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.
Gundam Seed: Killer's Realm
Phase 34: Seul Contre Tous
- The Killer and The Songstress -
Zenopolis City, Universal Street, Cosmic Mall
April 21, 71 CE
9:37 A.M.
Kira was uncertain as to how he'd gotten into this situation. He was somewhat certain that Jack and Athrun factored into it somehow.
But at the moment, he was too...happy, to bother thinking about that. It was a stark contrast from a few days ago, when he'd heard about the Cyclopes activation at JOSH-A.
"How does this look?" Lacus asked, holding up a pink kimono to herself for Kira to judge.
"W-wonderful, Lacus." Kira stuttered. Their relationship had been, for the most part, that of acquaintances. They'd had few interactions on the Barachiel, and most of those had been in the cafeteria where they'd all eaten together, and thus there had been little change to improve their relationship.
It was...strange that he felt such attraction to her. With most people he was either good friends with, coolly neutral, or outright hostile. Lacus though...She was different. Something about her made him feel...peaceful. Serene, even. Something he hadn't felt for years.
Lacus, for her part, found Kira cute. She couldn't match the passive, pleasant young man before her with the ruthless murderer many of the stories she'd heard from the people in the Century Apartments painted him as.
Both teens were in the clothing section of the Cosmic Mall, the female part specifically, where Lacus was looking at some Orb styles. Most of the clothes she was checking were far beyond anything someone less than a billionaire could afford on a regular basis, but she was Siegel Clyne's daughter. Rich only barely started to describe their bank account.
Kira, as the designated male, carried all of Lacus's purchases, struggling to keep the bags straight and the clothes from falling out. It was...rather difficult. But at least they were away from the underwear section. He'd been certain, from the heat in his cheeks, that he'd glowed red.
Then his phone buzzed.
Cursing silently, Kira finagled the bags around so he could shove his hand into his left pocket, retrieve the phone (A needlessly advanced device with enough encryption protocols to match the entirety of the Atlantic Federations intelligence services) and answer the call. Lacus noticed his expression darken after seven seconds, before he replied to whoever was speaking with a short "yes, I'll be right there." and hung up.
"What's happening?" Lacus asked.
"The Alliance is coming." Kira responded. "We have to go."
- The Captain, The Hawk, and The Crew -
Orb, Onogoro Military Port, Dock 17
April 21, 71 CE
11:15 A.M.
Murrue Ramius, with Mu La Flaga and the rest of the Barachiel's enlisted crew, stood on the dock, gazing in awe at the Barachiel. Originally, the Barachiel was pure white, heavenly almost. Over time, through both the fake battles with ZAFT, and the live-or-die skirmishes with OMNI, that white coloring was marred by carbon burns, scarred by missile fragments, and quite literally blown off. Parts of it had melted during the orbital descent, and then later cooled to form strange shapes, almost looking like flesh.
Now, though, the Barachiel was almost pitch-black, all across its main hull. The thrusters had sweeping strokes of blue and white in a flame-like design that escalated towards the mouth of the propulsion system. One either side of the bridge was painted the sunburst of Orb, winglike background outlined in gold.
More of the changes were less cosmetic. No longer was the bridge exposed to the world by glass, instead armored by triple-thick hyper alloy laminate armor. Instead of using a clear glass view modified via laser-projected viewscreens, the bridge display would use three-dimensional Colloid-based holographic screens, utilizing data taken from both the Barachiel's standard systems and newly installed 'Camera LIght Distance and Ranging' systems, or CLIDAR, along with other, more standard camera designs.
"So, do you like it?" The presenter spoke, regaining their attention. Turning as one, the crew gazed upon Erica Simmons.
"I-it's...stunning." Murrue managed to say. She'd expected some repairs, and a resupply. Not those, and a complete repaint and minor refit of the bridge systems!
"Oh, and the Barachiel has been registered as the CPH-X Uriel in Orb's mainframe, and Morgenroete's records of the Barachiel have been modified to show it stopped briefly at Orb for repairs and resupply before using the Mass Driver to ascend to space, under cover of still remaining an OMNI Enforcer vessel." Erica continued.
