Author's Note: Upset about Gato's corpseification? Sheesh... It could be worse!
And...erm... LC Wolf, don't hold a wake yet. There may be some characters who aren't quite ready to spend time with the worms... (evil grin)
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Keith stood aghast as the bulky shadow was revealed to the light.
The huge figure was some sort of mobile suit: it had arms, legs, a head reminiscent of his own reliable Gundam.
However, the similarities ended there. The machine was more rounded, with larger legs than usual. Two large engine-like objects were attached to its shoulders, and some form of canister stuck out of its shoulder. It was too big to be a beam sabre...
A shield lay almost carelessly propped-up on the wall next to it. It was almost as big as the suit itself, with four ventilation ducts placed diagonally in its structure.
"Tell me... What the hell is this thing?"
Ken's face wore a self-satisfied grin. "This is our latest nuclear deterrent, the Gundam Physalis. We only built it when we heard about what happened at Jaburo, but the principal idea was around ever since our first few mobile suits were tested..."
"Nuclear deterrent?!"
"Yeah, it's capable of firing nuclear rounds with a specially-designed bazooka," Ken went on, oblivious to Keith's rising disgust, "but with the situation we're planning on mass-production. Nothing too serious, just ten or twenty..."
Suddenly, Keith grabbed Ken by the front of his overalls, pulling him closer. "Are you insane?! This thing could cause Armageddon on its own, but you guys want to mass-produce it?!"
Ken squirmed frantically. "Let go, dammit! And don't get all moralistic, the Zeons did this sort of thing first! Remember the C-type Zakus?" he whined, yanking on Keith's arm in an attempt to make him release his vice-like grip on his clothing.
Keith's grip seemed to evaporate. Without another word, he let go of Ken and strode off down the massive bay, heading out the door.
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Shame flowed through Keith's mind as he hurried along. What possessed him to just grab hold of Ken and yell at him like that?
Of course he was right; this new Gundam was a monster and mass-producing it would
be to invite total devastation, but...
Anyhow, Ken did have a point: before the treaty, the Zeons rigged up several Zakus to fire nuclear shells through their bazookas. The result of all-out nuclear war had been Loum, his home, reduced to nothing more than irradiated space debris.
And, of course, the Antarctic Treaty...
I am NOT turning into another McGill. Hadn't he swore to himself when he joined the Principality, that he'd fight the oppressors and bullies of this world? Someone has to speak up for those who have no voice...
But now it was Zeon that was the oppressor, ripping up the rules, bombing, destroying and remorselessly killing. And was the Federation any better? If they were going to mass-produce weapons capable of killing millions in an instant, then clearly they weren't.
If Keith had any say in this, something would have to be done...
Suddenly, a shrill yell echoed down the corridor. Keith turned to see Tiff running towards him, a smile of relief plastered over her face.
"Where the hell have you been?! Look, there's a meeting about to begin. They say you'd best come to it, too."
"...right..." Keith mumbled, still lost in thought. Tiff poked him. Slowly, the two traversed the long, winding corridors to wherever this meeting was being held...
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Keith blinked as he entered the darkened Ops room. Couldn't these idiots even get the lights working?
The idea had barely settled in his head when the lights snapped on, revealing almost all of the Speranza's crew, Kawada and a few others who he hadn't really met.
"Jeez, couldn't you guys have kept the lights on?!" he growled, rubbing his eyes as they were forced to adjust yet again.
"Sorry about that, but the reactor technicians reported a minor malfunction with the power conduits. Looks like they fixed it..." Wakkein replied as Keith grabbed a seat.
"Well," he went on, "I'm sure we know why we're here. We need a plan of action against the Zeonic threat. They've used nuclear weapons, tore up the Antarctic Treaty, and according to reports, even worse is happening."
What the hell could be worse than nuking people? Keith wondered, still slightly miffed.
"It seems the Zabis don't think we're much of a threat after the nuke drop. They're invading any surviving space colonies they can find, one after the other."
There was a general gasp of horror around the room, and Michel spoke in a voice trembling with emotion, "Have they gotten to Side 6 yet?"
"Not yet, but the way things are going it's only a matter of time." Wakkein replied, to which Michel let out a piteous whimper of fear.
"Also," he went on, oblivious to Michel's personal anguish, "our chain of command is in serious trouble. Revil, Tianem, all who we could have trusted to lead us to victory, either perished in Jaburo or are being hunted down on Earth as we speak, while every scrap of Earth soil they helped us take back is being rapidly taken again by the enemy. Our ground forces can hold out, but not for long. So, we need some of you to help in tactical ideas and development."
This is it, Keith thought to himself, his mind working furiously. It's times like this that sort the wheat from the chaff, the leaders from the grunts...
