AN: Well, after my little cliffhanger last time, time for more exposition on my altered history of the 00 time line. Come on folks, I think we are late for class! (Note, all Arabic names used are in Farsi, with English translations provided.)
Ch3 History Present
One day after Enact intervention...
"... And thus concludes our lecture on the causes of the Third Mid-Eastern War. Now, any questions? You, Louise?"
"Yes Professor, I we've covered a lot of the events of this war, since it led to the eventual creation of the Elevators, but there is one aspect of the war we haven't covered, though..."
"You mean the Legend of the Red Comet? I figured one of you would ask. It always shows up. Very well class, let me regale you with a legend almost as exaggerated as the tales of Greek demigods and heroes. Very well then class. Take notes, this will be on a test since you brought it up!" A collective grumble sounded thru the class, mainly directed at Louise. I can't blame her for asking, the tales of the Red comet were the stuff many a good conspiracy theory and action movie.
"The first reported sighting of this legendary figure comes from the town of Kilis, Turkey, a city in close proximity to the capital of Syria, two days after the invasion into Europe was launched thru Turkey. The report, made by member of of the Turkish 68th Armored Infantry Regiment Separ-Dar, Shield Bearers, a power armor equipped unit, states that they were under heavy attack by the ISIS special forces group, Esrafeel, the Angel of Death. Casualties from the engagement were latter added up to over 90% for the Shield Bearers, while the Esrafeel casualties were unknown. The report states that the Esrafeel were equipped with a new generation of powered armor, vastly superior to the Separ-Dar's US supplied suits, that shrugged off the heaviest anti tank ordinance like water of a duck while smiting them with amazingly powerful rail weaponry. Another report from the same battle talks about a rapid fire weapon used against supporting units from the US 17th Armored Cav., equipped with M2A4 Patton Main Battle Tanks, that pierced their 300mm tungsten-composite armor like paper. Clearly, these reports may have been exaggerated, but nonetheless, the 68th Infantry was up against a vastly superior foe, as the casualties can attest to. Then, according to the reports, a C-130 transport flew overhead at 20000 ft, roughly 4 miles, and dropped a single trooper out of the back of the plane before scrambling to avoid ground fire. The trooper landed on the field, without a chute, using some unknown means to land that apparently left him hovering one foot above the ground. The reports say that he wore a full body suit, highly angular, painted almost entirely red, with no identification anywhere on the suit save for a highly artistic depiction comet on the right shoulder. Naturally, the ISIS forces focused on the newcomer, expecting him to fall. As I'm sure you all know, he didn't, instead drawing a large bore long barreled automatic pistol and opening fire on the on the ISIS forces. Where the Turkish forces failed, the newcomer's oversized pistol worked, blowing a hole thru ISIS troops one behind the other. The report went on to state that the weapon was firing at such high velocities that it was creating a visible bow waves from breaking the sound barrier. After roughly five minutes minutes and 30 casualties latter, the ISIS forces retreated from the area at maximum speed, leaving the badly battered defenders of Kilis witness to a battlefield miracle. The mysterious trooper left soon after the ISIS forces, gliding along the ground at a surprisingly high speed, appearing to the defenders as a Red Comet streaking across the sands."
"This figure appeared numerous times again in reports, official and unofficial, usually in combat with the Esrafeel, in places ranging from the 4 day Siege of Alepo and the Battle for the Suez Canal, to the Battle of Cypress in the Mediterranean, to the final pre-nuke Battle of Hormuz, the final redoubt of the ISIS government. Repeort vary from battle to battle of the red Comet's actions, some clamming he used a large pistol, others a long katana style sword roughly 4 ft in length, some a kukri style knife, other various rifles of unknown make. No military officially acknowledged his existence, but one press conference during the early post war time period credit him with being a major psychological weapon. Various theories range from him being a product of some type of super soldier program, such as the canceled HRL program, to a highly trained mercenary using the supplied with the latest in arms technology for field testing during the war. No official records exist of any deployments of mercenaries during the war, and no technology of any type like his was developed after the war, leading to both theories being called dead ends by theorists. But he lives on in tall tales, action films, historical action movies, and theories in the darkest corners of the net. Now, any questions, thoughts, confessions of being his long lost child?" That brought a chuckle as always.
Saji raised his hand, always eager to ask questions in my class. "Professor Ionesco, what's you opinion of the Red Comet?"
