AN: Sorry for the long wait. You know Halloween week and all, and I wanted to make sure I got this chapter done right, or at least as right as possible. Anyways, please welcome this chapter's special Author's Note guests, its a double commander party, Mu La Flaga and Andrew Waltfeld.
[audience applause]
La Flaga: Hey everyone great to be here.
Waltfeld: Yeah and even better to be in a room with you and not having to start shooting at each other.
La Flaga: I hear that. So how about we answer a few review lyokoMARVELanime?
AN: Gladly.
La Flaga: Alright first off is the question posed on the topic of the Dinobots by skydragonknight57.
AN: Ah yes glad that was brought up. I will go ahead and say right now that yes the Dinobots will appear in this continuity but they will not be appearing in this story. Sorry, but they will definitely appear in its sequel. I mean honestly what do you think works better, Grimlock scaring the crap out of Azrael or Grimlock tearing Shinn apart in scrap?
Waltfled: I actually kinda like the idea of both to be honest. Next is the question from OneWingedGoddess on whether or not we could see a trailer for a crossover between Transformers and Char's Counterattack.
AN: Right well I can honestly say that one might not be any time soon. Honestly if I'm going to do a crossover with Transformers and the Universal Century I'd like to make it a series that features the stories of the original Gundam series, Zeta Gundam, Double Zeta, Char's Counterattack, and maybe even Unicorn if we're lucky.
La Flaga: Well I guess we can't all be men who make the impossible possible.
Waltfeld: Well I guess all that's left to do is get on with the show. lyokoMARVELanime does not own anything from any of the Gundam or Transformers franchises or any other franchise that may be mentioned in this story.
Chapter 9: One Storm's End
The following morning saw the arrival of a Z.A.F.T. carrier that was transporting Waltfeld's supplies and the mobile suits Buster and Duel, along with the pilots of said suits, Yzak and Dearka. As the Z.A.F.T. troops unloaded the supplies, the Decepticons had begun gearing up for the battle that lay ahead. Knockout and Breakdown had made doubly sure that they would be able to use their alt modes effectively in the desert terrain while Thundercracker, Skywarp, and Slipstream were preparing their preferred additional weapons along with their default ones. Starscream, who had already completed his preparations, was talking with Waltfeld as the Z.A.F.T. commander looked over the report on the supplies he had been sent via a transmitter. Waltfeld was initially upset that Gibraltar had sent them ZuOOTs after saying they could not afford to send anymore BaCUEs, and made it no secret that he did not like the fact that Yzak and Dearka were from the Le Creuset team, mostly due to the fact that he could not stand the masked soldier, but he decided to deal with it and headed out to meet with the two pilots.
Dearka and Yzak had just moved their suits off of the carrier and onto the Lesseps before disembarking from the large machines. As they walked towards the large mobile base's hatch, a small wind blew a bit of sand up causing them to cough and Dearka to wonder aloud, "What're we doing in this awful place?"
"They say you can't really appreciate the desert until you've lived here, so welcome to the Lesseps," Waltfeld called out getting their attention. "I'm Andrew Waltfeld the commanding officer here."
"Yzak Joule of the Le Creuset team," Yzak reported as he stood to attention.
"Dearka Elsman, also of the Le Creuset team," Dearka reported as he saluted along with his friend and comrade.
"It must have been tough getting down here. We appreciate you coming," Waltfeld commented as he returned the salutes.
"Thank you sir," Yzak replied. He and Dearka then glance off to the side at Starscream who was standing beside the Lesseps watching his forces prepare. "Sir if I may," Yzak then asked. "Don't those guys know that they'd save power to their machines if they don't equip their mobile suits that way?"
Starscream heard that, and then spun around to slam his hand down near the silver haired boy as he snarled, "Insult me or our forces again by calling us mere mobile suits and I will be sure to do more than give you an additional scar to the one you already posses."
The two G-Weapon pilots stepped back in shock at Starscream's outburst as Waltfeld called out, "Hey easy there Scream. I'm pretty sure this is their first time encountering a Decepticon let alone a Cybertronian in general."
Starscream took a breath to calm himself as he said, "Yes of course, my apologies. It seems that I have forgotten my manners. I am Commander Starscream, first lieutenant of the Decepticon forces from the planet Cybertron."
The salute Yzak and Dearka gave Starscream were hesitant at first, but this was mostly due to the fact that this was in fact their first time meeting any of the Decepticon forces and were not sure how to address them. Though they would not deny that this encounter was shocking to them, as they had just believed that the reports they had heard of the large robotic aliens were merely rumors. Waltfeld then smiled as he said, "Speaking of scars, they say that when one doesn't have a bad scar removed, some might say it's a symbol of your commitment."
Yzak turned his head away, because this was not the case. He had actually kept this scar because it was one that he had received during a battle against the Strike and had decided to keep it until said mobile suit was defeated. This did not go unnoticed.
"Or perhaps since you turned your head away maybe it is a symbol of your humiliation," Starscream inquired with a smirk.
"Why don't you just tell us where the Legged Ship is," Yzak spat.
"Currently it is at a resistance base approximately one hundred and eighty kilometers southeast of here, but you should know that they are not alone," Starscream replied as Waltfeld moved to get a better look at the Duel and the Buster. "As I am sure you are aware by now, they are now aligned with our enemies the Autobots and their leader Optimus Prime."
"Please. Just give me a clear shot at him and I'll take this Optimus Prime out, no problem."
