Kido Senshi Gundam SEED: The sixth Gundam.
By: Prayer Reverie
Contact: prayerreverie(at)yahoo(dot)com
Summary: A sixth Gundam was developed at Heliopolis, unbeknownst to the Earth Alliance, Orb or ZAFT. AU for changing the SEED storyline and because of Destiny's confirmation.
Disclaimer: I do not own Gundam SEED in any which way (although some days I wish).
RVD: Well thanks dude, you'll find out soon enough Ian's true loyalties
Chapter 9: Dueling Respect
C.E. 71, June 15th
Activity in space had dropped to an all-time low. The Earth Alliance reinforced its borders to prevent any more attacks in the near future. Production of the Strike Dagger mobile suit was expanded, and factories were set up on the moon.
Activity on Earth, by contrast, was at an all-time high. The introduction of the X131 Calamity, the X252 Forbidden and the X370 Raider Gundam had thrown the balance of power off. The mass-produced ZAFT mobile suits were no match for the power contained in the three suits, and added with the mass-produced Strike Daggers, many ZAFT offenses were halted in their tracks.
Despite having superior reflexes and greater mental abilities, the ZAFT forces were hard-pressed to keep up with the superior-quality Strike Daggers. But that didn't stop the battle-hardened veteran ZAFT mobile suit corps from striking decisive blows against the Earth Alliance.
ZAFT had received information that the Earth Alliance was planning to attack the nation of Orb, despite all they had done with developing the mobile suits. Still, ZAFT wasn't about to stop the destruction of an enemy that had sought destruction, so instead they pulled their forces back, to allow the EA fleet to approach unhindered.
Le Creuset had informed the High Council that the Archangel had left the Earth Alliance. Perhaps that was one of the reasons for the attack on Orb. It was rumored that the daughter of Representative Athha, current ruler or Orb, was on the Archangel and knew the pilot of Strike.
The Archangel now had three operational mobile suits, the stolen Freedom Gundam; piloted by Kira, the Strike Gundam; pilot unknown, and the Strike Rouge; a knock-off of the Strike piloted by Flay Alster, one of the refugees from Heliopolis.
None of that really concerned Ian. Yzak was still down there, and Athrun was supposed to be there soon. The two elite pilots would give the Earth Alliance, and Orb if need be, a good run for their money.
"Temk Squad, form up, we're going home." Ian transmitted. To his right was Diane, promoted to Second thanks to her part in the destruction of the 8th Fleet months ago. She received a GuAIZ Firearms prototype, once a test-bed for the Freedom.
The CGUEs, painted in the standard colors formed up and the received clearance to land. Their patrol was fruitless as always, the action still on Earth.
"Man, how many more times are we going to go out there?" complained one pilot.
"Shut it Vasily! We do our job and we don't complain!" Diane cut in, shutting the pilot up.
In truth, Ian was a little anxious for some action as well. Almost a month had passed, and he had yet to test all of Lightning's systems. He was itching, but as the Squad commander, he had to lead by example.
"Any more complaints will warrant a days worth of pay docked, effective immediate." Ian said sternly, hoping to quell any more incessant whining.
"If you have any problems, see me in person." He added.
The rest of his squad members had run off somewhere, but Diane caught up to him in a hallway.
"Ian! I've got some good news! Prometheus is on its way to Jachin Due for re-supply!" she said excitedly.
"Really? I haven't seen Fanel since I dropped to Earth." Ian replied. This really was good news.
"He's anxious to see you again as well. They'll be here in a couple of days."
Her watch started to beep.
"Crap, I've got an appointment, I'll fill you in on more of the details later." She said, running off.
-
C.E. 71, June 18th
The Prometheus slid into her docking bay with ease; the pilot was well trained and well experienced. Boarding tubes were extended and connected in several places to allow easy access for the station crew and the ship's crew.
Ian and Diane were among the officers on-hand to greet the Prometheus and grant permission to come aboard.
"Commander Fanel of the Prometheus requesting permission to come aboard sir." Fanel said, saluting. Behind him was Captain Hashagowa, saluting as well.
"Permission granted. Commander, Captain, welcome to Jaching Due." The officer said, returning the salute then walking away.
