. Getting someone like Sahna to come out of her shell is not an easy thing to do.
Reading up on tank battles in WW2, it was amazing how often entire formations of tanks could be ripped apart in a matter of minutes from well-concealed positions. Move like you're on a playground (and yes, they really did do that sometimes), and it's even easier.
I hope you all enjoyed this chapter because I sure enjoyed writing it.