Yo everybody. I had hoped to get this up sooner, but I was delayed with other stuff. Fortunately, I was able to finish the bulk of it last night and this morning.
Phase Twenty: Descending Sword
A silver DINN slipped passed the raging battle unnoticed. It flew along the edge of the battlefield skimming passed missile and anti-air batteries until it reached its target: a small, unassuming waterfall guarded by a pair of missile batteries. The missile batteries opened fire but the DINN evaded the barrage of missiles and flew passed the batteries, through the waterfall and into the tunnel the waterfall hid.
"It seems Azrael's information was correct," Rau said as his DINN dashed through the tunnel heading for the base interior.
ZAFT mobile suits filled the air as they headed for their objective: JOSH-A's Main Naval Gate. Unfortunately, when they reached the area, they were surprised by what they saw.
"Hey! Is that the legged ship?" a GINN pilot asked.
"I think it is," a DINN pilot responded. "Ya think if we take it down they'll give us medals like Zala's kid?"
"Hell yeah!" a second DINN pilot shouted. "A round of medals for everyone!"
"Cut the chatter," the team leader ordered from the cockpit of his CGUE. "We have a-"
However, before the pilot had a chance to finish whatever he had to say, a beam shot from above, tore through the CGUE, destroying it. The rest of the ZAFT team looked up. The Buster, riding atop the Raven, descended in on them firing its beam cannon and gun launcher as the Raven fired it's shoulder machine guns and railgun at them. The beams struck a GINN and the left wing of DINN while the solid rounds tore though a pair of other GINNs.
"Shit! Scatter!" a DINN pilot yelled out.
The ZAFT mobile suits spread out to avoid the incoming fire and returned fire themselves. The Raven swerved dodging most of their missiles and bullets. Those that were able to hit did little against the phase shift armor of the two Gundams. A GINN pilot swore through his clenched teeth. "They're just as strong as the reports say they are, but they can only handle so much! Keep-"
A single bullet struck the GINN and a second later and it exploded. "Sniper!" another pilot shouted.
John fired off more rounds. A round tore through a DINN's head. A GINN's Guul exploded. Another round tore through a GINN's torso. The fourth round hit the center of a GINN's back. John ejected the spent clip and loaded a new one. The Buster fired its cannons and missiles while the Raven's guns roared sending more mobile suits to the waters below.
From underwater, ZnOs and GOOhNs fired their torpedoes at the various naval vessels defending the base. Unlike the GINNs and the DINNs that were trying to deal with the Buster and the Raven, there was nothing to stop them from attacking the ships directly. The torpedoes hit their targets sinking several Arkansas, Des Moines and Fraser class ships. "Damn," John cursed saw one of the ships sink. "Murdoch, get that bazooka and my one remaining sword ready for me. I'm going under to deal with those underwater mobile suits."
"Right."
The Farsight returned to the hanger and a few minutes later it emerged armed with a bazooka and a sword stored on the back of its waist. The modified GINN leaped off the edge of the catapult and into the depths below.
"What the? A GINN High Maneuver Type?" a GOOhN pilot said at the sight of the Farsight. "Is it with the 11th Fleet?"
"Pilot. Identify yourself," the ZnO commander ordered.
"Victor Cain. Officer of the 11th Autonomous Mobile Fleet. Serial number ZM-211787," John instantly replied. "My thrusters have failed and I need a hand at getting back to the surface."
"Alright then," the commander responded, not noticing a rocket launcher being aimed at his suit.
"Jenkins, help get him to the sur-"
A rocket stuck the ZnO silencing the commander. Two more rockets destroyed a pair of GOOhNs before anyone could react. "Shit! Attack!" a GOOhN pilot shouted.
Two GOOhNs charged the Farsight intending to ram it but John was much faster. He fired the bazooka at one GOOhN, easily defeating it, as he reached for his sword with his other hand and stabbed the second GOOhN. A moment later, it exploded.
"Who's next?" John said as more GOOhNs and ZnOs approached.
