[FFML] Gundam Storm, Ch. 10 (1st Draft)

[Andrew Dynon]

As my Gale Gundam turnd to face the Sirius, I could almost see an image of
Pallas, projected over the frame of the mobile suit I was about to fight.
The face-off with my sibling seemed to last far longer than the couple of
seconds I knew it actually took, but, right now, everything was more there -
time slower, distances and angles more precise, actions and reactions more
clear.  And with it came the same battle-lust that I had felt the previous
times I had faced Pallas, and the contradictory knowledge that she was my
sibling, someone I was supposed to protect and fight alongside.

 

The difference now was that I knew how to anchor myself, to concentrate on
my goal of protecting my allies, and thus not get washed away by the combat
instinct that surged over me.  I wondered, for a moment, if that anchor was
the key to my safety, or a restriction that would prove fatal - but
remembered that, in the combat exercises we'd had together, I'd performed
best against Pallas in team battles.  I decided to have faith that the same
thing would happen now that we were fighting for real.

 

I switched to a private channel.  

 

"Shane, is your Gundam still combat capable?"

 

"Yeah, I'm good."

 

"Get over to McDermott, help him out.  I'll try and join you."

 

"Gotcha."

 

"Metis, you ready for this?"

 

Ready when you are, my pilot.

 

"So, Athene, shall we put ourselves to the test?" Pallas' voice came over
the open channel.

 

"If you want to find out who's the top supersoldier so badly, I'll oblige
you." I replied.

 

*****

MOBILE SUIT GUNDAM STORM

 

A Fanfic by Andrew Dynon

Based on Mobile Suit Gundam by Yoshiyuki Tomino and Hajime Yadate

 

Chapter 10: The Winner

*****

                "And so, our main event is about to begin."  Alfred Castella
said, settling into a comfortable leather chair in his mansion's private
theatre.  "Will you have champagne, Victoria?"

 

                His daughter, her hair now a deep red adorned with streaks
of black, smiled sweetly.  "Given the occasion, I believe it's obligatory.
Isn't that right, father."  As she spoke, a machine on the antique mahogany
table poured her champagne for her - servants were currently banned from the
viewing theatre, with refreshments to be left at the entrance to be brought
in by machines.

 

Victoria's sweet smile was a mask she had perfected at a young age, and by
now, any apparent slip of her emotions was deliberate, designed to show
merely another layer of the mask she wore.  She knew the time would come
when her mask would be removed, but this was not it, and she had resolved
that when it came, it would be on her own terms.  

 

                "The Commonwealth and Lunapact are not yet aware that their
struggle is a mere sideshow." She said.  "It's somewhat amusing to think
that the struggle they think of as so vital is destined to end up being
purely academic in the annals of history.  

 

"Indeed.  The only ones who have any inkling of its true significance are
those Forge has in our pockets, held in reserve safely away from the
fighting, until the time comes."

 

"Until the time comes, father."  Victoria said, as she and Alfred charged
their glasses.

 

*****

 

Pallas

 

                The blue Gundam turned and boosted away from me, and, as
much as I disliked letting an enemy leave intact, I was looking forward to
the battle with my new opponent.  Around the battlefield, the Commonwealth
forces were moving to consolidate their positions after their initial
sortie, to better defend against the assault on Moresby base, but my purpose
was to deal with Athene.  I'd deal with the other stuff after I beat her.

 

                Athene, using a beam rifle and shield at the moment, rather
than the beam rifle/beam saber combo that was her usual favoured style,
moved in and fired a couple of shots - probing attacks, ones that I knew she
didn't really expect to hit me.  I kicked in the Sirius' thrusters as I
evaded them with little effort, firing as I moved towards her, and she
pulled away from me.

 

                "Athene, you seem nervous."  I taunted.  "Was that line
about letting me find out who's number one just you talking big?"

 

                She didn't reply, but swung down and inward to take another
couple of shots, again pulling away when I counterattacked.  When was she
going to get serious?

