{ === + === }
"Well, that just happened." Bartlett said slowly.
Giga Float right now acted like the rest of the world: transfixed by the creation of a new nation without any sort of warning.
"Yeah." Yellow 13 agreed, a little stunned by the news.
Ribbon could care less. He was entirely focused upon the Stonehenge installation that unveiled itself within the Equatorial Union, and would've flown out to destroy it had Bartlett not interfered.
"I feel ya, Ribbon, I do." Bartlett had said. "But even if you go right now and destroy it you won't solve a thing."
The sad part is Bartlett was right. Upon the revelation of the Stonehenge installation, ZAFT attempted to destroy it with a cruise missile attack from one of their Submarines loitering around the EU waters.
The cruise missiles were all destroyed by a beam of light, indicating that this particular installation was better defended than the previous one. Incidentally, the ZAFT submarine was lost shortly after it had deployed its cruise missiles, with the reason for its loss was unknown.
Ribbon wasn't one to be stopped by logic, however, and thus Bartlett took the more extreme measure of cuffing Ribbon to his chair…and then cuffing the chair to the bolted down table in front of him.
"Was this really necessary?" Ribbon rattled the handcuff.
Bartlett chuckled. "Hey, you'll just run off into that thing at the first available opportunity, of course it's necessary."
"Concerning this new Usea," Yellow 13 spoke up. "What demands has it made?"
Bartlett sighed. "For a country run by so-called Belkans, it's demands have been pretty reasonable; they've offered to let anyone who wish to join them do so, as long as swear loyalty to the Republic of Usea first and foremost. A lot of the Eurasian EFA brass has already joined them…that is, they joined and gave the Useans territory, so that probably helped." Bartlett took a swig of his drink. "According to that Professor lady they've also invited the Giga Float to join them, promising to let Giga Float keep its autonomous status in exchange of letting Bel-sorry, Usea—handle their protection."
"And Orb?" Yellow 13 asked.
Bartlett shook his head. "I won't be surprised if Orb also got an invite, but based on what I've heard about the current Orb's head of state I'm pretty sure he won't accept the deal."
…
[PLANT]
…
"What's this about a 'republic'? Pah." Patrick Zala spat.
He hasn't been in a good mood ever since Siegel Clyne ran away. Of course, he took the necessary steps to ensure that the 'terrorists' responsible for the attack were properly punished to cover his tracks, but their failure didn't sit well with him.
"Sir?" His aide asked, and received the permission to continue speaking. "The Republic of Usea has requested for a ceasefire with PLANT."
"Denied." Patrick Zala snapped. "It's quite obvious that these so called Useans are just Natural dogs in a different color; just because they can change their coats doesn't protect them against the sin of destroying a colony."
…
[Copernicus City, Moon]
…
The now comparatively empty meeting room, a room that used to be filled with Federation commanders, told the remainder exactly what kind of scenario happened.
"So these Knights…" One of the remaining old generals laughed mirthlessly. "These so called Knights infiltrated our ranks, instigated all of these heinous attacks…and then have the audacity to create a new world order under the name of justice? Brilliant, absolutely brilliant." He looked around at the faces that are left. "I commend all of you for staying within the Atlantic Federation, and for maintaining our ideal."
"Even if we left now, I'm sure the dogs in Usea would have us assassinated." One of the lower ranking officers snarled. "Given the circumstances, we'll follow you to the end, general."
"Good…good." The General smiled. "Now then, let me think…"
Another officer raised his hand. "Sir, if I may, what if we exposed the truth to the world?"
"The truth?" The General laughed. "The truth is that we, the Federation, is evil. Truth, my dear boy, is formed by opinions; the masses believe what they wish to believe, and in turn their opinions frame what they believe as the truth." He sighed. "Whoever these Useans are, they know their audience quite well."
"Sir." An aide said. "If I may?"
"Speak."
"The Stonehenge installation in the EU is targeting Usea…and Orb, and the EU itself." The aide gulped.
An officer slammed his hand on the table. "This is preposterous! We don't have the command of the installation!"
The General Laughed. "That we do not…but people will not care." He gestured to the aide. "Make a public declaration: tell the world that we have lost control of this Stonehenge weapon to Blue Cosmos members, and they're attempting to terrorize the world into submission in retaliation of the creation of this…Usea." He glanced at a man wearing a blue coat.
The man smiled. "For a blue and pure world, a little bit of roughness is necessary…our reputation can certainly handle a few smears here and there."
…
[Republic of Usea Capital]
…
In a sparkling clean (if somewhat cramped) office, Cohen does his paperwork, while various aides relayed messages to him and the men assisting him.
"We've received a message from ZAFT: they rejected our plea for peace."
"The neutral country of Orb is unwilling to join us at this time."
"Giga Float has accepted our request to support, we are sending in a squadron of CFA-44 Nosferatu fighter jets to assist in its defense."
"The Gründer war factories and shipyards are operating at optimal capacity, and the production of X-02 Wyverns is proceeding as scheduled."
Cohen sat back. "Sounds like everything is going well."
"Of course." One of the men laughed. "Usea's stance on Naturals and Coordinators have made things remarkably easy…it's quite surprising how many people have no problems with living next to a supposed space alien. What bothers me is ZAFT, though…I take it they're not going to stop attacking the Earth."
