[FFML] Gundam Storm, Ch. 3

[Andrew Dynon]

"Commonwealth forces are attacking?"

"Yes, ma'am. Their lead group's penetrated the outer fortifications."

"Order the men to hold their ground! Is the Corvus ready for launch?"

"Final preparations are underway, ma'am."

"Tell them to hurry the hell up and show those bastards what we're made of!"

*****

I heard the massive engines rev into life, and a thick cloud of dust from
GES systems sprayed up and backward from near where the hangar was located.
The black shape that resembled a huge, menacing bird came into view,
swinging toward the main Commonwealth forces. Three Gatling cannons on each
wing pointed towards the approaching GRs, independently moving cover their
targets, and two flights immediately disintegrated into shards of flaming
metal. I heard their pilots' screams over the radio as they died.

"Okay, Miss Supersoldier, now are you nervous?" Yamada asked.

"No. The fact that the enemy might present me with a challenge does not make
me nervous. I'm looking forward to it." I didn't bother trying to suppress
the grin on my face. That Mobile Armor may have been made to dominate the
battlefield - but so was I. And I intended to assert my dominance.

*****
MOBILE SUIT GUNDAM STORM
A Fanfic by Andrew Dynon

Based on Mobile Suit Gundam by Yoshiyuki Tomino and Hajime Yadate

Chapter 3: Instruments of Destruction
*****

Sparta Base
Three years ago

"Silver Platoon, Squad One, fall in!"

The ten candidates I would be facing in mock battle stood at attention near
their sim pods, and the blonde girl with the corporal's chevrons on her
normal suit led the others in a salute. Her hair was the same regulation
buzzcut as myself and the other candidates, but her green eyes sparkled with
the same vivacious energy that seemed as if it would burst from her
eleven-year-old body. 

I returned the salute. 

"Corporal Hippolyta Silver, is your squad ready to begin the exercise?"

"Yes, sergeant!"

"Hippolyta, this is the first time you'll be facing a Mobile Armor. It's not
like the mobile suit battles you've had in the past."

"I know, sergeant Athene. This is meant to be an exercise in teamwork. We
can't hope to win one-on-one."

Even if they managed to pull off the teamwork that the exercise was testing,
the fact that I had four years more training than the Silver Platoon
candidates meant they stood little chance of winning this exercise. But
then, being in the cockpit of a Mobile Armor would be a new experience for
me as well, and it was an opportunity that I was thrilled to receive. Even
if it was only hooked up to a simulator. 

*****

"Yamada, Gold, we need to try and take that thing out!" McDermott ordered.
"Try and get around to flank it!"

"Roger that! Metis, how much can those Gatlings cover?"

Predict independently-aiming Gatling array on variable-geometry wings is
capable of firing through 240 degrees horizontally, and 120 degrees
vertically.

Enough space for at least one of us to get in behind. I expected the MA to
have some rear defences, but they weren't likely to be as heavy as the array
of Gatling guns up front. Still, trying to do as a single three-MS flight
what was the job of an entire wing in my training wasn't going to be a
simple matter.

I barely managed to dodge a burst from one of the MA's Gatlings by diving
into a gap between two buildings. Dammit, with the boosterpack attached, I
had to keep moving forward at a relatively high speed, so I couldn't remain
facing the MA for very long or I'd end up overshooting it. If I disengaged
it, the Gundam would be carrying a bunch of dead weight around, which would
hurt its manuverability even more.

"Metis, detach the boosterpack."

"Ensign Gold, the boosterpack's required to clear the ground back to
friendly lines once we're done." Lieutenant McDermott warned.

"I know that, sir, but I need the extra manuverability to stand a chance of
taking out that thing. Besides, if we can take this fort, we won't need to
retreat."

"All right. But remember what I told you earlier. Your own survival takes
priority over the mission objectives. I'll take the bow. Yamada, port stern,
Gold, starboard stern."

"Roger that, sir."

Lieutenant McDermott's Flame Gundam fired a barrage of missiles. The MA's
Gatlings fired at them, shooting them down before they could hit, but the
explosions provided a distraction, allowing the three of us to move to flank
it. I spotted two distinctive gunbarrels pointing astern.

