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. All characters and machines of the various Super Robot Wars games belong to Banpresto and Winkysoft. All characters and machines of the SD Gundam G Generation series belong to Namco Bandai Games. The use of Appleseed concepts/organizations/etc. belong to Masamune Shirow. The use of Full Metal Panic! concepts/organizations/etc. belong to Shoji Gato. The use of Ghost in the Shell concepts/organizations/etc. belong to Masamume Shirow and Kenji Kamiyama. All weapons/equipment of NeoTokyo belong to Studio RADI-8. All other characters are under my jurisdiction.
Summary:
Despite the presence of Mithril and the Titans in their attempt to end the civil war, it seemed that the radicals have stepped up their attacks to topple the civil government and put Azadistan into turmoil. Can Rasa Massoud Rachmadi be secured in time by friendly forces before the country is in anarchy? Stay tune to this chapter to find out.
Chapter 17: Fighting
Corridor, Terminal, Naval Air Station North Island, Atlantic Federation Navy California Base, United States of America, Atlantic Federation
Lieutenant Commander Murrue Ramius was being accompanied by Lieutenant Junior Grade Natarle Badgiruel after the two officers arrived in the afternoon from Alaska. They were told to head to AFN California's Naval Air Station North Island and speak to the base commander after their meeting with Mu La Flaga, who also had been recently promoted after his transfer to AFN California with the rank of Lieutenant Commander.
"Lieutenant Ramius." Natarle spoke to her superior. "Do you think it was wise for Alaska to send us here to get some pilot candidates for the Archangel?"
"To be honest, I don't know." Murrue replied while being blunt to her XO. "But since Alaska told us to be here to see if we can scout some candidates aside from the willingness of Lieutenant Imelia, the Archangel's not going to be operational any time soon."
"I have a feeling that it's due to the Azadistan crisis." Natarle spoke to Murrue, moving to the side to allow a Chief Petty Officer to walk past by her while carrying some folders with him.
"Ah, my congratulations to you two for a successful promotion."
Murrue and Natarle were greeted by MSWAD engineer/scientist Professor Ralph Eifman, who was standing near the main entrance of the Naval Air Station North Island's main building.
"Professor Eifman." Murrue greeted the scientist after she shook his hand. "It's a pleasure to see you in AFN California."
"My thanks, Lieutenant Ramius." Ralph smiled back and shook Murrue's hand. "I was getting bored in the office, so I volunteered to help out with whatever you're doing right now."
"Hello Professor Eifman." It was now Natarle's turn to greet the scientist and shake his hand. "It's an honor to meet the scientist who created the Flag mobile suit."
Ralph chuckled at Natarle's greeting. "Oh, please. I didn't do so much on creating the Flag alone, but I must credit that to the staff of the MSWAD."
"Mind if I ask why you're here, Professor Eifman." Murrue asked the scientist.
"It has something with you two getting more manpower for the Archangel." Ralph said before he added, "I believe that you two are going outside?"
Near Runway, Naval Air Station North Island, Atlantic Federation Navy California Base, United States of America, Atlantic Federation
The three walked outside the main building when they headed over one of the runways of the Naval Air Station North Island, since that was where Mu was last seen.
From a short distance, FF-3 and FF-S3 Saberfish fighters of both the OMNI and Atlantic Federation Air Force were seen taking off and landing.
"Hey! What did I just say about getting your wheels out?! You did it too early!"
Murrue and Natarle heard the shouts and knew that it came from Mu. He was standing near said runway with a headset and a clipboard on his left hand.
"Get your Saberfish down here and do the maneuvers again like you've been briefed on!" Mu literally shouted on the microphone of his headset in anger, reminding the said Saberfish pilot that he did a mistake.
"Lieutenant Commander La Flaga!" Ralph greeted the blond-haired officer by shouting because both of his ears are covered by the headset.
Mu turned around to see Ralph, Murrue and Natarle standing near him.
"Professor Eifman!" Mu shouted when he took off his headset. "What are you doing here!"
"I'm here regarding the selection of combat personnel to the Archangel!"
After Mu greeted Ralph, he rendered a salute to Murrue and Natarle. The female officers returned the salute in kind.
"Let's move inside!" Mu told the three after he saluted Murrue and Natarle. "It's hard to talk when we're next to the runway!"
Main Entrance, Terminal, Naval Air Station North Island, Atlantic Federation Navy California Base, United States of America, Atlantic Federation
"So what brings you guys here?" Mu asked the three after he took off his headset and placed them at the base of his neck. "I wasn't told that I'm expecting guests."
"Actually Lieutenant La Flaga." Natarle spoke to her superior. "We're here in AFN California to see the base commander before we oversaw tests being conducted by Lieutenant Junior Grade Rena Imelia."
"I see." Mu nodded. "And I assume that it's for the Archangel?"
"Yes it is." Murrue answered Mu's question. "And the timing can't be more than perfect, considering the Azadistan crisis right now."
"Sure. I'd love to help you get the appropriate personnel for the Archangel. Can't wait to get out of this position anyway."
Rena appeared in the terminal building, walking inside before she took her pilot helmet off.
"Ah, Lieutenant Imelia." Mu greeted the woman when she rendered him, Murrue and Natarle a salute. "Good to see you're looking well."
"The tests with the Strike are doing well, Lieutenant Commander La Flaga." Rena gave a brief report on the use of the Strike.
"I assume that you've used the Silver Strand Training Complex, Lieutenant Imelia?"
"Indeed. Controlling the Strike wasn't much of a problem to me, despite the majority of the OS was written for individuals with Coordinator genes."
Mu chuckled and nodded. "Well..." He was scratching the back of his neck since he didn't know if he should tell Rena that Kira was the one who wrote up the Strike's OS.
"I'm pretty sure what Lieutenant Imelia is saying is that she personally wants to thank the person who wrote up the OS for the Strike Gundam." Ralph interceded on Rena's behalf.
Rena nodded, agreeing with what Ralph had said.
"Ummm..." Natarle said before she stared at Mu and Murrue, not sure on what to say.
For their part, the two officers were also not sure on what to say in front of Ralph and Rena.
Outskirts of Solar Array Station, somewhere near Tehran, Azadistan, Middle Eastern Union
"ALLAHU AKBAR! ALLAHU AKBAR!"
