"Razgriz three, Bugs on your 5, low."
"Copy." Mobius One banked and turned hard left. "I'm spiked." He said as soon as he heard his radar warning blare.
"On it." Talisman zipped behind Mobius one and cleared away the missiles with a burst of machine gun fire.
"Damn, these guys don't give up easily, do they." Mobius One sighs as he found himself behind the DINN ("Bug" according to Sky Eye) as its pilot focused on Talisman. One well-placed stream of gun fire later, the DINN spiraled into the ocean with one set of its wings missing.
"Razgriz one and two, status on refueling." Sky Eye asked.
"2 minutes." Murdoch grumbled, watching the battery removal team go about their business.
…
Almost as soon as the Archangel entered ZAFT territory it came under attack from the ZAFT forces.
Worryingly, the ZAFT attacks were at best light but extended, forcing the Aces to split their flight into waves in order to constantly maintain air cover over the ship as it travelled at top speed out of ZAFT territory.
As such, the Archangel was now going through her fortieth hour of sustained (light) attack.
"Bridge, we got a problem." Murdoch said as soon as one of his technicians made an X with his arms.
"Bridge. What's the issue?" Sky Eye asked.
"Their batteries are shot." Murdoch sighed. The Technicians responsible for replacing the batteries were currently spraying it down with coolant so it could be dismounted and a fresh battery replaced.
"Damn. Sky Eye to air units."
"We're listening." Mobius One returned to his patrol path as the other two DINNs in the attack backed off.
"Your relief is delayed; can you maintain air superiority over your combat zone?"
"Shouldn't be a problem." Mobius One said, taking a moment to look at the other combat zone, being manned by Kira.
…
Kira Yamato was responsible for protecting the front of the Archangel as it sailed.
Which meant that he was bearing the brunt of the attack from the enemy DINNs, and responding beautifully.
Unfortunately, his skill meant that ZAFT gave up trying to engage him directly and fell back on conducting long distance bombardment instead, forcing Kira to constantly travel out of the combat zone as delegated by Sky Eye to stop the bombardment from their sources, and failing most of the time as the ZAFT artillery would move and hide long before the Strike got within attack range.
"Kira here, I'm almost out." Kira said as he landed on one of Archangel's Gottfried guns above the hangar and quickly sipped from a drink; he hadn't had time to eat or drink anything since breakfast.
"Sky Eye, roger; Tolle squadron, you're cleared to launch."
"Tolle squadron, roger, launching." Tolle and his Spearhead (and his unnamed wingman) took to the air, as the Strike jumped back into the hangar, walking in instead of using the catapults.
"Please hurry with the resupply." Kira said, not bothering to leave Strike's cockpit.
"Wouldn't it be faster to just take the Duel out instead?" Murdoch couldn't help but ask.
"The Duel can't fly, and I can't fight underwater." Kira said quickly.
"Right, gotcha. Hurry with the recharging!" Murdoch yelled.
"ZAFT units incoming from zone 3, Mu flight, be advised." Sky Eye suddenly said.
"Damn. I can't hit them from here." Mu's Skygrasper dropped suddenly to dodge a blast from a DINN's shotgun. "Bartlett!"
"I'm on him." Captain Bartlett sighted the DINN in his Wyvern and fired a missile, forcing the DINN to evade into the path of his guns. "Target neutralized." Bartlett said as the DINN limped home with smoking wings.
"Why can't we just hit the enemy airfields?" Tolle asked, glad that the airspace he occupies is clean.
"Which role do you want? Protect the ship or hit the base?" Mu asked with a bitter laugh.
"Well, I mean…"
"I know what you mean, kid." Mobius One said, catching his breath after another session of protracted and fruitless combat. "But we can hardly walk away from the ship as it is."
"I wonder why they didn't just launch a full scale attack?" Talisman heard his computer beep. "Talisman to Bridge, I'm on reserve fuel."
"Bridge, copy; Hangar, how's the refueling coming?" Sky Eye asked.
"They need new batteries, so we're going to have a hole in our net for a few minutes if those two comes home." Murdoch said gruffly. Cipher's Spearhead actually had an electrical malfunction and the battery's connectors had burst into flames.
"The Archangel is hardly defenseless; we need to prepare in case ZAFT decides to launch a major assault. Have them come home." Murrue said.
"Roger, captain. Sky Eye to Razgriz three, four: you're cleared to return."
"Talisman, copy." Talisman banked to line himself up with the rather fast ship.
…
…
"Sheesh." A ZAFT base mechanic scratched his head as another DINN waddled out of the water, miles away in a base. "Why the hell is command telling us to do this?" He looked behind him at the DINNs lined up missing some piece of their bodies. "We're almost out of serviceable units as it is."