"Dealing with a live threat from space is a little out of my field of expertise." Cohen laughed. "But if they decide to attack Usea, then we will retaliate with all of our might."
"But of course." Another of his non-aide men agreed. "For that is the code of the Belkan Knights."
"Sir." An aide interrupted. "Message from the Atlantic Federation Headquarters: the Stonehenge ring in the EU has been compromised by the Blue Cosmos."
Cohen raised an eyebrow. "Really now? Send word to our pilots, take that turret down before those terrorists can use it to kill the innocent."
"Yes sir." The aide saluted and rushed out.
Even though you know that the ring is under our control, you didn't even bat an eyelash. One of the most venerable men sitting behind Cohen thought. Looks like you understand exactly why we built those rings, Cohen.
…
While the orders came down to destroy the ring, the Usean pilots deployed for the task were unable to approach the Stonehenge installation, due to it being, y'know, a massive anti-aircraft defensive system.
Cohen, having foresaw this (like everyone else familiar with Stonehenge) only sent and lost a token amount of aircraft in the attack, bolstering Usea's freshly established reputation of being "a protector of the people" in the process. While the attack was done with only a minimal amount of pilots, the subtext was plenty clear for the other two factions: Usea has its own military with an unknown (but possibly very great) production capability…along with their own technology.
This realization led the other two factions to retreat for the next two months, as Usea continued to annex more and more territory until it encompassed almost the entire Eurasian continent, despite the clear threat presented by the Stonehenge defensive system, which fired upon the continent sporadically and seemingly without any real aim.
In response to every attack, Usea (and occasionally ZAFT) would launch a concerted strike with cruise missiles and fighters only to fail abysmally. The Federation (what's left of it) seemed perfectly content to sit in the Northern and Southern Americas and defend their territory against the occasional ZAFT incursion.
This period of simmering war would last through the entire two months…
…
[Equatorial Union, Mercenary Airfield]
…
Cipher, as you might remember, had a contract to clear out the airspace above the EU, which he did in the first week. Due to both his and the other ace's exemplary performances, the EU extended the contract for his entire mercenary company, and they spent the two months flying easy patrols in the skies over the Equatorial Union…which saw a remarkable drop in conflict almost immediately after the creation of Usea, and the rebels practically disappeared when it abandoned its neutrality in favor of joining Usea. Most people credited this to the presence of the Wyvern fighters deployed by the Usean pilots, which were far superior to the Spearheads the EFA fielded.
In particular, Cipher's reputation in combat gave him attention, and most importantly…
"We got a bigger contract this time." Crux said as Cipher took a break from tuning his new machine. A part of him wished that the machine's manual wasn't so poorly written and that they had ZAFT mechanics on-board, or at least mechanics familiar with ZAFT equipment.
"Oh?" Canopus looked at the document Crux was holding. "Well…looks like someone's finally going to do something about that thing."
"What, they're hiring people to attack Stonehenge?" Cipher asked.
"Not quite." Crux shook his head. "They're trying to hire people who can scout the defensive platform long enough for everyone else to have an idea on what it is capable of."
It turns out that this particular version of Stonehenge was perfectly able to make trans-atmospheric attacks. The range on its weird laser weapon wasn't very wide, but it is able to snipe down any satellites that tried to get a read upon its defensive systems.
That little gem of knowledge (found out during the third week of the peaceful two months) was probably why ZAFT stayed the hell out of that particular spot with their orbiting ships.
"Geez, we're two months in and they still couldn't do anything about it?" Chopper groaned. "Man, I don't know about you, but I don't feel like taking this job no matter how good it pays."
A laser defense system…it probably is the Excalibur. Cipher thought, and not for the first time. I wonder if I can get a closer look now that I have this thing?
"Cipher, you listening?" Chopper tapped him on the shoulder.
"Yeah." Cipher nodded. "This sounds like an interesting job."
"What?!" Chopper exclaimed. "You're insane!"
"Well…it feels like we can do it." Cipher said, looking up at his new unit.
"Look, I know you're good…hell, the best there is, even." Chopper said. "But you and that Guy of yours are going to get yourselves killed!"
Cipher's Guy is actually a ZGMF-600 GuAIZ, a successor to the ZGMF-1017 GINN and ZGMF-515 CGUE.
Incidentally, let's go with the Japanese pronunciation and call it "Gates".
Developed with the data from the stolen federation mobile suits, the ZGMF-600 GuAIZ is the next generation front line unit ZAFT is attempting to field in order to replace the GINN. With a body that looks like someone stole a GINN's shoulders and slapped them onto a CGUE, the GuAIZ boasted heavier armor and stronger thrusters, giving it unparalleled performance in space…at least during testing.
The Standard GuAIZ is equipped with head mounted Vulcans, a medium sized shield (itself equipped with small beam emitters that can create claws), a pair of grappling cables equipped with beam spikes, and a beam rifle developed from the GAT-series data, easily equaling to the Gundam's rifles in power output.
Cipher's suit has none of that. The EU contacts were unable to acquire a full production model.
Well, Cipher's suit has the head mounted Vulcans and the grapple cables, but that's it. Instead, it was customized and equipped according to what materials and weaponry they had available. Lacking in experience in mobile suit combat, Cipher simply went with his heart in how to best equip his new unit.
