Aprilius One:
Kaira looks around her living room and asks, "Hey has anyone seen Home One?"
Suddenly the wall behind her blows outward, followed by a table. Kaira coughs from the smoke and when it clears, spots Home One stamping on a math book, "What are you doing, smashing up my house!
Home One yells, "My finals year exams are killing me with the frustration! Why do I always have to have such tests which decide my future of being a road sweeper or a scientist? ARGH!"
Kaira edges away nervously from, "Looks like H.O. has his super-hard-and-nasty-tests again. I think I should leave."
Kaira dashes out of house just as Kira and Co. come in. "What with her?" Mwu asks
Disclaimer: I don't own the company that made this show.
Notes: There's been a tiny change, that all
…. : Trailing off of words
… : Interference in communications
Italics: Private thoughts/ Scene
WORDS IN ALL CAPITAL LETTERS: Very loud speech or sound.
Bold words: Interruption!
Censored words: well.. who cares!
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Chapter 12: Battle of Fort HimalayaIn the still of the night in C.E. 74, March 26, the great vessel of the Destiny Army Navy, Savaii, crept through the lower levels of the Himalayan Range on the already heavily damaged stealth engines. On board, Colonel James Li, only natural in the Destiny Army ranks and commodore of the vessel grumbled darkly to himself.
My commander sent me out on a retrieval mission, not a 1 on 1 slug match with a Trindade class cruiser. She is so gonna get it from me. Apart from being a brilliant genius like Jon Li of the Orb Angels of Freedom, he was one of the few officers who actually provided an argument with General Campbell, whose orders could be utterly ridicules at times. This was someone that Kaira did not like, but needed, badly.
Quelling his anger, he listened to the tape that had recorded the debrief for the M units (A/N: Since referring to the poor Kira and friends by their names would tarnish their reputations, they will be called by their unit number.) Another thing about the Colonel was that above incompetence, he hated the use of machines to control fellow human beings.
Keeping silent throughout the report, he mentally winced repeatedly, wishing his commander had never deployed or even for that matter, developed the Minites.
Upon finishing the reading the report, the helmsman told him that he the ship had reached the rendezvous point, but there were no structures in sight, nor did the sensor department find any underground building.
Then, a wall in the side of a mountain just next to the tallest peak in the world opened up to reveal a cavernous hangar that was obviously prepared in a hurry. James noticed that it was made to fit his vessel just nicely. Those I.U.E. people sure are good at stealing blueprints.
As far as James could remember, Kaira had never released info on her largest ships, and James had no doubt in his mind that there were other smaller hangars all around the mountain range that held their ally's fighters and possibly a few aged land assault carriers.
After having a short conversation with the base commander, some stupid rookie Captain who had never seen battle, his ship slid quickly into the hangar, to avoid satellite tracking.
In thirty minutes, all his senior officers had disembarked along with the M-units to meet the Base Commander and his officers.
The base officers were all green units and in sheer awe of the M-units, much to the Colonel's disquiet.
Making a slight cough to turn the awestruck officers' attention to him, he requested for a radio conference with his General, which was answered with a hurried yes before the idiot of a commander turned his head back to ogling M-unit 2.
Muttering about stupid rookies, James and his officers left by themselves to find an ensign who was not dim enough to stare at famous people. After terrorizing a young lieutenant to near hysterics, the Colonel finally managed to get a line.
The smiling face of the cheerful General Campbell soured James' further when she said, "So James, how are the repairs going? Do you like that girl Miriallia Haww?"
The fact that he had a rank lower than the woman kept him from blowing, but his voice was still taut with rage, "I and a Colonel ma'am, and address me as such when on duty. Furthermore, I have no need for a woman who so helplessly lost like an animal in dating Athrun Zala, to tell me about my love life."
It was Meer's time to get angry, though her smile did not disappear, Colonel James knew full well that she was livid. "I lost Zala to a princess and a low rank Zaft officer, sure, but that doesn't compare the incompetence of your command of the last battle."
"My ship was sent in because your spies told you that the base was less active in the weekend and there would not be enough personnel to get a ship up into the air. To add to matters, your Minites failed to act as fast as the people they controlled could. Your M-unit 2 jammed the hangar doors only just after the Peacekeeper launched, and need I remind you that that ship was one of the most heavily armed and agile and armoured ship in the world?"
The General stopped muttering about stupid Colonels and simply cut off the line. Well that felt good. James thought, Lashing the general till she got to angry to speak to me.
I know though, that I'm gonna get one hell of a whipping from the Mistress when and if I get back to space.