"Shut up and get back to work." His coworked grumbled, signaling a service truck carrying a replacement wing.
…
…
"Sky Eye to all units, field is clear."
"About time." Mu sighs deeply. "Seriously, this is the first break we've had since we got here."
"No kidding, I guess ZAFT ran out of units." Cipher chuckles. "If they attacked en masse we'd be in trouble. Cipher, RTB."
"Mu, returning to ship."
…
"Which reminds me, why didn't they attack en mass?" Talisman says between bites of his food. "That seems like a very amateurish thing to do."
"Guess they knew about you guys." Bartlett laughs and claps Blaze on the back. "You guys scored an incredible amount of kills in every major engagement, so they ran away scared."
"Uh, sirs." Miriallia says from the doorway. "Captain Murrue wants all of you to rest if you can."
"If we can? We need to launch at a moment's notice, how can we rest like that?" Tolle grumbles, eating as fast as Talisman.
"Just do it." Miriallia snaps.
"Yes Miri." Tolle said meekly.
…
"While our ship hasn't sustained any damage from bombardment, we're rapidly running out of parts for our combat units." Natarle says and folds the paper containing the report from Murdoch.
Murrue sighs. "I guess we have to consider ZAFT as a possible abductor of this ship."
Natarle nods. "I can think of no other reasonable explanation for why they are trying to run us out of resources; I suggest that we ground all of our aircraft unless ZAFT launches an all-out attack."
Murrue frowns. "I would like to get this ship to Alaska without having to stop for repairs on the way."
"That may be so, but I think we're going to end up stopping for supply in Orb anyways." Natarle's sense for military regulation had declined under the never ending stress of the previous two days of incessant combat. "We're starting to run low on munitions for the Spearheads, even with the insanely good accuracy that the Aces have."
"Aces, huh?" Murrue has a slight smile playing on her face.
Natarle caught the hint, but is just far too tired to care. "I don't know what you're implying, captain." Natarle's flat tone cut off that conversation.
"It's true, though." Arnold Neuman the helmsman yawns, glad that he could finally set the autopilot for the Archangel instead of paying constant attention for evasive flying. "They're really damn good, even after being shot down or whatever."
"I don't think the Archangel's munition list was designed with Spearheads in mind." Sai grumbles. While Murdoch had erred on the side of caution when getting the Archangel resupplied (as in, he obtained far more small scale missiles than he had any right to) they were still finding themselves short.
"Won't surprise me. This ship wasn't meant to deploy so quickly, after all." Neuman yawns yet again.
"Speculation aside, you guys should go get some sleep; I doubt ZAFT will attack us right now, especially after when we sent so many of their DINNs into the ocean." Natarle half-staggered out of the bridge.
…
…
…
The ZAFT dock workers woke to the sight of the red Aegis Gundam landing in the open runways, followed almost immediately by the Buster, Blitz, and, to the excitement of the base, White High Mobility GINN.
"Glad you could make it, Cruset team." The base commander saluted the four young boys once they walked into the briefing room.
Athrun saluted back. "We're here per orders from our captain, and we're here to assist in any way we can."
Behind him, he heard whispers.
"Who are those kids?"
"I didn't think Cruset recruited amateurs to his team."
"Think I could get in if I had connections like that?"
And so on.
The Commander, having heard those comments, couldn't help but roll his eyes at the pilots assigned to his base, although he could hardly blame them. Due to the N-Jammers ZAFT deployed communications with their home long range communications is preciously rare.
"These young gentlemen are here to assist our efforts in our next operation. Please," he motioned at Athrun and company, "introduce yourselves."
"Athrun Zala."
"Nicol Amalfi."
"Yzak Joule."
"Dearka Elsman."
As soon as the introductions ended, a new round of whispers began.
"Zala? The son of that council guy?"
"Amalfi? Never heard of that name; must be another councilman."
"Cruset really likes his boys, I guess."
"Dearka! Hey man! How's it goin'?!" Dearka waved back at whoever yelled that one with a wide grin.
However, the most numerous comments were made about Yzak.
"Yzak Joule…so that's the Silver Scorpion."
"No, seriously? A kid that young is an Ace?"
"Not just "an Ace", he's good enough to be an Ace of Aces."
"Didn't you see the vid from Africa? Kid's got mad skills and some seriously huge balls."
"I can't believe it…"
"What the hell have you guys been doing on the surface?" Athrun demanded with a hiss.
"Those were ship kills though." Yzak said with a grin.
Technically, all four of the ZAFT boys were aces (in terms of having more than five confirmed kills, although ZAFT bookkeeping is spotty at best) but Yzak is the only one to be an ace several times over.