Elsewhere, the battle for JOSH-A was going poorly for the Earth Forces. ZuOOTs and BuCUEs were overrunning the Earth Forces' tanks and gun batteries due in part to the air support provided by the GINNs and DINNs flying overhead.
Saya fired off a burst of rounds from her rifle at a linear tank, destroying it. Nearby, Yzak destroyed a pair of tanks with the Duel's rifle. "These targets aren't any challenge at all," Yzak complained as he aimed at a gun emplacement.
"I find myself agreeing with you," Zane agreed as he fired at a gun battery. "After fighting the legged ship for so long, fighting against such weak opponents feels dull and boring."
"But Sirs. We're fighting in an important operation that could end the war," Saya said. "How can you consider this dull and boring?"
"It's not the mission that's dull. It's the opponents," Yzak said shooting down several missiles streaking towards his direction. "When you've been fighting against strong opponents for as long as we have, Rookie, you find weaker opponents boring. These guys may be fine for newbies like you, but experienced soldiers will find these guys boring to fight."
"Newbie?! I'm not a newbie!" Saya shouted, insulted. She wasn't a Red Coat for nothing. 'How dare he say I'm a newbie!' She thought, fuming, as she rushed ahead of the group eager to prove herself. 'I'll show him who's a newbie!'
"Wait!" Yzak shouted. "Running ahead like that-"
"Let her go," Zane interrupted. "She's a Red Coat like us. Unless the Academy has lowered their standards, she's more than capable of handling whatever they throw at her. She'd be more of a burden if she wasn't."
The Archangel
"Dammit!" Dearka cursed as the ship shuddered from a few hits of missiles. He was holding onto the prison bars that kept him. The battleship was going through a barrage of fire, but it would take a lot more than that to bring it down. Though this didn't help Dearka's mood as he was once again shook off balance. "What the hell's going on out there?!"
"Isn't it obvious? JOSH-A's under attack," Saul said lazily as he held onto his bed.
"Wait a minute!" Dearka exclaimed, clearly shocked. "Why is JOSH-A under attack?! I thought we were going attack Panama!"
"Apparently, everyone thought that, too," Nicol responded also holding onto his bed. He was sweating out of nervousness. "But it looks like Alaska was the real target."
The Archangel shook as it was hit again. Dearka, who had been standing in his cell, lost his balance and banged his head against one of the bars and fell over on his bottom. "Ow! Dammit!"
"You okay, Dearka?" a concerned Nicol asked.
"Yeah. I'm fine," he responded, rubbing his forehead. "Just a bruise."
"Could be worse," Saul said. "If this ship goes down, we go down with it."
Inside JOSH-A
Mu ran through the corridors of the base trying to find the Archangel and any information regarding what was currently happening. It was at that moment that he felt it: a strange pressure-like feeling, the same spine tingling sensation he got whenever Rau Le Creuset was nearby. He reached the door to the command center and peered inside.
The room was empty, save for a ZAFT White Coat by the name of Rau Le Creuset. Who stood over the console doing god knows what. Rau spun around and fired. Mu pulled his head back in time barely dodging the bullets. Rau took off heading for a side door. Mu entered the room and fired at Rau. Rau reached the doorway and used the door frame for cover while Mu moved behind a console to use as cover as well.
"It's been awhile, Mu La Flaga," Rau greeted, though his tone was far from welcoming. "I don't have time to be fooling around. Though we've only just met again, I apologize for leaving so soon. But if you're still hanging around here, then your usefulness to the Earth Forces' is almost at an end. Oh Hawk of Endymion, how the mighty have fallen!"
Rau laughed and fired a few more rounds before taking off. Mu considered following him, but he needed to know why Rau was here. He turned to the computer Rau had been looking at. What he saw turned his blood cold, something he thought he'd never see again. "No..." he said, his voice barely above a whisper. "They wouldn't...."
Flay ran through the corridors of the base wishing for the hundredth time that she had paid better attention to the route they took from the Archangel. She was hopelessly lost in the massive base. It was like a maze, and she wondered why it was built this way briefly. She reached an intersection when an Earth Alliance soldier appeared from another hallway. "A ZAFT soldier!" he shouted, staring down a different hallway as he drew his sidearm.
