CHAPTER FIVE: DESCENT INTO HELL
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Shinn dived towards the Freedom, firing the Impulse's beam rifle again and again. He threw the weapon aside and slashed at his mortal foe with his beam saber. The Freedom spiraled away and fired a full burst from its weapons. Shinn's eye's narrowed and he separated the Impulse into its separate parts. The Chest Flyer and Leg Flyer exploded as beam and railgun fire tore into them. The Core Splendor escaped unscarred, however.
Shinn charged the Freedom, firing the small craft's missiles and machineguns. "You took Mayu away. Then you took away Stellar! I'm tired of you going around acting like you know what's right for mankind! I won't allow you to hurt anyone else the way you've hurt me!" Shinn yelled as he flew by the Freedom. He combined with the parts the Minerva had sent out and drew one of the beam sabers from the Force Silhouette.
Shinn slammed his saber against the Freedom's shield. He kicked it on the head and sliced off its right leg. "Die, you murderer!" Shinn screamed as he attacked his mortal foe. The Freedom fired another burst from its guns and Shinn ducked behind his shield. He threw it away and drew another saber.
The Freedom pilot fired its rifle at Shinn, but the Impulse pilot dodged out of the way. Shinn gritted his teeth and thought of Mayu, Stellar, and all the others the Freedom's pilot had killed. Behind his eyes, a red seed exploded. Shinn flew up next to the Freedom and swung his sabers. The Freedom blocked with its shield and fired its railguns.
Shinn and the Impulse flew backwards. "Minerva, send out the Sword Silhouette." The requested pack flew out from the Minerva's hangar. Shinn grabbed a beam boomerang and tossed it at the Freedom. The winged mobile suit threw up its shield. The boomerang hit the shield and cut it in half.
Shinn grabbed an anti-ship sword and moved in for the kill. He zoomed in and stabbed the Freedom through the torso. The sword ripped through the Freedom's armor plating with a satisfying shriek of metal against metal.
Several hundred feet below, the Minerva and Archangel fired their positron cannons, resulting in a huge explosion. As the smoke cleared, only one mobile suit was standing: a badly damaged Impulse. A shattered remnant of the Freedom's head floated for a brief second on the water, before sinking down below the waves.
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Shinn gulped down the last bit of coffee in the Styrofoam cup and threw it out of the Destiny's cockpit. He cracked his neck and returned to rewriting the Gundam's OS to accommodate the new weapons that had been installed when the Minerva had docked at Solomon's Sword.
Shinn looked back at the stats sheet he'd printed out earlier. It showed all of the Destiny's new equipment and modifications. "Let's see, the beam cannon has been replaced with a beam launcher, and the sword's been modified with two beam edges," he said before turning back to the OS. "So, I should modify the power circuits so that the beam launcher gets less energy and the sword gets more." A few lines of code later, Shinn was almost done with his work. He finished modifying the OS and climbed out of the Destiny's cockpit.
Shinn brushed his black hair out of his eyes and picked up his uniform jacket from where he'd placed it on the handrail of the walkway that allowed him to get to his mobile suit. He walked out into one of the long halls that criss-crossed the ship and made his way to the showers. The Destiny's cockpit got really hot and Shinn was covered in sweat.
While in the shower, Shinn leaned against the tiled wall and thought about how glad he was to finally be back home in the PLANTS. For two years, he and the rest of the Minerva's crew had been scouring the space between Earth and Mars for a group of pirates that had been plaguing trading routes for over three years. Two months ago, they had finally exterminated them and had come home.
Then, barely an hour after they'd docked at Solomon; Gilbert had given them the task of hunting down another group of rebels that had managed to steal a prototype Gundam unit. Shinn got angry every time he thought of how a taskforce of highly trained soldiers let a bunch of insolent dogs attack a ZAFT fortress. So now, the Minerva had to clean up their mess. Shinn wouldn't even get to visit Mayu's grave in Aprilious.
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Sige gazed in awe at Earth as it filled the giant glass window that made up an entire wall of the Croatian's observation deck. "Wow, I've never seen Earth in person before."