"Fanel! Good to see you again." Ian said, catching their attention.
"Well I'll be! Ian Temk, I haven't seen you since you dropped with the Le Creuset team." Fanel replied.
"Captain Hashagowa." Ian said.
"Good to see you alive my boy. And I see another familiar face." The Captain was referring to Diane.
"Well, just another old fashioned reunion. So what brings the two of you to Jachin Due? Re-supply stop as well?" Fanel asked, starting to walk.
"Ian and I are stationed here. I'm his Second." She replied, moving along with the group.
"Hah, I knew you'd get promoted soon enough. Congratulations." Hashagowa said.
"Thank you Captain, but we got our asses handed to us a few times down there, it wasn't easy." Ian said.
"I'll bet. I read the debriefing reports, sounded like a helluva fight." Fanel said, laughing lightly.
They continued to talk, walking to the mess hall to get something to eat. As they ate, Ian gave them all a first-hand accounting of all the battles between the Le Creuset team and the Strike Gundam, and then went a little less in-depth about the Clyne incident and Lightning.
Diane was next, and she told them about her duties after the annihilation of the 8th Fleet. They kept her busy. She went into more detail about her prototype GuAIZ Firearms suit, and the development of Freedom and Justice.
Fanel was about to speak when the general quarters alarm was sounded.
"All personnel we have a Level 2 Alert, repeat we have a Level 2 Alert."
Hashagowa and Fanel raced back to the Prometheus, to ready the great ship for launch, while Diane and Ian reported to the Pilot Briefing Room. The Mission Planning officer was there soon after to inform them of what was going on.
"Long range sensors have picked up an Earth Alliance Fleet heading our way. We can safely assume there will be Strike Daggers suits and Moebius mobile armors, but the numbers are unknown. There are confirmed reports of at least two Agamemnon-class battlecruisers, and several 250meter-class and 130meter-class ships."
"And our orders?" Ian asked.
"We're not sure of their objective yet, but they can't be planning much with only one fleet versus the entire defense force of Jachin Due."
The pilots began to talk among themselves. What was the point of attacking the greatest ZAFT stronghold in space with only a single fleet? The Calamity, Forbidden and Raider were still on Earth, battling the Freedom, Strike, Strike Rouge and Justice, so what did the Earth Alliance have up its sleeve?
"The Sikorsky Squad, Temk Squad, Aleong Squad and Bohaychuk Squad will launch at once to deal with the fleet. The Addington Squad, Gantz Squad and Nomi Squad will be on standby. Report to your suits!"
The pilots saluted and left to board their suits. Ian was running through his checklist when a voice came over the intercom.
"Sikorsky Squad, launch!"
One by one, the 8 members of the Sikorsky Squad, made up of CGUEs launched. Ian completed his checklist and received confirmations that his squad was fully operational.
"Temk Squad, launch!"
Ian launched first, followed by Diane, then the other 6 members. After his Squad were the Aleong Squad and finally the Bohaychuk Squad. They set up a perimeter close to the long range sensor buoys, giving them enough time to spot the fleet and report.
"Targets sighted, Yellow 3, Alpha 1, Mark 5." One of Ian's pilots reported.
Before Ian could reply, a group of Strike Daggers equipped with booster packs swarmed their position. Two CGUEs from the Sikorsky Squad fell to the surprise attack.
"All units, break by pairs and attack at will!" Ian ordered. Diane armed her all of her weapons, detached her backpack and used it as a sub-lifter.
"Watch your power consumption Diane, as much as I'd want to rescue you, I'd hate to see you run out of power." Ian warned.
"That's why the Phase-Shift Armor was removed in favor of reinforced armor and a few more battery packs. But you don't have an N-Jammer Canceller or a Fission Reactor so you should watch out as well." Diane said.
"I will, but at least most of my weapons don't guzzle energy. You think you can keep up with Lightning on that backpack of yours?" he taunted.
"Try me."
Ian laughed, then armed his large-caliber beam rifle and fired up all of his thrusters, pouring on all speed to meet his enemy head on. Diane followed, hot on his heels.
