Disclaimer: See chapter 1
Howl of Destiny
By Storm Wolf77415 and Wing Commander White Wolf
Rising of Blades
(Armory One, ZAKU Hangar, October 4th, C.E. 73)
Lunamaria was sitting in the cockpit of her ZAKU, calibrating her targeting systems, when the alert klaxons went off. She looked around frantically, watching as personnel started running towards the direction of the hangar where the Gundams were being held.
"Luna!" A voice called out, she poked her head out to see a young man in ZAFT red standing at the foot of her machine. His long blonde hair framed a serious looking face, deep blue eyes held a solemn air, "Luna, are you alright?"
"Yeah, I'm fine, what's going on Rey?" She asked her teammate, Rey Za Burrel, pilot of a white ZGMF-1001 ZAKU Phantom. Her question was answered by a busty young woman, also wearing ZAFT red with a regular shin-length red skirt displaying a gorgeous pair of legs encased in a pair of black English riding boots, her waist-length strawberry blonde hair waving back and forth as she joined Rey at the foot of Luna's ZAKU.
"There's been an attack! Someone is after the Second Stage Gundams! All personnel have been scrambled, we have to leave right now!" Julianna Everhart said. Luna paled; knowing that Sebastian and his retinue had been there with Daisuke.
It was with some relief she saw Kazuma and Cagalli run into the hangar, both out of breath. "Colonel Sasaki, Commodore Athha, glad see the two of you are all right." Her relief turned to horror when she saw someone was missing, "Where's General Connor?"
"The selfless idiot…stayed behind to try and delay the Earth Alliance commando team stealing your new Gundams!" Kazuma said. "We need some machines and now!"
"Uh…" Luna stammered, not liking the idea very much of the two Orb nobles taking to the field.
"I'm not sure if that's such a good idea, Colonel." Rey spoke, "As a VIP, your safety is paramount. Plus this is purely a ZAFT manner, we can handle this ourselves." They both looked to the stoic blonde.
Cagalli gave a stern glare at Rey. "And you are?" she asked.
"Commodore Cagalli Attha, and Colonel Kazuma Sasaki, these are my teammates, Lieutenant Rey Za Burrel and Lieutenant Juliana Everhart." Luna made a quick introduction, "Rey makes a good point, Commodore Attha. You don't need to risk your own lives for our sake."
"Indeed, this is purely a ZAFT manner, Besides Orb was neutral last time I checked, since when did they concern themselves with anything that didn't relate to their pitiful little rock? I bet you haven't even set foot in a cockpit since Jachin." Juliana spoke in a condescending manner to the Lioness of Orb. Cagalli was about to use her preferred tactic of verbally blasting those who annoyed her into oblivion when Kazuma put a hand on her shoulder. The Sasaki heir knew Cagalli's mouth was as potent as Akatsuki's Hyakurai beam rifle but this wasn't the time for arguing.
"Lieutenant Everhart is it? I can assure you our skills are still razor sharp. General Connor made sure we kept training even after the war's end." Kazuma said, "He even put us to work training in some old GINNs he purchased. I can assume that the ZAKU isn't all that different? You prep some machines for us and we'll show you the fruits of our labor." Yukimasa entered from the side door, a haggard look in his eye.
"The alarm's been raised and security is converging on the Gundam hangar, have we heard from General Connor yet?" He asked.
"Not yet," Cagalli said. "He told us to get some machines so we can go back him up, but we're running into a little resistance here." She jerked a thumb at the other two redcoats. Cagalli's cell phone rang and she immediately answered it.
"What do we do? Every minute we sit here and debate this means those machines are that much closer to getting out of our hands completely!" Luna asked.
"Have three ZAKUs prepped for them at once." Yukimasa replied in a surprisingly commanding tone. "We're going to need all the help we can get."
"But Director Sanada!" Juliana protested, but he held up his hand.
"I'll take full responsibility for anything that happens today, Lieutenant Everhart. I'd think having some of the last war's most accomplished aces here would be only an asset." He flashed a grin to his friends. "Hawke, Za Burrel, Everhart, go ahead and mount up, we'll wait for General Connor and join you guys later." The three saluted and headed for their machines, Juliana gave Cagalli a sharp glare and flipped her hair before boarding her purple ZAKU Phantom. The three multicolored ZAKUs came to life and tromped out of the hangar with heavy metallic footsteps.
