{ === + === }
[Giga Float, 0700 Hours]
"Mister Ribbon, how do you like your new aircraft?"
Ribbon circled around the finished prototype he helped develop. "I have to admit I've never seen anything like this before."
The chief Gründer Engineer laughed. "And we've never worked on something like this before, either! It will be an honor for its maiden flight to be under the hands of the Reaper himself."
Ribbon stepped back from his new plane, marveling at how…stable, the design looks, despite having been born from the two most unstable aircrafts in the history of Strangereal aviation.
His new aircraft looked like a fatter, longer version of a CFA-44 Nosferatu. Data gathered from the XFA-27 was also incorporated within it, as well as EFA, Orb, and ZAFT design philosophies…the end product, while still retaining the overall body shape of the Nosferatu, now contained drastically enhanced electronics, a reinforced airframe (complete with a refined Phase Shift armor that eats less power when active) and, perhaps most impressively, armored vectored thrusters located all around the body of the aircraft to give it both unparalleled mobility in the sky (owing to the G-force dampeners taken from the Strike's data) and impressive agility in the vacuum of space.
"We've decided to call it the CFA-144 'Dracula'." The Chief mechanic said, getting a raised eyebrow from Ribbon. "What? It's good naming sense."
Ribbon looked at the fighter painted in his colors (a pale metallic blue) and didn't see the connection. "What are its armaments like?"
"Climb inside and find out." The mechanic grinned.
Ribbon obliged, turned on the main computer, and whistled.
In front of him was a massive blank screen nestled between two other panels of displays. He touched the main panel and was surprised to find out that it was a computer monitor (with a sophisticated graphical user interface) and then his attention was grabbed by the large, shiny button labeled "WEAPONS".
Eight sets of auto-cannons, with two in the back; all on swivel mounts. He tallied in his head. Eight light missile hardpoints for dogfights, four heavy missile hardpoints for the large targets, and a pair of Electromagnetic Launchers to tackle anything stubborn like mobile suits.
His eyes then wandered down to the bottom of the list. "OLDS? What's this?"
A mechanical voice then made him jump. "That would be O-D-L-S, not OLDS, sir." Ribbon noted that a small light was blinking when the voice was talking.
"I take it you're my companion AI?" Ribbon asked, having seen Lowe's partner computer 'Hachi' yesterday.
"Yes, I will act as your flight support within this aircraft." The voice replied…very cool, calm, and collected.
Ribbon pulled up the preflight checklist on the computer monitor in front of him. "Do you have a name?" He asked idly as he scanned the long list.
"You can refer to me as 'NEMO', sir."
Ribbon felt a slight shiver run down his spine. "Nemo, huh? Nice to meet you, buddy."
"Certainly. It is an honor to meet the legendary Mobius One, as well." NEMO's response, though robotic, carried a faint hint of pride. "And it is certainly an honor to act as his companion AI."
Mobius One chuckled slightly. "I don't know about the 'legendary' part; sorry about the rush, NEMO, but we need to get to work right now, time is of the essence."
"I understand, Mobius One. What will your first task be?"
Ribbon took a deep breath. "We'll be recalibrating the missiles first. Do you have data on QAAMs used by the ISAF forces during the…my…war?"
"Of course, sir."
"Excellent, load it up."
…
…
[Orb Airspace, Very High Up, 0800]
…
…
A shimmer sailed through the skies. A shimmer that, when viewed from above, was the shape of a large airliner with a radome mounted on its back.
Actually, make that two shimmers: one large, one small.
"This is AWACS Thunderhead, attached to the Usean Independent Task Force 'Arrows'." One of the AWACS reported. "Hey, Other AWACS."
The Other AWACS was a comparatively smaller aircraft, a personal jet…with a Radome on its back.
"This is AWACS Canopus, Mercenary affiliation." Canopus Responded. "I suppose I shouldn't be surprised that Usea is also participating in this operation, good to have you in the area."
"Sir, Thunderhead was a very important AWACS unit; it served the Wardog squadron until they became the Razgriz." Crux said (off radio).
Thunderhead didn't hear him, naturally. "I wish that were the case. Usea is still scrambling to form a cohesive attack unit, so we won't even be able to send an advanced strike force." He said. "And besides, sending lone units into held territory is tantamount to suicide."
"Is Usea worried about Stonehenge?" Canopus asked.
"They are, but liberating Orb is more important." Thunderhead replied. "I think high command has sent a few ships to distract Stonehenge, but I'll be surprised if it works for any more than a few seconds."
Stonehenge has actually never left Usean control, but they don't know that. Shh.
"If they coated their ships in the same stuff we use, I think they'd have a chance." Crux commented. "Seriously though, Ustio made some pretty good stuff."
The bottoms of the two AWACS aircrafts were coated with a special material that made them invisible from the naked eye and radar…so long as the radar was aimed at them from below. Due to how expensive the material was only select AWACS aircrafts were given this special paintjob.
This, incidentally, is why no AWACS unit other than ISAF's Sky Eye was visible during operations; ISAF was too poor to pay for it during the beginning of the war, and by the end they had no more need of it.
"Yeah, I remember when I saw a video of Mobius One during the battle at Comona." Thunderhead muttered. "It was from one of the operators in an E-767 that day. That shit stays with you, y'know?"
Crux had also seen that video. It was mandatory for all would-be AWACS operators enlisted after the Erusean war, as it was a good example of how not having a good read on the battlefield would leave you dead. "I know what you mean; I had nightmares for a few days after I saw it."
"Chasing down a Blackbird, the AWACS, and the Tanker in one go before engaging with the Yellows." Thunderhead summed up the first minute of the video. "He did things with an Eagle nobody thought was possible."
"He's that good, huh?" Canopus wondered. "I feel like Antares would give him a run for his money."