Sighing, James turned and stalked out of the room, where the lieutenant, who had finally gotten his guts back, to James' satisfaction, led them to the officer bunks which had been cleared for them.
But when James reached the officers' bunks, they ran into a group of Captains from the I.U.E.
In normal circumstances, James would not have batted an eye towards the three Captains, if they were not holding M-unit 1 that is, in an all to affectionate way.
James eyes twitched for a second, as the other Destiny Army officers gaped at the Captains.
The next thing that the Captains would know was that they were on the floor with a broken arm each, compliments from a very pissed off James.
"The units, those Minites as you I.U.E. people might know them as, might be used by you people, but We, of the Destiny Army invented them and GAVE them to you. If you ever dare to do such a thing again, whether or not there is an alliance between our armies, I will shoot you three without hesita-"
The lead Captain's eyes widened in horror as a shadow fell across his face. James gaped in shock.
Three precise shots blew the tiny watery organs of the three former Captains' little skulls into minced piles of grayish-red glop on the once slightly pristine floor.
James turned his blood-spattered face to meet the livid I.U.E. lieutenant's face, holding the gun, which was still smoking in his right hand. "Who the hell are you?" James snarled, his own hand reaching for his holster. First this guy was a pansy, but now he goes like that and shoots three Captains in one shot? He might be an Orb spy.
Not that I'm absolutely surprised. In these bases, the security is almost non-existent. "Who are you! Answer me!" James yelled. His officers' hands went for their guns.
"1st Lieutenant of the I.U.E. Espionage Team 2, Sai Argyle reporting Colonel." Said the suddenly cold junior officer.
(H.O. Wait a sec! He ain't supposed to be here! Kira: But he's been out of the play so long, the gang and me thought it was best he came back. H.O. Whatever! I have a test.)
"The I.U.E Espionage team.. as in the one which deals with anti-corruption, assassinations within and outside your own organization?" James' hand left his holster as her looked at Sai quizzically.
"Yes. I was once part of the Three Ship Alliance. But due to a few.. ah disputes between me and another comrade, I left the group after the first war and left to explore the world. I was in Britain when the Coordinators dropped Junius Seven on Earth. I would have died if I hadn't been saved by the I.U.E. so I decided to join them and ended up here." Sai shrugged nonchalantly.
"You were part of the Three Ship Alliance, which is now known as the Clyne Faction which is the most powerful force in the solar system right now?" One of James' officers gawked.
"That is correct." Sai replied, almost no expression showing on his face.
"But if you had defected to the I.U.E., why did you shoot the three Captains who were trying to rape M-unit 1." James was absolutely unconvinced.
"There are a few people in the Clyne Faction that I shall never kill and will never allow to be harmed. They were my friends who had been thrown into the war when we were still students. This girl is one of my friends and her name is Miriallia Haww." Sai's eyes suddenly seemed to blaze in anger.
Crap…. Of all people to be observing this base, it has to be a friend to one of the M-units. In fact I even suspect that Kira Yamato is this guy's friend too. If that's true, I wonder what he'll do? Will he go berserk on us? A drop of sweat made its way down to the Colonel's chin.
"I you think I am a friend to that Kira Yamato, you are only half right. He was the one I had a dispute with. Therefore, I will not do anything to help him, but I will not kill him either. But, if you ever dare harm the other two people, I will kill you and every single person in this base." Sai's eyes glinted dangerously.
James looked into the man's eyes and knew he was telling the truth. He must have a device to get this whole base to go BOOM! Heck! I think he even has bombs rigged around the Savaii. James gritted his teeth.
Well. At least this guys isn't like his sick and stupid friends. James smiled, "You have my word that if any one of my men try something funny, I'll kill them personally."
Sai made a smile of his own, but it was as cold as the Arctic Ocean, "Its good to know that there are a few decent people in this wretched place"
Sai extended his hand, and James took it. The two knew the other well enough by that time to feel assured that the other would keep his promise. Without another word, both parties turned and walked their own ways.. not before James called the base commander to clear the mess that a certain lieutenant caused.
5 days later, South East Asiatic Federation, State: Northern Thailand..
"Geez.. They wanted us to go on a recon mission, but they didn't have to send us here.. ITS BOILING!" Mayu whined again as she watched endless streams of cars moving through the packed streets from the shelter of her seat in a restaurant.
"Quit ya complainin already." Ferdinand muttered, "Fer heeven's sake, I've evin had te leave me Mistress's side ya kniw."
"Excuse me madam. We have found the material where that funny gold armour was sold. But the other blackened piece was probably made by the attacker by themselves." Came a quiet whisper from a dark-coated man seated right next of Ferdinand passed Mayu a note.
