Mobile Suit Gundam/Kido Senshi Gundam: Peacekeepers
By: Ominae
Rating: T
NOTE:
All characters and machines of the various Gundam eras belong to Yoshiyuki Tomino, Hajime Yatate, Fumihiko Takayama, Takeyuki Kanda, Umanosuke Iida, Mitsuko Kase, Takashi Imanishi, Masashi Mukaeda, Mitsuo Fukuda, Seiji Mizushima, Susumu Yamaguchi, Satoshi Konno, Junichi Kamino, Bandai, Level 5 and Sunrise. I only own Mark Liu for now.
There may be a few mobile suits that's not part of Gundam canon at all. They're also under me for now aside from the gunbarrel one which I've now decided to get rid of after hearing out Deathzealot's review.
Summary:
Mu begins his approach towards Le Creuset and the Vesalius as part of a plan created by him in order to defeat ZAFT forces and drive them out of their area in order to let the Archangel continue its journey towards the European Federation military satellite Artemis. Meanwhile, Kira confronts Athrun in protecting the Archangel from being destroyed as the two fought other using the G mobile suits. Will the Archangel and its people inside be able to get to safety to Artemis with Mu's plan already in motion? Stay tune to this chapter to find out.
Chapter 6: The Front
Cockpit, SVMS-01OP Union Flag Orbit Package
Mu had a stupid grin on his face when he used the Union Flag Orbit Package's Linear Rifle to line up some good shots on the Vesalius' engines.
"So far, so good." Mu said to himself when he fired the Linear Rifle once more to hit the ship's various weapon systems in order to render it defenseless so that the Archangel can survive until it can get to Artemis. "It's working and I'm sure Rau Le Creuset is going to crap in his pants any time soon."
Hang in there guys.
He made the Orbit Package brandish a Vibroblade before the mobile suit charged towards the Nazca-class ship, going for one of the ship's beam cannon.
Cockpit, GAT-X105+AQM/E-X01 Aile Strike Gundam
Kira had been able to read up on the Aile Strike Gundam's weapons and equipment before he was deployed out of the Archangel to engage the Aegis, Buster and Duel Gundams that were waiting for the Strike.
"Mustn't waste a lot of energy or else I'm doomed." murmured the brown-haired Coordinator as he dodged bolt projectiles that were being fired from the weapons of the Buster. He kept an eye on the Duel as it was currently armed with a 57mm High-energy Beam Rifle with an underbarrel 175mm Grenade Launcher.
He took aim with the Aile Strike's beam rifle at the Duel in order to keep Yzak confused.
Kira had a grin on his face when he saw the Duel dodging every beam shot meant for him. This gave him the opportunity...
"Here goes!"
To move in close.
"AAAAHHHHHHH!"
Bridge, ZMS Vesalius, near outskirts of Artemis, Lagrange 3, somewhere in Space
This was not a good for Le Creuset at all.
He had been seated on a command chair near Ades' when he began to hear various damage reports coming from the bridge, reporting damages from the Vesalius' engines after Mu had launched his surprise attack against the Nazca-class ship. As a result, the ship would not be achieve maximum thrust any time soon. Not to mention that the Orbit Package's Vibroblade and Linear Rifle combination had taken out one of the ship's beam cannons with some CIWS cannons destroyed in the sneak attack.
Dammit. With the engines and some of the Vesalius' weapon systems destroyed, we're a sitting duck.
"Ades, order a retreat at once," Le Creuset told Ades after hearing the damage reports. "We need to pull out before either the legged ship or the Titans get to the ship."
"I guess I'll have to agree." Ades sighed and rubbed his temples. "We can't support Athrun and the others. Not while we're like this."
Cockpit, GAT-X102 Duel Gundam
"What the hell is that?"
This was the immediate reaction of Yzak when he noted the Aile Strike's surprise attack, which consisted of beam rifle shots to disorient him from getting in a good shot. This was soon followed up with the use of a beam saber that resulted with slicing the Duel's beam rifle in half, followed by a punch to the mobile suit's head.
"UNGH!" Yzak gritted his teeth when he felt Duel take the hit. He looked at his console and saw that the Duel got hit by the punch, but was otherwise still functional.
How can this pilot fight better? Unless he's a Coordinator from the Eurasian or East Asian forces, then the OS must have been updated to allow Natural use.
"You guys better be careful!" Yzak went to communicate with the other ZAFT Reds. "The pilot's pretty damn good!"
The Duel drew out its own beam saber and proceeded to engage the Aile Strike by clashing their respective beam sabers with each other.
Bridge, OMNIS Archangel, near outskirts of Artemis, somewhere in Space
"How's Lieutenant La Flaga doing?"
Murrue was in her command chair when she asked everyone in the bridge on how Mu was doing.
I hope his sneak attack works against Le Creuset. If it does, it should give us some breathing space.
Jackie went to report his findings to Murrue. "The Lieutenant's coming back, Captain. He reports that he was able to damage the Vesalius successfully."
"Let the Strike know that Lieutenant La Flaga is coming back towards the Archangel."
"Understood."
Natarle was working with the CIC personnel, ensuring that depth charges and the CIWS were being used to keep any of the stolen G mobile suits from attacking the Archangel. So far, the Buster and Blitz had kept their distance from the prototype ship.
How does Kira know how to pilot a mobile suit like that? Murrue frowned when she watched the Buster and Blitz charge in again before the CIWS and the recently fired Gottfried cannons forced the two mobile suits to back off.
"Since the Nazca-class ship is damaged, I'm ordering the full use of the Lohengrin cannons at once." Murrue gave out the order. "Inform the Strike and the Orbit Package to get out of the way at once."
"Put both the Lohengrin cannons at standby." Natarle gave the order from her CIC chair.
Dalida nodded while looking at his console. "Roger that. Preparing to stabilize the barrels at 100 percent..."
