A/n
Okay, here is the next Phase. And for you readers, I'll say this before we get into the fun: sit down, buckle up, hang on, and enjoy the ride you'll in for during the next couple of phases!
Phase 78: Neflheim Siege: The Assault Begins
October 22nd, 73 C.E
Asgard Base, 0300 Hours Local Time
The climbing of tensions around the Federation's Asgard base had been building for some time, but it had been increasing for more than a week now. The building OMNI fleet off the Atlantic Federation's eastern coastline had signaled the Alliance was planning to go ahead with their plan to assault the base. Since OMNI ships had begun gathering around the dock yard they were, the fleet had been under constant watch. The enemy fleet's size had become concerning within a few days of the group beginning to build. The chatter which had been observed among Alliance and OMNI channels had essentially confirmed the assumption. The building fleet intended to assault Asgard in the very near future as the Alliance had been whispering.
Preparations were in progress so when OMNI did come and attack, Asgard would be ready to defend against and oust OMNI. As per protocol, there was around the clock watch at Asgard High Command. So, they saw the signs of movement from the OMNI fleet in the middle of the night toward Asgard. The admiral over the Federation's Earthbound Defense Forces which was at Asgard was alerted of the change. The Admiral in question was a woman by the name of Elle Vianno. She was a Hybrid-type though a tad shorter than five and a half feet. She had long blonde hair made up of wavy lochs, with blue eyes and she looked a few years younger than she really was, which was forty-nine. Elle Vianno preference was working in the field, which is why she was at Asgard herself rather than elsewhere as her fellow Earthbound Defense admiral was. When she arrived at Asgard's command center, she was informed of OMNI's fleet had left the dock yard they had been at and were heading for Asgard.
That OMNI was coming in the direction of Asgard with the fleet said attempts to go with a diplomatic solution had failed. There had been attempts by some of the Federation leaders to get the Alliance to step back and think about what they were preparing to do. The whole trouble of OMNI gathering to assault Asgard started after the Alliance's attempted nuclear strike on the PLANTs. It was logically assumed that the attack on Asgard was the Alliance trying to get payback for the Federation stepping in during their nuclear strike. The Alliance had become petty enough they would try to get back at those who interfered in their attempted attacks. So, the attempts at a diplomatic solution had been expected to fail in the end.
Elle did inquire with the fleet's current speed, how long it would take for them to come into range of Asgard. She was told it would be approximately seven to seven and a half hours for OMNI to cross Asgard's outer most defense perimeter. That would translate into a battle beginning somewhere between nine-forty-five and ten-fifteen hours local time. Preparation should be finished for the most part by that point. However, the orbital cannons would still need more time to be ready for use. From what the Information Network said, there were OMNI forces heading for high orbit above Asgard's general area. It was assumed they would position themselves so they could drop forces in from above. The Space Forces were working on delaying those OMNI forces, but they could only do so much right now. But currently, the delay should be enough to have the orbital cannons ready to counter the OMNI vessels.
The factors which would determine how long the battle would go for were both the size of the OMNI fleet and how persistent they would be. The size of the fleet gave OMNI a good number of supplies to work with before they would have to think about falling back to load back up. Some large transports had been spotted which would extend the time that loading back up would be required. As for OMNI's persistence, Elle figured until they were forced to turn back for some reason, they would keep fighting. OMNI had become ridiculously dogmatic in the last year, mostly to their detriment, but it hadn't deterred them from their actions. Thus, until OMNI had to resupply or was pushed back with their forces dwindling, the battle would likely keep going. Elle knew that Federation defending forces wouldn't give an inch to OMNI during the coming battle. All at Asgard were dedicated to holding the base and denying the Alliance. She applauded every soldier that was willing to risk their lives to fight for the Federation.
Should the worst-case scenario happen, and OMNI manage to take Asgard from Federation control, there would be serious consequences for both sides. First, if OMNI obtained a victory, it would come with a steep cost for them. The forces they would have to sacrifice would be huge to take Asgard from the Federation. Estimates put the OMNI fleet coming to Asgard as more than half of the Alliance's earthbound military forces they had rebuilt since the Alliance-PLANT War. If that was decimated, then it would severely hurt the power of the Alliance for a time. The OMNI forces that remained would be kicked out of Asgard within months if not less as the Federation would mount operations to take the base back. Those operations would wear down and dispatch the OMNI forces who would try and hold Asgard. In the end, OMNI would lose whether they took Asgard or was forced back.
Elle had Asgard move to "DEFCON 3" which was a step down from being ready for imminent battle. It would speed up preparations to be finished before OMNI arrived to fight. While preparations may be estimated to be complete before the enemy force arrived, there was still much to be done in the time there was. OMNI may think the battle they were insisting on would be straightforward, but it wouldn't be as they envisioned. The last time OMNI made an attempt against Asgard, the defenses had been different than they were now. There were new aquatic mass-production mobile suits ready to receive and counter whatever OMNI may have for sub aqua attacks. The orbital cannons would be an effective counter to orbital drop forces OMNI intended to use. Those were just two defenses which OMNI didn't know about, there were others. Elle didn't feel that any of that would deter OMNI from assaulting Asgard, but it should slow them down.
The sun rose greeting the morning around Asgard, yet the tense air had increased. Around half of the estimated travel time OMNI would need to reach Asgard had gone by. The declaration of DEFCON 3 had essentially said a fight was coming very soon to all defense forces. All ship captains and commanding officers were informed about the time OMNI's fleet was expected to arrive. Most if not all the ships docked at Asgard had their crews doing final preparations the best they could. Any crew that wasn't on their assigned vessels were recalled immediately. The civilian areas were closed and locked down until further notice. Non-military personnel had been evacuated to safety zones that didn't face the direction OMNI's fleet would be coming from.
Tyler woke up to his alarm going off in his quarters. He hadn't been sleeping all that well due to the tension in the air around Asgard for the last solid week. Tyler expected OMNI to come any day now and he didn't like that. There appeared to be as much movement from Gibraltar in getting Shinn back to the Minerva as there had been in the last two weeks. He couldn't say if his prodding he'd done had an effect yet. So, the likelihood of Shinn getting caught up in a battle between OMNI and Asgard's defense forces was growing by the hour. Tyler really didn't want the kid to get caught up in such a battle. And it wasn't that he felt Shinn would stay on the sidelines, it was more the opposite. Shinn would want to help even if this wasn't his fight to participate in. That was the kind of heart the kid had from what Tyler had seen with him. The reason Tyler didn't what Shinn to participate was the fighting would be messy and the kid was so innocent. Tyler didn't want the kid to soak his hands in blood just because he wanted to help defend Asgard.
Tyler put on his uniform and headed for the Normandy's bridge so he could take over for Lisa and give her a break. He hoped the Alliance wouldn't attack today, but he wasn't very confident such a hope would hold. Yet as foolish a hope as it could be, Tyler still wanted to hold to the hope that Shinn wouldn't get involved in a battle. The kid shouldn't get blood on his hands when all he wanted to do was help. However, realistically, Tyler knew with how things were, Shinn would more than likely become involved. If it wasn't in the looming battle, it would be in the near future with another Alliance decision and Tyler knew it. ZAFT was supposed to be preparing for an Alliance campaign like the Federation had been doing. There was an upcoming ZAFT operation to reinforce their bases and ground forces on Earth.
A couple of hours went by before Shinn woke up in the "guest" quarters he'd been given for the last two weeks while onboard the Normandy. He couldn't help wondering how much longer it would be before he could get back to the Minerva. Not that the two weeks' time on the Normandy had been bad or anything, rather it had been amazing. Shinn had been able to think on things which he'd not gotten the time to do until recently. Since the Minerva set out, there really hadn't been time to think about much beyond the immediate needs. Thinking on one's feet had been required with the Minerva going from the Armory One attack to pursuing Bogey One and then to the incident with the ruins. It hadn't been until being on the Normandy that Shinn had "downtime" to think about recent events.
So much had happened it had Shinn's head spinning trying to comprehend and logically understand how things had come to where they were. The attack on Armory One had seemed to be the first tipping point that Shinn could recognize. There had been rumors that the group who had attacked the colony had been part of the Alliance, or at least was backed by them. The pursuit of Bogey One had lasted for a few days, with a fight against them at least once a day, usually more than one. Then had come the call about the ruins of Junius Seven heading for Earth and that event had really confused Shinn. It hadn't been the appearance of Bogey One, rather the rouge GINN pilots which had caused that. The had fought desperately and from the one Shinn had heard, they had been dedicated to having the ruins fall to Earth. That hadn't made sense to him, especially after the Junius Seven Recovery Project had been revealed. The project was supposedly an idea of the Federation which in the end had changed the normally thought process when it came to the Bloody Valentine.
There was the news that the Alliance making an attempt against the PLANTs days ago. Shinn had heard about the event from some on the Normandy. It had worried him when he'd first heard about the attack the Alliance had tried making. But as Shinn had listened further, he heard the Alliance's attempt had failed due to the efforts of ZAFT and the Federation. What had irritated Shinn was the Alliance's attack had been with nuclear weapons. It wasn't right with the Treaty of Junius Seven forbading the use of nuclear weapons by any of the factions. However, with its failure, Shinn had moved on from the Alliance's attack against the PLANTs. Talking with his family had also helped him be relieved as they were safe.
