Zechs allowed himself a tight smile of satisfaction. Things are going roughly as planned.
He sat in the control tower of the Lake Victoria base. From there, he was observing the series of engagements. The exercises were limited below what Compton's flunky had wanted—there had only been thirty graduates from Zechs' course, so that was the maximum size of the engagements allowable.
The first two engagements—and Zechs truly had to question the intelligence of Captain Ross, his counterpart—had been simple five-on-three matches. Naturally, Zechs' pilots had come through twice in a row, losing one of their own each time but still winning handily.
Sure, the ratio of 5-3 is the same regardless of the total size of the engagement. Even so, 50-30 is a far rougher deal than a 5-3.
Naturally, losing those two matches in that manner had a very detrimental effect on Ross' mental state.
The third match was a fifteen-on-nine, and the fourth was 25-on-15. Once again, the Specials soldiers won decisively—they lost only two of their own in the third match, though many were hit once or twice. The fourth match had a scare in it for Zechs. The pilots had ordered themselves into squads so that they could execute small-unit tactics—they did so with alacrity and efficiency that gave Zechs a touch of pride. Unfortunately, there was a miscommunication somewhere, and one of the squads accidentally ran through the other squads' lines of fire.
By the end of the match, the Specials had only seven pilots, less than half, still standing. Of course, Ross' troops were all cursing at their inoperative Leos. Even so, one of Zechs' pilots was going to catch some serious flack from his comrades over that one. There was no need for Zechs to personally discipline the pilot-- everyone had seen his screw-up. Humiliation before his peers would ensure he'd be more careful in the future.
He looked over at Ross. The man was sweating heavily despite the air conditioning. "Sir?" said Zechs.
Ross jerked his head in Zechs' direction. Zechs could tell that Ross was imagining Compton's wrath, and probably considering some sort of transfer. It's unfortunate, Ross, that you have to pay for your boss' stupidity. Treize would probably sympathize, but absolve himself on the grounds that you chose the wrong boss. Either way, I don't feel enough pity to go easy on you. I have to make this extremely convincing to make Treize's job easier.
He smiled. And let's be honest. You ARE incompetent, and I don't want to reward that.
"If you wish, we can postpone the final match until tomorrow," he said to Ross.
The man nodded nervously, then more eagerly. "Certainly, Lieutenant, tomorrow is more than acceptable."
"One more thing," said Zechs. "I'm curious. Did you simply get a bad crop of students, or is it a problem with your instructors? I'm willing to let you use some of your instructors in the final match." He bowed. "In kind, I would like to fight tomorrow myself."
Ross nodded. "That seems fair. Do you wish to use all your pilots and Leos in the final match?"
Zechs nodded. "Yes. I will field a force of thirty-one mobile suits, one of which will be myself. You can field… let's give you sixty, ten of which can be instructors."
Ross' eyes popped wider. That will make things more difficult on me, Zechs thought, but not as much as you hope. I was simply trying to make it so you couldn't refuse me.
"That's acceptable," Ross managed.
"Very well," said Zechs. He bowed, and left. This way, I should be able to make contact with her… and at the same time, make sure she hasn't slipped. It would be tremendously embarrassing if I had to tell Treize that I was wrong about her. He smiled. Besides, it's been a while.
Zechs stood, as was his custom now, in his red dress uniform, looking out over his graduates again. They were in a ready room, and he was delivering a brief for the coming fight. "I'd like to congratulate everyone on your performances yesterday," he said. "I monitored you all from the control tower. I must say, you caused my counterpart in the Alliance a great deal of distress."
Chuckles. Good, a semi-relaxed atmosphere—but now it was time to key them up again. They needed to be at their best.
"But you all have to forget about everything that's happened so far, because this match is far-and-away the most difficult. We'll be outnumbered by a full two-to-one, and ten of their pilots will be instructors at Lake Victoria, the best they've got. At least one of those instructors is a top ace that worries me, and there might be more we don't know about."
