NOTE: Thank you for n30-z30n for the review. What a cool pen name, by the way. I hope you enjoy the rest of the story.
Chapter III: Federation's End
EFS Stockholm, X-Divisional Fleet,
Shoal Zone,
March 7, UC 0088
Never would I think that I would raise my guns on fellow Federation officer. 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 where we are supposed to rendezvous with the New Desides. These guys are second liners; mediocre to so-so quality in standard GM II mobile suits that was docking at Side 4 when they spotted us, and decided to gamble with death. We are better warriors and have better suits. Fighting these guys shouldn't be a real problem. But that's not the point.
Shooting at one of these GM IIs, not to mention killing one, will make us Federation's enemy number one. Our careers, our reputations, our lives will be in perpetual peril. EFF will denounce us and send its punitive forces, fleet after fleet, just as they sent us to destroy the New Desides. 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.
As alarm flashing and blaring, Armus led his men into the hangar, where the technicians performed final check up on their new mobile suits. Armus changed into a drab normal suit. One of the techs handed him a helmet, and Armus waited until all his men finished changing into the normal suit, then arranged them in a semi circle to set their spirit ablaze.
"Alright GraveWalkers, as you already know, all of X-Divisional Fleet, with the exception of 2 cruisers decided to stand behind Admiral Aeno. We made our commitment, so I expect everybody to stay true to that commitment and fight his best. 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. Show them what we're made of! Show them that only the best deserves to live. It's them or the GraveWalkers, and it'll always be the GraveWalkers!"
A barrage of pumped-up yells filled the hangar.
"Now get your butts in your suits and burn them in your wrath!" Armus' battle cry was the impetus of their fighting spirit. The GraveWalkers dashed into their mobile suits, and Armus sent for his two sergeants for his final words. "The 51st MS is only a middling force in standard GM II, but this is not the time to be heroes. Stay close to Stockholm and we'll get out of this battle easy. Good luck out there, and keep yourselves alive."
"Yes Sir!" Lynn and Jack replied in unison.
Armus turned around and climbed the platform toward the cockpit. His new mobile suit, the MSZ-006FS Z Plus painted in midnight blue scheme, stood idly in the middle of the room, waiting to be mastered by its new pilot. Its long beam rifle was almost as tall as the mobile suit itself, with its oversized e-cap hanging by the butt. Armus had tasted many mobile suits, but it was the first time he stepped into a transformable one. The feeling was inexplicable; proud and dread blended into a firestorm that engulfed his mind as he claimed the command couch. He strapped himself into the seat and initiated the start-up sequence. A low hum ensued, as if the mobile suite growled to life. Then his console flickered, trumpeting its readiness to go to battle for the first time. Armus brought his Z Plus to step into the catapult.
"Control, control, this is GraveWalkers," Armus hailed the bridge. "We're ready to go."
"Stand by GraveWalkers," the tactical officer said. "You're clear to launch in 5, 4, 3..."
Armus held on his joysticks as the G-force from the catapult nailed his body to his seat. A slight urge to vomit, but he swallowed hard until his Z Plus burst out of Stockholm's catapult. Through his panoramic monitors he quickly scanned the battlefield. EFS Stockholm was lined up with other cruisers, divulging mobile suits after mobile suits to create a barricade fencing Aeno's flagship, the EFS Bull Run. Aeno's infantries, the RGM-86R Novel GM III, quickly regrouped into pockets of 4 to 5 mobile suits surrounding the cruisers, ready to charge the enemy.
Five miles ahead laid their enemies, EFF 51st MS Division, in all its glory. Sixty to seventy RGM-179 GM IIs lined up in a double rank formation, while Magellan cruisers queued in an in-line formation that faced their starboard sides at the X-Divisional Fleet for maximum firepower. The GM IIs advanced, eating the distance between the two fleets with slow but confident thrust, as the cruisers assembled their laser turrets to back up their infantries.
"All units, this is Bull Run. Hold your position. Commencing battery fire."
Right after the tactical officer's voice faded from the comlink, hundreds of missiles leapt out of the tubes, followed by strands of light from the turrets. The light javelins speared through space and stabbed the mobile suit ranks in several places. Fireballs blossomed from stricken GM IIs, tampering the dark space with tangerine lights and burning titanium splinters. The slower missiles arrived, missing the mobile suit ranks, but went straight to their intended targets. Mushroom-like explosions flourished as the warheads struck the thick titanium armor of the Magellan ships. Two ships quickly caught minor fire, while others shrugged the attack and staggered to maintain their column. The missile attack peeled a good amount of armor off their hulls, but they were not dispirited and quickly came with their answer.
The Magellans' turrets swiveled toward Aeno's fleet, then gleamed in light as laser streaks whizzed from the cannons, into the Novel GM III groups. Half a dozen Novel GM IIIs erupted in brilliant flash; two others were dismembered. Chunks of burning Gundarium rained upon other mobile suits, setting minor fire. One second later the 51st Magellans launched their missiles, concentrating on the two closest Salamis-refit cruisers of Aeno's Fleet. Seven missiles shredded one cruiser's titanium armor like paper, bored into its internal structure, and pulled off an oozing gash on its hull. A well-placed salvo ignited the reeking fuel, and in a second, the Salamis-refit roared into a massive fireball.