Two Strike Daggers fired at Lightning, but Ian tapped the thrusters lightly to roll left and out of their aim. Diane fired her railcannons at the two Alliance suits, destroying them both.
Ian fired at another group of passing Strike Daggers, destroying one and damaging another. As they turned to face him, he boosted upwards then dived at them firing his machine gatling cannons as he went. The armor-piercing bullets penetrated the armor of the Strike Daggers, and in some case, penetrated all the out the other side.
He was already choosing more targets as the Daggers were exploding. The battle was over not much later. The ZAFT forces had few losses, but the mystery still remained as to why a single Earth Alliance fleet would attack Jachin Due. Nonetheless Ian enjoyed the chance to test Lightning in combat, and he was impressed with his new unit.
But a nagging thought kept recurring to him, where was the Slayer? Command had told him nothing of the status of his former unit, save that it was under repairs. He had heard no rumors about anyone piloting it, and there was nothing anywhere about its whereabouts.
-
C.E. 71, August 10th
Though the disappearance of his old mobile suit still troubled him, Ian's work was usually more than enough to distract him from his worries. The commander of the Sikorsky squad, a buff Polack by the name of Mariuz, was receiving the two replacement pilots for those lost in the battle over a month ago.
Commander Le Creuset sent a report detailing the fall of Orb, the nation that had helped the Earth Alliance develop the first five G-units. The Alliance claimed their attack was justified, saying that Orb harbored traitors and returned ZAFT prisoners.
Ian guessed that Athrun's return had been discovered by their command, and they didn't like it. There was something about sightings of the Justice and Freedom, working together to fight off the hordes of Strike Daggers and the three new Alliance units; Forbidden, Raider and Calamity.
Orb had developed their own mobile suits to defend themselves, but such a reason could easily be misconstrued and warped to preemptive attack. The Archangel and another ship had launched into space using Orb's mass driver, and after that, the ruler, Uzumi Yula Athha had self-destructed the entire facility, mass driver included.
Yzak returned to space, his orders were to take command of the entire Jachin Due Mobile Suit Force. Ian was there to greet Yzak, much as he was there to greet Fanel and the Prometheus.
"Welcome back to space Yzak." Ian said saluting.
"That would be Commander Yzak to you, Ian." Yzak said, returning the salute.
"So what's new with Commander Yzak?" Ian asked, putting emphasis on the 'commander'.
"The usual, but Athrun turned traitor and joined the renegade Archangel. I heard you are piloting a brand new suit. What's it like?"
"She's the ZGMF-L01 Lightning; Prototype Close Combat Attack suit, equipped with a lot of verniers. Think of Duel with big wings." Ian explained.
"Another Gundam? How many did the Council make?" Yzak asked, shaking his head.
"Actually, it's going to be a mass-produced suit, mine's the first, but it does have the same sensors as the five we captured, and the Freedom and Justice, dual eyes, extra cameras elsewhere." Ian corrected.
Yzak chuckled a bit, and then continued.
"Any reports on Dearka?" he asked, a little downcast suddenly.
"I don't think anything has been mentioned, other than he's MIA. Commander Le Creuset didn't include anything in his reports he's sent up. Sorry Yzak." Ian replied.
"Well, Dearka's a big boy; he can take care of himself. Who's got your old Slayer now?" Yzak quickly changed the subject.
"Actually I've been wondering that as well. I thought you might now, last I heard it was getting repaired on Earth, and that was right before I was transferred." Ian said, now more confused about his first mobile suit.
"Hmm, well then, who's your second in command? I heard she's good looking." Yzak said with a smirk.
"Looks like Dearka's habits are rubbing off on you. She's from the Prometheus, and she was promoted after the annihilation of the 8th Fleet. Her name is ..."
A female voice interrupted Ian. "Diane Madu. And you are?"
Ian and Yzak turned to see Diane coming up the hallway behind them.
"Yzak Jule, new Commander of the Jachin Due Mobile Suit Force." He said with authority.
Geez woman, he's not here for 10 minutes and you're already going head to head with the most stubborn person born. Ian cringed.
Diane faltered at hit title, but quickly saluted. Yzak waited for a moment, and then saluted back. Ian let out the breath he didn't realize he was holding.
