Far away from the Earthsphere, surrounding it as well as the Moon, are the thousands of Space Colonies, which extend the human population into the vastness of the Solar System. They are divided into groups known as Colony Clusters, each one housing multiple metropolises in the Colonies, forming their own territories, alliances, provinces, and nations. Democratic republics, similar to most nations on the Earthsphere, govern each of these Colonies. However, in many Colonies there is a hidden, unseen ruler outside of the local government. It rules with an iron fist, and controls the livelihoods of the people. It wields a potent weapon known as money. It has a soul full of greed.
In several Colonies, the jobs of the people depend heavily on a single conglomerate, known as the Marisson Corporation. By setting up enormous offices in poorer Colonies, more jobs were created for the people living there, and soon these Colonies’ entire economies were dependent upon the existence of the Marisson Corporation’s office.
Colonies MA-00A001 through MZ-99Z999 are the Colonies built by the Marisson Corporation, which house the major offices of Marisson employees. Other important buildings and stations are located in various Colonies throughout the Solar System. Unbeknownst to the employees, they are all pawns in a plan designed to bring about the hostile takeover of the entire human race…
The year is After Exodus 249, and the time has come for the major players in Vaughn Marisson-Kincayde’s plot to put the true nature of his plan into action. The Mobile Rogues and their pilots achieve victories almost everywhere they go and, at the same time, keep themselves hidden from the SAMLES Forces. Kincayde’s intentions are clear, but the lengths that he is willing to go to are not. Only time will tell what he plans to do. Until then, the Gundams and their pilots continue to do battle wherever they go, never resting, wearing their fatigue as a badge of honor.
MOBILE SOLDIER N GUNDAM
By: L. Curtis Totty
The bullet traveled fast and furious to reach its target, and tore a hole through with incredible ease. Lt. Darlene Millar smiled at her handiwork. "Cool," she thought. "Right between the eyes…"
She removed her goggles and pressed the button on her right that brought her target sheet closer to her, to find she had struck in a deadly place.
"Nice shot, ma’am," said a high voice behind her.
She turned to see a young, wide-eyed, brown- and curly-haired boy, about two inches shorter than herself, wearing a SAMLES uniform. He saluted and introduced himself. "Officer Colin Psalter, Lieutenant Millar."
Lt. Millar saluted back. "I take it you’ve been transferred to my Unit?" The youth nodded. "How old are you?"
"Fifteen, ma’am," he said.
Colin was only two years younger than she was, but she thought this boy was rather young to be in the SAMLE Squad. "How did you get to be a SAMLES Officer?"
"It’s a special summer internship program, ma’am," said Colin. "A bunch of high school students in the Youth Mobile Military Training Corps at their schools were chosen to join the SAMLE Squad." Darlene Millar had been in the YMMTC herself when she was in school, but she had to wait until she had graduated to join the SAMLE Squad. Even then, she had to attend classes at a special military school for a year before she became a member of the SAMLE Squad full time.
"Do you know who else has been assigned to this Unit?" asked Darlene.
"Get away from me, you perv!"
"Heheh…Here they come now…" said Colin, uncomfortably. In walked a young girl perhaps only a year older than him, as well as a boy that looked the same age as Darlene herself. Following them in was Sgt. Kenneth Michaels.
"Sorry about this, Darlene," said Ken. "They insisted on meeting their commanding officer right away."
"You must be Lt. Darlene Millar," said the boorish young man, as he saluted his commander. "The name’s Guilden…Officer Ishmael Guilden, at your service!"
Darlene looked her new Unit up and down, noticing the wry smile and sleepy look in the eyes of Ishmael Guilden, as he pushed his red bangs above his eyebrows as he saluted. She turned to a young girl with long braided black hair, her arms folded, glaring at Guilden angrily.
She saluted Darlene. "Officer Celeste Foster, ma’am," she said, saluting. Darlene saluted back, and decided to begin her speech.
"All right, guys…" she said. "I’m glad to have all of you aboard. Now that we have a human unit, rather just a bunch of Mobile Soldiers, we’ll be receiving the newest models of Mobile Suits. However, this means we won’t have as many Mobile Soldiers as you may have seen on your little television shows.
"Since Sgt. Ken Michaels and are the oldest ones here, we will handle all of the Mobile Soldiers," said Darlene. "The rest of you will be piloting Mobile Suits with Mobile Aides along for the ride."
"Mobile Aides?" cried Guilden. "Lt. Millar, with all due respect, I have plenty of experience working with Mobile Soldiers in the YMMTC…I’m sure I should be able to get a few Mobile Soldiers!"
"Guilden…" began Lt. Millar. "Where have I heard that name before?"
"You may have heard of a Capt. Matthew Guilden from the 24th Precinct," smiled Guilden, proudly. "That’s my older brother!"
"I see," said Lt. Millar. She immediately recognized this brazen bloodline attitude. "Well then, Guilden. Are you as good a pilot as your brother?"
