SEEDS of Rubicon

by KaizerNecron

Many years ago, a research colony was consumed by a crimson flame leaving very few survivors left in its wake. Years later during the Bloody Valentine War, five of the survivors unknowingly cross paths with each other. Two trying to protect their friends, two serving as mercenaries while the last, a feared ZAFT commander. Will they feed the fire or let the last cinders burn?

"You're out of luck. There's only two people that can keep up with me!" - Rubicon Mercenary Lupus

Armored Core: Steel Haze

Manufacturer: Schneider Industries

Operator: Rubicon Mercenary Group

Unit Type: Custom lightweight high maneuverability Armored Core

Special Armaments: Assault Armor and Assault Boost

Weapons: MA-E-211 SAMPU burst handgun (R-arm), Vvc-774LS Laser Slicer (L-Arm), Vvc-703PM Plasma Missile Launcher (R-back), MA-J-200 RANSETSU-RF burst rifle (L-back)

Pilot: Lupus

Colors: Majority midnight blue, trims of gray and brown, seafoam green for the weapon sensors and main head camera

Technical Notes: The Steel Haze is the personal Armored Core of the mercenary Lupus. It wields both guns and advanced energy weapons, with a MA-E-211 SAMPU burst handgun on its right arm and Vvc-774LS Laser Slicer on its left. On its back it has the Vvc-703PM Plasma Missile Launcher on the right side of its back and the MA-J-200 RANSETSU-RF burst rifle on the left.

Steel Haze also sports reverse jointed legs that greatly enhances its mobility and speed making it impossible to hit. However, its speed comes at a cost as it has less armor compared to other mobile suits and it won't be able to use larger weapons. Even though Steel Haze has weapons that do physical damage which is enough for most targets, the rounds fired from Sampu and Ransetsu have a unique ability to cause something known as ACS strain where when damage builds up, it'll cause the target to be immobilized for a brief period which makes the weapons useful against mobile suits with stronger armor or Phase Shift armor.

This brief period of vulnerability allows Steel Haze to employ the use of its Laser Slicer to cause major damage to anything in its path.

The Laser Slicer is a double-bladed laser blade that can land multiple strikes in a single swing. It's much more powerful than a typical beam saber which makes it consume much more energy to the point it has to go in a cool down state before it can be used again. The Steel Haze was customized to have unrivaled speed and apply constant pressure to wreak havoc against those who are foolish enough to go against it.

---

"Targets verified. Commencing hostilities." - Rubicon Mercenary Raven

Armored Core: Nightfall

Manufacturer: RaD

Operator: Rubicon Mercenary Group

Unit Type: Custom bipedal medium weight Armored Core

Special Armaments: Assault Armor and Assault Boost

Weapons: RF-025 SCUDDER Assault Rifle (R-arm), PB-033M ASHMEAD Pile Bunker or Vvc-770LB Laser Blade (L-arm), SONGBIRDS grenade cannon (R-back), BML-G1/P32DUO-03 dual missile launcher (L-back)

Pilot: Raven

Colors: Majority dark-tan gray with red lights for the main head camera and weapon sensors

Technical Notes: The Nightfall is the personal Armored Core of the mercenary Raven. Compared to its partner, Steel Haze, the Nightfall is slower and less maneuverable but it makes up for it with increased armor and being able to use heavier and more powerful weapons.

Like the weapons on Steel Haze, its Scudder, Songbirds and missile launcher can cause ACS strain which leads to the target being vulnerable to the devastating Ashmead pile bunker.

The Ashmead pile bunker is the Nightfall's main choice of melee combat in which the weapon destroys the enemy with a large steel spike that can obliterate anything in its path with sheer force to the point that not even Phase Shift Armor can't stop it.

Aside from the Ashmead, the Nightfall can swap it out for the Vvc-770LB Laser Blade if it calls for it. Similar to the Laser Slicer, it enables the Nightfall to launch powerful, long reaching slashing attacks. The Laser Blade has a unique ability to charge its blade and unleash a more powerful blade that can obliterate anything coming across it. With its armor and ability to use a wide range of weapons, the Nightfall is an unstoppable force where nothing will be left standing in its way.