"Okay, let's get you guys situated!" Yukimasa clapped his hands together, "I got three ZAKUs that don't have assigned pilots yet, so you can use those." The three machines in question were grouped in the far left corner of the hangar, still painted in the basic green. "As much as I hate to say it, we're a little short on Wizard Packs, but I can still scrounge up some armaments."
Cagalli hung up, and sighed in relief, running her hand through dirty, blonde locks. "That was Sebastian, he'll be here in a couple of minutes. He tried to hold the attackers off, but he retreated once they started throwing grenades at him. Said he draws the line at getting his balls blown off." Both boys winced at that image, subconsciously crossing their legs. The Storm Wolf arrived a few seconds after that.
"Hey guys…sorry for taking so long." Sebastian replied, resting his hands on his knees while trying to catch his breath. "Sorry Yukimasa, I wasn't able to keep them from stealing the Gundams. They started chucking frags at me and I wanted to keep my legs. Are we all set?"
"Just making the final checks when you came in," The youngest Sahaku replied, "I have a Phantom and Two Warriors available, General. I imagine you'll want the former since it's a commander style unit. However it's only fair to say, that we won't be able to fully equip them with Wizard Packs, they just started production and supplies are still quite limited. I have a pair of beam rifles with a couple of energy capacitors apiece."
"But there's only enough for two of us!" Cagalli said.
"You and Kazuma can take the rifles." Sebastian reassured her, "I can make do with the Beam Tomahawks. They're not my first choice when it comes to weapons but I can make do for right now." He started for the lift cable when Yukimasa stopped him by grabbing onto his shoulder.
"Whoa, hold on there, fearless leader! I'm not going to send you off into the breach without giving you a little assistance. Remember the Slash pack's main weapon is a big old beam axe? I was working on one of them the other day. It had some faulty wiring, but it's a real easy fix. If you can give me a couple minutes to swap it out, you can use that!"
"Okay, but make it quick! We've wasted enough time as is!" Sebastian's eyes clenched shut and he took a deep breath to calm himself.
"This is a nightmare! It really is like we're reliving Heliopolis all over again!" Cagalli said, just wishing this whole mess was just a bad dream and she could wake up like nothing more had happened.
"I wouldn't worry too much about it if I were you, Lady Cagalli." A young voice spoke. Cagalli turned to see a young woman about 15 wearing ZAFT green, with long reddish brown hair and gentle brown eyes. "Lunamaria, Juliana, and Rey all graduated from Keystone at the top of their class, and more than earned their redcoats. They won't let those guys escape, and once my brother gets involved then the odds will be even."
"Mayu, what are you doing here?" Yukimasa asked worriedly, giving the younger girl a tight hug, he gave a sigh of relief, something that wasn't lost on his comrades. "I thought you were on the Minerva already!"
"I was on my way when the attack happened, and Shinn said if we were separated to find you. I'm certain Captain Gladys has already ordered the launch of the Impulse." Mayu shrugged, hugging the young man back. She nuzzled his chest affectionately. Mayu cooed lightly, "I'm glad you're here, Yuki. I was worried about you, too."
"Care to introduce us, Daisuke?" Cagalli asked carefully, raising an eyebrow at the show of affection. The younger girl just smiled and offered a smart salute. She broke away from Yukimasa, becoming the soldier her training made her into.
"Private Mayu Asuka at your service, Commodore Attha! It's an honor to see you, Colonel Sasaki and General Connor again after all this time!"
"Have we met before, Private Asuka?" Sebastian asked.
"Yes sir, we have, a very long time ago in fact." Mayu said, before the entire hangar shook from an explosion. "But I guess we can wait another time for trips down memory lane!" She exclaimed.
"We need to get out there before this place comes down on our heads! Kazuma, Cagalli, let's mount up and join the others." Sebastian ordered.
"Can I ask something of you, General Connor?" Yukimasa asked, looking to Mayu. "Please take Miss Asuka with you to the Minerva. She's one of the CIC operators. If you need to get onboard, she's the one who can help you with that. I have some last minute details to wrap up around here and then I'll make tracks for the dock myself, just keep her safe until then!" There was a clear note of worry in his voice, his red eyes pleading to the Storm Wolf. He nodded, putting an arm around her shoulder. "Is that a yes?"
