Disclaimer: I don't own Gundam SEED or Ace Combat 5.
"When Men Turn on Men"
Chapter 4
"Alliance mobile suits and ships are firing on their own! Wait! I'm getting a weak transmission… It appears that elements of the Atlantic Federation 4th Fleet have deserted! They're… Defecting! All forces, elements of the OMNI Forces are defecting! Updating IFF signatures now!
Excerpt from Orb military communication June 15th, 71 CE
10 nautical miles from Onogoro Island, main island of the Orb Nation
June 15th, 71 CE
The 4th Atlantic Federation Pacific (Sounds funny don't it) Fleet formed up to begin its attack against the national forces of the Orb Union. The Orb Union is made up of islands from both the Marshall and Polynesian Island Groups and a few dozen other islands. As such there was already some fighting here and there, but the main islands sat safely behind the bulk of the military forces of Orb. Yet, the 4th Fleet still was far larger than the entire Orb National Defense Force.
As the Orb Maritime Defense Force prepared to engage the vanguard of the 4th Fleet, they saw ships just sit outside of gun range, but inside of missile range, making their weapons ineffective and useless. Some ships advance and then the shooting began.
AFS Kestrel Battlegroup
"Ally Forces in position. Huh? Sir, the Liberty Tree is attempting to talk the flagship out of fighting on this front!" reported the Kestrel's XO.
The Kestrel's captain, Captain Anderson, began to stroke his mustache at the blatant move of Captain Ronalds.
"Let's pray that he suc---"
"THE LIBERTY TREE'S SINKING!"
Attempting to reason with the Fleet Commander and Defense Minister Azrael resulted in the AFS Liberty Tree being fired upon by ships willing to fight Orb, but she wasn't the only victim.
"Damn bastards fired on her and some other ships that had sided with them. They've all been sunk or have begun a run towards the Orb Line for protection, but so few," reported a sad radar tech.
"Move the defection time table ahead! Inform our allies!" Captain Anderson shouted.
"Aye, Aye, sir!" was the immediate response.
AFS Conquest, Flagship of the Alliance 4th Fleet
"A number of ally ships are moving ahead of fleet attack plans. Must be wanting to invade now," a bored radar tech reported.
Muruta Azrael watched the said forces moving forward not knowing what they were doing, but not caring.
"Whatever," he said plainly.
"The Victory has been sunk!"
"What else is new? We ARE fighting a battle," he said.
"The Maryland, Scotland, and Saipan have been sunk as well! Our own forces sank them and the Victory! What's going on!" the young tech shouted, panicked.
"What!" shouted the fleet commanders and Azrael.
"Quebec, Leonard Hayes, Queen's Protector, Prince of Whales, Mexico City, Aztec, Cuba, and Janice Lane have just been sunk and the 99th Marine Mobile Company just vanished!"
"This is the AFS Kestrel! We cannot, in good conscious, agree to this unprovoked invasion of the neutral nation Orb, based solely on the fact that said nation has refused to join the Alliance in a genocidal war against the PLANTS. We hereby defect with friendly forces that feel the same. I ask all commanders of the OMNI Forces to address the reasons for this war and the Junius 7 Nuclear Attack. If you look, you'll find that the Alliance is the aggressor and not ZAFT. Please consider this in your decisions and I pray you choose wisely."
Azrael was fuming! He couldn't believe that his forces would readily abandon, no betray the cause.
"SINK THEM!" he roared.
"This is the Potomac, we will join you Captain Anderson. All gunners, your target is the AFS Highlands! READY! AIM! FIRE!"
Azrael watched as one of the ships to be completely full of Blue Cosmos "Patriots" was fired upon and quickly sunk.
"What are we going to do? Over 30 percentof the fleet has defected and another 20 percentsunk!" screamed a terrified radar tech.
"FIGHT THEM!" Azrael screamed at her.
"Friendly paratroopers will be landing soon, we have nothing to fear. Then there's the reserves that have yet to be deployed," a fleet commander answered calmly.
"Somebody! HELP! Ally fighters are attacking us!"
"This is Transport Squadron 789, half of our escorts are attacking us and a large number of the Fleet Reserves are shooting at us! What? Half of the transports are changing course to LAND on Orb soil!"
"Enemy fighter!"
"We're hit!"
"Bail Out!"
AFS Archangel (flagship of the Archangel-Class)
"Captain, enemy forces have begun to fire on their own," reported Miriallia Haw.
"What," Captain Murrue Ramius responded confused.
The crew of the Archangel was confused to this sudden turn of events. The damage that the in fighting was doing was making it easier for the Orb National Defense Force to win the battle.
"A dozen enemy mobile suits are joining the three GAT-X's attacking Kira!" reported Sai Argoyle.
With Kira Yamato (former Ensign of the Atlantic Federation)
"A dozen more, damn," Kira said to himself.
"DIE!" Kira heard yelled at him.