"I know my way around a cockpit…" said Guilden. "Mobile Suits and…otherwise…"
Darlene chuckled. "Sure thing…" Sgt. Ken Michaels struggled to hold back his laughter. Colin Psalter grinned uneasily and Foster simply sighed in exasperation.
"You’ll have to excuse him," said Foster. "He thinks his Little Ishmael is bigger than the pilot control stick."
"You know you’d like to ‘fly’ me, Celeste," said Guilden.
"Get away from me," said Foster, disgustedly.
"Are they always like this?" asked Michaels, to Psalter.
"No idea. I just met them outside. None of us went to the same school," said Psalter.
"This is going to be one hell of a Unit," said Michaels, with slight sarcasm.
"All right, ‘children,’" said Millar. "I hope you all realize exactly what we’re up against…"
"Ho yeah!" said Guilden. "We’re after the Mobile Rogues, right?"
"Right," said Millar. "We’re dealing with tough enemies here, and it definitely won’t be easy to contain them. Most of them are piloting Mobile Suits made of Neo Titanium, which is very difficult to destroy using our basic weaponry…Yes, Foster?"
Foster lowered her hand. "Aren’t there some Suits out there made of Gundanium, too?"
"Uh…yes…" said Darlene Millar, slowly. "We…plan on eventually bringing the Gundams to justice for their vigilantism, but right now they’re too elusive, and perhaps even too powerful for us to capture…"
"I heard that at SAMLE Central, they’re working on a new Gundam to take down the vigilantes," input Psalter. "It won’t be completed for a while, though…"
"That takes a little worry off my mind…" said Millar, with a falter in her voice. "But for right now…we’ve got some patrolling to do. There’s been some Mobile Suit activity in the P03 Colony Cluster Area, and we’ve got to head over there quickly. Let’s move out."
"Exactly what kind of Mobile Fighters will we be using?" asked Psalter as the group began to move towards the hangar.
"Today, each of us will be piloting Cruise Slayer R708s," said Millar. "However, Michaels and I will have Advanced Soldier V325s as Mobile Soldiers. You guys will be using Savior Sentinel T911s in Mobile Aide mode.
"This is perfect! Savior Sentinels, and they’ll be running on artificial intelligence the whole time!" groaned Guilden.
"You’d better be thankful for that," said Michaels. "Their primary objective will be to watch your ass…"
"If we happen to encounter any enemies, you should stay a few clicks back. If it looks like we’re in trouble, call for backup," said Millar.
"This sucks…" said Guilden.
"I just hope we all manage to survive," said Psalter.
"Don’t worry, boys…I’ll be sure to protect you!" said Foster, jokingly. Guilden remarked that she could help him "protect" a particular part of his anatomy, and received a slap in the face for it.
"Ah, youth," said Michaels. Millar chuckled.
Lt. Darlene Millar’s Mobile Weapon Unit continued forward into the Mobile Weapon Hangar, where they climbed into their Suits, and prepared to begin their patrol.
Episode 04: Good, Evil, and Indifferent…
In Colony Cluster P03, the Colonnade, Vaughn Marisson-Kincayde’s enormous battleship, began to open its bay doors, letting several Mobile Rogues out into the openness of outer space. They floated there, waiting for a word from the leader of Final Judgment, Kincayde.
"Ladies and gentlemen of Final Judgment," said Kincayde. "Here in Cluster P03 is an asteroid with an enormous Titanium and Gundanium deposit. I’ve outfitted your Mobile Suits with special tools to dig through the asteroid. The deposits are especially deep, so we will not be able to set up the Mobile Suit Factory until the deposit has been hit. Thank you for your time."
"I don’t get it," thought Riser. "Why dig for resources way out here? There are plenty of other Natural Resource Satellites that we can get minerals from."
Kincayde noticed Riser Caldwell sitting in a chair in the bridge of the Colonnade, with his eyes closed in contemplation. "Is something wrong, Riser?"
Riser’s eyes slowly opened, and he turned to face Kincayde. "Tell me what’s really going on," he said. "You’re trying to attract the Gundams aren’t you?"
"What are you talking about?" asked Kincayde. "Why would I want to bring the Gundams here? They’ve been a thorn in my side since Day One!"
"Those four Gundams haven’t met together in the same place yet," said Riser.
Kincayde gave Riser a look that suggested that he surrendered. "All right, fine…if the Gundams should all happen to be here together, then I will be able to destroy them in one fell blow!"
"But you won’t," said Riser. "You’ve seen just how difficult it is to stop a Gundam on the rampage. Colonnade’s Main Weapon is still only 36% complete. It won’t be powerful enough to stop a Gundam!"
"Riser, I think you worry a little too much," said Kincayde, as he rested his hand on Riser’s shoulder. "I have no intention of attacking the Gundams."
"What are you talking about?"
