Disclaimer: I do not own any of the Gundam Franchises, but i do own this story so no stealing.
Special Note: This is a Gundam Fanfic, but since it doesn't have anything to do with any of the existing Gundam series, I have to make due by putting it in the misc. category. Oh well, what can you do. Anyways enjoy the story!
Prologue of Mobile Suit GUNDAM CRUSADES
1.31.2029 AD- A meteor is predicted by scientists to hit Earth in approximately 5 years, size of the meteor is predicted to be large enough to start the next ice age. NASA begins training of Meteor Demolitions Experts. (M-Team)
1.31.2030 AD- M-Team is sent to deal with the meteor and hopefully stop it. Earth begins preparations for emergency evacuation.
3.3.2031 AD- M-Team within range of meteor, reports of extreme radiation within the vicinity of the meteor conflict with M-Team leader Mirco Barlow. Knowing that this meteor is a threat to all mankind, Barlow ignores all warning and attempts to destroy meteor. Acidic radiation eats through the ship, and the entire M-Team is killed.
5.26.2031 AD- No reports from M-Team lead United Leaders to believe that evacuation will be necessary.
10.4.2031 AD- Orbital Space Workers complete the first Habitable Space Bio-Dome (HSBD) or Space Domes, as they've come to be known. Evacuation preparations are under way.
7.6.2033 AD- Through rushed efforts, Earth is able to build 4 more Space Domes. These domes are estimated to hold roughly 1 billions people each. Realizing that Earth's population is far too big to fit onto 5 Space Domes, United Leaders have a backup plan. Through the same technology as the Space Domes, Miniature domes are built under the ground (Earth Domes) to protect citizens on Earth from the Meteor's Toxic effects.
2.3.2034 AD- Space Domes begin to move away from Earth's orbit to prevent possible contamination of the Space Domes from meteor radiation.
2.10.2034 AD- On February 10, 2034 AD Mankind watches in horror as the meteor strikes just near the coast of California and poisons nearly every living thing on the planet. Because of underground contamination, many of the Earth Domes proved to be ineffective against the acidic radioactivity that ate through the M-Team's ship and billions of lives were lost. Out of the roughly 200,000 Earth Domes that were built; only 8 protected the remnants of Earth's Population from their radioactive doomsday.
2.11.2034 AD- Reports of the disaster on Earth reaches the Space Domes. Many were shocked to learn of the vast ineffectiveness of the Earth Domes ability to protect their inhabitants from the radioactivity. After witnessing this horrible tragedy, the rest of Mankind now adopts a new calendar "After Judgment" (AJ)
2.31.0AJ- Preparations for a rescue attempt of Earth's remaining survivors begin as scientists now fully understand the toxic and acidic effects of the contaminated Earth.
1.1.1AJ- The first space dome to be completed is officially named "Neo Earth" in recognition of Earth's tragedy. The other four space domes are also named as followed: Neo Alpha, Neo Zeta, Neo Epsilon, and Neo Gamma
5.20.3AJ- Neo Earth's preparations for a Terrestrial Rescue are complete. The ship for the mission is based on the design of the original M-Team ship but with many bio-hazard and acid protection agents coating the exterior and interior of the ship. Samuel Barlow, son of Mirco Barlow and his long time friend, Tezra Dartessius actively volunteer for this dangerous mission. Samuel vows on his life that he will not make the same mistakes his father did during their meteor destruction attempt, and are chosen to be the Commander and 2nd in command of the ship. Samuel has also chosen to name the ship based on his father's background. In memory of his father, Samuel crescents the ship "Mirco's Journey."
5.25.3AJ- Mirco's Journey begins decent into Earth's atmosphere. The ship proves to be quite successful against the acidic effects of the contaminated Earth.
5.26.3AJ- After traversing the entire Earth, Mirco's Journey has only been able to locate a small percentage of the few Earthlings that were left. This leads Samuel to believe that the 8 of remaining Earth Domes contracted too much radiation over the years and killed the inhabitants inside. However, there are 5 Earth domes giving off very faint signs of life. What has the entire Journey crew awed and amazed is that all 5 of them are right in the vicinity of the meteor's blast radius where Samuel once believed the radiation to be the strongest.