A couple of rogue Azadistani Army Anfs were desperate to get control of their situation while the fighting continued from the middle of the night all the way to the early hours of morning. They fired their smoothbore guns at the Mithril mobile suits after seeing that most of their fellow comrades in their Anfs and Infestuses were immediately taken out of action.
"Hah! Eat this, you oudated mobile suit!"
One of the rogue Anf pilots saw an incoming mobile suit moving fast and heading straight for them.
"That mobile suit's moving fast...!" The first Anf tried to move in and intercept the mobile suit, only to be stabbed in the cockpit by a beam saber-type weapon.
"YEAH! YOU DON'T MESS WITH DOC DARN!" The Anf didn't have enough time to immediately react, which meant that he was at the mercy of the PTX-001RV Gespenst Type-RV.
Piloted by Sergeant Doc Darn under the Hiryu Kai's SRT Bravo Team, he chose to pilot it after he agreed to shell out some money to upgrade his original PTX-0001 Gespenst Type-R, with thanks from Mao Industries. "TAKE THIS! CAN'T ESCAPE MY MEGA PLASMA CUTTER!"
"AAAAHHH!" The Anf was stabbed by the Gespenst Type-RV's Mega Plasma Cutter before it was sliced over and over with its arms and legs cut off.
"S-stay back! Stay the hell back!" The second Anf started to retreat away from Doc's Gespenst Type-RV, firing its chin-mounted machine gun in panic.
"WHAT KINDA SOLDIER ARE YOU?!" Doc shouted while he grinned, maneuvering his mobile suit to dodge the shots.
Even though that anti-mobile suit projectile defense were built into the Gespenst model, the bald man/SRT operative couldn't help but intimidate the enemy by moving at a fast pace thanks to the installed Tesla Engine. "LOOK! YOUR SHOTS AREN'T EVEN HITTING ME!"
The Anf moved back and back, its pilot content to fire its smoothbore gun instead of the machine gun to drive Doc back from him.
What kind of crazy foreigner do I have to face out here?
A Gespenst with a different body frame and red finish dashed in from the back of the second rogue Anf. It punched the rogue mobile suit several times before the red Gespenst delivered a knee that brought the Anf down to the air, followed by a strong punch when it was about to land.
"Nicely done!" Doc grinned again when he saw the rogue Anf knocked off its feet. The Anf was also hurled back a few feet away from the Gespensts, which resulted in an explosion. The bald man saw that the red Gespenst, complete with its charging Plasma Stakes, belonged to Katina with the designation RPT-007KG Gespenst Mark II Mass Production Kai G Type.
A few seconds later, Doc also saw another incoming Gespenst with visible beam cannons at its rear and up-armored arms and legs in a blue finish. This Gespenst was designated, according to Doc's console, as the RPT-007KC Gespenst Mk-II M Kai Type-C.
"Good work there, Sergeant Darm." Katina complimented Doc for finishing off the last of the rogue Anfs.
"My pleasure, Captain Tarask." Doc greeted Katina. "The outskirts of the Azadistani Solar Array Station is all clear of hostiles!"
"Captain!" Russel called for Katina's attention when he arrived next to her. "Area's all clear of hostile Anfs and Infestuses! We're just liaising with loyalist Azadistani Army units."
A mix of SRT-manned R-Schneides and personal mobile suits arrived at the scene, ready to begin the operation.
"That's good, Lieutenant Bagman." Katina told her XO before she contacted the Hiryu Kai. "This is Óglach 1 to Soitheach 1. We've succeeded in taking control of the UN Solar Array Station. Now liaising with loyalist Azadistani Army forces to..."
"Captain!" Russel interrupted Katina's transmission. And for a good reason.
Mark's Shalldoll Custom had just arrived to meet up with the Gespensts.
"What is it now, Óglach 6?" Katina interrogated her SRT subordinate. "It better be good or else..."
"We've got some transmission that an unknown mobile suit has positioned itself a few klicks near the solar array station." Mark reported to his superior.
All of a sudden, the four mobile suit pilots could spot several missiles fired from a short distance. They were all heading towards the direction of the solar array station.
"Soitheach 1!" Katina frantically called upon the Hiryu Kai once more in an urgent voice. "We've got incoming missiles bearing down towards coordinates 1614 3014!"
"This is Teagasc 1!" Kai's booming voice came on the SRT's encrypted channel before he gave out his order, "All SRT operators with long-range beam weapons, take down the missiles before they hit the solar array station!"
Bridge, MSC-07 Albion, somewhere near the coast of Egypt, North African Union
The Albion had made good progress in arriving near the end of Egypt's eastern coastline, heading towards the Suez Canal. Thanks to the GN Drives, it had an easy time evading NAU and ZAFT Infestuses and the missile launcher/railgun-equipped TMF/A-802 BuCUEs. But it was also thanks to Desert Dawn guerrilla fighters who agreed to help Mithril escape by luring both forces into an ambush away from their main Libyan hideout.
"Remember that we're still at Level 3 Battle Stations, everyone!" Synapse shouted as the crew was still maneuvering the Albion to avoid the last of the Infestuses trying to fire their ASM missiles.
"Incoming Infestus squadrons from Egyptian soil, Colonel!" Peter told Synapse when he studied his console, being responsible for the starboard side of the Albion.
"Are they NAU or ZAFT?" Synapse asked.
"Checking... checking..." Peter murmured as he checked his console again before he told his superior, "Got it! They're with the NAU Air Force!"
Outside the bridge, a NAU Air Force Infestus with a mix of brown and desert yellow finish to blend in with the North African desert terrain was approaching the Albion with the intent of attacking the ship with ASMs.
"I want those Infestus squadrons taken care of!" Synapse shouted before he ordered, "Fire the anti-aircraft guns at once to cover the starboard side!"
"Being deployed now, sir!"
The Albion's anti-aircraft laser turrets fired up against any Infestus that may try to go and attack the Mithril-owned ship, the turrets replaced mostly done due to Madorna with some assistance from Mithril's R&D division to improve the firing rate and speed. The beam power was also improved, meant to take down most aircraft with no problem.
A few seconds after the AA laser turrets were activated, four NAU-manned Infestuses were shot down before they could fire their ASMs at the Albion's bridge. The others evaded the laser fire and tried to regroup before they started their approach again.
"How's our guest doing?" Synapse the asked William.
"They're doing fine, sir!" William shouted at Synapse, trying to hear whatever he was hearing on his headset.
"Anything regarding the crisis in Azadistan?"
"Nothing, sir! Nothing that can hamper our movements to the Suez Canal later."
