On the wings of an angel
Cosmic era 71, may 8th, plant central government building.
Athrun was perplexed by the scene he found outside his father's new office. It was a chaotic scene with everyone's attitudes ranging anywhere from joyful and proud to downright terrified. He had just gotten off the shuttle from earth and was coming to see his father about operation spitbreak.
Immediately though once he took in the atmosphere of the building athrun heard his name being called. Turning he saw a familiar face and smiled. "Commander Yuuki…what's going on? He asked the man who answered his question with a grim look.
"Operation spitbreak…it was both a failure and a success." he stated which caused athrun to become even more confused.
"What do you mean? How could it have failed but also succeeded?" he asked as the commander pulled him off to the side.
The commander took a deep breath and exhaled before beginning to explain what happened. "What you should know first athrun…is that Noah Carson is back. We don't know how and we don't know where he got his mobile suit but…well…let's just say a lot happened while you were in the hospital and even more on your flight here. Where to begin?" he asked himself as athrun became a statue with shock.
Noah Carson was alive? The leader of celestial being was alive? How? He saw the mass of particles himself on one of his cameras during his fight with Kira! The machine was GONE! From his vantage point he saw no wreckage at all!
"While you were gone we have had 2 mobile suits stolen though I suppose I should leave that to your father to explain. Then once operation spitbreak began two unidentified mobile suits showed up. Reports say one of them had TWO of those cone drives that EX-caliber had while the other was a new variation of the blitz." He said and let that sink in as athrun seemed to grow frustrated.
"What else?" asked athrun between grinding teeth.
"We don't have a full picture yet but it seems both those machines intervened in operation spitbreak. Early reports state though that had they not done so the entire force would have been annihilated by some weapon the earth forces were planning to use. That is where we succeeded as we took the base. However we failed when the same device used to somehow disable the weapon by Noah Carson also fried every bit of technology in the base, rendering it useless as we have no intelligence to gather from It." he stated.
Athruns face went from rage to one of angry contemplation. Had Noah Carson not returned it sounded like the operation would have failed completely AND they would have lost all their forces there? But with his return meant also the return of celestial being and zafts greatest threat since the nuclear attack on junius seven.
"Thank you…I'm afraid I have to go see the chairman now, excuse man." He stated with his tone laced with anger as he walked past the zaft commander and towards the supreme leader of the plant's office…also his father's new office.
Once inside athrun heard his father ranting about the defense council and Clyne family and lacus apparently consorting with a spy. By the end though his father began to sound like a madman, like he should be foaming at the mouth and it worried the violet haired coordinator.
Finally the men he was speaking to left and he approached his father. "Father…"he said quietly, trying to gauge his father's mood. He was met with a glare and his father quickly focused all his current rage on him. It was so strong athrun to practically feel it wanting to strangle him just for being in his presence.
"What did you call me?" Patrick zala asked.
Athrun quickly saluted and stood at attention. "My apologies chairman zala!" he exclaimed and waited for his father to begin speaking.
"The situation is far worse then I'm sure you`ve been told…"he began but waited for athrun to talk to see what the boy knew.
"Yes I'm sure it is but I can't believe what I'm hearing. Lacus…helping a spy? She'd never betray the plants like that." he stated and his father turned an activated a hidden monitor in the wall. It began to play footage from a hangar, lacus standing in front of a new mobile suit alongside a boy in a zaft red uniform. "That hair…couldn't be…" thought athrun as the camera zoomed in on the two of them.
"No matter how innocent and naïve you think lacus to be, proof such as this makes it all too clear that her family has been conspiring to betray us since the moment former chairman Clyne was taken out of office. This video shows lacus handing over the ZGMF-X20A freedom to the spy, who took it and headed for earth." Said the plants current chairman before stopping the footage and turning to face athrun once more.
"The freedom is one of four machines originally developed based on combat data from Nina yang's paladin and experimental technology used on the EFT guaiz that fought alongside you to combat Noah and his EX-caliber. It is also one of the two already completed. With Noah Carson back and in what seems to be a newer, more powerful machine we needed the freedom more than ever now." he said, his tone becoming full of rage by the end of his explanation.
Athrun couldn't believe what he was seeing. He continued to stare at the paused footage which had stopped on lacus' face when she turned to stare directly at the camera. His father mentioned her no longer being his fiancé but what brought him out of his thoughts was him stating she was being treated as a fugitive.
He turned and listened closely to his father.
"We are getting reports the freedom may have gone to earth and assisted Noah Carson in allowed the legged ship to escape operation spitbreak. You are hereby tasked with the reclamation of the freedom. Go to the armory and take the ZGMF-X09A justice, the second suit to be completed once its preparations are complete. With the justice you are to find the freedom, eliminate the pilot and kill all persons involved with it and who have come in contact with It." he said before laying a folder on his desk which athrun picked up.
"It goes without saying that should you be unable to capture the freedom your orders are to destroy it. And if you come in contact with Noah and his new machine your orders are the same. Capture it, do what Nina could not do, and bring it back to us. Barring that you are to destroy It." he said as athrun opened the folder and found it was a file on the freedom and the justice.
He closed it a saluted once more. "Chairman Zala, permission to speak freely!" he requested and received a simple nod. Likely his father knew he'd have questions.
"Sir if I may ask…I was told two machines were stolen while I was gone. What was the second machine if the freedom was stolen but the justice is still in the armory?" he asked, confused as to what happened just while he was in the hospital.
His father folded his hands together and closed his eyes. "While you were recovering we went back to the site of your final battle with the strike. We were looking to recover any wreckage of EX-caliber before the naturals did. What we found was…unusual. Where its corpse should have been we instead found a plastic model of said machine that seemed to mirror the state EX-caliber should have been in after its destruction. Upon further investigating we found bits and pieces of it and brought them to the homeland. There one of our technicians who apparently has a hobby of making plastic models rebuilt it. When he did so something incredible happened." he said, beginning to sound like a mad scientist about to reveal his evil invention.
"The machine somehow broke down into a small mass of green and blue particles which expanded and grew before reforming into the full scale EX-caliber. Supposedly Nina yong heard about this and decided that she would also betray the homeland. She broke into the armory and found it shortly after we filled its missing cockpit section with a customized GINN cockpit. From there she killed almost 20 guards, including her uncle who was commanding the security team at the moment and stole EX-caliber from us." Said Patrick as he began to grind his teeth in anger.
Athrun gulped audibly. Now not only was Noah Carson back…but a pilot of his own caliber was in possession of EX-caliber…this was certainly a worst case scenario. "One more thing sir…if we were able to gather prisoners from operation spitbreak then certainly it wasn't a complete loss intelligence wise." He said, confused as to why they were viewing the mission as a loss given the fact they likely had plenty of prisoners.
What came next scared athrun and made him begin to question his father's sanity as he grinned with clearly mischievous joy in what he said next. "There are no prisoners. Clearly the naturals intend to wipe us out completely if they will sacrifice their own people just to eliminate as many of our troops as possible. Since they were willing to slaughter their own people I gave the order…no prisoners. Every surviving soldier of the earth forces that we gathered was executed." He said as he leaned forward, resting his chin on his hands as he looked athrun in the eyes.
"Make no mistake athrun. If you come back without the freedom, without proof of its destruction, you will possibly be dooming the plants. Both the X10A freedom and X09A justice are equipped with N-jammer cancellers to allow them to utilize nuclear reactors and stand on par with Noah's mystery power source. So…if you return empty handed consider yourself labeled a traitor and a fugitive." He said, his tone making it clear he was not joking. If athrun returned without the freedom or proof it was destroyed…he'd likely be shot on sight.
He nodded and bowed. "Of course sir. I`ll see to it the freedom is returned to the plants quickly." He said before turning around and leaving his father's office, plenty to think about on the ride back to his home.
