Celestial Being Chronicles - Chapter 42
Disclaimer: I don't own any of the Gundam series, nor any of the various series which are used or referenced in my fic, so please point that damned lawsuit cannon at someone else, also, don't read this if you are not of legal age to read such material. The story contains possibly disturbing content and should not be read by close-minded people (i.e., people who are easily offended.) Everything in the story is fictional. I am also not responsible for any actions taken by people who read this story and society's problems. I do, however, own my original character; Hope Yamato.
Despite the loss of two fighter aircraft and the temporary incapacitation of three pilots, Celestial Being was still continuing its armed interventions, and a few days later they were intervening in the battle of Panama. "What the..? My machine! It won't move!" One of the Strike Dagger pilots yelled as he frantically tried to get his machine to work.
Lacus Clyne scowled within the cockpit of the Chimera Gundam as she pushed the now disabled Strike Dagger down and pried open the cockpit hatch. The pilot stepped out with his hands raised. Other nearby members of the Zala Team and Shiho Hahnenfuss, now piloting the Savior Gundam, did the same, rounding up a group of Earth Alliance soldiers.
"Aw...what's the matter? Is your toy broken?" One of ZAFT pilots gloated as he pushed a Strike Dagger down and fired at the cockpit, laughing as he murdered the defenseless pilot.
"Stand down! Do it now, damn it! That's an order!" Athrun roared in anger as the Infinite Justice Gundam's eyes flashed with a bright green light. "They're defenseless, you fucking coward!"
"Who the hell cares about a bunch of disgusting Naturals?" The pilot snarled, aiming at the gathered group of soldiers.
A single beam blast suddenly rang out from the Infinite Justice Gundam's rifle and the GINN's head exploded. "What the hell? Why are you firing at me?"
"I will not allow the senseless execution of defenseless soldiers!" Athrun yelled. "Stand down or I'll put you down!"
The pilot wisely dropped his rifle.
"Attention all ZAFT forces." Athrun growled as he keyed his radio. "This is Commander Athrun Zala in the Justice Gundam. The execution of surrendering Earth Forces soldiers will not be tolerated, anyone who shoots a surrendering soldier will be punished severely."
"Who the hell do think you are, Natural Lover?"
"Yeah! They deserve to this for JOSH-A!"
"Let's kill them all!"
Cheers filled the communication lines. Most of the ZAFT soldiers were out for blood. An eye for an eye. A massacre for a massacre.
"Very well then." Athrun sighed. "All members of the Zala Team and any other willing ZAFT soldiers, I order you to stop the pointless slaughtering of the surrendered soldiers wherever you can. The use of lethal force has been approved but please try to refrain from killing, if at all possible. I will take full responsibility for what happens here."
Across the battlefield, groups of mobile suits from the Zala Team quickly gathered around the captured Earth Alliance soldiers. Many of the ZAFT soldiers wisely chose to avoid these groups, more out of fear of the Zala Team than anything else. A small few like-minded pilots, including Shiho and her Savior Gundam, joined them in defending the captured soldiers but not all did as those two groups did.
"Out of the way!" A pair of GINN pilots shouted as they approached the Infinite Justice Gundam.
"Sorry. No can do." Athrun drawled.
"Why the hell are you bothering to protect these dogs?" Another pilot growled. "Look at what they did at Alaska! They don't even give a damn about their own forces!"
"Just back away before things get messy." Athrun scowled.
"Filthy Natural Lover! Then you deserve to die as well!" The first pilot yelled as they both raised their rifles.
But Athrun was much, much faster. Igniting his wrist blades, he sliced through the rifles cutting them in two.
"Gah!"
"What? Dammit! You'll pay for this Natural Lover!"
"Don't you two ever shut the fuck up?" Athrun asked, as he sliced through the heads of both GINNs. "There. Say anything else, and I'll have to kill you both."
"Julie was at Alaska! This is for her!" Another GINN pilot yelled as he aimed at a surrendering tank crew.
Suddenly, a brightly glowing pink beam sword sliced through his arm. "That's enough!" Lacus yelled, tears slowly welling up in her beautiful blue eyes, even as she raised her sword to strike again if necessary. "They're surrendering and ZAFT soldiers don't fire on surrendering enemies!"