"Well, that's one I get asked a lot. My opinion is that he is most likely an exaggeration. I believe that there may be some unit that was equipped with advanced gear used against similar ISIS bloc forces, but I don't buy into the one man armies that Hollywood has turned him into. That's just silly. Now, I believe that is all our time together today. Before you leave, I would like to give you my customary assignment whenever this is first brought up. I would like a four page paper, typed, of you beliefs as to the truths and origins of the Red Comet, due in my in box in five days. NO movie scripts either, I know all of them. I don't ask for the most realistic depiction you can think of, far from it, I want you to have fun with this, but no plagiarism! I will see you all in class the day after tomorrow, I have to leave on a business trip for a secondary work project. Don't think I will forget about theses papers I have a perfect memory!"
Three hours later
Back at my apartment, I let my mind wander over today's news. I had told the class to also prepare for several lectures on Celestial Being, as the new terrorism group behind the attack on the Enact demonstration and the defense of Heaven's Pillar, mainly after seeing Aeolia Shenberg's part in their unveil. That had sent several of the major history buffs at the university into an uproar, due to Shenberg's know hatred off warfare, having lived thru the second, mass televised use, of nuclear weaponry in history. How they had simultaneously hacked every net connected device on earth for their message had also caused me to begin writing a lecture on communications technology for my class. But I had my business trip to plan for, so after a few hours I began walking off to the dockside office where my second job often took me.
Five hours latter
Ceylon, of the coat of India. An idyllic little island right off the coast of India. Idyllic, were it not for the ethnic warfare that raged across the island. Old reasons lost, the current battle was over mineral rights. Sinhalese miners equipped with MSER-04 Anfs waged war against the Tamil faction's MSJ-06II Tierens, sending round after round of 200mm cannon at each other, mercilessly gunning down escaped pilots from damaged suits with their 30mm cannons. Fires broke out from wayward high explosive rounds and leaking diesel engines, lighting drier parts of the surrounding jungle ablaze. Meanwhile, forces at the Human Reform League's outpost on the island watched with disinterest, concerned only with keeping the underground feeds from Tianzu intact and feeding the HRL's energy demands. In the jungles, guerillas fought tooth and nail in the fires, trying to claim random nameless clearing for their cause. Everything from pistols to anti-tank missiles were being fired into the jungles, sometimes at the firer's own allies. Limbs flew of under the hail of heavy machine gun fire. Here and there spider holes would pop open and nearby men would fall prey to shotguns, blowing hole torsos apart at point blank range. Medical camps, crude and primitive, came apart under hails of mortar fire, lighting blaze to cripple and doctor alike. Chaos reigned and somewhere in the vast multiverse beyond man's reasoning a titanic, armored figure covered from head to foot in plates of strange and alien design ate of the meal provided him. The fury of mans greatest endeavor claimed the once peaceful island.
On a hillside, Anfs fall back under the fury of the more advanced Tieren's advance forward. This was short lived, as pink beams lanced out at the Tieren's, cleanly clipping the arms off of the torso. Dynames had announced the arrival of the Gundam Meister's of Celestial Being. A cruiser shelling the Tamil civilian areas faced the full fury of the Virtue's GN Bazooka Burst Mode, coring the ship with a single lance of particles. Exia took to the field, disarming in the most literal manner his foes with his GN Sword. The HRL base wasn't spared either, as Kyrios took to the skies, unleashing it's drop pack's missiles and cluster bombs before dumping it into the jungle and strafing it with GN Sub-machinegun fire. Soon, the Tamil's began to retreat, Exia and Dynames ignoring them, believing their job done. This belief was soon shattered when overzealous Sinhalese pilots, believing the Gundams had come to aid their righteous cause, pressed on the attack, taking advantage of their saviors actions. Tamils that had bailed out were brutally gunned down while trying to surrender, some looking to the Gundam's with terror in there eyes at the devil's that had delivered them to their enemies hands, others with hope that they may save them as they had the Sinhalese. They were the ones who were proved right. Exia's pilot, consumed with fury at how their efforts were being used, lashed out at the Anfs, aiming directly at their cockpits. Dynames, left with no alternatives, supported his younger comrade. By the time they had finished, not a single MS was left in rebel hands on the island.
But in the jungles, the battle raged on. But a new challenger had appeared.
"Red Comet, commencing intervention."
AN Well... looks like someone is about to get a blast, or in this case, bullet, from the past. But what is a battlefield legend from the 21st century doing in Celestial Being's employ? Or more importantly, is he? All theses questions and more will not be answered in the next chapter! See ya on the battlefield!