With the time to think upon the path those events seemed to have pushed, Shinn's outlook wasn't very high. The Alliance appeared to be promoting conflict around the world and space. Shinn couldn't figure out what benefit they would have for doing so, at least a benefit which made logical sense. And from what Commander McGregor had said, the Alliance had been looking to assault Asgard. Were that true and there was little reason to not believe it, the Alliance was getting bolder by the day. And Shinn felt it wouldn't be long before such would target ZAFT territory. All of the Alliance's actions would bring about a war that would involve all of humanity. Unlike the last war, the Federation wouldn't be able to stay out of the conflict, the Alliance clearly wouldn't allow that. He was still dwelling upon thoughts of a looming war as put on the clothes he'd gotten during his time on the Normandy. Commander McGregor had taken him to the "civilian" sector of Asgard to get the clothes.
After getting dressed, he made his way to the Normandy's mess to grab something to eat. When Shinn came into the common area, he saw there was a moderate number of the ship's crew milling about. Glancing at the nearest terminal, Shinn saw it was 0745 hours currently. However, it was a moment later that Shinn started to see something had changed since yesterday. It was subtle, but Shinn was seeing there was a little more tension and worry than there had been the day before. What had caused that, Shinn couldn't say with what he was seeing. He was getting a feeling things would soon take a non-nice turn, but beyond that Shinn wasn't sure of what the feelings pointed to. Shinn sat down at one of the tables still glancing between members of the Normandy's crew wondering what was going on.
Lisa had taken the time to grab a shower and clean up a bit after giving Tyler control of the bridge. She decided to go to the mess and grab a meal before attempting to get some sleep. The keyword was "attempt" since she felt sleep wouldn't be coming to her anytime soon. With Asgard having moved to DEFCON 3 status earlier the current morning, it was only a matter of time before a battle would begin. The tension that she was feeling as she moved about the ship was understandable. With a fight looming, the Normandy's crew was anxious about the wait time which they were being forced to experience. The tension would break and change once OMNI began their assault as then things would be more straightforward. But until then, the majority of the crew was and would be on edge.
When she entered, Lisa paused for a moment when she saw the Normandy's guest, Shinn Asuka at a table looking around the area. As far as she had heard, there had been little movement on getting the kid back to ZAFT's Gibraltar base during the two weeks he'd been on the Normandy. Tyler had mentioned something to the effect of Gibraltar refusing to help Asuka and given excuses when called. Lisa didn't doubt Tyler had already done some kind of prodding trying to get something to happen for helping Shinn. However, she couldn't say what form such had come in and what those efforts could've produced yet. She couldn't help but feel sorry for the kid and the position he was in currently. Lisa didn't see Shinn asking for any of the situation he found himself in right now. Yet, he'd been thrown into it and expected to make do with what he could get. It was truly a sad place for one with a good heart to end up in as they didn't deserve it at all.
Lisa grabbed a tray of food from the kitchen and moved over to the table Shinn was at. She sat down at the table and stared at Shinn for a long moment, "You look to be lost in your thoughts," Lisa began. "And yet, you are taking in the environment around you. Likely in the hope you can explain why things are the way they are." Lisa paused for a moment, "Care to share your thoughts? Talking does help one stay calm and other times help inspire potential answers to come." Shinn believed the woman sitting across from him was either the captain or vice-captain of the ship. He'd seen her around a few times while he'd been roaming the Normandy. The way the ship's crew was around the woman, it had been obvious to Shinn she was a top ship officer. And it wasn't that he didn't disagree with talking helping relieve stress from one's mind. Shinn just didn't know where to start with the thoughts plaguing his mind. But getting answers as to what the worried and tense air was about seemed a good place to begin. "What has happened to have everyone so tense?"
Lisa didn't reply immediately to the question, because the answer was complicated. With OMNI most likely heading for Asgard now as the change to DEFCON 3 implied, it was only a matter of time before battle to come. While Asgard should be prepared for OMNI's force when it came, it didn't lessen the concern of the coming assault. Signs of the coming battle had given time to do most preparations and the final ones were being wrapped up. But the estimated size of OMNI's fleet was larger than had been recorded before now. Thus, the tension around Asgard did rise as estimated timetables had been sharpened and made clearer. "News came in very early this morning that an OMNI force is heading toward our position," Lisa answered. "It means that a fight is in the very near future for those of us around Asgard."
Shinn's thoughts began racing at hearing what the woman was saying. As far as Shinn knew, the Federation's Asgard base was seen as the strongest military complex on Earth. That was what ZAFT believed and considered it. Shinn felt it would be very similar or much the same with the Alliance. With that in mind, Shinn couldn't help but wonder what would possess the Alliance to consider attacking Asgard would be a smart or logical idea. Any reasonable person would see going against Asgard as a "fool's errand" as the phrase went. The base was the Federation's stronghold and fortress they held. The Federation's base had been established years ago and from what Shinn understood, had never come close to falling to anyone else.
And yet, it sounded like OMNI did plan and intended to assault the Federation's headquarters on Earth. The Federation tended to have accurate information, so if they said OMNI was heading their way, it was usually true. Thus, Shinn couldn't help but question whether those controlling the Alliance were of sound mind or were insane. He also wondered if ZAFT's leadership was aware of OMNI's looming action. For OMNI to attack the Federation would be something of real concern to ZAFT Shinn wouldn't doubt. The Alliance had recently attacked the PLANTs, declaring war against ZAFT. It would be even more foolish for the Alliance to then go and make enemies of the Federation. Shinn didn't believe the Federation would let Asgard fall to the Alliance's coming assault. But that didn't mean OMNI wouldn't make a serious attempt to forcibly take Asgard if they could do so.
Shinn couldn't stop himself asking the obvious question on his mind, "Would the Alliance really be so foolish to attack Asgard," he asked. From what Shinn had heard, the Alliance had made attempts previously to take the fortress base which was the Federation's headquarters from them. Those previous attempts had failed utterly and that was putting it nicely. The story about the attempts the Alliance had made had ended out being embarrassing at minimum and horrifying at worse. Should those be true and there was little reason to think they weren't, the Alliance's record was beyond bad with what they were supposedly about to do. With that in mind, it left the question of why the Alliance would do something so clearly foolish. "They are supposed to have done so before and failed, right," Shinn continued. "What could they possibly do differently to not have similar results?"
Lisa nodded as Shinn had spoken the truth and common sense. "An attack on Asgard by OMNI is indeed foolish, I wouldn't disagree about that." Lisa paused for a moment, thinking about how to word things to help make sense of this. The Alliance's actions, while stupid on the face of it, made a twisted kind of sense. Granted, one had to twist into unnatural knots and painful positions to potentially understand the Alliance's reasoning, but that wasn't the point. The motivations of the Alliance were corrupt to put it simply and that was being nice about the point. If one tried to understand the why the Alliance was doing what they were, they had to see things from their view. That alone was difficult to do objectively or even with common sense and logic. One had to not get drawn in with the selfishness the Alliance seemed consumed by. The selfishness and greed the Alliance seemed to be engulfed by was hard to get around. But it was that which drove them to do what they did, so one couldn't dismiss it.
With the loss they had suffered with the failed nuclear strike on the PLANTs, those controlling the Alliance were frustrated. Their attempted strike had been wrong from the beginning, but they wouldn't admit that to anyone. Lisa didn't doubt the Alliance would justify their actions with something about Coordinators being evil. That was one of their most used excuses for what they did so it was expected from the Alliance. However, the Alliance's position had been undermined and they would be looking for something to put out the fires and undo the damage done. From their view, there was a need for a victory which would show how strong and in the right they were. If that view of them didn't change, doubt would spread and diminish their "power" over the masses. To gain that victory and get payback as a bonus, the Alliance had come up with their current plan. That plan was to attack the Federation where it would send a message and do harm. And where better to achieve that than Earth's Federation headquarters at Asgard? "However, what you rightly call foolishness," Lisa kept going. "Those who control the Alliance would claim are fighting the good fight. They won't accept defeat after one stupid attempt to gain power and instill fear. Thus, the attack on Asgard I assume is the Alliance's plan and means to punish us in the Federation's military for stepping in and helping stop them in harming the PLANTs."
The Alliance wanting revenge on those who had denied them made general sense to Shinn. He'd seen the signs that radicals tended to be petty enough to insist on those who went against them needed to pay. That part made sense even if it was still ridiculous overall. But attacking Asgard of all places didn't at all seem like a good idea to obtain payback. It was more like setting up for a worse failure if Shinn were to give his opinion. "Okay, while I can understand the Alliance's desire to get back at those they see as denying them something, attacking here doesn't make sense for that goal. Going against Asgard seems more like something doomed to fail," Shinn remarked. For the Alliance to have any chance to assault Asgard and not be beaten within less than an hour, they would need a large fleet. The fleet would have to be larger than anything OMNI had put together before now. Such a fleet would be hard to miss while it was being assembled Shinn would imagine. "They would need a huge fleet to even have a slim chance of assaulting the base and having any success."
