[FFML] [Einhander] Phases of the Moon part 1 : Blue Moon

Here's a repost of the 2 first chapters of Phases of the Moon, and the 2 new ones

There was a time, in the era of great chaos, when the earth and
the moon were at war with each other. A daredevil from the moon piloted
a bizarre aircraft... it was feared and, because of its shape, called
"Einh�nder"

*****************

Phases of the Moon part 1

Blue moon

*****************

An Einh�nder fanfic by Snapdragon

Snapdragon@videotron.ca

*****************

[Music: Einh�nder - 28 - Metempsychosis]

"Lieutenants James Carter, Catherine Serte and Michael Smith
report to Bay one in 30 minutes for mission briefing " a metallic voice
announced over the speakers, waking a figure on this room's bed.

The person yawned, got out of bed, and proceeded during several
minutes to don his suit, a jet black Selene military outfit with the
blue and silver gallons representing his rank. As he made a last stop
in front of the mirror, he combed his hazel brown hair into place. He
checked again to make sure all was perfect before his final mission.

However, all was not perfect.

He once again traced his fingers along the large scar that
adorned his face, starting from the top of his head, over one of his
deep blue eyes and finishing at his bottom lip. No amount of surgery
had been able to remove the remainder of his past agony, and no amount
of time had been able to erase to painful memories that had come with
this mark.

Once again the memories surged, to remind him what he would die
for. It was only a year ago, in one of the terran bombardment of
Selene's only city. His apartment was hit by a stray cannon shell, and
his wife, their son and all of his dreams for the future exploded at
that moment. He was lucky, if you can call that luck, to survive with
this large scar as an eternal reminder of that day.

He shook his head to try to clear it of these flashbacks, but
they continued unrestrained. That day, he vowed revenge on the earth
for taking his family, and enlisted as a pilot for the Einh�nder
Project. It promised him a future, even if a short one, that could
fulfill his new goal. He was basically turned into a modern kamikaze,
and was trained to take the most of his enemies with him. This had lead
to what would happen today, as he would step into his Endymion FRS Mk.
II and dive into earth's atmosphere in what would be a mostly suicide
mission. It was technically possible to survive, but the odds were
against him, and also because none ever made it back alive.

As he raced toward Bay one, rage filled his head as the picture
of his dead wife, clutching their bleeding two year old son returned to
his mind. He had always loathed the fact that he had been able to
remember this scene before collapsing into unconsciousness.

*****************

[Music: Einh�nder - 09 - Silence]

"Lieutenant James Carter reporting for duty." He said, like a
machine. He was relieved he had managed to clear his thoughts before
entering bay one.

Despite being in advance, he was the last to arrive for the
mission briefing. At his left stood his comrade Michael Smith, one of
the two who would be coming with him. He was dressed as sharply as him,
but looked totally different with his long blond hair flowing behind
his head. Michael spared a quick look in his direction, which told
James all he needed to know about him...

He would not hide, nor would he go down in vain.

At his comrade's side was the last of their strike group,
nicknamed "the blood witch" by the men of the base, the Martian pilot
Catherine Serte. She was told as so because of her distinguishing
characteristics: her amazing skill at dogfighting and her long deep red
hair. It wasn't nearly as long as Michael's, but still made her easily
recognizable. She stood in the female version of the lieutenant garb: a
deep blue suit resembling the one of the males, but slightly longer and
less tight. Her face was currently sporting another of her well-known
trademarks, her death glare. It was common knowledge that she had been
forced into the Einh�nder project and this was her way of reminding
everyone so.

Seeing that everyone had arrived, the highest officer, also the
commander of the base, wasted no time beginning the mission orders.
They were simple and, no less than two minutes later he had left,
leaving the trio with an hour of permission before final launch
adjustments.

*****************

[Music: Einh�nder - 13 - Dawn]

His social skills were never his main talent, but it had never
been as bad as that. As he walked in the blue steel corridors of the
base in what was to be his last free time, the rest of the base
officers and operators dodged him quite evidently, sometimes muttering
prayers to themselves or whispering a few words of luck.