They didn't discuss this amongst themselves, like Zechs expected them to. Instead, they concentrated ever harder on Zechs, hanging on his words. Better than I hoped. We'll be ready.
"Although I expect the best from you always, if you've been saving anything over the past four fights now is the time to spend it. I have a plan that will let us win, but we'll need to be at the top of our skills to pull it off."
Nods. Alright, then.
Zechs hit a button. On the monitor behind him appeared three lists. "I've separated the thirty of you up into ten-man squads. Squad leaders, feel free to organize sub-squads as you feel appropriate. Squad three in particular will need smaller units to make our plan work." More nods.
"The agreement we have with the Alliance dictates that our units will line up in formation opposite theirs before the battle starts. Standard Alliance tactics in this case are for their four "inside" units to engage and hold us, while the two "outside" units do a double envelopment and hit us on both flanks. Well, we're not going to let them do that.
"Squad two, at the start of the engagement you're to flow laterally to the right, then engage the flanking unit on the right and anyone else who wanders into your area. You have to keep squad one from getting flanked and cut off, that's your priority, and you should engage as many units as necessary to keep that from happening.
"Squad one, you have the hardest job. You are to perform a fighting retreat as you move towards the right—but slower, much slower than squad two. Your job is to keep the main body of the enemy engaged." He paused, seeing the squad one pilots shifting uncomfortably. "Yes, this means that you will be fighting the bulk of the enemy force virtually unassisted. Remember these things! You don't have to defeat the enemy, that's not your job. Your job is simply to keep his attention. You are a glorified decoy, but you have to keep the enemy slowed down! Make him stop or walk to shoot, don't let him run. Make him maneuver and take cover. I want you to be putting out significant firepower at anyone who comes close. If the enemy doesn't take you seriously, pick a fight. You want to hold the attention of the enemy's main body. That means you're going to have to try and stay alive as much as possible, we need you to fight as long as you can—as long as it takes for squad three to get into position."
He smiled as all eyes turned to him, waiting for him to say the fate of squad three.
"Squad three is going to disconnect from the main body, disengage and maneuver to the far right, and hit the entire Alliance force in the flank and rear."
The room dissolved into whispers and comments. "That means you can't dilly-dally!" he said, trying to regain control of the room. "This move has to be careful, because if the enemy sees it coming he'll react to it. But that's what squads one and two are for, to give you the time and cover necessary to get into position. What you absolutely cannot be is slow. Even with our superior average skill level, squads one and two will not last long outnumbered three-to-one. So move swiftly and quietly, then attack decisively."
Now it was nods again, and Zechs could read the comprehension and anticipation in their eyes. "Squad two," he said, "your objective at first is to help squad one run interference, but once squad three has made its appearance, feel free to make attacks yourselves. This battle won't be neat and pretty; it can't be. I expect each of the squad commanders to react and adapt to the situation. This plan can work almost regardless of what the Alliance does, but it will need tweaking to do so, and that has to come from you. I selected you because of your superior situational awareness, and you'll need to use it."
Nods from the squad commanders. "Myself, I will be floating between squads one and two, lending support as needed. Squad call-signs are Alpha, Beta, Gamma; my call-sign is Lightning. Is everyone clear on this? Any questions?"
"Sir, you said you'll be out there?" said Otto.
"Yes. In exchange for them fielding an additional ten Leos piloted by Lake Victoria's instructor corps, I will be on the field in a Leo myself."
Zechs could almost see the confidence of the pilots rising. "Any other questions?"
"Sir?"
"Yes?"
"How did you get the Alliance to give themselves such lousy odds?"
Zechs smiled. "Credit all of that to the skill of Lieutenant Colonel Treize Khushrenada. Anything else? Alright, we deploy in one hour. Don't be late."
Zechs felt the breath seep out of his body as g-forces smashed him into his command seat. Beneath him his Leo jumped backwards, sprays of fire sailing futilely below.