"Yamada, it's got a pair of rear-firing beam cannons. Be careful."

"Gotcha. I'm heading in." While McDermott drew the MA's forward fire, Yamada
shot in using his still-attached boosterpack, shooting at the body of the
MA. The shots were unlikely to do much, though. I planned to make a more
methodical, piecemeal approach - I boosted toward one of the wings, sliced
at one of the auxiliary engines with my beam saber, and saw smoke spew
forth. The MA could comfortably operate with one of those down, though, and
this approach was going to take some time. I moved back behind cover to
avoid those rear-firing beam cannons.

"Yamada, the main body's too well armored for a beam rifle."

"I just found that out. Bear with me!" He sped past the MA, managing to
twist around to make a burst of shots at the cockpit area, but the shots
missed. Even if he had hit, the cockpit was reinforced and could in all
likelihood resist the shot.

"Our Gundams' rifles and sabers are all powered by the same type of energy
pack, right?" He continued. "They should be able to link their charge if we
need to boost a weapons' power."

"Metis?"

"It can be done. However, the boosted weapons' power cannot be maintained
very long."

"Estimated charge?"

"Two shots for a gun, or twenty-four seconds for a blade."

"It'll be enough if I can get in there."

"I'll help with that!" Yamada said. He dumped his boosterpack, fired another
volley of shots and sped away. McDermott made another pass, firing a burst
from his Gatling and speeding off in a similar direction. The MA turned
towards them, its wing Gatlings taking aim as its menacing frame moved
forward. However, it still had its beam cannons trained near where I had
taken cover, ready to take my Gundam out if I emerged. While I was waiting,
though, I tucked my rifle and beam sabers into the binder of my shield,
pointing toward the base, and set them to standby. 

Then suddenly, an explosion rocked the Mobile Armor, sending it listing to
starboard. It took me a moment before I realised the cause - Shane's
boosterpack. He must have set it to overload when he dumped it. The MA
righted itself, but the port-side Gatlings were knocked out by the
explosion.

"Now, Gold!" McDermott ordered. 

I didn't need to be told twice. I kicked the thrusters in, moved around to
the MA's port wing, and shot in towards the main engine at the stern. A
single boosted shot was enough to blow away those rear-firing beam cannons,
and then the airspace was clear. I switched to blade mode, and the oversized
beam saber projected from the base of my Gundam's shield. I raised its right
arm, and it sliced from the rear of the MA, lengthwise along its belly. The
Mobile Armor nosedived to the Martian surface, crashing through several
buildings and defensive walls before its momentum gave out. At the same
time, the huge saber blade disappeared.

"No power remaining in beam weaponry." Metis reported. From the looks of it,
the bottom quarter of the Gale's shield had also been vaporised.

"All right, good job, Ensign. Now let's head back."

I spotted a ZK-70 rifle and vibroblade on a fallen Regulus nearby. 

"I can still fight."

"That's a negative, Gold. You've done enough for today." McDermott's tone
left no room for argument.

". yes, sir." I turned the Gale away from the fort and back toward the
Commonwealth's lines.

*****

Despite no longer having our boosterpacks, Yamada and I managed to make it
back to friendly lines. As I arrived back in the Gallipoli's hangar, reports
seemed to indicate our forces were securing the area. Yamada and I emerged
from our cockpits and alighted on the hangar floor at almost exactly the
same time, Yamada already with his helmet off and reaching for a towel to
wipe the sweat from his face.

"Whew! Now that was an experience I hope I won't repeat anytime soon."
Yamada said.

"I wouldn't mind doing it again."

"You wouldn't mind. Going up. Against that thing. AGAIN?"

"That's correct."

"What's with you? I know you're a supersoldier and all, but have you got
some kind of death wish or something?"

"As a supersoldier, I am expected to be a part of the most dangerous
missions. This is what I was born and trained for."

"That doesn't mean you have to seem so excited about it."

"I enjoyed being in real combat. Even more than sims." I said
matter-of-factly. Why did they seem to expect me not to? It didn't even make
any sense for a supersoldier not to enjoy the sensation of being in battle.

Yamada sighed. "I'm gonna get something to eat. You coming?"

