Chapter 3: First Engagement
With Operation "White Out" underway, Silver Team approach the edge of the snow-covered valley. Once in position behind a small hill, Michael contacts their ship. "This is Silver 1; we've arrived at the designated location. We'll engage the Geara Doga's once Purple Team is in position." Meanwhile, Takumi peeks over the hill and scans the valley below them. His heart beats increasingly faster as he looks for any signs of the Geara Dogas. "Scope, what do you got?"
"Nothing yet Pixy. I can't see the third Doga, it's not at the radar station."
"Keep looking. We can't attack until the Purples are in position."
"Roger." After a few more seconds pass, he spots something. "I see them. All three are in the village below the station. Their mono-eyes are glowing so they're probably on guard."
"The hell? Why are they all there?"
Suddenly, Lucia contacts them from the northern valley. "This is Purple 1; we are in position. Have you located the targets yet?"
"Silver 1 here, all three enemy mobile suits are down in the valley. We don't know if the radar station is occupied or not."
"Understood. Please keep the enemy's attention until we have reached 'Grosse 5'. We will attack from the hill once we have taken the station."
"Roger, we'll draw their fire." Michael turns his suit towards Takumi and Akito and uses the contact link to speak with them. "Alright, here's the plan. Scope, you stay here. Provide us with cover fire and keep a lookout for any surprises."
"Copy."
"Cipher and I will attack from the air and ground at the same time. Remember, those things have reactors so don't hit the torso. Otherwise, everything in a 5-kilometer radius will be fried. Hit the head or the limbs."
"But they're not going to have any qualms about hitting us, we've got battery powered MS."
"Exactly, Cipher. Now, you both know what to do so let's show them what we're made of."
"Roger."
"Got it."
"Move out." Michael applies full power and flies high above the valley while Akito flies close to the ground, racing down the side of the valley. Takumi meanwhile positions himself so just his Windam's head and beam rifle are visible over the crest. Then, he takes aim on the Geara Doga's down in the valley but does not fire.
"Not yet…don't fire yet…"
Down in the valley, the Doga's notice the two Windam's charging at them and their leader readies his bazooka. "Looks like our welcoming party has arrived. Remember what Reiher said, they're just kids and they've got battery powered suits so we can easily take them out."
"Roger!" The three Doga's spread out and move to the eastern end of the village. Michael, flying overhead, fires two "Drache" air-to-ground missiles at the suits but the second Doga counters and fires a short barrage from his machine gun, intercepting the missiles, prompting Michael to fly to the west and he lands behind the left side Doga.
"Eat this!" he fires a "Würger" missile from his shield, hitting the Geara Doga's right arm just as it is about to turn, disabling it completely.
At the same second, Akito flies past the two leading Doga's and attacks the third one with his beam saber, lifting his right arm to the side and decapitating the MS. He then follows up with a second attack and severs the suit's legs, causing what's left to fall to the ground. Akito then rejoins with Michael and they ready their beam rifles. "*pant* One down…"
"Nice one Space Boy!" Michael shouts over the contact link.
"Damn, they took out Walker! Contact Unit 4 and tell him he's free to fire." the leader says to his remaining wingman.
"Understood. Unit 4, take them out!" Just as the wingman finishes his transmission, a beam pierces his left leg and his Doga lands belly first on a barn. "Uargh, dammit!"
"Whoo, nice shot Scope!"
"Keep calm, keep calm…" Takumi breaths heavily as he readjusts his sights.
"Where did that come from?!" The leader shouts as he begins to take evasive action. However, Akito intercepts him, but he manages to block Akito's saber with his own beam saber.
With both the Windam and the Geara Doga stuck in a deadlock, a yellow beam hits Michael's suit, followed by an explosion that engulfs the left side of his Windam. The suit buckles and collapses on one knee. "Ghh!"
"MICHAEL!"
"I'm fine, Scope! Damn, the bastard took out my left wing and blew up my missiles and rockets. My left arm's also damaged." Realizing that he can't contact Akito, who continues to duel the leader, he contacts Takumi. "What the hell was that attack? Silver 3, can you see anything?" Michael shouts over the radio and moves his damaged Windam behind a building just as another beam hits his previous position while Takumi frantically tries to identify the attacker.
"It's a mobile suit of some kind but I can't tell from here. I don't have enough range on my suit's sensors." Then, the Purple Team appears next to the radar station and as the VTO/L craft they were escorting empties its human cargo, Lucia takes point and preps her sniper rifle.
"This Purple 1, I've positioned myself over the valley. The rest of my team is behind the station, covering our flank. What's your status Silver Team?"
"Cipher and Scope took out two of the Dogas but some bastard is shooting at us with a beam weapon! Provide Scope with some better visual info so he can tell what we're fighting against!" Michael shouts as a beam flies overhead.
"Roger." Lucia uses her radome and quickly locates the mysterious attacker. "I've located the target. Silver 3, I am sending you my visual feed."
"Roger." Takumi's face turns white as he easily recognizes the dark green mobile suit. "It's a Gelgoog Jaeger!"
"What the heck is that?"
"A high-performance MS designed for sniping. Be careful, its beam rifle was originally designed as a beam machine gun so it can fire beams with high accuracy at a very quick rate." Just as he finishes, a beam landss a few meters away from him.
"You okay?!"
"Yeah…"
"Purple 1, you take it out. Silver 2 and I can't do anything from here."
"Someone needs to draw his fire so I can get a clear shot."
"But I can't move and Cipher's fighting that other suit." Michael yells when suddenly, Takumi swallows his fears and steps up.
"I'll do it. Just don't miss!"
"I won't."
Takumi flies from behind the crest and begins moving to the south, drawing the Gelgoog Jaeger's attention. One beam passes by him and the second one he manages block with his anti-beam coated shield. Lucia takes aim and fires a single beam at the Jaeger. The beam pierces the Gelgoog's head and the suit falls on its back while a relieved Takumi returns back to his original position. "*sigh* Thanks…"
"No problem."
Meanwhile, Akito continues to fight at close range with the last Geara Doga. Despite his best efforts, Akito can't find an opening as the leader counters all of his attacks. "Impressive, not bad for a Feddie. This isn't some fresh-from-academy pilot I'm fighting…" the leader smirks as he dodges and switches his beam sword-axe to axe mode, catching Akito off guard. "How do you like this?!" he aims the axe at the Windam's head but at the last second, Akito brings his shield between the axe and his suit.