 

*****

 

                Alan McDermott ducked another burst of fire from one of the
white Denebs.  For a while now, he had been playing a defensive game,
concentrating mainly on evading or deflecting the two Denebs' attacks, and
managing to squeeze in the occasional counterattack.  The Flame Gundam
hadn't sustained any serious damage yet, but its shield had a fair number of
abrasions and scorch marks that weren't there at the start of the battle,
and a large chunk near the base had been shorn off by a beam saber.  He had
also been forced to pull back towards Moresby Base over the course of the
battle.  But he had kept his ears on his radio, and was aware that the
situation was about to change.

 

                McDermott boosted out from behind a meteoroid, one of
several that the Commonwealth forces had scattered around their area of the
battlefield for their side to use as cover unleashing a volley of missiles
and at the same time drawing the fire from the two Denebs.  He saw another
chunk of his shield go flying past his Gundam's shoulder as he did so.  

 

Then, a blue-white streak closed in on the two enemy MS from behind.  Shane
drew the Lightning Gundam's beam saber as he charged in, hoping to bisect
one of the Denebs, but it managed to swing around and bring its own beam
saber up to block just in time.  Shane did gain some consolation, though,
from the fact that he'd managed to take the Deneb's hand off in that pass.

 

"Surprised to see me, Lieutenant?" He asked, "I have a feeling they were."

 

"Fighting for your life against an enemy supersoldier hasn't changed your
attitude, I see."

 

"Why change what works?  Although I think I might need to change out of my
spacesuit as soon as we get back."

 

*****

 

Athene

 

                I continued my pattern of attack against Pallas - moving
towards her for a few shots or a swipe with a beam saber, then pulling back,
enticing her along the path I wanted her to go.  The path was not straight,
of course - it would have been too obvious that I was trying to lead her
somewhere, as well as making it easy for her to predict where I would move
next.  Instead, it was full of curves and corners, rises and dips designed
to obscure my plans for our destination.  As we fought, both of us took a
few targets of opportunity among those of the battling forces that were
foolish or unlucky enough to be in our general path.  Most of the mobile
suits and fighters we shot down exploded immediately, but some among them
managed to avoid a direct hit to the cockpit or reactor.  The most
unfortunate of those, instead, were sent spiralling out of control, and in
low Earth orbit as we were, that was likely to mean being caught in Earth's
gravity well and plunging to a firey doom.  

 

                The duel between us had gone on for at least fifteen minutes
by the time the Gale's sensors indicated I was approaching my destination.
I looked around, trying to keep one eye on Pallas while I sought out
McDermott and Yamada - even knowing as I did that Pallas was a dangerous
enough foe as to warrant two eyes on her at all times.  It was nearly my
undoing as Pallas slipped around to my right and fired a shot from close
range - fortunately, the heightened awareness and reflexes that allowed her
to pull that manuver off worked both ways.  I twisted the Gale's body
around, managing to dodge the shot by mere inches, the residual energy
leaving a scorched diagonal streak across the Gundam's front, including the
cockpit.

 

                Not a bad dodge, Athene.  Maybe it was just my imagination,
but I thought I heard Pallas' voice inside my head.

 

                Thanks.  It was a pretty good attack.  I thought in reply.

 

                So, when are you gonna stop playing around and get serious
about beating me?

 

                Right about now.  I smiled as I located the Lightning and
Flame Gundams.

 

***** 

 

                "Heads up, Yamada.  Looks like Gold and her friend are about
to arrive." McDermott warned.

 

                "Aw, not yet!  I was just about to do. this!" As he spoke,
Shane fired a volley of missiles in an arc from behind his cover, causing
Perez to pull forward in order to move out of the way.  When she did so,
Shane gunned the Lightning's thrusters, swinging in underneath Perez's
Deneb, beam saber ablaze.  Perez managed to avoid getting her mobile suit
cut in half, but its left leg and a large chunk of its thruster pack flew
off into the depths of space.

 

                Alan ignored his impulse to tell Shane to stay serious - he
figured it was a waste of breath.  Besides, it seemed to be what worked for
him.  He did fire a burst from the Flame Gundam's Gatling gun, forcing the
other Deneb to dodge rather than attack Shane, as the one he had hit pulled
away from the battle.

 

                "Good to see you, Athene!  But did you have to bring your
buddy as well?" Shane asked.

 

                "She kind of instisted on tagging along." Athene replied.

 

                "Huh?  Athene, did you just make a joke?" Shane asked.  "And
during combat?"