Before, it would have gone straight to his head.
Now, it just cements the fact that the archangel's pilots he fought against were miles above him, under the (rather dubious) logic that if he was good enough to be an ace many times over and still lose, then those pilots must be better.
Before, it would have soured his mood.
Now, it just fills him with the anticipation of battle.
"Now, gentlemen, please take a seat." The captain motioned to the ZAFT boys.
…
"For the past two days, we have conducted long range strategic operations on this EFA prototype warship." The captain pointed to a picture of the Archangel on the large screen behind him, "with the final operational objective of capturing the warship intact, if possible."
"Question." Athrun raised his hand. "Why did you not conduct a full scale attack at the first available opportunity?"
The Commander seemed bored by the question. "We heard from Rau about how good their pilots are" pictures of the Super Spearheads popped up on the screen "when backed into a corner and facing overwhelming disadvantage, so we're playing it safe by pulling out all their teeth first."
"And by doing that you've backed them into a proverbial corner before the battle even begins." Yzak growled.
The Commander didn't hear him.
"In any case, at 1200 hours today we will commence the final step of the operation. If you have any concerns, name them now."
"How are we gonna fly?" Dearka asked.
"With these." A picture of a very flat-looking jet shaped like a banana appeared on the screen, complete with a pair of locks meant for a mobile suit's legs. "We'll have to make some adjustments to fit the EFA mobile suits, but these Guuls should offer you the aerial mobility you need."
Athrun noted that a bead of sweat ran down Yzak's cheek. "You ok there? Yzak?" He asked.
"I'm…no, I'm terrified." Athrun saw fear in Yzak's eyes, a fear created by knowledge, and it worried him greatly. "In a fight with those guys, mobility is all that matters. We had some insanely good pilots tying them up last time, and that battle ended with us losing the Lesseps. I don't know how it's going to go with that advantage gone this time."
He then saw a picture of a Wyvern flying over the Archangel.
"Shit."
…
…
[1120 Hours, Archangel]
…
…
"Can't sleep anymore?" Talisman asked Blaze as the second man walked into the cafeteria.
"I had a gut feeling." Blaze sighed, getting and wolfing down his food as quickly as possible.
"I think that goes for all of us." Sky Eye said, appearing at the entrance with Cipher and Ribbon.
"Jeez, looks like nobody can get some decent shuteye on this ship anymore." Mu laughed, accompanying Kira.
"Can you blame us?" Talisman said while sipping his drink. "ZAFT's planning something huge; even if we can't feel it we'd know that."
"Yeah. Speaking of which, Murdoch?" Cipher looked toward the corner.
Murdoch slammed his coffee mug on the table. "We had to jerry rig your bomber for air to air, Cipher. Sorry about that." Cipher's Air Supremacy Super Spearhead's electrical malfunction effectively grounded the fighter until they could get replacement parts for it, which can only happen if a bomber was stripped down, and even then the mechanics didn't have the time to do that.
"That won't be a problem." Cipher said confidently; Blaze and Talisman were flying retrofitted bombers and were doing pretty well, after all.
Flay took this moment to walk into the cafeteria with a very unkempt uniform.
The two groups (men vs a girl) stared at each other for a few seconds before Flay woke up and ran away screaming.
The general thought process among the men (at least the Aces) was "she's still on the ship?"
…
"It's not like ZAFT was going to seriously attack us without any units, Flay. Of course I let them sleep in." Murrue said once Flay (properly dressed) lodged her complaint.
The only action the Archangel saw during the entire morning was a half-hearted attack from a pair of DINNs, and they were repelled quickly with a barrage from the Corinth missiles.
"But still…! All of them suddenly being awake and gathering like that, it's just weird!" Flay insisted, having totally forgotten the fact that most of the men in question were in fact from a different dimension.
Murrue didn't feel like reminding her. "They've always been like that, besides…you shouldn't walk around a military ship as if it's your own house."
Flay frowned. "Yes, I apologize. I'm sorry." She didn't quite sound sorry.
"Contacts! Cruise missiles incoming!" Sai suddenly shouted. "ETA sixty seconds!"
"Intercept!" Murrue shook off her exhaustion. "Why the hell are they shooting at us with missiles now?!" She demanded from no one as Flay quickly left the bridge.
…
"Why are you shooting at them with cruise missiles now?" Athrun felt the need to ask.
"First stage." The Commander said smugly. "All units, depart, I wish you all well."
…
The cruise missiles flying at the Archangel were summarily intercepted by the Igelstellung anti-air fire.
"Yow!" Sai ripped his headphones off his head in a hurry. "We're getting jammed. Those missiles must've been loaded." With what, he didn't know.
