Gundam Seed: Killer's Realm
Phase 23: Normality, Part 1
Outer PLANT Defense Network
February 20th, 71 CE
1321 Hours
"Go Fish." Gary said, smirking as Boris' face scrunched up into a look of disappointment. Grumbling, the Russian handed over a wad of cash before slumping back down in his seat.
Currently, Shoki Team was on board the STIEC-Y01 Dojin, a prototype light assault troopship that was, as with most of the Akuma Special Weapons Program products, still technically under testing in live operations. This operation was its first real operation, and there was a Morgenroete technical team along with the crew, tasked to gather data on how the Dojin worked. If the results satisfied both Orb CENTCOM's and Morgenroete's staff, then the Dojin would go into limited production.
"Hey Lilou, you got a Nine?" John asked, looking expectantly at their French infiltration specialist.
"Why in the name of Glenn are we playing this stupid game instead of poker?" She growled, handing over a nine and a 100-note bill.
"Because Gary can't bluff for shit, and hates to lose easy." Was Kuro's reply. "Got a king?" He asked Karl.
"Go Fish." The Major replied, hand out. Shoki team's medical officer wordlessly handed over a bill before scanning the rest of the team, as was his wont when they were set to go on an operation. "So why can't you bluff well Gary?" The team leader was silent.
"You know if you don't tell, we will." John said as his eyes glinted evilly.
"Fuck off Spartan." Gary snapped. "When I try to bluff, my right eye glows brighter." He answered Karl before grumbling further at his team, his green-glowing synthetic eyes focusing intently on his cards.
"Shoki Team, we are approaching Aprilius One. Stand by in Ryuuzaken SOEIV pods."
"Well, ladies, that's our cue." Karl said. Picking his helmet up from the ground and rising to his feet, he walked out the door of the port ready-room and into the Ryuuzaken loading chamber, a room that occupied the edges of the Dojin's side, with fifteen doors leading to pre-loaded Ryuukazen pods. As he secured his helmet, 'Mr. Hurtz' (his callsign) grabbed his gauss shotgun off of his back and held it close when he entered the pod.
Following his lead, the rest of Shoki Team started securing their armor and picking up their Izanagi Modular Linear Weapons, and proceeding to their own pods. Boris, 1st Lieutenant Malakhov, was standing in the ready room, glancing between two weapons. One was his Izanagi, outfitted with a 14.7mm bore, 63cm long light machine gun barrel with attached foregrip, short stock, close combat guncam, and an 800-round drum magazine. The other was a minigun-style weapon with three rotating barrels and a side-grip, about 72 centimeters in length total.
"Take the Izanagi, Malakhov." Captain Gary Shimizu, fully in his work persona, ordered. "Its more compact and won't melt through the PLANT's walls." Regretfully, Malakhov picked up the Izanagi by both grips and pushed pass Shimizu, entering his pod. After ensuring that each and every member of his team was secure in their Ryuuzaken SOEIV, Shimizu picked up his Izanagi, fitted with a 7.62mm by 51cm assault rifle barrel with foregrip, long stock, extended range guncam, and a 50-round magzine, and entered his pod.
"Alright, Shoki Team, uplink to the Dojin's command network." Uplinking between the Team's OMU suit computer systems and the Dojin's allowed easy command, control, and communications between all of the suits and the ship, thus allowing the unit to work more effectively together while also keeping command staff informed of each soldier's individual status.
"Chiyu, uplink established." 2nd Lieutenant Kuro Akatsuki reported.
"Surin, linked." Sergeant Major Lilou de Couteau.
"Mjolnir, ready." Sergeant Major John Spartan.
"Topor, set." 1st Lieutenant Boris Vladimirovich Malakhov.
"Shepherd is linked. Dojin, Shoki Team is set." Captain Gary Anderson Shimizu said.
"This is Mr. Hurtz. Your boys and girl know what's going on, right Shepherd?"
"Yes Mr. Hurtz. We're gonna pull Clyne's ass out of the fire."
"Just don't say that in front of him or Miss Clyne."
