"When you put on a uniform, there are certain inhibitions that you accept."
- Dwight D. Eisenhower

Chapter XXIX: Rising Persepolis

Bhatan System
Milky Way Galaxy
October 15, GC 379

The light was endless. It seemed to encompass all of space. What was once dark void was now filled with a forever extending white, which, even to those who had had the fortune of evading it, was blinding through their various camera and sensor systems, to say nothing of their naked human eyes. Such was preferable, however, compared to those who had been caught within the light. Near instantly did those unfortunates break apart and gradually vanish, the focused heat reducing metal and flesh to mere remnants and then mere component particles. Any screams that were made by the pilots within those stricken machines were wholly silenced, their comm systems unable to transmit as they, too, were reduced to nothingness. All the while, well within the center of the light, the Dolowa remained, but only so…

Titans Chicago-class cruiser Pittsburgh
Bhatan System

Burn baby burn, Jamaican thought with the smile to end all smiles, even as his eyes strained with the rest of the Pittsburgh's bridge against the light. Say what you will about the Solar System and all the time and energy it took to set the damned thing up, it truly was an effective weapon once the preliminaries were completed. Indeed, there was no way in hell the Dolowa was going to survive that blast, at least not beyond the next couple of minutes. Nor would Emperor Gihren's ambitions with his prized wonderweapon, the mere thought of which warmed the cockles of Jamaican's heart. As well as the idea that history would record him as the one who saw to the Solar System's usage, which made him principally responsible for the Dolowa's destruction. This only caused Jamaican's smile to deepen that much further.

Through the glare of white, Jamaican could yet see the Dolowa's silhouette in the great distance, though as little more than a great black shadow within the field. No doubt she was fighting for life now. To stay existent even as the light and heat burned away many of her mobile suits, as well as parts of her hull. No doubt the Zeeks within that hull were also struggling to keep their ship intact, to say nothing about functional, all the while space itself smoldered around them. Jamaican pictured it all in that instance, and though some part of him struggled to remind him that those were human beings that were boiling alive out there, this was countered by an all too certain fact: Zeeks were not human. And they certainly hadn't shared the viewpoint; after all, what did "lowborn vermin" like Jamaican and his comrades measure to them? Had Emperor Gihren or his followers hesitated in the least when they vaporized worlds with colony lasers or subjugated them to their iron-fisted rulership? Would Lutjins be so merciful to the inhabitants of Earth if he had been allowed to reach them? Jamaican knew such answers, just as he knew the main one. No, there was nothing human about the "highborn" Zeon, much less anything to hesitate over.

A measure of concern was also growing within Jamaican as he watched the Dolowa practically writhe, as though the ship were in actual pain, before him. He knew that such a large target would take time to destroy, even for the Solar System, but he would have preferred it be destroyed that much faster than it was taking now. In fact, he was half-tempted to ask his XO how many minutes had gone by since the Solar System was focused, but he reneged as he was sure he wouldn't like the answer. As frustrating as it was, Jamaican had to remind himself that the Dolowa had been designed from the ground up to withhold the power of entire fleets, so naturally, she would be able to withstand the light of the Solar System, albeit for only so long. Very frustrating, such that it seemed to gnaw into Jamaican's side. Just how long could that big green bitch of a ship hold out? Especially when the very space around it was on fire?

Despite that and the strain that his eyes were taking, even with the polarized bridge monitor, Jamaican ultimately took it all in stride. She could hold out until the universe fell to entropy, there was still no escape for the Dolowa from this. And there was little doubt that the "highborn" asshole known as Johannes Lutjins realized that and was likely browning his trousers over it now, possibly even praying to a God he hadn't believed in moments ago for salvation. Yet again did Jamaican smile deeply at the mere thought. Alongside that oncoming mention in the history texts that he was the one who had dealt the killing blow to arguably the most dangerous Zeek of them all. The one Zeek that saw Earth and the power it held for what it was.

