Note: Thanks to Wing Zero Alpha for your review. It certainly escaped my observation. I changed it according to your information. I hope you enjoy the rest of the story.
Chapter V: Gundam Awake
Ayers City, Moon,
March 13, UC 0088
The command center was frantic with activities when Armus stepped into the large room. Officers nailed themselves in front of myriad screens on the walls, watching movements from the enemies while bantering strategies on how to deal with every movement. And in front of a wide screen, Brave Cod, Brian Aeno, Tosh Cray and Josh Offshore mumbled among themselves while red dots adorned the screen. It didn't take long for Armus to figure out what they were talking about. He walked toward them and waited until Aeno recognized his presence.
"Task Force Alpha, Sir?" Armus shot a rhetorical question.
"Without a doubt," Tosh Cray replied while pointing at the red dots on the screen. "Four Salamis-refit and an Argama cruisers on Sector 54D, 1000 miles from the surface of the Moon. My calculation is that they'll enter Moon orbit in 30 minutes. The MS commander is my old colleague, Stole Mannings. I know how he operates. He'll orbit his fleet somewhere in the southeastern side of Ayers City, then send his probes to gather information about the city. He will not advance before he gets information."
"Does that mean that we can delay their invasion by delaying information?" Armus asked.
"Exactly! Mannings will send his recon team to sneak into the city, a band of lightly armored mobile suits which can outrun any of our mobile suits. We can't win in this running contest, so I'd say we let them into Ayers City, as deep as they want, then close the door and destroy them inside!"
"They can take pictures and send it right away using satellite uplink," Armus pointed out.
"We'll disable the uplink. Once they're in the city, they're cut off from their mother ship. It'll be easy to kill them."
"But you said that we don't have anything that can match their speed. How are we going to kill them?"
"Leave that to me," suddenly Brave Cod muttered. "It's time to stretch the Gundam Mk.V's legs, don't you think Admiral?"
"I'll help you prepare," Aeno replied.
"Alright, remember what you're supposed to do, Lieutenant," Tosh Cray switched the screen off. "Let them in, let no one out, and let us do the rest. Now go to your post and do your job."
Captain Tosh Cray, a master strategist. I don't like his strategy. First, he takes too big a risk by giving the enemy recon team access to the heart of our defense. True, we outnumber them by a factor of 10, maybe 15, but they are Task Force Alpha, an elite unit. There are too many holes for errors in Cray's plan, and if Task Force Alpha can exploit just one hole, we're doomed.
And then, there's this Gundam Mk.V. I suppose this is the super mobile suit Aeno spoke so highly of. Another crazy move, depending on something that haven't been tested before. Maybe they want to test it against soft targets like the lightly-armored recon mobile suits, but still... What if it malfunctions? What if it gets smacked by the recon team? The entire New Desides army would lose its morale. And don't say that the recon team cannot beat the Gundam. A Gundam is no less metal than a GM. It is NOT invulnerable.
I still can't believe Tosh Cray, EFF ex master strategist, devises this plan.
When Armus arrived at the hangar with sour face, his squadron knew that something was wrong, and the next several hours would be an unpleasant battle for them. But they had been working under Armus for sometime. They knew that Armus wouldn't let them soaking with trouble.
"Alright, GraveWalkers, listen up!" Armus spoke as his crews fell in. "Task Force Alpha is sending out their recon teams to monitor Ayers City. The New Desides want to let them in, so they can show off their military power. Our job is to avoid any weapon contact with them before they enter the city. Once they get in, we are to cut off their exit so the recon team cannot escape. The New Desides will deal with them. It is not our job to kill them, unless they try to pass our barricade. Got it, soldiers?"
"Jeez, another freak order," Jack sighed. "Who made this plan? The admiral?"
"Our job is to follow it, Pielhau. Doesn't matter who made it. Just do it and we'll be alright."
"Alright, Sir, as you wish," Jack grunted and left. Lynn looked at her superior, demanding explanation, but she realized it would never come. So she saluted and walked toward her mobile suit.
Armus paused a moment, gathering the faint confusion from his subordinates. He felt bad sending them to do things that they didn't like. But like them, he was a soldier. He had to follow order. Otherwise, what he stood for would crumble in a blink of an eye.
Armus mounted his Z Plus, then took it outside the hangar. His squadron followed suit. Ayers City was preparing for the upcoming battle, but he didn't see any glint of panic on the civilians. They were used to battle, since Ayers City was a strong supporter of Titans during the Gryps War. Among the buildings of Ayers City he spotted some RMS-141 Xeku Eins, New Desides' mainstay of firepower. These stocky, bulky mobile suites carried a large range of weaponries, from the simple beam sabers to the sophisticated 120-mm machine gun that required two ammunition pods on their shoulders. Other places were crowded with Ayers City Militia using ex-Zeon mobile suits, mainly Zaku IIF with Zaku IIS units for the officers. After the fall of Zeon in 0080, the Federation auctioned the stripped Zeon mobile suits, and Zaku's versatility earned them the workhorse for Ayers City Militia.