On the wings of an angel
Cosmic era 71, May 8th, unidentified island 2 hours away from JOSH-A
The whole of the archangel's crew was currently standing on the island where they had set down in order to take a moment and assess their situation. Well…the whole of the crew aside from a few mechanics who were getting a jump on the repairs or gawking Nicols new machine.
Leading the mass of people were murrue, mu, Luke and Noah, everyone watching Kira walk down a small hill where his new machine, along with Nicols new blitz where parked.
Nicol was walking behind 3 men and a woman who were following Kira. His side arm was out and aimed at the hip at the group.
The four mystery people were the captains of the 4 vessels who had surrendered. The three men were Eurasian captains and the woman was wearing the black coat of a submarine carrier captain of zaft.
Everyone was tense as they watched the group walk towards them. Not only did their situation have them on edge, but Kira was wearing a ZAFT red flight suit and there was now a zaft vessel anchored in the waters just behind the archangel.
Finally Kira stopped and smiled as everyone from the archangel seemed to take a step forward, each wanting a look at Kira aside from Luke and Noah, both of which walked closer in order to get a look at the four captains who claimed their wished to join celestial being.
"I guess I arrived just in time." Said Kira simply.
"Is it…is it really you Kira?" asked murrue, still reeling over the fact not only was Noah alive…but Kira too! It was too good to be true! With them both back her soul felt a bit lighter given she now officially had only ever lost one member of her ships staff. She just hoped Kira's return didn't get miriallia's hopes up.
Kira nodded and within seconds everyone was surrounding him, asking him questions, exclaiming how surprised they were, and variations of both.
Finally murrue set a hand on his shoulder and smiled. It was all she could do to keep herself from crying.
"I'm sure you have a few million questions for me." Said Kira calmly.
Murrue nodded with a smile. "Just a few million."
"And I have questions I'd like to ask you. But first I want to clear the air about this suit. I`m not with zaft…" he said as he looked to mu who had opened his mouth to ask about it. He then looked back to murrue. "But I'm not with the earth forces either." He said with determination in his voice.
"then your joining celestial being right?" asked Nicol who brought everyone's attention back to him and the four captains waiting for everyone to clear the air with the coordinator who had seemingly returned from the dead.
Kira once more shook his head. "No. in fact I suppose you could say I have my own agenda to this war now. While I realize I will have to fight to protect my friends I intend to fight to bring this war to a close. Zaft or earth forces it won't matter, those that intend to harm my friends are my enemy. While this somewhat lines up with celestial beings point of view I can't join you because even with your advanced technology you still are quicker to kill your opponents then use that technology to disable them." He said before looking to the freedom.
"Lacus Clyne gave me this suit…this sword. And with it I intend to show both sides of this war that fighting has no purpose while also utilizing its power and accuracy to a point where I no longer have to shed any more blood." He said and as both Murdoch and murrue opened their mouths to speak he motioned towards the freedom.
"Before either of you ask, maintenance and resupplying the freedom can wait. What you need to know is that it is equipped with a neutron jammer canceller. What that means is that if you try to get specifics about the machine you will force me to leave. In truth neither side of this war needs such devices or that sort of power. So if you try to learn more about that device I will leave, even if it means having to fight you, I will NOT give up that machine or its secrets." He said firmly.
Murrue nodded and put her hand on his shoulder. "Very well. I assume that means you`ll want to maintain the machine on your own?" she asked. Kira nodded. "Fine…under no circumstances shall..." murrue stopped and turned as Noah tapped her shoulder.
"I'm sorry but with the N-jammer canceller being brought up and Kira mentioning that the machine should be maintained by him and him alone I should also mention…" Noah stopped and took a deep breath.
"While I'm, sure this will only add to your pile of questions for me, the same goes for the blitz jaeger. And not because it's celestial beings property…the machine…it has a gundanium shielded micro fission reactor powering it as well as is made of a metal known as gundanium. It is also capable of reverting to a plastic model as Murdoch saw me do with my Gabriel gundam. Therefore I will be performing all maintenance on any machine that celestial being personnel use." He stated
Murrue and mu both gulped audibly. 2…2 machines now were going to be on the archangel housing nuclear reactors. How the blitz worked was beyond them BUT murrue just nodded. "Understood…was that clear to everyone? All celestial being mobile suits as well as Kira's new machine are not to be touched under any circumstances!" called out murrue to which Murdoch and his mechanics nodded.
With all that handled murrue turned to the four captains, all of which saluted her oddly. She waved off the salute and smiled. "I believe Noah is the one you're supposed to speak with but I just want to ask you all one question. since my ship will likely be above you all as we travel to...well…wherever we head to next I am wanting to confirm I have your word we will not be fired upon." She stated to which all the captains nodded and she looked to Noah.
"Don't worry captain. Just like Nicol, should the archangel or any of her personnel come under attack by these people they will be signing a contract on behalf of their ship that they understand this will constitute an act of betrayal unless proven an accident and they will face the full might of celestial being…meaning they will be sunk." He said which all four captains seemed to shrink back at the death threat.
Captain Ramius nodded. "In that case I hope we can all work together to reach the end of the war alive and make this world a better place." She said before everyone began to disperse, small groups forming such as Kira and his friends beginning to discuss what all happened.
Noah meanwhile turned his attention to the four captains, the woman in specific. "You…you're a zaft captain and the sole one too accept my offer. The other three captains are technically earth forces…or were and therefore I have no doubt they have no ill will towards this ship. What guarantee do I have your ship is sincere in the fact you will be deserting your country, labeled traitors and unable to return to your homes, your families….why should I believe you won't try to shoot us in the back?" asked Noah.
The woman before him certainly was a coordinator in terms of looks. Shiny blue hair, slightly tanned skin. Her facial features made her out to be of Native American origin. She was around 5'5, a thinner body though her uniform betrayed her toned form to a degree. She had hazel eyes and an average sized bust.
His answer came in the form of a clip board holding a piece of paper that was covered in signatures. The zaft captain quickly saluted him. "Captain Rozene gentry's sir! While we were en route to this island I first did a…purge…of my bridge and then had this passed around the ship. Anyone whose name is not on that paper is currently filling our brig. Consider it a…petition to let us join you. Every name on that list understands where this war is going and is not willing to carry out genocide. This includes 3 of my four dinn pilot's sir." She stated as she relaxed once Noah waved off the salute.
Looking over the paper he saw names even signed on the sides and it was on both sides of the paper. He then heard her say 3 of 4 dinn pilots. "What happened to the fourth?" asked Noah, slightly interested to hear why he only had 3 members of a dinn squad now under his command.
"Turned out the squads leader was a radical…I'm sorry to say we lost 13 crew members to small arms fire as the radicals onboard tried physically fight the petition. So…this enough proof?" she asked.
Noah nodded. "I'll accept this. I will need every member to fill out a digital contract form but consider yourselves part of celestial being. What's the status of the three dinns?" he asked.
The captain turned to point to the freedom. "Due to this machine disabling them all FOUR are in the middle of repairs. But they should be ready to sortie again soon enough. Expecting trouble?" she asked.
Noah shook his head. "No I was just curious. No then…you three…"he said, looking to the earth alliance captains.
One of them stepped forward. "Captain Mathew Shannon sir. I speak for all three of our vessels when I say we are just a few small ships. While not all of our crew members may agree to working with coordinators we all do agree on the fact what the top brass tried to do is unforgivable. We may not have a petition but we all agree…any blue cosmos members or sympathizers will be dealt with." He stated promptly.
Noah nodded. "I want you all to know…celestial being does not take prisoners. This is not to say we execute everyone. Put them on life boats or keep them in the brig till we reach somewhere they can catch flights home, I don't care. Either way we will not be taking prisoners. Now…I'm glad you all have joined us and I sincerely hope that with your help we will bring this war to an end and hopefully make it so war leaves a sour taste in humanities mouth. Just like with rozene's crew, anyone actually joining us will need to fill out a formal contract but, and rezone this goes for you as well, I will not force your entire crew to join us. Anyone who does not agree with celestial beings ways and simply doesn't wish to fight for zaft or the earth forces anymore or just wants out of the war entirely is free to stay aboard till we reach somewhere again where they can catch rides home or we can decide what to do with them." He said, taking a breath after that small speech.
