Mobile Suit Gundam SEED: An Equal and Opposite Reaction

[Ryoutarou]

Mobile Suit Gundam SEED: An Equal and Opposite Reaction

Phase - 01

Aprilius One, Aprilius City, PLANT
15th April C.E. 70

Ichiro Suzuhara sat on the lone chair in a rather Spartan corridor, he let his head fall back slightly so that it was resting on the wall behind him. Ichiro wore the green uniform of the Zodiac Alliance of Freedom Treaty militia; he was waiting to be summoned to appear before the National Defence Committee. Somehow his name had been put forward as a candidate to command one of the new flotillas that were being raised to help the war effort. He wasn?t averse to the idea of getting a command it just seemed like a big jump, currently he was a mere flight leader in the Mitchell Squadron. He could only assume that he had some mysterious patron that was pulling strings in his favour.

The doors to the committee room opened slowly and Ichiro jumped to his feet, he was starting to get nervous. A young female aid beckoned him to come into the room. He paused for a moment to adjust his uniform before taking confident strides into the committee room. The aid that had guided him in disappeared off into one of the room?s corners while he went to stand in front of the committee?s desk. Ichiro could feel the sweat starting to drip off himself; it was hard not to be nervous in front of the committee they were some of the most powerful people on the PLANT Supreme Council, not to mention the fact that they controlled Ichiro?s own fate at this moment. Ichiro tried to relax but the cold gaze of Patrick Zala was fixed on him.

?Ichiro Suzuhara you have been summoned here today to hear the National Defence Committee?s decision regarding your candidacy for flotilla commander.? said Ezalia Joule, the silver haired woman who was sitting to Patrick Zala?s right. ?You have shown a great deal of piloting skill and tactical ability during your time with the Mitchell Squadron. It is therefore the decision of this committee to create the Suzuhara Squadron.?

?Your command will consist of twelve GINN mobile suits, including your personal mobile suit, as well as the Laurasia class frigates Tesla and Archimedes. They are currently stationed at the December Six Ring Station.? said Patrick Zala. ?The majority of the pilots are fresh from the ZAFT Military Academy but the frigate crews are veterans, I believe you are familiar with the Archimedes.?

?Yes sir, she was my first ship sir.? replied Ichiro promptly.

?Your mission will be to bring them up to speed as quickly as possibly. We need to bolster our space forces in case the Naturals attempt to cut off our forces on Earth.? continued Zala. ?Therefore it is imperative that your unit is battle ready as quickly as possible. You are dismissed.?

?Yes sir.? replied Ichiro with an added salute. ?I will not fail you sir.? Zala returned the salute and with that Ichiro turned on the spot and marched from the committee room.

When Ichiro got back into the Spartan corridor he breathed a sigh of relief, Zala had been intense exactly like he?d been told Zala was like. Ichiro took a handkerchief from his pocket and wiped his face, he then ran a free hand through his black hair. The news that the Archimedes would be under his command was reassuring. It was the ship Ichiro was first assigned to when he graduated from the Military Academy and its captain, Roger Philips, had taken Ichiro under his wing; it was from Philips that Ichiro had learnt all his tactical combat knowledge.

?Commander Suzuhara??

Ichiro looked up to see a pretty young blonde haired girl, wearing a ZAFT uniform, holding a clipboard and looking rather nervous. ?News travels fast, I?m Suzuhara.? he said reassuringly.

?H-hello Commander, I?m Elizabeth Bartley sir. I?ve been assigned to you as your aid.? she said. Ichiro could tell that her nerves were getting the better of her.

?How old are you??

?I?m sixteen sir.?

Ichiro sighed heavily. ?Same age as her.? he thought. Then he added aloud. ?Okay Ms Bartley. I suppose we?d better go rustle up a transport since my command is all the way over at December Six.?

?It has already been arranged sir.? said Elizabeth as she looked at her clipboard. ?Its waiting for us in Bay 11, you belongings and mobile suit have already been loaded onto it.?

?They sure don?t waste any time do they.? mused Ichiro before starting to walk down the corridor; Elizabeth fell into step behind him.

---

December Six Ring Station, December City, PLANT

The transport?s forward apogee motors flared to slow the ship down as it approached the December Six Ring Station. When the transport stopped the docking gantry extended and locked onto the portside airlock. The green light that signified that the airlock was connected flashed on and the double doors opened slowly. Ichiro stepped through the airlock and was mildly surprised to see that no one was waiting to greet him. ?I guess I?m that important, yet.? Through the reinforced glass windows of the docking gantry Ichiro could see the Dockers already beginning to unload his personal GINN from the transport; further into the distance he could also see the green hulls of the Archimedes and Tesla.