Sebastian nodded, "Of course, Director Sanada. You can rest assured we won't let anything happen to her. Private Asuka, you can hitch a ride with Commodore Attha. Let's mount up people!" The Storm Wolf headed for his machine, the cockpit still had a fresh clean smell to it, almost like it was a brand new car. He hit the on switch and the cockpit lit to life around him. "It's really not all that different from a GINN. There's a few new additions here and there but the layout is almost the same."
Cagalli and Kazuma's images appeared on the two small screens on either side of the main display. Mayu was hunched behind Cagalli's seat, giving them a tiny wave. "This is Lioness. I'm ready to go when you guys are." Cagalli picked up one of the beam rifles and the energy capacitors.
"This is Black Wind, I'm lit up and ready to fly as well." Kazuma replied, taking up the second beam rifle.
"Roger that Lioness and Black Wind, Storm Wolf Actual, everything is green across the board." He looked to where Yukimasa feverishly worked on getting the Falx working. "Any time now, Yukimasa." He said. The engineer closed it up, giving a faux salute. Sebastian reached down, taking up the weapon, folding out to its full length. He whistled, giving an experimental spin. "It's not a Gerbera, but it will do for right now! Alright, let's get to work!"
"You guys go on ahead, I'll grab a machine of my own and hook up with you later!" Yukimasa said, giving a final salute before running off. The ZAKUs clomped out with heavy metallic footsteps, surveying the situation. Smoke could be seen curling up in the distance from fires started by the Extended blasting everything in sight, trashed mobile suits and dead bodies littered the place.
The Storm Wolf of Jachin Due let out a chuckle of dry bemusement at the current circumstances. "Something funny, Sebastian?" Kazuma asked.
"I was just thinking about how history has a way of repeating itself, Kaz. This is the exact same picture I saw when I first powered up Predator two years ago, everything in sight was burning just like this…it was something I hoped I'd never had to witness again," Sebastian sighed, before his eyes became hard, the mask of the commander falling into place. "But I realize that's wishful thinking. We have a job to do here. Those mobile suits cannot leave this colony! The line has to be drawn here!"
"Then we should get going! You all right back there, Private Asuka?" Cagalli said. Mayu winced a little but did her best not to let it bother her.
"We're in a rush, Commodore Attha. Comfort is the last thing on my mind right now!" She replied. "I'm going to contact the Minerva and let them know what's going on so there's no confusion." She clicked a dial on the control panel, "Minerva Actual, please respond. This is Private Mayu Asuka on an emergency channel, please reply Captain Gladys."
The Storm Wolf blinked when he heard Mayu speak, "Wait a second, Private Asuka, say that again. Did you say Captain Gladys…as in Talia Gladys? She's the Minerva's skipper?" Sebastian asked.
"Yes she is. Did you know her, General Connor?" Mayu looked surprised. Sebastian grinned.
"Absolutely! She was the executive officer on the Calvin…my old command ship. Private, let me speak to her. Storm Wolf Actual to Minerva Actual please respond now." A smooth, feminine voice replied, causing the Storm Wolf to light up.
"Read you loud and clear, Storm Wolf Actual. It's good to hear your voice again, sir. Is Private Asuka with you?" Captain Talia Gladys asked.
"Loud and clear, Talia. Miss Asuka is here and she is unharmed. So they finally gave you the captaincy you deserve. I bet you look good in the white uniform." He said, the joy of reuniting with an old comrade evaporated when he saw a series of explosions in the distance, "A quick FYI Talia, my companions have borrowed a few of your new mobile suits and we're going to try stopping the people who made off with the Gundams…hope you don't mind."
An audible sigh came over the radio. "Please be very careful, General Connor. I'm dispatching the Impulse to aid Lieutenant Za Burrel and the others. Try to capture then as intact as possible…we invested quite a bit in their creation."
"Understood, Captain Gladys. We won't rough them too much but we won't make any guarantees." Sebastian said, "Storm Wolf Actual out."
"So she crewed under you back in the day, Seb?" Kazuma said, venturing to ask a difficult question. "Can she be trusted?"
"Yes she did crew under me, Kazuma, and I trust her implicitly. Talia's a good officer, a lot like Natarle, but a bit more flexible in accepting new ideas. She's a got a son, don't remember his name, but he seemed like a sweet kid." The Storm Wolf said.