"Nobody outflies Mobius One." Crux and Thunderhead replied as one. "Well, except maybe Cipher." Crux added.
"The Demon Lord of the Round Table…" Thunderhead said in awe. "Man, I don't know about the rest of you, but if the two of them got something like the X-02 the Feds can just pack up and call it a day."
"The new Usea still hasn't reinvented their compressed ammo holds, have they?" Crux asked.
"So far it doesn't look like it's possible. The tech-head I talked to said it was something about a fundamental difference in physics; their old methods just plain doesn't work." Thunderhead replied. "Weird, really. They can make giant robots in this world but can't figure out how to stuff 60 missiles into each other."
"Was that how it worked?" Crux laughed. "That seemed like it would cause some serious problems."
"How else do you explain a plane dying after a single shot?" Thunderhead replied with a grin.
"Alright, that's enough." Canopus brought them back in line. "Allied units are entering the operational airspace, let's get to work."
…
…
[First Operation: Anti-Warship Operation, Giga Float Team]
[Participants: Captain Bartlett (Heartbreak One, XS-02), Yellow 13 (Yellow 13, XS-02)]
Orb's main island, marginally larger than the island Morgenroete is housed on (Onogoro island) is comprised of two major terrain features: cities, and dead volcanoes.
It's also surrounded by water, but that's kind of a given due to its status as an island.
One particular city was built next to a very circular gulf, providing protection to any ships within that gulf…so long as the city perimeter was secured and properly utilized to protect against aircraft attacks.
This city, incidentally, is also the closest position to Giga Float, and the gulf it's built around housed a small detachment of Federation warships, escorted by a small fleet of Des Moines and Arkansas class cruisers.
At 0900 hours, one of the early warning radars on one of the warships chirped, a sign that it picked up contacts.
"How many of them are there?" The captain asked the operator.
"Two enemy crafts, coming in high and fast." The operator responded. "Your orders, sir?"
No sane person would attack a fleet with just two aircraft. The captain thought. "Alert all units and scramble all air assets, shoot those fighters down."
…
"Looks like they're ready for us." Bartlett remarked, as blips started appearing on radar.
"Doesn't surprise me any." Yellow 13 responded, checking the armaments on his Refined Wyvern one more time. "Yellow 13 to Thunderhead, requesting guidance."
The two groups had met shortly before the two fighters entered Orb airspace.
"Thunderhead roger, sending data on enemy ground emplacements." The AWACS replied, safe in the sky behind its advanced invisible coating. "Their aircraft are just starting to take off, so hurry up."
"Roger, Heartbreak One engaging."
"Yellow 13 Engaging."
Both of them armed their XAGMs for fire.
We should take a brief moment to describe the XS-02. In terms of appearance, it is similar to the X-02's streamlined appearance with all of its differences being under the hood…namely, its engine. The XS-02 uses a variant of the same engine found in the Moebius crafts that the EFA uses, which is an engine that does not require air intakes for combustion.
This meant that the air intakes on the X-02 could be modified into weapon storage instead, giving the aircraft better staying time in combat. The XS-02 Refined Wyvern carries four normal missiles, four XLAAs for extreme-range air to air engagements, four XAGMs for the particularly tough ground targets, two QAAMs for that extremely annoying air target, and its dubiously useful bomblet dispenser to ensure that everything on the ground in a long straight line dies to things exploding on their faces. And it also has its gun.
In any event, the enemy ground units (a mixture of slow-moving attack Heli VTOL craft and the MA-01A Strike Dagger) stationed in the city received an unpleasant surprise when the two aircraft attacking their fleet simply stayed out of range as if they could predict the movement patterns of the defenders.
"I don't care if we don't hit a thing, just start firing!" The captain commands after yet another team complained about not having a thing to fire at. "Shoot those fighters down, goddammit!"
…
"There's an opening to your right in 150 meters." Thunderhead suddenly said (as opposed to the past few minutes of merely reporting enemy positions). "That will be your chance!"
"Alright, let's do this!" Bartlett grinned as he made a high-g turn at the indicated point of entry and hit full afterburners, with Yellow 13 following closely after him.
"Oh shit, they're gunning for the carrier!" One of the smarter EFA field captains realized. "Get on the roof and shoot them down!"
His squad of two Daggers and four VTOLs (automated) rose up to above the city skyline to intercept the rapidly approaching R-Wyverns.
The four automated VTOL crafts die to streams of bullet fire almost immediately, and the two Daggers couldn't get a single shot in before the R-Wyverns simply dipped below the skyline and passed them by.
"Two more enemy groups directly in front of you; they're not rising." Thunderhead warned.
"Copy." Bartlett rose above the buildings, did a lazy flip, and simply picked a different street to fly in. Inwardly, he was very, very happy that he wasn't responsible for footing the bill of repair as glass shattered behind him.
"Yellow 13, interceptors above you." Thunderhead reported next.
Yellow 13 paid the interceptors no attention and just kept on flying. Unlike Bartlett he was flying a bit higher in the sky, but it still didn't protect the city as he went supersonic towards the EFA's Spengler Class Carrier.
…
Within two minutes, the two of them cleared the city and its many defenders (some of them finding good vantage points to take pot shots at them from behind now) and had a straight run towards the enemy carrier in the middle of the bay.
I think it's a bay rather than a gulf, but you get the idea. It's water surrounded by land.
Of course, their flight is far from effortless: beam rifle fire and missiles chased after them, and the path ahead of them is being progressively blockaded by more and more anti-aircraft fire.
"I'll lure some of their fire." Bartlett said as he pulled up into the sky, dragging some of the anti-aircraft fire with him.
"Thank you, captain." Yellow 13 responded as his aircraft hugged the water surface, all the while still racing towards the enemy carrier at breakneck speeds.
The enemy captain aboard the Spengler was not nearly as calm as Yellow 13 was. "What are you doing?! Shoot them down now!" He roared.