The four captains nodded and awaited their next orders. "all of you return to your ships, focus on repairs and getting contracts signed, Nicol will assist you all in getting devices set up for them to fill it all out." He said before turning to Nicol who nodded and began to usher the four captains back towards the blitz jaeger. Since not all the ships could properly dock at the small island Nicol had recovered each captain with his new machine and brought them ashore in its hands.
With that dealt with Noah smiled and turned towards the archangel. So far…so good. Now to go discuss the plans to head for orb with the good captain.
On the wings of an angel
Cosmic era 71, may 8th, aprilius 1
Athrun was silent as he approached the white symphony theater. Even in the plants artificial rain his mind was so confused he didn't notice the chill that had set over him. Reaching under his injured arm he made sure to have his pistol ready in case anything happened. But…this was lacus he was trying to find.
Could he really shoot her? Sure even when they were engaged it was a political one so she wasn't the love of his life…but…she was a good friend. And if he saw the video correctly it seemed she somehow saved his best friend…but…she also gave him the freedom.
"Why lacus…why did you give Kira that mobile suit?" he thought as he proceeded into the building.
Once inside he could hear lacus singing. The place was in ruins, even outside it looked as if word had gotten out by now she was being labeled a traitor and people had rioted likely, coming here to destroy the one place she truly shined.
But if all this really was true and not just a nightmare…perhaps she was more than just a talented singer…
A few more steps and athrun began listening to the music and stopped. This was the first song she had ever sung here. He looked down to the haro in his hand, unaware just how iconic it was for people like Noah and Luke and yet he had built so many for her as almost a subconscious way of saying, "yeah so…we are friends…and engaged so…here another gift to say I love you?"
Had they gotten married, had this all played out differently, even before this he wondered what their life would be like. They didn't love each other…well no more than close friends would. Would he follow his father into politics? Or perhaps she would follow her own father.
He stop that train of thought and pulled out his pistol, deciding to steel himself for just what may have to be done.
With that he quickened his pace up the stairs, intent on confronting the pink haired songstress.
As he entered the main hall he saw her. Lacus Clyne…the woman who may have saved his best friend and who was another close friend….was…now he wasn't sure. What was clear was she either had no clue she was being labeled as a traitor or she was more confident in her actions then he was as she sat on stage in one of her dresses, calmly singing, looking as beautiful as ever.
Acting like nothing was wrong, like the theater was packed with an audience listening intently to every word.
Finally he stopped and listened once more. He thought back to all that happened, in orb, afterwards, how he found Nicols symphony he had been writing….how him and Kira fought…
And when the image of his aegis exploding flashed through his mind he also remembered cagalli's words. He gripped his pistol tighter. "How does that line of thinking help anyone? If we kill one person then someone else will just come to kill us, then one of our friends will kill them….the cycle…it never ends…" thought the poor, confused teen.
It was at that moment he was brought out of his musing by the haro deciding to jump from his hand, bouncing to lacus who giggled and happily caught the toy.
"Mister pink you`ve returned! Thank you athrun, I just knew you`d be the one to find and bring him to me." Stated lacus as she finally acknowledged athruns presence.
With a slight growl athrun jumped onto the stage himself and glared at the pink haired princess. "Why lacus? Is everything I've heard true? Did you really assist an enemy spy in stealing the freedom?" he asked, raising his pistol to aim it at her head.
The girl simply smiled. "I see…so you`ve heard about it all then haven't you? I will say this, I did not provide assistance to an enemy spy." She said, still calm even with a gun pointed at her face.
"Then who did you give the mobile suit too?" he asked with anger in his tone.
"Kira yamato of course. I felt that giving him a new sword would benefit him far more then such a weapon would benefit the plants." She said which only made athrun madder.
"Kira's dead lacus…you couldn't have given it to him. And even if you did he will just take it back to the earth alliance and then you`ve handed them the keys to their nuclear arsenal. Can't you see lacus you`ve doomed your own people!" he shouted at her which oddly made her smile.
"Athrun zala…are you really so blind you`d believe everything your told…everything you`ve seen? Search your heart…deep down I know you hope that Kira took whatever chance he may have had at escaping the strike before you destroyed it?" she asked before her own face was coated in anger.
"Or have you fallen so deep into your fathers own twisted grasp that you are hoping you actually killed Kira?" she said as she glared at athrun.
"You're lying! Kira's dead! I shot him down! I destroyed the strike!" shouted athrun even as tears began to fill his eyes.
Lacus' expression softened and she smiled once more. "athrun…you are a kind soul…and I do not believe for one second that you would so mercilessly kill your own best friend even in the name of another. It is my belief that somewhere, somehow deep in your mind…before you escaped the aegis you shifted a control, pressed a button, something that gave Kira a slim hope of surviving with him being a coordinator." She said as she looked down at her haro.
"After the battle reverend malchio found him and brought him to the plants where my father had him treated in secret. When he awoke he told me of all that happened once I left the ship. Do you still not believe what I am saying? Or do you truly wish Kira was dead just so you can bury the guilt of having put him through so much pain just by waving him off as being gone from this world?" asked lacus as she stood up.
"So what is it you're fighting for? That medal you were given? Your father's orders? If you insist on following this blind path then you may as well shoot me now…because you will find myself and Kira as your enemies on the battlefield." Said lacus with determination in her voice as she pressed herself as close to him as possible, the gun he held pressed between her breasts, ready to strike a killing blow to her heart.
Athrun froze…he wasn't sure what to do here…what could he do? Could he really kill her? Could he really fight Kira again? And Noah was back…could he really say that if he thought on what celestial being was meant to stand for he couldn't see himself deserting and joining them…especially after what his father had done….what his father seemed ready to do?
On the wings of an angel
Cosmic era 71, May 8th, archangel's bridge, 4 hours after fleeing operation spitbreak.
"So that was their strategy?" asked Kira, dumbfounded after listening to Noah and Luke explain what they knew of the cyclops plan as well as mu's word directly from inside the base.
Noah and Luke had also just finished explaining Noah's return from the dead and how this was all…well...fantasy to them. It sounded like a bad time traveler BS story but basically while they couldn't say much of the future, it explained the reason Luke had known murrue's plan when they showed up and why Noah was prepared for the cyclops system.
Kira turned to Luke and Noah. "While I understand that you could have caused damage to our…timeline…if I'm understanding your explanation correctly, why didn't you warn us about all this?" he asked to which Noah smiled.
"I couldn't warn you guys directly…but…I did leave a few breadcrumbs for other parties to help you be prepared for what comes next. Even with what I just said, consider me and Luke observers from now on…and…"Noah stopped, looking to captain rezone and Mathew who had joined them as liaisons for the small battle group they had. "Please don't mention to anyone the fact that technically we as a cell of celestial being are…unsanctioned. I mean I know for the archangel crew this blows all my bull out of the water but it was the best I could come up with. It was that or I be an ONI spook with the earth forces that somehow has a more advanced machine, is a natural, AND can pilot said mobile suit with the skill of a coordinator. What do you believe more? My story about celestial being….or that?" asked Noah as he looked to Nicol then to murrue and mu.
Captain Ramius and mu looked to each other then back to Noah. "I guess the celestial being story is a bit more believable. I mean saying you grew up working with and building EX-caliber makes it believable that it would be tuned to where even you as a natural could pilot it. To think a spook could do that kinda damage in a more advanced suit then even the freedom…from what I understand even the g-pilots who were trained to use the gat series were still having issues with them when this whole mess started." Said mu who threw his hands up in the air.
"In truth I don't really care anymore. After what the brass just tried to do…someone with as strong a mobile suit as you could be a 10 year old prodigal genius who built the thing in his backyard and I'd just be happy you're not aiming those weapons at us." Said mu as he flung up his arms and showed he was ready to get back to business.
