Chapter 34: An Old Soldier's Only Wish
December 26, UC 0079 - They were all here, John thought. Every single ship and mobile unit that General Dolvich could get from Malta Base, including the newly arrived medical transport Nightingale. Another gift from the Side 6's base commander. "The Anzio, Quatre Bras and Johnston are now breaking off," Sylvie reported as she saw the three ships and their escorts start their flanking maneuver. Their job was to block the enemy's escape route and make sure nobody got away.
"Confirmed, Sylvie," John replied, "Looks like we'll be all set soon..." "Have they finished loading yet, Colonel?" General Wavell inquired to the base commander. "Yes," Colonel Gullivan replied meekly. At least the General was finally leaving now, he thought, and he could get back at his real job. His base was actually just a testing facility and a depot, and his main assignment had been preparing twenty or so C-Type Gelgoog Cannon conversion parts that he was supposed to have sent to A Baoa Qu two days ago. And he didn't want the two Papuas outside to have to wait any longer to recieve their important cargo.
"Very well then, I'll be off soon," the General declared with a grin, "You have helped Zeon immensely with your efforts! Sieg Zeon!" And thank you for helping ME also... "And here comes the morning patrol..." John whispered quietly as three improved Zaku-types clambered their way out of the dock and began patrolling the immediate vicinity of the base. Just like their manual must have said, he thought. "Rifle, do you have them on sight now?" Major Karl asked. "Yes sir," Max replied in his usual, quiet and reserved tone. "Artillery sections, what about you?" Karl asked the commander of the Ball section. "Just give us the word, and we'll be blowing those guys silly with our 180's" the Balls' commander replied rather cockily. He was a little inexperienced for Karl's taste, but at least the guy knew how to shoot. "Twenty more minutes before the attack, Major," Colonel Patterson reminded. He knew Karl wouldn't do anything stupid, but not his subordinates, and this was a warning to them all. "Yes, Sir. Understood," Karl replied, "Hear that men? Don't get too cocky. Stick to the plan." "Yes sir!" the Ball commander replied, still rather cockily, "Just being enthusiastic, Sir."
"As if there was any difference..." Karl mutteren with a frown. "Come on Mike! We're leaving!" Captain Ming Chow warned his wingman as he prepared to board his brand new Gelgoog Jaeger. Now fully armed and equipped, it would escort the Bismark in its little mission for most of the trip. With the help of Mike in his Rick Dom II of course. "Sorry," Mike replied as he hurried over to Ming, "Just collecting a debt from that kid Ukiya. He's been losing to me playing poker for the past two days..." "The Rick Dom II squad leader?" Ming asked rather contemptously. Most of the base's pilots were bad, but he was particularly terrible. He had no idea how the kid ever made squad leader. "Take it easy on him," Mike adivsed with a smile, "He joined the military just after he got engaged, you know, and he doesn't plan to die in this war. Good luck to him."
"Yeah well..." Ming replied, contempt still in his voice. Engaged or not, he was now a soldier. And one who was supposed to lead, "Anyway, Jimmy's Flipper is already out. We'd better catch up with him." "What's taking those two..." the Zaku Flipper's pilot muttered nervously. Months of EWAC pilotting seemed to have heightened his awareness of danger, and right now his guts were telling him they had best leave this place as soon as they can. He scanned the wreckage around the base. It still seemed as empty as ever... Full of dull grey metallic debris from the colonies, occassionally dotted by some black pieces of charred wreckage, and one funny looking green colored one which... HOLY ****!
The pilot quickly turned his attention to the green object he had just barely noticed, and saw IT. The ******* sniper that had been murdering them like hell for the past several weeks. And if he was here... "This is the Flipper! I've spotted an enemy unit in the vicinity of the base! All units scramble!" "Damn, did he just spot me?" Max muttered quietly to himself as he saw the EWAC type start focusing its attention towards his location. Suddenly, he noticed one of the Musais start turning towards HIM as well, and that was certainly a bad sign, "Rifle here, I think I've been spotted." "Magic, what do you think?" Major Karl asked nervously. Oh boy, not another bloody... "They are launching additional mobile suits!" John reported excitedly. "Ships are taking aim at Max!" "Max, get out of there..." Sylvie muttered quietly, sweat trickling down her forehead.
"This is Brigadier General Dolvich!" the commanding officer declared, "Alright, the gig is up! Let'm have it!" Jimmy was just about to order the Musai to fire when a single shell impacted his Flipper's head, shattering it along with its vital sensors. He frantically tried to activate his backup camera to try to maneuver, but before he could a volley of 180mm shells blasted him to pieces. Ming had just launched when he saw their Flipper get blown to pieces, and he growled in anger. Those damn pods! he thought, I'll get me some of them. Around him, the base defense force was frantically trying to form up and fight a coherent battle, but they were being continously pelted by the artillery fired by those pods. He aimed his precision beam machine gun at a trio of pods in the distance and fired off a burst. Two explosions greeted him before a shell fired by the survivor barely missed his Jaeger. A second burst finished that survivor off. "Ming, this is bad..." Mike warned as he started firing his 90mm machine gun wildly at the Federation positions, mainly to distract them, "What do we do?" "We fight!" Ming replied angrily as he fired another burst. A GM hiding under some cover exploded as a result. "Captain Ming! There shall be no fighting, prepare to withdraw!" General Wavell countermanded, "Our mission is more important! Colonel Gullivan, abandon the base! I will now be taking over your ships and mobile suits!" "But Sir, you can't just leave us behind!" the Colonel objected. The base had practically no defenses and escape craft, how could he possible hope to survive... "You and your men will be celebrated by the Zeon people! Sieg Zeon!" the General interrupted, cutting him off. "This is insane!" a Zaku FZ pilot objectted, just before he was suddenly vaporized by a volley of beams. One fired by Wavell himself.
