Episode 14: Warriors Reborn
The year is After Colony 205. Following the breakdown of the peace negotiations, Relena authorizes the Preventer Corps to use force in the defense of Earth and its colonies. On Mars, groups of loyal Preventers are making guerrilla attacks on military facilities and are one by one being destroyed by the Aresian Military Service. The Preventer Corps begins to increase the frequency and power of its patrols and correspondingly swells the ranks of its pilot division. After the Senate's declaration of war, the Taurus II is put into mass-production. Armed with these new weapons, the Preventers once again feel powerful enough to provide for the security of the World Nation. All does not point in favor of the World Nation, however. Martian engineers, learning of the Taurus II's potential, have begun designing an upgrade of the Medusa.
"Sir, the prisoners."
Mikol Esroni looked up. "Thank you," he said. "Bring them in."
Odel, Dick, Odin, and Lucille filed into the room.
"So. Have you made your decisions?" Esroni asked.
The door closed behind them.
"Yes. I have, at any rate," Odel spoke first. "I'll join your cause."
"I had hoped you would," Esroni answered. "What about you three?" he asked as Aresian troopers removed Odel's handcuffs.
Odin and Lucille looked at one another, then at Dick, who nodded. "We took oaths to uphold and protect the World Nation and its citizens, and we won't betray those oaths."
"Very well. I understand that your actions spring from noble motivations," Esroni said. "Troops, take these three and put them in the cell with the other Preventer."
"What other Preventer?" Odin asked.
"You may know her," Esroni said off-handedly. "She was initially with OZ Prize, and her name is Aretha Walker." Then Odin was dragged out of Esroni's office, and Esroni turned his head back to Odel. "As befits a pilot of your skill, you will be receiving our latest Gundam, Coruscos, and the rank of Colonel. Your first assignment," he continued, "will be to prove your loyalty to Mars by hunting down and capturing or destroying the cells of Preventers still hidden on Mars."
"I'll do anything as long as I can avenge the deaths of my wife and son," Odel said quietly.
"Hey, Aretha. Remember us?" Odin said after the door to the cell hissed shut.
"Odin? Lucille?" Aretha looked surprised. "So they captured you too."
"Yep," Odin said. "Looks like we're out of it."
Major Sherevoeu of the Preventer Corps looked up as one of her noncoms burst into the tent.
"Major! The Bernetts were just captured!"
"The Bernetts?" Sherevoeu repeated. "Gunny, are you sure?"
"Dead sure, Ma'am. So are we gonna go spring 'em?"
Sherevoeu considered. "I was reluctant to go just for Walker's sake, but if we can get the Bernetts as well, that will be worth our time. Get our people ready."
"Yes, Ma'am!" The gunnery sergeant ran out of the tent and could be heard bellowing, "Alright, you lazy Preventers! Get off your asses and get ready for combat! We've got a rescue mission to pull off, right out of the Onrinj detention center."
Aretha, Odin, Dick, and Lucille woke to the sound of gunfire outside the cell.
"What d'you think's going on?" Lucille wondered.
"Probably the Preventers that are still loyal to the World Nation are trying to break us out," Aretha speculated.
"Are you sure this is the right cell?" came a voice through the door.
"Yep. See, it says right here, 'Aisely, Bernett, Hidaski, Walker.'"
"Okay. Hey, in there! Keep away from the door! These things we're using have been known to malfunction," someone called through the door.
"Got it," Odin called back.
There was a muffled whoomph, and the door fell in. Two people were standing, silhouetted in the doorway.
"Let's go, you guys," one said. "The AMS will be regrouping soon, and we want out."
Odel and Esroni were in the hangar, looking up at Coruscos Gundam, which was standing next to Oni. It was very similar to Oni in appearance, except for the fact that Coruscos Gundam had a shield instead of a heat rod bracer on the left arm and was a dazzling silver color.
One of Esroni's ever-present aides raised a radio to his ear. "I see," he said. "Governor, rebel Preventers have broken into the detention center and freed Aisely, Bernett, Hidaski, and Walker. They are now fleeing in trucks away from the city."
"Thank you, Mr. Robertson," Esroni said. "Col. Bernett, your hour has come. Take Coruscos Gundam and prevent the rebels from escaping. I would prefer it if you could take them alive, but it's not required."
"On the contrary, Governor. My hour has not yet come, but I will gladly undergo this test of my loyalty," Odel said, walking to Coruscos's feet.
"So, here's our base, such as it is," said one of the rescuers.
Odin, Aretha, Dick, and Lucille looked at the rows of tents.
"Major Sherevoeu wants to speak with you," the speaker continued, "so if you'll just follow me," the truck stopped and they got off.
"Commander Une? The lunar base just sent word that they have completed the Tallgeese III, the Gundams, and the Lieutenant Commander Noin's customized Taurus II."
"Thank you, Parks. Would you contact the pilots for me, please?"
"Certainly, Commander What should I tell them?"
"Inform them that the suits have been completed and to meet me at the lunar base."
"Yes, Ma'am."
"And that's why it is imperative that we get you to Earth," Sherevoeu said. "You'd only be delaying the inevitable by staying here, but if you could make it to Earth, you would have access to the resources necessary to make a difference."
