[FFML] (fanfic)(R.5)(Gundam)(Alt. U) Midnight Stampede Project Operation 1

UC 0078
Location unknown
0925 hours

"I am most definitely lost." Ranma declared as she settled near a burned-down building, she had been traveling for hours now and up to now still could not see hide nor hair of her destination. "They couldn't hide a stronghold in plain sight, could they?" she thought as she disengaged the reactor, allowing her mobile suit to rest and conserve fuel. She opened the hatch and leaped up to her suit's shoulder. Grabbing a pair of Federation standard issue binoculars, she tried to reset her bearings only to gasp as she saw a plume of smoke and several flashes of light signifying a battle. She slid back into the cockpit and strapped herself in while engaging her suit's passive scanners and the long-range camera mounted on its back. What she saw made her curse; over twenty Zeon mobile suits of various types were ambushing a small squad of five RGMs. "Can't let them have all the fun," she said grinning as she switched on her machine's reactors bringing the mobile suit to life.

Jiro Maeda presents
A Gundam / Ranma � cross over

Gundam Side story:
Midnight Stampede Project

The various mobile suits featured here except for the RX-79GS were created by Hajime Yadate and are properties of Bandai. The characters, techniques and circumstances taken from the Ranma � series are creations by the great mangaka Rumiko Takahashi. No profit was made from this fanfic

Mission 1: Stallion

***
0930 hours

"Akane, we have to fall back!" Sayuri screamed over the radio as she made her GM dive for cover, narrowly avoiding a hail of gunfire that would have turned turning her into coleslaw. She cringed as she heard the telltale ping of projectiles hitting her GM's already damaged armor. This was just supposed to have been a routine scouting mission, to investigate an explosion in sector 53, near Azabu Juuban. But when they got there, they were swarmed under three platoons of Zeon MS squadrons. Laager and Hein's units have already fallen, victims of the first volley.

"We have to hang on, Sayuri. Help is on the way," came Akane's reply over the communication console. Sayuri had difficulty hearing her squad leader's voice as it was being drowned out by Yuka's screams over the COM. She checked her energy readings and was dismayed to see that her mobile suit couldn't last much longer. She made her GM peek over her cover and was rewarded by getting one of her forward cameras shot. She ducked for cover once again and prayed to the kamis for delivery.

Akane was firing everything she had, but her MS had already sustained considerable damage and was barely responding to her commands. She cursed as her beam rifle ran out of energy. She would have to wait for it to recharge, relying on her squad mates to hold off the enemy until it did. "We can't handle much more of this!" she cried as she made her GM duck another volley of fire. She had taken down three of the bastards already, yet the Zeon forces still won't let up. Her suit was already low on power and the rest of her targets were too far away to reach with her vulcan cannons. Her Heads-Up-Display suddenly beeped, catching her attention. "That better be back up, or we're toast! " she thought as she ducked another barrage of enemy fire. Her eyes widened as her on-board computer detected another mobile suit approaching from the west, and nearing their location at a fast clip.

***

Yuka screamed. Her beloved MS had recently lost all power and was, for all intents and purposes, junk. She had heard tales of what the Zeon troops did with prisoners -- particularly female ones -- and it frightened her very much. She was tumbled about in her cockpit as her MS was toppled over by two Zakus. "Here it comes, I'm going to get captured and then they're going to torture and rape me and then if I'm lucky, they'll kill me!" she thought as the enemy MS hovered nearer, ready to deliver the final blow to her GM. She was so frightened that she jumped when the two Zeon MS suddenly fell to pieces. Standing over them was a jet-black mobile suit holding a pair of beam sabers still humming with energy, the Federation mark clearly showed on the right shoulder, its twin 'eyes' glowed like lambent flames from an eerily almost human face. Yuka knew of only a single Federation MS type used that design... "A Gundam?"