Starscream chuckled at Yzak's proclamation. "Bold words for a small boy, but you should be mindful after all, Optimus has years of experience in war that far surpasses any of your forces and has faced the fiercest of Decepticons including Lord Megatron and survived. I highly doubt you will be much of a threat."
Yzak snarled in anger at the silver, winged Decepticon but was then interrupted as Waltfeld softly observed aloud, "Yep. I see they're the same type of machines as that other one."
"And speaking of the Alliance's mobile suit Commander, what information can you give us about your engagement with it," Dearka asked, getting Waltfeld's attention.
"Yeah, well…we did as well as the Le Creuset team even with the Decepticons' help," Waltfeld admitted sheepishly. "Although to be fair, they were occupied dealing with the Autobot forces in said engagement."
"Just see to it that you two do not get in our way," Starscream told Yzak and Dearka. "Otherwise we will not be held responsible for what happens to you. This operation will see the end of Prime's new unit for certain."
"As I'm sure your past operations have Commander Starscream," Yzak retorted with a smug look.
Starscream growled at the scarred pilot for that and then stated, "Knockout and Breakdown will be working with the both of you for this assignment as your Decepticon partners, so I suggest you follow their advice when it comes to dealing with the Autobots." He then stormed off to speak with his elite forces about their preparations. "Thundercracker, Skywarp. Are you both ready?"
"Ready and raring to go Scream," Skywarp replied. "Though I kinda wish she wasn't here with us."
"Yeah why do we need Slipstream around anyway," Thundercracker agreed.
"Because Lord Megatron requested it," Starscream snapped, clearly irritated about having their sister around as they were.
"And because you are on thin ice brother," Slipstream snarled from behind Starscream, causing him to spin around in surprise. "Just remember, if you fail this operation, Lord Megatron will have your head."
"But of course, how can I forget," Starscream retorted sarcastically as she walked off. He then muttered under his breath, "Assuming I am still around to allow him the chance."
Meanwhile, the Archangel was taking off to head out for what everyone hoped to be their final battle against the Lesseps with the Desert Dawn following in their jeeps and as armed to the teeth as they could be. Though everyone was certain they would be victorious, they could not help but feel nervous as they all knew this would be their biggest battle yet against Andrew Waltfeld. It did not help matters that not one of the Autobots had been seen all morning and everyone knew the chances of encountering Decepticons was an absolute guarantee. As the large ship lifted off and moved to follow after Sahib and his forces, something appeared on one of the monitors.
"Captain! There's something coming from the mountain next to us," Miriallia called out. Everyone then looked in the direction Miriallia had indicated and soon enough, even aboard the Archangel, which was already a decent ways off the ground, everyone felt the ground begin to tremble. A moment later, a ship had emerged from over the mountain range and to say it was huge would be an understatement. The ship was easily at least twice the size of the Archangel and had a gold and red color scheme. A pair of wings was mounted on the sides at the back of the ship near the main thrusters. Everyone could just barely make out the sight of the cockpit that was slightly raised in the middle of the ship, but what everyone could see clearly, was that on the side of the ship was a large, gleaming Autobot insignia.
Upon closer inspection, there was one other thing everyone could see. There standing atop the massive ship was Optimus Prime himself, almost as a symbol of hope, pride, and encouragement. A moment later, everyone could hear the Autobot leader's voice coming through their communicators. "We have all seen the wrongs committed by Z.A.F.T. in this vast, desert land and the people who live here and the people have long been asked to live by their rules. Today though, the rules will change, for today shall mark the day when a new dawn comes to this land and its people with the fall of the Desert Tiger, and it shall show Z.A.F.T. that even against overwhelming odds, the Autobots shall never surrender to any force, whether they stand alone or with Megatron and his forces. This vessel I stand upon shall become a symbol of what a true alliance between humans and Cybertronians can accomplish as it takes on the namesake of a fallen Autobot warrior. My friends, I give you, the Omega II, and with it we shall face this battle together and stand as one!"
A loud round of cheers was the response that came to this speech from everyone who heard Optimus's words, whether they be from the Autobots, the Desert Dawn, or even the Archangel crew. Even Kira, who was eating in the Archangel mess hall with Mu and Cagalli, was smiling at Optimus's words. Upon hearing these cheers, Optimus gave one final order before everyone moved out into battle, "Autobots roll out!"
Murrue then turned to face forward as she gave the order, "Archangel, take off!"
Not wanting to be outdone by either one of his new allies, Sahib gave his own battle cry. "Desert Dawn, rise to tomorrow!"
With that, the two ships, one of Cybertron and one of the Earth Forces, and the Desert Dawn headed off into battle.
The Autobots and their allies were not the only ones preparing for action though, as Waltfeld arrived in the Lesseps control room demanding, "Tell me the enemy's position."
"Yes sir," The man sitting at the station which had said enemy on the viewing monitor. "They're moving North by Northwest from their last position."
As he looked at the image on the monitor Yzak snarled, "It's the Legged Ship."
"Hold up a second, what's that other one," Dearka asked. "The massive one with the gold and red color scheme?"
Waltfeld leaned closer for a better look and smirked as he observed aloud, "Well it seem that the Autobots now have a ship of their own." He then got serious as he stated, "They're heading for the remains of the Talbadia factory district. Well, I can't say I wouldn't do the same thing. If I was their commander I would try to blow right through us."
"What do we do sir," DoCosta asked.
"I'd hoped that they would wait a little bit longer, but we can't change that."
"Aren't we attacking," Yzak demanded.
