Chapter Four: First Flight
Sige sat down in his cell. From the alarms that had sounded a few minutes ago, the ship was about to enter combat with ZAFT forces. He was ready to make his move and get out, but there were still the guards to deal with. As soon as they left, Sige would make his move and escape the cell.
In the meantime, he leaned back against his cell and listened to the sounds of battle that echoed down the halls as the Croatian and Mohawk mobile suit teams engaged the enemy.
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Sven boosted over a salvo of beam fire and cut down two enemy ZAKU IIs with his beam pistols. He dodged another salvo of fire and used his grappling hooks to drag another one in, where he blew it apart with two blasts of his pistols.
He holstered his pistols and drew his anti-ship swords. Moving in, he cut one of the ZAFT suits apart and blocked a beam saber stab. He sliced off the arm of one, and moved back under the cover of a salvo of rail cannon fire.
He kept up a barrage of high explosive rounds, and took out the last of the ZAKU IIs currently engaging him. Sven turned and went off to seek out new opponents.
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Meanwhile, Mu was busy fighting off three ZAKU IIs and the Sparrow unit ZAFT had retained possession of. He blocked a blast of beam cannon energy and sent his Gunbarrels to take out the ZAKU that had fired the blast. The four remote weapons quickly cut the enemy machine to pieces with their railguns. Mu fired his rifle at the Sparrow, which easily blocked the shots with its beam shields.
Mu skirted to the side and dodged a beam rifle shot from the opposing machine, while at the same time dispatching a ZAKU with his Gunbarrels. The wired weapons then moved in on the remaining ZAKU II and took it out. Now, Mu focused all of his weaponry on the Sparrow.
The enemy pilot was good, weaving through weapons fire with ease. Mu recalled his Gunbarrels and used the extra thrust to get behind his opponent. He let loose with his beam rifle, firing three shots before his momentum carried him away from his target.
The Sparrow blocked the shots with its beam shield and returned fire with its beam rifle. Mu spiraled out of the way and drew a beam saber. He slashed at his enemy and was rewarded when he cut off the machine's left hand at the wrist.
Mu then ducked behind his shield as the Sparrow began to violently strike at him with its beam sabers, pushing him back.
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Wolf pulled his anti-ship sword out of a ZAKU II and used his beam boomerang to destroy another two. The shield mounted gatling caused the last of the group to take cover behind its arm shield, and another Dagger E got behind it and filled it with lead from its railguns.
Wolf and the other three Daggers he'd been fighting alongside re-grouped and headed off towards the enemy ships. When in range, the four IWSP-equipped mobile suits fired their railguns and gatlings and a single Neo-Nazca class. The eight shells and countless armor piercing bullets wrecked havoc on the front of the ship, tearing apart its launch catapult and blowing apart its bridge.
Wolf moved in with his anti-ship sword and sliced a long wound into the side of the ship before pouring railgun fire into the engine block. This combined firepower, as well as the exploding engine, tore the enemy ship apart. Wolf leaned back in his seat and let out a triumphant sigh. "Well boys," he said over the radio, "let ZAFT suck on that."
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After the destruction of the ZAFT ship, Captain Endrei Lagosse, captain of the Jotunheim, ordered the mobile suits to withdraw and the ships to disengage. He wouldn't allow any more ships to be lost. Unfortunately, he'd probably have to deal with Cmdr. Burrell's anger.
Speak of the devil, Endrei thought as the bridge door hissed open and Cmdr. Burrell stepped into the bridge. The commander's anger was clear. "Why did you recall our mobile suits? We could've ended this today! They've escaped into the shelter of the debris belt by now," he said in that cold rage that often seemed to grip him.
Endrei sighed and replied, "We lost a ship Cmdr., as well as a dozen ZAKUs. I didn't see a victory in sight, and as such I ordered us to withdraw. That was my tactical decision." Endrei gave Rey a look that said, "Don't try to order me about in front of my crew."
Rey seemed to get the hint and, with one last look of scorn, left the bridge. Endrei sank into his captain's chair, wondering about the consequences of his actions. Normally, a captain outranked a commander as long as they were on the captain's ship. However, Burrell was in Durandal's favor, and disobeying him might invite the wrath of the ruler of the PLANTS. Still, all Endrei could do now was wait and see what would happen.