Akane screamed in frustration as her beam rifle discharged yet again. Their position was compromised, they were out-numbered and out-gunned and she couldn't do anything. Her COM pinged, catching her attention and an unfamiliar voice issued over the speakers. "GM squad leader, this is Federation Mobile Suit RX-79GS, requesting permission to join the party."

"Permission granted, pilot, feel free to join us at your leisure," Akane replied in relief. She watched amazed as one by one the Zeon suits went down like kiddy blocks as the Gundam blurred into action. "That MS is amazing and so is the pilot!" she thought, admiring the grace and speed of the black war machine as it cut a swathe in the midst of the Zeon units.

"GM leader, watch your six," warbled the mysterious pilot of the black MS over Akane's speakers. Akane was prevented from replying when a Dom rushed at her, heat saber whistling in an arch over her GM's head. She smoothly unsheathed her own beam saber and parried the enemy's blade before body-checking the Dom with her GM's shoulder. The momentum proved too much for the already overbalanced enemy MS, and it fell hard, allowing Akane to slice it in two. She straightened her MS, only to witness the Gundam finish off the last MS, shooting it in the cockpit.

Akane breathed a sigh of relief before allowing her much abused body to sag bonelessly against her seat. She absently removed her helmet, allowing a wave of blue-black hair to cascade down her back. It had been close... too close. A minute or two more and they would have lost. She shivered at the thought of being bound and naked under the lustful gaze of Kuno and his sycophants. She made her battered MS rest itself in the remains of the schoolyard before getting off to check on her team.

As soon as she alighted on the ground, her second in command, T SGT. Sayuri Misumaru approached to brief her on the status of her squad. "Laager and Hein are knocked out but otherwise fine, Yuka had a few scrapes but nothing makeup can't hide. I can't say the same for our suits though," she said as she pointed to the smoking remains of four GMs. "My unit is missing an arm and a leg, both Laager and Hein's are decapitated, though Dai has it worse since his cockpit cover's been blown wide open. I wouldn't even begin to speculate how he survived being charbroiled but I'm glad he did. Yuka's GM has both exhaust ports blown, her reactor's leaking a bit and one of her actuators has been shot to hell," Sayuri continued completely unaware of Akane's repeated winces.

"Oneechan's going to scrape my skin off and use it to scrub the kitchen floor. This will definitely use up our reserve supplies... And I hate to even think of the downtime," Akane lamented as she went to the fallen MS for a closer look. She then belatedly noticed the Gundam pilot falling in step beside them.

Akane's eyes were first attracted to the nonstandard Normal Suit the pilot was wearing; it was a fancy red and black outfit that completely failed to hide her femininity -- despite being about two sizes too big. The pilot still hadn't removed her helmet. Her lowered visor prevented anyone from taking a glimpse at her face, adding to her mystery. Akane was so caught up with her observations that she failed to note that the pilot had extended her hand until Sayuri nudged her on the ribs to catch her attention. She blushed, embarrassed at being caught staring.

"...nice work on that Dom, squad-leader. I haven't seen moves like that this side of Jaburou," the pilot continued unnoticing, her hand still extended for a handshake.

"Thank you. I'm Lieutenant Akane Tendou, and this is my second in command, Sayuri Misumaru," Akane replied as she bowed politely and then clasped the extended hand in a firm grip.

The pilot disengaged her hand from the grip before removing her helmet, revealing a young pig-tailed girl in her late teens with pale skin, blue-gray eyes and crimson hair. "I'm Lieutenant Ranma Saotome, former commander of the Howling Wolves, and pilot of the RX-79GS Stealth Gundam.

Akane was startled upon hearing the young pilot's name. Her father had mentioned it earlier, during their impromptu family meeting. She couldn't remember the exact details; the recent battle had taxed her concentration as well as her memory. 'Something about an arranged marriage... that can't be right, can it?' Akane thought as she stared at Ranma's obviously female chest. Same sex relations weren't as frowned upon nowadays as it was in the earlier days but there's still something... odd... about arranging a match between two girls. 'I must have misheard father,' she thought, inwardly praying that it was so. The rumors about her sexual preference were bad enough after she screamed, "I hate boys!" over and over during a training session. "This would most certainly take the cake..." Akane murmured to herself.