?When did you join ZAFT Ms Bartley?? asked Ichiro, Elizabeth was standing a few feet behind him.

?February 21st sir.? replied Elizabeth as they started to walk alone the docking gantry.

?And they?ve got you doing assignments already?? Ichiro was surprised; his time at the ZAFT Military Academy had been a rather lengthy affair. ?They didn?t rush you through did they??

?I wasn?t trained as a pilot sir, they said I lacked the necessary qualifications.? said Elizabeth, for a moment Ichiro thought he could hear a twinge of bitterness in her voice. ?So I was put onto an administration course, it was a lot shorter than the piloting course.?

?That would explain it then.? said Ichiro satisfied by the reply he?d gotten. ?You joined in response to Bloody Valentine then??

?Yes sir.? replied the young militiawoman. ?I thought that I had to do something to defend PLANT against the Natural?s aggression.?

?Interesting answer.? said Ichiro. Having such a young aid made Ichiro feel incredibly old, he was only twenty eight but that still made him twelve years older than her. The same could be said for the his new pilots as well, he?d looked at their personal files during the flight over, Ichiro was a clear six years older than the eldest of the new militia pilots. By now they?d left the docking gantry behind them and were making their way through the busy Ring Station.

 

[Ryoutarou]

Phase 02-

ZAFT frigate Archimedes, December Six Ring Station, December City, PLANT

Christopher Bishop turned the page of the book he was reading. He was laid horizontally a few feet from the ceiling of the rather crowed locker room. Laurasia class frigates like the Archimedes had the facilities to store six mobile suits and their pilots but currently the Archimedes was also playing host to the six pilots off the Tesla as well as her own. There were eleven pilots in the lounge, including Christopher, and they were waiting for the twelfth to arrive. Christopher suspected that the last pilot would also be the unit commander since it was becoming more common for pilots to be assigned overall command rather than ship captains.

?Hey Jaygee get your arse down here. I got a question for you.? Christopher look down to see that is was David Franklin who?d called him by that annoying nickname. Back at the ZAFT academy his fellow cadets started to call Christopher Jaygee because they said he had all the arrogance and pomp of a Lieutenant Junior Grade. Although Christopher had contested the assertion the name stuck.

With a soft sigh Christopher folded over the corner of the page he?d reached and then put the book into a pocket. Placing a hand on both the white wall and ceiling he slowly swung his body back to the vertical and then with a gently nudge his glided down to the floor where David Franklin held out a hand to steady Christopher?s landing.

?How can I help?? asked Christopher as he straightened up.

?Right, young Jonas here,? Franklin gestured at the fresh faced person to his right. ?Seems to have gotten the notion into his head that the Tesla?s Captain Foley is superior ship master than the Archimedes? very own Captain Philips. Please help me correct this heinous error.?

Christopher paused for a moment to think over the conundrum. ?Captain Foley does have a quite impressive combat record. Under his stewardship the Tesla has two confirmed and one probable Earth Alliance cruiser kills. However he can be cautious in battle and that has prevented his ship from gaining more kills. On the other hand the Tesla has only ever received minor damage which is a plus as far as the supply corps are concerned.?

?See I told you Captain Foley was good.? interrupted Jonas. ?Even Jaygee agrees.?

?I never said he wasn?t good Jonas.? replied Franklin. ?I said he wasn?t as good as Philips. Please Jaygee, continue.?

?Captain Philips only has one cruiser kill under his belt; however he has downed eleven escort ships and three supply transports.? said Christopher authoritatively. ?He is also very aggressive in battle often charging into close to his enemies, this leads to the Archimedes receiving more than her fair share of damage.? He paused to think again for a few moments. ?I wouldn?t say this was an overly bad thing because it helps to develop a stronger psychological bond with the mobile suits pilots. They know their ship is getting into the thick of it just like they are and so they don?t feel quite so isolated when attacking.?

Before Christopher could give his final judgement the hatch to the lounge opened and the black uniformed figure of Captain Philips stepped through, followed by Captain Foley and then finally by a green uniformed man that Christopher had never seen before. One of the pilots yelled ?Captain on deck.? which was followed by all the pilots jumping to attention.

?As you were men.? said Captain Philips in his eloquent tone of voice. ?Allow me to introduce our new commander, Ichiro Suzuhara. This means we are now officially the Suzuhara Squadron.?

Ichiro took a step forward and bowed slightly. ?It?s a pleasure to meet you all.?

As Ichiro took a step back Philips began to speak again. ?Now before I let him loose on you I should remind you to listen to everything he has to tell you. Not only is he your commanding officer but he?s also here to whip you lot up into shape. His current kills tally is eighteen Moebius? and three escort ships.? Philips then turned to speak to Ichiro. ?If you?ll excuse us Sir, Captain Foley and I need to make the final preparations.?