"Sir, we just lost a cruiser," Jack stated. "If we don't strike now, they're gonna rip Stockholm pretty soon."
"Hold your position!" Armus barked. "Obviously the 51st MS Division has better gunners. Wait until they stop firing."
The other cruiser fared a better fate, but it lost half of its engine. It reeled to the side like a dying beast, gushing smoke and sparks from its gutted engines. Aeno's flagship, Bull Run, unleashed its fury with its beam cannons and missiles, followed by the other cruisers. The 51st Magellans replied with their own hailstorm. For about 10 minutes, both fleets exchanged blows with blows, until their ammunition ran out. Another cruiser from Aeno's fleet burst up in flames, two more sustained heavy damage. The 51st Magellans staggered hard to maintain their formation. The solemn void was now full of fragmented titanium, smoke, and gristles from mutilated pilots and crews.
As both fleet halted their batteries, the 51st GM II entered their firing range, so they dispersed themselves into groups, 4 to 5 mobile suits each. They charged the Novel GM IIIs, which up to this point, were still holding their positions close to the cruisers. What they didn't know was they walked right into a trap.
"This is it, GraveWalkers!" Armus yelled on his comlink. "Give'em hell!"
Needles of light zipped through the space as the GraveWalkers fired up their rifles. Three calculated shots fell into the midst of three GM IIs, eviscerating the red-white mobile suits before the pilots realized what hit them. Two GM IIs lost their right arms when their right shoulders exploded, ravaged by high-energy beams. The 51st still advanced, but the GraveWalkers hadn't through yet. Again they fired in unison, and this time five GM IIs blew up in flames. The 51st started to realize what was going on, and they began firing their own rifles at the GraveWalkers. But they were regular infantries, and their mobile suits were not equipped for long-range fighting. Their marksmanship fell short, grazing the armor of Stockholm, punching several holes, but overall posing no major damage to the Salamis-refit cruiser. 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.
"Look at them going off!" Jack chimed, his voice full of glee. "Maybe it's not that bad being a fire support team!"
"Don't get to cocky," Armus replied. "They're still dangerous. Keep up the pressure!"
Riding the GraveWalker's attack, the X-Divisional mobile suits started to move. The 51st, not knowing what to do, started to disarray to avoid the pressure from the GraveWalkers. They fared better against the next wave of barrages, but the uncoordinated formation couldn't hold the Novel GM IIIs that came like a tidal wave. The 51st fought valiantly, drawing everything they had from beam rifle, beam sabers, and vulcan cannons to ward off the Novel GM IIIs. But the sheer number, the higher quality of pilots and the better mobile suits of the X-Divisional Fleet quickly overwhelmed the 51st MS Division. One by one the GM II exploded, crashing into their fiery tomb, consumed by the gluttonous finesse of the X-Divisional Fleet.
"Alright, boys and girls, cease fire and check your status," Armus barked his order, stopping his squadron from hitting the Novel GM IIIs.
"All systems go, Lieutenant," Lynn's voice crackled on the comlink. "After all the serious pounding that we made, my suit doesn't even heat up."
"You can tell the eggheads at Anaheim Electronics that their cryogenic fridge works fine."
"Yeah, but thanks to them, we've gotta sit here and watch the infantries having all the fun," Jack moaned, drooling for the intense combat between the Novel GM IIIs and the GM IIs.
"I thought you liked being a fire support," Lynn commented.
"Yeah well, but..."
"You bored, Pielhau? Then let's kill the cruisers," Armus said, looking at the Magellans column. "Now that the GM IIs are occupied, and the cruisers ran out of juice, we can sneak out and score big hits!"
"God bless you, el-tee!" Jack screamed in joy. "Let's fire up their guts!"
"Alright, GraveWalkers, switch to WaveRider mode and follow my lead!"
It was the moment Armus had been waiting for. He punched the red button under his dashboard, and his Z Plus started the transformation sequence. Its head sunk into its torso, its arms folded in front of its chest, its legs split open, and its slender shield became the fuselage. Its long beam rifle rested on its back, on top of the cockpit, so Armus could see the tip of the gun from his panoramic monitor. The wing extended from the body, and the feet folded up, giving way to several powerful verniers. Armus pressed the pedal, and his WaveRider blasted forward, leaving a trail of white smoke behind.
Bypassing the main battlefield, Armus led his squadron straight to a Magellan cruiser that had the thinnest armor. The cruiser reacted by turning its bow toward the GraveWalkers. Fire belched from small-bored rail guns all along the cruiser's boundary, spitting bullets and pulsed laser beams to bring the attackers down. Ricochets became denser and denser as the GraveWalkers closed in to the Magellan.
"Watch out for those AA batteries!" Armus yelled while banking hard to the left.