"Dammit." Murrue scowled. "Have all crafts launch immediately."
"Way ahead of you." Mu said with a cocky grin. "Mu La Flaga, launching!"
"Kira Yamato, Strike, heading out!"
"Tolle Koenig, Duel, launching!"
"Whoa, whoa, kid, what are you doing?!" Mu demanded. "Murdoch, abort his launch!"
"No can do, Flaga. We know what we're doing." Murdoch said with a cocky grin.
"I'll provide support for the Archangel!" Tolle declared, planting himself right on top of the Archangel's Gottfried cannon head. Inwardly, he admitted that there was very little else he could do in a serious firefight.
"It'll be fine." Kira reassured them.
"Did you help him with the OS?" Blaze asked while his Spearhead was rolled onto a catapult.
"I wanted to." Kira admitted. "But ZAFT has some kind of protection on it, and I don't have the time to crack it right now."
ZAFT? Blaze couldn't help but wonder. Why would ZAFT have protection on the OS after the Gründer mechanics got their hands on it? He then shook those thoughts aside.
"Razgriz…" Blaze felt an odd sensation down his spine. "No. Blaze, Wardog one, launching!"
…
"Looks like they're out in force." Dearka muttered. "Do we have combat clearance?"
"As soon as we have a shot." Yzak said, double checking out of nervousness.
"Yzak, this isn't like you." Nicol couldn't help but say.
"I'll be more like me once the battle starts." Yzak grumbles. "Dearka, do the honors."
"With pleasure!"
…
…
"Incoming long range fire, probably from the Buster." Sky Eye said, having taken his position as an operator.
"Looks like we're in for a hell of a fight." Blaze said, looking down at his radar on the sheer number of blips coming toward them. "Although I expected more of them."
"Goes to show we're not all that important to ZAFT." Mobius One grunts. "I count twenty."
"Some of them have oversized signatures." Talisman frowns. "Maybe they're fielding new equipment?"
"Heat sig." Blaze says as an alarm sounds in his cockpit. "It's probably the Buster. All units, break!"
As soon as the four Aces split, a green beam struck the ocean near the Archangel.
"We're taking fire." Sai warns.
"Working on it." Blaze growls. "Strike will engage the Gundams, Razgriz will run support."
"Roger." Kira locks his sights onto the Buster and fires haphazardly to its general direction.
…
"Jeez!" Dearka's cockpit lit up with a warning when the Buster's shoulder took a hit. "You lucky little bastard!"
"Dearka, fall back. Nicol, Athrun, take the Strike. Everyone else, focus on the Aces, don't get separated from your company." Yzak said quickly.
"Roger that." Athrun and Nicol acknowledged as they dove at the Strike, while the DINNs climbed to meet the Aces head on.
…
"Heads up, they're coming at us." Blaze warned, inverting and leading the other Aces in a dive. "Two with me."
"Copy." Cipher poured machine gun to sweep ineffectually over the incoming DINNs.
…
Kira looked up and saw the Blitz riding on top of some flying platform, bearing down upon him.
"Out of my way." Kira said evenly, flying upward to meet the Blitz. The two flew past each other while exchanging a blow with their beam sabers.
Kira turned sharply and fired a shot at the back of the Blitz.
"Damn." Nicol gritted his teeth, trusting in the acceleration of the Guul and pulling up slightly to avoid the beam rifle shot.
"It's faster than I thought." Kira muttered, before turning his attention to the Aegis charging at him.
"Kira." Athrun fires his beam rifle at the Strike.
"I need to get to the Buster." Kira mutters as he dodges the Aegis's fire and returns the favor, firing at the Guul attached to the Aegis's feet.
"I got you!" The Blitz flies in with the intent to charge the Strike, before being forced to break off the charge from a long distance shot from the Archangel. "What the…?"
"Kira, I got your back." Tolle says with a grin. The Duel, by virtue of being the same unit design as the Strike, had no problems integrating the Launcher Pack's AGNI Positron Cannon and utilizing it. "This is Tolle, give me the coordinates of the Buster, I'll do the rest."
"Cheeky now that you have a Gundam, aren't we, Tolle?" Kira smirks, focusing on the Blitz that has just broken off its charge and was now flying above him a little too slowly.
"Damn!" Nicol detached the Guul as beam rifle shots from the Strike tore its engines apart. The Blitz, lacking the propulsion necessary to keep itself flying, fell unceremoniously into the ocean.
"Tch! Nicol! Dammit!" Athrun yells and charges at the Strike.
Kira's response is to turn and fire his beam rifle at the Aegis.