Cockpit, GAT-X105+AQM/E-X01 Aile Strike Gundam
"What?" Kira saw from his console that the Archangel was going to make preparations to fire the Lohengrin cannons and that Mu was halfway towards the ship. "You mean the Archangel's going to use those positron cannon right now?"
The "M" agent frowned when he saw the message. "Of all the things to do..."
He decided to keep using the beam saber and shield combo as his main weapons of choice while engaging the Duel. Kira saw the Aegis and the Buster kept their distance, not able to use any of their weapons for fear of hitting the Duel.
"Wonder if I can push one of the stolen G mobile suits towards the Lohengrin's line of fire?"
The Aile Strike went on the offensive, charging towards the Duel while clashing beam sabers before using the shield to smack the mobile suit's head.
Cockpit, SVMS-01OP Union Flag Orbit Package
"Guess I better hurry."
Mu frowned when he was informed that the Lohengrin cannons were being prepped up to fire.
"But I don't know how long the ship's using those dual cannons, so I better assist Kira before it's too late."
The war veteran went out of his way to move towards the Strike's position, keeping an eye on his console on the Strike's position next to the Archangel.
Hopefully things will be well.
Bridge, OMNIS Archangel, near outskirts of Artemis, Lagrange 3, somewhere in Space
Natarle relayed information to Murrue that the Lohengrin cannons are now ready to fire.
"Alright. Take aim at the Nazca-class ship up ahead." Murrue said before she gave the order. "FIRE!"
She watch the bright lights that were emitting from the positron blaster cannon. Murrue was then told by Dalida that the G mobile suits backed off a bit from the Archangel after the cannons were fired.
Murrue then was told by Jackie, with Dalida backing him, that the Aegis was trying to make a go for the Strike.
Bridge, ZMS Vesalius, near outskirts of Artemis, Lagrange 3, somewhere in Space
"A heat source is approaching the Vesalius at high speed. Direction 0, 0, 0. Impact in 3 seconds!"
Le Creuset and Ades were alarmed and really scared when they were informed of the incoming positron beam fire from the Archangel's Lohengrin cannons.
"Starboard at maximum thrust!" The ZAFT White officer gave the order. "Evade it!"
Even if Le Creuset was able to save the Vesalius from total destruction, the Nazca-class ship was not really able to escape from the positron beam fire as the left side of the ship was greatly damaged that its mobility was about to be destroyed unless repairs were done immediately.
"Dammit..." Ades gritted his teeth before he ordered the bridge crew. "Signal Athrun and the others to return ASAP!"
"Yes, sir!"
Cockpit, SVMS-01OP Union Flag Orbit Package
Mu was now approaching towards the Archangel, relieved that he wasn't injured nor was the mobile suit destroyed in the positron beam cannon fire.
"Good thing I wasn't near those things or I'm done for."
The blond man noted that the Aile Strike was beginning to get surrounded by the four stolen G mobile suits.
"Dammit... I hate it when that happens."
He began to make his approach towards the rogue mobile suits, raising the Linear Rifle at the Buster and to the Aegis.
Bridge, OMNIS Archangel, near outskirts of Artemis, Lagrange 3, somewhere in Space
"Order the Strike to retreat. We're to continue our course towards Artemis."
Murrue gave the order, which was relayed to Natarle as she handled the rest to send out flares to let Kira know that it's okay to come back.
"Until then, let's continue to hold out as best we can until Lieutenant La Flaga can come back to the Archangel."
Cockpit, X-303 Aegis Gundam
"We've been told to withdraw at once!" Athrun told the other Le Creuset team members as they continued to keep the fight against the Strike. "The Vesalius has been hit in a sneak attack by a mobile suit!"
"What? Are you serious?" Dearka was a bit shocked to hear the news from Athrun. "The Naturals were able to score a hit on us?"
"This is bad." Nicol replied after hearing the news. "Really, really bad."
"Screw that shit!" Yzak yelled out loud in anger when he heard Athrun's news. "I ain't going to retreat!" Athrun blinked his eyes hard when he saw the Duel charge in towards the Strike once more. "Not until I take out the goddamn Strike!"
"Yzak wait!" Athrun shouted after seeing what Yzak was trying to do. "Didn't you hear me? If you're doing this, Commander Le Creuset's going to punish you for insubordination!"
"Shut your mouth, you coward!" Yzak retorted Athrun's warning as he was about to swing the beam saber towards the Strike's head. "I don't know what you were trying to do with the Strike, but it's not helping us!"
Darn you! Athrun had planned to stop Yzak from damaging the Strike.
Until the console warned him of the Orbit Package that was approaching the Le Creuset team from the rear.
With the mobile suit's Linear Rifle firing at them as well.
"Damn!" Athrun said as he began to face off with Dearka to intercept the Orbit Package. "Not good. Energy's been used with 38 percent left."
Cockpit, GAT-X105+AQM/E-X01 Aile Strike Gundam
Kira stared at his console while keeping the Le Creuset team off his back and saw that the energy usage of the mobile suit had been used for at least 29 percent.
"Still got a little bit more until the L.T. can get his butt back here."
He continued his aggression towards the team, especially towards Aegis in a bid to make sure the Archangel was safe. Kira had kept the Strike's beam rifle as it greatly contributed to diminishing the mobile suit's energy.
"Back off!" Kira made a horizontal slash with the beam saber, now engaging the Blitz while the Buster was preparing to fire its dual cannons towards the Strike.
But that's before Mu arrived to fire the Linear Rifle at the Le Creuset team.
"YES!"
Kira shouted as Athrun and Dearka were now forced to face off against the incoming Orbit Package. The Coordinator decided to assign himself the trouble of facing off against Yzak and Nicol.