"But they-"
"No buts or I kill you!" Lacus snarled, as the Chimera Gundam's eyes flashed with a blood red light. "We're ZAFT soldiers. We're better than them. We don't stoop to their level."
"Damn Natural Lover! You were at Alaska! Why the hell are you defending these damned animals?" A GuAIZ pilot growled as he crashed to the ground after his Guul had been destroyed by Shiho's Savior Gundam.
"Is this the true face of ZAFT then?" Shiho asked, instead of answering his question. "Who are the real animals, then? At least Alaska had some strategic value. This is nothing more than a meaningless, animalistic slaughter to quench a thirst for blind vengeance. I won't stand for it."
The GuAIZ pilot merely scowled, kicking the Savior Gundam in the chest, forcing it to take a step backwards before Shiho ignited a pair of glowing pink beam sabers and severed the head, arms and legs of the GuAIZ with two blindingly fast saber strokes, and as she disengaged the beam blades the Savior's eyes flashed with a bright green light. "There, are you done being stupid now?" Shiho asked the pilot, scowling at his disabled machine.
Meanwhile, high up in space, near Lagrange Point 4, a massive battle raged between Celestial Being and the A-LAWs space forces. Dozens of GNX-704T Ahead mobile suits sped towards the Celestial Being mothership known as the CBS-74 Ptolemaios 2, while others clashed with the Gundams, attenpting to keep them from effectively defending their ship. The battle descended into complete and utter chaos, however, as dozens of new mobile suits suddenly appeared from the blackness and entered the fray.
Dozens of Launcher and Sword Striker-equipped Daggers and ordinary Strike Daggers, along with with Orb M1 Astrays and custom ZAFT GuAIZs and GINNs streaked onto the battlefield.
Allelujah Haptism scowled as he impaled a Strike Dagger through the chest with his beam saber just as the blue mobile suit fired its beam rifle at the GN Archer. One of the Aheads, which had locked sabers with the Seravee Gundam, raised its beam rifle with its free hand and hit an M1 Astray with a blast from the weapon, destroying the mobile suit. Suddenly, a trio of bright green beams hit the Ahead, severing its head, and both arms, leaving it completely disabled.
"Wow, this is crazy." Dearka Elsman whistled as his Wing Gundam, currently in its flight mode, rumbled onto the battlefield.
Dearka's current machine was a customized version of a transformable mobile suit, or more specifically a Gundam, which had been used in the After Colony Era. The transformable machine now sported beam shield generators on its forearms, its single-barrel buster rifle had been upgraded to a twin-barrel buster rifle, beam sabers were hidden within the machine's shoulders and legs, and finally, the front skirt armor concealed a total of 24 micro-missiles, while the wings housed another 80 micro-missiles, with 40 missiles in each wing, 20 on the leading edges of the wings and 20 on the trailing edges.
"What's that?" Dearka scowled as a crimson machine, resembeling a Gundam, sped towards him.
His question was answered as the computer spoke. "Approaching mobile suit has been identified as the GNW-20000 Arche Gundam, piloted by known terrorist Ali-Al Sachez."
"What do we have here?" Ali smirked from within the cockpit of the Achre Gundam, as he sped towards the seemingly defensless Wing Gundam, which he had assumed was nothing more than a civilian shuttle.
Ali's eyes widened in shock and he quickly backed away as the shuttle suddenly began to transform into a mobile suit, the machine's eyes flashing with a bright green light. Dearka smiled slightly as he raised the twin buster rifle in his right hand, pointing the massive weapon directly at the Achre Gundam, and without any hesitation, Dearka fired, unleashing a full power blast.
An instant later, the crimson machine was engulfed within the blast from the Wing Gundam's rifle, and Ali screamed as the machine vaporzied around him, before finally exploding, taking him with it. All of the fighting instantly screeched to a halt when the massive form of the Excalibur suddenly faded into visibility and the voice of Lacus Clyne spoke through an automated hail.
"All forces in this vicinity are hereby ordered to cease fighting." Lacus's voice boomed from the speakers within the cockpit of each machine. "Anyone attempting to continue fighting for any reason will be eliminated." With those words, Lexi, the Excalibur's advanced AI, took over all of the mobile suit forces, completely disabling all of their weapons while simultaniously moving them towards the dagger-shaped ship's massive hanger bays.