Kincayde sighed, and decided to reveal his true intentions. "I thought maybe I would extend my hand in friendship…perhaps make them subordinates in your little squadron…"
"But that doesn’t make any sense," said Riser, as he pushed Kincayde’s hand off. "They’d probably refuse to join you. Even if you had all of your Mobile Rogues attack them, they’d fight, run, and come back later to get you."
"Are you concerned with my well-being, Riser?" asked Kincayde, surprised.
"I’m concerned that you might get me in a position to get killed," said Riser.
"Riser, my boy…All you have to worry about is following my orders…It’s that simple…"
"I’m not your ‘boy,’ Kincayde," said Riser.
"My, you’re especially defensive today," said Kincayde. "At any rate, I still doubt that they’ll want to run away and come back later. They probably wouldn’t trust me enough to leave me alone…"
Kincayde’s cryptic riddle-talk was more irritating to Riser than ever. "What the hell do you mean?"
"Don’t worry about it, Riser…" said Kincayde, as he turned to walk away. "You really should calm down. You haven’t bought anything with your money yet. Why don’t you take Rannai shopping or something until I summon you…?"
Riser waited for Kincayde to leave the room, and for the door to open and close. His foot drove into the nearby wall, as Riser let out a martial arts yell and growled. He hated being manipulated in such a surreptitious way.
"How do you know so much about Mobile Suits?" asked Lareika Keaghen.
Tyrahl Jackson pulled his head out of the cockpit of Lareika’s Gundam Atomsmash Bomber, and looked at her with a sort of scared expression. "I used to be in a Mobile Suit Gang…"
"Used to be?" asked Lareika, skeptically, as Tyrahl ducked back into her Mobile Suit.
"Yeah…" said Tyrahl. "I quit…"
"Why?"
"I’d rather not…" said Tyrahl.
"Whatever," said Lareika. Tyrahl had a sinking feeling in his stomach. He figured that now that he had revealed that he was once in a Gang, she already distrusted him. To him, telling her the reason he quit would have just been asking for her pity.
Tyrahl’s suspicions were partially correct at least. Lareika did, in fact, already question his true intentions. But she still had a strong feeling that she could trust him. Even if he did turn on her, she would fight with her Gundam to the best of her ability.
"I think I figured out the problem…" said Tyrahl. "That last battle…The explosion, it um…screwed up the calibration of your cockpit system. I think it’s fixed now. You wanna test it?"
"Sure…" said Lareika, as Tyrahl jumped down from the Gundam, and walked towards his own. Lareika climbed in. Tyrahl watched her enter, then turned to his own Gundam.
"I suppose it’s better to have a partner in a situation like this…" thought Tyrahl. But he also thought about André. He didn’t want to lose another partner. He didn’t want to blame himself. At the same time, he didn’t even think about any of the possible mistakes he could make in battle. He subconsciously felt confident in his fighting abilities. He wondered why he felt this way, and his mind turned to the strange thoughts that went through his head during their last battle.
"Somehow…I could see things before they happened…and prevent them…" he thought, and began to shudder. He turned back to the Gundam Atomsmash, looking at Lareika. "How had she known my name in the middle of battle? We didn’t have time to introduce ourselves…" He never installed any pilot identification information on his Gundam Shockwave. It seemed strange to him…
"Hey!" shouted Lareika.
Tyrahl was taken aback, taken back to reality. "Um…what is it?"
"Your Gundam is beeping…" said Lareika. Tyrahl turned to see that the Gundam Shockwave’s eyes were glowing, and a light came from the inside of the cockpit, on the onboard computer. Tyrahl ran over to it and climbed inside.
"A bunch of Mobile Suits in the P03 Colony Cluster Area…" said Tyrahl.
"And two Gundams moving towards it from the C25 Area…" said Lareika, as she established video communication with Tyrahl.
"Right," said Tyrahl. "Well…Ready to go?" He saw her nod, as she connected to the Stimulus System. The Gundam Atomsmash Bomber took off from the ground and headed towards the exit of the Colony.
"For an experienced Mobile Suit Pilot, you seem a little nervous," said Lareika. "Don’t worry…if we get into a tight pinch, I’ll power up my guns and kick your ass…"
Tyrahl let out a soft chuckle, then sobered up. He figured she was referring to his Gundam’s ability to absorb energy, but "Something tells me she might actually try to kill me…"
The Gundam Shockwave Storm powered on and took off, following the Gundam Atomsmash Bomber. They were soon in outer space, two small lights joining the other stars.
"So you just left your Gundam right there in the middle of the street while you stole a shirt?" asked Kenzikou Rainier.