"What would take the cake, Lieutenant?"

Akane jumped and turned around to stare at the innocent seeming redhead who was looking at her with an expression of utmost perplexity. "Uh, nothing ma'am, just thinking out loud," she replied nervously, and then saluted smartly after remembering that the young pilot was her superior officer.

"Aw geez, none of that crap okay? Just call me Ranma. Say, can some of your units still function? If not, we could cannibalize some of the MS our good friends from Zeon left behind." Ranma replied with a smile, pointing at the broken mobile suits dotting the battlefield.

Akane nodded and barked out orders to her subordinates and soon they all began to make on site variations to the surviving MS with Ranma joining in to help. The youngest Tendou daughter tried very much not to flinch whenever she came into contact with the prodigious pilot, a fact that secretly amused the redhead greatly. Akane promised herself that she'd drag her father for a little chat as soon as they got home.

Central Japanese Federation Base
Nerima, Tokyo, Japan
0800 Hours

Soun Tendou suddenly sneezed for no apparent reason. He shrugged it off saying, "Must be coming down with a cold." He went back to composing another request to Jaburou for aid; he couldn't for the life of him shrug off the cold shivers that ran up and down his spine.

Zeon Japanese Occupation Base
Somewhere in Kyoto

"And all our forces were vanquished?" inquired a light-skinned, statuesque young man who was dressed in turn-of-the-century samurai garb. He was lounging on a raised dais as several geishas pampered him. The person he was speaking to was a small whiskered man dressed all in black, who was kneeling in front of him.

"That is correct, My Lord. Our forces were about to capture your future bride, Akane Tendou, and were overpowering her small group when another mobile suit entered the fray. It's one we haven't seen before," the diminutive shinobi answered. He reached into his gi and pulled out a data disk, which he handed to a nearby attendant. "Our spies have recorded the battle and have come up with this video for your perusal." A large view screen lowered itself into the audience chamber simultaneous with the dimming of the lights. The view screen flickered to life and began displaying the battle.

"Stop!" the young lord commanded upon noticing something on the video. He brusquely dismissed his geishas and got off the dais. He stepped closer to the view screen, scrutinizing something that caught his attention. "Rewind by ten seconds, play again, this time in slow motion," he commanded yet again. The hidden technicians complied with his command as the young lord scrutinized the video. "Stop! Freeze frame," he interrupted once again. He pointed at a certain smudge on the screen, "Enhance."

The scene cleared up somewhat as the technicians mustered all the advanced video-technology the Zeon Archduchy boasted of. The young lord grimaced and returned to his dais. "Make a note of this, Sasuke. The speed of this particular mobile suit is enough to make it appear to be a blur, thus making it difficult to identify. Yet... There still is something we could use. The accursed Federation army has several types of Mobile Suits, but only one design has two 'eyes'." The young Zeon noble pointed at the cleared area, two pinpricks of light were apparent. "Only the Gundam is designed with a face not unlike that of a man, and only the greatest warriors are worthy to wield so mighty a tool. No man is worthier of this magnificent machine than I, Tatewaki Kuno, The Blue Thunder of Zeon, Rising Sun of the new Japan and future husband of the enduring flower of maidenhood, Akane Tendou. Soon, I shall have my bride, Akane and the tool to crush mine enemies under my heel. Soon not even the so-called 'Red Comet', can stand up to me and all the world, nay, all the known creation shall tremble upon hearing my mighty name." Lord Kuno declared, bursting into maniacal laughter.

Sasuke shuddered in his crouch; inwardly he pitied the fool that piloted the black MS. For as all knew, what Lord Kuno wanted, he eventually got.

TBC

__________________________________
www.edsamail.com.ph
CHEAPER than free email!