As such, Cipher's customized ZGMF-616 GuAIZ Keeper (Pronounced as 'Gatekeeper') was equipped with a pair of solid swords (Taken from killed GINNS), leg-mounted missile tubes strapped to the armor, underarm auto cannons (Taken from GINNs again) and beam spikes installed in the unit's feet (Special delivery from Gründer). The most impressive upgrade was its extended flight pack—complete with vector thrust engines—that contained both the maneuverability and the power to let Cipher maneuver as he desired within the atmosphere…within reason, since if the g-forces were too much the wings would snap off.
So now he has a GuAIZ that looks like a CGUE with a GINN's shoulders with the spikes of an Aile Strike pack strapped to a rocket engine sticking out from behind it.
At the very least it was all painted nicely.
"By the way, that thing looks like it's going to fall apart at any second." Chopper remarked, gesturing to the GuAIZ.
"Well…it didn't when you said that last week." Cipher laughed. "I can handle it."
Cipher's GuAIZ was painted with a uniform ash-gray with its shoulders and wings painted black. On its chest and shoulders was the emblem of Galm, of the hell hound biting its chain.
"Well…if you say so." Canopus frowned. "Antares actually requested to go as well…Frankly, I don't like the idea of a giant ring of cannons under the control of terrorists, but at the same time I can't, in good conscience, let the two of you walk into a mission with such lopsided conditions."
Cipher smirked. "Yeah. Maybe if they had two of these things it'll be actually be fair."
Chopper made a face. "You just jinxed all of us."
…
[Outside of Stonehenge interception zone, 1100 hours]
…
Cipher's GuAIZ coasted through the sky, flying below and slightly behind a Spearhead with a scorpion for a logo.
Cipher glanced at the plane. "You don't talk much, do you?"
The two spent the past thirty minutes of flight in total silence.
"Chopper does the talking." Antares replied. "There's not much to say out here."
"Just let your flying do the talking, I see…" Cipher smiled. "So which outfit were you from? I don't remember seeing an emblem like that."
"Mercenary." Antares said tersely. "And different from you and Chopper entirely."
Cipher thought about that for a moment. "So…ever heard of a William Bishop?"
"No."
Cipher rolled his eyes. Antares being naturally unsociable made this conversation happen much later and slower than it should have. His threat radar then beeped a warning, showing another fighter coming in to meet them…roughly from the direction of the Giga Float.
"Unidentified fighter, state your intentions." Cipher said over the general frequency.
"Galm One? Is that you?" Bartlett replied, surprised. "I thought I recognized the paintjob. When did you switch to a mobile suit?"
"Not too long ago." Cipher admitted. "I'm getting the hang of it, but it's certainly a lot easier to fly without having to worry about my six all the time."
Bartlett, in an X-02, positioned itself next to Cipher.
"Are we done chit-chatting?" Antares butted in.
"Just about; and who might you be?" Bartlett asked.
The reply was terse. "Antares, Antares One."
"Never heard of you." Bartlett laughed. "Well, if you're flying on Cipher's wing then I guess you have what it takes."
"He does." Cipher laughed. "More importantly, are we all here to take down Stonehenge?"
"Yeah." Bartlett scowled. "It's about high time we killed that overgrown bastard."
…
[Everywhere]
…
Suddenly, every Television station was given a special broadcast (that they could show, if they wanted…and all of them did). The good people of everywhere were then treated to a far view of the Stonehenge defensive ring, with the title text "USEA MOUNTS ATTACK ON TERRORIST INSTALLATION" scrolling on the bottom.
And, naturally, everyone stopped to look.
…
[Stonehenge Airspace, 1100 hours]
…
"Incoming!" Cipher warned.
Best thing about the GuAIZ: it has far better electronics than the other units.
The three units broke formation and dove to the deck, almost hugging the ocean surface, as explosions sounded above them.
"Looks like they saw us coming." Bartlett muttered.
It's not like the EU or the Giga Float are outside Stonehenge's range; they knew we were coming from a long ways away. Why did they start shooting now? Cipher wondered. He then raised an eyebrow. "What the hell…? Incoming! Break!"
Everyone pulled up as an explosion buffeted the ocean surface, digging out holes in the ocean beneath them.
"Looks like they're using new ammunition. Keep your eyes peeled!" Bartlett ordered.
"I see it! Damn…that thing's huge!" Antares exclaimed.
Cipher glanced down. "High energy signature…break!"
The three crafts diverted from their approach once more…as a beam of light cut through where they used to be.
"Yep, that's the Excalibur alright." Cipher and Bartlett said almost simultaneously. "More from Stonehenge!" Cipher added.
"Jeez, they really don't like us." Bartlett grinned, diving for the deck once more to avoid the next barrage.
"We should thank them for only firing two rounds at a time." Cipher laughed. "Laser! Antares, break left!"
He does, and the laser harmlessly throws itself into the ocean.
…
[Stonehenge Control Center]
…
"Why aren't they stopping?!" The commander in charge demanded as the two planes and one mobile suit dodged again and again, flying ever closer to the Stonehenge ring. An aide opened his mouth to answer, but the commander overrode him. "Activate all assets! Those guys are dangerous! Kill them with everything we have!"
