Hey everyone! Sorry for the long wait, but I only just recently got hit with the inspiration (more like a sudden thought) to get back to this story. Just so you guys know, each of my chapters that takes place during Season 2 of Mobile Suit Gundam 00 will have the same title as its corresponding episode, which should make it very easy to follow events and see how I've altered them due to Sterling's presence, simply by checking the Gundam wiki or by watching the show itself, whichever you prefer. Now that that's out of the way, enjoy!
Episode Covered: S2 Episode 03.
Chapter 4: Allelujah Rescue Operation.
After the battle, the highlight of which being that the 00 Gundam was now operational and exceeding Ian's expectations, events seemed to pass in a rapid blur for Sterling Aarden. The super soldier was no stranger to this phenomenon, where the events following a battle or some other intense period of time led to the odd sensation not unlike being in a movie while someone pressed the fast-forward button on the remote. Almost immediately after Seravee, the 0 Gundam Tau and 00 Gundam were back on-board the Ptolemaios, their meisters and the rest of the crew were either reintroduced, or in Mileina's case introduced for the first time, to Sumeragi Lee Noriega, and a new face that was the spitting image of the former Lockon Stratos. This look-a-like was quickly revealed to be Neil Dylandy's brother, Lyle Dylandy, whom Setsuna had picked up before tracking down Sumeragi. For some reason, upon being introduced to Lyle, Feldt had quickly averted her eyes, her face flushed so slightly that Sterling believed he had been the only one to notice, Feldt then politely excused herself, leaving everyone else a little confused, but not overly suspicious. Sumeragi on the other hand, had quickly excused herself as well, though not as politely. In actual fact, the tactical forecaster had simply left the room without so much as saying hello to anyone. Although she was trying to hide something through her actions everyone, even Lyle, had a pretty good idea on why she had left the room. The combination of meeting someone who looked just like the deceased Lockon Stratos, as well as most of the Ptolemaios' crew all in one day had obviously been too much for the weary and dejected woman. After that, the ship had departed from the battlefield at top speed, the intention being to arrive at the resource satellite at Lagrange 1 as soon as possible. This was due to the fact that, with the new Lockon Stratos (Lyle) now on-board, it was imperative that they pick up both GN-006 Cherudim Gundam and GN-007 Gundam Arios as soon as possible.
"So Mister Aarden, what do you think of the new Mister Stratos? I'm only asking because I never got to meet his older brother before." Mileina asked. As the Ptolemaios made its way to Lagrange 1, the young operator and Sterling had both opted to spend to relatively long two-hour journey in one of the ship's observation rooms, one wall of which displayed a magnificent view of the Earth behind the ship. Sterling had previously remarked that he now knew what the Apollo astronauts must have felt like, when they saw the entire Earth for the first time, with its bright blue oceans, expanses of white cloud, and the dusty brown blots of land, all spread out like oil paint on a canvas. Sterling looked off towards the beautiful vista absently, pondering Mileina's question. Thankfully, although he'd only been around Neil Dylandy for a total of just under three weeks, he'd managed to get a pretty good read of the sniper's character.
"Well, I must admit I can certainly see the similarities. They're both a lot less serious than Tieria and Setsuna, though Lyle is clearly more laid-back than his brother. But at the same time I get the feeling that Lyle's sort of been in his brother's shadow, or at least he's felt that way. However, I don't really see him as the same kind of leader-type that Neil was. If anything, I'd say Setsuna seems to be taking over that role pretty well." Sterling replied, having decided on the most comprehensive answer he could come up with in the limited time-frame that Mileina usually gave for people to answer her questions.
"Yeah, I sort of get what you're saying. I guess we'll learn more about him later. By the way, you remember how Feldt reacted when she saw Lockon? What's that all about?" Mileina answered, her question laced with her usual curious undertone.
"Well, from what I recall when the other Lockon was around, I had the sneaking suspicion that Feldt had a bit of a crush on him." Sterling replied, grinning slightly at the fond memory. Upon hearing this revelation, Mileina suddenly bolted upright in her seat, eyes wide with astonishment.