"Why?" Mu wondered.
"General Payne likes to avoid the international legality of OMNI defectors serving in Orb." Erica explained. ""As well, we've prepared new identities in Orb for all of you." She noticed the majority of them looking shiftily. "What? What's the matter?"
"Ahem, well." Natarle started. "While your offer is much appreciated, most of us have families and friends, and wish to return to our homes."
"Ah, I understand." Erica nodded. "General Payne gave me this to give to all of you should there be any refusals." She took an envelope out of her pocket and handed it to Murrue. Who opened it and took out the letter, starting to read it silently. Which was, of course, negated with Mu reading it aloud over her shoulder.
"We understand your desiring to return to your homelands and families, but we unfortunately cannot allow you to do so. Not only do you know too much about Kira, Jack, and Orb in general, but your experience with the Barachiel/Uriel is too valuable to pass up. Orb operatives can recover your families easily enough. If you continue to resist, you will be restrained..." Slowly, Murrue turned her head and glared at him. "Oooohhhh boy."
Before anything could happen, Murrue's phone rang, and she answered it.
"Hello?" She listened intently, and everyone noticed her face paling significantly.
- The Bigwigs -
Orb, 'Enma's Locker', Main Briefing Room
April 21, 71 CE
9:40 P.M.
"Alright, let's get this meeting over with." Karl sighed, easing into a chair.
This, the main briefing room of the complex, was several hundred meters below the surface of Orb. The center of the room was dominated by a perfectly circular table with a projector embedded in the center, mirror-imaged above. Around the table were several seats, all occupied by high-ranking military and political persons, among them Major-General Andrew Victor Payne of Special Operations and Intelligence, dressed in his uniform and with katana sheathed at his side. He, as the commander of the elite SpecOpsIntel forces, sat next to the 'head' of the table, defined by the one who presided there.
Rear Admiral Kei Todoka of the Orb Navy, an Asian man with gray-black hair and brown eyes, dressed in Orb's blue-and-white naval officer dress uniform, sat on the other side of the table's 'head', as the commander of one of the main theaters of battle;
General Arnold Conner of the Orb Army, a descendant of Irish immigrants had salt-and-pepper hair and green eyes. He was physically larger than many of those present, with a burly physique and a semi-serious demeanor. Dressed in the darker gray-and-deep blue of the Army, he had a place next to Payne;
General Jean Schmidt of the Orb Air Force was German, blond-haired and blue-eyed. He was medium of height and lean in his muscular definition. He was dressed in the air forces version of the uniform, replacing the blue with a lighter version of the color. In mood, he was normally jocular, but the import of this meeting turned him coldly ruthless. As the one whose military branch had the least impact on the coming battle, being more concerned with the upper atmosphere and anti-space segments, he was seated next to Todoka.
At the head of the table stood Uzumi Nara Athha.
Along with them were many of the other civilian, military, and political entities that held Orb's fate in their hands. Amongst other governments, such a large gathering would never have been witnessed at a meeting of such importance. In Orb though, Andrew's SpecOpsIntel teams knew everything they did, and many of the powers had the same idealism as their ruler.
Kira, Jack, Liene, and Cagalli stood around close to the head of the table. Two of them were, despite their age, experienced combatants and vague political entities, another a person of meticulous thought, and the last a veritable firestorm of idealism and youthful courage. Their advice and thoughts would be useful at the least.
On the ceiling, a small projector, equipped with the brand-new Mirage Colloid-based hologram technology many of Orb's most important facilities now incorporated, flickered to life and beamed out an image of a beautiful woman in her early 30s of above average height and a slender build with blond hair pulled back into a braided bun with a crimson ribbon in it and has luminescent green eyes, wearing an eclectic mix of a modern white female officer's dress uniform with royal blue trim and covered by a few pieces of ancient knight armor from the 15th & 16th centuries. The armor consists of a breast plate, gauntlets, greaves, and some skirt armor of a very shiny silvery wrought with very intricate gold filigree in the shapes of rose vines with a golden cross on the breast plate containing a Sapphire gem, on her back a small gladiatorial shield with the crest of Orb on it.