?Very well Captains you may go.? Ichiro returned the salutes of the two captains as they left the lounge; he then turned to face his pilots. ?Well then what an interesting bunch you are. I had the opportunity to read over your academy reports and I?ve seen some areas that need improvement.? He paused for a moment to look at his watch. ?In twenty minutes we will begin a mock battle training exercise; the Archimedes mobile suit team, including myself, against the Tesla?s team. Well get to it gentlemen, the clock is ticking and you?ve got mobile suits to prepare. There will be serious repercussions for anyone who is late.?

?Yes sir!? replied all eleven pilots in unison.

---

Ichiro?s GINN stepped into the field created by the linear catapult, as the electromagnetic forces took hold with GINN was lifted off the deck. Ichiro was thankful to find that the Archimedes? hanger crews were just as efficient as when he?d last been stationed there. In honour of the fact he was now a commander they had repainted the GINN dark blue with silver highlights, the personal colours he dreamed up when he first became a cadet at the academy, he was quite interested in just how they managed to find the colour scheme and vowed to take the matter up with Captain Philips later on.

The face of Elizabeth Bartley appeared in the right hand video communications monitor. ?The other GINN teams are assembled sir. They have been assigned designations Alpha through Delta on your IFF system. You are Alpha One sir.?

?Thank you Ms Bartley.? Ichiro brought up the new information on the team designations. The Archimedes? two teams of three GINNs were designated Alpha and Beta while the Tesla?s two teams were Gamma and Delta. ?Did they rope you in as a controller Ms Bartley??

?I?m only doing my job sir.? she replied. Ichiro noticed a faint smile starting to creep onto her face, the first time he?d seen one since they?d met. ?After all I am meant to aid you and that?s a little hard if you?re going to be running off in your mobile suit the entire time sir.?

Ichiro chuckled. ?I?ll try to take that into account next time Ms Bartley.? He performed the last few system checks before bellowing ?Suzuhara GINN launching!? The electromagnetic forces of the linear catapult flung the GINN out into space when the umbilical power cable reached its limit it was released from the GINN and snapped back into the hanger.

---

Ichiro brought his GINN to a halt right at the centre of the gathered GINNs. All the other GINNs were painted in the standard grey colour scheme; Ichiro?s blended in nicely with the backdrop if space, the silver trim gave it an almost ghostly appearance.

?Good to see you all made it out here on time gentlemen.? said Ichiro on the open squadron communications channel. They were far enough away from the ships and from the PLANTs that the neutron jammers didn?t have a big affect on radio transmissions. ?As you are already aware we are using paintball ammunition for this exercise. For each paintball round that hits your mobile suit you will be docked one days pay.? Ichiro paused for the expected complaints, sure enough they came and he took care to mentally note those who complained the loudest. ?All proceeds will be going to the ZAFT Widows and Orphans fund.? That brought silence quickly enough. ?Right then Gamma and Delta teams I want you to go out to a distance of one kilometre before we begin the mock battle.?

Ichiro watched as the two teams of three mobile suits all turned and began to accelerate away. The distance gauge on the edge of his main monitor tickly slowly upwards as the distance increased. He switched his communication channel over to the one assigned to transmit to both the Alpha and Beta teams. ?Okay when they come at us I want you all the charge them down and try to get behind them. We?re fighting in open space so remember to think in three dimensions.?

The distance gauge flashed red to inform Ichiro that his targets had reached one kilometre, instantly all six of the GINNs turned to double back. ?Tally Ho!? yelled Ichiro over the communication channel; few of the pilots recognised the significance of the archaic expression. Ichiro pressed his feet down hard on his foot pedals that controlled the GINNs main thrusters. With the two groups of GINNs closing at high speed it didn?t take them long to travel the kilometre that had separated them.

Some of the more adventurous pilots fired off experimental bursts as soon as they entered effective firing range. Ichiro, however, conserved his ammunition by holding fire until they were closer. Then the GINNs were upon each other as they passed each other instantly started to try and get behind each other. Ichiro decided to do things a little differently. In a stomach wrenching manoeuvre he rotated his GINN through a one hundred and eighty degree vertical turn. He triggered a series of short bursts with his thrusters to counter his momentum.

Taking advantage of his new found tactical advantage Ichiro proceeded to fire off several bursts of paintballs. A steam of four paintballs splattered the grey paintwork of Jonas Bond?s GINN. As the paintballs struck the GINN its quantum computer automatically simulated the damage sustained, the case of Jonas it shut down everything but life-support and pasted the message ?Bandit Down? on all his cockpit monitors.