Athrun pushes the thrust on the Guul to maximum and then detaches it from the Aegis. The force of the ejection pushes the Guul out of the line of fire and straight into the Strike's torso.
Kira felt himself slammed against the restraints holding him against his seat as the Guul tried stubbornly to drive itself into the Strike. Almost immediately his energy indicator beeped an alarm as the thrusters hungrily drank the energy required to keep the Strike from being rammed into the water. Kira opened his eyes just in time to see the Aegis descending upon him with a flying kick (complete with an extended beam saber in its foot, too).
…
Talisman was getting sick and tired of the threat alarm blaring in his ear. "Three, I could use a little help with my six." He said, watching the three DINNs on his tail follow him at a leisurely distance, blanketing his Spearhead with shotgun fire.
"Would love to, four." Mobius One pulled up sharply, throwing off a DINN but nearly getting shot by the other two on his tail. "But I'm having a little issue getting to you."
"Makes all of us." Blaze fired a missile at a DINN behind Cipher, and watched another DINN provide covering fire and destroy the missile. "These guys aren't very good but their teamwork is a lot better than the guys we fought so far."
Cipher laughed. "That's not a very high bar." He then accelerated toward Mobius One. "Three, stop flailing for a second."
Mobius One flew straight for a second and then turned sharply. The DINNs flying behind him turned to aim their shotguns.
"Team three, sharp dive." Yzak ordered, and the DINNs dropped fast, causing Cipher's missiles to sail over their head and miss harmlessly.
"Whoa." Cipher sounded just a little bit surprised. "These guys are pretty good." He then inverted into a sharp turn and dove after the DINNs with his machine guns blaring.
Cipher then banked and turned hard to avoid a stream of bullets headed his way, courtesy of Yzak's White GINN. "This guy's got some good senses." Cipher muttered.
"Team three, continue with your mission, and watch your fuel." Yzak said, focusing on the Spearhead that just pulled away from him. "Team two, you're behind, don't let him go."
"Shit, this isn't getting better." Blaze growled, firing off a round of chaff against the missiles on his tail.
…
"Damn. Sky Eye to all units! New heat signatures emerging from the water!" Neil growled, looking at the large signatures. "Size…they're probably ZAFT Submarines!"
"Valiant! Corinth! Calibrate and fire at will! Duel! Forget about the Buster and hit the subs!" Natarle commanded.
"More heat signatures! ZAFT Bugs deployed from enemy submarines!" Neil clenched his hand into a fist.
"Torpedo alert!" Sai suddenly yelled.
"Get us out of the ocean!" Murrue ordered, and the Archangel began separating itself from the ocean surface.
The Archangel then dropped heavily into the Ocean amidst a flurry of explosions.
"What the hell were those things?" Sai demanded from nobody in particular as he rubbed his forehead. "Flooding in the bottom deck!"
…
"Holy shit, Blaze, we're in trouble." Talisman looked at the cloud of DINNs converging on the Archangel.
"I can see that." Blaze turned to avoid more fire aimed at his plane. "Razgriz! Ignore the idiots on your tail and sweep the bugs going after our ship!"
"Easier said than done." Cipher heard something strike his wing.
"What's the matter, Razgriz? We need your support here!" Sky Eye demanded.
"We're having trouble shaking off the enemies on our tail." Mobius One hated himself for admitting this shortcoming.
Neil looked incredulous, and then smacked himself on the forehead. "Of course. I forgot…no Strangreal Ace should fly without true AWACS support."
"What are you talking about?" Blaze demanded.
Sky Eye doesn't answer, but instead he pushes a button.
A song comes onto the general EFA frequency, and upon hearing the first two notes, Mobius One could not help but grin.
"I see what you mean, Sky Eye." Ribbon laughs, feeling his spirits lift. "We're aces because nobody can touch us. Mobius One!" His Spearhead rolls to avoid a blanket of shotgun fire, and then flips so tightly and loses so much speed it might have stayed still in mid-air. As the DINNs flew past the Spearhead all of them immediately felt the sting of a missile, and the three DINNs spiraled into the ocean, trailing smoke.
"Engage." Sky Eye finished for him, smiling despite himself and the alarms sounding around him.
…
"What's with the music?" Mu asked, firing his guns and missiles into the DINN cloud.
"It's tradition. AWACS in our world plays music to help psyche up its pilots." Blaze laughs. "I can see your reputation is well deserved, Sky Eye."
"Well, I do try." Neil laughs, in spite of the hits the Archangel is taking.
"Cipher, I'll clear you, so return the favor?" Blaze asks coyly.
"Sure thing, boss." Cipher turned and the two Spearheads flew at breakneck speeds toward each other.