…
[Our guys]
…
"We might have made them angry." Cipher said lightly. "Break hard, Stonehenge is opening up on us."
The three craft scatter in different directions as the Stonehenge rounds obliterate the sky around them.
What's this? Cipher wondered as a small blip showed up on radar and vanished.
A new voice came over the radio. "It's a cruise missile! All units raise your altitude!"
"Who are you?!" Antares demanded.
"Listen to him!" Bartlett snapped back, climbing with full afterburners.
The other units obeyed and zoomed to above 5000 feet before the sky below them lit up with one hell of a fireworks show.
"Good to have you here, Thunderhead." Bartlett breathed.
"Thunderhead, Roger." The voice said…it sounded like it was smiling. "Wardog, and all allied assets, I'll be taking over the role of electronic support. I'm uploading combat data to your flight computers now."
"What was that…damn!" Cipher dropped like a stone again to avoid a Stonehenge shot. "Let us talk, dammit!" He complained to the massive gun trying to kill him.
"All units, Stonehenge is protected by multiple layers of defenses! Don't let your guard down!" Thunderhead called out.
"I can see that!" Antares gritted his teeth and barely avoided being fried by the Excalibur laser.
…
"They're…steadily getting closer." The Stonehenge commander observed. "Are we using everything we have?"
"No, but-"
The Commander grabbed the operator by the collar of his uniform. "Use everything we have. Do you understand me? If they reach us we DIE. They're going to get us, and we're going to DIE."
Geez, aren't you a bright ray of sunshine. The operator thought. "Yes sir."
…
"Enemy submarine launching burst missile!" Thunderhead warned. "Climb!"
"Dammit!" Bartlett climbed again and suddenly inverted to avoid being blown to pieces by Stonehenge. "I regret my life choices right now!"
"You said it!" Cipher laughed, zooming across the skies and darting around the massive explosions made by the Stonehenge rounds. "Oh SHIT that was close!" He then exclaimed as a beam of light zoomed by beneath him.
"What the…more missiles coming from above!" Thunderhead warned again. "Missile fired from enemy sub! Incoming from Stonehenge! Jesus!"
Antares gritted his teeth. "Stonehenge packs this much firepower?" He dove to skim the water surface, then climbed again, and felt his Spearhead shake from the strain.
"Where's Jesus coming from?!" Barlett demanded with a grin.
Thunderhead counted down. "3…2…1…impact!"
The sky lit up with a multitude of explosions from the Strangereal super weapons, and the three crafts disappeared from view.
…
[Archangel]
…
"Wow, that's insane." Talisman breathed, watching the displayed image on the TV turn completely white from the explosions.
"Do you know what they were?" Kira asked, feeling the cold, clammy despair at the bottom of his stomach.
"The Stonehenge ring you're probably familiar with…it's a large scale rail gun system." Talisman said, "With enough power to destroy asteroid fragments with a single shot. The laser is the Excalibur laser defense system…it's also the thing they shot into space a few weeks back, probably, and it looks like those guys are using two different types of Burst missiles." One from the Yuktobanian submarines, and one that was launched over Gracemeria. He thought to himself. "It looks like both missiles are built to deal serious damage over a wide area."
"We need to get our asses over there." Blaze snarled. "All of those weapons are long-range weapons; if Stonehenge isn't destroyed right now there's no telling what's going to happen or who they're going to target at next."
"They were silent for two months. Maybe they'll be silent for more." Natarle said hopefully.
"Do you want your safety to rely on crossing your fingers?" Mu La Flaga sighed. "Captain?"
Murrue nodded. "We're deploying as well; let Morgenroete know."
Following the declaration from Cohen about the creation of Usea, the Archangel took it as a sign that maybe sticking with the Federation wasn't the best idea and deserted, fleeing to Orb for repairs and resupply.
Their arrival into Orb's harbor was quite timely, as it coincided with a shuttle from space…a shuttle carrying prominent ZAFT politician Siegel Clyne, his daughter Lacus, and several bodyguards in his employment.
Two of those bodyguards stand with the Archangel crew right now as they watch the news in a Morgenroete break room.
"I don't think the Archangel should deploy." Kira said. "The ship won't be fast enough to escape that kind of punishment."
"I'm of the same mind." Mu La Flaga nodded. "But do we have the range to get there and fight if we launch from Orb?"
"I don't think any of us have a craft capable of flying out that far on its own." Murakumo Gai, one of the bodyguards, said.
"Not even that Gundam of yours?" Kira asked. Gai shook his head slightly. "Damn."
"I suppose we can take spare batteries." The other mercenary thought aloud. "It will ensure that we have enough energy to fight, at least…although it means we'll need to be picked up by the Archangel later."
Murrue brushed them all off. "The Archangel will sail at maximum speed towards the Stonehenge installation and use the nearby island for cover; we will then deploy combat aircraft from the ship."
"I uh…" Mu stared at her. "I don't think it's going to be that easy."
Murrue smiled. "It won't be…but it sure as hell won't be for a lack of trying."
Talisman, however, was suddenly struck by a thought. We pilots from the other world consider Stonehenge…and all these other superweapons, to be a bane towards peace. Having one would put you on all of our hit lists for a long, long time, so who would gather them all in one place…and more importantly, why?