Zeon supercarrier Dolowa
Bhatan System

The distressed, omnidirectional calls seemingly blended together with the overhead klaxons, making it nigh impossible for Lutjins to hear anything beyond what could be best described as literal white noise. Nor could he see much beyond said overriding white that now filled the main bridge monitor and to some extent the bridge itself. Outside Lindermann, who was not far from his own position, the rest of the bridge crew appeared as little more than black silhouettes either manning their stations or moving from one part of the bridge to the next in whatever effort was being made to address the growing damage. And though he could neither hear nor see the reports himself, Lutjins knew that the damage was mounting and mounting rapidly.

Lutjins hissed, whether out loud or in his own mind he didn't know, toward the Feddies, who he knew were all watching it play out like scavengers to a dying beast. Somehow and some way, he should have seen it coming. In fact, he had at least suspected that the Feddies would attempt another grand attack like they had at Zorres, as that was their only viable strategy against Dolowa. His failing was he hadn't correctly anticipated how they would mount that attack, beyond the possibility of a second nuclear strike. And because of that failing, the Dolowa was now well into the process of burning away through a collection of mirrors and gathered, focused sunlight. Again, Lutjins could not keep from cursing the Earthnoids for it, whether out loud or mentally.

Fortunately, while the damage was spreading, he could also see that neither he nor the rest of the bridge crew were quite dead, and therefore Dolowa was doing her best to hold out. And hold out she would for a time, as there was just too much of the supercarrier to burn away for it to be instant. But how much time would that be precisely? And what could they do to reverse the situation, to end that goddamned light? Lutjins' mind raced to come up with an appropriate counterstrategy, but nothing came to mind. The mirrors that were reflecting the sunlight, even if they were within in range, would simply incinerate whatever functional weapons the Dolowa could attack with, just as he knew that there was a Feddie taskforce guarding said mirrors to keep mobile suits back. Beside those things, all Dolowa could do was hold out for that much longer, and only just.

Keep fighting. Endure. Lutjins called out to the ship through clenched teeth, grabbing the armrest of his chair. Again he knew he wasn't dead yet, nor was his crew. All thanks the mighty supercarrier's resistance. That's an order.

He could only hope that Dolowa somehow heard him and followed that order to its last. Lutjins knew that it was the only way they would all make it through this. The only way any of them were going to make it through that damned light, which remained all-encompassing through the bridge monitor and the bridge itself. All while the shadows within could only carry on the fight themselves, though to what end even Lutjins could not yet fathom.

Titans Chicago-class cruiser Pittsburgh
Bhatan System

Not much longer, Jamaican thought in full anticipation, all but licking his lips because of it. There was no the Dolowa would last beyond the next couple of minutes. Especially since he could just focus the beam even further…

"Reading variance in quadrant two! The mirrors are overheating!" an operator alerted, causing all eyes to shift over. "We're losing focus!"

"What!?" Jamaican demanded before the panicked chatter set in, the Pittsburgh's bridge crew realizing all too soon that they had a problem on their hands. Shifting back to the main monitor, the Titans Commander could only watch in horror as a key block of mirrors broke from the strain and shattered, causing a residual effect throughout the Solar System as more mirrors buckled and broke throughout. Within but a few seconds, enough of the mirrors came apart that the focus was completely lost. In turn causing the light to cease abruptly.

"No!" Jamaican bellowed out loud as he slammed his fist onto the chair arm, then turning over to another part of the main monitor. Where through the lingering smoke and heat, the Dolowa indeed lived. Scorched completely across her hull, her once immaculate green tint now charred and seared in most places, the mighty supercarrier, Zeon's ultimate weapon, yet lived.

Zeon supercarrier Dolowa
Bhatan System

Blinking his eyes back into focus, it took Lutjins only a little bit longer to realize that he really was not dead. It took him that much more to focus his way through the overriding damage reports to realize that the Dolowa was not dead alongside, but was in critical condition. And even worse, the Feddies, sensing the proverbial blood in the water, were already advancing to finish them all off, while their mobile suits reengaged those Zakus that yet remained. Needless to say, when Lindermann called out for the withdrawal of all remaining mobile suits and to prepare for warp, the drive somehow remaining operable but to what extent no one appeared sure, Lutjins had no objection. Like it or not, the battle was over, and all that was left was survival.