 

                "I think I just did."  Athene replied, seemingly only just
realising the fact when it was pointed out to her.

 

                "I'm clearly a bad influence on you." Shane remarked.

 

                "You're terrible." McDermott said.  "Ensign Gold, you're the
one who's most familiar with Pallas.  I'm trusting you to guide us through
this."

 

                "Yes, sir."

 

*****

 

Athene

 

                I didn't know the reason why I'd made that joke any better
than Yamada or McDermott.  Did I feel that it would help him relax or
respond better to me?  And wasn't being in close proximity to Pallas
supposed to send me into an ultra-serious combat mindset that was hard to
control?  Or was there more to it than that?  

 

                I couldn't worry about it now.  McDermott was placing his
trust in me for this battle, and it was my duty to fulfil that trust.

 

                "I'll handle the main fighting.  You two try and get her to
divide her attention, but don't do anything rash.  Take turns between doing
that and taking care of that second Deneb."

 

                "Roger that." The pair replied.  McDermott circled around to
flank Pallas, while Shane peeled off.  I stowed the Gale Gundam's shield,
switching to the beam saber/beam rifle combo I favoured, and moved in to
attack Pallas once again.

 

                I fired a complex series of shots, designed to force Pallas
to dodge in a pattern that would leave her exposed for a melee attack, and
thrust at her flank with my beam saber.  If I were fighting an ordinary
opponent, that would have been the end of the battle, but not Pallas.  She
made a backhanded swing the Sirius' double-bladed beam saber, parrying the
shot, and used the momentum generated to kick at me, doing little damage but
knocking me out of position.  

 

McDermott had moved around to flank her with me, and fired another burst
from the Flame Gundams gatling, but, as skilled as he was, he must have
seemed as sluggish to Pallas' magnified awareness as he did to mine, and she
easily dodged aside.  Pallas returned fire, and, although McDermott managed
to bring his Gundam's shield to bear and protect the cockpit and powerplant,
shots tore through its left thigh and right elbow, crippling the leg and
severing the gun arm.

 

"Lieutenant, pull out!" I urged.

 

"Will do, Gold, but first let me lighten my load!"  He spun around and
emptied the Flame Gundam's remaining missiles in the direction of the
remaining Deneb, currently involved in a running battle with Yamada.  The
Deneb's pilot saw the barrage coming, and tried to get out of the way, but
failed to react quickly enough, and when the debris cleared, what remained
of the MS was floating motionless in space.  As McDermott headed back to the
Gallipolli, I didn't bother to check for an emergency beacon that would
indicate if the pilot was alive.    

 

Now, it was down to Yamada and myself versus Pallas.  Once again, we circled
each other, re-entering our now familiar pattern.  Our dance of death began
anew, each shot fired and evaded, each beam saber thrust, parry and riposte
the epitome of speed and precision, against which no normal opponent could
have hoped to survive.  

 

According to the readout in my cockpit, we engaged in this manner for eight
and a half minutes without managing to land any significant hits on one
another - the antenna on my Gundam's head had been severed by the tip of
Pallas' beam saber, and one of my shots had knocked off one of the armor
plates on the Sirius' hip.  During this time, Yamada had been hanging around
on the periphery of the battle, occasionally taking a shot but not causing
Pallas any real trouble.  He was clearly cautious about getting into the
mix, but I give him credit - he wasn't overawed, but rather biding his time,
waiting for an opportunity to present itself.  Fighting within his limits
wasn't cowardice, it was smart.

 

Then everything happened at once.

 

As Pallas closed in with that double-bladed beam saber, I spotting what I
thought was an opportunity to take a shot at the Sirius' head and disable
its main sensors.  I feinted a low thrust with my beam saber, and brought
the Gundam's arm up to make the shot, but Pallas countered, managing to
reverse the direction she was swinging her beam saber in and strike the
Gale's outstretched gun arm.  As the severed arm fell towards Earth's
atmosphere, Pallas swung at the Gale's midsection, attempting to turn her
advantage into a victory.  I managed to block her next swing, but  knew the
odds were now very much against me - except for my ace in the hole.