But it was meaningless: Yellow 13 disengaged the targeting system on one of the XAGMs before launching it towards the Spengler's hull. With pinpoint precision, the missile impacted the Spengler's bow right above the waterline, ripping a massive hole in its hull and causing the ship to take on water nose-first.
To add insult to injury, some of the beam rifle fire from the Daggers trying to intercept Yellow 13 struck the carrier as Yellow 13 zipped over the carrier's flight deck in his rapid ascent into the sky.
"Carrier hit, it's sinking." Thunderhead reported while Yellow 13 and Captain Bartlett rapidly exited the combat zone, slowly turning south while bleeding off speed. "Good hit, aces."
"Are they coming after us?" Bartlett asked. "I really don't want to tango right now."
"Doesn't look like it." Thunderhead replied after a few seconds. "Only a few Spearheads are in their air right now and they seem more worried about any subsequent attacks."
Yellow 13 breathed a deep sigh of relief. "Good…Thunderhead, we'll be taking a straight run south to attack and hold Morgenroete. Are you coming with us?"
"That's a negative, Yellow 13." While the two aces couldn't see it, the AWACS aircraft banked and turned south west, away from the two of them. "We've received intel that another operation is occurring to the military dock south west of here, and we're heading there to provide service."
"Copy that, Thunderhead." Yellow 13 responded. "Godspeed."
"Thank you…to you as well, aces."
…
…
"Heartbreak One."
Bartlett glanced at his wingman. "What's up?"
"Can we hold Morgenroete by ourselves?"
"All signs point to no." Bartlett laughed. "But then we're not trying to hold it by ourselves. The goal is to attack and provide enough of a distraction for any troops in Morgenroete to break free and add to the momentum…and then we'll keep the skies for them as they secure the facility."
Yellow 13 raised an eyebrow. "This is a pretty big gamble, Heartbreak One…we're relying on Orb's military folding against an invader on purpose."
"I know…but if we give the Feds time to entrench themselves then the fighting would be a lot worse." Bartlett said. "The sooner we break them free, the better."
…
…
The two fighters had cut a straight line through Orb, passing over all of its volcanoes, and had arrived at Morgenroete.
"Looks like we're not the first ones here." Bartlett observed, watching explosions and small blips dot his radar. "You ready, Yellow 13?"
"Yeah, let's do it." Yellow 13 nodded.
Both aircraft inverted and dove sharply down towards Morgenroete as the complex lit up with welcoming anti-aircraft fire.
[Second Operation: Assault on Orb Military Dock, Equatorial Union Team]
[Participants: Cipher (ZGMF-616 Gatekeeper), Antares (ASF-X Shinden II), Chopper (ASF-X Shinden II)]
Compared to Bartlett and Yellow 13, the team coming in from the European Union had a longer flight…and thus it took them a little longer to get to the battlefield. Of course, the slight change in combat objectives didn't help their timetables any.
Upon noticing that their original flight plan took them fairly close to the Orb military dock on the western coast of the main island, Cipher, acting as the flight lead, decided to alter their path of approach: instead of taking a path across the ocean and circle around Orb's mainland to hit Morgenroete, they would hug the small island chain to the mainland's northwest and approach the military dock before going onto their final target.
Having the new fighters (donated to them via the European Union from a mysterious sponsor) didn't hurt any.
The Shinden looks like a fatter, stockier version of the Murasame from SEED Destiny. Its tail wings also move depending on its flight speed to achieve better performance, similar to the wings of the X-02.
The Shinden is equipped with eight missile hardpoints.
"Wow, this is way more advanced than the Tomcat I'm used to…hell, this is more advanced than the X-02 we're all used to." Chopper had commented when he first sat in the cockpit.
"Yeah. Isn't this a prototype? Why are they sending it to us?" Antares had asked.
Because you two can keep it alive? Cipher had thought but not said.
…
Regardless, the flight of three units approached the occupied military dock without too much fanfare.
"Looks like they have the place pretty locked down pretty tight." Chopper observed. "How are we gonna do this? I don't think the Orb military will respond if we don't make a big enough bang."
"The enemy defenses are focused around a pair of Cruisers." Cipher said, uploading data to the two fighters' computers. "Judging by the amount of radio traffic in the air right now, an air attack has already occurred on Orb's mainland, so odds are they'll be expecting us."
"And that makes me feel better about this situation how?" Chopper demanded.
"They'll see us coming, so we'll hit them directly on the nose and bloody it to hell and back…right?" Antares smirked.
"Wait, wait." Chopper was getting a sinking feeling in his stomach. Antares's lust for battle and Cipher's reputation as the Demon Lord did not suggest a slow and steady approach. "Tell me we're not doing what I think we're doing."
"Well…if we want to make our presence known, then the best way to do it is to destroy every enemy unit in the area." Cipher shrugged. "Easy peasy."
"We're going to attack a fortified enemy position when they know that we're coming." Chopper deadpanned.
"You got it." Cipher's response held a worrying lack of apprehension, as far as Chopper was concerned.
"No offense, but I wish I had a less suicidal lead." Chopper sighed. "Like, say, Blaze."
Cipher grinned. "Alright, all units, you're cleared to engage!"
…
The Federation army stationed at the dock was surprised to hear their air raid sirens go off…while all of their anti-air weapons were active and searching.
Naturally, all of the anti-air weapons lit up and covered the skies with bullets…before someone paying attention realized that the attackers were coming from in low altitude.
"How many of them are there?" One Dagger pilot asked. Let's call him Pilot A.
"Radar picked up two aircraft, one mobile suit." His captain responded.
"Just three units? Why are we getting all worked up over just three units?" Pilot A laughed.
"Well, the north garrison lost their carrier to two attackers, so I wouldn't be too cocky right now." One of his other teammates (Pilot B) chided him. "If the other guys are right, then these are the same pilots that fought in JOSH-A."