The two planes then turned and flew inverted parallel to each other, close enough for Blaze to see into Cipher's cockpit, and in the instant they cleared each other's tail, both of them fired a salvo of missiles at each other's pursuers.
Said pursuers, expecting the two to break away from each other at the last possible second like a feint maneuver, were caught by surprise and summarily shot down.
"Alright, that's that." Cipher grinned. "Let's clear Talisman's tail while we're at it."
Talisman had dove down to the ocean surface, with the three DINNs following.
Talisman counted in his head. Almost…almost…now! He then fired his VTOL engines inverse to each other (one pointing up, one pointing down) and kicked up the ocean surface while rolling wildly, creating plumes of white water behind him.
The DINNs, being designed well enough to handle a little water, could care less, and followed him unfazed.
Until the water stopped and the Spearhead they followed was nowhere to be seen.
Talisman pulled up behind the DINNs, paying no heed to the alarms signaling VTOL engine failure, and sprayed the two DINNs with machine gun fire.
The two DINNs heard their engines sputter and go offline, and realized too late that the Spearhead they were chasing led them to a still surfaced ZAFT submarine.
"Enemy Submarine, Sunk!" Talisman said proudly, before hearing his threat alarm warn him of the last DINN hot on his tail. With his VTOL engines no longer working, Talisman simply pulled his Spearhead's nose up into a near vertical and cut his speed to nearly nothing, forcing the DINN to overshoot.
Talisman then straightened out his aircraft and shot the DINN full of holes before it finished turning around.
"Guess he didn't need our help after all." Cipher mused.
"No surprises there, he's an Ace like us, after all." Blaze felt…odd, as if a part of him that was missing was now being returned, piece by piece. "Razgriz, form up, we're doing some extermination work."
Four Super Spearheads flew back into formation, before inverting to dive into the DINNs fluttering around the Archangel.
…
"Tch, how did they change like that?!" Yzak snarled. "I don't believe this…all units, watch your backs! The EFA elites are headed our way!"
"I'll slow them down." Dearka said grimly. "Everyone else, focus on crippling that ship!"
"Don't overdo it, Dearka." Yzak warned.
Dearka only had a light laugh in reply.
…
Kira heard the music resonate within him, as if providing him with strength.
The Aegis, having transformed into its mobile armor form to provide enough lift to keep itself flying, flew over the Strike and transformed back into a mobile suit, descending with a kick.
Kira felt one thought enter his head, honing his focus: Protect the Archangel.
Athrun flinched in surprise as the Guul suddenly exploded. The Strike turned and the remains of the Guul (namely, its engine) careened off into the ocean.
Athrun, unable to stop his kick, decided to just follow it through while firing at the Strike with his beam rifle.
Kira accelerated straight forward and flew underneath the Aegis, ignoring it entirely.
"I have him, Athrun!" Nicol took aim at the Strike with his Glepnir grapple, and fired it at the Strike.
The Strike caught the Glepnir hook with one deft move and continued to accelerate, dragging the Blitz forward with a jerk and forcing it off balance into the ocean again.
"You're not getting away!" The Aegis transformed into its mobile armor form again and followed after the Strike.
…
The DINN pilots felt the first shock when the Spearheads blew through their ranks with their guns blazing, dealing a massive amount of damage and killing several DINNs outright.
They felt their second shock when the Spearheads blew through their ranks, weaving through fire from the DINNs and anti-air fire from the Archangel without crashing into anything at speeds that can only be described as suicidal.
"Razgriz, missiles?" Blaze asked, getting three numbers in reply. "We have ten shots total…ok. Hit anything and everything, kill them all!"
The Spearheads, having broken through the ranks still in formation, separated and dove back into the DINNs.
The DINN pilots recovered from their surprise and flew higher, creating more distance between them and the anti-air fire from the Archangel.
Not that it helped any, since at any moment if a DINN turned its head away from a Spearhead it would immediately take hits to its back, and if a DINN even so much as stopped within the flight path of a Spearhead (say, in order to shoot them) the poor DINN would have its wings clipped by said Spearhead at a frightening pace.
To round the whole thing off, if a DINN flew high to get the proverbial drop on a Spearhead, it would meet a quick and messy end at the hands of Mu La Flaga.
"I can't believe I'm all the way up here." Mu sighed. His Skygrasper was equipped with the Sword Strike Pack and per Murrue's orders was told to stay the hell away from the main engagement.
After a good minute of fighting the few DINNs that were left decided to fire everything they had at the Archangel and go home.
"Damn." Dearka shook his head in disbelief; his attempt to stop the Aces was met with horrible failure, as the lead fighter simply inverted to be lower than him and totaled the Guul the Buster was standing on, dropping the heavy bombardment Gundam unceremoniously into the ocean.