It was quite simple: to these people he was already dead.

He himself had to say that he had no hope of coming back alive
from that mission. He had gotten over that fact long ago. The only one
who still entertained notions of survival was Catherine who, ever as
stubborn, refused to admit this fact on that forced assignment.

Another operator hid away at his sight, clearly not desiring any
talk with the man who was about to leave on a death mission. But James
himself did not really want to talk, just to pass the time. His mind
drifted freely as feet led him around on autopilot. He counted himself
lucky to be part of the last Einh�nder raid, or his revenge would have
slipped his grasp. It was to be the last, for it would be replaced by
project EOS, a project in which computers would try to emulate the
fighting skills of Einh�nder pilots. He himself would be working on it,
for each of his battle patterns would be sent to the moon, analyzed,
then programmed into the metal minds of the EOS.

He snapped out of his trance just in time to see where his feet
had desired him to go: the hangar. He stood there, a mere meter away
from his fighter. He eyed his own unit with suspicion, for he never had
really piloted the thing yet. All his training had been in simulator,
for these ships were rare and not easily built. The only which had
already flown hers was Catherine, for it was this reason that made her
a part of this project. He looked at his watch and sighed: it was time
to get ready.

*****************

[Music: Einh�nder - 06 - Chase]

When he returned to the hangar with his pilot suit on, the
weapons each of them pilots had chosen to used were being installed: a
30 mm Vulcan for Michael and a Wasp Rocket Launcher for the Blood
Witch. He was happy to see the blue cannon of the Riot High-Voltage Gun
under the fuselage of his ship. He had always been fond of the armor-
piercing discharge it provided with each attack.

Last minute checks were made and passed, so the pilots stepped in
their war machines. With the simple "Glory to the Moon, Mercy on the
Earth" salute, the commander bid them farewell, and the cockpit closed
on them for the last time...

*****************

[Music: Einh�nder - 18 - Afterimage]

The ten hour the flight toward earth was supposed to take were
almost at their end, and it had already been 4 hours since they entered
earth's orbit and the black clouds that now perpetually cover the sky.
Their main orders had already been there for a while: They had to scout
the Imperial Capital, and fight anything in their way. There was truly
no coming back now, their names were already craved on their tombs.

James idly wondered how this war came to exist at first. Who
started it ? And why ? They said that it was a crusade, one to recover
the holy land of Gesetz stolen by the Earthling from the people of the
Moon, but James didn't believe that. The pilot of the Endymion FRS Mk.
II wasn't a religious person, and this seemed like a pathetic excuse
for an interplanetary war. But if it was not the case, what was this
war for ? For what did his wife and son have to die?

Lightning flashed briefly around him, revealing to position of
his comrades. He was on the left flank. The Blood Witch's Astraea FGA
Mk. He was the one covering the right flank, and Michael in his
Endymion FRS Mk. III would dive in the center.

The picture of his dead wife momentarily flashed through his
head, and rage filled his heart. Today was his day for revenge, and it
would not be denied from him...

"Fly 1, prepare to strike." the ship's vaguely female voice said,
bringing his head back to the present. The time to think was over. The
time for battle was now.

As if on cue, the black cloud released him into the city, and to
all the eyes there. Thousands of armored cars angled upwards, seeking
the death of the trio. As James' dive continues, he instinctively
wonders one last time how this all came to be...

*****************

End of Chapter One - Blue Moon

Is followed by Chapter Two - Full Moon

Details: - EOS means Einh�nder Operating System. It is at the same
time the computer in James, Catherine and Michael's ships and the
system which will replace the pilots.

- The war truly started when the moon, needing nitrogen for
agricultural purposes, attacked the earth, which is the only planet
that have such resource.

Einh�nder belongs to Squaresoft and is not meant any displeasure by
this work

Snapdragon/Thierry Chartrand-Chamblay
October 2000

*****************
Snapdragon / Thierry Chartrand Chamblay
http://www.angelfire.com/games2/angelsnapdragon/

-Never open Pandora's Box, for it shall send the worst of all evils unto the world : HOPE !