The spaceport was alive with weapons fire as several of the RGM-89 Jegan mobile suits and Mobius Zero mobile armors exchanged shots with the ZAFT mobile suits, the glows of the various beam rifles and cannons lighting the night sky in shades from vibrant yellow to white. The battle had begun as a surprise to the personnel of the spaceport, sending many of the civilians scrambling for the emergency shelters. Though the casualties would have been severe without the aid of Bright Noah and the Ra Calium's crew.
Bright Noah sat straight in the command chair of his ship, watching and directing battle efforts in this familiar setting. In all the years he had been in command, he had grown very accustomed to seeing the elaborate dances of warfare. It seemed only yesterday that he was on the bridge of the White Base, taking command in place of Captain Cassius. The situation was nearly a mirror image of this one. Fate was sometimes ironic in that way.
"What's the status of our forces?" Bright asked.
"Two of the Jegans are severely damaged," said a young man, Lieutenant Morgan, at the helm control, "five Mobius Zero armors are reporting light damage. Eight pilots report injuries but no casualties yet."
"Damn. I was afraid of that." Bright stood up and looked over the display on the main viewer. It never seemed to change, as if history were playing a cruel game with him. He was grateful that Mirai and his children weren't here, that they were safe at home and away from the battlefield.
"Sir, I have an incoming mobile suit." another person called over the bridge. "Bearing: four kilometers and closing fast."
Amuro remained as calm as ever, forcing the controls of the Hi-NuGundam forward as he sped towards the battlefield. He knew that the Federal Forces were fighting a losing battle. Not only were the Jegans already severely out of date, they were still outnumbered by the ZAFT mobile suits and armors. The tide had to turn now.
"Engage fin funnels." Amuro said to the computer. He heard the familiar sound of the bits activating as he cleared his mind, focusing on the enemy mobile suits and armors. He could see every move they made, every burst of their weapons. The fin funnels all split up and targeted the ZAFT mobile suits closest to his position, each firing a beam shot to disable them.
"Good." Amuro said when he didn't feel the familiar taint of death from the enemy mobile suits. "No one else has died yet. I've still got time."
"Can you bring the new mobile suit up?" Bright asked, already having a hunch on who the pilot was. Only a powerful Newtype could wield weapons as strong as funnels with such pinpoint accuracy.
"Yes sir." The schematic scans showed on the holographic screen and Bright almost gasped in shock. The configuration matched the NuGundam, a mobile suit he hadn't seen in many years since the Neo-Zeon conflict.
"Sir, we're getting hailed over the COM by the pilot." One of the helmsman reported.
"All right." A tone of relief and surprise flooded over the bridge once the familiar voice was heard over the COM lines.
"Sorry I'm late, Bright, but I had to make sure the fin funnels were still working on NuGundam's frame."
"...Amuro Ray." Bright said, immensely relieved to hear the sound of his old comrade's voice after so long. "It's good to hear your voice. But how did..."
"I'll explain later once I'm onboard. Is Sayla there already?"
"She... she took the Re-GZ out several minutes ago to cover the rear flanks."
"What?" Amuro said in shock. "She's using that thing out there?" Not only had Sayla not piloted anything in nearly twenty years, but that mobile suit had ended up almost killing anyone who tried to pilot it. He couldn't let that happen again. He switched off the COM channel, cursing as he reversed course for the rear flanks of the battle, hoping he could catch up to her before it was too late.
"Sir, we've lost contact with the NuGundam." Morgan reported. Bright leaned back in his chair, understanding the shock Amuro's voice had carried once he told him.
"Prepare the weapons for a full assault. We've got to give our people some backup support."
"Yes sir."
Sayla moved the RGZ-91 ReGZ around, trying to lay down some fire with her beam rifle and cover the remaining Jegans. It had been a long time since she piloted anything close to a mobile suit. The G-Fighter and RX-78 Gundam were hard enough to master, but the ReGZ was much more complex since it was based on the Zeta Gundam. Yet she spent the last three weeks going over the controls with Astionage and the hangar crew of the Ra Calium, getting reacquainted with the feel of a mobile suit again.
Around her were the remaining Jegans, all engaged with several GINN and DINN mobile suits from ZAFT. They were fighting a losing battle against this new technology, despite most of the pilots having more experience in the battlefield. The devastation weighed heavily on Sayla's mind as she pushed the Re-GZ into the fray.
"Units 305 and 306, cover the rear!" she ordered as she unleashed blast after blast of beam energy at the enemy mobile suits. Suddenly, she saw several DINNs destroyed by something she'd never thought she'd see: a pair of fin funnels.
"Sayla, are you all right?" A wave of relief washed over her when she saw the Hi-NuGundam rush into the battlefield, Amuro's voice calling over the COM. A small smile graced her lips, glad to see that her friend had put his self-doubts aside for the time being.
"Amuro... so you've decided to come anyway."
"Why did you take out the Re-GZ into battle?" Amuro asked as he sliced into a DINN with his beam saber. "You know that mobile suit's dangerous for whoever uses it!"
"I can handle it, Amuro!" Sayla replied, unleashing her own beam saber and turning to another COM channel. "Units 302 and 308, watch your backs! They're getting too close!" She switched back to Amuro's COM channel, feeling apologetic towards her friend. She knew that he meant well but much had changed since twenty years ago, when he was a pilot and she was the medic for the White Base.
"Sayla, you don't understand!" Amuro tried to say, launching several of his fin funnels to cover them with an I-field. "Anyone whose ever piloted the Re-GZ almost always ended up being killed! I don't want that to happen to you or anyone else!"
Sayla was silent, digesting what Amuro had told her and what she read on the history of that mobile suit. True, it donned a bad reputation from the deaths of it's pilots in the Neo-Zeon conflict. Despite that, not only was it one of the best suits available but she had seemed to master it well enough.
"I appreciate your concern, Amuro, but I can do this." Her thoughts were interrupted when she saw the remaining enemy forces begin to retreat. She wanted to move to finish them off but Amuro stopped her.
"Let them go. There's been enough bloodshed today." The two flew their mobile suits towards the Ra Calium, followed by the remaining Jegans and Mobius Zeros.
"Sir, our forces are returning to the ship with the NuGundam and Re-GZ." Morgan reported to Bright as the bridge activity began to settle.
"As soon as everyone's aboard, prepare to launch immediately." Bright ordered. "Our orders are to head to the moon to rendezvous with the rest of our forces."
"Yes sir." After a few minutes, the familiar rumble of the massive battleship's engines could be felt on the bridge as they began to move. Bright felt bitter that he never took the time to enjoy the view of an Earth that was untouched by the scars of war when he was able to. Too often had the opportunity came and went. But for the captain of a battleship, luxuries came last if at all. He understood this yet still regretted it also.
"Morgan, inform the crew that we'll be launching soon. Have the hanger crews make sure all of our mobile suits and armors are ready by then. We may be heading into a war zone."
"Aye, captain."