"Perhaps, Ian, you should teach your subordinates some semblance of respect." Yzak said, biting off the words.
"Aye sir." Ian said.
"Perhaps the superior pilot should be the one to teach some respect." Diane said.
Ian and Yzak looked at her with bewildered looks.
"I'M the better pilot." They both said together. Diane suppressed a giggle as both pilots looked at each other.
"You are not!" they said.
This time Diane couldn't contain her laughter.
"Fine then, my Duel versus your Lightning, 20 minutes in sector 2A." Yzak said, walking off and muttering curses about women.
-
The Lightning floated in space, awaiting the signal to begin the duel. Their computers had been programmed for the simulation, and their weapons were loaded with paintballs. When hit, the computer would register the attack and shut down anything that might have been damaged. Their beam sabers had their power reduced to 20, enough to score the paint job, but very little else.
No holds barred, no rules, just an all out fight. Everyone off duty was watching and placing bets on the two pilots. Bets were placed on who would win, and there would be a lot of money changing hands at the end of the duel.
Even those on duty were calling up images of the two units about to fight. Finally the signal to begin was given.
Yzak launched out of his hiding place, boring ahead at full speed to find Ian. Ian was still floating in space, but he had the wings on Lightning folded back to hide them from Yzak. When Duel got within several kilometers, Ian unfolded his wings.
"What the hell are those Temk?" Yzak demanded.
"Find out for yourself." Ian replied, starting up his banks of verniers.
Lightning leapt forward as Yzak fired several times with both the beam rifle and his railgun. Ian pulled up to avoid the incoming shots and opened up with his machine gatling cannons. Duel dodged to the right and fired again, missing his target at Lightning dodged at full speed.
Ian smiled as he gained a target lock on Yzak, and then opened fire with his own beam rifle. Yzak blocked one shot with his shield and dodged the other as he holstered his rifle and pulled out a beam saber. Ian dodged the first attack and blocked the second, and then fired everything he had.
Yzak blocked most of the shots, but several gatling rounds made it past to impact on his armor. The quantum computer in Duel registered the hits, but there was no major damage to impede the suit's performance.
The two ace pilots continued their fight, both sustaining damage at an almost equal rate. Everyone watching was cheering wildly, barely caring who was winning and who was losing most of the time. They had been at it for over 40 minutes, and still going strong.
By now Ian had 'lost' the lower portion of Lightning's right leg, and had sustained damage to his armor. Yzak's railgun was damaged beyond use and his missiles were expended. Duel also was 'missing' his left arm, which consequently held the beam-coated shield.
Ian was running out of power for the beam rifle, so he ejected it and pulled one of his beam sabers. His shield was beat up, but still mainly in one piece and for now was capable of taking Yzak's blows. Duel charged again and Ian responded it kind, charging forward and unleashing a hail of machine gatling rounds at Yzak.
Yzak barely dodged, letting more and more rounds impact. Though the damage was minimal at the time, it added up through attrition, and right now Ian was pouring it all on.
The two closed to close combat range and the beam sabers clashed together forcefully. Finally one of Duel's critical systems shorted out, allowing Ian to brush Yzak's last beam saber aside and finally 'behead' the first-generation stolen suit. Both quantum computers declared Ian the winner, and diagnostics of the simulated damage were transmitted to each pilot, and to the lounges where the crews looked on in awe.
"You cheated." The words startled Ian out of his almost trance-like state.
"Care to explain how?"
"There's no way bullets can do that much damage to my phase-shift armor, and you don't have that feature either, so you should have taken more damage!" Yzak accused.
"It's called Trans-Phase Shift, and my machine gatling cannons are perfectly capable of taking you down. Face it, I'm a better pilot." Ian explained and bragged.
Yzak didn't reply, and Ian got the feeling that the Commander of the Jachin Due Defense Force would be mad at a lowly squadron commander.
"Don't forget to teach your second some respect."
A/N: Sorry for the delay, I was busy yet again, plus I couldn't decide who should win: Duel or Lightning. With this chapter done, I plan on only one more to wrap the war up, and then it's onto something else (maybe I can get into my "Phase Zero" more). Until Chapter 10!