Pilot A grimaced. "Oh shit, that's bad for us."
To accentuate his point, the Dagger belonging to his captain suffered a direct hit on the head and was immediately disabled.
"Where the hell did that come from?!" Pilot A used his boosters to evade (mostly just to avoid being a stationary target). All he managed to do, however, was to dodge straight into another shot fired at him.
…
"Alright, first group clear." Cipher picked out some more targets. "Find the nearest idiot and bag it; don't get shot down." He then dropped down from the sky and focused on all Federation anti-air hard points in the base. "I'll fly support."
"Thank you kindly." Chopper sighed and depressed the trigger, strafing a trio of EFA Heli crafts and sending them into the ground. "We'll leave the heavy lifting to you, then."
"Acknowledged." Cipher grinned, his Gatekeeper dancing on the ground with its powerful engines to avoid being shot to pieces by the Daggers coming his way. In response to the oncoming Daggers, he liberally sprayed his machineguns in the direction of their attacks…to no great effect.
When the pilots knew to use their shields the mobile suits were able to protect themselves against grievous harm…for a while, anyway.
Cipher had zero issues with readjusting his aim to hit the Dagger's exposed legs or head whenever necessary.
"Damn it…" An EFA pilot snarls as the Dagger next to him had its legs blown off. "Fan out! We'll overwhelm it with firepower!"
"How?!" His teammate demanded as Cipher's Gatekeeper blew past his Dagger at full speed. "He's not evening coming close to standing still!"
The first pilot was saved from having to answer when Cipher kicked his Dagger into the ground from behind and eliminated its power source with a clean shot to the back.
"Son of a-Barry! Go right!" The teammate pilot snapped as Cipher turned to go after him, followed up immediately by sailor-like cursing as Cipher brought him down.
…
"Wow, he's getting all the attention." Chopper remarked as an Anti-aircraft gun swiveled to target Cipher, who had gotten too close. Chopper picked off the anti-aircraft gun with a salvo of gunfire. "Guess I should expect as much from the Demon Lord himself."
"I still don't see how his flying has earned him that name." Antares said as he strafed some of the Heli crafts. "I expected more…bloodshed."
"What, this isn't enough for you?" Chopper demanded…then he looked forward. "Ah, crap." He banked to dodge an anti-aircraft gun. "Could use some help here."
"I expected as much from a 'Legendary Ace', but…" Antares dove down onto the aircraft gun and picked it off. "I don't see the level of performance that would make him a 'Demon'." Antares performed a sudden barrel roll to dodge a beam rifle shot in his direction.
"It might have something to do with him using a Mobile Suit instead of a Fighter though." Chopper laughed. "The skills needed to use both units are quite different."
"Antares, Chopper, cut the chatter." A new voice said a little bit slyly.
Chopper rolled his eyes. "Thunderhead!? Which rock did you crawl out of?"
Thunderhead couldn't help but smile; he missed the loud-mouth in the past few years of his life. "Stay focused, Wardog three. We have a war to win here."
Chopper, on the other hand, didn't have anything other than lukewarm feelings toward the (as far as he's concerned) mediocre AWACS operator. "Yeah, yeah…man. And here I thought I'd be away from your beautiful voice when I came over to this alternate dimension."
Thunderhead merely laughed; the years have really mellowed him out. "You'll never escape, Wardog. Never."
"Is there something going on between the two of you?" Antares demanded.
"Not funny, man." Chopper sighed. "So, Thunderhead, how does it look for us?"
"Currently? Could be better." Thunderhead replied. "I'm sending you combat data, stand by."
"Sheesh." Chopper shook his head as he reviewed the data quickly. "Looks like we're attracting a lot of attention from our neighbors."
A wave of blips on the radar converging onto the base accentuated his point…the base currently devoid of enemy units.
Chopper then did a double take. "Wait, wasn't this base occupied before?" He then looked up in alarm and banked to take a better look. "Holy shit, man."
Cipher exhaled a deep sigh of satisfaction. "Galm One to Thunderhead, I'm out of ammo…and I think I pushed this unit too far." His cockpit was bright red with alarms going off about everything.
Antares took a look at the Gatekeeper. "I can see that." Cipher's Gatekeeper was crackling with electricity, and the barrels of its guns spewed smoke.
"That's…kind of ridiculous." Chopper deadpanned. "Uh…wow." He breathed as he surveyed the base full of dead Daggers and VTOL Heli crafts…and the plumes of smoke everywhere. "Demon Lord indeed."
Thunderhead was comparatively less impressed, since Blaze was more than perfectly capable of doing the same as far as he was concerned. "This is Thunderhead broadcasting to all units of the Orb military." He declared. "The occupying force of the base has been destroyed."
"I don't think they'll get out here fast enough." Chopper muttered, as his radar warning alarm started beeping. "I really don't think they'll get out here fast enough. Dammit, Chopper, intercepting enemy aircraft!" He turned his Shinden towards the incoming EFA Spearheads and hit his afterburners.
"Antares, engaging." Antares copied Chopper. "Will you be ok, Cipher?"
"I uh…might be a bit tough." Cipher said hesitantly, moving his controls and receiving no response.
The first wave of EFA Spearheads met Chopper and Antares in combat (and immediately lost three of them in the opening engagement)…and then the rest of the flight was blown from the skies via anti-air fire from the ground.
"This is the First Orb Defense Battalion." A commander-sounding voice came over the radio as tanks and M1 Astrays appeared from previously hidden underground entrances. "We'd like to extend our thanks to the brave Aces who have come to assist our country…and it will be an honor to fight alongside you."
"Roger that." Chopper responded with a wide grin (while shearing off a Spearhead's wing with a burst of gunfire). "Let's get this party going!"