"Get us as close to Zeon as we can make it," Lutjins added onto Lindermann's prior command as he settled back in his chair, preparing himself for the slog that was to come. Already he knew there was no way they could make it back to the Imperial homeworld. At best they would get as much en route as they could before the warp drive ultimately failed, from which they could call in reinforcements and possibly relief. It wasn't much, but it would be the best they could do under the circumstances. And with any further luck, the Feddies would lose track of them along the way, though considering how much time, energy and resources that they had focused on Bhatan just to take down the Dolowa, Lutjins knew that would be a reach.

Again however, there was nothing more to do but to survive this. Survive, and possibly live to fight another day. Survive, so that they may yet reach Earth and finish what had been started at Arcturus. Survive to gain ultimate victory for Zeon. All things that Lutjins kept well in mind as the first wave of the Dolowa's mobile suit forces disengaged and came about to return.

Lilia sneered as she raised her beam shield to intercept the Valkyrie's next beam saber attack, the magenta blade all but audibly crackling from contact with the yellow barrier. Sayla followed this up with another vulcan burst, but Lilia was quick enough to jet back and then dodge left, from which Unit Gamma moved into immediate pursuit. The Earth and Zeon mobile suits again flung through space, their saber attacks and parries only broken up by further vulcan shots by the red Gundam, but otherwise keeping pace with one another with neither able to strike more than a glancing blow still. It was maddening to both pilots, needless to say, especially when the latest communique to Lilia, accompanied by several visible flares, told her that her time was up.

Her sneer deepening, Lilia was half-tempted to ignore the return order, but she also knew to do so was to leave her stranded once the Dolowa warped out of the system. That being said, she was not about to retreat without at least leaving a mark on that red mobile suit, especially after all the effort she had put in toward killing it. Thus, doing well to keep the retreat order in mind, she turned about and continued her attack against the Feddie, even swapping out her beam saber for her beam rifle to fire a few shots. Naturally, the Valkyrie responded by raising her own beam shield to deflect the attacks, from which she again retaliated with her thrice-damned vulcans, to which Lilia employed her own shield before jetting right and then attempting to circle the Gundam and strike against its back. Though she was quick in her attack, Sayla was just as fast in intercepting it with her left shield, and then counterslashing with her saber before reaching out to try and ensnare the Act Zaku with her gauntlet. Lilia evaded both attacks, and then returned fire with her rifle, only for Sayla to veer to her own right and fire another vulcan burst before ascending.

Lilia moved to pursue, but the sound of an operator screaming through her ear, reiterating the order to return, gave her brief pause. One that Sayla was quick to exploit by mirroring her earlier attack and moving against the Act Zaku's back, beam saber set to slash into the thruster pack. Only through her acting out of sheer instinct did Lilia manage to evade the attack, but not completely, as her right arm, still clutching the beam rifle, was instantly cut away. Letting out a bellow of rage and frustration at this, Lilia knew there was no choice to be had now, and so put her mobile suit to full burn back to its wounded mothership. Like it or not, there was no way she would be able to face the Valkyrie further, not without both her arms as well as her beam rifle. Even so, there would still be a day of reckoning between them. That much Lilia Flaubert was sure of.

No way in hell! Mallet mentally growled as he fired several more beam shots after the White Devil, who maneuvered around them at vectors the average Guncannon pilot could never have imagined. As so inwardly declared, there was no way Mallet Sanguine would abandon his prey now, not when he could still kill it. If anything, the retreat signal only brought Arcturus back to mind when Mallet had been called off before another far larger kill could have been completed, one that would have ended that part of the entire war even. Mallet was not going to go through that a second time around, not before Amuro Ray was made into stardust!

Thus, ignoring the screams of whatever pissant operator was monitoring his squadron, Mallet gunned his Act Zakus thrusters and launched after the Gundam while simultaneously redrawing his beam saber. Amuro attempted to dissuade him with another vulcan burst, but Mallet maneuvered around each and every beam shot before intersecting the white mobile suit, which raised its left beam shield to deflect the initial strike. From that, both Feddie and Zeek reengaged in their melee, both attempting to surpass the others defenses in the minutes they had left and strike a critical point. Driven even further toward the kill, such that the operator's calls were all but landing on deaf ears, Mallet drove his Act Zaku further and further, almost entirely concentrating on the offensive and forcing the White Devil back. It would have been suicidal, even by his standards, but he had little time left. He had to kill the White Devil then and there. Otherwise, there would be nothing to show for any of it. Time for you to die, Amuro Ray!

