Chapter 12: Civilian Losses
December 14, UC 0084 Faster... Major General Alexander Dolvich thought to himself as his ships, a total of two battleships, four cruisers and a pair of transports, sped towards the embattled Santa Fe base. Come on... he thought, I need to get there now... I need to make sure... "Sir! We have a transmission from high command!" the Yamashiro's chief communication officer reported as he pressed the headphones into his ear, "The Nevada sir! She's changing course!" "What?!" Dolvich demanded as he got up from the command chair. Outside, the battleship Nevada slowly began to change her heading, followed by the brand new Salamis class cruisers Queen Mary and Gneseinau, along with the Columbus class transport Austin carrying most of their reinforcing troops... "Sir, we've also got a situation in Side 6," the chief explained, "A few Delaz rebels seem to be escaping in a couple of shuttles, destination unknown. They're sending the Nevada in pursuit..." "What about Santa Fe then?!" General Dolvich shot back angrily, "Don't they know a battle is already going on there?!" "They say that the Warspite is on her way along with her escorts Moltke and Phoenix," the chief continued as he began to print out the message, "She'll be there in six hours. The Agincourt and her escorts New Zealand and Invincible will arrive two hours after the Warspite as well. Sorry Sir, those orders come straight from the top," the chief apologized, knowing the General must have been worried about his daughter, Titans' Major Natalie Dolvich. "Damn..." Dolvich muttered as he scanned through the message. It was bad enough that additional reinforcements would be delayed, but they would be bringing along that racist ******* Nicolo as well. To make matters even worse, they just HAD to send the Agincourt, of all the damn ships they could have sent to replace the Nevada, the damn "Gin Palace". Though a pretty powerful revision of the Magellan class warship on paper, being longer and carrying a few more turrets and guns than the originals, she proved from the start to be nothing more than a spacious, lightly armored death trap suitable only for serving flag officers or showing it off in naval reviews. And it was just damn bad luck that the much better Birmingham got finished ahead of her for the naval review a year earlier... "Sir, the Lion, Von Der Tann and Newport are signaling us," the chief added, "What should we do, Sir?"
"We still have 200 soldiers on the Newport," Dolvich replied somberly, wishing that it would be enough, "That may still make the difference. Tell all remaining ships to continue on course, maximum speed." Blood... so much blood... Major Gibbons thought as he looked around the bloody field around him. His men... all blown to pieces... right in front of him... "Come on, Sir! Let's go!!!" Jake encouraged as he started to pull the Major away from his foxhole. His hand quickly became sticky with blood. "Blood..." Major Gibbons suddenly said out loud as he stood out of his foxhole, letting more blood gush out of his own grievous wounds. Before Jake could do anything the Major suddenly pushed his hand away and began to stagger towards the enemy mobile suits, producing a pistol as he did so... "My God, Sir! don't..." Jake started. "Leave'm!!!" a panicking Zeon soldier interrupted, "He's lost it!!!" "But..." Jake started as he watched the Major continue to stagger towards the enemy mobile suits, wildly firing his pistol at them as he did so. Suddenly, one of the GM Kais began to aim its machine gun towards the Major's position...
"I said come on!!!" the panicked Zeon soldier shouted as he quickly pulled Jake out of the way and out of sight of the Major. The sounds of a scream and explosions soon followed. "Damn it, I said HOLD YOUR FIRE!!!" Jin ordered angrily as another Zeon soldier was blown apart by now the vengeance obsessed GM pilots. This was turning into murder, and if they weren't stopped soon... "Shut your trap up you piss a** Lieutenant!" the GM Kai squad leader shotback as he fired on a few intact corpses still lying in the field, "They deserve to die! All of them!" he then turned his machine gun towards the direction of the town, "All of them!!!"
"But..." Jin started before he realized that the crazed pilot was aiming for the town. Before he could stop him, a volley of 90mm shells were already heading for the town... "Holy ****!!!" O'Connor screamed as he saw the flashes from the one of the GM's guns. A trio of 90mm shells suddenly whizzed high above him and landed in several buildings behind him. Before he could try or say anything further, another series of shells flew over him, causing more explosions and sending debris flying into the air... "Private O'Connor! What the **** just happened?!" an angry voice asked. It was Ivan. "The bloody GM pilots have gone nuts sir!!!" O'Connor shouted back as several more explosion occurred behind him, "They're blasting the town all to hell!" "I'll put a stop to it," Ivan replied calmly, "Keep me posted on the damage," he continued before signing off.