"Had to…" began Lienfei Nathaniel. "This protecting the Colonies from Mobile Rogues gig isn’t exactly the highest paying job around…"
"Well, there are a few perks…" said Kenzikou, recovering from his short fit of laughter. "In one of my early battles, I…I met this officer from the SAMLE Squad…Man, she was just…"
"Whoah…" said Nathaniel. "A cop? Don’t tell me you’re in love with a cop, man…"
Kenzikou shrugged. "What’s a lonely Gundam Pilot supposed to do? I mean, meeting women isn’t exactly something one has time do between battles, you know?"
Visions of Rannai flashed through Nathaniel’s mind. "Heh…right…"
"Anyway, how much longer should it be until we get to P03?" asked Kenzikou.
"It should only be about ten more minutes…" said Nathaniel. "It’s not that far, really…"
"Hey…" said Kenzikou. "Are your sensors picking up two Gundams following us?"
"Yeah," said Nathaniel. "At their speed, they won’t be able to catch up with us…"
"Think we should turn around and try to take them down?" asked Kenzikou.
"Nah…" said Nathaniel. "If those Gundams are anything like the one we just fought, we’ll be out of resources and we won’t be able to take down the Mobile Rogues at P03."
"You’re right," said Kenzikou. "It’ll be tough enough just fighting off the Neo-Titanium Suits."
Nathaniel’s lightning-fast Gundam Talonfang Stealth, flying at top speed, continued on, pulling Kenzikou’s slower Gundam Freakstorm Gear with the Hydra Fangs. They drew closer to P03, and could soon see the Natural Resource Satellite in the distance.
"How much longer until we arrive at Colony Cluster P03, Lieutenant?" asked Officer Colin Psalter.
"Not too long," replied Lt. Darlene Millar. "Did you make sure that your Mobile Aides are at their maximal defense setting?"
"Yes, ma’am…I’ve set them to Cover Fire Mode," replied Psalter.
"What about you other two?" asked Sgt. Kenneth Michaels.
"Mine are on Surround Shield Mode," said Officer Celeste Foster. "Is that okay?"
"That’s fine," said Sgt. Michaels. "What about you, Guilden?"
Officer Ishmael Guilden refused to answer at first. "Guilden, I asked you a question…"
"They’re on Frontal Assault Mode," said Guilden.
"That’s not a defensive mode," said Sgt. Michaels. "Switch to Flank Guard Mode."
"Yes, sir…" said Guilden.
"Is something wrong, Ishmael?" asked Psalter.
"Bite me," said Guilden.
"What the hell is your problem?" asked Foster.
"I didn’t come here to just sit around and wait for the battle to end," said Guilden.
"You’ll have your chance to fight, in due time," said Lt. Millar. "You still need to graduate from the Academy."
"Whatever…" said Guilden. He pointed his Mobile Suit’s gun at one his Savior Sentinels, and fired several shots. The Planet Defenders immediately flew into action and blocked the energy shots.
"Guilden!" yelled Darlene. "That’s the last time I’ll tolerate any of your damn prick attitude! Pull crap like that again and I’ll have you kicked out of my Unit!"
With that, the rest of the flight to P03 was silent, save a couple of nervous questions from Psalter, which had to be answered by Sgt. Michaels.
"Most of the Neo-Titanium has been stockpiled on the Colonnade, sir…" said an attendant.
"Very good…" said Kincayde. "So how long until that Satellite is just a big, useless rock?"
"Um…another hour and a half, I suppose…" said the attendant.
"Good. Thanks. Anything else?" asked Kincayde.
"Yes, sir…two of the Gundams are almost here, and the other two should arrive in about twenty more minutes…" said the attendant.
"Did you hear that?" asked Kincayde, to the person on the other end of his video-link communication.
"Just let me know when, and it’ll be transported," said the voice on the other end. Riser didn’t see who it was.
"Perfect," said Kincayde, as he turned to Riser and Rannai. "You two go ahead and head for your Mobile Suits." Rannai complied immediately, and headed for the door, but stopped when she saw that Riser hadn’t come yet.
"Just what are you planning, Kincayde?" asked Riser. Kincayde just chuckled.
"Go to your cockpit, Riser. Everything will be just fine," said Kincayde. The two faced each other for a few moments - Kincayde smiling, Riser scowling - until Riser followed Rannai, without relinquishing the glare on Kincayde.
Kincayde called in another attendant. "Are there any other Mobile Suits on this ship besides the Hardcore and Gundam Ghostblade ZERO?"
"No, sir…" said the attendant.
"Good…Ready my Escort Ship. As soon as Rannai and Riser are near the Satellite, we’ll take off. Order the rest of Final Judgment to continue loading Neo Titanium onto the Colonnade. Tell them to stop only if they are attacked by the Gundams."
"Right…" said the attendant. He left to spread the news. Kincayde headed for the Spaceship Bay, which was conveniently a rather sizeable distance away from the Mobile Suit Hangars.
The Gundam Ghostblade ZERO and the Hardcore Mobile Suit exited the Hangar of the Colonnade, and headed towards the Natural Resource Satellite. They passed by several Mobile Rogues that were carrying Neo Titanium from the Satellite to the ship. Once they had landed on the surface of the Natural Resource Satellite, they scanned their sensors.