Beside him, Sven looked at him strangely. "What do you mean? You're a Natural, right?"
Sige, still looking at Earth, replied, "Yeah, but I was born and raised on Mars. I wasn't ever exposed to the racism between Naturals and Coordinators as a kid until the Earth Alliance occupation forces came in 72. Then, ZAFT came along and brought the war to Mars. My parents were killed when ZAFT mobile suits attacked the city where we were living. I think that was the first time I realized that I hated ZAFT. Anyway, it's nice to see Earth at long last. It really is beautiful."
Sven nodded and said, "I never knew that about you. I always thought you came to Mars with the other refugees after the war. I'm sorry about your lose."
Sige shook his head. "No, don't be. They died a long time ago. I've gotten over it."
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The three remaining Neo-Nazca classes of Taskforce Jaeger sailed smoothly through the debris belt. They were heading on a direct intercept course with the two rebel ships. They knew where the Girty-Lues were heading, thanks to a tracking device that had been attached to one of them during the last battle by a brave ZAKU pilot shortly before the Strike Noir pilot had cut him down. Within three hours, the remaining sixteen ZAFT mobile suits would launch, ready to rip the Martian rebels apart.
In his quarters, Amos looked over his strategy one last time. "Yes, it will be perfect. The rebel dog won't know what hit him. I'll defeat the stolen Sparrow and we can finally begin crushing those pesky Martians into the dust."
Amos made some slight adjustments to his plan, and then uploaded it to the computer in his mobile suit. He shutdown his small laptop and leaned back in his chair. Amos thought back to why he was here now, on this ship, in ZAFT.
He'd been about eight years old when it had happened. His parents were taking him and his little sister for a drive through Orb's countryside. They had stopped at a gas station to fill up, and when the owner had learned that they were Coordinators, he'd shot and killed his parents and sister. Amos himself had been hit in the stomach, but he had hung on until the paramedics arrived. After that day, Amos was sent to the PLANTS to live with his aunt and uncle. At the age of nineteen, he'd enlisted in ZAFT and after three years of training, he was a redcoat serving in a highly exclusive ZAFT taskforce.
Shaking the memories off, Amos sat up and took a deep breath. "I'd better go see Monica. We haven't had a good talk in awhile," he said. Amos grabbed buttoned up his service jacket and walked down the hall of the ship to Monica's room.
Amos knocked lightly on her door. She didn't answer. He knocked again, slightly louder this time. Monica still wouldn't answer. Amos turned to walk away, think 'She must not be in right now. Oh well, I'll talk to her after the mission…if I come back.'
Just before Amos walked away, the door slide open a crack, revealing Monica clad only in a bra and panties. "Hey Amos, what are you doing here?" she asked.
Amos, trying hard to keep his eyes Monica's face, stammered, "Well, I was wondering if we could just talk. After all, we're engaged and we barely know each other. That's all."
Monica smiled and let him in.
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Neo sipped his mug of coffee and checked his watch. His shift would end in ten minutes and he could go and get some sleep. He settled into his seat and let the caffeine keep his eyes open.
He gazed at the black coffee swirling around in his mug with a half open eye. Andy had loved coffee, he'd even come out with his own brand after the first war. It had done marginally well, and Andy had brewed it every morning. Neo stopped that line of thought. Andy was dead. That was the end of the story. All of his friends were gone. Even Murrue.
Neo was draining his mug when warning sirens started blaring. He almost choked on his coffee as he yelled, "What the hell is going? Who's shooting at us?"
One of the bridge crew turned and said, "Sir, it appears a large volley of beam fire is approaching. Time till impact: 15 seconds."
Neo took a moment to regain his composure and said in a calm voice, "Move to starboard at maximum speed, then fire a return salvo back at the origin of the enemy fire. Prep all missile launchers to fire at my order. Order all pilots to launch."