"Matthew," Mayu said, fondly remembering when the captain brought him to see the ship when it was under construction. "The captain's son is named Matthew. And yes he's a very sweet kid. He and my brother are very close."
"Your brother is in the service as well, Private Asuka?" Kazuma asked.
"Yes sir…in fact we should be meeting him before too long!" Mayu said, looking off screen, "Yeah…here he comes!" The other pilots saw what appeared to be a fighter and an assortment of parts flying through the sky; to the surprise of everyone they all started coming together to form into a single machine. The Phase Shift Armor buzzed to life, turning the torso into a brilliant red while the rest of the machine became proclamation white. The equipment pack attached to its back, carrying a pair of beam boomerangs and anti-ship swords.
"So that's the Impulse? I guess it's using the Sword Pack right now," Sebastian said, remembering Yukimasa's briefing from earlier, "Miss Asuka…is your brother the Impulse's pilot?"
"Correct sir. Lieutenant Shinn Asuka, selected to be the pilot of the ZGMF-X56S Impulse Gundam, he's been training for the past year now to make the machine his own." There was a more than a hint of pride in Mayu's voice. Her brother had worked hard, making it through the academy and earning the prestigious redcoat. This would be his first actual battle and it was time to test the fruit of his labor. "He's quite good, General Connor. I think you'll be interested in seeing what he can do."
(Weapons Lab, southern quadrant)
It hadn't taken long for the trio of redcoats to find the Extended. They just had to follow the path of destruction left in their wake. Sting, Auel, and Stellar had been meticulous in their destruction, they had to get a feel for the new Gundams quickly before they bailed so they hadn't been lax in smashing everything in sight. Juliana's face twisted in disgust as she saw the dead bodies of her comrades littered all about. "Natural bastards! They die for this!" she raged, preparing to attack them.
"Control yourself, Juliana!" Rey said in an even tone, acting as flight lead. "Remember our mission is to capture the prototypes intact. We can't do that if we hack them into little pieces."
"They're just machines, Rey! Daisuke can put them back together when we're done with this!" The busty pinkette snapped, "It's time to earn our keep!" hoisting up her beam rifle and opening fire, just barely grazing the Abyss. Auel whipped around to see who would dare shoot him in the back. He sneered when he saw the trio of ZAKUs approaching.
"Hey guys, we have some company." Auel drawled, raising the beam lance in anticipation of a good fight. "I guess they want to play."
"We don't have time for that, Auel! We have to complete our mission and meet up with the Girty Lue!" Sting replied. The ZAKUs quickly moved to surround the intruders.
"This is Lieutenant Rey Za Burrel, You have made off with property of the Zodiac Alliance of Freedom Treaty. Shut down those mobile suits and surrender at once otherwise we will be authorized to use deadly force. I suggest you think very carefully about your next action." The blonde sighed, knowing all too well what would happen next. As he expected the Gundams hefted their weapons and opened fire. "Scatter and find cover!" A light blinked on his console, and an image of a cute fifteen-year-old girl wearing standard ZAFT green with her hair in pigtails appeared.
"Rey, we were just informed of the theft of the other prototypes. Captain Gladys has authorized the launch of the Impulse; Shinn should be on your position in ten minutes." Meyrin Hawke said. Lunamaria's younger sister was a bridge officer who ran the Combat Information Center, splitting duties with Mayu and Abby Windsor. Mayu and Meyrin had become fast friends, usually going shopping together when off duty.
"Thank you, Meyrin. We'll try and hold them at bay until then." Rey gave her a quick salute and the screen blinked off. Out of the corner of his eye he noticed three incoming ZAKUs. "General Connor and his party. I wish they would have stayed out of this. Still…this will be a good opportunity to evaluate the Storm Wolf's skills and see how much of a threat he truly is."
The lead green ZAKU raised the massive axe, "This is Storm Wolf Actual, do you read me, Lieutenant Za Burrel? Could you use some assistance?"
"Of course, General Connor." Rey said, "Move out and try to surround the Gundams. We cannot let them escape the colony with those weapons!" The three veterans needed no further prompting, forming a circle around the stolen mobile suits.