…
[Giga Float]
…
Two Gründer mechanics looked at a pair of empty cuffs still attached to a chair, but no longer attached to the bolted-down table.
Incidentally, the table was also no longer bolted down.
"Is it our problem?" One of them asked. "Is it going to be our problem?"
"Nah." The other one replied, casually pocketing his screwdriver in one of his pockets.
…
[Skies over Stonehenge]
…
Ribbon, in his commandeered X-02, zoomed towards the battlefield, every pore in his body screaming to destroy the giant ring of cannons. It could be considered destiny, almost.
So focused he was, he didn't notice the aircraft bearing down on him until it was almost too late…not that it mattered, as he was going far too fast to actually maneuver even though he was practically hugging the ocean surface.
As a result, Ribbon zoomed past the unknown fighter trying to intercept him and caught a glimpse of the fighter's body.
What was that? Ribbon wondered, going over the shape of the aircraft in his mind that was sent to stop him and realizing that he's never seen one before…and then noting with alarm that it was actually catching up to him.
"Well, if you want to tango, now isn't the time." Ribbon muttered, slowing down to a speed that actually let him maneuver.
"Ooh…a Ribbon." The pilot of the other aircraft said. "This is going to be fun."
Mobius One waited for the other aircraft to get close to him before executing a barrel roll, and as he did so he caught a glimpse of the emblem on the other aircraft. A butterfly?
He was then surprised once again as the aircraft in front of him executed an inhumanly tight full turn while bleeding off speed, getting behind him once again.
The other pilot laughed, unheard by Mobius One. "Gotcha, Ribbon!"
Mobius One smiled slightly despite himself and turned sharply to avoid the pair of missiles fired at him from the other plane. "Interesting…I haven't seen someone like you around before." He muttered.
The other aircraft was no slouch, and it turned to align Mobius One in its gun sight and opened fire with its vulcans.
Mobius One responded by suddenly flipping and dropping altitude again to dodge the trail of bullets, almost skimming the water surface in the process. He then pulled up and high as the other fighter flew straight to gain speed before following him.
"Interesting." Mobius One muttered and performed a relaxed turn, breaking off his climb to let the other fighter catch up.
The other fighter happily took the invitation and fired a missile at Mobius One, who jinked heavily in response and released a flare.
It seems to have trouble following. Mobius One thought, noting the unstable speed of the other aircraft and its occasionally sluggish controls. It's not controlled by a human pilot, I think…not a Natural or a Coordinator.
"Whoa!" The other pilot exclaimed as Mobius One's X-02 executed a Pugachev's Cobra, its nose pulling straight into the air as if sliding on its tail. In response, the other craft slowed down by simply rolling.
"Thought so." Mobius One murmured, letting his nose drop straight down towards the ocean before hitting his engines again.
"Hey! Come back here!" The other pilot nosed down to follow, and stuck close to Ribbon's tail as he performed another barrel roll.
Except this time, the other fighter suddenly lost control and fell out of the sky for a few precious seconds, giving Ribbon enough time to sit behind it and fire his guns.
That looks like a CFA-44. Mobius One thought as the other aircraft regained control and evaded most of the fire he poured upon it. But it's a bit stockier than normal…a customized unit?
As the other aircraft climbed up again, Mobius One smiled slightly and followed.
…
[Stonehenge]
…
The commander of the installation sat back to watch the dogfight on the largest monitor he had. "Whew…I don't know who that fighter was but thank god he's there."
One of the war room operators scanned the screens in front of him. "We're finally getting readings again from our scanners."
As it turns out, firing a lot of large scale weapons in one place tend to be bad for the electronics, no matter how well shielded they are.
"Good, good…do we see anything?" The commander asked.
"Visual scanners have no contact." Another operator reported. "There's a lot of smoke and a few clouds in the sky."
The commander scratched his chin. "Hmm…don't deactivate any of our weapons, prepare for a second barrage."
"Are you sure, sir?" An operator asked. "This seems like a bit of overkill for just three enemy units."
"One of them is the Demon Lord of the Round Table." The commander clenched his fists. "Against him, nothing is overkill."
…
[Ocean around Stonehenge]
…
"Cipher, you alright?" Bartlett asked.
"Yeah." Cipher breathed. "Unit status normal, if we want to hit them now's the time." Cipher had burned the wings out and detached them to both drag the other two fighters down to the ocean surface and provide them with some form of protection against the steel rain.
The three of them stared at the far off shoreline of Stonehenge.
Bartlett gritted his teeth. "I think we've gone far enough. We've learned that this Stonehenge installation's got a lot of cards to play…and I'm pretty sure it has more." He then switched through a few radio channels. "Heartbreak One to Thunderhead, do you read?"
Nothing.
"Well, I expected as much." Bartlett grumbled. "We should get out of here."
"We can definitely hit it from here, though." Antares insisted.
"I agree." Cipher said. "But at the same time, if they throw all that shit at us again we're not going to get away from it a second time…hell, they might even bombard us until they're definitely sure we're dead next time."
"Yeah. All units, return to base, we need to be smart about this." Bartlett declared, and the three units skimmed along the ocean surface away from Stonehenge.
…
"Looks like they couldn't do it." Kira observed as the three units going into the Stonehenge airspace retreated. "Maybe they're worried it had more stuff to throw at them?"