"Captain Pasrof!" Synapse called for Ivan's attention. "Make sure that you're careful when the Albion gets to the Suez Canal."
"Understood, Colonel." Ivan replied back.
"For some reason," Aclam began to speak up. "I'm just glad that we didn't go through the Atlantic Ocean route. Otherwise, we'd have to contend with ZAFT forces stationed at the Gibraltar base."
Synapse sighed and shook his head.
"God help us now."
Bridge, ZMS Vesalius, Lagrange 1, Space
"Sir! The pod's already beginning their approach towards North Africa!"
Le Creuset and Ades were told by a crewman that the pod that contained Athrun, Dearka, Nicol and Yzak had already dropped from the Vesalius.
"Good work." Le Creuset said calmly, glad that the drop operation went off without being spotted by the Titans. "Make contact with Commander Andrew Waltfeld at once. I fear that the legged ship may slip both NAU and local ZAFT forces stationed in North Africa."
"Yes, Commander!"
"I have a gut feeling that the four of them may not be able to catch up with the legged ship in North Africa." Ades frowned before he continued, "Well, if that is the legged ship we fought with from Heliopolis."
The masked ZAFT White officer listened in to Ades' concern before he nodded and said, "I'll have to agree with you on that, Ades. If that's the case, I'll probably have to tell Waltfeld that Athrun and the others may need to transfer via plane to catch up with the ship."
"Okay." Ades nodded in agreement. "I'll go and tell the crew to make contact with Commander Marco Morassim in the UOS to prepare for any interceptions to the legged ship."
"You do that at once, Ades."
Cockpit, RGE-C350C Shaldoll Custom
Mark continued to listen in to the SRT radio frequency as he rushed in towards the source of the missile attack.
Which unfortunately made a change for the worst.
"Óglach 19 to all SRT and PRT forces in the area!" Mark noted that the voice belonged to Lon, the ex-OMNI sniper ace. "The missiles aren't missiles! They just ejected its payload!"
"What are they?!" The SRT operative heard the next voice coming from Sean himself.
"They're cluster bombs, Intleacht 2!"
Mark gritted his teeth when he heard that the missile barrage was just a smokescreen for the attack on solar array station to launch a cluster bomb attack.
"Dammit!" The ex-COSMOS soldier was angry when he heard the transmission. "I need to find that mobile weapon and take it out fast."
A few minutes later after he moved out a few kilometers from the solar array station, Mark spotted a blue Enact armed with a Custom Blade Rifle. Which was also known as the AEU-09Y812 AEU Enact Ali Al-Saachez Custom.
"This is Óglach 6 to Soitheach 1! I found the culprit responsible for attacking the solar array station!" Mark made his report back to the Hiryu Kai when he caught sight of the said mobile suit.
Mark didn't wait for the reply as he drew out the Shalldoll Custom's beam katars, using both of its hands to grip them. In response, Saachez's personal Enact armed itself with the blade rifle. The EF-made mobile suit held the blade rifle like a sword, operating in a melee fashion.
"Damn! The Enact's suppose to be a puny mobile suit compared to this one!" Mark was trying to get the upper hand from Ali's mobile suit when the beam katars clashed with the blade rifle, being used as a defensive weapon when Ali fired the rifle to get away so that the katars aren't used.
"No matter how good your mobile suit is," Ali spoke up via external speakers to mock the SRT operative. "you won't be able to defeat a seasoned veteran mercenary like me!"
To prove his point, Ali charged in fast that Mark was nearly taken by surprise.
"Why you...!" Mark was about to stab the Enact's cockpit with the beam katars when the blade on the Enact's blade rifle changed into a scissor-type weapon. The Enact then moved in to cut off the Shalldoll Custom's left arm.
"Holy shit! My arm...!" The Shalldoll Custom's console reported that the left arm was permanently damaged since it was chopped off.
"See!" Ali snickered before he got his Enact to use the side of the blade rifle to stun the Shalldoll Custom. "I told you!"
Ali changed the blade from scissor to its original blade mode, chopping off the other arm in a quick fashion. The red-haired Arab then disabled the Shalldoll Custom by chopping off its legs.
"Damn you!" Mark shouted at the top of his voice after the console reported that the Shalldoll Custom was permanently disabled.
"Let's see if you Cold War relics can retaliate after this!" Ali said before he laughed, stabbing the downed mobile suit hard near the cockpit.
Silver Strand Training Complex, Atlantic Federation Navy California Base, United States of America, Atlantic Federation
Murrue, Natarle and Ralph arrived at AFN California's Silver Strand Training Complex after taking a short drive from the Naval Air Station North Island. Their next job was to assess Rena's use of the Strike Gundam while they would assess another pilot candidate to join up with the Archangel soon.
Right now, the Strike was in the Sword Striker Pack configuration as Rena went to put the mobile suit through its paces.
"Ah, yes. I forgot to mention that one more pilot is set to join the Archangel soon alongside a new upcoming complement of fighters." Ralph informed Murrue and Natarle.
"Do you know who the person is, professor?" Natarle asked the white-haired scientist. "Up until now, I've been told that Lieutenant Imelia is going to be stationed with the Archangel in a few days."
"You'll see." Ralph grinned. "In fact, I believe that he should be here in a few minutes or so."
"Where?"
Murrue looked around until she saw a white and light gray GINN making its approach towards the Silver Strand Training Complex. It was armed with its standard MA-M3 Heavy Sword and MMI-M8A3 Heavy Assault Machine Gun.
"Is... isn't that a GINN, professor?" Natarle was stunned to see a ZAFT-made GINN in AFN California soil.
"It is." Ralph replied and nodded. "But that particular GINN doesn't belong to ZAFT or any of its terrestrial allies, Lieutenant Badgiruel."
The white and light gray GINN continued to approach the Silver Strand Training Complex until it stopped near the trio.
"Who is he?" Murrue murmured when she watched the GINN kneel down before the cockpit hatch opened up to reveal a man in an OMNI-made white and light gray pilot suit and helmet.
The helmeted man descended down by making a simple jump and landing on his feet safely, which gave Murrue and Natarle the conclusion that the man was of Coordinator origin. While a Natural could do that, the risk of getting injured or having a broken leg is high.
Near outskirts of makeshift Desert Dawn base, somewhere in Libya, North African Union
Commander Andrew Waltfeld of the ZAFT terrestrial forces stationed in the North African Union stood from a ZAFT Command Vehicle jeep, observing the battle between NAU and ZAFT forces against Desert Dawn guerrillas. The brown-haired man observed the battle from a pair of military binoculars.