"No you don't!" Akito slashes the arm holding the sword-axe and cuts off the Geara Doga's wrist but before he can deliver the final blow, the leader applies full thrust and uses Akito's suit as a steppingstone to launch himself into the air. Then, just as Lucia is about to shoot him, the leader releases reflective chaff-smoke from the Doga as he begins flying low towards the south but Lucia fires anyway but her shots dissipate as they hit the reflective smoke.
"Looks like my time is up. Hmph, that was impressive. I'll remember that swordplay."
As the Doga dissapears from radar, Lucia notifies the Edelweiss that threats have been dealt with "This is Purple 1. 3 of the 4 enemy mobile suits have been neutralized. The leader got away."
"Understood. We'll begin our approach."
Below, Akito regroups with Michael's Windam while Takumi keeps his position and continues to look for more enemies. "Man, that was kinda easy." Michael says jokingly.
"*pant* That pilot was really good." Akito says as he tries to find the Doga, which has already fled to the southern end of the valley.
"Yeah, but you and Scope took both kills."
"This isn't a competition."
"I know, I know. Let's get back to the ship."
...
10 kilometers away, the black ship launches its mobile suits. As they make their way towards the valley, Eric, piloting the lead machine, contacts the fleeing Doga. "Colonel Grumman, can you hear me?"
"Reiher, is that you?"
"Yes, you've performed your task commendably. However, my orders would dictate that I execute you immediately."
"What?!"
"Do not worry, this is a private line. Your war can't end yet, so I have prepared a transport for you at these coordinates. Use it to go to Spain. Your fellow Sleepers are waiting for you there."
"I will not forget this act of mercy."
"It is a shame that until I finish my mission, you and I will be enemies. Godspeed." Eric quickly hangs up and adresses his pilots. "This is Yellow 13 to all units, begin Laser Pulse spread. Jam their signals."
"Roger!"
"It's time to go to work, Yellow Squadron."
At the same time, aboard the Edelweiss, the CIC operator notices multiple dots appearing on his radar screen."Captain!"
"What is it?"
"I'm picking up 10…no 14 bogeys approaching the valley from the west at high speed!"
"14? How can that be? Where did they come from?!" Alarmed, Aho goes next to the operator to take a look.
"I don't know Ma'am. They just appeared out of nowhere!"
"Captain, what are your orders?" Aho looks at Renner, who stands up.
"Ensign Williams, full speed ahead. Commander, prepare the ship for anti-mobile suit combat!"
"It'll take us 10 minutes to reach them, Captain." The brown-haired helmsman replies.
"I don't care, we need to go NOW. I'm not going to let our pilots fight by themselves!"
"Yes Ma'am." Williams applies full thrust, and the Edelweiss begins to move slowly.
"Hang in there everyone…" Renner thinks as she bites her lip.
…
In the valley, Lucia's radar picks up the 14 suits for a second until both it and her radio go static at the same time. "Where did they come from?" she quickly rejoins her teammates, who are standing behind the station and establishes a contact link with them. "Purple 2, Purple 3, my radar just detected 14 unknown mobile suits approaching. We need to return to the ship right now."
"But the Special Forces are still inside the radar station." Jacky responds while pointing at the idle VTO/L craft.
"Alright. I'll engage them with my rifle. You two provide cover."
"What about the Silver Team? I can't contact them."
"They must be jamming us. I'll use signals." Aiyumi moves in-front of the station and begins using light signal. Down in the valley, Michael and Akito have run into the same problem, being unable to contact Takumi or the ship.
"Damn, my radar and radio are both in the fritz. What's going on here?" He says through the contact link.
"I'm not sure. I can't contact anyone either. Someone must be jamming us…" Akito notices Aiyumi's signal.
"Look, Purple 2 is trying to tell us something. "Enemy. Approaching. Numbers. 14." Pixy, 14 enemy mobile suits are approaching!"
"Are you kidding me!? From where?"
"Over there, to the west!" Akito points to the sky and Michael is shocked by the enemies appearing over the horizon.
"Oh my god. I thought there weren't any other enemies here?!"
"This was a trap and we fell right into it." Akito says with a grim expression.
Above them, behind the crest of the valley's eastern slope, Takumi is frozen in fear as he stares at the approaching mobile suits. 12 of the 14 are of the same type and color, white and gray camo, and have a yellow band running across their right shoulder. One of the suits is completely black and resembles a flying saucer. However, the lead machine, colored in the same camo and yellow is the one that shocks him the most. "Tha…that's a Gundam-type! What's a Gundam doing there?"
The lead machine signals the other suits, and they move to a V-shaped formation with the black machine moving to the very right of the formation. Suddenly a green beam and a yellow beam hit the two machines on the left. One of them loses its left arm while the other explodes.
At the radar station, Jacky rejoices over the shots hitting home. "Good job you guys. Now there are only 12 left."
"Ready your weapons Purple 3, they won't take losing two suits kindly." Lucia says sternly while their foes press on.
"Yellow 14 is gone. Yellow 6 is disabled."
"It must be the "Butterfly". Yellow 6, turn back and return to the ship. The rest of you split up to two groups. I'll provide you with overhead cover. Remember to use your beam fields."
"Yes Sir." as the other machines separate, Eric contacts the pilot of the black mobile suit.
"Yellow 4, you're free to choose your target."
"Okie dokie." The blond-haired pilot eyes the six mobile suits below her. "I'll get the white one." she begins diving down towards Akito and pulls a lever on the command console, transforming her machine into a mobile suit and it lands at the western most point of the village, 200 meters in-front of Akito. Its red mono-eye lights up as it locks-on to Akito's Windam.
"What the heck is that thing?!"
"I don't know, but we need to get out of here. Get out of your suit and climb into mine!"
"No way. I'm not gonna run now. The only thing broken in my Windam is the Striker-pack. Otherwise, it's fully functional. We're gonna fight our way out of this and regroup with Scope." Michael replies as he detaches his damaged Jet Striker and readies his rifle.
"Okay, I'll try sending him a message."
Akito sends a coded message to Takumi who decrypts it immediately. "'Fighting. Retreat. Cover. Us.' Alright, I can do that." He points his rifle towards the Gundam-type as it hovers over the valley but Takumi refuses to fire and observes the machine. "How is it able to fly without wings or binders…is that cone in its back the power plant…?" Then, Takumi notices one of the grey suits diving on the radar station and quickly switches his rifle to maximum penetration. He fires two thin beams and they pierce the diving machine's abdomen, causing it to explode violently. The mobile suit's remains fall to the bottom of the valley in a fireball. "Did I just…kill the pilot?" He freezes for a split second before taking a deep breath and continues to look for targets, keeping himself hidden behind the crest of the hill.
