Lipana: I think you read my mind about the ISWP. It will make an appearance or two. Since I've changed the continuity that the original series laid out, I figured it's safe to assume that the EA would have more resources and time to properly develop the Lightning Pack.

RVD: Everyone needs a bit of butt-kicking ... And I don't think anyone will be ready for what happens next.

Chapter 7: Crimson Skies

C.E. 71, April 17th

"Gundams, you are cleared for launch!"

They had built a temporary base several miles away from a town named Tassil. The Gundams were floating on their Gool units, waiting for orders to launch. They blasted off without hesitation as soon as the base commander spoke up.

"Captain Bartfelt is already engaged in combat with Strike."

"Acknowledged, we're on our way!" Athrun replied.

The comm channel became active with ZAFT soldiers shouts of confusion. Some of the words stuck out.

"What the hell? What kind of Skygrasper is that?"

"Oh, god I'm hit!"

"They've changed in mid-air, and what the ..."

"Kentura no! You bastard!"

"Captain!"

"Oh my god, they're getting slaughtered out there." Dearka said softly.

"Nichol, Dearka, take down the Archangel, Yzak, Ian, you're with me."

Duel, Slayer and Aegis broke off from Buster and Blitz, and headed towards the remaining BuCUEs and the single LaGOWE.

Several jeeps were moving towards a BuCUE, obviously intent on taking the quadruped mobile suit down. Yzak swooped low and drew his beam saber. Passing over the small convoy, he swiped down, letting the tip slice through the sand and pass through the jeeps.

Laughing, he came around for another pass, this time targeting the Launcher-Grasper that was annoying the ZAFT ground forces. Yzak swiped upwards, slicing the fighter in half, separating the engines from the cockpit. The pilot was lucky or quick enough to eject, leaving the exploding jet behind.

"Deny me my kill will you? Not a chance!" It was overkill, but Yzak moved in to kill the escaped pilot. From out of nowhere came Aile Strike, having switched again with the other Skyrgasper, to catch Duel's arm. Kira used his momentum to throw Yzak off his Gool.

Strike fired his beam rifle, and in response Yzak launched his missiles. Kira jetted above them and after a long back-flip, landed on a BuCUE, pushing the hapless ZAFT pilot to the ground.

Engaging his thrusters, Kira flew towards the LaGOWE, beam saber at the ready. Bartfelt was more than ready, he activated the LaGOWE's beam saber and twirling the mobile suit, he managed to slice off part of the Aile thruster pack, but he unfortunately lost his dual beam cannons on the top-mounted turret.

"Mr. Bartfelt ..." came Kira's voice.

"Not yet boy! I told you before, there aren't any easy ways to end a war!" said Andrew in response.

Kira ejected his Aile pack, beam rifle and shield, and pulled out an Armor Schneider. The LaGOWE charged at Strike, aiming for the cockpit, but Kira stabbed the knife down just behind the LaGOWE's head before the saber could cut into Strike.

"I didn't want to kill him ..." said a quiet, emotional voice.

"Ian, Athrun, corner that damned Skygrasper before it tries to kill us again!" said an enraged Yzak.

The inherent problem with most mobile armors and fighter jets is their inability to properly fly in all three dimensions. The mobile suit was built to combat that handicap, and they usually left the outdated mobile armors in the dust.

That was the problem the pilot of the Skygrasper had. Yzak, Athrun and Ian were flying at every angle and degree possible, firing and dodging in every direction. The fighter couldn't follow fast enough to target the Gundams accurately.

Everyone's proximity alarms went off several cargo planes appeared overhead.

"What the? Earth Alliance transports?" Nichol was clearly confused.

So were the rest of the pilots.

"They're dropping ... mobile suits!" Athrun reported.

"What? Mobile suits!"

"Looks like a mass produced Strike!" Yzak snarled.

"We can't take them all! There must be at least 50!" Dearka said apprehensively.

"Gundams, return to base immediately!"