"Two Gundams arriving within the minute," said Rannai.
"Get your weapons ready. I can tell this fight will be a bit more challenging than the last one…" said Riser.
The Gundam Talonfang Stealth’s Dragon Ailerons began to decrease their energy output, and the Gundam slowed down. The Gundam Freakstorm Gear was soon disconnected from the Talonfang, and began to fly forward under its own power.
"There they are…it’s the same two we fought at the Colony," said Kenzikou.
"Yeah…" said Nathaniel. "Ready?"
"Of course," replied Kenzikou. The two Gundams touched down on the surface of the Natural Resource Satellite. "So…Looks like we meet again…"
"Looks like it…" replied Riser.
"This will be the decisive battle," said Kenzikou. "And I intend to win."
"Go ahead and try…" said Riser, as the Ghostblade extended its Beam Wings and launched off of the Satellite into the open space. The Freakstorm leapt off after it, both Gundams kicking up huge amounts of dust. They left the Hardcore and the Talonfang on the ground once again.
As the dust slowly rose from the Satellite surface, Nathaniel waited with an expressionless face for Rannai to make the first move. When the dust was clear, he could see that the Hardcore had vanished. He quickly searched for her location, but since sound does not carry through the airless vacuum of outer space, he could not hear her Mobile Suit’s movements. He checked his radar, and located her just above him. The Talonfang dashed off to the side, and when the Hardcore landed on the ground, it began to chase the Talonfang.
"What are you doing?" asked Rannai.
"I have no intention of fighting you, Rannai," said Nathaniel.
"What the hell are you talking about? We have to fight!" shouted Rannai.
"What do you expect to gain from defeating me?" asked Nathaniel.
"Money…What did you think?" asked Rannai.
"That’s too bad…" said Nathaniel. "You could never defeat me…You have no cause…"
"Well, we’ll never know unless you stop running!" said Rannai. "Come back and fight!"
"Let’s play Gingerbread Man, Rannai," said Nathaniel.
"What?" asked Rannai, quizzically.
"Don’t you remember, Rannai? Gingerbread Man?" asked Nathaniel.
"All that’s in the past, Nathaniel," said Rannai. "Just get over it!"
"There’s nothing to get over, Rannai…" said Nathaniel. "I’m not going to fight you, and there’s no way you can catch me."
"I’ll get you!" shouted Rannai. "You’re going to die!"
"Then why haven’t you opened fire yet?" asked Nathaniel. The Gundam Talonfang Stealth began to elevate off the surface of the Natural Resource Satellite.
Speechless, Rannai began to fire her Hardcore’s Flare Shotgun at the Talonfang, but none of her shots landed. The Talonfang was too quick. She switched to her Twin Beam Gatling Guns, and opened fire once again. The Talonfang simply used its Hydra Fangs to block whatever shots didn’t miss, and began to circle the Hardcore.
"What’s the matter, Rannai?" asked Nathaniel. "You’re not making any contact…"
"I will eventually!" yelled Rannai.
"You were a much better shot the last time," said Nathaniel. "I don’t think you’re really even trying to –"
"Shut up!" yelled Rannai.
"Don’t you have homing missiles?" asked Nathaniel. Rannai growled. "You haven’t used those yet, have you?"
The Hardcore began to chase the Talonfang, and continued to fire the Twin Beam Gatling Guns at it.
"Rannai…" said Nathaniel. "You don’t really want to hurt me, do you?"
"What?"
"You’re stalling."
"I’ll show you stalling!" yelled Rannai. She switched to her Guided Missile Launchers, and opened fire. The Gundam Talonfang Stealth’s Caloric Cables extended and the Hydra Fangs intercepted the Guided Missiles, destroying them, as the Rapid Machines fired at others, destroying them as well.
"Come on, Rannai. You’re a much better fighter than this. Right now, you’re fighting like a novice…Why aren’t you fighting seriously?" The Talonfang’s Dragon Ailerons suddenly powered off, and the Gundam Talonfang simply floated in space, awaiting the next attack from the Hardcore. "Bring it."
As a horde of Guided Missiles made their way towards the Talonfang, the Hydra Fangs, with the help of the Rapid Machines, continued to defend the Gundam. The Hardcore fired the Flare Shotgun several times at the Gundam while it blocked the Guided Missiles. The Talonfang disappeared in a burst of speed and dodged the Hardcore’s shots.
"Nathaniel, what are you doing?" asked Kenzikou, through a video communication link.
"I’ve got some personal business, Kenzikou. Sorry…" said Nathaniel. The Talonfang and the Hardcore were now facing one another on the battlefield, neither side firing any weapons. They stood a considerable distance from one another
"I want this to end," said Rannai. "End it, Leafy!"