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Sige and Sven were snapped out of their reminiscing when the launch signal activated. They quickly got to the ready room, changed into their flight suits, and got into their respective mobile suits. Sven was the first to launch, with Sige right behind him. Sige brought his Dagger E up to hover near the Croatian's Gottfried cannons, ready to supplement his machine's firepower to theirs if the need arose.
"Hey, Sven, do you know what's going on?" Sige asked over the radio as the black and imposing shape of the Strike Noir settled into position to the right of the starboard catapult. The Gundam's head turned to look at Sige's Dagger as Sven replied, "I'm assuming that we're under attack. I guess those ZAFT bastards found us. We'll have to hold them off long enough to get into the atmosphere."
As the remaining Daggers filed out of the ship, Neo's voice crackled over the radio of each suit. "Listen, these ZAFT assholes picked the worst time to attack. In seven minutes, we'll be within Earth's atmosphere. Before you can get pulled down into it, fall back to the ships. In other words, return to your ship before they pass the point of no return. Good luck men."
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Wolf slipped his helmet over his head and climbed into his Dagger. He started it up and flew out into space to join the other suits already standing by out there. Wolf brought the IWSP's weapons online and readied himself for the coming fight. The ZAFT ships had got the jump on them, firing their weapons from beyond the Croatian and Mohawk's visual or sensor range. 'Still, that begs the question: Why not follow through with that strike?' he thought grimly. ZAFT must have had something sneaky planned.
Wolf monitored the surrounding area, not seeing anything out of the ordinary. One of the Dagger pilots near him said, "Where are the bastards? Are they just gonna fire that one salvo?"
Wolf shook his head and replied, "No, they're up to something. Some of you go back and make sure they don't attack from behind."
Wolf had just finished saying this when his sensors picked up almost two dozen fast moving objects approaching from where the ZAFT fire had come from. "Too fast to be suits, but they're two big to be missiles," he said, "Mohawk, shoot those things down!"
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Amos grinned as he and the other ZAFT mobile suits flew towards the rebels' ships. The plan was working perfectly. Each ZAFT suit was attached to a large rocket booster, allowing them to intercept the rebels at amazing speeds.
When they got close enough, they disengaged the boosters and fell upon the Martians. Before they knew what had hit them, the ZAFT forces were upon them. Amos himself cut down three Daggers with his beam saber before a single IWSP equipped Dagger rose to challenge him. Amos snarled and slashed at it with his beam saber.
The Dagger blocked with its anti-ship katana and countered with a burst of railgun fire. Amos easily moved out of the way and sliced at the Dagger again. It caught the saber on its Gatling shield and thrusted forward with its katana. Amos deflected it off his beam shield and drew his left arm's mounted beam gun. He fired several shots at the Dagger, all of which dissipated on its shield.
Wolf easily countered all of the ZAFT Gundam's attacks. He blocked a slice from the beam saber and slashed at the Gundam's chest with his katana. Wolf parried a blow from the saber and kicked the Sparrow away. Firing a salvo from the leg missile pods, Wolf turned and flew towards the inbound booster equipped ZAFT suits.
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Sige blasted a ZAKU II apart with his mag cannon and dodged several beam shots from a Slash ZAKU II. He returned fire with his cannon and missiles before stowing the cannon and drawing his beam saber.
He slashed at the ZAKU and his enemy countered with its beam halberd. Sige and the ZAKU exchanged blows and the Martian finally caught a break when he sliced the ZAKU's right arm off.
Inside said ZAKU, Monica cursed. She activated her shield's large beam sword and stabbed at the enemy Dagger. Sige barely got out of the way of the weapon, but it still chopped his Dagger's left leg off. Sige punched the ZAKU away with his left arm and took off for another opponent.
He saw the ZAFT Gundam tear into two Daggers, disabling one and destroying the other. Sige fired several shots at it with his cannon to get its attention, and fired two missiles at it when it started coming towards him.
Amos shot the missiles down with his CIWS and chopped the Dagger's cannon in half with his saber. "Nice try, rebel, but your no match for me," Amos said, unaware that he was speaking over an open frequency.