Lisa knew Shinn wasn't wrong about OMNI needing a sizable fleet for their intended target. And by Shinn's reaction, Lisa figured ZAFT unlikely knew what the Alliance had been doing. ZAFT would've been worried if they knew about OMNI's building fleet. If the estimated size was used against Gibraltar or Carpentaria, Lisa felt those bases would be hard pressed to oust OMNI from taking them. So, Lisa could only nod, "Indeed, you're not wrong OMNI would need a large fleet to make the attempt. And such a fleet has been building off the Atlantic Federation's east coast." Shinn blinked at hearing OMNI had been putting together a fleet for their attack on the Federation's headquarters. There had been no word about such a thing, not even rumors that he'd heard going around the Minerva. A building OMNI fleet would be something that would circulate around ZAFT, Shinn was sure of that. "Wait, what," he questioned, "A fleet has been building? But how long has that been going on?"
Shinn's reaction confirmed to Lisa that ZAFT had been unaware of OMNI's fleet assembly. It was from the Information Network which the Federation had learned of the point. Lisa figured whatever means had been used to get the info had to be in danger by this point. OMNI wouldn't want the Federation to know about their plans or what was going into it. It had provided time for Asgard to prepare for the coming assault. Thus, Lisa shrugged in response, "Ah, so you hadn't heard about the fleet OMNI has been putting together. Yes, OMNI has been assembling a fleet and that was noticed almost two weeks ago. They have been trying to be sneaky about the idea. However, the eventual size of the fleet makes that nigh impossible to manage. Yet, it was data from the Information Network which brought the action to the attention of the Federation."
Shinn wondered if ZAFT had noticed OMNI gathering a fleet the size the woman was implying was being assembled. He didn't doubt that the Federation's Information Network had given warning of some sort. The network had been amazing when Shinn had done research for school when he was younger. And if the Federation had openly seen the fleet, then Shinn didn't see why ZAFT shouldn't have noticed it as well. However, there had been no word of OMNI putting together a large fleet that Shinn had heard. ZAFT would have to not be paying attention and not looking for them to miss such a thing. Yet, the Minerva had been in space before the ruins falling incident, so it was very possible the Minerva hadn't heard about any of it. Shinn couldn't imagine Carpentaria or Gibraltar would ignore a huge OMNI seaborne fleet going around the world's oceans. It would be too much of a threat to leave alone or dismiss since it could be turned against those bases. Thus, the tension now made all the sense in the world to Shinn, and he didn't blame any for being concerned. "Okay," Shinn admitted, "I can see the concern about a building OMNI fleet." And yet, Shinn couldn't help but wonder what had changed to increase the tension he had noticed. "But what changed since yesterday?"
"I can't say with absolute certainty," Lisa started, "But Asgard's alert level which are used to say what could be coming was raised early this morning. I assume it is in response to OMNI's fleet moving out and heading for Asgard. That means it is also certain that a battle with OMNI will happen today rather than at a later time. Preparation around Asgard is being wrapped up with that in mind." Shinn considered what he was being told. He felt it was information that ZAFT would be very interested in finding out. Shinn recalled hearing mention of an upcoming operation around Earth recently. Something about reinforcing ZAFT's forces on Earth for quick response to the Alliance's potential activities. However, he couldn't remember anything beyond that right now. Yet, Shinn felt the Alliance attack Asgard could shift humanity's standing and accelerate things toward a war. ZAFT would likely accelerate bolstering Earthbound forces with the shift.
Meanwhile, Tyler was on the bridge going over the duty records to see if there was anything of note. The first thing he noticed was the message from Asgard High Command declaring DEFCON 3. It did essentially blow-up Tyler's hope to get Shinn to Gibraltar before things took a turn in a harder direction. Tyler had given it his best effort, even prodding the Minerva to be involved. However, Tyler had figured time had been against him, which had gotten him to act. Yet, it seemed that his actions of stepping in for Shinn had come a bit too late to have the desired effect. The kid would be around when the battle against the fleet OMNI gathered came and assaulted Asgard. Tyler didn't doubt Shinn would only have to be told what was going on before he volunteered to help in Asgard's defense. And his offer to assist wouldn't be refused as much as Tyler kind of hoped it would be. OMNI was going to throw a lot at Asgard and so, its defenders weren't in a position to decline help so quickly or because of the source it may come from. Thus, Tyler couldn't blame Asgard High Command for accepting help should it be offered, he would do the same in their position.
On the Normandy's end, the ship was ready as much as possible for combat. The ship's offensive and defensive systems were on standby, ready to switch over for use. According to the report that was from Chief Volyon, the mobile suits were prepared and good to send out. The Aurora arrived at Asgard a week ago from Teswa and was in prime condition. It had been loaded back on the ship while the other Gundams had been removed and sent back to Teswa. So, even Tyler could go out with his Gundam and fight OMNI when the battle began. He intended to fight out on the field working toward OMNI being pushed back and ousting them. Thus, Tyler was confident that when the fight started, the Normandy would be ready to head out to battle. And he knew that the Normandy would perform its expected duties down on earth as well as it had in space. The upcoming battle would prove Tyler's confidence, he would make sure of that.
Tyler sat back in his chair after checking over the Normandy's readiness for the fifth time. He kept going over it as a means to keep on task and not being antsy and on edge. The waiting did not help the stress he had been feeling upon getting to Asgard. Granted, he didn't want the battle looming ahead to come, but that was out of his control. He was brought out his thoughts when Miss Alloy spoke up. "Captain," she began, "We just received a priority message from Asgard High Command." Tyler turned to his primary communication officer. For a message to come from Asgard High Command with circumstances as they were currently it was unlikely to be a good thing. That it was a "priority" one made it even less likely to be good news. "And that message is Miss Alloy," Tyler inquired. "To all defense forces," Miss Alloy started, "DEFCON 2 is being declared. Make final preparations for imminent combat."
The message from Asgard High Command was the one Tyler had both been waiting for and dreading. For DEFCON 2 to be declared was the final warning the fight with OMNI and their assault on Asgard was about to begin. OMNI likely was or would very soon be passing into Asgard's outer most defense perimeter. That perimeter was a couple kilometers out from the island the base was on. It meant the wait for OMNI to act was over and the expected business was going to begin. And with the rumors Tyler had heard of what Asgard and others had been monitoring, the OMNI fleet wouldn't be small in any way. Tyler figured the battle ahead would be long and arduous. The Alliance had become more persistent and tenacious since the Alliance-PLANT War. Thus, Tyler didn't expect OMNI's force to give up and retreat in a short period after the start of the fighting. Whether that meant the battle would go on most of if not all day, Tyler couldn't say with the facts as they were.
Tyler had hoped he could get a little more time to help Shinn get back to Gibraltar in some way. He knew such had been a slim to none chance but that hadn't stopped him from wanting that for the kid. However, the situation hadn't worked in the way he'd been working for. There was nothing Tyler could do for Shinn now until the fight was decided and over. Tyler ended out exhaling heavily, "Well, so much for hoping they would be somewhat patient," Tyler muttered to himself. "Tell Asgard High Command that we acknowledge the message, Miss Alloy." Tyler turned to face Feldt, "Miss Grace, if you would sound the red alert and get everyone heading for their stations, please." While the bridge crew was carrying out their orders, Tyler had an inspirational thought. Since Shinn couldn't get out Asgard before the battle came, he would almost certainly volunteer to help in the base's defense. Tyler knew where the ZAFT Gundam had been stored, he'd made a point in finding that out. The hangar could charge the Gundam's battery somewhat before Shinn got there. The charging cycle wasn't going to be as efficient as it would be if done on the Minerva, but it was better than nothing. Thus, Tyler sent a message to the hangar to charge the ZAFT Gundam the best they could as the ZAFT pilot would be there soon enough.
Back in the mess, Shinn wanted more information on the OMNI fleet apparently heading for Asgard. The Federation had means to acquire information on almost anything seemingly, even if he didn't know what those methods or means were. It was clear that the Federation was convinced that OMNI was going to assault Asgard. And that event seemed to be imminent, meaning any chance of Shinn getting back to Gibraltar would happen after the assault. Not that Shinn blamed any here at Asgard for not trying to help him get back to the Minerva. It had been made clear by Commander McGregor that he and others had been trying for the last two weeks, with little success. Shinn was going to inquire further about OMNI planning to assault Asgard but never got the chance. Before he could speak, a buzzing alarm began going off. Shinn also noticed that strips along the walls lit up red as the alarm was going off.
"Red alert, Asgard High Command has declared DEFCON 2. All hands to battle stations. Repeat, red alert, Asgard High Command has declared DEFCON 2. All hands to battle stations."
Lisa had felt it wouldn't be all that long after DEFCON 3 had been declared for things to accelerate toward a battle. The Normandy would assist Asgard's defense forces in ousting OMNI and sending them away. The ship was as ready as possible for combat by what Lisa knew from her shift on the bridge. She would have to go back to the bridge for a long shift with however long OMNI would insist the fight go on for. Yet, there was still the question of what would happen with Shinn when it came to the battle. As a ZAFT pilot, he wasn't required or expected to be involved in Asgard's defense. He could step forward and volunteer should he wish to do so, but he didn't need to. But that would be a question he would have to decide for himself. "Well," Lisa began, "That ends the conversation sorry to say. It would seem OMNI has no intention in waiting to follow through on this foolish decision."