The Hardcore maximized the output from its Vernier Engines, and rushed towards the Gundam Talonfang Stealth. It was still only half of the Talonfang’s maximum speed, but it was faster than Nathaniel could think. By instinct alone, he launched the Gundam Talonfang into a full forward rush, matching the Hardcore’s speed. The two yelled with rage, as the Talonfang pushed forward a Hydra Fang, which flew towards the Hardcore’s weapon arm. "So you think you can end this by disabling my weapon? Think again…" thought Rannai. The Hardcore suddenly jumped up and fired several Flare Shotgun blasts at the Talonfang, which hit right in the Gundam’s head. The Gundam was knocked backwards, and the Rannai continued the assault with another shot that knocked the Gundam on its back.
"Now, who’s a novice?" yelled Rannai, as the Flare Shotgun pointed straight at the Gundam’s neck.
"Novices don’t hesitate to kill," said Nathaniel, as the Talonfang’s Hydra Fangs grabbed the Flare Shotgun, and slammed the Hardcore into the ground.
"Then what are you? Doesn’t that make you a novice, too?" yelled Rannai.
"I said ‘hesitate,’" said Nathaniel. "Neither of us will die today, Rannai…I won’t allow it…"
An enormous barrage of energy blasts hit the Gundam Shockwave Storm, which absorbed it using the Quantum Receptors. "Thanks for the recharge," said Tyrahl.
"No problem," said Lareika. "Ready?"
"Yeah," said Tyrahl. "It looks like our targets are already in action. I only recognize one of them as the Gundam we fought before…"
"…Ghostblade ZERO…"
"What did you say?"
Lareika felt a lump suddenly appear in her throat. "I…I don’t…what?"
"Are you sure you feel up to this?" asked Tyrahl.
"Don’t worry about me," replied Lareika.
"There’s four of them fighting down there," began Tyrahl, once he returned his attention to the battle. "We know for sure that one of the Gundams is our old friend’s enemy. As for the other Gundam and the unidentified Suit, it’s not exactly certain who’s on whose side…"
"My sensors indicate that the unidentified Suit is made of Neo-Titanium, like the others…" said Lareika.
"Oh yeah, you’re right…It’s a little clearer then…" said Tyrahl. He still wasn’t sure if Lareika could handle another battle with Gundam Ghostblade ZERO. "You wait here until I know for certain who our enemy is. Then I’ll let you know who to attack."
Lareika was hesitant to accept this command from Tyrahl, but she decided she better listen to him, since he was a more experienced Mobile Suit Pilot. "I’m going in," was his last message to her as he took off towards the Natural Resource Satellite.
An enormous barrage of energy blasts hit the Gundam Freakstorm Gear, which was sent careening towards the surface of the Natural Resource Satellite. It didn’t have enough time to recover from the attack, and took considerable damage.
"Come on, Freakstorm…" said Kenzikou. "Don’t fail me now…" The Freakstorm connected its Dual Busters to form the Dual Buster Rifle, and also unsheathed and powered up a Dyad Blade. The Gearshift Cell slightly increased the Gundam’s energy output as it flew up towards the Gundam Ghostblade ZERO. It fired several shots from the Dual Buster Rifle, which the Ghostblade easily dodged.
"He’s just trying to catch me off guard," thought Riser. "I guess he thinks the more shots he takes the more chances for me to make a mistake…"
The Dyad Blade swung down at the Beam Wings of the Ghostblade, which protected the Gundam, and allowed it to escape the assault and counter with a blast from the Syringe Sniper. The Freakstorm was hit, but Kenzikou managed to regain control and chase the escaping Riser. He fired a few blasts from the Dual Buster Rifle as he followed.
"Four shots. I’ll have to dodge them quickly…" thought Riser. The Ghostblade turned to its left to avoid the blasts, but more were already on the way. Riser was forced to temporarily stay put and simply block them with the Beam Wings. "I’ve managed to cancel two of them out…"
Suddenly, Riser realized that the Gundam Freakstorm was on its right flank, flying towards it at rapid speed. It managed to escape the Buster Rifle shots as it flew towards the Gundam. Kenzikou continued to fire Buster Rifle blasts at the Ghostblade, which dodged them easily.
"All right…" thought Kenzikou. "Now!"
The Gearshift Cell suddenly increased to a level close to its maximum output and fired an enormous blast from the Dual Buster Rifle, which flew quickly towards the Ghostblade ZERO. It tore through the Beam Wing defenses and jostled the Gundam, stunning it long enough for the Freakstorm to follow up with a heavy slam with the Dyad Blade. The Ghostblade flew towards deep space, but then pointed the Syringe Sniper at the Freakstorm, and opened fire.