Before anyone could make a movement, they received one more visitor. The ZGMF-X56S/A Sword Impulse Gundam formed and dropped into the middle of the battlefield. Inside the cockpit, sixteen-year-old Shinn Asuka gave an angry glare at the stolen prototypes. "Are you people trying to start another war? Because if you are…then I think we're going to have a very big problem!" Shinn said, snapping the two Excalibur anti-ship swords together to create a double-bladed weapon and holding them in challenge to the Gundams. He looked to the six ZAKUs "Hey Rey, did I miss the party?"
"Not at all, my friend. In fact you had quite the impeccable timing." Rey said, slightly relieved to have a G-Weapon of their own on hand, while he was confident in his own skills and the skills of his teammates, plus the combined experience of the Storm Wolf of Jachin Due and his cohorts, the superior performance of a Gundam was something that couldn't be ignored.
"Shinn, I'm glad you're alright!" Mayu cried out gladly.
"Mayu, is that you? What are you doing here? I thought you were already on the Minerva?" Shinn wasn't happy to see his little sister in the middle of an active warzone. It meant worrying about her.
"Sorry, bro, I was on my way back to the ship when the attack happened. But I'm all right, I found Daisuke and I've got good protection in the form of Lady Cagalli and her escorts." Mayu said. Before Shinn could ask further, the Gaia raised its beam rifle and opened fire, nearly catching Kazuma's ZAKU in the leg.
"Talk later, take down stolen mobile suits now!" Sebastian said, spinning the borrowed beam axe, experimentally, The Abyss raised its own weapon. "To the pilot of the white Gundam, take point here, we'll back you up."
"Who in the hell are you?" Shinn asked.
"He's a superior officer, Shinn! I suggest you do as he says!" Juliana snapped, firing her own beam rifle as the Chaos. Despite not liking the presence of the Orb officers, the busty pinkette wasn't so stupid as to turn down the help of three accomplished veterans, especially when one of them was the Storm Wolf of Jachin Due himself. She had been surprised to see him appear at Armory One, she had to admit he was even more imposing than any pictures she had ever seen. Not to mention he looked almost dashing in that coat.
Stellar ignited a beam saber, lunging for the Impulse. Shinn snapped his weapon up, catching the smaller blade. He parried downwards to try and literally disarm the Gaia, but the blonde Extended was faster, swinging the saber upwards to hack off the Impulse's head, but then Rey and Luna fired at the Gaia. She whipped around, bringing the shield up to block the two beams. Sebastian's ZAKU then came in to try and attack the Gaia but then Abyss stepped in between to shield Stellar, the beam lance catching the giant axe.
"You alright Stellar?" Auel asked, blocking Sebastian's attack and jamming the end of his lance into the ZAKU, forcing it back.
"Affirmative." She replied in a cold tone.
"You leave the axe-wielding guy to me, he's gotten on my nerves. You take care of that new Gundam." Auel said, preparing to square off against the Storm Wolf and his cohorts. Sting soon found himself facing down Rey and Luna. The three Extended had only a few minutes in the cockpits of their stolen machines and were thus having to learn the controls on the fly, luckily thanks to all the special training techniques Phantom Pain had so wonderfully 'provided' made them fast learners. He raised his MA-BAR721 high-energy beam rifle and opened fire on the white and red ZAKUs.
(Girty Lue, Bridge)
"Something must have happened with the Extended. They should have been here by now." Neo said. "Ian, tell Headhunter Team to go ahead and launch. Also have my Exus prepped…I have a feeling I'll need to go out there myself." He walked off the bridge, sword in hand, with a predator's fluid grace. The Girty Lue's executive officer had to admit; the man knew how to make an exit.
Neo entered the hangar with a smooth gait. He watched as the three GAT-02L2 Dagger Ls belonging to Morris and his wingmen launched out into the void of space. Since Phantom Pain machines were painted a basic black, it would be easy for them to mask their approach. He passed by the two mobile suits still in their docking slips. Neo gave a passing glance to the machine on the right, belonging to a special guest of his. She had remained in her quarters for most of the voyage, but her skill and mobile suit would be valuable asset when the time came.
His masked gaze then fell on the other mobile suit, obscured by the shadows of the hangar. He would have liked to use it right now, but he didn't want to give away too much just yet. So instead he made his way towards the sleek mobile armor painted black like the rest of the machines in the unit. The TS-MA04 Exus was the descendant of the venerable Moebius Zero, even faster and more heavily armed than its predecessor.