"Back to the original discussion though it's pretty obvious the top brass knew about zafts plan to attack Alaska. To take the time to build a cyclops system…that big of one too takes time. They had to have known for months and told no one. What was it you said Luke when you explained who all was defending the base?" asked mu as he looked to the young man who was silent till now.
"Hm? Oh I just said that along with them deeming the archangel a colossal failure they also left behind the small contingent of non-blue cosmos loyal Eurasian forces behind to defend the base. The cyclops system would take care of most of zafts forces as well as deal with all their own internal enemies all in one fell swoop." Said Luke before he looked to Noah who nodded.
Mu groaned and face palmed. "So this really was a sign of just how deep rooted blue cosmos has become in the Atlantic federation…"
Kira looked down in thought. "Zaft didn't know either…"he said before looking to Noah and Luke. "Just how far gone are we? Can this…universe even be saved?" he asked, trying to find the right words.
Noah nodded. "Cut off the head of both radical parties and you`ll have some peace time. It's how the series ends anyways. The downside is the radicals now have control over both camps…and they both are gearing up for a no mercy, no nonsense final battle. We are in the final months of the war, I will say that…but with me intervening I'm concerned both parties may be trying to take too many steroids and will over play their hands. There is also the zero system. If it rears its ugly head we could be facing…well…anything." Said Noah which caused Luke to raise an eyebrow.
"Define anything Noah." Said Luke, concerned himself now.
"Well the zero system has knowledge of every gundam series and now that it has evolved and begun intervening itself such as with Nina and her paladin or Heine and the guaiz….in the last days of the war we could see anything! Giant mobile armors like in universal century, or maybe something like the Libra battle station from wing….who knows." said Noah which caused everyone to grow concerned. "But that's also why we have our own backup waiting outside this simulation. If things get to hairy they will know about it and have been given permission to dive in utilizing a battle arena to only allow their models to break the fourth wall and join us in battle."
Luke noticed Noah didn't say anything about the genesis cannon and knew it was for their own good.
"For now we should worry about what we are gonna do next. We can't just sit here forever." Stated murrue as she looked at everyone in the room.
"We haven't been able to re-establish contact due to the n-jammers and the magnetic fields so we don't know what headquarters might want us to do." Stated their comms worker.
"Should we make repairs in the field like the ships behind us and just head to panama on our own?" asked Ensign Neumann.
Mu laughed at that comment. "Yes because they`d be so happy to see us. Not only do we know too much but we basically have sided with an enemy vessel. The moment they see rozene's ship they could have grounds to shoot us down then and there as traitors. Even if we did make it to port they'd sink her ship then come after us with a firing squad." Explained mu as he crossed his arms.
Murrue sighed. "Yes we'd likely be labeled traitors either way, stating we deserted under enemy fire and disobeyed orders." She said before sighing. "It's getting a lot harder to understand just who or what we are fighting for…"she stated but mu nudged her shoulder.
"No…today it became a lot clearer to me just who we are fighting for and I'm not too happy about it. In terms of what we are fighting for…at this point I'd say survival." he stated to which murrue nodded.
Kira also nodded. "It's clear to me what we should be fighting against now thanks to Luke and Noah explaining things." Said Kira and murrue looked up to him.
"And just what should we be fighting against?" she asked
"well…not so much against but we should be fighting to show the radical powers of both groups that this war needs to end, that enough blood has been shed. Whether you all follow my fighting style or not…one thing is clear. Patrick zala and the leader of blue cosmos need to be stopped." Stated Kira.
"Muruta azreal…the blonde spoiled brat and leader of blue cosmos." Said Noah.
Kira nodded. "Fine…muruta azreal and Patrick zala both need to be dealt with if this was is going to end. They are who we are fighting against, them and their ideals. And we should be fighting to show the world that it's time to end the war." Stated Kira to which everyone nodded.
After a moment of silence everyone began to leave the bridge aside from its base crew. They all had things they needed to do.
On the wings of an angel
"To orb?" asked murrue as she looked down at the coffee mug set on her desk.
The blonde ace pilot nodded. "Yeah…something tells me no one in this group is ready to run back to the military…and orb originally built this ship. Besides I think when Noah said he left breadcrumbs he meant something to do with orb. Call it a gut feeling."
Murrue took a sip of her coffee and sighed. "Speaking of Noah…he's…different now…isn't he." She said to which mu nodded.
"I don't know what happened for them, but he and the kid are completely different then when we thought they had died. And Noah it's not just cause he's more forthcoming about what all he knows…I don't know where to place it but he's just…different. It's like when he was here before he was just along for the ride. Now…he's here with a whole new drive." Said mu as he looked into his own cup of coffee.
"He's here for her….that girl who cried out for him over that open channel when he was shot down. I can see it in his eyes. He's happy to be back, I'd wager he even calls this place more home then his…well his own universe. But more importantly I don't think he'd have built such a powerful mobile suit without the intent on likely storming the plants to get her or even more disabling her like he did Nicol."
Mu nodded and sighed. "Speaking of that mobile suit…I saw it in action for just a moment. The raw power he has….it makes you wonder what he could do if he decided to say fuck it to this whole timeline thing and went on a rampage." Said mu which oddly cause murrue to giggle.
"Anytime we bring up his machine you always talk about how powerful it is and you start talking about what he could do if it got turned against us. I realize it's powerful but that's the point. Tell me you`ve never looked at his machine and felt like it was ready to jump into action at a moment's notice to defend us, to defend anyone." Said murrue as she took a sip of her coffee.
"I remember walking into the hangar and seeing EX-caliber docked between the strike and the blitz in Africa. Even after it began to show its damage, began to show the toll this war was taking on it it still looked ready to put itself in harm's way before Nicol or Kira could do anything in the strike or the blitz. Now…I don't know how much of that was watching him fight in it then seeing that custom battle damage combining with actual battle damage…but still I just remember feeling like it was here to put itself between humanity as a whole, coordinators and naturals alike, and the evils that would see us all tear each other apart just for such simple differences." Said murrue with a smile.
Mu chuckled. "Yeah…I still remember his speech in orbit, how he talked about how this war has boiled down to a pissing match between spoiled adults or something. After Alaska…I have to agree. Neither side is seeing their troops as troops anymore. They are just numbers on a paper with the number they care about being how many of the enemy died. A thousand troops could die with them only taking 100 coordinators and I'm sure blue cosmos would see all 1000 of those men and women as a justified sacrifice to kill those 100 coordinators. It's sick." Said mu with disgust in his voice as he spoke his thoughts on how the war was turning out.
Murrue sighed. "Perhaps Noah is what this war needs. Even if he could tell us just how it all ends…to think of how many more lives are likely to be lost before it ends…it makes me sick to my stomach to think I was such a good soldier that I didn't see any of this coming."
Once again mu nodded. "Yeah…me too captain…me too…" said mu before silence took hold of the room.
On the wings of an angel
"Reality" date unknown, time unknown, 30 minutes since Noah and Luke entered the simulation.
Riccardo Fellini, meijin Kawaguchi, Nils Neilson, and Mao yasaka all watched the battle arena's screens as it followed Noah and Luke in terms of how the simulation was going.
When they had watched Luke enter the archangel all four of them felt a pang of jealousy, mainly because they felt they may never get to experience that…well no…Fellini couldn't say that. After all he got to test this connection out when he took his fenice reniscita into the wing series and got to actually talk to qautre and duo. They had entered after the Siberia trap and found them in the desert.
Nils also couldn't say anything as he had actually met one of them, Noah being somewhat daring and having Fellini bring duo back with him by cutting the simulation with duo in his cockpit. It was a test to see if the cockpit did act as some kinda of pocket dimension almost, a doorway between worlds.