To even the odds, Kira decided to fight against the Blitz, engaging one another with beam sabers. Like the last time, Kira made use of the shield as a melee weapon in order to stun the Blitz. He knows that the mobile suit can absorb the shock of being hit by a melee weapon, but it should give him time to either attack the mobile suit or critically disable it.
"Gotcha." Kira grinned as he quickly did a slash on the Blitz's right arm, rendering it useless as the "Trikeros" Offense/Defense System-equipped arm was destroyed when it was chopped off by the beam saber. The Duel came to the Blitz's aid, arming itself with the beam rifle to drive it away.
After Kira and Mu were driven away via beam rifle fire, the Le Creuset team had decided to leave. The Duel grabbed the partially limbless Blitz while the Buster stayed a bit behind to fire in order to provide cover. The Aegis went on to their way to escape back towards the Gamow. Eventually, all four mobile suits retreated.
Most likely they decided to leave before I maimed them even more.
"Looks like Lieutenant La Flaga was able to hit the enemy hard that they had to leave." Kira said when he retracted the visor of his helmet.
"Nice work, Kira." Mu radioed Kira, the latter seeing the helmeted man on the screen. "It's like you actually know how to pilot a mobile suit and sortie against the enemy." The blond man whistled. "I'm actually impressed."
"Well I'm not one to boast about it." Kira replied. "But let's get back. We should be on our way to Artemis soon right?"
"Right you are, kiddo." Mu said as he piloted the Orbit Package back to the Archangel. "Right you are."
Bridge, ZMS Vesalius, near outskirts of Artemis, Lagrange 3, somewhere in Space
The Vesalius went into hiding using huge debris to mask its presence from both the Titans and the Archangel, considering that the ship had engaged the latter and suffered damages that needed immediate repairs. Ades and Le Creuset had been informed that the four stolen G mobile suits had arrived at the Gamow without any other incidents, aside from nearly being spotted by a Titans mobile suit patrol.
"Hm?" Ades had received a piece of paper from Le Creuset, standing next to the ZAFT Black officer. "A summons to appear before the Supreme Council?"
"I am assuming that this is from what happened in Heliopolis." Le Creuset told the man. "As well as with the appearance of the Titans and the four unknown mobile suits."
"Not when we're this close." Ades told the masked officer. "And they want to see us now? Talk about bad timing."
Le Creuset shook his head. "Well it can't be helped. After the repairs are done, the Vesalius will proceed back to the homeland. So I'll be taking Athrun with us. And for the meantime, Dearka, Yzak and Nicol will be stationed for a bit longer with the Gamow to locate and destroy the legged ship."
"Right..." Ades sighed, massaging his temples.
Bridge, OMNIS Archangel, near outskirts of Artemis, somewhere in Space
"The Strike and the Orbit Package are back in the Archangel." Murrue sighed, content in her command chair after she was told by Jackie, with Dalida backing him up.
"Thank you." Murrue then ordered to Arnold. "Continue with our course to Artemis."
"Understood." Arnold nodded as he kept his hands firms on the controls of the ship. "And we got word from the Artemis. They said that they'll send in an inspection team when the Archangel is near the base."
"Lieutenant Ramius." Natarle got up from her seat and went to speak to the brown-haired woman. "I think it's time we talk about it..."
"It?" Murrue raised an eyebrow, wondering what Natarle was talking about until she said, "Oh. I see, Ensign Badgiruel."
"I suggest meeting as well with Lieutenant La Flaga." added Natarle, whispering so that the others won't bother to pay attention to them.
"All right, Natarle. Let's proceed then." Murrue nodded before she asked the bridge crew if Mu was in the ship already.
"I received word that Lieutenant La Flaga is heading towards the bridge." Jackie told Murrue.
"Alright. I need to leave with the Ensign for a few minutes. I want all of you to cover for us until the inspection team arrives after the Archangel arrives in Artemis territory."
With that, Murrue and Natarle left the bridge with their officer caps on.
Locker Room, ZMS Gamow, near outskirts of Artemis, Lagrange 3, somewhere in Space
Athrun, Dearka, Nicol and Yzak had went to the locker room after they departed from their mobile suits. At least without incident. But when the locker room doors were closed, that's when things went, another way.
"Goddamit Athrun, what the hell was wrong with you?"
Yzak grabbed Athrun by the throat and slammed him towards the lockers.
"It's because of your hesitation that Nicol's mobile suit was partially damaged! Did you bother to think about it?"
"If it weren't for that, we wouldn't have this problem now." Dearka eyed Athrun carefully.
A few seconds later, Nicol came inside the locker room with his pilot helmet held underneath his left armpit.
"Yzak, stop it!" The green-haired ZAFT Red yelled at Yzak after he saw him slamming Athrun to the lockers.
"It's too humiliating to face our fellow Reds and the Greens back home!" Yzak shouted at Nicol when he faced him. "We had four machines! Four goddamn machines and look what the result is? We weren't able to take down the Strike!"
"Sure! Shout your heart's content to Athrun's face, but can it change anything? Huh?" Nicol shouted back at Yzak, the latter realizing that Nicol had a point. He can't do anything and if anything "should happen" to Athrun in the middle of their "talk", the gray-haired ZAFT Red would get chewed out by Patrick Zala, Rau Le Creuset and Ezalia Joule while being ridiculed by the public since Athrun's the son of a well-known politician.
"Fuck..." Yzak muttered when he grabbed his pilot helmet and left the locker room by floating thanks to zero gravity. Dearka followed him out.
"Athrun." Nicol went to face the black-haired ZAFT Red. "I know that I'm your friend ever since our academy days and all, but what happened back there?" He frowned. "It's not like you to do any of that..."
"Nicol." Athrun placed a hand on Nicol's left shoulder. "I need some space to think some things through. Can you give me some time alone?"
"Sure." Nicol sighed. There's no end to this. "But we'll need to talk this."