"How will you ensure that we can get to Earth? By sacrificing yourselves? They're sure to come after us, you know," Aretha pointed out.
"We'll hold them off with the mobile suits we stole from them long enough for you people to make your escape," Sherevoeu said. "And yes, I do intend to sacrifice myself and my people, if need be. War has been declared, and wartime demands sacrifices."
"Major!" the gunnery sergeant burst in. "An unknown Gundam just landed at our outer perimeter. It has Aresian Military Service insignia and it's demanding our surrender."
"What? So soon?" Sherevoeu stood. "Gunny, get these people to the shuttle, and get the troops to their mobile suits."
"Already on it, Ma'am. Okay, people, follow me. we haven't got much time, so hurry along," the gunny led Odin, Lucille, Aretha, and Dick outside.
"Yes, this is Milliardo Peacecraft... I see... Thanks, LC Parks," Zechs hung up the phone and turned to face Noin. "Your Taurus and the Tallgeese have been completed," he told her. "Lady Une wants us at the lunar base to get ourselves re-accustomed to the feel of them."
"Guess we'll be fighting again soon," she said.
"I repeat, surrender your weapons and yourselves and you will be spared. If you choose not to comply, I will begin my attack," Odel boomed over Coruscos Gundam's loudspeaker.
"The construction on Heavyarms has been finished? Thank you," Trowa said. Catherine came in.
"They finished your Gundam?" she asked.
"Yeah, but listen, don't worry yet, Cathy. Lady Une just wants us pilots to go up to the lunar base and take them for a spin to get used to them again. We won't be in combat."
"Alright," Catherine said, somewhat mollified, "just don't go getting amnesia this time. Or trying to blow yourself up."
"Sure thing, Cathy."
"That's Odel's voice," Odin said, pausing as they entered the underground shuttle bay. Aretha was running up the boarding stairs, followed by Dick.
Lucille, right behind Dick, turned. "Come on, Odin. He's made his decision, we can't change it," she said.
"You're right," Odin agreed, turning and running to the stairs.
Quatre groggily woke up to the ringing of the phone. "Hello?" he picked it up.
"Hello, Sir. Lance Corporal Parks here. I'm terribly sorry to wake you up at the hour it is on your colony, but Lady Une has instructed me to inform you that the Gundam Sandrock has been completed, and to offer you the rank of Colonel."
Quatre was much more awake now. "Okay. A colonel. Right, I'll take it. Was there anything else?"
"If you could be at the lunar base within two hours, Col., it would be greatly appreciated."
"Understood," Quatre said, and hung up.
"Gundam, we will not surrender. Do what you can to defeat us," Sherevoeu replied, advancing in her Medusa. A line of the captured Martian mobile suits was now encircling Coruscos Gundam, with more assembling every minute.
"Very well," Odel said, and activated the sword function of the beam bracer and a blade sprang into being. "Take this!" he raised the shield and pointed it at one Medusa. Pressing a switch, two panels popped open, revealing a pair of gatlings, which riddled the unfortunate suit with bullet holes.
"Deploy defensors and fire," Sherevoeu ordered. Coruscos Gundam leapt and fired its thrusters, avoiding the beam barrage.
"You'll have to do better than that to defeat a Gundam pilot!" Odel returned fire with the shield gatlings and came down on one, slashing down. The beam blade crackled against the force field created by the planet defensors before breaking through, slicing vertically through a Medusa.
Aretha strapped herself into the pilot's chair, while Odin took the copilots' seat. "The trip to earth will take about a week, even with a high-speed shuttle like this one," she said as Lucille and Dick settled themselves in the two rear seats. "Everyone ready?"
"Yeah," Dick said.
"All right then, launch in 10 seconds."
"Fire your missiles! We have to buy enough time for them to get away!" the major shouted, emptying her shoulder tubes and the Medusa launcher. There was a beeping sound, and an image appeared in her cockpit of the shuttle rising on a trail of smoke. "Godspeed," Sherevoeu said.
Odel also saw the shuttle. "So, they're buying time so that Odin and the others can escape," he said to himself. "I'm sure I'll meet them again. These, however," he returned his attention to the Medusas, "are the pressing matter of the moment, and there are too many to defeat by myself. Major Esroni?"
"Yes, Colonel Bernett?" Julia's image popped up.
"You can bring up the reinforcements now," he told her.
"Yes, Sir!" Her image disappeared.
"Now, Preventers, your luck is about to run out," Odel smirked and fired his beam bracer as Oni Gundam led a battalion of Medusas to join him.
Duo picked up the phone. "Hello?"
"Is this Duo Maxwell?"
"Yeah, but I'm not interested in buying anything today."
"No, this is Lance Corporal Parks. Commander Une told me to call you Gundam pilots."
"Oh! Cool! Is Deathscythe ready?"
"Yes, it is. You'll agree to becoming a Captain, then?"
"Sure, sure, sure," Duo said. "When can I go see it?" I'll be the God of Death once again, he thought.