Sure enough duo was fine and watched them utilize the connection the arena had with the simulation to go in and grab deathscythe and bring it back out. To watch duo get all excited over having his "buddy" shrunk down to a size where he could have a miniature, working deathscythe on him at all times…well it was a sight to behold. Then again duo was likely the only pilot to react as such in any gundam universe. Anyone else would want to break the science down or just be astonished it happened at all. Duo, being the man-child he was, was begging to be able to build a deathscythe model while Nils had disassembled the miniature deathscythe to see if it would be just like nataku.
So given Noah would erase the "save data" after they were done, he let duo do just that and sent him back with it.
They all turned their heads when one of the cockpits opened. From the open cockpit they all watched as Noah stepped out, stretching as he did so. "Geez…that was intense." Said Noah as he finished stretching and looked to the other build fighters. "How long have I been gone?" he asked, curious if the time difference was the same.
Nils looked to his watch and said, "About 30 minutes…why?"
Noah blinked "because it's only been about 4 hours there since we left operation spitbreak and maybe 5 since I entered there. I was gone for months before I came back and according to Luke I was only gone a couple minutes. I wonder why there's such a difference…"stated Noah as he looked to the arena. It was currently fixed on the island where the archangel was parked.
Nils thought for a moment. "Perhaps the more refined crossover process has some effect on it? "He asked.
Noah shrugged. "I'm not sure, all I know is I am back to pick up some models. I managed to recruit some dinn pilots so I was thinking of giving them each custom suits and tasking them to defend specific area's during the assault on orb." Said Noah as he began stretching again.
"What did you have in mind if you don't mind me asking?" Said Mao as he took a step closer to Noah.
Noah blinked and shrugged. "A hy-gogg for sure, I want one of them in the water. I don't know if it's gonna be a true custom model but after fighting the aquatic mobile suits of zaft before I feel like the earth alliance should know the terror of being attacked by a Zeon mobile suit. Know where it all came from. Then I'm thinking a sniper, maybe based on the GM sniper 2 mixed with a GM striker. I know they are similar to the strike daggers but they won't be as specialized and I want the sniper to be able to defend himself in CQB." Said Noah to which everyone nodded. It sounded good so far.
"then for the third pilot I'm thinking some sort of custom zaku cannon, I mean he or she will be fighting amongst the astrays but I wanna keep it so they feel somewhat comfortable with the mono eye hopefully making them more comfortable piloting it. That one would be in the thick of things adding an artillery suit to the mix." Stated Noah. Again a sound strategy especially with some of them entering the mix. Sei was even supposed to show up and help though Fellini was thinking of waiting till the final battle to join just due to the natural power his mobile suit had.
Nil nodded and closed his eyes, picturing each suit as he figured Noah might make them, at least in terms of what he had seen Noah make so far. Opening his eyes he smiled. "Do you need any help with that?" he asked, knowing everyone in the room would be able to help Noah with any building he may have to do.
Noah shrugged. "Not really. I`m not gonna go all out with these, the whole idea I have is the battles of orb will be their test to see if they can handle custom mobile suits. If any or all of them survive I plan to give them custom command level suits but still mass produced. They survive till the end of the war they`ll launch into the battle of jachin duea in gundams…low grade but I mean I'm not trying to make an army here. Just at that point I want them to survive." Said Noah as he turned and continued out of the lab.
All four gunpla builders looked to each other before they dispersed from the arena's side, Nils going to work on some programming for the game version of Noah's program, Fellini went to catch up on gundam seed as it wasn't his biggest knowledge base.
Mao was sitting in the corner meditating, thinking of what to use in the coming battles as he wasn't like Fellini, he used strong gundams but wasn't about to turn away from the fight. And his double cross gundam was way outside Noah's pre-set rules for what can be used in the simulation. So he needed to figure out what he felt comfortable using.
Meijin Kawaguchi was tuning his old models, the zaku amazing and kampfer amazing. He planned to use these during his time fighting in the simulation as not only did they fit in Noah's rules but he felt he'd get a challenge using custom grunt suits in a warzone. He may have won three world championships and be a world renowned fighter but meijin Kawaguchi the third aka yuuki tatsuya was no fool. Even survival matches were nothing compared to somewhat real warzone.
On the wings of an angel
Cosmic era 71, march 8th, 2 hours since the St. Helens deserted zaft
Valeria galkina, a young Russian coordinator of 17 years old, was sitting in her DINN cockpit looking at a photo of her parents and sighed. She was a first generation coordinator, her parents unable to naturally conceive so they decided if she was going to come from a lab she may as well be a coordinator….they never sugarcoated their reasons for anything. Either way she wasn't exactly unhappy as a coordinator.
Because of that the brunette Russian was able to dodge her family's genetic bullets such as a history of being bipolar, weak immune systems…plus they weren't always the brightest people. She on the other hand was strong, fast, amazing with a computer and gifted in the written arts.
But this also meant her parents were naturals. And with everything that had been happening lately, with what Noah Carson had said and the latest moves of chairman zala…well it wasn't hard to put two and two together and see he was gearing up for a genocidal campaign.
She sent her parents an encrypted email explaining her defection and reasons before the ship was given maybe a BS tale of being sunk or before zala outright called them traitors. She also warned them they needed to get out of the plants.
There was a knock at the opening to her cockpit and she looked up, smiling when she saw her squad mate and the squad's new leader.
Cecil baker, a 2nd generation coordinator with Australian heritage, was the sweetest man she had ever met. While she was a short 5'3 and had brown eyes to match her hair he was blonde, blue eyes, a tall 6'1, and was muscular in physic. His entire image would scream a combat junkie and someone you don't wanna piss off.
Instead he was the opposite. A geek, a nerd, someone who was as talented a hacker as her but usually used it to access his online games while onboard their vessel without anyone knowing.
Cecil smiled back to her and took a step back but was leaned down to look into her cockpit. "Hey sorry to pull you from your thoughts but the big boss has called us to the legged ship…guess it's called the archangel. Anyways…no regrets right?" asked Cecil. The 30 year old had become somewhat of a big brother to her, mainly because their commander had been a grizzly old Russian who loved trashing naturals on the battlefield and made it clear even before the farce at JOSH-A he saw naturals as nothing but walking trash, something to be purged from the battlefield and from existence.
Valeria was a kind hearted girl like Cecil and so while she was an excellent fighter she was no red ace simply because she usually tried to give her opponents the chance to leave and live rather than kill them on the spot. Due to this she was regularly berated and harassed by their commander until Cecil would intervene.
The young coordinator nodded and climbed out of her cockpit, stashing the photo of her parents into her pocket. Cecil saw this and put a hand on her shoulder. "No regrets?" he asked again.
She nodded and as he removed his hand she looked into his eyes. "I signed that petition because of my parents…what about you? No regrets?" she asked.
Cecil gave a shit eating grin and scratched his cheek as he looked to her. "I may or may not technically be engaged…virtually but still I and the girl are crazy for each other. But she's a natural and if fighting for zaft means killing her I'll desert and join someone like Noah any day." Stated Cecil as they began to head out of the hangar.
Once they reached the exit hatch where a temporary ladder had been set up leading to a small boat dispatched from one of the now friendly earth forces vessels to transport them instead of using that custom blitz they had all seen they saw the third member of their squad to convert to celestial being.
Alfred larkin, another second generation coordinator, he was of a mixed English/American descent. There was no need to ask him why he was joining celestial being. He was raised in an old fashioned way, he was a gentlemen, a nice person, someone most men aspired to be. But when he joined zaft at the beginning of the war at the young age of 16 his personal code as a gentlemen got somewhat warped. He became damn near mute, most of the time spoke in a way that made you think deeply and question reality itself. But again he had a code…and enjoyed a good fight…a GOOD fight.
He wasn't one to slaughter people without mercy, he had on more than on occasion fired specifically AROUND an armor platoon because he felt using a GINN or now a DINN made fighting simple tanks unsporting. So he usually just forced the enemy to retreat when he could.