- Quis est a Iuguolo nisi a Iuguolo? -
Aprilius One, Space Dock
Miguel and John were nervous as they stepped off the Gamow and onto the docks. What they were doing was, sorta, treason. Except, how is it treason if fully half of your ruling body is doing the same thing, while the other half has committed war crimes of a previously unimaginable scale? It was just one of those situations where you followed someone and hoped for the best.
And Miguel, quite naturally, had sided with the Clynes. Like most Coordinator teens, he was quite taken with Lacus, and he wasn't about to raise a hand against her or her father.
"You sure about this Miguel?" John asked. While both Redcoats were fairly nervous, only John was visibly agitated. He was glancing from side-to-side frantically and was rather jittery. "I have this feeling....that everything's just gonna go to hell soon."
"Don't worry." Miguel said, putting on a confident face. "Everything is perfectly alright."
- Quis est a Iuguolo nisi a Iuguolo? -
Moon, Darkside Base 3
"And you're sure they're on target?"
"Very. We had our three top orbital physicists do the math, and then sent the data to Drake to verify it. There's an error of .012%, so its likely they'll be dispersed throughout the PLANT, but that's actually rather ideal for our purposes."
"Good. I've just had word from some of our sympathizers that Lacus Clyne is getting back to the PLANTs right now."
"Where was she?"
"No idea. But, I have my suspicions, and anyway its pointless. She'll be dead within the hour anyway."
"Sir, how can you be sure?"
"Because these five, these Argonauts, are relentless, and the only thing ZAFT has that might stop them are mobile suits, and they won't deploy those in Aprilius One, not their capitol PLANT. This, our second major blow to the Space Monsters, is underway." Muruta Azrael finished, a ghoulish grin on his face.
- Quis est a Iuguolo nisi a Iuguolo? -
SUSPENDING SLEEP MODE.
ACCESSING COMMUNICATIONS NETWORK: ARGONAUT 13 SP
ALPHA 8 QUERY: ARE WE THERE YET?
OMEGA 1 ANSWER: JUST THREE HUNDRED SEVENTY-NINE SECONDS TO IMPACT.
ALPHA 8 REPLY: GOOD. I'M STARTING TO GET SICK OF THIS 'SLEEP MODE'.
OMEGA 1 QUERY: NIGHTMARES?
ALPHA 8 ANSWER: NO.
............
ALPHA 8 QUERY: WHY THE HELL DO YOU CARE?
OMEGA 1 ANSWER: I AM THE TEAM LEADER. I MUST ENSURE THAT THOSE I COMMAND ARE IN THE BEST OF CONDITIONS.
ALPHA 8 DERISIVE: YEAH RIGHT. I READ YOUR PROFILE, I SAW THOSE REPORTS. YOU PURPOSEFULLY SENT YOUR TEAM INTO A SUICIDE SITUATION, AND KILLED THE SURVIVORS YOURSELF. IN AN 'EXERCISE'.
OMEGA 1 EXPLANATION: I WAS THE FIRST OF THE LAST, AND I EXPECTED NOTHING LESS THAN PERFECTION FROM MY TEAM. THEY WERE NOT PERFECT. THEY WERE UNFIT. I PURGED THEM.
ALPHA 8 QUERY: THEN WHAT ABOUT US, EH? WHAT ABOUT US, THOSE WHO WERE DEEMED THE MOST FLAWED OF ALL?
OMEGA 1 DERISIVE: WHAT DO YOU THINK THIS MISSION IS? DESPITE ALL THE WORK, ALL THE TECHNOLOGY THEY PUT INTO US, WE ARE EXPENDABLE AND ARE BEING EXPENDED ON THIS MISSION. NO MATTER WHETHER WE PAINT THE PLANT RED WITH THE BLOOD OF COORDINATORS, OR DIE IN THE OPENING SHOTS OF BATTLE. THEY HAVE WHAT THEY NEED FROM US. THEY JUST PICKED THE FOUR WITH THE MOST BLOODLUST AND INSANITY TO UNLEASH ON THEIR TARGETS, AND SENT ME, THE SUICIDE COMMANDER, TO MAKE SURE YOU GET THE JOB DONE.