"We are," Waltfeld smirked. He then turned to address the rest of the crew of the Lesseps. "Listen up! We're moving out! Code: zero two! Notify the Petri and the Henry Carter immediately!"
"Aye aye," the communications officer responded.
"I guess I should inform Starscream of the recent developments," Waltfeld commented to himself. He then moved outside where said Seeker was with his forces, and it seemed like he was having some sort of debate, to put it mildly, with Knockout.
"I'm just saying we should really consider all our options here," Knockout stated. "After all, a good weapon makes just as much a difference as the Con equipped with it."
"For the final time Doctor, we will NOT be using those drones in the next operation, especially in the case of the ones that handle repairs," Starscream argued. "I will not risk wasting our resources simply because your precious finish was scratched!"
"What?! I may care for my finish, but even I would not do something so callous!"
"I hope I'm not interrupting," Waltfeld called out, getting both Cons' attention. "But it seems the enemy's on the move. Oh and you should probably know that the Autobots now seem to have a ship of their own."
"Do you an image of this so called Autobot ship," Starscream requested. Knowing that the Seeker would ask for that, Waltfeld held out an image for him to see, which Knockout leaned down to get a better look at.
"Hm," Knockout observed. "It is definitely an Autobot vessel and clearly made with crude Cybertronian technology and engineering, most likely from using a combination of parts from the Arkand whatever else they could find. I speculate that more than likely this ship was built rather hastily and meant as a means of temporary travel across the planet, though incapable of reaching space on its own."
"You're certain of that," Starscream asked.
"Absolutely. If there is one thing I know in my limited knowledge of technical expertise, it would be that. Though if you wish for a second opinion, I'd recommend speaking with Breakdown or one of the Constructicons."
"Still it is impressive that you're able to get all that from just a simple picture," Waltfeld commented.
"Well…thank you," Knockout replied.
"If you two are quite finished, what is your plan human," Starscream asked.
"Simple we're moving out," Waltfeld replied.
"Excellent," Starscream smirked. He then turned to his forces. "Decepticons, we are moving to engage the enemy! Transform and rise up!"
Not a moment later, all four members of the Seeker family had transformed into their jet modes and taken to the skies along with the flyer drones, while Knockout and Breakdown climbed into the Lesseps's hanger bay, as their vehicle forms would not allow them to get their as quickly as the others. Waltfeld looked on as he thought, I suppose this is it. Let's see just whether or not I fight that young pilot today and whether or not I get the chance to finally at least see Optimus Prime on the battle field again. More importantly though, let's see if we discover our new friends'true colors as well.
Kira let out a long sigh as he thought about the battle that lay ahead, just staring at his tray of food now. This did not go unnoticed by Mu. "What's taking you so long, hurry up and eat," the mobile armor pilot told him as he moved to place something else on Kira's and Cagalli's trays. "Here you two, eat these to."
Kira and Cagalli both looked and saw that Mu had placed the same Kabobs they had in Banadia the other day on their trays. "Huh? What the…," Kira exclaimed as he turned to look at Mu, who was enjoying his own Kabob.
"Believe me nothing beats fresh local eats," Mu declared as he hummed in satisfaction before he moved to enjoy more.
"Uh Commander," Kira asked. "Haven't you had enough to eat?"
"Yeah I mean you seem to be overdoing it a little," Cagalli said adding her two cents in.
"Listen kids," Mu told them as he paused again in his meal. "We're getting ready to go into a fierce battle here, one that'll even involve massive, metal soldiers of two armies from another world. If we don't eat we won't have any strength." He then held out a container for Kira to take. "Try this. It tastes great with yogurt sauce."
Kira and Cagalli both gasped at that statement as they remembered what Waltfeld had told them when he appeared before them the other day. Kira then looked down a bit sadly at Mu's confused expression as he stated, "It's just…the Tiger said the same thing. It tastes great with yogurt sauce."
"Huh, you don't say," Mu commented with a look, clearly showing he did not like the idea that he and an enemy commander had something in common. "That man knows his food. I'll tell ya, it's a lot easier if you don't know your enemy personally, so just forget him."
Kira and Cagalli both looked at Mu for an explanation on that, to which Mu elaborated, "When you're fighting for your life against an opponent you know personally, it's just that much harder to face him."
Kira thought back to the fact that he was facing Athrun, and then thought about how Optimus had to face Megatron in battle, someone the Autobot leader once considered a brother. Apparently, Cagalli was thinking the same thing as she softly said, "I can only imagine how hard that was for Optimus then. Having to face someone you consider a brother as an enemy."
Mu had to agree with her on that, and then he noticed that she seemed to be looking at something that she was holding in her hand. "What's that?"
"It's something that my friend Ahmed was going to carve and give to me someday," Cagalli told him sadly. "His mother gave it to me just before we left the camp."
"Huh," Mu said getting a better look at it, seeing it was a somewhat glowing, blue rock that fit in the palm of her hand. "Kinda looks like a chunk of Malecite and it's seriously huge."
Cagalli nodded at that as she thought back to her late friend and to her and Kira's encounter with Waltfeld the other day. As she did, she could not help but feel her anger towards the man grow while she silently swore to herself to make sure that the Desert Tiger would be defeated today. Everyone was then jostled out of their thoughts as they heard a number of explosions go off. "What was that," Cagalli cried out. "Are we under attack?"
Aboard Omega II, the same explosions had been heard and Bulkhead was already scanning where they had come from. "Prime," the large, dark green Wrecker called out. "The explosions came from the mine field! Looks like the enemy has set them off prematurely."