…
[Third Operation: Morgenroete Takeover Operation, Archangel Team]
[Participants: Kira Yamato (Aile Strike Gundam), Mu La Flaga (Launcher Skygrasper), Tolle Koenig (Sword Skygrasper), Blaze (F-7D Spearhead), Talisman (F-7D Spearhead), William Bishop (F-7D Spearhead)]
The mechanic crew ran out of parts to maintain the Spearheads up to their Super Spearhead specifications, so they're considered to be normal units for this battle.
…
The Archangel's detachment deployed from the Archangel very early, so they could arrive and liberate the dock before the Archangel actually arrived within weapons range.
While they expected some level of resistance to organize before they arrived at Morgenroete (because Radar exists and all of the units have large cross sections) none of them expected a fleet to array itself before them even before anyone got within shooting range.
"I guess it was too good to be true." Mu La Flaga muttered. "How do you boys want to approach this?"
"Let's see…" Tolle's Skygrasper was customized to include better electronics (to help further his support role). "A lot of Cruisers, a lot of Frigates…no Carriers." He blinked in surprise. "Really? No carriers at all?"
"Then we'll break through them." Blaze shrugged. "If their carriers aren't here then they're sitting near Morgenroete, and those things are more dangerous."
"Copy that, lead." Bishop agreed. "W-Razgriz three, ready."
"Alright, let's do this." Blaze hit his afterburners and dove down towards the enemy fleet.
…
Up until the appearance of the Archangel team on their radars, the EFA fleet was engaged in lighthearted conversation about the bad orders they were given (the attackers were North of Orb, not West) and were thus pleasantly surprised when it turned out that were actually on point.
"Six units total…think they're coming to get us?" A ship operator wondered.
"Don't think so." His next-seat neighbor replied. "Morgenroete is right behind us, and that's a way bigger target."
"Enemy units are within interception range, commence firing." The fire control officer of the ship declares.
"Alert the carriers back at the docks." The ship captain ordered. "Have them send interceptors immediately."
"Yes sir!"
…
As predicted by the operators, the six unknown attackers blew past the blockade of ships without firing a single shot.
To the chagrin and embarrassment of the anti-aircraft crew, three of the attackers, all Spearheads, flew past the ships at a very low altitude and nearly capsized a ship or two by the virtue of flying by too close and too fast.
"Damn, they're good." One of the anti-air crew grumbled, watching the anti-air fire chase after the escaping attackers. "How did the missiles do?"
"No good, the damned mobile suit shot them all down." His neighbor spat. "Firing second salvo."
"Cease fire." The fire control officer countered. "We are to hold positions against the enemy warship."
"They have a warship?" The first crewman wondered, and he and his next-seat neighbor traded confused glances, before blinking in surprise as the threat alarm sounded again.
"Incoming flight of fighters...looks like this group is actually headed straight for us." The radar operator said. "We're going to be in for a fight this time."
…
While the bad guys were confused about the logistics of the good guys (and getting ready to be attacked again) the good guys themselves were flying over the stretch of water between them and the coastline.
Kira peered at the Morgenroete facility, using his Gundam's cameras to get a better look on things. "Hey guys, I don't think the facility is being guarded." He said.
"They're probably in hiding." Blaze responded. "We're flying pretty low right now, after all."
"Well, sure, but…" Kira thought back to the rapid attack of Orb. "It feels like there aren't enough Fed units around for some reason."
As if prompted, blips appeared on his radar.
"Kira?" Talisman sighed.
"Hey, I had nothing to do with it!" Kira complained.
"Sure you didn't." Blaze grinned. "All right, change of plans! We're cutting straight across Morgenroete to reach the enemy carriers in the dock area." The three Spearheads banked and turned as one to meet the opposing Spearheads. "Razgriz will fly top cover, Skygraspers will go anti-ship, and the Strike will provide anti-ground support, got it?"
"Razgriz two copies." Talisman scanned the ground for any anti-air artillery, and is surprised to not find any.
"Razgriz three, roger." Bishop focused himself on the enemy planes.
"Roger that, Blaze." Mu La Flaga answered for the other two kids. "Let's start this dance."
…
The air battle waged between the Razgriz and the EFA fighters didn't last for too long. Although the Federation side had the numbers, they did not have the skill or coordination to last against the Aces…at all, really.
The Skygraspers, on the other hand…
"Hey Kira, we found your hidden EFA buddies!" Tolle gritted his teeth as he turned off from his attack route with a fairly sharp move (for him), "they were hiding in the bay."
The Daggers, previously hidden in the water, now 'stood' in the water with the top half of their body exposed and firing their head Vulcans and beam rifles.
"Why did they do that?" Kira demanded, firing at one of the Daggers. "Oh." He frowned a moment later as the Dagger let itself sink into the bay, resulting in a sizable splash as the beam from his rifle hit the water and nothing else. "Well, that sucks." He summarized.
"No kidding. Damn, I can't get close." Mu banked and rose after watching the Daggers splash one of his missiles. "I need an opening to use the beam guns…"
Kira, in response, fired his beam rifle towards the carrier.
One of the Daggers rose from the water to block it with its shield…before crashing into the water again.
"These guys are surprisingly persistent." Kira muttered, putting a little more distance between them and the carrier.
"Razgriz one to Skygraspers, finish it off quick." Blaze warned him. "If they're dug in hard it means they're trying to buy time. Don't let them."
"Even if you say that…" Tolle pulls out of his attack run with no result. "Shit, I can't get a good angle on it."
"It's dead angles everywhere, sheesh." Mu broke off from his attack run directly above the carrier. "Kira, you want in on this? Beats shooting at fish all day!"
"Just shoot it with the AGNI and get it over with!" Kira fired another shot only to have it foiled again.
Tolle's radar showed more threats. "We took too long." He snarled. "Enemy units coming in from all around us! They're real damn close too!"