Gritting his teeth as he felt he deflected and maneuvered around each of the Act Zaku's saber strokes, it was taking all of Amuro's focus simply to keep Mallet Sanguine from so much as striking a light blow on Unit Alpha. Even with his Newtype powers, he beheld the blood-driven mania that had taken hold of the Zeon, driving Commander Sanguine into a frenzy and the Act Zaku into a blur of motion and violence. It was less like fighting another human being and more like a miniature tornado, such that even the flashes of the yellow beam saber blade were almost indistinguishable. Even so, Amuro held to his defense as he withdrew through space, moving between his own saber and shield to keep the Act Zaku's strikes at bay. Knowing that, as sloppy as his opponent had become through his bloodlust, it would not be long before an opening presented itself.

Titans Montana-class battlecruiser Littorio
Bhatan System

Of course this would happen! Om almost verbally bellowed as he read over the technical readout of the Solar System, wishing he could plant his fist through the monitor. It should have been obvious from the start, but somehow, the idiots who conceived the Solar System had failed to realize that Bhatan's sun differed from Earth's, especially in heat and luminosity. As a result, several of the Solar System mirrors had overheated from the focus, and enough had shattered to disable the weapon effectively. All well before the Dolowa could have been properly vaporized. "All ships resume attack immediately! Mobile suits intercept!"

Upon that command, both Titan and EFSF warships advanced at full combat speed, while their mobile suits did the same after the retreating Zeon units. A virtual storm of magenta beam fire soon followed as those Earth ships that had not yet been sunk fired as one, concentrating their guns on the ruined hulk that was the Dolowa. Only this time, the return fire was quite sparse, the result of many of the supercarrier's guns being reduced to melted shards, alongside as many of her missile ports being sealed shut. Even so, the Dolowa could still move, albeit to a mere fraction of her original speed, and so gradually came about to present her stern to the oncoming Earth fleet, their beam fire striking damage but not quite impeding the massive behemoth. And none of the Earth commanders, Om included, had any doubt that the Solar System had been effective enough to disable the thing's warp drive.

It was almost madness to Om, who could only sit back in his command chair and almost literally grind his teeth together. The Solar System had not destroyed the Dolowa, but it had ruined her, and yet even that had not been enough to stop her entirely. As a result, she could very well escape Bhatan and quite possibly return to Zeon, and there was very little Om and his fellow Earthnoids could do about it, especially with the Solar System inoperable. How could it happen like this? How could the tide of battle turn so much, and yet not enough for the main objective to be accomplished? Om would have loudly cursed if it had not been for the presence of his bridge crew.

Even so, the Earthers were not about to let their predator-turned-prey escape so easily, much less without any further damage. Beam after beam and missile after missile launched from the Earth cruisers and battlecruisers, as well as the two fleetcarriers in their midst, driving headlong into the Dolowa's side and then stern. The behemoth yet moved through all of it, but not without taking additional wounds for the effort. Just as her mobile suits, who were now flying as one toward the designated retrieval bays, at least those that were still accessible, were having just as much difficulty against the Space Force and Titan mobile suits that were hounding them.

Even when Amuro had managed to wrestle Unit Alpha away from the raging Act Zaku, his enemy refused to let up, again swapping his beam saber for his rifle and firing in rapid succession. Though the Act Zaku's beam rifle lacked the firing rate of the original Zaku's beam machine gun, the beams it fired were vastly more powerful, such that Amuro dared not allow even one shot strike his Gundam, not even at this point in the battle. This he zigzagged through space around the fire, even swapping his own saber out for his hyper beam rifle and returning the latter in combination with his vulcans. That at least forced Sanguine to employ some measure of defense as he, too, maneuvered, but the enemy ace refused to give up his offensive drive. Thus for that much longer, the melee turned into one of the most intense gunfights Amuro had ever taken part in, yet he retained his own focus. Somehow and some way, he would draw blood.