So to realize that the campaigns were about to become more and more on the side of genocide and less simply winning the war it was clear he no longer was loyal to zaft. The plants he still cared about, any coordinator would. But genocide was so far outside his code it was a wonder he hadn't been the one to put a bullet in their commanders head when he began ranting and raving at the captain, practically foaming at the mouth about her choice to desert and join celestial being.
Looking up Alfred nodded to them and stood from where he was leaning on the wall. Alfred was also their only red ace on the squad, the promotion recent and he was supposed to be transferred after operation spitbreak. Even the commander wasn't a red but he was also comical almost in how much fury he threw into his fighting style and more than once he had compromised a missing or destroyed their objective on accident. It was a surprise he still commanded a unit.
Cecil was only their commander instead of Alfred because of not only his age but Alfred had flat out said if they made him commander he'd outright quit zaft. Clearly he did not wish for the responsibilities of leading the two of them.
As they climbed down to the boat Valeria was the last one to begin down the ladder. Once she was out on the platform she was surprised at what she saw. The three earth alliance vessels had formed a defensive formation around the St. Helens with all their guns facing away from the ship.
She also could see lifeboats floating away from the ships, likely full of the blue cosmos sympathizers…but she spotted a few zaft ones as well. It seemed no one else would die today for their cause.
Once aboard the boat she saw captain rezone and one of the natural captains onboard. It seemed their team weren't the only ones summoned. Once she was seated the boat slowly picked up speed and headed towards the beach where a repurposed freight truck designed for hauling mobile suit parts around the hangar was waiting for them. She was curious why they all were going to meet their new boss…then again she also wanted to meet Noah Carson…the angel of death…
On the wings of an angel
Archangel's meeting room, 30 minutes later.
Valeria, Cecil, Alfred, captain Rozene and Mathew all sat in the meeting room of the archangel quietly. At the head of the table sat four plastic models along with what looked to be a few boxes of various modeling tools, small weapons and just an assortment of items designed specifically for the models.
Each model was quite plain compared to almost every machine onboard the legged ship…or as all the zaft members present now knew it was called, the archangel, but also each one looked to be something zaft would design and looked specialized…well two it was obvious what their specialization would be.
One held a sniper rifle in its hands and had a long handle coming up over its shoulder, likely some sort of staff on its back. The three coordinators could also make out what looked like canisters on its skirt armor, likely grenades. There was also a smaller handle peeking out the right side of the back skirt armor meaning it likely had a backup melee weapon stored there.
The next one was obviously an artillery suit. It had what looked like a cannon over its right shoulder, the left had a large Gatling gun. At its waist sat two rectangular boxes on either side with curved spaces that gave away the items as 2 tube missile launchers. In each hand seemed to be some form of an assault rifle.
The last machine was…well…to describe it as a sea monster would be best. Huge shoulder armor, long segmented arms and huge claws/ fingers…it didn't look too be heavily armed but the sight of such a machine certainly would cause terror in its opponents.
All three also sported zafts signature mono-eyes.
The fourth model was that of an odd looking ship, a sleek design, painted a fire red with white for a secondary color. It was large and clearly various panels could open to likely show intricate detail inside.
Sitting at the far end of the table was a young girl who seemed quite nervous about being there. Then behind all the models was the man himself, Noah Carson.
Everyone except the one girl in the room was quiet and waited to hear what he had to say.
Finally Noah seemed ready to speak as he flipped through the virtual documents that were on the tablet in his hand. He set the tablet down and looked first to Cecil, then to his right at Alfred, and lastly on Valeria herself. The angel of death was looking at her…the young girl couldn't help but feel a tinge of fear as she looked him in the eyes.
"So…first I'd like to address the now "baker" team. All three of you filled out your contracts to the letter. I`m glad. Before I go on I want you each to explain why you're joining celestial being. You three are the only real threat to this ship if you're not dedicated to joining us though I use the term threat loosely aside just from the fact you`ll be launching close enough to simply turn and fire a few rounds at the bridge and boom…your zaft heroes…if you can make it out of the firing range of the rest of celestial beings mobile suits." Said Noah before crossing his arms and waiting.
Cecil chuckled and decided to go first. "Well as the squads new leader I'll go first. To be honest it's kind of embarrassing but…well I'm technically engaged. I say technically cause…well it was on a computer game but I did have a real ring picked out for when we returned the Carpentaria…I was gonna take some leave time and go propose. She's just the most perfect girl in the whole earth sphere…but she's also a natural. If zaft is gonna start labeling all naturals as targets or whatever even if they are just anything like blue cosmos…then I want no part of that. I love her too much." Stated Cecil. Noah nodded and waited for the others to continue.
Alfred sighed. "There's no sport in genocide. I was raised a gentlemen, I find even shooting the earth forces stupid tank corps to be an insult simply for how simple it is…no offense. If you look at my record I'm only a zaft red because of my kill count of earth forces spaceships prior to being assigned to this team. Spaceships are fun and a good challenge. Tanks and little men with rocket launchers aren't. My kill count has barely gone up since my boots hit the ground. Genocide is no different. It is a maniacs and a coward's choice of warfare. I`ll have no part in slaughtering civilians." He said before leaning forward.
"To put it plainly I was just made a red and my new squad would likely have been tasked with such slaughter. Now if I had thought I'd have a chance to fight you? Even if I died I'd die a happy man knowing I finally found a challenge I couldn't overcome." He said before leaning back with a grin.
So…a guy just out for a challenge. Somewhat common in gundam but also someone who Noah could see easily following celestial beings views.
Finally Valeria had all eyes on her. She sighed and stood up. "My parents are nearly infertile. I`m a 1st generation coordinator, it's practically the only reason I'm a coordinator in the first place. I heard zala has been locking up naturals under false pretenses and considering anyone related too or helping naturals to be potential traitors and locking them up too. I`m not gonna fight for a military lead by someone so blind with rage he thinks my parents, simple bakers in aprilius one, would commit treason just by being naturals." She said before sitting down.
Ok…more info then Noah needed but hey…still just as good a cause to defect as any.
So basically they all were just natural friendly or anti-genocide. Good.
"Ok then….now captain rezone, Captain Mathew…status updates on ship conditions and how the radical situation is going?" He asked. Both captains opened files they both brought with them.
"the St. Helens is clear of radicals, we decided to offer them either a trip home once we reached...well wherever we are going next or they could leave now in lifeboats. They all chose lifeboats. We also have reached a consensus of about a 3 to 1 ratio amongst my crew in terms of actually joining and just simply staying with the ship to see this war to the end. Not one person opted to leave their posts and relax till they could get a lift home. As for the status of our ship? She's ready to sail whenever we head out, all the damage left is a few destroyed armaments and the repairs on our DINNs." Stated captain rezone before turning to Mathew.
He cleared his throat. "Just like the St. Helens we have zero radicals onboard, regrettably some took their own life while incarcerated but for the most part everyone left peacefully. While we have thinned our ranks a bit all three ships are ready to sail whenever you are. Though I will say we are still sporting damage, more than a few gun emplacements mind you, but nothing that will cause any of us to sink en route. "Stated the English captain.
Noah nodded and smiled. "Good. I`m glad to hear it. Now then with all that out of the way I'd like to welcome you to celestial being. Admittedly we aren't a military so please don't bother saluting, and expect quite a few life style changes, though compared to military life I assure you most are for the better." Said Noah before gently sliding the plastic model of the ship forward.
"I'll get to how we will get there shortly, but this will be our vessel once we reach space…and I promise you we will. Obviously this cannot hold the entire crews of all four ships comfortably, but I have a plan involving that. Some of you may not be happy with it, others will be but I promise you it will not involve genocide. A majority of your combined crews will be put on the archangel and will either fill vacant positions or await further orders once my plan becomes a reality." Said Noah before scratching the back of his neck with a look on his face of, 'now here's the bad news'.