"Shit. Razgriz! They're dropping everything they have! Stop them!" Blaze's fighter made an astoundingly tight turn and fired its remaining missiles. "Fox Three!"
"Fox Three! Fox Three!" The rest of the Aces echoed, firing their missiles at the DINNs.
"Talisman, your six." Sky Eye said.
"I got him." Kira replied, as Talisman turned to avoid a bazooka shot.
"Damn, I don't need you right now." Yzak snarled, watching the Strike fly up to meet him.
Only 10% energy left. I need to win here. Kira thought, watching the white GINN pull out its beam saber.
Kira threw the Strike's shield at the GINN and pulled out his beam sabers.
Yzak boosted upward with a jolt from his engines, dodging the shield. Said shield lodged itself in an unfortunate DINN and the two sailed into the ocean.
Kira closed into melee range with Yzak, and with a swift, almost inhumanly swift move, separated the GINN from its sword arm.
"How…" Yzak spun to kick.
The Strike ducked down, avoiding the kick, before using its engines to drive itself almost vertically upward with its beam saber outstretched.
The GINN, with its back facing the Strike, unleashed a jolt of power from its engines and pushed itself barely out of the Strike's reach.
In response, the Strike turned and tackled the GINN from behind, and the two sailed into the ocean surface.
"God dammit, what's with this guy?!" Yzak couldn't help but smile due to his adrenaline. With a blast from his high mobility engines his GINN broke free from the Strike and flipped to be above it.
Kira heard his suit raked by gunfire, and his Phase Shift Armor powered down, finally out of juice.
Stronger, faster. Kira's whole mind was focused upon those two words as the Strike dropped into the ocean.
"Yzak!" Nicol and Athrun finally arrived onto the scene, slowed by not having the Guuls or the raw thrust power of Yzak's High Mobility GINN.
"I think…no, like hell did I get him. What's the situation?" Yzak demanded.
"Bad." Dearka helpfully replied, with the Buster's head barely visible over the ocean surface. "Also, I think I need a swimsuit, or a good fish recipe."
"Commander, requesting withdrawal from combat, I don't think we're going to capture the Legged Ship at this rate." Athrun said to the radio.
"What?!" The ZAFT Commander back at base didn't sound happy.
"We're almost out of energy here and…" Athrun looked at the radar. "All of our DINNs are dead."
The sky over the Archangel was filled with smoke, shrapnel, four Spearheads, and a Skygrasper, with not a ZAFT unit in sight.
"I don't believe this." The ZAFT Commander was positively livid. "How could you mess this up so badly? Continue with the mission!"
"What the hell…you can't be serious?!" Dearka was incredulous. As if to bring the point home, an explosion some distance from the Archangel when it fired into the ocean suggested that ZAFT just lost one of their submarines.
Suddenly, the water beneath the White GINN exploded, and the Strike ascended with its beam saber alight.
"Yzak!" Nicol moved to block with his shield-mounted beam saber.
Without even a moment's pause, the Strike cut the Blitz's arms from its body, and with a swift engine-assisted turn cut the Blitz in half.
The Strike and the remains of the Blitz plunged into the ocean.
The rest of the ZAFT boys looked on in shock.
"Nicol!" Athrun yelled into the radio.
"I'm alive, but…" Nicol's voice came over the radio, choppy and static-filled.
"Continue with the mission!" The ZAFT Commander insisted.
"Fuck off!" Athrun snapped. "All ZAFT units! Ceasefire! Ceasefire! Commence search and rescue operations! NOW!" He stared at the position where the Strike plunged into the ocean, as if wishing for it to appear again.
"Nicol! Nicol!" Dearka shouted into the radio. "Shit, no response. Can the Blitz's core float?"
"Like hell I know." Yzak dove into the ocean with his GINN.
…
…
"Whoa, are they givin' up?" Blaze remarked, watching the two remaining ZAFT submarines fire flares into the sky.
"Sky Eye to all units: all clear, mission is complete." He winded down the music that has been playing in the background (on loop) the entire time. "How did you like it, Mobius One?"
"Feels like home, Sky Eye." Mobius One sighed contently. "Feels like home."
"Uh…guys? Kira picked something up." Tolle said, from his position in the water.
"How are you in the ocean?" Talisman asked curiously.
"I uh…I fell." Tolle answered sulkily.
"…How?" was the general reaction from all of the Razgriz.
"Nevermind that now." Tolle said hurriedly. "The Strike's coming back and it's holding onto something."
"Oh, good." Murdoch said to nobody in particular as he listened to the audio feed. "He has a gift for throwing away my shield. Now I don't have to skin him."
