Disclaimer and Notes of Ownership: I do not own the Gundam Franchise, or any of the characters from said franchise. If I did, I would probably use the massive fortunes resulting from that to develop real-life mobile suits and conquer the world, with a corresponding level of glee and madness.
("He actually drew up plans for it too.")
I do however, own all the technical designs labeled with PGAT, XHMA, MMA, XSBF, XABF, PMU, MLWS, CI, CPH and SDDGN in their alphanumeric designations, along with a portion of those labeled XGAT. I own Jack Kagizaki's mind, body and soul, as well as those of Captain Gary Shimizu and his Shoki Team. Along with that goes the Abaddons, the Grigori, and good ol' David Sariel. Drake too. If anyone should use any of these without my permission...well, I'll mope. And then I'll find you and crush you underneath a tank. Filled with high-explosives. And all the mopey, whiny Gundam protagonists that didn't grow something resembling a spine.
Similarly, Velshard has dibs on almost the entire line of replacement units for ZAFT, excluding one. He has administrative privileges over the Noctoraptor (Enhanced), Ferox, and Verin Gundams. He also has ownage over the horrifying abomination or deification (depends on your point of view) of all that's good and pure in this universe, otherwise called the Tetsujin. The beings of Andrew Victor Payne, Karlton William Hertz, and the Van Dalygon family are belong to him.
The Megalodon design belongs to...well Kojiro Kun gave me the idea.
The ZONGS design belongs to animefan29.
00virtuezero's contributions include the Gundams Repulse and Outlaw, and his OCs Wesley Mercis, and Michael Archer.
Author's Note: Normally, these go after the chapter, but I felt I should inform you readers of this before you get confused. I am not going to use the Latin words as scene separators anymore. Instead, I'm using the style I use in Code Geass: The Demon and The Dragon, where I used a descriptor of the character that the scene is in the perspective of. e.g., 'The Killer' = Kira, 'The Madman' = Jack, etc. I'm also going to be going back and changing the rest of the chapters to this format.
Gundam Seed: Killer's Realm
Phase 30: Civility, Part 2
- The Inventor and The Destroyer -
Drake Complex, Level 27- Terminal, Alaska
April 2, 71 CE
2:27 PM (Local Time)
Drake sat still, contemplating the wall-sized screen.
The Northern half of this last level was bare, and was where the doors of the elevator opened up to. It was where Drake paced while thinking, where he exercised, and where he occasionally played games with his pet, Rex. The south-eastern quarter was the cage for Rex, lots of room for the little critter to exercise, sleep, eat, and defecate. The south-western quadrant was Drake's bedchamber. And office. Here Drake slept and meditated. And, when the mood struck him, surfed the web.
He was amused by the sheer amount of collective hate-mail that went from Blue Cosmonaut to Coordinator, from Patrick Zala (PZ) Elitist to Natural, and from both to Orb. And then a warship's tonnage of spam that was sent in reply from Orb. Oh, they really should know better. It actually made him wince to see what Morgenroete and Huynh Industries employees did to the e-mail accounts, and presumably computers, of those spamming them.
His bed was comfy. Large enough for him to stretch out arms and legs without them hanging over the edges. His desk was of the sort to make CEOs and other high-class executives embarrassed of theirs, and his personal computer was a laptop that could potentially become Skynet. Well, not really. Maybe HAL.
At the moment, Drake was watching the news, using maybe half of his western wall-screen.
"...and the Alliance politicians are still pressing Orb to join, stating that it is the responsibility of all nations of Earth to help resist the Space Monsters."
"I don't believe it." Drake grumbled. "They're actually stupid enough to use that term in public?"
"Orb officials responded by saying that Orb has no stake in this conflict, and will remain a neutral entity."
"And woe betide he who draws the ire of The Beast." Drake sighed, switching the screen off. "How do you feel about this Edward?"
"I work for fools." The Abaddon said, reclining in one of the real leather chairs that Drake had scattered about for the inevitable prospect of guests. Despise him Edward might, Drake shared many of the Vice Admiral's views on the geopolitical situation. "They think they can bring Chief Representative Athha around to their viewpoint? One of Orb's chief tenants is human rights, and as such, they will not and cannot discriminate against their own Coordinator population. Even more damning is the fact that Athha himself shares this viewpoint."