-

"Intelligence calls it the 'GAT-X01 Strike Dagger', a Mass Produced version of the indomitable Strike Gundam. Near as we can tell, the standard armaments are one beam saber, one head Vulcan, a beam rifle and a shield.

While not formidable on a one-to-one basis, their strength lies in numbers, and extrapolating from what we saw earlier, they have lots."

"I'd like to know when they developed these little grunts." Yzak growled.

"They probably started the same time the Gundams were developed, and then with the combat data from Strike, they could go from there. With all of the Earth's resources, the Alliance probably prepared for this extensively, creating mass production factories before Strike landed at JOSH-A." Athrun suggested.

"That makes too much sense Zala. Now they have an army of mobile suits, a Gundam to lead them and that damned Skygrasper and black pack." Yzak replied sarcasm and anger dripping off his words.

"And that pack is called the Lightning pack, recently developed at JOSH-A as well. Evidently it's very effective on both Strike and the Skygraspers." added the base commander.

"But we've got bigger problems, Captain Bartfelt is dead." Dearka cut in.

"I know, and ZAFT forces are pulling a temporary retreat to Gilbraltar to assess our situation in light of the Strike Daggers." said the commander.

"In the meantime," he continued "you five are being reassigned again, to patrol the ocean for any signs of Earth Alliance vessels or fleets."

"What?!"

"Why?"

"The hell?"

All five Gundam pilots voiced their outrage at being demoted to patrol duty on the ocean.

-

C.E. 71, April 26th

"Well this still blows." Yzak said angrily.

"Complaining won't get us anywhere." Nichol replied, hoping to stop Yzak's rant before it really got going.

"Yeah, and if we complain too much, we might get a crappier job." agreed Dearka.

"Yzak has a point, it's been how long now and we still haven't seen any sign of any ships anywhere remotely close to our location?" Athrun put in.

"Wish and ye shall receive Athrun. Enemy ship spotted, Red 23, Gamma 2, Mark 5!" Ian called out.

"Confirmed, I see it. IFF declares it ...the Archangel" Nichol confirmed.

"Finally some action and Strike's here to make me happy again!" Yzak said, his voice losing its angry tone.

"They've detected us, Strike and the Skygrasper have launched!" Dearka reported as he combined his beam rifle with his gun-launcher to form the hyper-rifle.

Strike had on the Lightning pack, with the Electromagnetic cannon already assembled, while the Skygrasper had the Aile pack on.

Kira wasted no time in choosing a target and unleashing a massive blast from his cannon. Deaka was the unfortunate recipient, and due to the size of the beam, was unable to dodge all of it.

"I'm hit!" he cried out. The beam blew off his left arm and melted some thrusters and armor, severely draining his power. Both of the Archangel's hangar bays were open, and due to his momentum, Dearka crashed inside the starboard one.

"Dearka! You'll pay for that Strike!" Yzak yelled.

The rest of the Gundams charged, weaving in between each other to confuse the gunners. With their heavy hitter down, it was going to be a lot harder to down the battleship, but they would succeed or die trying.

A second Skygrasper launched from the port hangar bay, it had the Sword Striker pack on. This was the most even match ZAFT and the Earth Alliance had ever fought.

"Heads up! Sword-Grasper has launched!" Athrun warned.

At least they don't seem to be carrying any Strike Daggers ... or maybe that's what their plan is. Ian thought.

Yzak and Athrun were pushing Strike further and further away from the Archangel with their relentless attacks. That left Nichol and Ian to deal with the Skygraspers.

"Nichol, stick to the Sword-Grasper and don't let him draw you towards the Archangel!" Ian said, starting an attack run on the Lightning-Grasper.

"Roger that, be careful against your opponent." Nichol replied.

The pilot of the Sword-Grasper must have been afraid of handling a Gundam on its own, so the pilot took off towards Strike, currently fighting Aegis and Duel. Nichol took off after his target, firing his beam rifle at the cowardly fighter jet.

The fighter ejected the Sword Striker parts over Kira, who engaged his thrusters to meet the parts in the sky. Pulling a tight turn, the Skygrasper docked with the Aile parts.