"Looks like we're too late. I don't see this legged ship anywhere." Andrew mused when he watched a BuCUE take down a Desert Dawn missile truck by kicking it out of its way.
"Do you think they already went off, Commander?" Andrew's XO, Martin DaCosta, inquired on whether the Albion had gotten away from their grasp.
"They most likely did." Andrew replied to Martin. "And it's already dark, which means that they'll be able to get away from us, all the way to the Suez Canal."
"It seems that they're pretty smart not to go to the Atlantic Ocean or they'll be bogged down by Gibraltar-based forces."
Both men felt some breeze in the desert, but it was a good thing that both of them wore trenchcoats over their ZAFT uniforms to avoid feeling cold.
Martin reached for the jeep's radio microphone when he heard a transmission being called out for Andrew's jeep.
"See if you can answer that, DaCosta." Andrew told his XO as he continued to scope the battle with his binoculars. "There's something I need to look at first."
"Yes, sir." Martin replied before he pressed the side button of the radio microphone.
Looks like the BuCUEs are doing well in the raid aside from kicking the Desert Dawn missile trucks, they should be able to take down their caches too.
"Excuse me, Commander Waltfeld! I have some urgent news!" Martin shouted to get Andrew's immediate attention.
Andrew turned to face his XO and lowered his binoculars. "What is it, DaCosta? Something urgent?"
"Yes, sir. I got a message from the Lesseps courtesy of the Gibraltar base." Martin replied to his superior.
The ZAFT veteran was interested and curious to hear what Martin had to tell him at once. "Go on."
"The Le Creuset team's being deployed in North Africa. They're going to be here to help ascertain whether it's the legged ship Orb made from Heliopolis or not. They should be landing in Libyan soil in a few hours."
"Hmmm..." Andrew mused when he heard the news from Martin. "While that's very generous of Commander Le Creuset, I don't think they'll be able to catch up with them."
Martin asked his commanding officer, unsure of what to say next. "Ummm... what should we do with them? Like you said, it's not possible for them to be deployed and pursue the ship since we got report from NAU and ZAFT forces chasing the ship that it has a very different and unique propulsion system that allowed them to gain an advantage over them."
"Go get a plane ready for the Le Creuset team at once. If we're lucky, we could deploy them somewhere around the Suez Canal."
Bridge, Hiryu Kai, somewhere near Tehran, Azadistan, Middle Eastern Union
Lefina, Sean and Kai noted that Mark's Shalldoll Custom was disabled, looking at the tactical map table with his location near the solar array station. The map table also indicated his mobile suit was permanently taken down with the word DOWN over a red X mark.
"Óglach 6 is down! I repeat, Óglach 6 is down!" Katina frantically shouted with the sounds of beam weapons being fired in the background.
"Anything regarding the cluster bombs?!" Lefina made contact with the SRT operator after she heard the news.
"That's a negative, Intleacht 1! Some of the cluster bombs made some damage to the solar panels, so we weren't able to stop it. Otherwise, the offending mobile weapon already made its retreat."
"This is Teagasc 1 to all units!" Kai spoke up next on his headset. "Is there any word if Óglach 6 is still alive?"
Everyone in the bridge crew became very anxious if Mark was still alive or not, not knowing that his Shalldoll Custom was heavily incapacitated.
"This is Óglach 6 to Soitheach 1." The bridge was relieved to hear the SRT operator's voice, especially that he was still alive. "I-I'm still alive, but my mobile suit's heavily incapacitated."
"Roger that, Óglach 6." Lefina responded to Mark's hails when she adjusted the microphone on her headset so that she can speak better. "What's your current status?"
"I'm okay so far, Intleacht 1. My mobile suit's been taken out by an Enact."
"An Enact?!"
Lefina, Sean and Kai were shocked to hear that a heavily customized mobile suit was take out by a EF-made Enact.
"Yes, ma'am. An Enact. But I think it appears to be customized. I don't know who did it, but the tune-ups appears to have made the Enact quite fast and stronger than the Enacts that are currently being produced in the European Federation."
"This is Intleacht 2 to Óglach 6." It was now Sean's turn to address the downed SRT operator. "Can you evacuate from your downed mobile suit?"
Silence was in the encrypted transmission before a reply to the Mithril officer came through. "I think so, sir. I'll need to take the important stuff with me. I'll also get any data that can show where the customized Enact went off to as well."
"Understood."
"One more thing, Intleacht 2. Requesting permission for destruction of downed mobile suit."
Sean looked at Lefina for approval regarding Mark's request to have his downed Shalldoll Custom destroyed, which is Mithril policy in case it can't be recovered during an operation.
"This is Intleacht 1." Lefina responded to Mark's request. "I will grant your request to have your downed mobile suit destroyed."
Mark sighed, knowing that his request was officially granted. "Thank you very much, captain."
"Take whatever you can salvage from your mobile suit and get out of there. After an hour, I'll have the location painted for a missile strike."
"Understood Intleacht 1. Óglach 6 out."
Kai sighed hard after the transmission was finished. "Let's just hope the boy can get out of there."
"Lieutenant Takizawa." Lefina called for the attention of the ex-REA soldier.
"Yes, captain?" Miyu faced Lefina when her name was called out.
"Contact the PRT team near the solar array station and have them use the laser designator to paint the last location of Óglach 6's mobile suit for a missile strike."
"Understood, captain."
"Also, get in contact with Óglach 1 and tell her to get everyone to withdraw back once the Azadistani Army's able to get control of the solar array station."
"Understood, captain."
Office, JNN Building, Shinjuku, Tokyo, Japan, Republic of East Asia
Kinue was having a lot of work for a few hours, especially if there were non-stop. A while ago, her superiors had instructed one of their JNN reporters in Tehran to cover the Azadistan crisis while telling him to stay alive.
"Ms. Kinue, this is all I got so far regarding Aeolia Schenberg's descendants." A male JNN analyst showed Kinue pictures of various persons, men and women, who had graduated from various universities with doctorate degrees related to fields such as engineering. They don't have different features aside from the fact that they are of Caucasian background.
They don't have the same surname for instance. But these people have studied in various fields of science like engineering and chemistry.
"I see. Thank you." The brown-haired woman thanked the analyst. She then asked the brown-haired employee. "Was there anything else you were able to find?"
