The battle for Gateway

Chapter 9: Black

Disclaimer: I don't own anything

Authors note: This is not a cross over and all will be explained in this chapter Zaxxon.

Authors warning: This chapter is written heavily under the influence of Pearl Jam… you have been warned!

The Razorback docked with the supply station that the Sulaco sent in Rogue squadron to set magnetic mines and lost one of their own. The Sulaco waited at a safe distance before detonating the explosives destroying the supply station and damaging the Razorback before rejoining the fleet.

Ranma sits in his room in the dark with a bottle of beer in his hands thinking of what happened to McQuade over and over again and wishing he could've done something, the rest of the squadron and Nabiki sit in the mess hall at a table "Where's Ranma?" Jonesy asked "haven't seen him since McQuade's funeral yesterday." Whistler replied as Nabiki stood up.

"Where are you going?"

"I know where he is." Nabiki replied before she left and walks down the corridor to Ranma's room and walks into it finding his staring at the floor with the bottle of beer still in his hands, "before you ask, this is my seventh bottle." Ranma said without looking up and Nabiki sat next to him on the bed "there was nothing you could have done." Nabiki said when Ranma looks at her "you're right." Ranma replied as he put the bottle down and grabbed his flight jacket and puts it on before they leave and head to the mess hall.

"There he is."

Ranma and Nabiki walk over to the rest of the squadron and sat down with them "we all took McQuade's death hard." Jonesy said and they agreed on that "we're gonna need a new pilot" Whistler said before they leave and head to the reccy room "what about O'Hara?" Whistler asked "nah, O'Hara's a marine, he's probably forgotten how to use a fighter" Ranma replied as they walked into the reccy room and play some pool while Ranma sits down and goes through a list of pilots from a data pad that he had acquired from one of the bridge bunnies during a twenty four hour drink and bragathon when Nabiki sits down next to him.

"I think you need to update that."

"Jesus, Nabiki don't do that, reminds me of a teacher at the academy." Ranma replied as he goes through the list of pilots "green hair and sapphire eyes?" Nabiki asked as Ranma finished what he was doing "yeah, that's her, can't remember her name though" Ranma replied, "Setsuna Meiou, I think?" Nabiki replied before they both remember the woman that had scared the hell out of them at times before they both shudder mentally at the memories of that woman when the sirens go off and all the pilots leave the reccy room and head to their fighters and strap themselves in and wait for the order to launch whilst the gunners run to their positions and close the hatches behind them and manned their positions while the pilots were given clearance to launch.

Once all the squadrons had been launched and formed their squadrons, on the bridge Ranko had told the captain that the Razorback had caught up with them even though it was damaged forcing the Sulaco to peel off from the fleet and turns round ready to meet the Razorback head on, Ranma sat in his fighter staring at the incoming Razorback before he put down the visor on his helmet as enemy fighters head in their direction before they break formation and get several of the fighters to follow them as the Sulaco moved to meet the Razorback head on as the forward guns aimed at the Razorback before opening fire and hitting the Razorback damaging it as Ranma managed to get rid of the fighters following him and helped out several other fighters in trouble.

"This is for you McQuade." Ranma said to himself as he flew towards the Razorback and armed his missiles as he dodged the lascannon fire coming from the Razorback before he fired all his missiles before he pulled up and flew across the body of the Razorback avoiding enemy fire as he banked his fighter and returned to the battle that was raging before both sides returned to their carriers and landed before they get out and head to the showers to get washed.

Once the Sulaco rejoined the fleet everyone on board gathered in the mess hall to remember the beginning of the war over twenty years ago, when the people who had left Earth declared war against the Earth and were using the ships given to the colonists from the different countries that they all came from against the AEF cruisers and carriers and the AEF were losing the war up until a few years ago, even though they were heading back to Gateway station, the last stop between Earth and the rest of space and soon to be one hell of a last stand. Everyone stood up raised their cups to the memory of the dead before they all sat back down and began to talk about the battles that they had been involved in before Ranma left and decided to go to the reccy room to have some time to himself and just stood staring out of the window looking at the stars before he closes his eyes.

Flashback

Ranma sits in waiting room along with his squadron next to the airstrip where his fighter sat waiting to scramble with the rest of the squadrons fighters when the siren goes off and they all run out to see enemy fighters heading their way making them run to their fighters and strap themselves in before they take off as the enemy fighters start to bomb the air strip taking out several of the fighters and the waiting room along with the barracks as Ranma and the rest of Rogue squadron take out the enemy fighters before they land again and several techs run over to their fighters and help the pilots out of their aircraft and they look around and see burning aircraft, buildings and dead bodies.

"Our 'home.'" Yui said as she stood beside Ranma and McQuade as they look at the burning buildings and wreckages of the fighters before they help out moving the bodies.

End flashback

Ranma reopens his eyes "Yui… McQuade…" he muttered to himself when Nabiki walks in and finds Ranma staring out of the window and walks up behind him wrapping her arms around his waist and leaned her head on his shoulder "why'd you leave so early?" Nabiki asked.

"I had my reasons."

"Like what?" Nabiki asked, "I already told you." Ranma replied before he turned round and looked at her and walked away and left the reccy room and decided to go to the hanger where he had stored McQuade's belongings and goes through the photos and gathered the now deceased pilots hentai collection before he puts the photos away and gathered the H collection and went to find Jonesy to give them to him but he can't find him anywhere and decides to put them in Jonesy's room before he decides to go and sit in his fighter. Once he climbs into his fighter and pulls out a photo of the original line-up of Rogue squadron and stuck it to the canopy of the cockpit and closed the cockpit looking to the side at the photo before he strapped himself in and put his helmet on and requested clearance for launch and when it was given he turned on his thrusters and took off, deciding to do a few laps around the Sulaco he banked his fighter and flew along side the Sulaco before diving and going underneath the Sulaco and brought his fighter up on the other side.

Later

Ranma sat in his room with several photos in his hands going through them "where do fallen angels go?" he asked himself before he found his graduation photo and came to a realization that their was only a handful of the people that he knew were still alive and went through the faces to see which were still alive and kicking "I'm the only one on my row still alive." He muttered to himself as he continued the search to see which were still alive.

Jonesy sat in his quarters with his guitar playing Gone Away by The Offspring before he puts down his guitar and goes through some old files from before they had left Gateway years ago. Jonesy picks up one that says classified and begins to read through it.

"So, the Sulaco was originally meant to be destroyed."

Authors note: Even though Setsuna Meiou was mentioned, this is not a crossover… R&R