Kira drew his "Schwert Gewehr" anti-ship sword and activated the beam blade portion. Yzak flew overhead on his Gool, preparing to attack Strike. Athrun took the low approach, charging Strike head on. Kira dodged and fired his "Panzer Eisen" rocket anchor at the Gool. The grappling device lodged inside, and the sudden stop threw Aegis off towards the ground.

Yzak swooped around, lining up a clear shot, but Strike threw the "Midas Messer" beam boomerang. Duel dodged, but his Gool was cut in half. Firing his thrusters, Duel drew one of his beam sabers, ready to slice Strike in half.

Kira parried the attack with his massive sword.

"So fast ..." Yzak said.

Athrun recovered from his fall, and charged forward to help Yzak. Activating one of his four built-in beam sabers, he swung at Kira, who promptly blocked the attack. Yzak and Athrun began a series of attacks on Strike, who miraculously dodged or blocked them all. Strike even got a few attacks in, driving one of the Gundams back at a time.

By now the Aile-Grasper had returned to support the Lightning-Grasper, with Nichol following close behind, trying to get a clear shot. Both pilots were extremely lucky, but Ian decided that their luck would end right now.

He charged forwards, leaving himself open to attack. The Lightning-Grasper took the invitation eagerly, matching his heading and firing while flying head on.

"Nichol fire now!"

Blitz fired all three of its hyper-fast energy penetrator "Lancer Darts" at the Lightning-Grasper. The pilot was hit by all three darts, but managed to evade critical damage. With smoke pouring out of three different places, the pilot retreated to the relative safety of the Archangel and landed.

"Nichol, support Yzak and Athrun, I'll deal with this last fly."

Nichol didn't bother to acknowledge, he just flew off to help his friends. The Archangel launched a third Skygrasper, this one was loaded with the Launcher Strike packs.

"Holy crap, how many of these damn jets do they have?" Ian wondered.

Both Graspers took off towards the furious mobile suit battle raging on the nearby island. Ian sighed and followed them.

The three ZAFT pilots were taking turns attacking Strike, hoping to win through attrition. It was Aegis' turn, and he came in swiping. Kira blocked them and knocked Aegis away with a hit from the pommel of the sword. Turning he swung the sword at Blitz, who dodged, but not in time to save his arm which held the Trikeros shield. Strike used the momentum from the cut and swung around in one spot, sword now aimed for Blitz's cockpit.

Duel rammed into Strike from behind, which pushed the sword lower, but Blitz was still hit. With both legs severed at the thighs, Nichol fired his thrusters to keep himself upright. The Launcher-Grasper fired its impulse cannon at Blitz, destroying the head and upper chest area of the Gundam. The remains fell to the ground with a heavy thud.

Ian thought he saw Nichol scramble out of the cockpit just before it exploded.

"Nichol!" screamed Athrun, enraged.

Aegis threw the shield at the Launcher-Grasper as it flew towards the Gundams. The pilot had little time to react to the scarlet-colored object flying towards him. He inhaled in horror as the shield broke through the cockpit, crushing him and destroying the fighter with a large explosion.

"TOLLE!" Kira screamed.

"I think we made him mad." Yzak said sarcastically, blocking Kira's sword, and then slicing through it with his own beam saber.

Strike flew upwards to switch parts with the Aile-Grasper, then fired his beam rifle rapidly, separating Duel, Aegis and Slayer.

"Ian, Yzak, go for the Archangel while it's defenseless! I'll take care of Strike!" Athrun said, activating his arm's beam sabers and charging forward.

"I guess there's nothing stopping us now." Yzak said, now just outside the effective range of the Igelstellugs.

"There's me!" said an angry female voice.

"Huh?"

Both Ian and Yzak looked up to see another mobile suit. A red one that looked very similar to Strike in design, except it had another new Strike pack on.

"Holy crap! That one's armed to the teeth!" Yzak said, dodging a hail of bullets from her 30mm Gatling shield.