Athrun nodded in reply, seeing Nicol out before Athrun noted that he was the only person left in the locker room.
With that in mind, he angrily slammed his pilot helmet into the locker doors.
"Kira..." Athrun gave a whisper before he felt like crying.
Mobile Weapons Hangar, OMNIS Archangel, en route to Artemis, Lagrange 3, somewhere in Space
Kira had been busy seated in the cockpit of the Strike and programmed a password on the booting system. This was followed by tests to see if the password can hold. So far it looked okay. He read the manual and noted that after four failed attempts to enter the proper password, the entire system would lock up for at least 2 hours before the password prompt can work again.
"Yo." Kira heard Mark's greeting from outside the Strike.
"R-right, I'm done here." Kira greeted the auxiliary officer when he left the cockpit. "Did the crew let you in here?"
"Sure." Mark shrugged. "I was on my way to see the others. But Sai got dragged out a bit to see Flay and Kuzzey's talking a bit with Tolle and Mir."
"So it's just you and me then huh?"
"Come on." Mark told Kira as they were walking towards the exit out of the hangar. "I assume that you're putting on the password thing 'cause of Artemis."
Kira nodded.
"Good call. If I were the Colonel, I'd tell you that you're doing a good job." Mark said before they got out of the hangar. "But let's get the others and make plans. I'm sure we'll be boarded, considering the EF's military position."
"Right."
Conference Room, OMNIS Archangel, en route to Artemis, Lagrange 3, somewhere in Space
Murrue, Natarle and Mu were alone inside the ship's lone conference room, having the doors locked up so that no one can get inside, whether they're an Orban refugee or an OMNI crewman by accident.
They were inside to talk about the success of the Strike's sortie into battle. And the pilot Kira Yamato himself.
"I'm glad that we're all here inside the conference room." Murrue said after she sat down with a chair near the oval-shaped conference table. "Our only order of business for now is with regards to Kira Yamato. Not that I have anything personally against the young man."
"So do I." Mu said likewise. "But I have to admit that with the way Kira fought against those G weapons, it's like he's got years of mobile weapon experience with him under his belt."
Natarle frowned, wondering if Mu was praising Kira's fighting skills. "Which brings us to some questions." The black-haired woman said before she added. "Where did Kira learn to fight like an experienced mobile weapon pilot? And the other question is whether he was a child soldier or not in the past."
"Well that is an interesting question." Murrue told Mu and Natarle. "But one would consider that Orb has a National Service policy, which means all males who are eligible to either serve in the military or in the police must be in either branch for 2 years. But in Kira's case..." The brown-haired woman. "He could have requested an earlier time to be accepted into NS."
"That is true..." Natarle agreed with Murrue's assessment. "But the way Kira fought seemed a bit, I don't know, advanced? Orb forces don't usually allow conscripts to join mobile suit companies and such aside from being mentored on how to use a mobile suit and conduct basic movements while they were being trained to use the weapons and equipment."
"You're saying that Kira's way of fighting is reserved for special forces?"
Natarle nodded.
"If it's the case, I would agree with the Ensign's assessment regarding Kira." Mu told the two women. "Well I do recall that there are some special forces units in the Orb military that do have mobile suits attached, although they always require personnel who did their time in National Service. I mean, I saw him look fine after we came back from fighting Le Creuset. Any ordinary civilian would possibly get shell shock in the process."
"But it's not like we have enough evidence to determine if Kira is really a Heliopolis-based college student caught in the wrong place at the wrong time or if he is someone else." Natarle told the Hawk of Endymion after hearing his thoughts. "Uh, this is so confusing."
"I would have to agree with Natarle." Murrue went to intervene before either Mu or Natarle would start a debate, which is not good considering that they would have to meet with EF officers placed in charge of Artemis. "For now, let's conduct personal observations of Kira and see what would happen next."
"That would be the best course of action, Lieutenant Ramius." Mu agreed with Murrue's thoughts on ending the meeting for now.
"All right." Murrue nodded. "This secret meeting of ours is adjourned on short notice since we'll need to prepare to meet with the European Federation officers in Artemis and tell them about our escape from Heliopolis."
"Understood, Lieutenant." Natarle said as she went out of the conference room. Mu followed her out a few seconds later, saying something about making a point to ask Kira if he had been a soldier in his past life.
Murrue remained in her seat after the other two had left, thanking the gods that she decided not to tell them about the scars that she saw on Kira's back, nor did she tell them about Kira and his ties with one of the ZAFT Reds she confronted back in Heliopolis. The officer had figured that if she told Mu and Natarle, things would get messy and there would be no way for her to stop it.
Seeing that there was no point in pondering on Kira's true origins, Murrue went to leave as well and went for the Captain's quarters in order to prepare for the Archangel's arrival to Artemis.
Enlisted Quarters Section, OMNIS Archangel, en route to Artemis, Lagrange 3, somewhere in Space
Mark and Kira had arrived in an empty room of the Enlisted Quarters section in the Archangel, where Sai, Kuzzey and Wang were waiting for them. Hong Long was with the rich woman's side, serving as her bodyguard as always.
"You guys alright?" Sai adjusted his glasses after Mark closed the door leading to the room.
"Yeah." Kira nodded. "We weren't followed, so we should be fine."
"I'm sure that you're all aware that we're going to be arriving in Artemis soon." Wang told the M agents when the meeting started. She saw collective nods from Kira and Mark all the way to Sai and Kuzzey. "Good, at least we're on the same page together."
"I remember that Artemis was suppose to be a Code Black priority years ago." Kuzzey told Wang, scratching the back of his head. "But I'm not sure what the higher ups want with it."
"That part is true." Kira told his friend. "Last I heard before we went in our undercover assignments, the Colonel'll tell us if the Code Black order will be given out."