Optimus then turned to Bumblebee, who stood ready at the communications station and ordered, "Connect us to the Archangel and Sahib's forces at once. I want them patched into our comms the entire time."
Another warning came in on the Autobot ship's computers, but this time it came from Arcee's station. "Sir, we have confirmation of Decepticon forces. Checking for id now." The other Bots waited with baited breath along with their human allies who heard Arcee's report as she scanned to identify the Decepticons. A moment later, the blue femme gasped at the signatures that the computer had identified. "Sir, we have a confirmed id match for multiple Decepticon drones, both aerial and ground based, along with Starscream, Thundercracker, Skywarp, and Slipstream. Further scans indicate that Knockout and Breakdown are also in the area."
All the Bots gasped at that. "Scrap. The entirety of the Seeker siblings are here," Hound commented aloud. "Like three of 'em wasn't bad enough."
"I see now," Sahib commented over the communicators. "The tiger and his new playmates are baring their fangs right at us."
Optimus turned to lookout the view port and commented, "And so it begins."
"That's right, Launcher on the first machine and Sword on the second one," Mu stated into the communicator panel on the wall of the pilot's changing room where Kira was just closing his locker after grabbing his helmet. "I'll tell ya why. Because we're going to need all the fire power we can get for this battle!"
The blonde haired man then turned to Kira and Cagalli, who had elected to just slip on her usual battle vest over her usual clothes and a helmet, as he commented, "I'd really hate to say it, but I'm afraid we just can't rely on the fighting strength of those guerillas."
"I know," Kira agreed. Cagalli nodded in agreement as well because as much as she hated to admit it, the commander was right.
"I would wish you luck Kira, but after seeing you fight lately I don't think your gonna need it, especially when you add in the fact you have been training with two of the best Autobots there is according to their leader," Mu told the young coordinator with a smile.
Kira smiled as he thanked the older blonde for his vote of confidence and Cagalli smiled and wished him luck herself as she placed a hand on his shoulder. A moment later, Miriallia's voice came over the intercoms calling out, "Commander La Flaga, Ensign Yamato, and Miss Cagalli. To your vehicles immediately!"
"Let's go you two," Mu said as all three headed out the door to head for their respective machines.
"The Archangel is preparing for anti-air, ship, and mobile suit combat to prepare for intercept," Hound reported. "We have confirmed that enemy forces on the human front consist of multiple attack aircraft, mobile armors, a carrier and an escort ship."
"What are your orders Optimus," Elita asked.
The large red and blue Autobot turned to address his troops. "Arcee, Bumblebee, Bulkhead, and I shall deploy from the ship to engage the enemy forces directly. Elita One, you have command of the bridge. Hound, ready Omega II's weapons for battle."
"Yes sir," the bots replied as the three that Optimus addressed raced for the exit after him while Elita One moved to take her place at the command position and Hound punched in the necessary commands to bring the ship's weapons and defensive systems online.
"You sure this boat's ready for battle Elita," Hound asked, worriedly.
"Honestly Hound," Elita replied. "I wasn't all that sure she was ready to fly for as long as she has thus far this morning. We just have to have faith in this old girl and hope that she lives up to the names sake."
Hound nodded as he turned back to his console while muttering, "Primus help us."
Down in the armory of the Autobot ship, the four Bots were gearing up with their own choice of weapons that had Hound's seal of approval for action. Bumblebee elected to go with an Energon Battle Pistol, a weapon he was quite familiar with, Bulkhead a Thermo Rocket Launcher, Optimus decided to arm himself with a Path Blaster, and finally Arcee chose a Plasma Cannon. Bumblebee gave a quizzical look at Arcee's choice of weapons, knowing that it was the same weapon he used during some of his earlier battles of the war on Cybertron, but shook it off and decided it was not important. Once they had all completed their final checks on their weapons, Optimus told Elita over the comms that they were ready. A moment later, the ship's hatch had opened up to show the vast, sandy landscape that lay before them.
"Autobots," Optimus called out. "Transform and roll out!" As soon as the words left his mouth, the four Autobots assumed their respective alt modes and raced out through the hatch and into the hot, desert, reassuming robot mode just before they hit the ground. As soon as they did, they brought their selected additional weapons out and charged in with the Desert Dawn and theArchangel close behind them.
As he readied his weapon to fire on the Decepticon drones, Optimus spared a glance at the Archangel and saw as Mu's Sky Grasper blasted out of the left leg of the ship, and he saw that it was now equipped with a large green cannon and other weapons. A moment later, he saw Cagalli's Sky Grasper take off and noticed it was equipped with a light blue set of equipment that had what looked like a long sword on one side. The next thing he saw was the Strike deploying from the other side of the ship, equipped with its usual default equipment and activating its phase shift armor just after returning fire on an enemy aircraft with its Vulcan guns. He really has improved greatly, the Autobot leader thought to himself as he returned his attention to the battle field.
As the battle raged on, it was no surprise how quickly that the Autobots had engaged the Decepticon forces, with each one of the four members of Team Prime engaging at least one of the members of the Seeker siblings. Bulkhead was trying to hold his ground against the constant barrages from Skywarp as said seeker kept using his teleporting ability to quickly maneuver around the large Autobot, but thankfully, Bulkhead's larger size made him slightly more durable against Skywarp's Gear Shredder. "You should really give up you oversized oaf," Skywarp mocked. "You have no chance of keeping up with me."