BANG!
The soldier fell to his side bumping Flay in the process. Flay stumbled, shrieking as she fell into the intersection. She lanced up from the direction the shot came from and she noticed one thing and it frightened her. Standing there was an armed masked man wearing a white ZAFT uniform. She silently hoped someone, anyone, was still around to come to her rescue but it looked pretty obvious that no one will be helping her. She looked for the next best thing: something to defend herself with. She noticed it and reached for the fallen soldiers gun and pointed it at the man, her hands shaking as she held the weapon.
"What have we here?" the man said, more intrigued than anything. He knew soldiers when he saw one, but this girl in front of him was acting far from one. Was it the feeling of her intense fear radiating off of her face? Or was it something else?
Flay's eyes widened in shock. That voice. It sounded just like her father's, but that was impossible. He was dead. She saw the ship he was on explode before her eyes! And this man didn't even look remotely like her father at all. "That... that voice. Why...why do you sound like my daddy?"
The man didn't react, or if he did, she didn't see it. Instead, he rushed towards her. His speed and reflexes were far greater than the girl's own. The shock from his fist forced her to fire a single shot before she was overcome by darkness and fainted into the man's arm.
Mu rushed towards the nearest hanger. He had to warn everyone on the Archangel before it was too late. He finally reached a hanger but it was a mess. Debris littered the hanger floor and much of the hanger crew were trying to put out a fire that erupted at another end of the large space. There were a few Spearhead fighters sitting in the hanger that looked flyable. He needed one of those fighters. While he was back in the command room, he learned that the Archangel had been participating in the battle just outside the base.
"What?! They've been completely wiped out! That's impossible!" a Eurasian soldier manning the hanger's comm console said.
Mu ran to that man. "Who's in charge here?"
The soldier turned to him. "Ah... At the moment sir, you're the only ranking officer here."
"Then get out of here now! The base is being abandoned!" Mu urgently informed. "Get everyone here at least ten kilometers from the base as quickly as you can!"
This didn't make any bit of sense to the soldier one bit. "Ten kilometers? I don't understand sir."
"Just get out of here NOW!!"
The soldier nodded. "Ah...Yes sir."
Not bothering to watch him gather the hanger crew and flee, Mu rushed to the nearest fighter grabbing a discarded helmet along the way. He climbed into the cockpit and started the fighter up. A moment later, he took off, heading for the Archangel's last known coordinates.
Outside JOSH-A's Main Gate
The Farsight reached the surface of the water near the Archangel. "Archangel, I've taken care of the underwater units for now, but more will come," John explained. "I'm returning for resupply."
"Roger," Miriallia responded. "Chris and Liz are also heading back for resupply as well."
"I have no ammo left in the bazooka," John informed as the Farsight rose out of the water's surface. "I'll get my rifle and cover the ship while they get resupplied."
The Farsight landed on the port mobile suit catapult and entered the hanger. He retrieved his sniper rifle and loaded some clips onto the Farsight's ammo racks. As he turned towards one of the catapults, the catapult door exploded from a barrage of missiles. John swore, "If we don't get any reinforcements soon, there won't be anyone left to save when they do get here."
Mu piloted his fighter over the battlefield, trying to avoid getting into a fight with ZAFT as he headed for the main naval gate where the Archangel should be. Hopefully.
A GINN fired at him. Mu evaded the incoming bullets and fired off a missile hitting the GINN's mono-eyed main camera. Mu quickly flew past it before it could recover. He had to find the Archangel. He didn't have time to waste on fighting.
A few minutes later, Mu spotted the main gate, and the Archangel in the heart of the battle it played out on. "There she is!"
The Archangel had taken a beating. There was a gaping hole one of the catapults and the other was open. Allowing the Raven and the Buster to land. Standing on top of the ship was the Farsight destroying mobile suits with single, well aimed shots from his rifle.