Below him, the black mobile suit points its large arms forward, towards Akito. "Alright, let's have some fun Gorgon." The pilot says calmly and fires the Gorgons finger-beam cannons.
"WHOA!" Michael shouts just as the suit unleashes ten beams at Akito, who instinctively flies to the left and evades the blast.
"Ghh..." He then returns fire with his own rifle but right before his beam hits; the black MS generates a light blue energy shield from its right arm and blocks the attack.
"Sorry, but I can't let you lay a finger on my Gorgon."
"A beam shield…" Akito flies up and fires all of his rockets and while they hit the Gorgon and its surroundings, they only cause negligible damage to it. However, the sudden attack forces the Gorgon to jump back slightly, leaving Michael out of its line of sight.
"That's not fair; you're supposed to stay still while I shoot you to pieces." Yellow 4 begins firing the finger-beam-cannons continuously towards Akito but she doesn't actually aim at him, instead she aims to the direction he is moving, forcing him to alter his course and deny him a chance to fire back.
"Urgh…Is the pilot *pant* toying with me?! Dammit!"
Meanwhile, Michael has repositioned himself to the other side of the building he was using as cover. He carefully adjusts his sight and takes aim at the Gorgon. "At this rate, that thing's gonna corner Akito…not on my watch!" But just as he fires a shot at maximum penetration settings, Eric notices the hiding Windam.
"Yellow 4, evade!" He shouts to warn her but it's too late: Michael's beam shot pierces the Gorgon's left shoulder and continues through the backpack, disabling the transformation mechanism and the left side main thruster. While the Gorgon remains standing, it belches smoke from the hole in its left side and its reactor shuts down.
"Argh...no! Damn you!" 4 shouts as she tries to get the Gorgon back online
"Thanks Michael." Akito lands next to Michael and draws his beam rifle.
"No problem, Space Boy. Let's take this freak down."
Alarmed, Eric immediately contacts two of his pilots. "Yellow 7 and 9, support Yellow 4, she's taken severe damage.
"Roger." Two of the gray machines break formation and attack Akito and Michael.
"Stay there, I'll deal with them." Akito fires the rest of his remaining "Würger" and "Drache" missiles and while they miss, they force the attackers to take evasive action, giving Akito the chance fire a shot from his beam rifle. The gray MS flies directly into the path of the beam but it generates a red spherical energy shield around itself and aborts the attack while the other continues to approach. Akito immediately activates the Jet Striker's engines and flies to meet the second gray MS. The Windam throws one it's "Stiletto" penetrators and the small rocket-powered knife flies directly in to the abdomen of the enemy suit, killing the pilot and as it hits, the penetrator explodes and the suit stays hovering for a few seconds. Akito charges at the immobile machine and slices it in two from the waist with his beam saber. He then lands and looks at the two burning piles of wreckage behind him. "I…killed him…No, I can't think of that now. They're out to kill us as well…"
Above him, Eric is amazed at the Windam's mobility and keeps his large rifle aimed at Akito but doesn't fire. "Impressive…even though you just killed Yellow 9…"
Up in the hill, the Purple Team has formed a perimeter around "Grosse 5" and continues to repel attacks from the gray suits that fly above them. Due to the close range of the enemy attacks, Lucia has been forced to use her normal beam rifle instead of the sniper because it can't shoot accurately up close but regardless, they have damaged three more enemy MS from their defensive position. Then, out of nowhere, one of the gray MS fires it's short rifle, hitting the VTO/L craft, destroying it and leaving the Special Forces troops stranded. "Oh no, they took out the VTO/L!" Aiyumi shouts.
"Dragonfly, take the Special Forces troops and carry them out of here. We'll cover you."
"What? I can't leave you guys here!"
"That is an order! Do it!"
"Okay." Jacky takes a deep breath and kneels with her Murasame. "Hey, jump into my hands. I'll carry you back to the Edelweiss!" She shouts over her suits loudspeaker system, prompting the commander of the unit to give her a "thumbs up" and signal his men to climb in to the Murasame's open hands. Aiyumi and Lucia move to both sides of Jacky's suit to protect it as the soldiers clamper on to its arms before Jacky's Murasame stands up and begins to leave the combat area.
Above them, Eric sees what is going on but stops his pilots from giving pursuit. "Ignore that one. Concentrate on the remaining mobile suits."
Suddenly, one of the attackers dives on Lucia's Murasame from behind, it's beam saber ready. "LUCY!" Before Lucia can react, Aiyumi puts her suit between the attacker and her team leader. The gray mobile suit's beam saber pierces the Murasame's left side, right next to the cockpit and Lucia hears a horrific scream through the contact link. "AAARGHH!" Aiyumi screams as the beam saber just barely misses her directly but the left side of her body makes contact with the beam. However, using her right hand, Aiyumi manages to pull out her own beam saber and drives it through the enemy mobile suit's abdomen, vaporizing the pilot while her own suit lands on its back and belches smoke from the gaping hole in the torso.
"AIYUMI!" Lucia shouts but before she can do anything, another mobile suit dives on her. While she manages to avoid a direct hit, her Murasame loses both legs when the gray MS swoops past her with its red beam saber. Lucia quickly jumps out of her wrecked Murasame, runs to her teammate's stricken mobile suit and climbs into the wreck cockpit. Inside, Aiyumi is trying to stay conscious, her helmet is broken and her left arm, left side and leg have severe burns as the blade had burned through her flight suit. "Aiyumi!" Lucia shouts as she tries to keep her friend conscious.
"Lucy…thank goodness you're okay…I…I can't feel my arm."
"Don't worry about that now. I'm not going to let you die here." Lucia steels her nerve and finds the first-aid kit intact from under Aiyumi's seat. She then pulls her out of the wrecked MS and begins to treat Aiyumi's wounds, completely ignoring the two remaining mobile suits hovering above her.
Eric also sees her performing first aid and in an act of mercy, orders his pilots to join him instead. "Do not fire at them. No point in wasting beams on a single human target."
"But Sir, we were ordered to not leave any witnesses."
"I am aware but trust me; it leaves a bad taste in your mouth if you shoot unarmed targets."
Down in the valley, Yellow 4 manages to restart her mobile suit and prepares to continue the battle. "How dare you…HOW DARE YOU DAMAGE MY GORGON!" She shouts in rage and activates the Gorgon's chest-mounted triple-barreled Multi-Phase Cannon.