Shinn blinked at what the woman had just said. The alert was unfamiliar to Shinn, but he guessed it was similar to ZAFT's condition red. He equated them as battle stations had been mentioned in the announcement. Yet, if Asgard was going to be attacked by the Alliance as had been said thus far, what was he going to do? As a ZAFT pilot, he didn't have to assist the Federation in defending their headquarters and wouldn't be expected to do so. And yet, Shinn didn't want to sit around on the "sidelines" and do nothing while fighting was going on. He wanted to help, to show his gratitude for the treatment he'd gotten in the last two weeks if nothing else. But all he really knew how to do during a fight was piloting a mobile suit. Shinn didn't have much skill with ship operation. Sure, he'd taken a few classes for bridge stations, but not enough to operate any of them with confidence. He was about to say he wanted to help, but Lisa stopped him. "If you're about to say you want to help," she remarked, "I'm not the one to say that to. Tyler would be the one and I have a feeling he will find you shortly." Lisa headed to the bridge, leaving Shinn in the mess. She was sure that Tyler would get to him and give him the rundown on the options he had for the situation.
Tyler was handing out orders to those on the bridge and those who quickly took their stations after battle stations were called. He was just prepping things for when Lisa would come onto the bridge and take over for him. Tyler wished Lisa had gotten more time to rest before having to take over command from him. However, OMNI hadn't allowed such a thing with their insistence on attacking Asgard. There would still be a little time for deployment for Asgard's defense forces. OMNI may be in sensor range, but that was farther out than firing range. DEFCON 2 meant there was time for forces to go out before enemy forces came into effective firing range of the base. The door to the bridge slid open, and when Tyler turned, he saw Lisa coming in. He rose from his seat and nodded at her to signal things were ready for her to take over.
Tyler left the bridge and began making his way toward the pilot locker room. He planned to take a longer route so he could come across Shinn and tell him what his options were. And it was passing into the mess area that Tyler found Shinn. Tyler slowed down and approached Shinn so he could talk to him, "Shinn." Shinn turned and saw Commander McGregor coming up to him, "What's going on," he asked. "Is OMNI really about to attack Asgard?" Tyler nodded, "Unfortunately, that is the case yes. OMNI is being idiotic and picking fights that are ones they will unlikely win. But that is a subject for a different discussion when a battle isn't looming ahead in the immediate future. I was hoping to have a brief talk about what you can do with this event racing toward us."
Shinn nodded, grateful for some saying he had options to choose from on what he could do with the current situation. Tyler continued, "You of course, could sit around and watch as the battle occurs." Shinn flinched at being told he could sit around and just observe as things happened. He had never been one to just watch, and it always irked him when he was forced to do so. Tyler kept going, "However, you haven't come off as the type to be fine with being on the sidelines when given the choice. So, the other option is you helping-" Shinn cut over Commander McGregor, "I want to help. Just tell me what I can do to assist in Asgard's defense." Tyler blinked at being interrupted by Shinn saying he wanted to volunteer essentially. Sure, he'd expected Shinn to volunteer to be involved in Asgard's defense in some way. The kid's heart would have him stepping forward and helping. Tyler just hadn't expected the "enthusiasm" Shinn had shown with his statement. "Well, I figured you would volunteer, but not be so quick and enthusiastic doing so. That also makes what I did a little while ago worth it too." Tyler cleared his throat, "As you are so willing, follow me and I'll lay out things along the way."
Shinn nodded and followed Commander McGregor as he turned around and headed for the corridor he'd come in through. Tyler was leading the way to the forward lifts so they could descend down to the hangar deck and go to the locker room. Shinn's pilot suit had been stored in a locker per Tyler's instructions. The two boarded the lift and descended down the decks to arrive at the hangar deck where the lift stopped. Shinn followed Commander McGregor down the corridor to a locker room toward the end of the hall. Once inside, Shinn found there were already three there. There was one person that Shinn had talked to a couple times, whose name was Luke Lascy. The two women were unfamiliar to Shinn, but he assumed they were the Normandy's other pilots. Commander McGregor waved at Mr. Lascy, "Luke you and the others go ahead," he said. "I'll follow in a bit after helping Shinn out."
All but Shinn and Commander McGregor finished suiting up and exited the locker room. Tyler turned to Shinn and pointed at a locker, "Your pilot suit is in that one, best you put it on, for you'll need it should you want to help." Shinn did what he was told, opening the locker and finding his ZAFT pilot suit hanging in there. He took it out and found it had been cleaned since the last time he'd seen or inspected it. Shinn appreciated that someone had gone through the trouble of cleaning the suit. Cleaning a pilot suit could be tedious but got harder if it wasn't done regularly, Shinn had personal experience with that. He stripped off his clothes and put on the pilot suit, being quick about it, which helped him focus on what could be ahead. While Shinn was putting on his suit, he saw out of the corner of his eye that Commander McGregor was doing the same.
Tyler zipped up his suit and let the internal frame adjust to his body shape and snug down. He turned to see Shinn was adjusting his suit and buckling it up. Tyler waited for Shinn to finish so he could give the final bit of the rundown of the situation out to the kid. Shinn clipped the neck buckle before grabbing his helmet and faced Commander McGregor. "Okay," Tyler started, "Your Gundam is being stored in a hangar at the current moment. I can't get you there myself with circumstances as they are right now. However, I can get you to those who are able to transport you to the said hangar. There you can board your machine and head out to the battlefield. Those at the hangar should be charging the Gundam the best they can. The battery will likely not be at full capacity, but it will be more than what it was at." Tyler headed for the door to the locker room waving at Shinn to follow him. Shinn followed Commander McGregor who led him back to the lift instead of the end of the corridor Shinn believed the ship's hangar was. The lift went upward and stopped on the mid-operations deck where the two exited. Tyler led Shinn to the starboard airlock and exited the Normandy onto the gangway which was against the ship's hull.
One quick glance around and Shinn saw all around were racing to finish whatever they were doing. It only showed that what Shinn had heard about OMNI intending to assault Asgard was more than likely true. Tyler led Shinn onto the dock itself and stopped, waving one of the dock workers over. He quickly told them that Shinn who he pointed to, needed a ride to the specific hangar the ZAFT Gundam was stored in. Once Tyler had gotten what he needed across and the dock worker went off to arrange a ride for Shinn, he turned back to the kid. "Those here around the docks will get you to the hangar where your machine is," Tyler iterated. "That's as far as I can take you. Once you get to the hangar, board your machine and head out. I would recommend you have your Federation ID handy. Slot it into the port on the side of your display console. It will help, and I wouldn't doubt you'll understand why when you do. All I can do beyond that is wish you luck and say we will see each other on the battlefield." While Shinn would've liked more concise information about what he was going to be going into, he could see time was of the essence. There wasn't the time for more questions with a battle ahead. Shinn would take Commander McGregor at his word and go on from there. So, he nodded and moved forward toward the dock workers who would give him a ride to the Impulse.
Tyler turned back to the gangway and raced back up in. The gangway was vibrating saying it was going to move in a moment, so Tyler lept off the gangway and landed on the lip in front of the airlock and shot inside the ship. He tapped out the command to seal the airlock and had the outer hull slide into place to shield the entry to the ship's interior. Then Tyler used the control panel to call the bridge, "Lisa, get the Normandy under way once the docking equipment clears us. There isn't the time to waste with OMNI drawing closer to Asgard." Tyler closed the channel and headed for the hangar and his machine. He fully intended to help make OMNI regret ever considering assaulting Asgard was a good idea to attempt. Maybe the Alliance would take the hint to mind their own business and not start fights with others with this, though Tyler doubted it. But a loss to the Alliance would still hurt them and currently that was helpful to those who didn't want a war to start.
Meanwhile, inside Asgard's command center, all were working hard to delegate final orders for the looming fight. Admiral Vianno was looking over the holographic display of the approaching OMNI fleet. The fleet closing in on Asgard was huge as information had said it would be. It was made up of well over a hundred OMNI vessels of every known class. The first thing she noticed from the info she was taking in was OMNI had more of their Spengler class carriers in this fleet than any other ship class. She would expect that as they would be deploying OMNI's mobile suits. The more of them translated into more suits for OMNI to send at Asgard. On the numbers of ships, OMNI had Asgard beat by a margin by slightly over a factor of two. But mobile suits would be different, and Elle was confident Asgard had the advantage on that front. Signs also pointed to OMNI planning to drop forces in from orbit during the battle. They had a fleet heading in the direction of Earth to do that. Nevertheless, from what Elle was seeing, the battle ahead would be a long and drawn out one. OMNI would surely not let the force they had gathered run away quickly. This was a serious gamble the Alliance was making, and they appeared to be ready to see it through.