Mu headed for the Archangel. He opened up a comm line trying to warn Murrue and the others, but a GINN spotted him and fired. Mu spotted it at last second and tried to evade the GINN's fire, but he wasn't quick enough. A round struck his fighter and he was quickly loosing altitude. It was lucky that the shot didn't cause his fighter to explode. "Dammit!" Mu swore as he struggled to keep the fighter stable. "Archangel! Archangel, come in! This is La Flaga! Archangel come in!"
There was no response, however. Either his radio was damaged or their's was. "I guess I've got no choice. Clear the way cause I'm coming through!"
Mu aimed his fighter for the gaping hole in the catapult door. The fighter barely crashed into the deck, skidding across the catapult and crashing into the hastily erected crash net. Mu quickly jumped out of the cockpit and ran towards the bridge, ignoring Murdoch and the others' surprised shocks at his arrival.
"What's he doing here?" Liz asked. "I though he was transferred off the ship."
"Apparently it didn't stick." Chris said.
The Bridge
"Captain!" Mu shouted as he entered the bridge out of breath from his run.
The captain glanced around quickly recognizing who had addressed her."What the hell are you doing here?!" a very surprised Murrue asked. Wasn't he supposed to be transferred?
Mu ignored her question. "No time...We have to get out of here right now!"
Marrue was confused. "What?"
"There's a large Cyclops System under the base! It's powerful enough to turn everything within ten kilometers of the base into a blast furnace!" Mu said shocking the entire bridge crew. "There aren't enough forces here to defend the base long enough for reinforcements to arrive! Soon, the defenders will be overrun and ZAFT will reach the base interior! That's when they'll activate the System and destroy the base! And in the process, take out more than half of fighting strength! That's the outcome of this battle as imagined by the top brass!!"
"It can't be!!" Murrue said, trying to convince herself that he was wrong.
"I swear to you. I saw it with my own eyes. The command center is abandoned. The only ones that are left, are the Eurasian forces and the Archangel because those bigwigs have given up on her!"
"So they left us here to die?" Arnold asked.
"Only after we give them a desperate struggle so the enemy doesn't know it's abandoned."
"Wha...What kind of strategy this?" a terrified Kuzzey said.
"Because this is a war." Mir said, her eyes watering. "And because we're all suppose to be good soldiers. If they tell us too, I guess we're suppose to throw away our lives." The moment she hear Mu speak about the Cyclops System, all her confidence and her beliefs shattered. The memories that kept her up in the passed few nights, images and nightmares of Kira and Tolle dying all because of the war, resurfaced as she began to break down.
Murrue scowled. They, and everyone else in JOSH-A, had been left to die by their own commanders. The bridge was silent save for the distress calls from various forces fighting in JOSH-A.
"This is the Grant! The Northern Naval Gate is lost! I repeat, ZAFT has breached the North Gate!"
"...We're being overrun! There's too many of them! We need assistance!"
"The entire Sixth Air Defense Force has been wiped out! Command! We need reinforcements! Command?! Come in Command!!"
"This is the 14th Armored Battalion! We need reinforcements! We need rein...AAAAGH-"
Marrue came to her decision. "If the whole objective of this battle was to lure the ZAFT forces closer in, then in my opinion, this ship has already completed its objective." And to ensure the safety of her own crew, she added, "Note that I, Murrue Ramius, Captain of the Archangel, make this decision alone. No other member of the crew is to be held responsible."
"Don't put too much pressure on yourself Captain," Mu said.
Murrue ignored him and stood up. "This ship will now abandon the battle area and make its withdrawal. Inform Mr. Alaric and the others of what's happened and then signal the other ships to follow us. Engines to maximum. Head to port. We'll make our escape there!"
"This won't be an easy battle for us," Mu said as Murrue sat back down. "I'm launching as well."
"But Commander-"
"Don't worry. Remember, I'm the guy who makes the impossible, possible."
Zane smirked as he launched from the Cousteau. They had returned to resupply their mobile suits when Creuset had returned. Yzak and the others had been eager to join the others heading into base interior but Creuset had ordered them to attack the main gate. The legged ship was there and as a result, it was still standing. They'd be far enough from the base interior to allow them to escape before the Cyclops System could reach them.