"OH SHI…!" Michael shouts as the cannon blasts the building behind which he was hiding and the explosion throws his suit backwards, ripping the Windam's legs off from the knees down and knocking Michael unconscious.
"MICHAEL!" Akito shouts as the Gorgon jumps using its remaining thrusters and lands next to the stricken Windam. In her rage, she begins stomping the Windam's chest and each consecutive hit breaks the cockpit more and more. "STOP IT!" Akito screams and charges at her but the Gorgon deploys ten small composite plasma cannons running along the circumference of its saucer-shaped backpack and fires three of them at Akito, whose suit is hit in the backpack, right shoulder armor and to the right of the cockpit. The third hit causes a small explosion in the cockpit, his helmet's visor cracks and a large piece of shrapnel is driven deep in to his right shoulder. "UAAARGH! Ghhh...argh... "Then, his Windam falls on one knee and Akito screams in pain as his shoulder begins to bleed.
"Wait for your turn! I'll squash this bug first!" She keeps Akito at gunpoint while she continues to stomp on the Windam. Above them, Takumi hasn't fired a single shot after he downed his second mobile suit and is shaking from head to toe. Then he sees what is happening below him.
"Michael…that machine is going to kill him…I WON'T LET YOU!" He stands up and charges down the mountainside, firing his beam rifle wildly at the Gorgon, screaming as he gains speed. Below, Akito sees the Windam racing down towards the Gorgon.
"Takumi, what are you doing?!" Somehow, he senses fear from his teammate's Windam.
"AAAAAAAAHHHH!" While Takumi's shots don't cause massive damage to it, the Gorgon is forced to stop stomping on Michael's Windam and jumps backwards.
"Don't interfere!" She fires a plasma beam and destroys the Windam's beam riflem prompting Takumi to try to loop around the Gorgon but then, his Windam's battery runs dry. "You can't run away now, coward!" Yellow 4 fires a single beam right as the Windam is about to turn while Akito is forced to watch in stunned horror as the beam pierces the cockpit of Takumi's Windam.
The MS shutters as it stays airborne for a second before its engine cuts and it plummets down, slamming in to the hillside and explodes in a massive fireball, leaving Akito in shock as the smoke from the destroyed mobile suit rises high over the valley. "Takumi…no, this not happening…this can't be happening…TAKUMI!" Akito screams in agony while tears run down his face as he turns his now furious gaze towards his teammate's killer. "*groan*...damn you...DAMN YOU!" He fights the pain in his right shoulder as he brings the Windam back on its feet.
"Oh, you still wanna fight? Fine, let's continue from where we started." Yellow 4 says gleefully as she aims all 10 of her plasma cannons towards the last remaining Windam. Akito detaches his Striker pack and draws both of his beam sabers, charging them with extra power from the battery, doubling their length. The Gorgon fires but as the green beams approach Akito, something happens: Time slows down around Akito as he easily dodges the plasma beams, regains his footing and begins to rotate his manipulators at such speed that his beam sabers turn into a pair of circular saw-like weapons. "What the…?!" Yellow 4 shouts as she fires again, but this time, Akito charges at her, his rotating beam sabers blocking the attack.
"RAAAAAH! YOU BASTARD!" Consumed by rage, Akito's Windma gets right up close to Yellow 4 and delivers a vertical slash, cutting the Gorgon's right arm completely off, along with the right side of the backpack.
"No!" Yellow 4 shouts as Akito continues his relentless attack. He decapitates the Gorgon with his right beam saber and follows it up by cutting of the Gorgon's legs. As the legless mobile suit falls to the ground, Akito puts his right leg on top of the Gorgon and drops his left saber. He then puts both hands on his remaining saber and prepares to strike the cockpit while Yellow 4 realizes what is happening and panics. "No…NO, I DON'T WANNA DIE! YAAAAAHH!"
"This is for Takumi!" However, before Akito can land the final blow, he somehow hears Yellow 4's scream without having any form of contact and hesitates. Then, a green beam pierces the Windam's left arm, followed by a second beam that hits the right arm, causing them both to explode and the MS falls on its side. Eric, who saw what happened, descends slightly, pointing his large beam rifle at the armless Windam.
"I admit, you're pretty good for a rookie, but I can't let you kill her." However, before Eric can do anything else, he sees the "Edelweiss" appearing behind the hill on his left.
On the bridge, Captain Renner orders Aho to take aim at the Gundam-type. "Fire both Mega-Particle Cannons at the enemy mobile suits!"
"FIRE!" Aho shouts as the Edelweiss's two twin barreled main cannons fire at Eric, who deploys a sphere-shaped beam shield around him and survives the attack.
"Looks like our time is up. Yellow 3, Yellow 11, retrieve the Gorgon. We're leaving." His wingmen grab the wrecked Gorgon and they begin to flee to the west, all the while evading the Edelweiss's cannon fire. Yellow 4 is left in a catatonic state inside her mobile suit. She has removed her helmet and tears fill her eyes. Glancing over his shoulder, Eric presses a button on his control console and all the shot down MS explode into small pieces behind him. "We underestimated our enemy and this is the price we pay…Contact the Metatron. Tell them to begin withdrawal." As he continues to looks back at the valley filled with wrecked mobile suits, Eric sighs and frowns, clearly dissapointed by what happened. "4 good pilots are gone and they only lost one…Unbelievable…"
…
"The jamming has stopped and the enemy mobile suits are retreating Ma'am. Should we pursue?"
"No! Retrieving our pilots takes top priority. Commander, what are our losses?" Renner turns towards Aho, who is finally able to view the MS status screen on her armrest's console. However, as she does so, the Commander shudders.
"Two Murasames and two Windams are damaged beyond repair…one Windam is destroyed…"
"What? Which one?!"
"…Ensign Tsuda is dead Ma'am…" Aho replies, silencing the bridge instantly.
"No…" Renner sinks into her seat as a sense of dread hovers over the bridge.
As the Edelweiss lands on the edge of the valley, Akito crawls out of his destroyed Windam and goes to where Michael's Windam lies. Fighting the pain and the blood loss, he manages to reach his team leader's machine and opens the cockpit hatch using the emergency switch next to the door. The hatch blows clear off the Windam as the bolts holding it in place explode and Akito takes a look inside. "Michael? Can you hear me?" He sees Michael, unconscious in his seat but surprisingly, unhurt. The cockpit has proven to be very durable as the frame has only cracked in the places where the Gorgon has stomped on it and it has not collapsed. Then, Michael starts regaining his conscience upon hearing his teammate's voice.