Sige felt something flare up inside him as he heard the ZAFT soldier's words. He yelled back over the line, "I'm not gonna let a racist like you beat me. You, your country, and your entire corrupt regime are going down!" Sige blocked a saber swing and returned it with one of his own.
Amos blocked and exchanged several more hits with the Dagger. Judging by the pilot's voice, he couldn't be any older than twenty-one. What was he doing in a mobile suit? "Listen, I don't know where you got the idea that ZAFT is corrupt, but you're nothing more than a terrorist, a dog in other words. You and you're kind have to be killed."
Sige blocked a swipe from the Sparrow's saber and hit the machine in the head with his shield. "I might be a terrorist, but I'm still fighting for what's right. You damn Coordinators have no right to decide what someone's life is before they're even born! Go back to your palace's in the sky and burn in hell" Sige forced the Sparrow's saber away and struck a fierce blow to the enemy machine's frame, tearing a large gash in its chest that ran from its right shoulder to its left hip, just barely missing the suit's cockpit.
Amos pulled back as his Gundam was critically damaged. He retreated from the battlefield and fired a signal flare towards the ZAFT ships, signaling for them to pick him up. He hoped the other soldiers could finish the fight.
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Sven sliced a ZAKU II in half with his Fragarach beam sword and blasted a salvo of missiles from a Blaze ZAKU with his linear guns. He did a backflip and fired his foot mounted grappling anchor at the ZAKU, catching it through the head. Sven pulled it in and sheathed his beam sword in its chest before it exploded.
Sven felt a slight pressure in the back of his head and turned to see a one-armed ZAKU II coming at him with its large beam sword raised. Before it could slice him in half, Sven kicked it away and sliced its left leg off with his beam sword. He fired his linear guns at it and was about to close in for a kill when three ZAKU IIs surrounded him.
Sven finished them off quickly enough, but the wounded Slash ZAKU II had evaded him. He decided to take out his frustration on a passing ZAKU.
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Neo had been busy throughout the entire battle destroying incoming booster equipped ZAKUs with his Gunbarrels. He blasted his fifth kill for the day away, and recalled his remote weapons.
Neo looked at a timer on his monitor. In ninety seconds the ships would pass the point of no return. He opened a line to the ships and mobile suits. "All mobile suits, land in your ships, now! We're entering the atmosphere in seventy-three seconds. Croatian, Mohawk, please fire a salvo at the ZAFT suits as soon as our men are clear."
Neo wheeled his Gundam around and returned to the Croatian.
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Sige landed his Dagger in the Croatian's hangar and climbed out of its cockpit. Removing his helmet from his head, Sige pushed his dark purple hair out of his eyes. He noticed Sven jump out of his cockpit and float over to Selene. The two embraced affectionately, and Sige thought 'Boy, those two must be soulmates. They look so happy together. I hope that I can share feelings like that with someone, one day.'
Leaving the two alone, Sige entered the pilot's lounge and grabbed a Styrofoam cup and filled it with water. Taking a large gulp of it, he sat down on a couch and unzipped his flight suit's collar, exposing the sweat stained T-shirt he was wearing underneath.
Sige closed his eyes, allowing the adrenaline rush to wear off. He opened his eyes and saw Neo walk in. Sige jumped up to attention and saluted. Neo motioned for Sige to sit back down and asked, "So, how was your first battle? You did very well for your first time out."
Sige finished his water and responded, "It was a good challenge, but I encountered that Gundam ZAFT managed to hold on to. From your remarks about it, I thought it was a fierce machine with a pilot that fought like a tiger. He's a tiger alright. A paper tiger. He took a few blows and ran, like a weakling." As he spoke these words, Sige's eyes blazed with hatred that only he could understand.
Outside the iron and steel hull of the ship, the Croatian was following her comrade, the Mohawk, into the burning inferno of the atmosphere.
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Author's Note: Well, I finally finished this chapter. Hope you all enjoy. Please, leave a review if you like the story. What do you think writers run on, caffeine?