"Nothing much." The analyst shook his head. "But I got some rumors on various forum boards that some of them could have been recruited to work with this Mithril group a few years before the OYBW started."
Kinue nodded after she heard the analyst out. "All right. If there's nothing else that you can dig up, then I want a copy of the files for reference."
"Of course, Ms. Kinue. I'll get right on it."
Kinue sighed when she got an SMS message from Saji, informing her that he'll be a bit late from class. She got out her mobile phone out when it vibrated due to a received SMS and replied to it with a message of her own, telling him that she'll see him later.
I hope Saji's all right later.
A few minutes, a fellow JNN reporter shouted inside the office that they got information that the Titans and OZ forces are crushing rogue mobile suits forces in Tehran and that the solar array station was attacked by cluster bombs.
"What?" The analyst was stunned to hear the news. "So soon already?"
"I wonder what Mithril is going to do with this new situation?" Kinue murmured to herself.
Outside Swissôtel Tehran, Azadistan, Middle Eastern Union
"Colonel Mannequin!" An armed EF soldier shouted to Kati when he lobbed a frag grenade at armed rogue Azadistani soldiers. "We're getting a transmission that Colonel Zechs is going to corner the rogue Linear Launcher-armed Hellion Mediums from the back!"
"But how is he going to do it?!" Kati shouted back, shouldering her FN F2040 after it was reloaded with a new magazine. And we're hopelessly getting cornered here!"
"ALLAHU AKBAR!" A rogue Azadistani soldier fired an RPG-7 towards the EF-manned checkpoint. The EF soldiers were lucky as it destroyed a parked taxi in front of the said checkpoint.
"Dammit!" Kati gritted her teeth as she returned fire. "This is not my day!"
From overhead, the joint Flag/Enact team arrived in time to fire their machine guns at armed radicals on the streets.
"Look! We're saved!" An EF soldier armed with the Heckler & Koch121A4 light machine gun pointed to the Flags and Enacts overhead. He then shouldered the LMG and resumed firing the the weapon via 4x scope to conduct suppressive fire. The HK121A4 is different from the first HK121 with a much more compact build with better material used to construct it so that it can be easily carried with a 4x scope attached to it via picatinny railing.
Zech's Tallgeese showed up at the rear of the Hellion Mediums, taking them by surprise when he used the mobile suit's beam saber to slice them in half.
"Why you I oughta...!" A Hellion Medium tried to aim its Linear Launcher at an extremely close range at the Tallgeese.
"Like that'll work on me." Zechs mocked the Hellion Medium pilot before he used the Tallgeese's shield to clobber the said mobile suit. This gave the masked OZ officer the opportunity to make an attack by stabbing the EF-made mobile suit at the cockpit. "You think you can mess around with OZ?!"
The OZ Leos that accompanied Zechs made short work of the other Hellion Mediums by ambushing them from the side with their assault rifles. They were fortunate that they were not in flight mode.
"Colonel Mannequin!" Zechs proceeded to make contact with Kati after all the Hellion Mediums and the armed radicals on the ground were taken care of. "We've taken control of this area!"
The EF soldiers cheered after they heard the news from various EF Army transmissions that most of the capital has been secured, now with the Titans already in the country to back them up.
"Next time..." Kati mused before she flipped up her headset's microphone. "I'll go and really request for a position on a ship instead of being on the ground."
Bridge, TS Nicosia, outskirts of Azadistan Army Zayer Base, Tehran, Azadistan, Middle Eastern Union
Gisele took a good look at the outskirts of the Azadistan Army's Zayer Base.
Or rather, what remained of it after radicals took control of the base and slaughtered all regular EF and OZ Army personnel without any second thought.
"I don't think there's nothing left of Zayer Base, ma'am." Gisele's XO told her of her opinion after Titans Hizack mobile suits were dispatched to check the base to see that no rogue mobile suit was going to ambush them from the ruins.
"I'm afraid you're right." Gisele shared the opinions of her XO. "Nevertheless, we were able to secure Zayer Base since it served as a launching pad for rogue Azadistani Army forces against Tehran."
"What do we do now?"
"As soon as our mobile suit forces can confirm that the base is cleared, inform our Middle Eastern base that they can send in relief forces to secure this spot."
"Understood, Lieutenant Commander."
Princess Marina Ismail's Office, Azadistan Royal Palace, Tehran, Azadistan, Middle Eastern Union
Marina and Shirin had just returned the former's office in the royal palace after Royal Guard soldiers informed the two of them that they can leave the underground bunker. The Royal Guard's intelligence unit received word from OZ forces that the Titans are already slowly entering the country to help loyalist Azadistani forces secure the capital alongside AF and EF military forces.
"Thank Allah that we're still alive." Marina said to Shirin, feeling a bit shaken that the solar array station was attacked and rogue army forces in the capital nearly destroyed the palace if not for the quick response of Titans and OZ forces.
"Indeed. Let's just hope the two parties can still sit down and talk about this issue." Shirin grabbed the remote control from the top of the coffee table and turned on the HD television, putting in into the regular news channels.
The two women saw that from the TV set, armed OZ and Titans soldiers were detaining rogue Azadistani soldiers after they were disarmed at gunpoint. The news channel showed AF and EF mobile suits securing government buildings with Leos and Hizacks engaging in small skirmishes with Anfs in other parts of Tehran.
"Have they found anything with Rasa yet, Shirin?" Marina asked Shirin, a bit anxious that some fighting is still going on in the capital.
"I'm afraid there is nothing yet, Princess Marina." Shirin replied frankly. "If the Titans and OZ can't find them, then it's either up to Mithril or fighting will resume once again in the capital."
The female prime minister looked at Marina, a serious expression on her face.
"And this time, they may not stop it at all."
Silver Strand Training Complex, Atlantic Federation Navy California Base, United States of America, Atlantic Federation
The helmeted pilot approached Murrue and Natarle before he stopped, enough to be at arm's length with the two officers.
"Okay..." Natarle was wondering what was going to happen next when the pilot slowly took off his helmet.
Wow... For once, Murrue can't believe that she was looking at a blond man with glasses. She almost thought that... he was very handsome for a Coordinator.
"May I introduce you Commander Jean Carry." Ralph introduced the two female officers to Jean. "He's the next pilot assigned to be with the Archangel."
"I'm very pleased to meet you two." Jean nodded to Murrue and Natarle after Ralph told them of his name.