..........
OMEGA 1 CONJECTURE: I FIND SOMETHING CURIOUS ABOUT THIS SITUATION THOUGH.
ALPHA 8 QUERY: WHAT?
OMEGA 1 CONTINUATION: THE LAST OF THE FIRST, AND THE FIRST OF THE LAST......I WONDER IF THEY PLANNED THIS SOMEHOW. THE MADDEST OF US ALL, WITH THE MOST COLDLY LOGICAL. IT ALMOST SEEMS POETIC.
THETA 9: WH4T TH3 H3LL 4R3 Y0U TW0 T4LK1NG 4B0UT?
OMEGA 1 HOSTILE: IF YOU CAN'T COMMUNICATE IN A NORMAL MANNER, PLEASE BE SILENT. YOUR SPEECH STRESSES MY RECOGNITION SOFTWARE TO ITS LIMITS.
THETA 9: 5HUT TH3 H3LL UP N00B.
ALPHA 8 DERISIVE: HE DOESN'T UNDERSTAND YOU. THE THETA LINE'S PROCESSING CAPABILITIES ARE DEVOTED TO THE FIRING OF THEIR LARGE WEAPONRY, DOWN TO THE SHORT-TERM MEMORY OF THEIR ORGANIC COMPONENTS. IF YOU'D LIKE, I COULD GET RID OF HIM NOW.....
OMEGA 1 DISMISSAL: NO, WE CAN'T RISK LOSING YOU AS WELL. DESPITE THE ABJECT PLEASURE I WOULD FEEL WITH THETA 9'S DEMISE, LOSING YOU DUE TO A TRAJECTORY ERROR MADE AT THIS POINT WOULD RUIN MY TACTICAL PLANS.
THETA 9: WH4T 4R3 Y0U 54Y1NG?
OMEGA 1 EXPLANATION: YOU'RE EXPENDABLE, THETA. NOW SHUT UP.
GAMMA 4: WHY DOES HE TALK LIKE THAT? AND HOW COME NONE OF US ARE SIMILAR? I THOUGH THEY WANTED SUPER-SOLDIERS, NOT WANNA-BE SCRAP HEAPS.
OMEGA 1 EXPLANATION: THE ALPHA LINE WAS THE FIRST, AND THEIR DESIGN WAS STRESSED TO THE LIMIT OF THE TECHNOLOGY THEY HAD TO WORK WITH AT THAT TIME, INCORPORATING ALL THAT THEY HAD. LINES BETA THROUGH PSI ARE DERIVATIVES, STRESSING ASPECTS OF MODERN WARFARE. FOR EXAMPLE, YOUR LINE, GAMMA 4, IS DEVOTED TO MEDIUM RANGE COMBAT, WHILE OMICRON 6'S IS FOCUSED ON PSYCHOLOGICAL WARFARE.
OMICRON 6 QUERY: AND WHAT OF YOURS OMEGA 1? WHAT IS THE OMEGA LINE'S PURPOSE?
OMEGA 1 ANSWER: MY LINE IS AN...... EVOLUTION, ON ALPHA'S PURPOSE. A COMBINATION OF ALL OF THE DEVELOPMENT THEY SPENT ON ALL TWENTY-FIVE PREVIOUS LINES, TO SEE JUST HOW FAR THEY'D MADE IT, AND HOW FAR THEY COULD PUSH THE LIMIT, TO CREATE A VIABLE MASS-PRODUCTION PROTOTYPE.
ALPHA 8 QUERY: AND DID THEY SUCCEED?
OMEGA 1 ANSWER: ALMOST. THERE WAS ONE FLAW. THEIR LEADER WAS FAR TOO INTELLIGENT FOR THEIR TASTES.
- Quis est a Iuguolo nisi a Iuguolo? -
Shoki Team was, compared to most standard military fire teams, terribly impatient. Only Captain Shimizu, callsign 'Shepherd', had anything resembling a normal person's reserve of patience, and that was because he specialized in long range marksmanship and sniping.