Abruptly, Mallet closed in on him again at full burn, attempting a flying kick that reminded Amuro of Aznable. That being said, Amuro was so familiar with that form of attack that he barely jetted back to dodge it, from which he responded with a quick snap of his vulcans. Acting just as quickly, Mallet deployed his left beam shield to deflect the spray, and then used that time to once more swap his rifle for his beam saber, then surging upon Unit Alpha with the maddened force of a tempest. Naturally Amuro deflected that initial strike with his own beam shield, and then redrew his beam saber to take the second. Through the glare of the flickering blades, Amuro again found himself face to face with the Act Zaku's intensely lit mono-eye, which further emphasized the madness of the pilot within. In point of fact, Amuro, likely through his Newtype powers, could almost see that maddened obsession take form before him, appearing as a malevolent, nigh transparent red spirit with fierce demonic eyes, both of which centered upon him. All while clawed hands reached out, as though to claim his soul.

"What are you looking at?" Amuro snarled under his breath as he at last found the opening he had been waiting for. Again he fired his vulcans, forcing the Act Zaku to break the blade lock and withdraw back. Only Amuro did not renege his own offense, and instead drove Unit Alpha straight on, magenta beam blade set to bifurcate the Act Zaku at the waistline. Cockpit and all.

Thus it was to Amuro's great surprise that Mallet, realizing what was about to happen, managed to nudge his mobile suit out of the way by a few meters. As a result of this small maneuver, Amuro's beam saber did indeed strike the Act Zaku, but not deep enough into cleave entirely through the cockpit as intended. And yet, it had been enough to elicit a howl of frenzied pain from the pilot within, with such intensity that Amuro found himself cringing. In turn, the specter he had just beheld dissipated before him, the last of it being its open mouth from which the howl had generated.

By the time Amuro twisted around to follow that attack with a killing stroke, the blue and white Act Zaku also turned and put its thrusters back into full burn. To which it fled straight back to the Dolowa, which was now collecting the last of its remaining mobile suits.

Federation Lexington-class fleetcarrier Ark Royal
Bhatan System

More and more beams launched from the Ark Royal's bow turrets, and yet, from Bright's perspective, none of them were having any real effect as the Dolowa maintained her almost completed turn. It was almost infathomable that a ship, no matter how large, could take that amount of punishment and still remain operable, and yet that was precisely what the Dolowa was doing. Even the combined missile attacks from the fleet, which were no longer so hindered by defensive phalanx fire, were all but ignored by the great beast, which remained concentrated on retrieving her mobile suits. To say Bright was impressed would have been the master of all understatements, especially when it appeared the Dolowa really was about to move into warp.

Damn it, Bright thought as he watched the giant warship at last complete its turn, the remainder of its Zakus disappearing into its massive hull. Sure enough, the engine blocks flashed as one, sending the Dolowa barreling into warp, leaving Bhatan far behind her. And with it the remainder of the Earth forces that had spent much so much time, energy and numbers in trying to destroy her then and there. Operation Tirpitz, for all intents and purposes, had been another failure.

And yet, as Mirai ordered the Ark Royal to stand down from battle and all her mobile suits to return, Bright knew that none of this was over, not by a long shot. At Zorres, the Dolowa had escaped unblemished, and the Ark Royal and her remaining cohorts had only survived through another twist of fate, one of many that had played out since the war had started not long ago. Now, the Dolowa had escaped again, but now she was gravely wounded. And though there was a chance that she would yet return to Zeon to be repaired and refurbished, somehow Bright had a feeling that would not quite come to be. Thus, wherever she would end up, she would be vulnerable.

Though the question remains: how do we finish her? Bright thought with a frown, his brain too exhausted to even come up with a possible strategy. The Dolowa had survived a nuclear bombardment, and the Solar System, as effective as it had been in crippling her, was no longer an option. To say nothing of her shrugging off the accumulated firepower of an entire Earth fleet despite her damages. No, whatever happened next, it would be something entirely new. Something that was sure to finish the job in one final stroke, which made Bright frown deeper at the possibilities.

