Gundam Seed: Killer's Realm
Phase 03: Intermediate Combat
- The Killer -
Lagrange 3, Heliopolis Debris Field
4:57 P.M. Orb Time
"Augury, please respond!" There was a slight pause before the same voice screeched out across the radio waves. "Kira Yamato, respond!" In the Augury's cockpit, Kira's reverse-dilated eyes slid across the main monitor to an auxiliary that displayed the Barachiel. The angular object on the bridge, a Phased-Array Radar if he remembered correctly, was scanning the field for him. At that moment, Kira could have done a number of things. He could have drawn a beam pistol and blasted the ship, destroying the Combat Information Center if nothing else.
The Coordinator closed his eyes and took a few deep breaths, before turning the Augury around and nudging the Kiba. The Silver Gundam's head turned slightly, nodded, swiveled to stare in one direction. Turning the Augury's optics in the same way, Kira spotted the fading glares of the Bastion's thrusters. Almost seeming to feel the gaze, the Gundam stopped, turned about and offered a salute to the Augury before continuing, the remains of the ZONGS on its shield throwing the finger up at the White Gundam in an impressive display of control. Either that, or Miguel had little better to do in his cockpit.
Grinning, Kira calmed down, his pupils expanding back to normal size. He made to begin moving the Augury back to the Barachiel, except that a very weak radar signal attracted his attention. Tracing it, he found a large pod.
"What do you have there Kira?" Jack asked, turning the Kiba around when he saw the large object in the Augury's hands.
"It's a shelter. Must have malfunctioned if it's still here." Kira replied, handling the relatively delicate domicile carefully. While most shelters/escape pods these days were drastically similar to ones of the older days – in that they floated in place emitting a beacon – Orb shelters were equipped with high-impulse thrusters, a cheap solar sail, and a large paper battery in order to facilitate quick travel to the nearest safe location. But, in case of damage that incapacitates the shelter, they still have the beacon.
"You know, I just don't see why people would willingly subject themselves to that kind of unknowing fate...I mean really, right now, they don't even now whether you're friend or foe." Jack had previously made his own feelings in regard to shelters clear. As usual, Kira ignored his friend as they used economic pulses of thruster fire to maneuver themselves towards the Barachiel.
Lagrange 3, Barachiel, 1st Hanger Deck
Twelve Minutes Later
Climbing out of the Augury's cockpit, Kira saw the mechanics standing around the shelter, fiddling with the circuitry.
"What's wrong?" He called, floating down from the catwalk to land lightly on the deck. The chief engineer, Murdock, if Kira remembered the roster correctly, turned, glancing briefly towards Kira before turning back to the shelter.
"The main control pad fried. I think a beam flashed too close or something...maybe a railgun shell, those things have been known to wipe credit cards at two meters...Anyway, I'm fiddling with the wires to try and get the door open." There was a little sizzle, causing the engineers to jump back, and the hatch, on top of the shelter, opened. A redheaded girl floated out, apparently having been waiting next to the hatch all the time. She floated there for a few moments, getting her bearings before trying to get to the deck. Apparently, she didn't have much experience moving in microgravity, flailing around a bit and managing to spin 197 degrees. Her salvation came in the form of Jack, who snickered as he launched himself from the Kiba's catwalk. Coming up behind her, he gave her a push, propelling himself back to the Kiba and her to the deck. Headfirst. The girl was dazed for a moment before righting herself, carefully moving her limbs. She spotted Kira then, and her face lit up.
"You're one of Sai's friends aren't you!" She floated over to him, struggling slightly as Kira watched her. She looks familiar...Oh, she's Sai's girlfriend. Kira's eyes narrowed. Flay Allstar...Daughter of one of the more influential Blue Cosmos members. Sai, Kuzzey, Tolle and Miriallia came into the hanger then, apparently having heard about the shelter pod.
"Flay!" Sai called delightedly.
"Sai!" Flay kicked off the deck, floating up towards Sai, the two embracing as they drew near. Kira coughed, embarrassed as he saw Jack making vomiting motions. The rest of the refugees began flowing out, each coming to terms with the microgravity more quickly than Flay, most having lived on Heliopolis for most their lives. Kira kicked off towards the wall, and bounced off it towards the other door. He'd have to have a talk with Natarle...
– The Crew –
Cafeteria/Meeting Room/Break Room
Natarle, on her part, had never met such a passively threatening person as Kira Yamato. On their initial meeting, she'd dismissed him as an average Coordinator student, smart but not really much of a threat. Now though...Even the other officer's seemed to sense it, with even Mu sliding away from the Augury's pilot. Only that Jack person seemed mostly unaffected, grinning mockingly at the group. Liene seemed somewhat resistant.