"Aw man…where...where am I…where's the enemy?" a dazed Michael mutters as Akito undoes his harness and pulls him out of the Windam. "Dude, you've got shrapnel in your arm, what happened?" Michael says in a daze.
"You were knocked unconscious, and the black machine tried to crush you... I tried to stop it, but I got shot too. Then Takumi…he…" Akito stutters as he begins to tear up again.
"Wait, what's going on? Where's Takumi?" Akito cannot get the words out and weakly points at the hill, where the crushed and smoldering remains of Takumi's Windam lie scattered against the hillside. "No…no, this gotta be a joke. Come on man, this isn't the time for jokes, where is he?!" Michael becomes frantic and grabs Akito's left shoulder.
"I couldn't do anything…I'm sorry…" Akito loses consciousness from the blood loss and collapses.
"Hey Akito…AKITO! Snap out of it, man! AKITO!"
In the Edelweiss's hangar, Jacky climbs out of her Murasame. She had successfully taken the Special Forces back to the ship and was ready to sortie again, but by the time her suit was rearmed and refueled, the Edelweiss had already engaged the enemy with its cannons and thus her sortie was called off. Not knowing what happened to her fellow pilots, she walks around the hangar when the Special Forces commander stops her. "Excuse me; you're the pilot who flew us here right?" He asks with a gruff voice, startling her.
"Oh…Yeah that's me, 2nd Lieutenant Jacqueline Blanc, Sir." She salutes and the commander salutes back.
"I'm Lt. Commander Krueger. On behalf of my troops, I'd like to thank you for getting us out of there."
"Eh? No problem, just doing my job."
"And you did that with great skill. Where are the other pilots?"
"Still in the valley. I hope they're okay…"
"I hope so too. They fought one hell of a fight. Now if you'll excuse me, I've got a report to hand over to the Captain. Thanks again for saving us." the Commander gestures to Jacky before walking away.
Then Jacky notices the ship's medical staff rushing into two small VTO/L craft that take off and leave the hangar. "Come on guys…please be alright…" She stays put while staring at the open entrance and after several minutes, the two VTO/L craft return. Jacky runs to them but as she approaches the first one, a stretcher carrying Aiyumi is rushed out and quickly taken to an elevator before she can say anything. "Kagamin!" Jacky shouts but Lucia, who came aboard the same craft, stops her from going after them. "Lucy, what happened?!" a panicking Jacky asks as Lucia tries to calm her down and explains the situation.
"She protected me from a beam saber…"
"No way…she's not gonna die, is she?"
"She's extremely lucky. If the Lieutenant hadn't given her first aid, she'd be dead by now." One of the passing-by medics tells them. Jacky tears up and hugs Lucia, who tries to keep herself calm.
"What about the others? Are they alright?"
"I don't know. I had to take care of Aiyumi, so I didn't have time to keep an eye out for them." Then, the second VTO/L craft's cargo hatch opens, and Akito is brought out on a stretcher and like Aiyumi, he is also moved quickly to the elevator while Lucia and Jacky board the second craft, where they see Michael hunched forward on a seat, shaking with his head buried in his hands. Jacky immedaitely sits down next to him and puts her hand on his back.
"Hey, what happened to Akito? Is he injured?" she asks cautiously.
"He…got shrapnel in his right shoulder…" Michael responds with a raspy voice.
"And Takumi? Where is he?" Michael doesn't answer and begins to shiver and weep, prompting Jacky to stand up and ask again. "Where is he?!"
"Ensign Takumi Tsuda is dead." Captain Renner, who just arrived in to the hangar, appears behind Jacky, who turns towards her captain.
"What..?" She stares at Renner with her gray eyes wide open and takes a few steps back. "No…he can't be dead…there's no way…THERE'S NO WAY HE'S DEAD!" she screams so loud that the entire hangar echoes.
"His mobile suit was completely destroyed. There was nothing left of the cockpit…"
"No…No…NOOOO!" Jacky collapses on her knees and begins to cry uncontrollably as Lucia immediately rushes to her friend's side, holding back her own tears while Michael continues to silently weep. Renner kneels down next her distraught pilots and puts her hand on Jacky's shoulder.
"I know what it feels like when you lose a comrade but right now, it's best if you three go to the medical wing, your teammates need you." She helps Jacky up on her feet and tells Lucia to take her out of the hangar. "You too 2nd Lieutenant Perez. Go and be with your friends." She gives him a gentle smile.
"…Okay…" He stands up and walks away slowly. After seeing him off, Renner goes to the Chief, who is preparing to board a recovery craft to bring back the mobile suits.
"Chief Petty Officer Ivanov, can I speak to you for a moment?"
"Of course, Ma'am."
"I can understand if you don't want to go down there…it's not a pretty sight…"
"It's alright Captain. If anything, he proved us all wrong. That kid fought like a real pilot. I'm proud of him…" He adjusts his glasses and salutes the Captain, who salutes back and watches as the recovery craft leaves the hangar.
After a few more minutes, Renner heads back to the elevator but once she reaches the bridge level, she bumps into Commander Aho, who has a worried look on her face. "What is it Commander?"
"Ma'am, we received this at the time the operation began so I just noticed it…" she hands Renner a written message. "It's directly from HQ. I haven't read it yet."
"Good. I'll take look at it now." But the moment Renner opens the folded message, her expression changes to that of shock.
"What does it say Captain?" Renner silently reads the message and then hands it back to Aho. "Oh my god...!"
"Don't say a word about this to anyone, understand?" Renner says with a stern expression.
"What about the pilots? Shouldn't they be informed?"
"Not yet. I'll show this to both Chief Ivanov and George but I won't break the news to the pilots until we know that both 2nd Lt. Kagami and Ensign Evans are all right and awake."
"Okay."
"I'm going to send a report to HQ and see if I can get us moved from here as soon as possible. You're in charge of the bridge. I need to go clear my thoughts."
"Understood Captain."
"Somehow, I feel like we were set up…" Renner thinks as she walks away from Aho and enters an elevator. "They were never supposed to take on this kind of a mission yet..."
…
Far wets of the valley, the Metatron has climbed above the low cloud level and flies rapidly away. Inside, Eric stands in the hangar, observing the wrecked Gorgon as the mechanics swarm the suit. Then Commander Duncan walks next to him. "I still can't believe we lost 4 machines…"
"Indeed, we greatly underestimated our opponents. They weren't simple test dummies."