"Smart move." Mu La Flaga agreed. "I'm pretty sure all of us thought it was just a Stonehenge installation with a high powered laser…not that it wasn't deadly enough already." He chuckled drily. "But if what we've just seen is any indication, that thing probably has more defenses waiting…conventional, unconventional, you name it."
"Yikes." Kira gulped. "Not going to lie, I'm getting cold feet."
"You and me both." Mu laughed. "But we're not going to back down from this."
"Imagine if its full power is unleashed on a country." Kira nodded and scowled. Athrun…if you want to pull more of that berserker thing of yours, now's the time.
…
[ZAFT Base Carpentaria]
…
Athrun, despite his desire to burn Stonehenge to the ground, was going back to Space.
"Orders from your pops, I don't think you can ignore them now that he's practically the king of Plant." Dearka muttered. "Though I have to wonder, why is Yzak going as well?"
"Beats me." Yzak shrugged. "Oy, Athrun."
Athrun shook his head. "I imagine that he has his reasons…hell if I know what they are right now."
The parent and child hasn't had much in terms of contact for a while.
Yzak scratched his face. "Weird."
…
[Stonehenge Airspace]
…
The battle between Mobius One and the Butterfly aircraft was rapidly drawing to a close.
The butterfly aircraft jinked left and right, trying to shake off the Wyvern sitting close on its tail, but to no avail. After figuring out the enemy's maneuverability, Ribbon simply stayed a little but further than normal against it, and as such any of the Butterfly aircraft's sudden maneuvering was countered by a swift streak of bullets on the aircraft's fuselage.
As a result, the butterfly aircraft is looking a little worse for the wear.
The Butterfly aircraft performed a barrel roll one more time, and Mobius One responded by firing an XLAA and detonating it immediately.
"What? You cheater!" The butterfly pilot said to herself as her maneuver brought her straight into the path of the XLAA debris and shoved said metallic debris straight into her engines.
The act wasn't fatal by any means, but it was able to slow the recovery of the butterfly craft long enough for Mobius One to get behind it again.
"Wow, this is going for way longer than I thought." The butterfly aircraft pilot exclaimed.
Another voice chided her. "This has gone for way too long. Your time is almost up."
"Ugh. fine." The pilot huffed and then hit full afterburners. "We'll play again someday, Ribbon."
Since the two weren't communicating on a general line, Mobius One didn't hear the message. He was, however, very surprised at the butterfly aircraft simply pulling away and zooming off into the sky.
"Huh." Mobius One looked down at his gauges. "Damn…got too carried away." He said upon noting that he was almost out of energy, and then raised an eyebrow in surprise as he received a private message containing a set of coordinates, very close to where he was now.
Feeling like he doesn't have anything to lose (and unwilling to go back to the Giga Float lest Bartlett cuff him to something heavier than a bolted down table) Mobius One turned and headed towards the specified coordinates.
…
[Unspecified Coordinates]
…
Soon, Mobius one saw the arrowhead-shaped hull of a Spengler-class Federation aircraft carrier on the water, and quickly received a
"We have one aircraft coming in." An air traffic reported. "Unidentified aircraft, please state your identifications."
"Don't have any." Mobius One said tersely. "Someone gave me a map to be here."
"Roger that, aircraft. Do you have a callsign?" The tower operator asked.
"The callsign is Mobius One." Ribbon replied.
There was a sound not unlike a man falling off of his chair. "Uh…sure. Mobius One, you are cleared to land. Welcome to the Kestrel."
Weird name. Mobius One thought. "Roger, I'm coming in to land."
…
"So…what's this about, sir…?" Ribbon asked once he took a seat in the captain's quarters (by special invitation). The captain sitting across from him was old, but had an air of authority that came from a lifetime of service and command.
"Captain Anderson…it's an honor to meet the ace of the Independent State Allied Forces, Mobius One." The captain cleared his throat. "As you may be aware, the presence of the Stonehenge defensive system presents a clear and grave danger to the safety and well-being of Usea…or more importantly, the people living within the Usean borders."
Ribbon didn't think much about the politics of the world at this moment. "I am aware. What do you plan to do about it?"
"Look at this." Anderson directed Ribbon to a small television screen, where the two of them watched some of the footage of Stonehenge's interception against Cipher's group (though Ribbon didn't know it was them). "It's quite apparent that this particular installation has more than one set of defenses…attempting to attack it without knowing its weaknesses is tantamount to suicide."
Plus that weird fighter might show up again. Ribbon thought. "Ok, go on."
"That is why we are currently gathering skilled pilots, so that when we do have the necessary information, we will be able to collectively assault the defensive system in one go." Captain Anderson said. "And to facilitate that eventuality, we've been ordered to give you this." He hands over a letter, a medal, and a disk.
"Ok…what's this?" Ribbon asked, tapping the pile.
"This is an Executive Order of Action." Captain Anderson said. "As long as you have it, Usean assets within your vicinity will grant you unquestioned support, so long as you ask. It is our way of organizing a very large array of pilots in what will likely be a very chaotic situation."
Ribbon frowned. "And you're doing this for an independent pilot why?"
"Because we have an interest in protecting the people, and…well, to do that we need skilled pilots." Anderson smiles slightly. "There's no catch, I can promise you that."
Ribbon, seeing no real downsides to having something like this, took the Order of Action and pocketed it.