Most of those present weren't at all surprised by the hologram. Liene, notably, was apparently not affected at all, except for a slight stiffening that those who knew him would see.
With everyone and thing present, the meeting started.
"First off, our spies and satellites have confirmed this." Andrew began smoothly. "There are several OMNI Enforcer fleets moving towards Orb. To be specific, the First and Second Pacific Fleets, the Second Atlantic Fleet, and two Task Forces from their naval bases at mainland Asia. All of these are accompanied by matching forces of mobile weapon formations and air support. They will arrive within a day, although they are already well within the flight time of their aerial forces."
"So they finally made their move." Todoka whispered, as the hologram projector on the table activated, showing the fleets on a three-dimensional terrain map of Orb and the waters around it for over a thousand kilometers.
"Yes. It appears the Pacific fleet has also scared up some support from a small Task Group based in Hawaii, and both of the Atlantic Fleets are composed mainly of remodeled carriers, and have also received reinforcements. I suspect the majority of their forces will be mobile suits, although some of these appear to be amphibious transport carriers, for infantry and light armor." Andrew replied, scanning the information cybernetically.
"And their targets?" Uzumi asked.
"The smaller Task Forces are angling to deal with the cities on both our northern and western coasts. The Atlantic Fleet is heading west, staying south of us, presumably targeting our largest military port on the west coast, while both Pacific Fleets are targeting here, Zenopolis City, and Onogoro Island as well as Kaguya." Andrew supplied.
"...Alright. What do you suggest?"
"I recommend Ballistic Re-entry Vehicle assault, conventional high-explosive warheads, from both the Ame-No-Mihashira and Missile Satellite Group Four." Andrew replied
"Denied." Uzumi said. "Such an act is in direct violation of Orb's ideals. There may yet be a peaceful solution to this conflict."
"Sir in times such as these, ideological goals must be superseded by stark reality." Andrew coolly retorted, rising to his feet, and standing next to the Chief Representative. Who turned to glare at him.
The two were virtually nose to nose and were staring each other down like a pair of old monsters, one a great Lion, the other a veritable Thunderbird of ancient lore. Those who were present would say that their was enough wrath between the two's glares to kill a million times over and no one would dare step between them out of simple mortal fear.
Andrew curled his lips back in something akin to an enraged sneer, baring his teeth and growled.
But this was no paltry human imitation of a primal sound. No, this was a Marvelous Growl. So richly layered with scorn and menace that listening to it was like enduring a blistering hackle raising tirade.
As the sound rose and fell through the room for almost a minute there wasn't a person present who didn't feel a great deal of their nerve get washed away by a sea of nearly mindless fear. Even Jack, the resident split personae psychopath, felt what was arguably his most insane personality almost literally shut itself up into the deepest depths of his mind. Animals after all have an instinctive knowledge of when to run and hide from a superior predator.
As it was the tension in the room was like a garroting wire around everyone's throats, with two of the most influential and respected men in Orb looking about ready to kill each other, no one was entirely sure what to do.
For Kira things, were relatively simple; Andrew was armed with his traditional katana, Uzumi carried a standard issue pistol in the small of his back, Andrew could conceivably kill Uzumi well before he or anyone else could do anything to stop him. However the young prince knew the SpecOpsIntel Commander was a rational man despite being extremely passionate over the safety and prosperity of Orb. That thought still didn't keep him from partially drawing his balisong knife though.
Uzumi for his part was the proverbial "Immovable Object" and didn't so much as twitch as he held the younger man's crimson gaze steady and firm before speaking in a rumbling power filled tone akin to any old lion.
"General Payne, you know that I would never order you to compromise the safety of Orb and it's citizenry but I am asking you as your 'King' to uphold the ideals of our country no matter the cost. For I will not discard my Pride and Honor if it means staining those ideals. Not while one chance remains for an alternate solution."
Andrew recoiled and inhaled sharply as though he had been struck though the look of maddened rage never really left his eyes.
As the general stood there he finally broke their gaze by slowly closing his eyes and deeply inhaling several times, each being slightly slower and more relaxed than the last. With each breath he took all present could gradually feel the metaphysical garrote around their throats gradually loosen and the tension flow out of the room.