"No one in the organization surely likes Artemis." Mark said, sitting down on an empty bed. "Especially with the lightwave barrier it has." He then asked Wang. "But even if we get a confirmation of the order, the question is how do we enact it?"
"That's where the good part comes." The Chinese woman grinned. "I was told by Ms. Sumeragi that a few of our agents have penetrated the EF military forces stationed in Artemis."
"And?" Sai asked, leaning on the wall.
"Our agent will contact you guys once any of you managed to get inside Artemis." The socialite continued.
"I just hope we'll be able to know him." Mark sighed.
"Which reminds me." Kuzzey went to ask Mark and Kira. "You guys still have your weapons right?"
Mark tapped his holster. "My submachine gun's in the room with Kira's."
"I happened to snag one from a ZAFT Green during the Heliopolis attack." Kira answered. "Although I'm slowly running out of bullets for it."
"By how much?"
"A clip or two, last count when I took some of the dead Green's ammo."
"And the infiltration route?" Wang asked Kira and the others.
"I'm pretty sure that the ship'll be taken in under heavy armed guard." Kira told Wang. "Last I recall, the EF Army's Special Forces Regiment had a contingent stationed in Artemis, so they'll most likely be the ones knocking on the doors and saying hello with their assault rifles."
"So this is the mission the Colonel wants us to do eh?" Mark sighed, shuffling his feet. "I mean, it's not a problem for me, but what about Kira..."
"I'm not sure if I have to stay here since Artemis'll probably start looking for the pilot of the Strike after all." Kira shared Mark's concerns. "But it seems that I probably will have to do it to play along with my legend."
"Well Kuzzey and I can probably infiltrate the place with Mark." Sai suggested. "Perhaps you can join in during the confusion."
"Could be." Kira replied. "But it's best to prepare for any contingency after all."
"Then it's settled, Kira?" Kuzzey asked the teenager.
"Yeah. But don't worry, I'll figure something out, Kuzzey."
"Then I wish all of you good luck then." Wang then stood up from a chair and was about to walk out with Hong Long when Mark went to stop her.
"Where are you going?"
"Where else?" Wang smirked. "I'm going to do my part and help you guys by playing the part of the wealthy socialite who's caught in the crossfire between ZAFT, the Titans and OMNI."
The four M agents were left a bit confused by what Wang said even after she left the empty room.
"So, what about you and Flay?" Kuzzey asked Sai, trying to break the silence.
Sai replied. "There's no need. I already talked to her a while ago and she's fine. Flay decided to get some rest."
Commander's Office, Artemis, Lagrange 3, Space
Two men in white EF OMNI officer uniforms watched from widescreens as the Archangel had been escorted inside the Artemis by armed Enacts and a few Mistrals in the mix.
"Never did I dream that the secret project of the Atlantic Federation would just jump right into our laps."
The man seated in the chair was Rear Admiral Gerard Garcia, commanding officer of the EF's lunar base Artemis. When he was told that the Archangel had requested refuge, the bald man was too delighted to accept the request.
"So the rumors that the Atlantic Federation Army started a project to press all-terrain ship into service was true after all." An EF OMNI officer with blond hair sticking out from his temples said. "Especially when intelligence mentioned about the destruction of Heliopolis by ZAFT and the Titans."
"Well why don't we just invite the personnel for some shore leave?" Garcia said with a grin on his face. "Send Biddulph to greet our guests at once."
"Yes, sir."
Mobile Weapons Hangar, Inside Artemis, Lagrange 3, Space
A small space shuttle had been dispatched towards the docked Archangel after EF Agamemnon-class and Drake-class ships flanked the prototype ship from all sides with Enacts covering the airspace over it.
Anyone in the Archangel's bridge or cafeteria may have been puzzled as to why most of the Enacts had some of their weapons aimed towards the ship.
But after the space shuttle deposited Commander Biddulph in the Archangel's mobile weapons hangar, a few more space shuttles came towards the open hangar.
And they didn't go inside the Archangel just to say hello.
They were there to welcome them inside Artemis. With FN M62A1 assault rifles at the ready.
Bridge, OMNIS Archangel, Inside Artemis, Lagrange 3, Space
Murrue, Natarle and Mu, now having their officer caps on, greeted Biddulph who went inside the Archangel's bridge. He was accompanied by a EF OMNI soldier. He was armed with an EF-made P65, a submachine gun that resembled the FN P90 in design. The EF OMNI officer inspected the bridge and saw that only AF OMNI personnel were inside alongside Mir. Sai and Kuzzey were nowhere to be found inside.
"Thank you for accepting our request for help, Commander." Murrue said first when she saluted him due to his Commander rank. Mu and Natarle followed her actions likewise. Biddulph nodded and responded with a crisp salute of his own.
"It's my pleasure to have you and the refugees welcomed inside Artemis after all." Biddulph told the trio after he saluted them.
All of a sudden, armed men in space suits stormed inside the bridge with their assault rifles aimed at everyone inside except Biddulph.
"What the heck?" Dalida shouted as he and the other enlisted personnel had assault rifles aimed at them. Even Mir and Tolle were also threatened with M62A1s aimed at their faces.
"Commander!" Mu shouted at Biddulph when he, Murrue and Natarle saw that they were now officially held under gunpoint. "What the heck's wrong with you?"
"We merely requested for assistance..." Murrue tried to reason with Biddulph. However, the Commander rebuked her with a glare.
"Lieutenant." Biddulph said calmly. "May I advise that you remain silent?"
"Why?" Natarle never knew that an ally of the Atlantic Federation would one day point guns at them.
"We were being nice to consider your request for refuge." Biddulph went to explain the matter of their situation. "But even with that, we still don't know any identification codes. Because of that, we are exercising our right to be cautious until EF command can verify your identities."
Murrue just stood there near Biddulph, confused since the Atlantic and European Federations have been historical allies ever since they took on Zeon and ZAFT forces in the One Year Bloody War.