It was time to end that troublesome ship once and for all. And if they couldn't destroy it, then the Cyclops would.
"Alright! We're gonna get a piece of the legged ship!" Saya said as her DINN joined the launching mobile suits from the Cousteau.
"Calm down Rookie." Yzak said in an annoyed tone. "That cocky attitude will get you killed. Especially against that ship. So tone it down. I've lost enough teammates against that accursed ship and it's mobile suits."
"Indeed. If we can take that ship out, it will cement our victory here." Zane added.
Yzak nodded. "Alright. Listen up everybody, we're going after the legged ship. And we're gonna destroy that ship once and for all!"
"This is insane," Liz said as she fired at more ZAFT mobile suits. They had received information about the Cyclops System only minutes ago. "Who in their right mind would sacrifice their soldiers like this?!"
"This is about as mess up as it gets," Chris said, angry at their betrayal. "It was probably that bastard Sutherland and those like him that did this."
"Now is not the time for this," John said. "We can worry about that after we've escaped."
"Heads up!" Mu said from the cockpit of his Sky Grasper. "We've got company!"
A group of ZAFT mobile suits appeared, heading for them, the Duel and a red GINN in leading in the front.
"Liz. Get off." Chris said lowly.
Did she just hear right? "What?"
"Get off and steal a Guul. The red GINN is mine alone."
Liz rolled her eyes. "Whatever."
The Buster jumped off of the Raven and fired at a GINN hitting the machine and sending it flying off the Guul. The Buster landed on the Guul and moved to the Raven's side.
Yzak swore at the sight of the Buster alongside Raven. "Bastard! Using Dearka's machine! You'll pay for that!" How dare they use his best friend's machine!
Zane chuckled. "It seems that you survived the Aegis' self-destruct, but you won't survive after I'm through with you!"
The Duel and the red GINN flew ahead of the group heading for the Buster and Raven. Yzak roared as he charged at that mobile suit that had once been Dearka's with a beam saber drawn. Liz flew backwards firing at the Duel while trying to prevent him from closing the distance between the two, but Yzak was an ace pilot while this was Liz's first time in a mobile suit. Yzak sidestepped the beams as he drew closer and closer to the Buster. Suddenly, a large beam tore through the air right in front the Duel stopping it in it's tracks.
Mu fired the Agni cannon mounted on his Sky Grasper again at the Duel. "Two against one?! Fine, have it your way! I'll take you both on!" Yzak shouted as he dodged the beam.
Elsewhere, Zane fired his railgun at the incoming Raven. Chris responded by firing back with his own railgun. "This time, I will defeat you," Zane said. "One way or another, you're going down today!"
"Dammit! Now is not the time for this, Zane! There's a Cyclops System under the base!" Chris said desperate to stop the fight so they could escape the base. "We have to get out of here before it's too late!"
Zane chuckled. "I already know that."
"What?! Then why are still here?!"
"As I said, I am here to defeat you."
Chris scowled. There was only one option at this point. "I have no other choice then. If you won't get out of the way, I will make you get out of the way."
The GINN's Guul fired off a barrage of missiles. Chris fired off the Raven's guns, destroying the missiles and then fired his railguns at the GINN. It quickly rose up dodging the shots. Zane drew sword and threw it like the spear at the Raven. The Raven made a hard right narrowly dodging the makeshift spear.
On top of the Archangel, John fired the last rounds from his rifle. The two DINNs exploded. "You're not sinking this ship." he said as he discarded the spent clip.
At that moment, a trio of DINNs fired off a barrage of missiles. They streaked towards the top of the Archangel's hull and the Farsight. John swore he jumped trying to avoid the incoming missiles but several missiles hit the Farsight. The badly damaged Farsight crashed onto the hull. It's right shin, entire left leg and right bicep were destroyed. "Gah! Dammit!" John cursed through clenched teeth.
Suddenly, a Guul mounted GINN swooped down in front of the bridge of the warship, its rifle aimed at its crew. Murrue and the bridge crew all stared down the barrel of the rifle in horror as Kuzzey screamed and made a futile dive for cover. "No!" John screamed from the cockpit of his crippled machine. He was unable to help them.