It's too fast. We're not resisting well enough. We can't let ourselves get pushed back into third squad.
The Alliance forces were moving much faster than Zechs had anticipated. They were suffering casualties, yes, but at such a disadvantage Zechs' forces were also. Squad one had already lost two Leos, and many of the others had been hit once or twice.
Zechs landed, then sprung forward again at a run. Blanks tore up the ground about him. He turned to face his assailants and fired several shots. They weren't the most accurate shots, but he still took down one Leo and sent the others scurrying about. But now reinforcements came up behind them, firing as they approached. Zechs returned their fire for a few seconds, then fled quickly as the air grew thick with rounds.
With a few spare seconds he stole a look at the situation map. Squad three had turned off all transmissions to help them evade detection. Apparently, it was working; he had no idea where they were. Squad two had mauled the Alliance unit on the far right and was in a heated engagement with a second unit. However, the Alliance's four remaining units were converging on squad one with dangerous rapidity.
A third member of squad one went down. "Alpha two," Zechs barked, "three to your left, look out!" Zechs threw his Leo into a jump, trying to get there before A-2 was overwhelmed.
The poor pilot was reduced to constant maneuvering, trying to avoid the enemies closing in on him; he was too busy even to retreat. Now six pilots were firing at him…
…And weren't moving themselves.
Zechs fired at the three pilots farthest away from him, downing two and spooking the other before they figured out he was there. The three remaining Leos turned to engage him, but it was far too late.
Zechs tossed aside his rifle and grabbed for his beam saber. As he landed, he swung down at the closest enemy Leo and incapacitated it. Its comrades turned to face him, but he hid behind the Leo he'd 'killed'.
Now Alpha two helped Zechs out, firing at the two still-active Leos. The two Leos turned to face A-2 again, and when they did, Zechs zipped out from behind his impromptu cover.
A slash to the down-left, and spin-slash to the right, and it was over.
Zechs quickly stored his beam saber as A-2 mopped up the survivor. He grabbed a rifle from one of his victims. "Alpha two," he said. "Come with me. They've almost cut us off. We'll have to rush if we're to rejoin…" he trailed off. A contingent of Leos was moving between Zechs and the rest of Squads one and two. He would have to cut through them if he were to rejoin his comrades.
No, that wouldn't work, there were too many… but what he could do was make himself a diversion, hurting the enemy along this side and slowing the pressure on his subordinates.
"Alpha two, follow my lead!" he said. He fired at the closest enemies, the ones who'd cut him off. They began to maneuver, but he didn't stop to engage them; instead he ran away at an angle. Those enemies regrouped but didn't come after him. Zechs didn't care. He was already firing at and scattering another group behind them.
He wouldn't get many kills this way, but that wasn't the point, was it?
He glanced at the situation map. Squad two had accomplished its mission and gained an edge on the right, but new waves of enemies were pushing in on them and they were struggling to hold their position. Squad one was barely holding on; they'd taken fifty percent casualties and were in an almost-continuous state of fighting retreat. They were slowing the enemy very effectively, but they'd all but lost the ability to fight back.
Where was squad three?
A group of enemies was ignoring Zechs. He settled down and fired steady, accurate shots into them. Down went one Leo, then another… and that was all, as the remainder turned on Zechs and unloaded firepower at him. Alpha two claimed an enemy, but didn't maneuver fast enough; the wave of fire caught him and shut him down.
I know exactly what I need to do, but this Leo just isn't powerful enough to let me do it.
Well, he'd annoyed them enough, it seemed. A section of five Leos was chasing him away, and even Zechs was not skilled enough to defeat all five enemies head-on.
He danced backwards in his Leo, trying to space his enemies out. If I can maneuver so they can't cover each other, I can pick them off one by one. Still, it was taking all his effort just to avoid getting hit. In any event, at least I'm drawing them away from the real battle.