"It makes no sense. We were told that they had nothing more than rookie pilots yet the combined might of 12 GN-X's, the Gorgon and your 1 Gundam only left them with one fatality…" Duncan clenches his fist in anger.
"Those pilots were something else, especially that one Windam. He moved like he was part of his machine. I sensed it. He read every single move Yellow 4 did and was only hit we he was distracted. I don't know why he did not kill her when he had the chance but I'm thankful he didn't."
"How can you be so calm, Eric Klinsman?! We were humiliated, by children none the less. I suggest we turn around and destroy them immediately!" an irate Duncan shouts at Eric, who gestures him to calm down.
"Now, now, let's not get too zealous Commander Duncan. Our sponsor only wanted us to collect data and we got a lot of it."
"But they saw what happened! The sponsor also wanted no witnesses!"
"I am aware but don't worry. I'll have our sponsor pull some strings. Besides, this whole event will disappear from everyone's minds in a week or so."
"What do you mean?"
"We've gathered enough fuel, Duncan. All we need to do now is to light it up." Eric smiles and heads towards the elevator. "Oh, and before I forget, prepare my jet. I'm going to head to Gibraltar in a few hours. You'll continue to the west and bring this ship, the remaining mobile suits and the data to our sponsor."
"Understood."
Leaving the hangar, Eric then takes the elevator to the medical floor where Yellow 4 is lying on a bed in her underwear. Her amber eyes are reddened from crying and her shoulder length blond hair is a mess. "4, have you calmed down now?"
"Yeah…" she answers with a raspy a whisper.
"You did well today." Eric sits next to her bed as 4 pulls a blanket over herself, turns around on her left side and faces away from him.
"But I lost to that guy…and the Gorgon is wrecked…"
"That's true, but you should know that this was both you and your opponent's first real battle."
"Really?"
"Yes, I was very impressed. You exceeded our expectations."
"Oh…Thank you…"
"However, you're only here because your opponent spared you."
"What?!" 4 immedately throws the blanket, sits up and stares intensely at Eric who nods back sternly.
"Yes, your opponent spared you this time. From now on,you shouldn't expect mercy anymore from any enemy. I want you to keep that in mind out there. You're the only family I have after all; I can't afford to lose you." Eric puts his hand on 4's shoulder and she nods.
"Don't worry, I'll be careful."
"Good girl. Now, just relax and close your eyes, you need to rest so you'll be ready for your next mission."
"Yes…big brother…" Yellow 4 lays down on the bed and closes her eyes while Eric puts the blanket back over her. Then, he snaps his fingers.
"Nena, it's time to wake up." Slowly, the girl's eyes open and her entire being seems to change.
"Huh…eh! Eric! What are you doing here?!" she shrieks with a high-pitched voice and grabs the blanket covering her.
"You've had your beauty sleep, Nena. Now, why don't you get dressed, we'll be leaving for Gibraltar soon. If I remember correctly, you've got a concert there."
"But I you told me to cancel it…" The girl looks away sadly.
"That's not a problem. How about you take a few weeks off? You're still 19 so you should enjoy your youth. I'll be sure to contact you once the homeland needs you again."
"Really? Thank you so much Eric!" She hugs Eric and hops over to a small cupboard as Eric stands up and walks over to the door.
"Anything for my little sister…" Eric mutters as he leaves the room and Nena begins to put on her clothes, all the while humming a tune.
…
A day has passed since the battle at "Grosse 5". The mood aboard the Edelweiss is low as Takumi's death has been a harsh blow to everyone. Michael has locked himself into his shared room while Akito is slowly recovering from his surgery, but he is still unconscious since he lost so much blood. Jacky meanwhile has spent the entire night waiting for word on Aiyumi while Lucia has kept herself busy in the simulator to distract her thoughts.
That morning, Akito begins to regain his consciousness. He hears faint voices somewhere close to him and tries to slowly open his eyes but at first, he can only see darkness, then a bright light before he begins to recognize shapes and finally everything slowly clears up. He then lets out a weak groan and a person approaches him. "Doctor Wenger, he's waking up."
"Excellent. Call the Captain." The nurse leaves the room and the ship's doctor sits next to his bed.
"Ensign, can you hear me?"
"…Yeah…" Akito responds.
"How are you feeling? You have been asleep for almost 24 hours."
"I'm tired…"
"That's to be expected. The operation took longer than we thought since the piece had gone all the way to the bone."
"What about the others?"
"Well…2nd Lt. Kagami received severe burns to her left arm, left side and left leg. She is being kept in a coma to keep her stable. We had to amputate her left arm from the elbow down since the damage was too much. However, once she has recovered more, she'll be sent to better facilities for cell-regeneration treatment. The other three pilots are unhurt and…you of course know what happened to Ensign Tsuda."
"Yeah…" Akito stares blankly towards the ceiling when he hears the door opening.
"Ah good morning Captain. I'll leave the rest to you. I've got to go check on my other patient." The doctor leaves as the Captain, along with Michael, Jacky and Lucia walk in to the room. Renner takes the doctors seat while the others stand behind her.
"Good morning, Ensign Evans. Or should I say 2nd Lieutenant now?"
"What?" Akito tries to sit up, but he is still weak from the surgery, prompting Jacky and Michael to grab hold of him and straighten him.
"Hey, don't push yourself Space Boy."
"That's right; you're still recovering from the surgery."
"Of course…"
"As I was saying, you have been promoted to 2nd Lieutenant. HQ was impressed by the skill you exhibited during the battle, and I also recommended the promotion in my report."
"Do you know who attacked us then?"
"No, and frankly, HQ doesn't seem too interested in the mystery attackers. That's why they only attributed the Geara Doga as your only kill."
"What the hell? Are you saying nobody has any idea who killed Takumi?!" Michael stares furiously at Renner.
"Calm down Lieutenant!"
"Ah…I'm sorry Ma'am…" Michael sits down on a chair opposite to Akito's bed while Renner adjusts her eye patch and motions Jacky and Lucia to take a seat, before lowering her.
"Now, just between us, I've got a hunch that this whole incident was a set up. The pilots of the two downed Geara Dogas and Jäger escaped while all the other downed MS exploded so thoroughly that the biggest intact piece we found, was the size of a fingernail. Even all the gun-camera footage became blurry after they entered our radar range. It all points to the fact that they didn't want to leave any evidence."
"But why us? Why where we targeted?"