Mu, Chris and Liz turned from their own battles to see the GINN. They aimed for the GINN but couldn't fire. If they did, they'd hit the GINN and the Archangel's bridge. Time seemed to slow to a crawl as the GINN pilot started to squeezed the trigger. It was too late. They had lost their comrades!
As if on cue, a green beam shot from above tore through the rifle effectively destroying the weapon without hitting anything else. Everyone in the area looked up trying to find the source of the shot. Descending on the GINN and the Archangel was white mobile suit none of them had ever seen before. The mobile suit drew a beam saber and sliced the GINN's head off. The GINN backed off as the newcomer took a position in front of the Archangel's bridge with its majestic blue wings outstretched shielding it from any further harm.
"This is Kira Yamato. Please get to safety. I'll cover you."
The GINNs and the DINNs resumed their attacks on the Archangel and the other defenders. A seed shattered in the back of Kira's mind. The winged mobile suit locked on to every nearby ZAFT mobile suit as the Freedom's railguns unfolded and plasma beam cannons flipped over its shoulders. Kira fired off a massive barrage of perfectly aimed beam shots. The heads, limbs and weapons of ZAFT mobile suits exploded, including the crimson GINN's head. Stunned pilots of both damaged and undamaged mobile suits backed away from the Freedom and the Archangel, unsure of what to do against the power the Freedom displayed.
Out of all the pilots within this battle, only one of them wasn't afraid of the newcomer. "I don't know who you are or what you're doing here, but you're going down!" Yzak shouted firing at the Freedom.
The Freedom raised it's shield blocking the Duel's beams. For a moment, Yzak noticed the Freedom stall and used it as an opportunity to get closer. The Duel drew its saber and lunged at the Freedom. Kira countered by drawing one of his own sabers and the two warriors clashed blades. Yzak aimed the Duel's railgun at the Freedom's head and fired, but Kira was faster and pulled the Freedom's head out of the line of fire. Before Yzak could get his guard back up, Kira swung his saber low. Yzak watched in horror as the saber came towards the cockpit. Suddenly, Kira lowered the saber slashing through the Duel's knees instead. Kira kicked the Duel sending it to the waters.
"I got you sir," Saya said as her DINN swooped down and grabbed the Duel. "Are you alright sir?"
Yzak ignored her, his thoughts on what just happened. "He didn't...But why..." Normally, when you have the opportunity to kill your opponent, you'd take the chance, but the pilot of the winged mobile suit clearly did not intend to end his life. It contradicted the whole point of this war.
"Don't worry sir, we're heading back." Saya said, heading for the Cousteau.
Chris started to laugh as both the Raven and the Buster landed on the Archangel. He knew he shouldn't do so in the middle of a battle, especially if at any minute they could all be annihilated by the Cyclops System, but he couldn't help it. Kira was alive after all! "Damn, good to see you Kira!" he cheered. "And the next time you scare us like that, you better be dead!"
"Wow! That was amazing! Where'd you get a suit like that?" Liz said in awe.
"While I admit that this is a happy little reunion, we do have more pressing matters to attend to," John said. "We have to get out of here. Now!"
"He's right. Miss Murrue, please get the Archangel out of here. I'll deal with them," Kira said.
"You don't understand, Kira. Under headquarters, there's a...a Cyclops System!" Murrue said.
Kira's face paled in horror. He had heard of the Earth Forces' defeat at Endymion Crater before and how they used a Cyclops System to wipe out the invading ZAFT forces. If something like that was here too, then it was more than just escaping a simple battle. More is at stake here than anyone realized.
"We're all just bait! We had no idea what they were planning this!"
Kira turned back out the battle. After his encounter with Lacus Clyne in the PLANTs, he knew exactly what he needed to do. What he was fighting for he now knew what he had to do. He had to end this war without a single person's life lost in the process. And that meant everyone, including the Earth Forces and ZAFT forces. He was determined to end this war once and for all, and if he had to become the enemy to ensure Naturals and Coordinators would no longer quarrel, then so be it.