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Mu walked onto the bridge and went straight for the map table that sat in one corner of the bridge. Already gathered around it were Sven, Selene, Murdoch, as well as Wolf Ritter, captain of the Mohawk, the Croatian's sister ship.
"Alright everyone, you know why you're here. We've safely made it into the debris belt, now where do we go from here?" Mu looked at each one, waiting for them to come up with an idea.
Wolf spoke up first. "Well, since we're trying to get away from the taskforce that's been following us, I say we head to Earth. I don't think they'll follow us down there, as they could just order whatever ground troops are in the area to come and get us. So, what do you guys think?"
Wolf's idea was met with general approval and it was decided that the two ships should descend to Earth. "Now," said Mu, "where do we go from there? Where should we land?"
This time it was Sven who spoke up. "Well, the way I see it, we have only two choices. Central Eurasia or the Atlantic. Those are the only two areas where we could descend without getting shot down by ZAFT air-defenses. Central Eurasia is a hotbed of anti-ZAFT sentiment, so we'd find some friends there, but it's surrounded by three huge ZAFT bases. As for the Atlantic, we'd have to land in the exact center of the ocean, so we could avoid anti-air missile strikes. Of course, who's to say that we won't run into a ZAFT fleet making its way across the Atlantic? Really, either way it's all about chance."
Mu nodded and said, "Well, who votes for the Atlantic?" Only Murdoch's hand went up. "Then it's decided. We head down to Eurasia."
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A guard came and unlocked Sige's cell. "You're being let out for good behavior. Well, that's the official reason anyway. The real reason you're getting out is because Cmdr. Roanoke calmed down and Sven did some sweet talking."
Sige laughed and headed towards the hangar. That's were they kept the mobile suit simulators and he was itching to pilot something, anything. The feeling of power he'd felt in a mobile suit still hadn't left him and even thinking about flying made his blood sing in his veins.
When he got to the hangar, he jumped off of the walkway he was standing on and floated down to Murdoch. "Chief Mechanic Murdoch sir, I was wondering if I could try my luck in the mobile suit simulators. I really wanna be a pilot."
Murdoch looked at him skeptically, but the pleading look on Sige's face quelled any arguments he might have made. "Sure kid, you can have a go. Besides, protocol states that anyone who wants to become a pilot or already is a pilot has access to the sims."
Sige smiled like he'd never smiled before and profusely thanked Murdoch. He climbed into the simulator and went about adjusting the settings. "Alright, I'll put the difficulty on easy and start off with a Lightning Dagger."
The simulator hatch closed and the lights dimmed. Sige was walked through all of the start-up sequences by the computer and easily grasped the basic controls and set-up. After he'd familiarized himself with the important controls and procedures, the computer simulated him launching out into a large desert area.
Sige flew around the simulated environment for a few minutes to get used to the Dagger's performance. Then, the computer began throwing enemy ZAKUs and GOUFs at him.
Two ZAKUs and a GOUF rushed him. Sige reacted instinctively and remembered the brief combat tips the computer had given him before start-up. "Okay, place the target reticule over the enemy and wait for it to go red and then fire." Sige raised the electromagnetic cannon that was the Lightning Dagger's main weapon and followed the simple procedure. He pulled the trigger and a high explosive round went sailing towards a GOUF.
His target did a barrel roll and the shot missed completely. The GOUF closed in with its beam sword and took a swing at Sige. The inexperienced pilot panicked and threw up the cannon to defend himself. The sword cut the barrel in half and caused the weapon to explode. Sige barely managed to get it out of his mobile suit's hands before it blew. Fortunately, it took the GOUF with it.
That left two ZAKUs. Sige fumbled around with the controls and managed to get out a beam saber. He feebly sliced at one, only to miss completely. The ZAKU slammed into him and unloaded its beam rifle into his cockpit. A message flashed across the screen. "SIMULATION FAILED. RETRY?"
Sige, feeling depressed, clicked "YES" and started the simulation again. This time, he managed to beat the first wave of enemies and made it halfway through the second. This success motivated Sige even more, and he kept practicing. After what seemed like an hour, he heard banging on the simulator door. Sige opened it up and saw a very annoyed Murdoch looking at him.