5.27.3AJ- Upon further investigation, Samuel has now come to the conclusion that the radiation is merely a shield for the meteor in the sense that the meteor itself is not producing the radiation but rather it somehow brought the radiation along with it. He also believes that the meteor itself is somehow the key to the remaining life on Earth. His only major concern now is the acidic aura surrounding the meteor which appears to be too strong for the acid protection agents aboard Mirco's Journey. Samuel is now faced with a decision much like his father's. He must either protect the well being of his crew members and abort the mission now or he must at least try to save Earth's only survivors and possibly find out the real truth behind the much feared meteor.
5.28.3AJ- After a full day of trying to contact the survivors, the Journey crew still have no response from them, and with it, no answers for their questions about the meteor. Finally after careful deliberation, Samuel decides that Mirco's Journey will try to break through the acid barrier using the full power of their anti-acid agents to protect it. Samuel realizes that this is risky but also realizes the people within the barrier are probably running low on food and water reserves by now. The crew is skeptical at first but Tezra stands by Samuel's decision and eventually convinces the rest of the Journey crew that the ship is capable of surviving this obstacle and that Samuel will succeed where his father Mirco failed. Thanks to Tezra's support, Samuel gives the order and Mirco's Journey is now in direct contact with the barrier. About half way through the barrier, there is a breach in the hull and Samuel knows how dangerous the acid could be to the crew and ship inside Mirco's Journey. Knowing this, he uses himself as a shield to fill the breach with his anti-acid suit. Because of this heroic effort, Mirco's Journey survives this ordeal and is now in the direct vicinity of the meteor. As Samuel suspected, there are no signs of any radiation within the barrier, as if the meteor itself was repelling it's own plague. And although Mirco's Journey has passed it's greatest challenge yet, Samuel has become seriously injured due to the extreme acid exposure he suffered trying to protect the crew within the ship.
5.29.3AJ- Knowing that Samuel doesn't have long to live, 2nd in command Tezra Dartessius decides to search for the remaining survivors in the hopes that he will find someone who knows how to treat Samuel's injuries. With half of the crew, Tezra rounds up all the survivors and instructs them to make their way to the ship. Tezra is amazed to find that the survivors are all in healthy condition after what he's seen the plague do to Samuel. Tezra informed the survivors about their situation when someone named Uberchest Gerdera stepped forward and claimed to be a doctor. After having a look at Samuel's injuries, Dr. Gerdera claims that there is nothing he alone can do to save Samuel's life but he does have a theory. Like Samuel, he believes that the meteor has some kind of power. At first he didn't know what this power was but then he realized that it must be some kind of healing power after witnessing how fast the survivors healed after enduring only a week of radiation sickness. Gerdera also informs Tezra that the meteor could be used to heal Samuel but realizes that Samuel's injuries are far too severe for them to heal as quickly as the survivors by merely staying on the ship and he also knows that Samuel won't survive in his weakened condition if they try to move him closer to the meteor. So Tezra decides that they will have to bring a piece of the meteor back to Samuel and hope it will be enough to save him.
5.30.3AJ- Seeing that Samuel's condition has only gotten worse, Tezra along with Dr. Gerdera and 3 Journey members, decide to travel deep into the heart of the cavern that the meteor punched into on it's decent to Earth. Using the scaling cables aboard Mirco's Journey, they make their way down deeper and deeper into the cavern. As they are about to reach the meteor, the crew's helmet lights go out. Thinking they won't be able to find the meteor without light, they are about to turn back when Gerdera notices that there is light below them.
As they come closer to the light, it becomes brighter until the crew is deep enough to see that the meteor itself is giving off this powerful aura. Once the crew is on top of the meteor, they begin to chisel pieces out of it. As Tezra begins to cut through it, he realizes that it is too hard to break through with his drill. After 2 hours of trying to cut through it, they realize the meteor is impenetrable and are about to give up when Tezra senses something strange from the aura. Suddenly Tezra removes his protective glove and puts his hand in direct contact with the meteor. The crew watches in amazement as Tezra then almost effortlessly digs his fingers into the meteor and pulls out a piece of it. Gerdera and the rest of the crew were about to do the same when suddenly they are hit with an extremely violent earthquake. Knowing that they've already got what they came for, the crew quickly tries to make its escape from the cavern by retracting their cables back to the surface and they narrowly escape with their lives. The crew then places the meteor by Samuel's bedside in the hopes that their leader will make a swift recovery.