"Celestial being is not meant to have a navy. We never were, never planned for it. We were to have ONE ship…but it was destroyed with Heliopolis. Hence why I kind of only had my daughter build a single ptolamaios kai model. And I'll explain why she built a model instead of us having a shipyard in a moment but suffice to say we have access to nearly unlimited supplies to a degree. But my plan to remedy the lack of space for a crew since I never planned on so many of you joining US…joining the archangel sure but instead to come to me and join celestial being…well anyways!" he exclaimed realizing he was getting off track.
He set his hands on the table and leaned forward, getting everyone's attention as they learned in as well. "We are going to hijack a few ships!" he said before standing up and throwing his arms up in the air with a smile. What he got in return were looks of confusion.
"Ok let me explain…"he says as he brings his arms down and moves out of the way of the briefing monitor. Grabbing a remote he flashed through pictures of various vessels.
"Once both camps reveal just how blood thirsty they are more ships are gonna seek us out to join either us or the archangel. Now here's part of my plan you may not like. Aside from the ship or two we hijack at first…obviously these ships may or may not be fully manned…so we will fill their ranks to start and therefore your crews will likely be spread out amongst what will be a small fleet. If we don't get any ships or only get a few and even then we don't get enough to join celestial being we will perform hit and run missions on zaft patrols till we capture at least 2 vessels or recruit them. Now again some of their crews may join us but otherwise we will simply fill the ranks or completely re-crew the ships." He said which got a surprised look from the former zaft members.
Mathew raised his hand and Noah nodded to let him speak. "Why zaft patrols? I mean all my crews are former earth forces…we won't know the zaft systems. We also have a few former mobile armor pilots who were re-assigned due to injuries or just various reasons the navy deemed them unfit to pilot anymore. Why not one zaft ships and one earth forces ship?" he asked
Noah nodded. "Good question. The answer is...how often do earth forces battle groups win over a zaft patrol…think of the wording I used before you answer." He said as he tried to let Mathew come to a realization Noah had when he was deciding how to fit everyone on ships without leaving them to be on the run on earth till the end of the war.
He saw Mathew realize what he meant and felt bad when the man's mood seemed to go down.
"Exactly. Earth forces only win when they massively outnumber zaft. But they now will have mobile suits soon, small spoiler, but zaft still is already prepared for mobile suit warfare. As much as I'd love to throw you guys in an earth forces ship I value your lives. Hence why the St. Helens crew will be spread out between the vessels, especially if we end up needing more than two." He stated which Mathew nodded too.
It made sense. Plus once Noah commandeered a strike dagger he planned to have Nicol and Kira convert the OS so that technically anyone could use it with a few simulations in any cockpit, even the likely GINN's CGUE's and GUAIZ's they'd pick up.
Now Cecil raised his hand and Noah motioned for him to speak. "So…what's up with the models?" he asked as he pointed to the three mobile suits. Noah blinked and looked down before chuckling.
"Oh right…almost forgot. Ok so…one benefit of joining celestial being is having basically spoilers in terms of what the future holds. Now none of you will get the full picture but I will tell you various things to help you prepare for what may or may not be coming. This is mostly due to the fact those spoilers will be altered by my presence, both sides of this war will be factoring me into any battles we fight, any mobile suits they field, anything of that sort." He said before he pushed the mobile suit models forward.
"Now then…you three…are going to get a choice of assignment for the battles of orb. Which here's your first spoiler…we are traveling to orb with the earth alliance following. Zaft will attack panama shortly in an attempt to capture their last mass driver. While they fail to take the base a GINN pilot sacrifices himself by flying a damaged HWS GINN into the drivers support beams and blowing it and his remaining payload up. With the loss of that mass driver they are going to finally come after orb for theirs. With muruta azreal at the head of the earth alliance he considers orbs traitors and allies of zaft since they refuse to help the earth alliance AND allow coordinators in their country. "Stated Noah, watching their reactions.
They all seemed calm, like this just became another briefing for their next mission.
"Now each of you will be assisting in a different part of the defenses while the city is evacuated. One of you will be piloting this custom "zaku striker". It's a zaku sniper base customized to be a decent fighter if things get to close. You`ll be positioned on one of their forested ridges overlooking the bay sniping enemy forces, leave the ships alone though as certain ones need to stay alive for the timeline. Now. Who wants to snipe?" he asked. All three were rated high in accuracy….so it didn't really matter.
Cecil and Alfred both looked to Valeria. She sighed. "I guess I am…I usually like hanging back anyways." she said as the girl, Noah's daughter, got up and brought her both the model and a data pad holding its current information.
"Ok…now the next will be piloting this custom zaku cannon named simply, "arsenal". You`ll be fighting with the main forces defending the beach and acting as AA fire for the ground forces." Said Noah, looking between Alfred and Cecil.
This time Alfred leaned forward and raised his hand. "I'll do it…as long as we aren't pulling some pansy fighting style like that one mobile suits pilot. We are free to kill yes?" he asked, sounding more blood thirsty then earlier.
Noah nodded. "Yes, your fighting style is your choice. I`d actually be worried by that question but after what you said earlier your just making sure you won't be reprimanded if you decide to kill right?" asked Noah. Alfred nodded.
"Yes sir. Non-lethal tactics in mobile suit combat would be a good challenge…but if the naturals have mobile suits I'm not gonna hold back." said the English American coordinator.
Noah then turned to Cecil as Alex brought him the hy-gogg and its tablet then gave Alfred his new "arsenal" and its tablet.
"Cecil you`ll be in the water then, engage anything and everything in the water that isn't orb forces. That model is a simply enhanced machine known as the hy-gogg. You can switch in the hands between beams and torpedoes and the claws are upgraded to be made of a material known as gundanium, meaning nothing is going to stop them and they can block a few beam sabers if you follow anyone onto the beach." Said Noah. Cecil smiled. It seemed he liked the idea of piloting a hy-gogg.
Noah then pulled out his new invention, the portable scanner. While there were only two simulation cockpits, so long as one of them was technically "set" to be here it acted as that pocket dimension, meaning multiple mobile suits could use the same cockpit. Of course he didn't bring that many GP-bases so he planned to have Erica slap together some cockpits for these machines or even better just transfer the DINN's cockpits into them.
"This…is a portable scanning machine. So the reason I know the future is…" Noah began as he explained everything to his new pilots and once more to his new captains. Oh…he was going to enjoy leading this version of celestial being.
On the wings of an angel
Cosmic era 71, march 10th, 2 days since operation spitbreak.
Athrun looked at the new consoles of his justice mobile suit. He had finally been cleared by medics to begin his mission and was all prepared…to defect. He had told no one but over the past 48 hours he thought about what lacus said, and about how his father was ready to kill her before even trying to bring her in.
His father was mad with power and was ready to kill every single natural in the earth sphere. But whether to join celestial being or join Kira…well…first he had to have a chat with his best friend. Yes…his best friend. He smiled. "Kira…if you really are alive I'm glad you have the freedom instead of my father. In his current state I don't know what that would be used for…and Nina…with the EX-caliber out of zafts hands at least we won't see those particles all over the world. The N-jammer cancellers are bad enough, the last thing we need is more of those." He thought as he began to pour the machine up. Under his seat was no longer the original standard issue zaft emergency bag. Instead he had thrown a duffle bag full of all he'd need to be on the run if need be. If celestial being wouldn't have him and Kira had gone back to the earth forces he would just take it and run. There was no need for either side to have such a machine, let alone for the naturals to have two!
Finally he was given the green light to launch and took a deep breath. "Athrun zala, justice, launching!" he exclaimed before pushing his throttle forward and boosting out of the hangar. Once outside he quickly set his course for earth. Time to set things straight with Kira.
On the wings of an angel
So…what do you all think? I am not too good with lots and lots of characters but I don't know I saw that GINN pilot Kira tried to save and thought…there's not gonna be a cyclops system and they all would have seen the state the Gabriel was in after it's EMP. They all likely would think Noah basically brought a new, stronger angel of death machine into the war…only to destroy it to save them all.