"Attention, all ZAFT and Earth Alliance Forces! At any moment now, the Cyclops System under the Alaska Base will activate and the base will self-destruct! Please, cease fighting and withdraw from the area immediately!"
More confusion spread across the ranks of the soldiers fighting and their commanders. Was this kid bluffing to try to get the ZAFT forces to flee? Or was he speaking the truth and they were moments away from being annihilated? A few ZAFT soldiers decided that it was better to be safe than sorry claiming that they needed to resupply. Many, still confused over everything that happened in the last few minutes, didn't do anything. The rest simply ignored him and resumed attacking the base and its defenders.
Aboard the Earth Forces' Submarine, the Pisces
Captain Sutherland sat in seat at the table waiting along with the rest of the officers from JOSH-A. It was almost time. They had just received word that ZAFT had breached the interior of the base and would soon overrun it. Sutherland had personally told the doomed fools that reinforcements would be there in less then twenty minutes. All they had to do was hold out until then. The door to the briefing room opened, Admiral Jamitov Hymen entered the room. All of the officers in the room saluted the Admiral. "Sir. ZAFT has breached the base interior," Sutherland informed. "It's time."
Jamitov nodded. He silently took his seat next to Sutherland. Before both of them was a pair of metal boxes attached to cables with a keyhole in the center. Both men pulled out their keys and inserted them into the keyholes.
"It is my sincerest wish that this terrible sacrifice will bring a swift end to the war," a solemn and weary Jamitov said.
"For the preservation of our blue and pure world," Sutherland added. "3...2...1."
Both men simultaneously turned the keys... and unleashed hell upon those at JOSH-A.
Underneath JOSH-A, the massive Cyclops System array came to life. The first to feel its effects where the Eurasian soldiers in the interior of JOSH-A and the ZAFT forces that had penetrated the interior. Unlike a normal self-destruct that would have engulfed the base in a massive explosion, the microwave weapon rapidly heated up the munitions and propellant of weapons used by both forces causing them to explode. It had the same effect on human bodies. Water in the human body would quickly heat up. The people affected inflated like balloons. Mercifully, this agonizing process only lasted a few seconds before they too exploded from the inside out.
They were the first victims of the Cyclops System but they wouldn't be the last. The System wouldn't stop until it reached the critical point and the base as well as the array itself were destroyed by the intense heat.
"Oh no!" Sai said. "They've activated the Cyclops!"
"Engines to maximum!! Get us out of here!!" Murrue shouted at the top of lungs.
Arnold didn't need to be told. As soon as Sai informed them that the Cyclops System had been activated, he had gunned the engines. The Archangel pushed forward as fast as it's engines could push itself. ZAFT mobile suits desperately fled the area. Many escaped. Many did not. The surviving Earth Forces' naval ships tried to flee as well but they were too slow and joined the growing number of causalities. The Guul of a headless GINN near the Archangel exploded. The pilot screamed as shrapnel hit the GINN and he began to fall.
"I got you," Kira said grabbing the GINN's arm and carried it and its pilot to safety.
By some miracle, the Archangel barely managed to reach a safe distance before the entire base exploded like a massive inferno.
The DINN carrying the Duel had made it half way to the Cousteau when the base exploded. The DINN turned back watching the massive fireball consume the base.
"How... How they do that?" Saya said completely shocked by what had happened. "They wiped out their own men as well as ours."
Yzak didn't respond. This whole thing had left a bad taste in his mouth. A Natural piloting Dearka's machine. The new mobile suit that defeated him with ease. And now this.
Zane's headless GINN suddenly appeared alongside the DINN and the crippled Duel. "It's simple. While technologically, the Naturals are inferior to us, they drastically outnumber us." Zane said, venom in his voice. "They figured that one day, we'd likely attack their central command and as a result, planted a Cyclops System under the base. So if and when we'd attack, they had it lying in wait for us."
"But they sacrificed so many of their own soldiers!" Saya said.
