I apologise that it has been a little while since I have uploaded any new chapters. I have been rather busy lately and have hardly had a chance to get on here. But here is chapter 14, I hope you enjoy it.
The Ceres stayed docked in the base for over a week while Garret started to heal. The ship was restocked, the mobile suits repaired and the pilots rested. On the ninth day, Captain Phillips sat on the bridge of the Ceres and watched his crew.
"Sir, I'm picking up several heat signatures closing in from eight o'clock!" Erik Wallace, the soldier in charge of the ship's radar called to the Captain.
"Friendlies?" Captain Phillips asked, looking over to the man.
"Negative sir! They've got Purity codes!" Erik called, watching the blips on the radar approaching the base. "I've got a visual, two Windams and an Aegis!" he told the black uniformed man.
"Move the ship out of the hangar! Get Marcel, Victoria and Aston to board their machines!" Richard said, looking between the crew. The crew hammered away at their consoles as the hangar walls retracted into the ground around them. With the Minerva having left the previous day for another mission, other than the base defence the Ceres was the only ship left in the base. Richard watched as several ZAKUs with their gunner wizard packs lining up at the walls, aiming their beam cannons at the approaching mobile suits.
"All hands, level 1 battle stations, Commander Falcon, Marcel and Victoria board your machines and launch immediately! I repeat, all hands, level 1 battle stations, Commander Falcon, Marcel and Victoria board your machines and launch immediately!" Kyle called over the ship's loudspeaker. Garret sat up in his bed and threw his legs over the side and stood up. He left the room and ran to the locker rooms.
"Garret, what are you doing here? You should be resting" Marcel said as he zipped up the top of his flight suit.
"I'm fine, there's no way I'm just gonna sit back while the ship is in danger!" Garret said, taking the flight suit in his locker.
"But what will you pilot? You don't exactly have your GINN" his friend continued, grabbing his helmet.
"He can use the Duel, the Minerva gave us some of their spare parts to repair it" Aston said, entering the room. Both Garret and Marcel turned to the older pilot. "Garret, you have my permission to launch, just don't get shot down… again" he spoke, walking past his comrades.
"Thank you Commander!" Garret said, putting his helmet on and running out to the hangar, Marcel close behind. Garret ran to the blue and white Gundam and grabbed the zip line. He rode it all the way up and climbed into the cockpit. He booted up the system as the mobile suit was carried to the catapult.
"Duel, you're clear for launch" Kyle spoke into the cockpit and Garret nodded, closing the visor of his helmet.
"Garret Kross, Duel, soar!" he called and the Duel was launched out into the base. As he checked his shield was secured properly, Aston's GOUF soared overhead and the ZAKU and GuAIZ R landed on either side of him. The ZAKUs from the base fired their weapons but the Purity mobile suits avoided the red and white beams. The Aegis flew forward on its Guul and leapt down in front of the base defence, engaging the beam sabres in its arms and slicing through the torsos of the two closest suits. As they exploded, the red Gundam lashed out and destroyed the remaining three within seconds.
"You three take the Aegis, I'll handle the Windams" Aston spoke, his white GOUF flying towards the two blue and white mobile suits hovering above the base. Garret aimed his beam rifle and pulled the trigger several times, the beams flying at the Aegis. The Gundam dodged the shot and turned on the three ZAFT mobile suits.
"I'm goin' in close, cover me!" Marcel called, pulling the tomahawk from the shield of his ZAKU and charging at the Aegis. The Duel and GuAIZ started firing their rifles at the Purity Gundam, causing it to dance around the shots while Marcel got closer to it. The ZAKU raised its tomahawk high and brought it down on the Aegis. The Purity suit moved back slightly so the edge of the tomahawk struck the waist. The attack opened a long gash on the Aegis as it staggered back. "You're mine!" Marcel roared, raising his tomahawk again to finish off the Aegis.
"Not a chance!" a female voice yelled from the Aegis as its arm flicked up with the beam sabre, slicing off the ZAKU's weapon arm.
"Shit!" Marcel yelled as the Aegis pulled its arm back ready to impale the green mobile suit's cockpit.
"Hilde!" Garret roared, flinging his rifle aside and charging forward as he drew his beam sabre. The Aegis stopped for a second, its head turning to face the blue and white Gundam. "Stop this dammit!" Garret called, ramming his shield into the red Gundam's torso.
"You…" he heard Hilde's voice say.
"Garret, do you know the pilot of that suit?" Victoria asked, flicking her railguns out on her waist and aiming them at the Aegis.
"She's one of the Purity pilots I met when they were holding me captive" Garret replied. He opened a private communication with Victoria. "I want to try and get her to join us; I don't think she's overly eager on Purity. They're just manipulating her" Garret said.
"Do you really think you can?" Victoria asked.
"I can try, I don't want to shoot her down, not when it's not really her choice to fight for them" Garret said and he closed the communication. Marcel staggered back from the Aegis and Duel, taking out his gun with his other hand. The three ZAFT suits turned when they heard explosions at the Ceres. They turned to see two black mobile suits flying around the ship, attacking it.
"Captain Phillips, what's going on?" Victoria called.
"Two DINN RAVENs are attacking us, they got in close with Mirage Colloid while you were all distracted" the Captain replied loudly over the explosions.
"Victoria, Marcel! Get back and cover the Ceres!" Commander Falcon called as he destroyed the last Windam and turned for the ship himself. Victoria and Marcel turned and ran for the ship, leaving Garret to fight Hilde.