Biddulph had been informed by his EF OMNI soldier escort that the Archangel's hangar, cafeteria and armory were successfully seized with other armed soldiers moving in to take control of the quarters.
"Take these three along." Biddulph referred to Murrue, Mu and Natarle as he was about to leave the bridge. "The Rear Admiral would love to see them personally."
"Yes, sir!" An EF OMNI soldier in a space suit whacked the butt of his M62A1 on Mu's back that they needed to move.
"Dammit..." Mu gritted his teeth as he left the bridge with Murrue and Natarle. "I'll be sure to lodge an official complaint."
Corridor, Somewhere in OMNIS Archangel, Inside Artemis, Lagrange 3, Space
Mark, Sai and Kuzzey carefully traveled on an empty corridor in the Archangel after hearing loud shouts from EF OMNI soldiers that everyone should not resist and move to the cafeteria.
"Got your other weapons ready?" Mark asked Sai and Kuzzey as he peeked out of the corner to see if any armed EF OMNI soldiers were present.
"I do, Mark." Kuzzey nodded as he got out a pair of brass knuckles.
"I'm surprised that you're able to carry those with you." Sai said in a bit of awe before he drew out a small-sized karambit knife, which consisted of a folding 3 and a half inch blade with a black handle. He subsequently took off his glasses and kept it in his pants pocket.
Mark gave a whistle when he looked back to see Sai without his glasses. "You sure you wanna go like that?"
"Helps me fight better." Sai answered. Mark shrugged and went back to peeking back at the corner, in time to see the EF OMNI troops beginning to check the corridors without their space suits. Instead, they were decked with black berets, tac vests and FN P90-like submachine guns at the ready.
"Our guys are most likely the SFR." Mark told Sai and Kuzzey while he shouldered the assault carbine.
"You mean the Special Forces Regiment?" Kuzzey whispered. "They're one of the best EF-based special forces units that fought against Zeon and ZAFT during the OYBW. In fact, some of the politicians in the EF have fought in that war years ago when they served under the SFR."
"We can take care of them like always." Sai told his friend. "Just stick to the shadows and dispose of them one by one without making any noise."
"Let's meet us later inside Artemis." Mark told Sai and Kuzzey. "I'm sure that the officer placed in charge of Artemis wants to see them later on."
Both Sai and Kuzzey nodded in unison.
"All right. Let's clear out the opposition and head inside the asteroid." Mark told Sai and Kuzzey when he crouched and placed the selector of his carbine from safe to single shot mode. "We split up from here on."
"Sounds good to me, Mark." Sai said while giving the thumbs up.
"Let's go and do this thing." Kuzzey said before all them of them had decided to split up to other corridors inside the Archangel.
Cafeteria, OMNIS Archangel, Inside Artemis, Lagrange 3, Space
The Orb refugees were being watched by a couple of regular EF OMNI soldiers with their assault rifles at the ready and without their space suits on. A few minutes later, the AF OMNI personnel including Murdoch, Tolle and Mir were brought in the cafeteria under gunpoint.
"What's the big deal with the EF?" Tolle groaned as he was forced to sit down next to Arnold. "I mean the last time I heard, they're good buddies."
Romero sighed when he heard Tolle's question. "The thing is we don't have any official OMNI IFF codes in place, so Artemis security forces are holding us here until they can sort things out."
Mir asked Romero, who was a bit confused by his answer. "Does this happen all the time when they're a case of unknown IFF?"
"I don't think so." Murdoch growled when he heard Mir's question. "Something stinks about it and I don't like it one bit."
"I agree." Arnold said in agreement. "I have a feeling that the AF and EF militaries are having a bit of a turf war in the background while they try to tell the public that they're friends."
A few minutes, Wang was brought in the cafeteria under armed guard before she was told to sit in the nearest empty chair. She complied without much trouble.
"That seems strange now." Dalida whispered to his fellow AF OMNI colleagues.
"What about?" Murdoch asked the glasses-wearing AF OMNI soldier.
"I know that Wang Liu Mei's a huge celebrity in Asia that she travels with a bodyguard."
"Come to think about it." Tolle said to Murdoch in a whisper as well. "You're right. I thought I remember seeing her a while ago traveling with him."
Meanwhile, Mir was busy talking to Flay with Kira to make sure she calms down since she was asking why EF OMNI soldiers were herding most of them in the cafeteria at gunpoint, even though the AF and EF are OMNI allies.
"That's not the only thing I found strange." Romero added. "Sai and Kuzzey are not here with us."
Murdoch nodded in agreement. "Our auxiliary officer's not here as well."
"Does this mean the three of them are already in hiding?" Tolle pondered on the question. "I know that Mark went in National Service, but I don't picture Sai and Kuzzey as the fighting type."
"I just hope those guys don't get caught out there by the EF grunts wandering around the Archangel." Jackie groaned in his seat, wondering when their turmoil of being cooped up in the cafeteria will end soon.
Corridor, Somewhere in OMNIS Archangel, Inside Artemis, Lagrange 3, Space
A couple of EF SFR commandos were busy searching a corridor in the Archangel, using the tactical torchlights attached on their submachine guns to help search corridors that don't have working lights on yet.
"Why do we have to get stuck on this kind of job?" One of the commandos complained. who had an Irish English accent. "Aren't we suppose to be in the field conducting special forces duties like doing commando work behind enemy lines and stuff like that?"
"I know how you feel." The other commando said in agreement, also having the same accent. "But the Commander wants us to sweep this Atlantic Federation ship up and down to make sure no one's hiding from us."
The two slowly walked down the corridor, keeping their submachine guns trained in front in case they find someone who would probably resist being detained.
"But who's going to resist being detained anyway?" The first commando said while he rolled his eyes in frustration. He then motioned his colleague to stop when they spotted an open door on the side.