"Listen kid," he began, "I know you wanna be a good pilot, but you've been in there for four hours. Take a fucking break, will ya? I've got ten other pilots who wanna practice, but can't because of you."
Sige blinked in disbelief at the news. "What? I thought I'd only been in for an hour or so. I'm really sorry, I get out know. I probably smell really bad." Murdoch laughed and said, "Well, I wasn't gonna say anything. You go get a shower and a bite to eat. The sim will still be here when you get back."
Sige nodded and went of to take a shower and change into some fresh clothes. He wondered where Sven was. I wonder a Sven will react when I tell him I'm gonna be a pilot?, Sige thought. Sige didn't know it, but at that moment, Sven was occupied in Selene's room.
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Amos walked out of the shower and changed into a fresh uniform. He sat down in front of his computer and began to watch the footage from the battle earlier today. Cmdr. Burrul had insisted that he review the battle to learn from his mistakes and to find weaknesses in the Sparrow pilot's fighting style.
After reviewing the tapes, Amos found that the Sparrow pilot seemed to prefer to keep the fight at range, much like the ancient fighter pilots of the 20th century. "If I could get in close, I could probably beat him." Amos grinned and set to work on developing a strategy to defeat the Sparrow.
Some hours later, Amos emerged from his room with bags under his eyes. He'd finally come up with a strategy, and he had decided to grab something to eat before showering and going to bed. He walked to the cafeteria and loaded a tray up with the spaghetti and meatballs that was being served for today's dinner.
Amos set down at a table and started eating. A short time after he'd almost choked on his third meatball, a tall woman came over and set her tray down next to him. "Amos, where have you been all day?" she asked.
Amos looked up from his food and smiled. "Hi Monica. I've been working on a way to take out the stolen Gundam. I finally found a strategy that works." Amos swallowed another bit and added, "So, how's it going in your squad?"
Monica brushed some of her golden blonde hair out of her face before replying, "Not good. My squad was torn to pieces by that black Gundam the rebels have. Me and Daniel were the only survivors. But, Captain Endrei promised that we'd get replacements as soon as possible. Other than that, everything's going fine, I guess."
Amos finished his food and stood up. "See ya, Monica. I'm wiped out. I'm gonna go catch a few Z's." Amos picked up his tray, lightly pecked Monica on the cheek, put his tray in a sink, and walked out of the cafeteria to the showers.
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Sven pulled his shirt over his head and said goodbye to Selene. He left her room and headed to the hangar to practice on the sims. When he got there, he saw almost everyone in the hangar crowded around the simulators. He floated down there and tried to see what it was. He found Neo and said, "Neo, what is going on? Why's everyone crowded around the sim?"
Neo turned around with a grin on his face. "It appears Sige is hooked on piloting mobile suits. He's been training for the past two days and he's already on the hardest difficulty. Murdoch hooked up a view screen to the simulator so that everyone could watch. Take a look."
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Sige flipped over a beam cannon blast and fired his cannon once. The Gunner ZAKU Warrior exploded as the high explosive shell tore through its armor. Sige drew a beam saber and cut the arm off of a passing GOUF. He turned around mid-flight and blew it apart with a missile strike.
The Lightning Dagger that had become Sige's best friend landed in the middle of the simulated battlefield. For the third time in a row, Sige had beaten the sim on hard.
Sige climbed out of the simulator and saw the crowd that had gathered to watch him. "Well, I didn't know I was this popular," Sige said as he walked over to Sige and Neo. The crowd, seeing that Sige's practice was over, quickly dispersed. "So," said Sige, "Captain Neo, have I proved that I'm good enough to pilot an MS?"
Neo was silent for a few moments; clearly he was just trying to annoy Sige. He smiled a little and said, "Yes, I think it's obvious that you're dedicated to becoming a pilot and you've worked hard to become one. I'll let you pilot a Dagger E. However, I'm warning you Sige. In real-life, you don't get to try again if you die."
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Author's Note: Here's chapter four for any of you who have decided that this is a story that's good enough to read all the way through. Like I said last time, updates will be erratic, so bear with me. Yall just need to check back about once a month to see if I've updated any. And lastly, as usual, LEAVE A REVIEW OR I'LL HAVE CHUCK NORRIS HUNT YOU DOWN AND ROUNDHOUSE KICK YOU IN THE BALLS!