"Yeah keep dreaming warp brain," Bulkhead retorted as he switched his left fist into a wrecking ball and swung at Skywarp, only for said Con to teleport away. "Argh! Will you quit doing that?!"
"Uh let me think. No!"
Bumblebee was firing off a number of rounds at Thundercracker when he suddenly found himself back to back with Arcee who was dealing with Slipstream. "So how're you doing," the scout asked his friend.
"Oh you know," Arcee replied in a semi-casual tone. "Just about as well as I normally do when my opponent can just disappear at a moment's notice." Arcee was of course referring to the fact that Slipstream had an ability to boost her speed for a short burst of time so that she could move so fast it was like she was appearing and disappearing.
"What's the matter Arcee," Slipstream mocked as she primed her Null Ray. "Need your boyfriend to save your tailpipe?"
"He's NOT my boyfriend!" Arcee then let loose a charged up blast from her Plasma cannon which scored her a direct hit to Slipstream's right wing.
"Guess that just breaks your spark that she prefers another Bot over you huh Scout," Thundercracker taunted as he prepared to let loose another shockwave at Bumblebee, but as he did he failed to realize he was leaving himself wide open. A fact that Bumblebee exploited in order to land a shot right on the blue and red Con's chest. Bumblebee's retort to the injured Seeker was something that many felt was best left untranslated. Before either one of the two Bots could celebrate though, they found themselves being fired upon by Fliers and ZuOOTs from the enemy ships.
"Bee," Arcee shouted above the explosions and weapons fire. "Remember the sling and sting from the Decagon Plaza?"
If one could see Bumblebee's whole face, they would have seen him smirking as he grasped Arcee's arm. He then spun her around before tossing her up into the air from which she let loose a volley of blasts from her default arm blaster, scoring direct hits on the ZuOOTs weapons and distracting the drones long enough for Bumblebee to charge up and slam his fists into each one and hit the final one surrounding them with a couple of shots from his own default guns. Right when the scout had finished, a BaCUE raced up to try and hit him from behind, only to become acquainted with the heel of Arcee's foot as she landed. "Never gets old," Arcee commented. Bumblebee just nodded as he chuckled in agreement.
Meanwhile, Optimus was facing off against the lead Seeker himself, Starscream. "I'm honored by your undivided attention Prime, but what good will it really do," The Decepticon first lieutenant taunted while he used his cloak to turn invisible. "Should you not be more concerned with the well being of your new pets?"
"These humans are fierce warriors who will not quit until the end, and who know the risks involved in partaking in this battle," Optimus replied confidently. "I have no doubt that they shall stand victorious this day."
"We'll just see about that Prime," Starscream replied as he uncloaked and hit Prime in his back. Optimus only stumbled for just a brief moment before he spun around and fired a few shots from his Path Blaster, most of which Starscream just barely avoided by activating the rockets in his feet to take flight, but the Seeker did sustain one injury to his left arm at the last second. The Seeker then charged at Optimus as he readied his blade to strike at Optimus, but Optimus quickly switched his left hand into his own sword to parry the attack and fire a pair of shots from the Path Blaster. To anyone watching these two go at it, matching one and other blow for blow with both swords and blasters or just simple fisticuffs, it seemed like their battle could go either way. A fact that was beginning to seem true for all parts of the battle.
Back on the Lesseps, Waltfeld was suited up and preparing to board his own machine with Aisha acting as his gunner when they were held up by Yzak and Dearka, the former more than the latter. "What the heck is going on around here? Why are we stuck on top of the Lesseps, and with those two Decepticons acting as a pair of babysitters," Yzak demanded.
Said two Decepticons, Knockout and Breakdown, felt a bit insulted at being called babysitters as Breakdown shouted, "We are not babysitters of any sniveling little human brats."
"What?!"
"Oh my," Waltfeld cut in. "Do all members of the Le Creuset team object to their superior officer's orders or are you just extra special?"
"No," Yzak bit back in an attempt to save a little face. "However, we have a lot more experience against the Legged Ship. More than you or those over grown tin cans do."
"Losing experience doesn't count," Aisha remarked with a smug smile.
"And I'd watch who you call a tin can considering we can easily crush you like a tin can under our feet," Breakdown smirked.
"What," Yzak cried out.
"Aisha," Waltfeld gently warned his lover.
"Easy Breakdown," Knockout warned his partner.
After Waltfeld got a soft apology from Aisha he turned to Yzak and explained, "Your suits are designed for artillery battles, so they can't handle a high speed engagement like the BaCUEs. You won't keep up."
Knockout then added his two cents stating, "And while you may have experience dealing with the Legged Ship and the Earth Forces mobile suit, you have yet to have at least seen even one of the Autobots in battle let alone faced one of them. That, along with the fact that our alt modes are not all that useful in the desert, is why Breakdown and I are acting as your back up for this battle."
Before Yzak could try to protest again, Dearka cut him off by placing a hand on his shoulder and saying, "Yzak forget about it, we've got our orders." The blonde then turned to Waltfeld and saluted excusing the two of them with the two land based Cons following after them.
"Don't worry," Dearka reassured Yzak. "When it gets messy out there we'll get plenty of chances."
Yzak paused for a moment then smiled in anticipation as he agreed a smile that was shared by Breakdown. "I'm honestly looking forward to seeing what you guys can do in battle myself," the blue, hammer wielding Decepticon told the two humans.
"Alright DaCosta I'm leaving you in charge of the ship," Waltfeld said from inside his and Aisha's machine as they made their final launch preparations. "Oh and be sure to watch yourself when it comes to our Decepticon friends.