---

By the time the mock battle was ten minutes old there were only three GINNs still operational. As far as Ichiro was concerned this was an unsatisfactory performance. From the Archimedes teams only Ichiro and Christopher Bishop remained, though Christopher had an arm disabled. The Tesla?s Michael Hicks was still going.

Ichiro held back to allow Christopher a chance to attack. Christopher pushed his GINN to full speed and began a wide flanking movement. As he closed in on Hicks? GINN he triggered a short burst of paintballs only one of which managed to his their target. It was enough however to shut down one of the thrusters bundles within the GINN?s binder wings.

Using his now unbalanced thrusters Hicks span his GINN away from Christopher and in the process let loose and long burst of paintballs that empty his magazine. Much to Christopher?s annoyance a large percentage of the un-aimed paintballs splattered into his mobile suit which resulted in a dark cockpit with the legend ?Bandit Down? blazoned across his vision.

Hicks did not have long to celebrate as a stream of eight paintballs hammered into his grey GINN, giving the torso a nice coating for blue paint. ?You?re dead Mr Hicks.? Ichiro?s voice came through Hicks? cockpit speakers. ?Nice try but you really should keep up your observations. You never know what might sneak up on you.?

Hicks hammered his fists down on his GINNs controls, he didn?t not like the way the Commander was treating them. ?With all due respect sir I don?t see the point for fighting other GINNs.? he declared loudly. ?We only have to fight stupid Naturals in their crappy mobile armours; we don?t need special training for that.?

?Contrary to popular belief Hicks just because we?re genetically superior to naturals it doesn?t make us invincible.? said Ichiro in a tone of voice that conveyed a sense of someone with first hand experience. ?It is true that we Coordinators have rendered Naturals an obsolete form of humanity however that does not stop gifted Natural pilots from being able to kill us. Trust me the Earth Alliance has a whole unit of such individuals; and judging from all of your performances today I?d say they could easily wipe the flour with you.? He paused to let that sink in for a little while. He didn?t really think that many of them would believe him; they would just have to learn the hard way. ?Right back to your ships and get those GINNs cleaned at the double, we don?t want people thinking we are a messy unit. Once you?re done cleaning we?ll try this battle again until you can last longer.?

---

ZAFT frigate Archimedes, December Six Ring Station, December City, PLANT
16th April C.E. 70

Ichiro rubbed his eyes slowly. They?d fought the mock battle a further five times yesterday until he called it a day. The pilots were starting to show an improvement but Ichiro could also see the ones that would be the first to die when they entered combat for real. Most of them had, what he called, the Coordinator Arrogance. The absolute belief that just because they are Coordinators that somehow makes them righteous invincible warriors for Justice and Freedom. Ichiro also like to call them ?Brainwashed Propaganda Junkies? but he knew well enough to keep thoughts like that to himself.

There was a knock at the door to Ichiro?s office. He called out ?Enter.? and the door slid open smoothly. Elizabeth Bartley stood in the door carrying her ever present clipboard. ?Yes Ms Bartley??

?Sir we?ve just decoded a transmission from the National Defence Committee.?

?That?s strange, I wasn?t expecting anything from them.? he stood and walked over to her and took the transcript and started to read it. ?They can?t be serious! There has to be a mistake.?

?What is it sir?? asked Elizabeth meekly.

?They?re activating the squadron already. We are to be put on alert for possible combat operations within the next twenty four hours.? exclaimed Ichiro. ?They are also relocating us closer to the resource asteroid Jachin Due. This is insane we?re not ready for battle yet, are they trying to kill us??


---

Next Phase:-
The newly formed Suzuhara Squadron is flung into a desperate battle to help protect PLANT but will they be able to protect themselves as well?

 

[Ryoutarou]

Mobile Suit Gundam SEED: An Equal and Opposite Reaction

Phase ? 03

ZAFT destroyer Alberti, ZAFT Task Force, Jachin Due Space
17th April C.E. 70

Ichiro Suzuhara found it hard to not be impressed by the new Nazca class of high speed destroyers, the type of ship the Alberti belonged to. It seemed reasonable to Ichiro that Commander Melchett should have one of the newest ships in the fleet assigned to him, after all Melchett was the commander of the four squadrons assembled near Jachin Due. The only real issue Ichiro had with the whole operation was the fact that his squadron was taking part they just weren?t ready and he intended on taking the matter up with Melchett.

Ichiro and the other squadron commanders were waiting on the Alberti?s bridge for Melchett to arrive and give the mission briefing. They were gathered around the plotting table located to the rear of the white coloured bridge. To Ichiro?s left was Elizabeth Bartley, his blond haired young aid, instead of her usual clipboard she?d upgraded to an electronic datapad so that she could download the mission data and carry it back to the Archimedes. As usual Ichiro noted that Elizabeth seemed overly nervous, he couldn?t tell whether it was because of her age or because of something else he didn?t know about. She had started to relax and open up back at December Six but now that they?d moved to the front she?d gone back to her old habits. Ichiro hated to see her like this and even though their ethnic backgrounds were different Elizabeth reminded Ichiro of his younger sister Kumiko.