5.31.3AJ- After taking a small fragment of the Journey's meteor piece, Dr. Gerdera goes to the ships research center to analyze it. His results show that the meteor does indeed have some kind of biological healing power, but Gerdera knew there had to be something more after witnessing the power that Tezra possessed as he pulled out the meteor piece. So Gerdera decides to conduct his own little test with the meteor fragment. While holding the fragment in his hand, Gerdera slams his fist into a piece of well-hardened concrete and shattered it as if it were a piece of glass. He tries the same thing again only this time he lets go of the fragment. He is still able to break it but it didn't seem as easy as before. Gerdera then theorizes that the healing powers are a mere side affect to the meteor's true power. Anyone who comes in direct contact with the meteor becomes infused with a temporary boost in physical and quite possibly mental abilities. But if they are not in contact with the meteor, the powers drain slowly from its user rather than disappearing all at once. Gerdera then decides to do further research on this matter after Mirco's Journey has returned to Neo Earth.
6.5.3AJ- After five long days of waiting, the meteor piece that Tezra and the others nearly died for has proven it's worth as Samuel makes a full and healthy recovery. But now the crew has a new problem on their hands. The barrier of extremely corrosive acid still looms over them and Mirco's Journey's acid protection was almost completely worn off from the last time they braved the barrier. Samuel, who has re-taken command, has one last idea. If they were to attach their piece of the meteor to the outside of the ship, it should be enough to withstand the barrier long enough for them to escape. Tezra suggests that the meteor piece they have might not be enough but due to the earthquake, he realizes that they can't go back to the cavern and recover more pieces. And since the cavern is closed off, the barrier has been inching its way closer and closer to ground level without the meteor giving direct exposure to the surface. The crew was about to go ahead with their plan when Gerdera stepped in and suggested something different. He pointed out that as the barrier gets weaker, the acid around it gets weaker as well, mainly because of the extra air particles the acid has to take up. So Gerdera suggested that the crew wait until the barrier was at it's weakest and then continue with their plan. Samuel, realizing that he owed a great debt of gratitude to this man for saving his life, decided that Gerdera's idea could save everybody aboard the ship.
6.11.3AJ- Now that the barrier is almost touching ground level, Samuel gives the order to launch Mirco's Journey back into space. Just as Gerdera predicted, the barrier was weak enough for Journey to escape and thanks to the help of their meteor piece, the ship was able to repel what was left of the acidic barrier much like the how the original meteor created the barrier in the first place. And now that their mission was finally complete everyone aboard Mirco's Journey, both crew and survivors alike, were ready to leave Earth behind and start their new lives.
6.16.3AJ- Mirco's Journey makes it's final landing on Neo Earth. Some of the survivors wanted to stay whilst others wished to be transferred to the other space domes so that they could be reunited with their families. Only 40 people out of the billions of lives that were lost made it back to civilization. All were grateful to the men and women, who risked their own lives to save them and with the new discovery of the meteor's incredible power, it seemed mankind's future was now brighter than ever. But all was far from well and the meteor piece although helpful in saving the life of Samuel Barlow would prove to be more of a disaster to mankind and would spiral the entire human race into a galaxy of turmoil in a future that not even Dr. Gerdera or the Journey Commanders could foresee…
4.27.20AJ- Nearly 17 years have passed since the rescue on Earth and with new technological breakthroughs, each of the space domes has now built their own mini expansion domes to contain the increasing population. These expansions are numbered after their predecessors (ex. Earth 1, Alpha 6, Zeta 3, etc.). Dr. Gerdera's research into the meteor has saved countless lives over the years and he has become a galactic hero because of it. However, the people of the Neo Zeta space domes have become quite discontent with the lack of meteor treatment they have been getting but Gerdera refuses to relinquish any of the Meteor pieces to them because of their previous misuse by the Neo Zetans. Many of them had used the meteor pieces to try to enhance their own bodies and make them almost superhuman instead of using them to cure diseases. Meanwhile, Samuel and Tezra were living in Neo Earth and even though tensions were beginning to mount between Neo Earth and Neo Zeta over who should have possession of the meteor shards, it seemed as though these two didn't want any part of it.