"I wish I knew that…however now I must speak to you all about a much more pressing matter. This information is classified and under no circumstance are you to speak about this unless I have allowed it. Understood?" The four pilots nod before Renner opens the folder she has in her hands. "Good. Yesterday at 07:28, our ship received a message regarding Ensign Tsuda from the EFF HQ in Reykjavik. Included in the message was an order for arrest."
"WHAT?! An order for arrest?! Why?!" Michael stands up in anger while Lucia and Jacky stare in shock but Akito keeps quiet as the Captain continues.
"I was not made aware of the message until after the battle ended. Now, according to the order, it has become evident that Ensign Tsuda falsified his age when he applied to the Central Academy in Frankfurt. Apparently, the evidence came to light when 2 days ago, his mother was questioned about his performance in the academy, and she told them his real birth date. He wasn't born 0022; he was actually born in 0024. That means that he would've been 16 later this year, not 18 which is the lowest eligible age for mobile suit pilots."
"No way…you're not telling me that he was 13 when he joined the academy?" Michael has a hopeless look on his face.
"That's right."
"Why didn't neither of us notice?" Michael looks at Akito, who clenches his left fist.
"He was 13...No wonder he had so much trouble with the physical side of the MS pilot course. He was fine with all the academic subjects, but the actual training was too much…It all makes sense now…" Akito says silently.
"He was a little kid this whole time…that damn idiot…why the hell were you so desperate?" Michael hunches forward and leans on his knees.
"He wasn't an idiot!" Jacky now stands up, surprising the others. "It's true that he wasn't as good as you two but he had a dream! He wanted to be a mobile suit pilot no matter what! I admire him for what he was willing to do for his dream…he…was a hero…" Jacky starts to cry and collapses back on her chair.
"You're right." Akito nods with a weak smile. "Regardless of what he did to get there, the fact that he was able to graduate at all is proof enough for me. I've never believed in anything the way he believed in his dream."
"Yeah, if he wasn't there, I'd be dead. I owe my life to him…but why the hell did he have to be the one to die…" Captain Renner stands up and walks to the door.
"Captain!" Lucia follows her to the door.
"What is it Lieutenant?"
"Have we been given any more orders? Are we staying here?" Lucia and the other pilots look at Renner expectantly.
"The Edelweiss has been ordered to go to Gibraltar for repairs and rearming. I believe you have also been given a bit of leave while the ship is being repaired. If you'll excuse me, I'm needed on the bridge." Renner walks out of the room but the heavy atmosphere doesn't lift.
"I still can't believe he's dead…"
"It was his own fault that he died." Lucia says bluntly, causing Jacky and Akito stare at her in disbelief.
"What did you say?!" Michael stands up.
"By all logic, he should have stayed behind the hill and attacked from there. There was no need to charge so recklessly against an enemy who wasn't aware of his location." Michael's fist begins to shake but before he can say anything, it is Akito who reacts first.
"Is that how you think about everything huh? There always has to be a logical reason for something? I don't care what kind of an opinion you had of him, but you don't talk like that about him! It's easy to say afterwards that he did that or this wrong, but the fact is, he died while saving Michael's life. If you can't understand that then get out!"
"What..?" Lucia looks at him in disbelief.
"GET OUT!" Akito shouts at her, his face filled with anger and grief. Visibly flustered, Lucia immediately jumps up and rushes out of the room.
"Lucy?! Wait!" Jacky goes to the door. "I'm sorry!" She looks back at the boys and runs after Lucia. Michael looks down at the floor while Akito has his head hunched forward.
"I guess that's her way of coping with this but damn, why did she have to say it like that…"
"Hey Michael…"
"Yeah?"
"Can you get me my cards? I need to play." Akito's voice trembles and his eyes are hidden behind his hair.
"Sure, I'll go get'em."
"And bring Takumi's music player too…I forgot to give it to him yesterday."
"Got it buddy." Michael gives Akito a weak smile and leaves Akito alone, who finally begins to cry over the death of his dear friend.
In the hallway, Jacky catches up to Lucia and blocks her path. "Lucy!"
"What?" She asks with a cold expression.
"Why did say that back there?"
"I merely said what any soldier would have said…" She looks away from Jack, but she grabs her shoulders and forces Lucia to face her.
"That's not what your face says. Why do you always have to be so heartless when something bad happens?"
"Because soldiers have to be prepared to see death. We can't dwell on a single lo…" Before she can finish, Jacky slaps Lucia so hard she falls on her behind from the shock.
"DON'T GIVE ME THAT! What did I tell you yesterday? Remember?" Lucia hesitates and looks away again.
"…where humans first…soldiers second…"
"Exactly! I know that you were brought up to act on logic and rational thinking but don't ever say things like that in-front of me or anyone else! Aiyumi sacrificed herself for you! What would she think if she heard you say those words?"
"I…"
"Takumi was our friend! He gave his all so he could make his dream come true! You probably didn't hold him in high regard, but I liked him! He was just like me and now; I can never talk to him again."
"I'm…sorry…"
"Say that to Akito and Michael, AND Takumi!" Jacky runs away and leaves Lucia alone in the corridor. She quickly stands up, straightens her uniforms skirt and leans against the corridor wall.
"Why am I such an idiot...?" Then she notices Michael walking back to Akito's room and follows him. Michael enters the room and gives Akito the deck of cards and the music player.
"Here ya go. I'll go to the mess hall or something…" As he closes the door, he notices Lucia standing nervously a few meters away with her hands behind her back. "What do you want?" He crosses his arms and looks at her with disgust.
"I..."
"Well?"
"I'm sorry!" She bows her head, surprising Michael.
"Hmm?"
"It was wrong and inappropriate of me to say such horrific things about Takumi…I'm ashamed of my behavior."
"Well, what do you know; you really do have a heart." Michael's frown loosens as Lucia lifts her head. "Apology accepted, but I think you'll need to convince Akito a bit more." Michael gestures towards the door and they can hear faint weeping from inside. "But...save it later. He needs time." Michael says solemnly and walks away while Lucia left alone in the hallway, angry at herself over what she said.
Later that evening, Lucia returns at Akito's door. She looks around cautiously and then, knocks on the door. Inside, Akito sits on his bed and plays solitaire but cannot concentrate because his injury forces him to play with his left hand, despite the fact that he is right-handed. Then, he hears a faint knock and from the corner of his eye, he notices the door creeping open. "Who's there?" Lucia completely opens the door and cautiously stands next to Akito who looks at her with disapproval. "What do you want? Didn't I tell you to get out?"
"I'M SORRY!" She almost shouts out the apology and startles Akito so much that he nearly jumps out of his bed. "What I said was disrespectful towards you, Michael and Takumi…I'm just really bad at expressing my feelings when something like this happens…"
"Really?" Akito looks at her with suspicion.