"So what did you do Kira?" Murrue asked again. The whole command staff of the Barachiel, along with Liene and some of the mechanics, were...asking Kira and Jack exactly what they did and how.
"Well..." Kira was interrupted by Jack almost before he could begin.
"We've been studying how a Mobile Suit would work for a while." Jack said, still grinning at the unease of the OMNI officers. "a bit of professional curiosity you see...Kira was interested in the operating system, while I was more interested in the strictly mechanical things."
"And you managed to improve on Liene's programming with a little research?" Natarle shot back incredulously. Liene coughed a bit, torn between defending his skill and preserving Orb's secrets. He'd been perfectly capable of programming the Gundams for maximum efficiency and power. It's just that Andrew didn't want OMNI to have too good prototypes...
"Coordinators." Jack said simply. This caused all around to nod. Murrue sighed.
"Well...I suppose I'll have to ask...but can you two help us get to the Earth? We can't let you go until we meet with Admiral Halberton, and he clears you..."
"Sure, sure." Jack said, with Kira nodding practically imperceptibly.
Then the intercom buzzed, and Murrue stepped up to it, tapping the button.
"What is it?"
"Um...Captain, you're gonna want to see this for yourself." Sighing, Murrue exited the room, with Natarle and Mu quick on her heels. Kira and Jack followed, curious.
The Bridge
They stared. It was understandable. Who would logically think that they'd find a bird in space?
"Birdy!" Kira smiled, relieved at seeing his robotic pet. The bird pecked at the pseudo-glass of the bridge view, attempting to get to its master. Kira, Jack and Liene were the only ones who noticed the small slip of paper held inside the robot's beak. Then, before any of them could react, Birdy flew around the bridge, and headed for the airlock.
"What's it doing?" Badgiruel asked sharply. "It doesn't expect you to-" A beep announced the opening of the airlock, and they all stared as the chamber cycled in the atmosphere before opening the door. The bridge crew stared as the machine hopped up into the air and flapped a few times, achieving a great increase in altitude in the microgravity. At the top of its flight, it glided smoothly down, circling Kira's head before landing neatly on his shoulder.
"H-how can it do that!" Natarle demanded, understandably shaken.
"I programmed it with an advanced hacking software so that it could get to me anywhere." Kira supplied, stroking his pet.
The bridge crew, and Mu, stared at the programmer.
- The Killer -
Pilot's Quarters
Later
The two conspirators retrieved the paper from Birdy's beak, opening the note and reading it.
Kira
As soon as possible, contact me. The Vesalius, my ship, will keep barely within sensor range of your ship to your port side.
Athrun
"How the fuck, are you supposed to contact him without bringing the lot of OMNI on our heads?" Jack scorned, shaking his head. Kira just smiled.
Barachiel, Bridge
January 26, C.E. 71 1:56 A.M. Orb Time
Sai yawned, his mouth opening wide. Then, something tapped his shoulder.
"GAT!" he screeched, leaping out of his chair. When he turned, panicked to see who – or what – it was, he saw Kira smiling.
"Gat?" Kira asked, amusement plain. Sai ignored him.
"What are you doing up so late. Or is it early?" Sai asked, still somewhat drowsy.
"I don't need that much sleep." The Coordinator said truthfully. "I figured I'd take over up here for a while." Sai didn't question him, instead bowing and rushing for his bunk.
Kira sat, not in the communications chair, but the sensors station, quickly opening the sensor map. There it is. Despite Athrun saying that the Vesalius would stay only barely within sensor range, the Nazca-class warship was well within maximum range, and clearly marked. Kira shrugged for a second, and then started typing. Before he did anything with the sensors, he started manipulating the program that operated the phased array. At a rate of 200 words per second, he rewrote the program, creating a more efficient use of available energy, before creating a code that stored sensor files marked with a specific extension in a databank separate from the central one, accessible only with the proper password. This done, Kira then switched the radar from the acquisition mode to tracking, manipulating the radio waves into a tight beam. Then, he began switching it on and off.
– The Crucible and The Redcoats –
"Commander Le Creuset!" The aide rushed into Rau's room, catching the ace commander at his desk with a bottle of pills in hand. The aide looked shocked for a moment before Rau snapped at him.
"What is it?"
"The Barachiel – it's tracking us!" Rau swore mentally. How! We're at the bare edge of its projected sensor range! They'd tried to guess at the probable range of the ship's sensors by testing the Bastion's own phased array, and extrapolating the probable power of the Barachiel's. It seems they were holding out on us. Not two minutes later, Rau stepped onto the Vesalius' bridge. He saw the sensor station crewman looking confusedly at his screen.
