It was the last operation before the so-called real deal would start whenever and wherever it would take place. All things considered, it was a total success, Tolle thought to himself as he floated out of Buster. Hopefully, the cooks would toss together some pasta or fried rice for dinner because he was famished. After the mandatory one or two hours of debriefing, Tolle could even eat those cardboards they called pizza too. Probably.
The mission was supposed to proceed similarly to earlier missions. That had to change when their approach was detected by a ZAFT Laurasia-class carrier which was stationed around the outpost they were supposed to attack. Because of that, he, along with the rest of his Saber flight, had to fight and defeat the GINNs at the outpost and Laurasia-class launched in response. It was the first time he was involved in direct engagement, unlike Sai, who had fought the ZAFT mobile suits in three previous operations, and Kira, who already defeated millions of them.
Tolle had fought against two GINNs that were coordinating to attack Buster. One of them would fire its machine gun at him, and when he turned to engage it, the other would shoot to draw his attention. While he knew the shots were ineffective against Phase Shift armor Buster had, it still scared him to be subjected to hails of bullets. The bullets weren't totally harmless too, as he could see Buster's energy reserve gradually depleting as it received more and more hits.
In desperation, Tolle did something that he had fantasized about when he was small. Buster drew the gun launcher in its right hand and the beam rifle in its left hand. Realizing what Buster was going to do, the GINNs intensified their attacks, firing at it non-stop. It was a tactical and futile mistake on their part since they didn't factor in Buster's armor. Tolle took his time to aim and fire. The shots each hit the chest of the first GINN and the torso of the second one, destroying them at the same time.
Despite the situation, he must have looked badass doing it.
"Yoo hoo! Great shot, hero," someone said.
Tolle turned toward the woman who said that and said, "Thanks,".
"If you want, we'll send you the recording, Monarch," a man said.
"From the black box too,"
"From now on, you're 'Akimbo dodo'!" someone else said.
"That's 'Master Blaster' to you," Tolle immediately responded, recognizing the speaker as the joker who gave Sai his call sign.
"Eh, Monarch's good," came the tepid response.
Tolle let out a breath of relief. Having his callsign become something worse was something to be prevented at all costs.
Apart from the lone attempt to put him down, the crew was positive about his exploits. Maybe he was doing fine, and he was feeling good about it. He had to get in line, but maybe 'Master Blaster' Tolle Koenig would become the Atlantic Federation, no, the Eurasian Confederation's ace. Maybe he could get Flay or Kira to add some subroutine to automate Buster crossing its arms so that the right hand would fire at the left target and vice versa. Later on, more subroutines can be added, just like the ones they did to the college's mechanical. A sophisticated combination of gymnastics movements and automatic aiming would make for a spectacular display that would scare off some enemies, even though it may not be as practical as it should be.
It needed a cool name, something like 'Buster Rifle'. Better yet, he could combine his mobile suit's name and Mir's call sign to form 'Buster Wolf'. Even though he was sure the enemies wouldn't be able to hear him because of different communication systems being used by OMNI and ZAFT, he could ask ZAFT pilots he was fighting, 'Are you okay with this Buster Wolf?'. No, it had to be shorter. Something like, 'Are you okay? Buster Wolf!'.
That sounded like a plan.
"YOU FUCKING IDIOT!" A foot push on his ass interrupted Tolle's daydreaming and pushed him forward toward the floor. It was a good thing that the distance was big enough that he halted himself in time. Tolle turned toward the perpetrator.
Kojiro was floating near Buster, an annoyed look on his face. "Think about how expensive the main camera is before you go on a goddamned hero spree!" the main said. The man then launched into a tirade, but Tolle was too far away to make out what was being said. Meanwhile, the rest of the crew, who were about to approach Tolle to congratulate him, drifted away, except Kira.
"Looks like Kojiro is going into his patented 30 minutes speech about how money doesn't grow on a tree," Kira said when he got close enough.
"Did I do something wrong?"
Kira looked at Buster. "He said some bullets hit the armor on the head."