With a single fluid leap, he floated up and into the Exus's cockpit. Neo's fingers danced over the controls with the grace of a concert pianist, slowly bringing the mobile armor to life. While it may not have versatility of a mobile suit, The Exus came loaded with enough firepower to give any ZAFT pilot pause. "This is Phantom Pain Actual, do you read, Headhunter 1-1?"
"Roger, Phantom Pain Actual, Headhunter Team is on route to the extraction point. ETA is ten minutes." Daniel replied.
"Excellent, Headhunter 1-1. Find Sting and the others and then get the hell out of there. Send off a flare a once you've managed to get out of the colony, and then I'll join you in covering your escape." Neo said smoothly.
"You're joining the party, Captain?" Morris's voice had climbed an octave, he was clearly full of expectation at the notion of Neo entering the battlefield personally, it was rare when the boss got involved but when he did, it was always exciting to watch the man work.
Neo just smirked, "Indeed I am, Commander. ZAFT will no doubt pursue you in order to get their precious prototypes back. I'll have to see about persuading them to back off."
"Are you bringing out the 505, Phantom Pain Actual? I dare say ZAFT would be in for a surprise if you used the mega cannon." Daniel asked.
"Sorry to disappoint you for right now, I'm just in the Exus. I don't want to give away all my advantages too soon, 1-1. You're just going to have to wait." Neo replied casually.
The sniper let out a resigned sigh. "Roger that Phantom Pain Actual. Whatever assistance you can provide will be welcomed. We'll pop one off once we're ready for you, sir. I'm looking forward to it." The radio then clicked off. Neo got the signal from the landing officer. "Neo Roanoke, Exus…taking off!" The dark colored mobile armor roared into deep space, skimming along the smooth mirror surface of the colony before taking a position near the spaceport.
"Roanoke to Girty Lue…ring the doorbell." He said. On his order, a section of space began to shimmer and glow, revealing a sleek warship painted in a deep blue. The new Girty-Lue class battlecruiser was developed by the Earth Alliance for special covert operations such as this, and so was equipped with the Mirage Colloid cloaking system to allow it easy access to enemy territory. But despite being made for stealth, it had teeth. Armed with six massive Gottfried high-energy beam cannons, and multiple Vertical Launch Systems for missiles it was more than a match for anything in space.
"Fire!" Lee ordered, all six of the Gottfrieds, opened fire, six telephone pole sized emerald beams lanced out, skewering through a nearby Nazca, causing the destroyer to explode in ball of fire and smoke. The Girty Lue then fired off a tremendous barrage of missiles at the spaceport, and with those actions, the first rounds of the Second Bloody Valentine War were fired.
The entire ground shook with the explosion at the spaceport. Sting immediately became troubled. That was their signal to leave, but these annoying pests were still holding them up. They had a mission to complete and couldn't possibly waste their time fighting against the ZAFT forces sent to intercept them. He was especially weary of the ZAKU wielding the large axe fighting against the Abyss. Whoever was at the controls of that particular machine was clearly no wet behind the ears rookie.
Auel was being his usual arrogant self, clearly not taking the fight seriously. He swept the beam lance low, the beam blade shooting out of the top, hoping to cleave off the ZAKU's legs, but Sebastian was too experienced to fall for such an amateur move.
The beam axe swung down, parrying the Abyss's weapon, Sebastian slammed the long shaft into the Gundam's midsection repeatedly, forcing Auel back little by little, the VPS was still holding, but the multiple impacts were making it hard for him to counterattack.
"Sting, I think we're going to need a little help here!" Auel yelled. Luckily, his wish was answered when the radio crackled to life.
"Headhunter 1-1 to Bravo 1-1, do you read, Ensign Oakley?" Morris's voice cut in. "We've managed to infiltrate the colony through one of the maintenance hatches and we are in a position to assist." Sting looked out towards a distant hill and saw a slight gleam from the sights of Headhunter team's sniper rifles.
"Loud and clear, Headhunter 1-1," Sting immediately became all business, feeling some relief at hearing the older man's voice. There were many within the Atlantic Federation Armed Forces who didn't like the Extended, considering them expendable, but Morris at least treated all three of them with some respect and in turn they respected him back. "We've accomplished the objective, Commander Morris, but the locals aren't being too friendly. Think you can help us out some?"