"Not following my orders shall be considered desertion!" the General declared with all the authority he could muster. HIS plan was going to be completed, no matter the cost. "What the hell is going on out there?!" John observed as he saw a Zaku get vaporized by fire from its own ships. Don't tell me they're preparing a mutiny or something... "Our ships are in range!" Sylvie reported. "They are beginning to open fire!"
"Artillery! Take them down!" Major Karl ordered. Mutiny or not, the enemy force was staying still at the moment, perfect targets for their long range cannons. He started firing off his own heavy cannons as well, taking down a Zaku FZ and blowing a leg off a Rick Dom II, "mobile suits, prepare to charge!" The base defense force had scattered after the initial volleys, Ming saw, but they were now being engaged by small arms fire from the advancing mobile suits. That moronic Wavell, he thought, his outright execution had caused the base's green pilots to freeze only moments before, leaving them perfect targets for the enemy's big guns. Only two Zaku FZs and a single Rick Dom II were left now. And what had been bad odds were becoming much worse. "Ming, help me here!" Mike pleaded as he started dragging the surviving Rick Dom II with him, whose leg had been blown off leaving him immobile. It was Ukiya's. "Damn it, Mike! Later! We're in real trouble here!" Ming replied in an annoyed tone, "Where is our Gelgoog B and C Type* anyway?!" he demanded, just before Ukiya's Rick Dom fired a rocket that passed just beside his unit's head. He glared angrily at Ukiya, "What the hell was that for!?" A GM suddenly exploded behind Ming as a result of being hit by the Dom's rocket, "Just saving you, Captain," Ukiya replied in as even a voice as he could. He was terrified as hell, but seeing his squad get wiped out was more than enough motivation for him. "Uhh... thanks," Ming replied as he started to help Mike carry the damaged Rick Dom II to a safer position. Maybe I have misjudged them, he admitted. But with the remaining Zakus and ships now being engaged in a melee by the enemy mobile suits, it wasn't the time to think about it. "Craig here. Sorry I'm late," Craig Dennington, the pilot of the High Mobility Type Gelgoog, declared as he pulled his unit beside Ming's, and rather awkwardly at that. Craig was really just a test pilot who was tuning up the Gelgoog for its eventual owner, and he wasn't really able to harness its capabilities to its full potential. Another reason to worry. "Where's the damn Gelgoog Cannon?" Ming demanded. The two Gelgoogs were among the base's most powerful mobile suits, and they most certainly could not leave without them. "All units, begin withdrawing NOW! Leave any disabled units!" the General suddenly ordered as the Tibe class cruiser guarding the base toppled over and began exploding, the victim of two squads of GMs and their supporting Balls. From a distance, Ming could see the Bismark start turning around to leave, closely followed by the Bremen. The other two Musais and the two Papuas were less enthusiastic to run, and remained behind to offer whatever cover they could provide for the base. "Idiot!" Craig growled at the General, "Billy's Gelgoog Cannon will be here in a minute, but with all the bad guys around..." "Leave me," Ukiya suddenly told the three of them solemnly, "Get the hell out of here guys." "To hell with that!" Mike declared, "I'm getting you home to your fiancee!" Ukiya was just about to object again when a pair of shells suddenly hit Craig's Gelgoog and sent the mobile suit flying from their position, trailing smoke as the propellant tanks were ruptured. Before they could do anything the Gelgoog exploded, killing Craig instantly.
"****! They're here!" Mike warned as he started firing his 90mm machine gun** wildly at a pair of GMs approaching their position. His shots seemed to miss, but at least they were forced to take some cover. ****, Jean thought as he peeked out of his cover. Their new machine gun was better than the old 100mm they used, and Nance's badly damaged GM was testament to that. Two more mobile suits pulled up beside him. One was the GM Command, pilotted by Sergeant Juan Ignacio. While the second was the Major Karl's unit, the D-Type Guncannon. "How is it, Jean?" Karl asked as he fired several shells at the few remaining mobile suits. Far off to his right, a blinding flash indicated the death of yet another Zeon ship. "Not bad, Sir," Jean replied, "We've got them cornered at the moment, but the other GM teams are still busy with the ships. Looks like you got one of them beam capable ones though." "How about Rifle? Where is he?" Karl inquired. Max was his best pilot, and now that they had that ace cornered, he was going to get that ******* before he could do any real damage. "Here, Sir," Max reported as he pulled his GM Sniper beside the Major's Guncannon, "Fred will be here soon," he added.