His contemplative train of thought was disrupted by Commander Melchett coming onto the bridge. The most notable thing about Melchett was the man?s impressive moustache; it was a big bushy thing that got Ichiro instantly thinking about handlebars off bicycles. Melchett was a heavily set man which Ichiro could only attribute to the rumours that the man enjoyed only the finest foods. There was something about the man that screamed aristocrat; but Ichiro dismissed that notion since such an antiquated social grouping like an aristocracy didn?t exist within PLANT.

?So good of you to come at such short notice.? said Melchett as he came to a rest by the plotting table. ?I have just received confirmation of the Natural?s movements.? He pressed a series of buttons on the plotting table and it was filled with a map of the triangle of space that was between the Earth, Luna and PLANT. ?Our forward reconnaissance units detected the early movements of the Naturals? 5th and 6th Fleets around Ptolemaeus crater yesterday. As I said I just received confirmation that the Naturals are forming up to attack PLANT directly.? Murmurs of concern rippled through the attending ZAFT officers. ?Even if the Naturals can?t use their barbaric nuclear weapons we can not allow them to attack PLANT. The main portion of our fleet is massing here.? He indicated the location on the map; it was a little distance behind Jachin Due but still with plenty of room before PLANT. ?The plan is that while the Naturals try to attack our main forces head on we attack them in the flank. We will use Jachin Due a hide our presence, let them pass and then hit them when they least expect it.?

?A bold plan sir.? said Ichiro. ?However it does leave up vulnerable to friendly fire from our own fleet.?

?The risk is negligible.? scoffed Commander Marduk; he commanded a pair of Laurasia frigates that were part of the ambush force. ?The prestige we will gain from our victory today will be great.?

?Well then you?d better be getting back to your ships.? said Melchett. ?We don?t have much time before the Naturals will be arriving.?

The assembled commanders, and their aids, all saluted Commander Melchett and began to make their way off the Alberti?s bridge. Ichiro however still had matters to discuss with his commander. ?Sir may I have a word??

?If you?re quick about it Suzuhara.? said Melchett.

?Sir I request that my squadron be removed from this battle and returned to PLANT.?

?By what reasoning?? asked Melchett, he was astonished that anyone would give up an opportunity to be involved in such a great victory as this one was destined to be.

?Sir my Squadron was only formed two days ago.? said Ichiro calmly. ?My pilots are all fresh from the academy. I have barely had time to train them properly; I haven?t even had a chance to teach them how to attack Earth Alliance capital ships. If there are sent into battle like this I fear I won?t have a Squadron left once the battle has ended.?

?Stop being such a Nancy-boy Suzuhara!? declared Melchett loudly. ?We?re only fighting the Naturals; even our infants could kill those pathetic weaklings. Your Squadron will be staying where it is. Students fresh from our academy are more than capable of handling the Naturals. Have faith in your pilots? abilities.?

?Yes sir.? said Ichiro bitterly as he saluted Melchett and left the bridge. He was followed by Elizabeth.

---

By the time they returned to the small shuttle they had used to travel to the Alberti in Ichiro could no longer restrain his anger. ?That bloody idiot!? he yelled as he hammered a fist onto the door of one of the small lockers, found at the back of the shuttle, he left a visible dent in the metal. ?He?s got no idea what battle is really like. I was there at Junius Seven; I was there at Yggdrasil I saw what happened when rookies were sent up against hardened Earth Alliance pilots.? He kept on hammering the locker door until it was well and truly bent out of shape.

?Commander please stop it!? pleaded Elizabeth. ?It?s no good beat yourself up over this. We need to get back to the Archimedes so that you can use what little time we have left to get them prepared.?

Ichiro shifted his body so that he could see his young aid; he could see fear in her eyes. Was it fear of the battle that was coming, or fear of him? Ichiro couldn?t answer that question. He straightened up and ran a hand through his black hair. ?I?m sorry, please forgive me. I shouldn?t have acted like that. Lets get back to the Archimedes.?

---

ZAFT frigate Archimedes, ZAFT Task Force, Jachin Due Space

Christopher ?Jaygee? Bishop took his green jacket out of the locker and slipped it on, next he hooked up his belt to complete the ZAFT uniform he wore. It almost seemed pointless to Christopher to be putting his uniform one since he was about to go on duty at combat readiness, which meant having to wear his pilots suit so that he could leap into his mobile suit at a moments notice. It was impractical to wear full uniform under a pilot?s suit and so most people simply wore a shirt with light trousers. ZAFT, however, had rules about dress code and so the short trip from his cabin to the pilots lounge would have to be undertaken in full uniform.