Elle glanced around and saw officers also looking over the display, recording down information and passing it along to those who needed it. All stations in the command center were doing what they were expected to right now. Elle had already delegated the major orders that had been necessary to be carried out immediately. It was estimated that the OMNI fleet would come into firing range in around thirteen minutes. Ships from the defense forces were already heading out from their docks to ready for the face-off. All mobile suit launching facilities reported into the command center as ready to scramble. There had even been a report that the "guest" ZAFT pilot had volunteered to help with their Gundam. Elle didn't have an issue with that and had given her permission for that to go ahead without interference. Asgard was at the point that it was as prepared as it could possibly be for the oncoming assault. There were the barrier shields to be deployed which made aerial bombardment moot. However, besides that, all was prepared to Elle's knowledge. The Valkyrie orbital cannons were on track to be ready within less than two hours. The ground to orbit cannons were originally constructed as a precaution against the possibility of ZAFT trying to use their landing forces to attack the base. However, it was clear it would be OMNI who would be the ones to be the test subjects of the cannons' effectiveness. That would make them operational just before the OMNI space fleets positioned themselves above the base.
The defense of Asgard would be the best possible against OMNI's assault. OMNI would be forced to learn the lesson once again that they couldn't go around doing whatever they wanted and not face consequences. The Alliance may have declared war against ZAFT and the PLANTs officially, but this assault would be an unofficial declaration of war against the Federation. A declaration of war would be taken seriously by the Federation and its military unofficial or not. The Alliance would be made aware of that fact whether they liked it or not. Regardless of what the Alliance had intended to do with their actions, they would be held accountable for the results. Elle wouldn't see the fall of Asgard to the Alliance, she would make sure OMNI would be ousted.
Back with Shinn, one of the dock workers guided him to a Jeep someone had fetched. As he got into the vehicle, Shinn glanced back at the Normandy to see it starting forward to leave its dock. Shinn worked on taking measured breaths as the vehicle lurched forward and left the docking area and swung onto a road. Buildings were zooming by as the vehicle raced along the road heading for the hangar the Impulse was in. Shinn caught something happening above which got him to glance upward. What looked like light shimmering above Asgard was spreading out from multiple points. "What the," Shinn questioned. Shinn heard chuckling next to him and when he glanced that direction, saw one of the dock workers chuckling. "What you're seeing is the barrier shields being deployed," the dock worker said. "They make it so bombarding the base from above is pointless since it will be blocked by the shield."
Shinn was somewhat stunned that the Federation had created a defense against aerial bombardment. It was revolutionary for a military force to find a way to do so. However, it wasn't exactly a surprise that the Federation had been the first to come up with a means to do the job. But to have a system which covered a base the size of Asgard was impressive to Shinn. Yet, he couldn't help but wonder if the defenses Asgard had were put in place to repel the Alliance, ZAFT, or potentially both factions. The Federation had built its own strength and now Shinn wondered if that wasn't to go against either faction. Until now, the Alliance had pretty much been the ones to cause trouble for the rest of humanity. Yes, there had been those that had not been in the Alliance who had brought hardship to humanity. But the Alliance had been responsible for the majority of the problems faced currently. Shinn looked ahead as the vehicle came into an area that contained large buildings which Shinn assumed were hangars.
The vehicle came to a stop by one of the hangars and Shinn was signaled to exit the Jeep. Shinn did as he was gestured to do and faced a door on the building as the vehicle swung around and zoomed away. He moved forward to the door and entered the hangar after a minute of reminding himself he was doing what he felt was right. Upon entering the hangar, Shinn saw the Impulse in a mobile suit dock. It was the only machine in the hangar, which Shinn assumed was because those that were normally stored there were readying to launch out. There were workers around the Impulse that had cables connected to it currently. Shinn approached the Impulse and was noticed by the hangar workers.
Those in the hangar had been working on the ZAFT Gundam. There had been a call in from a ship that had docked close to a week ago. The same ship that had brought the ZAFT Gundam to Asgard. The call had asked the ZAFT Gundam to be charged the best it could be with the time there still was before the fighting began. Supposedly the pilot of the ZAFT Gundam would be coming to the hangar and going out with their machine. The issue with charging the Gundam was the connections it had didn't match the standard Federation connectors. Some alterations had been made to make charging possible, but the energy transfer was slower than normal charging was. It would take time to get the battery the Gundam had to be fully charged, but there would unlikely be the time before the battle began. It was estimated that the Gundam's battery was close to halfway charged when the individual in a ZAFT pilot suit entered the hangar.
Shinn jogged up to the dock the Impulse was in. The mobile suit looked in better shape than Shinn had thought it would be in. There was the possibility that minor repairs had been done while it was stored in this hangar. Shinn didn't see any notable damage that could impede his intention to go out and fight with the Impulse. The Impulse couldn't change out equipment without the Minerva, so the Force set's equipment and the default options were all Shinn would be able to use in the battle. The one leading the hangar workers called out to Shinn which he acknowledged. He was told the Impulse was charged close to halfway at the moment. Shinn would accept having a battery at half capacity rather than close to empty as the Gundam had almost been the last time Shinn had seen it. He was told he could come back to the hangar for resupply when he needed. The time to resupply the Impulse would be longer than it would've been on the Minerva, but it would be better than having no means to do so.
Shinn boarded the Impulse, closing the cockpit after himself to those in the hangar wishing him luck. He activated the suit's operating system and looked things over. The atmospheric heat from descending down to Earth had done some minor damage to the shield. It should still block incoming beams, but the anti-beam coating would fail given time. And with the battle ahead likely to be a long one, that failure could potentially be detrimental. The shield was the most concerning issue with the Impulse beyond its battery not being fully charged. The battery was at forty-nine percent currently. While that was less than ideal, Shinn would use that battery power the best he could in the fight. He would have to keep an eye on his power level and fight smart to conserve his battery percentage. Shinn would normally activate the Impulse's phase shift armor before heading out, but he didn't. He would wait until he was in the air to conserve power the best he could.
Shinn announced he was ready to move out, and the dock began opening to free the Impulse. He recalled what Commander McGregor had told him about his Federation ID stick and what he should do with it. Shinn unbuckled his neck clasp and took out his ID stick. Then he glanced around for the port mentioned by the commander. Shinn found it on the side of the forward display and slotted in the ID stick. The forward display changed for a moment with data going across the screen before the Impulse's radio came on. What Shinn was hearing told him that the Impulse's communications equipment had just been linked into Asgard's communications network. Shinn was a little taken aback that his ID stick had allowed him to be in the Federation's communications loop. It would certainly make a difference for Shinn in this fight as he would know what the loose plan could be. Commander McGregor had been right, with his ID stick had given him a great ability and advantage he would be able to utilize. Shinn focused forward and saw those in the hangar had just disconnected the cables they had been using to charge the Impulse's battery. Once the workers were clear and had the cables out of the path, Shinn had the Impulse take a step forward out of the dock. The hangar doors ahead were sliding open as the Impulse kept moving forward.
Shinn exited the hangar and glanced around, taking in his surroundings. He was a moderate distance from the western shoreline of the island that Asgard was built upon. The area he was in was essentially empty of most people and equipment. Shinn assumed that Federation forces had already headed west to meet the oncoming OMNI assaulting forces. He could already see Federation mobile suits in the air in their jet craft form. Shinn's attention was shifted when he heard orders from "Asgard High Command" for named squadrons to scramble. He took that as it was time for him to get the Impulse into the sky and join with the Federation forces and defend Asgard. "Shinn Asuka," Shinn announced over an open channel, "Impulse, taking off."
The Impulse ignited its thrusters and surged up from the ground and climbed towards the jet craft in the sky. Shortly after he was in the air, Shinn received a direct communication from Asgard High Command. He was told to join up with the squadron to his right and work with them during the battle. Working with a group made Shinn feel slightly less worried about how this battle would go for him. He would have others watching out for him and he doing the same for those he was working with. Shinn acknowledged the order and moved to be with the Thor squadron. As he glanced down at his sensor display, he found the squadron was made up of twenty-seven jet craft mobile suits. Shinn did check in with the Thor squadron's leader and told him he was ready to work with the whole squad. He was told to move into the left wing of the squadron which Shinn did.
He shifted his attention forward and couldn't help but stare at the sight ahead of him. The largest OMNI seaborne fleet that Shinn had ever seen was spread out ahead approaching Asgard. There were well over a hundred vessels of every OMNI ship class that Shinn was aware of. It gave the impression that the Alliance was really serious about assaulting Asgard. Shinn had heard that the Alliance claimed Asgard should've been theirs to begin with but hadn't put much stock in such frivolous claims. However, the fleet before him said they were forcing their claim and would employ force to try and make it true. Shinn spotted OMNI's mobile suits taking off from their carriers and other smaller ships. They were the new OMNI mass-production model, the "Windam" as Shinn recalled the name being. All the machines appeared to be equipped with a flight system of some kind. It seemed to be similar to what the Impulse had with the Force silhouette, but only had a large pair of wings with thrusters.
It was clear with the long look that Shinn had gotten the Alliance had no intention of letting this conflict to end soon. The OMNI assaulting fleet would push this fight until they either couldn't keep going or were victorious. It made Shinn understand he would have to be smart and conserve power and resupply regularly to make it through this battle alive. The Federation did have a good defensive position which would make it likely they would win the battle in the end. The array of guns and whatever else the Federation had to defend Asgard would support the mobile suits fighting against OMNI. However, Shinn felt that OMNI would be beyond persistent with this fight and keep it going as long as they could. In short, this battle would be one of endurance rather than strength and power. Keeping up on resupply and not letting one's battery run too low would be critical for all pilots participating.