4.30.20AJ- Fey Barlow, Samuel's wife, gives birth to their son Nate Barlow. However, due to what is widely believed by doctors to be from Samuel's acid exposure, Nate has contracted a deadly disease and is issued to be meteorically treated as soon as possible.
5.5.20AJ- Violet Dartessius, Tezra's wife, has also given birth to a son just shortly after Nate. This child is named Azrael Dartessius. But this child has contracted a much more rare but no less deadly disease than that of Nate even though it seems to have no connection with Tezra embarking on the Earth rescue mission seeing as he wasn't exposed to any of the radiation.
5.20.20AJ- Both Azrael and Nate have been meteorically treated for over 2 weeks now but these diseases only seem to be getting worse, and their families fear the worst for them. It wasn't long until Gerdera stepped in and had a private word with both Samuel and Tezra about their dying sons. He explained to them that these diseases ran much deeper in their bodies and cannot be treated by mere meteor exposure. Gerdera's research has led him to witness extreme cases like this before and every time one of these patients was simply exposed to the healing powers of the meteor, it had little effect and none could be cured. However, Gerdera theorizes that if he were to surgically insert a shard of the meteor into the patient, then the disease could be destroyed from the inside. But Gerdera has feared for the longest time that this could overload the human body with it's incredible energy after he's witnessed it once before on one of his Neo Zetan patients and because of what happened, surgical meteor insertion was banned throughout the space domes. But this was on a full-grown person and Gerdera believed that a baby's high metabolic rates would have an easier time absorbing such power but he was still unsure of what could happen and was very resilient to even considering this theory. But Samuel and Tezra both knew that their sons could not survive these ordeals without some kind of advanced treatment and tried to convince Gerdera to go through with it. Gerdera knew that he would regret this decision but because Samuel and Tezra saved him all those years ago, he decided that he would do it under the condition that this operation remained in complete secrecy and that no one outside of both the Barlow and Dartessius families was to know about this.
5.25.20AJ- The operation is a success and Nate and Azrael are recovering at incredible speeds, as if their fatal diseases were common colds. As Gerdera predicted, the high metabolic rates of these children are able to absorb this power with ease but he advises that the meteor pieces remain within the children to help protect them from outside diseases. Samuel and Tezra are extremely grateful but Gerdera just hopes that the decision he made today doesn't come back to haunt him later…
8.21.23AJ- Neo Zeta's population has been claiming for many years now that they have sick people aboard their space dome. But Neo Earth is still skeptical in entrusting the shards in the hands of Neo Zetans and are still not giving in. Finally, recently elected Minister Agon Zartem of the Neo Zeta space domes has had enough of this nonsense and decides to take action. If the Neo Earthlings would not share their meteor shards, Neo Zeta will take them by force if necessary. But Zartem knows that they can't take them directly from Neo Earth as it is heavily defended to protect against previous Neo Zetan terror attacks. But Zetan spies report that Neo Epsilon is in possession of meteor shards and it is nowhere near as defended as Neo Earth. Neo Zeta's day of reckoning was at hand.
8.26.23AJ- Neo Zeta's best troops are sent to retrieve the meteor pieces from Neo Epsilon and secure what's rightfully theirs. They attacked swiftly and without mercy on the helpless
Neo Epsilonians. The Epsilonians tried to defend their dome but they were powerless to the Neo Zetans superior training and advanced weaponry. After wiping out most of the meager resistance, Neo Zeta claimed their prize, the Neo Epsilonian meteor shards. But that's not all, the Neo Zetan troops had one last order to carry out, one that would transform mankind's future forever. As punishment for Neo Earth's insolence, the Zetan troops were instructed to contaminate the entire dome by unleashing a plague through the oxygen plants. This "plague" was none other than the contamination that nearly wiped all of Earth's remaining survivors and now that Neo Zeta was in possession of it, they had become the most dangerous of all 5-space domes. After they polluted the air within Neo Epsilon, the Zetan troops escaped with their newly acquired meteor pieces and set a course for Neo Zeta.