"Too right." Drake agreed. "His daughter Cagalli is much the same. And while he may disagree with the Representative on occasion, Andrew Victor Payne is firmly in Athha's camp. And with him goes the military. Despite their views, the rest of the Noble Families are as impotent as slugs."
"What about the refugee Coordinators from the PLANTs?" Edward asked. "How are they affecting the situation?"
"What, you don't know?" Drake scoffed.
"Training exercises and meetings." Edward shot back. "Not much time to check up on the world."
"Well, they've formed their own nation." Drake chuckled. Edward raised an eyebrow. "The Loyalist Integrated Neo-Coalition. They're in Orb's camp, rumors have it Siegel Clyne and Uzumi Nara-Athha are already drawing up plans for an alliance. Big one too, with all the bells and whistles. No one will be able to touch either nation without the full might of the other crashing down on their poor little heads."
"Can't see how a LINC would scare off anyone."
"They brought along half of the ZAFT Home Defense Fleets, with accompanying mobile suits, munitions, and so on."
"Ah. That I can see."
"How are preparations?"
"Lena is training her recruits...hard. Thatcher and his team have been checking up on them, and she's been putting them through some rather improvised scenarios. They may break."
"Proud of her, aren't you?"
"Most certainly. On another subject...do you know why the haphazard plan?"
"Azrael's an idiot."
"Agreed. But the Joint Chiefs of Staff...Ideological Cosmonauts they may be, they have an idea of a proper strategy. And leaving even an experimental warship with a flotilla's worth of ships and a skeleton defense is not proper strategy. Not for victory."
I suppose you have an inkling of what's coming, do you Abaddon? I guess I can hint. After all, you did have to deal with your great Operation Retribution being severely delayed due to this scenario.
"I've gone through JOSH-A's records a few times...not entirely in a legal manner, but I did...and a few of them have mentioned some kind of new weapon being deployed in the battle."
"New weapon?"
"Actually, the context of the records makes me thing it's something that's been re-purposed, but nevertheless, it's supposed be able to 'save the day'."
"Hm."
- The Torch and The Watchers -
Grigori, Upper Port Hanger, JOSH-A Docks
4:09 PM (Local Time)
Both of them felt pride. Much pride. Pride that made them feel like they could take on Yamato! Which they tempered with the reasoning that Yamato would tear them in two.
And, of course, the fact that they still couldn't compete with those freaky BCPU dudes who hung around Commander Abaddon.
Still, they were skilled enough to fight Thatcher and his Strategos team to a draw, even outnumbered.
They were ready for combat.
Both Michael and Wesley smiled.
"And what are you two morons grinning about?" They quickly wiped their expressions, assuming masks that declared them as tools and nothing more. Lena was...ruthless. She did not need friends. She had use for comrades. She required tools of war to carry out her superior's orders. That said superior was her father, only reinforced it.
So, yeah, Michael still hadn't caught on to his realistic chances of wooing her.
"What assets can I deploy?" Lena asked. Currently, she was using the radio to discuss defense arrangments with her father. "Just the Strategos Team and the Biological CPUs? Fine, I suppose I can make do with that." She hang up, gently placing the phone on its receiver. Then she turned to Thatcher, standing just to the side. "Strategy session. Now"
Within minutes, the entire group of pilots; the Strategos Team, the BCPUs, Abaddon, Wesley, and Michael, were in the conference room. All-in-all, eleven pilots.
"All right, here's the situation." Lena started. "ZAFT is setting up an op to eliminate JOSH-A, High Command, and everything else here. Evacuation procedures are under way, but ZAFT's gonna hit us too soon for them to get everything out. So, the Watchers and the Base Defense Forces are gonna hold ZAFT off for as long as we can, or at least until we're given a signal to retreat" None of it was new. Everyone had been briefed the day before, and only the fact that it was Edward Abaddon himself who was giving the briefing had prevented any thoughts of it being one of the numerous April Fool's pranks.
"Now, the Grigori is loaded up with supplies and parts. Thatcher, you and your Strategos team are gonna split into two units, one of three and one of two. Two Strategos will be planted on the top decks of the Grigori with Michael Archer, Orga Sabnak and Shani Andras for close-in defense, and will be equipped with a Juggernaut Pack and a Cavalier Pack. The other three are going to join me, Clotho Buer, and Wesley Mercis in a roving air-defense role, equipped with Angelos II 'Seraph' Packs. Got it?"
There were nods all around the table.
"Good. Simulation begins in ten minutes."