 

Shane must have known it was time to roll the dice.  He opened up his
thrusters and charged at Pallas, beam saber outstretched in front of him.
Pallas parried the beam saber and swung up, taking out the Lightning
Gundam's left leg and a chunk of its thrusters, but his sheer momentum sent
the Sirius spinning, disrupting her attack.  Knowing I had mere moments
before she regained control, I swung my beam saber at the Sirius' torso, and
struck home.

 

*****

 

Pallas

 

                It only took a tiny fraction of a second for Athene's beam
saber to penetrate the cockpit and end my life, but in the combat state I
was in, it seemed an inexorable, crawling pace.

 

                As the blade approached, I realised she had beaten me.  At
first, I was happy for her, proving herself the better supersoldier once and
for all - but then I realised that the one who most wanted to prove herself
number one had been me.  For Athene, as skilled as she was, the bond between
us was far more important than proving who was the best.  I had forced her
to kill me, and she was going to hate herself for it.

 

                Athene, this is my fault.  I'm so sorry.  

 

*****

 

Athene

 

                As I watched the Sirius explode, and the wreckage begin to
plunge towards Earth, I was overwhelmed by a strange feeling.  I had killed
dozens of enemy pilots before, and felt nothing except perhaps satisfaction
at fulfilling my purpose.  I had been molded that way for as long as I could
remember, as a supersoldier who had no need for empathy.  But the enemy whom
I had killed was Pallas. 

 

                Pallas, whom I my life at Sparta Base had been spent
alongside.  We'd trained together, eaten together, been yelled at by the
instructors together, and trained together some more.  Pallas, who was
happiest when she was trying to prove she was the best, whose devotion to
perfecting her skills surpassed even my own.  Pallas, whom I had killed with
my own hands.

 

                My body and mind mutinied on me as I realised what I had
done.  My limbs, trained for strength, suddenly became weak and heavy, and
the contents of my stomach welled upward until they forced themselves out of
my mouth, covering the inside of my visor with vomit.

 

                As for my mind, in my state of shock, I barely even
registered that I had cut power to the Gale's thrusters.  I felt so awful
that I wanted nothing more than to plunge into oblivion with her.  I felt
the downward pull of Earth's gravity, and hoped that my guilt and pain would
burn up with me as I entered the atmosphere, or perhaps a stray shot from
the battle would end me first.

 

                I don't know how long I was falling for, but abruptly, I
felt a jerk as my momentum halted.  Puzzled, I tried to look at the screens
through my vomit-splattered visor, and eventually made out the form of one
of the IPMC's Cadecus rescue MS, and a cable with which it had grabbed the
Gale Gundam.

 

                "Khadija?"  I said weakly.

 

                "Yes, Athene, it's me." Khadija replied.

 

                "What are you doing?"

 

                "Saving your life is what it looks like to me."

 

                "I didn't ask you to!  Let me go!  Let me join Pallas!"  I
yelled at her in outraged despair.

 

                "Idiot!"  She yelled at me.  "You think dying is gonna make
up for killing her?  I might hate fighting, but even I think that anyone
with that attitude needs to be smacked upside the head!"

 

                I don't want to die.  And I don't want you to die either,
Athene.  Metis said.  My brief spurt of emotion exhausted itself, and I
slumped backward.

 

                "All right, I'm sorry, Khadija.  And to you too, Metis.
Let's get back."

 

                With that, Khadija towed us back to the Gallipolli.

 

*****

 

                Far away, a young man watched the wreckage of the Sirius
falling on a screen in a bare, darkened room.

 

                "Farewell, Pallas."  He said to himself.  "And Athene, I do
not hold you responsible."

 

                When the two had first been set against each other, he had
been too confused to object.  His superiors had told him the purpose of the
battle was to confirm the Resonance phenomenon, but as the pair had
continued their clash, he had seen another purpose.  It was to show that
they were in control, that his siblings were nothing more than puppets that
they could play with as they wished.

 

                And he would show them that they were wrong, that people
like Athene and Pallas and himself were the true future of humanity, and
were destined to take control.  

 

                Not yet, though.  He would need to bide his time.

 

                "Pallas, I wish I could have saved you."  Ares Gold said.
"Athene, I know the pain I feel at her loss must be so much worse for you.
But I swear, that pain will soon come to an end.  Because, soon, we're going
to be standing at each other's side once again."

 

END CHAPTER 10

 

Next Time: "Vestige"

   

 

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