Tolle followed the direction where his friend was looking and understanding dawned on him. The armor was protecting the main sensor camera, which meant that there was a possibility that Buster's main camera was damaged as well. Tolle didn't recall any damage on critical modules, so he was supposed to be in the clear. "Why is he so salty about that?"
"Well, he said it is the most expensive thing on Buster," Kira said.
"He really values the equipment, isn't he?"
"Yes, but Kojiro also said that the pilot's not part of the equation is because he couldn't put a number on the pilot's life. It's too valuable, he said," Kira looked at his watch. "Come on, we're going to be late to the debrief,"
"How about him?" Tolle said while thumbing at Kojiro. As an Air Boss in charge of all operations, Kojiro was supposed to attend the session as well. Instead, the man was floating in the hangar, berating everyone.
"Once he started about the eventual rise of machines, it would take at least 20 minutes to finish. Plus, Assaisin… Sai is on the way to debrief, and I don't want to keep Flay and Feather Lite waiting," Kira said. He hesitated before saying, "Marchem That will be there as usual,"
Tolle looked at the passionate looking Kojiro talking incorrigibly and then shifted his attention toward the exit. "Point made. Lead the way, Coffee Pod,"
"Your wish is my command,"
"I would like to dine on the finest fish and chips, laced with the silky tartar sauce,"
"Sorry, heard that the kitchen has prepared meatloaf and baked beans in tomato sauce for dinner. And purin,"
At least it wasn't pizza, and they're going to serve Japanese caramel custard pudding for dessert. Something to look forward to.
From the observation deck, Kira watched in amazement at the numbers of ships assembled for what was to be a major offensive he himself would take part in. There were Agamemnon-class, Nelson-class and Drake-class ships, accompanied by corresponding mobile armors. He still couldn't believe that he would be involved in a large-scale operation like the one which would take place soon.
How could he end up in such a position? He was fighting to protect friends, and by extension Archangel, but he was going to take part in an offensive operation, something so divorced from what he intended to do. To his consternation, all his friends seemed to have no problem being involved in the war, even though they were from a neutral country.
Tolle was very excited about piloting Buster, so he went about it with much gusto. His friend ended up practicing more often than Kira did. It wasn't Kira was a Coordinator, and thus needed less practice. Kira did the recommended time, after all. He didn't go above and beyond to do it because the concept of becoming a better killer to protect his loved ones was contradictory. Plus, in Kira's opinion, those so-called catch phrases Tolle threw around during practice sessions showed his friend viewed the war in an increasingly cavalier manner. It was only because of Mirriallia's influence his friend stayed more grounded.
Sai was more pragmatic in wanting to pilot Aegis. He revealed in a discussion he wanted to collect the piloting data for Aegis, and, if possible, Strike and Buster. To his surprise, Flay didn't object. When asked, she explained that the automated systems used in Buster and Aegis had been sold to the Alliance. If Sai wanted to negotiate for the data, she wouldn't interfere. Just as Kira thought she was being magnanimous, Flay added that it would be a delightful change for Orb to pay for something rather than steal them.
That left Kuzzey as the only odd one out. Did Kuzzey know what he was getting into or just caught in the flow? His friend said nothing about his circumstances, so Kira felt he shouldn't pry much further unless needed.
Kira felt a soft hand grasping his hand. He turned and saw the person who did it. "Flay?"
"They want us to be at the hangar in 30 minutes,"
"Us? Not just the proper soldiers?" he asked.
"Everyone, including the civilian contractors. I think a big shot is coming onboard,"
"Maybe your father?"
"Kira, even as a joke, that's terrible of you,"
Unfortunately, he wasn't joking. While the Archangel docked at the Copernicus port, Flay contacted her father at NAGI's Gqeberha Branch with him there as well. From the way the man was behaving, it wouldn't be unexpected if he took the nearest shuttle to space to meet his daughter. Flay wouldn't have any of that, putting her foot down and telling her father that he had to manage the company, which was at its crucial time.
Hopefully, Flay's father giving him a stink eye during the call was because of Kira being her boyfriend, not because he's a Coordinator.