8.27.23AJ- The effects of the contaminated Neo Epsilon had started to take effect on the lives of approximately 1.5 billion people. The tainted space dome was in complete anarchy as people ran rampant in the streets trying to search for the nearest escape pods. Had the contaminated oxygen plants been induced with a much stronger dose of the toxic plague, the Neo Epsilonians would have been killed instantly. But Neo Zeta knew better and because of Neo Earth's reluctance to co-operate, the plants were injected with just enough of the deadly toxin to make all of Neo Epsilon suffer for as long as possible. The Epsilonians cried out for help to their Neo Earth allies asking if they could board with Neo Earth for treatment of their disease. Neo Earth told the Neo Epsilonians that the meteor shards were on their way and that they should remain within the domes. Little did the dying Neo Epsilonians know that Neo Earth had a different intention in mind…
8.29.23AJ- Neo Epsilon scanners show a ship requesting to dock and assume it's the ship sent from Neo Earth containing the meteor shards. It was from Neo Earth all right but the Epsilonians came to realize that there were no meteor shards on board and when they came to know the truth about the real intention of the ship, it was too late. The ship contained an extremely potent nuclear explosive capable of leveling the space dome to rubble. That's exactly what it did too. Neo Earth triggered the bomb from a safe distance and laid waste to the helpless space dome to ensure that the plague didn't spread to the other domes.
8.30.23AJ- Because of the actions taken by both Neo Earth and Neo Zeta, the mere tensions that had escalated between these two suddenly became a personal vendetta with both sides having extreme distrust and hatred for one another. Neo Zeta believes that their actions were rightfully meant to teach Neo Earth a lesson and the fact that they poisoned the dome was irrelevant considering that Neo Earth could have saved the Epsilonians with their meteor shards instead of ruthlessly killing millions of innocent lives. But Neo Earth knew that they could not save that many people and because of the selfish Neo Zeta, the possible contamination of the other domes, mainly Neo Earth, was something they knew they could not afford to let happen and believed it was necessary to purge the space dome before the situation got out of hand.
9.3.23AJ- Even though the Earthlings and Zetans both believed the other was guilty of mass genocide, the remaining space domes Neo Alpha and Neo Gamma knew better than to trust either one and both had declared their independence from them and built defenses to ensure their neutrality and to make sure that their fates won't become the same as Neo Epsilon.
4.24.24AJ- NeoZetan engineers begin production of a new weapon to counter against Neo Earth's powerful defenses, a breakthrough in technology beyond anything man could have ever imagined, a mobile suit. This mobile suit, being the first of its kind, is named after the man who ordered their creation, Neo Zetan Minister Agon Zartem. The ZTAMS-09 ZARTEMA is the first successful model in the many attempts at trying to perfect humanoid-mech technology by the Zetan people. With this new weapon, Neo Zeta no longer considers itself as one of the original five space domes and therefore declares themselves as the Neo Zetan Freedom Fighters (NZFF).
5.2.24AJ- The NZFF knew they needed to test their new weapons before they use them against Neo Earth so they declare to the Neo Gamma space dome that if Neo Gamma doesn't join the NZFF, they will be the first to fall to their ZARTEMA mobile suits. Neo Gamma refuses, thinking that it's all just a ruse and that their defenses will hold off any NZFF aggression. But to the dismay of the citizens of Neo Gamma, that was just false hope. The NZFF proved to be more than a match for the Neo Gamma defense forces. The NZFF gave Neo Gamma one last chance to join their cause, otherwise they would spread the same plague that led to the destruction of Neo Epsilon. Knowing that the NZFF would carry out its threat, the citizens of Neo Gamma unwillingly decide to join their ruthless attackers in their cause against Neo Earth. Agon Zartem is pleased with the results of his brand new weapons and the pilots of these machines who were using the Neo Epsilon meteor shards to greatly enhance their mental abilities. It seemed that all would fall before his iron rule.