As Shinn focused in on the battle ahead, the OMNI fleet faced off against Federation vessels. OMNI began firing the first collection of shots in this battle before the Federation's counterattack started. Sirens wailed from behind Shinn around Asgard, signaling the battle's initiation. The shoreline defenses commenced their interception job, firing at the approaching OMNI ships. The enemy fleet changed their overall formation to having ships break off into smaller groups to make it harder to pick off ships, but still continued to surge forward. The jet craft ahead of Shinn began shooting at OMNI's Windams. Shinn heard the order to engage the enemy force at will, before he took in the nearest enemy targets.
The battle quickly became involved, OMNI forces ended out pushing their assault hard for more than an hour without much changing. They hadn't made as much progress in getting to the Federation's base itself during that time. The Federation had dug in and hadn't allowed OMNI forces to move forward without a lot of work and cost for any gain. Asgard had improved their defensive capabilities since the last attempt made by OMNI against the base. However, that hadn't deterred OMNI in their assault against the Federation. This operation would either take the Federation's headquarters or do the best it could before being forced to fallback. The Alliance needed a victory against one of the other factions. The one against ZAFT had failed and so a victory against the Federation would make up for that.
OMNI was doing what it could to stager its resupply for mobile suits so they could keep up the assault. Neo headed back out to the field after resupplying his Windam. The Windams in this battle were using the jet striker. The Jet Striker pack was meant to give a Windam suit atmospheric flight capabilities which was required in this battle and future ones. The fight had been going on for over an hour now and OMNI had only gained less than half a kilometer closer to Asgard. And that gain had been earned through hard work with a cost attached to it which wasn't mentioned. The fleet commanders just kept saying to move forward and push against the enemy defensive force. Neo understood the motivation the Alliance and OMNI had for this operation. Yet, as he believed, this operation would be hard fought, and a high price paid for a risky gamble that had slim chances to pay out.
OMNI's overall tactical plan against the strongest Federation base was made up of multiple stages by what Neo had been told. The current work was part of the first stage where the fleet would work to close the distance they could toward Asgard. The fleet was to gain as much attention from Asgard's defending forces as they could. The second stage would do better if Asgard was focused on the fleet rather than in other directions. The bulk of the second stage involved mobile suits dropping in from orbit over the enemy base. That force would cause as much chaos around Asgard as they could to throw it into disarray. From there, the two-pronged attacks would work towards each other and would manage to reach the island itself which Asgard occupied. OMNI believed they could do better in a ground battle with the Federation than over the sea and in the air. The real difference that Neo could see with that was Asgard's shore guns wouldn't be as effective.
Neo wasn't a fan of the tactical plan that had been laid out for him and others. It had a lot of assumptions and holes which could be turned against OMNI and make things bad very quick. For there not to be real plans after the second stage worried Neo for several reasons. He figured there was little planned as most didn't even know if the fleet would make it to the end of the second stage alive. The odds and chances that OMNI had with actually taking the Federation's military headquarters were slim even with the tactical plan. Neo had been one of those that felt this operation was a waste and mistake to go with. The fleet OMNI had put together and sent at Asgard would unlikely come back with half of those it had headed out with.
The trio was out on the battlefield fighting with others from OMNI. They had split up at the start of the battle to go to where they would have the advantage with their Gundams. Auel had gone underwater per Neo's suggestion. Sonar had been "blinded" quickly after the fighting had started, which had given the Federation an advantage. The Abyss should be able to help in having eyes down there and see what the Federation could be hiding. However, from what Neo had heard from Auel and Sting, the Abyss's advantage had been flipped. The cursing from Auel made Neo think the Federation had some sort of defense underwater to counter mobile suits. The Federation was supposed to have created an underwater Gundam during the Alliance-PLANT War according to OMNI intel. It wouldn't be shocking if that had led to some sort of mass-production aquatic model mobile suits. And should there be enough of them, they could potentially overwhelm the Abyss and force it back.
Sting was not doing all that much better in the air than Auel was beneath the water. The Chaos was doing slightly better than the Windams against the Federation machines. The Chaos had superior mobility to Windams and was a loose match to the Federation's earth-based mobile suits. However, the Federation was using their team tactics to keep Sting on his toes and stop him from making progress forward. Neo would applaud Sting for keep pushing even when he kept being forced back from any distance he was gaining. Sting was at least remaining calmer than Auel who was cursing with gusto. Given time, perhaps Sting could create a path toward Asgard that others could also use. But with how dug in and firm the Federation's defending forces were, Neo wouldn't hold his breath for the idea.
Stella with the Gaia had been stuck on the ships since her mobile suit had a harder time sustaining flight on Earth. That hadn't stopped her from shooting at enemy machines that she could target. She would jump from ship to ship using her beam rifle and cannons to attack the Federation machines. Stella had made it clear she wouldn't be kept out of the fight just because her Gundam was designed for land battles. Neo appreciated her wish to do something and the work ethic she clearly had. He felt sorry Stella was in the Gaia in this battle as it just wasn't designed for the majority of it. If OMNI could make landfall, then the Gaia would be extremely helpful in moving forward. But until that happened if it did, Stella was stuck at firing at enemies from a distance.
Neo had been fighting all around the battlefield since the fighting had started. While OMNI may have a notable advantage with numbers of vessels, it wasn't the same with mobile suits. And as was normally expected with the Federation, they were doing more effective resupply for their mobile suit forces than OMNI was. The defensive stance and means the Federation had in place was holding OMNI from advancing at anything but a crawl at best. It only reinforced Neo's view that this operation was a waste of time and forces. The chances of the Alliance taking Asgard from the Federation were waning the longer the battle went on without something changing. And the Federation's expected tactics would overwhelm OMNI given time to do so.
Supposedly there were forces positioning themselves above the fighting to drop in forces by what Neo had been told. They should've already begun doing so according to the schedule which the operation was supposed to be working with. However, Neo felt the Federation would delay them when they found out about them. And if that was true, then who knew when or even if the "backup" would arrive on the battlefield. Then Neo felt even if those in orbit were able to drop, the Federation could and likely did have something to counter the idea. And with the luck OMNI had, the Federation would have something to counter orbital drops and attacks. The Federation's fighting and battle style had been a standing advantage they had used to stand against the other two factions.
The fixed defenses the Federation had for their Asgard base was nothing to scoff at, Neo would admit that. The guns along the shoreline kept the frontline ships from advancing without being damaged and shot at heavily. There also seemed to be some sort of mines underwater from what Auel had mentioned through his curses. Neo himself had taken down some of the Federation machines thus far. They had been a difficult opponent, more so than ZAFT had been. The Federation's mass-production models had some sort of phase shift armor system to work with. Their beam weapons and odd blades made them strong and effective against the Windams. But others had to take their place and push back against the OMNI forces. There never seemed to be an end to the Federation defenders, even after more than an hour and their numbers hadn't been dented. It showed the fighting would last for a while until one side was forced to fall back.
The other "problem" Neo had encountered was the ZAFT Gundam which was around Asgard. It was the white and blue one from the ship that had been chasing the Girty Lue after the theft at Armory One. He hadn't seen any sign of the ZAFT vessel around Asgard and wouldn't expect it to be. But for one of its Gundams to be around nagged at Neo since he couldn't explain it. The ZAFT Gundam had been troublesome as it had been working with a squad of Federation mobile suits. The pilot had improved since the last time Neo had the time to observe it fighting. Sting had clashed with the ZAFT machine once already in this battle. And Neo felt it would be fought against again several times before this was over. However, Neo hoped that unlike the times before, the ZAFT machine couldn't switch out its equipment with its ship absent. That could make it feasible the trio could take down the ZAFT Gundam and make one less enemy that would pop up.
At the same time, Shinn was fighting the onslaught of Windams pushing forward against Asgard's defense forces. In the time which the battle had been going on for, Shinn had needed to resupply twice thus far. He would have to think about a third in the next fifteen minutes with the fighting showing no signs of letting up. It seemed he would have to on average resupply two and a half times an hour if he estimated right. The main reason Shinn was resupplying when he got low and not before was resupply took around ten minutes to complete. He didn't blame those at the hangar for the time it took. They were doing the best they could to recharge the Impulse as quickly as possible. But they had been forced to rig a means to link power into the Impulse's battery. By what Shinn had heard, the connections the Federation used wasn't the same as ZAFT. Because of that, recharging the battery took longer than it would if Shinn could go to the Minerva.
If it was just the Impulse's battery that Shinn had to work against, he wouldn't be as worried about this fight. However, the Impulse's equipment was being worn down slowly but surely. And without the Minerva around, he couldn't switch out for fresh equipment. While Shinn was okay for now, the longer the battle went on, the more likely the Impulse would lose equipment or have it fail. Shinn would ask those in the hangar if there was equipment that the Impulse could use if his wouldn't work. He wanted to have options ready should he need them and not be looking when issues came up. Potentially, Federation equipment could stand in for what Shinn would lose during the fighting. Nonetheless, those questions would have to be answered later since Shinn had to focus on the fighting.