Arriving at Chiba District, Armus prepared his troops. "Alright, GraveWalkers, spread out and find yourself a cover. We want the recon team to enter the city, so passive radar and conceal yourselves from visual contact. Don't make any rash move or you'll scare the rabbits. Maintain radio silence until I say it's over."
Armus hated waiting in high alert, especially when he didn't know what to wait. He seriously doubted Tosh Cray foreseeing that Task Force Alpha would send their spies, in mobile suits, to take a peek at Ayers City's defense. If anything, Task Force Alpha would use something less glaring than mobile suits. High-speed cars, speeders, or even normal suits. But Tosh Cray said that he knew the leader of Task Force Alpha, so Armus was willing to give him benefit of the doubt.
More than 40 minutes later, when Armus was going insane with suspense, he saw movements on his panoramic monitor. He zoomed in to the movement, and yes, three MSA-007 Nero mobile suits, tiptoeing toward the city. The Neros were GM III at the core with more streamline armor plating, and were equipped only with beam rifles to minimize weight. They moved very cautiously. Armus lowered his Z Plus under the shadow of a building and cranked down his Minovsky reactor, almost shutting it down, to reduce heat and Minovsky particle. His heartbeat drummed in his ears as the Neros passed his position, only 50 feet away. Some 30 minutes passed, and the Neros were deep in the city, oblivious to the fact that they just walked right in the middle of a dozen mobile suits with guns at their backs.
"All units, all units, I have 3 Neros entering the north side," Josh Offshore stated on the comlink.
"This is the 56th MS Company, I have 3 Neros in sight. We have 6 Neros in the city."
"Make that 9," Armus said, boosting up his reactor to maximum. "This is GraveWalker, 3 Neros just passed Chiba District. GraveWalkers! Knuckle up and form in-line barricade!"
As the Z Pluses jumped out and formed two-line formation, Armus switched to active radar to observe the Neros. But instead, he picked up something else. Right in the middle of the city rose another mobile suit, a midnight-blue avatar with short, stocky rifle on its right hand and shield on its left. Two weird panels jutted out from its shoulder, almost like a pair of searchlights. The heat tracker on Armus' console stated that the blue mobile suit must have had 5-GW generator, more than twice the size of his Z Plus, three times more powerful than that of the Neros.
The Nero intruders saw the new mobile suit and quickly sprayed it with their beam rifles. The blue mobile suit flinched to its left with remarkable speed, as if it disappeared and reemerged several hundred feet left from its original position. The Neros pressed the attack, raining down their beam streaks upon the blue mobile suit. But it rolled, pitched, yawed, and cringed away from the attack. Its motion was almost blur. Then it drew its rifle and shot the Neros in quick succession. The Neros roared into fireballs, almost in unison.
"What... the... hell... is that?" Jack stuttered.
"Gundam Mk. V, I suppose," Armus replied apathetically. "The Admiral's most valuable toy."
"What? Gundam... and you knew about this?"
"I heard of it, but I was as blind as you were until this very moment."
"That's why they let the Neros in," Lynn analyzed. "It's a test run!"
"Well keep your guns hot, people!" Armus said, watching the other 3 Neros whizzed toward the Chiba District. "Looks like our trio are trying to escape."
They might have had enough information for Stole Mannings. Or they might have been realized that they could not win against the blue monster. Either way, the 3 Neros fired up their engines toward the way they entered the city: Chiba District. When they saw the exit was blocked, they blasted their guns. Beam streaks zipped through the air, but the poorly aimed beams missed their targets.
"Fire at will!" Armus yelled, and a dozen strands of light whipped out of their beam rifles, illuminating the dim environment, and speared one of the Neros right in its gut. The Nero blew up into a mini nova, raining down sizzling titanium armor and metal gristles. The other two Neros danced in the sky to elude the attacks, then fired off their own beam rifle. One streak lanced the shoulder of a Z Plus, the other lacerated its waist. Tongues of fire lashed out from the wound as the hapless Z Plus rocked back and forth, then thudded to the ground.
"Suzumi! Dammit, Sir! Suzumi's hit!" Lynn screamed on her comlink.
"Focus on the enemy, Varr, or you'll follow him!" Armus roared. "Keep up the pressure!"
The Neros landed behind a building and used the building as a fortress. The GraveWalker bombarded the building, and the two Neros jumped to the air as the building collapsed in black smoke. Out of nowhere, the Gundam Mk.V emerged from another building, both hands gleaming with beam sabers. One of the Neros aimed its beam rifle, but the blue Gundam swung its arm and the beam saber diced the Nero's arm like hot knife through butter. The Nero drew its beam saber, but the Gundam plunged its beam saber into the Nero's midst. Sparks burst from the incision as if the Nero bled to death. The other Nero swung to the right to stab the Gundam in the back, but the Gundamflung its beam rifle at the Nero. The Federation mobile suit staggered afloat as the beam saber thrust into its power generator. Seconds later the last Nero exploded, following its siblings into its doom.