He stood up and cleared his throat. "The way I see it, Luna II is trapped. One one side, the Zeon space force can come to attack at any time. We only just managed to hold them off this time around, and next time they'll bring nuclear weapons.
On the other, there's no help from ground forces. Jaburo's gone, there's only a few bases left. However, there are ex-Zeon troops who go under the name of the Anti-Zabi Rebellion who could help turn the tide."
"Plus, what did the Speranza come to Luna II to do? Deliver GMs. Devote nearly all of your resources to making them, drop them onto Earth to retake production facilities, and keep going. If you have the manpower, blockade Earth as much as you can.
What I'm suggesting is we fight on two fronts at once: Earthside and in space. It's a bad idea, but we don't have much choice. If we attack and advance fast, it might just work."
Wakkein raised an eyebrow. "How? We don't have enough men, or enough production capacity!"
"Simple," Keith continued, "don't mass-produce strictly standard GMs. I saw a certain prototype of yours, the GM Command model. One out of every ten GMs should be a Command-type. We can't rely on numbers alone anymore, so we have to rely on power. Plus, if you're worried about manpower, you should use people already on the ground and the ex-Zeons to fight Earthside."
From his seat, Kojima smiled. Good lad, he's better at strategical thought than what I expected of him..though this strategy of his isn't too bright..
Keith's eyes narrowed. "And speaking of prototypes, why have you created a Gundam capable of firing nuclear weapons?" he growled, to which there was another gasp.
Wakkein sighed. "You mean the Gundam Physalis? This is all-out war, you know. As you of all people should know, if we can't fight back effectively the Zeon forces will blow us to kingdom come."
"It's insane! That thing's capable of killing millions! And I heard there's plans to mass-produce it!"
Tiff stood up. "Wakkein's right, Keith. Either you were living under a rock earlier this year, or you've seen the power that the Zeons can use at any time to blow us away.
I don't like the idea any more than you do, but..."
Keith sighed. "Alright, but I'm not having that bloody thing on my ship!"
"I never asked you to. Though now that you mention it, the Speranza is more of a natural target than the rest of our fleet..." Wakkein mused. I never should have opened my big mouth! thought Keith, angered at the thought of sharing hangar space with such a walking slaughterhouse.
Kojima wandered over to Keith, and leaned in closer to him."Good job there. But having a nuclear Gundam on our ship isn't such a bad idea. See, it's up to you and the rest of the crew to determine its purpose, or even if it should go out to battle at all." he whispered into the younger man's ear.
"There's only a few questions left now: for example, the flagship of the remains of the Federal fleet. We have one, but nobody to use it and lead us. I suppose I'm forced to do this job, but we also need a backup ship to take the helm. We can sort out the ranks later. There's plenty of new battleships being created, but we want one with a proven record. One that can and will destroy the Zeon forces." Wakkein said.
Keith let out a quiet sigh, as he rose again. He hoped the Speranza wouldn't be chosen for the job; that was far too much responsibility too soon.
"There's only one ship I think fits your description to a tee. The Osiris is new, and as the recent defensive battle has shown it packs huge amounts of destructive power. Plus, I've met Captain Kawada and believe he's a good leader."
"But your own ship has a legend behind it, and has been through more than the Osiris, Mr. Holt." Wakkein returned. "Why not let your crew take the reins of command?"
"With all due respect, I think that's too much power for us." Keith argued, noticing Kawada's normally cheeky grin becoming ever wider. "Though we would take the responsibility in the event of the Osiris or your flagship being immobilised or destroyed, we'll try to stop that from happening."
"Then that's all the big problems out of the way. The Osiris will be second only to the Phoebe in taking the fight to the Zeonic forces out here, while we will send mass-production mobile suits down to Earth to retake important facilities and drive the Zeons offplanet. Meanwhile, we will devote a quarter of our surviving space fleet to ensuring no enemy supplies make it to Earth. The MS drop will henceforth be known as 'Operation Icarus'." Wakkein announced, before adding "Any questions?"
"Yes sir! I was wondering...when will the first batches of GMs be ready for deployment?" piped up a concerned Federation officer.
"If we push our facilities hard, around three days."
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"What the hell was that? 'I'm not having arguably the greatest weapon ever on my ship because I don't like nukes'?" James teased, a little unkindly.
Keith sighed. "Look, you heard what I said. It's capable of mass slaughter and the brass are planning on making MORE of the bloody things. I wish there was something I could do.."
Most of the crew had already filed out of the Ops room, but it seemed Tiff and Kojima had stayed behind to discuss something. Keith and James had stayed too, lurking outside in the corridor.
"Face it, bud: there's nothing we can do. Like it or not, it's total war now. The Zeons have shown they're capable of nuking without hesitation, so unless we want to end up glowing piles of ash we'd better be ready to do the same." James patted Keith on the back. "Don't be so down about it, hm? Or I might have to bop you one to snap you outta it." he smiled.