Christopher shared his cabin with his fellow pilot David Franklin; they?d even shared a room at the ZAFT military academy. Franklin was currently on standby, he was the person Christopher was to replace. At the academy Franklin had been picked to specialise in heavy weaponry, such as the M69 Barrus heavy ion cannon and M68 Cattus 500mm recoilless rifle, whereas Christopher had been singled out as a potential flight leader and thus was given command training.

Before closing his locker Christopher ran a finger along the numerous leather backed books that were lined up on the top shelf, he stopped when he reached Bram Stoker?s Dracula and pulled the book from the shelf. Christopher loved Dracula, he first read it when he was eleven and it terrified him beyond belief. He found it fascinating that such an old novel could have such an effect on him, his copy along predated the Cosmic Era by about fifty years but he didn?t know when it was originally published. He slipped the book into one of his pockets, it would serve as something to do while on standby.

He turned and hoped over to the door to the cabin and pressed the control pad. The door slip open smoothly and Christopher stepped into the corridor beyond. He looked up and down the corridor and noticed another pilot coming out of their room. ?Hey Seth you going on duty now as well??

?Yeah, how much longer do you think we?ll have to keep this up?? Seth Sims was the youngest of the pilots assigned to the Suzuhara Squadron. He was seventeen years old but highly skilled and had just missed out on getting one of the red jackets that indicated a top graduate from the academy.

?You think they tell me anymore than they tell you?? Christopher joked as he walked over to Seth. ?I saw Commander Suzuhara?s shuttle return from the Alberti not so long ago. I guess he?s got out orders but just hasn?t passed the information along yet.?

?Four Squadrons, eight ships, forty-eight mobile suits whatever is going to happen here isn?t going to be small.? said Seth. The pair of pilots started to walk down the corridor towards the pilot?s lounge and hanger. ?We?ve got enough firepower to take on a whole Natural fleet.?

Christopher didn?t really like that idea at all. ?Are you trying to jinx us or something?? he said, with a slightly worried tone creeping into his voice. ?Remember this is our first active combat mission, I?d rather not get throw up against a whole Natural fleet.?

?Come off it Jaygee.? said Seth confidently. ?We can take on anything the Naturals have to offer.?

---

Ichiro was quickly gathering together his few personal possessions from within in cabin/office. He packed them into case he?d been provided with. It was standard practice to secure or pack away any items that might become loose during a battle; such items could possibly get in the way of damage control teams or medical staff that moved about the ship. It seemed unlikely to Ichiro that his pens or picture frames could endanger the ship but protocols were protocols and it wouldn?t look good if the Commander started to ignore them.

He paused by his desk and picked up a picture frame; he turned it over and stared at the picture it held. The picture had been taken in C.E. 68 a week after Ichiro had graduated from the newly formed ZAFT military academy. Ichiro was standing proud in his green ZAFT uniform with his parents behind him and hugging him was his younger sister Kumiko. Kumiko had a keen scientific mind and was deeply interesting in agricultural development; she used to lecture Ichiro for hours about how one day she?d develop new types of crops to help solve food shortages on both PLANT and the Earth. So when Kumiko turned sixteen Ichiro called in some favours from some old school friends and got her a student research placement on Junius Seven. He could still remember how excited she?d been when he broke the news to her; and now she was dead, killed by Bloody Valentine. Tears began to well up but he wiped his eyes clean and placed the picture into the case.

?I won?t let it happen again?never!?

 

[Ryoutarou]

Phase 04

Almost as soon as Christopher climbed into the cockpit of his GINN the Archimedes was filled with the sound of the emergency claxon. He put his head out of the cockpit and saw all the warning lights flashing red.

?Earth Alliance Fleets detected. Level One Battle Stations. All pilots prepare to launch.? That was the voice of Captain Philips booming through the ship. It didn?t take long for the rest of the Archimedes? pilots to appear from the airlock and race to their mobile suits. The last to join them was Commander Suzuhara.

Christopher quickly ran through his GINNs checklist, playing close attention to his battery charge. Running out of power in the middle of the battle due to a poor charge would be highly embarrassing. The gauge showed that he was fully charged, this pleased Christopher as it proved that the Archimedes hanger crews were doing their jobs properly.