After the call to her father ended, Flay made another call, this time to Kira's parents, surprising him. While he was anxious and reluctant to talk to his parents at first, they disappeared when he saw them on the screen. They asked him whether he was doing well, and he answered them happily before asking them the same. Kira and his family talked about various trivial matters for quite some time until the topic became serious. Swallowing his saliva, Kira told them he had joined the military. Instead of being repulsed, they only nodded in understanding before his father said that he respected Kira's decision and told him to always do the right thing.
Kira was so overwhelmed by his parents' trust in him he forgot to ask what had been haunting him; why did they make him a Coordinator? But reflecting on it back, he already knew the answer. All parents want the best for their children, even if the ways they go about achieving them were misguided.
Kira felt a hand gently grasping his. He had forgotten that Flay was nearby. She was standing behind him to the right and kept quiet throughout the conversation. Flay only came forward and took his hand when he and his parents talked about his enlistment. Kira turned toward her and smiled, belatedly realizing he was crying in relief.
Flay said nothing and instead nodded toward the screen, signaling for him to continue talking to his parents. He wiped away the tears from his eyes and introduced Flay as his friend to them. The big smile on his mother's face told him it did not convince her at all while his father seems reticent about it. Kira talked to his parents a bit before ending the call, with Flay requesting his parents to keep the call a secret.
Afterward, Kira found out the reason. Only Flay and he used the communication system, which was operating in real-time. According to her, at the onset of the war, NAGI was testing a constellation of micro satellites that would receive, amplify, and then relay the communication signals between Earth, the colonies and the moon, using lasers as the medium of communication.
The war negatively affected the constellation's development. Undeterred, her father simply threw more money and resources to solve the challenge. The design of the satellite was streamlined to make it less complex and cheaper. NAGI was deploying ten times the originally planned number; the number would allow for increased resilience and dissuade any attempt to disrupt the communication by destroying the satellites.
The call was a sign Flay was putting her trust in him. It was also a test for him, as he knew Morgenroete was experimenting with deploying fiber optic cable to achieve the same goal. While there was no way of hiding the satellites' deployment, Kira's relationship with Flay would allow him to steal a lot of technical information of value to the Orb conglomerate.
Turning his mind toward the present moment, Kira said, "I'm not joking,"
Flay gave a wan smile. "I know. That's why it's even worse,"
Kira pulled Flay into his arms and kissed her. Even though she didn't expect it, Flay accepted the kiss and put her arms behind his back. After they broke the kiss, she asked, "What's that all about?"
"I don't know," Kira admitted. "I just felt like it. You don't want to?"
The redhead shook her head before throwing herself at him for another kiss. They made out for a few more minutes until they were interrupted by the ship's public address system telling them to report to the hangar at once. Reluctantly, both hastily concluded their impromptu session and made their way to the hangar where everyone was already there.
Upon seeing them arriving together, Natarle crossed her arms and tilted her head upward while saying, "Another five minutes and I would have you doing the twenty sets of PTs," referring to the physical training all military personnel have to do in order to keep fit.
There were some murmurs and Natarle twisted her head in the general direction of speakers. "Alright, anyone would like to call me by that name in front of my face? Don't be shy," she said as she dared them.
Mu shrugged. "Get in line, Kira," he said while gesturing at an empty spot next to him.
Kira looked at Flay and nodded before he made his way.
"And Dolfin over there," Mu said as he flicked his fingers in a shooing manner toward an empty spot next to everyone. "Because you're a private contractor," he said, explaining the rationale. "They're specifically asking for you, so we want to make it easier to see you,"
"Good thing I didn't wear that ghillie suit I have lying around. Maybe if you give me a minute, I'll wear that orange safety jacket and pants over there instead."
"Easy. We don't want Coffee Pod getting more excited than he currently is," Just then, an announcement was made about a shuttle landing on the ship.
Natarle stopped what she was doing and turned to the front. "ATTENTION!" she commanded.
At that command, everyone quietened and stood upright. They hung their arms by the side, with thumbs parallel to their uniform. Their legs were closed with the heels together and their toes forming slightly open 'V' shapes.
A shuttle slowly made its way to the hangar and landed not far away from the group. Murrue and Mu made their way to the spacecraft as someone went to the door and knocked on it. It opened and someone moved to the entrance.