Working with the Thor squadron had been a different experience for Shinn. Being a part of a team wasn't a new thing for him since ZAFT did the same. However, the way the Federation viewed and did teamwork was more involved than what ZAFT did normally. Those Shinn was working with more than just helped him against OMNI's Windams as ZAFT pilots would do. Thor squadron watched his back, covered him and "teamed up" with him to take down enemy machines. They would sacrifice potential take down opportunities if it meant a teammate would be saved from death, Shinn included. Shinn had lost count of how many times his life had been saved by some in the squadron. Of course, Shinn had done the same for those around him without much thought. If not for those in the squad, Shinn would be in a harsher and worst position than he was in currently and he knew it.
The other occurrence of note that Shinn had in the battle was his encounter and clash with the Chaos. Shinn had fought the stolen Gundam and had in the end forced it back with the assistance of others. The Chaos had been aggressive but had been overwhelmed by Shinn and his allies. While fighting the Chaos had been unpleasant, it did put forth another fact beyond its own presence. If the Chaos was around in the battle, then it was more than likely the Gaia and Abyss were around the battlefield too. The trio of stolen Gundams had proven they were proficient at making messes and worsening them given the opportunity. And in this fight, the Chaos and Abyss's advantage with their "territory" they were superior in. Chaos with its mobile armor mode would be a hard opponent to go against in the air. The Abyss would be troublesome with being able to operate under water. Shinn didn't know what Asgard had for defenses under the water, but the Abyss would be testing those defenses.
Meanwhile, Tyler had been going around the battlefield whipping OMNI as he went. He had caught glimpses of the Impulse every once and a while. Tyler was trying to keep an eye on the kid with him in the fight. But being in a Gundam made Tyler a popular target with OMNI, more so than the Impulse experienced. Tyler has also spotted two of the stolen ZAFT Gundams around the battlefield, the green and black one. The blue one appeared to be missing, though Tyler figured it was likely underwater. Should that be the case, then it would be met by the aquatic mobile suits that were deployed. OMNI had gained a little ground from where they had started. However, it was nowhere near what they would've hoped for by Tyler's estimation. It would take them hours to make notable progress toward the island at the crawling pace they were going at. And while they did that, Asgard defending forces would whittle them down.
Tyler could see the fight would go on for most of the day. OMNI wasn't about to let this go with Asgard keeping them back. The Alliance's decision may be completely stupid, but they wouldn't admit they were in the wrong even when it was in their best interests. They would throw away good forces to prove that point and not admit they had made a mistake and been wrong. Asgard wouldn't fall, Tyler was sure of that. Yet the defense forces would pay a price for that to be the case. And that frustrated Tyler since good people were being required to put their lives on the line to stand for what's right. Once again radicals were pushing for conflict for their selfish interests and vendettas. And they didn't care one bit for anyone that could be affected or killed by their goals.
The second hour passed much as the first had for the siege of Asgard, dragging on with little changing. OMNI didn't gain much ground and close the distance between them and Asgard. It was toward the end of the second hour, OMNI's orbital fleet had finally began moving into position for the drop they were supposed to do earlier. Federation space forces had delayed their arrival above the battle against Asgard. But now that the Orbital Fleet had come to its dropping position, they could finally send down reinforcements to their allies. From reports, the OMNI fleet was making progress slowly, it would take hours at best with the current pace should nothing change. With fresh forces coming in from above, it was hoped that Asgard's defense could be compromised. If Asgard's defenses were compromised, then OMNI could take advantage and press into the base and make more progress.
At Asgard High Command, communication was going in and out constantly between the base and defending forces. The battle OMNI had started had been named the "Neflheim Siege." If the Asgard base did fall during this battle, then the Euros Coalition would be hard pressed to keep the Alliance from terrorizing and taking it over. Elle knew things were going as well as they could with the circumstances as they were. Defending forces were holding the defense lines against OMNI pressing. OMNI hadn't made much of an advance or gotten all that close to the base itself. Yet, they were dragging this battle out and showed no signs of giving up the fight they had started.
It was five minutes later that Elle was informed the Valkyrie orbital cannons were operational and were awaiting commands. In the minutes that followed the orbital cannons becoming useable that it was reported the OMNI Orbital Fleet was positioning itself above the battle. Elle wasn't about to let OMNI have a second attack vector to attempt to gain an advantage over them. She ordered Valkyrie 1 to take aim at the lead Agamemnon-class in the Alliance's Orbital Fleet. One of the large cannons swung its barrel to point at the designated target kilometers above. Both the cannons were fed from energy capacitors deeper in the base which had already been charged up. Valkyrie 2 was acquiring its target when one of the sensor operators called out, "Admiral Vianno, the Veadan Sensor Array have detected OMNI's Orbital Fleet has begun dropping entry pods from their ships." There was no reason to hesitate with OMNI's orbital fleet, so Elle nodded, "Valkyrie 1, fire!"
The command set was inputted and the first boom from the ground to orbit cannon firing its energy bolt echoed far and wide. The bolt zoomed upward, the magenta color standing out against the blue sky as it zipped higher and higher. The discharge of the cannon did not go unnoticed by any within visual viewing distance of the base. Those on OMNI's side certainly didn't miss the large energy bolt surging upward from Asgard. And while OMNI might not have known about the purpose or function of the cannon when it fired its first shot, the communications from their allies above a moment later clarified the point. The lead Agamemnon-class carrier had been struck in the rear doing serious damage to the vessel. The attack hadn't destroyed the ship, but it certainly put it out of commission. The second ground to orbit cannon shortly joined in the work of dealing with OMNI's orbital fleet. The two took turns to discharge at OMNI's orbital fleet, pausing only for recharging.
Neo had just slashed through an enemy machine when the first magenta bolt had been spotted zooming upward. He would admit he was sort of impressed at the display of the large beam weapon clearly meant to counter attacks from above. The Federation had come up with a weaponize means that could hit something in orbit. No one had managed such a thing before now that Neo was aware of. And the idea's failure was not due to a lack of trying to create an effective means to accomplish the task. Yet, the Federation had done so AND had kept it secret from the other two factions until now. Neo may have his views of the Human Federation and its military that were different than the mainstream. They were irritating in 'their way' of doing things but saying nothing as to an explanation. Yet, the Federation's military was still tenacious to such an extent that one had to begrudgingly respect it somewhat.
The two cannons began striking the Alliance ship in orbit intermittently as the battle continued. However, the entry pods the OMNI Orbital Fleet was managing to release before they were disabled made it through the atmosphere. The pods were designed to work quite similarly to ZAFT's entry capsules. The entry pods separated into pieces revealing the Windams and Daggers they had been shielding inside. The OMNI mobile suits leaned forward, facing downward as they kept falling towards the ground. All the pilots in the falling suits were scanning the ground below them, taking in potential targets. They would be pushed on the defensive by Asgard's defending forces quickly, it was an expectation. So, the time they had to work with before that happened would be critical for the operation.
As the OMNI suits were descending, sirens wailed around Asgard warning of the incoming enemies. Groups of Asgard's defending forces broke away from fighting OMNI's seaborne fleet and headed back to Asgard to intercept the new group of enemy machines. The descending OMNI suits came into long range attacks on the ground when Asgard defending forces began attacking them. The two sides exchanged weapon fire as OMNI's side was still heading for the ground. Even with the reinforcements, OMNI's progress didn't increase as they had been hoping it would. The skirmish was grinding to a halt with OMNI still far enough out from Asgard they couldn't assault it directly. But Federation defending forces were keeping OMNI where they were and wouldn't let them advance further.
A/n
All righty then, I'll leave off there for this Phase and pick up in the next one. Let me begin these notes where I highlight and point out things by making a statement which has come up for me. I have had some asking me about events in Seed Destiny's canon and if I will or won't put them into the story and if so how. I'm not against being asked questions, in fact, I'm encouraging them to come from you readers. However, if I haven't made it clear already, I do my best not to spoil the story as I find spoilers horrible and letting down surprises and the excitement that comes with a good story. So, I state for the record once again, my story only "loosely" follows canon. I write my story as it comes to me and that may be inspired by what happens in the Seed universe in general. Thus, events and even mainline characters may or may not match what they are like in Seed and Destiny. Forgive this paragraph, but I've had some asking this idea of me off and on, so I wanted to make it clear so I shouldn't need to keep answering the idea over and over. With that out of the way, let's get to the highlights of the phase and dive into them more.
Okay, this is the first part of the Alliance's assault against the Federation's Asgard base. At the moment, it is shaping up to be one of three, but don't hold me to that. And I say that with the outlining I do for events that I write for the story. In this Phase, we get a good amount of information to start with for this event. Let me first begin with the new character we had introduced. Elle Vianno, for those of you who are avid fans of the whole Gundam Universe, you may recognize this name. This character is based on one from the Universal Century, specifically from the Mobile Suit Gundam ZZ anime. She is one of the two admirals over the Earthbound Defense forces branch of the Federation's military. This character is the first "real" example of the hybrid-type in my story which comes into the spotlight. Canon doesn't really go into "hybrids" much though I think it is implied they exist. I have explained the idea before this, but I want to give one other detail about them. Hybrids essentially only exist within the Human Federation in the public. Any that aren't in the Federation are in hiding or don't admit they are hybrids for fear they would be horribly persecuted for their type.