"Yes sir," DaCosta replied.
With that the Desert Tiger ended his communications for a moment as he declared, "Waltfeld, LaGOWE heading out!"
Immediately after, the orange colored machine had burst out of the Lesseps and blasted across the sad as soon as its treads had hit the ground. A battle that saw the Strike disabling a BaCUE that had been bearing down on of the Desert Dawn's jeeps as Kira displayed more of what he learned from his training session with Optimus and Bumblebee by following up with tossing his beam saber into the eye of another BaCUE and knocking it off its feet with a hard kick. As he did, the Archangel fought back with as many of its weapons as it could, while Mu fired a shot from the Agni cannon on the escort ship and Cagalli used her planes sword to disable and destroy another BaCUE.
As he continued to fight and watch the battle unfold, Kira could not help but think back to the question Waltfeld had asked him about how you truly determine how a battle is finished in war. How do you determine the winners and the losers? At what point do we put an end to it? When every single one of your enemies has been destroyed? Kira shook his head in an attempt to clear it of these words that were plaguing his mind right then, and then received an alert on the Strikes scanners. Sadly it did not come quickly enough, as the Archangel was suddenly struck by an attack from behind.
Another enemy ship, Kira thought to himself. The sound of the explosion had drawn the attention of the Autobots as well, and they all saw that there was in fact another enemy ship approaching from behind that was firing on both the Archangel and Omega II. "Optimus, come in," Hound shouted over the radio. "Another enemy ship has launched an attack from behind us! It's an ambush!"
"No the Archangel," Kira cried out as the ship was fired upon again, but before he could move to help he suddenly found himself being fired on. He quickly maneuvered the Strike out of the way and saw that his attacker was the LaGOWE which quickly maneuvered around to cut Kira off from the ship.
"Hey there you little hot shot," Waltfeld said over a channel that he knew Kira could hear him from. "You gotta fight me first."
Kira growled in response and saw that the Autobots were now getting bombarded even worse than they were before. Bulkhead, Arcee, and Bumblebee had all had to discard their extra weapons after using up the all their ammunition for each of them and were now fighting with just their default blasters and melee weapons, while Optimus was now struggling to fight off both Starscream and a sudden swarm of Decepticon flyers and Z.A.F.T. attack copters and BaCUEs. Things were definitely starting to take a turn for the worse for the Autobots and their human allies.
To make matters worse, one of the attacks from the ambushing enemy vessel suddenly caused the Archangel to get itself caught in some old buildings that were used for storing gas. Cagalli saw this and quickly veered her Sky Grasper off to try and fend off the ambushing transport so that the Archangel would not be too much of a sitting duck at least for a bit with Mu following a short while later. Before either one of them could attempt to fire on them though, they suddenly found themselves being fired upon from Skywarp and Slipstream, both in their jet modes, who had managed to give their Autobot opponents the slip. This did not go unnoticed by the Autobots for long though.
"Bumblebee, Arcee," Optimus shouted out as he fired off his last few shots in his Path Blaster at a pair of BaCUEs, disabling the machines long enough for the pilots to escape before they exploded. "Give whatever support you can to the Sky Graspers!"
"Understood," was the shared response from the two Bots before they ran over to help said fighter planes and their pilots, firing shots from their default blasters as they went. With Slipstream and Skywarp temporarily distracted by Arcee and Bumblebee, Mu and Cagalli were able to finally take out the enemy ship's weapons. A moment later, Cagalli swooped over to cut the Archangelfree from what it had been caught on, allowing the ship to swing around and bring its cannons to bear on the Lesseps. One shot from each of the Archangel's Gottfrieds and the Lesseps was rendered crippled just after the Duel, the Buster, Knockout, and Breakdown had jumped off to avoid being hit.
"Didn't expect this," Dearka gasped as the Buster suddenly began to lose its footing on the sandy ground. "Not from the famed Desert Tiger."
"And the bad news just keeps on coming Con sympathizer," a voice called out from nearby. The two Z.A.F.T. reds and Decepticons turned to the source and saw Bulkhead with his right arm blaster and left wrecking ball hand armed and primed for battle. "So who wants to get scrapped before I call for clean up?"
Before Breakdown could respond Slipstream's voice came over his comms shouting, "Decepticons, prepare to retreat."
Breakdown growled at that. "Next time Bulkhead," he snarled as he transformed and raced off with Knockout and the two G-Weapons following after him.
As Cagalli watched this, she saw that the Lesseps and the other Z.A.F.T. forces were also in retreat and thought to herself, Looks like it's finally over. The struggle to free this land from the Desert Tiger is really over. She then glance and saw that it was not quite over yet. "Kira! Optimus," Cagalli shouted. "They're still fighting against enemy units!"
"DaCosta," Waltfeld called out. "Send out orders to retreat."
"But sir…" DaCosta tried to protest.
"We have to cut our losses. Regroup the remaining forces and retreat to Banadia, and then notify Gibraltar."
Before DaCosta could say anything Waltfeld shut off his communicators and told Aisha, "You too Aisha. Get out of here."
Aisha just smiled and returned her attention to her controls as she replied. "I'd sooner lay down my life. Not a chance."
Waltfeld smiled as he proclaimed, "So we're both idiots."
"I'm fine with that." Aisha then lowered her scope as she prepared for their next attack on the Strike.
"Okay, then let's get him," Waltfeld shouted as he charged at Kira and his mobile suit once more. Something that Kira was not too eager for at the moment as the Strike was running low on power and was now down to his last beam saber.