"Good luck..." O'Connor muttered into the dead radio as he began to survey the damage. Not too bad yet, he thought. Only an abandoned warehouse and an empty apartment complex... but the next wrecked building he saw made his face as pale as snow. It was the school... "My God..." Sylvie said out loud as she saw the burning buildings within the town. What... What the hell... Behind me... Sylvie suddenly thought. She quickly turned around and saw a Zeon soldier carrying a heavy assault rifle. She quickly whipped up her pistol and put two bullets into his head. Another sudden thought entered her mind. To my left... she thought, and she quickly turned and saw another Zeon soldier, this one trying to aim his rifle at her. He managed to fire a few shots over her head, but it was too late. She fired a shot that landed in the middle of his forehead. Another one, she thought again. Behind me again... she quickly turned and began to aim her pistol, but before she could fire a trio of bullets suddenly ripped through his chest and killed him instantly. "Hello, Captain," a cool female voice declared as she stepped out into Sylvie's view. It was Natalie, carrying a heavy rifle as though it was a mere plastic toy. "Hello Major..." Sylvie managed to start in reply before she fired a shot that passed just over the Major's shoulder. A Zeon soldier quickly slumped dead behind the senior officer. "What's the situation so far?" the Major inquired quickly as she shrugged off her near brush with death, not even bothering to look at the newly dead body behind her. "Well..." Sylvie started a little nervously as she saw the Major's face. It was remarkably firm, with her eyes as cold as steel. As though the whole bloody battle was merely an everyday event to be shrugged off... "Well?" the Major asked a little impatiently as she began to survey the damage to the town herself, careful to note the 90mm shells still flying above. "Sorry, mam," Sylvie apologized as she put her thoughts together, "We've managed to get our mobile suits and force those Zeeks to fall back, but one of those GM pilots have gone crazy and started to fire indiscriminately at the town. We're trying to stop him but..." "I'll handle it," Natalie replied coolly, "And what are YOU doing here alone?" "Sorry, mam," Sylvie reported, "We split the platoon up to hunt down those rebels, and I got separated from my squad a couple of minutes ago. I still don't know where they are, mam." "Let's find out," Natalie replied coolly as she whistled. Six Federal soldiers quickly came to view, each carrying a heavy weapon of some sort, "In the meantime, stay with my squad. Let's get as many of them before they could get away." "Yes, mam..." Sylvie agreed as one of the soldiers handed her an assault rifle. It was heavier than she thought, but she didn't let it bother her anymore. Sylvie followed as Natalie ordered them to move forward...
Natalie took a quick glance at Sylvie as she began to search for her radio. She needed to call those mobile suits, lest they cause even more casualties. But still... the way Sylvie shot those Zeon soldiers... It was so fast... faster than she should have been able to. Could she? It was something she would have to check on soon... "Look... calm down..." Jin started as he swallowed. All efforts he had made to stop the crazed GM squad leader had failed, and now the guy was aiming the gun at HIM... "Sir, this isn't really smart..." one of the squad leader's subordinates, one that was a little cooler than the rest of them, agreed. The rest of the squad though, still seemed a bit undecided... "Shut up, I wasn't talking to you..." the squad leader shot back as he began to tighten his grip on the trigger, "I've lost enough friends, and if you..." "Lieutenant, PUT DOWN YOUR WEAPON!" Ivan suddenly interrupted as he shouted into the radio, "Put it down or I will court martial you right here and now!" "To hell with that! I've..." the squad leader started. "Lieutenant Lee," Ivan started calmly, "If he does not cooperate him shoot him for insubordination! I will NOT have more casualties to fill his ego!" You're a fine one to talk... Jin and most of the other pilots thought at Ivan's final remark but did not say outloud. Unfortunately, the squad leader was having other thoughts... "You wouldn't dare..." the squad leader declared as he looked at Jin's eyes. They were beginning to fill with fear even as he tightened his grip on the trigger... "For the last time, stand down or I WILL order Jin to shoot you..." Ivan repeated. "I..." Jin started as he swallowed again and began to center the offending GM in his sights, his hands shaking more violently as he did so... "This is O'Connor!" the private suddenly intruded, "Dear God! I need help out here! The school's been blown all to pieces! The kids... the kids..." "Wha... What kids?" the squad leader suddenly responded, as if just being awoken from a long sleep... "What kids???!!!" O'Connor shouted into the radio, his voice filled with rage, "How DARE you even ask that when you were the ****ing ***hole who started chucking shells all over the place!!! I have two dead six year olds in my lap and YOU DIDN'T EVEN REALIZE WHAT YOU WERE DOING?! You ****ING MURDERER!?" "I... I..." the shocked squad leader started, his GM now dropping its weapon to the ground. "Thank you O'Connor..." Ivan muttered to himself, glad that the Private had diffused the situation. He REALLY deserved a lot for his actions this day... "Jin, you're in command of the squad now," Ivan ordered, "Hold your positions and let the infantrymen handle the job. And keep an eye on our little squad leader..." "Yes sir..." Jin replied as he breathe out a long sigh of relief. One of the GM now took the defeated squad leader's weapon and was keeping a close eye on him... At least the stand off was over...