"Likewise, Commander Carry." Murrue replied before she and Natarle rendered him a salute since Jean was a commander. Murrue and Natarle, on the other hand, were Lieutenant Commander and Lieutenant Junior Grade.
"I take it that all of the surviving Archangel personnel were also promoted, Lieutenant Commander Ramius?" Jean asked the woman after he finished saluting her and Natarle.
"That's right, Commander." Natarle replied to Jean.
"Jean here is one of the few Coordinators who are indoctrinated into the ranks of OMNI." Ralph gave a brief explanation to Murrue and Natarle. "Which is interesting considering that some of the hardline OMNI officers do support anti-Coordinator and anti-Newtype ideologies."
"Regardless if you're a Natural, Coordinator or a Newtype," Murrue spoke to Jean. "I'm pleased that you're going to be assigned with the Archangel."
"Thank you, Lieutenant Ramius." Jean smiled and shook hands with Murrue. "I look forward to working with you in the field alongside Lieutenant Badgiruel."
Somewhere in the desert near Tehran, Azadistan, Middle Eastern Union
Mark went to work in the cockpit of his downed Shalldoll Custom by removing the seat belt restraints, feeling lucky that the mobile suit didn't short out and explode.
"Okay, time to take this out." The SRT operator worked on taking out the hard disk drive because of the important information he can show to his superiors regarding the attack. "Alright. Better move out before the whole thing can explode."
After getting the HDD, Mark secured his personal Seburo C-26A assault rifle from the back of his seat. He then opened up the cockpit hatch and immediately ran far away from the downed Shalldoll Custom as far as he can.
"Is that..."
A few minutes later, Mark swore that he heard the sound of a plane coming towards his position.
"Holy crap! It's the tiltrotor!"
The SRT veteran made a run towards a Mithril G2E9 Tiltrotor, which was already landing a few kilometers near him. He knew that the VTOL plane was from the Hiryu Kai's support squadrons, particularly from the 10th Support Squadron.
"GET INSIDE!" The G2E9's loadmaster shouted, who was standing from the rear section of the plane after the rear loading ramp was open.
"THANKS!" Mark rushed inside the G2E9 while he slinged the C-26A on his neck.
"OKAY! HE'S IN!" The loadmaster shouted to the VTOL plane's pilot and co-pilot after Mark got inside. The rear loading ramp began to close the rear section of the plane as it took off.
"Thanks a lot." Mark shook hands with the loadmaster.
"It's not a big deal." The loadmaster chuckled. "After we got your location, we were ordered to mobilize and extract you."
"What about the others?"
"They're already heading back. Now we need to stay clear of the missile strike."
"Right you are."
After the G2E9 took off from the area, it began to move back to the Hiryu Kai with its optical camouflage activated. They were already halfway back to the ship when the missiles were launched to obliterate the downed mobile suit, including its arms and legs to ensure no traces of Mithril mobile suits were present.
Briefing Room, Hiryu Kai, somewhere near Tehran, Azadistan, Middle Eastern Union
Lefina was already in the briefing room when Sean came inside, telling his superior that the G2E9 was already in the Hiryu Kai's hangar.
"Alright, let's start with this debriefing." Lefina said to all the SRT and PRT operatives who were present in the room. "I'm sure all of you are aware that the solar array station is damaged with most of the capital being secured."
Murmurs from the ranks of the SRT and PRT began to erupt for a bit.
"Quiet down, folks." Sean told the assembled personnel. "We're not totally out of the woods yet."
Lefina nodded, agreeing with Sean's comments. "That's right. The only thing we need to do is to find out where the customized Enact went off after Óglach 6's mobile suit was taken down by surprise."
"You serious?"
"Can't believe that actually happened."
"The guy who took him down must be a hardcore mobile suit pilot."
"Any minute now..." Sean told everyone inside. "We should be getting the location of where the Enact went off too."
The projector was turned on, showing the map of the solar array station with the location of Mark's downed Shalldoll Custom before it was wiped out in the missile strike. An arrow was then shown, pointing out the approximate direction of where the custom Enact fled was last seen.
"And there it is." Sean pointed to the arrow on the map. "It seems that the Enact fled towards former Krugis territory."
"I have a question." Kira voiced out before Lefina and Sean.
"Go ahead, Sergeant Hibiki." Lefina addressed Kira.
"I remember one of the SRT operators from the Ptolemaios is from the area before Azadistan annexed it in a civil war." Kira raised a point he thought of after he saw the map.
Lefina nodded. "Yes, you're correct there. We're going to make contact with one of the observers in the desert since the two Ptolemaios-based SRT operatives are with them."
Sean followed up Lefina's reply. "And since the SRT operative you mentioned is from the area, Sergeant Hibiki, it should be easy for him to let us know where the custom Enact is hiding in. It should be done in a few minutes with the help of his local knowledge of the area."
"So what do we do for the meantime, sir?" Rachel raised another question to Sean.
"For now, Corporal Ransom, the SRT and PRT will be on 24/7 standby until the location can be confirmed."
Command Center, Mithril Freiceadan Base, Lagrange 4, Space
"Sir!"
Kowen turned around and saw that an armed PRT operator came inside the command center to see him.
"What is it?" The African-American was monitoring the progress of the Hiryu Kai in Azadistan. He looked clearly a bit irritated.
"The prisoner demands to know if his offer's going to be accepted or not."
"Tell the prisoner that I can't see him because of the current crisis in Azadistan. Also tell him that any more of this ruckus and I'll put him in weekly solitary confinement."
"Yes, sir." The PRT operator saluted Kowen before he left the command center.
"Something with Mr. Mackenzie, General?" Berserk asked his superior after the PRT operator left.
Kowen sighed. "It seems that the prisoner is asking for an update on whether his request to join Mithril is accepted."
"And?"
"I'll just deal with it later. Right now, we got bigger things to worry about."
Cockpit, GN-001 Gundam Exia
Setsuna moved in with the Gundam Exia towards the location where Ali's Enact was last seen. He was informed by Wang and Hong about this development with intelligence provided by the Hiryu Kai.
"It should be around here somewhere." Setsuna murmured while he surveyed the area ahead of him. "If intel from the Hiryu Kai is correct, that Enact fled towards..."
The Krugis SRT operator had the Exia towards what appeared to be the ruins of an abandoned rural village.
It appeared to be very familiar to Setsuna. Traumatic memories of his past. Fighting in the area as a child soldier of the KPSA began to flash before his eyes.