"What's going on?" Rau demanded, walking over.
"Well….I don't know. The Barachiel is tracking us, and then not tracking us, and then going back to tracking us. It's quite confusing really, but they haven't fired at us. It could be an intimidation tactic."
"Let me see." Athrun came up from behind Rau, leaning over the crewman's shoulder. The Red brought up the data records, looking it over. Then he smiled. "It's Kira."
"Huh?"
"Morse code." Athrun explained, beginning to translate the code on the computer. About two minutes later, after the Barachiel stopped flashing them, they had the message written out.
Athrun
You might want to back the Vesalius by about sixty kilometers. The crew is going to try and get to Artemis.
Kira
"So that's where they're going." Rau mused. He nodded at the communications officer, who opened a line to the Gamow's captain.
Minutes later, the Bastion launched from the Vesalius, with the Enmity, Noctoraptor, and Ferox launching from the Gamow ten kilometers away.
As the Gundam team approached, Dearka Elsman, the Ferox's pilot, aimed the "Painkiller" beam rifle at the ship, firing several shots off as the Ferox's subarms aimed and fired the "Shredder" linear repeater and the "Big Earl" rocket launcher. The beams struck the port armor, although most of it was dissipated by the laminated armor. The linear rounds were more effective, opening relatively small rents in the armor and exposing a power line. The rocket was intercepted by a laser, prematurely exploding.
"My, my." He said jocularly, "They made this thing tough."
Next to him, the Enmity fired its linear grenade launcher, the magnetic coils launching the explosive at an extremely high speed. The grenade slammed into the armor, creating an enormous dent before exploding, creating a rather large hole.
"Hmph." Yzak Joule grunted. "It's not so tough. We could probably destroy it right now, if it weren't for Athrun…" At that moment, the Bastion sped past, its foot knocking the Enmity in the head as it moved to attack the beam cannons even now swiveling to aim at them. The Ferox almost seem to shrug as smoke began to spread out from its shoulders, concealing its position. When the beams fired, they traveled the distance almost instantly, breaking apart when they reached the cloud.
- The Crew -
In the Barachiel's hanger, the Kiba stepped onto the catapult, crouching in a predatory manner. On the deck below, the Shadowfax's thrusters glowed, Mu firing them up in preparation. The Augury stepped onto the catapult, and arms reached out from compartments, attaching the components of the Angelos pack. To the back was attached the main unit, from which bird-like wings extended. On the leg thrusters, two boosters were attached, as extra thrusters were added to the chest and legs. A limb extended, adhering the EWACS module to the top of the Augury's head. One arm held out the shield, which the Augury grabbed, holding it to the side. With the attachment done, Kira signaled the bridge. The catapults activated, launching the two mobile suits and mobile armor out into space, perpendicular to the approach of the ZAFT-owned Gundams.
The Augury and Bastion sped towards each other, beam rifles targeting. The Kiba made to acquaint itself with the Enmity, Phase Shift Claws activating as the Blue Gundam fired several beams at it. The Shadowfax sped towards the Ferox, which made use of its special targeting systems to lock specific weapons to specific targets. Namely, the Shredder to the Shadowfax, along with the CIWS and Painkiller rifle, and the Big Earl, missiles, and High Explosive Equalizer-fired rounds going for the Barachiel. At this point, Natarle noticed a glaring discrepancy in their information.
"Where the hell is the Noctoraptor!" She demanded. This question was instantly answered by a flash from the starboard side, followed by a large thump sound throughout the ship. Then an explosion destroyed some of the outer armor. "What was that?"
"Ma'am, that appears to have been a bolt from the Noctoraptor's Ballistra sniper rifle, that managed to pierce one of the fuel cells." One of the techs reported.
"Track the angle and fire flechette rockets!" The crew obeyed, using the targeting computer to judge the general area of the Noctoraptor's location before firing the missiles. When they reached the edge of the designated zone, they exploded, shaped charges combined with inertia sending high-temperature flechettes zooming through space. Within the area, the Noctoraptor appeared, coming out of Mirage Colloid stealth to activate it's Phase Shift Armor and shield itself with the twin Trikeros shields.
- The Pilots -
A kilometer away, the Augury and the Bastion dueled. With the Angelos pack, the Augury was far more maneuverable than the comparatively lumbering Bastion, which lived up to its name with the precise and timely placement of its shield. Occasionally, the red-and-blue beam of the Multi-Phase Beam Cannon joined the beams of the rifles, often missing the Augury by dozens of meters as the White Gundam used its new-found mobility to zip around the beams. Unlike before, the two friendly pilots didn't converse, aware now of the horrendously powerful sensors of the Barachiel. This didn't stop them from sending visual cues, such as a twitch of a finger before a beam fired, or a slight shrug of the shoulders before the missiles launched.