Seeing the enemies had been defeated, Armus shut down his Z Plus and quickly jumped out of his mobile suit. The fallen Z Plus was still hot from the chain explosion, but Armus defied all pain on his palms as he punched the emergency button that quickly opened the latch to the cockpit. Suzumi's blood painted the panoramic monitor, and the acrid stench of burning flesh was imminent, turning his stomach upside down.
"Sir! How's Suzumi..."
"Forget it, Sergeant. He's gone," Armus quickly grabbed Lynn's shoulder and turned her around before she witnessed Suzumi's atrocious death. Lynn was the squadron's doctor, and seeing one of her teammates died like that would certainly affect her performance. Besides, there was nothing she could do.
"Excellent performance, Lieutenant!" Brave Cod's voice echoed through the comlink. "The admiral was right about you. This tryout mission is a success, thanks to you and your team! Now get back to the hangar and have your suit ready. This is just the beginning. More will come, and our path will only get harder."
As the Gundam Mk.V blasted off, MASH unit from the New Desides Company arrived to take care of Suzumi. Armus mounted his Z Plus and scanned his slain comrade as he was mounted on a stretcher in a black bodybag. Although Suzumi's Z Plus was not totaled, it might be best to scrap it and use it as spare parts for the other Z Plus. Only heaven knew how long this battle was going to take, and the scraped Z Plus might make a difference between life and death.
When Armus and his squadron entered the hangar for repair, the hangar was alive with activities. Technicians ran around, hauling tools and carts from one mobile suit to another. Armus parked his Z Plus, and was greeted by Josh Offshore as he climbed down the stairs. "I heard what happened. I'm sorry for your loss. But we don't have much time. Our spies confirmed that Task Force Alpha is preparing a planetary drop. So our techs will repair your mobile suits for 2 hours, then you are to go out again to repel the Task Force Alpha."
"Not even for eulogy, eh?" Armus scoffed.
"I'm afraid not. We don't know when it'll happen, so better be prepared. But our scientists are cooking up the Logistic Bomb, a virus sort of thing that will destroy the computer system of Task Force Alpha, thus rendering them a bunch of target practice. You'll get your revenge for your fallen comrade."
"Another secret weapon," Armus sighed. "Has it been tested yet?"
"No," Josh replied, "but even if it fails, we'll give'em hell. Our defense is strong enough that Task Force Alpha will not pass without taking heavy damage."
Armus' lips curled into a smile. "That's the first logical thing I've heard today. Alright, I'd better make use of my 2 hours wisely."
Josh nodded. "See you in the field."
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Next, on "I, Feddie" Chapter VI:
Fifteen miles from Ayers City the Task Force Alpha cruisers spat their innards, mainly consisted of Nero mobile suits with 3 FA-010 FAZZ, 2 MSZ-006C1 Z Plus, and the MSA-0011 Superior Gundam, painted in its archetypal blue-white scheme with long drab beam rifle. The myriad tubes and fins on its back almost looked like a pair of wings. The Neros quickly regrouped into 2 massive clusters, while the S Gundam, FAZZ and Z Pluses took the center stage, creating a triple-pronged attack. They ate the distance quickly, guns hoisted up to engage the city's defenders. They were 10 miles and closing fast.
One second later, the speed of the attacking force reduced, and confusion broke out within the ranks of the Neros. Some were frozen dead in the sky, others tumbled about like losing control of their own bodies. The formation of the Task Force Alpha turned into a complete clutter. Dozens and dozens of Xeku Eins rose up to the sky. Traces of light leapt out of their guns, and one by one the bedazzled Neros burst up in flames. The Neros, trying to get a grip of the whole situation, tried to fight back with everything they had left. But the Logistic Bomb destroyed their computer system like Sclerosis disease eating up their nervous system. The Xeku Eins plowed them without mercy.
The GraveWalkers swung their rifles and fired off at the S Gundam. Beam streaks zipped in the dark void like fingers from hell, trying to crunch the bedazzled Gundam. But miraculously, the S Gundam regained control and flinched at the nick of time, missing every single attack. The S Gundam burst its rifle in quick succession, and 3 Xeku Eins exploded into brilliant flares. The New Desides force ceased their action as if traumatized by the sudden death of their 3 comrades. The S Gundam fired again, and 2 more Xeku Eins blossomed into fireballs. Chunks of burning metal flew in every direction as the explosions ripped the Xeku Eins apart from inside.
"The S Gundam that broke your Logistic Bomb..."
"The S Gundam. It's a Gundam at its core, single-mindedly designed to dominate the battlefield physically and psychologically. Big engine - and I mean really, really big - with powerful weapons all along its body. Strong as a battleship, yet agile as a fighter. But its greatest arsenal is its artificial intelligent, called ALICE. I think that's the reason why it managed to beat our Logistic Bomb."
"How could you possibly know all these things?"
"I still have friends in the Federation who are sympathetic to our fight, hate the Federation's top brass, but too chicken to stand up to their principle. Do you think the Logistic Bomb is the fruit of our brainpower? No, for God sake! They smuggled the code to us so we can find a way to disrupt their computer system."