"What? Oh, sh…"
Kenzikou could not complete the thought, for he was soon knocked onto the surface of the Satellite, and looked up to see the Ghostblade ZERO flying at him at top speed, the Beam Wings ready to strike. There seemed to be little escape for Kenzikou, as the Gundam Freakstorm Gear was rapidly losing energy, and a charge-up of the Gearshift Cell would be too risky. He tried to fire shots from the Dual Buster Rifle, but they were weak and hardly had an effect on the Ghostblade’s Beam Wings.
"Damn it…Just a few more seconds…" thought Kenzikou, as he struggled to make his Gundam move.
"Sorry, but this ends now!" shouted Riser.
At that instant, Kenzikou’s eyes widened when he saw an enormous light appearing behind the Ghostblade ZERO, and then the Ghostblade shaking violently as it flew even faster towards the surface of the Natural Resource Satellite. Kenzikou then received a video link communication from a young, dark-skinned man with hair tied back like a samurai.
"Are you all right?" asked Tyrahl.
"Uh…yeah…" said Kenzikou.
"Which one’s your ally?" asked Tyrahl.
"The Gundam…the green one…" said Kenzikou.
"All right then, I guess –"
Tyrahl’s sentence stopped short when he suddenly recalled a memory that hadn’t happened yet. He remembered that the green Gundam was going to attack him…
Lienfei Nathaniel suddenly had a strange feeling of his own. He looked at the Gundam Shockwave Storm, and a strange feeling of apprehension crept into his heart. "I feel something familiar coming from that new Gundam…"
Tyrahl opened a communication with the Gundam Talonfang Stealth. "Hey, you all right?"
"I’m fine," said Nathaniel, cautiously.
Tyrahl messaged the Gundam Atomsmash Bomber, and told Lareika to come down. He then went back to the newfound Gundam Pilots. "That Gundam over there," said Tyrahl, indicating the Gundam Ghostblade ZERO. "We’ve had a fight of our own…"
"Are you a Mobile Suit Gang?" asked Nathaniel.
"No," said Tyrahl, promptly. "What about you?"
"Not us," Kenzikou chimed in. "Our Gundams picked up the Neo-Titanium Mobile Rogues mining from this Natural Resource Satellite. When we came to investigate, we found these two. We’ve fought them before…"
While the Gundam Pilots debriefed each other and introduced themselves, the Hardcore Mobile Suit, piloted by Rannai, stood a distance between the Gundam Talonfang Stealth. With the arrival of the new Gundams, she realized that she and Riser were outnumbered, and was already low on ammunition from her attempt to fight Nathaniel.
"Riser," said Rannai, opening a communication to the Ghostblade ZERO, which stood a distance away from the other Gundams, but the Assault Rig of the Gundam Shockwave Storm was pointed at it, which kept it at a standstill. "Who are these guys?"
"They’re the Gundams we ran into back on Colony GA-85P232…" said Riser.
"What do we do?" asked Rannai.
"We’re outnumbered, and too depleted to try and fight right now," replied Riser. "Let’s just wait and see what they have planned…"
As the Gundam Atomsmash Bomber landed on the Natural Resource Satellite, its pilot could suddenly hear the thoughts of everyone in attendance, for that strange ability that the Stimulus System had suddenly kicked in, relaying everything they said and thought into her own mind. She soon became afraid that something bad was about to go down.
The first thing Lareika realized was that her old classmate, Rannai Slaine, was the pilot of the Hardcore Mobile Suit, and that she, for some reason, was relieved that there was a break in the action. Lareika found it difficult to read further into her mind. It was all some jumbled mess to her. Nothing made sense, and a lot of it was just murkiness. She couldn’t even get basic information about Rannai’s past or her present.
It was easier to read the mind of Lienfei Nathaniel. She learned that Rannai and Nathaniel were old friends. The entire story about Nathaniel’s arrest was revealed to Lareika. She then knew that Tyrahl was once a member of a Mobile Suit Gang called the Endless Nomadic. There was once a major fight between the gang that Nathaniel’s deceased friend Donney was in, the Dragon Slayers, and the Endless Nomadic, which resulted in…
"…My brother’s death…" thought Tyrahl…
…As well as…
"…My house being destroyed…" thought Kenzikou…
While Nathaniel was incarcerated, Donney was killed, and Rannai turned missing…
"…Because of the Endless Nomadic…"
The gravity of the situation took a heavy toll on Lareika, especially since she realized that all of these people held horrible pain deep inside themselves. It could spell disaster, and a horrible fight between the lot of them.
"But what about the pilot of Gundam Ghostblade ZERO? What about Riser Caldwell?" thought Lareika.
Inside Riser’s mind, Lareika received nothing but a bunch of zeros and ones. Unbeknownst to her, the ZERO System was getting in the way. It had somehow "learned" from their previous battle the inner workings of the Stimulus System, and could now keep its secrets from being detected. And then, just as quickly as the Stimulus System’s mind-reading capabilities went into action, they just seemed to fade away. Lareika had temporarily lost her connection. The thoughts of Riser Caldwell were still kept secret.