Finally opening his eyes to lock with the lion's once more Vicious' calm immutable gaze had returned.
"With respect sir, god damn you."
The prime minister of Orb smiled ever so slightly at the cool reply from one of his most trusted subordinates.
"Perhaps but there's nothing wrong with hoping for the best."
"So long as one of us is prepared for the worst." Andrew spoke in a nearly dead tone, Uzumi's face fell slightly at those words.
"Indeed."
Uzumi then turned with all eyes on him and strode towards the door to the council room to await what was most probably an ultimatum from the Federation.
"Sir."
Pausing just before opening the door Uzumi turned to look back at his general with a slightly questioning gaze.
"Good luck."
The old Lion simply smirked in reply before exiting the command room, for his part Andrew had a distinctly sour look as though he had lost some sort of unofficial contest. He was broken from his thoughts though by the rather rude and sarcastic commentary of one feminine voice, the words coming in from ceiling-mounted speakers as the hologram's lips moved in sync.
"Wow. And here I was thinking that little testosterone pissing contest was never going to be over."
The general simply shot a dirty look in the direction of the A.I.'s projection before sitting himself back down to began preparing for the invasion.
"What does the Army have in Orb right now?" Andrew asked, more for the sake of the rest of the political leadership than himself. General Connor reached out waved his hand through part of the hologram, materializing a holographic keyboard. He air-typed in coordinates, dark blue dots appearing on the holographic island, varying in size in accordance to unit strength, and labels floated in the air above them with unit names. "I see. Naval assets?" Connor swiped at the keyboard, sending it spinning counter-clockwise around the table until Todoka's outstretched hand stopped it. He began to type, and similarly, dots appeared in the ocean of the hologram, this time a bright sea-green. The display ended with the appearance of one dot deep under the surface.
Andrew furrowed his brow at the last unit, before nodding at Todoka. "General Schmidt?" Jean reached over and 'grabbed' the keyboard, bringing it over to his seat, and typed in two coordinate plots and units before moving the hologram to Andrew. The holographic map zoomed out until the upper atmosphere was in view, two large and bright lime-green pips glowing.
Payne was already inputting his units, small dark blue, practically black, dots popping up all over Orb, with the largest concentrated around the holographic Zenopolis City and Onogoro Island. Even after he was finished, he continued typing. Lava-yellow and blood-red contacts appeared in the OMNI Enforcer fleets, indicating below and above-water threats according to SpecOpsIntel's information.
The confirmation of what everyone already knew was sobering. Orb's forces, while impressive for a nation of their size, were drastically outnumbered by the army based on the fleets OMNI sent.
"We can't defeat them." Liene muttered.
"No." Andrew answered. "But we don't have to. Evacuations have been ongoing for the last month. Our underground shelters can safely house maybe a fifth of our populace for maybe five months. The rest are going into orbit, for the Ame-no-Mihashira for further transit to our colonies, including Namsuul and Megistus."
"Damn it." Jean swore. "Can't we do anything to keep them off?"
"Short of selling our souls?" Kira retorted. "No." Andrew nodded at that, in agreement.
"The Chief Representative may try for a peaceful solution." Liene said, slowly. "But Blue Cosmos' leaders have the Alliance leadership in a stranglehold. Orb will not survive accepting any 'peace' involving them. All we can do is make sure there are people who can rebuild."
All around, virtually everyone in attendance grimly nodded, excepting a few odd ones, among them the Seiran family members.
- The Destroyer -
Pacific Ocean, Grigori, Captain's Quarters
April 22, 71 CE
8:52 A.M.
Edward sat, cross-legged, on the floor of his quarters, seeming as an out-of-place statue in the spartan decor. Beyond token appearances on the bridge and brief visits to the hangers to check on his Gundam, the Abaddon had stayed cloistered in his room. Rumors, that ever-present disease on any and every ship ever existing, flitted to and fro among the crew as to just what he was doing in there, ranging from masturbating to some sort of attempt at universal clarity.