"Setsuna! Hey Setsuna, you alright?!" Setsuna had appeared to be a bit distraught that he failed to note the transmissions coming from Lockon. He began to inhale and exhale heavily, remembering the days when Ali told him and the other young children that they needed to fight to protect Krugis independence under the banner of jihad.
No! It's like back in the day when I thought that I'd be fighting in the name of jihad. I was... I was wrong.
"Huh... Oh, it's Lockon." The Krugis teenager sighed and responded to Lockon after he heard the Irish SRT operator calling for him. "Yes, Lockon?"
"Anything ahead of you?"
"I'm pretty sure that it's the area where the customized Enact fled off to. We need to inform the Hiryu Kai about this."
"Got it. And by the way, Hong Long's with me in case we need to do a raid."
Bridge, Hiryu Kai, somewhere near Tehran, Azadistan, Middle Eastern Union
"Major Kai!" Sarah called for the officer's attention from her station.
"What is it, Lieutenant Hollins?" Kai moved in towards Sarah's station on the bridge.
"I'm getting an encrypted transmission from Óglach 2-1 and Óglach 2-2!" Sarah replied, studying whatever she was hearing on her headset. "They said they got a credible lead on the custom Enact that attacked the solar array station."
"Anything else from our observers?"
"Ms. Wang says that she's going to support the attack, but she didn't say how."
Kai thought about what Sarah had said to heart before he told her. "Alright. Be sure to alert Major Webley and the captain about this latest development."
Sarah nodded in reply, "Yes, Major Kitamura."
"Contact her at once after the major and the captain know about this. We need to send her a reply."
"Already on it, major."
Briefing Room, Hiryu Kai, somewhere near Tehran, Azadistan, Middle Eastern Union
"This is the briefing room."
Sean answered the intercom inside the briefing room after Sarah called for him.
"Major Webley, we have some new development regarding the custom Enact that attacked the solar array station hours ago." Sarah replied via intercom. "Intel on the location should be available very soon."
"Understood, Lieutenant Hollins." Sean said before he added, "Have the information provided as soon as possible."
"Yes, sir."
Sean began to address the SRT and PRT personnel in the briefing room after he ended his conversation with Sarah on the briefing room intercom.
"Good news, ladies and gentlemen." The white-haired officer looked at everyone with a grin. "It seems that we've got a bite."
"Everyone!" Lefina shouted to get their attention. "Prepare to move out!"
"YES, CAPTAIN!"
The SRT and PRT personnel moved out of the briefing room, intending to wait for their next deployment assignment.
Cabin, VTOL Plane, somewhere in the desert near Tehran, Azadistan, Middle Eastern Union
"My mistress." Hong spoke up to Wang while he was typing on his laptop. "I was contacted a while ago by the Hiryu Kai. The data Setsuna and Lockon had sent to the ship went through successfully. They should be able to pick up the rest from there."
"Excellent work, Hong Long." Wang was pleased that things were going well.
"Should I be going along with the deployed SRT and PRT operatives as well, mistress?" Hong asked whether he was needed to be in the field for a potential rescue mission to save the captured Imam.
"Hmmm..." The socialite mused on Hong's question for a short while.
Suddenly, Wang's Mithril-issued communication device beeped thrice to indicate that someone was going to speak to her.
"On second thought..." The black-haired Chinese woman grinned at her personal assistant. "I think something might be arranged with the Hiryu Kai's captain."
"I understand, my mistress." The Chinese man nodded in reply after he stopped his work on his laptop.
"Good. This is what we'll do, Hong Long."
Wang began to speak to her assistant on what he would do once word from the Hiryu Kai is that a rescue operation is going to be mounted to save Rasa before it's too late.
Silver Strand Training Complex, Atlantic Federation Navy California Base, United States of America, Atlantic Federation
"There's one more thing that I forgot to mention." Ralph snapped his right index and middle fingers and showed the officers his electronic tablet. "Apparently, I was told that this man is to be another candidate for being a pilot with the Archangel."
Murrue and Natarle's eyes became wide open when they read the name on Ralph's electronic tablet.
"No, no and no." Natarle was very opposed to the name that she saw. "Please tell me that you're joking, Professor Eifman."
"For once, I'll have to agree with Lieutenant Badgiruel here, professor." Murrue was very nervous after she saw the name, rubbing her left arm.
"Is there something wrong?" Jean raised an eyebrow when he saw the female officers looked very apprehensive. He then later realized the name on the electronic tablet was the "one" that bothered the ladies.
Amy Zimbalist
"Amy Zimbalist?" Jean read the name on the professor's electronic tablet.
"You know the man, Commander Carry?" Ralph asked the Coordinator.
The blond man shrugged his shoulders. "Somewhat, but not personally. I heard that he's got a bad reputation when he first started to pilot the Union Flag Ground Package Shell Type back in the day when he was in the Atlantic Federation Army."
Jean spoke about the SVMS-01SG Union Flag Ground Package Shell Type, a variant of the original Flag used for ground battles. Not much of these particular mobile suits were being made in mass numbers, except for elite AF military pilots and officers commanding various units. These Flags don't have the ability to fly, but they can hover above the ground for several seconds. In addition, these Flags are equipped with a full armor system known as the "Ground Package Type 1". It absorbs and evaporates heat to the armor, reducing damage to the mobile suit.
"And has he gotten better?" Ralph asked Jean regarding Amy's current status in the military.
Jean thought about what to say to the Atlantic Federation military scientist. He then replied, "Last I heard from sources in the AF military, he did before he was able to sign up with the OMNI military. Though I don't know if he's piloting a mobile suit right now."
"I don't want to see that man on the ship, that's for sure." Natarle was dead set against having Amy on the Archangel when it gets the chance to get deployed from Alaska.
"I'll speak for Lieutenant Badgiruel when I say the reason he gets a bad reputation in both the Atlantic Federation and OMNI armies is because of his attempts to hit on females." Murrue explained the reason why she and Natarle are hesitant to accept Amy into the Archangel as an active mobile suit pilot. "Both enlisted and officers alike."
"I see." Jean nodded, understanding why the female officers are objecting to Amy's position in the Archangel. "Still... If you ladies think that there's a good reason why you need to not put him in the roster, I suggest filing a complaint right away before its too late."