"So…the Gundams are all here at last…" thought Riser Caldwell. "It looks like Kincayde got what he wanted. But what’s supposed to happen next? Did he think they would all start fighting each other or something?"
It was then that the video link opened up a communication for Riser.
"Kincayde…" said Riser, surprised.
"I see that the Gundams have finally arrived," said Kincayde. "Now it’s time to begin the next step of my plan, my dear boy…"
"What do you want, Kincayde?" said Riser, annoyed.
"Here is your next mission, Riser," said Kincayde. "I’d like you to open up a communication to all of the Mobile Suits before you, and give them the message that you are the commander of Final Judgment…"
"What?" cried Riser.
"…And as commander of Final Judgment, you will present the following ultimatum: the Gundams will join your group, or the planet will be destroyed…"
Riser was consumed with rage and confusion. "What the hell do you mean ‘the planet will be destroyed’?"
"How are you on your Space Colony Revolutionary War trivia?"
"What does that have to do with any of this?" asked Riser.
"There was a special covert military operation originally devised by a rich family of the Colonies in which one of the Colonies was to be destroyed and rained down upon the Earthsphere…"
"You can’t be serious, Kincayde…"
"Afterwards, five Gundams were to attack the Earthsphere and complete the job; ensure that control of Earth was turned over," said Kincayde. "This tactic was known as ‘Operation: Meteor’…Sadly, it was never completely put into action…"
"I don’t believe this…" said Riser. "So you’re going to save your own ass by passing the blame onto me. You want me to say that I’m in charge of all of this…"
"Exactly," said Kincayde. "You see I really don’t want the Gundams to come after me, so until all of human civilization is controlled by you, I’ll have to stay in the shadows…"
"So you want to force the Gundams to join you…and if they refuse, you’ll go through with Operation: Meteor…"
"You’re not as dumb as you look," said Kincayde. "But don’t even think about refusing this, Riser…"
"I’m not afraid to die," said Riser. "Your Detonation Switch doesn’t scare me…"
"I’ve no intention of using the Detonation Switch," said Kincayde. "If you refuse, I will immediately set Operation Meteor in motion…Starting with that Natural Resource Satellite. I’ve got enough minerals from it already…"
"So that’s why he chose this Resource Satellite!" thought Riser. "It’s just big enough and close enough to Earth. If he destroys it, billions of fragments will fall all over Earth before any of us can stop it!"
"Your plan is still flawed, Kincayde…" said Riser. "I guess I’m just going to have to destroy the Colonnade. It’s Main Weapon still isn’t complete, and could hardly do enough damage to the Satellite to cause the amount of damage you need. Even better, I’ll get to kill you in the process! And it’ll be useless to try to use the Detonation Switch. I can still get a perfect shot with my Syringe Sniper before I’m destroyed…We’ll both be dead…"
"Riser, you poor fool…" said Kincayde. "Destroying the Colonnade will be useless…I knew you’d try something like that, so I’ve already left it. Besides which, I have no intention of using the Colonnade’s Weapon in any of this yet." He smiled.
"What?" asked Riser.
"The weapon that will be doing the dirty deed should be arriving just about now!"
"Wait a minute! What weapon?" asked Riser.
"Have fun!" said Kincayde, as he signed off.
"Kincayde! Kincayde, wait a second! DAMN IT!" cursed Riser. His fist slammed into his Gundam’s control panel, uselessly. He buried his face into his hands and began to run his fingers through his hair. He cursed Kincayde, and cursed himself for his mistakes – trusting Kincayde, and allowing the other members of his gang, Death Row, to perish.
"I’ve been blind. I jumped at the first chance I had to leave the Colonies…"
His heart beating quickly, Riser tried to pull himself together, and focus. He knew he had to prevent the destruction of Earth, and if Kincayde really meant to go through with it, Riser would have to go along with his plan. "But what weapon has he sent to destroy the Natural Resource Satellite?"
It was then that a dark shadow eclipsed the sunlight, and a dark form slowly lowered itself to the surface of the Satellite, answering Riser’s question.
"There it is, Riser!" exclaimed Rannai. "It’s the new weapon that Kincayde sent for us!"
Riser’s eyes widened in shock. "You knew about this?"
"Never mind that now, just get ready," said Rannai.
The other Gundams stood facing the anomaly as their pilots wondered what exactly this apparition was. The specter appeared to take an enormous, ominous, humanoid form, confirming its purpose, asserting its existence. The darkness that followed it spread a burning winter to the nothing that embraced it, and the everything that tried futilely to escape. The light that it bore flowed effortlessly into the endless modicum of fear living in the Universe. All at once it was all that was, embodying all that was good, evil, and indifferent, with a fist to strike at whatever crossed its path. Riser Caldwell had gained control of it, reveling in its beautiful ugliness with the help of the ZERO System.
"The N Gundam…" knew Riser. "System begin…"
77"<