NOTE: Thank you for White Spirit Angel and SulliMike23 for your reviews. You are always my constant supporters, and I can't be grateful enough. I'll see if I can satisfy you all, but for now, I hope you enjoy Chapter II of "I, Feddie"
Chapter II: To Be or Not To Be
EFS Stockholm, X-Divisional Fleet,
Outskirt of Shoal Zone,
March 6, UC 0088
"What's the matter, Pielhau? Don't like this new machines?" Armus said, seeing his sergeant sulking. "The MSZ-006FS is the newest line of Z Plus series. They only give these things to the best unit, so you ought to be proud."
"It's a blimp, Sir," Jack couldn't control his temper. "With only 0.95G acceleration, it won't even win against Zeong! And Zeong is... what, nine years old?"
"It's a fire-support mobile suit, Pielhau. Of course it won't win against Zeong if you go head to head! Our job is to provide cover for the Novel GM III. They'll do the grunt work. We, we'll stay behind and save their asses if they got themselves into a mess."
"Sir, why do we take this job?" Lynn queried, her eyes blank. "I mean, the GraveWalkers are front-line troops. Why do they give us second-line job? Do they despise us or something?"
"They want us because we're the best," Armus tried to boost her morale. "Don't see this as a punishment, rather as a tribute that no second-line units are good enough so EFF want us to do their job."
"This sucks!" Jack mumbled. "I'll take the grunt work over this any day of the week. I want to see their eyes when I thrust my beam saber into their guts!"
"Be careful what you wish for, Pielhau. It might happen sooner than you think, and you'll be surprised how different it feels from reality."
Before they finished their debate, the PA blared, sprouting message from the bridge. "ALL HANDS, STAND BY FOR A TRANSMISSION FROM BULL RUN!" Armus, Jack and Lynn waited for the PA to establish connection to Bull Run, Admiral Aeno's flagship. After several seconds of irritating garble, Brian Aeno's voice reverberated throughout the entire hall.
"My comrades Earth Federation Forces X-Divisional Fleet. I am Brian Aeno, I am putting forward my decision that from this point on Bull Run will not be receiving any more orders from the Federation Forces Main Commanding Office. I, and my entire crew, will take the side of New Desides' Instructor's Company. I humbly feel that the New Desides faction is the righteous heir of humanity. The Earth belongs to Earthnoids. You, me, they, all of us. But the Spacenoids has been trying to rob us from our heritage. They failed, but they never stop trying. Today, the Earth Federation has become a puppet government under the Spacenoid control. I believe that any Earthnoid will understand the sentiments I am feeling. I am not a Titans-supporter, nor I do this to revolt against the Federation Government or the Earth Federation Forces. I simply feel that Earth Federation Forces is no longer my place. The Earth Federation Forces that I long for should fight courageously for Earth. It died, along with the Spacenoid's stern grips of our future.
"So I beseech you think about One Year War, and think about the righteous heir of our future, the Earth or the Space Colonies. Those who do not agree with my humble decision, you can leave the fleet freely in the next twelve hours. I guarantee your safe departure. But for those who are Earthnoid at heart, please fight on with me. I'll wait for everyone to make their wise decision. Long live the Earth Federation Forces!"
Armus couldn't move. Aeno's defecting against the Federation was something that would never come into his mind. Brian Aeno was the one that forced a company of Zeon to surrender without firing a single round. An unmatched negotiator and a great strategist. Leaving his career, his accomplishment, his ideals to support a left-wing group like the New Desides was surreal. It was almost unfathomable.
"Jesus Christ..." Lynn hissed, still in shock.
"What the hell he's thinking," Jack added. "What do we do, el-tee?"
"Sir! Did you hear the admiral?" some of the GraveWalkers burst into the hangar rapping.
"Mutiny! Mutiny!"
"No! Aeno's crazy!"
"What? He's not!"
"Goddamn admiral, putting us in this situation!"
"But he's right!"
"The hell he ain't!"
"SHUT UP!!! Everybody shut up!" Armus rode the edge of his sanity. "Nobody say or do anything until I solve this! Varr, Pielhau, in my chamber! NOW!"
Rushing to his chamber, Armus felt his heart beating on his ears. As he entered his cabin, he waited until Lynn and Jack got inside, then kicked the door to get rid of his tension. He took several deep breaths, clearing his mind from any thoughts of punching the next person to him (which was Lynn), then spoke slowly, "We are Federation soldiers. We were sworn to uphold the Earth Federation Forces until the day we die. We can't just leave the Federation for whatever reason, especially for something as bogus, retarded, and lunatic as this Earthnoids or Spacenoids supremacy! I can't believe Admiral Aeno stood up for Titans supporters!"