"What! B-But Neil was at least ten years older than Feldt, wasn't he?!" she exclaimed, causing Sterling to cover his mouth with one hand to suppress his laughter. Finally, after four years he'd managed to surprise Mileina enough to elicit this kind of reaction from her. And he'd done it without even trying, a fact which only added to the humorous nature of the situation.
"Geez Mileina, I didn't think you'd be that surprised. What happened to that famous 'woman's intuition'?" Sterling joked, some of his previously suppressed laughter slipping out. Mileina simply pouted, causing Sterling to just laugh harder. "Anyway, the point I was trying to make is that Feldt's probably feeling pretty conflicted, given that she's just met someone who looks almost exactly like Lockon. Give her some time and she'll probably get over it." He explained, having managed to suppress his laughter.
"Is it true? You know where they're holding Allelujah?" Sumeragi asked as she entered the briefing room, where the rest of the crew were already waiting. The desperate hope was evident in her voice.
"Yeah, this is reliable information from Wang Lieu Mei." Lasse replied.
"We're getting started on a rescue mission now." Ian added. Shortly before, they had received a coded message from Wang Liu Mei, detailing exactly where the captured Gundam Meister had been held for the past four years; a detention centre inside the former Human Reform League. With Arios now on-board and the new Lockon Stratos, the time was right to launch a rescue operation.
"But how are you going to rescue him?" Sumeragi asked, turning to Ian.
"That's what we want you to figure out." Setsuna replied, stepping forward. "Miss Sumeragi, we'd like one of your tactical forecasts." He explained.
"But I..." Sumeragi began, before Tieria stepped forward.
"If he's with us, we can begin mounting operations with our full strength. We to rescue him before the A-LAWS make a move." Tieria said, his tone gentle but forceful at the same time.
'Hey, I'm still not so sure about this." Lockon said, before Tieria cut him off with a glare. "Oopsie."
"Miss Sumeragi, please. We need all the help we can get at this point. I know I speak for all of us when I say that we trust your plans and most of all we trust you." Sterling told the dejected tactical forecaster. "If you lend us your strength we can save Allelujah." Sumeragi held Sterling's gaze for a second, his eyes conveying the sincerity of his words, before lowering her gaze, a hand clutched to her chest. At this point, Feldt approached the older woman, a purple CB uniform in her hands. The new uniform had the same design as those worn by the other members, which all had their own different and unique colours.
"Miss Sumeragi, take this." Feldt said, holding the uniform out to her.
"Stop it! I can't live up to your expectations anymore!" Sumeragi exclaimed. "My forecasts can't really change anything that's going to happen! I'd just be putting all of you in danger!" The forecaster turned and ran towards to the door.
"There are no regrets!" Setsuna responded, causing Sumeragi to stop in her tracks. "Even if the mission fails, we'll never blame you for it. No matter what happens, Allelujah is our comrade, and we're going to save him. So please work out a tactical plan for us." Sumeragi hesitated, still facing the door. Likely she was struggling to resolve he war raging within her mind, trying to calm the raging waters of her emotions within her soul.
"Feldt, later could you update me on our current fighting strength and the present situation...please." she asked.
"Yes, Miss Sumeragi." Feldt replied happily. Sumeragi nodded slightly, before exiting the room.