Fifteen Minutes Later
The initial simulation pitting them against platoons of Auguries had been tough, but both Gundam pilots had managed to pull through with a few remaining pieces of armor intact on their simulated Gundams. That, that got them the title of 'official bad-asses.'
Then of course, the Commander revealed that those Auguries had actually been a few levels down from that of what they could realistically imitate of the real one, and had shoved them back into the simulators for a two-on-two battle that handed them their asses.
So yeah, badass, but not that badass.
Compared to that, this simulation was a cakewalk.
An entire platoon of ZONGS mounted on subflight lifters exploded as the Outlaw's shoulder-based missile launchers spat out a couple dozen micro-missiles, followed by the destruction of a line of GAHMUs advancing along the coastline as Michael made use of his gunlauncher. Bullets and missiles, beams and lasers filled the air as simulated OMNI defenders fought digital ZAFT attackers.
In the air, Wesley in the Repulse destroyed four IAAMS, superheated oscillating longswords cleaving two into halves while 100mm APFSDS rounds from shoulder-mounted Gatling guns tore into the others.
And then the simulation ended.
"Alright." Lena said. "Here's what's wrong: you two blithering idiots got so caught up killing that a suicidal IAAMS and a SCAU hero on a glider smashed into the Grigori's bridge! I'm thinking you need a little more motivation. So, here's what I'm gonna do: the next time the Grigori gets hit by anything bigger than ten centimeters that isn't a beam, I'm gonna take the equivalent of 50% of what it would cost to repair the damage out of your next dozen paychecks. And if it happens again...I'm gonna take something a bit more personal...like your balls."
Both of them gulped.
- The Beasts -
Undisclosed Location
Time/Date Redacted
He seethed. Caged by his own body, the beast seethed at the treatment his masters gave him, and desired to wet his claws with their blood and gnaw on their bones.
After all, it wasn't his fault that idiot hadn't recognized the fact that there was a MOTHERFUCKING METER-WIDE BEAM CANNON AIMED RIGHT AT HIS FACE!
Nope. Not at all. The fact that he'd been within arm's reach of the same cannon, that was a coincidence. As well as the wires connecting his cerebrum ports to the cannon's control systems. He had, in fact, been trying to save the idiot, while carrying out his mission.
Really.
OMEGA EXASPERATED: THIS IS WHY WE CAN'T DO ANYTHING NICE. YOU HAVE TO KILL SOMEONE BEFORE THE THING IS DONE!
ALPHA ANNOYED: OH, STOP ACTING LIKE AN OLD MARRIED SHREW. IT WAS THETA'S FAULT FOR STANDING IN THE WAY! IF HE HADN'T BEEN BLOCKING MY AIM, THE BEAM WOULD HAVE BLASTED A KILOMETER-WIDE HOLE IN THE WALL! WE COULD HAVE BEEN DONE THEN AND THERE WITHOUT THE MOTHERFUCKING EFFORT OF TEARING OUR WAY THROUGH AN ENTIRE ZAFT MECHANIZED INFANTRY DIVISION, BECAUSE THERE WOULD HAVE BEEN NO AIR IN THE PLANT!
OMEGA CONDESCENDING: DID YOU TAKE INTO ACCOUNT THE NANOLOGICAL REPAIR SYSTEMS?
ALPHA HESITANTLY:...YES?
If she still had a normal neck and head, she would have shook her head in disbelief. As it was, her cybernetic body's systems interpreted the the signals delivered by her modified nervous system into a stream of data that was beamed over the remnants of the Argonaut Communications Network to let Alpha know just how annoyed she was.
"Cute. The couple made in hell bickering."
That voice they knew. That voice they instinctively hated. That voice belonged to he who was ultimately responsible for their current state.
OMEGA IRRITATED: AZRAEL
ALPHA IRRITATED: AZRAEL
"Nice to see you haven't driven each other insane yet." Muruta said. Visiting these two always made him happier. Especially after visiting that damnable Coordinator, Drake. They had performed...adequately in their mission. Granted, those power armor troopers that had interfered had managed to delay and destroy some of them, but still, many Space Monsters had died in their rampage.
On the other hand, a lot more would have died if Alpha had refrained from vaporizing Theta with that hastily deployed heavy beam cannon that ZAFT had been setting up in a panic. Granted, Alpha's story was plausible, but ENRD's technicians had implanted lie-detection software in all of the Argonauts.