"You forget. They outnumber us. The losses they suffered here is nothing compared to the losses we suffered. And because they thought we were going to hit Panama, most of their forces had been sent there. Meaning our own deception ensured that they would suffer fewer causalities." Zane said. "A truly disgusting tactic."
'Damn that machine! I would have defeated him if he hadn't interfered.' Zane thought as they flew back to the Cousteau.
"It can't be!" the Cousteau's Captain said in horror.
The entire bridge crew of the Cousteau, had similar looks of horror on their faces. They couldn't believe that the Earth Forces would do such a thing at their own headquarters. "It seems that we've fallen for the Earth Forces' trap," Rau said with a smirk that went unnoticed by all around him.
Aboard the Odin
"I see... So the Commander was going to meet up with the Eighth Fleet when Victoria was taken stranding him in Africa," Diana said.
"Indeed. But that's not all of it," Captain Burton of the Junk Guild replied. "We recently received word from some of our comrades on Earth that the new Earth Forces warship landed in Africa and defeated the Desert Tiger with the help of a band of rebels and a mercenary. A mercenary that Waltfeld himself identified as Commander Alaric and passed it on to the Junk Guild members that helped save his life. And there's been reports of a GINN High Maneuver Type fighting alongside that new warship since they left Africa."
"So he's fighting alongside them for now."
Burton nodded. "It appears that way. Oh... Before I forget, the last time he recorded a message for you," he said, pulling out a disc. "This is a copy of it."
Diana took the disc. "Thank you. Your people have been a tremendous help to us-"
Suddenly, a voice blared over the ship's intercom. "Commander Kessel! Please report to the bridge at once! I repeat..."
Diana stood up. "It seems something has happen. If you excuse me."
"I understand. I'll be heading back to my ship and oversee the supply transfer."
The two left Diana's office and went their separate ways. Captain Burton heading for the hanger while Diana headed for bridge. A few minutes later, Diana stepped onto the bridge. The bridge was buzzing with activity. Lucius and Lee turned to her as she enter. "What has happened?"
"Spitbreak failed," Lucius bluntly told her. "The Alliance used a Cyclops to destroy the base and our forces. Early estimates put the causalities as low as seventy percent and as high as ninety percent."
Diana swore as she took her chair. Another Cyclops was just used! "Contact Admiral Darlian immediately! I want a full status report on our holdings on Earth! If the Alliance is preparing a counterattack, I want to know where! And I want the supplies from Burton's ship aboard the Fleet now!" she ordered, her voice as cold as ice.
The Odin's bridge crew snapped into action, rushing to carry out her orders. A few minutes later, Admiral Darlian's face appeared on the main screen. "What Kessel?!" he said, his tone angry.
"Are the reports true? Did they use a Cyclops at JOSH-A?" Diana asked revealing no emotion.
"Yes," Darlian grunted. "They wiped our forces out."
"What's the status on our remaining forces from the attack?"
"What?"
"Don't tell me they're just sitting on the waters outside Alaska. If they haven't already started to, tell them to regroup at Carpentaria."
"Who do you think you are?! You can't order me around! I am in command of this Operation!"
"Dammit, you idiot!" Diana said, standing up. "This Operation is over! We lost! Order the retreat so we can regroup and determine what to do! If you won't then I will!"
Darlian scowled and closed the comm line. "Arrogant fool," Diana said. "What's the status on our Earth-based forces?"
"From what we can tell, they're fine for now. The Alliance hasn't mobilized any forces to attack our bases on Earth yet," Lucius said handing her a personal computer with the initial reports from Earth. "But from the reports coming in, ZAFT is in complete disarray. The entire momentum of the war has changed."
"Indeed it has," Diana mused staring at the initial reports. "Our forces have been devastated today. We won't recover from such a blow for a long time. Perhaps not until after the war is over. The playing field has been virtually leveled now. The question is, what do we do from here?"
That's it for now. JOSH-A is done with. Now onto the Justice and Panama. Fans of the Druggies will be pleased to know that they'll be in the next chapter. Though we won't actually see them in real combat or their Gundams until Orb.
As always, review!