An hour later, the Ptolemaios arrived just beyond the orbital ring that girdled the earth, far enough from any of the three Orbital Elevators to remain undetected. As the ship held its position, Sterling, Lockon, Setsuna and Tieria suited up and headed to their respective Gundams. Once inside, the meisters settled into their cockpits, before securing their helmets. At the same time, Sumeragi finally submitted a tactical plan, which was bold to say the least. The plan called for a blitzkrieg-style assault, lasting just five minutes. Setsuna and Tieria were to break into the facility and rescue Allelujah. Setsuna would head inside, while Tieria would remain in Seravee to protect the pilotless 00 Gundam. Arios meanwhile would standby inside the Ptolemaios, in launch position. Once Setsuna freed Allelujah, Arios would launch under control of its autopilot, and break into the facility to rendezvous with its meister. Lockon would be positioned in the cliffs surrounding the facility to provide support with Cherudim's GN Sniper Gun II, while Sterling was assigned to guard against incoming missile fire from an A-LAWS ground battleship stationed at the facility and any of its mobile suits. As such, Ian equipped the 0 Gundam Tau with one of its newer weapons; the GN Beam Carbine. The weapons higher rate of fire made it perfect for the job
"Attention all crew. In a few minutes this ship will begin re-entry procedures, course set for the Human Reform League Detention Centre currently holding Allelujah Haptism. As soon as we enter the atmosphere, all Gundams will launch and take up their assigned positions. All Meisters, report to your Gundams immediately and standby for launch." Feldt announced. Sterling reacted immediately and headed out of the room, grabbing his helmet on the way out. He'd already put his pilot suit on, having anticipated the announcement a few minutes earlier. In no time at all, the white-haired meister arrived at the hangar which housed both the 0 Gundam Tau and Setsuna's 00 Gundam. Wasting no time, Sterling quickly boarded the 0 Gundam Tau, the hatch closing itself behind him. Putting his helmet on, Sterling settled himself into his seat, just as Ian contacted him.
"Sterling, just so you know I've already equipped the 0 Gundam with the GN Beam Carbine. Just remember, it's harder to control than the rifle, so try to limit yourself to short bursts."Ian explained.
"Got it. Don't worry, I'll be careful." Sterling replied.
"Ptolemy, now beginning re-entry. All Gundams standby." Feldt announced.
"Now moving 0 Gundam Tau to catapult deck. Increasing linear catapult voltage form 230 to 520, 0 Gundam Tau stabilised with linear field. Transferring timing controls to 0 Gundam." Mileina announced.
"Roger, I have control." Sterling responded. "0 Gundam Tau, Sterling Aarden, launching!" The 0 Gundam Tau shot forward, its speed boosted by the Ptolemaios II's own velocity as the ship re-entered the atmosphere. Far below, Sterling could easily make out the detention centre, right next to the water, with an A-LAWS Guyana-class ground battleship a short distance away. It was Sterling's job to protect the Ptolemaios and the Gundams from the battleships' missile fire. As Sterling watched, the carrier's particle cannons opened fire, their orange particle beams streaking towards the Ptolemaios. The ship continued on, its speed protecting it from the carrier's attacks. The reason for this was the fact that the A-LAWS gunners were making the rookie mistake of aiming directly at their target. The tactic worked fine when attacking from dead ahead or behind, but from an angle, the Ptolemaios had already moved away by the time the particle beam reached the spot it had been aimed at. The ship plunged into the water, the impact generating a massive wave which sped towards the facility a short distance away. Like a tidal wave, the massive wall of water smashed through the wall of the facility, sweeping the Tierans on duty aside like rag-dolls. The water crashed into the main building, smashing through the face of the building and spraying much of the water into the air. The resulting increase in humidity would cut the strength of the carrier's particle beams by around 50%, allowing the Meisters to go in without worrying about fire coming from the carrier.
"Sterling, the A-LAWS carrier is commencing missile fire against the Ptolemaios. Your job is to stop as many of the missiles as you can. And keep an eye out for its mobile suits as well" Feldt explained.
"On it." Sterling replied, moving into position, which placed him and the 0 Gundam Tau directly between the carrier and the submerged Ptolemaios. Almost immediately, the carrier's missiles began to appear, each one trailing red/orange GN particles as they streaked in his direction. Sterling calmly waited until the missiles came into firing range, then opened fire. Sterling worked away at the missiles, firing bursts of particle beams as fast as possible, destroying most of the salvo. While the remaining missiles would pose no threat to the Ptolemaios, the second wave was already launching. Sterling kept on firing just managing to weather the storm of missiles.
"Damn, there's just no end to this!" Sterling thought, as he brought down another wave of missiles. The barrage had dragged on for almost three minutes, leaving just two minutes for Setsuna to find and release Allelujah. Suddenly, a call came from Seravee.
"We have found Allelujah!" Tieria announced, grunting as Seravee was hit hard again. "Launch Arios!"