5.3.24AJ- Neo Earth is in disarray after learning of Neo Gamma's defeat to the NZFF. They knew that Zartem's mobile suits would easily decimate their beloved space dome if something were not done quickly. So Neo Earth decides to build it's own mass production mobile suits using similar components that make up the ZARTEMA. Meanwhile, news of the Neo Gamma defeat reaches the expansion dome Earth 3, home to both the Barlow and Dartessius families. Samuel knows that the space dome could quickly become a war zone if the NZFF attacked, so Samuel tells Tezra that it would probably be safer for their families if they were to head for Neo Alpha. Tezra is quite skeptical at first seeing as how Neo Earth is much more heavily defended than Neo Alpha but Samuel points out that NZFF's next target will most definitely be Neo Earth as attacking Neo Alpha wouldn't make any logical or strategic sense at this point, seeing as how Neo Gamma fell so easily to NZFF's last attack. However this would prove to be difficult as Samuel realizes they have no ship and the fact that Violet Dartessius was about to give birth to another baby didn't help matters either.
7.15.24AJ- Neo Earth has finally completed their mobile suit army and just as Samuel said, NZFF's next target was the heavily defended space dome of Neo Earth. Neo Earth's militant wing, the Crusaders of Blue Earth, give the NZFF one last warning to back off. But Zartem gave the order for his mobile suits to start attacking and the battle for Neo Earth was at hand. The Crusader's mobile suits, the CGD-30 VULCAN prove to be equally matched to NZFF's ZARTEMA mobile suits. As the battle raged on, Samuel and Tezra snuck their families aboard Mirco's Journey that was docked inside Neo Earth's hangar. Just as Samuel and Tezra were about to board the ship, Dr. Gerdera showed up for one final meeting with them. Samuel told Gerdera that he should come with them, but Gerdera said he would only endanger their lives by going with them. He told the former Journey commanders that his meteor research was largely responsible for the battle that was taking place and that he knew about Neo Earth's plans to blow up Neo Epsilon and didn't do anything about it. Before he bid farewell to the two men who saved his life so many years ago, Gerdera gave Tezra a shard of the meteor piece, just in case their 2nd born child contracted the same disease as Azrael did when he was born. As the battle raged on, Mirco's Journey made it's escape and was headed on a course for Neo Alpha.
7.16.24AJ- The battle for Neo Earth was over and it seemed as though the Crusaders were victorious in defending their homeland but it came with a high price. The casualties of both sides was at an enormously high rate and a few minor skirmishes between the Crusaders and the NZFF still remained in both Neo Earth and the space dome's orbit. The mobile suits had indeed proven themselves to be powerful weapons but Neo Earthlings and Neo Zetans alike were starting to question about whether or not they were doing more harm than good as soldiers were risking their lives for their superior's own selfish gains. Even though it was Agon Zartem who ordered the NZFF's retreat, many had felt that there was no victor in this horrific battle and that if the NZFF and the Crusaders don't settle their differences peacefully, this personal vendetta will soon become a galactic war and all of mankind will suffer because of it.
7.17.24AJ- Mirco's Journey has been granted access to the peaceful colony of Neo Alpha and it wasn't long after until Violet gave birth to her second son, Elijah. But unlike Azrael's birth, this baby was completely healthy and so Tezra decided to keep the meteor shard until he felt Elijah was old enough to receive it. And it seemed as though the Barlow and Dartessius families could finally live in peace. Meanwhile, the Crusaders of Blue Earth were uneasily celebrating their shallow victory and although it seemed as if the NZFF's mobile suits were decimated, they knew better than to assume that they had seen the last of them. And as the NZFF headed back for Neo Zeta, Agon Zartem swore he would have his revenge against the Crusaders for killing so many of his people in the previous battle. But he knew it would take time and he also knew his time was running out. He would have to choose a successor quickly if he was to preserve his glorious name.
But this was only the beginning, and even though the NZFF was crippled, the war would continue and the three children Nate Barlow, Azrael Dartessius and Elijah Dartessius would soon find themselves in the middle of this brutal conflict. How they will be involved is where their story begins…