"Excellent." Anderson stood up, and Ribbon did the same. "We'll refuel and resupply your X-02; I imagine you wouldn't want to stay on a possibly hostile carrier for very long."
"If I had that kind of doubt I wouldn't have landed to begin with." Ribbon replied.
Both were suddenly interrupted by a very harried ensign. "Sir!" He said with a quick salute. "Orb has been occupied by the EFA!"
…
What's left of the Federation has received a unique opportunity; it was no public enemy number one, as far as the politics of the world stage was concerned.
This meant that any action it takes will be vilified by all of its enemies…in other words, it was now free to take any kind of action that it saw fit.
As such, the EFA deployed a substantial fleet off of the coast of Orb.
"I see no reason to bother with such trifles. It's not like they'll believe us anyway." Murata Azrael, leader of the Blue Cosmos and freshly home on Earth from Copernicus, said in response to one of his officers suggesting that they demand Orb to surrender. "All units commence attack, secure the airspace over Orb and bombard it with EMP warheads, stop them from doing anything stupid like destroying their Mass Driver."
"Do you really think they'll do that?" One of his officers muttered as he watched the EFA's new toy, the GAT-01 Strike Dagger, deploy one by one off of the ships along with the F-7D Spearheads.
"Well…" Azrael said thoughtfully. "They have that Giga Float, and Orb's leader is a fierce protector of his country's independence. Seems pretty likely to me."
"Won't that big cannon shoot at us?" Another officer inquired.
"If Usea wants to keep their knight in shining armor routine, they won't." Azrael laughed. It's a pity the Extended project isn't quite ready yet, but we'll make do with what we've got here. He thought to himself. "Did you send that message to Orb though?" He asked one of the officers, "The message I specifically penned for him?"
…
Fortunately, the Archangel departed from Orb several hours before it came under attack.
Unfortunately, this meant that the ship was no longer able to assist Orb in its defenses.
While Orb's military was technologically formidable, and they were able to roll out several M1 Astrays just in time for the fight, it was ultimately futile as the Orb forces lacked a battle line and thus folded quickly against the EFA's rapid and relentless assault.
As such, the situation is immensely bad for Orb, with the EFA forces rolling over the Orb emplacements and tanks as if they were barely there. The only good news, it can be said, is that the EFA has yet to deploy ground troops to secure their foothold on Orb; Morgenroete was still tightly defended, and the amount of footsoldiers the Federation could spare was certainly finite.
…
Uzumi Nara Athha, the current Chief Representative of Orb, seethed in anger as the letter he received from the Federation suffered in his grip.
It read: "Dear Uzumi: if you do anything stupid like blowing up your Mass Driver, I'll have everyone in Orb lined up and shot." It was signed by Murata Azrael.
Uzumi knew Azrael was no fool: an action like that would sign the death sentence for the Blue Cosmos and the Federation as a whole…under normal circumstances. However, now that the Blue Cosmos held the Stonehenge installation (as far as Uzumi knows) they were already in a position beyond recovery…and most people would have no problems isolating the Blue Cosmos from the Federation should it conduct a genocide of this scale.
And then Azrael would simply watch his faction burn to the ground while he makes a quiet exit, protected as he is by the Federation's commanders.
Uzumi consoled himself with the thought that his daughter, the rebellious tomboy that she was, snuck onto the Archangel when she thought he wasn't paying attention.
…
"Oh, so they did it after all?" Was Cohen's response upon hearing of Orb's plight.
"Sir?" The aide asked uncertainly.
"And here I thought Azrael was just a warmongering idiot." Cohen smirked. "So, gentlemen." He turned to face the Grey Men seated behind him across a massive round table. "Your thoughts?"
"It's time for the Knights to make its entrance." One of them said with a grin, as the rest nodded their approval.
"I thought as much." Cohen laughed. "Prepare a press conference and give me a direct line to our commanders out on the field."
…
[Archangel, 1 hour into the EFA's invasion of Orb]
…
The mood aboard the Archangel was suitably grim.
"Damn. They really went out of their way with this one." Mu La Flaga muttered.
"Let's go." Kira scowled. "Whoever they are, let's go."
Murrue glanced at Kira; ever since he realized that a certain Lacus Clyne was still in Orb the boy has been a bit restless. "Kira, we can't fight an entire army."
"Like hell we can't." Blaze growled. "Stonehenge can wait, it's not going anywhere."
"Orb's occupational force isn't going anywhere either." Natarle pointed out, earning her a glare from Blaze. "That being said, he's right. Stonehenge isn't an immediate threat…the loss of Orb is."
"Because that's where we get our supplies, right?" Murrue sighed. "So how do you guys plan to defeat an entire invading army…without them burning Orb to the ground in the process?"
"We hit them hard and fast." Talisman responded. "We hit them NOW, before they have had a chance to deploy their ground forces in any real capacity."
"That sounds all nice and good, but you can't fight off hundreds of enemies alone." Natarle said. "And by the time you've made it back to Orb chances are you won't have the energy left to fight."
"So we'll sink the invasion ships and get the hell out." Blaze growled.
"And if it takes us three hours to go back to Orb by ship to save energy it certainly won't be fast…" Mu mused. "Well, this is plenty bad."