"Damn this WaveRider is fat-assed!" Jack whined, trying to shrug off the attack.
"Lieutenant, I got minor damage from the rail guns!" Lynn reported. "Whatever you have in mind, you'd better do it quick or I won't be much of a use to you!"
"Get to the stern and hit the Magellan in the engine... as hard as you can!"
Armus gained some distance with the cruiser, while trying to get some attacking momentum. The other Magellans came to its help, raining their anti-aircraft batteries upon the GraveWalkers like mad killer bees. Armus scanned his WaveRider; there was not a square feet of his fighter that was not riddled by bullets. He had to find a way to break the AA defense, or his GraveWalker would be in a serious trouble. Armus swung by the stern of the Magellan, then fired his gun at the exhaust port of the cruiser. Three consecutive explosions ripped the left-back hull of the ship, pumping titanium bits into the space. The last explosion was the pheromone for the rest of the GraveWalkers. Lynn and two other WaveRiders came from the starboard side and sank a good salvo into the same spot. Then Jack, flying solo, fired at the middle engine. Armus and Lynn fired one more time, and the middle engine erupted in a volcanic blast. Titanium chunks, some were as big as the WaveRider's fuselage, whizzed in every direction. The Magellan rolled to its belly like a whale in its dying throes.
"Chalk up another kill for the good guys!" Jack shouted over the comlink.
"Good job, GraveWalkers!" Armus bantered. "Now concentrate fire on the Magellan in the center! It's the 51st flagship! Hit it with everything you've got!"
The flagship, a Magellan cruiser with various patches and banners, writhed in desperation, knowing that the WaveRiders were targeting its big, round hull. Anti-aircraft battery intensified, but Armus crisscrossed his path, losing hundreds of bullets and laser beams. He made a low pass over the hull and ripped some AA turrets apart. Tongues of fire burst out from the turrets as they exploded. Lynn led four WaveRiders to pepper the Magellan's port armor. Droplets of molten slag sprayed into space each time the beam hit the armor. Several WaveRiders worked together to get a good hit on the Magellan's exhaust ports, but the cruiser didn't give up that easy. It wriggled about under Lynn's heavy assault, like a bleeding elephant at the mercy of a pack of wolves. But a sucker punch from a WaveRider landed on the right exhaust. Sparks gushed out from the exhaust, and the cruiser quickly lost half of its power. It still didn't quit, but its fate was very much sealed.
"All units, this is Admiral Brian Aeno. Disengage the enemy, and return to base immediately."
At first, Armus thought he was dreaming. The X-Divisional Fleet was winning, why did the admiral call them back? To make sure, Armus contacted Bull Run, "Admiral, this is Lieutenant Armus Gray, GraveWalker squadron. Repeat your order, Sir."
"Disengage the enemy and return to base, Lieutenant. We're leaving."
"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. This is an army twice the size of the 51st, and they are speeding this way. 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."
Armus didn't know what was going on in Bull Run, but he knew that the fight was not meant to finish the way he wanted. It was a weird call by the admiral, but as a soldier, Armus had no choice. So he called his men, "You heard the admiral, GraveWalkers. Disengage and return to base."
A series of frustrated outburst filled the comlink. But they knew they had no choice. They soared away from their prey and flew back to Stockholm, which started to regroup with other cruisers. The 51st let them go. An eerie fortune, but they happily accepted it, since the X-Divisional Fleet would wipe them out otherwise.
--------------------------------------------Next, on "I, Feddie" Chapter IV:
"We both know that we gave the 51st a chance to strike back, Sir. We are lucky they didn't take it, but we can't depend on such a miracle next time we fight."
"Let's say we did it for our own sake."
"Sir, my men hang their lives for you. They left their careers and their families behind because they believed in you. Please don't waste their talents and their faith, Sir."
"Alright, Lieutenant. Do you know why we stopped at Space Station Penta?"
"Reload, Sir?"
"No. We stopped to pick up an ultimate weapon. Everything in this mobile suit is one level up of anything you've ever seen. This suit is capable of wiping an entire fleet all by itself. I don't want to use our ultimate weapon to butcher a measly crowd. I want to use it to beat Task Force Alpha."
I start to feel that Aeno is a coward
"Task Force Alpha attacked Pezun for 5 days, March 2 to 7, and they sure kicked our asses real bad. We left Pezun with booby traps, but somehow Task Force Alpha managed to get away. Now they're on our tails. It can be any day now before they rain down their fire upon us."
"That might not be necessary, if I can make the 'Lunar Cities Coalition' to work. I will campaign to other cities about our causes. If the entire cities on Moon back us up, we can make a motion that opposes EF aggression toward Ayers City. You see gentlemen, diplomacy can be very dangerous weapon."
"By the time the senate agree to cease the aggression, we're all dead. War is for mobile suits, and I happen to have Earth Federation's ultimate weapon, the one that was supposed to finish the Gryps War. I believe this mobile suit will get you your revenge against Task Force Alpha."