"Can't you see it Hilde, Alastair is just manipulating you!" Garret roared, blocking a beam sabre strike from the young woman's Gundam.
"Shut up! I owe Lord Alastair my life, I will gladly give up my life to repay my debt to him!" Hilde yelled, swinging both of the arm beam sabres onto the Duel's shield.
"Is that really how you want to live, just willing to die because he says so?!" Garret roared, ramming his shield into the Aegis' head.
"You're no different! You'll go out and die whenever ZAFT says so!" Hilde screamed, pushing the Duel away.
"You're wrong! I refuse to die on someone else's orders; I have a life to live and a reason to keep on living it, no matter what!" Garret yelled in response, readying himself to block Hilde's next move.
One of the DINN RAVENs flew at blinding speed towards Aston's GOUF, bringing its shotgun up and aiming it at the white mobile suit. It fired the weapon but Aston raised his shield in defence, blocking the attack. He fired the guns on his arms but the DINN sped out of the way of the attack. "There's a chance these suits may be nuclear powered, disarm them but don't destroy them!" Aston ordered, engaging the beams on his sword.
"Cover me Marcel, Ceres send out a Guul!" Victoria called, firing several shots from her rifle at the DINN.
"You got it" Marcel spoke, raising his own gun and firing at the DINN as well as he saw the Guul launch from the Ceres and travel towards the GuAIZ R. Victoria boosted into the air and landed on the support craft, the feet of her mobile suit locking into place. "Victoria, be careful, you've hardly practised on that thing!" Marcel called.
"I'll be fine!" Victoria called, zipping away on the small aircraft. She flew up and activated the beam blade in her shield, her rifle ready in her other hand. "Let's do this…" she said quietly and she fired her rifle repeatedly at the DINN RAVEN that nimbly moved around the shots of both the GuAIZ and ZAKU.
"Dammit, how can a Natural be this good?" Marcel said as he tried to get a lock on the black mobile suit.
Garret stood his ground, repeatedly blocking the Aegis' sabre attacks with his shield or his own sabre. Garret lashed out with his Sabre, severing the red Gundam's left arm from the elbow. "I won't stop until I kill you Coordinator, you humiliated me in front of Lord Alastair!" Hilde roared, swinging her other arm at Garret. Again the ZAFT pilot raised his shield and blocked the attack. As he did so, Hilde engaged the beam sabre in her left leg and kicked up, severing the shaft that connected the shield to Garret's arm.
"Shit!" Garret yelled, jumping back and drawing his second beam sabre. "Can't you see they're just using you?!" he roared, charging in at the Aegis and attempting a vertical, overhead strike. The red Gundam jumped back and drew its beam rifle, pointing it at the Duel. Garret stopped, watching as Hilde aimed at his cockpit. "If you truly believe in what you're fighting for, pull that trigger right now and shoot me" Garret said, opening his cockpit. Hilde's eyes widened as she saw Garret so willing to her kill him.
"What happened to having a reason to keep living your life? Why are you giving up so easily?" Hilde asked, her gun still aimed at the other Gundam's cockpit.
"Because I know you won't do it" Garret replied firmly. The gun of Hilde's suit shook slightly and Garret closed his cockpit. He sheathed one of his beam sabres and walked to where his own rifle was, picking the weapon up and approaching the Aegis again. "Come with us Hilde…" he said, starting to raise his own rifle. Hilde pressed a button in her cockpit and the Guul she had been riding earlier flew towards her. She leapt up onto the small craft and began flying away. Within seconds, the DINN RAVEN Aston had been fighting was beside her, its shotgun out.
"Lord Alastair has given me orders to eliminate you for hesitating in the face of the enemy and attempting to flee from the battlefield" the pilot spoke.
"What?" she asked but the question was followed with a scream when the DINN fired through the Guul, destroying it and the legs of the Aegis. The red Gundam fell from the sky, the pilot screaming and Garret running towards the falling mobile suit. Aston took the opportunity to dash forward and sever the arms of the DINN before piercing the suit's wings with his heat whip.
Victoria soared towards the remaining Purity mobile suit and swung her shield at it ferociously, only barely missing with the sabre inside. She cursed as she fired her beam rifle and missed again, the DINN merely flying around casually to avoid her attacks. It was forced to move lower after shots from Marcel almost took its head off.
"Victoria, do you read me?" Captain Phillips called to the GuAIZ.
"Yes sir. What is it?" Victoria asked as she dodged a volley of shots from the DINN's machine gun.
"We're going to fire the Tristans on either side of the DINN and Marcel will fire on it from below. When it flies up to avoid the attack, take it out before it can react!" Richard explained.
"Roger sir!" Victoria said in acknowledgement and she saw the two dual-cannons on the Ceres rise up on either side of the bridge and take aim at the DINN RAVEN. They fired and the two sets of huge beams went either side of the DINN, Marcel's shot going beneath it. As expected the mobile suit flew upwards and Victoria flew at it. The DINN pulled its shotgun up and Victoria thrust out with her sabre. The two attacks connected at the same time. Victoria's sabre punctured the DINN's cockpit and the black mobile suit's shotgun fired, destroying the head and cockpit cover of the GuAIZ R as well as dealing heavy damage to its upper torso and shoulders.
"Victoria!" Marcel called as he remembered Commander Falcon's warning of the DINNs possibly being nuclear powered. He watched as Victoria shoved the Purity suit away with her shield and it fell towards the ground. Marcel covered his head with his arms when it exploded. He looked however when he only heard a normal explosion. "They mustn't have been nuclear after all" he said with a sigh of relief.