But... Jin realized as his stomach turned, it didn't stop soon enough for those kids... Oh God... he realized to himself. What if I had stopped him earlier...? This wouldn't have happened... this wouldn't have happened at all... It's my fault... Oh God... It's my fault isn't it? I should have stopped him... Should have... It was a scene straight from hell... O'Connor thought weakly to himself as he surveyed the macabre landscape around him. The school building had been demolished, its two-story frame collapsing on top of each other as though it was a pair of cards. There wasn't a lot of people inside, he knew, since it was time for the Christmas break... But not outside. The school had the largest playground in the town, and the kids played there often, he knew. And today, it was a fatal decision for many of them. Four dead children lay in the playground, all killed by flying shrapnel from the exploding school building. Others may have had the sense to have taken cover in a shelter just beside the school, but a 90mm shell had smashed right into it and turned the former shelter into a massive crater. O'Connor did not have the courage to look what was inside...
Suddenly, he saw an unfamiliar form move off in the corner of his eye. He focused his vision on it and saw that it was a fleeing Zeon soldier, still carrying a dangerous, life-taking firearm with him. There was no hesitation. He aimed his pistol and fired. Two... Jake thought. My God, only two... "Sir... what do we do?" the young, shaky private known to Jake only as Yun asked. He quickly looked over to his only other surviving companion, a Sergeant Picton, who was bleeding out of his abdomen and was at the point of trying to keep his guts from falling out. It was a sight that had already made Yun vomit twice. "I... I don't know..." Jake said in reply as he tried to find somewhere that they could hide. Federal troops were everywhere now, and the chances of getting caught were dramatically increasing by the moment... "Leave..." Picton breathed as he coughed out some blood, "Go..." "I won't..." Jake said outloud suddenly, "Not again..." "No choice..." Picton breathed in reply. "Maybe..." Yun started as tears began to form in his eyes... "No," Jake replied firmly, "I said not again..." "Sir?"
Remarks: As for the new ship names I've used... (special thanks to warships1.com for the info). For this story, the majority of ship names are of WWI ships, since I'd like to continue with my future Z Gundam story using WWII ship names instead :-) . - 'Moltke': a German battle cruiser, served during WWI at the Jutland (south of Denmark). - 'Phoenix': one of the extremely tough Brooklyn class American light cruisers, they were so tough none were lost despite numerous kamikaze attacks by the Japanese during WWII, and nearly all found themselves serving in other countries well after WWII. It proved to be the Phoenix's undoing, however, as this ship was given to Argentina and renamed the General Belgrano, which promptly gets sunk by the British submarine 'HMS Conqueror' in the Falklands War in the 1980s. - 'Lion': a British WWI battle cruiser and the flagship of the battlecruiser force headed by Admiral Beatty. Nearly blown up at the Jutland had the gun crews(over a hundred men) not sacrificed themselves to keep the magazines from exploding. - 'Von Der Tann': a WWI German battle cruiser. She sank a British battle cruiser at the Jutland. - 'Queen Mary': a luckless British battle cruiser, sunk by a magazine hit (in other words, the ship pretty much spontaneously combusts...) at the Battle of Jutland. Only 20 crew survived. - 'Gneseinau': sister ship of the 'Scharnhorst'. Unlike her more famous sister who was sunk in battle, she ended her career being used as a blockship. There was also an armored cruiser named Gneseinau in WWI, also sister ship to another 'Scharnhorst', who initially won the Battle of the Coronel before being sunk with the rest of her squadron at the Battle of the Falkland Islands. - 'New Zealand': a British WWI Battlecruiser, financed by New Zealand and so named after that country. - 'Invincible': an ill-fated British battle cruiser. First of a class of battlecruisers that proved to be death traps, this ship was blown up at the Battle of Jutland after suffering a magazine hit with the lost of nearly all hands. Among the dead was Admiral Hood, who would become the namesake of yet ANOTHER victim of a magazine explosion, the famous 'HMS Hood' which was sunk by the German 'Bismarck' with the lost of all but three crew. A newer 'HMS Invincible', a light VSTOL carrier this time, has been commissioned in the 80's however, and has proved luckier than her original namesake, acquiring fame in the Falklands War thanks to her squadron of Harrier jumpjets. - 'Agincourt': one of the most unique ships in history, she was initially a super-battleship built for Brazil, then sold to Turkey, before being taken over by the British who built her. One of the largest ships of WWI, she had the largest main battery at the Battle of Jutland, the greatest battle between battleships of all time. Carrying an astonishing seven turrets with two 12 inch guns a piece, the admiralty feared that she'd break apart if she fired a whole broadside. This did not happen though, and she fired over 100 shells in the battle without suffering any damage in return. The lack of damage was fortunate, as the real Agincourt was indeed nicknamed the "Gin Palace," which was built more for crew accommodations than practical naval combat. Safe to say if she had been hit she would probably have had a short, violent end... - 'Austin': a modern day US Navy marine transport. - 'Newport': another modern day US Navy marine transport...
Notice: This story and all related material is copyrighted by Thomas E. "Zinegata" Ting, no part of this story may be taken by any other person. If you wish to use any material, please contact me first. Gundam and all related trademarks are owned by their respective companies. |