?Listen up team our mission is simple.? the voice of Commander Suzuhara came clearly through Christopher?s cockpit speakers. The voice seemed different though, before during the training exercises Suzuhara had sounded sort of distant but now his tone was focused and harsh. Christopher decided that it would probably be best not to ever anger his commanding officer. ?Our job is too attack the flank of the Earth Alliance fleet while it passed onwards toward PLANT. It won?t be easy as we?ll be vastly out numbered and vulnerable to friendly fire from our forces approaching from PLANT. Team designations are the same as before. Franklin, Sims, Bell and Bond you?re our heavy weapons units pick either a Barrus or Cattus. The rest of you remember to protect your teams? heavy weapons unit since they?re the ones with the best chance of knocking out those enemy capital ships.?

Christopher toggled through his communications channels until he reached the one designated for Beta Team. ?Sims, Lowe can you hear me?

?Loud and clear Jaygee.? reported Seth Sims.

?Affirmative sir.? called in John Lowe.

?Sims what are you packing for this mission?? asked Christopher, he wanted to know the strengths and weaknesses of his team.

?The finest Barrus heavy ion cannon I could find.? declared Sims. ?Did you expect anything less??

?Not really.? Christopher laughed gently; some people just didn?t change at all. ?I just wanted to make sure Seth.? The flashing of another one of his sub monitors informed Christopher that he had an incoming message on another communications channel, he toggled through to this channel and pilot suited head of David Franklin appeared on the sub monitor. ?What can I do for you David??

?Hey Jaygee I was wondering if you might be interested in a little wager.? said Franklin with a wry smile on his face. ?A day?s wages says I get the highest kill count of the squadron.?

Christopher couldn?t stop himself from bursting out laughing. ?You?ve got to be kidding David you don?t stand a chance, Command Suzuhara will get the highest but if you want me to take your money I?ll be more than happy to.?

The jovial conversation was broken up the sight of the Archimedes? GINNs beginning to launch; first into the linear catapult was Commander Suzuhara?s dark blue and silver painted GINN.

---

The eight ZAFT warships that had been using the massive T-shaped resource asteroid, Jachin Due, as cover all emerged at once and unleashed a ferocious barrage against the flank of the unsuspecting Earth Alliance 5th and 6th Fleets. Torrents of green high power energy beams lanced through space along with vast numbers of high speed metallic projectiles launched from railguns. Several of the periphery escort ships were caught totally off guard and destroyed as soon as the Earth Alliance commanders realised what was happening a number of escort ship and cruiser squadrons started the turn that would bring them inline with the attacking ZAFT vessels. Almost immediately these ships began to disgorge their masses on Moebius mobile armours.

---

Ichiro Suzuhara?s GINN ate up the distance between the ZAFT forces and the Earth Alliance Fleet, his two wingmen that made up Alpha Team had stuck close and the other teams from his Squadron weren?t far behind. The mobile suit teams from the other ZAFT warships were also spreading out, it didn?t take Ichiro long to realise that the formation that was forming up put his squadron as the spearhead. He swore under his breath and cursed Melchett for arranging this.

Ichiro scanned the hordes of approaching Moebius? they were all armed with the standard linear gun and four missiles. To a veteran pilot like himself they were no contest, but to an inexperienced and over confident pilot they could be deadly if controlled by a skilled pilot. ?Tally **! Bandits dead ahead all Teams happy hunting!? yelled Ichiro over the communication channel.

The Earth Alliance cruisers opened fire with their main beam cannons but it was all too easy for the GINNs to easily avoid the beams. A warning light in Ichiro?s cockpit warned him that they had entered the effective firing range of the Earth Alliance?s linear cannons, a couple of the Alliance pilots took pot shots but they failed to hit anything.

For his part Ichiro slipped his crosshairs over the lead Moebius and patiently waited to get closer. The instant his crosshairs went green he pressed his trigger and sent a hail of bullets towards the Moebius. Ichiro didn?t even wait to verify the kill; he turned his attention to the next Moebius. This mobile armour fired its linear gun three times as Ichiro zoomed in towards it then it loosed two of its wire-guided missiles but Ichiro shot them just as they were launching; the explosion rocked the Moebius giving Ichiro the opportunity to pummel its fuselage with bullets from his MMI-M8A3 76mm heavy assault machine gun. Ichiro?s wingmen soon added their own fire to the melee and several more Moebius? were downed in quick succession. Ichiro noticed that had Franklin jumped onto the back of a Moebius and fired his M68 Cattus 500mm recoilless rifle at point blank range; a gross waste of ammunition. Ichiro made a mental note to punish the young pilot for such a wasteful act.

However that would have to wait more Moebius? were approaching and he had allowed himself to slow down. With a flick of a switch he ejected his machineguns ammo clip and replaced it with a fresh one. His GINNs monoeye flashed bright red; he was goading the entire Earth Alliance mobile armour corps to attack him. At that moment Ichiro feared nothing.