"You don't stand a chance against my Strike Rouge and Integrated Striker Weapons Pack!" she said, starting to laugh.

"Strike Rouge? How original!" Ian commented. He charged at the red Gundam, both beam sabers activated.

"Ian, evasive!" Yzak warned, but it was too late.

In Strike Rouge's right hand was a 9 meter sword, which promptly cut Slayer's right forearm off.

"Holy crap!" Ian gritted his teeth, pulling back to avoid the sword again.

The four cannons mounted above and below the shoulders of Strike Rouge swung into firing position and began to track the retreating Slayer. The female pilot gained a target lock and opened fire, bringing her Gatling shield back into play.

Rounds from the 115mm dual railcannons and the 110mm cannons whipped past Slayer, barely missing as Ian desperately dodged and ducked. Strike Rouge scythed her 6-barreled Gatling cannon back and forth, effectively trapping Slayer with a wall of fire.

The bullets weren't enough to penetrate his Phase-Shift armor, or even drain his power significantly, but when one or two railcannon rounds or cannon rounds connected, his armor started to fail.

"Yzak, get back to the ship ... warn them of the new circumstances." Ian said weakly, exhausted from his previous fights and lagging behind in avoiding the wrath and fury of Strike Rouge.

"Like hell I'll retreat! Eat this!" Yzak screamed, both beam sabers out.

Strike Rouge swung around to target Duel, but it was too late. Yzak sliced through the Gatling gun and backhanded Strike Rouge, sending the new Gundam off-balance. He fired his missiles, and then dodged the beam boomerang the pilot sent his way.

"Yzak! Behind you!" everyone always seemed to forget that boomerangs had the nasty habit of returning to their owners.

Yzak turned to see the boomerang heading right for him again, and blocked the projectile with his beam saber. Strike Rouge engaged its thrusters at full power, both anti-ship 9.1 meter swords drawn.
Ian rushed forward, and stabbed Strike Rouge with his last beam saber, aiming for the cockpit. There was a small explosion that knocked him about, and when he looked up, he saw that ... he missed?

"But how?" he asked himself, shaking his head and clanging his helmet against something large and metallic.

Looking over, he saw the one of Strike Rouge's blades had penetrated his cockpit, barely missing him, most likely because of Ian's attack. He swore then fired his railguns several times at the enemy, knocking the Gundam away, but the sword was still embedded in his Gundam.

More machine-cannon fire got his attention, and both he and Yzak turned to see the last Skygrasper with the damaged Sword Striker parts firing at them.

"Goddamned flies never know when enough is enough!" Yzak yelled, foregoing his beam sabers and opting to punch the fighter away. The force of the blow damaged the engines and sent the craft tumbling towards an island.

The island where Kira and Athrun were fighting to the death.

"KIRA!"

"ATHRUN!"

Both pilots were evenly matched, striking one another in fury. Strike cut off Aegis' left arm at the shoulder and kicked the red Gundam away. Athrun promptly activated all of his beam sabers and kicked out at Strike's shield arm. The beam saber sliced the arm off, and then Kira stabbed through Aegis' head, skewering that part right off the Gundam.

Athrun sliced at Strike's cockpit, destroying the hatch but failing to kill the pilot inside. They continued to bash each other around until Aegis transformed into its mobile armor form and grabbed Strike in between its claws.

"Let's see how you take a Scylla blast to the chest." Athrun whispered.

Unfortunately his power reserves went critical and his Phase-shift shut down, leaving him with insufficient power to fire the devastating blast.

With no other options, Athrun typed in a few commands then punched the code '2887' on a console that popped out. Opening the hatch, Athrun activated his jetpack and flew away as the Aegis self-destructed with Strike in front of it.

"Athrun!"

Duel and Slayer closed in on the island, scanning for survivors.

"Wow, Strike's almost burned to crisp ..." Ian noted.

"I found Nichol!" Yzak announced.

Well that's unexpected. Ian thought.

A/N: Well Strike Rouge ... and the ISWP ... and another ass-kicking all round! R & R please!