"Permission to speak freely, Sir," Jack carefully stated. "My family was on Side 4 during the One Week War. Zeon fired their NBC weapons at the Feds, wiping out civilians in the process. My grandparents resided in Canberra, and they died because of the dust they inhaled from the colony drop. I lost relatives in the hands of the Spacenoids. And don't forget about the Delaz Fleet, Sir. They held nukes, and they didn't hesitate to use it."
"What's your point, Pielhau? You want to take side with Aeno?"
"What Jack means to say, Sir," Lynn added, "is that the admiral might be wrong, but his reason is not as absurd as you implied. We've seen what the Spacenoids were capable of doing. They will do it again. Personally, I think that's what Admiral Aeno and the New Desides are doing: to prevent massacre, should the Spacenoids get into their feet again. I know that we were sworn to be forever loyal to the Federation Army, but we can serve greater deed if we aren't. Like the admiral said, it's not for Titans, but for the whole human race."
Armus looked at Lynn and Jack alternatingly. He never saw everything from this point of view, and it started to make sense. He, too, lost people that he held dear during the One Year War. He was under age for the military at that time, but had he been born several years earlier, he would've stepped into a GM and fought the Duchy of Zeon. Furthermore, someone with caliber as decorative as Admiral Brian Aeno would not make a rash decision. The admiral must have weighed it over, days and nights, and Lynn and Jack opened his eyes about Aeno's true intention.
There are days after this day when I sit back and wonder about this decision. I still feel the reason of my defection is pathetic. Save our future from the Spacenoids? What am I, Superman? Is it worth jeopardizing my career "for the sake of humanity"?
But Jack and Lynn make a serious point: Spacenoids tend to be racists, fascists, and supremacists about their beings. They proved themselves to be the assholes of our generation, like Hitler or Osama bin Laden in their own time. They are not what we see as our future. This, I can't agree more.
Mother Teresa of Calcutta left her order because she thought it didn't do enough. The top brass of the order, of course, denounced her decision. But what did she get? A new, respected, worldwide Missionary of Charity, a Nobel Prize, and a safe haven for people carrying heavy ladens. She did extraordinary things by leaving her order. It all started from a big decision: to break her vow of loyalty to her old order.
Well, there's a small Mother Teresa in us.
"So what do you want to do, Pielhau?" Armus asked. "Save human race, or save your career?"
"The decision is yours, Sir. But whatever it is, I'll follow."
"Varr?" Armus turned to his second sergeant.
"I'm right behind you."
"Alright then. We're going with Aeno. Inform the rest of the squadron. I'll fill in the admiral."
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Next, on "I, Feddie" Chapter III:
Only 14 hours after we made our defection, EFF 51st MS Division cut us off from our way to Ayers City, the autonomous city on the rear side of the Moon. Shooting at one of these GM IIs, not to mention killing one, will make us Federation's enemy number one. We'll be in the same boat as Zeon and Titans Losing this battle means death, but winning means running for the rest of our lives. I just hope it's worth it.
"When we go out there, we are going against our brothers. Federation pilots. Friends, that you might know since you're toddlers. But as for now, they are our enemies. Now get your butts in your suits and burn them in your wrath!"
Three calculated shots fell into the midst of three GM IIs, eviscerating the red-white mobile suits before the pilots realized what hit them. Again they fired in unison, and this time five GM IIs blew up in flames. The GraveWalkers, consumed by bloodlust, fired again three times, taking out sixteen mobile suits from the attackers. Five times of barrage, and the GraveWalkers had swept one-third of the enemy's mobile suits.
One by one the GM II exploded, crashing into their fiery tomb, consumed by the gluttonous finesse of the X-Divisional Fleet.
"All units, this is Admiral Brian Aeno. Disengage the enemy, and return to base immediately."
"Sir, my men are close to killing the enemy's flagship. Permission to maintain assault, Sir."
"Lieutenant, my tactical officers picked up a distress signal from the 51st and 343rd just answered. If we don't leave now, they'll catch up on us. We already lost 2 cruisers, Lieutenant. Fighting the 343rd will cost us most, if not all, cruisers on our inventory. So disengage and return to base, or I'll leave you behind."