…
…
[Hours later]
…
…
The three remaining ZAFT Gundam Boys landed on top of a Submarine, getting pulled back into its hangars.
"No luck?" Athrun asked the sonar operator as soon as he arrived onto the bridge.
The operator shook his head. "No sir; we found the scraps of the unit, but there's no SOS from inside it. Our recovery drones didn't find anything either."
Athrun nearly punched the machinery in frustration.
"I guess he's MIA now." Dearka said with a hollow laugh.
Yzak seethed with anger at himself, Nicol, and the Strike.
Anger at the Strike for attacking so underhandedly.
Angry at Nicol for being so damned ready to jump the gun…
And angry at himself for not having acted in time to fish the boy out of the ocean.
"How dare you supercede my order, Athrun?!" The ZAFT Commander shouted over the radio, his face projected onto a screen in the bridge.
"Shut it." Athrun said softly. "A good commander should know when to pull out of the fight, and you gave field authority to me."
"With all due respect, sir." The captain of the sub said, saluting the screen. "We lost all forty DINNs, and we've recovered only six pilots…by all measures a retreat is the most logical course of action."
"I didn't ask for your opinion, Captain." The Commander snapped. "We lost two subs and forty DINNs and all we got was some of that ship's paintjob! This is unacceptable!"
"Don't you think we know that?" Athrun said wearily, feeling his rage build. "Commander, what do you propose we do to continue the attack, then?"
The Commander gritted his teeth, which was all he could do so far removed from the battle. "Watch your tone, boy."
Whatever he was going to say next was interrupted by an air raid siren.
…
The sky over the ZAFT base saw the presence of a single X-02 Wyvern, which then proceeded to, as one observer remarked, "Bomb the living hell out of that base."
…
"Archangel, this is Heartbreak One." Neil heard over the long distance radio.
"This is Sky Eye, report your situation." Neil replied.
"Strike on enemy base successful. Their hangars and radios are dead and I think I hit an ammo dump at some point." Captain Bartlett laughed. "We'll be home free for the rest of the trip."
"Copy that, Heartbreak One. Take vector 060 and return to ship."
"You got it, boss."
…
"What happened?" Athrun wondered as the line between The ZAFT Commander and the sub broke.
"Report from forward observatories:" An operator said. "A single fighter struck the base, heavy damage…I guess he's dead now."
"Well, shit." The captain said apathetically. "How unfortunate."
…
"So what did you find, kid?" Murdoch grumbled, until he saw the thing in the Strike's hands. "Well, I'll be damned, kid…you recovered a cockpit block?"
"The one belonging to the Blitz; I got it before it sank too deep." Kira said, gently putting the block down onto the Archangel Hangar floor.
"Before it sank indeed." Murdoch looked at the Strike's cockpit and the layer of water swirling at the bottom. "The Strike isn't built for underwater missions, goddammit." He bopped Kira on the head as if to make his point.
"Sorry, Murdoch." Kira said sheepishly.
"Nevermind, I guess." Murdoch sighed. "Oy! Get those tools over here! We're busting this open!"
…
A short moment of cutting later, the cockpit's hatch was pried away, and the EFA technicians (and two soldiers led by Murrue) saw the unconscious form of Nicol strapped in the seat.
"A red uniform? That makes him an Ace, doesn't it?" Blaze asked.
"It makes him an elite." Mu corrected him. "Let's get this guy to the medic bay before we question him."
…
"Jeez." Sai sighed, relaxing at the lounge for the first time in three days. "Nice going out there, Tolle." He laughed, clapping Tolle on the back.
"Me?" Tolle laughed in response. "Did you see those guys out there? Holy shit, I mean," Tolle made some weird motion with arms. "Holy shit."
"Tolle." Miriallia said tiredly.
"Sorry, Miri." Tolle calmed down, giving Miriallia the cuddle she was implicitly demanding.
"Kira!" Sai suddenly said, getting the brown-haired boy's attention.
Kira walked into the lounge, dropping with a sigh next to Sai.
"Think we're good for now?" Sai asked him worriedly.
"Probably." Kira shrugged. "I don't think ZAFT is going to try anything after a loss like that."
…
…
Elsewhere, a man watched a video, a very detailed video, concerning the Archangel's battle in ZAFT's Australian territory.
"Well, isn't this wonderful for us." The man smirked. "Looks like our Blue and Pure world can make people that can keep up with the damned mutants." He then scowled.
.
.
.
{ === + === }
For those of you wondering, the music that Sky Eye plays is the Comona theme from Ace Combat 4.
(You can find it easily enough on Youtube)