"Someone there?" The two SFR commandos went to check inside and saw that it was just nothing but an empty toilet.
"Toilet huh?" The first commando said before he adjusted the sling of his submachine gun. "Which reminds me. I think I need to take a leak ASAP."
"You mean right now?"
"Ah come on. It's not like that it's gonna hurt to take a piss for a few minutes. Besides I forgot."
"All right, all right." The second commando went to guard the entrance to the toilet. "Just hurry back. We'll need to report in again."
"It's just too early." The first commando complained after getting inside the toilet. "We just reported back a few minutes ago."
The second commando grumbled a bit as his colleague was already inside the toilet and proceeded to take the time in relieving himself.
I just hope nothing goes wrong from here.
The second commando heard some knocking noise that apparently came from one of the corridor corners the two-man patrol had passed by. He thought that it was just something else and resumed guarding the toilet entrance.
A few minutes ago, more knocking noise was heard again.
"This had better be good or else..." The SFR commando shouldered the submachine gun and took aim at the corner he was about to check. But when he was near the corner and peeked at the side, he noted that there was no one around.
"Strange." Seeing that no one was around, the commando simply sighed and scratched the back of his head. "It must have been my imagination all along."
But as the SFR commando turned his back and was about to make his way back to the open toilet, a pair of hands showed up before he felt an arm grab his neck.
Shit!
The commando was totally caught by surprise as he was forced to kneel down when the back of his legs were sharply kicked. This was followed by a strong twist to his neck that it broke right away after his mouth and nose were covered with a hand to prevent the commando from shouting for immediate help.
Commander's Office, Artemis, Lagrange 3, Space
"Excuse me, Rear Admiral!" Biddulph knocked on the door to Rear Admiral Garcia's office. "I have the three officers from the Archangel."
"Yes, yes. Enter!" Garcia replied loudly for Biddulph to hear. When Biddulph escorted Murrue, Mu and Natarle to the office, his yellow-haired assistant was found nowhere to be in sight. Biddulph saluted Garcia before he and the submachine gun-armed EF OMNI soldier left the commander's office.
"Welcome." Garcia greeted the trio when they took off their officer caps. "I was able to verify your identity with high commands. And no doubt you three are officially with the Atlantic Federation." The man looked at his laptop. "So we have Lieutenant Murrue Ramius, Lieutenant Mu La Flaga and Ensign Natarle Badigiruel."
"We thank you for accepting our distress signal and our request for assistance." Murrue told the Admiral.
Garcia nodded. "Yes, of course." He gave off a smile. "After all, what kind of a person would I be if I decided to ignore distress signals that are from an OMNI officer like you after all."
The Spanish man than looked at Mu. "And I'm quite surprised to see you around here, Hawk of Endymion." Garcia addressed Mu by his title. "But I'm wondering as to why you were with that ship."
"Sir." Mu replied. "I'm with a different group originally. But I doubt that I'm allowed to say what I was doing in space, even though our nations are allies."
"I understand." Garcia nodded slowly. "I probably will get in trouble with my superiors even if I force you all to ask."
"If I may ask, Rear Admiral." Murrue addressed Garcia. "There are Orban refugees on board with the Archangel and I request that we have essential supplies placed on board since the ones we got from Morgenroete's Heliopolis branch was only enough to last the journey from Heliopolis to Artemis."
Garcia raised an eyebrow when he heard Murrue's request.
"There's something that I have to show you, Lieutenant Ramius..."
Male Toilet, Somewhere in OMNIS Archangel, Inside Artemis, Lagrange 3, Space
The lone SFR commando relieving himself in the toilet didn't hear the attack that took place outside. He was too busy relieving himself that he didn't expect anyone to attack him from inside the deserted toilet.
That's when he was wrong.
Behind the EF commando, the door to an empty toilet stall slowly opened with little noise. As the commando whistled to keep himself from being bored, Sai readied his karambit knife while crouching. He slowly crept up to the distracted commando until he was at arm's length.
"Gotcha." Sai said in a whisper before he lunged for the commando's rear, stabbing him at the neck before the young undercover agent executed another stab at the back to where the lungs were and twisted it clockwise.
"Aaaahhhhh..." The commando groaned in pain while the karambit blade was twisted clockwise as blood began to fill up his lungs, ensuring that he won't call for help from the toilet.
"Shhh..." Sai told the commando as he was slowly dying. "You don't want anyone to interrupt your time here in the toilet, right?"
The commando did not reply to Sai's question. But instead, he continuing to gasp for air after Sai took out the karambit blade carefully. The young man carefully moved the dying man to sit down on top of the toilet seat.
"Hang in there okay?" Sai patted the man's right shoulder as Sai went to the nearest paper-towel dispenser to wipe off the blood from the karambit. He whistled as he did this before storing the blade. He then closed the door to the toilet stall behind him and placed a message that the toilet stall is broken. At least he zipped up after doing his thing.
"How are things in there, Sai?" Sai received a call from an earpiece that was yet to be inserted on his right ear. The Orb national placed it on his right ear after he kept the karambit, in time to hear the message.
"Sorry I didn't hear the message, Mark."
"I was asking if you took care of things in the toilet..."
Sai peeked out of the toilet to see if the coast was clear. "Oh that? No worries, I took care of the commando who took the time to piss. What about you?"
"I took out mine after I got his neck to snap." Mark sighed while he replied. "I wasn't spotted so far. You okay there?"
"Don't worry about me." Sai went to walk on the empty corridor. "Kuzzey should be fine on his own as well."
"I surely hope so. Let's go mess these guys and get inside Artemis."
"Roger that."
Commander's Office, Artemis, Lagrange 3, Space
Garcia grinned when he showed Murrue, Mu and Natarle that Laurasia-class ship that was near the outskirts of the Artemis.