"Commander Une wants you all to be at the lunar base in two hours-"
"Gotcha," Duo hung up. "Hey, Hilde! I've gotta go to the moon! Preventer stuff!"
"Fine," Hilde sighed. "I'll just mind the junkshop, all by myself..."
"Major! There are reinforcements on the way! The other Gundam, and a battalion of Medusas!"
"Are you sure, Gunny?"
"Positive. We can't possibly hope to survive."
"Tell me something I don't know, Gunny. Well, I guess there's nothing for it but the proverbial last stand," Major Sherevoeu said.
"The stupidly heroic one, Major?"
"Yes, Gunny. The stupidly heroic last stand." Sherevoeu smiled, firing her beam bayonet at Coruscos Gundam.
"Yaaa!" Odel sliced through a Medusa, noticed another Medusa behind him raising its beam bayonet to deliver a deadly slash of its own, and knew there wasn't time to dodge.
"You okay there, Col.?" The Medusa was lashed by Oni's heat rod.
"Fine, thanks." Odel stood and watched the Aresian Medusas engage those of the rebels before rejoining the fight himself. "Shall we show them what our Gundams can do, do you think, Major?"
"Absolutely!" Julia bared her teeth in a feral smile.
"Engage PX!" both said at the same time.
"So, Lady Une, why is Wing Gundam also here? I thought Heero wasn't going to be piloting," Zechs said. He, Noin, Quatre, Duo, Trowa, and Wufei were looking up at their suits.
"I'm wondering the same thing," Lady Une said. She turned to the other person present. "Well, Mr. Katoki? I thought I told you that you didn't need to build Wing."
"I know, Commander, but I had the plans, and there was extra Gundanium, so I thought, 'What the heck, why not make the complete set?' "
"I see," Lady Une said, shooing Katoki away. "Now, why don't you all take your suits out for a spin, get reacquainted with their handling? I have more paperwork that I have to do," Une scowled her opinion of paperwork.
"They're ripping through our formation like it was paper! Major, what should we d-" the message dissolved into static.
"Gunny, status report," Sherevoeu barked.
"We've lost half of our force," the gunnery sergeant replied tautly, "and destroyed a squadron and a half of their troops. The squadron and a half that we have left are being surrounded, with us in the middle."
"Looks bad," Sherevoeu said.
"Your penchant for understatement has never been more evident, Ma'am." The silver Gundam stepped forward.
"This is your last chance to surrender," Odel said. "Drop your weapons and exit your suits."
"Should we accept the offer?" Sherevoeu asked Gunny.
"It's better than dying in a stupidly heroic last stand, Ma'am," Gunny said pointedly.
"Point taken, Gunny. All right, we surrender, but may I know to whom I am surrendering?" Sherevoeu's Medusa dropped its beam bayonet and deactivated its defensors, the other Preventer Medusas following suit.
"I am Col. Odel Bernett of the Aresian Military Service."
"Whoohoooooooo!" Duo put his rebuilt Deathscythe Hell through a series of difficult aerobatics. "I've still got the touch!"
Wufei sighed heavily. "Captain Maxwell!! Get back into formation immediately!"
"Aw, loosen up, Wufei. Lady Une told us to get used to our Gundams again, and besides, my buddy Deathscythe is wasted on formation flying."
"He has a point, Wufei," Quatre said. "In fact, none of our Gundams really work well in formation. We can act as a team, yes, but the capabilities of our suits vary so much that if we tried to fight in a tight formation, we would only end up decreasing each other's effectiveness.
"Altron, Deathscythe, and Sandrock are all designed for close-in combat, and from that point of view, we should, in theory, be able to fight together, but in reality, the styles which we use in close combat are radically different and preclude formation work. On the other hand, there's Heavyarms, which has absolutely no close-range weaponry. Even assuming that the three of us could fight together in formation, it wouldn't work if we tried to include Trowa in the formation, because he would either end up holding the enemy at range, where we can't help, or he would end up in a position too crowded for him to use his weapons effectively. In any event, our best course is to give each other the room to take advantage of our suits' strengths while still working as a team to support each other as needed."
"Yeah, Wufei, so lighten up," Duo smirked.
"Just so you know, Wufei, as CO of this unit, I'm certainly not expecting us to show much in the way of proper military formality," Noin said dryly. "However, Duo, that does not mean that you can mouth of to your superior officers."
"Sure thing, Noin," Duo replied easily.
"What's that suit doing over there?" Trowa interrupted.
"What?" Noin asked, looking around. "What kind of suit is it?"
"Checking... Got it. AMS-04MD Vulturis, Martian reconnaissance mobile doll. I didn't think we'd captured any."
"We haven't," Zechs said grimly. "It's spying on us. Take it out."
"Cancel that," Noin overrode him. "Lady Une is going to make an announcement about it, so it's not like they aren't going to know that the Gundams have been rebuilt anyway. Let it watch as much as it likes; the data might have a deterrent effect on the Martian government."
In one of his rare moments of reflective sobriety, Duo said, "In that case, take a good look, mobile doll, 'cause every soldier the AMS doesn't send against me is that much less blood on my hands, and one less threat to me 'n' Hilde."
To be continued in Episode 15: Internal Conflict