Mayu smirked. Only 4 days after I was sent out to find the enemy I failed to find the real target. But with any luck the both will be one and the same. I always knew that the Black market in Thailand would be able to get me my answer. After all, it is the best in the world so far.
Mayu reached under her seat and grabbed a decent sized case and handed it over to coated man. The man opened the case a crack and nodded, getting up and walking away, the man got into a nice Mercedes and drove off to join the queues of vehicles.
"So.. vhere is zis place Miss Maayu." Ferdinand asked
Mayu's eye twitched for a moment. Muttering darkly about only bringing summer wear, she handed the note to Ferdinand and got up.
"Wa.. Wait Miss Maayu, vhere are ye goin?" Ferdinand rose too, perplexed.
"Just look at the damned note. I need to go shopping for a bit." Mayu stormed off towards the closest monorail train service to head towards the largest shopping complex in the world; the South East Asian Shoppers Haven
Perplexed, Ferdinand looked down at the little piece of paper.
He paled, "Ze Urals?" (A/N: Hey now that aint right! Then why does this chap have this name THEN? Mwuahaha!)
Sighing with relief, Ferdinand slinked back to his Hotel room. Thank heavens he had brought his winter wear just in case.
March 31st, Republic of East Asia, State: Nepal….
"Commander ,General, we have found the Rebel base and are prepared to move out our forces against them." Said a lieutenant from a radio console to two men who were covered in shadow.
"Good. Have all main forces, including the mobile suits in the reserve units to advance and have the reserve move to around a 50Km radius from the engagement zone. We can't have our prey running can we." The Commander sneered.
The General on the other hand frowned, "You had better not fail me Commander, if you do, the consequences of allowing these Rebels to continue will be devastating. We have already lost enough money to buy material for the people."
"I will not fail General, trust me. Fighting the Himalayan Range after all, is my forte." The Commander spun around and walked out of the room.
A minute later, the roar of engines could be heard throughout the base. A full company of new mobile suits launched, accompanied by 4 snow assault fortresses packed with infantry, a full wing of attack helicopters and 32 fully armed tanks.
"Alright men. The time has come to crush the disgusting Rebels who have held onto their insidious ways of exterminating our fellow humans. The time has come to send them running to their final goal! The Underworld!" The Commander roared into his radio to his men.
The Soldiers cheered in one voiced and they marched off towards their destination; Mount Everest in the light of a setting sun.
Somewhere in Eurasian Alliance territory….
Mayu stared out of the aeroplane window to see the sun setting in blood red highlights. I have a bad feeling about this. Its looks like there is going to be a lot of blood shed today. And where were headed, I have big time doubts about it.
Ferdinand frowned when the pocket mirror he had been using to check his hair suddenly cracked and pieces fell to the ground, one cutting him. Ferdinand was not a superstitious person, but he still had a very bad feeling in his gut that his bleeding thumb wasn't going to be anything compared to the amount that might flow later on somewhere else in the world….
April 1st, Himalayan Range….
The Commander in charge of the operation snarled in frustration. He had planned to attack in the dark cover of night, which would give them an advantage to a probably sleepy enemy.
However, the power failure in one of the fortresses forced them to stop for 5 hours to wait for it to get repaired.
Such a mishap could easily make them lose the advantage. However, when the Commander surveyed the area of mountains through the eyes of a scout tank where the enemy were supposed to be in, the area seemed absolutely empty, except for a few 'boulders' which heat sensors revealed to be gun turrets that were powered up, probably as sentries.
The numbers of turrets online were insignificant to his forces. So the Commander gave the order, "Attack and leave no prisoners"
Suddenly, the air around the mountains surrounding Mount Everest was filled with shells and bunker busting missiles. The Commander was clearly uninterested if he blew up a few mountains and turn them into plateaus instead.
The few turrets that were active fired in vain at the incoming missiles, but most got through. Dozens of explosions were seen on the surface of the mountains, before the bigger and more devastating natural weapon swallowed them. Avalanches zoomed down the mount's face, crushing active and inactive turrets alike, and covering unseen hangars with enough snow to make sure they never opened.
They ice flow continued till it reached the bottom, where it slowed to a stop. "We have confirmed hits on the target Commander!" and aide yelled. The soldiers cheered.
"Commander! We have detected a large metallic object in one of the unaffected mountains. Judging by its shape, the object looks like the ship that attacked the Orb Elite base." A sensor officer called from his seat.
"Is that true?" The Commander's eyes glinted with anticipation.
"Yes Commander, it matches the profile reports that the Orb military gave out to the world." The sensor officer replied.