He made a mighty leap to the left; bullets flew uselessly beneath him. He tried to bring his rifle to bear, but he had to make an in-flight adjustment to avoid another round of fire from his foes. There! That was it; he'd made it around them. Now one of the enemy stood between Zechs and the rest. Zechs unloaded mercilessly into his prey, hitting the necessary three targets to shut it down.
Although he killed it almost instantly, the enemy was now swarming to both sides of their fallen friend. Zechs retreated hastily to avoid a lethal crossfire, then dashed to the right. The enemies held their ground, choosing to shoot at Zechs instead of maneuver. Zechs' Leo shuddered as one of them connected, but with effort he pulled out of their lines of fire. Now he jumped back a tremendous distance.
He allowed himself a tight smile—his eyes were as good as ever. He was still in range of two of the Leos, but the other two were just out. He took aim while continuing to maneuver. He hit one of the Leos twice and its partner thrice, shutting it down, even as their friends tromped into range again.
The two Leos stayed to fight, but the damaged one fled… to where, Zechs certainly couldn't tell.
Now that I've evened the odds a little, I can do this the more traditional way… by simple virtue of the fact that I'm a better shot while on the move.
He made liberal use of his thrusters as he steadily shot up one of the enemy. He was preparing to face the other when it suddenly turned tail and left, running at top speed back towards the main battle.
"I'm not done with you!" Zechs shouted. He pushed his machine at top speed to chase down his foe, but their Leos were equal; he couldn't catch it.
But if I jump, maybe I won't have to catch it…
Zechs threw his Leo into a forward jump and took aim. He hadn't been in range from the ground, but with the extra elevation he could just make the shot. He took it.
He only hit his target twice, but that was effectively enough; the enemy stopped to look behind it, and Zechs snapped him up as he hesitated.
Only now did Zechs look at his situation map—and laughed out loud when he realized what had happened.
Squad three had finally arrived.
Squad one was all but destroyed, with only two pilots still moving. Squad two had taken over diversion duty and suffered also, down to four pilots active. But Squad three had pulled their rear attack off perfectly, inflicting major casualties. They'd lost two of their pilots already, but that was insignificant compared to the damage they were doing now.
The Alliance attackers had thought victory was near, but suddenly a whole new group of suits had arrived in their rear. They'd taken severe casualties before they'd even figured out where the bullets were coming from, and they were only now recovering from the shock.
Zechs gave a predator's smile. "Now is the time to win this battle."
He ran at full throttle towards the enemy.
The Alliance troops had somehow managed to re-orient themselves so that all the Specials troops were in front of them. All except Zechs, that was. And Zechs had a beam saber.
Everything became a blur of brown paint and energy to Zechs as he tore into the Alliance lines. He knocked over mobile suits as if they were nothing, defeating them as quickly as he could get to them and swing. The few that noticed him never got good enough shots off; he simply dodged their panicked shots, rushed them, and killed them.
Until he came to the one pilot who could resist his skill.
He came to a spot in the line where there was only one Alliance Leo still standing, yet the Specials Leos were giving it a wide berth. Shells were pouring from its rifle. Must be an instructor, thought Zechs. Taking him out will make things easier.
He fired his thrusters and swept up to it.
Then it jumped over him.
Zechs almost stumbled as the object of his attack suddenly disappeared over his head. He dodged instinctively, which was a good thing, as the pilot of that Leo had fired back along the same axis.
Bullets shredded the ground where Zechs had stood. From his new position he quickly found his foe, still on its way to the ground. This time I won't miss. Zechs again ran forward at full throttle, then hit his thrusters for a linear boost straight at the target.
The enemy just couldn't get its rifle up fast enough. This time Zechs connected—but the foe took the blow on its shield. Still, there was enough power in the strike to knock the enemy to the ground. Zechs reversed his grip to deliver the coup de grace…
And found himself staring at the muzzle of the enemy's rifle.