"Don't do it," Kira cried out. "Please stop this! You've already lost the fight! Surrender!"
Sadly Kira's words fell on deaf ears and he had to parry another charge attack from the LaGOWE with his shield. Seeing Kira was in trouble, Optimus tired to move to help, but was cut off by Starscream. "Ah ah Prime," the seeker taunted. "We can't interfere in another's battle now can we?"
"This battle is over Starscream," Optimus declared as he readied both of swords in defense. "You should heed the words that Andrew Waltfeld gave to his forces and those of Slipstream and simply surrender."
Starscream just snarled as he charged at Optimus with his own sword. "NO! This battle ends when I SAY IT ENDS!"
Optimus parried Starscream's attack and then engaged the seeker once more in an all out sword battle, all the while making his way over to where Kira was battling with the Desert Tiger. As he did he intercepted a message to Kira from Waltfeld in which the Desert Tiger stated, "Like I said, there are no clear rules for ending a war like this."
The LaGOWE's cannons then suddenly exploded off its back as smoke started to emit from where the explosion occurred. This did not seem to slow down Waltfeld as he shouted out, "There's no other way. I'm not giving up…UNTIL ONE OF US IS DESTROYED!"
As he declared that, the Strike finally lost power, shutting down its phase shift armor and beam saber as a result. Now both machines had barely anything left, and it was down to one final attack that would end it all. Kira then had the Strike pull one of its daggers from its skirt as he discarded the shield and the flight pack, and charged to meet Waltfeld. Before either one could though, Kira suddenly pulled to a stop as Waltfeld was intercepted, caught in a firm hold by none other than Optimus Prime.
"Andrew Waltfeld," Optimus declared as he spun around with machine still firm in his grasp. "You have lost!" With that, Optimus gave the machine a hard toss that caused it to land on its back, jostling both the pilot and his lover from their seats. Optimus knew the machine was about to blow, and ran to try to pull them both out before it was too late with Kira and the Strike close behind. Just before they could reach them however, a missile hit the LaGOWE causing it to explode violently.
The explosion had grabbed everyone's attention, including that of DaCosta, Yzak, Dearka, Breakdown, Knockout, and the three seekers who were all still close enough to see what had happened. When everyone turned to where the shot was fired from they were all beyond shocked. Standing there with his arm raised in a firing position, and reloading his missiles to replace the one he had just fired, was a smug looking Starscream. "And so came the tragic end of the famous Desert Tiger," Starscream declared with an uncaring, mocking tone.
Kira just stared in utter shock, as Starscream had just fired upon and killed one of his own allies. Kira felt a pure hatred building in him that could only have been matched by the rage he felt towards the Seeker when he had killed Cliffjumper and would have moved to attack him had Optimus not placed a hand on the Strike's shoulder and shook his head, letting Kira know that now was not the time to try and bring down Starscream and that there would be another day to do so. Starscream proved this to be true as he transformed into his jet mode and flew off, avoiding the shots that were fired upon him from his now former allies.
Kira then looked back at where the man he had just fought tooth and nail against in anguish, as he thought about everything that Waltfeld had given him to think about, the time he spent just talking with the enemy commander, until finally he shouted out, "It didn't have to end like this!"
"I agree Kira Yamato," Optimus said. "Though I had only faced him briefly in this one battle, I could sense that he was a man of honor who cared greatly for the lives on both sides of the conflict, and would have wanted nothing more than for this war between Earth and Z.A.F.T. to end." Optimus then turned to where the man he spoke of had just died as he proclaimed, "Andrew Waltfeld, the Desert Tiger of Z.A.F.T. Your courage and sacrifice will not be forgotten…till all are one."
With that said, the Desert Dawn began to retreat as the Strike and the two Sky Graspers returned to the Archangel while the Autobots returned to Omega II. As soon as everyone had returned to their respective allies, the two ships headed out to where they would next land before beginning their voyage across the ocean to Alaska. During this time, Optimus could not help but think to himself that though this was the end of one storm, many more dangerous storms were on their way.
Sometime after the Autobots had left, Slipstream had returned to where the ruins of the LaGOWE now lay, and began searching with assistance from both Soundwave and his little helpers, Laserbeak and Rumble. As they did, Megatron suddenly approached the two as he calmly stated, "I sincerely hope that this was not an act that Starscream had any allies in."
"Rest assured Lord Megatron," Slipstream calmly stated. "My brother had acted solely on his own in this matter. Though I knew there was a chance he may betray us eventually, I did not expect this, but I swear upon the AllSpark the remaining Seekers and I remain loyal to only you."
Megatron simply nodded at that as he returned his attention to Rumble and Laserbeak's efforts in scavenging the wreckage when Rumble suddenly called out that they had found something. Walking over, Megatron, Soundwave, and Slipstream looked down and saw that they had finally found what they had come down to Earth in order to find.
"Have the body transported back to the PLANT at once," Megatron commanded. "Vice Chairman Zala will be glad to know we have found one of his supposedly dead mightiest soldiers is still alive."
As Rumble and Laserbeak lifted the object into a containment unit Megatron softly commented to himself, "Be grateful for this second chance you are about to receive. Your services are still required Andrew Waltfeld."
Somewhere around the same time, a young green haired man in a red Z.A.F.T. uniform was making his way aboard a ship that would be taking him to Earth when a familiar voice called out to him. "Nicol."