The brawl between the Kiba and the Enmity was far less professional, with both pilots screaming at each other over the encrypted radio link. The Enmity had already drawn the Fafnir beam sword, slicing away at the Kiba, which used its low mass and thrusters to avoid each one.
"Graah! Stay still!" Yzak roared, firing the Grendel shotgun, magnetically accelerated flechettes flying at the Kiba's face. With a swipe of the claws, Chimamare cleared most of the normally deadly projectiles, allowing the few remnants to bounce off his armor.
"Why should I!" Chimamare cried, mad grin firmly planted on his face. "It's too fun to watch you scream and cry over your own ineptitude!" The cackle echoed in the Enmity's cockpit, driving Yzak to greater heights of rage-induced thrashing. The next slice practically took off the Kiba's sensor fins, only the timely duck of its head causing the plasma blade to fly over its head. Grin becoming ever wider, Chimamare lashed out with the left Chilong claws, deactivating their Phase Shift for the bare instant it took for them to scratch across the cockpit armor, leaving slight silver streaks. Acting quickly, Yzak released the beam sword, drawing the Beowulf Linear Repeater gun from its holster on the Enmity's right hip, twin barrels revolving as he spooled the weapon up. When the Kiba opened its maw to fire the Nidhoggr, the Enmity's right arm aimed the Beowulf straight into it. The only thing that saved the Kiba from losing its head was Chimamare's split-millisecond reaction, jerking the Kiba's head to the right side as the right claws slashed at the Enmity's arm.
Instead of smashing into the Kiba's head and ruining it beyond repair, the burst of 45mm rounds sped across the battlespace, slamming into the Ferox's torso and knocking Dearka around like a ragdoll. Mu took this chance to fire a flare directly into the Ferox's face, blinding the Gundam. Because of the anti-beam cloud, Mu couldn't use the wire-guided beam gun pods, so he instead fired a long burst from the Shadowfax's own linear repeaters, attempting to knock the Ferox out, into the open where the Barachiel's merciless beams could finish it. Unfortunately, the only thing that burst caused was a reactionary rocket from the Big Earl, guiding itself after the mobile armor. Cursing, Mu pushed the Shadowfax into a dash, before quickly turning it aside and firing another burst from the linear repeaters in its wake. Luckily, one of the rounds struck the rocket, slightly turning it so that instead of hitting the Shadowfax square in the engine, it zoomed past, losing lock and exploding a few kilometers out. Mu still kept running though, avoiding the new barrage of beams, bullets and magnetically accelerated rounds the Ferox fired. Swearing so much that the head of one of those now-defunct religions would've executed him, Mu pulled an Immelmann Turn, using the thrust-vectoring to half-loop the Shadowfax up, before firing a linear repeater barrage at the cloud.
"Everyone, retreat. We've convinced them." Rau ordered, not quite satisfied. Still, the flares exploded, and the OMNI forces allowed his pilots to return, presumably not wanting to risk further damage. At least, in Mu's case. The Ferox, Noctoraptor and Enmity boarded the Gamow, Yzak still shaking, enraged. The Bastion entered the Vesalius' hanger, stepping lightly to its designated bay. When Rau, waiting in the hanger, moved to join Athrun, he was surprised to see a smile on his subordinates face. "What's so amusing?"
"I got more information from Kira."
"How? As I recall, you two didn't exchange any radio communications whatsoever."
"It was relayed in the attack pattern Kira used, based on one I made when we went to school together." Rau was almost too surprised to comment.
"What's the information?" Athrun grinned.
"Artemis' defenses, and how to get through."
– The Author –
Alright, short chapter cause I want to get through the drama of Artemis all in one chunk. Man, you Dark Kira enthusiasts (If any exist) are gonna love the next bit...
Full profiles on the Ferox, Noctoraptor and Enmity to come with the Berial profile.
G. Wagers: I'm actually not sure how I'm going to do the Lacus/Kira thing. Maybe as a sort of Lacus hoping to redeem Kira thing...I dunno, but i plan on some special moments concerning the Jack, Liene and the love lives of both Athrun and Kira.
nequam-tenshi: Sorry, Flay exists. however, Don't think she'll be having a good time...As for the mobile suits, it wasn't just me...although on my part, I draw from a wide amount of science fiction novels, movies, etc. Think of it like a blender, throwing in well established ingrediants along with strange-looking spices from my own cabinet.