It was only by some miracle of reflexes that he escaped, jumping backwards as the bullets sheered paint from his Leo.
That pilot took very good aim while falling down! Plus she managed to take my saber attack on her shield, and she had superb situational awareness, dodging my initial attack without even facing me. Very few pilots have that much skill. It must be her! But how to be sure?
He smiled. Of course.
He switched his communications over to tight-beam and sent a message directly to the enemy Leo. "How long has it been?" he said simply.
"Seven months, ten days," was the crisp and immediate reply.
It's her!
"Excellent as always, Noin."
"Brilliant as always, Zechs."
"We need to talk after our business here is done."
"Room four-two-zero, staff dormitory."
"Thank you. Now then, shall we?"
"Absolutely."
Noin had regained her footing during their conversation, and now stood facing Zechs. A few bullets tossed up the earth around Noin. Zechs immediately switched to the all-hands frequency. "No one attack this pilot. This one is mine!" he said.
He glanced at the situation map and realized suddenly that that was a very appropriate thing to say—the last two or three Alliance stragglers were being mopped up. The Specials forces were down to only nine pilots, counting Zechs, but the battle was over.
He smiled. Noin, you don't realize this, but this is your audition. Don't let me down.
Noin had her rifle trained on Zechs, but there was only room for one, maybe two shots before he could strike her with his saber. She was watching him carefully, waiting for him to move.
He moved.
She shot.
But Zechs had moved to the right, which meant his left side—the side with the Leo's small shield—was to Noin. The first shot glanced harmlessly off.
Noin took a second shot, this time aiming around the shield. Zechs shuddered with his Leo as it absorbed the round. Static flooded his HUD, simulating battle damage. He had now taken two hits; one more would put him out of action.
But then he was upon her. He made a strike across his body to put her down.
Brilliant, Noin!
Under normal circumstances, a beam saber might be able to cut through a Leo's rifle—if nothing else, it would render the rifle useless. But in this simulation, the power of the sabers was toned down, which meant that the rifle could effectively counter the saber in close combat.
And that was exactly what Noin had done.
She made her block while leaping forward and turning. The force of the blow completed her turn for her, presenting her with a shot at Zechs' back.
Zechs jumped the instant he saw her strategy.
She fired.
The shot sailed between his Leo's legs, millimeters away from shutting him down.
The recoil from her shot ground Noin into the dirt. She had to spend several seconds getting back to her feet.
In that time, Zechs landed near the corpse of a Leo he'd defeated and scooped up its rifle.
Noin realized only too late what Zechs had done. Her return shot came just after his first salvo struck her, so her aim was off.
Two rounds later, and her Leo slumped towards the ground.
Zechs panted in his cockpit, worn out by all the fighting he had done.
Victory, sweet victory, was his.
And Noin had not disappointed him. She was as sharp as ever, and had almost defeated him thrice despite getting surprised at the outset.
It's been a good day. By tonight, I should have Noin on my side again—what a comfort that will be. Treize will be very pleased.
He turned to the control tower, for he knew that Treize and General Compton were there observing. "General Compton, Lieutenant Colonel Treize, I hereby declare victory for the Special Mobile Suit Corps."
There was silence on the comm. channels for several seconds. Zechs' surviving pilots gathered about him, waiting for word from the tower.
"I, Lieutenant Colonel Treize Khushrenada, hereby certify this victory as official. The Special Mobile Suit Corps has won."
Several more seconds passed. "I, General Compton, confirm this victory by the Specials," said a reluctant-sounding general. "I hereby transfer to the Specials and Lieutenant Colonel Treize the personnel, facilities, and responsibilities for the basic and advanced mobile suit schools at the Lake Victoria Military Academy."
Victory.
Treize had rolled the dice and come up big. Zechs had done the same and come up bigger.
Total, unambiguous and decisive victory.
Zechs fairly skipped his Leo back to the hangar.