"People of the Archangel, I have returned," Colonel Jeremy Pogba said in an overtly grandiose manner while spreading his arms wide. The man then turned toward the entrance. "Oh, sorry, Admiral. I was too excited,"
Jeremy moved to the side, and Admiral Duane Halberton of the Eight Space Fleet exited the shuttle.
The situation in the Captain's quarter was tense as Natarle snarled at Colonel Jeremy standing in front of her. Any semblance of professionalism she displayed earlier was nowhere to be seen. Kira decided that he was to be of no part in the whole thing and was content to stand next to Flay at the far most corner.
"Now, now. Remember, in the Confederation military, hitting a superior without justification is a ground for a court martial, Lieutenant. I'm still a Colonel and outrank you," Jeremy Pogba said smugly.
"I'll give you a justified knuckle sandwich!"
Duane looked at the two and then at Murrue and Mu for answers.
"It's about our registration as part of the Confederation," Murrue explained.
Duane eyed Flay and Kira before turning his attention to Jeremy, who was still goading Natarle. "Why didn't you tell them?"
"I have them pegged as the 'Yes, Yes, Sir, 3 Bags Full!', especially Lieutenant Badgiruel here," Jeremy answered. "My mistake for expecting the best from them. I'll readjust my assessment,"
The admiral sighed. "How about you, Flay, since you have a part in this?"
"Admiral, my Level 5 clearance is for keeping secrets, not reveal them," Flay answered.
Duane laughed. "I forgot you're not part of the military,"
Natarle, who was glaring at Jeremy, broke off her stare and said, "Permission to speak freely, Admiral,"
"Granted,"
"I've been wondering about this. Her being involved in the Gundams is strange, seeing that she's an outsider,"
Duane narrowed his eyes. "Outsider? But NAGI is the one…"
"What the Lieutenant means is the five prototypes, Admiral," Flay interrupted. "For your info, we call them Gundams because of the operating system. And need I remind you, we're only involved in a part of it,"
The admiral rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "I see. That's how it is. Perhaps I've recalled wrongly. But to answer your question, Lieutenant, her father is involved in their development as well,"
Kira heard someone half-shout in response. As for him, that revelation was unexpected. Then again, it all made sense. The admiral talked to Flay in a friendly manner, as if he had known her for quite some time. Flay's family's involvement in the Gundam's development would also explain the reason how Flay's father could force his way to join the 8th Fleet. The fleet was searching for Archangel in the vast space, all the while having no access to radio communication. It was like trying to find a needle in a haystack while being blinded. There was no way the military would allow someone like him to be around for a deployment that could have lasted weeks, for no good reason. However, being part of the project provided that reason.
"Kira?" Flay's voice brought him out of his reverie.
"Yes?" he asked her.
"The admiral was asking you a question,"
The young brunette felt his face reddened. "Sorry, didn't catch it,"
"You shouted 'What' just now, and the Admiral is wondering why the extreme response,"
"I did?" It was embarrassing to hear that it was him all along. "Sorry. I find it shocking that you're developing the mobile suits,"
Flay narrowed her eyes at that suggestion. "No, we're not. My father only used his connections to gain support for the admiral's idea. After that, the idea gains enough traction and the whole thing started. Then, development itself, we're not involved, as I mentioned earlier,"
Kira recalled how much Flay didn't like Morgenroete, so the decision to build them on its facility in Heliopolis evidently was made by someone else.
"If we waited for those idiots in Alaska to come around, it would have been too late," Duanne said. "That's why I'm very thankful for your father's help,"
"And that explains why the good Admiral made several political moves of his own to get you out of the Atlantic force," Jeremy said. "And the purpose I'm here, apart from seeing Lieutenant Badgiruel's frustrated expressions, is to explain things that are too sensitive to be transmitted through the deployment order,"
The Colonel confirmed the Archangel indeed had been transferred to the Eurasian Confederation armed forces. However, the difference in doctrines and strategies made it very difficult to integrate it as part of a Eurasian fleet. Therefore, the Eurasian Confederation High Command made it a special unit to test various tactics and strategies.