The now identified Nicol turned and gave a happy smile at the sight of his comrade and fellow team member as he greeted, "Oh Athrun, hey! By the way I meant to thank you for coming with me the other day."
"It was my pleasure," Athrun stated as he exchanged a high five with his friend. "Boy that was a great concert."
Nicol gave him a sly look as he replied, "Come on you were sleeping."
"Uh…no I was just resting my eyes," Athrun protested, trying to save face, even though it was one of the oldest excuses in the book.
"Well you know the truth is I'd like to do a proper concert sometime."
Athrun smiled at his friend as Nicol gazed forward dreaming of that concert before telling him, "Not right now, but after Operation: Spitbreak comes to an end there should be plenty of time to do that."
"I know," Nicol consented. "But at least we had a nice extended break at home this time around."
"Yeah," Athrun sighed in agreement.
"Say Athrun, you were with the commander when Z.A.F.T. first made contact with the Decepticons right?"
"Yeah," Athrun confirmed in curiosity at why Nicol was asking that.
"What do you think of them from what you've seen so far?"
Athrun paused as he thought about it for a minute before giving his reply. "Well I've only really gotten to know one of them. His name's Dreadwing and he's actually going to be coming with us to Earth. He's a very honorable and proud warrior from what I've seen of him and I can honestly say that I'm glad I'll be getting the chance to work with him."
Nicol nodded at that before asking, "And what about Megatron? You met him too right? What's your opinion of him?"
Athrun paused again and then softly told Nicol, "Well he kind of makes my skin crawl, but he seems like a capable leader that my father approves of so…"
Nicol frowned a bit at that but gave a nod all the same. He had not seen much of the Decepticons himself, but Nicol was not entirely sure how eager he was to meet some of them given what he had heard about them from some people. Nicol then shook it off and decided to steer the conversation away from the Decepticons as he stated, "You know, I've never been to Earth before."
Athrun smiled at that himself as he told him, "I know it's my first time too."
The two friends continued to chat as their ship headed out to meet with the vessel that would transport them and their mobile suits to Earth, with Dreadwing following behind in his jet mode.
AN: Whoo-wee. That was something. My shoulder and hands still kinda hurts from all that typing.
Waltfeld: Mind explaining that whole thing with Megatron finding my body or for that matter the thing with Starscream tried to kill me?
AN: Gladly. See every time I watched that final scene of the battle between Kira and Waltfeld in the show, I couldn't help but feel while it was one of the most epic moments in the series it was also one of the saddest seeing as how Kira now had ended another person's life like that so I figured I'd have Optimus step in and try to prevent those deaths, only to have Starscream pull his great betrayal right then with what he did. After all we all know that Starscream had to go off and try to become a force of his own eventually, so I figured this seemed like the perfect place and time for that to happen.
La Flaga: What about that whole Megatron finds Waltfeld's body thing.
AN: I was getting to that, you see I always kind of wondered how Waltfeld was recovered and brought back to the PLANT after his battle with Kira, and I'm not sure it was ever fully explained, so I figured I'd give a bit more explanation into that this time around, and speaking of this time around expect Waltfeld to have a few more changes to him this time than in the original continuity.
Waltfeld: I'm not gonna end up being brainwashed and turned into a full on villian am I?
AN: Nope but it will be seriously cool. At least in my opinion which I hope everyone will share when we get to that point.
La Flaga: I get the feeling you should feel nervous pal.
Waltfeld: Gee thanks for the vote of confidence blondie.
AN: Okay moving on to the preview...
The Archangel and Omega II finally make it to the red sea as they begin their voyage across the ocean, but everyone knows full well that the voyage will not be a peaceful one. This fact is proven to be true as the Z.A.F.T. attacks the ship while the Le Creuset Team and the Earth Decepticon forces, now led by Athrun and Dreadwing respectively, prepare to head out in pursuit of both vessels. However, an intense battle separates Cagalli and Arcee from their respective ships and strands them both on a deserted island with none other than Athrun Zala and Dreadwing themselves. How will the two fierce women handle being stranded with these two enemies, and what secrets of the planet will being trapped there reveal?
Next time on Mobile Suit Gundam SEED Prime…Chapter 10: Island Encounters. Prepare for the unexpected Arcee and Dreadwing!
Oh and before I forget, I have put up a poll for some side story chapters which pairs up each of the Autobots with at least one of their new human allies. These stories will take place during the time that the Archangel and the Autobots are in Orb so you can expect it to start around that time. The poll is mainly just to see what team up you want to see first. I hope to have the poll up by the end of this week, and whichever one has the most votes by the time I start on the first of those chapters will go up first and be removed from the list. That will continue that way for a while so here's an early preview of the nominees:
Arcee & Cagalli
Kira and Miriallia & Bumblebee and Elita One
Mu La Flaga, Murdoch, and Sai & the Wrecker Trio
Ramius and Badgiruel & Jazz and Ratchet
Optimus and Ironhide & Kira and Erica Simmons
Once again this poll is now live, and yes I have now confirmed who the Autobots will meet once they arrive in Orb. If you can't figure out who the third Wrecker is then here's a hint: his signature is one grenade, one shot. If you can't figure it out then you need to go back and watch Transformers: Prime.
La Flaga: Well that all seems rather exciting.
Waltfeld: Yeah I'll say, Kira gets to team up twice.
La Flaga: Yeah what's the reason for that anyway?
AN: Eh...I ran out of people from the Archangel to team with the Autobots. Anyhow...
Remember to read and review. I'll see you next time!