*****

Khadija

For a while, I just stared blankly at the scans of Athene's organs. My dear
god, how could people do this to her? I knew that in some regions back on
Earth, people used to practice female circumcision because they believed
that women should not be allowed to enjoy sex, but what they'd done to the
poor girl went beyond that.

"They've completely removed her reproductive system." I said to Doctor Li.
"And they went and put in. this thing instead." I indicated the strange
organ in her lower abdomen.

"I suspected when I saw the surgical scars on her abdomen and groin area."
Doctor Li said. "The implanted organ has been made into part of her adrenal
system. In all likelihood, it produces extra adrenaline, enhancing her
senses, reflexes, and so on. The downside is that she needs periodic
adrenaline releases to prevent it from building up too much. If she remains
inactive for too long, she may become mentally unstable."

"And the reproductive system was considered unnecessary, right? If they want
more of her, the people who ran this ZOINKS program can just grow her
genetic samples in a test tube! No need to worry about inconvenient things
like parents or having a childhood for their damn human weapons! That extra
adrenal organ's not even big enough that it was necessary! Was it just some
control freak thing that meant they weren't comfortable with their little
project having any kind of sexuality?" God, please forgive me for swearing.

"There's another possible reason." Doctor Li said. "In Imperial China,
eunuchs were assigned high positions in government because it was believed
that the elimination of sexual desire would make them virtuous. Perhaps
whoever's doing this aims to create an advanced form of humanity, and is
thinking along similar lines. The problem in China was that the eunuchs
found other vices to compensate for their lack of sexuality. And you know
what they say about those who fail to learn from history."

Personally, I was not as concerned about the ultimate goal as with the
effect on the victim. The ability and desire to reproduce was one of the
basic characteristics of not just humanity, but all life. And some sick
human-being-in-biology-only had literally cut that out of the poor girl in
such an irrevocable way, just to make her a better tool for killing people.

I found the idea of fighting and killing abhorrent. The idea of someone
having their biology altered, and not even being given a choice about going
through years of training, all to be a killing machine, was so grotesque
that it was hard to even comprehend.

*****

Athene

I was still giddy with excitement as I ate my meal and sat through the
after-action analysis session. The Gundam's handling seemed even smoother in
real combat than it was in the sims, and just the three of us had managed to
destroy a Mobile Armor. I felt that I was already proving my worth as a
supersoldier - with help from McDermott, Yamada, and Metis. 

If only Pallas and Ares were here, so that we could compare our
achievements, and argue about who had done the best, driving each other to
improve.

*****

Sparta Base
Three years ago.

"Look at your time, Athene! It shouldn't have taken you that long to wipe
out a squad from Silver Platoon." Pallas commented as I emerged from the
MA's cockpit. Did every training exercise have to be a competition to her?
Then again, that may have been what made going up against her so
exhilarating. I was never in any doubt about her using her full strength.

"The purpose of the exercise was to help our juniors gain experience facing
a Mobile Armor. Simply annihilating them right from the beginning would be
defeating the purpose."

"In other words, you were holding back." Pallas replied. "Against what we've
learned about mercy having no place on the battlefield. As for helping them
learn, getting blown away should teach them what not to do. I'm starting to
worry that your helping out the Silvers and Bronzes might be at the expense
of your own skills." 

"Teamwork is also a skill." I retorted. "And if you think it's making me
weak one-on-one, I'd be glad to put that to the test."

"I'll be pleased to do that any time, 1F02." Pallas grinned in anticipation.

"We're scheduled for free training next period, 1F01." I grinned back. "As
per the rules, I made the challenge, so you can pick the form of combat."

"Mobile suits, one on one."

"Fine by me."

*****

Victoria

I sat on the couch, watching the footage from the Battle of Sirenum on the
monitor. My eyes drawn towards the white-and-green mobile suit.

"So the first supersoldier has been deployed in combat. That's her unit?"

"That's correct, ojousama." One of the aides said.

"I would like to meet her."

"Ojousama, it will take four weeks to reach Mars. And the military may not
be happy with a civilian arranging to speak to her, even one as high-ranking
as yourself."

"Nevertheless, I would like to meet her. I will handle negotiations with the
military. Please make the other arrangements."

"Yes, Ojousama."

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