"You got it! Arios, launching!" Mileina replied. Looking down, Sterling spotted the top of the Ptolemaios as it breached the surface of the water below. Mere seconds later, Arios launched from the port-side catapult, heading for the facility, before the Ptolemaios re-submerged.
"Good, it looks like we're almost done here." Sterling thought. Better yet, the missile fire was beginning to subside. However, it was quickly replaced by particle beam fire, forcing Sterling to take evasive action. Apparently, the humidity of the surrounding air had dropped low enough for the battleship's particle beams to become effective again. Worse still, the ship's mobile suits had now launched. A total of three GN-XIII's were heading towards him, with four others heading toward the detention centre. The GN-XIIIs opened fire on the 0 Gundam Tau, intent on destroying the lone mobile suit.
"Here we go. Now this is more like it!" Sterling exclaimed, charging forward to meet them, firing his own weapon in response. And while the 0 Gundam Tau was able to evade the incoming fire, the A-LAWS pilots had no such luck. The combination of Sterling's accuracy and the GN Beam Carbine's rate of fire meant that they simply couldn't react quickly enough. And the 0 Gundam Tau's anti-beam coating meant that any particle beams which did manage to hit did failed to deal any kind of damage. Finally, with his two comrades gone, the remaining A-LAWS pilot abandoned ranged combat and charged at Sterling, his GN Lance aimed to spear the 0 Gundam Tau through the cockpit. Sterling held his course, then at the last second dodged to the left. Unable to react, the GN-XIII flew past, before a burst of particle beams struck the suit in the back and destroyed it. With no remaining targets, and the Guyana-class now firing on him with its main cannons, Sterling contacted Feldt.
"Feldt, it's Sterling." Sterling announced, his breathing slightly heavier due to the intense few minutes of combat. "I'm all done here. What's the status of the others?"
"Sterling, Allelujah is onboard Arios right now. We're just about to leave." Feldt replied "Withdraw now."
"Glad to hear it, withdrawing now." Sterling replied. The 0 Gundam Tau turned away from the battleship, quickly following the now-withdrawing 00 Gundam, Seravee, Arios and Cherudim.
Back onboard the Ptolemaios, Sterling wiped the sweat off his forehead as he headed over to join Tieria and Allelujah. Lockon was busy finding his way around the ship, and as for Setsuna, he was busy talking with Marina Ismail. Feldt had informed Setsuna that the Azadistan princess was also being held in the detention centre, and so Setsuna had decided to rescue her as well.
"He may be level-headed normally, but he sure can be impulsive sometimes." Sterling remarked, as he arrived outside the rest room. Upon opening the door, he found Tieria already talking with Allelujah. The super soldier was obviously a little weary, as evidenced by the clear bags beneath each eye. "I take it the last few years weren't too kind on you, eh Allelujah?"
"Oh, Sterling." Allelujah replied, the meister's voice getting his attention. "Yeah, don't worry about it, I'll be fine." Sterling nodded, smiling.
"Good to hear. I'm just glad you're back."
"Thanks, it's good to be back." Allelujah replied, smiling gratefully. Just then, they were interrupted by Lockon, who had finally finished wandering around.
"Man oh man, this ship is amazing! It even operates underwater!" he exclaimed, as Allelujah jumped to his feet in shock.
"L-Lockon?! But how?!" he exclaimed.
"I'm getting real tired of that reaction" Lockon replied, leaving Allelujah even more confused. Allelujah turned to Sterling and Tieria, clearly asking for an explanation.
"He's Neil Dylandy's younger brother Lyle." Sterling explained. "Setsuna recruited him while he was tracking down Miss Sumeragi."
"Oh, I see." Allelujah replied, still a bit shocked, but now a little less confused. "I guess that makes sense."
Sorry for the long wait, but I've been busy with university and other stuff, plus I just haven't felt the inspiration to write for a while. But don't worry, I've gotten the urge to write again, and will hopefully be uploading another chapter for this fic soon. I'll also be starting another Mobile Suit Gundam 00 fanfic soon, so keep an eye out for it if you're interested. Anzac-A1, out!