"Loud and clear, Ensign Oakley. We're in position and will provide covering fire, so get moving once it happens!" Morris replied, hefting his M40A35 110mm sniper rifle up before addressing his two wingmen. "Michael, Gavin…it's time for hunting season to kick off!" They raised their own weapons and all three snipers opened fire simultaneously, unleashing large orange and blue tinged beams of death.
Cagalli only had a few seconds to react when she saw the initial burst. "Get out of the way!" She screamed, grabbing Juliana's ZAKU and pulling her out of the line of fire before she was skewered by one of the Headhunter's shots. The strawberry blonde gasped in horror at how close she had come to being killed.
"We got snipers!" Sebastian said, "Break off and take cover!" The others were quick to follow the Storm Wolf's orders, ducking behind any shelter available. The only one who didn't was Shinn, still in a deadlock with the Gaia.
Sting looked to his teammate's machine with worry. Their window for escape was closing fast and Morris's actions would only delay the enemy for so long. "Stellar come on! We need to leave right now! This isn't the time to slug it out with ZAFT! We need to get these mobile suits back to Neo in one piece!" Sting called out to his partner but the blonde wasn't hearing it.
"No, I need to finish this guy off now! He'll be a threat down the line!" Stellar hissed. The mission was jeopardized by the appearance of the mysterious fourth Gundam. It had caught them all by surprise, and if the machine dealt with immediately, the Impulse would cause them all trouble down the line. Stellar was at least a pragmatist.
Sting closed his eyes in frustration. This was typical behavior for her. Once Stellar set her mind on something, no one could dissuade her from it, there was only course of action to take from here. "Fine then, Stellar, do what you want…if you want to die here!" He felt a slight pang of regret at using her block word, but. This wasn't the first time he had to use the "D" word to get Stellar to follow orders. He turned off the radio, knowing full well what was happening in the Gaia's cockpit, considering he went through the same thing when his block word was used. It was a nightmare he didn't need to relive.
Stellar began shaking all over the second the word echoed in her ears. Her hands clenched around the controls, starting to become wet and clammy. The blonde's heart rate doubled, as the familiar senses began to set in, finally she was consumed by the fear and the reaction she was conditioned to have went off. "I don't want to die!" she screamed, immediately breaking combat with Shinn and flying off in sheer terror.
"Stellar!" Auel cried out, breaking off from his fight with Sebastian and took off after her, while Sting brought up the rear, He leered as he activated the controls for the EQFU-5X remote weapon pods. Unable to use them in such close confines, he could now make use of the Chaos's most powerful weapon to aid in their escape. The two pods detached, beginning to lay down suppressive fire along with the beam rifle, before the lower part opened up, firing off a large barrage of Firefly missiles.
The projectiles rained down, creating a temporary wall of fire that gave the Extended some extra time to make their getaway. The Dagger Ls took after the Gundams, providing suppressing fire. Shinn hurled his beam boomerangs at the fleeing machines but they were already out of range. "Damn it! How could they steal the Gundams so easily?" He raged.
"They're not getting away from here with those machines! All units lock in a pursuit course!" Sebastian said.
"I'm afraid I can't, my thrusters aren't working!" Luna said. "Looks like I took a hit during the fight."
"Then go ahead and return to the Minerva, Lunamaria. We can handle it from here." Rey said. "Update Captain Gladys of the situation." Luna nodded affirmation and the red ZAKU broke off from the rest of the unit and made its way to the drydock where the carrier waited.
"Commodore Attha, Colonel Sasaki, please accompany Lieutenant Hawke. I'd like to you speak to Captain Gladys and tell her we're going to offer our services in pursuing the captured mobile suits. I'll take Lieutenants Asuka, Za Burrel, and Everhart to try and intercept them!"
Shinn's blood red eyes flared at the mention of the name Attha, it was due to them the main reason why he and his sister became orphans. "An Attha here? What are you going to do? Lie down in front of the Earth Alliance mobile suits and let them squash you just like your father did to Orb?" He sneered.
"Shinn!" Mayu was incensed at her brother's comment. Cagalli was about to give him a piece of her mind when the Supreme Ace saved her trouble.
"This isn't the time for a petty squabble, Lieutenant Asuka!" The voice from earlier snapped. It was sharp and authoritative, one who didn't care much for shenanigans. Shinn was about to give his usual rude remark when the owner of the voice blinked on his screen. The pilot of the Impulse's face paled and his eyes bulged out in surprise at just who was directing the impromptu squad's actions.