"What the-" Blaze had to roll hard to avoid a salvo of missiles aimed at his Spearhead's underbelly. "Where the hell did you come from?!" He demanded of the nearly a hundred Daggers surrounding the airspace.
"Something odd just happened here." Talisman muttered (a tad unnecessarily). "How did we miss A HUNDRED Daggers moving right below us?"
…
"Sir, it looks like the Mirage Colloid Screen was effective." An aide reported to Murata Azrael, aboard a ship safely away from Orb. "The enemy units are confused."
Murata's satisfied smirk told everyone aboard the ship what he thought of this situation.
…
"Alright, whoever they put behind those controls is a lot better than the average pilot." Kira grumbles as the fifth Dagger goes down from his beam rifle. "I can't get a good window of attack…often."
The Strike's evasive maneuver was accompanied by an almost nonstop barrage of beam rifle fire tagging his every move.
"Yeah…their targeting's far sharper than it was before." Talisman agreed, having had no openings so far to launch an attack on any EFA assets on the ground yet. "At this point I don't think they're interested in protecting the carriers at all."
"Agreed…did they throw away two ships just as diversions?!" Bishop muttered angrily.
As a matter of fact…the EFA did not throw away two ships.
The two ships were not there at all. Much as how the Mirage colloid system can be used to visually hide targets from detection, it can also be used (with great difficulty) to create dummy units to act as decoys.
In this case, two sets of mirage colloid generators were married to large, wooden boxes painted to be visually identical to the carriers they represent (using 3d imagining data from training simulators). The effect is that, at a distance (and to the secondary sensors) they looked *enough* like the real carriers that the attackers would be confused…so long as they did not get close. The Daggers in the water, acting as deterrents and defenders, made sure that nobody went close enough for a thorough look.
The fact that only the Skygraspers participated in attack runs certainly helped maintain their disguise.
"That can't possibly be the case." Blaze snapped. "Carriers are expensive! They're not just gonna toss those things out like candy!"
"They did send a hundred Daggers to kill us." Talisman replied. "I think that's a good sign that they care about their carriers."
"More than that, there are Spearheads coming for us." Tolle, having pulled up high to avoid being shot to death, added. "There are…a lot of them." He gulped. "Wow there are a lot of them. I think I see more units than the Feds deployed at JOSH-A."
"Well, ain't that a laugh." Blaze growled. "Razgriz, pull up and engage enemy fighters! Strike, the ground is all yours!"
The first engagement between the friendly and the enemy Spearheads didn't go over so well.
"Talisman, your wing." Bishop reported upon seeing Talisman's Spearhead trail smoke from one of the wings.
"I see it. Not a problem." Talisman replies curtly, barrel rolling over an oncoming Spearhead to shoot the one behind it with his guns, but not scoring a hit. "These guys are way better too. Is there an elite Fed unit we missed?"
"Wasn't it supposed to be us?" Blaze laughed even as his aircraft shuddered from a hit to its fuselage. "It's about damn time we had someone good to fly against."
To drive the point home, his Spearhead ducked neatly between two Spearhead launching a united attack on him and shot them both down.
Or, at least, so he thought. "Oh, this is interesting." Blaze remarked as he inverted and dove to avoid more fire aimed at him. "Razgriz to all units, the newcomers are not manned. Repeat, they are unmanned."
"What?!" Kira looked down to the Daggers firing nonstop at him. "Then are these guys unmanned as well?"
"It's a high possibility." Bishop replied, barrel rolling behind an EFA Spearhead and picking it off with gunfire. "But…"
"Yeah." Kira agreed. "As far as I know," and as an ex-engineering student he knew a lot, "remote control technology has never been a major point of interest for either the Feds or ZAFT."
"So are these things being controlled remotely?" Tolle asked, trying his level best to avoid being shot down. "Also, could use some help here!"
"I'm on you." Mu La Flaga responded, chasing down the Spearhead behind Tolle.
"I don't think these are controlled remotely…thanks for that." Tolle breathed. "My sensors aren't showing any increases in communications…so unless they're using a band we're not familiar with, these guys are all using onboard AIs."
"Real damn advanced on-board AIs." Blaze grumbled, strafing another Spearhead as it nearly ran into him. "These things aren't dying as fast as they should."
The Spearhead he strafed wavered slightly in the air before it made an absurdly tight turn and followed after Blaze.
"They probably have reinforced instruments…what with not having a crew and all." Talisman replied, his aircraft shaking again. "Ok, you?" He said to one of the Spearheads dancing on his tail. "That was not ok. Apologize." He decelerated and turned, forcing the other aircraft to fly in front of his guns just long enough to tear its tail off.
"I think Talisman's losing it." Bishop joked, executing a Pugachev's Cobra (where his aircraft looks like it slides forward on its tail in the air) to throw off two chasers. "The stress might be getting to him."
"I think all of you are losing it." Tolle said disbelievingly. "Where's the sense of panic!?"
"Hey! It looks like you guys could use a little help!" A new voice suddenly came onto the scene. "Mind if I join in?"
"Help yourself, Heartbreak One." Blaze replied as he shredded a Spearhead on Talisman's tail. "There's plenty of food on this table."
"Heh, good to know." Captain Bartlett grinned. "Heartbreak One engaging!"
"Yellow 13, engaging."
The pair of XS-02s, coming in fresh from the north of Orb, jumped into the fray.
…
…
Murata Azrael held his hand out even before his aide had a chance to speak.
"Sir, we have a report concerning the newly deployed autonomous controlled combat units." The aide said, handing over his report.
Azrael scanned it quickly. "So despite them being superior units they're still losing." He summarized.
"Y-yes sir." The aide gulped.
"Pah…amazing." Azrael sighed. "Oh well, whatever. How does it look in space?"
"Sir. ZAFT has sent several detachments into the Southern America Territories…high command is requesting that we back off for the time being."