One of those would be the combined operation by both the Atlantic Federation and Eurasian Confederation forces to attack a ZAFT fleet blockading the orbital exit point for the Victoria's Habilis mass driver facility. When earlier ZAFT efforts to capture the base had been beaten off by the Eurasian forces, the former changed its tactic and began placing war ships to orbit the exit area to intercept shipments to the Ptolemaeus Lunar Base. While the mass driver could change its exit area, ZAFT could easily redeploy its ships to go to the new location.
"What is our role here?" Murrue asked.
"After the April Fool's crisis, your ship is the only ship in the whole Alliance fleet that has any experience fighting with full situational awareness," Duane replied.
"There's our Afrika Korps that has a similar experience, but it's limited to Earth battle space," Jeremy said.
"Battle space?" Kira asked, curious.
"Operations that mobilize the land, sea, air, space and information assets."
"Why couldn't the Korps be included in this?" Kira asked again, earning him a sigh from Natarle.
"Because the battle spaces are different, Ensign Yamato," Mu replied. "Their operations are up to the Thermosphere layer while ours starts from the Mesosphere and spans above,"
"I see." Then an uncomfortable thought occurred to Kira. "Why am I here?"
Jeremy chuckled, but there was no mirth in his eyes. "Ensign Yamato, a snowflake exists only to get trampled. So, knock it off with that entitled feeling,"
"Sorry, I was just…"
"You have that look on you," Jeremy said, cutting him off. "The 'I'm special' look,"
Colonel Jeremy saw through him and mercilessly crushed that feeling. Strangely, he felt more relieved by the man's reprimand.
"You're here because Fllaga said you're the closest that we have to an SME regarding those Gundams."
Kira nodded. While he didn't consider himself to be a subject matter expert in Gundams, he was the most experienced and knowledgeable in operating the Strike. He also tuned Aegis and Buster's controls with Flay, and then used the data to update the simulation.
Duane added, "We need your help to come up with the strategy for the upcoming battle,"
With Captain Hoffman in charge at the bridge of Menelaos, Duane was at the dedicated CIC tactical center to oversee the overall command and control of the entire task force. When the N-Jammers hampered communications and rendered the already less effective tactic of fighting ZAFT and their mobile suits even more useless, there were suggestions for the CIC room to be remodeled.
There was an increasing number of military planners who believed that battles would comprise small skirmishes, with two ships attacking each other with their assets. The flagship would only be there to provide a general guidance, assigning which ship to fight against which opponent. With that approach, there was no need for a central CIC, since the function would be distributed. Therefore, it was enough for a ship to maintain a small CIC station.
Duanne shot it down. The decision to do so was not because it was ZAFT's doctrine. He didn't care who introduced what; whatever worked, worked. The reason he wanted to maintain the CIC center was because he believed in fighting in a synchronized manner. The Sponsor Nations' fleet's defeat at the battle at the Lagrange Point 5 illustrated the advantages of the mobile suit to him. It also showed how the lack of cooperation among the different forces in the fleet hampered it. It was true the GINNs destroyed a lot of mobile armors; yet there were some blue-on-blue cases where the mobile armors were destroyed by their own allies by mistake.
More coordination, not distribution, was the key to winning future space battles. Instead of forcing people doing the fighting to think about other things such as proximity to allies or hostile movements, it was better to let them to focus on winning the sector.
Duane's eyes looked at the multiple screens showing the real-time deployments of the task force's combined assets. The launches of the mobile armors were slow, in his opinion. Regardless, it was still acceptable, considering the operation being the most complex in the recent history.
"Have we confirmed the size of the ZAFT forces?"
"8 ships, sir. 7 Laurasia-class, 1 Nazca-class," a woman manning one of the sensor systems replied crisply.
Eight ships with 48 mobile suits. On the other hand, the Atlantic-Eurasian Combined Task Force November had 23 ships of different classes, 105 mobile armors and three mobile suits. The latter was clearly outmatched and outgunned. The higher ups in Alaska were pretty determined to set him up for failure. They did so earlier, using the Heliopolis debacle as an excuse to set up an inquiry board to persecute him. However, the preliminary test results and the reports from the Artemis and the Archangel exonerated him. In fact, the board concluded that the development of mobile suits must be hastened, further proving his point.