Truth be told, the latter was closer. Edward spent time before each battle...planning, for lack of a better term. Mentally going through each and every possible strategic and tactical maneuver his enemy, the feared Andrew Victor Payne, may do. In this specific exercise, Edward found himself stymied at almost every imaginary turn.
Payne and his fellows were just too good at information control. Edward had received the data packet containing the Orbites' mobile suit schematics from one of OMNI's last spy rings in the country, and despite the uplifted hope of his crew, he'd disregarded it as disinformation. And without that crucial tidbit, one of many missing from the picture...
This was one of the few times his mental exercises pointed him to a path less than certain victory. Edward had no doubt that, in classical thought, they would win. There was just too much force brought to bear against Orb. It would, however, be a Pyrrhic victory. The enemy knew their objective. An elementary student could tell their objective. And Andrew Payne had a reputation for denying enemies their objectives.
A tone indicated the arrival of Sariel, who opened the door a second later.
"Sir, Azrael wants to see you on the bridge. It's time."
Wordlessly, Edward rose and turned towards the door, already dressed in his dress uniform. He departed his quarters with one thought.
This is going to be one hell of a battle.
- The Author -
("Whooh boy! This is it! The Big Bad Battle! Hmm? Oh, you're wondering why I, K'Gon am speaking instead of your beloved author? Well...")
HAH! How do you like that Zerg? I just nuked you in your FACE!
("...Yeah, our dear author, Knightmare Gundam of Ni, has found God. Or, rather, Blizzard. As you all should know, Starcraft II was released last month. And our boy here not only got it, he got the Collector's Edition. Yeah, you read that right. His mother picked it up last week for the Mini-Thor vanity pet for World of Warcraft.")
Ultralisks eh? well, eat TWELVE THORS! BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAH
("Oh, dear lord! What did they do to you? That's...that's abominable. Anyway, he's been going through the campaign. No guts to face the veterans, but damn does he know how stomp on the computer.")
You want more? Hows about another NUKE!
("Oy vey, that must be the fifteenth time you've done that. Yeah, he's got like, twelve Spectres, calling in nuke strikes. Yeesh. Anyway, with Mr. Terran Dominator here off in his own little apocalyptic galaxy of nuclear explosion and building-sized siege walkers, I'm left to finish up the chapter. So...here I go. Things are on the cusp of the epic battle, which with Velshard's stuff, should be rather destructive. Abaddon's lot is prepared for a friggen cataclysm, and Azraels still a frickin pighead. On the chapter title, Seul Contre Tous, it's translated as either "Alone Against All" or "I Stand Alone" which basically sums up Orbs position here.")
("Oh, and there's bad news. The story's going to be put on a little...short...hiatus, just for all the mechanical details to get straightened out.")
HAH! I just mind-controlled your Ultralisks B!TCH!
("And to get this idiot detoxing. Sheesh this is gonna be a while. I should be able to write for The Demon and The Dragon though. Anything you wanna add Nuke-Happy?")
Eat Yamato Cannon Queenie!
("...And so the Queen of Blades gets offed by six simultaneous radioactive nuke-produced plasma blasts to the face. Anyway, see you guys later!")
K'GoN
EDIT: ("Whoops! Almost forgot the Review Replies!
Kojiro Kun: Doesn't get more different from stark pacifist than semi-crazed slicer
Alex Yamato: In lieu of the normal author, I thank you.
He gets mad and activates Seed.
It's friggin screwed up.
Oh yeah. The idiot wouldn't put a dragon in the story without writing in some scene were it munches on someone or something we don't like.
It was more to do with Rex than the Cyclopes. Try wrasslin that into a plane. I imagine Gary still has scars on his breastplate from the fangs.
It should be.
I think they're awesome!
Mathiasosx: The author loves them. Yeah, OMNI's troops are gonna get a rude awakening.
heh.
Evci: Thank you
Cyspark01: Eh, they're probably better off. At least Chimamare wasn't up.
Actually, if anything, ZAFT is more likely to profit from the corpses, since Gary and team couldn't very well pick them up and bring them in when they had to worry about VIPs. Plus incendiary self-destruct systems work very well for their internals.
Robby Cartwright: Thanks.
And, again, see you all later")
K'Gon