"We'll take spare canisters." Blaze snapped. "I'm done sitting around. Let's do this."
"What the…wait!" Murrue said, but Blaze had already charged out of the bridge. She tugged at her hair in frustration. "Arg…why is he so stubborn? Neuman, we're heading back to Orb, maximum speed! All units prepare to sortie!"
…
…
Little did Blaze know, someone already pre-empted his plan.
One of the Federation ship officers heard a threat alarm go off. "Captain, we have an incoming contact moving towards us low and fast."
"Shoot it down. Anything that comes near the invasion ship is an enemy." The Captain said dismissively. "Request supporting fire from the nearby ships as well."
"Yes sir. This is the Invasion Fleet Defense Task Force Flagship requesting allied supporting fire…"
…
The enemy unit was a GuAIZ, a ZAFT unit that the ZAFT army itself has yet to deploy in any serious numbers. The GuAIZ, utilizing its powerful engines, maneuvered through the streams of incoming fire like a dancer and leveled its thin, long looking gun at the nearest invasion ship, still a long distance away.
…
The captain of the Invasion fleet defense flagship then blinked in surprise as a beam of light emitted from the unknown enemy and struck one of the invasion ships, causing an explosion that ripped the ship in half, probably killing all the soldiers on board as well.
"What the…recall our task forces! Protect the invasion fleet!" The captain ordered, before another streak of light caught his attention.
…
The GuAIZ pilot glanced at the burning remains of what used to be the bridge of the nearest ship, before flying low and hard towards his next target.
…
[Five minutes later]
…
Murata Azrael looked on, stunned, at the image of the invasion fleet ships in various stages of burning and sinking.
"And all this was done by a single enemy unit." Azrael half stated, half asked.
"Yes…yes sir." The aide gulped. "We have an image of the aggressor."
The GuAIZ appeared on screen. It was white, with a single wing painted Red, and carrying a large, menacing looking gun in its left hand.
"ZAFT…!" Azrael snarled.
…
Speaking of ZAFT.
As far as the invasion of Orb goes, ZAFT could not have cared less.
Sure, there was a release of a public statement condoning the Federation's actions, but nobody really cared or expected it to work.
Instead, ZAFT was busy preparing itself for an attack on Copernicus City…and the Artemis Station.
So they're sitting this one out, but as Rau Le Creuse rightfully said: "I'm sure they'll find a way to blame us for something somehow."
…
[Archangel Bridge]
…
"Eh? Orb's saved?" Kira asked hopefully.
"Not quite." Miriallia responded, still manning the controls. "But it looks like someone struck and destroyed all of the EFA invasion ships…so they're probably not going to have the troops ready in time for a full occupation."
"It doesn't change the fact that Morgenroete and many of Orb's key positions have been taken by the EFA." Natarle added. "However, at least we now have a little breathing room…whoever that pilot is he did us a world of good today."
"Indeed…we can now at least make a plan." Murrue smiled a little. "So someone drag Blaze out of his cockpit before he sulks himself to death or something."
…
[Giga Float]
…
I recognize that paintjob was Ribbon's first thought when saw the grainy image of the white-and-red GuAIZ. Funny how things work out.
"Looks like he's here too, huh?" Bartlett remarked upon seeing Ribbon stare at the display on the screen.
"Imagine Cipher's face when he sees this." Ribbon grinned. "So what's the plan?"
The two of them turn to look at the tactical map projected on a large table behind them.
"We're hitting them at dawn tomorrow morning." Yellow 13 said. "While I would've liked a night raid to increase our chances of success…"
"…we run into too great of a chance to damage civilians buildings as a result." Ribbon finished. "So we're going to fight in the daylight against a bigger enemy."
"Something we're all used to by now, I suspect." Bartlett chuckled. "Now, since I didn't see the Archangel sortie to defend Orb, I'm assuming that they've left…probably to tackle Stonehenge. Knowing where they get their supplies, they'll probably come in through here." Bartlett indicated the southwest corner of the map. "We'll come in through up here." Bartlett pointed to the northern edge. "Since the majority of EFA warships are grouped near here" He pointed to the northeastern corner" Our plan is to drive clean through the area and head to Morgenroete…"
[Archangel]
"…Since Morgenroete is Orb's primary military base and houses the majority of Orb's firepower, freeing it will add considerably to our success." Mu La Flaga said, pointing to a map that looked very similar to the one used by Bartlett. "After the liberation of Morgenroete, we will swing clockwise through Orb and strike at every EFA unit we see." Arrows denoting the Archangel units do just that on the map. "With luck, we'll liberate enough of Orb's assets to let them form a battle line by themselves while we flow to different combat areas…"
[Equatorial Union]
"…But ultimately, if we do not destroy the enemy fleet, it will all be meaningless." Canopus concluded, as arrows denoting the EU units flew towards the right side of the map. "Thus, following the liberation of the majority of Orb's ground assets, all available units will assault the enemy fleet directly. The goal is the total destruction of the enemy fleet and the liberation of Orb." He looked at the assembled pilots. "Everyone get some sleep. It's going to be a tough morning for all of us tomorrow."
.
.
.
{ === + === }
Author Notes:
Stonehenge is now SUPER Stonehenge.
And Orb is now SUPER screwed Orb. But only for the next twelve hours or so.