Thus, the punishment: a week of confinement, all bodily control systems restricted or cut-off entirely.
The two had managed to hijack a Laurasia-class ship and eliminate the crew before Omega hooked herself up to its systems and piloted it to a dark-side Luna base.
ALPHA SUBMISSIVE: WHAT DO YOU WANT?
"Oh, your period of punishment for killing Theta is over." Azrael informed them. "Now, here is your reward for the mission."
The two Argonauts were entombed in identical cylinders filled with fluids rich in metallic elements. Basic nanomachine systems encased in the base of the cylinders had been slowly deconstructing their Argonaut bodies, a process that would eventually leave just the Neuro-Containers that held their life support systems, enhanced memory banks, drug dispensers, and of course, their brains.
Standing before them, on the hexagon-patterned floor of the room, was Azrael. And behind him, in the armored wall that was oh-so-slowly splitting apart...
ALPHA EXCITED: OH, COOL SHIT!
"And I'm gonna want you two in on the next big operation."
OMEGA SUSPICIOUS: AND WHERE WOULD THAT BE?
"Orb. The place from which those troopers that embarrassed you are from."
If either had a mouth, they would be grinning.
ALPHA AND OMEGA: OH HELL YES!
- The Executioner -
It hadn't been easy to escape Orb, especially in a highly-advanced nineteen-meter mobile suit. But he had done it. Economic use of thrusters allowed him to get within range of Victoria Base and use the Mass Driver there to return to ZAFT.
Rau Le Creuset had brought news of the treason of Siegel and Lacus Clyne, tragically too late to save the hundreds of innocent civilians on Aprilius One who had been 'slain by the demonic machines of Orb'.
Now, newly elected Supreme Councilman Patrick Zala was on the warpath against not only the Earth Alliance, but Orb as well. ZAFT would fall upon JOSH-A and then Panama, followed by a drop into Orb.
Everything was falling into place.
- The Author -
So yeah, while trying to find descriptors for Rau and Mu, I found out two things:
1: Le Creuset is french for crucible, which is a vessel made of material that does not melt easily and is generally used for high temperature chemical reactions. i.e., cooking, although judging by the wording, I presume it can be used for other such reactions.
2: Flaga is singular for Flagae, which are either a particular kind of guardian spirit/angel or Familiar spirits that are said to appear in mirrors and reveal obscure information or esoteric truths to Witches and magicians, depending on your source.
That, or it's Polish for flag, banner, ensign or standard
Informative, the Internet is.
("On useless facts that no one cares about")
I'm sure someone will find humor that Rau Le Creuset's surname is derived from a line of cooking pots.
("Yeah, I guess that is pretty funny")
Now I just need the Verin design and I can start writing the next chapter. On another note, for those of you that have been asking about drawings of my mobile suits, and those of others that I feature in the fanfic, I've actually been working on them.
("But they suck.")
Yeah. That, and my scanner refuses to read them. Ah well. That's life.
Mathiasosx: It was my birth week!
Heh, that's gonna be a shocker for all of them.
Alex Yamato: With just a little pinch of ZAFT here.
And with that, the humor.
Heh, I'm especially cruel to newbies.
We've actually seen Mr. Bogeyman before.
It promises to be eye-meltingly horrific. He's working on Rau's Gundam too.
I find myself imagining a scenario where Kira leads his newfound cultists to conquer the Earth Sphere. With Jack along for the ride, of course.
Samuraiguy2: Not really evil, so much as a bit ticked off. A bit. Yeah.
00virtuezero: We needs the comedy whilst they're still noobish enough to provide it.
Only going to tweak the weapons a bit and maybe add some specialty systems. Move things around. Anything specific you want in the bio/history?
Or giving Rau the launch codes for every nuclear missile in existence.
No, the Argonauts are made up of the insane, the homeless, people you wouldn't miss.
'Kay.
Precisely.
Your boys are gonna fit right in with Abaddon's crew.
Darth Brain (collective): It also means I can do what I want with them without worrying about whether it fits or not.
Oh yes. Much. Less squeamishness for one thing.
They have the best hackers. See: Kira Yamato.
Yep,
The Mephistopheles is actually still in the design phase here at K'GoN Industries.
Thank you.
Jman12394: Working on it.
More humor shall come.
I've actually already got Calamity and Forbidden replacements done, and Velshard's working on the Raider.
Coming right up. The Battle of Orb should prove to be especially memorable.
Knightmare Gundam of Ni