Mobile Weapons Hangar, Hiryu Kai, somewhere near Tehran, Azadistan, Middle Eastern Union
An assembly of SRT operatives donned in their Mithril-issued SRT desert digital BDUs and combat boots were standing in front of an unmanned G2E9 Tiltrotor, all of them armed with Seburo C-30 assault rifles with underbarrel grenade launchers, extended barrels and brass catchers to ensure their presence in Azadistan is not overtly revealed. They also had their sidearms holstered in drop leg holsters on either their left or right leg, depending on their operational preference.
If anyone had a good eye on who's who in the SRT team, it was everyone from Alpha Team. The team also including Katina and Russel.
"Alright people, listen up!" Katina shouted to get the assembled SRT team to shut their mouths and listen to her. Russel, as always, was seen next to her. "We've got reliable intel that the trail of the custom Enact that Óglach 6 faced against ends in one of the abandoned villages that used to be part of the Krugis Republic. So because of this, we're going in to secure Rasa Massoud Rachmadi from his captors on orders from the captain. This action's being backed by General Kowen. As always, Veda believes that the captors will flee with the prisoner if things don't go so well in their favor since the reports stated that the his kidnappers only packed in small arms and not mobile suits aside from the custom Enact."
"Captain Tarask!"
Katina watched the main entrance to the hangar and saw that Mark was running towards them in his Ninja Suit with his slinged C30 and a drop leg holster on his right leg. He saluted her as soon as he made eye contact with her.
"Are you checked out by the doctor, Sergeant Liu?" The SRT officer saluted while she asked Mark if he had been cleared by the ship's medical doctor after he was rescued.
"Yes, ma'am! The doctor says that I didn't suffer any injuries or any complications when my mobile suit was taken down."
"Good. Have you been brought up to speed on what's happening right now?"
"Yes I have."
"All right. Then I don't need to explain to you why you're here in the hangar with fellow SRT aside from the fact that we need to rescue the hostage before he's relocated to another place."
Russel spoke to one of the pilots of the tiltrotor before he momentarily called for Katina in order to speak to her.
After the two officers spoke for a few minutes, Katina told the team. "Okay! Check your weapons and make sure they're loaded!"
"Yes, ma'am!" The team said in unison before they did brass checks on their C30s to see if the chambers were fully loaded.
"Let's go! Let's go!" Russel shouted as he was the first to run towards the G2E9 alongside Katina. Moments later, the other members of the SRT Alpha Team ran towards the tiltrotor's rear loading ramp, getting inside the plane's cargo bay to get to their seats.
Once the team was inside and the loading ramp was closed, the G2E9's pilot and co-pilot maneuvered the plane towards the port catapult of the Hiryu Kai for deployment. The tiltrotor was being guided by ground crew members with signaling sticks to help the pilots visually see them and the gestures they were going to do, especially if they can take off from the Hiryu Kai or not.
Port Catapult, Hiryu Kai, somewhere near Tehran, Azadistan, Middle Eastern Union
When the G2E9 tiltrotor got to the port catapult, the ground crewman signaled to the pilots of the tiltrotor by having his left arm to the side with his right arm in a reverse L form, which meant that the area was clear of all obstructions.
"All clear! We can take off at once!" The loadmaster shouted to Katina, who was busy checking her C30 to make sure the underbarrel grenade launcher was functioning, when the plane began to make preparations to take off in helicopter mode. "Don't forget to buckle your seat belts!"
Katina smirked and gave the loadmaster the thumbs up.
The pilot and co-pilot received word from the loadmaster that things are cleared up with the passengers.
"You heard the loadmaster! Buckle up!" Katina shouted to her SRT subordinates as she fastened the seat belt around her waist. Russel and the others followed suit and fastened the seat belt around their waists as well.
The tiltrotor began to take off from the port catapult of the Hiryu Kai. After it reached an altitude of 10,000 feet from the ground, the tiltrotor began to switch from helicopter to airplane mode before it traveled to the abandoned village Setsuna had found.
Chapter 17 END
PS - Chapter 17 is now uploaded for your reading pleasures. With this chapter going to be out of the way very soon, I'll be moving settings from Earth to the Moon. Which is probably in the next chapter. I did say that I want to put the next setting to Von Braun or another lunar city, so there. I remember in a previous review that someone suggested that I can use the 2nd Generation characters from Gundam AGE. Thing is I need to figure out how I can introduce them to the story. Just to be sure, though, I probably will get some of them, including 1st-2nd Gen. mobile suits/ships in as well. So stay tuned for that part folks. You'll also GITS: SAC references here, so enjoy finding them.
A fanfic author named Resurrection of Kouryuo Sabre has passed away back in 2012. I just recently learned about it recently and as such, I give my condolences to his immediate family and loved ones. As such, I want to dedicate "Peacekeepers" to his memory. Hopefully the stories he passed onto other fanfic authors can be done eventually. My prayers are with him.
In the meantime, I noticed a while ago that I can't find "Gundam SEED: The Shattered Soldiers" since the story itself is deleted from the Fanfiction website. It's a very good Gundam SEED story that I'd recommend. Last I remember, Blood of the Holy Dragon was suppose to be the new author of the story. If anyone can find it still floating around the interweb somewhere, let me know.
You'll notice that some of the mobile suits from the SRW series are used by other characters. I will tell you (probably again) that I don't plan to put in a lot of SRW characters, so there. Also, I'm trying to make Doc Darm hot blooded because Norio Wakamoto is his current seiyu.
Also apologies that I wasn't able to publish this early since I flew out from America to the Philippines and with the planned radiotherapy treatment, future chapters will come late for this, Hostage Rescue and The Stories. In other words, don't expect them to be on the Fanfiction site a bit earlier than usual.
In the music department, I got a lot of tracks that I think are useful in this chapter. For the battle scenes, I used from Marvel Vs. Capcom 2, specifically from the Second Abyss Stage 'cause it rocks. For the extraction of Mark from his downed mobile suit, I used See-Saw's "Anna ni Issho Datta no ni" from the first Gundam SEED OST. With scenes in AFN California, Yoko Kanno's "We're the Great" from the first GITS SAC OST is used since I like the music and it makes sense, especially with the interactions with Murrue, Natarle, Ralph and Jean.
For now, enjoy this and let me know how it went when you read and review the chapter. Please let me know if it's cool or not and ways if I can improve it, especially if I made any mistakes that need to be looked at. Oh well, feel free to let me know how the chapter is. Thanks! Keep up the favs! So far, it's 11 favs and 7 alerts.