"So much unnecessary death and destruction due to this damn war!" - Yuuri Hotaru

Unit Name: GAT-X312 Gladius

Manufacturer: Morgenröte

Operator: Earth Alliance (Archangel Corps)

Unit Type: Prototype Close Quarters Combat Mobile Suit

Special Armaments: Phase Shift Armor, Coral energy reactor, Coral Burst Mode

Weapons: 2x "Igelstellung" 75mm Automatic Multi-barrel CIWS head vulcans, 2x "Kunai" Beam Daggers stored on side of the hips, 1x "Panzer Eisen" Rocket Anchor on the left arm, 2x beam sabers stored on the back skits, and 1x "Tempest" Gun Blade mounted on the right arm

Pilot: Yuuri Hotaru

Appearance: It's resembles the Forbidden Gundam without its backpack. Its' back is flatter like the Strike's and it has additional thrusters. The machine gun on the forearms are replaced with connection points for the Tempest and the Panzer Eisen.

Colors: Majority pearl white with neon yellow on the chest vents, edges of the shoulder and the feet

Technical Notes: The sixth and final prototype of the Atlantic Federation's G-Project. The Gladius that wasn't supposed to exist at all but after much convincing from the Gladius' creator, Professor Nagai, construction was approved last minute. The Gladius was designed to be a CQC mobile suit. As such, it's the fastest and lightest of six prototypes in order to close the gap and engage its targets.

The Gladius is equipped with a multitude of close range weapons such as a pair of beam sabers and a Panzer Eisen rocket anchor to quickly pull its target or close the gap.

Its exclusive weapons include 2 Kunai Beam Daggers and the Tempest Gun Blade. The Kunai Beam Daggers are a pair of Daggers that can be used as a backup weapon or last resort. The Kunais is one of two ranged options the Gladius can Tempest is a two in one weapon that serves as the main armament of the Gladius. Its first form is its gun form, where unlike most beam rifles, it has a faster rate of fire, making it harder for enemies to evade the shots. Its second form is the blade form where a physical blade flips up over the muzzle of the gun. The blade is primarily used as a regular sword against lighter armor or any non Phase Shift mobile suits. If it comes to it, the blade can emit a beam around the edge of the blade to deal with heavier armor such as ships or even the G-Weapons themselves.

Perhaps the most important and the reason why the Gladius was built last minute is its power source. The battery is powered by a mysterious substance known as Coral. It is unknown what Coral actually is, aside from the man who proposed the construction of the Gladius itself: Professor Nagai. There have been many attempts to get Professor Nagai reveal more about Coral but Nagai has refused to answer even with threats of torture. What is known about Coral is that it generates a large amount of energy and it conducts data more effectively than any other known forms. A unique characteristic of the Gladius is that with it being powered by Coral, the thrust and the beams are a red color. This means that the Gladius can operate for a longer period of time compared to the other prototypes and even though further testing is required, the Coral seems to bypass the Neutron Jammers, allowing a clear line of communication.

The Gladius has the potential to become the most powerful mobile not just out of the six prototypes but in all ZAFT and the Earth Alliance. If either side manages to retrieve the data from the Gladius and uncover the secrets of the Coral… it could change the outcome of the war.

---

"It seems that the last cinders finally reveal themselves." - ZAFT Commander Callum Sol

Unit Name: ZGMF-515C CGUE "Nocturne"

Manufacturer: ZAFT

Operator: ZAFT

Unit Type: Custom high mobility and high speed commander type mobile suit

Weapons: MA-M4A Heavy Blade, M7070 28mm Vulcan System Shield, M68 "Cattus" 500mm Recoilless Rifle

Pilot: Callum Sol

Appearance: It's your standard CGUE but with the wings and leg verniers of the GINN High Maneuver Type.

Colors: Dark galaxy purple with white accents.

Technical Notes: The CGUE Nocturne is a heavily modified CGUE that uses the backpack and leg verniers from the GINN High Maneuver Type. With the higher performance from the CGUE and the speed from the GINN HM, it makes Nocturne one of the most feared mobile suits from ZAFT.

---

AN: This chapter serves as an introduction to the important characters and their mecha that will be involved. Yuuri and Callum are the OCs I created for this story while Lupus is meant to be a stand-in for Rusty from AC 6.

This story has been a thing in my head for a long time. I finally decided to actually do something about it. Obviously this is a crossover between Gundam Seed and Armored Core, mainly AC 6. The story is somewhat of an AU with ACs and the lore and characters of AC 6 already existing in this version of Seed. Which means the timeline of the Cosmic Era had to be adjusted in order to make the AC 6 stuff fit. The main bulk of the story will mostly follow the original show but certain characters' fates and events are changed. As for pairings, it'll just be the canon pairings from the original show while for the OCs and characters from AC 6, I haven't decided yet.

That's pretty much it for this chapter as I don't really have anything else to say. Also I apologize in advance for the poor writing quality as this is the first story I made in quite some time. I hope that the quality improves as the story goes along. Other than that, see ya!