"What?" Azrael rolled his eyes. "Sheesh. They haven't started on their deployment of the unmanned units, have they? The damned idiots."
Apart from Murata's faction within the Federation (which is formidable, all things considered) no other group within the EFA uses automated combat units yet.
He flipped the last page of the document, and his eyebrow shot up in surprise.
…
…
[The battle over Morgenroete rages on]
…
…
"God dammit, this is endless." Bartlett growls as his aircraft shakes from another hit to the fuselage. "I could use some help here."
"Warwolf." Bishop responds out of habit, driving away the AI-Controlled Spearhead on Bartlett's tail but unable to shoot it down.
"Thirty percent of enemy air force down." Yellow 13 responded. "This is slow going."
The EFA Spearheads, armed with a fast-adapting and fast-learning AI, initially suffered heavy losses against the Aces. However, as the battle continued the AIs progressively learned more and more of their enemies' flight patterns, and the losses subsided.
The same could not be said of the AI-controlled Daggers, though. Due to the complexity behind mobile suit controls the AIs could not adapt to them as quickly and as such they relied on using hefty firepower to buy time.
Unfortunately 'buying time' is exceptionally hard against Kira Yamato's impeccable aiming.
"Alright, that's almost all of them." Kira sighs, holstering his beam rifle to avoid using the last drops of his energy. "Mu, Tolle, how are you guys holding up?"
"I want to land. Can I land?" Tolle replied in despair. "Because this sucks!"
Tolle suddenly brakes in his Skygrasper, and the Spearhead chasing after him slams into the back of the Sword Strike pack's blade.
"You'll break the sword that way, Tolle!" Mu chided as he fired one more round from the AGNI cannon into the ground, cutting apart the pavement and destroying a Dagger. "It's a good thing the Daggers are rooted to the spot!"
"They're improving fast." Talisman observed. "They must have a very sophisticated learning AI."
"Did you have something like that, Talisman?" Blaze asked on a private channel.
"No…the closest thing I know of is Estovakia's Drone technology." Talisman crisscrossed in the sky with Blaze, causing their chasers to nearly collide with each other. "But not only are they less advanced than what we're seeing, they also need a local or remote controller."
"And the N-Jammers in the ground of this dustball prevent reliable long range communications…though like Kira said, they don't have such advanced tech to begin with." Talisman added.
"Well, shit." Blaze growled, his aircraft now trailing smoke from the various small hits it's taken. "Isn't that just…the hell is going on?"
All of the surviving Spearheads and Daggers belonging to the EFA suddenly turned as one, heading west off of the battlefield.
Kira snapped out of his confusion first. "No! Don't let any one of them escape!"
Yellow 13 caught on next. "Damn! If they're allowed to return with the data…"
"Roger!" Bishop spoke for all of them, and the Aces gave chase to the EFA Spearheads.
While retreating, the EFA Spearheads did not evade or fire back. Instead, they just ran at full afterburners as hard as they could. That proved enough against the worn-down Aces, and over half of the Spearheads escaped from Morgenroete airspace.
None of the Daggers got away though, if only because Blaze (and Bartlett) took out the ones Kira couldn't reach out of frustration.
…
The battle to liberate Orb quickly escalated following the loss of the two key Orb military installations, and before the end of the day all EFA forces were driven off of Orb soil.
"So they say." Bartlett sighed and turned off the news heralding the EFA's quick retreat. "But as far as I'm concerned, the Feds weren't driven out; they just left."
"Certainly, it wasn't as if the Feds were on the back foot by any means. Even though we took over Morgenroete and the Military dock on the mainland, they still had control over the vast majority of Orb's cities." Talisman agreed.
"That 'control' of theirs was bull." Mu laughed. "They had a skeleton force in each city and they knew it. If Orb woke up—and it did—then the Feds would have no choice but to pull back…and they did."
"All thanks to that red and white unit." Tolle grinned. "Whoever that guy was he sank all the Feddy transport ships before they got here."
Yellow 13 coughed to get everyone's attention, gathered as they were in a Morgenroete hangar. "There is still the matter of Stonehenge. What do we do about it?"
The gathering went silent.
"Well, what do we know about it?" Bartlett finally asked.
"Besides the fact that it's a giant ring of 'keep-away'?" Tolle muttered.
"It's protected by at least two different layers of burst missiles." Talisman summarized. "One designed to rain shrapnel on all targets below it, and one designed to destroy everything within the contact range."
"Mix that with Stonehenge's innate ability to blow everything at a high altitude to pieces and we have a real tough first wall on our hands." Blaze grumbled.
"First wall?" Bishop frowned at him.
Blaze made a noncommittal shrug. "Way I see it, if they're going to protect that Stonehenge circle with extra security, then they're going to go overboard, I mean…All of us are here." He indicated to all of the Strangereal Aces.
"That's true…they even had the Excalibur laser system." Bartlett acknowledged. "Wouldn't surprise me to see some more cards up their sleeve."
"Excalibur? Sounds pretentious." Tolle grinned.
Bartlett bopped the teenager on the head. "Tell me about it."
"Excuse me, sirs." A Morgenroete staff member stuttered, finally succeeding in getting the Ace's attention after several minutes. "There's a call for you."
"You…all of us?" Bartlett asked.
"Uh…he asked specifically for a 'Heartbreak One', Sir."
…
…
The aide led the group into a conference room. Although Bartlett was the only one called nobody else was going to let this interesting (and very sketchy) situation pass by.
"Alright, I'm here, what do you want?" Bartlett asked as soon as the large screen in front of him came alive. He grimaced as the image of the screen simply showed the two words VOICE ONLY.
His grimace changed into surprise when he heard the voice. "Hey, Captain. I didn't think you would try something as insane as attacking an occupying force by yourselves."
"Who is that?" Tolle whispered to Blaze, who seemed to recognize the voice.