Moving on to the actual first scene with the character intro out of the way. The Federation were watching OMNI's fleet which had been gathering off the Atlantic Federation's east coast. OMNI had been trying to hide the fleet's assembly and was successful for a short period. I do not stated it specifically, but they did it by splitting the fleet between three main dock yards along the coast. However, the final fleet assembly would have to be done at a dock yard or shortly after they head out. Thus, the fleet would've been noticed before it reached Asgard. But with the Federation's information Network and its informants, the fleet was discovered close to two weeks before it assaults Asgard.
I mention the Alliance has made attacks and attempts to take Asgard from the Federation before this. I went over the "reputation" of Asgard in the last Phase and implied the Alliance and ZAFT have "tested" the base's defenses. Because of that, the Federation has changed and improved the base's defenses with each occurrence. In this instance, those at Asgard prepared for OMNI coming to assault the Federation's Headquarters. Remember, the Alliance had been planning for the assault on Asgard before their attempted nuclear strike on the PLANTs. So, OMNI preparing for the operation had been spotted before their strike on the PLANTs. Of course, there had been the hope that diplomatic solutions to dissuade the assault, but with the Alliance being controlled as it is at this point, it wasn't going to happen. The Alliance wanted payback and the Federation's interference with their attempted nuclear strike provided them a reason.
Let's shift to the factors which were being looked at and plugged into the equation which determined the general response of Asgard. OMNI's fleet size gives them an "advantage" with numbers to a degree. But if it hasn't been made clear already in this story, advantage in numbers isn't much of an advantage in battle. All the fleet size does is allow the operation time to be extended beyond what is normally expected. But as was proven with the Alliance-PLANT War, mobile suits have more power to determine the flow of battles than ships. So, Alliance mobile suits are taken into account for the coming assault, including the current mass-production model Windams. The two general outcomes of the assault were figured by Federation military leaders. Contingencies are planned for whether the Alliance wins or loses this in the end, make no mistake about that.
Moving to the next part of the scene, when the Normandy and those on the ship come in. Now I implied that Shinn would be around when the battle with the Alliance started. Well, he is, and rest assured, while this isn't canon, I think it will play out better in the end. I would like to point out some things with Shinn's view in this Phase which I see as important. Now, remember, Shinn hasn't been on the Minerva or around ZAFT for two weeks or so by this point. And I'm not saying that ZAFT is indoctrinating their soldiers or anything at this time. But the time away has given Shinn exposure to a different set of views which he hadn't seen regularly. Shinn has also had time to think about recent events and look at them with a more objective view than before. I don't know about anyone else, but getting the chance to take a step back and look at things more objectively can make a serious difference. I state again, Shinn isn't the same as he is in canon. His family isn't dead so he didn't suffer the trauma of them being killed in front of him. That makes all the difference in his personality so that instead of him being impulsive, stubborn, and hot-headed, he asks why, thinks logically, and is more "well-rounded" in his views. So, is it really all that surprising that when given the opportunity to help that he jumps at doing so? Shinn has been left to fend for himself since descending with the Normandy. Do you blame him for wanting to do something and help those who had been nice to him.
Next, Shinn getting into the Impulse and heading out into the battle. Shinn is shocked as those outside of the Federation would be at some of the defenses Asgard. I mean, I know I've made the Federation out to have a technological advantage and they do have such, but some of the things they use are pretty cool. In this instance, it is a view of the Federation developing shield like technology like from Star Trek. I know positron reflection tech does come in Destiny, and it still will, but Asgard's barrier shield is a variation of deflection tech. This is the first example of some of the differences that the Federation has in technology in my story but won't be the last.
With the Impulse, it was repaired the best possible without ZAFT work, I don't say that, but I will imply it. I would also state that while battery tech is similar across the three factions, the means and ways they are charged vary. Put simply, the connections by which batteries are charged, like with the power cable ends aren't the same. Hence, why the Impulse was charged by an improvised means which those in the hangar had made. The improvised means isn't as efficient as like what the Minerva has to do the job. Yet, as the phrase go, something is better than nothing.
I also want to mention something about the Federation ID system which their ID sticks use and why they can do some of the things they do. So, the Federation's ID system is made from a database which is locked and secured so ZAFT and the Alliance can't touch it. Each citizen and military personnel have a file on the said database, most from birth. These files contain much as a medical profile would, like blood type and the like along with DNA sample. The DNA sample is important as each ID stick is DNA coded so only the owner can activate it. The only exception is if it is plugged into a Federation system and specific codes are used to do the job. The ID sticks are rarely deactivated with them being DNA encoded, unless the owner betrays the Federation in some way. Thus, Shinn's citizen's ID stick is still active even when his family moved to the PLANTs. The ID sticks can link into the Federation's information network which they use for much of what they do. Now, Shinn goes out to the battle in the Impulse working with one of the Federation squadrons during the fight. He is working under Asgard High Command for the time being and will until stated otherwise.
Let's shift over to OMNI's side of this with Neo and his view. As I pointed out in the last Phase, Neo isn't a fan of the assault on Asgard. And it isn't that he disagrees with the Alliance's view of the base needing to be "handled." No, it is more a practical view of the likelihood of success being so low that the attempt isn't worth the time and resources going into it. Honestly, I can't find fault with Neo's reasoning as it is sound if you ask me. The Alliance is throwing a lot at Asgard and the chances are less than ten percent of success and that's being very generous. And knowing the Federation don't get caught unprepared easily if they do at all certainly doesn't help the Alliance in this.
The three stolen Gundams are in this battle as you read, but even they have trouble in this. Now, canon doesn't mention the point and I more imply it, but the ZAFT Gundams are made to have an advantage in a specific environment. The Chaos is best in the sky or space, the Abyss is designed for aquatic operations and the Gaia for land. This battle should show off a bit the advantages they can have with the environment, but the Federation were ready for what the Alliance was sending at them. Thus, the Gundams are also hard pressed to make headway in the assault much more than the Windams. But I would like to point out some things with the three which happen in this part of the battle. First, the Abyss does work underwater for the first part of this. But Auel finds that the Federation not only has mines which can changed their depth but also underwater mass-production mobile suits. Those suits are based off of the HFS-Y152 Leviathan Gundam. There will potentially be some which will be based off the HFS-Y124 Cancer Gundam later on, haven't decided that yet. But back to the point with the Abyss, Auel is overwhelmed by the Federation machines not just due to numbers but also the teamwork which Auel has trouble against.
With the Chaos, Sting does try hard to push the Federation back and make a path for the Alliance to make headway. And remember, Sting is seen as the most stable among his trio which does give him a slight advantage with performance. However, I would also point out once again, that those from the Enhanced Human Project were specifically trained to fight against ZAFT and not the Federation's military. There is a real difference between ZAFT and the Federation's military when it comes to fighting style which does cause issues for Boosted Men and Extendeds. So the teamwork of the Federation among other things makes Sting's efforts toward making a path much harder and have less success. And lastly, Stella with the Gaia is not meant to fly for extended periods of time, which translates to her being stuck on ships rather than fighting in the air. The girl wants to do what Neo says but is unable which has her ticked off as you may imagine.
Neo knows that the longer the assault goes on, the higher the chances the Federation will win the battle. He can see the Federation's strategy which they use and even sees the logic in it which makes the Federation so hard to beat. He even admits that the Federation's mass-production model mobile suits are well-designed and difficult opponents to go against. The other thing that Neo brings up is the presence of the Impulse Gundam. It doesn't make sense to him that the machine was helping the Federation. And logically, Neo's view does make sense as the Impulse should be with the Minerva, a ZAFT vessel. As with any Gundam-type, the Impulse isn't simple to go against, let alone take down. There are and I assure you will be clashes between the Impulse and the Chaos, but I just wanted to note some of this. Neo can see Shinn is improving, showing that he can see the kid isn't the average kind of pilot.
Finally, the last part of this Phase, we get more of a view of Shinn's current circumstances. So, let me state this for him, Shinn volunteering while expected took courage from him. He is in a battle which isn't ZAFT's business. Resupply takes longer and he has no means to replace equipment he loses or is destroyed. For all intents and purposes, Shinn was going into a battle that the longer it goes on, the more likely he is to be killed with the Impulse being taken down. And yet, while knowing that, he still stepped forward and volunteered to help the Federation in Asgard's defense. I state that to Shinn's credit as the kid in my story has much more quality character than he does in canon in my opinion. Granted, the kid is working with a Federation squadron during the battle, which is a saving grace for him. I want to point out that my version of Shinn can and does try to think critically and ahead with what he gets into. He may be impulsive at times, but nowhere near what canon would have him do. I know I keep pointing out the difference between my Shinn and canon's, but I feel it is really worth noting multiple times.
Lastly, as I imply, this assault will go on for some time, which will be covered in the coming phases. Yes, phases, things are turning out to have this be likely two more phases before the event are done. Originally, this was a mere section in a Phase, but I decided this deserved so much more attention and detail than that. And I doubt you readers mind me giving you action-fill battle scenes for you to enjoy. So, there is more to come for this event, and I hope it keeps coming in a steady rate. But to conclude, I hope you readers liked the first part of the siege which the Alliance is doing. There is more to come of it and it will be filled with action too. I would ask some of you as I always do, to take time to write reviews and tell me what you think of the Phase and the story as a whole.