Kira deftly evaded all three of the attacks made against, but just barely. Then he saw several more suits join the approaching group of Strike Daggers. Kira knew he was screwed big time, but he would fight to the end. He had to; Orb's entire left flank relied on him. Then something unexpected happened.
"Is that you Ensign Yamato?"
"Huh?" Kira responded.
"Are you Ensign Kira Yamato? We heard you died at the Battle of Storm Island."
"Yes I'm Kira Yamato and that had been my rank," Kira responded.
"Then leave them to us sir!"
Kira saw the gathered Strike Daggers begin to engage Calamity, Raider, and Forbidden. Needless to say that the three pilots were shocked at being engaged by their own forces, or rather by the Kestrel's allies.
With Dearka Elsmen (pilot of the Buster)
"Dammit! Die already!" Dearka yelled.
He was the central key to holding the harbor facilities. He was holding the line with a few M1 Astrays, but he knew they were going to be overrunned soon, but then all of a sudden, Strike Daggers that had either been hiding or playing dead came into the battle by firing on their own allies.
"This is the Ghost of Burma Ridge! All forces attack the traitors and defend Orb's harbor facilities!"
To say that Dearka was speechless would be an understatement. The once almost victorious Atlantic Federation 4th Fleet was now in trouble. Their paratroopers did start to arrive, but most of the Azrael Faction troops had been lost en-route to the DZs. The Kestrel Faction Forces arrived intact and then the Justice appeared and then a total rout of the 4th Fleet remains occurred.
During the battle the 7th Fleet arrived, with two Archangel-Class vessels, but the whole of the 7th Fleet, except for Blue Cosmos controlled vessels, joined the Kestrel Faction. The Blue Cosmos ships were quickly sunk by the superior firepower of the rest of the fleet, or were boarded and seized in fierce boarding actions. The AFS Heaven's Wrath and AFS Hell's Fury linked up with the AFS Archangel and charged the central line of resistance and broke the back of Azrael's remaining forces.
Throughout the battle, a single Strike Dagger was seen carrying a camera rifle instead of a beam rifle or a machine gun. All around the world and in space, the battle could be seen. Patrick Zala ordered a media blackout, but it was far too late and the Clyne Faction was capitalizing on the fact that there were OMNI Forces choosing right over might. Then the camera caught sight of the Justice and the reporter, Roy Fredricks, pronounced, "Even ZAFT Troops are choosing right over might! Choosing to lend their aid to all those who wish peace." The camera then zoomed in on lesser Strike Daggers running circles around the Deadly Trio while the Freedom held off several Des Moines-Class battleships and three dozen Strike Daggers of the Azrael Faction.
"Here we see Ensign Kira Yamato of the Atlantic Federation 8th Space Fleet defend Orb's Left Flank from attack while lesser Strike Daggers attack the latest GAT-X models and we see them winning! No surprise as these men and women are from the 7th Marine Division! Simper Fi! The mobile suit that Ensign Yamato is using is, at this time, unknown to me, but from what I can see, is a more advance copy of the GAT-X101 Strike, so I'm guessing it used to belong to ZAFT. We also see the AFS Archangel now being joined by two Powell-Class Aircraft Carriers and fighting off a superior force of enemy ships and mobile suits, but helping holding the line are the pilots and planes of VF-604, the Jolly Rogers!"
The camera then begins to zoom about; focusing on this and that as it shows the true horror of war. As Fredricks turns, he comes face to face with a Blue Cosmos Strike Dagger.
"You just lost your life traitor," the pilot states simply.
"Over my dead body!" comes a female voice.
The Blue Cosmos pilot turns just in time to parry one saber strike, but the next one runs him through.
"Why sister? Why Gena…? Why… side… with… the… enemy…?" the pilot asks.
"Simple John, I choose our people over Blue Cosmos. I choose Ghost over even my own family. He will lead the Atlantic Federation into tomorrow, not Blue Cosmos. He will lead us with right and hope for a better tomorrow, not an endless cycle of war and hatred. Goodbye my brother, I'll see you on the other side some day," Techa said, all caught on Roy's camera and microphones.
All who saw and heard the touching display heard one more thing said, "Let's not forget our oaths. No one said that fulfilling them would be easy on the heart, soul, and mind. Yet, it is not my place to lead humanity, that right is reserved for others and rightly so, but I shall follow, for they walk the path of enlightenment and that of the light. Soonour night patrols shall end and we shall exit the path of darkness and become once more bathed in the light of peace and hope. Will you be by my side Gena? As will all of you? I follow our true leaders, but will you follow me?"
"Yes sir!" came Gena's solid reply.
"Count me in too, sir," Roy said.
The radio crackled to life with others saying they'd be there if not in body, then in spirit. People watching the broadcast rally in support of the soldiers, but still many others denounce the broadcast. Riots all over the world break out, as well as in the PLANTs.
As the battle winds down and people see the carnage and the retreat of the remaining 4th Fleet, many see that the war has reached a climax. From here on out, the war with finally start to wind down, but the fighting would still cost millions of lives before finally ending.