When you see that and are offered a chance to join such a selfless man instead of committing genocide…would you take it? Or be a moron and decide you`ll try to take him down later?
Also a comment someone made, forgot their name at the moment, made me remember I never settled things with Alex' scavenger group and so in truth she'd be in harm's way. While it is still unnamed and not entirely ready to join the story, I figured bringing her in when he comes back with the DINN pilots new machines would be a good idea but she won't be a major player in the story and neither will any of these new characters.
Next chapter we get the beginning of the first battle of orb, along with them arriving and whatnot. This include Nina and Noah reuniting, Mu getting the build strike full package 2.0, and start of the end of the war.
BTW I want your opinion…if you were all comfortable and settled into a cozy seat on a navy carrier command bridge…of a carrier that ISN'T the flagship of the fleet even though you're leading the fleet due to your own paranoia…anyways lol if you had all this and just thought you were in complete control…
How would you react to the bridge of the carrier next to yours being taken clean off by what seems like nothing right after the apparent sniper…well gundam sniper tell you, "nice tie"
On a scale of 0 to 10 how freaked out would you be. Zero being it didn't faze you at all, you may as well be some super hero or I guess James bond comes to mind, sipping on a martini and just waiting for what come next, 10 being your pants are soaked, you`ve got a code brown going on and your likely running to the nearest lifeboat thinking your next.
Anyways read, review, the suggestion list/contest is still open for names of the new custom ptolamaios ship.
Also small after thought I'll admit, a load out for the Gabriel gundam!
X2 GN buster sword 2 "aka GN buster sword: a massive melee weapon that can be used as a shield, a sword, or mounted too the GN drives on the shoulders to be stored and used as extra protection aka…a shield again. The original 00 seven sword/g only had one and was able to use a GN field which basically is like extending its shield to have a large beam shield, blocking attacks from a single direction. Due to Noah's tuning and using two of these swords when stowed on the GN drives, Noah is able to copy tieria's mobile suit line and create a full GN field orb around himself.
X2 GN sword 2 blaster aka "GN buster sword 2": so admittedly I thought these were a new GN buster sword so I started calling them the buster sword 2 and I'm sticking with it. These are Noah's most destructive weapons due to the "hyper mirror" system and Noah will only use them during heavy fighting or when such a blast would eliminate a large obstacle or multiple opponents. Depending on how many particles Noah puts into the shot or if he drains his twin drives or his quan[T] GN drive into the shot his beams can reach any distance he is able to target, and the blast can rival that of up to half the twin buster rifles power aka the full power of the wing gundams buster rifle. Firing both at once at full power would overload the system and is ill advised except in a last resort situation.
X2 GN sword rifles: the main weapon of the harute gundam and usually only sold in the 1/144th scale in terms of models. The Gabriel's base model and most of its weapons are 1/100th scale so Noah had to remold and rebuild these weapons from scratch in that scale. Appearance why they look the same aside from color and have three modes.
Mode 1 rifle: in rifle mode these weapons are not much stronger then the GN submachinegun. The rifle is hidden under a sliding compartment at the top for easy transition.
Mode 2 scissors: in scissor mode the weapons take the shape of something akin to a straight edge pair of scissors. These are a pincer like weapon and like sandrocks heat shovel vice grip technique, are able to sheer mobile suits in half as well as excellent for cutting debris.
Mode 3 sword: in this mode the handle straighten out and the bottom of the rifle, lined with a condensed GN particle blade, is used in the same fashion as a sword.
*continuation of the sword rifles. These are Noah's primary weapons
2 GN katar's: a pair of sharp edged weapons mounted on the Gabriel's legs. These are basically a triangular blade which can be held and used like a knuckle based weapon or combined to make the GN shield 2 OR make a double ended staff blade.
GN short sword 2: while not entirely intended to be a short sword, this originally replaced setsuna's beam dagger from the exia. For Noah it is merely a back-up weapon, with its projectile tip being mainly used like an anchor if he needs to pull himself to something or pull something to him. He will use his beam sabers and beam throwing daggers before this and the GN longsword 2.
GN long sword 2: an updated and enhanced version of the basic GN sword 2, this blade is ultimately an addition due to Noah's new fighting style and something to grab in a last ditch effort to win.
X6 GN sword bits: a modified set of sword bits' off a 00 quan[T] model, Noah has removed the handles off of them and made them all equal in size to about a medium length. This is due to being able to fit them on Gabriel's back and have all its armaments stored if need be, but also because he lacks a GN sword V so he has no use for their other features. These bits are required for the quantum leap system and the hyper mirror system to work.
X2 GN beam saber/throwing blade: varying in length depending on the amount of particles used to power them, Noah has the standard two on his back skirt armor for emergencies.
X2 GN wrist Vulcans: while not on the original 00 gundam, Noah added these prior to re-entering the cosmic era due to how useful they had been on EX-caliber. Like before these are low powered Vulcans and can also produce a small beam saber.
GN shield: the latest in GN shield tech from gundam 00, this acts not only as a binder/storage/recharge unit for the GN sword bit's, it also houses the third GN "well" and allows for Noah to utilize his advanced systems. Noah removed the small GN blaster at the top of the shield and opted instead to put an extra vent for when he uses the GN quantum EMP system so he could release the particles in a better fashion.
Systems:
X3 GN "well": a custom GN drive designed by Noah, by taking the GN drive cone at the top of the 00 seven sword/g's GN condensers, and combining them with them while utilizing his GP base to eliminate the difference between a GN drive and a GN condenser which is basically a GN drive but it does not produce its own particles. Instead a condenser sit's under the GN drive and feeds it particles. Once it's empty the GN drive can no longer function. By removing this difference he is able to literally put a GN drive on top of the condensers and like a rain barrel have it catch some GN particles, storing them for when he needs to release a lot of particles in one go.
Thus giving him enhanced capabilities due to the massive reservoir of GN particles for when the drives cannot produce enough to keep up with his needs.
Quantum leap system: this system allows Noah to utilize the quantum leap ability of the 00 [T] and travel between gundam universes. He can also use this during gunpla battles to move into any gundam universe to move around the field better or just for a change of fighting venue though this has risks as they may jump right into a battlefield and have more than each other to fight. He also uses this system to activate his hyper mirror system.
Hyper discharge system: this system is rather easy to explain. Having added extra panels to close off the release ports on the GN wells, Noah closes off these ports and has the well dump every particle it can into one single blast, whether it be from the third GN drive in the GN shield or the twin drive system. This also eliminates the need to charge for such shots and whereas this would normally drain a GN drive like trans-am, since Noah will only drain either the third drive or the twin drives he is able to rely on the others so as to reduce his drop in combat capabilities or instantly fire a second shot OR enter trans-am immediately after with no cooldown even if he just dropped out of trans-am instead of having fired the shot.
Hyper mirror system: this is another simple system to explain. Like the quantum leap system Noah creates a quantification ring thing with his GN sword bits. Instead of flying into it though he fires usually a hyper discharge shot through the portal. The bits then quantify it and follow it through, opening a new portal from the gundam Meta verse they just went through to allow said beam to re-enter the fight and hit the target from a new angle. This is a good way for him to create pincer attacks with his hyper discharge shots.
Trinity drive system: like the twin drive system all three of Noah's GN drives for the Gabriel must run in sync, therefore Noah sadly must always tune the drives before and after a fight in model form or else he can risk a destabilization. While this is not bad due to the fact tuned or not the twin drive system or the single GN drive will work fine on their own, this decreases his combat capabilities due to him being unable to draw on the system he is not using.
Zero system: while not an integral part of the Gabriel gundam the zero system still is imbedded in its OS' coding since without it the Gabriel gundam cannot function at full capacity or jump between gundam Meta verses. Having this system though is almost as dangerous as the real zero system due to its evolution into sentience and therefore it occasionally deciding to make its own changes too wherever Noah is which could help or hinder him.