"GOOD. All forces. There is a ship hiding in one of these mountains. That ship is the one which bested the Orb's Elite unit in combat. If we destroy that thing, we will gain more prestige in the World!" The Commander yelled into his radio.
The effect was instantaneous. All the mobile suits charged for the coordinates with the helicopters while the tanks and a fortress moved to clean up the forces in the already destroyed mountain. Meanwhile, one fortresses held back as the other two moved in on the enemy ship for the kill.
That was the first big mistake that the Commander had made. In his dreams and rush for glory, he had failed to suspect a sneak attack, and unfortunately, that was the I.U.E.'s forte.
The reserve snow fortress's command tower was blown to bits when an Agni cannon blast blew clean though it. The response by the surprised crew was insufficient to prevent a newly appeared Euclid from blowing its main reactors out, which obviously blew the whole fortress to kingdom come.
Suddenly, once plain looking mountain sides were covered with at least two companies of Dagger units and all around the Commander's forces, there were more Daggers coming up, with a squadron of golden mobile armours.
The Commander knew he was in deep dwang. But he still had his Firespray class mobile suits, which made up for one platoon in his company. TheFirespray class was rare in the Republic of Asia, mainly because it was a new suit and because it used a lot of ammo. There were only 6 such companies of such suits, but they were enough
A Firespray was like a cross between the Buster and the Forbidden, it boasted 6 hell-fire missile packs, a laser gattling cannon in each arm, two heavy bazookas on the shoulders, 4 laser blades in each arm, two geshciemedig (A/N:I have no idea how to spell this, so if someone don't mind, I need help) panzers mounted on two heavy shields that each carried two Agni Cannon. To put it simply, the Firespray had enough firepower to stop the Archangel cold, that is if the pilots were good enough to hit it.
A squad of Firesprays move to the front lines to face a group of 30 Daggers. The Firesprays simply let loose with a full volley with their missiles and lasers. The enemy platoon didn't stand a chance. They were reduced to scrap metal in seconds.
Next came in the mobile armours. The Commander sneered, ordering a squad of Firesprays to shoot them down. Sixteen streams of red-blue beams burst forth from the Agni cannons and headed towards their targets.
However, the Commander had never fought against the Phoenixes before like the Angels of Freedom had. The beams seemed to hit the targets, but they rebounded right back at their source. The Firesprays disappeared in a flurry of explosions and their torn innards flew everywhere.
Quickly learning from their comrades' mistakes, another squad of Firesprays fired every single projectile weapon they had at the enemy mobile armours. The tiny squadron disappeared in the explosions.
However, one enemy Phoenix had a very different idea from just exploding in midair. He sent the plane into a very fast dive.
As a speeding golden bullet, the pilot rammed the enemy flagship in the bridge and the thick glass was nothing more than paper to the doomed mobile armour.
The Commander didn't even have time to scream, the air had become so hot that the air molecules in his body had expanded to such extent that it could not be held in by the body.
So the air exited the Commander's body through the pores at twice the speed of sound. This of course, meant the Commander, and every one else in the bridge had become gruesomely spectacular fireworks, which joined with the explosions which could now be heard in other part of the ship.
Apparently, a monster of a Tannhauser beam skewered the Flagship like a piece of meat a second later. The Savaii, though damaged, was in the fight. Now the situation for the aggressors seemed to have become all the more grim.
The attack force tried desperately to keep their enemies back as they tried to retreat into the airspace territory of their closest friendly base for air support. But all in vain, after ambush after ambush, a Tanhhauser from a Nirvana class escort from the Savaii vapourised the final Firespray.
Then, in a matter of seconds, the final fortresses fell along with the rest of the attack force.
The I.U.E and the Destiny Army retreated into the mountains, and from there ran into the Northern parts, towards the Urals.
That certainly wasn't a day of jokes like it was supposed to be decades ago. It seemed war really had killed April Fool's Day after all.
The Urals, April 2nd….
Mayu stepped off the plane to meet the bloody highlights of the dawn, and somehow, in her gut, she knew that somewhere out there in the world, her quarry had drawn more blood.
To be continued….
H.O.: Sorry I'm late, But Here it is anyway, one of my longest in so far.
Preview: The Destiny Army and the I.U.E. have made their retreat to the Urals base, but will they be safe with the scouts of the Angels of Freedom. Will the Angels of Freedom be able to rescue their comrades and defeat their enemy? Meanwhile, what is Sai planning to do with that scalpel? In fact, why is he standing over Captain Miriallia Haww? The next chapter: The Game: Who's side is Sai REALLY on?