This was when the lead Moebius teams made their big mistake; they started to swarm in on Ichiro?s position allowing the rest of the GINNs to head straight for the capital ships.

---

Christopher Bishop and the Beta Team took advantage of the chaos Commander Suzuhara was causing in the line of Moebius? to charge on through to the cruisers and escort ships. As soon as he had a clear shot Seth Sims fired his M69 Barrus heavy ion cannon; the high powered green energy beam burned through the bow of an escort ship. The whole front section exploded and secondary explosions quickly took hold on the rest of the ship.

For a moment Christopher was transfixed by the sight of the escort ship exploding. Real battles were totally different from simulations or training exercises, this was real and it was dangerous. He pulled himself back together and spotted a pair of Moebius? trying to sneak up on Seth?s GINN. He aimed his 76mm machine gun and loosed a burst. The bullets torn through the Earth Alliance mobile armour?s thin armour plating penetrating the fuel tanks which exploded. Christopher?s heart was pounding and he was short of breath. It was his first kill and it felt good. The second Moebius fired its Vulcan cannons but Christopher evaded with ease.

Suddenly his GINN started to shake violently and the monitor on the left hand side exploded. The damaged report flashed up right away, the GINN?s left arm had been blown off. Christopher could only assume that the Moebius had gotten off a lucky shot with its linear gun. Enraged he pushed the GINN?s thrusters to full and charged off after the Moebius. When he got close enough he emptied his machinegun clip into the unfortunately mobile armour. It wasn?t until the explosion subsided that Christopher realised that he hadn?t been very smart; no left arm meant reloading his machinegun would be rather difficult.

---

At the same time Seth was burning down another escort ship. This time his beam had lanced through one of the bulky missile pods that created the little grey ships X appearance. The beam continued through the missile pod and into the hull. As the mighty beam exited the far side of the escort ship it vaporised a Moebius that had been trying to sneak around the escort ship. The escort ship carried on a few moments before exploding in a massive fireball.

He then turned his attention to one of the much bigger cruisers that was closing in on him from behind. The cruisers beam cannon turrets and defensive machine gun turrets opened up on anything that didn?t have an Earth Alliance IFF signal. Seth zoomed up over the bow of the cruiser and trained his Barrus heavy ion cannon on the bridge. However he paused for a moment too long as the single barrel beam cannon mounted near the bow fired. The shot destroyed the GINNs right leg and sent the mobile suit into a spin that Seth fought desperately to control. Just as he regained control he fired his heavy ion cannon but he missed the bridge and beam smashed into the twin-barrel turret mounted just in front of the bridge.

It was however too late for Seth. The cruiser?s banks of vertical launch missiles tubes all launched their loaded missiles at once. Seth didn?t realise their target until it was far too late. The missiles looped round and all hammered into his GINN. The missiles weren?t designed for anti-mobile suit duty; it was gross overkill since they were anti-ship missiles. The explosion was massive and spread to the wounded cruiser, the Natural crew succeeded in killing a GINN but it cost them their cruiser.

Seth Sims was the first of the Suzuhara Squadron to be killed; he would not be the last.

---

ZAFT frigate Archimedes, Returning to PLANT
18th April C.E. 70

Elizabeth Bartley?s room on the Archimedes was relatively small but at least she didn?t have to share it like the most of the crew did. It was located just across the corridor from Commander Suzuhara?s cabin/office so that she would be able to get to him quickly if he needed her. He unpacked the few things she had had to secure before the battle. There was a photo of her parents; it had been taken only a few days before her mother was killed in an airlock accident.

Elizabeth placed the photo on her desk and sat down. She started to review the documents that were waiting for her on her computer, they were casualty reports. The Battle of Jachin Due had been won, but at a terrible cost. The Earth Alliance fleet had been repulsed and PLANT had been saved but the Suzuhara Squadron had four dead pilots and six others injured. Seth Sims, Ashley Bell, Jonas Bond and Alexander Bikham were all dead. They unit had only been together a few days and already a third of their number were dead. It was too horrifying to contemplate. The whole squadron only had two fully fit pilots and only one undamaged GINN. Commander Suzuhara had been right about it being too early for them to go into combat. Elizabeth could only pray that the National Defence Committee would give them enough time to recover and to train up the replacement pilots properly.


---

Next Phase: ZAFT is planning for a big offensive near the moon and the rested Suzuhara Squadron is ordered to execute raids on Earth Alliance shipping near the Space Fortress Artemis in an attempt to draw off Earth Alliance units. However is the Squadron ready for such an important assignment?

 

[Missingno Baby]

Wow, that's very nice, blue, I never knew you had it in you to write like that! Although, I have not read it all yet, I'm sure I will. Good writing.
puni puni~