The bastards changed their tactic by sending him to accomplish what was an essentially tough mission without adequate resources needed. But Duane was determined to prove them wrong. "Any reaction?" he asked.
"Negative,"
That was a good sign. Either ZAFT didn't realize that the task force's presence or it was waiting for the latter to get closer.
There was a swoosh as the door to the room opened and Colonel Jeremy entered. "Sorry I'm late, sir," he said while saluting at the Admiral. "I was going through the final preparation with our side,"
"Thank you," Duane said. Jeremy was instrumental in setting up the communication channel between him and his Confederation counterpart. The man also convinced the Confederation admiral to defer to him for the duration of the campaign. Such an accomplishment was incredible, given the rivalry between both sides.
"You're welcome, sir,"
"Saber Flight, in position," the CIC operator reported.
Duane looked at the clock on the wall. It was T minus 60 seconds. All the preparations have been made. The political and diplomatic jostling to get all sides to agree to the set objectives. Resources needed to sustain the campaign leading up to the current operation. Countless battle plans considered and discarded, because they either result in a pyrrhic victory or, even worse, a defeat. Letters prepared in advance informing the parents of their daughters' or sons' deaths. Duane had painstakingly seen to all those efforts and more.
T minus 15 seconds.
A verse from the 16th chapter of the Book of Proverbs, part of the Old Testament, came to his mind. Men planned, but God's providence would determine what happen. As a mere mortal, Duane had done all that he could.
Come what may, the history of space war will be written that day.
"The decision is yours," Jeremy said.
T minus 0.
"Fire,"
1
1. Tolle's plan to add subroutine to Buster was a reference to Heavy Arms in Gundam Wings where the mobile suit, armed to the teeth with projectile weapons, performed somersaults and spins in midair. The pilot, Trowa Barton, performed such maneuvers because of his acrobatic talent and circus job.
2. The reference to 'Buster Rifle' wasn't planned but since it fit, I included it as a nod to the weapon carried by the Wing Gundam series in the titular Gundam Wing. In the game SNES Shin Kidō Senki Gundam Wing: Endless Duel, whenever the Wing Zero Custom fires its weapon, it would say 'Buster Rifle'. Tolle's daydreaming alludes to this.
3. The reference to Terry Bogard's signature Buster Wolf move also wasn't planned. But while going through this chapter, it stuck like a sore thumb that I couldn't help doing so. Engrish aside, it's one of the most badass super moves in a fighting game. During the era when most characters announced their moves verbatim, Terry started his move by asking whether someone was okay before unleashing a super attack. And so, "Are you okay… Buster Wolf!" became a meme before internet meme became mainstream.
4. Pogba's statement, "People of the Archangel: I have returned," alludes to General MacArthur's proclamation upon landing on the Philippine island of Leyte on 20 October 1944. He made a radio broadcast and declared, "People of the Philippines, I have returned!" I understand that there are different opinions about the man himself, and the roles he played in WW2 and the Korean War. There are some who claim that he's one of the greatest military generals and there are some who say that he's only good at PR, not at commanding. I'll leave it up to you to form your own opinion about the man. Whether you like him, General MacArthur was a prominent figure during the era.
5. When I first saw Gundam Seed, I found it strange how a politician can join a fleet just for the sake of meeting his daughter. The possible reason Admiral Duane let George Allster join his fleet is (a) he's very influential, (b) George Allster helped get the G Project going, or (c) both. Remember, in the early draft of Gundam SEED, Flay was supposed to be the Strike Rouge's pilot and used by Earth Alliance for propaganda. This is referenced in the SD Gundam G Generation DS game. Maybe that's why a leader-type Cagalli ended up piloting a mobile suit even though she's way better at leading the Orb fleet. You would notice in the Three Ship Alliance, Archangel was captained by Main Character Murrue, Eternal has Main Character Lacus (and captained by Andrew) while Kusanagi had no one, because Cagalli was in the field doing something a modern-day general wasn't supposed to do.