"Commander Connor?" Shinn breathed in awe and a little bit of fear. He found himself staring into the two brilliant blue voids that were Sebastian's eyes, hardened as the steel blade of Fenrir itself. In the presence of his idol Shinn Asuka realized he was nothing more than a mere pup compared to the brilliant aura of the true Alpha Male.
Mayu gave a smug expression. She wouldn't say it to her brother's face, but it was about time someone knocked him down a peg or two. It would probably be a good thing for Shinn to finally meet Sebastian, someone who could help curb his more impulsive fits. She had to admit the black leather jacket and stark black pants did look good on his rugged figure; proof that even when he wasn't in uniform he still maintained his aura of command.
"Whatever your personal feelings are for Commodore Attha and her homeland, this is not the time or place for them, Lieutenant. If you have a problem with that I'll be more than willing to go one on one with you after this is done and I'll put you down so fast it won't even be funny!" Sebastian's tone sent a chill down the young pilot's spine.
"Y-yes sir!" Shinn automatically responded, immediately hailing the Minerva's CIC. "Meyrin, send me the Force Silhouette pack, we're heading out into space and I'm going to need the extra maneuverability." The cheerful redhead smiled, indicating it was on its way. He jettisoned the now useless Sword pack as the flyer streaked towards his position and clamped onto the Impulse's back. The Variable Phase Shift switched colors from red to blue with red highlights, immediately reminding Sebastian of the old Strike.
The mobile suits fell into formation and took off after the Earth Alliance units, tracking them back to the maintenance tunnel the Headhunters had used to enter earlier. It was still open, so they quickly raced through into the void of space. The Gundam and four ZAKUs emerged into a sea of chaos. "Oh shit!" Sebastian groaned. "Alright you guys, keep your heads on a swivel. There's no telling what the Earth Alliance have brought with them."
Neo had set his Exus down on the surface of the colony directly below the spaceport, hiding in the shadows to wait for any incoming pursuers. His patience was rewarded when he saw Sebastian's fireteam emerge from the tunnel. "Four mass production units…and another Gundam? That wasn't in the intel our spies retrieved!" He was surprised at the presence of the Impulse but he didn't have time to muse on it.
"This is Roanoke, I see five incoming mobile suits. I'm going to intercept them!" The black mobile armor powered up and shot towards its target. He froze up for a split second when a strange pressure built up in the back of his skull. "What the hell is that?" Neo asked no one in particular, before he primed the Exus's dual GAI-868L2 linear cannons and opened fire.
The masked pilot's ambush would have succeeded if not for Rey's warning. He tensed when a weird sensation popped in the back of his mind. His radar began beeping and he saw an unknown heat signature coming from straight beneath their position. "General Connor, we've got a single bogey coming from below!" The machines scattered in time to see the Exus fly through the middle of their formation.
"What in the hell is that thing?" Juliana exclaimed, watching as the mobile armor swooped around to make another pass, finally giving everyone a clear view. The ebony paint job made its reflection look a dark blob racing along the mirror plates of the colony. Her eyes widened in surprise, "Is that…a mobile armor?
"You mean like the old Moebius Zero?" Shinn asked quickly He remembered the stories told of the elite cadre of pilots who fought during the first half of the last war.
"An advanced descendant, stay on guard, everyone. If it is based on the Zero, then it has remote weapons. Get ready to fire on my command!" Sebastian said, the Impulse and the three ZAKUs opened fire, emerald lances raced through the void while the Exus swooped and dodged through the fire. The Storm Wolf watched the machine with a sense of puzzlement. "He is good…wonder where they found this guy. Anyone who had that capability is accounted for. Most of the Corps died at Endymion and Rau died at Jachin. Morgan and Mu are still back in Orb."
Neo smirked, easily avoiding the fire coming from ZAFT units. He set his crosshairs on the green ZAKU Phantom, which seemed to be the lead machine, and since it didn't have a rifle it would be the most vulnerable one. The Gundam flew in front of the Phantom and blocked the shot with its shield. "Hmph, I guess I shouldn't have expected it to be that easy. Let's see how they handle this!" He pushed a button, causing the gunpods to detach and begin spinning around him. "Now things start to get interesting!" Behind his mask, blue eyes glimmered with excitement. This was the way a soldier like Neo Roanoke lived: pushing the limits until death.