"Alright, let's get that ace," the Major ordered, "Charge them while I cover you, understood?" "They're holding back for a while..." Mike said as he slammed a fresh magazine into his Rick Dom's machine gun. "Yeah, perfect time for you two to slip away," Ukiya advised. "He's right, Mike," Ming agreed, "If we don't go, we're dead." "Then at least let's wait for the Gelgoog Cannon!" Mike objected. Damn it, he thought, I can't ever be with the one I love anymore, but at least he can! "Mike, what's..." Ming started before his tone changed, "Oh ****! Here they come!" Mike turned and quickly saw the sniper that had been haunting them for ages. He quickly dived, evading a beam fired in his direction. He fired back, but it missed as well. "Get out of here!" Ukiya told them, "I don't care if I'm captured, just don't get killed!" "But Ukiya..." Mike started.
"They won't kill him Mike!" Ming countered angrily. He wasn't really sure, but he doubted that they would just kill a dumb young Lieutenant who knew nothing for fun as the stories said. They'll probably just use him to exchange for one of their captured dumb young Lieutenants. He hoped. "Damn it, they're getting away!" Juan muttered angrily as he pointed to the two fleeing units. "Major, what about this one?" Max asked coldly, aiming his rifle at the damaged Rick Dom II. It quickly held both its arms up in surrender. "I..." the Major started before a massive beam suddenly struck his Guncannon. Karl felt something hot and sharp start tearing through his body. It was shrapnel, he realized, caused by an explosion near the cockpit. He started opening his eyes again. Blood was floating all around the cockpit, and he realized that though he was still alive, he didn't have much chance to... "This is the Major... I've been wounded. Jean take command!" he ordered as he pulled out the first aid kit. "Yes sir," Jean responded as he looked for their assailant. He suddenly spotted it, hiding in some debris, "Over there!" Jean shouted as he pointed to a new arrival. It was the cannon-carrying prototype... "Get him!" Jean ordered as he aimed his beam spray gun, but before he could fire it started to pull out of range, trying to catch up with the ace and his wingman, "What are you waiting for?!" he asked at the rest of the team, "Let's follow them!" "What about the Major, and THAT?" Max asked coldy as he aimed his rifle at the damaged Rick Dom's chest. "We'll carry the Major out!" Sylvie said as she pulled her EWAC GM beside Karl's damaged Guncannon, "And as for the prisoner, you decide, Max," she finished coldly as she discarded the radar shield and began to carry Karl's Guncannon away. Max nodded and looked back at the Rick Dom, rifle still aimed at its chest, "Stay here," he told its pilot coldly, before aiming the gun away. He had other, more worthy targets to shoot.
Karl started to drift in and out of consciousness, John saw as he began to pull some bandages around his wounds. This was bad... "Jessica..." Karl whispered quietly to no one in particular. I want to see you again, one last time. Please. I just want to see you... Who is she? John thought. Probably his love, he concluded. ****! And if they couldn't get Karl to the Nightingale soon... "John! Get ready! We're almost at the medical transport!" Sylvie reported. "What the hell? Isn't it..." John started. "They've moved forward into the battle area to recover the wounded," Sylvie explained. Which was very brave of them, she didn't add, "I'm docking now!" John felt the Guncannon hit something solid as Sylvie set the wrecked mobile suit onto the transport's deck. The cockpit's doors suddenly opened, and John turned to see a female doctor, with two orderlies carrying a stretcher behind her. "What's his status?" the lady asked. "Bad, many cuts, possibly some decompression, and internal injuries. But he's one hell of a tough soldier umm.... miss?" John asked. "Mrs. Grunther," the nurse replied quickly as she pushed John out of the way, wanting to tend the patient as quickly as possible. "Mrs. Jessica Grunther?" John suddenly said out loud. It can't be... "Yes, how did you know?" the lady replied as she began to examine her patient, "Oh my God... Karl?"
Remarks: - *Okay, I know B and C type Gelgoogs are EXTREMELY rare. So I'm fleshing out extra back stories for them. As mentioned, the base is actually a testing facility for new weapons (particularly the Gelgoog-C conversion parts) and an emergency depot to be activated if Side 6 was to ever join the Federation (hence the presence of nuclear weaponry in the base). The B-Type High Mobility Gelgoog is there just for additional testing and for eventual "tuning up" for its "real" owner (which is an unnamed Zeon ace pilot, Craig is sort of a Zeon version of Christina Mackenzie in Gundam 0080 OVA). The C-Type in this story, on the other hand, is not one of the original fifteen unit built but is a regular Gelgoog that was taken from the front lines and "converted" to a C-Type using the conversion parts that Zeon had produced (according to Gundam Project, enough for 122 units). It's purely a test unit to see of the converted C-type is as effective as the original ones. Whew! - **This is some of the gear issued to later Zeon MS as part of the Unified Equipment Plan.
Notice: This story and all related material is copyrighted by Thomas E. "Zinegata" Ting, no part of this story may be taken by any other person. If you wish to use any material, please contact me first. Gundam and all related trademarks are owned by their respective companies. |