"I guess you're right..." Keith mumbled, still downcast. Just then, Kojima strode out the Ops room door, coming to a halt right beside Keith.
"Want the good news or the bad news, lads?" he grinned. "Just gimme the news, Kojima..." Keith muttered in reply.
"Well, the guys say that they're worried our ship'll get nuked. The Gundam's powerful enough for 'em to waste one nuke in destroying it, so it looks like the Physalis'll be our responsibility from now on. But Keith, remember what I said..." Kojima said reassuringly.
"Yeah, yeah, it's our choice to send it out..." sighed Keith in reply.
With his mind in a whirl and having nothing else to do, Keith headed back to the Speranza. As he walked, his mind turned to a certain member of the crew: Shiro. Was what he said about his feelings on war on the way into space true? And if so, did he hate the war enough to quit?
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"...What are you doing?"
The chief technician smirked at Norris' question, replying in his Cockney-accented voice, "Just upgradin' the ship for ya, guv. New guns and such."
What seemed to be a huge winch suspended from the ceiling of the hangar moved towards the Speranza's hull in what appeared to be a menacing manner, a gun turret dangling from it. Norris squinted. Four barrels? That's insane, isn't it...?
Technicians scurried around, gripping tool kits and large pieces of machinery. Norris turned to the chief. "Look, does this thing really need beefing up?"
"It does, mate. I got special orders from the top, they said to give this thing a real overhaul. Bigger suit bay, more guns, better engines, the works. You don't like it, go moan to my boss 'cause it ain't my choice." the greasy-haired technician replied.
What the hell, any improvement's a good thing, surely. Norris sat back and watched the technicians at their work, as they removed, replaced, lengthened.
Just then, Keith entered the bay. Walking up to Norris, he quietly spoke to the older man. "Look, d' you know where Shiro is? I have to see him. ...And, what in the name of all deities are these losers doing to our ship?"
"Upgrading it." Norris replied, just as the four-barreled main gun was being welded in place. "Plus, I don't really know where Shiro is. Go check the crew quarters, he might be there."
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Keith shoved one of the mechanics aside as he sprinted into the Speranza, eliciting an indignant yell of protest which he ignored.
He was concerned about Shiro, that was true, but at this point going to find and discuss his possible resignation was more an excuse. Any excuse to blot out the fact that the freshly-completed Gundam Physalis, arguably the most destructive weapon yet, was going to be on the very same ship.
Kojima had a point, but it didn't mean Keith had to like it. And at the moment, he loathed it. The idea of one of his fellow crew members initiating an act of mass slaughter with the monstrous metal beast was enough to make his stomach heave.
Lost in resentful thought, Keith violently collided with someone in his haste, the impact knocking them both to the floor. Whoever it was sniffled and whimpered, in a familiar voice tight with emotion, "Ow... Why don't you watch where you're going?"
"Michel?" Keith asked, rubbing his freshly-bruised head, and looking up to see the younger pilot climb to his feet. Something seemed to be wrong...
Michel sniffled again, watching through red-rimmed eyes as Keith clambered back up. Finally he spoke. "Keith... I told you I had a girlfriend. We lived in Side 6 before I left, and I think she's still there... the Zeon Navy's coming to take it over. I'm worried for her, we have to stop them..."
Keith sighed. "Yes, but... we have to wait for orders. I can't just dash off to Side 6 straight away... we have to prepare, get the suits prepped and a job to do there."
Michel, unperterbed, continued his pleas. "We do have a job to do there! ...remember what you promised me? That you'd help me get back to her?"
Keith's mind was torn. On one side, he had no orders, no purpose in Side 6. If he went, he'd be classed as AWOL, ship or no. But on the other, Michel was definitely suffering. The morale of the entire crew was low. Plus, Keith had made a promise, and he'd be damned if he went against his word.
He sighed again, and turned to Michel. "Pick a mobile suit from the base's R&D lab. We're moving in to intercept the enemy the moment the Speranza's upgraded."
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Three hours later
The entire bay shuddered as the Speranza's engines ignited, their blue light flooding the chamber and dazzling the technicians. Workers fled as the bay doors opened, depressurising and releasing air into space.
Shiro watched, safe inside the sealed control room. I don't want to fight anymore.. I hope you can understand... he thought as the ship shot through the doors and into space, heading to an unknown fate...
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Ooooh! What will happen at Side 6? Will Keith finally meet his match? Find out, in the next exciting episode of… (hits self with a pan)
Must stop thinking this is a show instead of a fic…
Anyhow, I had to guess Michel's colony of origin for this one, but it's a logical guess: almost all the other clusters were annihilated in the One Week War, yes?
Anyhow, opinions? GIVE ME THEM!!! Raaarrgh! O.o