"How much longer Captain?" Boris, who'd picked the name 'Topor', or axe, moaned. Topor was infamous for his happy trigger finger, and will to exercise it.
"Dojin, time?" Gary asked.
"One minute, fifteen seconds left Shoki Team." The Dojin's Captain, another old SpecOps veteran by the name of Emile O'Clery, replied.
" I don't suppose you have anything that could entertain us, could you?" Gary asked hopefully.
"I'll link in the feed from the bugs." O'Clery replied, motioning to the systems officer. A second later, an aged, hostile voice they recognized as Patrick Zala's flowed through the intercom system, and the OMU's comms network.
"- And where is Lacus Clyne? She was supposed to return with Orb's demands!"
"I believe I can answer that Patrick." The similarly aged, but much more benevolent voice of Siegel Clyne said. "You see, we have learned something rather troubling from Orb.....about Operation Uroboros."
"The Neutron Jammer drop? What of it?"
"You see, your department previously delivered a report that the cumulative effects of the operation would deal any significant damage and casualties to the Earth Alliances military, and that there would be little damage to civilians."
"Yes, and?"
"Lacus received a contradictory report from Orb. According to census and collected news reports, Operation Uroboros has caused the deaths of over a billion civilians!" Siegel's voice rose to a low shout. "Let me clarify. Due to effects of the lack of nuclear power that are so numerous it would take a week for us to even begin to define them, over fourteen percent of the human race died!"
"They were Naturals!" Patrick roared in reply. "In order for Coordinators, any at all, to survive, they must be purged!"
"....You've gone mad." Siegel declared coldly. "Guards, arrest Patrick Zala for various war crimes."
"....I see what this is." Zala started, voice low but rising. "You're using me as a scapegoat. A placebo to the Naturals. Well, it won't work. All the guards here are-"
"Shoki Team, that's our cue." Karl said over the comms, sounding more than a little pleased. "Captain O'Clery, fire the Ryuuzaken."
"Aye sir. Crew, rotate ship 90 degrees port, target launchers on Supreme Council building. Increase Ryuuzaken Colloid coating by 175% to deal with increased electronic activity, and increase nano-constructor coating by a factor of five. Set auto-deconstruct to commence five seconds after package departure."
In his pod, Boris started chanting in Russian.
"What is he doing?" Karl asked.
"Oh yeah, you weren't part of the Akuma SWP development team, were you Major?" Gary said. "Well, among us SpecOpsIntel teams and Akuma testers, the Ryuuzaken are known as prayers in a can."
"Why?"
"Because in one of the tests, a trooper got smashed against the side of Mount Everest, when he was supposed to land in Australia."
"Aw, shit."
- Quis est a Iuguolo nisi a Iuguolo? -
A/N: Did this story suddenly become unpopular or something? Read and Review people!
("I told you. Insane people don't attract, they repel")
REBUTTAL: SILENCE, WORM
("Alright, alright. Sheesh, no need to get your boxers in a twist.")
To clarify: Since the Bloody Valentine War began a lot earlier in this story, my Patty Zala is a lot more advanced in his nuttiness than canon Patrick. And he's gonna get worse.
Also, to keep any confusion about Shoki Team away, here's a list.
Captain Gary Shimizu, Callsign Shepherd, team leader and Designated Marksman
1st Lieutenant Boris Vladimirovich Malakhov, Callsign Topor (Axe), Second-in-command and heavy weapons specialist
2nd Lieutenant Kuro Akatsuki, Callsign Chiyu (Cure), Medical Officer
Sergeant-Major John Spartan (S-117 Halo reference) , Callsign Mjolnir, Rapid Assault and Close-Combat Specialist
Sergeant-Major Lilou de Couteau, Callsign Surin (Dagger), Commando and Infiltration Specialist
Also, for the titles of this and the following two or three chapters, add the previous chapter's title, A Departure From... to the beginning of the title.
00virtuezero: Well, all by itself, it would be a mere annoyance. Throw in the BCPU Gundams, Lena's Samyaza, and Sariels brand-spankin' new Agares though....
Draw.