"That's the Laurasia-class ship pursuing us a while ago with Le Creuset's Naza-class ship." Mu said, watching the Gamow just sit near the outskirts of the Artemis and do nothing.
"See?" Garcia kept his smirk up. "What did I tell you?"
"But, Rear Admiral." Natarle began to get Garcia's attention. "Lieutenant Ramius has a point. It's not good for us to remain in Artemis any longer, especially for the Orban refugees. And the ZAFT forces that were pursuing us won't stop until the Archangel and the G mobile suit that were able to secure will be destroyed."
"You don't have anything to worry about, really." Garcia objected to Natarle's comments. "You of all people should know about the Artemis' lightwave barrier that makes the Umbrella to secure the base."
"I guess you're really that confident about Artemis' Umbrella then, Rear Admiral?" Mu challenged Garcia on his views.
"Of course." Garcia nodded in reply. "It's like a baby being safe in her mother's arms."
Murrue could only sigh at the Rear Admiral's stupidity in handling the situation.
Mobile Weapons Hangar, OMNIS Archangel, Inside Artemis, Lagrange 3, Space
An Enterprise-class space shuttle was stationed inside the Archangel's hangar with the bay doors open for immediate deployment of SFR commandos to seize the ship in a worse case scenario. Currently, the shuttle is being guarded by three SFR commandos left behind to guard it in case Artemis deems it necessary to transport someone from the ship to Artemis and vice versa.
"Nothing happens here." One of the commandos said as he sat down on a stool. "The top brass thinks that it's going to be an action sequence that someone's going to sneak out here and beat us to death?"
"Heh." The second commando grinned. "Not likely. Unless the guy or gal happens to be a trained assassin. Which is... very unlikely!"
The three SFR commandos shared a laugh together afterwards.
"This should be an easy job for us, you know?" The third commando said while he did a check inside the space shuttle. "Not like someone's going to attack us head first."
Unknown to the three, Kuzzey was now armed with the brass knuckles as he began to infiltrate the hangar to get closer to the space shuttle and disarm the commandos guarding it.
"Say, any of you guys got a smoke or two with you?" The first commando asked, yawning. "I'm kinda bored."
"Sorry." The third commando shrugged his shoulders. "Didn't have any with me."
"Not with me either." The second commando replied.
"I hate this..."
Commander's Office, Artemis, Lagrange 3, Space
Garcia then excused himself, taking the peaked cap with him before telling Murrue, Mu and Natarle that they are to stay inside the Commander's Office. And unless they are told to leave by the two EF OMNI soldiers ordered to guard the entrance, the trio cannot leave lest arrest and detention in a jail cell in the basement floors of Artemis.
"Great." Natarle grumbled as she sat down in an empty couch. "Now what do we do?"
"I don't know." Mu told the Ensign. "We have limited options right now. Not counting in the consideration that the EF soldiers outside are heavily armed. I just hope they don't have tasers with them."
"I really hoped that the Rear Admiral would understand our position." Murrue sighed, sitting down in a couch adjacent to the one Natarle sat down on. "But it seems that he's confident on the Artemis' defenses."
"Not to mention that I have a feeling that he wants to get his hands on the Archangel and perhaps the Strike, considering that the EF military wasn't able to create a ship that can travel in the atmosphere and in space aside from the Orban forces."
"Maybe that M organization should intervene at this point." Natarle suggested.
"I don't know if they would." Murrue told Natarle. "Remember that they did launch operations against the AF military when they conducted attacks in the USSA against pro-Coordinator rebels. Even Blue Cosmos terrorist cells in the region weren't spared either."
"So what now?" Mu asked the two women. "We just wait here and let our fate settle us in this asteroid?"
Mobile Weapons Hangar, OMNIS Archangel, Inside Artemis, Lagrange 3, Space
"Is someone there?"
The first commando saw the shadow of someone standing near there. He motioned his colleagues to take aim with their P90-like submachine guns at the figure.
"Move over to us, but keep your hands up!" The third commando aimed the red dot scope mounted on top of the submachine gun, watching the figure step a bit forward with the arms up.
As the figure began to step forward towards the commandos with the hands up, the figure revealed his pants and shirt. The clothes did indicate that he was an OMNI enlisted crewman.
"You with this ship?" The second commando challenged the OMNI crewman.
"I am."
The commandos were startled to hear that the voice was from a teenager. But nevertheless, they waited for the teenage OMNI crewman to come forward until his face was fully visible.
It was Kuzzey. His arms were still raised up high as ordered.
"Just a kid." The second commando smirked. "Nothing to worry about." He slinged his submachine gun and brought out a pair of plasticuffs as the other two covered their colleague by aiming the submachine guns at Kuzzey.
But at the commando with the plasticuffs approached Kuzzey, he instantly brought down his arms in a heartbeat. Using the brass knuckles still placed in his hands, Kuzzey began a double punch combo as he hit the commando's face and stomach with deadly accuracy. The brass knuckles would no doubt bring the stunned commando to a world of hurt.
Chapter 6 END
PS - Happy New Year to all. Been busy with university and with my personal life, especially since I'm almost done with university. Hope this chapter's to your liking. I enjoyed making Kira kick ass without asking questions! I did some heck of a time with the exchange between Athrun and Yzak, especially since I want to make the former sympathetic in knowing why he "fought" Kira without revealing his mercenary connections to him yet.
Also I did some mystery lore regarding Kira with Murrue, Natarle and Mu. Always wanted to do that when I started this story. I think I ought to introduce Gundam characters from the UC and AD eras, perhaps AC era too when I can in the next chapter if I do or don't do it in this chapter aside from Wang Liu Mei and Hong Long. (Heck, I'm not that sure myself)
Hopefully I can upload it on my birthday today.
Looking forward to the reviews to this story and to my RE story as well.