"Yes. I've been taught by my father that showing emotion equals weakness so…I tend to say things like that without actually meaning it…"
"…then I'll apologize as well…" Akito's reply surprises Lucia, who looks back at him. "I've always kept my emotions to myself so when I get emotional, I usually go overboard…"
"No, you had every right to say that. I was the one who said such horrible things about Takumi." Lucia responds firmly.
"Okay. I forgive you."
An awkward silence falls over the room as they both have trouble restarting the conversation. "You…you were playing cards just now? Did I interrupt?"
"No, not really. For some reason, I can't seem get into the zone…"
"The zone?"
"When I play solitaire, I'm fully concentrated. It's just me and the cards and nothing else. It's relaxing, but now it just doesn't feel the same…"
"Why do you play cards?"
"Didn't I tell you back when we boarded the ship?"
"There has to be a story behind it. I'm intrigued."
"You really wanna know?"
"Yes. Frankly I don't know much about you."
"Fine. 5 years ago, when the Aquarius Colony was destroyed, 20 people survived in an escape pod, my sister Emi and myself included. My brother Ryo had managed to commandeer a GM III, found our escape pod in space and took us to a ship. I don't know which side it belonged to but we were all identified and sent to Earth." Akito explains as Lucia covers her mouth.
"…we were never told about Aquarius at the North Academy. Do you know why it was destroyed?"
"Unknown mobile suits attacked, that's all I remember. Maybe I'm still traumatized by it so I can't recall much before our escape pod took off…" Akito frowns wistfully before clearing his throat. "Anyway, the trip was really long and since Mom and Dad were dead, I was in a panic and so was Emi. Then, Ryo got a deck of cards from somewhere and taught us how to play, to keep us occupied. That's why I play it. Emi on the other hand is a real killer at poker. I pity anyone who bets money against her. She's probably the luckiest of us three: Ryo left about 6 months after we came to Earth and I left 2 years later. Emi doesn't have to fight in mobile suits or kill…she has a normal life."
"I think you're really lucky…to have such wonderful siblings…" Lucia frowns and looks at the floor.
"What, you don't like your sisters?"
"Well, my father, who is the head of the prestigious Gronwald family, really wanted a son so he could raise him into a mobile suit pilot. Military service is a tradition in my family, so, by the time I was born, he had had enough and decided to make me into a soldier, to maintain the family legacy. My older sisters constantly made fun me for dressing like a boy or doing boyish things so…I don't have a good relationship with them. The more I think about it, I think the only person I have a good relationship within my family is my younger sister Katrin."
Akito looks at her with surprise and collects his cards into a deck. "Well, I wasn't expecting you to pour out so many thoughts…"
"Sorry…" Lucia looks away in shame, but Akito shakes his head.
"Don't be sorry. If something bothers you, it's good to talk about it."
"True, but I'm not very good at talking…"
"I'm here. I can't exactly leave this room so, what's in your mind?"
"Oh…well…" Lucia begins to talk about various things and Akito realizes that she actually has many problems and is not so "perfect" as he originally thought. They talk for more than two hours and for the first time, Akito sees her smile continuously. Soon, the conversation shifts back to Akito's family. "Do you miss your parents?"
"I'm not sure. Ryo took care of me and Emi most of the time because Mom and Dad were busy. Apparently, Dad was the Director of the Colony Resource Management and Mom was a scientist of some sort. I knew them for 14 years and yet I never really knew them that well…Ryo probably remembers them better."
"I see…" Lucia stares at the floor.
"What is it?"
"This might sound rude but…are you really from the Colonial Empire?"
"No."
"But you've lived your whole life in a colony…"
"True, but the colony I lived in was owned by the Atlantic Federation, not the Empire."
"Really?"
"Yup. I thought you of all people would know that."
"Sorry, I'm pretty clueless when it comes to space. Back in Norway, we were taught that all colonies belong to the Empire."
"That makes sense, considering that Aquarius doesn't exist anymore. It was the only none-Imperial colony left after the war and since only 21 people survived, it's no wonder we've been forgotten or labeled as colonials."
"That's sad, don't you think?"
"Maybe, but I won't complain or care about being labeled. Ryo told me that you can change people's opinions with actions. So, I always did everything 200% and they kept quiet. Even though I hate wearing this insignia." Akito points at his Ensign's uniform hanging on the wall next to his bed.
"Why do they make you wear it?"
"It's proof that I'm loyal to the Federation or something…it's just a label, that's it."
"The hatred runs so deep that they even label their own troops…"
"It doesn't matter to me what others think about it."
"I envy you…You don't have to worry about your image or what people think about you…"
"Well, do you worry about those things?"
"I have to worry. I can't sully the family name…no matter what…" Before Akito can respond, the intercom comes to life.
"Attention all hands, the ship will begin take-off in 5 minutes. We have been ordered to relocate to Gibraltar for resupply and repairs."
"I think I'll go now. I might be needed to do patrols." Lucia stands up and quickly leaves Akito alone in his room. He sprawls on his bed and takes a deep breath.
"That was odd. I didn't know she was so troubled…" He looks at the chair on his left and reaches for Takumi's music player before putting on the headphones and choosing a random song. Akito then hears a young woman's voice as the song begins and somehow, it's relaxing. He looks for the name and reads "Voices". "Why does this feel so calming…I've heard this voice before…" He closes his eyes and clears his thoughts over everything that has happened, but Takumi's death continues to haunt his mind.
Note: Let's go through some mecha things here:
This chapter featured plenty of mobile suits, like the Geara Doga and the Gelgoog Jaeger but also the GN-X. It and the 1 Gundam were from 00, but the Gorgon is something I made up myself. It's basically a mini Destroy Gundam, with a Geara Doga's head and without the backpack's cannons and missile launchers. It can transform like the Destroy, but it's MA mode is more similar to the Asshimar or Anksha.
Now I can also talk about the new characters, Eric and 4. First of all, 4 is not Four Murasame, but a combination of of different female characters from Gundam that I like. Her other personality is called Nena, as in Nena Trinity but only because I like the name. 4 is more similar to Soma/Marie from 00 and appearance-wise, she is based on Cagalli.
Lastly, Eric. He is not a Char clone and he is actually based on Yellow 13 from Ace Combat 04, appearance-wise. His full name, Eric Klinsman is from Ace Combat Zero, where an enemy ace using the same color scheme as 13 is present.