Regardless, the battle was over for now, and the war was continuing elsewhere. All that remained for the Earth forces was to withdraw and gain some measure of respite before the next, final confrontation with their foe. That suited Bright Noa just fine, and so he settled back into his chair and waited for the Ark Royal's remaining mobile suits to return. Knowing that they would need all of them for what was to come after a brief spell.

Zeon supercarrier Dolowa
Warp

Lilia had just lowered herself from her disarmed Act Zaku when she heard the screech across the hangar deck. An all too familiar screech, in fact, that she "heard" with her physical ears as well as her special senses. Commander!

Turning about, she saw several medical orderlies helping Commander Sanguine from the cockpit of his own blue and white Act Zaku, while several more orderlies waited at the mobile suit's feet with a hoverbed ready. As Lilia, and Gustav not far from her, moved in, they both realized that the orderlies were not so much helping their commander as they were restraining him. Even worse, Lilia could tell the commander was severely wounded, even if she had not been able to feel his pain through their special bond.

"Goddamn you!" Mallet howled as he attempted to fight off the orderlies, only for the medical staff to hold him until they touched ground. From that, it took the efforts of no less than six of them to force the commander into the gurney and at least two more to that number to engage and keep Sanguine from ripping through the restraints. Lilia and Gustav attempted to draw in closer, but another orderly shielded them from the scene. Not that it made much difference to Lilia of course. Again through their special bond, she could "feel" that almost half of Commander Sanguine's face was gone. Burned away by the White Devil's fiery sword.

"Commander…" Lilia could only let out as tears threatened to well up from her eyes, which she was just able to force down through closing them. Not even the feeling of Gustav's hand on her shoulder was enough to grant her any relief whatsoever.

The cries and howls only continued – whatever anesthetic the orderlies had administered proving ineffective – as Mallet Sanguine was floated off from the hangar deck to sickbay.

Compared to how he had entered his personal quarters following the abrupt but successful departure from Zorres, Lutjins was subdued but far less certain. It had happened all at once, so much so that he still could barely contemplate it. With one single stroke, the Feddies had struck a blow that even he wasn't sure Dolowa would ever recover from. Not only that, but they had also wiped way almost half of her mobile suits in the process, to say nothing of the ship's armaments. What had once been an invincible juggernaut of a warship was now but a crawling giant that could no longer stand on its own two feet. One that was leaving a long trail of blood for its enemies to pursue no less.

If he had been a lesser man, Lutjins would have screamed and thundered against that turn of luck, that sick twist of fate that had turned the greatest, most powerful weapon Zeon had ever conceived into a flaming wreck. Yes, the Dolowa remained operational and moving, but who knew how long either would remain. And though they were well on their way back to Zeon as per his orders, Lutjins had little faith in the Dolowa completing that course. And unless they found some way to salvage and repair the long-range communications arrays, Lutjins had a very sinking feeling that no help would be coming for them either.

Grimacing as he sat down at his table, this time choosing not to open up the waiting bottle, Lutjins could only dread the future that was to come and come soon. The Feddies would no doubt rally over Bhatan, as well as regather their numbers for a final assault. There was no way they would let Dolowa go now, not when they had a clear opportunity to sink her before she could ever reach Earth. It was all so infuriating, especially when Lutjins still hadn't completed his original objective! Which in itself would spell doom for the empire in the future, which would come later than the one he immediately dreaded but come it would all the same.

Could…could this be the end? Lutjins thought, daring not to speak aloud. He wanted to think otherwise, wanted to believe that there was still hope. That somehow and some way the Dolowa could be saved, that they could all be saved. And much more, that they could still seek out the rallying point for the Feddies' coming assault on Odessa, and, thereafter, his fated return to Earth proper. He was so close now, he knew. There was no way he could let it all go, no matter how stricken his ship was! No matter how much the Feddies had inflicted upon him and those under his command.

And yet, the realist in him still knew. Possibilities remained, as they always did, but they were very much few in number. And the majority of them valued the Earthnoids.

Glowering as he forced back the rage, Lutjins took off his commissar cap and grasped the sides of his head, his augmented brain running through any and every means he still had at his disposal. Somehow and some way, he had to make it out of this. Dolowa had to make it out of this. Yet no matter how much he forced himself to think, no matter how much he searched for a solution, any solution, nothing would come to mind…