Blaze simply shook his head slightly.
"I wasn't about to just kick back and relax; where are you right now?" Bartlett asked.
"I'm working in new Usea." The voice replied. "We're monitoring the situation in Orb right now…well, Orb as well as Stonehenge."
"Interesting." Bartlett smiled slightly.
"Yeah." The voice agreed. "Well, first off, the EFA have pulled back entirely from Orb…and they've vanished."
"Vanished?" Bartlett scowled. "How the hell could a fleet just vanish?"
"You got me." The mystery voice's shrug was audible. "But whatever the reason, the assault fleet responsible for attacking and invading Orb is nowhere to be found. That being said…the Feds have assembled a second fleet, and it's probably headed to Orb again, given their current movement patterns."
"I think the Feds have lost their marbles." Kira muttered.
Bartlett rubbed his temples. "So…their first invasion almost succeeded, so they decided to give it all up and try again? That seems like horrible tactics to me."
"We thought the same thing." The voice laughed. "But there seems to be more than that."
Bartlett snapped his finger. "Does it have anything to do with computer controlled weapons?"
A pause.
"So they've deployed them already." The voice finally sighed. "Damn, and here we thought we had more time."
We? Everyone thought.
"Our operatives discovered traces of advanced technology in some of the Federation Production Facilities." The voice continued. "While we don't have any concrete evidence, it is assumed that they somehow obtained it from Belkan sources."
…
Meanwhile, Cipher's team, responsible for clearing and holding the Military dock on the Orb mainland were also receiving a similar briefing, targeted explicitly at Antares instead.
"I take it you don't believe in Belka's involvement in this issue." Antares said cautiously after mulling over the revelation for a few seconds.
"Gründer mechanics have bemoaned the loss of their missile technology to a fundamental difference in physics." His mysterious voice, much colder and more proud than the one that addressed Bartlett, replied. "Given their record of pride and technological progress, I do not believe that Gründer was responsible for the sudden increase in the construction capabilities of its enemy."
"If that's the case, then who's responsible for it?" Antares asked.
"If we knew, we wouldn't be in this situation." The voice replied. "However, we have found two names to be of interest."
Antares wasn't an overly patient man. "And they are…?"
"Neucom and Wernher Noah."
.
.
.
"Never heard of them." Bartlett shrugged. "What are they?"
"We've never heard of them either." His mysterious voice replied. "Our best guess is that both are weapons manufacturers of some kind. If they really are responsible for the sudden increase in technological gains of the Federation, then it's fair to assume that they both have vast amounts of manpower and resources at their disposal."
…
The back-and-forth discussion between the groups went on for some time and eventually all parties agreed that, while the talk of "who's orchestrating the war" is interesting, the defense of Orb comes first.
"Still can't believe that the EFA just gave up on this place." Mu La Flaga sighed. "They played us good."
"Whoever thought that sacrificing so many units to take over a sovereign country built on superior technology but only for a day is a goddamn idiot. Thankfully, that idiot isn't on our side." Bartlett shook his head. "Though it's more involved than that, I guess…"
"I'm going to go out on a limb and guess that the Feds will send a huge wave of computer controlled fighters at us the next time they come at us." Blaze said, earning a glare from Talisman. "I just jinxed us, didn't I…?" Blaze sighed.
…
At the other Orb Military Dock, Cipher looked up in surprise as a red and white GuAIZ landed on the nearest airstrip, missing a wing.
As Cipher watched one of the arms of the GuAIZ detached from its socket and dropped to the ground while the pilot walked towards him.
"Don't make them like they used to, do they, Galm One?" The pilot grinned, snapping off a salute. "Hey buddy."
Cipher grinned and stood up. "I'm still alive, Galm Two. Good to see you too. I take it you've been busy?"
"I can do a lot with ammo and free targeting." Pixy laughed. "But it looks like this is the end of the road for that boy." He sighs, looking at the GuAIZ wistfully. "Orb doesn't have the parts to maintain it without a serious overhaul."
"Sounds like the same problem I have." Cipher said, gesturing to the open hangar door revealing his Gatekeeper behind him. "But then, no aircraft lasts without proper maintenance."
"Yeah." Pixy breathed. "So, buddy, what do you plan to do when the Feds come back?"
…
Mobius One was not too happy with his new aircraft, but prototypes are prototypes for a reason.
In his case, the CFA-144 Dracula had a faulty engine connection that grounded it for the entirety of the day, and by the time the problem was fixed (a surprisingly difficult feat considering how one of the exhausts burst into flames) the battle was already over.
…
…
[ZAFT Side, PLANT]
…
…
"So he summons us, and then refuses to meet us due to 'time constraints.'" Yzak grumbles. "Ok, message received, we're not important. Sheesh! Your dad has issues."
The two of them were shunted off to a side room in the massive building Patrick Zala works in, receiving their 'top secret orders' via an envelope rather than by person.
"He's…well, I imagine that he's busier than ever nowadays." Athrun pops the envelope open. "What with being the King of ZAFT and all."
Patrick Zala has accrued a disturbing amount of power recently, earning him the questionable nickname.
"Yeah, no shit, Sherlock." Yzak scowls harder than ever. "Something interesting?" He asks once he sees Athrun freeze.
"Well." Athrun tosses Yzak the envelope. "Someone screwed up big time."
Yzak reads with progressively more anger. "The hel-how does-WHAT?!"
Their orders were as thus: Find and recover the prototype mobile suits stolen by terrorists.
.
.
.
{ === + === }
Author Notes:
Well this took way longer than I expected. Ended up rewriting it twice, not much improvement I think.
Also, whoever linked this fanfic to that one Youtube video…you're awesome and I'm sorry.
And whoever came to this fanfic due to said link…you're all awesome and I'm really sorry.
Well, sorry not sorry. You know how it is. Hehehe~